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wonwingangel
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Disclaimer: #Steal#…nope…#Bind#…nope…still don't own any rights.
Author's Notes: Phew, I'm finally done with this chapter! Yay! I'm so sorry to leave you guys on that last chapter. School hit and everything went haywire…seriously. I'm so behind it's not even funny (well, maybe a little chuckle). Anywho, I've been writing on this chapter every weekend since the last chapter and I'm finally ready to post it, so here it is. I've also added a section to the prologue to clarify my "revision" status that states how far I'm at in fixing errors and whatnot. I actually uploaded a new chapter 9 at the end of last month. I'm just rambling now, so here's the story, reply section at bottom as always. Check my bio to see why I'm so busy now and why the next update might take a while (sorry, I was doing so good up until now). Oh, by the way (here I go again), I've been writing other stories as well, so take a look at them and lemme know what you think.
Currently Recommending: So many good authors, figured I'd do some of them justice by letting my readers know what good stories are out there. I'm currently recommending "Broken" by Rifa, very good and original. Me likey.
Chapter 12
Theories
Golden lights that warmed my skin, pupil-less eyes hovering over me like a doctor's lamp in the middle of surgery. They did not move, but a hazy mist passed through them. They did not blink, but simply stared deep into me. They weren't the soul-wrenching glare of the unidentified wraith that knew my name, but a gentle stare that relaxed me.
'What is this?' Was it that odd dream I had a long time ago? If so, I could dream up the red eyes to scare those globes away, yet I was not frightened by them. I had no desire to run them off into oblivion.
A single cricket chirping its sleepy song managed to open my weary eyes. The eyes were still there, but they belonged to a body…or it at least a black-clouded substance.
I sat up and slumped against the headboard. "…Vivi?"
The small child was so close, his belly rested partly on the bed. He didn't respond, but merely cocked his head resembling a puppy that had just heard an unfamiliar sound.
"What's a matter?"
Vivi poked my chest with his large, gloved hand. Vivi had worn the same thing since the day of the play. Of course, I hadn't expected him to wear anything else since we were crossing uncivilized lands. Though he was faceless, he was adorable. "Something wrong, Vivi?"
Vivi scratched an imaginary chin as if he thought he was human. "Y-you've got something inside you."
My drowsy mind managed to think up a thousand things to what he had just said. "I-I don't understand Vivi."
"M-me either."
"Do you see…it?"
"Yeah. It looks dark."
"What else can you see?"
I had never imagined what Vivi's vision had been like. Everything might be completely different to the boy…mage.
"White smoke," he answered.
"You see white smoke?"
"A-And a spot of b-black smoke…"
Now I put a hand to my chin. "Huh…"
'This is very interesting.' I wanted to know more but didn't know what to ask. The singing cricket was interrupted by the broken sound of Zidane's snore, causing Vivi and I to glance at him.
"Y-you scared me last night," Vivi said, turning back to me.
I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly. "I'm sorry, Vivi."
"Where do you have to go back to?"
There was no easy answer to that, but I startled myself with my response. "To wherever it is that caused that bit of black smoke in me."
Vivi nodded, seeming to understand more than I did. "I'm gonna get some breakfast. Want anything?"
"That's alright, I'll go down later."
Vivi nodded again and I stopped him before he turned around.
"W-What?" Vivi said nervously.
I moved my hand in front of his eyes and felt warmth coming off them. They were lights. No wonder Vivi saw smoke in everything…
"Nothing…go ahead."
Vivi nodded a third time and waddled off like he had Gloobi's bad bowlegged condition.
'Black smoke,'I thought,'now that was interesting.' I wondered what it meant. Of course, I kept getting more and more jigsaw pieces that had nowhere to fit in the puzzle. I decided to make note in the back of my mind of the new knowledge and I focused on something else. I still had a vivid vision of Brittainy from the dream and so I closed my eyes and watched her. I might never get to see her again.
I guess I was lucky for not making it through the door. The identical triplet girls from who-knows-where had warned me not to and I should listen to supernatural children who fit into the jigsaw puzzle about as well as a cube would. And what was I going to do against the unseen entity that egged me on? Could I fight such a…thing, creature, who-knows-what? I didn't really hold the record of perfect victories; I just wore the nicknamed alias.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Zidane asked, looking out the window.
I turned to him, surprised that he had woken up without me noticing. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Good morning."
Vivi came strolling in and rubbed his belly.
Zidane turned around and smiled at the child. "You're up early."
"Lindblum is really a busy place. I've never seen this many people before. I wonder where people go if they wanna be alone..."
"Lindblum has always been like this. People come here from all over the world. Some of them come here to become airship engineers, sculptors, actors..."
Vivi looked over at Blank, who was stirring in his bed. "Wow..."
"I don't even remember why I came here my first time," Zidane continued. "Before I knew it, I was living here with my Tantalus brothers. Good morning Blank."
"Five more minutes…" Blank said tiredly.
"Do you still live here?" Vivi asked.
"Yeah," Zidane replied, "Our hideout is in the Theater District. I'm gonna go there right now. Do you wanna come along?"
"Um, that's okay. I'm gonna go look around town," Vivi answered.
"Okay. Then I'll give you a little tour."
"...No, that's okay. I can go by myself."
"Ohhh...okay... Go find yourself a cute girl, alright?" Zidane instructed as he watched Vivi leave the room. "And what about you, Victor? You wanna come to the hideout?"
I stretched and popped my neck. "It's in the Theater district, right?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well…I'll probably come find you later."
"Somethin' up?"
"Nah...just got some things on my mind."
Some? Try a billion! I needed to sort things out in my head and I figured I could take some time now to think about it. Lindblum was big, but I was pretty sure I knew the path to the hideout.
Zidane sat down on his bed and started putting his shoes on. "So…what was up with last night?"
"Huh?" I replied as if I had forgotten last night's dream. "Oh, I had a nightmare."
"Must've been some nightmare," Zidane said, standing up. "You woke up screamin' and then you said 'I have to go back'."
He expected me to continue, but my expressionless face did not answer his questions.
"Are you talkin' about Alexandria?" Zidane continued.
Looking off and letting out a sigh, I tried to think of the best answer. "It's…complicated. I need to go somewhere else. Do you think I could follow you to Burmecia?"
"Sure…if I was going there. Why Burmecia?"
"Oh, right," I said, forgetting that he didn't even know about their problems yet. "I meant if you got to Burmecia. Otherwise, I guess I can go on my own."
"Okay, but why Burmecia?" Zidane wondered.
"That's the complicated part. I just have some things I need to figure out."
"Whatever," Zidane said, shrugging his shoulders and smiling cheesily. "You're probably on your own there; I have no need to go to Burmecia."
And he left, hitting Blank's kneecap as he ran out. Blank jumped up and tripped out of bed and rushed after him down the hallways. I looked back out the windowsill, sitting on the bed.
I think thinking was the last thing I wanted to think about, which made me chuckle as I stared out the window to a very busy Lindblum. Maybe I should have followed Zidane to the hideout since I did get lost in Alexandria. I let myself be all alone, that was my fault, but I needed to put things back into order and come up with some kind of intelligent solution to my dilemma.
"Oh, pardon me…"
I turned around to see a bluish penguin like character with stubby hands, holding some towels. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, no no no no no no…I'm room room room service," the odd thing blurted, shaking its head like it had done some kind of horrible sin. "I figured it was empty empty empty; please please please don't be upset!"
I couldn't help from laughing. "It's okay, I was just leaving…"
"You don't have have have to do that."
"Don't worry about it, I do need to leave."
"I see I see I see. Well, we are still serving serving serving breakfast down below."
"Thanks," I said, grabbing all my stuff before I left.
I went down to the first floor and ordered some bacon and eggs. As I waited for my food to be cooked, the sizzling bacon increasing my appetite, I found the inn's guestbook. Two entries were particularly interesting to me.
-Comments/Suggestions-
The room was terrible.
Also, that thing crying "kupo-kupo"
kept me up all night.
Throw him out ASAP,
Or I'm never coming back.
-Lani
Lani! I forgot that she came here! That must have been who it was that walked by us last night on our way to our room. My heart skipped a beat; a specialized assassin had stayed only a few rooms away from us. 'What was she here for anyway?' I asked myself, immediately remembering the answer. She was here for the Festival of the Hunt. Phew, I was afraid that she had come for me. I don't know why, but it was the first thing that came to mind. I then read the next entry in the guest book right below Lani's comment.
Nice place.
-Blank
All he put was two words, but those words shouldn't be there. He never came to sleep here and he never wrote in the guestbook, at least…originally. Could those two words change anything? Blank's mere presence here could totally alternate this entire world's destiny. I had thought about it plenty before, but for some reason those two words really drove in the point.
Reminds me of Home…
-Victor
I walked aimlessly through the business district, sticking to the main road. I breathed in the fresh air and stared at the ground as I passed many people. There were many things that I needed to reflect upon, but I ended up thinking about my breath. The bacon and eggs were delicious, but I could really taste the horrible aroma coming from my mouth. I need a toothbrush and a comb and a shower and a razor, things that didn't seem too common around here. My face was all stubbly and prickly, small blonde hairs poking out, dark black under my chin where they grew at an angle. I hadn't even realized how terrible I looked until I saw myself in the mirror in the inn.
Dirty blonde hair along with a nasty looking goatee. My hair grew so thick on my head but grew in patches on my face. I thought the goatee made me look older, but most of the time I just got insults. I use to have these decently nice biceps and forearms back when I played the trap-set and marched on the snare line. Now they were like mashed potatoes, reflecting the flab I called a stomach. I never had any thing that resembled abs, even when I was muscular. I've always had a belly. I wasn't fat like a butterball of a child I use to be, but I definitely wasn't skinny. I guess I looked like a football player without the exercise.
That was the main problem, exercise. After I graduated high school, I got busy with my Computer Science major and I quickly went out of an appealing shape. And here I am in a world of warriors and heroes and no computers. What good am I?
'Well, that's depressing, isn't it?' I just had to think of something like that before I thought about everything else. That seemed to happen often with me.
"Excuse me," someone said, shouldering me as he passed.
I had been staring at the ground thinking about myself until that person came by. Suddenly, everything was more realistic than I could bare, the fictional reality forcing its presence on my skeptical mind. The old question came spewing out of me like some drunkard who has just realized he's hit rock bottom: "is this real?" It was a good place to start my theories that would hopefully lead to a solution on how to get home.
I needed to find some place quiet where I could sort things out. "Hey, there's a church around here somewhere…that'd be a good place to think," I thought. I remembered it was at the end of the main road so I just kept going straight. My knowledge of Lindblum went from "hey, I remember that," to "where the heck am I"? The road by the inn, the market place and shops were all there like in the game, but where the screen-transitions took place usually ended up in several more roads and buildings that I had never seen before.
Lindblum reminded me of Candy Land. There were no block-like buildings, everything was curved and extremely detailed. All the buildings were tall and reddish, shaped like gumdrops, Hershey kisses, lollipops and other various sweets. I also categorized some buildings to be veggie-structures because they looked like carrots, turnips or Brussels sprouts. It was amusing, which was quite an understatement.
Everything in Lindblum had a clock…I'm serious…everything. A small clock above each door, flat clocks on the ground, every sign had at least one and at least two for the streetlamps, facing opposite directions.
I really liked the oval gardens that housed the base of the streetlamps. I thought about classifying everything as some kind of medieval-style architecture, but there were some oddly futuristic things interweaved. For example, the large blackish pipes that ran alongside the buildings and the high bridges, which I had no idea how to get to, connecting buildings, but mainly the consistent amount of airships flying overhead. I ultimately decided to categorize everything as neomedival.
Appearance was one thing, smell was another. It smelt awful, like an old junkyard full of tires. Actually it smelt like oil, 'yes, that's it, some old oil refinery'. I guessed my bad breath probably wouldn't be noticed around this pungent place.
I started staring at the tightly placed cobblestone, feeling slightly overwhelmed by Lindblum's sheer size. I soon started to hear the chirpings of birds causing me to look up and see trees and a massive building. The road ended here and the triangular shape of the building's roof, along with the ornate windows and holy-like statues, made me realize I had walked right up to the church. I stepped up the rounded stairs and entered the building's large doors.
I felt like I walked through a time portal or dimensional warp or space rift or something to that affect as the churched seemed oddly familiar to…home. There was a central isle, separating two sets of rows of wooden benches for the attendees. A purple carpet ran down the central isle. Reddish stained-glass windows were evenly aligned along the walls. There was a half-finished mural on the back wall with some wooden stages to finish the piece.
I went to the front row and sat down. It was nice and quiet. There were a few other people there, but no one was talking or moving about. Good place to think. At first, I stared at the wall completely mindless and then I got the sudden urge to pray.
"Uh, hi again…It's me. Well…I'm not sure what to ask for or what I can ask for. How about…advice? Yeah, I could use some advice. I don't feel as alone anymore now that I'm traveling with, well…them. Uh, but I'm still scared. All I understand is what I know, but that often does help here. I'm not sure if what I know about here is going to help either. I have so many questions but I don't even know where to begin. The longer I go with them the more danger I'm going to have to face. I don't want to die here without ever know why I'm here in the first place. Any advice? And if this is a dream, could you please wake me up? I have another life to get back to.
Speaking of which, please look over Brittainy and my family and uh…everyone else I guess. I'm really worried about Brittainy. I've been gone for so long; I don't know how she'd take it. I love her so much…I always said 'I don't know what I'd do without you' and now I get to see it firsthand. Oh God, I'm scared. What if I never figure this out? What if I never see her again? Should I give up and…succumb to this world? I need advice or just anything. God, I love you and you have to be here…you're everywhere. You're my only constant. Help. In your name I pray…"
"Amen," I finished, not sadly but more thoughtfully.
"You seem lost."
During my prayer, someone had sat next to me. Clothed in an off-red robe, he stared at me, waiting for a response. He was extremely pale and had odd hair tied off into dog-tails. He was smiling politely.
"Yeah, you could say I'm lost."
"Well, my child, you've come to the right place. I am Priest Theodore. Is there anything you wish to talk about?" he said, opening his arms as if for a hug.
"That's one of the problems, I'm not sure what to ask," I said, turning to look at the unfinished mural.
"I see," he responded, placing his hands on his lap. "Hmm…it sounds like you have a lot of questions. There's really no reason to find the right question, just start asking until you come to the solution that satisfies your problem."
I nodded. He's right, all morning I've been trying to find the best place to start and then once I do think I've found a good start, I don't even start with it. It's time to just jump right into this. I just need to watch my wording.
"Okay, uh, what do you do when you can't find your way home?"
"Well," he immediately replied, sitting back on the bench, "you can trace your steps back to where you got lost. Slowly, just one step at a time."
"Yeah, but what if that doesn't work?"
"The best thing to do in that situation is to find something to refresh your memory. It's more difficult, but you could read some newspapers or magazines and they might remind you of where to go. Of course, it might take a while."
"What if…let's say you went to sleep one day and then woke up somewhere else…far, far away?"
He laughed. "Sleepwalker, eh? Well, tell me, what do you remember from your home?"
"It was much different…"
"Do you remember what it was called?"
"My home?"
"Yeah, like the Business District, Industrial District?"
"No, I'm not from Lindblum," I answered, realizing how difficult this was going to be.
"Okay, well, what nation are you from than, laddy?"
"It was called Earth." That had to sound odd.
"I don't think I've ever heard of that…is that even on the Mist Continent?"
"No."
"Well, so this was more than just sleepwalking. Maybe you were abducted or something. What was the continent's name for Earth?"
I shook my head, getting frustrated because I knew he wasn't going to be able to help. "No continent."
He put a hand to his chin, waiting for me to explain.
I smiled realizing this was impossible. I figured they'd institutionalize me after the next thing I said. "Earth isn't a nation. It's a planet. I come from Earth. I had a normal day in my little town and I went to sleep like I always do. When I woke up, I was in a field in the Mist. I had to run from some hungry wolf-like creatures and I managed to find my way to Alexandria. I've traveled with some people to here. I'm from Earth. What do you say about that?"
He stared at me, his face quickly wrinkling with concern. Then he sighed, tapping his lip as if all the answers were bouncing around in his head. "Okay, so you think you are from another planet…"
"Look, don't worry about it. I have to figure it out on my own."
"Not necessarily. Have you told anyone else this information?"
"No," I said, rolling my eyes that he was still talking to me.
"Well, if you do, they're going to say you're crazy. It seems to me that somehow you've gotten confused about what's real."
"That's the truth."
"I think the best advice is for you to study about…this world. See if you can find anything about Earth. I could tell you that you wouldn't find anything but you need to see it for yourself."
Research…that might be a good idea. "I know I must sound crazy. I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize, my child. You sound as if I were interrogating you. You need to take things slowly and relax a little. I say…study for a little while today and tomorrow and then enjoy the opening ceremony. If you need to sleep, you can sleep here in the church. A few other -"
"Opening ceremony for what?"
"Why, you must have amnesia! That must be it. Tomorrow's the beginning of the Festival of the Hunt!"
'It starts tomorrow,' I thought. 'Okay, so I've got some time before things start going again. Hmmm…I wonder how long the event actually is?'
"How long is the Festival of the Hunt?" I asked.
"Well, the opening ceremony starts tomorrow about noon and they fight all day and into the night. Then, on Hillsday, the festival goes from early morning until sunset. They'll do the same on Mountainsday, except an extra hour of exciting, last-minute battles. Afterwards, they'll announce the winners later that evening. So in total, its three whole days."
'Wow!' I thought. That was a lot to learn, ranging from the day's names to learning that the Festival of the Hunt was three whole days! At that time, I had only been in this world for four days and by the time the festivities were done it'd be a whole week. I was glad for the unexpected amount of time. I could physically relax and work on sorting things out. 'Perhaps I'll have Blank teach me some more sword techniques as well.'
"I can't believe you didn't know about the Hunt," he continued. "You might need to go see a doctor."
"What kind of god do people worship here?" I asked, attempting to change the subject and I was incredibly curious.
He chuckled and sat back, rubbing an imaginary beard. "Many people have different beliefs. This church is a sanctuary for all beliefs. Anyone can bring their thoughts and prayers of their god here and practice their own religion. It's really a magnificent idea, isn't it?"
I smiled politely. "Yes, it is."
"Most commoners don't know about its ties to the Festival of the Hunt," he continued.
"Oh?"
"Cid I was the first person to win the Festival of the Hunt. Ha, at those times, Lindblumers were hunters and this was all forest. After winning, Cid I had this church built in the new tradition and it has since sustained. To us, the festival is an important breakthrough in cultural activity and we intend to continue its celebrations, at the very least to honor the ancient Cid I."
"What do you do to celebrate it?" This is one the very few things that I enjoyed, learning more details and history about something that use to be just a game to me.
"The church has persisted through time, keeping its original form as the rest of Lindblum grew uncontrollably. To most commoners, the festival reminds them about those who are still fighting beasts and facing danger. Thus, a lot of people start praying again. That's our main purpose. We also have reenactments and fun social games on the last night to honor the contenders."
He was almost talking to himself now, staring at his hands as they moved about trying to explain the many details. It was fascinating, not the content but the fact there even was such detailed content inspired me to know more about this fantasy world. 'Research' always had such a negative connotation, but it was the best advice I could take at the moment to come up with a plausible solution.
"Where…where can I go to do some research?" I asked.
"Ah, good-good. You are doing well to take the first step so quickly. The best way to get there is to go under the arch outside the church and follow the gardens all the way to Sentry Ave where you will come across a 5-way road. Take Sentinel Ave and you'll be at the Lindblum Library in few minutes," he explained, mapping out the directions with his fingers against the air.
"Thanks, Theodore," I said. "You've been quite a help."
He smiled and nodded.
"Uh…Theodore?" someone asked a few rows back.
"Ah, duty calls. Take care, my child and come back here to pray whenever you feel overwhelmed. Either Priest Simon and I are always here if you need someone to talk to," he suggested, getting up to go talk to the other person in need.
"Thanks again."
The library was like some kind of Roman building with Lindblum's candy-ish influence, wavy but sturdy and powerful. The walls were specially built to block out sound which I noticed as soon as I walked in, feeling like I had walked into a soundless void. Inside, there were several scholarly people studying at different tables. Oddly, they all looked rather similar to Priest Theodore, his clothing and body structure. I got a kick out of that as well.
The tricky part was figuring my way through the library. They had a different system than our dewy-decimal system, but it seemed easier to use. It'd be hard to find a starting point because there was so much I could look into. There were three floors, all looking towards the main atrium, each having back-to-back bookshelves filled with books. It was overwhelming to say the least.
So I went with Theodore's advice and I just grabbed a book and started reading, sitting at a small table facing the front entrance on the third floor. All the scholars were studying on the main tables spread throughout the main atrium. The book I grabbed was called Ultima: The First and Greatest Non-Elemental Spell.
…the purple, oozy globs of pressurized gas trigger an explosion that appears green to the foolish naked eye when Ultima's true color is clear, invisible, a dimension unknown to us. It instantly destroys everything in its uncontrollable path, eating both physical and mental snapshots of the world. Once it has finished its meal, it spews it all back out in a wave of fatal shards of death.
Ultima's creator, Mayatoya, had no bounds or control of it and was swallowed whole and spit out like a bad piece of Ochu limb partridge. Since then, many have tried to recreate the spell, knowing its magnitude and have failed, creating some weaker elemental spell. Mayatoya had the correct amount of every element and mixed them in an environment where none of the elements would stabilize, creating a void that all the elements washed to which in turn created Ultima. There have been several notable attempts at reviving it and we shall look into each failure, notifying its reason of failure. To begin with…
Fascinating but irrelevant to my cause. I put the black book down and picked up another piece, flipping to a random page. The second book was Under Stars.
…and so they conversed merrily under the stars of that cleary night.
"Sweet bottomless, incurvable flat-chested women where art thee?" Rolf shouted across the deck, dancing with his broomstick. "A lonely sailor heeds thy impassionate touch."
"Rolf, you ungrateful bastard of the barnacles, how dare thou speaketh such inconsiderate words?" a sailor retorted.
"Aye, he'd sleep with his broom, the dolting twit!" another shouted.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, please," Rolf responded, jumping up on the railings on the edge of the boat. "What beauty would take a dirty washed up sahagin like me?"
"None!" they all shouted in unison, laughing.
"Precisely my dear crew! Give me the bones and forget the matter as long as it ends with a titch and a splatter!" he announced, smiling from cheek to cheek.
"Here! Here!"
"Forty nights we sleep with each other, not a curve in sight! I'd rather take my chances with a barnacle!"
They were all laughing at that point. Fortunately for them, the captain was sound asleep in his cabin, unaware of the rowdy behavior outside. Unfortunately for them, they were hit by a nearby ship that had snuck up on them in the dark. The other ship had not yet learned of the peace treaty that had taken affect nearly a week ago…
Okay, that was…interesting. A little over-the-top and still quite irrelevant. I could waist so much time in here, reading various books acquainting myself with Gaia's history, fictional and non-fictional, but I didn't think I'd get to a solution quickly that way and I still shook from last night's dream, eager to go home. I closed the book and put it on top of the Ultima book.
I went down to the first floor and found an ink pen and some free paper for general usage. I went back to my spot on the third floor and, at first, just started doodling. I drew incoherent pictures, on top of the other and practiced using the ink pen. I sighed and crumpled the paper and threw it on the floor beside my feet. Then, I drew a circle in the middle on the next sheet of yellowy paper.
Simple. I stared at the circle, brushing the feathery backend of the pen on my scrubby face. Then, I drew a stick figure encompassed within the circle. I then had a rush of artistic inspiration, drawing all kinds of links to that central circle that mapped out my history with Gaia thus far. I drew it with dashed and un-dashed lines to represent the regular and alternate aspects of the world. Afterwards, I finally started my theories with the question I had asked earlier.
"Is this real?"
-Theory 1.1.A - Yes, this is real.
..."How?"
...Theory 1.2.A - Dimensional warp.
..."But, how did that happen?"
...Theory 1.2.A.1 - Coincidental timing.
...Theory 1.2.B - This was always real, my memories are false.
..."Where did the memories come from?"
...Theory 1.2.B.1 - I made them up.
...Theory 1.2.B.2 - They were put there.
...Theory 1.2.C - It was a miracle, part of God's plan and/or God's doing.
..."What's His intention?"
...Theory 1.2.D - Magic.
..."Magic?"
...Theory 1.2.D.1 - Magic exists here and it has the power to warp people across dimensions.
-Theory 2.1.A - No, this is not real.
..."Why?"
...Theory 2.2.A - This is a dream.
..."Why haven't I awoken and why does it feel so real?"
...Theory 2.2.A.1 - All dreams are like this, we forget when we wake up.
...Theory 2.2.A.2 - There are different levels of dreams of the subconscious.
...Theory 2.2.B - I have died and this is my afterlife.
..."Heaven or Hell or…other?"
...Theory 2.2.B.1 - Heaven.
...Theory 2.2.B.2 - Hell.
...Theory 2.2.B.3 - Other.
...Theory 2.2.C - Insanity.
I attacked it like some kind of Computer program, modeling different paths that could be possible. After working diligently on each separate theory for several hours, I took a break and started to doodle again. I drew Brittainy's face as vivid as I could. It turned out pretty good and I carefully folded it after the ink had settled and placed it in my pocket. Then, my stomach growled.
"I suppose that's a good start for now," I said to myself. "I'll continue this later, I've got some time."
So I gathered all of my materials and left the library, heading towards the theatre district where the hideout was. Hopefully I'd find it.
I made my way back to the inn easily by retracing my steps. It was still pretty sunny and there were still a bunch of people out on the streets. Remembering where the aircab station was, I went into there and sat down on the one of the cozy, little benches. My stomach didn't like waiting when it got hungry, so I got up and walked around to busy myself. I read a sign on the wall.
-Provisional Air Cab Schedule-
For the next 3 days, air cabs
will operate on the Festival
of the hunt schedule.
Aircab Management
I wondered if that sign had actually been in the game. That'd be interesting… Then, an aircab landed and I turned around to see the small airship-like mobile, with interesting, wing-like spoilers on the back. I got in and sat down next to the window. The aircab started only a minute later and shot off, flying up and above the buildings below. I watched as the citizens of Lindblum got smaller. It looked like the most advanced ant farm ever built. I looked up to the tentative schedule posted near the driver/pilot and noticed that the Theatre district was next.
I could also see Falcon's Gate, shinning like a golden diamond on the wall to the North. The small pebbled road turned into bread-like cobblestone, appearing soft but was obviously solid. I continued along the railed high-rise and blindly walked right past the hideout and found myself heading down the stairs towards a set of theatres. As soon as I recognized the path, I turned around and went back up to find my destination. I noticed several buildings and a few people walking around…the hideout didn't quite stick out like a sore thumb as it did intentionally in the game. I decided to go towards the building that closely reflected my remembrances of the hideout. I cracked the double doors under the buildings archway a little.
I was greeted with darkness and dust and two friendly, well-known thieves.
Zidane jumped up on a table that had been placed on a small circular, wooden stage, throwing his hands up dramatically. "Victor! How goeth thee on such bluest of days?"
"Uh…fine, I guess…" I said, taking a step inside.
"Whoa ye trespasser! Ye cannot enter thy humble abode!" Blank unexpectedly kicked up a sheathed sword into his hands and Zidane readied his daggers.
"What? What's up guys?" I said, confused.
"Ye have not spoken thy holiest of passwords!"
Were they joking? …Yes, they had to be. "Well then, good men, what pretail is thy password?"
Blank and Zidane glanced at each other, smirking. "Ye are not worthy! Thou must defeat-eth sir Blank and I in combat before thou can be entrusted the holy password."
"Very well," I replied, pulling out my sword dramatically. I really didn't want to fight them at that moment…I was just playing along. "I shall smote ye fiends! Come!"
They stared at me like cats do before they pounce and I waited, unsure of what was going to happen next. I had been enjoying not being in pain for a day. Then they started laughing hysterically and I joined them after a few moments of breathing relief.
"Damn it's good to be home!" Blank stated, putting the sheathed sword back down.
Zidane slowly finished his laughing and then plopped down on the table, stabbing both his daggers into it. "The password's Achoo. We use it just for safety."
a-chew as if you were sneezing. "Well then, Achoo."
"Come on in!" They exclaimed in unison.
"What are you guys doing?" I said, coughing the dust up as I entered the patched-light hideout.
"What we do best, of course," Zidane said, grabbing the daggers as he rolled back off the table. "Talkin' about girls!"
"More like he's talkin' bout you know who," Blank corrected, sloppily sitting back against the wall.
"Yeah, yeah, watch this." Zidane flipped one of his daggers in the air, swinging his arm as he caught and immediately threw it into a board with some terribly drawn concentric circles. Bull's-eye. "Ha!"
He seemed a little more high-strung then normal…or maybe this was more normal.
Blank crossed his arms, letting his head fall as if he had dozed off. "Show off."
"You know…I'm winning this year," Zidane said, jumping once again to sit on the side of the table.
"Are you talking about the Festival of the Hunt?" I asked, sitting on what seemed to be some old, crackled chest.
"I am!" He punched the air with his fists, holding one dagger pointing downward.
"I think Marcus' gonna surprise us this year," Blank said.
"I'll be surprised if he gets here in time to register," Zidane replied, continuing to punch the air. "Haha, you know…I went ahead and registered Vivi."
Blank quickly picked his head back up. "You did what?"
"Ah, don't worry him; he'll prolly beat us all."
"That's what I'm worried about!"
They laughed.
"Do you think Marcus is going to participate?" I asked after the laughter had quieted down.
"Baku'd kill him if he didn't."
"Yeah, but…they won't even be here, so what does it matter?"
"Nah, they're supposed to get here early tomorrow."
"What? How would you know?" I asked.
Zidane quickly stabbed an envelope on the floor beside the table and then spun the letter to me. I blinked a few times, assuming what contents were inside, and then opened the letter.
Tantalus Brothers,
Alright you scumbags, me and the boys'll be there sun-up
tomorrow! You better not be rusty for the Hunt! Hell,
you better not be rusty for me cus I'm gonna pound the
e'er livin' daylights outta ya! You coulda picked us up
ya good for nothin's! I can't take another day of
Cinna's off brand, improvised coffee. Still can't believe
ya beat us to the punch. See ya losers soon.
Baku
"Sun-up tomorrow," I thought to myself. It was happening…they were going to be here. I had three days to think and Blank, Marcus, Cinna, Baku and the rest of the gang would be here and Marcus was going to be in the Festival of the Hunt…what would be different next?
I looked up at the wooden ceiling and stared at a ray of light entering from the high windows, dust flowing through it. I was trapped in this world without a single ray of hope to lead me home. All I had were some sloppily written theories. I decided to look at them again at night and enjoy what was left of the day, after I ate of course.
"Got anything to eat around here?"
"Maybe some rats between the floorboards," Zidane said, surprisingly serious as he tapped his chin. "But…if you want something good to eat, we'll have to go out."
It was a clear blue, sunny day in a foreign, fictional kingdom…why not?
"Alright," I said, putting the letter down on the chest. "And I think I'll take that tour of yours."
Kakashi-fan116: Glad you enjoyed the battle scene. I still need some work on it (in general that is) because I've got big dreams for upcoming battle sequences. I can't believe I beat you to the punch in updating, hope to see more soon…
Ashitaka666: "lemony goodness," lol. Thanks for reading and sorry for the delay. I'm going to work on my writing so someday I can correctly do that "lemony goodness" stuff… :)
Lavaangel: I know, I know…Victor can't fight worth crap…which is what I'm going for. Even if he does train, it's going to take a while for him to get good, or at least that's the angle I'm going for. Now, for the trance, if I decide to do that, it'll be way later…way way later, just so ya know. I'd put 'im in the Festival, but I think that'd make this story a little shorter than I was wanting to go… :) So…you never sent me that chapter…I really wanted to put it out for ya. What's up? Lemme know.
RefugeofSouls: I wish the dream thing weren't so cliché, but I'm hoping the meanings and whatnot of them will be different than anyone's ever seen or even conjured. That's the hope anyways. BTW, how did ya like my random review? Haha. Anywho, if you want to add to a one-shot, go for it! This site's just for fun anyway, right? Couldn't hurt. However, I would like to see another one-shot from ya. :)
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Although my update speed has reduced dramatically, I still want to continue this story. I'm going to try my best and complete, but it is going to take a lot of time. Thanks for reviewing and hope ya enjoy my future wacky stories.
Tacofoolio: Hey hey, there you are. I figured you were probably exhausted after reading the lengthy chapter, so it's all good. Thanks for rereading my story, I really didn't think it was that good, so pardon me if I take a little bit of pride in that. How'd you like chapter 9 (I'm not sure how you'd remember but) cus I actually revised it from start to finish. Hope it was better. Yeah…I've got some major parts lined up in my head (and on paper now as well) and there are a few chapters I'll have to write in between, but I'm hoping to keep everything interesting. What's the point in reading a boring story, eh? I loved that CG sequence when they're flying through the South Gate, I was trying as hard as I could to recreate its beauty. Glad you liked the scene with Brittainy, nobody really said anything else about it so I figured I went too over-the-top on it. Yeah, I guess I did lie, I'm so sorry, especially at such a cliffy-like part. Anywho, thanks so much for your continued reading. Ah…ping
Popgoesthebaldie: This should keep ya pretty busy. :) BTW, I'm trying my best to learn from all the things you are teaching me so I hope they are appearing in my writing. I haven't read your edits to chapter 11 yet, so keep that in mind. Take a look at chapter 9, I've finally fixed it all up. Anywho, I cannot explain what an honor it is to have you work with me, I really do appreciate it. The writer's block wasn't your fault (if anything, it egged me on to do more). So, thanks for your partnership.
