Chapter 39: Familiar Faces
|July 30th|Farawell|11:30 am|
For the next two weeks, Amara had to put up with Lucy as manager. This did not exactly lead to a fun and enticing work environment, with Lucy constantly ordering people around, making sure everything was done to her satisfaction, and telling Colette to 'shut your trap' every time she showed off a new item of clothing. Not that Amara particularly needed to hear the no-doubt fascinating tale of Colette's sexy summer bikini (that apparently Juan had helped her choose), but Lucy was unnecessarily cruel in her attitude towards her.
However, Amara had started talking to Shirley more, who tried to cheer Amara up by posting her links to her piano recital videos. Shirley always tried to stand up for Lucy, admitting she could be hard to deal with, but she wouldn't let Amara badmouth her. Amara, on the other hand, just wanted to draw the way she wanted. Thank god it's over.
Thankfully, Karen returned from the Bahamas with Roger just when Lucy was getting out of hand, having reduced Colette to tears yet again. There were rumours Colette was going to quit, but she was still working. Yet, she appeared less interested in her clothes. At least Juan tried to comfort her, and Sheila was actually supportive, too. Lucy and Blaine had spent many nights together, often enjoying exciting new drinks such as a 'Green Vesper Martini'. Amara had lost count of the times Lucy claimed she was talking to 'higher management' during her break, when it was obvious a certain biker was on the other end of the phone.
Lucy and Blaine weren't the only couple to get closer, however. Over the fortnight, Amara and Zao had hit the beach many times, catching some rays and eating copious amounts of ice cream. It was magical, not having to go into the other world every night, and spending every day after work with Zao or her other friends. Nathan and Priscilla had Amara over for lunch several times, with Amara bringing her artwork each occasion. She, Serena and Kyle had hit the mall several times, too, and the young lad seemed more comfortable around her. Once, she met up with Blaine and Dan at The Mole, and despite the latter scaring off a few customers, was a friendly man.
This summer had been great, and as an added bonus, she and Karl were talking again. He seemed to be over the break up, but it could still be awkward between them. Winning his team's match against a team from Takanawa had him jumping for joy, and it was all down to him and Richard's teamwork. Zao had given Amara many flowers from Bianca's stall to her, and she loved every single one of them. Kazuya seemed happy too, Amara having seen him at his family's sushi restaurant once or twice. Alastair...she hadn't spoken to him, but he seemed fine as well.
This morning, however, the team had agreed to meet the secret base team for the first time in a long while. Today was a holiday, to commemorate the end of a war. The other three seemed excited, having missed beating up Shadows over the summer, but Amara didn't really feel up to it. Zao, on the other hand, couldn't wait to unleash Rashnu on the monsters.
"You two ready? You look beat." Blaine asked.
"Um, yeah." Amara said. "I'm just a little tired. Your girlfriend works me so hard..." Zao's eyes widened. "Zao, get your mind out of the gutter."
"Huh? I didn't say anything!" Zao pleaded, glancing sideways.
"What do you mean, get his mind out of the gutter?" Nathan said, oblivious. Then, his eyes widened as he thought about what Amara said. "Oh..."
"Nathan, for a twenty eight year old man, you can be really dense." Serena said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, give her a rest. She's not that bad. Besides, she said you spend most of the time yapping away to Stella. I don't get to do that at my job."
"Isn't that because no one at your work speaks good enough English?" Serena asked.
"That too. Anyway, let's go and kill some ugly ass monsters!" Blaine said.
|Unknown|11:36 am|
"Hey guys - huh?!" Amara knew right away something was different...
They weren't in the secret base at all. Instead, they could see grass, hills, and Lucille Hill in the distance. Also visible was what looked like the theme park. Yet, most of the establishment had been dismantled, and what was left was rusted and broken. Somehow, the team had managed to get outside the city.
"Lucille Hill?!" Blaine shouted. "What the fuck?"
"Oh no!" Serena said. "Did Archibald or Nina do this? The 'good' ones? Or is this a DLC quest?"
"DLC what now?" Nathan asked. "Wait, never mind. This is...odd."
"Hold on, let me try something!" Zao said. "Persona!" Nothing happened. "Come on...Rashnu! Don't be shy!" Again, nothing happened. It seemed outside the city, their Personas were useless. Then, Amara looked behind at the massive walls covering the entire city. So what now?
Nathan checked the NDD behind him, and his hand went through it. "It looks like we can still get back to the other world, so let's put our weapons back for now. After that, we should see what we can find." Nathan said. Amara didn't have any better ideas, so they returned.
Later
Somehow, the NDD in the warehouse was locked onto the secret one outside the city. Amara had been very careful to lock the door since Zao managed to get into the other world, so no one could have tampered with it. The team spent a while trying to change the code on the NDD - to either the Farawell Shadow Development Centre or the Secret Base - but nothing happened. Someone, or something, wanted them to venture outside the city.
"At least we get fresh air, I guess." Serena said. "It's been a while since I went outside the city."
"Staying here's not gonna do anything. The theme park's ruined, though. Our options are Lucille Hill, the Sirengo Forest, or we could just go home for today and wait." Blaine said.
"No, we can't do that! Someone must have wanted for us to go here. Let's go to the top of the hill so we can get a better view!" Amara said. "Come on, we'll be alright. There aren't any Shadows around!"
"If we can beat Shadows, I suppose walking up a hill isn't impossible." Nathan said.
|Lucille Hill|12:13 pm|
Lucille Hill was one of Amara's favourite spots, and thankfully it was not much different from her world. The gorgeous view was tarnished, however, by the sight of the ruined theme park, the steel barriers around the city, and the eerie dark clouds above it. Yet, it seemed Clairdol Village still stood, and the forest looked as lush as ever.
"Blaine, quit moaning. You stopped to rest five times already! Don't you work out three times a week?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, but I've never been up here before, and it's like an oven today!" Blaine said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Can we go now?"
"I've got an idea! Let's go to the village. We can get something to eat, maybe." Zao said. "I could really use some trout right about now!"
"That's not a bad suggestion, Zao. If we ask around, we can learn more about what the people outside know about the city." Nathan said.
"We have to walk more?!" Blaine said. "It'll take ages to get to the city from here! Is it too late to just go back home?"
"Oh, grow a pair!" Serena said. She walked over to Blaine, still panting for breath, and dragged him down the hill. Zao ran past them, without a care in the world.
"Well...this is going to be a different trip to the other world." Nathan said, supressing a laugh.
"Just so you know, I saw you panting for breath on the way up." Amara said, smirking.
"...No. No you didn't." Nathan said, quickly following the others.
|Clairdol Village|12:42 pm|
It had been many years since Amara had visited Clairdol Village, but she had a feeling it was exactly the same as it was then. The humble houses, the thriving local stores, and the tiny beach. It was quiet, but that was part of the charm. For those who had grown tired of the city's hustle and bustle, the village was the perfect spot for a change of scenery. What reassured Amara the most was that the village was still intact and peaceful, despite the chaos that had afflicted the city.
"It's beautiful, isn't it? Welcome to Clairdol Village. Looks like it's still in one piece, thank god." Zao said. "Come on, let's go!"
"Wait a second, Zao. We can't just tell everyone we're from the city, if anyone asks. We have to make something up." Nathan said.
"Oh, come on, like anyone would care!" Blaine said.
"Actually, considering how tiny the village is, everyone probably knows everyone here. Especially with the city under lockdown. We'll stand out here big time. So we should make up fake names and identities." Amara said.
"Okay. This sounds like fun! I've got my fake name already. Now let's find somewhere for lunch." Serena said.
|Claire's Cafe|12:59 pm|
The team had picked a small, but somewhat popular, cafe for lunch. The prices were low, which appealed to Blaine especially. Nathan didn't seem too keen, but he wasn't willing to spend too much money in another dimension. The team sat down on the old wooden chairs at a table, covered by a red and white table cloth.
"Why couldn't we go to that fish restaurant?" Zao whined. "That salmon looked great..."
Nathan sighed. "Because we don't have the money for a place that overpriced." he said. "You'll probably be eating fish tonight anyway."
"He will, trust me. He's taking me to Saragel again." Amara said. "It's hot today, huh?"
"Yeah." Serena said. "We could a few Bufu spells to cool us down."
A rather bored young waitress came up, and took everyone's order. To Amara's reflief, she didn't ask any awkward questions.
"How many tourists do this village get these days?" Amara asked.
"I dunno. It must be even quieter than our world's Clairdol." Amara said.
"Hey Nathan, have you been here before? You seemed to know your way around." Zao said.
"Indeed I do. My good friend Tara has grandparents live here. In fact, her grandfather is the mayor of the village." Nathan said. "They're nice people, but Tara doesn't get a chance to visit them very much. It's a real shame."
"What do you think the Tara here's doing now?" Serena asked.
"Lord knows. I hope she didn't get put in the Ornatu Legion. Then there's her partner, Adrian Gale...he could be in the same boat." Nathan said, worried.
"Chill out, Nathan. No use worrying about it now. Just relax and enjoy the cheap steak and fries." Blaine said, smiling.
"Yeah, it'll be okay. We'll get back to the city soon enough!" Amara said.
"I hope you're right. They'll be wondering why we're not there..." Nathan said.
Later
"I dunno what you guys are complaining about, I thought that was great." Blaine said. "Maybe I'm just used to junk food."
"Please, it was greasy, salty, and chewy. You're the only one who finished it..." Nathan said.
"I'm going to be brushing my teeth all night long..." Serena said, annoyed.
"Fish...I wanted fish..." Zao whined. Almost immediately after he said this, he began smiling again. "Anyway, let me tell you more about this village! Way back in the 1970's, my grandfather won a fishing contest here, and no one's ever beaten his record."
As the group made small talk, a young man came in. He had bright blue eyes, and short black hair that had a slight blue tint to it. The fellow reminded Amara of someone. Blaine's eyes widened as he saw him, but he kept quiet. Who's this guy?
"Afternoon, Linda." The young man said to a more enthusiastic waitress, a good looking lady with red hair. She seemed to cheer up when she saw him. However, he looked either tired or bored. "What's new with you?"
"Oh, same old, same old. Hey, you know who those guys over there are?" Linda said, pointing to the group. Amara gulped. "I've never seen them before."
"Me neither. It's been years since tourists came to the island." The young man said. "Anyway, I'll have my usual. One sec."
Oh crap, he's coming over here! Blaine was still staring at the stranger, but Serena and Zao didn't seem to care - the latter was rambling on and on about the 1970 fishing contest. Time to make use of the fake name she had come up with.
"Um...can we help you?" Amara asked.
"I haven't seen you guys around. Where are you from?"
"We're all the way from New Jersey." Amara said. "This cute little village is nice, don't you think so, darling?"
"Yup! I'm Leon, And this is my wife Shania!" Zao said. What the - why are we pretending to be a married couple?! "Sorry, I meant fiancé! I'm just really excited. Hehe."
"Sounds nice! Hang in there, buddy. The big day will come soon enough." The man said, shaking Zao's - or 'Leon' - hand. Amara stared at this young fellow. He was rather talkative with people he had just met. Still, he seemed pleasant enough. "Sorry about this, guys. I just like getting to know people. It's a small village, so it's nice to have new people to talk to. What about you three?"
"My name's Sabrina." Serena said, giggling. "I'm Leon's cousin, and I'm going to be their bridesmaid!"
"I am...Declan, Shania's adopted brother." Nathan said, nervously.
"I'm Kane. I'm just a friend of theirs." Blaine said, but he sounded rather half-hearted saying it. The young man didn't seem to notice, though. On the contrary, he seemed rather upbeat, relieved to have seen something of interest today.
"Ah, cool - hold on! I'm sure I've seen you before..." he said. "Or have I? Hmm... Eh, it doesn't matter. I'm Matthew. I work at the police station."
"Nice! I love a man in uniform!" Serena said, with more obnoxious forced laughter.
"Steady on! It's not that exciting, miss!" the young man said, laughing. "I don't actually have one yet. It's a small station, and I'm still in training, really. Not that there's much crime here. I just do paperwork most of the time. It's boring as hell. Not as fun as it looks on the cop shows. Anyway, welcome to the village." Amara shook Matthew's hand, and so did the others. Blaine looked stunned, for some reason.
"So Shania, want to go to the beach after we're done? I want to check out the fish!" Zao said.
"Sure thing, Leon." Amara said.
"The beach here is great. I'd better leave you lovebirds to it. I might see you guys around later. Bye!" Matthew sat down at another table, in good spirits.
"I feel bad for lying to a policeman..." Serena said.
"Me too. He seemed like a good guy. Blaine, what's wrong?" Amara said.
"Nothing. Let's just go." Blaine said, looking out the window.
"Wow, he didn't suspect a thing! We're good liars!" Zao said. "To the beach, my friends!"
|Clairdol - Rica Beach|14:03 pm|
The beach was tiny compared to the sprawling sands of Saragel or Kanaloa. Yet, the water was crystal clear, and there were a few people in the water, or enjoying the sun.
"I wish I'd brought my swimsuit." Amara said.
"Me too!" Zao said, winking at Amara.
"Oi!" Amara said. "You saw me in one when we first met, dummy!"
"Oh yeah. I just thought you'd look hot when fighting in one!" Zao said. Yeah, but it'd be really embarrassing. Especially if one of the Ater Vox saw. "Well, let's chill out for a bit, then we can go home."
"Yeah, whatever." Blaine said, barely even listening.
Just there, there was a lot of commotion. A girl in the sea, who was by herself, was struggling to breathe, and thus couldn't swim. "No!" Serena yelled. "Crap, what are we going to do?"
"Leave it to me!" Said someone nearby. A dark skinned woman, with long black hair in a curly ponytail, and vivid hazel eyes, was watching the shore. She wore a brown shirt, shorts, shoes and had a bright blue headband.
"Whoa!" Nathan said. The woman ignored him, and ran ahead, swimming as fast as she could. She quickly grabbed the girl, and swam back to the shore. Then, she administered mouth-to-mouth, helping the girl breathe normally. Wow!
"Are you okay, miss?" the woman said.
"Uh..." the girl woke up. "What happened?"
"Bethany!" The girl's mother ran up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't notice at all! Thank you so much, miss!"
"It's alright. Please, keep an eye on your daughter. If she has breathing difficulties, she shouldn't be so far out." The woman said, smiling. "I think Beth will be alright, for now. You should take her home."
"Right!" Bethany's mother took the girl away, and everyone stared at each other, except for Blaine.
"Wow, that was great!" Serena said.
"No kidding! I wish I had a woman to do that for me!" Zao said, winking at Amara.
"Um, you want to almost drown just so I kiss you to help you breathe?" Amara said. "It's not really the love scenario most people want, is it?"
"When you say it like that, it kind of takes the magic away." Zao said, dejected.
"I know that woman. That's Tara Miller!" Nathan said, amazed. "So she's been here all this time. Thank goodness!"
"Why didn't you go and say hello?" Serena asked. "Oh, that's right, in this world you, Priscilla, Tara and Adrian never met."
"Exactly. I couldn't just explain the other world thing. I don't want to get her involved. Still, I'm glad she's safe." Nathan said. "Blaine, what's up? You've been quiet since we met Matthew."
"It's nothing, dammit!" Blaine snapped, looking at the ocean.
"Alright, no need to sulk." Serena said. "Come on, let's go home!"
"Oh, you guys again! Hiya!" Matthew ran up to the team, and looked at Tara. "Hey Tara, get over here! There's some guys I want you to meet!" Blaine looked away. Amara tried nudging him in the elbow, but he didn't respond. This is weird...
"Oh, hello Matthew." Tara said, sighing. "I just got done rescuing one child, do I have to deal with another?"
"Hey, I'm twenty! I'm not a kid anymore!" Matthew said. "It wouldn't be so bad if Edna didn't keep calling me 'lad'."
"Oh, Edna Miller?" Nathan said, without thinking.
"Yeah. She runs the village with Bertram, my grandmother!" Tara said. "Oh. I'm Tara Miller, and I'm the coast guard here. You guys new here?"
"That's right. I'm Shania, and this is Leon, this is Sabrina, this is Declan, and this is Kane!" Amara said. "Kane, what are you doing? Say hello!"
"...Hello." Blaine said, hesitantly.
"Well, hope you enjoy the village! Don't bother heading to the city, though. It's been closed since 2002. Most people who come here want to see if it's true. But there's really no way in!" Tara said.
"Just like there's no way into your icy heart, huh?" Matthew said.
"Oi!" Tara said. "Why are you here, anyway? Don't you have criminals to arrest?"
"You kidding? Everyone here's too bored to commit crimes!" Matthew said. "Why do you think I get to go home early everyday? I need something exciting to do."
"Yeah, it's pretty uneventful here. I've been stuck here ten long years, having to put with this kid!" Tara said.
"You love me really." Matthew said, chuckling. "I might as well tell you guys. I'm actually from the city! Ten years ago, my big brother got angry at me, so I locked myself in the bedroom. Then I decided to run away from home, to teach him a lesson."
"Wait, what?" Blaine said, stunned.
"Stupid, huh?" Tara said. "So he gets all the way to the village, and I'm here visiting the grandparents! Then the barrier appears over the city and no one can get in. Not a word about why or what happened to everyone inside."
"Yeah! So Tara feels sorry for me, despite that frosty heart of hers, and she begs her grandparents to look after this adorable kid who's crying his eyes out, desperate to see his brother again!" Matthew said. "So I'm stuck here!"
"I don't think anyone else got out, so we were lucky. Everyone in the city's probably dead by now, though." Tara said, despondently.
"That's not..." Blaine said, trailing off. "...very optimistic."
"I know, but she's probably right. I'll never see my big bro again...so I have to make the best out of this village. Sorry, that was a little depressing. When you guys get back to New Jersey, don't tell your friends that story. A dude mourning his big bro isn't something you want to remember this island by, is it? See you around!" With that, Matthew ran off.
"I better get back to work. Enjoy your stay, everyone!" Tara said, leaving. The others stared at Blaine, now knowing who Matthew was.
"So you do know him...that's Dan's younger brother, isn't it?" Nathan said.
"The very same. I was thinking about why he'd be here, but then I remembered... When he was about ten, Matthew ran off to the village after a fight with Dan. Him and I were out of our minds with worry, but then Tara's grandparents called Dan to let him now Matthew was there. Dan came there as fast he could, and when he saw Matthew...he just broke down in tears and hugged him tight, begging him not to run off ever again." Blaine said, watching Matthew as he left. "Things were a lot different then..."
"So Matthew Kingsley is alive after all? Wow!" Serena said. "I didn't think Dan's little brother would be so cute!"
"Wait, what about Kyle?" Nathan asked.
"Well, he's not bad looking - hey, shut up!" Serena said, pouting. "Blaine, are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah, I'll be alright. I just never thought I'd see Matthew again." Blaine said, sadly.
"That's right, he died in our world, didn't he? Kyle told me that he and Matthew used to hang out." Serena said.
"Yup. It was two years ago, but for Dan, it might as well have happened today. He tries to hide it, but I know he's still beating himself up over it." Blaine said, melancholic.
"I'm so sorry." Amara said. "Were you and Matthew close?"
"Of course we were. When me and Dan were still teenagers, I had to live with his family. Parent problems, these things happen. So I was being a real brat, hoping I'd get sent back home, until Dan cheered me up by taking me and Matthew to the park. Matthew was just two then. It was a lot of fun living with them. They were more like brothers than friends." Blaine said, wistfully. "Good times..."
"Well...it's good to know he survived in this world after all." Nathan said. "I almost wish I had a brother or sister of my own now..."
"I think we're done with the village for now. Let's go back." Amara said.
"Just a second. We gotta get back to the base. I have to tell Dan his brother's alive!" Blaine said.
"I guess you're right. Then let's get going to the NDD. This DLC was well worth it." Serena said. "Nathan, I'll explain that to you later."
|New Motus City - Outside Barrier|14:37 pm|
Blaine had spent the time walking back to the city talking about Matthew - his dreams to become a cop, his hyperactivity as a kid, and him staying up all night to watch cop shows.
"Guess he didn't remember me after all this time." Blaine said.
"Well, It's been ten years. You just gotta remind him." Zao said.
"Yeah. I will, once we find Dan." Blaine said. "Let's get our weapons."
Later
"Okay, let's try changing the code." Nathan said. He put in the Secret Base code, but it refused it. "What?!"
"Damn! We have to go back, and now! I have to get Dan to the village!" Blaine said, angry.
"Well, there might be another NDD around. Let's look." Serena said. "I hope Kyle and the others are alright..."
The team searched around the barrier, but they could not find another way into the city. "So what do we do now?" Zao said. "Try again tomorrow?"
"No, dammit! We go to the base NOW!" Blaine shouted, kicking the barrier - and his foot went straight through it. "Whoa!"
"No way!" Zao said. He stepped forward, and put his hand on the barrier, going right through it. "What the -"
"Guys, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Amara said.
"You want to go through the whole barrier? That's dangerous! We shouldn't -"
"Here I go!" Zao said, jumping through.
"I guess we have to go now." Nathan said, shaking his head. "This is strange, even for this world."
|Unknown Realm|14:48 pm|
"Whoa! This isn't the city!" Zao said.
While they could see the immense barriers, similar to the kind that barricaded their city, that was all this place had in common. All they could see around them was an endless light purple land. However, Amara could see something far in the distance. Lots of white, dilapidated buildings.
"Wait. Where's the city, then?" Amara asked. "There's nothing here!"
"Hold on. There's a place over there. Let's investigate." Nathan said. They moved forward, but ten minutes after they started moving, four large Shadows burst out of the ground. They were strange, copper snakes, with metal male and female symbols around them, and they had red masks on them.
"Oh, for the love of god! Out of my way, freaks!" Blaine yelled. "Tlaloc!" The snakes sent forth many spells, such as Bufula and Poison Mist, but they were nothing before Blaine's anger. Yet, more and more Snakes appeared - they were soon vanquished by Amara and the others, though.
"Crap, more and more of them just keep coming!" Amara said, using Sundial to kill yet another snake. "Let's get out of here - AH!" A gigantic snake, at least five times as large as the others, oozed out of the ground, and it was looking for victims. Sticking out a sharp, bloody tongue, Amara shivered at the sight of the monster.
"Oh crap, this thing is huge! Zao, why did you have to run through here?" Serena asked.
"I thought it was worth checking out! Come on, let's beat this thing fast!" Zao said. "Agi -"
"Acolnahuacatl!"
Just as Rashnu appeared to use a weak fire spell, something appeared out of nowhere - a strange humanoid creature, that had black hair with orange spikes, silver skin with lion-like stripes, a black and green tunic and a long grey tail. A Persona? But whose?
"Hyper Strike!"
The Persona, presumably Acolnahuacatl, suddenly grew shiny black metal claws and slashed the Snake Shadow at supersonic speeds, finally doing a twirl cutting attack.
"Maká!"
Another Persona burst out of nowhere - a beautiful woman, with long pale blonde hair with dark green tips. Maká had lightly tanned skin, with very bright blue eyes and leaf earrings. Her sleeves, dress and boots seemed to be made out of leaves and other plants as well, and she carried a staff that matched the green forest hue of her dress.
"Magnara!" A fierce burst of rocks attacked the Snake, knocking it to the ground. Amara was hesitant, but she ran ahead and slashed the Snake, and the others joined in the attack. The Snake rose up, preparing a spell.
"Hold on!" someone called. Amara turned around, and gasped. The mysterious Persona users were right there...Tara and Matthew.