• Skies of Fire


    Chapter 2: Nowhere to Run


    Distressed screams echoed through the walkways of the Imperial City as Sabin petulantly sailed his ship through what was left of the Old City. He could hear the cries of the wounded and sorrowed cry out to him as he tore through the ruins. He did what he could to get those in danger to safety, ever watchful of the ship in the sky responsible for all of this.

    "Boss! Heads up!' Tabby yelled as a cannon round tore past the ship. Sabin realized he was out of time. Taking the wheel, Sabin got on the loudspeaker and warned the refugees to take cover as he bolted toward his agressor. "What an odd technology" Sabin thought to himself. This frigate seemed to just be a chunk of the monstrosity above. It was an odd obsidian color and in the shape of what seemed to be an arrowhead, sabin had never seen anything like it before...

    "At the ready, Tabs" Sabin barked through the comm. "Don't fire til you know it's gonna kill him, We might need the ammo." Rushing towards the arrowship, Sabin weaved through a hail of cannon fire. Once in range, Tabby fired the main cannon, striking their adversary directly leaving nothing but rubble. A few of the shards from the wreckage flew into the main propulsion unit, causing a billow of smoke to spurt behind the ship.

    "We either need to land or jump ship boss!" Tabby hollered through the comm."It's awfully smoky down here, maybe we can drop the refugees off at one of the guilds or something, I'm sure their armed for this, but we aren't." there was a fear in her voice Sabin had never heard before. Out of all the time he had spent with her, He'd never known her to be afraid of anything. "Alright Tabs, sounds like an idea" He replied.

    Sabin languidly steered his ship into the side port in front of the Fighter's Guild. If anyone could keep these people safe, it would be them. He reluctantly began to steer away when the engine cut out. "Boss! We have to go now!!!!!" Tabby screamed at him."Here!" she shouted as she tossed him a glider pack. "We're going to have to make our way towards the ground, we're too far out to make the jump." Sabin stepped towards the side of the ship and looked at the ground below. For most of his life, Sabin had been skybound. He couldn't remember the last time he had been on solid ground.

    "What are you waiting for boss? you just pull the string and let the glider do the work!" Tabby shouted as she shoved him off the edge. Sabin let out a quiet scream as he plummeted towards the ground. Pulling the cord, Sabin felt like he was going to be ripped in half as the wings tore open and began to carry him on the wind. Taking one last look at the burning wreckage of a city above, Sabin began to pilot his glider towards an open plain in the forest below. "That looks like a good spot to land!" He called out to Tabby.

    After landing, Sabin threw the pack off his back and helped Tabby out of the tree she had landed in. "How is it that even though this is your first time on a glider, I get stuck in the tree? I've been using glider packs since i was a kid!!!" Tabby barked. "I don't know, I guess I'm just a natural pilot" he jested. "But we do have to make a plan."
    "A plan for what? What can we do against THAT!!!!" She demanded."That thing came down and laid waste to years of complicated engineering in a matter of moments. What do you honestly think we can do?"
    Sabin took a moment to think about her response and then replied,"We can warn the other cities. Let them know what their up against. Give them time to prepare themselves. These things aren't invincible. You helped me waste one of them yourself! There is hope, and besides, aren't you the one who always told me to have faith? To be courageous in the face of danger? I saw a side of you I've never seen before. You were scared. I understand that, I was too. But that doesn't mean we should just give up. We need to stay strong. And I need to know that you're in this with me."
    "You know I am boss. I owe you my life" She said "But I'm new to the whole massive devastation thing. Today, I saw more death than any of the missions I've ever been on with you. And it wasn't just the bad guys that died up there. It was a lot of innocent people."
    "Then don't let their deaths be in vein." He said with a smile. "Help me do something about it, I'm sure they'd appreciate it." Tabby nodded. For once he was being brave for her. It was a new feeling for her. She'd always been strong, even as a kid. Back in Wendigra, she was always getting into fights and beating up the older boys. As a teen, she had ended more lives then some of the soldiers of the imperial army. But that was a life she became accustomed to as Sabin's partner.
    He WAS always getting into trouble...

    After getting a camp set up, Sabin decided to make some food. They enjoyed their meal of noodles and bread in silent tribute to those who lost their lives upon the Imperial City. After dinner, sleep didn't come easy. Awakened every ten to twenty minutes by the sound of the city falling apart or of another fuel cell exploding. It wasn't a very restful setting at all. but sleep finally did come and with it a vision. A vision of a warrior wielding sword in one hand and spell in another.
    "Come Sabin, We've much to talk about..." The figure said, It seemed to glow with a strange aura. It seemed so warm, so familiar.
    "First tell me who you are stranger." He replied. He wasn't sure who this character in his dream was, but he was still very reserved about trusting strange figures after what had happened.
    "Please." he said, "I am no enemy to you or Tabby. I give you my word."
    "Tabby? What does she have to do with ME?!" he demanded
    "More than you know, young Sabin, now... Shall we" he gestured towards the path that he stood next to. "I promise i will not take a lot of your time. I just wish to discuss a view things with you."
    Sabin hesitantly stepped onto the path beside this odd warrior and began to stroll wth him. "First allow me to introduce myself. I am Sir Derrick Valor. Royal Battlemage to the king of Dunda. the last real city on the ground. I am contacting you because you are the last survivor of the imperial city and we need you to inform us of what happened there. I felt a mighty disturbance as i slept and scryed to see what happened and found nothing but flame, smoke, and sorrow. Until I felt your presence close by. I am glad I found you, you can help us combat these creatures...."
    "Creatures?" Sabin interrupted. "As in monsters? You're saying MONSTERS did this? I find that hard to believe."
    "It's more complicated than that" the knight continued,"These 'creatures' are representations of evil and malicious spirits that used to plague these lands and skies. I am to believe that there is a very powerful necromancer behind this. But I would feel much better discussing this with you in person, young warrior. I have alerted the guards of your coming and they will lead you to me when you arrive. I have sent some provisions for you that you'll need for your trip as well as some armaments to protect yourself with. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has discovered that someone survived. It will be a dangerous journey but it is one you must endure. Now I must go. I have many things to attend to. I shall await your arrival. Stay safe young warrior." and with that, the strange man evaporated, leaving him with many questions. Yet before he could say anything, he was awakened by a loud screech.

    Shooting out of his sleep, Sabin sat up and locked eyes with one of the most horrid creatures he'd ever seen. It stood the size of a man yet shared no familiarities. It wielded a sword of obsidian and crimson that burned with an ethereal flame, brandishing armor that was more twisted than it's weapon. Sabin looked around and found that there was a cache of supplies where his campfire had been and among it was a blade with a golden edge and a jet black blade. wielding the blade, Sabin stood tall before this beast.

    Before he could think, The monster lunged at him. Dodging and parrying attacks, Sabin nearly tripped over Tabby who was remarkably still asleep amongst the noise. "TABBY!!!! Wake up!" he shouted. Tabby rose from her sleep and screamed at the sight of this monster coming at her. She pulled the flintlock pistol from her boot and lobbed a round between what appeared to be the creatures eyes.With a loud, hissing screech the creature fell. As it lay there dying, the creature seemed to seep a kind of black vapor from its skin until nothing was left but its armor and weapon upon the burnt earth where it laid.

    "what the heck was THAT?!" Tabby demanded. "I've never seen anything like it!"
    "Me either Tabby, I'll explain on the trip." Sabin replied.
    "Trip? Where we going boss?" She asked.
    "To the Grand city of Dunda." He replied.....



    ....Well! That's it for chapter 2! I'm open to criticism! Let me know what you think! icon_biggrin.gif