Part 55: Episode LII (Part 2): Fei and Elly - E/N

Episode LII (Part 2): Fei and Elly - E/N



”I’d think that were weirder if I didn’t also think I had a concussion and it might just be in my head...”
“Ouch...”


“We were able to save you and your friends, Citan... But I wonder what happened to Fei and Elly... I'm sure...they're alive somewhere...”
”He’s probably sizing her up for a fursuit right now...”
*shakes head* "Man! The sea breeze stings my eye... So this is what they call the sea... First of all, I have to apologize to those two."
”...Kinda got interrupted by a powerslam last time. Man, what is with everything wanting to drop on my head lately...?”

Music: Leftover Dreams of the Strong


Welp, we now have to track down Citan and Rico to re-apologize for blowing their ride up with a missile. Again, in Citan’s case. We do not really get any indication as to where they’re hanging out now. Sigurd just yells at us on the bridge. So maybe old Maison has a better idea...


“...receive an education fit for a prince, then old Maison, who is in charge of his upbringing, will disgrace the very memory of King Edbart IV... god bless him. Typical of the young master not to even listen to me! The king was peace-loving, a very generous person... On the contrary, not only does the young master put his name on a missile, but goes and shoots an unknown airplane with it. To make the matters worse, his good friend Fei and company were onboard it... Anyway, one must apologize to Doctor Uzuki and his friend Master Rico, right!? They were on their way toward the Gear Hangar..."
”Uhh...Gear Hangar...gotcha...”

To the Gear Hangar...


It’s not too hard to find our way around the Yggdrasil II. Amazingly enough, it is identical in every way to the Yggdrasil I right down to the posters on the walls and assorted accommodations. In any case, Citan can be found hanging out in the Gear Shop.


"Um... About my shooting down the Goliath... I'm, errh, really, errh..."
"Oh, is that it? I guess it could not be helped... But, jumping the gun is your bad habit. A king should always keep calm and judge carefully!"
(Maison says the same thing.)
*nods* "Yeah, I know, I know! By the way, I have something to ask you..."
"Oh? That is unusual."
”So, Fei is in prison for a while over in Kislev, huh?”
“That is correct.”
“So uhh...him and the rodent demi-human guy. Are they like...ya know...”
“...I am afraid I do not follow.”
“Ahh....never mind! I’ll ask him myself... But besides that...”
"Well, it's about this warship we're on...which is the same type as the Yggdrasil. Years ago, my old man told me it was scrapped because the peace talks with Kislev made progress. So I knew it existed..."
"Hmm. Then, what is bothering you?"
*Bart hands Citan something* "The symbol on the ship... It's not our Royal Crest! Look at this."
"This is..."


"I am not positive but it looks like Shevat's."
"Shevat? What do you mean?"
*thinks* "The Yggdrasil may not have been made by your father. At that time, much of the potential technology was not understood and hence, was hidden. Maybe your father might have been scared of its power and so sealed it away."
”Yeah...that does not explain what the hell a ‘Shevat’ is in the least...”
“It is a long story.”
“I got time...”
“Perhaps later...”
“Uhh...busy or something? Tch. Whatever...”
"Hmm, I see. So this may not have been ours from the start. If so, I wanna meet the guys who made this amazing baby."
"Actually, they may be closer to you than you suspect..."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Anyway, enough worrying... But I do think you should apologize to Rico. You may get more than a bruise this time though."
”No. Hold right the hell up. What did t hat ‘they may be closer than you think’ thing mean?!”
“As I said, every moment you waste will likely lead to an increasingly painful reaction to your belated apology.”
“Ah...crap!”


Before we got apologize to Rico, it’s a pretty good idea to hit up the Gear Shop. It’s been an entire Act since we last serviced Brigandier.






Needless to say, it could use a complete overhaul by this point.


Bart will find Rico on the opposite side of the hangar checking up on his Gear. I’m really curious what manner of spectacular crash left Hammer, Citan, and Rico as well as the latter two’s Gears all easily recovered, but flung Elly and Fei along with their corresponding giant robots across the sea never to be found. Perhaps it would have made more sense if anywhere in the Goliath was portrayed beyond the bridge...


“...”
"Y, you know..."
“...”
"Quit the silent treatment! I came here to apologize!"
"...What's your problem!? I thought I dealt with you a while ago. I'm not the type to dwell on the past."
”Unless you’d like to be piledriven off this walkway, you can go...”
“...”
"I'm more concerned about those two Gears there... Who the hell are you? I'm amazed you tune them to run so well! I thought Fei and I were the only ones who could work Gears that well..."
"Wow you really are the Battling Champ... Oops, I mean ex-Champ... I'm amazed how you can tell how good a Gear is just by looking at it."
”All of them except that red Gear. What kind of moron smashed out one of the visual sensors to stick on some kind of...what is that...a fake eyepatch? And that fairy feather on the top. Is that supposed to be some sort of novelty Gear for parades?”
<Just...keep it cool Bart... You do not need him to electrocute you or bite your head...>


“Really interesting. I was gonna move on but now I've changed my mind... Let me join you, boss."
*nods* "I guess it's alright..."
”...The hell just happened?”

Later that night, adrift on the sea...

Music: Faraway Promise



<Oh crap. I should not take the bait on this but...>
“What do you mean?”
“I've just been drifting around... being led by circumstances.”
“No... that's not right. In Aveh, you helped Bart when he needed it. And in Kislev, you gave your all to defend, to save everyone. You've even shown concern for me many times.”
“No... I'm just no good.”
”I mean I’m like six or seven levels ahead of doc and he’s still got way better stats than me...”
“Why?”
“Probably deep inside, I'm not really trying to help. Somehow, I get the feeling that all I've done I did because I wanted to be needed. That if I did something for them...then maybe, I'd have a place to belong... There's a side of me that comforts itself like that. That doesn't mean I don't want to help. But, that doesn't mean I really want to help either. It might not be 'nothing', but it sure isn't the 'whole' either. I'd been drifting, led around until I met you, Elly. Now, we're stranded out in the ocean. I'm sorry... I got you involved.”
”Zzz.”
“Gah! Oh... Sorry... Something in my eye...”
“It's okay. Don't worry about me. I've been thinking why I'm here. I could've just gone back. But for some reason I didn't... Probably because you said it's better to do something than nothing. I think that's why I felt I had to do something. It's OK not to feel 'whole'. Even if you only feel partly complete, if you repeat that enough, eventually it'll be 'whole'. A part...is better than zero.”
”Zzz...”
“Gah! Yeah... Yeah!”
“You're right... I'm sorry...”


"I probably won't go back to my squad. Right now, I really don't want to be there... Besides, I could probably do something else... I don't have to be in the army. So, I'm thinking of going back to my country."
"Is that possible? But what about the army?"
"It's not like anyone knows what I did. They've probably already classified me as MIA."
”What about those other Gebler guys?”
“To clarify – nobody credible.”
"Hmm. I hope at least you'll survive. I'm sure you'll find what you want to do in your life."


"Yes."
”I...kinda forget what point I was getting at. I tend to ramble sometimes...”
"Don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone wants to be needed at times. All of us want to give something inside ourselves to others to be accepted. ...Even me. Remember how you forced yourself to eat those emergency rations?"

Earlier that day...


*hurl* ”How does one fish make that much fish puke?! It’s like it opened up a conduit to the vomit elemental realm in my throat!”

Elly walks over to Fei...


"I told you not to eat such a gross looking animal."
"It tastes horrible. The last time I had food this bad was doc's cooking."
”They DEFINITELY do not teach the culinary arts in med school.”

Later that day, but still in the flashback zone...


”Fei, calm down. It’s only been a little over a day we’ve been stranded.”
“Has it, Elly...? Has it?! There are no clocks out here! Time doesn’t mean anything anymore! Other than the fact it’s slipping away!”
“Geez...you do NOT do well without a decent meal...”
"I guess there's no other way. I was hoping to save this a little longer..."

Elly reaches into her pocket, pulls something out, and hands it to Fei...

"This should hold us for another day... But it's only for emergency calories so I can't promise how good it'll taste."
”Elly, you are the bestest person ever!”

Fei wolfs that sonuvabitch down...


”It looks and feels like a cookie... But it’s a lie!”
"I thought so... You don't like it, do you?"
*shakes head* "Wha? N, no... It's good. Yeah, ah, it's great. Whatever you'd share with me couldn't be that bad, could it?"

Back in the present...


“For me to survive, it would have been better not to share it. But, watching you eat it even though it tasted bad comforted me. I felt glad that I shared it with you... It made me feel a little better."
"For your own sake?"
"Yes, for my own sake. Selfish, I admit. But, I think it's okay to be that way at first. But little by little you learn about your own happiness... And someday you are able to share that important part of you with someone else. Some...day."

Elly jumps to her feet...


“What's up?"
”What did the wind shift in your direction? Sorry... That punk fish did a number on me... I was hoping it wouldn’t blow your direction... Super sorry!”
*shakes head quickly* "...Nothing. It just felt as though I've told you the same thing long ago... It must be my imagination. I couldn't have said it to you before, because we've only just met, haven't we?"


It's going to turn out that Fei and Elly really went to the same orphanage as kids, but got fantasy amnesia due to excessive Gear Fighting use...isn't it?










Elhaym Illustration – Roughly .05 seconds before flashing everyone below her and shifting to her current jumping stance...