Chapter IX
-Archades-
"Remind me again why I'm here," said Judge Magister Gabranth, pacing the room in aggravation.
"If you'll recall," said the emperor, "Ffamran has managed to collect some intel on Judge Zargabaath that he believes will be of great use to us."
"Your majesty, I am aware of this fact," replied Gabranth, "but I fail to see how this news involves me."
Larsa sighed. "I don't know if you're aware of this fact," he began sarcastically, "but Judge Ffamran doesn't always like to heed my, ahem, 'advice.' I need someone around who can ensure he will adhere to protocol. Gabranth, he listens to you."
Judge Gabranth stopped pacing and turned to face the emperor.
"You know, it is rather difficult to give someone your worst look when wearing a mask," said Larsa, chuckling.
Unannounced as usual, Judge Magister Ffamran burst into the hall, leading an Archadian soldier behind him. The younger judge was clearly flustered; after all, the two judge magisters and the emperor were a rather intimidating sight.
"So, what is this good news you speak of, Judge Ffamran? Did you shoot down this young man's ship and drag him from the wreckage just so you could make a stunning appearance in my chambers?" said Larsa, smiling.
Ffamran gave a hearty laugh. "Not this time, your Excellency. Believe it or not, Judge Cinna here came to me of his own volition. Seems that Zargabaath's dirty dealings have been weighing heavily on his conscious."
Judge Magister Gabranth turned to Judge Cinna. "Why choose Ffamran, soldier? You surely know that he's a crackpot?"
"Th-the rumor mill spoke of Judge Magister Ffamran leading an investigation," said Cinna. "After all this time, I've learned that the palace gossip is true more often than not."
"Well then," said the emperor, "I suppose we should hear the reason you went to Judge Ffamran in the first place."
"Well, uh, um, your Majesty," stuttered Cinna, "Judge Magister Zargabaath has been acting rather, erm, I suppose odd is a good way to put it. His moods are not exactly in the right sort, uhm, I mean to say he's been rather impulsive."
"Go on," said Larsa.
"Well, that is, he's been searching for, ahem, an ancient treasure of sorts. I was fairly sure it was sanctioned by the empire until he arrested one of our own. A seventeen year old girl, to be exact. And then came the invasion of Bancour, and the storming of the Lhusu Mines, and after I learned of the illicit experiments at the laboratory, it became too much to keep to myself."
"Hang on," said Judge Gabranth, "what in the gods is going on at the Laboratory?"
"Erm, Judge Magister," stammered Cinna, "the ancient treasure he's looking for, I did a bit of research, and it turns out that, um, it is in actuality a shard of deifacted nethicite."
"Oh hell," swore Judge Ffamran, "not again. The last thing this empire needs is another crackpot old fool messing around with pieces of the gods."
"And all of his irrational actions," said Emperor Larsa, slowly, "have had something to do with this artifact?"
"Indeed, your Highness. The Lhusu Mines and Bancour were both invaded because they were connected to this treasure – he called it a medallion. And the girl was arrested because she had this medallion in her possession. The Judge Magister stole it from her and tossed her into Nalbina," said the younger Judge.
"What are we doing standing around, then?" said an angered Gabranth. "We have to write up a pardon immediately!"
"Perhaps we should deal with Zargabaath first," said Cinna, growing a bit bolder. "According to a transmission from the Alexander, he's docking at Draklor Laboratory in about twenty minutes. Besides," he said, smiling to himself, "I heard that the girl has already escaped, thanks to a young man and a certain red-haired lass."
-
A single elevator opened on the 46th floor of Draklor Laboratory. Zeus stepped out, both guns at the ready, but there were no imperials in sight.
"Coast's clear," said she, "where we headed next?"
Valkyrie approached the closed door on the left and began dialing the nearby keypad.
"Down the hall, a left turn, then the second door on the right," he explained.
"There's a secret staircase?" said Beth, shocked.
"No, dummers," said Valkyrie, "there's another elevator. Since when do Archadians use stairs? Ah-ha!"
The locked door parted, and the three slipped down the hall, moving swiftly but silently. The hall was unusually free of personnel, but their room of choice held a nasty surprise.
"Ugh, gods-cursed slime," said Beth, immediately casting Blizzara on the awaiting Hectaeyes.
"Tell me about it," said Valkyrie, fiercely swiping at the creature.
"Kill it quick," said Zeus, casting an ice spell of her own, "or it's likely to inflict Disease."
Thankfully, the amorph didn't put up much of a fight. Valkyrie immediately began work on the keypad for the elevator.
"Hurry," hissed Zeus, "I can hear the clanking of steel boots down the hall."
"I'm just setting it to lock behind us," said Valkyrie, with a final poke of a button. "Hop in."
The elevator, though a bit slow, was an effective means of escape. Thankfully, no imperials managed to catch sight of them leaving the room.
"So, where does this one go?" said Beth.
"If I remember my dad's words correctly, we're heading directly into the lab on the 50th floor," said Valkyrie. "It was used as sort of an emergency escape path, thus the lock."
"I'm betting Zargabaath's already there," said Zeus. "We'd best be prepared for a fight."
The elevator stopped. The door clicked, then slid open. Carefully, but defiantly, the three stepped into the gigantic lab.
Indeed, Zargabaath was there, but he wasn't exactly Zargabaath anymore. Instead, a twisted hulk of a man lay in the lab, hooked up to several machines. Parts of his armor had twisted or melted away, and beneath the remains of his shattered helmet, patches of his skin were stained a sickly blue. A second pair of bloody arms had burst from his sides, dripping fresh wounds from the steel of his breastplate, and his body was absolutely radiating mist.
"Oh gods," whimpered Beth, and Valkyrie could only stare in silence.
"Something has gone terribly, terribly wrong," Zeus said hoarsely.
The distorted being stirred and began ripping the tubes from its body.
"You!" he barked in a strange, distant voice. "Have you come back for your treasure?" he cried at Beth, fluids dripping from his mouth. "And you!" he howled, turning to Zeus, "always trying to thwart me! You have both annoyed me for far too long!"
"He's gone insane," muttered Zeus. "His transformation has gone disgustingly south."
"Do you like it?" roared the pseudo-Zargabaath. "Thanks to science, I have become better, stronger than Gilgamesh ever was! And to test my powers, I will be ripping you to shreds!"
Mist streamed as the creature rose, first to his feet, then into the air. He began gliding towards them, hands glowing with orange vapors. Valkyrie, suddenly regaining his head, began the spellwork for Protectga, but it was not a spell he knew well. It seemed that with Beth whimpering and Zeus stunned, he would have no choice but to go toe to toe with Zargabaath alone.
Suddenly, the abomination screamed in pain, recoiling from a blow beyond Valkyrie's reach. The three turned to see Judge Magister Gabranth, Judge Cinna, and the Emperor himself in the lab's entrance.
"Go!" called Gabranth roughly. "We'll do our best to hold him for long, but get out of the city! Anywhere you can keep safe!"
They didn't need a second warning.
"Let's go!" cried Valkyrie, and he and Zeus dragged Beth from Draklor.
-
"Oh my god, oh my god, that thing is real," gasped Beth.
The three were running across the uplands, making for the Phon Coast as fast as they possibly could.
"No shit, Beth," Valkyrie called back. "Goddamn, that thing is terrifying."
"I don't know what the fool did," said Zeus, shaking her head. "In theory, he should look exactly Gilgamesh right now. But he fucked this up beyond royally."
Finally, the coastline began to come into sight. The three stopped for a breather at the save crystal, but were interrupted by another arrival.
"Zeus! Thank the gods yer' here!" growled Atak the huntmaster. "I was hopin' ye'd turn up."
"Admittedly, your timing could be a little better," said Zeus, "what's going on?"
"There've been sightings of imperials along th' coastline," said Atak. "One even stopped me, asked if I'd seen yeh. We clubbed him and his pals good, no worries, but I think it'd be best if ye'd go inta hidin'."
"It must be Zargabaath's men," said Valkyrie, exasperated.
Zeus nodded at Valkyrie. "I suppose it's to the caves, then?"
"We were jus' headed that way, sweet," replied the Bangaa. "Onward, you three."
It was a short distance to the network of caverns lining the coast from the save crystal, and the oddly empty sands made the journey even simpler. Valkyrie entered first, Zeus close behind him, and Atak brought up the rear, ready to pierce any stray soldiers.
The caverns were dark, but not impossible to navigate thanks to the day's remaining sunlight streaming in through cracks. However, the company soon came to a spot that was nearly pitch black, and that was when they stuck. Three imperials charged the front, but Valkyrie's greatsword was more than ready. Beside him, Zeus took out a fourth with two well placed bullets, but the area soon fell into mayhem. As Valkyrie swung at metal-clad soldier after metal-clad soldier, he could only hear groans and squabbles and a faint cry that sounded like Beth's. At last, the final soldier fell, and only Valkyrie and Zeus remained.
"They're okay," Zeus said before Valkyrie could ask. "Atak knows these tunnels like the back of his hand. It's likely that he escaped down a passage nearby."
"That's good, I suppose," said Valkyrie, sighting. "I really hope Beth isn't freaking out right now."
"Yeah," said Zeus, trying to keep her smile from becoming a grimace. "We should keep moving. They're likely to send reinforcements."
Valkyrie nodded, and the two continued down the tunnel.
The light of the day was fast fading away, but now it made no difference. The walls of these tunnels were lit with the glow of nethicite, blue and deadly. The two encountered a few bats, but they did not attack. Instead, they clumsily flapped back and forth, as if intoxicated.
"Even the bats can sense it," said Zeus, "how disturbed the balance is."
"Zargabaath's thrown Ivalice that much of a loop?" said Valkyrie.
"It would seem so," said Zeus. She paused slightly. "We don't have too much longer to walk. We're almost at a place we can stop for the night."
"Oh, and I forgot my sleeping bag," said Valkyrie.
Zeus laughed. "The idea of spending the night here doesn't bother you?"
"Zeus, c'mon, I ensnared myself the scion of thunder. This is a cakewalk."
"True enough," said Zeus. "Ugh, finally."
The two entered a gigantic cavern, deep inside what Valkyrie now understood to be a section of the Landis Mines. Drawings and text littered the wall, as if carved by the ancient people of Ivalice.
"Wow," breathed Valkyrie. "How did you find out about this?"
"This place is actually how I got involved in this whole mess," said Zeus, "When I brought the corpse of Enkidu to the empire, I remember one of the imperials mentioning this cavern. I'm a rather curious sort, so I decided to investigate."
"Wait," said Valkyrie, approaching one of the carvings, "I recognize this. It's Adrammelech, but..."
"This is likely where Zargabaath learned everything about the Medallion, and it's where I learned most everything myself." She sank to the floor of the cave, resting against the wall. "Come sit."
"Do you remember what I told you about Miriam, the Dynast-King's wife?" she said to Valkyrie.
"Yeah," said he, sitting down, "about how she was the mother of Gilgamesh and controlled him with the Ancient Medallion."
"Well," she began, "what I didn't tell you was that the Medallion was used as a last resort." She sighed. "Miriam was apparently a priestess from the Ridorana Cataract – strange to think that people used to live in that gods-cursed place – and thus learned the secrets of the most powerful magicks. It was she who was the first Gran Kiltias, and the Stilshrine of Miriam is named for her. The words on this cavern say that when she married King Raithwall, she already was in control of one esper."
She touched the crest hanging around Valkyrie's neck.
"Adrammelech. Soon after, she discovered Zeromus, the scion of gravity, lurking where the Stilshrine is now located, and she forged the Stone of the Condemner to bind him, because –"
"...Zeromus is the representative of Cancer, and Adrammelech is the representative of Capricorn," finished Valkyrie. "The two signs lie opposite on the zodiac, and thus are perfectly suited for each other."
Zeus looked impressed. "Sounds like you learned a few things from the acolytes." She sighed. "Anyway, to make a long story short – and I mean long, it took me ages to translate all of this crap – Miriam ended up using the two espers to seal her son's power, and bound it using the Ancient Medallion. That's why I was trying to find both of the espers, but according to the text here, Zeromus is a lost cause without the Stone."
She looked pained.
"I couldn't find the Condemner, I couldn't keep Zargabaath's paws off the Medallion, and I couldn't stop him from using it once we found it. It may not all be my fault, but I still feel like I've screwed up pretty badly."
Valkyrie put his arm around her. "Well, we've still got the Emperor, and that's something, right? Even if we can't do exactly what Miriam did, it's still a start, and tomorrow, we're going to track down that twisted fiend and seal him away. And hey, you aren't to blame in the least. You didn't make Zargabaath go mad."
"That's the fault of these mines, apparently," said Zeus. "A few of the miners have stumbled into the camp from time to time, and the stories they've babbled...they all talk of a strong, dark force lurking within the furthest tunnels, causing Mist so thick it's nearly impossible to breathe."
"Man," said Valkyrie, "that makes me feel a lot better about spending the night here."
Zeus chuckled. "I wouldn't worry too much. The Mist here is pretty thin."
"True enough," said Valkyrie. He groped for his pack and began rummaging. "Hey, you want something to eat? I've got some sandwiches in here somewhere."
"As long as it isn't completely spoiled, I will totally eat a sandwich," answered Zeus. "Hold up, what's that?"
"Oh, this?" said Valkyrie, gesturing to the thin metal in his pack. "A bit of gemsteel, actually. It was a reward for a hunt we took on in Rabanastre."
"No shit," said Zeus, amazed. "I can't believe it. I'm really jealous." She grinned. "When I'm not battling evil Archadian overlords, I like hunting down materials for rare weapons."
"Okay Zeus, seriously," said Valkyrie, "what don't you do?"
"Sleep," she said, and they both laughed.
"Ugh, thinking on it, I need to work on my hunter's registry," said Valkyrie, digging into his sandwich.
"You're officially joining the trade, then?" asked Zeus.
"Mmyeah," said Valkyrie, through a mouthful of food. "Beth still thinks it's stupid, but whatever, she's got another year of school to decide what she wants to do with herself. Anyway, I've got the paperwork done, I just need to send it in for approval, especially now that July's almost over. Hell, the Solstice is tomorrow, thinking on it."
Zeus looked at him suddenly. "Wait, it's tomorrow? Seriously?"
"Yeah," said Valkyrie. "Why?"
Zeus burst out laughing.
"Hey, um, you okay?" Valkyrie said, slightly concerned.
"I forgot, I can't believe it," said Zeus, still laughing, "tomorrow's my birthday."
"Really?" said Valkyrie.
"I turn seventeen tomorrow," said Zeus, nodding her head.
"Uhh...happy birthday, then?" said Valkyrie.
Zeus looked sheepish. "Thanks. Hey, you don't happen to have any more sandwiches, do you?"
