Cry of the Lost: A Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Tale

Chapter 41

"That's right...a weapon. They tested it out on Kalmora. That's how they destroyed the town and the resistance. If I hadn't been out on a mission, I would have died too. I was on my way back when I saw the airship floating in the sky near Kalmora. Suddenly, a bright stream of light or something came down from the ship and...that...was it...Kalmora was in ruins," Melly shared, a tear falling from her eye.

"A weapon powered by myrrh...but what for?" Mark pondered.

"Maybe to destroy the meteor? Shara and John did say that Richter might be close to finding it, right?" Curt suggested.

"Maybe. But that doesn't justify destroying a whole village!" Mark fumed.

"True enough," Autumn agreed.

"Melly, I'm sorry for what happened. I promise we'll get to the bottom of this," Mark said.

"Well, it looks like we might do that sooner than later. That damn ship is still gaining on us!" Curt said as he looked back from the deck. "Captain Ren, they're still catching up! Can't we go any faster?"

"It's no use! We're at max speed," Ren shouted from the bridge. "We can't outrun them. I told you it's a superior ship. I should know...I built it!"

"Well, what should we do then?" Curt shouted back. "They'll be on top of us in a few minutes!"

"We'll just have to face them. Maybe we can strike a bargain. Melly, you and Fenrir better go hide inside. We're not sure they even know you're on the ship," Mark said before turning and entering the bridge.

"Captain Ren, turn the airship to face 'em and put it in hover," Mark instructed. "Paul, come with me."

Paul followed Mark down into the airship. Ren and the crew followed Mark's instructions, and the airship came to a hover. Melly and Fenrir entered the bridge and hid themselves from sight. A few minutes later, Mark and Paul reentered the bridge with a shackled Hamilton in tow.

"Paul, watch my brother. If he tries anything stupid, rough him up a bit," Mark said.

Mark walked out onto the deck where Curt and Autumn stood watching the other airship approach. The other airship finally came to a hover, its bow only about 20 feet from the bow where Curt and his friends stood. A man walked out onto the deck accompanied by two soldiers.

"Ahoy there! Who are you guys? That ship belongs to Hamilton. Is he on board?" the man shouted.

"Who should I tell him is asking for him?" Mark returned.

"Neil Senna. So he is on board then?" Neil answered.

"Maybe. But before we get into that, I have a question for you, Neil. What are you all planning to do with all the myrrh you're collecting?" Mark inquired.

"I don't answer to you. Go get Hamilton!" Neil ordered.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. He's our prisoner," Mark stated.

"I thought as much as soon as I saw you. I'm guessing you also have another person on board that I'm interested in," Neil said. "Where's the girl?"

"Why is she so important to you?" Autumn asked.

"She's a criminal. She and her resistance buddies have been hindering our work for quite some time," Neil answered.

"I'll tell you what. We'll give you Hamilton, and we'll keep the girl," Mark offered.

"Oh, a real bargainer, aren't you?" Neil said sarcastically. "I'll tell you what. You give us Hamilton, the girl, and the airship, and we'll let you live."

Neil nodded to the two soldiers, and they quickly ran and began to uncover a large fixture on the deck of the airship.

"You have ten minutes to decide. If you do not comply with my request, then I will let the myrrh cannon deal with you all," Neil said coldly.

"We'll be right back," Curt said before motioning to the others to follow him to the bridge.

"So Neil wants us to give up Hamilton and Melly, or he'll supposedly blow us out of the sky with his myrrh cannon," Curt said to everyone inside the bridge.

"John, is Neil that ruthless? Would he turn his back on you like that?" Mark asked.

"I...I don't know," Hamilton replied.

"And those are the friends you chose, huh?" Mark said.

"Curt, have Captain Ren move the airship away from them. I think it takes a few minutes to charge that cannon for each shot. I can help," Melly said.

"What can you do, Melly?" Curt asked.

"Just do it!" Melly ordered. "Trust me."

"Alright. Captain Ren, get us the hell out of here. Pass them up...it'll take them longer if they have to turn around. Go!" Curt instructed.

Ren quickly gave orders to the crew, and the airship lurched forward and to the right, just missing Neil's ship.

Melly and Fenrir ran out onto the deck, and Melly fell to her knees. Neil shouted orders to his crew, and their airship began to turn to give chase. Neil then began to tinker with the myrrh cannon. Curt and Autumn ran out onto the deck to Melly's side. Melly had one hand firmly grasped onto Fenrir's fur, her other hand gently clasping a small crystal pendant that hung around her neck. Melly's eyes were closed, and she was whispering.

"Bahamut, Guardian of myrrh...we have need of you," Melly whispered. "Hang on, everyone."

Curt ran to the portside rail and looked back to see Neil's airship closing in again.

"Captain Ren, hard to port! We can't let him have a clean shot!" Curt yelled.

As the airship began to turn, Curt was suddenly knocked back from the railing, the airship having been rocked by a blast from Neil's myrrh cannon. Curt struggled back up to the railing and looked down to see smoke coming from the stern of the airship.

"We can't take another hit like that, Curt!" Ren shouted.

As Curt turned back to see how Melly and Autumn were faring, he felt a huge rush of wind pass behind him. He quickly turned back to the railing to see a huge beast fly up into the air above the ship. Curt's jaw dropped as he saw what appeared to be a black dragon nearly the size of the airship come to a hover in the air. The dragon roared as it watched the two airships circling around it. Suddenly, the dragon darted toward Neil's airship. Curt watched the dragon sweep past Neil's airship, releasing a blast of fire upon the deck. The crew frantically turned their attention to their new foe as the dragon turned for another pass.

"He came," Melly whispered, having quietly made her way with Autumn to stand by Curt's side.

"Who is he?" Autumn asked.

"Guardian Bahamut, one of the five myrrh Guardians. They were sent to protect the grace of the myrrh," Melly noted.

The three friends continued to watch the battle in the distance. Bahamut had succeeded in severely damaging Neil's ship, which was now hovering in place. Bahamut wheeled around once again, roared, and flew in for another attack. Suddenly, a white beam burst from the myrrh cannon and struck Bahamut.

"Bahamut!" Melly screamed.

The great dragon let out a screech and plummeted toward Neil's ship. The ship attempted evasive action, but it was too late. Bahamut collided with the ship, ripping off several portside wing stabilizers in the process. Neil's ship careened and began to descend, the chaos caused by Bahamut having clearly taken its toll. Melly and the others watched as Bahamut crashed into the Dead Forest below, while Neil's smoking airship struggled to stay aloft as it turned to make its way back toward Costa Mira.

"You came...thank you, Bahamut," Melly whispered, again clutching the pendant around her neck.