Star Ocean: Cyrus' Side

by Panzerraptor

Cyrus Splicer was a Californian Sophomore with a high IQ, incredible street smarts, and impressive fighting skills. One day, he gets sucked into a vortex that transports him into the SO3 universe. Will he survive? SPOILERS! Ch. 21 up FIN!

15. Chapter 14

Part 14.1: Revelations

Cyrus was still unconsious out from the event that took place. Not only has Fayt's powers started to manifest, but Cyrus' have also matured after being triggered by the blue-haired swordsman's Destruction gene. Though he was supposedly knocked out on Elicoor II, the dream Cyrus had felt more like he was in another reality. In his supposed "dream", Cyrus was in a large and strange lab. "What happened?" Cyrus asked himself. "Where am I?"

He looked around the room and saw a tall man with black hair and glasses speaking to another man who was blonde. "Has the Executioner program been installed?" the blonde man asked.

"Yes it has, sir."

"Excellent, Azazer. In moments, that Milky Way sector will be deleted. Soon, we'll be able to stop this anomaly before it spreads to the rest of the Eternal Sphere."

"What of those pests in the lab, sir? It seems that they're causing more harm than good."

"Don't worry. Once I'm finish with this little problem, I'll have a little talk with my sister. Now go."

"Yes, sir."

Azazer left the room and Luther turned around to face Cyrus. "Ah, I bid you welcome, young Splicer."

"Wha- How do you know...?"

"Of course, how could I be so rude. I am Luther Lansfeld, creator of Sphere Company's leading game: the Eternal Sphere. Follow me, please." Luther went toward a large computer and Cyrus followed. "You see, every and all new data is added and stored onto my computer. Every name, every character, every thing whatsoever is monitored on here. You, however, are a unique specimen."

"Where have I heard that before?" Cyrus said to himself.

"You see, a while ago, we encountered an unknown virus residing within the Milky Way galaxy, the area you're playing now. Since then, we've been trying to find out the cause of this unknown issue. A few days later, we discovered that new character accounts popped out of nowhere. An hour passed when we were trying to track it. Then we found that another anomaly was created. When we searched the records of this newer account, we've made a remarkable discovery. The new data we had was none other than yourself."

"Wha-! Well this is awkward."

"At first, we thought that you were some sort of hacker who illegally created a character, but there was no evidence of hacking or any new software being used. We found it interesting that you two show almost the same character data. With such similarities of both power and internal workings, our programmers, as well as myself thought you were both the cause of these problems. That was before we witnessed your battle with that entity."

"You mean the General," Cyrus said. "So what's your point?"

"We figured we can help you in your vendetta against the other abnormality. Someone such as yourself has sparked an interest, even in our top research departments."

"Why would you want to help me? And why am I here, man? What's the point of all this?"

"I want you to have this." Luther handed Cyrus a small chip with 4D Writing.

"What's this?"

"That data is used to render the Executioner's data. With that, you're character will be able to defeat them like any other program within the Eternal Sphere. It will also modify your weapon and protect your data from an anti-Executioner software that my meddlesome sister is inventing."

"Why give me this, homes? Wouldn't it be simpler to just delete me? And you still haven't answered my question."

"Now, now. You're too important for deletion, at the moment. For now, we need your assistance for defeating this... Lystara for us and taking care of this dilemma. Perhaps, you may be able to help us against the virus."

"I don't trust him," Cyrus thought. "Though, there must be some other reason why he gave me this enhancement chip. But why?" He turned back to Luther with a stern face. "I still don't understand, Luther. At the moment it doesn't look like I have a choice."

"Excellent, now it is time for you to go back." With that being said, Luther pressed a button on his console and Cyrus blacked out.

He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was back in Aquaria. "Ah..." he moaned as he felt aches and pains all over his body.

"I see you're back," Nel said. "What a relief."

"Yeah, or whatever is left..."

"How are you feeling?" Cliff asked.

"I think I was just torn to shreds and pieced back together like a puzzle."

"Lady Nel," a male soldier called.

"How is Dion doing?" Nel asked.

"Not well..."

"I see..." Suddenly, a moan was heard and Fayt begins to regain his consciousness. "Oh…you're awake," she says as Fayt starts coming to. "What a relief. I thought you might not ever wake up again."

"Where am I?" Fayt asked.

"Castle Aquaria," Cliff said. "We're back. It looks like the Airyglyph soldiers went back home, too. Now's not the time for war."

"And the Vendeeni...?"

"Don't worry about them," Nel replied. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm all…argh… I'm aching all over! And Dion… Is Dion okay?"

"He's been seriously injured. He's still breathing…but it doesn't look good."

"Oh no, I promised Ameena I'd make sure he got home safely!" still suffering from the pain, Fayt slowly rose up.

"Wait, you should stay in bed," Nel suggested.

"She's right," Cliff said upon agreement. "You're not in such great shape yourself, you know."

"I'm more worried about Dion right now," Fayt responded. "Where is he?"

Nel hesitated at first, but she knew she wasn't able to stop him even if she tried. "He's in a private room across from the fabrication room."

"Alright then," Cyrus said with a straining voice as he got up. "Let's go."

"You too?" Cliff said.

"Hey, a little mobility never killed anyone... That I know of," he mumbled. "Besides, I never liked sitting out from stuff."

"Alright, let's go!" Fayt said.

As the group proceeded through the halls Cyrus asked Fayt, "Hey, do you remembered what happened?"

"You mean during the war?"

"That's right."

"I don't know. I only remember that the Vendeeni ship disappeared. How about you?"

"Well, I don't remember too much. My memory only goes to the time the Vendeeni showered us with its cannon shots. After that, it's all a blank."

"What do you think happened?"

"I... I don't remember, dog."

The group made it to Dion's room only to see his frail body laying in his bed with a runologist trying to treat him. "Dion!" Fayt yelled as he saw his comrade lie wounded.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep your voice down," the healer advised. "He just fell asleep."

"I'm sorry… How is he, doctor?"

"Well, he's stabilized a little bit, but he's still in grave danger. Whatever attacked him, it injured him so greatly that healing is impossible. We don't have the tools to help him!"

"No… Dion, hang in there! I'm bringing Ameena to see you!"

"Wait!" Cyrus said as he got in Fayt's way. "Do you really think Ameena should see her friend in such turmoil?"

"Cyrus, this is the last time she might ever see him again!" Fayt yelped. "How would you feel if you never said good-bye to someone in his condition? Besides, we should do something right. After all, it's our fault that any of this happened to begin with."

Cyrus thought about what he was doing and what Fayt said. "I hate it when Fayt starts acting like this. But, he's right. How can one live with themselves if they stopped someone from seeing their dying loved one. Wait, why am I doing this? I can't interfere any more than I already have. I must do this. Not just for morality, but the last thing I need is to cause any other unnecessary problems." Cyrus backed off and allowed Fayt to continue his business. When Fayt was gone, Cyrus laid against the wall outside Dion's doorway.

Nel carefully approached Cyrus as it seemed he was pondering about something. "Cyrus..." All the young swordsman did was take a glance at the Crimson Blade spy and returned to his deep thought. "As you can see, the attack has left Dion mortally wounded."

"I know..." Cyrus said.

"I wonder..."

"About what?"

"Those foes we've faced recently. First Lystara, then General Grievous and now this... Vendeeni. If they're not from Greeton, then where? And why are they here?"

"I'll be real with you. Lystara is someone that I'm trying to hunt down. Remember she killed my mentor in cold blood. The General was not even supposed to be here and I don't actually know what the Vendeeni want. The last thing I heard before we were knocked out was Cliff talking about us being captured."

"Do you think they really came for you two?"

"I don't know, Nel. I just don't know..."

Footsteps were heard from around the corner and two figures approached. It was Fayt as he walked Ameena to Dion's room. Cyrus and Nel entered in afterwords. "Dion..." Ameena said before she coughed. She walked over to Dion's bed and knelt beside it.

" Amee…na… I'm sorry… I couldn't…keep…promise…" Dion responded as best he could with his weakening body. Ameena tightly holds Dion's hand.

"Lady…Nel. Please… That…box…" Nel looked over at the chest walked over. She opened it to reveal its contents: a flowered lei being the Wishing Charm.

"This?" Nel asked as she held it up.

Dion nodded. "I promised…to end…this war… So I could see you…in Airyglyph…again…"

"I know…" Ameena said. "Please, you must rest!" She coughed again.

"I couldn't end the war… But…I saw you again… It's…all I ever wished for."

"Dion… That was my wish too."

"I'm glad…I saw you again."

"Me, too."

"Amee...na." Dion hand falls onto the bed as Ameena released it.

Fayt was in shock. "No… This can't be happening! Dion! Doctor!" The doctor checked for any signs of life, but to no avail. She shakes her head to signal that Dion was no longer of this world. "No… After all this time! You had you whole lives ahead of you! Ameena, I failed you. This is all my fault. Ameena…?" Ameena remained silent, still knelt down by Dion's side. "Ameena...?" Fayt called again. Without warning, Ameena's head lowered. "No..." he said out of disbelief. The body of the once living Ameena collapsed closer to the now deceased body of Dion. Everyone was silent, Fayt could not believe this was happening. "Nooooooooooo!" Cyrus was incredulous as well. He didn't know how much this event would impact him. In some way, Cyrus was growing more and more attached to the Eternal Sphere. That was something he knew couldn't be control.

Cyrus and Fayt walked back to the guest room. Depressed, Fayt sat on his bed, still unable to grasp all that's happened. "Fayt, I... I don't know what to say..."

"There's nothing to say," Fayt responded in grief. "It's our fault that Dion and Ameena died. They had their whole lives ahead of them. All because we came here."

"Oh... Fayt cut it out!" Cyrus yelled. Fayt looked at Cyrus in surprise. "Don't you see, home boy? Everything happens for a reason! It's destiny. Nothing is truly changed just because someone comes along, just altered. It was going to happen at anytime, it was inevitable! You can't blame yourself for something like this."

"Were you in the room when this happened?" Fayt shouted. "Those two died because of us. It's all our fault. This never would have happened if we hadn't come here."

"Fayt..."

"No. It's not your fault, or Cyrus'," Cliff said as he entered the room.

"Isn't it, though?" Fayt asked in an upset tone. "The Vendeeni came here for us! Who are we? Why do the Vendeeni want us so badly?"

"You know, he has a point," Cyrus said. "What are you hiding from us? Why are those cartiligious chumps after us, anyway?"

Cliff became silent. "Look, we know you know something!" Fayt said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Nel said with her back against the wall, "but those things—the Vendeeni—what are they?"

"All right," Cliff said hesitantly. "You guys are part of this now, anyway. Those guys, the Vendeeni, they—" Cliff was suddenly cut off by a male soldier who arrived at the scene.

"We've got trouble!" he said. "Another one of those weapons has appeared in the sky!"

"What?" Nel said in shock.

"Damn!" Cliff shouted. The Klausian quickly rushed to the Balcony as quick as he could. Nel turned back around with gritted teeth.

"Is this too an Arrow of Apris?" asked Queen Aquaria XXVII as she walked over to the room.

"Your Majesty, why are you still here?" Nel demanded. "Please, you've got to get to a safe place right away!"

"Lately, it seems that hiding does not help," the queen said. "Is anywhere truly safe now? You know what that thing is, do you not?" Both Fayt and Cyrus remained silent. "Is it a weapon from Greeton?"

"No, it's not," Fayt said.

"Then what is it?" Nel yelled. "What is a Vendeeni?"

"I'll explain, your majesty," Cyrus said. "You see, the Vendeeni are a..."

"Hey, come here a second!" Cliff called. Nel, Cyrus and Fayt rushed to the balcony as quick as possible. During their trip, the trio passed by Adray and Roger.

"Hey guys..." Roger called.

"No time to explain, just come!" Cyrus said.

"It must be serious..." Adray pondered.

"Let's go!" Roger said hastily. As soon as they arrived, they saw another battle cruiser cutting through the skies over the castle.

"I ain't an expert, or anything," Cyrus started, "but this don't look good."

"Damn!" Cliff said. "What now?"

"We'll give myself up." Everyone looked at Fayt in astonishment. Not even Cyrus believed what he said. "Then they'll leave."

"What?" Cyrus shouted.

"Fayt, no!" Mirage said.

"That's enough of that," Cliff said out of anger. "You say that again and I swear I'll smack you one."

"Cliff, calm down," Mirage said. "Anger won't solve anything! But he's right, Fayt."

"Let me handle this. Are you freakin' crazy!" Cyrus shouted. "We can't give ourselves up! So what if we surrender, you really think that they'll go back home and not blow this place to kingdom come? I'd rather fight those dogfish douchebags than have 'em make a monkey out of me!"

"How do you plan on doing that?" Fayt argued. "We're out gunned. This country's military doesn't stand a chance against the Vendeeni ships!" An idea suddenly shot in Fayt's head and he turned to Nel. "Hey… But you chased away the Vendeeni ship before! Why not do it again?"

"Huh? But—" Nel cut herself off.

"It's as I thought," Mirage said.

Cliff sighed. "You don't remember a thing, do you?"

"What are you talking about?" Fayt said.

"What's there to remember?" Cyrus asked. "We were in a war zone and the ship left... Or... I think it left... How did I end up in a bed?"

"Scratch that," Cliff said. "Both of you don't remember."

Nel saw another ship approaching. "Wait—another one's coming!" Nel yelped.

The two Klausians looked up and showed faces of relief. "Cliff!" Mirage called with a smile on her face.

"Yep, it's them, alright. Finally," Cliff said in relief. In the sky, it wasn't a bird, and it was definitely not a plane. It was another Cutter, which meant one thing: the cavalry has arrived. The new ship was under fire by the numerous shots by the Vendeeni ship. Luckily, the Cutter shot back, crippling the ship. Unfortunately, the Vendeeni ship retaliated by shooting at one of the wings. Now both ships were plummeting down.

"Well, so much for the rescue party," Cyrus said.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," a mysterious, young voice said.

"Hey, took you long enough," Cliff said as they turned around.

Everyone except for Cliff and Mirage were surprised. It was a young woman with long blue hair and green eyes. She wore black and white skirt. "Sorry," she said.

"Yeah, well—hey, is it even safe to transport to a place like this?"

"I scanned the situation before coming in, so I had a good idea what to expect," she said as she walked down and pushed her hair back. "At least, now that this planet's part of this mess, we don't have to hide anything anymore."

"True enough. But I bet you that Mr. Super-Square, champion of the UP3 would disagree with you."

"Hah hah, very funny," Fayt said in a sarcastic attitude.

"Children, children, grow up," Cyrus said. "Now back to business. Who's the girl, Cliff?"

"Ah, yeah. Sorry. I'm slacking in my introductions. This here is the leader of Quark, Maria."

"What?" Fayt exclaimed.

"I'm gonna go in to a General Grievous moment here," Cyrus said. "I expected her to be a little... older."

"I'm Maria Traydor. But please, call me Maria."

Fayt was speachless. Cyrus, who may have forgot what happened a few hours ago, didn't forget everything. So he just said a deep and lengthened "Whoa!" He regained his composure. "It is an honor to meet you, Maria," he said with a formal bow.

"Nice to meet you," Fayt said after he regained his vocabulary. "I'm..."

"I know who you are. Fayt Leingod. The only son of the universal authority on symbological genetics, Professor Robert Leingod. Born on Earth, currently nineteen years of age. Favorite sport: basketball, position: point guard. Your favorite food is—"

"Hang on just a second, how do you know so much about me…?"

"I did some research."

"Alright," Cyrus said. "Then try me?"

"Cyrus Splicer. The oldest of two sons of world renowned paleo-biologist of the Cretaceous, Professor Cyrus Splicer, Sen. Born on Earth, currently fifteen years of age. Favorite sport: street fighting, style: martial arts. Your favorite—"

"Ok, you win!" Cyrus quickly said. "How does she know this stuff?" he thought. Then he remembered what Luther said about the new account. "Wait. As soon as I entered this dimension, my background information must have also been entered in the computers of this universe and created as a personal account in 4D Space. This is complicated seeing I'm nearly eight hundred years from my supposed time. Then again this is sorta cool."

"Are you alright?" Fayt asked.

"Duh... Never better. Just had somethin' on the mind."

Nel approached Maria with a suspicious look on her face. "Is somebody going to explain this? What's going on? Who is she—how did she just appear here? So, I take it you're not all from Greeton after all? Come on, answer me. No more concealing the truth."

"That is enough, Lady Nel," the Queen said as she arrived at the balcony.

"But, your majesty..."

"I said that is enough."

"Yes, your majesty."

The queen toward Maria to strike up a conversation. "I know not who you are, but it is certain that you are one of their acquaintances," she said. "I would hear an explanation of you now, one that makes sense to my ears."

"Please forgive my rudeness, your Majesty," Maria apologized, "but would it be all right if we talked among ourselves first? We have a lot of catching up to do. I will explain all of the deatils and how the facts are connected afterwards; that I promise."

"…So be it." The queen looked back at Nel. "Show them to the conference room."

"... Yes, your majesty," Nel said hesitantly.

Nel led the group to an empty conference room. Cyrus, Fayt, Mirage, Cliff and Maria entered the room. "Um... Ms. Traydor," Fayt started.

"Please, just Maria's fine. If I may call you Fayt or you Cyrus."

"Well, Mr. Splicer feels a bit too formal for me," Cyrus commented.

"Oh, all right then," Fayt started. "Maria, please tell us what happened. Why did the Vendeeni capture my dad? Why are they after us? …What is it about us that they're so interested in?"

"Yeah," Cyrus said. "I mean, what would those fish-faced freaks want with us?"

"Relax, there's no need to rush things, and there's much to explain. But first…" Maria turned around to Cliff. "His powers manifested, didn't they?"

"They did, just once. He was stronger than expected. Particularly, his destructive capabilities are far beyond yours. Also, it seems Cyrus has the same power as well."

"Cyrus too?" Maria said in shock. "How unexpected. How about their memories?"

"Nah. The whole thing was completely wiped form their minds."

"I see..."

"What in the world are you guys talking about?" Fayt asked.

"What do you mean by destructive capabilities and me with this power?" Cyrus questioned. "What is there to remember? Is this one of those surprises? I'm afraid you missed my birthday."

"I assure you this isn't a trick," Maria said. "It's just that I didn't know that you also had this power as well." Cyrus was silent in confusion and knew what Maria was talking about. "Just a moment—First, I have some new information. It's not exactly good news…" Fayt was shocked. "You know that your father, Professor Leingod, was captured by the Vendeeni, right?"

"Yes..."

"We have learned, after investigating the situation, that your friend, Sophia, was captured as well."

"What?"

"That can't be right!" Cyrus exclaimed. "They really took her?"

"I'm afraid so," Maria said. "They grabbed her after the two of you escaped from the Helre."

"They got Sophia? Noooo!" a frustrated Fayt shouted as he kicked the ground. "But what do the Vendeeni want with them?"

"You really have no idea, do you?"

"So tell us what's going on!" Fayt responded.

"Fine. Your father took it upon himself to carry out forbidden research."

"Forbidden research?"

"That's right. He researched and designed a genetically modified, living weapon—forbidden by the laws of the Pangalactic Federation."

"My father? I can't believe it!"

"Of course he didn't talk about it. Other than those involved, only the top levels of the Federation government knew anything."

"Then how come you know about it?"

"I was one of his…guinea pigs."

"What...?" Fayt shouted.

"Man, this story is filled with drama and suspense," Cyrus thought to himself. "Even though I know all this stuff, what I really want to know is what Maria knows about me. I get how my information appeared on the database, but I really want to see why she researched it in the first place."

"My dad… I-I can't believe this!" Fayt shouted. "Living weapons? You…a guinea pig? You just look like an ordinary girl!" he screeched, scratching his head, painted with a face of utter confusion.

There was a brief pause. "Exactly," Maria said flatly. "Watch this." Maria held her hand towards three vases; a strange symbological essence blanketed each object. She then pulled out her gun and shot at the intend target. On either side however, two vases on each side were shot instead. The one with symbology evoked however remained intact.

"What...?" Fayt said.

"This is the power I received from the symbological genetic modifications that Professor Leingod and his lab performed on me. I possess the ability to manipulate the structure of matter," Maria explained. "So…still think I'm an ordinary girl?"

"Uh... Yeah, sure..." Cyrus said.

"And not just to me."

"What?"

"I wasn't the only one they modified. Another came before me—I was the second subject."

"What are you saying?"

"The first subject…was you."

"Me? The first subject? What are you talking about? My dad would never do something like that to me!"

"I can understand if you don't believe me. Your power hasn't fully awakened yet. But if I'm not telling the truth, can you explain the thing for me? Who knocked that Vendeeni battleship out of the sky? Why are the Vendeeni so relentless in going after you and everyone else related to the Leingods? Everyone who was there knows the answers to these questions… Everyone but you, that is."

"Well..."

"I know you don't want to admit it, but there's only one truth. I'm going to steal the Professor and everyone else back from the Vendeeni and ask him why he did what he did. But to do this, I need your help, Fayt. I can't do it alone…" Fayt was pondering about what Maria had just said. "I wouldn't expect you to object to saving your father and Sophia… I know how important they are to you."

"All right. I'll help you."

"All right, now that we're decided…"

"Hold the phone!" Cyrus said. "You still haven't answered me. You said that you wanted to talk to both of us, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be selfish. Still, when some alien race is after you and are willing to destroy an entire civilization, you would like to know what's up. I want to help you save your dad, Fayt, but first thing's first. I want the answers to why the Vendeeni are after me and how 'n why you looked up my information in the first place."

"Alright, I'll tell you," Maria said. "Can you remember anything before the time you blacked out?"

"Maybe..." Cyrus said. "I remember that before the war started, the symbols on my arms started glowing."

"Glowing..." Fayt repeated.

"Yeah, it was weird."

"Then what happened?" Maria asked.

"Well, the time after the Vendeeni came, it's all a blur. The next thing I knew, I was back in Aquios. Wait! You don't think I was an experiment do you?"

"I doubt it," Maria said. "I checked Dr. Leingod's research. There was no third subject used."

"That's what you read," Cyrus thought. "Alright. But something still tells me that's not why you wanted to see me."

"You're correct. Before the Vendeeni came and raided Hyda IV, a space-time disturbance was detected on the planet's surface."

"Space... Time... Like a wormhole?" Cyrus asked anxiously.

"Perhaps. But that's not even the strange part. Around the same time the anomaly occurred, a mysterious file suddenly turned up on the Pangalactic Federation's database."

"Really?"

"Yes, and by hacking into the computers of the Federation, that's how I learned about you. Unfortunately, the Vendeeni must've also obtained this information."

"Ok, so my data was suddenly found in a high class computer and a small flux appeared on a surface of a soon-to-be-destroyed planet. That doesn't explain everything."

"Wait, Cyrus," Fayt said. "You and I first met on Hyda before the Vendeeni attacked. You were confused and didn't even know how you arrived at the resort anyway."

"Alright, so you got me."

"And the Vendeeni would've too if you didn't travel with Fayt," Maria said. "The only possible, yet unbelievable explanation for the anomaly, the rise of the unknown data file and your spontaneous appearance."

"And that is..."

"You're not from this space-time at all. You maybe from a completely different universe."

"Are you serious?" Cyrus asked in a skeptical voice. "That's impossible. The chances of something like is... really, really low."

"Frankly, that's the only reason I could think of for why the Vendeeni are after you."

"Great," Cyrus thought. "So Maria's known all this time and the Vendeeni are wanting me because of this discovery."

"Is that true?" Fayt asked.

There was a brief pause as Cyrus had to figure a way out of this. "I'll have to keep this under wraps. I can't tell 'em where I'm from or why I'm here. Not yet anyway." "This is just a coincidence," Cyrus said. "I mean, do you guys actually think that I'm from another dimension, like General Grievous was?"

"No, of course not," Fayt said.

"It seems to me that the fishes are a little power hungry trying to control space-time, if you know what I mean. Lost a few tissues for a cerebellum."

"Well, now that this resolved..." Maria signaled Cliff to open the door. Cliff slowly approached knowing there was someone behind it. He quickly opened the door and as fast as it moved, the person on the other side was even faster. It was none other than Nel Zelpher, listening in on the conversation.

"Nel!" Fayt said in surprise.

"It doesn't matter if she heard us," Maria said.

Cliff threw his arms up and Nel entered the room. "So, how are we getting off this rock?" Cliff asked.

"I made arrangements. I came in a small ship to avoid the Vendeeni. The Diplo will be arriving later. Everything else is up to Marietta's skills."

"Your preparations are thorough, as always."

"Yes, well, we still have a lot of problems to deal with."

"That's right," Fayt said in agreement. "Even if your ship can make it, how do we know the Vendeeni won't interfere?"

"Right…" Maria said. "Entering orbit, transporting, and warping out will take a total of five minutes."

"Even our flagship will have trouble withstanding five minutes of concentrated fire from the Vendeeni," Mirage inquired.

"So it seems that we're at a quandary," Cyrus said. "Our plans are limited and they all include the same unfortunate fate. Either the Vendeeni are going to invade the land and destroy everything in their path on their search for us. Or, they're gonna bombard your ship while you're trying to transport us up to safety. Both scenarios resulting in an excruciating and painful death, none of which are pretty."

"Aren't you an optimist," Cliff said.

"Exactly," Maria said. "The ideal solution would be to create some diversion from the ground as well. But…with the technology available on this planet, that will be difficult. Still, we must think of something."

"If only Fayt and Cyrus could control their powers," Cliff said in a low tone.

"Even I can't completely control my power… Either way, we need a sure thing if we're going to pull this off. Mirage, what's the strongest and most effective weapon on this planet? I'm not saying we need to use it to break through the Vendeeni shield. All we'd need to do is buy some time while they reevaluate our military capabilities."

Mirage thought for a minute. "Hmmm… Our best option is Aquaria's runological weapons."

"Hey, what about Dion's weapon?" Cliff asked.

"You mean the Thunder Arrow?" Fayt said.

"That's the one?"

"I don't know how much damage it could do to the Vendeeni battleship, but as far as I know, it's the most powerful weapon on this planet."

"All right, then let's start making preparations immediately," Maria said.

"The thing is, it's still under development. It's not ready for actual combat. And I doubt its range is long enough to reach the Vendeeni ship."

"To add to the mix, the armament is Aquaria's property. We can just expect them to hand to us without complications."

"The Vendeeni—you mean the one's from before?" Nel said.

"That's right," Fayt said.

"They're coming back?"

"There's no doubt about that," Maria inquired.

"And you need our Thunder Arrow to fight them?"

"That's about the size of it," Cliff answered.

"All right, I'll talk to the queen about it."

"Really?" Cyrus asked. "Are you sure 'bout that?"

"Honestly, I don't really understand the situation," Nel said with her arms folded. "One thing I do know: if that celestial ship comes back again, it will cause another catastrophe. And… I believe the two of you are worthy of my trust."

"Thank you," Cyrus said.

"Regardless, we did promise the queen that we'd explain the situation to her," Cliff said.

"I don't think she'll be as easy to convince," Fayt inquired.

"From what's been happenin', I don't think she has much choice," Cyrus said. The group left the room and were accompanied by Roger and Adray. Cyrus put on his earphones and began humming to "Who We Be," by DMX. The crew headed to the throne room, where a patient Queen awaits.

As soon as they arrived, Nel bent down to the Queen. "Your Majesty, they said they would explain the situation."

The group explained the situation to the Queen as best as they could. About how they came from other worlds and that the Vendeeni were after Fayt and Cyrus. "Very well," the Queen said.

"You say you're from another world—You ask us to believe this?" Lasselle bickered. "Nonsense! Stop wasting Her Majesty's time!"

"Silence Lasselle!" Queen Romeria commanded.

"Your Majesty!"

Cyrus turned around and saw Adray with a smirk of glee. Cyrus was also thinking of this being humorous and grinned as well. "I like her," he thought to himself. "If her majesty didn't stop him, I'm thinking Lasselle would've gotten the bitch-slap of his life."

"I understand your surprise, but what we speak is the truth," Maria said.

"This is quite sudden, not to mention quite difficult to believe," her Highness stated. "However, recent events in our country leave me with no choice but to believe."

"Your Majesty, these people can be trusted," Nel said. "I believe they are telling the truth."

"And…you say this new enemy will return again? Why would that be?"

"I think that we're their objective," Cyrus said.

"So, you are the cause of this entire affair?"

"I don't want to believe it myself… But yes," Fayt said.

"Then all we have to do is hand you over to them!" Lasselle boasted. "Then they will go home, no?"

"Lasselle, you are to remain silent!" the Queen ordered.

"Your Majesty..."

"Ha ha. Lassie gots the second degree burn," Cyrus muttered to himself.

"Can we fight these…Vendeeni with our Thunder Arrow?" the Queen asked.

"I can't be sure, but I believe so," Fayt said. "The Thunder Arrow would divert the Vendeeni long enough for us to leave the planet…and fix this situation."

"For the sake of our country, it might indeed be best to simply hand you over to them. However, you are our guest. It would not be proper for us to abandon you now."

"Your Majesty, you mean--?" Nel was at lost of words.

"Yes. We shall let you use the Thunder Arrow."

"Your Majesty, thank you very much!" Fayt said.

"We are grateful, Your Majesty."

"Yes," Cyrus said. "It seems like we're back in business, ladies 'n gentlemen."

"Yeah, but what are you gonna do about the range problem?" Cliff asked. "It's not much good to us if we can't reach them."

"Yeah, I know," Fayt said.

"We've got a problem!" yelled a soldier. Her face was painted in fear and concern as she ran into the room.

"Watch your tone!" Lasselle snapped. "You are in the presence of Her Majesty, the Queen!"

"Someone has infiltrated Kaddan!"

"What?"

"Who?" the Queen asked when she immediately stood up.

"It was one of those celestial ship, Your Majesty. They landed right next to the shrine! We believe they're headed for the Sacred Orb!"

"The Sacred Orb?"

"They wear a strange kind of armor and are equipped with weapons that emit glowing beams of light! The runologists have them stopped for the moment, but they can't do anything against those weapons! At this rate, they'll be at the Sacred Orb in no time!"

"Glowing weapons..." Maria pondered for a second until she realized what the weapon was. "Those would be disruptor rifles. They must be remnants of the Vendeeni fleet."

"That ain't good," Cyrus said.

"If that's the case, why are they going after the Orb, instead of us?" Cliff asked.

"What's Kaddan? And what's this Sacred Orb?" Fayt asked the Queen

"Kaddan is the holy land of our church," Nel began to explain. "It's where the Sacred Orb is enshrined– a mysterious sphere that emits the purest light. Holy water flows freely from it. It is said that in the hands of Aquaria's ruler, the Orb is capable of all kinds of miracles. The water of this lake which surround Aquios are also of the Sacred Orb."

Maria began thinking about the information Nel gave them. "Hmm ... Your Majesty, which way is Kaddan?"

"To the east of Aquios..."

Maria crouched to the direction of the shrine and pulled out her scanner. She began to look into the energy that was being emitted from the Orb. "I see. Interesting," she muttered.

She signaled Mirage to look at the current data. "What in the world?" the blonde woman said in surprise.

Maria put away the scanner and got up. "What is it?" Cliff asked.

"I'm picking up an energy reading in the location you described that is too technologically advanced for this planet..." Maria said. "It's even beyond our ability to identify."

"What?" Fayt said.

"Ain't that somethin'," Cyrus said.

"It may be a so-called 'Out of Place Artifact,' or OPA," Maria said. "I bet the Vendeeni detected this Sacred Orb while they were searching for us."

"So do you think they're after the Sacred Orb?" Nel asked.

"It's the most likely explanation. If you look back at history, anyone who got their hands on OPAs acquired incredible power. It would pretty much go without saying they'd want it."

"That's terrible!" Lasselle shrieked. "We can't let them steal our Sacred Orb! Your Majesty, we must send soldiers immediately!"

"Yes," Queen Romeria said in agreement. "Take your unit and make for Kaddan at once."

"Your Majesty," Nel said in compliance.

"Please wait a moment, Your Majesty," Fayt said.

"We are sorry, but we must attend to your business later. Responding to these thieves must take precedence."

"That's what I'm saying: I don't think Aquaria's military could stand up to them with their current equipment."

"We are aware of this, but we cannot let them steal the Sacred Orb."

"Look, I'll go to Kaddan."

"What are you thinking?" Nel asked.

"Have you really lost yo' mind?" Cyrus asked.

"Cyrus, it's our fault that the Vendeeni ever came here in the first place. We have to except responsibility, somehow."

"Hey, wait a second," Cliff said. "You mean 'we,' right? You plannin' on going there alone?"

"He's right," Maria said in agreement. "Going alone would be suicidal. If you die, then I've come here for nothing. I'm going too."

"Exactly," Cyrus said. "Sure the Vendeeni came for us, I ain't denyin'. But that don't mean we gonna surrender. All for one and one for all, ya heard?"

"Thank you," Fayt said.

"Very well," Queen Romeria said. "Then we shall leave it to you."

"Your Majesty," Nel said. "I'll go with them as well."

"Yes. Please do. As the situation is grave, we give you permission to use the Sealed Cavern. Show them the way."

"The Sealed Cavern?"

"Yes, it is a place in which only members of the royal family are allowed– but I'm making an exception... Do not fail us."

"Your Majesty!"

"Don't worry, your highness," Cyrus said with an optimistic voice. "That Secret Orb will be safe and sound. Them fools at the shrine got no skill!"

"I thank you," the Queen said. "The fate of Aquaria rests in your hands."

The group left the throne room and headed down stairs to the church. Inside, Nel walked to the podium and used her "runology." In no time at all, a symbol appeared on the floor at the center of the room and a tremor was felt. As soon as the quake stopped, a staircase was revealed. "Whoa..." Cliff said as he saw the passage emerged.

"...A secret passage," Maria said.

"I never thought I'd live to actually see something like this," Adray said to himself.

"The Sealed Cavern lies ahead," Nel said. "It's an underground passage that will take us to the Shrine of Kaddan. It was built long ago as a way for the royal family to travel to the Shrine, but it hasn't been used for several centuries. It's the fastest way to reach Kaddan, for it passes directly under the lake. We'd have to travel all the way around the lake to reach the Shrine over land. However, the passage has been neglected for ages. Who knows what we'll find inside there now."

"Let's hurry," Fayt said.

"This is like an adventure fit for a king," Roger said. "Namely, me."

"Yeah, the more we talk here, the closer the Vendeeni are to getting their hands on the orb," Cyrus said as he turned his hat backward. The group rushed into the underground cavern. Cyrus was about to go, until he saw a woman who sold Disintegration Hammers. Cyrus paid the woman and hurried up to rejoin the group.

---

14.2: From the Underground to the Promise Land

When Cyrus arrived at the end of the tunnel, he saw the rest of the group already at the end, waiting for him. "Sorry, had to get some hammers," Cyrus replied. The group scanned their surroundings.

"So this is the underground route that'll take us to the shrine?" Cliff asked.

"That's right. Remember, it hasn't been used for some time, meaning that we maybe intruders on resident monsters' territory," Nel warned. "Be on your guard, everyone." The group proceeded through door infront. As they went through the passage, the group continued to scan their surroundings. In the room on at the end of the path, Fayt saw a switch on the soldier statue at the left side of the room. Unfortunately, their path was blocked by a local Bronze Brute.

"Great, it's enough that we had to deal with this lummox," Roger said referring to Cliff. "Now we have to deal with a giant stone brain."

"Fine, pint sized," Cliff said in an agitated voice. "How 'bout you go over there and pull it. Seeing it's a weasel's move."

"I'm a racoon, ya moron! Would anyone like to cover me? How 'bout you, m'lady?" He said in a sweet voice to Nel.

"Sorry, not really in the mood."

"How 'bout you, miss?" he asked Maria.

"Fine, who does?"

"You can count on me. It's finally time for a workout, anyway," Adray said as he cracked his knuckles.

"I guess it's decided," Cyrus said. "We'll let you three take care of Rocky. We'll sit back and enjoy the show."

"Gee, thanks," Roger said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh yeah," Cyrus said as he came up with an idea. "Here, I let you borrow this for right now." Cyrus put his earphones on Roger. "I heard that your kind has a great ear for music, so I want to experiment on Menodix, battling performance and Rap."

"Alright, whatever." Cyrus tuned his MP3 Player to the song, "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J. The three charged into battle. Cliff and Adray rushed at the beast while Roger began dancing through the battlefield. Cliff was parrying punches at the large mound of stone while Adray used Ice Needles at it. Roger was just going past the monster until it saw him. The Bronze Brute began using its Earth Storm. A cloud of dust spewed out of the enemy's mouth. Surprisingly though, the attack was evaded. When the smoke cleared, Roger was seen doing the splits. He rose up and continued his trek to the switch. Adray rushed to the scene and slashed at the adversary. The large form gave Adray a couple of powerful punches, sending the veteran back. The monster turned his attention to Roger again and launched its attack. Fortunately for him, the attack barely missed and he was thrown to the tip of his helmet, spinning like a top. He kicked back up and shuffled to the switch. In a few shuffles, Roger had jumped up and turned the switch. Unknown to him, the Bronze Brute was right behind him. It was about to attack, but Cliff and Adray had already defeated the foe. Roger turned around and walked back to his comrades as if nothing happened. When he rejoined the group, he was staring at everyone who were flabbergasted at what they just saw. "What?" Roger said in a confused voice.

Cyrus took back his possession, still pretty fascinated by Roger's show. "That was the shizznit, dog...!" he said. "Didn't know you had the gangsta in ya!"

"Gee, thanks... I think..." he said as he scratched his head in confusion.

"I'll admit, that was a bit entertaining to watch," Maria said. "But now's not the time."

Maria began to walk out of the room. The group nodded amongst themselves and followed the blue-haired girl. Throughout the trek, the group fought dozens of monsters and darted past the large blocks when they rose, pressing switches on the way. In a room that was filled with Mages, they carefully walked through the path until they saw a cracked portion of the wall. "I bet there's a switch inside that will get those blocks working in that other room," Cyrus thought.

"What's up?" Cliff asked.

"I just got an idea. Fayt, toss me a hammer." Fayt checked his inventory and tossed the hammer up. Cyrus caught the item and whacked at the wall. In seconds, the barrier crumbled and a new area was opened. "Well, lets go." Cyrus and the rest of the group entered the room Fayt checked the statue in the center of the room and turned the switch. "I think that's all we need to do. Now let's get outta here."

The group hurried to the previous room and entered an empty chamber. "That must be the entrance to the Shrine of Kaddan," Fayt said. Everyone looked to the direction Fayt looked in and saw the a door with stairs in front of it.

As they were about to leave, a bright light blinded them. It dimmed and on the floor, a symbol similar to what they saw before appeared on the ground. "Oh, no! Is he coming back!" Cliff said.

"No," Cyrus replied. "It's not him." Suddenly, a large torso rose from the insignia. At was all metal, with no head but wielding two swords. It was a Flying Knight, one of the monsters that protected the entrance to the shrine. "Alright, this is gonna be tough." Cyrus pulled out a small object from his pocket and spun it in his hand. "I always wanted to use this." He stopped twirling the item and pressed a button. In moments, a long, red beam of light shot out from the handle.

"Cyrus, is that one of General Grievous' Light Sabers?" Cliff asked.

"Hey, it's not like he'll be needin' it anytime soon. Anyway I need some cover. It's week against water."

"How do you know?" Nel asked.

"I just do. So, anyone care to join me?"

"Why not?" Maria said as she stepped up beside the black clothed warrior. "I want to see if you're as powerful as Cliff said you are."

"You won't be disappointed. How 'bout you?" He asked Nel. "You'll be pretty handy, plus we'll be at the shrine before you know it."

"Alright. Let's go."

The trio ran charged at the floating body parts. Nel and Cyrus leapt and slashed downward pretty hard. The monster staggered back a bit from the impact, but regained its balance. In retaliation, the Flying Knight tried to slash at the two warriors. Unfortunately for it, the attack was stopped as Maria began rallying laser shots. The creature turned to Maria and floated towards her. Cyrus saw the target advancing toward his partner and quickly began charging his Darkness Blade. In moments, he past the armor and was in between the knight and Maria. She looked at Cyrus' light sword that was shrouded in darkness. Something like this was never heard of. Cyrus again jumped up and slashed at the foe. This time however, the damage was greater and the monster crashed to the ground. Cyrus gave a little smirk and his red eyes shined a malevolent shade. The monster got up, and wasn't in a good mood when it did. The monster slashed at Cyrus twice, giving him considerable damage. Suddenly, a stream of ice hit the monster just after a voice yelled "Slashing blade!" The attack belonged to Nel and her Ice Daggers. Now the Flying Knight grew furious and used Sword Quake. In seconds, the three were juggled by a cyclone of fast spinning swords. As the chaos ended, the group slammed to the ground with tremendous force.

"That didn't tickle," Cyrus said as they picked themselves up.

"Nel and I will attack from afar," Maria said.

"You'll need to get its attention," Nel advised.

Cyrus groaned in agony, but he couldn't shrug the fact that they were the only two that could attack with far ranged attacks. "Fine," he said as he threw his hands up in angst. "If I die, just know that I'll be haunting you and giving you grief and suffering and... yadda, yadda, etcetera, you get it."

"I'm sure you will," Nel said.

Cyrus charged behind the monster and called, "'ey you!" The Flying Knight turned around to Cyrus. "Yeah, you. I've seen ten cent hoes fight better than you, son! How 'bout you get yo abominated ass outta here ya wing, 'fore it's too late!" Now if you think that the monster wasn't pissed when it heard that, you must be crazy. It seemed the monster was really, really pissed. It rushed at Cyrus at full speed and Cyrus himself ran toward it. By the time they made contact, the monster side slashed with its sword, but Cyrus jumped up and land on top of the monster. The monster turned its body in different directions until it finally learned that Cyrus was on its body. Cyrus leapt off the foe's body just as Nel was launching her Ice Needles and Maria was shooting at the monster with her Scatter Beam. Now the monster was weakened. And Cyrus saw his opportunity and used Shadow Slash. In seconds, his body was blanketed in a thick dark aura. Cyrus slashed the monster in half.

It was over and Maria was amazed at his performance. She walked over to Cyrus and said, "You were right. I wasn't disappointed." Cyrus chuckled softly at the response.

"Alright," Nel said. "Now let's go. We have no time to loose."

"Right," Cyrus replied. The group of seven walked up the staircase and opened the door. From a cold, damp and dark cave to a humid, dry and lit hall, the group was now in the Shrine of Kaddan; the house of Apris.

"The Sacred Orb is held in a small room north of here," Nel said. "We need to hurry."

"Okay," Fayt said. When they entered the next room, the gang was bid "welcomed" by a pile of rubble. Roger walked over to it to investigate. Suddenly, the pile of rocks formed a large body. It looked like a centaur with a head shaped like a soldier's helmet, but its body was made of crystal. It was a Crystal Statue, and it wasn't happy to meet them. Fayt, Roger and Adray battled the beast. It was a long and grueling battle. In the end however, the three were victorious. After the fight, Fayt looked down on the ground where the monster fell. It was a Saint's Stone. He picked the rock up and put it in his bag.

They proceeded to the next hall and saw someone on the floor. "Hey, who's that over there?" Roger asked.

"I don't know, but I think he needs our help!" Cliff said. With that in mind, the group rushed toward the person's aid. It was an injured Aquarian soldier.

"Are you hurt?" Nel asked.

"Lady Nel..." the soldier said faintly. "Forgive me... I couldn't stop them from entering the shrine..." The group looked up and saw part of the wall in front of them blown apart.

"It would appear so. But don't fear. We'll protect the Sacred Orb, no matter what."

"Thank... the... gods..." The soldier said. With his honor and faith restored the young soldier died on the spot.

Nel's face was now a serious scowl as she wanted to avenge her comrade. "They'll pay for this!"

"Nel, let's hurry!" Cliff said.

"Right... Better brace yourselves. Only members of the royal family or messengers of the gods have been allowed in here until now. I've also heard that countless traps have been set to prevent looting."

"It'd sure make things easier if those traps would take care of them for us."

"Don't get your hopes up," Maria said. "They'll must likely be carrying powerful scanners."

"You're probably right," Cliff said.

"Great," Cyrus said. "Goldy's friends got a technological lead. How much of this is wrong?"

"In any case, let's hurry!" Fayt said.

"This soldier died with honor," Adray said. "His sacrifice will not be in vain." The group left the room and entered the next. Inside, another Crystal Statue had awoken and challenged the group. This time, it was Cliff, Maria and Cyrus' turn to take on the monster. Cyrus drew out his Bastard Sword and joined Cliff's frontal assault. Maria also can into the fray. With the combined martial arts attacks that the gang used, the enemy was getting overwhelmed. Out of desperation, the monster called upon its special attack, "Tri Spike." It unleashed three beams from its body that would freeze anything they touched. Lucky for them, the three got out of the way before the attack landed on them. Maria used her Aiming Device. The Crystal Statue suffered a considerable amount of damage, but it was still standing. Cliff quickly darted over to the creature and used his attack Electric Fists. In seconds, the shiny sculpture ended up in a million pieces. Cyrus walked over to the crumbled pieces and searched through the remnants. He obtained a Saint Stone and stuck it in his pocket.

"Okay," Fayt said. "We got these stones. So what do we do?"

"I think we should make something out of these," Cyrus said. "It's important we do."

"Why do you say that?" Cliff asked.

"Let's call it a feeling," he replied.

"You mean a hunch."

"If we wanna put it like that, yes." Cyrus looked at the door on the side. "And our break is there," he said pointing to the path. "What do you think, Maria?"

Maria pondered a bit. "To tell you the truth, I think we should go there."

"How come we always take his hunches?" Cliff asked.

"Let's see..." Cyrus said. "Last time I checked, I didn't drive a ship that nearly got smashed by a space rock. Neither have 'landed' the vehicle in a town on an Underdeveloped Planet."

"Okay, okay. Let's just get this over with," Cliff said in an irritated voice. He threw his arms in the air and went the suggested direction.

Cyrus looked at Maria and she did the same. "I guess he's always like that?" Cyrus asked.

"Yeah," Maria said. "He gets like that when no one takes his hunches."

"I see..." The group followed the buff blonde to the end of the path into another room with chests. "Wonder what's in there?" Cyrus asked himself. He walked over to the chests and found Compounding Elixirs and another Saint Stone. He held the rock and pulled the other out of his hand.

"What's that?" Roger asked.

"It's another of these Saint's Stones," Cyrus said. "I wonder what's with these things?"

Fayt walked up to his comrade holding the stones. He pulled out his own from the bag. "I bet I could make a charm out of these stones."

"Well, there's only one way to find out."

Fayt walked over to the work table and created a Saint's Charm in just fifteen minutes. "There we go. This came out rather nicely if I do say so myself."

"Can I see it?" Roger asked. Fayt carefully handed the item to the young Menodix. "Oh... It's a purty nice peace o' work."

"Alright," Cliff said. "Now that we got our charm and established there's nothing here, I say we scram." The group hurried back to the main path and entered a room with a creature called the Crystal Cerberus. It was nothing more than a altered version of the Crystal Statues they faced earlier. All the same, the creature was defeated by Nel, Adray and Fayt easily. The path to the orb was long and arduous. New rooms were discovered by the use of the Disintegration Hammers and there were enemies galore.

In about a couple hours, after going through a maze of moving blocks, the team made it to a small room that led to the Orb's chamber. Nel peeked through the cracked door and saw four suspicious soldiers standing around the OPA. "This is the inner sanctum where the Sacred Orb is said to be enshrined," Nel said.

"So that means the Vendeeni are there, too," Maria pondered.

"Most likely."

"Everybody ready?"

"Yeah, let's bust some heads," Cyrus said.

The group rushed into the room in quick haste. "Get away from the Orb!" Fayt yelled.

The Vendeeni turned their attention to the group. "Huh? Isn't that the Leingod boy?" asked one Vendeeni soldier.

"I think it is," said the other in a sly tone. "And I see they also brought that Splicer kid with them. How lucky for us—and we thought we were taking a detour to check out this OPA. We got us three birds with one stone."

"It's seems like you guys are having a good day," Cyrus said. "Too bad it's gonna be ruined."

"Get your hands off our most sacred treasure!" Nel ordered.

"That is not an option," said the first soldier. "Did you really think we'd abandon an OPA of this power so easily? The OPA and the boys are ours!"

"Not gonna happen!" Cliff said.

"Kiss my ass," Cyrus scoffed.

"You got a little too greedy," Maria said. "Let's get 'em!"

"I've been waiting to give some hell for a while," Cyrus said. He began to play "Chaotic Dance" from the Baten Kaitos soundtrack. He pulled out his lightsaber and charged at the soldiers along with Fayt, Nel and Maria. He kicked the face of one Vendeeni Soldier while the other three were kept busy by his comrades. The attacked soldier fell back, but picked himself up rather quickly. The soldier aimed his disruptor rifle at Cyrus. Instinctively, the young warrior ran up against the wall as soon as the shot fired. He ended up behind the soldier that retaliated by swinging his gun behind him. Cyrus dodged the hit and shouldered the foe to the wall. The soldier pushed himself from the wall and began shooting. Cyrus ducked from one of the lasers and began blocking with his lightsaber. One of the attacks was ricochet back at the adversary, causing him to fall back. Cyrus quickly capitalized on this opportunity and used his Raptor's Revenge. The soldier staggered from the series of kicks he was dealt with, holding his side in the process, but he was still going for the attack. He shot another large bullet at Cyrus, but it barely connected as Cyrus bent back to the floor. The Vendeeni rushed over to Cyrus and slammed his gun down, but Cyrus quickly rolled out of the way of the rifle and used a monkey fist on the soldier. The enemy slammed into the wall of the room and slid down, leaving a small crack from his impact. "Give up?" Cyrus asked.

"Never, you little fool!" he yelled. "I will not be bested by a mere child!"

"Shame... 'Cause this 'child's' gonna whip yo' ass!" he said. Now the blade of light was flashing. It surprised him because he thought it wasn't able to happen on the lightsaber. "Should've ran when you had the chance." Cyrus' body was now engulfed in a flame. Then he began using the break dancing move called the Flare. Each swing of his legs caused more damage to the Vendeeni soldier. After a few revolutions, Cyrus' opponent collapsed. He back flipped to his feet and crossed his arms. "That's called the Blazing Tempest Flare. Yo got burned to the third degree."

His teammates, who finished before him, looked at Cyrus with stunned looks. "Well, that was fun..." Cyrus said to himself. He turned off the light weapon and put it back in his pocket.

Maria walked to the Sacred Orb and scanned the object. "This energy does possess a waveform that's never been observed before. As we thought, its power clearly exceeds anything that should be on this planet."

"So it really is an OPA…" Cliff said.

"That's the only possible conclusion."

"No wonder it's a holy relic."

"I'm just relieved that it's safe," Nel said in a grateful tone. "This will save Her Majesty considerable grief."

"Let's get back to Aquios and let the queen know that the Sacred Orb is safe," Fayt said.

"Right. Let's go."

---

Part 14.3: Soulless Light

Returning to the entrance was a silent hike (except for the occasional media player of a certain black clothed swordsman). There were no monsters, no obstacles, it was a smooth ride. Maria and Cyrus picked up the rear and she had as many questions to ask Cyrus as Cyrus did for her. "Cyrus?" she asked.

"Hey," Cyrus responded as he pulled off his earplugs. "What up?"

"I was wondering... How did you learn symbology?"

"Uh... My teacher gave me these powers... sometime after I became his disciple. The reason was because of some ancient force. At first, I did not believe this, but let's just say that quickly changed when I first met her."

"Her?"

"Ah... Never mind." Cyrus quickly changed the subject and saw how far in front the rest of the group was. "We better catch up, quick." Cyrus ran back to the gang. Maria began pondering about this "her" Cyrus said. She let the word slide, for now, and joined her comrades.

The two made it to the entrance. Nel stopped and turned to the group. "Everyone. Please allow me to thank you."

"Huh?" Cliff said in confusion.

"Thanks to you, the Sacred Orb is safe."

"It's no big deal," Cyrus said. "Though I'm beginning to think Fayt's right. It was our presence here that attracted those overgrown dogfish in the first place."

"You're wrong," Nel said. "They came here of their own accord. No fault lies within you."

"Nel..."

"I gathered from what you were saying before that there are many worlds like our own."

"That's right," Maria said.

"And the Sacred Orb…is an exceedingly rare object… An OPA, you said—correct?"

"Correct. At least, there's no record of anything like the Sacred Orb in the Federation's database."

"That means, most likely, someone would have come here seeking its power sooner or later. It just so happens that time is now. You have nothing to apologize for."

"Nel..." Fayt said. Maria was silent.

"All right, time to go," Cliff said.

"Oh, yeah. Let's get back to Aquios," Fayt said.

"Right."

The group opened the door and walked down the stairs, by the time they got off the stairs, Cyrus stopped, with his hand on his hilt. "No. Not today," Cyrus said.

"What is it?" Maria asked. Cyrus moved his head forward and the group turned to the direction.

In the middle of the room was none other than Lystara Catalysta with her smug smile and folded arms. "Why hello, Cyrus," she said. "How long was it, a day?"

"Who is she?" Maria asked.

"That's Lystara Catalysta," Cyrus said. "She attacked us earlier with some cyborg named General Grievous. She is what I told you about."

"I think he would prefer the word, 'hybrid droid'," she said.

"I prefer the term six dimensions out," Cyrus said. "I'll never forgive you for killing my teacher."

"I don't expect you to. And he's not dead anyway. I just severed your link, 'ight." Lystara then focused her eyes on Maria. "Hello, Ms. Traydor."

Maria had a stunned look on her face. "How do you know my name."

"I see all, I know all. Especially that infernal Alteration Gene."

"What's your beef with her Catalyst?" Cyrus asked.

"Did you forget, my friend? That power allows her to survive in dimensions as if it was her own."

"Why do you care?" Maria asked.

"You'll be a problem when the time comes. You shall be eliminated." Maria was stunned.

"You ain't eliminating no one," Cliff said.

"Is that so, you stupid blonde?"

"You best watch it!"

"Or what? Don't worry. I'll destroy her vicariously through you, Cyrus!" she said pointing at him. The group was surprised at what they just heard. Would Cyrus really turn on his partners?

"You're crazy! I won't destroy anyone. But you, I'll make an exception."

"Wrong. Remember, I have the power." Lystara raised her hand and Cyrus trapped in small ringed cage that made a sphere.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

The rings disappeared as Lystara lowered her arm. She held the same arm to the side of her body and a new form was born. Starting with feet and ending with a hat, it was a replica of Cyrus. Unlike him though, he wore white versions of his clothes and had blue eyes with white hair. In some aspects, it was him with traits of Lystara. "Meet your demise," she said. She turned to the copy. "I bid you welcome Stratus M. Slicer." He opened his blue eyes and grinned a nasty grin. "Now for your first job, destroy the Traydor!"

He charged at Maria at full speed with a wide grin on his face. Cliff stood in his path, but was kicked in the face and flew to the side. He lifted his Bastard Sword up and slashed downward, until Cyrus blocked the move with his own. Stratus was pushed away by Cyrus' strength, but the copy recovered. It flipped backward and landed on his feet, standing in a low-slung position. "As you see, my replica is as strong and resilient as you are. Thing is, he has no soul."

The group, including Cyrus himself, gasped. "No soul?" Cyrus yelled.

"A warrior cannot truly show his potential without soul," Adray said. "Lacking the spirit to guide its body, a fighter is nothing."

Lystara chuckled. "We'll see about that. Now Stratus, attack your abasement of an archetype."

"I'll show you an abasement." Cyrus turned his MP3 player to "Drill Golem" from Musashi: Samurai Legend. Both he and Stratus took their battle positions and circled the field. As Cyrus prepared his Darkness Blade, Stratus also used the same technique, except a light version. It was his Divine Blade. "This is something," he mumbled.

"As you can see," Catalysta started, "Stratus isn't just altered in appearance, but he is also a reverse version of you. See, your attributes are Darkness and Fire. Your better half is a combination of Light and Water. Whatever attack he has is an alternate version of yours. But why take my word for it. Stratus, be a dear and annihilate your inferior... self."

Stratus charged at Cyrus and jabbed. Cyrus blocked his attack and capitalized. He kicked Stratus in the gut during the lock. The light imitation staggered for a second and Cyrus began to slash. The clone sidestepped and punched Cyrus in the face. Cyrus also staggered from the attack. Both opponents held their pained spots, but were still ready for more. They both jumped in the air and used their Raptor's Revenge. However, the attacks bounced off of each other as both opponents only kicked the bottoms of the shoes. They landed on their feet and charged their swords again. Cyrus used his Blazing Sword while Stratus summoned Ice Blade. "Whoa!" Fayt said to himself in amazement. "I can't believe they both have my attacks!" The two swordsmen parried blows. Stratus jumped forward and attacked, but Cyrus slid under the duplicate while it was still airborne. It didn't stop it follow up as it quickly turned around and struck behind. However, Cyrus saw this coming and blocked with his sword. In a few minutes, both swords started losing their attributes. The heat from the flame was melting the ice, but the water dripping from the ice was extinguishing the fire. Now that the two were with bare swords, they put their weapons back in their sheaths and began using the 187. The copy followed up the attack so well, the move didn't do anything as the kicks blocked each other and they didn't have anyone's head to slam on the ground. They back flipped a couple of times and began collecting energy. Both combatants showed their auras. Cyrus, with his dark aura, pulled out his sword, while Stratus did the same thing, except with a light attribute. They used their powerful coup-de-gras, Shadow Slash and Shining Strike. Both attacks were similar in sync as they both rushed at one another like streaking lines across the room. By the time they met, they both had the same positions: sword blades facing away from the body and pointed at the target behind them. Other arm supporting the body off the ground. Right legs bent forward while the left was straightened. They were like mirror images frozen in time. Cyrus' friends and even Lystara herself stared at the two with intent. In seconds, both forms flinched and fell forward. Fayt and the rest of the gang ran to Cyrus' weakened body. Maria kneeled down to the him and helped raise him up as he was trying to get up.

Lystara walked over to Stratus, who was weak, but still wanted to finish the battle just as Cyrus did. "I assure you all, we'll meet again. It seems Cyrus has proved himself as a formidable opponent. It seems that even his carbon copy couldn't permanently keep him down."

"That's because... he has a soul," Maria said with a little rage in her voice. She scowled at Lystara and Stratus with rage and disgust.

"Perhaps. Though know this. We'll be back. And even if Stratus does fail, which he won't; I'm still here. You all better prepare yourselves."

"It's you who needs to be prepared!" Roger shouted.

"I'll make a note of that." With that said, Stratus got up and with Catalysta, walked away. Disappearing as though they weren't even here. Before he left, Stratus looked back at Cyrus and grinned.

Maria looked down at Cyrus who rested on her, still in pain. "Thank you, Cyrus."

"As long as you're okay, it doesn't matter. Maria, you are an important person with a gift that can't be given away. I have a hunch that you are our hope of survival. I couldn't allow Lyst to get her hands on you, not just because of what I said. But because I consider you as my comrade. No one messes with me or my G-Unit without a little retaliated resistance."

"Thank you, Cyrus."

Cyrus grinned as he looked up and stared into each other's eyes. "Let's leave this place."

"Finally," Cliff said, still rubbing the swore spot on his cheek where Stratus kicked him. The group left the room and headed back to Castle Aquaria.

---

Part 14.4: Of Bikes and Truces

During the way back to Castle Aquaria, Cyrus healed himself after the fight from the soulless copy that went by Stratus M. Slicer. They arrived in the throne room in no time at all with a relieved Queen. "It is unfortunate that thieves were allowed to enter Kaddan, but at least the Sacred Orb is safe. Thank you for your hard work, all of you."

"We couldn't have done it without their help," Nel said.

"All right, so what do we do next?" Cliff asked. "They're intensifying their attacks."

"And now that we have defeated them at Kaddan, they have even more reason to attack this country," Maria said.

"Exactly," Cyrus said. "We're sitting ducks down here. Any longer and you can count on larger group of those fat heads than just four."

"It would appear that the only option remaining is to work together to drive off the Vendeeni," Queen Romeria suggested.

"Yes, agreed," Maria responded.

"But how will we do it?" Cliff asked. "The only weapon that might help isn't completed yet, and it doesn't have the range. What's the point of an attack that can't hit its target?"

"That's a good question…" Fayt said. "Even if we hurry up and finish the weapon, there's no way to make it achieve the range we need."

"We shall request cooperation from Airyglyph," the Queen said.

The group turned to her majesty. Lasselle on the other hand was a little reluctant over the idea. "I beg your pardon? Y-Your Majesty!"

"If you had the means to carry the weapon into the sky, range would no longer be an issue, correct? Airyglyph has this ability…All we need to do is borrow it."

"A means for carrying…" Nel pondered until the idea hit her. "The air dragons!"

"Correct."

"Yes, but will they cooperate?" Lasselle asked. "Even if they approve our request, how are we to be sure that they will not betray us?"

"He has a good point," Fayt said.

"For once..." Adray mumbled.

"We do not believe this will happen," the Queen explained. "The Vendeeni attack also dealt a great deal of damage to their country. Of this, we are sure. They cannot afford to worry about taking our lands now. Furthermore, it was the warmonger Vox who kept pushing for conflict in his country, and he is now in his grave. The King of Airyglyph will understand. This is not the time to fight amongst ourselves."

"Your Majesty..." Nel said.

"Let us appeal to Airyglyph for their assistance. I shall prepare a personal letter and send a messenger immediately. Can I count on your help?"

"Your Majesty."

"I'll go, too," Cliff said. "Don't you think he'll trust me more? I don't think a person from Aquaria could explain the whole picture, anyway."

"That may be so, but… You realize this is dangerous?"

"Yeah, so? A little danger doesn't worry me."

"Very well," the Queen said. "You shall accompany her."

"Leave it to us," Cliff said.

The Queen nodded. She turned to Elena and said, "Elena, you are to hurry and prepare the Thunder Arrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Right away."

"Mirage, can you help her get the weapon ready?" Maria asked.

"Roger."

"We are counting on all of you."

"Your Majesty, what shall I do?" Fayt asked.

"The five of you should wait until she returns. I shall have a task for you then."

"The two of you should wait until she returns. I shall have a task for you then."

"Yes, Your Majesty. So what are you guys going to do?"

"Well, I'm going to train the soldiers," Adray said. "It seems they're lacking in a few departments. A little exercise never hurt anyone."

"I'm gonna woo some of the ladies around here," Roger replied. "After all no one could resist someone like me."

"Yeah, because pepper spray wasn't made yet," Cyrus mumbled.

"What about you, Cyrus?" Fayt asked.

"Well, I signed to an Inventor's Guild in Peterny, so I'll be pretty busy. Luckily, I will have an invention that appeals for everyone. Also, I have some left over copper that Dion said I could use."

"Alright. I hope it comes out okay."

"Fayt..." Maria called. The blue- haired swordsman turned his attention to her. "Could we talk outside?"

"Um, sure. Okay."

"It seems like you two got stuff to catch up on, yourselves," Cyrus said. "Well, time to bounce." The group left the throne room to take care of their own business. Cyrus went to pick up his copper at the fabrication room.

Afterwards, he went to the west side of town where the Workshop was. When he entered the room, he found that the room was pretty clean. The papers on the table were stacked nicely. "Alright," he said to himself. "Time to make the greatest invention on the planet." He began to do his work with the copper he had in his wheel barrow. He used the blueprints he made earlier and welded the copper into different shapes and materials. When he felt that it was time to cool the modified parts, he engulfed them with his dark energy. In about a few hours, the product was finished. "Ah, finally. It's complete. Though it's lacking somethin'..." he thought about it for a while until the thought an idea came to his head. "Of course!" he exclaimed. Cyrus got two buckets of paint and began covering it with red flames on a black background. "There, it's finished." Cyrus stared at his creation with a smile. "It's times of like these that make me cry. I love my brain," he said as he wiped a tear from his eye. He pulled out his communicator and contacted Welch.

"Hello, Welch Vineyard at your service."

"Remember me?"

"Oh well, if it isn't Mr. Splicer. Long time no report. I thought you wanted to be an inventor."

"I know, I was occupied lately. Battling droids, pursued by aliens and fighting my clone. You know, the usual."

Welch gasped when she heard Cyrus' excuse. She quickly shook her head and regained composure. "Yeah, sure. Anyway, what do you have?"

"Oh, I don't know... Maybe this..." Cyrus moved the communicator to show his great invention.

"Hey! What is that?"

"It's nothing really. Just a single human ground transport vehicle that uses an all-terrain dual wheel system powered by the lower half of the body. It's also environmentally friendly."

"Um... Er... What?"

"It's a bicycle, a sports vehicle from my neck of the hood."

"It looks good."

"Yeah. I used a copper for the frame."

"Alright. What do you want to name it in the patent?"

Cyrus pondered about what to call his vehicle. "How 'bout... the Shadow Blaze. How's that?"

"... Shadow Blaze... Sounds good. Okay, I see a lots of these hitting the market by storm."

"Yeah, well, I guess it is a stroke 'o genius, on my part."

"Well, is there anything..." Suddenly, unknown sounds and banging were heard. "Hey... wha- Not you again!" Welch got up from the desk and ran to the source in a few seconds, the same boy that Cyrus met before was racing back and forth with Welch in hot pursuit. After the third return to the direction he came from, Welch grabbed the kid by the tail and neck and went to the direction of the door. The next thing heard was a opened door and a loud thud. "And stay out, you little turd!" She got back to the desk and sat in her chair. Strands of hair were popping out in both bangs on the top of her head. "Sorry about that. So, anything else you wish to submit?"

Cyrus was looking nervous. "No, I'm cool. Scared," he mumbled, "but cool."

"That's great."

"By the way, the weary warrior look rocks."

"Huh?" Welch than noticed that he was talking about her hair-do. She embarrassingly chuckled.

"Anyway, like I said, you look good. Well, later." Cyrus turned off the communicator and put it in his bag.

An Aquarian soldier came into the building. "Ah, so here you are."

"Yo, playa. What up?"

"Your two friends have returned. It's time to return to the castle."

"Okay," Cyrus said. "Let me just fold my bike and I'll be on my way." Cyrus folded his bike up and followed the soldier to the castle. By the time they got there, everyone, including Fayt and Maria waited for him.

"I see you're back," Maria said.

"Sorry 'bout that," Cyrus said. "It takes a while to fold a bike. Especially when you create it from your own two hands."

"According to your report, the King of Airyglyph has accepted our story at face value," the queen reviewed.

"Yes," Nel replied "However, he did insist on speaking directly to Your Majesty."

"Directly?" Lasselle said in a sniveling tone. "How absurd! We could never allow a hostile party to speak with the queen!"

"And the place for this discussion?" the Queen questioned, not listening to a word of the Magistrate's concern. "Surely he does not mean to come here?"

"No, he specified the hall with the round table, in the Ancient Ruins of Mosel," Nel answered.

"In Mosel?" the Magistrate whined. "It's a dusty old ruin! They may have air dragons, but we'd have to walk!"

"He said that he wouldn't cooperate unless we accepted that single condition…"

"I see…" Queen Romeria said. "Very well then. Let us go to Mosel."

"Your Majesty?" Lasselle whined.

The Queen rose from her seat and stepped forward. "He is testing us. Normally, we would never go to such a place. Now, however, is no time to be worried about such things. This is not the time to remain isolated within our own land. We shall travel to Mosel, and I myself shall persuade the King of Airyglyph."

"But it could be a trap!"

"Everything begins with trust. If we cannot trust him, then how can he ever trust us?" She turned toward Nel. "Did he say anything about bodyguards?"

"Nothing in particular. I guess that means we can do as we see fit."

"Very well. Then you shall be our bodyguards."

"Your Majesty."

"Then are we agreed?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cyrus said.

The Queen nodded and turned back toward the Magistrate. "Lasselle."

"Yes."

"Give your full cooperation to Lady Elena while we are gone. And do not worry, I am in good hands."

"Your wish is my command. And the rest of you…" he said referring to the group. "Take good care of Her Majesty."

"We will," Fayt said.

"Just don't do something that will jeopardize us all," Adray said.

"Don't worry about the me, you old brute!" Lasselle snapped. "You better protect our Queen with your life."

The group left the castle, with Her Majesty included. "Hey guys!" Cyrus said.

"What?" Cliff responded.

"Guess what I made while you were gone." Cyrus pulled out and unfolded his bike. "Well, what do you think?"

"What odd contraption is this?" the Queen asked.

"Well, Your Majesty... it's a single human ground transport vehicle that uses an all-terrain dual wheel system powered by the lower half of the body. It's also environmentally friendly."

"Say it in smaller words," Roger said in a confused tone.

"It's a bicycle, a type of vehicle from our world," Fayt said.

"How does this... 'device' work?" the Queen asked.

"Well, this type is driven in urbanized areas. The seat is raised vertically straight, but is lower than the grips. It's built for a more relaxing ride than a speed machine. Anyway you sit on it and steer with the pedals."

"Strange technology. Yet simple," Nel said.

"Well, you may be correct, but it's great."

"It's not that I don't find this thing interesting," Cliff said, "but how about we get out of here. The King said he wouldn't wait for long."

"You're right," the Queen said.

"Roger, lead the way seeing you're more familiar with the West."

"Don't worry, as I, Roger S. Huxley, am a born leader. This way Your Majesty."

The group was silenced as the young Menodix moved ahead. "Yeah, well, boys will be boys." Maria said.

"I suppose so," the Queen replied. The group followed the tailed child through Peterny. As the group moved along the streets, the people of the town stared in awe. Not just because of the Queen's presence, but also because of the strange thing that Cyrus was riding in. Both him, or his majesty seemed to care about the attention toward them.

By the time the arrived near the bridge in the Samnite Steepes, the group heard the sounds of large flaps. They turned and saw the heavily armored air dragons of the Dragon Brigade. The leader, a person who rode a red Legion Dragon, arrived and blocked their way to Surferio. "The Dragon Brigade?" Fayt said.

"What do you want?" Nel asked. "We're on our way to speak with your king. Let us pass!"

"No!" the leader said flatly.

"What?" Cliff said.

"What's the meaning of this?" Maria asked.

"This war is not over," the leader replied. "If Lord Vox were still around, he'd have stopped this sissy negotiation by brute force."

"What?" was Fayt's only response.

"You're such a fan boy," Cyrus replied. "Don't you realize that this war wouldn't have started if Vox didn't frame Aquaria? Dude, why don't you just step off!"

"You dare talk to me or Lord Vox with such irreverence? I am Schweimer. Now that Lord Vox and Lord Demetrio are gone, I lead the Dragon Brigade. I will not recognize any peace with the dogs that killed Lord Vox!"

"So you're picking up from where your buddies left off," Roger said.

"Does the king know of this?" Queen Romeria asked.

"Hah! How could he? I should imagine he's waiting for you fools to arrive at the rendezvous point!"

"Watch your tongue when you speak to Her Majesty!" Nel snapped.

"You shall let us pass," the queen said.

"And I say you shall not pass!" Schweimer ordered. "There's no need for peace! Airyglyph rule is the best thing that could happen to Aquaria!"

"You really are an idiot!" Cliff shouted.

"You can say that again," Nel said.

"All right, whatever," Maria said. "Shall we teach this idiot a lesson or two, guys?"

"Yeah," Fayt said.

"Your Highness, let me help you find somewhere to hide," Roger said.

"Alright."

"Hey Schweimer!" Cyrus called. "Are you so pathetic that you would really wallow in Vox's shadow?"

"What did you say?"

"If you ask me, you're just his bitch. Isn't that right, guys."

"I couldn't agree more," Nel said.

"I mean, you must be his favorite bitch. What does he have you do? Wipe his ass for him 'cause he's too busy trying to lay another territory in ruins?"

"That's what it sounds like," Cliff said with a smirk on his face..

"I've heard enough! I shall have you all burnt to a crisp! Follow me men!"

"It seems like we've got him mad," Adray said.

"Quick, get the pacifier and a new diaper," Cyrus said sarcastically.

All three dragons approached the group. Cyrus and Maria ganged up on Schweimer. Cyrus quickly ran to the red dragon and slashed. Maria used her Protection and Cyrus' defense rose. Then, she used Power Up on herself. Cyrus, seeing this, decided it was one of those times to copy an attack. After he hacked and slashed, Schweimer's dragon used its Searing Fire Breath. Cyrus backfilled from the move and charged up Maria's attack. In a few seconds, he successfully mimicked the shooter's Power Up. Maria was pretty surprised when she saw what Cyrus did, but that didn't mean she left her guard down. She went closer to the dragon and used her Aiming Device. The commander and his steed were flown into the air. Cyrus decided it was time for a juggling act. His body was engulfed in a flame and he used the move: Blazing Vortex Flare. Every kick, the flames started twisting like a tornado. The attack sent serious damage to the dragon and its rider. They both slammed to the ground with tremendous force. "Is that all you got?"

"No, we still got plenty more where that came from," Maria said. In a few seconds, Schweimer was defeated by the double team of Maria and Cyrus.

"I guess once a bitch, always a bitch," Cyrus said.

"Are you all alright?" the Queen asked as she came to the scene with Roger in toe.

"We're okay."

"Are you alright, my dear," Roger said to Nel. "Perhaps I could check it out."

Cliff and Cyrus chuckled softly. "Where I'm from," Cyrus said, "that also means 'take it off dude!'"

Now Cliff was really laughing. Nel gave the two serious death glares and they looked away with nervousness painted on their face. "Shall we continue, Your Majesty?" Nel asked.

"Yes. We must get to the ruins as soon as possible." The group hurried to the ruins. They passed by Surferio where they took a brief rest. Cyrus shared a few of his stories with Roger's gang because the Menodix begged him to. After a few hours of visiting, the group went through the cave called the Passage from Parch to Plenty, a cave system that connects to the desert. They met a ranger who works as the super visor of the Mosel Dunes. He warned them about the dangers and the heat. He was a nice enough person to provide them a map... for a mere ten thousand fol. They paid for the map and went outside. Once they stepped into the environment, they found out that the place wasn't just "hot." It was a raging inferno. Cyrus knew that carefully folded the vehicle and put it back in his pack (Knowing well that soft metals and extreme heat don't mix). The group had to hop from water hole to water hole. It took some time, but they finally landed in the mysterious Ruins of Mosel.

"So anyone know about this place?" Cyrus asked.

"There isn't much," Adray said. "It's just some old fortress in the middle of the desert. It is said though, there are many treasures that have been left behind. It's also said to have been built even before the war between Greeton and Aquor."

"That sounds pretty old," Cliff said.

"It is," Nel replied. "It has been a few thousand years ago. Mechanized troops from Greeton invaded the Kingdom of Aquor, the predecessor of Aquaria."

"The war was ended by the first Queen: Queen Aquaria I," Queen Romeria said. "She used the power of the Sacred Orb to stop the mechanized warriors. It was from that day forward that all contact between Greeton and the entire continent of Gait ceased."

"Wow..." Cyrus said.

"Well, I think it's time to go inside," Fayt said.

"Right." The inside of the ruins were huge. In the center of the room, large statues began to move and destroy one another. But there was something of a pattern being observed here.

"What's this supposed to be?" Cliff asked.

"It must be a game of some knid," Fayt said.

"Correct," Queen Romeria said. "You see, the game is based on what figure is more powerful than the other. The three classes are Runologist, Thief and Warrior. Warrior vanquishes Thief. Thief defeats Runologist. Runologist overcomes Warrior."

"So it's your regular PRS with figures."

"In some extent, yes," Nel said.

"I guess since this thing's here, there must be more," Fayt said. "We'll have to solve them on the way."

The group traversed through the ruins resolving these puzzles. They also had to defeat the opposing monsters that they came across in the ruins. It took a couple of hours to find and solve each game, but they were able to unlock the doors to the round table. The Queen arrived at the meeting place unscathed and the King, along with Woltar, sat across the table. "Thank you for coming, Romeria. …It's been a long time."

"Yes. Yes it has been Arzei. I am so pleased to see you are well."

"Likewise, Romeria. You are as beautiful as ever."

"And you have not changed one bit, I see."

Later on, after the Queen took her seat, the meeting began. The King began to chuckle. "But what took you so long? I was starting to fear that one of our hard-liners had done something foolish."

"Don't play dumb with us!" Nel hissed as she remembered the event that took place back in the Samnite Steepes.

"By that, I take it that something did happen. Please accept my deepest apologies. Those troublemakers had the impudence to suggest that we need not ally ourselves with Aquaria if we could stand up to the new enemy alone. They urged me to conquer Aquaria and take your new weapon for ourselves."

"A simple plan for simple minds," the Queen said.

"They do not understand the dire consequences of misjudging this new enemy's strength. We are facing a much stronger threat this time and cannot afford to exhaust our strength."

"Then you agree to our proposal?"

"Yes. We have no other choice. Our military forces also sustained terrible losses in that recent attack. Out of the three brigades of Airyglyph, only the Storm Brigade still has a captain. Woltar is the only one left."

"Really?" Cyrus thought. "Isn't Albel still the Captain of the Black Brigade? I guess he got kicked out of the position after getting thrown in the slammer."

"But tell me, who is this enemy we face? I heard your agent's explanation the other day, but it made no sense to me."

"I felt the same way," the Queen said. "Perhaps they can explain it to us again."

Fayt began to explain the situation to the King. Even in the ears of Her Majesty, the story still sounded far-fetched. "Hmm… I have to admit I find it hard to believe. What about you, Romeria?"

"I must believe, Arzei. Lest both our countries be destroyed."

" Turning these outsiders over to this new enemy is another option, is it not?"

"That might have been possible before, but now I am afraid it is no longer an option."

"Why is that?"

"The enemy attacked the Shrine of Kaddan."

"Kaddan was attacked?"

"Kaddan has nothing to do with these outsiders. Once it came under attack, we realized that our lands had become the target of the enemy's aggression… Hence, there is but one thing left to try."

"Engage them on their own terms..."

"Correct. We must unite the power of our nation's runological weapon and Airyglyph's air dragons."

"This is no time to fret over national honor."

"That is correct."

"All right. Let us join forces. However, at present, having our air dragons carry your runological weapon will not be an easy task."

"Please explain."

"First, it is a matter of size. According to information obtained by our spies, your weapon would be too big to be carried by an air dragon."

"How about carrying it with more than one dragon?" Maria suggested.

"That to would be difficult."

Cliff groaned. "Then that's the point of this alliance?"

"Do not be so hasty, young man." Woltar said, trying to calm him down. "The king said 'at present.'"

"What do you mean?" Cyrus asked.

"I said it's a matter of size," the King of Airyglyph said. "To carry a big weapon, we need a bigger air dragon."

"Where could we find such a beast?" Nel asked.

"In the Urssa Lava Caves near a place you have already been: the Bequerel Mines," Woltar replied. "An air dragon of immense size dwells within the caverns there."

"So all we have to do is capture the critter?" Cliff said.

"That is correct," the King replied. "However, mistaking him for a mere air dragon would be suicide. The Marquis, as the beast is known, is a creature of immense size and strength. Even Vox was unable to subdue him."

"Do not fear, Arzei," the Queen said. "I trust they will be capable."

"I do not doubt you feel that way. However, our trust is not so easily given."

"Then what do you propose we do? Did you not consent to joining forces?"

"I only request that a representative of Airyglyph be included in their party. Then I shall withdraw my objections."

"A just proposal… But who would you have go? Woltar?"

"No, Woltar is much too old. I do not have the heart to send him into the Urssa Lava Caves. I was thinking of someone else."

"And who might that be?"

"…I was thinking about sending Albel."

"Albel?" Nel said in a surprised tone.

"Do you object? I, for one, am quite fond of him. What do you think, Romeria?"

"I consent. This Albel shall travel with the party…" the Queen turned to Fayt. "You do not mind, do you?"

"I personally don't mind, but..."

"It doesn't matter what we think," Cliff said. "The problem's gonna be what Albel thinks."

"After all, with what went down back in the mountains, I doubt Albel's gonna chill without a few heads a rollin'," Cyrus said.

"Then it is settled," the King said. "Albel will be waiting for you in Airyglyph. You can meet him there."

"We understand," Fayt said.

"We will be expecting you."

"I must ask that you take us to Peterny Clair can escort us from there," the Queen said to Nel. "After that, you may head to Airyglyph."

"Your Majesty," Nel said and bowed. The group left the room and began their trek back to Peterny.