Lloyd: Lookie who I finally got to come back!
Genis: Yo. I'm back. Sorry about taking so long. Really.
Lloyd: But now that we're both back and working on this, it'll go faster. I've set a deadline for at least one chapter to be completed by the end of each month. It'll be easier to do this over the summer, but it may start to slow down a bit when we head off to college next year. But for now, we'll work on this and pester each other until we get a new chapter out. And now, onto the newest chapter! Oh, and by the way, in case any of you are really detail-obsessed, Genis pointed out that the Ranch ID for Caitlin should have started with a 'P' for Palmacosta. But since I don't want to go back to edit a whole chapter because of one letter, I'm just mentioning it here.
Oh, and I'm sorry, but I totally forgot about Colette in the fight scene here... I tried to mention her a couple times, but it might not flow as easily since it was all written out previously, so yeah. Sorry 'bout that, all you Colette fans.
Morning took its sweet time coming around the next day. And even once the sun had broken over the horizon, Caitlin still had to wait up in her tree. All night she had been fighting off sleep, and now it was getting more and more difficult, as she had been up for more than twenty-four hours, not counting her little nap a few hours earlier. A while ago, when it was just turning light, she had started to hear the prisoners and Desians coming out for the day.
Caitlin told herself that once the next Desian patrol left the ranch, she would leave her hiding spot, as long as it was just a normal patrol and not a search party. All through the night, Desians had been coming and going, trying to find her. Once they'd stopped right beneath her, but luckily they hadn't seen the girl crouching in the upper reaches of the tree. She doubted that there would be anymore close search parties anymore, though, since about an hour before, she'd overheard a large group of the half-elves talking about heading out to check the roads to the House of Salvation and Palmacosta, as well as the places themselves. Clearly, they didn't expect her to be on their doorstep any longer.
The gates opened, and three Desians left, starting their patrol. While they were clearly more alert than usual, they weren't actively looking for Caitlin, so she figured it was safe. Gingerly, she unfolded herself from the curled-up position she'd been in all night and made her way down the tree. She paused when her feet touched the ground, looking around warily, but as expected, no one was around.
Quickly, and ignoring the tingling pins and needles feeling as blood rushed to her legs, Caitlin made for the campsite that her and Katherine had set up a couple weeks before. With any luck, the Desians would have left their gear instead of looting it, and it would definitely be helpful. Luck was on her side at the moment, since when she arrived in the little clearing, she found things just as they had been left. Both bags sat near the long-dead fire, and Katherine's shield was still attached to one of them. Katherine's sword was also still where it had fallen, and Caitlin managed to find one of hers, which she instantly scooped up. The other had fallen into the bushes and it took a moment of searching to find it, but finally she had both her weapons back.
Looking at everything, Caitlin tried to figure out how best to carry it all. She needed to take it, but there was quite a bit of stuff when there were two of them to carry it. And she didn't have any sheaths for the three swords. Frowning, she sat down and pulled over a bag, deciding to change, get something to eat and grab an apple gel or two before figuring it out. Caitlin was quick to slurp up two apple gels, which instantly made her back feel better. Then she grabbed some dried meat, the only food that hadn't perished, and stuffed it in her mouth while she dug around in her bag for a change of clothes. She really didn't want to walk around in her torn, bloody ranch uniform, and the two girls luckily had thought ahead and packed another set of clothes in their respective bags. Once she was done changing into her original red and black ensemble - minus the boots, gloves, and sheaths - she stuffed her ranch clothes in her bag and quickly gathered everything up.
Eventually, she ended up slinging one bag on each shoulder and cut one end of the other two straps free from the packs, tying them together. She had also wrapped Katherine's sword in her spare cape, to try and make it more difficult to cut herself with it, and slid it between the straps of the packs so it rested against her back. Then with both her own swords in her hands, Caitlin started making her way stealthily to the road. The whole stop had only taken about fifteen minutes, so she didn't have to worry about running into the Desian patrol just yet.
As soon as she was on the road, Caitlin gripped her swords tighter, ever ready to start swinging. Past the ranch, it was just plains, so it would be easy for her to be spotted. Or get attacked by monsters. At the moment, neither option sounded very pleasant, and both required fighting, so the teenager tried to keep herself alert. Unfortunately, being exhausted didn't help, and as she walked, she kept having to make herself look around for danger instead of dozing.
Caitlin managed to keep herself going for a couple more hours, until she had nearly reached the House of Salvation. Along the way, she was lucky enough to escape notice by Desians, though a pair of giant ladybugs had thought it would be a good idea to pay her a visit. Alone, the fight had been a little difficult, but at least she had gotten off without any major injuries.
Before reaching the House of Salvation, Caitlin decided to stop and rest for a while. Normally, she would've jumped at the chance to go inside and find a bed – they still had some Gald in one of the packs – but considering her situation, she didn't want to. She was afraid of what would happen if the Desians found out she was there. It was doubtful that the evil half-elves would leave the people in the House of Salvation alone if it was known that a ranch fugitive was staying there. So the safest bet was to stay outside, away from people, until she found Lloyd's group.
Caitlin sat down a little ways away from the road, happily dumping her bags in a heap. She half-heartedly nibbled on a bit more meat and sucked down another apple gel before getting herself comfortable against the two bags. She set her swords to the side, but where they would be easy to grab if she got caught. And then it was only a few seconds before she was fast asleep.
"You know, sleeping alone in the middle of nowhere when you're such a heavy sleeper is a terrible idea." Genis crossed his arms and smirked as Caitlin finally woke up. Lloyd was standing over the girl with a hand on her shoulder, Colette hovering curious over his shoulder. Raine stood a ways back, and Kratos stood even farther, looking as disinterested as ever and eager to get moving. "...but why are you alone? Where's Katherine?"
Caitlin stared at them in surprise and then groaned and closed her eyes again. "Good thing you're not Desians - that would've been bad," she mumbled, practically to herself. She had kind of hoped she'd actually wake up when someone was there, but clearly not. Opening her eyes again, she pushed herself into a slightly more upright position, since she'd slouched against the bags. "And, uh, Katherine is...still at the ranch," she answered, reaching her arm around to point in the direction she'd come from. However, she quickly retracted her arm, wincing, as the movement made her back hurt.
"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked, looking down at Caitlin with concern. She nodded mutely, rubbing at her shoulder. It still ached, but it was definitely feeling better than the day before.
"What do you mean, she's still at the ranch?" Genis stopped smirking and started to look concerned.
Colette tried to smile and lighten the mood. "I'm sure she's okay! She's just ... waiting for us like she said she would." Genis gave Colette a look as if to say Really?, then glanced back at Caitlin for more explanation.
Looking away and rubbing her arm now - a little nervously and sheepishly - Caitlin explained, "Well...we were waiting for you guys. For about a week. But then some Desians found our camp and we got taken to the ranch. That was...ten days ago. I broke out last night, but Katherine thought it was too dangerous and stayed behind." She avoided looking at the others, instead focusing on one of her swords next to her. There wasn't really any real reason to not make eye contact, but it was easier to explain without seeing their reactions.
"You what?" Genis and Lloyd both looked horrified, and Colette hugged Caitlin as fiercely as she could. Raine and Kratos had both taken interest in the conversation, with varying degrees of worry and 'I told you so' in their expressions, the former for Raine, and the latter for Kratos.
"You were taken to the ranch?" Lloyd repeated. "How'd you get out? Are you okay?" His expression changed to include horror, concern, and anger all at once.
Grimacing, Caitlin gently pushed Colette away as the Chosen apologized, both for her getting captured and for having hurt Caitlin with the bear hug. "I snitched a key card and saw the passcode for the gates. It was easy. And I'm fine. Just some cuts and brusies, I used a couple apple gels earlier, not a big deal." Honestly, normally Caitlin would have complained about the injuries and the aches, but at the moment she just wanted to lessen Lloyd's worry. Her complaining wouldn't help.
"Not a big deal? You look like you're in pain, and you just ran away from Desians. I think that counts as a 'big deal'," Lloyd argued, and Caitlin had to admit that he had a point, though she didn't say as much.
Raine cleared her throat and brushed some dirt off her sleeve. "That settles it, doesn't it? I believe our next stop is the human ranch. And yes, Caitlin, you can come with us. You have knowledge of the layout, and I'm sure," she added with a sharp look at Caitlin, "that we couldn't keep you from following us. Not with your friend in there."
"We'll help you save her. We'll save everyone there." Genis clapped a hand on Caitlin's shoulder, and Kratos turned to face the direction of the ranch instead of the group.
"Yeah," Lloyd agreed, and Colette nodded happily by his side. Caitlin grinned and pushed herself to her feet, using one of her swords as leverage.
"Great! When're we going?" she asked, glancing at Kratos as she spoke. She felt like she needed to make him say something, since he'd just stood there this whole time being annoyingly quiet. Sure, she wasn't expecting him to act all worried or anything - that would be very un-Kratos-like - but she'd expected something.
Kratos looked at Caitlin. "We leave immediately, assuming the Chosen is quite finished here."
"Oh! Uh, yes!" Colette stood quickly and helped the others to their feet. "Right. Let's go!"
Katherine pushed yet another crate forward to the gaping door that led to the storeroom, one of the few tasks she was forced to do that actually had a purpose, and wiped her forehead with her wrist. It had been several days since Caitlin hadn't come back to the cell. Since there had been no word of her, and Lucille had made it seem like any caught escapees would have led to a demonstration or something of the sort, Katherine was left hoping for the best. So...no news was good news, right?
In the meantime, the Desians had started to be even more strict and whip-happy than they had been before, and Katherine was becoming increasingly fed up with the damn Desians. Her strategy of 'lay low, play it safe, and it will all go away' stopped working as soon as Caitlin left and their captors realized that Katherine and Lucille might have had something to do with that. Honestly, if they had known enough to warrant such treatment, wouldn't they have gone with Caitlin? Or maybe the Desians were just using it as an excuse to be extra sadistic.
Just then, an alarm started sounding, startling everyone. The prisoners stopped their work for a moment, looking around in confusion, while the Desians took a second to process the sudden change. It only took that one second for the Desains to register that something was wrong, and then a number of them ran for the gates, while others demanded of superiors to know what was going on. An order was given amongst the half-elves, and the prisoners were rounded up to go inside much earlier than usual. Clearly, they were afraid of another break out so soon after the latest.
There was a lot of pushing and shoving, as the Desians had absolutley no regard to how the prisoners got in their cells as long as they just got in as quickly as possible. Katherine wound up with an elbow in her face when she tried to turn around and see what was happening, before being uncerimoniusly forced into the closest cell, which was locked as soon as they couldn't fit anymore people in the cell. The din caused by the alarm, the barked orders, and the confused shouts was enough to make Katherine shove her hands over her ears in an attempt to block all the noise out. She was unsuccessful.
Outside at the gates, Caitlin was staring as Kratos easily cut down any Desians that got in their way. It was...a little scary to watch. His sword was stained red, and he wore a death glare on his face. Because of him (and with a little bit of help from Lloyd, Colette and Genis), there were a number of Desians dead, and others were abandoning the fight and running for it. It was pretty obvious that they didn't want to cross blades with Kratos. It only took a minute for the whole outside to be clear of anyone, and Caitlin had to admit she did little to help. She was afraid of actually killing a Desian with her blades, and hadn't done much more than give minor wounds to any of them.
Without the sound of any fighting, the alarm was horribly loud, and Caitlin ducked her head between her shoulders, hoping it would block out noise. With her blades in her hands, it was impossible to actually cover her ears. But after just a second, she noticed the flashing box near the gate that was giving off the loud noise. Pointing to it, she called out, "Hey, Genis. Fireball that thing, would you?" Genis looked up at the box and nodded, doing as the girl had suggested. The alarm blared twice more and then died with a pitiful whining noise when hit with the fire, shutting off the annoying sound.
When the alarm died, the shouting stopped and it became clear to the prisoners that the Desians were no longer standing guard for the first time since the humans had arrived at the ranch, and they were abandoned in overcrowded, locked cells. The silence that followed marked the realization that something was very, very, wrong. Or perhaps, something was finally right. Katherine started to smile, despite the growing pain on her face, and whispered to herself, "It's the Chosen. It has to be." With that said, she started to push herself past the other prisoners to the front of the cell, so she could get a glimpse of any action.
"Let's go," Lloyd said determinedly, starting off into the ranch.
Caitlin watched him for a second before hesitantly asking, "Lloyd, do you even know where you're going?" He stopped, and turned back to look at them before sheepishly shaking his head. Sighing, Caitlin trotted up to him and past him, gesturing for the others to follow. "The prisoners are held over here," she informed them, heading to that building. She was a little worried about leading the way - she knew the Desians hadn't given up on their attack already - but the only sign of her uneasiness was a quick glance back at Lloyd and Kratos, who she hoped would save her sorry ass if any Desians did attack them.
It was unnervingly quiet inside the building. Caitlin was drumming her fingers quietly on the hilt of her swords out of nervousness, and Lloyd moved up to walk next to her, giving her a quick, reassuring smile. Everyone seemed to realize the danger of invading the ranch, and the importance of not getting caught, since no one spoke. When they got to a corner, Caitlin cautiously looked around and became even more worried when she didn't see anyone.
"It's just over here," she mumbled, not wanting to break the silence by speaking normally. As soon as she turned the corner, a fireball shot just inches above her head and she jumped back against the wall, swearing loudly. It was a very good thing that the Desians couldn't aim very well just then, or else she would have gotten smacked in the face with fire. That would have been rather painful.
Down the hall, a mage stood just barely within sight around another turn, and Caitlin realized that from there, it would have been difficult to notice him. Clearly, though, he'd seen her a second ago, since Fireball's casting time was not that short. More Desians came from the two ends of the hall. Now the reason for the silence was well known - they were plotting an ambush further inside the ranch.
Kratos was the first to meet the attackers, followed closely by Lloyd. The two of them split, each one taking one side of the hallway. Caitlin unglued herself from the wall, though she very much would have preferred standing there, and joined Lloyd since Kratos was definitely more than capable of holding his own, despite the number differences. Each side of the hall had roughly ten melee-fighting Desians, and at least one mage.
As soon as she approached, Caitlin had to throw her swords up in a defensive X to block an incoming sword, and then whip one sword down to block another headed for her side. With the sword she wasn't using to block, she thrusted out at a Desian in front of her, cutting a gash in his side and making him stumble back. Lloyd was preoccupied with two Desians, using one sword for each. When one of the Desians brought his sword back too far, Lloyd took the opportunity to stab him in the chest, flinching slightly as he did so. The Desian crumpled when he withdrew his sword, leaving room for another one to come in for an attack.
Three Fireballs raced past the dual swordsmen, in different directions. Two came from behind them, and were accompanied by Genis' incantation. The third came from the mage in front of them. The two swordsmen - and the Desians that noticed the threat - ducked out of the way before they became barbeque. Still, one of Genis' fireballs hit one of the Desians, and the enemy mage's grazed Lloyd's arm, burning the fabric of his jacket and his arm in the process. One of Colette's chakrams spun around Lloyd and hit a Desian behind him before coming back around to her hand.
Caitlin glanced at the Desian mage and frowned, muttering, "Screw it." Then, jumping up and using a Desian's low-swung sword as a boost, she shouted, "Tempest!" The younger dual swordsman summersaulted over the Desian's heads, her swords raking down a couple of their backs but mostly just clanging against their helmets. At the very least, she hoped she disoriented them. But she hadn't been wanting to hurt them - it was the mage she was after.
After that attack, Caitlin landed heavily and off-balance, but in front of a very startled mage, who instantly began casting. Shaking her head quickly in the hopes that it would make the hall stop spinning, Caitlin raised her swords and stabbed at the mage with one while slicing with the other. The stab caught the mage in the gut, and the slice cut deeply through his chest armor and into his flesh. The mage immediately stopped casting and stumbled back, collapsing on the floor. Caitlin stared at him in shock for a moment as his blood pooled on the ground and the life left him. Her stare was interrupted by a burning pain along her arm, and she numbly turned to face the new threat.
One of the Desians had cut her while spinning around to attack, and now brought his sword down on her head. Immediately, she brought her swords up in an X to block, struggling against the pressure that the Desian was exerting as he tried to force the blade downward further. Caitlin grit her teeth and pushed back, and was glad when Lloyd came and cut at the Desian's arm, making him drop the sword with a howl. Lloyd finished him off grimly - it was clear that he was still not very fond of killing. And speaking of killing...
Caitlin refused to glance behind her at the mage she'd fought. She didn't want to see the proof that she had actually killed someone without a moment's thought, that she had taken someone's life just because they had been doing their job. Sure, their job sucked, and Caitlin hated the Desians with a passion, and she would've been killed if no one had killed that mage...but those arguments really didn't matter.
"Are you okay?" Raine asked, looking at her concernedly while a circle of mana gathered around her feet. Caitlin glanced up and nodded mutely, smiling her thanks as Raine released her magic with a quick "First Aid" and the cut on the girl's arm closed.
For a moment, Caitlin just remained standing there, before mentally telling herself to snap out of it. She could be in shock later - now they were kind of on a mission. "It's that way," she said, pointing down the hall where Kratos had killed his Desians, trying to avoid looking at them. Ignoring any looks of concern sent her way, the girl headed down the hall toward the holding cells, and the others slowly followed behind her.
It only took a minute for them to reach the cells, and without any other Desians attacking. Caitlin swiped the stolen card through the device by the door, and the door slid open, revealing the cells.
Katherine heard the door slide open and glanced up quickly to see who was coming in. She expected Desians, but when she saw that Caitlin was coming through the doorway, she started to cry. Seeing Caitlin, in her normal Symphonia clothes, with swords in her hands after all this nonsense at the ranch was almost too good to believe. "Oh my God. Oh my God. It's...you...finally."
The other prisoners also noticed that a non-Desian had opened the door, and dissolved into varied reactions. Some broke down, like Katherine, and others were clamboring at the bars, begging to be released. In such a short time, they had all started to remember what it was like to be people.
Caitlin hurried forward and set her swords aside, swiping the card once more to open the doors, grinning at Katherine. She honestly felt a little pleased with herself for getting them through the ranch this far and being able to actually help. The prisoners were quick to take advantage of the open doors, and they gratefully left the cells in a rush, leaving the little rooms empty within moments.
As soon as she could, Katherine all but fell on her friend, hugging her as tightly as she could. After a moment, she let go, and rubbed her eyes fiercely. "Thank Martel you got here. I don't know what I would have done if...well. Right. What's the plan?" she asked, clearing her throat and trying to stand a little straighter.
When Katherine had hugged her tightly, Caitlin had stiffened for a second, out of both surprise and pain. The pressure was hurting her back, and she was kind of glad when Katherine let go. "First off, don't do that again. That hurt," Caitlin said, rubbing her back. "And the plan? Um...find you guys, stop Magnius?" she added vaguely, turning to Raine and Kratos so that they could add onto the very basic plan.
"The plan right now is for Neil to escort the remaining prisoners out of the ranch while the rest of us find Magnius." Raine gestured in the two directions with her staff. "Unless you know the way to Magnius, Caitlin, you should help Neil with the prisoners."
"We're not going with you?" Katherine looked at Raine curiously.
"Why would you? You have no weapons and no real combat experience. We need to protect you, and the best way to do that is send you both with Neil."
Caitlin huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "We can handle ourselves just fine," she grumbled. They had fought off a wyvern on their own, and she had been somewhat helpful fighting the Desians a couple minutes ago. "And it wouldn't be hard to find Katherine a sword..."
"In that case, you would be even better suited to aid Neil, as you two would be the only prisoners capable of fighting off any Desians." The reply from Kratos came quickly and curtly. "Now, gather the remaining prisoners and leave with Neil."
"Oh, Katherine! Before you leave, I have your shield!" Colette reached for her back, unfastened the large shield and handed it to the other girl. "We'll meet up with you when we're done. Good luck!" The Chosen said, smiling.
"Okay, everyone follow me and we'll get you out of here," Neil called to the prisoners who were milling around nervously. Caitlin grabbed her swords from where she'd left them, still grumbling and shooting Kratos a dirty look. She was the first to follow Neil out of the room. At the very least, if she was being made to leave with them, she could make sure that the person with the actual weapons was up front. The prisoners fell in behind her and Neil, with Katherine to guard the end of the group. In that manner they started making their way back through the Ranch, with Caitlin and Katherine both waiting anxiously for the trap that would be sprung later.