Disclaimer : I don't own anything.
Note : Boy, am I bored! LOL. Still writing for everyone!
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(Shane's POV)
"We got a big one on our hands!" Dustin said, casting a quick Double on himself as he then cast Haste on himself and Kapri.
"No duh!" Kapri shot back, casting Double on herself before casting Haste on me and Protect on me.
With a shrug, I cast Double on myself before casting Protect on Kapri and Dustin.
Just in time.
The machine rumbled loudly, and a large beam of white light shot out, hitting Dustin and knocking him back a few feet. I watched as he tumbled and rolled before stopping and shaking his head. Getting back up, he limped back up to us, and I realized that without the Protect, he'd have been knocked right out with that one hit.
We all charged up our next attack, and Kapri whistled loudly, calling Angelo to her. Raising her arm, the dog jumped into her crossbow and she shot him at the machine.
For a moment, I wondered if she'd gone insane, but Angelo glowed brightly before spinning and hitting the machine, leaving a nasty dent in the side before he spun away, landing unharmed at Kapri's feet. She gave him a treat and he ran off.
Blinking a moment, I shook my head and cast Thundaga twice on the machine, briefly noting that it seemed indecisive on what it wanted to do. On one hand, it looked like it wanted to attack, but it kept sliding back and forth. And I swear, I heard voices inside, screaming about not knowing what was going on.
"Make it stop!"
Glancing at the others, they didn't seem to notice the voice, and though it sounded so familiar, I brushed it aside as my imagination.
Dustin cast Thundaga twice and Kapri cast a Cura on Dustin before casting another on herself, for taking a smaller beam hit to her side.
"How the hell do we stop this thing?"
The voice was faint, and I frowned as I wondered if I'd heard it at all. Kapri seemed to pause for the slightest moment but shook her head and continued her attack, and Dustin showed no sign of noticing at all.
I cast two Thundagas on the machine before charging up my attack and racing forward to slice at the machine multiple times. Jumping back, I stood ready as Dustin and Kapri combined their attacks, hitting the thing four times with Thundaga spells, and I lowered my blade as it shook violently and exploded, shifting backwards towards the ledge.
A door opened on the top, and I noticed a familiar head of long blonde hair before the machine fell over the ledge and towards the ocean. Feeling my eyes shoot open in shock, I took a single step forward, and relaxed once again when I saw a couple sets of arms raise up, clinging to the edge of the hole.
As I watched, Marah, Tori and Hunter climbed up, dusting themselves off and taking potions to cure minor wounds.
I felt a sigh of relief escape me and looked to the ground, unwilling to let them see that I was happy they were ok.
"Shane!!!"
Glancing up quickly, I noticed them running towards us with relieved smiles. Marah stopped right in front of me and saluted with a huge grin on her face, and I couldn't help the excitement and happiness that leaked out. Yes! They're really alright! "Marah. Tori. Hunter. It's good to see you're alright." I said, relatively calmly.
"Say, what happened to Garden?" Hunter asked with wide eyes as he looked around.
A lot's happened... "Garden's safe." I told them with a firm nod.
"Really?!?" Marah cried with huge blue eyes full of hope. Jumping around, she laughed. "Whoo-hoo!!!"
I couldn't help the smile as I crossed my arms over my chest and shook my head. "So, what happened to you guys?" They had been gone a long time, and now to show up in a heavily armored, enemy suit? Must've been an interesting story.
"Shane, let's leave that for later." Tori said with a raised eyebrow, shaking her head and shuddering a bit.
...I guess... Turning to Kapri and Dustin, I nodded. "Kapri, Dustin, can you take them back to the Garden? I'll join you there. I just want to take a look around, first."
Dustin nodded and raced off with a grin, followed closely by the others, save for Kapri, who started off, but then paused and looked at me with her arms clasped behind her back. She had this almost, surprised look on her face, and I frowned, wondering what she was thinking.
"You know... You just surprised me." she admitted with a blush as she looked away. "You looked and sounded so happy to see them."
Huh? I thought blankly.
"It was the first time I'd seen you so honest." she explained with an embarrassed look. "It was...really sweet."
Deciding against lying, I shrugged. "I was just really happy to see them. What's so surprising about that? Is there something wrong?"
She quickly shook her head and raised her hands to ward off more questions, her face turning a bit red. "No! There's nothing wrong! They're your comrades, but moreover, they're your friends." she said softly.
...Friends, huh...?
"Hey Shane..." She looked at the ground and scuffed one foot in front of her like a child. "Would you have been worried about me, too? Y'know, if I were with them, instead?"
Blinking for a moment, I allowed the question to sink in before feeling my eyes widen. What the hell? Why is she asking me this?! I don't know! Looking at the ground, I thought wildly, trying to think up a good answer, because knowing her, putting it off wouldn't work. "I...uhhh...don't know." I muttered, trying to think and then cursing my mind when it went blank on me. Damn it! "I...maybe...? Uhhhh...I don't know..." I repeated, scratching the back of my head as I felt my face heating up.
"Oh my gosh!" Kapri's eyes went wide and she began to giggle. "You're turning red! You're blushing!"
My face grew even warmer, but I struggld to glare at her. What? ...No I'm not...!
Her giggling grew louder and she held a hand over her mouth, but I could still understand what she was saying. "You're so cute! ...Taking it so seriously!"
If it was even possible at this point, I could've sworn my face grew even warmer. ...The hell? Why's she toying with me?!
Shaking her head, she waved. "Catch ya later, Shane!" she called before taking off.
Making my way around the station, I checked and made sure there were no more guards before heading back to the Garden. The mayor refused to speak to me, but I could see a hint of understanding in his eyes, showing that he didn't fully blame me for this.
Heading back to the catwalk, I absently greeted the man running the lift and got on while I thought.
Sorceress Miko... She's suddenly showing an interest in Kelly. ...Why? What does Kelly have to do with anything? Does this have something to do with the 'Dream World'? Is that why those White SeeDs came and took her away? They said they were Miko's SeeDs, but if that's the case, then why do they seem to be trying to protect Kelly from her? What's going on here?
To say I was confused by this sudden turn of events would be an understatement.
When the lift made it to the top, I thanked the man and continued on, walking slowly along the catwalk until I came to a tower and spotted Hunter leaning against the railing, looking troubled by something. As soon as he saw me, he gave a crooked smirk before he nodded and stood up straight, following behind me, all too happily.
"The Headmaster gave the 'ok' for the technicians to work in the Garden. They're in there right now." he stated conversationally.
"Oh." Nodding absently, I raised an eyebrow to myself. Who told him...oh. I remembered that both Kapri and Dustin were there with me, so likely, one of them told him when they got back. At least that's one less thing I have to do. I thought gratefully.
"Say..."
When Hunter trailed off, I sighed and let my head fall back a bit, looking up into the sky. Sighing heavily, I turned and faced him, crossing my arms over my chest. "...Yes?"
He scratched the back of his neck nervously and gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Those technicians seem very handy. I was, uhh...wondering... D'you think it'd be alright if I asked them to fix some other stuff?"
Frowning a little, I shrugged. "...As long as it doesn't slow down the work on the Garden, go ahead. Try not to ask for too much."
"Yeah, of course." he said easily, still looking troubled.
When he didn't move on, but silently fidgeted a little, I groaned silently and rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking. "...What?"
He frowned and seemed concerned. "Marah's feeling down right now. I thought I should let you know since your kind of like...everyone's leader. I think you should go talk to her. I know you're a klutz when it comes to these things, so I'll back you."
Glaring at him, I shook my head and turned my back to him. "...Where is she?" I grount out between gritted teeth.
"She's hanging out at the stage, but the Quad." He sighed behind me as we walked on. "Or what's left of it." he muttered absently.
As I thought about what he said, realization hit me and I frowned deeply as we neared Garden. That's right. Marah's Garden Festival. The stage area was pretty much destroyed. It was no wonder she was feeling upset, if she spotted it. For us, it would easily take weeks, to months to repair all the damage. Obviously, her mind was on the cancelling of the festival.
"Wow, I didn't expect all this heavy artillary."
Raising an eyebrow, I grinned and shrugged absently. "How else are they going to repair it? Hammer and nails?"
Hunter waved his hand in a dismissive mannger and grinned cockily at me as I turned to stare at him. "Hey, hey, hey!" he said in mock anger. Shaking his head, he smirked. "This isn't my department?"
I leaned back a bit and regarded him unphazed. "Then what is?" Like I need to ask...
"...Guna and women, of course." he replied.
Turning my back on him, I rolled my eyes with a grin of my own, entering Garden and making my way to the elevator. Taking it down to the ground level, I headed to the Quad, bypassing a lot of nervous-looking students, and made my way through the small park to the stage.
Marah stood there, looking out over the ruined area with a heartbroken expression on her face.
"Whew...this is so bad." she muttered with a halfhearted smile as she turned and saw us.
"Yeah." I agreed, nodding a little and trying to fight the uneasiness I felt. This so wasn't my thing. "It's been crazy, with the Garden moving and crashing into FH. A lot's happened."
"Y'know, I really wanted to see a band perform on this stage. I even had my heart set on a few people. Oh well..." As much as she tried to act indifferent, I could easily tell this hurt her deeply.
Man, she really seems down. I thought as I tried to think of how to help her. "Come on. I'm sure there's still something you can do."
She blinked, then stared at me with wide eyes and blinked again. "...Shane? ...Being sensitive?" she asked in shock. "That's weird. You're the last person I expected to cheer me up. I must really look depressed."
I frowned at this. What's so weird? I care just like everyone else. It's just that there are too many things that can't be helped. So why bother thinking about them?
"Uh-oh. There you go again, into your own little world." she teased, beginning to grin. "And you're not gonna share anything, huh?"
Why is she teasing me? I was just trying to help. "...Yeah. Whatever..."
"Well, I think I'm feeling better. Don't worry about me, Shane." she said with a warm smile.
Turning to Hunter with a sigh, I rolled my eyes. "Hunter, you help her."
He raised an eyebrow before shrugging and nodding. "...Alrighty."
Suddenly, the PA beeped and Headmaster Kanoi's voice came over the speakers.
"Shane, this is the headmaster. Please come to my office, right away."
It beeped again to signal the end of the transmition.
Shaking my head, I started off. What now?
(Still with Hunter and Marah, Normal POV)
Still feeling pretty blue, Marah looked around at the wrecked stage, and uprooted plants. Dead electrical wires were everywhere, and pieces of the stage were clearly missing from the Garden completely.
"I guess there's no point in feeling blue." she said sadly to herself. I mean, there's always next year.
Hunter grinned and nodded. "That's right. Let's get the fun started." he said happily.
Staring at him blankly, Marah didn't dare let herself hope that he had a plan. "Fun?" Have you seen this place?! "What fun?"
I'm so brilliant. he thought cockily to himself as he gestured to the stage. "So like...first, we'll ask the FH technicians to fix the stage. If they can fix Garden, this should be a piece of cake."
"Hmmm..." she almost seemed hesitant to accept the idea, though her mind and heart were screaming at her to say 'YES!!!'. "Do you think they'll do it?"
He nodded. "Don't worry. I'll back you. I'm sure they'll do it."
"That meanst..." That little sparkle of hope began to glow in her eyes again.
Hunter grinned cheekily. "Yup, you can have 'your band' perform on the stage."
"Whoo-hoo!" she cried, jumping up and hugging him briefly as she looked around happily. "Alright! Let's get this show on the road!"
Score, baby! Hunter thought victoriously. I'm all set to make my move!
(On the Bridge)
Saluting, Shane nodded, glad to have the report done and over with...finally. "...And that about concludes my report."
Kanoi nodded thoughtfully with a frown on his face. "I see..."
"Oh, and one more thing... It appeared that the Galbadians were searching for Kelly. That seemed to be their main objective in FH. I believe that Sorceress Miko is behind all of this." Kelly has the ability to allow people to experience the past. Maybe the sorceress is after her for this ability. What other reason could there be?
"So, now the Galbadians are working for the sorceress, and were searching for Kelly in FH..." Kanoi repeated thoughtfully, seemingly confirming what he'd heard Shane say.
Shane nodded. And regardless of whether they found her or not, they had orders to torch the town." he finished.
"That would help reduce the number of potential hiding spots." Kanoi said wisely.
...Of course. Why hadn't he seen it before? It was so obvious!
"Most likely, the sorceress will not stop at this onslaught until Kelly is found. She will continue to hunt her, and burn everything in her path." His tone was resigned and pained, but his eyes were determined. "We can't wait any longer." With that, he turned and grabbed the microphone, flipping the switch to go live across the Garden.
...So he's finally going official. About time. Shane thought with a frown as he stood back and listened to the speech.
However, nothing in all his years of training, could possibly prepare him for what he was about to hear.
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Ok, so there really wasn't a break there, but I wanted to add it.
Ok, so Hunter's character is a shameless flirt. I'll say right now that you'll see a bit of Hunter/Marah fluff here and there, but it's something that can go either Dustin/Marah, or Hunter/Marah. I plan on it being Dustin/Marah. Hunter flirts with everyone, if you'll remember, so yeah... LOL.
Hope you like it.
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"Don't talk about this like it's been decided since my birth!"
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R+R please.
Thank you.
Tenshi.