Thank these people:
- GameFAQs' Split Infinity (YouTube's Splitplaythru), and Prima's official guide (as reference for in-game things),
- GameFAQs' Psycho_Crack (ACF's game script; as reference, too),
- and Krysmphoenix's LP of ACF (for being so damn humorous, and informative for in-game things, too)

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Wild Arms: Alter Code F, the original Wild Arms, the guides and/or LP mentioned above. AFAIK, Wild Arms belongs to Media Vision (can't put the dot in lieu of space), and the guides and/or LP above belonged to their owners/authors. I'm writing this fanfiction for my own amusement/training, and (secondarily) your enjoyment

As it tends to screw my word count, this DISCLAIMER (and "Thanks") applies to the whole story. Thanks.

Changelog:

Sept 24th, 2016:
- Changed "Tomb" to "Coffin".
- Updated "Thanks".
- Added a certain line.

Sept 25th, 2016:
- Changed "cartridge" with "Cartridge" (capital vs non-capital letter).
- Changed "magician" to "sorceress".

Sept 30th, 2016:
- Changed a couple of details, and fixed some typos or missing words.
- Added "P.P.S" in A/N.
- Edited "Thanks".

The crossing fate... This story begins from here.

It was dark.

He couldn't hear, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak. Warm liquid surrounded him. Dimly, he noticed that his chest wasn't rising or falling; it was still. One sane person would have been panicking had such a thing happened to them; it was all dark, there wasn't a single sound, and immersion in liquid—chances of someone dying because they drowned were high. The fear of drowning alone should have been there, but it wasn't. Strangely enough, only one question mattered to him right now.

Where was he? He couldn't remember where he was…

Even such a question was vague, dim, at best. Deep down, he knew he should have questioned the reason behind such weak reactions, but he didn't. Why, he couldn't even tell. It was like his mind was too relaxed—a state much like when it was under sedation, to even feel such a thing.

…Wait, what is a sedation? How did he know such a thing? He desperately—or as desperate as someone in a half sleep-like state could, to grasp on the questions, but even his efforts weren't enough as said questions slipped his mind.

As he felt like he was floating aimlessly for unknown amount of time, he noticed there were voices somewhere—at last. They were muffled, either from the liquid all around him—including in his ears, or his current state of mind, he didn't know and he didn't care. Feeling his heart warm with the knowledge of something or someone else was there with him brought a strange burst of happiness in his chest.

At least that meant that he wasn't alone…

Even when he couldn't focus his mind, he tried his hardest to listen to the voices, to make out what they were saying.

Grandpa had always told him to listen to people, that it would tell him of the speaker's character. And like a good grandson he was, he would do it.

"How is…going?"

"…nicely… Soon…could even…compatible…ARMs due to… Smaller…Golems…calculations…stronger… of a…"

"Excellent… killer…demons…"

What are they talking about?

"What…you doing?"

"…making use…killing… sympathetic…?... not like us…purpose…war…"

Huh? What—?

"…not laying…on him."

"…'him' now… attached… not seen…terrible…done? …created…combat…yet they…destruction…much like…"

"…not like…rest!"

"…shouldn't have…attached to…not like. Arrest…seal... should never…born."

Then there was a sudden clarity; he could hear voices clearly, like the mufflers were removed. But he wished he didn't hear them.

"Boy, you brought us misery," a voice growled out.

"Monster!" another cried.

"Leave us alone!" another screamed in terror.

No…

"Forbidden, taboo," one hissed, fear and malice underlying beneath the tone.

"Never should have come here," one other whispered.

No, no, no, no, no…

"Freak!"

"It was all your fault!"

I… I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to!

"…dy."

…Tony, is it you?

"I didn't believe them."

Really?

"But then, my dad got sick not long after you came."

No… Please, no, Tony…

"Maybe it was your fault, after all."

…!

Ah!

One blue-haired boy jolted awake violently, his amber eyes frantically looked around for the nonexistent beings that plagued his dreams. He panted, his heart pounding in his chest, cold perspiration lightly layered his skin. He sighed, placing his bare hand on his chest as his heart calmed. Just a dream, he thought to himself. He threw the covers off, and slid his legs to let the pads of his feet touch the rather cold wooden floor. As he ran his fingers through his damp, blue hair, he stared at articles of his clothing and equipment on the bedside table.

Both of his brown hide gloves were on placed neatly beside each other, his red bandanna lying messily on the furniture's top. His red vest was hung using a hanger made of thin wire near the window, the hook of the hanger hanging to a stray nail on the side of the cupboard by the window. His boots were arranged neatly at the foot of the bed.

The boy sighed as he stood up, walking to the restroom, his bare feet padded softly on the wooden floor. Water wasn't as scarce as it was in Surf here in Adlehyde, so he could easily splash his face with fresh water without fear of running out other people's water. Surf Village wasn't exactly a desolate place, but it wasn't very plentiful in water, either. With how many cattle there were, people had to make most of what water they could find, especially when next to none of the villagers were fit to fight the nearby monsters to reach the larger river, which wasn't all that surprising when the number of capable young (adult) men weren't high.

The young bluenette sighed as the memory of his exile came to the forefront of his mind. He offered what help he could, be it lifting things, cleaning pastures, taking care of the horses (his favorite!) or even repairing a couple of roofs, more often than not declining the villagers' rewards for him when he felt that they needed it more. Yet still, his good deeds were like nonexistent the moment it came to light that he could wield an ARM.

ARMs. Ancient Relic Machines or Artificially Rebirthed Matricide Machines as they were known, weren't something ordinary people could just wield. It was said to be first created with a technology now lost to humans during the Great War against the metal demons—the technology behind it was akin to the technology the metal demons would use. The stories surrounding their creation were mysteries, and it wasn't easy to say which was truer than the other. Some said the ARMs were made by humans and elws to combat demons, some said that the ARMs were based on the demons' technology, some even said that they were created by the demons themselves before Filgaian used the demons' own ARMs to combat them. But as the Great Demon War happened around a millennium prior to present time, it was hard to determine which had the truth, especially when there weren't much of credible records on the War and things surrounding it. Rumor has it, there were people who still sought to restore the ancient weapons.

Despite the rumor, it was hard to find an ARM Meister—especially in smaller towns—people who dedicated themselves to studying, improving or restoring ancient ARMs, over the years. His adopted grandpa was one.

His eyes prickled at the memory. How I missed you, Grandpa…

He smacked his cheeks, shaking his head, a few droplets hanging to the tips of his blue hair were sprayed to the walls, the mirror, the door, even when the signs of being wet weren't visible. He inhaled, and exhaled, trying to cheer himself up even when he knew it was a lost cause anyway.

Deciding not the dwell in the past, he strode out and into the bedroom, slipping his gloves on while at the same time slipping his feet to his boots. He stomped one foot after the other as he fitted his gloves securely. When the gloves were snug, he reached down to ensure his boots were secure. His cheeks took a pink tint when he remembered a certain incident he would rather not recall involving a certain footwear, a small rock, and a certain monster.

Needless to say, his grandpa—bless his soul—spent the rest of the day trying to hold back laughter to no avail.

The bluenette took the belt he used to store special bullets (or Cartridges), and slung it over one shoulder before fastening it. He made sure to keep the bullets out of view; it didn't take a genius to know what it was for. He took his red vest from the hanger and wore it over his white shirt, hiding said bullets from view. He patted himself, combing his oddly colored hair with his gloved fingers before fastening his red bandanna on his head.

He took his ARM, the Hand Cannon, placed it on both hands like a sword when it was being presented to a king, and sat crossed legs on the floor. He inhaled.

Now, he was ready.

May Shikador bless him this time... He knew his journey was still long; he would need it.

Jack Van Burace grumbled. So much for good ruins… He had to spend several freaking hours in that hole full of traps. Let's not forget about those sharp spikes emerging out of nowhere barely missing his person (and tearing tiny holes into his coat—damn them), and oh let's not forget those flamethrowers that almost cooked both him and his faithful wind mouse companion Hanpan, and the great cherry on top of them all—those boulders. The things were huge, leaving barely an inch of space and thus forcing him to run for his life (well, his and Hanpan's).

Did he mention that he was once (or twice) chased by at least two of them?

His belly rumbled, and he looked disdainfully at the offending organ. Running around, using his brains to come up with solutions for the ruins' puzzles seem to burn his calories so fast. That, or time flew faster than he thought. No matter. What mattered was he needed to eat right now before he collapsed from starvation.

At the mere thought of it, his stomach growled once more. The treasure hunter placed his left hand on it. "I swear those elw ruins loved to force us humans to run around, starving us to the death from running around like blind mice in a maze."

He could hear Hanpan quietly snickering in his breast pocket. He subtly glared at the creature through the cloth. "Oh, shut up. Like you won't be starving if you ran around so much with no food in your stomach." He approached the counter to order his food (large portion) before taking a seat farther from most people to ensure some space to talk to his companion.

Hanpan knew better than to answer when they were too near of other people, and thus kept quiet until Jack was seated. After which, he spent no time to retort, "Hey, watch it; I'm no mere mouse."

Jack waved him off, keeping the body language and movements to a minimum to preserve his dignity as a sane man talking to a talking wind mouse. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Besides, it was I who did most of the thinking," said wind mouse said smugly.

"What did you say?!"

"Careful, Jack, people are going to think you're losing your mind."

The man glanced covertly around using his peripheral vision, and cursed both himself and the wind mouse. Said wind mouse was basking his victory silently in the pocket of the thought-to-be-mad man.

Cecilia Lynn Adlehyde glanced up when she heard a man exclaiming loudly, as if on the verge of fighting. But she saw no one he was talking to, and he quickly calmed down, and thus she brushed him off. Maybe he was remembering something or heard someone else wrong. Oh well, not her business.

Her current business here wasn't as the princess of the kingdom, however. Her business here was to buy some good chow mein. That was right. She was here for food. Her travels weren't as peaceful as she thought it would be. Instead, her knowledge on Crest Sorcery was tested as various monsters attacked both her and people she had been travelling with. While the monsters weren't all that strong, it was the frequency of the attacks and their numbers that wore them all down.

By the time they reached the outskirts of Downtown Adlehyde, the whole of small caravan was ready to grovel and praise the Guardian of Luck (if such a Guardian even existed). Cecilia had bade farewell to them, and entered the inn in pursue of some good food to quench her magic-induced hunger. She was kind of happy that she needn't hide her (first) name; people didn't exactly recognize her as she had changed a lot, and "Cecilia" wasn't as rare as people thought it was. Though if her father was to see her, he'd know; she looked like her mother. But as the queen passed away long ago, it was not surprising that people didn't actually recognize her anymore. The fact that the inn's cook and waiters were from outside of Adlehyde made hiding her true identity a lot easier.

As she tapped her finger to the wooden table, she noted a young man entering the bar/restaurant half of the inn from the stairs—looked like he stayed here for the night before. He wore faded blue jeans, scruffy with a tear here and there, boots, and a red bandanna. He wore light colored cloak, concealing most of his torso. Though it was somewhat odd, it wasn't all that odd to see someone, especially if that person was a Dream Chaser—which he likely was—to wear something like that, especially with the desserts of Filgaia. The princess found his hair color to be odd, though; it was blue. Really, really blue. It even reflected the light a bit on certain angles as his head moved. Cecilia had never seen such a hair color before. Not that shade of blue, anyway.

The young woman found herself staring at a confused pair of amber orbs, and she realized that she was staring. She blushed as she forced herself to stare at her table instead. When she felt his gaze was no longer on her, she discreetly tried to peek another look.

He had taken a seat on the table near her, the seat furthest from hers. She felt Schturdark whispering in her mind, the boy is an odd one. Odd, but not malevolent. Cecilia couldn't help but whisper as low as she could, barely moving her lips, "What do you mean?"

Child of Shikador…

Shikador… That name wasn't very often mentioned, even in the books of the vast library of Curran Abbey. It was said to be a forgotten creature of legend, a being that was almost a Guardian in terms of powers. Her form was said to be a human-like white deer, a creature possessing great powers of nature, exceeding even that of an elw's. She abhorred wars, and the only reason she helped during the Great War was because the creature hated the metal demons even more. She helped the Filgaians during the Great Demon War by creating tools of war with her alchemic powers, but when the demons learned of her existence, she was killed. Her powers were thought to be power over alchemy, and restoration, and people who could use alchemy or manipulate energies without the use of tools or mediums were called as her chosen, her children.

Though many would doubt that claim, seeming as no one had ever seen one with such powers. Even records of her were thought to be not authentic, works of a fanatic of hers.

Your encounter was fateful, Shaman. Perhaps, you'll need his aid—and others'—to combat the looming threat.

"I don't understand…"

The water Guardian didn't reply her.

Cecilia sighed. Sometimes she wished the Guardian was more forthcoming with what he wanted her to do. As she was lost in thought at Schturdark's words, she blinked in surprise when her order of chow meins were placed on the table before her.

Oh well, one could not think when they were starving, right?

Jack, whatever his current (or possible former) professions are, knew that staring at people when they were eating was not polite. But it wasn't all that easy as people thought it was when the person you were staring at was eating at least three people's portion. Especially when the one eating was a young woman.

"Jack, it's impolite to stare," Hanpan hissed from his pocket. Jack grimaced when the wind mouse spoke. He tried his best to hold back his grimace, but he couldn't hide it—not completely. And the treasure hunter could have sworn that Hanpan actually felt his flinch. "Oh, it's even worse when you knew you're doing something wrong."

That little—! He just had to mention it, didn't he?

"Well, I'd like to see you in my shoes, dear partner," he hissed back, trying to be as discreet as possible, averting his gaze from the young lady devouring in a not-so-lady-like behavior at least four plates of chow mein, if memory served correctly.

"Well, Jack, I can't exactly be in your shoes, considering your shoe size. And I know it's a figure of speech; I was just teasing you."

One Jack Van Burace swore under his breath. If Hanpan wasn't his close companion, he would have chopped the wind mouse into tiny pieces using his Fast Draw techniques long ago.

Rudy Roughnight wasn't a stranger to strange sights. He had seen monsters looking like animals, monsters not looking like animals or people, or even monsters which he didn't even want to know what they looked like with. But the young blue haired boy hadn't seen a magician/spell caster/Crest Sorceress in his whole life, and considering he was mostly wandering around in smaller villages, it wasn't all that hard to believe. Thus, it was the first time for him to see someone eating around two or three people's portion all by themselves. It was even weirder given that the one eating was a young lady.

He knew it was impolite to do so, however, and thus he averted his eyes as soon as he could. He, of all people, could understand why people didn't like other people stare at them; it was like you were being judged by people who hardly knew you. No matter how badly treated he was, his upbringing with his (adopted) Grandpa made sure that he treated people as nicely or as politely as he could.

As he averted his eyes, his own order of a simple breakfast consisting of a loaf of bread, a small plate of scrambled egg, and a small glass of milk (for the nutrients) arrived. He nodded and smiled slightly at the waiter in thanks. He wasn't mute, oh far from it, but he preferred to save his breath. His voice wasn't even loud in the first place, and given his seclusion from other children his age in his childhood, he barely spoke. Old habits die really, really hard, and his lack of speech was one of those hard-to-die habits. As such, people thought he was mute.

Well, maybe because he never bothered to correct people that they thought he actually was a mute.

He nibbled his bread, savoring it as much as he could. Dream Chasers, also known as Migratory Birds, rarely got the luxury of tasty food; they tend to be forced to rely on their wit, and mother nature. Not that mother nature would provide them with enough food; the young Dream Chaser knew that, ever since he first saw his grandpa being forced not to eat enough for a certain day, all for the sake of his then-very-young body. He had asked his grandpa to eat more, even offering his portion of the food for the elder man, but he only smiled knowingly and refused it stubbornly.

When he asked him, the man only said, it is better to feed the young bird than it is to feed an old one. He hadn't understood him, but his grandpa only ruffled his hair, much to his chagrin.

Enough reminiscing, he admonished himself. I need to pack up for another journey.

There was a certain more vigor in his eyes after that. Not much, but it should be enough until the young Dream Chaser had found somewhere else to rest his wings.

Cecilia didn't know why her eating habits were so weird that she felt so many eyes on her. It wasn't all that weird, right? Casting magic was actually a lot more draining than people thought it was. Well, now that she thought about it, perhaps it was because these people weren't used to seeing magic casters, it could be the reason of all those odd stares.

…Scratch that. It definitely was the source of all the staring.

The princess gulped down a glass of water as fast as she could while being subtle, leaving a couple gella for the payment (and tip), and promptly left the inn.

Those stares unnerved her more than she thought.

Rudy patted his pockets and torso to ensure he left nothing behind; he couldn't afford to. His gella, his berries, the supplies he had just purchased in town, and his Cartridges. Oh, and his ARM, sitting in its holster on his right hip. But no one sane would steal that thing, so he had no need to worry; the stigma and labels were bad in most places that it discouraged people from even thinking about it. Its unique trait of user-ARM synchronization made it pretty much useless to steal, too.

Now where should I go next? I haven't heard of another town nearby… He glanced around. Maybe I should ask around?

He glanced around. The downtown of Adlehyde wasn't really bustling with activity, but it wasn't empty either; there were people going here and there, entering one building or another. The buildings were made mostly of stone, and wood. He saw various symbols for shops; one for Crest Graphs—if his memory served, some bars or restaurants, what looked like cemetery directly north from the gates. If his eyes didn't deceive him, he even noticed one building with a particular symbol of a certain weapon that not one people entered.

Heck, the castle walls even astounded him. They just looked so strong…

But first thing's first.

Hmm… So many places. Adlehyde really is big. Where should I go ask first?

He was just taking a step, when he heard the yelling.

"We have an emergency! There was an accident at the site!"

—What?! Please, great Guardians, not them, too…

Jack stared at the empty plate before him, having finished eating (and discreetly sharing his food with Hanpan; being discreet wasn't a must, but he'd rather be safe than sorry, especially when he was so damn tired right now). Seeing that ridiculous portion of food the girl ate actually reminded him of the camaraderie he used to share with them, back before it all began.

Damn him for hiding it from us, he cursed the deceased man mentally with all his heart. He gritted his teeth, he brought them upon us, because of that, she…she… He slammed his clenched fist on the table as hard as he could while suppressing his anger. I need power! I. Need. Power!

In his breast pocket, his wind mouse companion was silent. The small intelligent creature knew better than to ruin Jack's musings. Grieving, he corrected. Jack didn't tell me much of his past, but I could feel his grief exude him in waves… Hanpan silently pressed himself slightly to the human's torso. Jack… If only you knew how much I wished you to tell me what was wrong with you, partner…

Alas, their possible bonding moments were ruined when they heard a commotion from outside of the inn, thanks to another entering customer opening the inn's door.

"—emergency! There was an accident at the site!"

Hanpan knew he probably shouldn't have, but Jack probably would be upset with him if he didn't inform him anyway. He nudged him, whispering, "Partner!"

Apparently, he need not bothered as the treasure hunter had already stood up, making his way out of the inn. "On it."

As Jack opened the door, he saw three people wearing white shirts (or collared shirts), along with brown vest, brown trousers, dusty dark shoes, with their necks adorned with black ties. One was rather bald, while the other was carrying someone else, piggy-back, also wearing similar apparel as the two. "It's gotten out of control!" one exclaimed, "We need to let Emma know!"

They were talking rather rapidly that it took Jack a little while before he actually understood what they were saying. By the moment he could make heads and tails of what could possibly be out of control, they had already left him in the dust.

"Poor him," Hanpan remarked, having peeked from his vest. "Being carried like that and then forgotten like he wasn't even there…" Jack nodded in agreement.

Poor him, indeed.

"What do you think went out of control?" Hanpan asked.

Jack smirked, "Maybe something possessing great powers, and hard to control?"

Hanpan could hear it coming. "Are you saying, something like Absolute Power?"

Jack's smirk told the peeking Hanpan all he needed to know. And by know, he knew that telling Jack not to get his hopes up would be for naught, and thus decided to see what would unfold first.

But, Jack wasn't the only one who heard it.

Cecilia, having just left the Crest Graph shop, also heard the commotion. She even got the privilege of having them dash right in front of her eyes. She blinked. One of them was carrying another full grown man, and boy, weren't they fast.

She shook her head. Her father could wait for a little bit; he shouldn't be expecting her until tomorrow—tonight at the earliest, anyway.

Now, where was this "Emma"?

The longer it was, the harder it was for him to deny that the accident at the Lolithia's Coffin, wherever that was, had nothing to do with him. He sighed, dropping his head as he made his way to the nearest shop to think (and maybe ask) where Lolithia's Coffin could be.

However, as he walked north—the same path leading to the cemetery, a particularly strong gust blew, lifting his cloak just enough for his ARM to be seen by other people. The bluenette felt his heart pound faster, hoping that no one would pay attention to him.

"A boy with ARM… I tend to grow suspicious when I saw something resembling an 'ARM'," someone commented rather snidely.

Rudy felt his heart, and his hopes with it, plummet.

But the other man shrugged, even when his rather snide expression didn't exactly fade. "Oh well, it couldn't actually be functional; people can't just pick up the thing and use it." If only you knew… "Anyway, I heard there are people who specialize in the profession of ARM modification… I think they are called 'ARM Meisters.' From what I heard, they're always busy—which is really odd, considering no one could use a real ARM nowadays. I'm just not into keeping myself too busy all the time. I don't know how anyone can so passionate," he mused, his expression calming somewhat.

Rudy averted his eyes as politely as he could; he couldn't risk another conflict with people just because of his ARM, and so decided to play it safe. So, there are still other ARM Meisters in other towns, too? Sounds good; if I could get in their shop without anyone else noticing, that is. He pretended to be looking for a road sign, while in truth he was looking around, checking if anyone was looking. But I don't have the time… I really think Hand Cannon needs some upgrade and some finer maintenance, which I still couldn't do, and I still need to head out anyway. He swallowed, and steeled himself. Here goes.

The bluenette braced himself before knocking and opening the door to the building with the firearm symbol.

"Excuse me," he muttered in a near whisper. See, he did speak; it was just waay too silent for someone to actually hear him.

The moment the door was closed behind him, he heard rapid footsteps coming from the inside of the shop(?). "A moment!" someone called out.

As the shopkeeper/ARM Meister showed up, he greeted cheerfully, "Welcome!" A quick glance told the Meister why the boy was in his shop. "Let me upgrade your ARM! Dr. Emma even studies under me! Heh heh heh," he grinned.

Rudy didn't know what was funny, but he knew better than to be polite, so he smiled a small polite smile indulgently. "Um, please do," he replied, automatically bowing slightly, reaching to release his ARM from its holster.

Surprisingly, the older man heard him, "Well, thank you, my boy," he cheerfully replied, "Though I'll have you know that upgrading ARMs are not cheap."

Rudy withdrew a rather small pouch of gella from underneath the cloak with his other hand, and showed it, "Would these do?"

The Meister scrutinized it as politely as he could at that distance; it wouldn't do to scare his first customer in a very long time. "Hmm…" Recognizing his attempt to calculate the precise amount, the boy handed him the pouch. "Thanks." He opened the pouch. It wasn't much, and he told the boy so.

His reply was, "Please do what you can with them," and he handed over his ARM.

The ARM Meister, Abott, had to control himself not to gape wide eyed at the sight of the weapon. Sure, he saw a glint of the metallic barrel, but boy, the thing's big; bigger than any other functional ARMs he had seen. As he took the ARM, he could tell it was complex, and thus was powerful. Just who is this boy?

But he had to be professional. "Wait a moment; I'll get this done in a jiffy…." He trailed off.

Catching on, the bluenette supplied, "Rudy."

"Right, Rudy. It'll be done soon."

Rudy nodded. This is going to take a while…

That reminded him…

"Ah, do you know where Lolithia's Coffin is?"

"That place? Somewhere up north, I think. Dr. Emma kept muttering about it the other day."

North… Got it. "Thanks," he murmured.

"No problem, but do me and everyone else a favor; speak louder if you want people to hear you. At the rate you're talking in, people would've thought you're a mute."

Rudy blushed. Well, they kind of already did.

It took Cecilia some time, but she finally learned where this Dr. Emma was; she was currently in the basement of a shop of an 'ARM Meister'. And, ironically enough, just several buildings away from the inn. Then, why were they running in that other direction? she thought, but she shrugged the question off just as quickly. Maybe they were taking the other person to the hospital. I can't remember where it was, though…

As she approached the shop, she noticed the boy from earlier (from the inn, that oddly colored hair made him stood out) leaving, walking quite a little fast if he wasn't in a hurry. And purposefully, too.

What was he doing in that place? Cecilia wondered, but she didn't have the time to wonder about such a thing. As she approached the door, she noticed the other man staring at her in the inn was also approaching the door. She decided to turn her head slightly to make sure that she didn't mistake him, and to clue him in. If he also wanted to help Dr. Emma, maybe it would be best if we were to band together. Though, I don't know what he would think of an apparently helpless girl.

Unbeknownst to her, Jack was also thinking the same thing.

Well, in his case, it was Hanpan who remarked about that girl first, saying, "That looks like a shop that deals with ARMs, and if I'm not mistaken, so far there isn't any humans known to wield an ARM."

"So, you're saying she might be there for the same reason as we do."

"Exactly."

"You think she's also after Absolute Power?"

The wind mouse contemplated both Jack's inquiry, and the girl's behavior. After a short observation, he concluded, "I don't think so, though I can't be sure; she looked more like a magician to me. It is best to keep an eye on her, just in case."

That, Jack had no qualms.

It was awkward, to say the least. Two people, both of the opposite gender, standing next to each other, trying to be discreet (discreet to other people, and to the other) and failing at it; they both knew that they were being watched by the other, but neither had the courage to say the first words. If it wasn't for the fact that ARMs Meisters were considered odd bunches of people that general populace tends to avoid, they would have attracted a lot of attention.

As it was, they were already attracting attention; standing awkwardly next to each other, right in front of a door, no less. The silence between the two was so deafening that Hanpan felt like he was going mad.

The wind mouse was on the verge of snapping, when Cecilia cleared her throat awkwardly. "You're here for the Lolithia's Coffin accident, aren't you?" She asked so tentatively, like she was treading on cracking monster eggs with Mama monster nearby.

Jack was all too happy to follow her lead. "Of course! That name reminded me of another name that elw in the ruins mentioned."

It was Cecilia's turn to look at him. She turned her face so fast that she could've sworn she should have gotten a backlash. "Really?" She asked, interest piqued, "you saw an elw?"

The blond treasure hunter scratched the back of his neck sheepishly before correcting himself, "Well, more like a hologram of one. It said something about Lolithia, and I thought it would be worth looking. Helping other people in the process is just another bonus."

"You're looking for Dr. Emma, right?" Even Hanpan could tell that the girl was perking. "Let's go together, then."

Jack shrugged. "Why not?" And without wasting time, Jack grasped the door handle, and opened it. Cecilia was courteous enough to mutter an "excuse us" while Jack just strode in. The building was strangely empty, save from occasional sounds from various machinery around them.

Then, they heard a man from behind the desk speaking, "That was pretty quick, Rudy; is there something else I could help you with? Don't tell me its mechanism is faulty—" Then his face popped out from behind the desk, and his eyebrows immediately furrowed. "Uh..." His index finger moved back and forth between the two of them. "Let me guess, you wanted to see Dr. Emma?"

Jack nodded while Cecilia verbally answered him, "Yes, sir. We were informed that she's here...?" She trailed off.

Abott jerked his thumb in the direction of stairs leading to the basement. "She's down there. Been making a couple of ruckus about collapsing sites, monsters, and what not."

Jack threw a quick "thanks" for the two of them as they strode to the stairs and climbed down.

Emma Hetfield was not having a good day. The festival was just a day away, they were already burning daylight, and they still had some obstacles that prevented Lolithia, that darling ice-elemental golem, from being extracted from its coffin. The scientist paced, trying to think of what to do; walls on the site had collapsed, no thanks to that massive earthquake that early morning (or dead night, depending on who you ask), and monsters slipped in through the newly created holes.

"By Moa Gault's flames, what are we going to do; the festival begins tomorrow, and with the monsters there, and the workers have no experience in fighting monsters…" She paced, her mind whirring. "We haven't even accessed the actual chamber that contained Lolithia. Who to hire, who to hire...?"

"Excuse us, are you Dr. Emma?" A feminine voice asked.

The scientist paused her pacing, turning to face the speaker. She saw two people, a man and a woman (who was younger than him) standing. The young woman looked like someone from the Abbey. Hmm... Speaking of the Abbey, didn't the princess also went there? "Yes?" she asked.

"We heard about your problems with the site, and we'd like to help," Jack stated.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Then that's great; I assume you—" she directed the statement at Jack "—are a Dream Chaser—from your looks, and have some experience fighting monsters, to boot. While you—" this, she directed at Cecilia "—looked like a Crest Sorceress." She didn't even pause before deciding. "Very well. I guess I could hire you to go clear up the ruins. However, the ruins is a dangerous place, so I hope you're prepared." Their faces brightened. Looks like they were interested mainly in Lolithia... "I could pay you for—"

"Dr. Emma!" The three turned, as someone ran in. "There was someone reported entering the ruins without authorization!"

Emma positively exploded. "What did you say?!"

This probably isn't the smartest of ideas, Rudy thought, shooting yet another monster in the face (well he was aiming for the monster's eye, but hey, it worked either way), killing it in the process. He could see the entrance to the Lolithia's Coffin, people gathering around the gates fearfully. He tightened his ARM holster around his hip, reloading the weapon before placing it back, hiding it from view under his cloak. Grandpa would admonish me for going to place that is obviously dangerous all on my own. He gritted his teeth, looking down at his covered ARM. But it was my fault the earthquake happened in the first place...

He creeped slowly, all the while trying to be inconspicuous of it; people tend to suspect you more if you looked like you're in the process of doing something suspicious, after all. But it wasn't very easy, as he was still showing signs of hurried travel; he was practically jogging almost all the way from Adlehyde. As he neared the gathered slowly behind the rocks...at his covered ARM. _But it was my fault; I had to make up to these people somehow...ht he wa, he tried to get his breathing into a more manageable level, and eavesdrop on their discussions.

"What are we going to do? There are still the others in there," one asked his fellow worker beside him.

As the bluenette heard it, it made him feel even guiltier. His resolve to enter the ruins was getting bigger by the moment, but he still had to find some way or another to slip in—no doubt they wouldn't just let some random kid enter. As he looked around, one of the workers called to the others, "We should head back to Adlehyde; at least to patch up the injured…"

A few of his fellows nodded their heads in agreement. What they didn't voice was they were scared of the monsters escaping the ruins and attacking them afterward.

Now's my chance, the young ARM wielder thought. He quickly searched for some large boulders to hide behind, and the moment he found them, he moved as silently and as quickly as he could. He kept his ears trained on the people's voices, tracking their movements from the sound they created as they slowly left the ruins. When he thought he was in the clear, he sneaked a look, and noticed that they were already walking away from the ruins.

"Wait, let me close the ruins; it wouldn't do for some other people to enter the ruins before Dr. Emma or we come back here," one of them said.

It sent a chill through his veins, and he knew he had to act now. Now, people had thought that Rudy possessed strength beyond normal people his age, but he wasn't agile nor quick. When the doors started to close, he bolted.

As he ran as fast as he could, he could hear them shouting at him to stop. "Wait, what are you doing? Stop!" But he didn't stop. He couldn't, not when he had to.

Within two seconds of stepping inside the ruins, the doors clanged shut behind him. However, right before the doors were shut, he heard a chilling revelation, "Stop the doors!"

"I can't! The lever jammed!"

"Wha—?!" Then they were cut off.

Well, there's no turning back now… The bluenette took out his ARM, and deciding his cloak useless for the time being, he took it off and place the piece of old cloth near the doors, making sure to bring his essentials, namely, spare bullets and Cartridges. His amber eyes sharpened with determination as he heard the growls of monsters. I hope I could help this time around.

"What do you mean, someone is inside the ruins?"

It was the first time they met Emma, but they didn't think she would get that mad. The obviously more muscled man was even shuffling his feet around, his index finger pressing together like some child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"It was some suspicious blue haired boy," he continued. "He slipped right in before the doors closed and the lever jammed."

Emma inhaled, trying to calm herself, not that it yielded much result. But even a little was better than nothing. "And there are other workers trapped there as well." He bopped his head. The scientist could feel a headache coming. She massaged the bridge of her nose, and continued exasperatedly, "Tell me, then, why did you close the ruins in the first place?" He was opening his mouth to answer when she cut him off anyway. "Never mind, I don't want to know. I'll deal with this. Off you go."

With how quickly he scurried off, it wasn't hard to say that he preferred not to be in her presence right now…

Not that Jack (or Hanpan) or Cecilia would like to be on the receiving end of such temper. NO, thank you very much!

The scientist sighed before turning at the two. "I'm very sorry about this. But would you still like to help me clear out the ruins, and help out those people? I could still pay you for a thousand gella each."

Cecilia and Jack exchanged looks, seemingly communicating without words even without much movements from their facial muscles.

"Alright," Jack answered her, a very, very slight impression of hesitation underlying his voice—he wouldn't admit it was hesitation, though. It was a mix of emotions that were mixed so bad that it was impossible to tell the dominant one.

Mistaking it for purely doubt, Emma immediately added, "Of course, I'll be coming with you. Can't have those people stranded there. And I need to know who slipped in." She clapped her hands. "Well, considering this endeavor is becoming even more important, or even more dangerous, I'll give the two of you time to prepare. The Coffin is north of here. I'll be waiting for you at the Coffin's entrance." And she was off, all the while muttering about troublesome workers and troublesome ruins.

Jack sighed in relief. He was so sure that they were going to be receiving her anger, too. His eyes were no longer mischievous; there were lives on the line, and he knew better than anyone (or so he thought) about how precious a life is.

As Jack was growing determined, Cecilia wondered, was that young man I saw when we entered here the one slipping in? He certainly fit the description… How did he travel so fast?

However, there was one thing that slipped the princess' mind; the ARM Meister spoke of the young teen ("Rudy," as he called the bluenette) like he was a customer of the Meister's. But that shouldn't be possible, except if the young man could wield an ARM.

Well, this is me again. I KNEW I shouldn't be doing this, but Wild Arms (and thus its remake along with it) holds a certain nostalgic place in my heard as the one introducing me to awesome opening cutscene with awesome music before Final Fantasy. That's right, I first played this (well, my brother played it while I watched him) when I was in gradeschool, and it was my favorite. And thus seeing how small the fanfiction number for the franchise actually made me wanna cry. I STILL can't create a completely original decent plot, so this is what I cooked up.

I'm trying to keep track of what happened, so I use Visio to create the timeline (it's more like blocks arranged like a line, really). This is loosely based on the game (Psycho_Crack's and Krysmphoenix's works helped me, a LOT)

Hopefully, I can finish this, all the way until post game. Hope you like it, and please do tell me what you think.

C. Rinkuki Takato

P.S.
This started out as 6.7k chapter. After self-proofreading, it's around 7.4k long...

P.P.S.
Still can't believe Rudy has the same voice actor as FFVII's Zack... Still can't believe it. If you want to hear the party's voice, look up Splitplaythru's Force combination arts(?) video. For other characters' voice acting, see the game's details at metacritic.