Disclaimer: If you've come this far with me, you should know by now that, as a student, I own approximately this many things: none. Let alone something as cool as Skies of Arcadia. NONE OF THIS IS MINE. Really. I've not been lying up 'til now!
Reviews: Review just to let me know that somebody (anybody) is reading this. Constructive criticism can wait, just let me know I'm writing to no-one here.
Notes: As Overworks/Sega/Nintendo have not yet seen fit to honour me with a Europen release for Legends, this is all based on the original SoA. No Piastol or any of that plot. I still don't know how Vyse got his scar. I only know what I know from about 5 playthroughs of SoA on my DC. So don't start pointing out plot inconsistencies with Legends, because they most certainly exist. I don't care. My story!
Overview: Last chapter was pretty dull, really. Vyse, Aika and Fina are surviving in the desert and have built a giant symbol thingy with rocks in the sand so a ship will spot them. Yes, it really took me a whole chapter to say that one sentence.
A/N 10 April: This chapter has been updated since first uploading... there's an extra paragraph at the end now. It just seemed to fit easier in this chapter than in the one I was writing. Nothing else has changed, just that. Sorry :)
Matt Dovey
It had been four days since Vyse and Aika had built the rock symbol, and nothing had come of it yet. Aika had spotted a ship once, but it was some way away, and probably couldn't see the design - the rocks were all somewhat sandy coloured, as could be expected for a desert. Whilst out wandering one night, Vyse had found a wrecked ship, and the three of them had hauled back the wood so they could have a fire each night.
The three were around one such campfire now. Aika was sat cross-legged, laughing, and Fina was leaning on an arm with her legs folded, a warm smile on her face. Vyse, meanwhile, was trying to juggle some red moonstones that were lying about. As he juggled, he missed on and it dropped onto his foot. Reaching down to clutch his foot, the laws of gravity performed their job spectacularly on the red moonstone he'd last thrown up, causing it to land on the back of his head. As he fell forward from this last blow, Aika burst out in loud laughter, rolling onto her back. Vyse looked at her and suddenly pounced, tickling her.
"Think it's funny, eh? Is this funny too?!" he said through his own laughter as he broke through Aika's defences over and over to leave her helpless on the floor. Fina chuckled at the pair, then stopped as she looked behind them, into the night sky. Vyse spotted her, and ceased his tickling of Aika temporarily.
"What you looking at, Fina?" he asked, his head tilted slightly. When she didn't answer, he followed her gaze upwards.
By this time, Aika had stopped both her laughing and futile attempts to tickle Vyse back, and looked up at the sky as well. "Is that...?"
"A flare!" shouted Vyse, standing up and moving quickly out of the cave. "We've been spotted!"
The other two followed him out and stopped beside him, watching the graceful curve of the flare. As they watched it, there was a slight "phut" off to their left as someone landed in the sand. They turned as one, Vyse's hand automatically going to the hilt of his cutlass. They each stood still for a moment, their lack of night-vision due to the fire meaning that no-one was quite able to make out the features of the new arrival. As the stranger stood up from the crouch they had landed in, his bulky form unfolding slowly, Aika was the first to react.
"Vigoro!"
"Hey Red! I never would have thought it'd be you down here! What luck, eh?"
Vyse stood with his hand on his cutlass, ready to draw it out of its sheath. "What do you want, Vigoro..." he said darkly.
"Hey, calm it Vyse! I'm only trying to rescue you!"
"You? Rescue us? Why?"
"I'm an Air Pirate, I'm not going to leave someone stranded."
"Hmmm... I guess." Vyse stood up straight, his hand off the pommel of his main cutlass, although tellingly it didn't stray far.
"So what you say Red," said Vigoro, addressing Aika again, "you wanna come back to my ship with me for a bit?"
"Eeeeeww!" and a look of disgust was all Aika could reply with.
"Still liking after Vyse then, eh?" said Vigoro, laughing. Aika blushed a bright red.
"I do NOT like Vyse that way! He's my best friend, that's all!"
Vigoro shrugged. "Whatever you say, Red. Guess you all better come back to my ship then, as I've been denied the honour of a little private time. I'll show you round the new ship!"
"Wow Vigoro... this is a pretty powerful ship you've got here... where'd you get the money to upgrade it?" asked Vyse, who was obviously impressed by the new Draco. Vigoro had taken his original Valuan ship and converted much of it to wood instead of metal, thus making it much faster and more manouverable, as well as cheaper to re-fuel. Much of the upper deck was still metal however, as it still mounted Vigoro's original cannon.
"I figured that after the Rains had fallen on Valua, there'd be a lot of Black Pirates trying to get hold of the new moonstones, as well as attack Valua, so I just kinda drifted round there and waited for them to drift in."
Vyse laughed. "You're already becoming a real Blue Rogue, Vigoro... protecting the weak and making money at the same time!"
"Don't forget looking out for the women, too," winked Vigoro. "Where is it you guys want dropping off?"
"Just at home, thanks Vigoro."
"Err... and where's that, kid?"
"You don't know where Crescent Isle is? It seem like you're about the only one, sometimes," laughed Vyse. "Just head North-East from Nasrad and we'll be in about the right place. I guess it's ok for you to know now that you're on our side." Vyse winked and laughed again.
"Nice to see you back Vyse, I was beginning to wonder what fun you were up to without me," greeted Gilder.
"Gilder! When'd you get here?"
"Couple of days back. I was in the area anyway, so thought I'd drop in, see how things are these days. What's with the big guy?" Gilder nodded at Vigoro, who was stood looking at the base with a certain degree of awe.
"It's a long story... but Vigoro's a Blue Rogue now, so it's ok."
"If it's a long story, I guess you best tell me over dinner then," grinned Gilder.
"De Loco?!" Gilder almost choked on his piece of pie. "How the hell has he survived?" Gilder sat next to Clara at the table. After the last battle for Arcadia against Ramirez, Gilder seemed to have gained some grounding, and had virtually settled down by his standards. All this meant in real terms was that he'd given up on running away from Clara, but she had a permanent grin on her face these days.
"As far as we can tell," replied Vyse, swallowing, "yes it's De Loco. We still don't know anything about how he came back, or even if it really is him. On the other hand though, I can't really see why anyone would want to be him."
Gilder laughed at this. "Point taken. Well, if Fina's ship couldn't reach him, I guess there's no way you'll get up to that height, especially without the Silvite ship. You'll just have to wait for him to come to you. Assuming, of course, he will come after you, but I can't see De Loco letting you be. You can be a right pain in the backside when you want, Vyse" he grinned.
"Wow Gilder, thanks, you really know how to make a man feel good. I guess you're right though. I don't think he'll want to blow me up from a distance... if he did he would have done that last time." Vyse paused to take another mouthful. "He'll probably try to deal with me face to face, so I'll just have to rely on that fact to keep the crew safe. This pie's great, by the way, Clara, thanks a lot." Clara grinned at him, but the combined effect of this grin on top of her usual smile was to merely scrunch her face up, which sent Gilder off into gales of laughter. Clara looked hurt, then pushed him playfully. Gilder was obviously laughing too hard to be paying attention, and fell off, at which point Clara panicked, her mouth in an "O" of shock, and ran over to check he was ok. Upon finding he was, she hugged him close to her chest.
"Sickens you, doesn't it?" commented Aika to Vyse.
Vyse nodded in mute acknowledgement, then turned to Vigoro. "So how come you became a Blue Rogue then, instead of a Black Pirate?"
Vigoro finished swallowing his food. "I figured that if I couldn't beat you guys, I may as well join you," smiled Vigoro.
"Oh gods... something else the world has me to blame for... Admiral Vigoro helping people."
"Hey, be gentle Vyse! And, uh..." Vigoro sighed. "...I prefer the Admiral thing not to be mentioned now. Since I became a Blue Rogue, I've realised how... terrible I was. I was no better than a bully, and treated people like... well, like Sky Sardis." Vigoro managed a weak smile, then sighed. "But that's all changed now, and I'm out helping those weaker than I am, so I've been pretty busy." Vigoro winked then laughed. "Speaking of which, I'm going again tomorrow, more women than time."
"Haha, I know the feeling well," said Gilder, sitting back down on his chair, "I might have to join you."
"Gilder! Don't you dare!" came the voice of Clara from the floor.
The reconstruction of Crescent Isle after the attack was going well. Kirala had organised the crew into workteams and had them working a rota basis, so the island was being worked on for 18 hours a day. Vyse stood on the balcony, watching his crew work, and felt a momentary swell of pride in his breast. The Air Pirates had waved Vigoro off that morning, and were now gathering for a meeting. Vyse was taking the chance of a breath of fresh air while they waited for Aika still, relaxing in the warm sunshine they enjoyed this close to the red moon. While he looked out to the sky beyond, that infinite, limitless sky, Aika walked up and stood next to him, leaning on the rails.
"Hey Vyse," she opened as she looked down at the rebuilding below.
Vyse turned his head and looked at her. "Hey Aika," he smiled, "put an appearance in eventually."
"I had to sort my hair out. YOu wouldn't understand Vyse." She stuck her tongue out at him and turned to go inside.
"You needed to get your hair ready?!" he asked incredulously, "We're only having a meeting, Aika!"
She looked back and flashed him a grin, then entered in through the door. Vyse put his hand to his head and sighed, then followed in after her. Gilder was stood admiring the large painting on the back wall, while Clara and Fina talked at the table. As Aika went to the table, she greeted them with a "Hey guys!" and Vyse followed behind and sat down. Gilder had turned around upon on hearing Aika, and sat down at the table with the rest now.
"Right," said Vyse, leaning on the table, "we're dealing with something that's a very real threat now. Even if it isn't De Loco, whoever it is is still both dangerous and insane, not mentioning the fact they seem to have a grudge against me." Vyse paused, and sighed. "As Gilder said last night, we can't plan for De Loco. We'll have to treat him like a natural disaster, in that way."
"I'd say his birth was a disaster for nature," muttered Gilder from the corner. Fina giggled at him, her hand over her mouth, and he smiled back at her.
"About all we can do right now is let the people who need to know, know. I would say the first place De Loco is likely to go would be Valua, perhaps to try and take control of it, perhaps to get Alfonso. Either way, Enrique needs to know, so I would suggest we head there first."
"I'll join you, Vyse. After all, you always seem to have all the fun, even when it's always me who's looking for it," smiled Gilder.
"You're not going without me, Gilder!" said Clara.
"I just knew you were gonna say that, Clara," groaned Gilder, but he didn't seem to complain too much.Vyse smiled at the pair, but Aika's subtlety was lacking somewhat as she laughed out loud at the two. "What?!" was Gilder's only defense.
There was a knock at Vyse's door as he packed his things ready for the voyage on the morrow. "Hello?" he asked, still folding clothes.
"Vyse..."
"Oh hey Ilchymis, come in."
"Thank you, Vyse. I have a favour to ask of you."
"Sure, what is it?" said Vyse, putting a shirt into a case.
"As you are aware, I decided to follow the medical profession out of a desire to help people. I have very much enjoyed my time with you and your crew, Vyse, but I feel that now is the ideal time to set up my dream - to help people. All people, irrespective of class." Ilchymis nudged his glasses up his nose a bit, and sighed. "I would like to come with you when you go to Valua, Vyse. I would like to return home."
Vyse smiled. "Of course, Ilchymis. You've never had to stay with us. Enrique will be happy to have you join him. Are you just setting up shop?"
"At first, I had thought to, yes... but I have decided that perhaps the best way to help a lot of people would be to set up a college. To teach, to pass on what I have learnt. If I can teach just ten people to heal properly... that could be ten times as many lives saved in the long run. I've felt this building up for a long time now, and I'm sure on it. I need to help my people again."
"You'll be missed, Ilchymis. Was there anything else?"
"No thank you... just that. I'll leave you to finish your packing." Ilchymis turned and walked towards the door. "Vyse, I... thank you."
"What's to be thanked for? You could have left any time, you don't need permission."
"No, I mean... for bringing me out of my solitude. I have a real chance to help people, to make an impact now. I never would have had that chance if it wasn't for your tenacity in persuading me to leave my island. So I thank you."
"Heh... you're welcome, Ilchymis."
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Ok, the last couple of chapters haven't had much happening, but I PROMISE the next one will have some action... the reason not much has happened recently is basically, I've been stalling. I'll admit it, I've not had a plan for this story. I had one once, but I lost it and forgot it, as there was an 8 month gap in the story or whatever it was. BUT, I've written one again, or at least an immediate one, that gets me back on track to the vague outline I'm carrying in my head. So the next update should, hopefully, be up pretty soon.
On a similar note, Sega have finally seen fit to answer my prayers and decide a release date for SoA:L in Europe (May 23rd). So, as this story is based on the original SoA, I would like to get this story out the way before that point in time - otherwise I'll end up going through this and trying to correct it all, and I don't want to. So I'll try my best to get this story written and out the way by that point, but I'm not making any promises on that - after all, I have got my A-Level exams coming up about the time SoA:L come's out (d'oh!), and suffice to say, they're pretty damn important, considering my getting into Uni depends on them.
Till next time,
Matt