Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Cloud, people, so stop trying to sic the copyright guys on me J
A/N: Sorry bout the lack of updates but keep the reviews coming. I'll keep updating when I have time.
Dark Genesis Tournament
Chapter 3: Arrival at East Terra, the Mystery Messenger Is Revealed
The party could see East Terra by now and with Toan at the wheel, would arrive in about 15 minutes. Currently, Xiao and Ruby were in the ship's main lounge room talking about girl stuff. Goro was busy sharpening his axes and polishing his hammers, trying to make sure his weapons were at their best when the tournament started. Ungaga was writing a letter to his wife Mikala, who was back in Muska Lacka. Osmond, the group's genius, was now reloading his gun and making a few trinkets to help the party once they got on East Terra.
Suddenly, Xiao walked into the bridge and hugged her husband from behind, planting a quick peck on his cheek, "Hey honey, are we almost there yet?" she asked, giving him the traditional anime big-eye look. Toan chuckled and nuzzled her cheek before leaning the ship controls forward, "We're about ready to land, Xiao. Go tell the others to get ready."
Xiao nodded happily and skipped off to tell everyone. Toan smiled at his wife's antics and continued descending the ship. Before long, they had docked the Moon Ship and were finishing gathering their respective weapons. As they walked down the walkway off the ship, they spotted a cloaked man holding a stack of papers in his hand. They couldn't see his face, but as the group approached, he held out his hand, which Toan shook eagerly.
"Greetings, Toan, and welcome to East Terra," he said, gripping the young hero's hand tightly. Everyone looked at him wide-eyed, wondering how he knew their leader's name. The man chuckled and pulled back his cape hood, which caused the entire party to gasp in surprise. If it weren't for the goatee and emerald green eyes, they wouldn't have been able to tell this man from Toan himself.
"My word, Toan, you sure have gotten big. I haven't seen you since you were a baby, and from the ring on your hand, I'm willing to bet that you're already married. They grow up so fast," the man exclaimed, pulling Toan into a tight hug. Toan backed away when he was put down and glared at the man like he was dirt.
"Just who the hell are you?" Toan yelled, pointing a finger at the older man. The mystery man laughed and pulled out a large sword, still in its sheath.
"The name's Aga, but I guess you can call me Dad. Now which of these two lovely ladies is your wife?"
This, unfortunately for Aga, was the worst thing to say to Toan, as the younger man tackled him and hit him with the hardest left hook he had ever felt. Even Goro and Ungaga cringed as they heard Aga's nose break under the pressure of Toan's punch. Xiao jumped on Toan and tried to pull him off, finally succeeding when the others came to help.
"You bastard! How could you leave me and mom like that?" Toan screamed at Aga, trying desperately to get out of his friends' grasps so that he could rip his father to shreds. Aga finally staggered up and bent his nose back into place, groaning in pain from the beating he just received.
"I'm sorry Toan, but I had no choice but to leave. I was called away to fight in the war but was taken prisoner. I just recently got out and have had to steal to survive in this country," he explained, trying to keep his distance from his son.
"Kind of hard to believe, though, that I just got the stuffing beat out of me by an 18 year old when I was one of West Terra's best soldiers in the war. I must be getting senile in my old age."
Toan was still fuming but sat down and listened to his father as he told his story of how he was captured and escaped after 13 years of imprisonment. After the story was over, Toan had calmed down some and finally introduced his friends to his father. When he got around to introducing Xiao, Aga laughed and pulled the two into a tight hug.
"I can't believe my son's got himself a wife, and she's quite a looker. Better hold onto this one, kiddo, she's a keeper," he said, causing his son and daughter-in-law to blush deeply.
Suddenly, a booming voice was heard behind them all, "Will all those participating in the tournament please check-in. The preliminaries will begin in 10 minutes. Thank you."
Everyone got up and headed to the check-in station and signed up before it closed. Toan was surprised to see Aga sign up as well, "What are you doing, dad?" he asked.
"I forgot to tell you, one of the top prizes is a passport to West Terra. That's why I invited you and your friends to come and join: With your help, I can win the passport and get back home to Norune," he said, silently hoping that Toan wouldn't attack him again.
Toan, however, just grinned and gave his father a thumbs-up, "No problem, pops. I'd be happy to get you back to mom."
With that said, the party, now with seven members, walked into the grounds to fight for Aga's freedom.
