Hello! The second chapter is here! I hope you liked the first one enough to even be on this one. I also kinda hope this chapter will be better. Well, the story continues!

Chapter II: The Storm

Albel, Nel, and Roger continued their trek exiting the forest and entering the Sanmite Steppe. Roger was hopping along with his fluffy Menodix tail wagging all over the place. Nel was just walking along the grassy plains awaiting Surferio. Albel was doing the same but he was bored unlike her. Where's the action? Waste of time, he thought. What was the point of coming out here anyway? I didn't have to agree. Well, I'll be going back to Airyglyph soon anyway.

Nel suddenly stopped and looked at the sky.

"What are you stopping for? The sooner we drop off this brat, the better," said Albel.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Roger said walking on without them.

"A storm's coming...," muttered Nel. "A big one... I can feel it..."

"Either that or you're hungry. Would you guys hurry up? I'm all the way over here!"

The sky instantly darkened. The soft wind turned into a gale. Rain started to pour on the three along with some occasional hail.

"This is just great..."

"Save it, Albel. We need to find shelter. It's too dangerous to try to go to Surferio right now."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" came the Menodix running back to the group.

"Come on!"

They ran through the rain which was pouring harder and colder by the minute. Back into Duggus Forest they ran.

"Do you know where ya going? I think I'm getting a cold."

"I'm beginning to think the same thing."

"It should be around here, guys."

Through the torrent of rain and ice there was a black hole in the side of a cliff that none of them (except Nel) had ever seen before. Nel headed for it. Roger and Albel followed with no problem.

"I never noticed this here. But then again, I was always running away from monsters or Moonshadow goons," Roger said plopping his butt on a rock.

"We'll have to stay here until the storm passes," said Nel. "We need to make a fire."

"In case you haven't noticed, we have no firewood and the trees outside are soaked," growled Albel leaning against the cave wall.

"Who says we have to use wood?"

Nel unwrapped the scarf from around her neck. Using runology, she created a small flame from the tip of her index finger and spent a few minutes drying it off. When it was dry, she lit it.

"That should stay lit for a few hours. Hopefully, this storm will end soon."

"I'm hungry... You bring any food?"

"Sorry, Roger. I don't carry food along."

"Awww... Huuungry... Well if we can't eat, what are we gonna do?"

"I have a feeling this storm won't be over for a while."

"How long is 'a while'?" questioned Albel.

"We probably won't be able to leave until morning. It's late, anyway. We should get some sleep and dry off by the fire."

"Good night everyone! I'm beat!"

Roger hopped off to a larger rock. He flopped right on it and immediately went to sleep. Nel shook her head.

"Wierd kid," she said. "I suppose you won't be going to bed any time soon?"

"No, I don't plan to."

"Suit yourself."

Nel spent an hour or two sitting by the flames drying off her soaked clothes. Albel stood by the entrance of the cave staring at the gloomy rain falling in the night's darkness. He thought about the situation. This rain had better end soon. I refuse to be stuck with these worms for too long. Plus, there's the king. He's always suspicious when I leave for some time without telling him first. He probably will make me train soldiers to keep me at the castle for a while when I come back. Why can't he be fond of someone else? I hate being the favorite.

Eventually, Nel left for the back of the cave to sleep. It seemed she didn't want to sleep in the presence of Albel. She was still a little uneasy around him even after all they had been through in the past. Defeating the Creator, Luther side-by-side with him didn't mean she would fully trust Albel. After all, he had mercilessly killed hundreds of innocent Aquarians in his past. Hundreds of her fellow people without question, without regret, without mercy.

Through all of Roger's snoring and the sound of the unrelenting rain, Albel eventually grew tired. Of course there were not very many places to lie down comfortably. He settled on lying against one of the cave walls. How uncomfortable. Oh well, sooner I wake up, sooner I can get out of here, he thought and closed his eyes.

During that sleep, he had a dream. The dream was rather familiar, like it had happened in real life before. That's because it had. It was a memory of his past. And it was far from a dream. It was a nightmare.

A fifteen year old Albel Nox and his father, Glou Nox, walked through the Ruins of Barr on their way to the Dwelling of Crosell. It was time for Albel's Accession of the Flame ceremony to take place. If he succeeded in this event, he would take his place among the knights of the Dragon Brigade like his father and even those before Glou. It seemed every Nox in the family ended up in the Dragon Brigade. Albel planned to do the same and ride on top of a proud dragon.

"You're awfully quiet, son," said Glou looking at Albel. "Nervous?"

"Sort of. The chances of being accepted by an air dragon are very slim. And if I fail-"

"Don't think about failure. That's one of the things you should never think about. Thinking about it will only make failure imminent, you understand?"

"Yes."

"Dragons might be a little picky, but if you are honest and fight for the right reasons, no harm can come to you. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"I hope you're right."

They finally approached the Urssa Lava Caves. With a little hesitation, they went in avoiding the lava pools around them.

"A little word before you start the ceremony, the people we brought with us back there? They are just there because they have to be here. They need to be here to witness this. Just another part of tradition. They aren't the judges here, though, so concentrate on the dragon. The dragon is all that matters now."

"I know, you told me already. Several times, too."

"I just don't want you to forget."

Soon, the small group entered Crosell's lair looking upon the dormant dragon lord. Several dragons were standing proudly staring at the visitors. Albel could feel his heart pounding harder. His father and the others that had accompanied him stood near the entrance of the lair watching as Albel slowly walked up to the middle of the floor. He could hear his heart now.

An air dragon stood before him. It started to speak.

"Young knight, it is time for you to perform the Accession of the Flame. You must answer a series of questions. Your answers will decide your fate, lest it be death or life."

"I know. I'm ready."

"Very well. We shall begin."

His heart thumped slowly.

"First, what matters the most in your life?"

"Umm..."

Thump...

"It's..."

Thump...

"Succeeding matters most. There's nothing more enjoyable than winning and knowing you've done soemthing worthwhile."

Thump...

"Very well. Second, what do you think your purpose in life is? What do you think you live for?"

"I... I..."

Thump...

"I live to serve my country like my ancestors. I live only to be apart of the Dragon Brigade."

"Hmm. Alright, how strong do you think you are?"

Thump...

"I am one of the best. Some of the other soldiers shouldn't even be in the military compared to me. I was taught by the best."

The air dragon continued to ask questions. Albel became more and more nervous as the questions kept coming. His heart thumped louder and slower. Sweat began to run down his face. He could feel the eyes of the humans and dragons boring into him. He thought he heard himself lie to a question or two.

Finally, the last question was asked.

"Lastly, young knight. What do you despise the most? What do you hate more than anything in this world?"

Thump... thump... thump...

"I hate those who get in my way. I hate those who think they are better and shoo me away. I also hate those who think I am just a charity case, just think I get special treatment because I am the son of Glou Nox."

"That's your answer? Are you sure?"

"Yes, as sure as I'll ever be."

"So it is. You may complete the ceremony."

"Dragon, will you fight along side with me? Will you fight with me until we may die? Will you fly with me through the skies?"

The dragon paused for a moment. Then it started to growl. The other air dragons started to swarm around with anger burning in their eyes. The others brought along to witness this ceremony gasped and started stepping away. Glou stood still not knowing what to do.

"Albel!" he yelled.

"Imbecile! You call yourself a knight? Beneath your skin lies your selfish heart and even greedier soul! You may be great, you may be the best in the army, but your heart is the weakest I've ever seen! Shouldn't loved ones matter more? Shouldn't your purpose have more meaning? Shouldn't gloating be one of the last things you do? Shouldn't hate matter not? Your hubris will not go unpunished! The selfish words you muttered today are the last you will have ever spoken!"

Albel didn't see any reason to fight back. He was going to die. He was going to die at this very spot. He would never live to see his father ever again.

As the dragon reared back with the other ones stepping aside, Albel closed his eyes and flinched for the oncoming flames. He could hear them coming closer, closer. But as he heard screams of pain, he opened his eyes. What he saw was his father. His father was in front of him, in the way of the fire, burning.

Albel realized his father was dying... for him. He watched stunned and silenced as Glou Nox fell to the ground lifeless knowing that he would never rise again. Albel should have died but instead, it was his father lying lifeless upon the now bloodstained ground.

The dragon was not done breathing its fury, however. The young knight looked away from his father and the flame was coming onto him. He moved this time thinking of Glou's sacrifice. But he was too late as the flame scorched his left arm.

The dragon ceased fire as Albel collapsed on the ground in pain screaming. The last thing he could remember was the desperate cries from the others, the flapping of the air dragons flying away, and the pain in his arm. Before he completely went unconscious, Albel could feel two tears emerge from his eyes and slowly run down his face. They silently hit the ground as he closed his eyes once more.

"Father..."

Back in the cave, he felt someone slightly shaking him. Someone's voice was waking him.

"Albel? Albel, wake up!"

He awoke to Nel's worried face and Roger's intrigued one. He was a little confused.

"Good, you're awake," said Nel sighing in relief.

"What happened?"

"Well, for starters, I was sleeping peacefully until I heard moaning. Then I woke up and saw you shaking like you were having a seizure. Naturally, I woke up Nel who naturally woke you up. Now we're here," Roger explained. "I was having a nice dream too..."

"You're sure you are okay though, right? I was worried about the shaking. And you're sweating a lot."

"I'm okay. I was just... having an extremely bad nightmare."

"A nightmare? It must have been really unpleasant. I suppose you wouldn't want to tell us about it?"

"Anyone wanna hear about my dream?"

"Roger..." said Nel annoyed.

"Okay, I really didn't want to talk about it anyway. But it was soooo awesome! There was this chicken-"

"Roger, we need to focus on things more important than your dream."

"Fine, be that way."

Albel sat up but faced away from the two.

"You're sure you're fine?" asked Nel again. "Because I can help..."

She started to approach him but Albel promptly shoved Nel away.

"Fool, I can handle a nightmare. I do not need your help. I don't need your charity either."

Nel was obviously mad now. She started for the back of the cave again as Albel layed back down.

"I tried to be nice, I tried to get along, I really tried to accept you and forgive at that moment because of your condition. But I see you will never change, Albel Nox. And for that, I can never forgive you for all that you've done! Someday you'll end up all alone. All you'll have is you. All you'll have is yourself to blame for it," she mumbled as she disappeared into the shadows.

Albel wasn't at all enthralled but he decided to ignore her. He went back into his slumber but found he had trouble. The images of the flame, the blood, the father kept coming back and refused to leave. He couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

How was it? I hope it's good. Chapter III is coming soon. And please leave a review. I need to know how this chapter and story is so far. Note that a lot of the stuff in this chapter and in the rest of this story will be made-up. I can tell you that this chapter was made from imagination because the game never showed you what an Accession of the Flame ceremony looked like. And there was never a cave in the Duggus Forest. Just so you know. Hope you'll continue reading my story!