Author's Note: Ah. OK. It makes sense now. Does this mean I can gather all
of my favorite characters from my favorite games, enslave them all, and
make them my army of minions? Pleeeeeeeeease?
Chapter 37
The light of the Divine Dragon Cannon faded, and the air was filled with laughter.
To everyone's surprise, including his own, the laughter was not coming from the new Divine Dragoon.
Rayen stood, totally unharmed, his head titled back in an uproar of mirth. "You fool. Have you forgotten in your arrogance? The enchantment of the Dragon Block Staff still rests over this place. Your flashy spells are useless here. You couldn't kill a newborn kitten with that magic."
The demon stood there, his fists clenched in fury, obviously searching for a final threat to hurl at the Dragoons, but finding none. Settling for a malevolent glance, he took off, his many wings beating rhythmically. Rayen watched him until he was a mere speck along the horizon, then turned to the others.
Sean hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "OK, we've killed the Divine Dragon, so what now? We chase after that bastard and kill him too, right?"
Rayen shook his head. "No. Even though he's inexperienced, he's still stronger than all of us together. The Dragon Block Staff was the only thing that saved me."
Sean looked puzzled at that statement. "Well, if we're not going to deal with him, then what's next?"
Rayen thought for a moment. "I think we should read up on a few things."
Phil grimaced. "What for? We don't have English class anymore, we ducked out of school."
Rayen sighed. "Believe it or not, Phil, some people actually read because they want to. However, I was thinking we could look at some of the old books about Dragoons. Maybe we'd find something there we didn't know. While we're looking for that, we might find out more about what that thing is, and more importantly, how to kill him."
Phil shrugged. "Fine. But where are we headed?"
Rayen rolled his eyes. "Well, let's think here for a moment, however unaccustomed you may be to that concept. Where's a place with a whole lot of books?"
Phil raised and lowered his shoulders once more. "The Serdian National Library in Bale?"
Rayen clapped sarcastically. "Very good!"
Phil frowned. "OK, it's not funny any more."
"Suit yourself. Kyra?"
The Wingly nodded, and the group disappeared.
(Heh, heh. Silly people, you forgot about the Dragon Block Staff, didn't you? Shame, shame.)
************************************************************************
Several hours later, they stood among the Ancient History Section, leafing through huge tomes, wading through the endless sea of information, searching for something they could actually use.
The Sea Dragoon soon tired of this, however, and she slammed her book shut, sending a cloud of dust spiraling into the air. "I'm bored!"
Rayen gritted his teeth in irritation. Maybe Phil was right when they had first found her in Furni. Rayen could certainly see how a long period of time around this girl could grate on someone's nerves. He looked pleadingly at the Jade Dragoon, who nodded. He was obviously bored of this work as well, and never being a literature buff at any point, he silently agreed to take the over-energetic Sea Dragoon off the others' hands.
Phil spoke to the Sea Dragoon. "I am too. Let's go somewhere else. Is that all right with you, oh fearless leader?"
Rayen countered Phil's sarcastic inquiry with a biting response of his own. "As much as I'd like for you obtain something higher than a seventh grade vocabulary, go ahead."
"That was cold."
"I know. Fun, though."
Phil merely shot Rayen a dark look, then turned once more to the Water Dragoon. "You never told us your name."
"That's right, I didn't. I'm Aquaria!"
"That sounds familiar..."
Shade looked up from the yellowed pages he was examining. "Aqua. Water, in other words. How appropriate."
Phil nodded, and the two left, leaving the other six alone.
Rayen let out a sigh of relief. "Now maybe we can find something useful."
Dawn spoke up in excitement. "I think I've got something! It looks like a picture of that black thing that took the Divine Dragoon Spirit. It says, 'These enigmatic creatures have been seen all over Endiness in all time periods, although sightings of them have been rare. Some call them demons, sent by infernal powers to destroy Endiness. Others believe they are spirits, haunting battlefields where many have died in the past, for the sightings of these mysterious beings appear to increase during times of war. Still others are convinced they are a reincarnation of the Black Monster, the creature that lived for 11 millenia, destroying the Moon Child every 108 years to prevent the Moon Prophecy, which turned out to be the Dark Dragoon known as Rose. Not much is known of these creatures save that they are roughly humanoid, with crimson eyes. While historians have made many speculatons toward the nature of these puzzling entities, nothing has been proven as fact.'"
Rayen considered that excerpt for a moment. "Well, it's a start, but it's pretty inconclusive. It doesn't really tell us anything. But keep looking through that book, maybe it will say more."
After a few more hours, and very little luck, the Dragoons and Sean were willing to call it a night. Finally locating Phil and Aquaria, who miraculously had not managed to annihilate the city during their absence, they found a nearby hotel, and rented several rooms for the night. The men slept in two different rooms, while the girls had a room of their own. (So none of that three people, two beds stuff. This isn't a humor fic. .)
Sean had trouble sleeping that night. He sat up in bed. "Rayen?"
Rayen, who had taken the second bed (Phil, after losing the sparring match, was sleeping on the couch.), rolled over. "Yeah?"
Sean exhaled, then spoke again. "Something's been bothering me. What if we let that guy go, and then he kills some more people?"
Rayen admitted that the thought had been eating at him as well. "Well, if we had chased after him, we'd probably end up dead as well. Then he'd just go kill people anyway, and there'd be nobody to stop him. It wouldn't solve anything. We're better off biding our time, at least for now."
"Yeah, I suppose..."
Rayen could tell the orphan wasn't comforted by the thought. Quite frankly, he wasn't very consoled himself.
Author's Note: Whee, short chapter, even for me. I finally gave the Sea Dragoon a name, which took me forever (Namer's block?). I know not much happened in this one, but I was basically setting the story up for the next chapter, which will be more exciting. I promise.
Chapter 37
The light of the Divine Dragon Cannon faded, and the air was filled with laughter.
To everyone's surprise, including his own, the laughter was not coming from the new Divine Dragoon.
Rayen stood, totally unharmed, his head titled back in an uproar of mirth. "You fool. Have you forgotten in your arrogance? The enchantment of the Dragon Block Staff still rests over this place. Your flashy spells are useless here. You couldn't kill a newborn kitten with that magic."
The demon stood there, his fists clenched in fury, obviously searching for a final threat to hurl at the Dragoons, but finding none. Settling for a malevolent glance, he took off, his many wings beating rhythmically. Rayen watched him until he was a mere speck along the horizon, then turned to the others.
Sean hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "OK, we've killed the Divine Dragon, so what now? We chase after that bastard and kill him too, right?"
Rayen shook his head. "No. Even though he's inexperienced, he's still stronger than all of us together. The Dragon Block Staff was the only thing that saved me."
Sean looked puzzled at that statement. "Well, if we're not going to deal with him, then what's next?"
Rayen thought for a moment. "I think we should read up on a few things."
Phil grimaced. "What for? We don't have English class anymore, we ducked out of school."
Rayen sighed. "Believe it or not, Phil, some people actually read because they want to. However, I was thinking we could look at some of the old books about Dragoons. Maybe we'd find something there we didn't know. While we're looking for that, we might find out more about what that thing is, and more importantly, how to kill him."
Phil shrugged. "Fine. But where are we headed?"
Rayen rolled his eyes. "Well, let's think here for a moment, however unaccustomed you may be to that concept. Where's a place with a whole lot of books?"
Phil raised and lowered his shoulders once more. "The Serdian National Library in Bale?"
Rayen clapped sarcastically. "Very good!"
Phil frowned. "OK, it's not funny any more."
"Suit yourself. Kyra?"
The Wingly nodded, and the group disappeared.
(Heh, heh. Silly people, you forgot about the Dragon Block Staff, didn't you? Shame, shame.)
************************************************************************
Several hours later, they stood among the Ancient History Section, leafing through huge tomes, wading through the endless sea of information, searching for something they could actually use.
The Sea Dragoon soon tired of this, however, and she slammed her book shut, sending a cloud of dust spiraling into the air. "I'm bored!"
Rayen gritted his teeth in irritation. Maybe Phil was right when they had first found her in Furni. Rayen could certainly see how a long period of time around this girl could grate on someone's nerves. He looked pleadingly at the Jade Dragoon, who nodded. He was obviously bored of this work as well, and never being a literature buff at any point, he silently agreed to take the over-energetic Sea Dragoon off the others' hands.
Phil spoke to the Sea Dragoon. "I am too. Let's go somewhere else. Is that all right with you, oh fearless leader?"
Rayen countered Phil's sarcastic inquiry with a biting response of his own. "As much as I'd like for you obtain something higher than a seventh grade vocabulary, go ahead."
"That was cold."
"I know. Fun, though."
Phil merely shot Rayen a dark look, then turned once more to the Water Dragoon. "You never told us your name."
"That's right, I didn't. I'm Aquaria!"
"That sounds familiar..."
Shade looked up from the yellowed pages he was examining. "Aqua. Water, in other words. How appropriate."
Phil nodded, and the two left, leaving the other six alone.
Rayen let out a sigh of relief. "Now maybe we can find something useful."
Dawn spoke up in excitement. "I think I've got something! It looks like a picture of that black thing that took the Divine Dragoon Spirit. It says, 'These enigmatic creatures have been seen all over Endiness in all time periods, although sightings of them have been rare. Some call them demons, sent by infernal powers to destroy Endiness. Others believe they are spirits, haunting battlefields where many have died in the past, for the sightings of these mysterious beings appear to increase during times of war. Still others are convinced they are a reincarnation of the Black Monster, the creature that lived for 11 millenia, destroying the Moon Child every 108 years to prevent the Moon Prophecy, which turned out to be the Dark Dragoon known as Rose. Not much is known of these creatures save that they are roughly humanoid, with crimson eyes. While historians have made many speculatons toward the nature of these puzzling entities, nothing has been proven as fact.'"
Rayen considered that excerpt for a moment. "Well, it's a start, but it's pretty inconclusive. It doesn't really tell us anything. But keep looking through that book, maybe it will say more."
After a few more hours, and very little luck, the Dragoons and Sean were willing to call it a night. Finally locating Phil and Aquaria, who miraculously had not managed to annihilate the city during their absence, they found a nearby hotel, and rented several rooms for the night. The men slept in two different rooms, while the girls had a room of their own. (So none of that three people, two beds stuff. This isn't a humor fic. .)
Sean had trouble sleeping that night. He sat up in bed. "Rayen?"
Rayen, who had taken the second bed (Phil, after losing the sparring match, was sleeping on the couch.), rolled over. "Yeah?"
Sean exhaled, then spoke again. "Something's been bothering me. What if we let that guy go, and then he kills some more people?"
Rayen admitted that the thought had been eating at him as well. "Well, if we had chased after him, we'd probably end up dead as well. Then he'd just go kill people anyway, and there'd be nobody to stop him. It wouldn't solve anything. We're better off biding our time, at least for now."
"Yeah, I suppose..."
Rayen could tell the orphan wasn't comforted by the thought. Quite frankly, he wasn't very consoled himself.
Author's Note: Whee, short chapter, even for me. I finally gave the Sea Dragoon a name, which took me forever (Namer's block?). I know not much happened in this one, but I was basically setting the story up for the next chapter, which will be more exciting. I promise.