Lily: Not much of an intro for today, so we would like to thank: The Duelist of Dawn, Gift of the Goddess, AmethystDancer21, and FinalFanCrazy12p3. Thank you all for your reviews/suggestions/help. We really appreciate it. =)
Everyone: Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
After the whole Cid fight, the gang were taken to Balfonheim to rest up. Anna was in her room; Daniel and Conway were by her side. She was still unconscious from her little trip down the stairs. And Stephanie was getting supplies with Rosalina while they could. The two knew Ashe would want to leave again soon.
Ashe stared out into the ocean. "They choose to supply the Resistance, yet raise not a sword in aid. What city could do this?" she said.
"A city of men without countries. Pirates of the sea and of the sky. Few are they who would fain lay down their lives for a friend, let alone a king." Reddas said, leaning against the wall.
Ashe glanced over at him. "The Marquis--he is set on war?"
"The time approaches when he must make his position vis-à-vis the Empire clear. When he helped you off the Leviathan, he spited the Judges full sore. He cannot sit in idleness and expect to avoid a reckoning. The Marquis shares my distaste for war… Yet if it comes to it, he will show no quarter." Reddas looked down to his right hand, as he remembered the past.
(-Flash Back-)
Reddas leaned against a desk as Ondore passed by him. "For the time being, we will continue to train the Resistance army." Ondore said, walking away, but he stopped momentarily. "Enough power on our side... and even Vayne may see the appeal of the treaty table."
"Yet Vayne holds the Nethicite. What makes you think he would treat when he holds such power? Power enough to sink the Leviathan." Reddas spoke.
Ondore turned to look at Reddas. "All the more reason for me to support your infiltration of the capital."
There was a brief pause.
"You said it yourself: the Nethicite is a powerful weapon. I would have you acquire it for me."
Reddas forcefully placed his wine bottle on his seat, and pointed his finger at Ondore. "I have not said I would give you…The Midlight Shard."
"If there is no stone, I would have to look elsewhere for aid."
"Then you would ally with Rozarria."
Ondore glanced out the window. "As I must. Failure is not an option."
(-End of Flash Back-)
"It's just what Vayne wants. He lures the Rozarrians and the Resistance to the field, then crushes them both with the Nethicite!" Basch said after a brief moment.
"I think not. Cid has the Stone." Balthier interjected. "We grab it and smash it to pieces with the Sword of Kings. Vayne will be left holding nary a thing. Time is short. We follow Cid. He's heading towards Giruvegan."
"Giruvegan," Ashe whispered.
"It is told of in a song of my people. 'On the farthest shores of the river of time…shrouded deep in the roiling Mist…the holy land sleeps: Giruvegan. Who knows the paths? The way to its doors?'" Fran said as she stepped towards Ashe.
"Then you seek the Jagd Difohr. Deep within the jungle of Golmore, in a corner of the Feywood, a Mist-storm surges and seethes." Reddas said next.
"Then that's it. Let's go!" Vaan smiled.
"Agreeing with Vaan here!" Erika added, grinning.
"Right," Penelo nodded.
Vaan grabbed Penelo's right arm and the three ran off. Basch and Fran begin to follow them, leaving Balthier to look over at Reddas in question.
"Not coming, Reddas? Forget your precious Nethicite already?" Balthier raised a brow.
Reddas shook his head. "Cid's words rang hollow to me. I will follow another course."
"Ah, another lead then, is it? You're well informed."
Reddas slightly chuckled. "I could well say the same to you, pirate."
Vaan appeared around the door and faced Balthier. "Hurry it up, or we'll leave without you." He said.
"Ah, Vaan! I've had some of my men check on this Feywood. Best ask what they've found." Reddas said, facing Vaan.
"OK! Thanks for the help, Reddas." Vaan nodded before running off again, the doors closing behind him.
Reddas laughed, crossing his arms. "Ha, ha. Fly first, ask questions later. Your apprentice is more pirate than you." Reddas smirked.
"I don't have an apprentice." Balthier quickly replied.
As he walked towards the door, Nicole came bursting in and ended up bumping into Balthier's chest. She quickly apologized and explained that the others sent her to get him and Ashe. Balthier grinned and grabbed Nicole's hand, leading her out of the room.
Ashe started to leave, but was stopped by Reddas. "Princess Ashe! I would hear your heart. If Doctor Cid has spoken the truth, you may well be rewarded with more Nethicite in Giruvegan. Tell me: do you still desire the stone?"
Looking over at Reddas, Ashe replied: "I desire its power. I want…yet I also fear. I must protect Dalmasca. I can't afford to fear anything."
"Do not forget Nabudis. That is my only counsel for you." Ashe looked down to the ground, and then quickly left.
(-Rosalina/Stephanie-)
Stephanie glanced down at the pouch full of various things that she held in her arms. After checking over the contents, she looked over at Rosalina who stood by a magick stand.
"Do you think we have enough?" She questioned Rosalina. Rosalina looked down to the ground in thought. Stephanie blinked and shook her shoulder. "Rosa? Rosalina? Hey!"
Rosalina gasped. "Steph? Oh, sorry, was I spacing out?"
"Yeah, you were." Stephanie nodded. "Is…Is something wrong?"
"Well," Rosalina sighed. "I've just been thinking. That guy, Joe hasn't shown up for a while now. So I'm getting a bit worried…"
"You're right. It's been a while since he's shown himself. I wonder what he's up to…" Stephanie tapped her chin in thought. "Oh! Maybe he like, uhm, gave up!"
Rosalina laughed. "Wouldn't that be nice? One less problem to worry about,"
"Yeah," Stephanie smiled, nodding. The blonde happily skipped ahead Rosalina, gaining a bit of attention from by-passers.
Rosalina stayed in place, looking after Stephanie with a concerned expression. It wasn't Stephanie she was concerned about though, it was Joe. "Oh, Steph…If only you were right." Rosalina thought. "Joe…what is it that you're planning…?"
"Stephanie! Rosalina!"
The two turned their heads.
"Penelo? Basch?"
(-The Gang-)
Nicole's footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway as she made her way to a small room where Anna lied on some sofa, Conway and Daniel by her side. She poked her head inside, asking: "Hey…how's Anna doing?" with some concern in her voice. After being thrown down the many stairs at Draklor Laboratory, Anna had ended up suffering some head wounds.
"She woke up a little while ago. Conway had gotten her some water, after she finished her drink, she fell back asleep…" Daniel replied, releasing his sister's small hand from his large one. He turned to look at Nicole.
"You want us to wake her up?" Conway questioned.
Nicole nodded. "Yeah, it seems we're going to be leaving soon…well, you guys know."
The two nodded, they both very well knew what Nicole meant. After all, one of their most hated dungeons was coming up, how could they forget that?
"Well, Stephanie and Rosalina should be coming back soon. Penelo and Basch left to go grab 'em, so prepare yourselves. I'll see you two later." She shut the door and turned her heel down the hall, walking back where she had left the others waiting. Not too much longer, Conway, Daniel and the now awake Anna joined them. Anna, being a little loopy, stumbled her way towards Fran and looked up at her.
"Damn, Balthier. Where'd ya get the bunny ears and the boobs? …Where the hell have I been?" Anna furrowed her brows together and looked over Fran in confusion. Then she turned and looked at Nicole. "Hey, Coley, did you know Balthier was a woman? It's gonna be kind of hard for you two to-."
Daniel rushed at his sister and pulled her back, covering her mouth. She made many 'mmph' and 'umph' sounds while struggling against her brothers strength. After a while, she had finally relent and slumped in his arms. Daniel did his best to hold her up straight, but Anna did not want to comply, and continued to slump in his arms.
Nicole turned to look at Conway. "What the hell did you two give her?!" with a tint of red on her cheeks from Anna's earlier comment.
Conway raised his hands in the air and gave his sister an innocent look. "I dunno! When I went to get the water I bumped into one of Reddas' people, they showed me where I could get some water and I told them about Anna's head injury…I think they might've slipped something in the drink to help her…"
Rubbing her temples in frustration, Nicole sighed irritably. "I really hope it's some sort of medication to help her, not kill her." She said.
"What would be the point in killing her?"
"…Shut up and leave me and my suggestions alone!"
"Yeah, I thought so." Then, Conway added: "Now if they really wanted to kill someone, it would be that woman over there." He pointed to Erika who poke Anna's cheek and giggled, saying: "I like this new Anna!"
"They've never met Erika before, though."
"I know those lucky people…"
"Are you crying?"
"No!"
Vaan stepped in between the two. "Uhm…you two do know your conversation is making absolutely no sense, right?" He pointed out.
"It's not supposed to, we're just doing this to pass the time while waiting for the other four to come back." Nicole replied.
"Oh…"
"Wait, we were?" Conway was puzzled.
Fantasy walked up to Conway, and touched his arm. "Don't worry; it's okay to cry once in a while." He said softly, but only making Conway twitch and grab him by the front of his shirt.
"Fantasy, what the hell are you talking about?!" Conway began to shake the poor little boy back and forth, possibly making him sick. "Men." Shake. "Do." Shake. "Not." Shake. "Cry!"
"You cried when I died." Nicole piped in. She forcefully grabbed Fantasy from Conway's arms and hugged him tightly.
Conway quickly pointed his finger at the younger sibling. "I had something in my eyes at the time!"
"Liar,"
"I never lied a day in my life!"
Everyone stared at Conway.
"…I hate you all…"
"Is this how bored you all get when we're not moving around?"
Everyone turned around, facing the four that had just walked in the room. Stephanie placed down her pouch on a table as she searched through it and handed everyone certain things.
"We weren't bored. We were just waiting." Vaan stated.
Stephanie gave him a look. "You call those two having random conversations and the others just watching them 'waiting'?" Vaan nodded. "Oh really? I call that 'boredom'. Because otherwise, the others would've left,"
"Fine, we were bored WHILE waiting, happy?" Erika pushed Vaan to the side. "Now let's get a move on! I wanna go to the Feywood, baby! I've been waiting so long for this!"
"I…have to agree with Erika." Ashe stepped in, nodding her head.
Conway put a hand on Ashe's left shoulder. "It must've been so hard for you to agree with her…I know how it feels." Ashe looked back at Conway and sighed.
"You're crying again." Nicole pointed out.
"I am not!"
"So…we're going back to the Feywood." Daniel crossed his arms. "Do you guys know how long of a walk that's gonna be? I mean, if we really want to get there NOW we'd have to be transported or something. Otherwise, it'll take days."
"Actually…" Fantasy spoke up. "We can. If we use a Gate Crystal, we can be transported to the Golmore Jungle and head to the Feywood from there."
"But don't we need like those stone…thingies?" Erika questioned.
"I have some. I've been collecting them, just in case." Stephanie piped up.
"Then we're good to go!" Nicole smiled. "I know where we can find a Gate Crystal. Follow me."
"I wonder why we never used them before…" Erika tapped her chin in thought. "Huh? Hey! Wait for me, you guys!"
As the gang left the building, Vaan went back to grab something he had forgotten, so they waited. …And waited and waited…
"All right, it's been about twenty minutes. What the hell is taking him so damn lo-."
"Sorry guys! I got stopped by these three people." Vaan emerged from behind a corner, interrupting Erika.
"Three people? Were they Reddas' people?" Daniel asked.
Vaan nodded.
"Well, no matter. Now let's get a move on." Balthier said.
Everyone nodded, and followed Nicole as she showed them the nearest Gate Crystal. Her and Daniel seemed to have a 'calm' argue about which way would be quicker to the Feywood, the Golmore Jungle or Paramina Rift. After talking it over, and Fran getting involved, they eventually settled on the Golmore Jungle.
Stephanie used her transporter stone, and they all were immediately appeared at the entrance of the Golmore Jungle. They strolled through the dark hallways beneath the giant trees, most of the monsters here were not a problem for them, and after all, they've faced many more dangerous and powerful creatures. Following Fran, they headed south. New kinds of creatures were that way, but once again, they weren't too hard for our heroes'.
"This isn't so bad." Penelo commented.
"I wouldn't say that so soon. You never know what's going to come around the corner, Penelo." Rosalina said.
"But I bet you do, don't you Rosalina?" Penelo smiled. "You can tell the movement of any fiend miles away with your good hearing."
Rosalina laughed. "Yes, I suppose that is true."
The two girls laughed and talked to one another. It seemed that they had taken care of so many fiends, that this place was almost cleared out.
In the back of the group though, Nicole and Balthier walked side by side in silence. At least until Nicole finally decided to speak up. "Uhm…" She mumbled. "Balthier, I have two questions."
"Go ahead."
"Well the first one is something that's been on my mind for a while, and ever since I first saw…well you know, anyway…do you really hate your dad? Or Cid, whatever you like to call him,"
Balthier stopped in his tracks. Nicole stopped as well and looked up at him. She watched as Balthier sighed, and waited for him to answer her question. But for the moment, he was thinking. "I'm not so sure I know the answer to this one. I…I have this weird feeling, and I'm not so sure about it, but I believe I can still sense him. Cid's old self inside of him. Before he went crazy, that is." Balthier replied.
Nicole smiled up at Balthier. "I bet that your dad still loves you. And that there is a part inside of him that is still him-his old self- and maybe, if you try hard enough, you'll get through to him." Balthier looked down at Nicole. He grinned a moment later and chuckled.
"Now that would be the day." Balthier said. "Now, what was your second question?"
"Uh…" Nicole turned away, blushing. "Uh…well, uh. Are…are you sure you can't tell me who it is that you…like?" Nicole mumbled the last part. She fiddled with her fingers, she was really nervous. What if Balthier really did answer her this time? And what if…
"Sorry, no can do."
Nicole frowned. Her blush disappeared, and sadness took over. "Oh…I see. Just like last time. Sorry for asking…" Nicole began to walk forward, hoping to catch up with one of her friends. She was really disappointed he wouldn't tell her, and right now she needed some comfort from a good friend. Preferably, Erika, or Anna, or Rosalina.
"Wait," Balthier called out to her. Nicole turned around as Balthier jogged next to her. "The others' are far ahead, so stick by me until we catch up to them." Nicole nodded. She stared after Balthier, and then quickly walked up next to him. She kept her head down as she slowly slipped her hand into his. She clenched her eyes shut, frightened Balthier would reject her. But he didn't. Instead, he closed his hand around hers and held onto it. Nicole opened her eyes, blushing. She looked up at Balthier and smiled.
A bit a ways from Balthier and Nicole, Stephanie, Penelo, Ashe and Rosalina all peeked around a corner, spying on the two.
"Oh my gosh! That was adorable!" Stephanie squealed.
"Where's a video camera when we need one." Rosalina chuckled.
"Oh, I hope they get together soon." Penelo said next.
Stephanie's excitement slowly faded. "That's right…" She whispered.
"What's right?" Penelo asked.
"Huh? Oh, nothing!"
Ashe stopped in her tracks. While looking around, she noticed the area and the atmosphere had suddenly changed. Ashe step forward with Basch following her footsteps.
"The Feywood…" Fran spoke.
"Feywood…" Ashe murmured.
"This place looks kind of…dead, don't you think?" Vaan said, glancing around.
"Meh," Erika shrugged. "It looks better than it did on Nicole's TV, that's for sure."
The gang continued again. Even though tougher and stronger fiends lived here, they were able to get through it by sticking together. They eventually came to an-almost dead-end. The dense mist pushed them back, not allowing them to enter. Ashe looked down to the ground in thought. A sudden figure caused her to look back up again. She took a step forward, in shock. It was him. It was Rasler. Ashe walked forward, wanting to reach Rasler, but luck was not on her side at the moment. A rumbling sound distracted her; the dense mist blew by and disappeared. Rasler appeared again, but only to once again vanish. Ashe took another step forward, and then sighed.
Erika walked over to Nicole, whispering: "The nice thing about being in love with a dead guy? They're totally transparent."
"Erika, shut up."
"Aw, you never let me have any fun anymore…What happened to all the good times like…waaaaay before we got this far in our journey?"
"It got more serious…"
"…Damn seriousness."
Rosalina silently walked up to Ashe, and placed a hand on the princess' shoulder. Ashe glanced back at Rosalina, and then narrowed her eyes. "Let's continue…" Rosalina nodded to Ashe words.
Not too much longer, Rosalina stopped and looked around. "Everyone!" She called out. "There's…something here." Rosalina was right, because the minute after she said that a giant weed looking fiend fell down from a tree.
"What is that thing?!" Penelo questioned.
"Being a giant plant, transformed by the dense Mist of the Feywood. The long trunk-root extending from beneath its bloom is used to draw nourishment from the elder trees it prefers. Though it reproduces by releasing pollen from pods, the Mist interferes with germination, and actual sprout lings are rare. Rafflesia," Fran spoke in a calm tone of voice, even when Rafflesia looked like it was about to attack.
"Such an aggressive vegetable," Nicole commented.
"Eh, it wasn't that hard." Erika commented next, stepping forward and turning around to face her friends. "We'll finish off this thing in no ti-." Erika was cut off by one of Rafflesia's arms hitting the ground next to her, only thanks to Erika's sudden reflexes; otherwise she would've been squished. "Holy shit!" she screeched. "It tried to kill me!" Rafflesia attacked Erika again. Erika jumped back with a yelp.
"I don't think Rafflesia likes being called an 'it'." Rosalina stated.
"Damn thing-AH!"
"Or 'thing'."
Conway, finally able to stop laughing, wiped a tear from his eye. "Wow…I say we leave. Erika will be fine on her own. Like she said, Rafflesia is a piece of cake! C'mon everyone, let's go!" As Conway proudly and happily started walking away, a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him back. "Dammit…Not again," He sighed. Daniel released his hold.
"Nicole would kill us. Now get your ass in that battle!" With all his strength, Daniel pushed Conway towards Rafflesia, who was still trying to kill Erika, who ran around, dodging Rafflesia.
"WHY WON'T YOU JERKS HELP ME?!" Erika shouted.
"Because we find this amusing!"
"Screw you, Vaan!"
"Someone pass the popcorn, please."
"Daniel, we don't have any popcorn…"
"Damn…"
Erika screamed. Rafflesia grabbed hold of her feet and lifted her into the air, shaking her around. "Oh my god! It's another Garuda fight all over again! Expect this time I'm the only one in the air!" Erika cried. "Ugh…" Slapping a hand over her mouth, Erika tried her best not to puke.
"I guess we should go save her now." Daniel grabbed his gun.
"Aw, c'mon, five more minutes!" Conway pleaded.
"Nah, Daniel's right. Let's hurry up and save her before she pukes." Nicole spoke, walking up to the two boys.
Conway sadly sighed as he glanced behind his shoulder. "But Rafflesia is enjoying this. Let's not ruin his fun."
"Firaga," Penelo shouted. The angry vegetable roared in pain, shaking its body back and forth, also shaking Erika even more. And so, the gang launched into battle! With Conway sadly tagging along, swinging his sword whenever Rafflesia was close. Other than that, he enjoyed watching Erika turn green in the face.
After about ten minutes of slashing away at Rafflesia, the vegetable casted Sap, randomly hitting Ashe. Ashe dropped her sword and groaned in pain, her face turning pale, and her strength quickly disappearing. Noticing Ashe, Stephanie quickly casted Regen. Ashe recovered and snatched her sword off the ground.
"It's been ten minutes! Ten. Fucking. Minutes! Get me down already!!" Erika thrashed around; only she made herself even sicker. "Bleh…" and covered her mouth again.
"'We'll finish this thing off in no time.'" Conway mimicked. He rolled her eyes and scoffed. Erika glared at Conway, who glared back up at her. "Get yourself down!"
"Kind of hard when I have one hand over my mouth half the time!"
"Then don't put your hand over our mouth!"
"Fine, I hope you enjoy the puke fest then!"
"…"
Erika knew she got Conway with that one. The raven-haired girl helplessly watched her friends fight Rafflesia with all their strength. She wondered why the stupid vegetable seemed much harder here, than when she fought it originally on the game. "Oh wait; this is technically 'real life'. I keep forgetting about that."
Rafflesia roared. Erika blinked. The gang smiled at their accomplishment of defeating Rafflesia, but frowned when Erika was released. It took the poor girl a minute to realize that when she was released she would be falling to her death. Again. This time she didn't scream, but only crossed her arms and glared at her friends who sat there and watched her fall. But, luckily for Erika, her hero, Basch, went to save her before she had hit the ground. Basch successfully caught Erika in his arms and Erika herself went into her 'I love Basch' mode.
"Are you alright?" Basch questioned her.
Erika nodded. She smiled a goofy looking smile as she stared up at Basch. "I am now."
While Anna fake-gagged at the scene, Daniel turned towards Ashe in hopes of continuing on. "Rafflesia is dead, can we go before Erika gets too carried away with her little sick love thing. Please, I'm begging you, and I don't usually beg."
Ashe nodded. "Yes, I was just about to suggest the same thing…" Ashe peeked behind Daniel at Basch and Erika.
"I'll go get Erika," Stephanie said. And she proceeded to drag a protesting, angry Erika away from Basch.
A couple of groans were heard from behind the gang. Anna had awoken from the small nap she took earlier in the Golmore Jungle and stared at the dead body of Rafflesia before it slowly faded away.
"Why…was there a dead giant plant on the ground?"
"Because there is. Now let's get a move on people!" Conway exclaimed.
The rest of the gang agreed, and so they headed to their original direction. They walked until they found themselves in a large misty area. A little further ahead they found a Feywood Glyph which inside told them in letters: "Illusion betokens the true way." Fran explained that they would need to look around carefully until they saw a green, wooded area. Then they would have to continue that way and do the same every time they stopped in one of these small buildings.
Thanks to Fran and Basch, who both mostly noticed the green, wooded areas that showed up whenever they stopped at one of the small buildings, the gang was eventually able to make it Gate Gigas.
Vaan touched the gate. "It's locked." He said, facing the others.
Fran walked up behind Nicole, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Nicole, can you summon Belias to open the gate." It was more like a 'Just do it' kind of thing than a question.
"Yeah, okay." Nicole nodded.
Everyone backed out of Nicole's way. She closed her eyes as the ground under her started to rumble, and the same red symbol was back. The ground separated behind her, and Belias emerged, roaring. Nicole turned around and walked towards Belias.
"Belias, can you open the gate for us?" She asked in a soft tone of voice.
"Yes, Master." She heard him speak. Belias soon opened the gate, and disappeared back inside Nicole, where he went back to sleep.
Nicole clapped her hands behind her back and smiled at her friends. "Okay, we can go in now."
As the gang started to walk, a large gust of wind pushed them back. Each of them shielded themselves until the wind died down. Rosalina blinked and opened her eyes first, but then gasped at the person she saw up front. "Joe!"
Joe smiled. "Hello again, Rosalina. It's good to see your doing well."
Rosalina growled, as she spoke in a deadly tone of voice. "What the hell do you want this time?"
Joe shrugged, stepping forward. "The usual. Your power. I'm only interested in fighting you, Rosalina. Don't worry, I won't harm those worthless people you call friends." Joe laughed.
Rosalina's glare hardened. "Worthless? They are not worthless! The only worthless one here…is you!" Rosalina charged at Joe with a battle cry. Joe quickly vanished and re-appeared a foot away from Rosalina, sighing, but was cut off by Erika before he could even open his mouth once more.
"Damn, you're back already?!" Erika glared at Joe and placed both her hands on her hips. "You know what? I've got something to say to you. You are the WORST bad guy EVER! Trevor and Ryan were better than you! You really just need to give up, because I know Rosalina and you will have your little fight, and then you disappear saying the usual line: 'I'll be back and then when I am, I kill you all!' And then after some time you reappear and do the same thing over again! I mean, come ON! Why don't you get serious alre-?"
Having enough of listening to Erika's loud mouth, Joe clenched his eyes shut in anger, one eye twitching, and aimed his bow and an arrow, shooting at Erika, but slightly missing her. The arrow ended up grazing her cheek and disappearing into the mist behind her. It didn't kill her, but it got her to shut the hell up.
Erika made a small 'eep' sound and quickly coward behind Nicole, somehow thinking she would 'protect' her from Joe.
"Damn, you're annoying. You know what; you're the next one on my list, after Rosalina." Joe stated, glaring daggers at Erika who then glared back at Joe and stuck out her tongue that Joe would have loved to of cut off right then and there, but he was then sadly distracted by Rosalina who snapped her whip at him, or at least tried if Joe hadn't seen her out of the corner of his eyes and dodged it by grabbing onto her whip. The two were in some sort of tug-a-war with the whip for several moments before Joe spoke once again. "Rosie, Rosie, Rosie. Let's make this fight a bit more interesting. Hand-on-hand combat, no whips, no magick, no powers, nothing but our hands and feet, what do you say?" Joe released her whip; causing Rosalina to fall back, but she skidded to a halt and snapped her head up to glare at Joe. She gave what he said some thought, before nodding and raising her fists.
"Everyone, take shelter inside Giruvegan." Rosalina commanded.
"Rosalina-…!" Nicole was cut off by Conway grabbing Nicole by her arm, pulling her back.
Rosalina clenched her eyes shut. "Please, Nicole, just do it. I don't know…how bad this fight will be…I…I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt. So please,"
Nicole stared at Rosalina's back with shock and worry. Shaking, Nicole grabbed hold of her necklace and clenched her eyes shut. Then she slowly nodded and was pulled inside Giruvegan by her brother. The rest of the gang followed suit, passing by Joe who simply left them all alone, like he how he said he would. As Fantasy passed by Rosalina, he glanced back.
"We'll…be watching. If he does anything to almost kill you, no one is going to just stand by you know." He said.
Rosalina lowered her gaze. "Hold them back as long as you can. For me, Fantasy. Please…"
Fantasy nodded and left.
(-Inside Giruvegan-)
As the gang entered Giruvegan, they turned around to watch the fight between Joe and Rosalina, but where shocked when they found the door that Belias had opened was now closed again. They were sealed off from Rosalina.
"Rosalina! No!" Daniel shouted, running up to the sealed door and hitting it with his fists.
"Daniel! Daniel! Calm down!" Anna grabbed her brother's arm. "Rosalina will be fine; she can take care of herself!" Daniel let out a shaky breath and nodded, lightly hitting the sealed door one last time before stepping away from it.
"I'm still worried about Rosalina…" Stephanie spoke up, biting her lower lip and fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
"Don't worry too much, everyone. Like Anna said: Rosalina will be fine; she can take care of herself. Have more faith in her." Fantasy added.
After a brief moment of silence, Ashe walked around a bit. "On the farthest shores of the river of time, shrouded deep in the roiling Mist." Ashe said, breaking the silence.
Fran stopped and could be seen holding her chest and lowering her head. Penelo worriedly walked up to the viera.
"What is it, Fran?" She asked.
"The Mist runs thick here." Fran replied.
Vaan approached Fran. "Like on the Leviathan?"
Fran glanced back and forth between Penelo and Vaan before saying: "Do not worry. I will behave myself."
Erika scoffed. "Sure- and ruin all my fun."
"The Mist here is cooled. I sense something like the shadow here." Fran continued.
Balthier glanced over at the four. "Venat. It appears Cid has yet to arrive. We'll lie in wait for him here." He said.
Penelo looked puzzled. "So we're not going inside?" She questioned.
"Not unless you want to end up twisted. Like the old man." Balthier said. Balthier then glances at Ashe who glances ahead of the path. "Something there?" He then asked.
Everyone else turns to look at Ashe, who is still looking ahead of the path. Nicole stepped forward, whispering a name that no one else could quite hear. Suddenly Ashe began to walk down the path, without saying a word.
"What is it?" Penelo asked, looking at Vaan.
"She can see him. Let's follow her." Vaan replied. Penelo didn't quite understand what he meant by that, but nodded along anyways.
"Wait! Don't you think we should wait for Rosalina! Can't we like, have Nicole summon Belias and open the door-…and no one is listening." Erika sighed.
"Rosalina…will catch up with us soon. C'mon, let's just follow them." Nicole grabbed hold of Erika's hand and pulled her along.
The rest of the gang also agreed and followed after Ashe down the path until they reached the Giruvegan Crystal. They activated it, and were transported to another level.
(-Rosalina's P.O.V-)
I took a fighter's stance, hoping that my fear of him would not show. Joe showed true strength, and I had a very bad feeling about this. I wondered; was Joe really this serious before? Something has changed in his eyes. I can tell. He's very power hungry. It felt like the last fights with him were just mere games. Like he really was toying with me, to see how strong I was. And that just pissed me off.
"Having fun staring at my good looks?" Joe winked. I gagged in disgust.
"Hah. Who would want to stare at an old man like you?" I retorted.
Joe twitched and clenched his hands into two tight balls. "I'm. Twenty."
I smirked. "Old. Man."
"You're pissing me off."
"That was the point."
Joe calmed himself with a sigh, and flipped his hair before looking back at me. "All right, enough talking. Let's get the show on the road." Joe said, getting in a fighting stance as well.
"Agreed,"
I inhaled deeply, and quickly ran towards him. I tried to punch his face and he grunted, grabbing my arm. I did not hesitate. I quickly punched him in the face with my other arm, sending him staggering to the left. While he was down, I punched him again in the face and in his stomach, grunting every time I sent an attack towards him. I thrust my elbow into his stomach, sending him a good distance away from me. He caught himself and tried to attack me again.
Joe coughed and held his stomach. "Huh. I didn't think you would be able to do anything without your precious whip and magick." He chuckled to himself.
"Wasn't this how I had always kicked your butt when we were little?" I raised an amused brow. "Nicole and the others were telling me about how the two of us know each other. I guess I told them a while back about how I used to kick your butt all the time."
Joe snapped his head up and glared at me. "I just went," He coughed again. "Easy on you because you were just a child." He stumbled forward.
I stood my ground. "I doubt that," That was the last straw. I had truly pissed him off. Joe let out a battle cry and lunged at me. I dodged his punch by sidestepping to the right, but was grabbed by the back of my hair and was thrusted back. Joe continued to attack with multiple blows in the face and stomach. Just like what I had done to him. I looked for an opening all around me, bearing the pain I was receiving from Joe. When I found it, I grabbed both of Joe's fists and kneed him in the groin, and then I quickly stumbled away and watched him kneel to the ground in great pain.
I wiped the corner of my mouth. "You…said…no magick, no whip. You wanted this kind of combat, and this kind of combat you'll get."
Joe groaned in pain as he stood up. "I'm not complaining. It's just that place is a little sensitive, if you hadn't noticed." He sent me a nasty glare.
The corner of my mouth twitched up a bit. I held back the smile that would have possibly led to laughing. That's when I noticed something strange. I looked closely at Joe's unclenched right hand and raised a brow. There was...some sort of strange jewel there. And his hand was bleeding a bit, too. Was that jewel sowed in his hand? Or something like that? What is that jewel, and why does Joe have it?
Those were my thoughts running through my mind. That is, until I noticed Joe smirking at me.
"Interested, aren't you. You want to know what this is, right?" He waved his hand with the jewel back and forth. Then he closed his hand. "It's something special. Something I asked Cid to give to me, and even do this to my hand. It had hurt, but I believe it'll be worth it once I'm finished with you here."
"...What...what is it, exactly?" I asked. I grew more and more curious.
"Something that will...help me take your power. It doesn't sound all that special, now does it? But it is to me. Because it will help me a whole lot."
I couldn't take listening to him speak anymore.
My hair swayed in the wind as I dashed quickly towards him, inconspicuously charging my feet with focal energy and punching him in his face. He grunted, and countered my attack by kicking my face with brute force. The pain all around my body intensified and I let out a scream.
(-The Rest of the Gang-)
"Hey, something's up ahead." Vaan pointed out.
"Let's go see what it is." Penelo said next.
They made their way down the next path until they came closer to whatever it was at the end of it. It turned out to be a body- a petrified body with no head.
"Wh-what is that?" Penelo backed up slightly.
"Daedalus," Fran took a step forward. "Being a guardian statue of Giruvegan, set before the way stone outside the city, preventing intrusion. When provoked, the Daedalus swings its mighty sword, laying waste to any foolish enough to approach. To look upon its headless form is to know despair, and some conjecture that the mere sight of it has stopped many would-be interlopers from passing into the city." The viera explained.
Erika raised a brow at Fran. "You really like explaining things lately, don't you?"
"Look out!" Fantasy exclaimed as the once petrified Daedalus came to life, swinging its sword about.
"Really, we just need to smack him around a bit, and he'll finally relent." Conway stated, pulling out his sword.
"I'm going to pluck those pretty little wings off your back, buddy." Erika smirked and readied her fists. With that said, Erika lunged at Daedalus, throwing multiple punches at him. "Ow! Shit!" Erika screeched, shaking her hand. "That fucking hurt!!!"
Everyone else ignored Erika and her shouting about how punching Daedalus' armor hurt and just charged at the armored guy with all their strength. After a long, but a fair fight, Daedalus stumbled backwards before stabbing his sword back into the ground and turning to stone again.
Erika crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "That's an insult! It's like he's saying 'Well, you didn't really beat me - I just let you win.' Jerk,"
Lily: That's all of it for today. Not as long as the other chapters before, but close. My head still hurts from the sinus problems I've been having after the cold I had.
Erika: Oooooh, not bad on the fighting scene with Joe and Rosalina, Coley. I thought you said fighting scenes were your weak point.
Lily: I didn't write the fighting scene. Another friend of mine did. I had to beg for her help, but it was worth it because some FRIENDS of mine. –Glares at Anna, Conway, Stephanie, and Erika- Don't like to HELP ME with battle scenes. And I'm leaving Rosalina, Daniel and Fantasy off the hook, because, Rosalina…just because, Fantasy doesn't actually help type this story, and Daniel is just too busy. Sad thing is my friend won't help me with next chapters fighting scenes. –Sigh-
Anna: Fighting scenes are our weak points too. xP
Conway: Bah, they're not that hard.
Erika: Then why don't you start writing them?
Conway: Don't wanna!
Lily: -Face-palm- Exactly my point… So anyway, as you can tell some of the stuff in this chapter was bit of filler, because…we…couldn't think of anything else. So yeah. But we did enjoy writing this chapter, and we hope you all enjoyed it, too. We have an esper fighting comin' up in the next chapter people! Let's hope that'll be good. ;D
Daniel/Rosalina/Fantasy: …Right. Well, please leave a review and…we'll update whenever. Cya!