(Author's note: For some reason AGAIN dialogue done in italics does not always show up once the chapter is uploaded. AGAIN I will go back and try and correct the errors. Enough of my bitching. Thank you for the wonderful reviews, and to everyone who has read this far.
I finished FFX and… well… I feel like I got ripped off. I spent many hours doing all the side quests and whatnot only to discover –I should have known, it's true to FF fashion- that I could have probably kicked the final Boss's ass very early on in the game. I won't spoil it for those who haven't played, I still say do the side quests but if you get frustrated with them DO NOT PANIC, you do not need them to complete the game. Now, on to Grandia II! It's… uh, it reminds me a lot of Shining Force, and it's about as much of a cakewalk so far as the first one was. I'll tackle FFIX after Grandia II.
Wow, long note. Sorry! On with the chapter!
It would seem that 'eating' had really meant 'getting bloody trashed' in Locke-ese, because it was very obvious that the rogue had downed more than his share tonight. Clyde did not even care who had started it, but he did wonder if he should help end it. At the moment, Locke was not doing well, which was sorely disappointing, and the assassin shook his head. Locke was faster, and stronger than this, but the alcohol had made him clumsy and slow, and he was being pasted bit by bit by the other brawler.
The dining area was rather elegant, accommodating only the first class passengers; which Locke and Clyde were, naturally. Locke had insisted on treating them, though Interceptor and Shadow were content with less.
So this was not just a brawl; it was a first class brawl, which only meant that the quality of the alcohol consumed was probably much higher than your average scrap. Clyde chose to remain in the background, wondering how long it would be before security-type figures stepped in to put a stop to the disturbance.
The bar was long and U-shaped, polished to a shine and now littered with broken glass, as was the floor around the sitting area. Locke's opponent was a man who did not look like much of a bruiser, more like a noble –one of many- on a pilgrimage to see the new world. The man was around Locke's own age with coal-black hair and intense blue eyes that looked much more sober than the thief's. Clyde cleared his throat, tapping the shoulder of an onlooker, a waiter.
"Excuse me… what the hell is going on here?"
The bland waiter in the serving smock turned to regard the scarred man, gesturing towards Locke and the stranger. "The one with the sandy hair was apparently being… a little too friendly with the dark-haired man's wife."
Locke lurched forward in a clumsy and awkward manner that made Clyde wince, because he saw the retaliation coming a mile away. Sure enough, the dark-haired opponent stepped back to brace himself and drove his fist hard into Locke's stomach. While he doubled over, Locke then wrapped his arms around the other's waist and tackled him to the ground. There was a distinct crunch of broken glass; a yelp of pain, and the treasure-hunter pushed himself up atop the other man, a barrage of furious and drunken fists assailing his victim's face while an attractive young woman screamed for him to stop.
Well, so much for discretion. Clyde pushed past the waiter and the rest of the onlookers, slipping by the screaming woman to stand behind Locke and wrap an arm around his neck from behind, prying him off of the unfortunate man. It was difficult not to grin, seeing the rogue manage to get the upper hand even while completely obliterated off of what smelled like whiskey.
"Just me. Come on, let's go."
Locke seemed to calm down a little once he recognized Clyde's voice, letting the other man pull him off of the victim, who was now bloodied and messy. Gritting his teeth, he gave the man a final kick to the ribs, turning to face his companion. "Did you see that? That… bastard… he tried to break a bottle over my head."
"Right. Let's go. Now." Clyde really hated having to repeat himself, aware that the bouncer and bartender were watching them closely, and the patrons seated around the tables in the lounge were staring unabashedly.
"You sure?" Locke was grinning, though Clyde didn't imagine he would be when he saw the black eye he was going to have, and those knuckles looked more than a little messed up from the wild and uncontrolled punches. "Don't want to have a drink or something?"
The other said nothing, just gripping Locke by the upper arm and escorting him out of the lounge and into the wide corridor of the ship, his steps brisk and hurried to get the rogue back to their quarters before he caused any more trouble and got them thrown overboard. Clyde did not prefer swimming in the ocean.
"Hey… hey, c'mon… I didn't get anything to eat…" Locke was mumbling, twisting to try and free himself from the other man's steely grip. "Whatsa matter with you anyway?"
No one had followed them, and so it would seem that there would be no retaliation. At least not yet. Clyde knew that a drunken brawl on a passenger ship was hardly uncommon, and there would likely be no action for a few hours, and someone would come and preach about fines. Sure, between the two of them, they had enough gold, platinum and funds in the form of rare jewels –carrying millions in gold was not practical or easy- to buy a whole fleet of ships, but it was the principle of the thing. Clyde did not like paying for stupid mistakes.
"Nothing. I just thought you should come back and take care of your dog. Take her for a walk and get her something to eat." There was no point in lecturing Locke. What good would it do, especially if he were drunk? None. Besides, the hangover and bruising would be punishment enough the next day.
Locke slung an arm around Clyde's shoulders, leaning on him a bit as they walked. "Heh… did you hear that guy yelp when I tackled him? Yeah…that was great."
"Most people would yelp if they were tackled onto broken glass…" Clyde muttered, supporting Locke as they navigated the corridors, getting a few looks from the other passengers and crew, but seeing a man helping his drunk friend was not unusual.
"You're all right, you know that?" The treasure hunter patted Clyde's chest, losing his footing for a moment before he recovered. "I like ya. Wow… I haven't been this drunk in… ever."
The older man let out a sigh and continued walking, having to pull Locke to get him to turn a corner and keep from taking out a couple that were walking hand-in-hand, smiling faintly and apologetically when Locke waved a greeting to them and complimented the girl on her looks. Clyde had been this bad… once, after he had fled Thamasa.
"We're here… forgot my key. Shit, hold on…" Trying to support the drunken Mr. Cole with one arm, Clyde patted himself down for something to pick the lock with.
"Got it." Locke disengaged himself from his companion and leaned heavily on the door, closing his eyes partway and slipping something from his sleeve, a bit of bent wire he slipped into the simple lock, and after only a moment it clicked in response, and the thief nearly tripped over the threshold when he stumbled into the room.
"He's quite talented." The master assassin thought to his partner, who appeared to be sleeping, but was quite awake, ears perked at attention.
"And drunk. I guess that means you didn't bring me back any supper…" The dog opened one eye and peered at the pair as Clyde closed the cabin door, nearly sneezing at the strong smell of whiskey.
Sighing, Clyde shook his head, combing nimble fingers through his wheat-colored hair. "No… sorry, Pup. I'll get you something in a bit; can you hold out that long? Not going to wither up and die on me, are you?"
"Hey, baby! Look… lookit, Daddy's back…" Locke was talking in a disgusting baby-voice that the puppy immediately responded to, blue eyes snapping open and she scrambled to get to her feet, her little pink ribbon of a tongue lolling out over needle teeth.
"On second thought…I'm suddenly nauseous." Interceptor muttered, closing his eyes again and groaning rather loudly.
"Yes, yeeesh, she's a cute wittle badness, huh? Yes she is… oh yes she is," Locke was grinning like an idiot, picking up his puppy and kissing her between those little triangle ears, reaching out with his free hand to stroke over Interceptor's head.
"You and me both, pal…" It was kind of funny, he supposed. "Locke… let's go up on deck and let her walk around for a bit. You need to sober up anyway."
Glancing over to Clyde, the thief nodded slowly and tucked Kodi under his arm. "Yeah, I could use some fresh air… hey, Clyde, know what? I haven't been seasick this whole trip, you notice that? Remember how bad I used to be?"
The corner of Clyde's mouth twitched a little and he shook his head slowly. "No. I don't remember that at all."
"You don't?" The younger of the pair moved carefully, swaying a bit, to the cabin door and seemed confused by the handle until he managed to pull it open. "On the ship from Vector to Thamasa… remember how seasick I was? Man… I was puking all over the place…"
Clyde dipped his head and made sure the door was closed after Interceptor graced them with his presence with a long sigh. "No. I don't remember. I do vaguely recall making a promise to you, however…"
As Locke stumbled in the hallway, laughing to himself and speaking more nonsense to Kodi, he sucked in a breath of realization. "Ohm… right, I did say that, huh? Right, right, right… well, that was nice of you not to tell anyone…"
"I'm just a nice guy, Locke."
Interceptor made a sneezing, coughing sound of canine laughter, having to stop in the hallway for a moment so abruptly Locke nearly tripped over him. "Ah… you better keep an eye on those two, I'm not jumping into the ocean to rescue anyone who happens to fall overboard."
"Yeah y'are…" The thief nodded in agreement, feeling warm and fuzzy and suddenly companionable. Then he frowned, stopping at the stairs that would take them out onto the deck of the ship. "Except when you tied me up… and choked me… and when you hit me in the head with the rock… and tried to rob me…and poisoned Celes."
"All in good fun." Clapping him on the shoulder, Clyde reached out to gently ease the puppy from Locke. "Let me go up first. You better use both hands on that railing."
The assassin almost flinched when Locke mentioned poisoning Celes, not that the treasure hunter would have noticed it in his current state. Clearing his throat, Clyde used long-legged strides to climb the stairs quickly and felt worlds better to be greeted by a fresh cool salt breeze.
"Pup? You want me to go and get you something to eat?" Clyde offered to his partner, feeling the warmth of the small puppy squirming against his chest, it was not an unpleasant sensation. He had not held a puppy since he was a boy.
"Silence, traitor." Interceptor growled softly in his throat, causing a few other passengers enjoying the mild evening to move away from the intimidating animal. "You just enjoy your 'new' canine friend, don't mind me at all… I'll just… starve."
Clyde almost laughed, reaching down to rub at Interceptor's ears momentarily before he wandered across the planks of the deck for a suitable place to let the puppy walk around, Locke following behind a few paces, suddenly quiet.
"I miss her so much…" Locke whispered in a soft voice that was young and strangely sober, drawing up to a railing and looking out across the ocean with a haunted expression.
Clyde had a feeling this was coming, and he had tried to avoid an uncomfortable situation. Crouching, he set the red and white puppy on her feet and she toddled over to Interceptor, her light brown nose twitching as she took in the new scents surrounding her. Clearing his throat, he spoke quietly. "I know."
"I let Rachel down… I couldn't protect her. I couldn't do anything for Celes… all I could do was just… watch."
If he started sobbing, Clyde wondered if he could just knock the young man unconscious and drag him back to their quarters. "She was sick, Locke. You're not a healer, you're not a doctor, what else could you have possibly done?"
"Nothing, I guess…" Locke conceded, turning his head to watch Clyde out of the corner of his eye, a strange expression on his face. He moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue, fingers tightening their grip on the sturdy railing. "I'm really drunk."
"He's starting to get creepy. Am I like this when I drink?" He asked of his partner, watching Kodi attack a small piece of rope, shaking it vigorously and nearly knocking herself over in the process. "I noticed."
"You're worse. That's why you don't drink, remember?" Interceptor kept an eye on the puppy to make sure she didn't slip under the railing, wrinkling his nose in distaste when she squatted to piddle on the deck.
Locke cleared his throat and turned to lean back against the railing, looking to Clyde fully. "I prolly wouldn't say this if I were sober… but fuck it, I've been thinking about it since we set out…" his voice trailed off and he looked to the dogs. "Are you… going to retire? I mean… if you settle down with Terra, are you going to… you know… quit being Shadow?"
That was an interesting thought, and not one Clyde imagined Locke would bring up. He could argue that Shadow was a part of him, and not something he could just 'quit' but instead he just shrugged. "If…if…I settled down, then yes… I would retire. Why?"
"Are you going to?" Locke pressed. "Settle down, I mean."
Clyde shrugged nonchalantly.
"Why did you go after the Djinn Pool?" Leaning heavily on the railing now, the thief stifled a yawn. It was still not terribly late, but the days had been taking their toll on his weary mind and body. "Was the money better or worse than… being a mercenary. I always thought the money was better in treasure hunting."
"Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. It depends on the skill of the assassin or thief, doesn't it? If you're a better 'treasure hunter' than a murderer, for instance, then stick with what you know… and vice versa." These long speeches were rather uncharacteristic, but Clyde found they were also more and more frequent as of late.
Locke nodded slowly, reaching up to untie his bandana, glancing to his cut and bruised knuckles, absently wondering if they were broken. "So why didn't you stick with what you knew, then?"
The reason was that Clyde had not wanted to give his daughter blood money, it was a moral issue, but he was not about to say such to Locke. "I happen to be multi-talented. You probably aren't so fortunate, so just forget whatever it is you're thinking."
"You know, Clyde…sure, the kid is drunk, but this is a thought he has had for some time. Maybe you should hear him out." Interceptor bowed his head and closed powerful jaws with unbelievable care on the scruff of Kodi's neck to reposition her when she toddled too close to the railing.
"Hear him out? What exactly is he saying, Interceptor? If he is considering taking up my profession, that's his business, not mine." His 'voice' was probably shorter and much more laden with irritability than Clyde had intended.
"Clyde? Would you help me train Kodi like you did Interceptor?" The thief was inspecting his knuckles closely, flexing his fingers and finally wrapping his bandana around his left hand.
The other arched a brow only slightly. He loved it when people thought he had trained Interceptor to be the incredible, intelligent and obedient animal he was… and his partner did not seem to mind too much, but he never actually had to prove he knew a damn thing about dogs. "That particular breed is incredibly difficult to train."
"She's a smart puppy, I think. And she seems to like learning new things, I bet she'd be a challenge, but I could do it." Locke smiled faintly. Kodi reminded him of Celes with those big blue eyes. That was where the similarities ended, naturally, but in his current state everything was reminding him of Celes.
Clyde shrugged again. "I suppose it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work, she seems good-natured enough that it wouldn't be a waste." Actually, Kodachi seemed like an airhead of a dog, but all puppies seemed that way. Time would tell. "You know anything about training puppies, Interceptor?"
The dog-fae canted his head and seemed to arch a brow as well, examining Kodi, who was engrossed in trying to bite her tail at the moment. "I know a thing or two. You're the 'master' though, the great dog-trainer, why are you asking your mere servant about such things?"
"Well? Will you help me train Kodi?"
Roused out of his conversation with Interceptor by Locke's voice, Clyde glanced to the younger man. "Train her to do what, exactly?"
Now it was Locke's turn to shrug, losing his nerve as he sobered up. "Dog things. Sit, stay, speak, fetch… don't bite me, don't pee on the floor… stuff like that."
"How about it, Pup? Is she beyond hope?"
"I…might be able to help you a little, the rest you can do on your own. I…we…haven't got much time, Clyde…"
He had almost forgotten that he was parting ways with Interceptor in Thamasa. A soft sigh escaped him and suddenly Locke's depression was contagious. Sure, Interceptor would be with Relm, and the kid needed Pup more than he did but… "We'll help you train her."
Locke smiled and nodded his appreciation, letting the other subject drop for now. It had not escaped his awareness that Clyde was going above and beyond the call of duty to help him in his time of need. It did make him wonder just how much Terra had to do with that.
"Do you think I should… send Terra a letter from Thamasa?" Scuffing the toe of his boot against the planks of the deck, Locke drew a deep breath and chuckled as he watched Interceptor with Kodachi. He could swear that Shadow's dog liked puppy-sitting.
Actually, he thought that Locke should just forget about Terra completely, there was that small part of Clyde that was still cautious of the half-Esper's feelings for Locke. "I think you should. I've written her a couple times." He left out the part about her condolences. It would sound hollow coming from him.
"Relm… I know she's your daughter."
It took quite a lot to shock or stun Clyde Arrowny, and Locke had succeeded immensely. He was not quite sure how much of it registered on his face, but it was more than enough if the treasure hunter's reaction was any clue. Clyde said nothing, ignoring the speculative way Interceptor was regarding him, and turning his stony gaze out over the sea.
Almost immediately after he had spoke, Locke regretted having voiced his knowledge. Scratching at the back of his neck in obvious discomfort, he could almost feel the heavy tension that had suddenly developed between them. "It's… I mean… I knew a long time ago… Relm knows, too, she's the one who told me. But no one else knows, except for Strago, I swear!"
Still Clyde said nothing. He just shook his head slowly, keeping his expression carefully neutral.
"He… we… thought you were dead. I guess Strago… he thought it would be right if he told Relm the truth. I guess she was pretty messed up about it, and before we left them in Thamasa, she confided in me and asked what I thought…"
"What did you tell her?"
Clyde's voice cut through Locke's fumbling like a knife, giving the thief pause. After a moment of silence, the younger man pushed off the railing and moved a little closer to Shadow, drawing up alongside him, kind of wishing he was as drunk as he had been half an hour ago.
"I told her… that I didn't know what to say, and that she shouldn't be upset because there's always more to the story than anyone really knows. I guess she was mostly frustrated because she couldn't confront you herself." Glancing over to Clyde, he was hoping for some kind of response, he could not read the man at all.
That made sense. Strago knew who he was, why wouldn't he tell Relm? Why hadn't he thought of this before? Maybe he had been trying not to think about it. Clyde set his jaw, not moving a muscle, though he spoke to his partner. "What do you think?"
"I think you half expected this, and it shouldn't change anything. She's an eleven-year-old girl, Clyde, you shouldn't be so afraid of facing her. Telling her the truth would have been the hard part, and now that it's done, you might be pleasantly surprised." Interceptor had the gift of being just what Clyde needed him to be, and now he was to the point, reasonable, and comforting in his own way.
Finally the assassin turned his head to look at Locke askance. "You pretended you had no idea why I was going to Thamasa. I didn't suspect for a moment you knew anything."
"Heh… well… it really isn't my business. I… just thought you should know, that's all." Locke shrugged a bit sheepishly, stooping to pick up Kodi when she sat on the toe of his boot and looked up at him.
With a brisk nod, Clyde turned away and made his way to the stairs that would take him down into the corridor, intent on returning to his room without a word to Locke or Interceptor. Not that he was angry with them, he simply was not in the mood for discussion, and he was not particularly comfortable knowing that Locke was fully aware of his situation with Relm.