Odyssey V:I

"Ugh…" Breeze moaned as she sat up. She didn't feel any pain except for her throbbing head. She pried her eyes open, only to widen them at her surroundings. Gone were the closed metal walls. They were replaced by the open, grass-covered floating castle that she knew all too well. "The Rift?" She heard a moan behind her and turned on instinct. "Bartz?" All of a sudden, everything crashed back into her mind. The crystal was a trap. "Bartz, are you alright?" she asked as she crawled closer to the lying figure.

The man groaned. "I think so…" Bartz pushed himself off of the ground. Soft slender hands took hold of his arms, helping him sit. "Thanks." The mimic turned his head from side to side and looked at the woman inquisitively. "Are we where I think we are?" Breeze nodded. Their heads shot up when they heard the faint echoes of footsteps.

"We better hide," Breeze voiced out, although it came out hoarse. She stood up, offering a hand to her comrade and pulled him onto his feet. She didn't let go of his hand and dragged him behind one of the corners.

"Who's-"

"Shh!" Breeze peered over the wall and saw four people. Two of them looked like clowns while the other two had silver tails. "Zina and Zidane's siblings?" she thought to herself. She turned to Bartz and pointed a thumb toward the Warriors of Chaos, asking him to look. "The ones with tails are Zina's and Zidane's sibling right?"

The mimic narrowed his eyes, focusing them on the group. "Yeah, but what could they possibly be talking about?" The two tried to listen and heard their names. "They're talking about us?"

"Judging by the male monkey's frown, the trap failed. It must've been for Zidane," Breeze concluded. The female genome turned their way, her eyes widening when they made eye contact. Breeze immediately readied herself for any incoming attack, but to her surprise, the genome had just turned away. After a few more moments of conversing, the group had quietly walked away with the exception of the male clown's deranged laugh. "They're gone," Breeze announced, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Did you manage to hear anything?" Bartz asked.

The woman looked down and shook her head. "Just something about another trap for Zidane," Breeze said softly.

"We should better go and warn them then," the mimic declared. "Let's get going!" Bartz took the lead, breaking into a jog. Breeze grunted and hurried to keep up with him.

"What we should do is to think things through. We might run into unwanted company," Breeze warned, her face in a frown. Bartz, to her, could be compared to a hyperactive child. He rushed into things without any second thoughts, a trait she greatly disliked.

"Loosen up Breeze!" the man chimed. "We can take anyone, especially when we have the others' skills," he said with a wink. Breeze rolled her eyes.

"We are so going to get in trouble…"


Kajie sighed. She was tired with Kuja's elaborate, yet pathetic in her opinion, plans on how to trap his brother. It seemed as though the male genome was trying to prove something. Kajie frowned at her counterpart's arrogance. She glanced to the side and noticed Kelpie staring into space. The jester had proven to be a welcome acquaintance. In fact, Gabriella, or Gabby as Kefka called her, was the only one who actually tried to defy the laws. The genome shook her head. "She should know better…"

"You seem to be up in the clouds today," Kelpie whispered, a faint smile on her face. It was rare to see the jester smile and she had a reason why. In a world full of illusions and hurt, how could anyone smile? She had lived with a man who was bent on destruction and was convinced there was nothing more than despair. Who could blame her?

Kajie looked up in front, making sure their counterparts were a good distance away. "I saw Breeze back there," she replied just as quietly, nudging her head back down the path they had taken.

Kelpie shook her head, a sad expression on her face. "Poor people… If they only knew what was waiting for them… " She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned to see her friend, a soft smile on her face and a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"They'll get through it, though I'm more concerned on what happens after…" Kajie drifted off.

"Indeed…" Kelpie's mind went back to when they were conversing about their plans. Kuja had first wanted to use Squall as bait, Kajie being dragged along as consequence. The gunblader, along with his companion, proved to be too much for the genome to capture and had settled on using the mimic instead… and he still planned to.

"Any new from the others?" Kajie asked after a few moments of silence.

"The Emperor had started his plan…" Kajie reported. "Golbez is trying to make contact with Luneth."

"Fam's adversary?"

The genome nodded. "He's straying, doubting… Golbez, as we speak, is making an effort to get him back in line. The girl with him is a bit more dependable, but due to her nature… It's risky."

"Yes," the jester agreed, "I've spoken with the girl once. She shows determination, but she could easily be confused."

"Gabriella, on the other hand, chose to be stubborn and ignorant. She could not accept the fact that we have only one fate," Kajie said in an almost angry voice. Even though they had explained to her numerous times, Gabriella stood firm.

"True, she has become a liability, but nothing would change whether or not she accepts it. It has already been decided after all," Kelpie stated. "It would bring her only more pain. Our existence, after all, is too delicate… fragile."

"Jenneth has started to persuade Jecht. The man has light within him."

"Ah yes… Golbez and Jecht are on our side. It's a mystery how Jenneth has resigned herself to her fate while a certain someone hasn't," the jester managed to chuckle. "But then again, Jecht seems to still be in the dark."

"What are you two talking about back there?" a haughty voice said. The two women turned and saw Kuja eyeing them suspiciously while Kefka looked at them with curiosity. "Pick up your pace. This is no time for old-ladies' tales." The two nodded slightly and chose to float towards them instead of running. It was, after all, faster.

"So, what were you talking about?" Kefka prodded as he leaned closer to them, much to their discomfort.

"None of your business," the two replied in unison.

The jester huffed, offended by their harsh retort. "Fine! Be that way!" he exclaimed in a rather immature manner. The two women rolled their eyes.

"What did we do to deserve this?"


"Bartz, do you know where we are?" Breeze looked about, her eyebrows pulled together at the unfamiliar terrain. They had gotten out of The Rift and had entered a dense forest.

Bartz shook his head. He gazed up into the sky and noticed the darkening skies. "It's getting darker by the minute. We should find somewhere to turn in for the night before the light finally fades."

"Finally! Something reasonable!" Breeze exclaimed. The mimic frowned at her reaction but the woman ignored it. "There, that cliff face," she said, pointing at a solid wall of rock. A dark jagged line run down its length, widening as it descended. "By my guess, it's only a mile away. The crack might give us some shelter."

Bartz narrowed his eyes at the rock formation and nodded. "Yeah, that'll do." He turned to his companion and beamed at her. "Race you there!" he chuckled as he broke into a run. Breeze widened her chocolate brown eyes as she watched him run. With a soft chuckle, a smile crept into her lips and she was off as well. "You're not gonna beat me!" she heard him taunt.

"Yeah right!" she sighed as she jumped over a fallen log. Bartz looked over his shoulder and smiled at the woman. He didn't notice the incoming tree and ran right into it with full force. Breeze winced at the sound of collision. She thought of stopping and checking if he was alright, but when she saw him stand up, she just shrugged and ran past him.

"No fair!" the mimic said as he continued on. Breeze just laughed at his childishness and skidded to a stop in front of the dark crevice. Luckily, nothing had seemed to hear their giddy laughter as they tried to outdo each other.

"I win!" Breeze happily declared. Bartz came panting right after her.

"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled. After a few gasps of air, he walked right over to the cave and inspected it. It was dark and a bit cold inside, but it would provide them a place to stay for the night. "Yeah, this'll be good enough."

"We need fire though," Breeze pointed out. "I'll go get some wood and you make sure it's safe enough," she instructed. Bartz looked at her oddly before he went into the cave. Breeze sighed as she ventured back into the woods. To her luck, she found numerous dry branches scattered about on the ground. She gathered them and was able to get back to the cave in record time. "Bartz?" she called.

"In here," a voice said, coming from the cave. Breeze was about to go in when Bartz came out. "It's safe enough," he stated. He eyed the sky before turning back to the woman. "Good thing you came. If you came any later, it would already be too dark to see. Gimme those." In one swift motion, he took the bundle of wood from breeze and took them inside the cave. One moment later, a fire was crackling to life, casting a faint orange glow in the darkness.

Breeze sat down by the wall, resting her head on the cold hard surface. She felt tired. They had been walking about all day and rest would be a welcome change. She was used to travelling, but here, she felt weaker than she remembered. "I'm turning in. You keep watch," she ordered. "Just wake me up if you need any help."

"Sure. Nighty-night Breezie," Bartz cooed. He winced a moment later when he felt something hit his cheek and saw his counterpart glaring daggers at him. With a huff, Breeze lied down and turned away from the fire, consequently, away from Bartz.

The female mimic felt a sense of comfort overwhelm her albeit the hard ground. She let out a sigh of relief as she fell asleep, enjoying the warmth that radiated from the bright flame. Bartz couldn't help but observe her.

When he first saw her, he already felt as if he knew her. A strange sense on nostalgia immediately washed over him. And what was weird was that he had already predicted that they wouldn't be in good terms. Bartz shrugged. Maybe he was just hallucinating. They had gone on for days without a decent meal and he knew that the mind would play tricks when hungry.

He turned his gaze to the fire. He smiled at the comfortable warmth that it brought as the air outside started to turn cold. He rubbed his palms together and placed them nearer to the flame. He immediately retracted his hands as the bright flame mischievously licked his palms. "Ouch!" Bartz sharply turned his head towards the voice. It was Breeze.

Breeze instinctively pulled her hands towards her. They were sore, very sore. The pain was not that extreme, but she was sure that it would last for a few minutes. She pulled her hands away and eyed them. They were red with a few blisters. "Did I touch the fire?"

"What's up with you? Something bit you?"

Breeze turned to her companion and shook her head. "Nah… I think I accidentally put my hands near the fire," she said nonchalantly. Bartz looked confused and she caught that look. "What is it?"

"Well, that's impossible. You were facing the other way." Breeze gave him a look of annoyance and confusion. "I'm serious," Bartz squeaked. "In fact, I got burned when I put my hands near the fire."

The woman frowned. "Well, whatever. I'm gonna sleep and just in case," she inched a bit away from their source of light and warmth, "I'm gonna do so right here," she said as she patted the ground beneath her. "Good night," she huffed, lying down, her back facing him. Bartz shrugged and decided to ignore it, just like Breeze and continued to gaze into the dancing blaze.

Unbeknownst Bartz, Breeze didn't ignore it. She looked like she did, but deep inside, she was a bit troubled. She gazed at her sore hand. She was sure she didn't come into contact with the flame, but… "There must be an explanation," she told herself, nodding slightly. She closed her eyes, and tried her best to get back to sleep.

"There is always a reasonable, understandable explanation for this… There must be..."


The Empress, Matilda, quietly trudged through the barren land. A full moon shone through the cloudless night sky, shedding light onto the path. She constantly checked for anyone behind her, making sure no one was following her. To her relief one lone figure was present. "Golbez," she acknowledged with a nod. "It was considerate of you to meet me on such short notice."

"I just happen to be free at the moment," he replied. "You timed our meeting perfectly. Gabriella's away."

"Yes. I just wanted to hear any development on your side," she stated.

"Everything's going according to the Goddess' wishes," Golbez calmly said. "Has anything risen from your side?"

Matilda hesitated. "Signs... are showing albeit slowly. I cannot say that they have much more time, but I also cannot say that they would return soon."

"Ah yes… It would be a very hard transition for them, but if it plays out well, then Cosmos' wishes would be granted."

"Very well then, that is all…" Matilda nodded good bye and turned away. A thought crossed her mind, making her stop. She looked over her shoulder, turning slightly toward the warlock. "Is it possible for me to request an audience with the Goddess?" Golbez was silent for a moment, thinking, before nodding.

"I will ask her," he answered. The Empress nodded thanks and continued to walk away.

Matilda ventured back out into the cold, lifeless terrain. Golbez's words echoed in her mind.

"If it plays out well..."


12:25 am. Whoo~! Finished a bit early!