003 | Video | February 19th

[dragneel]

YO, people of Death City! I got somethin' important to talk about.

I dunno how far word has spread, but I've been told by a few people now that there's this legendary sword who gives the users ultimate powers and can win this war. Dunno why no one's tried to find it yet -- but I've been lookin'! It ain't in the toilet of Keroro's shop, by the way, Luna.

[ Natsu holds up the LEGENDARY BOOK OF EXCALIBUR. Then he flips through to show a picture of the sword embedded in stone. ]

It's apparently in this cave. So here's what I'm thinkin'. We go get it. We take a day to prepare a team and then go out and get our hands on the weapon. Lots of us wanna go home, right? Shibusen needs us to win the war, right?

[ He taps the book's cover with his hand. ]

This is our best shot. Who's with me?

Comments

[dragneel]

If that happens, you should get it! Since you're like a gajillion years old, y'got seniority, right?

[dissenter]

Yes.



[wait] I mean, no. I mean-- [augh. he massages his temples.]

...Well, I don't think it's a contingency we'll have to plan for. It's probably best to just concentrate on getting the sword out in the first place.

[dragneel]

Yeah, I guesso. But I'll be cheerin' for ya, Quirky, 'cause you could use all the help ya can get in this war.

[dissenter]

[qilby has to force himself to smile gratefully. it's awful.]

Thank you, Natsu, I appreciate the concern. But don't worry yourself too much over me-- [he thumps his fist against his thin chest, only half-jokingly.] --I'm a survivor, if nothing else.

[dragneel]

Haha that's right! Ya made it this long, so what's another couple million years right?

I still got your back, though! So if it goes out, y'can count on me to carry ya!

[dissenter]

[... how the hell old does natsu think he is...

flatly, unable to help a dirty look.] You won't need to do that. [half a second later, qilby forces a little laugh to cover up the tiny crack in his façade. talking to this kid was dangerous for him, devious little brat.]

--aah, because now I've someone from my world to count on too. Between you two, I should be well-enough protected.

[dragneel]

[ Don't worry. Natsu is completely and totally oblivious to that crack. ]

Oh yeah?

[ He perks up -- truly and genuinely happy for you, Qilby! ]

Is it your sister? The dragon?? Didja finally get to meet up with her again?

[dissenter]

[ouch. now that hurts.]

I'm... Afraid that'd be very much impossible. [his wince and rueful tone is probably the most honest thing about him this entire conversation so far. but the return of his smile ends all that nonsense quickly enough.]

No, but he is an Eliatrope, like me. Yugo is his name.

1/2

[dragneel]

Kibbly...

[ Natsu utters in sympathy. It'd probably be more sympathetic if he actually got Qilby's name right, but he does understand the feeling. ]

2/3 I lied

[dragneel]

Nothin's impossible, ya know? All the dragons might've disappeared from my world, but I know I'll see Igneel again. Maybe even here.

[dragneel]

[ But the smile intensifies when Qilby confesses just who his friend from home is. ]

Blue Comet?? Uwaahah, that's great to hear! I like Yugo. Actually he's gonna be coming along on the quest with us, so ya won't be alone!

[dissenter]

[blue co-- oh never mind, on second thought he doesn't want to know. he can already tell these two, with their powers combined, are going to drive him up the wall.

qilby adopts a gentle tone, the sort one'd use to explain to a child that their dog ran away.] It's... A little different, for us. As long as I still live, my sister cannot be reborn. Or vice versa, had I died before her. It's been this way since the very first life we lived together.

But I'm glad to hear you've already been acquainted with my brother. [he beams!] I had a feeling you two would get along.

[dragneel]

Didn't you say when ya just got here that you were just about to meet with--

[ And then it suddenly dawns on him, the weight of what this means. ]

-- oh.

[dissenter]

Er... [blink. what's the sudden mood crash all about--

and then it dawns on him what dawned on natsu, and qilby shakes his head hastily.] Oh! Oh, no, no, no-- it's not like that at all!

[this is about the time when a normal person who's been around qilby for any length of time would start to sense a story coming on. he doesn't disappoint.] Each of the very first of us Eliatropes -- the first six to be born -- hatched out of a very special dragon egg called a Dofus. Though I suppose it'd be more accurate to say the first twelve to be born, for each of us were bonded to a dragon sibling. Shinonome was mine, as you already know.

The reason we're able to live so long is because upon our deaths, our life force returns to our Dofus. When both Eliatrope and dragon souls are reunited in our egg, we're reborn... And so on, through the millennia. [a reassuring smile.] In this way, I've ruled over my people as king for a very long time.

What I meant to say was that before I was brought to this world, we were on a quest to find my Dofus for... Various reasons. [with a distinct pride in his voice:] It was Yugo, in fact, who undertook the journey for me while I was too weak to travel. So as you can see, I've already been counting on him for quite some time.

[dragneel]

[ Unlike some of the long, droned on stories Natsu has heard, he's able to listen to this one (because it has to do with dragons and dragon eggs and those are interesting to him.) Even if the big words like Dofus and Eliatrope throw him a bit, he gets the general gist. ]

Ohhh. So as soon as you die, you'll both be reborn through the...uh....doofus? And then you guys'd be able to see each other again? Or do you gotta live your lives apart?

[dissenter]

That's "Dofus." [--he corrects, miraculously not batting an eyelash. he just wishes he could get some sort of recognition for what is undoubtedly the largest reserve of patience in all of death city.] And yes, we'd finally see each other again, in the flesh and-- aah, scales, as it were.

If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that my Eliatrope siblings and I cannot be kept from our dragons for long. We share a connection that goes beyond blood. [a warm look.] I daresay something similar can be said of you and Igneel.

[dragneel]

[ But it's so sad! The burdens Qilby has to face, the fact that he's just waiting around for his death before he can see his dragon again. Natsu grits his teeth and expresses his emotion the way any shounen protag would -- by slamming his fist into the wall opposite. ]

But it ain't fair! Now you're stuck here. And what happens if somethin' happens to ya over in this world? Can ya get back to your Dofus?

[dissenter]

[not expecting the wall-punching, qilby jumps a bit in alarm, muttering a quiet "oh my."

it's a question he's thought about on his own, before, and part of the reason he'd been so insatiably curious about souls. but--] I'm... [it's hard to say this, because it's true.] ...I'm afraid I don't have an answer to that question.

But I don't intend on needing one, nor do I intend on letting anything happen to me before I find a way of getting us all back to our respective worlds. [gently.] It may not be fair, but the most important battles were never won with the odds stacked in our favor. We'll get through it.

[dragneel]

[ The hand slides away, falling lax at his side. ]

That's even more reason to go find this sword. If this thing can do what the book says, then we'll be home before we know it. But if not, ya got me. I'll make sure ya get home so you can reunite with Shinonome.

[ A name that's infinitely harder than Qilby and Natsu gets it right. ]

[dissenter]

[don't think he doesn't notice that, either. and don't think he doesn't squint slightly, at a brief but complete loss for words, before sighing deeply.

when qilby's soul finally recovers enough to let him look up again, he flashes a crooked smile.] Thank you, Natsu. I appreciate it. Very much so.

Of course, it's not just for me -- I'm sure there're many others who have a reason to be back home. Yourself included. [soberly.] Not everything you do has to be for someone else.

[dragneel]

Yeah, I do got my reasons to go back. But I ain't really the kinda guy who likes to leave a job unfinished. That BREW thing drew us in to help win a war, and I ain't gonna go back until that's done. So if this sword can win the war and send us back, it's worth going to find it.

[ He scratches the side of his head with a sheepish expression. ]

It really does suck to have your powers halved, though.

[dissenter]

I understand completely, believe me. [he's not going to mention that yugo figured out his powers -- precocious little brat that he was -- and that they're similar to what they both had back in the world they came from. qilby's almost feeling happy, now that there's the prospect of getting his hands on a worthy-sounding weapon. he's not about to ruin that.]

Well -- as you say -- if all goes well, we should be on our way home quite soon now. [an encouraging little nod!] Best of luck to both of us, I suppose.