Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean 2, 3, or any of its characters and names.
Chapter 1: Back home in Expel
Space Date 366… Twelve heroes from many vast regions from the universe came together to save the Galaxy from the Ten Wise Men's plot to destroy the universe. Two years later, on Space Date 368, the heroes joined together once again to put the end to the vicious "Cycle of Death" that had been plaguing Planet Edifice by destroying the entity known as "Akuma" as well as the device called the "Mother Computer" that had been controlling the Planet.
After the events on Edifice, our heroes all went their separate ways…
And now, another two years later, on Space Date 370, yet another adventure is about to begin…
"Phew!" Leon breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the Spaceship that had just landed on the Lacour Continent of Planet Expel, greeted by the bright ray of sunshine and cool breeze of fresh air. "It took a while, but we're finally here."
"We're HOME!" Precis yelled with joy as she followed Leon out of the Spaceship. "Oh my gosh, it's been such a long time, hasn't it Leon? It feels so good to be back!"
"Technically, it's been 2 years since we've come home…" Leon said, looking around the green and grassy surroundings overcome by nostalgia. "But that was only a quick stop-by in order to pick up everyone on the way to Edifice, so yeah, I guess you can say it's been almost 4 years now."
"It feels more like 10 years if you ask me!" Precis replied with a bright smile on her face. "But it's still just like as I remember it! The fresh air, trees, and the clear skies… it's nothing like how it is like back in Earth… hey, like the saying goes, there is no place like home!"
Indeed, both Leon, 16 years old, and Precis, now 20, had departed to Earth 4 years ago with Claude in order to study abroad, in hopes of using their gifted intellectual minds for the good of their home planet someday. Leon had just graduated from College this year, applying to the Federation's Scientific Research Department as intern in hopes of eventually applying to the Graduate School for his Ph.D. of Science. Precis had served as personnel in the Earth Federation's Military Technology Department after her graduation from College, putting her technological skills into practice as well as pursuing her Doctorate Degree just as Leon was. With the exception of brief period in Edifice two years ago, the two had been so immersed in their studies and duties that this was their first true vacation; and it was natural that they would choose to take their first vacation to their home planet that they haven't been to for quite a while. After being almost 4 years away, the two had not only come to realize what the rest of the universe had to offer, but also what they had to appreciate about their home planet… which they were reminded of once again the moment they stepped out of the spaceship. They were indeed home.
"So whereabout in Expel are we?" Leon asked Precis, who had built the spaceship they had come in, called Mujinkun #4. "I've been away for so long that I can barely recognize which region we are in…"
"We're at the Lacour Plains, just outside of Linga." Precis replied. "This way, I can go back home and meet my father and everyone else first… heehee… and we're not too far off from Lacour either so we can stop by to meet your parent afterwards, too!"
"Gee, so nice of you to put yourself ahead of others, Pres…" Leon replied sarcastically, giving a cut eye towards Precis. "Why couldn't we go to Lacour first instead, huh?"
"Shush, kid! It's myyyy ship..." Precis retorted, sticking out her tongue to tease. "Besides, we want to hide our ship as far away from the big towns as possible… don't forget, we don't want to be breaking the UP3 while we're here… AHHH!" Precis suddenly screamed, as she was interrupted by something fondling her buttocks from behind her.
"Ooooo… as they say, touching is different from actually looking at something…" A sly voice from behind her commented, "But in this case, it only confirms the fact that you have a cutest and softest ass! Heh."
"AAAHHH! YOU CREEEP!" Precis yelled, as she delivered a swift and powerful back kick to the face of the person behind her, knocking him off the spaceship. "I swear! If you do that again, I'm gonna kick you in your jewels instead of your face!"
"Sigh…" Leon sighed, putting his hand on his face and shaking his head. "Adonis, don't you ever learn? Your act is getting old, man."
"Heh… sorry…" Adonis got up from the ground, scratching his head and smiling shyly. "The big sister's big ass was right in front of me, couldn't resist."
"Errr… seriously, Leon, did you HAVE to bring your perverted friend along for this trip?" Precis yelled at Leon, still fuming. "He's not even allowed here on Expel! Claude only made the exception for us so that we can go back home, remember?"
Leon's 'perverted friend' was Adonis Klein, his schoolmate and best friend ever since his early days in college. He was a kid that was orphaned into Claude's care 3 years ago, enlisting to the Earth Federation's Millitary after displaying some fine, outstanding natural talent as a swordsman. He sported a golden sword necklace with a white tanktop with baggy blue jeans, and had short and smooth blue hair with a white headband. With an easy going personality and a very chiseled physique standing about 6 feet, he would have been a popular among ladies if it weren't for the fact that he was as extreme as a womanizer can get…
"Hey, don't look at me, the guy brought himself along…" Leon replied to Precis, shrugging his shoulders. "He said he didn't have anywhere else to go for the summer, and told me that he had something important he wanted to research about our planet. Don't worry, he promised that he'll keep himself out of trouble while he's here."
"Pshhh… yeah, fat chance." Precis sneered sarcastically. "Why would he want to research anything here, anyway? He's gonna to be a Millitary personnel anyway, not scientists like us…"
"Hey, don't say that, Precis… I really wanted to see how this home planet of yours looks like! And Claude will never find out as long as we keep quiet…" Adonis insisted. "And I really do have an important issue I want to research about this place…"
"Oh, really?" Precis asked with a suspicious eye. "And what might that be?"
"For my Fourth year thesis, I want to confirm my hypothesis about the anatomy of the Female Expelians!" Adonis announced obnoxiously, with a big smile on his face. "To see if all girls here on this planet have flat chest and big ass just like you do! AHHHH! OUCHHH!" Adonis yelled and ran as angry Precis swung away to chase him off back into the spaceship.
"Ugh, don't tell me this is what I'm gonna have to deal with this the rest of the way." Leon sighed again, hanging his head. "I really should have thought better than to allow him to come with us…"
"Alright, Adonis… you seriously have to behave yourself, alright?" Leon asked Adonis again, after all the commotion between him and Precis had settled down. "If Claude finds out that you're with us, then we're all really gonna get it from him. So just keep quiet and… don't do anything that you would usually do… okay?"
"Man… chillax! Come on now, It's not like I'm some 8-year old kid or anything!" Adonis replied, with his ever-present smile. "Don't worry… I won't cause any trouble. You have my word."
"Maybe you're not an 8 year-old kid…" Precis groaned, still fuming. "A horny 16 year-old perv is more like it!"
"Okay, that's quite enough, people." Leon intervened, settling everyone down before the war of words started again. "Let's just be on our way to Linga already. We don't exactly have all the time in the world here, you know."
"Alrighty then… let's get going!" Precis agreed, smiling again after realizing again that her hometown was just few steps away. "Home sweet home, here I come!"
The group arrived in Linga in matter of minutes, as they ran to the city non-stop in anticipation and excitement. To Precis' delight, much of the city was unchanged and was just as she remembered it 4 years ago. There were few new buildings and residential housing that was built to accommodate for the refugees from the Continent of El, but this was the same town that she had remembered and loved.
"Hmm, so this is your hometown, huh?" Adonis commented, not looking particularly impressed. "It's like a farm town on Earth… but I guess it's much more developed than I initially expected."
"Geez, what did you expect? It's not as if we were bunch of caveman…" Leon sighed, shaking his head in regards to Adonis' ignorance. "Expel's not as primitive as you think."
"Well, it IS my first time visiting an Underdeveloped Planet, ya know…" Adonis retorted, turning around and eyeing a teenage girl that was walking by him "I was only making assumptions based on what I read about and seen on the Galactic Atlas and stuff. The girls here are certainly hot enough though, so I ain't complainin'! Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna be starting that research… "
"Hold your horses, horndog! Don't think that I'm gonna let you run off on your own now... I'd be putting all of the Female population here in Linga at risk!" Precis said, dragging Adonis along forcefully and making her way towards her house. "I'll show you around town after we visit my house. But either way you can scrap the plan about that so-called 'research' of yours!"
"Damn, you're no fun, you know that?" Adonis whined, turning to Leon. "Do something about this, man! Are you gonna let her keep me on a leash like this?"
"Psh… obviously." Leon shrugged, turning away from him. "Precis is right… if we let you off, you'd be violating the UP3 in a way it's never been violated before, and you know exactly what I mean."
"Grr… You traitor! I'll remember this, catboy." Adonis groaned at Leon, shaking his fist.
"Anyways, this is my house!" Precis said, standing in front of her house with the same old open garage. "Let's go in and say hi to my dad!"
Precis went into the open garage, and went into her living room, where her father Graft was taking a break from his work and having a cup of tea. Upon seeing him, Precis immediate ran into his arms, giving him a big hug. "Dad! I'm back!"
"P…Precis!" Graft said, pleasantly surprised to see his daughter that he hasn't seen for almost 4 years. "Is… is that you? I didn't expect you to show up all of a sudden… my, you've grown!"
"I wanted to surprise you! Heehee…" Precis said, with a big smile. "I'm so glad to see you in good health… I've missed you…"
"Hmm… a family is a really nice thing to have, isn't it?" Adonis commented as he watched the two embrace, with a slight grin on his face. "I haven't seen her this happy in so long."
"Oh, yeah… that's right, Adonis… you don't…" Leon muttered, realizing that family was something that Adonis didn't have. "Sorry, man."
"Eh, no worries. I'm used to it! I'm just glad she's happy, that's all." Adonis winked back at him, carefree as usual.
"Oh, sorry guys… dad, you know Leon, right?" Precis asked her dad, introducing Leon and Adonis to him. "And this is Adonis, our friend from Earth."
"Hello, sir. Long time no see." Leon greeted Graft, with a courteous bow.
"Oh, hello, Leon. It's been a long time. My, have you gotten tall…" Graft commented, looking up at Leon who had now grown to be almost 6 feet. "Looks like you've matured over the years as well, hahaha. You're much more humble!"
"Hehe…" Leon chuckled, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"And you're Adonis?" Graft asked Adonis, shaking his hand. "My name is Graft. Nice to meet you."
"It's an honour to meet you, sir. You must be so proud to have such a beautiful daughter, Mr. Neumann. Not sure if she told you this, but I'm actually her fiancé… may I ask for your permission in taking your daughter's hand in marriage?"
"Eh?" Graft muttered in shock, not knowing what to say.
"AHAHAH! Just ignore anything this idiot says, dad. He's just speaking nonsense…" Precis laughed awkwardly with a sweatdrop, punching Adonis square in the face to knock him back. "Anyways, we got a lot of catching up to do! I've got presents, too!"
"OUUUCH… you didn't have to do that, Precis!" Adonis mumbled, holding his swollen nose. "Learn how to take a joke! Sheesh!"
"Yeah, it's a joke only in your own little sick and twisted world of humour…" Leon sighed, dragging his friend out the door while turning to Graft and Precis. "Anyways, We'll let you two catch up for a bit… we'll be at Professor Bowman's house. I'll meet you there later, Precis."
"Okay, then. See you guys later!" Precis said. "Just keep a good eye on that pervert little friend of yours!"
Leon and Adonis left Precis' house, going up north of town towards Bowman's house. "So who's this professor guy?" Adonis asked, making sure to turn around to check out any ladies that walked by them on the way. "Your teacher here on Expel or somethin'?"
"No, not really… he's just a really good friend of ours who's a pharmacist here." Leon told him. "Claude knows him well too, from his time in Expel."
"You know, he's never told me what he actually did during his time here…" Adonis asked curiously. "What did he come here for, anyway?"
"Heh… sorry man, top secret… can't tell ya." Leon laughed it off, not wanting to get into the whole discussion of Claude's adventures here 4 years ago. "It's too long of a story anyway."
"Psh, fine… be like that. I don't really care that much anyway." Adonis sneered, annoyed that even his best friend wouldn't tell him, then turning around to eye another girl. "What I'd really like to know though is why there are so many fine hotties here in this city! ...drool..."
"There a big University here, that's why. But please control yourself, okay? You're acting like a rabbit in the mating season." Leon sighed, as both of them stepped in front of Bowman's house. "Anyways, here we are. This is Professor's Pharmacy. Let's go in."
Leon and Adonis stepped into the Pharmacy, which for some strange reason had no one looking over it at the time. "Uh… Professor Bowman? Miss Nineh? Where are you?" Leon yelled across the room, looking for them. "It's me, Leon!"
"Strange that this place is deserted during the hours of operation…" Adonis muttered, looking around the Pharmacy. "I don't know the customs of this planet or anything, but it seems like they're irresponsible owners if you ask me."
"They're probably just in their house upstairs resting or something, or in the back…" Leon said, as a mysterious shadow suddenly creeped up behind him. "Maybe we should go upstairs and…"
"…Leon, you idiot, there is something behind you!" Adonis yelled, noticing the shadow creeping up behind him. "LOOK OUT!"
Just as Leon was about to react, the shadow suddenly jumped up towards Leon's head, sitting across his neck and pulling his ear out. "AHHH! OW!" Leon screamed as he grabbed his head and ran around in panic.
"Huh…?" Adonis mumbled, the situation unfolding being far from what he expected. "What the?"
"CATTY EAR! Hee hee hee" a high-pitched, cute jolly voice could be heard as the person on his neck kept pulling on Leon's ear. "It's soooo fluffy! And sooo soft!"
"Uhh… ow! Stop! It hurts!" Leon yelled in pain as he turned around to see a cute little girl with a large forehead and tied-back blue hair playing with his cat ears. "Wait a minute… you must be…"
"Ahahaha!" Adonis laughed, noticing the little girl playing with Leon's ear. "It's too bad that the only chicks you're popular with are pre-schoolers, eh?"
Suddenly, two people came up running from the back and from upstairs upon hearing of all the ruckus going on in the Pharmacy. Not surprisingly, they were Bowman and Nineh. "Whoa, what's going on here? Do we have customers or burgulars or what?" Bowman yelled, running in to check things out.
"Uhhh… Professor Bowman, Miss Nineh… hi…." Leon muttered with a sweatdrop, with the little girl still playing with his cat ears. "It's me, Leon…"
"Leon! What a surprise… I didn't know you had come back!" Bowman said, greeting Leon with a warm smile, and taking the little girl off of his back. "Sorry, we were both just taking a little break from work…"
"Hello, Leon! It's been a long time." Nineh greeted Leon, taking the little girl off of Bowman's arms. "Sorry about Elise, she was just watching the store for us."
"Elise…? That's right, she's your daughter, right?" Leon recalled, remembering back to 2 years ago when Bowman mentioned her new baby daughter during their adventures in Edifice. "So this is her… She looks just like you, Miss Nineh!"
"Yep. This is our little angel… She's 4 years old now. She's got my eyes though. Heh…" Bowman proudly said, turning to Elise to introduce Leon to her. "Elise, this is brother Leon that always I told you about! Say hi to him!"
"Hiii!" Little Elise said, waving at Leon with a big shy smile. "Hello big brother!"
"Ehehe… hello there." Leon waved back at Elise, returning the smile.
"I've heard about you guys coming back for your vacation, but I didn't know that day was today…" Bowman explained to Leon. "And it looks like you brought some friends with you, too."
"Yeah, Precis came with us as well. And this guy over here is my friend Adonis from Earth… what the…!" Leon said, as he turned around to see that there was nobody there. Adonis was all of a sudden at the other side of the room, kissing Nineh on the hand and introducing himself.
"Hello, madame… it's an honour to meet someone as beautiful as you here!" Adonis spoke gently, continuing on with his flattery. "So beautiful and without a single wrinkle in your face… you must be in your 20's still!"
"Haha… oh, stop… you're embarrassing me!" Nineh laughed while blushing, appreciating his comments. "Nice to meet you too, Adonis."
"Ugh, please excuse him…" Leon muttered, hanging his head. "He just kinda tagged along… I swear this wasn't my idea."
"Hah… yeah I know his type…" Bowman said, with a sweatdrop. "I was kinda like that too in my day, after all."
"Oh, where are my manners… and hello, sir! I'm Adonis Klein, Leon's best buddy from Earth. Nice to meet you, sir." Adonis smiled at Bowman and introduced himself. "I envy you for having such a beautiful wife and such an adorable daughter!"
"Hah, that's enough flattery now, kid." Bowman said, introducing himself to Adonis as well. "Nice to meet you. I'm Bowman Jean, Pharmacist here and Leon and Precis' friend."
Meanwhile, Elise snuck back behind Leon once again to jump on his head and play with his ears once more. "Cattttyyy ears!" Elise yelled in joy with a big smile, pulling Leon's ears in and out. "heeheeheehee"
"Owww…!" Leon yelled in pain, but not really objecting to what Elise was doing. "…Ahahah… go easy on them, now."
"Elise! You're being rude… get off of him this instant!" Nineh yelled, rushing to get her off of him. "Sorry, Leon."
"Hahah, no, it's okay. You can let her play…" Leon said, smiling back at Elise. Not many people really knew, but Leon was actually quite fond of younger kids, since he grew up as an only child without any siblings or friends. Leon appreciated all the attention Elise was giving him, and it felt as if Elise was actually his younger sister he's never had…
"Hey guys! Hi Professor! Hello Miss Nineh!" Precis said as she entered the Pharmacy door, coming in to meet back with Leon and Adonis as well to say hi to Bowman and Nineh. After exchanging greetings with everyone including Elise, she and rest of the group continued on with other conversations.
"So, how are your studies going, guys?" Bowman asked, as Nineh brought a cup of tea for everyone from the kitchen. "And how are Claude and Rena doing?"
"Oh, Claude and Rena are both doing fine! Claude actually got promoted recently to the ranks of Commodore recently for the Federation… and Rena's still working at the Infirmary and going to get her Doctorate soon. And both of our studies are going great, too!"
"That's good to hear!" Bowman smiled in approval. "It's really good to see that you guys are all well on your way in accomplishing your dreams… well, since you guys are on vacation now, try to enjoy the time off as much as you can! You guys deserve it. Feel free to let us know if you guys need anyth..."
BANG!
Suddenly, the door slammed open to interrupt them as two badly wounded men stepped into the pharmacy, seeking help.
"D…Dr. Bow…man…!" One men mumbled, holding on to a big gash on his stomach that was bleeding profusely. "It's… the… sanctuary… the monsters… are… everywhere…!"
"W…What?" Bowman yelled, attending immediately to the two men. "The monsters have showed up at the Sanctuary again? Ugh… I told you guys not to take your expedition there!"
"Wha? What's going on?" Leon asked, alarmed of the situation. "Professor Bowman, you mean there are still monsters roaming around on our planet?"
"A…are you serious!" Precis asked, thinking back to the events of 4 years ago. "I'd have thought they have died out by now. We took care of everything back then!"
"Yeah, I know…" Bowman said, as he treated one of the men for his wound. "I'm not sure why, but they keep appearing out of nowhere, across the world… I have no clue where they're coming from… but because of them, we still can't go anywhere near the Sanctuary of Linga for the herbs and such. They sometimes attack the towns, too."
"Hmm…" Leon mumbled in deep thought. After defeating the Ten Wise Men 4 years ago, the Planet Expel was revived at the time period just before the group initially got teleported to Nede. The Sorcery Globe and the Eluria Tower also disappeared at that instant, seemingly getting rid of the root of the problem concerning manifestation of monsters on Expel… but apparently, the monsters were still plentiful and abound.
"So there are these 'monsters' that I've heard so much about on this planet, huh?" Adonis asked, not really concerned and carefree as usual. "So what's the big deal? If there are monsters, all we need to do is to go get rid of them."
"Adonis!" Precis yelled at him, annoyed by his ignorance. "It's not that simple!"
"Actually, he has a point. Let's go get rid of them for now." Leon said with determination, getting up and putting Elise down from his lap. "We'll clear out the ones in the Sanctuary of Linga first, then think about everything else afterwards. More people might get hurt if we just sit around here and do nothing."
"That's true…" Precis agreed. "I don't want my hometown to be in any more danger…"
"Wait! But you are all on vacation! You guys shouldn't go through the trouble." Bowman insisted, still treating the men who were injured. "Don't worry about it… I'll go there and take care of them myself."
"Don't worry about it, Professor. Besides, you need to stay here and treat the patients, right?" Leon assured Bowman, with a determined look on his face. "We'll be quick. And we brought weapons with us just in case we needed it… the monsters here shouldn't really give us that much trouble. Besides, this is our home planet too."
"But… well… alright then… thanks, guys." Bowman said in appreciation. "Be careful though. Take these medicine just in case."
"Well, Adonis… sorry about this… I know this is our vacation and all, but we really have to go take care of these monsters…" Leon said, turning to Adonis while heading out to towards the door. "Just hang around here and we'll be back soon."
"Hahaha! You kiddin' me, man? You're not trying to ditch me here, are ya?" "Don't even try, cuz I'm coming along too. I've been waiting to flex some muscles ever since I got off that spaceship, anyway. This is the perfect opportunity!"
"But Adonis, we shouldn't have you get involved with a problem in OUR world…" Precis asked in concern. "Besides, it's illegal… are you sure about this?"
"Yea, don't worry about it, really. I'm already breaking that stupid UP3 either way by being here." Adonis continued on confidently, getting up and following Leon to the door. "And you guys need an accomplished fighter to babysit you guys in battle just in case, anyway!"
"Hah. Cocky as always, aren't you?" Leon remarked, turning towards Elise before leaving. "Sorry Elise, but there are some things we have to do. I'll come back in a little bit to play with you some more, alright?"
"Awww… you're leaving already, big brother?" Elise whined, with tears welling up in her eyes. "But… but… it's so soooon…"
"I'll be back, I promise." Leon reassured her with a smile, putting his hand on her head gently then leaving through the door. "Okay then. Let's stop by to get weapons at the spaceship then head over to the Sanctuary of Linga!"
"Good luck, guys." Bowman said, as the three made their way out of town towards the spaceship.