Breath of Fire III: Of Gods and Dragons
Chapter Twenty-Four: Lost Shore
Written by Estrelita Farr
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The Black Ship, unlike Rhapala's ever-trembling boat, remained perfectly stable even after making the transaction from the Middle Sea to the Outer Sea. Everyone, especially Rei, was extremely glad of this – even if the cruise to the other side took more than a few days, at least they wouldn't be worrying for their lives.
Once all of them felt relaxed enough, they parted and explored the ship, then eventually settled down on their own around their favourite area of the ship.
It wasn't long before Nina started looking around for Ryu, however.
As she explored the interior of the ship, she found Garr in a secluded hallway. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his eyes closed, his hands on his knees. Gaist's halberd, now his sole weapon, leaned against the wall beside him, close enough to be wielded in case of danger.
"Oh, hey, Garr," she called, as she approached him in a secluded hallway. "What're you doing here?"
Upon hearing the princess, at first he remained silent, but after a few long seconds passed, he looked up and answered, "…I am meditating."
"Meditating?" she echoed, kneeling beside him. "To focus your mind?"
He nodded. "We are needed to focus our minds on the sole reason of our existence; to serve our Goddess. We can stray not from our path, and we must remain ever vigilant in our task. Meditation assists with that… but…" His voice trailed off, then he regained his composure. "I now meditate to sharpen my mind for battle."
"I… see."
He stood up slowly, towering over Nina, and gazed at her. "Worry not, Nina. Though I have sworn to serve the Goddess in the past, I no longer wish to take the life of the Brood. Now my only wish is to seek the truth."
She smiled. "I'm glad, Garr."
"Now…" Stretching his wings, he asked, "What is it that you seek?"
"I'm looking for Ryu, have you seen him anywhere about?"
"Ryu? No, I have seen him not. Mayhap outside?"
"Oh, okay. Thanks, Garr!" With that, she darted down the hallway, waving goodbye at him.
Garr shook his head, chuckling slightly. "With some hope, perhaps Ryu will finally realise her feelings soon…"
And, as he headed out to the upper deck, into the sunlight, he caught sight of Peco, desperately running away from Honey, who seemed to be having fun chasing him.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
.
"Whew, it's hot out there!" Rei cried, sweating furiously as he barged into the bedroom and threw himself on the bed. "Man, doesn't that just beat all?"
"Hm?" Momo, who was sitting on another bed, looked up from the book. "Oh, hi, Rei. Want some tea?"
He blinked. "Huh? Oh, sure."
As he brought a glass, the engineer poured him some tea from the teapot.
"Thanks." He took a sip; the tea was nice. It was only some time later that he realised with a start and stood up quickly. "What the heck? Where did you get the tea from?"
"I brought it along!" Momo pulled out a packet of tea leaves from her bag that contained numerous books. "See?"
"Oh, right." He sat on the bed once more, cross-legged, and drank his tea in one big gulp. As he held out his cup for another round, he asked, "So… you like tea?"
"Yeah!" she answered cheerfully. "It helps me think when I'm focused on a project, and it tastes great!"
"Um, okay… I'm not too fond of it, but yeah." His gaze focused on her. "You seem kinda cheerful today."
She shrugged. "You haven't thrown a bad remark at me all day today, so I should be asking you what's wrong!"
"I haven't?" The half-tiger thought hard. "Oh, you're right… I wonder why."
And once again, they lapsed into another awkward silence. It was clear to them that the other was acting differently towards each other, as they had not even started arguing yet.
"Um…" The red-haired woman set down her book, unable to read further. "So… are you going to tell me why you came along with us on this journey?"
He half-shrugged. "Well, this is a fine time to ask, now that we can't go back!"
"N-no, I mean–"
To her surprise, he chuckled. "Heh, you're so easy to tease; it's hard to believe you're a genius!"
"Hey!" she immediately shouted. "Take that back!"
Instead of retaliating, he chuckled a little once more. Then, he started in a soft voice, "…well, you've no doubt heard about what happened to me from Ryu, or Nina." He shook his head sadly. "It was a long ten years…"
Her eyes softened in concern. "…Rei…"
"I'm over it now, though. All's left is this… want to know the truth." Holding up his left hand before his face, he clenched it tightly, the muscles in his arms showing beneath the thin layer of stripped golden fur. "Even if my power and the Brood's aren't quite the same level, they're like one and the same, yeah? So, if we go meet the Goddess or whoever…" Determination burned in his eyes. "I can find out why such destructive power exists!"
"Such a great power in this world…" She shook her head. "It's quite hard to come in terms with it…"
He chuckled again. "Yeah, Ryu could've flattened us with his Dragon tail if he wanted to. But enough about that; now it's your turn." He glanced sideways at her. "Why did you come along? Just to learn about machines?"
She blushed. "That's one part of it…"
He grinned. "Then?"
"Well…" She gazed forward, a strange distant look washing over her face. "Back when I was in my tower home, working on projects in seclusion, my mind's always on machines and science. But when I was with Ryu and everyone else, ten years ago, it opened my eyes a little – there are more to this world than just science."
Rei, who had a low opinion on machines, refrained from commenting.
"Then Ryu disappeared, and I went back to machines," she continued. "But it's just not the same anymore; there's something out there, about the Brood, about the Guardians, and the Goddess. It's like reading a mystery, in a way… it gets you all excited about finding out the truth, and you'll try to find out about it, no matter what."
"…let me get this straight…" He grinned cheekily. "You want to find out about the truth because for you, this is like another research of another sort?"
Flustered, she shook her head quickly. "No! That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
The half-tiger laughed heartily.
"Hey, guys!" Nina's voice interrupted, as its owner came in through the door. "Have you two seen Ryu?"
"Hm…" Momo looked thoughtful. "Ryu just got a fishing rod from Parch, so wouldn't he be fishing or something?"
The winged girl realised with a start. "Oh, that's right! Why didn't I think of that?" He started heading out the door. "Thanks!"
Then the door was closed, and the sounds of hurried footsteps echoed along the hallway.
Rei faced Momo, flashing another cheeky grin. "…wanna go check it out?"
She returned the grin. "Of course!"
.
-o-o-o-o-o-
.
True enough, there Ryu was, sitting on a shaded metal platform near the edge of the deck, his eyes focused on the gleaming surface of the sea, one hand around the handle of the fishing rod. He seemed to be lost in thoughts, because even as the princess approached with audible footsteps, he did not look up.
"A zenny for your thought?" she asked, settling down beside him.
Ryu jumped a little, apparently started to find her beside him. "W-what? Oh, it's you, Nina…" He took a deep breath to calm himself, then embarrassment showed on his face. "You gave me a fright."
She giggled. "I can't believe you didn't even hear me coming." She focused on him, her eyes lingering on his face. "So… what were you thinking about?"
"Just sorting out my memories." He gazed fondly at her. "It's getting better now, thanks to you."
She felt surprised. "Me? How come?"
"Well… you see…" He hesitated, turning his eyes back onto the sea. "I'm not sure if you remember this, but…" He took another deep breath. "You've always been here, beside me, even all those years ago when I've fought Myria a few times."
Her eyes widened. "Eh? Really?"
He nodded, still somewhat hesitantly. "You've always been around with me, even though you had different hairstyles and clothes then… at one time, you even had dark wings, back when I had to fight demons that the Goddess created." He turned towards her, smiling slightly. "The memories were easy to sort; all I have to do is put them together based on your appearance."
She returned the smile. "I'm glad I could help somehow, Ryu. I guess that explains why we became such good friends almost immediately…"
She trailed off when she caught his eyes on her; a look that sent a pleasant shiver along her spine. They stared into each other's blue eyes, aware of the electricity building between them, an expression of fondness washing over their faces. They drew closer, their eyes gleaming with a message that words could not convey.
The timing was right.
They knew it.
As their arms wove around the other, around Ryu's waist and Nina's shoulder, their eyes closed in anticipation.
Then, their lips met.
It was pure bliss.
And nostalgic.
A love so strong that it survived through centuries of lives, against countless wars, countless hurdles.
A love that transcended Time.
Even the Goddess could not break them apart.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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"Whoo!" Rei cried, almost too loudly. "There they go!"
The engineer grinned. "Wow, they really did it!"
"Pui pui!" Peco yelled excitedly, bouncing on his feet.
The Guardian shook his head. "Perchance a lower voice can be considered…"
Honey nodded exasperatedly.
"Garr! Aren't you happy for them?" the half-tiger demanded. "I mean, they're your friends too!"
"That's right!" Momo agreed, putting her hands on her hips.
"That is what I intended to convey not…" Garr crossed his arms. "But do you realise not that they would sooner discover us if you are too loud?"
"Oh…" Both Rei and Momo seemed embarrassed.
Even the onion realised his mistake. "Pyu…"
Garr gave a rare smile. "But perhaps both of you are to be another couple…" There was a slight teasing note in his voice.
"WHAT?" they exclaimed loudly. "NO WAY!"
"Garr! How could you say that?" the red-haired woman added, flustered.
Suddenly, at that very moment, the loud, intrusive sound of an alarm rang across the ship, signalling that something was amiss on the ship. It surprised everyone, making them jump.
Momo's eyes widened. "The alarm system! Quick! Everyone, to the bridge!"
Startled, everyone else complied without a word, and Ryu and Nina's love scene, together with the prospects of a new couple, were quickly forgotten.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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At the bridge, all six of them gathered. The engineer immediately ran to the control panel and pressed several buttons continually, her fingers moving deftly across the panel.
"H-hey!" Rei started anxiously. "We're not going to sink, are we?"
"Nooooo…" she denied immediately, without turning away from the panels.
"Pyu pyu!" Peco cried, bouncing up and down.
"Relax, Peco… and look!" She pointed at the screen, which showed a map of the ship, with an area on the front upper deck highlighted in a flashing crimson colour.
"That's a map of the ship…" Ryu shook his head. "Does it mean there's something out there?"
She nodded. "There's a problem on the upper deck, near the ship's bow…"
"We should investigate," Garr stated.
"Okay. I'll stay here in case something's wrong with the controls." Momo gave them a thumbs-up. "Good luck!"
"Can I not go…?" Rei muttered. "I mean, it's all water around…"
If looks could kill, the cold stare that the Guardian gave him would have already killed him. So, meekly, he followed like a subdued cat, with Peco following obediently behind.
Ryu and Nina glanced at each other and grinned at their half-tiger companion.
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-o-o-o-o-o-
.
As they emerged in the sunlight from a ladder, nothing seemed to be out of ordinary; there was nothing on deck that would have aroused the ship's suspicious alarm system. They walked carefully across the deck, heading towards the prow, where the ship's deck slanted downwards into the sea.
Even from where they were, however, careful observations revealed that the bow had hit something large, for there was a shadow beneath the gleaming blue waters.
"Something hit the ship, I think…" the princess stated.
As the others moved forward slowly, the half-tiger spoke in a rather doubtful voice.
"I dunno… I mean," he said nervously, "I can't even stand straight here! What if something happens?"
"Pyu…" Peco agreed, also seemingly rather doubtful.
Just then, a loud sound made them freeze in their tracks, with four of them preparing their weapons… then something HUGE leaped from the waters, forming a pillar of water, and landed in front of them!
It was the strangest monster they had ever seen; a green oval-shaped monster with a face that resembled an insect and numerous tentacles like an octopus. On its back was a shiny red plate, with purple stripes, similar to the back of a ladybug, and six purple wings in the shape of flower petals emerged from below the red plate on its back, flapping to keep it airborne. Along its side were holes that opened and closed as it hovered; perhaps they were breathing holes.
"Graaaah!" it roared at them.
"Doesn't this just beat all?" Rei immediately got into a battle stance. "It's only the first day, and we're already going to be fish food!"
"Puuuuuui!" The onion sounded mad, even excited, as he bounced.
"Uh, I doubt it's actually a fish…" Ryu muttered.
And, at that very moment, another one of those creatures leaped from the sea in another pillar of water and landed before them, looking just as ferocious as the first.
"Hm, these are Ammonites…" Garr appeared thoughtful. "We should back up until we can get a solid footing."
Rei sighed. "NOW you tell us…"
Nina nodded. "We should move slowly, so that we don't aggravate these creatures while we're at a disadvantage…"
One step at a time, they moved back towards the centre of the ship, with their eyes focused on the monsters and their hands gripping on their weapons. Anxious to get as far away from them, however, Rei and Peco began to pick up their pace in fear… which was a bad idea. The Ammonites, roaring loudly at their escaping prey, started to pick up speed as well.
Very soon, they were all racing back towards the ladder, with Rei leading the pack!
"GRAAAHH!" one of the Ammonites yelled.
"WARGH!" the half-tiger shouted as he ran. "Get away, you freaks!"
Then, sensing that they had caught up to their preys, the monsters leaped high into the air.
Their tentacles extended, and aimed for them.
Suddenly, the Black Ship's turret guns sprang to life, spinning around from their idle position to take a good aim at the Ammonites, and fired a million chrysm-powered shots at them, as golden as the sun.
The Ammonites roared in pain as they drew back sharply in mid-air, their tentacles shielding their faces, but the turret guns were relentless, constantly firing high-speed shots at them. Roaring once more, the monsters retreated quickly and dived back into the waters.
"Phew, that was close!" Momo exclaimed, as she run up to them. "Good thing this ship has its own defence system!"
Garr nodded. "I am thankful. Mayhap we need not worry about intruders in future."
"Pui!" the onion replied.
Rei sighed gratefully. "That's great… we won't have to go through THAT again!"
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-o-o-o-o-o-
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By the twentieth day, land interrupted the blue surface of the sea. At first it was only a thin line of land, visible only to Rei's sharp eyes, but not long after, sandy land filled most of their northern view, with a town right in the middle. That seemed to be the Black Ship's destination.
They cheered.
The crossing of the ocean was over.
"We finally made it!" Nina was the first to shout, beaming.
"Hm… but it doesn't look that much different from our side, does it?" The engineer sounded a little disappointed.
Rei shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe there are monsters here the size of the Black Ship?"
Ryu shook his head. "I definitely hope we won't find one…"
"We should remember we are now in a new world." The winged man crossed his arms. "Perhaps it would be prudent to keep on our toes."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The six of them descended, stepping on the long and narrow stone platform that was the town's dock. From afar, this place looked as ordinary as a town like Rhapala, but upon entering the town itself, they found it rather clean and orderly, with floors tiled with stone and stone buildings with a strange pentagonal shape and shutter doors arranged in parallel and perpendicular to each other. At key locations, there were conveyer belts transporting machine scraps, which brought an excited gleam to Momo's eyes, metal crates arranged in neat piles and metal girders that stood as decorative structures rather than supportive ones, which didn't quite fit Ryu's taste artistically.
The population seemed to comprise mostly of mechanical robots that hovered and did the work. There were people walking around town – though not green with four eyes as Ryu had imagined – and they were dressed in strange looking white jumpsuits, with different coloured collar and belt as their variations. They didn't seem too surprised to see newcomers descending from the Black Ship, nor were they curious when the group inquired around about meeting the Goddess.
It was as though… they were machines.
It made the group uncomfortable.
From a particular dark-haired man, who spoke in an accent they all had never heard before, they learned the name of this town.
Kombinat.
The name didn't ring any bell in Ryu's mind, so it could be that this town was formed after his demise four hundred years ago.
After an hour of separated but fruitless enquiries, they gathered at the town's entrance. As the sun had already turned the sky into an orange gold colour, they decided to camp outside… but just as they were about to leave, they heard a soft buzzing sound near them.
"…viguadeviu… bidebuvau…"
"What was that?" Ryu asked no one in particular.
"It sounded like…" Nina hesitated, uncertain. "…a voice?"
Honey, who was in Momo's pocket, abruptly decided to leap, land on the floor with a crash, and run towards a particular pile of crates.
"Honey?" the engineer exclaimed, chasing after her.
The other five pursued their red-haired companion, and they soon found her kneeling down next to a brown robot, examining it. It was almost humanoid in shape – with a glass sphere for a head attached directly to the body, and two arms that seemed strong enough for heavy work. It did not have legs, however; instead, it travelled on two wheels that were rather triangular in shape.
"Debuiaviu…" it buzzed.
"What's this, Momo?" the princess asked.
"It's a machine worker," Momo explained without turning. "It's supposed to be able to communicate with us humans using speech, but I'm guessing this one's speech unit is busted." She stopped, turning to the others with a big grin on her face, like a child with a new toy. "Isn't this great? I get to see how their machines look like!"
"Uh, aren't you forgetting something?" Rei shook his head. "We're supposed to, you know, look for the Goddess?"
"Aw, c'mon! It'll just take some time!"
"It is a problem not." Garr gazed at the orange sky. "We should prepare to camp, and discuss our next course of action. Let her repair the machine if she wishes to."
"Yahoo!" Momo cheered, grinning. "C'mon, Honey, let's look for spare parts!"
Without a second thought, she ran back into town, like an excited child in a race, followed closely by Honey and the brown robot.
"Pui!" Peco cried excitedly, bouncing after her.
Rei rolled his eyes. "Oh boy… doesn't this just beat all? I'll meet you guys back at the camp in a bit." With that, he followed the engineer's footsteps.
The golden-haired girl giggled.
Ryu faced her, curious. "What?"
"You don't know?" A sly smile formed on her face. "One hint; two people are getting along pretty well with each other."
"Huh? Wait, what?"
The Guardian chuckled as he turned and stepped out of town, into the wilderness.
More confused now, he glanced at both his companions. "Garr knows, too?"
"I'm sure you'll be able to guess if you think hard enough, Ryu!" With another giggle, she followed after Garr.
"W-wait! How come I'm the only one who doesn't know anything?"
In a small gust of wind, Ladon's voice chuckled in his ear. "I hate to say this, but I'll have to call you a noob."
"A noob? What?"
Silence.
Realising he wasn't going to get an answer, he sighed. "Oh, c'mon!" He ran to rejoin his companions in the wilderness. "Tell me!"
.
-o-o-o-o-o-
.
What greeted them beyond the stone walls of Kombinat was a long stretch of barren land. Unlike the continent they were used to, there were barely any trees, and the ground was rocky… not even grass grew here.
Among the hilly, rocky terrain, there were rows of metal wall stretching out from Kombinat, probably acting as borders.
And an ominous wind blew across the ground.
As darkness fell, Momo worked hard to repair the robot while her companions merely sat around the campfire in the silence. After the excitement earlier died down, all that was left in them were uncertainty and doubt.
It was uncomfortable.
"Man, these people over on this side…" Rei rubbed his head. "They're like zombies or machines… no spunk in them at all."
Nina nodded. "Like machines…"
"Doesn't this just beat all?" Sighing, he rubbed the back of his head. "Who knows what'll happen next, huh?"
"Scared?" the voice inside him sneered.
Who, me? Hah! I'm here 'cause I want to be! I could've just stayed on the other side, you know… I was happy just being a highwayman, yeah?
Yet there was doubt in his heart.
…okay, so… maybe I'm a little nervous…
He sighed.
I mean, who'd think we'd go off somewhere no one has gone before, looking for… the Goddess? Sheesh! And what's up with this Brood stuff, anyway?
.
-x-
.
Like Rei, Nina was conflicting with her own feelings.
"This is so unbelievable…" the princess started, attempting to start a conversation. "We're the first people from our side to be over here, aren't we?" She gazed at the starry night sky. "The extinct Brood… the Goddess of the Urkans… we're searching for an answer to a mystery that could change the world…"
Ryu and Garr did not reply.
"If I stayed in Wyndia, I would've never experienced any of this, but…" She sighed softly, pulling the sheet closer around herself.
I bet everyone back home at the castle… especially my mother… they must all be worried about me…
"But being here is better than just being a princess, isn't it?" the voice inside her argued.
Despair filled her heart.
Maybe… but I'm just being selfish…
"What's most important for you is what you want for yourself!"
No! I can't just think of myself, I have to think of others too…
.
-x-
.
Even Garr did not escape from the doubt.
He stared silently into the fire, occasionally feeding it a log. All the doubts, all the guilt he had felt back when he was searching for Ryu, came rushing back into his heart.
The land where the Goddess resides… the Goddess who does not heed my requests… have I chosen the right path?
He then recalled what Ryu had said before, "…no one has the right to take the life of another."
Even if she was the Goddess, she had ordered us to kill the Dragonkin, yet they fought back not… what right did we have to take the life of these innocent beings…?
"You are in no position to say that…" the voice inside him stated. "Not when you have betrayed the one you have sworn your full loyalty to, the one who gave you the life and power you have today!"
His eyes dulled.
…yes… I have betrayed her…
Then his resolve strengthened.
For the sake of what I believe is right!
.
-x-
.
As the ominous wind blew, Ryu closed his eyes. Even though this was his duty, even though it was something he had resolved to do, he still felt fear rising from within him. He doubted his own abilities…
Can I… defeat her…?
"Of course you can," Ladon's voice whispered into his ear. "After all, you're the embodiment of my power… your power can always match her mortal power."
I lost to her four hundred years ago… but why? Why can't I remember how?
"…all I can tell you is, it's not important. If you believe in your power, you'll succeed."
I… hope so…
"But if you want to be stubborn…well…" Ladon chuckled unexpectedly. "I'll just have to throw Nina into the fray and you'll do your best, right?"
H-hey, that's a low blow…
.
-x-
.
Momo, however, was the only one who seemed excited to be on these new lands.
"Think about how amazing it is," she said, "We may be able to figure out where all the machines we use came from!"
Rei slapped his forehead. "You and you machines…"
"But it's great!"
Then, as she reattached the wires of a particular machine unit, she thought to herself.
I wonder what my father would say if he was here… every engineer dreams of solving the mystery of the machines…
She grinned inwardly to herself.
And I'm going to do my best to see it's me who finally solves the puzzle! That way you'll be proud of me, right, Father?
.
-x-
.
"Well, how are we going to look for this Goddess?" Rei broke the silence. "I mean, those zombie people don't even know who or what the Goddess is, much less where she is."
"We don't have much to go on," Nina admitted. "But I'm sure Ryu can show us the way again."
The young man nodded. "Yeah. We have the direction, so all we have to do is look for the means to get there."
"So it's settled!" The princess stood up and stretched. "Tomorrow's another big day, Ryu!"
.
-o-o-o-o-o-
.
"HEY, GUYS!" Momo's voice was loud in the morning, and she was there to shake everyone awake in the tent.
Still groggy from sleep, Ryu blinked as she woke him up. "W-what?"
Rubbing her eyes, the princess yawned. "What's wrong, Momo?"
"Come outside with me!" she half-shouted in excitement. "I've something to show you guys!"
Grumbling, Rei just rolled the other way. "Gerroff… lemme sleep…"
When she stomped over to the half-tiger and gave him a big kick that sent him yowling, the others hastily got up to avoid the same consequences.
What they saw outside surprised them.
Honey and the brown robot that Momo was fixing were gazing at a large piece of paper. What surprised the others was, the drawing was actually a small map, very crudely but clearly drawn.
"A… map?" There was a hint of interest in Garr's voice.
"Yes, it's a MAP!" Momo grinned, holding up the paper for everyone to see. "I fixed Vivi here, and he worked together with Honey last night to make this map!"
"Wow!" Nina exclaimed, and all of them glanced at both the robot and Honey.
"GREETINGS," a metallic voice came from the brown robot. "MY SERIAL NUMBER IS 9934256-7123342-SR. MISS MOMO HAS GIVEN ME THE NAME VIVI."
"Isn't it a great name or what?" the engineer said proudly.
"WITH HELP FROM THIS NAVIGATOR SOLDIER–" Vivi gestured to Honey. "–WE ARE ABLE TO COMPILE A MAP THAT WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COLONY."
Rei rubbed the back of his head. "The… Colony?"
"THAT IS THE NAME OF AN ABANDONED SETTLEMENT, WHERE THERE IS AN ANCIENT DEVICE THAT MAY BE OF USE TO YOU. UNFORTUNATELY, I HAVE TO RETURN TO MY MASTER IN KOMBINAT, BUT I HAVE ENTRUSTED THE DIRECTIONS TO THE NAVIGATOR SOLDIER."
Ryu nodded, smiling. "It's good enough. Thanks for your help, Vivi."
"Hurray!" the princess cheered. "We have a lead now!"
The half-tiger crossed his arms. "Psh! I'm not going to believe it's because of that so-called genius!"
"I heard that!" Momo cried. "Numbskull!"
"Hey!"
Everyone else laughed; they were all certainly in high spirits again.
.
-o-o-o-o-o-
.
Halfway through the first day, they passed through a place called Steel Grave, which is just a junkyard with mountains of scrap machines. It reminded Ryu of Junk Town, only on a much bigger scale.
The journey to the Colony itself lasted two days in total. They often walked in silence, their footsteps audible on the grey, barren ground, and Peco was the only green thing near them as far as they could see.
But when they arrived at the Colony, Ryu was surprised to find the old remains of a temple, a pyramid-like stone building. A great staircase loomed above them, leading to the room at the top of building. However, what caught his eye was the design on the wall that was rather familiar to him…
Was this a place he had visited in the past?
It seemed to be.
A soft voice, familiar to his ears, beckoned to him, pleaded to him to come. He turned towards it, his eyes searching for its owner. Several feet away, embedded in a wall, was a small chrysm crystal, with a modest colour reflected from the sun's ray.
Ryu touched the crystal gently.
Who… are you?
"My lord," came a cracked, relieved female voice, belonging to an old woman. "I am glad to have met you again before I fade away…"
Yes, the voice was familiar. But where had he met her?
Ryu closed his eyes.
I… remember now. This place used to be a shrine for the Dragons… and you used to be the head priestess here, aren't you?
"Aye, my lord, I am honoured to be part of your memories. This was once a place of activity, full of devotees and followers…" She heaved a sad sigh. "All that changed after your departure, my lord, and I remained the only one left here, to protect this holy place…"
I… see…
"But over time, I grew old and frail, and this place grew forsaken, infested with monsters…" Then her voice trembled. "Will you… forgive me, my lord? Will you and Lord Ladon forgive me…?"
He smiled.
Of course. Come with us, you won't have to protect this place on your own anymore.
"Oh, my lord…!" Her voice was filled with joy. Gladness. "Thank you! Thank you!"
From the chrysm crystal came a great burst of light that engulfed Ryu, and feelings of gladness and relief washed over him, belonging to the spirit. He felt his body changing shape, growing larger, longer.
When the light faded, a serene Dragon floated above everyone else. Its serpentine body curved gracefully, its golden-white scales were like sunlight. The white feathers at the end of its tail spread like a fan, and the ones on its head spread like a mane, like a lion that would die to protect its family.
And its wings, white and feathery, spread open at its sides.
It was like gazing at an angel.
The Quetzalcoatl. The Radiant Dragon.
The one who died trying to protect the heritage of the Brood.
His companions gazed upward at the Dragon that was like the sun, unable to take their eyes off, in awe of its holy beauty.
"It's so… pretty," Nina said.
Rei nodded. "Yeah… it's like looking at the sun."
In another flash of light, the Dragon disappeared and transformed back into Ryu. For a moment, he remained in silence, a look of quiet sadness on his face.
The princess approached him. "Ryu…?"
"Because of this war… my brethrens are forced to die and live on as spirits for centuries after…" He closed his eyes. "I wonder how it would've been if I had won four hundred years ago…"
The others remained silent.
Then, suddenly, Momo gave a cry and pointed. "Look! Up there!"
Everyone looked up; at the top of the pyramid-like structure, there was a large metal dish circling round and round – sometimes slowly, sometimes rapidly – there was a piece of metal stick emerging from its centre.
"A radar of some sort…?" the engineer wondered. "Maybe we can take a better look when we get closer."
With that, everyone climbed the great stone staircase and entered the room at the top of the building.
Right in the centre of the square room was a raised purple platform, with a huge circular floor made of red reflective material. It seemed to be a pedestal, accompanied by a panel filled with numerous buttons.
"Hey..." Rei started. "Isn't that…?"
Nina nodded. "It's the same as the teleporting device in the basement of Wyndia Castle!"
Ryu turned towards them, surprised. "This is what you used to escape?"
"Hm…" Momo thought hard as she leaned over the panel, pressing a few keys. "If we use this, it looks like we can go anywhere we want!" Her eyes gleamed with excitement. "Oh boy! I wonder how they made this!"
The Guardian crossed his arms. "Perhaps you should focus on the task at hand…"
Realisation washed over her face. "Oh, yeah, that's right. We'll have to figure out how to work this thing before we can use it."
On the engineer's shoulder, Honey waved madly.
She looked up in surprise. "Huh? What is it, Honey?"
She gestured towards the panel several times.
Peco tilted his head. "Pui?"
"Maybe she's telling you which button to press?" the Dragon suggested hopefully.
"Yeah, you may be right." Momo carried Honey down and placed her on the panel. She watched in awe as the robot doll jumped onto some of the buttons. High beeping filled the air as she worked.
Suddenly, with a particularly long beep, a pillar of light shone upward from the circular floor, and a metallic voice spoke from the panel.
"Portal Drive activated. Target locked. Destination: Relay Point A."
"Wow, great work, Honey!" the princess praised.
Honey rubbed the back of her head, seemingly embarrassed.
"Wait, does it still work in the first place, whatever it is?" Rei asked. "I mean, it's pretty old, right?"
Ryu shrugged. "Yeah… no way to know unless we try it."
He turned and stepped into the pillar of light. Everyone else followed suit – though Rei did it hesitantly – and a great burst of light abruptly engulfed their sight.
As soon as the light dimmed enough, the six of them stepped down from the portal and exited the room.
It was then when Honey ran down the steps and out of the room.
"W-wait, Honey!" Momo cried, chasing after her.
Outside the portal room, what greeted them was the interior of a steel building, filled with scrap metal and crates.
It looked suspiciously familiar, and it was Nina who got the answer first.
"Hey, isn't this…" Her eyes widened. "The freighter in Steel Beach? You know, near Junk Town in Urkan?""
"What?" Momo and Rei exclaimed simultaneously.
"Wait, I'll go and confirm!"
Without waiting for an answer, she ran down the hallway and burst through the door at the end. A few minutes of waiting later, she returned with a look of disbelief on her face.
"It's just as I thought!" she stated. "The Machine Guildsmen were surprised to see me, and they wanted to know how we got in!"
Rei sighed. "Man, doesn't this just beat all? After all that trouble to get across the Outer Sea, we just end up right back where we started! We'll never find the Goddess at this rate!"
"It's really amazing!" Nina said excitedly. "With that portal machine, we travelled all the back here in the blink of an eye! Maybe the world's not as big as we think it is?"
The engineer gave a cry, hitting a fist into her other hand. "That's it!" She quickly turned to her companions. "Portals are relics from ancient times… from the Goddess' time! Think about it; the world must be pretty small to the Goddess!"
"Uh huh…" The half-tiger crossed his arms, looking doubtful. "And then?"
"The Goddess – or rather, the people who made the machines – must have used these portals to travel around the world!
The winged girl seemed thoughtful. "In other words… you're saying that the Goddess and the machines are connected somehow?"
She shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but…"
"Perhaps these machines are a gift…" Garr suggested. "…from the Goddess?"
"EXACTLY! You took the words right out of my mouth!" Momo grinned excitedly. "So maybe by using the portals, we could travel right to wherever the Goddess is! C'mon!"
A few more beeping later, the pillar of light disappeared from the portal for five seconds and appeared once more, indicating that it was ready to be used. Then, the familiar metallic voice filled the air.
"Portal drive activated, target locked. Destination: Dragnier."
Ryu froze.
Dragnier.
It was a name that stirred old memories in his mind.
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End of Chapter Twenty-Four.
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Author's Note:
For some number of months, I was stuck in this chapter for a while, at the part where they were going to go to the Colony. I was thinking hard; how can I give them a direction to go Steel Grave and not just blindly following Ryu's 'eye' and stumbling upon the place? But thanks to Dejanor, Rogue Kaiser, Steven S. from Dragon-Tear forums, I got this great chapter! Thanks, you guys. :D
As for the Quetzalcoatl thingy, I hope it fulfils drake202's request for a Radiant Dragon spirit who used to be a priest… except it's a priestess here instead of a priest. Thanks to Lord Kain who gave the link to a Coatl from D&D, and I searched for pictures of Quetzalcoatl and Amphitere (a term for feather-winged serpents) to help my description. Hopefully it's good enough!
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Review Replies for Chapter Twenty-Three:
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To Ferane:
Haha, thanks! I was trying to make it all chaotic anime-style and stuff, which explained all the mess! I was still pretty enthusiastic over the ramming / crash by the end of the chapter, which explains the unnecessary need to explain it. xP
Yeah, the chefs in Wyndia Castle seem to be pretty friendly with Nina (from the NPC dialogues, if I remember correctly), so I'm guessing she visits the kitchen often, and seeing how she's trying to escape Sheila's vulture eye, I can understand why. While she's over there, I'll bet she became curious about cooking. :D
Though the shisu picture looks just like a fish sushi, especially since the shaly seed looks just like rice… it's like sushi without seaweed. x_x The mayor must be really starving for Wyndian food, like a man starved without food for days… poor shisu. xP
Thanks for the review!
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To Hubert:
Great to see that you love my novelisation!
Though the mayor doesn't really yell "FIDDLESTICKS!" in-game, he hardly said anything, actually; I find fiddlesticks a funny way of saying, "Nonsense!" or "I don't believe it!" I tend to exaggerate stuff a little in this novelisation, but it's fun. xP
All he said in-game was: "Eh? Legendary Mariner? If I tell the story again, you're just gonna give me more of that nasty fish to eat, aren't you! If all they've got for me to eat's fish, well, I'll just sit here and starve to death, I will! When I'm dead, put my ashes in the Maekyss River!"
And don't worry about updates, I update every weekend; this novelisation is already complete, all's left is to edit each chapter as I post them, based on feedback from readers. Except my internet's been funny lately, so instead of updating on Saturday afternoon, it gets delayed to Sunday or Monday… but I do my best. x_x
Thanks for reviewing!
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To RedemptionWarrior:
Oh, um, the hostile ship when Ryu tried to fly over is just an opportunity for me to use more of his Dragon forms… nothing special. I'm trying to use each Dragon form at least once. :D
Thanks for the review!
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To Lord Kain:
Haha, I'm not that pro at fishing, I just go to a fishing spot, throw a line and see what I'd get. xP
Thanks for the link, though even PMs cut off urls. But no worries, I ran a google search and found the picture anyway; it's at www (dot) wizards (dot) com, right? It's a nice feathery serpentine Dragon. :D The Tiamat is also a serpentine Dragon, though of the Shadow element, so this Dragon will be a good Light-elemental Dragon to contrast with it. :D
Thanks for the review and the link!
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To Airess Byrd:
While shisu looks like sushi, I guess leaving its name as shisu isn't too shabby. It does have a particular feel to it, and it makes it different from the usual sushi… but the trip all the way back to Wyndia is horrible. I can't imagine them spending another week or two on that journey, so since Nina seems friendly with the chefs in the castle kitchen, I just made her learn some!
Boarding the Black Ship part is when Rei and Momo actually start bickering with each other, which I thought was rather late. But it's good that you love their interactions, and of Ryu's caring little speech to his companions. I try to put in loads of interaction between them. :D
Thanks for reviewing!
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To Nina Windia:
Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! I'm not too good with humour so you don't find many of these scenes in my writing, but it's still fun to write this chaotic chapter; it's really funny trying to imagine a whole lot of chaos, then in the midst of it, Garr just sits there, crosses his arms and gives the (-_-) expression!
Glad to think that the '!' thing isn't too unprofessional! (Not that I'm a professional wrier, anyway. o_o) It's just too tempting to pass up the chance to do that at least once. xP
The reason why I made Nina… uh, successful with her shisu is because I was trying to break the cliché of a princess fumbling her cooking, and also to save their travelling time. xP
Zig is an all "GWAHAHAHA!" kinda guy; and he's pretty funny too. Too bad he didn't get to have more limelight after the fiasco at the lighthouse and the whole Outer Sea and Legendary Mariner thing. o_o
Thanks for the review! :D