"The airship began to slow as Freya and the others neared what used to be Alexandria. What had once been luscious green fields and a beautiful waterfall, was now only a barren wasteland of volcanic rock and smoke rising from the barren ground. From the airship, there were no signs of life to be seen, save for a few birds that flew by curiously. The crew had thought they would at least see the base of Alexandria castle still standing, but only a few of the buildings in the city still stood and it was as if the castle had never existed. In its place, the base of a black spire could been seen. They had no way of knowing how tall it was, or if there were any fiends guarding its peak, as all but the base of the spire was veiled in a dark ominous cloud.
"What is that?" Freya asked, not taking her eyes from the black structure.
"It appears to be some sort of tower." Ramza replied. "I have never seen anything like it before."
"So, that must be where we're gonna have to go kick some butt!" Exclaimed Eiko.
"Let's hope it's that easy." Freya replied, grinning at the young girl.
The airship touched down on the barren plains, about a mile from the dark spire and what was left of the abandoned city. "Be careful out there, we have no idea what we might be up against." Cid warned. "We'll wait here for you on the airship as long as we can."
With just a few short farewells, Ramza, Freya and an over-eager Eiko set off toward what used to be Alexandria. They didn't encounter any monsters on the way to the town, but the town itself was eerily quiet. Not a single person or animal walked the streets, the shops that were still standing were empty but yet were left open. The paved streets were cracked and broken, but there was no blood or any signs that even one person had been killed. It was as if the place had been abandoned for at least a couple of years.
"What happened here?" Freya asked.
"I don't know." Ramza replied. "But something feels very wrong here…" he walked over to a nearby flowerpot and noted that the plant was dead, and the soil was barren just as the soil outside the town had been. "It is as if something is sucking the life out of even the very ground itself."
"I'm not scared!" Eiko directed at Ramza. "I don't know about you, but WE fought Kuja and saved the world. With my Eidolons, there's nothing we can't handle!"
To her disappointment, Ramza laughed. "You know, there's nothing wrong with being scared. Your magic may be very strong, but no one is invincible." She huffed and continued walking. "You can be scared, but I'm not." He couldn't help but smile again.
"Did you ever have children?" Freya asked with a smirk.
"What?" he replied stupidly. "No.. I.. uh.. I never really got the chance."
"What do you mean?"
His face sobered a little as replied. "There was a woman I loved once… In the end, I tried to help her, but my magic wasn't strong enough… Instead I watched her die in my arms."
"…I'm sorry."
"Thank you. She saved my life that day and countless others… I am thankful she did not die alone." He responded with a forced smile.
"I see why Cid liked you." Freya laughed gently. "We better hurry or she'll leave us behind." They looked toward Eiko, who bounding off toward the spire.
"Indeed, I believe she would." But as they arrived at the harbor that had separated the city from the castle, Eiko was standing still and showed no signs of wanting to move forward. What Freya saw made her stomach turn. What had been the clear water was now a black tar-like substance that bubbled, spit and smelled of rot. They could see the spire clearly now; it rose from the base of Alexandria castle, every wall that had stood there, now was only small loose rubble around the edge of it. The surface of the spire was black with a menacing sheen. It had no windows, only a large door forged of iron and giant ancient timbers; a faint red glow could be seen from the cracks at its edges.
"How are we going to get across?" Eiko finally asked.
"We could try to make a raft?" Ramza suggested.
Freya studied the bubbling liquid for a moment before replying. "Ramza, when I met you on the plains, you were using ice spells. Can you freeze this liquid so we can walk across?"
"My magic is not very powerful, but I will try." He squatted down and touched his hand to the liquid's surface. "Blizzara!" For a moment, the liquid continued to bubble but gradually it began to crack and harden starting from his hand and moving out slowly.
Eiko then proceeded to walk onto the hardened surface and stomped "It worked! I guess you're not completely useless after all."
"Useless?" He quipped.
"What are you, deaf? I said maybe you're not useless, but I still don't trust you." she scowled.
"I guess it's a start!" he laughed.
The walk across the canal was much faster than riding the boat had ever been, Freya reckoned. It only took a minute, whereas the boat took ten times longer.
"Looking for your friends?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
The three companions looked around, but the voice had come from nowhere. Ramza drew his sword and walked closer to the others. "Who are you?" he asked loudly.
For a moment, there came no reply. However, a few feet in front of them a blue light shimmered and shifted and from it, a seemingly wealthy man stepped forth.
"My name is Damian, though that bit of knowledge will do you little good."
They eyed him cautiously, worried that he might strike at any moment. They were not foolish enough to believe him to be a normal man. "What did you do to My Zidane?" Eiko asked angrily.
"What, no small talk? What happened to pleasant conversations? Oh well..." he sighed theatrically.
"No one cares!" Eiko yelled. "Tell us where Zidane and Dagger are, or you'll regret it!"
He smiled a chillingly innocent smile and then pretended to think. "Hmm… Zidane, Zidane... ah, you mean the boy with the tail? Haven't seen him." he shrugged. "As for this Dagger, I can only assume you mean the princess? Don't worry, I didn't leave a single scratch on her pretty face; not that she didn't beg me to."
"What!?" Freya exclaimed. "Garnet would never-"
"Oh but she did. She begged me to end her miserable life. But alas, she was whisked away from me by some magic that I must confess was quite brilliant, meagre, but brilliant nonetheless."
"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Freya asked.
He let out a light chuckle. And ran his hand along the handle of his sword. "No, I suppose not; even if it is all true. However, I believe it is now my turn to ask." He looked at Ramza coldly. "Who might you be? I've seen the others, and know everything about that that I could ever need to know, but I've never seen you before and that troubles me."
"If you drop your weapon, and come toward us I will be glad to tell you." He replied, trying to show no emotion.
"Funny that, do you take me for a fool?"
"What exactly do you take us for?" Freya jumped in.
"I see this conversation is getting nowhere. So, let's change subject shall we?"
"We didn't come here to talk to you! We want our friends back!" Eiko yelled.
"I'm hurt. Truly I am… but alas, I merely came here to escort my lovely new companion! I am quite certain she may help you to see the truth, though I confess I have no intention of letting you live long enough to care. Only an absolute fool lets their enemies do as they please unhindered, and I think you've gone quite close enough to things you cannot possibly understand. Pitiful humans and rats like you had best stay away."
He stopped long enough to give a decidedly dashing smile. "I've dragged it out long enough, allow me to introduce my faithful companion. Oh Beatrix, My love, I would be so pleased if you would take care of these pests for me. Feel free to tell them why you've joined me as you end their meaningless lives. I would help you, but I have other matters to attend." With a last smile and a bow, he disappeared again into a blue light.
Before they had time to process his words and rapid departure a second light had appeared, and from it came Beatrix, just as he had said.
"Beatrix!" Eiko exclaimed.
"You are alive and well!" Freya commented.
Without notice, Ramza stepped in front of them and pushed them back a step. "I do not believe she is here for a pleasant conversation."
"I agree." Beatrix grinned. "At least not with someone evil, such as you. I only came here to kill you, not them."
Freya glanced at him for a moment, then back at Beatrix. "Ramza is not evil, at least not that I've seen. What has happened to you? Surely you're not working with that man!"
"Nothing happened to me, I gladly joined him. They are the only ones worth bowing to. That man your traveling with is the one that started this, he's the one that is responsible for destroying Alexandria! Will you not join me Freya? We will kill him together!"
"You can't be serious!" Ramza exclaimed.
Freya looked at Ramza studying him for a moment then turned back to Beatrix again. "No. I don't know what's happened to you, but if you want to kill him, you'll have to kill us too!"
"So be it!" She scoffed and drew her sword pointedly at Ramza. "I was a fool to ever consider any of your friends. I have seen the truth and if you are with him then you must be dealt with as well."
"I'm sorry you feel that way." Freya replied. "We will always consider you a friend even if we must fight you. Tell me, Is what happened to you the same thing that happened to Garnet? Has she joined that man as well?!"
Beatrix laughed. "No, she was far too weak to see the truth. She was not worth joining our cause! Someone like her is far better off dead!"
Ramza couldn't help but comment on this in astonishment. "But she was your queen! Could the spell over you truly be so powerful?"
"There is no spell over me." She spat. "the real Garnet died as a child. That pathetic girl was never fit to be queen. She should have been living on the streets somewhere! Every time it was up to here to make a decision, she turned to others to make it for her. If that alone was not bad enough, she had to go and fall in love with not just another commoner, but a thief! Alexandria would have been better off if it had been ran by imps!"
"You can't mean that." Freya said sadly.
"I mean every word. I would rather have died than spent another day protecting someone that barely has a right to live at all!" She readied her sword and stepped toward them. "I have nothing else to say to any of you. Either fight me, or flee for your lives and do not return."
"I will fight you, Beatrix." Ramza answered solemnly. "You said that I am the one you are after, so fight me. Someone should never be forced to fight a friend and I do not think your mind is your own."
"You can't fight her alone!" Freya objected.
"I am not a knight like you Beatrix, I was never given that honor. In truth, where I am from I am a heretic. But I do not believe our name or title is what makes us who we are. It is our deeds that we do, what we are willing to fight for that matters. Whether you see it or not, you have been blinded by evil. So, I will fight you. To the death if that's what it takes."
"If you are so eager to die, then let us see who is stronger."
"Ramza, you don't have to fight her alone. We can help you." Freya grabbed his arm, but he pulled free.
"No, you and Eiko need to go back to the airship so Cid will know what has happened. I will stop her, or at least buy you some time. "
"You think I am going to let them just go where they please?" Beatrix asked humorously.
"You will have no say in the matter!" Ramza replied sharply.
This time Beatrix did not respond, but merely smirked. Quickly she closed the distance between her and Ramza and slashed for a clean beheading slice. Luckily for Ramza, even though he had never considered himself the strongest by any means, he had always been pretty swift. He dodged the slash, feeling the wind from her blade on his chin, and punched her in the stomach with the hilt of his blade. It didn't quite have the effect he had hoped, as Beatrix had not even seemed to wince and immediately brought her sword down for another strike. He had no choice but to quickly roll away from the attack, though her sword still managed to clip his side enough to draw blood.
He looked toward Freya and Eiko as he regained his footing. "Run!" he yelled, but did not have time to see if they listened or not. He barely managed to get the word from his mouth before steel again slashed toward his face. He brought his own sword to deflect the blow and pushed back as hard as he could, and managed to knock Beatrix back long enough to cast a spell. "Thundara!" The electricity crashed into her, causing her to growl in pain. "Enough of this!" Beatrix yelled. "Climhazzard!" She swung her blade at Ramza and energy shot from her sword toward him. He raised his sword, gritted his teeth and took the blow.
The force of the impact sent him spiraling backwards and broke his sword about a foot from the hilt. As the pain flooded his senses, he felt greatly disoriented and faintly could hear Beatrix laughing victoriously, but he had been in enough battles to know that this was one of the most crucial moments in any struggle. Sure his sword had broken, but it was still usable, and as a whole, he was fine. He stilled his bleary vision and rose to his feet, picking up his broken sword in the process.
"Still have not had enough?" Beatrix asked.
"Your reputation in battle does you no justice.. You are stronger than I, but I will never stop. I will fight you as long as I draw breath!" he charged at her with his sword raised to strike high, but slid at the last moment lowering his blade and slicing into her leg a moment before she was able to block the attack. She grabbed her leg with one hand and swung hard enough to knock Ramza back a few steps as he took the blow. He was thankful he had been able to hold on to his blade, even though he had only just.
He didn't take the time to dwell on it further as he rushed her again, this time she blocked his attack. He knew strength wasn't on his side so he knew he had to keep moving as quickly as he could manage. So, he swung his blade again, and again, and again. Each time she met him move for move but for once he seemed to be gaining a little ground. He kept swinging as sweat dripped from his brow, but as he feared, the advantage did not remain his for long. He was growing tired, but it seemed Beatrix was hardly fazed. He began to worry that he wouldn't even be able to hold her off long enough for them to make it across the canal. His thoughts had drifted for only a moment, but unfortunately it was enough. He saw her blade coming again, and he knew he wouldn't be able to block it in time.
Suddenly, there was a crack almost like thunder and Beatrix howled in pain and turned around instead of finishing her attack. Behind her, he could see Freya re-steading herself from what he guessed was a powerful attack. That was twice she had saved his life..
"Damn you!" she yelled, backing away as Eiko came running as well. "I've had more than enough of all of you! It is time you saw the true power that my new liege has given me!"
Ramza backed up further, panting. "What power?"
Beatrix reached into her vest and pulled out a purple stone.
"I don't know what power they have told you about, but you do not want to use that!" Ramza yelled.
"I know very well what power it possesses." Beatrix replied smugly. "But I don't blame you; you have every right to be afraid."
"Listen, if you use that stone, what is left of you will be gone forever!" He pleaded. "Please listen to reason! You'll only be hurting yourself! There are people that care about you!"
"Pathetic." She replied. "If you wanted to beg for your life, you could at least be honest about it. As for the "People" that care about me, I feel nothing for them. I'm sorry, but I did not come her to show you mercy!" She peered deeply into the stone and spoke again, this time speaking to the stone itself. "Hear my pleas, give me the power to lay waste to my enemies." After only a few seconds a beam of light shot from the stone into the sky, expanding and blanketing the entire area where Beatrix had stood. As the light grew, he could hear her laughter grow with it. But, her laughter did not last. The white radiating light that engulfed her turned black. Her laughter twisted and distorted and faintly through the roar of power that followed, he believed he could hear her screaming in pain.
"I'm sorry Beatrix. I tried to help you, but you were too far gone." He said quietly, as he braced himself for what was to come. The dark light crackled and finally settled. In its place stood a creature he could only describe as a demon. It had four twisted horns atop its head. Its face was slim, with three slotted eyes. The demon's body was also slim, more so than Beatrix's had been. Its three clawed feet looked to be very nimble and yet full of power, just as its armored arms seemed to be. Of all the fiends he had seen, this one had hands that were closer to human than any of the others even though they were black and reptile-like. On this particular fiend, the part that unsettled him the most was its sickening grin filled with black teeth.
"What power!" It yelled. "More strength than I have ever felt! And Knowledge! Ages of history and understanding! I've never felt like this before! So, this is what it is to be a God!"
"I pity you for what you've become." Ramza said regretfully. "You are no god; you are far less than you were."
The creature did not bother holding back a laugh. "You fool! If you could feel the power that I feel you would be on your knees begging for mercy!"
"I would never beg for anything from a creature such as you. I've dealt with your kind before and you do not scare me!"
The creatures grin fell, but was replaced with a sneer. "Do you truly believe you have a chance to beat me with naught but a broken sword!?"
"No, But he can with our help!" Freya yelled.
"We decided we couldn't leave you behind." Eiko replied. "And besides, we wanted to make this thing pay for what it did to Beatrix!"
"I certainly won't turn down the help!" he laughed.
The creature growled. "It does not matter how much help you get! You pathetic humans are like roaches beneath my feet!"
The battle began again. At first they thought maybe the fiend didn't have time to attack, but now it seemed as though it was toying with them. Each time they attacked, it simply and nimbly avoided them, but it did not return their attacks. They were already tiring, and they had yet to even land a blow. Eiko tried to summon but it just wouldn't stay in one place long enough, so she was afraid the eidolons would hurt her companions as well. They were trying to come up with a strategy that could help them defeat it, however, they did not have to as the fiend backed away from them and began to glow. After a moment, the light faded and Beatrix stood before them again just as she had before transforming. That is except for her eyes. Her eyes were cold and no trace of humanity remained.
"You fools are even more pathetic than I had first thought. You're not worth my time. If you somehow make it to the underworld alive, I'll be waiting." She turned to leave. Freya yelled at her to stop, but it was no use. After only a few steps she disappeared into a blue light and was gone.
"What WAS that? Eiko asked breathlessly. "That definitely wasn't Beatrix."
"No." Ramza replied, falling to his knees in exhaustion. "I'm sorry to say that it was Beatrix, or at least what was left of her. I do not know what happened to her. We can only hope the same fate hasn't befallen the others."
