Session 5: A new opponent in the rating battle
"What does this mean?", Alina asked surprised, right after getting in the channel's building. Lots of animals –farm animals- were scattered along the building. Right in her feet, a pretty, cute white rabbit was sitting. Without thinking it twice, the young reporter picked it up and carried it, holding it in her arms.
"This?", Heath asked annoyed, grabbing a hen. "I have no idea, but now Pent's furious and told us to gather them all somewhere…"
"Does it mean that I have to return you this little rabbit?"
"Oh, keep it if you want! You can return it later!"
"Thanks!", the young girl said, smiling with her eyes closed, and walking to the producer's room.
The atmosphere wasn't much friendlier there.
"Ah, good day, Alina!", Pent greetd her, but changed his tone of voice soon. "That rabbit is real or I'm already seeing animals everywhere!?!?"
"Flesh and bone, boss", she said, shyly.
"Hey, wait a minute… that's Paco!! Return it to me right now, robber!!", Wallace cried, scaring Alina a bit.
The reporter released the cute animal, which run to Wallace's arms. It was then when Alina noticed that the bald producer was teary-eyed. An image that she hadn't thought in seeing sometime.
"What happened?"
"Well, we are going to put the farm as an activity, and we brought Wallace's animals, but someone opened the cages, and no there are animals all over the place", Pent explained, sighing bitterly.
"Ah… I see"
"Ah, put that thing away, take it away, please!!", a familiar voice yelled through the corridor. Right then, the door opened, an Isadora came in, terrified. She tried to close the door soon, but a cow's head (and Rath behind it, making his best to pull it behind) appeared before she could close it. With Renault and Pent's help from the inside, and Rath's efforts from the outside, the could close the door.
"Isa! What happened!??", Alina asked her, carrying a glass of water for her fallen friend, who was laying in a chair.
"I… I just hate cows! They give me the creeps!", the blue haired producer said, sipping some water.
"That one… she's so peaceful! Poor Madelyn!", Wallace stated, sobbing.
Everyone looked at each other puzzled, until Alina took note of something.
"You called that cow after Lyn's mother!?!?!?", she asked, scandalized.
"You should see her eyes. They are as expressive as Lady Madelyn's were"
"Enough!!!", Pent cried, sick of all those animals inside the building. "Alina, go and help Heath and Rath, so you can go to the Castle as soon as possible and leave them there"
"Can I keep that rabbit?", she asked, pointing to 'Paco'.
"Do as you wish!", Pent exclaimed, annoyed.
"Tee-hee! Thanks!", she said, grabbing the rabbit and leaving the room.
"Wait, she took my rabbit!!", Wallace cried, for the unknown time in the morning.
"Alina! What does all that fuss at the park mean?", Hector asked annoyed as soon as he noticed the young reporter inside the Castle.
"Ah, your next activity", she just replied, busy looking at some time-table chart. "Can you call the others?"
"Great. Hi, everybody", she greeted when the gang was reunited in the living-room. "I have this week's activity, which is extraordinary compared to the previous one", she introduced, enthusiastically. "Have you seen all that fuss at the garden? Well, you are going to have a farm"
"What?"
"A farm", she repeated, grinning. "You'll have to take care of the animals, and I would highly recommend you to avoid some dangerous ideas like killing any animal or something like that. Wallace is already at the verge of depression, and Pent's quite nervous lately"
"But… how are we going to manage with that?", Priscilla asked, astonished.
"That's the funny thing to watch", Alina grinned, arching her eyebrows.
"Ah, very funny", Eliwood protested, annoyed.
"Well, time to leave. See you!", the reporter waved and disappeared through the door.
First contact with the farm… the gang walked into the garden, just to notice the once beautiful, 'virgin' garden turned into a mess with animals everywhere. A bunch of ducks were in the swimming pool, a small stable had been built in one of the corners, and a big, black cow was grassing next to the pool…
"Yuck… And is there an extra payment for messing with this… things?", Farina asked, disgusted. The animal scent under the sun wasn't helping much…
"I think that I would have done better if I had quitted", Eliwood sighed, deeply.
"Ahh, look at this!!", Serra called the others from a stable. She was now wearing a big farmer-like hat (you know, those big, straw hats), waving at them. "I always wanted to be a farmer for a second!"
"Send her with the hens, she'll find herself at home with them", Erk mumbled, returning to the Castle.
"What are we going to do here?", Lyn asked in despair, followed by the others in a deep sigh.
Tuesday morning. "Producer's Headquarters". Wallace is sitting in a chair, with his feet on the table, looking at a gossip magazine. Renault is also here, following a fly's route with his eyes.
The door opens, and Pent and Alina come in, discussing some business issue.
"But Lord… I mean, Pent, wouldn't that be great?"
"Alina, how many times had I told you to stop addressing me like that?!?", he closed the door, sighing. "One thing is shyness and the other is torturing the others with those titles…"
"I'm sorry", she apologized, sitting down in one of the chairs.
"I see you are having great fun, you too", Pent remarked, referring to the other two people in the room, hanging his coat.
"Yeah, you can bet that", Wallace said, without any interest. "Hey, look! Lord Uther is returning from his long stay in Akanea… This is going to be great fun. I would like to see his face when he finds out that his brother is in a reality-show", he chuckled, peeping at the article.
"Is there a photograph of him?", Alina asked, taking out a notebook from her bag.
"Yes"
"Let me see!", she asked, almost jumping at the magazine. But Wallace wasn't going to let her view it.
"Why are you so curious? He's just a guy", he said, moving the magazine from left to right so she wouldn't catch it.
"Oh, don't be so childish! What's the matter with me reading that?", the young reporter complained, swinging from a side to the other, trying to catch the magazine without success.
"That you are very curious"
"But I want to see the royal people of this continent! Excluding Lyn, Pent and Louise, Eliwood and Hector, I don't recognize any important figure"
"You'll have to wait more"
"Oh, come on!"
"Can you cut it off? You are worst than little children!!", Pent cried, swallowing an aspirin. He was having a tough week, and this wasn't helping anything…
"Oh, HELL!! Switch on the TV, quickly!!!", Isadora yelled at the corridor, and came into the room at lightspeed, with real bad humor. It wasn't something nice to see…
"What happened?", Renault asked, bored.
"Switch on channel 6, right now!!", she cried, trying to calm herself down.
Wallace did as she said, and what they found didn't surprise them… at first.
The current show was returning from a commercial break. Suddenly, the lights were switched on all of a sudden, revealing a semi-circle table with five people around it. While the camera was getting nearer those people, the show's name appeared on screen, in delicate, golden letters: "The Darkest Truth"
A strange man, dressed in black robes and with a turban on his head, covering one of his eyes, welcomed the audience again.
"Welcome back, guests", Nergal said, lively. "We are in our final block, and we are going to fulfill our promise. What's behind that show, 'Big Emblem'? Is it just a mere reality-show? It is just a coincidence that the three young upcoming Lords and Lady of Lycia are on it? Are they really as they show themselves in that Castle?"
"It can't be…", Alina whispered, astonished.
"Chisst!!", Wallace silenced her, impatiently.
"I've been told we have some great documents here to get to the truth, as dark as it is", Nergal went on. "Isn't it like that, Sonia?"
"Indeed, Master", the pale skinned, low-necked panelist agreed, with her characteristic superiority. "We've found many interesting data on all the participants, and even the people who works behind the stage. It's really interesting"
"I have a message from Lord Nergal, I have a message from Lord Nergal…", Denning started chanting.
"Yes, I know, dear Denning", Nergal interrupted him, sort of nervously. "That means we have a tape about the topic. Let's see it, Mr. Director"
The tape started playing.
"What lies behind the contestants of Big Emblem, the most popular show in the TV, with a real hot rating? Are they really as they show themselves? We, at 'The Darkest Truth' have the answer.
Do you think that Dorcas is a simple person? You couldn't be that wrong. He had had many troubles with Law before, and even joined a band of thieves, killing and damaging people all the way he went.
Serra, that nice, poor little cleric is a real devil, despite she's a cleric. She has been kicked out of several St. Elimine's Temples, and she holds the Lycian record of 'complaints in a minute'.
Canas… that apparent shy guy, a real mystery himself is nothing of all that. In fact, he joined to run away from his wife and both her mother and his…"
With that, the tape was over, and the camera returned to the studio.
"Impressive. What do you think, Limstella?", Nergal asked, now facing another pale skinned, dark-haired woman.
"A wonderful quintessence…", the woman replied, mechanically.
"Ah, yes, a wonderful work of our people…", Nergal said quickly. "But that's not all, and we'll have many entries of this subject. There are many mistakes to solve. For example, who's that reporter girl? How did she end up there? Family connections? A favor to someone?"
"What the hell do you mean by that!?!?!?!?!", Alina burst, her fist tightened against the TV screen.
"Alina, calm down…", Pent mumbled.
The girl turned back, and noticed everyone staring oddly at her.
"Sorry", she mumbled, sitting down again.
"And who are the other contestants? What lies behind their appearances? Stay with us in the following programs and switch on the TV at the usual time at LBC to find out. We'll go straight to the truth, no matter how dark it is. This was all for this evening. We were Limstella (the camera switches to the mentioned person), Denning, Sonia and I, Nergal, your host. See you tomorrow"
With that, the lights switch off slowly, while credits roll…
Everyone back at the channel sighed.
"And? What can you tell me?", Isadora said, making a cup of coffee for herself. "Anyone wants coffee?"
"I guess I have whisky at my desktop", Pent said, leaning in his chair, as if the floor was swallowing him.
"He will have to start praying for his life, for if I ever find him, he'll meet a real angered lady", Alina said, solemnly.
"I suggest we go for the whisky", Wallace said, dropping the magazine behind.
"I completely agree with that", Renault joined, still amused by the news.
"We have to see how they got that data, which is not 100% right", Pent stated, depressed.
"They are just a yellow show. We shouldn't care that much", Wallace said, but he was interrupted by Alina.
"Just tell me how they got data about me? Uh? You can be the following one, you know!"
"In that case, he's dead man! I would strike him down and then…"
"ENOUGH!!!", Pent cried, freezing everyone. "I already have a headache, and you too are arguing since I put a foot in this room!! I'm sick of you! Alina, Isadora, go and try to gather some more information. You'll give it to me tomorrow. I'm off for today! My head's collapsing!!", he said, picking his coat and slamming the door when he closed it.
The rest looked at each other puzzled, but the girls run away from the room quickly, so if Lord Pent decided to return, they wouldn't be there.
Wednesday afternoon, Big Emblem's Castle. Everyone's at the park, doing some trivial activity.
"Psst! Hector!! Lord Hector, over here", a voice called.
Hector turned back and saw a familiar figure, although he started laughing before he could greet him back.
"Matthew, what are you doing here… with a suit?", he asked between his laughter.
The boy glared at him, but anyway he climbed the wall and got into the castle.
"I have just arrived from Akanea and I decided to pay you a visit… and to tell you that Uther is just mad at you. I'd suggest you to stay here as much as possible if you don't want to see him angry. You know how he reacts when he's really pissed off…"
"Yeah, ok, but I'm already here and he can't do anything to kick me out"
"He can talk with Pent, you know…"
"Anyway, I don't care about that. How is everyone doing?"
"Oh, fine. Leila is alright, Oswin too, I'm doing normal…. Your brother was doing fine until he learnt about all this. But apart from that, everything's fine"
"And what are you doing with that suit?"
"Ah, yes, my suit", Matthew said, looking at his grayish suit. "You know that your brother expects us to dress smart when we are around… even if I'm just the office boy", he said, resigned.
"What you have to cope with… Hey, why don't you stay here? We are a bit bored lately"
"I don't know…", the former thief hesitated.
"Take a look at this, we do nothing all day", he said, staring at the park.
In fact, nobody was doing anything interesting. Lyn was swimming at the pool, trying to surpass her own swimming record; Farina, Priscilla and Rebecca were laying near the pool, sunbathing, and Sain was just next to them, flattering then and trying to get a date; Ninian was just sitting near the pool, with her feet on it, taking Lyn's time; Lowen was searching for the best chicken eggs he could find for their lunch, which consisted of omelets; Nils was playing the "Elibian flautist", guiding sheep with his harmonica. Matthew noticed that Florina was near them, but then she fled to the stable, where Erk hide to study magic at ease, but Canas popped out from nowhere and was now torturing him, comparing their magic. He also noticed a rather suspicious individual, Raven, clutched against a pack of grass, looking menacingly at Hector. He figured he was about to throw him something from his hideout, but Lucius was next to the red haired youth, whining him not to do something. Kent was just wandering around, but he seemed to have a fixed eye at the pool… Eliwood now joined Lyn, and the two of them were running races, trying to see who was the fastest. Dorcas was learning a booklet on farming, and Karel and Bartre were having their tournament at one point of the park. Right now, the central match was taking place, but no one was playing attention to them, so they were fighting alone.
Matthew stared at the place for a while.
"This is paradise", he said, in a sigh. "Alright! But let me finish a business I have pending…"
"What? Asking Leila to marry you?"
The office boy smiled mysteriously. "Maybe after this… Why not?"
He climbed the wall once again and then he left for his boss' office, to finish that business…
Another emission of "The Darkest Truth" finished. With this, none of the contestants was safe. They even claimed to have some odd videos of Ninian and Nils, who seemed the most pacific ones.
Pent dropped himself on his chair.
"What had you found about those people?", he asked, taking another aspirin, the tenth in three days…
"Well, originally, 'The Darkest Truth' was an investigation program, which denunciated many corrupt events or things that went against people's will, especially in Bern. But since last year, it turned into a cheap, gossip show. It's still being produced by 'Black Fang Productions", but it's another, really different thing that what it really was. It's rumored that everything started when the producer's owner, Brendan Reed, married again, things started to change, but we don't know how to check that", Isadora said, while Alina nodded behind her.
"This year, the producer's reached an agreement with LBC, Laus BroadCasting, to get on the Lycian TV. We all now that the owner of LBC is Marquess Darin, and that's all that we got for now"
"Reporting from various sources, we were Isadora and Alina for Lord Pent and the rest of the people in the room", Alina joked, trying to cheer everyone up. "Don't you think that now I can work at the news?"
"No", Wallace replied coldly, thing that earned him a glare from the young reporter.
"And how did they got that data on the contestants?", Heath asked, catching the last part of the conversation when he came into the room.
"Not only on the contestants", Renault corrected him. "Evidently, you hadn't watched yesterday's show, Alina", he said, playing a tape, while watching the surprised expression of the girl.
The surprise turned into real hate and anger, as one of the reports was entirely about her.
'Who's that reporter that acts as the mediator between the trapped contestants and the outside world? How did she end up there, being a nobody?
That girl, Alina Rettien, comes from Nodion, a pleasant kingdom in the continent of Juggdral. Back there, she seemed to have developed a quite tomboyish attitude, and is well known for not having a boyfriend in a long, loooooonnnnng time…'
Renaul stopped the tape there, as he noticed it was better to stop there and not to go on…
Alina stomped her fist against the table, hurting herself in the process.
"WHO THE HELL ARE THEY TO PUBLISH ALL THAT WITHOUT MY CONSENT?!?!?!?!?", she outburst, really angry, and blushing. "THAT'S MY PRIVATE LIFE!!!"
"Alina, calm down…", Isadora pleaded, but had to jump back to avoid being hit by the angry girl.
"Just who they think they are? And what if I hadn't a boyfriend for a long time, as that… damned voice in off says?!?!", she said, sitting down, depressed.
"Is it that long?", Wallace asked.
The reporter just glared at him, with real hate in her eyes.
"Ok, I'm sorry", he apologized, quickly.
"And me, tomboyish? If there's something I am not is tomboyish…", she said, in despair. "Or am I wrong?"
Nobody answered.
"Oh, great", she said, behaving herself. "I'll go and check our files, maybe a clue lies there"
"I'm going too!", Isadora said, accompanying her friend, fearful that she would do something wrong in her anger state.
Matthew walked into the office and closed the door. Luckily, Leila, his girl, was sitting in the desktop, so he wouldn't have to wait her to talk about his sudden join to the game, even if he would get 'illegally'.
"Hi, honey", he greeted her, sitting down in the chair next to hers. "Are you busy?"
The reddish haired secretary smiled lovingly at that greeting.
"Not now", she said, putting a bunch of papers in a box and leaving it in a small cabinet. "What's wrong?", she said, sitting down again, crossing her arms and leaning her head over them.
"It's just that I'll take a little holiday", he said, grinning.
"Oh, Uther already gave you those? It's not fair, I also deserved ones!", she moaned, annoyed.
"It's not like that", he said quickly. "He doesn't know. I'm getting into the 'Big Emblem' castle, with Hector and the others"
Leila frowned at that.
"There's a nice sum of money for the winner, honey. Just think in that!", he tried to convince her, cheerfully. "Besides, you'll barely have time to miss me, as Uther will torture you, asking you to get him all the news and things that happened during his absence"
Finally, Leila smiled, although she wasn't convinced.
"Alright, but I don't like that too much…I'll have to work double for you!", she complained, giggling.
"So it was that, uh?", he said, getting nearer to her. He kissed her, and then, he got up.
"You'll even notice that I'm not around"
"If you say so… hey, where are you going now?", she asked, stopping him before he left the office.
"I told you. I'm off to the Castle!", he waved at her, then he closed the door.
"You are a child, Matthew…", she whispered, resigned, under her smile.
"Alina, calm down, please!", Isadora begged her, worried.
It was the third time Alina was checking the staff and the contestants files, to see if there was something suspicious in them. And she hadn't gotten anything new, apart from what they knew.
"I'm already calmed, don't tell me to calm down, okay!?", she barked as a reply, slamming the metallic drawer. "This can't! Everything's here! There should be some missing files, but everything's here! Who the hell got that data and how?!?", she cried, punching the cabinet with her fist. "Ouch!"
"See? You'll end up hurting yourself pretty badly if you go on with that. Come on, let's go and have some drinks… Maybe a coffee?"
"I'd rather like Vodka today…", Alina replied, following the blue haired producer.
"But you haven't try that yet… and you don't drink alcohol!"
"That's why!"
They opened the door, and right there was standing one of the leaning boys, dressed in their orange uniform. It was the same one that Alina found suspicious the other day, when she left with Heath and Rath for the Castle. He had light purple haired tied in a ponytail and a scar over one of his eyes. He had an arrogant expression, and, according to his ID card pinned on the left of his chest, he was "Legault"
"What the… what's your business here?", Alina asked, correcting herself at the right moment.
"I have to clean here", Legault said, pointing to the broom that was next to him. "Your boss pays me to clean, ya know"
"Alright, alright, we are going", Isadora said, pushing Alina gently out of the room.
The two girls went on walking silently, until Alina turned back and started walking in haste to the room where they were until that moment.
"Alina, what's the matter?", Isadora asked, her, surprised.
"I forgot my purse. Without it, I can get into my home", she said, while Isadora reached her.
She opened the door quickly, just to find Legault peeping into the channel's files. He should have run if he had known…
"So you where the damned one who was stealing the data and published all those things?!?!?", Alina asked him, mpushing him hard, and making him sit down in a chair.
"I… it's not what you think…", he tried to say, but was interrupted by the foreigner girl.
"Yeah, yeah, you were cleaning the files, as they were a bit dusty", she joked ironically, seriously. "Come on! I may have the face, but I'm not that stupid!!"
"Alina, calm down, you are gonna faint!", Isadora pleaded, far too worried about her friend's health.
"I'm perfectly, Isa, don't bother me with that!", Alina turned back, annoyed. Then she faced Legault, again. "Alright, you work for Nergal…"
"I see you can add two plus two", Legault counter-attacked, calmly.
"Wanna see my splendorous 'Juggdral kick'?!?", she threatened her, in a fighting stance, returning to her times as a judo player, when she was at High School (not that long ago).
"Now I see that you are a bit tomboyish", Legault tossed her, arching an eyebrow.
"Who told you that!?!?!", she went on, more pissed off than before.
"Contacts"
"Isadora, go and call security! Or I'll end up killing him!!!"
Needless to say, Isadora went on running in her search for the security men.
"Great work, girls", Pent congratulated the producer and the reporter, while Hawkeye, head of the security, was taking care of Legault. "I think that would be enough"
"I don't think so", Isadora said, disagreeing with her boss. "Black Fang Productions must have some more spies out there, so I don't think we over with them"
"Anyway, good job", he said again, feeling satisfied.
"Hey, what's with you?", Renault said, pointing to Alina.
The brownish-reddish haired reported was silent, lost in her thoughts.
"Ah? What?", she asked, trying to sound normal, but her voice was saddened.
"What's happening with you? You aren't that silent, especially when someone congratulates you", Wallace asked, following his fellow producer.
"Nothing", she replied back, rudely. "Can I leave?"
Pent looked at the others.
"Well… there's no reason you can't, you know"
"Great. Thanks", she said, picking her things and leaving the room.
"What's with her? She's far too silent for her usual self", Renault asked, with a hint of worry.
"She must have eaten something in bad state and she's feeling bad", Wallace replied, as an explanation, a disgusting one.
"You'll never change", Isadora said, sighing. "She's just in a thoughtful state, thinking in all her life and the choices she made"
"All her life? Is she older than what she said?"
"You'll never understand, will you?", she said, resigned. "Those statements really hurt her, even id they were the truth. No one enjoys being 'naked' like that in TV", she added, picking her things. "Tomorrow will be another day, she'll be better. Well, see you"
Waving at them, she left the room.
"Hi!!!! I'm home!!!!", Matthew yelled, once he got into the Castle and found the living room.
The few ones there rose an eyebrow, looking oddly at the newcomer. The pegasi sisters, Ninian, Eliwood and Canas had no idea who was him.
"Matthew! So you made up your mind?", Hector greeted him, coming from the kitchen, where he was trying to cook breakfast with Priscilla. Next to the door was Raven, who tried to knock him over with his sword, but he failed, as the blue haired youth walked faster than what he expected.
"Yes. I wouldn't be here if it weren't like that"
"And I see you returned to your usual self", he added, looking at his outfit.
Matthew looked at himself, and smiled proudly at his old, a bit dusty clothes.
"Yes, no more suits for me for a while"
"Just tell me the truth: you aren't here to report things to my brother during the night, are you?", he asked him, a bit threatening.
"Of course not! If I haven't even said 'bye' to him!"
"Good, I like it that way. Welcome"
Matthew got into the boys dorm, leaving his bag on the floor.
"Matthew! It's been a long time!", Sain greeted him, cheerfully.
"What are you doing here?", Sain asked puzzled. "Already Saturday?"
"No, Friday", the young thief and office boy replied, grinning.
"And how did you got here?", the crimson haired youth asked, more puzzled than before.
"I just got here by my own will"
"Alina and the others will be mad at you when they find this out", Lyn said, from the door.
"Oh, my! Hi, Lyn!", he greeted her, cheerfully. "It's been a long time"
"Indeed", she said, smiling. "Well, see you later. I was going to do some exercise", she said, walking away.
"Lad… Lyn, wait for me!", Kent said, jumping from the bed as if he had been stroke by a thunder.
"He's head over heels for her, am I wrong?", Matthew asked, asking the obvious.
"Yeah", Sain nodded, resigned. "At least I can count with you to start girl-chasing, can't I?"
"Sorry, but I'll pass. Leila already has my heart", he said, sort of proud.
"Oh, how cute", Sain joked ironically, harassing the in love boy.
Some noises came from the outside.
"Let me go, little demon!", Erk came in, with Nils attached to his arm, struggling to get rid of the little bard.
"Teach me magic, uncle Erk!", he begged, funnily.
"Forget it, Serra can be a better student than you! You already destroyed two of my Fire books, little rat!"
"You shouldn't talk to him like that, little magician", Dorcas said from behind them, and Nils jumped behind his protector.
"Oh, I'm off", Erk said, leaning in his bed. "Hi", he mumbled to Matthew, with his head on his pillow.
"Oops…", Guy said when he got into the room, and left quickly as soon as he saw Matthew. Luckily for him, the newcomer hadn't noticed him.
"Hey, come here that I'll introduce you to the girls", Sain said, grabbing his arm and guiding him to the mentioned room.
"A cheap excuse to see the girls in her panties, isn't it?", Matthew grinned, and Sain couldn't help but smile mischievously.
"Who's that one?", Renault asked in the middle of a producer's reunion, interrupting Pent in one of his long, boring speeches.
"Where?", the others asked, looking at the retired priest's direction.
"There, in that TV", he said, pointing to one of the TV sets, where Matthew and Hector were playing cards with Sain and Karel. For what they could tell, Sain and Karel were loosing, as the long haired swordman was grabbing the hilt of his sword, discretely…
"You sure were paying attention to what I was saying", Pent glared at him, annoyed.
"I was doing the two things at the time", he defended himself, proudly. "But who's that one?"
"I have no idea", Alina said, as Wallace looked at her, suspiciously. "I have never seen him before"
"Me either", Isadora added, shrugging.
"So we have an infiltrated contestant, uh?", Louise asked, in her first producer's reunion for a long time.
"We have to kick him out", Pent said without thinking. "Excuse me for the term", he apologized later, as everyone, his wife including was watching at him oddly.
"It's too late today", Alina said, looking at her watch. "We can do it tomorrow, before the nomination, if there's one, of course"
"Nomination! What are we gonna do with that?", Pent cried, at the only thought of that not debated issue.
"Let's try to get some nominees this time, and if we have a similar response, well, we change that aspect of the rules", Isadora suggested, not very sure.
"I had another idea in mind for next Saturday…", the channel's programmer said, rubbing his chin.
"Well, then they nominate someone this week and gets kicked out in two weeks time", Wallace added, without much interest.
"Whatever", Alina said in haste. "May I leave? It's getting later than what I expected…"
"What? You have a date?", Wallace asked her, ironically.
The brownish-reddish haired reporter glared at him, fists tightened, but instead of punching him in the face she picked her things.
"Alright. We are finished for today. Indeed, it's late", Pent said, looking at his own watch. "Darling, let's go to that fancy restaurant we both like so much…", he whispered his wife at the ear, but everyone was able to hear that.
"Oh, how lovingly", Wallace joked, risk of being fired present.
"So nice, so pretty, but I have to go", Alina said, walking to the door. "The man at home is waiting for me", she added, mysteriously, before waving at them.
Isadora giggled at the statement, while Wallace looked at her puzzled.
"Wasn't it that she was single, without anyone at sight?"
Isadora picked her bag and walked to the door.
"She was referring to her rabbit. Bye!", and with that, she was gone.
"Her rabbit? It was mine!!! Paco!!!", Wallace cried, still trying to forget that incident, but failing.
Alina left the channel in haste, and checked her watch once again.
"Oh, my! I'm gonna be late for my fav sitcom, and 'Paco' must have died of starvation by now!", she cursed for herself, staring at the needles, which weren't going to switch places because she wanted them to. Worse enough, she was in a rather deserted street; instead of leaving the building by the front door, leading to the avenue, she decided to leave by one of the service doors, because she would reach her home faster that way. She was thinking in how silly of her was to take that shortcut late at night (well, it was like eight in the night, and there was no one outside) when she felt someone pushing her.
"What the… ahh!"
She fall down, pushed by someone who was staring at her. Not that she needed more time to recognize who he was, tough.
"I thought Hawkeye would take better care of people like you", she said, glaring at Legault from the floor.
"He did a good job, but I still now how to escape", he replied, arrogantly. "You should learn to treat people better, little foreigner", he added, threatening.
"I barely did a scratch to you! Leave me alone!!", she yelled, annoyed.
"Give me more data, and I may leave you alone. And don't even think in trying to stop the Black Fang, or to mess with "The Darkest Truth". Take it as an advice", he told her, coldly.
"Don't bother me! Go away!!", she shouted, scared and fearful. She was so nervous that she couldn't even get up from the floor.
"Are you afraid? Do you think I would do anything to you?", Legault went on harassing her, ironically.
"Hey, you, what are you doing here?!?", a voice, a male voice, asked threatening from behind.
Both Legault and Alina turned back, surprised. Next to a black car, a figure was standing, looking at the scene.
"And who are you?!?", Legault asked, playing mighty.
The figure walked to the light, revealing himself. A suited man, with longish dark, purplish hair, and a goatee beard appeared. Legault shivered at his only sight, and then he run away, throwing a menace to Alina.
"Don't mess with Nergal and "The Darkest Truth"! I've already told you!", he threatened her, before vanishing in the darkness.
Alina kept on staring at his direction for a short while, surprised. "What's the matter with him?", she thought, without understanding anything.
"Are you alright?", the man from before asked her, bringing her to reality once again.
"Ah… I… yes, I'm fine. Thanks", she mumbled, getting up a bit awkwardly.
"Do you think it's time for a lone young woman to walk streets like this?", he asked her, arching an eyebrow.
Alina blushed, and looked in another direction.
"I know. I hadn't realized it was that dark", she explained, shyly. "What were you doing here, in a street like this?", she asked back, curiously.
"I was in my way to 'Pherae TV', but I think I mistook the way", the man said, looking at the building, thinking it was anything else.
"But you are in the right way", Alina said, a bit more relaxed. "This one is one of the personal entrances to the channel. The 'big one' is turning at the right, on the avenue", she explained the stranger.
"Oh, thanks. I was going to meet Pent. I hope I can still meet him tonight", he said, nodding. "By the way, we hadn't introduced each other. I'm Uther", he added, giving his hand to her.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Alina", the brownish-reddish haired girl replied naturally (thing that puzzled him a bit), shaking his hand. "Excuse me, but I have to leave. If you hurry, you may catch Lo… Pent, he was planning to leave the building soon", she said, correcting herself in the middle of the sentence.
"Well, thanks. Take care", he said, walking to his car.
"Ah? Thanks…", Alina mumbled, before turning back and starting walking in haste to her home. "How strange… it has to be the first time that a stranger tells me to take care", she thought, while she walked to her home, where her new pet, Paco, and her favorite sitcom were waiting for her.
"This is our final segment, Louise", Lord Athos introduced the final block of the show, trying to motivate his companion host, who was much silent than usual.
"Yes, it is, Lord Athos", she replied, trying to look relaxed, but she obviously seemed worried. "Once again, I would like to let in clear that those statements said in a yellow-show from another channel aren't true, as Dorcas is no assassin, Serra's not the reincarnation of the devil, Canas is not escaping from his family, Rebecca isn't the head of a bio-terrorist group that enjoys killing animals for fun, Lyn isn't a drunk, Sain isn't a stalker and Eliwood isn't gay"
"Louise, calm down, our audience already knows what's true and what's not", Athos tried to comfort her, but with little success.
"Anyway, I had to say it", she replied, almost sobbing. "And our reporter, our dear Alina, isn't escaping from the Law of her continent, and hasn't killed a former boyfriend because he left her for her best friend or anything like that. Over to you, Alina"
The screen switched to the Castle, where an angry Alina was, looking to her left with her eyes narrowed, sign that she wasn't comfortable.
"Hi, Louise", she greeted her, not too friendly. "Good night, Lord Athos", she went on, now better than before. "We are here to see who are this week's nominees. In a moment we'll know that"
After a small ad, the action returns to the Castle, to the living-room, exactly, where all the gang was gathered.
"Hi, people", she greeted them, waving at them. "Matthew, come here", she called him, suddenly.
"What?", he asked, playing innocent.
"I'm afraid you have to leave this game", she said solemnly.
"Can't I stay?"
"You aren't supposed to, you know. It goes against the rules"
"But you hadn't kicked someone out yet!"
"Anyway! Don't blame me, I'm just a communicator!"
"Let me stay, let me stay!", the young thief begged, with the rest of the gang as if they were a chorus.
"But… wait me a sec", she said, walking some meters away and pressing the microphone that was next to her ear, so she could listen better to what Renault was saying from the channel. "Are you sure? Right"
She walked to the group again, saying, "Alright, you can stay… Now, who are the nominees for this week?"
The group looked at each other, without knowing what to say.
"I'm one!!", Erk yelled, in despair.
"No, he isn't!!", all the girls, and Nils, yelled at the unison.
"Sorry, but I need nominees, and if you hadn't thought in someone, I'm sorry", Alina said, shrugging. "Now, who else?"
"Karel!", Bartre yelled, taking everyone by surprise.
"What!?! You are dead man!!", the long haired swordsman yelled, taking off his Wo Dao. With the help of everyone else, another fight was prevented.
"Alright, Karel is our next nominee. Bye!!", Alina said, and left the Castle in haste, before Karel could even think in telling her something…
"Hey, Bartre, why had you nominated him?", Lyn asked, curiously.
"Because I'm the best fighter here!", he just replied, before of leaving for the garden.
Back to the studio, Louise and Athos were closing the show.
"And that was all for tonight! Stay tuned, for there's a surprise for next week!", Louise exclaimed, now back to her usual self.
"Don't forget to vote for one of our contestants, children of Roland", Athos suggested, while the curtain of the show was playing.
"Yes! See you next week!"
And with that, another transmission was over.
Finally!!! Update, and a long one! I wonder if someone will read this, considering the length of my chapters. It seems I can't cut them, they just came this long…
I had an answer for one of my reviews pending: I had understood that Fiora was the eldest, but maybe my mind just messed that up. Anyway, it doesn't have too much importance. Thanks for pointing out.
All for this one. Read and review, please…