Prisoners of War

By Dixxy

Chapter Five

I hate this damn country.

Norris took a long drag off his cigarette, half-listening to the few people in Porre he actually considered to be "friends". They were located in the basement of his parents' old boarding house, which had since been converted into an orphanage and rebellion movement base of operations, a place Norris once again called home after fifteen long years away. Norris had isolated himself in a corner near a vent so the smoke wouldn't bother his friends, eventually escaping through the chimney shaft and into the night sky, which was already clogged with smoke.

Things were so different back then. . . this isn't really home anymore, is it?

Norris sighed, looking up at the window wistfully. This building was now a perfect representation of what he was. In brighter days, it was full of happiness and cheer. The childhood he loved to reminisce about. Playing in the backyard with his friends and neighbors. In those days they were cops and robbers – some of the boys would take their father's handkerchiefs and tie them over their noses and mouths while the other boys used their mother's eyeliner to draw mustaches on their lips. The girls would be nearby, playing with their dolls and occasionally catching one of the boys long enough to play tea party.

But then. . .

Norris didn't like to think about it. Time brought change to everything, and he was no exception. No longer was he the innocent boy of his youth who liked to play with toy guns, holding up banks made of wooden crates or hauling off the bad guys to a wooden shed that served as a jail. Running away from the girls and their dreaded "girl cooties" was no longer an issue, either. Now, even though he was just twenty-six years old, he already felt like a tired old soldier. The guns he used now were real, and the criminals he brought to real jails wouldn't bat an eye at the thought of stabbing him through the heart to continue their crimes. Those who didn't were prisoners of war who begged him for mercy, crying for their wives and mothers as his peers beat them bloody.

He hated who he was becoming.

It wasn't until he reached El Nido as the commander of the Black Wind unit that he really began to question what he was doing. Since he had been enlisted, he had hated what he was doing but he felt he had no other choice. This was a trap, and there was no escape from the blood and horror he was surrounded with. This hell that had stolen his youth from him and buried childhood memories under the cakes of dried blood on his own hands.

But now he saw escape. Granted the Acacian Dragoons were still an army, but something about them was different. They weren't as cold and cruel as the Porres were. Porre prided itself on what was best for the war or for the country – chatter at lunches and outings with fellow soldiers were highly discouraged. At best he would know another soldiers name and nothing else.

The Dragoons were different. Though their barracks were clearly more humble than the ones he was used to sleeping in, they were brilliantly alive with soldiers who told of late night escapades with the girls of their dreams and sang old folk songs as they danced drunkenly with mugs of ale in their hands. They laughed and embraced each other in times of sadness, supporting each other in times of grief. Even the Devas were part of all this (save Marcy, the little witch that liked to kick his shins and make him drop dishes on the floor and get Orcha mad). Higher ranking officers in Porre wouldn't dare to lower themselves to such standards, and yet Dario and Karsh would hook arms and skip around in a circle after Zoah had managed to get enough whiskey in their systems. Sometimes the General and Miss Riddel would watch, and every once in a while a few Dragoons would parade Riddel around on their shoulders like a queen, causing her to laugh happily and her father to curse wildly.

But what amazed him the most was despite the fact that most of them had seen battle and killed with their swords and axes was that they all still retained a youthful sort of cheer. Granted they took what they did seriously as they had a chain of islands to defend should they be attacked, but they took pride in their work. To them it wasn't just listening to whatever General Viper told them to do – to them, they were helping their families, loved ones, and the beautiful place they called home.

Norris wished he could be apart of it. Watching this made his heart sink. If Porre took over, all of this would be gone. Most of them would be executed, though some of them might end up as man servants to his superiors. More than likely Lady Riddel (and possibly, once she got older, Marcy) would become someone's personal call girl while the Devas would be left to rot if they weren't killed first.

He decided he wanted his youth back. So he could be more like them.

Perhaps it was this desire to regain his youthful purity that caused Norris to follow that poor mixed-up Serge kid across El Nido and back again. Oh sure, he wanted to see the Frozen Flame as bad as anyone else, but he felt that he had to get away from the other Porres stationed in El Nido. He became friends with the rest of the party of travelers, some better than others. After the battle was over, he wanted to stay in El Nido. He fell in love with everything about the land- its people, it's natural beauty. . . to him, El Nido was like paradise.

But shortly after the defeat of FATE, Norris was captured by his former peers and shipped back to Porre kicking and screaming – almost literally. He'd been taken in the middle of the night from the Termina Inn, the innkeeper drugged and the only other guest locked in their room so he could be kidnapped without interruption. They had him good, too – tied hand and foot, gagged, and dragged through the cobblestone street to the last boat back to Porre. Norris remember looking in desperation for some escape, but he found none, and was soon bound for Porre.

But his nightmare was only beginning. While on the boat "home", he was sentenced to a public execution by means of hanging. Prior to this he would be subjected to public humiliation by means of rotten vegetables being thrown at him in the nude and possibly a public whipping. He was thrown into a holding cell on the bottom level of the ship and left to rot until they docked in Porre.

Despite everything that happened over the course of the adventure with Serge and the horrors of his training days, Norris was now beyond scared. None of his friends – his real friends back in El Nido – would know where he was and would be unable to come to his rescue. He'd never see any of them again, nor would he see the islands he had come to love and admire. He would die in the abysmal gray of the streets of Porre, alone in a sea of unfriendly faces.

It was apon their arrival that he was saved. A small band of non-military rebels boarded the boat and pirated it for anything they felt had any use – this included Norris. Though he didn't enjoy being tossed over the shoulder of the large-armed man who appeared to be in charge of the operation, it certainly beat the alternative. Once the rebels accepted him as one of them, he had come full circle and was returned to his old home, which functioned as their HQ.

And here he had remained since.

"You know, you really shouldn't smoke- it's bad for your lungs." Norris looked up to see that everyone but one of the other rebels had left the basement for bed. The tall, strawberry blonde swordsman was sauntering towards his corner, a concerned, yet cheerful look on his face as he plopped down on the wine barrel next to Norris' barstool.

Norris scoffed. Sometimes, Elliot deLarouge was a bit much to handle, even if they two were able to relate to each other better than any of the others. He was the type who lived by his own set of rules, yet failed to tell anyone else what game he was playing. It was no secret, however, that one of Elliot's favorite games was "Annoy Norris till he Screams".

Elliot almost always won that game.

But Norris didn't feel like loosing today. He gave Elliot a cool glare, grumbling when he realized that dopey smile hadn't faded from his face yet. "I need the cigarette, Elliot. It calms my nerves, and right now I feel like I'm on my last one. So buzz off and go bug someone else. Or sleep with someone else for all I care."

"Nah, the Porres are cracking down on the gay bars again," said Elliot, taking note of one of the most useful ways he could annoy his fellow rebel with – his homosexuality. Norris was by no means homophobic; he didn't care one way or the other that gay men and lesbians existed in world, and he was confident that nothing would change his own sexuality. But that didn't stop Elliot from trying to hit on him, grabbing his butt, or locking Norris in a hotel room with a drag queen by the name of Venus de Mylar for kicks. Norris grew sick of it (and downright petrified whenever Venus tried tying him to a bed with a pair of fishnet stockings), but he wouldn't quit. Mostly it was because both parties Elliot know the intent wasn't malicious – in fact if something DID go wrong the swordsman would be the first to get him out of trouble. That didn't stop Norris from getting mad.

"But you're so cute when you're angry!" was Elliot's usual response.

None the less, they got along most of the time (Elliot only played pranks when he was bored, and luckily for Norris that wasn't very often). Elliot had been one of Viper's Dragoons before a mission went bad and he ended up in Porre after a long, confusing series of events (Norris was beyond lost on the issue – as far as he knew Elliot had been to both of the two moons). Because of the high tension between the two countries, ships usually didn't go between Porre and El Nido, so Elliot was temporarily stuck on the mainland. Since both men wanted to go back to El Nido, they would often reminisce about the archipelago together.

The swordsman scratched the back of his neck, looking at the cigarette hanging from Norris' bottom lip. "I used to smoke, too, but my last boyfriend didn't like it," said Elliot. Norris rolled his eyes. Elliot was by no means a virgin, and by no means was he monogamous. Oh no, not THAT horny little Dragoon! Though he didn't do it as often as say, every night, it wasn't quite that uncommon for Elliot to stay out all night and appear the next morning wearing a shirt that no one recognized and smelling like cheap cologne, usually with a happy grin on his face. Once, some strange young man no one else knew with bright orange hair was spotted very early one morning dashing out the door with his pants only half-way up his legs.

Still, despite the fact he was the undisputed "man whore" of the group, it was obvious Elliot wanted to commit to someone. He talked about his ex-boyfriend very often, though he never mentioned his name. Norris realized this may have been his fault – he'd stayed in El Nido for sometime, and from the sounds of it his previous beau was still in the closet. Had it been someone Norris knew, things might get awkward. That, or perhaps mentioning his old lover's name was just too much for Elliot.

"Is he around to nag at me about it?" Norris asked.
"I certainly hope not," he said. He sighed. "I bet he's back in El Nido."

Norris sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "El Nido is the most beautiful place I've ever been," he said. "Everything there is just wonderful. The air is so clean, technology has barely touched them. . . lucky bastard, you don't know how lucky you are to have grown up in a place like that. I grew up around this kind of crap."

"This was your old house."

"Yes," said Norris, putting out his cigarette on the heel of his boot. He coughed, clearing his throat. Two twin tufts of smoke emerged from his nostrils as he exhaled, getting a mildly disgusted look from the Dragoon. "And even back then I was surrounded by the wonders of Porre industry."

Elliot threw his head back, causing some of his hair to swish back, then fall right back into place. "Well, I agree with you there- I'll take a beach over this shit," he said. He breathed in deep, then began to cough from the excess of Norris' smoke. "Cleaner air, too. Even for a smoker. But here so many people smoke it's hard to tell where the tobacco ends and the sea salt begins."

Norris flipped Elliot the bird, but gave him a wry smile anyways. "You're strange."

"I'm queer and proud."

The fugitive cocked an eyebrow. "Queer?"

"It's a word they used back in Choras to explain my kind of people," said Elliot. He took on a bitter expression. "Bullshit if you ask me. The only difference between you and me is this- I bang boys, and you'd like to bang a girl if you ever found one who'd jump in bed with you, ya poor little virginal sap. I drink the same water, eat the same food, and stand on the same ground as you do, don't I?"

The ex-Porre rolled his eyes (especially at the virgin comment – why did Elliot even CARE about that, never mind think and think aloud on it?!). "Elliot, Elliot, Elliot. I've never once said anything directly against your lifestyle – I'm fine with it. What I don't like is when you decide to push your lifestyle on me for a cheap laugh at my disposal. But if being gay makes you happy, then be gay," said Norris. "Just don't tell me about the details."

"I know, I know, but you're a good listener, you know?" said Elliot. "My old lover was, too." He leaned back against the wall. "Ah. . . what I wouldn't give for another romp in the sack with him. He liked to act tough around the other Dragoons, but I knew how to make him turn to putty with just a few seductive looks and a few brushes of my hand. Then I'd have my way with him and wham BAM! What a night." He closed his eyes and breathed deep. "I miss him."

"Sounds likes it," Norris pointed out.

"When I get back home to El Nido, I wanna find him, make up with him, and then I'm gonna make love to him until he can't take it anymore!" Elliot said. Norris turned away, and Elliot laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't like hearing about it, but don't YOU want to make love to some special girl for hours on end?"

In my dreams, yes, Norris thought. There was one girl he liked. . . but her interests lied with another man, and it was against his beliefs to try and split the two up. "I can't do it, Elliot. I just can't, and I'm sure you can figure out why – and no this isn't a lesbian I'm talking about!"

"Oh, I fully agree! If she loves someone else then leave her be!" said Elliot. He laughed. "I would've impaled any man who tried to get between me and my man while we were together. I loved him. I know it must sound weird to you but I really loved him. He was loyal, affectionate, and very sweet behind closed doors. I liked holding him. He was so. . . cuddly."

"Cuddly."

"Yeah, I know it's a weird word for a man, but at the time he was still a teenager, and teenagers are so nimble and soft. It was great. I want to find someone like him again and settled down somewhere in the countryside. We could adopt children if we wanted to – take in some war orphans like Mistress," said Elliot. "We could lie in each other's arms at night and talk about everything and nothing at the same time."

Norris gave Elliot a shrug. "Yet you'll screw anyone who calls himself gay."

"I feel I have the right to sample what's out there."

"You're one in a million, Elliot. And I'm glad there's only ONE of you."

Elliot laughed. "Yeah, Glenny used to tell me all the time." Then, he covered his mouth. This was the first time Elliot's beloved ex-boyfriend had ever had a name. Norris made eye contact with his companion, thoughts racing through his head in a blurred frenzy.

No, Elliot isn't talking about the Glenn YOU know! Glenn must be a common name! After all that was that Truce hero's name! Yeah! I bet there are PLENTY of Dragoons named Glenn! Why I bet they have at least one Glenn in each division! They could have their own Glenn club! Because THAT Glenn couldn't be gay! No the brave younger brother of Dario who could weld two Einlanzers and stand up to tough monsters Glenn! Still, Norris had a gut feeling. . .

"Glenny?" Norris asked. He face began to pale.

"Yeah. That's what I called him," said Elliot slowly. "It's obviously a little affectionate way of saying 'Glenn'." He laughed lightly and tilted his head back. "I was afraid you'd react if I ever said anything, but I guess it's out of the bag now, right? I know there was another one who specialized in archery, but my Glenn. . ."

"Dario's brother?" asked Norris.

Elliot brightened and nearly jumped the ex-Porre. Norris had never seen him this energetic and almost felt himself get sick to his stomach for shock. "Really!? Is he still single!? Glenn hasn't found anyone else yet, has he?! How is he doing!? Does he ever talk about me!? Does he miss me!? Is he-"

Norris felt his head spin, then he fainted.

First and foremost, sorry about the screwy formats - some of the characters (as in font characters, not people characters ) I used to use are no longer accepted on this site, so I'm using QuickEdit to put in horizontal bars.

"Nyctophobia" is one of the proper ways to say "fear of the dark". I found an online list of real "phobias". You'd be surprised just how many things we're afraid of.

As far as smoking goes, I take Elliot's standpoint and I have a creative way to make Norris quit smoking .

I didn't intend for Elliot to be dead almost from the get-go- he went through a number of different phases, though I liked this one the best. Yeah, I got plans for him but they probably aren't what you're expecting.

There will probably be another chapter focusing on Norris and the rebellion- namely how they're going to get involved with the Medina crisis- and then I'll probably decide to head back to Serge.

Oh, here's my reason for the wait: THIS CHAPTER WAS A SNARLING SNAPPING BITCH TO WRITE. It isn't even like I had writer's block – I just couldn't get it to flow quite right. At this point I'm about ready to give up and call it "good enough". The whole point of this chapter was to introduce Elliot and have Norris find out Glenn is gay.

Lena: I'm happy you're happy. As far as CC stuff goes you're probably my best beta, and you definitely helped out (especially with Glenn's "I'm not a slut" line). The site is actually under construction right now – at least the Ronin part is.

Uftaki: You should see some of the e-mails Lena and I exchanged about Kid and her opinions on Serge and Glenn's relationship. Let me put it this way- with the way we were using her, she'd fit right in with the Chrono Cross yaoi community and then some. Oh heck we'd probably hail her our hero and follow her to the depths of her second underground bunker were she has hidden cameras placed in strategic areas such as Serge's room, Glenn's room, ect. Sadly, kicking fanfics doesn't help unless I print them. Otherwise I have to kick my computer and that's not a very good idea. The only thing that bugs me about the Karsh/Norris pairing is that, as you all remember, Karsh had feelings for Riddel. The game never quite says it, but it can't be hinted at any more. It's a weird situation, that's for sure. Oh, you so sure about Elliot?

Sylver: Well, TaT has some shounen-ai, too, you know. But I'm glad you're reading this, too. No, not quite that – I figure she's going to play MacGuyver and try to make a bomb. She'll probably fail, but at the very least we should get some crispy captives. There's a TON of ways to say "sex", most of them lewd or just plain weird. Damn you, SquareEnix! Though Cross was a success in Japan, it still didn't match Trigger. There are a few people who insist Cross is a better game (I like Cross better simply because I like the plot better and the version of Trigger I have annoys me due to a nearly painful load time), some fans of the original don't like certain plot points. Think about it – Lucca is presumed dead, Crono and Marle are unaccounted for but thanks to the Dead Sea also assumed dead, the Masamune has been tainted, we don't know what happened to Magus, and Robo appears to have been deleted without a back-up. Even Ayla might have been a victim of some unknown fate – face it, we really don't know that much about little Leah. You also need to understand that most of the loose ends are tied up in this game – Schala is one of them, as is the whole double dimensional crisis. I still feel like there's an unanswered question or two I want answered, but I can't put my finger on them.

Freefall Insanity: The whole point of most of my fics is to torment poor Glenn. And I agree with the bwahahaha.

Aras Melanki: Haven't gotten that far yet – I just haven't had the patience to sit down for a video game. Besides, I also got a few new anime series, and I'm primarily an otaku, not a gamer. Oh sure I love my VGs, but it really depends on my mood. And thanks for the compliments, as always!

Liolo: For some reason I had trouble typing that. . . well, not quite. It'll happen, but next chapter I have a few surprises in store for Trigger veterans.

Tami: I do! FF.Net can be persnickety, can't it? As can be computers in general. Some of the computers at school I've verbally announced I'd like to violently destroy, and a friend of mind tries to remind me that the inanimate objects don't hold any harsh intentions towards me. Well, I wouldn't say "obligation", but I won't argue against reviewing .

Well, there's more like 60-70 of them – 45 playables plus about 15-20 or so other important characters, like Fate, Dario, Wazuki, ect. Kid was one of the few characters who was really well developed, mostly because of her main character status. Serge, I think, wasn't that well done because he has no dialogue – without any lines, it's hard to tell how he feels about all this. With some of the others, you can tell how they feel about certain things. That's one reason I like Glenn – he isn't an open book, but if you really look at his character you can tell he's one disturbed soldier. Glenn's little Elliot talk was a result of Kid's prying – Kid does more prying later on. I like romance, but I don't like traditional ones. The most traditional one I wrote was a Ronin fanfic entitled Dark Chocolate, White Diamonds and even that's a little untraditional. Somewhat.

Kittee Amethyist: Name change, I see? Thank you very much, I enjoyed writing it! Wait, not that much, it was hard. I dunno, I like Glenn straight but he's good gay as well. Trust me – he's straight in all of my other CC stories to date (The Memories Series (Gleena) and Thick as Thieves (Glenn/Kid). Well, you're right – I get the impression Serge might be gay, too, but the game doesn't elaborate on it. Kid, I dunno. I feel like she SHOULD end up with someone. Hey! I like Leena! And Riddel, too. I did update. And I talk weird, too.

Bu: Well here it is!

Nevyn: Ha, reading fanfics in class? Ah, what an art form. Oh, I'm sure you're doing fine. My teachers couldn't really complain. "Dixxy, why are you not working on – oh, I see, it's finished, carry on". I know the feeling all-too-well. Serge? He'll be mentioned a little later.

Jen of the Wildfire: You followed me here from the Bent Lounge, didn't you? I didn't know you liked Chrono Cross.

Einiir: That's a different name. Well, here's the next part. Ta da!

Dixxy