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Here is the next chapter, and yes, this story will most likely be 12 chapters...
The first thing that came to mind when Kieran awoke was that he wanted to go back to sleep. However long he had slept, it hadn't been enough.
The second was that his entire body ached. But that's what happens when you fight giant mutated monsters in a cage.
He stifled a groan and shifted under the blankets, noting the chill in the air from the lack of a proper room.
He was drifting back off to sleep when there was a symphony of noise from outside; cheering, drums, trumpets, children and general clamor.
"Festival." he reminded himself, annoyed. "I hate Mysidia."
It had to have been mid-morning if the parades and festivities were commencing, and that meant by all rights he should have gotten nearly twelve hours of sleep. But that had not been the case. Not with the room's other occupant tossing and turning all night.
Cuore had woken him up more than once with half yelled exclamations or mutterings. He'd heard her brother's name once or twice, and some unfamiliar phrases he assumed were Lunarian.
But even then, he wasn't going to guess as to what nightmares haunted the Maenad teen.
"Speaking of Cuore…" he thought, still refusing to open his eyes. He would not get up just quite yet. The last few hours Cuore had been remarkably quiet, and thus, he'd gotten a few hours of consecutive rest. But it was hardly enough.
Another trumpet blast, followed by a rising chorus of children screaming in delight made him open his eyes so he could glare at the ceiling.
And at the spider evidently spinning a new web above him.
"Hate Mysidia…" he grumbled inwardly.
With a sigh, Kieran braced himself and then sat up one motion, getting it over with and wincing from his stiff joints, both from the fight and sleeping on the cold floor.
He prodded a couple of his wounds and was pleased to see they were on their way with healing. It would be a couple more days and potions before they were gone completely, but it was better than it had been before.
He glanced at his bag, "Speaking of potions, I'm all out. If we are going to travel through the Mysidia wilds, I should restock."
The idea did not thrill him. It would require interacting with people and spending more of his money. He was already running low, but he'd never mention that fact to Cuore. She was worried enough about her brother, so he didn't bother commenting on the fact he was paying for everything.
Kieran rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes and then slowly stood, deciding it would be better to get this shopping trip over with, especially since Cuore was still asleep.
He had no desire to wake her up.
The previous day had been incredibly awkward; for him, at least. Cuore didn't seem the least bit bothered until she'd seen his scars. But that was always an uncomfortable topic. It was why he avoided it whenever possible.
The fact that Cuore, of all people, had seen them made him embarrassed and uneasy.
He could count the others that had seen them on one hand.
But not only had she seen them, she'd been entranced by them to the point where it made him wonder if she had even been present in reality. Was she just morbidly curious? Disgusted? Merely surprised?
He wasn't sure, but he did know he was going to pretend it never happened.
Kieran frowned as he gathered his things, wondering if he should wake Cuore up to tell her he was leaving so she didn't think he'd just abandoned her. But that seemed unnecessary, so instead he just opted to leave his swallow behind since he was hoping he wouldn't need it and she would understand, then, that he was coming back.
Kieran carefully shut the door behind him and grimaced when he heard even more noise the further he got down the stairs.
Why was it so important to celebrate the day they got the crystal?
"What is the point of the crystals anyway…" he complained, rolling his eyes. They seemed to be more trouble than they were worth. Maybe someday he'd ask Cuore to explain it to him. If she ever spoke to him again.
The base floor of the inn was deserted, and Kieran only briefly glanced around before heading for the door. He spotted the innkeeper from before lazily leaning against the check-in desk, reading a romance novel from the looks of it.
She happened to glance up when he passed by and she blinked, probably because she had forgotten she let them stay. Or because she was going to request more money for their extended stay.
"I'll be back," he said rather than offering her a greeting. The woman annoyed him, but he wasn't entirely sure why. "If my friend comes down looking for me, the girl with blue hair? Tell her to wait here, that I'll be back."
The woman smiled, "Alright."
He gave her a suspicious once over before opening the inn's door and instantly regretting it.
"Oh, why not?" he complained out loud. "Send the parade right past the damn inn…"
Cuore groggily opened her eyes, taking a minute to fully realize where she was. A few moments ago she'd been somewhere between a pleasant dream about wildflowers and a hellish attack on an unidentified city somewhere.
"At least it wasn't another weird dream about the Lunarians," she thought, bitterly amused.
There was a ruckus in the town below, a telling sign that the festival had begun. Not only would it be annoying to navigate through the streets, but it meant the Mysidians wouldn't be working on the kidnapping case.
"Up to us, then." she thought, rolling over.
Assuming Kieran wasn't going to ignore her or leave her stranded here. After the most recent events, she had a nagging feeling all the progress they had made in friendship was about to regress five steps back.
She sighed and glanced around the room, realizing that she might have already been right.
Cuore sat up, puzzled, and was only slightly relieved when she saw he'd left his swallow. At least he hadn't completely abandoned her. But where had he gone? And why?
"Why didn't he wake me up?" she complained, sliding out of bed and shivering. The inn needed work.
Deciding to take a quick look downstairs, since she wasn't going to go back to sleep, Cuore left the room behind and hand-combed her hair with her fingers on the way down. It was going to be a nightmare to deal with when she had a proper brush.
"Maybe I should cut it…" she thought, chewing her bottom lip. It was a thought she'd been considering for some time now. The long hair only added to her Maenad appearance, but she was also strangely and vainly fond of her locks.
She did, however, wish she shared Leo's hair color.
The downstairs portion of the inn was empty, and the only sounds that she could hear were leaking in from the parade outside. Apparently it had passed right by their doorstep.
Cuore wandered through the dining area and into the entrance hall where she spotted the woman who had rented them their room.
The innkeeper smiled brightly and snapped her book closed, "If you're looking for your…friend, he left about an hour ago. Told me to tell you to wait here."
Cuore frowned, "Oh…"
The woman gave he a once over, "My dear, you look terrible. Are you alright? Would you like tea?"
She chuckled dryly, "Tea? Yes…yes that might be nice, thank you."
The innkeeper nodding and came from around behind the check-in station and much to Cuore's confusion and discomfort, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She guided her back into the dining area as she spoke softly. "You sit, I'll get us tea and you can tell me what's going on. You both looked so…ruffled when you came in here."
Cuore frowned, but sat at the woman's prompting, and waited patiently for her return. She had no desire to talk with a complete stranger, but the tea had sounded nice.
"When was the last time I drank anything?" she thought, trying to remember. If it was taking her this long too remember, she was due for something.
It didn't take long for the innkeeper to return, and when she did, Cuore glanced up at her curiously, "Don't you have…duties? I would hate to take up your time…"
"Nothing to do here. All the guests are off at the festival." she replied, still smiling.
Cuore watched her pour the tea into china cups, still frowning, "Then why don't you follow suit?"
"Oh, I like to have time to read."
She supposed she could understand that.
"This woman is unsettling to me." Anima said, cautious.
Cuore nodded ever so slightly, "You and me both. I just…don't know what it is…"
"Stay alert," the Eidolon warned.
"I will."
The innkeeper sat and folded her hands on the table top, "So, what is going on? Why did you look as though you'd done battle with some nasty beast? You look tired today,"
Cuore wrapped her hands around the tea cup, trying to steal warmth and weighed her options.
Lie? To what end.
Tell the truth? She supposed it didn't matter…
"My brother is missing. I'm trying to find him." she finally said. It was a simple answer, but it would do.
The woman's expression shifted to sympathy, but almost a spilt second too late, Cuore observed. She'd spent hours watching humans and their reactions. She knew that one was false.
"She's up to something."
"No duh," Midgardsormr said. "Maybe you should leave,"
She narrowed her eyes slightly, "No, I want to know what her game is."
"…Be careful, Cuore." Anima said, sounding anxious.
The woman turned her tea cup around and around in her saucer, but made no moves to actually drink it, "You're not from Mysidia, are you. And neither is your traveling companion."
Cuore shook her head, "No, we're not."
There was a somewhat awkward pause and Cuore hesitated to speak, not sure what was going on. But then she smelled something and made a face.
"What kind of tea is this?" she asked, squinting at it.
The woman blinked, "Tonberry."
"Then why do I smell almonds?" she thought.
Cuore sighed and shook her head, lifting her gaze to catch the woman's eye, "Who did you lose?"
The innkeeper blinked again, looking confused, "I beg your pardon?"
"Who did you lose in Ramuh's attack on Mysidia?" Cuore repeated and clarified.
The result was instant; the woman stiffened, and her hands grasp at the edge of the table, knuckles turning white. She spat her answer out, "My son."
Cuore nodded and glanced away for a moment, before turning back and pushing her cup away. "Next time you wish to poison someone, you might want to choose an odorless toxin. Cyanide is easy to come by, but it's not the stealthiest."
The woman looked petrified and shocked, as if she were both terrified for her life and surprised that her plan hadn't worked. And underneath all of that, there was still cold hatred in her eyes.
That, Cuore suspected, wouldn't have faded even if she'd been stupid enough to drink the poisoned tea.
She stood, assuming that she should leave, and walked away, back towards the stairs. Cuore stopped at the first stair, however, and closed her eyes.
"For whatever its worth, I am sorry for your loss."
The item shop was bustling with tourists, some of Kieran's least favorite people, and in the midst of all of that, the store owner was trying to overcharge him.
"How much is this potion?" Kieran asked for the third time.
The man in white mage robes sighed, "Sir, asking me again is not going to change the price,"
"I'm just curious why it's more here, then in Baron." he said, trying to stay calm. A woman bumped into him from behind; he glared at her.
"The exchange rate of currency is-" the shopkeeper began.
Kieran rolled his eyes, "Don't even start with me. You think I don't know the exchange rates? I'm paying with Baron dollars which exchanges for a higher Gil rate here, in Mysidia, because our economy is better!"
The man scowled at him. A couple other customers glanced over to see what the commotion was.
"So," Kieran continued, "I would like to know why you think, just because of a festival, you can charge more and steal from tourists. International Trade Guidelines section five through eight are very clear on the rate to charge for potions and other such items because they are considered magical in origin and are thusly covered under the new world laws that all items of magical origin are to be bought and sold at fair market prices in the entire world. This was designed to prevent merchant guilds from starting bidding wars like they did five decades ago, and the law was approved by all the nations of the world, including yours, and their subsequent merchant guilds."
The man was glaring at him and Kieran held up his hands, "So, how much is this potion?"
"Get out of my store." he replied, pointing to the door.
He scowled at him, "Fine, I didn't want to buy from you anyway. You probably sell illegal elixirs, too!"
The man looked scandalized by the accusation, but Kieran was fed up trying to deal with him, annoyed he was breaking a dozen laws and overcharging poor, hapless tourists who didn't know any better.
Why did some traders have to be so unethical?
He turned around and was prepared to slipped through a couple of people who had been in line behind him, wanting to buy trinkets of some sort to remember their time here, but stopped when he saw Cuore watching him.
She looked amused, "Making friends again, are we?"
"Always," he replied sarcastically, shooting one more glare at the shopkeeper. The man pretended not to notice.
Kieran frowned at her, "I thought I told that inn lady to tell you to wait for me."
Cuore averted her gaze, "Yes, she passed that message along but she also made it clear she wished me to leave."
He paused, reading between the lines of what she was saying. "Wait, did she say something to you?"
Cuore shrugged, as if it didn't matter, but then she was jarred by someone walking by and she flinched, looking annoyed.
Kieran walked over and steered her towards the exit by her shoulder. Once she was moving and they exited the busy shop to the equally busy streets beyond, he let his hand slide from her shoulder to grasp her hand and tug her along.
"Come on, let's go find somewhere not as crowded." he suggested, bending low to speak to her.
Cuore frowned and looked around, "I'm inclined to believe no such place exists within the city while their festival is going on."
He had to agree with how busy it was, but this is why Mysidia wasn't bankrupt as a nation yet; tourism.
They wove through the busy streets and back allies of the city, slipping between groups of people talking, laughing, dancing and racing by vendors before they could try and sell off their wares.
Kieran wasn't sure why Mysidia sold figurines of beloved idols and leaders to tourists, but he also didn't know much about Mysidian culture. There seemed to be an overabundance of odd novelty clothing items and bells.
They rounded a corner and came face to face with one such vendor, a man with a wide assortment of bells he was rolling around in a trolley.
"Bells?" he asked cheerfully, holding up five bells of varying shape and design.
Cuore made a face, "Do we appear to be in need of bells?"
"Well yes, if you don't already have one!" he readily replied.
She looked confused and Kieran shook his head and dragged her with him, past the pushy man, "No thanks, sell your wares to some other tourist."
Undeterred and apparently taking the advice to heart, he stopped another group of people behind them.
"Bells?!"
Cuore giggled as they continued their trek, though what she found so hilarious, Kieran wasn't sure. He also wasn't sure he wanted to ask.
"I know of a little item shop on the way out of town. We'll stop there before leave." he informed her over his shoulder as they walked.
"I am capable of following you without tactile contact," she told him, though her fingers didn't uncoil from his.
He frowned and let go of her hand, hoping she was right and wasn't going to get lost in the crowd. Cuore hopped a few steps forward and fell into step beside him as soon as the crowd thinned enough to do so. Being out of the business district and away from the parade made it less busy.
"Here," she said, drawing his attention as she swung his swallow around. "You left this at the inn."
Kieran took it from her and paused for a moment in the street to settle it on his back, "Thanks."
She nodded and flicked a stray hair out of her face. He realized she was staring so he stared back, finally frowning. "What?"
Cuore hesitated, "Are we…I mean…before, at the inn…"
He could gather what she was trying to ask, and honestly he wasn't sure he knew the answer to her question either. "I don't know, are we?"
She looked disappointed and murmured, "I would very much like to be friends, but we seem to always have something that keeps us from becoming so."
She looked back the way they came, "If you wish to return to Baron, then go. I won't hold it against you. As I said, I'm very grateful for your help, but I also know that helping me might cost you dearly. I'm not foolish."
He opened his mouth to say something, but Cuore continued in a dejected tone of voice, "If I overstepped some boundary I'm not aware of, or did some sort of social taboo then I'm sorry-"
"Cuore," he interrupted, setting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're asking."
She blinked and then shyly admitted, "Yes, that was what I was asking but I wasn't sure how to phrase it."
He shrugged, "Look, let's just figure out where your brother is, okay?"
Cuore smiled, and nodded, "Alright."
He was just glad that had been easier then he thought it would be. Their relationship was so brittle that one misstep or incorrect comment and he was worried it was over.
But if things were alright for now, then he would take the small victory.
Cuore waited patiently outside the store while Kieran purchased more supplies for their trip. It would take the better part of the day, she suspected, to reach their destination and as much as hated to admit it, he was right. They needed supplies.
She sighed and watched people bustle to and fro, selling, buying, laughing, running.
All of them were blissfully unaware of children going missing, of monster fighting clubs and evil gangs. She wondered what it would be like, to be so ignorant of the world around her.
She was used to having knowledge at her fingertips instantly, she was used to knowing anything and everything, and things she didn't know, she quickly learned.
But what would it be like to be normal?
"Would I even like it?" she wondered, curious. She'd always wanted to be normal, like all the other humans she met. But maybe she wouldn't even like it…
The bell chimed overhead and she glanced over her shoulder to see Kieran exit the shop. He nodded to her as he stepped off the porch, "Now that was fairly priced,"
She smiled halfway, "I wasn't aware there was a set price for potions,"
"Potions, ethers, phoenix down…they were group together after the first world war when the economy changed so drastically. You have to set a fair price, no matter where you are. It's unlawful to try and sell at a discount, and undercut the rest of the world, on those types of goods." he explained.
They began their trip towards the city gates, which were in view, and Cuore curiously blinked at him, "So, who sets the prices?"
"The International Trading Council. They take direct advice from each country's merchant guilds."
She nodded slowly, thinking it made sense though she'd never heard about this topic before. "So, even with the exchange rate of currency between countries, the price is fixed?"
"Yes," Kieran replied, "It may seem higher or lower in certain parts, but you're really paying the same price, once you factor all that exchange Gil rate in and everything…"
"And…the prices stay fixed forever? Do they ever fluctuate?" she asked next, growing more and more interested.
They passed under the gates and out into the chilly landscape beyond as Kieran answered her question as if it were obvious. "No, they fluctuate all the time. It depends on market conditions."
Cuore pursed her lips, "What conditions?"
He frowned, "Supply and demand."
She just stared at him blankly. Apparently economics were not her strong subject.
"How do I explain this…" he muttered before nodding and speaking up once more. His tone was surprisingly patient, more so then she expected it to be considering she was pestering him.
"Supply and demand. The best example I can use is after the first world war, the price of potions plummeted. The demand went down."
Cuore's brow furrowed, "Why?"
"The world wasn't going to end, so why buy an item that will keep you alive?" he shot back.
She took the information in and Kieran took the lead along a winding path through some uninteresting grasslands.
"When the demand went down, prices had to go down too because merchants had too many of them. The supply was higher than the demand. Prices went back up slightly with the whole second moon thing, but it was a little late. By the time people realized there was a need for the items, the crisis was largely over. Right now we have a balanced system since supply hasn't outweighed demand and vice-versa."
He paused on the path and gave her a sheepish look, "Sorry. Ceodore tells me I go off on tangents about things no one cares about."
Cuore shook her head, completely absorbed with the information she had just heard. "No!" she assured him quickly, "It was fascinating."
Kieran looked skeptical so she elaborated, smiling slightly at him, "I have never thought much about trading or items at all. Your outlook and knowledge on the subject was…extraordinary."
He was giving her a funny look, but Cuore just smiled back, glad to have learned something new. It was rare she met someone that knew something she did not, and rarer still, that they could have conversations about anything.
She had to admit that she never would have pegged Kieran to know firstly about airships, but also about commercial trade. She admired his logic and practicality, and now she was impressed by his knowledge.
Phoenix may have been right to at least give him a chance.
They started to walk again and she tipped her head to stare at him, "How did you know all of this, anyway?"
"My family ran an item shop, remember?" Kieran said, giving her a funny look. "Kaiden was better at business then I ever was but that doesn't mean I didn't pick anything up."
Cuore boldly spoke up, cautious but deciding she needed to bridge this gap somehow. "You never…talk about them."
He just shrugged, and she dropped it, too worried to push him and have him lash out. She rather liked getting along with him. It was much better than them hurting each other.
They continued their trek, so far not running into any monsters on the way, and Cuore was lost in thought over all the new data she had acquired when Kieran spoke up, unexpectedly.
"Can I ask you something, now?"
She glanced up at him and nodded her agreement.
"It's about what you said to Dalton," he said, frowning and looking uncomfortable with asking at all. "About not being a citizen. You were just saying that to be sassy, right?"
Cuore smiled sadly and stopped walking to stare upwards, and then let her gaze wander as she thought how she wanted to craft her answer. She could see Ordeals to the east if she looked hard enough.
"I was telling Dalton the truth. There was nothing he could do to touch me."
Kieran frowned in a puzzled fashion, "But…you are a citizen. I mean, you're the princess."
She shook her head, "Only to my parents."
He still looked confused so she hopped down from the slight incline she'd been standing on and explained in a more thorough fashion.
"Last year, when I returned from the Feymarch, the council had voted to remove my claim to the throne. I wasn't overly concerned. Leo will make a much better ruler then I ever would have. But in the process, they also effectively revoked my citizenship. I'm not a citizen of Eblan and I can't even apply to become one. I have no birth certificate to transfer, and as much as I love my mother, she never adopted me in any official way."
Cuore shrugged, "It's too late now to do anything about it, so, I'm stuck. For all purposes I don't exist."
He frowned, "What about being adopted by, I don't know, the king?"
She chuckled dryly, "Again, only if you talk to the right people. It was never official either. You can't adopt someone who wasn't born, apparently…"
She wandered up the path a little more, "So, no, I told Dalton the truth."
"That's stupid."
Cuore started to laugh at his simple assessment of the situation, agreeing wholeheartedly but nevertheless highly amused by his word choice.
"Yes, I suppose it is." she agreed.
Kieran gave her a sidelong glance, "But I have to admit I loved seeing the look on his face,"
She grinned, "I understand political games. I simply chose not to play them."
"And you said you wouldn't be a good ruler," he quipped.
Cuore chuckled and brushed her hair back behind her ears, frowning after a moment when she recalled that conversation. "Why didn't you say anything? Dalton treated you rather poorly, and I may not know you very well, but I would have assumed you would have said something to put him in his place."
He shrugged and picked his way carefully over a patch of icy terrain, "Why bother? Dalton is a jerk."
"Still…you'd never let…say, me, talk to you that way," she pressed, frowning at his back.
Kieran stopped to smirk at her, "Well, you're a different case."
"How so?" she asked, curious and slightly indignant.
He just shrugged and she frowned at him, but let it slide in favor of continuing their friendly, if not somewhat guarded, conversation.
The landscape was slowly altering the further they walked, heading closer and closer to the ocean. It grew colder as well, and the grassland became rockier, littering with boulders are first, and then gradually changing to small stones.
It would be evening before they actually made it to the coastline, and Cuore nervously fidgeted with the strap that held her katanas to her back. She was glad when some foolish imps tried to ambush them.
The distraction was short lived, however, and they moved on, the ground slowly sloping downward. Soon the grass would turn to pebbles, and then sand.
"You were right, by the way." Kieran said after hours of silence.
Cuore looked up, somewhat startled by his voice. "About what?" she asked.
He glanced over his shoulder at her briefly, though his gaze was quick to return to the path before them. "About my suspension. It did have to do with what happened in your room."
"That's stupid." she said, imitating his earlier words. "You didn't have anything to do with that."
"Are you sure?"
She made a face, slightly annoyed, "I fully trust that if you wanted to say something to me, you'd say it to my face. That has never been the issue between us."
That sarcastic comment earned her a slight smile from Kieran, who nodded at her comment, which prompted her to continue.
"I'm sorry."
"Why?" he asked, slowing his pace so that she fell into step beside him. "It's not your fault."
Cuore fidgeted, uneasy with being responsible for his suspension. "It doesn't seem fair."
"Come on Cuore," he said. "If you were being logical, you'd suspect me too."
She had to admit he made a point. Their history made him a prime suspect for any possible hate crimes against her, but she still found it unfair they would automatically assume he'd done anything. Besides, vandalism wasn't Kieran's style in the least.
She hopped over a pitfall in the road, and he snorted, "It occurs to me we probably should've gotten clearance to visit this place,"
Cuore grinned and spun around to walk backwards, hands behind her back coyly, "Why?"
Kieran gave her a funny look and she just chuckled.
"I don't exist and you can't get any more suspended then you already are, what are they going to do to us?"
He smirked again.
The divine delta was unremarkable, but Cuore wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. The coastline was only a few miles away, but here, on a slim outcropping of rock that jutted out over the ocean, there was nothing more than a metal plate in the ground.
"I was expecting more." Kieran commented, looking unimpressed.
Cuore shook her head, "It's a ConTriSa HalEn."
"Translation?" he asked.
She paused and then wandered over, "Safe house? Store house? Something like that…"
She knelt down and studied the metal plate from a moment, noting where the Scorpion Gang had clearly used some sort of explosives to blast through the locking censors to gain access.
"The Lunarians had a couple of these all around the world, where they stored items to be used in their construction projects. The devices here were probably leftovers from the building of the Phen'Doe Mar."
"Leftovers the Scorpion Gang now has," Kieran complained, coming to stand by her. "What did they do, blast this open?"
She nodded and brushed aside some of the ash and soot to uncover Lunarian text below that she squinted at and then read aloud, fully translated. "Danger. Do not enter."
"If they wanted people to heed that, they should have written it in something we can read," he commented.
Cuore shot him a brief grin before flinging the cover open to reveal a metal ladder that went downward into the darkness.
"Underground?" he inquired.
She nodded and gestured to it, "Shall we?"
"We've come this far."
Cuore had no problem going first, since her eyesight would not only adjust more readily to the dark, but also since she knew more about Lunarians then Kieran.
Once her feet hit the bottom of the ladder, she stepped into the dark and spoke aloud, hoping they had imprinted voice commands within even their storage outposts.
"VicTa Cie,"
The lights flickered on and she winced at the brightness, taking a moment to look around. The place wasn't too big, and was really just an unimpressive metal box of a room filled with tables where there should have been Lunarian tech.
Now they were mostly empty. Only a few half parts and broken items were scattered every which way.
Cuore took the scene in with a frown, as Kieran dropped from the ladder beside her. "Well, they certainly had a field day in here," he commented.
She nodded absently and walked the length of a table, eyeing the leftovers and wondering just what the Scorpion Gang had taken. In the wrong hands, Lunarian tech could be very dangerous, even for the wielder.
"I hope that they only received worthless trinkets and tools and nothing dangerous." she muttered.
Kieran was looking over a type of induction coil, "You and me both, but why'd they leave some things? I mean sure, this is sort of worthless by itself, but you'd think they would just steal everything…"
"They were likely in the dark," she replied flatly.
A panel on the wall made her frown and she walked over, tapping the display. It powered on with a series of beeps and she grinned. "The mainframe is still active, even after all this time. Let's see…"
She attempted a few basic commands but found that the system was slightly damaged, and was not appreciative of her access codes. She pulled the panel's cover off to reveal the crystalline core below and manually input her demands.
Finally the computer gave her access and she was surprised when another door whooshed open beside her.
"Interesting," she commented, peeking inside.
Upon entering, she squinted at the darkness and once again spoke aloud to the computer; "VicTa Cie."
Rather than the lights powering on like before, the room slowly began to glow in a greenish haze. Other colors began to swirl into the mix; blues and browns, mixing and clumping together until they formed a map of the area.
Cuore smiled slowly in wonderment, "It's a Set'Tet Su'S!"
"A what?"
She glanced over her shoulder, having forgotten Kieran was with her. He was eyeing the light show with surprisingly less excitement then her.
"It's a type of holographic map, condensed into a sphere." she explained, gesturing to the domed room. "The Lunarians use them instead of paper maps. It's all visual,"
"This map is outdated." Kieran stated flatly, pointing at part of the coastline. "If I'm reading this right, Mysidia is up there, but then what's this stripe of land?"
"Part of the land that was lost during the earthquake of the Lunarian's time stamp of nine beta gamma." she answered, nodding. "That would be consistent with the completion of the Serpent's Road."
Despite the landmass looking different, it was still the same area. Ordeals would be seen as well as the city of Mysidia, though it appeared smaller in the image.
Cuore snapped her fingers and the image pulled back, as if zooming out of the localized region. It took a minute to focus, for all the colors and patterns to right themselves, but when they did she could see the entire world.
Certain areas looked different, and there were minor errors, but it was easily recognizable.
Except for three lines of pure white light that stood out in stark contrast to the vivid, natural colors.
She frowned as she looked closer, "What…are those?"
Kieran didn't seem to get what she was pointing to so she ran her hand through one of the streams of white light, blurring the image for a moment. "That. What is that?"
"It looks like…" he tilted his head, "Well, there's another where the Serpent's Road is,"
Cuore nodded slowly, "Yes, I see that one, but then…"
She trailed off, blinking. There were two more lines; one led from the Tower of Babil to Baron, and another went to what was now Troia, from the tower.
"Do you have a world map?" she whispered, tracing the lines with her fingers.
Kieran nodded and took a moment to rummage through his bag before he handed her the rolled up map.
Cuore stared more a moment more at the image, daring to hope she might have uncovered something of importance, before she rushed from the Set'Tet Su'S room and tossed the map onto one of the unoccupied tables.
"They would have had to have gotten around somehow, and airships probably would have unnerved the locals in that time period," she justified, running her fingers along the map of today's world.
Cuore smiled and looked up, "They constructed additional Phen'Doe Mars."
Kieran had already gotten where she was going and drawn ink lines on the map, connecting the dots. "It makes sense," he commented.
Cuore plucked the writing implement from his fingers and drew more lines, creating a system of straight passages to each crystal, the tower, and Baron. It made a circuit throughout the entire world.
"A network." she murmured, "A network of passages and channels to transport matter…"
"Why have we never found them?" Kieran asked, though she noted he didn't seem disbelieving of their discovery.
She shook her head, "I don't know. Perhaps they were damaged? Or…maybe the network was never completed? Zeromus was never a part of this aspect of the Terraforming Project, so my knowledge is limited on Phen'Doe Mars."
Kieran smacked a flat palm against the table, "That's how they're transporting the illegal elixirs!"
Cuore gave him a funny look and he tossed his hands up as he explained, "I told Kain it was something odd, because we could never find any ship logs or records of any kind that would suggest they were using sea or air transport. I bet the black market is using these channels to transport their goods."
Cuore nodded slowly, "It makes sense, I suppose. If they found them and figured out how to use them…No one would be able to track them, since we never knew about them anyway."
He shook his head, "Smart little bastards,"
"Indeed." she agreed, glancing back at the Set'Tet Su'S, "I wonder if we can somehow activate these channels…"
"Can't you just…I don't know, use the Serpent's Road and search through its crystal core to figure out if it can connect to the other ones?" Kieran said, looking puzzled. "Doesn't it have some sort of record inside?"
Cuore stared at him for a moment, and he shrugged one shoulder, "Or…not?"
"No," she said suddenly, smiling at him, "No, I can. That's exactly what I'll do. I just…you grasp these theories rather well,"
"Thanks…I think,"
She rolled her eyes and pushed the map back at him, "I had intended that as a compliment."
Without another word she deactivated the visual map, not sure if she wanted anyone else to gain access to it or not. It wasn't dangerous, but she still felt somehow protective of it. The Lunarians had been a lot of things, but they had incredible advancements to their names.
However, with this planet's current rate of development, their 'gifts' were more like poison.
They left the bunker after Cuore had shut down the computer to keep others from reaping whatever was left if they should ever return.
Once they had climbed back out, it was well into the evening. The sun was setting, casting unsettling looking shadows across the ground, though parts of the sky were already a dark azure.
Cuore slammed the metal door down and considered using magic to seal it such when they heard a voice behind them.
"I had expected someone to return here, but I wasn't expecting you."
Reflex made Cuore fast in drawing her blades and spinning around, flicking one to an underhand grip. Kieran followed suit, a second behind, and they faced their possible attacker.
He was clearly Mysidian, if the gray robes were anything to go by, but he wasn't anyone Cuore recognized, and she frowned, wondering who he was. He didn't appear overly sinister, but something about him made her skin crawl. Maybe it was just the cackle of magic she could sense around him, or his unnaturally youthful appearance when he had to be older then she was.
"And you are?" Kieran asked sharply, glaring at him.
The man smiled in an almost disarming way, "I'm not surprised my face is less then identifiable to you, but perhaps my name will ring a bell?"
He bowed slightly, "Zethan Knox,"
Kieran made a face that was halfway between surprise and skepticism, "Leader of the Magicite?"
"The one and only," Zethan said, grinning.
Cuore frowned, not sure why she should really care one way or the other when he smiled at her.
"As I said, I was expecting to find technology grabbing vermin skulking about, not the famed daughter of stars, last of her kind and adopted princess."
She blinked, "You know who I am,"
A statement, not a question.
Zethan nodded, still smiling, "Naturally."
Cuore was wary of this encounter, and also impatient. They'd long since proven that the Magicite had nothing to do with the kidnapped children, and Cuore only cared to find her brother. Mysidia could deal with this own terrorist group.
Judging by the way Kieran circled around behind her and then stopped at her side almost protectively, she gathered he wasn't overly comfortable either.
"As I said," the man mentioned, "I was not expecting to meet you here of all places. Looking for your brother, are you?"
Cuore's eyes widened, "What do you-"
"I know all about you," he interrupted smoothly, smiling at her again.
Her hands gripped the handles of her blades tightly, "Do you know where my brother is?"
"No, I haven't the slightest clue. I came here hoping that some of those vagrant scavengers you call the Scorpion Gang would return to the scene of the crime." Zethan explained, shrugging.
"You really do hate then, don't you?" Kieran said, sounding a little surprised.
Zethan regarded him coolly, "I was in the middle of a conversation, here. Do not interrupt."
Kieran glared at him, but Cuore was already asking another question, "How did you know my brother was missing, then?"
"I promise you, I know nothing of his whereabouts." Zethan said, resting a hand over his heart as if to swear to it. "I do hope you find him, however. At least his half-blood makes for good magic."
"What is it that you want?" she asked sharply, confused and suspicious.
Zethan blinked a few times, "You are asking what me and my followers want? You're asking what the motives of the Magicite are?"
She nodded.
He seemed delighted to have been asked and spoke in a voice filled with so much charisma Cuore wondered if he practiced his speech often.
"The Magicite is dedicated to making the world a better place. Magic is the ultimate finale of the evolutionary link. Not everyone is given it's gift. Those that are blessed are superior. We are the future rulers and leaders of our world. Those that cling to devices of an all but dead race of outsiders are a blight upon our world. They are venom."
Cuore made a face, "You hate the Scorpion Gang because they use Lunarian technology, yet you cast Lunarian spells Isn't that a contradiction? That isn't true magic, you know. It's learned."
"Not everyone can learn to use this magic. They have to have the spark to begin with. Those of us that do are better than the rest of the world."
She frowned, "You're insane."
"So I've been told," Zethan chuckled. "Yet I am still here. Mysidia doesn't even realize how many of its citizens are members of the Magicite. They don't realize how high our power goes."
Kieran shrugged, "Who cares?"
The man sighed and shot him a quick glare, "Would you stay out of this?"
"What, are you mad I don't have magic?" he taunted.
Zethan snarled lightly, finally displaying something other than calm collection. "Yes, it does. The fact that she would even bother to travel with someone like you is nauseating."
Kieran stiffened, and Cuore caught his arm before he could take a step forward. Glaring at Zethan, she snapped back acidly, "I would trust him with my life. Magic doesn't automatically make someone better; it just makes them more powerful. And even that isn't always true."
The man smiled at her again, "Oh, but isn't it? The powerful rise to power, whether or not they plan it that way."
"What does power gain you?" she said, tipping her head to one side. "Why try so hard to get it, then, Zethan? If you and your group are so strong, why aren't you in charge already?"
"Who says we aren't?" he retorted with a wide grin. "You forget, I told you Mysidia doesn't realize how much we influence everything. Even now, our members are spread beyond the borders of the magical capital of the world. We are everywhere, and the longer people deny our presence, the stronger we become."
Still unimpressed, she frowned and looked him up and down. "To what end?"
"Someone has to do something before magic is gone from this world once and for all!" he exclaimed, finally breaking his façade. "People inbreed with lesser beings devoid of magical potential and we get diminished returns each time. Those with magic let people with nothing but sharp metal objects walk all over them for no reason. Mysidia acts like they care about magic and its future but they are hypocritical idiots who can't even function without help from outsiders."
Cuore and Kieran exchanged a glance. She didn't need to use her telepathy to know they were thinking the same thing.
Zethan Knox really was insane.
"So to answer your question, the end game of all this is to return the world to how it should be. Magic is absolute power, and I seek to remind people of that." Zethan spat.
"Magic is a tool, just like swords and technology." Cuore replied decisively.
"Oh, but any idiot can learn to pick up a weapon and fight," Zethan said, gesturing to Kieran, who glared at him. "But those of us born with magic, now there is a true gift. You can't learn it or acquire it falsely. It's a blessing from birth onward."
"Tell that to the summoners of old," Cuore snapped back. "I'm pretty sure people acquired plenty from them without being born with magic."
Zethan chuckled, "An answer for everything, then? Somehow I knew I would like you, destined one."
"Don't call me that," she complained.
The nickname had never bothered her before, but hearing it from him, a man who was somehow more sickening then Augus and the Dahl family put together made her want to gag.
He grinned, "Apologies, I keep forgetting that I know more about you, then you do of me,"
Her eyes narrowed, "How so?"
"I've been keeping tabs on you since I first heard that one of the mysterious maidens from the second moon was brought to our planet. You weren't easy to track, mind you, and I had to be careful that the High Summoner never noticed. And then you moved to Eblan…"
He finished with an eye roll but Cuore was more confused than anything else. And if she was being honest, a little disturbed to find out that someone had been watching her so closely.
"Why?" she finally asked.
Zethan blinked and replied with a tone that suggested the answer was obvious, "Because, you're a perfection of life, aren't you? You were created as the ultimate weapon, created with magical talent that no living being on this planet could ever hope to match."
Cuore bristled, "I'm not-"
"A weapon? You command spirits of magic, spells not taught by the Lunarians dance from your fingertips. You were even trained in non-magic arts. Do you really think you aren't the world's greatest asset? Whoever has your favor has the world at their mercy."
Cuore couldn't decide what emotion to focus on. On the one hand, Zethan spoke only truth; she was powerful beyond measure, and if she was as mindlessly loyal as her sisters were, then she would be a weapon of mass destruction.
On the other hand, she hated him for even suggesting she might do such things, or that anyone else in the world might order her too.
She wasn't a weapon.
Even the Maenads weren't weapons; they were seekers.
Before she could retort, Kieran spoke up with a heated tone, "Hey, Zethan, why don't you get to the point of why you're here before I impale you and leave the Magicite without a leader."
The man chuckled, "You should stay out of this conversation, though I am amused that you think your any match for me."
"Why don't we find out?" Kieran snapped, hand tightening around the handle of his weapon.
Cuore held out her arm, "No, don't." Turning to Zethan, she scowled at him, "What do you want? You're wasting my time."
"Direct," he observed, ever calm. "Alright, to get straight to the point; I've been making sure I know exactly where you were at any given time because I want you to join me."
She just stared at him, puzzled.
At her odd look, he continued. "You can't convince me you feel at home where you are right now. You know what people think of you, what they say. They fear you already, and you haven't even done anything. But they know what I know as well. You could rule this world. I want you at my side, working to make this world better. Your talents are wasted, your very being is disregarded. I-"
Cuore wasn't even really listening to what he was talking about, all she knew was that he was still wasting her time.
She could have used her katanas and probably cut him down in seconds, but if Zethan loved magic so much, then she would play that game with him.
"Ark blast." she stated calmly, pointing at the man's right side. This time she used only a single lightning bolt rather than a cluster, and she directed it to merely graze him enough to catch his attention and make him shut up.
Zethan yelped, and glared at her, and she just frowned at him, "You are in my way, Zethan Knox. I am on a mission to find my brother. You will never tempt me with promises of power, but I don't expect to convince you of that anytime soon."
Surprisingly, he smiled, still holding his wounded arm. "I would relish the chance to test your magic,"
Kieran shook his head beside her, "Bad idea…"
Cuore wasn't sure if he was serious, and he quickly cast a few spells in quick succession, proving that he was at least a capable mage.
Shell was among the protective barriers he rose to defend himself, before switching to the offensive.
Cuore was oddly composed for this battle. Unlike with weapons, there was less she needed to observe and strategize for, there were only so many spells Zethan could cast, after all.
The first black magic spell he launched at her was ice, which told her much of how he fought.
Most mages went straight for fire first, or in her mother's case, defaulted to lightning in this situation. Ice was a bit sneakier, a little harder to counter or dodge.
But ice also didn't move like flames or thunder; it was direct.
Cuore sidestepped on impulse, light on the balls of her feet as she twirled away from the icy spikes erupting from the ground. They were linear, predictable.
But it put distance between them, made it so she would never be able to attack him with her weapons before he could fire off another spell.
"He has the abilities of a sage," she remarked inwardly, frowning. "And he thinks his battles through. Annoying, but not entirely impressive…"
As he hurriedly cast an incantation for another combative spell, Cuore turned and grabbed Kieran's arm, tugging him a step closer.
At his odd look she explained, "Remain in the summoning circle."
Cuore was a faster caster then any mage she had ever met, and even the lengthy song required to summon an Eidolon was over just as Zethan's cadence quickened. It signaled the end of his spell, but she was one step ahead of him.
He really had no idea what he was getting himself into.
"Creature of light and protection, come and guard me against destruction! Carbuncle, I summon thee!"
There was a flash of multicolored light that gave way to a cheerful squeal as the mint green, feline looking Carbuncle burst onto the scene.
His jeweled forehead flashed brightly with red light and a chime could be heard of the magical variety.
The light wove around them, shimmering into a protective shield.
Zethan's thundaga spell crashed against it harmlessly. Carbuncle landed lightly on the ground, standing protectively in front of Cuore as his jewel continued to glimmer.
"Bounce it back at him, Carbuncle," Cuore said, sheathing her blades.
The little creature trilled at her and squeezed his large eyes closed. The ruby red barrier flashed, and in an instant, the lightning bolts reflected back to the caster.
Cuore didn't see Zethan's reaction because she was already chanting again.
It was usually a foolish idea to summon more than one Eidolon at a time. Every summoner knew that.
While in this world, the Eidolons were directly connected to their summoner. The two beings shared energy while bonded.
An Eidolon was only as strong in this world, as the person who summoned them.
It wasn't so much physical or even magical strength so much as a strength of will.
To summon more than one Eidolon at a time spilt the summoner's resources and increased the chance of death on all fronts.
Still, Cuore only needed her Eidolons for a moment at a time, and she had confidence in her abilities and theirs.
"High seraph, with holy light bring nigh defeat to my enemies! Ultima, I summon thee!"
Just as Carbuncle's barrier dropped, Ultima was on the scene and she nodded to Cuore; no words were needed. The high seraph knew why she had been called.
She raised her hand and light swirled at her palm as her robotic voice intoned; "Dispel,"
Zethan wasn't stupid, and as he staggered from his own magic backlash, trying to stay on his feet, his eyes widened as all his protective spells melted from Ultima's magic.
Whatever Cuore struck with could end his life, but she saw no purpose to do so.
He was trouble, but Mysidia could deal with its own problems.
"Inferno!"
Fires sprung to life in columns of reds and oranges, surrounding the mage and touching him just enough to singe his clothing. More than burn him, Cuore was hoping to drain his oxygen supply. It was faster, and in the end, less painful, then burning him to a crisp with her magic.
As the fires slowly died, Zethan stumbled a few steps before collapsing in a less then graceful manner to the ground.
With a flick of her wrist she recalled her Eidolons and strode forward, stopping to stand a few inches from Zethan's fallen form. He groaned and lifted himself up enough to look at her.
She frowned, "I will say this once and only once. I will never join you. I have no desire to partake in your diluted and foolish errands. Pray we never cross paths again, Zethan Knox, for the next time we do, I may not be so merciful."
Cuore turned without another word and walked on, intent on saving her brother. Nothing else mattered to her.
If only she could get some of Zethan's implications out of her head…
Author's Note: There was a lot to cover in this one!
Alright, let's get this lengthy note underway...
Gil. I refuse to believe that the world of IV has a one-world money system and that every country uses the same form of money. We don't have that now as a world, and I can even maybe buy it for TAY. But the original game? People didn't even talk! So no, I don't believe it. But since they all say "Gil" I've decided that "Gil" is actually just a term like "Money" or "Cash" and not the actual coinage.
Potions. I was looking up items on the FF Wiki and I noticed that the price of potions from the original game and the TAY did drop! That interesting fact spawned that whole mess of an explanation in this chapter that was loads of fun to write.
More "Phen'Doe Mars" (passages). It's always bothered me that the Lunarians only made one of those. Why? If they had the ability to make them, why one do one? Why not more?
So, the leader of the Magicite is revealed! (And no, he isn't a clown, though he is insane) He isn't hugely important to this story, but I felt like I needed to include him since the Magicite is mentioned so much.
And just for the record, magical duels are even harder to write then weapon duels. I tried my best to not make it boring...
If this were more of a crack-type fic, and if Cuore were more in touch with her human emotions, she really would have looked at Kieran this chapter with all his knowledge and said; "I want to have your children."
That's all for now, but let me know what you think so far!
Also, now on my profile is a list of all the Kizzy stories Mythweaver and I have written, in order, with links to each story! Mythweaver has the list up on her profile as well. Enjoy!
Until next time,
