Investigating the Prince's Chambers

[A Dragonian]

"Seriyu couldn't have given me more information than, 'Check my room in the palace of Lavertia,' could he?" Aiedan shouted in frustration. With a hefty sigh of anger, he tossed another pillow to the ground. The former room of Lavertia's prince had become so trashed in the few minutes Aiedan had been inside, the maid service was already up in arms about their new guest.

Pillows and comforters had been scattered across the blue carpeted floor, drawers opened with their contents discarded to the ground; the drapes on his windows were all tattered, exposing the glass behind them and supplying the room with more light. Aiedan did not complain at the new light, because it gave him more light to search the Dragonian prince's room.

Standing on the only ground that did not have one of Seriyu's personal belongings, there stood two of Lavertia's royal guard, keeping a close eye on Aiedan. They had been there since the beginning, and both men were perplexed how a teenager could turn such a clean and organized room into a chaotic wreck in a matter of minutes. Now and then, one might pipe up and ask, "Sir Aiedan, do you think it could be here?" "Sir Aiedan, should we be helping you?" "Sir Aiedan...--"

Finally, Aiedan turned his head from lifting the mattress off of Seriyu's bed; the mattress fell back onto it's springs, bouncing once before it settled back into the springs that supported it. "Would the two of you stop calling me 'Sir' Aiedan?"

"Yes, Sir," spoke the other guard.

Aiedan did not even give a response to the guard. Rolling his eyes and mumbling something about guards, he turned his attention back to the mattress, and lifted it a second time. Through the springs, Aiedan could make out several cardboard boxes, some taped shut while others were open and their contents exposed. Aiedan ignored the open boxes, knowing that the shining light would have been seen as soon as he had entered the room.

"I wonder what's in this one," Aiedan muttered to himself, putting his hands under the frame of the bed, pulling out the taped box. He slipped his right hand to his side, gripping tightly to a wooden hilt, decorated with ornate leather and golden diamonds. He pulled the handle out, and channeling his energy, a blast of ki seeped out and formed into a blade. Opposed to making a blade several feet in length-- the typical length of a sword-- Aiedan had only a knife, less than half a foot in length.

Gripping the side of the box in one hand, he brought his blade against the tape, stabbing lightly and creating a clean incision. The blade hummed lightly against the cardboard as Aiedan dragged the blade towards his body. His cut was quite clean, showing that the man had some experience in making marks with swords and knives before. With the last inch of tape sliced into two pieces, Aiedan tore open the box's two flaps, exposing the contents. Time to find what Seriyu's been hiding...

[A Dragonian]

After a moment of seeing only stacks upon stacks of old novels, Aiedan closed the box, stood up, and kicked it back under the bed. The force of one box hitting another knocked the uprised bed back onto its springs.

For a moment, he closed his eyes, and his thoughts were quite calm. He reflected on the words Seriyu had told him before his departure from this world, and nothing was coming to him Hmm...Where would Seriyu have put the most important artifacts in all of Dragonia...?

As soon as Aiedan's thoughts had been finished, laughter filled the back of his head. The young Dragonian did not falter from hearing things in the back of his mind; when you kept a mental link with a man from another universe, and was constantly conversing with the man, hearing things becomes quite natural. Smiling, he responded to the laughter, What's up, Soren...?

In another version of Dragonia, there was a man very similar to Aiedan-- the only differences between them being that Soren's hair was black, instead of brown, while his eyes were green, opposed to blue-- also searching the room of their Lavertian prince; Aiedan knew good and well that Seriyu would have lived an entirely different lifestyle to the prince that resided over this man's world, but there was a chance that they might find the Crystals of Iniquity in his room.

Soren was still chuckling when he responded to Aiedan's question. Get this: I found a taped cardboard box. After opening it, what do I find? This guy has a whole shitload of pornographies....Seems the prince of Lavertia isn't as innocent as everyone thinks he is.

Doing a double-take, Aiedan pulled the box he had opened back from under the bed. Opening it up a second time, he only found the same novels he had before. Even after lifting up a few books, he did not find anything close to lewd content. Sighing with relief, Aiedan closed the box and shoved it back under the bed. It's official; people over there live different lives than we do...

Soren laughed, and then relaxed himself on the bed. No one assisting Soren in his investigation, so he could have done whatever he wanted. Finding any clues over there?

I got nothing, Aiedan said, slipping his hands through the front of his auburn hair, wiping the stray strands away from his eyes. He had gone back to searching through everything on the floor, just in case he might have missed something. The only thing I haven't done is rip the carpet from the floor....

Funny you should mention the carpet, Soren commented, stretching his arms. He finally rested them behind his head and yawned. Easily, he could have gotten used to the lavishness of royalty. Check the floor of the closet; the carpet can be lifted up. That's where I found the porn.

Taking the thought from Soren, Aiedan stood up and walked over to Seriyu's closet. He pulled apart the sliding wooden doors, looking down at the carpeted floor; sure enough, it was a slightly lighter color than the other carpet, but it was not clear enough that unless you focused only on it, one would notice.

Why didn't I see this before? he questioned himself, getting onto his hands and knees. His jeans tightly scraped against the blue carpet, but he paid it little notice as he went to investigate the carpet further. He slipped his fingers along the line where one strip of carpet met the other, prying his fingers in. Aiedan smiled as he tried to lift up the carpet. Without hesitation, the floor beneath was revealed to Aiedan.

Soren, you’re a genius!

Why, thank you....What’d I find?

[A Dragonian]

In the few moments it had taken Aiedan to remove the strip of carpet from the Lavertian prince's closet, he knew quite well that he had found exactly what he had been looking for; there was no question about it: The Crystals of Iniquity were hidden inside this box.

The box Aiedan had found was surrounded by wooden floor on all four sides, built into the structure of the room with no hitch; Aiedan would have no way of moving the safe, so seeing if there was anything under it would be impossible. The box was made of an unknown, black metal. Only one side of the box was exposed, and this side gave all indication of the box actually being a safe. Opposed to the standard combination lock, the round door that surrounded most of the box's surface area had no external pieces. The only thing built into the box was a notch right in the center, an inch wide and half an inch thick; clearly, the box needed a key.

Aiedan smiled to himself, turning back to both of the two Laveritan guards; neither of them knew that Aiedan had a mental connection with Soren, so how Aiedan had suddenly decided to lift up the carpet baffled them. But nonetheless, when Aiedan said to them, "We found it....We found the crystals!" neither of them objected to nothing more than jubilation. As they waded over to Aidean's side, their metal armor clattered against a deep purple tunic underneath. Upon inspecting the safe, the two had grown just as excited as Aiedan had in a few short moments.

"But Aiedan, sir..." spoke up one of the guards after several seconds, looking closer at the safe than either of the other two had. "Where's the key?"

Aiedan paused, as if his celebration had finally crashed into a wall. Looking to the safe, it was quite obvious he needed a key. The only thing he had not realized was quite simple, though: He had no key.

"Great," muttered Aiedan, getting to his feet. Suddenly, his emotions had done a one-eighty, and now he felt like kicking a puppy in this sudden change of emotion; he was so close, but now he was so far. "Just...fucking...great..."

Before Aiedan traveled a single step, he snapped his thumb and middle finger on his right hand together. Before either of the guards had known what in the world had happened, the floor that had once been filled with every other possible object was clean once again, clearing the cerulean carpet; drawers were put back into dressers, and the contents were filled neatly, just as well organized as Seriyu had left them before anyone had entered. In awe, one of the guards looked at the other and murmured, "I bet the staff would kill to be able to do that...."

Aiedan turned and begin pacing, his thoughts now changed to the prospect of where Seriyu would have hid a key. "Where would he have put a key to a safe? That could be anywhere, and we would never know the difference." Turning his head over to the guards behind them, both could only shrug their shoulders. They knew about as much as Aiedan did about the inner workings of Seriyu's mind. "Fuck, why did he not even tell me that I needed a key in the first place?" For some reason, Aiedan could tell that in the far off distances of hell, Admiral Turgor was laughing his ass off at the Dragonian's feeble attempts to restore his home planet. You bastard...had it not been for you, Dragonia wouldn't be in this problem!

Even for their mental connection, Soren's response to Aiedan was quite rapid; even Aiedan was surprised. What the fuck you just call me?

And Aiedan stopped pacing, hanging his head in his own stupidity. Aiedan could have very few secrets anymore, because any thought he projected would most likely be projected into Soren's head, resulting in some half-sarcastic response from his other half. I wasn't talking about you Soren...

Then be quiet already! I'm trying to read.... His other half shuddered.

[A Dragonian]

Aiedan went back to pacing around the room, closing his eyes as he tried to think. Where do you think that Seriyu would keep a key to something that could restore the lives to several million Dragonians?

Obviously not in the same place this prince keeps his porn... muttered Soren in response, flipping through one of the prince's magazines. He opened the centerfold, watching the piece of poster paper open and reveal itself to Soren. Whistling softly, he mumbled to himself, "Man, I've never seen a Dragonian bend that way before...."

Well, thanks for your help. It's come off being really handy. Aiedan turned his thoughts away from Soren, still walking around the room quietly. The two guards were back in their positions of standing at either side of the doorway, pondering the very same question Aiedan wanted answered.

One guard looked up to him from under his metallic helmet, getting a good look at Aiedan's features. "What did Seriyu say to you before he died? Maybe he left you a clue in his message."

Aiedan nodded, walking over to Seriyu's bed and sitting down on the prince's mattress. The guards would not know this, but with every word he spoke about Seriyu's final words, Aiedan was literally reliving the memories; he felt the same emotions that he had with the first uttering of the departing words, and had he not been concentrating on the situation at hand, he might have broken back down into tears. "Well, Seriyu did not say much to me. before he left this world." "I split the fusion just before Ryan could get hit...he still got nailed by the blunt of the blow, but he'll live..."

"Seriyu went out with a smile on his face," Aiedan thought, reflecting on the last words that had been said by the Dragonian. "He could have easily stayed alive; he could be the one here wishing for everyone to come back, and not me; he sacrificed himself in honor, saving myself and Ryan in the process..." His thoughts went to the words Ryan had mumbled before they had left the base hidden on Lunos: "You fool...if only you had not been such a hero..." It pained Aiedan to think that it was him who was still standing here, and not Seriyu, but the thought departed him just as quickly as it had been said.

"Before Seriyu died," Aiedan finished, pulling the Subeta Shainingu from his side, looking down at the blade as if he treasured it like a legendary artifact. "He told me to search his room, and I would find seven rainbow-colored crystals." "If you use them, you can wish for the people of Dragonia to be saved...wish for them, in pride of Dragonia..." Seriyu coughed once more, and his body became limp. A single tear trickled down Aiedan's face, and then he closed off his emotion.

The guard who had not addressed Aiedan looked at the sword hilt Aiedan held in his hand. "That sword you have there..." Normally, people asked Aiedan why he carried around a possessed ruler, but this man had seen the weapon in action when Aiedan opened the cardboard box. But, the guard had other reasons for knowing what it was. "I've seen his majesty-- seen Seriyu-- use something very similar to that before, whenever he practiced with the Lavertian guard."

He walked over to Aiedan, extending a hand out to Aiedan. "Do you mind if I...?" Nodding his head and saying, "Of course not."-- already understanding what the guard was about to ask-- Aiedan extended his hand out to the guard's outstretched palm. They both clenched onto the blade tightly, and when Aiedan brought his hand back, the guard was holding onto the blade. He examined the hilt, leaving Aiedan and the other guard to wonder just what the man was thinking.

After a few short minutes of checking the dimensions of the blade, he looked up to Aiedan and he smiled. "Sir Aiedan, I think Seriyu has already given you the key."

[A Dragonian]

Aiedan cocked one of his brown eyebrows at the Lavertian guard, curious by what his statement. It had taken this man several minutes, yet he had guaranteed he had the answer Aiedan requested. He thought he might already have a clue as to what this guard was about to say, but just this once-- in lieu of the moment-- Aiedan was going to play the dumb card. "He did?"

The guard nodded, and handed the sword hilt back into the young Dragonian's hand. "I have seen this sword used before, so when Seriyu gave you this sword hilt, he also gave you the key to the safe. Maybe he figured you would be as intuitive as he is-- from your teacher to student relationship-- and know where to find the lock. Since you had the key, he also figured you would put two and two together."

Aiedan nodded, gripping the sword hilt in his hand. After all, he made sure to give me the sword before he told me about the crystals...

I could have told you that one, Soren added in objectionably. Now that he was done reading the dirty magazine, he was re taping the cardboard box and sticking it back into its hiding place.

Maybe if you had spent less time eye-humping women, you would have given me the answer! Aiedan responded, only to hear a Touche... from Soren. Aiedan rolled his eyes, and chose to ignore Soren's comments.

Aiedan focused his concentration on the Subeta Shainingu once again. Very clever of you, Seriyu...You're probably laughing at me right now....Just another one of your crude jokes... Looking up at the guard, he smiled. "It's at least worth a try, but I must say that it is a good observation. Thank you."

"No problem, Sir Aiedan."

"...I'm going to pretend that I didn't just hear you say 'Sir....'" Aiedan turned his body from the guard, shaking his head back and forth in disbelief whilst his hair swayed in the gentle movement. It only lasted a few moments before he disregarded the thought, and then decided to concentrate on the lock once again.

The young Dragonian walked up to the closet again, his clothing swaying with each individual movement-- his jeans making the definable scrape as one leg rubbed against the other. Lifting up the carpet again, he looked down at the notch, and then at the one end of his hilt. Same proportions, so it probably will work.... Gripping the hilt tightly, the bladed end facing upward, he turned his wrist so the blade would face downward, and with a single thrust, the hilt locked into the notch.

And just like that, Aiedan could feel his energy pulsating through his body. The ki gathered together, into his right wrist, where it collected into his palm and coursed through the hilt. As soon as the energy collected on one end, the blade shot out of the end, its indefinite hum heard throughout the room. As the guard had predicted, the inside of the notch led to a mold, so to speak. Aiedan's ki swelled through this mold, filling the lock of the safe with the perfect key. Had the key normally been solid, Aiedan mused to himself, It would have never fit into the notch...

With his hand tightly gripped on the sword hilt, Aiedan went to turn the lock. The tiniest hint of greed twinkled in his eyes; he was so close to seeing what the Crystals of Iniquity really looked like, and soon he could wish for the return of the Dragonians. With this desire, he tried to move the lock...but the lock would not budge. No matter which way Aiedan tried to turn the lock, there was no give from the iron safe. It was tough to keep the sword hilt locked into place, because each attempt at turning broke the blade out of the notch.

Suddenly, a thought struck Aiedan; this revelation was hit him by something he had said to himself, and now how the lock worked made complete sense. "This isn't going to work," said Aiedan quietly, yet loud enough both guards would hear his words over the hum of the ki blade. Their curiosities were sparked, as Aiedan turned his head to them. He continued. "Seriyu's able to freeze his ki; I can't, so the key is not solid...and if the key isn't solid, the lock won't budge....

[A Dragonian]

Aiedan looked down at the locked safe, all of his hopes of saving the Dragonian people diminished in an instant. He had all of the pieces for opening the safe, yet the ability to actually open it somehow alluded him. The hilt of the Subeta Shainingu still stood erected in the notch of the blade, but now the blade that once emitted from the upturned end now had dissipated. Its hum no longer filled the room, giving Aiedan and the guards a moment to think.

"It's hopeless," muttered Aiedan to himself. The lock would not open to him, and unless he was able to freeze his ki, it would remain impossible. "After all this...shit...I've done to find these damn crystals..." His voice trailed off into curses of various things, including life, the universe, and everything in between.

"Sir Aiedan?" questioned one of the guards. Aiedan jerked his head back at him for a moment; it was the same guard who had made the correct guess about using the Subeta Shainingu's hilt as a key. Walking over to Aiedan, he looked down at the lock, questioning himself with doubt. But, nonetheless, he asked the question he wanted to. "Do you mind if I...try?"

"Go ahead; knock yourself out," Aiedan stood up and walked away from the lock, keeping his eyes on the guard who went to the sword hilt. Gripping the hilt, concentrating, the guard focused his power and erected a blade into the lock. His ki hummed as it spread in the internal workings, forming itself directly with the mold. The face of the guard bore every sign of concentration as he held to the blade with both hands, tightly clasping it in his hands.

Aiedan had doubt in his eyes, questioning how this was going to work. Maybe...is he able to freeze his ki, like Seriyu could? Suddenly, the blade stopped humming. Looking down upon it, Aiedan wondered what had happened. The guard, lifting up on the hilt, could not pull the sword hilt from the lock. "Your blade's frozen..."

Aiedan was left dumbstruck. Though his mouth was open, no words could come out of it. Quickly collecting his jaw from its dropped position, his words slowly began to form, though he stumbled over them quite a few times. "How did you...do that?"

"That blade is not an ordinary one," responded the Lavertian guard, standing up and looking up into Aiedan's eyes. "I've heard stories about the blade, passed down from back when I was still a boy. That sword,"-- he looked back to it for a moment, before he continued-- "works differently for each person who wields it. For some, it will become a crimson flame, while others will have it take on the form of a blade that screeches like a banshee when swung. It will reflect on the desire of the one who uses it. I wished for it to become solid-- like Seriyu's blade would have been-- and it changed into a solid blade...."

Aiedan paused for a moment, and then looked towards the lock. Why had he not thought of that? Without any answer but the obvious one, he spoke. "Well, if the blade is now a key, let's open it...."

* * *

[A Dragonian]

Aiedan had moved from Seriyu's royal chambers to the fields of Lavertia, far away from the royal palace. Aiedan had chosen to go alone this time, leaving behind the two guards who had helped him through everything. They gave him a pack to carry the seven crystalline objects before he left, and Aiedan smiled, thanking them before leaving off into the forests of the unknown. From where he stood now, he could no longer see the marble palace with walls covered in vines of ivy.

Trees of all ages and breeds rooted themselves in the vicinity, towering over the tiny opening Aiedan had chone to rest in. The clearing was wide enough for a tiny group to set-up camp, the emerald grass providing a natural resting place. Few winds rustled here and there, yet most of the ones that had made it through the fields followed behind Aiedan's footsteps.

It was in this tiny clearing that Aiedan opened his bag and dropped the seven crystals. As each one fell from the bag, they made a metallic clinking sound when one crystal hit another. They fell under gravity's persuasion, and with nothing to stop them, they each hit the ground, one by one. When one collided with the earth below, a soft thud echoed a few feet and then died away into the air. When the last crystal had dropped to the ground, Aiedan tossed the bag aside and looked down at the crystals.

There were seven in total, each crystal taking on at least one color of the visible light spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Each crystal was made of the same transparent glass, exposing the internal light to anyone with vision. The light shined brightly, and Aiedan questioned this to the nature of each crystal.

His eyes gazed down on the crystalline objects, his thoughts consumed by each of the seven crystals. They seemed innocent enough, but they contained the power of seven deadly sins: Lust, Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, and Sloth. They shine with heavenly light, Aiedan mused with half of a smile upon his pale rose lips, Yet their power is darker than anything that could be found in all of Hell....Quite interesting...

He continued to stare down at them, preparing himself for his wishes. They say you get two wishes for summoning the Dragon of Iniquity. Seriyu told me to, in pride, restore the lives of the Dragonians killed by the Saiyans....but what else should I wish for? Would he wish for something in envy of someone? Would he ask for wrath? Would he be gluttonous and wish for cheese?

"Dragon of Darkness's Twisted Flame," Aiedan shouted loudly. His voice echoed around the forest, startling any of the animals that might have been in the surrounding area. There were sounds of animals' footprints fleeing the scene, birds flapping their wings rapidly so they could take flight. "I summon you from your eternal prison; I demand you to grant me my wishes!"

[Archer]

"I summon you from your eternal prison; I demand you to grant me my wishes!"

Nothing happened for a moment after the Dragonian boy spoke these words. There was a hanging pause, a pause just long enough to caste a shadow of doubt over the mind of the summoner. But as soon as the doubt would be caste, the effect started. The ground of the clearing began to rumble, shaking the roots and foundations of nearby trees, and causing any wildlife that had not already fled to do so.

The assembled crystals remained remarkably still through the entire process. The ground was now vibrating violently, but the Crystals themselves did little more than shiver. Although they were moving little, they were moving with purpose, the scattered crystals shifting slowly towards each other.

After a few moments, the crystals all touched. As soon as each Crystal was touching another, everything happened at once. In one rapid movement, the seven crystals snapped together into a single polygon.

And at that exact moment, each crystal lost every ounce of it's vibrant glow. The light seemingly sapped out of each crystal, forming a ball of glowing energy just above them. And from the ball of light, a figure started to form.

First came the head -- although any naive bystander would not call it a head. The head alone was at least a hundred feet in diameter, already soaring for the skies as a gigantic snaking body followed it's path. The Dragon's Scales were a deep navy blue, so much so that it was almost unnoticable from Black. Each individual scale was about the size of a patio tile, and the Dragon's body never seemed to stop.

And indeed, the Dragon never did escape fully into Dragonia. Aiedan would easily be able to see that the Dragon's form was still bound into the sphere of light the Crystals had formed, even though the Dragon itself was now thousands of feet into the sky. It's giant, yellow eyes bore down on the Dragonian like a huricane, observing fully the mortal soul that summoned him from his prison.

Although the Dragon of Iniquity did not move it's head one millimetre, it's voice resonated around Aiedans head like a siren -- although voices in his head was not likely to surprise this Dragonian.

State your Wishes, Dragonian... came the Dragon's voice, it's eyes still fixed on the young man beneath it.

---

Deeper into the forest, a figure stood. His eyes were fixed on the gargantuan creature in front of him -- the Dragon of Iniquity. A smile flickered across his lips for a moment, as he turned away from the awesome site, and left the scene.