After three our four grueling minutes all the people in the market were
finally able to vacate the immediate area. The two G-Alloids slid away from
the building.
Trey held Shinna waiting for her crying spell to stop. Shinna slammed her fist into Trey's chest.
"Why? Why did you just let her go? Why did you save me?"
"You were closer," Trey whispered. "And, because.I."
"You what?" the Altron G-Alloid asked, looking up into Trey's green eyes.
"I." Trey stared into her eyes. 'I love you.'
"Trey?"
"I think we should go to the place where the people were coming from. Trio might head there."
Shinna, knowing Trey was going to say something more important glared at Trey and pushed away from his warm chest with specks of her tears still attached and started to make her way towards the market. Trey sighed and followed.
'You're going to have to tell her eventually," Heavyarms said calmly.
'I think she already knows, so why bother saying it aloud?'
'Women like it said aloud,' Trey's Gundam companion replied. 'Tell her aloud soon. By the way, see if you can get hold of Trio on the CL.'
'Ok,' Trey said, ending his conversation with Heavyarms.
'TRIO!' No reply. 'Trio? Can you hear me?' All the teen could hear was static.. 'That's odd,' Trey thought. 'There's never been static before.'
Not far into the market dead bodies were already littering the ground. Shinna touched Trey's arm for support. Trey reached for Shinna's hand, in which she grasped gladly. Men, women and even a few children lay with horror-filled eyes looking up at the two teens.
"What the heck happened? Who did this?"
"I don't know, maybe those rebels the soldier at the gate was talking about."
"Maybe," Shinna replied. "But why are we walking into the market place? I still don't get it. Trio went the other way."
"Because if she tries to find us I think the first place she'd come is here, where she last saw us."
"Why don't we use the communication line?"
Trey shook his head, "First off, the others in the Sanc Kingdom might hear us and second, I already tried, She might have turned her remote off."
"What are we going to do while we wait?"
A shout from a soldier answered her question, "Hey! You kids! Come help us clean up! This is big market day. We've must get this place cleaned up.again!"
"Yes, sir." Trey replied, "But may my companion sit this out? She doesn't have the stomach for this type of work."
"And you'll help twice as hard to make up for her absence?"
Shinna stood up, walking toward a dead child. Trey stepped in front of her.
"Trey, I can handle it. You need not work harder for me."
"But I will. I don't want your hands to get soiled."
"Trey." Shinna whispered as Trey, his gray shirt quickly becoming soaked with blood as he lifted a body into a cart that the militiamen brought in.
The militiamen were dressed in brown or black robes with white marks across the chest on the robes. There appeared to be no women in the group but a few women showed up to pick up objects that were knocked over in the panic.
Shinna looked around, trying to find a way to help without disobeying Trey's wishes.
Scattered about the ground were objects from the various stands. Purses, shoes, even hats lay scattered about the nearly deserted market place. Seeing the militiamen in the square, people came back in and started to help clean up. Thieves trying to take advantage of the opportunity were promptly arrested and the objects returned to their locations or put in a pile of 'lost and found'.
With the backpack containing all of the G-Alloid's stuff still on her back, Shinna walked about the grounds until she saw a brown hide purse and stuck it in her pocket. A white robed militiaman grabbed her arm.
"Thieves are punished," he said in broken English as he withdrew a sickle knife. Shinna paled and jerked her arm out of his grasp.
"And what if I was trying to help clean up? Where am I suppose to put all the stuff?" Shinna retorted hotly.
"If you're helping, here's a bag to put the stuff in," he replied in an apologetic way, pulling a black bag from a larger black bag
"I'm sorry if I made you think I was a thief," Shinna said, taking the brown cowhide purse out of her pocket and putting it into the black sack.
"You're that strong young foreigner's companion are you not?" He asked, motioning to Trey.
"I am."
"Not every day strangers help clean up," he remarked.
"We lost our companion in the fray and we decided to help clean up until she arrived back or we finish up here." Shinna leaned over and grabbed a little sandal shoe, putting it into the bag. "We're worried about our friend and my companion thought she might come back here first."
"That smart idea," he replied. "I will send out men to find her. What she look like?"
"She has a brown braid down to her thighs. She is about my height. Her name is Diana."
The man yelled out orders in a language that Shinna couldn't understand. Three men rushed off in the direction the stampede had headed. "Mind I ask your names?"
"I don't mind," Shinna said. "I'm Tana and my friend is called Matt. Thank you for helping us in return. Do you mind if I ask who you are?"
"Commander Askbe."
"Are you in charge?"
"In the cleanup department."
Shinna fell silent while she continued to pick up people's lost items. The men who came in were mostly militiamen and helped pick up the dead and injured, putting them into separate carts. The women who came in were ordinary citizens and they were picking up scattered items from stalls all throughout the market place. Askbe wandered off to talk to other militiamen and Shinna caught him once talking to Trey.
"Trio," Shinna whispered, while she picked up a shirt from a stand and replaced it back in its proper place. "Hurry up."
With all the help arriving, it only took the cleanup crew a little over two hours to get the market place back up and running. Floods of people arrived shortly, making it impossible to move much. Shinna had to literally shove people out of her way to reach Trey and the militiamen.
"Thank you for helping," Askbe said as Shinna walked up to the militiamen and Trey, her black bag hugged up against her chest.
"You're welcome," Trey replied. "But have you heard back from your men?"
"We have not."
"Commander!" A soldier yelled from across the market place. Askbe climbed up on a raised platform.
"YES?"
"We found them!" 'Them?' Shinna thought. "They cornered themselves in alley."
"Follow me," Askbe commanded the two G-Alloids as he walked through the crowds. Trey quickly followed, pulling Shinna behind him.
"Which alley?" Askbe asked when he reached the soldier. The man motioned for the commander to follow.
The remaining two militiamen guarded the alley entrance. Backing away from the two foreigners, they bowed their thanks and presented the two people.
A young man crouched with a knife out in a defensive position. The woman stood behind him, neither cowering nor standing arrogantly. Though the alley was long, there was no mistaking the woman was Trio even though she was dressed in a gray dress.
Shinna started to scream 'Trio' but remembered her alias just in time. "DIANA!" Shinna shoved the black bag and the backpack into Trey's hands before taking off down the alley.
Before she could reach Trio, the man's hands shot out and grabbed her arm. Irritated, Shinna grabbed his arm in return and flipped him over on his back. A grunt escaped him as his back made contact with the ground.
"You're all right!" Shinna said as she came to a halting stop in front of her friend.
Trio, however, was stepping past Shinna and leaning down to the young man.
"Aka? Are you all right?"
"I'm okay," Aka replied, standing up and dusting himself off, knife still in hand.
"DIANA!" Shinna screeched. "Is this how you say 'hi' to your friend?!"
"Sorry," Trio replied, laughing nervously. "Hi, Tana."
"Friend of yours I'm guessing?"
"My best friend. Tana, meet Aka. Aka, meet Tana. And that young man down there is my friend Matt."
"I'm guessing these are your friends you lost in the stampede?"
"They are," Trio nodded happily.
"Then Tana and Matt are not their real names, Trio." Shinna gasped, looking at both kids quickly. "Care to rephrase your answer?" Aka asked quietly.
Trio frowned at Aka. "Aka, I told you I wouldn't betray them, don't ask that."
"What's going on?" Shinna whispered with venom in her voice.
Trey held Shinna waiting for her crying spell to stop. Shinna slammed her fist into Trey's chest.
"Why? Why did you just let her go? Why did you save me?"
"You were closer," Trey whispered. "And, because.I."
"You what?" the Altron G-Alloid asked, looking up into Trey's green eyes.
"I." Trey stared into her eyes. 'I love you.'
"Trey?"
"I think we should go to the place where the people were coming from. Trio might head there."
Shinna, knowing Trey was going to say something more important glared at Trey and pushed away from his warm chest with specks of her tears still attached and started to make her way towards the market. Trey sighed and followed.
'You're going to have to tell her eventually," Heavyarms said calmly.
'I think she already knows, so why bother saying it aloud?'
'Women like it said aloud,' Trey's Gundam companion replied. 'Tell her aloud soon. By the way, see if you can get hold of Trio on the CL.'
'Ok,' Trey said, ending his conversation with Heavyarms.
'TRIO!' No reply. 'Trio? Can you hear me?' All the teen could hear was static.. 'That's odd,' Trey thought. 'There's never been static before.'
Not far into the market dead bodies were already littering the ground. Shinna touched Trey's arm for support. Trey reached for Shinna's hand, in which she grasped gladly. Men, women and even a few children lay with horror-filled eyes looking up at the two teens.
"What the heck happened? Who did this?"
"I don't know, maybe those rebels the soldier at the gate was talking about."
"Maybe," Shinna replied. "But why are we walking into the market place? I still don't get it. Trio went the other way."
"Because if she tries to find us I think the first place she'd come is here, where she last saw us."
"Why don't we use the communication line?"
Trey shook his head, "First off, the others in the Sanc Kingdom might hear us and second, I already tried, She might have turned her remote off."
"What are we going to do while we wait?"
A shout from a soldier answered her question, "Hey! You kids! Come help us clean up! This is big market day. We've must get this place cleaned up.again!"
"Yes, sir." Trey replied, "But may my companion sit this out? She doesn't have the stomach for this type of work."
"And you'll help twice as hard to make up for her absence?"
Shinna stood up, walking toward a dead child. Trey stepped in front of her.
"Trey, I can handle it. You need not work harder for me."
"But I will. I don't want your hands to get soiled."
"Trey." Shinna whispered as Trey, his gray shirt quickly becoming soaked with blood as he lifted a body into a cart that the militiamen brought in.
The militiamen were dressed in brown or black robes with white marks across the chest on the robes. There appeared to be no women in the group but a few women showed up to pick up objects that were knocked over in the panic.
Shinna looked around, trying to find a way to help without disobeying Trey's wishes.
Scattered about the ground were objects from the various stands. Purses, shoes, even hats lay scattered about the nearly deserted market place. Seeing the militiamen in the square, people came back in and started to help clean up. Thieves trying to take advantage of the opportunity were promptly arrested and the objects returned to their locations or put in a pile of 'lost and found'.
With the backpack containing all of the G-Alloid's stuff still on her back, Shinna walked about the grounds until she saw a brown hide purse and stuck it in her pocket. A white robed militiaman grabbed her arm.
"Thieves are punished," he said in broken English as he withdrew a sickle knife. Shinna paled and jerked her arm out of his grasp.
"And what if I was trying to help clean up? Where am I suppose to put all the stuff?" Shinna retorted hotly.
"If you're helping, here's a bag to put the stuff in," he replied in an apologetic way, pulling a black bag from a larger black bag
"I'm sorry if I made you think I was a thief," Shinna said, taking the brown cowhide purse out of her pocket and putting it into the black sack.
"You're that strong young foreigner's companion are you not?" He asked, motioning to Trey.
"I am."
"Not every day strangers help clean up," he remarked.
"We lost our companion in the fray and we decided to help clean up until she arrived back or we finish up here." Shinna leaned over and grabbed a little sandal shoe, putting it into the bag. "We're worried about our friend and my companion thought she might come back here first."
"That smart idea," he replied. "I will send out men to find her. What she look like?"
"She has a brown braid down to her thighs. She is about my height. Her name is Diana."
The man yelled out orders in a language that Shinna couldn't understand. Three men rushed off in the direction the stampede had headed. "Mind I ask your names?"
"I don't mind," Shinna said. "I'm Tana and my friend is called Matt. Thank you for helping us in return. Do you mind if I ask who you are?"
"Commander Askbe."
"Are you in charge?"
"In the cleanup department."
Shinna fell silent while she continued to pick up people's lost items. The men who came in were mostly militiamen and helped pick up the dead and injured, putting them into separate carts. The women who came in were ordinary citizens and they were picking up scattered items from stalls all throughout the market place. Askbe wandered off to talk to other militiamen and Shinna caught him once talking to Trey.
"Trio," Shinna whispered, while she picked up a shirt from a stand and replaced it back in its proper place. "Hurry up."
With all the help arriving, it only took the cleanup crew a little over two hours to get the market place back up and running. Floods of people arrived shortly, making it impossible to move much. Shinna had to literally shove people out of her way to reach Trey and the militiamen.
"Thank you for helping," Askbe said as Shinna walked up to the militiamen and Trey, her black bag hugged up against her chest.
"You're welcome," Trey replied. "But have you heard back from your men?"
"We have not."
"Commander!" A soldier yelled from across the market place. Askbe climbed up on a raised platform.
"YES?"
"We found them!" 'Them?' Shinna thought. "They cornered themselves in alley."
"Follow me," Askbe commanded the two G-Alloids as he walked through the crowds. Trey quickly followed, pulling Shinna behind him.
"Which alley?" Askbe asked when he reached the soldier. The man motioned for the commander to follow.
The remaining two militiamen guarded the alley entrance. Backing away from the two foreigners, they bowed their thanks and presented the two people.
A young man crouched with a knife out in a defensive position. The woman stood behind him, neither cowering nor standing arrogantly. Though the alley was long, there was no mistaking the woman was Trio even though she was dressed in a gray dress.
Shinna started to scream 'Trio' but remembered her alias just in time. "DIANA!" Shinna shoved the black bag and the backpack into Trey's hands before taking off down the alley.
Before she could reach Trio, the man's hands shot out and grabbed her arm. Irritated, Shinna grabbed his arm in return and flipped him over on his back. A grunt escaped him as his back made contact with the ground.
"You're all right!" Shinna said as she came to a halting stop in front of her friend.
Trio, however, was stepping past Shinna and leaning down to the young man.
"Aka? Are you all right?"
"I'm okay," Aka replied, standing up and dusting himself off, knife still in hand.
"DIANA!" Shinna screeched. "Is this how you say 'hi' to your friend?!"
"Sorry," Trio replied, laughing nervously. "Hi, Tana."
"Friend of yours I'm guessing?"
"My best friend. Tana, meet Aka. Aka, meet Tana. And that young man down there is my friend Matt."
"I'm guessing these are your friends you lost in the stampede?"
"They are," Trio nodded happily.
"Then Tana and Matt are not their real names, Trio." Shinna gasped, looking at both kids quickly. "Care to rephrase your answer?" Aka asked quietly.
Trio frowned at Aka. "Aka, I told you I wouldn't betray them, don't ask that."
"What's going on?" Shinna whispered with venom in her voice.