I do not own Dragon Quest 11 or any of the characters.


Reunited

Kai yawned, sitting up and stretching, then looked around, frowning as he saw Jade was gone. However, before he could worry, she stepped out of the washroom, using a towel to dry her hair, but with the black portions of her outfit soaking wet, making them stick to her body in a way that made it hard for Kai to not stare, and the green pieces in her hand, also wet.

"Good morning," she smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

Kai exhaled a jet of flames, but before Jade could react, the flames parted around her, drying her clothes in seconds. As the flames cleared, Jade glanced down at her now-dry closed and smiled.

"Thank you," Jade smiled.

"You're welcome," Kai smiled. "And yes, I slept like the dead."

"Except for the snoring," Jade smirked.

Kai frowned. "I don't snore."

Jade giggled into her hand. "You do. It's kind of cute."

Kai's eyes narrowed, and he snorted out twin tongues of flame from his nose, crossing his arms. "I'm not cute."

Jade snorted, then laughed into her hand. After a moment, she nodded, beginning to put the rest of her clothes on. "So, where to?"

"David said to meet him and our new ally at Gondolia," Kai said.

"New ally?" Jade frowned.

"Hendrik," Kai said. "He's traveling with David, now."

Jade nodded. "That explains why you're here alone, then."

"Actually...I'm here alone because I couldn't bear to wait as long as it would have taken them to get here," Kai said. "I...I let go of my revenge."

Jade's eyes went wide and she dropped the boot she'd been trying to put on. "You what?"

"I talked to your father, and I saw how haunted he was by what he did to my kin, so I forgave him," Kai explained.

Jade's eyes watered, and she let out a happy, sobbing, laugh, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you! But...I don't understand. What changed your mind?"

"Part of it was you," Kai said, smiling softly.

Jade smiled as well, tears beginning to leak from her eyes. "And the other part?"

"Part was Carnelian's guilt," Kai said, then hesitated, his expression sinking and his own eyes watering as Marina's last moments returned to him once again. "The rest was...Mother. Queen Marina. She...She sacrificed herself to protect me from a much stronger Spectral Sentinel than Booga. She gave her life to ensure I could keep mine. So I swore to myself I was going to earn the life she gave me. So I let go of my revenge."

Jade hugged him, swallowing hard as tears fell down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

Kai held her tightly. "It's alright. If not for that...I wouldn't have been able to change."

Jade nodded. "Thank you for forgiving my father." Jade pulled back. "What about Rab?"

Kai hesitated. "I can't promise to forgive him, but I promise not to kill him."

Jade nodded. "That's plenty."

Kai nodded, continuing to hold her for a few more moments before releasing her. She finished putting her boot on, and Kai pulled his own clothes on before they left the inn. They left Octagonia together before Kai spread his wings. Jade stepped up next to him, wrapping her arms around him, and he held her against him as he beat his wings, lifting off the ground and flying them toward Gondolia. He landed just outside the city, and they headed inside together, heading through the city, looking for David. After a while, it became clear that David and the others had not yet arrived, so they headed to the inn, renting a room. However, as they explored Gondolia again, a trio of Mermen climbed out of the sea. All of them greeted Kai happily, asking him what had happened in Nautica, only to get their answer from his expression.

"How many made it out?" Kai asked.

The Merman shook his head. "Only five made it out alive. But we lost sight of our friends to the east, while fleeing from Alizarin's feast."

Kai nodded. "At least you made it here." He turned to look around, seeing Doge Rotondo, Gondolia's ruler, walking over.

"Do you know these creatures?" he asked.

"These are some of my friends," Kai explained. "The Lord of Shadows' forces attacked their home and drove them out."

The Doge nodded. "You're a friend of the Luminary, correct?"

Kai and Jade both nodded.

"Then friends of yours are friends of ours," the Doge declared. "You three are welcome to stay."

The Mermen thanked him, and Kai and Jade headed back to the inn, heading to the room they were going to share. As they reached it, Kai handed Jade a ribbon he'd bought while they were looking for David initially.

"Thank you!" Jade smiled, tying her hair back up, then frowned. "I wish I understood why I looked different when I transformed on my own. I had horns, that time, right?"

Kai nodded and considered, then shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe it was the spell being altered by your anger. You used Tension."

"I felt it," Jade nodded. "But...would that be enough?"

"Well..." He considered how to word his thoughts carefully. "In order for you to be able to transform into a monster form like that, you'd have to...Booga would have had to alter your soul. Maybe there's something about your soul that awoke when you transformed yourself while under the effects of Tension, which works by using your rage to...sort of draw more physical and magical strength from the strength of your soul."

Jade frowned. "So...what, I have a monster's soul?"

Kai shook his head. "You didn't look like a monster. You looked like..."

He trailed off for a moment before standing from the bed and adopting his more natural humanoid form, a cross between his human and dragon forms. His ears in this form were pointed, as Jade's had been, his horns grew from his head, and his eyes flickered with flames around his pupils.

"This is what I look like when I don't intentionally hide my dragon traits," Kai said. "It's...It's the same way you looked when you transformed."

"Seriously?" Jade asked, frowning. "Then...I turned into a Dragovian?"

"Maybe," Kai frowned. "But it also may have been...a specific person."

"Who?" Jade asked.

"Well..." Kai hesitated, then shook his head. "I'm not sure, but it's possible. I mean, David is Erdwin reincarnated, and Serena and Veronica are Serenica reincarnated together, so...why not?"

Jade frowned, but nodded. "I suppose it's possible. But what about the lightning? That was...That was instinctive. And you said...was there ever a Dragovian before you were born that had that ability?"

Kai hesitated, then shook his head. "Xia...Xia was the first in recorded history. A uniquely singular prodigy. She was called...She was called Xenlon. Named for an ancient Dragon God that we no longer worship but that every Dragovian knows."

Jade nodded. "Do you...Do you think I'm...Could I maybe be..."

Kai hid his Dragovian traits again. "I don't know. You...You looked like her. Your hair, your horns...You looked exactly like her...but...I don't know."

Jade nodded, looking outside and seeing the sun setting. "We should get some sleep. It's getting late."

Kai nodded, glancing at the only bed, but when Jade quickly stripped off the green outer layer of her outfit again and began to get into the bed, he also stripped off his armor and shirt and kicked his boots off before joining her. They lay the same way they had the night before, as the bed was roughly the same size, and after a few minutes, Jade had drifted off to sleep. Kai stared down at her for a few minutes, trying to decide if she really could be Xia's reincarnation, but eventually, he followed her into slumber.

"It took you lot long enough," Kai spoke up, jumping David and the others, who all spun, eyes wide.

"Darling, you scared us!" Sylvando gasped.

David and Hendrik had met up with Sylvando and Rab. Kai glanced at Rab and felt rage and hatred boil inside of him, but it was less volatile than it had once been. And then, as the same Khalamari Kid Kai had left behind in the Last Bastion leapt at him from David's shoulder, he calmed, catching it and smiling as he lifted it to his shoulder.

"Kai, Jade!" Rab gasped. "Och, I'm so happy to see the two of ye!"

"It's good to see you, too, Rab," Jade smiled.

"What happened to ya?" Rab asked. "Where did ye end up?"

"I went to Octagonia and fought a Spectral Sentinel, but I lost and he turned me into a monstrous version of myself," Jade explained. "Then Kai showed up and saved me. He beat the Spectral Sentinel alone."

"No, I only weakened him enough for his spell to break," Kai said. "You beat him. He'd have killed me if you hadn't stepped in."

"Thank you, Kai" Rab bowed his head.

"I didn't do it for you," Kai said. "So, what're we doing here?"

"Right now, we're trying to negotiate a lower price for Hendrik's armor," David explained.

"Say what, now?" Kai asked.

"This man managed to get my armor from Heliodor, but he's insisting we pay fifty thousand gold for it," Hendrik said, gesturing to a red-haired man who had Hendrik's armor tied into a bundle beside him.

"Why weren't you wearing it, anyway?" Kai asked. "I just thought you took it off for pride or honor reasons."

Hendrik shook his head. "The monsters assaulted Heliodor while I slept. I had only enough time to grab my sword, and by that time, we had already fallen."

Kai nodded. "Let me talk to him." He walked over to the shopkeeper, who grinned. "I hear you have Sir Hendrik's armor."

"I do," the shopkeeper nodded. "And it's a great deal! Only fifty thousand!"

"Really?" Kai asked. "That's too bad. There's an identical suit over there that's only two thousand." He gestured over his shoulder. "I'm just going to go buy that one."

"No, wait!" the man said, then groaned. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but...I'll match his price!"

"Deal," Kai said, handing the man two thousand gold.

The others' eyes widened in surprise, and Kai passed the armor to Hendrik as he walked away.

"How'd you know that would work?" Jade asked.

"That shopkeeper has a brother who sells the same stuff, and they always compete on prices," Kai said. "The brother probably doesn't have your armor, but I knew he wouldn't want to lose out to his brother."

Hendrik nodded, and they headed to the inn so that Hendrik could get dressed. Once he had, they all headed to the Salty Stallion, sailing east. They stopped at a small island, however, where a pair of Mermen were stranded, and Kai directed them to Gondolia. Then, they sailed east again. As they sailed, Kai headed down to the cargo bay, where the Fun-Size Forge was, only to stop, staring at the green jacket and blue hair currently raiding their food stores.

"Erik?" Kai asked.

Erik leapt up, shouting in surprise and fear.

"Hey, everyone!" Kai called up to them. "I found Erik!"

There was a thunder of footsteps as everyone ran down to see.

"Erik!" Sylvando gasped. "Honey, it really is you!"

"Yer alive, laddie!" Rab smiled. "I knew ye would be! Och, this is the best news we've had in a while!"

"Fuck you, too, Rab," Kai growled. "Shows how much he cares about you, Jade."

"So it would seem," Jade smiled, having caught him identifying Rab by his alias instead of his name, which had been a sign of his hatred.

"It's wonderful to have you back, isn't it?" Sylvando asked, looking to David.

"Yeah," David smiled. "We were worried. Where've you been?" He frowned. "Why are you raiding the food stores?"

"I...I...I'm sorry!" Erik apologized, dropping to the ground in a low bow. "I hadn't eaten anything for three days, and I saw you loading this boat with food, and...and I just couldn't help myself!"

"Umm," Sylvando frowned. "Are you okay, honey?"

"You don't remember us, do you?" Kai asked. "You don't remember anything."

Erik looked up at him, then shook his head. "You...You said 'Erik', right? I...I'm pretty sure that's my name, but..." He looked around at them all. "Do I...know you or something?"

"You used to," Kai said. "We were friends. You're still our friend, even if you can't remember us."

"You have nothing to fear from us," Jade promised.

"I...I'm sorry," Erik apologized again. "I don't remember anything. I woke up, and everything was dark, and...I had no idea who I was. Or where. I remember my name, and I know there's something important I have to do, but apart from that..." Finally, he looked up at them. "Look, I know I have no right to ask you this, but...could I tag along with you guys for a while? If you guys know who I am, it might help me to remember something. I promise I'll pay you back for the food I took! I'll swab the decks, clean the dishes, anything!"

"Of course you can come with us," David nodded. "But don't worry about the food. You're our friend. Eat what you need."

The others agreed readily, and Sylvando took Erik to give him a tour of the ship. As he did, and as the others all headed back up to the deck, Kai walked over to the forge, beginning to work. He melted down his helmet first, though he kept his mask, as well as some precious metals, and began to hammer the glowing mass of fused ingredients into shape. A few minutes later, he held up his finished product for inspection. He'd made a scale top for Jade that would fit under her black halter top and not be visible. It wouldn't do a lot to defend her beyond stopping her from being stabbed in the chest, but he'd managed to work an enchantment into it that would allow her to use Scorch and Cold Breath to breath flames and frigid air, the same way he could, the same way she could once if she really had been Xia in a past life. He also made both her and himself a Wristorative, an armlet formed from a pair of golden wings and a green, heart-shaped crystal, both of the armlets bearing an enchantment to enhance their bodies ability to heal so that they could heal most minor wounds in minutes.

He slipped his own Wristorative onto his left forearm under his scale shirt, where it was hidden, as it had the scale armor, his Dragovian Armor's gauntlets, and his black shirt to hide it. Then, he turned, heading back up to the deck of the ship. He walked to the front, where Jade was leaning on the railing, and held out the armor and Wristorative. She raised her eyebrow at the armor.

"It's enchanted," Kai said. "While wearing it, you'll be able to breathe flames and ice magic like me."

Her eyes widened before she smiled and nodded, accepting it. Before she could walk away, however, he caught her arm.

"There's more, which also requires an explanation," Kai said, pulling two more gifts from his satchel. "First is a charm made from a Dragovian's scale." He held out a necklace made with a black scale on a thin, black, mythril chain. "It'll enhance your strength and your durability to the level of the Dragovian that shed it. In this case, me."

Jade's eyes went wide before she grinned widely. "You're just making it easier for me to kick everything to death."

"I'm making it less likely that...I'll lose you," Kai admitted.

Jade's eyes softened as her smile turned more appreciative.

"Which brings me to my next gift," Kai said. "Xia's death is...especially haunting, even more so than my brother's, because of the way she died. A mage cast a spell that ripped her soul from her body. It felt so unnatural, and it was so sudden, that there was no way to stop it. I...She was still smiling when she died, and that haunts me. So...I want you to have this." He held out a ring that consisted of a black band with tiny, decorative bones along its edges and the face decorated with a tiny, fanged skull. "It protects against dark spells, especially Thwack, the spell that killed her."

Jade nodded in understanding, slipping the ring onto her left hand's fourth finger. Kai's eyes widened just slightly, given the significance of a woman wearing a ring on that finger, however, he said nothing, and Jade headed into the ship to put her new armor on in privacy. A few minutes later, she walked back out with the Dragovian Scale charm resting proudly on her chest and the Wristorative on her left upper arm, just below her left Meteorite Bracer. Her two enchanted wrings adorned the fourth finger of either hand, and the interested look on her face revealed that she could feel the scale top's magic.

"How do I use the flame breath?" Jade asked.

"You just have to want to, and exhale," Kai said. "Just be ready for the drain on your magic."

Jade nodded, then inhaled. A moment later, a huge stream of flames roared from her mouth ahead of the ship for a few seconds before ending.

"Did you just breathe fire?" David asked, walking over to them, free of his armor now that he had the chance to stow it on the ship.

"It's a gift from Kai," Jade said, just as it began to rain.

"It's a wee bit stormy all of a sudden," Rab commented, from the center of the deck.

"Sylvando!" Hendrik called. "This ship of yours is not about to sink, is it?"

Sylvando, who was fighting to hold the yoke straight, shook his head. "Don't mention the...'S' word! I'll have us out of this in...just a jiffy!"

Just then, the ship lurched, beginning to rock violently.

"I smell...Mmm...Fresh flesh!"

"Him!" Kai snarled.

"Th-That voice!" Hendrik gasped. "Where is it coming from?"

"Beneath!" Kai snapped. "Sylvando, get us out of here, now!"

"Trying!" Sylvando grunted, just as the ship lurched violently, throwing everyone but Sylvando and Kai to the deck, Kai catching Jade to hold her up.

"It's Alizarin!" Kai warned.

Alizarin laughed as he burst up from the water beside the ship. "Tremble before the mighty Alizarin, faithful servant of the Lord of Shadows, and ruler of the deep!"

Kai trembled in rage and terror. He wanted to rip Alizarin to shreds, but they couldn't hurt him at all.

"You dare to enter my realm unbidden? Know that an insult to me is an insult to my Lord and master! Prepare to pay with your lives!"

"You're the one who'll be paying, ye great big slimy so-and-so!" Rab shouted. "Get a load of this!"

"Rab, no!" Kai shouted. "You can't hurt him!"

Rab ignored him, his palms glowing blue as he swung his left up and his right down, then swung both to hold them in front of his chest, his palms about a foot apart, a sphere of blue magic energy forming between them, the magic raging around inside of it as he charged the attack. Kai's mouth fell open in surprise. The attack was a slow charge, but the amount of power he sensed inside of it was horrifying. Miles beyond anything Rab had had before. Then, he twisted, shoving the sphere at Alizarin, the sphere transforming into a shining, white cross. However, once it had flashed across the distance in the span of a blink of an eye and exploded into Alizarin's head, erupting into a massive, cross-shaped blast, the blast faded, revealing Alizarin's entire body glowing red and unmarked by the strike.

"Are ye having me on!?" Rab gaped. "I just blasted ye with Pearly Gates, and ye barely even flinched!"

"I told you, you can't hurt him!" Kai snarled. "This is the thing that killed Marina!"

"It what!?" Rab gasped.

"Darling Marina is dead?" Sylvando gasped.

"Yes," Kai said. "She sacrificed herself to save me."

"Oh, so you're the one that she sent away," Alizarin said. "Good. No one survives against me! Now I can correct my mistake!" Then, Alizarin leapt out of the water, crashing back down beside the ship and throwing it sideways across the sea, nearly capsizing it. "Now join me in the blackest depths of despair!"

Then, he crashed into the underside of the ship, hurling David, Kai, and Jade from the ship. Kai caught Jade's hand, pulling her to him just before they crashed down in the water. And the moment they had, he extended his wings and feet and kicked off, only barely escaping Alizarin's waiting jaws. He didn't see David, but he also didn't have time to worry about it. As he fled further from the ship, Alizarin pursued him. Against his chest, Jade began to tremble, struggling to hold her breath. Finally, Kai dove, slipping under Alizarin with inches to spare, then rolled, circling him before racing upward. He and Jade burst from the sea in a spray of water, and Jade let out her breath, gasping and coughing instantly. Kai flew high, then turned toward shore, only to begin having to swerve and weave around both Alizarin and an army of Merkings as they breached the surface to try and catch them. Then, finally, they were over land, and Kai landed on shore, setting Jade on her feet as she slowly managed to catch her breath.

"What about the others?" Jade asked.

Kai looked out to sea, only to see the Salty Stallion sailing quickly toward them. Within minutes, everyone had disembarked, Hendrik carrying David, and set David on the ground. After a few moments, he stirred, and they all explained what had happened. Apparently, after David fell in, a bright light brought him back to the surface, and according to David, he had a vision of fishing with a Seer, who turned into a dog. Sylvando decided that David was probably dreaming, and they all headed to a nearby shack to rest.


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