Lily: I've been in the mood to write a lot lately. Maybe it's because I love this story so much. :3
Erika: You better! xP
Anna: Now don't you two seem happy today.
Lily: I've been in a good mood all day long!
Erika: Me too! –Smacks Conway with a sludge hammer and smiles-
Conway: Urgh…
Daniel: ...-Backs up-
Rosalina: Uhm…I'll go get the first aid kit.
Stephanie: I'm coming with you! –Both girls leave-
Fantasy: Uh…Uhm…well, we would like to thank: The Duelist of Dawn, Gift of the Goddess, FMAGreedsgirl, FinalFanCrazy12p3, and AmethystDancer21. Thanks everyone. =)
Lily: Please enjoy chapter 37!
(-???-)
His brown hair shined in the sunlight as he looked down upon the city of Archades. People happily chattered away with one another. Joe smugly smirked and clenched his fists. "Rosalina…my dear Rosalina. I'm sure you're waiting for it too. I'll see you in the Feywood, Rosalina."
Joe closed his eyes, before floating away. He re-opened them once he landed at his destination: Draklor Laboratory. He walked inside the almost empty hallways. His footsteps echoed loudly with each step he took. He walked up the many stairs, where he found Dr. Cid seemingly talking to himself.
"Talking to that Venat thing of yours, old man." Joe crossed him arms.
Cid turned around. "Ah, Joe, forget something?" He arched a brow.
"No,"
Cid turned back around. "Still after that young girl, I see."
Joe said nothing in return, making Cid slightly chuckle. Joe rolled his deep brown eyes and scoffed. It's not like Joe was really involved with whatever Cid was doing or planning to do, he just hung around, thinking of when to strike next on the Fantasy Gamers, or more like Rosalina. This was the only place he could actually think.
"What's that? Oh, yes, it seems so." Cid continued to talk the invisible being.
"Hey, old man…"
The gang only had to walk ten steps before Balthier stopped mid-way. Vaan skidded to a halt and turned to Balthier. "What's up?" He asked.
"We go our separate ways here, Vaan. I've some business to attend to. We'll meet again later." Balthier replied. He took once last glance at Vaan before walking down the set of stairs the two stopped by.
"Huh? Hey—" Vaan reached out his hand, but slowly put it back down when Balthier disappeared around a corner. Vaan stared off into a distance before turning towards Nicole and her friends.
"You guys know why he left and where he's going, right?" Vaan asked.
"Yeah, we do. But it's best to just let this all play out—." Daniel started.
"So don't even ask." Anna finished.
Vaan sighed; he knew he wouldn't be able to win against them.
Conway tapped his foot, crossing his arms. He stared off into a distance, as he said: "But I'm sure we can show you which way we need to go." Vaan looked over at Conway, as well did all the others. "We need to go down the stairs Balthier headed down, just…in the opposite direction he headed into."
"So you guys can give us directions, but you can't tell us what's going to happen soon?" Penelo said, tapping her index finger on her chin as if she was pondering over something.
"From what Fantasy told us, yeah." Stephanie nodded.
Fantasy nodded his head, clarifying what Stephanie said was true.
"We don't want to spoil what's going to happen. All the fun would be taking out of everything, now wouldn't it?" Anna simply shrugged as she walked down the stairs. A quiet Nicole followed after the sixteen year old.
Vaan stared after Anna. "What fun are you talking about?"
"Hey, do you guys think if we told Nicole and Conway's dad about all of this…you'd think he would believe us?" Stephanie questioned.
"Why does it have to be our dad?" The two siblings chorused, but were ignored.
Anna laughed, shaking her head. "No way. Not him, no one. They would think we went crazy."
Erika raised a brow. "And that's a bad thing?"
"Shouldn't we just keep this whole thing to ourselves, anyways?" Daniel said.
"Well, I was just thinking. …I don't know how much longer we're gonna be here. And…it's weird, I just…don't know anymore." Stephanie trailed off and looked down to her feet.
"Urgh…" Anna narrowed her eyes. "We…we shouldn't think about this. Let's just continue on with what's important, and that's helping Vaan and all the others."
"Mm…" Stephanie slowly nodded.
"Nicole? Hey, Coley. What's wrong?" The gang turned around. Erika shook Nicole's shoulders with a puzzled look.
Nicole shook her head. "Nothing…It's nothing, Erika."
"Bu-," Erika started, but was interrupted when Nicole brushed Erika's hand off her shoulder and walked past her friends.
"Wow…" Daniel whistled. "I wonder what she's thinking."
"There are a lot of people here in Archades." Penelo said, as she glanced around the large area she and the others were standing in.
"Of course, it's a pretty big city." Anna added.
Vaan looked over his map, with Erika poking her head over his shoulder, trying to take a look at it too. Erika traced her fingers over the map, showing Vaan the direction they needed to go. Vaan nodded his head along, listening to Erika and making his own remarks.
Conway, Daniel and Rosalina sat on top of a railing, talking to each other as they waited for everyone else to start walking again. Conway cracked a lot of jokes, and made Rosalina laugh. But when he tried to flirt with Rosalina, Daniel would smack him upside the head, causing Conway to lose his balance once in a while. Erika ended up getting a lot of entertainment out of that.
Ashe and Basch talked to one another. They were mostly serious conversations about her father, the Dawn Shard and many other things. The two were looking off into a distance, while hanging out by the railing Conway, Rosalina and Daniel sat on.
As for Nicole…Well she seemed to be distracted. Even when Fantasy or Stephanie tried to talk to her, she wouldn't respond. She just seemed to be off in a complete daze. Anna even pushed her, hoping Nicole would come back to her senses. But she didn't. She only continued to stare off into a distance.
"Damn, what the hell is the matter with her?" Anna grumbled, crossing her arms.
"I think I might know why." Stephanie spoke in a hushed tone.
"You know why Master is acting like this?" Fantasy arched a brow.
Stephanie nodded and folded her hands behind her back. "I think…she really did realize her feelings for Balthier, and she might be questioning herself whether he has feelings for her or not. I'm sure she can sense that he does, but she's not so sure yet." Stephanie explained.
"Aw, Coley's in love~." Anna teased.
Fantasy smiled for a moment, before frowning. "Stephanie…you're not done yet, are you." He said.
Stephanie slowly shook her head. A sad expression played across her face as she took a couple steps forward. Anna and Fantasy followed her with their eyes. "No…Fantasy, I'm not done yet. Nicole also realized another thing…Something that's really killing her."
"Huh? What's that?" Anna questioned.
"Nicole…" Stephanie glanced up at the sky. "Can't be with Balthier much longer. The two…are going to part ways soon."
Anna silently gasped, quickly looking over at Nicole.
"I realized this long ago…I shouldn't have let Master get close to him." Fantasy lowered his head, ashamed.
"You couldn't stop it. It was bound to happen, after all. It was…fate." Stephanie closed her eyes halfway and nodded. "Yeah, it was. This was our fate. And Nicole and Balthier…Well, this was…meant to happen."
"Oh…Nicole," Anna whispered to herself.
Stephanie closed her eyes. "Nicole finally realized this, so she's thinking it over. I'm sure of it. I can…feel it."
"Balthier realized this too, a while back." Fantasy narrowed his eyes.
"Those two are really confused, aren't they?" Anna sighed. She plopped down onto the ground and leaned back, using her hands as support to keep her up. Her long, curly hair swished back and forth as she stared up at the sky. Fantasy stared up at the sky, too.
"Yeah, but I suppose that's normal. They don't really know what to do about their feelings for one another. Especially since…Nicole is from the future, and he's from the past." Stephanie re-opened her brown eyes and looked down at her two friends.
"Damn, Steph." Anna laughed. "Since when did you become such a genius on this sort of thing?"
"Watching you and Conway after so many years," Stephanie widely smirked.
Anna's jaw dropped to the ground. Her eyes were wide, and well…she was just in shock. Stephanie covered her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably. Fantasy even chuckled at Anna's response.
Anna blushed like crazy and tried to cover it up by covering her face with her hands. "Sh-shut up! You don't know what you're talking about, Stephanie!!!!" Anna shouted.
By passers glanced at the group, confused looks. Even a couple of children pointed to them, but the children's mothers' pulled them away from the scene, telling them to not go near the three crazy people.
"Oh, I think I do, Anna. You know you get so jealous when Conway is flirting with any woman other than you. And when he does flirt with you, you act mean towards him to cover your embarrassment. I bet your heart beats uncontrollably when you're around him." Stephanie continued on, giggling.
"You're…You're wrong!!!" Anna protested, throwing her hands around in the air like a child. "Now shut up or I'll beat you to a bloody pulp, blondie!!!"
Sweating dropping, Stephanie rubbed the back of her head and nervously laughed. "No need to be so violent, Anna." She said.
"Why would I love someone like that big pervert?!?!" Anna continued. "I'd rather fall for that Ryan guy!!!"
"Eh? So you do like Ryan! Was it when I heard about that fling thing you had with him when you got kidnapped?" Stephanie pushed on, leaning forward a bit while grinning.
Anna blushed even more. "HUH!?!?! I…I was just saying I'd rather fall for him than Conway! I didn't say I did!" Then she looked off in another direction. "All though I've got to admit, he really is hot…"
"Who? Conway or Ryan?"
"Bo-…RYAN!!!!"
Stephanie leaned back and laughed. "Wow, I didn't know I could get you so worked up, Anna! This is so out of character for you."
Anna twitched. "Dammit, Stephanie. You really ARE looking for a beating aren't you?!" The angry woman cracked her knuckles and gave Stephanie a deadly glare. Of course, you couldn't even compare it to Erika's.
Stephanie backed up a little. "I surrender."
"Well…at least Anna has gone back to normal…" Fantasy thought, sweat dropping.
"I'm getting so bored of sitting around! Let's go already!!!" The shout from Erika was heard loud and clear. Stephanie turned her head and looked at the fourteen year old who was gripped a hand full of Vaan's hair, tugging on it.
"Ow! Let go of my hair! Tug on your own!"
"Why would I do that to my beautiful hair?"
"OW!"
Penelo had ended up pulling Erika away from Vaan. Ashe and Basch agreed that it was time to move on, so they did. As they started to walk, Ashe stopped in her tracks and looked back. Nicole was still in her original spot, not moving, not blinking. So Ashe made her way towards her, while the others went on.
"Nicole…?" Ashe spoke, shaking her companions shoulder lightly.
Nicole finally blinked. "Eh…?" She looked over her shoulder at Ashe, who surprisingly looked a tiny bit concerned. "Oh, Ashe. Are we moving on?"
Ashe nodded. "Yes, but I'm starting to become slightly concerned about you. For the past two hours you've been staring off into a distance and it's hard to get a hold of you. This isn't like you."
"Really? I have? Well, sorry. I guess I have been a little distracted, but don't worry I'm fine!" Nicole smiled her usual smile to show Ashe that she was telling the truth. Ashe couldn't believe it though; Nicole's smile looked different from normal. Ashe opened her mouth to speak again, but Nicole quickly spoke before she could. Nicole said she was going to catch up with her friends and told Ashe not to take too long. Nicole began to walk away, and Ashe tried to reach out for her, but quickly put her hand back down and watched as Nicole ran up to her friends.
"Oi! Princ--You! Hurry up or we'll leave ya behind!" Erika shouted, waving her arms in the air.
Ashe glanced down at the ground before jogging to catch up with everyone else.
No one, not Anna, Stephanie, Fantasy or anyone else who noticed Nicole was acting weird said nothing to the brunette, now that she seemed to have gone back to normal. They didn't question her because they were afraid she would go back to her odd state she was once in. No, they just talked to her about normal things, like which way it was to the cab again. They soon found their way there.
"There's the cab!" Fantasy pointed ahead.
"We need a ride from it." Nicole added.
"I'll ask then." Vaan offered. He walked up to the cab attendant, but the cab attendant only shook his head.
"Only those with 9 or more Chops may ride this cab, boy. Nothing personal, I assure you." The cab attendant said.
"A Chop? What's that?" Vaan questioned the cab attendant.
"If you lack a Chop, you pay coin. That's… 1000000 Gil, thank you." The cab attendant said. He didn't seem very fond of answering Vaan's first question.
Penelo looked startled by the amount of money they were told. "What? That's crazy!" She exclaimed.
"Having a spot of trouble, are we?"
A mysterious, yet familiar sounding voice said. Everyone turned around, only to come face to face with Jules himself. It was like he was stalking them! Or was he just running into them by coincidence…? Hm…
"I've a message from Master Balthier. He's waiting in Central. He says to come quickly." Jules continued.
"On this? But we need a…a Chop. What is a Chop, anyway?" Hey, if the cab attendant wouldn't tell Vaan, he was gonna ask Jules.
Jules smirked. "When a boy wants information…that's right… A boy pays. 2500 Gil sound about right."
Vaan, again, seemed hesitant to pay Jules the 2500 Gil, but did so after Rosalina told him it would be best to do so. Vaan paid Jules the Gil and sighed.
Jules, looking satisfied, put the Gil away in his front pocket. "Why, any upstanding citizen of the Empire carries a Chop. It's a mark of status sometimes, a writ of transit others. If you were aiming to go to Central, where the gentry live, I'd think you'd need 9 Chops." He said.
"How do you get them?" Vaan asked.
"Like I've said, the key is knowledge, boy. You do your part here on the street, talk to the right people; you'll earn your Chops in no time."
Vaan crossed his arms, tapping his foot. "That doesn't sound so bad."
Suddenly, Erika stepped in between Jules and Vaan. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Maybe it doesn't sound so bad to you, Vaan, but to me that's work! And I hate doing work!"
Anna rolled her eyes. "You're never going to get anywhere in life, Erika."
"HEY!"
"Oh, people in Archades love doing good deeds. Why, if they're helping you out, it must mean they're superior. Understand, boy?" Jules continued on, ignoring Erika who still protested to the idea, saying she'd rather give the cab attendant the 1000000 Gil.
"Uh… Not sure I do, but I'll give it a try. Thanks, Jules!" Vaan then proceeded to run off to who-knows-where.
"Vaan! Wait!" Penelo chased after him.
Jules chuckled. "A friend of Master Balthier's a friend of mine."
There was a brief pause. Then, Jules coughed. He couldn't shake off this feeling like he was being stared at. A moment later, Fran walked by him, and he stared after her, arching up a brow.
"Hey, Fran. Where are you going?" Fran ignored Erika's question as she continued to walk towards the direction Vaan and Penelo ran off to.
Fantasy walked up next to Nicole and tugged on her sleeve, looking up at her. "Now what do we do, Master?" He asked.
"Uhm…"
"What else? We go help out people around here and earn some Chops, too." Anna replied.
"But…but…that means we have to…" Erika took a big gulp. "…Work!"
"You got that right, shorty." Anna grinned.
"I AM NOT SHORT!!!"
"Yeah, yeah…"
(-Sometime Later…-)
Stephanie and Ashe had ended up staying behind in case if Vaan or any of the others came back and wondered where everyone else was. The others had gone off in their own direction to do whatever jobs were needed to be done so they could help Vaan gather some Chops. Not too much longer, Vaan, Penelo and Fran came back, the two orphans looking quite happy and Fran not seeming to care for anything at the moment.
"It wasn't that bad, huh, Penelo." Vaan said to his fellow friend.
Penelo happily nodded, skipping along next to Vaan.
"Where have the others gone?" Fran spoke, glancing at Stephanie and Ashe.
"They went to collect some Chops, to help you three out. We stayed behind in case you guys came back first and wondered where we or they went." Stephanie replied. Fran nodded and said nothing else.
"So now we just wait." Penelo nodded to herself as she plopped herself onto the ground next to Ashe.
"It shouldn't be too long. They're probably trying to finish up in a fast pace." Stephanie chuckled. "I can imagine it now…"
"VAAN!!!" Vaan flinched. He knew who it was, and Erika did not sound too happy.
As Erika came in view she cracked her knuckles and glared at Vaan. She walked up to him and picked him up by the front of his shirt. "You! You are so dead!! Do you know what STRANGE jobs we were given?!?!? STRANGE JOBS, VAAN! STRANGE! I think I'm scarred for life now!" Vaan was proceeded to be shaken back and forth. "You owe me 1000000 Gil! Now pay up!!!!"
"You're crazy!" Vaan stated.
"STRANGE JOBS, VAAN!!!"
"Erika, cut it out. And before you kill 'im," Nicole emerged from behind a corner. Soon everyone else did as well. Erika growled but released Vaan and started to complain to Nicole about how they did strange jobs. Anna handed the ten chops they earned over to Penelo, sighing.
"Here, this was incase you guys didn't get the nine you needed." She simply explained.
Penelo nodded and smiled. "Thanks, but we did get the nine Chops we needed…"
"Well, in that case. Good job!" Anna praised Penelo.
Penelo laughed.
"Ah, I see you have some Chops, sir. Splendid. To Tsenoble?" The cab attendant spoke, taking the Chops from Basch.
Everyone began to enter the cab, being somewhat squished inside. Fantasy had to shrink himself just to make room for Daniel, who had hit his head on the on the roof of the cab.
Erika snickered. "Pfft. He forgot to bend down."
Daniel shot a nasty glare at her, but said nothing.
Upon arrival, the gang exited the cab and looked around the new area.
"Ah, so pleased you could join me. Jules had a morsel for us: a light airship used by Draklor researchers is just up ahead." Balthier said as he walked up to the gang. "We'll take that and go in through the service entrance. Let's make haste, shall we?"
Vaan nodded. "Yeah, let's go." He said.
Following Balthier and Vaan, the gang left the cab area and ran into a Gate Crystal. They used that before continuing on. They didn't have to walk that far before they saw three Imperial guards running up to another one of their kind. Well, a Judge, really.
The gang hid behind some railings, although most of them couldn't hear anything, Rosalina was able to, so she repeated what they said.
"The complices of the Senate have been quelled, Your Honor. Our forces sustained but light casualties." The Imperial Soldier on the right said.
"You have leave to withdraw. One detachment will remain here to guard Draklor." The Judge replied.
"My lord," The three Imperial's nodded before running off. Vaan and everyone ducked lower, hoping they wouldn't be seen. Once the Imperial Soldiers disappeared around a corner, everyone came out of hiding.
"Do you think they're onto us?" Vaan asked.
Basch crossed his arms. "It would seem not, though this will make our task more difficult still." He said.
"Well, like Balthier said before. Let's make haste." Rosalina stated, passing Vaan, Balthier and Basch.
The gang sighed. They decided to walk back to the cab, and so they did. Along their way Balthier started to talk to Vaan. "Certainly took your time getting here, didn't you. Off seeing the sights, perhaps?"
Vaan turned around. "Not likely. Do you know how long it took to get the Chops to get up here?"
"What's that? But I gave Jules some Chops…" Balthier trailed off and crossed his arms.
Vaan growled. "Jules!" He clenched his fists.
"Tsk, tsk. A squad of Judges has been sent to Draklor. You'll find the service entrance rather a difficult proposition, I'm afraid." The voice of Jules said.
Everyone turned around. Jules walked up to the gang, grinning.
"Your doing, no doubt." Balthier sighed.
Balthier walked past Jules and motioned him to follow. Vaan tried to follow as well, but was held back by Penelo and Nicole.
"You knew how the Ministry of Law would move, so you had Vaan out collecting Chops until the Judges could reinforce Draklor. Of course…Tell me, how much did the Ministry pay for word of the prodigal son?" Balthier whispered.
"The Ministry? Oh, Judges make poor customers, my friend. Too many rules, too many laws. Perhaps you didn't know, Master Balthier, that Draklor is a toy box these days, filled with your lord father's conceits… All developed without the Senate's knowledge, of course. Why, not even the Emperor knew the full extent of Dr. Cid's operations. Now, here's the catch: since Vayne had himself declared dictator, nary a peep has come out of that laboratory. I know people who would sell their own mum for the merest scrap of information about the goings-on inside Draklor." Jules replied staying behind Balthier a few paces.
Fran, Penelo, Vaan and Erika all watched Jules and Balthier from a distance. While the others…well, they just tried not to pay too much attention, although Rosalina couldn't help but hear what they say because of her good hearing.
"People like…Rozarrian Sympathizers worried about the Empire's weapons programs, and anyone else who might be opposed to House Solidor hegemony. So, we create a disturbance, and you get your wind fall of dirt on Draklor." Balthier continued.
"And in exchange for your service, I've spoken to a cabbie. When he asks where you want to go, tell him: "You know where to go." Simple, no?" Jules grinned.
Balthier grinned back. "Ah, a deal, brokered in true Archades fashion. Why, it's just like old times, Jules. Brings a tear to my eye."
As Balthier walked back towards his friends, Jules crossed his arms and glanced after him. "Good to be back, eh? My regards to your lord father, Master Ffamran…er, rather, Master "Balthier." Anon, anon."
Walking back to the cab, the gang was now able to go where they wished, thanks to Jules. Vaan said the 'You know where to go' to the cab attendant, who took notice of the words. The cab attendant arched a brow, but said no more as he let Nicole and the others enter the cab. Once again, they were squished.
"So, this Jules…is he some old friend of yours, Balthier? You two seemed…close." Vaan-who was squished between Balthier and Basch-said.
"Close enough for fisticuffs…" Balthier then looked over at the cab driver. "Driver! Faster, if you please. I would loathe to expend any of the violence of my present mood on my companions."
The cab driver looked startled. "S-Sir? Yes, sir!" And so, the ride was sped up.
The cab finally parked at the docking area at Draklor Laboratory. Everyone piled out of the cab one by one. "Where to?" Vaan questioned Balthier.
"Come. This way." Balthier said as he ran off inside.
(-Inside Draklor Laboratory-)
"It's too quiet…" Basch spoke, looking around the new area.
"Passing strange. There are supposed to be guards here." Balthier mumbled.
"Maybe we're just lucky, huh?" Vaan said.
Balthier looked over at Vaan. "Maybe you're just optimistic."
There was a brief pause between everyone.
"Something may be afoot. We proceed with caution." Rosalina said.
"No time for caution. Step to it! Cid's chambers are on the top level." Balthier replied, frowning.
"Uh, guys, we'll help you out in here. It's kind of hard to get used to at first, but with us you won't have to worry!" Conway grinned, pointing to himself, then to his friends.
"That would be great." Basch nodded to each of the Fantasy Gamers.
"All right, this way." Daniel motioned for everyone to follow them.
After walking down a couple of halls, the gang ended up running into a few dead bodies lying on the ground.
"Horrible…" Fran said.
"Oh…" Penelo frowned.
"Just a minute!" Rosalina said as she made her way to one of the bodies, or almost body. This one still had a little life left in him, and he looked startled when Rosalina approached him.
"Y-You…are with him…?!" The Imperial weakly exclaimed, before passing away.
"C'mon, Rosalina." Erika tugged on Rosalina's arm.
Rosalina looked back at Erika, nodding.
The gang continued to pass by many dead bodies, and many Imperial's that were still alive, but didn't seem like they could hold onto life much longer. Blood stained their armor, and even the floor around them. Penelo clung onto Vaan's arm and pushed her face into his shoulder. She didn't really want to see all these corpses, and almost dead Imperials.
"He-help me…" One of the Imperial's who leaned up against the wall tried to reach out for Nicole, but his hand quickly landed back down on his lap as the life inside of him slowly faded away.
"…"
Erika walked up to her best friend and put a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" She asked with concern.
Nicole nodded, but stayed silent. Erika hugged onto Nicole, walking with her. They soon arrived at an elevator, thanks to the help of the Fantasy Gamers.
"So what level do we go to? 68?" Vaan asked.
"No, you may be tempted to go up to Level 68. Tempted, but do not give in to the temptation! Not that it will really do anything if you do, but waste your time." Anna replied.
"So 67,"
Anna nodded.
Entering the elevator, the gang kept quiet as they waited to stop at their floor. When they did, they exited the elevator and waited for Daniel or Conway to tell them which way to go.
"Do…don't think…you'll get away with this!" Another Imperial said from across the room.
"Left. We need to go left." Conway said. He didn't even take one look at the dying Imperial. He knew he didn't need to…
"So left it is," Balthier stated, mostly to himself. "The room we'll be going into is called C.D.B."
They continued their way to the east, ignoring any Imperial's that tried to talk to them. One: There was nothing they could do, and two: Some of them even had a bit of strength left to try to kill them. So, by Erika's assumption, they were bastards, and she didn't care for them, even if seeing all the blood shed made her a bit upset…
They came to a door, and behind that door was the room called C.D.B. The room they were looking for. Upon entering the room, Balthier made his way towards the desk with scattered papers.
"He's had visitors. Ones lacking manners, by the look of it." Fran said, noticing the room was completely messy and dirty. Papers scattered across the floor, some of the furniture was turned over on its side.
"It's not messy, it's comfy." Erika said aloud.
"That's because your room looks like this." Nicole rolled her eyes.
"Exactly!"
"Someone after the Nethicite?" Vaan asked.
"The Jagd Difohr was it? Six years, and ever since you got back, this… What madness found you there?" Balthier lightly whispered to himself. "Mm…" He stopped and looked at one thing on the desk. It was a card key.
"Up! Above us!" Everyone gasped, turning around to face the close door where they could hear a voice of an Imperial Solider shouting. "Drop bulkheads five and eight! Be to it!"
"They found us!" Vaan exclaimed to Fran.
"His earlier visitors, more like. We should lie low for now." Fran replied.
Balthier grabbed the card key. "No, we'll use their confusion. We need to find Cid. Now." He said, leaving the room.
"Follow me! I know what to do, I remember this!" Nicole quickly said, running out of the room and past Balthier. Everyone jogged after her and followed her into a room where there were a whole bunch of controls. "We need to open the Blue Bulkheads in this room." She said as she began to pull levers and type whatever the hell she was typing.
"I'll help," Rosalina offered. The two got to work with what they were doing, and soon the blue in the room turned to red.
"All right, the Blue Bulkheads have opened, and the red ones have closed." Rosalina confirmed.
"Was that it?" Penelo questioned.
Nicole shook her head. "No, follow me."
With the help of Nicole and Rosalina, the gang was able to figure out the Bulkheads on level 68. Of course, they all had to fight any of the Imperial Soldiers that tried to get in their way, but after facing many dangerous creatures before this, they weren't so hard. Eventually, the two girls finished with the Bulkheads, and the gang made their way to level 70. As Basch finished exiting the elevator, he stopped and snapped his head around, just in time to block an attack.
"Basch!" Multiple worried voices called out for him.
"Look! Basch made a new friend." Erika pointed out.
The man continued to attack Basch. Basch was able to dodge every attack, soon they had a stare down, but the man quickly withdrew. "Ah, my apologies. You bear not the stench of Cid's lackies." The man said.
"And you are…our earlier visitor." Basch also said.
"Yes, a valuable man, one I'd sooner not lose. Yet he knows too much." A voice said.
The bald man growled, snapping his attention to the stairs where the voice had come from. With a fast speed, the bald man charged towards the stairways going up. The gang proceeded to the room where the bald man had gone into.
"Cid! You know Deifacted Nethicite brought down the Leviathan! How can you persist in this folly?" The bald man growled, glaring at Cid who was perched on top of a platform.
"That is right - kneel before Zod!" Erika laughed out loud. She ended up earning a glare from Anna. "What? Oh, I mean, Cid!" Erika corrected herself. Anna only continued to glare at her, though. "WHAT?!?!" Erika then pointed her finger in the air, shouting 'Wait a minute!'. "HOLY CRAP! THEY'RE TWINS! I hope Balthier don't look like that old ugly thang there when he gets 60 or so."
"I'm fifty-eight, thank you very much." Cid replied
"DAMN, EVEN WORSE!!!"
Anna stared at Erika with a disbelieving look. "HOW IS THAT WORSE?!?!"
"Cid, you're going down!" The bald man growled again.
Cid laughed at him. "And you've come here to stop me? I'd fain see you try."
"Consider your bones, old man. You're outmatched." Balthier spoke, emerging from the stairs.
Cid looked over at Balthier and scoffed. "Pirate scum of the skies. What brings you here?"
"Treasure. What else would a pirate want? We'll take the Dusk Shard." Balthier replied, holding out his hand to clarify his point.
Cid widely grinned. "Heh! You've come all this way for that trinket? I thought you above this." Cid stopped for a moment, slightly turning his head. "Hm? What's that?" He talked to no one. "Ah…" He turned back, looking at Ashe. "The Princess of Dalmasca come to visit? Mm. She's not entirely without merit. A test of sorts for our princess? Ah!"
"You're a babbling fool." Ashe retorted.
Cid didn't seem affected by her words. No, he just continued on rambling away and raising his hands in the air, loudly saying: "A trial for Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca!" Cid lowered his arms. "You lust for the Stone's power, do you not?"
Ashe looked off to the side, sighing in anger. Cid grinned.
"Lend him not your ears, m'lady. He means to use you." The bald man narrowed his eyes at Ashe.
A strange, but powerful aura surrounded Cid. He jumped off the platform and onto the ground, landing in front of the bald man. Rooks begun to circle around Cid, and he raised his head, laughing like the maniac he was. A bright light floods the room, causing everyone to shut their eyes. Once the light faded, everyone looked back at Cid who now wielded two mach guns.
Fran stepped forward. "Manufacted Nethicite! Like Bergan."
Balthier growled at Cid. "How could you do this? How could you fall this far?" He angrily questioned.
Cid said nothing, but only aimed his mach guns at Balthier, shooting. Balthier ducked and rolled to the side, pulling out his gun and shooting at Cid.
"You're going down, Cid!" Erika proclaimed as she stood in her fighting positions before charging at Cid. Her punches did well, but she was soon blown back by one of the rooks.
"Hi-ya!" Anna whacked one of the rooks with her staff. "Penelo-," Anna attacked another rook. "And I-FIRE-will take care of these things. You guys go get Ci-WHAAAA!!!!"
"Anna!" Penelo shouted.
Anna was thrown back by a rook that snuck up behind her. She landed on the stairs and started to tumble down them, until she landed at the bottom. Daniel pulled out his gun and shot at the rook who had thrown her, killing it.
"Bastards," He growled.
"Always hiding behind your toys. Pity if anything were to happen to them." Balthier said. Cid looked angry that Daniel had destroyed one of his rooks, but he knew he still had three rooks left. And he was determined not to lose.
With all their might, the gang-along with the bald man- attacked Cid and his rooks. Cid had ordered the rooks to attack Daniel. Daniel knelt down on one knee and aimed his gun at the incoming rooks. An icy aura surrounded his being. The room went ice cold, and the gun Daniel once had was covered in ice. A large popping sound was heard as Daniel pulled the trigger. After the light had faded, the rooks were seen covered in ice, and they fell to the ground, shattering into tiny little pieces. The room went back to its normal temperature. "That was for my sister." Daniel stated.
Cid growled angrily. He was pissed that Daniel had destroyed his rooks in one shot. But he was also surprised by the power Daniel had used. Cid had never seen something like that before.
"Oh yeah!" Conway grinned. "I can definitely feel the power inside me now! Aha!" He raised his sword into the air, a strong wind came from out of no where, and surrounded Conway's sword. He swung his sword around a couple of times before pointing it at Cid, and charged with an amazing speed. He was fast. Fast like the wind, and that might have just been his swords doing. "You're going down!" Conway shouted as he slashed at Cid.
Cid raised his arm for protection, and groaned in pain when Conway cut into him. Conway jumped back and stood in his battle position. Cid gripped his bloody arm, stepping backwards. The fight continued on, everyone gave it their all. Cid was definitely a powerful opponent. Using what they learned, the Fantasy Gamers fought side by side, helping Vaan and the others eventually weaken Cid.
Cid growled and darted his eyes around the room. He didn't know what to exactly do, they were too powerful for him to handle. And if he didn't figure out something soon, who knows what would become of him. They would probably show him now mercy, and then… Cid shook his head of those thoughts, and then an idea formed in his mind. He started to back up.
"There's no running!" Erika exclaimed, running forward a bit.
"Actually," Cid started. "I'm not running. Just looking for a hostage." Erika gave Cid a puzzled looked, but gasped when she saw him grab the nearest person, and that person just happened to be Nicole.
"Nicole/Master!" Everyone gasped.
Cid ran back across the room, then stopped and held one of his macho guns up to Nicole's head. "Put down your weapons, or the girl gets it." He threatened.
"Wh-what the hell?" Nicole squirmed in Cid's grasp. She was utterly confused. Everything happened so fast, she didn't understand what the hell was going on.
"Put her down. Now." The angry voice of Balthier spoke. He suddenly appeared next to Cid, aiming his own gun at Cid's head. Cid turned around, to where Nicole was then in front of Balthier's gun. Balthier eyes widened, and he lowered his gun.
Cid grinned. "Hm, does this person mean so much that you won't even try to shoot me through her?"
Balthier narrowed his eyes. "That's none of your business."
"Then…" Cid put his finger on the trigger. "You won't care if I shoot her in the head right now?"
"Stop, Cid!" Balthier exclaimed. "You will not harm her!"
"This is…fucked up. You're…you're screwed up in the head, Cid!" Nicole screeched.
Cid laughed. "You're one amusing little girl. Tell me, what is your name?"
"Screw you!"
Cid laughed again.
"Cid, leave her alone." Balthier said again.
"PUT MY SISTER DOWN THIS INSTANT!!!!" Conway yelled. Conway began to charge at Cid again, the same powerful wind from before was back, but before he could do anything he was caught by Rosalina's whip. She pulled Conway back and told him to shut up and let Balthier handle it.
Cid continued to laugh, but his laugh was cut short. His pupils became small, and blood trickled down the side of his mouth. He dropped his guns, and released Nicole as he fell to his knees. Nicole ran up to Balthier, who grabbed her in a quick embrace.
"Are you alright?" Balthier questioned.
Nicole nodded. "Yeah…"
"That's enough." The voice of Fran stated. The viera lowered her bow and walked back towards the other, passing by Cid who had one of Fran's arrow stuck in his back.
"Thi-this is not over." Cid tried to stand up.
The bald man once again charged at Cid, jumping up in the air with a battle cry. But he was deflected by Cid's shield barrier. The bald man miraculously landed on his feet as one of his sword fell on the floor.
"Venat, you shouldn't have." Cid said, standing up with ease. The arrow disappeared into thin air as a ghastly creature suddenly appeared behind Cid's body.
"This creature… So this is your Venat?" Balthier spoke, pushing Nicole behind him.
Cid slightly shakes his head as the ghastly creature behind his body vanishes.
"Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca! Just how far will you go for power? Does your lust for Nethicite consume you?" Cid said.
"…" Ashe lowered her head.
Cid nodded to himself. "Am I right? I am, aren't I. A worthy daughter of the Dynast-King! You would do well to go to Giruvegan. Who knows? You may receive a new Stone for your trouble."
Suddenly, the hover drone appeared at the scene and as Cid approaches it, Ashe is finally able to find her voice.
"Your words mean nothing to me!" Ashe shouted.
"The reins of History back in the hands of Man."
Ashe and Balthier glance at Cid.
"I too make for Giruvegan. Give chase, if you dare it!" Cid boarded the hover drone and the hover drone flies away, leaving everyone behind.
"Hate it when he does that." Balthier said after a moment of silence.
"Mayhaps you think me remiss! The Lady Ashe of Dalmasca?" Everyone turned their heads towards the bald man who approached their group. "The sky pirate Reddas, at your employ."
While Reddas introduced himself, Daniel walked up to Conway and patted him on the back. "I'm impressed. That was pretty cool, Conway." He said
Conway blinked. "Hm? What? I'm sorry - were you saying something? I was, uh, distracted."
Daniel arched a brow. What was Conway distracted by? Fran. He was staring right at her chest. Daniel sighed, face-palmed and shook his head. "Idiot,"
Lily: Okay! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Although I think I might re-do the fighting scene with Cid......
Erika: What? Why, you already wrote it!
Lily: Well, I dunno...depends.
Erika: -Blinks-
Conway: So now I get to do my Wind Sword?!?!
Daniel: And I finally got to do my Ice gun?
Anna: AND I GOT THROWN DOWN THE STAIRS?!?!?!
Rosalina: A very interesting chapter, indeed.
Fantasy: Haha, well please leave a review, everyone!
Everyone: Cya next chapter!