Cry of the Lost: A Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Tale

Chapter 44

"Curt's right. If we're gonna do this, now is our best chance. Neil's airship was severely damaged. They're probably still repairing it as we speak. My brother is stuck traveling by land. If we leave now, we should get to Torenada before either Neil or John. Richter probably doesn't know that we have the Myrrhauder. We'll have the element of surprise on our side," Mark commented.

Curt had just finished telling his friends about his plan to confront Minister Olmos in Torenada City. Everyone looked around at one another and nodded.

"Well what are we waiting for? We don't have a moment to lose!" Paul shouted, breaking the silence.

Cid's living room erupted into a mass of chaos as everyone rushed off to prepare for the journey.

About an hour later, supplies had been loaded onto the Myrrhauder and everyone stood on the deck waving to Cid, Colton, and several other townspeople below. The airship engine began to roar, and soon the craft lifted off and began to fly northward. Curt stood looking down at his uncle until the forest finally obscured his view.

"So what do you think this visit's going to be like?" Mark asked as he walked over and stood next to Curt.

"I don't know. My uncle said that Minister Olmos seemed to be a decent fellow. He didn't know anything about Richter though. Maybe we'll be able to get some answers from Olmos. Somehow I doubt it though. Like my uncle said, power corrupts people. We'll probably have to do some squeezing and snooping to get to the truth," Curt replied.

"If we can avoid dealing with Richter, it would be best. He has it in for me apparently. I guess he took it kinda personal when I declined that spot in the military," Mark said with a chuckle.

"What's with the secret pow wow, boys?" came a voice from behind.

Curt and Mark turned to find Melly standing with her arms crossed, Fenrir sitting calmly at her side.

"No secrets here, kiddo," Mark answered.

"Hey, who are you calling 'kiddo'?" Melly retorted.

"How old are you anyway, Melly?" Mark asked.

"That's none of your business!" Melly said.

"Who's got secrets now, huh?" Mark teased.

"Are you always this difficult?" Melly fired back.

"You haven't even seen the half of it, dear," came another voice from the side.

Shara walked over and put her arm around Melly.

"Don't let him bully you, Melly. Mark may seem like a tough guy, but he's an old softy once you get him to warm up. Right, hun?" Shara teased.

"Whatever you say...dear," Mark joked.

"See...what did I tell ya? A real softy," Shara said with a laugh.

"Didn't know you had a soft side." Curt chuckled.

"Alright...that's enough fun at my expense," Mark said.

"And how 'bout you, Curt? Don't think you're getting off that easy. You got a soft side too. I've seen the way you look at Autumn. Fenrir noticed it too...didn't ya, Fenrir?" Melly said.

Fenrir let out a short howl, and Curt felt his face flush. Everyone began to laugh.

"Don't worry...we won't tell...yet," Melly teased.

"What's this ruckus all about?" Autumn called as she and Paul walked over to join the crowd.

"Trade secrets, my dear...trade secrets," Shara answered.

"You got any secrets, Autumn?" Melly asked.

"Secrets? Hmmm...none that I can think of at the moment," Autumn replied as she smiled at Curt.

Fenrir let out another howl, which led to another eruption of laughter. Curt smiled and shook his head.