Cry of the Lost: A Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Tale

Chapter 38

"Captain Nemora, do you hear that? It sounds like the airship is returning!" the soldier said to Shara as they stood guarding the myrrh tree.

"Of course I hear it, and of course it's the airship, moron," Shara snapped.

"These Torenada soldiers are so dense and predictable, unlike Mark, John, and the other dragon knights," Shara thought to herself with a sigh.

Shara and her soldier and scientist companions watched as the airship appeared over the trees and landed in the clearing. Shara readied her lance as the hull door opened and the ramp deployed. Out of the darkness emerged a lone figure: Mark.

"Where are the others?" Shara shouted.

"I'm alone, except for the crew, and I'm unarmed," Mark answered.

"Captain Nemora!" came a voice from above.

Shara looked up to see Ren standing on the deck with Jimmy.

"Captain!" Shara greeted before turning to address the soldier at her side. "Search the airship. Be on guard!"

The soldier entered the airship while Shara cautiously walked over to speak with Mark.

"Where's John? No, wait...don't answer that. What the hell are you doing alive?" Shara said sharply.

"I'm sorry, Shara. It's a long, complicated story," Mark answered.

"Ha! John said the same thing. Well, we have plenty of time, so go ahead," Shara retorted.

"No, we actually don't have much time," Mark said.

Mark stopped speaking mid-sentence when he saw the soldier reemerge from the airship.

"Captain Nemora, it appears that he is telling the truth. Only the crew is onboard. Captain Ren confirmed that the other people were left back in Brighton," the soldier reported.

"Ok, stay here and guard the tree. I am going to interrogate this prisoner," Shara ordered.

Shara pointed her lance at Mark and motioned for him to enter the airship. She led him to a large cell on the lower level and then closed the door behind them.

"No more funny business, Mark. What is going on?" Shara demanded.

"I was actually going to ask you the same question," Mark replied. "I found your journal. What do you know about Richter's plans?"

"Mark, I can't talk about that," Shara answered.

"Shara, I told you...I read your journal. I know you still love me. And you should know that I still love you. But right now...even though our hearts are aching...there's something bigger than both of us going on," Mark shared.

"Still not the smoothest cat in town I see, but always ready to seek truth and right wrongs," Shara quipped.

"Like I said, we don't have much time. John will be here in a matter of minutes," Mark noted.

"What do you mean? He should have been nearly to Brighton by now. There's no way he could have gotten back that quickly," Shara observed.

"Well, apparently he changed his mind because we spotted him not more than an hour away when we flew in," Mark said.

Suddenly, the two friends heard the door lock shut. They quickly turned around and saw the soldier peering through the window. Shara got up and moved to the door.

"What is the meaning of this?! Open the door immediately!" Shara commanded.

"I'm sorry, but I have my orders," the soldier replied, laughing.

"What orders?!" Shara asked angrily.

"Hamilton said that if I saw you speaking with that man or any people besides the crew, I was to keep an eye on you and arrest you if possible," the soldier stated before walking away.

Shara walked back and sat down on the bench next to Mark.

"Damn! How could I be so careless?" Shara said aloud.

"It's not your fault. I shouldn't have put you in jeopardy," Mark said.

A few moments of silence passed.

"I don't know much other than what you already read. Five teams have been sent to the five myrrh trees. All the teams are led by dragon knights. Neil Senna, Richter's right hand man, is in charge of the whole thing. He called us the Collection and Reconnaissance Division...C.A.R.D.'s for short. Neil is up in Costa Mira Cliffs at the myrrh tree there...or at least he should be. Richter and Minister Olmos are working together to control the myrrh sources. I'm not sure why. And yeah, Neil did mention something about Richter being close to finding the location of the meteor. That's all I know, Mark. Now...please be honest with me," Shara said, almost pleading.

"Fair enough, my dear. The truth is that John betrayed me for status. I only found out the truth not long ago when I discovered that John was alive and well living as Hamilton in Sumira. You see, I thought he was dead. Richter had ordered him to kill me, but he couldn't do it, so he made it look like we both died. A farmer found me and nursed me back to health. Ever since then, I've kept to the shadows in search of truth and justice. I've been following this myrrh gathering nonsense for a while now...something about it just rubs me the wrong way," Mark shared.

"I'm sorry, Mark. That must have been tough," Shara empathized.

"Yeah...and that's not even the half of it," Mark said with a cynical chuckle.

"So now you came back to find truth and justice, huh?" Shara asked.

"And for you..." Mark said, and then he leaned in, took Shara's face in his hands, and kissed her deeply.

Shara felt herself begin to weaken inside when suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps. She instinctively tensed, pulled away from Mark, and moved back toward the wall, grabbing her lance in the process. Mark sat back on the bench and crossed his legs. The door to the cell opened, and Hamilton walked in accompanied by the soldier.

"Well, well...kind of foolish coming back here all by yourself, don't you think?" Hamilton said with a smile. "I knew you would though. That's why I never left. Love's a crazy thing...makes people do crazy things."

"John, leave Shara out of this. I'm here to talk to you. Enough running...we have business to settle," Mark said.

"Oh really? Well, that's novel of you," Hamilton sneered and then turned to address the soldier. "Take Captain Nemora outside and keep an eye on her. I'll be out shortly."

The soldier escorted Shara out of the cell, and then Hamilton leaned against the wall.

"So what's on your mind, brother?" Hamilton asked.

"What do you know about Richter's plans? What's with all this myrrh stuff?" Mark returned.

"I don't really know. They're sending all the myrrh to Sumira. I heard Minister Olmos and Richter talk about destroying the meteor and miasma. I'm just telling you what they said at the big announcement in Torenada the other day," Hamilton shared.

"I find it hard to believe that is all you know, John," Mark said.

"And I find it hard to believe that you think I would actually tell you if I knew," Hamilton retorted. "Enjoy your stay in our fine accommodations here. I'm going to have a little talk with Shara."

"John, leave her out of this...please. At least give me that," Mark said.

"Don't worry...I won't harm her. I just want to make sure that she isn't going to become a liability," Hamilton said before leaving the cell and locking the door.