The jig is up: Snow is Mateus. Bet you weren't expecting that, huh? And now you're probably wondering how the hero of the people became this insane, Balthier-hating Judge, right? ;) Thank you to The Giant Daifuku, Riku Uzumaki and HopelessRomanticist (your reaction was priceless!) for reviewing the previous chapter. :) Extra hugs go to Mu for helping me with this first scene! Sorry that this is a few weeks late; I've been busy with graduation stuff. :D


His chains were cut, forcing Balthier to collapse on all fours to the dusty prison floor. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think clearly, couldn't even bear to try moving his head in order to look at the emotionless face that didn't smile like usual. Had his heart been beating, it would have shattered mid-pulse. Balthier's sides heaved and he vomited green, slimy blood on the floor, but Mateus stood over him like a cold and cruel shadow.

"Are you so surprised?" he asked. "There are no such things as heroes in my world. You helped convince me of that when you fled Cocoon just as it crumbled to dust. This vessel was heartbroken when you were gone, though he and the other l'Cie had nary a memory of you. But his dreams," Mateus sighed, "oh, his dreams were terrible."

Mateus dragged Balthier to his feet, metal hands clutching his throat and scraping against his skin. Blood was drawn, an offering to truth.

"You were always in his dreams, always there, but this poor vessel...well, it was all too much for him to take," Mateus continued. "So he begged for help in finding you, and I had no choice but to accept. He was from Cocoon, after all."

The sky pirate clenched his fists, his eyes burning and wet, and Ragnarok was cursing in Pulsian. 'Lindzei, you're no more a fool than the one you've chosen to inhabit. You, and all the other gods, will perish by my hand! I curse the day you came to Ivalice!' But Balthier could barely hear him, trying his best to stay calm. Ragnarok's voice growled tightly in his ears, 'Ffamran, do not fall for his lies. He means to use you—use us. Do not say a thing, do not let him break you.'

"Why him?" Balthier asked feebly.

The Judge chuckled. Balthier cringed; it was far too perverse to be Snow's boastful laughter. This was all a mad dream. "Had I discovered the pilot, the oerbans or the boy," Mateus spoke, "would you be in this sorry state? Would your meek heart be broken?"

Mateus slammed Balthier against the wall, nearly snapping his neck in two, and kept his icy hand pressed to Balthier's face, chilling the pirate's bones until they felt stiff. Grimacing, Balthier tried to wriggle free from his new found captivity, but Mateus was strong—too strong. He felt weak, languid and lost in the abyss of shattered crystals and melted iron, the blood still dripping from his neck. Everything had gone to pieces, all hope had fled from the mortal plain and hung in the air, laughing and crying all at once.

He couldn't bear to look at Mateus' face, for he longed to see that grin that warmed the hearts of many, including the solid and untouchable heart of Lightning. Mateus must have sensed Balthier's thoughts drift to the woman; he tightened his grip and pressed his face against Balthier's, chuckling deeply.

"You were nothing in the other world, and your existence means nothing in this world as well," Mateus purred, so close and so horrifying. Balthier felt his hair stand on end, fear pulsing through his veins. "A puppet of the gods: that is all you are, Balthier. I will claim your soul and tame your beast. Etro cannot protect you here."

Balthier tried pleading to Ragnarok, but the creature was silent and frozen in the back of his mind as if performing a vigil for the deceased. He pushed against the wall with shivering fingers, his fingernails chipped and cracked from the rough stone, and his nerves screamed out loud, but were mute to the Judge's ears. Another low chuckle rose from Mateus' throat.

"You're lying," Balthier coughed, numb from his decreasing temperature. "Ice wouldn't dare give away his soul, not when he knows I'd kill him if he ever did."

His words were wasted on deaf ears. Mateus flipped Balthier over so they were face-to-face, fierce blue staring into fickle brown. Balthier felt his thoughts rush to the past, imagining the confident smile and determined speech, a young man laughing in the face of death. But that man was no more. He was dead and this monster was in his place.

"I would not lie to your pretty little face," Mateus said. "And do not think I mean to trick you, either, for Ragnarok cannot be tricked. He is proud—but not worthless. You, too, have worth. At least this vessel thought so, once."

Fingers ran down Balthier's bruised cheek, the yellow and violet spots melding into a sickly tone of red. Ragnarok growled and snapped as Mateus leaned closer, but Balthier did not even flinch. Yet it was wrong, all wrong. A relentless blow was dealt to his head and another to his gut, forcing the pirate to splutter and wheeze. Mateus' arms were the only things holding him and preventing him from falling into the deep sleep he desired. But that was not all he desired; he needed to understand.

"He chose this fate," Mateus crooned, lips pressed to Balthier's ear, "and it's high time you chose yours."

Mateus let go and Balthier dropped to the floor, crumpled and huddled up against the cell wall like a frightened dreamhare. He wrapped his arms tightly about himself when he was alone and the door was shut, the cold air nothing but mist, the darkness enclosing him like a loving embrace.


Reading through the text and trying to put all the pieces together made Lightning's eyes sting. The candle in her hand was burning brightly, but it was getting harder and harder to hold it up with her bad arm, and from where she sat the cold wind was drifting from the window and making her shiver. The heavy Pulsian book smelled like the temples on Gran Pulse, filled with cobwebs, dust and grime. The scent, though vile, was comforting. She almost regretted leaving her new home.

She didn't hear the door open, too distracted by the tiny print, though she looked up when Ashe placed a thick blanket over her shoulders. The Empress smiled thinly and sat across from Lightning, igniting another candle with a flick of her fingers, dancing with fire magick.

"How goes your task?" she asked.

"There are so many things I didn't know about the gods of my world..." Lightning traced circles on the page, staring at the crude sketch of Lindzei. "I didn't think Etro, the goddess who brought me here, was a fal'Cie. But now it's starting to make sense."

Ashe cast her gaze downward. "Will you tell me of your goddess?"

At first she was taken aback (Ashe should have despised her for getting so close to Balthier), but Lightning calmed down and read:

Once upon a time, a god ruled the world. He was called Buniberzei. Buniberzei defeated his mother, the goddess Muin, and took control of the world for himself. Muin disappeared into the unseen worldthe invisible world.

Buniberzei was a god with many troubles. The world, it was certain, was destined to die. He believed this was a curse laid on the world by his mother Muin. He knew he had to destroy her. To do this, he had to search for the door. The door to the invisible world where his mother waited.

Using his will alone, he created the first fal'Cie. First, he created the fal'Cie Pulse. The duty he laid on his was to open the world, and search for the door to Muin. Next, he created the fal'Cie Etro. But it was a mistake. Unknowingly, he created her exactly in the image of Muin. Buniberzei feared her, and gave Etro no power of her own. Instead, he created the fal'Cie Lindzei. The duty he laid on him was to protect Buniberzei from all who might seek to destroy him. Buniberzei have Lindzei one special duty: to wake him once the time came. Then he turned to crystal, and fell into an endless sleep.

Pulse wished to expand the world, so he created many fal'Cie and l'Cie. Lindzei wished to protect the world, so he created many fal'Cie and l'Cie. But Etro was powerless and could do nothing of her own. Lonely, she thought of her mother, who she resembled. Etro tore at her body, letting her blood flow to the earth, and disappeared from the visible world. From that blood, torn from her body, sprung humankind. Creatures that were born, only to die.

The destruction of the visible world was no curse, only fate. The world was divided into two halves, the visible and the invisible. If the balance between these two were destroyed, the world itself would be destroyed. The goddess Muin could do nothing to stop this fate. She was being swallowed in the chaos of the invisible world. Just before her last moment, Etro came to her side. Muin told Etro that she must protect the balance of the world, before slipping into chaos forever. But Etro was foolish and didn't know the meaning behind Muin's words.

Etro was lonely, but she felt affection for those humans who live only to die. As they died, she smiled, and gave them chaos. The chaos Etro gave them, the humans named "heart". Their hearts would become their power, but the humans did not yet know this. Soon, they called Pulse the all powerful ruler. Lindzei they named their protector, and Etro...Etro they named "death". The humans lived on the world and held chaos inside them. Because they held chaos so close, the world was once again in balance. And Buniberzei still sleeps. A crystal. Until the end of forever...

"So in our hearts lies chaos," Ashe spoke. "And because of that, the worlds are at peace. Yet why are you here? Ivalice plays no part in your myth."

"The Occuria didn't come in until later, when Ragnarok was created," Lightning answered, shutting the book and blinking the sleep from her eyes. "But I don't know much else, really. Etro prefers to lead me with riddles and puzzles, I guess, judging by what I've heard from her. It sates itself on the life-blood of fated men, paints red the powers' homes with crimson gore. Black become the sun's beams in the summers that follow, weathers all treacherous. Do you still seek to know? And what? That was what she said to me."

"And you think she meant Ragnarok." Ashe leaned forward, prodding the book with a pale finger. "What of the gods in the myth? What of Lindzei?"

Lightning despised that name. "I don't want to think about Lindzei."

"You were so adamant on accusing Mateus of being possessed by that god. Why are you so afraid now?"

"Because—because I know Mateus. He's from my world, Cocoon, and he lost his memory the same way I did: when Balthier vanished. Everything seemed all right after that. I even gave my approval for him to marry my sister. But..." She closed her eyes. "I ran because Ragnarok needed me. I have no idea why Snow would turn to Lindzei for help, when he could have easily asked Etro. What is he after?"

"You said so yourself: Mateus is after Balthier."

"But Snow would never hurt him."

"People do change. Do you find it so hard to understand?" The Empress adjusted her sitting position, tucking her legs beneath her. "Tell me about this Snow. Then perhaps I can judge him for myself."

Demanding, wasn't she? Lightning scowled but quietly answered, "Snow's your average 'hero of the people'. If there was anyone in trouble, he'd be there to save them. He's engaged to my sister, Serah, and helped me and the other l'Cie save our home."

She closed her eyes for a moment, imagining the journey as if it were yesterday. She could see Vanille trying to get everyone to smile and laugh; Fang making a snarky remark about the fal'Cie; Hope contemplating his family issues; Sazh lecturing the younger members of the party about some dangerous fiend; Snow watching the stars and thinking about Serah; and finally Balthier lounging against a tree, watching them all with a smirk on his face.

"He and Balthier were close," Lightning continued. "I remember Snow mentioning how Balthier literally fell from the sky, and that's how they met, but I doubt that's how it really happened. But what would I know; those two had something the rest of us couldn't understand."

"When you lost your memory and could hear the voice of Ragnarok, what did you do?" Ashe asked, but she wasn't expecting an answer. "You sought the help of a goddess. What if Snow did the very same, only unlike yourself and Etro, this Lindzei chose to possess him."

"Snow is not all that bright, but he's not stupid enough to let a god control him."

"You don't know that. As I said, people change when their hearts are conflicted by chaos."

Ashe stood up and departed the room with that final notion, leaving Lightning to her timid thoughts.


When morning came, Lightning was called into the Marquis' office. Her arm was feeling better than before, though it was still a tiring task, and Penelo didn't have to worry over her anymore. Sighing deeply, Lightning pushed the doors open and sauntered into the elegant room, only to smile upon seeing a familiar face.

"Basch," she said. "I thought you were off on some Imperial mission."

"Considering the circumstances," he answered nobly, "I had to make a change of plans. Our time grows short."

Ashe was standing by the window, arms crossed in a tired manner, while Penelo was sitting on the desk, swinging her legs as if nervous. Fran was missing from the group, though Lightning didn't expect her to stay with humes for too long.

"Vayne's gotten a hold of Balthier, and that means he has Ragnarok as well." Lightning paused. "They've told you about Ragnarok, right?"

"Her Majesty told me all she knows."

"Right—well, that makes things a bit easier. Where's Fran?"

Penelo shrugged. "She left last night without saying anything. But my guess is that she's gone after Balthier. They are partners, after all."

"I was going to leave today to get him out of the Empire's hands," Lightning murmured. "But I suppose I should leave that up to Fran. She knows him better than I do. So where does that leave me? Off to follow more riddles?"

"It seems we must part ways," Ashe spoke as she walked to Basch's side. "Fran will rescue Balthier, that is certain, but there is something I must do on my own. The Resistance is more than ready to strike against Vayne once more, and this time we will be victorious."

"So, what then?"

"I must return to Archades. It has been long enough for Vayne to understand that I am not his puppet."

Lightning twirled her fingers around a lock of her hair, studying Ashe carefully. The Empress was hiding something; the distant look in her eyes told more than she wanted. "What about Snow?" Lightning demanded. "He's in Archades, too. If anything, I should go with you and—"

"I must do this alone. You've a task of your own, so our paths will remain separate. If Mateus truly is who you think, then I will do all I can to bring him to you. Until then, follow your goddess, Lightning. She's the only one who can help you now."