Author's Note:
(3/28/17- 12:58 AM)
All of my rambling will end at the next bold text. Any paragraph that has a heading underlined will pertain to the story.
The paragraph that has the italicized heading pertains to music, so if you don't really care for that, skip it.
So, where to start? I'm Xpyro, an author who never puts one story to rest, instead just making more. I guess that's aside from the point though.
This game was really fun to play. I haven't completed Disc 3 yet, I only got done with Noluta Village not too long ago, but I couldn't wait to make a story of this. I spoiled only the very ending for myself so I could start this, just to see what happened last, if there was something I needed to resume from.
I guess thankfully, I don't, but I was going to just have a time skip of around 2 years anyways. I'll admit, this game is a bit of a roller coaster for me. It's extremely easy so far, I think Disc 2 just said "fuck it, let's make the enemies just plain easy to kill", and made our characters overpowered. It was really disappointing in that aspect, but it wasn't a major problem. I might be the only one to say this, but I got downright frightened... It's the reason why I skipped to the ending, and this is a bit of a spoiler...
I was scared that Kluke would get with Shu. They have no chemistry at all, I personally just find her better without him, and I'm actually kinda glad that the ending makes it so that she isn't with either of them at the time, instead leaving it up to the fans' imaginations. I think that was a great way to end it. Truthfully, while I didn't care for the characters at first at all, they all grew on me, I guess with the exception of Shu. I didn't hate him, I just found his immaturity annoying– but I'm like that with the people that I deal with in real life, and honestly, I found him much more tolerable than them, so it's kinda funny. Sometimes he was decent, because he was actually not immature, but when he prevented Sahlia from killing herself... I actually liked him. It's strange to say that you don't like the main character of a game, especially in an RPG. It's not really something I've done, unless if you consider Chrom from Fire Emblem, but I won't get into my hatred for him. My opinion of Shu is kinda uncertain, I do want to like him, but I just can't. Out of the three, I liked Jiro off the bat, but not that much. I will say though, while Kluke was (justifiably) a bit of a bitch at first, I think her development was really good. I do think that Jiro and Shu's rivalry for Kluke brings out the worst in all three of them, and I just think it was pulling the strings of 'main guy has to get the main girl', while also laughing at that stereotype. I think the sole fact that Shu isn't with Kluke in the end is enough for me to say that it worked well. I remember reading the wiki on Sahlia when I was playing Disc 2, because I had no idea who she was, and I will say, she had me excited. Then I realized after Devour Village that I misread, that she only joined in Blue Dragon Plus for the DS. Fuck my luck, because she's my favorite character. It sucks too, because she brought out the best of Shu, the side that I actually liked. I didn't even care if they got together or not, I just wanted her to help keep him in line.
Though my biggest disappointment has to be that nothing really bad ever happened, aside from the end of Disc 2, and that was just solved immediately. RPGs, especially the newer ones love to throw curveballs at the players, and I always got the feeling that something bad that was about to happen. The game always gives you that feeling, but I was always wrong. In that remark, it doesn't really deliver, but the beginning of Disc 3 showed just how vulnerable our characters really are without magic. But it's such a logic leap that they got their magic back "because it was in their hearts".
What?
That doesn't make sense in the least, because they got it by swallowing the light spheres. Unless if it was imprinted in them or some shit, there's no way that should have even been possible. Still, I suppose it was a nice enough touch... I'd argue that they left that route way too quick, but I was sick of not being able to deal with enemies because Kluke didn't have her magic.
I will say though, they did a completely subtle, yet noticeable graphics overhaul on Disc 3, and dear God... It's absolutely beautiful, and Devour Village just reminded me of Twilight Town from Paper Mario TTYD, Majora's Mask, and Twilight Princess... You know, the good parts of the dark atmosphere, not the edgy emo dark shit. Which is actually most of Twilight Princess... I won't go into why I don't like that game, it's completely aside the point.
I guess at the end of the day, Blue Dragon left a real mark on me– it's why I'm writing this. So, let's get down to business after burning almost 1K words.
Some things to consider about this story.
This story will contain a lot of cursing, moreso than most of my other stories, possible sexual themes and mentions, but not actual graphic, detailed stuff.
There are going to be dark themes, themes that deal with issues in the real world, and possible offensive things said, so take this story with a pinch of salt. I'm likely going to be pushing a lot of boundaries that would put this at the borderline of an M rating, though not quite. With that said, I hope to derive some inspiration from stories in my CP:R series, though I want to mainly just keep it serious. Please review, as your feedback will help me tremendously to make this story even better– or just more tolerable, depending on how you feel. If you don't like it, that's okay, and if you do, then please let me know! I may consider co-writing this with someone I've worked with on here, his account is Axel The Moon, go check him out. I may just work on this on my own though, depending on what happens. I'll see if he's interested, and if he's played the game or if he has watched the anime, which I don't intend to, I'd like to have him aboard. One thing to consider is that this will be based off of the Xbox 360 game, especially since I have little to no knowledge about the anime or other games.
For those of you who may not know about the anime, the characters are radically different. For a few examples: there's no Sahlia, instead Bouquet, and Jiro is basically just a stereotypical "I must get stronger, I don't care about anyone else" character, which I personally don't care for nearly as much as Jiro from the game. Yeah, something tells me I'd be really cynical about the anime. Once again, please review, your feedback helps a lot.
Update: 3/31/17- 12:01 AM (Not relevant to the story.)
So, a half an hour ago, my pre-order for the new Mastodon album, Emperor Of Sand, came in. I haven't listened to all of it yet, but I have to say...
It is absolutely fantastic. For those of you who may not know who Mastodon is, they are a progressive metal/sludge metal band based in Atlanta in the United States. The new album is about cancer and mortality, since each band member has had someone close who suffered from cancer. Each song has deep, touching lyrics. Some immediate highlights off of the album so far are:
1. Sultan's Curse: The first track, which is everything you would expect from a Mastodon track, but amplified. Check this one out if you've never heard them.
2. Show Yourself: The second track, which is a lot lighter and is just really catchy. Some people won't care for this one, but it's pretty good to me.
3. Steambreather: Probably my favorite track off the album so far; this is the fourth track. I don't know what it is, but Brann Dailor's (the drummer) vocals round out the song really well. It's tough to describe, but it's just amazing.
4. Clandestiny: The eighth track, which has a heavy intro. It has a "spacy" feel to it around the middle of the song, which is actually pretty cool.
5. Jaguar God: The final song on the album starts off slow, but it tugs on your heart strings. It then progresses and gets heavier, but not so much to be too much for alternative metal listeners.
I know I named half of them, and I had to lower what I listed from 8 to 5, but that's because they're all such great songs. Honestly, this is my favorite album by the band so far. Each song has small subtle effects that really bring depth to each song. Brann Dailor's drumming hits hard, while his vocals in certain songs catch you adrift. Troy Sanders' bass rounds out the songs, and his vocals go well with Brann's. Bill Kelliher's guitar work is great, and he does a pretty good job with backing vocals. Brent Hinds brings it all together with strangely fantastic vocals (those who have heard it would understand) and with absolute guitar wizardry. For those who like metal and have never heard Mastodon, they are truly musicians who carefully consider every element in every song. Definitely check them out, even if you don't care for metal. If you don't like them, that's absolutely fine. The new album is something that is personal to a vast number of people, even more so than the rest of their albums. Their 2009 album, Crack The Skye, is also very relatable. It's about Brann Dailor's sister, Skye, who committed suicide at the age of 14, however, the art aesthetic is also about Tsarist Russia. To see the whole story about Skye Dailor, I've put the link below.
. ?entries/the-sad-and-short-tale-of-skye-dailor.408/
I know most readers probably won't give a shit about this update, but I didn't really expect anyone to. It's just something that I really wanted to do, even if just for the hell of it, so take it with a pinch of salt as well.
Update Done.
My ranting is over, let's get to the story.
Development Time: 3/28/17-3/31/17
~Chapter One: Battles~
I hear them from the other side
As I sit and let the day go by
Trying to see if the world is still alive
Let the day go by
Shu walked with Jiro and Kluke through the crowded streets of Jibral. As the three made it to the sweet shop, Kluke smiled at Sahlia.
"I see you got hired." Jiro said.
"Yup!" Sahlia replied. "She loved my baking, and when I applied for a job, she put me as her assistant! It's really nice!"
"That's pretty cool, Sahlia, care if we can get a dozen cookies?" Shu asked.
"Well, you're gonna have to pay 400 gold for that." Sahlia said.
Kluke handed Sahlia the gold, then took the box of cookies.
"So, what are you guys up to today?" Sahlia asked.
"We're just gonna relax for the most part..." Jiro responded. "We may visit King Jibral."
"Sounds cool!" Sahlia said. "I'm gonna be working until 7 tonight, wanna meet in the cafe then?"
"Sounds great!" Shu replied.
"Alrighty! I hope you guys have fun!" Sahlia said.
"You too!" Kluke replied, and the three walked toward the castle.
As the three walked into Jibral Castle, they made their way to the rooftop balcony where the king stood, looking out into the distance.
The king sighed as he closed his eyes.
"King Jibral? What's wrong?" Kluke asked.
He turned around and looked at the three who stood in front of him.
"Kluke, Shu, Jiro.." King Jibral said. "Well, I'm sure you know about the new village that was founded by the Coastal Road."
"Yeah, what about it?" Shu asked.
"Well... There's been a lot of turmoil especially recently. It's affecting my people as well. There's been fighting between Gorgos and humans in the village. Gangs on both sides have been formed in the village..." King Jibral explained.
"What started it?" Jiro asked.
"I'm not really sure. Some people say that a Gorgo hit a human, some people say that the human stabbed the Gorgo." The king explained. "Everything's been going downhill since then. However, there is one gang that has both humans and Gorgos working together, though it's mainly underground at the moment."
"Is there anything we can do about it?" Kluke asked.
"I'm afraid not. The world has been getting better for the most part, though there are little things that come up every now and then which disturb the peace." King Jibral replied. "I sent Zola and Marumaro to the village in hopes to make things better, though I'm not sure how it has turned out. As the stock for pistols increase, I wonder... Would a gun ban here help anything? I know we don't have any here, but I don't wish to take any risks."
"I'm not really sure, but I do think that criminals would get them either way, legal or not." Jiro said.
"... You're right about that. The fact is, while Nene's dead and there's no big evil out in the world, the new village has starting to make street violence a recent concern. I know we've had some mild prejudice here that isn't under my control, but the way it's going there... It makes my people uneasy." The king explained.
"Do something about it then!" Shu said.
King Jibral sighed.
"I wished it was that easy. But say even if we could do something about it, the resulting consequences would be massive." King Jibral replied.
"Could we go check it out then?" Kluke asked. "It wouldn't really hurt to."
"You could... Just don't cause any trouble there." King Jibral replied.
The three walked to the village and looked at the sign, which read Sinkuta Village.
While the village looked nice, the Gorgos and the humans stayed separate from each other. The three walked in, where they were instantly eyed by the residents. Shu looked to Jiro before a Gorgo walked over to them.
"You're the ones who saved the world, right..? What brings you to a place like here?" He asked.
"Show some fuckin' respect, you bull-faced prick!" A man yelled from across the village.
"We heard about what was going on here with the gang fighting." Jiro said.
"I have some advice for you then... It's really ugly. You probably want to leave as soon as you can. I'm Keru-Keru, a member of the Silver Hides gang. We believe that humans and Gorgos should work together. Hence why both of the other gangs despise us." Keru-Keru explained. "The gang of Gorgos is called the Blood Horns, and the gang of humans is called the Skull Hunters. There are certain parts of the neighborhood that are controlled by each gang. The fountain in the center of the village and the entrance are neutral, so you'll be fine here."
"Don't knock my glass down." One seated Gorgo said to a man, and the man stood over him.
"Or what, shitface? You deformities need to leave our village!" The man said.
The Gorgo stood up and Keru-Keru rushed over.
"Brother! Do not fight him, there mustn't be any fighting here!" Keru-Keru said.
The man got out a knife and stabbed the table in front of the Gorgo's hand.
"... Walk away." The Gorgo said.
"You need to walk the fuck out of our village, and take your bovine fucks with you!" The man shouted.
A bunch of men walked over to the man, and a group of Gorgos gathered around the Gorgo.
"Both of you, please go separate ways! We can't fight here, you know Chief Ramos will punish everybody involved!" Keru-Keru said.
"Which is why you need to walk away, brother.." One Gorgo said.
"I refuse to let this happen–"
The man took the glass the was knocked down, then smashed it in Keru-Keru's face.
"Stop!" Shu said, but he was knocked down as he got in between the two groups.
"Get lost, kid! You don't know shit!" Another man said. "Those bovine bastards will kill you if you let them!"
Shu stood up, and his shadow grew to take the form of a blue dragon.
"I don't think you heard me..." Shu said to the man. "Walk away."
The men started backing away, and the Gorgos walked away, knowing that the conflict was over.
The men all ran away, and Shu sighed. Jiro healed Keru-Keru's wounds after taking the glass shards out.
"Thank you, brother.. Not just for healing me, but for stopping the fight before it started." Keru-Keru said.
"Who's Chief Ramos?" Kluke asked.
"Chief Ramos is the mayor of Sinkuta Village. He was a Sheep Tribe before he helped build this place." Keru-Keru said. "It's good, because he's unbiased."
"Interesting..." Kluke said, before seeing a blonde haired girl looking over the railing at the ocean. "Who's she?"
Keru-Keru looked over.
"Oh, her? Alyvia Ramirez, she's a help model cyborg, number PR17-328." Keru-Keru explained. "Some of the humans in our gang created her in Baroy town. She's very sensitive about being a cyborg... The poor girl hates it. Wishes she could be human. Most people in this village don't like her, even the humans. It's a shame, because she's very kind."
"Oh.." Kluke said.
The three walked over to Alyvia, who hadn't noticed them.
"Alyvia?" Kluke said, causing the girl to turn around.
"Is there something that you want me to help you with...?" Alyvia nervously asked, with an almost sad tone.
"Not exactly.. We wanted to introduce ourselves. I'm Kluke, he's Jiro, and he's Shu." Kluke said.
"Oh.. I'm Alyvia, but I guess you knew that..." The cyborg said with a soft, uncertain voice.
Kluke opened the box of cookies and held one out for her.
"...?"
"It's a cookie.. For you." Kluke said.
Alyvia hesitantly took the cookie and slowly ate it.
"It's... Really good." Alyvia said, making the three of them smile.
"Would you be willing to be our friend?" Kluke asked, surprising the cyborg.
"You... You want me to be your friend? Are you sure...?" Alyvia asked.
"Yeah, you seem really nice." Kluke replied.
"I'd love to be your guys' friend..." Alyvia said.
She looked over to Keru-Keru who had a smile on his face.
"Alyvia, if your creators are willing, I think you should go with them. You'd be happier that way." Keru-Keru said.
"What about the people here?" Alyvia asked.
"... I don't think they want help. That's why there's so much fighting." Keru-Keru replied.
"... Oh."
Keru-Keru went over to her and pulled her into a hug, which she immediately returned.
"Hell, I'm gonna miss you if you go, so make sure to visit every now and then. Alright?" Keru-Keru said.
"Yes, Keru." Alyvia responded with a smile.
"Let's go get your creators!" Shu said.
"You'll find that the Silver Hides' part of town is the northern part. Look for them there." Keru-Keru said.
"Alright... And have you seen a devee and a white haired girl by any chance?" Jiro asked.
"They left not that long ago. They said that they had business in Noluta Village." Keru-Keru responded.
"Thank you, Keru-Keru." Jiro replied, and the four walked to the northern part of the village, which was called Silver Square.
As they were walking, they saw two guys in silver trenchcoats having a discussion.
"Excuse me, Jonas... Costas..." Alyvia said, and the two looked over at her.
"Yes, Alyvia?" Jonas said.
"Would it be okay if I go with them?" Alyvia asked.
"For what reason?" Costas asked in a much more pessimistic tone than his contemporary.
"I was thinking... If I went out and explored the world, I could help a lot more people." Alyvia replied.
"Your magic hasn't fully developed yet." Costas said.
"You have magic?!" Shu said.
"It's synthetic magic..." Alyvia said.
"I think it's okay if you go out in the world with them." Jonas said, and Costas glared at him.
"Thank you, Jonas–"
"Wait a damn minute." Costas said.
"Oh, don't be a prissy, Costas, let the girl go." Jonas said, and Costas sighed.
"Fine." Costas said. "But you better not die."
"Thank you both..." Alyvia said. "I won't forget this."
The four sat at a table in the Jibral Cafe, and Sahlia walked in, sitting next to them.
"Hi guys!" Sahlia said, and she looked over at Alyvia. "Hi! What's your name?"
"I'm Alyvia.." Alyvia replied. "What's yours..?"
"I'm Sahlia!" Sahlia replied, and she smiled.
"It's nice to meet you." Alyvia said, smiling back.
"So, Sahlia, have you had any plans recently?" Shu asked.
"Well, not really. There's not much going on." Sahlia responded. "But I'm not complaining!"
Jiro looked over to Alyvia.
"How did they create you..?" Jiro asked.
"Huh?"
"How were they able to do it?"
"I don't really know, they never told me." Alyvia replied. "But I guess I'll tell you what I remember.."
~TEST: CODE 1M34TE7X69 Room1 Help Model PR17-328 Alyvia Ramirez~
Alyvia opened her eyes and looked around the room. As she analyzed it, she quickly came to realize that it was a simulation.
"Hello, Alyvia. My name is Jonas. Before we bring you to life in the real world, we have some tests that we would like to run. We have a view into this simulation, and we can monitor your brain activity. With that, we can determine the extent of your abilities and functions in the real world. Are you ready?" Jonas explained.
She nodded and looked down. She was wearing a light, almost periwinkle blue hospital gown.
"Your first test is simple. We would like to see your problem solving abilities. To do this, we've created a few puzzles for you. They will each be in different fields. This one is generic, the second is earth, the third is water, the fourth is air, the fifth one is fire, and the final one will be a blend of each. Be cautious. If you die in the simulation, your brain activity will cease in the real world." Jonas explained.
Alyvia looked at her hands, then looked back up.
"I wish you luck, Alyvia. Do your best." He said.
As the communication cut out, Alyvia saw a person form from pixels, though they were not alive in the simulation.
She analyzed the person, then walked over to the door. There were three keystones that she needed to insert into the door.
One was shaped like a heart, the second like a star, and the third like a diamond. As she looked back to the person, she saw the heart key in its chest.
Alyvia looked back to the door and saw a knife in between the handles. She picked it up and looked back, causing the person's eyes to glow red.
"?!"
The person took out a small knife and started walking towards Alyvia.
"!"
She walked around, analyzing the person who was approaching her. It swung at her, to which she fell to the ground before getting up and running away.
The person ran after her, matching her speed, then it slashed at her. The blade cut the gown at the back, and she turned around to swing her knife at the person. Her knife cut the person's wrist, and viscous, neon cyan liquid started oozing out of the wound. The person didn't flinch, instead swinging at her again.
The knife cut her gown by her stomach, and she immediately swung her knife at the person's face, cutting it across the eye.
The person closed its eye; swinging a bit more erratically than before. The blade went down her chest to the cut across the stomach area of her gown, and she was unharmed yet again.
"!"
Alyvia stabbed the person in the other eye, causing it to reel back and fall on the ground. It put its left hand on its eye as the cyan liquid gushed down its cheek.
Alyvia breathed heavily, walking around the person before taking their knife with her other hand. The person looked up at her with a lifeless expression, then its head hit the ground. The person laid lifeless as Alyvia stood there.
"..."
She looked at her gown, which was torn. The cut down her chest to her stomach exposed her breast when looked through, though she was left without any cuts.
Alyvia looked down at the person before screaming and kneeling down, repeatedly stabbing it in the face with both knives. When she was done, she saw that the brains of the person were slowly sliding to the ground, having become mushy from the knives. She looked at her own hands in horror, which were stained with the cyan liquid. She then looked back at the corpse and put her hand on its chest before closing her eyes and taking out the heart.
"... I'm sorry..." She whispered.
Alyvia walked to the door and put the key in, causing the heart to glow. She turned around, and another person appeared. This time, the star was in the person's head, and the person had a small axe. This time, their eyes glowed a neon green, and they lurked slowly toward her.
Alyvia stabbed the person in the eye immediately, before pulling away and keeping her distance. The person swung at her, cutting down the right side of her chest instead. Like the last person, they were unable to create an incision in her flesh, and she grabbed the star in the person's head.
The person grabbed the piece of the gown in between both cuts down her chest and tore it off before headbutting her.
As Alyvia fell down, she pulled the star out, causing the person to bleed a neon green liquid and fall straight to the floor.
The girl gasped for air, then unraveled the wraps the covered the person's arm, which she wrapped around her chest.
"..."
Alyvia walked to the door and put the star key in, which lit up. She turned around to see a person who looked like the previous two, though their face, instead of having the black with colored lines like the rest of their body, was flesh toned. Their bleach blonde hair came down to their back; they simply looked at her.
"...?"
The person had eyes like a normal person, which were blue. They held out their hands to show that they had no weapon.
"Who...?"
The person walked toward her, gently grabbing her wraps. She slapped their hand to which he replied by stepping back and pulling out a tanto blade.
"!"
"I am sorry." They said.
He thrusted her blade toward her, which she ran to the side in order to avoid. As she ran, she saw a tanto blade at the other side of the room.
Alyvia dived and took the blade, looking up at the other person.
"Drop your weapon and I won't kill you.. I promise." They said.
Alyvia stood up and took a deep breath in.
"I'm sorry." They said.
Alyvia swung her blade upwards the block their strike, then swung her blade at their knee causing them to stumble for a second before cutting the wraps, exposing her chest again. She then swung at his neck, which they blocked.
"Alyvia.. I don't want to fight you." They said.
"Then don't.." She replied.
"It isn't that easy." They said before cutting across the entire right sleeve of her gown. She then raised her blade to block their strike, which they then brought down, cutting away more of her gown. She soon pushed them away, accidentally slicing their wrist horizontally as she did so. They collected themselves, then swung again, which cut across the left sleeve of her gown, resulting in what remained falling off entirely.
"Please put your sword down.. I will do the same." They said.
As she felt the coldness of the room hit her skin, she began to shiver, making her start to think about accepting their proposal.
"F-Fine..." She said as her teeth chattered.
Alyvia threw her sword down, and the person did the same, kicking both of them back before hugging her.
"...?"
"Are you okay?" They asked.
"F-Fine.."
They stroked her hair and smiled sincerely.
"It's okay." They said. "You're the new cyborg that they've created?"
"Yeah.."
"Model PR17-328? Alyvia Ramirez?"
She nodded.
"I suppose."
"I'm Cesaro Selva, a cyborg as well. I recently became a blademaster at Jibral." Cesaro explained.
"... You were going easy on me."
"Yes." He replied.
Alyvia sighed, then he gently rubbed her cheek and took out a diamond keystone.
"I believe this is for you." He said as she took the keystone.
Cesaro smiled, then went over to the wall and took another hospital gown, handing it over to her as well.
"Sorry about destroying the first one." Cesaro said.
"It was torn up anyways.." Alyvia replied, putting it on.
As she looked at him, she realized what he was doing the whole time.
"I get it... You were never really fighting me. You wanted to see what I would do." Alyvia said.
"Very good." Cesaro said.
He gently patted her head and escorted her to the door. She put the diamond keystone in and watched the door open.
He gave her both tantos.
"This is the end of the line for me, Alyvia. Good luck." Cesaro said.
"Thank you, Cesaro.." Alyvia said, and the other cyborg pulled her into a hug.
She closed her eyes and smiled.
"That was how the simulation started..." Alyvia said.
"I see..." Jiro said.
"It sounds crazy.." Sahlia said.
"It was. Cesaro is currently at Pachess Town." Alyvia replied, looking over at Sahlia. "However... I was told by Costas to keep this safe and that it contains lots of secret information that I can't reveal to anyone..."
She took out a small stick flash drive, which had the number PR17-328 engraved in the plastic.
"I haven't read its contents yet.."
"That's really strange... Why would he tell you to keep it a secret?" Sahlia asked.
"I don't have the answer for you." Alyvia replied.
"He seems really shady!" Shu said.
"Shu.. He's not–" Kluke started.
"Shu isn't wrong. Costas does seem like he is hiding something... He didn't want Alyvia going with us. Who made that flash drive?" Jiro asked.
"Jonas did.." Alyvia said.
"Then there's something not right about this." Jiro said.
"So should we read its contents?" Shu asked.
"... I don't know. It could very well be a trap." Jiro responded.
"Alyvia, tell us everything you know about those two." Kluke said.
"... I don't have the answer for you." Alyvia replied.
"What does that mean?!" Shu asked.
"It is my reply for when I don't have anything to say or the answer to a question." Alyvia responded.
"So... You don't know anything about them?" Jiro asked.
"Affirmative." Alyvia replied.
"..." Jiro looked around to see a guy looking at them who was at the bar. "Guys.."
Shu looked over at the guy who got up and walked over to them.
"What are you staring at me for?" The guy asked.
"You were staring at us." Jiro said.
"I'm waiting for my coffee." The guy replied.
"..."
The guy also stayed silent, instead opting to return to his seat.
"We need to go.. We'll discuss this at my place." Jiro said, and he got up. "Come with me."
The five walked out, and the guy looked at the door.
"Did you catch all of that, boss?" He asked.
"Yes, William.. I did. The cyborg must be returned to me. She has the information..." The boss said through the earpiece that William wore.
"Copy that."
Jiro locked the front door of his home behind everyone.
"We were being listened in on." Jiro said.
"Do you think that guy had anything to do with Costas?!" Shu asked.
"... No. Someone else that we don't know about." Jiro replied. "Costas may be shady, but that would've been way too obvious."
"Then who was it?" Alyvia asked.
"I don't know." Jiro replied, sitting on his couch. "You guys should stay the night, just in case."
"Well..." Shu started. "In that case, I'm about to pass out. Where can I sleep?"
"There's a few guest rooms upstairs. Make yourself at home." Jiro responded.
Shu walked upstairs and climbed into one of the guest room's beds.
"I'm sleepy too..." Sahlia said, with Alyvia nodding in agreement.
The two walked upstairs and went into the same room, sleeping across from each other in separate beds. Alyvia proceeded to change into her light blue hospital gown, then proceeded to lay down, looking at Sahlia who was looking back.
"Hey, Alyvia..?" Sahlia said.
"Yes, Sahlia?" Alyvia replied.
Sahlia got out a scarf that was the same color as Alyvia's hospital gown.
"I've been holding on to this, but I never had anyone to give it to. I figured that it'd look nice on you..." Sahlia said, handing it to the cyborg.
Alyvia put it on and smiled.
"It's very soft..."
"Do you like it?" Sahlia asked.
"I like it a lot... Thank you, Sahlia." Alyvia replied.
"You're welcome, Alyvia." Sahlia said.
Alyvia got up, then hugged the other girl. Sahlia was surprised by the gesture, but she quickly returned the hug.
"I want you to have this." Alyvia said, slipping a necklace into her hand.
It appeared to have been made from white gold, but it had neon cyan arrays in each chain that weren't lit.
"When you feel like you're in danger and you need help... It'll know." Alyvia said.
"... Thank you, Alyvia." Sahlia said.
"I'll protect you, Sahlia." Alyvia replied with a smile before returning to her own bed. "I believe as the saying goes... Sweet dreams."
Sahlia smiled back.
"Sweet dreams to you too, Alyvia." Sahlia replied.
As Jiro and Kluke sat at the couch, she turned to him.
"What do you think of all this?" Kluke asked.
"To be honest... I kinda wanna retire." Jiro joked with a smile.
Kluke smiled back and looked out the window. The midnight sky glimmered with countless stars.
"You think we'll ever get peace together?" Kluke asked.
"... Maybe." Jiro said. "We'll be alright either way."
Kluke hugged him.
"You're right, Jiro. Thank you." Kluke said.
"You're welcome, Kluke." Jiro replied.
The two walked upstairs and climbed into bed together.
"Promise me one thing, Kluke." Jiro said.
"Yes?"
"Never lose your happiness." He said.
"I promise you that, Jiro." Kluke replied.
The two closed their eyes and cuddled up together.