HEY REMEMBER ME

I'M THE AUTHOR THAT ALWAYS TAKES FOREVER TO UPDATE WWEH

So yeah. Finally pull this chapter out of the depths of my computer after about four months. Took me a fucking while. You'd think I'd be able to crank out at least a few chapters with a whole two months of summer vacation.

BUT NOPE

PROCRASTINATION WINS AGAIN LOL

At least this chapter has some plot development. :I

Revieeeeeeews.

Noa748

Okay, first off:

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING READING MY FIC YOU ARE ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS ON THIS SITE OMFG AJSKGNFDJNHD

*fan girl screech*

Second off:

Thank you for all your awesome compliments and advice! It's really amazing to be complimented by someone whose stories I really enjoy.

And I actually did draw some inspiration from TWC. However, I will be trying to make my own plot with this, because I really don't want to steal ideas from that amazing piece of work. Hopefully it doesn't seem like I am. DX

Chang-Tong

I've found that a lot of people forget about Nova. I have no idea why – I really like him. XD

And I think it would be kind of unfair if they just took the stuff without giving him something. He did let them stay the night for free, after all.

And most people tend to think of me as 'weird' when they meet me. :]

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the giant Gamecube in the Renegade Base…but I wish I did.


Chapter 8: Renegade Base

"Urgh! Why is it so hot?!"

"According to legend, somewhere in this area is a gate that leads to Efreet…the heat in this area is due to Efreet's influence."

"A gate that leads to Efreet? Could that be…?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that's the seal that Colette's heading for."

"Ah! Then that means Colette's somewhere in this area! Man, you know a lot of stuff!"

"That's because I don't sleep in class like you do."


Thank all that is good in the world for Triet.

After…quite a few more hours of walking, we finally made out the desert town in the distance. Most likely, we would have all jumped up in sheer joy at the sight, but we were exhausted, so…we just did a collective groan of tired relief.

It still took us a bit to actually reach the entrance of the town, so we still had to endure a bit more of the desert. But I can guarantee we moved quite a bit faster at the thought of finally getting into town.

When we finally made it there, I was surprised to see some guards in desert gear standing in front of the entrance. They talked with us for a bit about what our business was here, but I guess they could see that we weren't there to do any harm. And the fact we were half-dead. So they let us in pretty quickly.

I take off my goggles as we begin to walk in, immediately replacing them with my glasses, grateful to have my vision back.

"I don't know about you guys…" I say as we walk through the entrance, "But I am really glad to finally be here."

"You can say that again." Lloyd replies, sounding…well, tired. He's taken off the hood of his cloak, so I can see his hair is quite droopy and mussed up…at least, more than usual. Genis is in similar condition, except he doesn't even have enough energy to speak.

Poor guy.

We walk through the entrance to the town, and my eyes immediately zero in on the inn across the plaza. Without thinking twice, I begin to walk towards it, mind filled with images of having a cold shower and a bed. I'm stopped when something grabs onto my lowered hood.

The next thing I know, I'm being pulled down to a crouching position by Lloyd, who for some reason, is crouched behind an oblivious Noishe.

I look at him in confusion. "Whoa, hey, what's going on-"

"Shh!" I'm cut off by the brunette, who's suddenly very alert, peering past Noishe's back with a worried look. I glance at Genis, and when I see the same expression on his face, I get curious and take a peek at what's gotten them so riled up.

Oh shit.

Walking towards the plaza, from where I remember the oasis to be, is a group of four Desians.

How the frick did I forget about those guys?

Lloyd ducks back down, and he creeps towards Noishe's head, pointing at a paddock. "Over there. Quick."

Staying behind Noishe, we lead the big dog over to the paddock as inconspicuously as possible, ducking inside of it. Noishe immediately dunks his head into a water trough on the inside, splashing water to the ground. While he's occupied, we peek our heads over his back to see what the Desians are up to.

The group stops right at the entrance of the plaza, and even from here, we can hear what the leader of the group is saying.

"This is an order from Lord Forcystus!" He shouts to his companions, holding a whip aloft in his right hand. "A human named Lloyd is on the run with an Exsphere. His identification code is unknown. Form a cordon in all areas immediately!"

Another Desian with a whip speaks up. "What does this Lloyd look like, sir?"

"His likeness and description are on the wanted posters." the leader replies. "We're counting on you."

"Yes sir!"

With that, the three subordinates split up, running into different directions. The leader, however, heads over to a bulletin board next to the entrance of the inn. I see him slap something onto it, and then he walks away. I can tell that it's the wanted poster he just put up.

After a few seconds, the three of us finally stand from our place behind Noishe, staring in the direction of the leaving Desian.

"Man…" Lloyd begins, sounding serious, "Wanted posters and search parties. They're really serious."

"We need to hurry and find Colette." Genis replies, looking up at his friend.

The brunette looks down at his friend, eyebrow raised. "Hey, I thought we were looking for Colette to protect her…this is more like we're looking for her to get help."

"Does it really matter why we're looking for her?" Genis sighs. "You think too much when you don't have to!"

I raise an eyebrow at that, but otherwise remain quiet. I'd rather not get into the middle of this debate…

We leave Noishe behind in the pen, walking back out into the plaza. He doesn't take notice, because he's still got his head in the water trough. After a few seconds of looking around, we make our way over to the bulletin board, to take a look at the poster now up on the board.

"Is this the wanted poster?" Genis sounds skeptical as he stands in front of the paper, and as I get a good look, I see why.

"I…guess so." I reply, trying desperately to hold back giggles. I remember Lloyd having a ridiculous looking picture of him on the poster, but…oh god, this thing is so horrible, it's stupid. It looks like a fucking five-year old drew it!

Okay, Cassie, you can do this. Just bite your lip until this is over. I know the poster is hideous and silly looking, but…just. Don't. Laugh.

Lloyd makes a face at the poster and leans in to look closer. "…Am I this ugly?"

…Okay, that did it.

I make a noise akin to a very loud 'pfffbll", gaining the boy's attention, and then double over laughing. I cover my mouth with one hand to stifle the noise, but it's still pretty loud.

"That…that thing is fucking ridiculous!" I gasp out, clutching my sides and giggling. I honestly cannot get out much more than that, because I'm laughing so hard. Lloyd's face…just…priceless.

"Oh, come on!" Lloyd exclaims, sounding slightly offended. "It can't be that bad, right?"

"It's good." Genis tells his friend, trying to reassure him. "They'll never find you with this."

He turns back to the poster for a second look. "…I think."

I snort, finally calming down a bit. "Yeah, ain't that the truth." Still giggling a bit, I point to the offending poster. "That picture looks like it was drawn by a five-year old!"

"Whatever…" Lloyd mumbles, rolling his eyes at my antics.

After a few more seconds, I finally calm myself down, standing up straight. I definitely feel a lot better than I did just a couple of minutes ago…like I got a second wind from all that laughing.

I clear my throat to get out any more laughs in me. "Okay, so…" I cross my arms. "Now what?"

"Don't know." The brunette replies, shrugging. "I mean, we need to find Colette, but with all these Desians around…"

"Yeah, I see your point…" I bring a finger to my lips, thinking. "Maybe…we should split up. If we do that, it'd be harder for the Desians to spot us."

Genis nods at me. "That's probably a good idea."

I nod back, then clap my hands together. "Alright then! How about I go check out that marketplace area over there-" I point towards where I remember the shops to be, "-and you two go look by the oasis."

"Sounds good to me." Lloyd replies. "How about we meet back here after we finish looking?"

Genis and I nod in agreement, and it's settled. I pull my hood back over my head, so I won't be too noticeable, and I see Lloyd and Genis follow my example. After that, I begin to walk towards the shops, waving to the two as I leave.

I wonder how long this'll take…


This marketplace is WAY bigger than I remember.

It's been maybe around fifteen minutes since I've started looking around, and I'm just…completely amazed at how much energy is packed into this area. I keep hearing shouts of people calling out their wares, and the amount of people bustling around in the place is overwhelming.

I guess since this is the only town for miles in this desert, supplies are a must have.

A couple of times, I've spotted a Desian or two in the crowds, but I was able to give them a wide berth without too much trouble. At one point, I stopped to look at a house that was demolished, most likely by Desians, and another that had a huge hole in the front wall…a hole that looked suspiciously like everyone's favorite Chosen.

How the fuck she was able to fall through a thick, hard wall, I will never know.

After a few more minutes of being shoved and tripped into by busy shoppers, I find myself in front of some stalls. I take a second to wipe some of the sweat off my face before looking at the sign of the closets stall to me.

"HEAT STORM"

Blinking at the large lettering, I look to see what the place is selling, and I'm surprised to find weapons sitting all around the stall area.

Oh yeah, Heat Storm was the weapon shop here…oooooh, I have an idea!

Suddenly very alert, I walk closer to the stall, and stand behind the person currently talking to the stall owner, a large, tan man with a bushy beard.

Funny, I remember the stall owner in the game to be this little kid…of course, this scenario actually makes a lot more sense.

In my moment of thinking, I don't notice the shopper leave, and I immediately step up to the stall. "Um, excuse me…"

"Ah, hello!" The shop owner says in a booming voice, noticing me. "Welcome to Heat Storm! How can I help you?"

I'm thrown off a bit by the guy's booming voice, but shake it off pretty quickly. "I was wondering if you could give me information about a weapon…"

"Of course, young lady!" He replies, grinning at me from behind his beard. He puts his elbows on the counter of the stall, leaning in. "Tell me, what kind of weapon do you wish to know about?"

"Um…" I take a second to reach into my cloak, and pull out- you guessed it- the gun I got from the Desian at Iselia, placing it onto the counter. "This one."

The stall owner's face suddenly turns very serious. "I see…" Carefully, he picks the gun up off the counter, and looks it over in his hand. After a few seconds, he looks back at me, and I see a bit of suspicion in his eyes. "Young lady, these weapons are mainly used by the Desians. How exactly did you get this?"

So this thing is mainly a Desian weapon?

"That makes a lot of sense…" I mumble to myself, looking off to the side. I notice the shop owner raise an eyebrow, so I elaborate. "I, uh, actually took this off a Desian who attacked me." I point to the gun. "I didn't really have any other weapon on me, so I decided to take it for myself."

The owner looks to me, surprised, and I see the look of suspicion change to one of sympathy. "Ah, I see…" He then closes his eyes, shrugs, and looks back at the pistol in his hands. "Well, a few mercenaries used these too, so I do know a bit about them."

"Great, then can you tell me about it?" I ask him, placing my hands on the counter. "Because I'm utterly clueless."

The man chuckles at me. "Of course. After all, I wouldn't be a good weapon salesman if I couldn't inform people about them, now would I?"

He leans against the counter then, showing me the weapon in his hand. "Now, this particular type of weapon is classified as a 'Mana Gun'. There are actually a few different versions, but this style is the most common." He points to the muzzle of the gun. "This little thing can intake the mana in the surrounding air, condense it, and fire it as a small, solid object, called a pellet."

Ah, that would explain the bullet I found when I accidentally fired the gun. Makes sense, really.

The salesman then holds a finger up. "Now, there are two essential components to a Mana Gun: the chamber, and the cartridge. Without those, this thing wouldn't be of much use."

"Well, where are those?" I ask him, now looking at the gun curiously. I wonder if one of those things is that blue square…thing on the top?

"Well, the chamber is located here, in the handle. You can see it sticking out." He taps a finger onto the little raised portion on the bottom of the handle. "The chamber is what takes in the mana. The more it takes in, the stronger the pellet." He grins at me. "The amount of mana the gun takes in depends on the chamber, so it's able to be changed. I'll show you how."

I watch closely as he places his thumb on what I thought was the hammer of the gun. He presses on it, and I'm surprised to see it slide inside the gun. He then pulls the trigger, startling me at first, but then I'm amazed to see a grey, slightly curved rectangle pop out of the bottom of the handle.

The salesman catches it, showing it to me. "There, see? That's the chamber." He hands it to me to look over, and I'm surprised by what I see. All around the rectangle are shallow grooves, moving in a strange pattern. At the top is a circular hole, and when I look inside, I see small, intricate machinery that I…really can't describe. Whatever it's supposed to do, it looks complicated.

I look back to the salesman, and he points at the blue box thing I mentioned earlier.

"This little thing here is the cartridge." He looks me in the eye. "This solidifies the mana and turns it into a pellet. But, depending on the type of cartridge, it can also give the pellet the attributes of an element." The salesman taps the box. "Right now, it looks like you have a water element attached. It works the same way at the chamber, too: you can change them out at any time."

He then clicks the hammer on the gun twice, and the cartridge pops up with a small 'click'. He pushes it back, then looks at me.

"That's…pretty cool." I remark, looking at the gun in a new light. I didn't even know there was this kind of technology here…then again, this is a Desian weapon. They're pretty advanced, technology wise.

The salesman suddenly gets a far-off look, putting down the pistol. "Hmm…you know, now that I think about it…" He turns around in the stall and begins to rummage around. "I think I might have something here that'll interest you."

It doesn't take him long to find whatever he's looking for, and he turns back to me, his hand enveloped around something. When he leans back against the counter, he shows me what he has – a shiny stick of metal that, after a few seconds, I recognize as another Mana Chamber.

"What do you think?" he asks me, a strange glint in his eyes. "You can make that weapon of yours even stronger with this little beauty."

"Really?" That could really help me out here… "How much do you want for it?"

He flashes a toothy grin at me. "Well, considering its brand-spanking new…how about three-hundred and fifty?"

Oh jeez. That's more than half of the Gald I have left. I can't just spend all that for some new equipment…ooh, idea!

"Um…" I mumble, messing around with my gun like the salesman just did. After a few seconds, I manage to pop out the chamber currently in the gun, and hold it out. "How much if I give you this?"

The salesman stares at the cartridge for a bit, giving a low 'hmmm' of thought. Then he nods, and looks back towards me. "For that, I'll lower the price to one-fifty."

"Deal." With that, I give the chamber to the salesman, along with the amount of gald requested. With a grin, the man hands me the new chamber, which I click into the gun.

"Nice doing business with you."


Thirty minutes and an immensely lighter wallet later, I'm feeling much happier about today.

I ended up walking from stall-to-stall after my encounter with the weapons salesman, because I got sucked into the massive crowd again. And because of me walking from stall-to-stall, I saw a lot of stuff for sale. And unfortunately, a lot of it was stuff that I could do with in this world.

My trip to the market ended with me getting a pair of p.j's, some more healing stuff (including Apple Gels and all that good stuff), some neato pencils, a small journal and a sketchbook. The pencils, sketchbook and journal might have been unnecessary, but if I have to be stuck in an unfamiliar world, I at least want something that can keep me from going insane.

I also got this little chest from a junk stall, with a padlock and key included. Seems kind of useless, but I figured it'd be a good place to put my cell phone and MP3. It's better than just keeping them in my pocket, where anyone can find them.

That box is now at the bottom of my bag, which is now completely stuffed with all of the other goodies I got from the stalls, along with what I got from Nova. My money pouch, however, is now considerably lighter. I only have a few coins left from my little spending spree.

I fiddle around with my gloves as I make my way back towards to plaza, avoiding running into random people along the way. I'm keeping my hood down at the moment because 1: There aren't any Desians around, and 2: It's hot as all hell. Even without the hood, though, it's still friggin' hot. My hair is sticking to my face from all the sweat.

Maybe I should have taken off my hoodie along with the scarf…

Suddenly, I notice something that causes me to slow down, and then makes me stop. I wonder what it is for a minute before I'm able to pin it down.

Silence.

All the people around me are gone.

I look around in confusion. I've found myself somewhere between the area of the plaza and the marketplace. All the people that were in the market place are gone, leaving nothing but blowing sand in the emptiness. Where'd everyone go?

"AGH!"

The sudden scream causes me to jump, and I look towards its direction just in time to see a figure fall towards the ground near the city's entrance.

Oh shit. I remember now.

I hear an unintelligible shout from the figure's direction, and I just barely manage to duck behind a nearby exposed wall before more figures come into view. I can't see them too well from this distance, but I already know who they are.

Renegades.

Peering around the small portion of wall, I see two of the Renegades hoist the unconscious Lloyd up, and I just barely manage to hear them talking to Genis, although I'm too far away to hear what exactly they're saying. I make out Genis' voice, sounding very frightened, and then faint footsteps, which disappear very quickly.

I wait a few seconds after they leave, then slowly move away from my hiding place, still staring at the entrance of the city. I then speed over to the entrance, and stop just in time to see a group of figures disappear behind a couple of dunes in the distance.

"…Shit." I murmur, running a gloved hand through my sweaty bangs. I can't believe I forgot about the Renegades taking Lloyd. I mean, it's kind of a major plot point of the game. How the fuck did I forget about it?!

I stand there for a few moments, berating myself in my head. I would have probably stood there longer, if it weren't for a big shape out of the corner of my eye distracting me.

Looks like Noishe finally recovered from our desert trek.

The big dog walks over from the paddock to be near where I'm standing, looking, somehow, slightly disgruntled. I keep forgetting that Noishe is a lot smarter than he looks.

I clear my throat to gain his attention. "So…" I begin, kind of nervous now that a giant dog is eyeballing me. "…Now what?"

Noishe growls ever so slightly at me.

"Oh, come on Noishe." I groan, rolling my eyes. "We can't just do nothing. If we're gonna help them, we're gonna have to work together."

The big dog stares at me. I can't tell what he's thinking about, so I just stand there awkwardly, trying not to break eye contact.

Finally, Noishe huffs, and jerks his big head towards the entrance of town. I look, then turn my head back towards him.

"So?" I ask, putting a hand on my hip. "Are we going after them or not?"

He nods.

"Alrighty." I remove my hand in order to cross my arms. "So how are we gonna get there? I can't just run across the desert with you. No offense, but…I'm not a giant dog."

I don't even know why I'm talking to Noishe like this. I know he's actually a lot smarter than he looks, but I can't be sure that he's getting all of what I'm saying.

But, I guess he does, because he suddenly turns to the side, lies down, and gives me a somewhat pointed look.

Oh.

"Um…" I mumble, staring at the big dog. "You…want me to ride you?"

He whines, which I assume means 'yes'.

Uh…yeah, okay. Riding Noishe. Kind of weird, but, I mean…Lloyd does it, right? It couldn't be too hard. I've ridden horses a few times before. Maybe it'll be just like that.

After a few moments of thought, I walk over to Noishe and climb on.

How hard can it be?


Note to self – never, ever, ever ever ever EVER ride Noishe again.

EVER.

Because even though he is as big as a fucking horse, and even though I have ridden horses plenty of times before, he is MOST DEFINITELY NOT the same thing

I curse myself under my breath as I cling to Noishe, as he leaps over ANOTHER sand dune, never slowing his breakneck pace. Which, by the way, he has kept up since I climbed on him in Triet, with me screaming my ass off on his back as he sped out into the desert.

I will admit, the wind produced from him running so fast has allowed me to cool off some in this desert heat. But I haven't been able to enjoy it, since I've had my face buried into Noishe's neck for most of this perilous ride. And I'm not too keen on lifting my face away from his neck, either, as I'm afraid I will be blown off his back if I do.

How the FUCK does Lloyd manage to do this all the damn time?!

"Noiiiishe!" I screech, spitting some of his fur out of my mouth in order to do so. "Can you please slow down?! I'm gonna fucking puke if you keep this up!"

I guess the big dog heard me, because he rapidly begins to slow down, until he's at a slow gallop. Luckily, it's at just the right pace so I can actually lift myself into a sitting position in his back, allowing me to take in the surroundings.

"Thanks." I say loudly, adjusting the goggles on my face with one hand. The other is keeping a firm death grip on his fur. Noishe replies with a quick bark, but I don't respond. I'm too busy looking around.

I guess all that sprinting Noishe did really paid off, because we're near one of the mountain-y parts of the desert. I vaguely remember the Renegade base being somewhere near some mountains, so that's a good sign.

I keep my eyes peeled, searching the desert dunes for any sign of the base. Finally, after a couple of minutes, I see something – a flash of blue beyond a rather high sand hill.

I direct Noishe towards its direction, and as we climb up the dune, the whole thing comes into view – a giant, circular shaped building the color of the sky.

…Okay, I thought the place looked stupid in the game, but here, it's even worse. I hope they weren't planning for secrecy when they built this base, because sheesh.

I'm almost thrown off Noishe when he abruptly stops in the middle of my thought process, throwing me forward into his fluffy neck. I recover quickly, sitting back up and giving the big dog a glare.

"Noishe, what was that abo-" I start, but the sentence dies on my tongue when I glance at the front of the base. That makes me be real quiet.

It seems that the Renegades that took Lloyd and Genis got here just slightly before we did. At the front of the building, I can see three figures, one of which is wearing a desert cloak. I'm assuming that's Genis. Two Renegades stand in front of him, blocking the entrance. There's no sign of Lloyd, so I assume they already took him inside of the building.

I lean forward on Noishe, hoping to hear some of what the small group is saying. I guess I'm too far away, though, because all I get is the sound of Noishe's heavy breathing. I'm not able to see any of their expressions, either, as Genis's back is to me, and the Renegades are wearing those stupid helmets.

Finally, after a few minutes, the two Renegades retreat into the building, leaving Genis by himself. I see him noticeably slump as the doors close, and I lean back on Noishe, watching him closely.

"Okay, Noishe…" I say, still watching the half-elf down below, "Let's get down the-RRAUGH!"

I don't even get to finish my sentence before Noishe barrels forward, causing my to bury myself in his neck once again as he sprints down the side of the dune. I lift my head just enough to get Genis into my vision again, and I call out.

"GEENIIIIIIIS!" I screech, somehow managing to keep my voice steady as Noishe's movement rocks me back and forth. I manage to see the half-elf turn in our direction, and I just make out the shocked expression on his face before we're upon him.

The next thing I know, Noishe screeches to a halt, I'm flying through the air, and, suddenly, I have a face-full of sand.

"Eeughhah…" I say (or at least try to), pulling my head out of the sand. I pull myself up to my hands and knees, face burning, mouth watering, and call out to the big dog behind me. "Noishe, you suck."

"Cassie!"

"Yeah, hi Genis." I say thickly, then choke a bit as something rough goes down my throat. Still sputtering, I manage to get to my feet. "Uck, I think I swallowed some sand." My voice sounds raspy when I speak, and I spit into the sand to clear my mouth.

Genis is staring at me like I've grown a second head. "Wh-what are you doing out here? And why were you-?"

"I saw you two get caught by those R-Desians." I tell him, remembering last second to say 'Desians'. I wipe at my face with a sleeve, to rid it of any lingering sand, then pull of my goggles, explaining the rest of my story to Genis.

"I wasn't just gonna let you guys get taken like that, so I decided I was gonna follow you. Noishe let me catch a ride with him." I motion to the big dog with my thumb, and he barks at the mention of his name. I take that small pause to put on my glasses, then pretend to look around. "Where's Lloyd?"

"Th-they took him inside." Genis replies, looking towards the massive building. "I convinced those Desians to let me go, so I could…get help."

I nod, also turning to face the base. "Well, he's not going to get out of there himself, that's for sure." I adopt a serious expression, to be more convincing. I already planned out what I was gonna do before Noishe and I got here, so now there's just the matter of explaining it to Genis.

I turn to face the half-elf. "Okay, Genis, take Noishe and get back to Triet. Try to find Colette and your sister, and if you can, bring them here."

He looks at me with a worried expression. "Wait, what are you going to do?"

I grin slightly, turning to look at the building again. "I'm gonna go find Lloyd."

"What?" Genis looks slightly flabbergasted. "Y-you can't just go into a Desian base by yourself! What if they catch you?!"

My grin widens a bit, and I pull my gun out of my belt, showing it to him. "Well then, let's hope this thing is good for something."

The half-elf still looks unconvinced, but he doesn't argue further. Finally, he shakes his head and walks over to Noishe, climbing on to him like I did before. As Noishe stands, Genis looks to me.

"I'll be back as soon as I find them." He tells me. "Just…try and find him, okay?"

I give him a thumbs-up in reply. It's good enough for him, because He turns on Noishe, and they take off over the sand dune. I watch them until they disappear from sight, then turn once again to the unsightly building, nervousness gnawing at my stomach.

I think this is the second time that I've said I could handle something when I'm not even sure I can.

After a few moments, I take a deep breath, to steel myself. Then, gun at the ready, I walk forward and enter the Renegade Base.


"Wow, Professor! There's a lot of stuff in this marketplace!"

"Yes, there is…oh, try to be careful, dear. We don't want a repeat of what happened to that man's house."

"Oh, yes. Sorry, Professor."

"It's alright. Hm…I think we have enough supplies now. Let's meet back with Kratos at the inn. We can discuss our plan of what to do at the Fire seal."

"Okay!"

"…Are you alright, Colette? You seem a bit distant."

"Oh, no, I'm alright, Professor Sage. I was just…wondering if Lloyd and Genis are doing okay."

"I'm sure they're quite alright, Colette. They can take care of themselves."

"Yes, I know…"

"…Well, worrying about them will get us nowhere. We're almost at the inn now, so let's just…hm?"

"What is it, Professor?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Colette. I just…thought I saw something outside of the entrance…"

"Really? Where did…oh!"

"Is that…?"

"Noishe?!"


Okay, the Renegade Base is now one of my favorite places at the moment.

Of course, that could be just due to the fact that this place has air conditioning.

I barely got three steps into the base before the door automatically shut behind me, and it was only then that I remembered that the doors didn't open from the inside. That's completely stupid, in my opinion. Who the hell comes up with a door that can only be opened from the outside?!

And then that didn't matter anymore, because I got distracted by the sudden cool air blasting me in the face. This, after being in a desert most of the day…basically felt like heaven.

I literally stood there for about thirty seconds before remembering I was in enemy territory.

Anyways, Renegade Base. I don't think I even need to say that it's different than what I remember, because I'm pretty sure I've said it about a dozen times by now. I'm pretty sure it just looked different to me because you only see it from a bird's eye view in the game.

But, looking at the place, it's still essentially the same in appearance. Same tech-y looking corridors and floors, same little robots (I think they're called Raybits…) floating around, and same…well, you get the gist.

I've been trying my best to maneuver around all the enemies in this place, while trying to find Lloyd at the same time. So far I've been doing okay, but there have been some close calls…the worst being me actually tripping over my cloak while I was in plain sight of a Raybit. Luckily for me, it was facing the other way.

I dart past another corridor, narrowly avoiding being seen by another Raybit. It's a good thing I like to sneak up on people all the time…otherwise I would have been caught already.

As I run around, I keep ahold of my mana gun in my right hand. I have no idea when I'll need to use it, so I'm keeping it out for now, just in case. While I hold it, I try to remember everything my dad has ever told me about holding a gun.

Never grip the gun too tightly, or you could hurt yourself with the recoil…always keep your index finger straightened on the side of the gun. Never caress the trigger. When you're holding a gun, point the muzzle away from your body, and never point it at anyone else.

I thank my dad in my head as I duck into a dead-end corridor. I bet that knowledge on guns helps him out sometimes at his work. Although, that's never good when he actually DOES have to pull a gun on someone.

I jump slightly when a door automatically opens behind me, most likely because I was standing so close to it. Seeing an opportunity, I duck inside the doorway into the next room, the door closing again with a click. I take a quick moment to look around…and then I look again.

Holy shit…I'm in the Gamecube room!

I step further into the room, staring at the giant console in front of me. I notice that there are no enemies inside the room, so I click my gun back into its holster. To my left, I vaguely notice three electrical looking pillars, but I ignore them for now. Too distracted by the giant floating game console.

Wow, this Gamecube looks exactly like the one I have at home…same silver color.

"Heh…" I laugh quietly, smirking at the giant version of the game console. It's kind of the ironic that the one Earth-related object in this world is the same one that possibly brought me here. It's…like it's taunting me, or something.

Finally, I draw my attention away from the console to look at the rest of the large room. The Gamecube is centered in the middle of a hole, surrounded by a ring with a few colored round plates. Behind the machine, close to those pillars I mentioned, is some sort of small computer console.

I move over to it, looking it over. On a hunch, I touch the surface of the screen, and I'm a bit surprised when the screen lights up. I watch as words begin to appear on the screen.

CYCLE LOCK SYSTEM.

THIS FLOOR MAKES USE OF THE CYCLE LOCK IS NECESSARY TO CHARGE THE LOCK-SHIFT PILLAR WITH VOLT-TYPE ELECTRICAL ENERGY IN ORDER TO TRAVEL TO EACH SECTION. THE PILLARS CORRESPOND TO THE 180 DEGREE, 90 DEGREE, AND 45 DEGREE PANELS ON THE FLOOR. ALIGN THE CENTER COLOR POINTS.

…Okaaaaay, I barely understood two words of that. I saw they mentioned 'Volt-type energy' in there, though. I'm guessing they're referring to the summon spirit.

I shift my gaze over to the pillars on my right side. Sadly, I remember that in order to make them work, I need the Sorcerer's Ring. Which, or course, I don't have. Lloyd has it, though, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get through the base.

I freeze when I hear a door whir open.

Regaining my composure quickly, I dive behind the weird computer console, hoping not to be seen. I try to keep absolutely still as I hear footsteps echo around the room.

"Aw man…the doors in this room are locked too."

…Wait a minute.

"Lloyd?" I blurt out. Agh crap, wasn't supposed to do that. Before he can get the wrong idea, I stand up from behind the small console.

I spot him a few feet away, on the other side of the Gamecube, still wearing his desert cloak. It's pretty apparent that I surprised him, because I see that he's gripping the hilts of his swords.

When he spots me, the surprise in his eyes turns to slight shock, and he drops his hands.

"Cassie?" he says, staring at me. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, y'know, just taking a stroll through a Desian base." I reply sarcastically, waving a hand in the air. "I came to rescue you, idiot."

His eyes narrow at my comment. Oops. Note to self: don't call Lloyd an idiot.

"How did you get here?" he asks me. "Is Genis with you?"

"Genis is just fine." I tell him. "He's heading back to Triet on Noishe. Noishe and I followed you guys here after you got caught."

He gives me a surprised look. "You rode on Noishe? Really?"

"Yeup." I give him an annoyed look. "Never doing that again, by the way. I almost threw up all over your dog."

He just gives me a look, and he walks over to me. I see he's staring at those big pillars behind me. "So…what exactly is this room, anyways?"

"No idea." I lie, and I point to the computer console next to me. "But check this out. I think it's telling us what we're supposed to do here."

I touch the screen again to bring it to life, and Lloyd directs his attention towards it. It takes him longer than I did to read what's on the screen, and I see confusion seep into his face as he reads.

"…Ack." He finally says, shaking his head. "I don't understand this at all."

"Yyyeah, neither did I." I confess. "But I think it's saying that we need to somehow…shock those pillars over there." I point to them really quick, then drop my hand. "Whatever that means."

"Oh, well…that shouldn't be too hard." I look over to the brunette, a mock look of surprise in my face. He lifts his right hand, and I see a small ring on his middle finger. "We could use the Sorcerer's Ring to hit those things."

"It can do that?" I ask, even though I know it already can. Just plaaaay along, Cassie.

He grins, then points his hand at the empty space in front of us. A second later, a small ball of sparks shoots out from the ring, surprising me. It hovers in the air for a few seconds, and then disappears.

Okay, I know that's supposed to happen, but that's still really cool.

"See?" He grins at me. "We can use these weird sparks from the Sorcerer's ring to hit those pillars."

"Yeah, I get it." I tell him, and then turn to the pillars. "…Question is, which ones do we hit?"

"…Right." Lloyd replies, an agreeing tone in his voice. "Geez, this is gonna be tough."

I have to agree with him here. I remember from when I played this area that it took me a while before I could figure out this damn place. And a lot of that puzzle solving was from me hitting the pillars randomly in frustration.

And now I have to solve this puzzle again…with my only help being Lloyd.

Yup. We're gonna be here a while.


Aaaaaaand END CHAPTER.

This is a pretty damn long chapter, so if any of you guys see some errors that I've missed, please let me know in a review. It really helps. :D

And this time, I WILL KICK MY ASS INTO GEAR TO GET THE NEXT CHAPTER UP AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. Hurr hurr.

NEXT TIME: The Coffee Dude and Reunions