Disclaimer: I own nothing in Final Fantasy.
Vicks reviewed the briefing in his head, to make sure he didn't misunderstand anything. He had done this several times over the past couple of days. An Esper, whom they had heard was frozen, was recently found in the mining village of Narshe. Since this Esper was new, and they didn't have it, or so they believed, he was being sent to retrieve it, along with another soldier named Pierre, and that girl.
The Imperial Soldier turned to look at her for a moment. Even now, he couldn't see the light in her eyes. It was though it had dulled, and like she was in some sort of trance. Something had been placed on her head, known as a Slave Crown, which would make her do whatever they commanded her to do. While Vicks himself wasn't so sure of the girl being there at first, his partner reminded him of the crown's effects, as though to assure him that they had nothing to worry about.
His mind wandered for a moment as he remembered a mission that recently didn't go so well. He had only heard about that girl that they were supposed to get, but he had never seen her directly. However, due to some problems on Baron's end, the girl had managed to escape. Those who were sent to retrieve her helped in the search, but they didn't have any luck in finding her either.
Not that it mattered because if all went according to plan, she would be in their hands again soon enough. And when that happened, he was sure what fate would befall her.
"I see Narshe over the horizon!" Pierre called to his fellow.
Vicks nodded as he stopped pulling the levers, causing his Magitek Armor to slow to a stop. Pierre followed suit, and the girl did so when one of the guards commanded her. Their destination was finally in sight, and their target was bound to be somewhere there.
"I'm sure I don't have to remind you why we are here," Vicks said as he looked to the other soldier. "So, let's get that frozen Esper, shall we?" He turned his attention to the girl. "We shouldn't take any risks, so the girl will take point."
It wasn't just because they had control of the girl that he said this. While true that all three of them were in Magitek Armor, machines that were made specifically by the Empire and infused with magical power, only the girl could tap into the power of the machines to bring out their full potential. Vicks wasn't sure why this was the case, but he never thought to question it. He didn't see the need to.
Pierre seemed to agree with Vicks, and quickly ordered the girl ahead of them. And with no emotions and complaints, as she was incapable of either, she did as she was told to do.
While the cave was nice and safe, Chrysta had to admit that she was thankful for the fresh air outside of it. She had remembered when she left the hideout with Cecil that one of the first things she did was take in a big gulp of air, just because she could. She even managed to joke about it, as she said out with the bad air, and in with the good.
She took in another deep breath, and sighed happily. Despite the fact that she still couldn't remember her past, she was feeling a little better about things. But every time she thought about why they left the hideout, it made her worry even more and her smile wilted to a frown.
Cecil took notice, but didn't bother asking her why. He had done so earlier in their trip, so he knew what the problem was. It had to do with the frozen Esper and what would happen if they got their hold on it. And he had to admit that it wasn't a pleasant thought.
In the days they had come to get this far, the two knew the urgency of their mission. But thankfully, they knew they were not going to be alone. Banon made sure that a carrier pigeon had been sent to someone who was outside of the hideout at the time, who would help them out.
"I wonder where he is?" Chrysta suddenly asked. She looked around the forested area, which according to Cecil, these woods were the closest to Narshe. "We are getting closer, aren't we?"
"Yes. I think we should be meeting him soon though," the dark knight answered.
The duo looked to each other for the moment and went even deeper into the woods. Seeing all those trees around them felt very familiar to the girl, and she felt she knew why. Even though she had been in other forests before, according to what she had heard, Mysidia was in a forest too. And she had no idea how long she had been there either.
"Hey! You two are Cecil and Chrysta, right?"
Chrysta was taken out of her thoughts once more as she and the dark knight looked over toward the one who spoke. A young man stood leaning against a tree, and using his left foot against the tree to support him. He had light brown hair that could be seen under his blue patterned bandanna, and brown eyes. He wore a white shirt, a blue vest and blue trousers.
"Yes, we are," Cecil answered for them. "And you must be Locke. We heard about you."
"You're a thief, right?" The moment that Chrysta asked this question, she saw the smile leave the other man's face. He looked slightly annoyed, but quickly wiped it off of his expression.
"I prefer the term 'treasure hunter,'" the man named Locke corrected.
"Sorry," Chrysta apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's okay," Locke told her as he pushed himself away from the tree. "I just get tired of it since everyone calls me that."
Chrysta nodded in understanding, while ignoring the familiar feeling she was getting. While she still didn't understand it, she knew that it was no good worrying about it. After all, that wouldn't help with her memories, nor would it help her do what they came here for.
"Anyway, we need to get moving if we want to stop the Empire," Locke went on. "Come on and I will show you the way."
"Thank you," Cecil said politely.
Locke nodded and smiled as he turned around and took the lead. For a moment, silence hung in the air, aside from the sounds of the forest, and the sound of water could be heard coming from the east. For the briefest moment, Chrysta wondered why they didn't use a raft to come to Narshe from the hideout. As before, she had no idea where the thought came from, and quickly pushed it to the side.
Locke suddenly slowed in his steps, allowing the other two to catch up to him. Once they did, he matched their speed, and looked over at Chrysta. "I've heard some things about you. About how you were captured along with the Crystal Core."
The girl looked at him, about to ask him how he could know, but he quickly held up his hand. "It was in the message I got," he answered honestly. "I was told that the Crystal Core fused with you for some reason, which can allow you to make crystals. And you are being sought after by both Baron and the Gestahlian Empire."
"Something like that," Chrysta said slowly. "There are many things that I don't understand, and it doesn't help that I don't remember much of anything prior to my rescue."
"Amnesia?" Locke questioned looking shocked and concerned.
"Yeah," Chrysta murmured. "Serah keeps saying my memory will come back, but…"
"Don't worry about a thing!" Locke quickly told the girl. "You will be safe with me around! I promise you that!"
Chrysta looked back to the brown haired man with surprise in her eyes. How could he say something like that when he didn't even know her that well? In Cecil's case, she could understand why he would want to protect her, considering what he had done before. But what reason would Locke have to want to protect her?
Cecil was also curious about the 'treasure hunter's' reasons for saying what he did. However, he could tell that there was a good reason for it, and figured that if they needed to know, he would tell them. For now, they had more important matters to attend to.
According to the rumors, the frozen Esper was found in a mineshaft that was actually quite new. Soldiers from Narshe, as well as their dogs, tried to stop the Imperials, but they were no match for their Magitek Armor. The girl's especially, since she could shoot more than just those magical beams.
With no other guards to stop their advance, the Imperial Guards made their way into the mines. Lights could be seen, alongside some tracks, and a couple pickaxes could be seen lying around. After making their way further into the mines without any trouble, something that looked like a gate stood in their way.
"I'll handle this," Vicks told the two and ordered them to stay back. He backed up a couple of steps himself, then used the armor itself to smash into the obstacle, causing it to fall backwards. They could hear some surprised shouts from the inside, indicating that they were not exactly alone.
The soldiers of Narshe, in a last ditch effort, brandished their weapons and attacked. But it really wasn't much of a fight. A couple fire beams, bolt beams and even a Magitek Missile ended things pretty quickly. The people of Narshe were no match for them.
With nothing left to stand in their way, Vicks, Pierre and the girl made their way to the back of the shaft. To the surprise of the soldiers, there was something there. It reminded them of a huge bird, and whatever it was, it was definitely encased in ice. It had to be the Esper!
Suddenly, it started to glow. Vicks and Pierre looked around in confusion, wondering what was going on. For the briefest instant, a small light seemed to shine in the girl's eyes, yet it seemed to die quickly. Without being commanded to, she moved toward the frozen Esper, though whether it was from her own accord or the Esper itself was unknown.
"Something is not right here," Pierre murmured, suddenly appearing nervous. It was difficult to tell sometimes what the other soldiers were thinking, since they were usually covered from head to toe in armor. Whether it was brown, light green or black didn't matter much.
The glow turned into an eerie blue light, which caused the two soldiers to disappear with horrified cries, leaving only the girl behind. The girl only managed to back up a couple of steps, before the Esper stopped her with another glow.
Despite being frozen, it was as though it was staring at her directly. It was like lightning bolts went in between the two, which in the end caused the Magitek Armor to short circuit. It seemed too much for it to handle, and with a gasp, as though the crown failed for a brief moment, she fell backwards, and her world went black.
Author's Notes: When I wrote this chapter, I realized I already had a Biggs and Wedge and tried to figure out what to do. Vicks was easy, as that was the translation that was used in the translated Super Nintendo version of 6. Pierre was a little more difficult. What I ended up doing was using the name that was used in Chrono Trigger, as it should be Vicks, Wedge and Pierre.
