Subj: [ffml] [HD] Runaway Gage Date: 01-01-05 17:53:48 EST From: jaypyx@yahoo.com (pyxie ) Reply-to: ffml@egroups.com To: ffml@egroups.com I'll show them. I'll show them all that I'm manly enough already to recruit for the harem! The silent figure of a little boy slithered though the shadows, running down the trail that led away from Calypso Mountain...and the AGSOSA harem. Gage's dark green suit nicely camouflaged him from the creatures lurking at night. Growing up as a pick-pocket had given him plenty of experience with moving around unseen. "I hope miss Pyxie won't worry too much about me," he muttered quietly, suddenly feeling guilty for leaving without telling her or anyone. But with so much bustle going on in the harem, now was the best time to sneak out on his own. I won't be gone too long, he thought. I promise! Just a couple of days to fetch a cool new member Pyxie'll be proud of, and then I'll be back. You'll see... The moon looked upon the land, catching glimpses of silken black hair though the forest branches, moving silently towards the town below. Subj: [ffml] [HD] Projection Date: 01-01-05 22:48:23 EST From: raumkatze2@aol.com Reply-to: ffml@egroups.com To: ffml@egroups.com Breathing. Relaxation. Peace. Unity. Empathy. Disturbance. Fear. Pain. Death. Junior came out of his meditation with a sick feeling. Once in a while in his mediatations, he had impressions of things that were occuring elsewhere. This time, he had experienced a mass murder. He felt what the victims had felt. It was not the most horrific thing he had experienced in one of his empathic meditations, but for some reason, it disturbed him more than anything he had experienced since the Moogle Wars. He pondered this, and came to the conclusion that it was somehow connected with the portentious dreams he had been having as of late, and of the rumors that were going around about Kefka being a guest of a Baronian nobleman. * * * Having not seen any acceptable candidates in the village, Gage trekked on, determined to prove his maturity to mistress Pyxie. He began to feel uneasy, venturing into unknown territory like this, but he supressed that feeling, assuring himself that only an immature little boy would be scared at the idea of being out on his own. * * * Junior made up his mind. He would leave Vector. For how long, he didn't know. Since he kept minimal actual contact with the outside world, no one would notice him missing. Heck, most Vectorians didn't even believe he even existed. He had the feeling that the world was going through a critical period, unlike any it had went through in the last 1,200 years. He wanted to find out exactly what was going on, and possibly take action, if he thought the situation deemed it. He put only a few things in his backpack: A little bit of food, since he did not need much to survive on, and a very old photograph that he liked to have with him. * * * As the lights of the village dissapeared behind him, it occured to Gage that night may not be the best time to go on this sort of journey. Oh well, he though, I'll be alright. If I can't find a new concubine or man whore by sunrise, I'll just turn back and get to the harem in time for breakfast. * * * Junior spread his large wings, and ascended into the sky for the first time in centuries. As he soared over the kingdom of Vector, he felt warm with pride about his contributions to proving that deep down, human and mooglekind were really good at heart. Although some bigotry still existed, the integration of humans and moogles throughout Vector and beyond was a testament to the fact that moogles were not all bloodthirsty rapists bent on world domination, as they were popularly viewed to be during the early part of his life. The only reason that the citizens of the moogle nation acted as they did during the Moogle Wars of old was because after being persecuted and treated inhumanely for years, what they wanted more than anything else was for a leader to emerge with the promise of helping them rise to greatness. Unfortunately, that leader came in the form of Mog, a sexually frustrated sociopath. After the fall of Mog, and Junior's equally depraved half-brother Turan, the moogles proclaimed Junior to be their new King. He never fancied himself the monarch type, but he knew how badly the moogles wanted a more effective leader, after the excesses of Mog and Turan. Although he was not a believer in the fact that royal lineage entitled one to be a ruler, he decided that as King he might be able to do the moogles, and the rest of the world, and lot of good. So he accepted the position. After Vector City and the surrounding area had been rebuilt, and the kingdom was on it's way to becoming a world economic power, the moogles no longer thirsted for an excuse to conquer any other nations. Adventurous human business people, eager to tap a new market, moved to Vector, and and became friends with the locals they did business with. Once the goverment began to consistently have budgest surpluses, Junior began to set aside money collected from taxes each year to pay reperations to the relatives of those who had lost their lives in the Moogle Wars, human and moogle alike. Eventually, both peoples dropped much of the resentment they used to have toward each other, and Vector had become a truly integrated community. * * * As Gage stumbled around in the forest that lay beyond the village, he could no longer deny his ever-growing fear. He realized that he was lost, and that he could not find his way back to the harem even if he tried. Suddenly, he was started by the cry of a wolf in the distance. He tripped over an unseen tree root and fell down a ravine that he did not see in the dark either. * * * Someone was in distress below, Junior was sure of it. He had heard what sounded like a young boy's voice calling out in surprise. Junior decided that this was as good as any place to land in this journey without a clear destination, especially if he could help someone. He descended onto the forest, in the direction from which he heard the scream. When he touched down, it didn't take him long to find the source of the scream, a preteen boy who Junior gathered had just fallen over the ravine and hit his head, knocking him unconcious. Junior looked the boy over and ascertained that luckily the bump on his head and a few assorted bruises were the extent of his injuries. Junior picked him up, and took wing again, looking for a place where the boy would be safe and could get some rest. * * * Gage awoke with a start. Where was he? The last thing he could remember was that he was scouting for a new harem member, and then he got lost in a dark forest. He looked around and realized he was in a motel room. Shortly after he realized this, the door to the room opened and someone entered. At first Gage thought it was a moogle, but it was too tall and slender to be a moogle, and he had never seen a moogle with long, flowing brown hair on his head before. "Ah, good. You're awake," the strange creature said, "How's your head feeling?" "Hurts..." said Gage. "Yeah," said the creature, "You took quite a blow. It's a miracle that you were hurt any worse than you were. You narrowly missed some jagged rocks on that fall." "In the forest," Gage said, "I must have fallen in the forest. You must have taken me here. What, er uh, who are you? And where are we?" "My friends call me Junior, and right now, we are at an inn in a nation called Wangland, which at one time was known as Doma. Who are you?" "I'm Gage, pickpocket extraordinaire!" "So Gage," said Junior, "What were you doing in that forest so late at night?" "I was on official business, looking for new recruits for Mistress Pyxie's harem, but I got lost." "Harem, eh..." Junior drifeted off in rememberance of his troubled past, the lust he had for Mog's harem, and the trouble it got him into. "Hey mister, what's wrong?" Gage said, breaking the silence. "Hmm? Oh, nothing, nothing. You just remind me of someone. Anyway, you should probably rest for a while longer before we go anywhere. You stay in bed, I'm going to go for a walk. Junior gave Gage an affectionate pat on the shoulder and left the inn. As he walked the early morning streets of Wangland, with the precipitation illuminated by neon signs, Junior pondered Gage. The boy had a lot of spirit, ambition, and also seemed to have a strong character deep down. Junior couldn't help but be reminded of his own childhood when looking at Gage. One of the only differences was that Gage seemed much more well-adjusted than Junior had been as a child when he was being raised by Mog. Junior wondered who this Pyxie was, and what the nature of her harem was, and why this boy Gage was scouting for membership. Junior also considered the disturbing possibility that this young boy might actually a member of this harem. If he was, he sure seemed to be dealing with the situation relatively well. Then Junior began to wonder where his journey should take him next, and whether or not Gage should be a part of that journey. On one hand, they might encounter dangers that Junior would not want to expose a youngster to, but on the other hand he wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to return the boy to his questionable home life. He decided to sleep on it. When he got back to the inn, Gage was sleeping soundly. Junior quietly got into the room's other bed, and went to sleep quickly.