PianZoe: CiaHottie and I taking turns writing. I wrote the prologue, and am writing this chapter, and the next chapter she will be writing. And so on and so forth.
CiaHottie: Yes. *twitches suddenly* The eternally cursed are, COLD FEET!! RANDOMONIA!!!
PianZoe: *blinks* I guess Randomonia decided to join us. *growling under breath*
CiaHottie: The pink yellow dinosaurs have hearts like flowers, and the sequel has no OWNING POWER!!
PianZoe: ...I guess that means we don't own the Wild ARMs 3 game... or any other Wild ARMs thing... Oh, and I had thought that Kaitlyn's eyes were blue. Well, I was looking at the picture of her, and her eyes are BROWN!! -_- Well, from now on her eyes are brown in this fan-fic. If either of us type 'blue eyes' for Kaitlyn's eyes, pretend it is 'brown eyes' instead, ok?
CiaHottie: The seasons passed and the frog eyeball had moss.
PianZoe: That means "I thought her eyes were blue too".
CiaHottie: Oh it DOES, does it, putrid elephant?
PianZoe: Yes, it does, Lordess of the dark ugly dancing. *thwaps CiaHottie in the back of the head*
CiaHottie: AH!! The leather balloon was stricken with silver white wash!!
~Eleven years later~
Georgia walked up the stairs to her daughter's room, frowning. Why wasn't Erica up yet? It was nearly 11:00 A.M.! She pushed the door open, to see black hair sticking out from under the blankets. Georgia sighed, walking towards the bed, her hands on her hips. 'I wish she hadn't gotten Anthony's sleeping-in habit.' she thought, nearly rolling her eyes. She bent over, to shake her eleven year old daughter awake. "Erica, wake up. It's 10:58 A.M. and Kevin is here to practice shooting ARMs with you." she said, causing the ebony haired girl to jolt upwards, her eyes wide.
"WHAT?! THAT LATE?! THIS EARLY?! WHAT!?" she exclaimed, looking up into Georgia's eyes. "MOM, DON'T LET HIM IN!!" she shrieked, causing her mom to roll her eyes, giggling at her silly daughter.
"Erica, I know you don't want him to see you in your nightgown! That would be very embarrassing, wouldn't it?" she teased, causing Erica's face to go a light pink. Georgia stood away from the bed, turned around, and began to head towards the door. "I'm going to go downstairs and keep Kevin company until you come down. Be sure to hurry up, ok?" she said as she walked, and Erica gave her back a panicked look.
"NO!!" she shouted, falling off the side of the bed, onto the floor. "Ow..." she muttered, rubbing her head. Georgia turned back, and giggled a bit at the way Erica was sprawled on the floor. She looked up at Georgia, a nervous look on her face. "Um, heh, heh, Mom! I... um... can... can you do... my hair?" she asked, smiling in hope. Hope that her Mom believed that was the reason she wanted her to stay there.
"But weren't you saying yesterday that you wanted to put that new hairdo you learned how to do in your hair today?" Georgia asked, almost smirking, but keeping herself from doing so. Erica's pink face darkened to a red. She was silent for several minutes, until she stood up, and walked to her dresser. Georgia smiled, and walked out, shutting the door behind her. Erica stuck her tongue out at the door, knowing exactly what her Mother was doing. She was trying to embarrass her! She was always trying to do that - or, it seemed like it, at least.
She quickly got dressed into an off white t-shirt, with a red vest over it, and a black mini skirt. She walked over to her boots, straightened her socks, and then pulled her boots on. And then she walked over to a dresser that came down about to her middle, with a mirror on top of it. Across the top, in front of the mirror, were hair brushes, hair clips, ribbons, and a small bottle of apple perfume she bought with her own gella. She looked into the mirror, and frowned at her morning appearance. She grabbed the brush, and began to brush the snarls out of her raven locks. "Ow... ow... ow... ouch..." she muttered, and winced, as she pulled her brush through a difficult rat nest. As soon as her hair was all brushed, she grabbed a ribbon, and then began to tie it around half of her hair, in a low left side pigtail. Then she did the same with the other side, and grinned at the mirror. She looked much better now. She grabbed the apple perfume, and sprayed a cloud of it into the air, then leaned forward into it, so it got on her.
Now she was ready, and she could make sure her mother did not embarrass her too much. She trotted down the stairs, and into the main room, where she could see Georgia speaking to Kevin about something. Kevin had messy reddish colored hair like David, and dark blue eyes. He wore his father's old black leather jacket with the red flames on it, underneath the jacket he wore a grey t-shirt, and he wore blue jean shorts. He was about two inches taller than Erica, and was thin. He was, according to Erica, dreamy. And he was chuckling under his breath at something Georgia had said.
"Ok I'm ready let's go bye Mom see you later come on Kevin!!" Erica said in a rush, pulling Kevin towards the door. Georgia cleared her throat, and tapped her daughter on the shoulder. She looked up at her Mother, a confused look on her petite face. "What is it, Mom?"
"Don't you need your ARMs to practice shooting?" Georgia asked, causing the ebony haired young girl to blush, let go of Kevin's hand, and run into the other room, where her Jongleur 40 (PianZoe: I am just making up names for ARMs, ok?) and her Passo Acima V10 were lying (CiaHottie: The Jongleur 40 and the Passo Acima V10 are pistol-like ARMs). She grabbed the two ARMs, then rushed back out, and glared at her Mother. She was once again talking to Kevin.
"Ok, Kevin, let's go." she said simply, grabbing Kevin's hand and walking out the door. He raised an eyebrow at her, then chuckled at her attitude. She glared up at him, then she looked forward and felt her face redden. She hadn't begun to feel these feelings for Kevin until her eleventh birthday. She guessed the reason was she was maturing, but she didn't really like that fact. She let go of his hand to make the butterflies go away, and closed her eyes, walking in the direction she thought was their practice area.
"Um, Erica..."
"..."
"Erica."
"..."
"Erica!"
"What?"
"You are about to walk into my sister!"
She opened her eyes, and stopped herself just in time, so she wouldn't bump into the girl who was only a year younger than herself. "Oops, sorry Denae, I wasn't watching where I was going." she said, giggling slightly at the weird look the young girl, Denae, was giving her. Denae had shoulder length green hair that was tied in two low braids, her eyes were a light brown like Kaitlyn's (PianZoe: YAY, I remembered they were brown!), she wore a baggy aquamarine t-shirt, and tight white leggings.
"... Erica, sometimes I wonder what's wrong with you. And I also wonder what my br-" Denae was cut off as Kevin jumped forward and clapped a hand over her mouth, glaring at her. She wriggled out of his grip, and stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, I'm going to go and read an antique novel that Grandfather gave me for my tenth birthday. Adieu." she then turned on her heel, and stalked off towards the Lorelei residence. Erica looked to Kevin with an eyebrow raised, while he just shook his head at his sister.
"Heh, she may wonder what's wrong with ME, but I wonder what's wrong with her." Erica said, giggling as she watched Denae get closer to her house. She hunched her shoulders, balled her fists, and kicked the ground with her left foot angrily. "Kevin, I think your sister has a big problem."
"Nah, it's just that she wishes that she would be invited to practice shooting ARMs with us." Kevin said, walking towards the practice area, readying his Colère DR2 (CiaHottie: I made up the name for his ARM, and it's a machine gun type), placing a bottle on a fence post, taking several steps back, and aiming directly at it. Erica frowned at him, placed her hands on her hips, and walked up beside him. He fired, missing the bottle by an inch, and glanced at Erica, who was giving him a mix between a questioning stare and a death glare. It wasn't a good look, he knew that. He had received that look many times before. "What?"
"Then, if you want your sister to be not so much of a brat, why not let her join us? Hmm? Plus, if something ever happened here at this town, then we could all defend our town!" she said, her eyebrows furrowing. Kevin raised an eyebrow at her, and looked back at the bottle he had missed. He aimed once again, and pulled the trigger, hitting the bottle dead-on, causing it to shatter to pieces.
"Erica, you know that my parents were Drifters until Denae was born, and your parents were Drifters until you were born - they could protect the town better than we could. Plus, my sister has never shot an ARM in her life, and she doesn't even own one." he stated simply, then glanced over to her, smirking. "Plus, I can't let her practice with us, because she is my little sister."
Erica giggled, and whopped him on the back of the head with her hand. "Scatterbrained comrade, is what I shall now call you. Just because she is your younger sister doesn't mean you can't let her do things with us! I bet she feels left out, ever since my cousins left, since they were all best friends. She has no one else to hang out with, Kevin..." she gave him a pouting look, and placed her chin on his shoulder. He was looking away from her, so she couldn't see the light blush that played across his face.
"Yeah, I know she has no one else to hang out with, but... she has no ARM to use!" he stated, and Erica sighed, pulling away from his shoulder. What could she say? He was right. She placed her right index finger over her lips in thought, furrowing her eyebrows. 'Perhaps I could let her use one of my ARMs? But, I only use two, so then I couldn't use them...' she thought, looking at two ARMs she had placed on the barrel beside her. She was about to voice her suggestion, when a voice interrupted her.
"I do too have an ARM, ignoramus!" Denae shouted, storming up towards them, a smaller version of the Gungnir HAG35 in her hands - the ARM was at least a foot taller than it's owner. Kevin and Erica looked at the ARM with surprised looks. "You know Grandpa gave me this Stagionei Inverno YF6 ARM for my birthday, along with that old book." she said plainly, rolling her eyes at her brother's stupidity. Kevin raised an eyebrow, and then snickered at his sister's mistake.
"Don't you mean, 'You know very well that Grandfather gave this Stagionei Inverno YF6 ARM to me for my birthday, along with the antique novel'?" he asked, causing the young green haired girl's cheeks to burn a dark rose color. Erica covered her mouth with her right hand, and giggled at the annoyed yet embarrassed look on Denae's face. She soon got over her giggle fit, and grabbed her ARMs, smiling at Denae.
"Ok then, Denae, since you do have an ARM, do you want to practice with us?" she asked, and Denae just rushed up towards them, a large grin now plastered across her face, her eyes bright.
"You seriously have to ask?" she looked at a bottle that Kevin had placed on the fence, and then raised her Stagionei Inverno YF6 ARM, aiming at the bottle. She then pulled the trigger, hitting the bottle dead on, causing it to shatter into bits, first try. She smirked, and then looked at Kevin, who was staring at her with shock very evident on his face. "I don't know how to operate an ARM, huh?"
"Uh... well, uh... yeah, well, you still can't... handle... um... shooting a farther target! Erica and I do that perfectly! Isn't that right, Erica?" Kevin stuttered, turning to Erica for support. She just raised an eyebrow at him, and shook her head. He frowned, bit his lip, and looked back at Denae, who still had that triumphant smirk sitting on her face. His frown deepened, and he crossed his arms. "So what if you can shoot that stupid rifle? Big stinking deal!"
"You just don't want to say that I did a good job on something, I know." Denae said smugly, giggling at the flustered yet angered look on her older brother's face.
* + * = **
After a while, all of them were still practicing, teasing each other whenever they messed up. Erica had just shot the bottle she was using to practice on, causing it to shatter, so she walked up to the fence, placed another bottle on it, and then backed up. As she was backing up, she bumped into something. She brought her hand back, to feel jean material. She smiled, and turned around, looking up to see her Father standing there, watching them practice.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed, and Anthony looked down at her, smiling a bit. He bent down, and she jumped onto him, throwing her arms around him. "You're back from Quartly! Did you have fun? Did you miss me? I should have come, shouldn't I? I knew it! Why wouldn't you let me come? Huh, huh, huh? It's not like I'm helpless or anything, Dad! Mom will be sooo happy that you're home! We missed you so much!" Erica rambled, hugging her Father as tight as possible. He coughed a bit from loss of air, and then hugged her back.
"I didn't exactly have fun. I missed you and your Mother terribly, yes you two should have come. I wouldn't let you come because I was afraid that if we got attacked that you wouldn't be able to defend yourself - I didn't know at the time that your Mother was teaching your how to handle ARMs!" he answered her questions, kissed her on the cheek, and ruffled her hair. She laughed a bit, and finally pulled away from him. "Speaking of your Mother, is she inside?" Anthony asked, and Erica nodded her head, picking up her ARMs - when she had embraced him, she had accidently dropped them. She turned to the bottle she had placed on the fence, and grinned.
"Did you see me shoot the other bottle, Dad?" she asked, and looked up, to see Anthony nodding his head. "How did I do?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows, and looking back towards the new bottle on the fence.
"I think you did quite well, Erica."
"Good! I thought I might have messed up or something." she grinned, aimed at the bottle, and fired, hitting the top of it, causing that part to shatter, and the rest of it to fall to the ground below, shattering anyway. She blinked, and giggled a bit, shaking her head. "I meant to hit the middle of the bottle, but that works too..." she looked back up at Anthony, and her grin faded, being replaced by a look of worry - he was scowling for some odd reason, staring off towards the west. "Daddy? What's wrong? Why do you look so... angry?"
Anthony blinked, and looked down at her, shaking his head. "Nothing, Erica. I was just... thinking. I have to go inside now - keep practicing, soon you'll be as good as your Mother and Grandmother." he stated, and walked towards the Bernadette residence. As soon as he got up to the door, he grabbed the doorknob, and turned it, walking inside. He closed the door, and as he did so, he heard Georgia shout something about being back inside so early. "I'm back!" he shouted, and every noise that Georgia was making went silent.
Well, that is, until she came dashing into the room, shouting, "Anthony, you're home!!" and practically jumping onto him, causing him to stumble backwards a bit. He smiled at her reaction, and as he was about to say something, he was silenced by a kiss from Georgia. She then pulled away from him, crossed her arms, frowned, and turned away from him. "And why didn't you send me and Erica a letter saying that you were going to be later than planned? I was worried sick about you. In fact, I may not speak to you again for at least a week." she huffed, and Anthony chuckled at her, causing her to whirl around and give him a glare. "And just what, may I ask, is so funny? HMM??" she questioned, and he grabbed her face with both of his hands. She blinked at that, then frowned once more. "Whuff arf youf dofing?"
"I am sorry I didn't send you a letter. I got busy - I learned several things that I wanted to, also. I learned that my Mother and Kylie Cascade were best friends, and my Mother left me with Kylie until she came back from a trip. I also heard that she was originally a Drifter, and her name was Ifeoma Bernadette. My Father was killed soon after I was born. Also, I had meant to return earlier, so I didn't send you a letter, because I was going to surprise you - but, guess who I saw there? Aleksey and Meira's family. They told me that someone they met in Quartly had been having strange dreams with two girls. At first he had dreams with a girl that looked identical to Giovanna. Then, he began having dreams with a different looking girl - they didn't tell me what she looked like. Anyway, they said that the man who had been having the dreams had met the two girls once when he was awake, and they threatened him. Well, they told him about Giovanna, and he wants them to get rid of the girls. And... they want us to help them." Anthony explained, and Georgia pulled away, her mouth agape.
"But... but we KILLED Giovanna!!" she exclaimed, as her eyes widened, and she placed her right hand to the right side of her face, shaking her head. "Anthony, it can't be Giovanna - can it? We killed her! Or, at least, defeated her!" she shook her head more furiously, and Anthony sighed, and nodded his head.
"Yeah, that's what we thought. But, remember that loud explosion? I think she escaped, to heal herself up enough to come back." he said, and Georgia froze, her eyes stuck on his face. She blinked a couple times as Anthony sighed, and began walking up the stairs. She glanced up that way, and began to follow him.
"So... does that mean, that we have to...?"
"Yes. In order to help Aleksey and Meira stop Giovanna and that other dream-demon from going on with their plot, we have to become Drifters again."
"But... Anthony! What about Erica?"
"She can come with us."
"Anthony Bernadette, I am NOT going to allow you to bring our daughter along with us and endangering her life!!"
"Fine. Then she can stay with your parents."
"... My parents? Heh, heh, Anthony. They have enough trouble dealing with Vedette. And we would be gone at the most a month."
"Then who do you suggest we leave her with, hmm?"
"..."
"Exactly. Plus - have you seen her practicing with her ARMs? She's very skilled."
"Yes, I know she's skilled, but she's ONLY eleven, Anthony!"
"Georgia." Anthony stopped at their bedroom door, growled, and spun around to face her, a scowl on his face. Georgia stopped, and frowned back at him. "I am just as worried as you. Ok? I don't want to bring her because of the danger. But what other choice do we have? She would be a burden to your parents, Clive and Catherine are too old and live too far away, and we don't even know if Becky and Gallows still live in Baskar. Kaitlyn and David will be going with us, I already checked, Kenji and Oriole are going to be there as well, and we don't know where all of our other options live any more. So answer me - should we bring her along, knowing she'll be pretty muchly safe when she is with several adults who care about her, or leave her with someone you barely know?"
Georgia sighed, and crossed her arms, her head drooping down, hiding her face. "Ok then. I will go tell her to pack up her stuff." just as she turned and was about to walk down the stairs, they heard the door slam shut and Erica's voice call out.
"Mom? Dad? Where are you? Kevin and Denae had to go back home - something about going with their parents on some trip and having to pack or... something." she shouted, and Georgia then walked down the stairs, her eyebrows furrowing. Kevin and Denae were going as well? It made sense - David and Kaitlyn were in basically the same situation as she and Anthony. She stepped off the last step, and walked up to Erica, then motioned up the stairs.
"Erica, get to packing. Don't ask why now. You may ask when we are on the train to Quartly. But for now, shoo! Upstairs, get ready! Quick, quick!"
* + * = **
Anthony, Georgia, Erica, Kaitlyn, David, Kevin, and Denae all were entering the train to Quartly, holding their luggage close to themselves. Erica, Kevin, and Denae all looked around in slight wonder - they had never been on a train in their life. As they were about to enter the train, they heard an annoyingly familiar voice shout out through the small crowd. "Hey!! Heeeeey!! Georgia, Anthony, Kaitlyn, David! Kevin, Denae, Erica!! Over here!!!" they all turned to their right, to see a tall figure of a boy bounding their way. Kevin glared at who was coming their way, and Erica sighed, covering half of her face with her right hand in annoyance.
Once the tall boy got out of the crowd, and to the group of seven, they could see that it was exactly who they thought it was. Razi Caradine. He stood at 5'11", was slightly muscular, except quite thin, and was grinning from ear to ear. His now moderately long red hair was tied in a low ponytail. He wore a deep sea green vest over nothing bare skin, sea green jeans with black leather chaps over them, a belt of ammunition around his waist, black gloves of which he had cut the fingers off of (he didn't like normal gloves), and half of a light sea green tribal skirt hanging from his ammunition belt (like Gallows did).
Georgia nodded her head at Razi, greeted him, and then walked onto the train. The others did the same - except for Kevin, who just glared - and Razi followed them into the train, telling them how he had heard from Kenji and Oriole that they were going to go to Quartly and stop Giovanna and the other dream-demon, and how he decided he would run away from his parents (leaving them a note, of course) and help them.