[I]"Whatcha doing?" Relm sat down next to Locke, who had once again resumed
to writing in the journal that Terra gave him.
"Trying to remember Narshe," he simply stated.
Relm nodded. "Oh I see. It's that whole journal thing that Terra gave everyone. Pretty creative idea if I may say so myself." She leaned back against the chair and put her feet up on to the couch and grinned.
"So I'm not the only one doing it then. Figured since no one mentioned it that I was the only one that actually got a journal. So how far are you in it?"
She tilted her head. "Why Locke Cole, I thought these things were suppose to be private until after we all don't die in Kefka's Tower of Annoyance," she laughed and held a completely white journal. "Guess you'll have to survive the place to find out if I said anything good about you."
"Oh. I don't think I can wait that long," Locke said blandly and winked. "So why do you have a white journal? Is it your favorite color or something? Because that's pretty dull."
She rolled her eyes. "Jeez Locke, unoriginal much? I picked the white journal for one simple reason. It's completely blank, so I can paint whatever I want on it. That way it seems more like mine. Besides, what's so great about a single colored book?" She shrugged and jumped off the couch.
"That's true, that does seem very much like you then," Locke responded. Relm got up and started to leave the room.
"I'm going to go see what trouble the old man is getting himself into. Sometimes that guy seems totally helpless without me. Seeya later Locke! Good luck remembering Narshe!" She said as she walked out of the room.
Locke chuckled to himself. Relm was quite a character, always blunt and had a feisty attitude. More than once she had reminded him of how he was when he was that age.
With that, he picked up the pen once more and continued to write.[/I]
*******************
"Hand over the girl and you won't get hurt!" A Narshe guard yelled.
"Wonderful...There's a whole bunch of 'em..." I said to myself once I was able to see them all. There were at least ten of them that I could see at the time, and also some Lobo monsters to aide them. Ten Narshe guards and some Lobo monsters against me, and a girl that was completely knocked out. And no way to run either, since I barely knew the mines and carrying the girl was a lot of extra weight to run with.
Its times like these you can either two things. You can try your microscopic luck and hope that you kill more of them so they run away before you some corpse. Or, you pray really hard to whatever God there is for a miracle.
And since it seemed that whatever God there was had a huge grudge against me, I decided to take my chances with the microscopic luck. So I set Terra down against the wall and pull out my dagger.
"Sorry guys, but if you want her, you'll have to kill me first," I said very heroically. I bet it would of sounded really neat. That is, if all the Narshe guard hadn't pulled out their long swords that looked very sharp.
It was then, despite my treasure hunter screaming to run or hide while my instincts told me to protect the girl; I heard the strangest noise from behind me.
"Kupo..."
I suddenly turned around to see almost a dozen moogles climbing out of a small hole in the cavern. Each of them seemed to be carrying different weapons, all ready for battle. The one that was holding a giant spear, and seemed to be the leader of the group, walked up to me and said.
"Kupo!" as he winked and pointed at the guards.
"Are you saying you want to help me?"
"Kupo!!!" the main moogle said and nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief. This was defiantly some great luck. Now I was sure that we had a chance of beating back the guards. The main moogle started giving orders to the other moogles. They got into two groups of four and three of them stood by me.
"Alright." I nodded. "Lets go."
All the moogle stayed to their groups but charged at the enemy. It took a couple of them to take out one Lobo monster, but the main moogle moved so fast and was pretty strong that soon he was nearly surrounded by bodies of guards and Lobos. As for myself, I mainly fought off the guards with my dagger. While they had their huge swords, they were no match it seems to my speed and dexterity.
After the moogles and I depleted their forces, the guards (no Lobos were left standing) decided that it would be a wise move to retreat, leaving this battle to a close. I once again put my dagger away and turned to the moogles.
"Thanks, Moogles!" I exclaimed, "We're in your debt!" The main moogle simply nodded, winked and they all disappeared into the hole in which they came from. So I picked up Terra and started heading the way that looked like it led to an exit. Soon I came upon a dead end. I felt a bit discouraged until I remembered a conversation I over heard once in jail (ownership disagreement, nothing severe), saying about how there is a switch in the Narshe mines that will open a secret door in and out of it.
I looked around the wall for it, and then I found a rock that was defiantly out of place.
"I think this switch'll..." I muttered and then touched the rock. Sure enough, a door opened up. I grinned to myself, very pleased. Though my moment of self-pride was interrupted by the awakening of Terra, who gave a soft moaning sound.
"Eh? You back with us now?" I asked her. She simply sat up groggily and looked at me.
"You...saved me?" she questioned. She stared at me, still a bit dazed. "Thank you..."
I interrupted her. "Save your thanks for the moogles. Without them, we'd both be dead. So what are you doing around here?" She looked around confused, as if she thought some moogles were still there. But then she cried out.
"I don't know! Uhh...I can't remember anything...past or present!"
"You have amnesia?!" I asked staring at her in disbelief. A whole bunch of horrible memories came flashing into my mind. Memories that tried very hard to not think about. It was like Rachel all over again...
Snap out of it Locke, I thought. She's not Rachel, you barely know her. But she needs your help. Now are you going to help her or just stand there until the Imperial guards finds you two?
Terra, during all of this, sadly nodded. "A man said my memory would come back...eventually."
I nodded and knew what I had to do. "Give it time. You're safe with me! I give you my word!" I said to her. She just stared at me confused. "I won't leave you until your memory returns!! I promise..."
She nodded but still looked worried. Then she looked up at me with her big emerald eyes. "I'm Terra. Terra...well I don't remember my last name." she sighed and looked down again.
"Nice to meet you Terra. I'm Locke Cole, the treasure hunter!" I smiled at her. "Now we better start heading to Figaro, before the empire arrives..."
She looked confused again. "Empire? They mentioned something about the empire earlier. The guards I mean. I think that's why they wanted me. But why would the Empire want me?"
I didn't quite know how to answer this. It would not be easy to tell a girl that has no memory that she slaughtered several people under the Empire's control. So I decided to that lying might of been the best option for that moment.
"I'm not entirely sure Terra. The empire has always been up to evil things like kidnapping and such. But don't worry, I'll protect you!" I said with confidence and smiled at her. She tried to smile back, but I could tell that she wasn't so sure. "Come on, lets get out of this place. Its way too cold for my liking anyway."
Terra simply nodded as she followed me out the door. After she was out of the way, I looked for another different colored rock along the wall. I found it, and then pressed it like I did with the other one. Sure enough, the door shut, and it looked like it was never there unless you were actually looking for it.
I thought a moment then turned to her. "By the way, this secret entrance might be useful some day. Don't forget about it!" I winked at her. She simply looked confused then suddenly asked me.
"Where are you taking me anyway?"
"Well my orders are to bring you to Figaro Castle. I'm sure the king will be very interested in your well being," I paused. Knowing Edgar for a long time now, it was probably safe to assume that her well being wouldn't be the only thing he was interested in. "Um, how old are you if you remember at all?"
She looked down at the ground with a confused look once more. She stayed silent for a long time. I was about to tell her that it didn't matter and to just forget it when she looked up and said, "I'm eighteen."
Oh great, I thought. Edgar will be trying to charm her the entire time. I mean I wasn't attracted to her or anything, but it was hard to deny that this girl was pretty. And with the whole mysterious past thing, well I wouldn't be surprised if Edgar drooled a little when he met her. "Well, just don't give the king too much attention ok?" I said to her.
She just looked puzzled once more. So I sighed and took her out of Narshe. It got incredibly warmer once we got away from the mountains. I tried to make small talk with Terra, but I gave up once I realized that she couldn't do much small talking when she had no memory of anything to talk about.
After awhile of walking, I suddenly felt like I wanted to rest for the night. All my joints ached from all the events of the day and all I wanted to do was sleep. I noticed that my companion, also, was walking more slowly and had a tired look in her eye.
"Hey, how about we camp here for tonight?" I asked her. It was a nice little groove of trees with a small creek nearby. A perfect place to camp for a night. "We're both exhausted and I'm sure most of the people of Figaro are asleep anyway."
"What about the Empire and the Narshe Guards?" She asked worriedly. I grinned at her.
"I'm sure that the Empire and the Narshe guard have to sleep too. Besides, the empire forces are a long ways away I'm betting and probably would not reach us by tomorrow morning," I told her. "And I don't want us crossing the Figaro desert if you don't get any rest. It would be way to risky too."
"Alright. I'm too tired to walk any farther," Terra stated as she yawned. I pulled out my bag and pulled out a sleeping bag. She just looked at me once more and it came to me that she didn't have any supplies. She probably didn't have any time to grab some from Arvis's house.
"Here, take the sleeping bag." I handed her the sleeping bag.
"Are you sure?"
"Sure, I'm used to sleeping on the ground. Its like second nature to me," I grinned and laid against a tree trunk. She shrugged and set down the sleeping bag. Terra crawled into it and made herself comfortable. Then she turned to me.
"Locke?" She said.
"hmm?"
"Thank you, you know. For everything," Terra said, and for the first time that I've ever seen it, she actually grinned.
"It was my pleasure Terra. Now get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow," I informed her. She nodded and shut her eyes. About two minutes later, it seemed that she was once again asleep. The kid must have been really tired, I thought to myself.
As for myself, I just sat there staring at the stars. I couldn't believe that this day had started out with me begging for excitement. Well my wish had come true, and I didn't know whether I was glad it did or was sad that it did. I thought about all this stuff long into the night, until I drifted off into old nightmares and memories, like I did almost every night...
"Trying to remember Narshe," he simply stated.
Relm nodded. "Oh I see. It's that whole journal thing that Terra gave everyone. Pretty creative idea if I may say so myself." She leaned back against the chair and put her feet up on to the couch and grinned.
"So I'm not the only one doing it then. Figured since no one mentioned it that I was the only one that actually got a journal. So how far are you in it?"
She tilted her head. "Why Locke Cole, I thought these things were suppose to be private until after we all don't die in Kefka's Tower of Annoyance," she laughed and held a completely white journal. "Guess you'll have to survive the place to find out if I said anything good about you."
"Oh. I don't think I can wait that long," Locke said blandly and winked. "So why do you have a white journal? Is it your favorite color or something? Because that's pretty dull."
She rolled her eyes. "Jeez Locke, unoriginal much? I picked the white journal for one simple reason. It's completely blank, so I can paint whatever I want on it. That way it seems more like mine. Besides, what's so great about a single colored book?" She shrugged and jumped off the couch.
"That's true, that does seem very much like you then," Locke responded. Relm got up and started to leave the room.
"I'm going to go see what trouble the old man is getting himself into. Sometimes that guy seems totally helpless without me. Seeya later Locke! Good luck remembering Narshe!" She said as she walked out of the room.
Locke chuckled to himself. Relm was quite a character, always blunt and had a feisty attitude. More than once she had reminded him of how he was when he was that age.
With that, he picked up the pen once more and continued to write.[/I]
*******************
"Hand over the girl and you won't get hurt!" A Narshe guard yelled.
"Wonderful...There's a whole bunch of 'em..." I said to myself once I was able to see them all. There were at least ten of them that I could see at the time, and also some Lobo monsters to aide them. Ten Narshe guards and some Lobo monsters against me, and a girl that was completely knocked out. And no way to run either, since I barely knew the mines and carrying the girl was a lot of extra weight to run with.
Its times like these you can either two things. You can try your microscopic luck and hope that you kill more of them so they run away before you some corpse. Or, you pray really hard to whatever God there is for a miracle.
And since it seemed that whatever God there was had a huge grudge against me, I decided to take my chances with the microscopic luck. So I set Terra down against the wall and pull out my dagger.
"Sorry guys, but if you want her, you'll have to kill me first," I said very heroically. I bet it would of sounded really neat. That is, if all the Narshe guard hadn't pulled out their long swords that looked very sharp.
It was then, despite my treasure hunter screaming to run or hide while my instincts told me to protect the girl; I heard the strangest noise from behind me.
"Kupo..."
I suddenly turned around to see almost a dozen moogles climbing out of a small hole in the cavern. Each of them seemed to be carrying different weapons, all ready for battle. The one that was holding a giant spear, and seemed to be the leader of the group, walked up to me and said.
"Kupo!" as he winked and pointed at the guards.
"Are you saying you want to help me?"
"Kupo!!!" the main moogle said and nodded. I breathed a sigh of relief. This was defiantly some great luck. Now I was sure that we had a chance of beating back the guards. The main moogle started giving orders to the other moogles. They got into two groups of four and three of them stood by me.
"Alright." I nodded. "Lets go."
All the moogle stayed to their groups but charged at the enemy. It took a couple of them to take out one Lobo monster, but the main moogle moved so fast and was pretty strong that soon he was nearly surrounded by bodies of guards and Lobos. As for myself, I mainly fought off the guards with my dagger. While they had their huge swords, they were no match it seems to my speed and dexterity.
After the moogles and I depleted their forces, the guards (no Lobos were left standing) decided that it would be a wise move to retreat, leaving this battle to a close. I once again put my dagger away and turned to the moogles.
"Thanks, Moogles!" I exclaimed, "We're in your debt!" The main moogle simply nodded, winked and they all disappeared into the hole in which they came from. So I picked up Terra and started heading the way that looked like it led to an exit. Soon I came upon a dead end. I felt a bit discouraged until I remembered a conversation I over heard once in jail (ownership disagreement, nothing severe), saying about how there is a switch in the Narshe mines that will open a secret door in and out of it.
I looked around the wall for it, and then I found a rock that was defiantly out of place.
"I think this switch'll..." I muttered and then touched the rock. Sure enough, a door opened up. I grinned to myself, very pleased. Though my moment of self-pride was interrupted by the awakening of Terra, who gave a soft moaning sound.
"Eh? You back with us now?" I asked her. She simply sat up groggily and looked at me.
"You...saved me?" she questioned. She stared at me, still a bit dazed. "Thank you..."
I interrupted her. "Save your thanks for the moogles. Without them, we'd both be dead. So what are you doing around here?" She looked around confused, as if she thought some moogles were still there. But then she cried out.
"I don't know! Uhh...I can't remember anything...past or present!"
"You have amnesia?!" I asked staring at her in disbelief. A whole bunch of horrible memories came flashing into my mind. Memories that tried very hard to not think about. It was like Rachel all over again...
Snap out of it Locke, I thought. She's not Rachel, you barely know her. But she needs your help. Now are you going to help her or just stand there until the Imperial guards finds you two?
Terra, during all of this, sadly nodded. "A man said my memory would come back...eventually."
I nodded and knew what I had to do. "Give it time. You're safe with me! I give you my word!" I said to her. She just stared at me confused. "I won't leave you until your memory returns!! I promise..."
She nodded but still looked worried. Then she looked up at me with her big emerald eyes. "I'm Terra. Terra...well I don't remember my last name." she sighed and looked down again.
"Nice to meet you Terra. I'm Locke Cole, the treasure hunter!" I smiled at her. "Now we better start heading to Figaro, before the empire arrives..."
She looked confused again. "Empire? They mentioned something about the empire earlier. The guards I mean. I think that's why they wanted me. But why would the Empire want me?"
I didn't quite know how to answer this. It would not be easy to tell a girl that has no memory that she slaughtered several people under the Empire's control. So I decided to that lying might of been the best option for that moment.
"I'm not entirely sure Terra. The empire has always been up to evil things like kidnapping and such. But don't worry, I'll protect you!" I said with confidence and smiled at her. She tried to smile back, but I could tell that she wasn't so sure. "Come on, lets get out of this place. Its way too cold for my liking anyway."
Terra simply nodded as she followed me out the door. After she was out of the way, I looked for another different colored rock along the wall. I found it, and then pressed it like I did with the other one. Sure enough, the door shut, and it looked like it was never there unless you were actually looking for it.
I thought a moment then turned to her. "By the way, this secret entrance might be useful some day. Don't forget about it!" I winked at her. She simply looked confused then suddenly asked me.
"Where are you taking me anyway?"
"Well my orders are to bring you to Figaro Castle. I'm sure the king will be very interested in your well being," I paused. Knowing Edgar for a long time now, it was probably safe to assume that her well being wouldn't be the only thing he was interested in. "Um, how old are you if you remember at all?"
She looked down at the ground with a confused look once more. She stayed silent for a long time. I was about to tell her that it didn't matter and to just forget it when she looked up and said, "I'm eighteen."
Oh great, I thought. Edgar will be trying to charm her the entire time. I mean I wasn't attracted to her or anything, but it was hard to deny that this girl was pretty. And with the whole mysterious past thing, well I wouldn't be surprised if Edgar drooled a little when he met her. "Well, just don't give the king too much attention ok?" I said to her.
She just looked puzzled once more. So I sighed and took her out of Narshe. It got incredibly warmer once we got away from the mountains. I tried to make small talk with Terra, but I gave up once I realized that she couldn't do much small talking when she had no memory of anything to talk about.
After awhile of walking, I suddenly felt like I wanted to rest for the night. All my joints ached from all the events of the day and all I wanted to do was sleep. I noticed that my companion, also, was walking more slowly and had a tired look in her eye.
"Hey, how about we camp here for tonight?" I asked her. It was a nice little groove of trees with a small creek nearby. A perfect place to camp for a night. "We're both exhausted and I'm sure most of the people of Figaro are asleep anyway."
"What about the Empire and the Narshe Guards?" She asked worriedly. I grinned at her.
"I'm sure that the Empire and the Narshe guard have to sleep too. Besides, the empire forces are a long ways away I'm betting and probably would not reach us by tomorrow morning," I told her. "And I don't want us crossing the Figaro desert if you don't get any rest. It would be way to risky too."
"Alright. I'm too tired to walk any farther," Terra stated as she yawned. I pulled out my bag and pulled out a sleeping bag. She just looked at me once more and it came to me that she didn't have any supplies. She probably didn't have any time to grab some from Arvis's house.
"Here, take the sleeping bag." I handed her the sleeping bag.
"Are you sure?"
"Sure, I'm used to sleeping on the ground. Its like second nature to me," I grinned and laid against a tree trunk. She shrugged and set down the sleeping bag. Terra crawled into it and made herself comfortable. Then she turned to me.
"Locke?" She said.
"hmm?"
"Thank you, you know. For everything," Terra said, and for the first time that I've ever seen it, she actually grinned.
"It was my pleasure Terra. Now get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow," I informed her. She nodded and shut her eyes. About two minutes later, it seemed that she was once again asleep. The kid must have been really tired, I thought to myself.
As for myself, I just sat there staring at the stars. I couldn't believe that this day had started out with me begging for excitement. Well my wish had come true, and I didn't know whether I was glad it did or was sad that it did. I thought about all this stuff long into the night, until I drifted off into old nightmares and memories, like I did almost every night...
