*Note* Once again, I don't own anything affiliated with Star Ocean, except one copy of the game! And that's why this story is here! And, we get to meet the other new main character this chapter, along with the introduction of everyone's favorite pair of Tetragenes!
Far away from the Jean Pharmacy in Linga, in a secluded forest near the village of Mars, a young Heraldic Mage walked solemnly down one of the less-traveled paths, her eyes glancing back and forth at the various plant life. She wiped the sweat from her brow and cursed silently under her breath. "How hard can it be to find one blasted plant? If this is another one of Ivan's tricks, I swear I'm going to..."
Behind her and to the left, a twig snapped. The girl whirled around, staff in hand. Her eyes scanned the vegetation around her tensely, looking for any threat. She breathed a sigh of relief a few moments later when a small rabbit scurried out of the brush. At the sight of her, the rabbit froze, then scurried back in the direction it came. The young mage relaxed her grip on the staff and turned back to the trail. "How silly of me to get so nervous by something so small as a rabbit!" she laughed.
After another hot hour of walking through the forest, she sat leaning against a tree, taking a short break from her search. "Ugh, if I had known it was going to be this hard, I would at least have brought something to drink" she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. She sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the nice breeze and taking in the sounds. The chirps of the birds. The wind rustling through the leaves. The sound of water cascading through the forest.
She snapped her eyes open at that. "The river!!" She pulled a map out from her pack. "According to this, the herb should be located just across the river!" She packed her map up and gathered her things, starting out towards the sound of the river.
Not far behind the girl, a group of men stood at attention. A man dressed in dark blue armor paced back and forth in front of them, his sword at his side. With one motion of his hand, the men saluted, then fell in step behind him, heading in the direction of the river.
The girl arrived at the river, bending down to take a drink before she continued on. Another twig snapped behind her. Ignoring it, she filled her canteen with water, and began taking in the sights. "I really hope it doesn't take too much longer. I'm not sure if Mother will survive..."
The crack of a large limb being stepped on and the sound of a sword being drawn out of its sheath drew her attention to her back. A harsh voice rang out. "Alyssa Lantis, I presume? I'm afraid that you're going to have to come with me."
The girl whirled around, grabbing her staff from her side. A man in dark blue armor brandished a sword, flanked by four men in similar but less extravagant garbs. "That's me! What's it to you?" she asked.
The lead man stepped forward, pointing his sword at her in an intimidating fashion. "As I said, you're going to have to come with me. My....associates....wish to speak with you on certain matters."
"You're crazy if you think I'm going to go with you! If your "associates" want to talk to me, they're gonna have to make an appointment just like everyone else!" Alyssa said.
"I'm afraid that this is a most pressing matter. And since I see you are not going to cooperate, I am prepared to take you by force!" the lead man said. He waved his hand, and the four men around him advanced on Alyssa, their swords drawn and waving dangerously in the air.
Alyssa sighed and closed her eyes, concentrating. The first two men charged, covering half of the distance to the mage in a mere second. They never made it the other half, though, as a flame emitted from Alyssa's staff in a wave, incinerating both aggressors in their footsteps. The other men hesitated. The more brazen of the two stepped forward, then broke into a run, not wanting to give Alyssa the time to cast another spell. His sword went out wide, arcing towards her left shoulder. Alyssa brought her staff up, parrying it with one end, then bringing the other end smashing towards the warrior's face. He grunted and fell back, minus a few teeth. "You're a tough little girl, but do you really think you can beat me, kid?" the man taunted. Alyssa didn't bother replying, leaping towards the man with her staff leading. It caught him in the stomach, keeling him over. She brought her staff cracking down on the back of his neck, knocking him out of the fight. She raised her staff and studied her remaining opponents. The fourth lackey had ran off into the forest, so it was just her and the ring leader. He stepped forward cockily, brandishing his sword.
"A nice show, miss, but I'm afraid that it's the end of the line for you. I give you one last chance to surrender before I'm forced to hurt you," he said wickedly.
"Sorry, but I'm going to have to kick your butt just like I did the others! It's only fair to them!" Alyssa yelled. She closed her eyes in concentration, and let loose a fire ball, engulfing the man. She smirked confidently at her work, then turned her attention back to the river. "It's time to finish what I came here for."
A mocking laughter stopped her in her tracks. She turned around, seeing only smoke. The armored man strolled confidently out of it, still laughing. "I gave you your chance, girl! And now, you're mine!" He held his sword out, a black flame engulfing it.
"But how? Why didn't my spell even hurt yo..agh!!" The flame swept across the ground, slamming Alyssa to the ground. The man waltzed confidently over to her, standing over her.
"You should always know when to quit, girl. You'll live longer that way." He bent down, reaching to pull her to her feet. Alyssa struggled against him. "It's no use, girl! You're coming with me whether you like it or no..."
A noise that sounded like an Explosion spell going off echoed through the forest, and the man went flying a nearby tree. He lay there unmoving. Alyssa rose slowly to her feet and turned to see her rescuers. She stared in amazement at what she saw.
Two figures, one male and one female. The female one was garbed in a black dress with white trim, and was holding a metallic item aimed towards the man. There was smoke coming out from the end. The man had on a white robe trimmed in red, and had a whip at his side. They both looked like experienced warriors, but that wasn't what startled Alyssa. In the middle of each of their foreheads, there was what could only be described as a third eye! (Because that's what it was!) The woman spoke first.
"Hello there! Are you okay?" she asked. "And you know, it's not polite to stare."
Alyssa shook her head angrily. "Okay? Of course I'm okay! No thanks to you! I had him right where I wanted him, and then you go and use your magic stick to blow him away! You could have hit me too!"
"Uh, in case you didn't notice, he was about to kill you!" the woman said.
Alyssa advanced on her. "I had him RIGHT where I wanted him!"
The man stepped between the two. "I'm sure you did, miss, but all that matters is everyone's okay. No sense getting angry if everyone's okay, right?"
Alyssa sighed and relaxed herself. "I suppose. But I could have taken him..."
"I'm sure it's so! By the way, my name is Ernest, Ernest Raviede," the man said.
"I'm Opera Vectra. Sorry we met under such circumstances," the woman said. "What's your name?"
"My name? It's Alyssa. And I guess it's nice to meet you both," she said.
"So, Alyssa, what are you doing out here in the forest?" Ernest asked. "It's not the kind of place a lady would generally go alone."
"First off, I can take care of myself! I'm a Heraldic Mage!" Alyssa said proudly. Her voice then softened. "And I'm hear about my mother. She's...well...dieing, and I had heard that the only place to get a cure was this forest. But, it was only a rumor, I think." She sighed. "She desperately needs a cure, and fast."
Opera looked thoughtful, then spoke up. "Well, Miss Alyssa, we were just on our way to the continent of Lacour. We have a friend there by the name of Bowman Jean, and he's the best darn pharmacist on Expel! If anyone can cure your mom, it'd be him! If you want to accompany us, we'd be glad to help!"
Alyssa thought for a minute, then smiled. "Actually, that'd be great! I think this forest was beginning to be a dead end anyways, and I've always wanted to go to Lacour! I'd love to go, if you don't mind."
Ernest nodded. "It'll be nice to have such lovely company along with us!" Opera glared at him, but he ignored it. "Just stick with us kid, and your mother will be fine in no time!"
Alyssa followed the pair out of the forest. When they were far gone, the armored man stood up, rubbing his head. "So, the plot thickens. No trouble, this only makes things more interesting for me..."
*Oh! Alyssa "Lantis", if I caught that right!! I think most SO vets know what that means! And what's with this dude who seems content to catch her? And who could his "associates" be? Find out next time! Well, actually not next time, because next we have a pretty funny installment featuring Dias and Vincent, then we get to the hilarious exploits of Ashton's plans for revenge! So, maybe after that we'll find out! More SO characters re-introduced next chapter too! Please review if you've enjoyed this!*