Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ War and Roses ❯ Trouble in Timber ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Desperate Angel 
On a hunch, the three travel to Timber. Once there, though, they find that they may be in deeper than they had thought.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.03.2001 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 204 | Status: Completed
On a hunch, the three travel to Timber. Once there, though, they find that they may be in deeper than they had thought.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 09.03.2001 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.1K | Visits: 204 | Status: Completed
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Chapter 2: "Troubles in Timber"
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Standing just inside the city limits, Raine sighs to herself and wearily eyes the two guards standing at attention. It's not that she didn't know that there would be guards and challenges; it's just she didn't think she'd have two additional problems masquerading as help.
"Only two guards?" Laguna chuckles easily. "Man, I thought they'd have more than that. Maybe they aren't really in town, after all."
"Mm." Kiros nods faintly. "Maybe Ellone isn't that important, so they didn't put as many guards around the town."
"Yea, that must be it." Raine mutters through clenched teeth. "So, what do you two think we should do? What would be the best way to get past those guards?"
"See? Even she agrees." The dark-skinned man chuckles easily and deftly avoids the glare Raine offers him. "Anyway, I think that Laguna and I should be able to take care of the guards without too much difficulty. Right, Laguna?"
"Eh?" After a long moment, the man in question turns a blank look to his fellow warrior. Kiros chuckles at this while Raine's annoyed frown merely deepens. After having the last bit repeated, Laguna grins and nods. "Hey sure. It'll be easy. Elle'll be back in our hands before nightfall."
"I hope your right." Raine murmurs to herself as her eyes study the colorfully-suited Esthar guards standing at attention. "I can't go back on that promise. Not now. Not ever."
"Eh?" Kiros blinks at the woman, but then merely shugs dismissively. None of his business, after all. He turns a familiar grin to Laguna. "Ready to try it out?"
Laguna doesn't answer him, though. He doesn't even turn his attention to his dusky-skinned friend. Instead, his attention is fixed most intensely on the dark-haired woman. His guileless blue eyes search her slightly turned-away face, search her ever-confident posture, but find no trace of the promise to which she had just alluded. It's all new to him. Sure, he always knew that Ellone wasn't Raine biological child, but she would never tell him who the girl's true mother might be. A promise to this unknown other, maybe? Or maybe Raine had been lying about not being Elle's true mother...
"Something wrong, Laguna?" Raine questions him quietly upon noticing his lingering stare. "Aren't you going to help Kiros?"
"Uh..." Laguna responds smartly, before quickly shaking his head and easily regaining his slightly crooked grin. "Of course! I just wanted to ask that you stay here until we take care of the guards. No use getting you involved in such troubles." Without waiting for an aye or nay, he turns and, vaulting the pile of assorted junk behind which they had been squatting, joins his friend in battle.
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Kiros, not all that concerned over the promise that Raine had hinted at, ducks out from behind the shelter of assorted rubbish and, with a practiced casualty, approaches the two guards . As the two come to attention, he notices the strange weapons in each set of hands: a strange mixture of gun and cutting blade, but not really a gunblade. Still, they look like they could do a good deal of damange should it come to that. Swallowing hard, Kiros fights to keep his expression open and neutral.
"Hey, guys!" The dusky-skinned man calls easily as he rasies a single hand in a slight wave. "What's up?"
"Eh?" The guard on the left turns its insect-like head to glance at the newcomer and, behind the protection of its helmet, grins. "What do you here? Don't you know that this town is under Esthar guard?"
"Of course I do." Kiros replies in the same neutral, almost-cheery tone. "You see, I'm a reporter with Timber Mechanics, a popular magazine throughout the land. I was wondering if I could ask you some quesitons."
"Questions?" The guard repeats softly, a hint of interest in his otherwise unaffected tone. "What sort of questions?"
"The usual." The dusky-skinned lad half-shrugs. "How long will you be here? What are your intentions? If you could be any sort of food, what would you be?"
"This is stupid." The second guard grumbles upon realizing the stupidity of his partner.. "Why should we tell anyone, let alone a reporter, the details of our mission? How stupid do you think we are?"
"Hey." The first guard, ignoring his partner, grins and steps closer to the stranger. "So, we'd get, like, world-wide coverage, eh?"
"That's right." Kiros nods firmly. "So, tell me, have you seen a little girl brought into town? She's about this big..." He motions about hip high with his hand. "...dark hair and eyes. Cute smile, though she was probably crying at the time."
"Why do you want to know that?" The second guard growls as he levels his weapon at the stranger. "That's classified information! Who are you, really?"
"A little girl, eh?" The second guard steps in front of his angry partner and seems to mull over the question. "I did see someone like that in town earlier, but I believe she was led out again by a man with a strange accent..."
"Moron!" The first guard exclaims. Not giving any time for more information to be leaked, his finger twitches over the trigger. A loud cough of gunfire explodes the fragile peace of the village. Kiros, lithe as a panther, easily dives out of the way and rolls back to his feet.
"Not bad." The dark-skinned man grins as he draws twin daggers from the belt hanging loosely about his waist. "But I think you've just ruined your chance at an interview."
Kiros deftly leaps forward and raises his left arm in a slashing motion; a hungry gash opens across the dumber guard's chest and wrings a cry from the man's throat. Not yet done, the dark-skinned warrior repeats the movement with his other arm and now a X-shaped wound gapes across the man's chest. The wounded guard utters a harsh cry before falling back a step.
"Kiros!"
A familiar voice calls the warror's name and Kiros turns only to see Laguna finally come to join to battle. Grinning, the warrior lifts a single bloody dagger in something of a welcoming salute before turning back to his prey. Just as he raises his dagger to finish off the dumber guard, he notices a second explosion of gunfire. Before Kiros has time to react to this, he watches the guard he had been intending to kill fall back upon the ground, heave a last strained breath, then move no more.
"Damnit." The remaining guard grumbles to himself before turning his attention to the town proper. At the top of his lungs, he calls into the sleepy burg. "Intruders! Help!"
"Not good." Kiros mutters as he makes a stab at the guard's back. Unfortunately, the guard turns in time to catch this and manages to parry the blow with the bladed part of his weapon. Grunting, Kiros pushes forward against the guard's weapon while bringing his other dagger up into the softness of the guard's stomach. The guard, not expecting this, ends up with a nice slash running from his navel to groin. He groans thickly behind his mask as his hand fumbles down just in time to catch the slippery coils of his gut slipping from his body.
"Let's get out of here, Laguna." Kiros mutters without turning to look at his fellow fighter. "I have a feeling that reinforcements'll be on us any second."
After not getting any answer, Kiros turns to find Laguna in a predicament of his own.
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Raine, seeing that the two men have the guards under fair control, sneaks out from her hiding place and carefully slinks into the town proper. Glancing about herself, the dark-haired woman frowns at the dingy buildings towering over her on every side. There's just so many places where they could hide Elle.
"Stop it." She scolds herself sternly, not realizing that she's speaking aloud or maybe just not caring. "You have to find her. She has to be here somewhere."
Her confidence renewed, Raine casts about for someone from whom to extract some information. Spotting a likely old man, she carefully walks over. The man, in his seventies at the very least, is quite bent and grizzled. His hair is peppered with thin strands clinging uselessly to the dark color of youth. His face is lined with wrinkles and, when he lifts them, she can see that his ice blue eyes are milky and, more than likely, sightless.
"Excuse me." Raine murmurs politely as she offers the man a slightly strained smile. "I was wondering if you could help me..."
"Why?" The man answers gruffly, his voice a mixture of broken glass and gravel. "What do you need?"
"It's my little girl." The dark-haired woman answers in her best broken voice. "She's run away and I can't find her. I was wondering if you might have seen her.."
"I might have." The man answers slowly. A toothless grin slithers across his face and Raine naturally recoils a step or two from the disturbing sight; the man doesn't seem to mind, though. "What's your little brat look like, then?"
"Well, she's about nine years old." Raine answers slowly. "She stands about hip height, slender build, dark hair and eyes."
"Pheh." The old man hacks deep in his throat and spits something truly awful upon the trash strewn ground. "She sounds like any other brat you see running around here. How am I supposed to tell you anything from a description like that?"
"I'm sorry." The woman apologizes through gritted teeth. "I don't know what else I could tell you."
"Details, child, details." The old man hacks again, although this time it's probably meant to be something close to a laugh. "Give me some details and I may be of more help."
"Oh fine." Raine sighs "But I'm sure that I told you everything that could possibly be of any use. I real--"
"No!" The old man shakes his head violently and holds up a gnarled hand to silence her. "That's not what I mean! How stupid are you?! Give me details on how she slipped away from you. Anything odd would be of great help."
"Oh." The woman answers in a small voice. Something about this strange old man really doesn't seem right. "Well, she was taken from my bar a few nights ago. I assumed that she was brought here. She'd probably be in the company of some Esthar guards."
"Esthar guards, eh?" As the man murmurs this, an unsavory sparkle enters his pale icy eyes. Raine, seeing this, gasps and takes a quick step back. Unfortunately, she isn't nearly quick enough; the old man grabs her upper arm in a suprisingly strong grip and holds her close against his withered body. Turning his face, he calls out into the street. "Guards! Guards! I caught the woman! Guards!"
Before Raine has a chance to do much of anything, she turns her head to see a troupe of Esthar guards running towards her. In a desperate attempt for freedom, she mule-kicks the old man holding her. With a grunt, the man releases his grip and the girl is once again free. Unfortunatly, after only taking a step or two, the Esthar guards fall upon her. A sharp pain spreading from the back of her head, Raine falls limply to the ground.
"Hey!" Laguna, having seen all this from a distance, runs over to the fallen girl then turns an angry stare to the gathered guards. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It's none of your business, pal." One of the guards mutters as he bends and attempts to pull Raine to her feet. "You'd best get out of here before we have to carry you off, as well."
Laguna, never one to rely on thought over deed, pulls his gun and squeezes off a few quick shots. One catches the guard bending over Raine in the left temple. Another strikes deep into the chest of a guard standing beside the old man. A third strikes the old man in the shoulder and causes him to reel back a step. Unfortunately, by this time, two guards have managed to sneak up behind the enraged shooter and, with a quick movement, manage to catch either of his arms. His machine gun firing uselessly into the grey sky, Laguna struggles against his captors, but finds himself unable to break free.
"Good work, men." An unscathed guard mutters as he approaches the dark-haired prisoner. "Take care of this one while we take the girl back to headquarters."
Without uttering another word, the guard turns and, stepping over his dead comrade, hefts Raine to her feet. A guard standing nearby catches the quick frustration in the Commander's eyes and takes up position at Raine's other side. The two turn to go when two long daggers bury themselves to the hilt in the back of either guard. After another half-step, the two fall dead and Raine once more crumples to the ground.
"Hey!" The remaining guard not busy with anything else turns only to find himself facing a lithe dark-skinned man weilding an additional two daggers. "Who are--" is all the guard manages to get out before he finds a dagger sticking gibly from his throat. After making a short gurgling noise, the guard falls to his knees. His hands scrabble ineffectively at the hilt of the dagger, but only seem to worsen the wound rather than removing the offending object. After a few seconds of this, the guard collapses face first to the dirty alleyway.
"You!" The guard holding Laguna's left arm exclaims. Not concerned over his charge, he releases the dark-haired fighter's arm and advances cautiously on the dark-skinned man. Deftly, Kiros darts forward and makes an almost teasing attempt to slice into the guard's torso; the guard takes a quick step back and manages to avoid this. Laguna, catching on, waits until the guard is close enough to him then throws a sharp kick into the small of the man's back. The guard stumbles forward and Kiros easily manages to bury a dagger in his chest. Grinning, the dark-skinned man turns to the remaining guard. The guard, apparently having had quite enough for one day, abruptly releases Laguna's right arm, takes a quick half step back, glances fearfully at Kiros, then turns tail and runs as quickly as his legs can take him.
"Well, that was fun." Kiros chuckles easily, but his expression makes it clear that it was anything but. He turns to Laguna only to find him gone. "Eh? Where'd he go now?"
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"Raine!" Laguna drops to his knees beside the unconcious woman. With an odd tenderness, he pulls her body across his lap and cradles her upper half in his arms. Gently, he shakes her. "Raine? Raine, are you alright?"
"She'll be fine." Kiros murmurs as he comes to stand behind his friend. Lightly, he allows one of his hands to rest atop Laguna's head. "She was just knocked unconcious, right?" Laguna, stiffening slightly at Kiros' touch, nods silently. "Well, let her get a little sleep and I'm sure she'll be fine."
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Lying on the dingy sheets, Laguna stares listlessly at the pale ceiling hovering just overhead. His soft sapphire eyes are half-shut and pensive. His expression is somewhere between completely neutral and absolutely concerned. Though he tries to prevent it, his mind keeps going back to the earlier events.
A short time later, the dark-haired man is started from a sleep of which he had been unaware. Groaning slightly, he sits up in the sheets and turns his head to the door. For quite a while, he just ponders letting whoever it is just assume that he is asleep or out.
"Hey." A familiar voice calls through the thin wood of the door. "It's Kiros. Let me in, Laguna, ok?"
Kiros. Probably the last person he wants to talk with just now. But, on the other hand, he was responsible for saving Laguna from that band of Esthar soldiers and, indirectly, saving Raine. He can't just let the man stand out in the hall. He'll just make sure that their chat is short and sweet.
"Yea." He calls in answer after a moment. Groaning, he gets to his feet and crosses to the door. "Coming."
After opening the door, Laguna sees his friend into the room. Turning, he perches upon the edge of the bed while Kiros chooses an overstuffed chair by the window. For a short while, neither says anything and the only sound is the yelling of some couple a few rooms down accompanied nicely by the faint sound of far-away gunfire. Oddly, Kiros is the first to break the silence.
"Hey, man." He begins softly, but never loses his slight smile. "How are you feeling? Those Esthar bastards didn't get you, did they?"
"Mm." Laguna, his eyes trained on the stained carpet directly before his feet, slowly shakes his head. "They probably would have, though, if you didn't show up."
"Oh?" Kiros' grin widens as do his soft, dark eyes. "Is that some sort of gratitude coming from Laguna?"
"Hey!" The dark-haired man glances up sharply and offers his friend a brief glare. This lasts only a second or two before the glare breaks into a slanted grin. "I'm perfectly capable of giving thanks when appropriate." To demonstrate, he stands, crosses to his friend, crouches down, and looks almost severely into the other's eyes. "Thank you, Kiros, for helping me and saving Raine."
"Hey, it was no problem." Kiros chuckles and makes a waving away gesture despite the faint hint of rose rising in his dusky cheeks. "I couldn't just have left you there."
"You couldn't?" Grinning, Laguna sits back on his feet and tilts his head in an inquisitive manner. "Seems to me like it'd be a big break for you, getting rid of the obnoxious, air-headed Laguna."
"You may be right." The dark-skinned lad returns Laguna's grin. Perching his elbows on his knees, he leans forward a bit. "But life'd be so much less interesting without you around."
"See?" The dark-haired man grins triumphantly and thrusts a celebatory fist into the air. "Even you admit that I'm worth having around!"
"Of course I do." The other purrs gently as he reaches out and brushes his slender fingers to Laguna's cheek. "I'm sure that I've told you that before."
"I-I don't think so." Laguna chuckles, trying to keep his tone light. This is just like what happened in Raine's bar the other day. Is Kiros just playing around or is this for real? He still can't tell... "I'm sure I would have remembered."
"You think?" Kiros, leaning ever closer, smiles into the never-ending blue of Laguna's eyes. The hand against Laguna's cheek slowly finds its way down the shelf of his jaw then to his neck. Once there, it rubs gently at the tense muscles in an effort to relax the tense ex-soldier. Still holding his friend's gaze, Kiros leans close until the lips of the two men brush. Unsure how to react, Laguna, at first, just sits very still and tries not to disturb the man kissing him. After a second or two of this, the dark-haired warrior falls back in his hurry to get out of the uncomfortable situation. Sprawled on his back, he glances up to Kiros with quite an uncertain expression.
"Uh....I...." Laguna, his face a brilliant shade of red, stammers over his words as he stumbles to his feet. He backs to the door and, upon reaching the knob, nearly tears the door from its hinges. "I think I should go check on Raine..."
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In another room in the same hotel, Raine groans as consciousness painfully reasserts itself. Not bothering to open her eyes, she presses a hand to her forehead, but finds nothing there over which to be concerned. Satisfied, she starts to take a general inventory.
Her head hurts quite badly, especially at the back, and there seems to be something quite sticky back there; it's probably blood, she thinks with a small grimace. The front of her head seems okay, though. Something that feels like a small scratch on her left cheek, but that's nothing to be worried over. Her neck seems alright, as do her arms and her torso. Her legs are a tad sore, but that could just be from all the walking that they had been doing lately. Now satisfied that she's not hurt, she decides to open her eyes and see just where she has ended up.
A rather bland room. A pale, dingy ceiling hanging overhead. A torn and stained carpet underfoot. A single torn, but comfortable looking chair standing in the corner by a window covered with thin white linen. A table beside this that looks as if it has been through many a lost battle. And a door, apparently. Turning towards the knocking sound, she notices a thin wooden door standing guard to her room. It's then that she remembers the circumstances by which she had been knocked unconcious.
Guards or Laguna?
Not wanting to take a chance, she unplugs the squat lamp standing sentry duty on the bedside table and takes it into hand. Silently, she gets to her feet and stands beside the door. After raising the lamp over her head, she carefully swings the door open and allows the waiting figure to enter. She brings the lamp down in a hard arc, but does manage to stop herself before accidentally braining Laguna.
"Eh?" Laguna, his eyes wide, turns to Raine and blinks at the heavy lamp still in her hands."Raine? What are you doing?"
"Oh, er..." Raine quickly blushes and hides the would be weapon behind her back. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Okay, if you insist." The ex-soldier grins slightly as he walks deeper into the room. Crossing, he collapses easily into the tattered chair then turns a concerned glance to Raine. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Who me?" The dark-haired woman grins with an ease that she just doesn't feel as she shuts the door and sets the lamp back onto its table. Sighing, she perches lightly at the edge of the bed. "I'm fine, I guess. Just a little disappointed. I really thought that that old man would help me."
"Yea." Laguna nods ruefully, but never loses his grin. "He really took you in, hook, line, and sinker." Noticing Raine's glare, he colors slightly and rushes to cover his words. "I can understand why you believed him, though. I guess the promise of getting Elle back was just too great."
"Yea." Raine nods slightly and bows her head. Under the light curtain of her dark hair, her eyes peer sadly at the flowered comforter. "Something like that."
"Hey, don't looks so sad!" The dark-haired man exclaims. Quickly, he gets to his feet, crosses to her, and sits upon the bed beside her. Reaching across, he gently lifts her chin, turns her head, and smiles deeply into her eyes. "We'll find Elle in no time and then we can go home and everything'll be back to normal. Really. Everything'll be okay."
"Oh, Laguna..." Raine, her dark eyes soft and shining with pent up tears, smiles faintly. "You sound so sure of yourself, but we don't even know where Ellone is. She might still be in the town under our noses yet what can we do to help her?"
"No, she's not in town anymore." Laguna shakes his head slowly and, when Raine gives him a confused glance, smiles. "Kiros managed to get that from one of the guards. Apparently, she was taken out of town by a man with a strange accent. Your old man told Kiros later that they've probably gone to Fisherman's Horizon."
"Oh, he said that, did he?" The woman grins just a little. "How do you know that the old man isn't just lying further? It doesn't seem like he'd be one to tell the truth so easily.."
"No.." Laguna, paling slightly, shakes his head. "Under the circumstances, I really don't think the old man would have lied."
"Oh." Raine answers in a small voice. Regaining a slight smile, she once more raises her dark eyes to meet those of Laguna. "So, we're going to Fisherman's Horizon, then?"
"Mm." The dark-haired man nods slightly. His eyes are stilled riveted to those of Raine and he finds it hard to look anywhere else but at her. "In the morning."
"In the morning..." She repeats softly as she leans her cheek against Laguna's chest. Allowing her eyes to drift shut, she wraps her arms around his slender waist. "..then let's just forget, tonight."
Chapter 2: "Troubles in Timber"
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Standing just inside the city limits, Raine sighs to herself and wearily eyes the two guards standing at attention. It's not that she didn't know that there would be guards and challenges; it's just she didn't think she'd have two additional problems masquerading as help.
"Only two guards?" Laguna chuckles easily. "Man, I thought they'd have more than that. Maybe they aren't really in town, after all."
"Mm." Kiros nods faintly. "Maybe Ellone isn't that important, so they didn't put as many guards around the town."
"Yea, that must be it." Raine mutters through clenched teeth. "So, what do you two think we should do? What would be the best way to get past those guards?"
"See? Even she agrees." The dark-skinned man chuckles easily and deftly avoids the glare Raine offers him. "Anyway, I think that Laguna and I should be able to take care of the guards without too much difficulty. Right, Laguna?"
"Eh?" After a long moment, the man in question turns a blank look to his fellow warrior. Kiros chuckles at this while Raine's annoyed frown merely deepens. After having the last bit repeated, Laguna grins and nods. "Hey sure. It'll be easy. Elle'll be back in our hands before nightfall."
"I hope your right." Raine murmurs to herself as her eyes study the colorfully-suited Esthar guards standing at attention. "I can't go back on that promise. Not now. Not ever."
"Eh?" Kiros blinks at the woman, but then merely shugs dismissively. None of his business, after all. He turns a familiar grin to Laguna. "Ready to try it out?"
Laguna doesn't answer him, though. He doesn't even turn his attention to his dusky-skinned friend. Instead, his attention is fixed most intensely on the dark-haired woman. His guileless blue eyes search her slightly turned-away face, search her ever-confident posture, but find no trace of the promise to which she had just alluded. It's all new to him. Sure, he always knew that Ellone wasn't Raine biological child, but she would never tell him who the girl's true mother might be. A promise to this unknown other, maybe? Or maybe Raine had been lying about not being Elle's true mother...
"Something wrong, Laguna?" Raine questions him quietly upon noticing his lingering stare. "Aren't you going to help Kiros?"
"Uh..." Laguna responds smartly, before quickly shaking his head and easily regaining his slightly crooked grin. "Of course! I just wanted to ask that you stay here until we take care of the guards. No use getting you involved in such troubles." Without waiting for an aye or nay, he turns and, vaulting the pile of assorted junk behind which they had been squatting, joins his friend in battle.
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Kiros, not all that concerned over the promise that Raine had hinted at, ducks out from behind the shelter of assorted rubbish and, with a practiced casualty, approaches the two guards . As the two come to attention, he notices the strange weapons in each set of hands: a strange mixture of gun and cutting blade, but not really a gunblade. Still, they look like they could do a good deal of damange should it come to that. Swallowing hard, Kiros fights to keep his expression open and neutral.
"Hey, guys!" The dusky-skinned man calls easily as he rasies a single hand in a slight wave. "What's up?"
"Eh?" The guard on the left turns its insect-like head to glance at the newcomer and, behind the protection of its helmet, grins. "What do you here? Don't you know that this town is under Esthar guard?"
"Of course I do." Kiros replies in the same neutral, almost-cheery tone. "You see, I'm a reporter with Timber Mechanics, a popular magazine throughout the land. I was wondering if I could ask you some quesitons."
"Questions?" The guard repeats softly, a hint of interest in his otherwise unaffected tone. "What sort of questions?"
"The usual." The dusky-skinned lad half-shrugs. "How long will you be here? What are your intentions? If you could be any sort of food, what would you be?"
"This is stupid." The second guard grumbles upon realizing the stupidity of his partner.. "Why should we tell anyone, let alone a reporter, the details of our mission? How stupid do you think we are?"
"Hey." The first guard, ignoring his partner, grins and steps closer to the stranger. "So, we'd get, like, world-wide coverage, eh?"
"That's right." Kiros nods firmly. "So, tell me, have you seen a little girl brought into town? She's about this big..." He motions about hip high with his hand. "...dark hair and eyes. Cute smile, though she was probably crying at the time."
"Why do you want to know that?" The second guard growls as he levels his weapon at the stranger. "That's classified information! Who are you, really?"
"A little girl, eh?" The second guard steps in front of his angry partner and seems to mull over the question. "I did see someone like that in town earlier, but I believe she was led out again by a man with a strange accent..."
"Moron!" The first guard exclaims. Not giving any time for more information to be leaked, his finger twitches over the trigger. A loud cough of gunfire explodes the fragile peace of the village. Kiros, lithe as a panther, easily dives out of the way and rolls back to his feet.
"Not bad." The dark-skinned man grins as he draws twin daggers from the belt hanging loosely about his waist. "But I think you've just ruined your chance at an interview."
Kiros deftly leaps forward and raises his left arm in a slashing motion; a hungry gash opens across the dumber guard's chest and wrings a cry from the man's throat. Not yet done, the dark-skinned warrior repeats the movement with his other arm and now a X-shaped wound gapes across the man's chest. The wounded guard utters a harsh cry before falling back a step.
"Kiros!"
A familiar voice calls the warror's name and Kiros turns only to see Laguna finally come to join to battle. Grinning, the warrior lifts a single bloody dagger in something of a welcoming salute before turning back to his prey. Just as he raises his dagger to finish off the dumber guard, he notices a second explosion of gunfire. Before Kiros has time to react to this, he watches the guard he had been intending to kill fall back upon the ground, heave a last strained breath, then move no more.
"Damnit." The remaining guard grumbles to himself before turning his attention to the town proper. At the top of his lungs, he calls into the sleepy burg. "Intruders! Help!"
"Not good." Kiros mutters as he makes a stab at the guard's back. Unfortunately, the guard turns in time to catch this and manages to parry the blow with the bladed part of his weapon. Grunting, Kiros pushes forward against the guard's weapon while bringing his other dagger up into the softness of the guard's stomach. The guard, not expecting this, ends up with a nice slash running from his navel to groin. He groans thickly behind his mask as his hand fumbles down just in time to catch the slippery coils of his gut slipping from his body.
"Let's get out of here, Laguna." Kiros mutters without turning to look at his fellow fighter. "I have a feeling that reinforcements'll be on us any second."
After not getting any answer, Kiros turns to find Laguna in a predicament of his own.
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Raine, seeing that the two men have the guards under fair control, sneaks out from her hiding place and carefully slinks into the town proper. Glancing about herself, the dark-haired woman frowns at the dingy buildings towering over her on every side. There's just so many places where they could hide Elle.
"Stop it." She scolds herself sternly, not realizing that she's speaking aloud or maybe just not caring. "You have to find her. She has to be here somewhere."
Her confidence renewed, Raine casts about for someone from whom to extract some information. Spotting a likely old man, she carefully walks over. The man, in his seventies at the very least, is quite bent and grizzled. His hair is peppered with thin strands clinging uselessly to the dark color of youth. His face is lined with wrinkles and, when he lifts them, she can see that his ice blue eyes are milky and, more than likely, sightless.
"Excuse me." Raine murmurs politely as she offers the man a slightly strained smile. "I was wondering if you could help me..."
"Why?" The man answers gruffly, his voice a mixture of broken glass and gravel. "What do you need?"
"It's my little girl." The dark-haired woman answers in her best broken voice. "She's run away and I can't find her. I was wondering if you might have seen her.."
"I might have." The man answers slowly. A toothless grin slithers across his face and Raine naturally recoils a step or two from the disturbing sight; the man doesn't seem to mind, though. "What's your little brat look like, then?"
"Well, she's about nine years old." Raine answers slowly. "She stands about hip height, slender build, dark hair and eyes."
"Pheh." The old man hacks deep in his throat and spits something truly awful upon the trash strewn ground. "She sounds like any other brat you see running around here. How am I supposed to tell you anything from a description like that?"
"I'm sorry." The woman apologizes through gritted teeth. "I don't know what else I could tell you."
"Details, child, details." The old man hacks again, although this time it's probably meant to be something close to a laugh. "Give me some details and I may be of more help."
"Oh fine." Raine sighs "But I'm sure that I told you everything that could possibly be of any use. I real--"
"No!" The old man shakes his head violently and holds up a gnarled hand to silence her. "That's not what I mean! How stupid are you?! Give me details on how she slipped away from you. Anything odd would be of great help."
"Oh." The woman answers in a small voice. Something about this strange old man really doesn't seem right. "Well, she was taken from my bar a few nights ago. I assumed that she was brought here. She'd probably be in the company of some Esthar guards."
"Esthar guards, eh?" As the man murmurs this, an unsavory sparkle enters his pale icy eyes. Raine, seeing this, gasps and takes a quick step back. Unfortunately, she isn't nearly quick enough; the old man grabs her upper arm in a suprisingly strong grip and holds her close against his withered body. Turning his face, he calls out into the street. "Guards! Guards! I caught the woman! Guards!"
Before Raine has a chance to do much of anything, she turns her head to see a troupe of Esthar guards running towards her. In a desperate attempt for freedom, she mule-kicks the old man holding her. With a grunt, the man releases his grip and the girl is once again free. Unfortunatly, after only taking a step or two, the Esthar guards fall upon her. A sharp pain spreading from the back of her head, Raine falls limply to the ground.
"Hey!" Laguna, having seen all this from a distance, runs over to the fallen girl then turns an angry stare to the gathered guards. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It's none of your business, pal." One of the guards mutters as he bends and attempts to pull Raine to her feet. "You'd best get out of here before we have to carry you off, as well."
Laguna, never one to rely on thought over deed, pulls his gun and squeezes off a few quick shots. One catches the guard bending over Raine in the left temple. Another strikes deep into the chest of a guard standing beside the old man. A third strikes the old man in the shoulder and causes him to reel back a step. Unfortunately, by this time, two guards have managed to sneak up behind the enraged shooter and, with a quick movement, manage to catch either of his arms. His machine gun firing uselessly into the grey sky, Laguna struggles against his captors, but finds himself unable to break free.
"Good work, men." An unscathed guard mutters as he approaches the dark-haired prisoner. "Take care of this one while we take the girl back to headquarters."
Without uttering another word, the guard turns and, stepping over his dead comrade, hefts Raine to her feet. A guard standing nearby catches the quick frustration in the Commander's eyes and takes up position at Raine's other side. The two turn to go when two long daggers bury themselves to the hilt in the back of either guard. After another half-step, the two fall dead and Raine once more crumples to the ground.
"Hey!" The remaining guard not busy with anything else turns only to find himself facing a lithe dark-skinned man weilding an additional two daggers. "Who are--" is all the guard manages to get out before he finds a dagger sticking gibly from his throat. After making a short gurgling noise, the guard falls to his knees. His hands scrabble ineffectively at the hilt of the dagger, but only seem to worsen the wound rather than removing the offending object. After a few seconds of this, the guard collapses face first to the dirty alleyway.
"You!" The guard holding Laguna's left arm exclaims. Not concerned over his charge, he releases the dark-haired fighter's arm and advances cautiously on the dark-skinned man. Deftly, Kiros darts forward and makes an almost teasing attempt to slice into the guard's torso; the guard takes a quick step back and manages to avoid this. Laguna, catching on, waits until the guard is close enough to him then throws a sharp kick into the small of the man's back. The guard stumbles forward and Kiros easily manages to bury a dagger in his chest. Grinning, the dark-skinned man turns to the remaining guard. The guard, apparently having had quite enough for one day, abruptly releases Laguna's right arm, takes a quick half step back, glances fearfully at Kiros, then turns tail and runs as quickly as his legs can take him.
"Well, that was fun." Kiros chuckles easily, but his expression makes it clear that it was anything but. He turns to Laguna only to find him gone. "Eh? Where'd he go now?"
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"Raine!" Laguna drops to his knees beside the unconcious woman. With an odd tenderness, he pulls her body across his lap and cradles her upper half in his arms. Gently, he shakes her. "Raine? Raine, are you alright?"
"She'll be fine." Kiros murmurs as he comes to stand behind his friend. Lightly, he allows one of his hands to rest atop Laguna's head. "She was just knocked unconcious, right?" Laguna, stiffening slightly at Kiros' touch, nods silently. "Well, let her get a little sleep and I'm sure she'll be fine."
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Lying on the dingy sheets, Laguna stares listlessly at the pale ceiling hovering just overhead. His soft sapphire eyes are half-shut and pensive. His expression is somewhere between completely neutral and absolutely concerned. Though he tries to prevent it, his mind keeps going back to the earlier events.
A short time later, the dark-haired man is started from a sleep of which he had been unaware. Groaning slightly, he sits up in the sheets and turns his head to the door. For quite a while, he just ponders letting whoever it is just assume that he is asleep or out.
"Hey." A familiar voice calls through the thin wood of the door. "It's Kiros. Let me in, Laguna, ok?"
Kiros. Probably the last person he wants to talk with just now. But, on the other hand, he was responsible for saving Laguna from that band of Esthar soldiers and, indirectly, saving Raine. He can't just let the man stand out in the hall. He'll just make sure that their chat is short and sweet.
"Yea." He calls in answer after a moment. Groaning, he gets to his feet and crosses to the door. "Coming."
After opening the door, Laguna sees his friend into the room. Turning, he perches upon the edge of the bed while Kiros chooses an overstuffed chair by the window. For a short while, neither says anything and the only sound is the yelling of some couple a few rooms down accompanied nicely by the faint sound of far-away gunfire. Oddly, Kiros is the first to break the silence.
"Hey, man." He begins softly, but never loses his slight smile. "How are you feeling? Those Esthar bastards didn't get you, did they?"
"Mm." Laguna, his eyes trained on the stained carpet directly before his feet, slowly shakes his head. "They probably would have, though, if you didn't show up."
"Oh?" Kiros' grin widens as do his soft, dark eyes. "Is that some sort of gratitude coming from Laguna?"
"Hey!" The dark-haired man glances up sharply and offers his friend a brief glare. This lasts only a second or two before the glare breaks into a slanted grin. "I'm perfectly capable of giving thanks when appropriate." To demonstrate, he stands, crosses to his friend, crouches down, and looks almost severely into the other's eyes. "Thank you, Kiros, for helping me and saving Raine."
"Hey, it was no problem." Kiros chuckles and makes a waving away gesture despite the faint hint of rose rising in his dusky cheeks. "I couldn't just have left you there."
"You couldn't?" Grinning, Laguna sits back on his feet and tilts his head in an inquisitive manner. "Seems to me like it'd be a big break for you, getting rid of the obnoxious, air-headed Laguna."
"You may be right." The dark-skinned lad returns Laguna's grin. Perching his elbows on his knees, he leans forward a bit. "But life'd be so much less interesting without you around."
"See?" The dark-haired man grins triumphantly and thrusts a celebatory fist into the air. "Even you admit that I'm worth having around!"
"Of course I do." The other purrs gently as he reaches out and brushes his slender fingers to Laguna's cheek. "I'm sure that I've told you that before."
"I-I don't think so." Laguna chuckles, trying to keep his tone light. This is just like what happened in Raine's bar the other day. Is Kiros just playing around or is this for real? He still can't tell... "I'm sure I would have remembered."
"You think?" Kiros, leaning ever closer, smiles into the never-ending blue of Laguna's eyes. The hand against Laguna's cheek slowly finds its way down the shelf of his jaw then to his neck. Once there, it rubs gently at the tense muscles in an effort to relax the tense ex-soldier. Still holding his friend's gaze, Kiros leans close until the lips of the two men brush. Unsure how to react, Laguna, at first, just sits very still and tries not to disturb the man kissing him. After a second or two of this, the dark-haired warrior falls back in his hurry to get out of the uncomfortable situation. Sprawled on his back, he glances up to Kiros with quite an uncertain expression.
"Uh....I...." Laguna, his face a brilliant shade of red, stammers over his words as he stumbles to his feet. He backs to the door and, upon reaching the knob, nearly tears the door from its hinges. "I think I should go check on Raine..."
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In another room in the same hotel, Raine groans as consciousness painfully reasserts itself. Not bothering to open her eyes, she presses a hand to her forehead, but finds nothing there over which to be concerned. Satisfied, she starts to take a general inventory.
Her head hurts quite badly, especially at the back, and there seems to be something quite sticky back there; it's probably blood, she thinks with a small grimace. The front of her head seems okay, though. Something that feels like a small scratch on her left cheek, but that's nothing to be worried over. Her neck seems alright, as do her arms and her torso. Her legs are a tad sore, but that could just be from all the walking that they had been doing lately. Now satisfied that she's not hurt, she decides to open her eyes and see just where she has ended up.
A rather bland room. A pale, dingy ceiling hanging overhead. A torn and stained carpet underfoot. A single torn, but comfortable looking chair standing in the corner by a window covered with thin white linen. A table beside this that looks as if it has been through many a lost battle. And a door, apparently. Turning towards the knocking sound, she notices a thin wooden door standing guard to her room. It's then that she remembers the circumstances by which she had been knocked unconcious.
Guards or Laguna?
Not wanting to take a chance, she unplugs the squat lamp standing sentry duty on the bedside table and takes it into hand. Silently, she gets to her feet and stands beside the door. After raising the lamp over her head, she carefully swings the door open and allows the waiting figure to enter. She brings the lamp down in a hard arc, but does manage to stop herself before accidentally braining Laguna.
"Eh?" Laguna, his eyes wide, turns to Raine and blinks at the heavy lamp still in her hands."Raine? What are you doing?"
"Oh, er..." Raine quickly blushes and hides the would be weapon behind her back. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Okay, if you insist." The ex-soldier grins slightly as he walks deeper into the room. Crossing, he collapses easily into the tattered chair then turns a concerned glance to Raine. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Who me?" The dark-haired woman grins with an ease that she just doesn't feel as she shuts the door and sets the lamp back onto its table. Sighing, she perches lightly at the edge of the bed. "I'm fine, I guess. Just a little disappointed. I really thought that that old man would help me."
"Yea." Laguna nods ruefully, but never loses his grin. "He really took you in, hook, line, and sinker." Noticing Raine's glare, he colors slightly and rushes to cover his words. "I can understand why you believed him, though. I guess the promise of getting Elle back was just too great."
"Yea." Raine nods slightly and bows her head. Under the light curtain of her dark hair, her eyes peer sadly at the flowered comforter. "Something like that."
"Hey, don't looks so sad!" The dark-haired man exclaims. Quickly, he gets to his feet, crosses to her, and sits upon the bed beside her. Reaching across, he gently lifts her chin, turns her head, and smiles deeply into her eyes. "We'll find Elle in no time and then we can go home and everything'll be back to normal. Really. Everything'll be okay."
"Oh, Laguna..." Raine, her dark eyes soft and shining with pent up tears, smiles faintly. "You sound so sure of yourself, but we don't even know where Ellone is. She might still be in the town under our noses yet what can we do to help her?"
"No, she's not in town anymore." Laguna shakes his head slowly and, when Raine gives him a confused glance, smiles. "Kiros managed to get that from one of the guards. Apparently, she was taken out of town by a man with a strange accent. Your old man told Kiros later that they've probably gone to Fisherman's Horizon."
"Oh, he said that, did he?" The woman grins just a little. "How do you know that the old man isn't just lying further? It doesn't seem like he'd be one to tell the truth so easily.."
"No.." Laguna, paling slightly, shakes his head. "Under the circumstances, I really don't think the old man would have lied."
"Oh." Raine answers in a small voice. Regaining a slight smile, she once more raises her dark eyes to meet those of Laguna. "So, we're going to Fisherman's Horizon, then?"
"Mm." The dark-haired man nods slightly. His eyes are stilled riveted to those of Raine and he finds it hard to look anywhere else but at her. "In the morning."
"In the morning..." She repeats softly as she leans her cheek against Laguna's chest. Allowing her eyes to drift shut, she wraps her arms around his slender waist. "..then let's just forget, tonight."