Ch 21: Scott and Saria's Misadventure!

Following after Scott in the hopes of getting to know him better, Saria nearly turns back when she suddenly ends up defending a young half halman boy from a group of angry villagers.

            The problem of the broken transport looking almost solved, Dewie said to Scott, “Thanks again! I’ll go go go and look for those parts right now!” As he started closing up the panel on the hover transport, Mana quickly interjected, “Oh, sorry Dewie but first we need to get everyone to the inn. They need to rest up for the faire tonight.” Stuffing the tuning tool into a pocket in his baggy pants, Dewie replied, “Sure sure sure! It’s just down the street.” As Dewie moved to lead the way, Scott, despite being somewhat tired, said, “Hey Dewie, you want some help fixing the transport?” Surprised, Dewie said, “If you want want want, I’m more than happy to have some help!” Not sure about this idea, Mythra crossed her arms and said, “Scott, I know you like this mechanical stuff, but don’t push yourself too much. We all should get some rest after the all nighter we just pulled.” Waving away her concerns, Scott grinned and said, “I’ll be fine. It’ll go faster with both of us anyways.” Feeling guilty at the thought of having him do so much for the troupe, Mana said, “Well, if you’re sure you’re ok. You really don’t have to though, you’ve already done so much.” Appreciative of her concern, Scott nevertheless said, “Like Mythra said, I like this stuff! I’ll get the parts while Dewie takes you all back, so just leave things to me!” Seeing he would not be swayed, Serius connected with Scott’s mind telepathically and said, “Very well, just make sure you’re careful Scott. Going around on your own, your appearance may attract unwanted trouble. Just remember, here you are not human, you’re a half human. I’ll leave the rest of your cover story to you.” Understanding, Scott met Serius’ gaze and simply nodded.

            As Scott headed off to search for parts, Saria stood staring after him. Everyone else leaving with Dewie, as Mana noticed her standing there, she walked back to her and said, “You know, if you go with him you could ask him to the faire while you’re alone with each other!” Turning about to face her, a flustered Saria said, “N-no, I really can’t…” Sighing, Mana asked, “Why not?” Her face bright red, Saria fidgeted as she said, “We only just met. It’d be weird…” Thinking a moment, Mana finally said, “That settles it then! If that’s the problem then you should take this chance and get to know him! You go follow after Scott, I’ll come up with an excuse for you!” Shocked, Saria panicked as she tried to find the words to tell Mana she couldn’t go through with such a thing, but Mana had already hurried after the others. Left standing there, Saria hesitantly looked back and forth between the direction Scott had gone and the direction everyone else had headed in. Finally heaving a sigh, Saria thought, “Stupid Mana… If she’s already telling everyone I’m going with Scott, I don’t have any choice…” Slowly and hesitantly, she started after Scott, who had headed north up the street. Walking for awhile, as she crossed a bridge over a canal that ran underneath the street, Saria was starting to get concerned, as she still had not caught sight of him again. Coming to an intersection, she saw that the only thing further north was a rather high class looking neighborhood, in which resided the great mansion visible from all the way down by the park. Looking around, Saria thought to herself, “It’d be a big problem if I got lost…” Finally deciding it was for the best, she turned around and muttered, “I guess I’ll just say I couldn’t find him. It’s true after all…”

            Suddenly someone cried out, “Stop thief!” Turning in the direction of the commotion, Saria saw a young boy, perhaps around eleven, running from a group of several male halman townsfolk. He had messy blue hair, blue eyes, and a pair of halman ears. Wearing a blue sleeveless coat with white designs, a faded blue t-shirt, blue shorts, and black armwraps and sandals, the boy was racing down the street from the east in her direction. Reaching the intersection, the boy kept running as he reached the street, and Saria gasped as he ran right into the path of an oncoming hover car. Flinching as she saw him about to get hit, Saria did not see the boy jump onto the hover car’s hood and leap off, and opened her eyes just as the boy shouted at her, “Outta the way!” Sailing through the air at her, the boy collided with Saria and they both collapsed to the ground. Struggling up into a sitting position, the boy lying in her lap, Saria found the both of them surrounded by angry townsfolk. One of the men shouted, “This is what we get for putting up with a half-breed! I don’t care if you are a kid, I’m turning you in this time!” Unsure what to do, Saria stammered, “P-please wait, what’s going on? I don’t know what he did, but he’s still just a child!” Sitting up as well, the boy turned to the townsfolk and said, “Fine, you caught me! Take your stupid money!” Tossing a bag of coins at one of the townsfolk, the boy turned to Saria and quietly said, “Sorry lady, but for your own good, just stay out of this.” Suddenly one of the men grabbed him by the arm and said, “You think you can get out of this like that?! Get up, we’re taking you to the city guard!” As the man tried to pull him up, Saria grabbed the boy in her arms, trying to protect him as she exclaimed, “I said wait! You can’t do this!” Letting go of the boy’s arm, the man said, “Stupid girl, this kid is just a thieving half-breed!” Another said, “Yeah, why are you standing up for him? He’s done this several times now, and he’ll just do it again!” Holding tight to the boy, Saria thought, “What do I do?! I can’t just let them arrest a kid, but how can someone like me do anything to protect him?!”

            Stepping out the door of a nearby building, having been asking around for directions to a boating supplies store, as Scott turned his head to see the scene unfolding at the intersection, he called out, “What’s going on over there?” All heads turned to Scott as he approached, and feeling a wave of hope wash over her, Saria exclaimed, “Scott!” Blinking in surprise, Scott looked down at her sitting there with the boy in her arms and said, “Saria? What are you doing here? Who’s this kid?” One of the angry townsfolk replied, “He’s Jet Black, the half-breed who’s been pickpocketing people around town lately. His folks passed away a year ago, but he won’t go to an orphanage. Always skulking about that old warehouse like some hoodlum, and now he’s turned to thieving.” A serious look on his face as he understood the all too familiar situation, Scott said, “I’m sure you all are upset, but if you’ve gotten your money back, can’t you just let him go this time? A kid in his situation, it’s not so surprising he’d make such a mistake. What he really needs is someone to set him straight.” Sneering, one of townsfolk replied, “What, are you gonna take on the responsibility of reforming him? What are you anyhow? Another half-breed like him?” Gritting his teeth in frustration, Scott finally said, “Look, what matters is he doesn’t do it again right? I’ll take responsibility, so just lay off him alright?” Grumbling, the townsfolk finally started to go their way, but one turned back and said, “Fine, but we’d better not catch him thieving again or it’s gonna be on all your heads!”

            Watching them take their leave, Saria heaved a sigh of relief. Then Jet looked up at her, his face somewhat red, and said, “Um, lady… Could you let go? My face is kinda in your chest…” Blushing a bit as well, Saria released him and said, “S-sorry!” As both of them stood up, Scott looked to Saria and again asked, “Saria, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be back at the inn resting?” Blushing more as she remembered the purpose for which Mana had sent her after him, Saria struggled to give an excuse as she sputtered, “W-well I w-was just… I th-thought maybe… I thought you might need help carrying something…?” Surprised, Scott laughed and said, “Oh, thanks for the thought but I’m pretty sure I can handle it. I was having more trouble with getting some directions, but I finally managed to find someone who knew where I can get what we need. Do you want me to take you back before I go check it out?” Relieved he’d bought her flimsy excuse, Saria shook her head and said, “N-no, I’ll go too… But, what do we do about…” Trailing off as she stared at Jet, who had been standing there silently, Saria knew all too well the hardships he must be enduring. The hardships of discrimination. Looking to Jet as well, Scott said, “Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve seen this kind of thing a lot back in my days as a member of the Special Forces. I can relate to the kind of hardships you’re going through Jet, but stealing is really only going to get you into more trouble.” Curious about Scott’s past, Saria asked, “Special Forces?” Before Scott could say anything though, Jet looked at him angrily and shouted, “You can relate?! What makes you think you know about me?!” Smiling sadly, memories of his own world and its twisted state washing over him, Scott said, “I guess it’s natural that those words would make you upset, but I really do know a thing or two about it. Being looked down on, being treated unfairly. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen kids your age out on the streets, living with just the clothes on their backs, with no one to depend on but themselves…” Looking away from Scott defiantly, Jet muttered, “Humph! Even if you are another half-breed, don’t start thinking you know anything about me…” Taking off suddenly, Jet sped past Scott and ran off down the street heading west out of the intersection. Staring after him, Saria’s ears drooped sadly as she wondered if he’d really be alright.

            Making their way down the street heading west as well, the shop they were seeking being in the same direction that Jet had run off in, as Scott and Saria walked, Saria trailed behind as she struggled to think of something to talk about. She quickly looked up in surprise though as Scott started the conversation himself, saying, “I guess it’s more than just the surroundings, there are a lot of similarities and differences between the people of this world and mine to think about…” Remembering what she’d tried to ask before, Saria said, “Um, if it’s ok, could you tell me a bit about Teramis? You said you were part of something called Special Forces?” Looking back at her, a bit embarassed by her apparent interest, Scott said, “Yeah, it sounds impressive I guess, but to be honest I hated it for the most part.” Her ears drooping sadly, Saria quickly said, “I’m sorry…” Just as quickly, Scott said, “No, don’t worry about it. You see, on Teramis there’s a ruling system called The Guild. The laws they have in place discriminate against energists like me, forcing them to live in Sanctuaries where nobles called Governors abuse their power and limit the opportunities for energists who live there. Energists who live in Sanctuaries can either struggle to get by or they can join the Special Forces, an organization that acts like a government army and enforces the laws in place that oppress energists in the first place.” Having listened intently, Saria hesitantly asked, “If you hated it so much… why did you join?” Unsure as to how much Grey would have wanted him to tell her, Scott said, “Well…” As Saria stared back at him expectantly, Scott sighed and continued, “Because the Special Forces also fights against Altera Veritas. Your brother Grey and I, we grew up together. Then three years ago, Altera Veritas attacked our village, one of the only Sanctuaries that treated its people fairly. They kidnapped your brother, and made everyone believe he was dead. That’s the main reason why I joined up and became the Thunderfury Energist. To pay Altera Veritas back for killing him…”

            Coming to a halt, Saria said, “Th-they kidnapped Grey?!” Stopping and turning to look at her, Scott nodded and said, “Yeah. I don’t know if I should tell you this, but I think you should know some of it so there isn’t a misunderstanding later. Grey’s foster parents were killed in that attack, and they used that to brainwash him. They made him kill a lot of people against his will, and when he finally escaped them, he was ready to sacrifice himself to make up for it. Your brother has suffered more than anyone at the hands of Altera Veritas, and as his friend I couldn’t stay a member of the group trying to arrest him. That’s how I joined up with Angelorum Lux, and even despite losing all the work I did under the Special Forces to start the Equality of Mankind movement, I don’t regret it. Now that he’s been cleared, we’re gonna stop Altera Veritas! After that, I guess I’ll just start over and try again to make people understand that discrimination is wrong.” Her feeling of shock at the revelation of her brother’s nightmarish experiences mixing with her ever growing admiration and respect for Scott, Saria mumbled something which Scott was only able to hear part of. Hesitantly, he asked, “Did you say something Saria? I couldn’t really hear you…” Turning her gaze to the ground and blushing, Saria said, “All of you are such incredible people, especially compared to someone like me…” Walking up to her suddenly, Saria was surprised again as Scott placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “Hey, don’t think like that. After all you’ve been through as a half-human, all alone in this world, I’m sure it wasn’t easy either right? Despite that, you’re a nice enough person that you stepped in to protect that little boy from those townspeople. That’s pretty incredible in my book!” Certain her face was beat red, Saria could only stand there speechless, and as he released her shoulder, Scott simply grinned and said, “Now let’s go get some parts! I’m sure Dewie’s waiting for us.” Following after him slowly as he began on his way again, Saria thought to herself, “He thinks someone like me is incredible? I… I’ve never felt so happy…”

Author's Note

Originally titled as a extra chapter, it still hinges into the story completely. I simply wound up writing it after the fact to fill in certain things for later.