CHAPTER 1: Fifteen Years Later...
Fei Fong Wong sat outside in the newly built village of Lahan. He looked
around to see children playing, people working hard , tending to their gardens
and small fields they own. As he continued to stare he put his hands on the
back of his head and leaned back on the soft, recliner he was sitting on. He
said to himself, "Life is good. Life is f**kin' good!" He took a sip of his
can of Bartweiser. He put the can down on a small, metallic table next to him
and began to think back to those terrible events that happened to this village
fifteen years earlier. He thought of how those Gears made an emergency landing
in Lahan and how he was foolish enough to climb into an empty Gear he found and
try to fight the intruders off. He thought of how desperate he was to save the
villagers but wound up killing a lot of them. He thought of the sorrow and pain
in his heart when he found out what he had done and was thrown out of the
destroyed village. He could still remember the anger that Dan, a friend of his,
had when he found out that Alice, his sister, and her fiancé, Timothy, were two
of the casualties that Fei accidentally caused. Those vivid images of Timothy
being shot to death by a gear and the blood that flowed and poured out of his
body. He still remembers it all. As he was thinking, the voice of a women
calls out his name. "Fei... Fei...," the voice said. Fei continued to
daydream. "FEI!!!!" the voice shouted. Fei became startled and fell out of the
recliner. "I'm here! I'm here! What do you want?" he demanded. The voice was
that of his wife, Elly, who he had married fourteen years ago. "Fei, you need
to get packed for the Aveh Tournament! It's in three days!" Elly replied.
"Don't worry, honey," Fei said softly, "I'm already packed. All I need to take
is a couple of extra sets of clothes and my toiletries." "What about
Xenogears?" Elly asked. "I won't be needing him this time," Fei said as he
walked back into his house, "This tournament doesn't allow Gears to fight.
That's the Nortune Battle Arena!" "Sorry, my mistake," Elly replied. She
walked over to the stove to check on dinner. She stirred the wooden spoon in
the pot as she ran her fingers down her long, straight, red hair. Fei sat down
at the dining room table. He turned to look at Elly and realized he was VERY
lucky to have a woman of such beauty and trust. She was one of a kind, he
thought to himself. Elly turned toward Fei. "I hope you like gumbo," she said
with a smile. "Of course I like gumbo!" Fei replied, "What else would I eat
that you cook?" "Oh your terrible!" Elly said as she carried the huge pot of
gumbo over to the table. "Fei?" Elly asked, "When is the Yggdrasil supposed to
pick you up?" "Tomorrow around noon," Fei answered as he took swallowed a spoon
full of gumbo, "Elly, you make the best gumbo!" "Thanks," she said, "but don't
get off the subject." "Sorry," Fei answered as he swallowed another spoonful of
gumbo. "Will Bart be on board?" Elly asked. "I doubt it," Fei answered,
"Remember, he's the leader of Aveh so he's pretty busy at the moment since the
celebration of the 515th year of existence for Aveh is under way.." "Well, I
know you'll do good in the tournament," Elly replied, "you're the champion for
fifteen years straight!" Fei just smiled as he continued eating his gumbo.
Bartholomew Fatima looked out toward toward the horizon as the sun began to set
over the city of Bledavik. "Young master," Sigurd said as he walked into the
room, "The Yggdrasil will be ready for launch in two hours." Bart turned around
with a can of Bartweiser in his left hand and one of his devastating whips in
his right. He took a sip of the beer and asked, "Good! When will Fei arrive?"
"About noon tomorrow," Sigurd replied. Bart took another sip of his beer,
"Great! I'll be good to see him again! I wonder how him and Elly are doing.
Is Elly coming also?" he asked Sigurd. "As far as I know she is," Sigurd
answered," if I may be excused, young master." "Yeah go on and get out of my
room," Bart said. As Sigurd exited the room Bart went back to the window and
looked down on the busy market place. He saw people buying fresh radishes,
bananas and other fruits and vegetables. He saw people enter the hall of
mirrors, ordering glasses of Bartweiser or watching clowns blow fire out of a
thin straw. "Damn!" he said in amazement, "Even after dark, there are still
many people shopping!" All of a sudden, he hears a knock on the door. "Who is
it?" he demanded. "Who do you think you meanie?" said his cousin, Margie.
Margie was dressed in an Arabian stlye outfit with real baggy pants and a low
cut blouse on. She despised wearing a veil.. "Oh it's you," Bart said
sarcastically, "What do you want?" "I just wanted to let you know that Citan,
Rico, Hammer, Billy and Maria have all agreed to come see Fei fight in the
tournament. The Yggdrasil will pick them up first." "Is Emeralda coming?" Bart
asked. "I'm afraid she can't make it," Margie said, "she said she has some
business she needs to take care of." "Oh I get it," Bart replied. "Get what?"
Margie asked. "Oh nothing," Bart answered, "Anyway, Margie, we have a busy
couple of days ahead of us so you better get some rest." "You can't boss me
around!" Margie shouted, "I'll go to bed when I want to!" "Suit yourself," Bart
replied, "Now please leave so I can get some rest." "Okay! Good night, Bart!
I'll see you in the morning!" Margie said as she left his room. "Annoying
brat," Bart said to himself as he pulled out the covers. "Good luck in the
tournament, Fei," he said to himself as he got in his bed and fell asleep
shortly after.
Chapter 2
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