Final Fantasy XII: A Traveler in a Strange World
Part Twelve
They headed north from Nalbina. In the back of the group Penelo and Vaan whispered back and forth, occasionally giggling. Finally Penelo pushed Vaan forward, into Ivalice's back, and when they straightened, Vaan had her belt pouch in his hands. Ivalice glared at him and he smiled unrepentantly as Penelo snatched it out of his grasp and began working it open. At Balthier's look she shrugged. "Always wondered what she was carrying so close all these years.
Ivalice sighed. "Just a few forget-me-nots."
Penelo pulled out two round stones, one glowing orange and the other glowing red. "What're these?" she asked.
Balthier grew concerned. "Those aren't . . ."
Ivalice shook her head. "They aren't nethicite. They're closer to spherical magicite, but the term is wildly inaccurate. I got them from a woman who had just become a Traveler. Actually, I duplicated them. The red is of no use right now, but if you hand me the wristband with the plate on it, I can show you what the other does."
Vaan did so and everyone watched as Ivalice wrapped the band around her wrist, the square plate on it having several glowing stones set in a pattern. She took the orange stone and inserted it into the plate. It seemed to shrink until it was another stone in the pattern.
Ivalice took a deep breath and concentrated and they watched her clothing transform around her to a strange linen and lace outfit. A small rod-like object appeared and she grasped it out of the air and then struck a pose. "Ta Da!"
Balthier whistled. "Does it do anything else?"
Ivalice grinned. "It's best use is in front of a crowd. It's called Songstress and it's a Dressphere. While it's active I can sing and dance to grant bonuses to my allies or inflict ailments on my enemies. The sphere also contains the memories of a powerful songstress, Lenne, who loved a man so much that her love survived their deaths." She transformed back and unwrapped the band, looking at it a moment. "I've got a few other dresspheres here, but most of my accumulated toys are in storage."
Fran looked curious. "How did Lenne and her lover die?"
Ivalice sighed sorrowfully. "There was a war and Lenne had other abilities. She was ordered to the front lines. It was a death sentence, but she didn't mind so much, dying for her country even if they couldn't win. Her lover though, refused to accept her death. He never stopped trying to save her. They were killed when he tried to steal one of the enemy's weapons to use against them. A thousand years later their spirits were reunited and could finally rest together."
Basch looked at her. "What does the red stone do?"
She looked at him. "Summons Leviathan, the sea serpent."
Everyone was surprised. Ashe looked at the stone. "But the Leviathan . . ."
"I know, was an airship. At least to you guys. To me, in other places, Leviathan, Ifrit, Shiva, Odin, Alexander, they were like the Espers, and I summoned them." There was silence as she reclaimed her belt pouch and put the treasures back in it. She put the pouch back on her belt and bowed to Ashe. "With your leave, Majesty, we need to continue our journey."
Ashe nodded and the group began walking again.
---
Through the Mosphoran Highwastes. Through the Salikawood. Down to the Phon Coast and into the Hunters camp there. Vaan and Penelo ran to the shore to laugh and to play in the water. Ivalice watched Balthier and Ashe speak, and Balthier opened up to the young Queen, coming very close to demonstrating a preference, but not quite.
She stood with Basch, his arms around her waist, watching Vaan and Penelo play with joyful abandon. "Looks like they're having fun." She told him.
Basch nodded. "They do, at that."
"No moment is ever the same twice, you know that? All the worlds I've seen and no two were ever the same. I changed, even if nothing else did. In a way, I'm almost glad that Wolf Eyes threw me in that cave. The cave brought me to Larsa, and I wouldn't give up knowing my Nii-chan for anything. And, in a way, the cave brought me to you."
He sighed and rested his chin on her head. "I understand, I think."
She took a deep breath as the sound of a seal breaking rang through their minds. "It's started."
"What?"
"The final seals. I just got my Hearing back."
"Hearing?"
She nodded. "Every Traveler has a unique sound, a signature that floats around them. Other Travelers can hear that sound. Some can Hear well enough to tell who it is. I can even distinguish the unique sound of an individual potential Traveler." Her voice faded as she looked over at him, her eyes going wide.
"What is it, Ivalice?"
She swallowed and blinked a couple of times. "You have Traveler potential." Her voice was hushed and surprised. "I should have known, I suppose. The Mother wouldn't put me in the path of someone I couldn't keep."
Basch struggled to put his thoughts into some sort of order. "When you say 'potential', what do you mean?"
"It means that you have the ability to become a Traveler. It's a gift that tends to follow bloodlines. More people have the potential than ever become Travelers, either because of a lack of need or an inability to cope with the worldview alteration. Sometimes it awakens on its own, most often during the tumultuous adolescent years, but any Traveler can awaken the potential in anyone who has it." She paused. "It's an invitation to a very complicated life."
He nodded and squeezed her closer to him. "I can see that." He was silent for a time. "I choose to let it be for now. We have enough . . . complications in our lives at this time. When you powers are unsealed and you are well, when Dalmasca is restored and this war averted, then I will consider allowing you to awaken this gift."
She nodded and then leaned her head against his shoulder. "I do love you, Basch."
He sighed and rocked her gently in his arms. "I know."
---
A voice called out to them as they were about to leave the hunter's camp for the northern Phon Coast and, beyond it, the Tchita Uplands and the Sochen Cave Palace below Archades. "Ivalice!"
Ivalice turned and smiled to see Mirari running up to them, her arms full with a haversack whose top kept threatening to open. "Hey, Mirari, what did you find out?"
She reached them and stopped, pausing to catch her breath. "You remember how Clark convinced you that Sephiroth wasn't your fault?"
Ivalice's eyes went round. "How did you know about Nii-dono?"
"Never mind that. I tracked him down. Remember what he showed you?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes."
"That was Seven. This is Twelve."
Ivalice paled. "But that means . . ."
"I know. I'm so sorry. But at least you'll have to do it and not Larsa. Still, as Star Wars as this particular variation is, you can still hope Gabranth pulls a Vader and does the deed for you, if you guys don't kill him first. I wasn't actually able to play through and find out."
"It's okay. We'll find out when the time comes. What have you got there?"
Mirari pushed the haversack into Ivalice's arms. It was awkwardly full of weapons, wrist cuffs, and glowing round stones. "I took your name to Cloud. Yuffie opened her personal collection to me when I reassured her that they'd all still be there when I got done. Vincent sent a few of his own guns. He said something about you being the daughter he'd wished he'd had. I grabbed as many of the material as I could, most of the summons, some of the support like Sneak Attack, Final Attack, a bunch of Alls, Double Slash, Mug. I'm not sure what all I got, I just duplicated everything that looked useful. You'll have to sort through it. Oh, and W-Item is in there. Since you can't dupe stuff on your own yet, I thought it'd come in handy."
Ivalice was in shock. "You didn't have to . . ."
Mirari shrugged. "I know. But you know how I am about sisters. Mother jokes that she should have named me Sorority, but she didn't want me acting too much like my father. Which reminds me, Clark is worried about you and Mr. and Mrs. Kent are nigh frantic. You've been gone a whole week when you said it was only going to be a couple of days and your mother, in particular, was screeching about how they're under enough stress with Clark and his disappearing act last summer, not to mention the Vegas incident that happened while you were gone. People are starting to ask questions and Lex has been by no less than three times looking for you. Were you stupid enough to let him know about you? You know what he's going to become."
"Better he knows about me than he knows about Clark." Ivalice didn't quite snap at Mirari, but she wasn't very patient. Mirari seemed to take it in stride. "I spun a fairy story about Travelers saving orphan children of dying worlds and blessing them with abnormal luck. Goodness knows your mother has probably done it before. I also dangled a carrot. If he can prove willing to die rather than use my secret for his gain, then I'd help him become the kind of man that Clark could trust. He could do such good . . ."
"Still trying to redeem them?"
"I have to. It's part of who I am. Lys was the same way."
"I never understood her, either. In any event, the Kents want you to come home as soon as you can and finish your senior year. Going on to college is your own choice, but they want you to do that much, at least."
Ivalice nodded slowly. "Alright. When things here get to a resolution and I'm unsealed, I'll return to Smallville and I'll make sure it's in no more than a week from when you were there. Thank goodness time between worlds is malleable." Ivalice paused. "Thank you, Ree, for everything."
Mirari smiled. "Lemme know when the wedding is and I'll make sure Lys is here for it, too. Take care of yourself, Mel." Ivalice nodded and Mirari disappeared.
Ivalice arranged the haversack on her shoulders and turned to the rest of the group. "Are we ready to go? It's still a ways to Archades."
---
Ivalice . . . Basch was worried.
I'm all right, Beloved. Just a bit stunned. Yuffie hoards materia. To open her collection like that . . . And Vincent . . . Emotions ran through her in torrents too swift and deep to identify.
What of this brother? This Clark?
Clark is Clark. In his way, he's more important than I am. Like Larsa. I chose to be his sister because I knew that I could trust him. I would not have to redeem him. And I knew that his life would be easier with someone strange like me nearby.
Why? Who is he that you would ease his life?
Not a Traveler, but not like everyone else. One day he will be Superman. Even thinking the word carried images of greatness, bigger than Kings, more powerful than Emperors, and more humble than a child. In short, he is what Vayne seeks to become, but will never achieve. Vayne is just a man, and can only be what he is. A man's fundamental nature cannot be changed. Clark is not just a man. He never was and can never be just a man. He is Superman and he has all the responsibilities and all the burdens that come with that.
And if he were to follow Vayne's path?
Ivalice shuddered. That's why I ran. I saw it happen in a nightmare. Clark doesn't want to be the conqueror that he has the power to be. He just doesn't know yet what his other options are.
And you can tell him.
Yes. Because I know who Superman is and will be. I know that he has nothing to fear from his destiny. And I know what it's like to be different. Years of baggage were carried in that thought.
A voice broke in on the mental conversation. "Ivalice?" It was Penelo.
"Yes?" She looked at her friend, who had a puzzled expression on her face. "What is it?"
"What did your friend mean by 'Star Wars'?"
Ivalice grinned. "It's a world, sort of. I can show you guys, if we have a spare afternoon. My illusion skills should be up to it."
"What do you mean, 'show' us?" Balthier was curious.
Ivalice grinned bigger. "It's a story about a boy from a desert," she started ticking off points on her fingers, "rescuing a princess who's leading a rebellion against an Empire personified by a power hungry 'Emperor' and a . . . lieutenant in ominous armor and a helmet who is ruthless to a fault. Anyway, the boy and the princess are aided by a Knight of a fallen Republic who has been missing for a while and a rogue with a flying vessel and a non-human partner. There's a skycity centered around mining, whose leader is trying to maintain independence from the Empire and ends up working with the rebellion anyways. We haven't seen the juggernaut of a military vessel yet, but it's probably in the works."
Ashe's eyes were round and wide. She looked at their surroundings for a moment. They hadn't yet left the hunter's camp, but it was very close. "You can show us this story?"
Ivalice nodded. "Yes. Easily. With a little practice I could probably recite all three of the movies, but nothing beats the visual effect of seeing the battles."
Ashe nodded. "How long would this take?"
Ivalice shrugged. "Four and a half, six hours for Episodes Four, Five, and Six. The first three were about Vader's slide into evil and, while visually breathtaking, aren't as linked to us in anything other than some of those visual elements."
Ashe came to a decision. "I want to see these stories. We need to hurry, but I believe this is something we must make time to accomplish."
Ivalice nodded. "You find a spot and I'll set up the screen. Anyone want a snack?"
---
Hours later the final movie drew to a close with the celebration on Endor and the destruction of the second Death Star. There was stunned silence in the group. Finally Vaan spoke up. "So that Death Star . . ."
Ivalice shrugged. "If I had to guess, given the naming patterns for everything else, I'd say it'd be called the Bahamut. I haven't seen anything about it yet, but we'll probably run into the plans for it in Draklor Laboratory, if we don't see it being built with our own eyes. That is, provided that the parallels keep going. I'm not like Destiny, I can't actually see the future as it develops, but I am very good with patterns and parallels. The Bahamut will either be draconically shaped, kinda like the Alexander actually looked like the Alexander that I saw in another world, or it'll be round like the Death Star, though I kinda doubt that your world will draw the parallels quite that strongly. After all, none of the more identifiable lines have been used yet, and I was waiting for Ghis to tell Ondore, 'I have altered the deal, pray I do not alter it any further'." She burst out laughing.
"You have an unusual sense of the humorous." Balthier didn't quite frown.
Ivalice sobered, but still smiled. "I have to laugh or I'd cry. It's a side effect of seeing so many stories play out around me. Some of the simplest things will set me off because I've seen them somewhere else and my mind makes the connection between parallels. Like Lady Ashe asking you to kidnap her. The whole 'rogue kidnapping a willing princess' has happened before and it always ends up more complicated than initially intended. His name was Zidane and hers was Garnet, though they called her Dagger, and she fell in love with him and him with her until the day he had to order her to leave him behind to rescue their enemy while she escaped to safety. Zidane had a noble streak a mile wide. I see connections to him in Vaan and in you, mostly the charm for you. Zidane certainly did like the ladies."
Ashe nodded. "Well, now we know what to keep our eyes open for. You will tell me if any more parallels appear that could help us know what is developing?"
Ivalice nodded back. "Yes, Majesty." They began standing again and gathering their things together. They still had a long way to go and a short time to get there.
