It's A Bit More Personal...
Legends
By Mirai Evo
Chapter Two...of one...yeah...
^-^Fwee! I got reviews on chapter one!
...Not that I was planning on there being any more chapters than that...
But anyways!
Warnings- None, really. Slight bit of lighthouseshipping (FelixSheba! Yay! ^-^) towards the end, but it's just one line and you can skip it if you want.
Whoa, gotta actually thank my little brother for this one. This time, he was playing Golden Sun and asked one of his many random questions; What's up with Yepp?
...of course, I had no idea what he was talking about at first...
Then I remembered Yepp. Does anyone else? The dead guy whose poem you use to get to Lemuria (in theory)? Well, Mark (the little bro) wanted to know how Yepp apparently knew how to get to Lemuria (hence, the rhyme), but none of the Lemurians seemed to know about him.
So, my mind comes up with some strange explanation. I scribble it down in my Health Class (blurg...), type it up at home, and give it a bit of depth. As far as I know, this is the first Yepp story on FF.net, so I'll try not to kill him.
...Of course, that's difficult, since he was already dead when the game started....
I don't own Golden Sun. I guess Yepp's personality is mine, though...seeing as how he doesn't really have one in the game... Ah! But I do own the poem/song Yepp sings in the beginning. I wrote it for English, and figured I'd use it instead of coming up with a whole new song/poem for the story. I also share ownership of the skit in the middle of the story. Where did it come from? Don't ask the details, just know that it's a rough translation of a German skit we had to do... all you need to know is that it involved a pink flamingo beanie baby, and me staring as Joe...a feminine Joe...
...No comment to defend my group's sanity there...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a good day to sail.
That was, really, the only way Yepp knew how to describe a day like this, with the wind coursing through the air, cutting the water and making it ripple out into sailing-sized waves and the sun beating down until one of those puffy clouds covered it, giving the sun-baked inhabitants some relief from it's smiling face.
Yepps face was smiling, too, that day. He was taking a group of pearl divers out with him for a month-long excavation of the more central area of the great Eastern Sea. The group was a sizable one, as most everyone in Yallam seemed to have a passion for traveling. What with Garoh, the Werewolf town, a mere mountain's climb away, the Taopo swamp easily accessible by foot, and a new world of civilizations available if one had a boat, it was no surprise that the residents had all grown a liking for the activities.
"Oie! Yepp! Be us'ns leaving these here parts...err...anytime...soon?" Yepp chuckled. Sunshine, one of the younger members of the crew, seemed to posses the typical stereotype that anyone on a boat in the ocean was a pirate. Trying to keep true to the stereotypical speech, the boy found himself challenged with a barrier he could not seem to overcome.
But then, with how linguistically correct his mother was, it was likely for the best that he couldn't.
"Aye, Sunny" Yepp watched in amusement as the boy cringed at the nickname, "We'll be leaving soon. That is-"He turned to the pirate-to-be, "If you can answer me this question." Yepps face became deadly serious as he kneeled down to Sunshine's' level and looked the boy in the eye.
"If you try to fail, and end up succeeding, what the blazes did you just do?" Sunshine's face turned from worried to surprised, then to puzzle in a time frame of approximately half a second. Yepp was well-known for his confusing, often unanswerable questions and his lively children's songs. Sunshine twisted his face several different ways before Sunshine relieved him.
"Or, you could just start humming 'If I would." Sunshine sighed in relief before beginning to hum one of the tunes composed by the old boat master. A few seconds later, Yepp began singing in time with him.
If I would work harder
They wouldn't be able to tell me
They were disappointed in me like
They have the chance to
If I put in a bit more effort
They wouldn't have to tell me to behave
They wouldn't have to listen to my prattle
They wouldn't have to sit through my lame excuses
If I would help a little more
They wouldn't need as much help
They wouldn't need as much assistance as
They did before
If I didn't act like I knew it all
They'd take me seriously
They'd have second thoughts on what it is
They should say to me
If I spoke up a little louder
They would hear me and
They could understand me
They might see things the way I do
If I would heed the words they tell me
They would hear me out the same
They might see things from my point of view
They might see that I've got a point too
If I didn't snap and yell
They wouldn't tear me apart
They wouldn't ignore me so much
They might listen to what I say
If I would look at things with an open mind
They couldn't call me a little child
They couldn't say I'm a stereotype
They couldn't name me ignorant
If I would just stop being myself
They couldn't complain about what I'd grown to be because
They kept on telling me to change into something
They wanted me to become
Once Yepps final words faded to nothing but an echo in the wind, Sunshine had stopped humming and finished the last few bars by whistling. Several of the adults passing by began walking a little faster. Many of Yepps children songs were like that one, with hidden meanings in them all that the children didn't understand until they were old enough to have forgotten the verses. They did, however, stay fresh in the minds of many of the adults as a reminder of what they could become in the child's mind.
Yepp and Sunshine exchanged identical looks of glee as they began racing towards the ship they were to set sail on. This was a usual sight in Yallam, to see the brown-haired boatman who never really grew up running around the town with the kids who never wanted to.
As the pair exited the town, a gust of wind picked up, seeming to encourage the travelers onward to their vessel.
"Come on, Sunshine!" Yepp yelled to his young friend, "The wind is at your back now! You should be whooshing down this field!"
Sunshine laughed, "And how, pray tell Yepp, do I 'whoosh'?" To the child's amazement, his elder simply laughed again, and thrust his arms out behind him.
"Like this!" With that, the grown man picked up speed as another gust of wind picked up and began blowing with gusto. "Whooooooosh!"
A bit surprised, Sunshine paused for a moment with a blank look on his face. Then he broke out into a full-fledged grin and repeated Yepps' actions. "Whoooosh!"
The two continued their short journey in the same manor, talking with one another as though they were the closest of friends, in friendship and age.
The two friends, after alternating walking and running, reached the ship in about a half and hours' time. The crew was ready, with the smaller boats ready for exploring the more inaccessible regions of the sea, while everyone on deck seemed rather excited and ready to go.
Once the final preparations were concluded, they set sail.
The trip was peaceful and the crew got along fine (with the exception of a few minor quarrels). Yepp stood at the crow's nest, the closest to alone one could get on the vessel, humming to himself and reminiscing. Some of the town's apprentices had come along on the journey (this included Sunshine, as the blacksmiths aid), and kept the crew entertained with several of their favorite acts that came from the children behaving as the playful kids they were.
The crew's favorite was, by far, the excerpt from 'The Cowards Who Would Be Hero's' that kept them all laughing for hours, and resurfaced as a sort of inside joke that resurfaced whenever someone yelped out. Yepp smiled at the memory.
~Flashback~
Two of the apprentices (dressed up with daggers, spare armor, and whatever else they could find) strode confidently along the ships' deck. The taller one looked to the smaller one, a look of dead seriousness on his face.
"So, You need my help with some sort of monster, you say?" The other nodded slowly.
"Yes, a great and terrible monster. The one that mercilessly slaughtered my father." He responded as they drew closer to the 'battlefield'. Once they had reached the 'arena', they stopped.
The two 'warriors' stood bravely, as imposing as the cliffs at Taopo swamp, watching as their adversary drew near. Their adversary was, as a matter of fact, a small, pink, sea urchin that had washed up no deck and was now sleeping peacefully. It's 'advances' were, in fact, being caused by another apprentice pushing it towards them with a stick. The older and wiser of the two gained a serious tone as he spoke to the other.
"Bob," He sighed, "why did you not tell me the monster we were facing was a small, pink, needle-filled one?"
The younger one, apparently called 'Bob' began to look a bit nervous.
"I was afraid you wouldn't come if I did, Jon-" he began, but was cut of by 'Jon'
"How could Billy-Bob-Joe have stood up to this atrocity?" He whispered. Jon's look of nervousness increased.
"That's the funny thing..." Bob started again, "He didn't. He took one look at it and ran away screaming like a little girl..."
At this point, another apprentice, assumed to be Billy-Bob-Joe, took the time to run across the 'stage' screaming.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bob and Joe began their conversation again as though the event had not occurred.
"...and I was afraid you might too." Bob finished. Joe gave him a smile of reassurance.
"Don't worry, Bob. As fearsome as this creature is," He sighed, looking as though he was about to give his life in a noble sacrifice, "I will not run away screaming like a little girl."
Bob's eyes lit up in hope as he looked up at his hero.
"I'll run away screaming like a man!" Joe finished.
Bob blinked.
Joe took this instant to begin running across the deck screaming.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
Bob blinked again.
Bob shrugged.
Bob started running after Joe.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!"
Joe yelled back, "Scream manlier, Bob! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
~End flashback~
Yes, that was most definitely one of the highlights of the trip to date.
~*~*~*~*~*~*One Week Later*~*~*~*~*~*~
The smaller boats had all gone on their own courses once Yepp had given them a basic overview on how to hunt for the pearls. Now the large ship only had four passengers, the blacksmith, Yepp, and Sunshine among them. The fourth was one of the older passengers who had taken the post as cook on the ship.
They were currently headed towards a strange, misty area Sunshine had come upon in the crows nest one afternoon. Yepp, surprising the other passengers, had ordered a direct change of course. Yepp was usually one to stay in the open sea, where he felt safer from pirate attacks and the sort.
What they didn't know was a legend Yepp was a firm believer in.
'Could that area really be the lost island?' Yepp thought to himself.
Since he was a small child, he had been told stories by his father about the lost island of time, Lemuria. The idea that in island existed where the people lived for centuries on end was and exciting one, and Yepp had long wanted to find it. With a full two weeks before he was to reencounter the other members of the crew at Champa, Yepp decided he wanted to see if he could satisfy his childhood desires at the same time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Two Days Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had finally reached the central focus of the mist. The ship sailed slowly between two identical red rocks, an imposing start to their venture.
The cook had retreated to the depths of the ship once the mist had started to thicken, claiming it was an unnatural sort that they had best steer clear of.
Sunshine was, while apprehensive, obviously nervous and still questioning Yepp's decision. He was spending his time down in the quarter's area with his master as they reviewed forging techniques.
Yepp began to hum again. The tune had been stuck in his mind as the journey progressed, and he became determined to put a tune to it. He looked up at the stars in the sky, and several lines seemed to form from them.
"If you want to go to the stars..." He whispered, "If you want to go to the stars. Go north past the twins-" any other inspiration was put to waste as he found the ship being lurched foreword, then began to spin uncontrollably.
A whirlpool!
Using all his acquired knowledge of boatmanship, Yepp maneuvered the ship out of the whirlpool to find himself spinning into another. He pulled out of this one as well, and found himself in a calmer area with nothing but a volcano-like structure in the center. He was surrounded on three sides by whirlpools, on the fourth by an imposing current that he would be foolish to try to go against.
He began humming again.
"Passing two swirls..." to put it mildly.
Sunshine took this instant to run up to the deck.
"Sir? What's happened? The cook and master are unconscious, they were thrown back into the wall when we started spinning! What's going on? Where are we?" He continued in this frantic manner for a bit.
Yepp sighed, braced himself, and then gave Sunshine a quick chop to the neck, knocking the boy unconscious as well. He cringed with regret, then carried the boy down to the quarters and laid him on his bed before returning to the wheel.
He began cautiously exploring the area, in the process circling the 'volcano.' After he had gone around half the way, he noticed that it had begun to sparkle a bit. After completing two circuits, the current disappeared.
Something unnatural was taking place here.
Nevertheless, Yepp quickly maneuvered the large vessel past the danger area, least it came back. He resumed humming to himself, making up more phrases as he went along.
"Run diesel twice 'round the trunk..." The current came back from behind him. "Haste without waste, And head to the east..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Three Hours Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Yepp sighed as he finally came to what appeared to be the end of the whirlpools. He looked around, taking in his surroundings.
Odd.
This seemed completely random, to have placed this purposless open space here... But Yepp shrugged it off and continued on.
After about half an hour of sailing northward, Yepp came upon a city, stranded in the ocean, seeming to glow with an unnatural light, looking for all the world like the sun of the ocean.
Lemuria.
Yepp was about to enter the docking harbor of the ancient city when a thought struck him that made him swerve to the right viciously.
Was it worth it?
Yepp couldn't count how many times he'd nearly give up hope on being successful at anything, then continued trudging on simply because of the hope that he might find this ancient civilization.
Was it worth it?
He decided it was not.
This was one of the few remaining legends Weyward had to offer. Yepp didn't believe it to be his place to make it a reality. He snorted and frowned. But then again, these un-cultured children seemed to know nothing of any of the legends he grew up believing.
He began to hum again, and a thought struck him.
Maybe he should help the legend along, instead...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*30 Years Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well, that was rude of him!" a teenage blonde girl exclaimed.
"I know! It's like his best friend just died, and he's taking it out on the weather!" A fiery-looking red-head agreed.
"Need I remind you, Jenna, of all the times you have gone and taken out your frustrations on innocent plants?" The blue-haired member of their group reprimanded. Jenna snorted.
"You don't need to, Picard, my brother does that enough!"
"That's a Venus adept for you, always worrying about the wildlife." The brown-haired member glared at the short blonde at this remark.
"She's kidding, Felix! Geese. Although you do have to admit it, you are really protective about all those plants..." The mariner contemplated.
"And it gets really annoying really quickly, too. Right Picard, Sheba?" Picard merrily shrugged in response, while Sheba smiled.
"Awww, I think it's kind of cute!"
Felix blushed as Jenna and Picard began laughing at their leaders' current state of being.
"Hey! You guys wanna play a game with us?" A small child with orange hair looked up at the travelers.
Felix, now fully recovered, took charge again.
"Err..."
Well, sort of, anyway.
But then again, that was about all they could ever get out of their leader...
The Venusian turned to the rest of the group. Picard shrugged again, and Jenna nodded. Sheba solved any argument that may have broken out.
"Sure!"
With that, she grabbed Felix and Jenna by the arms and dragged them behind her, following the child to a pair of rocks placed at the beginning of what appeared to be a maze. Picard began to laugh again.
They began to play the 'game' with the children, involving running around the area, circling strategically placed stones and singing a rhyme that accompanied it.
"If you want to go to the stars,
If you want to go to the stars.
Go north past the twins,
Passing two swirls,
Run diesel twice 'round the trunk.
Haste without waste,
And head to the east,
Past three to the north.
There,
Run 'round thrice and wait for the waves.
When they stop,
Run north and go to the stars.
If you race full of folly
And take the wrong way,
You'll find yourself
A watery grave.
If you want to go to the moon,
If you want to go to the moon.
Face west from the stars
And run straight past three swirls,
Then circle 'round twice.
Haste without waste,
And head to the south,
Then one swirl west.
There,
Run 'round thrice and wait for the waves.
When they stop,
Run south and go for the moon.
If you race full of folly
And take the wrong way,
You'll find yourself
A watery grave
If you want to go to the sun,
If you want to go to the sun.
Face south from the moon
And run straight through two swirls,
Then circle 'round twice.
Haste without waste,
And head to the west,
Then six to the north.
There,
Run 'round trice and wait for the waves.
When they stop,
Run north and go for the sun.
If you race full of folly
And take the wrong way,
You'll find yourself
A watery grave."
Once they had all finished by tapping a large, sun-shaped stone in the upper-left corner of the area, Felix looked a bit puzzled. Jenna knew why.
"Hey, Picard? Doesn't it seem like this Yepp guy knew a lot about Lemuria?" Sheba nodded, remembering in all-to-great detail the whirlpool 'adventures' on their way to get Picard home again.
Picard looked a bit confused as well.
"Yes, it does seem a bit peculiar..." the Lemurian began, "...But I can assure you, no one has visited Lemuria since Babi and Lunpa..." He looked around. Sheba turned to the rest of the group.
"It seems Lemuria is a pretty well-known legend around here. Should we tell them it exists?" Picard shook his head and smiled.
"Nah," his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit in the light,
"Some legends are better told as just that. Legends."
~End~
.:wipes forehead:. Whew! That's done now!
.:looks at the clock:. 0.0!?! I've been writing for the past three hours straight!?! Wow...
.:does a word count:. .:whistles:. That's a lot of words... though most of it is the poems, I guess.
Anyway...
Reviewer's response section ^-^ (why not? I'm bored)
Peacenikky- My first reviewer! Yay! .:gives Peacenikky a cookie:. I read your story after seeing the review, and then left a note ^-^ Awesome story you got there!
flamethrowerqueen- Why thank you! Yes, Babi's a jerk. He's on the list with Conservato and the Wise One for 'Most hated characters'. I can put up with Alex (he's such a complex personality, the situation can always be changed to change his appearance. Besides, He's the only real evil person, and he does a darn good job at it ^-^) , I adore the Proxians (Go Menardi!), and even those weak little thief-like people who attack you in random spots, but I can't stand any of the three listed!
Master of Reality- Yeah, I'm kind of split on the Piers/Picard thing too, but my little brother insists I use Picard, so .:shrugs:. Apparently you people think I'm using original ideas ^-^ That's good. That's very good! Though I do believe this is even more original than chapter one ^-^"
Lash the Wind Adept- Heh, it was going to be a one shot, now it's going to end up a collection of 'em with the unexplained backgrounds and whatnot. I'm planning on going through the games, finding potholes, and writing about any that haven't been over-visited. I've got a few good ideas just from memory... Yay! I'm on a favorites list! ^-^ I is so easily amused....
Future Plans- Yep, (Heh, Yepp...), I have a few ideas right now. Next chapter or two will probably be on the infamous 'Mute Virus' that Isaac and Felix suffer through in their respective games (I've got a good idea for that one, expect much angst ^-^"), then maybe I'll do one on Kraden's fascination with the werewolves...
If any of you guys have a plot hole (that's not explained in the 'Explanations' collection [hey, I'm trying to be original here]), leave it in a review.
^-^Review!^-^
FYI- This is 18 pages on Word. Scary...
~Mirai Evo~
Legends
By Mirai Evo
Chapter Two...of one...yeah...
^-^Fwee! I got reviews on chapter one!
...Not that I was planning on there being any more chapters than that...
But anyways!
Warnings- None, really. Slight bit of lighthouseshipping (FelixSheba! Yay! ^-^) towards the end, but it's just one line and you can skip it if you want.
Whoa, gotta actually thank my little brother for this one. This time, he was playing Golden Sun and asked one of his many random questions; What's up with Yepp?
...of course, I had no idea what he was talking about at first...
Then I remembered Yepp. Does anyone else? The dead guy whose poem you use to get to Lemuria (in theory)? Well, Mark (the little bro) wanted to know how Yepp apparently knew how to get to Lemuria (hence, the rhyme), but none of the Lemurians seemed to know about him.
So, my mind comes up with some strange explanation. I scribble it down in my Health Class (blurg...), type it up at home, and give it a bit of depth. As far as I know, this is the first Yepp story on FF.net, so I'll try not to kill him.
...Of course, that's difficult, since he was already dead when the game started....
I don't own Golden Sun. I guess Yepp's personality is mine, though...seeing as how he doesn't really have one in the game... Ah! But I do own the poem/song Yepp sings in the beginning. I wrote it for English, and figured I'd use it instead of coming up with a whole new song/poem for the story. I also share ownership of the skit in the middle of the story. Where did it come from? Don't ask the details, just know that it's a rough translation of a German skit we had to do... all you need to know is that it involved a pink flamingo beanie baby, and me staring as Joe...a feminine Joe...
...No comment to defend my group's sanity there...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a good day to sail.
That was, really, the only way Yepp knew how to describe a day like this, with the wind coursing through the air, cutting the water and making it ripple out into sailing-sized waves and the sun beating down until one of those puffy clouds covered it, giving the sun-baked inhabitants some relief from it's smiling face.
Yepps face was smiling, too, that day. He was taking a group of pearl divers out with him for a month-long excavation of the more central area of the great Eastern Sea. The group was a sizable one, as most everyone in Yallam seemed to have a passion for traveling. What with Garoh, the Werewolf town, a mere mountain's climb away, the Taopo swamp easily accessible by foot, and a new world of civilizations available if one had a boat, it was no surprise that the residents had all grown a liking for the activities.
"Oie! Yepp! Be us'ns leaving these here parts...err...anytime...soon?" Yepp chuckled. Sunshine, one of the younger members of the crew, seemed to posses the typical stereotype that anyone on a boat in the ocean was a pirate. Trying to keep true to the stereotypical speech, the boy found himself challenged with a barrier he could not seem to overcome.
But then, with how linguistically correct his mother was, it was likely for the best that he couldn't.
"Aye, Sunny" Yepp watched in amusement as the boy cringed at the nickname, "We'll be leaving soon. That is-"He turned to the pirate-to-be, "If you can answer me this question." Yepps face became deadly serious as he kneeled down to Sunshine's' level and looked the boy in the eye.
"If you try to fail, and end up succeeding, what the blazes did you just do?" Sunshine's face turned from worried to surprised, then to puzzle in a time frame of approximately half a second. Yepp was well-known for his confusing, often unanswerable questions and his lively children's songs. Sunshine twisted his face several different ways before Sunshine relieved him.
"Or, you could just start humming 'If I would." Sunshine sighed in relief before beginning to hum one of the tunes composed by the old boat master. A few seconds later, Yepp began singing in time with him.
If I would work harder
They wouldn't be able to tell me
They were disappointed in me like
They have the chance to
If I put in a bit more effort
They wouldn't have to tell me to behave
They wouldn't have to listen to my prattle
They wouldn't have to sit through my lame excuses
If I would help a little more
They wouldn't need as much help
They wouldn't need as much assistance as
They did before
If I didn't act like I knew it all
They'd take me seriously
They'd have second thoughts on what it is
They should say to me
If I spoke up a little louder
They would hear me and
They could understand me
They might see things the way I do
If I would heed the words they tell me
They would hear me out the same
They might see things from my point of view
They might see that I've got a point too
If I didn't snap and yell
They wouldn't tear me apart
They wouldn't ignore me so much
They might listen to what I say
If I would look at things with an open mind
They couldn't call me a little child
They couldn't say I'm a stereotype
They couldn't name me ignorant
If I would just stop being myself
They couldn't complain about what I'd grown to be because
They kept on telling me to change into something
They wanted me to become
Once Yepps final words faded to nothing but an echo in the wind, Sunshine had stopped humming and finished the last few bars by whistling. Several of the adults passing by began walking a little faster. Many of Yepps children songs were like that one, with hidden meanings in them all that the children didn't understand until they were old enough to have forgotten the verses. They did, however, stay fresh in the minds of many of the adults as a reminder of what they could become in the child's mind.
Yepp and Sunshine exchanged identical looks of glee as they began racing towards the ship they were to set sail on. This was a usual sight in Yallam, to see the brown-haired boatman who never really grew up running around the town with the kids who never wanted to.
As the pair exited the town, a gust of wind picked up, seeming to encourage the travelers onward to their vessel.
"Come on, Sunshine!" Yepp yelled to his young friend, "The wind is at your back now! You should be whooshing down this field!"
Sunshine laughed, "And how, pray tell Yepp, do I 'whoosh'?" To the child's amazement, his elder simply laughed again, and thrust his arms out behind him.
"Like this!" With that, the grown man picked up speed as another gust of wind picked up and began blowing with gusto. "Whooooooosh!"
A bit surprised, Sunshine paused for a moment with a blank look on his face. Then he broke out into a full-fledged grin and repeated Yepps' actions. "Whoooosh!"
The two continued their short journey in the same manor, talking with one another as though they were the closest of friends, in friendship and age.
The two friends, after alternating walking and running, reached the ship in about a half and hours' time. The crew was ready, with the smaller boats ready for exploring the more inaccessible regions of the sea, while everyone on deck seemed rather excited and ready to go.
Once the final preparations were concluded, they set sail.
The trip was peaceful and the crew got along fine (with the exception of a few minor quarrels). Yepp stood at the crow's nest, the closest to alone one could get on the vessel, humming to himself and reminiscing. Some of the town's apprentices had come along on the journey (this included Sunshine, as the blacksmiths aid), and kept the crew entertained with several of their favorite acts that came from the children behaving as the playful kids they were.
The crew's favorite was, by far, the excerpt from 'The Cowards Who Would Be Hero's' that kept them all laughing for hours, and resurfaced as a sort of inside joke that resurfaced whenever someone yelped out. Yepp smiled at the memory.
~Flashback~
Two of the apprentices (dressed up with daggers, spare armor, and whatever else they could find) strode confidently along the ships' deck. The taller one looked to the smaller one, a look of dead seriousness on his face.
"So, You need my help with some sort of monster, you say?" The other nodded slowly.
"Yes, a great and terrible monster. The one that mercilessly slaughtered my father." He responded as they drew closer to the 'battlefield'. Once they had reached the 'arena', they stopped.
The two 'warriors' stood bravely, as imposing as the cliffs at Taopo swamp, watching as their adversary drew near. Their adversary was, as a matter of fact, a small, pink, sea urchin that had washed up no deck and was now sleeping peacefully. It's 'advances' were, in fact, being caused by another apprentice pushing it towards them with a stick. The older and wiser of the two gained a serious tone as he spoke to the other.
"Bob," He sighed, "why did you not tell me the monster we were facing was a small, pink, needle-filled one?"
The younger one, apparently called 'Bob' began to look a bit nervous.
"I was afraid you wouldn't come if I did, Jon-" he began, but was cut of by 'Jon'
"How could Billy-Bob-Joe have stood up to this atrocity?" He whispered. Jon's look of nervousness increased.
"That's the funny thing..." Bob started again, "He didn't. He took one look at it and ran away screaming like a little girl..."
At this point, another apprentice, assumed to be Billy-Bob-Joe, took the time to run across the 'stage' screaming.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bob and Joe began their conversation again as though the event had not occurred.
"...and I was afraid you might too." Bob finished. Joe gave him a smile of reassurance.
"Don't worry, Bob. As fearsome as this creature is," He sighed, looking as though he was about to give his life in a noble sacrifice, "I will not run away screaming like a little girl."
Bob's eyes lit up in hope as he looked up at his hero.
"I'll run away screaming like a man!" Joe finished.
Bob blinked.
Joe took this instant to begin running across the deck screaming.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
Bob blinked again.
Bob shrugged.
Bob started running after Joe.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!"
Joe yelled back, "Scream manlier, Bob! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
~End flashback~
Yes, that was most definitely one of the highlights of the trip to date.
~*~*~*~*~*~*One Week Later*~*~*~*~*~*~
The smaller boats had all gone on their own courses once Yepp had given them a basic overview on how to hunt for the pearls. Now the large ship only had four passengers, the blacksmith, Yepp, and Sunshine among them. The fourth was one of the older passengers who had taken the post as cook on the ship.
They were currently headed towards a strange, misty area Sunshine had come upon in the crows nest one afternoon. Yepp, surprising the other passengers, had ordered a direct change of course. Yepp was usually one to stay in the open sea, where he felt safer from pirate attacks and the sort.
What they didn't know was a legend Yepp was a firm believer in.
'Could that area really be the lost island?' Yepp thought to himself.
Since he was a small child, he had been told stories by his father about the lost island of time, Lemuria. The idea that in island existed where the people lived for centuries on end was and exciting one, and Yepp had long wanted to find it. With a full two weeks before he was to reencounter the other members of the crew at Champa, Yepp decided he wanted to see if he could satisfy his childhood desires at the same time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Two Days Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had finally reached the central focus of the mist. The ship sailed slowly between two identical red rocks, an imposing start to their venture.
The cook had retreated to the depths of the ship once the mist had started to thicken, claiming it was an unnatural sort that they had best steer clear of.
Sunshine was, while apprehensive, obviously nervous and still questioning Yepp's decision. He was spending his time down in the quarter's area with his master as they reviewed forging techniques.
Yepp began to hum again. The tune had been stuck in his mind as the journey progressed, and he became determined to put a tune to it. He looked up at the stars in the sky, and several lines seemed to form from them.
"If you want to go to the stars..." He whispered, "If you want to go to the stars. Go north past the twins-" any other inspiration was put to waste as he found the ship being lurched foreword, then began to spin uncontrollably.
A whirlpool!
Using all his acquired knowledge of boatmanship, Yepp maneuvered the ship out of the whirlpool to find himself spinning into another. He pulled out of this one as well, and found himself in a calmer area with nothing but a volcano-like structure in the center. He was surrounded on three sides by whirlpools, on the fourth by an imposing current that he would be foolish to try to go against.
He began humming again.
"Passing two swirls..." to put it mildly.
Sunshine took this instant to run up to the deck.
"Sir? What's happened? The cook and master are unconscious, they were thrown back into the wall when we started spinning! What's going on? Where are we?" He continued in this frantic manner for a bit.
Yepp sighed, braced himself, and then gave Sunshine a quick chop to the neck, knocking the boy unconscious as well. He cringed with regret, then carried the boy down to the quarters and laid him on his bed before returning to the wheel.
He began cautiously exploring the area, in the process circling the 'volcano.' After he had gone around half the way, he noticed that it had begun to sparkle a bit. After completing two circuits, the current disappeared.
Something unnatural was taking place here.
Nevertheless, Yepp quickly maneuvered the large vessel past the danger area, least it came back. He resumed humming to himself, making up more phrases as he went along.
"Run diesel twice 'round the trunk..." The current came back from behind him. "Haste without waste, And head to the east..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Three Hours Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Yepp sighed as he finally came to what appeared to be the end of the whirlpools. He looked around, taking in his surroundings.
Odd.
This seemed completely random, to have placed this purposless open space here... But Yepp shrugged it off and continued on.
After about half an hour of sailing northward, Yepp came upon a city, stranded in the ocean, seeming to glow with an unnatural light, looking for all the world like the sun of the ocean.
Lemuria.
Yepp was about to enter the docking harbor of the ancient city when a thought struck him that made him swerve to the right viciously.
Was it worth it?
Yepp couldn't count how many times he'd nearly give up hope on being successful at anything, then continued trudging on simply because of the hope that he might find this ancient civilization.
Was it worth it?
He decided it was not.
This was one of the few remaining legends Weyward had to offer. Yepp didn't believe it to be his place to make it a reality. He snorted and frowned. But then again, these un-cultured children seemed to know nothing of any of the legends he grew up believing.
He began to hum again, and a thought struck him.
Maybe he should help the legend along, instead...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*30 Years Later*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Well, that was rude of him!" a teenage blonde girl exclaimed.
"I know! It's like his best friend just died, and he's taking it out on the weather!" A fiery-looking red-head agreed.
"Need I remind you, Jenna, of all the times you have gone and taken out your frustrations on innocent plants?" The blue-haired member of their group reprimanded. Jenna snorted.
"You don't need to, Picard, my brother does that enough!"
"That's a Venus adept for you, always worrying about the wildlife." The brown-haired member glared at the short blonde at this remark.
"She's kidding, Felix! Geese. Although you do have to admit it, you are really protective about all those plants..." The mariner contemplated.
"And it gets really annoying really quickly, too. Right Picard, Sheba?" Picard merrily shrugged in response, while Sheba smiled.
"Awww, I think it's kind of cute!"
Felix blushed as Jenna and Picard began laughing at their leaders' current state of being.
"Hey! You guys wanna play a game with us?" A small child with orange hair looked up at the travelers.
Felix, now fully recovered, took charge again.
"Err..."
Well, sort of, anyway.
But then again, that was about all they could ever get out of their leader...
The Venusian turned to the rest of the group. Picard shrugged again, and Jenna nodded. Sheba solved any argument that may have broken out.
"Sure!"
With that, she grabbed Felix and Jenna by the arms and dragged them behind her, following the child to a pair of rocks placed at the beginning of what appeared to be a maze. Picard began to laugh again.
They began to play the 'game' with the children, involving running around the area, circling strategically placed stones and singing a rhyme that accompanied it.
"If you want to go to the stars,
If you want to go to the stars.
Go north past the twins,
Passing two swirls,
Run diesel twice 'round the trunk.
Haste without waste,
And head to the east,
Past three to the north.
There,
Run 'round thrice and wait for the waves.
When they stop,
Run north and go to the stars.
If you race full of folly
And take the wrong way,
You'll find yourself
A watery grave.
If you want to go to the moon,
If you want to go to the moon.
Face west from the stars
And run straight past three swirls,
Then circle 'round twice.
Haste without waste,
And head to the south,
Then one swirl west.
There,
Run 'round thrice and wait for the waves.
When they stop,
Run south and go for the moon.
If you race full of folly
And take the wrong way,
You'll find yourself
A watery grave
If you want to go to the sun,
If you want to go to the sun.
Face south from the moon
And run straight through two swirls,
Then circle 'round twice.
Haste without waste,
And head to the west,
Then six to the north.
There,
Run 'round trice and wait for the waves.
When they stop,
Run north and go for the sun.
If you race full of folly
And take the wrong way,
You'll find yourself
A watery grave."
Once they had all finished by tapping a large, sun-shaped stone in the upper-left corner of the area, Felix looked a bit puzzled. Jenna knew why.
"Hey, Picard? Doesn't it seem like this Yepp guy knew a lot about Lemuria?" Sheba nodded, remembering in all-to-great detail the whirlpool 'adventures' on their way to get Picard home again.
Picard looked a bit confused as well.
"Yes, it does seem a bit peculiar..." the Lemurian began, "...But I can assure you, no one has visited Lemuria since Babi and Lunpa..." He looked around. Sheba turned to the rest of the group.
"It seems Lemuria is a pretty well-known legend around here. Should we tell them it exists?" Picard shook his head and smiled.
"Nah," his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit in the light,
"Some legends are better told as just that. Legends."
~End~
.:wipes forehead:. Whew! That's done now!
.:looks at the clock:. 0.0!?! I've been writing for the past three hours straight!?! Wow...
.:does a word count:. .:whistles:. That's a lot of words... though most of it is the poems, I guess.
Anyway...
Reviewer's response section ^-^ (why not? I'm bored)
Peacenikky- My first reviewer! Yay! .:gives Peacenikky a cookie:. I read your story after seeing the review, and then left a note ^-^ Awesome story you got there!
flamethrowerqueen- Why thank you! Yes, Babi's a jerk. He's on the list with Conservato and the Wise One for 'Most hated characters'. I can put up with Alex (he's such a complex personality, the situation can always be changed to change his appearance. Besides, He's the only real evil person, and he does a darn good job at it ^-^) , I adore the Proxians (Go Menardi!), and even those weak little thief-like people who attack you in random spots, but I can't stand any of the three listed!
Master of Reality- Yeah, I'm kind of split on the Piers/Picard thing too, but my little brother insists I use Picard, so .:shrugs:. Apparently you people think I'm using original ideas ^-^ That's good. That's very good! Though I do believe this is even more original than chapter one ^-^"
Lash the Wind Adept- Heh, it was going to be a one shot, now it's going to end up a collection of 'em with the unexplained backgrounds and whatnot. I'm planning on going through the games, finding potholes, and writing about any that haven't been over-visited. I've got a few good ideas just from memory... Yay! I'm on a favorites list! ^-^ I is so easily amused....
Future Plans- Yep, (Heh, Yepp...), I have a few ideas right now. Next chapter or two will probably be on the infamous 'Mute Virus' that Isaac and Felix suffer through in their respective games (I've got a good idea for that one, expect much angst ^-^"), then maybe I'll do one on Kraden's fascination with the werewolves...
If any of you guys have a plot hole (that's not explained in the 'Explanations' collection [hey, I'm trying to be original here]), leave it in a review.
^-^Review!^-^
FYI- This is 18 pages on Word. Scary...
~Mirai Evo~