Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, DO NOT have ownership rights to Dark Cloud.
A/N: Thanks to Macky for the review. Keep 'em coming people.
Dark Genesis Tournament
Chapter 2: Rallying the Party
It only took a few seconds for Toan and Xiao to reach Matataki Village by way of Dran's world map. After saying hello to a few old friends from the small hunting village and receiving a few gifts from the locals, the pair made its way to the direct heart of the village: A large clearing with a huge tree in the center and several smaller trees surrounding it. At the top of the large tree, there sat a fair-sized house made of wood with a bone pendant hanging from the door knob.
Xiao giggled and jumped on her husband's back as he began climbing up the ladder that led to the house. Toan smiled at her affectionately and quickened his pace, reaching the tree top in no time. With his wife still clutched onto his back, Toan smirked and knocked on the door three times. Footsteps were heard inside and a few moments later, the door opened, revealing a large and chunky young man of around Toan's age.
"Hey Toan! How have you been, my friend? It's been way too long since you visited," the boy said, grasping Toan into a brotherly hug. Unfortunately, Xiao was still attached to his back, so she got caught in the hug as well, resulting in poor Toan being sandwiched between the two.
"Good to see you too, Goro, now please let go. I think I'm running outta air," the young hero wheezed, trying to get loose. Goro laughed heartily and put the couple down, throwing his arm over their shoulders and leading them inside.
"So what's with the surprise visit?" the hunter asked. The two then proceeded to explain what Dran had told them earlier. By the time Toan and Xiao finished their explanation, Goro was already sharpening his Satan's Ax and looked ready for a fight, "Well, you two, you can count me in on this. I've needed a good fight and this tournament is just the thing to give me one."
Toan and Xiao smiled, happy to know they had at least some help on this. They helped Goro pack the things he needed then gathered into a circle, using the map to take them to the city of Queens.
Landing in the middle of Queens, the three looked around, trying to figure out where exactly they needed to go. After a moment of silence, they made their way north, quickly spotting the largest house in town. It only took them a few minutes to reach the mansion, where they were greeted by a young woman wearing an Arabic dress.
"Guys, it's great to see you again! How have you been?" she asked, hugging each of her friends in turn. Toan laughed and hugged her back gingerly, "It's good to see you too, Ruby. We wanted to talk to you about something."
Once again, they explained the mysterious invitation to the East Terra tournament. Ruby quickly agreed to join, telling the others that King was starting to get on her last nerves. Once again, fate was laughing at the group as King decided to make his appearance, glaring at the three visitors since he hadn't seen them in three years.
"Ruby, who are these vermin that are infesting my lawn? Get them out of here immediately!" he yelled, stomping towards the group. Xiao and Ruby were both glaring at King and the cat-girl extracted her claws, ready to rip the poor man to shreds. Toan marched in front of the group and pulled out his Chronicle Sword, an object that King recognized immediately. His eyes widened and his jaw hit the ground as he finally realized just who he was dealing with. He turned tail and ran back into his house as fast as his short legs could carry him, but not before wetting his trousers in front of everyone.
Toan returned his sword to its sheath and the group stood there for a while before bursting out laughing. It took them a couple minutes to calm down but they finally stopped laughing and touched the world map, making their way to the desert town of Muska Lacka.
The four repeated the task in both Muska Lacka and in Yellow Drops, although nothing of interest happened in either town. By the end of the day, both Ungaga and Osmond had joined the group as well and the team was all together again. Smiling at each other and after exchanging hellos one last time, the six friends boarded the Moon Ship and made their way towards East Terra, intent on winning the top prize and finding out who their mysterious inviter was.
