CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The Sea Salt Mechanics

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

- Joseph Addison

"Hello?" I called into the emptiness of the looming, dark garage.

"Hello?"

Behind me, the others stepped in. The garage was a wreck, very well lived in. Kadaj knocked over a half empty soda can when he walked in. Spider webs attached themselves to Loz's head, and he grumbled as he attempted to remove them. Crystal's hand drifted over one small car in the garage.

"Does anyone still live here?" She whispered.

Kadaj lifted the now empty can. "This is fresh" He told them.

I continued looking around. "Hello? Anyone?"

Attached to the ceiling was a hammock, ratty and covered in blankets. One blanket was covered in rainbows, the other blue and quilted. It was like someone had raided a child's bedroom. At first, it looked like a weird, floating hamper. Then I heard another snore.

"Is the mechanic sleeping up there?" Kadaj wondered. He was thinking along the same lines as I was.

Sephiroth groaned and unsheathed Masamune. It was more then long enough to reach up to the hammock on the ceiling. Jabbing the bundle with the hilt of the blade, Sephiroth called up to it.

"Sir? We are customers, is the garage open?" The sign on the door said it was, but the entire building seemed vacant.

The bundle grumbled, moving a little. Frowning I looked to Sephiroth. He huffed and jabbed the bundle a little more insistently. Behind us, a sleepy Loz and cranky Crystal walked up. Seeing our problem and finding a chance to be irritating, Crystal seized Masamune, flipped it around, and jabbed the bundle with the sharp end.

Whoever it was in the bundle gave a sharp howl, flipping around in his bundle of blankets before crashing down to the cement floor below. I cringed, and turned around to glare at Crystal. As soon as I did, my eyes went wide. A major change had occurred with Sephiroth. Almost as soon as the blade was snatched from his gloved fingers, he gave an animalistic growl. He looked ready to maim Crystal, as soon as he stole the sword back. I stepped up to interfere, but I needn't do so; Loz was immediately standing between his big brother and my best friend.

Sighing deeply, I shook my head. "Loons"

Snatching the sword from Crystal, I handed it to Sephiroth and gave him a look. Then, forsaking the three, I turned about and headed towards the moaning bundle of blankets across the way. "You okay?" Pulling the blankets back, I saw that the mechanics fall had been… well, "blanketed" by the childish blankets he used. It was a he; a blonde haired, lanky boy with a mullet. Once he'd regained his senses, he stood, still a little woozy.

"Oh, I'm – I'm fine!" He insisted, shaking it off. "Really, I've got a hard head – it'll take a lot more than a fall to break this nut!" For emphasis he knocked on his head twice. I giggled; he was a cute kid. When I laughed the boy smiled, and gave me that "look". "Umm… miss? Uh, what's your name?"

Before I could respond to the boy, I felt a sudden chill and an angry need to kill. A looming presence was over my shoulder. Rolling my eyes, I turned around; and sure enough…

Sephiroth was jealous.

In the back corner of the garage, Kadaj opened the empty metal trashcan next to him, stepped into it, and began lowering himself in, placing the lid on his head. Jamie looked at him, blinking in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Preparing for the apocalypse" He muttered darkly.

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"What are you doing?" Sephiroth muttered insistently, leering at the boy over my shoulder.

"I was helping him. Ms. Sword Happy sent him falling onto the cement a minute ago" I crossed my arms and glared at Crystal.

"He's hitting on you" Sephiroth growled between clenched teeth.

"I know – he's a kid" I shook my head. "He's an innocent guy, sweet as can be – he's no harm"

"Tell him you're not interested" Sephiroth demanded with an order like tone. I gave him that wide eyed, oh no you didn't, look.

"He'll get the picture, I'm not gonna hurt the boy" I told Sephiroth just as insistently as he'd "ordered" me.

Sephiroth glowered at me. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he caught it. "Hou hare ah big bruhthe" I spat thickly with him holding my tongue. It was hard to talk that way.

A voice in the back of my head whispered to me. I knew it was Sephiroth, taking advantage of the "connection" we shared. There are better uses for that tongue, He told me. A collage of images bombarded me, images I'd only dreamt of, dirty things that a husband and wife shared. My knees almost buckled. Sephiroth had let go of my tongue, and I was looking away as the images overwhelmed me. I kept my cool. He wanted me to lose control. I wouldn't. Before I could smack him, a hand came between Sephiroth and me.

"Excuse me" The boy from earlier shyly and politely looked to us. "I think you said you needed a mechanic" The kid was smooth, standing up for me without dealing with the wraith of "big badass". I could've taken Sephiroth on. Then again, if we fought, it would only end up making him… you know. One thing I'd learned about Sephiroth was he thought anger and attitude was hot.

Sephiroth calmed himself, looking back to the van. He and the boy began talking about the machine's problems, walking away, and I made to disappear towards Jamie and Kadaj.

Jamie knocked on the lid of the trashcan. "Apocalypse over"

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"Um, miss?"

I was lying on top of the van thinking when I heard the mechanics voice hit my ears. He was under the van. Crawling to the edge of the roof, I looked over to see him looking up at me.

"Um, about my earlier question… I still don't know your name, miss"

I smiled. He was cute. "I'm Sam"

"Oh, okay"

"Yours?"

"My what?"

Laughing, I shook my head at the little dork. "Your name"

He flushed with embarrassment. "Oh yeah! – hehe, my name's Dyme"

Dyme. What a peculiar named, I though.

My stomach rumbled. Clutching it, I grumbled under my breath. All the food Brian, Aaron, and Jack had given us was eaten up.

"Are you hungry?" Dyme asked, about to slide back under the van. "Go down that hall, and into the house. The first rooms the kitchen"

Thanking him, I got off the roof. "Thank you Dyme, you're sweet"

The boy's eyes became very wide, and his blush profound as he watched me walk away. I was glad I could make the boy happy.

I regretted it when I had to walk past Sephiroth into the kitchen. "You're encouraging him"

"I'm being nice" I retorted. Slamming the door behind me, I left all thoughts of Sephiroth and his stick up the butt attitude behind me. It was time for some food.

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Sure, let's live today, let's live tomorrow and let's live the day after that - even if it means living in eternal pain.


- Vash the Stampede from Trigun

A piece of cold pizza was what I decided to eat; Dyme's fridge was full of take out food. It was quiet in the house, but really nice and clean. It was large, so I supposed Dyme didn't live alone. But why live in the garage when the house is so big?

I felt eyes on me. I didn't think it was Sephiroth he was outside. Turning around, I was surprised to see a young girl. She was maybe fourteen, dressed in a large white shirt and shorts, which were covered in paint.

"Oh, hello" She smiled, her eyes bright. "Are you a customer? My name's Namine"

"I'm Sam" I told her, lifting my hand to shake hers. She looked down to her palms.

"You probably don't want to shake hands with me, I'm covered in paint" Laughing, she wiped her hands off on her shirt. I moved aside so she could reach the sink.

"So you're an artist?" She nodded and began cleaning her hands.

"Guess it's kind of obvious, huh?" Laughing, Namine dried her hands off and moved away from the counter. "Want to see some of my work?"

I heartily agreed, and she showed me to the upstairs area of the house.

At the end of the hall upstairs was an enormous room. To one side was a wide open space with canvases and finished art, and a huge window. The other side looked like a bachelors den, made up of video games, movies, a TV, and a sofa.

On the sofa were two teenage boys. The red head was tall, and sprawled across the sofa, while a shorter blonde was leaning against it on the floor. I wondered why they were here, and Dyme was downstairs, sleeping alone in the hammock…

"This is my work" Namine smiled, waving around the room. They were quite beautiful; the work almost seemed ready to come alive. One was a butterfly on a leaf, another a woman in a park. One was a group of people. I recognized Dyme, and the two near the sofa. Namine was in it as well, so she must've been painting from the reference of a photograph.

"You're a wonderful artist" I whispered, in awe of the work. She blushed and smiled.

"Thank you"

Turning around, I looked to the sofa. "Your friends?"

She nodded.

Sounds came from the doorway, like a stampede almost. Dyme opened the door wide, breathing hard. He glanced around as if he were looking for someone. "Hey, Namine, have you seen – oh!" Dyme calmed, blushing. "Sam! Uh… your friends are looking for you"

I nodded and looked to Namine. She looked to Dyme. He was kind of standing there.

We both looked at him. He shuffled his feet.

"Oh!" He gasped, looking flustered. "And I need Lea's help on the car"

Namine looked over to the red head on the sofa and then back to Dyme. "We'll be right down!"

Heav'n hath no rage like love to hatred turned,

Nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorned.

William Congreve (1670-1729)

The van was fixed! Dyme had worked his hardest and done his best; all that was left to do, Dyme handed over to Lea; he was so tired he couldn't handle any more work. Lea was up to the job, once he was up.

Lea was your typical teenage punk with his sly smirk and baggy clothes. I enjoyed punks; they were amusing to say the least. I only ever knew one in my life, since I lived in hickville; his name was Jacob, and I met him in Atlanta. Laid back, mellow, a rocker. I never knew him well, he always liked Jamie better.

He walked outside and cracked his knuckles, ready to work. Crystal walked by talking to Jamie, and Lea gave her the once over.

"Hey there" He smirk grinned, like a rogue, then, he waved a little with that debonair look. Crystal gave him the finger. Shrugging, Lea got to work. "Can't win em all"

I watched as Dyme sat over in the corner and talked to Lea as the latter worked. Eventually Lea noticed me, and nodded. "Who're you, girly?" He asked.

Dyme answered for me. "That's Sam" He said, seemingly eager. Lea looked back to me.

"The name's Lea" He grinned, saluting. "Got it memorized?"

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Lea and Dyme were hard workers, and though Dyme was a pushover, Lea went easy on him. They were very much like brothers, so I wondered why Dyme slept alone while the friends slept inside.

I heard my name. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo were calling me. I ran over.

"Hey sis" Loz smiled. I nodded.

"Hey yourself" Grinning suggestively, I poked him with my elbow. "So – you and Crystal, huh?" Loz blushed and looked away with a small smile. Kadaj laughed.

"You thought it wasn't obvious?" Yazoo smirked arrogantly.

"What? What? What, what, what?" I rolled my eyes when Jamie jumped into the conversation.

"We were just commenting on Loz and Crystal's relationship" Kadaj informed him.

"Ah, the cutie pie couple of the year! This year's Brad and Angelina! The brawn and the beauty! What a pair!" Jamie could go on forever. I think he got all the talking genes.

"You're embarrassing him, Jamie" I nudged my brother. He laughed sheepishly.

"So, when are we leaving?" Kadaj muttered, ending the old conversation. Loz mouthed a silent thank you to him.

"I don't know about you" Crystal leapt into the conversation. "But I don't wanna travel who knows how far with a pissed off General" She wagged her arm in Sephiroth's general direction. He was seething in the back corner. I was about to roll up my sleeves and stomp over there when Loz took hold of my arm.

"For the sake of all that is good, don't do it" He pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

Huffing, I slid my sleeves down and let the matter rest.

For now.

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Silence is argument carried out by other means.

Ernesto"Che"Guevara (1928-1967)

We ended up taking up the invitation to stay overnight at Lea, Namine, and Dyme's house. The fourth member of the household, who I learned was named Sora, had disappeared upstairs. We all made ourselves at home; Jamie and Lea were jabbering away, Yazoo and Kadaj were looking at Namine's art; Loz and Dyme were playing video games. Crystal walked by me towards the fridge.

"I feel like I know these people" She told me. "You know? How Sephy is a video game guy? I think these guys are, too. I know Namine is. Does that mean Aaron and them were, too? Wow… makes me feel like an n00b as a gamer, Y'know?"

"They are from video games" Jamie entered the conversation. "'Aaron', and 'Brian', and 'Jack'; they're Auron, Braska, and Jecht from Final Fantasy X; didn't you ever play that?" The conversation had become a geekathon between Jamie and Crystal.

"Oh! That came out in 2000, right? That was the summer that Dad shipped me out to Canada to live with mom! I didn't touch a PS2 for forever! And I never thought of the game when I came back, I leapt onto Final Fantasy Online!"

"And these guys?" I asked curiously.

"I know I know Namine…" Crystal offered, tapping her chin.

"Uhh…" Jamie pondered.

"Earlier Lea said this catchphrase" I mentioned. "Something about… 'Got it memorized'?"

Both people's eyes lit up.

"Kingdom Hearts!" They laughed.

"Makes sense!" Crystal giggled. "Wonder where Ro… Sora is?"

"Hey!" We all three looked across the room. Across the way, Lea was standing at the backdoor, waving at us. "Hey Jamie! Could ya come here for a sec?"

Jamie looked back at us and smiled. With a wave, he left after the red head, and Crystal moved away, leaving me to wonder why in the world I never caught on to that anime stuff.

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Everyone in the living room was sitting in a circle, preparing to play truth or dare. I wanted to play, but first… I had business to attend to.

As I walked down the halls towards the bedrooms, I could almost feel Sephiroth's energy bouncing around. It was different from earlier; wasn't as direct, it was just there. It was just a bunch of feeling and energy, unfocused, kind of floating there. I would never have felt it had it not been so strong.

My hand hesitated on the doorknob. I had become stronger recently, but was I strong enough to face Sephiroth down? Then I remembered…

He's my fiancé.

So with a sigh, I knew I couldn't just leave him. I turned the door, and entered the bedroom.

Suddenly hands were on my waist, I was pressed hard against the door, and a heavy weight was leaning on my abdomen.

"I must have you"