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Turned On	By : blackwaltz0 Category: +M through R > Phantasy Star Views: 2172 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantasy Star, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 16
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(A/N: Why do I pace so sloowly? Arghibibble� *Kills self*)

The team passed through the town of Meese together on their way to the ice digger left idling outside the village limits, walking single file, some wondering if they were marching off to their deaths. It wasn't an exceptionally new thing they were feeling, most of them had felt the same cold, girdling belt about their stomachs as they had navigated their way through Nurvus to find Zio, or had braved the madness-bent machines of Kuran to exterminate Dark Force. Chaz in particular thought that he should have gotten used to the feeling by now, but there was no getting used to the fear of death; it would haunt Chaz in all the moments of danger for the rest of his life.

Alys had taught him that there was no shame in feeling fear, that everybody got afraid once in awhile. Alys in her strong words, her proud statue she spoke of the importance and trial of experiencing fear. To rise up against a foe and stand immovable with no fear in your heart was true bravery. There was pride in bravery, but to rise up against a foe and stand immovable with terror clawing at your heart and your knees shaking was true courage. Bravery did indeed have pride, but courage bore honor.

It was rare to see pure displays of bravery anymore. Chaz for one was terrified every time a gigantic biomonster lumbered its way towards him in the field, or whenever he considered the idea that he and his party were Algo's only chance for salvation. If they fell then Algo was doomed, the tens of thousands of people in their worlds would be doomed. But courage was being really, truly afraid of something and doing it anyway. Chaz marched on, between Rika and Rune.

Rika's lovely pink hair was becoming snow-encrusted already. He was watching it wave to and fro as she walked in front of him, and because the numan girl was a little taller than he Chaz wanted to reach up and shake the snowflakes away. She would jump though, if he touched her, and then he'd have to try and explain his actions somehow. Chaz kind of wished that he was a little taller. If he had the height to look down on her than maybe he'd also have the confidence to tell her how he felt. The hunter frowned slightly. A week or two ago he had had this pre-rehearsed speech in his head detailing exactly how he felt about her, but now he couldn't quite remember how it went.

This was very odd because he had gone over it so many times, almost ad infinitum. A lot of things were on his mind right now, like the magician Lassic, so maybe he needed to focus on that first. The day was cold, the air crisp like a thin-shaven icicle, and soon enough, half a day away he'd have the full length of his laconia sword jammed straight into Lassic's bleeding ribcage. Optimism was the key!

"How long do you think it should take to reach the Air Castle?" Rune asked from near the back of the line, between Chaz and Kyra. He wanted to stick close to the esper girl and make sure that she remained okay. Kyra was young and new to this whole 'battle against the darkness' thing, which made it his responsibility as her spiritual leader to show her the way. There were more reasons, ones that they other three would never know about too.

"If conditions remain optimal I'd say about seven to eight hours." Wren answered from the front of the marching order, using a strange mix of his usual big words in an unusually relaxed manner. It was just a matter of retracing their tracks back to the Tyler spaceport and taking the Landale from there. Rune groaned anyway from the large expression of time, most of which would be spent in boredom. It was the awful hidden secret of the adventurer. For every five minutes of adrenaline-pumping crazed action, there were a dozen hours of endless slogging and impatience, lonely sentry duties and wasted time.

As they passed by the entrance to the healing house someone threw the main doors open. The green-haired esper from the day earlier stepped out of the building, somebody who Kyra knew personally. "Eugene!" She exclaimed with surprise, and Rune subconsciously moved in front of Kyra to block her from his view. Eugene didn't seem to be paying any special kind of attention to Kyra however, he looked to Chaz and his company as one.

He was slightly out of wind and frazzled, watching the small group of warriors stop before him. "Ah, thank the Light you guys are still here! I thought we might have missed you! Then I'd never hear the end of it." He laughed breathlessly.

"What do you want?" Rune demanded, wary.

Eugene picked Chaz out as the leader and addressed him instead. He didn't really understand how he knew that Chaz was their leader, he just did. The boy looked interested in what he had to say but was also impatient to go. Well, they couldn't leave until his job was done. "I have something for you." He said mysteriously, stepping out of the doorway and into the snow, to the side. "We organised it this morning. If you're going on a journey then somebody wants to say goodbye to you."

Three people shuffled into the doorway. Two were the blonde twin nurses from the second floor, the lovely Johari and Nohari, and the third, supported by the nurses and also leaning on a cane, was Raja. He looked so excessively old now, bent over like a hunchback and relying on those supports, but it was Raja and he was out of bed, alive. The dezorian priest raised his head to look at his friends and grinned weakly. The smile was that of a mischievous joker, braving the odds.

"Raja�" Rika said in amazement, but her eyes were filled with concern. The nurses seemed like they could handle him okay, but to the five adventurers about to go and battle the darkness again Raja looked like he was a leaf about to blow over.

The priest's words were rough, yet warm. "I just came to wish you all luck and stretch my legs a bit. I was getting sick and tired of that old bed. Come back once you've pulled down the Garuberk tower and I'll dance a jig for you, hornpipe and all." Raja raised a long-fingered hand to his mouth and coughed, his whole body trembling. The nurses each kept an eye on him, perhaps judging when to guide him away from his friends. It was too cold for his blighted body outside of the healing house, out in the ice and snow.

Chaz spoke for all of them and made his voice strong. He could do this easier now knowing that people believed in him and were trusting him too. Here was Raja as well, willing to toss his priestly belief onto the pile. It was amazing how much of a difference unity could make. "I promise you that we'll do our best. We'll die trying, if we have to."

Raja stopped smiling. "Don't say things like that, boy. Life's too precious to just throw away. You do your best, just as you say, but don't you dare get your fool selves killed. I'll be praying for you all the same. Rika," he focussed on the numan girl who looked back at him dutifully, "remember that when the chips are down and you need faith the most, you remember that I'm praying for ya. Right?"

She understood him well, nodding resolutely. Raja seemed satisfied with that. He sighed tiredly and all the rebellion flowed out of his body, leaving a sick old man behind. He so dearly wanted to be part of the fight and struggle itself, like when they had fought ruthlessly on Kuran, but that just didn't seem to be in the cards today. "Alright," Raja sighed with great resignation, "off you go then. I'm going back to my bed now. Coming downstairs completely wiped me out. Lovely ladies, take me home."

The old man grinned again as he finished speaking, letting his twin nurses lead him away. Raja was still the devious lecher, if only for the amusement and fun. Rika looked so saddened as she watched him leave. She feared that just maybe, if they did not move fast enough she would lose an adopted grandfather. She couldn't stand to see any more sacrificed people in her life, not after Seed, and not after Alys.

The esper Eugene went to follow the nurses and their patient but he stopped himself before he went inside. He studied Rune very carefully, as if he were sizing him up for their next great task. The Lutz tried to take the examination in silent stride. "Um� Rune? I don't know you that well and I probably have no idea about what you guys will be up against, but you have to promise me something before you go. Promise me that you'll take care of Kyra, that you won't let anything bad happen to her. She means the world to me."

Kyra appeared horrified by this honest admission and stuck her tongue out childishly at Eugene, blowing him a reasonably wet raspberry. She knew that she wasn't a weakling and she could take care of herself. Kyra really did like the Lutz standing beside her a little more than was considered proper, but she wanted him as a friend and companion, not as some haughty guardian. Rune however seemed to consider the plea seriously. He had been planning on doing that anyway so there was no problem. "Yeah, okay." He agreed at last with a casual half nodding of his head.

Chaz snickered impishly and made a long drawn-out; "Oooooooo�" sound to Rune and Kyra, grinning like a brat, before Rune took annoyed offence to that and whacked the boy over the head with his staff. The magician looked none too amused but the sound of Chaz whimpering in mild pain set him right again. The green-haired man bowed to the party and took his leave, getting back to the duties of managing all the espers in the healing house.

"What is the correlation between that esper and Kyra anyway?" Wren asked politely to no one in particular as the door clicked closed, addressing the question to the air. He had wanted to know the answer the night before but Kyra hadn't been around to reply.

"Oh, I didn't tell any of you?" The girl inquired with a surprised look on her face. She could have sworn that she had, but maybe she had assumed the others just knew already. That was one of the big problems with being a gossip at heart, it was hard to keep track of all the information passing by. Kyra touched the tip of her index finger to her chin as she thought. "Eugene is my oldest childhood friend. We've known each other since before we could even talk. A long time ago we were supposed to be arranged to be married, but we both thought it was the stupidest idea in the world. I love him, but not in that way. Ugh, that would be just like dating your big brother!"

She began to laugh. Oh, so that was why Rune seemed so much more laid-back when compared to last night. Chaz would have found it to be very cute if it had been anybody other than Rune. The hunter wanted to say something witty and sharp to his magician friend but if he did he was certain he'd get another whack to the back of the head. He kind of didn't need a headache or brain damage today. "Now's your chance Rune, go for it!" He settled for instead.

But that race had already been run and judged long ago. Rune didn't take the bait, he just smirked smugly at his leader from his place standing in the snow. Meanwhile Rika was rubbing her arms briskly, trying to garner heat back into them. "Can we go to the ice digger now? I just keep having this awful idea that somebody from the town is going to stumble upon it and then take it for a joyride. Besides, I'm freezing."

"Yes, lets all talk about Rune later." Wren agreed innocently and went off into the snow by himself, trusting that the others would follow him on their own. Maybe he hadn't really phrased himself properly, because Rune looked pissed off all of a sudden and let out one short burst of; 'What the hell does that mean?', before following the wren-type close behind. He didn't like the idea of people talking about him behind his back. Who knew what they would be saying? Rune was well acquainted with an information monger in training, so he knew. Wren didn't seem to notice Rune fuming though, like he was off in his own happy little world.

Kyra started after them a few seconds later, a cheerful smile on her face masking the choreography of the butterflies in her stomach. With Eugene's blessing and Rune's reassuring presence she reckoned that she would be safe. This left only Chaz and Rike now standing side-by-side, watching the rest of their friends moving away. It wasn't often that they got to be close like that, even for just a moment or two. There had always been somebody nearby, like Rune complaining that he was getting sick of dried food or Wren cleaning and reassembling his weapon quietly, yet watchfully. One of the downsides to living in a group, Chaz guessed.

The hunter and the numan girl looked at one another shyly, each having something very important to say, but in a testament to bad conversation skills and timing they both blurted out the beginning of their sentences at exactly the same time, drowning each other out. There was a two second pause and then they both laughed, with Rika blushing just the slightest bit. "I'm sorry, what were you gonna say?" Chaz asked politely to make up for his interruption. Ladies went first, after all.

Rika hesitated, as if that interruption of her speaking her mind was a divine sign from above telling her to keep her mouth zipped shut. Chaz belonged to somebody now, she was told, and though it probably wasn't serious she would still cause a fuss if she said anything now. Besides, she needed to gather and sort out her thoughts before she stepped into the lion's den of the truth. "Um� I just wanted to ask you if we could have a good long talk after this business with Lassic is over with. That's all. It's not very serious or anything." She reassured him confidently, yet nervously under the surface.

"Sure, that sounds good to me. You can talk to me about anything you want, Rika. So long as you don't ask me any really difficult questions. I'm a little behind on my schoolwork right now." Chaz joked with a handsome smile. He wasn't as calm as he appeared, because come on, this was the woman he loved requesting time from him, but his experiences from the last couple of days had given him a newfound sense of confidence. Maybe he could talk to her then, tell her how he felt without feeling dopey and dizzy like an idiot and then passing out on the floor.

The girl looked very relieved. Things seemed better if Chaz really wanted to talk, instead of planning on spending time with that other woman. Just as Wren had said, it was possible that she might have a chance with him if she was honest and true. Smiling herself, Rika leant over and pecked Chaz sweetly on the cheek before running off to catch up with the others. "Thanks Chaz! Let's get going!" She called over her shoulder as she left.

Chaz stood there for several solitary moments, his hand on his cheek where Rika had kissed him. He honestly hadn't been expecting that, he could barely accept that it had happened in the first place. If the rest of the day went as smoothly as this morning seemed to be going then he would have nothing at all to worry about. He wondered what Rika wanted to discuss with him, but it probably pertained to what their plan would be when they finally entered the Garuberk tower. Chaz hadn't figured that out himself yet. Anyway, he had better get moving now before the others left him too far behind and before the hot rush flowing through his body melted the snow all around him.

The ice digger was warm and ready to go when Chaz and company got to the outskirts of Meese. The door had been left open but because of the direction of the wind no snow had managed to blow in, yet Rune had gotten an unpleasant surprise when he walked inside first. A snow fox darted out between his legs, the animal getting the hell out of the warm comfortable vehicle now that the predators had come back to their home. The sudden flash of white fur and where it was going startled Rune so much that he nearly fell off the ramp. Chaz laughed.

They backtracked all the way to Tyler and then passed it, heading toward the spaceport that was just a stone's throw away from the town. The trip took about three hours and they made pretty good time with no large interruptions, both outside the ice digger and inside with the passengers. Rika and Kyra had cleared a nice big open space in one of the vacant bunkers and had drawn a line right through the middle of the room with a piece of chalk, turning it into a pretty good handball court. They played with a ball that Kyra had made out of rubber, elastic and some snow mole pelt harvested from a dinner that had been caught one or two weeks ago.

It really was impossible for Kyra to beat Rika in that game, the numan girl was just too graceful and athletic to lose. She toyed with the ball like a curious cat all the while playing flawlessly. It didn't really matter though, as nobody was keeping score. Rune was supposed to be referee but it looked like he was meditating instead, and sometimes when somebody missed a serve and the ball came bouncing towards him Chaz threw it back without much thought.

After watching for about half an hour Chaz got bored with the repetitive game and decided to see how Wren was doing on the bridge. Rune was indisposed and the other two seemed to be having fun so they wouldn't miss him if he left. Chaz rose from where he was sitting and waved to the girls briefly to get their attention. "I'm gonna go keep Wren company for awhile. Come and call me when one of you gets tired and I'll take over your spot, alright?"

He heard two half-distracted affirmations as the girl hadn't stopped their game to listen to him, and with that Chaz left the room and walked up the short bare corridor to the bridge, trying not to yawn. It was still a few more hours until they switched vehicles and headed to the Air Castle directly.

Wren was in the driver's seat and navigating their way through the storm. Hopefully they'd steer clear from the snow worm and dezo owl colony this time. Chaz didn't introduce himself as he stepped inside and moved toward the driver's seat, leaning against it languidly. "Hi Forren. Everyone else seems to be pretty much occupied so I thought I'd come and bother you for awhile, at least until they call me back." He said with complete calm. Addressing Wren with that name felt a little odd, but he still enjoyed saying it nonetheless, mostly because nobody else ever would.

"That's a shame." Wren said softly from where he was sitting, reaching over to change gears without taking his eyes off the blinding white road. "A shame that you will be called back soon, that is." He added after he was done and placed his free hand back on the steering wheel. Chaz smiled a smile that could not possibly be expressed in words. The wren-type turned to look at the boy briefly. "What can I do for you while you are here?" He asked.

Chaz shrugged. "I dunno. I just wanted somebody to talk to while I kill time." And the more preoccupied he was the less he'd have to think about Lassic. Just being around Wren made him feel better now, safer and happier, so that was good too. "Do you think Rune and Kyra have something going on with each other? I get the feeling that I might not have been picking up on things like I should have. I just can't picture Rune being nice to somebody without having his arm twisted behind his back."

"Then again," continued the young hunter as he looked up at the ceiling in thought, "I got the feeling that he might have had something going on with Alys a long time ago, too. The only time I ever saw her blush like, well, like a normal girl was when she was talking to Rune. Alys used slashers just like Kyra. I wonder if there's a connection of some sort? Maybe he likes girls like that, but it just seems so wrong to me to think of anybody with Alys. She was my mother, not biologically of course, but she raised me and without her I'd probably be dead. You never got to meet Alys, did you Wren?"

"I regret that I never got to meet her, yes."

"That's too bad. I bet she would have liked you." Chaz announced, continuing to ramble on but it seemed like his ramblings were losing speed and were coming to a gradual end. "Alys always said that if I was to ever get involved with somebody it would have to be with a good strong woman who would always be able to protect me in battle. When she first said that I was so furious because I wanted to stand on my own and be great someday, but before I knew it, before I even noticed, I changed my mind. I don't even remember consciously doing it. Isn't that strange?" Chaz looked to his friend after he had finished talking and he was surprised to see how reserved he looked.

"You are referring to Rika, aren't you? I can agree that she does possess the qualities you are looking for." Wren answered in perfect monotone. One of the greatest things that had changed with the android recently was that he displayed complex emotions when he was fine now, and tended to go completely blank when he was not. Originally it had been the other way around, but Chaz knew now that he had said something stupid. He was aware that Wren was jealous of Rika, of his love for her, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

The boy slapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh Forren, I'm sorry. I said 'woman', didn't I? That's not what I meant. I mean, I was just repeating what Alys said to me sometimes. When I was referring to somebody who would protect me I was referring to you. I adore Rika, but Rika doesn't like me back. But you do, don't you?" Chaz leaned down a little so that he was at the same level as Wren. "Last night meant that I'm happy where I am, right now." He intoned.

"Ah, so you came here to tell me that. How much more self-validation do you need, Chaz?" Wren asked carefully.

And Chaz was very careful to answer slowly, himself. "No, that's not it. I don't need a reason to come to you for anything anymore. You're my lover now, I can waste as much time talking and hanging around you as I want. It's another part of what we're trying to create together. It's not supposed to be just about the things we do together, and the� um, the sex."

Wren smiled brightly, the change in his mood so great that it led Chaz to wonder if his previous sad look had just been an act all along. "I know that. Of course I know that. I am not as clueless as you sometimes think I am. Honestly I am just grateful for the company, whether it has a purpose or not, and I do acknowledge where you stand with Rika. It does not bother me anymore." He glanced at Chaz again, slyly. "You should try not to be so serious all the time." He said.

Chaz couldn't believe it. He had walked right into a trap. Wren had been testing Chaz's emotions and his own recreationally, for fun, to make conversation or both. He was like a child playing with a toy for the first time, experimenting with the range of all of its abilities. He was new to complex emotions, new to the feeling of like, but now that Chaz had accepted him totally for what he was he was free to utilize those emotions without the fear of hurting Chaz. It was so simplistic, so adorable, but he also didn't like being led around like that either. It made him want to kiss the wren-type and then slap him right after.

"You're saying I shouldn't be so serious? You are saying that I shouldn't be so serious." The blond hunter sighed and looked at his dark-haired friend fondly. "I should probably step outside, see if the world is ending or not."

"You will have to wait until we reach the Tyler spaceport before you can see if the world is ending or not. As it is, I am not stopping the ice digger for anybody or anything. Not since that last incident." Wren told him with firm resolution. That incident had been an awful turn for the worse but without it he and Wren might not have been where they were today. Chaz didn't know whether to look back on it with a smile or a shudder, but he thought the way that Wren totally overlooked his sarcasm while understanding it was cute.

"Forren, I just don't know what I'm going to do with you�" Chaz said licentiously as he leaned over to try and kiss Wren, just as he had done so two mornings ago. But this time he wouldn't be satisfied with Wren's clean tattooed cheek, this time Chaz wanted those warm soft lips for himself.

"I am sure we will be able to think of something by tomorrow night�" Wren replied as he checked if the ice digger had a good clear path ahead of it for awhile and then diverted his attention directly to Chaz. He reached up and grabbed the hunter's clothing at the upper arm, pulling the boy closer to him. Their lips were almost touching, their faces so close, but then�

"Ch-aaaaz! I'm all tired now! You wanna come and finish Rika off for me? I've softened her up for yoooou!" Kyra practically yodeled from up the corridor, her loud voice traversing through the places where her legs were too tired to tread. It was lucky that Kyra hadn't run up to drag Chaz away in person, or she would have had a mighty grand and unexpected surprise.

The moment was lost. Chaz stopped what he was doing and bit his lip, uttering a very soft hissing "Damn it�" close to Wren's audio sensor. The hunter pulled away while the android let go of him and laid both of his hands back on the wheel. Wren also looked a little hot under the collar, as much as he could for what he was anyway, and Chaz scratched his nose with an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm sorry. I wish I was psychic so I could kill her with my mind." He admitted with a small laugh.

"C'mon Chaz! Hurry up! Or else everybody's gonna think you're chicken! Bwuk bwuk!" Kyra's call continued like a shrewd little song.

"It sounds urgent. I think you had better be going now. I will come and alert everybody once we have reached the spaceport." Wren promised from where he was sitting, focussed on driving the ice digger safely now. Looking back on it, what they had been about to do probably wouldn't have been very safe.

Chaz turned his head toward the corridor and shouted; "Alright, I'm coming!" then walked quickly toward the bunker where the others were waiting for him. He'd beat Rika all right, Rika and Kyra and Rune, anybody else who would dare stand in his way. Lassic too, if for some unexplainable reason the magician decided to turn up for the game as well.

Wren leant over from his chair and watched Chaz leave. "I must really be going mad�" He said to himself gently, just as the ice digger did hit something, but it was only a poor innocent baby snow worm out for some fresh air, so that was okay. The treads just ran over it without fault.

Luckily Wren was alone. Nobody would know the truth.
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