Okay so this is chapter two of the story

Okay so this is chapter two of the story. I hope you liked the first one. Once again I don't own anything from Dark Cloud 2 (though I really wish I did).

By the way you have probably already noticed this if you read the previous version of my story, but I changed Kicho's name to Fezdon (Fez for short). I guess I was just getting tired of the name…

Enjoy!


(Fezdon)

I sat there dumbly. For some reason I did not expect her to talk. Maybe the idea of the wild cannibal had gotten the better of me. Her gaze was unyielding, but hardly savage.

"You're welcome." I said shakily. Her gaze seemed to tangle my mind.

She studied me carefully and, despite myself, I wondered if she thought I looked like I would taste good. She muttered things to herself that I couldn't understand and shook her head, as if disappointed.

"So, that was some… uh… pretty hairy trouble back there. You know, sirens and… err…" At this point I realized that striking up conversations wasn't my strong point. She cocked her head to the side.

"Security systems, I would have to guess." She looked distracted as she spoke, looking at the surrounding forest. Suddenly, she grabbed onto a nearby tree and started climbing. It would have looked far more impressive if she didn't slip so many times. It almost seemed like she had been trained to do this kind of thing, but wasn't used to it. I folded my arms and waited. Somehow, with the air of importance that the girl gave off, it gave me pleasure to know that she wasn't as good as she thought. Then again, maybe I was judging before I got to a chance to know her.

I started to whistle as the girl scrambled up the tree. She turned to glare at me, and then looked ahead.

"It looks like the forest ends not too far from here," she said, dropping down to land in a cat-like stance on the ground. I stared at her in disbelief.

"I don't think so. We just got into the forest, so it can't end. That would make it a…" I searched for the right word, "not forest." the girl rolled her eyes- how rude- and turned toward what was supposedly the end of the forest.

"What is your name?" she asked, switching gears.

"Err, Fezdon. And you?"

"Monica Ray-" she stopped abruptly. "Monica"

"Ah," I said, not sure how to respond. Something in her tone said she was hiding something. Then again, I was never too good at sensing these things.

"We should be heading out of this forest now." Monica looked around, and I felt that uneasiness that she had before. Not that I was a jungle dweller myself, but she seemed anxious to get out of the dense clump of trees.

Though Monica said the forest was thin, it was torture weaving through the thick vines and branches. Not to mention the fact that it was incredibly dark, making the journey that much worse. I tried again to make small talk.

"You said security systems, right?" I asked. She stopped.

"Yes, I suppose that's what they were," she sighed, running her hand through her long hair, a red tint still visible in the moonlight. I waited for her to go on. She must have sensed my impatience.

"I would suspect they went off because I left," she completed. "I guess I wasn't supposed to escape."

The way she said it made it far more likely that it wasn't a guess. I wanted to pry, but suddenly the trees gave way to a grassy field. I blinked a few times before I had realized what had happened. Sure enough, this was the end of the forest, but it was so sudden. But as I turned to look at the forest, I noticed that it did seem to cut off rather abruptly. The effect wasn't natural, if instinct was anything to go by.

What we had ended up in was a valley, at the middle of which was a large town. It was built in an upside down cone; the taller buildings surrounded the outside while the shortest ones stood at the center. That is, with the exception of one tall tower that stretched above every other structure standing. It stood at the exact middle of the town, casting a long shadow over the buildings behind it.

"Is that our destination?" I asked Monica. She simply shrugged. I figured we might as well give it a look. "Well then, that's where we'll go."

"What's with all this 'we'll' business? I never agreed to go anywhere with you." Just as I thought, she must have suspected herself royal, if not just a snob.

"Hey, you owe me!" I said angrily.

"For what?" She almost seemed genuinely intrigued. Almost.

"Yeah, I just saved you! The least you could do is help me out a little." I waited, but she seemed to ignore me. I tried to fight the urge to yell.

She sighed. "Fine, we'll go down there," she said. "Happy now?"

I decided her snooty remark wasn't worthy of an answer.

The town was pretty simple. As I had seen, the tallest buildings ringed the outside, slowly dipping into the middle. At the center of town there was a small, perfectly circular park. Around it, simple shops and restaurants sported elegant signs, declaring their name in bold, fancy lettering. Oddly, the style of the small area didn't match the rest of the town. All the other buildings were made of concrete or steel. I didn't even know that they could build things this tall out of steel. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. Monica, however, didn't seem so struck by it. She walked on, and I doubt she would have even cared if I followed.

The building Monica was headed towards seemed to be an inn of some sort. I hardly paid attention to the actual name of it; something about the design bothered me. There was a large "T", a golden-brown color with jewels surrounding it. I knew I had seen it somewhere, but it evaded my memory.

"Two rooms please." Monica said in a polite voice. She seemed to have forgotten that she looked practically homeless. Leaves and twigs stuck out of her hair and bits of mud were smudged onto her face. I couldn't expect that I looked much better, but I wasn't the one going into some fancy establishment asking for two rooms.

"Um... well we only have one room available." The attendant spoke lightly, but the undertone of suspicion was clear. She had been thinking the same thing as me.

Monica scowled. "I guess we'll take that one," She threw a glance over her shoulder at me.

"Great!" the woman said, but a strange look crossed her face. "How will you be paying?"

Monica opened her mouth to say something but, seemingly thinking better of it, started to rummage around in her pocket. From it she produced a large badge. "I think this will do," she said holding the badge up.

The woman looked at it and her eyes widened. "Well, well Miss Ray-" Monica cleared her throat loudly. "Miss, enjoy your stay."

I tried to look at the badge, but Monica quickly returned it to her pocket.

"What was that all about?" I asked as she plodded quickly through the hall. She said nothing, of course, but I figured I should ask anyway.

When we reached our room, Monica quickly swept in and silently claimed one of the beds. The nerve. I sat on the other bed, making a point to stay as far as I could.

"Might as well get some sleep." she said. "Never know what's going to happen next." And just like that, she was asleep. Simply unbelievable. I curled up on my bed and tried to close my eyes, but only when things had become quiet did I have time to focus on the day. The whole thing happened so fast, and now I was in the middle of it. I just could not wrap my head around it.

The next morning I woke up, groaning as I felt a slight ache in my muscles. I caught a look at Monica standing in front of a mirror, brushing her hair, something I would have thought impossible had I not seen it myself. She then proceeded to put a series of hair bands in it, forming it into an impossibly long ponytail. She caught a glimpse of me in the mirror and waved me off impatiently. What a little-

"Hey, Fezdon," she called suddenly.

"Yes, your majesty," I said. She flinched, glared at me, then returned to examining herself in the mirror. After a final check, she stood, dusted herself, and turned to me.

"This look okay?"

"Yeah yeah, whatev-" The words stuck in my throat. Now clean and groomed, Monica now seemed to radiate a soft glow. I could feel my face growing hot. I turned away.

"Looks fine…" I mumbled.


Now, as you second time readers may have noticed, I have written my chapters to a more reasonable length. Also, I changed a lot of stuff. After some thought, I decided Monica probably wouldn't be "jungle survival" girl.

Aaaaaand, just in case you were thinking it, and as much as the last bit of this chapter implies, Fez just thinks Monica's pretty. Nothing more. Not saying that anyone would think otherwise, but just in case…

Hope you enjoyed chapter 2!

Oh, and next chapter, I'll make a bio for Fez-fez (Fezdon). It might help you understand this chapter a bit.