Chapter 15: Peter

Last time, pointless dialogue.

XXX

The capital of Cademeca, Franklin, was warming up. It was chilly but sunny, and the trees in the area bloomed. Four days since the ship was captured, Captain Reynolds kept his promise and dropped them off in Franklin unharmed. Chat mumbled to herself about an excuse on loosing a ship as she said farewell to the group. Natalia and Chloe got onto a cable car for the capital building, so Luke, and Asch stayed with Simon's company for a little bit before jumping onto a trolley bus heading to the guild district.

"Where should we look?" Kanonno muttered to herself as Simon observed the busy streets of Franlkin, nothing compared to St. Gabriel. For one, it was elevated, and the people were getting onto all sorts of vehicles, carriages, trolleys, cable cars, trains, and even flying machines. There vendors on the side of the street overshadowed by the bigger shops, and he could see above him, factories billowing smoke into the sky, but not so much smoke that it would block out the sun.

"Stay close Simon." Laurel reminded.

"Ah … right!" He said snapping back to reality and jogging to the group.

"We should probably check a bar." Kanonno concluded.

"Why? Because you haven't had a drink in days?" Marianya scolded.

"Because he's probably slept with the bartender, if not, he's probably hit on one." Kanonno shrugged, "And I could use a drink."

"Why don't we ask where the nearest bar is?" Simon asked.

"We could, but we're probably gonna have to look in several bars to try to get a lead." Marianya mumbled.

"You know, we could just get a few pictures of what he looks like and ask around." Laurel suggested.

"If you haven't noticed Laurel, we don't have a pen and paper." Said Marianya. She looked over to her shoulder, "Then again …" she turned to Simon, "can I borrow the gald." Simon shrugged and gave it to her, "I'll be right back." She said leaving. A few minutes later, she came back with a quill, ink well, and a packet of paper. She knelt down on the ground and started sketching out a picture of a man with spiky hair and a cocky grin on his face.

"Wow, that's pretty accurate." Kanonno complimented as she cranked out three more copies.

"Now we can ask around and see if he's still in town." Marianya said closing the inkwell and blowing on the picture, trying to make it dry faster. "We meet here, back at Inky's in an hour." She pointed back at the pen shop they were very close to. The other three nodded and separated into different directions, Simon looked at a clock tower to see when he had to be at Inky's. He asked around but he got no leads, the closest he got was one guy who said he saw him in a bar once. He looked at the clock tower to see forty minutes have passed.

"Excuse me." He heard someone say, he turned around to see a blond boy a few years younger than him, "My friends and I are wondering if you know anyone who has information about the Apocalypse period."

"Huh?" Simon responded, 'Apocalypse period?' Another boy wearing a gas mask came up and grabbed his shoulder.

"You idiot! He's not gonna know about this stuff!" He whispered.

"Oh right …" The blonde whispered back. "Forget what I said dude, I mean … do you know where we could find some books on a certain period?"

"Did you check the library?" Simon asked.

"Of course!" Said the one with the gas mask as if he just realized something. "Why didn't we look there?"

"Oh yeah, the documents should be dry since it's before the incident." Said the blonde boy, the one with the gas mask gave him a sharp glare. "Oh right." Muttered the blonde, shutting up.

"Ignore what he said, he's a bit … crazy." Said the gas mask boy.

"Hey!" The blond protested.

"Anyway, thank you." Said the gas mask boy.

"You're welcome. Before you go," Simon took out his picture of the man he was looking for, "Have you seen him around?" The two boys stared at it intensely for a while. The blond shook his head.

"I think I've seen him heading towards Inky's." Said the gas mask boy, "You might catch him if you hurry."

"Thank you." Said Simon running back to Inky's, once he got there, he didn't see anyone who looked like the picture, so he sat on the curb outside the shop. He sighed 'Did I miss him?'

"What are you doing here Simon?" He heard Kanonno's voice ask.

"Well I was told that the person you're looking for was around here, but I couldn't find him." He skulked.

"I wasn't really intending on coming here until Kanonno dragged me." Laughed an unfamiliar voice. He looked up to see the man, he looked exactly like the picture, though the picture didn't include the red hair, the goggles on his forehead, his suspenders and his face with coal smudges on it. Simon stood up, noticing that he was several inches taller than him. "The person you asked must be able to predict the future or something." The man joked.

"Ah … um …" Simon began.

"I'm Peter." The man introduced offering a handshake.

"Simon." He replied taking the handshake.

"So you're the boy that made the girls 'out laws' huh?" Peter mused. "You don't seem like the type that the law would be after."

"Well I have amnesia and I don't remember any family, so it might be close to impossible to find a record of my family tree." Simon shrugged, "Plus my surname, Winters, does not sound like a surname from Sakriny, as far as I know."

"Well, just to give you a hint, the family tree thing is complete bull shit." Stated Peter.

"What?" Kanonno and Simon shouted.

"Yeah, it's just for government officials and Reltih's dearest supporters. It does not work for moderate supporters and people who are against him." Said Peter, "It also only works for just the dark hair and eyes trait. If it worked for every trait that Reltih would consider 'impure' then I wouldn't have left because my parents were heterosexual."

"Huh?" Simon wondered, Kanonno rolled her eyes at Simon.

"I'm a homosexual." Peter said quietly, Simon still looked confused. "I'm attracted to other men. The family clause wouldn't work on me because of my sexuality."

"Oh ... because … yeah …" Said Simon between mumbles, "Why here?"

"Because I wouldn't get criminalized." Said Peter, "Though it's still treated like a taboo."

"Ah…" Said Simon, as Marianya and Laurel walked in, Marianya gasped and laughed, Peter turned and spread out his arms with a confident grin on his face. Marianya ran forward and gave him a tackle hug, Peter leaned back from the impact and embraced her. They let go of each other and Peter patted her on the head.

"Well look at you," He smiled, "You've developed into a fine young lady."

"Thanks." she smiled back, "And you're a mess, would it kill you to clean your face and hands."

"I do, they just don't stay clean." Peter laughed, Marianya's mouth gaped open, "Not like that! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"This reunion is touching and all but we need you to help us out with living arrangements and finding jobs." Laurel interrupted.

"Ah yes, Kanonno told me, five thousand gald is only enough for a few days rent." Said Peter rubbing his chin. "Let's go to my place, we'll figure things out there." The group left the curb in front of Inky's, Peter led them to a trolley that was about to leave. He told the group to stay close as the trolley started up and traveled through the streets of Franklin. The trolley stopped at an area filled with apartment buildings and houses deeper in the area, the group got off the trolley as the next round of passengers got on. The group walked to a tall building, Peter allowed them to enter first. He walked to the front desk to talk to the man there, then another man came up and the three got into a lengthy conversation. Just when Kanonno was about to fall asleep, Peter came back.

"Good news, You all can stay in my apartment, just as long you pay the rent and not make too much noise." He said, gesturing to the others to follow him. "Also you have to make your own meals because I most likely won't be here to provide any."

"Crap." Laurel muttered as they passed a couple of doors with buttons next to them.

"Oh and don't use the elevators, they don't work." Peter informed as they headed to the stairwell. Kanonno nodded, while Simon nervously looked back at the elevators. They climbed up a few flights of stairs and went down a hallway until they reached a door, Peter unlocked it and the group went inside. The apartment had a stove under cabinets, next to a sink with dirty dishes, it also had a bedroom with a messy bed and a bathroom that was just a tub and what looked like a flush toilet. There was a space between rooms that was cluttered with junk and the radio in the corner.

"Welcome to my home, sorry about the space, I normally don't have guests over." He said.

"I can see why." Said Marianya looking around the apartment.

"You have indoor plumbing?" Kanonno gasped.

"Yeah most Cademecan cities have that, though the pipes do get clogged." Said Peter, "And by the look on your face this is heaven when compared to Sakriny."

"Hell yeah! You remember what we have to do with our sewage in Sakriny." Kanonno responded. Peter laughed as he cleared a space on the floor wide enough for the group to sit on. He sat on the floor, the others soon followed.

"Now that you have a place, let's discuss jobs." He said clapping his hands, "Now you'll probably be okay as far as government paper work goes as long as you avoid the jobs that require you to show a visa or something and government officials. Just in case I might know someone that can forge a visa. Also, ladies, you might have a hard time finding some work simply because of your sex. You may have a skill set for a certain job but keep in mind that some of these guys have misogynistic ideals. Now Simon, your amnesia may be problematic because you don't remember any skills, correct?"

"Yes." Simon nodded.

"All I have to say that you need to either try to jog your memory, educate yourself, or go to a guild." Shrugged Peter.

"The guild? I've kinda been rejected from the guild in Speg." Said Simon nervously.

"I'm assuming you're talking about Ad libitum correct?" Peter asked.

"Yeah."

"There are other guilds besides Ad libitum you know, though that's probably the guild that might help you find out who you are. Brave Vesperia might take you in, if you're up for traveling around often. Though guilds like Fortune's Market, or the Soul Smiths might not take you in because they require a skill set that you might not have." Peter explained, "Of course it's all up to you."

"Peter, are there any guilds that could accept us?" Kanonno asked as Simon went deep into thought.

"All guilds can, it's required to not discriminate against sexuality, gender, or race." Stated Peter, "In fact I think the nonguild businesses in the guild district might be able to hire you."

"I see." Said Kanonno.

"To be honest, I'm more worried about you Kanonno than I am about Mari, since she can always work at a hospital as an emergency healer." Said Peter.

"It's true." Shrugged Marianya.

"Thanks." Grumbled Kanonno, as Simon wondered why he hasn't sneezed in hours.

"Sorry Kanonno, some people here just can't see a woman working as a mechanic." Sighed Peter

"I'll just prove that I'm just as good as a man." Said Kanonno.

"Good, now Simon have you figured out what to do?" Peter asked.

"I'm going to look for my memories, if I can't find anything then I'll probably try my luck again with Ad Libitum." Simon responded.

"Okay," Said Peter, "So we agree that Kanonno and Mari will look for jobs in their respective fields, and Simon will stay unemployed a might longer?"

"Since I'm gonna be stuck with the cleaning and what not," Said Laurel, "Yes."

"Great, can you guys help me clean the apartment?" Peter asked. Laurel and Marianya groaned while Kanonno laughed.

"Okay." Simon simply stated. Kanonno got started with the dishes, most of the time amusing herself with the faucet and the fact it spouted possibly drinkable water. Peter got into countless arguments with Marianya and Laurel about what should be thrown away and what should be kept. Those frequently got interrupted with Simon asking where he should put things. The usual responses were either "Put it in the closet" or "throw it away." Even then there were arguments about that, so Simon threw the junk away most of the time, except the things he viewed as valuable, in which case he put it somewhere in the bedroom. Eventually the apartment was cleaned up, dinner was cooked and after much arguing, went to sleep. Marianya and Laurel slept on the bed and the rest slept on the floor. The others slept peacefully while Simon tossed and turned, moaning in his sleep.

'It's one of those dreams …' Simon thought 'where I'm someone else.' He looked into his faded reflection in the glass that looked into another room covered in metal. 'Looks like I'm a woman in this one.' He looked into the other room, the unfamiliar devices were covered by corpses, from the looks of it the men and women were torn limb from limb, and some of their faces looked like they had been ripped off. 'My god!' he thought wanting to back away from the window, but the body wouldn't move. He heard a door slam behind him, a man in a lab coat, locked the door and barricaded it.

"Do you have the chemical?" "Simon" found himself asking.

"Yes, but we don't have much time. This has to be destroyed." Said the man giving "Simon" a small flask with a stopper on it. "They're getting stronger, this won't hold them off for long." Just as he said those words they heard banging on the door, "Simon" started to run out of the room just as a bloody hand punched through the door. Halfway through the hallway he heard a pained scream, he didn't bother to turn back until he reached another room to shut the door and lock it. The room was filled with technology that was far more advanced than the technology in his time. He turned on a device, put the flask inside and slid something over the top. He turned on another device that looked like one of those cameras Kanonno obsesses about.

"Is this working?" He muttered as he tapped the lens, "Good" He pressed a button revealing several images, the body started talking with words he doesn't understand, the body turned when he heard a bang.

"Your majesty please, we need to seal them away," He found himself saying, keeping his eye on the door. "There's no hope letting them run loose, we can't start over with them still around." He took out a gun, as he could hear the lock going loose. "I'm sorry, I never meant for this to happen."

'What's going on?' Simon thought as the body stood there, 'Isn't there another exit? Run!' The body stood in place, not bothering to turn off the camera. 'I don't want to know what happens next, wake up.' Nothing happened as the door opened showing the people with skin covered in blood, and clothes, though the clothes contained an odd pigment, Simon could have sworn he saw fingers hanging around the necks.

'Wake up,' He thought as the body started firing at the people, "Wake up!" The people ran toward him, and he pointed the gun to his head, "WAKE UP!" He heard a gunshot as everything went black.

Simon jolted up, panting, he looked around realizing he was in Peter's apartment. He lay back down.

'It was just a dream.' He thought, 'Just a scary dream.' For the rest of the night he couldn't get back to sleep.

XXX

Meet Peter, another character that was supposed to be minor, after fifteen chapters we're finally getting to a story arc, I think I might have said this chapters ago, that time I lied, but I'm honest about this. Though I will introduce several characters. I'm sorry to say that anyone from the Speg branch has been put on a bus. Yes, I did base the look of Franklin off of Baticul and do some of these settings look a little too modern?