A.N. Wow. It's been a very long time since I began writing this story. I feel a bit nostalgic for uploading it finally. As the title says, this is Ashton's Story; it is a novelization of the events that occur in his life onward from the fateful encounter with Rena and the others. It is told through Ashton's perspective. It is not an exact novelization. Some of the events contained within will differ from the actual game and show, however they won't obscure the story from its plot. I really hope you enjoy reading this!
A two-headed dragon?
Huh, maybe my luck just turned around.
Maybe this job will get me some money.
Maybe this will be the start of a new life for me.
Maybe a new life without misfortune is now within my grasp!
Maybe if I slay this dragon it will bring me fame.
Maybe.
Maybe, maybe, maybe…!
Probably not.
So is the life of me, Ashton Anchors—the unluckiest man in the world.
The town of Salva was calm that morning. Birds flew over the town, the sound of insects could be heard, and not a single person was up yet, other than the few town guards; it was completely serene. The rest of the fighting men were still asleep, so I figured that I'd take advantage of their slacking.
"Fighting men;" yes, that's the term the people of Expel coined for us. It's simple, really. They are men that fight for hire. I too was a "fighting man."
I walked down the dirt roads of Salva until I came to the large entrance of the drift. The guard seemed surprised that I was there so early in the morning, but let me pass anyways. My task was to slay a two-headed dragon that lived inside of the drift.
I made my way into the drift. It wasn't really a big place, and tracing the dragon proved to be quite simple. For one, there were large scratch marks throughout the tunnels. It was obvious what made these. And secondly, there was a giant sign with a crudely drawn picture of a dragon on it that said, "DANGER! DRAGON'S DEN AHEAD!" So I followed these convenient signs and eventually came face-to-face with the two-headed dragon.
To be frank, it was smaller than I had imagined. Half of it was blue, and the other half was red. I immediately engaged in combat with the beast, not giving it any warning of my presence. I was able to land a successful hit before the creature became aware of me. It gave out a loud roar that shook the caverns, and then proceeded to attack me. I was able to parry the dragon's attempts rather easily, and I attacked whenever I saw an opening. After a short while, the dragon began to tire. I figured that a little more fighting would completely exhaust the dragon, and then I would deliver the final blow. However, nobody ever mentioned that it was a demon dragon…and what happened next was even more bizarre than that.
"Yeah! Get him!"
"Don't give up!"
"You've almost got him, darling!"
Those were the voices that came from behind me. I gave out a sigh and turned around to face the owners of those voices. Standing behind me was a group of three people. There was a strangely dressed lady wearing a very skimpy outfit, an even more strangely dressed man with blonde hair, and…
My eyes fell upon the young, thin, blue-haired girl that was with them. She had long pointed ears (yes, those were strange too, but…) and was wearing blue clothing that matched her hair. Her eyes were beautiful; a deep blue that gleamed like sapphires. I stared deep into those eyes and felt entranced. I wasn't sure what was happening to me. I felt my heart begin to beat faster and I…
"Look out! Behind you!" The blue-haired girl shouted while taking a step in my direction.
I snapped back into reality and quickly turned around only to see the dragon's heads swoop down at me. I put my arms in front of me, trying to shelter myself from the oncoming blow, but it never came. I didn't feel a thing, other than having my eyes dazzled by a bright flash. I hesitated for a moment, but finally brought my arms down. My sight was coming back and I could see the trio still standing there. I shook my head vigorously to regain full consciousness. Looking around, I noticed that the dragon was gone.
"Did you guys see where the dragon went?" I asked them curiously.
As I approached them, they backed up fearfully. I didn't understand why.
"Did you see where the dragon went?" I asked once again.
The blue-haired girl pointed at me, "your back…" she murmured.
I had no idea what she was talking about until I turned my head to look over my shoulder. Oh. It's a dragon's…head…I looked over my other shoulder. Oh. Another dragon head…
I gave out a loud shriek and ran frantically around in circles.
"Get it off, get it off, getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!" I screamed.
The group once more backed up at my reaction. I got a hold of myself and dashed in front of the ever-strangely dressed man, getting very close to his face.
"This is YOUR fault!" I exclaimed while pointing harshly at him.
He took a step back.
"Now wait just a minute…!" He started exasperatedly, "how is this my fault?" He started to sweat nervously.
I peered at him angrily.
"What do you mean, 'how is this my fault?' If you hadn't distracted me, I would have easily slain the dragon! And I wouldn't be stuck in this…this…"
"Awkward situation?"
I turned my attention to the skimpily dressed woman who had just interrupted me.
"Yes! Awkward situation!" I repeated her words and then returned my attention to the blonde-haired man.
That was when he asked, "but what kind of warrior turns their back on the enemy?"
There was a long pause. After considering his words, I realized that he had a valid point. However, I couldn't admit that he was right, now could I? I decided to just change the subject.
"Do you take responsibility for this?" I asked them sternly, crossing my arms at my chest.
They all exchanged glances before returning their attention to me. The blonde-haired man began to speak, "I'm sorry, but we—"
"Yes, we will."
I turned my attention towards the blue-haired girl who had just complied with my wishes. She turned to face the blonde-haired, strangely dressed man who had an annoyed look on his face, and then she looked straight at me.
"We are partly responsible for what happened. At the very least, we must try to help you."
Her voice was so polite…it almost seemed like it was entrancing. It must have been, because the blonde-haired man and that other woman suddenly agreed with her. I figured that maybe I'd have some luck with a polite voice, so I tried it.
"Then you'll help me find a way to exorcise these dragons?" I asked them. It was then that I mentally slapped myself for thinking that I could possibly have "some luck" with anything. The blue-haired girl approached me, and then nodded. She reached out and pulled one of the dragon heads against her face and cuddled it.
"Ohhh, but why would you want to get rid of them? They're so cute!"
I felt a bit uneasy at that remark, and I believe the rest of her group did too, as I saw the blonde-haired man exchange an awkward glance with that woman. The other dragon was now in on it too. The girl was scratching both of them under the chin with an overly gleeful expression on her face. I jerked away from her.
"They're just messing with you, really! They're pure evil! You have to help me!"
My demands were futile.
The strangely dressed woman disagreed, "They certainly don't look evil to me, darling."
I began to become frantic, "R-Really, they're just trying to trick you all. They're very cunning!"
The blonde-haired man raised an eyebrow, and waited a moment before speaking.
"Oh, and you know them so well already?"
His question once again brought upon a pause, though the blue-haired girl eventually spoke up.
"Well, we have no choice but to help him. We've already agreed on that."
Her words were polite again, and the rest of the group once again agreed with her. I gave out a sigh of relief; I was glad that I didn't need to argue the subject anymore.
"Well that's great and all, but…where do we start?" I pondered my own words for a few moments, until the blonde-haired man spoke up.
"Well, first let's get out of here." He turned away as he said this and began to walk. The other two followed him, and so did I.
We walked for a while, down the dark meandering tunnels of the drift. I was at the tail end of the group. It seemed rude, but I couldn't help but stare at the three. My questioning stare wandered from one to the other. This man had such strange clothing and a strange, silver L-shaped trinket attached to his belt. It was most peculiar. He also had a sword. My eyes wandered to the skimpily dressed woman. Judging from her tattoos, she had to be a Heraldic user. I too could use Heraldic Arts, to an extent. From her, my eyes rested upon the pointed-eared girl garbed in blue. There wasn't much that was strange about her that I could tell, other than her ears of course.
As we continued on, I suddenly realized that I did not know any of their names, nor did they know mine. I cleared my throat, "I'm sorry," I began, "I've forgotten to introduce myself."
They all turned to face me and I continued, "I'm Ashton Anchors. Pleased to meet you all…" I left my words trail off as I remembered that they caused me to be in this "predicament."
The skimpily dressed woman spoke first, "I'm Celine Jules. Treasure hunter and Heraldic sorceress. It's lovely to make your acquaintance, darling." She smiled.
The blue-haired girl had another gleeful smile on her face. "I'm Rena Lanford. Nice to meet you," she said cheerfully, bowing as she spoke.
"Claude Kenni." The blonde man held out his hand as he said this. I was a bit perplexed, and Rena giggled at my hesitation. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, so I just grabbed his hand with mine. He shook his hand. I suppose it was a greeting.
We made our way out of the drifts at last. I felt ashamed to be seen in public. I could hear people whisper things as I walked past them. They weren't nice things, to put it simply. We approached the exit of Salva. I stopped, though they kept walking. I called out to them.
"Hold on!" I shouted.
They turned around and looked at me curiously.
"What is it, Ashton?" Claude asked.
"I need to gather my stuff from the inn. Could you please wait here?" I responded.
I turned and began back into the town. I felt worried. I figured that they would ditch me the second I got out of their view. I took a deep breath and hoped to God that for once in my life things would go as I wanted them to. I entered the inn, gathered my things, and paid for the previous night.
I was shocked to see that they were still there. No, not shocked; I was overjoyed! A smile crept onto my face as I started towards them. My expression seemed to spike Rena's curiosity, because her face showed confusion.
"Did something happen, Ashton?" She asked me. That air of politeness was still in her voice.
"Oh, it's just…ah, it's nothing." I responded hesitantly towards her, but smiled nonetheless.
"Well, where do we start?" Claude asked. Bah to him. Those words ruined the moment and I was suddenly cast back into my reality of misfortune. Everyone pondered his question, until suddenly…
"Books!"
We all turned our attention to Rena, who had just blurted that out.
"Books?" Claude repeated her words as a question.
"It's a start," Celine added. "The elder of my village has lots of old books in his library. Should we start there, darlings?"
It was agreed upon. Our plan was to set out for Celine's home village, which I soon found out was Mars. It sure was going to be a long trek…
We hadn't come that far from Salva when Rena suddenly perked up. She turned around and stepped in front of me. I was shocked.
"Rena?" I asked surprisingly.
She was smiling excitedly. "Say, Ashton…" She started. "Could I name them?" She asked me politely. At first it didn't register with me, but then I got the notion that she was referring to the dragons on my back.
"N-name them?" I repeated surprised. I honestly hadn't expected this, but then again I didn't know Rena that well, or any of these people for that matter.
"Yeah. I mean, they're going to be with us for a while, right? They're part of the group now." Her words were innocent. She seemed to be totally oblivious to the fact that I was going to be exorcising the dragons from my body. To be honest, I felt a bit guilty. Her smile was so…pretty. It made me feel so calm and warm. I didn't want to see it vanish, so I agreed.
"Sure, I guess."
"Yay!" She reached out her finger and tapped the blue dragon on its forehead. "Your eyes are cute because they're weepy, so I'll call you Ururun." She then reached out and tapped the red dragon on its forehead. "And your eyes are cute because they're so big, so I'll call you Gyoro." She giggled. The newly named dragons began to make noises.
"Awrook!"
"Awroon!"
Strangely enough, as they made these sounds my mind was filled with expressions of happiness.
"They're happy." I stated.
"You can understand them?" I heard Claude ask. I thought for a moment, and then decided that it really was Gyoro and Ururun that I was hearing in my mind. I nodded.
We had reached Cross at nightfall. It was unsafe to journey at night, so we decided to stay the night in Cross.
We entered Cross Kingdom. It was late out and the streets were completely empty. Rena led the group into the inn. Apparently a relative of hers owned the place. We walked in, and the inn clerk seemed to jump with surprise.
"Ah, Rena! You're back again!" Her voice was full of delight. Her eyes surveyed the group and landed on me. "And you've brought another strange—I mean handsome man! Oh Rena, already bored of the other one?" She winked at Rena with that last statement. Rena's face went beet red.
"Aunt Rachael! It's nothing like that!" Rena protested.
"Oh? He's not your new boyfriend?" Rachael seemed very curious to know.
Rena quickly retorted, "No!"
I gave out a rather loud sigh.
"Hmph, and I was so sure this time too…" Rachael's voice got quieter as she spoke.
"Absolutely not!" Rena shouted loudly, her face still red.
"Absolutely not?" I murmured these words and barely noticed that I had. Claude seemed to have heard me.
"You know, somehow this whole situation seems like deja-vu."
Rena looked at Claude a bit puzzled. "Did you say something, Claude?" She asked. Claude scratched the back of his head.
"Ah, no. Nothing at all." He replied nervously.
Rachael came out from behind the desk. "You're always welcome to stay here whenever you like to, Rena. Come, this way; I'll show you to your rooms." She turned and walked down the hallway. We followed her. She showed Celine and Rena to one room, and Claude and I to another.
"Please enjoy your stay." Rachael said with a smile. She made her way to the door, but stopped abruptly. She turned around and looked at Claude.
"I do hope you've been treating Rena nicely, Claude dear." Rachael's words were teasing, and she winked at Claude before finally leaving. I noticed that Claude was blushing at that comment. Judging by that action, Claude and Rena must be close.
I decided not to think on it; it really wasn't my business anyhow. I unlatched my swords from my belt and tossed them next to one of the beds. I then sat down, stretched out my arms, and with a long yawn, let myself fall backwards onto the bed. I hit the mattress and felt a rather uncomfortable feeling in my back. On top of that, Gyoro and Ururun were fussing. I immediately sat up. Claude was snickering to himself. I sneered at him. Gyoro and Ururun stopped fussing after I sat up.
I examined Claude for a moment. I still was curious towards his strange clothing. I decided to ask him about it.
"So, Claude." I said his name and he turned his attention to me. "Not to be rude or anything, but your clothing…" My eyes wandered down the sleeve of his vest, and landed on a strange symbol. "It's…different from what I've usually seen. Where is it that you come from?"
He seemed to become nervous. He averted his eyes so that he was no longer looking straight at me. "I uh, well…I come from a far away place."
It was easy to tell that he was hiding something. I once again looked at that symbol on his vest. Underneath it I saw the words 'Earth Federation Emergency Research' I was about to ask him about it, but he spoke up first.
"What about you, Ashton?" He asked. I could tell that he really wasn't interested. He was deep in thought about something. I played along though so that I wouldn't seem rude.
"I come from Lacour Kingdom. I was born and raised there, though both of my parents are deceased."
He wasn't paying attention at all. I left it at that. I lay down on my side and yawned. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
I was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of a door clicking shut. I sat up groggily and surveyed the room with blurry eyes. As my sight came back, I noticed that Claude was gone. I stood up. I then heard footsteps coming from the hallway. I opened the door silently and stepped out into the hall. It was dark, but I saw a figure standing in the lobby. I approached the figure. Getting closer I could see that it was Rena.
"Claude…" She murmured his name.
I stepped out into the lobby. "Rena?" I called out her name quietly. She was startled, and made a rather loud gasp.
"Ashton? What are you doing?" She asked surprised.
"I could ask you the same thing." I replied.
"Rena? Ashton? What are you…?"
We both jumped and turned to face Claude who had reentered the inn. He was holding some strange device. He didn't wait for an answer. He sighed and walked down the hallway. He entered the room and quietly shut the door that I had left open. I turned my attention to Rena who had a worried expression on her face.
"What's with Claude?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "I'm not sure." She said. "This is the second time that…" Her words trailed off. Gyoro bent down and rubbed his face against hers. He made a quiet noise, and in my head I could tell he was saying, "It's all right."
"Oh, Gyoro!" She cuddled her face against the dragon's and then kissed Gyoro on the forehead.
"Goodnight, Gyoro." She whispered. That smile of hers was back. Ururun groaned.
"Ururun is jealous." I said with a small laugh.
She giggled at my remark and then kissed Ururun on the forehead too.
"Goodnight, Ururun. To you too, Ashton." She yawned as she said this. She walked down the hall and into her room. I stood there for a moment, alone, thinking about the two on my back. I suppose I wasn't really alone though…
I returned to my room.
A.N. And the introduction, A.K.A. chapter one, is uploaded. Chapter two will be uploaded in about two weeks. From there on, it will probably be monthly updates. I do have much more of this done; six chapters to be exact. I don't want to upload them so quickly though, because if I do I will surely fall behind in my writing. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed doing so!