Lily: -Slams her head on the table while sobbing- Zack…Cloud…
Anna: What the hell is up with you?
Lily: -Sniffs- Well, after someone…-Glares at Erika- Lost my old FF: Crisis Core game, I got a new one from my dad and I beat it (again) and the ending was so sad. Zack died!-(Naturally)-And Cloud was all upset and it was just so…so…WHAAAAAA! T_T
Anna: -Face palms- You get way too emotional about games…
Stephanie: Aw, poor Coley. But don't worry, it's just game.
Lily: THAT DOESN'T MAKE UP FOR THE ENDING BE SO SAD! Dammit, and I told myself I wasn't gonna cry…
Daniel: Nicole, sometimes you amaze me. Now shut the hell up about the game-which you can play anytime you want, so there is no point in crying about beating it-and get onto something you've been trying to do lately. –Seems to be in a slightly bad mood-
Conway: I can feel the love in this roo-…! –Suddenly gets attacked by a flying cat but no one seems to really care-
Rosalina: -Sweat drop-… Right…
Erika/Fantasy: Anyway! We would like to thank: FMAGreedsgirl, The Duelist of Dawn, fallen angels sky, FinalFanCrazy12p3, and AmethystDancer21. Thank you all for your reviews!
Everyone: Now let the chapter begin!
Fran closed one eye, and bent her knees. "Haa!" The viera shot an arrow at Ahriman, hitting him in the arm. Ahriman squirmed and floated backwards. He looked at his arm which had Fran's arrow stuck in it until the arrow disappeared into thin air.
"Did it even hurt him?" Penelo questioned.
"Yes, it did. It may not seem like it, but it did." Ashe replied with a nod.
"Swords will not work on him. We must use magick, bows or guns." Fran stated as she aimed another arrow. She did the same as before, closed one eye and bent her knees. Her hands were steady, even when she shot the arrow. But this time she had missed. Ahriman had disappeared into thin air, causing everyone to look around the room with frantic looks. They didn't know where he had gone off to or where he would appear from…
"Over there!" Basch exclaimed, snapping his head towards the west side of the room where Ahriman started to appear slowly.
With quick hands, Balthier pulled out his gun and quickly aimed it at Ahriman, shooting at him. The loud popping sounds caused Nicole to clap her hands over her ears. She was right next to Balthier, and she hadn't realized it would be so loud.
"C'mon, Penelo!" Vaan urged his good friend. Penelo nodded her head and followed Vaan as they both ran towards Ahriman with battle cries. Penelo had stopped half way. Vaan continued to charge at Ahriman with his sword raised high. He slashed multiple times at the ghost figure, missing each time. Did he not listen to Fran?
"Vaan, use magick!" Stephanie spoke.
"There's got to be some way that we can use swords." Vaan said back.
"Sorry, but there isn't." Anna replied, crossing her arms. "NOW START USING MAGICK, DAMMIT! OR I'LL COME OVER THERE AND BEAT YOUR ASS WITH A STICK!"
Vaan rolled his eyes. He gave in, and summoned up a large fire ball, sending it straight towards Ahriman. Ahriman dodged the fire ball by disappearing and reappearing across the other side of the room again.
Fran pulled out an arrow from her quiver and did the same routine over again. This time she kept shooting multiple arrows. One after the other, some hitting, but some were missing from Ahriman flying across the room, teasing the gang.
Fantasy and Nicole attacked Ahriman side by side. Both were using magick. Eventually, Nicole ran out of MP (Or whatever you want to call it) and resorted to using the extra bows and arrows that were stashed for some time now in her bag. "Aw, crap." Nicole cursed as the arrow fell to the ground. Rosalina sweat dropped as she brought down her whip. She watched as Nicole picked up the arrow again, trying to aim it with the bow, but failed miserably and the arrow fell to the ground again. "Okay…fuck." Nicole cursed again.
"You really don't know how to use that, do you?" Rosalina cocked an eyebrow.
"Fran said she would teach me, but she never really got around to doing it." Nicole replied.
"Why don't you try using your Lighting Blast again?" Nicole looked up at Rosalina with a questioning look.
"Don't I need MP for that? I don't have any left." Nicole said.
"Master, your Lighting Blast does not call for MP. That is your own power." Fantasy chimed in.
"Oh…" Nicole taped her chin. "Problem is I don't remember how to do it."
"Thunder!" Vaan shouted from afar. The battle with Ahriman continued on, and Fantasy rushed into battle once again. Even Stephanie had used her power "Earth's Fists", but the vines weren't able to catch Ahriman. All they did was slip right through him.
"Here," Rosalina bent down behind Nicole and placed her arms around her. She grabbed Nicole's arms and placed her hands out in front of her. "Now close your eyes and think deep within yourself. Think about the lighting that lives within you; think about what gives you strength. And when you find that, you should be able to do Lighting Blast." Nicole nodded to every single one of Rosalina's words. She had closed her eyes and began to look deep within herself. Many flashes of her friends and family came passing by, but stopped at one person. The grin was plastered on his face, and Nicole seemed to smile.
Rosalina moved back, not wanting to be caught in Nicole's attack. But something seemed to have confused Rosalina. Nicole began to move her hands around until it looked like she was holding a bow and arrow, but there was nothing there. Suddenly, the room began to heat up, and Nicole's body glowed a red/orange color. Rosalina didn't take her eyes off Nicole. Her mouth was open in a gape, showing her white teeth. A bright red/orange color shone in her teal colored eyes.
In Nicole's hands was fire, but in a shape of a bow and an arrow. And all it was was fire. It didn't even seem to burn her hands, but did seem to be hot since beads of sweat dripped swiftly dripped down her forehead. Nicole snapped her eyes open and shouted: "Fire arrow!" soon releasing the arrow. Ahriman looked over at Nicole, and saw the arrow coming at him in a fast speed. He disappeared and reappeared across the other side of the room again. The arrow continued in its original direction, but something had split apart from it.
Another fire arrow.
This one made its way towards Ahriman, and this time he didn't have enough time to teleport away. The arrow hit Ahriman in the center. He screamed in pain and backed up.
"Is it over?" Erika asked.
"No, not yet!" Fran replied.
Fran was right. Ahriman was still alive and angry. A pulse surrounded him as he began to multiple. There were several Ahriman's in the room now. And no one could tell where the real one was.
"Dammit!" Erika cursed. "Now I remember why I hate this guy!"
"There's too many of them!" Vaan said as he backed up against a wall with three Ahriman's following after him.
"We must not give up!" Ashe exclaimed.
Nicole growled and closed her eyes again. Rosalina jumped up from her spot and placed her hands on Nicole's shoulders. She opened her eyes and stared up at Rosalina, who looked back at Nicole with a stern motherly look.
"Enough. You shouldn't do the same thing twice. You could kill yourself. Using that attack or Lighting Blast takes a lot of energy out of you." Rosalina told Nicole.
"But…" Nicole mumbled. Then she sighed, giving in. Rosalina softly smiled at Nicole and thanked her for listening. "All right, but you're not gonna stop me from summoning Belies." Nicole winked at Rosalina and smiled. Rosalina laughed and rubbed the back of her head.
"Hopefully you'll have enough strength to do so." She said.
"I believe I do." Nicole replied. The fourteen year old stood up from her seat on the ground. She ran towards the center of the room, where two Ahriman's followed after her. She smirked and held out her hands.
The floor beneath her feet began to glow a deep red color. Nicole walked forward a bit, as the ground behind her started to rumble and the ground started to separate. Belies came up from the ground and roared. Nicole turned around and smiled. Belies bent his head down, allowing Nicole to pet his head.
Ahriman and his duplicates didn't just stare in shock. No, they went to attack the powerful esper. Belies thrashed his arms around, hitting some of the duplicates and causing them to disappear. But Ahriman just made more and more.
"Scathe!" Ashe held out her sword, pointing the tip of it at any Ahriman that was near her. Each and every Ahriman was hit with the magick. They all squirmed, and some had disappeared. Ahriman looked over at Ashe, a light glowing around its ghostly body. It shot at Ashe, with a powerful attack. When the attack had hit Ashe, she fell back from the force and slammed into the wall. She slid down, groaning. Basch shouted for Ashe and immediately went to her side. He held the princess in his arms. She was not unconscious, but she was hurt.
"Basch," Ashe whispered.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Basch assured her, nodding.
"I am fine." Ashe interjected as she tried to sit up. But she was only pushed back down by Basch.
"Please, your majesty. You are hurt, rest." Basch told her.
Ashe only wanted to protest. And that's what she did. Basch wouldn't let her get up though.
"I got this!" Penelo announced as a bright light surrounded Penelo's being. She began to gracefully dance around the room, and a strange looking ball came out of each and everyone of the Ahriman's. Other lights seemed to appear as well. And it looked liked they danced around the air, like how Penelo danced around the room. She twirled around one more time, her blonde hair that was held in pig tails hitting her face, the other lights went towards the large ball and into it, causing it to practically explode. Or at least that's what it looked like in everyone's eyes. Penelo had now stopped dancing, and the room seemed to have gone back to normal.
There was only one Ahriman in the room with the gang now. The real one. Ahriman stayed completely still. Everyone began to become anxious. They wanted to know if this was going to be the end of him, or if they we're still going to have to keep on throwing more and more attacks. But luckily, Ahriman spun around in circles as it looked like he began to fade away. The large halo looking thing that once floated above his head fell down onto his neck and he bent his head down. He slowly floated up before completely disappearing once and for all.
"Yes!" Erika and Stephanie chorused as they both jumped up and high-fived each other.
"Thank goodness…" Anna sighed in relief. She dropped to the ground, next to Daniel. Her smile never left her, she was so relieved and happy that the battle with Ahriman was finally over, and now they all could rest.
Penelo smiled at her achievement. Intercession… That was the quickening she had just done. She had practiced and practiced over and over again, and now she had gotten it right. And she was happy. She was also happy that Ahriman was gone, too. She sighed in relief as well.
"Wow, Penelo." Vaan said as he walked over to her. "When did you learn that?" He placed his hands on his hips and looked over Penelo.
Penelo stuck out her tongue. "Maybe you should start paying attention. I've been practicing with Fran and Ashe for a while now." She replied.
"Right…" Vaan mumbled.
"Thanks Belies." The two orphans blinked and looked over at Nicole who was talking to Belies.
"My pleasure, Master." Nicole's brown eyes widened. Was she going insane? Or did she just really…
"Bel-…!" Nicole wasn't able to call out for the esper in time. No, he had now gone back deep inside Nicole, where he slept.
"What's the matter?" Erika asked, raising a brow.
Nicole looked over at the ravened haired girl. "Didn't you just hear that?"
Erika shrugged. "Hear what?"
"Belies. He…" Nicole stopped. Was she the only one who could hear Belies talk to her? Was it because she was his…'Master'? "Uhm…Never mind," Erika shrugged her shoulders again and patted the seat next to her, grinning at Nicole.
As Nicole began to walk over to Erika, she passed by Daniel who grabbed her shoulder and bent down towards her ear. "Don't worry; you're not the only one who can talk to an esper." Then he pushed her forward. Nicole blinked and glanced back at Daniel who was now talking to Rosalina.
"So Daniel can hear Mateus…" Nicole thought.
"All right, like we promised. We shall rest here for the night, and leave early morning. And I do mean early." Balthier spoke up as he crossed his arms.
"It's like a friggen miracle!" Anna cried out in happiness.
"I know we've been traveling for the past few nights without any sleep, but sheesh! I'm not even tired!" Stephanie said aloud.
"That's because you're blonde!" Anna said.
"HEY!" Penelo, Vaan and Stephanie raised their fists in anger.
"I was kidding!"
"Daniel, Vaan and I will set up the tents." Rosalina offered.
"And Stephanie, Fran, Conway, Fantasy and I will go find some fire wood. If there is any…" Anna said.
"I'll make the food!" Penelo smiled.
"Ah, I'll help." Nicole said next.
Everyone agreed with the plans. Rosalina, Vaan and Daniel pulled out the tents from the bags, along with other supplies. Fran, Fantasy, and Conway, Stephanie, and Anna all left the big room, back tracking the way they had come.
When Rosalina had finished setting up a tent, Basch carried Ashe over to it. "Basch, I am fine. I can walk." Ashe stated.
Basch sighed. He knew Ashe was right, but he was still worried about earlier and that she hadn't gotten in sleep in days. But she was strong, and she could take care of herself. But still…
Basch let Ashe down. Ashe thanked Basch for releasing her. Ashe walked a bit forward and looked around. She grabbed her left hand, looking down at it. "Hey, Ashe!" Ashe snapped her head up. She glanced over at Nicole. "Is there anything you want us to add in the soup? Penelo and I would like to know." Ashe glanced one more time at her hand before walking over to Nicole and Penelo.
"How about…" The three girls talked about what to add and what to leave out. Ashe even helped them make the food. Soon enough, the others came back with fire wood. Basch placed the fire wood in the center of the room. He placed moss around it, and used magick to start the fire. Nicole, Ashe and Penelo were now able to actually make the food. The three girls got to work, while everyone else prepared their beds inside the tents.
"So who is sleeping with whom tonight?" Anna question as she poked the fire with a stick.
"I want to sleep with Coley/Master!" The two voices of Erika and Fantasy exclaimed. Immediately, the two glared at each other.
"Stupid little kid! I get to sleep with Coleymae tonight!" Erika growled.
"No! I get to sleep with Master tonight!" Fantasy growled back.
"Actually…" Balthier started. "I was thinking that Nicole and I would be the night guards tonight." He said.
Nicole blinked. "Huh?"
"But we don't really need night gu-." Conway was cut off by multiple hands suddenly covering his mouth. Conway narrowed his eyes at the hands and tried to pull them off while mumbling something.
"Of course you two can be the night guards!" Rosalina said, smiling.
In the background, Erika, Anna, Penelo and Stephanie were pulling Conway further and further away. Erika and Anna smacked Conway in the back of his head, while Penelo and Stephanie talked to him. You could hear Conway shout: "I don't want that guy alone with my sister!" But Erika and Anna only smacked him again. He was soon dragged back over to everyone else.
Nicole sweat dropped. "Don't I get a say in this…?" She thought. She glanced over at Balthier who look amused. "Wonder what's up with him…"
"Well, I say we all should get some rest now." Basch stood up and brushed off his pants while glancing at everyone.
"Yes," Ashe spoke as she also stood up. "We will be heading out early in the morning, so we should get some rest before then."
Everyone agreed, all being tired from traveling the past few nights with no sleep. They said their good nights to each other and walked to their tents, choosing who they wanted to sleep with that night, instead of how they usually did. Nicole slightly waved and bid her friends a good night before sitting back down by the fire and staring into it.
"Nice and quiet now, isn't it?" Balthier arched a brow.
Nicole nodded. "Yeah, it is." She lightly laughed before going back to being silent.
"You know, I really do think you look cute in that outfit." Balthier continued to speak.
Nicole blushed a deep red. She managed to utter a 'thanks', but didn't know what else to say after that. Neither did Balthier.
"This is so awkward. Usually I can talk to him…well, it's usually only a few words." Nicole unconsciously rubbed the back of her head while she laughed again.
Balthier eyes traced over Nicole's face. He realized a few new features he never really remembered seeing before. Her freckles which practically took over her face, but they weren't dark, they were light colored which made it hard to notice. And then there were her eyes, which were a deep colored brown, but he could've swore he saw little speckles of green around them, but they were definitely hard to see. It seemed like you would need a certain lighting to even notice.
Balthier fumbled with something in his left pant leg pocket. It made a small jingling sound as he moved it around with his fingers. He finally stood up, causing Nicole to look up at him curiously.
"I've been meaning to give you something…but hadn't had the right chance until now." Balthier said as he walked over and behind Nicole.
Nicole turned her head to look back at Balthier, but he only grabbed her head and turned it back around until she once again was watching the fire. "Just hold still now…" He grabbed the item out of his pocket and unclipped it.
"What are you doi-…" Nicole wasn't able to finish as she felt something ground around her neck. Balthier told her to keep her head up and not look until he was finished with what he was doing. The light touch of Balthier's fingers on Nicole's skin made her shiver and hoped he would hurry up, otherwise she would faint. And her face was overheating.
"There we are, done." Balthier announced as he stood up from his crouched position.
Nicole blinked and looked down at her collar bone where she felt extra weight. She gasped and picked up the item that was placed around her neck. "Isn't this…that purple sea shell I let you borrow?" She questioned lightly. Balthier nodded and sat back down, across from Nicole.
"That's correct. I made it into a necklace. I didn't know what to exactly do with it, or what you would like. My apologies if it's not to your liking."
Nicole shook her head, smiling. "It's wonderful. Thank you so much, Balthier!"
Balthier smiled back. "Glad that you like it,"
"Like it? I love it!" A faint tint of red could be seen on Nicole's cheeks as she fumbled with the shell. "You know, purple is my favorite color. That's something my mom and I share, our favorite color is purple."
Balthier listened intently as he took a quick swig of whatever was in his drink container. When he finished he wiped off his mouth and placed the container back down next to him. "Are you close to your mother?"
Nicole nodded. "Yeah! Even though my mom lives so far away from me, we are really close. We talk on the phone a lot, joke around and a lot of other things." Nicole smiled. "What about you, Balthier. Were you and your mother close?"
Balthier looked off to another direction, scratching the side of his cheek. "Wouldn't you know? You do know a lot about everyone else and what's going to happen, right?"
"Uh…" Nicole mumbled. "I…I… Actually, never mind. Sorry for asking."
"Nicole…What do you plan to do once you leave this place?" Balthier spoke after moments of silence.
Nicole looked up at Balthier with a puzzled expression. She figured he just wanted to change the subject, but why would he want to ask her this?
"Uhm, you mean after me and the others leave Ivalice?" Balthier nodded. "Well…I hadn't really thought about it." Nicole looked up and tapped her chin. "For thing, I have to start going back to school, and I'll have to proceed with my daily chores and…that's pretty much it."
"What about when you're older. What have you always wanted to be?" Balthier took another swig of his drink, waiting for Nicole's reply.
"Uhm…I never really gave much thought…" Nicole trailed off. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, setting her chin on top of her knees.
"I see…"
"Uh…what about you, Balthier? Are you going to be a sky pirate for the rest of your life?" Nicole questioned the older man.
Balthier hummed and laid back, using his crossed arms as a pillow. "That's what's planned."
Nicole looked over at him. "Really?" She said. "You don't want to like…settle down and have a family or anything?"
"Never really thought about that, but probably not." Balthier replied.
"Oh…I see." Nicole mumbled, mainly to herself. "Uhm…Balthier, is there…anyone that you like?" Even though Nicole was the one asking the question, her face was flushed. She hoped that Balthier wouldn't sit up and notice her red face. Thankfully, he didn't. But Nicole also wasn't able to notice the tint of red on Balthier's cheeks, but that quickly faded.
"Yes, there is, actually." Balthier soon replied.
"Is it Fran?"
"No,"
"Ashe?"
"No again,"
"Penelo?"
"Nope,"
"Stephanie? Anna? Erika? Rosalina?"
"No, no, no, and no."
"Then…then who?" Nicole released her hold of her legs and leaned forward a bit.
Balthier sat up. "That secret stays with me."
"Ah…" Nicole's hopeful eyes slowly disappeared to saddened ones. She leaned back and sighed.
Balthier grinned. "Seems like someone is a little disappointed that they couldn't find out who it was,"
Nicole huffed. "And who would that be, 'cause it's certainly not me." and crossed her arms, stubbornly.
Balthier chuckled. He couldn't help but think that this side of Nicole was cute.
Narrowing her eyes at him, Nicole mentally sighed. "Really, who does he like?"
"Nicole, I think Balthier likes you."
Rosalina's words echoed through Nicole's mind, and rung in her ears. All she could think that there was no possible way Balthier could like her. He was just being nice, right? "Yeah, nice. He MUST be gay…or maybe there was someone who's waiting for him…but that was never mentioned in the game. Wait, did it have to? Ugh!" She took a quick glanced at him. "Dammit…" When Nicole finally caught herself looking at Balthier, she mentally smacked herself. "Stop that! Think about something else, I don't need my face heating up again! And I definitely don't want him to see! Gah! Uhm…Think about…something…like school! Wait…why would I want to think about that hell?"
Nicole quietly sighed to herself. Balthier was being quiet again; she wondered what he could be thinking. Was he thinking about the girl he likes? "Oh, this frustrates me!" Nicole thought as she clenched her fists. "Why can't he tell me who he likes? Maybe he IS gay. Maybe he likes Basch…Or Daniel. Or Conway! No, wait, Balthier would have to be crazy to like my brother." Nicole tapped her finger. "Which reminds me…"
"Ah, which reminds me. Is there anyone that you like, Nicole?"
"Eh…" Nicole blinked. "Uhm...yeah, there is." Nicole replied. "But I'm not telling you who, since you won't tell me who you like!" Nicole soon added.
Balthier chuckled, and Nicole blushed.
(-The Next Morning-)
Nicole covered her mouth as she yawned. The fire was still barely alive, but it really didn't matter anymore. Morning was almost here and she figured that Ashe and the others would be getting up soon, anyways.
Balthier was still sitting in the same spot, chewing on something that looked like a piece of toast. He glanced around the room before standing up. "It's morning," He said.
"You're probably right." Nicole nodded. "I'll go wake them up." She offered. Balthier nodded and watched Nicole make her way towards Erika's and Stephanie's tent first. She opened it up and glanced around inside, before giggling. "Aw, so cute! Fantasy is in the middle of them and they're both hugging onto him. I can use this against Erika…"
"Blackmail, eh? Didn't know you could be cruel to your friend," Balthier grinned.
"She ate my Oreo's a while back and never bought me some to repay, so I get revenge!" Nicole looked very determined as she said this. "Now…" She mumbled to herself as she made her way inside the tent. A moment later, Nicole carried Fantasy out of the tent and gently sat him on the ground. She lightly shook him until he woke, then she gave him a piece of toast and her water container. Fantasy only went along with what Nicole kept telling him as he was still half-asleep. After that, Nicole went back inside the tent and dragged Stephanie out by her shoulders. She put her blonde friend up against the wall Fantasy was sitting up against, and did the same procedure she did to wake Fantasy up. After Stephanie was awake, she went back inside the tent.
Balthier arched a brow. "Now what is she up to…?"
"HEY LOOK! CONWAY'S GETTING EATEN BY THE MANDRAGORAS!"
"WHERE?"
A loud thump was heard from inside the tent, as were a couple of load groans. Nicole once again came out of the tent, rubbing her forehead. "Okay," She said. "That was not supposed to happen."
Balthier grinned. He already knew what happened. When Nicole had yelled out about Conway getting eaten by the Mandragoras, Erika quickly leapt up and bumped heads with Nicole.
Stephanie and Fantasy didn't seem to care so much right now. They were too busy being half-asleep, they both could barely even tell what was going on. So they just quietly ate their bread and looked over at Nicole and Balthier with tired, dull looking eyes.
"Ow, dammit." Erika cursed out loud, following Nicole out of the tent and also rubbing her red forehead. "Now, where's Conway being eaten by the Mandragoras'? And do we have a camera?" The ravened-haired girl glanced over at her beat friend.
"I lied. I did that to get you up." Nicole replied. Erika stared at Nicole in shock. "And this…this will be for eating my Oreo's and never buying me some again!" She smacked Erika upside the head with shoe. Erika had been pushed forward by the powerful blow to the head, she fell face first to the ground.
"What the hell is with all this noise?" Daniel came crawling out of his tent. Vaan poked his head out a moment later, rubbing his tired eyes.
"All right, I can tell someone is looking for a beating." Anna also emerged from her tent, looking as pissed off as ever.
"God~," Erika whined. "Did you have to remember that now, Coley? And since when did you get so strong!" Nicole shrugged, crossing her arms. All she had done was put all her strength into the punch. But she wouldn't tell Erika that.
The tent Anna came out of opened up again, and Penelo came out. "Eh? You're all awake?" She said, yawning.
"Of course they are. And because of them I woke up before I even wanted to." Rosalina spoke next.
"AH!" Nicole, Anna and Penelo backed up.
"Where the hell did you come from?" Anna pointed her finger at Rosalina in question. "You were just in the tent! I swear!"
"I got out shortly after you did," Rosalina replied. She then winked. "Remember, I'm very good at not letting my enemies hearing or seeing me."
"Wha? We're your enemies now?"
"Ah…no, Erika. That's now what I meant…"
"Good morning, Rosalina." Rosalina blinked. She glanced over at Daniel, who stood next to Balthier. He smiled softly at Rosalina when she noticed him.
"Yes," Rosalina smiled back. "Good morning, Daniel."
"Lovers moment," Nicole whispered to Anna and Penelo. Both girls nodded their heads, agreeing with Nicole.
Rosalina twitched. "I heard that…" She said in a deadly tone of voice, causing the three girls to back away, and soon volunteering to go wake Ashe, Basch, Fran, and grabbing Vaan out of the tent. Rosalina smiled at her accomplishment.
Once everyone was awake, they ate bread and drank whatever was left in their drink containers. After that, Vaan put the fire out while the others packed their things. After waking Stephanie and Fantasy up fully, the gang headed out, leaving the room where they had slept for the night.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Anna loudly yawned as she glanced over at Vaan. "So where are we in the cave?" She questioned.
Vaan pulled out his map for the Sochen Cave Palace. "We're right…here." He pointed to a spot. Anna sighed in relief when she saw that they weren't too far away from the exit.
"Kay thanks." She thanked Vaan a moment later.
Vaan nodded and put the map back in his bag.
The gang continued to walk along Sochen Cave Palace. They chattered away at times, except for when they had to fight whatever fiends came after them. They weren't too hard for them though, everyone was growing stronger and stronger. Once they came to a room that looked like a dead end, everyone stopped and looked around. Nicole and Erika showed them the Disused Pedestal, pointing out that this would activate the lift that the pedestal was next to. Erika pushed the button and the lift lit up a bright blue color.
Everyone made their way towards the lift, and once they were all on the lift started to go up. The gang waited for it to stop before getting off on the upper level. Everyone looked around for a moment, before Ashe urged them to follow her while pointed at the large double doors that were at a small end of a hallway. Ashe and Basch ended up being the last ones to walk out and into old Archades.
Balthier stretched, relieved of being free from a damp and musky place after so long.
"Whoa," Vaan sighed. He was perched up on top of some stairs, while Penelo sat at the bottom of them. "Smells less like a capital and more like a sewer." He said.
"Even empires have need of sewers." Balthier replied.
"Yes, but why do we have to keep walking through them?" Erika asked, crossing her arms.
"But you have terrible luck, my friend." Anna retorted.
"The runoff from Archades proper pools here; those who lack papers to live in the city itself," Balthier continued as he walked forward a bit, looking up at Vaan. "The mighty who have fallen, and the fallen who would be mighty. Their eyes never leave Archades."
"I guess it must be a lot nicer than this place." Vaan said.
"Oh, to be sure. Archades reeks of a different filth. Let's be off." Balthier crossed his arms and wait for Vaan and Penelo to get off their seats. "We can follow our noses to Draklor."
"And along the way I say we should stop by venders and make sure we have all we need. It's best to prepare." Rosalina suggested.
Everyone agreed and continued to walk, this time in old Archades. At least they wouldn't have to fight anything here or at least for a little while. The gang gathered supplies from different vendors they passed by.
Vaan had bought a map of Archades, knowing they would probably need in in case they got lost in such a place. They eventually found their way to the gate they would have to enter to get to the city of Archades, but the two Imperial guards wouldn't let them through because they didn't have any credentials, so they sent the gang away by shooing then. Bastards.
The gang stopped not too far away from where the gate was and just sat thinking of what do to.
"Damn! We can take on ancient creatures. Beat the crap out of legions of endangered animals. But when it comes to city guards, we're completely stumped." Erika growled as she pounded the ground with her fists.
"We don't want to be thrown in jail or anything." Penelo said.
"I think we're smarter than that, though…" Erika narrowed her eyes.
"Well, well, well…There's a sight for sore eyes. Didn't think I'd be seeing you again. Not here." A voice said, with footsteps also being heard walking towards the gang.
Everyone turned their heads and looked at the slightly old looking guy (Okay, maybe he's not that old looking…) who leaned against a wall. He grinned a toothy grin and walked towards Balthier.
"Oh wonderful. Enter the streetear." Balthier retorted.
The unknown man laughed. "A pirate would do well to smile. Wouldn't want to sour his
reputation."
Vaan looked back and forth between Balthier and the mystery guy with a puzzled look. "You know this guy?" He whispered to Balthier.
"Of course he does…" Anna muttered, but not loud enough for anyone but Rosalina and Daniel to hear.
Balthier nodded. "An old…friend. He's a streetear—a peddler of rumor and hearsay, by
the name of Jules. He'd bite a Gil given him by his own mother, and shave it by
half to pay for her funeral." Balthier replied.
"Sometimes an ear with tight purse string's the order of the day. Like when a pirate decides he fancies going up in the world." Jules said.
Vaan took a step forward, as he said: "To the city? You know a way?"
"In Archades, knowledge is power. And power has a way of opening doors, boy. Now, a fool will buy a sack of feathers for his pillow, but a wise man… He'll buy the whole stinking cockatrice and get his fill of meat into the bargain. So, wise man, how does 1500 Gil sound?" Jules cocked up an eyebrow.
"1500 Gil?" Erika blinked.
"We have a lot more than that, Erika. So don't worry." Nicole said as patted Erika's back.
Vaan hesitated for a moment, but quickly obliged and handed Jules the 1500 Gil.
"Bright boy. You learn fast. I call this meeting to order. Tell me, boy, heard any rumors in town?" Jules asked.
"OOOOOH!" Erika yelled out, raising her hand. Jules looked over at her, pondering whether or not to associate himself with someone like her. Might be bad news… "I heard something earlier while passing by some people! I heard about a man who picked a bag of coins out of a barrel."
"Bags in barrels, eh…? A boy would do well to bring that morsel to a man named Beasley near here. Tell him what you've heard." Jules quickly said.
"I am not a gu-…" Before Erika could continue, Nicole clamped her hands over her mouth, shutting her up.
"Erika, I think he meant Vaan…" Nicole whispered.
Erika calmed down, but licked Nicole's hand. Nicole shouted 'Ew' and wiped her hand off on a handkerchief that Rosalina handed to her.
"Me?" Vaan pointed to himself.
Jules nodded and crossed his arms. Vaan sighed and told everyone he would be back. Nicole offered to go with him, so the two left to go find a man named 'Beasley' and tell him what they heard.
(-Nicole/Vaan-)
"Uhm…where should we look first?" Nicole asked.
Vaan hummed, looking around. "Let's try this way, and if we end up having trouble finding him, we can ask around." He said.
Nicole nodded and followed Vaan through a small crowd of people. The two walked a ways before stopping by an alleyway and looking around again.
"You know what this guy looks like, right?" Vaan asked Nicole.
"Well, I slightly remember. But when I was at this part in the…uhm…game. I chose the one about the Seeq selling Moggles. And let me tell you, it did not turn out very well…" Nicole trailed off.
Vaan sweat dropped. He very well guessed what she meant by it not going very well. The Moggles probably had went on a rampage. Now that would be scary. …Erika and Moggles…on a rampage together. Vaan shuddered at the thought. Double scary.
"Huh…?" Vaan blinked. He didn't remember seeing Nicole wearing a necklace before. Did she just buy it? "Hey, Nicole. Where'd you get the necklace?"
Nicole glanced down at the sea shell necklace, smiling. "Balthier gave it to me last night. It's pretty, huh?"
"Mm…I suppose." Vaan replied. "Do you like Balthier?"
"Eh…" Nicole blushed. "Why do you think that?"
"Well you two always seem to comfy around each other. And you're always smiling around him and your face even turns red." Nicole didn't say anything, so Vaan sighed. "Forget what I said. Let's keep looking for this guy."
Nicole slowly nodded.
(-The Other's-)
"Sheesh," Anna muttered. "What's taking those two so long to find one guy?" She wasn't in such a great mood. She didn't like waiting around for so long, and Vaan and Nicole were definitely taking a long time to get back.
Suddenly, loud thumping noises-like a couple of people running as quick as they could- was heard. Vaan and Nicole came into view, running towards Jules. Both stopped and took deep breaths. Jules seemed amused by this, although the two were tired from running.
"Sorry it took us a while." Nicole apologized. "It was hard to find him. We had to ask around."
"You told him just as I told you? Good job!" Jules praised the two.
"I'm not sure what any of this has to do with going up in the world." Vaan said.
"Oh? Witness the power of knowledge, m'boy. See? It begins." Jules pointed to a person running up to two other people with a weird expression.
"Ey, 'tis a fight! Beasley's gone wild!" The commoner stated to the other two commoners. Soon the three commoners left to go watch. Other people started to run off in the direction the commoners left towards, and then so did the two Imperial guards.
"Now's our chance! Thanks, Jules." Vaan thanked the older man. Jules only nodded in reply. He watched as the gang ran off towards the gate that was no longer guarded by anyone. Balthier was the only one left.
"Never thought you'd go for such a meager price," He said.
"A pirate should know that words are worth Gil uncountable. Here's some words for you: The prodigal Bunansa son's come back to the Imperial roost, see? Words of much value, these."
Balthier scoffed. "Bah," and then he ran off.
(-The City Of Archades-)
The first thing Vaan did was run ahead of everyone else and gape, looking around the area. Penelo lightly laughed and jogged to catch up with him. "You're gaping like a fish out of water." She stated.
"I'm just checking out the city. Even if it is the Empire." Vaan replied.
Penelo walked up to the rails, leaning against them. The wind blew softly, brushing her hair side ways. She gazed out into the city before sighing. "You've changed, Vaan. You were always marching to your own beat… Almost like you were impatient, even. In a good way." Penelo said in a soft spoken tone.
Vaan closed his eyes. "Maybe it's because I've seen more now. Huh. Never imagined I'd ever come this far away from home."
There was a brief pause between the two. Nicole and the others kept their traps shut, watching the scene. This would be their only chance to see it happen in real life. And they wanted to witness it.
"Hey, Larsa's here in the city, isn't he? He's a tough one. I wonder how he's doing." Vaan continued.
Penelo giggled. "You always were a soft touch, Vaan." She faced Vaan with a smile. "You know what's amazing? I thought I'd go my whole life without…meeting people like the Princess, or Lord Larsa. And here we are in the capital!"
"I know! It's a little over my head sometimes." Vaan slightly chuckled.
Basch walked up behind Vaan and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying: "Good, Vaan. You've come to understand the difficulties of serving royalty."
Vaan looked over his shoulder at Basch. "Hey, I'm just along for the ride."
"That wasn't a complaint, was it, Basch?" Penelo asked.
Basch cleared his throat. "Right. Let's get moving."
"Hey, don't change the subject!" Penelo laughed.
"Right." Basch said again.
The trio laughed together. In the back of the group, Ashe smiled at the three of them.
Lily: All right, done for the day!
Erika: I can see you're finally over your Crisis Core game, eh?
Lily: T.T Did you have to remind me…?
Anna: -Is staring at a picture of a slightly younger Conway on Nicole's window sill- Uh…what's with the picture of Conway, Nicole?
Lily: Huh? Oh, I dunno really. Just felt like putting a picture of him in that frame. –Turns to Conway- See? I can be a good sister! Now don't say I never loved you!
Conway: -Is still being mauled by a cat-
Daniel: Nicole, your cat is eating him alive.
Stephanie: She's not listening…
Lily: NOW! Please leave a review and we'll update soon!
Fantasy/Rosalina: Cya next time!