Chapter 8: A Partner for the Ball

[Zacke]

AHAHJHJKADHJKLHASAHAHAHDHSNJANS *DIES*

that was NOT a post I should have read at work. XD I busted out laughing at Blaze and Melvin and my boss gave me the biggest WTF-eyebrow-raise ever from the other side of the glass, in his office ;_; *embarrassment*

---

"ZACKE???" 'Uh-oh.' an instinct buried deep down within told him. But his grin didn't fade. "ZACKE DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM ME YOU LITTLE PRICK!!"

He kept walking.

And less than a second later, something propelled into his backside at the speed of light and temperature of lava.

"OWGH--" he gave an anguished roar, and his automatic reaction was to clamp his hand down over his right 'cheek,' where he'd been hit. He moved it just as quickly, however, when he felt... fire?! Fire. Burning his hand. And his now pants. "MOTHER FU--HELP!! AHH!!"

He then proceeded do an awkward looking kind of hoppy-dance and spank himself with both hands, screaming and trying to put the fire out that was engulfing the seat of his pants. No one would help him--people either gawked or laughed, and all of them kept their distance. He was able to put the fire out just as an explosion went off over by the elevator. Whoever had initiated the bomb had opened the elevator. Smoke filled the area, and Blaze and some scrawny guy came stumbling out coughing.

Holy Hyne... His butt hurt so much. Blaze's Firagas, to him, were somehow hotter than just your regular ol' Firaga. Like she summoned hers from the deepest boiling lava pit in Hell. Tch, probably. He wouldn't doubt it. She probably mugged the devil himself for his fire.

He yanked his jacket off angrily and tied it around his waist in effort to cover the unbecoming patches of skin he knew his burned pants and boxers were now revealing.

"Real cute, Blaze." he spat at her, glaring. "I wonder what's going to be more expensive for you to pay for, that elevator or my barbequed ass medical bills."

[Reese]

aww Jun

---

"Since none of the DoTNAs would open their mouths, you were kept alive because Garden wants some answers," Reese looked downward. Of course. He would tell them whatever they wanted to know. Answers would be no problem.

"Your sentence depends on how true your answers will be." she added.

How true? Did Stardust doubt he would tell them the truth?

He averted his gaze to the door when a movement in his peripheral vision distracted him. He felt himself tense up, but then he relaxed quickly when he recognized who it was. The familiar face glanced from him to Stardust, looking very hesitant.

"Jun?" He spoke just as she turned to leave.

[Lawric]

Lawric held one hand over his mouth and nose and waved the other around in front of him to clear the air, squinting through the smoke. Two figures emerged from the elevator. The first one appeared to be a... human girl? And the second one too. Or actually, it could be a small boy...

He watched Zacke approach the girl and say something in a tone that didn't sound friendly or happy.

Lawric looked over at Deo. "Man, you just blew the hell out of Balamb Garden property." He coughed out a mouthful of smoke. "Are you sure that was a great idea?"

[Jun]

"Jun?"

Damn it... Jun let out a little sigh and stopped. The ONE time I decide not to be a nosy parker, and I can't.

She turned around reluctantly and walked to the foot of Reese's bed.

"Sorry if I interrupted you guys..." Jun glanced at Reese first, then rested her glance on Stardust. "I...I heard that Reese has already recovered. Thought I should...visit." She rubbed her forehead awkwardly. Great, Jun, now not only are you being a nuisance, you're a stuttering nuisance as well.

"But you don't have to leave, Stardust." She added quickly. "Cos what I want to say to Reese, you probably would find it relevant too." Idiot, what makes you think she doesn't already know? She was feeling more and more like a fool, but since she already open her mouth and blabbed, she couldn't just leave without finishing.
"I...I...well, I just wanted to hear your explanation...You know...about what happened." She looked at Reese again. Damn why do I willingly get myself into sticky messes like this? "Cos I think I'd rather hear it from your own mouth than have it tainted by someone who might...be prejudiced." She sighed. "But if you don't feel like doing it now...I understand."

[Hadrian D'arcell]

I'm not gonna be surprised if Melvin likes to collect bras too, AND BOXERS HAHAHAH! XD
--------------------------------------------------------------

Hadrian languidly strolled out of the cafeteria. He was supposed to be the first one to say goodbye to the table, but somehow, he ended up staying too long. He might as well leave Rayden and his trolley in peace---let the Ridean siblings take care of him. He tried to apologize to that girl, Carmi, but decided to let it go when she casted a dirty look at him when he tried to approach. Apologizing was one thing, but embarassing oneself was a different thing.

Now, he was ready to hole himself up in his room and do some--important stuffs. He yawned, loosening his grip on his laptop.

Hadrian had just swerved on the corner when he saw Vanesse and Jaime going back to the cafeteria. Vanesse looked depressed for some reason. Was she that offended by what happened a while ago? Talk about overreacting. Hadrian concluded that she probably must be having her period. When girls become too emotional, it had to be that.

He stiffened as the two Opps girl got closer. He didn't know what to say after that small blow out a while ago. Apologizing didn't come easy. It was bothering the heck out of him.

"H-hi..." he said almost inaudibly as they passed by him.

[Jaime]

"Hang on there Van! We're almost there! Rainbow skittles Strawberry Ice-cream Rainbow skittles Strawberry Ice-cream Rainbow Icecream Strawberry Skittles..." Jaime kept uttering nonsensical mantras attempting to keep Van's mind off her nausea, not knowing if she succeeded.

"H...hi." She heard a small sound nearby, lifted her eyes and saw Hadrian with an almost timid Timid? Is that right? expression. She gave him a curious look, then continued whisking Van towards the restrooms at the back of the cafeteria. "BEEBOO BEEBOO EMERGENCY!" She yelled, making people clear the way for her.

"We're there we're there!" She almost physically lifted Van into the girl's restroom. "HOMEBASE!" She cried, slamming one of the vacant cubicle doors open.

[Reese]

Reese listened quietly, curiously, as Jun spoke. Why is she here? he thought. All things considered, with the exception of Stardust, Jun was the one he had worked with the most. But they hadn't exactly built any kind of relationship. At least, not one he could perceive. So why...

She sounded really uncomfortable. Reese watched her body language, which made her seem sort of nervous. She wasn't armed. By the tone of her voice alone he could tell she hadn't come to vent on him, or berate him. She didn't even seem upset with him...

"I...I...well, I just wanted to hear your explanation...You know...about what happened." She finally said. "Cos I think I'd rather hear it from your own mouth than have it tainted by someone who might...be prejudiced."

His eyebrows lifted slightly. She wanted to make sure she didn't get a prejudiced version? She trusts my version of events over what Garden's might be? The thought made him sort of uncomfortable, but not necessarily a bad type of uncomfortable. It wasn't a bad feeling at all. Just...

She sighed. "But if you don't feel like doing it now...I understand."

He looked downward for a moment, bringing together his thoughts. It wasn't exactly something he was proud to talk about, but these girls deserved to hear it. Actually, all of the people he had worked with deserved to hear it. But Zacke and Blaze wouldn't want to hear it from him.

His lips parted slightly. He paused for a moment, then shut them again.

Finally he lifted his gaze to Jun. "I don't mind, Jun. You can sit at the edge of the bed, or something, if you want." he gestured slightly with his hand.

His gaze drifted downward again.

"The night we stayed in Fisherman's Horizon--the night I left--I was supposed to alert DotNA that we were there. They would bring in a chopper to get me out, and then blow the city into the ocean."

He paused, taking a moment to collect his bearings and also allowing those words to settle. They were heavy words, and he didn't feel good saying them. He cleared his throat softy before continuing.

"I didn't deliver the message that night. I abandoned the assignment. They were expecting my call. When I never made it, they got suspicious and tracked me down."

He paused again, catching a glance of Jun's face. She was listening intently. He looked down again. "I wasn't trying to run, I knew they would track me. I didn't care. I couldn't do it."

He stared at his lap, his thoughts drifting to Stardust, who was sitting at his bedside listening to all of this. He couldn't bring himself to say what he really meant; that he changed his mind that night because he hadn't wanted to hurt her. He found himself momentarily unable to continue. It had been the darkest night of his life. He really thought he was a dead man, and he was prepared for it. To be sitting here in the bed, alive, telling them these things...

Finally, he took a deep breath.

"Anyway, they used a drug called MOD-Dispain on me--an experimental culture formula made using modified magic. It induces a slow and agonizing death by causing your internal organs to erode--basically, you rot from the inside-out. I've seen what it can do. I'm glad I was in a coma for most of the pain. It's... gruesome." He didn't want to get into any more detail regarding what they did to him. The shape he must have been in when Garden discovered him said quite enough.

He shrugged, staring down at his hands. "That's the very short and simple version of things. But you deserve to know whatever you want, so if you have any more questions... " he trailed off.

[junkuroki]

Jun listened intently to Reese, her eyes entirely focused on his face all the while. He didn't look like he was lying. Someone else could argue that he had been lying to them successfully all this while, but Jun couldn't believe he would do it a second time, in front of Stardust. Especially as he looked so vulnerable. This wasn't the aloof Reese that she had worked with. The old one would've told her to mind her own business; he always had a kind of wall around him but now he was willing to tell her what must have been painful to recall.

Jun was more willing than ever to take everything he had told them at face value.

"Well, just as you have answered my doubts, I think I should tell you where I stand." She cracked a tiny smile at him. "I trust that you didn't lie this time, and I have my reasons, but the top most convincing one is the state that Dotna had left you in. If it wasn't something truly unforgivable that you did, I doubt they'd have left you abandoned with such incriminating evidence of what they'd been experimenting on, in such a near proximity to the Garden patrols. I don't think they ever expected that you'd recover and now...they are about to pay the price." Jun paused. She was glad she had stayed and asked him now. Knowing his side of the story had plugged in all the loopholes.

"I just need to know one more thing...why couldn't you have run away without them tracking you?"

[Blaze Sanaku]

Melvin is extremely Terry-like isn't he?? LOL heheh I has a plannn >D You guys control him too please, he is fun to abuse!

---

Blaze waved her hand around her face, fanning the smoke away. She knew it had to be that bomber guy who freed her and she strode straight to him and gripped both of his arms tightly, staring up into his face. Deo visibly stiffened, as if he thought the stiffer he stood the less it would hurt if Blaze punched him.

"Thank you!" Blaze said to him and let go. For a moment, Deo could have sworn he saw a slightly sincere smile upon Blaze's face but she had turned around already, forgetting him and directing her attention towards Zacke instead.

"I wonder what's going to be more expensive for you to pay for, that elevator or my barbequed ass medical bills." he was complaining.

Blaze scoffed. "Like I'm going to pay for either. And I wouldn't be talking, freeloader. You just decide to crash an airship into Adel's fortress when everything was going perfectly fine anyway and now you get credit for helping to kill her. FREELOADER! Plus you--"

"EEEEEEEE IT'S HIM IN THE FLESH!!!!" Melvin propelled from the smoke of the elevator right to the space in front of Zacke's feet where he promptly began kowtowing and kissing Zacke's shoes. "Wow, Miss Sanaku has told me SO MUCH about you!"

Blaze's eyebrows clashed together in a 'I DID??' sort of way.

"Looksie!!! Remember that sandwich you threw away a couple of days ago?? I HAVE IT HERE!" Melvin took out a foul smelling, moldy sandwich and held it to his face lovingly, smearing his blood all over it, before taking a bite.

Blaze could do nothing but gape at Melvin's behavior. She glared at Zacke in a manner that plainly said "SEE WHAT YOU LEFT ME IN THERE WITH?!"

"hey!" Melvin suddenly brightened up, smiling a mouthful of fuzzy green, "Do you guys remember Terry Wildwish?? Ohhh he and I used to be best friends, best friends! We would hop across trees together and write each other notes with sweet nothings written on it! It's so tragic that he had to die but I definitely KNOW it happened heroically trying to save one of you guys, am I right??" He asked, elbowing Zacke in the side as if they were best buddies.

Blaze tried to stifle her laughter, which soon turned into a series of loud hacks. She had almost forgotten about Terry until now.

Terry's best friend?!?

---

hmmm, Blaze still has to confront Hadrian about Killer >D >D No hadrian, don't go near the fountain!

[Diego Stanton]

Lawric looked over at Deo. "Man, you just blew the hell out of Balamb Garden property." He coughed out a mouthful of smoke. "Are you sure that was a great idea?"

Deo shrugged. "What can they do? More like they'll be coming over to kiss my feet. I'm an Adel slayer now!" He said proudly. As soon as he said this he saw a scrawny kid who could have been anywhere from 11 to 18 place himself in front of Zacke and worship him.

"err..." Deo said, listening to the little freak go on a rampage about how great Zacke and Blaze were. If this is how they were going to be treated for slaying Adel, maybe he didn't want credit anymore.

"Wow, Miss Sanaku has told me SO MUCH about you!" he heard the kid say to Zacke.

Miss Sanaku?

Deo's thoughts were immediately halted, as if somebody had clogged up his brain. He stared through the kid in complete shock, not even noticing the bloody, moudly sandwich he was chomping on.

Did that kid just call her....Miss Sanaku?? Her name is BLAZE SANAKU?!??!?!??! His mind screamed at him. Suddenly he noticed a lot of things he hadn't even considered earlier. That her eyes and hair were the same color as his, that she was about as old as Blaze would be... if she was alive.

But she is alive!! That's her... right there!

Deo kept staring at Blaze, who was now busy cough-gagging her head off, in utter disbelief. He saw her in a whole new light, that coughing, hacking maniac, she was his sister!

Right then, pure dread began to envelop Deo's body. He felt it up in his head, creeping its way down to the tips of his fingers.

That. was his sister.

He swallowed uncomfortably, and his mouth grew dry. It was simply a mistake, that was it. He had simply misheard that kid. Her last name could have easily been Sukuku or Sudoku. Was the room growing ridiculously hot or was it just him? That thing couldn't possibly be his sister! He was going insane!

"hah..hah" Deo said shakily, not realizing he had said it out loud.

[Zacke]

OMFGAJJDKSHFAS MELVIN IS TERRY'S BEST FRIEND

JUMPING THROUGH TREES AND SWEET NOTHINGS?! *DYING*

STOP MAKING ME EMBARASS MYSELF AT WORK ASH.

(and AWWW + HAHAHA @ Deo's reaction to Blaze being his sis XD)

---

"Like I'm going to pay for either. And I wouldn't be talking, freeloader." Zacke's eyebrows clashed together. What?! "You just decide to crash an airship into Adel's fortress when everything was going perfectly fine anyway and now you get credit for helping to kill her." He stared down at her, listening to her tirade and frowning indignantly all the while. "FREELOADER! Plus you--"

"EEEEEEEE IT'S HIM IN THE FLESH!!!!" Blaze lost all of Zacke's attention when that guy-thing shrieked and threw itself at Zacke's feet. His eyebrows shot up instantly.

"What the--" he stumbled backward, but the freak just crawled closer again and started... UMM, WHAT THE HELL. IT'S KISSING MY FEET. "Wow, Miss Sanaku has told me SO MUCH about you!" Zacke looked over at Blaze, who obviously had no idea what the guy was talking about.

"Looksie!!! Remember that sandwich you threw away a couple of days ago?? I HAVE IT HERE!" He watched in pure horrified disgust as Melvin coddled the foul half-eaten sandwich, smearing his blood all over it before taking a bite.

Zacke wanted to gag.

He looked over at Blaze again. She was glaring at him accusingly, as if to make him feel bad for leaving her to suffer with this guy. He matched her angry look with one of his own. WHAT? I DIDN'T KNOW HE WAS IN THERE WITH YOU.

"hey!" Melvin suddenly exclaimed. Zacke reluctantly looked back down the guy. "Do you guys remember Terry Wildwish??"

Oh my god. Zacke just stared in a sort of stunned and mortified silence as Melvin chattered on. It was kind of like watching a gruesome car accident happen right before his very eyes. He definitely didn't feel good about looking at Melvin, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. No one should EVER have to hang out with this guy. Maybe he did deserve that fireball.

"... but I definitely KNOW it happened heroically trying to save one of you guys, am I right??" Melvin elbowed him in the ribs jovially, and he grimaced.

"NO, actually, WE killed him. It was an ACCIDENT." he barked at the guy, stepping away from him and closer to Blaze. "And we're pretty ACCIDENT PRONE, so you should probably GET AWAY."

It was like the threat only fueled Melvin's enthusiasm. He scrambled closer, eyes shining. "Accidents?! I have accidents too!!" he shrieked gleefully. "WE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON!!"

In an act of total panic and desperation, Zacke thrust both arms out into his chest and shoved the guy hard. Melvin stumbled backward and fell easily.

"Come on!" He grabbed Blaze's wrist and pulled her with him, moving at a fast stride away from Melvin. "You're buying me a new pair of pants, by the way." He said over his shoulder.

They brushed passed Lawric and Deo. "And I'm NOT a freeloader!!" he added haughtily.

They could hear Melvin laughing euphorically in the background. "HE TOUCHED ME!! ZACKE TOUCHED ME!!"

---

I just realized, Zacke and Blaze have a notorius history with freaks XD
1. Terry
2. Nicole (cheeto powder HAHA)
3. Melvin

[Myacu]

And then there were three. Realizing that everyone had exited the cafeteria, Jax thought about leaving as well but soon dismissed the idea. Gemma was STILL getting her food and the seat across from his was still occupied. He quickly sat back down. There was something inherently just -- SAD, about watching a person eat alone. No, he couldn't bring himself to create such a pathetic scene. A loud burp suddenly interrupted his thoughts, and Jax looked over at Rayden who seemed quite pleased with himself as he continued to devour the rest of pastries and tarts from the cafeteria cart.

A fly was persistently circling their table. Swatting it away from his face, Jax finally resigned to resting his head on the table and closed his eyes.

--BAM!

Gemma slammed her tray down, hard on the table and, frowning, looked around at all the empty seats.

She sighed, dejectedly as the situation dawned upon her that her only eating companions were Jax and the garbage disposal.

Even he left...

Almost subconsciously, Gemma ran her fingers through her hair. So much for that...

Rubbing the side of his head, Jax turned towards his sister and did a double take before bursting into laughter.

"Pfffff! Nice hair!" he scoffed. "Who are you trying to impress?"

Blushing furiously, Gemma quickly fished another hair band out of her pocket and began to tie her hair into a messy ponytail. Upon doing that, she grabbed a fork and began to shove pieces of salad into her mouth, trying to avoid eye contact with her brother, who was still laughing.

"Hey hey hey, take it easy there! You know, I don't think any guy's gonna want to bring a cow with them to the ball. Isn't that right Rayden?"

"W--ell" Gemma finally spat out between mouthfuls. "At least-- I'M not ---desperate---nough t-- use a funeral--- as a way of --ASKING OUT RANDOM GIRLS!" Pausing for moment, she snorted. "Oh but that's right. She rejected you, right?"

Unfazed, but highly amused by the rise he was getting out of his stoic sister, Jax simply grinned. "Oh yeah...her...it's a real shame..huh? I'm not too worried about finding a date. Unlike someone here."

It was simply too much. There was the sudden sound of metal scraping against tile floors as Gemma pushed the table nearly a foot a half back. Sending her brother one more deathly glare, she stormed out of the dining hall.

Well that was fun..

Scooting his chair towards Rayden's trolley, Jax delicately picked up an apple strudel and took a bite.

---

Hahaha...useless post..

[Rayden]

"You know..." Rayden said in between swallows, taking care not to waste any of the food in his mouth in case he spat it on Jax's face. "There is some serious PMS thing going around with the girls on our team. Maybe I'm overly sensitive." He nodded at Gemma's retreating figure.

"Are you sure leaving your sister fuming's a great idea?" He cocked an eyebrow at Jax. "From my vast experience with offended females, it's not gonna be pretty if she bears grudges for eternity."

[Reese]

"Well, just as you have answered my doubts, I think I should tell you where I stand." Reese lifted his eyes to Jun, just as she managed a little smile for him. He watched her as she spoke, telling him that she believed him. Her compassion was shocking and confusing to him. It was as if the awareness of what he was hadn't changed her perception of him at all.

He'd always had kind of an ambivalent view of Jun. She didn't bother him the way Zacke and Blaze did, anyway. She seemed capable and smart, cool-headed compared to the others... But now he felt like he was uncovering a whole new side of her, something his stoic facade had never allowed him to see. Nurturing. It felt weird for Reese to associate a word like that with any woman--even Stardust. But that's what Jun was.

"I just need to know one more thing...why couldn't you have run away without them tracking you?"

Reese cleared his throat. "DotNA uses an identification device that also doubles as a tracking bug. There's more to it than that, but it's irrelevant. It's this little chip, and they surgically implant it into every operative Rank 3 and higher." He pulled the collar of the hospital gown aside and tapped at his neck, just above his right collarbone, where his wound had been. The wound was now healed, but since it was already in the process of healing naturally when Rinoa got to him, scar tissue had already formed.

"That's where they put them. Got mine cut out when they picked me up." He dropped his hand. "I guess I could have tried to get it out myself, but unless you know what you're doing... " He trailed off. "Anyway, I didn't really care if they caught me." He shrugged and looked down.

[waterlily43]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh my Rayden post got cut off >( Stupid cellphone.
------------------------

Rayden reached for the last plate of apple strudel...and touched upon an empty plate. His gaze travelled along the trail of crumbs that led to Jax's mouth.


"MY LAST APPLE STRUDEL!" He exclaimed. "HOW DID IT FIND ITS WAY INTO YOUR MOUTH?" His face twisted into an unrecognisable mass that flickered between confusion and anger. "Didn't you hear the story about the boy who ate the gingerbread house and got fattened up for a witch's dinner???"

--------------------------------

Jun's mouth settled into a grim line. She could only imagine the amount of pain inflicted on Reese when they dug out that chip. And the price he had to pay, in order to foil Dotna's plans, it had been too much.

"I guess I can only say...those Dotna are a bunch of unscrupulous bastards." Jun's eyebrows knit together with loathing. "And it takes a whole lot of guts to defy them." She nodded and smiled at Reese. "So before this nosy parker leaves the two of you alone, is there anything you would like me to do for you, courageous one? Anything at all, as long as it's within my abilities."