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Chapter 3 – ad libitum
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(Scene Change; ?????)
I'm Wile E. Coyote. A Looney Tune Toon Villain. I'm a hungry, skinny coyote, chaser of the Roadrunner, and Genius inventor by my trade and career. My voice actor in the WB studios was Mel Blanc, who died around the 10th of July 1989, by way of a heart attack. I'm 25 years old, nearly unemployed as of 1998. But-
-In my rage and anguish I blamed--and I foolishly tried to do something about it while I was still moving about, investigated it, chased after it, and then some Afrikaner goddess shows up out of nowhere and sends me… somewhere else, and I've got one hell of a headache.
Everything was exactly as he recapped in his head. But none of the second half sounded like something he'd be happy about. And God, he was suffering one hell of a headache. His skull felt like if someone kept beating it over and over again with a cold, rusty hammer. But that was the least of a frustrated Wile E. Coyote's problems, as he stared despairingly into the incredible blue sky; already that sick feeling in his stomach rose to his thin, skinny throat… and yet, it didn't feel like his own throat. He knew he made an error. He knew that he might not be able to get back home. This was completely different from anything that he'd felt so familiar with at home. Pain didn't crush his bones; pain came like clattering bones in his head.
Screw that noise, what happened to my nose?
"Shinji...?"
As he turned in the direction of the spoken phrase and unidentifiable name, Wile guessed two things wrong: he wasn't staring down his clown-sized nose anymore, the one thing he always could see protruding in front of his face. He panicked. "…aah…"
Wile's mouth dropped open. He got scared and scrambled up to his feet, and it was a clumsy maneuver since he was wearing shoes.
He needed to see something. Anything. A reflective surface, now.
No. no. no. no. What the hell happened to my nose? Wait. Why am I thinking words like that…!?
His heartbeat quickened to match that horrible feeling in his stomach. Wile grasped the first thing that he could call a reflective surface, next to the opening where the voice came from. But he didn't like what he was seeing. Where's my face? Where's my body? Is this some sick gag? Wile E. Coyote wasn't staring into the face of a skinny metaphor of a dead Writer's redneck-styled fantasy. The furry wind stroked ears were missing, along with his eyebrows, and (his panic doubled as his face sank) apparently, the rest of his Toon body. Wile E. Coyote desperately wanted to laugh and call it someone's sick idea for a joke, till he moved his right hand- no, his human right hand, according the reflection in the mirror, where a bird flew on past, over the large, complex city with hundreds of wires. Instead, he gulped. He gulped again, but harder, till finally he let out scream.
"Shinji?"
Who is that? It took a minute for the initial shock to wear off. Wile, horror-struck, caressed the side of the Human face he was now forced to bear, with his human hand. It was still no less shocking to finally realize it. He just didn't want to believe it.
Wile E. Coyote is no more; Wile E. Coyote the canine genius isn't here anymore. I'm not myself! I'm… I'm a human? My… God, what the heck is going on? It was like waking up into a nightmare.
He heard footsteps and someone stepped out of the opening to the left of window. O-okay, Wile. Just play it cool. No need to freak out… He felt it was a stupidly ironic thing to think, since he was certain whomever just stepped out to see him probably heard him miles below. He turned around. "Ah… I-I'm sorry." Woah. What the heck happened to my voice? It's sounds like a depressed whale…
"You're needed in NERV right now. Misato confirmed the bio-signature of an incoming Angel."
Wile continued staring at the strange woman, whose eyes were as pale and as sheaf. "Angel" in Wile's library of a head meant "Servant of God"; In other words, a heraldic being that could commit no act of sin. A million things darted into his head with frightening speed, including the terrible revelation that somehow all of this was sounding unusually familiar. He was going to explode with inquiries, but the strange girl decided to not wait any longer and grabbed his arm, dragging him through the dark opening and down a flight of stairs.
Even if he was afraid of hearing a voice that wasn't his own coming out of his mouth, frightened Wile gummed up the courage to ask, "What are you talking about? What "Angel" are you referring to? Where am I? I'm not… I'm NOT…!"
The blue-haired girl, not stopping for a second, turned around briefly to give Human Wile a "have-you-absolutely-lost-it?" styled stare. But her expression didn't change at all. Her movements were like a mannequin's. She continued bringing Wile down the stairs and up ahead was light and… a long-stretching car.
For the first time Wile couldn't help but think, Who in the world is she?
(Scene Change; The World Tree)
"World Tree?" Was that the thing I woke up to before? This is it's "base"? Kennedy blinked twice at the young girl he met named Kannono. The footsteps he heard earlier were getting bigger. He was afraid he'd have to use the bracelet again, since it was clear this girl had no idea how Kennedy "Battled" those strangely-armored bastards before.
"Yes," the pink-haired young woman explained cheerfully. "The World Tree is what supplies this planet with Mana, the energy that brings life. Hmm? What? You think he's the descender? But that can't be true… are you crazy?"
The conversation went off into a non sequitur, as Kannono seemed to be not staring at Kennedy. Confused, he was about what or who she was talking to, but then another figure in hunting garbs dashed into the scene, screaming, "Kannono! Kannono!? Are you- HUH!?"
"Aaah!" Kennedy yelped in massive surprise himself. Both he and the strange, blue pony-tailed man were staring face to face. The shock was so great Kennedy flopped up on his feet, but his clumsiness landed him straight back into deep pool of water. Kannono turned to the blue-haired man, who was carrying a large Bow in a strapping gear on his back. "Chester!" she yelled angrily at him. The blue-haired man she called "Chester" could only stare dumbly at the scene.
Meanwhile Kennedy flopped pitifully again in water crying, "OHSHITSAVEMEIMDROWNINGAGAIN!"
Another wasted 5 minutes later Kennedy had both Kannono and the blue-haired man's help back up on solid ground. He was soaking wet.
"Oh my GOSH, thanks for saving my ass," Kennedy offered his thanks, looking up to see the blue-haired man hastily coming close on Kannono and repeatedly checking her in any spot for injury. He looked like such a nervous wreck. He didn't understand why, but Kennedy felt a jealous urge come over him and he screamed, "What the hell? Who are you, I called this shit first!" But neither seemed to hear his comment.
"Kannono! Are you alright?! Did you fall!? Y-You look pale, damn it, I SHOULD'VE been here, especially since I just learned Ganser's goons were out here! I'm so sorry, it's MY fault and I…!"
Kannono pushed the man off of him and looked less like she needed his help. "Chester, don't worry I'm fine! I did encounter some guards, but this person saved me!"
"Hmm?" A spark came in Chester's eyes as turned around to meet the soaking wet person. "Oh. Really didn't see you there. So you're the one who saved her…"
"Um, what's up with that?" Kennedy snapped. "You saved me less than a minute ago, and now you're acting like you just saw me." At this remark Chester gave a weird stare, and Kennedy thought that might not have been the best way to start things off. (Ironically, he was jealous)
"See this is Mr. Kennedy," Kannono cheerfully spoke for Kennedy. "He used an awesome light to save me! I bet he has magical powers!"
Appreciative of what she was doing, Kennedy felt his head swell up and said, "Well…" She just couldn't see the bracelet then. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure why I came here of all places. He suddenly felt sad at the utterance of the thought. Clam… Old Man… Crazy rabbit.
Chester was satisfied and with the description and shook Kennedy's hand in friendly greeting. "Well, thanks for saving Kannono. I'm Chester Barklight, Hunter by trade. Great to meet you, "Mr." Kennedy." Then he glowered a little while staring at Kennedy. "Gotta be a refugee. Where are you from?"
Half of his comment sounded more of a whisper. Kennedy's head began to hurt a little as he heard several voices dart into his head at once.
You're from the World Tree. A great danger is in the world. The World tree has called upon you as it's last hope.
… Who the fuck are you!? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!
"…Are you okay?" Chester said good-naturedly. "You're making some weird facial expressions."
"Oh!" Kennedy snapped out of his trance and the veil of darkness lifted up. "Uh… Well I'm from… the World Tree, I guess." Kennedy had no idea why he said that.
At this Chester let a couple of laughs. "Hahahah… well whoever this guy is he's got some kind of sense of humor," Chester said. Kannono, to Ken's horror, agreed.
Kennedy didn't see what was so funny and tried to defend himself. "Wait," he said desperately, "I'm not lying. I actually came from the World Tree."
Kannono and Chester continued staring at each other than again at the odd boy. A moment of awkward silence was finally broken when Chester said, "Well, thanks for all your help in everything, but I've got to take Kannono back to Ailily. That's the town that sits at the base of the world tree. You be careful." With that, Chester left and Kannono followed, leaving Kennedy alone to mull the entirely of what transpired before his eyes. Chester turned around and hollered, "Oh! And uh, kid? If you ever need help, or want to contact any guild member or me, ask for Ad Libitum and a man named Kratos!?" Then they left.
Okay… they're gone. And they didn't believe what I said either: apparently saying, "I'm from the World Tree" here isn't exactly a good way to explain myself. They must think I'm crazy. Kannono… And I still have no idea where any of my original friends are. Also, apparently, I'm hearing voices in my head, which leads up to the possibility that I might be on some kind of seriously f-ed up Acid trip. This is kinda weird. And Since I'm pretty sure this would be too damn much to input in my head, I've got to ask, what the hell is an "Adlibitem"? Who's Kratos?
At once Kennedy did hear another voice in his head. And saw something that looked like a cat at the same time.
"What…?"
Hey! Snap out of it! Terresia needs your help now!
"I know you. You're the… you're the voice I heard before."
Da-hoy.
Kennedy could see a white cat in front of him. He rubbed his eyes and then waved one hand in front of him to make sure he wasn't going crazy. This cat had the appearance of a ghost.
"Hiya! I kinda fell from Kannono's arms. She found me not too long ago actually." This cat was clearly the embodiment of fluff: his one body was pale white chalk, its' wings didn't even look like they could support its' fat little belly, and its ears were bigger than Kennedy's eyes. "Way to distract her long enough for me lose her!" The Cat yelled angrily. "She smelled of warm bread and hot fish!"
Kennedy's mouth would have just as well dropped from the rest of his face, if he hadn't shaken himself up, and tried standing straight. Then he had a mean look. "Alright, TIME OUT! PLEASE STOP!! I'M SERIOUS!"
The Cat saw no reason for banter, but Kennedy started stomping around like a 5-year old. "ENOUGH, ENOUGH, ENOUGH, ENOUGH, ENOUGH! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, BULLSHIT!!!"
"Uh… what? What are you-!?"
"JUST… CUT IT OUT ALREADY!! MY HEAD IS ON THE VERGE OF EXPLODING!! DAMN!!!" Kennedy screamed. "BITCH PLEASE!!"
The Cat just continued to stand- FLOAT in the same place while dumbly watching Kennedy do an irritated, angry dance of frustration. All coupled with throwing arms and hissing more bad words, and hitting the air. Kennedy kept going, till his lungs were almost out of air and his face went red.
The white cat decided to wait until Kennedy was finally ready to settle down and listen. "Um, you okay?"
"… I've been better," was the green-haired Keyblade Master's reply. He sounded sour. "Okay… so, mind explaining things to me?"
The floating cat got a serious look on his face before he started. "The only person who can see or even hear me, or touch me, is you."
"…. Super," Kennedy said sardonically.
"My name is Mormo. Pleased to meet you, uh…. Um…." The cat clumsily lost his flight for a second pondering Kennedy name, but Kennedy reintroduced himself to avoid any more awkward situations. "Oh! Well, it's great to meet you, Kennedy. I'm glad we can talk now. I couldn't over the clatter of noise from that pink-haired chick and the pony-tailed dude."
Kennedy fell silent. He was becoming less than enchanted every second listening to the cat talk, and he was running out of patience. "So, I guess it's super-nice to meet you then. Have you ever seen this place, Mr. Mormo?"
Mormo gawked and then let out a surprised, happy laugh. "W-what? No, I haven't seen this place, but where I come from, we have a tree similar to this one! The leaves are crisp and full of new life to be born, through the power of mana. And the trees themselves, they start out as seeds, and as adults, they spread out even more seeds where more trees and worlds are to be born! And… you don't have to actually call me Mister Mormo, kid! Heh heh heh!"
"Fair enough. So, it's just like this World Tree? Wait, you mean, the world I'm in right now, it was created through a Tree Seed?"
"Exactly." Mormo stopped talking for a minute. Kennedy saw Mormo's smile go upside down. I think I might have hit the wrong chord. "But my world is… no more." Supershit. I DID.
But something had Kennedy confused. "Wait a minute. You came from another world, and it was your homeworld, and your homeworld was destroyed-!"
"By a horrible creature called the Devourer," Mormo interjected.
"Okay, by SOMETHING called the Devourer, then how the hell did you get HERE? WAIT. WHAT the hell is a Devourer?!" Kennedy didn't like the sound of that. And he just barely clung on to "horrible creature" part, which in his mind translated to "Monster". He gulped hard.
Mormo was going to ask what in the world was wrong with Kennedy, but he decided to put it in the back of his mind for the moment. Instead he explained, "Well… I'm a Descender from my world of Yaoon. And the Devourer… is a Creature that fed on the massive amount of Mana contained Yaoon, draining all of my friends, relatives and Kin of life, leaving Yaoon into nothing more than an empty crust."
"Yeah…. I'm still not following a word out of your adorable mouth."
Mormo got angry and yelled, "What, are you dumb or something? I'm a DESCENDER. D-E-S-C-E-N-D-E-R. As in "one who directly hails from a Family Line"!"
"Oh boy. I wish I could relate to you."
"Just shut up and let me finish. It's like this: A World Tree, or in my case, the World Tree of Yaoon, it gave birth to Me, Mormo, as it's descender. My job AS a Descender was to protect Yaoon."
"Well," Kennedy interrupted. "With a puny body like that, you probably couldn't protect some kind of "Enhancing Object" or something." Kennedy had no idea what he meant by saying that, but by accident it provoked Mormo's quieted response of: "I'm starting to wonder if Terresia's World Tree wasted it's mana by giving me a big asshole Descender with a terrible refined accent instead."
Kennedy's eyes widened; this was something he hadn't heard about until now—
"Hold on a SECOND. What do you mean by "World Tree wasted it's mana" and "Giving You" and all that cumupitz?" the thought revealed itself to Kennedy; his mind chilled like somebody dropped a huge sculpting of ice on his head. "Do you mean…?"
"Yep," Mormo answered simply, but with eagerness. "I called you here. I sensed three others with you, but I couldn't make their scents out. They were kind of weird. My nose could only pick out your scent because it was the closest. But… I was desperate. I came to this world because I believed strongly that the mana of this World Tree on Terresia was my last hope of finding help in the form of its newly created Descender to stop the Devourer! The World tree… heard my cry, and then I sensed the last of the excess mana it could barely use right now go out of it… and I found you."
The Key Bearer was having a hard time taking this all in. New to everything that was around him and utterly long and far away from everything he felt familiar with, Mormo's explanation made him feel frightened. And there was no backing out of it, no way to turn from the impending foresight of pointless conflicts and forced to contact people he couldn't feel familiar with. And he had already made a promise to help someone he already knew, didn't he? Wasn't that going back on the promise? Wasn't that an utterly cruel way of turning his back on his friends, without even meaning to? Kennedy suddenly despaired and wondered for the umpteenth time how in the heck he hoped he was going to find his way back, out of this ostensibly hostile world. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel annoyed with measly little flying "Cat-thing" named Mormo intentionally calling him to this "Terresia" or whatever, without giving a shit about how he'd feel about it. He mulled over getting even by whooping his ass in "battle", and relished that idea.
At once, he realized that getting angry about it now did nothing. But that feeling of anger got stronger, consuming Kennedy. He strained hard to not think about how badly he was pissed, how badly he'd been inconvenienced for some bullshit that he didn't want any part with. Finally, he'd fought down the odd sensation of anger like bile in his stomach. Truly, he thought, anger must have been a beast. It ate what little sanity there was left after you'd stomped it into the ground. Kennedy faced Mormo and asked him, "Um, Mormo?"
"Uh, what?"
"I need to know. Is there any chance at all I can get out of the world tree?"
Mormo looked as if Kennedy asked a dumb joke. "Wh-what!? Of COURSE there's a way out! The World Tree has grown on this base level where people walk; runs between the core, and the world outside. If you want to get out of here, then follow meeeeee!!!" on the "Me", Mormo did a graceful whirl into the air, wheeled himself backwards, and then rocketed into the same direction Kennedy remembered Kannono (Every time he thought of that delicious-sounding name, it had the harmony and ring of a trilling, echoic melody) and Chester went down earlier. Kennedy didn't want to get left behind and jumped after the white fluffball.
(Scene Change; Terresia)
Kennedy whistled and took in air. A big gulp of air. The view of Terresia was gorgeous.
He was standing right in front of the dark opening of what Mormo called "The Foot of the World Tree". The trunk was 50 times his size, giving Kenny a bloated and airsick feeling in lungs. This is… wow. Holy shit. HOLY shit this fantastic. There were millions of branches high overhead, and they carried on their branches thick, evergreen leaves. But, more gorgeous than that was the sun. Kennedy never believed a sun could be so yellow, so bright and very yellow like that.
Oh… the sun. Look at that. Look at THAT. Kenny thought over in his head with impulsive excitement.
Mormo fluttered in front of him and said, "I know exactly what you're thinking. This is an amazing world! All the bright colors! What, is this your first time in a world like this? Aren't you native here?" Mormo asked, but Kennedy wasn't listening to him.
"I guess it different from whatever you've seen, isn't it?" he said.
Kennedy hated to admit it, but he was definitely in agreement. This world had nothing like what he'd seen on his last adventure. But he decided that, as far as looking for his friends were concerned, only time would tell. He took a few steps forward and then yelled, "H-hey!? Is that a city?"
Mormo's eyes must have matched Kennedy's, going literally bug-eyed. The dirt road that split off after 3 miles on the down trip led to a cheery 3rd World settlement. It was a pretty Podunk-looking little town, a million feet wide and gorgeous like a spread out tapestry over and in-between the larger roots of the World Tree. The sun was beginning to rise and so the bright clay red of the towns' house roofs met cheery passerby. Climbing the oversized trunks of the World Tree's roots, the Town's brown gate and lesser settlements were mooring along the sides, encamped by a Petri-dish styled delta of gleaming river banks. Some of the houses below had long, grooved patches of dirt and camping green stuff. Birds flew in and perched in one of several gorgeous trees dotting the towns like miniature landmarks, as if to bring to a visitor's attention that a town like Ailily (Kennedy vaguely remembered Chester mentioning the name, and guessed that this must be it) was the iconic epitome of nature.
"Yeah," said Mormo, breaking the awe of the silence. "It's definitely a city." So the two kept going forward; the both of them wanted to get a better-looking view of the town even more.
They took a leisurely pace going on the dirt patch, the greenery on either side, and the town and all it's little embezzlements spread out in front of their feet. Kennedy smiled. "This is a beautiful town!" Then he suddenly took a dour expression and said, "Although it needs a little more excitement. Plus it's really big…"
"You trying to find something here, kid?"
Kennedy thought for a second. "Yeah. I am. I think it's some place called Ad libidem. I can't be sure. But that Chester person said I'd find help at the guild in this town. Where the hell is it, I wonder?" Caught up in mid-sentence and mid-thought, Kennedy nearly crashed into a van.
"HEY!"
Kennedy got so caught up in the illustrations of town before him; he snapped out and tripped over. "OW!!" His face was caked with dirt, but he ignored the pain and screamed, "Hey, what the hell?" he turned and saw that a stage coach with two things being reigned on it was right behind him, and the rider was a thinly-veiled old man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and leather sandals. He yelled, "The only thing you need is depth perception, you dumb little crap! Mind where you're going!!!"
Kennedy thought the logic of what to do in his head. He gets knocked down by a guy who interrupts his smart thinkings. With yelling. So what was the logical thing to be done? Oh yeah. Ball your hands into fists and yell BACK.
"Fuck you! I'm trying to go to Ailily, ya old Fart!"
Mormo raised both eyes at Kennedy and told him, "Exactly how did the World Tree piece you together!?" But fortunately, they both were taken by surprise when the old farmer steering the wagon laughed at them and said, "Hyeh! Hyeh! Hyeh! Hyeh! Hyeh! AILILY?? You won't even make over the damned wall let alone the gate! Even with your freaky little white cat PET!" Somehow caught up in his merriment at Kennedy's stupidity, he snapped the reigns on the freaky things driving the cart wagon and went on his way, still laughing.
Kennedy stared at Mormo, and the flying cat from Yaoon did likewise. Kennedy whispered, "What was that crap about!? And how come he said you were my pet?"
Mormo shook his head. "Don't know, but I know for a fact that I'm not a goddamned pet, I'm a descender from Yaoon." As an aside he mentioned, "And DON'T you forget it."
Kennedy jumped right at that second as two smaller kids wearing remote-world styled clothing ran past. It looked like they were engaged into a game of tag, but what kind of game of tag was it when you were carrying Eggplants? At that point, a middle-aged woman ran past and nearly knocked over Kennedy, screaming, "KIDS!! Come back here NOW! Your Daddy will be home for Supper soon! But we can't interfere at the marketplace!! We'll get punished!!" She seemed to be carrying 2 melons of cabbage. Kenny found another surprise trying to go forward again, when an attractive young girl in maid's boudoir nearly bulldozed over Mormo over screaming, "OH! Oh! Oh! Oh! I'm going get punished for this! I'm going punished for this! He'll start to dock my Pay, and I won't be able to have enough for even feeding myself! Dammit! I'd sooner be knocked out as punishment!"
For a small little town, it sure was nosy and bustling with excitement. Another guy wearing no shirt but poor and dirty pants ran past; he was carrying substandard tools Kennedy figured had something to gardening. He was followed seconds later by a doddering old man with no hair on his head, his ugly, wrinkled skin more thin and jaundiced than barn paint. Like his younger predecessor, he wore sullied denim shorts.
Ken got up and brushed himself off, staring agitatedly at the odd scene, a little curious. "Yeah, well, running around randomly usually is punishment enough. Shit, what's wrong with this place! 5 minutes in and I get laughed at by some old geezer asshole, then a couple of BRATS, and some cutie in a partially revealing outfit!"
Mormo was still a little dazed, spinning lazily around in the air after having his world twisted around like a spinning top. He managed ignore Kennedy's unnecessary rage for a minute to stop and wonder, "You know, they are kind of acting strangely."
Ken scoffed and stared away for a second. Then he started walking again, followed by Mormo. "No shit. Some of them seemed a smidge… frantic."
(Scene Change; Close to the Gate)
20 minutes onward and they reached the gates, guarded heavily by two royal-looking guards wearing purple-colored armor and carrying spears. Kennedy wasn't stupid and ducked behind a tree. Sure enough that old geezer asshole from earlier was at the gates, and one came up and whispered something Kennedy couldn't hear. He gave a loud whistle to the other guard, and the gates flew open. Once again, Kennedy couldn't help but look up at the city, and it was a hundred times his own size. The Root of the World Tree they'd seen earlier from so very far away was even bigger than they imagined. Sturdy, baked golden brown, and covered in fertile patches of evergreen marsh. Then once again, Kennedy shook his head to get back to focus. Dammit, I'll have time to enjoy the gorgeous view later. I have to get the hell inside for reasons I'm sure can't be passably explained.
His eyes shifted back to the guards, just as Cart wagon Kennedy saw earlier disappeared up the steep and incredible incline onto a whole new level. It was a blaze of insanity. That was where the market was ablaze with half-naked children, whinny-neighs, dropped coins, tight-fisted vendors, stray domestic animals and common business. Kennedy and Mormo saw plenty of the same kind of Guards, wearing purple and… and… some of them beating up kids Kenny's age or lower. Some got arrested. Kenny gulped down harder, thinking that threatening Guards like them damn well meant business. And it only made it more blatantly obvious that something was out of place, with this grandiose town seated boastfully at the foot of Eden.
Mormo was horrified to see Kennedy suddenly stepping out of cover from behind the small tree. And straight over to the gate.
"Kenny!? What the hell are you doing!?" Mormo asked, though he decided he might not have liked hearing an answer.
"I'm…" he paused, then said what was on his mind right at that moment. "Fuck it, I'm just going to see whether or not I can get in." Mormo willingly followed, but still helplessly upset with an unsatisfying answer.
"WHO the hell are YOU!?" roared one of the guards upon seeing the green-haired stranger approach their gate. The second guard gripped his pole-axe.
"Just your typical stranger to the area," was Kenny's gray answer. "… yeah. I'm here to visit Ailily."
The guard shook his head and yelled, "NO PERMITANCE."
"So I'm guessing you must be a new recruit on the guard bandwagon, cause you found the perks of making yourself out to be an ass in front of your family and friends pretty sweet, while at the same time morally eating at you on the inside and making you give up on your lack of personal identity," Kennedy said. "Yeah."
This was the wrong answer. Wrong, since in 3 seconds Kenny failed to dodge the fist beat and greet with a painful cry. "SHIT! That hurts!"
He cradled his violated area, and the first guard then sent a steel-clad toe down on his back, caking Kenny's face in dirt, and nearly cracking his spine. A couple of people walking by didn't dare try to help the unlucky bastard.
"Well fuck… you-too!" Kennedy grumbled with face half-way in dirt.
"You think YOU can get away with smart-assing US, you STUPID little punk!? WHAT the hell did you Just SAY TO US!?" The guard snarled, grinding his foot even harder on poor Kennedy's side, followed by a kick. Kennedy couldn't stop the laughter invading his thinking at the worst possible time. "Well it's not like I… understood any of the crap I just said. Nor is it like I didn't try…" Kenny snickered. At this remark, the Guard savagely kicked him in the esophagus again. That did it. Kennedy couldn't recoil from a massive hit, especially one he'd never experienced "outside of battle". He was starting to lose consciousness, until…
"Sir! We've been getting reports all around the compound of two weird figures vandalizing around the city! Ganser has ordered they'd brought to him in chains as a tribute snack towards devourer. Immediately! And we've also heard additional information that they're somewhere in this section of the Ailily marketplace!"
"What!? Alright, we'll leave this post and go in pursuit!"
Kennedy's vision went dark for a second. "… Assholes. They get done playing with me, then leave me in the dirt," he moaned weakly. I'm not going to go unconscious again. I've got to focus. He finally got his vision to return to normal, and saw that several terrified-looking people were staring at him in all directions, some of them, carrying groceries, and some of them parents blocking children from their sight.
Mormo fluttered and observed Kennedy. "Kenny? I think people can see me."
Kennedy bit back with a sarcastic smirk. "Oh, gee, gosh golly, isn't that the news of the day!?" the smirk broadened to a annoyance. "Why "Kenny"?"
"Isn't that your nickname, kid?"
"No. It's… actually I don't have nickname," he said after a minute of thinking. Then he felt calm about it. "Okay, whatever, you can call me, Ken, Kenny, or Kennedy if you want, just… NEVER "Kenneth"." The odd wording of said name made Kennedy's face turn sour, as he suddenly remembered old persnickety Mr. Herriman again, and Mormo flop over on side in midair, choked by laughter.
"A-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! "KENNETH"?! OH my MANA, what kind of idiot would call you that?!"
Kennedy didn't begrudge Mormo for laughing, since he also thought it was a dumb name. But his mind felt distanced, the more he thought about how far away he was from the familiar crowd of strangers he'd been with. It was a sad fate.
"An etiquette-obsessed, polite-mannered one," Kennedy quietly said to himself. He started walking again, going past the now unguarded gates, despite the sudden impolite hollers of "No!" and "Somebody get Ganser he's violating the law", which he didn't have time for.
(Scene Change; Plaza)
Mormo was having trouble keeping up with Kennedy. His green-haired, foulmouthed descender was slowly starting to disappear in the crowd of consumers and stressed vendors. They kept hearing the occasional "Come one, come all!" speech, or the "Half-price sale!" message delivered. Flocks of people with baskets played by ear and scrambled for the best sale they could get. Some climbed over each other and the vendor watched his makeshift massacre unfold like a play, while at the same time he jingled bag of shiny gold pieces. (Mormo heard later on that the form of currency people treat as such in this world was called Gald) Mormo thought it was all very strange; then again, humans were aptly funny little critters themselves. At least, that was what Mormo thought to distract his mind away from a fantastic itch.
They were much different than the kindly, proficient animals of Yaoon.
"Wow. Tough crowd," Kennedy murmured. "This place must sure get busy on a hot day."
It certainly did. Ken and Mormo stopped a couple of times to let a carriage or a carton of cabbage slip past, and a one or two times Kennedy wasn't minding where he was going at all, opening leeway to yelling drivers. Ken found himself forced out of the way, along with other sack-wearing children with dirty feet and long faces. The third time this happened, Ken was getting surly with this nonsensical arrangement, and felt a tug of his sleeve. He looked down and one child yelled, "Your clothes are different."
Uh-oh. Kennedy thought worriedly. Hopefully he was in a running mood, but to just the hell where? I might have trouble if I run into those bastard cops again. Maybe I can-
"You must be from really far away, mister, like the Gav… adal?" the kid asked. Ken breathed a sigh of relief. Perfect. Sheesh, that was close.
Once a large wagon ran past, Kennedy went scare and started back up on the dirty though paved road, apparently leading up to a more gallant side of Ailily. It had more decent houses, and fewer overcrowded markets. He saw trees in wider, spacious spots of grass. More people, some dressed in richer shades of clothing, stuff and nice things Ken stopped to look at, were dropping more shiny gold things in the greedy palms of jolly vendors.
I feel a little less out of place here. "I guess these must be "rich" people."
"Yeah," Mormo agreed. "There are rich people here. A lot of them. They seem more, well off… than all those civilians we saw in the lower district." The only real similarity is how catatonic they are. I bet nothing really bad happens here. And I-
When he acknowledged it at last, Mormo began to come to terms with an annoying itch in his nose. "My nose… feels funny!"
Kennedy stopped and asked, "Huh!?"
"My NOSE," he explained. "My nose has been acting funny for some time now, the closer we got to the town!"
"Really?" Kennedy asked, a little more concerned. This was the first time Mormo brought up anything like that. "Why? Why wouldn't it itch? I mean, if you're an animal or something, just being here in this town would cause you to smell… lots of scents, right?"
"No," Mormo told him. "You see, where I'm from, all of my relatives, friends and families, could tell and communicate with foreign smells of beings that carry different mana. We sense each other out by the different mana we carry in the depths of our soul. We can tell whether or not a being with a different mana is something that comes from a different world."
Kennedy was beginning to see. "Ah," he said. "Now it makes sense."
"You really get it?"
"Actually no, that expository statement was boring as hell, but I guess this means you can pick out different scents. Does that mean me carrying a different smell makes me out of place here?"
"It does," said Mormo, as he flew in front of him. "You have your own individual smell that makes you different from everybody else. You have a different Mana, but that's not what's driving my adorable nose insane."
A shocked Kennedy began to put two and two together and suddenly a wild hope choked his throat. Maybe I'm not the only "Outsider" in this so-called paradise. Maybe… No, it COULDN'T be… could it!?
Mormo got a strange look on his face. "What's wrong, Ken? Your face looks as white as mine- hey, where the hell do you think you're GOING!?"
No fucking Idea!! Kennedy wanted to scream, but ended up screaming in his head. He distantly remembered…
If you ever need help, or want to contact any guild member or me, ask for Ad Libitum and a man named… -
I've got to find that guild Chester was talking about. And soon it became clearer that Kennedy did have to find it. It was starting to make things… interesting. Kennedy rounded another corner and veered a sharp Left, up another steep incline. Then running along side a fruit stand, he ducked behind it and the shoppers bargaining with the vendor. He planned on going up even higher, but his head had a cold bumping convenience.
BUMP!
"OW!!" "OW!!!" Both Kennedy and the noggin-struck victim met the dirt.
"Ugh!" he heard a feminine voice yell overhead. "What happened?"
Both Kennedy and the red-haired stranger he bumped heads with yelled at the top of their lungs, "HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW!?"
"Shh! Quiet!!" Kennedy had NO idea what happened, and everything was flying over his head too fast. He heard more voices, and unfortunately, those of the same guards he'd met from the gate.
"Where the hell did they go?"
"Don't know. We LOST'em!"
"This isn't good. You! Civilians!!"
"Wha-wha-WHAT!?"
"YOU have YOUR ORDERS. If you see a red-headed man with a cold-eyed stranger, you will report to us at once so we can capture them and take them to Lord Ganser!! HAIL GANSER!!"
"Y-yes sir!"
Goddamit, Kennedy thought sordidly, even though he was debilitated, literally grounded against the inconsiderate bastard he accidentally ran into, and his neck hurting like hell. There's that name again. Ganser. I've heard it 2 times already. It's like listening to somebody throw up their breakfast, then EATING it again, then throwing it up again. I should probably get myself back up, and find that damned Adlibituck- adlibido- adilibidibidib- screw it, the GUILD.
Luckily they had ducked behind a store. The Guards must have been on the opposite side. Kennedy could hear the clang clang of their stupid armor as they stormed away. He got up and brushed himself off. "That was close," he said a little unsure. Then he remembered the person he ran into and was prepared to vocally rage the hell out of him for lack of common courtesy, till he got a better look at him. And his companion.
The first person, the one whom Kennedy literally bumped into behind the store, was a boy. He had crimson hair that flowed down to the white coattails of his suit with a black devil motif on the back. And he looked as pissed as Kennedy did. But somehow Kennedy knew he lacked fashion sense. This character's poise and expression looked the opposite of those imperial-looking garments he wore. "Damn it!" he said. "They just won't give up!"
The second one accompanying him was dressed in some weird set of clothing, that didn't look much like a dress, but sort of like the female answer to the armor Kennedy had seen earlier. She also had beautiful hair that fell down over her shoulders, right to the knees. Her eyes were frosty blue and steeled, startling Kennedy a little. She was probably smarter than said Crimson-haired man; she had a frown on her features that Kennedy wondered would've turned even braver men to stone.
"They're gone," Kennedy heard the tan-haired woman whisper to the Crimson-haired man. She then took notice of Kennedy for the first time and exclaimed, "Oh, hello there."
The Crimson-haired man seemed to forget about Kennedy, and then waved to the frosty-eyed woman to run. "Come on, let's get out of here!" he yelled. The frosty-eyed woman followed, even though she had a barely annoyed look on her face.
Um, what just happened? Kennedy thought, not getting the whole scene at all. Who were they? Are they… the ones I heard about being chased through the town?
While he was thinking this, Mormo finally flew into view and saw Kennedy standing behind the wooden crates. He yelled and snapped Kennedy out of his distant gaze and asked him to follow him. He'd seen something odd.
They went down a flight of stairs, south of the wooden sale stands. It was a beautiful-looking plaza with an eddy running into a channel under a small bridge, which poured out more water down into the plumbing system of the town. But it looked like everybody cleared out of there, due to the unpleasant activity going on. Kennedy and Mormo stayed hidden and watched.
A creepy old man in an officer's uniform with a two-horned hat mask over his head glowered over an unfortunate man. "Bring out the rest of it!" he yelled. Two guards were standing behind the unfortunate man, and one more was checking a parked wheel crate full to the brim with Wheat. "WHERE is your quota of the day!?"
"I… I-I'm sorry, my Lord!! P-Please forgive me!!"
"Hyeh! Hyeh! Hyeh!" cackled the horrible old man with a straight grin. "LIES! You WILL bring out the rest of the quota asked of you! We're trying to run a very strict business in the markets!!" Both shoulders hunched. Kennedy grit his teeth- And fists –in tense disapproval at what he was seeing. "DON'T make a fool of me!"
"B-but t-this is the q-q-quota y-you asked for! If I give any more away, I'll have no more to feed my 2 sons!!"
Kennedy's mouth fell open. Two sons…!? He remembered the two little boys on the outskirts of the town earlier. Oh… Goddammit. That's messed up.
And it kept getting worse. The horrible skeleton man in purple garbs ordered the guards to have the man strung by the shoulders. The old man yelled in his face, "I'm merely trying to PROTECT the stability and economic health of this town. The governor of this Town has entrusted ALL of it's inner runnings to ME. If you can't fulfill this simple quota of 500 pounds of Wheat, then you are a liability!! THIS town has NO use for wasteful Garbage like yourself!!!" And to even prove this point, Ganser smacked the palm of his hand, charging with an electrical force, right into the stomach of unfortunate man. Holy crap, he's magic, Kennedy thought distantly; but that didn't stop him from feeling sick to his stomach.
Kennedy could only watch and cringe as the man screamed in sheer terror and sting, his arms and legs lit up like Christmas lights, already beyond help. Again the old man laughed and commanded, "NOW then. Take this garbage to the 'special place'. Let him be a new snack for the Devourer, as PUNISHMENT."
The guards obeyed. Unable to move any part of his body, the dead man screamed his head off until he carried off by the guards out of the plaza, with a cackling Ganser walking behind.
Anybody standing by as innocent bystanders got either brutally pushed out of the way, or forcefully ushered from the scene, and no one seemed willing to rush to the help of the man. Ganser was pure evil; no one would raise a finger to stop him.
Kennedy and Mormo got from behind the bushes once the coast was clear. He was paralyzed with fear as badly as the man he saw got electrocuted. Then he burst out screaming, "Holy shit!! How useless were WE just now!?"
Mormo didn't agree with Kennedy's blunt argot, but he shared the same sad sentiments. "How… awful! HE get's away with doing that to townsfolk? And after he takes advantage of their kindness!? What the hell!?"
Kennedy was struggling with his poorly made decision of not intervening. But the second he saw Ganser use the electrifying technique on the innocent worker, he knew: This wasn't any ordinary bastard. Maybe that was why he didn't do anything, why he felt so frightened. But the aftermath burned into Kennedy's mind. The singes wouldn't leave him. It hurt so badly to be inactive.
"I hate this. And more importantly, I feel sorry for the townsfolk," he told Mormo. "They don't deserve to be treated that way. It's… cruel. They should've picked someone better…" He felt something weird fall down his cheek. Water…? Tears…? For one moment the world went black around Kennedy.
(bzzzt) watched them argue, using loud, angry voices. It was so unlike them. They never got angry at all! How in the world did everything get so messed up?
"But it was your fault, (bzzzt)!! The Treasure would've been ours!"
An angry gasp."LISTEN TO yourself! You sound just like (bzzzt) (bzzzzt)!"
"Well maybe we could've listened to (bzzzzzzt) could've picked out a better treasure for us to find!"
"Oh shut up!!"
"I ain't comfortable talking about this!! Where's (bzzzt)!?"
"He said he'd be back! He promised!"
"Listen Fellas! We NEED to calm down now, I mean really, really CALM down!! If we don't-!"
"Enough. (bzzzt) betrayed us, okay? And they passed that stupid law. We can't even be anywhere with them humans now."
"Oh father of fathers, what should we do now? W-we can't just go on and fly the (bzzzt) (bzzzt) without (bzzzt)-!"
"Sure we, my oh depressed (bzzzt) of mine. I say we elect a new Leader!"
Loud awkward silence.
"Are you insane? We're not going to… we can't…!"
"Sure. I don't mind it kindly. We should have a new leader."
"… You can't mean that…!? But we've always followed (bzzzzt)"
"Well, maybe we could use a differ'nt-type leader, but… hasn't he always been in charge? How would he feel if we asked somebody else to do it!?"
"No! We can't!"
"…And why not?"
*gasp*
"Ah… I…"
"I want to ask you. No. All of you. Did you REALLY feel comfortable always following the commands of a goddamned rotten cowpoke whose insatiable God was his fucking stomach?"
"You're using a lot… bad words, (bzzzzzzzzzt). Don't think that's just rude? How can you SAY that about him!?"
"Can we just stop and do's the whole Deteketative-style thought processes? I trust (bzzzzt)! Leave us face it, this whole mess wasn't his intention. It's a pretty diabolackical mystery-type thing. I'm betting maybe (bzzzzzt) was roped to be a part of it-"
"Shut up!"
"What's your psychological-type problem?"
"… I know what you're going to say. It's funny, but for some reason, I just do. You're going to say that maybe it was (bzzzzzzzt) and (bzzzzzzt), weren't you? WEREN'T you!?"
"…"
"(bzzzzzzt) and (bzzzzzt) didn't have ANYTHING to do with this, and even they wouldn't stoop so low as to do this!"
"… I do suspect that they might have had something to do with this, but I'm not saying it could be them, and you're right: this was way out of their league of typical corny-type villainy."
"Then why don't you just shut up, you ornery polecat!!"
"What… what did you call me?!"
"You always think you're so smart or somethin', but you ain't never done anything that actually HELPED. You're not a Deteketative. If anything, this was YOUR ENTIRE FAULT. You said a good word about HIM. You're a stupid, STUPID-!!"
One found himself face to face with another. "That's ENOUGH! What's been wrong in your head lately, (bzzzzzzt)!? Why are you saying such awful things?!
……
"… Well, gosh, I've never really thought about it. Fine, I'm sorry alright?!"
"My little joy of de'eyes' ears have been defiled by your… despicakable-type pottymouth!!"
"Oh will just stop it, I've apologized, fine! But you have to agree with what I'm saying! You know, you KNOW, you guys should always know!! Don't you get it?"
"Not until you start cleaning up your rotten uglyish-type mouthing, you no good, ROTTEN…!!"
Then it escalated to violence. Someone got shoved back in blind rage, the other got punched, and it didn't help when a third hand (?) jumped into the conflict.
"That's ENOUGH, From da BOTH of you!"
…
"How did it come to this? Why are we fighting!? Why aren't we thinking straight at all?"
"… It… I…"
"HE'S the one who started it!"
A fist flew at the resounding voice, only to be halted by something more diminutive. "NO!!! CUT IT OUT, THE BOTH OF YOU!! Do you WANT to kill each other!?"
That was the second time that word was used. Kill.
There was a moment of starting shock, then humiliation- like something seemed out of place with this picture.
"Maybe without (bzzzzt) it's not the same anymore. We're losing track of what to do fast." Sure that seemed like the logical thing to say. But THAT happened. There was no erasing it. It had happened. None of the party who'd been witnesses could deny it. Somebody got up and stared down with disheartened glaze. Like he was the only person who could see that something was out of place with the picture… something "Fake". Then somebody else started crying.
"We could just disband the crew. We're not even running around in circles… we're just going nowhere."
Someone said in shocked tone, "What!? How can you say that?"
"Can't y'all just read my lips? I'm SICK OF THIS. I cain't THINK straight with all this…" A nasty, bad word came to mind. And it almost escaped off the tip of his tongue. It was like caged fire. Then he said in a quieter tone, "All this…"
It seemed like none of them were getting along. They all shared a contempt for him like an alien. Somebody else stood off to the side and said, "Well, if you're all upset-like, why don't you just leave? We can go on without you! We don't NEED your nasty help. Go hang out with other unmentionables like youself."
He didn't waste another said with them. They didn't see the monster gobbling them up like sweets. They were blind, whereas he could see. He didn't need them. And he sure as hell didn't need their services. Opening the door to the portside, he stepped out, didn't care to look back, and that was probably the last time anybody saw or thought of (bzzzzzzt) as he was.
"WAKE UP!! KENNEDY!"
"SPACEMONKEYS!!" Kennedy shot up from the stonewalk screaming. "Huh? Mormo!?"
Mormo looked relieved. "What the hell, kid?! You were staring off into the distance for one second, then your eyes went WOOGLY-EYED, then you passed out!"
"I… did?" Kennedy slowly uttered.
"Yeah. For THREE minutes."
"No way. That was 30 minutes!"
"No… three minutes. If you had thirty minutes of dreams, then I'd sure like to know what were dreaming about."
It didn't sound like Mormo was lying. Ken felt weird for a moment. "I don't know." And it was true. To his horror, fragments of the imageless dream were quickly slipping out of reach. It was just like the last two times: when he fought a powerful and nameless opponent, and after losing his friends before rescuing and meeting Kannono. He got angry and cried, "No… no! Come back!!" But it was too late. He'd forgotten the dream.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Mormo asked, not bothering to wonder if Kennedy went crazy. He was shouting out loud. Kennedy didn't feel like answering, but appreciated Mormo's concern. He shook his head.
"I don't know what to do…." He said sadly. "I don't." Then he started walking off and…
BUMP
"OW!" both Kennedy and another strangely feminine-sounding voice yelled at the same time. Kennedy fell back on his feet, but not into another chillingly nostalgic blackout like several minutes ago. Eyes rocking in his head, Kennedy saw blurs of freakish pink.
"Well. That didn't last long," said Mormo.
"Watch where you're going, jerk!!" the feminine voice boomed in Ken's ear. There was no doubt about it: it was a girl. And she had such a high-pitched voice, too.
"No… you… watch it…" Ken was still dazed, and couldn't return the same heart-felt rage. He finally snapped out of it. He got a good look at the second voice; it was a girl with rosy pink hair and in Podunk clothes. Her expression was irritated and cold, like she spent the whole day getting into an argument with a nasty person before bumping into Ken. She was even carrying a broomstick.
Broomstick…? She must be a witch.
At that point, Kennedy automatically thought of a past enemy he remembered defeating, who was also a witch. That realized, he didn't need to apply anymore logic to it and drew out the Keyblade. It was party time. "Maleficent!!" he screamed, charging at her. "DIE EVIL WITCH!!"
"W-WHAT!? Hold on a Sec-!!!"
BOOM!!
(Scene Change)
"Kratos, have you finished out the forms I asked you to make out to Doplund for carting procedures?"
An auburn-haired man approached the desk and handed her the necessary documents. "Thank you," she said. "Things certainly have been getting tight around here as of late." She sounded depressed, a trait Kratos rarely had seen in her. She was hardly moved by events of current; most of time was spent in books of ancient history and studies of maps to ancient ruins.
"They certainly have, Raine," said he. "It's hard enough taking in many of the poor and homeless to provide them with the things they need, without Ganser…" he trailed off and his face turned serious. He dreaded the knowledge of knowing for certain that the unfortunately many of Ailily that had dared to cross or escape Ganser were… No. He sadly made a steeled effort in removing such thoughts from his head. He had to focus. Besides… he hadn't come back yet.
"Raine, have there been any reports about his mission?"
Raine shook her head and looked dilapidated. "No, I'm afraid not. We sent him out 3 days ago, but I'm not so sure if he'll be able to return safely…"
BOOM
Startled but not phased at all, Kratos reached for his sword, only to stop at once when he saw 3 figures came bursting through the door. Arche swerving through the air on her straw-made Broomstick, followed by 2 figures. Very unusual looking ones.
"What in the world!?" Raine cried.
The pink-haired girl screamed, "Stop FOLLOWING ME AND TRYING TO KILL ME YOU JERK! AND MY NAME IS ARCHE!! ARCHE!!"
Regardless of that, the green-haired kid who followed right on her heels took another swing at her frame, screaming, "Sorry, but I don't listen to logic, witch! Especially DARK Logic!!"
"Idiot! Jerk! Retard!" Arche tossed 3 Fire Balls that Raine saw the green-haired kid easily swat away… with an unusual looking weapon he seemed to brandish like sword. But it looked like an unusually large Key, complete with its' own key chain.
"Stop at ONCE!" Raine screamed, now just noticing the white fluffy thing that looked like a cat hovering near the green-haired kid. "That is enough of this utter nonsense!"
Arche and the kid who followed her froze in place. Raine walked from behind her desk to get a closer look at the intruders. She already knew Arche, but what of this odd child trying to take her down? Was he insane?
She wasn't sure what the answer was; the kid was dressed in clothing that seemed unique and formal. His eyes were lightly tinted in green, whereas his head was covered in seaweed green. Raine's mouth fell open as she stared at his weapon, which undoubtedly looked like an oversized Key, with a handle big enough for two handles to grip.
Raine's curiosity was piqued. Something weird was going on here.
"You don't have to actually freeze in place, child," she told him. It was true: the green-haired child who stormed his way in after Arche had frozen in place as easily if he'd just been picked up from the Frosthollow. He got the message and resumed a regular shape.
Kratos' attention was on the white Cat that had flown in with the green-haired kid.
"Kannono!" he called. A pink-haired girl scampered in from out of a dark room, carrying a big basket of freshly starched laundry. She stopped midway at the hilarious scene and yelled, "Kennedy!?"
At the same time, Kennedy saw Kannono and yelled, "Kannono!?"
Arche darted eyes at both and fell off her broomstick. She hit the floor with her butt and cried painfully. "Ow!! Damn it, what the hell is going on!?"
Kennedy looked like he realized that may have made a grave error and put away his Key in a flash. Raine studied his movements. Truth was, the second she'd laid eyes on Kennedy, her brain was working like a well-oiled machine in the span of the last 30 seconds.
"Listen, I'm sorry if we barged in here unexpectedly!!" Mormo pleaded on behalf of Kennedy, who remained speechless.
Kratos walked over, trying to make sense of the strangeness of this situation. "I thought Kannono was carrying something when she left to handle those bags of Manure she asked to take care of earlier."
Kannono blanched guiltily, knowing full well that breaking your word on a request was an inexcusable act. But she was just as equally surprised that Kennedy did end up coming to Ailily with Mormo.
Still confused, Arche got back on her feet and yelled, "Could someone explain to me what happened here?"
Mormo flew in front of Raine and Kratos. "She found me passed out near the edge of town and I was telling her I needed to go to the World Tree."
Kratos' glare was like freezing cold ice on Kannono, who had been explicitly told time after time, not to make frequent trips to the World Tree unless it was on request- It was just too dangerous, hadn't she realized that? But, he knew, just as many others did, that Kannono had a penchant of charismatic and selfless kindness. So it was no surprise to Kratos that Kannono would drop everything and be beckoned the needs of another.
"I'll settle things with you later," he said to her. Then Kratos turned back to Mormo and his mysterious accomplice. "Kennedy, was it?"
"Hmm? Ah!" Kratos stood in front of Kennedy, who now completely acknowledged his presence.
Kratos extended his hand. "Yes, your name is Kennedy, right? I'm Kratos Aurion, leader of Ailily Ad Libitum Chapter." Then he looked toward Raine. "This is our Distributor and go-between for filing and taking requests of the community in Ailily, and our remedial as well as well as archeology expert, Raine Sage."
Raine nodded to Kennedy with a gentle, but slightly waning smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Kennedy."
"Um… sure," Kennedy said, reaching out to shake the arm in cordial greeting. He was excited that he finally reached the place and the people he was looking for. But something seemed to bother him. "What? You guys act like you were expecting me. In fact, how'd you know my name?"
Kratos lowered his head, his expression darkened a little. "I suppose it might not have been too long, however, we've been hearing reports about a renegade young man seen trying to sneak into Ailily, destruction of property, deliberate mockery of Ganser's soldiers, and embezzlement. Wanted signs are everywhere, with your face on it."
Kennedy's cheeks burned bright red, and not because Kannono was there. "Uh-oh. I goofed."
Kratos nodded and glowered coldly. "You certainly did mess up. What sheer negligence and lack of prudence. Possibly akin to a criminal, and even those are hardly apt at being around with Ganser constantly on watch like a Hawk…"
Kennedy got angry. "Hey! LOOK, I did my BEST. At least now I'm here, and NOT in the chains of that dick Ganser. By the way, I did happen to notice that guy screwing with another man down in a plaza and I'm pretty sure he's fucking evil."
Raine let out a disgusted groan. "What language. Didn't your mother teach you to control your mouth, and watch the things you say?"
"Well he's different from what I expected, that's for sure," said Mormo in a drier voice.
Kennedy looked at her with a plain scowl. "Well I don't have a mother as far as I know currently!" then he turned back to Kratos, who was studying his movements with such seer and perception that Kennedy thought he was some kind of statue… or something else that transcended anything mortal. But that couldn't be the case, right? "And I also came from the World Tree."
"Kurrrrr-azy," said the lively Arche reclining on the straight line of her broomstick.
"And apparently nobody still believes me when I say that, so, now… you were saying something about Prunes?"
Kratos' dark glare shifted to something of laziness, then doubt. Kannono ran up and got in front of Kennedy. "K-Kratos, wait! Kennedy doesn't mean any harm, he… saved me earlier from the Guards of Ganser at the World Tree. With a special magic."
"Spec-ial Ma-gic…?" Raine sounded out each syllable like they she was reading from an outdated manuscript.
"It's not a matter of whether or not he gets punished. He's not even a full Member of the Guild just yet," Kratos explained. "Regardless, news can spread through the network of communication by other means than just the simple Poster advertisement."
Kennedy bat an eyelid. "I don't follow you. But I would like become a member of your Guild if it'll help me find my 3 other friends, cause this whole thing drives me crazy."
"Actually…" Kratos began, but then, from completely out of nowhere, a familiar face and raspy voice popped up right in front of Kennedy. "HI!!!"
"UUUUUAAAAAGGGGH!!" Kennedy stumbled back in high shock. "HOLY SHIT! CLAM!?"
"KENNEDY! I found you!!! Yay!!" What followed was predictable. Clam's immense strength nearly choked Kennedy in the wake of a greatly relieved bear-hug, with Arche going bug-eyed and busting out her guts, laughing her head off.
Kannono watched the interaction and asked, "Oh! Is he your friend? He looks so cute!"
Raine, seeing that the conversation was getting nowhere fast, explained to Kennedy, "Ahem. Your "Friend" as he claims he is, came straight from Hollow Bastion looking for help. He was strange-looking. REALLY strange. But I was greatly surprised to learn that young man snuck past the entire cadre of Ganser's security, without being seen once! He told us about you, and that he was looking for you, along with two other strange people he claims that one of them is a "Furry-skinny-rabbit"."
Ken switched eyes back and forth between Raine, Kannono, and Clam, whom he was starting to have a sudden tinge of jealousy for. He sighed.
"Oh fuck me."
A/N: So… yeah. I'm back. I don't know what to say to excuse my absence except Adult angst, college, Family problems, diarrhea-related stomach disorders, homework, projects, extreme sudden inconveniences, mental inferiority complexes, and sheer procrastination. Oh yeah. My 2 year old Dog being an eternal bitch and not making things any easier for me.
Next Chapter: Dymlos
I'm going to say it. I'm a lousy writer. But it's just a hobby, and I'm improving slowly. So see you later.