NOTE: I do not own Jules, the Moogles Eight, or Final Fantasy XII. They are property of Square Enix. However, I do own most of the other characters, such as Errol, Sania, Faze, and Zeffir. Zeffir is a character from my fanfic The Escape of Ffamran (which I'm still working on). Here he is depicted as an adult and in the service of the Archadian Empire.
THis story is rated T for cursing and violence. Do not read if you are under 13.
This takes place after the events of the Pharos at Ridorana and right around those of the Sky Fortress Bahamut.
THE ESTATE OF NIBIRU-MUL PRESENTS
FALL OF A SWINDLER
Vaan and his party had reached the Pharos at Ridorana. They climbed the tower and faced many dangerous beasts. At the top, they faced Judge Gabranth and Dr. Cid, and defeated them both. Princess Ashe had the intent of destorying the Sun-Cryst, but Reddas did the honors for her, sacrificing his life in the process. Now there was the Sky Fortress Bahamut soaring over Rabanastre, and all was not well in the city.
But that is not where this story takes place. This story is set all the way in Old Archades, far from Rabanastre.
While Vaan and his party were preparing to board the Strahl and raid the Bahamut, there was much hassle in Old Archades. Fights were breaking out all over the place, this being due to the gossip that made its way about.
Sitting proudly among all of this was Jules den Miron, an streetear known to have conned people. He had taken pleasure in hearing the rumors that would cause chaos in Old Archades, promptly getting the attention of the Archadian guards. This was a sight most unpleasant, and the guards were tired of breaking up the fights. Jules, however, remained free from suspicion for the time being.
Jules was sitting on a raised platform in the Alley of Muted Sighs. He was holding a small bag of gil. This was what he would use to hold money that he had swindled out of people. From there, he would bring the money back to his residence and stash it away. Sometimes, Jules would buy goods for himself with this money, and from that his home became quite adorned.
"Ahh," said Jules. "I have made quite a bit of money. Those suckers never know what's coming to them. They listen to me for a few minutes, and in the drop of a hat, the bastards' money is gone form them and in my collection. And of course, the Imperials cannot catch me. Hahahaha!"
Jules then heard a noise. "I wonder what that can be," he said. "Not like I care!" Despite apparently not caring, Jules got up from his seat and walked around the Alley of Muted Sighs. He saw people listening to gossip.
There were several people gathered around a circle. They were all listening to an old man speak.
"So I've heard this," said the old man. "'Twas a most terrible thing. Something in the Sochen Cave Palace roared! It would go on and on for hours, and then all of a sudden, it stopped. I ain't sure of this, but could it have been the dreaded wyrm that's said to sleep under there?"
"Really?" said another, younger man. "That is terrible, Errol!" Errol was the name of the old man.
"In other news," said Errol. "There've been fights all over. Some say it was because of that lad Vaan comin' to visit Old Archades."
"What of Vaan?" asked a woman.
"He's been journeying with that Balthier fellow," said Errol. "They have gone far and wide, even havin' spats with that old devil Dr. Cid. Rumor has it that the mad devil is alive no longer. With that being said, we can only celebrate the victory of whoever slayed him."
Jules approached the group and interrupted the old man.
"It must have been because of Ffamran," he said. "For your information, this 'Balthier' that you speak of is none other than Ffamran mied Bunansa, the runaway son of Dr. Cid. The other two sons had met their fates years ago. And I have had many a conversation with Zeffir Yenmil, Ffamran's old friend."
"Zeffir?" asked Errol. "I know him. Very friendly for one of them rich folks. Actually comes down here sometimes. 'Tis a shame Balthier didn't even seek him out. How's he doin'?"
"Hanging in there," said Jules. "Zeffir is in the service of the Empire. After all, he had seen the fall of Nalbina. Yet no more does he fight in battles. Instead, he serves in various civilian jobs. He has a wife and a daughter now, and his wife is expecting another child. Zeffir does not realize that Ffamran and Balthier are one and the same."
"What a pity," said Errol.
Jules then noticed a fight breaking out. A man had found a few gold coins in the water, and another man had seen them as well. The two beat each other senselessly until the Imperials were notified. The Imperials rushed to the scene and broke up the men.
"Those scoundrels," said Jules. "Always getting into fights." While the men were being broken up, Jules carefully took the gold coins that were nearby. "Victory is mine," Jules whispered to himself after taking the coins.
"This I find a pity," Jules told Errol.
Jules then looked around. He then saw that there were no targets for swindling, so he slipped away into an alley. He made his way back to his residence, located in Archades proper. Jules stored his money away. He decided that he would not swindle for the rest of the day and take some time to relax.
A whole week passed since Jules talked to Errol, and not much had happened in Old Archades. Jules went down twice to visit. Fights were less frequent now, and some attributed it to Jules not being there to con people.
A conversation is heard in the Alley of Low Whispers.
A man and a woman are talking. Both are very poorly dressed. This was because they are vulgars, members of the lowest class in Archadian society. They are speaking about Jules - but most certainly not in a positive way. Let's listen to the conversation:
"I'm getting tired of that Jules," said the woman. "Always cheating us for his own gain!"
"Me too," said the man. "But what are we going to do, Sania?"
"I don't know, Faze," said Sania.
"It's hard to get entertainment 'round these parts," said Faze. "Ever since the Moogles Eight rioted against their owner. But he deserved it - he was exploiting them moogles! Plus there's been a lot of fights, and it is kicking up a storm here. Can't we all have some peace and quiet 'round here?"
"I'm beginning to suspect that Jules is the root of these fights," said Sania. "He's always makin' money off of the people who are involved in 'em."
"What do you mean?" asked Faze.
"I mean that Jules is exploiting us like that shady seeq exploited the Moogles Eight," said Sania. "And it's time to rebel against Jules' swindling!"
"I agree," said Faze. "But how are we gonna get him?"
"You'll see," said Sania. "I'll talk to them Imperials when they come down here tomorrow."
Looks like Jules is in for a big surprise...
Three days later, Jules went down to the Alley of Muted Sighs to do his usual business. When he got to the bridge, he saw that he was not the only one with money there.
A young man was standing there, leaning against a wall. He had parted blond hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a fancy white shirt with a red vest over it and maroon pants. On his head was a fez-like hat. Around his neck was a silver pendant. This was Zeffir Yenmil - the same one that had once been Balthier's friend. Zeffir often came down to Old Archades with the purpose of charity, which was tolerated by the Empire. He was concerned about the people who lived down there and their poverty. The officials, on the other hand, were usually not concerned, and many preferred to keep the vulgars in their place.
"Oh," said Jules. "Hello, Zeffir."
"Greetings, Jules," said Zeffir. Zeffir tried to be polite with Jules, even though he had been a victim of Jules' swindling years ago.
"Any fights going on lately?" asked Jules.
"Nope," said Zeffir. "Everything is peaceful."
"How is Errol doing?" asked Jules.
"I haven't seen him," said Zeffir. "But I assume that he is doing good. Anyway, I heard that the Moogles Eight are looking for a new manager."
"Yeah," said Jules. "That shady seeq is in big trouble! I haven't seen him lately."
"He left Archades for good," said Zeffir.
"That's not good," said Jules.
"He didn't have a choice," said Zeffir. "Then again, I wholeheartedly support the Moogles Eight. They were not happy. The seeq promished them food from around the world, and they did not get anything that the seeq had promised them. I hope they will be treated better by a new manager."
"I guess so," said Jules. "Well, I better get back to finding people. You know what they say, Zeffir - another day, another bag of gil!"
Zeffir rolled his eyes. He had been tolerating Jules all this time, and couldn't believe Jules' greedy attitude.
Jules left Zeffir alone and went to the Alley of Low Whispers. He saw the Moogles Eight. They were sitting down, advertising their need for employment. Two held up a sign that said "Will Work for Money".
"Excuse me, kupo," asked one of the moogles, "but will you help us find work?"
Jules just ignored them, and he went to doing his work. He saw Errol walk up to him.
"Ahh," said Jules, "it's you, Errol! How are you doing?"
"Not very good," said Errol.
"Why is that?" asked Jules.
"There ain't no problems," said Errol, getting defensive. "I was just thinking out loud! Sheesh!" Faze walked away.
Jules was disappointed. So he decided to tell Errol something.
"Rumor has it that there is a bag of gil located under all that rubble," said Jules, pointing to a pile of debris. This was probably the biggest piece of debris in all of Old Archades. It belonged to a building that had burned down the year before. "An Imperial had left it there a few weeks ago. It is yours, if you can claim it."
"Sounds good to me," said Errol.
Upon hearing this, a seeq approached Errol. He had heard of the alleged bag of gil as well.
"I heard about that bag of gil!" yelled the seeq. "It's MINE, you son of a bitch!"
"No," said Errol. "Jules told me it was mine!"
"Not if I get there first!" said the seeq.
Errol and the seeq both ran to the heavy rubble. They dug it up, making a mess in the process. As they went along, Errol and the seeq injured each other, with blood coming out in the process. They worked for over an hour, removing the debris as they went along. Jules couldn't help but laugh at them with the intent of mocking them, for this was all a trick.
Eventually, Errol and the seeq finished, but they found no bag of gil.
"Ha ha!" laughed Jules. "This was nothing but a trick! There was no bag of gil! And if there was, I would have kept it!"
Errol turned around and looked at Jules angrily.
"You...YOU!" he yelled. "You deceived us!"
"You're damn right I did," said Jules. "I used you like the losers you are. Practically all of you vulgars I have used at some point or another! My coming down here was just a plot to make money, since I have made up many of the rumors these past few weeks. After all, I have made well over one million gil from my deeds!"
"A-ha!" yelled a female voice. It was Sania.
"Huh?" said Jules.
"I' heard you," said Sania. "You've been exploiting us all this time. And you have made so much money off of us, spending it on stuff that we could kill for! That ain't right!"
"I'm just doing what I do best," said Jules. "Our lives are too short as it is, and I decided to make my life by exploiting you worthless vulgars! There is a reason why you vulgars are all here in Old Archades. You only live to suffer, while ardents and gentry benefit from the joys of the Empire."
"That don't make it right," said Sania.
"I don't care," said Jules. "I'm better than you. And far wealthier! I am on my way to becoming gentry with the gil I made!"
Zeffir was notified of this by Sania, and when the two saw the Imperials, they told them about Jules' misdeeds.
Jules was feeling uneasy from the vulgars' complaints, and then he saw the Imperials coming right at him. Jules admitted to being a swindler and making up rumors to start fights. The Imperials took him away and led him to prison.
Two weeks later, Zeffir visited Jules in prison.
"I just want to say that I have no regrets," said Jules while in his prison cell.
"You should not say that," said Zeffir. "You did a very bad thing, and now you have to face the consequences. You may never see the light of day again."
"How long am I going to be here for?" asked Jules.
"Probably for quite a while," said Zeffir. "The Imperials were pretty angry."
"I realize I was wrong after all," said Jules, sighing. "I will tell you why I started swindling in the first place: I was poor myself once - in contrast to you. I had gotten around to hearing many rumors in the streets of Old Archades. When I told them to people, they believed me. I gave advice to them as well. From this advice, I made money. Eventually, I had made enough money to move to Archades proper. But I couldn't stop giving advice, so I would go back and give people advice. Once that died down, though, I resorted to making up rumors. Granted not all of them were lies. For example, the one with teh Moogles Eight was true. But most of them I did make up. I guess it is time for the Imperials to seal my doom..."
"I guess so," said Zeffir.
The two talked until visiting hours were almost over.
"I have to go now," said Zeffir once visiting hours were almost over. "I don't think I will be seeing you again. So this is goodbye."
"Fine," said Jules. "Farewell!" Zeffir left the prison.
And so Jules remained in prison, thinking about his misdeeds. He seemed to regret them at this point. But he did pay the price, for crime does not pay.
THE END