The Great St. Valentine's Day Fiasco
Flux this stupid Quickedit. It deletes all my barriers, and now I have to improvise. (Insert random curses)
Anyway, if you're expecting a quick update on Sands, expect a disappointment because I have a case of writer's block with that thing. I have the concept in mind, I just can't flesh it out.
Where were we? Oh, right. Story. Here goes.
I don't own this.
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Friday
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Friday means different things to different people. In our fast paced world, it means one last day of torture before the two days of bliss, known as the weekend, for our leisure and enjoyment.
To others, it merely means yet another day in their endless grind of setting up their provision shops, or stores, the usual thing that has to operate 24-7 in our world.
In Weyard, however…
Dora wandered through the marketplace, picking up vegetables, bartering with the shopkeepers for their usual wares. Soon, the day's shopping would be finished, she could go home to a cozy house, and cook breakfast.
Isaac sat lazily sharpening his Sol Blade, while at the same time keeping an eye on his wife. She was still struggling and moaning for her Ivan-chan. At the rate this was going, Ivan wouldn't get Sheba, Mia would still be deranged, and where were the djinni anyway? He had a feeling he didn't really want to know.
"Hey, kids!" Garet yelled to the toddler population of Vale. "Anyone wanna play a game?"
"A game! A game!" They chorused. "What are we gonna play, Uncle Garet?"
"Well…" Garet tapped his chin for a minute before replying. "How about… whack the piñata!" With that, he sliced through a rope, and brightly coloured bundle dropped from the boughs of the tree, to the delighted shouts of the kids.
"Here, take these." Garet grinned, passing out wooden sticks. "Just don't hit too hard, though. Wouldn't want it to break too early, would we?"
As the children descended on the piñata with shouts of joy, Garet leant down to the bundle and whispered. "Once you apologize to Ivan for how you've been treating him, we'll consider letting you out, okay, Felix?"
There was no response save several inarticulate sounds of fury. Whistling, Garet strode away as the kids continued to bash at the brightly coloured package, heedless of the cries of pain.
()()()()()
Ivan sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. At his feet, the Alsatian stirred slightly before waking and hopping off.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and Sheba opened it. "Ivan?" She asked. "Ah, good. You're awake. Listen, I have to go run a few errands, so… will you be alright by yourself?"
Ivan chuckled slightly. "I'm the same age as you, Sheba. Not a baby. I can take care of myself."
"Considering all that's gone on in the village these few days, I'm not sure of that anymore." Sheba shook her head. "The other day, I saw some weirdo with pink hair spying on me and Mia from a tree!"
"Uh, yeah." Ivan replied as he raised an eyebrow. "Weird."
()()()()()
Gripping a rope, Breath slowly heaved the pylon up, aligning it perfectly with the other pylons, all in a row.
Sighing, she turned to regard Gust, who was overseeing the painting and the lighting.
"It'll work?" She asked. Gust nodded. "Unless there's a freak storm, yes. And being Jupiter Djinn, we can predict the weather more accurately than most, no?
"I still say it's luck." Flint grumbled as he hacked away at a persistent rock. "No one can predict the weather that accurately."
"I predict lightning will strike the very spot where you stand." Gust said offhandedly without bothering to look up.
"Yeah, right. You don't scare me with that stupid-"
KRACKA-BOOM!
"No comment." Breath muttered. "Someone get a Mercury Djinni here! We need Ply and Douse!"
()()()()()
Ivan slumped back on his chair, staring with weary eyes at the chart opposite him. From what he could make out of it, it involved a catapult, a dog, and five gallons of grape juice.
Sighing, he rubbed his eyes and wished that Garet had better handwriting. Then, the next time he happened to chance on one of the love notes he wrote Jenna, he'd actually be able to read it.
His reverie was broken by Garet rapping the table. Isaac and Jenna sat at the side, looking for all the world like a pair of bored people.
"Alright." Garet snapped. "Today is Friday, the last day before the Valentine's Day ball, and the Annual Blessing of the Psynergy stone. Our last chance to make sure Ivan hooks up with Sheba. And thus, we must give it our all! We cannot rest until our mission is fulfilled! We must try every opportunity, we must battle endlessly, we cannot fail! We-"
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ…
"… WAKE UP!"
()()()()()
"Agent Pyro to Agent Venus, the Wind Waker has approached the Power Source. Is the Maroon Blaze in position? Over."
"… Garet, what the hell are you talking about?"
There was a sigh from the cone-shaped device Isaac held in his hand. Earlier that day, Jenna and Garet had been cleaning out their attic when they came across a pair of the cone shaped things connected by a tube. Strangely enough, when you spoke into one cone, the other could hear it by listening to the other cone, even across a room. After examining it, Ivan had concluded it originated from the fact that the tube was engineered so the sound waves (whatever that was. Must be a Jupiter thing) could travel along the tube.
"What I mean is, Sheba is near the Psynergy Stone. Is Jenna ready?" Garet's voice came through the cone, slightly garbled but still understandable.
"Yeah. Yeah, she's ready."
"Good." Garet's voice came up. "Ivan, you're up."
"This thing itches." Jenna complained to Isaac. Rolling his eyes, Isaac merely motioned for Jenna to stand. Which she did so, rather grumpily.
"You look lovely in that colour." Isaac commented, which earned him a whack on his shoulder.
"Wish me luck." Jenna muttered, before moving off.
Isaac watched her crash through the bushes, and sighed. Truth be told, he would have though Jenna the last person to play this role. He would have much preferred Picard or Felix, if but nothing else than the fact that they were not so much as wild cannons. But Picard was found unconscious on Mt. Aleph, and showed no signs of waking up, and Felix… would more than likely try to kill himself (or maybe Ivan) before agreeing to this.
And as for third place… Mia? Isaac didn't even want to think about it. She'd run over and glomp Ivan and the entire plan would be off. Speaking of which, Isaac was still in a bad mood over the fact that Mia was… well, in love with Ivan. Sure, the effects were supposed to be temporary, but… he just had a bad feeling about the whole thing.
()()()()()
"Fuuurryy!" Cannon 's insistent moan broke Fury's concentration concerning the fuse he held. The connection was almost complete, but he had to weld it to the explosives or it wouldn't work.
"What is it?" Fury grumbled as he hopped down into the alcove.
"There's not enough space for the explosives on the peak." Cannon informed him. "We'll have to stick the rest underground. Can you, uh, make a second fuse?"
Fury sighed. His dreams of creating an explosion that would go down in history was becoming more and more complicated. It was worth it, of course. It'd just take longer, and more work.
"I'll work on it." He said wearily. "Just keep getting more explosives."
()()()()()
I think I'll murder Garet later just for fun. Jenna thought to herself as she peered through a tangle of leaves. Ivan was talking to Sheba, who was leaning against the psynergy stone. Both of them were currently smiling, and there was a dog hanging around as well, for some reason.
Suddenly, a rock hit her shoulder. Turning, she saw Isaac gesturing angrily for her to start going. With a sigh, she prepared to leap…
()()()()()
The kids were having the time of their life. The package was beginning to tear, and they were all squealing with anticipation of what they would find inside. Just a few more whacks…
And Felix tumbled out of the piñata, to shocked cries and stares from the kids. Scrambling to his kids, he glared down at them as he tried to salvage part of his wounded dignity. (Which didn't work too well, as he had streamers in his hair. And his mouth. And he had one in his nose as well. Ever seen someone with what looks like a long thin pink booger hanging from his nose? Ain't pretty.)
"Well." He began. "You've had your fun. I'm sure you enjoyed yourselves thoroughly. Now, please leave, BEFORE I RIP EVERY LAST ONE OF YOUR HEARTS OUT!!!"
The kiddies didn't need to be told twice. They were young, but contrary to most beliefs, they weren't stupid. Not that stupid, anyway. And they knew a threat when they saw it. (Even coming from a guy with a pink booger.) They left, pausing only to scoop up several sweets that fell from the ripped piñata.
Dusting himself off, (and removing the streamers from his body), Felix headed off to the plaza to sulk.
()()()()()
Garet pushed aside the fronds obscuring his vision. Jenna was almost out of the undergrowth and-
Crap. She seemed to have gotten her leg stuck on a root of some kind. Angrily, he yanked at the cone and spoke into it.
"Agent Pyro to Agent Venus, do you-"
"Garet, stop that code talk crap. What?"
"Jenna's got her leg stuck. Go free it!"
"Wha-, oh for the love of Venus…" He could see Isaac struggling to free Jenna, and generally not succeeding at all. Not that Ivan seemed to care, Garet noted. He was currently talking to Sheba, a conversation punctuated by plenty of giggles.
Narrowing his eyes, he saw Jenna finally pull free of the irritating root, and leap out.
Good, and so it began…
()()()()()
Felix glared angrily at everything and everyone he met on the way down. That included tree roots, various stones, houses, several field mice, and a kid scoffing candy from the piñata. In fact, he was so busy glaring he walked straight into a wall without noticing.
As he rubbed his sore ear, he rounded the last corner and arrived at the stairs leading to the plaza. At this point, Felix was in a bad mood. In fact, you might say he was in a very bad mood. Actually, if you were to be precise, he was so angry he wished he could blast something, anything, with Grand Gaia, just so he could watch it get incinerated in a hail of Venus psynergy. And that would be putting it mildly.
Thus, it would come as no surprise that seeing Ivan and Sheba talking and laughing by the psynergy stone drop-kicked his mood from somewhere in the pissy range to the homicidal variety. With a growl, he started stalking towards the pair, who were apparently oblivious to anything other than each other.
Then, a cry sounded from the bushes. Whipping his head around, Felix noted that what appeared to be a mutant Kobold had emerged from the bushes, and was currently heading for Sheba.
This is it! Felix though. My chance to show Sheba my affection for her! With a mighty war cry, he lunged forward at the Kobold with a flying tackle that would have looked a lot more impressive had he actually hit it.
Struggling back to his feet, he charged the Kobold, knocking it to the ground, and started wrestling with it.
()()()()()
Sheba blinked as she stared at Felix. Beside her, Ivan seemed similarly gobsmacked, although he appeared to be watching the kobold instead. The Alsatian merely barked, as if trying to figure out which side he should root for.
One corner of Sheba's mind was trying to decide whether the fact that Felix was fighting a Kobold in hand-to-hand combat, or the fact that he was losing, was the more unbelievable factor. Despite the fact that another part wanted to laugh, she quickly came to a conclusion.
"C'mon, we have to help!" She cried. Ivan blinked and seemed to hesitate, but Sheba had already run forward. Muttering several magical words, she threw her hand out, casting Destruct Ray.
As the lightning bolts flew towards the Kobold, it seemed to sense the new threat, and flipped to the side… placing Felix directly in the line of fire. There was a muffled explosion, and a cloud of smoke was thrown up.
When it vanished, the Kobold was gone, leaving behind a (rather charred) Felix, and a pair of nonplussed Jupiter adepts.
()()()()()
"OW!" Felix yelled. "Be careful with that!"
"Just be glad I decided to heal you." Jenna stated matter-of-factly as she raised her hand and cast Aura again. "After all, it was the costume that got you to attack me in the first place."
"And we have another failure." Isaac shook his head. "Thanks to you, Mr. Felix. You had to act all macho in place of Ivan. He was supposed to do the saving."
The dark haired adept glowered. "It's not fair!" He ranted. "Why do you people go all out to help Ivan, and I get the shaft?!"
"Because I don't like you."
"Oh, suuurre… You don't like me, and that's reason enough, isn't it? Never mind my hopes, my dreams, my aspirations, my-" Then Felix stopped. "Who- uh, who said that, anyway?"
Meanwhile the author opened a portal and escaped back to the 'real' world.
()()()()()
Ivan patted the dog's head sadly before climbing up the stairs. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the Valentine's Dance. And it was too late. With that last attempt… ridiculous as it may have been… it was over. Sparing a tiny sigh, he glanced up at the moon.
Almost full. He noted absentmindedly. But not quite. The same way he had with Sheba earlier. Almost, almost there. But not quite.
He was just supposed to distract her. Play the part of the hero later on. But… when they were talking, laughing together, something had just clicked. Something had been there. He had almost wished that Jenna didn't need to show up.
And Felix, well, who knew what he had been doing there anyway? But it had been broken. Whatever it was.
Sighing, he pulled back the covers and climbed onto the bed. Lying down, he stared at the ceiling for hours.
Tomorrow would be the Valentine's Day Ball. And he had failed. His last chance to get together with Sheba, and he had failed. The blessings would go to another.
A distant part of his mind reassured him. There would be another year, after all.
But the gaping reality of the fact that he had failed, badly, stayed in his mind. It was over.
It took Ivan a long time to get to sleep that night.