A/N: This story is a HUGE crossover between book ideas, video game ideas, and of course Nick Carter.
*Somewhere above Endiness*
Quickly the others left the scene where Rose and Zieg continually bashed the evil they were fleeing from. Albert glanced backwards uneasy about leaving the two alone to finish off what they all started out to do. Slowly he drifted to the back of the group; soon he was far enough out of sight that he flew back into the fray. Albert watched in awe at the older Dragoons doing what they do best. Zieg would draw the enemy out and Rose would dart behind and attack. They did this with such tact you could tell that these two had trained and fought this way many times before. Albert could feel his unease about the situation grow as he watched from afar. Finally, he saw why he had felt uneasy; Rose had a gash in her side, though she continued to fight as if nothing was wrong, she was hurt badly. Silently he flew into the battle. He did not want to interrupt the fight; easily he could tell that Zieg and Rose would triumph. Instead, he watched more closely and waited until the right time arose. Zieg and Rose went around for one final attack, an all out attack, they held nothing back, and the enemy struck Zieg down. Rose saw this and thrust blindly upward, Albert took action at that point and flew into the battle. He grabbed Rose, her blade still clutched in her hand, and flew off towards the rest of the group. He knew that no one wanted to lose Rose; she was too valuable of a comrade for that to happen, one last glance behind him showed that Rose had prevailed with her final thrust.
The flight took time; Rose was weak and she faded in and out of conciseness, whispering and talking as if Zieg were the one carrying her to safety. Finally, Albert saw the back of Meru, the last one in the group, he was almost there and then maybe Kongol would take a turn carrying the injured Rose. Meru turned and spotted them following, loudly she yelled to the others and they turned around, stopped, waiting for Albert to catch up. Albert began to smile as the others waved and welcomed him back, but before he could reach the others, he felt a strange force behind him. He felt himself pulled backwards. Weak from carrying Rose and flying, he could not hold himself against the pull and found himself falling backwards, the last thing he heard were the screams of his comrades.
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*Somewhere in the U.S.A.*
Nick glanced around at his settings, a woody area of his home state. He was on a much-needed break and decided that he wanted to spend some time alone camping. A sigh escaped his mouth as he watched the sun set behind the trees. Nothing could be more beautiful then what he was experiencing now. Sure, he loved his fast life of touring and performing, but he needed time to relax in order to learn to breathe calmly again. His fire crackled and his food sizzled and taking a deep breath, Nick smiled. Tomorrow he was going on a nice long hike; Nick was itching to try a new trail. Nick ate in silence, put out his fire and climbed into his sleeping pack.
The light came early the next day, and Nick was up with the sun. Breakfast was fast and he packed up his camping items and set out on the trail ahead of him. The trees became taller the further into the woods he got. Taking his time, Nick looked all around him, taking in all the scenery. Clouds began to gather and it looked as though it was going to rain at any moment, so Nick quickened his pace. He needed to find a place to set up his tent so that he could sit out the storm and then continue. Thunder rolls were starting and Nick stopped and looked around. He turned right, then left quickly but turned his head right again. Something had caught his eye it looked to be sunlight. How could there be a patch of sunlight randomly in the woods while the rest was so dark and stormy looking. He took a right and made his way over to where the sunlight was, that would be a good place to camp if the storm could not get there then the rain would not fall on him either. Nick walked right into the sunlight and stood there blinking unbelievably. As he looked straight ahead, he only looked at sunny land, where had the storm clouds gone. Was this some tricked his mind was playing on him? He turned back around and looked, seeing the rain fall the area he just left. Confused, Nick started to explore his surroundings.
More then a couple of hours passed as Nick explored his new surroundings. Much of the place was similar to where he was before. The trees were the same kind, and he had no problem breathing. It seemed beyond Nick's imagination as to where he was and why he was there. After a few hours, Nick found a patch of land where there were no trees. A boulder set in the middle of the treeless area that was no taller then Nick himself. He climbed up on the rock and un-slung his backpack. He took out his water and started to drink, astounded by his surroundings. Taking in the scenery, he slowly looked around, a glare caught his eye and he turned to it immediately. He slid off the rock and made his way to what caught his eye. It was probably some kind of metal, but Nick could not help but look to see what it was. Carefully he picked it up and examined the object. He noticed that it definitely was not metal, for what kind of metal is perfectly round, smooth and red all the way through. This stone entranced him and the glow it produced, maybe this was something he should take back with him and have someone look at. Nick tossed it into his pack and began to walk back the way he came; at least he thought he was going back the way he came.
Several more hours passed and Nick could not find the rain or any wet rocks indicating he was back where he came from. Frustrated he threw his pack down and screamed. Leaves rustled behind him and swiftly Nick turned to face a man that was probably not much older then he was. He was oddly dressed, wearing an alarming amount of green. A cape flowed from his shoulders and a spear pointed straight at him. Instinct told Nick to hold his hands up in surrender, and to show he was not armed. Wasn't it written somewhere that you don't attack an unarmed man? Nick didn't think that would help him much in this situation, this man did not look as if he could have possibly come from the same place as himself. They stood face to face sizing each other up; Nick chuckled in his head when he realized that this guy dressed like a king or prince. He must have stumbled into some kind of Renaissance Festival and this guy was after him because he didn't pay the price of admission. Nick leaned over and swiped his pack back into his arms and the man seemed uneasy by this movement and aimed the spear at him. Nick raised his hands and dropped his pack to the ground again in alarm. This action caused the pack's snap to undo and drop a few items out of the bag, including the gem Nick had just tossed in there. The strangers' eyes widened as he saw the stone as well. Nick sensed something, some strange sense that he needed to get that stone off the ground and in his possession. He lunged at the same moment the other and a struggle ensued on the ground for the item Nick knew nothing about.
"Stop," a voice shouted out of nowhere. "This will get us no where. Albert let the boy go and drop the Spirit."
The man in green listened to her and stood up brushing off his clothes, attempting to regain his dignity. The spear, which he had dropped before falling for the stone, he picked up and ambled over to where the voice came from in a protective nature. Nick grabbed all of his things back up and brushed himself off as well before looking in the direction the voice came from. He looked up to see a woman dressed just as strange, if not stranger, then the man. One foot had a normal shoe, while the other had a boot up to the top of her thigh. Her shorts ended just above the top of the long boot, above her waist her armor covered her fully and looked outlined in gold. It appeared, to Nick, that her ears were the same color and pointed, upon closer look, he noticed it was a headband, not her ears. Nick couldn't help but notice her side; there was blood, not only the dry, been there for a while kind, but some fresh.
"What do you want from me?" He asked putting his pack on his back again ready to run if they were to attack.
The woman sized Nick up before answering. "We've been looking for that stone you have in your bag. How did you come by it?" The emphasis on stone made it sound as if she was calling it that to make it sound not as important as they knew it was.
"Why do you want it back so badly?" Nick shot back at her.
At this point the man, called Albert, spoke. "We asked our question first boy."
Nick leaned up against a tree, he was scared shitless but didn't want to convey that to the others. He was unsure if they had the rule 'finders keepers' in this place, wherever it was, but he felt like just now would be the perfect time to snap that as a response. Instead, he said, "I found it, simple as that." Watching them closely he watched as they looked at each other and then turned their attention back to him. "Why is it important to you?"
At that point, they both reached for something, the woman took something off the front of her outfit and Albert well where Albert pulled anything from was a mystery because Nick was watching the woman. Then he saw what it was they went for. The woman held out a dark stone, and Albert had a green one shaped the same way his was. He gawked at both the stones. Surely, they were the owners of the red one and he reached in his pack and pulled it out to hand it back to the strangers. Almost instantaneously the three stones started to glow brightly, almost a blinding brightness. Scared, Nick dropped the red stone and backed away.
Albert walked forward and grabbed the stone Nick had dropped. "You were right Rose, there seems to be a reason we are here." In strides that conveyed he was important, Albert advanced towards Nick. "This does belong to you…" He paused looking Nick over, "Mister...?"
Stunned beyond all belief, Nick reached for the stone, shading his eyes at the same time in case it tried to blind him again. When he realized it was not going to glow again he took his hand down a bit embarrassed. "Um, Nick, my name is Nick Carter."
"Well Nick, my name is Albert and that over there," he pointed at the woman, "well her name is Rose and you seem to be someone we were supposed to find." He held his hand outreached to Nick waiting for him to take it.
Nick shook his head. "Supposed to find 'me'? What is that supposed to mean? Was I supposed to get lost walking? Are you supposed to show me the way home? I don't understand what is going on."
Rose, who was leaning against a tree nonchalantly, glanced at Nick. "We are lost from our home as well; we were hoping you could help us find our way back." Slowly she pushed herself from her leaning position and walked over to where Nick and Albert stood. "Nick, these stones are called Dragoon Spirits, we are Dragoons, because the Spirit glowed when you held it, you are a Dragoon too."
Nick looked at Rose as if she had just escaped from a mental institute, "What the hell are Dragoons?" Again he watched as the others exchanged glances.
Albert was the one to speak next. "Are you willing to listen to our story with an open-mind? What we have to say is going to sound even more unbelievable then telling you that you are a Dragoon."
Nick turned to look at Albert, then at Rose. "You're kidding right? I'm supposed to listen to a couple of nut cases like you. For one you are dressed as if you stepped out of time, secondly you are expecting me to listen to you talk about Dragoons, and Spirits. You would have better luck talking to Sony, tell them your story, maybe they'll make it a Play station game." He scoffed and turned his back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get home. I have people who will miss me if I'm gone long." Carefully he made his way further into the trees leaving Rose and Albert to gawk after him.
When he was a safe distance away Albert turned to Rose. "He can not be the one we are supposed to follow. He has no qualities of a leader. Dart would have listened to us before passing judgment. This boy is inconsiderate and only out to help himself." Albert, frustrated, took up his spear and threw it as hard as he could into a tree.
Rose calmly leaned against another tree. Her eyes scanned the direction that she had just watched Nick disappear into. "Albert there has to be a reason the Red-Eye Dragoon Spirit chose him to be the next to carry it. Of course, I'm still trying to figure out how it ended up in this place as well." Her shoulders heaved as she took a deep breath. "We had better fetch the kid before he gets too far away from us. I have a feeling we have more to teach him then just about the Spirit"
Standing she walked to where she laid her weapon, picked it up and started off in the direction of Nick, Albert following suit. The forest they were in was much like what they would find at home in Endiness, strong healthy trees, and good undergrowth. It reminded Rose of the forest she first found Dart in; she could never have thought it would have led her to where she was now. The pain in her side hindered her slightly. Albert had patched her up the best he knew how. She was silently hoping that the boy they were following would be the end, her last job alive. She had thought Dart would take her to her end, but when Albert brought her around in this forest, she knew she had more to do.
After only a few minutes they had caught up with Nick and simply followed behind him for a while. They were sure he was aware they were there, but he was saying nothing to them or about them being there. Rose was trying to formulate a way to tell him how important his stone was and what it meant. How could she get it through to boy that he was fated to hold that Spirit, that fate had some great destiny plotted out for him already, much more then what he thought was important already in his life? She knew Albert wanted to transform and let his magic do the talking, but that might only hurt Nick and they needed him alive, for what, she could only imagine.
After a few more hours of walking, Nick decided he needed a rest. Where was he going? He, of course, had no idea where he was going. He had tried to get away from the crazies but after only minutes he knew they were following him. What could he do? They could easily overpower him but they didn't, so he let them follow. He came upon a spot that had some larger stones that they could all sit on. Maybe he should let them tell their story. Once they got the story out, they might possibly leave him be and let him find his way home again. He sat down and waited for the other two to stop a few feet away, "You can join me if you wish, since you insist upon following me."
Rose came forward and tossed her blade next to the rock she chose to sit on. Albert leaned his spear against a tree close to another rock. They sat for several minutes not saying anything. Nick passed his water bottle around and offered them some of his granola. Silently, but gratefully they accepted both offers. After a few more minutes, Rose finally took the initiative to speak. "Are you ready to hear us out?"
Slowly Nick shook his head in protest. "I don't understand why you are following me, but I'm too tired to run now, so talk if you must."
Rose took a deep breath, looked at Albert, back at Nick then started their story. "Eleven thousand years ago, humans where we are from fought for their freedom from a species called Winglies. In order to even the odds there were seven humans given the powers of dragons, they were called Dragoons. Humans prevailed. After that every one hundred and eight years our moon produced a child that would be the end of our world. The Dragoons were called upon again, and a new seven stepped forward." Rose could feel Albert's eyes on her, she knew she wasn't being completely truthful, but did he really need to know their entire story? "An evil in our world was set on bringing the Moon Child to her full power; he was set to destroy our world. We were to stop that evil." Fatigue and the pain of her wound kept Rose from continuing, she turned to Albert, her eyes pleading for him to take over.
Albert quickly got the message and continued where she left off. "Through many trials, we came to find who was behind the apocalyptic idea. We defeated the evil; Rose was wounded in that battle. Flying back to our comrades we were pulled into this world, wondering why, we set out to discover the reason if any. Soon our stones started to glow and we knew another was close at hand, and then we found you." Albert looked at Nick seriously.
Nick listened, thrown for a loop when Albert talked about flying. Again he shook his head in disbelief. "How am I supposed to believe a story like that, especially when you talk about 'your world' and flying." Throwing his water and granola back into his pack, he stood from his stone. I'm moving on, feel free to follow me, I'm sure you will whether I give you permission or not." He turned to move on but stopped mid step and stared ahead. Albert was floating in front of him, decked out in green armor, complete with wings.
"If you won't believe the story, then believe your eyes." It was all he said before a light flared and he was standing in front of Nick, dressed as he was when Nick first ran into him.
Nick stumbled backwards onto his rock, looking back and forth between Albert and Rose. His mouth was gaping open, too shocked to speak. Then he watched as Rose passed out. Jumping he command Albert. "Quickly we have to find a town or city where they can fix her up." Albert ran to Rose and picked her up, following Nick as he guided them onwards, as if he knew where the closest town was located.
Albert leaned down towards Rose's face and whispered. "You're right; we were supposed to find him. He is supposed to lead us."
Story Notes:
This is a crossover fanfiction. Other fanfic characters making an appearance:
Paneb - Christian Jacq's Stone of Light Series
The world of Lyra from His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
Albert/Rose/Dragoons (and other ideas) from video game The Legend of Dragoon.
