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Disclaimer - Skies of Arcadia is copyright Sega and Overworks. I don't own these characters, places etc. Please don't sue me, if you do you'll be disappointed because I have no money anyway.

This is my first fic, I've been humouring the idea of writing one for some time. I finally thought Ahh what the hell what have I got to lose. Comments, suggestions etc are appreciated, send 'em to adamcannon@ic24.net.

Wrath of a god
by A. Cannon (no pun intended ;)

Chapter 6 - Memories Illusion

Stars greeted Fina everywhere she looked in a dazzling display against a backdrop of nothingness. The vast abyss stretched out in front of her into infinity. The silence of space was broken only by a soft hum coming from somewhere behind her.

Alone.

The thought came to her unbidden brought on by the inky blackness that spread out in front of her. She glanced at one of the pin pricks and a memory of another place and time came to her. Somebody was with her and he held her. She felt comfortable in the persons arms, she felt safe, secure. A strange feeling she had never experienced was brought up along with the memory. The memory was gone again in seconds and she groped desperately to get it back, to experience the sense of hope that it gave, to give her something to cling to, something to help ward of the emptiness, but it was no use. Whatever memory the sight of the light blue star had triggered had gone and probably wouldn't be coming back.

Alone.

She clutched the small doll tightly to her breast, receiving some small sense of comfort from the inanimate object. The doll had been made and given to her by Elder Prime years ago when she was a small child. She had played with the doll and Cupil then in the way of children, letting her imagination run off with her, pretending the doll to be alive. Once she had grown the games had stopped but the small doll was always there to give her comfort her when she needed it most. She let out a sigh which echoed around the empty complex behind her.

Alone.

Light flared from above her, and she turned toward the sight. Overhead the sun burst from the horizon of the large planet, the thin layer of ozone glowed a bright white on the edge before the light spread slowly across the rest of the planet. The vest blue oceans appeared before her, large fluffy white clouds sailed slowly across. Green Islands appeared of different shapes and sizes scattered across the face of the planet. Over by the horizon a large continent spread across the surface in shades of browns and greens, before disappearing over the horizon. If she was in any other state of mind she would have considered the sight to be beautiful, but now it only seemed to emphasize her loneliness. Down there was the only person she had ever considered a friend. But he was lost to her now, vanished along with everyone else that had once lived on the silver shrine so long ago, to leave her here.

Alone.

She thought about Ramirez down on the surface, he hadn't told her why he had to go, only that the Elders considered it important. Thoughts of Ramirez once again triggered more memories. Not the same as the ones of the blue star. These memories where dark, forbidding. Of large battles fought and lost, of people dieing in flames around her. She saw Ramirez step through burning flame to come towards her. His hand clutched a bright object, and a beam of silver light shot towards her to engulf her in a pain that she had never felt before. The image disappeared to be replaced by another, then another, each Terrifyingly real to her. The last memory came to her, she was lying on a stone table, unable to move, as a dark mist engulfed her. She tried to cry out, tried to force the thing from her, as she felt her losing herself to it. All at once the memories disappeared, leaving tears in her eyes. Her hands clutched the small brown bear tightly, as if it was her only lifeline.

The dark images had vanished from her mind, leaving only small bits and pieced that made little sense. Yet she did remember a deep fear of Ramirez in the last few images. Why? Why would Ramirez frighten her so? He was her only friend when he was here. She only let the questions linger a moment, and then dismissed the experience as her imagination running off with her.

She stood up, and placed her hand, palm outward, in front of her. Her hand hit something solid in mid air. Almost immediately green light flared up around her hands, rippling upwards and overhead in waves, illuminating the usually invisible dome of energy that kept the air inside, away from the cold vacuum of space. She took her hand away and watched the last green ripple flare across the dome, disappearing over the other side of the silver shrine, leaving the dome, once again, invisible.

She'd had enough of the sight of the planet, of the blackness of space, and of the feelings of loneliness they both brought up, and so started back towards her room. Perhaps she would read a book in order to get her mind off the disturbing images she had seen. She wished that Cupil was with her. The Elders had taken him from her two days ago, saying only that she would see him again. They hadn't said when she would see him again. She hated them for taking away the last friend she had here. He would be able to offer her some comfort. She wouldn't be brooding now for some company if he was still with her.

She passed by several silver archways on the way to her room, each exactly the same, before finally coming before another archway. This archway itself was exactly like all the rest but it had something they didn't. A thin band of blue energy hovered in the centre of the archway. As she approached, the energy expanded, filling the archway in its blue light, then disappeared once more as stepped through into her room.

The room was quite an unremarkable. Round in shape, small in size, built of a light grey metal. Directly in front of her, on the far wall hung a monitor that showed an image of the outside of the Silver Shrine, the large planet of Arcadia directly below. To the left was a plain dull grey mattress, which extended out of a hollow in the wall. To the right of the room was a small table, two round stumps stood next to the table that rose from the floor and offered a place to sit. It's was here where she would study the writings given to her by the Elders.

She went over to the table on placed the doll lovingly to the side, next to vase of fake green flowers. She then walked over to a white panel on the wall opposite and pressed a button directly underneath. The panel opened with a small hiss to reveal several large books. She took one, closed the panel and returned to the small table, sitting down on one of the stumps. She placed the large book in front of her and opened its pages carefully, the book was over a thousand years old and as such, very fragile. She turned the pages as if they might crumble into dust at her very touch.

She was startled slightly as a soft beeping from the monitor caught her attention. She turned to it and the image of the planet was replaced by the old worn face of Elder Prime. She was suddenly hopeful, perhaps they would be giving her Cupil back.

"Elder," acknowledged.

"Fina," responded the Elder, his voice worn with age "we require you're presence, come to us at once."

"Of course Elder," she responded, surprise evident in her voice. The Elders hardly ever talked to her in person. Infect they’d only ever talked her twice so far. The rest of the times were conducted using the monitor. The Elder said nothing in reply, his image was quickly replaced by the planet. Something of the conversation triggered a feeling of déjà vu, but she dismissed the feeling almost immediately.

She closed the large tome and replaced it back behind the panel before walking through the portal to the outside. The same déjà vu feeling continued as she made her way toward the column of blue light in the centre of the shrine. She stepped into the light and was bathed in its blue luminescence. The light flared briefly and she felt herself grow weightless. Quickly the light vanished completely and she found herself standing at the beginning of the maze known as the Path of Emptiness.

The Path of Emptiness was simply a twisting mass a pathways that wound around the interior of the central dome of the Silver Shrine. The pathways wound all around the interior with no discernable direction, moving left and right, up and down, and even upside down. It was very disconcerting the first time she had been here, she found herself lost for hours, before she had finally reached the hall of Elders. She had managed to memorize the route through on the second trip and so felt confident that she could find her way through the maze this time.

The déjà vu feeling had not resided like she thought it would, it grew instead more intense until it felt that every step she took she had made before. She found herself being able to anticipate every gust of wind as the cooling systems worked around the complex. As she stood outside the door to the Hall of Elders she found herself already knowing what they would say to her. She knew what they wanted of her, they would give her Cupil back and send her down to the planet to recover the five moon crystals scattered on its surface.

The memories that had briefly surfaced earlier hit her anew, and she staggered to floor in pain, her hand against her temple. Some were of dark images that she had somehow forgotten. Her old friend turned insane, consumed by a need for vengeance. But the memories were not all dark, the majority were of fond memories, cherished times. Of the first time she had meet... what were their names? Yes... Aika, and Vyse. How could she have forgotten them so completely? Her best friend Aika and Vyse the person who she...? What? There was that feeling again that had come briefly then been taken away an instant later. A strange feeling that brought with it a completeness that she had never before experienced. Love? Yes that was the feeling, love. She loved him. She had never loved anyone before, she had never even experienced what it was like to kiss someone until...

The final image broke the surface of her memory once more, and hit her with a force stronger than she had thought possible. Ramirez's soul had joined so completely with Zelos that they were one and the same. And now Ramirez had laid claim to her body as well, and hidden her consciousness in memories of old. She remembered clearly the promise that she had made Vyse make to her, she also remembered a promise she had made to herself. She would not give herself up this easy. She would fight him until eventually one or the other would win, or die. Here, inside herself, she could beat Zelos. She knew she could do it. Here it would be an equal fight.

She was aware suddenly of another presence somewhere, watching her from a distance. There was only one other person who could be here, and she called defiantly out to him.

"Where are you!?" she demanded. "Are you afraid to face me Ramirez!?"

Silence was her only answer until abruptly the image in front her blurred then faded into blackness. The scene changed, to a later memory, one dark and chilling. She found herself on Crescent Isle, fire raged all around her. The sound of cannon fire rang out from the distance. In front of her the fire parted and Ramirez stepped towards her, clad in dark greys, holding his silver sword high, the rippling of the fires glinting off its surface, casting the metal in a fierce red that shifted and changed with the fires. His green eyes held only anger toward her.

Fina realised that she held no weapon, and looked around quickly for something to use. A dead body lay a short distance away, a Valuan soldier. A large sword was logged in his corpse. She yanked the sword free and faced the long dead form before her, sword held ready in her right hand in the way she had been taught.

"What do you think you're going to manage here?" he asked her, his voice steady. He laughed at her, but his voice held no amusement "You couldn't possibly defeat me Silvite."

"Perhaps not, but I will not sit idly by and let you destroy the world again."

"Destroy it? I thought you knew what I was thinking now, how little you actually know. I don't wish to destroy the world, I wish only to create order."

"Order? By murdering innocent people!?"

"By giving them something to believe in, someone needs to guide them. What better than a god, someone they can worship."

"You are no god!"

"I am Zelos, Zelos is almighty, I am the very epitome of godhood."

"You're a fool and I pity you Ramirez."

His voice lost all calm and exploded in fury "Ramirez is dead Silvite! I am Zelos! Soon the every living being on the face of the planet will bow down to me, and tremble at my name!"

"I will stop you!" she shouted.

"With what Silvite? That imaginary sword in your hand. What can you possibly do to a god?"

"You underestimate me Zelos," she said emphasizing his name "that will be you downfall."

"We shall see Silvite."

The form of Ramirez turned his back on her and disappeared back into the flames from whence he came, the scene of destruction faded away behind him.

Crescent Isle was alive with activity. People rushed back and forth from the caves, carrying with them various supplies used for the repair of the Delphinus. Almost everyone on the Island was helping out to get the ship ready to enter deep sky as soon as possible. The first day however was wearing on to a close. The day had been wet as wind and rain had battered the small island. The wind had finally died down, and only a light drizzle fell. The sky however was still thick with large grey clouds that promised more rain to come. The evening was drawing rapidly dark made even worse by the dull sky above. The place would be totally black within half hour.

Aika struggled out of the supply tent in an attempt at carrying a box almost as large as herself. She only managed two steps towards the cave entrance before she lost her grip, sending both her and the box crashing to the floor in front of her.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed.

The wooden box was split slightly from the impact however nothing was lost. She started to inspect the damage caused when the box was suddenly lifted up of the floor. Vigoro hoisted the box effortlessly onto his broad shoulder, letting a deep chuckle escape at seeing Aika, now sprawled on the floor.

"Need a hand Red?" he asked extending his free left hand out towards her.

"Not if you were the last person alive," she said forcing herself up and dusting herself off.

She disappeared back into the light blue tent behind her and came out shortly after carrying another box this one half the size of the other. Vigoro waited for her to come out and then proceeded to walk with her towards the cave entrance. She tried to ignore his presence, saying something would only encourage him, but she could feel his eyes on her, drilling into her. She made it up to the cave entrance until she'd finally had enough. She whirled around to face him and found him staring at her, a broad grin plastered on his face.

"What the hell is your problem!?" she yelled at him.

"Have I said anythin' red?"

"Just how long are you planning on keeping up this crap?"

"As long as it takes."

"Leave me alone! I don't like you, in fact I can't even stand being on the same island as you, so stop following me and leave me alone!"

"No woman alive can resist me forever, and I love women who play hard to get."

Her temper was in full swing now, she really felt like hitting this arrogant self absorbed idiot. Instead, surprising herself, she turned around and entered the cave. She knew hitting him would do no good, it would probably hurt her more then it would him, plus that was what Vigoro would want. If she had to put with him for any longer however, she knew she would not be able to control herself.

She wished that Fina was here. Fina was the only person on the Island that could manage to keep her temper under control. She was always the one that somehow, through some miracle that she could perform, could calm her down. She was going to have to figure how Fina did when they had her back, she refused to believe that they wouldn't have her back.

They entered the cavern that the Delphinus was docked in. As she passed over the top of the ship she could see the scares in the hull that the ship had suffered from the recent escape. At the rear of the ship a large crane was lowering down one of the large propellers that drove the ship. People were scattered around the ship, welding in pieces of deck plaiting, scattering sparks around them. Some of the people were repairing varies systems, or simply caring equipment. It was a monumental effort being expended to repair the large vessel. The crew had the same pride for her as its captain did.

She hadn't seen Vyse all day. He was buried somewhere in the bowls of the ship helping to repair her.

She made it down the steps and placed the box down next to a small pile, wiping her hand along her brow to get rid of the droplets of sweet that had accumulated. Her hair clung to the back her head in tangles, she couldn't wait to clean the mess up. She was eagerly looking forward to slipping into a nice warm bath. Having ones hair loose had its disadvantages. She wondered how Fina had always managed to keep her hair looking perfect. Fina could wake up, jump out of bed and hair would still look like she'd been preparing it for hours. Another one of Fina's mysteries she would ask her about upon her return.

Vigoro placed the large box down beside him and let it support his weight as he lent back and faced Aika. The grin was still plastered to his face, it seemed to be a permanent feature.

"Well that's all of 'em," he said "not a bad workout."

"I think I'm about ready to collapse," said Aika.

"Well I've got room in my bed for one more."

She whirled on him "You don't give up do you!?"

"Not at all."

"What will it take to get you to leave me alone?"

"One night alone with me. After that if you still don't like me I won't bother you again."

She considered the option presented her for all of two seconds. One night... alone... with that! That price was just way to high for her. "Not a chance in hell."

"You're choice. Of course you do realise, that means you'll be seeing even more of me."

"Maybe I'll just break every bone in your body."

His response to her remark was slightly different to what she had hoped. His grin got wider and hr replied "Whoa yeah, I like my women rough. That would be perfect red.

Aika said nothing more. She shuck her head in disgust and shoved past him. Vigoro watched her go, the trademark grin still on his face. He was confidant that she'd be his eventually. There wasn't a women alive who could resist him, he believed.

The storm had resumed where it left of during the night, battering the small island relentlessly with wind and rain. It was as if nature herself was against them. The work on the Delphinus had continued throughout the night by a small number of people that were then relieved halfway through the night by another group of people that would continue the work.

Finally the night had ended and the storm had vanished along with it. The morning smelt fresh and clean from the storm and birds had already begun foraging for food as the sun rose above the horizon. Along with the disappearing of the storm the morning had also brought new hope for the blue rogues that lived upon the crescent moon shaped island. Faint wisps of white clouds drifted high above the island silhouetted against the cyan coloured sky. A faint wind ruffled the leaves of a tree sending the last traces of moisture from the rainfall tumbling to the ground.

It was a beautiful day, thought Clara as she stood atop the hill, looking out over the morning sky, watching the birds flitter past in small flocks. Over head and to left of her floated the Claudia and the Primrose as they stood watch over the island, silent sentinels that lay in wait for an enemy that would, more than likely, not come, their sails furled and anchors fastened into the small mountain her.

The majority of the people onboard the two ships had already left the ships and come to shore to help the repair of the Delphinus. The repairs were proceeding smoothly, she had no doubt that they would be ready by tomorrow morning. Then the search for the moon crystals would begin. Fina had told Vyse that they were still in the ruins of the Soltis continent, buried once more in deep sky, yet even if they were how would they find them. What had remained of the old continent after it had fallen apart and sunk to the bottom of the planet? The questions, she knew, were pointless until they were down there, but she still had to ask herself, as she had already done countless times during the night. Those questions however, were not the reason why she waiting here at this moment. Gilder had promised her that the two would talk eventually, and Clara had managed to convince him to do it this morning. He had promised he would come to her here, after he had finished his breakfast. And so she stood, looking out at the blue expanse before her, waiting.

She had gone over in her mind, hundreds of times, about what she would do when this day finally came. Yet now, when that moment was but minutes away, she found that she couldn't recall anything of what she had planned to do. She wished for more time to be able to clear her thoughts, even though she had already had years in which to do so. Quietly she scolded herself for wishing such a thing. She had been waiting for this moment for far longer than she could imagine. Had it only been ten years now since they had first meet? Ten years that she had been tracking him down, cornering him, having him escape her grasp just barely and then tracking him down anew.

She'd had some good times in those ten years, as much as it pained her to admit. Gilder's running from her had finally given her some kind of purpose to her life. One of her little escapades had her and her crew attacking a Valuan battleships, even raided an entire Valuan military post, all to obtain an old recipe to an age old pie from a forgotten era. Of course the recipe itself wasn't enough, the food items were even harder to obtain. An assault on the black pirate Gordo had provided them most of the rare items they needed. The pie itself had been one of the best she had tasted. It was well worth, in her estimations, everything they had gone through to obtain the recipe. Of course the pie hadn't worked out quite in the way she had wanted it to, it hadn't gotten Gilder back, but had still provided them an adventure and hearty meal at the end of the day.

Yeah, she concluded, her face brightening up, a smile lighting her features we've had a lot of good times.

Behind her she could her the soft sound of booted feet working their way up the hill towards her, and her heart began to race until it felt like it would explode in her chest. Finally the person had made their ascent to the top of the hill and walked over next to her. And their stood Gilder in his usual attire, his hand reaching up to push his glasses back. She tried to speak then but her voice caught in her throat and she was forced to give up until she had calmed down somewhat. She resisted the urge to cling to him, to wrap her arm around his or take his hand. Doing that would just make Gilder want to get the talk over as quickly as possible. So they mealy stood there, neither one daring to break the silence. Finally after several long uncomfortable minutes, Gilder spoke.

"So you planning on saying anything anytime time soon?" he asked. "I mean, you were the one that asked me to speak with you."

"I just want to ask you a few questions, that’s all," she said her voice quiet and shaky. She hoped Gilder didn't notice how nervous she felt.

"Shoot then, what do you want to ask me?" he sounded as if he was about to embark on a suicide mission.

"I... want to know if..." she was grasping for the words that would give voice to her question "if you.... I want to know... if you... what you... feel... about me." Clara's voice sounded small and insignificant against the sounds around her. Gilder said nothing, considering what he would say.

"I don't know," he said lamely. She knew, by the sound of his voice that he was lying.

"Which means?" she asked.

"Which means I don't know how I feel. Not anymore. Why, how do you feel about me?"

"You already know how I feel Gilder, I've felt the same way since we first meet. I want to know what you feel." Her voice was gaining some measure of confidence now, but was still a little shaky.

"You know what?" he asked.

"What?"

"I've been dreading when this day would come."

"If you don't love me Gilder," she said rapidly "then all you have to do is say it and I'll never bother you again."

Again he paused for a moment, probably to think about saying those very words that would crush her for the rest of her life. Clara held her breath, not daring to breath as Gilder finally spoke.

"I can't say it Clara."

"Tell me how you feel!" she exclaimed. She was tired of chasing him without knowing what it was he felt for her, if he felt anything. If he didn't love her she wanted to know. No matter how it would break her, she wanted to know.

"You want the truth. Fine. I do still love you, and that is tearing me up inside."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember that first time we meet don’t you? I was only supposed to be there for half a day. Then I saw you, and it became the complete day, then two, then a week. I realised then that if I was to let myself get tied down by someone, that I'd never be able to leave. If didn't leave then, who knows how long I would of been there. I can't get tied down like that Clara."

"Gilder, I would never do that to you. I love the skies almost as much as I do you. The only difference would be is that we would sail them together."

He sighed then said, "I'm not ready for that yet Clara," a smile came to his face and turned to face her "but maybe one day I will be."

"You do realise what that means," she looked at him, he mouth turning up again into the usual smile that graced her features, the same smile that Gilder had fallen in love with over ten years ago. "It means that I'll be chasing after you until you're ready. I don't care how long it takes."

Gilder smiled to, and did something that caught Clara completely by surprise. He took her hands and pulled her towards him. She gazed into his eyes as he drew her closer, their lips meeting finally in the same kiss that had been denied her for so long. His hands loosened their grip on hers and came around to wrap around her waste, to somehow draw her even closer. Time seemed to stand still around her, and everything around her seemed to vanish. Only she and Gilder existed to her at this moment. She willed the kiss to last longer, as she knew this would be their last until Gilder felt ready.

When the two finally parted she had no idea how much time had past. She knew it could only of been minutes at the most, but she also knew that the experience would go with her for the rest of her life. She was aware of people watching her but she didn't care. All she cared about was that for that one brief moment, she'd had Gilder back. She made a knew promise to herself at that moment. That she would track him down for as long it took until he was ready to be with her. No matter how long it would take.

She strode down the hill, grasping Gilder's hand in hers with a smile, wide enough to encompass the entire island.

As always, the light of the sun faded over horizon, casting Crescent Isle into darkness. Most people had retired to bed after a hard days work. The repairs to the Delphinus had finally been completed ahead of schedule, but still would not be launched until tomorrow. The few people milling about underground were busy testing the Delphinus's systems in case there was something missed. Both the pressure shutters and submergence engine had been rigorously tested for the trip into deep sky tomorrow. All that was left to do was to wait until sunrise.

Waiting around was not something Vyse was willing to do however. He was eager to be away as soon as possible. It was only because of Gilder, who had convinced him that his crew needed a break before they headed out to who knows where, that they were still here.

He had agreed with Gilder and later on had tried to get some sleep. However after half hour he had given up and gone back to the Delphinus's bridge to try and get his mind off of the thoughts that plagued him. Which was exactly how Ray had found him as walked into the bridge. A pair of black trouser legs and two brown leather booted feet stuck out from under the weapons console. The rest of the Captain had disappeared inside the console doing god only knows what.

Cupil hovered above the console, emitting a tiny squeak upon seeing Ray enter. They had found Cupil lodged into a wall in one of the buildings the other day. Since then the little round silver thingy, as Ray called him, had followed Vyse everywhere he went. Perhaps knowing that Vyse would do everything in his power to recover his lost mistress.

Vyse was a good captain, thought Ray, but he wasn't exactly the best of engineers.

"Captain," he called.

Vyse, being completely absorbed in what he was doing was startled by the sound of the engineers voice. He jumped, banging his head sharply on the console.

"Ouch! God dammit." He forced himself out off the console and rubbed his head slightly. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

Ray forced the grin that had developed away quickly. "Sorry Captain," he said "I was just wonderin' what it is your doin' here."

"Just keeping my mind occupied," he answered.

"Perhaps you should leave the maintenance department to us Captain. In fact I was just about to look at that console myself."

"Well it should be working fine now," said Vyse forcing himself up off of the floor. He closed the hatch and stepped up to the console. "Lets give it a try."

He flicked a switch and instantly small lights and indicators blinked on. Ray was a little surprised, it looked like Vyse had actually gotten it to work. "Not bad captain," he said "for a second I thought that..." he paused and sniffed the air. A strange smell wafted into his nostrils. "What's that smell?" he asked.

Vyse shrugged, he didn't know. The smell got stronger until Ray eventually figured out what it was. He answered with an "O crap! Turn it off!" he yelled before rushed over to the corner of the bridge where a small fire extinguisher hung. He ripped it off the wall and ran back to the console. Black smoke poured into the bridge after he opened the hatch, along with a very strong smell of burning rubber. Instantly he sprayed the foam from the extinguisher into the console dowsing the small fire that had been set inside.

The fire was out in a few seconds. Once the smoke had cleared Ray lay day and peered inside to inspect the damage. Vyse had actually repaired the console correctly but the wire that he had used was faulty. It wasn't the captains fault, anyone could of made the same mistake.

"It doesn't look to bad Captain," he called out. "In fact I think you did a pretty good job here. I can have it fixed up in a few minutes," he he said as crawled back out of the console.

"Maybe you should grab some sleep Captain," he said standing up. "It won't do you any good to go down there as you are now. I'll bet you haven’t slept in days have you?" he asked.

Vyse chuckled slightly. "No," he said "I haven’t been able to sleep at all since we got back from Tartas. But you're right, it won't do me any good."

"Well there's a good four hours left until sunrise, that should be enough to keep you from falling asleep in the captains chair tomorrow. Get some rest, me and my team will have your ship ready to go by then."

"Maybe it's worth another try. Okay I'll see if I can get some sleep. At the very least I won't damage the ship any more. G’nite Ray."

"G’nite Captain Vyse." Vyse walked out, with the little silver round thingy hovering close to his shoulder. Ray shuck his head, and ducked under the console.

As promised, Ray had the Delphinus completely ready to go by the time morning came. By mid day the Delphinus was out of the docks floating next to the Island. Not a mark from the previous battle scared its hull. It looked as if the Delphinus had been newly built, as the sun gleamed of the freshly painted hull. It's flag of the ancient see mammal flapped around in the wind, anxious to be off. The Delphinus I and II stood side by side, the wooden sailing vessel dwarfed by the gleaming metal monster. The Claudia and the Primrose hovered to the right of the Delphinus.

It was a beautiful day for sailing, the sun beat at them from a clear blue sky. There was no sign of the storm that had covered the island two days ago. The wind was just right, heading straight in the direction of the silver moon, under which the ancient continent was buried.

Vyse had asked Gilder to head for Yafutoma and Clara to head for Nasr. There they would warn the two nations of the fleet of black ships and ask for their aid. Once Clara had reached the Nasr head (a Nasultan had yet to be chosen), she would then head to Esperanza and ask Admiral Don of the new Esperanzan navy for aid. Vyse had confidence that their old crew mate Don would help them.

With the combined forces of Nasr, Valua, Yafutoma and Esperanza, there would still not be enough ships if Gilders estimation was correct. The Yafutoman navy had been almost completely destroyed five years ago, their ships, although extremely manoeuvrable, had been easily torn apart by the cannons of the Valuan armada. They had never recovered completely from that. Nasr was rebuilding its fleet at a rapid pace after the capital city, Nasrad, had been rebuilt. However they had only been building for two years. The same was true of Valua, who had concentrated instead, at rebuilding the city, rather than ships. The result was that none of them had enough ships to combat this threat. The only people who could possibly make a large difference if a full scale was started was the Esperanzan who had concentrated more on ships then the, now, bustling city. The sailors there had been more than eager to take to the skies once more. Admiral Don had also manage to plot an safe course through the Dark Rift.

With luck, both the Claudia and Primrose would be back at Crescent Isle by the Delphinus arrived back.

The three Captains wished each other good luck, and the four ships separated. The Claudia headed west, the ship had the power to move through sky rifts, and would make use of the hole in the reef that had been created over five years ago as an easy means of entering Yafutoma. The Primrose headed South to Nasrad. The Delphinus climbed high above the sky, where the wind currents were easier to navigate and the sky calmer, and took off south west, towards the swirling mass of cloud known as the Vortex.

The Delphinus II remained behind, as it always did, the last line of defence for the island. It's engines had been updated and weapons re-modelled. It could now plough through sky rifts with ease, and tear through the thickest armour with its cannons. The people of Crescent Isle would not the same mistake twice. It's large sails were unfurled, and the ship begun its patrol of the airspace around the island.

The time passed slowly on the way to the vortex. People were tense, and the usually cheery mode that usually permeated the ship was strangely absent. Even the usual wise cracks of Aika were missing. Instead she silently ground her teeth together, he temper pushed way passed its limit. Vigoro was the only person on board the ship who didn't seem tense. Instead the usual grin was still fixed to his face as he beheld Aika, her face almost matching the colour of her hair. He had managed, quite expertly, to get under her skin, though not in the way he had really wanted. This way however, was just as satisfying for him.

After what had seemed like an eternity for Vyse, their altitude began to drop. Cupil lay on the arm rest of the captains chair, still not willing to leave Vyse's side. As they past the first layer of clouds, in the distance to the right, Vyse could see his old home, Pirate Isle. This was where it had all began for him and Aika. Patrolling these skies in the Albatross under his father, Captain Dyne. It was in this very place, right where they were currently flying, where their first encounter with the late Admiral Alfonso had been, and where he meet Fina for the first time. Their last moment together forced itself again it his thoughts, and he banished them just as quickly. He had been doing nothing but thinking of Fina for the past three days, for now it was time to concentrate on what they were here to do. He thought instead of his family. It had been at least a year since he had last seen his parents. He promised himself that after all this was over, he would go and see them again.

Pirate Isle passed out of view to the side and the ancient ruins known as Shrine Island loomed before them. Its central tower, moss covered and crumbling, stretched into the sky, the lake around the island glinted in the afternoon sun, and then the island disappeared as the ship pushed its way through the last layer of cloud.

Instantly the ship shuck violently as it hit the strong air currents. The dark grey clouds churned menacingly below them and spiralled round, like water flowing down a sink, into the dark vortex. The ship shuck again as it ploughed through another air current moving in the opposite direction. Finally the ship slowed and came to a halt, positioned directly above the oppressive looking vortex. Clouds flew violently to its centre, before being sucked down the surface below, along with everything else that came to close.

Everyone was quiet on the bridge as they waited for Vyse to give the order to start down.

"Ray," Vyse said turning to his Engineer "activate the submerge engine."

"Aye Captain."

The ships four engines seemed to stall and stop. Their sound was replaced by a violent shuddering as they submerge engine came online. Slowly the Delphinus was pulled down into the vortex, the powerful submerge engine, the only thing that kept the ship stable. The ship descended past the cloud line and entered into the heart of the vortex, the precious sky disappeared.

"Lower the pressure shutters," said Vyse again to the engineer.

The sound of the metal shutters clsing answered him as they closed down about the windows on the bridge. Slowly what little light remained to the outside was swallowed up by shadow and the bridge was cast in complete darkness. Cupil emitted several squeaks in protest to the darkness. Several red lights flickered on inside the bridge and cast their eerie glow around.

Slowly the ship made its descent into darkness completely oblivious to the second ship that was now positioned above the entrance to the void.

Authors comments:

Hey thats six chapters finished now. That’s more or less halfway through, give or take a chapter or two (hey that rhymed).

Okay, I'll admit it. I really hated chapter five, the beginning anyway. It was so unbelievably cheesy. I've really got to re-write it once I've got some spare time. Unfortunately collage is rapidly catching up with me (three weeks left to go and I've still got tones of work to finish ARGH). Plus I gotta start looking for a job, getting my life sorted, that kind of thing. I am probably the laziest person I know. No sorry, the second laziest, my sister beats me hands down.

I'm gonna miss my long six weeks of summer holiday. I want to be fourteen again!!

Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Ah yes. Coming next, the trip into the vortex, a walk through Soltis, and something quite unexpected from one of the company. Won't say who or what, you'll just have to wait till I get the next chapter up, hopefully by next week but I'll see how it goes.

Any comments suggestions, just want to say hey, email address is at the top. Come on, I like getting mail. I need to know what you lot think, how am I supposed to improve if nobody points out anything they don't like, or bits that are wrong, or bits that are just plain crap. Nobody is perfect after all and I can't get better without knowing what is wrong and I can't do that unless I get some replies!

Ahh, that feels much better after getting that off my chest. I didn't mean that little moan. Honest. Come back. Ahh now I've done it. Great just great. Ahh well, until next time, see ya.

Adam