I don't own anything except the Takahari family, their Dragoon Spirits, Kenji Okamura, and Cassius
Note: This chapter begins from Ryan's POV.
***
While Ian and Rose chose to stay outside, Karen and I entered Kilika Temple. Crackpot religions, in my experience, were always interesting.
Technically, only summoners and their guardians were allowed to enter the "Cloister of Trials" that lay within the temple, and only summoners could enter the "Fayth" at the end.
I never did care much about technicalities.
Despite knowing that Ian probably wouldn't approve (he never did have the best sense of humor) I snuck into the Cloister of Trials while Karen distracted anyone who might notice me by asking a lot of questions.
The first thing that I noticed was that the place had way too much fire. In order to pass, I was forced to carefully follow Tidus, who had somehow gotten himself in, as well. The second thing that I noticed was that the architects of the place had a taste for the convoluted puzzle.
I concluded that this was not a good place for those of low IQ, which lead me to wonder how Wakka had navigated the place. He didn't seem terribly imaginative to me.
I avoided notice after reaching the end of the Cloister by using a kuji invisibility spell Ian taught me, allowing me to stand in plain sight without being seen. From there, I was in a position to observe Lulu and Wakka's reactions to Tidus's appearance.
"What are you doing here?" Lulu demanded.
"It was Donna and Barthello," Tidus replied hastily, referring to a rather rude summoner and guardian pair they had encountered in the main room of the Temple. "They threw me down here."
Lulu shook her head. "Yuna may be the one to pay the price."
"What 'price'?"
"She could be excommunicated."
I chose that moment to become visible. "What do they do in there, pray to the mouse god?" Lulu started to turn her wrath on me, and I continued unhurriedly. "Before you ask what I'm doing here, let's just say that I have a bad case of curiosity."
Wakka shook his head. "Only summoners, apprentice summoners, and their guardians are allowed here." He glared at me for a moment. "Is nothing sacred?"
"How did you get in here?" Lulu demanded. "You shouldn't have been able to."
I grinned; Ian really wasn't going to be happy. "Let's just say my siblings and I are very good infiltrators." I glanced at Wakka. "As for those taboos, well, I never was known for being respectful. Ask anybody."
Kimahri, of course, was silent. I had by now come to the conclusion that either he couldn't speak, or saw no reason to. I suspected the latter; sometimes pretending to be mute makes people assume that you are also deaf. It could also be that he didn't speak to those he didn't consider worthy; if so, I could sympathize.
***
I waited around there until Yuna emerged, then left. I figured I might as well get through Ian's irritation and be done with it.
He and Rose were off by the trees together, talking. No surprise there; they were even closer than Karen and Lavitz. Of course, Ian and Rose at least lived in the same area; Karen had to go all the way to Bale to see Lavitz.
Ian turned when I got near. "Okay, Ryan, who have you been aggravating this time?"
I grinned. "Oh, only about a temple's worth of religious nuts. You see, they've got this idea about who may and may not go places. I just… disturbed it."
Ian shook his head. "Ryan, when are you going to learn that you can't go ticking off everyone you meet? There are such things as tact and respect, you know." He turned away, resuming his conversation with Rose.
I frowned. Normally Ian would have torn a strip off my hide for a stunt like that. Now, something else seemed to be on his mind. Something that was disturbing him greatly.
That, combined with the nightmares that had been scaring him stiff, gave me the idea that something really, really bad was going on.
Rose probably knew what it was; anything Ian knew, Rose knew, just as everything Rose knew, Ian knew. They trusted each other implicitly. Unfortunately, these days Ian was far more likely to confide in Rose than in me, so it wasn't likely I'd get much warning if something did happen. I'd just have to be on my guard.
***
We didn't remain there long; once Yuna's group emerged from the temple, we headed back through the forest to Kilika, then boarded the boat to Luca.
Ian was clearly becoming more nervous by then moment. Whatever was coming was coming soon. I kept the Soul Cleaver loose in its scabbard; the threat could come at any moment.
My caution was justified: An hour after we left Kilika, Ian abruptly stiffened and spun around, just as a bat shape was landing on the deck and changing form. A vampire, obviously.
Ian's expression was a curious mixture of terror and pure, raging fury. "Cassius!" he screamed, then leapt forward, coat fluttering to the deck behind him and Raiden-Ken flashing out its scabbard. "Temae kakushigo!"
The vampire, Cassius, laughed. "I told you I was coming for you, Takahari. Now you will be fully turned!"
"Never!" Ian swung his blade in an intricate combination, trying frantically to kill Cassius as quickly as possible.
Cassius swatted aside the attack with contemptuous ease, using a gladius he had drawn from somewhere. "Is that all you've got?" To my shock, he easily knocked Raiden-Ken out of Ian's hand. I had never seen Ian lose his blade like that.
Then Cassius lifted him off his feet. "It's over, Takahari. You've lost."
I was too far away, but Rose wasn't. The katana Ian had given her during the Second Dragon Campaign, Doragon-Adauchi, swept through Cassius's arm, and Ian dropped.
***
Return to Ian's POV
***
I dropped to the ground, gasping. "We'll meet again, Takahari!" Cassius said as he fled. "Count on it!" He flung himself over the side while I lay on the deck, trying to catch my breath.
Rose helped me to my feet. "Are you all right, Ian?"
I coughed. "I will be. Thanks." I retrieved Raiden-Ken. "Another few seconds, and it would have been over."
"I couldn't let that happen." She looked me over. "You're sure you're all right?"
"Except for damaged confidence, yeah." I massaged my throat. "That bastard. I thought he was dead." I glanced around. "Did Yuna and company see it?"
"I don't think so. The water covered the sound of your screaming," Rose added dryly.
I shrugged. "He made me angry, that's all." I sighed. "I'm sick to death of fighting vampires. They're bloody hard to kill, and all they have to do to spread their virus is to bite someone, making my job a lot more difficult."
"No help for it, niisan." Ryan walked over. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, yeah. Nothing to worry about." I finally straightened. "Let me guess. You want to know who Cassius is."
"That'd be a start," he agreed. "I've never seen you that scared of anything outside of Mayfil."
"Well, I'll admit that not even Cassius holds a candle to the horrors we found there, but he is the most terrifying thing short of Mayfil."
I told Ryan the same thing I had told Rose. When I finished, he whistled silently. "So that's what you meant back on the Moon That Never Sets, when you said there was more to your hatred of vampires."
"Exactly. For ten years, I've lived with the knowledge that if I met him again, I would almost certainly be turned. Seven years ago, I thought he was dead; normally, even a vampire doesn't survive when a castle collapses on him. But he is one of the ancient vampires, the powerful ones of old. He might appear as a mist in the night sky, or a bat, or any number of things. If you thought Count Draco von Schneider was a powerful adversary, you'll be unpleasantly surprised by Cassius. Draco was never more than an irritant for me, but Cassius is the very definition of terror."
***
By nightfall, things had quieted. The sea was calm, the crew were quietly going about their work. The passengers were fairly quiet, even. And the Luca Goers, of course, stayed well away from me. They wouldn't soon forget the scare I gave them at Kilika Temple.
Yuna's party had split up for a time; Wakka and Lulu on the upper deck, Yuna and Tidus talking near the bow, and no sign at all of Kimahri. The big Ronso presumably had Ronso things to do.
I was by the port railing, thinking, when Rose walked over. "Hello, Rose."
"Ian." She leaned against the railing next to me. "What are you doing?"
"Just thinking." I gazed at the silent ocean. "Today, I came far too close to a fate worse than death. If I'd been alone, I'd be a vampire by now."
"But you weren't alone. You're not alone."
"I know. Thanks." I pulled my Dragoon Spirit out of my coat and looked at the glowing, black stone. "The day is coming soon when we will have to reveal these. I can feel it."
Rose nodded. "Yes. It is said that the Dragoon Spirits manipulate fate, but perhaps it is also true that fate manipulates the Dragoon Spirits."
I snorted. "I've defied 'fate' before. So have you. And together, the Dragoons stopped 'the will of Soa' six years ago. 'Fate' has no power over me."
***
We arrived in Luca the next morning, which happened to be the day of the blitzball tournament that was Wakka's other reason for being there. The Besaid Aurochs would be trying once more to win the cup.
I kept my own opinion to myself; I don't think Wakka would appreciate my saying that when a team hasn't won a game in all the time it has existed, it's not likely to change simply because a new player, no matter how talented Tidus might be, joined up. Ryan, of course, would have said it outright, but he never was the most respectful or tactful person.
I listened with half my attention as an announcer introduced the team from Besaid. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the Besaid Aurochs! They're a living, breathing, statistical impossibility! I've never seen a team this bad."
I still don't think they can win, but the announcer there has the same problem the Goers have: overconfidence.
I completely ignored the fanfare that erupted when one Maester Seymour Guado was introduced. A maester may have been a ruler, but I acknowledged the leadership of only one man. I did note, however, that something didn't seem right about him. Something… malevolent. But I doubted it concerned me.
The arrival of a second maester was something I was forced to take notice of. When Grand Maester Mika appeared at the gangway of the ship Seymour had just left, Wakka nudged me. "Hey! You bow, too."
I turned on him, my remaining eye blazing with fury. "I bow to one man and one man only, Wakka! This… maester isn't him. I couldn't care less if this was his one hundredth year of leadership, let alone fiftieth." As Wakka sputtered, I turned to my companions. "Rose, Ryan, Karen, come on. Let's take a look around."
***
Shortly after the start of the first blitzball game, Tidus, Lulu, and Kimahri caught up with us. "Tidus? What's the rush?"
Out of breath, he paused near us. "The Al Bhed have kidnapped Yuna!"
I frowned. Wakka had mentioned the Al Bhed before; some kind of high-tech civilization that rejected Yevon and thus received Wakka's eternal ire. "Why would they do that?"
"Trying to make us lose the game! The first match is against the Al Bhed Psyches!"
I quickly came to a decision. "Then let's go. I don't like kidnappers."
The Al Bhed weren't the most imaginative abductors; it was obvious that Yuna had been taken to the most logical (and thus worst possible) place: the ship they came in on.
One of them tried to stop us when we got close; I simply picked him up and tossed him into the water. Being mostly sea-traveling nomads, it was unlikely he'd drown; even if he did, it was no more than he deserved for this stunt.
From there, our only obstacle was an Al Bhed machine, and a respectably powerful one at that. It even resisted Raiden-Ken's blows. "So now what!?"
Lulu spotted a nearby crane. "Perhaps we can use that."
"If it's got any power." I quickly moved over to it. "Don't suppose this thing takes AAs," I muttered to myself. "Try thunder magic on it!" I shouted back to Lulu.
After a few blasts of that, Tidus was able to get the crane working, and our target was effecting turned into junk by the simply expedient of removing large chunks of it.
Yuna herself came on deck just afterwards; evidently, the Al Bhed had miscalculated, and she had freed herself from the guards inside. "Yuna! Are you alright!?" Tidus asked.
"Yes. Thank you." Yuna looked at Tidus as he began to check the ship. "What is it?"
He stopped. "When I first arrived in Spira, I was rescued by an Al Bhed ship. I was kinda hoping this was the same one, but it's not."
"Was there a man named Cid aboard that ship?"
"I don't know. I couldn't understand what they were saying, anyway. Why? Who's Cid?"
Yuna paced. "He's my uncle, on my mother's side. I've never met him, but my father said that, if I was ever in trouble, I should go see him."
Tidus did a double take. "Does that mean… you're Al Bhed?"
Lulu nodded. "Yes. But don't tell Wakka. He hates the Al Bhed."
Tidus jerked again. "Whoa! I gotta tell Wakka!"
Lulu stood. "I thought I told you not to tell Wakka!"
Yuna understood. "The game!"
They hurried off, leaving me bemused. I'd always found sports boring. A good way to break bones and lose teeth, and nothing else.
***
The Aurochs had defeated the Psyches, which apparently meant they would go on to the finals, against the Luca Goers. Wakka would have to sit this one out, though: he'd been injured in the first match. Tidus would take his place.
I paid little attention. I couldn't care less who won, and something didn't seem right. I suspected things were about to get hairy.
I was right. Less than a minute after the Aurochs creamed the Goers, fiends began to appear all over the stadium. To make matters worse, some of them were airborne. "Come on!" I shouted to my companions. "Yuna's probably going to need our help in a minute here!"
It didn't take long to rendezvous with Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri. When we did, I turned to Yuna. "May we offer our assistance?"
"Yes, thank you. There are many fiends here."
"How did they get here?" Lulu mused. "They shouldn't have been able to get in."
"Forget it!" I snapped, then turned. "Dragoons, transform!" As one, we held out our Dragoon Spirits, and the changes began. Rose, floating in a black orb, to emerge in her deep violet, stylized armor of the Dark Dragoon; Karen, swallowed by a nova, coming out in the bright blue armor of the Starburst Dragoon; and Ryan, wavering out of existence, to reappear in the blood-red armor of the Dragoon of Time. Finally, as diamond covered me, I felt my own limbs lengthen and the power of dragons enter me as I became the warrior once foretold in prophecy: the Diamond Dragoon, whose black armor was impervious to normal weapons.
It was a transformation that I had not undergone in six years, not since the final defeat of Melbu Frahma and the destruction of the Moon That Never Sets. The half-forgotten rush of power was intoxicating. It was time to show the monsters of this world what a fatal mistake it was to aggravate Dragoons.
Yuna and her guardians stared at us as we hovered a few feet above the ground. "What… are you people?"
"I'd love to chat," I interrupted Lulu, "but we've got fiends to kill." I gained more altitude, holding my blade vertically. "No one of this world has ever faced a Dragoon, but I don't think they'll forget them!" I folded my wings, diving into the fray. My sword, edge keen enough to cut through steel like butter, easily sliced through the fiends I encountered.
Even so, the odds were against us. I had no doubt that we would survive, but it would take a miracle to kill all the fiends before they killed spectators. And not even Dragoons were miracle workers.
As I flew past the spectators once more, I saw that Tidus and Wakka had survived the Sphere Pool and were fighting along side a man dressed in red, left arm slung samurai-style and wearing sunglasses. He carried a long, massive sword which he used to devastating effect, cleaving through fiends with an ease that rivaled Raiden-Ken itself.
So that's the "Sir Auron" Yuna and Tidus were talking about, the "the legendary guardian" who protected Yuna's father… along with Sir Jecht, Tidus's father. So he's not a myth, after all.
I had little time to consider this, however, as Seymour made another appearance. He was carrying a staff, similar to Yuna's, and he rotated it through the air. I watched with interest; despite Wakka's explanation, I still had no clear idea just what a summoner did.
Just the same, I was completely unprepared for what actually happened: a huge anchor appeared out of nowhere, and a fish-like creature was dragged up out of another nowhere.
I jerked back out of the way as the thing's one visible eye began to emit beams of light, which vaporized fiends on contact. It was completely unlike anything in my experience, surpassing even a Dragon summoning.
It wasn't long before there were no more fiends in the stadium. Once they were gone, the creature, which I now realized to be an aeon, vanished, and Seymour withdrew.
***
Author's note: Now Cassius has made his debut, and the Dragoons have been forced to reveal themselves. Future developments look interesting.
To respond to Reiko5, in the most recent review of the Story of the Diamond Dragoon, the legend mentioned is essentially correct, but it was actually Muramasa, supposedly a pupil of Masamune, not Murasame. This confirms that it is mere legend, of course; more than a century separated the two swordsmiths. Still, the legends surrounding the ancient swordsmiths and swordsmen of Japan are quite fascinating.
I don't believe there is anything else to mention here, so just read it and let me know what you think. ~Solid Shark
