The scene opens to what is apparently the entrance of the Mountain Palace. (Accurate translations of locations would be highly appreciated. X.x) Claude-chan-tachi, now including Ashton and his two draconic freeloaders, look on, expressions of mild awe on the faces of Claude, Ashton, and Rena. Celine seems rather blase about it all. Celine: This is the Mountain Palace. Suddenly, Claude's eyes widen, as he sees something. Claude: ! It's a rather pretty woman, holding a cloth-wrapped bundle, dressed in something with a skirt that shows a very healthy amount of leg. She has a third eye set in her forehead. Claude: (...Huh?!) Claude is rightfully surprised, although, it seems, not because of her third eye, but because she's alone and venturing into the Mountain Palace. Rena notices Claude's drift in attention. Rena: Claude, what is it? And Claude-chan finally realises that there are people around him. ^^x Must be the male hormones. He points in the general direction that the lady went off too. Claude: I just saw a really pretty woman go into the palace... Yep. Male hormones. Rena: A woman? Going in alone? ...Are you sure? Celine makes scary ghost-like motions with her hands, and those little flame-things dance around her, as she looks slyly at Claude-chan. Celine: It could be a ghost. Claude sweatdrops, looking at Celine. Claude: Stop scaring me. Meanwhile, our poor Ashton is feeling neglected ahead of them. Aww. I wanna feed him cookies. Ashton: (Stop loitering over there and hurry up!) They presumably enter the palace, since the next panel is one that shows a long corridor, fitted roughly with stone on the walls and floor. Claude doesn't appear very happy. Claude: ...You've got to be kidding me... And we see the reason for his mild disgruntlement--Ashton's attempting to cling on to him, just like Rena and Celine are. XD Claude: Why the hell are you holding on to me?! (I mean, Rena and Celine, I can forgive, but...) Ashton: But I'm /scared/! Claude finally loses Ashton, who huddles on the floor like an adorable little abandoned puppy. Claude-chan-tachi walk on, Celine and Rena still clinging to him. Rena looks back, worried, at Ashton. Ashton: This place is dark and scary... (*wah*) Claude: Ignore him. Ashton, very cutely chibi, calls out to the rapidly disappearing Claude-chan-tachi. Ashton: Hey! Wait for m-- Something apparently corrosive splatters from above and onto Ashton's cloak, hissing as it touches the cloth. Ashton: !! Big spikey word bubble with Japanese text that says what is apparently a very long scream denote, well, screaming. Little Chinese words say 'Help me!'. Claude-chan-tachi are apparently blown away by the yell. XD Claude: What happened, Ashton?! Ashton: ...meep... They're scary! And those 'theys' are apparently monsters somewhat akin to lymphreys (?), looking somewhat like giant caterpillars with a ring of teeth. Ewwie. Celine: No wonder nobody comes here. It's a breeding ground for monsters. Rena half turns, looking worried. Rena: They're behind us, too! Claude has, meanwhile, drawn his sword, and looks on with determined eyes. Claude: I guess we've got no choice but to fight. Celine prepares a spell, looking rather too pleased about the whole thing. Odd lady, she be. Celine: You're right. Meanwhile, Rena lets fly with her karate, (*blink*), and Ashton apparently joins the fray with his own sword. Celine loses the spell she's been building up, and toasts a couple of caterpillar thingies with lighting. Celine: Lightning bolt! (Again, help with translations of this sort are appreciated.) Claude slashes through one of the monsters. Ashton looks rather surprised at the steady demolishment of the caterpillar ranks. Ashton: Impressive, you guys. Suddenly, he slips on a puddle of caterpillar goo. (Ewwie.) He falls, heavily, and one of the monsters prepare to strike. Ashton: Whoa! Rena: Watch out! And somebody who might either be Claude or Rena screams Ashton's name. Ashton just... looks on, without trying to get out of the way, silly boy. His untimely and imminent demise is prevented, however, by Gyoro's intervention--Gyoro does some manner of breath attack, spitting fire at the caterpillar, and well nigh annhilating it. Because Gyoro is cool. XD Claude-chan-tachi run over to Ashton, rather after the fact, might I add. Claude: Are you okay?! Ashton: Yeah... He looks up at Gyoro, whose breath is still steaming a little, and who seems rather pleased with himself. Ashton: It was Gyoro who saved me... Rena clasps her hands together rather ditzily. I think she's cute and all, but /really/ now... Rena: Gyoro's so cool! (...See?) Claude smiles, apparently at Rena's ditziness, sheathing his sword. Claude: At least it's all over. Ashton, meanwhile, is staring with a rather kicked-puppy kind of look at Gyoro... slightly sad, slightly wistful. The dragon doesn't seem to pay any attention to it. The exit is finally in sight, and Celine takes the lead again. Celine: Look, here's the way out. They leave the caves to find themselves high on some manner of plateau, significantly high above the ground. Rena: The Laskas Plateau... Just after the Mountain Palace. (Inaccurate translation alert.) The four stand on the plateau, looking down at the world below them. Ashton: This must be what they were referring to, when they talked about the 'steep cliffs'... Rena: Does that person we're supposed to get the tear from really live here? Celine: Well, we don't even know if the Lord of the Sky really is a person... Claude looks up at the cliffs that still surround them. Claude: I guess we should climb up, first. They make their way up a rather precarious path. At the top, Ashton just about collapses, panting. Rena looks at him. Rena: (You okay?) Celine: Well, at least we're up here... Their attention is abruptly caught by a huge nest, ahead of them. They stare. Ashton uses that phrase involving cakes and bowls again--I have decided that it is his strange, yet endearing, although rather mind-stumping in the beginning, way of saying "The hell?" The sky suddenly turns dark, a fact that Claude notices, master of the obvious that he is. He turns around. Claude: Why's it so dark, all of a sudden? The silhouette of a huge wing brushes past them--and it's not just a silhouette anymore, as they look up, amidst falling feathers. A huge phoenix wings downwards and settles in front of them, hovering. Rena: A bird-- Claude: That's a huge bird! (Well, no duh.) The phoenix looks disdainful. Phoenix: My, how the mighty have fallen... actually resorting to binding yourself to the body of a human. Ashton smiles darkly. Ashton: Ah... don't say that. He looks up, a slight smirk on his face, eyes dark and narrowed. Ashton: It's been a while, Xine... (I use Xine, because it's what I read in a fanfic. Checking with FAQs has yielded everything from 'Jin' to "Xain', but Xine is rather more aesthetically appealing to me. And remember, I haven't played the game. :P) Claude-chan-tachi: !!!! -Navigation: 13- Splash page! Claude-chan-tachi and Ashton are all sleeping, rather adorable. Ashton looks especially cute here, and so do his dragons, wai. Pan to an overview again--a shot of the previous panel, from a different angle. Xine: My, how the mighty have fallen, actually resorting to binding yourself to the body of a human. Ashton: Times have changed... and sometimes, it's necessary to make sacrifices or be ruthless, just to stay alive... Claude-chan-tachi look slightly worried at Ashton's abrupt turnabout of behaviour. Claude: Ashton? Celine: He doesn't really seem like himself... Rena: Not like himself? That's not Ashton... Pan to a picture of Ashton, dragons blank-eyed and slouched, with his arms folded and that deliciously evil look on his face. Mm. Kyaaa... Rena: (It's Gyoro and Ururun, speaking through Ashton's body!) Wings spread, Xine hovers in front of them. Xine: Anybody who enters this mountain cannot leave alive... And even if you fight me, you can't possibly access your full power, bound to that human... Ashton draws his sword, whipping it down in a decisive, challenging arc. Kyaa... Ashton: Would you care to try me? Claude sweatdrops and starts towards Ashton. Claude: Hey, Ashton! He is stopped short, however, by the cold look in Ashton's narrowed eyes, as Ashton turns back. Ashton: Human... you are no match for Xine. Let me handle this. In the calm before a battle, Xine and Ashton regard each other, locked in an uneasy stalemate. Ashton makes the first of attack, rushing forward. Ashton: En guarde! (Or something.) Xine dodges his attack as he swings his sword in a wide arc, and flies out of the way. Ashton stops his charge, falling back, and Xine begins to counterattack, using the force of wind garnered by flapping wings. Claude-chan-tachi are nearly blown away by the strong winds. Rena: Ahhh... Claude: The wind's really strong! (...Master of the obvious, is Claude...) Ashton narrows his eyes and his sword glows with some manner of magic, as he leaps to attack again. Xine strikes out, but Ashton manages to deflect Xine's claws with his sword. Claude-chan-tachi watch the fight in some awe. Rena: Whoa... Celine: (Ow!) No human can be /this/ powerful... Claude: It must be because Ashton's body has been taken over by Gyoro and Ururun... Xine pauses the attack, winging back to a hover. Xine: Why...? Why do you limit your power by binding yourself to a weak human...? Ashton looks up, an expression of what might be sadness on his face. Ashton: Xine... don't tell me you've never realised... just how much the world has changed? His words strike a chord in Xine, shock--or perhaps, a sudden recognition of what has always been. Ashton: Now, the lower mazoku which know only of destruction abound the world... ('Mazoku' may not be the exact term--and I'm actually re-translating a Chinese word back to Japanese, here. But then it /is/ literally 'monster race', just like what Mazoku means, and I'm used to Slayers.) Ashton: ...doing their evil deeds in our names. We, who used to be regarded as their gods... they've forgotten all that, and dare even to attack us. Xine appears to have calmed down and is listening quietly, at least. Ashton continues, an almost bored look on his face, which is yet still worried. Ashton: All this... is happening because the world is changing. We, like humans, will one day perish. And by all means of reckoning, beings as weak as humans should not be powerful enough to change their own fate... A cut to a picture of Claude-chan-tachi, determined in the face of battle. Ashton: Yet, even so, these humans are different--they willingly embark on a quest to find the reason behind the changing of the world. Ashton smiles, a slightly wistful expression. Ashton: Who's to know the future? These humans might, one day, even change the forces leading this world down the road to destruction... Xine's acceptance of what Ashton is saying ends here, apparently. Xine: Has bonding to a human addled your wits?! I certainly don't believe in what you say! Ashton yells back at Xine in frustration. Ashton: If you don't believe me, then--Come with us! If you can't believe what I say, then you can at least believe what you see with your own eyes! Xine appears to contemplate Ashton's challenge for a moment, and Claude-chan-tachi wait, apprehensive, in the silence. But Xine finally reaches a decision... Xine: What kind of joke is this?! ...And attacks, claws outstretched and wings spread. Xine: We are the Higher Mazoku! How can we ally ourselves with humans?! Eyes narrowed, Ashton snarls. Ashton: You stubborn /idiot/! He too, leaps to attack-- Claude: Ashton! --And lands, unhurt, crouched gracefullyy on one knee, as Xine wings into the sky beyond. He begins to speak, but does not get up. Ashton: Ever since the beginning... we've always been alone. Maybe you'll laugh at me for saying this, but... He rests his arm on his knee, an expression of sadness and wistfulness on his face. Ashton: ...But, really... friends are a wonderful thing to have. More feathers fall, in the silence. Xine: You... You've changed. You've changed totally from the person I once knew. Maybe what you say is true... There is sadness on Xine's face, as well. Xine: ...Maybe, we /have/ to change. Xine sweeps a wing out, flying upwards and away. Xine: (--If...) Xine: But, I still hate humans! Xine: (If you want me to continue living the way you are, now...) Ashton's expression doesn't change--still wistful, still slightly sad. Claude-chan-tachi look up at Xine in awe. Xine: It seems that I don't have any way to live peacefully with humans... Xine turns and flies away, leaving behind only a score of luminous feathers. Xine: (Then... Goodbye!) Ashton watches, dispassionate even in his disappointment and sadness. He sighs, in his mind. Ashton: (Xine...) Through the rain of feathers, something falls. Claude holds out his hands to catch it. Claude: ? It looks like some manner of pearl, glowing and hovering a few inches above Claude's hands. Claude: This is... Celine: (Ah!) It's the Tear of the Lord. Rena: Who knows... perhaps Xine really envies Gyoro and Ururun, now... Claude: Then this is... the tear from the deepest reaches of Xine's own heart... ...And in a charming turnabout of mood, here we have chibi Ashton, now free from the control of the dragons, popping up with a huge smile. Ashton: Come on, let's go kill that monster bird! Claude-chan-tachi facefault, and with good reason. Ashton, still chibi, looks at them. Ashton: What's wrong with you guys? He then notices something quite fundamental, and looks around. Ashton: Eh? Where'd that bird go? What just happened? Claude: ...Ashton... Rena looks up at Ashton, sadly. Rena: Ne, Ashton... You... really want to get rid of Gyoro and Ururun? Ashton looks slightly flustered and a bit unhappy. Ashton: Wasn't that what we came here for? Strange thing for you to be asking now, isn't it? Gyoro and Ururun... make noise. Claude-chan-tachi sigh. Ashton: Wh--what? There's a short silence, then Celine speaks up. Celine: Then... I guess we can start the cleansing ceremony. Ashton stands a little ways away from Claude-chan and Rena, as Celine prepares for the ceremony by drawing a circle around him, in the dirt. Celine: Now, we have the tear of the Lord... and I can also help by setting a ward on you. Ashton holds up a piece of paper with some manner of odd, Runic writing on it. Celine: All you have to do is read out this incantation. She points a finger at Ashton, who sweatdrops, looking slightly nonplussed and unsure of himself. Celine: I ask you again... are you sure you want to do this? With that unsure look on his face, Ashton looks up at the dragons, who make dragonish noises, then bows his head. Ashton: Yeah... Claude-chan and Rena don't look too happy. Celine just begins her own spell. Celine: So let's begin, then... The ceremony of exorcising... Ashton closes his eyes, the circle of dirt he was standing in now a barrier with the faint inlay of a six-pointed star within. The area inside the ward glows with a faint, otherworldly light, illuminating Ashton. Ashton: I... I, for the sake of breaking my curse of flesh, stand within this barrier of cleansing... Please deliver my body from evil, and let it be purified by the light... The glow becomes a great deal brighter, and water drips down Ashton's face--whether or not they are tears is ambiguous. Ashton: Respected gods of cleansing... Gyoro and Ururun shut their eyes and make more dragonish noises, although, it seems, in pain this time. Claude-chan and Rena shout their names, worried. Ashton: Take this curse upon my body, and cleanse it with your own spirits... (Bad translation.) Rena suddenly runs forward, to the surprise of Claude-chan. Claude: Rena? She stops just short of the barrier and yells into it. Rena: Ashton, are you really going to do this? Ashton's eyes fly open, and become wide, as he stares blankly ahead in some shock. Rena: Gyoro and Ururun are going to /die/! Didn't they save you at the Mountain Palace? Ashton looks down, the memory coming to him. He doesn't, however, turn to face Rena. Rena: And it's not just that... Just now, they said... 'friends are a wonderful thing to have...' Ashton contemplates for a moment, then suddenly crumples the paper which holds the incantation in a convulsively clenched fist. He drops to a kneeling position in front of Claude-chan-tachi, as though in pain. Ashton: I already knew it, in my heart, that I shouldn't do this... Claude-chan-tachi look at him, quietly. Ashton: In the beginning, I really did join you to get rid of the dragons. But, after a while... it stopped seeming like such a big matter. Gyoro and Ururun look down at Ashton, inquisitively, making dragon noises. Ashton: Being with them didn't make me feel afraid, or ashamed... But, if it wasn't to get rid of them, then there would be no reason for me to continue travelling with you, so... Ashton looks at the ground, still scratched with the circle and the six pointed star. Ashton: Before all this, I was like them, without aim or purpose... and although I haven't been with you for all that long... even so, I was happy! He looks up, sadly. Ashton: So, I don't know... you will all... let me stay with you... for just a little longer? Claude walks up, resting a hand on Ashton's shoulder. Claude: I'm sure there's a way of seperating Gyoro and Ururun without having to kill them. So... you don't have to feel sad. He smiles at Ashton. Claude: You, Gyoro, Ururun... are all our friends, after all. Ashton looks up with big chibi marble crying eyes. Ashton: C--Claude! And he glomps Claude, still with those marble eyes. XD Claude tries to back away, flustered. Celine looks somewhat annoyed. Rena is just clueless. Claude: Hey, let go of me...! Celine: (Oh, good grief...) Rena, let's go! Celine glares, eyes half-closed and disdained. Celine: This is ridiculous! She gives Ashton a sound scolding. He cowers. XD Celine: It's all your fault we had to take such a huge detour! We were supposed to be on the ship, by now! Ashton looks slightly like a cute, kicked puppy. Ashton: You don't have to blame it all on me, I mean, I-- He pauses and his eyes widen, then he glomps Claude-chan, making the whole group do down in a heap. Ashton: Wh--what's that over there?! Claude-chan seems a little pissed at Ashton, and rightfully so. Claude: Ashton... (What was /that/ for?) Ashton: Just--just look! He points a finger at what caught his attention--a small figure leaning, crumpled against the wall, some ways ahead. Ashton: Over there... It's the lady that Claude saw enter the Mountain palace, half conscious, bedraggled, and in rather bad shape, blood staining her clothes, and various still-bleeding wounds on her arm and leg. -Navigation: 13--end-