Chapter 7: Camping

We continued our walk from Evil Forest. None of us talked, for each one of us was lost within our own thoughts. We eventually found a place near the river to set up camp. 'This is the same place were they camped in the video game' I thought, still not believing that I had such an opportunity.

Zidane was trying to put up the tent while Steiner laid Garnet on a soft spot on the ground so she could rest. I went out to get some firewood. A few minutes later, I came back with an arm full of wood. Vivi had cleared a space for the wood and I set my burden down on the ground. Vivi cast a fire spell and in less then a second we had a roaring fire.

Vivi turned to look at Garnet. "I hope she gets well soon."

Steiner stood up and looked over at Zidane, who was still pinching the tent. "This is all his fault." he said, shaking his fist at Zidane. "Have you nothing to say, you filth!" he added. I was about to tell him to calm down when Garnet's body began to stir, she was waking up.

Steiner forgot all about Zidane and immediately turned his attention to his ill Princess. "P-Princess!" he yelled.

I cringed. 'He didn't have to yell that loud.' I thought, while testing my ears to see if I could still hear. Thankfully, I still could.

Garnet sat up and looked at Steiner. "…Steiner? …How did I survive…?" She looked around at the camp and the area around her before addressing him again. "You brought me here?" she questioned him.

Steiner smiled down at the Princess, relieved that she was awake. "It is my sworn duty to protect you at any cost."

Zidane, who was finished pitching the tent, joined the conversation. "What are you talking about? It was Vivi's magic, Michael's swords, and my daggers that got you out of there, Princess."

Garnet turned to look at the three of us. She smiled. "I thank you all." she said. I felt myself blush, slightly, after receiving such praise from her.

Apparently, Steiner didn't like the idea of a thief receiving praise from the Princess as he immediately turned red in the face. "That monkey deserves no praise!" he got up and confronted Zidane. "None of this would've happened if you and your band hadn't abducted the princess! And how dare you claim that you have rescued her? When we get back to Alexandria, I will-" he was, thankfully, interrupted by Garnet.

"Steiner, I left the castle of my own will." Steiner looked like he had been slapped in the face; He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

Zidane had a smug look on his face "what a coincidence, eh? We went to snatch her and she wanted to be snatched."

Steiner still looked at Garnet in disbelief. "Impossible…" he muttered, more to himself then us.

"It's true" Garnet said.

Zidane decided to clear the air. "So what do you say Rusty? Friends? Come on, lets enjoy this camping trip while it lasts."

This shook Steiner from his shocked stupor as he glared at Zidane and turned red in the face, again. "Camping-you imbecile! Surely even you must know something about the mist. The vicious monsters it spawns. The abnormalities it stirs in the mind and body." He turned to address Garnet. "Princess, we must leave this dangerous place at once."

I decided to speak this time. "Steiner, we're in the middle of a valley surrounded by cliffs. North and South gate were sealed off, last time I heard, and the Princess herself is in no condition to leave. She's still recovering from her injuries. This is, by far, the safest area for us right now. We will just have to wait here." I crossed my arms over my chest before continuing. "Unless, of course, you have a better idea?" I asked, calmly. Steiner looked like he would love to disagree with me, but couldn't think of a plausible answer.

I looked at him in triumph "I thought so." Steiner looked slightly angry at my response, but I decided to speak before he could. "Steiner, your duty is to protect the Princess, right?" Steiner nodded his head, I continued. "Then can we trust you to protect our campsite?"

Steiner looked insulted by this comment "of course, I will protect this place with my life! What kind of question is that!" he asked.

I smiled. "Good, then you can protect the campsite while the rest of us get some needed rest."

Steiner finally realized I had lured him into a trap, and he was stunned. He looked like he was going to yell again, but I narrowed my eyes at him. He held his temper. "Very well, I will keep watch!" he said as he walked over to the other side of the camp. I felt sorry for tricking him like that, but I wanted to end the argument, and I was dead tired, too.

Zidane turned to us "all right everyone, let's get some sleep."


We only had one tent and we decided that Garnet should have it. She tried to refuse, but we were persistent. She finally agreed; Zidane and I helped her into the tent. It was a good thing Steiner wasn't looking this way. He would have never let Zidane touch the Princess.

After we got her settled into bed we each chose a different spot on the ground. I decided to sleep close to Vivi and keep an eye on him. Vivi had no sooner lain down on the ground when he fell asleep. 'He looks so peaceful' I thought, as I settled myself down close to him.

I closed my eyes and hoped that this wasn't a dream. I suddenly thought 'this is my first time falling asleep the right way in this place without being knocked unconscious.' I thought. I played with this thought for a bit before sleep finally took hold of me.


"Little Mikeeeeeey let his mind waaaaaander." I heard a familiar voice, singing. I turned around and saw a man playing a violin. There was a little boy sitting at his feet. 'Father' I thought as I moved forward. I remembered this scene I was only nine years old then. My father continued to sing and play the violin "little Mikey thoooought, am I fonder of dooooolls or goblins of shoooooes. Or of riddles of frocks or of chocolates." He concluded his singing.

I observed as my nine year old self began to sing "Noooo, what I loooove best, Miiiiikey said, is when I'm asleeeeep in my bed. And the AAAAngel of Muuuusic sings sooooongs in my head." Then my father and past self sang together "the AAAAAngel of Muuusic sings soooongs in myyyy heaaaaad." My father stopped playing the Violin and spoke to my past self.

"When I am in heaven, child, I shall send the Angel of Music to you." Then the vision faded and I remembered.

'I had forgotten about that promise' I thought, sadly. That's when I heard a new voice "Miiiiiiiichaaaaeeeeeeelllllll."

I was surprised; I had never heard this voice before. It sounded beautiful though, and the way it sang my name. I could feel my spirit soar. It was a wonderful feeling. "My Angel…" somehow I knew it was true, but I didn't hear the voice again. "Angel… where are you?" I said, trying to find the voice. Then all went black.


I woke up with a start "Angel!" I yelled. I quickly covered my mouth and looked around the area. Vivi was still fast asleep, Zidane was also asleep, and Garnet didn't seem to be leaving her tent. I sighed in relief. I looked over at Steiner, hoping he hadn't heard me. He was there, near the exit to our camp, but he seemed to be slouching as he stood.

I got off the ground and approached him, and tried to contain my laughter at what I saw. The mighty Steiner was asleep on his feet. 'Man, I whish I had my camera.' I thought, still trying to keep from laughing. As soon as I got myself under control I couldn't resist anymore. I pulled my hand back and hit Steiner over the head, under his helmet. Steiner's eyes immediately opened up and he jumped about two feet in the air. 'That woke him up, alright' I thought.

"No sleeping on the job, soldier." I said in a reprimanding tone while trying to keep from laughing. Steiner turned to look at me, he still hadn't calmed down from the initial shock of waking up.

"W-who's sleeping?" he asked slightly shaken.

I smiled at this. "You, apparently. Why don't you get some rest Steiner? I'll take over watch, besides I want to make up for tricking you into this."

He looked at me, a bit surprised. "No thanks, I will continue to keep watch, you go back to sleep."

I wasn't going to give up, besides I needed time to think. "Steiner, you need your rest. You can't protect the Princess if you're too tired to even protect yourself, besides I can't sleep at the moment and I feel rested enough anyway. You just get some rest, you've earned it."

Steiner sighed, admitting defeat "Very well, but I do this for the sake of the Princess, have a good watch, Master Michael."

He walked off and slept near the tent. I smiled at this. 'Still only thinking about your duty, eh. Steiner. You're so inflexible' I thought, shaking my head. I turned to look out into the night. The Mist above blocked out any star or moonlight, it was pretty dark down here.


I sat down on the ground and began thinking about what I had dreamed about. 'Did I really hear the Angel of Music in my dreams?' I thought, questioningly. 'That voice…I can't forget that voice. It was like some heavenly hymn. It was so peaceful.' Then unconsciously I began to sing to myself.


"AAAAAAAngeel of Muuuuuusic. Guuiide and guarrrdiaaan. Graaant to me yooouuur gloooorrryyyyyyyyyyyyy. AAAAAAAngeel of Muuuuuusic. Hiiiide no longer. Seeecret and straaange Angeeeeel."


Then I stopped as I felt a presence. I looked in the direction of where I sensed this presence and starred into the shadows. That's when I saw what it was; a Muu, a giant blue and white squirrel like creature, and it didn't look friendly. I drew my reverse blade sword and prepared for battle.


The Muu charged at me and I easily sidestepped its attack. "Ryu Kan Sen Kogarashi" I said as I struck it in the back of its neck. It fell to the ground unconscious and didn't move, but it was still breathing. I hoisted it up and removed it from the camp. After I had done that I returned to the camp. As soon as I got there, though, I felt another presence behind me.


"So, what are you doing?"

I spun around, reverse blade sword drawn, and was about to strike until I noticed who it was.

"Zidane" I said, sighing with relief and sheathing my sword. Zidane was surprised at my action, but quickly calmed down.

"Sorry, didn't know you'd be so jumpy."

I gave him a small smile. "We had one late night visitor already. Sorry about almost knocking you out."

He smiled "hey don't worry about it. So what are you doing up anyway?"

I told him. "I decided to relieve Steiner after catching him asleep on duty."

Zidane started to laugh at this until I shushed him to be quiet. He looked at me apologetically, but with mischief in his eyes.

"Sorry, it's just so funny to think of Rusty sleeping on duty. I whish I could have seen the look on his face."

I smiled at that. "Yeah, it was pretty hilarious. So, Zidane why are you up?"

He gave me an honest answer. "I couldn't sleep, thought I may as well do something."

I had an idea. "Why don't you relieve me, Zidane? I need to go wash my clothes and take a bath to get the blood out."

Zidane thought about this for a moment before responding. "Okay, I'll take over watch, but be careful." I nodded and walked off towards the river.


As soon as I got to the river I immediately stripped to my underwear and began washing my clothes. I didn't have any soap so I just had to make due. As soon as I washed of my robe, shirt, and pants I took of my underwear and jumped into the river.

It was freezing in there. My body quickly grew used to the colder temperature though, but I still didn't want to stay in there any longer than necessary. I washed my hair and removed as much of the dried blood, sap, liquid, and debris from the theater ship as I could. After that, I washed the blood off my arms, hands, legs, and body.

As soon as I was satisfied I got out of the river and immediately froze again. The wind blowing against my skin was not a pleasant feeling. I walked over to my clothes and noticed that I had over looked something; I didn't have a towel. This was just great I'm standing here, naked, dripping wet and freezing with no towel in sight. This called for a desperate solution.

I squatted down on my legs and then jumped up like a spring. I soared high into the sky. The wind was blowing against me so fiercely it was drying the water off. Then I came back down to Earth, or should I say Gaia, and landed on my feet perfectly. I did this a few more times until I was completely dry. I walked over and retrieved my underwear and placed it back on. Then I walked over and retrieved my clothes. I decided to go back to the camp and dry them off by the fire.

As I approached the camp I thought about what I had done minutes before the Muu arrived. 'I sang; I haven't sung anything since my father died, but why did I suddenly sing here when I hadn't done so in four years. What had changed? Well, besides the obvious, but maybe that was all the change I needed. Everything is different some how. New planet, exposure to new species, and new friends…something I haven't had in a while.' My thoughts stopped as I reached the camp.


When I returned to the camp I saw Zidane immediately. He must have sensed me because he turned around to face me. He was a bit surprised at what he saw. I saw the look on his face and answered before he could ask.

"I'm not going to wear wet clothes. I am going to dry these off by the fire."

Zidane nodded at this. "I just thought you'd have a little more modesty than this."

I playfully glared at him before answering. "I do have modesty. I'm a warrior, Zidane, and warriors know that sometimes you have to sacrifice modesty for practicality."

Zidane shrugged his shoulders at this. "Whatever…hey I'm going to go back to Evil Forest, mind taking over for me."

I nodded. "sure, I'll keep watch." I knew he wanted some time alone to think about what happened. Zidane took off in the direction of Evil Forest. I placed my clothes near the fire and sat down on a rock to wait for them to dry.


An hour had passed and it was getting lighter outside as early morning had arrived, and I was still as alert as ever. I heard rustling in Garnet's tent. I looked up and saw she was awake and leaving her tent.

I froze at this, and looked down at myself. I quickly grabbed my pants from near the fire and put them on. That was a mistake; they were still quite wet and were beginning to soak my underwear. I didn't feel comfortable at all. 'Nothing is worse than sitting around in wet underwear.' I thought, extremely annoyed.

Garnet was approaching and I quickly put on a straight face. I noticed that I still didn't have my shirt or robe on so I quickly grabbed them and put them back on. They were still wet, too. 'So much for drying off' I thought.


Garnet sat down in front of me on the rock opposite of mine. I started things off. "Are you feeling better, Princess Garnet?" I asked, in a formal tone. She looked at me and smiled, 'man she has a cute smile' I thought, and shook my head a little when I realized I was blushing.

Garnet responded "I'm feeling better…thank you for saving me back there."

I was blushing again. "Uh, it was no problem really. I couldn't have done it without the others. You should really be thanking Zidane, though. He's the one who lead the group, and the one that decided to go look for you."

Garnet smiled at this. "I will remember to thank him Mr.…" she trailed off.

"Michael, call me Michael."

She nodded her head. "And you can call me Garnet" She said in an elegant tone.

My blush deepened at her words. 'I gotta do something and fast' I thought.

Garnet interrupted my thoughts. "How did the group escape from the forest?" she asked, questioningly.

I calmed down; glad that I had something to talk about. "Well we saved you from this huge plant thing, but we may not of made it out if it wasn't for Blank-" she cut me off

"Who's Blank?" She said.

I stopped at this 'oh right she doesn't know what happened.' I thought. I decided to tell her. "Blank was one of Zidane's friends, he came to help us, but he was trapped in Evil Forest when it began to petrify."

Garnet looked surprised at this. "Evil Forest, what?" she said, stunned.

I continued. "Petrified…yeah it must have had some connection with that giant plant. I guess it was a final act of revenge. I think Zidane is taking it alright, but I'm not so sure, maybe you should go talk to him."

Garnet stood up, gracefully I might add. "Very well, I will. Where is he?"

I pointed in the direction Zidane went. "He went off to Evil Forest. Do you want me to go with you?"

She looked at me and smiled again. "No thank you. I can manage on my own." She walked off, again with great elegance.

'Man, Zidane has good taste in women.' I thought, slightly jealous.


Fifteen minutes passed, and I was making breakfast for everyone on what little we had. I looked up from my work and saw Zidane and Garnet approaching the camp. They waved at me and I waved back. They approached me; Zidane was the first one to break the ice.

"That smells good, Michael."

I smiled at the complement. "Hope you guys like it, because after this…I don't know what we'll have."

Zidane looked at me. "Don't worry, we'll manage."

Vivi woke up and approached us. All three of us spoke at once. "Morning, Vivi."

Vivi was a bit surprised at this. "G-good morning" he said, sheepishly. He sat down next to me. Steiner was the last one to wake up and approached the group. He glared at Zidane and sat next to Garnet.

I handed out breakfast to each of them before asking, "so Zidane, what are we going to do today?" He pulled out a map and looked at me, but addressed the whole group.

"We'll be heading for the Ice Cavern, so enjoy the weather while you can cause it's going to get very cold soon." He wasn't kidding. I nodded at this and dug into my food. After eating we took down the tent, and set out for the Ice Cavern.


Ryu Kan Sen Kogarashi
Basically, a more powerful version of the Ryu Kan Sen.