Marcine looked at the bag that was lying on the table. That table, and the chair she was sitting in now, were the only mobiliary in her small quarters, besides the three cots where she, Syeira and Mika slept. It was a small table, capable of staying stable even with the reeling of the ship, wich fit her purposes perfectly. She opened the small leather bag, before looking around her. The room was empty. Mika and Syeira were gone to mix that seasickness potion. Excellent, she smiled inwardly. She had at least an hour to herself. Reaching into the bag, the mage pulled out two small glass spheres. Putting them on the table, she tought again of what she was going to do. Many times she had considered experimenting with the Eggs, but she had never dared to. She remembered the three times she had summoned a Sleeper; every time, the words just came to her. She was sure that the bond between the Egg and the Sleeper could be used in some other way, it couldn't be just an instrument for calling uppon them. Since she'd summoned Leviathan at Tienne, she had had lots of unanswered questions about the Sleepers in her mind: who created those glass spheres?. Why a Calling is such a horrible sin in the eyes of the Church? And most importantly, what were the Sleepers? Were they only monstruous destructive creatures, like the Church said? The Church... she couldn't believe the Church... but it couldn't have been the Church that sealed the Sleepers; who had sealed them, and why? Couldn't the Sleepers be used for good? "One person can destroy so many-- But it wasn't one person, was it? It was that monster that was summoned?," suddenly, she remembered her conversation with Titania, the faerie queen. Putting aside those toughts, the blue clad mage searched trough her pockets, until she found what she was looking for; a small wooden pedestal of rustic desing. It wasn't very well made, but it would suit her purposes. Putting one of the glass spheres on it, she stared at its swirling black and red surface for a moment. Since their journey started, she had had in her hands the now shattered Egg of Shiva and the one of Alexander, and Pearl's green Egg, but none of them were like this one, the one Davin found at the abandoned village. Had this Egg affected its enviroment? There was something about this Egg that attracted and frightened her at the same time; when she looked at it too long she always felt small, insignificant, almost as if the Egg had became bigger. She shook her head. I have to concentrate, she said to herself. *Maybe it's the Egg's Sleeper who is playing these subtle tricks on me,* she tought, *but there's no time to think about that now. I'm going to find the answers to all these questions*. Extending her hands over the sphere, she prepared herself for the moment. ======================================================================= FINAL FANTASY LEGACY Knights of the Round Started by Brian Stricklin This chapter by Raistlin Chapter Twenty: The long travel to the islands ======================================================================= The mage climbed aboard the ship that his superior in the city of Ashgar booked for him. Looking at ships departing from the port, he noticed something. There they were, he smirked contemptuously from inside his black robe. The Holy Dragoons of the Church of Tienne. His superior informed him that the Fallen one was also in that ship. *I'll deal with them later,* he tought remembering his orders. "Keep an eye uppon the Fallen One; nothing must happen to His Legacy." Those orders didn't came from his superior at Ashgar, but from their main quarter itself. He also had other mission concerning Darovan's Legacy, but his superiors will notify him when the time came to carry it out. He smiled. This was going to be an interesting trip, indeed. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Davin followed Jil to the kitchen of the ship. The anchors had been dropped at nightfall, and light globes now illuminated the deck. He had been gazing at the ocean, when Jil approached him and said that they needed to talk about something. He was wandering what could that be, when the Captain opened the door. Green colored smoke slipped trough it and seemed to be all over the kitchen. He saw Syeira and Mika trough the door; the later was holding a casserole over a fire, and stirring it's contents with a wooden spoon. Many more pots were around them, everyone one of them filled with smelly green liquids, the same ones that seemed to be all over the kitchen floor and walls. "Hugh... you don't expect me to drink this, do you?" Syeira spoke, waving a hand in front of her face. "For your sake, I hope you aren't trying to trick me." "Excuse me..." "I can't believe it Syeira, after all I've done for you, you don't trust me?" The younger girl sounded offended. "Hey..." "Hey, hey, wait a moment, what do you mean by all that you've done for me? And how can I believe that this thing is a seasickness potion? It looks more like a Blobras soup." "Excuse me!" Mika and Syeira suddenly noticed that Jil was standing at door, arms folded, and that she didn't look very pleased. "Now that I've got yer attention - the Captain calmly began to speak - can someone, if is isn't too much trouble, explain ta me what th' HELL is going up here?!" The ship's cook, who had been unnoticed by Davin until that moment, looked very nervous. "I'm sorry captain," he said, "but they insisted in using the kitchen for mixing that potion. I tried to stop them, but they didn't listen to me at all when I told them that the kitchen couldn't be used as an alchemy lab. Furhtermore, that incredibly violent girl threatened to hurt me with her daggers if I didn't shut up," he finished pointing at Syeira. Davin couldn't help but watch the scene in amusement. Syeira, however, didn't find it to be so funny. "Can I know who the Hell are you calling violent, you little wimp?!. I'm only a little upset by this seasickness business, that's all." He could see that the thief was about to explode. "The potion needs to be boiled when mixing," the younger girl said. "Some of the componentents are very volatile, but they tend to condense after a while, so that's why the kitchen's like this," she pointed at the green spots that covered the walls. Without further explanation, the girl returned to what she was doing. "Then ye'll be cleaning all this mess," Jil said to the cook. "Me? But she was who..." "Don't ye argue with me, ye filthy dog! What kind of sailor are ye? I turn my back on ye for a moment, and ye let two girls take over th' kitchen!" She hurled some more imprecations at the poor man, before sighing and sitting behind the table. "Damn, what a bunch of incompetent fools have I got for sailors. Let's just ignore them--" she pointed with her head at Syeira and at Mika, the later one still busy mixing the potion-- "and discuss our business. Take a seat over here," she motioned for Davin to take a chair. "Well, what is it Jil? You haven't told me anything yet," the young geomancer sat down. "So, ye really forgot it, did ye?" She filled her cup with coffee. "Ye promised at Ashgar that ye'll explain everything about yer situation once we were off." "Yeah, I'm sorry. It's only that after I told you about... n - nothing." Remembering what happened this evening when he told her about Biggs's death, he mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. "I forgot to do it before. I'll explain everything now." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "So... maybe that woman knows something about the heretics." "And you want me to spy upon her, don't you?" she asked to the fat High Priest. "Yes. That's exactly what I want you to do." Father Lambert raised his head to look at his interlocutor. She was a woman in her mid-twenties, covered in a dark green hooded robe, under wich a golden armor could be seen. A broadsword hung at her side. "Father Lambert, I'm honored by the fact that you confide this job to me..." The green clad woman talked in a strange, paused way. "... but may I ask why you chose me? Wouldn't a thief be better suited than a kni..." "Father Lambert..." Both turned their heads to see who interrupted their conversation. "Excuseme, Father Lambert, I didn't know that you were busy..." Armand Cavanaugh was standing at the room's entrance. He greeted the woman with a gentle gesture. "It's okay, Son Armand. You must have something important to tell me for coming here at this time of the night." "Yes I do, Father. A message has arrived from Achal." "What is it? Is about the heretics?" asked the Priest. "Yes Father. They have gone to the Ryukin Islands. Ky... Captain Cavanaugh is already after them." was Commander Cavanaugh's answer. "The Ryukin Islands..." the Priest adopted a toughtful expression. Noticing Armand still staring at him, he said, "You are dismissed, Commander Cavanaugh." "Thank you, Father." The two waited until he was gone. Finally, the woman broke the silence. "So Darovan's Legacy is in her way the Ryukin Islands. Now that we know where they are, it's still necessary to spy upon that woman, father?" She drew her sword with her gloved hand, and began to toy playfully with it. "Yes, daughter, it is." answered the Priest, "let me tell you why, and also why you must do this job." He paused for a moment before saying: "I think that she may know about a fish as big as the other one." "A fish as big as Darovan's Legacy herself? That only could be the Legen..." "Yes," Father Onias smiled. "It's rumored that that woman, Pearl Lassenkirche, is a heretic, and that she has been under the tutelage of Master Cid himself. Now, saddened for the death of her grandfather, it's very posible that she'll pay a visit to her old master. " The woman only stared at him in surprise. "So that's why I need you and not some sneaky thief, my daughter," continued the Priest. "Because you will be capable of beating any wizard that gets in your way." "I will be glad to serve for the glory of the Church, Father Lambert." She pulled aside the hood from her head. Father Lambert could see that she had straight, shoulder length black hair, and her complexion was rather dark, reminding him of Pearl. "Let everything in our hands, father. I and Blansh" she said, rising her broadsword "will not deceive you. We will defeat any heretic that tries to stop us, even if it is the Legendary Master Cid." After making a bow, she said "Let's go, Blansh," and left the room. Father Lambert sweatdroped. After a moment, he smirked. "Zarela Grenados. A woman that would do anything for the Church. She could be called weird for his religious fanaticism, and also this thing she has about naming, and even talking with her swords." Remembering that, he smiled a bit. "But when it comes to sword play, no one is better than she. She always has that broadsword by her side, but she can use almost every kind of sword, from the scimitars people use in her land of origin, to those strange curved swords from the Ryukin Islands. The knights of the Church might no be as powerful as the Holy Dragoons when it comes to fighting great numbers of enemies, but with their holy sword techniques they can face any magic user and be evenly matched." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Davin proceeded to relate the group's adventures to the Captain. Though he had only met her this morning, for some unknown reason he felt that he could trust her completely, so he didn't omit any details. Jil wasn't surprised at all when he told her that they were branded as heretics by the Church. "I tought so," she said to Davin's surprise. When he got to Biggs and Wedge deaths, Davin paused for a moment, realising what he was saying. "So... that was how it happened. Poor Biggs, I knew he would end up like this, always getting into some crazy adventure..." Davin opened his mouth, but Jil interrupted him "Now, don't ye look at me that way, lad. I had to get on with it sometime, and th' sooner, th' better. I hate when people treat me with pity, so don't do it, ok? Davin stared at her in awe. Now the Captain didn't look sad at all. Though it was obvious that she was a strong woman, he didn't expect her to recover that soon from her friend's death. "I tought..." both turned their heads to Syeira, who was sitting behind the table. Unnoticed by both, the thief obviously had been there for some time. "I tought" - she continued - "that maybe you'll want to have this. I was your friend's, I think." She was handing her a blunderbuss. "Um... Syeira." Davin said. "Yes?" Ignoring him, she drank the content of the cup she was holding. "Arghh, this thing stinks! I just hope it works, this sickness is killing me!" "Syeira, that was *Wedge's* blunderbuss. Biggs had a slingshot." "Ehhm... really? I didn't know that," she laughed nerviously. Davin and Jil sweatdropped. "Well, but since ye are giving it ta me..." the Captain extended her hand to take it. "Hey, wait a moment! I only was handing it to you because I tought it was your... , ah, screw it, it isn't loaded anyway, and I don't think I'll be getting some ammo at the Ryukin Islands." she dropped the weapon on the table. "My, how generous of ye," Jil picked up the blunderbuss and smirked. What Syeira didn't know was that among the goods she brought for trading in the ship's hold were boxes full of ammo. "Anyways, where is Mika? Wasn't she with you?" Davin asked. "She is helping that nerdy looking cook to clean up the kitchen. She said that she felt responsible for the poor guy and that kind of crap." With an absent gesture, Syeira drank the remaining contents of her cup. "But finish telling the story, already." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Guardian of this Egg, whoever you are, listen to my words. Look at what I have done. Leviathan at Tienne, Alexander at Achal, and Shiva at Yahl Russa, all have listened to my call. Look at the power I possess. I'm strong. I don't fear you." The sphere's swirling surface shimmered for a moment in reponse. Trembling slightly, Marcine tried to breathe slowly. Though she spoke with confidence, she was very nervous. She knew that the Sleeper could hear her. She had to relax herself. The Egg continued to shimmer. Now she could sense it's presence, feel it's power increase. Again she felt powerless, insignificant in the presence of this Sleeper. After a moment of hesitation, she extended her hands over the sphere again. When her hands touched the cold glass, there was a red and black whirlwind inside the sphere. Suddenly, the Egg had became so cold that it was painful to touch. *I have to resist,* she tought, wincing in pain. She was desesperately trying to control the urge to stop holding the sphere. The wirlwind became faster with each passing moment, until it turned into a light that shimmered from inside the sphere. It was so bright that it hurt her eyes. She tried to avert her gaze from the Egg, but suddenly, the light went out. At first, she couldn't see a thing, but after a moment, she saw a dark sky. Far away, small shining points could be seen, sometimes obscured by the flight of a dark creature. *Stars?* tought Marcine. Everything seemed to be so far... She noticed the dark creature was coming closer and closer to her, until the stars dissapeared, hidden by a shadowy silhouette, a man-like figure covered in a black hooded robe. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- They finished narrating their adventure to the captain, this time omiting some details like their fight with the Knight Percival and Davin's petrification; Davin and Syeira took turns in the telling, and after a while they were joined by Mika. The little girl had gone to sleep a few moments ago before they finished. "I see. Ye've really been through a lot... But what really amazes me is that Kyle is that girl's brother. Now that ye tell me that, I realise what th' poor lad must have been through..." Jil finally said. Poor lad? Noticing Syeria and Davin puzzled looks, Jil was eager to change the subject. "Say, have ye ever considered being a bard?" she asked Davin. Syeira glared at him in amusement. "Man, I can't believe this..." he scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to say. "No I'm not a storyteller, I'm a fighter," he finally spoke. "Yeah, wathever you say, whelp. In fact, th' Ryukin warriors use swords just like yers. And that Siegvin... you say he has one like that, also. Maybe he is a Ryukin." "No, I don't think so. The desing of his sword is exactly like mine, but with a different color. Maybe it's one of my family blades, or maybe it's true that they are two of the six swords belonging to Ashura..." he said with a toughtful look. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Marcine's heart began to beat hastily. The robed man was coming closer at every moment, she knew he was looking for her. A few moments after, the entire sphere was covered by the dark figure. Marcine tried to apart her sight from the Egg, but she couldn't; she was paralyzed with fear. The man began to raise his hooded head, and then... "Marcine, are you feeling well?" She turned to see Mika touching her shoulder, with a worried expression in her face. "I called you three times, but you didn't listen to me. You were staring at the sphere with a frightened expression," the younger girl said. "Were you..." "I'm fine." Marcine got up. "I was only... studying the Egg," she said while rubbing her cold hands. "Do your hands hurt? You were holding the Egg so strongly that your hands turned pale." "I'm well really." She entangled the little girl's hair playfully. "Look, it's already late. Why don't we go to bed?" she said before putting the two glass spheres back into her bag. "Yes, Marcine." Definitely, Marcine was acting very strange. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "So, how long will this trip take?" Kyle said. He turned to look at the ocean, illuminated by the morning sun. "The Captain says that it takes about ten days to reach the Ryukin Islands." Cheney answered. Kyle turned his head at his companion. "Do you know something about the Ryukins, Cheney?" he asked the former Dragoon. "Yesterday, I would have never expected to go to that place. And today, I had to hurry to send a message to Tienne, to inform fa... Commander Cavanaugh that I was in my way to the Ryukin Islands. But I know next to nothing about them, besides the few things Jil, I mean, Captain Fallensand told me." Cheney smiled "I know that they are excellent warriors," he turned to look at the ocean. "They are also very xenophobic. As you already must know, the Church has never been able to make it to the Ryukin Islands. Don't expect a warm welcome from them, they won't see with good eyes a dragoon squad coming into their island. Most of them will only treat us coldly, but we surely will have to fight our way out a few times." He looked back at Kyle, and saw him staring at the ocean with an absent look. Kyle didn't notice Cheney consterned expression, nor was he really looking at the sea, his mind was in other places. *Marcine, why do you have to this? No, why do *I* have to do this? I myself summoned a Sleeper to save everyone from Kraken, just like Marcine used her magic to save that kid. I am as much a heretic as Marcine is! What would I do if I catch her? Will I bring her and myself to the Sinners Wall?* A presence behind him interrupted his toughts. He turned around to see a shadowy figure dissapear around a corner. "Hey, that... that was the man at Ashgar... the one that tried to murder Marcine!" He ran behind him, but he was already gone. "Damn, he's nowhere to be seen. How can he dissapear like that? Hey, Cheney, he was..." "I know, I saw him at Ashgar, too," the old tracker said. "But I have no idea of why is he after Marcine. Perhaps he has been hired by the Church, but I can tell that he definitely isn't your average bounty hunter." "I'm sure I have seen him somewhere before Ashgar, but where?" Suddenly, he remembered. He was the man he saw in his vision! What did that vision meant? Was he one of the Sleepers? Suddenly, a large shadow interrupted his toughts. He and Cheney looked up to see a giant avian-like creature flying high above them, aparently mounted by a man. "What in the Hell..." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Beastmaster Stine was getting tired. Sure, Zuus are giant birds; an adult Zuu like the one he was riding could carry even two or three passengers; but after a day of restless flight, even the largest saddle becomes uncomfortable. "It doesn't matter! Stine will deal with anything that gets in the way of the Citizens' Justice, be it coldness or heat, discomfort or pain; for Beastmaster Stine must deliver the smithe uppon those foul heretics! It matters not who tries to stop him, for anyone foolish enough to get in his way shall perish. There's no thing that can stop the Citizens' Justice! Yes, those heretics were going to pay. Only a few more of the stronger ones to call and he'd be ready to smite down those brigands... yes, he had been unable to defeat them before, that was true, but he tought that it was only because of the heretics' magical powers. But with his newly acquired Beastlores, no mage was going to defeat him this time, he was sure of it. Followed by a large row of rare marine monsters, Stine continued his pursuit of the heretics. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Are we there yet?" "No" Syeira answered. "Are we there yet?" "No! You've heard the Captain; it will take nine days to get there, so why don't you shut your ass up and..." she stopped, tring to calm herself. "You must be grateful that you made that potion for me." She sighed. "I also want to reach the Islands soon. I can't stand this feeling of being onboard." Mika also sighed, looking around her. She was terribly bored. She looked at Marcine with hope; sometimes, when she was in good mood, she related the histories about the Manakyr empire she had read at Tienne's public library. But the mage, just like last night, was staring at a Egg she was holding, this time the green one Pearl gave to her. Mika wandered what she expected to see. Noticing that Mika was staring at she, Marcine was eager to put the Egg back in her bag. She wandered who the robed man she saw last night could be. Was he the Egg's Sleeper? The times she had called a Sleeper, it was a pleasant, warm feeling, but this one seemed different. When she had looked at him, she was paralyzed by the fear, and then... While thinking about that, she unconsciently began to play with Percival's Heartstone, hanging at her neck. "Interesting item ye have. Where did ye get it?" she heard Jil's voice ask. "It's... well, it's really a long history. But why do you ask?" "Because I've already seen a stone like that. Not th' same simbol, but it's the same style." "Really? Where did you see it?" Marcine asked, suddenly very interested. "I saw it at Genji's tomb, in th' Ryukin Islands," was the Captain's answer. "Who is Genji? I've never heard of him." This time Davin was asking. He and the other two girls were there, listening at her with interest. "Now I remember that you promised to tell us legends about the islands. This would be a good time." "Yes, there's something I want to know. I have heard about the female samurai Kira Cyori of the Ryukin, but, what is exactly a samurai? asked Syeira. Feeling a little embarrassed by the improvised audience, Jil said: "Well, th' samurais are the elite warriors o' the Ryukin, say, like the Holy Dragoons o' th' Church. Some say that they are even better warriors than the Dragoons, and that might be true. In my travels ta th' islands I have seen some of them fight, and I can tell that no one on the continent can wield swords like them. As you already must know, they wield curved swords like th' one ye have," she pointed at Davin. "Those swords are called katanas. They use a powerful two-handed style of swordplay, called kendo." "Kendo..." Davin repeated stupidly. "I know the basics of this style. If ye wish to learn, I can teach ye for a small fee," she said grinning. Davin nodded. If Jil was like that all the time, this travel was going to be expensive! Jil continued speaking. "Like I've told ye, I've seen them fight. Some of them are able o' doing incredible sword techniques, like atacking an enemy multiple times with blindingly fast speed. I've heard that some of them are even able ta catch th' enemy's blade with their bare hands!" she paused for a moment to catch her breath. "But that's not all. It's said that the most powerful samurais can "release spirits" from their swords ta attack th' enemy. I don't know how this works, and I never seen anyone do something like that, so maybe it's just a myth." "Looks like this trip is going to be interesting..." Syeira smiled. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- It was the seventh day since they departed from Ashgar. Jil said that they were now fairly close to the Ryukin Islands, and that they'll soon would start encountering Ryukin patrol ships. "Don't ye worry, they won't attack us." She said to Davin when he expressed concernment. "They don't like foreigners, but merchant ships are all right with them." After what happened the other night, Marcine didn't dare to experiment again with the Eggs. They have passed the time learning a bit of the Ryukin language with Jil--Syeira was specially good at learning it. Jil also taught Davin the basics of that sword style she talked about, ken..., Marcine couldn't remember it's name. The geomancer was progressing surprisingly fast with the sword. Also, at night time, Jil told them stories about the islands, legends about their samurai and ninja, stories about Kira Cyori, and some other legends and myths of the Ryukin Islands. "Jil" she spoke to her this morning "some days ago, you talked about Genji, and about a simbol that resembled mine. Can you tell me more about that?" "Yes, tell us about Genji!" Mika enthused. "Was he a warrior?" "He was one of the greatest warriors o' th' Ryukin." Again, everyone was listening to Jil attentively. "Well, ta tell the truth, I don't know his story with many details, but I'll try to tell ye what I know." Adopting a lecturing voice, she began: "A long time ago, the Ryukin Islands were only several small kingdoms, always waging war between each other. Genji was th' prince of one those Kigdoms. As he was an excelent warrior and tactician, he was able ta conquer all the other small kingdoms, and crowned himself as emperor o' th' Ryukin Islands. He was able ta transform a bunch of barbaric kingdoms into the prosperous and strong nation that they are now. He is buried near th' capital. His tomb is more like a sanctuary, actually. Every Ryukin travels there at least once in his lifetime, ta pay his respects to their first and greatest emperor. I've also been there, and it was at his tomb where I saw a simbol like th' one ye have." "That's strange. This is a Manakyr character. Do the Ryukins use Manakyr simbols?" Marcine was the first to speak. "No, I don't think so. Though they speak the language o' th' continent, they have their own language and characters." Everyone else remained silent. Seeing this, Jil continued. "Though he was one o' the greatest warrior there have been in th' islands, and his kingdom had one of the most powerful armies at the time, some say that not even he would have been able to conquer all th' islands without help. In fact, the legend tells that he was aided by a band of warriors from th' continent, their leader being named Gilgamesh." "Gilgamesh... then Genji was a Knight of the Round? That will explain the Manakyr simbol at his tomb!" Mika was very excited at this discovery. "And maybe he is still alive at his tomb, just like Percival was! Jil, where is his tomb located?" Marcine asked to the Captain. Jil looked at them puzzled "I don't understand a word o' what ye are saying. Well, Genji's tomb... We are going ta arrive at Seiryu, th' main port o' the main island, and also one of it's largest cities. Th' other large cities are Genbu, Byakko, and Suzaku, the capital. Genji's tomb near Suzaku, a little to th' nor-" "Hold, heretics!" "Oh, no, not here," everyone but Jil said in unison. They didn't need to turn to know who was talking. Flying over them was a giant black bird, and mounted on it there was tall, strongly built man. He wore a sleeveles tunic and a red cloack, wich flapped dramatically in the wind. "Damn, does this man never give up?!" Syeira was exasperated. "Hey, who is that weird guy, whelp? Is he a friend of yers?" Davin cursed under his breath in response. "Halt, brigands! Are you foolish enough to think you can escape from me so easily? Beastmaster Stine shall track you down wherever you go! You shall know that there's no place on Earth where you can escape from the Citizens' Justice! Where were you planning on going, foul heretics? "Actually, we were planning to-" Marcine began to say. "It doesn't matter where you plan to go!" Stine interrupted her. "For Beastmaster Stine, shall deliver the Citizens' Justice upon you, even if you hide in the pits of Hell! Attack, my companion!" The Zuu, flapped its wings, dropping a rain of feathers upon them. Everyone crossed their arms over their head to protect themselves. "Be careful!" yelled Davin. "Its feathers are very sharp!" In fact, everyone had bruises and cuts on their arms. Syeira turned to Mika "Girl, give me some heal..." "Soul of the living world, aid your fallen child! Cure!" After Marcine's words, a flash of brilliant light appeared over them, recovering everyone from their wounds. "Get ready, ye scurvy sea dogs!," shouted Jil. A collective groan was heard in response. "If ye don't be attacking this weird-talking man soon, all o' ye are going over th' side! We survived Kraken, this stupid guy means nothing!" The Zuu waved it's wings again, prepared to attack, but at Jil's order, guns appeared along the side of the ship and opened fire on Stine. The Zuu managed to attack again, but after a moment it fell into the ocean, fatally wounded by the gunfire. "Side weapons? How interesting!" Syeira smirked. Jil looked satisfied. "That'll teach him ta not ta mess with th' Lucky Star," she said looking upwards. "He... Aaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" Everyone stared at her, surprised. After a moment, Mika looked upwards too, and saw it. "Hey, look, the feather attack of that bird shredded the sails!" Syeira was in awe "I can't believe this... damn that Stine! How are we going to get to the Ryukin Islands in a ship without sails?" Jil said nothing. She was in shock. Marcine tried to cheer everyone up "Well, at least we got rid of Stine, and maybe the crew can row-" "You are foolish enough to think that you have beaten the legendary Beastmaster Stine? You cannot stop the Citizen's Justice! You cannot stop Stine in his divine quest, as Stine shall lay the smithe upon all who oppose the Church!" Everyone turned to look at him. He was standing over a creature that only could be described as giant red eye with tentacles. "It's an Odd Eye." Jil said, recovered from her shock. "Don't ye look at it's eye directly." "Why we dont ha-?" "What are ye waiting for, ye bunch o' filthy vermin?!" Ignoring Davin's question, Jil was talking now to her crew. "Fire th' cannons, already! What the Hell is taking ye so..." "Jil?" Davin asked. In response, the Captain pointed past him, in the direction of the control room. Then, Davin saw it. The crew wasn't moving at all, they were stunned. Three Odd Eyes were around them. "That's why I told ye ta not ta look at it's eye directly. They can paralyze with their sight. Well, I guess that leaves us five against him," she said, taking her shurikens. Mika reached into her bag and pulled out some bombs. Syeira and Davin drew their weapons. Marcine began casting a spell. "Attack, creatures!" Stine ordered. Several medium sized fish literally jumped over the ship, bitting them at every chance they had. "Damn, he is using caribes!" Jil shouted. "How can we strike back at them that way?" "Marcine, Syeira, can you do something?" asked Mika, trying to pull a healing potion while defending herself from the fish. "Their attack is too fast, I don't have time to cast a spell!" answered Marcine. "Your end has finally come, heretics! Taste the power of Beastmaster Stine!" Stine extended a hand in front of him, and began saying a chant. "Come, powerful water current, come here and devastate everything at your pace! El Niņo!" A powerful water blast surrounded by several big bubbles roared forth from Stine's hands, enveloping all the ship. The bubbles surrounded the five companions, exploding around them with tremendous force (well, at least with more force than you'd expect from a bubbles attack). After that, the caribes continued with their attack. "Damn, what can we do..." Davin was bleeding from a wound in his shoulder, caused by a caribe, and everyone was very weakened from the attack of El Niņo. "I think I've got an idea," Syeira announced. "Marcine, come with me. Davin, Jil, Mika, we need you to protect us from the caribes and Stine for a while. Do you think you can do that?" "Of course we can," Davin answered, holding his sword tightly. "Ye can count on me, lass." Jil said, shurikens at hand. "I'll try," Mika answered, taking a bomb in each hand. "Are you ready, Marcine?" Marcine nodded. "Well, let's go." "It's been interesting playing with you, enemies of humanity." Stine said while striking a posse. Marcine and Syeira extented their hands in front of them "But Beastmaster Stine shall finish off all of you here!" The caribes attacked again, bitting Davin, Jil and Mika, and preventing them from attacking Stine. "Wind, come and blow with limitless strenght, ..." "Hell fire that blazes deep beneath the earth, ..." Stine raised an eyebrow. "Taste the power of the Citizens' Justice!" "... turn into a hurricane, drive my enemies far away!" "... come here and obey my command! Deliver your judgement upon those I desire!" Stine extended his hands, and shouted: "Matra Missile!" Several streaks of light emerged from Stine's hands, impacting on Davin, Jil and Mika. The effect caused a massive denotation, injuring them severely. "Aren't ye done yet?" Jil asked, falling to her knees. The caribes attacked once again. "We'll nae hold out much longer." "Di-Aero!" "Di-Fire!" Mika, Davin and Jil dodged just in time for a medium-sized hurricane and a spiral flame to come out from Syeira's and Marcine's hands, both directed towards Stine. Moments before hitting him, both spells merged, creating a fire hurricane, who struck Stine directly, sending him quite a few miles away and severally burning him in the proccess. Without his Master's control, the monsters just stood there confused, no knowing what to do. "At last!" Davin shouted in joy. Everyone dropped to the ground. Marcine casted Cure on them. "He put up a tougher fight than ever," commented Syeira. "How can you say that?" Mika stared at her. "You weren't even hurt!" "Well, *excuse me*, but I was the one who-" "Quiet." "Jil, what is it?" Marcine asked the Captain. "Look that way." Everyone looked where Jil pointed to. "That's ..." Davin started. "That *was* th' cellar of the ship, where I kept not only the things I brought for trading at Ryukin, but also th' provisions." "You mean that we-" "And look that way now." Jil pointed to the control room. "The crew! Everyone is dead!" Mika shouted in awe. "When they were stunned th' caribes must have attacked them." "What will we do now?" Davin asked. Jil was eager to answer him. "Th' only thing we can do now is wait..." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- It was late night, and she wasn't able to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about what was going to happen to them. The crew of the ship were all dead. They buried them in the ocean this evening. The provisions had fallen to the ocean thanks to Stine's attack, wich also damaged the side guns and the steam powered propulsion mechanism. Jil had said that they'd think of something by tomorrow. *She looked very confident* Marcine tought *but she was only trying to cheer us up. I'm sure that she must as desesperate as us four." They were sleeping on the deck, Jil said that it was better to be alert, because Stine could come back. Suddenly, she saw some lights. At first, she tought that they were only stars, but then they came closer and closer at every moment. Then she noticed it. Those were the lights of a ship! "Everyone, get up!" she shouted to them. "Hmm? What is it, Marcine?" Davin said, stretching himself. "It's a ship! It must be one of those Ryukin patrol ships Jil mentioned!" "They might able ta help us. Maybe they can even carry my ship ta Seiryu for repairs." Jil said joyfully. "Can we signal them?" Davin said to the Captain. "I'm affraid we can't. We also lost our flags in th' fight." "Mika" Syeira called for Mika, who was still asleep. "Girl, get up!" "Awww, big brother, I want to sleep a little more..." she opened her eyes "Um, Syeira? What is it?" "Here comes a Ryukin ship." She helped Mika to get up "Listen girl, let's throw one of your bombs to call their atention." Mika, still a little asleep, searched through her bag until she found it. "Here it is!" she announced. The young chemist threw the bomb upwards, causing a great explosion in the air. "That will do," said Jil. "Look, here they are coming. Now we only have ta wait." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Who are you and what are your business in our land?" The captain of the ship spoke the common fluently, but with a strange accent. He wore a red armor and a strangely shaped helemet with a crescent moon in its forehead. At his waist he had a curved sword like Davin's. *He must be a Samurai,* tought Davin. *Just like Jil described them.* He was the only one dressed like that, all the other men at the ship wore common sailor clothes. "Greetings, Captain. I'm Captain Jil Fallensand of Th' Lucky Star. I came here as a merchant, b-." "Merchant?" The captain didn't sound very pleased. "And can you show me what you bring to trade?" "I'm affraid I can't. Ye see, we were attacked by-" "I think you better explain that to the autorities." He signaled to his men, and said something in his language. The sailors started to move towards them. Syeira approached Jil. "What did he say?" Jil sighed. "He said: Bring those five here and register the ship for more of them. We are taking them to the shogun." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Author's Notes: I hope that you enjoyed my FFL chapter. I want to say thanks to the following people: Thanks to Signus Megido for accepting to preread my part. Thanks also to the former admin Jake Wallace (BTW, what happened with him?) and to the current admin Calculus for letting me in. Many thanks to Kate Malloy for prereading my part, and also for the names of the Ryukin cities, and the ideas about Genji's Tomb, and Genji being one of the Knights of the Round. Many, many thanks to the experienced and skilled Lost Lurker for prereading my part and also for editing all the stupid grammatical errors of this person with no grasp of the English language ^_^. Thanks, Lurker! Well, about my part, I think I have nothing to say... no wait! How did Father Lambert knew that Pearl was a Student of Master Cid? Well, the assasins at FFL #9 knew, and since they were hired by him... Also, I'm sorry for the lame chapter title, I couldn't think of a good one at the moment.