New Investigations are up for Silvano, Ichirou, Lanny, Soturi, and Eamon! You can read these Investigations under the Investigations chapter.
And per a suggestion from Ido, I've started posting this fanfic on WattPad. Thus far only the first 13 chapters are on there (so basically all of Chapter One) but I will eventually get all of the chapters on there so that it runs concurrent with postings here.
Part Two
"Brother!" Arin called out, waving to Daunte as he entered Mooney's shop. "Look! Mr. Mooney had four Viki's out!"
"Five Viki's?" Daunte asked, his brow raising as he approached the counter. Arin did not empty the cases as Daunte had done so before, but he had certainly grabbed a lot of figurines. Many were slipping out of the little boy's arms and falling to the floor. "Well, it doesn't surprise me since it looks like Viki participated in all five of these wars…"
"And her appearance has changed very little despite the passage of time," Mooney said. "I asked her if her Blinking Rune was a True Rune and she said she didn't think so." His face scrunched up in confusion. "What an odd statement, don't you think?"
Daunte shrugged and looked around the room at the cases. "I see you got 4 figurines from the Gate Rune War, 4 from the Dunan Unification War, 6 from the Second Fire Bringer War, 2 from the Islands Federation War, and 3 from the—"
Daunte paused when he looked into the Falenan Civil War case. He saw two familiar figures standing side by side and quickly pointed to them. "We'll take those two as well."
"Ah, Shigure and Sagiri?" Mooney asked. He nodded as he opened the case. "They are Shou's parents, are they not? They have quite the tragic backstory—"
"I'm aware," Daunte interrupted him. He quickly recovered himself and forced a smile. "Which ones did you get this time, Arin?"
"From the Gate Rune War—Luc, Varkas, Melodye, and Viki," Mooney said. "From the Dunan Unification War—Kinnison, Templeton—"
"Templeton?!" Daunte exclaimed. He looked down at the figurine of the young boy on the counter. "That must be the same Templeton who does our maps!"
"Indeed," Mooney agreed. "You also got Gilbert and Viki. From the Second Fire Bringer War—Nei, Toppo, Shabon, and Viki. From the Islands Federation War—Jewel and Rene. And lastly, the Falenan Civil War—Shigure, Sagiri, Byakuren, Roy, and Viki."
"I'll take them all," Daunte said sheepishly, pulling out his wallet. "Mooney, do I qualify yet to make special orders?"
"Ah, let me check your purchase history." Mooney opened a filing cabinet behind the counter. "Here we are." He pulled out a long piece of paper and looked it over. Then he looked at the figurines on the front counter. "I would say—twenty more figurines, and you'll be all set."
"Twenty?" Daunte sputtered, but Arin grabbed his hand. "Please, Big Brother? Please, please, please?"
Daunte sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "…Okay. Go and pick out twenty more figurines."
"YAY!" Arin gave him a quick hug and proceeded to race around the room.
"What would you like to order first for your special order?" Mooney asked. "You can order emblems or even famous people not part of the 108 Stars of Destiny."
"Can we get Odessa?!" Arin shouted from the Gate Rune War case.
"Odessa Silverberg?" Mooney nodded his approval. "That would be a good choice."
Daunte waved his hand. "Fine. How much is her figurine?"
"25,000 bits."
Daunte twitched violently and exhaled sharply. You promised Arin. This is what you get, Daunte. "Done."
Daunte helped Arin arrange the new figurines upstairs and ignored the shouts of outrage that the cases were now mostly empty. Lanny, Dylan, and Ichirou came in and all started playing with the figurines, which made him feel better at least.
It gave him a much-needed distraction from the conversation that he had earlier with Oboro…and the many revelations that came with it.
Daunte's fingers were trembling violently, but he forced himself to finish his sketch. Sighing shakily he leaned back in his chair to examine his diagram. It was a large circle of names he was certain he had misspelled. "I think that's it."
Azamuku, aka Imbuka Liger, aka Tamara's former second-in-command, trained Sagiri to be an assassin as part of Nether Gate. Sagiri killed Nakula's father—my grandfather?—and Nakula pledged to kill her in revenge. Then Nakula was killed by Nether Gate. So it looks like Shou's mother killed my grandfather, and the organization that caused this mess continues to ruin all of our lives.
Daunte rubbed a hand over his eyes painfully. "How did my life get to be so convoluted?"
He wasn't angry at Sagiri about all…this. Daunte couldn't even imagine what Shigure and Sagiri went through during their "training" in Nether Gate, but if it was as bad as what he had suffered in the Dark Chasm then he knew that neither of them had stood a chance without Oboro's help.
"I don't remember killing Nakula's father, but I know that I had to have done it. Nakula saw his father's killer and I matched the description of the killer. I wanted…so terribly, to make amends to him for the suffering I inflicted upon his family. Knowing that he is dead now breaks my heart."
Sagiri had wanted to apologize to Daunte for her actions but he wouldn't accept it. But he saw how tense Oboro, Shou, and Shigure had become and he reassured all of them that he wasn't interested in revenge and held no ill will towards Sagiri. That seemed to ease the tensions with the detectives, and while Shigure and Sagiri were staying at Tidur's inn that night they would be leaving on the morrow. Daunte never expected that when he first met Oboro and Shou that so much would be revealed to him about the history of his family.
Nether Gate took normalcy away from Shou's parents. Sagiri killed my grandfather because Azamuku brainwashed her into being a killer. But if she hadn't killed my grandfather, then Nakula wouldn't have gone to Falena and then here to Nagarea. He…my father wouldn't have met my mother, and Arin and I wouldn't have…
Daunte leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. "Nether Gate," he mumbled.
Nether Gate had destroyed many lives in Falena and continued to do so in Nagarea. The tragedies they had inflicted upon Daunte's life were numerous, but at the same time he had Nether Gate to "thank" for his existence. He shook his head and scrubbed both hands over his face. "Think about it later," he ordered himself. "You have to focus on the battle ahead."
There was a 'whoosh' of air behind him and and Daunte turned as Yuber materialized into the room. "What is it?" Yuber asked, his cold tone stiff.
"What?" Daunte asked in confusion.
"The disturbance," Yuber responded. "There is a disturbance, is there not? What is it?"
Daunte shook his head and stammered a little before he spoke. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, Yuber."
Yuber frowned in irritation at him. "It would be wise not to lie to me, when I already have very little patience with you."
"Look, I honestly don't know what you're talking about," Daunte said defensively. "If this is some elaborate way to get me out of recruiting Pesmerga, you can—"
"Silence!" Yuber hissed through clenched teeth. His crimson and silver eyes glared at Daunte. "I will not be talked down to by a little brat like you!"
Yuber abruptly teleported away, leaving Daunte sitting there gaping at the spot where he stood. He rubbed a hand through his hair in confusion. "W-What on earth was THAT all about?"
What "disturbance" was Yuber referring to? He seemed to think that I knew what it was, but I don't!
Daunte shook his head again, and quickly put his diagram into the desk drawer. "We're going back to the Northern Continent tomorrow," he decided aloud.
Daunte admittedly felt guilty about the short notice, but to his surprise Caesar wasn't at all bothered by his sudden idea to travel when he confirmed this with Caesar and Chinmaya alone in the war room the following morning. "It's better to get this out of the way now, before we have to worry about Blood Fest."
"You're going to the Northern Continent?!" Chinmaya exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Now while we're planning a war campaign?!"
"Lord Daunte is looking to recruit a very important person for the Army," Caesar told her. "And there's a few people here who will be looking to get puppies or play in the lottery. The earlier we can do this, the better."
"B-But it might be too early for Connie to give birth," Daunte said, but Caesar shook his head at him. "Oh no, she'll have given birth by now. I imagine the puppies will have weaned by the time we arrive too."
"But so soon?! How?!"
Caesar shrugged.
"…Okay then," Daunte said slowly. "I think for convenience sake one of you should stay here and the other—"
"I'm coming with you," Caesar said. "Since you're planning on bringing Yuber with us, my presence should hopefully deescalate potentially bad situations if Yuber is recognized."
"Which I'm hoping he won't be because he's dressed differently," Daunte said. He looked at Chinmaya. "Are you okay with serving as acting Chief Strategist while we're gone?"
Chinmaya huffed but nodded in agreement. "I'll prove myself, just you wait and see."
"For the active party Yuber will be a requirement," Daunte said and Caesar nodded in confirmation. "For the rest of the party though, um…Varnaz, Viki, Georg, and Xi An if she's flying with Hero and James."
"She most likely will," Caesar said. "She's been spending more time at the island than she has been here. And you also chose Viki?"
"She was very distressed by what happened at Peak's Edge," Daunte said. "She participated in the Second Fire Bringer War so I thought a change to more familiar scenery would be good for her. And Georg is a hero in the Grasslands, so I thought he would enjoy going back there."
"Sounds good. And for the support party?"
"Eamon said he wanted to buy a puppy," Daunte said. "And Tidur wants to get one for Esther and Ciana, so I'll bring those four with me."
"And Arin?" Caesar asked teasingly.
"…Okay," Daunte said in resignation. "I'll bring Arin. But I hope you realize that by bringing him I WILL have to get him that puppy."
Caesar raised his hands as though absolving himself of responsibility of the situation. "You can always say no, Big Brother."
"It's not that easy, Caesar." Daunte looked towards the door. "I'm going to put Keiran in charge again in our absence. We're going to be gone for only three days, five days tops, but he's proven himself to be capable of handling the job." He looked at Chinmaya. "Please support him and don't be argumentative with him."
"Argumentative?" Chinmaya echoed, looking offended. "I'm not argumentative!"
"We've known you for a full a day," Caesar pointed out. "You've been nothing but argumentative since you arrived."
"Why you—"
"Enough," Daunte interjected sharply. "I'm going to have Sanji call for the meeting. Please do not argue in front of everyone."
"We won't," Caesar promised him. "We discussed this yesterday."
"Okay, good." Daunte turned towards the door when he felt a tug on his arm. He turned to face Chinmaya, who looked a little calmer. "Is something wrong?"
"…Can I have a puppy too?" she asked.
"I have 5,000 Potch after conversion," Eamon said. "Will that be enough for a puppy?"
"I must admit that it's more money than what I have," Tidur said. Esther and Ciana were too busy examining the exterior of the skyship to hear her.
"Well we're going to find out one way or another," Georg laughed.
"I'll cover whatever you both don't have," Daunte said. "We should probably get going if we want to get there before evening tomorrow. Hero, are we ready?"
"We've been ready!" Hero shouted from inside the skyship.
"Brother, does that mean we're getting a puppy?!" Arin exclaimed. Daunte responded by pointing towards the skyship's door. "Go and find your seat, Arin."
"This structure is flimsy," Yuber said bluntly, glaring at the skyship. "A single spell from a Fire Rune would destroy it."
"We're not going into battle with it right now," Daunte said. "Just relax and go inside and find a seat."
"Travel of this sort is ridiculous. I can travel faster than this death trap!"
Daunte bit his lower lip hard to stop the retort he was about to say. "I'm amazing of your amazing skills, Yuber. Now please get in the ship."
Yuber scoffed, but briskly walked towards the door. "You're not to sit near me," he said sharply, pointing a finger at Viki. "And you better not think of sneezing during the flight!"
"Y-You don't need to be so rude to me," Viki responded. "I have more experience flying in the skyship than you do!"
"Yes, you do," Caesar quickly agreed, inserting himself between Yuber and Viki and doing a 'shooing' motion with both hands. "Go on, Yuber."
Yuber snapped his teeth. "You will not—"
"Yuber, get in the ship!" Daunte snapped.
Yuber immediately silenced, but he was clearly fuming as he entered the ship.
Caesar hurried over to Daunte as the rest of the group entered the skyship. "I know your intentions, but we ought to be prepared for a lot of destruction when Yuber and Pesmerga meet again."
"I understand," Daunte said. "But if we're right and Pesmerga is one of the people who can bring humanity to Yuber, then we need him. Then we have to focus on finding out who the "white" and "red" are."
"I'm certain Lady Leknaat will be more than happy to help you find these two people when she returns to us."
Daunte nodded as they both entered the skyship. "We're ready, Hero."
"Good," Hero responded from his seat. "And thank you for not bringing so much money this time!"
Daunte saw the bags of Potch distributed on either side of the skyship and sighed softly. "Well, not as many people are participating in the lottery this time…"
"Is it true you're getting puppies?" James asked excitedly from his seat.
What is the obsession with puppies?! Daunte thought incredulously. "You can see them at Orange Castle."
"How long will this flight take?" Tidur asked.
"Thirty-two hours," Daunte told her.
"That sounds like over a day," Esther said.
"That's significantly less time than it took me to get here," Georg said.
Yuber sat in the last row while the rest of the group gathered towards the front. As per usual takeoff was still a little rocky, but there were no incidents during travel as they left the island and took flight up north.
"Wow!" Esther exclaimed as she looked out the window. "There's sea on all sides of us!"
"I'm amazed this is a lost technology," Georg said. "But as this came from the Sindar, it doesn't really surprise me."
"We're awfully high up," Eamon said.
"It should lessen the chance of an attack against us," Caesar said.
"That's what you think," Yuber muttered.
Daunte looked back at Yuber. "Arin, I'll be right back."
Yuber was sitting still looking straight ahead. He didn't acknowledge Daunte's presence when he reached him. Daunte didn't sit down beside him but he stood nearby. "Can I ask you a question, Yuber?"
"Do whatever you want. It will be my choice if I want to answer."
"What exactly is your history with Pesmerga?"
"This is a question I will choose not to answer."
"You know each other," Daunte said, ignoring his statement. "You were similar armor. Black, massive, horns on your helmet. You both appear to be Black Knights. What are the Bl—"
Yuber's gaze shot over to him. "You summoned me to kill for you. None of your stipulations involved my divulging information about my past. I will answer none of these questions."
Daunte stared at him for a long moment, silently debating if he should continue to press him or if he should leave Yuber alone. He settled on nodding and say, "You're right. I'm sorry for bothering you."
"Hmm." Yuber looked away again.
Ciana's face suddenly peeked over the top of the seat in front of Yuber. "What do you eat?"
"What?"
"Your favorite food," Ciana asked stoically. "What is it?"
"I don't eat," Yuber said sharply as Daunte gaped at the little girl.
"Why?" Ciana asked bluntly.
"Because I don't."
"Why?"
"Because I have no need to."
"Why?"
"Because I do not need food!"
"Why?"
Yuber let out a snarl, but in a flash Tidur was there scooping Ciana up into her arms. "I apologize for my daughter bothering you."
"It's okay," Daunte said, answering for Yuber. Tidur carried Ciana back to the front of the skyship and Daunte turned to face Yuber. "I won't bother you anymore on this flight with uncomfortable questions."
"See that you don't," Yuber responded.
"But in the meantime, you need to figure out how you're going to coexist with Pesmerga."
Yuber's head snapped in his direction, but Daunte was already heading back to his seat.
This…will be difficult.
There were no further difficult with flying and the skyship landed in the Yaza Plain surprisingly ahead of schedule. It was still mid-afternoon when the group disembarked the ship and took a moment to stretch.
"Yuber, stay behind with the skyship for now," Daunte said. "We're visiting the Free State of Budehuc Castle first to do some errands, but I will need you ready in the party for when we go to the Great Hollow."
"May I ask why you don't want me in the party?" Yuber asked.
"Because I'm concerned that people will recognize you at Orange Castle."
Yuber's brow rose slightly. "But you are not concerned that I would be recognized at the Great Hollow?"
"That's something I will have to risk because Pesmerga is there." Daunte paused before continuing. "Also, the Lizards from the Lizard Clan seem to have a difficult time telling us humans apart. You're dressed differently than when you were last here, so they may not recognize you at all, even if you are the person who killed their last Chief."
Yuber shrugged unapologetically. "If I did so then it was because I was ordered to."
"We're buying puppies at Orange Castle," Daunte added. "If you're interested—"
"What a ridiculous side-quest for an Army!" Yuber snapped. "I'm not going to participate in something so stupid!" He became a blur in that moment as he jumped skyward. After another moment he gracefully landed on the roof of the skyship and remained standing there stiffly.
"…Okay," Daunte said, rubbing his forehead. "Puppies and lottery tickets. Who's coming with me?"
Georg was the only person who elected to stay behind with the skyship. The rest of the group followed Daunte towards the Free State. Though they ran into monsters along the way they were not a threat and no one was injured in the attacks.
"Oh!" Cecile shouted from the gates of Budehuc Castle. She frantically waved to them. "You came back! I'm so happy to see you! Connie had 12 puppies, and they're weaned and ready to leave the nest!"
They are?! Daunte looked at Caesar incredulously, who wore his usual smug and lazy smile. B-But it feels like we were here just a short while ago! Have the days passed by so quickly and I haven't noticed?!
"How much are the puppies, Miss?" Eamon asked her.
"Oh, you'll have to ask Master Thomas about that. He should be up at the doghouse, go and see him! And don't worry, I spoke with Connie, Koroku, Koichi, Kosanji, and Kogoro and they understand that their babies must go out and have their own lives!"
Esther, Ciana, and Arin raced ahead towards the castle on the hill. Daunte and his group were trailing after them when Martha shouted, "If you want Lottery tickets you better buy them now! The drawing's tomorrow!"
Daunte stopped to unload the Potch given to him to buy lottery tickets and then headed up towards the castle. To the left side of the courtyard he saw Arin, Esther, and Ciana kneeling beside a dog house that looked like the castle behind it. Thomas was watching them with a smile, and he brightened even more when he saw Daunte approach. "Oh! Welcome back to Orange Castle! You've heard about the puppies?"
"Yes," Daunte said reluctantly. He stood over Arin and his brow rose when he saw a flurry of different colored puppies jumping all over each other in the small pen. "…Whoa," he said softly.
"That was my reaction too," Thomas said. "A dozen healthy puppies. Connie is quite incredible to have carried them all. But as you can imagine, this castle cannot afford to have 17 dogs here. You may choose which—ah." He frowned in confusion and picked up a tawny-colored puppy from the pile. The pup looked an awful lot like Koichi. "My apologies, but Juan and Emily asked for this one. The other 11 however are available—"
White gloves swiftly swooped into the pen and picked up the smallest puppy, which was pale gray and white. Daunte had to guess that this puppy was the runt. He looked up at the person who had grabbed the puppy and shrieked in surprise when he saw a tall man with a gaunt, pasty face and haunted wide eyes.
"E-Eike!" Thomas hollered. "Where did you come from?! I didn't hear you walk up!"
"This puppy," the man, Eike, said in a low voice. "I want this puppy."
"A-Ah…" Thomas looked at Daunte and then looked at Eike. "Um…okay. She's all yours, Eike."
Eike smiled, but it looked so creepy that Daunte couldn't help but flinch. The puppy for her part looked completely content in his arms. Without saying another word he turned and walked away.
"Right. Okay," Thomas said. "There are 10 puppies available for you to choose."
"Oh my goodness they're adorable!" Viki squeaked.
"Grandfather, can we have a puppy?!" James asked excitedly.
"Where would we keep him?!" Hero huffed. James's shoulders drooped slightly. "Yeah…that's true…"
Eamon reached into the pen and picked up a white one that looked considerably like Connie. "I had a dog as a child that looked like this one. How much for this one?"
"10,000 Potch," Thomas said.
Eamon's face immediately fell but Daunte stepped in. "Done."
"Will it be 10,000 Potch for each puppy?" Tidur asked warily. "W-We have a different currency at home, so 10,000 Potch is equivalent to 100,000 of our bits."
Thomas nodded apologetically. "This is part of a fund-raising project for Orange Castle. I know the price is high but given their breeding they are worth the price. All five of the dogs involved in the breeding were soldiers in the Second Fire Bringer War, after all…"
"I can spirit them away with my Rune," Xi An whispered a little too loudly to Daunte.
"10,000 Potch each is fine," Daunte said loudly, looking at Tidur. "Have you all selected a puppy that you like?"
"Are you certain, Lord Daunte?"
"Oh don't doubt our Lord," Caesar said teasingly. "Remember how we won 11 million bits the last time we came here?"
"But I have my own money," Daunte said. "So I will help give you the difference out of my own pocket and not Army funds."
"It will be your pick, girls," Tidur said to her daughter. "But just one."
Esther and Ciana quickly whispered amongst themselves for a few minutes before the sisters nodded in unison. "That one," Esther said, pointing to a black-colored one that looked like Kogoro.
"Daunte! Daunte!" Arin frantically tugged on his sleeve and pointed to a puppy that was jumping up and down as the pen's wall at them. The puppy looked like Koroku. "Look, Daunte! He likes us!"
Daunte met the puppy's eager eyes, and…it was strange. One moment he was apprehensive and slightly annoyed, but then suddenly he felt a strange warmth spring from his heart and spread across his chest. Before he could stop himself he picked the puppy up from the pen and the puppy lunged into his arms, barking and licking his face. The puppy was wagging his tail so hard that it was hitting Arin in the face but neither of them notice.
"Looks like Big Brother is in love," Caesar said teasingly.
"There are worse things to make you weak in the knees," Varnaz muttered.
"…Okay," Daunte said shakily, ignoring both Caesar and Varnaz and handing the puppy over to Arin. "But if I get him then you will be responsible for him, Arian. Got it?"
"Got it!" Arin said happily. The puppy responded with as much enthusiasm to the boy as it had to Daunte.
"So three puppies?" Thomas asked and Daunte nodded, trying to regain his composure. "That will be 30,000—"
"Oh wait," Caesar said, his smile slipping a little. "That annoying girl asked for a puppy too, didn't she?"
Daunte twitched, but forced a smile at Thomas. "…Four puppies, please." Roen and Felicity are not going to let me hear the end of this, will they?
Daunte choose a ginger-colored puppy that looked like Kosanji for Chinmaya. Daunte and Chinmaya's puppies were male while Eamon and Tidur's family puppy were female. All four were eager and happy and helped to keep the mood in the groups positive as they made their way back to the skyship.
"You bought two of those things for yourself?" Yuber scoffed in disgust, shaking his head. "How pathetically sentimental of you."
"But he's cute!" Arin insisted, showing their puppy into Yuber's arms. "Look, isn't he cute?"
The puppy surprisingly did not respond negative to Yuber's proximity, despite his self-proclamation of him being a demon. He just sniffed at the breastplate of Yuber's armor curiously while Yuber stared down at him with a frozen expression. Daunte carefully took the puppy away from him. "We'll make sure to keep the pups out of your way."
"See that you do," Yuber responded.
"Wow they are cute," Georg laughed, scratching Chinmaya's puppy under his chin. "Their parents must have been a sensation during the Second Fire Bringer War."
"Koroku liked to wander," Caesar said darkly. "And he liked marking his territory everywhere."
"What does that mean, "marking his territory"?" Arin asked Daunte, who choked.
"Lord Daunte, I'm content," Eamon said, cuddling his puppy to him. "I would like to stay behind here for the duration of our stay."
"So will we," Tidur said. Behind her Esther and Ciana were playing with their puppy with James and Xi An. "Thank you so much for bringing my family on this trip, and helping us buy this puppy."
"No, thank you all for coming," Daunte said. "And it's best that you all stay behind anyways, as we're probably going to enter combat on our next quest. Once we complete this quest and check the lottery tickets results tomorrow we'll be heading back."
"You are correct that a battle is coming," Yuber said ominously. "I will not be responsible for any collateral damage."
"W-Why don't you try to work hard and not have collateral damage?" Viki suggested.
Yuber gave her a cold stare. "Why should I?"
"Rule number two," Daunte interjected. "You can't kill anyone without my permission. Remember that, Yuber?"
Yuber growled, but said nothing further. "Okay, right. The Great Hollow is next. Let's go now so that we get there before dusk. Arin, I leave you in charge of Chinmaya and ours puppies."
"Can I name them?!" Arin asked excitedly.
"You cannot name Chinmaya's puppy because that's her puppy. But you can certainly name ours."
"YAY! I'm going to name him Kibbeh!"
Daunte twitched violently. "…Kibbeh?"
"Oh I love kibbeh!" Esther called to them. "It's one of my favorite foods!"
Daunte took the lead as they arrived at the Great Hollow. Varnaz, Viki, Georg, Yuber, and Caesar had joined him though they kept Yuber to the back of the group. Daunte however felt his heart beating in his throat as the approached the Lizard guards. Though he was certain that they would not recognize Yuber, he was also concerned that he may be recognized because of his past heinous actions.
But he will not be committing any heinous acts while he's in this Army.
"HEY!" One of the Lizard guards shouted. "It's you!"
Uh oh.
"I can't believe it!" the other guard explained. "The Georg Prime! Leader of the Ebony Knights and Hero of the Grasslands!"
Daunte relaxed considerably upon hearing this. "That's right. W—"
To his further shock though, the guards clamored forward and shook HIS hand! "What an honor it is to finally meet you, sir!"
"Can I have your autograph!" The other Lizard asked eagerly.
Georg burst into laughter behind him, and Daunte was glad that he found the situation humorous at least. "Um…actually…"
It only took a few minutes to set the record straight, but Daunte's heart began hammering in his throat as they climbed to the second floor to the section where they last met Pesmerga. Daunte saw the flicker of black armor against the torches of the Great Hollow and his heart began beating faster. It's okay. It will be okay—
When they were five meters away from where Pesmerga was standing, Daunte was nearly knocked over when he felt a burst of wind behind him. Ahead of him he saw Pesmerga turn around to face them and draw his sword. The moment he drew his sword, Yuber materialized in front of him and his twin swords collided with Pesmerga's sword with a loud CLANG!
"Yuber," Pesmerga hissed through clenched teeth.
"You've been looking for me," Yuber hissed back. "If I knew you wanted to die so badly, I would have met you sooner."
"Yuber!" Daunte shouted warningly.
Neither Yuber nor Pesmerga heeded him as they began to violently battle. Their bodies blurred because they moved so quickly, and their swords collided with ear-ringing clangs. At one point they became visible again as their swords strained against each other. They were both grunting loudly and slammed into the cave wall during the struggle. The impact left a deep hole.
Activity in the Great Hollow silenced due to the battle, and Daunte saw soldiers mobilizing below them. "YUBER, STOP!" Daunte shouted, finally finding his voice.
Yuber jumped back away from Pesmerga, his swords falling from his hands. Pesmerga however did not stop and lunged at Yuber with his sword—
"A-CHOO!" Viki shouted.
Daunte blinked, and in an instant they were no longer in the Great Hollow. They were back outside, the sky pink with the setting sun. Daunte looked at their surroundings in confusion. They were in a clearing framed by trees. W…Where are we?
"Good job, Viki!" Caesar cheered, throwing his arms around Viki. "You got us out of the Great Hollow and to the top of Mt. Hei-Tou!"
"Mt. Hei-Tou?" Daunte asked warily.
"Oh don't worry," Georg reassured him. "If my memory serves correctly, we're not that far from the Yaza Plains."
"That's correct," Caesar confirmed.
Despite having dropped his swords, Yuber was holding them again though he did not move. Pesmerga looked perturbed as he turned his gaze to Viki. "Ah. So you're here too. I remember your…accidents from before."
"I-I'm sorry," Viki said shakily.
"Why are you so annoying?!" Yuber snapped at Viki. "I thought I told you to wear those damn nose plugs!"
"My nose hurts!" Viki protested.
"You should be thankful to Viki," Varnaz pointed out. "She just saved you from a deathblow from this…person." he gestured to Pesmerga.
"My life was not in danger," Yuber said sharply.
"I beg to differ," Pesmerga responded. "But I see you did as I asked and brought Yuber to me. But why did you do that?"
"Because I want you to join my Army," Daunte said.
Pesmerga stared at him for an uncomfortably long time in silence. Then he said, "I refuse."
"Why?"
"Because I will not be an ally to Yuber. Yuber is my enemy. We are not comrades."
"But you are both Black Knights," Daunte said, pointing between the two of them. "You obviously have a history. Why not join forces this one time?"
"I do not need to explain my reasons to you," Pesmerga said. "It's none of your business. And if you are an ally of Yuber's, then I consider you my enemy."
"If I may?" Caesar interjected. "Lord Daunte demonstrated in your fight the control he had over Yuber. He told Yuber to stop and Yuber stopped. Did you not see that?"
"…I did," Pesmerga said.
"Yuber is fighting against evil this time," Daunte said. "He has saved my life, and he has protected the people in my Army. I can trust him."
"He protects you because he is bound to your blood," Pesmerga pointed out.
"I know," Daunte said. "So?"
Pesmerga once again fell silent. Yuber looked at Daunte out of the corner of his eye. "If this is all, can I go?"
"You're not going anywhere," Pesmerga said. "I've been hunting you for years!"
"If you join us then you'll be around each other, won't you?" Viki offered.
Yuber exhaled sharply and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Congratulations, girl. Your stupid question succeeded in giving me a headache."
"I'm not stupid! I'm smarter than YOU are!"
"That's not wrong," Pesmerga agreed stoically. Daunte choked on a laugh at his unexpected comment. "Yuber, apologize to Viki for insulting her. Again."
Yuber glared at him, but a smile shockingly rose to Pesmerga's face. "Now this I have to see."
"Wait, guys," Caesar said suddenly. "A Blue Mantik is usually found in this area. We need to be on guard."
Daunte quickly looked around, but went still when he saw a blue heap at the back of the clearing. "You mean that one?" he pointed.
"Yes, that one," Caesar said. "But who killed it?"
"Well, this has been an interesting show."
The new voice startled Daunte and he turned. Six figures burst from the trees armed and ready for battle, four men and two women. The man at the front had a rugged appearance though his expression was calm. An eyepatch covered his right eye. "…Caesar," he said after a moment. "And Viki."
"Aw, it is Caesar!" one of the men shouted. "I was looking for a fight!"
"Right after the battle we just had?" A woman in blue asked.
"Hello, everyone," Caesar said. "Ace, Queen, Joker, Jacques, Aila…and Geddoe. Long time no see."
"Geddoe?!" Varnaz shouted. He surged forward and grabbed Geddoe's free hand, shaking it furiously. "I-It's an honor to meet you! I'm Varnaz Behzadi, Lieutenant of Nagarea's Liberation Army and fellow Tenjyu Star!"
Geddoe stared at him blankly. Ace and Joker burst into loud laughter. "Wow! Geddoe has a fanbase even on the Southern Continent!" Ace howled.
"Tenjyu Star?" Aila said, making a face. "You guys are part of the 108 Stars of Destiny too?"
"Indeed," Georg said cheerfully. "I happen to be the Teni Star again—"
"Teni Star?!" Aila brightened. "That's MY Star!"
"Yuber is with them," Jacques said softly.
Geddoe's group immediately stiffened. Geddoe himself pulled his hand free from Varnaz and looked at Caesar and Daunte. "He's dressed differently, but you can't hide Yuber from us."
"W-We actually weren't hiding him," Daunte said. "This is his normal—"
"How could you side with that monster?!" Aila shouted, pointing an arrow at Yuber. "Do you know what he did?!"
"Yes, I do," Daunte said embarrassedly. "But he's made a contract with me, so he—"
"If he made a contract with you, then you must be up to no good," Joker interjected. "I'm disappointed that you have aligned yourself with someone like this, Caesar."
"I see that there appears to be a misunderstanding," Caesar said uneasily. "So let's just calm down, and—"
Aila released her arrow. Yuber swatted the arrow away with one of his swords and lunged at her. Jacques managed to shove her out of the way before Daunte yelled, "STOP YUBER!"
Yuber immediately stopped before he reached Jacques and Aila. "Wow," Queen said, clearly impressed. "You have him trained well."
"Do I look like a dog?!" Yuber snapped through clenched teeth.
"This is actually brilliant," Ace said. "You have an unstoppable monster who has to obey your every word! You must be kicking a lot of ass in your war!"
"Y-Yuber has been an invaluable asset to the Army, yes," Daunte said.
"Can he do other tricks?" Queen asked snidely. "Like play fetch and roll over?"
Yuber growled but Caesar said, "You kind of deserve this treatment after everything you did the last time you met these people."
"You."
Daunte turned to see Geddoe standing before him. "You are the leader of this Army?"
"Yes, I am."
"You are the one who made the contract with Yuber?"
"I am."
Geddoe raised his sword. "I want to fight you."
"R-Really?" Daunte exclaimed.
"Can I fight you instead?" Varnaz asked. "I would really like to assess your skills—"
"No," Geddoe said bluntly.
"Hey Geddoe, perhaps this fight could wait?" Queen asked. "That Blue Mantik was a lot stronger than we expected."
"You guys are wounded?" Daunte asked. He raised his hand. "Howl."
The healing spell washed over the mercenaries, surprising them. Geddoe however slammed his sword into its sheath and lunged forward. He grabbed Daunte's hand and pulled the glove off, revealing the Rune of Restoration. "That's a True Rune," he said.
"EH?!" Most of his group shouted. Jacques did not react.
"Y-Yes, it is," Daunte said.
"How long have you had this True Rune?" Geddoe asked.
"A-Ah…less than a year?"
"That looks like the Resurrection Rune," Joker observed. "So this must be the parent Rune."
"You got the parent rune of the Resurrection Rune?!" Ace exclaimed. "Lucky kid!"
"You have a True Rune too, yes?" Daunte asked Geddoe. Geddoe gave Caesar a look but Caesar shrugged. "I'm not going to lie to my Commander, Geddoe."
"Yes," Geddoe said. "The True Lightning Rune. But I won't show off its power."
"So what happens now?" Queen asked. "Are we going to attack them?"
"It would be rude after he healed us," Jacques, though he had his crossbow pointed at Yuber.
"But we can't let HIM leave!" Aila shouted, gesturing at Yuber.
"How do you intend to stop me?" Yuber asked.
"Yuber, shut up," Daunte said, though ruder than he intended as he turned to face Geddoe. "I can't speak for what he's done in the past, but he's my ally right now and under contract with me. He's not going to be doing those same things again."
"I did as I was ordered," Yuber said sharply. "If you have issue with my previous actions then take it up with the people I had prior contracts to. I did what they told me to."
"But YOU did it though!" Ace shouted.
"We seem to be at a stalemate," Caesar said uneasily. "How can we end this peacefully?"
"We can't," Geddoe said coldly.
So we have to fight? Daunte thought with dread.
"Well this is unfortunate," Georg said, unsheathing his sword.
"I-I would prefer that we not fight," Caesar said helplessly.
"Well you heard Geddoe," Queen said, shrugging. "It looks like we're fighting."
"Ah—Viki!" Daunte shouted over his shoulder.
"READY!" Viki shrieked, thrusting her hand to the sky.
"Oh da—" Geddoe began, but the light of the of the Blinking Rune enveloped him and he was quickly gone.
"Viki, what did you do?!" Ace hollered.
"READY, READY, READY, READY, READY!" Viki shrieked, pointing to each member of the Geddoe's mercenary group. One by one they were enveloped in light and disappeared.
"Oh good, it worked," Caesar sighed in relief.
"Where did you send them?" Varnaz asked.
"She's not going to know," Yuber said. "And I was looking forward to a fight…"
"We can fight now," Pesmerga interjected.
"Wait," Daunte said, quickly inserting himself between the two Black Knights. "Enough, please! Pesmerga, just join my damn Army! You obviously wanted all of us to meet up since you didn't try to kill me last time! Yuber is here, the person you've been looking for, and if you join the Liberation Army then you keep an eye on him! And you can kill bad people! It's a win for you!"
The group was stunned by Daunte's cursing and exasperation. Daunte kept his eyes on Pesmerga because he knew Yuber wouldn't move without his permission. Just listen and join me, Pesmerga! You have no idea how important you are!
Pesmerga looked back at him for another long moment of silence before speaking. "If," he said. "I agree to join you, then I want my battle with Yuber. You guarantee me this fight when your war is over, then I will go with you."
"Feel free if you're so desperate to die," Yuber scoffed.
"Clearly I'm stronger than you," Pesmerga said darkly. "Given you have been running from me all this time."
"Done," Daunte said, looking between them. "When the war is over, go and have your fight wherever you want so long as innocent people don't get involved."
"Wait—" Yuber said.
"Done," Pesmerga said at the same time.
"Okay good," Caesar said quickly. "Now let's get back to the skyship just in case any of Geddoe's crew is still in the vicinity."
"I hope you teleported them to the same location," Georg said. "That would be more convenient for them."
Viki laughed nervously and loudly. Varnaz gaped at her. "You—teleported them all to different locations?!"
"…Um." was all Viki managed to say.
"Uh oh," Georg said warily.
Yuber let out a loud choking noise, startling the others. "A-Are you okay?" Daunte asked him.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Yuber said harshly.
"Tactically it was a sound strategy," Pesmerga said. "It will only be an issue if they cannot fight solo battles."
"Right," Daunte said quickly and nervously. "Let's get out of here before any or all of them find us."
"Good thing we're leaving tomorrow," Caesar said.
"…I wanted to spar with him," Varnaz said in disappointment.
The group hurried out of the clearing, but the two Black Knights remained behind. "You are not leaving?" Pesmerga said.
"I will leave after you leave," Yuber snapped.
"I'm not going to turn my back on you." Pesmerga paused before smiling darkly. "That was surprising, though. I didn't think you were capable of choking on your own saliva."
Yuber answered him with a glare.
The lottery results the following morning were very disappointing, as only one person out of the nine who gave Daunte money to buy tickets actually won anything and it was just 3,000 Potch. As the participants spent less than 1,000 Potch on tickets (10,000 bits) Daunt made the difficult decision to only bring money back for the sole winner.
Yaman gave me less money this time but he's taking a loss. Hopefully he will learn a lesson from this.
As the group was leaving Budehuc Castle, Daunte felt something grab his arm. He turned around and saw Piccolo standing. "Y-Yes?"
"Black," Piccolo responded. "A chilling coldness. Magnetizing power, old power."
"You remembered!" Daunte cried out, clasping his hand. "Yes, I found the black! What are the red and white?"
"What?" Piccolo asked.
Daunte blinked. "What?"
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
Daunte groaned in outrage and let his hands go. "Never mind." At least Yuber wasn't here to see this, he thought.
The skyship was ready to fly when his small group but tensions were high. Despite the present of the puppies there was an aura of hostility surrounding both Yuber and Pesmerga. Daunte directed Pesmerga to sit in the front while Yuber retook his seat in the back.
James was the last to enter the skyship, though he looked confused. "There's a scruff guy yelling outside charging towards us."
Daunte got up and looked out the door. His eyes widened when he saw Ace rushing towards them yelling and wielding his twin sai. Daunte swiftly pulled the door shut. "Go now! We have to leave now!"
"I can fight him," Yuber offered.
"Don't rush me," Hero gruffed.
Luckily Hero was able to take off before Ace could reached them. Daunte felt terrible about what they did to Geddoe's group but at the same time he hadn't known how to diffuse the situation without fighting.
Well I'm bound to run into Geddoe again, since we both have True Runes. I can already predict that it will not be a happy reunion.
The flight was still tense because of the two Black Knights, but the barking and happy chatter from the puppies helped to make the flight easier. Daunte overhead Eamon refer to his new puppy as Jasira, and Esther and Ciana called their puppy Tiara. To Daunte's consternation, Kibbeh had taken to his new name happily and kept Daunte and Arin busy along with Chinmaya's new dog.
Though they made good time on the trip, it still felt like an eternity and everyone was quite relieved when Hero's island was visible to them. Hero himself had gotten better with landings and did so without a bounce. "There, now get out," Hero told them.
"Hurry Brother, we have to show Kibbeh to Roen and Felicity!" Arin called, hoisting the puppy in question.
"I know," Daunte said, holding Chinmaya's puppy in his arms. "Hero, I'm sorry for the unpleasant flight."
"Hmph," Hero grunted.
"No, it's okay," James reassured him.
The group exited the ship one by one. "I agreed to join you without hearing your cause," Pesmerga said when he left the skyship. "So what it going on here?"
Daunte quickly told him. "Okay," was his response.
Viki left the ship hovering her hand over her nose slightly. "Ah—Ah—"
"Are you going to sneeze?" Caesar asked.
"…No," Viki said after a moment. She lowered her hand and smiled. "I'm okay."
Yuber left the skyship. He took two steps from the ship and stood dead. He looked towards the sky. "What's that?"
"What?" Daunte asked.
Everyone looked up to see a blue flash of light shoot down from the sky straight towards. Daunte felt the hairs on his arms stand on end but realized too late where the light was going to strike. "YUBER!"
"A-CHOO!" Viki sneezed.
Daunte watched in horror as the lightning blasted Yuber's entire body, and at the exact moment he was surrounded by light and disappeared. "O-Oh no!" Viki cried out. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!"
"Is everyone all right?!" Georg shouted. "Any injuries?!"
"Grandfather!" James shrieked. The skyship had a black and smoking vertical mark along the side. Small flames erupted from the scorch mark and James ripped off his jacket and frantically beat at the fire. "Grandfather, the ship!"
Varnaz hurried over to use his Flowing Rune on the skyship. Daunte was still gaping at the smoking grass where Yuber had been standing. He looked at his comrades and they looked stunned and shocked. Including Pesmerga. Daunte swallowed hard and looked towards the sky. "Yuber?" he called out uncertainly.
Yuber did not reappear. Daunte looked at Caesar, who stared back at him wide-eyed. "…Uh oh," Caesar said.