Baten Kaitos: Illusory Wings and the Question for the Ocean
Summary: It has been almost twenty years since the return of the Ocean. Fee, the son of Kalas and Xelha, and his Guardian Spirit must save the world from a dark imbalance of Chronos. Features a whole new cast of characters and some old favorites, too.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Baten Kaitos, Namco, and anything else that belongs to someone else. I will not profit from this story in any way shape or form (other than enjoying a much-needed sequel).
Author's notes: Thank you to my two reviewers, and also to whoever drafted this story onto the BK C2! I appreciate when readers leave messages saying that they enjoy the story, it makes me want to post more:)
Chapter 3
"I wish I could fly," Fee stated wistfully, and leaned back over the railing of the airboat to look up at the cloud-filled pale sky. Their boat was nearly to Anuenue, and when they got there, they were going to Savyna's restaurant. The pilot of this twenty-foot air-ship was an elderly gentleman with large gray eyes who piloted this path between Mira and Anuenue twice daily. Fee, Dariye, and Gimmel were on the evening flight, which had left Mira an hour before sunset. The sky was bright and orange to the ship's left-- starboard, Fee mentally corrected himself-- and Anuenue was coming into view directly in front of the prow.
"Why would you want to do that?" Dariye asked, leaning her elbows against the rail and letting the warm breeze dance in her hair. It was a deceptive breeze, pretending that it was a springtime gale heralding the summer, rather than a fading summer breeze chased by autumn. The wind felt nice against his bare arms. Fee ran his finger down the old sword-scar on his forearm and looked back at Dariye.
"Flying looks like fun."
She shook her head and giggled. "It looks scary, Fee. I can't imagine leaving the earth."
Gimmel snorted from Fee's other side. "You are on an air-ship, Dariye."
"You know what I mean. Flying with your own two wings... What if you forget how to fly?"
Fee shook his head. "Do you ever forget how to walk?"
"When we were little, we had a hard time walking. Look at any infant," Dariye pointed out. "Same concept."
"If you knew how to do it since birth, it would be more natural than walking."
"I'd still rather walk," she said, and smoothed her hair as it curled around in her face. The wind blew the feathered headband against Fee's cheek, and he smoothed them back, enjoying the soft slippery feel of the smaller one between his fingers. His uncle could fly and he hadn't had his wings growing up. Fee suspected it came as easily as blinking, or swallowing.
The three companions stood in friendly silence for a long moment, enjoying the panoramic view of their world, and then Dariye spoke.
"I don't understand how I got my father to let me go," she said, and sat down with her back pressed against the wooden slats of the railing.
Fee chuckled. "I keep expecting to see him barreling towards us, ready to jump ship and drag you back." Fee looked over at Gimmel. "But your parents were eager to see you go!"
"They said they wanted a vacation from being parents," he shrugged, and then smirked. "It got me away from them. Can't complain!"
"I still can't get over that look on your mother's face, Fee." Dariye giggled. "She had kittens when you told her that your dad had already given you permission."
"Mum's like that sometimes. She likes to watch out for us." Fee turned toward the sun, the last warm rays of the day sinking into the skin of his cheeks, tingling with heat. The middle of his back itched suddenly, and he spun to look off the starboard side, where they were situated. His fingers found the warm shard of the Ocean Mirror in his pocket; his mother had given it to him when she realized that he was leaving whether she gave her permission or not. Even though it was broken, the Ocean Mirror was still a powerful symbol of the triumph of good over evil, and Fee held it now as if it could ward off whatever was out there.
It's nothing, Fee. S'rian smoothed the tense muscles around the itch, and Fee relaxed as it disappeared. Someone had to be following them, watching them. It might even be the person that had affected the Chronos in the first place, making sure that no one disturbed his or her magic until whatever needed doing was accomplished.
"Keep your eyes open, S'rian," he said quietly, and his companions looked at him.
"Is there trouble?" Gimmel asked, looking intently around. Dariye got to her feet and watched Fee.
"Just a bad feeling," Fee said.
My eyes are always open, S'rian soothed.
Dariye looked at Fee and said, "I've been feeling a prickle in my back lately, like someone is boring a hole into my back with their eyes. I thought it had something to do with Chronos being disrupted." Because they were coming along on his journey, Fee had told them almost everything about how Chronos was being affected. He had left out the visions that he and S'rian shared, mostly because he felt they were personal and that Dariye and Gimmel might baby Fee, checking that he was all right every five minutes or keeping him out of the action. This was his adventure, and he wasn't going to let them take his glory from him.
S'rian snorted as that peripheral thought touched the Spirit's presence.
Fee ignored him and said to Dariye, "I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that someone or something is following us, creeping up on us."
"It doesn't feel malignant, at least not to me. It feels like someone who wants to help, but is too afraid to, or can't because her allegiance lies elsewhere."
"You say 'her,' like you know the gender of this someone," Fee suggested, and Dariye's face grew concerned.
"I don't know why I said 'her'... It just seemed right." Dariye suddenly gasped and pointed toward Anuenue. "Look! I can see the Celestial Tree!" Fee squinted and tried to follow where her finger was pointing, but he couldn't see anything resembling the large tree.
"You have much better eyes than I do," he said to Dariye, who looked over at Gimmel.
"You can see it, can't you, Gimmel?"
Gimmel turned back to Dariye and shrugged. "Not really."
"You two are blind," Dariye said laughingly.
People of Duhr origin have better night-vision than people of the Sky, S'rian said, startling Fee, who hadn't realized that his Guardian was paying attention to the conversation.
"Do they really?" He asked to keep the Spirit talking. S'rian had been distant since this morning, right after Fee had approached his mother about going on the mission.
They do. It had to do with living under the Taintclouds for so many centuries; they developed an augmented vision. Their eyes usually interpret the infrared and heat waves and translate it into better focus. It's something that they will lose over many centuries if they remain in the states.
"Hmm. I didn't even know that," Dariye said, and explained to Gimmel what S'rian had said.
Fee leaned back to admire the sky again, and his vision blurred. Fee's hand clenched at the railing as the sky shimmered like a heat aura, and suddenly S'rian's aura was inside Fee's, curling around Fee's heart as he had when they first joined. It felt a little tight and restrictive at first, but S'rian did something and they were sharing Fee's body, breathing as he breathed, feeling the wind brush soft against his face, experiencing the rough wood beneath his hands. It felt like he was experiencing his body for the first time, every movement bringing a pleasing sensation that set his nerves tingling with information that they had not carried in a long time...
The vision blew those tingling senses away like a giant snuffing a candle. There was a large rainbow-swirled circle in the center of his vision, calling to him with its hypnotic motion, and hiding inside that sphere was Cor Hydrae. How he knew the name, Fee would never know... but it struck him with fear and awe, and a certain excitement, as if it was the fulfillment of some dark sinister plan in the core of his existence.
And then it was gone. S'rian was still curled around his soul, protecting it from that darker desire that did not belong to him. Together they pushed the darkness away. A light touch at his arm shattered the perfect joining, casting them back into their separate essences. "Fee?"
Fee opened his confused eyes and looked at Dariye. "Yes?" He asked softly, and he was surprised that he could speak normally. His body felt empty, as if it was too large for just one soul.
"You went all weird for a moment there." She smiled cautiously, and then blushed. "I'm sorry if I disturbed a private moment."
Fee opened his mouth to speak, but stopped at the unguarded look in Dariye's eyes. Was that... jealousy? She turned from him, and he decided that it would be better if he didn't say anything at that moment.
Gimmel walked towards them from across the boat, and Fee realized that he hadn't seen Gimmel leave them. Fee reached for S'rian, but the Spirit was far away, dealing with the vision. "The boatman says we'll be docking in five minutes."
"Really?" Dariye asked, sounding herself again, and Fee looked at her for a moment. She turned to look towards Anuenue, and Fee's eyes followed her.
"That snuck up on us," Fee said with a low whistle of appreciation. What had seemed so small and far away but minutes ago was now large and getting larger. The angle they were approaching at made the Tree invisible, hidden by the bulk of the state, and Fee doubted that Dariye had actually seen it.
"Amazing," Dariye breathed, and Fee realized that this was her first time away from Mira. He knew that Anuenue was breathtaking, of course, with its twin rainbows arcing around the top corner, but he had seen it before and it no longer held him in rapture.
"It is a nice view," Gimmel said, and Dariye smiled.
They waited the rest of their journey in silence, and when the boat docked, the pilot waved a cheerful goodbye to them. They were not his only passengers, but they were the most polite, and he had held the boat for them while they finished their packing. Their four small packs were hefted onto their shoulders, and with a final wave they headed out.
Fee and S'rian had picked their itinerary carefully. Tonight they would find accommodations at Savyna's restaurant, which served as an alternate rest stop to the Magna Shop, whose cramped sleeping spaces were not very comfortable. Tomorrow they would go into the Jungle to assess the strange rumored creatures, and make a stop at the School of Magic, to see if the Principal there had any hints or clues. They would move on the day after, making use of Savyna's personal air-craft (which she had promised to them) to make the journey to Alfard. They would check in with Councillor Lyude, and perhaps investigate the ghost/spirits haunting Azha, and rest in the Imperial Palace. The next day, S'rian wanted to make a private trip into the Lava Caves, to see where Kalas and Sarai had split ways.
After that, they would skip over to Sadal Suud, to check if there were any lingering spirits or memories in the place where Sarai's memories had been corrupted. This stop and the trip into the Lava Caves had seemed so important to S'rian that Fee was dying to know exactly what the Guardian was hoping to get from tracing Sarai's figurative steps. He hadn't pried, though, and S'rian hadn't offered any information.
It was a long trek across Anuenue, and the bags grew heavier as they walked, but soon they saw the lights that said that the Turning Leaf was not far ahead.
"Finally," Dariye complained, shifting her bag uncomfortably on her shoulders. "I thought we were lost, Fee."
"I know how to get here," he replied, and wriggled his shoulders around.
"Looks like the party here is in full swing," Gimmel pointed out, and indeed it was. As they stepped through the ivy-garlands that decorated the entrance, the roar and press of people hit them like a physical force. They made their way to the bar, narrowly avoiding a tottering man who was a little too drunk for the early hour of the night. But no matter how drunk the bar-goers became, fights never started here, because Savyna would finish them.
Mayfee smiled as Fee and Gimmel wedged into a spot at the bar. Her short black hair hung free around her ears, curled coquettishly into a suave bob, and her brown eyes widened as she recognized him.
"Fee? Wow, look at you! You've grown about three inches, haven't you?" She clasped his hand excitedly and looked over at Dariye and Gimmel. "Who are your friends?"
Fee introduced them, and then Mayfee had to come around the bar and hug him. Normally this would have embarrassed him, having a girl hanging off him, but this was Mayfee, and he hugged her back. "Where's Savyna?" He asked, and she led them into a back room after catching the other bartender's attention.
Savyna looked up as Mayfee entered, and gave a small smile. "I'm glad you could make it. Are you hungry?" Savyna had always struck Fee as quiet and reserved, and today was no exception. She was wearing a pair of green slacks with long black boots, which hit her just above the knee. A zigzagged shirt in shades of red and purple, which would have looked horrendous on anyone else, especially in combination with the pants, made her black hair look striking and her sharp features a little softer. Fee glanced back at Mayfee and noticed that she was wearing nearly the same outfit, without the brightly designed top. Hers was a deep shade of maroon.
It wasn't hard to understand why Mayfee worshipped Savyna; the older woman was an excellent example of a female who was not content to be a housemaid. Savyna had made this building with her own two hands, had set up the blooming restaurant all by herself, and was now it's manager. Mayfee and another of the employees brought Savyna a plate of hot meat rolls and a plate of mugs with warmth curling from the tops.
"How is your family, Fee?" Savyna asked, and took a drink from her tea mug. The three travelers helped themselves to the meat rolls, savoring the spices that had been loaded into the crust and the meat.
"They are fine. Graye is nine, now, and as adventurous as she was on our last visit here." Graye had climbed halfway up the Celestial Tree before anyone realized she was missing, and Mayfee had been the one to find her. The Tree was a lot safer now than it had been eighteen years ago, before Cor Hydrae had been demolished, but there were still dangerous forest creatures living in it.
Savyna chuckled deep in her throat, and Dariye and Gimmel explained a little of their family life to her.
S'rian curled his warm presence against Fee, and Fee let out a soft sigh. I'm sorry about earlier... The memory took me before I could get away from you.
"It felt nice," Fee whispered, and Savyna gave him an odd look. Fee blushed a little, and hurriedly explained, "My Spirit is speaking to me."
Savyna nodded her understanding and took another swig from her mug.
We'll talk later about this, Fee. S'rian did not leave Fee, but hovered just behind him, brushing against him every so often as if needing the phantom touch. Fee wondered if that meant that S'rian truly did not want to leave, that he was being forced to leave when the time came.
"Have you heard anything about the new dark creatures that are supposedly hiding in Holoholo Jungle?" Dariye asked, leaning her cheek into the palm of her hand and resting her elbow on the table. Her other hand was curled around the handle of her mug, one nail tapping against the porcelain.
"I've seen them," Savyna replied grimly. "They are unlike anything I've ever seen... they're secretive and prone to hiding. The only way you find them is if you stumble across their lairs."
"What do they look like?" Asked Fee.
Savyna sent one of her lackeys to her room to get the pictures she had taken. Savyna was nothing if not precise, and the pictures were crystal clear. A strange creature shaped like a cat, with a long tufted tail and silky fur, stared up at Fee from the glossy paper. The large wings that bloomed from its back looked downy soft. It had an orange-striped coloration with white accents at the nose and ears.
"What are they?"
"There is no name for them in Anuenue," Savyna said, and pointed at the face. "This one was female, and they are able to mate and produce young."
"Do they fly?" This practical question was from Gimmel.
"They fly almost exclusively. This one is hovering above the ground, actually, like those wings are Wings of the Heart." She handed them a second picture, the same creature launching upward with its wings curled underneath its body. The third picture had a darker creature, the eyes on it large and green. The accent color for this one was black, and the orange was more of a dull sienna. This one appeared larger than the first, and Fee guessed that this was the male.
"How can creatures have Wings of the Heart?" Fee demanded.
"They can't." Savyna shrugged, and offered them the fourth and fifth pictures. "These here are the other type of creature. This type looks deceptively docile compared to the felines, but they are actually the more dangerous of the two." The animal here had a single horn curving out from its equine head, looking to Fee like a black unicorn. Upon closer inspection of the second picture, which had a slightly better focus, he saw that the front feet ended in hands, and the back in webbed flippers. It looked like this creature had evolved out of water at some point. There was a closed third eye directly below the horn, and the spacing of this eye made the whole face wider to accommodate it.
Fee put the two pictures side by side, noting that both poses were walking or standing poses, with no aggression to them. "Do they attack with their horn and feet?"
"They used a psychic-based attack against one of those cat creatures." Savyna ran her fingers up her arms as if cold, and Fee understood that Savyna was scared of the power these animals had. "It wasn't pretty. I was very glad that I wasn't under attack. I've only ever seen Mizuti use a psychic attack of the strength this animal used."
"Have you seen her around?" Fee jumped on the name Mizuti, partly because he had never met the sixth member of his parent's team, and partly because S'rian had made a point to bring her up more than once.
Savyna shook her head. "I believe she's been on Sadal Suud, doing some research. I'll ask around to see if anyone's heard from her lately."
"That would be appreciated. S'rian wants to strip her of any knowledge she might have."
"S'rian is your Guardian, correct?" Savyna set her mug down and refilled it from the kettle on the fire, then began refilling the trio's tea.
"Yes."
"I would recommend you speak with the Principal of Magic, in Komo Mai. I've had knowledgeable discussions with him about these new creatures, and he knows more about the why's and when's than I do."
"We were planning on seeing him anyway."
Dariye took a few crackers from the dish and asked, "Would you say that we shouldn't go after these creatures ourselves?"
Savyna's brown eyes grew serious. "Don't go out there, Fee. They can kill you, especially if they feel threatened."
If Savyna is worried about these creatures, S'rian murmured, then they are more powerful than they should be.
"You think so, S'rian?" Dariye asked, and looked at Fee. "Where are they getting their power?"
They are half-demons, I think, or something like that. Someone is calling Demonic Powers when they shouldn't be... Does this mean there is something of importance in Holoholo?
"Is your Spirit speaking, Fee?" Savyna asked. "I'd really like to know what he has to offer this conversation."
Dariye began to explain, but Fee stopped her. "Wait, Dariye. S'rian can speak through me; it'll be easier on everyone."
S'rian went very still for a moment, that silent pause that told Fee that he was shocked. He rarely let S'rian speak through him, and never volunteered the idea.
"All right, S'rian?" Fee asked after a moment, and the Spirit chuckled.
Yes. Thank you.
Fee sat back and S'rian merged into him. The curious tingling from their earlier bonding returned, and Fee could feel his being squish over to let S'rian in. They fit comfortably together, either soul able to control the body, and S'rian looked down at the hands that he could move. Fee could feel S'rian's surprise, his excitement, as the fingers responded to the thought S'rian sent to them. The hypersensitivity faded suddenly, and S'rian began speaking. Fee's lips moved and his larynx vibrated, but S'rian's voice came out. There was something very flat about S'rian's voice, some quality that was missing, but Fee couldn't place it. "I think these creatures are half-demon. Someone is conjuring them to discourage travelers in Holoholo."
"In other words, there is something hidden in the Jungle that they don't want anyone to find." Savyna leaned back in her chair and put one hand to her chin. "What could that be?"
"Something that is disrupting Chronos?" Gimmel suggested.
"Exactly." S'rian took a deep breath. "This someone has something to do with the events leading up to Malpercio's reincarnation. The pieces of Chronos I've seen make me want to meet Sarai, to compare notes and see if there was a loose end that she missed."
"Are you saying that Sarai didn't fix everything?" Dariye asked, and she looked a little shocked.
Fee's mouth opened and he laughed, but the sound that came out was S'rian's chuckle. "Honestly, that issue is between Sarai and the Powers that Be. I'm not criticizing her... on the contrary, I believe she did an excellent job with what she was given. However, what she did eighteen years ago is affecting what I am doing now, and I would like to discuss it with her." S'rian shrugged Fee's shoulders, a motion that felt awkward to Fee, who could do it naturally.
Savyna asked, "How is it that you can speak through Fee, when Sarai couldn't through Kalas? I wasn't aware this was common practice."
S'rian smirked. "I'd bet anything that Sarai could speak through Kalas, and that she did it at least once. Personal preference, or an unwilling host, are two things that stop a Spirit from taking over. Fee is open to me, so it is easy to speak through him. I can't imagine Kalas letting anyone speak for him like that."
One corner of Savyna's mouth curled up. "That's true. He doesn't even let Xelha speak for him."
"What can we do now, S'rian?" Dariye leaned her elbow on the table and looked at him with an uncomfortable stare that Fee recognized from the boat. It was definitely jealousy... Fee wasn't sure what he could say to Dariye that would fix that emotion, but he could feel S'rian cataloging the information to discuss later.
"There is someone behind this whole mess, and we need to find that person and stop him or her. I would suggest for you, Savyna, to go out into the Jungle and search for whatever they are guarding. We will go find the Principal of the School of Magic, and meet back together tomorrow afternoon to discuss our findings."
"That sounds like a good plan," Savyna agreed, and looked right at Fee. "Any problems with it, Fee?"
S'rian pulled back a little, and Fee said, "None at all. It's a plan."
"Excellent. Now, I have three rooms upstairs waiting for you, and breakfast is at seven. If there are no further questions, you three can head up and get a good night's sleep. You must be tired."
When Savyna mentioned bed, Fee realized how tired he was. Even being physically fit, he had had a rough time traipsing across Anuenue to the restaurant, which was just outside of Opu.
S'rian coiled out of Fee's body, leaving Fee empty and alone, his thoughts running sluggishly around his mind. The Guardian felt dark and brooding but gave Fee a smile and a mental shrug when Fee asked what the problem was. Fee knew that meant the Spirit was still deciphering what was bothering him, so he left him alone.
Beside him Dariye yawned and blushed. "I'm ready to head up right now," she said, and began packing their dishes onto the platter. Savyna waved her hands away and shooed them up the stairs, saying that she would clear the table for them.
Fee collapsed onto his bed and would have forgotten to take off his outer garments if S'rian hadn't reminded him. He grumbled a little but pulled off his shoes and shirt, then his pants and the pouch with the Broken Ocean Mirror and the cards his father had given him.
The first card contained a Call Spirit; this type of Spirit, while being rare and even dangerous in certain instances, was a powerful creature that could find anyone that Fee could name and picture in his mind. The Call Spirit would either pull the selected individual to Fee's side, using Chronos to leap places, or allow Fee to speak mind-to-mind with that person for a limited time. The second card had surprised Fee greatly, because Kalas hardly let anyone touch this object, let alone take it for an extended time. It was his winglet, the one that had been replaced during the final battle with Giacomo. Kalas had kept it religiously, polishing it nearly every week and putting it on about once a month. The metal piece that attached to the body had a sharp claw that clamped to the skin, and there was a needle that slipped through the back to attach to the spinal column, so the artificial wing would expand at the same time as the real one.
"I don't need it anymore," Kalas had said in explanation, handing the smooth metal contraption to Fee with both hands. "One of the last things Sarai told me was that I should keep it until I felt compelled to give it away. It has an electric field and an anti-gravity repulsor, so it can lift you off the ground all by itself." He had grabbed Fee by the shoulder and smiled. "Make me proud, Fee."
"You got it," Fee smiled, feeling that he could float away on his father's praise. He obviously trusted Fee enough to give him the one thing he had to remember his grandfather by, and Kalas didn't give praise very often.
Now you see why I want to speak with Sarai, S'rian cut in, interrupting the memory. She knew about you, she knew about Kalas's future before she left him. Obviously, she has some part to play in the events here.
"But she hasn't contacted you yet," Fee pointed out. "And Dad might not have given it to the right person... Maybe he was supposed to give it to his brother, maybe Fee loses a wing in this time..."
I don't think so. It feels right for you to have it...which means that you are supposed to have it. Maybe you'll need it to fly up somewhere.
"Up to an island, maybe?"
Well, all five of the main islands are connected to the earth now. I'm not sure what happened to the Celestial Alps, or Wazn... Your mother never wants to talk about Wazn, even with Kalas.
Fee crawled under the light blanket and curled it around his bare shoulders, which were the only part of his body that was cold. He pulled the headband out of his hair and laid it carefully on the nightstand; Fee definitely did not want to crush the precious feathers.
Fee. That second feather... I think it belonged to your father.
Fee sat up and pulled the headband over to him for scrutiny. "How do you figure?" He asked, and turned it over in his fingers. In the dancing light of the candle on the nightstand, the black edges on the gray feather shone with blue and silver, and the opalescent feather had rainbows spread out from the stem, each individual line depicting the entire stretch of color.
I don't know why I think so, but it makes sense. I don't think Kalas's grandfather Georg had wings of the heart, and who else would Fee care for except Kalas? Xelha's called him her "dark-winged stranger" more than once.
"Yeah, I suppose. But why didn't this feather disappear when all the other wings disappeared?"
Because Fee doesn't remember that time. Chronos took him and deposited him in the depths of the castle minutes before you found him. To Fee, the journey was instantaneous.
Fee frowned. "There are large holes in your theory, S'rian."
I know. That's why it's a theory. S'rian stretched against Fee, rubbing his shoulder as a cat would do. That's an odd analogy, S'rian chuckled, and Fee realized that S'rian was catching his peripheral thoughts. He closed up, which made S'rian press a little more insistently against him. Since we have shared your body twice today, being able to hear your thoughts is a lot easier. That will fade by tomorrow.
"Are you sure?"
Not at all, said S'rian cheerfully. That is also a theory.
Fee smiled a little, and snuffed the candle, being sure to put the headband back on the nightstand. "Good night, S'rian."
Good night, Fee.
Fee's dream involved a great deal of closed doors, a younger Kalas with two dark wings and eyes filled with hatred, and the other Fee coming up to him and asking if he would destroy Malpercio before the god killed him. As Fee reached for his uncle, the child gave a frightened squeak and faded into mist. His wings remained, piteously beating against the world, struggling to protect a master that wasn't there, before they too faded away.