Era of Change
Author: Furysetzer
Disclaimer: I don�t own the Final Fantasy characters. It�s all copyrighted by Squaresoft. I�m only trying to create something to read for pleasure. Hope you enjoy=)
Ch.3��Confrontation with the Gastrans�
�You seriously love to fish for rizopas?� Derek asked. Relm nodded. �I find that hard to believe,� he replied, challenging her. �They�re practically inedible.�
�On the contrary!� she returned. �In the Tacpunon Province, it�s a delicacy there. They saut� it in a delicate raspberry sauce, then cook it covered in the juice of the dragon-posey flower. It is� the most delicious fish I ever had!�
Surprisingly, Derek laughed. �Truly, I have never heard of such a thing. Really now, that is a good one!�
Because they were riding chocobos, Relm had to use her staff to hit him. �Hey now, that story is true this time!
The last one was only half true because I couldn�t think of what they call those bug monsters.�
�You mean Crasshoppers?� he smugly asked.
Relm made a face. �Yeah, well� it does surprise me that a prince like you knows about the wilderness.�
Derek once again turned sully. �I don�t need to be reminded about my background, thank you very much.� He slowed his chocobo to the back of the group.
Relm looked toward Vernash, quirking her eyebrow. He just shrugged.
The rest of the day was spent riding eastward. The day was clear and warm. After they left Figaro Desert, the land had turned into grassland. Interceptor jumped off Relm�s chocobo then, to run alongside them. They didn�t talk much the rest of the trip, which sort of upset Relm. She wanted to learn more about Derek, but he was being a jerk. She also couldn�t talk to Vernash right now because of what happened between them� Her emotions were still reeling. What exactly happened? Were things different now? What was he thinking? That was all she could think about as she occasionally glanced at his expressionless handsome face.
They made camp around sundown, near a clearing just inside the forest. They gathered wood for the fire, and hitched tents. It was a quiet night, nobody really saying anything significant. They eventually settled into their sleeping bags with Interceptor standing silent vigil over them.
Later that night�
Derek lay in the sleeping bag, staring up at the moon. He had his hands behind his head. He had trouble sleeping. It was his first time outside of the castle in a couple years� He was so mad at his father. How could he have put him in a situation like this? He didn�t even want to be here� Let alone forced to search for something that didn�t even seem real. Relm� what was going through her head, trying to chase after UFO�s�?
He didn�t understand it. But she� makes him nervous� He didn�t know why. Their conversation today� He didn�t mean to be so rude to her, but she made him mad. So he was a prince now. So what? It didn�t mean much to him� He still remembered being a kid, feeling that way sometimes� That was before he married a commoner�
He started to drift off to sleep with these thoughts on his mind. He dozed for several minutes until he heard a sound. Sharp and abrupt, like a twig snapping. Then a high-pitched whining sound. Wide-awake, he slowly reached for his sword�
Something fell atop him. He cried out. The tent collapsed down on him with the object on top. He was trapped within and began struggling. At the same time, he cried out, �Relm! Vernash! We�re being attacked!!� The heavy thing on top of him pinned Derek, trapping his limbs.
There were other shouts too, a man and woman�s. They were abruptly cut off as they were trapped as well. With nothing else to be helped, Derek tried to listen for some sort of sounds from their captors. He heard noises from monsters. A lot of them. His heart sank.
After a couple moments of nothing happening, Derek�s ears stopped pounding enough to hear something else as well. The voice sounded� human.
�Hey you! Baskervor! Be careful! I don�t want them squished! That�s it. Get up off him. Rhinox! Wrap him up. I want him rolled up tight!�
Derek felt himself lifted off the ground. It was a strange sensation, being held like a baby. The remains of the tent were wrapped around his body by several hands. Being trapped inside of it made it hard to get air. He cried out, �I can�t breath!�
The fabric of the tent covering Derek�s face was ripped off suddenly. He shook his head to clear it. He then saw himself surrounded by monsters. He started to scream.
A clawed hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him before he could make a sound. He was lowered to the ground. A figure came into view. It was small and short. It stood over him, placing hands upon hips. It said in a high-pitched girlish voice, �Well I finally caughtcha! Thought you could get away.�
Derek lowered his eyebrows. �EXCUSE me?!�
�Stupid humans!� she spat. �I hate your deceit! All you do is lie.�
Derek shook his head vigorously. �I�ve never done anything to you! I have never even seen you before in my entire life.�
�Of course not!� she said. �You humans never do anything to someone�s face. It�s always behind their backs! Well, you�ll see how we do things soon enough.� She gestured behind him. Derek blacked out then, as something heavy hit him in the head.
________________
Sometime later, Derek woke to a haze of pain. His head was sore and throbbing. His eyes focused upon a dimly lit place. He felt the rocking of some sort of wheeled vehicle under him. Moaning as he lifted his head, he looked about.
His body was still wrapped up in the tent. It was so tight that he could barely move. There were other bodies next to him also in cloth cocoons. They weren�t moving. Surrounding them all were iron bars.
One of the other bodies began to stir. They started thrashing about. Derek hissed, �Shhhhhh!�
They stopped abruptly, searching for the sound of the noise. They turned their head toward Derek. It was Vernash. He whispered harshly, �What happened?�
He returned, �We were captured by monsters. I think we�re being transported in a cart��
�Monsters?! They aren�t intelligent enough to do something like that� Why?�
A growled deep voice replied, �Because of your crimes, human. Now be silent. I have no qualms over breaking your neck��
Derek and Vernash stiffened, not having seen the being hidden in the shadows. The rocking of the cart continued for a long time. Eventually, it did stop. The covering to the back opened up, spilling blinding sunlight into the cart.
Many beings flooded toward them. The cage was opened, with the three bodies pulled out. They were carried into a clearing. Surrounded by monsters of all types, whooping and hollering, Relm started to wake up. She saw them all around. She widened her eyes, and a scream came from her.
A claw hooked over her mouth. Yet she still manageed to bite down hard. The beast cried out in pain. An explosion of laughter erupted from those around. Relm was dropped hard, getting the wind knocked from her.
The other two were dropped as well. The monsters circled around them. Some looked at the group curiously. Others laughed at them, or stared at them threateningly. The three prisoners looked back, afraid but defiant.
The crowd became silent, splitting on one side. A massive figure entered the area. It was another monster, an animal mutated by magic. This one stood on four legs, its bulky tail trailing behind. Its hairless skin was a dark purple. The head resembled a lions, though it had huge fangs and horns. There were ornamentations in its pointed ears, which stood out like a bat�s. �A Catoplebus�� Vernash whispered. �I thought those were extinct.�
�I am Marull,� he boomed. �Are these the humans that have laid waste to our homeland?!�
A pinkish monster hopped onto the monster�s back. It was small, standing on two legs. Looking like a furry rabbit or cat, it had red bat-like wings on its back. A bonbon atop its head bobbed back and forth. �We sure did, general!� it said in a high-pitched voice. �We found them near our forest!�
Relm gasped. �A moogle?! Where are we?!�
�Silence!� Marull said. �We are the ones that are questioning you. Do you wish to be eaten so soon?�
�Noooo,� she returned carefully. �It�s just that we are heading to Narshe. We�re not laying waste to anything. We wanted to see Locke and Celes.�
�Hey!� the moogle said. �How do you know my aunt and uncle?�
Relm, Derek and Vernash all looked to each other. It had been a long time since Relm last saw them. How could they have had a niece that was a moogle? A thought struck her. �Are you� Mog�s daughter?�
The moogle nearly fell off Marull. �What?! How the-?! That�s my dad!!�
Relm quickly blathered, �I�m one of his best friends! We all fought Kefka together to save the world. It�s me, Relm.�
She was too shocked to move. Her eyes were very large disks. Marull asked them, �You are the infamous Relm? Release them at once!�
Hurriedly, the crowd of monsters closed in. They tore off the remains of the tents binding them. The group stood on wobbly legs.
Mog�s daughter protested, �But I--! I mean, you can�t! I�ll bet she�s lying!!�
Marull commanded, �Be silent. I sense no treachery from them.�
She jumped off his broad back. �I don�t trust them!� She punched Relm in the leg. �You better get out of here! Or else we�re gonna eat you all!�
Relm responded from being poked in the leg, �Well I�m sorry� I didn�t mean to.�
Marull said, �Now, now, small one. Be nice to them. They are our guests now.�
Her expression was mortifying. �Marull!!! How can you do this to me?!�
�Because,� he replied, �I am the general. Your father would kill me if anything happened to them.�
A slow smile came over Mog�s daughter. �Really�?�
Marull nodded. �Now introduce yourself properly young lady.�
At this point, she was positively fuming. �Don�t you ever call me �young lady�!�
The beast�s lips spread back, showing his large sharp teeth. �Please forgive Mokga. Her temperament gets the better of her.�
In a huff, Mokga pushed her way through the throng of monsters. She disappeared.
�Come,� Marull told them. �I would like to get to know each of you better.� With that, he slowly turned around.
The group followed him warily. The gaggle of monsters trailed behind them.
____________
Relm, Derek and Vernash were treated well in the encampment that night. They were nervously on edge being the guests of monsters, however. By nature, they were aggressive beasts, nearly always ready to fight humans as well as each other. What had organized them so? They carefully asked Marull what they were doing together.
He told them that they were fighting the Gastrans. Mokga then promptly got into an argument with him over spilling their secrets. Seeing as how they had never heard of them before, the humans weren�t able to tell what the fighting was about. It was difficult to ask because Mokga was especially high strung, yelling and complaining about everything she could think of.
Marull was very kind to her, with the patience of a father. He told her he was taking the humans back with him.
Needless to say, this set her off. Although they were grateful for the hospitality, they needed to be going. Marull was very persistent, saying that their puny forms could not survive in this region without �protection� from them.
With little in the way of persuasion, they had to agree.
____________
The next few days of traveling weren�t very easy. Indeed, Marull was correct. The barren, rocky terrain left little sustenance. They would have starved if not for the dried animal meat that the monsters had given them. Despite traveling with a pack of over two-dozen monsters, the going was rough and exhausting.
Near the beginning of the last day of traveling, Marull halted them all. Cautiously scouting ahead, he disappeared beyond the trail. Returning several minutes later, he ordered the humans to leave the cart and follow him. They ded so, with Mokga bouncing along behind.
He led them up a small grassy hill, telling them to keep their heads low. They climbed the steep incline, slowly peering over the ridge. They gazed into open sky, the beginning of a sheer cliff. In the valley far below, there was an expansive forest of green.
There was something else there also. Off in the distance was some type of movement. Relm took out her sight scope given by King Sabin.
She focused on it. There were strange machines. There were also many men at the edge of the forest. They seemed to be cutting down trees. Huge machines were all over. Some carried the trees upon them. Others had giant teeth that mashed the trees into tiny pieces. There were also machines with intense fires within them that were fed the trees. The operation churned out black smoke. The whole area was littered with waste from the crews.
Relm passed the sight scope to Derek. He stared with his mouth hanging open. Passing it to Vernash, he muttered with contained rage, �I don�t believe it� Disgusting.�
Vernash looked, but didn�t comment. His jaw was clenched shut.
Relm asked Marull, �Who are they? What are they doing?�
Mokga answered, �Filthy humans who are destroying our homes. They�ve been doing it for years now��
�Indeed,� Marull stated. �We fight back, but they are much more powerful than us. We can do nothing but flee for our lives��
�That was so awful�� Relm said, looking downward.
Marull and Mokga went back down the hill wordlessly. The others followed, not saying anything.
____________
The small town was crowded as usual near sunset. Little monsters played with each other in the streets, even though many of them weren�t of the same species. Young Wheelies got along with Triliums, while Delta Bugs & Gigan Toads played in harmony. The town had only a few buildings; those that were standing appeared strange. They were mostly wood, put together in such a way as to suggest the builder had no clue on how to make one.
They stood lopsided, some missing doors or roofs.
When the travelers returned, all eyes are turned toward them. They saw their hero, the beast known as Marull, and started to cheer. The adults looked while the young monsters all rushed over to them. �General!� they said.
�Didja get �em? You get the bad men?�
Marull�s expression was tender with them. �Yes little ones� We chased them away again. We�re safe�� He raised his brow. �For now.�
The little monsters all squealed at this. Their excited voices carried far.
A door to one of the houses opened. A short white creature emerged. It was four feet tall, standing on two legs. It said in a gravely voice, �Welcome back, everybody! I trust you all were lucky?�
Mokga bounced off Marull�s back, running toward him. �Daddy!�
Relm and the rest stepped out of the group. �In more ways than one� she said.
Mog�s eyes and mouth widened. He sprinted forward, arms wide open.
Mokga�s face brightened. She opened her arms wide. �Daddy! You did miss me!� The next thing she knew as she reached her father was being spun around. She swooned over, nearly doing a face plant. When she recovered, she saw his arms wrapped around Relm�s leg. Her expression was dumbstruck. �Daddy!!� she shrieked. Her face was beet red. �How could you~!�
Mog was interrupted from his bliss by his hysterical offspring. �Er� so great to see you too, Mokga. Welcome home.�
Relm had a bewildered expression. �Um, Mog� don�t you think you should let go of me now?�
He replied as if the question had no meaning. �So what brings you here, huh? Gosh, it�s been so long~! Been doing well?�
She had to kick her leg to free herself. �Oh, I�ve been >ugh!< great! It�s great to see you >eargh< again. You have a >ehhgh< wonderful town here!�
After picking himself up, Mog said, �Kupo-hoho! Why thank you.�
Relm quirked an eyebrow. Mog had aged. His white fur appeared dull; his squinted eyes had wrinkles around the edges. �I don�t know about the pipe, though��
Before he could respond, Marull said, �Elder, we must talk� We have much to discuss.�
Mog�s attention turned to the serious. �Right. I�m sorry. We don�t have much, but make yourselves at home, ok?
She nodded. �Alright.�
Mog and Marull walked off together. The others were left with a very angry and very, very infuriated Mokga.
____________
�I really can�t believe it,� Mog said. �There�s some kind of strange flying triangle roaming the skies?�
Relm nodded. �Yes. It killed Setzer� while he was flying close to it. I felt� magic from that thing.�
Mog shook his head. �I�ve felt magic begin to stir again� I thought it had disappeared. Maybe it never left?�
Derek smirked. �Lying dormant, maybe?�
�But if that were true, then we would be able to use it again, wouldn�t we? No. It has to come from it� but how?�
Marull replied, �Elder, there is no need to think of such things� We need to act against the invaders.�
�I�m not so sure,� Vernash said. �Are you positive that the Gastrans are purposefully trying to fight your people? Drive them from their homes ruthlessly?�
The door to the barren house opened. Mokga stormed in purposefully. �You just don�t get it, do you, human?� Obviously, she must have been eavesdropping. �They slaughtered us like stupid animals. Captured some of us to perform experiments. Just because some of us could use magic in the past��
�Well have you tried talking to them?� he returned. �Humans aren�t inherently cruel or malicious. Maybe they have a reason��
Marull practically seethed with anger. �Watch your tongue, human. Mind where you are. If not for Mokga and I, your lot would�ve been killed upon our first meeting��
With violence of action, Vernash sprung up. He drew his sword. �ExCUSE me?! Nobody threatens me. If you wish to lose your life right now, be my guest.�
Marull bared his huge fangs in rage.
Mog jumped up in between them. �Please! All of you, calm down!!�
The two warriors regarded each other with hard eyes, neither of them moving. After several moments, Marull snorted derisively. He walked out of the house. �We should have let the humans die� Then at least a few more of them would be gone��
Mokga gave them a troubled look. She followed him out the door.
____________
Later that evening, Relm stood on a hilltop past the edge of town. The sun was just dipping below the horizon. It was a fiery red ball, which lit up the sky. That was the one thing that was never healed after the cataclysm� the burning sky at sunset.
She was alone, reflecting on her life� How little she has done! However, she felt as if there was nothing for her to do. Ever since becoming an adult, things were constantly different. How was she supposed to conduct herself? What did it mean to be an adult? Relm also felt as if she were still a child at times� struggling to find out what she was supposed to do with her life. Become married? Settle down? How was she even sure she was an adult? These insecurities occupied her mind.
�Listen� I�m, uh� sorry about Marull tonight��
Relm turned around to the small voice. She looked down, saw Mokga. �Um� thanks.�
She nodded. �It�s okay� It�s just that� We�re so� angry. We�re forced to hide here. I don�t really want you killed��
Relm knelt down. �I really appreciate that� I�m really trying to understand, you know? My home is pretty much dead to me� I don�t have much of a family left.�
�Yeah.�
Relm turned around, sitting down, overlooking the mountains. She continued. �You know, I really admire your dad. He has so much. He saved my life once.�
�Really?� Mokga asked, sitting next to her.
�Yup. We were on the snowfield in Narshe� That was after the Floating Continent was destroyed. We were trying to wake up the Esper Tritoch. We hoped that she could help us in beating Kefka��
Eagerly, Mokga asked, �What happened?�
�We woke her up. But then Doom Gaze found us. He destroyed her and absorbed her. Then it came for us.�
She gasped, �Then what?�
Relm smiled. �Mog showed up. He and Umaro fought him. We all tried to get away, but we ran into the Ice Dragon. We thought we were done for sure! We were really weak from Tritoch draining our magic to wake up.�
�You had to fight him, too?!�
She laughed. �No. We were completely surprised. He started attacking Doom Gaze too. We couldn�t believe it.
After we all got away, he joined us. But anyway, we beat Doom Gaze later after we recovered. Mog protected me from a spell that would�ve killed me.�
Stars were practically in Mokga�s eyes. �He did all that?�
�I never really paid him back, either. I wanted to� Maybe I can help now��
�That�s cool� you really want to help us?�
She nodded. �If you want me to��
�Yeah! That would be great.� Mokga jumped up. �I�m going to tell my dad right now!� The moogle ran back toward the town. �Come on!�
Feeling amazing, Relm laughed self-consciously. She followed her back.
�AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!�
A tree branch smacked her in the face, stinging her eyes. She skidded to a halt, entering the scene. A large group of men had Mokga. They were dressed as soldiers, carrying weapons. They brought them up as Relm sprinted into the clearing.
�What�s going on?!� Relm exclaimed.
They said nothing. They started to advance on her.
�Run!!� Mokga yelled. �It�s the Gastrans!�
Relm gasped, backing up. She turned around and started to run.
Some kind of beam struck her in the back. Relm was thrown off her feet. She went down hard, slamming into the ground with force. She turned over, her back feeling as it were burning. The group closed in.
A sword split the air in front of Relm. The nearest soldier�s weapon was cleaved in half. The person knelt between them. Derek barked out, �BACK AWAY!�
They all took a step back. Relm got up, wincing. �Let the moogle go!� she demanded.
They didn�t respond with words. Instead, they all rushed forward, yelling a battle cry.
Derek deftly avoided the throng, spinning between them. He maimed them, chopping off sword arms and stabbing. Weapons struck him, but they were deflected off his crystal armor like toys. Their attention focused solely on him, Relm dashed over to Mokga. She told her to run back to town.
More of the enemy showed up. They burst out of the wood line in a wave. Relm called, �Look out!�
Another beam flew into the battle. It came from some kind of highly advanced metal tube. Derek leapt out of the way as it blasted someone behind him. It exploded, blowing Derek further into the air. He rolled away several feet, covered in blackness.
He rose. �I can�t see!� he exclaimed.
�They�re coming!!� Relm shouted.
Derek cursed, �Dammit!� He gripped his crystal sword tightly. An aura came from the sword. It was a transparent white light, flickering around the sword. A glint in Derek�s eye flashed.
The aura burst forth, covering the enemy in white film. They halted in their tracts, frozen and unmoving.
Derek continuously rubbed his eyes. �Did I get them?!�
�What did you do?� Relm asked in awe.
Shaking his head to clear it, Derek blinked furiously. �Okay� it�s coming back.�
�Was that magic,� she returned. �Tell me!�
Breathlessly, he explained, �No, no. Something father taught me� It drains you, though.� He stood up. �I�ll explain later. I think we better go now. I have a feeling we�re not done.�
Just before she followed him, Relm examined her cloak. A hole was scorched through. She said dejectedly, �Grandpa�s cloak��
____________
Vernash ran through the woods. He was presently being chased by a huge Chimera. This one was different. Not like who lived in Monstro Town. It was enormous, half covered in machinery. Strong, too. He was forced to flee instead of fight. The wood line clears. He barreled ahead.
Emerging at the edge of town, Vernash saw utter chaos. An invasion of an army. There were hundreds of men with armor and weapons fighting monsters in the streets. Most of the shanties were blazing on fire. In the middle of it all was a giant tank covered in metal. There were other technological war machines as well. Flying aircraft hovered above, shooting into the town with beams.
He dashed over to Mokga. She was standing there, spellbound at the destruction. Tears were streaming down her furry cheeks. He almost reached her, calling, �Watch out!!�
Her terrified face didn�t recognize him. She turned around, her eyes becoming very large.
Vernash dove, scooping her up in his arms. They rolled out of the way as a lightening bolt smashed the ground where Mokga was standing. He recovered, running away from the three-headed monster. It chased them.
Marull entered the fray. He leapt over a building covered in flames, landing in front of the Chimera. He roared, making the air vibrate. The Chimera reared back.
A top hatch to the tank opened. A tall man emerged. He had blond hair, wearing a long and thick black coat.
�There he is!!� he screamed. �We�ve flushed you out now, monster! Get him!�
Suddenly, the fight turned to Marull. The foot soldiers converged to him, and the flying machines started to fire in his direction.
A sword split the air in back of the blond haired man. With blinding speed the form bended in the direction of the attack. The sword slashed into it, getting ripped away. He tumbled to the ground. �Thought you could best me, boy?�
Derek moaned. He felt himself, his hand coming away sticky. Somehow, he had managed to strike him in between the armor plates�
The man stood upon the tank and laughed, his own sword in hand. He jumped off.
�Who are you?� Relm demanded. �What have you brought on this town?�
Seeing the woman, he halted. He said, �I am General Harlen of the Gastra Empire. We have business here.�
�Does that include killing?!� Relm shot back.
He shrugged, bringing his arms up high. �They�re just monsters.�
�No! They�re just like us! We will stop you!�
The general laughed heartily. �Really now, that is a good one! I admire you, young lady, to have such tenaciousness at your station. However, this is no game. We require that animal.� He gestured to the battle. Marull was fighting valiantly, although he was getting overrun by enemies.
Relm started to run over, but she was at a loss. The general wiggled his finger. �You have no hope. Surrender to us and we will not harm you.�
Something touched Relm�s leg. She jerked in response, but only saw Mog. He had a defeated look on his face.
�Step aside, Relm. Get out of here��
�What an interesting animal!� the general remarked. �Moogles are nearly extinct.�
Derek was helped up by Vernash. He said, �DON�T, General Harlen. They are under my protection��
�More interesting�� he muttered. �You�re not stopping us.�
It began.
The general dashed forward, scattering the group. Vernash took a swing, but his sword was wrenched away by the parry. At the same time, Mog leapt up with his spear. Weaponless, Derek hobbled to his sword several meters away.
Relm was knocked down. The general kicked Vernash firmly in the ribs. He sprawled backward. Mog came down, his spear poised. His sword was brought up at the right moment, slicing the metal spear in half. Off balance, Mog was struck by the general in midair. He flew away from them.
With satisfaction on his face, he looked down at the defenseless Relm.
There was a blur of dark. General Harlen was hit. He went down in a frenzy.
Relm exclaimed, �Interceptor! You found me!�
The dog ferociously attacked the enemy. The general tried punching him to get away. There was a yelp, with Interceptor jumping away. In a rage, he sprung up with deadly intent.
A small pink figure stood between them.
The general halted. He smirked, reaching for her.
�aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!�
There was some kind of sonic boom. The general was literally picked off his feet. The shock wave carried him into the woods.
Some of those still in battle stared in shock.
Mokga was frozen. She did not move. Her expression was disbelief. Interceptor barked ferociously.
Relm jumped up, grabbing the moogle. She called for the others amidst all the noise of the battle. Marull was still embattled with most of the enemy soldiers. Vernash ran over, as well as Mog. Derek rushed to them, wincing. �What� was that?!� he blurted out.
�Never mind that!� Mog yelled. �We can�t hold this place! You�re wounded, most of my people have been defeated, and I see reinforcements coming!�
A contingent of metal monsters smashed through the tree line. They were unwieldy, terrifying looking monsters. They belched black smoke out of their pipes, steam vents spewed loud air from them. They had numerous weapons mounted upon them, such as large claws and drills. Exploding devices were launched from tubes. Metal barrels fired small pieces of metal at incredible speeds. Other barrels had multi-colored beams blasted out of them.
From the other side of the town, General Harlen appeared clutching his gut. He wheezed loudly, �Get them! Release the Sasquatch!!�
A hatch in the back of one of the mobile machines opened. A horrible, deafening sound came from it. The bestial cry echoed throughout the town, stopping everyone in their tracks. Footsteps pounded the ground that could be felt by everyone. Something emerged.
Relm murmured, �Oh, goddesses��
The beast was taller than seven foot. Covered completely in shaggy white hair. Its frame was that somewhat of a humans, although larger than what could ever be. Pieces of metal and machinery covered much of it. Its head was fitted with some kind of helmet, a technological mesh mash of circuitry parts.
Mokga tried to break from Relm�s grasp. �Umarrrroooooo!�
The war beast dashed toward them.
Despite being swamped by the enemy, Marull was still able to spring away from them. He took a mighty leap, landing in the sasquatches path. It slammed to a halt. �Get out of here!!!!� Marull screamed.
With their heads swimming, the group fled into the night. Mokga struggled to get away, but she was held fast.
They fled the burning village along with the army that night. Although it would be much later when Relm would realize that the Gastrans were using Magitek.
____________
Author�s Note: In case you didn�t know, the Empire was called Gastra in the original Japanese version. Some interesting plot developments here I think. Sorry for the month long hiatus. I�m currently going back and forth between business trips. That�s all for now. Gotta get back to putting all the new chapters onto my computer!
Chapter 2 / Chapter 4