The morning light stirred Fina from her sleep before anyone else. A sliver of light had slipped in through a nearby window in the Dyne household that cut a perfect angle upon the guest bed where she lay. Not that it would have taken much to wake her. While her sleep was far from restless, she found herself starkly aware of every chirping bird or swirl in the wind. The world below was louder than she expected —or perhaps her home above had merely been quieter—and it made for a strange experience. She rose carefully from her bed and looked about. Dyne and his wife lay sleeping in the further reaches of the room and she could faintly hear Vyse's contented hums and the creak of his mattress as he lay resting in the loft.

Vyse. Her thoughts lingered on him for a moment. In some ways, he was everything the Elders warned about: bold, untamed, and possessed of a cavalier nature far different than the austere ways she'd been taught to embody. But he was also kind and inquisitive. What risks he took seemed motivated by a genuine decency. He and Aika had saved her from an unknowable but assuredly dreadful fate. He'd taken responsibility for her, a stranger, and treated her with stunning hospitality. Fina felt a debt to all those who had helped her—Aika, Captain Dyne—but her thoughts lingered on Vyse. The curious young man who wanted to sail beyond the sky. If only she could tell him the truth of it all…

He and Aika intended to rush off to recover the fallen moonstone; it seemed a dangerous proposition and even more so once Fina realized the direction they were heading. If Meridia was the land under the Silver Moon and the ruins were toward the north from here, that likely meant some vestige of the Old World—a vestige of her people at the height of their power—remained here on the surface. Fina knew better than anyone what dangers might await two adventurous souls wandering into such a place. It filled her heart with a deep worry for her newfound friends. If any of the Old World's machines still thrummed with life, they might not make it out of there alive. Especially if one of those had survived...

That worry stirred her to gather her satchel of supplies and quietly exit the house into the empty village square. A small tree stump rested beside the Dyne household, wood stacked nearby for the chopping. Fina kneeled at the stump's side, feeling the cool grass beneath her, and set to a different kind of work. She reached into her satchel, produced a small glass-like orb and placed it upon the stump. She made a simple but universal invocation. One that had stood the test of time.

"Moons, give me strength.."

With a focus inward, she channeled a sacres spell and guided its healing power into the orb where it was contained in stasis. She'd spotted more rudimentary crystals among the pirates' loot but they'd only contained a muted accumulation of green magic. These would be more potent and curative in the event her friends found themselves in any harm. She repeated the process and manufactured another disposable crystal.

"You make it look easy," a gruff voice reckoned behind her quietly. Captain Dyne strolled over to kneel at her side. "Suppose I shouldn't be surprised after that stunt you pulled with Mabel."

Fina looked up from her work. "I am still very sorry for overstepping my bounds."

"Don't be," Dyne said genuinely. "You saw someone in need of help and gave it. That's nothing to be sorry for."

He eyed her work. "Looking to help again, I see," he noted. "Worried about my son and his daring plan to swipe that moonstone?"

"Are you not?"

Dyne chuckled. "I worry about my son, and I worry about Aika as if she were my own as well," he said. "But they're reaching the age where I can't fuss over them anymore. My job as a captain… as a father… is to trust them now. Believe in them."

Fina finished infusing another crystal with healing magicks. "Old World ruins are dangerous," she said. Her tone let on more than she had intended.

Dyne nodded. "Place another one of those crystals down, yeah?"

Fina did as he asked. The rounded crystal sat upon the stiff tree stump. Dyne reached into his pocket and produced a well-worn yellow moonstone. Fina could sense its thrumming electric energy keenly and the ways in which both Dyne's own aura fed into the stone and the stone ran its energy back through him. He began to focus on the crystal much like she had. It took only a moment before he began to channel an advanced electres spell into the crystal.

"They say that some of our world is built on the Old," he explained, voice straining slightly as he focused on his task. "That before everything now, there were all sorts of marvels and magicks. Vast cities, strange ships and creatures… Skilled mages."

He turned his eyes to Fina. "Of course, that world was lost, though it's hard to say why. Still, even here in Meridia there's tall-tales and legends about ancient warriors fighting dragons or even young maidens who could bend the Moons' powers to their will as easy as breathing. The restoration of the lost Green Moon. The jolt of the Yellow Moon…"

He finished his task with a flashing zap as the spell was contained in the sphere. "There's even stories of Silver magic. The magic of life and death that could bring the fallen back from the edge of darkness."

Fina looked away. "I.. know some stories," she demurred. It was a half-truth. "Of a great war and horrible weapons."

Dyne handed the electres crystal to the young woman. "I imagine that sort of thing would be terrible," he noted.

"But I do wonder about those other stories. What a miraculous thing it would be if something of them could be found here and now." He shrugged. "Ah, but that world is gone. I'm sure there's nothing like that anymore. People so untouched as to somehow keep those old ways."

He looked at Fina with a knowing glance. Not so strong as to imply he knew everything but enough that it was clear that the older pirate was putting some pieces together.

Fina frowned. "No, uh… Likely not.." She regarded the electres crystal. "Some things survived though. I'm.. uh, well.. somewhat surprised you know how to make one of these."

"Received some training," Dyne answered. "You know… From what I gather of our conversations, you still don't have a great sense of where you are. If you're not heading with Vyse and Aika, I could spend a little time showing you the best travel routes through Meridia and other places. Might help on your little quest."

The young woman smiled. "If you're offering, then I happily accept. There is still so much I don't really know…"

Dyne grinned. "Sounds good. For now, let's head inside. I think I smell breakfast…"

Breakfast was as hearty as anything Vyse could hope for; his mother had arrayed a wide assortment of sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast that went above and beyond her usual offerings. She always made a larger meal after a successful raid but there were more mouths to feed than usual. Aika had joined them, eager to regale everyone with further stories of the raid and indulge in Johanna Dyne's fantastic cooking. Her recollection of Antonio placed him somewhere around the size of a small island now. Fina poked and prodded at her food at first but eventually ate with dainty delight.

Under that roof, among family and good friends, Vyse felt content as ever. If the day was going to start this well, it was probably going to be one of the best he'd had in ages. Eventually, he glanced at Aika and stood up.

"We should get going," he noted. "We couldn't have been the only people who saw everything yesterday. If we move too slow, some grubby scavenger will nab the prize before we can even set sail."

Aika stretched, cat-like but remained seated for the moment. "Guesso," she said. "A stone like that's gotta be worth tons of gold! We could buy anything we wanted!"

Vyse rubbed the back of his neck. "Is that all you think about? Gold?"

"Now, now," Aika said seriously. "I bet Fina is thinking about it too. Right, Fina?"

Their friend shifted bashfully. "Not really, no…"

Aika seemed unconvinced. "You're not even thinking a little bit about what you'd buy if you had, like.. ba-jillions of gold?"

Fina blinked. Her head tilted in deep confusion. "I don't… Buy? What do you mean? What is that?"

Aika slipped right out of her chair in shock. Beneath the table, Pow barked before scurrying behind Vyse's legs. "Fina... you seriously don't know what that means?!"

The blonde woman wrung her hands together nervously and turned her gaze downwards.

"I... I'm terribly sorry," she started. "I've never traveled before and so many things are new to me. Should…. Have I said something wrong? Do I need to know?"

Dyne looked down at Aika from his seat at the table. "Please get off my floor," he said before drinking some coffee. "Before there's an Aika-shaped indent there forever."

Aika leapt to her feet and dusted herself off. She looked at Fina. "Buying something is.. Well, it's.. You have gold and you give it to someone and they give you something else. Like at a shop or whatever."

"Some people barter," Vyse noted to Aika. "Maybe there's no need for gold wherever she's from because people are trading instead. Seriously, you don't need to make her feel bad about all this.."

"Fina, you really don't get out much, do you?" Aika gave an exaggerated sigh.

"I'm sorry.. I didn't know…"

Vyse took a step forward and grinned at his new friend. "Nothing to apologize for," he said. "Aika's just being dramatic. Though if you're going to be traveling…"

"Yes, I should learn more," Fina said before Vyse could finish. "It's why I won't be joining you to fetch the moonstone. Your father agreed to educate me some more about Meridia and the surrounding areas."

Dyne took a finishing sip of his coffee. "That I have, but aren't you forgetting something?"

Fina smiled. "Yes, you're right," she said before rushing to fetch her satchel and the fresh magic crystals she and Dyne crafted earlier. They rolled onto the kitchen table with an almost musical clinking and emanated a soft mixture of green and yellow light. Vyse blinked in surprise.

"Are those sacri and electri crystals? Where'd you get those?"

Aika leaned in to examine them even closer. "Vyse, these are sacres and electres crystals," she said excitedly. "Fina, are you sure you want to give us these?"

The young woman nodded. "Your father and I shaped them this morning," she explained. "And yes, please do take them. Ruins like that… are bound to be dangerous."

"I can channel a sacri spell but these are even stronger than that," Aika said. She began to transfer the crystals to her own pouch. She felt their raw energy radiate in her hands as she did. "Damn, these are even better than anything you could find in a shop…"

Vyse grinned. "You're amazing, Fina," he said. "Thank you. We won't waste them."

Fina gave Vyse a shy bow in acknowledgement, face warm thanks to his compliment.

"That's not all," Dyne said before walking to the other end of the room and returning with two small bags. "You should take these as well. Part of your share from the raid on Admiral Ninny's little boat."

He placed the bags on the table with a thud. A sound like clattering marbles rang out. Vyse quickly walked to one of the bags and opened it to see two refined moonstones—one blue and another red—shimmering before him. "These are…"

"Already processed," Dyne explained. "You need a set of your own; it's too risky for the both of you to keep sharing. Aika, there's something special in your bag."

That was all the redhead needed to hear before she went diving in to find a frosty cold moonstone flickering with violet light. "A purple moonstone?"

"You've a bit more experience with magic than Vyse, so I'm giving it to you. It'll pair well with your red stone. The power of fire and now the power of ice."

"I've never cast purple magic in my life," Aika fretted. "I don't know.."

Fina took a step forward and placed a friendly hand on Aika's shoulder. "You'll be okay," she said. "The longer you spend near the stone, the more its energy intertwines with your own. Manipulating the magic should start to make sense after some time with it."

"Exactly," Dyne agreed. "Keep it in case you need to attune your weapons, and once you're back you can practice a little."

Vyse and Aika scooped up their respective moonstones and set about collecting their weapons and gear before Aika raced off to check if their sloop was ready at the upper dock. She gave a winking salute as she left the Dyne household. Vyse found his goggle and snapped it on his face.

"Go on," his father said. "Sling your hook and be off. Just remember: success is dependent on effort. No matter what you run into, keep pushing through and you'll reach the end."

"It's a moonstone, Dad," Vyse said sheepishly. "Not some fancy Imperial vault."

There wasn't any real expectation of trouble on Shrine Island. Some sailors were keen on saying it was haunted but Vyse knew better than to worry about something like that. His resolve faltered only slightly as he glanced at Fina. The young woman seemed a monument to worry as she watched the rogue gather his remaining supplies. He approached her and grinned once more.

"We'll be back before you know it," he said. "Try not to get into any trouble, yeah?"

The Serpent soared through Northern Meridia. The Valuan flagship was flanked on either side by two Meteoro- class battleships advancing southward, their steel hulls and sturdy frames cutting through windy sky rifts on approach to their target. The Serpent 's frame was the darkest of the three with its reinforced blacksteel hull and deep purple paint job. It was nothing like the Mid Ocean's most recent Valuan guest. The Cygnus had been lush and indulgent. Its golden hull shone resplendently in the Silver moonlight. The Serpent was like the night itself made incarnate: austere, powerful, and all too terrifying. It was a warship through and through.

Lord Admiral Galcian stood imposingly upon the bridge. His massive height and stern gaze combined with a large cloak—bearing the grey ribbons denoting his position as commander of all of Valua's armed forces—encircling his body. The combined effect gave the appearance of a bat or perhaps a vulture upon a perch. This was stressed by his hard-featured face; sharp eyebrows and a fine goatee. He looked ever-forward at the approaching horizon, waiting for his prey to appear.

Victor Dyne...

Galcian knew the man by reputation. A rebellious turncoat transformed into one of the most powerful and adored Blue Rogues in the skies. He had made Meridia his dominion and the Empire had been content to let the pirate have his little kingdom. Let him rule over nothing of consequence; whatever raids he might bring to bear against Valuan ships were little more than a petty child's temper tantrum. A lone pirate, no matter how long-survived, could not match the Empire's might.

That state of affairs had changed. Not because he'd struck at an admiral since by all accounts Alfonso had proven little more than the useless welp he always had been, but because Victor Dyne had stolen something that Galcian wanted. No, perhaps it was something he needed …

Vice-Captain Ramirez stood obediently at his lord's side. The young man moved a stray portion of his silver-blonde hair from his sight and stared out at the horizon with a fervor equal to his master's. Galcian turned to regard him. So loyal. So perfect a subordinate. Circumstances had conspired to deliver the man to his side, some of those circumstances spurred on by Galcian's own hand, and he was ever so pleased at the outcome. Ramirez was the finest weapon in his arsenal. More than the Serpent , more than the entire Armada combined.

Yet, as he watched the man, Galcian spotted an uncharacteristic shift in weight. The most miniscule sign of hesitation and worry. A telltale vestige of the past, of the weakness that he'd work so hard to stamp from the young man's spirit.

"We cannot falter now, Ramirez," Galcian said. He omitted the man's rank intentionally. Whether it was out of a general sense of closeness or something darker mattered little. "When we claim our prize, our path will be secure. A better future, a stronger future. For everyone."

"Yes, my lord," Ramirez replied. He took an apprehensive step towards the bridge's glass viewport.

Galcian slipped a hand from beneath his cloak and rested it firmly on Ramirez' shoulder. The young man froze for a moment before standing up taller.

"It's alright," Galcian's baritone snaked into Ramirez' ears. The young man felt the fire in his heart burn with increased fervor and surety. "Are you close enough to sense her now?"

Ramirez reached out with his mind and feelings. Far off in the blue sky, he felt a dot of silver light.

"She's there," he confirmed.

"Good," Galcian said. He removed his hand from Ramirez' shoulder and shirked it under his cloak. He took a step towards his Vice-Captain. "We've waited a long time for this moment.."

With the wind at their back, it took Vyse and Aika little less than an hour to reach Shrine Island. Their modest sloop, "Windmill" Isle's shared community vessel, listed through the temperate Meridian skies without much excitement save for a brief passage by an aged fishing vessel with a green hull. It had been so focused on its task that the two ships risked colliding. Slowly but surely the lighthouse-like ruins of Shrine Island —odd stone exterior partly covered with mold and moss— drew closer until Vyse safely guided the sloop to a rest and dropped anchor upon the island's surface.

"You know," he said as he hopped off the sloop. "I don't think I've ever been here even though it's so close."

Aika stepped carefully to land and suppressed a shudder as she regarded the tall structure. She eyed it suspiciously in contrast to Vyse's curious examination.

"That's because of ghosts and wizards and stuff," she said with some seriousness. A mixture between belief in the legends and her own considerable fortitude battling back and forth. "You remember the stories that Granny Hofman used to tell? 'If you don't behave, them spirits will slink out and steal ya!'"

Vyse laughed. "She has a different version of that every month. Talk back to your parents and a giant arcwhale will swallow you. Leave your room messy and Daccat's skeleton crew will whisk you off for eternity."

"Exactly! There could be tons of monsters in there or whatever."

"Think of the prize though, Aika."

"I am thinking of the prize.."

"You're thinking about the gold."

"Same thing." Aika said with some annoyance. "But just look at this place! It's older than old! It's from before , y'know?"

The shrine was certainly the oldest thing Vyse had ever seen. Its tall spire extended up high enough to touch the clouds. The stone didn't seem any less reliable than a modern day building but it wore the yellowing of centuries. An elongated pathway extended from where the sloop was docked, creating a bridge over a large pool of water dotted with silver moonstone growths and full of calmly drifting fish. He walked closer to the water to examine it when he noticed that it was flowing towards the shrine itself. Peering up, he saw where the moonstone must have landed; a massive scorched hole had been punched into the base of the tower. Water cascaded through, falling downwards into the ruins.

"Moonstone must have caused that," Vyse said with a hint of concern. "It must be huge. But if there's tons of water in there, that's a problem."

Aika nodded. "Especially since I can't swim," she noted. "But if it caused that … Moonstones that big are super rare! We gotta go and get it."

"As if either of us could pass up a good treasure hunt," Vyse remarked. "Guess we should get to it!"

At that, he was off. He ran down the stone path with Aika in tow before stopping at the ruin's entrance. The doors were made of an old metal almost like bronze. There was no wear upon the door, no indication of time's passage. It looked pristine as any ship off a Valuan factory line. Strange etchings and unknowable glyphs were traced upon it that called to mind, if only for a moment, the various embellishments on Fina's jewelry.

"So strange," Aika said as they both approached. As they did, the top and bottom halves of the door separated and retracted to both sides of the frame. "What in the Moons?!"

Vyse approached the now open doorway. "Old World magicks maybe?" If so, that could mean other things lurking inside. "We keep going, but let's be careful too."

The pair entered into a large atrium with a spiral path descending downwards from the landing they'd entered upon. Muted sunbeams fell through a semi-opaque skylight up above; the light wiggled through a pseudo-glass material that Vyse had never seen before. The bottom levels were submerged in water that continued to fall from the hole outside. Beneath the surface, a glimmering meteor slightly larger than a cannonball sent rays of silver light shimmering throughout the makeshift pool.

"Look! The moonstone is at the bottom!" Vyse pointed at the glistening rock although it was hard to miss.

Aika took a greedy step forward, rubbing her hands together. "It's so bright," she exclaimed. "The only problem is reaching it. There's so much water; how are we supposed to get that thing up and out of here?"

Vyse surveyed the chamber closer. A strange array of stone statues made of similar but more argent material to the entrance door stood in a silent watch over the interior but as he scanned the chamber, something else caught his eyes. Doors underneath the water. An idea flashed into his mind, creative and risky.

"Those doors below," he explained. "If they're like the door we came through, and if they lead outside… maybe we could drain the water out. That way we can just carry the moonstone out of here."

"You're right," Aika noted. "As long as the stone doesn't get sucked out too."

Vyse rubbed his chin in thought. "It's slammed down there pretty hard… I don't think that'll be a problem.."

Aika pointed down the spiral stairs and past the strange assortment of statutes. "Looks like we need to head through that door first," she said. "And if we find loose treasure along the way…"

"A true rogue at heart," Vyse clapped his best friend on the shoulder. "Just don't take so much that we can't carry the stone."

They proceeded downwards and began to walk past the odd statues. They almost looked like crabs. Small half-shelled bodies with a silver crystal underneath; three fingered hands hung at their side. A few of them littered the path downward. Vyse had half a mind to inspect them further but found himself distracted by a mosaic on one of the walls. An abstract image of the Silver Moon and its energizing light. Had this place been some type of church or place of worship? A center for an Old World community to gather? It was difficult to say but a closer look about the space revealed more mosaics; a sprawling mass that seemed to be a city, people at play with some type of silvery companions at their sides. One mosaic appeared to be a large sphere with colored circles in the center. A tribute to the Moons perhaps.

Vyse stumbled. In his distraction, he'd tripped over one of the statues. He looked its lifeless shape up and down again before realizing that he'd somehow lost track of Aika. Spinning about, he saw her further down the stairs. An altar bearing some type of offering rested on the landing near the doorway. As the redhead approached, torches of white-blue fire leapt to life. She jumped away with a startled yelp.

"What is with this place?!"

Her exasperation faded as she looked at the offerings on the altar. Silver moonstones so pure that they might as well be refined by the most capable scholars. Sparkling berries with magical specks of latent power. She recognized them as moonberries, the rarest of all fruits said to ignite the mind to new possibilities. If they were indeed as old as the ruins, they hadn't aged a day. Whatever power they held had preserved them over the eras. Another one of the strange statues rested nearby.

Aika looked at the offerings covetously. She spared a mischievous glance about.

"Don't mind if I do," she said as she reached for one of the silver moonstones.

Vyse watched as his friend prepared to purloin the offerings. He spared a glance at the statues again. They looked sturdier in the blue-silver torchlight. Their crystal centers bore a glow that wasn't present before.

His eyes narrowed. An Old World place of worship with offerings to the Moons. Stories of ghosts and monsters. No stories of anyone ever diving into the shrine and returning with treasures.

Because no one survives…

He began to rush towards his friend. "Aika, wait!"

The moment seemed to last an eternity as Aika's hand grasped about a silver moonstone and spare berry. She looked back at Vyse in confusion. "What?"

It was too late. The statues began to glow with renewed purpose, the energy of their crystal bodies building until they hovered off the ground. The collective turned towards Vyse and Aika and began to advance with slow, steady purpose. The one nearest the altar reached out to clamp its odd claws around Aika's wrist.

"What the hell?! Get off me!"

The rogue began to wriggle in the "statue's" grasp. Vyse drew his cutlass and made a wild slash at the automaton's arm as he finally reached Aika. His red moonstone blade cut right through it. Aika shook the severed arm off and pocketed her ill-gotten loot.

"We've got something a little worse than spirits to deal with, Aika!"

The young woman was already drawing her boomerang as more of the strange golems hovered closer and began to swipe and stab at the pair. She slashed a strong two-handed rend upwards that cracked into one of their silver crystals and sent her foe clattering to the ground. Side by side, the two adventurers hacked and slashed as row after row of silver automatons hovered closer in their mindless bid to punish their shrine's intruders. For each that fell, another seemed to replace it.

Vyse cut another one of them in half. "We're not gonna las,t" he yelled with a nod at the nearby door. "This way!"

Aika brought her red moonstone to bear and tossed a crackling of pyri spells at her enemies. It didn't halt their progress entirely but the raging magical flames cracked more than a few of the automatons' silver crystals and sent them crumbling to the ground. She ran with Vyse toward the door.

"Let's get out of here!"

Fina smiled as she stepped out from the underground port into Pirate Isle's topside village. Dyne's lesson mixed geography and recent history for a brief but comprehensive lecture on current affairs. Not all of it was necessary; the Elders explained some fundamentals before her departure and Dyne's lesson confirmed portions of it. The world was fractured into various petty empires and other nations —the most dangerous and enduring being the Valua Empire—and some of the lands under certain moons were completely isolated. Her vessel, shot down by Admiral Alfonso's ship, was meant to help her bypass any natural hazards and expedite her quest. That was impossible now, so Dyne's breakdown of trade routes and safe skies was essential.

There was an irony to the situation though. Fina had left home secure in her understanding of the rest of the world. She knew history extending far into the Old World, had access to magicks that were all but forgotten, and understood many fundamental truths that Dyne hadn't a single notion of. In different circumstances, she might be teaching him or Vyse about any number of things. Instead, most of her knowledge was not applicable in the world as it was now. She stroked an idle hand over her silver bracelet and smiled. Silently, she thanked the Moons that her initial misfortune had been replaced with kindness and charity. Whatever the world was now, whatever darkness and danger it held, there were still pockets of something good and decent. That knowledge lifted a weight off her shoulder.

Perhaps I can do this after all…

Fina strolled into the village square to find Jimmy and his young compatriots playing a game of tag and for a moment, her mind thought of simpler times. Of silly games and wondrous thoughts. Of companionship and laughter. Where was he now, she wondered. What had he found down here and why had her dear friend not returned home? All she could do was hope that he, too, had found kindness somewhere in these skies and that they would meet again soon.

Her musings ceased when Alan ran right into her. Jimmy caught up and tagged his shoulder. The young girl in the yellow dress—Lindsi, that was her name—followed in their wake.

Fina giggled. "Careful now," she said warmly. "If you run too fast, you could tumble right down."

Jimmy backed away and stood up taller. "You'd just use your magic on us. Right, Miss Fina? Like you did with Vyse!"

"How did you do that?" Lindsi shifted in place as she looked wide-eyed at Fina. "You didn't even have a moonstone!"

"Oh, it was nothing special… Besides I'm sure I won't need to use magic if you're more careful right?"

It was a leading question. Somehow, although she'd never interacted with kids in her entire life, Fina was a natural when talking to the trio. She must've picked up a few cues from those distant play-sessions as a child back home. They all nodded bashfully.

"We can play something slower," Alan said with a slight wheeze.

"Hide and seek!" Jimmy made the decision immediately.

"Will you play with us, Miss Fina? Will you pleeeease?"

The children encircled her in a merry-go-round of "will you" and "yeah, yeah please" until Fina broke into a beaming smile. "How could I say no to Jimmy and his brave pirate crew?"

Lindsi giggled. "You gotta find us! Close your eyes and count back from this many!" She flashed both her hands twice. "This many" seemed to be twenty seconds.

"Uh, alright.." Fina covered her eyes. The children scattered throughout the village as she began to count backwards. It was a silly but comforting thing to know that the children here seemed to play games that she knew from her own youth. Of course, her version of the game had been more magical.

Eighteen.. Nineteen.. Twenty..

Fina opened her eyes and called out. "Ready or not, here I come!"

Galcian stood upon the Serpent 's bridge and gazed out at the slowly approaching island. To the casual observer it was little more than a quaint Meridian hamlet. Wooden houses, a modest lookout point, a charming windmill. There were no signs of pirate activity; no ships docked nearby or visible defenses.

It was, in fact, too perfect.

The Lord Admiral sneered. So that's how Dyne of the Blue Storm had eluded capture for so long. Attacking what he might and then hiding away to play lord over a miserable spit of nothing in the Mid Ocean. Galcian would have admired the cleverness of it all if not for the responsible party. Be it Blue Rogue or Black Pirate, all who committed to lawlessness in his skies would be crushed.

"We'll be in range shortly, Your Excellency," Ramirez shared at his side. "I'm sure of it now. She's there."

"As if I doubted you," Galcian affirmed.

Yes, the young man had proven a most useful instrument.. and so easy to manipulate. Like a fine sword or any other well-made tool; beautiful and dangerous and ever so valuable.

"Have the gunners prepare to fire across the island. Calibrate torpedoes to detonate above the village. We will shock them into submission."

"Give me leave to lead the ground invasion," Ramirez requested.

"But of course," Galcian said. "Take a contingent of your preferred men. Retrieve the girl but capture the Air Pirates as well. We'll need to interrogate them when we return to Valua. It is imperative we know what she might have told them."

He gave the briefest pause. "Sink their ship as well. Its very existence is a mockery."

Ramirez nodded. "And if they resist?"

Galcian spared a moment in thought.

"I doubt they'd be so foolish as to resist," he said. "But if so… Burn the village and kill them all. Let the bodies rot in the sun and leave one of our flags to set an example for others who may defy us."

Ramirez saluted his lord fervently before turning on his heels to make ready for the assault.

Fina… Here I come…

Vyse and Aika ran out onto the clouds. At least that's what it seemed like for a moment. The two rogues stumbled through the shrine door and onto a clear walkway. The lower cloud layer rested beneath them. Aika looked down first and came to screeching halt before Vyse stopped beside her.

"What's wrong?" He asked, panting ever so slightly from their hasty escape. "You know, besides the weird death statute monsters…"

"Vy… Vyse…" Aika pointed down.

Her friend followed in the direction of her finger until he also was looking at the "ground" beneath him. A ground that seemed to be essentially nonexistent.

Vyse gasped slightly before pressing his foot down. A strange rippling shot through the pathway as if his foot was a stone tossed into a still lake. A slight shifting of energy caused a sparking sound, mellow and magical. They weren't standing on the clouds; they were standing on something even stranger.

"It's like glass," Vyse noted before bringing his foot down again. Unlike glass, however, the floor beneath gave the slightest bend. He took a knee and touched it. The path gave off a hint of magical thrumming, a tight collection of silver energy that shot back and forth. "This is… Aika, I think this is… silver magic!"

Aika dragged her foot along the floor, which left a flutter in its wake. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. If she didn't know any better, she'd say she was walking on air but this didn't feel like the airy swirl of blue magic. It was subtle and beautiful. Looking down the "path," she realized that each section connected to large stone platforms.

"Is this really what the Old World was like? Moving statues and magic walkways?"

Vyse stood up. "It's amazing that it's lasted so long," he said. "You can hardly keep a good ship going without burning through moonstones but this stuff's been here for centuries."

They walked along the pathway, each step leaving pulsating rivulets of silver energy behind them. When they reached the first platform, Aika slowed down. "Vyse, I…"

She looked down at her arm where the silver automaton had grabbed it and saw a bleeding gash upon her forearm. In the chaos of their escape and their enraptured curiosity at their new surroundings, Aika had dismissed the pain but there was no ignoring it anymore. She slumped to the ground.

Vyse quickly knelt beside her. "Hey! Don't give up on me now, Spitfire.." It was a nickname from their youth that Vyse pulled out either in the most private or most serious moments. This was the latter.

"Wouldn't dare do that, Dreamer," she offered in return. A nickname for her ever-curious and imaginative friend. Dyne conferred both names during their childhood and the pair had held onto them ever since, even after joining the Albatross' crew. The crew used them teasingly for a time but stopped after a while until the nicknames had changed into something more personal. Something idiosyncratic to them.

Vyse panicked for a moment. He had no skill with green magic. Hell, he was only getting a grasp on red and blue magic after all these years. He wasn't sure how to help Aika until his gaze fell upon her pouch. He rifled about before finding one of the freshly-made sacres crystals that Fina gave them earlier in the morning.

"You know the drill, Aika," he said. "It's gonna tingle a bit."

"Hit me with it."

Vyse took the crystal and held it above Aika's wound. He crushed it within his hand, the "glass" shattering harmlessly and flaking off into insubstantial shards that flew into the wind. All that was left was the fresh green magic that Fina had imbued into the crystal. It burst from its container and suffused them both in emerald light. The majority of it collected into a sort of droplet that fell upon Aika's wound. She winced slightly but within a moment, her injury was gone. Slowly, she rose to her feet.

"Guess Fina was right to worry," she said. "We'll have to really thank her when we get back."

"Gotta figure out how to reach that moonstone first," Vyse said, reaching out to give Aika's shoulder an affectionate squeeze. "Don't scare me like that… and maybe be a little careful about the treasure you pick up in mysterious ruins?"

Aika grinned, reaching into her pouch to procure one of the moonberries she'd swiped. "C'moooon," she said. "It's not like you find this stuff every day."

"Fine," Vyse said with a sigh. "But nothing else, okay?"

Aika saluted him dramatically. "Yessir, captain, I promise to be a good little pirate from now on."

They continued down the pathway, which curved about until it connected with the shrine's side again. A nearby door leaked water and buckled from the pressure. Vyse gestured in its direction.

"There's our drain," he said approaching the door. "We open this and the water will run right out and down into the sky." He carefully pulled out his cutlass and tapped the door. It didn't open. "Hmm.."

Aika spoke behind him. A small crystal-like device was embedded into the wall. "So… I know you said not to touch anything else but I think this is the, uh… open button."

Vyse rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess there's only one way to find out," he said. The pirate took a step away from the door before giving his friend a thumbs up.

Aika pressed at the crystal, which slipped deeper into its indentation upon the wall. The nearby door slipped open and a torrent of water began to rush out. It started with a powerful burst like a waterfall before eventually coming to little more than a trickle.

The pair laughed, exchanging a quick high five.

"Looks we're grabbin' a moonstone," Vyse said cheerily.

As they entered the water-slicked bottom levels, the fresh moonstone shone bright enough that they shielded their eyes. There it was, resting in a small crater in the ground with only a small pile of debris nearby. Large, silver chunks mashed together into a round cannonball-like shape. It beamed light about the lower chamber that reflected off what little water remained on the ground. Vyse approached it, eying the stone with admiration.

"It'll be an adventure and a half just to get that outta here," he noted.

"But worth it!" Aika's mind was ever-focused on whatever riches they'd gain afterwards. She smiled. "You know, aside from the death monsters and the water this was actually pretty easy!"

Vyse stepped forward to give the moonstone a little tug. "We might need to bring the sloop down low and roll it out," he mused. Somewhere behind him, the sound of clattering rock began to roil throughout the chamber.

Aika noticed the cause first. "Ah! Vyse…" Her eyes fell on the nearby debris. The stone pieces were pulling in on each other and assembling into some sort of shape. "Those rocks…"

Leaping to a battle stance, Vyse brandished his cutlasses at the ready. "Aika, get back!"

The redhead found her place at his side, boomerang in one hand and red moonstone in the other. Together they watched as the debris rose into a different sort of living statue. Like the strange automatons above, its "center" consisted of a collection of silver moonstones housed under a rocky shell. It soon had legs and an arm. Another formed after that resembled a ship's cannon more than any normal appendage. It roared with a grinding shriek like the sound of glass scraping against another shard.

With a surprising speed, it scrambled at the pair and rammed a fist down at them. The rogues leapt aside and watched as the strange sentinel's blow created a fresh crater in the floor.

"Aika, crash and burn! You know the drill!"

"Right!"

Aika immediately began to channel pyri spells in rapid succession just as she had during their battle with Alfonso's war beast. The fire magicks snapped and kicked up dust until the space before the sentinel was a mix of smoke and dirt. Vyse slipped into the cover, one eye closed and the other protected by his goggle. In the chaos, he pressed forward and cut a rushing slash at the collection of crystals at the automaton's center. One of them chipped and fell to the ground. The sentinel stumbled but as the smoke cleared, it tossed a backhanded strike at Vyse that sent the young man tumbling. He rolled a distance until coming to a stop upon his knees.

"Damn! That thing… hits hard…"

As if to prove the point,, the sentinel turned towards Aika and raised its cannon-like arm. A conglomeration of heat and death-charged silver magic boiled inside the "barrel" of its cannon.

Aika froze. "Not good! Not good!"

Pushing himself to his feet, Vyse made a breakneck dash towards the sentinel, twirling both his cutlasses into firm grips and hacking them at the cannon arm. Their red moonstone blades crashed against the golem's hard shell. Vyse shoved with all his might just in time to redirect its aim upwards. A hot beam of molten magic slammed into the staircase, sending a small collection of its lesser crab-like brethren smashing lifelessly to the bottom floor.

"Not sure if our usual tricks are gonna cut it here!" Vyse leapt to make another slash at the sentinel's crystals. Another broke off and clattered to the ground. The wet ground.

He turned to Aika. "The floor!"

"What about it?!"

Vyse made a vague gesture with his hands that could charitably be called "magical." The sentinel swung at him once more and he ducked and danced between the strikes.

"The moonstone! Ice!"

"Why didn't you just say so instead of flapping your arms!?" Aika barked with irritation. "You might want to take a little step back though. I've never done this!"

Vyse leapt away from the sentinel. The golem raised its cannon again and aimed once more at Aika. The redhead was focused entirely on the cold purple stone in her palm.

Moons, give me strength!

Slowly but surely the water beneath the sentinel began to turn slick until a sharp pillar of ice shot up and stabbed itself into the cannon-arm. It was a surprisingly competent crystali spell considering that Aika had never done a lick of purple magic in her life. She looked at the living statue, its arm pinned but still brimming with glowing energy. Vyse slipped towards the golem and chipped away another silver crystal. The stone being groaned and writhed. The energy in its arm continued to gather.

Aika had a flash of inspiration. She reached into her pouch and found the electres crystal offered to her earlier that morning. "The arm! The cannon!" She cried out to Vyse and lobbed the crystal at her friend. He caught it and immediately understood.

Crystal in hand, he dodge towards the pinned cannon and shoved the crystal inside before rushing away. The cannon's molten energy radiated heat and death, melting the crystali pillar. Right as the sentinel was about to fire, an electric explosion burst inside the cannon and blew it into rocky bits.

Vyse took the opportunity and rushed at the sentinel. He swung his cutlasses in a madcap flurry at the remaining crystals on its body. One fell off, then another. The golem groaned and roared, and as Vyse leapt up for one final blow he cried out the first thing that came to mind.

"Cutlass fury!" Slink ! His blades cut the last crystal into broken halves and the golem fell piece by piece to the floor. They'd won.

All was silent until Aika doubled over with uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh my Moons! Did you just… Hahahahahaha! I can't believe you! That's what Jimmy says when he…! You gotta be friggin' kidding me!"

Vyse blinked in confusion, adrenaline in his blood leaving him in a stupor. "What?"

Aika swiped her boomerang around. "Cutlass fuuuurrrrryy! Hahahahaahaha!"

Her friend cleared his throat. "It just sorta.. It felt like something to say! It was a big moment, y'know! In all the serial books, the hero says something cool in the big moment!"

It took another minute of laughing before Aika composed herself. "Okay, okay, okay," she said as she looked towards the sentinel's fallen form. "What even was that thing?"

Vyse shrugged. "Some type of Old World guardian like the ones…" He looked upwards to find that the remaining statue beings had crumpled as well. "Well, the ones that were up there. I think smashing this thing kinda broke them too somehow.."

The glowing moonstone enticed Aika. She walked over to examine it.

"Damn, it really is huge," she said happily. "Moons, that was great! Treasure hunting is definitely the best part of being an Air Pirate!"

"Definitely worth going through all that trouble at least," Vyse agreed. "We won't have to worry about fuel for a while!"

"And we can sell the extra shards!" Aika's eyes glowed with joyous greed.

Vyse laughed. "Let's get it to the ship. Can you imagine the look on everyones' faces back home when they see what we found?"

Fina was two for three. She'd found Alan first, the boy had made the dubious decision to hide behind a sheet hanging on a clothesline and was almost immediately revealed when a gust of wind blew it aside. The young woman had cheerfully walked over to the lad and booped him on the nose before continuing her hunt around the village. It was tempting to simply spread her mind out and try to sense where Jimmy and Lindsi were hiding but she avoided the temptation. "No magic," was one of the chief rules whenever playing games back home so it felt silly to break that rule here on the surface where only she had that advantage.

Technically, Pow had found Lindsi. The girl had scurried to hide behind a tree nearby a stone monument in a small grove adjacent to the village square only to find that Pow had followed her. The huskra yipped and barked, giving away Lindsi's position. Fina slipped close to the bush and granted the girl a kind wave before she sulked off with Pow in tow. That left Jimmy…

For a while Fina looked about the village square and found nothing. As time wore on, she wondered if Jimmy had slipped down into the underground dock. No, that didn't seem right. Eventually, she spotted a track of muddy footprints leading towards Aika's house. The door was ajar and Fina slipped inside innocently.

"Oh my," she said with affect. "I am just so tired from searching. I can't find Jimmy anywhere. I guess I'll just head over to this bed and take a nap."

A sniggering slinked from beneath the bed. The blonde haired woman tiptoed over before bending to peek underneath to find Jimmy hiding near a pile of forgotten clothes. She smiled.

"I think I just won," she said sweetly as she helped the young boy up from the floor.

"Aww, I had a pretty good hiding spot too."

Fina nodded. "You really did!"

A clamor began to sound outside of the house. A frantic voice. "Captain! Captain!"

Fina and Jimmy looked at each other and tried to listen in. Captain Dyne's muffled voice cut through the house's walls. "Are you sure?! We gotta get everyone undergrou-"

Boom! A series of explosions blasted above the village. Fina's ears began to ring and she barely heard the other voices outside.

"Women and children!" "Where's…" "Bring… below! Back!"

Another explosion cracked above the village and then another. Fina could swear she heard smaller cracks as well. Shots and steel. The rushing of armored men. She turned to Jimmy.

"Get under the bed," she ordered. "And whatever happens, stay underneath."

Jimmy began to protest. "But what if you.."

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "Under the bed! Hurry!"

Without warning, Fina felt a tugging upon her mind and froze in place. Impossible!

She turned to look for somewhere to hide but it was too late. The front door burst open and a black clad soldier with matching helmet walked into the house. "There you are.."

Jimmy shifted to get a better look from under the bed. He saw Fina make some type of motion over her wrist before, and he had no idea how it happened, some type of silvery sword hovered at her side. She held out a fiery palm heated with red magic.

"Stay back! I don't want to hurt you but I'll do what I must if you come closer!"

The armored man shook his head sorrowfully.

"Look what they've turned you into," he lamented. "Look at the price they made us pay…"

Fina hesitated. "I.. I'm serious… Stay away!"

Jimmy couldn't stand it any longer. He sprung up from under the bed and made a dash at the Valuan soldier. "Leave her alone!"

"No! Stop!" Fina's cries fell on deaf ears as the young would-be-hero ran at the dark-clad Valuan. The soldier whipped a harsh backhand at the boy that sent him clattering to the floor.

A protective instinct took hold of Fina and stirred her to action. The silver sword at her side flew out as if by thought alone and slashed the Valuan's dark armet. The metal cracked and slowly began to break until the helmet split off the man's head on either side.

Dark and familiar eyes gazed back at her from beneath a mop of silver-blonde hair. A trickle of blood ran down the soldier's forehead.

"No… It can't be…"

"Oh, Fi," Ramirez said darkly. "Don't you remember what I used to say?"

Before she could even respond, he closed the distance. He punched her directly in the gut. Fina felt the air get sucked out of her and the world began to grow black. She stumbled forward into his arms. Arms that had held her so many times before.

Just before she passed out, she heard Rami's voice. He sounded vicious and so changed from the friend she knew.

"I'll always find you."