"After almost a year of not writing on this I have decided to post a new chapter, enjoy and please don't flame me. Also I have found out that I can't keep consistent with the captain's accent so that will be stopped."

Chapter 3: Training

"Your not listening boy" the gruff voice of the captain rumbled through Fai's meditations. "You've got to listen with all your heart."

"But I'm not hearing anything, besides those stupid gulls" Fai complained back.

"Listen kid, you've got to shut out all the outside noises and just concentrate on the inner ones"

"Inner noises?"

Captain Roy heaved a great sigh, "Inside noises are your chaotic thoughts and worries, you must push all that aside to hear the voice, do you understand?"

Fai nodded, and once again, he closed his eyes. The sun had been beating down on them for at least an hour as the Captain tutored him in the basic ways of the change. The "voice" he kept lecturing Fai about was supposedly the second creature that lived inside all zoatropes and that by listening to this voice you could transform into the beast within. Fai looked deep within himself and struggled to push the worry of his father aside. Images of the demon Belvarius assaulted him but using all his strength, he battered the thoughts away. Searching deeper and deeper, Fai struggled to ward off the thoughts of hunger, thirst, and the blaring heat. When suddenly his mind touched upon something he had never felt before. The heat from the blistering panels of the ship paled in comparison to the inferno inside his mind. He tried to pull back but it was too late, once he encountered that wall, a great burning spread throughout his body. In a flash, Fai was writhing in the invisible flames of his mental assault. A scream escaped his lips as the pain increased. Then suddenly the flames transformed into feeling and a great power arose within him. He heard the voice then, and the voice was to powerful to be kept pent up any longer. The scream of pain transformed into a howl of anger as Fai managed to climb to all fours. Something on the edge of his consciousness demanded his attention; Fai looked up and noticed the Captain was screaming at him. Realizing he had to fight, he grappled wills with the great voice. The spirit within him realized that it was about to be placed back and fought to maintain control. The overwhelming power changed back to flames and Fai dropped on the deck and let loose an ear-splitting shriek. Using the pain to fuel him, Fai forced the thing back behind that wall in his mind and sealed it shut. With a final groan, he collapsed onto the deck. Darkness surrounded him as he sunk into oblivion.

An eternity later his vision cleared and he found himself lying in a bunk below decks one of the crewmen saw him stir and sent for the captain. Fai could not sit up, but he glanced about and saw a crewman standing guard at the door. The guard looked very apprehensive, and Fai creased his face in consternation.

"Why should he be nervous now?" Fai thought to himself, "More pirates?"

Before he could voice that opinion, Captain Danials strode into his room.

"You gave us quite a scare up there Fai," he said pulling on his beard "I didn't expect you to make it that far today"

"Oowww…my head…what happened?"

"Well you had an encounter with what's inside you" The captain stalked to a porthole and looked out "I suppose I should've told you before but… a zoatrope has… let's just say an "inner beast" that resides inside your mind"

The captain noticed that he wasn't making himself fully clear and so he walked up next to the bed, sat down, and continued.

"The beings within us give us our powers, for your father and grandfather it was a green dragon, for me a great king crab, for you…" at this point he paused " well that's yet to be seen. Although the beast is just as much a part of you as say…an arm or a leg, the beast does have its own feelings and wants. As is the way with most first-timers, you come in contact with the most powerful feeling of your beast."

Fai widened his eyes with the knowledge and thought back on the fight with the pirates. "So what feeling did you come in contact with Captain?" He asked.

"Protection." Captain Roy looked up at the ceiling and lost himself as he spoke. "My form gives me the power to be nigh invincible, what with the thick armor plating I can even withstand bullets" he gave Fai a grin "And so for a whole week I picked as many fights as possible, just to see how much I could take. I got into bar fights and street duels, and never lost, I felt invincible. I then decided on how I could use this to make money. So I became a pirate." Fai gasped and the Captain looked away. "I never killed anybody but I looted and plundered everything I found."

"Why aren't you a Pirate now?" asked Fai.

"Well that's a story for another day, but let's just say your father brought me back down to earth." He chuckled at this and Fai could not help but join him.

"So tell me Fai, what feeling did you feel the most when you met your voice?"

"I felt immense power running through me, like I could take on the world." It seemed to Fai that merely remembering that feeling gave him strength. He began to work himself into a sitting position.

"Whoa there Fai," The captain put a restraining hand on him "It'll take at least a day for you to recover and at least two for you to be your old self."

"Its gonna take two days for me to be as strong as I was?"

"No, it should only take you about a day to recover full strength."

"Then why did you say…?"

The captain interrupted him and pointed at his body. Fai was up enough that he could see his arms and legs. Where once had been smooth skin, a rock hard layer of clear scales had formed, and where once was fingernails black talons had begun to form. Fai wondered what changes had happened to his face.

"It'll take maybe two days for that to wear off enough so that the crew isn't afraid of you"

"Wait, why would zoatropes be afraid of me?" Fai said looking at his "claws"

"Well kid, most zoatropes first-times aren't as loud or as visible as yours. Also, most "negative" effects go away within a few minutes. Yours however have lasted for ten hours now."

"Ten hours how long have I been out?" Fai asked.

"Just long enough for us to reach where were going to dock at."

"Thanks for reading and please, please, please respond. Hopefully the next one will be faster."