Probably with the exception of the Four Seraphim, every main TOS character to show up in some way, shape or form. Characters representing The Departed will most likely get an OC counterpart, and Gil is such an example. The reason I use Gil in such an important role is because I can't envision Dirk, with his attitude and outlook at life, making it as an undercover cop without being OOC, and I don't feel comfortable seeing a 42-year-old Billy Costigan.
Namco owns Tales of Symphnoia. Martin Scorsese owns The Departed. Felix Chong and Siu Fai Mak own Infernal Affairs.
"Oh great, another day, another boring class of history!" sixteen-year-old Lloyd Irving groaned as he slammed his locker shut. He was dressed in casual attire, wearing a loose red T-shirt, baggy jeans, skater shoes and a pair of brown open-fingered gloves.
"Relax, it's not that bad. Look on the bright side: it's Friday and you have an entire weekend to yourself," his longtime friend Colette Brunel, who was clad in a white sweatshirt with a hood, blue track pants, and sneakers, replied.
In more ways than one, Lloyd and Colette were as different as night and day. Lloyd was a tall, moderately built, spiky brown-haired individual who has never been an academic. Colette was a good six inches shorter than Lloyd, with long, shoulder-length blond hair and had been of excellent academic standing for as long as anyone could remember.
Nonetheless, they had been close friends ever since they first met in first grade. And here they were, in eleventh grade, entering their social studies classroom. "But seriously, why would anyone be interested in this history crap? Seems like it's for people who's got too much free time on their hands to me," Lloyd commented.
Colette smiled. "Just don't let my dad or his colleagues hear that, or they'll really get on your case." Colette's father Frank was a researcher in archaeology at the University of Iselia, and most times he did collaborative work with historians. "Speaking of colleagues, here's one of them right at the front."
Standing beside their social studies teacher was a silver-haired young woman, one that both Lloyd and Colette knew quite well. "Settle down, class. As you can see, we have a guest speaker today," their social studies teacher announced, "This is Raine Sage, who attended this high school five years ago. She's currently a research assistant at the University of Iselia, Department of Archaeology and is doing her Master's degree. Her current project has a lot to do with some of our topics. Without further ado, let's give her a big welcome."
The class politely applauded. "Raine, the stage is yours," the teacher stated, picking up her notebook and moving to the back of the class.
"Thank you, madam," Raine addressed the teacher, "Well, what I'm about to discuss today is something interesting, particularly towards some of the new developments that archaeological research has brought towards understanding world history. Let's begin with this…"
Soon enough, Raine began describing ideas from her research that had the class fascinated. They include theories of mana, a lost source of energy once used by ancient civilizations; Derris Kharlan, a comet that visited the planet once every fifty years that was once a mana source; and the Two Worlds theory, an idea that the planet was once split into two, and was rejoined a few hundred years ago. Soon, everyone in the class was participating, getting involved in the discussion and asking lots of questions.
Everyone, that is, except for a certain brown-haired individual, who became more and more bored by the second. "I can't stand this," Lloyd muttered to Colette, "How can anyone find this stuff interesting?"
The blond teenager tried to keep her friend in it, but even she found it to be futile. Lloyd's head drooped lower by the second, his position resembling more and more like a wilted flower. He could feel his eyelids become heavier, as keeping them open felt like lifting a pile of bricks. Before Colette could stop it, the meteor smashed into the ground as Lloyd's forehead met the desktop. THUD!
Raine turned around from the blackboard and saw the scene. Lloyd was sprawled over the desk, snoring like a freight train. He also slightly drooled, creating a small puddle before him. Colette gently shook him on the shoulder, trying to wake him up. The teacher marched up to them, crossing her arms and clearly unimpressed. Colette gave a weak smile, trying to diffuse the situation.
However, Raine surprised her friend by waving off the teacher. She put her hands right next to Lloyd's ear. With a wink at Colette, she clapped them as loudly as she could.
To Lloyd, this might as well be a lightning strike. His eyes snapped wide open and his head jolted up. "I'm awake, I'm awake!" he shouted frantically.
The entire class roared in laughter as Lloyd glanced around sheepishly. Even Raine and Colette had a few chuckles, but all became quiet as the teacher addressed Lloyd. "Well, Mr. Irving, I'm not very impressed. It's the third time this semester that you've been napping in my class. May I have a word with you after school?"
The class continued laughing as Lloyd groaned, expecting another detention. But much to his surprise, Raine interrupted. "Madam, if I may be so bold, I suggest that Lloyd serves out his detention in a different way. How about…"
"…and I get to spend the afternoon with Raine at the university to get a close-up look at her research. Just perfect!" Lloyd groaned as he headed to the parking lot. He popped open the trunk of his blue MINI Cooper and threw his backpack in.
"It's really not that bad," Colette countered as she put her bag in, and closed the trunk, "When we were younger, you stayed over at my house whenever your dad's out of town. We used to hear stories of my dad's research all the time, so why would this visit be any different?" Frank also happened to be Raine's research supervisor.
"Like you said, that was when we were little, and back then we weren't thinking about this stuff all the time," Lloyd pointed out as he unlocked the car doors.
"And now you're not thinking about anything at all," a voice behind them added. Lloyd and Colette turned around and saw a short twelve-year-old boy with silver hair, dark blue vest, light blue slacks, and black open-fingered gloves.
"Just get in the car, Genis," Lloyd snapped, "I have to spend some 'quality time' with your sister in an archaeology lab and you're not making things any better." Like Colette, Genis had known Lloyd for nearly a decade, mainly from Lloyd staying over at his grandmother's house. Despite being younger than Lloyd and Colette, Genis felt very comfortable hanging around the two, even calling him his best friends.
"My gut told me that something would happen to you today when my sister said she was the guest speaker at your class," Genis commented as he climbed into the back seat. Lloyd got into the driver side while Colette rode shotgun, "I just never figured that you'd fall asleep on her. How do you do it, Lloyd, falling asleep in class like that?"
Lloyd pointed a finger in Genis' direction. "Archaeological maniac," he turned the finger on himself, "don't really care," he repeated this action again, "Archaeological maniac, don't really care. Get my drift?" Beside him, Colette guffawed.
"Seriously, you guys are having way too much fun picking on me," Lloyd pointed out as the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot and heading for the university, "It's not like I'm not trying hard at school, it's just the stuff just doesn't seem to motivate me."
Lloyd glanced over at his two friends. Colette tried to look like she paid attention, while Genis took out his MP3 player and stuffed the headphones into his ears. "I know that sounds like a pretty weak excuse, considering I'm in the company of two honours students, but you know what I'm trying to say, right?" Lloyd asked.
"You weren't always like this," Colette replied, "You actually were interested in not just history and archaeology, but school and learning overall when we were still in elementary school."
"Then by the time you got into junior high, you just started losing interest. Raine told me a couple of times when she tutored you that you were totally spaced out," Genis recalled, flipping through the song library in the MP3, "Strange, it was also around the time when your dad didn't travel as much."
"I don't think it really matters whether he's back or not. I mean, he doesn't really say much about my school work and stuff. Come to think of it, ever since my mom died, he didn't really say a lot to me at all." Lloyd cocked his head, "I know her death affected both my dad and me quite a lot, considering I was six at the time, but does he care that little about anything else after that?" he wondered aloud.
"I don't think it's fair to take it out on your dad," Genis replied, "Being a single parent, it's not easy to provide for the family. Raine and I only got by because Grandma was there to help Dad out when he required it."
"Besides, your dad quit the police force right after the case on your mom's death was closed. That means he's probably very upset by it, so you can't say he's completely uncaring about it either," Colette added.
Lloyd nodded, seeming to understand. He did feel his friends were telling the truth, as Gil did provide for Lloyd whenever possible. But it never felt right that he served as an "absent" parent, as they never had a true father-to-son bond. Sighing to himself, he focused back on the road as they continued towards the university. "Just remind me where the archaeology department is when we get there, and where the closest parking lot is," he instructed his passengers, "I doubt that Raine is willing to refund my parking considering what a cheapskate she is."
After parking the vehicle, Lloyd, Colette and Genis made their way through the maze of hallways known as the Department of Archaeology. "How do Raine and Dr. Brunel get to their offices without ever getting lost?" Lloyd asked.
"Unlike you, they actually have a sense of direction," Genis retorted, taking another playful shot at his friend.
"The second we're out of here, you are so dead!" Lloyd threatened the young half-elf as he pushed open the door to the stairs.
As they made the last turn into the hallway where the labs were located, they saw three unusual looking men push past them into the lab. "What's their hurry?" Lloyd muttered. Upon a closer look, the three teens realized that they were headed to the Brunel lab, kicking the door open and barging in. Curious, the three cautiously stepped forward, positioning themselves right outside the room and listened in.
"Alright Brunel," they heard the supposed leader of the group say, "you have something that we want. Now it's time to hand it over."
"Wh-what are you talking about? Who are you? What do you want from me?" Colette gasped as she heard her father being threatened.
"This has to do with a couple of your past research projects. We can do this the easy way or the hard way," the leader continued, "Either way you'll have to give us what we want, so stop stalling for time."
"What's going on here?" a female voice demanded. Now it was Genis' turn to be worried, as the voice was clearly recognized to be Raine's.
Within seconds, the two men that arrived with the leader went after Raine, subduing her and taking her hostage. Frank tried to warn Raine and tell her to contact Campus Security, but it was too late. "Looks like things just got easier for us," the leader said, sneering, "I'll ask again, give us what we want, and we'll leave you alone. If not, your colleague over there will be killed right before your eyes."
At this time, Colette and Genis were downright scared. "We got to do something here, they're not looking good," Genis fretted, his hands shaking.
Suddenly, an idea popped into Lloyd's head. "Colette, there's another entrance to this lab, right?" he asked the blonde.
Colette nodded, still too frightened to speak openly. "Good. Colette, I want you to call Campus Security and direct them to this room. I'm going to create a diversion and give Raine and your father some time." Lloyd turned to the silver haired boy, "Genis, keep an eye on the situation, and make sure they're not paying any attention this way. I'm entering from Raine's office into the lab, and I'm targeting those two holding Raine. Once security is within sight, give me a signal and I'll take action."
Before the two could protest, Lloyd already took off, treading down the hallway and entering a few doors down. Sighing, Colette whipped out her cell phone, "No point in sitting around, let's help him out." Genis nodded beside her, and positioned himself right behind the door, just so he could get a glimpse but not enough to be exposed.
In the Brunel lab, Lloyd leaned right back against the wall and slowly sidestepped towards the door connecting the two labs. He could see form the halfway-opened door that the leader, who held a weapon to Frank's head, now marched him towards the file cabinet. "I want all the files on the results of those projects we mentioned," the leader demanded, "And no funny business, or you both are going to get it."
Lloyd sneaked a peek outside in the hallway. Colette turned to Genis in the middle of her phone conversation and whispered something to the half-elf. Genis looked up to see Lloyd and raised three fingers, mouthing the words, "Three minutes."
Lloyd nodded, indicating that he understood. "Three minutes, let's see what I can do in the next three minutes," he thought to himself.
He glanced around the office, trying to find something to use to his advantage, all the while thinking to himself how the plan should be carried out. "The door is open ajar, and Raine is right at the door frame. So if I can get even one of those guys away from there, it may give Raine a chance to escape," Lloyd muttered to himself. Picking up his cell phone, he wrote a text message to Collete, who was outside waiting for security to arrive. "Help out your dad, distract the guy holding him," he typed into the phone.
Colette, upon receiving the message from the phone, signalled to Genis to crawl into the lab with her. The attention was still focused on Frank flipping through the files for the assailant, so nobody really noticed them entering. From the other room, Lloyd picked up an old paperweight from Raine's desk and sneaked towards the two men holding Raine hostage.
Luckily, they had their backs turned to Lloyd, and with the leader's head also down, distracted by the notes, Lloyd brought the paperweight down on the head of an assailant in one swift motion. THUD!
The assailant quickly collapsed, and Lloyd took this chance to grab him and threw him to the ground. Being rather strong for his age, Lloyd did not experience too much difficulty in subduing the man, and soon pinned him on the ground.
"What the…what's going on?" the person capturing Raine tried to turn around, temporarily loosening his grip on Raine. Taking the chance, Raine grabbed the firearm and tried to disarm the assailant. From the desk, the leader of the group also looked up, giving Frank enough time to pin him against the cabinet as well.
There was a brief struggle on all sides, as Lloyd and his assailant twisted and turned on the ground, each trying to gain an advantage on the other. Colette now charged to her father, putting more pressure on the leader of the group, while Genis dived at the knees of the captor that Raine was dealing with, trying to make him lose balance as Raine wrestled with his firearm.
"Leave my dad alone," Colette hissed through gritted teeth, struggling to hold the leader of the group as Dr. Brunel tried to disarm him, "He did nothing to deserve you guys invading his lab!"
"When is security arriving?" Genis yelled as he bent his target's knees in an awkward angle while Raine tried to pin the upper body, "I can't hold on much longer!"
"You got guts, kid, trying to disrupt our operation," the man Lloyd was tangled with commented as they continued flailing on the ground, "You don't know what you're messing with."
"I could say the same about you," Lloyd replied arrogantly, "Nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it."
Unfortunately for Lloyd and his friends, they were beginning to fatigue, and slowly losing their battle to subdue their captors. Lloyd soon lost grip and his assailant turned the tables on him, flipping him around and sending him crashing into the wall. Genis also had his grip on his assailant's knees shaken loose, and Raine received an elbow to the chin as the assailant turned.
But it was Colette and Frank that received the hardest of the hits, as the leader completely ripped free from father and daughter. The force was so great that Frank was sent sprawling into his chair, nearly tipping it over. Colette was also sent flying back, lodging herself right in between two cabinets. The leader then grabbed his weapon from the ground and brandished it at the group. "All of you, into the room. Gather right in this corner, no funny business," his voice dripping with acid.
The words cut like a knife through the air as Raine and the three teens surrendered and moved into the Brunel lab. Genis and Raine gathered behind Frank's desk, while Lloyd attempted to tend to Colette. "Dr. Brunel, I won't ask again. Give me those documents, and you won't be harmed," the leader demanded once more.
This time, Frank signalled the group to stay down and not put up another fight. He reopened a bunch of files and began flipping through them, taking out pages of research notes and findings and handing them to the leader. Raine could not see what those notes were exactly, but it seemed to be from a project they started a year ago. Strange, she thought to herself, why would they want our findings from the last few years?
Her train of thought was interrupted when the two minions stepped back into the room. "Sir," one began, "campus security is coming up as we speak. Should we continue with the operation?"
The leader snatched a couple more sets of files from Frank. "No, we've caused enough of a scene here. Our intentions were to get this stuff as quickly and discretely as we possibly can," he answered, "Let's leave at once and keep our distance from security." Tucking the files under his arm, he backed away from the desk and towards the door, never keeping his weapon off the group as he stepped out.
That left the group somewhat shocked and confused. Why the intruders would come into the lab, threaten Frank with weapons, take only a bunch of documents and leave upon hearing security was beyond them. Nonetheless, personal safety was the most important concern to them. "Is everybody alright?" Frank asked as he slowly got up. Moving to his daughter, he slowly lifted Colette to her feet.
Lloyd, Genis and Raine all seemed to be barely recovering from the shock of that little incident. They struggled to their feet, wobbling like a three-legged table. "Whatever the heck that was, it sure was weird," Lloyd commented.
"Never mind that, let's just focus on giving security our testimonies," Raine suggested, "From the looks of it, they may involved the police as well."
"So let me get this straight," the head security guard began, "you were in the lab when these guys busted in from nowhere, and began threatening with a weapon that did not seem like a regular firearm. Their demands were not money or valuables or artefacts from your study sites, but a bunch of old research papers you did years back?" The guard finished by staring at Frank with a puzzled look.
"I know it's unbelievable, but all of that is true," the blond professor explained, "All they were after were my old research notes. They took no valuables, no money."
"But you still have a copy of those papers or notes, right?" the guard asked, "I mean, assuming you can replicate them easily, theoretically the losses aren't great. But I would still like to know what they are to complete my report."
"I do," Frank answered, "I have some copies at home, and a bunch a saved on my laptop. I'll just show you here…"
Meanwhile, the other security guard escorted Lloyd, Colette, Genis, and Raine to the police officer waiting in the hallway. They all gave their eyewitness accounts to the officer, who wrote enough notes to publish a small novel. "I have to admit, you kids got guts taking on those guys like that," the officer said to the three teens, "Normally we would recommend that you let the authorities handle it."
"Yeah, I guess, but we couldn't just let them hurt Raine or Dr. Brunel," Lloyd pointed out sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I don't know about those three, but to be honest, I was scared," Raine admitted, "I mean, I seriously thought they were bringing Frank and I down if we didn't give them what they wanted."
"And thanks to your young friends, disaster was avoided, but barely." The officer shuffled his notes back in place and put them in his pocket, "I would say that the grounds for this are strange, since they were after your research and not your valuables. However, we do have some leads on cases of a similar nature, where academics from both in Iselia and other towns being threatened all because they did some research on topics similar to yours. I appreciate your cooperation and will keep you posted on our investigation."
The foursome gave each other uneasy looks, as this was one unusual case indeed. At this time, the officer prepared to radio his station. "Since Colette's father is present, and Genis' family is represented by Raine, who is over eighteen, I don't have to call their families. However, Lloyd is only sixteen, therefore I will ask our colleagues back at the station to call his father."
Lloyd's heart sank as the officer gave out instructions on his radio. The expression on Lloyd's face looked like he had been gut-punched, and was frozen there even as the officer turned around to face him. "What's the matter? You think you'd get in trouble with your dad or something?" the officer demanded.
Lloyd looked at the officer, "Actually, I don't really know what my dad's going to think," Lloyd replied, shrugging, "I've never seen him show much emotion at all, so I really don't know how he'll react when he hears about me going up against those guys."
"You did what?" Gil was in complete shock over the police report, and upon confirmation with his son, did not react positively to the news. All of which were surprising to Lloyd, as it was one of the few times when his father would show emotions that openly.
"Dad, Raine and Dr. Brunel were in danger, and there was no way Colette, Genis, and I would stand there and watch them do whatever they wanted," Lloyd explained, standing before his father who was seated behind the desk in his room, "Besides, it's not like we couldn't handle ourselves out there. Colette and I did do a few years of martial arts, you know." From their elementary school days on, Lloyd and Colette joined a martial arts club that allowed them to practice fighting techniques of the ancient past. Genis was somewhat interested, but they never convinced him to go because Genis felt he was never really good with martial arts.
"First off, you pulled out of that club almost two years ago. Your school marks were too low to consider any extra-curricular activities," Gil pointed out, "Without any practice for two years I doubt you could beat anybody up. Secondly, when I used to be a police officer, they told me that whenever a suspect held any type of weapon, I should be prepared with my gun should they strike. Assuming these guys had some firearm with them, the chances of you guys winning are slim, even with martial arts skills."
"Look, I'm pretty sure we can handle ourselves out there, so can you please cut us some slack?" Lloyd snapped, annoyed with his father's advice.
"Hey, I'm worried about you. You're the only family I've got," Gil responded, crossing his arms.
Lloyd said nothing. Ever since his mother died ten years ago, his father had done everything he possibly could to ensure his safety. Yet Lloyd felt this was the very reason why he never had a strong father to son bond with Gil. Ever since he quit the police force shortly after Anna's death, Gil was usually preoccupied with his work, spending very little time with Lloyd. Growing up, Lloyd had a closer relationship with the Brunels and the Sages rather than with Gil.
"But seriously, have you ever heard of someone or some gang that would only target academics? That doesn't seem to be a regular crime," Lloyd asked.
Gil leaned back on his chair. "To be honest, when I was still in the force, I did see my fair share of weird stuff. There were a couple of incidents where academics were targeted, but something as aggressive as what you saw today, probably not." Gil sighed as he looked at a picture on his desk. It was the one from his graduation from the police academy, with his late wife Anna and a one-year-old Lloyd present. "Look at me then, and look at me now."
Indeed, there was a stark difference in appearances. Police cadet Gil was clean-shaven, decked in his uniform, standing tall and proud with his neatly-combed dark brown hair hidden under his police cap. Today, Gil was rarely dressed formally, usually wearing an old leather jacket with jeans or dark dress pants. His hair was usually messy, but remained relatively flat rather than spiky like Lloyd's, and he even grew a goatee. But the biggest difference was that Cadet Gil wore his emotions in the open, doing his job and serving the public with pride. Today, Gil barely showed any emotion. Turning away from the picture, he faced Lloyd again. "But why the sudden interest in my old cases?" the former police officer asked his son.
Lloyd lifted his head up to look his father in the eye. "Nothing, it's just that knowing you were involved with the Special Investigations Unit on some cases, I wanted to know a bit more. By the way, weren't they the unit that investigated Mom's death?"
"Lloyd, it's been ten years already. Do you think I remember all the details of all my cases?" Gil retorted in a mock-annoyed tone.
But Lloyd persisted, so Gil decided to answer Lloyd's question. "To be honest, yes, I was indirectly involved in the case. It was my unit that collaborated with SIU to crack that case. But due to conflict of interest, I wasn't allowed to be completely involved and was only given the general findings of the case. I resigned from the force shortly after and didn't have any of the specific details," Gil took a deep breath, "Did that adequately answer your question?"
"But shouldn't you at least be allowed to access the details, even though you're a civilian?" Lloyd continued pressing, "I mean, this is the death of a family member, and at least we have the right to know. Besides, it's been ten years and I've never heard anything on how she died, other than the fact that it was a random act of violence and an individual act of homicide."
"Hey, I know you're upset by it, and don't think I'm not," Gil replied, "But to assume I know everything about it is lunacy."
"Alright, fine, I guess I shouldn't have been so persistent, and I'm sorry," Lloyd conceded, raising his hands, "but I just wanted to know a bit more about it. I care about her as well, even though I was probably too young to remember what it was really like when the police called us informing us of her death."
Gil gave Lloyd a sad look. He wanted to tell the truth to his son so badly, but it could very well jeopardize all the progress on the current project that he worked on. "All I can say on this issue is that your mother is considered to be the 'initial departure'."
Lloyd stared at his father with a bewildered expression. "The initial departure? What on earth does that mean?"
Gil struggled with his words, but tried to maintain his composure. "That's all I'm going to tell you. I wanted to say more, but I can't." Gil glanced up at the clock. "I got more stuff to deal with, so I can't talk for long. It's getting late, and you really should be getting to bed soon. Come on, go wash up."
Lloyd stepped into the bathroom still trying to make out what Gil exactly meant with the "initial departure". After washing up and brushing his teeth, he stripped down to his boxer briefs and folded his clothing. As he left to go back to his bedroom, he took a peek inside Gil's room, and saw his father on the phone. "Probably preoccupied with his work again," Lloyd murmured to himself.
Stepping into his room, he put his cloths away and flopped onto the bed. Staring a hole into the ceiling, the thought still disturbed him. "The initial departure," he whispered aloud. With that thought, he slowly drifted to sleep.
For those who couldn't envision Gil's goatee, think Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys. Tell me what you think of the first chapter. Thank you and take care!