an air balloon ride!

Calm beach winds wafted through the air, lightly grazing Duskie's nose in the process. He looked at the ride in front of him, eyes wide as he took in what he was seeing.

"...So that's what a 'hot balloon ride' is?"

...That thing is  massive... Duskie thought, looking right at the large balloon in front of him. "And, uh..." He blinked. "This one is the one for if you're alone?"

"Yep." The... candle noodle (Duskie was pretty sure they were called that...) said. "Never seen a hot air balloon before?" They asked.

"No, not really..." Duskie gulped.

"Don't worry!" They said. "It's safe- many other Faians have done this before you! Including Ruptours like yourself with tails even longer and pointer than yours, so don't worry about poking it with that thing." They gestured to Duskie's sword-tail, and Duskie chuckled.

"Alright." He moved towards the hot air balloon, pausing for a moment to let the candle noodle open the door, then moved to walk in. After his feet moved from sand to wood, the noodle closed the door and- with a spark- Duskie was off, floating far off away from the beach.

"You don't happen to be  scared  of heights, are you?" Knight asked. "Because if you are..."

I'm not scared of heights! Duskie responded. Just... not used to this weird thing!! How is it even flying in the first place!?

"Look, mountains!"

Duskie turned his head downwards where Knight was 'pointing' to see... mountains, indeed!

Tasty looking rocks... Duskie drooled.

"What's with you and rocks?" Knight asked. "And sand. You ate some of the sand on the way to the balloon- what was with that!?"

It's tasty!

"Normal people do not find rocks nor  sand 'tasty!'" 

Well, I do, and being an alternate version of me means that you gotta, too, right!?

"WRONG! It doesn't mean that at all-"

"While you two fools argue about Duskfall's oddities... the mountains themselves slide right past us."  Odio chimed in.

"OH CRAP!"

THE MOUNTAINS! 

All three of them watched through Duskie's eyes as the mountains faded away from view, their beauty forever evaded from sight as-

"Wait, we can just get on another hot air balloon ride, can't we?" Knight said. "Like, it's not a 'one and done' deal."

"You are right, foolish Knight, but..." Odio sighed. "I suggest we do not push other's limits of generosity here." 

"Good point."

Plains as far as the eye could see stretched out below Duskie. Even from up high, he could smell flowers growing in bushes, and his mouth watered.

"Flowers, too?" Knight asked.

Yes, of course! Duskie snapped back. Flowers and rocks and sand are all yummy!

"... You've got to be the weirdest one out of the three of us."

Duskie ignored Knight's comment, instead leaning over to sniff the air, hoping for more scent from the flowers that dotted the plains. A smile curled the edges of his cheeks, and he purred.

"Please don't jump out and start eating the flowers. We don't have our wings anymore."

I WASN'T GOING TO- wait, you had wings?

Knight internally gestured to Odio, who unveiled red feathered wings from nothingness.

Stars appeared in Duskie's eyes (Mind's eye?) as he admired Odio's wings, even focusing enough to be able to feel them with his paws...

It took Duskie the realization that the floral scent of flowers no longer tickled his noise from so far ahead to realize that, by admiring the view inside his mind, he had missed out on the view outside of it.

"GAH!!!" Duskie yelled into the air, looking around where he could be. Sky to his left, more sky to his right, downwards is... clumps of autumn colors?- a forest!

"Please do not think about eating the trees." Knight sighed.

Duskie gasped. Forests... looked really different when you were looking down at the trees and not up at them! It was truly something else... something that was so unique that Duskie would remember this for eternity.

I got: Memory of Forests From Above! 

"no you didn't. you're going to forget this the next pretty thing you see."

You dont know me! I may be you but I'm a  different you! Too different for you to know at all, and-

The island below Duskie was beautiful, a paradise of fresh greenery whose smells reached up Duskie's nose even from high up. He could see other Faians running around- messing with things, fixing things up, playing games...

"It's beautiful..." Duskie said, looking down at it.

"Didn't that map we read once say this place was called 'Mouena'?"

"Mouena..." Duskie said, feeling the name on his lips. He leaned out of the basket, his red claws shining in the sunlight-

"Careful, Duskie, before you-!"

The door to the basket undid, and Duskie jerked himself back, scooting in the exact opposite direction of said door. His ears twitched and sweat dripped, and he breathed in, breathed out, and moved a paw towards the open basket door.

With a click!, the door closed, and Duskie moved to lean out of one of the sides of the basket instead.

Below Duskie was a ring of green surrounding a rose pink dot.

"Is it me, or did this balloon rise... a bit higher than it was originally?" Knight asked. "... Probably just us!"

It looks amazing... Duskie thought. He could see some large buildings even from up above- a barn, two houses, some sort of altar, and as he turned around to see where the winds were leading him, he saw... a giant tree!

"... Is that a forest?"

It's a tree... Duskie salivated. 

"DO NOT-"

Luckily for everyone involved, Duskie had enough sense to not jump down and bite that tree.

After passing over the giant tree, the balloon changed course, blowing him over above an island with a rainforest and a... strange large building.

"Wait, I've seen a building like that before." Knight said. "I think it has ninjas inside. Or samurai. I wonder if Oboromaru is here too..."

Who's that?

"Another one of those heroes like the guy we named you after."

Duskie leaned over to one of the sides of the basket and put his paws on it, before calling out. "HEY! OBOROMARU!"

"Duskie, what are you-"

Seeing if he's here!

"Oboromaru!" Duskie yelled as the balloon moved up, up and away from the building. "Oboromaru, it's me, Oer-"

"I don't think he can hear you."

"Can he even recognize our voice, now?"

"We sound the same as before, idiot."

After that unsuccessful attempt at calling to someone who his internal head-brothers would have liked to see again, Duskie turned his head to see- 

OH CRAP, we are flying right above a volcano!

"Actually, I think we flew right past those mines first." Duskie turned his head to where Knight was 'pointing' to see... crystal mines.

That... is NOT IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW! We are flying right above a volcano!!! Duskie started downwards.

"So, are you going to salivate at the thought of eating molten lava, or?"

WHAT IF IT EXPLODES! AND KILLS US!

"Didn't that noodle say that this was safe!?"

Duskie watched in fear as the balloon flew right above the volcano... and then flew past it, safe as can be.

Duskie exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Surprise, it didn't kill us!"

Duskie purred, then cheered. "It didn't kill us!" He yelled out into the skies. "It didn't kill us- we didn't die!"

Duskie was still celebrating when suddenly a large gust of wind struck his balloon, causing it- and him- to spin right around.

"What is this!? An earthquake!? In the  air!?"

Duskie himself screamed, clinging to the sides of his basket as the balloon kept spinning around in mid-air. The door to his basket swung right open, driving him to cling even tighter to the basket's walls, fear in his eyes.

Eventually, the spinning stopped, Duskie collapsed into a heap on the basket, only to jolt up to close the basket door the moment he realized his leg was laying outside of it.

"Is that even part of the ride, or..." Knight sighed. "Well, we don't really have much reference."

Duskie sighed a sigh of relief. I hope it's not part of the ride... He closed his eyes and-

"HEY. HEY IDIOT YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO-"

Duskie stirred awake to the soft sounds of... baaing?

"... The whole point of this trip is for us to see the sights! Please don't fall asleep again!"

Duskie got up and leaned over the side of the basket to see... a small herd of strange brown critters, with horns and tails of plants, wandering around a valley.

They're so cute... I want one...

"To eat, or to have as a pet like a normal person?"

To have as a pet! They'd be so adorable... Duskie smiled. He could just imagine it now...

He watched as the creatures chased each other around, headbutting random things and making all sorts of adorable noises. Every second he spent seeing them like this was a second he felt himself wanting one more and more...

What should I name mine? Duskie asked. Once I have it, that is...

"Duskie, these might not be keepable as pets." Knight said, causing Duskie to gasp. That... that was unthinkable!

He'd have to ask later, or maybe look up what these things were called and see if they were tameable?

Duskie looked down at a desert island, looked around to see a bit of the island that he had called paradise a while ago, alongside a dark island and some sort of ice-cold island.

This place has a lot of islands, doesn't it? Duskie thought.

"Guess we'll learn to swim." Knight shrugged. "It's alright, we've already learned it in our old human body, we can learn it in our new one."

I think I already know how to swim.

"... Actually, is it safe? I don't want our tail to rust, and well..." Knight gestured to Duskie's sword tail. "I have no idea if Brion rusts or not..."

Duskie turned his attention to the desert below. He could see some tasty-looking fossils, a big house, and sand. Lots of sand.

"You are not living there to eat the sand. No."

The winds had pushed Duskie over a large tundra, with mountains tall enough that he could reach a paw out and touch them, his red claws tapping against the rock. His attention went to the red skin connecting his wrist to his armpit, and he flexed.

"Oh, so we stilldo  have our wings. Got it."

What if I jumped off... Duskie thought, looking at the snow and hot springs below him. ... And flew down here!

"Actually, we should enjoy this trip."

Alright...

Duskie watched, still, as people walked about the tundra- little multicolored specks from above, other strange and mysterious creatures from below.

Could you imagine if there was someone else we knew down there?

"Anyone but that traitor."

"..."

"What? He hurt us, you fool."

"..."

Not even someone we knew... someone from another world in general would be nice, wouldn't they? Duskie thought, looking down at the people below. Someone who'd understand us...

Both his brothers nodded in agreement.

The winds blew his balloon southwest, towards a swampland, and Duskie could hear faintly the sounds of other Faians laughing. He could see a house from here, alongside specks on leafless trees, and thought about what it'd be like to live there.

"Right, we don't have a house..." Knight chuckled. "We should probably find someplace to live, after this. Y'know?"

All fantasies of living in the swamp lands disappeared as the winds caused the view before him to fade into a colorful vibrant pink and blue. Duskie gasped, eyes sparkling. It looked like some sort of oasis, a sparkling lake sitting just below him, with flowers growing nearby it.

"How come we haven't seen this before?" Knight asked. "...Probably because you were sleeping."

Alas, the winds had swept them up past the volcano yet again, and Duskie took merely a moment to oogle the mineral island before another gust swept him up towards-

The same place that had that weird building.

"Ok, I think the balloon guy lost us."

Duskie nodded in agreement to nobody in particular, and jumped off, the wings on his arms extending, allowing him to glide downwards to safety.

"THAT DIDN'T MEAN-"

But it was too late. Overfilled with curiosity, Duskie began exploring.