Boom Box

"Darwin?" inquired Salah, "Where does that music of yours come from?"

The elf smiled, holding up a small black box. "Well Princess, it's elfin technology. Magic is placed in this little box, allowing it to play music wherever you are. All you have to do is use the spell to seal a song inside."

Salah continued expressing her amazement over the music system as Darwin laughed. She sounded so childlike and carefree, yet at the same time fully able to bear the responsibilities that had been placed on her. For a moment, he regretted not having kept her sister, Teefa, by his side; if something happened to her because of a lack of protection, Salah was going to have even more responsibility on her plate.

But there was no time for being depressed. That big monster was still up ahead, and he couldn't let Rooks and Salah go up against it alone. Darwin had to be at his top strength…and for that he needed both his wits and his music.

"Okay then, Princess," Darwin said to Teefa. "Looks like you can't walk so I guess I'm gonna have to carry you back to town." He lifted the girl into his arms and began retracing his steps to the stairs.

Teefa was downright angry at being babied like that. "Why do you have to carry me? It's not like I broke my legs; I'm just a little groggy. And why in the heck don't you have a Return Ring?"

"Give me a break! Rooks had all the items!" exclaimed Darwin.

She muttered something that sounded like, "And you didn't think to ask him for one?" But Darwin decided to ignore Teefa's protesting from then on out; she'd had a long couple of months. Instead, he turned on his music box, letting his favorite tune play at maximum volume, and began walking down the stairs with his charge in his arms.

'Better avoid the monsters; I can't fight and carry her at the same time.'

He was always pretty quick on his feet and good at getting around enemy lines; his elfin senses helped him a lot with that. But they were in a huge tower, filled with tight corridors. It would be awfully hard to dodge when they got to certain parts of the spire.

Those thoughts were on Darwin's mind as he continued climbing down, reminding him to be ever vigilant for any and all monsters that were left hanging around. He'd already failed to protect her once, and wasn't in the mood to screw up a second time. Besides, Rooks was counting on him.

"Hey! It's Darwin!" screamed a girl's voice. "I knew I recognized that music!" Snapping to attention, the elf could see Salah running up to him, Axs close behind her. When the younger princess got to him, she was completely out of breath.

Darwin sighed; the girl was in way over her head. "Maybe you need to work out more. A lady such as yourself probably isn't in the best of conditions to climb such a tall tower."

"Darwin, why don't you keep your muscle-brained opinions to yourself for once?" replied Teefa. He'd given her a similar speech about two years earlier…leading to her decision to run off and take care of herself instead of deal with him.

"N…Neesan!? Is it really you? You're not…," Salah began, trying to find the right words to say to her beloved twin.

Teefa sighed; of course Salah would end up hearing what happened...it was just her luck. "Rooks and Darwin broke Galneon's mind control spell. I'm myself again. And I would like it if Hero Boy here would put me down!" She gave Darwin a sour glare, but he ignored her.

"We're gonna head for Bintel Castle Town. My old house there is still intact last I remembered, and if not I'm sure someone will remember me and give me shelter. Tell Rooks that whether or not he kills Galneon here, I want him to come meet me. If only because Teefa will be all better and want to thank him for saving her."

Salah agreed to give him the message and Axs reminded her that they had to get going to catch up to Rooks. Saying goodbye, and that she would definitely talk to her sister later, the girl and the dwarf headed towards the final floor. Darwin was left to carry Teefa down all by himself. At least he had his favorite music to keep him entertained…

Reaching the first floor, Darwin let out a sigh of relief. Almost in the home stretch…he'd get Teefa back to safety before long. Since her ankle was only mildly injured, she could probably walk again once they were down the mountain. Getting rid of her anger towards him and being able to fight without fear would definitely make the trip a lot easier.

He could hear the monsters roaring all around him, Galneon had made sure to stock the place well, but paid them little heed. None were close enough to do any harm, and he had to concentrate on making sure he kept it that way.

Suddenly, a Jara leapt out from behind the corner. Darwin readied his weapon; there was no escape to the front and going backwards wouldn't help any. He didn't ponder how the creature had snuck up on him, seeing as it was probably smart enough to keep the noise to a minimum to avoid scaring its dinner off.

"How about I take care of it!" yelled Teefa, thrusting her left hand forward. "This thing's gonna get fried crispy…Attribute 11!"

Then suddenly, to Darwin's great surprise, Teefa let loose with the most powerful, non summoning spell a human being could cast! It struck the Jara dead center, killing it instantly.

Teefa was positively brimming with pride. "What do you think of me now, huh? When you wouldn't teach me how to use magic, I went out and found a better way. Blasted quite a few of Galneon's minions to dust before he caught me and sealed my powers."

Darwin could hear the local monsters getting restless, wanting to find the cause of the explosion. "I think you've just called every creature in this tower towards us. No choice now…gotta run for the exit!"

Before Teefa could even utter a sound, Darwin was off and running. Monsters were trying to catch up, but his speed and senses prevented even one more encounter. All he needed to do was go down one more corridor, and then he'd be at the entrance circle…

…where he smacked right into the Knight that had been waiting there!

All three bodies flew up into the air, fell and slammed right into the ground. Darwin was perhaps in the most pain out of them all, having landed on the Knight's hard armor and having Teefa land on him. Immediately after the princess picked herself up, he made sure to get off of the unconscious monster and pull Teefa out the front door.

"Safe at last!" he exclaimed. "You did good…maybe I was wrong to doubt your determination to learn magic. After all, when you're not trying to hide from enemies, spells are a quick way to lay waste to groups of 'em."

"And that's why I wanted to learn it. I wanted to do my part in order to free my homeland from Galneon. After all, I have a duty as the eldest daughter to protect my people."

Darwin nodded. But just then, he finally noticed his music wasn't playing anymore, and nothing seemed to happen when he fiddled with the dials on his box. On closer inspection, the elf realized it had been busted in the fall.

"Darn it!" he exclaimed, "My uncle's the one who made this for me and I haven't seen him in about a year and a half! Plus, I don't have time to look for him with all that's going on!"

Teefa sweatdropped at his words. "Oh for crying out loud, Darwin. It's only a music system. We're both safe; that's what matters. Heck, you went ten for eleven floors without fighting a monster so that has to count for something. I bet it's a new record!"

But the elf wasn't being comforted by her words. Instead, he wanted to lament the loss of his all important music. How could he concentrate on his travels when he didn't have his main source of focus?

"Let's just go to Bintel," suggested Teefa as she took her guardian by the arm. "You know, to meet with Rooks? Once we get to talking and investigating the situation, I'm sure you'll feel a whole lot better!" She began dragging him down the mountain, just as he'd done to her.

Darwin could feel a little smile forming on his face. 'Heh, she's right. It's just music, after all. I'll find Uncle once we finish off whatever surprises Galneon has left. But for now, I'll just stick close to the princess and do my duty. Hopefully, we can team up with Rooks in Bintel, with or without Salah and Axs, and I'll have some support in protecting her.'

They continued down the mountain, the capital growing closer with every step they took.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words...

After a long hiatus, it's time to get back to the classics. As in, the game my online self is taken from; this was the first RPG I ever fangirled, long before there was widespread internet use. This will be the first of several little analysis fics, trying to deal with questions that still linger in the game. In this case, what happened to Darwin's music between Chapters 4 & 5; his theme song plays the first two times he joins you, but when he comes back in the last chapter it's suddenly gone. I also managed to explain how Rooks knew where to find Darwin after he leaves the tower by having Salah deliver the message. And make sure to mention which sister is the older twin; I ran parts of the Japanese script through JWPce to check kanji, and saw which sister used which term for the other.