Aha! The very first chapter of a fanfic I've been wanting to write for a while now. Despite its beginning taking place on the Bahamut, this story will be set after the events of the game. Reviews would be awesome.
The mood in the Strahl was anything but calm. Balthier was fairly certain that, if everyone behind him weren't so firmly strapped into their seats, at least two would be pacing.
These two were, of course, Basch and Ashe, the only two aside from himself and Fran who seemed to have the sense to be at all worried about what would be occurring in less than an hour. Indeed, it seemed that Vaan and Penelo simply did not know enough of the world to be worried about the fact that they were so short a time away from invading Vayne's very own flagship, that colossal Bahamut that could be seen from miles away, bearing down on Rabanastre like some kind of predator eyeing its prey.
"We near the battle ahead," Fran pointed out from her seat next to him, breaking Balthier out of his reverie.
"Of course," he said, reaching over. He picked up the Strahl's radio, as well as his voice modifier, handing the radio off to Ashe and the modifier to Vaan. "Here you go, Princess, Vaan. The modifier is set to Lord Larsa's voice, by the way, Vaan."
"What? Why're you giving it to me?"
"Because you're sitting next to the Princess, Vaan, and it would do to have Larsa replying quickly when he must. Princess, it would do you well to radio your uncle the Marquis and tell him our plans before we get shot down or some such thing. Else you'll be paying for the repairs on the Strahl."
"I'd be more worried about dying than the repairs," Ashe replied, a hint of an edge to her tone.
"Wait! What am I supposed to say? And why can't you do it, Balthier? You're sitting right there!" Vaan broke in.
Balthier resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as Fran smiled beside him. "Look, just say that you stand by the Princess and are going in with us to stop Vayne. But do try to be smart about how you say it. And as for why I can't do it, it's because I happen to be flying. Now if you're ready, I'll make the call."
"Ready," Ashe replied after a moment.
"I guess," grumbled Vaan.
"Good," he muttered, swerving around a ship, and passing what looked to be Ondore's ship.
The call went through. "Uncle! It is I." He heard Ashe speak into the radio, the edge gone from her voice. "I'm crossing to the Bahamut to stop Vayne."
"What are you saying? You are too rash." Came the Bhujerban's reply, and Balthier rolled his eyes at the touch of hypocrisy. "Your duties come after the battle is over."
"If we allow them to destroy us here there will be no after! You must assist our charge." Ashe insisted behind him, leaning forward.
"Stop, you must pull back!" A short pause, and Ondore's voice was quieter. "You must stop the Strahl." He said, undoubtedly to one of his pilots. Balthier winced at the thought.
"Hold it!" Came Vaan, but he quickly backtracked. "I mean, wait! This is Larsa Solidor! I'm going in with her, so…" The boy paused, so as to get the right words. "We're fine! I got the Princess covered!"
"Larsa Solidor? So you hold him as a hostage?" The Marquis asked, and Balthier breathed a sigh of relief that the man seemed to suspect nothing.
"No, Uncle." Ashe replied, seeming similarly relieved. "He will fight with us, against Vayne."
"Leave it to us!" Vaan interjected, another thing that Balthier was fairly certain Larsa would have worded differently.
A long silence followed. No one seemed to breathe in the cockpit.
"Understood. Our fate is in your hands." Ondore finally replied, and all the residents of the Strahl seemed to let out their collectively held breath.
The communication ended, and Ashe placed the radio back into Balthier's hand as Penelo spoke.
"I got the Princess covered?" She asked.
"Larsa would say that." Vaan answered defiantly.
"We're relying on you for fire support." Balthier said into the radio, before turning it back off. "It'll give them something to think about. We'll pick our moment, and make our move."
The Strahl sped up toward the Bahamut, and their call for support was apparently none too soon as at least ten ships flew out of the flagship. They maneuvered around them with relative ease.
"Quite the welcome," he noted, noticing another five or so ships coming at them. "Careful!"
He brought the Strahl down sharply, eliciting a noise of discomfort from behind him.
"One follows." Fran pointed out calmly, and he saw the ship behind them.
"You want to dance? Then let's dance." He replied, moving the Strahl in a serpentine motion so as to dodge the strings of magick shot at them.
"A new partner." Fran went along with the metaphor as another ship came at them from the front.
"It's not easy being this popular, you know!" He turned the Strahl sharply, and the second ship crashed into the first somewhere behind them.
Now they were home free, it seemed. It was simple enough to fly up to the Bahamut's main ship, and dock at the small landing station. He was almost disappointed, after the excitement of before.
Now, they were inside. Inside of a giant airship in which Vayne resided, as well as, surely, a few hundred, if not thousand, soldiers ready to kill them very much dead. Everyone else, however, didn't seem all that intimidated.
They decided that the main fighters would be himself, Ashe, and Basch, as they were the better fighters. Penelo and Fran would back them up with healing, and Vaan would be ready just in case any of the three got incapacitated. Within their main party of fighters, Basch would worry most about whatever enemies they might fight, while Balthier hung back to shoot unsuspecting enemies and throw out different spells as he saw fit. Ashe was to flit around somewhere in the middle of the two roles.
After making sure that they had a good amount of supplies on their persons, the small group set out into the depths of the Bahamut.
At first, little to nothing happened. A few soldiers popped up, sure, but they easily dispatched the men as they came and were able to move on to the stairway with little difficulty. However, once the stairs were descended and their little moment discussing another royal kidnapping (that, while he was not opposed to it, he would prefer an actual treasure the second time around; such as something from the treasury, perhaps,) was over, they found themselves in much more dire straits.
Even walking into the next area, the group could see that there were quite a few more soldiers visible. And if they could see the soldiers, then the soldiers could see them.
"We'll be overrun," Penelo muttered, looking pale.
"Perhaps we should split up," Fran spoke, her ears twitching. "One group to draw the soldiers' attention, while the other makes for the lift. At least that way, we shall be able to cover for each other, without being overly worried for the others' safety."
"Then Highness, you should go with Fran and Penelo while Balthier, Vaan, and I draw the soldiers' fire." Basch volunteered.
"No, Vaan will go with Fran and Penelo and I will go with you and Balthier. That way, we are better balanced." Ashe replied, crossing her arms and watching Basch defiantly as she, with a toss of her head, moved the bangs out of her face.
Balthier didn't bother to say that the balance would be almost exactly the same, or that they were forgetting that maybe he didn't want to use himself as a decoy. Instead, he opted to stay silent, watching the staring match and waiting for Basch, who would obviously not win against the strong-willed Princess, to stand down.
"Very well," the Landisian spoke, nodding before turning to Fran. "We will try to draw as many soldiers after us as possible. When you think it is clear, make a break for the lift. It should be safe there from any attack."
Fran nodded sagely. "Stay safe."
And with that, the decoy group was off.
By Balthier's judgment, the three made it a good distance through the veritable hordes of Archadian troops before they were surrounded. Basch moved forward, as well as Ashe, to cut a path through, while Balthier pulled out his gun and tossed Protects to the two fighters.
They cut a path, with Balthier occasionally shooting at a soldier who tried to get either fighter from behind when they were otherwise engaged, and he was about to follow them, when suddenly he found himself unable to move. Taking a shot at the offending soldier who had immobilized him and causing the man to crumple, Balthier was about to charge up an Esuna when one hit him. Looking over, he could see Ashe, who had paused to make sure her spell had hit.
"Thank you, Princess."
She nodded. "Just make sure Basch is all right. We need to get to the lift soon, else we won't make it at all, and he can do the most damage." She replied tersely, turning to cut down a soldier who had attempted to ambush her when her attention was turned.
He smiled only in reply, taking the chance to reload his gun as he searched for Basch's signature outfit. The man was, currently, fighting off two soldiers at once with little difficulty. Balthier tossed over a Cure spell just in case, before making his way through the crowd. The last thing he wanted was to be incapacitated again.
And so it was that, none too soon, they made their way to the lift. The doors opened, to reveal Fran, Vaan, and Penelo already safely inside them, relatively unscathed, and the three fighters had only taken a few steps in before the doors were closed again.
Ashe all but collapsed onto the floor, sighing in relief. Balthier did so as well, feeling a wave of cool Mist spill over him as Fran tossed over a Curaga. The same was done for both the Princess and Basch, who had remained standing, even if for no other reason than the discipline drilled into him.
Vaan moved over to the lever that operated the lift. "Are we all ready to head up, guys?" He asked, even as his hand came to rest expectantly on it as he watched Ashe.
She nodded resolutely, reaching up with a handkerchief Penelo handed her to wipe the blood off of her face from her now healed wounds. "Go ahead, Vaan-"
She was cut off as the doors opened suddenly. Balthier stood up, his gun drawn and a spell readied, and Ashe did much the same, but it was Gabranth that staggered in, his breathing heavy.
"So you have lived?" Basch noted of his sibling.
"I am Judge Magister," Gabranth replied, and Balthier ignored the urge to quip that this was not a real answer, as the other man had his (somewhat large) sword drawn. "Even in disgrace. My just reward for aiding the Empire that destroyed my homeland."
"Gabranth," Basch broke in, taking a step forward. He had yet to draw his weapon, Balthier noticed. "Do not blame yourself anymore."
"You confound me, brother! You failed Landis, you failed Dalmasca, all you worked to protect! Yet you still hold onto your honor. How?" Gabranth shouted, taking a step forward even as all but Basch took a step back.
"Because I had someone more important to defend," Basch replied, and Balthier glanced over at the Princess to see that her expression hadn't changed. "And defend I have. How is it that you have survived? Is it not because you defend Lord Larsa?"
Balthier winced. If Basch didn't want a fight, mentioning charges wasn't the way to do it.
"Silence!" Gabranth replied, brandishing his sword again. "All was stripped from me! Only hatred for the brother that fled our homeland remains mine!" The Judge reached up, pulling apart his sword into two. "Tell me, why must you forsake that which you hold most precious?"
Ashe moved to stand closer to Balthier, and he glanced over out of the corner of his eye. "Yes?"
"Perhaps it would be best to let Basch fight this on his own," she muttered, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword. "It would feel…"
Balthier, despite, or maybe because of, being a sky pirate, knew something of honour himself. "Are you sure you just aren't still mad at him?" He purred instead, and opted out of voicing his understanding for the moment.
She looked over at him, her eyes flashing dangerously, but he spoke again before she could.
"Don't worry, I understand. We'll let them have their brotherly squabble, and I shall act only in a supporting role, despite it being a far cry from my main role as leading man."
Ashe nodded, letting her hand rest for a moment on Balthier's sleeve. He raised an eyebrow, but her touch was gone before he could say anything. He turned his attention back instead to the battle.
Basch and Gabranth were exchanging blows equally, and it seemed to Balthier that, despite the years of separation, they still knew each others' moves well. Basch dodged an uppercut. Gabranth blocked with both swords a slash from Basch. Basch was very nearly tossed to the ground, but he rolled and stood again, even if a bit further from Gabranth. The Knight and Judge did this for a while, never landing more than a grazing hit, while beside Balthier, Ashe stood with her hands clenched tightly together as she bit down on her lip.
"You needn't worry, Princess. There are a lot of us and one of him; even should he down Basch, we'll be able to act before the decisive strike is landed." He spoke, looking over. "At this rate, you'll worry yourself ragged before we can reach Vayne."
"Hmm? Oh." She looked over at him for a moment, looking as though she wanted to say something, but seemed to decide against it. "Sorry."
He watched her for a moment. He knew very well that she had likely been thinking of Rasler; her hand was touching the ring finger where there was no longer a ring out of habit.
"Perhaps the Knight could use a Protect spell." Fran muttered somewhere behind him, which did its job of breaking him out of his reverie.
"Of course. Thank you, Fran." He muttered, charging up the required spell before tossing it over to Basch, who didn't seem to notice, focused that he was on his brother.
And then it was over.
In one quick blow, Basch landed a hit upon Gabranth's chest, at a weak point in the armor, and the man staggered back, his breathing even heavier and more audible than before. With a crash, his left sword fell to the ground, and all except Basch seemed to relax some.
"Have you your fill of this?" Gabranth asked, and his voice sounded tired as he lifted his right sword to point it at Basch.
"I would ask you the same. Let this end, Noah." Basch answered, and did not raise a sword.
Balthier, despite knowing all too well that a Judge took a new name upon initiation into their ranks, was surprised to hear the Gabranth's real name was Noah. It seemed all too different from Basch's name, and didn't feel like the right fit to the Judge Magister.
There was another crashing sound as Gabranth fell to his knee in front of Basch. "I've no right," he said. "To be called by that name."
"Then live, and reclaim it."
Balthier shifted, as silence fell upon the group. "Perhaps," he spoke, very much aware that they still had a battle to win and only so much time to do it. "We should be getting on to Vayne. Vaan, if you would so kindly pull the lever?"
"Are you sure?" The teen asked in reply, and his eyes were upon Gabranth. "I mean…"
"He cannot cause any harm now, Vaan. And in case you haven't noticed, we have a small window of time to be accomplishing our goals, and can't afford to be lugging a fully armored man off the lift."
Ashe seemed to break out of a sort of trance beside him, and nodded in agreement. "Balthier is right, Vaan. We must be going to Vayne."
"Right," the lever was pulled, and with the sound of machinery running, the lift began to move. "Time to save Dalmasca!"