Author's Note: *eye twitch* I update, and three days later I'm pushed to
#16. Erg. Do you have any idea how irritating that is?
Yes, there WILL be some character development after this chapter. There will be some stuff on Shade (Yeah, I know I've done a lot on him, but he's just so much fun to develop, because there were TEN YEARS that nobody knows about.), some on Oraeus (I was about to get to him anyway.), some on Dawn, and maybe some on Kyra or Nieva, I'm not sure yet. The only character I might have a problem developing is Aquaria, because she's so young. She's only fifteen, and unless I think up something crazy that happened to her when she was really little, there's not much to say about her. Although I could have her reflect on Furni before the Divine Dragon totalled it...
Chapter 43
A few moments after the Divine Dragoon escaped with Sean, the fellowship was assembled, powering through the air after the villain, with their Dragons in tow. Nieva was sitting astride Balaeris. They were within a few miles of the Divine Dragoon, and they could see him clearly against the azure sky. A large shadow loomed in the distance. Rayen examined it closely. "He's heading for the Divine Tree!"
Phil ignored the wind rushing through his ears. "Why would he want to go there?"
Rayen shielded his eyes against the glaring light of the sun with his hand. "Obviously, he needs to be there to use the Moon Objects."
The six-winged silhouette reached the Divine Tree and stopped, hovering in the air. He laid the unconscious body of Sean among the branches. He appeared to rummage through his armor, apparently looking for something. The distance between the Dragoons and the tree closed, and Rayen could see him pull out the three Moon Objects. "We need to go faster!"
Then the Divine Dragoon did something very odd. He held the Moon Mirror up in the air, where it hung, suspended. He did the same with the Moon Gem, but slightly lower and at a different angle. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then the Dragoons stopped dead. A spot in the heavens, where the Moon that Never Sets had been destroyed more than a thousand years ago, suddenly glowed black, and a beam of darkness shot from the stellar anomaly. The beam was reflected off the surface of the Moon Mirror, and struck the Moon Gem.
The gem acted as sort of a filter for the blackness, and a beam of transparent light projected from the Moon Gem onto the back of the prone Moon Child. An area on Sean's illuminated back was discolored from the rest, pulsing with a white luminescence. With a smirk of triumph, the Divine Dragoon shoved the Moon Dagger into the shining point. Sean uttered a hoarse cry as the Divine Dragoon withdrew the relic, the crystalline blade stained crimson with his blood. There was a blinding flash, and all of the Dragoons looked to the sky, with an oppressive sense of evil hanging on their shoulders.
At first, nothing appeared to be happening. Then, the skies about the Divine Tree began to shift. A small hole opened in the air above the Divine Tree. It slowly started to grow larger, and electricity crackled at its edges. But it stopped after a while, and hung in the air, lightning bolts dancing around it.
Phil raised an eyebrow. "That's it? A hole in the atmosphere? It's not even big. You'd think there would be a gigantic soul-sucking monster or something."
Dawn carried Sean's limp body from the Divine Tree's branches, healing his wound. But the Divine Dragoon merely chuckled and spoke, his voice echoing like a death knoll. "The portal will take a few days to fully open. Healing the Moon Child's wound will do nothing. The damage has been done. Soon, this world will be planted firmly beneath our feet, and then we will finally achieve Soa's will and destroy every trace of life on this ball of mud you call Endiness."
Rayen slipped the Dragon Buster onto his left hand, the yellow flaming blade bursting into radiant life. Drawing his own sword, he turned to the Divine Dragoon. "Whatever is coming out of that hole, you won't be around to welcome it."
Kyra crossed her arms in indignation. "Wait. You're not going to try to fight him alone again, are you? He already beat you twice, we need to do this as a..."
But the Wingly's words were lost on the Red-Eye, who was already soaring towards the Divine Dragoon, both swords at the ready. "He can't be serious."
Phil smirked. "You don't seem to get it, Kyra. He's always serious."
The Divine Dragoon seemed more than willing for a fight, and the black sword was in his hands in a blink of an eye. Blades clashed, and the battle begun. The Divine Dragoon's large weapon was more than able to parry both of Rayen's weapons at once, but he was continually dancing around the reach of the Dragon Buster. He obviously knew that a single nick from the Wingly blade could spell disaster. Spinning the black sword with surprising agility, he managed to parry all of Rayen's stokes single-handedly.
Deciding to use his free hand to his advantage, a short blast from the cannon sent Rayen's sword spiraling from his grasp. Rayen was unfazed, however, slashing out at the Divine Dragoon with the Dragon Buster. The Divine Dragoon dodged, and was met heartily by a blazing projectile that detonated and sent him slamming into the Divine Tree. The Red-Eye made the most of this delay by retrieving his weapon.
The battle raged on, neither side appearing to gain the upper hand. Finally, the Divine Dragoon went on the warpath. Slashing and spinning his weapon, he weaved in and out, always forcing Rayen to follow his movements. Rayen had no trouble parrying with his two weapons, but soon the Divine Dragoon started using his cannon as well, which made defense a great deal more complicated. He was knocked to the ground by a particularly well-aimed blast, and the Divine Dragoon was there in a flash, raising his sword to impale the Red-Eye. Rayen slammed his foot into the Divine Dragoon's stomach, and then hit him with another fireball, and was up on his feet, ready for the next round.
Now the Divine Dragoon was tiring. He had been fighting constantly on very little rest, and his fatigue was starting to show. Finally, Rayen saw his chance. The Divine Dragoon came in with an overhead blow, and Rayen crossed his blades to block the strike. Swinging in with his own sword to draw away the Divine Dragoon's weapon, he thrusted in with the Dragon Buster, feeling a rush of triumph as it slid through armor and into flesh.
The Divine Dragoon hissed in pain and alarm, but even more surprising was the deactivation of his armor. The Divine Dragon was fickle, and he saw no point in continuing to assist this warrior he deemed unworthy for the possession of his Spirit. So the Spirit abandoned the villain, leaving him to his fate. The stone fell towards the ground below.
However, whatever had taken control of the man behind the return of the Dragons was not so willing to give up. He made himself as aerodynamic as possible, shooting downwards in an attempt to recapture the Spirit. If he could not reclaim it, all would be lost.
The remainder of the group watched from a distance, but one of them refused to remain idle. Sean, his consciousness regained, broke away from the cluster of Dragoons, sprinting with all his strength towards the plummeting Spirit. He dove, snatching the Spirit away from the possessed man's grasping fingers. The next thing he felt was a surge of adrenaline, and then he felt six wings sprout from his back.
Then Sean realized what was happening, and he turned to the former Divine Dragoon with a smirk of triumph on his face. As energy was sucked into the cannon, the new Divine Dragoon uttered a single word. "Mine."
Then the beam shot forth, and the black creature and the man it possessed were disintegrated.
Rayen, however, was preoccupied with something else. A strange glow was emitting from the Divine Tree, and the same light suddenly surrounded Rayen. He floated up into the air, staring in bewilderment at the shrinking ground below. All the Dragoons rushed to assist him, but they were too late. Rayen disappeared in a flash.
Something clattered to the earth, and Nieva stooped over to examine it. "It's his Dragoon Spirit."
She touched it, and it burst into crimson radiance. She turned to the others, puzzled. "What does this mean?"
Oraeus hesitated before answering. "It means that the Red-Eye Dragoon Spirit has moved on..."
Shade spoke aloud what the others dared not think. "And THAT means he's not coming back."
Author's Note: Whee, confusing chappy! How can there be a Moon Child with no Moon? What's coming out of that portal? And what the hell happened to Rayen? Guess what? You people don't get to find out for a few more chapters, 'cause coming up next is more character development! Ha! Evil me.
Yes, there WILL be some character development after this chapter. There will be some stuff on Shade (Yeah, I know I've done a lot on him, but he's just so much fun to develop, because there were TEN YEARS that nobody knows about.), some on Oraeus (I was about to get to him anyway.), some on Dawn, and maybe some on Kyra or Nieva, I'm not sure yet. The only character I might have a problem developing is Aquaria, because she's so young. She's only fifteen, and unless I think up something crazy that happened to her when she was really little, there's not much to say about her. Although I could have her reflect on Furni before the Divine Dragon totalled it...
Chapter 43
A few moments after the Divine Dragoon escaped with Sean, the fellowship was assembled, powering through the air after the villain, with their Dragons in tow. Nieva was sitting astride Balaeris. They were within a few miles of the Divine Dragoon, and they could see him clearly against the azure sky. A large shadow loomed in the distance. Rayen examined it closely. "He's heading for the Divine Tree!"
Phil ignored the wind rushing through his ears. "Why would he want to go there?"
Rayen shielded his eyes against the glaring light of the sun with his hand. "Obviously, he needs to be there to use the Moon Objects."
The six-winged silhouette reached the Divine Tree and stopped, hovering in the air. He laid the unconscious body of Sean among the branches. He appeared to rummage through his armor, apparently looking for something. The distance between the Dragoons and the tree closed, and Rayen could see him pull out the three Moon Objects. "We need to go faster!"
Then the Divine Dragoon did something very odd. He held the Moon Mirror up in the air, where it hung, suspended. He did the same with the Moon Gem, but slightly lower and at a different angle. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then the Dragoons stopped dead. A spot in the heavens, where the Moon that Never Sets had been destroyed more than a thousand years ago, suddenly glowed black, and a beam of darkness shot from the stellar anomaly. The beam was reflected off the surface of the Moon Mirror, and struck the Moon Gem.
The gem acted as sort of a filter for the blackness, and a beam of transparent light projected from the Moon Gem onto the back of the prone Moon Child. An area on Sean's illuminated back was discolored from the rest, pulsing with a white luminescence. With a smirk of triumph, the Divine Dragoon shoved the Moon Dagger into the shining point. Sean uttered a hoarse cry as the Divine Dragoon withdrew the relic, the crystalline blade stained crimson with his blood. There was a blinding flash, and all of the Dragoons looked to the sky, with an oppressive sense of evil hanging on their shoulders.
At first, nothing appeared to be happening. Then, the skies about the Divine Tree began to shift. A small hole opened in the air above the Divine Tree. It slowly started to grow larger, and electricity crackled at its edges. But it stopped after a while, and hung in the air, lightning bolts dancing around it.
Phil raised an eyebrow. "That's it? A hole in the atmosphere? It's not even big. You'd think there would be a gigantic soul-sucking monster or something."
Dawn carried Sean's limp body from the Divine Tree's branches, healing his wound. But the Divine Dragoon merely chuckled and spoke, his voice echoing like a death knoll. "The portal will take a few days to fully open. Healing the Moon Child's wound will do nothing. The damage has been done. Soon, this world will be planted firmly beneath our feet, and then we will finally achieve Soa's will and destroy every trace of life on this ball of mud you call Endiness."
Rayen slipped the Dragon Buster onto his left hand, the yellow flaming blade bursting into radiant life. Drawing his own sword, he turned to the Divine Dragoon. "Whatever is coming out of that hole, you won't be around to welcome it."
Kyra crossed her arms in indignation. "Wait. You're not going to try to fight him alone again, are you? He already beat you twice, we need to do this as a..."
But the Wingly's words were lost on the Red-Eye, who was already soaring towards the Divine Dragoon, both swords at the ready. "He can't be serious."
Phil smirked. "You don't seem to get it, Kyra. He's always serious."
The Divine Dragoon seemed more than willing for a fight, and the black sword was in his hands in a blink of an eye. Blades clashed, and the battle begun. The Divine Dragoon's large weapon was more than able to parry both of Rayen's weapons at once, but he was continually dancing around the reach of the Dragon Buster. He obviously knew that a single nick from the Wingly blade could spell disaster. Spinning the black sword with surprising agility, he managed to parry all of Rayen's stokes single-handedly.
Deciding to use his free hand to his advantage, a short blast from the cannon sent Rayen's sword spiraling from his grasp. Rayen was unfazed, however, slashing out at the Divine Dragoon with the Dragon Buster. The Divine Dragoon dodged, and was met heartily by a blazing projectile that detonated and sent him slamming into the Divine Tree. The Red-Eye made the most of this delay by retrieving his weapon.
The battle raged on, neither side appearing to gain the upper hand. Finally, the Divine Dragoon went on the warpath. Slashing and spinning his weapon, he weaved in and out, always forcing Rayen to follow his movements. Rayen had no trouble parrying with his two weapons, but soon the Divine Dragoon started using his cannon as well, which made defense a great deal more complicated. He was knocked to the ground by a particularly well-aimed blast, and the Divine Dragoon was there in a flash, raising his sword to impale the Red-Eye. Rayen slammed his foot into the Divine Dragoon's stomach, and then hit him with another fireball, and was up on his feet, ready for the next round.
Now the Divine Dragoon was tiring. He had been fighting constantly on very little rest, and his fatigue was starting to show. Finally, Rayen saw his chance. The Divine Dragoon came in with an overhead blow, and Rayen crossed his blades to block the strike. Swinging in with his own sword to draw away the Divine Dragoon's weapon, he thrusted in with the Dragon Buster, feeling a rush of triumph as it slid through armor and into flesh.
The Divine Dragoon hissed in pain and alarm, but even more surprising was the deactivation of his armor. The Divine Dragon was fickle, and he saw no point in continuing to assist this warrior he deemed unworthy for the possession of his Spirit. So the Spirit abandoned the villain, leaving him to his fate. The stone fell towards the ground below.
However, whatever had taken control of the man behind the return of the Dragons was not so willing to give up. He made himself as aerodynamic as possible, shooting downwards in an attempt to recapture the Spirit. If he could not reclaim it, all would be lost.
The remainder of the group watched from a distance, but one of them refused to remain idle. Sean, his consciousness regained, broke away from the cluster of Dragoons, sprinting with all his strength towards the plummeting Spirit. He dove, snatching the Spirit away from the possessed man's grasping fingers. The next thing he felt was a surge of adrenaline, and then he felt six wings sprout from his back.
Then Sean realized what was happening, and he turned to the former Divine Dragoon with a smirk of triumph on his face. As energy was sucked into the cannon, the new Divine Dragoon uttered a single word. "Mine."
Then the beam shot forth, and the black creature and the man it possessed were disintegrated.
Rayen, however, was preoccupied with something else. A strange glow was emitting from the Divine Tree, and the same light suddenly surrounded Rayen. He floated up into the air, staring in bewilderment at the shrinking ground below. All the Dragoons rushed to assist him, but they were too late. Rayen disappeared in a flash.
Something clattered to the earth, and Nieva stooped over to examine it. "It's his Dragoon Spirit."
She touched it, and it burst into crimson radiance. She turned to the others, puzzled. "What does this mean?"
Oraeus hesitated before answering. "It means that the Red-Eye Dragoon Spirit has moved on..."
Shade spoke aloud what the others dared not think. "And THAT means he's not coming back."
Author's Note: Whee, confusing chappy! How can there be a Moon Child with no Moon? What's coming out of that portal? And what the hell happened to Rayen? Guess what? You people don't get to find out for a few more chapters, 'cause coming up next is more character development! Ha! Evil me.