Thieves

By Dixxy

Chapter Nine

Two months had passed, and little by little the boys found themselves getting better and better with their thieving skills. Glenn continued to pick-pocket and con sympathetic ladies with his "pathetic, sweet innocent little kid on the streets" act- or at least that's what Karsh called it. Dario and Karsh stole from carts as a team, taking turns distracting the vendor and doing the actual stealing. Norris was discovering a talent for slipping into small shops unnoticed and taking the items inside.

The people of Truce were baffled. No one knew who the mysterious gang of thieves were or where they came from. Many suspected they were angry Knights of the Square Table out for revenge against the Porre loyalists. Others thought they were a band of hardened thieves. No one suspected the four quiet street boys who were often found running up and down the streets engaged in a game of tag or hide-and-seek.

The boys were very pleased with the fact that no one really suspected any of them of anything yet. "All we have to do is make ourselves as discreet as possible and make a quick getaway- then no one can point the blame on us and we'll be on our way to El Nido before they get the CHANCE to suspect us," Dario always seemed to say.

Sometimes, that was all they had to rely on for sanity. None of them considered their new way of life something moral or right- but they had to do what they had to do to survive. It wasn't easy living with the knowledge that the meals they ate were either stolen or purchased with someone else's money.

But eventually, they found themselves satisfied with their booty.

"This should be enough to purchase the tickets to El Nido and sustain us for a month!" said Norris. The band of thieves was gathered in an old, abandoned hunter's cabin they had found two weeks earlier and claimed as their temporary residence. Dario was standing over the fugitive while Karsh sat on Norris' other side and Glenn, much to his brother's disapproval, was sitting on the table.

Glenn cheered, raising his hands into the air. "All right! We're gonna go home!"

"It's about high time we did," Karsh said, unable to keep a wide grin from crawling onto his face. "My folks are gonna be so happy to me! Dar, Glenn, yer da's gonna be so happy! He must be pretty upset over the two of ye by now- first yer ma, and now you two?"

"Well we don't have the tickets yet, mind you," said Dario, beginning to put the coins into the largest wallet they had. "For all we know we won't be able to get a spot on the boat for a few months- we need to find out when we're leaving and prepare for that date. We should TRY to get something in the next few days, but if we have to wait a week or two then so be it- we should be happy we'll be getting there at all, right?"

"Right, but who cares how long it takes? It's been over a bloody year long already! What's another two weeks before we get onto the damn boat?" said Karsh. He stood up, his hands on the table. "Good riddance to the mainland! Let's get home and never come back here!"

Dario couldn't help but smile. Finally, after a year of suffering, we're going home. We're going to El Nido, and no one can stop us now! We have the money to buy the tickets to get home. We're going home! Father, Glenn and I will be home soon, and everything will go back to normal.

"Dar? It's getting late- maybe we should get some shut eye," said Karsh, jerking his head towards the window. Sure enough, the sky had gone from a light and cheery azure to a deep and dark black with a hint of purple, the two moons shinning down from up above.

"All right," he agreed. Dario stood and began to play leader (which he pretty much was anyways). "I'll head down to the docks tomorrow morning and get the tickets- no one leave the house until I get back unless I'm not back by sunset- no point in taking any risks when we're this close to getting home. Got it?

"Yes, we understand," said Norris. He stood, stretched, and walked over towards his corner of the cabin. He sat down and smiled, winking at his companions. "See you guys in the morning- good night, good dreams, and good riddance to the mainland! El Nido Archipelago, here we come!"

~

The following morning, Dario went into Truce, much like he had done for the past several months. Even so, he couldn't help but smile- in his knapsack (well. . . a knapsack he's stolen off of a traveling merchant) he was carrying the money they needed to get to El Nido. I'll never have to steal again! I'll see my father and Riddel and Radius- oh, this is a day we'll all remember for many years to come!

Dario slowed his brisk walk to a halt when he reached the ticket center. Much to his pleasure, he saw that it was next to empty. His grin grew even wider as he readjusted the shoulder of the bag and waltzed in, swinging his arms and taking wide strides. I'm going home, I'm going home, I'm going home. . .

The room was a plainly decorated space with little more than a desk and a few benches that, Dario guessed, were for people waiting to be seen. A few windows showed the docks outside, where several large merchant and travel ships could be seen, many of them being loaded and unloaded with cargo and people. A definite scent of the sea hung in the air, and Dario could almost swear he could SMELL Termina in the midst.

A smallish old man with thinning hair and leathery skin say behind the desk, scribbling something with a feather quill. This was obviously the dock master, waiting for some form of business, whether it be a merchant asking about where he and his sailors should spent the night or someone asking for a product from another country. To the El Nido boy, he looked almost unpleasant, but, if he was who he thought he was, he didn't have much of a choice but to speak with him.

Why are you so nervous, Dario? This is all you've wanted for over a year now- the way home. No matter how many liver spots or missing teeth this guy might have, he is the light at the end of the tunnel, he reasoned with himself. Taking in a deep breath, Dario advanced up to the desk. "Um, excuse me?"

Slowly, the old man dropped the quill. Chewing on some unknown substance, he looked up at Dario through old, weathered eyes. "Yes? What do you want?" he asked rather bitterly. Dario was taken aback by the cold words, but he realized that once the man saw he was here on serious business his attitude would change for the better.

"Are you the dock master?" Dario asked innocently.

The old man nodded slowly, but now he looked very cross. "Yes- I'm the dock master. I haven't got the time to be worrying about some dumb kid asking me dumb questions- this is a serious business port and I don't have time to waste on kids asking if I'm the dock master or not-"

"I'm here on serious business," said Dario. He dropped the knapsack on the desk, a resounding clunk following shortly after. "Count it if you'd like, but there's well over twenty-thousand gold pieces in here- more than enough to purchase four tickets out of here." The old man looked at him skeptically, but Dario only smiled. "As I said, count them if you'd like- it's more than enough."

The old man didn't removed his skeptical look, though he did open the knapsack. The blonde couldn't hold back his grin as the old man's eyes widened in shock as he reached in and produced a handful of coins. "You. . . how did a kid like you come up with this gold. . . amazing. . ."

"I've been saving every coin I could get my hands on for a while," said Dario. He pulled himself onto the desk and swung his legs back and fourth as he waited to begin the purchasing process. "So. . . just tell me if I have enough for four boat tickets and we'll be all set. Is that all right with you?"
"I don't know WHY you want four tickets out of Truce, but. . . I suppose it doesn't matter. A paying customer is a paying customer," the dock master mumbled. He pushed aside the papers he'd been working with and produced a pad of paper Dario assumed was used to placing ticket orders. "Just tell me where you want to go and I'll give you the openings that are available."

"Four tickets to the El Nido Archipelago as soon as there are four open spots," said Dario. He crossed onto foot over the opposite knee. "I don't care if it's in a lower class or anything like that- believe me, we really don't mind. All that matters to us is getting to El Nido."

The dock master shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Sorry, no can do."

Dario blinked. "Are all the ships to El Nido booked up for the next few months or something?" he asked, turning his head towards the paper. Funny, I don't see any schedule of boats, he thought. He scowled. "Are you trying to screw me over because I'm a kid!?"

"If you were King Crono himself I couldn't get you a boat to El Nido," said the dock master. Dario's eyes widened in curiosity. "I don't know why you seem so desperate to get to El Nido, but quite frankly no one's going to El Nido any time soon- even I'D have a hard time getting there and I control every boat that goes through this port!"

"Why can't anyone go to El Nido?" asked Dario.

The dock master looked up at Dario sympathetically. "Well, I suppose you didn't hear then, did you?" said the old man. The blonde shook his head. "From what I've heard, General Viper- he's the leader of El Nido- has had to crack down on El Nido's security- Guardia fell quite easily to the Porres and he has to use every defense he can. He closed the port to all outsiders except for merchant ships."

Dario felt as if he'd just watched his entire world shatter into thousands of pieces. "You. . . you must be joking. Why, why would he go so far to close the port? That's silly! People might want to move to El Nido to escape the Porres or find a job or start a new or something! He can't just close the doors!"

"Yes he can!" said the dock master, slamming his fist onto the desk. Dario jumped, inadvertently sliding himself off the desk in the process. "Porre has an extremely well-organized spy system- they get into other governments by taking bit jobs such as dishwashers or servants in major areas where they could very easily gather information- there were a few of them working in Guardia Castle's stables before the war broke out. He can't trust anyone to come into the country because they might be a Porre spy. From what I gather he will allow SOME immigrants into the country, but only after a thorough inspection and only if their profession would help to sustain El Nido now that it's isolated itself from the rest of the world- mainly doctors and the like."

"Then. . . that means. . ." Dario said slowly. I can't go home.

The dock master didn't seem to hear him, but he could see that the news wasn't sitting well with the young man. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, sonny, but that's the way it goes- I don't suppose you would like a ticket elsewhere- had it been ten years ago I would've suggested Choras, but. . . the anarchy is quite bad right now."

Dario picked up the knapsack, slinging it over his shoulder. "No. . . that's all right. . . but thank you, sir," he said slowly. He looked up at the dock master. "Thank you for your time- I'm sorry to have pulled you away from your business, mister. I'll be on my way."

"It was an honest mistake," said the dock master. "Good day."

"Good. . . day."

~

Dario took his time as he walked back to the little cabin. He felt as if he'd just been hit in the stomach with a sack of bricks and it felt awful. He hung his head, shuffling his feet as he moved through the streets of Truce, trying to hide the tears that slowly poured down his face.

Father. . . Riddel. . . Radius. . . I'll. . . I'll never see any of you again! Dario thought miserably. He clenched his eyes shut, clenching his fists and trying to quietly vent his anger. We tried so hard to get back home, but now all of our efforts are a waste! We're trapped here forever!

The now very depressed Dario reached the outskirts of the city sooner than he'd expected. I guess we're going to be doing this for a living for a while now, aren't we? We could always try to get normal jobs, but we're all so young, and just like Melchoir said, any job we could get we'd be stuck in. Looks like we're facing a double edged sword here- either way we're stuck in a pretty tight spot, aren't we?

It's kind of funny, really. Up until this whole mess began, you didn't give a crap about money, Dario continued to muse. That was Father and Mother's responsibility- Father brought home a paycheck from the Dragoons and Mother spent the money on everything we needed. You didn't need to worry about anything- you just had to baby-sit Glenn once in a while and make sure that Karsh didn't get into TOO much trouble.

As the sun was beginning to set, Dario reached the edge of the forest. Taking a deep breath, he started to walk into the forest. This is going to be so hard. . . they've all probably been hyped up since last night about going home, and now I have to tell them we can't go home? How are they going to take this? he wondered aimlessly.

The cabin was in sight. His friends and brother were all outside, waiting for his return. Norris was the first to look up. "Dario!" he said enthusiastically. Karsh and Glenn soon followed his example and before he knew it, Dario was surrounded by his friends, all of them firing questions at him before he had a chance to respond to them all.

"Where are the tickets?"

"When do we leave?"
"Were we right about the money?"

"How long until we get home?"

"How much is left over?"

Dario clenched his eyes shut as Karsh felt the bottom of the knapsack. "Er. . . Dar? Why's the bag still full?" he asked, his eyes blinking at his best friend in question. "The ticket couldn't have been THAT cheap, even if ye weaseled around quite a bit. So what's the deal?"

The older of the three blondes looked at his friends and brother in defeat. "General Viper closed the port of El Nido to everyone but merchants," he said. A collective gasp and set of shocked looks followed that statement. "In a few words, we're screwed. We can't go home again."

"Why, Dario!?" asked Glenn. "Couldn't we just say it's us?"

"Who would believe you? It's been over a year- logically, they have the right to presume the three of you are dead. If anything the General would see it as a sick attempt at a joke and would probably just ignore it," said Norris, looking down at the ground. "It would take some pretty damn good convincing power to prove it's really you."

"He's right- even if we included some very personal information that the General would know only the three of us would know, he might not get far enough in the letter to see something like that," said Dario, leaning up against a tree. "So, for now, it looks like we're stuck."

Glenn shook his head. "We'll find a way back home!" he said. Dario looked down at his little brother, seeing a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Even Karsh and Norris had to smile at his determination. "Even if it takes us years and years and years we'll find a way home again!"

"Yeah!" said Karsh, raising a fist into the air. He composed himself and cleared his throat. "We can survive, for now, by continuing to steal. Once we find a way to El Nido, even if we have to get there by illegal means, we'll take it! And then everything will be all right again!"

Norris chuckled, smiling brightly as he did so. He gave his friends a thumbs up. "Well, at least we're all motivated by SOMETHING, even if it is a bit of a hopeless something- but there must be a loophole somewhere, and damn it if anyone can find it it'll be us!"

Dario smiled. Maybe it ISN'T so hopeless after all. . .

~

Damn, that was a little depressing. Poor boys. But you have to admire their determination.

Uftaki: Yeah, she was nasty, wasn't she? And there is a SLIGHT chance she might be coming back a little later for more "fun". I don't know why I did that, I just enjoy torturing Karsh in silly ways. A little bit of development, yes, but right now I have a decent idea how everyone is going to work out. I don't know who Shuiichi is, but none of the less, yes, Glenn with pink hair would be cool ^_^ (Glenn: Yes, perhaps you think it is cool but I find it undignified!). Dar, too.

Tami: They're few and far between. Oh, adorable? It starts to get darker as the fic goes on- I like dark elements, but my writing style is too cutesy for my own good -_-*. Oh, video games? Hmm. . . well, I really like Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories- yup, I'm a Yu-Gi-Oh! fan. I WUV JOEY AND KAIBA AND YAMI AND TRISTAN!!! Naturally I've played Chrono Trigger. I've played through and beaten both of the Lunar games and have two SSSC fics that have been on hiatus for a long time. Sadly, that series is no longer being distributed probably due to the all the bells and whistles included in the packaging. Both are GREAT games- you don't know the meaning of a funny cut scene until you see Kyle in a dress or Hiro and Ronfar getting themselves kicked to kingdom come. I've played and beaten The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and am currently stuck in Majora's Mask (damn Stone Tower Temple. . .). If the mood strikes me I'll play Super Mario 64 or Pokémon Snap! (some of them look really cute when they're pissed off at the apple chucking photographer ^_^). When playing with other people, then it's Super Smash Brothers, Mario Party 2, Mario Kart 64, or Pokémon Stadium, all of which are kinda boring when played alone but a complete BLAST when played with friends. SSB is self explanatory- beam swords, megaton hammers and ray guns are DA BOMB! MP2 is best played when picking through the mini-games and not going through the board game mode. I usually die pretty quickly in the battle mode of Mario Kart, but if there's more than two people playing, the first fatality becomes a bomb on wheels- revenge is a bitch and her name is Dixxy. Really? Someone else is after turning his hair pink, too? Ooo. . . Glenn is doomed!

Whoo-hoo! Dixxy rambled AGAIN!

Rikku-oh-ki: Yeah, kinda cute. First time the reader actually sees an act of thieving.

IluvRikku12: Aw, thanks. Yes, praise and motivation are both very good, but then there's also another variable: other stories. I swear, there was NOTHING getting updated in the CC section for about a week or so when I uploaded the last chapter. And guess what happened after I updated? You guessed it- BAM! Suddenly EVERYONE updates or posts a new story! I got buried!

Virgo: Glad you picked it! I just wanted to do an AU really badly for some reason, which I almost NEVER do.

And remember, boys and girls: lots of reviews = happy Dixxy. Happy Dixxy = more frequent updates.

~Dixxy