Ok really there will be spoilers abound. Read at your own risk.
Notes: Thoughts will show up as italics.
Some names of locations, and aspects of characters will be changed to better reflect the original japanese translation, or have certain liberties taken.
Updated: 5/24/18
- Added some additional dialogue, some minor stuff, etc.
A Home for Stray Cats: Chapter 3 part 1
Gigantic storm clouds blotted out the night sky above, looking poised to drop their payload at any moment. Below, a ginormous Ark rose from the depths and broke through the surface of the cloud sea.
The Gormotti girl looked on in awe from the port side of the Maelstrom. Incredible… Maybe there is something to these salvagers…
"It's even bigger than our initial reports indicated..." Malos commented, crossing his arms. "Just remember it's what is inside that matters."
"Mmm…" Jin quietly agreed.
Malos turned to her with a stern look. "Nia, this is your first field mission, correct?"
His cold gaze always had a chilling effect on her. It wasn't the most pleasant of feelings. "Y-yes it is." She admitted, feeling a few sizes smaller than she currently was.
"You know your assignment, then?"
She fidgeted a little and stared down at her feet. "I- I do."
He smirked. "Just checking. Come along." He patted her head nonchalantly.
She glared at him and Jin as they crossed the connecting bridge between the two ships, her eyes narrowing.
Once on the deck of the Ark, the group found themselves approached, oddly enough, by a burly dark skinned salvager. Judging by his wetsuit, he was one of the salvagers who'd dove in and brought the Ark to the surface.
"Phase one of the operation is complete. We are moving onto phase two." He announced.
"Acknowledged." Malos answered. "Tell your men to remain on deck and be ready to go in the moment they are all here. The quicker we finish the better."
"Affirmative." The man agreed, quickly running off to round up the other salvagers who were coming over the side one by one, and landing with incredible efficiency on the deck.
Malos observed the scene on the deck for a moment before turning to the rest of them. "We'll wait here for the rest of them to return to the surface."
She gave a nod in agreement.
I wonder if he's around here…
She looked around, sifting through the dozen or so faceless salvagers already on deck. A worried feeling creeping over her.
"Were you looking for something, my Lady?" Dromarch asked, suddenly appearing at her side.
She yelped and nearly jumped at his sudden appearance. "Dromarch?! How long have you been there?"
"Since we came over here." There was an innocent look on his face.
"Well, quit it. You're WAY too good at sneaking up on people." She chided him.
He tilted his head. "Sorry, I didn't tell you earlier?" The tiger asked, sounding as if he'd done something wrong.
She gave a huff of annoyance, "Whatever, it's fine." She said, regaining her composure.
"Were you looking for Master Rex?"
"Yeah, I didn't see him when they all dove off to bring the Ark up. Did you?" She asked, turning away from the crowd for a moment.
He shook his head. "No, I didn't see him either." He answered, with a sad look. "Though I do remember him wearing a blue wetsuit…"
Her ears perked up and she not so subtly began scanning the deck again. "A blue wetsuit eh?" She repeated to herself, noticing more and more salvagers rocketing over the edge. There's so many… Crap, at this rate I'm gonna-
"Watch out!" A voice rang out from above her.
She turned around in time to only able to catch a glance of something she'd only describe as 'large' and 'heavy' careening down on her before she was knocked face-first to the ground.
"Ow… Who the..?" She groaned, trying in vain to get whatever it was off of her.
"My Lady, are you ok!?" Dromarch yelped.
"Yeah yeah, just give me a moment here." She groaned, her head sparking with pain as if she'd ran straight into a tree.
"Oh jeez, is that you Nia? Are you ok?" A different voice asked, this time surprisingly close to her head. She felt the weight lift itself off of her and a hand grab a hold of her own. "Here, let me help you up."
"Who are-" She began to ask, but quickly found the question answered. "REX?!" She exclaimed, still holding her head.
He had the look of a wounded animal. "H-hey Nia, nice meeting you here." He laughed nervously.
Looking at him, she felt the weirdest feeling of relief coupled with an urge to punch him. For a moment, it looked as though she might follow through with that urge. Instead, she simply conked him gently on the head. "Hey kid, how are you doing?" She smiled at him.
He rubbed the top of his head, a look of relief on his face. "Just got back from being down below. I didn't know you were going to be standing on my exact landing point so…" He motioned to the edge of the ship.
"Does that whole crashing into people thing happen often? I thought you did this for a living?"
"Ehehe... I never said I was the best did I?" He displayed a toothy grin.
"Still though…"
"Nia." A cool voice came from behind her, quickly stopping their conversation in its tracks. She turned around and froze for a moment. It was Malos again.
"Jin says the salvagers are ready to go in." He said, with a surprisingly focused look on his face.
"Oh… ok then."
She found herself a little disappointed at having to leave Rex behind already, but it gave her hope that she'd at least be able to see him again after this was all said and done.
He suddenly pointed past her, in Rex's direction. "He's coming with us as well."
Rex's eyes visibly widened. "Huh?"
Her head swiveled between Rex and Malos for a moment. "Wait, we're going to drag the kid along with as well?!"
"Jin thinks you'll need all the help you can get." Malos shrugged.
She felt her stomach drop. The last thing she wanted Rex doing was getting involved in their business. "Wait, I don't-!" She exclaimed, but Malos had already begun walking away. Her shoulders sulked for a moment, and her head dipped. "Ugh… I really hate that guy sometimes…" She grumbled. He's also kind of an ass as well.
She motioned to Rex and Dromarch "C'mon, you two." Both quietly complied.
They quickly joined Malos and Jin and descended into the bowels of the Ark. Their goal: A chamber located in its lower decks.
As the group descended further, they found that while the outside of the ship had little in the way of wear, the inside had been infested by the local aquatic life who were none too happy to receive their company.
Again and again they were accosted, and time and time again they would have to fend off surges of the angry wildlife, which only grew more frequent and hostile as they neared their destination.
Nia lept forwards through the small space between the bulkhead doors just in time for them to slam behind her. From beyond she could hear the sounds of scratching and the occasional screech.
With beads of sweat running down her brow, she slowly backed away from the bulkhead trying to catch her breath as she did.
"That was close." A suprisingly calm Malos remarked from behind her.
Nia turned back to him with a sharp glare. "Yeah, no thanks to you.." She growled roughly, wiping some green goo from her cheek.
"What? I was busy making sure the kid didn't get left behind." The man shrugged, motioning towards a wide-eyed Rex who was propped up against a nearby wall, still looking a bit pale in the face.
Nia looked from Malos to Rex with a measure of relief, though found a sour stomach crop up in her stomach upon noticing the glassy look in his eyes.
She turned to Malos again, narrowing her eyes. "I don't think the kid is doing so good, can you give me a moment with him?"
He sighed with annoyance. "Yeah, sure. Jin wandered off ahead anyway." He began to stalk away down the cooridor. "Just make sure to catch up when your done."
Nia watched him leave, biting back some unsightly words, till he was out of sight.
Jerk...
Turning her attention to the boy, she crept towards him, taking note of his labored breaths.
"Hey, Rex? Are you alright?" She asked, cautiously.
"Yeah… Never… Better…" He panted, looking a bit pale.
She carefully observed his wetsuit for any tears or punctures, which, thankfully, she found none. "Did you get bit or stung?"
"No no… It's just that it's been," he took a deep breath, "HARD to keep up with you drivers considering I've only got this big ol' metal hunk of metal here..." He held up his aforementioned blade which resembled more that of a twisted piece of scrap than any blade.
That weapon is just about done, and he's not looking much better. Poor kid. Never should've brought him here...
"Yeah... Doesn't help that Malos went and kicked that nest of crab-things back there." She
Her voice softened . "Listen, if you need to go back I can tell-"
"No, I can keep going."
"But Rex, you-"
"I said I'm fine. I... I want to do this. I want to challenge myself." He straightened as he seemed to finally catch his breath and began to take his first step.
Unfortunately, it only ended with his legs giving out from under him, causing him to fall forwards.
Thankfully, she'd been able to catch him in time, grabbing him by the waist and supporting him with her own weight and muscle. "C'mon kid… Know your limits."
"Sorry…" He managed weakly, then promptly went limp in her arms.
Her mind began to race, and she could feel herself begin to panic. Crap. crap. crap. CRAP!
Uh… Ok, you've done fieldcare before. It may've been with little woodland creatures this shouldn't be too different, right?
She carefully maneuvered him so she was able to softly lay his unconcious form down on the metal floor with his head facing upwards. Running a hand over his suit, she could feel nothing especially wrong with his body.
She quickly signalled Dromarch over, who'd been keeping his distance from the bulkheads. "Dromarch, you got an art that can get him back up on his feet?"
He nodded and summoned a chakram to her hand.
"Thanks, Furball."
Holding it over her own head, she began twirling it around her index finger, releasing a shower of blue and green light around them.
Healing halo
A moment passed. Then another. Finally, Rex's eyes began to flutter, and then finally open. He seemed to observe the room around him for a moment before opening his mouth.
"What happened?" He asked groggily, his eyes settling on her face.
Nia let out a sigh of relief. It worked...
"You passed out." She stated carefully, trying to relieve tightness in her chest.
"Oh." He pursed his lips, looking as if to recall something.
"What is it?" She asked, trepidation creeping up on her once again.
A wry smile appeared on his lips. "I think I know why I passed out."
I swear if he says something stupid...
"I don't think I've eaten anything in two days."
She was at a loss for words, if only for a few seconds. "You think- I don't even... If you were hungry, why didn't you just SAY SOMETHING?!" She nearly smacked his stomach on impulse.
He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I just didn't have the time." He appeared to have enough energy to slowly sit up.
Nia sat back and took a deep breath letting the tightness in her chest slowly relax and finally disappear. "Dromarch, you still got that biscuit I was saving for a rainy day?" She asked tiredly.
"Right here, my Lady." The tiger said, presenting a pouch that had been attached to his side.
She dug through it and found what she'd been looking for. "Here." She handed the biscuit to Rex, who took it graciously and began to chew it with much vigor.
She watched him chew the oblong bit of bread, his face quickly lighting up at the taste of the honey she'd managed to keep intact within. "How is it?"
"Mmm... Ib gewb!" he said, while stuffing the rest of it into his mouth, wearing a big stupid smile.
Yeah you better enjoy it turd for brains.
I put all my effort into getting one of those right. You owe me some stolen dough and about little under a hundred bee stings…
Feeling drained, she proped herself against the wall next to a very ravenous Rex and watched with a small amount of intrigue as he nearly inhaled the biscuit.
"Better?" She asked, when he'd finally finished the confection.
"Better."
For Nia, a small amount of time passed between Rex eating the wondrous biscuit made from her hard work and effort, to when he finally was able to walk with some stability.
In that time, Jin and Malos had cleared the way to their destination. Along the way, they mentioned to both of them that they had ran into something they could only describe as a 'land shark'. She didn't believe them of course, but Rex listened in wonderment as they described their fight with it.
When Rex was ready, the party continued on their journey with little to no more interruptions, finally arrived at a room with a rather large door located at it's back.
Out of the corner of her eye, Nia could see Malos whisper something to Jin as they approached the giant set of doors; Jin, meanwhile, nodded in agreement.
Nia's eyebrows creased. Something's up.
Jin suddenly pointed to Rex. "Open this door."
"Eh?" Rex looked surprised.
"This door will only open to one of you people." He quickly explained.
"Wait, what do you mean, Jin?" Nia tried interjecting, but was quickly overshadowed by Malos.
"Just open the damn door, kid. The sooner we finish, the sooner you get paid and we can all get out of here." He growled, sounding more impatient by the second.
Rex glared at them for a second before cautiously approaching the door.
Jin and Malos watched him intently, waiting for something to happen.
Rex paused for a second before the door, looking a little lost. In that moment, as if reacting to his presence, the door suddenly lit up with a sickly green light and promptly folded itself back into the wall, revealing a long winding hallway with yet another large door located its end.
She tried following him, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Wait for him to open the other door." Malos said to her in a low voice, pointing to the blips of electricity that followed Rex's footsteps as he proceeded down the hallway.
A trap? How did- Alright, I don't like this one bit.
She quickly wrangled herself from Malos's hand and turned on him. "Ok, you're gonna tell me what's going on here. Right. Now."
"Or what?" Malos smirked. "You were told all you needed to know in the briefing. Plus, you don't have any leverage on me." He paused a moment. "Besides I don't think I have to remind you that you only joined up with us little more than a few months ago." Pointing a mocking finger to his temple.
Nia felt a shiver go up her spine. Malos had that look again, that cold gaze. If looks could kill, this would be one of them.
"N-no it's not like that, I-I only want to help out more..." She mustered, retreating on her earlier accusations.
"Heh, sure. If you want to help: stay out of mine and Jin's way. Otherwise, keep sticking to that little crush of yours over there." His words were blunt, doing nothing to betraying the impact they held.
Her eyes widened, finding herself caught off guard. W-what did he mean by that?
Desperate, Nia looked to Jin for support, but he only ignored her. Leaving her to Malos's mercy.
"Do we have an understanding then?" He asked, suddenly towering over her.
She grimaced, and felt a pit form in her stomach. She didn't bother looking him in the eye as she nodded.
"Good."
Behind them, there was another hum and the sound of moving parts. Rex had opened the next door.
"It's safe now. Let's get going." Malos said, leaving Nia to stand by herself.
She sniffled a little, and quietly followed after.
They followed the hallway, which eventually tapered down into an even smaller tunnel, the whole of which was covered by a hazy green fog. Oddly enough, it had a scent of citrus to it.
At the tunnel's end, it opened up into to a large circular chamber, which, at the center, housed a large circular pillar with a large ornate sword embedded near its base.
Upon entering the room, she could see Rex staring at the sword intently, the jewel near its hilt glowing a brilliant green.
"Look Jin, there she is. No mistaking it." Malos mumbled, motioning past the sword towards the pillar.
Her gaze followed theirs and went from the pillar's base upwards, stopping at what looked like a girl encased in a glass tube. She looked to be sleeping, like she were waiting for something. That must be the Aegis...
Her gaze flicked down to Rex, transfixed by the blade's light.
"Rex? Are you ok?" She tried calling out to him in vain, as he began to reach for it.
Malos took notice of Rex as well. "Hey kid, don't touch that!" He yelled.
The boy violently flinched for a moment and there was an audible sound of glass breaking. In that same exact moment, a number of things occurred in quick succession: The sound of metal sliding.
Nia looked to the sound's origin, it was Jin drawing his sword.
There was a sudden rush of air pressure, followed by a small explosion of energy.
Before she could blink Jin disappeared, a rush of wind and force instantly knocking her to the ground.
From the direction of the massive pillar, she could hear a sickening wet crunch and the sound of something hitting the floor.
Nia looked back to the pillar, a nameless fear telling her something horrible had happened. Where there had been the embedded ornate sword previously, now was just a thousand pieces scattered. Among the pieces Rex's lifeless body lay on the metal floor in a growing pool of his own blood, while Jin stood over the corpse; meticulously flicking the blood from his sword.
Author's Note: Welcome to the end of part one of chapter three. Some stuff happened huh?
Funfact: The land shark miniboss was going to be a humourous scene of Nia and Rex arguing on whether or not they existed, and then getting ambushed by one and running away in only the most silly way possible. I think I made the right choice to get rid of it.
I also didn't really know how far I wanted to go with the scene at the end here. I'm trying to keep it pg-13 here so... Y'know... Hopefully it was just enough to still get the full impact of it all...
But yeah, in the time I've gotten the second chapter up I've gotten quite a few followers and favorites. Just gotta say: You guys ROCK. Thanks for caring!
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