Chapter 5 - From Balamb to Timber

[Storyteller]

Auria~



Zacke walked over to the back wall and leaned against it.

"So once we're there, how are we going to get in? The train doesn't run inside the town anymore, Adel's got it stopping outside. It's how they filter out the people against her." he asked aloud, to anyone who was listening.

"I doubt we can knock the gates down with our fists..." he said, casting a sideways glance at Stardust.

[Storyteller]

Bunny~


"I doubt we can knock the gates down with our fists..." Mercutio glanced at Infinity.

"...Although some would want to..." Tomoe said quietly.

[Storyteller]

Ash~



"How bout hacking? Does anyone know how to hack into the gate?" Blaze asked.

[Storyteller]

Dark~


"Wwelll, I wwonderrr iff wwe can sstop inn Dollettt..." Terry said to himself. He whispered it just enough to be heard by one other person when he thought no one heard him...

[Storyteller]

Auria~



Zacke looked at the ground in concentration.

"Maybe we could just sneak in? Get some Estharian uniforms and just act like we're a unit or something. Our group is big enough." he said. "Of course, it would require good teamwork." he said.

/Forget it, this particular group of young adults is obviously very teamwork-retarded./

[Storyteller]

Ash~



Blaze seemed mildly interested. "it could work, but we are all obviously teamwork-retarded." She eyed Stardust.

Blaze pressed her face against the train's windows as trees passed by. "How long till we get there?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. "Someone better not sing that train, train take me away song, or you're asking for it!"

[Storyteller]

Auria~



Zacke grinned.

/You'd better not. Remember how you got that bruise on your face, you foolish ass./

You're right, that would suck. Fun to think about though.

He slid down along the wall until he was sitting on the ground.

"Well if we are going to try and sneak in, we'll need to figure out where to get the uniforms from. Any ideas?"

[Storyteller]

Spiffy~


Sym grinned, but caught herself before she started to sing. She didn't want to be beaten by Blaze, "Maybe a stop in another town would be the best bet, oh Dollet perhaps. Then we'd be able to swipe a few uniforms from the soldiers there without the ones in Timber knowing. If we have to, we could find officers on leave and take the uniforms from them. Should be a piece of cake."

Piece of cake for a sneak like you, Lady. Maybe the ninja too, but the rest have a problem with being as quiet as we'll need. Die-sha warned, and Sym shrugged.

Well, we shall see when the plan's been decided on. I just gave a suggestion.

[Storyteller]

Ani~



Stardust stood near the window at the far end of the train, wondering about the same thing. How could they infiltrate Timber? It didn't take long before she overheard her answer at the front.

"Dress like a soldier to get in...?" She walked over to where the discussion was. A glint of doubt was visible in her serious face. "How could you be so sure that Dollet carries Estharian uniforms in it?"

True, the plan didn't sound bad but Stardust wasn't convince. Even if they successfully filched some uniforms, the fact that they have women in their party would definitely make them suspicious.

"And I don't remember that women could sign up for military now..." Stardust sharply eyed the genius who suggested the idea. She was half annoyed by him and half annoyed by the fact that she was a woman. The plan would've work but she didn't want to admit it.

"This is ridiculous!"

[Storyteller]

Auria~



Zacke rolled his eyes at Stardust.

Anything to bash my ideas. Well fuck, she hasn't come up with any.

"Well when you're wearing the uniform, they won't be able to see your face through the helmet. If you girls were willing to give up a little chest room, you could pass for guys."

He stood up and crossed his arms. "I like the idea of getting the uniforms from Dollet too, but we have to be fast. No personal trips for unnecessary things. In and out."

/Ooh aren't we feeling kingly./

[Storyteller]

Quis~


Aly had been listening to this conversation with growing annoyance.

"Look," she said, finally, as she pushed herself off the wall where she had been leaning. "Look, we've gotta get to Dollet. Maybe when we're there, we'll find out if they've got uniforms. And, Stardie, we are in the military. We're just not foot soldiers."

~*~

Colum's ears perked up as he caught his sister's voice echoing in the room. We're just not foot soldiers, she could be heard saying.

He paused at the door, just for a minute, before entering the cabin. He could see the rather irritated face of Stardust, and he felt a little bit bad.

"She's right," he said, "We're not foot soldiers. We're SeeD. There's a difference there. Whereas foot soldiers pledge allegiance to their country, we have no homeland."

Aly gazed at her brother's sheer fluency of thought. When she'd seen him last--before she left home-- he'd been a diminutive little figure, hardly capable of that sort of thought process.

"Colum's right. We're not foot soldiers. I say we act like civilians until we get to Dollet. We'll decide what to do then." Aly's voice rang out clearly. "The disguises shouldn't be too hard. Us girls'd just experience discomfort with our breasts being bound up with linen."

Gazing around, she added, "It's not that bad, once you get used to it, though. It's just painful for the first few hours, and I'm speaking from personal experience here."

She stopped herself from blurting out what her horrific experience had been like.

[Storyteller]

Ani~



Stardust stared at Zacke, thinking, then to Aly. She was quite right but Stardust never really regarded herself as a militant. It was more like a mercenary, assigned to kill an evil sorceress on the loose.

"Don't get cool with me." she warned Aly when Colum stepped in.

"She's right," he said, "We're not foot soldiers. We're SeeD. There's a difference there. Whereas foot soldiers pledge allegiance to their country, we have no homeland."

Colum could never be more right. If there was no other way to get inside, then it must be best if they take the only plan they've got.

"The disguises shouldn't be too hard. Us girls'd just experience discomfort with our breasts being bound up with linen." She heard Aly's voice again.

"Fine then," Stardust turned around and started heading by her spot near the window.

"It's not that bad, once you get used to it, though. It's just painful for the first few hours, and I'm speaking from personal experience here."

"That's enough, you had your point!" Stardust stopped and looked back at Aly. She wasn't the conservative type but too much depiction of it sounded obscene to her. Noticing that Aly had shut up, she grunted and went on her way.

The sibling's affairs were not her concern.

[Storyteller]

Ash~



Blaze listened to the rally of ideas and decided that she didn't feel like taking sides.

Damn, gotta get away from these people Blaze saw Tomoe sitting alone in the corner. She got up and slumped into the seat next to Tomoe

/Can't you at least SIT like a lady?/ Deathstrike asked. what's wrong with the way I'm sitting? Blaze replied. Deathstrike sighed.

[Storyteller]

Auria~



Zacke shoved his hands into his pockets and slid back down the wall, into a sitting position on the ground. The car was completely silent.

Wonder how Cleo is... he thought.

[Storyteller]

Ani~



Stardust!

Stardust Infinity quickly looked back to see nothing but empty space behind her. She was hearing things, again. Shifting her purple blue eyes to the ground, she then looked outside of the window. It won't be long until they arrive in Dollet and she wasn't even sure if their plan would work.

She placed her hands on the dark orb engraved in her choker. Every second of the day, her will to kill Adel kept getting stronger. She would do anything just to get to her, even if it meant working with those teammates of hers.