Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Final Fantasy
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Confrontation
"Is that-?!" Midahn started to whisper, but Neal quickly covered his mouth.
"Shh… It's him… That bastard is trying to excavate the Earth Crystal again… It was never found after we were here last time." Neal whispered to them.
"Are you sure that's what he's looking for?" Yuki asked.
"Definitely." Sevrin answered. "It's the only thing in this place that's worth coming down for."
"It doesn't look like they're too close to finding it. Those miners are all over the place, going in different directions so they haven't narrowed it down yet." Neal noticed. "We still have a chance.."
"B-but what should we do?" Lily trembled. The sight of Samael terrified her.
Midahn studied the area ahead of them carefully. "It seems like those miners are under control again, just like before. Notice how they're swinging those pickaxes unnaturally in sync. That means some dark magic is involved here…"
"I-I feel it too… An abnormal amount…" Lily said.
"We should bypass the miners, and take out the dark mages that are influencing them. They're surely on his side." Midahn said.
"Good idea." Neal nodded. "The miners won't even be a problem if they behave like they did last time."
Samael and the group of dark mages suddenly began walking away. As far as the Warriors could tell, they had been observing the miners and speaking to each other, but they didn't hear anything they were saying.
"Alright, now's our chance. Let's go.." Neal said, and they all snuck out of their hiding spot in the shadows.
"Where did they go?" Mirabelle wondered. They were trailing the enemies, following them from a distance down the narrow cavern pathway, but they lost track of them.
"I could have sworn that they were just up ahead…" Sevrin whispered. I wouldn't have lost track of them that easily…"
"Keep your guard up… We're dealing with dark mages here…" Lily warned. She knew all of their tricks and whatnot. At any time, they could…
"Woah!" Neal stopped. Everyone behind him crashed into him.
"Ack! What are you doing?!" Sevrin slammed into him first.
"We've already been here before… Remember this fork?! That funny rock up there shaped like an icicle." He pointed up to it.
"That's a stalactite…" Mirabelle said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Oh… Well the point is, we've been here before, and we've been only going straight forward." He reminded them.
"Does that mean… We've been caught in a trap?" Yuki asked.
"Be careful!" Midahn said, pulling out his staff and shifting into a defensive stance in front of Lily.
"Of what?" Neal asked, but pulled out his katana and stood at guard too.
"We could be under the influence of an Illusion spell!" Midahn said.
"Hmm… You kids are sharp, indeed…" A voice came from nowhere. Everyone was on their guard now. They heard laughter.
"Show yourself!" Midahn called out.
"Hmm… Maybe you're not as sharp as I thought… Indeed, I wonder how long you've been going in circles?" The voice said.
"Damn… Not this again…" Neal said.
"Indeed, who might you all be?"
"Why do you keep saying indeed?!" Neal said, gritting his teeth.
"Keep calm, Neal. She's just trying to make us lose focus by taunting us!" Midahn said. The voice cackled with laughter.
"Mhmm… Indeed~!"
A smug look appeared on Midahn's face. "Okay… Really? Shut up…"
"So cruel~!" Suddenly, in the center of the room, a wisp of black and purple smoke revealed a young girl with a large yellow mage hat and strange purple robes. She appeared right in front of Midahn, who jumped back with surprise. When the mage saw him, she did the same.
"What the… You're attractive! You're voice doesn't fit you at all!" Midahn exclaimed. Lily hit him on the shoulder.
"S-so are you! All of you are… I didn't expect this at all… I thought you were some random group of adults." She said in shock.
"Eh? What are you talking about?" Lily asked, getting frustrated. "What does attractiveness have to do with anything?"
"I can't see my targets clearly when I use my spell. It's really cloudy…" She said.
"Your Illusion spell, to make us see something different?" Midahn asked.
"Yes~!" She replied cheerily. Midahn balled his hands into fists.
"...Why are you targeting us and then just appear in front of us like this? Are you just asking for it or something?"
"Oh?" Her mouth opened into an O shape. "'Cuz I wanted to~!"
Midahn gritted his teeth, the mage getting on his nerves now. "Well go away before I blast you myself!"
"Don't be so mean~!" She giggled. Everyone else exchanged weird looks. They had no idea what was going on.
"Is she one of Samael's henchmen or what?" Neal whispered. Sevrin shrugged his shoulders.
But Midahn's right. She is kinda cute. The way she cackled at us earlier made it seem like she was a witch or something. It also sounded like she made her voice sound that way on purpose… Sevrin thought.
"So what do you want, then?" Midahn asked. The girl looked around her. She was completely surrounded.
"Why are you all pointing your weapons at me like that? That's dangerous!" She said.
Midahn was trembling with anger. He thinks she's still trying to taunt him. "Stop changing the subject! We're not going to put our weapons down because you were tricking us with your dark spell!"
"Dark? I don't use that evil magic!" She gasped.
"Well I categorize Illusion and Dark Magic together. They're both used for evil purposes…" He said.
"Now you're making me angry!" The girl said. Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons, preparing for an attack at any second. Suddenly, there was another poof of black and purple smoke, which completely hid the girl from view. Neal thought she was going to attack one of them, so he immediately swung his blade into the smoke. He split the smoke in half, which drifted apart to reveal that the mage was gone.
"Damn! She gave us the slip!" Neal said. They heard another giggle.
"She's crazy! She must be one of Samael's! He's trying to distract us as long as possible!" Sevrin said.
"Samael? Who's that?" The girl's voice said. Everyone exchanged glances.
"What are we searching for down in this cave?" Midahn shot out a question quickly.
"Eh? I dunno… Treasure?" She replied. By the tone of her voice, it seemed like she genuinely didn't know what they were talking about, not trying to play along to fool them.
"You're not affiliated with those dark mages we were following earlier?" Neal asked.
"No way~! They're scary…" The girl said, sounding a bit frightened. Neal sheathed his katana, which disappeared instantly. Everyone else put away their weapons too.
"Huh? You're not going to attack me?" The girl asked.
"You're not trying to attack us?" Midahn asked.
"No, silly~!" She said, and with a poof of smoke she appeared in front of them again.
"I'm here hunting for treasure!" She said, her eyes gleaming. "This abandoned cavern used to be an empire, ya know! Golds and riches must be buried everywhere!"
Midahn breathed a sigh of relief. That would've been a pain to have to fight her. She's a tricky one… Not like I'd want to kill her anyways. She looks like she's the same age as Neal and Yuki and all of them.
"Then why'd ya mess with us, huh?" Neal asked, getting close to her with a look of suspicion. His eyebrow was raised.
"Well, I was shocked to see people here! I thought this place was abandoned. There are actually hundreds of people down here… Crazy! Every once in a while there are small groups who split off and search through caves. I follow them around, and if they find treasure, I lead them away with a touch of magic~! Ehehe…" She said, speaking rapidly and spontaneously.
"Wow… That's uncool!" Neal said. "You're sure you're not evil?"
"Heyyyy! I'm not some villain!" She pouted, stomping her foot on the ground. "I just… kinda use them to locate treasure!" Whenever she says the word treasure, her eyes gleam greedily.
"We don't know where any treasure is, so why did you start tricking us anyways?" Neal asked.
"Well, you all were moving quickly and it looked like you knew where you were going, so I thought you had your eyes on some treasure. I didn't even realize you were following that scary group…" She said, sticking her tongue out.
"And you say we're not sharp?" Midahn grumbled.
"I'm glad that it was a misunderstanding then, uh…" Neal began to say.
"Oh! I'm Bella~! Nice to meet you!" She said, smiling kindly.
"It's a pleasure." Neal said, almost sarcastically. "But we're trying to put a stop to that 'scary group' before a disaster happens, so we should be on our way-"
"Disaster? What's going to happen?" Bella asked.
"We don't know for sure, but if they find the Earth Crystal, they're going to use its power, along with the rest of the Crystals for no good." Neal said. When he said Crystal, her eyes widened.
"Oh! The Crystal! That's what I'm really searching for!" She said. Neal looked at her seriously.
"That Crystal is no treasure, miss… It's a divine monument containing the world's power of its element…" He said. Then he quickly explained to her their mission and who Samael is.
Bella covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my… I had no idea how important this Crystal is!"
"It's alright, you didn't know. In any case, we need to find them before they find it. Do you think you can help us?" He asked.
"Okay! I'll help you out! I caused you so much trouble already. But.. I can't really fight, so I won't be much use there…" Bella said.
"You don't have to fight. They're extremely powerful and dangerous, so don't even worry about it." Sevrin said. With that, they continued on, along with Bella, the tricky, spontaneous mage.
Bella looked over at Midahn. "Ehehe… I'm sorry for making you so mad earlier… I was just in a bit of a bind~!"
"It's alright." Midahn said. He had cooled down since then.
"Your face was as red as your hair though~!" She laughed. Midahn's fists were trembling again.
"Rrgh… You little-!" He gritted his teeth. She giggled.
"You're easy to mess with, red hair~!" She said.
"That's Midahn to you…" He said, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking ahead. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"You sure are an interesting one." Neal said. Bella turned around. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from none-of-your-business town~!" She said cheerily.
"Funny. You're a real charmer, kid." Neal said sarcastically.
"And why should I tell you, mister?" She asked.
"I told you my name, didn't I?" It's Neal. And you can trust us." He said.
"Hmm.. I guess you're right. You're gonna stop those bad guys, right?" She asked. He nodded.
"Okay~! Then I trust you!" She said cheerfully. Neal scoffed quietly.
Yeah, it only took you until after you messed with our brains and we didn't attack you… He thought.
"By the way, I'm from the Mayweather Guild!" She said, and ran off ahead. Neal's eyes widened.
Eh? That's where Midahn is from. Hahaha! No wonder! Only weirdo mages come from that place! He burst into laughter. Bella turned back and looked at him strangely.
"What's so funny?" She asked. He continued laughing for another minute, before gasping for air.
"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing! Midahn's just gonna get a kick outta this!" He exclaimed.
"Hey…" Sevrin turned back. "I know I said that I don't sense the dark mages anywhere close, but that doesn't mean you can just laugh your head off… The noise could echo and we can get spotted…"
"Eh heh… I know, I know… I'll be careful." He said. He looked over and noticed Mirabelle was smiling, and trying her hardest not to laugh.
"A-are you laughing about that too?" He whispered.
"You were laughing because she told you she was from the same town as Midahn, right? And how they don't get along at all?" She asked, stopping herself from snickering.
"Yeah! Just wait 'till he finds out!" He said. But then he stopped. "Eh… I can't just act all lighthearted and laugh down here… We're going to stop Samael from stealing the final Crystal. I really need to focus…"
"You're right… But I just wanted to be like this with you at least one more time… In case…" She started to say. He looked at her with concern.
"H...Hey… What are you saying?" He asked nervously. "We're not going to die… We're going to pull through and restore the Crystals back to the way they were."
"I know we will." She curled her arm around his. "Because you're here, Neal, is how I know we'll win. I feel safe and strong when I fight alongside you."
He blushed a little. "Aw jeez, Mira. You're embarrassing me, eheh…" He held her tightly as they walked with the others.
"Stop." Sevrin said a few minutes later. He was at the front. Everyone quickly halted. He gave them the signal for silence from now on. Neal held on to the hilt of his sword, ready at any time. They crept in silence for a while, before seeing something on a wall. Sevrin pointed to a small crevice and walked up to it, placing his ear against the gap. Neal did the same. The voices on the other side were quite, but they could make out what they were saying.
"It must be here. I can feel it. The purest energy of the earth is in that Crystal, which is right below us…" It was Samael's voice.
I knew it! Midahn thought.
As expected… But what will he do if he obtains it? Neal thought.
"When we find it, sir, shall we begin the ritual immediately?" Another voice asked.
"No… We'll return to the surface first, but it will take place in this canyon. We'll have no distractions." Samael replied.
Neal and Sevrin glanced at each other cautiously. Ritual…? They both thought.
Everyone has told us that something bad or evil will happen when all of the Crystals are gathered together by someone will vile intent. But nobody was ever clear on what that was… Damn… If I knew what this was all about we could put a stop to this effectively. We can't just charge in recklessly. I'm sure everyone's thinking the same thing. Neal thought.
"Begin searching now! We took long enough in pinpointing it down here, so dig it up!" Samael ordered. They heard noises and other clatter on the other side.
"What do we do?" Lily whispered.
"Shit… We don't know how long it'll take before they find it. Should we ambush them now?" Sevrin wondered.
"Definitely before they get close to finding it…" Neal added. He glanced at Bella, who was trembling. She probably didn't actually understand the danger of the situation they were actually going into until now.
She's got nothing to do with this, really… I'm not sending a little girl out to fight with us for no reason. We've pretty much located the Crystal already… Neal thought. "Hey." He tapped her on the shoulder. "Go on, get out of here. Don't get yourself hurt."
"B-but… I" She whispered.
"You've got nothing to do with this… or us. Just trace your way back and you'll find the way out." He whispered, shaking his head.
"I can't… just abandon you now." She replied. "You guys were nice to me, and I was using my magic against you. I can't walk away with that feeling…"
"And I can't fight this battle with the feeling that an innocent girl was dragged into it and could lose her life…" He told her.
"F-fine… But since I've caused you trouble, at least I can aid you in some way." She insisted.
"If you want to, that's okay with me. Just don't enter that room. Please…"
"Okay~! I bet my magic is way better than those stupid mages in there…!" She whispered excitedly. "I'll distract those mages while you all focus on that main bad guy, okay?"
"Are you sure you can do that?" Mirabelle whispered.
"You bet! I'm the best Illusionist in Mayweather!" She replied assuringly. Midahn's eyes widened.
"Ehhh?!" He whispered. "Mayweather? I'm from there too!"
"Really? What a small world, huh…" Bella replied. "Let's talk later, once we get through this battle." She said with a smile.
Damn, she's brave. We barely even know her and she's willing to help us… Heh, and that personality is interesting too. She reminds me of another girl… That memory is kinda hazy though… Neal thought.
"Are you all ready?" Sevrin asked. Everyone nodded, and breathed slowly, calming themselves down. Neal's heart was beating fast. They were about to face their mortal enemy, who they haven't seen since over three years ago. Samael had truly been a mystery to them since he said that statement. He doesn't know how powerful he's become, and doesn't know what to expect when they go in for the confrontation.
He suddenly felt pressure on his hand. Mirabelle was squeezing his hand tightly. "This is it, huh…" She whispered quiet enough that only he could he hear.
"Yeah…" He replied, squeezing her hand too. "Maybe if we make it through this, you and I could get some peace and quiet together for once, eheh…"
She blushed. "I'd like that… You're going to be with me when this is over, right?"
"Of course I am! I love you…" He whispered extremely quietly, blushing as well.
"What?"
"I… love you…" He whispered again, just as quiet.
"I can't hear you…" She leaned in.
"I love you!" He whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone's eyes widened.
"Ehh? What's this~?" Bella said with piqued curiosity.
"F-forget about it! Let's get ready." Neal said quickly. The crevice they were peeking through was actually a crack in the wall, shaped like a moon. That section of the wall was possible to break through.
"Okay, I'll play a trick on those small fry so that'll be your chance to take them out quickly and go for the enemy. 'K?" Bella whispered. Neal and Sevrin nodded.
"Alright, but what will be the signal for us to go in?" Neal asked.
"Go now!" She whispered.
"Eh? What do you mean?" He asked, shocked.
"I started my distraction already, so now's your chance!" She told him.
"Well that was fast… Here we go!" Neal slammed into the weak wall with his shoulder, breaking it down completely. On the other side of the wall, there were the dark mages who were with Samael not too long ago. However, they were all moving their heads around, looking at the same point in the room, but there was nothing there. The mages had blank expressions on their faces.
Damn, she's good! She's making them see something that's not even there at all, and it's making them so distracted that they didn't even hear me break that wall! What the hell is she making them see? He wondered. They all had ran inside, and Neal turned back to see Bella, who was peeking around from the other side. He was going to ask her quickly what caused the mages to become so zoned out, but Midahn beat him to it.
"Hey, how did you do that? What are they looking at?" Midahn asked her.
"Don't worry about it, just go already! You don't even have to take them out, just go past them!" She whispered sharply.
"Aw come on, just real quick. I want to know how you did that so easily…" He told her.
Bella blushed. "I… can't tell you. It's embarrassing…" She said.
"Eh? How?" Midahn asked.
"Rrgh… Fine! Right now, they're mesmerized by my naked body! Okay?!" She said.
Midahn and Neal's eyes widened. "Whaaa?!" He said. Lily and Mirabelle became a little irritated now, and they grabbed the two boys and pulled them along.
"I-I'll be waiting for you back outside from the cavern!" Bella called out.
"Okay!" Mirabelle replied. Then she turned toward Neal. "What's with that, huh?"
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't think anything of it, really! It was just kinda surprising…" He told her.
"Yeah, I guess you're right… It's a good tactic, since men are all perverts anyways…" Mirabelle said.
"Ehh…" Neal opted out of a comment on that.
"Woah… Hold up!" Sevrin skidded to a stop. "What's that light?!"
Up ahead, there was suddenly a burst of warm, orange light down the path ahead.
"Don't tell me…!" Neal started to say, but it was too late. At the end of the narrow cavern was Samael, who was holding the Earth Crystal.
"Hm? What's this?" Samael said. He peered across the cavern, and noticed the Warriors blocking his path. "Is that… those brats? Huh… I didn't expect you to show up… I thought you'd given up on your little quest to save your little world."
"W-well… You t...thought wrong..!" Neal muttered. His knees were trembling. Samael's presence was utterly terrifying. He now possessed all four of the elemental Crystals. Neal could feel his atmosphere from all the way from where he was standing.
"Hahahah! What was that?! You sound a little too scared for your own good, boy…" Samael laughed. "So what are you going to do? Stop me? That's obviously not going to happen. Well, since you're here, you might as well be the first witnesses to the grand revival of Ankou."
"What does that mean?" Neal demanded.
"Heh… You will see soon. But for now, it seems that I must battle you now. As you seem to stand in my way." Samael said. He started taking slow steps toward them.
This… is it… I hope you are ready, everyone. This is what we've gone through hell to get to… It's time to… Neal thought.
"No… Something's not right here. There are more of you than before. It matters not to me, but to be honest, I only want to fight you. Yeah you, the leader."
What?! No way! We're in this together! Neal thought. "No way, pal. My friends and I are one!"
"Then maybe I'll just have to change that…" Samael said. He looked around the small area they were in. "This place is not suitable for our fight, boy. It's much too small."
"I don't care about that! We'll take you down here and now!" Neal said, gripping his sword tightly.
"Ah. I know a place that you and I can fight without any distractions…" Samael said, glaring at him coldly. He started stepping toward them again.
"Watch out, guys!" Neal said, but it was too late. Samael raised his hand, and an Earthquake began. However, this one was different. The cavern started turning dark; darker and darker until there was nothingness all around him. Neal couldn't see the floor, walls, or ceiling. It was all pitch black. All he could see was Samael standing in front of him. The two just stared at each other until Samael lowered his hand. Suddenly, they were in an old field. It was nighttime, and they were on the surface. There were no stars visible in the sky, as it was covered with rain clouds. Rain was pouring, and the wind was strong. They were standing outside in a storm.
"Now then… That's more like it." Samael said. He unsheathed his sword, which crackled with black, dark energy. Holding it in one hand, he pointed the huge blade at Neal, glaring at him with murderous eyes.
"Shall we get started, boy?"
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! As you can see, we're nearing the end. Samael has managed to obtain all of the Crystals. We hear of this revival, but what does it mean? Will Neal be successful? Why did Samael only want to fight him? He took him to a completely different place for them to battle. Will Neal see his friends his again? Will he see Mirabelle again?