A couple of days passed. As the date they were set to return neared, and the day that the plan would be set into motion crept closer, Eclipse continued to make slow progress with Drake. If the Princess meant so much to him, he had an odd way of showing it. He was offering the boy a way to have her! Yet Drake barely wanted to pay attention.

It concerned Eclipse a lot that the boy was so unreliable. Eclipse wanted it so when he said 'jump', Drake already knew how high. Instead, it was closer to Eclipse saying 'jump', and Drake making a sarcastic comment about getting high…

 

It would need to change; and he’d make sure it would… Drake was very lucky that having the meeting in Daguerreo would work well for Eclipse’s plan.

 

 

 

Drake staggered up to his room. Tomorrow he was supposed to go to Alexandria and stall Zidane for as long as possible, he understood that, he didn’t understand why that required a three hour lecture when he wanted to be sleeping.

He was unusually tired that night, and fell asleep quick.



Drake wasn’t sure what was wrong. He’d been so tired, but even at sleep his mind was restless.
It was a nightmare… he’d had plenty of nightmares in his lifetime, but this one was different. He wasn’t sure what scared him about it, but he’d felt uneasy before the dream even began.

It was dark, and he was tired. No… not tired, asleep. But… moving?

It was… hot. Drake never really felt it before, but the feeling was unmistakable. Immense heat… and then light, as his eyes opened. It was an odd, odd light. It wasn’t very bright… it was dim, and it seemed to come from the walls with an eerie hiss.


Drake woke up suddenly. The feeling sill lingered in his mind, causing him to shudder as he got up.
It had been a short dream; maybe a minute or two, and he couldn’t understand why it had scared him so much…
As he spotted the clock, though, he had an all new fear.

He was three hours late.

“Blama!”

Ellipsis was already climbing the tower by that time. Yes, he had been busy that morning, and been at the ship waiting for Drake when he realized he had never made sure the boy was awake…

Eclipse had already left some time ago, traveling by his own means, so if something went wrong now; it would be hard to let him know.

 

Drake hurried and got ready, cursing himself for not waking up on time.
He opened the door and headed down the stairs, but caught sight of Ellipsis.

“… I was awake on time. The airship got stalled. And my door wouldn’t open… and… Chaucer died?”

 

Ellipsis stopped on the stairs, looking at the Prince. “Cut the rahat taur, Drake!” Ellipsis snapped. Knowing that none of that was true, including the last part which would have at least been interesting if it was true. “We have to go, now. Good job on the excuses, but next time make one that is realistic, alright?”

 

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Drake said and hurried down the stairs. “It might be true, anyway. Miracles happen.”

 

“Yeah, like us actually making it to Alexandria on time.” Ellipsis commented sarcastically, and started hurrying back down the stairs.

 

“That would indicate we’re lucky. And what in life has ever hinted at that?” Drake sped up, practically jogging to the ship.

 

“That you get free ice-cream any time of the day you want?” Ellipsis asked. His longer legs letting him keep up with Drake at only a brisk walk.

 

Drake stopped and looked toward the kitchen as if seriously considering that “Oh yeah...” After all, they were already late…

 

Ellipsis gave the boy a shove in-between the shoulder blades. “Alexandria has ice cream too,” He informed the boy and rolled his eyes a bit even though it made him smile a bit. “You’re not supposed to have the stuff anyway, you know, it makes you ill.”

 

Drake flinched from the hit, more surprised than anything. He got his mind back on track and ran to the airship.

 

Ellipsis followed Drake onto the ship, glad that the boy hadn't reacted badly to the shove. Knowing Drake, something could have easily caught fire… but he worried that the reaction was as if he’d been expecting pain. He didn’t like that… it was new, and not a reaction he wanted the prince to give.

 

 

 

 

Drake spent the first hour looking around the ship. “Ellipsis? Where’s the box? The velvet one?”

 

“The one wrapped in blue and pink?” Ellipsis lied, hiding a small smirk.

 

“No. Black.” Drake said, “Black silk.

 

“Ooops...” Ellipsis muttered as he was looking over the side of the airship at the ocean below.

 

Drake crossed his arms and glared. “Where is it?”

 

Ellipsis sighed. Drake was hard to fool, most of the time. He barely ever mistook him for Eclipse… though at times he considered that a good thing. “It's in my quarters, for safe keeping.” He informed the boy, motioning toward the room. As if he would leave a royal-grade gift just sitting around... “But Eclipse still thinks that you shouldn't give it to her.” He warned, as an afterthought.

 

“Well then he doesn’t have to know about it.” Drake shrugged, walking toward Ellipsis’s room.

 

“Hmm, you don't seem to know Eclipse very well, do you?” Ellipsis said to himself. Drake was probably too far away to hear, but he should know that it was rather hard to hide things from Eclipse. Maybe he would be lucky this time though, and Eclipse would let him get away with it.

 

Some time later, about the time that the ship was docking at Alexandria, Eclipse was just starting his attack on the village. It was a warm day; everything was dry and hot. Almost perfect.

He stayed outside of the village, hidden in the darkness of the forest. That's where he started the attack. Started the dark clouds forming overhead, and the winds to pick up.
This was an odd area of Gaia, a sudden storm wasn't too unusual. Nevertheless, it did cause a few Genomes to look up curiously, and the Black Mages to stare as if this was the first time they had ever seen a storm before.

Eclipse smirked as the first crack of lightning smashed into one of those ridiculous houses. Like stamping on an anthill, the black mages all started to panic. Running in circles and gawking at the fire in pure shock and terror.
It did prove to Eclipse beyond a doubt that the Genomes weren’t people, they just watched, some moving a few steps away, some moving a few steps closer. The kind of reaction he might expect from a brain-dead drug addict.
He had been unable to spot Mikoto, so he guessed she was in her little house, the one that wouldn’t burn. He would convince her to come out, soon, though.

For a while he just stood, watching the scene, and basking in the combined terror of several dozen minds. He ignored the confusion and blankness from the genomes. He found it difficult to read their minds anyway. Probably nothing there to see…

A few of the Black mages had finally come to their senses, and were starting to get water for the fire. Others started to follow, one by one. The time to strike again was ripe. And it began to rain.

It began to rain lightning.

Huge thunderclaps sounded, one after the other, becoming a deafening, unending roar that drowned out any and all voices. The Black mages were confused, and barely able to communicate. Eclipse delighted at their panic and futile efforts. Lightning bolts struck down. Big ones hitting the houses, setting them all ablaze, and spearing the ground, causing it to shake, and crops to ignite.
Then, smaller ones, hitting the ground and crackling all around like little bombs from the sky. They weren’t fatal, but it kept them on their toes. Prancing around like a gruesome and terrifying ballet.

Finally he started to feel pain and fear from the Genomes. However, there was still no sign of their leader…

 

 

 

 

Drake found the gift and kept it with him. Once the ship docked, he went to find Garnet and gave her the gift.
She was a bit defensive, but he’d expected that.

He did not, however, expect to find out that Zidane had already left.

However, they didn’t have an airship! That would slow them down! … Until he gave them his ship… which, he’d admit, was not his brightest idea... but it made her so relieved…

 

Ellipsis was looking around for Drake. The damn boy had disappeared again, and it looked suspicious for him to be wandering around the palace alone. Luckily, Ellipsis spotted him sitting on the dock, and started toward him...

 

Drake heard the footsteps approaching.
“One more word about me giving up the airship, and I’ll burn your eyebrows off… again.”

 

“Fine, “ Ellipsis answered. “As long as you don't count talk about how we are supposed to get home, because I am really starting to wonder.”

 

“They’ll be back, or I’ll call for another ship.” Drake reasoned, “Or a boat.”

 

“Do you know how long a boat would ta—” Ellipsis started but stopped mid-word. “Of course you do, but I don't think Eclipse will want to kill you any less by the time you get back.”

 

“I’m seriously considering ditching you again. You’re so depressing.” Drake yawned, “It wasn’t my fault this time.”

 

“You're right. That 'Please take my ship!' could have come from behind the grassy knoll.” Ellipsis suggested sarcastically, and crossed his arms.

 

“Oh, no, that was my fault… but what was I supposed to do?” He straightened up. “A tragedy, you say? No airship, hu? Well, tough luck on that, I must be heading home now on my perfectly good airship that I’m not offering because… why? Up to something? Most certainly not! Now, I overslept, would you mind calling Zidane back here, I’m supposed to be stalling him without appearing to be suspicious...” He sat down on the short stone wall. “Yes, that wouldn’t have given them any reason to be suspicious of us! While we’re at it, let’s throw a party about how this plan might work.”

 

Ellipsis sighed, but didn't reply. It would be useless to try and say anything to Drake now that he was in sarcasm overdrive. The point that he was sure Eclipse would make was that they had spent so long planning it, that he should have at least planned for such an event, and therefore a perfect way to stall them.

Eclipse sometimes liked how Drake never seemed to plan ahead. It made him predictable, and meant he didn't have to worry much about a betrayal. Unfortunately, as Ellipsis had to hear about over and over, it made Drake a hindrance in most of 'their' plans.

 

Drake pulled his feet up onto the wall and looked up. Then he jumped onto the roof and walked away.
He wasn’t in the mood to be lectured at—he was already going to hear about it at home, why did it need to start now? Why couldn’t he live a few hours in the delusion that he hadn’t made a mistake and everything was going to turn out fine?

Drake didn’t see giving away the airship as a mistake. Zidane had already left, and his jet was far faster than any Gaian airship… giving away the Veşnic Viaţă wasn’t going to cause any problems that hadn’t already been caused.

No, what bothered him was the cause of the original problems… why hadn’t he woken up on time?
He was late by three hours, because of one, short, nightmare?
What was with that? Nightmares were common, but that dream was so different, so real… almost like a memory.

Drake shook it off and jumped down, into the garden where he strolled around for a bit before returning to the dock once he was sure Ellipsis wouldn’t be there.
He watched for the Veşnic Viaţă rather than calling for another airship… or a boat.

 

Eclipse made his way to Alexandria before the airship did. His methods of doing so were mysterious, and something that he didn't want even Ellipsis or Drake to know about. The important thing was that he could, and did.

Of course, when he actually arrived he was completely unable to find Drake. Again, the thought crossed his mind to somehow get a tracking spell put on him like he had on Celestina, but he spotted Drake on the dock, and the thought was soon forgotten.

Unfortunately, he didn’t even get a chance to talk to Drake properly. The prince ignored him and trotted off with the Princess to dinner. The boy hadn’t done one thing to please him all day, and it was really starting to irritate Eclipse. All because of that damn princess, too. She was getting to be far too much trouble. At first, he had believed she would be a good incentive. Now it just seemed like she was a distraction. One he would have to get rid of, one way, or another…

His first attempt was to speak to the Queen. She was practically useless at most things, and had almost as much control over her daughter as she did over Zidane. Still, she was due for a reminder who was boss, and it couldn’t hurt to at least try and get her to make Garnet stay away from Drake. There wasn’t much else he could do until Drake was done with dinner anyway.

By the time Drake came out of the dining hall, it was getting dark, and cold. Still, Drake lingered, and at the earliest opportunity, Eclipse had hit him upside the head. He was sick of the patient bodyguard act; the boy was getting on his nerves more and more. He’d put so much thought into everything and, mostly because of Drake, it was a miracle that it had worked at all. Though he hadn’t found Mikoto, she was still apparently missing. So it had the same effect, with the added bonus that now Drake couldn’t let it slip!

He led Drake to the ship, which, to add insult to injury, looked like it had half a tree hanging from one of the landing struts.

 

 

 

Drake expected a long lecture, and got one! So things were normal.

Till night fell…

It was dark again, but the feeling was different. He was standing, for one. Drake could feel the ground under him… it was interesting… Hard, but… not like stone, or dirt. He could hear it crunch under his feet and that surprised him.

He didn’t usually make noise when he walked…

Drake smelt sulfur. This place smelt bad, it reeked of ash, and sulfur, and heat. So much heat and it only got worse as the seconds passed. It was the same heat as in the first dream—undesirable. It was too much. He could walk through fires and not feel anything except energy, but this heat… was suffocating. It was nauseating, immense, filthy heat. It wasn’t fire… something else, something that fire sprung from, but did not live long in.

It wasn’t as frightening this time. He wasn’t asleep, and he controlled the movements he made. There was still fear, but mostly confusion. He wanted to understand, he wanted to know what was going on. Why didn’t this dream seem to have a purpose? Why was he having another dream that started in darkness? Why couldn’t he wake up? He still seemed to be asleep in the dream, as if he were sleepwalking. It was frustrating.

Drake stomped his foot and the lights went up… he woke up in the dream.

He was surrounded by fire on every side, now, shooting from the ground where lava flowed like water from the many fountains he’d seen in his parent’s palace… He wanted to say he’d never seen lava flow like that before, so swiftly, but another part of him said he had…

 

Drake backed up a step, but he had nowhere to go.

That’s when figures started to emerge from the flames in front of him. A group of men in blue robes, similar to the kind that Ellipsis wore, walked forward at a slow pace. They walked side by side in two columns, their faces shadowed and hidden under large hoods. At the head, there was a tall man, his hair short and blonde, and his eyes pale and blue. He looked emotionless as he walked and guided the dark-haired boy that was in front of him, toward Drake.

Then, abruptly, something huge and made from magma rose up behind the Prince with a sound like a gale blowing mixed with a distant rockslide, causing Drake to turn to see what it was. It immediately got hotter and brighter in the room, which was already like a kiln, and Drake had to jump out of the way. The pillar of molten rock looked like some giant, eyeless snake with ridges along it’s back, rising out of the lava. It ‘glanced’ around, but didn’t seem to see Drake.

Up ahead, the group of robed figures split up, and surrounded the snake in a semi-circle. While the blonde-haired man walked forwards, guiding the boy so he was heading right at it. The boy’s face looked tortured. Like he was scared to death, but had no control over the rest of his body, his large sea-green eyes radiated terror. The giant fiery snake seemed to be looking directly at the boy now, even though it didn’t actually have any eyes.

Then, suddenly, it struck out like a scorpion’s tail at the boy, and engulfed him. The sound of the interrupted scream, and roaring fire was suddenly deafening. All of the men in blue robes stepped back, or looked anxious.

 

“No!” Drake screamed, reaching forward toward the event, but suddenly unable to move. His voice was muted, too, as if he were under water.

The blonde man turned to look directly at Drake for the very first time, and the light faded while the images blurred all around. Everything went totally dark and blurry, except for the man. He glared straight at Drake, looking him in the eye. His face illuminated by an unseen fire, the flames dancing around his face and dark robes. It almost made him look like he was on fire.

It seemed like the man was moving toward Drake, but his feet weren’t moving. Then again, there was no floor either; they were just floating in the darkness now, pained screams and sounds of fire crackling and hissing in the background. But the man never said a word, just moved closer, and closer. And then, his mouth curved into an all too familiar smirk…

 

Drake was able to wake up then, mostly because he heard screaming and it was coming from him. He may have been half-asleep and freaking out, but he remembered the ‘no noise’ rule for the tower and clamped a hand over his mouth.

Shut up, shut up! He ordered himself, checking to be sure the guards he’d pulled up to shield his thoughts had held through the night.

He was shaking…

Drake got out of bed and pulled his coat and shoes on, then walked out of his room, closing the door quietly behind him, he headed down the stairs, headed for the palace, but unsure why his mind seemed so set on him leaving the tower.

 

Eclipse wasn't exactly a light sleeper. He had spent a lot of time and effort training his might to ignore loud, but meaningless noises. Like sounds of the monthly market in the courtyard, people running up and down the stairs, children, and loud birds...
While still being alert and receptive to strange and possibly meaningful noises, such as Drake's sudden scream.

Eclipse was already sitting up; awake, as he listened to Drake creep down the stairs. Had he still been asleep, he would have missed it… Eclipse’s hearing was extremely advanced and sensitive, he could hear a fly outside his balcony window, and the fact that Drake was being quiet enough in his escape that Eclipse just barely heard him was troubling. So, he decided to investigate.

By the time he was up, and just leaving his room, Drake was already out of the tower. Eclipse spotted him walking across the bridge toward the palace from one of the high tower windows.

 

Drake shuddered as he walked. Feeling eyes on him, he sped up.
He felt better when he was out of the tower… but he still felt weird. It was disturbing that he felt better in the palace. It wasn’t that he was looking for something or someone, he just had to get away from the tower…

Just needed to move… that’s all… He reasoned, quietly.

 

Eclipse followed, slowly and silently. Drake seemed to be shielding his thoughts, so Eclipse had no idea what the boy's problem was. The man in the red robes seemed to glide down the stairs. Now and then it seemed as if the shadows cast over the steps were helping to silence his footsteps, acting like strange cushions, similar to the way his wings did. But if it was true, no one was around to see it.

Eclipse was soon striding across the bridge, too. He eventually entered the palace through the door that he had glimpsed Drake go through.

 

Drake shuddered involuntarily when Eclipse entered the room. “You are the creepiest man alive, you realize that?”

 

“What are you doing up?” Eclipse enquired, almost glaring at Drake for the insult, which also gave him a slight sense of accomplishment…

 

The idea of saying ‘Bad Dream’ just seemed too childish to Drake. “Couldn’t sleep, decided to come read or something. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

 

“Of course, trouble sleeping...” Eclipse echoed, a slight smirk coming to his lips, having very distinctly heard the scream from Drake only minutes before. Such terror in that cry; he hadn’t heard such screams in a long while.

 

“If you already know… why do you ask?” Drake grumbled, crossing his arms.

He looked at a door set in the wall to his right.

 

“I was curious as to why you were having trouble sleeping,” answered the man in the red robes. He didn't follow Drake's gaze to the door.

 

Drake sighed. “Nightmare… that’s all.”

 

“Hmm,” was all Eclipse gave as feedback. “Very well then...” He added after a moment of thought, and started to turn to leave.

 

Drake slunk out the other door as soon as he could and as Eclipse glanced back he decided there would be no way to investigate further.

Drake still didn’t know why he was feeling so nervous, he couldn’t fully explain it. Eclipse was always creepy, mean quite often, and a jerk most of the time. However, he hadn’t done anything that explained this sudden fear of him…

At least, nothing recently… Drake had to consider it just a side effect of the dream, but no one else caused him to have any fear at all…

 

Eclipse went to the tower, and back to bed, after putting little or no further thought into Drake's dream. The rest of the night passed without incident.