Chapter 4: Attack

Aika woke up the next day and looked around. James was nowhere to be seen and she immediatly freaked. She dressed in everything but her boots and walked outside, hoping she would find him. "Are you doing the right thing?" She whiped around and saw Vyse.

"What are you doing here?" she asked calmly.

"Answer my question Aika," he said sternly. "Are you doing the right thing?"

"I've never been so sure of something in my life," she replied cooly. "Not that it is any of your business. I spent years waiting for you and you went to Fina. Don't you think it is high time I had some real happiness in my life?"

"Is that the only reason Aika?" he asked.

"Of course not!" she yelled. "I have never felt so happy with a man in my life! Since we met it has been nothing but joy being around him and I made damn sure to get to know him before I even considered it! I have never met a man with such a track record for battle, and yet maintain such a bright atitude! Even you Vyse. Since Valua has been taken down you changed. You're not your usual bright and carefree self."

Vyse looked at her for a second and then turned around. "As long as you are sure Aika. I don't want to lose my childhood friend. What will happen if we decide to part ways?"

Aika stood there. She didn't have an answer to his question. "I guess we will have to wait before either of us can find out," she whispered.

Vyse nodded and started walking. He paused for a second and turned around. "If you want to know where he is," he said. "He is in the training area preparing himself for the battles to come." He turned back around and walked off.

James stood at the ready, facing off against his comrads. "You know the drill boys," he said raising his sword. Each one nodded and went to charge.

"James!" Aika yelled running up. James held up his hand signaling them to stop and sheathed his weapon.

"Hey beautiful," he said walking up to her, and gave her a hug. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," she replied, hugging him back. "By the way. I talked to Ryu-kan a while back about getting you a new weapon to help you with the dangers ahead."

James looked at her then unsheathed his sword looking it over. "I guess it is time to give this old sword a break. It has been in use since my great grandfather Jameson served under the Valuan army. let's go see this guy. I've been dying to meet the great Ryu-kan." Aika smiled and grabbed his hand leading him to a cave.

"Hey Ryu-kan!" she called out. "Is that sword I requested ready?"

"Is this the boy?" Ryu-kan asked stepping out. He looked James over, mumbling to himself as he inspected the boy. "Aika wasn't exaggerating one bit about you James. With your physique it should be impossible to weild a blade like that." He pointed to a sword wraped in cloth and smiled. "Take it. It is yours."

James paused for a second before reaching out and taking the weapon. He carefully unwrapped it and looked it over. "Amazing," he whispered, spinning it in his hands as though it weighed nothing. He looked it over once more admiring the red circular gem in the center. The designs on the hilt and in the center of the blade gave it a type of beauty a normal sword couldn't hope to achieve. He noticed Ryu-kan's signature on the blade and smiled. he wrapped the sword once more and bowed. "Thank you sir. I will treat this blade as though it were my own flesh and blood."

"I expected no less from the grandson of the old Admiral Jameson," Ryu-kan replied bowing to James himself.

James looked startled. "You knew my grandfather?" he asked.

"Take a look at your older sword. Battle worn as it may be I can see it has been properly taken care of. Look just underneath the guard."

James set the new sword down and unsheathed his blade, looking under the guard as instructed and gasped. Ryu-kan's signature was engraved under the hilt. "Years of having this blade and I never noticed once," he whispered. "I am honored to own not only one, but two of your works."

"The honor is all mine," Ryu-kan said. "It is a rarity to meet swordsman such as yourself. If it is no trouble my boy. May I see that sword. I would like to restore it."

James nodded and set the blade down in front of Ryu-kan. "If it is of no trouble Ryu-kan. I have a reccomendation I would like to make for two more swords."

"Not at all my boy. Please tell me what you need," the artisan replied with a smile.

James pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper and handed it to Ryu-kan. "These two swords are what I need to unleash my father's ultimate technique. The originals were lost when Valua was destroyed."

"A unique design indeed," Ryu-kan whispered. "I will get to work on them immediatly."

James was about to reply when a warning bell went off. The cave shook and James gasped. "To think they would be bold enough to make a move so quick," he growled. "Aika. Get geared up. I'll try to hold them off with the others." He unwrapped the blade Ryu-kan had given him and ran out of the cave, finding himself face to face with a swarm of soldiers. He quickly cut them down moving on, trying to make a path for Aika, who shortly ran out of the cave with a new weapon. She beat down soldiers as she made her way to her house and lept towards the door, getting in.

"That's my girl," he said with a grin and whipped around hacking down a soldier that stood in his way. "Alright I've had enough of this." He ran his hand along his blade and held it in a reverse stance. He dashed at a large group of soldiers and in a flury of quick slashes, they all dropped. "Dance of the yellow moon...."

He turned around to a clapping sound behind him and righted his stance. "Bravo James, bravo," a man said. Aside from the uniform the man looked exactly like James. "You haven't lost your touch one bit my dear twin brother."

"Keith," James hissed. "I should have known slime like you would crawl to an empire like this!"

"Is that any way to talk to your brother?" Keith sniggered. "Tell me brother. Would you like to dance for old times sake?"

"Gladly," James growled. He raised his sword and waited for his brother to draw his. Keith drew his two handed katana and smirked. The two stood there waiting for the other to make a move. keith's eyes narrowed and he dashed, followed closely by James. Their blades clashed, causing a stale mate. Each tried pushing the other back, and sparks flew each time the swords ground against each other.

"You can't hold on for too long brother," Keith laughed.

"neither can you Keith," James yelled. He pushed Keith's sword to the side and threw a right hook into Keith's jaw causing him to stumble back. He dashed at his twin once again and slashed furiously, each blow blocked by his skilled brother. Keith saw his opening and slashed, forcing James to jump back.

"Heads up James," Aika yelled out. Her boomberang flew over head right into Keith's katana knocking him back.

"Awwww did my brother get a girlfriend?" Keith said with a laugh. "Looks like I can finally hit you where it hurts." To Aika, Keith had vanished into thin air. She felt an arm wrap around her throat and another arm twist hers behind her back. A ladder came down beside Keith and he picked up Aika and grabbed onto the ladder flying off.

"No!" James yelled trying to chase after him, but was too late. Keith was already gone. "DAMMIT!"

"Help is on the way captain," Mia, the helmsman yelled from the Iblis. A ladder fell down next to James and he nodded. He sheathed his blade and climbed up the ladder and onto the Iblis.

"After that ship!" James yelled running to the bridge. "Engines to full!" The Iblis tore after the retreating ship as James ran. It took a little longer than normal but he reached the bridge and sat in his seat. "Cannons ready, but be careful not to over do it. Aika is on that ship, and we need to board to save her." He observed the ship that they were tailing. It looked strange even for a foreign vessel. It had X shaped wings on the back and a built in cannon on the front. He was certain it was a flag ship, judging by its appearance and size.

On Crescent Isle Vyse was fighting off soldiers with Fina. He saw the Iblis tear off and assumed James took to the sky to take down enemy ships. "Good luck James. "Blue Rogues! Head for your posts on the Delphinus 2 and give James assistance!" He cut down a path for his crew and made sure each person got to the hanger. "Let's end this shall we Fina?"

"Right," Fina said nodding to Cupil. The silver creature turned into a cuttlass and hovered infront of Vyse. He charged at the soldiers, as both him and Cupil cut each one down till none stood. Cupil returned to it's normal form and shook the blood off itself.

"Too easy," Vyse whispered flicking the blood off his cuttlasses. He looked down and saw he was soaked in blood and shook. He looked around seeing each corpse he had cut down. He did all this without feeling a thing, but now. He doubled over and retched.

"Vyse are you okay?" Fina asked running up to him.

"Stay back!" he yelled. "Aika was right. I have become too battle hardened." It had all hit him so suddenly. Even against Valua he had shown remorse for each person he had killed, but now. He didn't even care when he killed. This realization hit Vyse like a ton of bricks.

"You wouldn't feel this way if that were the case," Fina said wrapping her arms around Vyse.

"Fina. You don't understand. I enjoyed that," he whispered. "What am I becomming?"

While the crew was doing their work James bolted towards a storage room. In order to save Aika he was going to need something to get on that ship while making a quick pass by. He opened the door and grabbed a board. "I sure hope to hell this works," he whispered as he walked out of the room.

"You're mad you know that right?" Gin asked walking up.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't do anything psychotic every now and again," James replied. "Besides this really is the safest way to get on that ship in mid combat."

"A fucking SKYBOARD!" Gin yelled. "That is nowhere near safe!"

"Hey Gin. Remember who you are talking to," James said with a grin. "The more insane it is the better I pull it off."

"Just be careful," Gin whispered.

James waved. "You will know when to pick me up," he said and ran off to the deck. The sound of cannon fire echoed in the sky. He looked over a railing and waited for his chance. As soon as the Iblis swooped over the flag ship James jumped and latched the sky board to his feet. The moonstones inside began to glow and his fall began to slow. He maneauvered around cannon fire with a series of twists, turns, and flips. Down below he saw the "what the hell" looks on each soldier's face. "Hey boys! Hope I didn't miss the party!"

Aika sat in her cell. She knew from the second Keith had took her that James was hot on the trail, but she had to ask. How could he get into such a heavily armed ship? Even if he were to get on board there was enough soldiers on the ship to wipe out Nasrad. She sighed and looked outside the cell at her new boomberang. It was such a nice craft too. Ridges at the ends for extra damage, a sturdy build. It reminded her a lot of her first weapon, yet it was so much more graceful looking. She listened to the explosions of cannon fire and hoped James had planned on blowing this ship out of the sky instead of being foolish enough to go after her but, she doubted that was the case.

"My brother is dumber than I thought," Keith said walking into the brig. He smiled when Aika's head shot up. "He used a Skyboard to board my ship and is working his way here as I speak."

Aika scowled. "So what do you plan on doing all mighty captain Keith," she spat.

"Isn't the answer obvious?" Keith asked and sat down. "I'll sit here and wait for my brother to show up, just to kill him in front of your face. After that I will dump his corpse on Crescent Isle and take you away."

"What is the point of all this?" she asked. "You had your chance on Crescent Isle to take James down and you ran off with me instead."

"Two simple reasons my dear," he laughed. "Reason number one is that this makes things much more fun. Reason number two is that here, no one will get in my way."

James entered the brig, breathing heavily. "Looks like you get to have your fun," he growled.

Aika looked up at James. He looked so different. He was soaked in blood, and had a feral look on his face. A shiver ran down her spine when she saw him. He didn't look like the soft hearted man she had slept with the night before.

"I see," Keith said drawing his sword. "Then let us dance."

"Don't worry about dumping my corpse on crescent isle," James said with a smirk. "Even if you kill me this ship will fall out of the sky, thanks to the surprise I planted in your power generator." He drew his sword and lunged at keith, clashing blades.

"Tell me brother," Keith said. "Do you plan on dying?"

James pushed Keith back and slashed. "Not a chance in hell," James growled. "Since you pissed me off so bad, I plan on killing you and escaping with Aika." He sent aflury of slashes at Keith, forcing him to stay on the defensive. He jumped back when Keith managed to find an opening and send a wave of energy from his blade.

"I find this interesting," Keith said charging a spell. "The devils of Valua fighting like this. It kinda reminds me of a game I used to play when we were kids. Two twin devils, each with opposite styles. One with a sleek, thin sword made for speed, and one with a mammoth oversized blade made for strength. We were made to fight like this." He shot a Pyrus spell at James, who narrowly evaded the attack and countered with a wevlum spell. Keith was struck by the spell and was sent into the wall.

"The only difference between this and the game," James yelled ramming the sword into Keith's gut. "Is that I am smarter than some devil. You may have speed Keith but, your hasty thinking was always your downfall. You never did like to plan ahead." He pulled back on his sword, and turned towards the cell.

"James," Aika whispered.

"Save it for later," James said slicing through the bars, giving Aika an escape route. "I see your hair is still down."

Aika smiled. "So how are we getting out of here?"

James walked out of the room and waved the Skyboard through the door way. He tossed it onto the ground and sheathed his sword. "Come here," he said holding his arms out.

Aika gulped. "You're insane you know that right?"

"A lot of people tell me that," James said. "Now come on. We don't have any more time to waste."

Aika nodded and walked up to him. She had a hard time accepting that their lives were in the hands of a sport tool. James scooped her off her feet and took off on the board. The second he took off, Aika clung onto him as tight as she could. He tore through the halls, winding around turns like they were nothing. She could hear him counting down and guessed it was a bomb count down. Sure enough the second he hit zero, explosions rang out all over the place. James tightened his grip on Aika and shot onto the deck of the ship and kept on going.

"James!" she yelled. "Don't tell me you are going to do what I think you are going to do!"

"Probably am," he yelled back. "Just hang on and enjoy the ride!" He flew off the deck of the flagship and saw the iblis flying underneath. He shifted his weight around to change his angle.

Aika closed her eyes, wishing this would end soon. She felt a bumping sensation and noticed they were going straight instead of falling and opened her eyes. James came to a halt and kicked the board out from under his feet and landed. He looked down and saw Aika looked pale as could be. "You alright Aika?"

"James you idiot!" she yelled jumping out of his arms. "That has to be the most reckless thing I have ever seen in my life! And I've hung out with Vyse my entire life so that says something!"

"Beat the alternatives," James said with a shrug. He grinned when he saw Aika's jaw drop. "Might wanna close that jaw hun. You'll catch a sky fish that way."

Aika closed her mouth and scowled. "Let's get cleaned up," she said. "I'm getting sick of that horrid smell."

James looked himself over and realized just how bad he looked. "Oh Moons," he whispered. "Aika I'm sorry."

"About what?" she asked.

"You saw a side of me that very few people ever get to witness."

"Well you did look scary as hell when you busted into the brig," she admitted. "I cant even remember the last time I saw someone with that feral of a look."

"I was so worried about you," he whispered. "I was so angry at Keith for taking you like that, and even more angry at myself for letting him get away. I'm so sorry."

Aika's expression softened. "Hey," she whispered. "Let's get cleaned up. After that we can get something to eat and relax at my house."

James nodded and started walking.

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A/N: Now I am probably going to get flamed for the references in this chapter, but keep in mind that I enjoy throwing in references and that these references will play a role later on in the story. There is a reason Keith and James were called the Devils of Valua. What that reason is? Just read and find out.

Also I do hope that you guys caught on to a certain pirate James is similar to. "Who am I? Well I'm James Gillian." If you can't figure it out yet. Well shame on you. Maybe you will catch on after they call him insane enough times.