Chapter 28 - Into the Darkness

"Grrrrrraurr."

Before they had gone thirty paces, a Blade Biter stood before them, growling an eyeing them warily. But it made no move to fight. They kept walking, Tucker and Molly leading, looking around at their surroundings, and the Blade Biter slowly stalked them from behind.

It looked like a bad scene from a horror movie. Broken outdoor equipment, such as jars and crates, lay in front of the crumbling houses, with the occasional remains of a skeleton strewed about here and there, and a fine layer of mist coated the ground, enshrouding their feet. The fact that a light rain still fell didn't help to improve the atmosphere of malice.

A Lamia approached from the remains of a tavern. "Ssss. Interesssting. It'sss almossst asss if you sssaught the cccity out."

Yinns glanced at the snake-woman. "We did, kupo."

Another voice, female as well, this time from the right. "Do you have business with Clan Loki?" They looked, and a Viera Red Mage sat against a pile of crates. She didn't look up at them when she spoke-- she kept her head in a tired position, eyes closed, not even attempting to stand. Her hat was pulled down so they couldn't see her eyes. Other than that she looked like any normal Viera.

Tucker answered her. "We're mainly looking for a friend. He's a Bangaa Defender."

"No," Elliot corrected. "Gladiator." Tucker looked questioningly at the Bangaa briefly, then trusted his assessment.

"Deeper into the city," the Viera told them, still not moving the slightest bit except for her lips as she spoke the words. "You mean Alastor, I'm assuming."

"Kupopo, yes! Alastor!" Molly exclaimed, relieved. "Please! Can you come with us so we can meet your clan?"

"I am not with Clan Loki. I merely live here." There were several surprised, though silent, reactions from Clan Indigo, amazed and a little horrified that someone would actually want to live in the lawless Jagds. "I cannot come with you, either. My legs and eyes have not worked for sixty-four years."

"Kupo... Sixty-four... H-How do you get food?" Yinns uneasily asked, flabbergasted, as were his fellow clanners.

"It is brought to me each night. Brought by the residents of Ahli. Or... I am brought to it."

"R-Residents? ...Kupo... I'm sorry, I didn't know people lived here besides rouge clans..."

"You haven't been to the Jagds before, have you?" Another voice. Nu Mou. They alertly turned to see a Beastmaster come out from behind a building, several visible scars on his face, and a left arm that looked kinda like hamburger, though at least it was still intact. He was wearing a grey pancho, pioneer hat and loose pants with a black sash as a belt, and a fiddle was strapped to his back with leather straps. Tucker shuddered... The Nu Mou didn't seem bothered at ALL by his chewed-up arm. He had seen similar abnormalities in his world, on the news and such, but never in person.

As he made his appearance, several of the other members of Clan Indigo turned to see others arrive from concealment. A human Soldier, clothed in a beat-up karate gi, bandana and an Onion Sword in a scabbard in his sash belt, appeared from the open doorway of a halfway rotted-away house, eyeing the visitors carefully. A pale, female Blue Mage, wearing a torn, revealing dress top and short, blue, just-as-torn gown came from a staircase behind the party, an Aqua Saber strapped to her side. She looked like some kind of foreign princess, besides the fact that her clothes were beaten up. A young-looking Tonberry jumped and landed from the top of the destroyed tavern the Lamia had come from, gazing curiously at these newcomers, trying to figure out who they could possibly be.

None of them had expressions of hostility in their faces. 'Weary' would've been a better word to describe them. Even so, the whole clan was a little unnerved by the sudden company. "Uh, hi, kupo," Yinns meekly greeted them with a friendly wave.

"Hey there, friends," the Soldier greeted them back in a partially gravelly tone, saluting with two fingers. Yinns felt a little better as he said the word 'friends'. "What brings you guys to the lost city?"

The crippled Viera answered for them. "They're looking for Alastor. With Clan Loki." Her voice was flat and very sad sounding whenever she spoke.

"I see." The soldier came down some stone steps and sat down on them, facing the party. "You guys from Baguba? That's the closest city from here..."

Tucker answered. "Yeah, we are. My name's Tucker, what's yours?"

"Oh, heh heh, sorry about that. Call me Sain. And that Blue Mage girl is Lelia." Lelia waved and smiled, taking a seat on a flat rock close to the party. The Tonberry paced up to Yinns and offered to shake his hand. Yinns hesitated, but did so, and as he did so he felt much better about being in the Jagds. These folks were not dangerous to them. The Blade Biter came from behind and gave April a friendly nuzzle from behind, which surprised her but she pet its head, and it sighed in satisfaction.

"You wayfarers may call me Domo," the Nu Mou told them.

"And I am Heather," said the crippled Red Mage. "The serpent girl's name is Jaelyn, and the young Tonberry is known as Cue."

Clan Indigo introduced themselves to the Jagd dwellers, one by one.

"I'm Molly," Molly said, the last one to tell them her name. She had fully gotten over her uneasiness of the Jagds around these people. "Nice to meet you, kupo. You guys seem nice."

Sain spoke. "Just as nice as any typical Ivalice citizen. I bet you assumed everyone in the Jagds was a criminal, didn'cha? Fear was written all over your faces. Glad to see you feel safer now."

"Yeah, kupo," Yinns explained, "we've never been to the Jagds before, as Domo pointed out... I only heard some pretty bad stories about them, kupo." April nodded in agreement with her leader, and Theodore was quiet as usual. "So, kupo... Are you guys the only residents of Ahli besides Clan Loki?"

"There are others," replied Heather in her usual grey tone. "Ahli is not a small city. The only thing that differs is the sense of death in the air, caused by the Miasma that turned Ahli from a metropolis to a poisonous cesspool, and finally to the skeletal remains of a city. The communities of Ahli are small and far apart. However, it is, at the least, fortunate enough for us to share the same city."

"So it was the Miasma," April decided, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Domo sat on a dusty barrel. "Several of us who live here now are descendents of those who lived here while Ahli was a metropolis. It was an apocalyptic day in Ivalice history for a large population... Few survived, and several of those who did were physically and emotionally ravaged by the poisonous Miasma."

Heather gave a rusty sigh. "He is correct. ...I was a moon old."

Molly turned to her and gave a sad kupo. "So that's why your legs and eyes don't work anymore? That's... awful..."

"You are right, it is awful. But we manage." She paused, then turned her head up a little to face the group, though there was still a shadow over her eyes from her Red Mage hat. "Meeting you was a pleasure. Must you be off, or will you consider spending a night in our company?"

Tucker looked up at the sky. It was quite dark, though it had stopped raining. "I wouldn't mind spending a night here, as long as we're not in any danger... It's up to Yinns."

Yinns turned to the clan. "Vote, kupo?"

"Go for it," April decided. "We've been riding all day, and I'm tired... I could use some food, too." In reality she was very curious as to what they ate here in the Jagds.

"I suppose we can stay here for a night," Theodore agreed. He turned to Heather, whom everyone assumed by now was the leader of their little tribe. "Would you like me to start a fire?"

Sain chuckled. "Give it a shot, but you won't be able to keep it burning for long. The air is tainted."

Lelia had come down from the stone steps and approached them. She spoke in a peculiar accent that the others couldn't quite place their finger on. "You may all stay at my house, where it is warm. It will be better than staying outside. You are not used to the freezing nights of Ahli, and I can keep a fire lit with my Blue Magic."

Yinns smiled. "Thanks for your hospitality, kupo." And he meant it.


Through the curtain, a female human in a dark suit that covered almost her whole body entered the broken, empty, one-room house in the south Jagds. Two Kikuichimonji swords hung on either side of her belt.

"Hmm. Back sooner than expected, I see," a Nu Mou in a green komono said to her, sitting at a round wooden table with a large chunk missing out of it, counting a small stack of Gil by candlelight. He didn't turn his head as he spoke, though he knew it was Rose.

"Yeah, I found something our new kid may find interesting. Alastor, you awake yet?"

An armored, helmeted Bangaa, lying down on a foamy padding on the floor as a bed, raised a hand without getting up. "Yeah, all here." If not for his movement, one would think he'd have been asleep.

"You said your old clan leader was a Moogle Gadgeteer in a Judo suit, right?"

"Yep... But I'm done with him now. He crosssed the line one too many timess." Alastor sighed deeply, as if on vaccation. In his eyes he was, and it was a permenant one. This clan was just right for him; the pamphlet at that one Pub in Baguba describing Clan Loki said it was a clan for the rebellious, for those who have betrayed or hurt those they were once loyal to and wanted new fellowship. Indeed he had done just that; slain Elliot, stolen from Yinns, destroyed the house of Clan Indigo... and he had no reason to be sorry. Clan Loki would forgive him in a heartbeat. Yinns never would. He was no longer Alastor's problem, though.

"Did he have with him a Bishop, Black Mage, Time Mage, Sniper and a Thief?"

"No. He had two Black Magess and no Thief. One of them wass conssidering becoming a Time Mage though... Wait a ssecond..." He climbed to his feet and turned to face the Ninja lass.

"I think it's your clan. The Gadgeteer had said their clan name was Clan Indigo."

Alastor sighed again, this time out of peevishness. "Well, for one thing Rosse, they're not my clan anymore... But how did they find me here? I never told a ssoul, I sswear it! I even changed classsess for crying out loud!"

"It's not hard to track someone who just sold a caravan full of Mythril, the way rumors get around."

"Dammit!!" Alastor picked up his Ebon Blade, an extremely powerful, shimmering onyx Blade which he had bought with some of his Mythril money, as he stood up. "They're looking for me... They want revenge... Rosse, you guyss will protect me, won't you??"

"Well we're not doing all the work, if that's what you mean... But if they have a bone to pick with one of our members, they're up against our whole clan as far as I care." Rose turned to the Nu Mou, who had stopped counting the Gil by now and was standing up. "Lars, where are the other clanmates? There's six in the opposing group; we'll need at least equal numbers if they're taking the fight to headquarters."

"Hmm. Roc, Jazelle and Hera are in East Residence, Elker and the monsters are on dispatch and should be coming back, and Nack is sleeping upstairs." He pulled out a purple, cross-shaped mace, a Life Crosier, from under the table and jabbed the ceiling, creating a loud thumping noise. Following was another thump of a small character falling out of bed and a series of angry kupos, as a brown-fur Moogle dressed in a dark blue-violet jester outfit trudged down the wooden, creaky stairs of the house.

"This better be good, kupo..." he said grogily.

Rose briefed him. "Alastor's clan has come for revenge. We need everyone active if they bring the fight to HQ."

"What if they don't?"

"Then we'll just leave them be, I suppose. They looked pretty well-equipped, and I don't wanna risk losing a clanner in a lawless engagement if we can avoid it, least of all Alastor."

The Bangaa's throat went dry. "Couldn't we ssneak-attack them? You are a ninja..."

"There's six of them. It's not that simple. We may be able to take one or two of them out with our four, but we're outnumbered until Roc and his friends get back from the East Residence." Her expression went grave. "I... could try to snipe them with Metal Veil from the shadows until they run out of Eye Drops... They don't have a White Mage with them, just a Bishop. But if they catch me either way I'm done for."

Nack drew a Tiptaptwo from a pocket inside his jester jacket. "I'm going to the East Residence to get Roc and the girls, kupo. I doubt the intruders know the fastest way, so we'll be back before they find you unless something holds me up."

"Will do," Rose confirmed in approval. "Watch yourself."

"Always do." And he vanished through the exit curtain.


"This isn't a Chocobo Egg... What is it?" April asked, holding the large, egg-shaped sphere carefully. It was a deep, ocean blue with a cyan cloud of color on one side, striped outward covering parts of the egg with lighter blue stripes. Clan Indigo, along with Lelia and Heather (who had been carried inside) sat around a blue fire inside Lelia's destroyed remains of a home, holding their blue, spherical meals in front of them...

"It's a Lamia's Egg," Lelia told them. "Jae lays them for us so we can live. Each of us live off only one a day, but you may have more if you desperately need them."

April stared at the egg, a little stunned. "Goodness, I've never had a Lamia Egg before... Nice that you get an infinite supply of these, though."

"Yes... The Miasma running through Jae's veins allows her to lay many eggs a day, and they are all very healthy."

Yinns stammered at that revealing news... "What the... Are you saying these Lamia Eggs have Miasma in them?"

"Yes. Purified Miasma."

Awed silence.

"Try it and see," Lelia said with a warm smile. "Jae absorbs all the evil energy of the Miasma because she is a Lamia, leaving only the sweetness behind."

"Umm... How do you... eat it?" April wondered.

Lelia showed them, by slicing a slit in the egg with one fluid motion of her wrist. Her fingernails were apparently like knives, and the sound made by the sliced egg startled everyone. She then lifted the egg to her lips and carefully drank the sweet, blue, watery substance inside from the slit.

April made a face... "Um... And you're sure this is safe to eat? Drink? Whatever?"

Lelia just smiled. But it was an inviting smile, not mischevous or sinister. So April trusted her, slit her egg with her own long fingernails, and drank.

"How is it?" Tucker asked.

April gulped more of the Lamia Egg nectar down, and finally lowered the egg, smiling happily... "It's... lovely... Try it, guys! It's very sweet and filling."

Each of the clanners and Lelia had a Lamia Egg that they ate/drank in a similar fashion. Once half of the blue syrup was gone, it was simply a matter of cutting the entire shell open and removing the super thick, blue yolk, which could be eaten like a fruit and had a much stronger taste. The remains could be drank like soup, using the eggshell as a bowl.

Heather couldn't hold her egg to consume hers; her arms worked, but they were frail, and she'd most likely drop the egg on the hard floor. So Lelia held it for her, and she drank when Lelia lifted it to her lips for her. Many Clan Indigo members felt bad for Heather... but at the same time, they felt a powerful respect for the Ahli Tribe... Someone like Heather could really weigh them down, but everyone here looked out for each-other so passionately. "It's wonderful, as always, Lelia," Heather told her in her usual sad, grey tone. "Thank you."

The Lamia Eggs brought so much comfort to the Ahli Tribe... It must have more meaning to them then they thought, Yinns and a few others decided.

Tucker spoke next. "Wow," he said between swallows, "you guys eat one of these every day? You're lucky. We don't get these from where I come from."

Lelia frowned sadly. "You wouldn't say that if you lived in Ahli all your life. It has little to offer."

"Oh..." Tucker was afraid he might've hit a nerve. "Couldn't you and the others just go somewhere else? To Baguba, for example?"

"We tried once..." Lelia sat down in front of the blue flame and sighed. "Remember, Tucker, those here are the descendents of the victims of Ahli's Fall. The poison from the Miasma was passed to us from our parents..." She hesitated.

"Hey... I'm sorry," Tucker apologized. "I didn't know it was a sensitive subject."

"You deserve to know," she continued. "Anyway, Miasma runs through our blood, a part of us... Thus, if we leave behind the tainted air in this city for long, we die. It is the only air we can breathe." She took a deep swallow of the azure substance before breathing and continuing. "We are poisoned, Tucker... No different from the zombies and vampires of Ivalice, except that unlike them we can die. ...Not all of us here are like that... Domo and some of the East Residents have come here of their own will to live among us, having been either married to one of us or of their preferred lifestyle. But it is a struggle to get by each day."

"Why didn't the Miasma kill you?" Theodore asked, intrigued, as he took another sip of his Egg.

"I would say probably because we only inherited some of the attributes of the Miasma. The full effects are fatal. ...That was the fate of my parents and grandparents, victims of Ahli's Fall. They died over 10 long years of horrible pain and suffering."

"Man... that's harsh," said Tucker, feeling uncomfortable with himself. These people's entire world was this ruined metropolis, and happiness was a distant memory for them. Furthermore there wasn't a lot he could do to help them. He felt inferior. "Say, uh... Is there anything we can do to help you guys? Anything at all? ...I don't know how much help we can be, but I feel awful for you guys."

Yinns raised an eyebrow at Tucker's comment, not terribly hoping to get any more involved with the Jagd lands than he had to.

"There's not much you can do," Lelia told him. There was a pause. "However, just your presence is uplifting to me and the Jagd residents. Any contact with the outside world is a blessing, and you are all, of course, welcome here no matter what. It is a dangerous place, shrouded by an air of death, but you are welcome nonetheless."

Yinns spoke next. "So, what's the dangerous part of the city anyway, kupo? So far all we've encountered is you and the other Residents, and you guys seem friendly enough, kupo." He drank more of the Egg's precious juices, and wiped his mouth.

"Jagd Ahli has more to it than meets the eye," Lelia explained, her voice quieting down. "You and me are right now in the North Residence. You have met all of us. Go south, and you will meet the South Residence and some of the others. The path there is home to horrible creatures, such as the Masterberry, Vampire, Zombie and Ahriman. Rarely do we Jagd residents travel to our neighbors without Domo the Beastmaster to protect us from them with his music. No Judge will protect you in battle, so if they beat you, you die."

Yinns didn't say a word. This sounded tough even for him. Tucker was almost scared stiff... Even normal Tonberries in other Final Fantasy games he had played were advanced opponents, with their slow approach ending in what he called the doink of doom; one knife stab sent you to hell. As for Vampires, he didn't have to be a gamer to know how horribly dangerous those guys were, judging from the stories he had heard and read while he was younger...

Lelia continued. "The South Residence community is larger than those you've met among us, by a few members, but they are our friends and are sure to treat you with the same love we have showed you, if you get that far. Stray off the main road, though, and even more danger awaits. The southwest corner of Ahli is the territory of Lodion the Dark Duke, and his small clan of followers. They attack anyone who approaches their turf."

Molly and Tucker were the only ones who hadn't heard of the infamous Dark Duke Lodion before. A time ago, every Kingmoon, a clan would go hunting for the wanted Illusionist, either coming back empty-handed or never coming back at all. In time, people learned he was not worth the effort, and the legendary Dark Duke stuck around to rule over one corner of Jagd Ahli. Yinns wouldn't be stupid enough to make the mistake of stirring up that beehive.

"To the east lies the East Residence, which are almost identical to us; they have a Beastmaster like us, so we occasionally visit each-other bearing gifts. They will not give you grief. The northwest and southeast corners of Ahli are home to Clan Shadow and Clan Loki respectively, but it is rare I get a chance to meet them. They are violent, though honorable, living and dying by the code of war and engagement. Neither clan has ever attacked any Jagd residents, but they have freely attacked and killed plenty of outsiders who have a fight to pick with them, nor are they afraid to die themselves."

Yinns's blood ran cold. Was this Alastor? He didn't want to believe Alastor would kill him if he had the chance... Worse, he was probably under a bad influence from the members of Clan Loki... Yinns saw his chances of reasoning with his former clanmate slimming before they even met face-to-face. Definitely not a positive sign.

Molly, too, was concerned, and very worried about the fate of Alastor. She didn't want him to wind up dead from all of this, but things were looking bleak... Too many people had died recently, or had otherwise been removed from her life, such as Clivia... Elliot was with them now, but after they got Alastor back, or failed, he would be gone, and this was Alastor's fault... All she wanted anymore, she decided, was to hear from him he was sorry. Any clue at all that let her know Alastor had not become the kind of person she thought he was now.

She looked over at Elliot, the only member of the clan who was not eating. He had a faraway expression on his face, as if he were contemplating serious philosophical questions. He had been like this ever since they started the trip, and had been very quiet on top of that...

Without speaking a word, Molly got up and left the room, going into the small back room to finish her meal alone.

"Oh..." said a concerned Lelia, "...Did I upset her?"

"I don't think it's you," Tucker told her. "I could try to talk to her, I suppose..."

Yinns. "Maybe it's better if we just let her be, kupo. She'll come out when she's feeling better."

Lelia closed her eyes and sighed. "Ahli can be very emotionally scarring for someone who has not been to such a place. ...I'm deeply sorry."

They soon finished their exotic eggs, and Lelia pulled out some padded foam mats from under some crates to use as beds. She offered them some blankets as well, but the clan had brought plenty of their own. Yinns offered one to Lelia. "You can use this, kupo. Those don't look very warm."

Lelia was a little stunned. "Oh, wow... Thank you, Yinns... If you're sure it's alright..."

"Of course it is," he confirmed. "We have a spare, and you look like you need it, kupo." Lelia smiled gratefully, lying down and pulling the blanket around her. The blanket was soft and thick, drawing the bearer into a world of warmth and security...

"It's been a long time since I've been this cozy," she quietly said, moved by the kindness of these clanners. Yinns didn't fully hear her... He was lying in his own bed (if you could even call it a bed), falling asleep pretty fast... He didn't know why he felt so tired...

Molly had still not come out of the back room. Tucker decided he needed to intervene, got up and headed back there. He lightly knocked on the wooden slab that served as a door.

"Molly, you alright?"

All he got in response was a soft kupo. So he opened the door slowly to check on her. There Molly was, lying on the wooden ground on her side, in a room only twice as big as a portable bathroom from Tucker's world. She wasn't passed out or anything... she looked asleep.

Tucker sat down next to the furry body of the Moogle lass. "You okay, Molly?"

No response at first, but the Moogle eventually gave another soft kupo and replied "...Yeah..."

Tucker laid a hand on her head, gently stroking the fur on her head. "You had us worried, Molly... You wanna talk about it?"

"...Oh..." she started to say, "Yeah, it's just... ...this place was a little upsetting... ...kupo..." She sounded very tired. To Tucker's surprise, he was starting to feel the same way, as if he were moving through chest-deep molasses.

"I know how it is," Tucker offered. "Don't worry about Alastor. We'll get him back."

Molly then wearily moved her hands up to Tucker's shoulders, and pulled herself up, without opening her eyes. Tucker wondered what she was doing, but the weight of the Moogle pushed him to the ground, laying down face-up. Molly fell asleep on top of Tucker, her arms wrapped around him. He couldn't get up. He didn't have the energy.

So Tucker gave up and fell asleep, with one hand rested on Molly.

The others, feeling just as unnaturally tired as Tucker, all fell asleep very fast. The only one who didn't sleep was Elliot. As he had not eaten an egg, he was not subject to its hypnotic potency. The Bangaa stood up, using his Snake Staff as support.

"Ssorry, Yinnsss and Tucker... Thiss iss my battle," he whispered.