Two Destinies Chapter 3: Message in a Dream

Author's Preface: Whaddya know… People are actually reading my stories! And I don't mean just my close friends, but complete strangers, too! Thanks to all of you! Now, once again, I may be spewing blasphemies in this chapter. Pay no mind. I spew these blasphemies for a reason. And the Melnics in this chapter is actual Melnics, which I learned from the Abyssal Chronicles forums. But don't worry; I'll be translating most of the meaningful Melnics in the chapter. I'm not going to touch upon what it means, but in case you're wondering what "baekun opu" means, it means "wake up". :) As usual, write reviews! And none of these characters, whether from Tales of Destiny, Tales of Eternia, or from Tales of Destiny 2, are mine!

"Hweel!" Meredy exclaimed as she and her five friends entered an intriguing city abundant with lamps and curvy structures. She spun around to look at her stunned companions and her furry blue squirrel/rabbit pet, Quickie, leapt off her shoulders and squeaked in delight at the thought of finally being home. "This is Imen!" Meredy announced. "Meredy grew up here!" Her friends' eyes were aglow with curiosity.

"The technology here is incredible!" Keele exclaimed as he walked up to a lamppost. "How does this even work?" Meredy walked up next to Keele and pointed at the lamp.

"That is a Craymel Cage." Meredy said. "Inside are Lightning Craymels that glow!" Keele looked at the lamp again.

"I see…" He proclaimed. "How interesting… There isn't any technology like this in Inferia…"

"You know…" Kyle began. "There isn't any technology like that back in…" A gasp from Reala interrupted Kyle.

"Oh, Kyle!" She exclaimed. "Look at this!" She pointed toward a feature with bent supports. Kyle walked over to where Reala was and admired the architecture with her. Meredy started up again.

"Meredy want you to meet some friends of Meredy's!" She said. Reid, Farah, and Keele nodded, then started to follow her. Just then, Reid looked back to see Kyle and Reala still looking at the figure.

"Hey!" He called out, getting their attentions. "You coming?" Kyle and Reala were confused.

"Where you going?" Kyle inquired. Reid sighed.

"Didn'tcha hear Meredy?" He said. "She's gonna bring us to see her Celestian friends." Reala looked down at her feet, then spoke up.

"A-actually… We didn't hear her…" She said. Kyle's hands were placed indignantly on his hips.

"'Sides…" He said. "Even if we did, we can't understand Meredy…" Reid slapped his forehead. He had nearly forgotten that Kyle and Reala didn't have Orz Earrings like Farah, Keele, and he did.

"Still…" Reid said. "If you two don't hurry, we're gonna be left behind by the others…" Kyle and Reala nodded, and then ran behind Reid until they found the other three waiting outside a building. Farah had her arms crossed.

"What took you three so long?" She asked. Reid opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped upon hearing the voice of the younger swordsman.

"We got sidetracked…" Kyle answered. "Sorry… Let's go, then…" As if Kyle's words were a cue, Meredy opened up a door with a creak and beckoned her friends inside.

Inside, there were three people scurrying about busily; two men and one woman. Meredy cleared her throat, attracting the attention of the older of the two men.

"Ah, Meredy!" He said, walking toward her. "You came back!" Just then, he noticed Meredy's companions. "And you brought friends, I see… May I ask who they are?" Meredy smiled.

"This is Reid, Farah, Keele, Kyle, and Reala." She pointed to each person as she said their names. The man shook hands with each of the travelers.

"My name is Sagura." He said. "And these are my assistants, Bulenda and Hamilt." The assistants waved to the adventurers upon hearing their names. "My specialty is making weapons, Bulenda makes explosives, and Hamilt is my apprentice…" Just then, Sagura noticed Kyle and Reala exchanging confused glances. "Is something wrong?" He asked them.

"Those two are wondering what you are saying…" Farah said. "You see, they don't have Orz Earrings like Reid, Keele, and I do…" Sagura scratched his chin.

"Well, it isn't my specialty, but I could possibly fashion some Orz Earrings for them." Farah smiled.

"You can?" She said. "That would be great! It would help so much! Thank you!" She bowed to Sagura.

"It will probably take us a while to make them…" Sagura said. "To be safe, come back tomorrow. They should most likely be ready by then." Farah nodded, then translated for Kyle and Reala.

"He says that we should wait until tomorrow for the earrings." Reala nodded, then spoke up.

"Very well…" She said. "What shall we do now?" Meredy twirled around.

"We can go see Meredy's house!" She said. "Follow me!" The adventurers left Sagura's shop, following the skipping girl to her house. Upon reaching her house, Meredy twirled around again. "Welcome to Meredy's house!" She said as she opened the door. Keele cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Hello!" He called out. "Anybody home?" Meredy giggled.

"Silly Keele!" She said. "Meredy lives here alone!" Keele was shocked.

"A-alone?!?" He said. "At your age? What about your mom and dad?" Meredy's usually happy face was sad for once.

"Meredy hasn't seen her mom and dad for a long, long time…" Farah scratched her head.

"You haven't seen your parents in a long time? Where are they?" She said. Kyle sighed, and Reid noticed Kyle's sudden mood change.

"Something wrong, Kyle?" He said. Two sets of blue eyes met one another, and Kyle sighed again.

"I was just thinking…" He said. "I haven't seen MY dad in years… I wonder how he's doing…" Just then, Reala yawned.

"Meredy?" She asked. "Where is your bedroom?" The purple haired girl pointed toward a door, then held up a finger.

"Only room for one person…" She said, and Farah repeated. Kyle shrugged.

"What about a guest bedroom?" Meredy shook her head. Kyle looked around, and then saw chairs surrounding a small glass table. "Hey, we could probably sleep on those chairs…" He walked over to one of them and sat on it. "It's rather comfy…" He was getting really comfortable on the chair. Reala smiled, and sat down next to him.

"Hmm… Yes, these will do…" She said. Kyle yawned and his eyes began to shut. Whatever was said after that was lost upon Kyle's ears as he nodded off…

Suddenly, a strange sensation came over Kyle's body. He felt even more comfortable than before… and warm! He felt warm for the first time since he had come to Celestia! That's odd… He thought, his eyes still closed, obviously enjoying the comfort. Where is this warmth coming from? It's soothing and delightful… It almost felt like he was being hugged by the warmth. Just then, Kyle went to roll over, but the ground under him undulated a little and lightly tossed him to his feet. Now standing, he decided to open his eyes. The first view he caught was that of a vast, white expanse that climbed up high into the sky. Upon looking around, he saw nothing but white. Am I on a cloud? He thought. Kyle picked up a foot, and then put it down gently. The ground gently bounced under his footstep. That's strange… I thought clouds were just water… Is this a cloud? Or is there magic at work here? He took a few more steps, and the ground added an extra spring to his step, just like earlier.

Still rather in disbelief at where he was, Kyle finally spoke. "Hello?" He called out. "Anybody here?" Within seconds, Kyle had his answer.

"Kyle!" A voice called out, surprising Kyle with the fact that it knew his name. Strangely, the voice sounded familiar.

"Who's there?" Kyle called. "Where are you?" Just then, the atmosphere changed when an agonized yell permeated the air. The warmth was gone from around Kyle. The clouds began to fade from their pristine white color. The yell made Kyle gasp. Just then, the voice rang out again, but with a different, pained tone.

"Kyle…" The voice repeated. After a few seconds, a horrible scream penetrated the air. Thunder roared from somewhere nearby. The scream jogged Kyle's memory. It was his father's voice he was hearing!

"Dad!" He yelled. "Where are you?!? What's wrong?!?" Another thunderclap. "DAD!!!"

"Kyle!" His father's voice called out a third time with even more pain flowing from his familiar voice. It almost hurt Kyle to hear his father's voice like this. This time, Kyle's father had more to say. "Bandin edin yaio, Kyle?" Kyle was confused. He began to run blindly across the cloud in a direction that he thought his father's voice was coming from. Rain started coming down, nearly blinding Kyle as it beat against his face. The thunder sounded once more.

"What was that, Dad?!?" Kyle said between heavy breaths as he ran. "I don't understand!"

"Bandin edin yaio, tuya suimu?!?" The voice said, seemingly getting farther and farther away with each passing second. Kyle turned around and started to run in the other direction, thinking he was running away from his father. "Waitun buewaka tii tun!" The voice was still getting farther away. Kyle stopped running.

"I don't understand!" He repeated, yelling at the top of his lungs. "I don't know what you're trying so say!" He dropped to his knees as the rain pelted against his back. His tears were hidden amongst the raindrops on his face. "I just don't know…" He whispered. "What can I do?" He hit the ground with a fist, and it didn't bounce back like before. Instead, his fist began to slowly sink through the now completely gray cloud. His body was sinking through the cloud slowly. Just then, the rain subsided. Once again, Kyle felt a warmth upon his back and words forming on his ears.

"Waitun buewaka tii tun…" His father's voice sounded calm and nearby. Kyle's tears stopped flowing. "U muundu yaiodi anrupu… Suiimu u baururu mui ruimugundi bun… Kyle…" Kyle gasped.

"Dad!" He said as he went to turn around, but he moved too fast. He felt a sudden surge of adrenaline as he started to fall through the hole in the cloud he had just created. However, he caught a split-second glance of something glowing over his head before he fell through the cloud. Something black was wrapped around part of the glowing figure and seemingly refused to glow. The shape of six wings was imprinted in Kyle's head as the figure vanished behind the clouds. Was that… an angel? Once again, he heard his father's voice.

"Kyle!" He yelled. "Mui! KYLE!!!" The voice once more had pain embedded into it, as well as a new feeling of despair. Kyle forced his hand against the gravity pulling him toward the earth and threw his arm into the sky toward the cloud he had just fallen from.

"Dad! NO!" He screamed. "Help me!"

"Kyle!" The voice yelled from the clouds. "Baekun opu! Kyle!" Just then, the voice of Kyle's father faded into Meredy's voice.

"Baekun opu, Kyle!" She repeated. Kyle drifted into consciousness.

"Huh?" He looked around. He was lying flat on the ground in Meredy's house, staring up at Farah, Reala, and Meredy. "What happened?"

"You were having a nightmare…" Farah said.

"You woke me up when you fell off the chair…" Reala said, moving her body out of the view and pointing at the chair Kyle had fallen asleep upon. Kyle sat up and held his throbbing forehead.

"My dad…" Kyle said quietly. "He was saying things I couldn't understand… Things like 'bandin edin yaio' and 'waitun buewaka tii tun'…" He stopped. How the heck did he remember that perfectly? Meredy stood up.

"Kyle's father speak Melnics!" She said. Kyle looked at her odd. Reala giggled.

"She said that your father was speaking Melnics…" Kyle redirected his odd glare to Reala.

"Wait…" He said. "How do you know what she's saying?" Farah gasped.

"I almost forgot!" She said, pulling something out. She held it towards Kyle. "Sagura got these done. Reala's Orz Earring works great! Put it on your ear." Kyle took the earring and put it onto his ear, snapping it into place. While he was messing around with the earring, Meredy spoke up.

"Bzuinsu uti baibiku?" She asked. Kyle frowned.

"Say what?" He said as he finished securing the earring to his ear so it was comfortable.

"I said, does it work?" Meredy repeated. Kyle's face lit up.

"Yeah!" He said, beaming widely. "I got you loud and clear!" He gave a thumbs up to Meredy.

"Waiiru!" Meredy said, grinning. "Kyle and Reala can speak to Meredy now!"

"So, Meredy…" Kyle said. "Can you tell me what my father said now?" Meredy nodded. "All right… There were a few things he said…" Under his breath he added, "And I still have no idea how I remember these word-for-word…" Meredy ###### her head. Kyle spoke aloud once more. "First, he said 'bandin edin yaio tuya suimu'." Meredy smiled.

"Kyle's father say 'where are you my son'." She said behind a grin. "What else did Kyle's father say?" Kyle put a hand on his chin.

"So he wanted to know where I was…" Kyle pondered under his breath. "He was looking for me, too…" He raised his voice and looked at Meredy. "All right. Next, he said 'waitun buewaka tii tun'."

"That means 'come back to me'." Meredy said.

"All right…" Kyle nodded. "This last one is kinda long…" Meredy nodded back. "He said 'u muundu yaiodi anrupu. Suiimu u baururu mui ruimugundi bun.'" Meredy frowned.

"Uh, oh…" She said. "That means 'I need your help. Soon I will no longer be'." Kyle gasped.

"H-he's in trouble?!?" Kyle thought back to the split-second glimpse he caught of what he thought was an angel and that black object that wouldn't glow that he saw upon the "angel". Why wouldn't it glow? What was it? If the "angel" was his father, what was it doing that was endangering his father? Meredy tried to enlighten the atmosphere.

"Kyle speak Melnics very well!" She said. The attempt failed. Farah was concerned about the message.

"No longer be what?" Farah asked. "Is there more to what your father said?" Kyle shook his head.

"I think what Kyle's father meant was that he is soon going to cease to exist… cease to be…" Reala said.

"You mean like he's going to die?" Farah asked. Kyle sighed.

"I think he's already dead…" He said sadly. "I think he's under attack in the afterlife…" Farah shrugged.

"What if this is all just a crazy dream?" She suggested. Kyle frowned.

"No way!" He barked. "This is WAY too real for me to be 'just a dream'! And I'm NOT crazy!" Just when Farah was about to argue with the blond swordsman, a door creaked open, and Reid stepped into the living room.

"What's going on?" He yawned. "Isn't it too early to argue?" Kyle grumbled. Reala smiled.

"Oh, thank goodness... I don't like it when people argue..." She said.

"Why are you guys arguing?" Reid asked. Kyle looked sneeringly at Farah.

"SHE..." Kyle pointed at Farah. "...said that she thought I was crazy." Farah put her hands at her hips indignantly.

"I did not!" She scolded. "I said that your DREAM sounded a bit too crazy to be real!" The argument was ready to erupt again, but Reid wouldn't allow it.

"That's enough. Let's just get a move on..." He looked around. "Say, where's Keele?" Meredy twirled around.

"I showed him where the library was." Meredy said. Reid facepalmed.

"We're never getting him out of there..." He sighed. "So, where is it, Meredy?" Meredy headed for the door, and the others followed her.

After prying Keele away from the Melnic books at the library, the six adventurers were wondering where to go next.

"Meredy..." Reid said. "So, where do you think we should go? You're our guide here..." Meredy twirled around.

"I think we should go meet Galenos..." She said.

"Galenos?" Keele repeated. "Who's that?"

"Galenos is my teacher." Meredy answered. "Galenos is very smart. Galenos built the craft that Meredy came to Inferia in." Keele's face lit up.

"Very well." He decided for the rest. "Let's go see Galenos." Everybody else sighed at Keele's commandeering of their party.

"So, where does Galenos live?" Reid said. Meredy smiled once more.

"Galenos live in Luishka." She said. "Luishka is beyond the the Dragon Rock Mountains. The only way to Luishka is by the Craymel Express."

"Craymel Express..." Kyle said. "You mean, like a train?" Meredy nodded.

"Yes, a train!" She said. "However, we need a Train Cage so we can use the Craymel Express."

"Where can we get one of those, Meredy?" Farah asked.

"Meredy saw a Train Cage in Sagura's shop!" She said. "We can buy Train Cage from Sagura!" Reid looked in the direction of Sagura's shop.

"How much do you think it will cost?" He wondered. Meredy shrugged. Reid shrugged in return and started walking towards Sagura's shop, with the others following closely behind.

Inside the shop, Sagura was taking a break from work. He looked at the adventurers as they entered the shop.

"Ah, Meredy!" He said. "How are you?" Meredy smiled.

"Meredy is great!" She said. "We need a Train Cage, Sagura!"

"A Train Cage, you say?" Sagura scratched his chin. "Well, I do have this one..." He pointed to a large gray device nearby. A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Reid's head.

"How are we going to carry that?" He wondered. "How much does it weigh?" Sagura laughed.

"It only weighs 350 pounds..." Everybody in the room sweatdropped along with Reid. "And it only costs 2,000 Gald. Will you be buying it?"

"We'll buy it..." Reid said. "...But how will we carry it?"

"How about you, me, and Kyle carry it?" Farah suggested. Kyle backed away.

"I-I'm not that strong, trust me..." He said. Farah put her hands on her hips.

"You're strong enough to wield a sword, Kyle..." Farah said. "Besides, Reid and I will be taking some of the weight ourselves, so you won't be alone." Kyle laughed sheepishly.

"I'm a bit reluctant..." He said. "But it looks like you guys need my help, so I'll do my best..." Farah smiled.

"Here is the 2,000 Gald." Meredy handed Sagura the golden coins. Farah, Reid, and Kyle walked over to the cage.

"On three..." Farah said. "One, two, THREE!" The three of them lifted the cage into the air with a little difficulty.

"Geez..." Kyle complained. "350 pounds is a lot heavier than it sounds..." Kyle tried to move his hand positioning, but almost dropped his end of the cage.

"Watch it, Kyle!" Reid said. Looking back at the blond swordsman, he saw that his face had turned to nearly the color of Reid's hair. Farah sweatdropped.

"I think he needs to be in the middle. I guess Kyle was right when he said he wasn't too terribly strong... Kyle, you wanna swap positions with Reid?" There was a groan from Kyle.

"Yeah, sure..." He said between grunts. "This is ridiculous..."

"Okay, set it down slowly." Farah said. Reid and Kyle did as they were told, then Kyle and Reid swapped positions and lifted the cage into the air once more. "That better, Kyle?" She saw a grin on Kyle's face, which was enough for her. "Now, let's go." The three cage carriers exited the shop first, followed by Meredy, Keele, and Reala.

"Now, if we run into trouble, we won't be able to fight carrying this." Reid said. "Will you three be okay fighting off monsters?"

"Yes, we'll be fine." Reala said. "Now, don't drop it!" She giggled a little.

"Now, Meredy..." Keele said. "Why don't you show us where the Train Station is?" Meredy smiled, then started skipping off. "N-not too fast!" Keele pointed at the three carrying the cage.

"Okay." Meredy said. "Meredy will skip slower." And once more, she began to skip off, but slower this time. And with that, the three adventurers were set off toward the Craymel Express Train Station and, beyond that, Luishka...

Author's Nota Bene: Whew! That was an interesting chapter! If you agree, please type a review! It shouldn't take you too long! Thanks in advance! Next chapter, our heroes are off to Luishka!