The Frogmen of the Apocalypse: Gongaga
by TacomaSquall
Prologue
I moved to Gongaga when I was fifteen years old. ShinRa began construction on a Mako reactor nearby, and the small forest town grew to meet the needs of the construction crew. Daddy was a carpenter and with all of the new homes being built, he was going to be hip-deep in work.
Mommy was a wood-carver. She wanted to work with the varieties of wood that could only be found in the lush Gongaga-area rainforests. It is from Mommy that I get my artistic ability.
Anyway, we packed up and boarded the ship that ran from Junon, where I was born, to Costa del Sol, and then drove down the coast, past the splendor of the Gold Saucer, which Daddy called a "pit of iniquity." We reached the great river south of the Gold Saucer during the flood season, and had to wait for a week until the floods had receded.
My kid brother loved to go play in the river, so it fell to me to keep an eye on the little brat and make sure he didn't swim into water that was too deep. I spent more time drawing in my sketch book than I did watching Zack, which was fine by both of us. He thought girls were weird, and, frankly, the brat drove me up the wall.
On the last day before the ford was shallow enough to cross, Zack and I went down to the river, as usual. I was wearing one of the red-and-blue outfits that Daddy loved seeing me in, and I was wearing the Ribbon that Daddy gave me on the last Founding Day. Daddy said that it looked so pretty in my hair, and that it was fitting for such a beautiful young woman as me. That was Daddy for you - always seeing the best in me.
Zack ran into the water, pulling clothes off in the usual haphazard way that a six-year-old does before going swimming. His laughter tinkled like a bell, and I grinned. Zack sure did love to swim.
I opened my sketch book and looked around. I saw a brilliant orange butterfly perched on a sunflower. It would be perfect. I started drawing and lost track of time, as I always do when I am concentrating.
"That's beautiful," a soft, deep voice said from behind me, breaking me out of my reverie.
Shocked, I rolled off of my elbows and looked back at one of the strangest sights I had ever seen. Standing behind me was a frog-man, about three feet in height! In his slender arms rested a short spear, and a livid scar crossed from his forehead to near the left corner of his mouth. On his back was a small sword, and he carried a bag with something inside it. By reflex, I shrank back from him.
"Please, I don't mean to scare you. I'm not going to hurt you." Seeing my apprehensive glance at his spear, he set it on the ground.
"Who are you," I whispered.
"My friends call me Patter, for the soft sound of my feet. I'm a Frog," he added wryly. "I was out, hunting on this side of the river and saw you drawing. I love pretty things, and I wanted to see your picture. It is almost as pretty as you are."
I was transfixed. This frog-man thought my drawing was pretty? And that I was beautiful?!? "It's just a little sketch I drew," I demurred politely.
"Then your 'little sketches,' as you put it, are very good." He laughed. It sounded almost like a soft croak. His laughter was infectious, and kind of funny, so I started giggling after a moment of listening to him.
We laughed for a while, and then I heard Zack getting out of the water. I looked at the Frog for a moment and sighed. "You had better go. My brother is coming and he'd want to catch you and take you home with us."
"Very well. Will you be here again tomorrow? I'd like to see some more of your sketches."
"If the ford is still too deep for us to cross, sure." I found myself liking this strange being.
"Then I will see you tomorrow!" With that, he hopped into the nearby brush. I swear, I didn't hear him land. I kept looking in the direction he had left, as Zack ran up to me.
"Hey, Sis! What'cha doin'?" He looked at my sketch book. "Eeww! A butterfly! Why don't you draw something cool, like this gecko I caught in the river?" He handed me a slimy black lizard, wet from the water.
Appropriately, I threw it as far away from me as I could, as I screamed. "Zack!" He darted away from me, an impish grin on his face. "When I get my hands on you..." I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. He just smiled and stuck his tongue out at me.
I looked down at my sketch book. Horrified, I saw a blob of slime had fallen from the lizard onto my butterfly! "You've ruined my picture, you little brat!" I picked up my drawing stuff and chased after the brat, driving him back to our camp.
When we got back to the camp, Zack complained to Daddy that I was trying to beat him up. Of course, Daddy asked me why, and I explained that he was responsible for ruining one of my pictures, and that I wouldn't really have beaten my kid brother up.
Daddy looked at Zack and his face grew serious. "Son, you need to learn that it isn't right to ruin people's things. Your actions ruined a picture that Maiji had been working on all morning. You wouldn't like it if she did that to you, would you?" Zack nodded soberly.
Daddy then looked at me. "Princess, I know that Zack ruined your picture. You need to take into account that he IS a little boy, though. He didn't mean to ruin it." Looking suitably chastened, I nodded.
"Good. Let's hear nothing more of this, then. Why don't the three of us make some lunch while your mother takes a quick bath?" We cheered. Both Zack and I loved to help out in the kitchen, even when we were camping out.
The rest of that day was a blur, as we found out after lunch that the ford would be shallow enough to cross in the morning. We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up our campsite and getting everything packed again, as lots of stuff had been unpacked during our stay by the river. I forgot all about my promise to Patter in the bustle of getting ready to move on.
The next morning, as we got ready to cross the ford, I remembered. I hurriedly wrote a note and took a few of my sketches. Telling Mom and Dad that I had to go, BAD, I ran towards the river. I paid no attention to where I was going, the tears running down my face, until I ran into something, HARD. I went down with an "oof," and the creature I ran into floated backwards from me.
It was a strange man, whose features were twisted into a sneer. He wore a belled cap, and a black robe. As I watched, he threw a card into the air. It was a heart, and I felt the pain of our collision fade. He snarled, and reached for another card. From behind me, I heard a "Get down!"
I ducked, and a short spear flashed through the space I had just occupied. It smacked into the man's chest. A moment later, a slight form leapt over me, drawing its sword in mid-leap. Patter!
The man threw a second card into the air. A diamond! Nothing happened to Patter, who laughed. "Kinda hard to hurt someone with that when he has no money, isn't it, Joker?
The Joker's eyes narrowed in rage, and it pulled out another card. Before it could throw the card, Patter slashed the man twice, and the Joker fell.
Patter turned towards me. Concern was written all over his scarred, forest green face. "Are you okay?"
"I had to let you know that we were going on. I brought you these..." I looked down at the sketches I had brought. They had been badly crumpled when I fell down. I started crying, putting my head in my hands.
I heard a faint rustle, and looked up at Patter. He had a strange expression in his deep, black eyes, and he reached a hand out to me. Feeling my gaze, he dropped his hand back to his side.
"I have to go. My parents are waiting for me. Daddy has a job in Gongaga waiting for him, and we are late."
He looked at me in surprise. "Gongaga? I live near there. Perhaps we can meet after you settle in." He leapt and did a somersault in mid-air. "I will find a way to meet you outside of town."
"I think I'd like that," I said, with a touch of hesitation in my voice.
"Now, go! Your parents are waiting for you, and more Jokers might arrive."
I ran back to our camp, and told Daddy that I ran into a Joker outside of camp. Without another word, he hustled us into the truck and we drove towards the ford.
I was too scared to leave camp that night, or the rest of the three days that it took for us to reach Gongaga. Zack teased me about that, until Daddy pointed out that he'd be pretty scared if something had tried to kill him, too.
I think it was that final point that stuck with my brother and eventually caused him to decide to become a SOLDIER. For all of his teasing, he didn't like seeing me really scared.