Author's Note: O_o Romance? Erm... well... *cough* *scratches back of neck*
I dunno. Maybe. If so, I think Rayen's a little too old for Aquaria, and a
little too serious. He'd probably bore her. O_o
Oh, and if you read the last chapter, you SHOULD (keyword right there) know that the Dragon Block Staff shatters after every use. Therefore, unless you managed to collect all the pieces and take them to a convienently located Grand Red-Eye Dragon to fix it, you don't have the staff. Anyway, you can't have it, because I've got the gem. *holds it up as evidence* It's mine, to use in all of my psychotic magic rituals. So there.
About the whole minion thing, I serve no one. No offense, but I just look out for myself, thank you very much. So I'm going to make them all my army of super-cool minions anyway. *enslaves them all with author magic*
Dart, Lavitz, Albert, Rose, Locke, Shadow, Sabin, Cloud, Vincent, Crono, Frog, Ayla, Marth, Roy, Link, Alphonse, Rictor, and Elrik: -_-
Chapter 38
The next day, the six were back in the library, searching thoroughly but finding little. Most of it was all the same; the history of the Dragoons told slightly different in each book. They found almost nothing that wasn't common knowledge, and what useful information they did find was mostly speculation, with little or no factual basis.
Rayen's patience was slowly slipping away. He shut the ancient tome a little harder than necessary, and sighed. "Damn it, this is getting us nowhere!"
That was when the explosion rocked the palace. The library was one of the public wings of the palace complex, and the resulting tremor was enough to rock the Dragoons off their feet, falling to the ground, immediately followed by several rows of books. Rayen was the first to rise. He knew what was happening, he had suspicions of it for a long time, even before the Dragons had returned to Endiness. But he had pushed those dark premonitions to the back of his mind, not truly understanding the power of his instincts.
He shouted above the clamor. "Kyra! Take us to the throne room!"
The Wingly sprang to her feet and shook her mane of platinum hair. "But what about Phil and Aquaria?"
Rayen was already preparing the Dragon Buster and his Dragoon Spirit as he replied. "There's no time to wait for them! NOW!"
Kyra nodded, and they vanished. When they appeared in the throne room, Rayen's worst fears were confirmed. A gigantic hole was punched through the stone of the back wall, which must have been the cause of the convulsion, and the entrance of the perpetrator. The Divine Dragoon stood there, his hand planted in the King of Serdio's back. With a jerk, he withdrew his fist, in which was clenched a glittering sphere.
The Moon Gem.
Rayen's cry of rage echoed throughout the regal chamber even as he transformed and charged at the demonic facsimile of a human. But his onrushing blitz was halted as he saw the figure raise his cannon to the ceiling.
"I wouldn't advise going any further. After all, you goody-two-shoe types wouldn't want this magnificent building to crash down upon your ears, would you?"
Rage surged through Rayen's already adrenaline-pumped body, but he could do nothing.
The Divine Dragon Knight smirked in satisfaction. "Yes, that's what I thought. However, I must keep you busy for a little while."
He fired the cannon at the ceiling, exited through the way he came, and then all hell broke loose. Rayen threw himself in front of the beam, using his magic to create a shield. Even with the cushion of sorcery, he felt the enormous power of the oncoming spell slowly sapping his energy.
Rayen yelled as loud as he could to the other Dragoons on the chamber floor. "A little help right about now would come in very handy, if you all don't mind!"
Shade, Dawn, Kyra, and Oraeus all focused their magical resources on the shield, fortifying it as much as they could. Because the blast was hurried, most likely to give the Divine Dragoon time to escape the imminent collapse of the palace, the shield was able to outlast the Divine Dragon Cannon, and Rayen glided slowly to the ground, his armor fading in a flash of crimson radiance. Despite their preventing any harm to the structure or anyone contained within it, they had still failed. The Divine Dragoon had gotten away with the Moon Gem. Rayen slid the Dragon's skull from his hand, and hurled it against the stone wall in a futile attempt to express his frustration. "DAMN!"
"Rayen, don't! You'll break it!"
Rayen was too consumed in his fury to even figure out who had spoken, and he didn't particularly feel that it was relevant. He knew that no blow he could inflict on the Dragon Buster would cause it to so much as crack. The culprit was now after the Divine Moon artifacts, and Rayen was not sure they could stop him. But Rayen was far more troubled by the villain's motives. With the Moon that Never Sets resting in a pile of rubble, the Moon Prophecy could never be revived again. Or could it? Does he want to revive the God of Destruction, or does he have some other objective in mind?
Rayen turned to the King and spoke graciously. "I don't mean to sound impudent, Your Majesty, but we need you to pen a letter to both the King of Tiberoa and the Queen of Millie Seaseu immediately. The fate of Endiness may rest on it."
The King nodded. "If not for your efforts, I would be resting under several tons of rock. I will carry out your wish. I shall be finished in a few moments."
Rayen spoke to the group. "All right, let's discuss tactics. We don't know whether he's headed for Fletz or Deningrad. So we split up. Dawn, Phil, Sean and I will head for Fletz with the Dragon Buster, while Oraeus, Kyra, Shade, and Aquaria will head to Deningrad. As soon as we figure out where he's going, Kyra will bring the other group there. We'll relay the message telepathically via the Dragons. Anyone have any problems with that?"
There was no answer.
"Good."
Phil raised his hand at this point. "Yeah, I've got a question. Considering the King isn't dead, how did you manage to get it into your head that you were crowned Lord and Dictator Over All Us Pathetic Mortals?"
Rayen's patience was already stretched very thin by the incident, and it took a supreme effort of will to prevent himself from throttling Phil. "Until YOU decide to start taking charge and lead us off a cliff or wherever, Phil, I suggest you shut your fucking mouth and maybe we can save the world."
Phil grinned. "Boy, Rayen, I guess you're just not in the mood today, are you? Must be that time of the month again..."
Rayen sighed and smacked his forehead, but his exasperation did not stop him from joining in on the laughter. "I fell right into that one, didn't I?"
Phil nodded. Just then, the king returned to the chamber, two sealed parchment envelopes in his hand, which he gave to Rayen. With a quick thanks, the Dragoons teleported away.
************************************************************************
Rayen stood on the fortifications of the Twin Castle, staring out at the city below, and more importantly, the horizon. Kyra and the others had left several minutes ago. He took a long drink from the soda can that sat on the stone railing beside him. The Fire Dragon Knight kept a solemn vigil over the citadel, ignoring the passersby who were examining him with haughty disdain. He kept one hand in each pocket, fingering both his Dragoon Spirit and the Dragon Buster, both of which he had to keep concealed. If he could keep his weapons out in the open, you would not see him with his hands in his pockets. But this was irrelevant at the moment.
Suddenly, he spotted a mere speck in the distance. Yes, there could be no mistaking it. Nothing else could travel that rapidly. The Divine Dragoon was headed for Fletz, the Moon Dagger in his sights. He would reach the castle in half an hour at most. Rayen reached out to the presence of Samovar in his mind, sending his message along to the other group. They would need everyone here for this battle. This would be the crucial struggle. If he defeated the Dragoons here, they would probably not be alive to defend Deningrad.
He pulled the Spirit and the Dragon skull from his pockets. There was no need for secrecy any longer. Everyone in Endiness would watch this battle; it was inevitable that their identities would become public at this point.
"Show time."
Oh, and if you read the last chapter, you SHOULD (keyword right there) know that the Dragon Block Staff shatters after every use. Therefore, unless you managed to collect all the pieces and take them to a convienently located Grand Red-Eye Dragon to fix it, you don't have the staff. Anyway, you can't have it, because I've got the gem. *holds it up as evidence* It's mine, to use in all of my psychotic magic rituals. So there.
About the whole minion thing, I serve no one. No offense, but I just look out for myself, thank you very much. So I'm going to make them all my army of super-cool minions anyway. *enslaves them all with author magic*
Dart, Lavitz, Albert, Rose, Locke, Shadow, Sabin, Cloud, Vincent, Crono, Frog, Ayla, Marth, Roy, Link, Alphonse, Rictor, and Elrik: -_-
Chapter 38
The next day, the six were back in the library, searching thoroughly but finding little. Most of it was all the same; the history of the Dragoons told slightly different in each book. They found almost nothing that wasn't common knowledge, and what useful information they did find was mostly speculation, with little or no factual basis.
Rayen's patience was slowly slipping away. He shut the ancient tome a little harder than necessary, and sighed. "Damn it, this is getting us nowhere!"
That was when the explosion rocked the palace. The library was one of the public wings of the palace complex, and the resulting tremor was enough to rock the Dragoons off their feet, falling to the ground, immediately followed by several rows of books. Rayen was the first to rise. He knew what was happening, he had suspicions of it for a long time, even before the Dragons had returned to Endiness. But he had pushed those dark premonitions to the back of his mind, not truly understanding the power of his instincts.
He shouted above the clamor. "Kyra! Take us to the throne room!"
The Wingly sprang to her feet and shook her mane of platinum hair. "But what about Phil and Aquaria?"
Rayen was already preparing the Dragon Buster and his Dragoon Spirit as he replied. "There's no time to wait for them! NOW!"
Kyra nodded, and they vanished. When they appeared in the throne room, Rayen's worst fears were confirmed. A gigantic hole was punched through the stone of the back wall, which must have been the cause of the convulsion, and the entrance of the perpetrator. The Divine Dragoon stood there, his hand planted in the King of Serdio's back. With a jerk, he withdrew his fist, in which was clenched a glittering sphere.
The Moon Gem.
Rayen's cry of rage echoed throughout the regal chamber even as he transformed and charged at the demonic facsimile of a human. But his onrushing blitz was halted as he saw the figure raise his cannon to the ceiling.
"I wouldn't advise going any further. After all, you goody-two-shoe types wouldn't want this magnificent building to crash down upon your ears, would you?"
Rage surged through Rayen's already adrenaline-pumped body, but he could do nothing.
The Divine Dragon Knight smirked in satisfaction. "Yes, that's what I thought. However, I must keep you busy for a little while."
He fired the cannon at the ceiling, exited through the way he came, and then all hell broke loose. Rayen threw himself in front of the beam, using his magic to create a shield. Even with the cushion of sorcery, he felt the enormous power of the oncoming spell slowly sapping his energy.
Rayen yelled as loud as he could to the other Dragoons on the chamber floor. "A little help right about now would come in very handy, if you all don't mind!"
Shade, Dawn, Kyra, and Oraeus all focused their magical resources on the shield, fortifying it as much as they could. Because the blast was hurried, most likely to give the Divine Dragoon time to escape the imminent collapse of the palace, the shield was able to outlast the Divine Dragon Cannon, and Rayen glided slowly to the ground, his armor fading in a flash of crimson radiance. Despite their preventing any harm to the structure or anyone contained within it, they had still failed. The Divine Dragoon had gotten away with the Moon Gem. Rayen slid the Dragon's skull from his hand, and hurled it against the stone wall in a futile attempt to express his frustration. "DAMN!"
"Rayen, don't! You'll break it!"
Rayen was too consumed in his fury to even figure out who had spoken, and he didn't particularly feel that it was relevant. He knew that no blow he could inflict on the Dragon Buster would cause it to so much as crack. The culprit was now after the Divine Moon artifacts, and Rayen was not sure they could stop him. But Rayen was far more troubled by the villain's motives. With the Moon that Never Sets resting in a pile of rubble, the Moon Prophecy could never be revived again. Or could it? Does he want to revive the God of Destruction, or does he have some other objective in mind?
Rayen turned to the King and spoke graciously. "I don't mean to sound impudent, Your Majesty, but we need you to pen a letter to both the King of Tiberoa and the Queen of Millie Seaseu immediately. The fate of Endiness may rest on it."
The King nodded. "If not for your efforts, I would be resting under several tons of rock. I will carry out your wish. I shall be finished in a few moments."
Rayen spoke to the group. "All right, let's discuss tactics. We don't know whether he's headed for Fletz or Deningrad. So we split up. Dawn, Phil, Sean and I will head for Fletz with the Dragon Buster, while Oraeus, Kyra, Shade, and Aquaria will head to Deningrad. As soon as we figure out where he's going, Kyra will bring the other group there. We'll relay the message telepathically via the Dragons. Anyone have any problems with that?"
There was no answer.
"Good."
Phil raised his hand at this point. "Yeah, I've got a question. Considering the King isn't dead, how did you manage to get it into your head that you were crowned Lord and Dictator Over All Us Pathetic Mortals?"
Rayen's patience was already stretched very thin by the incident, and it took a supreme effort of will to prevent himself from throttling Phil. "Until YOU decide to start taking charge and lead us off a cliff or wherever, Phil, I suggest you shut your fucking mouth and maybe we can save the world."
Phil grinned. "Boy, Rayen, I guess you're just not in the mood today, are you? Must be that time of the month again..."
Rayen sighed and smacked his forehead, but his exasperation did not stop him from joining in on the laughter. "I fell right into that one, didn't I?"
Phil nodded. Just then, the king returned to the chamber, two sealed parchment envelopes in his hand, which he gave to Rayen. With a quick thanks, the Dragoons teleported away.
************************************************************************
Rayen stood on the fortifications of the Twin Castle, staring out at the city below, and more importantly, the horizon. Kyra and the others had left several minutes ago. He took a long drink from the soda can that sat on the stone railing beside him. The Fire Dragon Knight kept a solemn vigil over the citadel, ignoring the passersby who were examining him with haughty disdain. He kept one hand in each pocket, fingering both his Dragoon Spirit and the Dragon Buster, both of which he had to keep concealed. If he could keep his weapons out in the open, you would not see him with his hands in his pockets. But this was irrelevant at the moment.
Suddenly, he spotted a mere speck in the distance. Yes, there could be no mistaking it. Nothing else could travel that rapidly. The Divine Dragoon was headed for Fletz, the Moon Dagger in his sights. He would reach the castle in half an hour at most. Rayen reached out to the presence of Samovar in his mind, sending his message along to the other group. They would need everyone here for this battle. This would be the crucial struggle. If he defeated the Dragoons here, they would probably not be alive to defend Deningrad.
He pulled the Spirit and the Dragon skull from his pockets. There was no need for secrecy any longer. Everyone in Endiness would watch this battle; it was inevitable that their identities would become public at this point.
"Show time."