Disclaimer : I don't own anything.
Note : I've had the muse and energy lately, so I'm writing as much as possible so I can update sooner for everyone and have lots of chapters to update. :)
Ok, I just found out something I didn't know before. All I can say is poor Tommy. You'll find out in the next chapter, if you pay close enough attention.
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(Bridge)
As I marched on to the bridge, I noticed Cam, Tori and...uhh... What was his name again? ...oh, yeah, Xander.
They were standing there, waiting for me, and upon seeing me, they began to smile and applaud. Briefly, I noted that the strange panels had been removed and instead were three large levers that I guessed, were to move the Garden around.
Xander was standing in front of the center one.
Cam and Tori stood on either side of him and grinned at me.
"Greetings Commander!" Tori cheered.
Raising an eyebrow, I smacked my forehead with my hand and shook my head. "Don't call me that." I deadpanned.
Cam laughed a little and raised his hand. "We decided you should have a title, so Tori and I decided on Commander."
Nodding, Tori pulled out a clipboard. "Sorry to carry things out on our own, but Cam and I assigned duties."
"I'll take care of all the supplies needed on Garden." Cam stated seriously.
"And I'll help take care of the students with Dr. Shayla." Tori informed me. "You can just focus on destinations and battle plans. And, ah...will you let Marah rest for a little bit? I think she's still fairly exhausted from the missile base mission. She could use some rest. How does that sound to you?"
I nodded gratefully, and secretly admitted that after all her hard work, Marah deserved a nice, long, relaxing vacation. "...It's fine."
"Alright, I have some reports for you, already." Cam said, holding his own clipboard.
At this, Xander took a step foward and bowed slightly to me with a smile. "Hey, Shane."
Raising an eyebrow, I regarded him a moment before it hit me. He was the only other student to graduate with me, Dustin and Marah. Noding back, I remained silent.
"By the way, you know the FH Technicians that were fixing Garden? They just finished, meaning... The Garden's ready to go, anytime. Oh, yeah." he scratched the back of his head nervously. "I'll be piloting Garden. FH Technicians taught me everything about piloting this thing. Let me know when you're ready to leave."
Tori looked thoughtful. "Any suggestions on where we should go?"
Cam took a moment before a worried look crossed over his face. "Hey, why don't we go back to Balamb? We don't know what's happened since we left. Besides, Balamb might be their next target. It's a port town just like FH."
Tori nodded. "That's right." Her own face grew worried. "Shane, what do you think?"
Why ask me? I agree... Nodding, I sighed. "We're taking off." Turning to Xander, I nodded to him. "I'll direct you to our destination. Announce the departure."
"Roger!" Saluting me, Xander turned to a speaker and turned it on. "May I have your attention please. This is the bridge. The Garden will be leaving Garden shortly. Please prepare for departure. I will now hand over the mic to our leader, Shane."
Looking at them with wide eyes, I watched as Cam silently mouthed 'make a speech', and glared at them. "A speech?!" I realized the microphone was right in front of my face, and still on. Turning a deep red, I growled and glared at Xander. "Forget it! Cut the mic!"
(Balamb)
It took about a day to get back to Balamb, and I was horrified when I noticed a mobile Galbadian Garden sitting in the docks of the small port town. We managed to pull the Garden up on the beach and sat it a little ways away before Kapri, Tori, Dustin, Hunter and I disembarked, making our way to the town on foot, in hopes of sneaking in. We were going to leave MArah behind, to rest, but she found out and chased us out of the Garden, insisting on joining us.
But as soon as we set foot in the gateway, I knew it would be difficult.
There was a Galbadian military car parked sideways across the road, blocking our way into the town. And on the side where the sidewalk was still free, a Galbadian soldier stood there, wielding his gun, ready for attack as he eyed the few villagers that had been out of town when they invaded.
Dustin stepped back, his eyes wide, as he stared in shock at what was happening. Beyond the car, we could see soldiers walking amongst the villagers, some bullying the innocent people.
"What the hell?! What's going on here?!?" Dustin yelled angrily.
A middle aged man and woman stood over by a car rental shop. The man was holding the incredibly pale woman as she looked on with terror.
"We were forced out of town days ago. Our daughter's still at home, but there's nothing we can do." the man said sadly, and I recognized him as the hotel owner of Balamb. "With all these soldiers from Galbadia, you've got to stop and wonder if Galbadia fell to the hands of the sorceress."
"Yo...!"
I turned to find Dustin walking up to a guard while glaring at him. "What's goin' on in there?!"
The guard raised his gun in warning to back off. "This town is under the control of Sorceress Miko! The town is off-limits while we conduct our investigation! It will last for several days!" Eyeing us with a sneer, he raised an eyebrow at the girls in the group. "Once we're through with our investigation here, you guys are next. So just stay out and stay put!"
"...What's Galbadia want with a town like this?" I asked curiously, wondering if it was still to do with Kelly.
"What do you want?" he shot back warily. "You residents here?"
Dustin nodded and kept glaring. "YEAH, that's right! At least residents should be allowed in!" he growled angrily.
"It's OFF-LIMITS!" the guard repeated loudly, raising his gun and pointing it in Dustin's face. "You cannot enter or leave, you understand?!"
"Hah, who do you think you're talkin' to?!" Dustin yelled.
Getting an idea, I pushed him out of the way and faced the guard myself.
"Yeah? What now?" he asked coldly.
Keeping my tone emotionless, I bit back a smirk. "You said the town is off-limits... Does that mean we can't deliver a message, either?" I hope this works... "That's too bad, we had some information on Kelly."
"W-What? Kell...Wait a minute!" He looked at us warily before getting excited. "Tell me everything you know about her! Do you actually know who she is?!"
I shrugged. "...Kind of." Well, yeah, but I'm not about to give up what I do know. "But we need to get inside to confirm something."
He paused again for a moment before nodding. "If you find out any information at all, report to the Commander! She's staying in the hotel! You'll be rewarded!" he said eagerly as he moved to the side and allowed us in.
The first thing we did is run around the town, trying to find out exactly what was going on. Some soldiers spoke about 'a new world order' and 'Galbadian rule', and yet others almost seemed sympathetic to Kelly. I found it a little amusing that despite their desperate search for her, all they knew was her name.
At the train station, I noticed a guard that seemed a little out of it. He complained of hunger and an upset stomach. Not really worth listening to, so we continued on.
Yet they all mentioned a Commander, staying in the hotel, and hinted at it being a woman. Who could they be talking about?
Finding a fairly pissed station manager, I'd also found out that the food supply to Balamb was cut off. They were starving the villagers, and yet, making them deliver any and all food to the Galbadian soldiers!
Finally heading to the hotel, I sighed when I noticed two guards standing outside the door. I walked up and explained about the info, but they seemed hesitant to let us through, believing it was likely rumor or something, and worrying about their salary.
Dustin demanded to be let through, and the guards repspoded by saying that the 'Captain' was on duty. First we were sent to speak to a Commander, and now a Captain?
With a resigned sigh, I turned and walked around the town, talking to different Galbadian soldiers in hopes of finding this Captain of theirs.
One in the town square seemed like it was a waste of time talking to us, but shrugged and answered anyways. "The Captain's napping spot? How the hell should I know?"
I hadn't asked about a napping spot.
"Well, he's probably not sleepin' in the streets, and with his bulky build, you won't find him on a roof, either." he said before walking off.
I really hoped that was the case. I didn't feel like scaling the roofs to find this captain, or I might be tempted to roll him off it.
I walked over next to the item shop and spoke to another guard, which seemed a little more friendly. "What was that? Where does the Captain nap? You know...I've been wondering that myself. Before you know it, he's no where in sight... Wonder if he has a secret hiding spot?"
Biting back a yawn, Dustin gestured for us to follow him to his house, where he was greeted by a tall, slender, older woman. He grinned and hugged her back before motioning for us to follow him upstairs, though he seemed a bit hesitant about it.
"Don't go touchin' anythin', ok?!" He warned us. "I just like to keep things clean..."
Marah raced past us and jumped on his bed before proceeding to bounce on it. "Whoo-hoo!"
Glaring at her, Dustin reach over and pulled on her arm, resulting in her falling and him catching her bridal style. He blushed a deep red before promptly placing her on her feet and shaking his head before looking at her sternly. "Yo! I just finished sayin' not to touch anythin' and now you're on my bed!"
She huffed and glared right back at him, though she quickly looked away and turned to a window. "Well, fine then!" she huffed in an indignant voice. "I didn't realize you were so...anal! You should feel honored that a very, very cute girl was on your bed, you know!"
Did she even realize just how wrong that sounded? By the various shades of red both their faces turned at that moment, I guessed they both did.
"He should thank me, right Shane?" she asked me sweetly.
"No, you're annoying him." I deadpanned.
He grinned and nodded. "Yeah, stop annoying me!"
"So, you're saying that I'm annoying?" she asked softly. Jumping off the bed she was sitting on, she glared at us both. "That's it! Shane, Dustin you're both going down a rank!" she threatened.
Rolling my eyes, I waved my hand dismissively, knowing she didn't have that kind of power and wasn't really serious.
Dustin on the other hand, got worried. "WHAT?!? You...You're kidding, right?!?"
Hunter shrugged and looked so bored as his eyes scanned the room. "Yeah well, it's not much fun spending time in a guy's room anywa-Whoa!!" His eyes landed on a set of older-looking rifles and his jaw dropped in awe as he carefully walked over and reached out with shaking hands, stopping just short of touching them. "What is that?!" His voice had raised an octave in awe. "These are some o' them old-school rifles!"
Dustin looked at him warily. "Those are my grandpa's! Don't touch 'em!"
"Oh man, oh man!" Hunter was bouncing around like an overexcited little school girl as he almost drooled all over them. "These are so COOL!" he squealed, yes squealed.
Blushing, Dustin rubbed the back of his neck before shrugging. "..Heh-heh... Well, alright... Go ahead, check 'em out." he agreed.
Instantly, Hunter was carefully sifting between the guns and picked one up, aiming it towards the window and checking out the scope and feel.
BANG!
Dustin jumped a foot in the air before staring in shock at the new hole in the wall. "YOOO!" he whined, running over and looking at it with wide eyes. "The hell you doin?!?"
I shrugged and watched as Hunter put the rifle back down with an embarrassed look on his face. ...I knew he'd do that...
(Brooks Residence LivingRoom)
As we headed downstairs, Dustin led the way into the living room, where we spoke to his mother.
"I'm glad you didn't beat up one of the guards, Dustin." she said with a wry grin once he explained how we got in. "The Sorceress threatened to burn down the city if anyone resisted."
"The Sorceress, is she here?" I questioned curiously.
The older Brooks shrugged and looked thoughtful for a moment as she seemed to try to recall. "I noticed a young woman... She seemed to be in charge. Had long blonde hair and was very quiet, except when she yelled about things. Was travelling with a young man... He didn't seem too bright..."
Frowning, I recognized who she was referring to, immediately. "Taylor and Eric... So they're here...?"
"Leave it to me!" Dustin cried proudly, obviously showing off to his mother, who looked anything but impressed. "I'll take care of those jokers!"
Does that mean Blake's here too...? I wondered silently. But it didn't make sense. Why would they turn on Balamb?
Heading back to the train station, I felt something was up.
"The Captain? It's the Captain's nap time now!" The guard told us firmly, before he stiffened up. "...Oops, I mean...uhh...He's on patrol! He's a very harder worker, always out patrolling! So don't bother him!"
Shaking my head, I turned to the others and we headed off. I found a suspicious looking guy in a black trench coat, walking slowly over behind the miltary vehicles parked by the docks. Walking up to him, I watched as he turned and grinned, revealing sunglasses over his eyes and slicked back black hair.
"You wanna find the Captain?" he asked knowingly. "It's pretty simple. He was just over fishin' off the docks, and came rushing through a short while ago with a large fish. You can probably use the that dog..." He pointed to a black and white spotted dalmation that stood alone on the docks. "To sniff him out. If he runs, just follow him. I'm betting he's used to chasing down the captain by now. The Captain used to sleep here." he stated, gesturing to a small space between the cars and wall.
"The reason he moved was because the Commander almost ran him over in a car when she went out looking once. Chances are, he'd find a dark, fairly quiet place where there was no chance of him being run over."
As we walked towards the docks, I noticed a guard and questioned him.
"The Captain? Yeah, he was just fishin'. He caught a few and got all excited. Ran off sayin' he was gonna cook them right away." he said, gesturing back to the residential part of town."
(Brooks Residence)
As we raced back to Dustin's mom's place, I noticed the heavy smoke coming from her windows and paused for a brief second, wondering if they set the place on fire. Then I noticed the smell and rolled my eyes as we rushed into the house.
The smell of cooked fish.
As I suspected, the smoke was only coming from the kitchen, and Dustin's mom stood outside it with a clearly unhappy scowl on her face as she looked over the mess.
"Just now, a man came in and asked if he could use the kitchen... I think he cooked some fish. Now the whole house is filled with this strange odor." she said with a puzzled look on her face. "Must've been pretty bad fish to give off this odor. I wonder if he's really going to eat it? Said he was going to eat with his men. I hope nothing happens..."
We headed immediately back out into the town, and followed the smell, and confused faces of the townspeople to the station, where the guard staggered around a bit before falling over and rolling onto his back, groaning in pain as he held his stomach.
"Ugh... I thought it...smelled funny..." he groaned as he gagged a bit. "C...Captain... How c-could you... I f-feel...numb..."
I looked at the station manager and he held his hands up. "Don't look at me! Some guy came in and offered the guard some fish." Then he paused and looked at the man on the ground. "Hmmm... Looks like symptoms of Badamb Fish. It's similar in appearance to Balamb Fish. The guard should be all right in a few hours, but that man from Galbadia... He ate the same stuff, too! I wonder how he's feeling..."
Groaning in annoyance, I went back to the docks and found that dog again. If Eric really had eaten that fish, chances were he'd smell pretty distinctive, so kneeling beside the pup, I smirked as it barked and shot off back into town. Chasing after it, we followed it all the way back to the train station where it ran into the train, and a moment later, there was a crashing sound.
Eric appeared in the doorway and ran off, the dog trailing after him.
"It's Eric! ...Come on." I instructed the others.
Walking by the downed guard, I stopped and looked at him when I heard him mutter something.
"Heehheeheheee...grandmaaaaa..." he giggled. "F-Flower Fi-fields..."
Shaking my head, I turned and ran towards the hotel, seeing the dog standing to the side of the entrance and even the guards had moved away from the door. They stood well away from it and watched it warily, until we ran up and one of them turned to me.
"Hey, you! Stand back! This could get dangerous! The Commander's just about to-"
The door swung open and the guards jumped as Eric came racing out. He didn't even seem to notice us and turned to the doorway.
"YEOW! Ouuuch... T-Taylor... C-Control your temper, ya know? I was patrollin' just like ya told me, I even woke up that search dog, sleepin' on the job, ya know?!?"
More like the search dog woke you upfrom sleeping on the job. I thought with a raised eyebrow.
"You guys, help me out here!" he yelled to the guards. "We've gotta calm Taylor down, ya know?!"
"ERIC!" Dustin roared angrily, flexing his hands in his gloves and glaring at the man.
Spinning around, his jaw dropped and he grinned a little. "Wooow! What're you guys doin' here?!"
"We're here to liberate Balamb, ya know?!" Dustin said with a smirk, which was quickly replaced by a frown as he turned a deep shade of red. "Uhh... I mean... We're here to liberate Balamb!"
Shaking his head, Eric grabbed a large staff with serrated blades on each end and swung it around. "Blake told us to give you a whoppin' if we saw you." Gesturing to the guards, he sighed. "You two guards help me out, too!"
"You'll pay for this, Eric!" Dustin yelled, racing forward to deliver a flip kick to the man.
I ran forward and sliced the guards multiple times, running between them with each hit, and jumped back to my starting point. Holding my blade to the side, I charged up the energy before jumping up and swinging my blade around me twice, resulting in a large energy wave that hit Eric and the guards, killing the guards immediately and causing Eric to stagger back.
Kapri shot her crossbow, which he deflected, and Tori and Marah attacked in tandem with their whips. One he caught around his staff, but the other snapped against his side, causing him to cry out in pain and buckle to his knees.
Hunter shot a volley of powerful shots at Eric, which he gain blocked with his staff, and Dustin ran forward, pummeling him with his fist.
Standing back up shakily, Eric ran forward and sliced at me with his double bladed staff, but I blocked the hit, countering with a Fira spell to his stomach. Remind me to thank Blake, later. I thought grimly, remembering when he'd used a trick like that a while ago.
Eric was launched back and fell to his side, groaning as he clutched at his stomach.
"Ugh, you got me, ya know..." he muttered with a scowl.
We entered the hotel to find Taylor standing in the center of the room with a clearly pissed of scowl deeply etched into her face.
"So, I guess you're the Commander, huh?!" Dustin sneered as he cracked his knuckles. "Well pack your bags and get the hell outta Balamb!"
She looked around before her scowl deepened. "...ERIC, DEFEATED...?!?"
"That's right, BABY!"
I don't think he noticed he glare he got for calling her that or he would've quickly shut up.
"Now, where's Blake and the sorceress?!? You're all goin' DOWN!!!" he pumped his fist into the air.
For the love of Hyne... "Dustin, calm down." I told him firmly before turning to Taylor. "Taylor, looks like you're on your own. Still willing to fight?" I wanted to give her a fair chance out. After all, we used to be friends, in a sense.
She growled and shook her head, grabbing two strangely shaped daggers with blades that surrounded her hands and a long, serrated blade on the edge. "RAGE!!"
There was a loud, boisterous laughter. "She's not alone, ya know?!?"
I noticed the brief look of relief in her face before spinning to the door.
"W-Who's there?!" Dustin asked nervously.
Eric raced into the hotel and past us to stand at Taylor's side. "Major come-back, ya know? Actually, I feel a lot better now, ya know! I feel invincible, ya know?!"
"How the...?! I thought we defeated you!!!" Dustin yelled angrily.
"Time to get serious." Eric smirked.
I sensed a GF and drew Pandemona from Taylor before casting double on me and Haste on me and Kapri. Kapri cast followed my lead, casting Double and then Hast on Dustin and Marah. Tori did the same, Casting Haste on her and Hunter.
Next, we cast Protect and Shell on our group before beginning our attack.
I cast Blind on Taylor and Eric, causing nearly all of their attacks to miss us. Then I cast Poison on Eric to constantly weaken him.
Kapri doublecast Firaga on him, while Marah and Dustin attacked with Thundagas on Taylor. Hunter shot Eric with some kind of stun bullet that made it so he couldn't move for a short while, and I focused an attack on Taylor.
Slashing her seven times, I jumped back and held my hand out as I summoned Leviathan.
A large watery portal opened in the sky, and a beam of water slowly began to pour out, sliding this way and that and curling upon itself as it entered the battle. Within a bright flash of light, a light blue dragon was seen floating above us. He roared loudly with his sharp beak, and Taylor and Eric were surrounded with thick bubbles of water. It raised them high off the ground before slamming them down and Leviathan disappeared.
Dustin summoned Shiva, who performed her Diamond Dust attack, and then doublecast sleep on Taylor and Eric.
"I...WITHDRAW! ERIC, GO!" Taylor commanded as she sank to the ground.
"Ouuuch! Not bad, ya know?" Eric smirked as Taylor cast a final Esuna on him, dispelling the Poison and Sleep we'd cast.
Jumping forward, he swung at Marah, and cut her deeply acros the stomach, causing her to scream in pain and pass out. Luckily, Dustin caught her and managed to pull out a phoeniz down to revive her.
Tori cast Curaga on her to heal her wounds, and Kapri frowned before whistling, and shooting Angelo on her crossobw at Eric.
I ran forward and slashed at him five times before jumping back, and Dustin raced forward, now that Marah could stand on her own, and punched him in the face before kicking him in the stomach.
"Taylor, I lost too, ya know..." Eric muttered as he sank to his knees.
"Are the two of you taking orders from the sorceress?" I demanded warily, keeping my blade out, just in case.
Taylor smirked as she drank a potion and shook her head. "NEGATIVE!"
"The sorceress has nothin' to do with us, ya know." Eric said with a shrug as he downed a hi-potion. "We're actin' on our own!"
Somehow, I had a hard time believing that the two of them thought up this plan on their own. "...Own plan...?"
"We're on Blake's side, ya know?!" Eric said as he stood up shakily and helped Taylor up.
I nodded slowly, putting my blade away. "That's up to you, but... Enough is enough! This isn't an internal Garden conflict!"
"We can't back out, ya know?!" He frowned deeply and shook his head.
Taylor seemed sad. "NEGATIVE!"
"Blake has a lot of followers, ya know?" he stated in a quieter tone. "But we're his only friends... We're a possé, ya know? The Galbadian soldiers are only listenin' to him 'cause they fear the sorceress. Without us, Blake wouldn't have a possé, ya know?"
"If you guys stand behind him so much... Tell fricken Blake to stop this nonsense!" Dustin shouted.
"AFFIRMATIVE!" Taylor sighed.
Eric shook his head. "We ain't no sell-outs! We're behind Blake all the way, ya know?!"
I nodded slowly. "Ok...understood." I said quietly. It kind of made me respect Blake, having friends this loyal. It was only sad that we were on opposite sides. "So, you want nothing to do with Garden, now? ...From now on, there's gonna be no holding back." I warned them fairly. ...I guess that's how it goes... That's what comrads are all about...
"You're just gonna let them go, Shane?" Kapri asked me curiously.
I nodded silently, standing to the side so they could get past.
"Don't wanna...talk no more..." Eric muttered, looking heartbroken. "Kinda...hurts, ya know?"
"WIMP!" Taylor shouted, kicking him in the shin. "RUN!"
They ran off and left us alone in the hotel. Kapri sighed from beside me and I could see the look of sadness in her eyes from what she just witnessed.
"I feel kinda sad..." she said quietly.
I shrugged. "Friend or foe, it all comes down to circumstances... Thats how we ere raised. It's...nothing special." I said as I walked out of the hotel, noting immediately that the galbadians were withdrawing.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes and looked to the sky as I made my way back to Garden.
Nothing special... Is that true? Then...what is this I'm feeling?
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Ok, I don't know what to say...
I hope you like it.
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"Um... Can we, maybe, go to Trabia Garden?"
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R+R please.
Thank you.
Tenshi