Wolfe Bite Chapter 11
By Captain Gaul
Light flickered across Gaul’s eyes. He blinked a few times, then pushed himself up. “Ugh…what the hell happened?”
A slow trotting on the steps changed to a dash as one of the patrolmen rushed up to see him. “Sir! You’re back!”
“Wha--?”
“Sir Magus! Sir Magus!”
A few seconds later, Magus and at least four patrolmen crowded the room Gaul was in.
“Moe and Chi must’ve eliminated at least one of the people who put him out.”
“Huh?”
Over conflicting explanations and reassuring exclamations, Gaul hardly knew if he was still Gaul, much less what was going on. At last Magus ordered the patrolmen out of the room and tried once more to explain the situation to the captain.
“So they’re off questing…to try and revive me? But I’m already awake now…but they don’t know that…so I imagine I’ve got to go after them and help.”
“Probably.”
“Ugh…well, I’ll go talk to Lucca.”
.
“I’ve been in bad towns before…but this….”
“Welcome to Midgar, lady.”
Midgar was not a pleasant-looking town, city, or whatever it was. Black, oily, grimy, dark, and no sky to speak of. Chi was familiar with the concept of slums, but hadn’t understood that one city could be a single, giant, slum. It was terrifying and depressing at once.
“Chi, you should carry the pistol.”
“Why?”
“Because any crime they might try to commit against me, there’s one more they could try on you. And Deus damn me to hell if I let that happen to you.”
Chi nodded somberly and took the pistol. They stalked into the gloomy city, not even really knowing what they were looking for.
.
A few hundred feet and an eon away, the Colosseum manager spoke to his boss on the communication lines. “They’re starting to catch on. I had to direct them to the Seventh Era.”
“They made it safely?”
“Yes. It was the best way to make sure my neck didn’t get snapped.”
“Damn. Then I’ll call up Corneo. He ought to be able to take care of this.”
.
This was Gaul’s second trip to this world. He wasn’t glad to be back. Looking around nervously, he remembered the vicious attacks by wild creatures that had been so common on his last visit. He saw blood on the ground, and grimaced as he realized that Moe and Chi had appeared on this exact spot. Seeing tracks leading south, and a town in the same direction, he started walking towards Kohlingen.
On his arrival, the town was swarming with Imperial soldiers. One nearby was dragging a man in merchant clothing, screaming “I swear…I didn’t know it was Magitek!” The soldier gave the man a kick, and continued to drag him. He stopped on seeing Gaul. The captain thought the soldier looked vaguely familiar.
He shouted “Backup! I need backup!” Immediately following, he dropped the man and rushed towards Gaul, announcing his intent to arrest him. As the captain resisted the first soldier’s attack, three others came up from behind him. He was quickly subdued and clapped into irons.
“Take him to Vector. General Kefka will be very interested in meeting him, as will the Emperor.”
“What’s the crime?”
“Assault and battery with intent to kill, attempted murder, and crimes against the Emperor.”
“He’s the one who beat the shit out of Kefka? Because I’d be givin’ him a medal then.”
“Never mind. Just get him out of here!”
.