Finding Out

At first, Gallows just assumed he'd woken up with the worst hangover in his life. Ok, so he had woken up with the worst hangover in his life, but let's not get technical here. He later found that most of his pain was coming from the ropes tied around his stomach so he'd be secured to a pillar. Gallows wondered what he'd done last night, must have been some wild party. But then he saw the thieves guarding him.

"Hey!" he yelled, "Who are you guys and why've you got me tied up like this?!" But the five men in the room just laughed, they'd seen how he'd acted the night before, they knew he probably had no idea how he'd even arrived at their cave, let alone why he'd come there. Bars were so easy to find quality victims.

"Let's see. . .I was drinking, and I met this girl. I don't think I got to put the moves over on her, she was in trouble, needed me to go someplace with her, can't remember where. That must be why I'm all tied up, I was too drunk to think straight, and got caught by these guys. But why were we fighting them. That's it, I'm never going to drink without one of the others around to make sure I don't act like a moron," he vowed.

The thief who was lying up against the pillar to the right of him screamed, "Oh for cryin' out loud, shut yer mouth. I swear when the boss gets up, you'll be one sorry man. I'd never heard a guy screaming like a baby before. And you don't want to wake the boss up prematurely, else you'll die a slow and painful death right away. Our boss don't like it when you prisoners annoy the heck out of us." He slapped Gallows with the force of a train hitting a cavern wall. Normally, this would have resulted in a major fight, but the man was currently tied up, and had no way to defend himself from any attack. So Gallows just glared at him.

Suddenly, a thought came to his mind. "Leila, what have you done with Leila? I swear, if you hurt her in any way, you'll get it the second I'm out of these ropes." If you find it funny how Gallows could remember the name of the girl he'd met while he was drunk, then just think about it for a moment. Pretty girls are always on his mind, and even though he couldn't remember what happened some nights, he never forgot the dozen women he'd made a pass with, who'd subsequently turned him down with a hard slap.

"I'm right here, Gallowsh," a seductive female voice called, "I see you've finally woken up." In came Leila, but she was different. For one, her hair was now blue. Turns out, she'd only worn an orange wig to keep from being recognized. For another, she was now wearing a white tube top, with a coat of purplish pink that was buttoned only on the bottom two, a crimson red skirt, and an orange head bandana.

"You're the girl from last night?! But how can you be a thief? I thought all thieves were only out to hurt women, to rape them. Are you trapped here? If so, I can help you escape their hold," he told her, well aware that he was bound and the thieves were staring at him. Then, they all let out a huge roar of laughter.

Leila replied, "I'm not just any thief, Gallowsh, I'm the boss of the Bloody Daggers. My father was the one who founded this gang, but he was captured and killed by lawmen. My older brother was killed four months ago when the train he was on was attacked by Diaborg. That puts me directly in charge of the gang by default. You were a fool to trust me, but then again if you were drinking alone that heavily, you must not have any girl and would be pretty desperate. And no one recognizes me when I wear a wig in the bar."

Gallows then took in what she'd told him. "My name isn't Gallowsh, it's Gallows. G-A-L-L-O-W-S. Like the place they hang people on. Why are you calling me Gallowsh all the time, Leila?" He had one of those expressions on, the one where you don't know what the heck is going on, and would have scratched his head if he wasn't currently bound to the pillar of stone. Every one of the thieves sweatdropped at this.

"Well, I guess you were just too drunk to pronounce it right," Leila said, "Let's see, what should I do with you? I could always just keep you here for awhile, can't have you telling the authorities where the loot I've stolen is hidden. Or, I can just feed you to the sand monsters, saves time, aggravation, and food."

"Please, let me go. You see, I've got some friends waiting for me. They're probably worried about where I've gotten to, not being in my bed or the saloon dining hall when they wake up. If they ask around, they're going to be sure to find out where I went, find this place, and either rescue me or avenge me. Then, you'll be found out. I promise, on my honor, never to tell anyone where this place is located," he begged.

Leila thought about it for a few moments. Then, she informed the man, "Ok, I'll let you go. But on two conditions. First, I'll drive you and your horse to town, so you can be blindfolded. Someone as dumb as you might just accidentally betray us with a slip of the tongue. And second, I want you to do a little job for me later on. I will chose the time and place of it. I'm sure it'll be right up your alley, and if your friends are anything like you, they should enjoy this little venture too. So, what's it going to be, Gallowsh? Will you help me out and live longer, or do you want to be shot dead by all of my men right here and now?"

Gallows panicked. "Of course I want to live. Just take me back to town, I'll do any job you wish of me, so please let me go." His whining caused all the thieves to stifle their laughter, they thought it pathetic.

. . .

Mounting his Yami, Gallows was immediately tied to the saddle. Leila blindfolded him, and got on DC. Again, she'd tied his horse's reins to hers, knowing he couldn't do anything while blindfolded. Then, they took off in a gallop. The unfortunate Baskar felt as if he was being dragged by a truck, but held on the best he could. After all, he had to live to help the rest of the team out when they fought against Leehalt and Siegfried. They would need all the power they could get, the Demon King seemed to be a mean character.

"Here we are," Leila said at last, "Now then, I'll only leave once you're in town and out of my sight. Can't have you following me to find out where I came from. Anyway, I'll see you later, Gallowsh." Even though she knew it wasn't his name, it was still fun to tease him about his little drunken stupor.

Gallows tried to ignore her, she was a lady after all. He took off in a run for the town, and entered the saloon. Leila watched until he was out of sight, and then rode off back to her gang to tell them how it all had ended. They would meet again, some time much later when there would be some real trouble.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words. . .

Before we go to the mission, we have to see the reaction of the other characters first. I've got a good line for Gallows after Jet begins to yell at him, as we all knew he'd do. Leila is supposed to be quite heartless, that's why she finds it so much fun to tease poor Gallows. Her name is a reference to Final Fantasy II, you meet a pirate named Leila who tries to trick you on her ship. After beating her—pathetic—men, she joins you. The clothes I took liberty with, since I can't be sure about anything, but the bandana is there. In fact, before looking into the status screen, I thought her hair was orange.