(Flashback): Muse City
Helga, the nurse, flitted in and out at all hours, checking up on them both. Fitcher really found himself warming to the company of the large woman. He owed her his life, but it wasn't just that. Her cheer was contagious and her smile endless. Despite his initial reaction to her looks when he had first met her in Radat, he had come to the conclusion that Helga was a beautiful person. She and her sister Olga were truly nice people.
The world needs more Helgas and less Pearls... he sighed to himself.
Fitcher had also discovered that 'regaining his strength' was an extremely mind-numbing activity. He had nothing to do but...SIT. Helga absolutely would not allow him to leave. She allowed him out of bed at the very most, but he was confined to the room with no one to talk to. Of course, his MSSA buddies occasionally dropped by, as they happened to that afternoon.
"What's up, Duckie?" Nok-Nok greeted jovially, poking his head into the room. "You'd better have all your clothes on, in there."
"Well, thanks for knocking first." Fitcher said, sticking his tongue out at his colleague. Nok-Nok entered, followed by T, Nora, and Orange.
"How are you feeling, Fitcher??" Nora asked.
"Pretty good, actually. Helga thinks I'm almost back to normal, so it shouldn't be long before I can help you guys again." he replied.
"That's great, Fitcher. We're pulling for you." Orange said.
"In the meantime, though, I'm going out of my mind with boredom. Isn't there any way you could make things less dull around here? Like, a puppet show, or something?" Fitcher said.
"Do we look like puppeteers, Fitch?" Nok-Nok winked.
"Well, maybe you could tell me more about MSSA, then? How 'bout it, T? Pleeease? I want to hear more!" Fitcher begged.
"What more is there to tell?" T said so casually that Fitcher KNEW he was keeping more tantalizingly interesting spy stories hidden away from him.
"Well, what happened to you and...Georgia, after you joined?" Fitcher inquired. T looked almost reluctant behind his neverending facade of stoic calm, but caved.
"I suppose I can tell you some more..." he said.
******
A year passed after Georgia and I joined the MSSA. A great deal of our work involved trailing Baddie McFadden after he disappeared from Muse. And as I'm sure you expect, the man was not pleased with our efforts.
...It was then, a year after our initiation, when we met McFadden at a secret hideout of his outside of North Sparrow Pass. We were almost killed, and he escaped as usual. Georgia and I survived, but the damage was done. She didn't like the stress of working together and maintaining a relationship, so we broke up. It was a hard time for the both of us, and the breakup wasn't pretty...
******
"Wait, wait, wait..." Fitcher interrupted. "You're telling me that after that great lovestory you told me last time, you broke up just like that? What...what...an..."
"Anticlimax?" Nok-Nok said with a smirk.
"It wasn't over permanently, Fitcher. I think we both needed some time to ourselves. We were only sixteen at the time, you remember." T corrected thoughtfully.
"So..." Fitcher said. "When did you two get back together?" He figured, with teen love, it had to be a couple of weeks, months, at most.
"Almost two years after that." T said nostalgically.
"Two YEARS? What happened??"
"...What happened was Georgia went into a bar shortly after, got smashed, and met a man named Kirk Kiell. My father." Nora said bluntly. Fitcher did a double take.
"Georgia's YOUR mother, Nora...?"
"Yes...I don't really talk about her often." Nora confessed.
"How come everyone neglected to mention this detail before, huh??" Fitcher said. This soap-opera-esque twist had left him shocked and confused.
"Because we love to play with your head, Fitcher." Nok-Nok said with a big grin.
"Rather, because it didn't seem pertinent to the story I told you before. For this, it's relevant." T said simply.
"Wow...so you were, like, born into MSSA, Nora?" Fitcher asked, amazed.
"Not exactly. It's kind of complicated." Nora said, frowning. "I guess Nok-Nok, T, and I can tell the story...I don't remember everything, really."
Fitcher could see in her eyes that she was lying. She remembered whatever had spurred her MSSA career like it was yesterday---she just didn't want to have to tell the whole story herself. He almost told them that no, they didn't have to tell this story if it would be too painful, but...another part of him wanted to know more than anything. What made Nora who she was??
T began to tell the story, and Nora and Nok-Nok filled in where necessary...but little did Fitcher know, he was more familiar with it than he first believed...
******
This all happened about fifteen years ago. I like to think of it as the 'Golden Age' of MSSA. By that time, I had been head of the agency for about seven years, after my uncle Ajax and his partner Hardy had been killed in action---I've always suspected Badentine was behind it, but I digress.
Though we had lost two good agents in my uncle and his partner, even better agents had come in by then. Nok-Nok, Gogo, Seymour, and many others had joined, Seymour having been the most recent...
Georgia walked into the Muse Public Library and made a beeline for the children's books. She hated leaving her daughter alone, but the alternative---letting a ten year old in on MSSA---was too risky. Besides, she supposed, Liesel the librarian was trustworthy. No, nothing would happen to her child on Liesel's watch.
"Nora? Mommy's back now." Georgia said to the little girl with her head in a book. She looked up, her grey eyes sparkling with innocence and a great thirst for knowledge. Georgia confessed, she herself had never been much for books, but her daughter loved to read. Nora's auburn hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and she was dressed in a semi-fancy green dress.
It made Georgia sad to see her daughter dress up like that. She only did it when her father came to call, which seemed to be less and less frequent lately. Damn that man, Kirk. He always got her hopes up, and then dashed them to pieces. Well, no more, she vowed.
"Is it time to go already?" Nora asked.
"Yes, sweetheart. You know we have to meet your father today." Georgia said. Nora's face lit up.
"It's been almost two months now! Is he back from the Empire??" she asked eagerly.
"Y-yes, dear, but I really don't want you to get your hopes up, all right...?" Georgia said gently, but knew it was no use. Nora would always love her father, no matter how many times he disappointed her.
"Let's go, Mommy. I don't want to be late!" Nora said, hopping up and placing her book back on the shelf.
"Bye, Nora. You behave, now, all right?" Liesel said from behind the counter, waving. "Have a good day. You too, Georgia."
"Thanks for watching her, Liesel. Bye." Georgia replied, walking out of the library with Nora.
She shook her head. Here they were, hurrying to be on time, when she already knew Kirk would be late.
******
Kirk Kiell was late. He knew it. No matter how he tried, something always conspired against him, making him ...not punctual. THIS time it had been that tall, irresistable glass of Kanakan ale that had schemed against his sense of rightly telling time. He just couldn't help it.
He ran along the streets of Muse, a town he really wasn't too familiar with. Sure, he was there from time to time, but he hadn't gotten used to the size of Jowston's capital city just yet. He aimed to change all that today.
Kirk was a tall man, brown-haired with large sideburns and a strong-looking jaw. He had grey eyes and wore a gray travelers' cape over mismatched armor. He wore a satchel at his side and had golden dragon wing-shaped ornaments tucked behind his ears like a Dragon Knight. The boots he wore thumped loudly on the neatly cobbled streets of the city as he ran.
Finally, he saw the place---Spinning Mind, Bar and Grille. That was the place he was to meet Georgia at. At least, he hoped it was. That ale may have muddled up his appointment book a bit---again, not his fault. Well, it matched his mood---his mind WAS kind of spinning at the moment.
Kirk walked in, and to his delight, there they were. Georgia, gorgeous Georgia, standing there looking agitated, but still as beautiful as the day he had met her. He already knew he was about to get an earful from her. But that didn't matter. Because little Nora, his sweet little Nora---she was there waiting for him. She was wearing a cute green dress. She was all that mattered in the world at that moment.
"Nora!" he said, kneeling as she flew into his arms. "I've missed you, babe." She hugged him tightly.
"Daddy! I missed you, too!" she said, releasing him.
"I thought about you every day I was in the Empire, Nora. And you know what I did??" Kirk said with a grin.
"Just a minute, Kirk." Georgia interrupted. "Can we talk for a minute?" Kirk looked up at her, and judging from her expression, it was about to become ugly. But he nodded.
"Um, just a second, okay, Nora?" he said. Nora shrugged.
"It's okay. I'm used to waiting." she said matter-of-factly. He stood and let himself be dragged over into a corner by Georgia.
"What is it, baby?" he asked innocently. She glared.
"Don't you dare call me that. You know what." Georgia said in that dangerous tone that meant he was either about to be chewed out, or slapped.
"Listen, I know I was late this time, but I'll make it up to you next time, baby..." Kirk begged. She slapped him.
Or both, he amended.
"Kirk Kiell, you should be ashamed of yourself." she blasted, "Nora waits every day for you to come walking through that door, and every time you disappoint her. You disappear for months at a time, leaving tantalizing hopes for your return in your few letters, getting her hopes up more and more before you hurt her again. Kirk, I can't take it anymore."
"W-what...what do you mean? I'm here as much as I'm able! You know I'd do anything for her! She's my little girl!" he defended.
"You're not doing enough. You can either start trying harder---and I mean HARDER---or you'll be cut off altogether. I can't stand to watch her be hurt by you again." Georgia said icily.
"Listen, all that's going to change right now. I'm...I'm getting out of all that shit I've been caught up in lately, I promise you. I've been doing some thinking lately... I want you back, baby. I'll stay here in Muse with you and Nora, and we'll raise her as a family again. I know I've gotten worse, but...but...we can start over. Whaddya say, Georgia? I love you." Kirk vowed, taking her hand in his.
She wrenched her hand away.
"Get it through your skull, Kirk. It's over. I'm with Trent now, and that won't change. He's...he's more of a father to Nora than you ever were." Georgia said darkly. Kirk's face fell.
He was speechless. Then, angry.
"So...so...that's it, huh? This Trent guy is just 'the man' for you, is it? What about before, Georgia, huh? What about before?" Kirk shouted. Georgia glared at him tearfully.
"There never WAS a before! The only reason I've waited around for your good-for-nothing ass to walk back through the door is our DAUGHTER, Kirk! You do have one, you know! You seem to forget that whenever something shiny appears on that treasure map of yours, though!"
"T-that's enough. I didn't c-come here for you. I came here to be with my daughter." Kirk said, choking back his disappointment. He really had hoped that Georgia would take him back, but... he should have known. Nora was all that mattered, anyway. He didn't need Georgia.
"What's the matter...?" Nora asked, wide-eyed. Kirk and Georgia went back over to her. He kneeled again, and held her face in his calloused hands, putting on a bold face.
"Nothing, babe...I have a surprise for you, okay? Daddy brought you a surprise." Kirk said cheerfully.
"Are you crying??" Nora asked observantly.
"N-no, Nora. Daddy is just happy to see you. Let's go see your surprise, okay? This is just for you." Kirk said. He took his daughter by the hand, cast one look back at Georgia, and left the bar.
******
Kirk and Nora walked on, hand in hand, through the streets of Muse. He knew just where he was going, this time. He had prepared a very special surprise for his daughter. He really, really hoped she would appreciate it, because he truly didn't want to lose her. Kirk cared deeply about that girl, and Georgia's words had cut him deeply.
Perhaps because they were true. But he couldn't bring himself to admit it, and merely walked.
"Here we are, sweetheart. This is the building." he said, gesturing. The building itself was shabby. Run-down and abandoned, it had all the charm of a third-world hovel, but this was the only place he felt it was safe to leave his gifts... people who stumbled upon them wouldn't bother to mess with them, as to the everyday crook they weren't valuable at all.
"Are you sure...?" Nora asked apprehensively. It wasn't the greatest part of town, Kirk admitted. But he meant well. He led her into the building and up the stairs, to the roof. It was a large building, and the roof was fairly wide and flat, with a great view of Muse. Nora saw immediately the pile of dolls in the corner, along with a potted flower that looked exquisite.
"That's a flower from the Empire, see, Nora? And those dolls are from a special vendor from Kirov." Kirk explained.
"Oh, Daddy, they're beautiful! Thank you!!" Nora said breathlessly. She hugged him tightly, then turned to look at all her gifts. She sat down on a crate next to her father, and laid her head on his shoulder. "I...I wish you could stay..."
"What do you mean, Nora? I can stay as long as you want me to." Kirk said.
"Y-you mean it? But...you always leave..."
"Not this time, sugarpie. I'll stay, I promise." he said firmly.
The tranquil moment was shattered suddenly, as seven men emerged on the rooftop unannounced. All of them wore dark blue cloaks and were heavily armed. They did not appear to be friendly in any way. The apparent ringleader stepped forward. He was wearing the same blue cloak as the rest, but had a gold insignia sewn into his at the chest. He was covered in scars and had a silver earring in one ear. He looked quite pleased with himself.
"P-Pol!" Kirk gasped, not at all pleased. "W-what are you guys doin' here??"
"Finally found you, Kirk." the man called Pol said smugly.
"Don't move, and this will end quickly!" said one of the other men, "This is your last chance!" Pol elbowed him sharply.
"Where's my money, Kiell?" he asked of Kirk.
"I told you I'd get it to you...." Kirk said vaguely. Nora was extremely frightened. Who were these men? Why was her father so scared of them?
"That's not a good answer, Kirk. You weren't trying to get OUT of the gang, were you? Cuz NO ONE leaves the Midnight Raiders without paying off their debts first." Pol said menacingly. Kirk continued to back away, wide-eyed.
"H-how did you find me here??"
"We followed you, obviously. Give us some credit, Kirk." the other man who had spoken up before said smugly.
"Now, you can do this the easy way, or you can do this the hard way, Kirk," Pol proclaimed, "Give me my money, or else."
"I don't have it, Pol...give me some time..." Kirk said desperately.
"Daddy, I'm scared!" Nora said fearfully. Pol seemed to notice for the first time that Nora was there.
"Who's thiiiis, Kirk? Someone important to you? All the more reason to pay me with all due speed." Pol said viciously. He pulled out a pistol, the only one Nora had ever seen. She wasn't even sure what it was until he pointed it into the air and fired off a warning shot.
"Keep your head down, Nora." Kirk cautioned. "I'll take care of these thugs. Don't worry. It'll be all right."
"Thugs? Remember, Kirk, you're no better than any of us." Pol said icily. He aimed the gun at Kirk and pulled the trigger, but found his aim incredibly off due to Nora tackling his knees.
"STOP! GO AWAY!!" she screamed, as the gun went off again.
******
"Agent T, we've got quite a situation..." a frantic-looking Kobold agent, clad in flamboyant colors, barked, running into MSSA headquarters. T looked up from his conversation with a the Kobold's partner, a somewhat stout twenty year old man.
"What is it, Gogo?" T asked calmly.
"Georgia's in hysterics. Apparently Nora has been kidnapped or something. There's some kind of terrorist group in town, making demands. At least one of them has discharged a Howling Guild firearm, T..." Gogo said, panting.
"W-what?!" T gasped. "We don't have that many agents to spare right now, but..."
"I can help here, T." the man promised.
"Let's go, Nok-Nok, Gogo. Quickly! We'll need State backup, too." T said urgently, leading the way out of the complex.
******
Elmira walked down the crowded street in Muse, carrying shopping bags full of goods. Behind her, a gangly youth with messy black hair held loosely in a red headband walked, disgruntled.
"One more store, dear, then we'll go back home." said Elmira cheerily, glancing back at her son.
"Aw, Ma..." complained the youth, who was also hauling several bags, "Couldn't we have done something remotely interesting here, besides just...shopping? We never get to do anything fun when we're in Muse!"
"Don't worry, Fitcher..." Elmira chided. "I'm sure your father will want you to come work here, eventually."
"I'm not joining the State Army, Mom! No matter what Dad thinks...all that action's not for me. I'll be perfectly content with a cushy desk job." Fitcher said firmly.
"Now, Fitcher... just be nice about it, please. Your father will have to accept whatever you choose to do with yourself, but there's no reason to be rude about it." Elmira insisted. Fitcher sighed.
This BLOWS! he thought to himself.
That was, until a tall browned haired man ran past him, followed by a loudly-dressed Kobold, a stout man holding a crossbow, and a group of armed State soldiers.
"W-what's going on, here??" Elmira asked, startled.
"There's a situation, ma'am. The city's going into lockdown until we get everything under control. I suggest you take cover somewhere." one of the soldiers explained.
"Oh, my goodness!" Elmira gasped. "Fitcher, we'd better---Fitcher? ...Fitcher, dear, where are you??"
Fitcher, of course, wasn't about to miss this action that was unfolding, so he had followed the group of soldiers, blending right in with the increasingly panicked crowd of Muse citizens. Whispers of terrorists and hostages floated through the throng.
Coming up to a street completely barricaded by a Muse soldier blockade, Fitcher stopped. He could see the rooftop where everything was unfolding from where he stood, anyway. He stared with the rest of the people, wondering what was going on...
******
Agent T stood tensely in the street just outside the front door to the building upon which the terrorists had been cornered. Up there somewhere was poor, sweet Nora... something of a surrogate daughter, to him. If something happened to her, not only would Georgia never forgive him, he would never forgive himself. Everything had to be done with exact precision, lest something go wrong.
Gogo stood watch outside the door, armed and ready, while Nok-Nok led the advance team of special troops into the building.
"Be careful, Nok-Nok. I want nothing to happen to that girl. She's all that matters." T said gravely.
"Of course, T. You can count on me." Nok-Nok promised, making his way up the stairs.
"L-let her go! Pol, please, please, let my daughter go! She's done nothing to you, or to the Raiders!" Kirk pleaded, tears running down his face. Pol had Nora in a chokehold, with his gun at the ready to shoot either him or her. The other Midnight Raiders were standing by waiting for a command from their leader.
"Poltane." said one Raider with straggly dark hair that hung loosely over one eye, "There's a crowd gathered below. Don't you think we've attracted too much attention this way?"
"Quiet, Zetto." Pol snapped. "We'll just have to make an example of Kirk, here. Show that no one double-crosses the Raiders and lives to tell the tale. Eh, boys?" Shouts of assent echoed from the other men present.
"N-no...Pol...Poltane, don't...!" Kirk gasped.
The captain of the archers positioned on various rooftops around the one in question walked up to Agent T.
"Arnell. My men are in position, but the girl's in a difficult spot. I need your authorization---if we have a clear shot, are we to take it? The ringleader's got her."
T thought for a moment, then nodded.
"If you're absolutely certain. If not, my man Nok-Nok will signal your men when he's confident it's safe to move in." T said. The captain signaled to his men.
So far, so good... thought T. There were just two things he hadn't counted on.
Georgia was one. She pushed through the crowd, and ran over to T with a fury in her eyes.
"Trent, Trent, what--where--where is she?!! Where's my baby?!" she screamed.
"C-calm down, Georgia. I'm handling it." he said as gently as possible.
"Y-you can't possibly...these are TERRORISTS, Trent! That's my daughter we're talking about here!!" she said, collapsing into hysterical sobs. He knelt to comfort her, but it wasn't working very well. If he could keep her distracted for long enough, it might go off without a hitch, he thought.
Of course, the other thing he hadn't counted on was...
Nok-Nok knew the terrorists.
"B-Blimey! Poltane, look!" the loud Raider from earlier said, pointing wildly towards the door from which Nok-Nok and troops had emerged.
"...It's Bloom!" Zetto marveled. All the Raiders turned to look. Nok-Nok's eyes widened in fear.
"Y-you! You're the 'terrorists'?!" he gasped.
"Norchius Bloom, what in the living hell are you doing here? You still owe us a fair amount of money, too!" Pol cried.
"I'm...I'm..." Nok-Nok stuttered.
"What's going on here...? Bloom? Izzat you?" Kirk said, confused. He edged towards Poltane and Nora.
"It's not what you think, Pol." Nok-Nok said resolutely. "I left that life behind long ago. I have a new place in life now."
"Think you're better than us, eh? That's a popular idea around here." Poltane sneered. "One we should be working to discourage. So after all I did for ya, you'd turn on me, eh, runt?"
"Back up, Pol. Let the girl down." Nok-Nok said coldly.
"You'd like that, eh? C'mere, Bloom. I'll give ya what-for!" Pol threatened, before yelling out in pain as Nora bit him on the arm as hard as she could. He dropped her, and all hell broke loose.
"F-Fire!" Nok-Nok cried, loosing a shower of crossbow bolts at the Midnight Raiders. A cry went up from the crowd below, most of which scattered in all directions.
Screaming, Nora was scooped up by a State soldier as arrows rained in from all directions. Six Raiders, including Zetto and the loud man who had repeatedly spoken up during the confrontation, were killed instantly as they were pierced with arrows.
Kirk went down in the fire, too, as did Poltane, who was only hit in the arm and side.
"DADDY!!!" Nora wailed, kicking. Nok-Nok realized his mistake too late, having associated Kirk with the Raiders from previous experience with them. He only then noticed that Kirk was dressed differently at the time.
"Oh god...oh god...I screwed it up..." he moaned to himself. Nora broke free and ran over to her father, who lay bleeding on the rooftop.
"Daddy...daddy, come on, wake up! You can't die!! What's happening...?!" Nora screamed.
Agent T, Gogo and Georgia burst onto the roof.
"What's the status, Nok-Nok?" T asked crisply. He was alarmed by what he saw. Not only did it appear that most of the terrorists were dead, but Nok-Nok, who he had seen in his three years of service face down terrors that made T himself shake, was puking his guts out over in a corner.
"...Nok-Nok?" Gogo said, cocking his head to one side.
"S-six terrorist fatalities..." Nok-Nok choked out. "One wounded...one...one innocent hit."
"What?" T said sharply. Georgia, who had scooped Nora into her arms, screamed.
"KIRK!"
She ran over to him, but it was too late. He was already gone, and she knew it.
"W-why isn't Daddy getting up, Mommy? He's not dead, is he? Say he's fine, say he's coming back!" Nora shrieked hysterically.
"I'm sorry, honey..." Georgia sobbed, taking her daughter by the hand and removing her from the scene.
******
Fitcher watched in wide-eyed awe as the survivors came down from the roof. His heart was pounding, and he was sweating.
He saw a woman with red hair and leather armor guide a young girl in a blood-spattered green dress down the road. The crowd cleared a path for them as they went. They were followed by the tall, brown-haired man, the Kobold, and the stout young man he had seen before. A man in a dark blue cloak was carried out on a stretcher. The rest were dead. Fitcher didn't want to stay to watch the bodies come out, so he turned and walked down the road in the same direction as the survivors of such a seemingly random attack. He wondered idly where his mother was at.
As he walked, he ran smack into a tall, gorgeous woman. She was one of the most beautiful people he had ever seen. She wore a long, black dress that was quite low-cut to reveal her ample figure, and had greenish black hair that cascaded down her back. She wore high-heeled boots, a black cape, and silver jewelry that captivated the eye.
Fitcher, at seventeen, found himself quite taken with this tall, dark, and BOOTYLICIOUS woman, despite her forbidding glare. And despite the fact that she pushed past him without a word. She carried a large, suspicious looking package, though he thought nothing of it at at the time. He watched her walk down the street towards Jowston Hill until she was out of sight, then resumed his search for his mom.
"Fitcher!! Oh, thank the gods, you're all right! Where were you??" Elmira cried, hugging her son a little too tightly for his tastes.
"Ma, I'm fine. I just got seperated from you in the crowd, that's all. I hid in the rune shop until everything was clear, I promise." Fitcher lied.
"You're so pale, dear. Are you all right?"
"C'MON, Mom, I'm okay! Let's just go." Fitcher urged. Having seen more than enough excitement for one day, he was eager to get back home to Coronet. So, they departed.
...Fitcher never saw the Muse paper the next day, as he received a more local Coronet version of the news. The previous day's events, what with the Midnight Raiders and the hostage, were detailed on the front page.
What wasn't detailed was the horrific explosion that went off near Jowston Hill that very same evening, killing three people, including a vibrant woman with red hair that she always wore up, wearing leather armor...
He never read about eyewitnesses who saw a tall, dark woman in a cape fleeing the scene with a black-haired man wearing an eyepatch.
...If he only knew...
******
"...so, my mother and father died in the same day." Nora said, wiping a tear away while pretending to clean her glasses. "Pretty poor luck, wouldn't you say?" She laughed a high, unnatural laugh, as if she had just made a joke. Fitcher looked at her with sorrow.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Nora. I shouldn't have made you relive all that just for my sake."
"It's not...no, Fitcher...I needed to get it out..." she insisted. "At least, after that, I joined MSSA as a 'junior' agent, and I had T to look after me, right...?" T shook his head.
"It was a terrible day for everyone. Kirk getting killed accidentally..." he said. Nok-Nok said nothing, but was silent at this, "And then Georgia dying in the bombing..."
"I...I was there." Fitcher said. Nora, Nok-Nok and T stared at him.
"You what?"
"I was there. That day. I...I saw you, Nora. I'm sorry..." he said. He felt terrible.
"There's nothing to be sorry about." she said softly. They sat in silence for a moment, until something that was eating away at Fitcher bubbled up to the surface and he spoke.
"T..."
"Yes?"
"...Doesn't anyone know who was behind that bombing?" he asked tentatively. T sat in silence for a moment. His eyes darkened.
"Yes, Fitcher. We have a very good idea." he said simply. "It was most likely---"
Before T could finish, the door to the room flew open. A State sentry who couldn't have been more than nineteen burst in, panting.
"A...Agent...T..." he gasped.
"What's wrong??" T asked.
"I'll get him a glass of water." Agent Orange volunteered, running out of the room. Soon, she returned.
"What's going on, soldier?" Nok-Nok asked.
"We...we have a situation." he panted, gulping down more water.
"Er...what kind of situation?" Fitcher prodded.
"A demihuman calling himself Goldwinger is headed towards Muse with a sizeable force. He's threatening the Mayor." the messenger gasped. "And..."
"And??"
"A man called Reeley Badnooz is marching on Ryube with an army of two-thousand." the messenger said.
"What?!" Nora gasped. "T-that's not possible! Where could he get so many---?"
"The rune." Fitcher said grimly. "The Devastato-Potato Rune has the power, along with that wacky rune of Deuce's, to conjure up an army. It may only be prostitutes, but it's two-thousand of them, all the same."
"This is a major calamity waiting to happen." T said gravely. "We're short agents, as well. There's no way Agent Clinker can help us here, and we've got others out on assignment."
"I'm not taking this lying down." Fitcher said fiercely. "I've a bone to pick with Badnooz."
"As do I." T said. "But, we'll have to do this right, if we're going to head off these disasters. It calls for drastic measures."
"What kind of...?" Nok-Nok said.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to call two agents of ours back into service." T said. There was a collective gasp.
"N-no, sir!" Orange said. "Not...not...THEM?"
"They won't like being forced out of retirement, T..." Nok-Nok warned.
"I can't help it. Jowston is in dire straits right now, and we need their help more than ever." T vowed.
"Who??" Fitcher asked, confused.
"Are you kidding? The Twin Assassins!" Nok-Nok said.
"They were the most efficient killers MSSA EVER knew." Nora said, in awe.
"Agents F and M..." Orange murmured.
"That's right." T said. "But first, other arrangements. Nok-Nok."
"Yessir?" the stout man eagerly said.
"Return to Muse immediately. You and Dublos round up the State Army, in case Goldwinger mounts a full-scale attack." T commanded. "Nora, I want you to head to Toto Village and find out everything you can about Badnooz's army, and report back to me."
"What about me, sir? I have to do something! I'm the picture of health, now!" Fitcher put in.
"Hmmm...Agent Orange, accompany Fitcher to the Matilda border area to find Agent F and Agent M, but if you pass through Muse in time, help protect it from Goldwinger. F & M must be brought back into service." T ordered smoothly. "I'll stay here to get things in order with Helga and Clinker, and then return to Muse."
"But, Agent T...Fitcher doesn't even know what they LOOK like!" Orange pointed out.
"That's why you're going with him, now isn't it?" T said. "Look sharp, everyone. This is MSSA's chance to do what it was created for: protect this country at all costs. Let's go, now!"
The agents all left the room, save Orange and Fitcher. He hopped out of bed, feeling slightly dizzy for a second, but he shook it off.
"Most efficient killers ever, eh?" Fitcher said, awestruck. "Are they surly, vicious? Will we have to fight them??"
"Oh, assuredly not. They retired so they could have a more peaceful life, traveling the country without worry." Orange explained. "Besides, I'm...rather close to one of them."
"Ohoh..." Fitcher chuckled. Orange's hand went to her scimitar.
"Get dressed, Fitcher. The less you act like Dublos, the better your chances." she said, smirking.
"Yes, ma'am."
No sooner was he dressed then the door burst open once more. Pan Lione and Aybabtu stormed in.
"What's this about you leaving, Fitcher??" Aybabtu demanded.
"I...er...have to go somewhere, all right? You guys behave yourselves." Fitcher said nervously, not wanting to give too much away.
"Certainly. But we'll be coming too." the middle-aged-ninja declared smugly.
"YE-AH! There's no getting rid of someone as talented as ME~!" Pan said in his cutesy singsong voice.
"Er...uh..." Fitcher looked desperately to Orange for anything at all she could put in the conversation.
"What are you waiting for, Fitcher? Let's go." she said, walking out of the room. As soon as she left, Aybabtu elbowed him.
"Hehehe, Fitcher---that lady nurse who's been watching over ya---she's quite the woman, eh? I think I'll ask her for a drink when we get back here." the ninja chuckled.
"Wait, come back!" Pan squealed at Orange. "I just remembered I'm in love with you~!" He ran from the room.
"Let's get a move-on, laddie. You don't want people to start saying that you're slower than me, the Greatest Ninja of All Rokkaku, do you??" Aybabtu prodded, skipping out the door before stubbing his toe rather hard on a piece of furniture.
"Aaaagh, shuriken!"
Fitcher shook his head. It seemed he was stuck with them for the time being. But finding two of the best agents ever, who didn't want to be found? Possibly fighting off this Goldwinger, or Badnooz? It was enough to turn his stomach again. Why had he volunteered? To impress Nora? To get out of bed? Who knew??
He knew one thing, though. This could be his hardest mission yet.
