Hey readers! So hard to get access to the internet around my life, so yeah... anywhoo, here's your chapter! I only own my OC's, Square owns the rest, etc.
*EDIT* Oh. My. Goodness… I feel so embarrassed… I read over this chapter only to find it horribly incomplete and full of incomplete threads… here's a better edit! Cheers!
Chapter 6: Worst Prison Ever
I wake up to find myself in a strange place. Strange, I don't remember blacking out. Was all that happened yesterday... a dream...? Just then I am forced to reality.
"About time you woke up. I was starting to think I would have to leave you behind." That sounded like Balthier... I sigh and get up off my muzzle. Yep... Definitely Balthier... and that means I'm in Nalbina Dungeons.
[Music theme: Footsteps of Desire, Nobuo Uematsu FF9]
Looking around, I find that the place is dangerously degenerate. The pillars holding the ceiling up are crumbling, there are chunks of the ceiling all over the place, some having skeletons peeking out from them; even the fountain where all the prisoners are gathered is falling apart. Dead and forgotten prisoners litter the walls and ground. The smell is positively horrendous. My nose wrinkled at this, pulling my lips back in a half-snarl.
"Lemme guess... Steele and Ace are scouting ahead..."
"That would be correct. You're smarter than you look, I think." Balthier waved a hand around. "Go on, explore. Just don't prove my last statement wrong and start anything. Not all the prisoners are friendly, or even hume." Of course I knew that. As a matter of fact, though, I will need to get into it with those brutish creatures called seeq to get us all to escape. Hopefully Basch is still alive... he was near death in the main storyline when the group found him, hopefully he is still there now and not executed or something...
Heading out, I collected a few knots of rust to toss at the seeq, and spoke with many of the prisoners to get a feel for why they were in there. Many simply had questioned publicly the inauguration of Vayne as governor of Rabanastre or vocally defamed the Empire. The simple unfairness of this led me to gain new resolve to see this to its end. Vayne would get his, all right…
Deciding I had wandered around enough, I headed to the next room, making sure to give the crystal next to the archway a tap for good luck. I would need it.
Entering in, a bangaa fell at my feet, just like he did with Vaan in the game. Bangaa were very unusual, looking like a crocodile that had crossed with a hume, and this one looked like he'd went three rounds with Chuck Norris and lost. Then, the stench grew worse somehow as three ugly piglike creatures rounder than they were tall came up. Man, these seeq look much uglier in person...
The first one held a club, and he lifted it to finish off the injured bangaa. I wasn't about to wimp out like Vaan and watch this poor prisoner die, so I stepped in and parried the blow. His eyes shot up to me with surprise as I shoved a fist into his snout. He stumbled back, but man, did my hand hurt! He must have that protect spell over himself right now.
Deciding he didn't like me more than he enjoyed his prey, the ringleader snorted something in his native tongue and all three closed in on me. I jumped into the arena and beckoned them in, which they followed without question or hesitation. Obviously these were even dumber than they looked, and that's saying something. Of course, that's what I told them. As they closed in, the gates closed to the arena and prisoners began to shuffle in from the other room to watch the 'fool who challenged Daguza get stomped'. Balthier jumped in at the last second with a comment of how he realized it was fultile to try stopping me or them from fighting.
[Music theme: Drawing! Grind!, Motoi Sakuraba ToG]
The fight started, and the lead seeq barked some orders. As the two closed in, I sighed, then formed the seal for Wind under my feet. As the first pig charged and swung his club, I dived backward, and he stumbled onto my seal. I then activated it, and the seeq was sent skyward, crashing down on top of the second. Both were out cold. The crowd went crazy. Never before had anyone given the seeq even a mite of trouble! The leader, seeing the crowd was cheering me on, glared and charged. Remembering the Protect spell was still in place, I stepped aside, easily avoiding the clumsy strike, further enraging the beastly thug. Before he could react further, I formed a seal for spirit and punched through it. My fist gained an etherial quality and I smote the seeq, whereupon the fist exploded with energy. "Spirit Fist!" The seeq was done. He stumbled back, fell on his butt, and didn't get up.
Balthier turned to me, eyebrow raised. "Well that was too easy, now wasn't it? Next time leave some for me, ok?" I would've blushed if fur didn't cover my face. I just upclassed the self proclaimed man of the hour in a fistfight he went through the trouble of getting into.
I didn't have long to worry about it, though. Shortly after the fight ended, two Archadian Judges walked in. Apparently, we were to be picked up and sent to the prison in Archades for interrogation. Also there was a certain bangaa out for Balthier. Noting this, both Balthier and I quickly sought the exit.
"Over here!" Ace and Silver lifted a gate for us to escape, and we all ran for our lives away from the bounty hunters. Something caught my eye though, as we made our exit, so I decided to see what I saw. Turning to look at the motley crew behind the judges, I saw what appeared to be another judge, yet he was clearly with the bounty hunters. Besides the fact that the judges didn't give him the honor of rank they did others, he clearly had a tail, when I know for a fact that the Empire only allowed humes to acquire the rank of Judge. He turned and looked straight at me, and I quickly ducked out of sight and joined the others at the stockpile where all of our stuff was kept.
"Worst. Security. Ever... Not even a guard for our stuff? For once, I can go with inadequacy since it makes it easier for us!" Ace and I shared a sly grin as we rearmed ourselves and grabbed a few other armaments left by other prisoners.
Well! Those seeq are really too easy if you just spam spells at them... plus, think about it: what kind of a prison keeps its prisoners'equipment so close by and left unguarded? That is the worst security mistake ever! 'Till next time!
