Chapter Twenty Five
Dreamscape
Unknown Location
When he opened his eyes Vaan could only see a warm light spilling across a vast white landscape with nothing else. There were no flowers or grass or trees or even the sound of wildlife. There was simply that immense whiteness stretching out as far as he could see. Vaan frowned as he observed the alien landscape. He had seen this place somewhere before, this realm of utter desolation. But where had he seen it? And how did he get here in the first place?
His eyes widened when he suddenly had a vivid memory of the attack at the sacred temple on the holy mountain. He had been stabbed with the Sword of Kings by the Occuria. His friends had seen him...no! Vaan felt panic rising within him as he looked around for help or any other sign of life. There had to be someone else here. Just as the panic and helplessness threatened to swallow him up he felt a warm hand pressing against his back and a sense if calm filtered through his body.
"You shouldn't be here?" a voice murmured sadly behind him. "It's not your time."
"How did I...?" Vaan whispered as that hand gently wrapped around his arm. "I know you don't I?"
"Yes, better than anyone else." The voice answered and Vaan could hear the smile behind those words. "Why are you here?"
"I...I was in a fight." The blond answered. "There was an Occuria and a sword."
"The only weapon in the world that can kill you." The voice finished for him. "Why did you end up here?"
"I didn't stop to think." Vaan muttered. He pressed a hand to his face. "I was so used to winning my battles that I didn't stop to think."
"That's just like you." The man behind him smiled. "Always so reckless and willing to fight for his friends. You haven't changed at all I see."
"Who are you?" Vaan frowned as he turned his body around to get a look at that familiar voice.
His sapphire eyes widened when he took in the appearance of the man behind him. The person in question was a little taller than Vaan but he was thinner and had a gentle look to him. His russet hair was kept neat while his honey eyes held a sadness and age about them. He was wearing rich clothing that looked like they belonged to a noble. Vaan could only stare at the man who looked so much like Balthier. The resemblance was truly striking. A gentle smile appeared on those lush lips and Vaan could only stare back as he was assaulted by many different emotions and thoughts. He knew this man, he knew his name.
"Solaris?" Vaan's voice was small. "I know your face."
"Your memory is still fractured but the pieces are already coming together. You know the truth behind the Shards now." Solaris answered sagely.
"Yes..." Vaan lowered his head. "I know what they really are now. And I know that it doesn't matter if I destroy them using the sword. The Occuria will only make more."
"You may not remember your life yet but you know the true reason for your existence." Solaris walked around the stoic blond. "You have to go back Vaan."
"But if I stay here it can end." Vaan pointed out. "All they need to do is destroy the Shards."
"You know that's not true." Solaris stared at the now silent man. "There's something else that needs to be done now. The true source of the Occuria's power still remains. You know of what I speak."
"The Shards..." Vaan growled as he thought of those accused things. Even now he could feel the life returning to his body via the energies within the stones. "As long as they exist I can never die even with the Sword of Kings."
"And you would still seek to destroy them?" Solaris asked with a small smile.
"I have no other choice. The Occuria can't have this world." Vaan said firmly. Solaris smiled beautifully and he stepped closer to the blond.
"You still sound and act the same as before. Everything about you is still the same." Solaris sounded wistful. "But maybe that is the problem."
For a while neither of them spoke. Solaris only stared at the troubled blond but he offered no words of comfort. Vaan had been brought here to understand what had happened in the past. Frankly he was running out of time and he had a feeling that Vaan knew that. The blond in question glanced away from the Balthier look-a-like as he thought over what he had been told. He knew that when he destroyed the Shards then he would truly die but as long as those stones remained intact the Occuria would always have a foothold into this world. His life didn't matter if he could fix the mistakes he made long ago.
"Solaris...what happened to me?" Vaan stared at the man before him. "I can't stand having these holes in my memory. I need to know what drove me to do what I did back then."
"You know you where once called Messiah, yes?" Solaris asked after a few moments.
"I know that, I saw the proof in the Stilshrine of Miriam." Vaan replied thickly. "I saw those terrible things left behind on the wall."
"That was your basic nature, what you were created for." Solaris explained.
"But how do you fit into any of this? Who are you really?" Vaan implored the dark haired man who now had a look of raw pain on his face.
"I was the original holder of the Shards and as such I mastered to ability to summon the entities trapped within them." Solaris began steadily. "But no human can handle than level of power. A few months after gaining my abilities I..." Solaris broke off suddenly as he took a deep breath. "The power killed me."
"No..." Vaan whispered in horror when a clear image of Solaris lying in his arms came to his mind. He felt so cold and frail in his grasp and blood trickled from between red stained lips. "I gave you the stones."
"You didn't know what would happen to me." Solaris murmured gently. "I never blamed you for that."
"And Basch?" Vaan swallowed harshly. "He carries them now."
"But he has a piece of you right?" the brunet asked. "That piece allows him to truly access the Shards. But after I fell to the power of the stones your attachment to humanity was violently severed."
"Ahhh!" Vaan screamed when he felt white hot pain tear through his body.
"You're being pulled back to the living world." Solaris reached out and grasped Vaan's hand. "Listen to me! Balthier is my descendent, my blood and through that connection he controls your free will. He can still save you!"
"It hurts! Ahhh!" Vaan screamed again. He had never known pain this terrible.
"Vaan, please let Balthier help you when the time comes! When you destroy the Shards remember you're not alone! Raithwall did what he did to save you!" Solaris cried out, desperate to get the message through.
"Raithwall saved me?" Vaan gasped out.
The blond couldn't say anything more when he felt something pull his form through blinding pain and he tried to scream out again. His body was on fire and time seemed to have no meaning anymore in this haze of red agony. Finally after an eternity of this torment he was viciously pulled across the darkness and he opened his mouth and breathed.
Vaan smelled like rich honey, the kind only the richest nobles could afford to buy. He always smelled so sweet even when they first met. Balthier had always liked the exotic scent and he buried his face against those silken blond tresses. He could stay here with this sweet boy, he was fine here and what happened in the temple was all just a nightmare.
The Sky Pirate even hoped that this was a dream, that he was still on his airship alone in his cabin as he thought about the beautiful blond treasure he has grown so attached to. Because none of this could possibly be real. Not the blond staining his leather pants, or the chill of Vaan's body. Even his own tears were fake. He felt hysterical laughter bubbling up with him. All of this just couldn't be real.
Balthier pulled away from Vaan so he could stare at that pale face. Eyes once so bright where closed now, hiding those pretty gems from the pirate's own sight. They had won the fight so why wouldn't Vaan wake up? He looked up only to see Ashe, Fran and Vossler looking so bereft. That wasn't right at all. Only Basch and Llyud looked like they had some hope in their eyes. Vaan wasn't gone, Balthier wouldn't allow that to be true.
Ashe had retrieved the now bloodied Sword of Kings but she was unable to say anything right now. Vossler actually had tears in his eyes while Fran was mumbling a viera prayer for the dead. Why was she doing that? Vaan wasn't dead. The pirate almost jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Balthier..." the voice belonged to Basch. Balthier looked down at the mutated hand that was resting on his shoulder now. "Please let me see him."
"He's not gone." The pirate whispered harshly. "I know he isn't."
"You're right." Basch nodded. He removed his hand then brought out the three Shards. "They told me what to do."
"What are you doing?" Fran stepped forward when Basch placed the ancient stones on the floor around Vaan.
"They've seen how he has changed, how he wants to save Ivalice." Basch answered. Balthier stared down at the pale face of his treasure with desperate hope in his eyes. "And Vaan is connected to the Shards."
"What do you mean?" Ashe frowned.
"As long as the Shards exist so does he." The blond man raised his mutated arm. "We're all connected now."
"Basch..." Vossler sounded uneasy as he watched his companion close his eyes and bring his right hand over Vaan's chest.
Balthier watched in fascination as three streams of light poured out from the Shards and gathered together into Basch's waiting hand. He began murmuring something in a strange language then after a few moments he placed his hand on Vaan's chest over his heart. Golden light was absorbed into the still body and Balthier shivered when he felt the power course through his own hands.
He felt warm and safe somehow and he thought he could hear Vaan's voice calling his name. He never felt anything like it before. Basch pulled his hand away when Vaan began to convulse but Balthier held on as his own heart pounded relentlessly in his chest ready to burst. Those sapphire eyes snapped open and Vaan screamed.
"FUCK THAT HURT!!!" he screamed in agony as he continued to convulse.
"By the gods!" Ashe breathed out in shock and relief. She felt her legs waver as she watched Vaan return to life. He had come back.
"You are so full of wonder." Fran couldn't hide her own happiness and relief.
"Balthier?" Vaan whispered when he stopped moving and those wonderful eyes stared at the face of the pirate.
"I know you weren't gone." He choked out after a while. "I-I knew it."
"Can't get rid of me that easily. Told you that when we first met, right?" Vaan offered a weak smile but that was all Balthier needed. He buried his face against Vaan's warm neck and let out a watery sigh of utter relief.
"I'm fine Balthier, I'm ok." Vaan murmured as he sat up. His heart felt lighter and butterflies danced in his belly at the thought of how affected Balthier was...how much the pirate must actually care for him.
"Thank the gods!" Llyud cried as he wrapped his arms around Vaan's body and hugged him.
"Llyud, you're crushing my ribs." Vaan smiled when the red head pulled back sheepishly.
"Are the rest of you alright?" Vaan asked when he saw their relieved faces.
"Do not worry about us." Fran shook her head. "We are relieved to see you returned to us."
"Was that truly the power of the Shards?" Ashe asked in awe. Vaan frowned at the look in her eye as she said that.
"Yes, but I don't know if Basch has the strength for another spell of that magnitude." The smaller blond stood up with Balthier supporting him. "Is the sword safe?"
"Balthier and Basch killed Bergan after he..." Llyud stopped talking.
"After he killed me first." Vaan finished for him. "I felt it, the life slipping from my body. But then I woke up and I was with Solaris."
"Solaris, you saw him?" Basch asked surprised.
"He told me that Raithwall did what he did to save me." Vaan explained. "But there was something else he told me too." He glanced at a silent Balthier. "He told me to stay with you."
"He did?" the brunet breathed out.
"It was strange...he looked just like you." Vaan ran his fingers gently across a slightly shadowed jaw. "Maybe we're all connected."
"You brought him back." Vossler stood next to a tired Basch. "What power do you possess?"
"It was Shiva, Ifrit and Anima. They told me what to do." The blond man answered then groaned as a headache tire into his skull.
"Dammit..." Vossler hissed when Basch wavered and he slumped against the dark haired man. "Please Basch, get some rest."
"I guess you're right." The other man nodded. "I feel so tired now."
"You are just full of surprises my friend." A voice called to them. Turning around the group saw a slightly battered Al-Cid limp towards them with the help of his assistant.
"Are you alright?" Ashe asked him.
"I will live but we have more pressing matters to discuss, yes?" the man replied. "Those stones of yours, I saw one of them at the Imperial Capital."
"The last Shard is in Arcades." Vaan said.
"Yes, at the Draklor Laboratory. I was in the city on a peaceful mission to talk about the threat of invasion from my country. Needless to say the talks were less than successful." Al-Cid slumped onto the floor. "You are gathering Raithwall's relics and the last one is at the labs."
"Then we make for the city." Ashe said firmly.
"It will not be an easy trek." Vossler spoke up. "We will need to stock up on supplies first."
"Be careful my friends. Even with that resurrection trick Basch has learned the journey will not be easy." The dark haired man warned them.
"We've come this far, we'll see this through." Vaan answered with conviction. "And now I know without a doubt that the stones have to be destroyed."
"No!" it was Balthier to object causing Vaan to stare at him in shock. "They brought you back and Basch said that you're connected to them. What if you die and they are destroyed?"
"Because now I remember what they were created for." Vaan pointed out. "When I came back my memory returned to me about the Shards."
"What did you use them for?" Vossler asked.
"Once fully powered the four stones will send out a shockwave of fire and storms that will wash across the planet surface. Everything in the wave's path will be wiped out and from the ashes the Occuria will build their new empire." Vaan turned back to the ashen faces of the others. "I'm the doomsday weapon they created to mould their new utopia. This is what I was created for."
hi again guys! see i bring you fluff now please put away your knives and ropes :)
sorry this was late but i got dragon age: origins and that game has consumed my life completely. go play it now!!!!
see you guys soon with the next chapter.