Ch 11: Family

Finding Saria with Fox's help, Grey apologizes for not confessing to being her twin brother and relearns the strength of family bonds. Returning to town, Grey finds the rest of the team has caught up.

            Wandering the streets of Halsa, Mythra wiped sweat from her brow and exclaimed, “Jeez it’s hot! It’s a good thing I don’t have to wear that hat around here…” His blue coat draped over his shoulder, Scott nodded in agreement and said, “Good thing I traded in the uniform…” Looking around at the people of the town, Amy quietly said, “Ooooh look at that, are those wings on his head?!” Quickly Mythra scolded her, quietly saying, “Stop that already! We’ll be in trouble if someone hears you!” With an apologetic look, Amy said, “Sorry…” Looking around as well, Scott said, “We’ve been searching for quite a while. I hope the others are having more luck.” Wandering over to a fruit stand suddenly, Mythra said, “Oh, I haven’t had one of these in so long!” Laughing, Scott said, “Maybe we should head back… We did waste time in Vitaeris. I bet Grey and Serius are probably already gone.” With a slightly depressed sigh at not having found Grey, Amy said, “Yeah, I guess we just missed them. Still, I’m surprised to hear there was someone else with them.” Scott also wondered about this, and as Mythra rejoined them with a look of disappointment, unable to buy what she wanted without any of the local currency, he said, “Eh, I’m not all that surprised. Grey’s the kinda guy who makes fast friends. I am wondering what sort of person she’ll be though. All they told us was that it was a halman girl.” As the three started back to meet up with Alexander and Richter, a voice suddenly called out, “What are you three doing here?” Turning to the direction of the familiar voice, they saw Serius standing by the fruit stand Mythra had just left.

            Walking back to the meeting place Alexander had designated when they had split up, Serius and Scott talked while Amy and Mythra munched on the fruit that Serius purchased for them. Stepping into an intersection with a stone water well in the center, Amy and Mythra took a seat against the well as Serius said, “I see. At least now we have a way to get back. It would be more fortunate if not for the recent events…” In concern, Scott quickly asked, “What happened?” Looking out into the desert, Serius replied, “Grey’s sister Saria was kidnapped. He has gone alone into the desert to face the Revenant that has taken her.” Eyes wide in surprise, Scott exclaimed, “Sister?!” Having stopped eating their fruit, Amy and Mythra quickly stood, and Mythra shouted, “Why in the hell did you let him go alone?!” Raising a hand and motioning for them to calm down, Serius said, “Had he not gone alone as ordered, Fox said he would kill her. I am no more pleased than any of you.” Quite concerned, Amy said, “But, is he really going to be ok?! What if it’s a trap?!” Shaking his head, Serius said, “It won’t be a trap. I cannot explain it, but I get the feeling Fox is not interested simply in harming either of them…” Still stuck on it, Scott once again said, “Sister?! Since when does Grey have a sister?!” Before Serius could answer, Richter’s voice called out, “Ah good, it appears you all have had better luck!” Coming up the street, Alexander and Richter walked into the square. Approaching Serius, Alexander grinned and said, “So we meet again!” With a nod, Serius replied, “I gave you my word, did I not?” Looking around for someone he would’ve expected to see, Alexander said, “I see Grey is not with you. I assume there’s been a development?” Before Serius could explain things again, Amy exclaimed, “Grey went to fight a Revenant in the desert!” Then, Mythra quietly said, “Alexander…” Alexander saw her staring at him with a serious look as she said, “He’s gone to save his sister.” Alexander stared back silently.

            Helping Fox through the desert towards the mountain north of the oasis, Grey muttered, “I’m beginning to think it’d been better for both of us if you’d stayed back at the oasis…” Laughing weakly as he staggered along, Fox replied, “Hey, I’m lucky to be alive after a battle with He of the Infinite! You didn’t go easy on me now, did ya?” Grey sighed in irritation, muttering, “Just walk. I set your ribs with telekinesis. I don’t remember your legs being broken.” Stumbling a bit, Fox said, “Yeah, well that’s the funny thing about my Arma Fusile. Use it too long and there’s a chance it’ll weaken my body, and that’s not even considering all the Corrupted EDE I used back there…” Clutching his head with his free hand, Grey said, “You really are nuts aren’t you?!” As they were almost at the mountain at last, Grey hesitantly asked, “Hey Fox… I don’t suppose you know if Saria caught what you said in the bar?” After a moment, Fox nodded and said, “Yeah. She wouldn’t stop bugging me about it, so I told her. Sorry…” Heaving a sigh, Grey replied, “It’s my fault for not telling her anyways. I thought I’d put my past behind me for the most part, but the thought of explaining to her why our parents had to die…” Looking over at Grey with a smirk as he hobbled along, Fox said, “I’m not fishing for any apologies here, but if I were in her shoes, I’d be happy just to know my brother was still alive…” Though he still had some worries about facing Saria, Grey found Fox’s words somehow encouraging. 

Spying the cave he assumed was Fox’s hideout, Grey marched on with renewed strength. Breaking away from Grey as they reached the cave, Fox sat beside the entrance and said, “I’ll give you two a bit of alone time.” Walking into the cave, he found it was a hidden ruin of some sort, the inside like that of a building, with actual walls and ceilings. Passing through a short hallway and stepping through a stone doorway, Grey came out into a large, spacious chamber lit by EDE powered lamps where Saria lay asleep next to the remains of an extinguished campfire in the center of the room. Walking over to her, Grey knelt and gently shook her. Opening her eyes and quickly sitting up, she started to exclaim, “Broth…!” Stopping herself quickly, Saria tried to correct herself as she instead said, “H-hero…” Unable to face her, Grey turned away and said, “I’m sorry. I should have told you the moment I found out.” Also feeling unable to face him, Saria said, “So… mom and dad…?” Slowly, Grey said, “Killed by Altera Veritas… because I was born He of the Infinite…” Tears welling up in her eyes, Saria muttered, “Stupid!” Turning to her in surprise just as she grabbed him in a hug, Grey was speechless as she said, “How can you say that?! It’s not your fault brother, it’s not!” As she sobbed, Grey was fighting back tears himself as he held her and quietly said, “Thank you…”

            Exiting the hidden ruin, as Saria saw Fox, she hid behind Grey and said, “I-it’s…! W-what’s he doing here?!” Laughing nervously, Grey replied, “Don’t worry about it. We kinda sorted things out…” Rising slowly, Fox said, “Yep. I’m cool, don’t worry. Still, I really owe you an apology Saria. I hadn’t planned on going that far, but I realized that hotshot here wouldn’t give me his all if I didn’t set the stakes high…” Saria still remained standing behind Grey. Deciding to let them work it out, Grey said, “So you really think you can make it back to town like this Fox?” Shaking his head, Fox said, “Not if we’re walking. Let’s take my hover cycle. If you can drive it, I’ll sit in the sidecar and Saria can sit behind you.” Following him to the hover cycle, which he revealed by pulling a desert camouflage tarp off of it, as they took their seats upon it, Grey said, “Where’d you get something like this anyway? I haven’t seen a lot of hover cars and hover cycles here on Gaia.” Leaning back in the sidecar as Grey started the hover cycle up, Fox said, “Yeah, well this continent, Nendonn, is still developing really. Most of the halman and demonfolk population is over on the continent of Lacra. The Halman government is a theocracy, ruled by Nicholas Adeodatus V, the High Priest of the Church of Light. They’re a major player in this world, mostly cause of how they hoard any human technology they unearth for themselves. They have a handful of settlements here on Nendonn, but mostly just farming villages founded by explorers and the like who left everything behind in search of opportunity in other lands. They got plenty of conveniences back in Halsa, but the catch is they’re a little expensive. Halsa was founded by a halman merchant, but it accepts all who want to do business, and even being by a desert it’s in a good location to trade with the halman settlements, the elves, heck sometimes you’ll even see the reclusive high elves, who split off from traditional elven society to worship the mautauians.” 

Amazed he knew so much, as Saria got on and held onto him, Grey started driving them back to Halsa as he said, “Do all the different races of this world get along? I mean I know there’s discrimination against half-breeds but-” Interrupting him with a burst of laughter, Fox said, “Get along? Fat chance! The elves may do business with the halmans, but they don’t like visitors in their territory. The high elves especially would probably kill you on the spot if you came anywhere near the ‘holy grounds’ of Nisorell without a mandate from the High Priest of the Church of Light himself. The dragons in Rusfa Isles are pretty self sufficient and hardly ever interact with the outside world. Most sprites are wary of the other races and prefer to either stay hidden in their own little hollows or live together under the rule of the Fairy Queen on Mystic Isle, and while the halmans and demonfolk have a tense coexistence going on thanks to some treaty signed way back when, each is greatly mistrustful of the other. Strangely though, out of reverence for Angelorum Lux, you won’t find much discrimination against energists. Oh, and while I’m at it, I may as well tell you that here on Gaia, a lot of half-breeds are pushed into slavery or indentured servitude.” Turning to look at him in disbelief, Grey exclaimed, “Slavery?!” Nodding grimly, Fox said, “Yep. You won’t see it out in the open too often though. Thanks to Angelorum Lux, it’s technically outlawed to enslave another person no matter what their race. But when it comes down to it, selling themselves into slavery is really the only way some of the half-breeds can get by.” Grey sighed as he continued to guide them back to town, thinking, “If it’s not one thing it’s another…”

            Returning to Halsa after the sun had already set, Grey drove the hover cycle through the thinning crowds towards the inn. Glancing at Fox, who sat in the sidecar clutching his chest, Grey said, “You may have brought it on yourself, but we’ll have Serius look at those injuries Fox.” Making light of his condition, Fox laughed weakly and replied, “Get me a Flamberge and I’ll be fine…” As they were coming down the street towards the inn, a voice suddenly called out, “Hey! Heyyyy!” The hover cycle jerked to a halt and Grey’s eyes went wide as he saw Scott at the stairs of the inn, shouting and waving at him. He rushed over as Grey and Saria got off the hover cycle, and with a big grin, Scott said, “Surprised?” Staring at him a moment, Grey grinned back and said, “Just a little… How in the hell did you get here?! Don’t tell me everyone’s here too?!” Nodding, Scott said, “Yep! Well, Schmitt and Rufus stayed behind on this one, but everyone else came along. Everyone except Amy and me are off trying to find some transportation to go look for you. Amy’s in bed right now though. I told her not to sit out here in the hot sun like that, but she’s been really worried about you. She got kinda dizzy, so I made her go lay down.” Concerned, Grey looked in the direction of the inn and said, “Are you sure she’s alright? Maybe we should have Alexander or Mythra take a look at her…” Then remembering Fox and his injuries, Grey said, “I’ve got an injured friend here as well, I…” Grey trailed off and looked over at Saria as she tugged at his jacket. With an encouraging smile, Grey said, “Relax, this is Scott. He’s one of my friends from Teramis.” Turning to Scott, Grey said, “I guess I never told you, but I have a twin sister. We just bumped into each other out of nowhere. Her name’s Saria, and she’s kinda shy sometimes…” Saria looked offended at Grey’s comment, but quickly turned her gaze to Scott as he smiled and said, “Yeah, Serius told us about you. It’s nice to finally meet you!” Blushing, Saria said, “N-nice to meet you…” With a sly grin on his face, Fox called out, “Hey! Not gonna introduce your buddy Fox?!” Clutching his head with a sigh, Grey muttered, “Scott, Fox. Fox, Scott.” With an indignant look, Fox shouted, “Hey!” Scott simply laughed and thought, “Grey really is the kinda guy that makes fast friends…”

            After they got Fox to a bed, Scott left to go find the others. Standing outside the door of the room where Amy was resting, Grey said to Saria, “You mind waiting here? This’ll just be a sec.” As Saria nodded in acknowledgement, Grey turned to the door and knocked. Before long, he heard Amy reply, “It’s open.” Opening the door, Grey slowly stepped inside. Sitting on the bed, Amy’s jaw dropped as he walked into the room and said with a grin, “Hey.” Quickly Amy stood, but clearly was still dizzy and began to teeter over. Grey rushed to her side and caught her as he exclaimed, “Woah, take it easy!” Holding onto him, Amy said, “I was so worried!” Grey could see she was fighting back tears. Smiling in spite of himself, Grey said, “You’re not the only one…” Helping her sit down on the bed again, Grey sat beside her and tried to calm her down, saying, “You don’t have to worry anymore, ok? I’m still in one piece, see?” Wiping her eyes, Amy nodded and said, “Yeah. I’m ok now…” Nodding in approval, Grey said, “Good. You should get some rest. We can catch up once you feel a bit better.” Rising from the bed, he added, “After I talk to the others, I think I’ll need some rest too…” As they said goodnight to each other, Grey turned to go. As he reached the door though, Amy said, “Oh Grey! Say hi to your sister for me!” Looking back, Grey grinned and said, “Will do.” Stepping out into the hall, Grey was met by Saria, who stared suspiciously at him. Closing the door behind him, Grey said, “What?” Turning her gaze to the door, Saria said, “Is she… your girlfriend?” Turning red, Grey stammered, “W-well, I mean… That was…” Thinking quickly, Grey turned his head to look down the hall and said, “I think I hear Scott and the others!” As he hurried down the hall, Saria smiled to herself and thought, “Yep.”

            Stepping out of the inn and heaving a sigh of relief at having escaped, Grey looked up as Alexander called out, “Ah, speak of the devil. It’s good to see you’re doing well Grey.” Walking up to the inn with the others, Alexander beamed at him and added, “Then again, I didn’t expect any less from you.” Rushing up to Grey, Mythra grabbed his arm and said, “Hi Grey! Did you miss me?” Laughing nervously, Grey muttered, “Here I thought you’d finally stopped doing that…” Pouting, Mythra said, “Humph, and here I went through so much trouble to make a portal here just to make sure you were ok!” Eyes wide, Grey exclaimed, “You can do that?!” Richter laughed and bluntly said, “She nearly blew up her house in the process…” Mythra shot an angry glare at Richter, and he quickly added, “Truly though, it’s quite the amazing talent isn’t it?” Nodding, Serius said, “It will certainly save us the trouble of looking for the Seeker.” Beaming, Grey exclaimed, “Awesome! That means all that’s left is to get back and stop Altera Veritas once and for all!” Raising a hand before him, Alexander motioned for him to slow down as he said, “Just hold on. We need to consider our course of action a bit more carefully. While we were able to rescue her, Alastor captured Amy and used her to break the Seal of Memories. He will not be making any moves personally after the blow Amy dealt him, but once he has recovered, he will have adjusted to his newly unsealed powers…” Thinking he’d heard wrong, Grey said, “The blow that Amy dealt him?” Alexander simply grinned and said, “Do not underestimate her Grey. The original Sage of Memories was no pushover, and once she has developed her powers, Amy will likely be just as strong if not stronger…” As Grey struggled to take this in, still standing beside him, Mythra yawned and said, “I think it’s about time for bed.” In wholehearted agreement, Richter said, “I think we all could use some rest.” While everyone else began heading for bed, Alexander suddenly said, “Grey…” Turning to look back at him, Grey said, “What’s up?” Walking up to him, Alexander adjusted his shades and replied, “If it’s not too much trouble, I would like to meet your sister…”

            Having booked much of the inn at this point, as everyone was getting the rooms straight, Saria peeked out at them all from her own room, thinking, “T-these are all Grey’s friends?” Then seeing Alexander and Grey coming, she quickly closed the door and moved over to sit on the bed. As Grey knocked, she called out, “Uhh, yes?” Grey replied, “It’s me. Sorry, but I’ve got someone here who wants to meet you.” Nervously, she replied, “Oh, ok…” Grey opened the door and he and Alexander stepped in. Finding Alexander a rather imposing figure, yet strangely familiar, Saria stayed silent as he stared at her for a moment. Then with a somewhat sad smile, Alexander said, “You look just like your mother…” Saria’s eyes went wide and she said, “Y-you knew mom?” Grey was also quite surprised. Walking over to stare out the window on the wall across from the door, Alexander said, “I was the one who came and rescued you and Grey. I… I failed to save your parents… I’m sorry.” Saria took this in silently, while Grey said, “Alexander…” Turning to face them, Alexander seemed to be struggling with himself as he said, “I decided to hide Grey in Teramis, and placed Saria in an orphanage here on Gaia. I’m truly sorry… For everything…” With that he quickly walked out of the room, Grey calling after him, “Wait a sec!” He was already gone though. Turning to Saria, Grey said, “Don’t hate Alexander. I know he did all he could for us back then. Without him, we’d be…” Nodding, Saria quietly said, “He sounded really troubled…” Then shooting him a nervous glance, she added, “Sorry Grey, but I’m a little tired…” Managing a smile, Grey said, “Alright. Goodnight Saria.” As he left the room, Saria turned out the lights and went to bed. Lying in bed for a while, she thought, “That man… I know him, but more than just having met him. It’s almost like he was family…”