Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Vitas, or any other character of Radiata Stories. Squaresoft and Tri-Ace own the whole lot. This is a fan creation and not to be taken as canon.
Lack of Subtlety: Ch 3
Things were finally looking up for Jack Russell.
He was quickly becoming a local legend for his swift promotion and high level fighting abilities. After all, a person doesn't win sparring matches against "Slashing Iron" Gerald and "Sprinting Shadow" Nocturne without gaining some prestige. (Although Jack's strategy for both fights was to use copious amounts of toadstool powder and play keep away until they passed out from the pain, but that point is usually glossed over.) After being promoted to sergeant by Elwen, the Acht squad was formed. Unlike the other squads which have members which report to it daily, Acht was more freely flowing, taking people whenever they were free to lend a hand, out of Jack's increasingly large list of friends. His popularity around town was fairly noticeable. With his easy going attitude and friendly disposition, he made friends extremely easily. In fact, there was almost nowhere in town where Jack was not welcomed. Allowed to wander the halls of the Varith institute freely, and even accepted around Club Vampire and the Void community, he was seen all over, making friends and having adventures. But the places where Jack was most often seen were Theatre Vancoor, where he received his orders, and The Olacion Shrine.
Since the day Jack fully recovered from his wounds from the smilidon incident, he has always had one constant member in his Acht squad: The tomboyish priestess Vitas. Meeting at the bridge over Jacks house everyday, they would team up and complete missions for both guilds with precision. Over the weeks Vitas became close to Jack, closer to him than any friend before, even his former knight comrades Ganz and Ridley. As they spent more and more time together in Acht squad, their respective skills as a swordsman and a monk fighter sky rocketed, due to their constant training together. Achilles had given his tacit approval to their partnership, on the understanding that she concentrate on training first and foremost, since he had intuited that there were unspoken reasons beyond training that kept Vitas so close to Jack's side.
Vita's crush on Jack was at first slow to develop, but was becoming increasingly hard to keep under wraps. Being the only girl amongst a lot of boys, she learned how to be tough and independent from an early age, and she did not like the idea of being like some stereotypical girl, but nevertheless, almost every time Jack spoke to her now, her knees would begin to feel weak and she would have to make a physical effort not to blush, otherwise her cheeks would glow a rosy hue. Almost everyone in the Order had figured it out by now, and Vitas had no choice but to put up with good natured ribbing from her fellow guildsmen. In fact, the only one who was oblivious to Jack and Vitas slowly budding relationship was, typically enough, Jack himself.
So it comes as no surprise that, as usual, his head was filled with nothing but the joy of adventuring as he and Vitas rushed towards the Olacion shrine. Clutched in Jack's hand was a request from a job from the High Priest himself, the man called Kain.
High Priest Kain was revered throughout Radiata as a wise a spiritual man, sais to be capable of hearing the voices of the gods, and having healing techniques so powerful, that in minutes he could fully heal someone who was one the brink of death. And apparently, after years of research, the church had found a stone whose healing properties might even surpass the power of Kain.
By speaking with him, they learned that the stone of miracles was to be found in a cave in the Septem region, which was located south of the Aidan region, past Nuevo village. Jack also learned about the last high priest, a priestess named Enjala, whom he had assumed must have been deceased, a mistake which earned him a glare from the usually tranquil Kain, and a sharp elbow in the ribs from Vitas, who was standing next to him at the time. As they were leaving, Kain quietly intoned "Please watch over him." Jack simply assumed he was talking to the gods again, but vitas solemnly nodded and clenched her fist in determination.
Quickly stopping by Vancoor to pick up some teammates, they were then off down the road heading south towards Septem. The two accompanying them were the taciturn, but lately more friendly warrior Gene, and the Septimo squad leader David, Who wore a ridiculous horned helmet and fought using swords and fighting techniques which were obvious rip offs of Gerald's. However, his oddest feature, without a doubt was his habit of spouting really bizarre things such as "I'm hot to trot!" and trying to pass it as a battle cry, raising the question as to whether he was obtuse or just painfully lame.
Septem itself could be likened to a veldt, dotted as it was by short stubby white trees sticking out of rich dark soil that stretched into plains covered with tall grass, blowing in the wind. Finding the cave was relatively easy for the group, since it stuck out as the largest of all the hills in that area, and the only real monsters standing in the way were a few humanoid monsters that were just walking cactuses. The insides were quite the contrast to the humid almost tropical heat of the outside. Moss lined cave walls eventually led two a subterranean river, which left rich deposits of water elemental ore, which was eventually digested into the inhabitants of the cave, lizards and turtles whose very scales became like jagged icicles, especially a breed of large tortoises, one of which that was menacing some hunters who were obviously out of their league. A few slashes and a pinnacle punt later, the hunters were free to flee the caves and the team continued deeper into the cave. The river eventually drained into a huge subterranean lake, with a small island in the middle. On the top of the small land mass was a round red sphere, glittering from the light that was reflected off the walls of the cave.
"Is that the rock that Kain wants us to get?" Jack asked.
"I'll get it in a jiff." Gene quickly replied as he headed for the stone. Suddenly, the waters parted and the hill rose up revealing itself to be the head of a massive octopus.
"What the hell is that thing?" Vitas exclaimed
"Not entirely sure, but whatever it is, if fairly sure it's not going to give us the stone without a fight. Bring it on, you overgrown squid. I'm hot to trot!" David exclaimed as he rushed in, hacking and slashing at the tentacles that role out of the water and started attacking the party.
"Man, I which he'd quit saying that. It sounds so dorky." Jack muttered to himself as he threw himself at the beast, his Rune Blade slashing cleanly through the tentacles and turning the stone the sections of the octopus the blade cleaved.
Vitas hung back, gritting her teeth in anger, her bare fists would do little good against the soft, rubbery flesh of the octopus' limbs, but, forced to watch the battle from the sidelines, something she saw caused her heart to leap up into her throat. With Gene and David both blinded and helpless from the copious amounts of ink that it was spitting, Jack was helpless as the regenerating tentacles ganged up and started wrapping around him, and began constricting him.
Jack was unsure what had just happened. The battle was going fine until he found himself surrounded by the serpent like tentacles, helpless to escape and with the other fighters incapacitated, things looked grim. Just as the pressure began to become too much and blackness started entering the corners of his vision, the grip began to relent. Gasping in air Jack looked up and saw the most amazing sight. Vitas was pounding the crap out of the octopus, a swirling ball of fist and foot, pummeling it into oblivion.
"Let go of him you bastard!" She screamed as she ran up and started pounding the octopus in its head. Harder and harder she hit her fists actually beginning to grow, similar to the Palm of Energy that Father Fernando had perfected and begun to teach the other monks. Over and over she struck the monster, until her fists actually started gouging holes in the beast's tender eyes. It creature screamed as the priestess ruthlessly punched the life out of it, and kept punching until it sank back into the water, its grip relaxing on a struggling Jack.
Most people learn things though careful deduction and deep thinking, but for a person such as Jack, it all hits in an instant, like an epiphany. Why Vitas always insisted on helping him with missions, the insistence on daily training, the blushing, even the one time she took his hand while they were walking and then got agitated when he commented on it. It all led Jack to one inescapable fact: She cared about him. It was like he had been physically struck, the obviousness of it all. And never before was it more obvious than now, as she battered a fearsome monster, alone, in order to save his life.
Taking the stone in hand, Vitas ran over to check on Jack. He was moderately battered, but what scared her was the faraway look in his eyes. "Jack, speak to me, say something." Putting her hands on his shoulders, Vitas gently shook him, and putting her face close to his, examining him for concussion.
"Say something, Jack." Vitas said, her voice growingly increasingly panicked as a single tear began to form at the corner of her eye.
"I love you too" He said softly, Taking one of his hands and wiping a stray tear from vita's eye. Then something truly amazing happened. It was unclear who initiated it, but their heads moved closer and closer together, and they kissed. It lasted for well over a moment, both their eyes wide in surprise and joy. They finally separated and look at each other for a moment. Their revere was broken, however, by the impatient tapping of genes foot.
"Jack, Vitas? Where are you guys, I got ink all in my eyes and I can't see shit, I could really uses some eye drops around." Vitas and Jack quickly broke away, now that they realized they weren't alone.
"Oh, no! Sorry, let me get some from my bag." After they fixed gene up, they wandered the cave looking for David, who had ended up wandering around to the back of the cave, fighting what he thought was the Squid, but was in fact a large boulder. Finally grouped back together, they prepared to leave.
"I still can't believe you beat that thing on your own."
"If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times Jack. One day I will be the greatest monk master to ever live! And with you alongside me, I will never lose to anyone!"
"My hero" Jack commented, the hint of sarcasm that would usually accompanying such a comment absent, and a genuine look of respect on his expression. They walked, hand in hand out of the cave and back into the beautiful bright red of a Septem sunset.
Jack and Vitas were both dejected upon hearing that the stone was not the one Kain had wanted, but extremely intrigued when Kain offered it to Jack, explaining that the gods had told him that this stone would utterly alter his destiny. Kain had noticed how Vitas and Jack had walked in hand in hand. Fernando and the conservative faction would frown at the idea of a nun fraternizing romantically, but the balanced and wise Kain merely concealed a thin grin as he left them with the parting words. "Believe in the gods, but also believe in each other."
That day ended well for them, but events were looming on the horizon that would try their newly formed relationship. Even as the last rays of light faded from the sky and Jack and Vitas settled down in from of the clinic to play with the small fox that always appeared, events were occurring in the castle, making Peace less and less a possibility for the world. And, with deadly intent in their hearts, the Noir Mouton and three other knight units marched toward the Earth Valley, leading to a confrontation which would leave the world poorer the life of a dragon, marking symbolically the rapid loss of balance in tottaus,
DUN DUN DUN! Foreboding, isn't it? Thank you for waiting so patiently, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now that they are together, is it "The end?" Of course not! It's just getting good! If I bashed David a little to hard thats only because its tough love. Fact is thathe is one of my favorite caracters in the game, and his strength mixed with his odd behaiviors always places him in my top 10 fighters.