Rena, Ashton and Chisato appeared beside Claude, all looking as equally confused as he did. A moment ago, the reek of sweat and blood from the coliseum had assaulted their nostrils...and now, only the scent of bloomingly flowers was present in the air. Chisato glanced around nervously.
"What is this place? Where are we?"
Claude glanced over at her, suddenly realizing that she had never been on the small world the group called "Expel". She had definately heard of it through their travels, but it was quite a different story to see it in person. That is, if they were all really "seeing" anything, anyways, in this virtual world.
"Chisato, apparently we're in Expel, our old world," Claude explained. "I'm not sure how, but that old man has sent us back here through virtual reality."
Chisato looked up at the sky. "It's muggy here."
"Pigya!!!!"
The four adventurers jumped as the loud noise pierced their ears. They turned around and noticed a small creature that had not been there before. It looked like a small penguin, shaded entirely purple with a patch of white on it's underbelly. It sang a wordless song and ran circles around his fenced-in area. Ashton bent down and glanced at the birds neck. It wore a colar with a bright yellow tag on it. On the tag the words "Vern Vern" were etched.
"Pigiu! Pigyu, pigyu, pigyu?"
"I don't understand," Claude replied.
"Pigiu, pigyu." The litle animal showed no signs of caring whether Claude understand him or not. The bird looked over at Ashton curiously. "Pigiu! Pigyu, pigyu, pigyu?"
Ashton smiled softly and patted the bird on it's head. "You're silly, Vern Vern!"
The bird's demeanor physically changed. What was once a happy singing animal was now an enraged beast. "Pigu! Pigya!!!" The bird ran several circles around the fenced in area...and then charged directly at Ashton. "Pigya!!" The bird slammed into the fence, sending incredible shockwaves out in the direction of the three-headed swordsman. His eyes grew wide as the impact sent him careening across the horizon into the sky. The group stared up at him until he was no longer visible in the harsh Expellian sunlight.
"Well," Chisato muttered, "There goes Ashton."
"Pigyu," the Vern Vern replied. He resumed his song and pranced around in circles.
"Best not to annoy that thing," Rena said slowly. "Shall we give Chistato the tour of the village?"
Chisato looked dumbfounded. "Aren't you worried about Ashton? And since when do we have time to give and take tours?"
Claude shrugged. "Ashton's from this world too. He knows his way around. And as for your second question, we don't. She's right, Rena. We need to find out if there's anything here that can help us, or we need to head back to Fun City."
Rena nodded. "Well, let's at least visit my old house. I miss my mother."
The trio made their way towards the modest childhood home of Rena's. Westa was happy to see them all, of course, and she took well to the new red-headed girl she hadn't met before. Claude tried to tell her all he could about their adventure, leaving out the part where he watched as the Wise Men set plans into motion to destroy Expel. Westa pretending to sound as interested as the group was. The whole story was a lot to take in, and the group knew it better than anyone.
Their visit was cut short, however, by a knock at the door. Westa was the one who answered it.
"Can I help you?" the women asked the man who stood before her.
"No, Ma'am, I'm just here to tell you to stay indoors. A rather vicious animal has appeared outside of the town gates, and it's attacking anyone who tries to get near it."
Claude stood from where he'd been sitting. "Can you describe the creature?"
The man glanced over at Claude. "It's difficult to describe. It's like a dragon, made of metal. It breathes fire, and can fly a good distance. It's quite dangerous, sir, I'd keep my distance."
Claude pushed past the man, completely ignoring his warning. Rena and Chisato exchanged looks, then followed Claude. Before they'd made any good distance, they saw a familiar face running up towards them. Ashton looked a bit winded. Even his two dragon heads looked like they were panting.
"Guys!"
"Walk and talk, Ashton. We need to take care of a monster problem."
The quartet made their way towards the town gate, chatting about Ashton's trip. The brightness of the day seemed real enough to all of them, and they stopped to get a bit of water before making their way out of the town.
"So," Ashton concluded, "that little Vern-Vern creature is the exit from virtual reality. The old man apologized for not making that clear."
"Let's return to it after we're done here, then," Claude said, between sips of water.
"That's not all," Ashton said. "Apparently, only a second had passed in Energy Nede since we'd gone into virtual reality."
Chisato looked up at him. "How is that possible?"
"I didn't ask for a technical explanation. But I confirmed it. The time we spend here doesn't add up right in real life."
"All right," Claude said, "that means that we don't need to be in any hurry. Let's go out and defeat the monster, then we'll travel to Linga and try and get any clues about defeating Indelacio."
The group finished their drinks, and walked towards the exit of the town. It didn't take too long to find the "monster" that the man had spoken of. A group of men had surrounded the beast, attempting to stab it with long metal spears. The beast paid no attention and instead shot fire from its throat at one of the men, catching him on fire instantly. He ran around crazed until a fellow helper doused him. Claude internally sighed that this was the best line of defense in Arlia.
The creature did notice them, however. As soon as it saw the group, it bounded over the circle of men and rose high up in the air. Rena put her hand up to block the heat of the sun. "Is it going to attack us?"
Claude shook his head, however, and glanced up to where the creature had flown. "HEY!" he yelled, "Come back here!"
The creature obediently landed in front of the group. Although facial expressions were hard to see on the creature, it almost seemed like it was smiling.
The Synard was there to help.
"What is this place? Where are we?"
Claude glanced over at her, suddenly realizing that she had never been on the small world the group called "Expel". She had definately heard of it through their travels, but it was quite a different story to see it in person. That is, if they were all really "seeing" anything, anyways, in this virtual world.
"Chisato, apparently we're in Expel, our old world," Claude explained. "I'm not sure how, but that old man has sent us back here through virtual reality."
Chisato looked up at the sky. "It's muggy here."
"Pigya!!!!"
The four adventurers jumped as the loud noise pierced their ears. They turned around and noticed a small creature that had not been there before. It looked like a small penguin, shaded entirely purple with a patch of white on it's underbelly. It sang a wordless song and ran circles around his fenced-in area. Ashton bent down and glanced at the birds neck. It wore a colar with a bright yellow tag on it. On the tag the words "Vern Vern" were etched.
"Pigiu! Pigyu, pigyu, pigyu?"
"I don't understand," Claude replied.
"Pigiu, pigyu." The litle animal showed no signs of caring whether Claude understand him or not. The bird looked over at Ashton curiously. "Pigiu! Pigyu, pigyu, pigyu?"
Ashton smiled softly and patted the bird on it's head. "You're silly, Vern Vern!"
The bird's demeanor physically changed. What was once a happy singing animal was now an enraged beast. "Pigu! Pigya!!!" The bird ran several circles around the fenced in area...and then charged directly at Ashton. "Pigya!!" The bird slammed into the fence, sending incredible shockwaves out in the direction of the three-headed swordsman. His eyes grew wide as the impact sent him careening across the horizon into the sky. The group stared up at him until he was no longer visible in the harsh Expellian sunlight.
"Well," Chisato muttered, "There goes Ashton."
"Pigyu," the Vern Vern replied. He resumed his song and pranced around in circles.
"Best not to annoy that thing," Rena said slowly. "Shall we give Chistato the tour of the village?"
Chisato looked dumbfounded. "Aren't you worried about Ashton? And since when do we have time to give and take tours?"
Claude shrugged. "Ashton's from this world too. He knows his way around. And as for your second question, we don't. She's right, Rena. We need to find out if there's anything here that can help us, or we need to head back to Fun City."
Rena nodded. "Well, let's at least visit my old house. I miss my mother."
The trio made their way towards the modest childhood home of Rena's. Westa was happy to see them all, of course, and she took well to the new red-headed girl she hadn't met before. Claude tried to tell her all he could about their adventure, leaving out the part where he watched as the Wise Men set plans into motion to destroy Expel. Westa pretending to sound as interested as the group was. The whole story was a lot to take in, and the group knew it better than anyone.
Their visit was cut short, however, by a knock at the door. Westa was the one who answered it.
"Can I help you?" the women asked the man who stood before her.
"No, Ma'am, I'm just here to tell you to stay indoors. A rather vicious animal has appeared outside of the town gates, and it's attacking anyone who tries to get near it."
Claude stood from where he'd been sitting. "Can you describe the creature?"
The man glanced over at Claude. "It's difficult to describe. It's like a dragon, made of metal. It breathes fire, and can fly a good distance. It's quite dangerous, sir, I'd keep my distance."
Claude pushed past the man, completely ignoring his warning. Rena and Chisato exchanged looks, then followed Claude. Before they'd made any good distance, they saw a familiar face running up towards them. Ashton looked a bit winded. Even his two dragon heads looked like they were panting.
"Guys!"
"Walk and talk, Ashton. We need to take care of a monster problem."
The quartet made their way towards the town gate, chatting about Ashton's trip. The brightness of the day seemed real enough to all of them, and they stopped to get a bit of water before making their way out of the town.
"So," Ashton concluded, "that little Vern-Vern creature is the exit from virtual reality. The old man apologized for not making that clear."
"Let's return to it after we're done here, then," Claude said, between sips of water.
"That's not all," Ashton said. "Apparently, only a second had passed in Energy Nede since we'd gone into virtual reality."
Chisato looked up at him. "How is that possible?"
"I didn't ask for a technical explanation. But I confirmed it. The time we spend here doesn't add up right in real life."
"All right," Claude said, "that means that we don't need to be in any hurry. Let's go out and defeat the monster, then we'll travel to Linga and try and get any clues about defeating Indelacio."
The group finished their drinks, and walked towards the exit of the town. It didn't take too long to find the "monster" that the man had spoken of. A group of men had surrounded the beast, attempting to stab it with long metal spears. The beast paid no attention and instead shot fire from its throat at one of the men, catching him on fire instantly. He ran around crazed until a fellow helper doused him. Claude internally sighed that this was the best line of defense in Arlia.
The creature did notice them, however. As soon as it saw the group, it bounded over the circle of men and rose high up in the air. Rena put her hand up to block the heat of the sun. "Is it going to attack us?"
Claude shook his head, however, and glanced up to where the creature had flown. "HEY!" he yelled, "Come back here!"
The creature obediently landed in front of the group. Although facial expressions were hard to see on the creature, it almost seemed like it was smiling.
The Synard was there to help.