(Welcome to the Endless Sea, strange ones! We don't usually see creatures like you anymore. How lucky for me! )
Um, th-thank you, but that sounds pretty ominous... Did Chronos send me to the past again, or is this a whole other planet?!
What sounds ominous? Wait, Ned... are you... actually TALKING to that dragon?
A-Arya?! What are you doing here?! Don't tell me you followed me to the past...?
I had to do something! You've been acting so WEIRD, Ned! But this is on a whole other level...!
(Your kind sure are talkative. I hear you're good at battling, though! I'd love to find out for myself!)
I'm so lost. That Tropic Dragon said this place is called the "Endless Sea," but if Chronos sent us to the past... Well, where in the past did it send us?
So, Chronos has been sending you back in time! But why YOU, Ned? I thought you were terrified of dragons -- you always have been.
W-well, I still am, SORT OF, but--
(Hello. You two look pretty tasty. Glad I crawled out of the sea in time to meet you!)
EEEEK!!!
That's the Neddy I know -- jumping straight out of his Cowpoke Dragonhide boots at the very sight of wings and fangs!
Arya, quit it!
... Huh?
I might still be afraid -- heck, I might ALWAYS be afraid -- but Chronos chose ME, for whatever reason. S-so please don't treat me like a kid...!
...
(So it's true what they say about humans: loud and so rowdy! Always fighting! If I send you two packing, I'm sure I'll be rewarded.)
Um... Arya, I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. I'm pretty confused, and the dragons here act weird...
No, Ned! It's okay. You were right... I didn't really think about your feelings. You know, I'm pretty confused, too...
Heh, I guess we're in the same boat then, for once.
(Humans?! What are you two doing? You shouldn't be here! I thought there were almost none of you left...)
(What to do...? Ah-ha! Quick, before somedragon reports to Baha'jir, let's make it look like you were battling me!)
W-wait! Who is Baha'jir? And why don't I like the sound of it?!
*sigh* I wish I could understand what the dragons are saying... I thought becoming a Dragon Master would help, but--!
You've got me around for that! Honestly, though, all I can gather is that they really don't seem to want us here...
And they're telling us to watch out for someone -- or something -- called Baha'jir...
"Baha'jir"? Is that a person, do you think? You did mention meeting some pretty interesting folks in the ancient past.
(To think of the mighty Baha'jir as a mere human! Laughable! I should whip up a storm and send you two right back to the bottom of the Dragon's Throat Whirlpool!)
(I, Oi'ra, dragon of raging sea storms and disciple of Baha'jir, will keep troublesome humans where they belong: at the bottom of the Endless Sea!)
Earth to Ned? You look pale as a Cloud Dragon! I know it must've been bad, but you gotta tell me what that dragon Oi'ra said to you!
I-it... *gulp* it hinted at why there are no other humans around. According to Oi'ra, people like us are all "at the bottom of the sea"... under that huge whirlpool.
And it seems like whoever this Baha'jir is, it wants us to STAY down there!
WHAT?! That's horrible! There's no WAY dragons would do that to humans! Unless...
(Maybe humans aren't as dumb as I thought -- Baha'jir said they can't think straight, but this one's trying to figure out why we exiled them!)
... I'm not gonna translate. I think this dragon's just overdue for a good Arya-style battle.
We have to get more info on just what's going on here! Ned, c'mon, go talk to that dragon over there.
B-but--! *sigh*
Um, hey there. We're wondering why you guys sorta exiled all humanity to the bottom of the sea? S-sorry, bit of an abrupt request.
(Hmph! That's an easy one -- with your stinking machines and factories, your kind were ruining our world! So, Baha'jir flooded it.)
(All the smog made my lovely coral crown shrivel up. It's back to normal now... but I'm still not over it! Now, I hope you won't get over this battle!)
Ned? You okay...?
This Baha'jir... it FLOODED Dragolandia because of what the Tyrants did...! Th-this is horrible!
I tried to fix things last time, but here everything's worse than before. Or better? And what does it mean for OUR time?!
You've always thought so hard about stuff, Ned. Sometimes TOO hard! I think Chronos knows what it's doing... and we'll figure out just how to help.
Besides, can't you understand what the dragons are thinking? I mean, if I could do that, too...
I WISH you could! Then YOU'D be the one dealing with that unhappy Leviathan Dragon who wants a piece of us!
(Are you the humans everyone's been gabbing about? I'm supposed to take you down the whirlpool to be with the other humans -- on behalf of Ho'mala.)
(Frankly, I'm surprised you even made it to the surface. That's a whole lot of swimming for weak creatures like you!)
J-just hold on a second! Who's Ho'mala? Is it anything like Baha'jir? And if so, can I opt out of meeting it?
Don't look so worried, Ned! I might not be able to speak dragon... but I can speak "battles" -- and I think this dragon is looking for just that!
(Ooh? What's this? Maybe you humans aren't as weak as I thought! Let's battle!)
(... ... ... )
WOW! Check this dragon OUT, Ned! It looks so FANCY! Can you ask it if it wants to battle? Heh, it probably already does.
(... *blush*)
Uh, this one's not super-talkative, believe it or not.
(I am not supposed to be here. I, Ho'mala, rule over the bottom of the sea. But when I heard of you two, my curiosity overcame me...)
(I have a special feeling about you humans. You are strong, smart, and kind. I would like to battle you... before I get in trouble with Baha'jir.)
So that last dragon we battled was Ho'mala -- the one who APPARENTLY rules over... humans like us, trapped at the bottom of the ocean.
I can't believe it! I just can't believe there was a time where people and dragons didn't get along...
Speaking of, there's a dragon over there, giving us the stink-eye, but...
It's weird. I can't hear this one talking in my head like with the other dragons we've met. Maybe it's... shy?
It sure doesn't LOOK shy! I'd know that body language anywhere -- this dragon's looking for a battle.
ACK!!! A-Arya, it's coming right at me, and I don't know what it's thinking!
It's got claws... EVERYWHERE!!!
It's okay, Ned! I can tell it's just looking for some treats. Even in an age like this, dragons still love their fruit. That NEVER changes!
Oh... Y'know, Arya, you can tell what a dragon is thinking just as well as I can. And you didn't need any weird magic prophecy to do it.
Ha, well, that's sort of a relief...! N-not that I was jealous or anything!
ANYWAY, this Coco Crab Dragon TOTALLY wants to battle -- so let's dispense with the chit-chat and get on with it!
Any luck with this one, Ned? Can you hear it?
No... I can't. This is bad, Arya!
How are we supposed to save our future and defeat the Tyrants when we don't even know how to get the dragons on our side?!
It's okay -- dragons can tell when somebody wants to help. We need to have faith in them, too!
This Narwhale Dragon seems like it wants to lead us somewhere... I bet it'll help us after an entertaining battle!
(Ah, good, I see you've found me! I've been looking for you, little humans!)
Poseidon Dragon! I remember you from when Professor Hogwin and I went to Mount Dragolympus, and kicked Rathorn's butt!
(Hmm? Erm... perhaps you are confusing me with some other Poseidon Dragon? There are no humans on Mount Dragolympus, but...)
(My kind are very keen to ally with yours... You interest us. We're no longer content to see humans waste away at the bottom of the sea.)
(But we needed to make sure there were still humans who were pure of heart -- fine warriors and smart thinkers. Please battle me so I might know!)
Arya, I know you can't understand what it's saying -- but I can! And I guarantee you'd be happy about it!
I wonder why I can't understand some dragons, but hear others just fine. Like the Poseidon Dragon... it had a lot to say about helping us.
If only the Ancient Dragons here could feel the same way...
(...? Hello? You... hear me?)
Huh?! Uh, yeah, I can hear you! Do you... need help?
(I Momo'tu. I make land... for humans. And dragons! We live... together. Someday! On Momo'tu's islands...!)
(Momo'tu... is new. But Momo'tu understands you... because I open heart to humans. I... Momo'tu... want to play with humans, too!)
If that battle with Momo'tu was anything to go by, it seems like we DO have some tried and true allies here!
I guess we do. I wonder if Momo'tu will eventually remake the Dragolandian archipelago... Or if it's already started!
(You humans talkin' about Momo'tu? I advise you to keep your voices down, or Baha'jir might hear you and put a stop to it!)
(Momo'tu has been a big help to us dragons who like to live on land. Not every dragon wants an endless sea, after all!)
(So I guess you and me are kind of alike. Say, do ya like to battle as much as I do?)
So Momo'tu HAS been making islands on the Endless Sea... against this Baha'jir's wishes. I had no idea dragon politics were so brutal...
You're telling me! I bet everyone would get along a lot better if we all just remembered the staples of human-dragon relations...
Let me guess... battles and fruit?
(Hm? Whazzat? You young humans say somethin' about battles and fruit? Well, what're you waiting for?)
Huh... Arya, do you hear that...?
You mean the relaxing roar of the waves? 'Cuz I could get used to it!
N-no, it's like... something's calling me to the water...
(Come to the ocean, human... Let me... take you down... deep down...!)
Hey! That Siren Dragon's acting real fishy! Stand back, Ned -- sometimes a good battle solves everything!
(Say, you two the humans everydragon's been whispering about? Rumor has it you've got the Ancients all in a hubbub!)
Is that... a good thing?
(Couldn't rightly tell ya. All I know is that, er, Baha'jir wants to see you two. I'll take you to Baha'jir, but first...)
(Do y'think I could battle ya? Everydragon's saying you're great at it, and I hear there's nothin' like battling a Trainer!)
(Ah, the humans are here. I do so enjoy your kind. I also enjoy my own kind, so I'm at a bit of an impasse.)
(Lucky for you two, I can translate your thoughts to Baha'jir. It's closed its heart off to humans and can no longer hear your wishes.)
(But you've made such a splash here, I can tell our Ancient leader is intrigued...)
(Anyway, you'll have to battle me before I take you to your final trial!)
H-holy Chronos... THIS is Baha'jir?!
HEY! You! Listen up: I know we humans are messy, and sometimes we get things wrong, but YOU'RE not perfect either! We've got to work together!
ARYA! W-what she means, is... Baha'jir, there's a whole future that's in danger... f-for both humans AND dragons. We'd, um, we'd love your... help.
(... ... ... )
Go on, Ned. Tell Baha'jir what else we'd love. Don't worry. Between me, you, and all the dragons we've met, I'm sure it'll understand.
O-o-okay... We'd... also love to share some fruit with you, a-and a battle.