Chapter 7: Preparation. Apollo?
He had seen a lot over the years. His earliest memories were of the green forests in Ixa-Taka. He remembered losing an eye to an angry bird. He remembered being cared for by Gilder until he regained his strength. He remembered the first eyepatch Gilder gave him.
He joined The crew of The Claudia, where he saw even more. He saw hundreds of successful battles. He saw dozens of encounters with Clara, all ending with Gilder's swift evacuation. He saw scores of late-night escapades with various women and bar maids. He also saw plenty of fish.
He remembered Vyse's rescue, the razing of Nasr, and Fina's rescue from the Great Fortress. He participated in the discovery of Daccat's treasure, the trip to The Great Silver Shrine, and the destruction of Crescent Isle. And he experienced the Rains of Destruction on Valua, the defeat of Galcian, and the demise of Ramirez/Zelos.
He had seen acts of great kindness and great cruelty, of creation and destruction, of friendliness and horniness. Everything he had so far seen, however, did not prepare him for his current view.
High above the clouds he flew, looking down upon the forever changed continents and seas below. Nothing looked as it once did. Nothing remained of any of the mid-ocean islands, except for Sailor's Island. In the desert lands of Nasr, the entire continent supporting the Temple of Pyrynn was completely destroyed. North-east in Yafutoma, Mt. Kazai had been utterly obliterated. To the west in Valua, 1/3 of the continent had disappeared, leaving a huge, gaping maw. Further west, in Ixa-Taka, Moon Stone mountain had been vaporized, completely destroying the only source of wealth for the Hortekans. And to the south, where once there was nothing but ice and an underground city, only a large hole remained. The landscape had been so deformed he could only weep at the sight.
With a mournful flap of his wings, Willy returned to Gilder aboard the Delphinus, now fully powered with all five moon crystals. With a soft landing on Gilder's shoulder, he said two words: "all clear!"
"Thanks, Willy. Okay, Fina, what do we do next? We have all the moon crystals, but I don't see how we are going to be able to stop Darknoth, even with our new, souped up MoonStone Cannon. Sure, there isn't a ship in the sky that can take us out, but that's not going to help against Darknoth. And I don't think that the combined might of the five gigas will be able to stop that one. I just don't see how we can win against it."
"Our only chance is to revive Zelos. I think I can do it, but first we need a silver moon crystal."
"Wait, hold on. Fina, you're the only one with a silver moon crystal! And to take it, we would have to kill you! We can't do that."
"You don't have to. I learned from the hidden text on Shrine Island that there was one moon crystal left in reserve. The elders weren't sure if they would ever need Zelos in the future. So they left one crystal on the Silver moon. We have to go to the moon and find that crystal."
"WHAT! Go to the moon! That's crazy!" exclaimed Aika.
"No, I think we can modify the Delphinus to take us up to the moons. However, I will need the help of Brabham and Hans. And Centime."
"Well, at the moment they are in Valua. So let's head there."
The Delphinus turned toward the home of the empire and began the last leg of the journey. Four battles against various Loopers later, they arrived at Valua City. They docked and found the three engineers. Fina spent several hours in conference with the three men, while the others wandered through the city. Aika went to the clothes shops and purchased several things for her wardrobe: a new pair of shorts, a dress for formal occasions, a new nightgown, and a new swimsuit to show off to Vyse. Enrique returned to Moegi to check on her and settle any problems that had occurred in his absence. Gilder, of course, made a beeline for the grittiest strip club in the city to spend a few pleasant hours.
When Fina reemerged and contacted everyone, she laid out the new prints for the renovation.
"Okay, we'll need everyone's help for this. We've recruited Izmael and Kirala to help with the building, and Urala will take care of our meals. Now let's get building!"
One week later
"It's finally complete. The Delphinus is ready to go higher than anyone has gone before (in the last thousand years). Is everyone ready?"
"Hold on, we should pick up Vyse. He'll never forgive us if we go to the moon without letting him come with us."
"Alright. First stop, Crescent Isle. By the way, we've added a new engine . . ."
"What's your poi--aaaah!"
The engine roared to life and sped them away at five times the speed of sound, shortening the trip from Valua to Crescent Isle from five days to four hours. Vyse came aboard, and everyone greeted him with much hugging, kissing, and crying out. Someone slapped him on the butt, and even to this day he doesn't know for sure who it was. Unfortunately, his leg was still broken so he couldn't take over as captain nor could he fight. After they settled him into the captain's chair in the bridge, they sped off into the sky, aiming straight for the silver moon.
In the blackness behind them, a dark shape followed. How could they have seen a creature made of pure black energy in a black background?