Same disclaimer as always.
We took to the skies to shorten the trip to Donau. Along the way, Albert gave Kongol some lessons in English grammar. Fortunately for my mental health, the Giganto was a quick study. He was much more understandable by the time we got to Donau.
We were greeted by Commodore Puler, commanding officer of the Queen Fury. "Welcome! You deserve to be guests aboard my ship."
Dart shook his head. "We have the same objective: to pursue Lenus. There's no need to treat us as guests."
Puler smiled. "I like that. Come aboard whenever you're ready."
The Queen Fury, despite being the most advanced ship in this bizarre world, wasn't much to look at. It was steam powered, with three large smokestacks. The engine drove a pair of paddle wheels, one on each side of the ship. The main hull was covered in steel armor plate. The overall effect was utilitarian in the extreme, resulting in the only ship I've ever seen that was uglier than a cruise liner.
I spent most of the journey to Illisa Bay exploring the ship. It was much more impressive on the inside. I am glad to say that I did not get seasick, unlike poor Lavitz.
I ran into Kongol in the boiler room. "Hi, Kongol."
"Hello, Kyle."
I chuckled to myself.
The Giganto raised his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"
I shook my head. "I was thinking that your presence is something of an irony. The power of the Dragoon nearly killed you not once, but twice. Yet here you are, a friend to those who used that power, and a Dragoon yourself."
Kongol shrugged. "If there's one thing I've learned from traveling with Dart, it's that you can't predict the future."
Without warning, the ship rocked violently, spilling both of us to the deck. "What in blazes was that!?"
"Let's check it out."
We raced to the main deck, running into Krista and Albert along the way. The cause of our problems turned out to be a ghost ship.
Albert gazed at it thoughtfully. "There is a heraldry…This appears to be a royal ship of Mille Seseau."
Haschel came charging up. "Dart! I can't find Shana anywhere!"
"Eeeek!"
We jumped onto the ghost ship and found Shana sprawled on the deck, surrounded by broken skeletons.
"Shana! Are you all right?" Dart asked.
"Yes. I was attacked, but some knights protected me. Then they vanished."
Meru hopped up and down. "Well, we're here, so let's go on a tour!"
Dart shook his head. "No way!"
Shana got to her feet. "I want to go, too! I have to know."
Dart sighed. "All right, but be careful."
We cautiously explored the lower deck, fighting skeletons, ghosts, and monsters that defy description. The last group almost had us, but fell to Kongol's Grand Stream spell.
A ghost appeared in front of us. "Please come to the captain's cabin. I have a request," he said. Then he vanished.
Getting to the captain's cabin wasn't very difficult. With the destruction of the phantoms on the lower deck, the remaining ghosts weren't much of a threat. Once inside, the door shut by itself.
Meru looked up. "There's a portrait of a beautiful woman. She looks like the Queen of some country."
The ghost captain appeared out of nowhere. "Please help me!" He turned to face us. "He killed the crew…knights…me…and the newborn princess. Him…the Black Monster."
"What!? This was done by the Black Monster, too!?" Dart said in astonishment.
"We couldn't protect the princess, so we couldn't finish dying. Please destroy the fear, please send the souls of the knights to rest." He vanished with a cry of agony.
Dart clenched his fists. "It is impossible to fully die! He kills people for no reason!"
We left the cabin and returned to the main deck. There, a pair of ghost knights appeared, swords drawn.
"We won't give you Princess Louvia!" said one, and charged without effect.
The second one snarled, "We'll protect her even if it costs us our lives!" followed by another futile attack.
Dart cursed. "The Black Monster. How many does he have to kill before he satisfies himself!?"
"Stop it!"
We looked at Rose in surprise. She shook herself. "Sorry. What was I thinking?" She turned to Shana. "Let's go. You want to know, don't you?"
We entered what looked like a royal cabin, coming face to face with more ghost knights. They attacked, but quickly succumbed to Shana's White Silver Dragon. We passed into the next room, evidently a nursery. It looked as though nothing had been disturbed for eighteen years.
A ghost appeared and approached Shana. "You are…?" She looked closer. "Thank God, it was not in vain. I can now end everything. I can go to the place where everyone is." She vanished.
We soon had bigger things to worry about than a disappearing nanny--the ship started to sink. We hightailed it back to the Queen Fury. Most of us made it, but Dart and Rose weren't so fortunate. Dart slipped and nearly fell, but Rose grabbed on.
"Rose, let go! You gotta live!" Dart yelled.
"No, I won't let go! I will never let it happen again!"
What are you talking about?
I watched helplessly as they fell into the ocean. The waves swallowed them in an instant.
"Commodore Puler! Get the life raft!" Albert shouted.
I shook my head. "Too late. We'll just have to hope that they can swim to safety." I turned to Meru. "Please stay with Shana till we get to Fueno."
"Okay."
Fueno was less bustling than I would have expected of a port city. I soon found out why.
It seemed that a Dragon had appeared at the Prison Island six months previously. I was suspicious as this coincided both with Lenus joining the Gehrichs and Lloyd working for Emperor Doel. The path to the island was closed with a flood tide.
I got back to the hotel just in time to hear Haschel ask a rude question. They're alive!
I rushed forward. "Dart! Rose!!"
Dart grinned. "Hi, Kyle."
After the usual greetings, I got to my news. "We have problems. A Sea Dragon showed up at the Prison Island six months ago. I strongly suspect that Lloyd is at the bottom of it."
Lavitz groaned. "Oh, no, not another Dragon."
"I'm afraid so. We'll probably find Lenus there, too."
We left town and headed for the Undersea Cavern. As I had heard, the path we needed to take was closed by the tide.
Albert frowned. "It looks like we'll have to fly over. I hope--" He was cut off by a loud roar.
Rose gazed across the water. "So, the rumors of the Sea Dragon were true."
Meru was on her knees, shaking. "That is the Dragon's cry."
Rose looked at her. "I don't blame you for being frightened." This brought Meru to her feet.
"I'm not frightened!" she said, outraged. "A Dragon or two is nothing!"
"Don't be too confident," Krista warned. "Feyrbrand was nasty. This one will almost certainly be worse."
Dart cut off further debate. "Transform, everyone. We need to take out Lenus now."
When we got to the island, we saw Lenus talking to an all-too-familiar figure. The distance was great, but I recognized him anyway. Lloyd.
"Lloyd! Is this part of your plot!?" Dart demanded.
Lloyd shrugged. "My will is with Emperor Diaz. Namely, everything was planned by the god."
"You are still talking about that nonsense," Rose spat.
The other smirked. "I am the one who torched your home to the ground. I am the one who had Shana kidnapped, and I hold the Moon Gem and the Moon Dagger in my hands." He turned away. "You abhor me, don't you?"
"Lloyd!!"
He leaped over a ridge. "I am heading to Mille Seseau. Pursue me, if you can survive."
We moved to chase him, but Lenus stood in the way.
"Wait. It was nice of him to give you an invitation, but you gotta decline it." A light flashed, and she stood there as the Blue Sea Dragoon. "Because you will die in here!"
"Dragoons versus Lenus the Wingly, round two," I muttered. I transformed, and prepared for battle.
Once again, Albert made the first move. "Rose Storm!"
This fight was more complicated than our previous encounter, due to the presence of Regole, the Blue Sea Dragon. More like an eel than a Dragon in appearance, Regole was nonetheless a very dangerous enemy. Its first attack was a giant tidal wave.
I shook off the effects of the wave, then replied with a Fire spell. "Final Burst!"
We fought for nearly three hours, killing Regole and bringing Lenus to her knees, but she had one trick left.
She straitened. "Lloyd. My life…is for you!" She hurled her twin blades, then fell to the ground. Shana knocked Dart out of the way of one, while he struck the other to the ground with his sword.
Lenus lay on the floor of the cave. "Lloyd…" She closed her eyes. Then, as had happened with Greham and Doel, she began to glow, the Dragoon Spirit leaving for a new master.
Rose was visibly surprised at its choice. "Meru?"
The dancer looked perplexed. "Does this mean…that I'm a Dragoon, too?"
I smiled. "Welcome, Dragoon of the Blue Sea Dragon."
Meru immediately started jumping around with excitement, almost knocking me over. "This is so cool!"
I waved the others on. "You guys go ahead. I'll guide her through her first transformation." I looked at Meru. "Now, Meru, focus on your Dragoon Spirit. It will probably be a little draining at first, but you'll get used to it."
She complied, and was briefly covered in ice. The ice shattered, revealing Meru in her new armor. Her Dragoon was noticeably different from the others. The armor looked like someone had taken a blue one-piece swimsuit and added Dragon wings, gloves, and ankle boots.
I raised my eyebrows. "Not bad. Now let's try magic. If I recall correctly, that should be your strong point."
"Okay." She spun in a circle, creating a ring of ice. "Freezing Ring!"
"Well done. We'd better get back to Fueno, or we'll miss the boat."
Once back in Fletz, we saw the real Princess Emille make her first public appearance in six months. She apologized for all the trouble, but the people assured her that it wasn't her fault.
Albert looked entranced. "Thank you for bringing me to the country of Princess Emille," he murmured.
"I think he's in love, don't you?" Krista whispered. I nodded silently.
We proceeded directly to the Chamber of the Sun. I was somewhat nervous, as Lloyd had escaped with the Moon Dagger. The wrath of a king is not pleasant.
Zior soon dispelled my fears. "Welcome, Dart and friends! We are glad to see you alive and well."
Dart looked puzzled. "But, we couldn't retrieve the Moon Dagger."
The king shook his head. "Don't worry about it. The Moon Dagger is a mere royal tradition. You brought back Emille, and defeated the Sea Dragon. That is enough. There will be a banquet in your honor tonight."
Meru perked up. "A banquet? Is that like a party?"
"Meru! Be respectful!" Shana scolded.
Zior laughed. "It's all right. Yes, a banquet is a party of a sort."
We thanked him, then I went for a walk by myself. The castle seemed much more cheerful than when we had last visited. The knights were less antsy, thanks no doubt to Emille's return.
One said to me, "It is so good to have the real Emille back. She is so much sweeter than the imposter."
"The imposter is dead, so you can rest easy," I replied.
About an hour later, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. "Kyle?"
"What's up, Dart?"
"It's time for the party," he said.
"All right. I'll be right there."
The party was held in the Chamber of the Sun. I leaned back against a wall and watched the events in peace. I nearly laughed my head off when Meru dragged Dart onto the floor for a dance. The look on his face was priceless.
I let my eyes wander around the room. Meru kept dancing, Haschel was cornered by two chatty women, Kongol stood off alone, Albert spoke with Emille (no surprise there), and Lavitz stayed near Albert. There was no sign of Rose or Shana.
Krista came up to me. "Nice party, isn't it?"
I shrugged. "If you're into such things, I guess."
She playfully slapped my shoulder. "You're hopeless!"
I turned away. "Whatever. I'm going to bed."
"Goodnight, Kyle."
Author's note: Hope you like it so far. Remember this is an A.U. fic, so not everything happens the way it does in the game. D.S.
