Chrono Cross Fan Fiction
I put on my robe, and headed out. I'd been wandering for as long as I can remember, but I've always felt most at home in Termina. I guess it must be the soothing sounds of the ocean that can be heard most anywhere in the city. Or maybe it was how it was always bustling, even when there wasn't a Festival going on. But the best time to visit the port city of Termina was, of course, during the Viper Festival, in honor of General Viper, commander of the Acacia Dragoons. The city's inhabitants loved and revered him. I'd never met the man before, but from what I'd heard, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. And it was Festival time again. I left sequestered Arni village after paying the annoying komodo dragon pup there 100g. "Hey man, what you doin on my island, man?" Man, what an attitude. I don't know what he's talkin about, cause Arni's a pretty big island, and there are plenty of monsters bigger than him out there.
I adjusted the straps on my twin blades and set out. The only thing I didn't like about staying in Arni Village was how they didn't take to kindly to outsiders, especially demi-humans. Like I could help being what I am? That was why I always wore a robe, so as to hide my true identity better, not that it's all that noticeable in the first place, but...
Crossing Fossil Valley was always easy, even with stupid dingos running at you trying to attack you. I don't have the heart to kill them, so I just cast FireCage, and that holds them until I leave. It's the dodos and the drongos that are hell. You stop to lean on a tree, and turns out it's a damn drongo, and they always bring dodos out to fight with them, the stupid things. My TwinBlades tech skill (green) always takes care of the drongos, then I just SliceandDice (white) the dodo, but it's still annoying, and a waste of time. The other problem's also the Acacia Dragoons that are sometimes lurking around. I beat them up a bit, and they let me by.
Finally, I reached Termina, approaching the flowerlady's stand to give her the bellflowers I'd found. She doesn't like to go to Fossil Valley herself, because of all the wildlife, so I do her the favor of getting them for her. This time there's a soldier there talking to her. Expecting trouble, I edged around the entrance pillar to Termina.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have any bellflowers today. The Acacia Dragoons are back in Fossil Valley. For the life of me, I don't know what they could possibly be looking for!"
"I'm sorry ma'am... as Acacia Dragoons, it is our duty to protect the citizens of Termina. I'm sure we'll be done there soon."
"Oh, that's alright. I can get my flowers elsewhere, it's just the bellflowers that only grow in Fossil Valley."
"Well, that's alright. I'll come back a little later." With that, the dragoon took off. I then approached the flowerlady.
"Oh, Jennilyn! I didn't see you there..."
"Who was that? Was he giving you any trouble? Oooh, I swear, anybody messes with you, Delilah..." Delilah was like a mother to me, always making sure I had money or something to eat.
"Who, Glenn? No no no, child, Glenn is a proper gentleman, through and through. Either he or Riddel come by here every week to buy a bellflower to put on Dario's grave."
"Who're Riddel and Dario?"
"Dario was Glenn's older brother, and Riddel's betrothed. He was also the fourth Dragoon Deva. Miss Riddel is General Viper's daughter."
"Oh... well, if Dario was a Deva, then why didn't Glenn take his place when he died?" I sat down on one of the crates near the wall and began sharpening one of my throwing daggers.
"Dario was a great warrior, not to say that Glenn isn't, he's just not as good as his brother was... plus, he doesn't have the heart to try and replace Dario, although it is kind of weird to keep saying "the Four Dragoon Devas of the Acacia Dragoons," when there are only three. What we need is a great warrior to fill in the void left by Dario's death..." Delilah looked at me kind of funny then. I looked up from my sharpening.
"What? Oh no... no no no no no! You want me to try and take Dario's place?! What kind of plants have you been picking..." I pretended to inspect her plants for anything suspicious. She laughed at me.
"Oh, stop that. I'm being serious! You're a great warrior! Tell me truthfully, have you ever met someone you couldn't beat?"
"Well... but that's besides the point, Delilah! I don't want to upset anyone, I have enough enemies as it is! Plus, if you haven't noticed yet, Delilah, I'm a demi-human. I'll never be anything but a wanderer. Sure, I like Termina, but I wouldn't stay here. There are a lot of demi-humans here, but they're treated like slaves! And if I moved to Marbule, it wouldn't be much better! I look too human to live in Marbule, and if I try to act human, these ears give me away!" I pulled the hood back on my robe, revealing my cat ears.
"Lyn, honey, I'm not going to be around forever. Then who will look after you? General Viper is a good man. If you can fight your way into his top ranks, there's no way he'll deny you. And then you'll have people to look after you when I'm gone..."
"Delilah..."
"Jennilyn, you've been like a daughter to me, even though you are a demi-human. I remember that first day I found you in Fossil Valley when you were only about five trying to fight two dodos off all by yourself. You'd gotten one of them, but you were exhausted. Fortunately, the dragoons were around to help me drive the other one off, although of course they wouldn't have helped you if I hadn't come along and told them to. Actions like that is what breeds new hatred between humans and demi-humans. But I took you in, and let you wander and grow, because I knew that I would never fully understand your demi-human ways, but also that I shouldn't restrict them. I could see that you had warrior blood running through your veins, even when you were five. I know that you're destined to become great, which is why I've never held you back, but I do want someone to watch out for you and to be there for you when you need it, which is why I want you to do this for me."
"What, Delilah? Anything..."
She nodded at the flowers I'd put on the crate next to me. "Take those bellflowers to the shrines, and give them to Glenn and Riddel. They should be there now. Then tell them that you wish to join the dragoons, not that you wish to replace Dario as fourth Dragoon Deva."
"Delilah, I told you already, they won't let me in with these ears!" She smiled at me.
"I have something to fix that. Sit down and hold still..." She pulled out a brush, and started "brushing" my hair.
"OW!!!"
"Child! Don't you ever brush your hair?"
"Whatever for?" I mumbled under my breath... the most I ever did with it was wash it once a week.
"There, I'm done! Here, take a look." She handed me a mirror.
"Aaah!! I have tails on my head!!!" Delilah burst out laughing.
"Silly. They're called ponytails, and are quite popular amoung girls these days. Plus, they'll hide your ears."
"Well, if you say so... but won't people notice I don't have any ears at all?"
"No, I don't think so... humans aren't that perceptive... now, go on now, shoo! Go take those flowers to Glenn and Riddel!"
"Alright alright alright already, I'm going!" With that, I took the bellflowers, and stalked off towards the shrines. I'd never actually been down there before, but I knew Greco, the psychic ex-wrestler who served as the watcher of the dead and resident priest. Delilah'd hired him to teach me how to wrestle when I was really young. The lessons continued over the years whenever I wasn't out wandering the world. I saw him leaving his hut, and quickly covered the "ponytails" on my head... what would he say if he saw them?! ugh, just what I needed, tails on my head. He was just on his way out, and stopped me.
"Well Jenni, I haven't seen you around in awhile... how have you been? Ready for another match?" He got into wrestling position and smiled at me.
"Sorry, Greco, I don't have time right now... Delilah's sent me on a mission."
"Really? And what kind of mission is this, amiga?"
"She wants me to take these bellflowers over to Glenn and Riddel and tell them that I want to join the dragoons."
"You're going to join the dragoons? Hmmm... well, you are an exceptional wrestler and fighter, so you should have no problem. Good luck, Jenni, and come by and wrestle me again sometime!" He then walked away towards the town. Sighing to myself, I walked resolutely towards Glenn and Riddel, who were on a seashell-shaped island that had a sword sticking into the ground. I followed the pathway around the island, and ended up behind them.
"So... she did not have any bellflowers... well, we'll just have to pray without any today... I'm sorry, Dario..." Riddel looked towards the ground.
"Father... brother..." Glenn bowed his head, and I stepped on a really loud twig. He whirled around.
"I... I'm sorry to disturb you, but Delilah sent me down here to give you these..." I held the purple flowers out to him. He walked over to me, a puzzled frown on his face.
"Delilah the flower woman?"
"Ye-Yes, that's right..." Why was I so nervous? I couldn't even look him in the face.
"Take off your hood. Let me see your face, boy."
Riddel came over: "Glenn, don't harass him!"
"Boy?!" I whipped off my hood, glaring angrily at him. His green eyes widened for a moment.
"Oh, so you're a girl. Well, I couldn't tell with that hood covering your face."
"Oh, Glenn, stop that! Leave her alone! She's just here to give us the bellflowers we need!! Thank you so much... oh, here, how much do you want for them?"
"What? Uh..." She was pulling out a coin purse. "No, no, here, just take them..."
"For free? Are you sure?"
"For free? What are you trying to pull?" Glenn's frown deepened.
"I'm not trying to pull anything! Delilah told me you leave bellflowers on your brother's grave every time you visit, so why should I make you pay for them, if they're for a grave site?"
"Look, we don't need your pity or charity..."
"Glenn, stop that! What would Dario think of this behavior?" That shut him up pretty quickly. "Now..." She turned to me, "what would Delilah say if you went back empty-handed?"
"It's not a problem. I'm the one who goes to Fossil Valley for her to get the bellflowers. I can always get more later..."
"So you're the reason why she didn't have any earlier when I went to buy some!"
"Glenn, calm down! You're picking a fight with a girl not five feet away from your brother's and father's grave!"
"But.. but... but..."
"But nothing! Now... what was your name?"
"Uh... my name? Jennilyn..."
"Well, Jennilyn, are you sure you don't want any money for the flowers?"
"I'm sure. Just take them. I can't believe Delilah wants me to join you guys... ha. That's a joke..." I rolled my eyes and shook my head, chuckling dryly.
"Join us? As in, join the dragoons?" Riddel looked up at me.
"Well, yeah..."
"I knew you were after something! You think that just by being nice to us, we'll let you into the dragoons! Ha! You probably don't even know how to punch someone, let alone wield those blades on your back!!"
"Alright... come on! We're settling this right now, away from these graves. Just you and me."
"Stop it, both of you! Now, let's figure this out, without fighting! Glenn, I can't believe you'd disrespect your brother's grave this way... you two stay here while I put these bellflowers on your father's and brother's grave. With the way you're acting right now, Glenn, you shouldn't be anywhere near here, or you'll make the spirits restless."
I glowered at Glenn. "She's right, you know..."
"Sh-shut up! You didn't know Dario, and you have no right to talk to me like that!"
"I didn't say a thing about your brother. What I said was that she was right about making the spirits restless. Just ask Greco."
"How do you know Greco?"
"He's been teaching me how to wrestle since I was eight. How do you know Greco?"
"H-He's been doing the same with me... so, you're saying that you grew up around here, too?"
"Ever since I was five. Delilah found me in fossil valley being attacked by a couple of dodos, and she took me in."
"Wow. Dario and I lived next to Zappa. Karsh and Dario were best friends growing up... So Delilah raised you, huh? Don't you know where you came from or who your real parents are?" Wow, what a change from the hot-headed kid who wanted to pick a fight with me just two minutes ago. And the way he was looking at me right now, so innocent-like, belied the fact that he'd had a hard life, what with losing his father and brother at a young age, plus with him being a soldier. Even with the huge x-shaped scar on his left cheek he still managed to look like a little kid... I snapped out of my daze (what was wrong with me?)
"Uh... oh, um, no, I don't. I guess I was just abandoned in Fossil Valley, although I probably came from M... uh, sommmewhere around here..." I caught myself just in time. I'd been about to say Marbule, but that would've given away the fact that I'm a demi-human, and then I'd never get into the dragoons, let alone become a Deva. Glenn nodded, not noticing my minor slip-up.
"Oh, so now you two are getting along?" Riddel came back, and we both fell into bouts of embarrassed coughing. She smiled at us. "Alright you two, let's go to the Manor." I blinked at her. "Yes, you too, Jennilyn. Come along now." She started walking away. Glenn and I looked at eachother for a moment, then quickly ran after her.
On the way out of Termina, Delilah saw me with them and winked at me. I stopped.
"Delilah, if I join the Acacia Dragoons, who's going to get your bellflowers for you? I don't want you going alone, you'll get hurt!"
"Don't worry about me, Lyn... you're not going to jail. You can come pick flowers for me anytime you want." She smiled at me, and I smiled back, tears threatening to fall. Then I remembered what company I was currently keeping.
"*ahem* ... Goodbye, Delilah... thank you, for everything..."
* * *
"So... you don't know know your real parents... wow, I can't imagine what that's like."
"Well, yeah, it kinda sucks. The good thing about it, though, is that I don't have to live up to anybody's expectations, nor do I have to live in somebody's shadow. No one tells me what to do, no one compares me to anyone else, and I make a name for myself with my own talents, on my own merits, and with no help from anyone."
Glenn stared at the floor, and I realized then that he would never be able to do what
I was saying I did. Dario, apparently, had been the best of the Devas, the top of the top, as had been his father, Garai. People would be comparing everything Glenn did to what his family had done til the day he died. And no matter what he did, it would still seem like nothing when compared to the deeds of his father and brother. That was probably the real reason why Glenn never decided to take Dario's place in the Devas. "Yeah, that would be nice... for once."
"Hey, we're here! Glenn, don't look so glum, you'll ruin this beautiful day! Your brother was always smiling on days like this..." Glenn shot me a look, and I rolled my eyes.
"Miss Riddel, back already?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes... um, and this young lady is with us." Riddel smiled at me distractedly.
"Well, hello there... Well, now, doesn't she look familiar, Neron?"
"Huh? Oh, why, yes... it's that demi-human brat we had to rescue in Fossil Valley awhile ago... What business does a mongrel like you have in Viper Manor?"
"Demi-human? Why, you must be mistaken, Daman. Can't you see she's human?" Riddel frowned at him in confusion. "Why don't you just leave her alone?"
"Miss Riddel, I can assure you we both know this trash quite well. We had to save her from a bunch of dodos. Ha! If it had been left to us, she wouldn't be standing here right now, and some dodo would've been well-fed... but some stupid woman interfered."
"Stupid... woman...?!?!?! Alright, that's it! I claim insult from both of you! No one insults Delilah and gets away with it, especially not right in front of my face!"
"Heheh... we'll teach you a lesson, then we'll leave you as dodo-bait in Fossil Valley, like you should have been!" Daman drew his sword and came at me. At the last minute, I sidestepped, unsheathed my double-blades, spun around, and did at least 50HP worth of damage.
"Teach me a lesson, eh? You forget that this 'brat' had been five years old on that day in Fossil Valley, and had still managed to destroy a dodo with her bare hands!" I grinned, baring my fangs, and we clashed again.
"Neron, you... fool... what are... you doing just... standing there? Come... help me!" Hmmm... let's see... downslash right, block left, block right, upslash left... aha! 25HP! Then Neron came at me. Time for a switch of strategy: I backflipped out from between them, sheathing my swords while doing so,
landed, and pulled out my double-ended swallow. Twirl, spin, spin, double spin kick, double spin kick, stop. "Well, what are you standing around there looking stupid for? I thought you were gonna teach me a lesson?" Neron blinked, looked unsure of himself, but Daman decided that he still hadn't had enough.
"StormBlow!" Classic dragoon tech. What, he thinks I've never seen StormBlow before? And he hadn't even hit me once yet, so it wasn't like this was going to do much damage at all. But they'd insulted Delilah, and that was unforgivable.
"FireCage!" Let's see how the two idiots like being in a constantly-shrinking cage of burning fire. Daman, in his effort to hit me with StormBlow, ran right into the front of my FireCage... oooch. That's gonna leave a mark.
"Aaahhh!! You bitch!"
"Hey, who taught whom a lesson?? Heheheh...
That'll teach you to insult people." I turned around, sheathing my swallow, and found Riddel and Glenn staring at me, Riddel cautious, and Glenn in distrust, hand ready on his sword... again. Oh great.
"Jennilyn...? Where are your ears?" I raised one eyebrow, giving Riddel a puzzled look. Then I remembered, my eyes widening.
"Ummm... well, they're... right here..." I pulled apart the hair at the base of my ponytails just enough for the white tips of my ears to show.
"You're a demi-human?? Why didn't you tell us?"
"Why would I? Does it even matter?? Oh, like you go around and every time you meet someone say 'Hi, my name is Riddel, and I'm a human! What species are you?'"
"That's cause we're human, and you can tell we are!" Glenn yelled.
"Yeah, well, you didn't notice I was a demi-human... heck, you didn't even notice I was a girl..." Glenn stopped.
"Well, it's alright that you didn't tell us, Jennilyn... and you're right, it shouldn't matter, it's just... it surprised me a bit..." The frown left Riddel's face. "Well, let's get going, Daddy will be expecting us."
"Hey, what about us?" We turned around. I'd completely forgotten about the two guards. Daman kept pushing poor Neron into the side of the cage just so that he could have more room away from the ever-nearing wall of fire, and Neron was already sagging.
"Well we can't just leave them there..." Glenn frowned.
"You're right." So I cast Aquaball, putting out the FireCage... which also knocked both dragoons out cold. "Ummm... whoops?" I grinned sheepishly. Glenn laughed at me. Boy, was he quick to change moods.
"Let's go inside. I'll get some other dragoons to replace them and bring them back inside. We can't very well leave the front gate unguarded." He then opened the gate. Riddel walked in first, and we followed her.
"Wow... nice place you got here. Oooh! Flowers!" Hey, what can I say, I'm a nut for flowers. Riddel picked one, tried to put one behind my ear, remembered mine weren't where they were supposed to be, and just put it in my hair, laughing. I raised an eyebrow at her, which made her laugh even more. Her laughing was contageous.
"Ha! Now you're part cat, part human, and part plant!" I smacked Glenn in the back of the head. He swiped at me playfully, and I ducked out of reach. I grabbed a rather large flower, and bonked him on the head with it.
"Ha! Take that! Call me a plant, willya?" He rushed me and swung me over his shoulder, while knocking the air out of me. "Aaah!!! Put me down! Put me down!" I wriggled and kicked my legs in the air. Glenn spun around in circles. Riddel was hanging onto one of the front pillars, tears of laughter streaming down her face. "Okae, okae, I surrender!" Glenn put me down... and I tackled him in a basic takedown, then put him in a cradle. "Ha-haaa! Now what?"
"Oh! Oh! Stop that, you two, I can't take it anymore... Ha ha, oooh, my stomach!" Riddel plonked down onto the floor, still laughing hysterically.
"Oh yeah?" Glenn broke my hold and pinned me. My eyes widened. Normally, I would've wriggled my way onto my stomach but... He smiled down at me, his green eyes sparkling with laughter.
"Ha ha, okae okae, you win... now get off me, ya big galoot!" Not that I actually wanted him off, but I was starting to feel weird... not sick-weird, but just... different. And it had something to do with him.
Glenn got up and dusted himself off, still smiling. I sat up, and he held out his hand to me. I looked up at him, took it, and he pulled me up. I didn't want to let go of his hand. His eyes stared into mine...
"Heh-Hey, come on, you two... let's get inside so I can introduce Jennilyn to Daddy!" I snapped out of it.
"Uh, yeah, okae..." I trotted after Riddel, my face getting hot. What was wrong with me??
We entered into the Viper Manor entrance hall. Riddel stopped in front of a snake statue. "Oh darn, I've forgotten this week's code... and I don't supposed you remember it, Glenn, seeing as how you always forget. Dario never forgot the code..." Glenn cut her off.
"Yes, I remember it..." He went to the front of the statue, turned the knob, and the statue spun around! Then he did it again. The statue spun around the other way, and the door opened. We climbed the long flight of stairs.
The main hallway was huge. Riddel moved forward, and Glenn and I did the same.
"No, wait! Don't walk on the car..." Too late. A willowisp fell from the ceiling, and two gobbledygooks came to help it attack me and Glenn.
"What, you live here, and you didn't know about this?" I shot Glenn an exasperated look as I pulled out my blades.
"No, of course not. Dragoons aren't allowed up here!" He unsheathed his swords.
"Then how'd you know the code?"
"All the dragoons know the code, just in case we need to run a message up there, I've just never been up here before!" There was no more time for talk. The willowisp came at me. I ducked, and it retreated. A gobbledegook hit Glenn, taking off 5HP. I narrowed my eyes at the willowisp, and attacked. 10HP, 10HP, 25HP! Damn, how much HP did these things have?? Glenn, meanwhile, was getting his revenge on the gobbledegook. We made short work of them, and then there was just the other gobbledegook left. I looked at my element grid, searching for a good blue element to use on the stupid thing, and...
"What the heck is that?!" It seemed that my TwinBlades tech had been replaced by a yellow "DoubleStrike" tech. What the hell???
"You got it too? That means we can do a double-tech..." Glenn looked at me.
"What the hell is a double-tech?" I was starting to get pissed... who messed with my element grid?!
"It's a tech skill that you can do with another person to cause double the damage..."
"Oh, cool!!"
"Wanna try it out?"
I grinned at him. "Sure, why not? Heheh, this sucker's goin down..."
"DoubleStrike!" We were surrounded by yellow swirling lights, then we jumped, switched places, and rushed the gobbledygook, taking it down easily.
"Wow, that was cool!" Glenn grinned at me.
"I tried to warn you... now get off the carpet before more of them fall on you." Riddel looked at us impatiently.
"There are more of these things???"
"Glenn..."
"Are you kidding me? We're just getting started! Right Jennilyn?" Glenn was such a little kid. We both went tearing down the carpet, battling willowisps and killing them off with our newly-aquired double-tech. Finally, no more would drop down on us, no matter how many times we raced up and down the blood-red carpet. The Acacia sergeants standing at the other end of the hallway kept looking at us strangely.
"Now, if you two are quite finished..." Riddel looked at us sternly.
"Heheh... aw, c'mon, lighten up Riddel, we're just havin a little fun."
"Yes, and now we have to replace all of those willowisps... Daddy will have a fit!"
I sobered down, trying to keep from laughing. Glenn did the same, kicking at the floor. "We're sorry."
"Oh, don't look so depressed. At least we can walk on the carpets again. Now, come on." Riddel walked down the hallway to one of the pillars. Then a platform lowered itself behind the two sergeants. We walked over to them.
"Good afternoon, Miss Riddel."
"Good afternoon Toph, Lerris."
"Glenn? What are you doing up here? You know dragoons aren't allowed up here." The guards barred our way to the platform.
"Oh, they're with me, Toph."
"Well, alright then. And what kind of behavior was that before for a dragoon, Private Glenn?"
"Uh... it... was a training excersize! Yeah! Me and Jennilyn just realized we have a double-tech, so we decided to try it out!"
"Ah, I see. That's fine then. And who are you?" Toph questioned me, taking in my appearance. I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable and out of place.
"This is KC. KC, this is Toph and Lerris, two Acacia sergants. Jennilyn wants to join the dragoons, so we're going to go talk to Dadd... eh, the General about it." Riddel came to my rescue.
"A girl? Join the dragoons?!" Lerris looked indignant.
"Yes... and what's wrong with that?" Now it was Riddel's turn to look indignant.
"Uh, well... I meant no disrespect, Miss Riddel, it's just that..."
"Do I have to call Marcy in here to show you why she's a dragoon Deva?"
"N-n-no!! No, that's quite alright, Miss Riddel, I'm sure you know best..."
"Who's Marcy?" I asked.
"Ha! Lerris' afraid of a 9-year old girl!" Glenn snickered.
"I'd like to see you take her on, Private." Lerris was mad now.
"Yes, and watch how you talk to your superior officers." Toph reprimanded Glenn.
"Yes, sir!" Glenn saluted Toph. Riddel sighed, and made her way onto the platform. We followed suit.
"Oh, and Toph? Daman and Neron are outside. They decided to pick a fight with Jennilyn, and now someone needs to revive them both and replace them for front gate duty." She sat down on the chair and pressed on a jewel on the right armrest. The platform started to rise.
"Whoa!" Glenn grabbed onto the chair, almost losing his balance. I dug my footclaws into the floor to help with my balance. The platform stopped, and we exited from the back into a hallway. Riddel walked to the door right across from the stairs we'd just gone up and opened it.
"Daddy, I have someone I'd... oh!" Glenn and I peered in through the doorway. I could see the man whose statue stood in Termina. He was a regal-looking old man. He stood up straight and proud, and he was almost heavily-built, although age (and Termina's famous squid gut pasta, I guessed) had added a bit of a ponch to his stomach. His guest was a skinny, gay-looking blond guy in a large blue hat with a flower in it.
"Oh, Riddel, this is Pierre, a friend of Serge's... He is applying for the post of fourth dragoon Deva." Ouch. I guess I was a bit too late. Although by the look of this Pierre guy I could take him easily. I turned to Glenn.
"Who's Serge? And who's Marcy?" Glenn blinked at me.
"Oh, well, of course you wouldn't know... Well, Marcy is one of the four (well, OK, three) Devas. She's nine years old..."
"What?!"
"Hey, she's a pretty good fighter, although I don't understand why they made her a Deva."
"Okae, now I know who Marcy is... but who's Serge?"
"Serge... well, it's a long story. I'll take you to meet him sometime..."
"...and... where'd they go?" We heard Riddel saying. Glenn stepped through the doorway.
"Riddel, darling, I know Glenn already." I heard General Viper chuckling to himself.
"What? Glenn? Where's Jennilyn?" I entered the room then sheepishly. "Ah, there you are! Daddy, this is KC. She's a fighter, a demi-human, and she wants to join the dragoons." Ugh. I wish she hadn't mentioned the demi-human part.
"Oh really? Well, can you fight?" General Viper looked at me curiously, but not with any prejudice, or so it seemed.
"Can she fight?!" Glenn was about to say something when Riddel shot him a look.
"Daddy, earlier Daman and Neron were on front gate duty and started harrassing Jennilyn for being a demi-human, and she beat them both by herself!"
"Yeah, and we have a double-tech together!" Glenn burst out. I kicked him in the shin to shut him up and smiled, embarrassed.
"That is quite impressive, my girl... if you can beat my gate guards, then I'm sure there's a place for you in my dragoons. Of course, you'll have to pass some preliminary tests, and we'll have to battle you against some other dragoons so we can place you in the appropiate rank. Is that alright with you?"
"Of course! Thank you, general, sir..."
"The testing will start tomorrow morning, since it is getting late. Glenn, will you please escort Jennilyn to the parlor? And make sure she knows where the armory is, so she can sharpen her weapons, if necessary. Your tests will begin tomorrow, as well, Pierre. Glenn, Pierre will have the room next to the parlor. Dismissed!"
"Yes sir!" Glenn saluted and beckoned us to follow him. We went back downstairs, and entered through the left gate on the first floor. "Pierre, your room is the last one at the end of this hall. I hope you find your accomodations not lacking. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask me."
"Merci, mon ami! I thank you deeply." Pierre dissappeared into his room. Glenn turned to me. "This is your room, Jenn."
"Thanks, Glenn." I turned to the door, and was about to open it, when a huge eyeball opened in the door. "Ack!" I exclaimed, jumping back and drawing my swallow.
"Calm down, it's just a portalgheist. The General probably put you in this room so that if Daman wanted to give you any more trouble, he'd think twice about messing with your stuff and your room. Portalgheists only allow access to certain people to the rooms they guard. Just open the door when the eye is closed." The eye closed, and I grabbed the handle and turned. The eye opened just as I got the door open. When nothing attacked me, I sighed.
"*Whew*!" I entered the dark room. Glenn switched on the lights.
"Now the portalgheist knows it's your room, and you can open the door whenever you want, whether the eye is open or not."
"Ya know what? I think I'll just play it safe and open the door when the eye's closed, k?" I shuddered. Glenn laughed at me. I shook my head, and started putting my weapons in places where I could reach them easily if I needed them. I put my double-ended swallow on the left side of the bed, my throwing knives draped on the lower bedpost, and my swords on the desk on the other side of the room.
"Whoa. That's a lot of mythril you got there..."
"When you're a lone wanderer like me, you need to be well-armed." I said grimly.
"True. OK, do you want me to show you around?"
"Sure. Lead the way, oh mighty Glenn." I bowed, grinning. He rolled his eyes at me, and walked out of the room. I grabbed a dagger as I left, just in case. The door closed by itself behind us. Creepy.
"There are definately willowisps hanging on the ceiling here, but let's not test Riddel's wrath anymore. Just stay off the carpet"
"Alright, sure." We went past Pierre's room, and down the stairs at the end of the hallway. Downstairs, Glenn went into the first door.
"This is where all us dragoons sleep, those of us who aren't married, that is. It's our bachelor room, I guess. My bed's the last one in this first room, all the way down on the left. If you need anything, and I'm not here, just leave me a note there, OK?"
"Sure." We left the room, skipped over the next door, and entered the last one in this hallway.
"This is the mess hall. All us dragoons get our meals here whenever we're not training. There aren't any fixed mealtimes, so just come in here whenever you're hungry, and Orcha'll gladly whip something up for you. When we have an important guest over, or we have some sort of ceremony, then they take the tables up to the second floor and we eat there... you did bring something formal with you, right?" We were back in the deserted hallway.
"Formal? Like what? This is all I have..." Now I really felt out of place.
Glenn looked me over. "Um... are you wearing anything under that thing?"
"What?!" Of course I was! I took off my robe. Glenn raised his eyebrows at me. "What?"
"Girls don't usually wear pants..."
"How practical do you think it'd be for me to be battling random enemies in a skirt?" An Acacia dragoon walking by stopped to give me a weird look. Ooops. I hadn't realized that the dragoons wore skirts... ummm... "Uh, heheh, I mean... how come you don't wear a skirt, then, Glenn??"
"...Uh... it's not practical?" I smacked him in the back of the head for that. "Why do you wear that robe anyway?"
"To hide the fact that I'm a demi-human?"
"Well, you can't really tell... plus, most of us here know already, so does it really matter?"
"Good point."
"Here, gimme that." He took the robe, opened the middle door (the door to the actual kitchen), and threw it in. "Orcha'll take care of that. Now, about formal clothes... You look about Riddel's size... I guess. If not, then you can go with her to Termina, and the dressmaker'll make you something."
"Good, cause I really don't think I'm Riddel's size... she's so slender!" We reached the gate on this floor. Glenn opened it.
"Down those stairs is the basement and the prison. You might have to do duty down there... but then again, maybe not." He opened the gate on the other side. "This first door is the treasure vault. This next door is Luccia's lab. Don't ever go in there, or she'll probably try to use you in one of her experiments, testing out new life forms, or just turning to you into a new life form."
"What."
"No, I'm serious! Anyway... This last door is the armory." We went inside. "Don't touch anything except for this weapons' rack, and the cleaning and sharpening materials over there. The rest of this room is just a bunch of dangerous traps." I nodded. We exited, and went up the stairs at the end of the hallway. "This is Dragoon Deva Zoah's room. He's kinda weird, and he's not too friendly, either. This next room's Dragoon Deva Karsh's room. He's not too friendly, either. He was my brother's best friend, but I still don't trust him..." Glenn trailed off and got a far-away look in his eyes.
"Glenn? What is it?" I was concerned.
"What? Oh, it's nothing... don't worry about it... Well, that's it for the tour!" Glenn smiled at me, and his face returned to normal.
"Thanks, Glenn. Hey, where's Marcy's room?"
"Huh? Oh yeah... remember how there were two gates on either side of us when we got upstairs? The right one's guarded by a broken cybot, but the left one leads to the library. Dragoons aren't allowed up there, either. Marcy lives there with the Prophet of Time, Belthasar."
"The Prophet of Time?" Glenn nodded.
"He's actually a scientist from the future, but that's a long story, too... when I take you to meet Serge, he'll explain it all to you."
"..." I was starting to wonder what I'd gotten myself into.
"Oh yeah! You're gonna need to know where the dragon stables are. Do you know how to ride a dragon?" Glenn opened the gate, and started for the front door.
"Ride a dragon?" I repeated, incredulous. He didn't actually expect me to think that the Acacia Dragoons had the Dragon Gods on the premises.
"Yeah, here, I'll show you." We went around Viper Manor. In the back was a shed all the way in the rear. We entered. Oh, okae, not the Dragon Gods, but puny little dragon-lizard things.
"I have to learn how to ride one of these things? You gotta be kidding me... I'd crush it!" I said, and walked right into the record of FATE. Oooh, pretty sounds... Glenn snorted.
"Way to walk into something. And, no, you won't crush a dragon... how much do you think you weigh, 300 pounds??"
"Hey, I like the records' little tinkling sounds, k??? And we'll see about the dragonriding when we get to it..." I looked at one of the dragons in question skeptically. He ignored me, and continued eating some hay.
"C'mon, I have to introduce you to the stablekeeper." Glenn grabbed me by the arm, pulled me out of the record of FATE, and dragged me down the aisle.
"Yes? Who might you be?" The stablekeeper squinted at us nearsightedly. "Ah, it's you, Glenn... who's your friend? Oh, I see, you've come to show ole Gonjo your new girlfriend? Heeheehee!" The old man cackled.
"What? I mean, uh..." Glenn coughed, embarrassed. "Gonjo, this is Jenn... I mean, Jennilyn! She's joining the dragoons, and I'm going to be teaching her how to ride a dragon. I just brought her here so that you could know who she is. Whenever she needs to borrow a dragon, just let her have it, OK?"
"Heehee, it's alright young one, your secret's safe wit ole Gonjo! And the lovely young lady can borrow one of my dragons whenever her heart desires. Now, run along now, you two lovebirds! Heeheehee!"
"*Ahem*! Uh, thanks Gonjo... I think... C'mon, Jenn, let's go." I was glad to get outside into the cool air, cause my face was getting all hot again. "I'm sorry about that, Jenn... I don't know what got into him!" Glenn wouldn't even look at me. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"It's okae, Glenn, don't worry about it." He turned to look at me then.
"Oh, wow, the sun's setting already! Hey, c'mon, I wanna show you something." Glenn grabbed my arm again, and dragged me down to the other end of the backyard. We went through a door in the back wall, jumped over the wall, and ended up on some bluffs. "Sit down." He sat on the ground, cross-legged. I sat down next to him. "I come here by myself every night at sunset. Sure, we're to the east and we can't actually see the sun set, but just watch..." He stared out to sea. I turned to see what he was looking at. For the first couple of minutes, we just sat there, listening to the sound of the waves on the bluffs. Finally, the red light shafts of the setting sun started to hit the water. Then, suddenly, they errupted into millions of colors reflecting on the water, the light piercing the shallows and painting the coral reefs at the bottom in rainbows. I looked up and over my shoulder, and saw the sun shining through the large stained glass window that could only be in the famous library. I turned back to the beautiful scene below. The colors were so beautiful. I could even see fish swimming amoungst the coral, they too magically turned every color in the spectrum of a rainbow. The waves made the colors dance and twirl and swirl. The bluffs were pleasantly quiet. It was as if Glenn and I were the only people on the planet at that moment. It was over all too soon. "Well, that's that..." Glenn got up, still staring out to sea. I got up and joined him.
"That was... that was beautiful, Glenn... Thank you for sharing that with me..." He turned to me with a strange look in his eyes, a look that I'd never seen before, a look that made me feel warm inside, even though the night was getting cold.
"Hey you!" A guard interrupted the moment. We turned around. "Glenn? Come on back inside, we're about to lock up for the night!"
"We're coming! *sigh* Alright, come on, Jenn..." He jumped over the wall, and I followed him. We went back around the manor and back inside in silence. This was starting to feel even weirder. We got to my room. "Well, we're here..." Glenn finally looked at me again. I smiled at him slightly.
"Yeah, I guess... thanks, Glenn... thanks for tonight, for everything..." I ran inside before he could say anything else.
* * *
I awoke at about 9:30 the next morning. I yawned, stretched, and reveled in the luxury of sleeping in a real bed again. I stretched again... Mmmm! Ah... I climbed slowly out of bed, wondering where I'd put my clothes last night. They were folded neatly on the chair in front of the desk! There was a note with them:
"Jennilyn: I had Orcha wash your clothes for you last night. You can shower in the ocean under the bluffs. Don't worry, no one will see you! Daddy wants you ready by 10 near the front gate for the beginning of your tests. Good Luck!
- Riddel"
Cool. I put my clothes on, enjoying the clean smell, grabbed up my weapons and a towel that had been left with my clothes, and headed for the bluffs. Not many soldiers were milling about: they were probably either having breakfast, or already training. I entered through the door, nodded to the bored guard, who pressed a switch, and I jumped over the wall. It was a rather long climb to the bottom of the bluffs. I gingerly stepped in. The water was surprisingly warm... then I remembered that the sun rises in the east. Shading my eyes, I wandered out of sight of the guard at the top, under an overhang. I washed my hair out, and was really enjoying the warm water. Finally, I got out, dried myself off, and put my clothes on. I strapped on my weapons, and started the climb back up. At the top, when I jumped over the wall, the guard hit the switch again.
"What's that switch for?" I asked, curiosity finally getting to me.
"We have various enemies on the bluffs to discourage strangers from climbing them. this switch releases them. If we see unauthorized people climbing the bluffs, we also throw boulders at them," he explained, nodding towards the large rocks behind him.
"Oh, okae... thanks!" I left the guard station, and headed towards the front of Viper Manor, figuring it was pretty close to 10 a.m. by now. I was right. There were General Viper and that gay guy, Pierre.
"Ah, Jennilyn. Just took a bath, I see... Are you ready to begin?" General Viper smiled at me.
"Ready whenever you are, General, sir!" I said, saluting.
"Good, then let us begin." He handed both me and Pierre a bow and a quiver of arrows each. "Let's see how good your marksmanship is. Pierre, you will go first." Pierre shouldered the quiver awkwardly, and picked up the bow. He tried to put the arrow to the string.
"Mon Dieu! This bow she is trés bent, non?" He finally got the arrow on, and shot it... completely missing the target. I'd lost most of my patience already. General Viper cleared his throat.
"*Ahem* Jennilyn, it seems it is your turn... Pierre, we will see about getting you a new bow."
I took an arrow out of the quiver on my back, notched it on the string, pulled it back tight, sighted quickly, and let it fly. I hadn't shot an arrow in quite awhile, so I didn't know what to expect. Dammit, just shy of a bullseye! "Dammit!"
General Viper raised his eyebrows at me. Whoops. Either I did really bad, or else I should start watching my mouth. "Good shot, Jennilyn..."
"Good shot?? Ugh, I could've done sooo much better... but no excuses..."
"Zut! She has a better bow than mine, is why she hit target, non?" Pierre was indignant. Ha! The pompous bastard wouldn't be able to hit the stable doors.
"You wanna trade, Pierre, "mon amie"? Go ahead, take my bow, and I'll take yours. Let's see you hit that target."
"Actually, originally you were each supposed to shoot all ten arrows..." I cut him off in my eagerness to make an even bigger fool out of Pierre.
"Okae then, here I go!" I grabbed Pierre's bow, and shot off an arrow. Just right of center. "Dammit!" I shot off the eight remaining arrows, and they were all around the very center of the target. "Finally, I get some good shots in!" General Viper stood there, seemingly aghast. "What?"
"Now is my turn, non? I will show you that Pierre is a skilled marksman!" He notched an arrow to the bowstring, and let it fly, without even taking aim. The arrow went high over the target, and hit the stone wall, breaking into pieces. I snorted. Pierre looked crestfallen, then he brightened. "Is no matter, a hero like moi does not need to shoot the arrows. I will beat you at the swords competitione!" He drew his sword.
"You have got to be kidding." I looked at him, incredulous. This guy wasn't even in a good fighting stance!
"Since Pierre is so intent on fighting you, Jennilyn, why don't we just settle this now? Pierre wants to become a Dragoon Deva, and only a Dragoon Deva. If you beat him, that saves us the trouble of having to pit our dragoons against him." Well, that made sence. I nodded, and unsheathed one of my swords.
I threw down the bow and arrows. "Come on, chump. Let's see what you can do." I held my sword in both hands. Pierre ran up to me, and tried to swipe at me with his sword. I blocked easily. There was no power in his attack! How could he even hope of beating me, let alone become a Deva? I decided to make this quick. I spin-kicked him, then brought my sword up in a slashing uppercut. A high outward kick disarmed him, and another hit with my sword caused him to withdraw.
"Medalsome!" he yelled. Expecting an attack tech, I stood ready. Instead, he took off his medal, held it high in the air, put it back on, and regained 51HP. Oh, that does it!
"Pick up your sword. Come on, pick it up. Don't look at me like the idiot you are, just pick up your stupid sword!" I gestured to the bronze sword lying in the grass. He hesitated, then picked it up. I drew my other sword, and charged. Stab, thrust, block, kick, uppercut slash. He was sagging again, and I hit him again. The fight was over. "Somebody go revive this fool. Dragoon Deva, hah! More like Deva wannabe..." I heard clapping from behind me. I turned around, and Glenn was coming towards us.
"I see that Riddel was right about you, Jennilyn, you are an exceptional fighter. Or else Pierre there was even more of a weakling than I thought. Still, I couldn't just turn away a friend of Serge's without even giving him a chance. You, over there! Get this buffoon out of here, and revive him after he's outside the front gates." A dragoon ran over, picked Pierre up, and walked out the front gate. Glenn came up to me.
"Nice job, Jenn."
"Heh, thanks Glenn..."
"Go rest up, Jennilyn. Your testing isn't over yet. You have quite a few dragoons to fight, so we can place you in the right rank," General Viper said, approaching us.
"Yes sir!" I said, saluting.
"Hahahah! You don't have to salute me every time I say something to you, Jennilyn. Be back here in about an hour and a half. I'll go notify your next opponents." General Viper walked away towards the Manor.
"Yes sir." I restrained myself from saluting. "Wait, did he just say 'opponents,' as in plural?" I asked, turning to Glenn.
"Uh, yeah, I think he did... don't worry, though, it's probably just the shaker brothers, solt and peppor." I gigggled. "What's so funny?" Glenn asked.
"Solt... and Peppor??? What is this, a condiment rack??? Who's next, Mustard and Relish?"
"Well, there is Ketchop..."
"K-k-ketchop??? HAHA!!!" I leaned on him for support. Ow, my stomach... Glenn tried to keep a serious face, but he couldn't help himself.
"C'mon, let's go inside. You need your rest, cause I'm sure that battle with "monsieur Pierre" tired you out tremendously!" Arms draped over eachothers' shoulders we entered Viper Manor. When we got to my room, I noticed my portalgheist wasn't as active as earlier.
"Glenn? What's wrong with my portalgheist?"
"Huh? Hm... it's all scratched up, and its HP's half-drained!",br>
"How do you know its HP's half drained?" I asked.
"Because I'm using Infoscope. It tells me how much HP something has. See, yours is... whoa, that's a lot of HP!"
"Hey, cut that out! That's like, I dunno, an invasion of privacy! That's like you looking to see what kind of underwear I have on."
"Well, now that you mention it..." I rolled my eyes and hit him for that. I chose CureAll from my element grid and cured my poor portalgheist. In my room I retold how bad Pierre was with a bow and arrows. Glenn was having a fit by the time I told him about switching bows with him and the arrow shattering against the wall.
"And he thought he could become a Deva? Ha!" Suddenly, the door opened, and Riddel walked in.
"Oh, there you are Glenn... Jennilyn, why is your portalgheist all scratched?" Riddel looked concerned. "Were you two trying out that double tech again on that poor creature? Dario would never have picked on a creature weaker than..."
"No, Riddel. When we got here, it was half-drained of energy. Jenn cured it. I think someone tried to get in here earlier while she was outside being tested."
"Oh? Well, I don't know who it could have been..."
"It was probably Daman again, seeing as how he doesn't like Jenn too much." Glenn looked over at me. "Wasn't there a key to this room somewhere?"
"Well, yes, somewhere... who knows where it is now. Anyway, I came in here to tell Jennilyn that this afternoon I was going to take her to Termina to get some more... um... formal clothes, just in case. That is, if you're not still being tested... Whenever you have a couple of hours free today, come upstairs and find me. My room is the one next to Daddy's. I'll tell the guards to let you up." Riddel looked at us pensively for a minute, then left.
"Huh, what was that look for?" I asked. Glenn shrugged.
"Hey, isn't it about time for your next battle?" I jumped up off the bed and checked the clock.
"Crap, you're right!"
"C'mon then, I wanna see if it is solt and peppor." We exited Viper Manor. Riddel called to Glenn as we went by her in the courtyard.
"Oh Glenn! Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Go on, I'll be right there. Don't let me miss it!" Glenn walked over to Riddel, and I sprinted to where the General was waiting with two men, one tall and skinny, and the other short and built like a rectangular block...
"Glenn, what's going on between you and Jennilyn?" Riddel asked Glenn. Glenn started, then shook his head vigorously.
"N-nothing's going on! We're just friends! Why? Why do you think that anything's going on?"
"Because your face is all red. Plus, you insist on going everywhere with her. Why don't you just admit it? Does she know?" Riddel smiled at him.
"I don't like her! Not like that!"
"Oh, come on, Glenn, you can tell me! Don't act like a 12-year old boy, you're 20 years old! You should be able to admit your feelings to and for someone by now!" Riddel reprimanded him. Glenn sighed and slumped down onto the floor, looking depressed. "Glenn, what is it?"
"It's just... I can't love anyone... I'm a knight! I don't want to have to leave someone behind when I get killed, all alone, like my brother left you!" He stared at the floor, ripped a leaf frond from a plant behind him, and began playing with the dust motes on the floor.
"Glenn, I loved your brother, more than anyone or anything. While we were together, we were the happiest we could be! And I wouldn't trade that time with him for anything. You can't close yourself off to love like this! So what if I don't have Dario anymore? At least I was happy for the time that we were together... if you do this to yourself, you'll never be happy, Glenn! Don't torture yourself like this!" She put her hands on her hips.
Glenn sighed. "I guess you're right... but what if she doesn't like me?" Riddel threw her hands in the air in frustration.
"Well, then find out! Ask her! From what I see, she does! Don't be afraid of love, Glenn..." With that, she turned and walked back into the Manor. Glenn sat there a moment longer, twirling his leaf frond. He then stood up, and walked resolutely towards where the battle had already started...
"Jennilyn, this is Solt and Peppor, the Shaker brothers. They are your next opponents." I nodded at them. "I just have one question before you start. Jennilyn, do you know how to use elements?" I blinked at him.
"Do I know how to use elements...??? Of course I do. Why?"
"Well, because you didn't use any against Pierre..."
"Oh! Well, that's because I don't use elements on enemies that I can easily beat with physical attacks... I don't know why, I just don't think it's worth it." I shrugged my shoulders.
"... It's not like you'd be wasting those elements..."
"I know..."
"Could you use elements this time around, so I can see how well you do so? And maybe a tech or two?"
"Sure, no problem, General Viper, sir!" I kept having to remind myself not to salute him. I got my swallow out, since there were two of them.
"We're gonna shake it to you good, missy!"
"Rightly right! Oh Peppor, I just noticed something strangely strange. Doesn't she look awfully awful a lot like that Serge? Especially equipped with that similarly similar swallow?"
"Shake it! You're right, Solt! She looks just like him, except for the ears!"
"Dammit, who is this Serge kid???"
"I'm sorry, but you are mistakenly mistaken. Kid is someone else!"
"Enough talk! Fight, all of you!" General Viper was starting to get impatient, and I was getting exasperated. I hated this Serge already, and I hadn't even met the kid yet! I rushed them, using my twirl-spin-kick-double-hit combo, causing about 75HP damage on each. Then it was their turn to attack. Solt came at me first, swinging at my head with his axe, distracting me long enough for Peppor to come up and backhand me across the face. I growled at him as they retreated.
"Aaahhh! What is her innately innate?? Peppor, I can't figure out her innately innate color attribute, and it's giving me a headache! All those colors changing... aaahhh!" Solt dropped his axe and ran about with his hands pressed to his temples, until he crashed into the wall. That brought him back to his senses.
"You shaking idiot! You just lost another 50HP by doing that! Who cares what her innate is! Pick up your axe and attack her!"
"10-4, Peppor! SommerSolt!"
"PepporBox!" These two did so much talking, I wasn't expecting to be hit with an element, let alone two techs at once. Fortunately, I have a cat's reflexes, and I backflipped out of the way, causing them to crash into eachother. There went about 100HP for each. I was about to attack, then changed my mind, remembering that General Viper wanted me using elements. I saw Glenn out of the corner of my eye, and decided to use a tech of mine he hadn't seen yet... which left plenty of options.
"TwinBlades!" I let my swords fly at Peppor in a barrage of green cuts. "Inferno!" I cast Inferno on Solt, heating the air around him to boiling temperatures. "Luminaire!" I yelled as I was lifted into the air. Shafts of light pierced the earth and the two brothers. Well, that was the end of that. I landed, sheathed my swords, and turned to the astounded General and the surprised Glenn.
"What?" I asked.
"How did you do that?" the General queried, after a couple moments of uncomfortable silence.
"Do what?"
"Use three elements in a row like that?? And you have Serge's level five tech skill!" Glenn exclaimed.
"Augh! Enough with this Serge guy! I already dislike him, and I don't even know him!!"
"I didn't spend as much time with Serge as you did, Glenn, but I do think Jennilyn looks like him..." General Viper squinted at me.
"You're right, General... sure, Serge had black hair and blue eyes, and Jenn's got blonde hair and yellow eyes, but their facial features are pretty similar..." Glenn frowned.
"Aaah!!! Stop it! I'm me, dammit, not Serge!!" I stalked off towards Viper Manor. I was upset because all my life I'd had to fight my way through, and that's the only way I could survive. I'd gained my own identity, and my reputation as a good fighter on my own. Now people were starting to say that I looked like this Serge guy, and Glenn'd even said that this Serge had the same level 5 tech as me, luminaire!! I stalked into the main hallway, and Glenn grabbed my arm from behind.
"Hey, you OK?" He looked down at me, worry and concern filling his green eyes.
"Yeah... it's just... i'm not used... well, let's just say now I know how you feel when people compare you to Dario... people saying how you're so alike, blah blah blah... but you're a different person, and they don't understand that!! We have different feelings, different skills, different personalities..." I stopped, attempting to gain control of myself. My emotions were all out of whack since yesterday.
"Wow... I'm sorry, Jenn... I hadn't even realized that I was doing that to you..."
"Yeah, well, you didn't mean to, but still... ugh!" I punched the wall. "Where is this guy? I wanna meet him now!"
"Whoa, Jenn, calm down... you'll meet him soon enough!"
"I wanna meet him, so I can challenge him, and kick his ass!!!"
"What?! Challenge Serge?? Well... I mean, not that I don't think you could do it, but... why don't you just meet him first? He's actually a pretty nice guy, and a good fighter. I think you'd like him."
"We'll see about that... I must regain favor with the General, after that stupid outburst in the courtyard." I sighed, hating myself for losing control like that.
"Hell, you are fighting Ketchop this afternoon..." I looked at him.
"What, the other spice boy?? Ha ha..."
"No, seriously, Ketchop's really strong. I've seen him knock out someone with one blow before! He's not going to be easy, Jenn..." Glenn faced me, concern and worry in his green eyes.
"Bah! He can't be too hard..."
"I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you, Jenn... oh, and you have Toph and Lerris after lunch, too. Speaking of lunch..." Glenn started off down the hall, beckoning me to follow him. In the mess hall we sat opposite eachother at the first table. I could see the two losers Daman and Neron at the table all the way in the back corner. Daman got up and went into the kitchen. I decided to ignore them. Finally, our food came, and I was starving. Mmmm... boy, did it smell good. I was about to drink the whole bowl down, when I saw Daman looking my way and snickering. I took a hesitant sip of the soup...
"Hey, spicy! I looove spicy food!" Glenn raised an eyebrow at me.
"It's not supposed to be spicy..." He noticed Daman's snickering, and was about to stop me when I gulped the whole thing down. "They put hotroot in it, didn't they?! I'll get them for that..."
"Mmmm... yummy! Is there any more?" Glenn, hand on his sword, was about to rise. He gave me a puzzled look, saw my empty bowl, and sat down laughing. "What's so funny?"
"HA HA! Those... those idiots... tried to put... hotroot in your... your soup! To try and... make a fool out of you!! HA HA!! Looks like their plan backfired!!!" Glenn managed to spit out in between bouts of laughter. I blinked at him and looked over at Damar, who now had a sour look on his face.
"Huh. The next time they wanna put hotroot in my soup, they're welcome to it. I love hot stuff!! Maybe I should return the favor?" Glenn could hardly finish his soup from laughing so hard. We left the mess hall and went back downstairs. I had so much extra energy that I was about to just bounce off the walls. "Hey, watch out." I motioned Glenn out of the way. I did a short hop, then went into my combo: front handspring, roundoff, back handspring, double backflip. I ended up near the other end of the hall. "What?"
"What the hell was that all about?" Glenn walked over, looking surprised.
"I had too much energy and I needed to get rid of it somehow." Moves like that were also pretty helpful during battle.
"Well, damn... you should do that during one of your tests and really astound the General! I still don't see how you can do that..." Glenn shook his head. "Come on, I think it's almost time for you to battle Toph and Lerris." When we got outside, only the General was there.
"Sergeants Lerris and Toph will be here soon. Jennilyn, I have a question for you: do you know how to ride a-dragonback? All dragoons must know how to ride a dragon."
"I'm teaching her this afternoon, sir!" Glenn came to my rescue.
"Good, good. You're really on top of things, aren't you, Glenn? I'm glad you're helping Jennilyn out like this... Ah, Toph, Lerris, there you are. Jennilyn, these are sergeants Toph and Lerris. Alright, ready to begin? Good."
Both sergeants had axes. Lerris sneered. "Ha! It's that girl again. Let's show her what real dragoons are made of, Toph!" He charged me, and I sidestepped easily, then whirled around, drawing my blades and slicing at him just as he was turning around. We circled eachother. Toph came forward to back him up. I sheathed my swords, remembering what Glenn had suggested. Here goes nothing... Hop, front handspring, roundoff, back handspring, double backflip over their heads, take out my swallow in midflip, land, and hit them both with a fierce attack. "TsunamiBlast!" I cast my level five blue tech, causing waves of water to pound them to the ground. "ThunderStrike!" came next, causing the heavens to open up and release a barrage of lightning bolts onto the unsuspecting pair. I struck out at them with my double-ended swallow, and Lerris was finished. As the sky cleared up I yelled "SpiralFlame!", launching a stream of fire at Toph. Finally, it was all over.
"Bravo, Jennilyn! Quite well done! Especially with all those flips you did!" Glenn winked at me from behind General Viper's ecstatic figure. I grinned sheepishly.
"Aw, it was nothing..."
"Nothing? Young lady, Toph and Lerris are two of my top sergeants, and they didn't even touch you!" The General shook his head in disbelief, then smiled at me. "I have an idea... but let's just see how this next match goes, shall we? How much time do you want before you battle Ketchop?" I tried not to laugh as I responded that I was ready now. "Now? Are you sure? Well, alright, I'll go call him then." The General walked off in search of the third condiment as Glenn waved me over.
"C'mon, we need to go inside and get someone to revive Toph and Lerris..." I cut him off.
"Oh, I'll do it." Before Glenn could answer, I walked over to Lerris, put my hands over his heart, and concentrated some of my white and blue leftover element energy into reviving and curing Lerris. There was a small flash of light blue light, and he gasped, opened his eyes, and sat up. I then moved on to Toph.
"Whu-What happened? Hey, what are you doing to Toph, you little wench?" I ignored him, concentrating on healing Toph. He grabbed my arm, but Glenn rushed over, drawing his sword.
"Lerris, you dumb bastard, she just healed you. Don't be a sore loser, and let her heal Toph."
"Yes, Lerris, you should show more gratitude to Jennilyn." We turned to see General Viper and a rather large man approaching us. I turned back to Toph as Lerris mumbled something under his breath. The flash of light appeared again, and Toph awoke.
"Oh! I guess we lost..." Toph shook his head, bewildered. "May I give you my compliments on a well-fought battle."
"Heheh... uh, thanks..." I stood up, then almost fell over. Glenn caught me in his arms.
"Jenn, are you OK?"
"Uhhh... I think that I should hold back on those healing spells for awhile..." I felt faint. I knew I could cure people, but I'd never had to completely revive two people one after the other before.
"Hah! Looks like we beat her up good, eh Toph?"
"Shut up, Lerris..." Toph came over to us. "Is she going to be alright?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'll... be fine... I just need... to take... a little... nap..."
* * *
I woke with a start.
"Hey... you're awake." I quickly turned towards where the voice had come from, searching for my throwing daggers in the meantime... where were they? Then my vision cleared, and I saw that it was Glenn sitting there in a chair in the shadows.
"Hey... Glenn... What are you doing here??" I rubbed at my eyes and yawned, still wondering where my weapons were.
"You fainted after reviving Toph and Lerris, so I brought you back in here." Glenn stood up and walked over to me.
"Oh, by the Gods... what'd the General say??" I smacked myself in the forehead. The General was going to kill me!! He'd never let some silly, weak, fainting girl into the dragoons!!!
"He's pretty impressed with you, Jenn, what with your great fighting skills, impressive moves, various techs, good element-usage, and being able to revive someone without even using an element! He's postponing your battle with Ketchop until you're fully recovered..." Glenn trailed off, looking at me worridly. I waved him off.
"I'm fine, I'm fine... I just have a slight headache... how long have I been out?" I squeezed my temples and grimaced.
"Ummm... about an hour..."
"An hour?!?!?!" I looked at him incredulously. How had I been out for an hour??? I jumped out of bed, still searching for my weapons, which I finally spotted on the desk. Glenn tried to stop me.
"Jenn, c'mon! You need rest!" I rolled my eyes at him and strapped on my gear.
"Glenn, I'm fine, okae?? Gee, you're not my mom." I walked to the door. "You comin or not??"
We went in search of General Viper or Ketchop. I literally bumped into someone outside the mess hall.
"Hey, watch it!" The guy who stood before me looked to be about Glenn's age, or a little older, with purple hair down to his shoulders. "Who the hell are you?" He eyed me suspiciously.
"Karsh, this is Jennilyn. She's joining the dragoons..." Karsh? Dragoon Deva Karsh??
"Oh she is, eh? Ha! Just what we need, more girls in the dragoons! I bet you can't even fight!" I narrowed my yellow eyes, ready to prove that I could fight.
"Can't fight? Karsh, she just defeated Toph and Lerris in battle, and they didn't even touch her!" Karsh's face registered surprise at that information, then turned to scorn.
"Tch! Who cares? She's still a girl. Plus, Toph and Lerris are nothing but sergeants. Just stay outta my way and I won't have ta hurt ya!" He brushed past me and headed towards the prison.
"What's his problem?" I asked, turning back to Glenn.
"That was Karsh, one of the Devas... Sorry bout that. You kinda have to gain Karsh's respect..."
"Ha! Why would I want the respect of a psycho like that??" I waved towards Karsh. I didn't want to have to deal with the likes of him ever again.
"Uh, Jenn? It's not a real good idea to get on a Deva's bad side. They have a lot of influence on the General, although the General does think highly of you."
"Yeah, well, I don't think I'm gonna be dealing with any other Devas for awhile. Hey, the General's probably upstairs. Remember Riddel said we were allowed up there?" We ran up the stairs and Glenn entered the code. The door opened, and we went upstairs. Lerris and Toph were back on platform duty.
"Heh, look Toph, it's that sissy again..." Lerris sneered at me.
"Shut your mouth Lerris."
"Yeah, man, come on, I kicked your butt! Sore loser."
"Yeah? Well, at least I didn't faint!"
"Actually, Lerris, we both did." Toph reminded him.
"Alright, if that's the way you wanna be, then take this!" I flicked my fingers at him, sending him crashing against the back wall. Toph stared at me wide-eyed.
"H-How'd you do that?" he asked.
"You know what Jenn? I'm not even gonna ask. I probably wouldn't even be surprised if you could fly." I laughed at him, walked over to the switch, and lowered the platform. Lerris had to scurry out of the way on all fours.
"That'll teach him, huh Jenn." I just nodded. On the top floor I knocked at General Viper's door.
"Come in!!" boomed the commandering voice of General Viper. Upon entering the room I saw a soldier dressed in blue.
"Norris?" The blond-haired man turned to Glenn.
"Glenn! Good to see you again. Who's this with you?" Norris said, indicating me.
Glenn clasped arms with Norris. "It's been too long... Oh, yeah, this is Jennilyn. She's joining the dragoons. Jenn, this is Commander Norris of Porre's Black Wind."
"Porre?? Aren't they our enemies??" Now I was confused.
"Haha, that's ex-Commander Norris. I quit the Porre Military back home, and I inform General Viper of Porre's activities here." Norris stretched his hand out to me and I shook it.
"Nice to see you up and about again, Jennilyn... especially so soon!" The General came out from behind his desk.
"Heheh, yeah, well, I've got good recovery time, I guess... yeah. Ummm, the reason Glenn and I are up here is cause I wanted to tell you that I'm ready to fight Ketchop whenever it's most convenient for you, and that I'm sorry I caused such an inconvenience to you earlier..." He cut me off.
"Inconvenience? Jennilyn, my dear, talents like yours are a great addition to the dragoons! But I'm afraid Ketchop will have to wait til tomorrow... Riddel, I heard, wants to take you into Termina for, uh... a bit of shopping."
"Oh yeah..." I trailed off. Shopping? Me?? Oh well...
"May I offer my services if you need someone to escort you ladies to Termina?" Norris said, bowing. I resisted the urge to giggle.
"Uh, yeah, Norris? Weren't you here to give the General your report?"
"My report has been given... or did you want the honor of escorting them yourself?" Norris gave him a curious look, and Glenn's face turned red. "Well, then, I guess we must be off then?" I laughed. Norris opened the door for me.
"Um, bye Glenn! I guess I'll see you later?"
"Uh, yeah, sure... whatever..."
Outside, I knocked on Riddel's door.
"Come in!" chimed her reply. I had Norris stay outside. Riddel was in front of the mirror putting on her earrings. "Hey Riddel..."
"Oh, Jennilyn! There you are! I was beginning to get worried! How did your tests go today?"
"Uh... pretty good, I guess... I have to battle Ketchop tomorrow."
"Ketchop? Oh dear, do be careful. That man is a monster! Well, we'd better get going, so we don't get back too late... is Glenn coming?"
"No. Norris wanted to take us to Termina." For some reason I felt a little guilty about that.
"Norris? Here? What is it now?" Riddel ran to the door and threw it open. Norris was leaning against the wall.
"Norris! What's wrong this time?" I followed Riddel out of the room.
"The Porre military wants to attack again, but don't worry, they won't be doing so for awhile." Norris grinned, a mischevious gleam in his eyes.
"What? How do you know? What'd you do??" Riddel smiled at him, putting her hands on her hips in mock annoyance.
"Me? Nothing... you remember Grobyc, don't you?"
"Grobyc? Why, yes, but wasn't he with Serge?" Ugh, Serge again... what was with this guy?
"I guess Serge decided to let him go... seems there's no use for a killer robot in a fishing village... Well, Grobyc's the Porre military's secret weapon, but you know Grobyc... 'Grobyc-takes-orders-only-from-those-who-are-stronger.' Turns out, he won't do as they say!" I was confused now. Killer robot?! But Riddel and Norris only laughed.
"Ha ha! How funny! Humm
... I guess we should be off then, so that we don't get back too late. Shall we?" Riddel shooed us off down the hall in front of her.
"Glenn, what would your brother say??? Okae, I know you hate when people say that, but just think about it! What would your whole family say?? I'm not the type of girl you take home..."
"... I have no one to take you home too..."
I sighed. "I know that, Glenn... that's not what I meant... you have a reputation to uphold. What would people think?"
"I don't care!! I love you!"
lv.3 green:twinblades/yellow: doubletech doubleslice, black: confusion, white: sliceanddice/triple tech triblade, red: spiralflame, blue: bubbleblast
lv.5 red: firecage, blue: tsunamiblast, yellow: thunderstrike, green: daggerthrow, white: luminaire, black: feralcats
lv.7 white: kitten'sfury, yellow: peachykeen, green: poisonthorns, red: meteorwing, blue: icebomb, black: wingblade
(Karsh) Glenn knocked on the door. "Miss Riddel? KC! We need to hurry, the ceremony's about to start!
