Chapter 21 - Time & Tide
The sun was slowly gliding towards the horizon, the ocean breezes tainted with the coolness of the coming night already. They whisked across the sandy beach, uncaring of whatever lay there. They shook the few plants on the beach itself, and the hair of the young man passed out on the sands, washed ashore by the currents. He was for a long time unaware of the winds, but slowly he became aware fo their cold bite, and that the warmth that had bathed his body became less as the sun moved onward.
A soft sigh escaped his lips and he moved slightly to be certain he was even alive. The act was painful - not sharp, but the dull ache of having been beaten. His eyes opened to mere slits, shaking off salt and sand as he tried to take in the surroundings. It was bright enough that he closed his eyes and reopened them a moment, trying to focus on his surroundings.
'Where am I?' he wondered, concentrating hard on getting himself up. He strained a bit to pull himself into a sitting position, facing the water. 'I remember... an attack. Shin. The ship-!'
He stood quickly, and almost fell back into the surf as his body lurched at the sudden movements and railed against being forced into acting so quickly. His muscles were in pain from the torment they had endured form the ocean, and the aftermath of the battle. He bent over, resting hsi hands on his knees as he breathed deeply, trying to rebuild his stamina. 'Rena, Dias, Leon... Opera. Everyone, what happened...?' He looked around the beach, slowly standing up fully. His eyes searched the sands adn cliffs but found no one, nothing. Not a trace of any person here at all.
On the air between the gasps of ocean breeze he could smell something more - desolation. Destruction. 'This must be El.... I .... I have to see if the others are okay...' His hand brushed his side, finding his sword still there at least. He couldn't remember sheathing it, but he was thankful. 'There's bund to be many monsters here... the Tower...'
He trudged upwards on the beach, looking for any signs of the others.
~*~
"Rena..."
She coughed, feeling a trickle of cold liquid from her mouth run down. She felt numb, but also felt warmth around her. She opened her eyes, looking up into the sky, and then she saw a face, and a pair of familiar eyes looking down at her. She tried to move, but felt herself gently restrained, and also bundled. She looked down to see Dias' cloak wrapped around her, to warm her.
"Dias? Where...?"
He shrugged slightly, looking outward from the rock outcropping he had brought them to. The wind could not reach them there, and the approaches were limited, so creatures would be hard pressed to attack them. "We're on the beach... I assume the shores of El from what little I've seen above the cliff here. I was more concerned about you after I found you in the water."
Rena frowned slightly. "What about the others?"
Dias closed his eyes, and she could barely hear the sigh escape his lips. "Nothing... I haven't seen anyone... I woke up on a piece of the ship, with nothing in sight, and then came across you. I swam us towards shore, using the sun as my guide, and then tried my bet to help you. I haven't seen anyone since the ship..."
"I hope that everyone is okay..." Tears appeared in her eyes.
He held her up, holding her tightly. "I know, Rena... I know..." "We're not going to find anything out by remaining here... I know you've just come to, but the sun is setting, and the cold of the beach isn't going to help you at all."
She nodded and looked around a bit. "And there's nothing to make a fire with... that might help."
~*~
Leon coughed, shaking as he did so, and pulled his damp jacket around him tighter. 'The wind is not helping... but there's nowhere to go... and no one here...' His eyes scanned the area, looking again for signs of someone, anyone.
"Momma? Papa?" he called petulantly as he trudged up the beach. He was afraid to go up onto the cliff after hearing something growl last time he tried. His book was missing, and his mind was addled, and he wasn't sure if he could even defend himself. 'Maybe they were right...'
He took a step and fell, tripping on a log lodged into the sand. He landed hard, sending some sand up as he did so. He barely cried out, and remained there, motionless. He opened his eyes with tears hanging on closely until he couldn't stand it, and blinked them away. More came, and he cried softly to himself. "I can't... my parents... everyone... why? I can't just go on if they're not here... they're dead, I know it!"
His furry ears perked as he heard the sound of something approaching, and he scrambled, the cold of evening slowing him down. His breath was ragged, and his gaze looked back, seeing a shape looming with the sun behind him. "Back, get back!" he cried. "Or are you going to kill me too?!"
"Leon... it's okay..."
The boy blinked, and held a hand up to shield his eyes form the sun. "Claude..."
Claude knelt down, nodding. "Yeah... it's okay," the blonde said, reaching out to put a hand on Leon's shoulder. "I'm here... we're alive..."
"But- but my parents...!" Tears filled hsi eyes again and ran freely for a moment. "Everyone on the ship! That... monster - that demon ruined everything! Our hopes and dreams-"
"No." Claude's grip on the youth's shoulder tightened slightly, enough to silence him alongside the tone of his voice. "No... They aren't, Leon. You're parents are probably fine, washed ashore like us... everyone probably is. And even if we're the only survivors, we can't give up. Not for them. They wouldn't want us to just give up. We're alive... we have to try, for them, and for Expel. We survived the attack, we must carry on."
Leon stared into Claude's eyes, searching for something, and nodded slightly, reassured. "But I don't think-"
"Don't think negatively, Leon," Claude said, looking out over the ocean. "It gets to you. We can't let everything get us down... we can't let the unknowns drag us into an abyss of despair. Your parents wouldn't want you to be sad... they believe in you. Don't let that memory down. You have people who look to you for something."
A slight sigh escaped his lips as he remembered his own parents. Neither had much time for him, and he had merely grown up in the shadow of his father ... expected to be the perfect cadet like his father had been. And here he was on Expel, alone as well, unsure of what possibly had happened to the others on Milocinia. If his father was worried, or angry at him about not listening... "At least your parents let you decide what to do..."
"What?" Leon asked, barely hearing Claude.
The swordsman blinked. "Nothing... I just... I was thinking about things... things that have nothing to do with now." He stood up, offering Leon a hand. "We need to get off the beach and move inland... there was a town - if you could call it that by the description - of people still here. We need to find them... maybe the others are there."
~*~
Sensors twitched and actively picked up sound, registering to a thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness. For a moment, it almost sounded as though his brother were there, taunting him. As he gained consciousness, it was only the sound of the waves. He groaned slightly, feeling battered, one gloved hand digging into the sand as he tried to make sure he was fine. A sudden cold, wet chill ran across him and he looked down to the sand to see the water washing away once more. He pulled himself up onto the beach more, struggling to rise onto his feet as he spit out some sand. His body ached, and his robes were torn badly as he looked down over himself. 'Lovely...'
His eyes focused down on the ground, spotting his fork nearby, washed out of his hand, as he regained his bearing, and as he looked around, he spotted tow other familiar bodies not far away - the doctor, and the foreigner. 'Bowman and... Opera? Yeah...' He stumbled over, afraid that eh might find them dead. He knelt next to Bowman first, and found a pulse, then moved to Opera.
'Alive, but it's getting colder, especially with the wind, and we're all soaked.' His eyes looked around, spotting a nice collection of rocks on the cliff. With effort, he moved them both there, and shed his robe, wringing it dry and fudging around with dry brush and it for a small fire.
'Oh feh, the only useful spell I really know, and it- ah, there...' Ruprecht sighed. 'Why did I have to be less inclined in magic then my brother...' he thought sourly. 'When things matter, of course I stumble and pretty much fail. I mean, look, I've failed all of the others...'
He blinked, frowning. 'Failed whom?' He looked at the two propped against the stones. 'Failed Indalecio? My broth- Cyril? Vesper? Who? Who did I fail? They certainly don't care - not my ... Cyril in the least. I don't care either. Not anymore. These people have stood by my side and I by theirs... why can't I understand that? Why is it I still feel connected to... them? Look what they've done!'
Ruprecht bit his lower lip slightly. 'Sure, in their eyes, I failed. But I... I feel I'm a better person for it. Nothing at all wrong with my choices... right?'
He sighed, his sensor ears dipping slightly in the process. "But I was unable to deal with Shin... unable to stop him. I've found Opera and Bowman but what of the others? Claude, Dias, Rena... Ashton. Everyone else...'
"Don't..."
Ruprecht's head snapped up, looking for the source and spotted Opera's lips moving slightly. He rose, passing the stronger warmth of the fire, and knelt beside her, taking one hand. "Opera...?"
"Ern... no, of course not... you never were there," she whispered. "Who then...?"
Ruprecht shook his head slightly, brushing a wet lock of hair from her face. "Come on Opera, come to... it's Ruprecht. We're on El," he said. "At least, I think," he added softly.
"Ru... precht?" Her third eye on her forehead opened first, and then her other eyes opened to focus on his face. "Oh... El? We're... alive? We made it... but who else-"
"Shh... in due time Opera... just try to warm up. I wish I could offer more, but I haven't had a chance to scavenge much for anything... there are monsters around... the fire's already more then enough to attract something."
She nodded weakly, scooting towards the fire. He stood, about to step over to Bowman when something glimmered on the sands below, attracting his attention. "If you don't mind, a moment..."
"Hm?" But her questioning tone was unnoticed as he was already halfway down to the sand and on the beach in a flash, halting before her rifle. Underneath it in the water rushing away was a fish, trapped under its weight. Another wave was coming quickly, and he snatched both and darted away, only his feet being touched. He was back again, and smiled slightly.
"Looks like we at least get something to eat..." He blinked, seeing Opera tending to Bowman a bit and reviving him as well with something in a small jar. "Smelling salts?"
Opera nodded. "I always keep an emergency kit strapped to my leg," she said, winking with ehr third eye. She spotted Kaleidoscope and her eyes widened. "My gun!"
"It washed up... I happened to notice it... and it caught us a fish." He held up the wriggling sea-fish.
"Great," Opera said as Bowman groaned. "Come on sleepyhead... we need you awake, too. I may be able to cook, but we need your skills. I won't let you die now..."
"I feel like a tidal wave slammed me..."
"One probably did, the waves are pretty bad here," Ruprecht observed, handing over the fish to Opera. "Though how we're going to cook it is beyond me."
"I've managed," she said, snapping off a branch. "We eat, and we move inland more... if the others are alive, they've probably moved away form the beach. There's that town... and if they haven't we'll have to come back and scour it for signs of them. However, I don't think we've been licked that badly yet. We're a good batch..."
Ruprecht nodded. "Yeah... it couldn't be that bad." His eyes looked inland, knowing full well what lay ahead. "You okay, Bowman?"
"Yeah... where's your robes?" he replied, rubbing his head. "What I wouldn't give for a bit of Yukarine herb for this head pain..."
Ruprecht pointed to the fire. "They were pretty messed up, and there wasn't all that much shrubbery here nor time to look for any... I'll make do in my pants and shirt though." He shrugged and leaned against a rock. As he stood there, thinking he picked up on a sound. It was subtle, but definite, the sounds of movement nearby. His hand reached for his fork, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Movement," he mouthed, alerting the others by his movements. He listened more intently, reaching out with his senses. "Person... could be friend or foe... just be ready..." He saw movement then to the right and tipped his head in that direction, just past a bit of shrub.
"Say something loudly," Bowman mouthed at Ruprecht. "Let them know we know... throws off many enemies..."
"Hello there," Ruprecht said clearly, causing a stir of brush, as the person was startled.
"Who - who are you?" the voice asked, a soft timid female voice. "What do you want here? Are you in league with... them?"
Ruprecht swallowed and sighed. 'This is what we've caused...?'
"We came form Lacour... we were on a ship headed here to deal with the Sorcery Globe," Bowman said. "Contrary to appearances we're here to help." He winked at Opera, pointing to her third eye.
"Lacour? They've come to help?" The young woman came out from behind the brush, her eyes wide. "We've been without word for some time... what happened? Where...?"
"We were attacked," Ruprecht said, sighing. "The ship was decimated... there was no way we could have known it would happen." He looked down at the ground. 'Though I should have known that they would figure it out - Indalecio is far from stupid, and so is Cyril.' "There was many of us headed - eleven or so, some soldiers for guards and a couple of scientists... We're the only ones we know of so far that made it."
"I'm so sorry," she said. "Oh! I'm Sarina, I'm one of the survivors of Eluria... we have a village not too far from here. I came down to find anything but... I'm sure we're fine... the tides look too rough."
Opera nodded. "We found only a single fish," she held it up, "and that's been about it... we need to go to the village, some of the others might be headed there as well..."
Sarina frowned slightly. "I thought I heard someone shouting that there was some odd people about but I was too far..."
Bowman and Opera exchanged glances. "Could be any of them..."
Opera nodded. "Let's douse this and get going... we might be a bit slow at first because we're still somewhat cold and tired, but... we need to know what's going on. And see if anyone's there at all from the ship."
~*~
Celine stood there, cold and glaring down at the figure on the sand. Neither dragon nor man had so much as stirred in her efforts. 'I know they're alive... I can see them breathing!'
She growled softly, and then glared over at the sun. "What do I have to do, shock you?" She thought that over a moment, and then smirked. "It's worth a shot... not too much, but enough to get them conscious. I can't leave him, and I can't just stand here..."
She prepared a spell, carefully crafting it, and shot the small bolt into his body, causing it to leap. Both dragons squawked loudly, and Celine stepped back quickly as they reared around, trying to snap.
"Hey, wait I was trying to help!" she cried. "It's me!"
"Ow..." Ashton said, pushing himself up, his body aching from the intense shock. "What was that?!"
"You weren't storring!" Celine said. "Tell your dragons to cool it, that I was helping."
"Hey, you two, quiet down so I can hear her," Ashton said, bopping them on the noses.
"Awk awk!" "Awroo!!"
"I don't care right this second what you think, it was my body she hit anyway!" He stopped glaring at them and whirled on Celine. "What's going on?"
"We're on El, and I can't just leave you but... we can't just stay here! I haven't found anyone, it's getting colder, and I couldn't think of any other way to get you conscious." Her mouth was set somewhere between frowning and smirking, and she shook her head. "Look, I'm sorry but... I couldn't just leave you... this place gives me the creeps. And it's not right to leave a comrade in arms behind."
Ashton shook his head. "Maybe not the best way to wake someone, but I guess it worked... just don't do that again... I don't know if I'm even able to fight right now from that."
"Sorry..."
"It's fine," he said, looking up at the cliff. "We'd better get going."
They headed upwards, Celine noticing the dragons still glaring at her time to time. She sighed, and looked away, following the cursed swordsman as they made their way in. "Say... Ashton... do you know where we're going?"
"Towards Eluria," he said. "I grew up here. I can't get lost..." He trailed off as they crested a rise and saw the land before them.
"Oh my..." Celine covered her mouth, looking at the way before them. Everything was decimated, burned to a crisp from the foot of the hill onward.
Ashton was shaking, somewhere between guilt and rage. "How could they..."
"Ashton..." She looked to the swordsman, trying to think of something to say when she spotted light from something. "Hey... look, is that a town of some sort?"
The dragons looked, and squawked, agreeing as Ashton turned. He gave one last glace outwards, seeing the ruins of Eluria and the wretched tower rising within it. 'I will avenge you all...'
~*~
"So you mean there's more technology where you're from? The Hope isn't just some weird idea?"
"Sort of," Claude said. "We wouldn't have the same means you do to execute things."
"I see," Leon mused, nodding. "So then I'm not crazy!" the Fellpool exclaimed. He noticed then that Claude had stopped and looked back a moment. "Eh?" He looked ahead then, and saw what had stopped them. They had found it - the village. They walked forward together in silence, and their approach was noticed.
"Halt," a male said, looking ragged yet vigilant. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here, we came from Lacour..."
They were eyed sharply, but before he could speak, another voice piped up. "Lacour? Were you on the ship that was coming?" An older female walked over. "Be at rest Rallan, they're part of the group from the others that came."
"Others?" Both Claude and Leon perked up. "You mean some other people are here?"
"Of course," a deep male voice replied from a doorway. "You didn't think one monster could easily take me out... not after the fight we shared. As I told Rena on the way here, 'Claude couldn't possibly succumb under that - not after the fight he gave me at the tournament.'"
"And you were right," Rena said, poking out from around Dias and stepping outside. "We have all been worried about you."
"Hey, is that Claude?" they heard from inside, and Opera peered from around Dias as well. "You're all right!" she exclaimed. "Hey all, Claude and Leon are here!"
They were escorted inside, and greetings were exchanged. Claude looked around the table, seeing only those who were going to fight. "No sing of Leon's parents?" he asked softly to Opera as Precis was busy hugging Leon tightly.
Opera shook her head. "No... Bowman, Ruprecht and I washed up together and were brought here by Sarina, one of the girls here. Precis was found by Errol over there-" she pointed to a young man about Claude's age with dark brown hair - "Ernest found his way here alone, Dias and Rena arrived first apparently... and Celine and Ashton came as well since I've been here. Ashton looks shaken by something..."
"He's form here, if I recall," Claude said. "The sight of this place in ruins probably has got to him... I'll talk to him later."
Opera nodded. "No sign of anyone else, but we can look, or the people here will... by all accounts this place is a mess. The Wise Men have really made things bad, especially with the monsters."
Claude nodded. "Any food and such... I'm starving."
Opera laughed lightly. "We were about to eat. Come on... we need to replenish our strength with food and sleep so we can discuss things in the morning."
------ Author's note: I realize that it's been some time since the last update - Nov. I was on fic hiatus with NaNoWriMo, which I ended up not finishing, and Dec. was crazy. Oct. ... just wasn't up to pursuing this after the atrocity of Chapter 20. However, this lengthy addition to Fates hopefully somhwta makes up for things. It drags a bit, but hopefully works a few things more as we grow closer to the tower... MWAHAHAHA! Next chapter should eb interesting, at least for me. You'll see when we get there. *evil laugh* Until then, ta~
The sun was slowly gliding towards the horizon, the ocean breezes tainted with the coolness of the coming night already. They whisked across the sandy beach, uncaring of whatever lay there. They shook the few plants on the beach itself, and the hair of the young man passed out on the sands, washed ashore by the currents. He was for a long time unaware of the winds, but slowly he became aware fo their cold bite, and that the warmth that had bathed his body became less as the sun moved onward.
A soft sigh escaped his lips and he moved slightly to be certain he was even alive. The act was painful - not sharp, but the dull ache of having been beaten. His eyes opened to mere slits, shaking off salt and sand as he tried to take in the surroundings. It was bright enough that he closed his eyes and reopened them a moment, trying to focus on his surroundings.
'Where am I?' he wondered, concentrating hard on getting himself up. He strained a bit to pull himself into a sitting position, facing the water. 'I remember... an attack. Shin. The ship-!'
He stood quickly, and almost fell back into the surf as his body lurched at the sudden movements and railed against being forced into acting so quickly. His muscles were in pain from the torment they had endured form the ocean, and the aftermath of the battle. He bent over, resting hsi hands on his knees as he breathed deeply, trying to rebuild his stamina. 'Rena, Dias, Leon... Opera. Everyone, what happened...?' He looked around the beach, slowly standing up fully. His eyes searched the sands adn cliffs but found no one, nothing. Not a trace of any person here at all.
On the air between the gasps of ocean breeze he could smell something more - desolation. Destruction. 'This must be El.... I .... I have to see if the others are okay...' His hand brushed his side, finding his sword still there at least. He couldn't remember sheathing it, but he was thankful. 'There's bund to be many monsters here... the Tower...'
He trudged upwards on the beach, looking for any signs of the others.
~*~
"Rena..."
She coughed, feeling a trickle of cold liquid from her mouth run down. She felt numb, but also felt warmth around her. She opened her eyes, looking up into the sky, and then she saw a face, and a pair of familiar eyes looking down at her. She tried to move, but felt herself gently restrained, and also bundled. She looked down to see Dias' cloak wrapped around her, to warm her.
"Dias? Where...?"
He shrugged slightly, looking outward from the rock outcropping he had brought them to. The wind could not reach them there, and the approaches were limited, so creatures would be hard pressed to attack them. "We're on the beach... I assume the shores of El from what little I've seen above the cliff here. I was more concerned about you after I found you in the water."
Rena frowned slightly. "What about the others?"
Dias closed his eyes, and she could barely hear the sigh escape his lips. "Nothing... I haven't seen anyone... I woke up on a piece of the ship, with nothing in sight, and then came across you. I swam us towards shore, using the sun as my guide, and then tried my bet to help you. I haven't seen anyone since the ship..."
"I hope that everyone is okay..." Tears appeared in her eyes.
He held her up, holding her tightly. "I know, Rena... I know..." "We're not going to find anything out by remaining here... I know you've just come to, but the sun is setting, and the cold of the beach isn't going to help you at all."
She nodded and looked around a bit. "And there's nothing to make a fire with... that might help."
~*~
Leon coughed, shaking as he did so, and pulled his damp jacket around him tighter. 'The wind is not helping... but there's nowhere to go... and no one here...' His eyes scanned the area, looking again for signs of someone, anyone.
"Momma? Papa?" he called petulantly as he trudged up the beach. He was afraid to go up onto the cliff after hearing something growl last time he tried. His book was missing, and his mind was addled, and he wasn't sure if he could even defend himself. 'Maybe they were right...'
He took a step and fell, tripping on a log lodged into the sand. He landed hard, sending some sand up as he did so. He barely cried out, and remained there, motionless. He opened his eyes with tears hanging on closely until he couldn't stand it, and blinked them away. More came, and he cried softly to himself. "I can't... my parents... everyone... why? I can't just go on if they're not here... they're dead, I know it!"
His furry ears perked as he heard the sound of something approaching, and he scrambled, the cold of evening slowing him down. His breath was ragged, and his gaze looked back, seeing a shape looming with the sun behind him. "Back, get back!" he cried. "Or are you going to kill me too?!"
"Leon... it's okay..."
The boy blinked, and held a hand up to shield his eyes form the sun. "Claude..."
Claude knelt down, nodding. "Yeah... it's okay," the blonde said, reaching out to put a hand on Leon's shoulder. "I'm here... we're alive..."
"But- but my parents...!" Tears filled hsi eyes again and ran freely for a moment. "Everyone on the ship! That... monster - that demon ruined everything! Our hopes and dreams-"
"No." Claude's grip on the youth's shoulder tightened slightly, enough to silence him alongside the tone of his voice. "No... They aren't, Leon. You're parents are probably fine, washed ashore like us... everyone probably is. And even if we're the only survivors, we can't give up. Not for them. They wouldn't want us to just give up. We're alive... we have to try, for them, and for Expel. We survived the attack, we must carry on."
Leon stared into Claude's eyes, searching for something, and nodded slightly, reassured. "But I don't think-"
"Don't think negatively, Leon," Claude said, looking out over the ocean. "It gets to you. We can't let everything get us down... we can't let the unknowns drag us into an abyss of despair. Your parents wouldn't want you to be sad... they believe in you. Don't let that memory down. You have people who look to you for something."
A slight sigh escaped his lips as he remembered his own parents. Neither had much time for him, and he had merely grown up in the shadow of his father ... expected to be the perfect cadet like his father had been. And here he was on Expel, alone as well, unsure of what possibly had happened to the others on Milocinia. If his father was worried, or angry at him about not listening... "At least your parents let you decide what to do..."
"What?" Leon asked, barely hearing Claude.
The swordsman blinked. "Nothing... I just... I was thinking about things... things that have nothing to do with now." He stood up, offering Leon a hand. "We need to get off the beach and move inland... there was a town - if you could call it that by the description - of people still here. We need to find them... maybe the others are there."
~*~
Sensors twitched and actively picked up sound, registering to a thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness. For a moment, it almost sounded as though his brother were there, taunting him. As he gained consciousness, it was only the sound of the waves. He groaned slightly, feeling battered, one gloved hand digging into the sand as he tried to make sure he was fine. A sudden cold, wet chill ran across him and he looked down to the sand to see the water washing away once more. He pulled himself up onto the beach more, struggling to rise onto his feet as he spit out some sand. His body ached, and his robes were torn badly as he looked down over himself. 'Lovely...'
His eyes focused down on the ground, spotting his fork nearby, washed out of his hand, as he regained his bearing, and as he looked around, he spotted tow other familiar bodies not far away - the doctor, and the foreigner. 'Bowman and... Opera? Yeah...' He stumbled over, afraid that eh might find them dead. He knelt next to Bowman first, and found a pulse, then moved to Opera.
'Alive, but it's getting colder, especially with the wind, and we're all soaked.' His eyes looked around, spotting a nice collection of rocks on the cliff. With effort, he moved them both there, and shed his robe, wringing it dry and fudging around with dry brush and it for a small fire.
'Oh feh, the only useful spell I really know, and it- ah, there...' Ruprecht sighed. 'Why did I have to be less inclined in magic then my brother...' he thought sourly. 'When things matter, of course I stumble and pretty much fail. I mean, look, I've failed all of the others...'
He blinked, frowning. 'Failed whom?' He looked at the two propped against the stones. 'Failed Indalecio? My broth- Cyril? Vesper? Who? Who did I fail? They certainly don't care - not my ... Cyril in the least. I don't care either. Not anymore. These people have stood by my side and I by theirs... why can't I understand that? Why is it I still feel connected to... them? Look what they've done!'
Ruprecht bit his lower lip slightly. 'Sure, in their eyes, I failed. But I... I feel I'm a better person for it. Nothing at all wrong with my choices... right?'
He sighed, his sensor ears dipping slightly in the process. "But I was unable to deal with Shin... unable to stop him. I've found Opera and Bowman but what of the others? Claude, Dias, Rena... Ashton. Everyone else...'
"Don't..."
Ruprecht's head snapped up, looking for the source and spotted Opera's lips moving slightly. He rose, passing the stronger warmth of the fire, and knelt beside her, taking one hand. "Opera...?"
"Ern... no, of course not... you never were there," she whispered. "Who then...?"
Ruprecht shook his head slightly, brushing a wet lock of hair from her face. "Come on Opera, come to... it's Ruprecht. We're on El," he said. "At least, I think," he added softly.
"Ru... precht?" Her third eye on her forehead opened first, and then her other eyes opened to focus on his face. "Oh... El? We're... alive? We made it... but who else-"
"Shh... in due time Opera... just try to warm up. I wish I could offer more, but I haven't had a chance to scavenge much for anything... there are monsters around... the fire's already more then enough to attract something."
She nodded weakly, scooting towards the fire. He stood, about to step over to Bowman when something glimmered on the sands below, attracting his attention. "If you don't mind, a moment..."
"Hm?" But her questioning tone was unnoticed as he was already halfway down to the sand and on the beach in a flash, halting before her rifle. Underneath it in the water rushing away was a fish, trapped under its weight. Another wave was coming quickly, and he snatched both and darted away, only his feet being touched. He was back again, and smiled slightly.
"Looks like we at least get something to eat..." He blinked, seeing Opera tending to Bowman a bit and reviving him as well with something in a small jar. "Smelling salts?"
Opera nodded. "I always keep an emergency kit strapped to my leg," she said, winking with ehr third eye. She spotted Kaleidoscope and her eyes widened. "My gun!"
"It washed up... I happened to notice it... and it caught us a fish." He held up the wriggling sea-fish.
"Great," Opera said as Bowman groaned. "Come on sleepyhead... we need you awake, too. I may be able to cook, but we need your skills. I won't let you die now..."
"I feel like a tidal wave slammed me..."
"One probably did, the waves are pretty bad here," Ruprecht observed, handing over the fish to Opera. "Though how we're going to cook it is beyond me."
"I've managed," she said, snapping off a branch. "We eat, and we move inland more... if the others are alive, they've probably moved away form the beach. There's that town... and if they haven't we'll have to come back and scour it for signs of them. However, I don't think we've been licked that badly yet. We're a good batch..."
Ruprecht nodded. "Yeah... it couldn't be that bad." His eyes looked inland, knowing full well what lay ahead. "You okay, Bowman?"
"Yeah... where's your robes?" he replied, rubbing his head. "What I wouldn't give for a bit of Yukarine herb for this head pain..."
Ruprecht pointed to the fire. "They were pretty messed up, and there wasn't all that much shrubbery here nor time to look for any... I'll make do in my pants and shirt though." He shrugged and leaned against a rock. As he stood there, thinking he picked up on a sound. It was subtle, but definite, the sounds of movement nearby. His hand reached for his fork, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Movement," he mouthed, alerting the others by his movements. He listened more intently, reaching out with his senses. "Person... could be friend or foe... just be ready..." He saw movement then to the right and tipped his head in that direction, just past a bit of shrub.
"Say something loudly," Bowman mouthed at Ruprecht. "Let them know we know... throws off many enemies..."
"Hello there," Ruprecht said clearly, causing a stir of brush, as the person was startled.
"Who - who are you?" the voice asked, a soft timid female voice. "What do you want here? Are you in league with... them?"
Ruprecht swallowed and sighed. 'This is what we've caused...?'
"We came form Lacour... we were on a ship headed here to deal with the Sorcery Globe," Bowman said. "Contrary to appearances we're here to help." He winked at Opera, pointing to her third eye.
"Lacour? They've come to help?" The young woman came out from behind the brush, her eyes wide. "We've been without word for some time... what happened? Where...?"
"We were attacked," Ruprecht said, sighing. "The ship was decimated... there was no way we could have known it would happen." He looked down at the ground. 'Though I should have known that they would figure it out - Indalecio is far from stupid, and so is Cyril.' "There was many of us headed - eleven or so, some soldiers for guards and a couple of scientists... We're the only ones we know of so far that made it."
"I'm so sorry," she said. "Oh! I'm Sarina, I'm one of the survivors of Eluria... we have a village not too far from here. I came down to find anything but... I'm sure we're fine... the tides look too rough."
Opera nodded. "We found only a single fish," she held it up, "and that's been about it... we need to go to the village, some of the others might be headed there as well..."
Sarina frowned slightly. "I thought I heard someone shouting that there was some odd people about but I was too far..."
Bowman and Opera exchanged glances. "Could be any of them..."
Opera nodded. "Let's douse this and get going... we might be a bit slow at first because we're still somewhat cold and tired, but... we need to know what's going on. And see if anyone's there at all from the ship."
~*~
Celine stood there, cold and glaring down at the figure on the sand. Neither dragon nor man had so much as stirred in her efforts. 'I know they're alive... I can see them breathing!'
She growled softly, and then glared over at the sun. "What do I have to do, shock you?" She thought that over a moment, and then smirked. "It's worth a shot... not too much, but enough to get them conscious. I can't leave him, and I can't just stand here..."
She prepared a spell, carefully crafting it, and shot the small bolt into his body, causing it to leap. Both dragons squawked loudly, and Celine stepped back quickly as they reared around, trying to snap.
"Hey, wait I was trying to help!" she cried. "It's me!"
"Ow..." Ashton said, pushing himself up, his body aching from the intense shock. "What was that?!"
"You weren't storring!" Celine said. "Tell your dragons to cool it, that I was helping."
"Hey, you two, quiet down so I can hear her," Ashton said, bopping them on the noses.
"Awk awk!" "Awroo!!"
"I don't care right this second what you think, it was my body she hit anyway!" He stopped glaring at them and whirled on Celine. "What's going on?"
"We're on El, and I can't just leave you but... we can't just stay here! I haven't found anyone, it's getting colder, and I couldn't think of any other way to get you conscious." Her mouth was set somewhere between frowning and smirking, and she shook her head. "Look, I'm sorry but... I couldn't just leave you... this place gives me the creeps. And it's not right to leave a comrade in arms behind."
Ashton shook his head. "Maybe not the best way to wake someone, but I guess it worked... just don't do that again... I don't know if I'm even able to fight right now from that."
"Sorry..."
"It's fine," he said, looking up at the cliff. "We'd better get going."
They headed upwards, Celine noticing the dragons still glaring at her time to time. She sighed, and looked away, following the cursed swordsman as they made their way in. "Say... Ashton... do you know where we're going?"
"Towards Eluria," he said. "I grew up here. I can't get lost..." He trailed off as they crested a rise and saw the land before them.
"Oh my..." Celine covered her mouth, looking at the way before them. Everything was decimated, burned to a crisp from the foot of the hill onward.
Ashton was shaking, somewhere between guilt and rage. "How could they..."
"Ashton..." She looked to the swordsman, trying to think of something to say when she spotted light from something. "Hey... look, is that a town of some sort?"
The dragons looked, and squawked, agreeing as Ashton turned. He gave one last glace outwards, seeing the ruins of Eluria and the wretched tower rising within it. 'I will avenge you all...'
~*~
"So you mean there's more technology where you're from? The Hope isn't just some weird idea?"
"Sort of," Claude said. "We wouldn't have the same means you do to execute things."
"I see," Leon mused, nodding. "So then I'm not crazy!" the Fellpool exclaimed. He noticed then that Claude had stopped and looked back a moment. "Eh?" He looked ahead then, and saw what had stopped them. They had found it - the village. They walked forward together in silence, and their approach was noticed.
"Halt," a male said, looking ragged yet vigilant. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here, we came from Lacour..."
They were eyed sharply, but before he could speak, another voice piped up. "Lacour? Were you on the ship that was coming?" An older female walked over. "Be at rest Rallan, they're part of the group from the others that came."
"Others?" Both Claude and Leon perked up. "You mean some other people are here?"
"Of course," a deep male voice replied from a doorway. "You didn't think one monster could easily take me out... not after the fight we shared. As I told Rena on the way here, 'Claude couldn't possibly succumb under that - not after the fight he gave me at the tournament.'"
"And you were right," Rena said, poking out from around Dias and stepping outside. "We have all been worried about you."
"Hey, is that Claude?" they heard from inside, and Opera peered from around Dias as well. "You're all right!" she exclaimed. "Hey all, Claude and Leon are here!"
They were escorted inside, and greetings were exchanged. Claude looked around the table, seeing only those who were going to fight. "No sing of Leon's parents?" he asked softly to Opera as Precis was busy hugging Leon tightly.
Opera shook her head. "No... Bowman, Ruprecht and I washed up together and were brought here by Sarina, one of the girls here. Precis was found by Errol over there-" she pointed to a young man about Claude's age with dark brown hair - "Ernest found his way here alone, Dias and Rena arrived first apparently... and Celine and Ashton came as well since I've been here. Ashton looks shaken by something..."
"He's form here, if I recall," Claude said. "The sight of this place in ruins probably has got to him... I'll talk to him later."
Opera nodded. "No sign of anyone else, but we can look, or the people here will... by all accounts this place is a mess. The Wise Men have really made things bad, especially with the monsters."
Claude nodded. "Any food and such... I'm starving."
Opera laughed lightly. "We were about to eat. Come on... we need to replenish our strength with food and sleep so we can discuss things in the morning."
------ Author's note: I realize that it's been some time since the last update - Nov. I was on fic hiatus with NaNoWriMo, which I ended up not finishing, and Dec. was crazy. Oct. ... just wasn't up to pursuing this after the atrocity of Chapter 20. However, this lengthy addition to Fates hopefully somhwta makes up for things. It drags a bit, but hopefully works a few things more as we grow closer to the tower... MWAHAHAHA! Next chapter should eb interesting, at least for me. You'll see when we get there. *evil laugh* Until then, ta~
