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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 5 - Maidens of the Sea

Part 5.4 - Into the Unknown

As the fifth day of the mission wore on, the two ships entered the Mordic Sea without any fanfare. All aboard both ships knew of the horror stories surrounding this place, and none of them had expected such a lackluster entrance. Half of the combined crews had expected to be forbidden entrance altogether by monstrous gales or nightmarish creatures from the black heart of this sea. The waters were at peace, as if there had never been so much as a whisper of life or death in these waters. The clear blue water mirrored the clear blue sky, both the image of tranquillity. On the Maiden, Dune peered out to sea, his instincts telling him that something was not right here. An old habit that he had long since stopped being aware of slowly returned to him as the ship made its way past the threshold of the Mordic Sea. He grabbed at his chest.

"Captain..."

"I know, Dune. This isn't the legendary sea of death we were expecting." Bismark responded as soon as Dune had opened his mouth. "Be careful. Unnaturally calm waters belie violent depths."

"Are we really going to just keep going, then?" Dune's eyes darted from one empty patch of water to another, waiting for something to jump out and swallow the ship whole. "Shouldn't we, I don't know, prepare ourselves for whatever's out there?"

Bismark managed a grim laugh at this. "Hah, no my boy, there's nothing we can do now except go forward and meet whatever may or may not be out there head on. There is, however, something we can do to shed some light on this little mystery. Connor!" Bismark waved his hand at the good-sized crew member who Dune recognized was also a member of Bismark's crew from the Figaro.

The man was in front of Bismark within moments of being called. "Yes, Captain? Is it time?"

"Aye, go get Indie. It's time that old bat put his wits to use on this mission He should be in his quarters, no doubt talking to that little friend of his. And he calls me crazy for talking to the sea!"

"Right away, Captain!" Connor was gone in a flash, eager to carry out his captain's orders.

"He's a good man, Dune. I knew his father, and after he died, I offered to look after him. He's served me well these past five years, and has grown into quite the man of the sea. Of all my crew I trust him the most. Don't forget that if you ever need help."

"Of course, Captain. Any member of your crew I'll always trust with my life." Dune said this with complete honesty. He knew first hand how well the Captain's crew worked, especially when things went wrong.

"Aye, and that you should! Not a finer crew anywhere. Better than the lot Levi's got working for him, that's for sure. I'm surprised that old goat hasn't gotten a knife in his back by now." The Captain said this with glee, and Dune suspected this is exactly what his friend would do to Captain Levi himself if given half the chance. Their hatred must run deep indeed.

"Mobius! I'm guessing you're ready to submit to my particular talents now that yours are useless?" Indie's cheerful voice resounded across the deck as he approached the two men, stroking his long beard. His faithful moogle friend Kumiro happily trailed behind him, seeming as happy and at home as if he were still in his native caves. The waves and rocking deck did not seem to bother him one bit, unlike Dune who still had to grip the sides of the ship whenever he stood on deck. Once again Dune felt a twinge of light-hearted envy at the creature's flexible nature. Was there any place this creature didn't fit in?

"I know you're dying to show me up, Indie, so let's see what that little device that you love so much can tell us about this place."

Indie smiled and reached into his long flowing coat. He pulled out a small circular device with a flourish, and flicked its lid open, revealing a complicated display of information scrolling across an electronic screen.

Seeing Dune's look of bewilderment at the mass of numbers and figures on the display, his smile widened and he said, "This is a weather monitoring device, Dune. My own design. It will tell us just what is going on that our eyes and ears cannot." He studied it for a moment, looked up at the barren sea, then back down at the device. After a few moments he turned and walked to the other side of the ship and repeated his observations. He went to a few other choice spots on the ship, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper with each change in position. At last he returned to Dune and Captain Bismark, unable to hide a look of disappointment on his face.

"Well?" Bismark asked, already guessing the answer.

Indie grunted and responded with a note of frustration that was uncommon for a man who was always confident of success in his plans and talents. "Nothing! It's impossible, but the ATLAS isn't picking up anything."

"Nothing, eh? I must say it's nice to see you appreciate the mysteries of the seas for a change, but I had hoped for a bit more than nothing." Despite the unexpected failure of Indie's device, Bismark seemed unsurprised, and almost pleased with the result. "Surely there must be something here to pick up, even if there isn't a cloud in the sky, am I right?"

"Damn right! Even without a single cloud, the ATLAS should still read thermal currents, wind direction, approaching fronts and a hundred other variables all within the range of the satellite link-up. According to my readout, there isn't a single thing stirring within a thousand square miles of us." Indie scratched his head, his look of worry and puzzlement now mimicked in his moogle's face as well. "It's as if this sea is in its own bubble of dead air. I suspect that's why there are no birds or fish here. No wind, no sea currents. Nothing." He lapsed back into a contemplative silence.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised." Dune's sudden comment laced with a grim sort of confidence surprised Indie, but Bismark remained stolid. "It was like this in the Thanas as well. I'm willing to bet if you had tried to use that device there, you would have gotten the same results. There's something here that doesn't want to be found, and it may be interfering with your device." Dune said this carefully, trying hard not to step into the realm of "magic" that Indie and Alex seemed to have no problems entering when it suited them. There were other forces than magic in the world, and despite his experiences, Dune was certain they had rational, scientific explanations behind them. He would not be played for a fool by the very world he was trying to understand. Once again he grabbed at his chest.

"Ah yes, the infamous Thanas expedition. I had heard all about that, of course." Indie's eyes gleamed once again with his scientific genius as new ideas formed in his head, swelling and combining with the new implications before him. "Hmmm...yes...I think you may be right, Dune. Still...I have one more trick up my sleeve that may shed a little light." Indie glanced down at his companion and patted him on the head. "Kumiro, if you would be so kind..."

The moogle knew what his master wanted, and didn't waste any time putting his own brand of radar to work. He straightened up the red puff of fur on his head and it quivered like an antenna of some insect tasting the air, then froze in place. The moogle gave a squeak of surprise, then the ball of fur drooped down to its former relaxed position. The moogle shook his head vigorously, but not in disappointment. He had found something alright, something he didn't like.

"Well that was entertaining, but if I know your little mate there as well as I think I do, I'm guessing he's found something your little gadget couldn't, am I right Indie?" Bismark said this with a light tone, but his eyes were serious. That little ball of fluff was mighty spooked by whatever it sensed. He'd bet his wooden leg on it.

"Yes, he has. But whatever it is overwhelmed his senses. There's definitely something here. Something big." Indie looked down at that poor creature, shaking its head, slower now, trying to shake off whatever had intruded on its senses. "C'mon, Kumiro, what did you sense?"

The moogle stopped shaking its head, and stood still, slightly shaking as the feeling passed. It looked up at Indie, and spoke in its strange language that always brought a smile to Dune's face, even now.

There was no smile in Indie's face as he mentally translated Kumori's words.

"Moogles are very adept at sensing a variety of things that humans cannot, especially weather patterns and biorhythms. This is why I had devoted such a large amount of my time to them. Marvelous creatures..." Indie trailed off, his mind still analyzing the meaning of his friend's scattered words.

"What do you mean by weather patterns and biorhythms, Professor? What kind of information can they pick up?" Dune asked, hoping to spur Indie back into telling them what the moogle had felt.

Always quick to answer questions directed at him, Indie snapped to and responded to Dune's query with the oblivious tone of a teacher tricked into a tangent to his lecture.

"Well, Dune, that ball of fur on their head acts like a highly specialized radar. With it, moogles can detect many of the same things my ATLAS can, although they interpret it through emotion and feeling, not cold hard numbers. In fact, it was their unique ability that I based much of my research on for the device. Unlike my device, moogles are very sensitive to all forms of nature, not just the weather. They can detect life just as easily and accurately as the weather, and I think they can even communicate with other life forms almost telepathically through their talents. How else could I have developed such a rapport with Kumiro, here? Sometimes I think he may even be smarter than me! He's certainly one-upped me today, hasn't he?" Indie finished his miniature lecture with a good-hearted laugh, almost forgetting the point he was trying to make as he explained his life's work.

Dune listened to all this with the rapt fascination of a scientist's mind, and was soon lost in his own thoughts on the implications of moogle-based technology. Indie's deep laughter brought him out of his reverie and one quick glance at Bismark's face told him he was lucky it wasn't something more physical that brought him back. "Sorry...it's all so interesting...I guess I was daydreaming again."

"Alright, then Indie. What does your moogle sense here?" Bismark said, trying to steer this conversation back before Dune and Indie veered off into their own little worlds again. Scientists.

"Well my readings weren't entirely incorrect. Kumiro doesn't sense any more atmospheric activity than my ATLAS, which isn't surprising. What he does sense, though, is life. He can't describe it to me in words very well, but there is definitely something alive in this sea, all around us."

"I thought you said that there shouldn't be any life here at all without any currents?" Dune asked.

"Yes, you're right, there shouldn't be. Perhaps what Kumiro is sensing is the sea itself..."

Bismark gave a small nod of understanding, but Dune didn't seem quite convinced. Dune kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to get into another conversation on magic, which he suspected this one was only a few steps away from.

"Well! It seems the only thing we know for sure is that we don't really know what's going on in this blasted ocean. Hah! My only consolation is that Levi is sure to be as confused as we are." Bismark chided.

"What do we do, then?" Dune asked. "We're supposed to be finding something here, and so far the only clue we have is a moogle's intuition."

Bismark looked at Dune for a few moments, as if he was processing some new piece of information, then took a step closer and stood face to face with Dune.

"I think we have just the key to unlocking this place, and it's been sitting right under our noses. Literally in your case, Dune." Bismark casually reached for the pocket he had noticed Dune grabbing throughout their entire conversation.

"Hey! What...don't! It's mine!" Dune almost shrieked without even thinking what he was saying. A sharp stab of cold pain shivered through Dune's body, and for just a moment the old felling of horror and doom was alive in him again.

Bismark was no fool. He had only pretended to reach for the crystal, just to confirm a suspicion. He quickly drew his hand back before even touching Dune, as if a spark had shocked him into pulling back. Yes, the poor creature still had it with him. Bismark couldn't help but feel sorry for Dune. He didn't know exactly what the nature of this crystal was, but from the pained look on Dune's face and the quite un-Dune-like reaction to his innocent motion, he was quite sure it had him as surely as he had it. And that chill air that came from Dune when he reached out...what was that?

"Dune! Snap out of it!" Bismark shouted.

"Huh? Sorry, Captain...I-I'm not myself today." Dune reverted to his even older habit of pushing up his glasses and attempted a small smile as he tried to regain his poise. "There's something about this place that doesn't feel right to me. I think I almost know how Kumiro must feel. It's like something powerful is pulling at the edges of my mind, trying to rip me apart in two different directions. I guess I'm just a little jumpy."

"Dune," Bismark said softly, not wanting to agitate him further with what he was about to say, "take out that little trinket of yours."

"What? What are you talking about?" Dune didn't put any conscious thought into the lie. The crystal could take care of itself.

"You know what I'm talking about." Bismark said sternly. "You've been grabbing at your chest like an old man with a bad heart all day. It's this place. That thing in your pocket, it's reacting to this place, and the further in we go, the more agitated it makes you." Bismark knew he had to sound as non-threatening as possible. He had seen Dune's face contort with fury and pain like this before, during their meetings with Dehr. If he pushed too hard...

"Take it out and show it to us, Dune. Please."

Dune tried to remain calm, but he could feel the crystal's voice in his head, telling him danger was near. These were his friends though, and he had to fight the influence this damned thing had on him. He had to.

He slowly reached into his shirt pocket and wrapped his fingers around the small black shape resting quietly - but not too quietly, Dune - within. Every inch he had to pull it out was a struggle, like pulling it from a pocket full of glue, but his better instinct was winning over. These were his friends, and he could trust them. He must trust them. He had beat this power once before and told Bismark his dark secret, and now he would show it to him.

Dune's hand emerged from his pocket in a tight fist, the veins standing out on the back of his hand as he fought against the urge to thrust it back inside, away from prying eyes. It felt so heavy to him. He opened his fist in front of him and revealed a small black shape, so black it looked as if Dune was holding his hand around a hole in his chest.

Bismark and Indie said nothing. They didn't need to. The crystal reacted almost at once, a cool blue aura forming around it, and then Dune. He felt his mind going blank and prepared himself for another black-out...and then he was back. The cold was pulsing through him still, but he remained in control. With the deep fury and fierce protective nature of the crystal subdued among friends, it had no power over him.

Dune looked around at the others and then spoke with some effort. "The crystal...it's responding to something here. I can feel its presence. The sister to this one is somewhere out here alright. I think..." Dune stopped and turned his head out towards the bleak waveless sea, scanning the horizon. "I think I can find it."

Indie was flabbergasted, but not skeptical. He may be a scientist, trained to use all his technical prowess to solve problems with logic and cool intellect, but he knew from experience sometimes that just wasn't enough. For the second time in his long life, he was absolutely convinced that he was witnessing magic at work, right in front of his eyes. Yes, things were coming together. This was so similar to the last time, it could be no mere coincidence. Dune was very much like Jehad. Indie prayed that Dune didn't share that man's grisly fate.

Bismark had expected something like this, but the power still scared him. He needed to be very careful from now on. This black thing had a life of its own, and if they all weren't careful, it would consume each and every one of them, starting with Dune. If it wasn't already too late for him, that is. He steadied himself, then gave the order.

"Lead the way, Dune."

The Maiden shifted course, and made its way straight into the heart of the Mordic. It seemed so far the still waters would let them pass in peace. The Golden Goddess shifted its course as well, and followed Dune's lead.

"Well, well, well...it seems Bismark knows something I don't." Levi muttered to himself as he watched the Maiden with a keen eye. "Phantom may be right, but I'll be damned if that coward steals my thunder. The treasure will be mine. Enjoy the smooth sailing while you can boys."