III: Maverick

Departing from the town was perhaps the single gravest error that the young woman had ever committed. In her seventeen-some years, she had made numerous mistakes and countless errors, despite her attention to detail and the will to perfect herself. Learning from past mistakes was one of her strong points, but she had never made an error like this.

To elaborate, no sooner had she put a mile's distance between herself and the town did the young lady suffer from an attack. A vicious swarm of unusual, serpent-like creatures slithered forth from the empty plains and attacked her without warning. She screamed as the gigantic cobras came forth, and knew right then that this world was unlike any other she had been to.

The cobras, sensing her fear, slithered forward to strike. There were four in the bunch, and they were easily as long as the young woman was tall. Their venomous fangs were about the size of her middle finger, and their foreboding hoods were large enough to blot out the sun. The snarling sound they made as they advanced would have made any person pale in the face.

The young woman's shriek did not last long. With a set determination, she gritted her teeth and dashed forward to defend herself. The snakes, clever reptiles they were, sat in wait as she dashed. With a sudden flick, one had coiled itself around her body, and squeezed until her face began turning abnormal colors. She began to lose sight and senses, and wondered whether this unfitting enemy really would be the end of her.

With her comrades by her side, the young lady had faced countless monsters before, some so vile and powerful they had threatened the lives of every living creature in the galaxy. She had destroyed her fair share of beasts, so it wasn't like she had came into this fight with inexperience. Yet somehow, these wicked serpents had gotten the better of her, and without even giving her the chance, they slowly began to kill her…

A shout caused the snakes to loosen their grip on the girl. She crumbled to the ground, gasping and wheezing for breath as life returned to her lungs. Her face began to attain its normal peach color, and her body slowly lost the welts that the snake had impressed upon her. Whatever had made the noise that had saved her, the girl was grateful for it.

Suddenly, another shout came from behind, and like a bolt of lightning, a figure came and tackled the serpents with unbelievable ferocity. Using only its bare hands, the person smashed apart the serpents like they were nothing more than punching bags. In only a few short yet bloody minutes, the serpents were on the ground, torn apart by the rage of the figure's fighting.

The girl, still catching her breath, could not believe what had just happened. One minute, a small group of cobras were ready to crush her; the next, somebody was rescuing her. She took time to catch her breath, swallowed, and slowly stepped towards the figure. After all, she did not know whether this was friend or foe.

Upon further examination of her savior, she saw that it had been a young man, perhaps only a little older than she was. He was taller than her, and from the way he fought, he was very well-built. He wore sneakers on his feet, and his muscular legs could be seen well since he had a pair of blue shorts on. He had a casual black fighting shirt on with red suspenders keeping it in place, and a pair of nasty-looking gauntlets were on his hands. He had a very bright and enthusiastic face, with wide blue eyes and a hint of childish wonder in his looks. His spiky blonde hair seemed to reach up to the heavens, and his smile was quite broad.

Slowly, the girl approached the man, breathless and wordless. He saw her, whistled in amazement, and performed a friendly salute.

"Hey, you okay, lady?" he shouted. His voice seemed just as excitable and zealous as he was. The young lady smiled lightly, and nodded her head.

"Yes, I suppose…"

"Jeez, what were you doing out here all by yourself?" demanded the young man. "Did you forget that there's monsters around here?" The young woman sighed, taking in a deep breath as she tried to figure out her reason for being there. There would be no doubt that the young man would be curious about her appearance, and the fact that he wondered why she was there was understandable.

She had to make up some alibi for her presence. Not wanting to be conceived as a lunatic, she decided not to tell him the true circumstances for her appearance. He might have looked a little immature, but she was certain that he would not take her true story with a straight face. Not knowing what else to say, she just shrugged and scratched the back of her neck.

"Ah, I suppose I did," she said. Of course, she never knew that monsters wandered these plains in the first place, so it wasn't completely false. The man shrugged.

"Huh… I dunno how you could forget something like that! There's been monsters roaming this world for… oh, I'd say a good while. Maybe a thousand years or so!" He smiled, and laughed politely. "Buuuut, I suppose you have your reasons." The young woman smiled and nodded her head.

"Oh, excuse me," she said, "but do you know where I am?" The young man froze, and did a double-take as she asked the question. A "You're joking, right?" look came on his face, and he sputtered before speaking.

"Say whaaaat?" he blurted. "You honestly don't know where you are?" The lady cringed and mentally kicked herself for her error. She should have realized that it would be foolish to ask such a question--after all, she might have been the only person on that world who didn't know where she was. Now, he really would think that she was crazy!

"Uh, well, I…" She swallowed, and tried to formulate a plausible excuse, but he just sighed and rubbed his neck.

"Oh, uh… well… I guess you have amnesia, or something, right?" The young woman took in a deep breath, and thought about it. If she hoped to learn more about this world, then perhaps she should act like an amnesiac, and hope for the best. Apologizing to herself for the lie, she nodded her head weakly.

"Man, that's rough," muttered the young man. "You musta been attacked by other monsters before I got here. Aw, don't worry, I'll help you out!" The young man smiled, stepped forward, removed his gauntlet, and extended his hand. The young girl smiled and took his hand in her own in a shake.

"Name's Dincht," he said, "Zell Dincht. Do you remember your name?"

"Uh, yes," said the girl, quickly trying to improvise. "I, uh, had my I.D. with me after I lost my memory, so I know who I am."

"Oh. Cool. So do you know where you live, miss…?"

"Oh, uh, Mizuno. Amy Mizuno."

"Cool. Amy Mizuno. Huh. Don't ask me why, but that name sounds familiar…" The young man paused, and mumbled something to himself. Seeing the girl's puzzled look, he smiled and coughed politely.

"Whoa, sorry there!" he grinned. "I got lost in my thoughts! Anyway, do you remember where you live, Miss Amy?"

"No," she sighed, "I'm afraid I don't."

"Well, no problem. I can probably let you stay at the Garden for a little while if you want."

"Garden?" Amy tilted her head over to the side, somewhat confused. She couldn't help but wonder why this young man would want her to stay in a garden. Perhaps it was customary for these people to sleep in the dirt? Amy shivered to herself, and hoped and prayed that that wasn't the case.

"Oh, right, sorry," mumbled the boy. "A Garden's sorta like a military school that trains mercs. I just happen to be one of the elite SeeDs there!"

"A SeeD?" Amy grunted softly. This young man--Zell, was it?--was not making a bit of sense. First there had been the nonsense about the monsters, then the garden gibberish, and now he was talking about seeds? What kind of crazy world have I landed in? thought Amy.

"Gosh, I'm really sorry!" muttered Zell. "I keep on forgetting that you don't remember anything!"

"No, it's okay," said Amy. "Please tell me what these gardens and seeds are." Zell sighed, and nodded his head. He asked Amy to follow him, for they would be considerably safer walking than standing out in the open. Not wanting to encounter any more monsters, Amy obliged and followed Zell. On the way to their destination, he filled her in on everything she needed to know…