The Arbiter watched he ceremony from a corner of the church. Genis and Presea now walked up the aisle, each holding a silk pillow with three rings on it. Presea presented her rings to the brides, and Genis gave his to the men. The brides and grooms slipped the rings on, repeated some words after the priest, and kissed. Then everyone clapped. Flashbulbs lit up the stage.
The Arbiter noted with some interest, that the attendees were mostly invited by those whom the newlyweds had invited. Since they only knew about twenty Earthlings, they had left it up to those few to invite more. Even those who the Symphonians had invited weren't that close to them, or at least not yet.
As the married couples began walking down the aisle, the Arbiter took his cue and exited through a back door. He did not wish to disrupt their happy day with his presence. Besides, there was only one person he wanted to talk to. He tuned in on the inside. He found Presea's mind, isolated it, and focused his thoughts into her brain.
Presea's eyelids drooped, and her mouth hung open as she felt a wave of dizziness come over her. While it washed over her, the words meet me at the back door of the reception hall formed in her mind. Then the vertigo passed, and she opened her eyes wide. The Arbiter was back!
Presea opened the door when she finally managed to break away and looked up and down the empty alleyway. She felt a tug on her mind to go to the left. Presea followed the gentle pull all the way back to the end of the narrow space. Presea stood there and shivered in the darkness, waiting for something to happen. Then a delicate, almost imperceptible nudge on her neck made her look to the right. There a door stood partially open, as if inviting her in. Whatever had been guiding her hadn't harmed her yet, and she felt confident in her martial arts, so she pushed the door open and went inside.
She took a few steps inside before a force made her go back and shut the door. With cautious sweeps of the room, with great deliberance, and with a curious mind she ventured into the dark. There was a click and a lamp blazed on in the middle of the room, illuminating everything with glaring white light.
The Arbiter's hand fell away from the lamp and he gazed intently at his friend. Presea sighed and smiled with relief. "It's good to see you again," she said. The Arbiter said nothing, but glanced at the floor and back up again. "What's wrong?" asked Presea with a tilt of her head. The Arbiter seemed surprised. "Ah, well, I cannot really discuss it," he said uncomfortably. Presea was about to ask what he could tell her about it when the feeling she had had after their last connection slammed back into her with alarming urgency.
She scrunched up her face. "Hey, Arbiter," she said, "who's G-Man?" The Arbiter's head snapped up. "I've never heard of such a person," he said almost immediately. Presea's eyes narrowed. She could tell he was lying, but decided to let it go, for now at least. She decided to change the subject. "So what happened when you left our home?" Presea asked. "You never told us what that was all about." "How do you mean?" the Arbiter asked warily. "Well, you were bleeding," Presea pointed out. "Oh, that," said the Arbiter as if it was the most trivial thing in the world. "Just a scrape with some ruffians on my way home." Presea fell silent and stared at the floor. The Arbiter wondered what he had done wrong.
When she looked back up, the Arbiter was stung by her hurt expression. "Can't you even tell me the truth?" she asked. The Arbiter hesitated. "No," he said at last. "I am not allowed to discuss my, uh, assignments with anyone. I am, truly sorry, but that is how it must be. I cannot compromise my work. It is my duty to see that what I do is kept a secret. I should expect you to understand that." Presea nodded. She did understand, but still...
The Arbiter hesitantly approached the girl, and embraced her. "If ever my work is done, then you will be the first to hear of it," he said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. Presea sniffled and looked up at him. She gave him a smile. "I'll look forward to it," she said. The Arbiter smiled, half because of her smile, half because he was relieved.
The Arbiter's smile suddenly vanished, and he released Presea and produced an oval shaped object that glowed blue at one end. "There are footsteps in the alley," he whispered. Presea looked towards the door. The Arbiter grabbed her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "Go check outside and see who it is," he said. "I'll be right behind you."
Presea was a little worried, but she nodded her head. She stepped up to the door and grasped the chilled handle with her gloved hand. She hesitated half a moment before opening the door a crack and peering outside. At first, she could see nothing. Then she adjusted her angle of view, and someone came into sight. She sighed. "It's Kratos," she said. Three more people came up behind him. "And Yuan, Botta, and Genis, too," she added. Presea looked back at the Arbiter, who nodded and waved at the door. She opened it wide and the men outside turned towards the noise. "Hey guys," she said with a smile and a small wave.
They smiled back and she beckoned for them to come inside. "What are you doing out here?" asked Genis as he crossed the threshold. Then he saw the Arbiter. "Oh," Genis said. The Arbiter put away the thing he was holding by stowing it in a hidden compartment in his armor. "I am sorry if we have worried you," the Arbiter said with a bow. "It was not my intention to cause you undue anxiety. I merely wished to talk to Presea." "Well, we didn't know where she went, so naturally we noticed and went looking for her," replied Kratos. The Arbiter dipped his head in respect. "Understandably," he said.
"So where have you been?" asked Yuan. "We haven't seen you in quite a while." The Arbiter glanced around and cleared his throat. "My, ah, work, has been culminating recently, and I haven't gotten a chance to see you until now," he explained. "Through Presea's encouragement was greatly appreciated." The men were confused, and Presea was no help at all, for she just stood there with her hands behind her back and grinned. "In any case," said the Arbiter, dismissing his last remark, "I just found out about this wedding yesterday, and I must say, I was quite, um, surprised. Or I wasn't. I was half-expecting it, you might say. I was glad, but of course I could not reveal myself in front of the other humans. So I waited until the opportune moment, and contacted Presea. Don't worry if you don't understand." "Good," said Botta, "because we don't." The Arbiter waved his hand in the air. "I'll explain sometime," he said.
"So do you want to meet the newlyweds?" asked Genis. The Arbiter shook his head. "No," he said, "I do not wish to disturb them. It is a special day, and I don't want to impose anything on them with my arrival." There was silence for a moment, until Genis spoke again. "What do we do now?" he asked. "What do you mean?" asked Presea. Genis shrugged. "Well, all the guests are leaving, the brides and grooms have left, the people we hired are cleaning up the hall, and we don't really have a home to go to tonight, since, well, you know, with them at home." "Ah, yes," said Kratos uncomfortably. They all laughed. "What do they know about us?" asked Yuan. "By which I mean, how much do they know about what we're going to do tonight?" "As far as they know," said Kratos, "we'll be returning tomorrow afternoon. We have until then to do, well, whatever, I suppose." "So what should we do?" asked Genis again.
They pondered this long and hard. Almost everything they thought of was struck down, since they couldn't have the Arbiter there. As another silence descended upon the group, the Arbiter spoke up for the first time. "If there was one place, one place at all, that you would like to go," he said, his head tilted towards the floor, "where would it be?" "Why?" asked Presea. The Arbiter looked up and smiled. "Because I have I way to get there," he said.
Presea looked up at the Arbiter. In the glow of the pale moon, with his armor glowing softly, and with his somber facing gazing forward, he looked like a hero out of legend, a champion for justice and peace. He looked like an object of reverence for the good, and one of fear for the bad. Yet still he seemed distant, a lone warrior from an age long past, and one destined to stay forever on a world that was not his. He was the embodiment of eternity if Presea had ever seen one. Then he turned to Presea, and then back to what he was staring at before.
"This is it," the Arbiter said. A gleaming, black-hulled starship hovered just above the ground not ten feet from them. The humans seemed to be in shock, and the Arbiter smiled. "Wait until you see the inside," he said with a laugh. "Come on, let's get inside."
The inside was even more impressive than the outside. It wasn't stark and built for strict functionality. No, it was just the opposite. Beautifully crafted furniture was built into the ship, and the entire interior was gorgeous to look at, with its pleasing curves and dark hues of violet and blue. Even the readout displays were aesthetically pleasing, the floating blue holograms complemented with orange indicators. Curving viewports gave splendid panoramas of the outside world, and they were all of them eager to see what the Earth looked like from the air. "So then," said the Arbiter, settling into the pilot's chair, "where was it you wanted to go?"
"It's called Jamaica," called Presea. "Do you have a map?" The Arbiter nodded and pulled up a world map. Presea pointed out the island in the Atlantic Ocean. "Jamaica it is," said the Arbiter, plotting in a course. "Get ready for the experience of a lifetime." "You know about Jamaica?" asked Kratos. The Arbiter looked back and grinned. "I was talking about the flight there," he said.
The Arbiter laughed and began pressing buttons. A few faint humming sounds turned on and, just perceptibly, they began moving. The only way to really tell that there was any movement at all was to look out the window, the Arbiter informed them. They all turned to a viewport and gazed out. The lights of Japan were streaking behind and below them quickly. Then they stood still and began to simply shrink away into the distance. They passed through layers of clouds, and before they knew it they were outside of the atmosphere. "Look up," said the Arbiter. They did, and gasped. The moon hung above them, a silver sphere in a starry background. "Now look down," said the Arbiter. Again they were astounded by the magnificence of what they saw. Japan was a golden island in a sea of darkness. Vladivostok shimmered faintly nearby, and China was lit with a bright flame. Other cities and countries glowed with their own lights. Then they began to move again, incredibly fast, and the Earth turned beneath them. Then a sudden shine came from the far side of the Earth as the rays of the sun struck the land and sea. In a matter of seconds they had come to stop above the island of Jamaica.
It was bright, it was early, and there was not a cloud to be seen over the island paradise to which they descended.
" 'ere you ah, folks! A medley juice for de lady and de lad, two sunrises and a ice tea for de men, and one big ol' plate o' jerk chicken. Anythin' else for you all?"
Kratos lowered his shades. "Thank you, but that will be all for now," he said, before pushing the glasses back on his nose. "Well den, thank you, and enjoy!" said the waiter with a bow. Yuan smiled and tossed him a substantial sum. "Thank you for the excellent service," he said. The waiter's eyes widened at the cash, and he bowed again. "You ah most welcome, sah!" he said with a laugh and a shake of the cash. Yuan chuckled. "These guys crack me up," he said.
Genis took a big bite of the chicken. "This is great!" he exclaimed. "Really?" said Presea, taking a small bite. She swallowed and froze with her eyes staring straight ahead. "Ahhh," she said. "What?" asked Kratos. Presea suddenly lunged for her drink and downed it in several big gulps. She sucked in thin breaths between her teeth. After a minute or so she opened her mouth and panted. Finally she regained normality. She looked over at Genis, who was still devouring the chicken. "How can you eat that flaming food!" she exclaimed. He shrugged. "Too much tasting in the kitchen," he replied. "Besides, I already liked spicy stuff before I started cooking." Kratos, Yuan, and Botta all tried some. "This is quite good," said Kratos. "Hot, but definitely good," said Botta. "Very delicious," said Yuan. They all ate it with no problem. Presea sulked hungrily.
"If you can't eat this, you should order something else," said Kratos. "You'll need your strength for later." Presea brightened. "Okay!" she said. She got up and, after making sure her bikini was in order, went over to the bar and examined the menu. At a recommendation from her waiter, she ordered a seafood combination plate. "We got one already made up, since it's de special of de day," said the waiter. "You want to add it to your check?" Presea said yes, and took the plate back to the lounge chairs on the beach where they were sitting.
Presea sighed as she sat back down. She gazed out at the blue skies, clear ocean, and white sand. It was so beautiful here you could almost believe there was nothing bad in the world. Presea glanced at her watch. It was now 5:30 A.M. in Japan, which meant it was one-thirty P.M. here. They had arrived here a little before eleven P.M., Japanese time, making it eight in the morning in Jamaica. They had curled up inside the ship and slept for about five hours, until one o'clock in the afternoon. They all felt fine, since the Symphonians had been oversleeping for a week to look good for the wedding (Sheena had been very strict!) and the Arbiter was built and trained to run on less sleep. Afterwards they bought and changed into swimsuits, for even though it was winter, the air was hot, the water was cool, and it was perfect for swimming.
The Arbiter had decided to take the ship into the jungle, and had asked the rest of them to meet up with him at a precise location on the island at five P.M. sharp. He had given them a radar device to pinpoint where he wanted them to go. In any case, the Arbiter seemed happier to explore the jungle than walk the beach and swim, even if he had a choice.
Presea finished her delicious meal and set the plate aside. She sighed and laid back. Unhappy with her pale skin, she decided to darken a little bit and began rubbing herself with tanning lotion. "Would you get my back?" she asked Genis. "Uh, okay," he said, managing to keep his voice from cracking.
"You know you guys have to wait at least an hour to go in after eating, right?" she said while Genis massaged her back. "Of course," said Kratos. "Good," she said. "So are you going to tan with me until then?" The men sighed. "I suppose so," was the general response.
After what seemed like an eternity to the guys, Presea finally announced that they could go in. They all sprinted down the beach and jumped into the crystal water. Genis turned back after a few steps and turned around. "How rude of me," he said with a bow to Presea. "May I have this swim?" She giggled and walked forward, taking his hand. "I would be honored," she replied.
Together they ran down the hot sand and splashed into the cool water. Presea submerged herself and rose out of the water with a rush. Genis stared in awe. Her long wet hair ran down her back, and her head was thrown back, her eyes closed and her mouth open. Sunshine sparkled on the drops of water in the air around her head and rippling down her bronzed skin. She looked so beautiful...time seemed to stand still, with her slender body locked in its graceful tableau.
Then time moved forward again and she sank back into the water. Genis shook his head to relieve the awe he was caught in. He looked around for Presea, but she was nowhere in sight. Genis jumped when hands tickled his ribs. He looked behind himself to see Presea laughing at him. With a huge grin he shoved her back into the water. Presea got back up and tackled him.
In the end, Genis was forced to try to end the battle tactfully, because it was clear to all that he was losing. However, it didn't work, and he was doomed to be known as having lost to a girl. The funny thing was, it didn't sting as much as he'd thought it would. "So what if Presea's a girl?" he said to his smirking friends. "She's stronger than me, and she beat me. You never made fun of me when Lloyd beat me because he was stronger." Kratos smiled and shook his head. "Genis," he said, laying a hand on his young comrade's shoulder, "for such a small person, you are well on your way to becoming a big man." He let that sink in, then took his hand off Genis' shoulder. "We should go now," Kratos announced. "It is time to see the Arbiter."
After retrieving their things from the bar's locker, they headed out to the place where they were to meet the Arbiter. He had recommended they not change clothes, but shoes. In accordance with his direction, they had purchased hiking boots, which they put on for their trek into the jungle.
About halfway into their thirty minute hike to meet the Arbiter, Genis stopped and panted. "Wait for Presea," he gasped. The men had been going along at an easy pace, but it was still quite a difficult trail for smaller legs. Presea had been bringing up the rear, and was now lagging behind. Kratos, Yuan, and Botta looked back and nodded. Presea huffed up the hill and bent over double next to Genis, breathing hard. Genis noticed a black tube tied to her bikini bottom. The weight caused it to slide down, and every so often Presea would readjust her swimsuit and hold it up, only to let it go and have it slide back down. Finally, when they decided to get going again, Presea untied the tube from her swimsuit, retied her swimsuit, and held the tube in her hand. Genis frowned and pointed at the tube.
"What is that?" he asked. "It's the Arbiter's gift," she said. "An energy sword. I felt I might need it today. Don't ask me why." Genis shrugged and started walking. The others followed suit, and began to make their way up the rest of the hill.
Eventually they came to a wide open lawn on top of the hill they were climbing. Kratos checked the locating device: this was where they were supposed to be. "Hello, everyone," said the Arbiter. They all turned in surprise; he had come up from behind them, silent as a ghost. "Don't do that again!" exclaimed Presea with her hand over her beating heart. The Arbiter held up a hand in apology. "I apologize," he said, "but I needed to test my stealth techniques, and it was such a good opportunity..."
"Why did you need to test them?" asked Botta. The Arbiter looked at him oddly. "To make sure they worked," the Arbiter said finally. "Anyhow, I have been exploring this jungle for quite some time, but there is nothing really remarkable here. I think we should go somewhere else." "Like where?" asked Genis. The Arbiter shrugged, showing his human influence once again. "I don't know," he said. "I assume you know more about this planet than I do." The humans thought for a moment in silence, their heads cocked, straining for ideas.
Eventually they gave up. "I don't know," said Kratos said. "Perhaps we should just go home." "If that is the decision," said the Arbiter, "then there is something I could show you. It's not much, but it's better than leaving just yet." Kratos spread his hands out in front of him. "Lead on, then," he said.
The Arbiter nodded, and turned to lead them into the forest. "Wait," said Kratos. The Arbiter halted and turned his head back to look at him. "Do you have some sort of weapon, or something?" Kratos asked. The Arbiter looked puzzled. "It's just that I feel unprotected in the wilderness if I don't have a weapon." The Arbiter dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Here," he said, tossing Kratos a black metal tube about the size of a flashlight. "It's an energy sword." "How do you use it?" asked Kratos. The Arbiter looked at Presea. "I thought I told you how to use it," he said. "Yes, well, um, you see," she fumbled while she showed him her sword, "You, uh, never told me which way was forward, and I didn't want to slice my hand off, or anything." The Arbiter laughed. "I'm sorry," he said, coming over to Presea and turning the tube around in her hand. "That is the correct way to do it," he said. "Ohhh," said Presea, feeling the now-comfortable weight in her hand. Tentatively she squeezed the switch. It depressed, and a faint expectant humming began to emanate from it. Then, she flicked her wrist and brought it back to center.
With a pop like that of breaking glass, a dual pronged blade of energy materialized around her hand and pointed forward. It seemed heavy and she had a hard time trying to find her balance. "Most beings find it easier to hold out their other arm bent out in front of them, like this," said the Arbiter, demonstrating how to hold the sword. Presea bent her left arm at the elbow and held it out in front of her with her hand next to the hilt. Almost instantly the sword seemed to align itself and her body regained balance. "Whoa!" she said. The Arbiter chuckled.
There was another pop and Kratos held out his sword as Presea did. Together they made a few cautious swipes at greenery until they got the feel for the sword. "Ready?" asked the Arbiter when they were done. "Ready," was their answer. "Then let's go."
Through dense jungle and high grass they hiked. Every now and again they were afforded with some astounding views of the rain forest and the mountains. But every time they thought they had arrived, the Arbiter would chuckle and say, "No, we have a ways to go yet. What we're looking for is much better than that." And then they would groan, get up, and go marching through the foliage.
Wet leaves brushed them as they walked, and soon they were as drenched in water and sweat as they had been in the sea. The Arbiter suddenly came to a halt. He examined the palm fronds blocking their path. "We're here," he said when he found what he was looking for. "Prepare yourselves." Presea wondered what it could be, the same as all the others were.
With a sweep of his hands, the Arbiter pulled away the fronds, revealing what he had been leading them to. They all drew in a deep breath in amazement. The land ended, and for as far as they could see the ocean spread out before them, glittering in the light of the fading sun. Boats sailed unhurriedly on the sea, their owners taking them home after a long day of work. "It's beautiful," whispered Presea. Kratos stared silently out on the calm, picturesque scene.
"It's pretty, ain't it?" came a voice from behind them. They all turned to see a young black man and an older white guy in black suits, white shirts, and black shades. The two men removed their glasses and put them in a shirt pocket. "Ah, jay, kay," said the Arbiter. "So good to see you." He did not seem enthused at all.
"Roivas Ruo Si Retibra Eht," said the older man, looking down at some electronic device. He talked with a deep, cowboyish accent. "Says here your license restricts you to the islands of Japan while you're on Earth," said the black man. The Arbiter tapped his arm plate impatiently. "Wasn't I granted traveling rights for my, uh, work?" he asked. "That's 'cause you're fighting the Combine, son," said the white man. "Doesn't look like you're fighting now." The Arbiter rolled his eyes. "But K, surely I can be excused this one time," he protested. "I'm with my friends." He gestured to the confused humans and half-elves.
"They're the ones you're staying with?" asked the black man, presumably the one named J, since the white man had been referred to as K. "Yes," said the Arbiter. K frowned, glancing at his scanner/communicator. "Whoa, hold on there," he said. "Someone here ain't human, and it's not the Arbiter. Three someones, in fact." K walked over to Genis, Yuan, and Botta. "Who are you?" he asked Genis. "Genis Sage," the boy said while the scanner checked his voice and genetic profile. "Hmm," said K. There was no match for his species in the database. That probably meant only one thing...
"Are you from Sylvarant?" he asked. "Yeah!" said Genis, in awe. "You know about us?" "Course," said K. "We don't get that many from the other side, so we don't bother entering it into the computer system. So how are things over there?" "Sylvarant and Tethe'alla recombined," said Kratos. J and K looked at each other. "Not since what we've heard," said J. "Ah, yes, that's right," said Yuan. "Don't tell me you're from the future, too?" said K. "Well, yeah," said Genis, "but how could you possibly guess that!"
K sighed. "It's a long story," he said, "but basically our sensors picked up a temporal ripple a while back, indicating a disturbance in time. We don't normally deal with that, but after the arrival and death of those Cruxis guys, well...anyhow, from what we gathered, there was a lot of time traveling going on for a while. Then it died down, and we assumed everything was fine. But when are you guys from?"
The humans and half-elves consulted each other. "When we got here," said Kratos at last, "it was in the future of this world, the present of ours, which had just recently rejoined. Somehow we got stuck and ended up here. From what you've told us, our world went back in time too. So, I'd say in about ten years we'll be back at the time we arrived here."
"Wait, something doesn't add up here," said J, his hands up. "We assume the remaining members of Cruxis went back in time when they crossed over to this side the very first time," explained Botta. "That makes more sense," said K. "Well, Arbiter, we'll let you off this time. As for your pals, well, they're all from that other world?" "Yes, as well as six more," answered the Arbiter. K shook his head. "I think they've got enough problems already," said J. "We'll let you go without anything special," K said. "Just know we'll check in on you every so often. Oh, and please try not to discharge your weapons in view of the public."
With that the men turned and walked off into the brush.
"That was odd," said Yuan.
"I think it went rather well," said the Arbiter.
"Can we go home now?" asked Presea.
"That sounds good to me," said Genis.
"Yes, let's go," said Kratos.
"Fair enough," the Arbiter conceded. He called his ship to the cliff, and they took off.
