This chapter isn't very long, but it wouldn't work out if it was any longer. It's just long enough to get my point across, blah blah blah. (I don't want long Author's Notes because I'm too excited!)

34. Jidoor

"Holy shit," Locke whispered when he and Xane could see the small town of Jidoor. They both knelt down behind some shrubbery outside of town and had a good look around. Soldiers were stationed all over; by doors and buildings, around the perimeter of the town, and the ones who weren't standing were pacing on guard. The citizens carefully weaved through the guards, walking on eggshells so they wouldn't do anything wrong and risk the chance of getting killed. "Vaughn wasn't kidding when he said Jidoor was their new headquarters. Damn, the place looks like Vector."

Xane turned his head and noticed that there wasn't an area of ten feet that wasn't guarded. "Now, how the hell are we going to get in? Actually, how are we going to sneak in unnoticed is the question I should be asking. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if I want to go through with it."

"What's that?" Locke asked as Xane shrugged his shoulders. "O…kay, if you didn't want to say it, then why did you bring it up?"

"Well, I was thinking that I could perform a vanish spell on both of us, but I haven't done a spell like that in ages. Not since my training days," he stated as he looked down at his hands. "I'm not sure if I'd be able to make it work on myself, yet alone on two of us at the same time. Oh, yeah, the tiny fact that I'm not sure how long it'll last is probably my biggest concern. I don't want to get halfway into town and have it wear off."

"Okay, well, since I don't want to get caught and I really would like to avoid magic at all costs, I guess we can just walk in and say we need supplies or something," he said as he started to walk closer to the town. "That way we won't look too conspicuous."

Xane's arm reached out and grasped Locke by the shoulder to push him back down and stop him from going further, causing a loud rustling from the shrubbery at the same time as he landed ungracefully. "No, we can't do that either."

"Why not?" He asked as he removed Xane's arm from his shoulder and brushed off his clothing with his hands. He could see several soldiers looking around from town, trying to figure out what the rustling was from.

"Just…trust me on this," Xane replied as he fixated his eyes on one of the men. He was dressed more elegantly than the soldiers he was talking to, so Locke assumed he had a higher rank. "We can't do this without some kind of disguise. I'd…We'd get caught."

"Well, it's good to know that you have such a positive outlook on this situation," he said sarcastically, although he wasn't confident either. He saw Xane swallow then start to chew on the inside of his cheek in thought, so he pointed to the man. "Who's that?"

"The one on the left side of town? Oh, that would be General Leo," he stated with a nervous exhale. "He's the one that we have to look out for."

"Only Leo?"

Locke and Xane whipped around to the sound of the voice that appeared behind them and saw a young woman. Locke felt the color drain from his face as he looked at her appearance. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and even though she was trying to be stern, her features retained softness to them. Oh goddesses, it's a replica of Rachel…He thought as he looked away from her. It's as if it's a ghost of her…

After a second, he was able to look up at her again and look at her closer. She was rather tall for a woman, but he wasn't sure if it was just an illusion; she was wearing high heels and she was also standing on a higher elevation than he and Xane. Her long blonde hair whipped in the gentle wind as she placed her hands on her hips. Locke watched her hands to make sure that she wasn't going to attack them, and his eyes settled on the rather large sword that was hanging at her side. He looked over at Xane, who didn't look frightened at all. As a matter of fact, he looks happy to see her…

"What about me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and motioning with her hands as she spoke. "I can do just as much damage as Leo, you know."

"Well, I'll be damned," Xane stated pleasantly with a smile as he stood up to look at the younger woman. Her face softened and melted into a smile as they locked eyes. "Hello, Celes."

"Hi," she replied, looking off to the side a little bit. Locke raised an eyebrow at the two of them and crossed his arms. He wasn't sure how to react, so he figured he better observe what was going on before making a rash decision.

"It's been a while," he stated as he reached his arms out for a hug. "Come here, you."

"You know that I can't," she said with a hesitation as she crossed her arms across her chest. Even though it was a relatively warm day outside, Locke could see her arms break out into goosebumps. She rubbed her shoulders with her hands as she continued to speak. "You shouldn't even be here. It's way too dangerous. Especially for you."

"I'm fully aware of that, but you know me. I just have to leap into the fray when I get the chance." He playfully shrugged and his smile only continued to widen. "So, you look good. How've you been?"

"Never been better," she stated confidently. Locke noticed that she kept looking toward town, so Locke turned around and saw that some of the guards had their eyes on them as well. She's part of the Imperial army, isn't she? He thought as his heart rate began to rise. "Even though I haven't heard from you in quite some time, I think I can still guess why you're here."

"Your guess is probably right," Xane replied with a chuckle. Locke sent him a glare, but Xane ignored him and kept his attention on the girl. "However, now that I think that since I'm looking at you, I'm going to have a hard time getting into Jidoor, aren't I?"

She shook her head and made a clicking sound with her tongue in disappointment. "You're not going to be able to get into town, sorry. I can't abide by that wish. You should've thought twice before you came here, Xane. Knowing that we're stationed here, Gestahl wouldn't have sent his troops without Leo or I. It's even worse for you because Gestahl sent us both here to keep a close eye on things. By coming here, you were just asking to get caught."

"How is Leo doing, anyway?" Xane asked as the young woman's eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed slightly. "Uh oh. Don't tell me that there is something going on with you and Leo."

"Not exactly," she said with a slight shrug. "We're just stationed at the same place all the time, so he and I have gotten to be close. As friends! Nothing more, I promise."

"Celes," Xane warned as his face fell into a frown. "He's way too old for you. Don't even think about initiating anything with him."

"It's a business relationship," she clarified, her tone matching his. "I wouldn't get involved with him. You should know better than to think of something like that."

"Ya know, it might just be my own observation," Locke started nervously as he looked at how other guards were starting to walk toward them. "But I don't think now is the proper time to be catching up with each other. Let's get out of here."

"You're not off the hook yet, missy," Xane said to the young woman, shaking his finger at her, causing her to chuckle. He turned toward Locke and nodded at him. Before they were able to take a single step, the woman grabbed Xane by the arm.

"Nice try," she snapped as she whistled for the other guards. Locke's heart skipped a beat in fear as he watched her motions; it was as if her sweet façade was instantly transformed into a soldier's demeanor. "You just got here! Don't even think about leaving yet."

"Celes!" Xane cried out as she dug her sharp nails into his arm to get a better grip on him. The guards rushed over and restrained Xane so she could get a good look at him. "What are you doing?"

"It's called my job," she replied smugly as a few guards grabbed onto Locke as well. "Remember, I haven't seen you in a long time. Quite a few things have changed since you've been gone."

"What is she talking about?" Locke asked as Xane huffed and shrugged his shoulders. Before Locke was able to say anything else, he saw that General Leo saw the commotion and started in their direction.

"Oh, shit," Xane muttered under his breath as he noticed the man. He sent a glare to the young woman and she simply gave him an innocent smile.

"What's going on?" Before the General got any closer, the woman simply pointed to Xane and let out a short laugh. "What is it, Celes?"

"Look at this one, Leo," she told him, motioning to the guards to move Xane a few more feet forward. She tapped the toe of her shoe against the ground and Locke could tell that she was proud of her discovery.

"Well, well, well," General Leo said with a chuckle as he got a closer look at Xane. He was looking off to the side, completely ashamed, and Locke couldn't have looked more confused. "Look what we have here."

"Hello, Leo," Xane replied quietly, still not looking at him.

"Oh, I believe that's General Leo to you now," the young woman pointed out to him as she tapped him on the back. She looked at General Leo again and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "So, what do you think we should do to him?"

"Well, it's been a long time since we have seen him," the man began with a smile as he rubbed his chin with his fingers. Locke could tell that he was genuinely happy to see Xane for some reason, but wouldn't show it. "I think we should show him our hospitality."

"I'm not here for a vacation, but thanks anyway," Xane snapped as he tried to break free from the guards. His attempt was useless for the soldiers had a solid grip on him. "Besides, I wouldn't call the hold your boys have on me 'hospitality.'"

The young woman clasped her hands in front of her chest and smiled. "Go ahead, Leo. Ask him why he's here."

"You know why I'm here, so we can quit with the guessing games while we're ahead." Locke was surprised at how Xane was talking to them, yet they didn't beat him down for it.

"What the hell is going on?" Locke asked, breaking the moment of silence that swept through everyone.

General Leo crossed his arms and moved his attention from Xane over to Locke. He let out a frown toward Xane then walked over to the younger man. Locke could feel his pulse race as General Leo inched closer to him. "Who's this?"

"Let him go," Xane said forcefully. Again he tried to struggle free of the guards' grasp, but they held on tightly. "There's no reason that he should get involved in this. He doesn't know anything that's going on. This is between you, me, and the rest of the Empire."

"What did I miss?" Locke asked Xane impatiently, ignoring everyone else that was standing around him.

"Very well, we'll let him go," General Leo stated with a sigh as he waved his hand to the guards that held onto Locke. He turned back to Xane and flashed him a very large smile. "However, we have some unfinished business to attend with you."

"Just like that, huh?" Xane challenged as he struggled again. "That's it? You're just gonna let him go? No tricks?"

"I'm disappointed that you would think otherwise. You should know me well enough to know that I don't fool around with that," General Leo said as he gently patted Locke on the shoulder. "I'll have the guards escort him out of Jidoor territory and let him go. Now, if he tries anything, such as coming back and trying to free you, I won't be so nice next time. Like you said, there's no reason to get an innocent man involved."

Locke was quite surprised at the way General Leo was talking for he was very good natured. He was unlike any general that he had heard rumors about, but he wasn't about ready to let all the rumors slide by. Too many horrible things have been proved true. However, he wasn't thrilled with the fact that they were going to take Xane somewhere without letting him know where he was going.

"All right, men," General Leo stated to the soldiers that were holding Xane. "Follow Celes to the penitentiary and lock him up. I'll be there in a minute after I deal with our new friend that we made over here."

"Let's not exaggerate," Locke retorted with a scoff as he looked off to the side. He didn't even realize that his sentence slipped until Xane and General Leo turned and gave him the same disapproving look.

"Shut the hell up," Xane whispered in warning as he eyed the young woman and General Leo. "Fine, let's just get this over with. Just lock me up."

With a nod of her head, the young woman led the soldiers and Xane into town and General Leo smiled at Locke. Locke watched until Xane was out of sight and cursed at himself for not being able to help him. He shook his head at himself and questioned why Xane hardly tried to escape. He was more interested in making sure that I was going to be safe then trying to get the hell out of there…

"Well, so what do you know?" Locke whipped his head toward General Leo when he began to speak.

"I'm sorry? What do you mean?" Locke asked as he furrowed his forehead. The general laughed at him and Locke frowned. "I think I should be the one asking you what you want with Xane Riley."

"'Xane Riley? Oh, is that what he's calling himself nowadays?" The General asked as he rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. At first Locke thought that he was amused, but he proved him wrong by shaking his head and sighing. "Wow, it's amazing how people's motivations change. He had so much potential too."

"Can I ask you what's going on?" Locke tried to remain as patient as possible, though his patience was running thin. All these secrets that no one is sharing with me…He thought as he tried to study the young general.

A chuckle escaped General Leo's lips as he shook his head. "You can ask all you want, but I won't be able to give you an answer. I'm sorry, young man. As Xane said, this is a situation that is between Xane, Celes, the rest of the Empire, and I. I'm afraid I can't allow this sort of information out to the public."

"I understand," Locke lied. He sighed as the general smiled at him. Why is he being so damn nice to me? He thought to himself in confusion.

General Leo looked at the guards and nodded. "All right. You take care now." Locke looked in confusion as the young general quietly started to walk back to Jidoor. He wriggled free of the soldier's grasp and looked at them for a second.

He turned on his heel and go in the other direction to think of a plan, but he heard a chuckle from behind him, startling him. He looked over his shoulder to see what the humor was about, and the last thing he saw was one of the soldier's fists aimed toward his head.