“And once you get on the trolley, I'll just teleport on top of it!” Spike said, laying out the last piece of the plan out to Dagger. She insisted on being called by that name again since the two were now incognito. The guards would be looking for the princess and the dragon, and their brilliant plan would get them to Alexandria without being discovered.
“That sounds perfect!” Dagger replied with a smile, “When we're about to reach the South Gate, I'll get the disguise together!” she affirmed as they wandered through a forest near the river. Spike was following her lead, for he didn't know the way to the gate, and he was really hoping they weren't lost.
They'd been tackling the monsters of the mist fairly well, and the new powers his cache of gems provided had been a boon. With his destructive magic, and Dagger's healing magic, the two were relatively safe from the monsters.
It would be bad if the Master Hunter couldn't handle a couple monsters! Spike thought smugly. Out of his rewards, he had already eaten all he intended to, leaving a single Amethyst and a Ruby left. And just like the Garnet, each of those gems reminded him of somepony.
The Amethyst had the same color as Rarity's element of harmony, and holding it made Spike feel like he could reach out and touch her. It felt regal, and proud. But it was also melodramatic to the point of being silly. The power it granted Spike let out a shrilling noise that made monsters run away. While the noise didn't sound like Rarity, Spike couldn't help but draw a connection between the sound and her whining. She was quite the whiner when she put some effort into it. He loved the mare, but even he found that tone grating. And while the power her gem gave was very useful against the monsters they would rather not fight, there was several other powers in the gem, it really was a generous gemstone. Being tied to Rarity, Spike wished to master it before mastering the Ruby.
The Ruby radiated with brash confidence, and a fierce loyalty that could only remind Spike of Rainbow Dash. When he drew upon its power he was surprised to summon a miniature sonic rainboom upon his enemies, knocking them into the ground and confusing them. Seeing the enemies attacking each other out of confusion was indeed, awesome. Also matching her element of harmony, Spike was curious to see what would come from the gems that matched the other three; Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack.
Thinking of them, he briefly wondered what was going on in Equestria right now, Had the mist gotten worse, or had it been taken care of? He also wondered what his friends back at Lindblum were up two as the pair wandered deeper into the forest.
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ATE: Trek Through the Rain
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Gathering the soldiers they rescued, the whole group, now numbering ten, left the grotto behind them, and marched to the city of Burmecia. Zidane appraised his company, Freya was looking more and more dower the closer they were to the city, and he couldn't blame her. His Equestrian companions, however, were looking better than they had first entering the grotto.
They must be use to harrowing adventures if they can adapt so quickly. Thinking on it, he suspected it was their friendship that gave them the strength to get through the cave.
Saving the soldiers made them both happy, and seeing that happiness in each other reinforced it. Zidane put on an optimistic face, if happiness is contagious, then he hoped Freya would catch a little of it to help her with what lies ahead.
The two ponies were friends that have been through a good amount together, Zidane could tell that. Freya didn't have that connection with the others. He did, admittedly, feel happy for the two ponies, glad they found the strength they needed, but he also felt sad for Freya. Surely, what was waiting for them in Burmecia would do anything but give the dragon knight happiness.
This section of the nation of Burmecia was always raining, making the mist thinner here then in the other nations. Burmecia was a city built within the mist, and it's believed that the rain weakens it, allowing the Burmecians to live in the mist without suffering from its adverse affects.
While the rain did protect everyone's sanity, it was also depressing, at least Zidane thought so. Since the Burmecians live in constant rain, that probably wasn't the same sentiment for them. Looking ahead, he thought he could make out the vague signs of the city in the distance. Soon, they would see what state the capitol of the Burmecians fared.
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Dagger and Spike stood before a clearing, in which a chocobo and a moogle were chasing each other in a game of tag. The pair found the sight very unexpected, considering the monsters they were fighting not that long ago. The clearing had no mist, and some sunlight was basking the area, making it bright and a lot less gloomy then anywhere else under the mist.
The chocobo noticed the intruders first, and stopped suddenly in surprise, causing the moogle that was chasing it to crash into the yellow bird. The chocobo took a step back nervously as the moogle noticed the outsiders, and approached Spike and Dagger.
“Oh, hello! Kupo. I'm Mene, what brings you to Chocobo forest?” Dagger and Spike shared a look before the princess spoke up.
“We're trying to find the ground entrance to the South Gate,” she explained, welcome to a friendly face, “and we're a little lost.”
“Did you come from Lindblum?” The moogle asked curiously, and seeing Dagger and Spike nod in unison, let out a yelp of surprise. “You traveled from Lindblum to here on foot!? You must be strong! Kupo.”
“We do make a powerful pair,” Spike admitted smugly, puffing his chest out.
“Well, if you're heading to the ground entrance, it's around the river. Oh, I know! Choco here can help you get to the trolley for the South Gate!” The moogle suggested, and the chocobo looked at it, annoyed that it was getting volunteered to help.
“Kwehh!”
“Oh,” Spike replied to its decline, “that's alright. We don't mind going on foot anyway.” The dragon was for either option, riding a chocobo would be as fun as tackling the monsters in between here and the gate. The chocobo looked at Spike with interest.
“Kweh?” And following a couple whistles, Spike nodded. Choco looked happy that Spike could understand her.
“Looks like Choco likes you!” Meme said, causing the chocobo to roll her eyes, “In that case, how about you try finding some treasure with her?” Dagger spoke up before the dragon could greedily except the offer.
“We need to reach the South Gate as soon as possible, so I'm afraid finding treasure isn't an option right now.” She adamantly pointed out.
Ahh man, but treasure~ Spike groaned to himself, maybe another time then. Choco noticed the dragon's look of disappointment and walked up to him. It knelt down to let Spike on her back. The dragon's mood instantly shifted as he got on her, and he let out a cheer as she stood tall.
“This is awesome!” Spike admitted as Choco ran a lap around the area, glad the dragon was enjoying the ride. After a little bit Dagger started to look impatient, making the dragon ask the chocobo, “Do you mind carrying us both to the South Gate?” Choco eyed the princess, considering for a moment before nodding her head.
“Well Dagger, looks like we won't have to worry about being lost,” Spike said proudly as she got on the chocobo's back.
“Kweh!”
“Oh, and according to Choco, we won't have to fight monsters while riding her!” Spike explained to Dagger, assuming she didn't understand the chocobo.
Spike felt tall on her back. Chocobo's are awesome! They can even find treasure, apparently! When he had the free time, he intended to learn more about this treasure finding trick. Choco eyed her passengers before sprinting off into the woods, making Spike cheer, while Dagger yelped in surprise.
Meme saw them off as Choco left the safety of the clearing. Dagger held on tight to the bird, out of fear, but it soon dissuaded into mirth. Bolting through the forest, monsters got out of their way as Choco blitzed through the foliage, and before long, they broke free from the forest's cover.
“Choco, can you go faster!?” Spike asked, and Choco gave him a sly look as she picked up speed. Choco was going faster than Applejack's best sprint. Is this what it's like to feel speed like Rainbow Dash? Up and down hills, around the river, the terrain zipped past them. The trek that would have taken the rest of the day, only took half an hour.
Seeing the entrance to the gate not too far away, they stopped near cover so Dagger could get her disguise ready. The plan was for her too look like a commoner and use the South Gate Pass she had to use the trolley, while Spike would teleport past the gate and ride on top of the trolley as it climbed the mountain.
“That was so thrilling!” Dagger admitted, “I've never been allowed to do that back home. Thank you Choco.” And Choco let out a whistle of joy, glad that her passengers enjoyed the blitz.
“Next time I'm in the area, you can count on me to follow up on that treasure hunting!” Spike claimed, which got another hoot of approval from the chocobo. The two casters bid farewell to the bird, and proceeded to the South Gate.
Before splitting up, Spike turned to the princess, letting out something on his mind. “We could have at least asked about the treasure hunting,” he commented. To say he wanted to do it would be an understatement. The princess adopted an apologetic, yet resolute look.
“I'm sorry Spike, but time is of the essence, the sooner I reach mother and stop her, the better. Next time we're in Lindblum, I promise you can hunt for treasure with Choco.” Spike knew that this was important to the princess, and the others, but that didn't change the fact that he wanted to go treasure hunting. He gave her a nod, satisfied with her promise, and teleported out of sight as she approached the guards at the gate.
From his hiding place, Spike saw that the guards had bought the disguise, and let her pass. So Spike got himself on the other side of the wall, and when no one was looking, appeared next to Dagger.
“So, do I gotta stay out of sight till we reach Treno?” He asked, the plan was to cross into Alexandria territory and head to Treno, and from there, Alexandria. Spike would rather not have to play hide and seek the entire venture.
“Once we make it to the top of the mountain, you shouldn't need to hide anymore.” She assured him as she looked ahead to where the trolley was, “Let's move, the trolley will be leaving soon.” Seeing her assessment to be true, Spike teleported on top of the trolley as Dagger ran up to the attendant. She was let in and shortly after it started moving, slowing climbing the mountain. As Spike sat atop the metal car, he couldn't help but imagine mountains of treasure, discovered with Choco at his side.
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Moogle Notes:
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'Howdy Equestrian, Mois the moogle here with more tid-bits about Gaia!'
'Chocobo forests are little sanctuaries hidden throughout Gaia, you can find all kinds of treasure in them, with the aid of a chocobo!'
'Mene is an old friend of mine, we didn't have time to catch up however, I had to chase a sprinting chocobo! Kupo!'
'Choco became a good friend of ours later on, suffice to say, a great deal of treasure was involved, as well as a life changing adventure for our feathered friend.'
'The trolley that climbs the mountain is used by people who can't afford to ride an airship in between nations. The guards are rotated often to avoid mist poisoning. Kupo~'
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Spike the Dragon
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Items Equipped:
Mage Staff: Fire(mastered)
Feather Hat: Bright Eyes, Add Status(mastered)
Raises Wind Elem-Atk
Glass Armlet: Steal Gil, Antibody(mastered)
Silk Shirt: Thunder(mastered), Cure
Property: Elem-Def: Thunder damage reduced by 50%
Amethyst: Whining, Generosity, Ability Up, Accuracy+
Lvl up! Lvl-11 HP 342/342 MP 18/86
AP 4/20
*Add Status(3) - Adds weapon's status effect when you attack.
*Antibody (4) - Prevents Poison and Venom.
*Ability Up (3) – Doubles the amount of Ability Points earned from battles.
*Generosity (6) - Lowers the price of items by a small amount.
*Dragon Scales(0) - You take no fire damage.
Abilities:
Black Magic:
Fire 6 MP - Causes Fire damage to single/multiple targets.
Thunder 6 MP - Causes Thunder damage to single/multiple targets.
Blizzard 6 MP - Causes Ice damage to single/multiple targets.
Friendship's Magic:
Spike's Flame 0 MP - Green and harmless warm fire. Perfect for lighting up any party.
Teleport 2 MP - Increase chance of physical attacks missing Spike for short duration.
Whining 4 MP - Causes enemies to flee. You get no rewards from fleeing enemies.
Flame Breath 8 MP - Causes Fire damage to a single target. Cannot be reflected.
Trance - Can use Tetra-Breath, mixing three Black Magic spells into a breath attack. It cannot be reflected.