There's Something in the Air
By Lilly Blitz
Chapter 8: There and Back Again
Loneliness is a horrible feeling. It is an empty feeling thatleaves a person miserable. Often, it can easily be remedied by the company of others. If no one does something, however, it becomes a deeper, and very much more of a problem. This, fortunately, only happens in extreme cases.
Darien hadn't really had anything to do since he had arrived. Glenn spent most of his time at the castle. It was to be expected of the Commander of the Knights of Guardia. What annoyed him was that Carlos and Michael were always off somewhere. Darien had no idea what they were up to. Whatever it was, it took up a lot of time. The only time he wasn't bored and lonely was when Michael was up at the castle as well. He would at least have Carlos to talk to.
However, it was only partly their fault. Darien had a hand in his own loneliness. He was sure that if he went to join them, he wouldn't be like this. He didn't though; he was feeling depressed because he was being ignored. It was a vicious cycle.
He was also missing Brianne. He had no idea where she was, or if she was even in this era or not. Realizing that he was falling for her didn't make it any better. After a little more than a week, he wasn't feeling the pain as much as he had been, but it was still there.
At the moment, he was in the lounge of the manor, staring at a wall. Usually, he would have been bored by now, but he didn't care; he was lonely and depressed. In fact, he didn't even notice when the door opened and Glenn walked in.
Glenn shook his head at the sight of Darien. The boy was depressed; there were no two ways about it. He needed to do something before something drastic happened. Glenn cleared his throat, causing Darien to turn and look at him.
"Darien? Would you mind finding Michael for me. I need to discuss something with him."
Darien shrugged. "Yeah, okay." He stood up and stretched.
As he reached the door, Glenn said, "You know, you can join those two in whatever it is they're up to. I'm sure they won't mind."
Darien said nothing, just continued to walk. Glenn sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He would never understand teenagers.
"So, you think that might work?"
Michael shook his head and fell back into the chair, looking exhausted. "No. But this is the best chance we have."
Carlos was looking just as tired. "Nothing is going to work."
They were sitting at the kitchen table, looking tired and annoyed. For the past week, they had been planning and scheming, but so far, they had nothing that would successfully work.
They were trying to get Glenn and Lucca together. Besides the obvious fact they were in different eras, they would never admit their feelings for each other for fear of rejection. Carlos and Michael had come with many different ideas, all of which were futile as the last one.
Carlos had just let his head fall to the table when he heard a small coughing noise from the door. Darien was there, looking just as bad as the other two.
Turning to Michael, Darien said, "Your father wants you in the lounge. Says he needs to discuss something with you."
"Oh. All right." He got up and went to see what his father wanted. Darien took the vacated seat, looking drained. Carlos looked at him from his position.
"You're not looking well," he commented.
Darien said nothing, just stared at the surface of the table. Carlos lifted his head up to examine his friend. Darien really wasn't looking well. His face was pale instead of it's usual tan colour. His eyes were looking bloodshot and there were bags under them.
"Is it Brianne?" Carlos asked.
"Partly."
Carlos knew it was probably because he was being ignored slightly. It wasn't like Carlos was doing it on purpose, but he was pretty sure that Darien wouldn't be interested in helping to set his mom up with Michael's father.
"You know," Carlos commented, lifting his head up slightly, "we're not trying to ignore you, but I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in what we're trying to do."
"Oh really?" Darien replied with a bit of bitterness in his voice. "Try me."
Carlos sighed slightly. "Me and Michael are trying to find a way to get my mom and Glenn together."
Darien raised an eyebrow at that. Carlos smiled ruefully. At least Darien was showing some expression now.
"And how," Darien inquired, "are you going to that?"
"That's our problem. We have no idea. None of our plans sound like they'll work."
Darien looked at his friend, his eyebrow still raised. A ghost of his usual grin appeared. "You know, you could have asked me. I might have been able to help."
Carlos looked at Darien. Already he was looking a little better. Being included in their little scheming was already helping.
"Might? You still can, you know."
The first real smile in a week had appeared on Darien's face. He leaned forward slightly. "Well, we'll wait for Michael, than we'll start."
Carlos agreed and forced himself to sit upright in the chair.
It didn't take long for Michael to come back. When he walked back into the kitchen, his eyes were gleaming strangely and his smile was looking more like a smirk.
"So, what did your father say?"
"He needs me to do an assignment for him. It'll take a about four days, five days tops," Michael explained. For some odd reason, his smile was almost a smirk now.
"So you'll be gone for a couple of days," Carlos commented. "We'll find something to do in the meantime."
No doubt about it, the smile had now become a smirk. "Oh, but I won't be going alone... I'm taking two companions with me."
"I absolutely protest this! This is not fair! I should not be forced to do this! You will pay for this, you hear me? You will pay!"
Michael just rolled his eyes and adjusted his sheath. "Enough with the dramatics already," Turning to Darien he said, "Is he always like this?"
Darien allowed himself to grin a little. "He hates physical activity in every shape and form. He'll stop after a while."
It was the day after and all three of them were ready for a trip to the village of Porre in the south. There were reports of thieves in the area and Michael had been dispatched to take care of them. It was allowed that he could take two people with him to help him.
And those two happened to be Darien and Carlos.
Darien's mood of the past week had almost completely disappeared in one day. He still looked a little tired, but he was smiling and cracking jokes again.
Carlos, on the other hand, was in a rotten mood. He was rather scrawny and despised doing too much physical activity. And walking for a day to a day and a half constituted as too much physical activity.
Darien tightened the strap of his pack. "So, tell me again what it is we have to do?"
"Simply put, we're to track down the thieves that have been active in the village and stop them."
"How?"
"Capture them, or kill them, if they resist."
Darien looked slightly green at the notion of killing a person. "Uh, will that happen?"
"Not very likely," Michael assured him. "That will only happen in extreme cases."
"Aren't there any knights down there?" Carlos grumbled.
"No, they're all at the castle." Michael stretched slightly. "Well, the sooner we go, the sooner we have this done."
A few groans later, they were off.
It wasn't bad for the first few hours. Both Darien and Michael were in good shape and could keep up a fairly good pace. Even Carlos wasn't faring too badly. After a few muttered curses, he had quieted down and concentrating on the path. That was in the morning. When the afternoon rolled around, they were more than halfway to Truce, but it was also getting hotter.
Carlos, surprisingly wasn't complaining about the heat and how sore he was. That was mostly due to him being too tired to talk. Darien was walking more slowly now and even Michael was looking a little tired. It didn't take long after for Carlos to collapse. It took a moment for Darien and Michael to notice. Darien looked back, then to Michael.
"I really think we need a short break," Carlos told him.
Michael looked like he wanted to object, but one look at Carlos made him decide against it. "Not too long though." He took a seat beneath a tree.
Darien helped Carlos walk to the same tree and deposited him into the shade. Carlos' breath was ragged. He took a long drink from the water he brought. "This is not fun."
"It is pretty hot out," Darien agreed. "Hey Mike! How long until we reach Porre?"
Michael gave Darien a dirty look. "Call me Mike again and I'll have your fingers removed. As for Porre, it'll only a few more hours. We'll stay at the inn, than head to where the thieves are said to hide out in the morning."
"Works for me," Darien replied. He took a drink of water and stood. "Well! I'm ready!"
Michael nodded and turned to Carlos, who looked most reluctant to stand. "Are you going to be alright?"
"...No. But I'll go anyway," Carlos shook his head. "But I really hope we get there soon.
They had indeed made to Porre by nightfall. They were almost at the inn when they heard someone scream.
"Someone help me!"
Behind a building, a dirt covered man had a knife pressed to a young girl's throat. The three of them watched as the man pressed the knife tighter to her throat. The girl whimpered; Darien almost went after him, but Michael held him back.
"Wait," he mouthed. "Don't do anything yet."
Darien glared, but kept quiet. The man sneered at the woman, showing his decaying teeth.
"Scream like that again, and you'll pay woman," he hissed. "Now be a good little girl and leave your gold with me."
The woman shook her head and cried out; the knife was almost cutting into her flesh.
"Don't be stupid!" he snarled. "Your life means nothing! Give me the gold or you'll die!"
Darien couldn't take it anymore. He needed to do something, but he couldn't get to him without the woman getting hurt. Mentioning to Carlos, Darien made a small gun gesture toward the man. Carlos nodded in understanding and took aim with his handgun. Very carefully and very quickly, he released the trigger and the bullet hit the man's hand. The man cried out and dropped his knife to clutch his hand. Darien took the chance and charged at the man. He swung upward, leaving a large gash on the man's chest. The man cried out and fell to the ground.
Darien stood over him, breathing heavy. He couldn't believe he had just done that; and that he was still alive. Than again, that wasn't as hard as he thought. He checked the man's pulse; he was still alive, but with a wound like that, he wouldn't be for long.
Michael was attending to the young woman. Darien went to check as well. He couldn't help but wince. She looked a lot like Brianne; the same shade of blue eyes, only without the glow. Long hair, but instead of black, it was brown. She stood up and embraced Darien.
"Oh thank God! I thought I was going to die! Thank you, sir knight!"
Darien had half amind of telling her that he wasn't a knight, but decided not to. The woman was fumbling with a small bag.
"Here! Please take some this! You deserve it!"
Darien gently pushed the gold back into her hands. "I don't need it. You being alive is all I care about."
The woman beamed at Darien and continued gushing praise to Darien. Darien couldn't help but grin a little.
"Are you going to be alright going home?" Michael asked her.
The woman nodded. "I live very close to here. That brute just surprised me. Again, thank you for everything, you wonderful knight." She hugged Darien one last time and ran off. Darien couldn't seem to wipe the stupid grin off his face.
Carlos, whose face was white as chalk, pointed to the thief. "Do you think he'll live?"
Michael looked at the body for a moment. "Without medical attention, no."
That wiped the grin off of Darien's face. He hadn't meant to dothat much injury to him. He wanted the man to be injured, not to die.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" he said in a strange voice.
Michael snorted. "He would have killed that woman. What's the point in keeping someone like that alive?"
Darien was shocked to hear Michael say that. He seemed so calm and forgiving, but than again, he had only met him.
"If we do that, wouldn't we be just like him?" Darien asked in a small voice.
Michael stared at Darien for a moment. He let out a sigh of frustration. "Damn, you sound like my father." Muttering to himself, Michael walked up to the thief and ripped his shirt apart. Looking through his bag, he pulled out a bottle, uncorked it and poured the contents onto the man's wound. It shimmered slightly, than began to mend itself. The man groaned slightly.
Lifting the man to his feet, Michael half dragged the man down to the main road. "There's a small holding cell on the other side of the village. They can keep him there until they figure out what to do with him."
As they walked off, Michael turned back to Darien with a small smile. "And you were right. Thank you."
Darien smiled back. "No problem."
Very late into the night and neither Darien or Michael could sleep. They had gotten to the inn after dropping the thief off. Carlos was out to the world, but the other two were wide awake.
"You're still awake, aren't you?" Michael asked quietly.
"Yep. And so are you obviously."
The went silent for a moment. Than Darien asked, "So, you're trying to get your dad with Lucca, huh?"
"Carlos told you didn't he?" Michael said dryly. "Yeah, I am." He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
"Father was so lonely after mother died. It... wasn't sudden or anything; she was sick for a while. It still hurt my father when she died. I... I can't really remember her all that much, to tell the truth. But it really affected him. It took him a full year to get over it. Than he started talking about Lucca. Mostly about how she was, and if she was happy. Normal stuff. But than he started wondering if she was married or if she had children. That kind of made it obvious."
"I actually never noticed Lucca liked Glenn until a few minutes before we came here," Darien replied. "Do you actually think it'll work out?"
"I hope so. I really hope so."
"Well, I'll help you get the two of them together."
Michael raised an eyebrow. "And why would you do that?"
"Because Carlos is my friend and I want to help him. For that matter, so are you."
Michael smiled softly. "Thank you. And I promise that somehow, I'll help you find your friend."
Darien nodded, a small lump forming in his throat. My friend, my sister. And I want her to be much more...
He rolled onto his side, staring at the wall. But how can we be more than that if I can't find her. Brianne, where are you?
The morning after had Darien and Carlos waiting in their room at the inn. Michael had went out to get information on the thieves' hideout. That was early morning; that had been an hour ago. After he had the information, the three of them would move in, scope out the situation and if it was possible, take them out.
Carlos was fiddling with the gold pyramid. He was still determined to fix it, even though he had no idea how to do so. He had opened the bottom and was mixing wires.
Darien looked over. "Even if you fix it, how will youknow?"
"Test it."
Darien considered the idea. He shuddered at what could happen if it wasn't fixed. "No thank you."
Carlos made a face and closed up the pyramid. "When is Michael coming back?"
"No idea." Darien flopped onto the bed. "Whenever he gets information on the thieves. That could be soon, or a few hours from now. In any case, we have to wait here and I am getting-"
Whatever Darien was getting, Carlos never found out. Michael had entered and sat on one of the beds. He had peculiar look on his face.
"What's up?" Darien demanded. "Did you find out anything?"
Michael didn't say anything. The corners of his mouth began to twitch.
"So I take it you didn't find anything out?" Carlos ventured.
"No... I found something out," Michael replied slowly. He was shaking his head.
"Well, where are they?"
A small grin was on Michael's face. "...Going to the dungeon at the castle."
Both Darien and Carlos' mouths dropped. "How the hell did that happen?" Darien exclaimed.
"Apparently, the young woman we saved last night was telling the village folk about her rescue. She described you perfectly. An old man heard and thought that you were Crono. The thieves heard this, walked up the holding cell and gave themselves up." Michael was laughing now.
Darien was confused. "Why would the idea of my dad make the thieves give up?"
Michael rolled his eyes. "You have no idea, do you? Your father is a hero right alongside mine. Everyone in the kingdom knows him, and a few people know what he looks like. You looking like your father has just made our mission very much over."
"So there was no point in coming here?" Carlos grumbled.
"Actually, if we hadn't come, the thieves would still be terrorizing people. More to the point, if Darien wasn't here, they would have had to been confronted," Michael replied rationally.
"Yeah, yeah. You're welcome." Darien was looking irritated. "Can we head back now?"
Carlos blanched. They had walked all this way for nothing, and now they had to walk back. No doubt about it, Carlos was having a bad day.
A/N: There you go! To make up for not updating for a couple months. Please review, I really like it when you do...
Almighty God of Paper: Yeah, but school work is boring ;) Magus is unattractive? Suuure... Hehe. As for Brianne meeting her father, she will, but maybe not the way she wants to. And as for Lucca and Glenn... Well, you'll have to keep reading, now won't you?
Niki: Thank you and I will try.
I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I've got a lot of stuff that needs doing. Bye Bye!
