Rant: Sometimes I deeply, deeply despise computers. The secondary hard drive on my main work terminal just utterly tanked, and while I was working on the machine sans dead D, I suddenly got pretty coloured lines all up and down the screen. So now I have to wait while the thing does a full virus scan in safe mode before I can even start to TRY to START to reconstruct the templates for invoices etc. that we use every day. So if my writing style comes across as a little bitter this time round, you'll know why.

Chapter 5: Tako Trouble and Good Times

Setzer paused a moment, took stock, while the sky found new ways to make him colder and wetter.

"No, sorry, but no. I was there. Hell, I was partly responsible! No more espers. They're all gone, and even if they weren't, they'd die," he said to the old man.

"Heh! Know a lot, eh? Pretty sure of your facts!" cackled the old fellow, not fazed.

"Yes, actually. Look, I saw the esper HALF of a crossbreed removed by that phenomenon. One moment, white and lavender and shining, flying above the deck of the airship, next minute, human. If half of a person's ancestry was removed that precisely, I kind of doubt - " Setzer broke off.

But the removal hadn't been as precise as all that, had it? He'd been there, afterwards. At first it had looked like a clean removal of Terra's esper heritage had taken place, but later she had become feverish, maddened, confined to bed for some time. That made sense to him - you didn't abruptly lose half of what you were without some psychological effects. But psychology wasn't so great at explaining the sudden flashes of yellow in her eyes, the periodic blanching of her skin, and most of all the throbbing glow which had manifested when she was at her worst. She had stabilized eventually, but, no, the removal had not really been so surgically neat. So maybe -

"Thinking it through? No so sure of our facts now, mmm?" said the old guy into Setzer's ear.

Setzer lurched back. When had he gotten so close?

"Okay, maybe you are what you claim, but I can't help you right now, I've got to - Relm! Why am I still talking to you!?" Wild-eyed, Setzer shoved the man? ...esper? aside and dashed down the alleyway.

The old man laughed madly, then broke off, seized by a paroxysm of coughing. When he regained control of himself, he started walking in the direction the gambler had gone, the rain beating a tattoo on his hunched back.

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"Well, I don't know about you, but I think it's great. Supera Seditiosa is just the sort of recognition you deserve, and not before time," Locke said adamantly.

Celes looked around the lavishly appointed lobby, to see if anyone was listening in. "I don't know. I'm not really fond of these period pieces, and seeing Maria playing me is just... strange. Did I really make a personal comment about your height when you rescued me that time?"

Locke snickered. "Yes. 'Aren't you a little short for an Imperial soldier?'" he mimicked, dodging as Celes swung at him. "I dunno about this guy playing me, though. No way I was that cold to you when we met up again on the boat! I mean that was harsh!"

Celes glanced away. "Yes. It was."

A look of self-loathing crossed Locke's face. "I was like that? And I never really - my god, Celes, I'm - "

She made a cutting motion with her hand, dismissing the incipient apology. "You had cause. It looked bad. It looked like I'd rejoined the Empire."

"Why did you not show up until - ?" Locke started.

"It's - complicated, okay? The Empire doctors patched me up, even after I tried to kill Kefka and DID kill those soldiers with him - and there was Cid - and Leo... it was just... complicated. I never did anything that would bring harm to you after I joined you the first time, though. It's important to me that you know that."

"Yeah. I know. I still remember that damned Gestahl, trying to drive a wedge with his innuendoes at that stupid 'reconciliation' dinner. 'About Celes...' Hah. I still remember how we were all unanimous in our response. 'Celes is one of us!' "

Locke's wife pulled him over and hugged him. "And you were right."

"Yup." He hugged her back.

The lights dimmed abruptly, then came back up.

"Whoops, looks like it's time for Act Two," Locke said.

They joined the crowd in shuffling their way to the theatre doors, then to their seats. They sat down.

"Umph?"

"What is it, dear?" asked Celes.

"Dunno, just - something on my seat. Feels like an envelope, with wax - I'll just open it - " Locke suited action to word, then lit a match, examining the object that had been deposited on his seat.

"Oh - oh, no."

"What, dear?"

"Look." Locke handed over the letter with an air of great fatigue and annoyance.

"Hmm. Let's see. 'Leave me out of your stupid opera, will you? I was there, too, ya know! Well, for old times' sake, I'm gonna mess this one up, too! Buhahahaha! - You-Know-Who' ... Oh, no."

"Yup. We certainly do know who. He wrote the laugh. Not getting any saner."

Celes sighed deeply. "Well, let's go tell Impresario, see about getting backstage."

"Yeah." Why were they never able to have a normal night out?

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"It's so cool, that you guys can get a private room here just like that, I mean it's not a great place, but still, oh, I don't mean it's a bad room or anything, I mean a private room, you know?"

Relm was babbling. She knew she was, but somehow she couldn't seem to stop. At first, when she'd realized it, she'd been all ready to be embarrassed, maybe even to just run out and go back to Setzer's place. But it was amazing - these guys didn't even seem to mind her running on and on - that's how cool they were.

One or two of them were even looking right at her as she talked, drinking it in, nodding every now and then. They seemed to be having a little trouble focusing on her face as she talked, but that was okay, she seemed to be having some trouble focusing ever since her last glass of, what was it called? South Figaro Cider? Anyway, it was good, and she didn't really mind their looking other places than her face, she'd got something to look at, now, and guys looking just meant it was working. She was no little kid! She suddenly realized she'd still been talking while she was thinking. She tried to follow what she was saying.

"So I just told him '---- you', right?"

"Yeah!" said one of the guys.

"You go girl!" said another.

This was so awesome.

"Yeah, '---- you', I said, and I figured I'd just go out and mix with the wrong sort, serve him right, yeah, just find some real lowlifes to hang out with and - "

Oh god. Oh god. What had she just said? What was she saying now!?

"-go to the seediest place around, and in Zozo, that's saying a lot, yeah? And... and..." she finally managed to clamp her jaws shut. Why had she said that!? She wanted these guys to like her, to think she was cool, and she'd just... totally... blown it. Oh god. Her face got even hotter than it was already, and she started to get up, feeling tears prickling their way to her eyes.

"I'm - uh - I - sorry about that, really, I'm sorry I mentioned you were lowlifes -" Oh god. No! She couldn't even get an apology out right!

"Hey, lishen, girlie!" said one of the guys, anger filling his face like a wash of red paint, rising out of his chair.

The leader, Veledd, shifted. He'd been silent almost all of the time since they'd arrived, expressionless, watching Relm. Now he lifted a hand, palm out, gesturing for a halt. The other guy went white, suddenly, and sat back down.

"That's okay, Relm. We are lowlifes, by the standards of Jidoor or Narshe or Tzen. We're bad sorts. But that's what you like about us, yeah? You like bad boys."

Oh, wow! So cool! Relm nodded, the tears retreating.

"That's because you're a real woman. And you're right - this place is a dump. We just come here 'cause it's closer to the marks."

'Marks!' Wow! These guys really were criminals!

"So, Relm, real woman who likes her boys bad and knows a dump when she sees one, you want me to show you someplace better? A real bad-boy base? A real... den of thieves?" His stolid, expressionless visage abruptly flashed into a mischievous, puckish grin as he looked Relm right in the eyes.

Oh, wow! Oh, wow!!!

Overwhelmed by so much cool at once, all Relm could do was nod.