Linear's Guardian

Disclaimer: The game series of Evolutions belongs to its original creator, an in no way, shape or form belongs to me. No money is being made off this, and no trademark infringement is meant by this story.

Alright, I know not many people will actually read this… but I've been obsessed with Evolution: World of Sacred Device. That's right, from the Dreamcast, the noisiest game system ever.

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Calf length blond hair twirled in the cool summer breeze, bringing with it the scent of newly budding flowers. Swinging her legs, she clutched her ocarina tightly in her long pale fingers, watching the far away town of Pannam from her perch upon an immense boulder. Some ways off she could still make out the two miniaturized forms of Mag Launcher and Chain Gun, her recent companions on another of Mag's expeditions.

Of course, they had yet to complete their current assignment, as they had to leave the ruins a mere six floors up. An onslaught of attacks from a group of Hyenodon had greatly depleted her health, leaving her paralyzed and fairly bruised. There wasn't even an opportunity for her to heal any of Mag's accumulated injuries, leaving her, in the end, useless.

Releasing her now strained grip on her wind instrument, she gazed forlornly at the smooth surface. This precious object had been the first gift she had ever received from Mag, making it by far her most treasured object; the melodies that flowed from within were a constant source of comfort. One she would probably need, as she was quite sure Mag would still be upset with her. How could she possibly confide in the person whom she had disappointed?

Her two companions were now standing quite close talking animatedly, moving their arms occasionally. There was no way she could intrude on that now, not when she had heard snippets of what had been bouncing between the two for the past little while. Mere minutes before, she had ventured down to retrieve Mag for Gre, only to hear Chain complaining about how much of a nuisance she was. How they would have long since conquered the ruins if they didn't have to come back because of her injuries. How everything would be better if she wasn't around.

Hearing these accusations, she had just been waiting for Mag to step in and stand up for her as he always did when Chain was so worked up. Strangely though, these words of quick defence never came. Could it be that perhaps Mag was starting to agree with Chain? He always complained of the loud-mouthed girl, but maybe his view had changed with time. Not that she was in any position to blame him, really, as she knew just how many times someone had to step in and save her.

Tracing an oddly formed bruise delicately, a salty tear slipped down her cheek. Honestly, she didn't mean to be such a hindrance. It was sheer luck on her part that no one had bothered to notice her weaknesses sooner; it would have saved them many wasted healing items. Perhaps… perhaps that was the problem then. All the accusations Chain had been cruelly making over the weeks had finally convinced Mag of her overall incompetence.

Drawing her ocarina slowly to her lips, she blew gently into the mouthpiece. Soft notes carried on the wind, notes dancing in the wind. Eyelids drooping closed, Linear allowed herself to become engrossed in the music, losing herself in the melancholy melody. Swaying in time with the beat, she thought back to all the nasty things Chain had assumed and cast them off in her song.

'Useless…" Chain's voice was a low hiss in the caverns of her mind, eating away slowly.

'… a waste of precious resources!' Her ruthless complaints were so hard to ignore when they just kept coming! Besides, it wasn't like she had asked them to use their healing items on her.

'Sorry excuse for an adventurer…' They just hit so close to that well hidden part of Linear that was so insecure. The part that truly believed the comments made minutes before were actual fact.

With each pounding statement, a fresh wave of tears trickled down her cheeks. Notes wavered as she fought to keep a steady flow of air going into the instrument. Despite her efforts, however, her composition melted away as she sucked in air, trying desperately to stop crying. There was absolutely no need to give Chain another weakness to play on.

Setting the ocarina on her lap, she tried to stem the flow of the salty liquid. Pressing the heels of her sleeve covered hands against her eyes, she took deep calming breathes. Am I really so inadequate? Cold settled in her belly as if she'd swallowed an ice cube. Why couldn't she have seen it before? Perhaps it was time she left. Mag shouldn't be stuck protecting a worthless scaredy-cat like her, it wasn't his fault his father was blind to her actual value. In fact, she was almost certain that with Chain's persuasion, he would probably want her gone anyways. He'd do it nicely of course – that's just the kind of person Mag was.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Linear looked up at the lazy clouds rolling by, knowing she should really start packing soon if she was to leave. Sliding from her perch, she limped her way through the front doors of the Launcher estate, pausing only to catch a final glimpse of the two in town standing just a little closer then before.

Wincing at the soft click of the door, she hoped that she hadn't alerted Gre of her presence in the house. Opening only a crack large enough to squeeze through, Linear wriggled through the small space, not wanting the hinge's to squeak. A sure way to bring someone to see what she was up to, as any tiny sound would seemingly echo in the peaceful silence.

Creeping along the hall, she ducked into her bedroom door just as she could hear the telltale footsteps of Gre shuffling along the tile floor. Slumping against the hard wooden door, she sighed heavily, glancing forlornly at the beautiful gardens outside her window. She would sincerely miss this place, especially the company. Somewhere along the lines of her adventuring, she had grown strong feelings for the spiky brown haired adventurer. Now that the cold truth of her uselessness had come to his attention however, it was best that she left before she could hear the harsh truth from his own mouth. Hopefully it would grow easier to forget everything the further away she got.

Crossing the room, she knelt before her bed, reaching back into the dusty depths beneath and retrieving her knapsack. Dropping it unceremoniously on her covers, she slid each drawer open inaudibly and flinging only necessary items onto the small pile forming on her bed. Carefully folding the limited changes of clothes, she tucked them securely into the zippered pocket of the worn pack.

Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she glanced sadly around the room trying to burn the familiar setting into her mind. Taking a deep breath, she pressed her ear to the door, straining to hear any possible sounds of life in the hall. As moments of silence ticked past, she cautiously peeked through a crack before deeming it safe, and striding to the door.

Pausing just before the door, she turned one last time to take in what little she still could, relishing in the homeliness of the main sitting room. With watering eyes, she pivoted on her heel, crashing into the sturdy thickness of the still closed door.

How pathetic was she? Not even making it out the door without screwing things up, left to slump dejectedly amongst her scattered belongings, crying from a mere collision with a door. Mind you, there was more to the equation then that, but what set her off was the smallest of occurrences. Gulping in large breathes she swept her articles of clothing back into the bag before clutching it to her chest.

Clinging to the bulky sack, she watched gloomily as the doorknob jiggled before the door opened, slowly revealing the person behind. Spiky brown hair poked up from his goggles, his tired eyes not yet registering anything of the scene before him. Perhaps if she snuck away now, he might not notice her prone form on the tiled ground. Of course, no matter how weary Mag was, there was no way he could overlook a full grown adolescent girl sprawled across the floor before him.

"Linear?" His voice seemed to echo around in the dead silence of the room, creating a tense atmosphere among the two long time friends and companions. Approaching the silently crying girl, he knelt down and rested his hand on top of her blond head. Caressing the silky strands, he decreased the space between them. "Are you okay? Did I hit you too hard with the door? You aren't hurt, are you?" Knowing she wouldn't answer his questioning, as her silent nature wouldn't allow her to, he prodded the area of her head and face gently, probing for any possible injuries. "Hey, are you sure you're okay? You're crying, Linear…"

Even the dense Mag couldn't miss the salty liquid sliding down her pale face. Being alerted to the melancholy aura of the girl before him, he surveyed his surroundings, searching for the reason as to why she would be this upset. "Did I hit you that hard? I'm really sorry!" Spotting the bag clasped in her arms, he began questioning her on a new subject. "What's the bag, are you going to the market? Shouldn't you be resting instead?"

Hearing this new possibility, this new out for her to take, Linear perked up momentarily. He just thought she was merely on her way to the market, just like any other day, like any other task. It would be easy to go along with that and just slip away. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, no matter how easy that would be to pull off, it wasn't something Linear could realistically do. Really now, it was hard enough on her conscience that she was leaving behind the boy she had such strong feelings for, but to lie to him before hand. It wasn't something she could do, regardless of how sure she was that he was cross with her.

Easing herself off the floor with Mag's help in the form of a strong arm around her shoulders, she kneeled before him. Flinging her arms around his neck, she fisted her hands in the fabric covering his back. For a few moments, she just let his warmth seep into her as his arms wrapped around her petite body. Taking in the moment, she brought her mouth back right beside his ear.

"I'll miss you…" Linear's words were but a whisper, taking him a small stretch of time to take in her words. That could partially be to the delicate tone of her voice, but the words were just so… out there. This was not like Linear at all; it was on very rare occasions that she spoke. After all, this had to be something bigger then a trip to the market, since she's never spoken to anyone – much less with such emotion – about a simple errand.

Pushing her back gently by the shoulders, he tried to make eye contact – some kind of contact that went deeper then physical – to see if he could somehow receive her message. Her words had been so vague, what did she mean by it? "What… what do you mean, Linear? You're just going to the store, right?"

He was making it so easy for her to slide out of life altogether, leaving him here to wonder days after she had left where she had gone to. Well, if he wondered about her for that long, anyways. Chances are he'd have his hands full what with Chain, and his adventuring. Things would be easier this way though, the more he had to do, the less he would think of her. It may have been that he hated her, but she wouldn't want to worry him over, that would just be terribly selfish of her.

"You'll be back by dinner… right?" Now he was almost pleading with her. Waiting in a thick tense silence, not wanting to make a sound should he miss any response she might make, Mag remained stock still by her. Shaking her head Linear slowly pulled herself off the floor, snatching her bag from the floor on the way up. As the silence stretched, her shaking got more furious, hair splaying around her head now. Why was he making this so hard on her!?

Gradually rising so as not to startle her, he reached his hand toward her, trying to take hold of the near hysterical girl. "Come on Linear, what's going on? Where are you going?" Inching his steady hands closer, he slowly closed the little space between the two long time friends. Leading her gently by the shoulders, he backed her into one of the large squishy couches in the middle of the entrance room. Nudging her gently into a seat, she collapsed beside her, not yet removing his firm grip on her slight shoulders.

Silence reigned in the homey room, only the ticking of a clock along with shaky breathing could be heard in the large space. Shifting in her seat, Linear stared solemnly at Mag, despite the confused thoughts smashing together like her mind and been caught in a blender. If he had taken Chain's advice – like she was positive he would have – why was he so concerned? Shouldn't he be practically helping her out the door?

Lost in her thoughts, Linear was unsuspectingly swept into a tight hug around the shoulders, crushing her body tight to his. Her body was stiff as a board, shocked at the sudden show of affection. Slowly, after he showed no signs of moving for the past minute or so, Linear wrapped her arms timidly around his torso, accepting his embrace.

"Why, Linear?" His breath was warm on her ear, drawing her full attention to his words. "Why are you leaving?" It was hard to listen to his heartfelt questions, knowing she would be leaving a few short hours, once he was in bed an oblivious to her departure. Digging her fingers into his back with the tightest grip she could muster, she clung to her dearest friend. How was she ever going to be able to go through with this? The least she could do was give him adequate reason as to why she was just taking off…

Spotting the brightly coloured gift box on the table, Linear stretched one slender pale finger in the direction of the festive wrapping. Chain had dropped it off just before they set out on their latest adventure, a late birthday present if you will. He had been in too much of a rush at the time of their departure to open it, so it sat untouched on the coffee table, staring back at the pair. "Chain will be disappointed if you don't go…"

"Chain…? What does Chain have to do with anything?" Nudging the glossy blue box to the far end of the table, Mag sunk back into the couch, trying to figure out the complicated situation he had found himself in. How could Linear think he would leave to go talk to Chain at a time like this? "I came to see if you were doing alright. You didn't look to great when we were leaving, but I didn't have anything left to heal you with…"

Noticing her slight wince at the mention of yesterday's events, Mag leapt foreword, poking and prodding at her bruise-covered skin. Disregarding the flush of color covering her cheeks, he felt her arms and legs for any sprains or broken bones. "You're not hurt, are you?" Sounding frantic now, he tugged at her hand, pulling her towards the door. "Let's go see a doctor to be sure."

Flying down the stone path, Mag practically dragged Linear behind him in his haste. Stumbling over the uneven surface, Linear tried her best to keep up with the worried teen in front of her, still going re-examining the reasons he could possibly have for putting so much effort into helping a nuisance like her. As they neared the outskirts of the town, a solitary figure exited a bulky trailer situated along the side of the towns' main road.

Bowling into Mag as he stopped short in front of the girl before him, Linear peeked over his shoulder only to stare back into the hostile eyes of Chain. With a sinking feeling in her stomach like her heart had dropped to her toes, she sunk back, huddling behind Mag. No matter how inadequate he thought she was, he wouldn't let Chain actually do anything to her. That was one thing she was certain of: as long as he was with her, Mag would guard her, he would not oppose his fathers' wishes.

Crossing her arms across her body, Chain glared up at Mag with pure annoyance. "What are doing, Mag? Get your stuff and lets get out of here, we need to finish our adventure without any burdens holding us back." By the end of her declaration, Chain had her lips pressed in a tight thin line, and practically spitting venom at the cringing blond.

"Hey!" Stepping foreword, he loomed over the undersized girl, glaring daggers down at her defiant posture. "I may've been feeling guilty before, but you can't go around saying those things about Linear!" Standing tall, Mag stared straight into Chain's eyes, his gaze drilling through her. Following his outburst, everything was silent. No one breathing, no one moving, even the birds seemed oddly silent in the warm June sun.

Pivoting huffily on her heel, Chain strode away from the pair, stomping angrily into her house. Sighing, Mag's shoulder's sagged as he spun around to face Linear. Taking her hand once again, Mag moved to proceed on their trip into town, but was stopped as he felt her weight stay unmoving where they had stopped. Cocking her head the side, Linear looked at him with wide eyes. "Guilty?"

"Well, yeah, I mean I let you get hurt like that. I should've done something to stop the attack, but I didn't." Gazing into her bright red eyes, he could clearly see the surprise written there. Frowning deeply, he attempted to clear up the situation. "You didn't think I would actually agree with her, did you?"

Staring down at the ground in shame, Linear waited for any oncoming angry tirades from Mag. How could she have doubted her best friend? He had never lied to her before, so why would she start to second guess him now? Worst of all, she had almost gone through with an action that would've hurt him deeply. Thinking about causing him pain left a dull ache in her chest.

Collecting her into a warm hug, Mag stood on the side of the road with Linear, clutching her to his chest. "You know Linear," he whispered into her ear, his warm breath displacing the hair around. "I care a lot about you. I could never agree with such terrible things about someone… someone I love."

"Love…" Cautiously, Linear returned Mag's embrace tightening her grip on him. "… love you too, Mag." Burying her face into his chest, a dark blush covered her cheeks as he placed a tender kiss on the top of her head.

"Now let's go see that doctor!" Grinning vibrantly to herself, Linear ran contentedly beside him

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For the duration of this game, I couldn't help but notice that Mag and Linear look so sweet together, thus the creation of this story. Sadly, I'm not sure this came out how I wanted it too… it seemed rather… I don't know… blah. And I'm sorry about Linear talking more then normal, but it's too hard for her not to…! And about Mag being taller… oh well.

.:Sayuru:.