General Notes: This is writing is based a few years after the old version of SO2, so don't expect to see any of new characters, events, et cetera that might be found in SO:SE. As far as endings are concerned, assume the Rena/Claude ending where they stayed in Arlia. References to other paired endings may occur as well, but perhaps not in the expected manner.
Characters: Ashton and Gyoro and Ururun, Bowman, Celine, Claude, Dias, Precis, and Rena. Mentions and/or appearances of other characters be they minor or major will most likely occur.
Disclaimer: Square-Enix owns the characters and franchise, I'm just playing with them to keep myself in shape for required creative writing classes.
Prologue
It was well past nightfall in Linga when he closed up for the day. Dimmed as they were, the lights inside Bowman Jean's pharmacy still cast an odd glow onto the dusty street as the proprietor closed the door behind himself; the tinny toll of the small bell attached to the other side sounding into the night. Fallen leaves scratched an odd rhythm on the ground as they shivered and danced to the tempo of a sudden gust of wind before settling once more.
The man smiled to himself as he turned, his brown eyes catching what little light there was in the darkness and adjusting slowly; though he did not bother to wait for them. His shoes crushed brittle leaves underfoot as he walked to the side of the building, then softly slapped against hard stone as he ascended steps that he knew by heart. Turning the knob on the door expertly in the darkness, he entered the apartment in silence and stood for a moment, passing a hand over his short, dark hair in a token effort to look presentable.
"Mmm. Bowman?" Nineh called sleepily from her new favorite resting place on the couch.
Crossing the distance between the door and the back of the couch, Bowman leaned over, slid a calloused finger gently down her cheek and made eye contact with his wife before allowing both his gaze and hand to drop to her belly. Lightly touching the hidden roundness there, he smiled and looked back to her eyes. "Want me to fix you anything? In the mood for any bizarre concoctions tonight?"
"For a moment I thought some strange man had come inside wearing your skin," she murmured, lightly slapping his arm. "I'll do it. You know I don't trust you in the kitchen."
/////
On the other side of town, the streets faintly echoed with a strained, high-pitched whine that came into existence abruptly and died in the same manner a few seconds later. Quick to replace it, heated voices emerged from an open garage door as strange shadows flowed out into the dirt street from the lighted interior.
Precis Neumann grunted in frustration and pulled the safety goggles from her face, lowering them to her chest before settling her hands on her hips. "It's no good, Dad. This thing isn't gonna work."
"We just have to fix the wiring," Graft insisted resolutely from behind their current project.
"No, we don't need to fix the wiring!" The teenager gesticulated wildly, green eyes flashing as her hands rose to stab and swipe erratically at the air before her to emphasis her point. "The wiring's fine, it's the battery that's the problem. It's putting out way to much power. Stop messing around with the wiring and listen to me for once!"
"Whose invention is this?!" he bellowed, one of his hands flashing out from the side of the machine before the rest of him came into view. "It's mine! It's my invention, I know how much energy is needed to run it!"
"Oh, yeah. So that's why it's blown up three times in the past week, huh? It just has to be the wiring; the same wiring that's melted every time no matter how much we switch it all around! It can't possibly be anything else!"
"Precis, if you're not going to help fix this then get out of the garage! I don't need you here distracting me with all of you amateur theories."
"Excuse me? Amateur theories? Graaaah! Y'know what? Fine. Just fine. C'mere, Bobot." Huffing loudly, she bent down and grabbed the blue contraption from the ground as it approached her in it's usual quirky manner. Her thick, strawberry blonde hair fell with her movements and she swiped it violently back to it's proper place as she thundered out of the garage. "I'm never helping you with that or any other project again! Have fun scrapping all that melted plastic off!"
"I won't have to scrap any plastic off! It's not the damn battery!" Graft yelled after her as she slammed the door behind her. He calmed himself slowly, listening to the sound of the elevator ascending before he turned a glare upon his project, muttering to himself. "....Maybe it is the damn battery."
/////
The afternoon sun shone down on Mars Village weakly, hidden behind clouds that drifted lazily through the sky. Celine Jules frowned as she looked out through her window, trying to enjoy the baby rabbit risotto that her mother had made for her in celebration of her annual homecoming and failing horribly. They laid on her pillow as they always did; the marriage proposals that her parents had kept for her to look over, tucked safely away in their now traditional enclosure.
Setting her meal down in defeat, she reached for the burgundy velvet sack only to freeze in place and blink at the distinct lack of heft she found there. Dropping it on the bed unceremoniously as she came back to herself, she frowned in disbelief and reached hesitantly for the bag again before recoiling to walk towards the window again. "How dreadful," she whispered. "They must be playing a trick on me."
Turning to the mirror, she studied her face slowly and methodically from every angle possible. Growing confident in her assertion when she detected no flaws--her face was perfect; she looked much too young to be a woman in her mid-twenties, she told herself--Celine leaned back smiling at her reflection. She started to turn then, but something on her neck caught her eye and she rushed to face the mirror again.
Once more she found no flaws, but now she was pushed on by concern that was slowly edging itself to panic. Disrobing herself as she went, she studied the tone of her arms, the curves and perk and firmness of her breasts, the flatness of her stomach, and on and on as she traveled lower, going even so far as to check the soles of her feet and each toe in turn before she gave up, huffing at herself in annoyance.
"This is ridiculous," she quietly declared to herself and the room itself. Smoothing her wavy, periwinkle hair, she lifted her gaze to the ceiling for a moment before allowing it to drop again. Still calming herself, she focused on her old traveling outfit; the one that she hadn't worn since returning from Energy Nede. "I look exactly the same as I did then. Nothing has changed about me at all."
/////
Claude Kenni exhaled forcefully as he swiped a forearm across his forehead to wipe away the copious amount of sweat that had gathered there despite his headband and the cool, insistent breeze that wound itself through Arlia. Smiling gently, he looked at the young woman beside him, eyes searching her features and savoring the expression he found there.
"Oh, Claude," Rena Lanford whispered, weaving her arm around his and pulling herself tightly to his side. "It's so beautiful. Our house."
"It's really pulling together, isn't it? Once Bossman and the rest of us finish the roof, it's on to the inside. We'll have it finished before the first month of winter's over."
Bouncing slightly in her excitement, she gave him a teasing look as her smile widened. "And I'll have plenty of time to go furniture shopping with Mother and Celine in Cross. Are you sure you don't want to come?"
"You know I'm trying to save up all my energy for the first of spring," Claude wiggled his eyebrows playfully for a moment, his thoughts turning serious as he waited for her blush to fade. "And...If there's enough time--if the weather's not too bad--I think I might go looking for Ashton. If none of the others have heard from him by then."
"Do you think he's still in El? Maybe we can ask Dias. I wonder if he would mind traveling there again to tell him the news and bring him back; he's so good at tracking people, he'd definitely find him."
"You know I'm not big on asking Dias for favors. But if you want to it'd probably--"
"Break's over everybody!" Bossman called from behind, soft groans following in his announcement's wake. "Let's get going, I want this roof done before lunch." His eyes caught Rena's as he passed the couple by, the carpenter slapping Claude on the back as he went. "Sorry, Rena. I'll get this one back to you as soon as I can."
"You know I don't mind. So long as he's all in one piece when you're done," she called after him as she leaned up to give Claude a kiss and disentangled her arm from his.
/////
If it were the height of summer, Dias Flac would have awoken shortly after dawn broke. Yet winter is fast approaching; only a matter of days remain before its presence is official, and as such it is dark and cold when he rouses himself from slumber and goes about the business of closing camp.
His body moves from nothing more than muscle memory as he completes each task with ease, his mind focused inward. It was almost time for him to keep not one, but two of his rare promises. Attained by Rena of course; she was the only person alive that could talk him into such a commitment against his own will. He was expected in Arlia in less than a week for a visit that she had managed to wring from him when they had last crossed paths. Then, sometime in the closing days of winter, he would need to return again to prepare to give his 'little sister' away.
To Claude.
During their marriage ceremony.
He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that.
/////
If one were to ask Ashton Anchors what season--let alone what time -- it was, the response would have been one of energetic apology. Stuttered words accompanied by the embarrassed flushing of cheeks and nervous movements of both eyes and hands would have meet the inquisitor in full force. He would sincerely hope to be forgiven, it's just that....Well, he hasn't been outside in a very, very long time. Long enough that neither he or the dragons he is fused with would be able to provide such information.
They've been here. Inside this hidden temple, its halls and chambers carved into the interior of a massive mountain that stands to the east of Eluria Tower. A sacred place that few could visit before the Sorcery Globe fell; these halls had grown accustomed to the constant presence of barely a dozen maintainers before being abandoned in the confusion that followed disaster's arrival.
More specifically, the three of them have found themselves spending most of their time inside the temple's massive library. Lit by dozens upon dozens of oil lamps secured to stone walls and ceiling, their small flames cast warm, flickering light that bathes the room in calm shades of yellow and orange. Heavy and old, rows of thick wood bookcases filled with tomes both ancient and recent stand in patterns demanded by the odd geography of the chamber itself. They create a large, open diamond, repeating on itself again and again, each row shorter than the last until only three cases remain on each of the four sides. This interior diamond holds a handful of well-worn wooden chairs and a lone stone table; long and wide and heavy and surprisingly well-sculpted and smooth.
Ashton lifted his head from where it had rested on folded arms and slowly stood from the table, Gyoro and Ururun swaying with his movements. He turned and began to walk purposefully toward the exit, his left hand tucking a thick book bound in worn black leather inside his robe as he went. If anyone who knew him well had seen him at that moment, they may have questioned the paleness of his skin, the odd confidence in his gait, the length that he had allowed his hair to grow out, or perhaps the uncharacteristically determined way in which his mouth was set.
Should they desire a quick answer, however, they would demand to know why his green eyes now glowed a pale, silvery blue.
/////
\\\\\
/////
\\\\\
Author's Notes: This story is a rewrite and expansion of another one that I wrote many, many years ago at the request of a friend. I'm rewriting it now both for practice and because I found the old rough draft and felt the need to clean it up and make it less...terrible. The original story contained Ashton/Celine romance. At this point, I don't know if it will remain, but Celine will still play a large role even if it doesn't. It largely depends on the characters and whether or not I feel like I can make a relationship seem organic enough that I don't hate it.