--Loner--
"Hey Lloyd, can we explore the ship?" Colette asks. "I wonder if there are dolphins following us this time! I've never seen dolphins!"
"Yeah, of course! Why don't we go check for them?" As they head off towards the back of the boat, Zelos walks over to stop the boy.
"Now now, Lloyd-kun! You aren't planning on doing anything... alone with my little angel, now are you?" the red haired man asks as Colette continues walking, oblivious.
"W-wha?!" Lloyd's face turns magenta. "O-of course not!"
"Come on!" Colette calls out to Lloyd. "I think I hear them!"
"I'll be with you in just a minute, my sweet little angel!" Zelos calls out.
"IDIOT!" Lloyd yells. "Leave Colette out of your games!"
"...I'm going below deck," Kratos excuses himself.
"Yeah, me too," Sheena agrees.
"I think I'll come as well." I follow behind the two, leaving Lloyd to deal with Zelos alone.
The area below is somewhat dark and damp; it's all shiny metal with narrow passages that roll back and forth with the waves of the ocean. There are many doors around, each leading to different rooms. I poke my head in the first open door to find the bar. ...Come to think of it, I am rather hungry... I enter the room. It has four tables made of wood, each with four black felt chairs. There's one long bar with many seats that wraps around the corner of the room next to the entrance, and the bartender is taking orders behind it. There are four customers in the room now, three at a table and one making an order. The bartender goes into the back—there's a door I didn't see upon ending among all of his cabinets—and the man who ordered waits for his meal. I hop up in a bar stool myself and wait for the bartender to return.
The other man sitting at the bar notices me. "Hey, kid. I don't believe I've seen you before. What brings you here?"
"I'm going to Isolated Island."
"Really? Are you going to catch them, too?" the man asks.
"Huh? Catch who?"
"You mean you didn't hear? Most people here are bounty hunters. They say the rebels might be at Isolated Island, so we're going to try and catch them," the man explains. "They all have a really good bounty on their heads, especially a new one named Chester."
What?! There's a bounty... on me?! And these people are going the same way as us... This isn't good...
"So what are you going to the island for, then?"
"I..." Come on, think faster! "I want to explore it."
"Explore it? Are you crazy?" the man asks, surprised. "You do realize it's dangerous, right?"
"Yeah, but it'll help me train."
"Just be careful."
The waiter returns with the man's meal. He then asks me for my order. Oh yeah, I forgot to look at the menu... "Do you have curry?"—the waiter nods—"I'll take that and some water." He returns to the kitchen.
"Only water?" inquires the bounty hunter. "Come on, be a man! Have a beer or something!"
"It'd be dangerous to train if I'm drunk," I point out, which makes the man laugh.
"Well, I suppose that's true. I like you, kid! What's your name?"
Ah great. I need a name, and fast! I say the first name that comes to mind: "Cless." Of all names, why'd I think of his? Oh well, hopefully it'll save me...
"Name's Jerald," he says as he holds out his hand; I shake it. "How old are you?"
"I'm seventeen."
"You're pretty young to have a death wish!" Jerald says with a laugh.
"I'm not planning on dying any time soon!" I correct him, annoyed.
"Then you sure are brave. My guild could use more people like you!" He takes a large gulp of his beer before turning to me. "Wanna join?"
"No thanks. I'm fine on my own."
The waiter returns with the curry and water and set them and some silverware in front of me. I begin eating as the bounty hunter goes quiet. Wow, this is spicier than I expected! I gulp down some water, but it doesn't help much...
Someone takes a seat next to me. I look up at him to see that he's clad in full armor with a head of black hair. He glares down at me, observing me. "Hope you don't mind if I join the conversation. What'd you two say your names were?"
"I'm Jerald."
"Cless."
"Full names," the new man says curtly.
"Geez, you knights really are as cold as they say," mumbles Jerald. "I was talking to the kid, if you don't mind."
A knight? Wait, that means he might know Cless... I'm in trouble. I should've stayed with Kratos and Sheena...
"This kid's an imposter. Cless Alvein is a new knight with short, blonde hair. There's no way this boy could be him," the knight explains.
The bounty hunter jumps to his feet. "What?!"
I glance around with my eyes, looking for an exit. There's one door, and the large knight is in between me and it. There's also the door to the kitchen, but there's no telling if there's an exit there... still, it might be my only shot...
"Try again," says the knight. "Now, what was your name?"
I throw my hands on the bar table and jump up with my legs. I push myself over the bar and drop down on the ground, barely dodging the knight's sword.
"Hey, the kid's mine!" yells Jerald. "My future rests on getting that fortune!"
I pull my bow and an arrow out, but the bartender's one step ahead of me—he has a knife. He tries to stab me, so I roll to the side to get out of the way. I jump to my feet and run towards the kitchen door.
"Oh no you don't!"
That knight's fast! I spin around, jumping into the air as I do so. What's this feeling? It's almost as if... I'm building up energy... "Eagle Shot!" I shoot one arrow, but it flies with blades of wind that look like eagles. The wind knocks my three pursuers down, giving me enough time to escape into the kitchen.
I run through the white kitchen, barely paying attention to the things around me. There are many cooks which I dodge past and stoves on either side I shouldn't touch... Ah, there's a door! Just past the dish pit! I hear the cooks yelling at me, the knight, and Jerald as we charge through their kitchen. The clanking of the armor gets closer than closer—he's way too fast! I turn into where some workers are cleaning dishes and turn around to release another Eagle Shot. The knight stumbles and slips on the wet floor, but Jerald still chases after me. I run through the door.
I dash up the stairs to the surface of the ship and continue running towards the back of it. Where am I planning on going? I can't run very far... but maybe I'll have more room out here for a fight.
At the back of the ship, I spin around and notch an arrow in my bow. I hold it up, pointing at where I just ran from as I breathe heavily. As Jerald comes into sight, I aim the arrow at him.
Jerald holds his hands up. "Whoa now, easy there, kid. I don't have any weapons."
"Then it wasn't wise of you to chase me, now, was it?" I point out.
"Heh, you're pretty smart. Tell ya what, you tell me your real name, and I won't kill you."
"I told you before, I'm not planning on dying any time soon. Besides, I have the upper hand right now!"
"Oh really...?" Jerald smirks. He closes his eyes. "Lightning Cage!"
Lightning shoots up all around me, creating what looks to be an electrical cage. It's just big enough to old me as I stand; one wrong move and I might accidentally touch it.
"Now who has the upper hand?" Jerald asks. "So, are you Chester? If so, you're in luck—the king wants you alive. I'd rather not have to kill you if I can help it..."
This is bad. This is very bad... How could I let myself get caught again?! Am I really that weak?! I hate this... I hate always getting caught!
"Release the boy," I hear a familiar voice say. Just past Jerald, Kratos slowly walks up. The bounty hunter spins around in surprise.
"Y-you! You're Kratos Aurion!"
"Very good. Now release him if you value your life."
"Figures. Where there's one rebel, there's always more..." Jerald closes his eyes again, concentrating; magical power seems to almost swirl around him. I notice power swirling around Kratos as well.
"Jerald!" I yell. "Do as he says! He's too powerful for you! Don't throw your life away!" I don't know, but something about Kratos' disposition... I don't think he's going to go easy on the bounty hunter, to say the least...
"I'm not going to lose this bounty! Fire Ball!" Balls of fire charge at Kratos, but he doesn't move. Instead, he simply says one word: "Judgment."
As the fire balls hit Kratos, large pillars of light shoot down from the sky, blinding my view. I turn away, closing my eyes as I hear Jerald scream in pain. When the sound stops, I dare to open my eyes again.
The lightning cage is gone, and amazingly, the ship is still in good condition. However, I cannot say the same for the Jerald. His clothes are all tattered and he's covered in scars and bruises. He lays in his a pool of his own blood, crimson liquid still gushing out from him. He reaches out towards me before his hand falls and his eyes close. He's dead. He's... really dead...
I turn away from the sight, my eyes closed. "You... you didn't have to kill him!"
"I did what was necessary. He was a threat to us. If I had left him, he would have gladly presented you to the king, where you'd no doubt die. Would you have been happier with that?" the magic swordsman asks coldly.
He's right... but still... "You went a little overboard, don't you think?!" I demand. "You could've just wounded him...!"
"He would've kept coming. We already have enough to deal with already with the knights chasing after us. Now come on, we're almost at our destination."
I glance up at the sky. Kratos... is really powerful... Wait a second, are humans capable of wielding that much power? For some reason, it seems a little odd... but then again, I can use skills with my bow, right? I suppose it's no different from that...
"We're here. Hurry up," the man beckons. I notice the fallen bounty hunter once more. I shake my head and hurry to catch up with Kratos; I can't dwell on something like this when so many are after me...
The others are already off of the ship, waiting for us. "Let's hurry. Our time runs short," says Lloyd's father. We hurry down the long stretch of port where the boat let us off, where we reach a larger section of port. There are two crates of fish here... It smells like fish, and sea water... and I can hear the ocean crashing loudly... the cool sea breeze flowing through my hair... it seems familiar... "Huh? Uh, no. I was just about to take a bite." Hey wait, that was from my memory at Lone Valley! "I've... I've been here... I think I had a picnic here once."
"This is a rather odd place for a picnic," Lloyd points out. "What brought you here?"
"I don't remember that much. It's a foggy memory..."
"The place we're going to is called Limestone Cave," Sheena says. "Does that help you remember at all?"
"Not really, except I think that's why we stopped for the picnic." Hm, come to think of it, didn't I get that horrible taste in my mouth with this memory? "...Somehow, I think this would be a memory that would be better to pass up. Let's go."
We head down a path to the right, which leads us straight up to the cave entrance.
The cave is dark, and even rockier than Lone Valley's cave. Straight ahead of the entrance is a sharp incline, which we jump down. We keep going straight to reach some stairs leading to a door, which we take. In this area, there's another door straight ahead, but we turn right just before we reach it. The pits of this area are filled with water, so we simply follow the path, ignoring the bridge to our left.
As we walk, a giant squid jumps out of the water and throws its tentacles at us. One hits a surprised Lloyd dead on, but he pulls out his swords without even flinching. He and the others immediately start attacking the giant squid, destroying it within seconds. I hurry over to Lloyd.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Lloyd stares at me like he doesn't know what I'm talking about. "Of course I'm okay."
"But it hit you dead on!"
"It did?" Lloyd looks to see if he's hurt. He's not bleeding at all... "I seem fine."
"Chester's right," Kratos says as he walks up. "You need to be more careful, Lloyd."
"But Dad—"
Kratos gives Lloyd a look that seems to say "We'll talk about this later", which causes Lloyd to sigh and mutter, "All right..."
I could've sworn that Lloyd took some damage there... but he seems to be perfectly fine... Maybe I misjudged the attack?
I follow the others down the path, which soon curves to the right. At the end of it, we find a switch. Colette happily pulls the switch, which causes us to hear rushing water. I stare at the pools of water around us, but nothing changes in them. We head back up the path. Instead of going into the previous room, we take the door that is now to our right. Inside is another pit that we jump down, but we're immediately attacked by a white giant squid and two white creatures that look like small ghosts with crimson horns. One ghost is in the front, followed by the squid; the second ghost brings up the rear. Both ghosts begin casting, power flowing around them.
"These are all stronger than the last one. Zelos, you and I will cast on the far Charona. Lloyd and Colette, you have the Kraaken. Sheena, Chester, keep the front Charona busy."
I guess the ghosts are the 'Charona'... I pull out my bow and an arrow, which I send flying into the Charona. It falls, losing its concentration. Sheena immediately rushes in, attacking with her magical papers.
Before Zelos and Kratos can fire off their spells, the back Charona creates a casting circle. The ground around us bursts into a circle of fire, sending the fire up through our group. If that wasn't enough, more fire rains down from above in large balls, hitting all of us. "This takes concentration, you know," I hear Zelos say. I continue firing at the front one.
"Don't overdo it," Kratos speaks up. "First Aid!" I feel my wounds from the fire attack healing as blue, sparkly magic falls around me. Again, the Charona gets its fire spell off quicker than Zelos, but this time it casts on the fighters, who are far enough away from me, Zelos, and Kratos for the spell to not reach us.
"Take this! First Aid!"
"Don't run! Thunder Blade!" A large sword made of lightning shoots down from the sky, hitting the Kraaken and the back Charona. It creates a circle of lightning on the ground, which engulfs all three enemies in explosive lightning. The front two die, leaving only the back Charona.
Sheena rushes up to it. "Pyre Seal!" The paper she uses to attack it bursts into a sphere of many more magical papers, knocking the Charona to the ground, dead. Sheena turns happily to us. "Did you see my attack?"
"Oh yeah, Baby. I was watching all right," says an over enthusiastic Zelos.
"For some reason, I don't think that was what you were focusing on," quips an annoyed Sheena.
"Let's keep going," I say as I head forwards, up more stairs. This looks to be the right way... ah good, everyone's following. There's an open door at the end of the stairs, which we take.
This area is very large with two pits—the one on the right is filled with water and the one on the left is bare. There's a path in between them, which we take. It leads to a new section with yet another pit, this one not filled with water. We jump down into this pit; there are two sets of stairs, one leading up to the platform we were just on and another farther down the cave leading up to another area. We take neither of these. Instead, Kratos leads us to a small hole between the stairs. As he starts to examine the hole, a dark song begins playing. Kratos walks away from us, pulling a cell phone out of his pocket and answering it. "Hello?" The rest of us watch him curiously. "...Yes. ...How many? ...I see... We're almost out of here, but the problem will be getting back... All right. You be careful, too. It'll be dangerous if they catch you talking to us. ...Bye." He hangs up the phone.
"What's going on?" Lloyd asks.
"That was Milard. It seems the king knows where we are and has dispatched more knights to come stop us. We have to hurry or we'll be caught. Sheena, you can make pacts with spirits, right? Do you think you can make a pact with Undine?"
"I can try."
"Good luck, Sheena! I know you can do it!" encourages Colette.
A woman emerges from the hole, bearing a large sword. She has long, blue hair with fins for ears. She's wearing a blue dress, but there are large holes in it for her legs to show through. She has shining silver armor on her shoulders and wears blue slippers.
"Are you Undine?" Sheena asks, surprised.
"Yes, I am," the mystic woman says.
Sheena takes a deep breath before speaking again. "I seek a pact with you. My name is Sheena—"
"I already have a pact."
"W-what?! With who?!"
"Klarth F. Lester," answers the spirit. "I cannot make another pact while my pact with him still stands."
"B-but Klarth hasn't been here yet! ...Right?"
"I haven't seen him in two thousand years, but I can tell that he's alive. And he has not broken our previous pact. Therefore, I cannot make another pact."
"Hm, I see... so all of the spirits Klarth made a pact with in the past still have a pact with him..." observes Kratos.
"S-so then how are we going to escape...?" asks a worried Colette.
"We'll just have to fly."
"Wait a sec," Zelos says. "You expect us to fly? All the way to Venezia? You're kidding, right?"
"Do you have any better plans?"
"Fly? But how are we supposed to fly?" I ask. Everyone stares at me, trying to decide how to answer.
"...I remember you," Undine suddenly says. "You joined Klarth and the others when we traveled to the future. Some of your power rests here."
"What do you mean?" The spirit goes back down inside her hole. "Wait! What do you mean?!"
A blast of deep, blue water hits me, knocking me backwards. I hear more in my head... another skill? Ice Fang...
Huh? Where am I? Is this... Miguel? It can't be... but there's the bridge... Everything's in flames! And destroyed... and the people are dead... This is my house, right? And that's... Ami?! She's... she's... no, this can't be right... she can't be... dead... I-I saw her not too long ago! Besides, I was just in Limestone Cave, there's no way I could suddenly be in Miguel!
"Chester... Chester, it's too dangerous here. Let's go to my uncle's place for now," I hear a voice say behind me.
"What about Ami and the villagers?! Are you planning to just leave them like this?!" I demand, but... this is just like the last memory... but how can it be a memory if Ami's alive...? "I can't do that! Go alone if you must! I'm gonna give them a proper burial, even if I have to do it alone."
"If whoever attacked the village returns, they're liable to kill you, too!"
The memory fades out and I return to the Limestone Cave. What was that...? How could it be a memory...? Ami's alive, right...? Unless... Oh no! "Ami! Ami might be in danger!"
"I think you're the only ones in danger here," a cocky voice says. We turn around to find ten knights entering the area. They jump down into the pit and we back up.
"Everyone up the stairs! Quickly!" Kratos barks and we follow his orders. "Demon Fang!" He uses his sword to create a blast of energy on the ground, which charges at the knights, knocking two of them back. He then runs up the stairs behind us. Colette pulls the first lever, which fills the pit with water. The knights start panicking as water rushes around them, bolting to the first set of stairs. Only one knight does nothing—he stands there as the water quickly flows up around him.
"Alvein, you idiot! Get out of there!" the leader of the knights yells. The knight in the pit snaps back to the scene around him, now noticing the water almost at his chin. He tries to run to the stairs, but his armor slows him down. As the water grows even higher, he throws off his helmet and gauntlets; it's Cless. He takes a deep breath and throws himself underwater, where he quickly tries to take off his heavy shoes.
"Chester, Zelos, let's drive them off," Kratos orders as he starts casting a spell. I nod and begin shooting at the knights. They pull up their shields to defend against my arrows, but that doesn't help much when Kratos yells "Grave" and sends spikes of the ground shooting up among them.
With most of his heavy armor off, Cless desperately tries to keep his head above the water and swim over to the stairs, but he's still too heavy. He pulls out his sword and takes another deep breath as he sinks under the water. I find myself watching curiously, wondering what he's doing. Power swells around him as he attempts to concentrate, floating in the water. He then disappears. He reappears right in front of me, gasping for breath on his hands and knees. How... how did he do that?! Kratos puts a sword to his neck. "Don't move. Chester, take his sword." I do as I'm told; I grab the sword and hold on to it while Kratos addresses the rest of the knights. "It'd be pretty embarrassing if one of your knights got kidnapped. Why don't we make a deal; you provide us with a ship out of here and we won't make you look like fools."
The knights begin discussing amongst themselves, too softly for us to hear. "All right, you win," says the lead knight. "You give us back Alvein, and we'll provide you with a ship."
Surprise overtakes Cless' face. He turns to the knights. "I thought the rules say that any knight weak enough to get captured deserves to die," he points out.
"You know, you should be pretty lucky if they're not going by those rules," Zelos says. "I wouldn't argue with that if I were you."
Cless and I exchange confused glances; realizing that, I turn my head away, annoyed.
"Colette, pull the lever. Knight, stand, but slowly," orders Kratos.
"Okay!" The water slowly disappears from the pit and Cless stands, Kratos keeping a sword to his neck the whole time. We descend the stairs and head to the platform the knights are on. "I want all of you to stay back. Lead us to the dock, but stay far ahead of us," Kratos tells them. Grumbling, the knights obey. They lead the way out of the cave, and we follow.
"Hey, Kratos, don't you think this is a little odd?" I whisper.
"I agree," Sheena says. "It's unlike the knights of Alvanista to give up capturing us for the life of one knight."
"Maybe it's because of that weird skill he used?" suggests Lloyd.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd stop talking about me like I wasn't here," says an annoyed Cless.
"If they're that interested in him, maybe we shouldn't let him go," inputs Zelos, completely ignoring Cless.
"Alvein... where have I heard that name before?"
"At Miguel, remember? We talked to his father," Colette points out. "Oh that's right! That means this is your best friend, right, Chester?"
"More like a traitor..." I mutter.
"Huh?!"
"Now that's just unfair, Chester. You don't even have any memory of the last time you saw me."
He has a point... how do I know what to believe? Still... "Fine, then. Who did attack me?"
"We're almost out," Kratos interrupts. "You two will have plenty of time to catch up later."
"I guess that means you're kidnapping me?"
"Of course. We have to find out why the knights are so interested in you that they'd do all of this to save you."
"...Chester, I'm not sure if I like your new friends... They're untrustworthy."
"Look who's talking," I shoot back.
"I—"
"Here's your boat," a knight announces. "Now give back Alvein."
"I have to make sure you won't follow us," Kratos explains. "So I'll wait until the ship's started. Then I'll throw the knight down to you."
The lead knight seems to glare at us under his helmet, but he says nothing. We board the ship.
"Liar," Cless mutters once we're on.
"A-are you sure this is okay, Kratos?" Colette asks, worried.
"He's our enemy, remember?" the ninja points out.
Kratos removes his sword from the knight's neck. "Zelos, tie him up."
"Why me?" He's answered by a glare from Kratos; the eldest swordsman then walks to the front of the ship. Zelos grumbles, but he finds some rope on the ship. "All right, hold your hands behind your back." Cless obeys and Zelos ties the rope around the young knight's wrists. With the knot tight and the ship setting off, Cless sits down. Zelos takes this chance to tie the knight up further, attaching him to the rail of the ship.
"Lloyd, is this okay?"
"Don't worry about it, Colette. Just trust Dad on this one."
"Okay..."
"I guess this means I'm officially kidnapped," he says contently, a small grin on his face.
"That's not something you should be happy about!" Sheena points out.
Cless says nothing; he leans against the rail of the ship and makes himself comfortable.
"After all of that, I'm getting kinda hungry..." Lloyd says.
"I'll try to make some food, then!" Colette offers happily. "What does everyone want?"
"Just some rice balls for me," Sheena says.
"I'll take a hamburger."
"Can you make some gratin?" I ask.
"All right. What about you, uh..."
"Cless."
Colette smiles kindly. "What do you want, Cless-san?" The rest of us stare at them, surprised.
"How about some miso stew?"
"Okay, coming right up!" Colette starts walking below deck.
"Hey, what about me?" asks the only person who didn't order anything: Zelos. "Wait! I'll help you cook!" He chases her down.
"Zelos! Come back here!" Lloyd follows both of them, leaving me, Sheena, and Cless.
"...I hope Colette's okay..." I mutter.
"Yeah, me too," Sheena agrees.
"Why? What's going on?" asks our captive.
...I think it'd be best to get away from him... "I'm going to the back." With that, I head off towards the back of the ship.
"I'll go see if Kratos needs any help." Sheena heads off to the front of the ship, leaving Cless alone.
Hm, I'm still holding Cless' sword, aren't I? I lean it against the rail at the back of the ship along with my backpack. I then stand against another rail, watching Isolated Island grow smaller and smaller. The wind blows through my hair and clothes, towards the island. Hm? What's that, coming towards us...? More ships... Ah! The knights must be coming after us!
I push myself off of the rail and hurry past a bored looking Cless and up to the front, where Sheena's steering the ship. "Sheena! The knights are after us!"
"What?! O-okay, send Kratos up! He went below deck to talk to Lloyd!"
I follow her orders and run below deck. Where are they...? I follow the smell of food into the kitchen, where Zelos and Colette are cooking. I tell them the news and hurry on to search for the father and son. I hear voices... that must be them! What room are they in...
"I'm sorry..."
"You need to be more careful. If Chester makes the connection, then our plan will fly out the window."
"I know, I'll be more careful..."
What are they talking about? If I make what connection...? What's going on here...?
"But Dad, didn't you suggest flying out of there anyway?"
"That's a different order. That's much easier to cover up, considering his background. Anyway, we need to figure out what to do with Cless Alvein."
"What do you mean?"
Cless?
"That skill he used in the water was no ordinary skill. First of all, it takes great concentration to warp—he, however, had minimal concentration."
"He was just trying to survive, right?"
"Spell casting isn't that easy, Lloyd. Plus we can't ignore the fact that it's a teleportation spell—but it didn't cast like normal spells, and nor did he make a spell circle, meaning it's probably a sword skill."
"Wait, is that possible? I've never heard of a sword skill that can teleport people!"
"Exactly. Then there's the fact that the knights did what we wanted to get him back."
"So that means he's pretty important to them, right?"
"Yes. He could help us in our battle against them... but it could be troublesome carrying him around."
"Aren't we just wasting time anyway?"
"Chester's memories could lead us to the other heroes, so it's not a waste. Either way, we need to move quicker; Dhaos doesn't have much time left."
Dhaos?! Didn't they say before... that the Heroes of Space-Time fought Dhaos?! Doesn't that make him our enemy...? But wait, are they working with him? What exactly are they trying to do?!
I hear some noise above deck. Oh yeah, the knights! I almost forgot! I burst open the door and tell them, "The knights—they followed us! I think they're attacking!" Both swordsmen run to the deck while I stay behind. What side am I on? Who's my friend... and who's my enemy? How do I know who to trust anymore...?
I'm stuck on this ship anyway... the knights want my life, so I guess I'll help the rebels out for now...
With that thought, I run up to the deck to help with the battle. The rebels and the knights are battling, my companions in between the captured Cless and the other knights. Kratos and Lloyd are each fighting two knights, while Sheena, Colette, and Zelos each have one. Another knight hurries over to Cless.
"Ice Fang!" The arrow I shoot turns into ice as it flies through the air. It hits the knight, knocking him back and causing him to drop his sword. I release a regular arrow, hitting him again.
"Chester!"
"It's about time you showed up!" Sheena says. "Where have you been?!"
"Save it for later!" barks Kratos.
Two more knights advance towards me. I jump into the air. "Eagle Shot!" The eagle wind blades knock the knights back and I hurry over to the sword on the floor. I put my bow on my back and pick the sword up, swinging wildly to get the knights away from me. When they're far enough away for my liking, I bring the blade of the sword to Cless' neck. "You need him alive, right?! Pull back!" It works. The knights stop. Good, I didn't really want to kill him... I'm glad my bluff worked. ...I've been hanging around the rebels for far too long if I'm using tactics like these... "I think you've forgotten that we're the ones with the captive!"
"You said you'd give him back!"
"Well we lied, whoop de do," says a sarcastic Zelos. "Look, the fact is that we have Cless Alvein's life in our hands, so I suggest you back off if you know what's good for you."
"Leave us alone and we won't kill him," Kratos adds.
"Hmph, you rebels are too smart... Retreat! We'll get them later." The knights use ropes to swing back to their boat, no doubt humiliated by their loss. When the last of them leaves, I remove the sword from Cless' neck and breathe easily.
"Hey, Chester, did you really have to do that...?" Cless asks.
"It got the knights away."
"Would you have really killed me?"
No... I wouldn't have... but do I really want to tell him that...? I don't know if I should trust him or not... or if I should trust any of these people... What am I doing? What are they doing? I don't... I don't want to be caught up in this any more!
My legs seem to start running on their own, and my hands throw open the door leading below deck as the people behind me call out my name. I slam the door behind me as I run, though I don't know where I'm going... I enter a random door and close it behind me before finally stopping. I'm in the bunkroom it seems... there are five beds. I do feel kinda tired... I trudge over to the closest one and collapse on it. It feels pretty comfortable... I can't go to sleep with my bow on... I push myself up just enough to get my bow and quiver off of my back, which I drop next to the bed. Then I crawl under the covers and attempt to go to sleep...
I don't know what to do now. I thought everything was fine, that we were fighting for the greater good... to stop the king and the knights from doing anything bad... but I never really questioned their true motives... What are they really after? Why do they need the Heroes of Space-Time? No... they don't need me or Klarth, they're just putting up the act until they find a certain hero... They're working with Dhaos, who was our enemy in the past, right...?
Come to think of it, are these people... normal? Something in my head, maybe in my memory, tells me that no human can wield as much magic as Kratos did when he used Judgment... Lloyd didn't even flinch when the giant squid attacked him, and he had no idea what I was talking about, but I'm almost positive that it hit him... and then there was the talk of flying... What do they have to 'cover up'? What are they hiding...?
So much for sleeping... that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon... I hear voices... are they looking for me? And footsteps now... they're getting louder...
The door creaks open and I shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep.
"Chester-san...?" Colette's voice rings through the air. I hear someone walk over, but I don't dare to look.
"He's asleep," Lloyd says softly. "He must've been pretty tired after that battle... let's let him rest."
"Okay..."
The footsteps retreat and someone turns off the lights. The door finally closes and I dare to open my eyes again. Even if I can't sleep, I don't want to talk to them... not yet...
The ship rocks softly in the waves. Other than that, the room's completely silent... My eyes are adjusting to the dark. There's a wooden desk in here, but other than that and the beds, there's nothing... it feels empty...
I roll over on to my back and stare up at the dark ceiling. I let out a large sigh... I don't think I'm going to sleep any time soon... I feel pretty tired, though...
I wonder when I'll get my memory back... I've already met my sister and friends of mine... Hey, come to think of it, when I was home... I didn't meet my parents... Where were they? I wonder if they know that I'm okay... What am I thinking? Of course they do. Ami and Mr. Alvein no doubt told them. Ami... I hope she's okay... I can't get that image out of my head... but there's no way it could've been a memory, so she's okay, right...? I hope this ship arrives soon... I really need to go check on her... Ami, please be all right...
Chester gained the title of Loner. Who can you trust? Everyone seems to be turning against you...
Lloyd gained the title of Invincible Man. Was that supposed to be a hit? It didn't hurt at all!
Cless gained the title of Captive. It is a title given to one whose life is used as an escape route.
Chester learned Ice Fang.
Cless learned Lunge.