Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Overworks, Sega, or Nintendo. This is purely a fan effort. I do not own any aspect of Skies of Arcadia. Duh.

Surprise ---

The flames that once encircled the humble tavern had been reduced to embers at last. The arsonists were long gone by now, and it was useless to engage in any pursuit. Just an hour ago, however, this tavern had bustled with activity…

A dark-haired adventurer was sprawled out on a cot in the back room. Empty bottles of a strong type of loqua lay near his limp hand that dangled over the side of the cot. His breath was rank from the contents of said bottles, and the bags under his shuddered eyes were impressively large. He had been out cold the night before.

Slowly, and painfully, he dragged his eyelids skyward and stared up at the dusty ceiling above. ‘Where am I?’

“Hiya.” A squeaky voice bounced off of his ears. It sounded more like nails against a slate to him. He winced and struggled to tilt his big head to the side. It was a girl. “You see me?”

“Huh?” The dazed explorer squinted in her direction and hauled himself into an upright position. As soon as he reached the peak of his rise, pain wracked his brain yet again. He instinctively thrust his face into his hands and groaned, “What the hell happened to me?”

“You took in too much.” The girl pointed down at the broken bottles.

He glared down at the shattered glass; Never before had he hated Loqua this much. His vision began to focus and he turned his attention to the strange girl at his side. Something wasn’t right about her; As if she hardly existed. He leaned forward and noticed something interesting; Her ears, though small, were pointed at the ends and moved independently. As of now, they drooped like a dog’s. Her eyes were also weird; They were violet in color and glittered like a moon stone.

“How long have I been out?” Domingo thought aloud and scratched his scalp in questioning. When no reply came from his caretaker, Domingo glanced over the cot.

She had grabbed a broom from the corner and was sweeping bottle fragments into a nasty-looking dust pan. Her movements were stiff as she bent over to collect the dust pan. Her feet slid across the dirt floor and snagged on a stray shard of glass.

“Uh-oh,” Domingo frowned and watched the girl hop around to the end of the cot. She seated herself on the edge and lifted her leg over the opposite knee. She sighed; Blood dribbled and oozed out of the laceration. “Aren’t you gonna heal it?”

The girl stared back at him with a vacant expression.

Domingo pulled a shiny crystal out of his satchel and pushed it into the girl’s palms. “It’s a Sacri crystal. Go on, try it.”

The crystal gave off a wan light and a comforting warmth. The girl grinned back at Domingo and continued to stare at the crystal. After a few moments passed, she blurted, “Nothing is happening.”

“That’s because you’re just staring at it. You have to use it.” Domingo reached over the girl’s bare legs and pushed the crystal into the wound on her foot. Almost immediately, the crystal burst into smaller flecks of green energy and flew into the space between her torn skin. “Geez, you don’t even know what a Sacri crystal is? What planet are you from?”

“Noa, are you all right?” A hoarse voice flew across the room as an older gent staggered into the doorway.

“What is a Sacri?” The blonde-headed girl, called Noa, intently asked the elderly man. Curiosity blazed in her eyes like a wild fire as she pulled at the skin around the bottom of her foot.

“Never you mind what a Sacri is. Go to your room for a moment, I need to speak with the stranger.” The old man said in a stern tone and pointed towards the doorway.

Noa’s ears suddenly winced, but she stumbled out of the cot and snatched the broom off of the floor. She crossed the dusty room and paused at the entrance to the hallway, ‘But I want to know…’

She glanced over her shoulder disdainfully at her caretaker before leaving the small room. The old man heaved a sigh and glared down at Domingo, “You must leave at once.”

“Oh yeah, thanks for the hospitality, by the way.” Domingo rolled his eyes and hopped off of the cot. He pocketed his trusty telescope and eyeballed his abrupt benefactor, “I know it’s none of my business, but, whatever you’re shielding her from, it’ll do no good. The world will catch up with her sooner or later, gramps.”

“I thought I asked you to leave.” The older man pushed the wooden door ajar and extended a finger in its direction, as he had done with Noa.

“I’m not your daughter, buddy.” Domingo flicked the old man’s hand aside with his telescope. He smirked as the door slammed behind him. Apparently, he had been in the tavern the whole time. Bottles of every kind of Loqua imaginable lined the back wall behind the bar counter. It made him a little queasy, as he still suffered from the after-effects of the substance. “I’m out of here.”

He pushed past a shifty group of sailors and reached the stone threshold of the tavern. That girl, Noa, somehow managed to tumble into his mind’s eye. She was such a funny girl; Not knowing what a Sacri Crystal was and the way her little ears flopped all over the place. He laughed thinking about it.

And became silent as he recollected her guardian’s words, ‘Never you mind…’ And Domingo decided that he was lucky. He was actually free to wander and wonder about whatever he pleased.

A shrilly scream tore his bliss into pieces. He was promptly shoved to one side as people scattered and raced out of the tavern. The men he had slipped by just a moment ago, were now trashing the tavern. Domingo made a horrible face and dusted himself off before leaving the tavern himself.

‘What is a Sacri?’

He halted and slumped over like a wounded animal. He’d rather not be involved, but he also had a conscience. As an ex-crew member of the Delphinus, he was forced to grow one. He slammed the palm of his sweaty hand into his forehead and slowly turned around.

The tavern was ablaze; It must have ignited during his deep soul searching. He yanked the collar of his shirt up around his mouth and charged into the tavern with little bravado. The door that led to the back room had been ripped off of its hinges. He coughed and waved his hand around as if to clear the air.

One of the brute men were crouched behind the bar counter and calling out into the smoky room, “I lost her, Cap’n’!”

Domingo dropped to his knees and crawled around on the floor, desperately searching for the weird girl. He figured she had eluded the boneheaded sailor into the main room of the tavern. His eyes watered and he gasped for air; The smoke was getting thicker with each passing second. He ran into something under one of the tables.

It was Noa. Domingo could barely hear her wheezing through the roaring flames that now engulfed the tavern. He reached downward and scooped her up into his free arm.

His other arm released the collar of his shirt and steadied Noa’s limp body. He made a dash for the shrinking doorway and leapt through the circle of flames that had gathered around it. He hit the sand hard and recovered quickly.

He watched the tavern burn on like a torch in the night from behind a neighboring building. He stared down at the bundle in his arms and moaned, “What have I gotten myself into?”