Protecting My Devotion - Group 14

[littleprotector]

Characters: Marlene, Onion Knight, and Quistis!
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: What's worth fighting for
Location: Memoria!
Date: March 11, 1805
Warnings: None yet?

Comments

[ultrawaves]

It was like no place she'd ever seen before. Well, maybe a bit like Dollet, but not as nicely-kept, and nowhere near as high-tech as Esthar had proven to be. Everything here was gray and run-down, a sharp contrast to the bright pink of the sky that had threatened to blind her only moments before. Quistis dusted off either shoulder as she took a step back to appraise her surroundings, her eyes slowly adjusting.

There, in front of that building. Wasn't that the little girl who had gone missing? She'd only recently announced her return over the Mooglenet. What was her name? Marlene?

"Marlene!" Quistis waved, jogging towards where the girl stood.

[alittletoosmart]

The Onion Knight dashed through the unfamiliar streets, sword drawn and ready to fight whatever had brought him here. When he saw Quistis and Marlene he dashed toward them, demanding answers from Quistis.

"What's going on? Where's Terra? Where- What is this place?"

[ultrawaves]

Quistis put both her hands up, alarmed by the barrage of questions from the unfamiliar boy. "I'm not sure what's going on, I just got here, too. I've never seen this place before in my life." She paused. She didn't know who Terra was, but...

"It looks like it's just the three of us for now. Maybe your friend will show up, too?"

[littleprotector]

Marlene walked straight into her father's arms, hugging him tightly. Her expression changed from the happy look that she had had when she first saw Seventh Heaven, to that of a sad one. Barret had told her he was going away again. She had just got him back and he was going away again

[alittletoosmart]

The Onion Knight wasn't quite sure what was going on. He understood that something was happening but didn't know Marlene quite well enough to understand what. But the idea of talking to something that wasn't entirely there seemed almost- familiar. At least enough so that he didn't think to question it. At first, at least. The Onion Knight was very good at questioning things.

But he understood that she was crying. And he understood that maybe this was something he was supposed to do something about. Even if he wasn't entirely sure what to do about it.

"...are you okay?" He paused for a second, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do after showing concern. After a few seconds, and trying to remember whether he actually had a handkerchief (he didn't, of course) he held out the edge of his cloak. "Look, wipe your eyes. Just don't blow your nose on it or anything."

[ultrawaves]

Quistis looked bewildered as she witnessed Marlene talking to no one in particular -- as far as she could see, the three of them were the only ones present, though now and then she thought she could hear faint, distant snatches of unfamiliar voices. She shook her head. Must have been imagining things. There was nobody else there.

... oh. And now the girl was crying.

Hesitant, she reached out and carefully laid a hand on Marlene's shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be fine... we'll get back alright," she fretted, unsure of what the cause of Marlene's distress was. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked, echoing the boy beside her.

[littleprotector]

It was only after the door closed and Marlene blinked her tears away that the memory began to fade, and she saw Onion Knight and Quistis. Confused? You bet.

"But I just saw..." Her daddy. He had been on Gaia for such a brief time that she was hardly able to see him. Without any words, Marlene reached out to take Onion Knight's cloak, wiping her tears away. Once she dropped it, she rubbed at her nose.

"I'm okay...but Onion Knight? Miss Quistis? What are you guys doing here?"

Quistis next?

[alittletoosmart]

"No idea. The sky flashed and then I was here. You don't know what's going on either?"

He looked around, trying to figure out what, exactly, the situation was. "This- this where you're from?"

That's right, make the girl with partial amnesia go next. >.>

[ultrawaves]

Quistis shook her head, a silent admission that she, too, had no idea as to how they'd been brought there. "It was the same for me. The sky grew suddenly bright, and before I could make any sense of it, I was here with you." She frowned, gently patting Marlene's head before drawing up to her full height to get a better look at their surroundings.

Which had changed drastically in the last few seconds, to her surprise. Instead of the dingy gray of a foreign city, she now saw the bright lights and familiar tile of Balamb Garden's central structure. Home? Really? Though she had regained some of her lost memories about Edea's house at the cape in Centra, Balamb Garden was the only real home she truly remembered.

"That's it for your directive. Get to Timber and bring him back," Quistis heard a familiar voice instruct her from behind. She turned to see Headmaster Cid standing there with his hands clasped behind his back, a stern expression on his face

We still love her.

[littleprotector]

No sooner than Marlene had calm down did the scenery change again... but it was somewhere she knew. She still didn't know Quistis as well as she should, so she didn't see what was going on.

Not wanting to get caught up in anything, she stayed close to Onion Knight. "Can you see what's going on?"

Just wait until the kid with full amnesia goes :p

[alittletoosmart]

He shook his head.

"...you think this is a trap? She's talking to someone who's not there. And so were you. ...maybe it's some kind of magic. Or a poison that's causing hallucinations. Or- no, if it was a poison we wouldn't be seeing the same places. Definitely magic."

Oh dear god, what a crew. (SORRY FOR LATENESS)

[ultrawaves]

Quistis looked over her shoulder at her companions, their talk distracting her from saying anything further to Headmaster Cid -- where had he gone, anyway? He'd been there just a moment ago...

"There is someone there. Or there was. You can't see him?" It made sense, she supposed. They had been unable to see or hear the other side of the conversation Marlene had been having, as well. "... magic is certainly to blame. Whose, I wonder?"

[littleprotector]

"I can't see them. Maybe it really is some weird magic."

Marlene shrugged her shoulders. "There's gotta be a reason. We just don't go crazy for a reason."