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Last time on Plan B: Ballad of Swords
Ness and Rock fell into the sewers that ran under the old forts of the Mushroomy Desert. Inside they found refuge from the sun, but a plethora over other creatures including goombas and piranha plants. After discovering that an alchemical mixture of piranha plant and fire flower could be used to create potions to heal wounds, the two kept a close eye out for any signs of where fire flowers might grow underground. They found a glowing patch of the flowers only to then be challenged by a Wham Bam Rock who stood guard over the garden. The two discovered the golems weakness and dispatched the large challenge. After another week of travelling underground, the two have emerged once again to the surface, a city that could very well be their goal in sight.
Chapter 7: Those Who Fight
The stars in the sky slowly faded as the sun rose from behind the mountains. The city ahead, nestled between the cliffs, was fortified by a giant wall and appeared to mark the border between the desert and plains.
Ness and Rock climbed over the final large dune and watched as large convoys rode into town from the main road and stopped at the gate. They all lined up in front of some kind of checkpoint.
"This place looks pretty secure," Rock put his hand over his brow as he surveyed the area.
"I wonder if it's to keep out the empire?" Ness asked himself as he tried to gauge the wall that surrounded the city.
"Come on," Rock started walking toward the road, "I guess we're going to have to get in line in order to get inside."
Merchants with large animal drawn carts made up most of the line. Though the gates had only just opened the lines were long from all those who had taken up a queue position in the night.
Ness tapped his foot on the ground feeling bored while they waited their turn to pass through.
A guard nodded to the caravan in front of the boys after what seemed like a thorough check, "Alright, move along."
Ness and Rock walked up the guard. He looked over the two and scrunched his nose, "Identification or pass papers please."
Ness looked to Rock who shrugged. Rock cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, we don't have any pass papers."
The guard sighed, "Where are you boys from?"
"Onett, in Eagleland," Ness offered right away.
"Eagleland," The guard repeated, "The Lycian consulate is in Fourside, you'll have to get passes there before you can enter a major city."
"What?!" Ness looked horrified, "Eagleland was attacked by The Golden Empire, we can't just go back."
"First I've heard of this," The guard shrugged haphazardly.
"We travel faster than news," Rock tried to speak sincerely.
The guard still looked dubious, "If you're looking for refugee status then you're going to have to go through processing in Lycia."
"I'm sorry sir," Rock took a breath before upping the diplomacy, "We're not seeking refuge, we're on an extremely important mission." He pulled off his pack and fished out the medallion from the bag they discovered while underground, "I'm sure you must have heard of the elemental ceremony? We've been sent by the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom to find the new Champion of Fire, the one who will rise up in place of their hero Mario."
"What's this?" The guard pulled the medallion from Rock's hand, "It's just a bloody "M"? You expect me to believe that a couple of bratty kids from Eagleland covered in beetle guts are emissaries of the Mushroom Kingdom? A piece of gaudy jewelry doesn't get you anywhere here." The guard threw the medallion back at Rock.
Ness's patience began to grind thin, "He's telling the truth! We were sent by Princess Peach, and we know the new Champion of Fire is inside this city!" Ness crossed his arms and stared up at the guard with the best business face he could muster, "And we're not covered in beetle guts, these are carapace shells, they just so happen to have high resistance against elemental damage."
The guard rested his forehead against his palm, "Kid… I don't even…"
Shouts began coming from the line behind them, "Stop holding up the line! We have business to get to!"
The guard shook his head, "No one can cross into Pherae without a pass. Find a merchant who you can pay for transport to Lycia and stop bothering us here!"
Static began building up in Ness's hand. His mouth opened to protest when Rock grabbed onto his wrist, "Come on, let's go."
Ness sank back a bit and nodded before throwing the guard one more dirty look as they walked away, "I can't believe they won't let us through!"
"They're doing their job of keeping the city safe," Rock let go of Ness once they were away from the gate. "Can you check the hat? Where is it pulling towards?"
"Sure," Ness pulled the hat from his pack and held it up. Almost immediately the hat pulled itself free from Ness's grip and stuck to the wall, "Definitely gotta be in there."
Rock peeled the hat from the wall in order to feel the tug himself, "Yeah, it's pulling a lot harder since we left the Mushroom Kingdom."
"What do we do?" Ness asked worriedly as he put the hat back into his backpack.
"We'll come up with something, for now let's check out the wall," The front gates became a spec at their backs as the two walked along the extensive city wall of Pherae. Rock focused most of his attention toward the wall itself as if looking for anyway over the daunting ten meter stone structure. The two spent over an hour walking until they almost reached the far side of the city.
"What kind of place builds a wall this high around an entire city?" Ness was still grumbling about it as they walked.
"Look over there," Rock hushed Ness as he pointed up at the wall.
Ness had to squint his eyes but he eventually noticed as well; the guard overlooking this section of the wall was dozing off, "And if no one is watching…"
Rock grinned as he crept along the wall towards a tall rock formation that shot out of the ground, "I think we can climb that and get over the top."
"Works for me, let's get to it!" Ness exclaimed in a hushed voice as he followed Rock along the edge of wall to make it harder to be seen by anyone at the top of the wall.
Covered by the shadow of the rock formation, the boys made their move. "We can wedge ourselves between the wall and this cliff, that should give us enough leverage to climb up," Rock tested his theory by putting one hand against the wall, and the other out against the stone that jutted out alongside it. "Yeah, this'll work, I'll go first."
"Just be careful you don't fall," Ness warned as he looked for good place to grab onto.
Slowly Rock began to shimmy his way up the wall. Ness followed only a few feet below him. The actual climbing seemed easy. Ness looked up and saw that Rock was less than three meters from the top, "I can't believe getting over the wall would be this easy…"
"You probably shouldn't say something like that," Rock gulped as he pushed himself up a little higher. Rock's hand reached up but he paused as he heard a whistle move through the air. Both boys flinched as a steel arrow embedded itself in the stone directly where Rock's hand would have latched on to.
"Crap!" both Ness and Rock turned and noticed a figure standing on the wall pointing a bow in their direction. Rock looked down at Ness, "We're not gonna make it to the top, we need to take this to the ground."
"Right," Ness slid off the wall as quickly as he could. Once he was close to the ground he jumped off the wall and rolled behind the rock formation.
Rock was right behind Ness, though he didn't take cover. He looked up at the top of the wall as the archer came running across the wall in their direction.
Once in place the archer nocked another arrow on his bow and stared down at Rock. Ness looked up from the rock formation, confused as to why Rock was just standing out in the open instead of taking any cover.
From behind, Ness couldn't tell what emotions were playing on Rock's face as he pulled his sword out from behind his back, "Ness… no matter what happens, I want you to sit this one out."
"What?!" The request sounded absurd to Ness, "But this could get serious!"
"Don't worry, it'll be fine, just stay back," Rock sounded confident as he lowered himself into a fighting stance.
Ness was dumbfounded by Rock's choice of action. He definitely never expected Rock to purposefully engage in a fight with a soldier. He looked up at the archer on top of the wall and noticed the archer staring down at Rock looked as though he were… smiling.
The archer fired the arrow as Rock jumped back out of the way. Ness was shocked as the archer waved his hand and with a slight silver glow the iron rebar within the wall broke free and molded itself into what looked like a small platform below him. The archer jumped to his makeshift platform and fired off a few more arrows before creating another platform further down and continued both his descent and barrage simultaneously.
Rock rolled out of the way of the first arrows and shielded himself from the next with the broad side of his sword. Once the platforms were nearing the ground, Rock ended his retreat and charged forward toward the attacker.
Now that he was closer to the ground, Ness was able to get a better look at the archer. He actually looked to be about their age, his hair was a brown mess, his eyes were bright blue, he wore an iron chestplate over his torso and shoulders, loose white pants were tucked into what looked like knee high iron sollerets on his feet, and the bow in his hands also looked as though it were made of iron which Ness realized couldn't bend like a normal bow.
Once close enough, Rock jumped high over the platform and brought his sword crashing down over the boy's head. The boy held his bow up to defend against the attack, and right before Ness's eyes the bow gave off a glow as it morphed into twin blades.
Locked in a sword clash, the two boys pushed against each other with all their strength. The brown haired boy spoke first, "That sword is too big for you."
Rock's shrugged slightly, "Not as much as it used to be though." Rock kicked off the attacker and landed on the platform above. The two stared each other down for a moment before Rock turned the other way.
The boy's eyes widened as he realized Rock was using the platforms he created to scale the wall, "No you don't!" He waved his hand again and the platforms began collapsing back into the wall but not before Rock took one last leap of faith and managed to grab onto the very edge of the wall. He flipped himself over and stood ready at the top, claiming the high ground.
The boy growled as his hands gave off a bright silver glow. With another wave of his hand his own platform rose rapidly and launched him towards the top of the wall at high velocity. The boy's sword met Rock's and they continued their duel atop the city's defensive perimeter. The clanging of metal echoed all the down to the ground as the two swung and parried swing after swing.
Ness blinked in disbelief as he watched the two go at it. Realizing he was going to lose track of them if he didn't keep up, he started scaling the wall against the rock formation himself.
Metal clanged loudly as the swords continuously met in combat. The young guard saw an opening and smiled as he brought both his swords down over Rock's head. Rock managed to hold his sword above him by the broad end to block against the attack and then kicked the boy in the torso while it was open. The boy had the wind knocked out of him as he flew from the top of the wall into the city below. Rock watched the boy fall and simply jumped off the wall as well.
Ness's eyes widened as both of them left his field of view. He doubled his climbing pace and jumped for the ledge of the wall himself so he could pull himself over the top. Once he was over and looked down he noticed the two boys had landed on another metal platform and were still locked in a sword fight. His mouth hung open in disbelief as each of them seemed relentless to outdo the other. A snore from his left furthered the unbelievability of the situation as he saw the older guard atop the wall was still fast asleep. He shook his head as he found a staircase that led to the ground within the city.
Along the ground near the wall were a series of metal poles, and as the boy Rock was fighting held his glowing hand above his head, the poles animated and extended their length at an incredible speed. They snaked through the air in organic twists and tried impacting or entangling Rock in their random knots. Rock managed to jump through the tangled mess of metal and avoid anything that would have otherwise impaled him. The iron poles made horrible clangs as they banged against themselves only centimeters from where Rock had just stood.
A platform began to rise from under the archer's feet as he put his two swords together to form a bow once again. He took aim at Rock but missed the shot as Rock dodged by grabbing on to one of the snaking metal poles. The pole dragged Rock upward, and once he was high enough he leapt off in the boy's direction. He tackled the boy off his platform and the two plunged through the air, "You're crazy!"
Rock grinned as he shielded his face before they both landed in an open water tank.
A sizeable crowd was gathering along the inner perimeter of the wall as people rushed to see what the commotion was all about. Citizens and guards both gathered near the water tank which allowed Ness to go mostly unnoticed while he kept an eye on Rock. He managed to overhear some talking amongst the people, "What the hell is going on?"
"I don't know, these two just fell from the sky and started fighting a minute ago."
"That's one of the guard captains fighting isn't it?"
"Look at all the metal magic, that definitely has to be Pit!"
"I don't know who the other sod is or what he's done, but I almost feel bad for him. He stands no chance against Pit."
"He's put up a good fight so far though."
Ness gulped as he listened to the people talk. "Metal magic…" he whispered to himself as he paid close attention to what Pit was doing. It was definitely a type of magic he'd never seen before and him extremely nervous.
Rock breached the surface of the water tank first and swam for the edge. As he reached for the metal rim it bent away from him on its own and water poured out of the side carrying Rock with the flow. Rock rolled onto the dirt below and quickly pushed himself to his feet as Pit flew from the tank with his weapon in its sword configuration again. Rock put up his sword to defend against it but as he had yet to find his balance, his heavy great sword was easily knocked from his hands.
Pit yelled as he swung back around with his swords, intent on claiming victory in the skirmish, but again his swords came into contact with a defense as Rock shielded himself with two metal blades clutched tightly in his hands, "How many weapons do you have?!"
Rock grinned as he pushed Pit off and resumed the attack, his round serrated blades made vicious clangs against Pit's swords.
Ness was completely dumbfounded as he watched the intense fight wage on. He was so enraptured by the battle that didn't notice a boy just slightly taller than Rock standing at his side, "From the look on your face, I'd say you're friends with the boy Pit is fighting?"
Ness jumped back slightly, unsure of whether he needed to defend himself or not, "Maybe…"
The boy at Ness's side had crimson red hair brushed forward around a headband, he wore a dark red chestplate similar to Pit's and charcoal colored pants tucked into brown leather boots, "He's a really good fighter going against Pit like this."
"He's one of the best!" Ness adamantly stated.
The boy nodded, "I can tell! But he's tiring out; it won't be long now before Pit is able to take advantage of that."
Pit put his swords together, butt to butt, with a slight silver glow they fused together into a double bladed style sword. He spun the sword over his head bringing one side down over Rock from above. Rock blocked up with both metal blades, but after the ricochet Pit was able to use the momentum to bring the other end of sword up from under Rock's defenses. Rock had no choice but to jump back and lose some of his balance to dodge the attack. Pit used the momentary lack of footing his advantage and spin-kicked Rock in the chest sending him spinning over the ground.
"Look out!" Ness shouted from the sidelines as Pit fell from above with his sword pointing down. Rock managed to roll out of the way just in time as Pit's sword pierced the ground. While in mid roll, Rock threw one of the metal blades at Pit before flipping himself to his feet and throwing the other one. Pit spun his double sided sword like a propeller to knock the metal blades away, sending them ricocheting in different directions. He lowered his weapon in time to see Rock charging through from behind the attack. Pit braced himself, ready for Rock to impact him, but instead Rock made a sliding kick down low which caused Pit to fall forward over him. Rock pushed himself up and caught Pit in mid-fall; he carried enough momentum to spin their positions around so that he landed on top of Pit, effectively pinning him to the ground.
Pit's eyes widened as he struggled to free himself but found Rock's grip too tight. The slight glimmer of a nearby metal rod caught Pit's attention. The rebar gave off a silver glow before it shifted and then flew on its own. It snaked around Rock's torso, hooking him tightly before it flew back, dragging Rock with it, and roughly pinned him against the ground a few meters away. Rock pulled at the metal clamp, but found it's grip to be extremely secure.
Despite his struggling and pulling, Rock wasn't able to get loose by the time a sword was pointing at his throat. Pit stood above him, out of breath, but in an obviously more favorable position, "Got you… Looks like I win!"
The crowd became quiet as they watched the two stare each other down. Before anything else could happen, the crowd was blinded by a flash of light, and deafened by a crack of thunder. Pit turned around to see the wave of energy only a moment before he was impacted and blasted off of Rock.
The restraint holding Rock down immediately returned to its original shape allowing Rock to stand. Ness ran into the street and took a defensive position in front of Rock, "That's enough!"
From behind Ness, Rock began to laugh. Ness looked over his shoulder; he knew something was going on but had no idea what as Rock picked himself up and put a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright… I think." Ness was unable to say anything else as he watched Rock limp over to Pit and poke at him, "Hey, you alright?"
"Uhhh," Pit stirred and slowly opened an eye, "What the hell was that?"
Rock held a hand out to Pit to help him up, "A bolt of lightning."
Pit glared over at Ness and started shouting, "I'm wearing metal, and was still wet from falling into a water tank, that could have killed me!"
"If he had wanted to kill you he would have, just walk it off," Rock kept Pit steady as the boy was still shaking from the voltage.
Once Pit seemed to be standing on his own okay, Rock took a step back, "It's good to see you alive and kicking."
"The kicking might be involuntary for the next few minutes, but it's good to see you too!" Pit lunged at Rock and wrapped his arms around him. The two hugged like old friends for a moment before Pit pulled Rock forward and kneed him in the stomach, "Oops! Involuntary electrical reaction!" Rock held his stomach as he backed away while flipping Pit off.
The crowd seemed satisfied that the fight was over and dissipated back to their daily routine.
Ness pulled off his hat and scratched his head in confusion. The crimson haired boy looked much more amused by what just happened as he stepped in closer. Once he heard the laugh, Pit immediately righted himself, "Roy! Sorry to have caused a scene…"
"It's fine," Roy assured him, "Care to explain what's going on though?"
Pit nodded, "I uhh… caught them sneaking over the wall."
A cold sweat came over Ness as felt for sure they were in trouble for this.
"But you know them?" the boy questioned further.
"Yes sir," Pit pointed to Rock, "At least this one, his name is Rock Light, we fought together during the Zebes War."
The boy stepped up closer and enthusiastically examined Rock, "You've mentioned him before! So this is THE Mega Man of the war."
Rock shook his head, "There were many heroes who did far more than I did, such as Pit here."
"Still, anyone who stood up to that witch, Mother Brain, deserves a hero's welcome in our country, welcome to Pherae!" The boy extended his hand in greeting, "My name is Roy, son of Grand Duke Eliwood, and in my father's name I extend to you and your friend the hospitality of our city-state."
"Thank you Roy," Rock bowed in respect to the young duke and motioned for Ness to come over, "My friend's name is Ness, the new Champion of Thunder."
"You don't have to go telling everyone…" Ness held his hand out in courtesy to Roy as well, "Umm, nice to meet you."
Pit shivered as Rock introduced Ness, "No wonder I can still feel the static…"
"A real champion?" Roy took a moment to appraise Ness, "That's awesome! Have you been travelling for long? How difficult has it been? Wait…" Roy chuckled as he took a breath to calm his excitement, "Before any of that, you two look like you could use a good meal. Why don't you both come back with us to my father's manor?"
Ness and Rock looked at each other and grinned, "It has been over a week since we had fresh food…"
Roy motioned for everyone to follow him, "It's settled then! Please follow me."
Pit brought up the rear as he shook himself off a bit. Ness fell back to Pit's side and spoke in a low voice, "Hey, I'm really sorry about blasting you with lightning."
Pit shrugged, "Don't sweat it, I could tell you were worried I was actually going to hurt Rock."
"I should have realized something was going on though," Ness shook his head as if he were feeling ashamed, "Now that I know you two are friends it finally makes sense why Rock was holding back so much in the fight."
Pit stopped walking and his eyes opened wide, "Wait… what do you mean he was holding back?"
Ness nodded, "Well yeah… I mean he didn't use any kind of magic against you at all."
Pit laughed, "Of course he used…" The laughing stopped as he looked as though he were rewinding the fight in his head, "I mean he had to have… ROCK! What the crap?!"
The light hearted bickering between Rock and Pit continued all the way through the city. Roy let them be and instead walked alongside Ness, "I doubt I'm going to get much information out of them, so you're really the new Champion of Thunder?"
"Well, I guess yeah," Ness began, "It's been weird trying to get used to it."
"I bet!" Roy waved the group through the gates of his father's manor, "Do you know anything about the Lost Champions? Or have you found any of the crystal shards?"
"I've heard the stories about Mario, I'm not too sure on most of the other Champions though," Ness's head tilted as he looked thoughtfully at Roy, "You know a lot about the Champions huh?"
Roy nodded as they entered into a grand hall, "I've read a few books on the legends. It became a big deal at the academy a few years ago when the Lost Champions failed."
"Failed…" Ness gulped.
Roy frowned as he watched Ness think about the word, "But you're a champion now, so that's good news for you. Amazing adventure awaits! Have you been traveling a lot already?"
Ness shrugged, "It hasn't been that long actually. I was a normal kid back home just two weeks ago…"
Roy chuckled and patted Ness on the back, "You can't think of yourself as 'not a normal kid' anymore, enjoy yourself, experience everything the world can give you, you have to believe this is a world worth saving and you can't feel that way if you're not having some fun."
"Huh…" Ness hummed, "I never thought about it like that before, thanks."
Ness stopped as incredible smells reached him. Through the next archway he could see a spread of food on a long table. His stomach decided then to remind him that he'd been living off dried rations for the past several days. He stared at the table with a slight bit of drool forming at the corner of his mouth, "Wow that looks good."
Roy grinned at Ness's change of attitude, "Like I said, enjoy what the world has to offer you when it does!"
Four adults and a young girl approached from the other side of the room. Roy courteously stepped to the side between the two groups to introduce them, "Good morning father, two of Pit's friends are visiting Pherae today and I have invited them to eat with us."
"By all means, welcome and good morning to you all," A tall man who looked very much like an older version of Roy moved to take his place at the head of the table, "I am Eliwood, Duke of Pherae," He pointed to the three others who had entered with him, "This is my wife and Roy's mother, Lyn, my friend Hector, the Duke of Ostia, his wife Florina, and their daughter Lilina. Please sit."
"Pit's friends?" Hector hummed to himself as he took a seat opposite of Eliwood, "I imagine they're not typical travelers are they?"
"Not at all, Rock was a warrior during the Zebes War, and Ness is the new Champion of Thunder," Roy completed the introductions and permission was given for the meal to commence.
Immediately, Ness began ripping through food. While also hungry for food other than rations, Rock did his best to show more table manners as he ate. He swallowed his food before asking, "How long has Pit been a guard in Pherae?"
Eliwood grinned, "It was right after the Zebes War that you came here, wasn't it?"
"Yes sir," Pit nodded politely.
"Yes, I remember the day we met was the opening of the local steelworks." Eliwood rested his chin on his hands as he looked back in his memories, "I had Roy with me as I toured the facility that day. We were walking by the blast furnace when there was a rupture. It was a terrible accident and would have hurt many innocents, including Roy. The metal came crashing down towards the crowd but then completely stopped in mid air. Pit rushed in and placed himself between the people and the falling structure and used his powers to press the furnace back together. I invited him into my home as a guest to repay his kindness, but he and Roy almost immediately grew inseparable. He then proceeded to keep Roy out of trouble on multiple occasions so I made it official and gave him the rank of Captain within the guards of Pherae and the permanent assignment of guarding Roy."
Roy raised his eyebrows, "Not that I really need a bodyguard anymore." Lyn gave Roy a stern look, "...But if I had to have one, I'm very glad to have a friend I can relate with."
Pit smiled happily, "I've enjoyed this assignment too! Beats crawling through the lava reefs of Norfair, do you remember that Rock?"
"Yeah…" Rock held back a cringe as best he could, "...that was definitely not a fun day…"
Recognizing the discomfort in Rock's voice, Eliwood changed the subject, "So what sort of business is it that brings the elemental Champion of Thunder and his guardian to Pherae?"
Ness put down his utensils, "We're searching for the new Champion of Fire, and we're pretty sure he's here in Pherae."
"Gathering of the Champions again... " Eliwood nodded in understanding, "A difficult path lies ahead of you, I'm aware of how difficult it was to gather the champions the first time… A second attempt will be dangerous however necessary." A slight bewilderment came over Eliwood as he looked up at Ness, "Tell me, how do you know the Champion of Fire resides in Pherae?"
"Oh," Ness pulled out his backpack and started rummaging through its contents, "We were in the Mushroom Kingdom and met their princess. She enchanted Mario's hat so it would be attracted to the Champion Fire who took Mario's place." He found the cap but immediately it flew from his hand, "WHOA!"
Rock ducked out of the way as the cap soared across the table. Everyone watched the excitement as it knocked over several glasses of water and then struck Roy in the chest.
"I'm sorry!" Ness jumped out his seat and hurried over to Roy. He pulled the hat away, but it immediately pulled itself back into the red headed boy. Ness moved around to the back of Roy's chair, and again the hat pulled into Roy's back. Ness's eyes widened as he realized what everyone else in the room had already discerned, "It's you!"
Roy held out the hat that clung to him, "Is that… possible?"
Eliwood stood from his seat as he stared at the hat clinging to his son.
Gruff laughter from the other end of the table rang out as Hector held out his drink, "That is stupendous! I always knew you were a man destined for greatness! Isn't that right Eli?"
Emotions started playing on Eliwood's face. First confusion, then a glimmer of pride, but it eventually settled on something else, "This is quite the unexpected turn of events, but tell me, how do we know this hat to be accurate in locating the Champion of Fire?"
"Ummm…" Ness stumbled through his thoughts for a moment, "I uhh… I guess I just trusted Princess Peach to know what she was doing…"
Eliwood leaned back in his chair, "So in other words, there's no way to know for sure who the Champion of Fire is, or even for you to prove that you really are the Champion of Thunder?" Though his words were thoughtful, there was a certain accusatory ping that made Ness cringe.
"I mean…" Ness wanted to find some way that could prove what he was saying, "I had no idea that I was one of these champions either until I found that crystal shard…" Ness's eyes widened as he realized something and ran to his backpack, "THAT'S RIGHT! Luigi gave me one of the shards of fire!"
Everyone looked over the table as Ness threw his supplies in random directions until he found what he was looking for, "If Roy really is the Champion of Fire, then he should react to the fire shard Luigi gave me like I reacted to the lightning shard!" Ness opened the sealed pouch and immediately the bright pulsing of the shard filled the room.
"What in blazes, could that truly be a shard of the element of fire?" Eliwood shouted as he backed away from the table.
Roy stood and stared at the shard in Ness's hand. "It's beautiful…" His eyes were fixed upon the shard as he began to walk around the table as if he were in some kind of trance.
A look of triumph came to Ness's face as he held the shard out and watched as Roy was drawn to the red glow.
Once he was near, Roy reached his hand out to the shard and it flew from the pouch and began to float over Roy's hand. The pulsating light reflected from Roy's widened eyes as he stared into the shard.
The temperature in the room began to rise and a sudden realization came over Ness as he started pushing Roy out the door, "I FORGOT! WE NEED TO GET OUTSIDE! GOGOGO!" The panic in Ness's voice was sincere as everyone followed them through the hallways towards the exit.
Heat began to rise around Roy's body causing Ness to flinch a few times as the group ran through the manor. They had all barely crossed the threshold to the courtyard as flames began to circle around the red headed boy. The flames were intense and the grass and plants surrounding Roy ignited from the heat. A red glow surrounded Roy, and then a shockwave blew the spectators off their feet as a pillar of red energy shot to the sky.
The light and heat began to calm. Roy stood in the center of a burning magic circle. The shard was gone and his eyes gave off a bright red glow. Roy took in deep breaths as he calmed himself from the ordeal.
"That was a hell of a thing," Hector remarked as everyone pushed themselves to their feet.
Pit was immediately at Roy's side, "Are you alright?!"
"Fine," Roy shook his head as he steadied himself, "I just feel… warm… It's a good feeling, but also strange."
Ness couldn't help but let his eyes wander to see if absorbing the crystal shard might have affected Roy the same way it had him, "Hmm… Looks like it…"
"I suppose there can be no doubt now," Lyn smiled from her son to her husband.
Eliwood let out a small sigh, "I had heard that after the original champions were interrupted in their ceremony, the crystal forms of the elements shattered and scattered across the world."
"Right," Rock nodded, "It's the duty of the new champions now to gather together, recover the shards, restore the crystals, and complete the Ceremony of Harmony."
An excited expression crossed Roy's face as he looked down at his hands, "So I'm part of this legend now, it's up to me to help finish what the champions started." Determination solidified in Roy's expression, "I accept this task, I'll do everything I can to help."
"Not so fast!" Eliwood spoke in a commanding voice which silenced the even the insects of the courtyard, "I've accepted that my son is this Champion of Fire who will be needed to complete the Ceremony of Harmony, but by no means is he to accompany you on some errand to find these shards and other champions."
"Father!" Roy immediately took a defensive tone against Eliwood, "I was chosen for this father."
Hector put a hand on Roy's shoulder as he tried taking a diplomatic tone," Let's all go back inside and talk about this, eh Eli?"
"I've already made my decision!" Eliwood put even more authority into his voice to hush his son and friend, "You will be needed to complete the ceremony, but you will not be galavanting across the planet. Have you forgotten you have the academy in Ostia to return to? One day you will take my place as Grand Duke of Pherae, you're too young for this and your studies are too important to neglect now."
Roy took in a deep breath to try and remain calm, "Father, I was chosen for this! This is bigger than governing Pherae, it's about saving the world! And as far as age is concerned I'm at least a year older than Ness who has already set out on this mission!"
"And if I were a parent of Ness's I would put a stop to him venturing out as well, but I'm not, I'm yours!" Everyone else remained deathly silent as Roy and his father argued, "You will heed my instructions and return to your studies."
"It's not fair to them father," Roy gestured a hand outward to Ness and Rock, "Who's going to accompany them to find the remaining fire shards?"
"I am not insensitive to their plight," Eliwood turned to the other boys, "I will accompany you, along with Hector and a battalion of our finest scouts and guards."
"I will?" Hector looked from Eliwood to the boys, "Oh, I mean, of course I will, but shouldn't we…"
Ness looked at Rock, obviously wondering if they should say anything.
Deciding it best to avoid getting involved too much in family politics, Rock bowed courteously to Eliwood, "We greatly appreciate any support you can provide."
Heat energy was still visibly radiating from Roy, though Ness wasn't sure if it due to the crystal shard or Roy suppressing his emotions. Without another word, Roy nodded to his father and turned to stride back into the manor. Pit watched Roy as he walked away and waited for a moment to see if Eliwood would call out to him. When that did not happen he chased after Roy.
Lyn looked sternly at Eliwood, "Are you sure this is what's best for him right now?"
Eliwood let out a much deeper sigh than before, "Beyond any doubt." He looked to the other boys still near him, "Please don't think ill of me."
"You're doing what you feel is best for your son," Rock empathised.
Eliwood nodded, "I've managed so far to keep my son from being exposed to violence and bloodshed. Perhaps that has left him naive and believing the world to be a grander place than it is. I was not so fortunate, I was only a little older than he is now when darkness fell upon this land. I fought many a foul beast, the like such as he, or yourselves for that matter, should never need lay eyes upon."
"We all do what has to be done," Ness admired how Rock was able to speak without judgement. "I can't blame you for wanting to protect your son from seeing how terrible the world can be."
"That's right…" Eliwood sighed, "How insensitive of me, you must have been so young when you were thrust into the heart of war, much like Pit, you have my sympathies."
"It isn't anyone's sympathies that either of us need," Though Rock still spoke respectfully, the statement carried his harshest tone yet.
"Of course, I am obviously not being well with words today," Eliwood tried to shake off his emotions and right himself, "It will take some time to prepare for this venture, in the meantime I welcome you to take advantage of every comfort we can offer."
Hector called over one of the guards and had the guard give both Rock and Ness metal badges, "You'll need these while you're in town. These will allow you to travel freely within Pherae. Simply ask and you will be treated to whatever you need."
Eliwood bowed to the boys, "Now, if you'll excuse us, I must see to legislative matters."
Ness and Rock bowed to Eliwood and his family then set off to explore the town.
Unable to hold his comments any longer, Ness finally broke the silence, "Well that was awkward."
"No kidding…" Rock shook his head as they wandered the nearby streets.
The events still seemed to be weighing heavily on Ness, "What do you think of how this turned out?"
Rock rubbed his temples as he thought everything out, "Honestly, I think we're in major luck to have the support of someone with as much authority as Eliwood. With him on our side it will make it a lot easier to get through other countries and convince people of our mission; we'll never have to worry about being turned away for not having pass papers again. And having trained soldiers to fight off threats will be a huge advantage too."
"When you put it like that it makes sense…" Ness agreed.
"But it definitely doesn't feel right," Rock voiced as well.
"Yeah…" Ness agreed.
"Let's not worry about it for now, we have a whole city to explore!" Rock immediately cheered up like a switch was flipped. Ness couldn't help but return to a better mood as well as they strode off to put their passes to use.
From the city center, the boys found a guide to show them around. The guide was a little eccentric, wearing a strange green jumpsuit and pointy hat, but they went along with it as he seemed to be the expert on maps, "If hunger is what is amiss, then the street you need is Talys! Smiths and forges break the iron crust, for weapons you should seek out good ol' Grust! And magic here is pristine, for enchanted artifacts and spells you should turn down Khadein. Kooloo-Limpah!"
Ness scratched his head and leaned closer to Rock to whisper, "I hope this isn't how everyone around here is like…"
"I…" Rock's eyebrow lifted as their guide skipped ahead of them, "...don't think so."
"There you are!" A now familiar voice called from behind.
Ness and Rock turned to find Roy and Pit walking towards them. Ness immediately noticed Roy was in a better mood than when he last saw him.
"I'm sorry for earlier," Roy began, "We hardly know each other and you had to see my father and I fighting, that was really impolite on both our parts."
"Don't worry about it," Ness tried waving it off right away, "It's one of those things that nobody really knows how to react to. I'm sure if Onett hadn't been in the middle of being attacked by the Golden Empire that my mom would have had much more to say about me being the Champion of Thunder than she did."
Roy and Pit immediately tilted their heads sideways, "Attacked by the Golden Empire?"
Ness let out a frustrated huff, "Yeah, the day I found out I was this champion was the same day airships from the empire surrounded my hometown and burned it to the ground. But I'm hoping that once we have all the champions together that we will be able to drive the empire out of the lands they've conquested over."
Roy and Pit shared a concerned look with each other that was hard for Ness to read, "The empire…"
"You know about them?" Ness pushed immediately.
"Don't worry about it," Roy tried brushing it off, "What are you going to do while you're in Pherae?"
"We don't really know yet," Ness looked over to their tour guide who was patiently waiting, "Really we're just getting to see around town and find out what's here first."
Roy perked up and stepped forward towards Ness, "Do you mind if we join you? It would be great to spend some time with another champion before you go on."
"Definitely!" Ness replied excitedly.
Roy turned to the guide, "Then please lead on Tingle."
The green clad man began to skip ahead again, "Onwards, forwards, and upwards! Kooloo Limpah!"
Tingle led the small group to points of interest and entertainment. Ness was captivated by several bards and puppeteers who put on outdoor performances in bazaars and amphitheaters. A local smith offered to fashion the beetle carapace pieces into scale mails. Eventually they all found themselves in a museum dedicated to the history of Lycia. There were plaques, paintings, and statues, depicting everything from eras of dragons, to wars with dark mages.
Several portraits commemorated events of only twenty years prior, the defeat of a group called The Black Fang. Ness's eyes widened at one of the portraits, "Hey Roy, is that…"
Roy nodded as he stood by Ness's side, "My father, at the fall of Nergal."
"Your father must be pretty tough," Ness walked along the hallway taking in all the pictographs.
"Of course he is," Roy scratched his head as he followed Ness, "He was seventeen when war broke out and threatened all of Lycia. He fought off terrible creatures, Morphs he called them, like the living dead. He doesn't actually talk about it much, I've heard more from Uncle Hector than my father."
"Sounds like it must have been rough," Ness sounded sympathetic as he looked as portraits depicting monsters of the war.
"I'm sure but…" Roy let his sentence get away from him.
Ness noticed Roy breathing deeply as he walked beside him, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I've just been a little… warm? Yeah… since you gave me that fire shard…" Roy pulled on his collar then lifted his headband to wipe at his forehead.
"Do you need anything?" Ness offered politely.
"Not necessarily…" Roy mumbled, "I don't feel bad really… it's just…"
Ness nodded, "Yeah, I think I understand. When I got my shard it was like I could feel it building up energy, like inside me. It's hard to explain, but I remember it left me feeling super sensitive to everything, definitely not bad… but it takes a while to get used to feeling your clothes rubbing against you, then your heart pounds like it wants to jump out of your chest, and I remember focusing so hard on breathing calmly that I was tripping on my own feet but it was better to do that then look like a freak." Ness lowered his voice so only Roy could hear, "All of that also makes you feel good, like… really good."
Roy couldn't help but laugh at how Ness described it, "Yeah, that's it exactly! I'm glad then that this is kind of… normal?"
Both boys laughed, "Normal is probably out the window for us now."
Once they settled down, Roy looked much more at ease, "Thank you for being honest about… this sort of thing."
Ness let Roy put an arm over his shoulder, "Us champions of the elements have gotta look out for each other."
"Definitely," Roy looked into Ness's violet eyes, "I'll be looking out for you whether my father agrees with it or not."
"Huh?" Ness cocked his head wondering if he heard what he thought he heard.
"I'll explain later," Roy separated from him and rejoined the others, "Tingle, what's on the menu for tonight's tour de supper?"
"Apologies for the time did escape me, towards our next destination and food we must flee! Kooloo Limpah!" Tingle skipped his way out of the museum the boys walking normally behind him.
Everyone enjoyed a rowdy dinner at a local dining hall that specialized in open pit grilling of large portions. The locals sang tavern songs as they drank into the evening and tried to teach their tunes to the foreign boys.
After a large meal and a party that the locals assured took place on a nightly basis, the boys returned to Roy's family estate.
"Check it out," Rock grinned as he saw the beetle scale armor had been delivered while they were gone, "They did a pretty good job with it, definitely leaves fewer gaps for magical attacks to break through," he leaned in and took a sniff, "And the buzzy smell is gone too!"
"Oh yeah," Ness blushed as he realized the odor he must have been carrying with him, "I guess I had gotten used to the smell and forgot about it."
"Yeah, so how about you go take a bath while we have the chance," Rock almost urged Ness out the door, "I'll take one after you."
"Sure!" Ness grabbed his clean undergarments from his bag before leaving to the house baths. It took a little time for Ness to wash away the days of ick and beetle that lingered from wearing bug shells for a week. Eventually he was dressed in his sleeping clothes and was wandering back up the empty halls of the manor.
The hallways of the manor were half covered, half open gardens. Turning down any corner of the house could lead you outside into a courtyard that had an open view of the stars in the sky.
Everything was quiet, as Ness used his towel to rub water out of his ear. As he moved the towel away from his head he just barely picked up on a strange noise. At first he thought maybe he imagined it, or maybe it was just the wick of his towel close to his head. He heard it again though and stopped in his tracks.
At first Ness was a little defensive in the unfamiliar open environment, but then he was able to tell it was definitely coming from a room. He was fairly certain the particular hall he was in was Roy's hall. Curiosity got the better of him as he tiptoed closer to the door and put his ear against it.
Closer to the source, Ness was able to hear something like a slurping sound. Part of Ness told him that everything was probably fine and that he should just go back to his room. His sense of curiosity though demanded to know what was going on. Deciding that a peak into the room wouldn't hurt anything, Ness very quietly cracked the door open.
Through the door, Ness was able to make out what was definitely Roy's bedroom. The bed was undisturbed in front of the door. An armoire was open to the left and in a messy state. Again Ness heard the slurp noise, and now that he was closer could also make out what sounded like a moan. His eyes widened as he looked to the right.
In front of Ness, Roy sat at his desk chair, he wore only a dark red silk shirt. His pants were bunched at his ankles. Between Roy's legs was most certainly Pit. Roy's hands were buried in messy brown hair, Pit's face was being held tightly against Roy's nether regions.
Another slurp came from the scene, and Ness was definitely able to gauge now that the slurp was coming from Pit's mouth. The light bulb finally clicked in Ness's head that Roy's penis was inside Pit's mouth.
Roy let out a deep breath and moan as Pit moved his head up and down, letting the shaft slide against his lips, "Oh gosh that's good…"
Pit pulled his mouth off of Roy entirely, but kept his girth constrained in a tight grip of his left hand, "You really needed this." Pit leaned in and ran his tongue against the underside of Roy's shaft down to his testicles. His face hardly moved back, "I'm sorry if today was really stressful."
Roy clenched his eyes tight as Pit took him into his mouth once again, "It was but… there was more to it than that…" Roy couldn't help but moan again as Pit hummed an acknowledgement without lifting his mouth off. "Ness warned that the crystal energy makes you feel sensitive and… ahhh… really good..."
Pit sucked a few more times before pulling his head back from Roy's erection, "You are definitely hot to the touch, almost feverish. But it's a great heat, I can't really describe it either." Immediately Pit returned to engulfing Roy's large member. He groaned on top of the obscene slurping noises his mouth was already making.
From the doorway, Ness had to adjust his own erection. He leaned back and looked around to make sure no one else was anywhere nearby, but as before the rest of the house was completely silent. There was a voice within him that felt guilty and told him to close the door and go back to his room. The curiosity in him though had been replaced by arousal. He had to admit to himself that he had never seriously thought before that he or his friends could do something like that with their mouths to make each other feel really good. He found himself wondering how good it actually felt and what else Roy and Pit might know that he didn't.
The way even Roy's face tightened in concentration and then loosened in bliss seemed to imply that the pleasure must have been intense. Roy's fingers mussed Pit's hair even worse than before, but Pit actually made even louder moaning sounds each time Roy's hands would tighten on his scalp. Ness could just make out the look on Pit's face, the way his eyes were squeezed tight as well as the shaft that sliding in and out of the suction his mouth was providing. This had to be one of the most exciting and arousing things Ness had ever seen and there was no way he could turn away now.
Pit's hand gripped at the base of Roy's shaft. He pointed the hard rod straight up as he leaned back and slowly slid his mouth off over the top. With only his tongue he swiped at the slit at the top and then licked down the sides of the head and under the glands.
"Oh gosh Pit!" Roy's leg muscles spasmed, sending vibrations through his entire body as Pit's tongue continued to play with his penis. Roy's eyes clenched tight, and he took deep breaths through his open mouth, though if Pit's tongue touched the right spot then Roy's jaw would close tight and he'd breathe through his teeth.
Pit's tongue poked out through his sly smile and continued its work as his eyes kept a close watch on Roy's facial expressions. He purposefully teased Roy by swiping his tongue gently over sensitive areas. Again his tongue slid down the underside of Roy's shaft and lapped at the balls underneath.
"Please…" Roy groaned, "I really need to cum, please make me cum…"
The tongue moved away from Roy's saliva slickened member. The cooler air in the room made Roy shudder. Pit slid his hand up and down the wet pole as he leaned back to say, "As you wish."
Roy gulped as Pit's mouth returned to its prior charge.
Ness's mouth slowly fell open as he watched Pit vigorously bob his head up and down Roy's manhood. The sounds became louder as Pit sucked hard while moving as fast as he could.
Roy couldn't help but buck his hips up into the source of his pleasure. His head leaned back, his eyes lidded mostly closed, and he bit his lower lip to stifle his own cries. His entire body was shifting back and forth in the chair in rhythm with Pit.
Pit's hands gripped tightly at Roy's smooth thighs as he rubbed the sensitive skin that was normally hidden from any light. His tongue swished all around Roy's tool as he continued his aggressive assault, determined to see Roy to his climax.
Roy took in a deep breath as he suddenly leaned forward. Pit could feel the expansion of the shaft in his mouth and knew this was it and gripped tightly onto Roy's jewels as they pulled up. Roy's arms reached around Pit's head for something to hold onto as waves of ecstasy coursed through his entire body. His eyes opened and gave off a brief red glow that momentarily altered the hue of the room.
Amazement filled Ness's expression as the glow settled and he watched the definite signs of Pit's throat expanding as he swallowed down any evidence of what had just happened.
Roy fell back into a slouched position in his chair as he tried to regain his breath. He swallowed hard himself before trying to speak, "That was great, thank you."
"Of course, is there anything else you need?" Pit spoke courteously, as if he were providing a service, but the subdued chuckling from both of them spoke of an inside joke they were both sharing the punchline of.
Very gently, Ness pulled the door closed. He took several seconds just to turn the doorknob back into its latch. He adjusted himself again before he hurried back towards his room. His mind was still on fire with what he had just witnessed as he did his best to try and calm himself down by thinking of disgusting things, "Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, dill, eggplant, figs, green beans…"
Ness was truly confused as to how he should be feeling. There was a strong sense of guilt over having spied on something so personal. It was also difficult not to keep replaying the images in his mind. He wondered if he should talk to Rock about what he saw, or would that make it even weirder?
Ness pushed open the door to the room he was sharing with Rock. Rock looked up from the notes he was examining on a table, "Hey, that took a while." He noticed the flushed look on Ness's face, "Is the water pretty hot here?"
Quickly Ness nodded, "Yeah, it's… hot…"
"Awesome! I'll go use it next then, be right back!" Rock grabbed his clothes and ran out.
Ness watched the door close behind Rock and the room became completely quiet. Ness sat down on the bed and stared at nothing. For a moment he stayed completely still, his focus entirely internal. Several minutes passed then let out a grunt before he reached for a pillow, buried his face into it, and fell to his side.
End Chapter
Apologies for this chapter taking so long. I know… I've got issues…
Something exciting happened during the break though, I got more fanart! #captainlifegamer on Tumblr drew some awesome pics of Ness and Rock, they're on my Tumblr, though admittedly they've sunken a bit down the list of posts.
I swear I've cut more off this chapter before publishing than any other chapter of any story I've ever written. This would have been ten pages longer but I realized there was an entire segment at the beginning I had written that was completely unnecessary to story progression… so to save us all from dealing with it I chopped the chapter up, and we're continuing on without it. Hopefully I took out all the references to things that no longer happened… but if I find any others I'll edit them out later. Even still this chapter turned out long! Hope it was enjoyable. I had actually been waiting to get to both the fight scene and the sex scene in this chapter for a long time.
Please let me know what you think in a review, thanks!
