Chapter Nine
[Flea]
Roland sat cross legged on ground, reading through
the spell book. They needed some serious spells if they were going
to assault the castle.
"Hmm...this looks interesting. 'Milonar-Spell
of Demon Summoning. Summons the most ferocious demon in all hell
to fight for you'. I'll try it out." He chanted the runes for
the summoning spell. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound, and a roar
that reverberated through his bones emanated from nowhere. A large
explosion five feet in front of Roland caused a huge cloud of smoke.
"I wonder if that is the demon...?" Roland thought to himself.
"Kupo...po!" he heard, as a small, furry creature emerged from the smoke.
It looked like a cross between a teddy bear and a cat.
"You're the horrendous demon more ferocious than
all in hell? Ahahahaha!" He stifled his laughter, because just
then, the creature started doing what looked an awful lot like...dancing?
As the dance reached it's full fury, a large hole opened up under the creature,
sucking it down.
"What an odd being...Oh well. Back to the
book, then."
Just then, Spyder and Eldaron walked up. "What
the heck was that thing, Roland? It looked like a..." Eldaron began.
"Er, it was nothing. Just a silly little spell.
Nothing to worry about," Roland said quickly. He went back to reading
the spell book.
"Wow...that's a deep hole. Looks like it stretches
to the bottom of the planet..." Spyder said, as she contemplated the hole
the creature had created. She took a small stone and dropped it in.
"Spyder, don't do that! You don't know what
might be down there! Oh, and by the way. Can I see that necklace
of yours? I just found a picture of something similar here.
Maybe we can figure out what it is," Roland said, as Spyder handed him
the necklace. "Let's see...It says here it is a soul stone.
When a soul is removed forcefully from a person's body, it crystallizes
into a dark, onyx colored rock," he quoted from the book. "To place
the soul back into it's body, simply place it over the heart of the body,
and it will melt into the flesh. Extended absence from one's soul
will severely weaken the victim."
"Well, that explains how General Neo was able to
dispatch Flea so easily. That must be his soul...but, his body was killed,
and burned. What do we do with it?" Eldaron asked. He peered
curiously at the stone.
"I wonder if he is aware of whats going on?
I bet he is not to happy right now."
"Well...it says here, a soul can be placed in another's
body, but only if the soul in there has left or been taken, or the soul
already there consents," Roland exclaimed happily. "And even better,
there is a spell that will find the soul the best available body!
If we get Flea another body, I bet he would join us! We can use his
help." Roland continued reading.
"But, Roland...how can we trust him? He already
kidnapped me," Spyder exclaimed.
"Yes, yes, but he seems to have a rudimentary code
of honor. He may feel indebted to us. Plus, if he tried to
attack us again, well...we can always overpower him. Now. Go
gather everyone here, and I'll cast the spell to find Flea a new body."
After about a half hour, everyone has assembled,
and were all debating the wisdom of ressurecting Flea. In the end,
they all decided to risk it, and Roland began the spell.
"Ipso Facto, Meanie Magico! By the licking
of a mouse, find this soul a human house! By the waxing of this bell,
find Flea's soul a human shell!" Roland chanted. Suddenly, the soul
stone jerked out of Spyder's hand. It started glowing red, and began
spinning around. As the party drew their weapons, the stone suddenly
flew up and into the hole. They all gathered around to see what became
of it.
Belisarius eventually got everyone to move away.
"It seems to have not worked properly. Oh
well. Not too great of a loss," he said, somewhat let down.
Suddenly, a voice out of nowhere was heard.
"You know, if I weren't so glad to have a body again, I might take offense
at that, pal!"
As the party looked around for whoever had spoken,
a figure leapt out of the pit in the ground with amazing speed. It
landed twenty feet away, and turned to look at the astonished heroes.
The figure was clad in dark green armor, and had an odd helmet. It
was highly suggestive of a draconic figure. It twirled a chrome lance
around, showing off, then slid it into its sheath.
"Wha...what the...Is that...a DRAGOON?" Cyclinbear
stuttered. "I never thought I would see one with my own eyes..."
He sat down heavily.
"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too. Oh, and thanks
a lot for resurrecting me. Those damnable soul stones are cramped."
"Flea? Is that you? Then...my spell...it...it
worked! YES!" Roland yelled, jumping up and down excitedly.
As the party gathered around to marvel at his armor and body, Spyder spoke
up.
"Hey...uh, Flea...were you always so well...um...padded...in the chest
area?" Now that she said that, the others notied that despite the
armor, the figure was most decidedly female.
"Yeah, well...apparently, though Roland said a human
body was needed, he neglected to make 'male' a priority. I'm also
not alone in here," Flea said, looking a bit embarrassed. "The body was
already inhabited by Magpie, a dragoon knight. She is in a state
of depression due to being banished by her human clan. So, she doesn't
really mind my borrowing her body," he explained.
"So, you're a man trapped in a woman's body.
This is just too weird for me..." Spyder said, looking a bit dizzy.
[Dhsu]
That night, Flea rested her newly female form against
a tree trunk. Now a she, Flea started to meditate and wonder what
life would be like from now on. She hadn't dared undress yet, deciding
to sleep in full armor. Suddenly, a voice whispered directly in her
ear.
"Looking beautiful today, aren't you?"
"Yes, Master Shadow."
"Welcome to my world," Shadow said, settling down
beside Flea. "I destroyed my feelings long ago, in exchange for my
great skill as a ninja. My emotions now reside in another young ninja,
by the name of Yuffie. She seems to have inherited some of my skill,
too."
"Yes, but this is much different."
"In what way?" Shadow snapped. "Male, female;
mere physical features! They do not affect what you have or will
become, Flea. If nothing else, you will benefit from your new agile
body. You may even use your beauty to your advantage."
"...yes, Master."
"Now go, follow your path. I will be watching..."
Before Flea had a chance to respond, Shadow was
gone.
Spyder woke up to the sound of a grunt coming from
behind some bushes. "Sheesh, how're you supposed to relieve yourself
in the woods without a freakin' d.."
"I can show you," Spyder interrupted.
"Uhhhh, n--no, that won't be necessary," Flea hastily
responded, obviously not aware that anyone else was awake. "I--I'll
figure it out." She sighed. Being a woman wasn't as easy as
she thought, and she regretted the threat she had made to Marley's soldiers
when she was still a man. Undressing wasn't as embarrassing as she
had imagined, though, probably due to the lack of testosterone in her system
now.
Flea quickly finished the awkward task, then prepared
for her morning exercises. She decided to warm up with a high spinning
jump...and landed painfully on her back. "OW! Man, this is totally
messing up my balance. I'm going to have to get used to this..."
Quickly, she went through her stuff and found a wide strip of brown cloth,
which she wound tightly around her chest. "Still not the same...but
it'll do." Next she put on her armor, and tried jumping again, this
time without the spin.
"Whoa!" Flea cried in surprise as she rose almost
twenty feet into the air. "So this is what being is a Dragoon
is like! Haha, I could get used to this!"
"I'm glad you like it," Magpie said gloomily.
"It took me years and years of training to reach this level of skill.
All those years wasted because of one..." Magpie stopped abruptly
in mid-sentence. "Well, at least someone's enjoying it."
"What?" Flea asked. "Years wasted because
of one what?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing," Magpie responded hastily.
Flea was a little confused, but after a few more
test jumps, she felt so good she decided to make breakfast for everyone.
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