Thieves

By Dixxy

Chapter Five

~

Meanwhile, back in El Nido. . .

~

Quiet.

Too. Damn. Quiet.

Wasn't there a time that I wanted quiet? Garai wondered aimlessly as he stared up at the ceiling of the small cottage he called home. I used to yell at the boys to keep quiet when they were running around during the wee hours of the morning. . . always got to upset when Eileen nagged me to fix one thing or another. . . by the Ancient Dragonians I didn't know what I had back then! The legendary Deva stood and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.

Grumbling, Garai stood and began to search for a pair of pants and a tunic- he couldn't sleep on this one-year anniversary of his sons' disappearance. A hoard of ideas clouded his mind, wondering what had happened to them and their best friend, Karsh. Once he found the desired clothing, he took the Einlanzer, sheathed it, and stepped out into the cold.

The cold reflected his attitude perfectly. Ever since that fateful trip to Guardia, he'd found himself feeling more miserable than he ever had in his entire life. It had been bad enough to loose his wife to the sudden and mysterious disease that had taken her away from him and the boys, but now that the boys had been spirited away by some strange and unknown force, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. The General hadn't let him nor Zappa into battle during the war because of their distraught dispositions.

Days had passed, and still no sign of his children. Several weeks later, King Crono had told the Dragoons to pull out while they still could. Garai and Zappa had not wanted to return, still hoping and praying that their sons were out there, trying to get back to them. It had taken a direct order from General Viper to send them back to El Nido. Garai vaguely remembered arguing profusely about it with the General, hotly adding in that he still had his child.

And now things were looking even worse.

A full year had passed since they first made port in Guardia. The kingdom had fallen shortly after they left, and it was assumed that the monarchs were dead. It wasn't long after that Viper decided that they had been missing long enough to be declared dead as well. That had been news three parents had not taken well, as was to be expected.

Radius refused to believe the news of the children's passing. "Those kids are still out there- Porre or no Porre, they'll find a way to survive, Garai. No sons of Garai or Zappa are going to fall THAT easy, even at twelve and five years old! Have a little faith in them, Garai- if anyone can survive out there, it'd be those three."

Zappa was taking the loss extremely hard. Karsh had been his only son- the one who would take his place when he retired. The one who would follow in his footsteps and look up to him. Even with Zippa to share his misery in, Zappa soon lost all interest in everything but sitting in Karsh's room on the boys bed, staring at the various items in the room.

Riddel seemed to hold out for them, must like Radius was. She disagreed wholeheartedly with her father's decision to pronounce them dead. "You shouldn't say anything unless you have three bodies that you can confirm belong to those three!" she had argued. "I refuse to believe my best friends are all dead! I refuse to believe it! They aren't dead! They're alive! I know they are! They wouldn't leave me!"

Garai was torn between the two sides. While General Viper had good reason to believe that the boys were, indeed, dead, Riddel and Radius has their points as well- no bodies what so ever and no evidence that something had happened to them at all. His mind said dead, but his heart yearned for alive and well.

In addition to the mourning of the one year passing, Garai was seriously considering leaving the Dragoons. Between the consecutive blows to his personal life, his age catching up with him, and the impending dangers of Porre, he was starting to loose his touch. Even with the Einlanzer he was just barely meeting the standards of the private Dragoons who used swords. His concentration, flexibility, and strength were fading.

"Face it, Garai- it is over," he said to himself. "You fought a long, hard battle, but now it is the time to call it quits." Garai bit his bottom lip and looked up at the two moons in the sky. "Yes. Tomorrow you will speak with the General about your resignation from the Dragoons. I am sure he will find a suitable replacement."

"HEY!"

Garai looked up. What was that? Something's amiss, he thought to himself as he began to jog towards the source of the sudden shout. Who in their right mind is out at this hour of the night? Yourself excluded, old Garai. But that sounded like a bunch of young kids! Now THEY shouldn't be out at this hour!

The Deva soon found the source of the commotion. Three older teenagers and ganged up on another teenager, who, strangely enough, was wearing a metal bucket on his head. The "masked" youth was backed into the corner of an alleyway as his pursuers began to close in on him, all slapping weapons ranging from large sticks to a rather well-worn Granite Glove. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"HEY!" Garai cried, unsheathing the Einlanzer. At the sound of the metal being removed from its temporary resting place, the three who had cornered their prey all froze, each turning around to face the Deva one by one. Garai grinned dangerously- no matter HOW out of practice he was getting, he knew he could take three punk teenagers. And he knew that these boys knew very well that he had the skill and strength to do so.

"I would suggest that the three of you leave this young man alone before I am forced to show you the TRUE powers of the Einlanzer on your worthless hides. I will give you until the count of ten. One-" Three girlish shrieks and two puddles of urine on the ground later, the attackers fled, leaving Garai alone with their victim. He turned his head and began to yell after them. "Cowards! Worthless cowards!" Naturally, they continued to run. "Cowards," he spat one last time. Taking in a heavy breath, Garai turned his attention to the strange, bucket-headed youth, who was looking at him through two holes in the make-shift helmet.

"THANK YOU. . . SIR GARAI, IS IT?"

Garai turned to the boy whom he'd just saved. "You can stop yelling now, young man," he said, re-sheathing the blade. "You are safe now. They have gone- I chased them off." He chuckled to himself, leaning against the side of a building. Despite the somber mood of the night, he couldn't help but find a little bit of satisfaction in chasing off the gang of boys. "When you're a Deva you have that impression on people."

"WHO'S YELLING?"

". . . do you speak like that all the time?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"

Garai sighed heavily. "Never mind. May I ask your name?"
"I AM KNOWN AS ZOAH."

"Zoah?" asked Garai. "Well, I am, indeed, Sir Garai. Please, called me Garai." He extended a hand, which Zoah nervously took. "Now, would you care to enlighten me as to why those young man ganged up on you? Is it something to do with your. . . ah. . . choice of unusual headgear?"

"YES AND NO," the boy replied. "BUT WHY DO YOU CARE?"

"Because, as a Deva, I work for the best interest of the people of El Nido, and I only want to know what your problem is so that perhaps I can help you rectify it," he explained kindly. He sat down on a garbage can, looking at the boy with sincere interest. "Tell me about yourself, Zoah."

Zoah sat across from Garai on a box. Because of his helmet, the Deva could not see the boy's expression, but he could sense a little bit of bewilderment. "WELL, MY NAME IS ZOAH, AS I SAID. I'M FOURTEEN YEARS OLD AND I'M RATHER. . . LARGE. . . FOR MY AGE."

"You are fourteen?" Garai asked in surprise. "You look so much older."

"I KNOW. NO ONE ASSOCIATES WITH ME BECAUSE OF IT- THEY ARE AFRAID OF ME," said Zoah. His sighed heavily, creating a sort of echo when doubled with the sound of the bucket on his head. "THEY'RE ALL AFRAID I'LL BEAT THEM UP BECAUSE I'M SO BIG AND BRAWNY."

"And they bucket?" Garai inquired.

"AFTER MY MOTHER DIED TWO YEARS AGO MY FATHER BLAMED ME FOR HER DEATH AND HAS BEGUN TO HATE ME WITH A VERY BITTER PASSION SINCE THEN," said Zoah. He looked up, bringing the bucket with him as he did so. "I DON'T KNOW WHY- I'D NEVER HURT MY MOTHER. I LOVED HER DEARLY. BUT MY FATHER DOESN'T SEE THAT SO EASILY AFTER HE'S HAD A FEW WHISKEYS. HE'S GOTTEN A FEW REAL NASTY SMACKS ON MY FACE AND I'M AFRAID TO SHOW THE MARKS."

Garai looked at Zoah with renewed interest. "He beats you?"

"YES."

"Do you not fight back to defend yourself?" asked Garai.

The boy jerked backwards, and even though he couldn't see a face, the Deva could almost picture what his expression must have been. "HE IS MY FATHER- I CAN'T HIT HIM! HE MAY BE CRUEL AND HE MAY HATE ME, BUT I HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HIM AS HIS ONLY SON!!! EVEN IF I COULD, I CAN'T- I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT," said Zoah. He sighed heavily. "I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE."

"Well, for starters, we should get you out of that house- the General has zero tolerance for such abuse," said Garai, standing up. "If you would like, I can take you to Viper Manor now and can discuss your case." He extended a hand to the teenager, who looked up at him. "What he's doing is wrong, and we fix it."

"DO YOU MEAN THAT?"

"Yes."

Zoah took a moment to think this over. "I DO NOT KNOW. THIS IS, AFTER ALL, MY FATHER. IS IT RIGHT FOR ME TO TURN HIM INTO THE GENERAL LIKE THAT?" he asked. "SIR GARAI- GARAI- I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO RIGHT NOW!"

"I realize this is a difficult decision for you, but please- this is for your own safety," said Garai. "If you do not wish to see General Viper, then at the very least I extend an invitation to spend the remainder of the night in my cabin- I will feed you and supply you with a warm bed. It is the least I can do. You seem to be a nice kid and it is a shame that your father is doing this to you."

"GARAI, I APPRECIATE THE OFFER, BUT MAY I ASK WHY YOU'RE BEING SO KIND TO ME WHEN YOU BARELY EVEN KNOW ME?" Zoah asked, standing up. "I ACCEPT YOUR OFFER, BUT THIS CONFUSES ME. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN THIS KIND TO ME FOR A VERY LONG TIME."

"Your father has no idea what he has," said Garai with a heavy heart and sunken eyes. He turned his gaze to Zoah, who still seemed confused with his kindness. Garai smiled. "Let us leave it at that for now- perhaps I will tell you the entire story later. But for now, let us get you a place to sleep."

~

The following morning, Garai had convinced Zoah to at least go to Viper Manor and meet the General. "ARE YOU SURE THIS IS A GOOD IDEA, GARAI?" asked Zoah. "WHAT IF THE GENERAL DOESN'T BELIEVE ME? WILL HE PUNISH ME IF HE THINKS I'M LYING?"

Garai chuckled. "General Viper? No! Of course not!" They had arrived at the front gates of the Manor. Seeing that a Deva was silently asking for admittance, the guards on duty opened the huge iron gates, letting Garai and his companion through. While Zoah received a few strange looks, no on dared comment for fear of Garai's wrath.

And Garai's wrath could lead to Viper's Wrath.

Which was worse.

Zoah looked around in amazement as privates and other ranks in the Dragoons practiced their techniques around him, mesmerized by the beautiful yet deadly dances they performed. A slash of a sword. A swing of an ax. The firing of a bow. A punch with a glove. "WOW. . ." he said. "GARAI, THIS IS AMAZING! THEY'RE ALL REALLY GOOD!"

"They practice all the time," said Garai. He led them to the front door and opened the door, leading the city boy into the grand front hall. Zoah gasped as he saw his reflected in the well polished marble floor, not seemed to believe what he was seeing. Garai couldn't help but chuckle- Zoah's reaction was nearly identical to the reactions of both Dario and Glenn when they went to the Manor for the first time that they could recall something.

Garai's heart pained at the thought.

"GARAI?"

"I will. . . be all right," he said softly. "Come. We need to cross the banquet hall and to get to the second floor to the his office." Still, Zoah could sense something wrong with the Deva. The teenager made a mental note of this and continued to follow Garai through the manor.

"Garai?"

Garai looked up to see that the General was already in the banquet hall, discussing something with Radius. "General Viper," he said. Gently, he put an arm around Zoah's shoulder and brought him forward. "This is Zoah- he is a youth from Termina who would like to speak with you about something rather serious."

Radius raised an eyebrow. "May I ask what's with the bucket?"

"I WOULD RATHER NOT DISCUSS IT," Zoah said.

General Viper cleared his throat. "Could you please tone it down?"

"WHAT?"
"Um. . . that would be the quietest he gets, sir," said Garai. "But please, speak with him."

"All right, young Zoah- follow me into my office."

~

Garai watched from a distance as Zoah practiced on the wooden dummy in the side yard with his bare fists. He has so much raw energy and strength. . . he could make a dangerous Dragoon someday if he wanted to do that, Garai thought absently. Just like my boys could've been.

It had been a full month since Zoah had spoken with General Viper. As Garai expected, this did NOT sit well with the leader of El Nido- he ordered a captain to visit the house to do some investigation. The captain returned sooner than expected to report that the boy's father had died of an apparent alcohol overdose. Zoah took the news strangely well, not seeming to care one way or the other.

However, that didn't change the fact that Zoah was an orphan without a place to go. In response, Radius had offered to adopt him as his own child. That was something that Garai saw a very good thing- Zoah needed a legal guardian, and Radius, who had never married, had always wanted children. Things couldn't have worked out better for the two, and that, at the very least, was a good thing.

"He's doing better than I thought he would," said Radius.

"He has quite a bit of spunk," said Garai with a slight smile. "Learns quite fast."

Radius nodded. "Yes, he does. If he practices hard enough he could have a secure career with the Dragoons- Viper would love to his someone of his size and strength." He chuckled to himself. "He's a good kid- didn't deserve the father he was given. Such a pity that this had to happen to the poor boy."

Garai lowered his eyes. "I still say that man had no idea what a gift he had been given."

Radius nodded in agreement. "Children are, indeed, a precious gift. Now I wouldn't exactly call Zoah 'precious' in his current state of growth, but I could never comprehend what you and Zappa and Zippa and Eileen must have felt for the boys. Even though I have adopted him, it will never be a normal family relationship."

"Protect him with your life, my friend," said Garai. He looked upwards, tears coming from his eyes. "No matter how strong nor skilled he may be right now, he is not invincible, nor will he ever be. . . protect him. Because you never know, Radius, just when you might loose him."

Radius placed a hand on his shoulder. "I promise you, Garai, I will."

"Cha!"

Radius and Garai looked up to see the Viper Manor cook, Orcha, walking past their house with his son, Korcha, receiving a piggy back ride from his father. The small boy seemed very excited, repeating his favorite word over and over again as he waved brightly at the two Devas. "How goes it, Orcha?" Radius called.

"Oh, just fine! How 'bout CHA?" the chef called back.

"Feel free to come into the yard!" Garai invited. "You and your family are welcome here any time." Orcha nodded, walking into the yard. He gave his son a bounce, causing the child to explode into a fit of giggles. Garai smiled- he remembered doing that very activity with both of his boys when they were small.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Radius asked.

"Actually, I was coming to buy a new frying pan," said Orcha, sheepishly holding up a twisted and bent frying pan that was easily beyond repair. Korcha giggled, pointing at the pot. "Er. . . the misses got a little upset with me- and CHA can see what happens when she gets mad."

Radius shook his head. "She's a good woman, Orcha- don't complain just yet."

"Oh, believe me, I don't- she's almost as good of a cook as I am!"

"I would not doubt it," said Garai. "Are you coming from the Manor?"

"Yes I am," said Orcha. He expression. "The General just made a BIG decision."

"He did?" asked Radius. "What on?"

"The port of El Nido has been closed to everyone but registered merchants."

~

. . . hmm, kinda sucks to be Dario, Glenn, Karsh, and Norris right about now, huh? This is going to make getting back to El Nido a LITTLE harder.

In my version of Chrono Cross, as Norris explained earlier, merchants are separate from society. They don't count as citizens from any country and, in a way, they're their own country. It gets explained better later on.

I didn't plan for Zoah to take so much of the spotlight in this chapter, but I wanted to give him a little bit of background as well. As more "El Nido" chapters pop up you'll get to see him move through the ranks of the Dragoons in addition to seeing more of people like Riddel and Zappa and Zippa. We'll eventually see even more characters as they make appearances and the like.

JVTruman: Oh, thank you. He didn't absorb Dark Matter? Well, I recall him absorbing one or more of Magus' attacks at some point or another. Well. . . bah, sorry about that. You knew what I meant, right? Right?

Rikku-oh-Ki: I don't blame you- I always feel so. . . empty. . . after beating a game. Cahr relations? Oh, oh, CHAR relations. Yes- things will DEFINITELY be changing between different character relationships. Two big differences already is the presence of Garai and the closing of the port of El Nido to all but merchants. Riddel? Hmm. Don't wanna spoil that one. Yes, as you can see, it was in El Nido. But I didn't hit all the characters who would be affected. For example, in the world, there will be only ONE reality, and I'll explain that a little later once I work out all the tiny little details.

ChibiRaye-chan: Well, he IS six years old here and TWENTY in the game, so yeah, he'd be a little more childlike ^_^. Agreed.

Alba: Well, don't rule Melchoir out yet because even I'm not sure what'll happen to him- I'm stuck between about fifty ideas for what happens to everyone as the end of the story draws nearer. Dario was given two swords- Melchoir probably meant the second one to be for Glenn when he got older. You have plans for the purple blob, don't you? Yeah, Marco was pretty cool. Well, you'll see who steals first. Yeah, that was a little moody there, wasn't it?

Tami: Aw, you did? Er. . . what game again? o_O Dixxy is confused! Ooo, I love doing that. Going to used book stores is kinda like that, too. Thieves is assuming that you've at least played a good deal of Chrono Cross and that you're a little familiar with Chrono Trigger. Yeah, I know it's tami, but Microsoft Word doesn't like that (since it's at the beginning of a phrase it capitalizes it automatically) and the capital letter makes it easier for me to hunt down the name if I need to refer back to an old comment.

Lena: You heard me. Moody. I think you hit the nail on the head there, and I might go back and revise it sometime later. But not now- I gotta get cracking on the next chapter. Normally I have a few chapters ready to roll but I don't have the next chapter done yet. Bah! I'm falling behind! Hmm, interesting view on Melchoir. Truth be told he would be smart enough to do that or something similar. Yes, kind of a sad observation Norris made back there, huh? He might've been affected, and probably was. But at this point he's probably USED to psychological trauma (kidnapped, tortured, sold as a slave, ect.). Melchoir was a character in Chrono Trigger, but since I have a good idea as to where you are in the game I'm not going to reveal what his true significance was, cause it's bigger than what you would pick up here. What I will say is that he was a weapon-smith who lived near Medina and met with the CT cast numerous times throughout the game. Yeah, his mustache is awesome. No, Dario will NOT be like Ryo from the NA version of RW. While he occasionally gets caught off guard by some of the trouble the others get into, but for the most part he's pretty dead serious on what they're doing, though even he has fun every so often. Karsh has a whole ax, but just like in any other self-respecting video game, they do get upgrades as time goes along. Yeah, my cliffhangers are getting better in my RW works as well. I've pissed off some of my RW readers quite a number of times over the course of the last story, which, I realized, technically has the most reviews. While FF.Net says 118, tying it with Marooned, I forgot that I had posted it, received three reviews, took it down after saving the reviews, re-posted it, and copied the reviews back into it, making the grand total 120 reviews as opposed to 118. I'll try, Leena.

Uftaki: Yeah, "Nor" comes up infrequently, especially between him and Karsh. Melchoir and his fate are still undecided. Yeah, it did need more- Lena Ban Obsidian pointed that out. Of course it should've occurred. Technically they all do, but Glenn isn't ready for his yet. 'twas, wasn't it?

Mana Angel: Thanks! And I will!

The next chapter highlights the first thievery and why.

~Dixxy