Draco: Yeah, I'm more-or-less giving each region one chapter and then jumping to the next. Sorry if you expected more time in this set.
Bravely Default and all related properties © Square Enix.
Eisen Region: Flaming Binds
The deck of Grandship, the vestal and her companions lay slain.
"Then... it isn't a cure to rid the world of darkness..."
And that deceptively small figure, light gathering towards something braced against its chest.
"Ringabel...! Ringabel, get up!"
His eyes opened.
He was kneeling on the walkway to the Altar of Water. The crystal was shining brilliantly, blindingly, and as he fought to rise he found himself groaning - his head was pounding. Edea was kneeling at his side, and she looked worried. "Ringabel, are you alright?" she demanded.
"I... ugh... Yes," he insisted. "Sorry... about that."
"Are you sure?" Tiz protested. "You did the same thing when you saw the Crystal of Wind."
Edea raised her gaze to him. "What? You mean, this has happened before?"
Agnès nodded. "Yes. When we met up at the Temple of Wind, he keeled over when he saw the awakened crystal."
Ringabel sighed. "It's..." He grunted lightly, setting a hand on his head. "I'm fine," he assured them. "No need to worry about me."
No one was convinced at that.
+x+x+x+
The overnight flight to Eisen revealed that the SS Funky Francisca was on the water again, but they opted to leave it be - Captain Barbarossa had seemed to be more concerned in the previous worlds with finding the Susano-o's dwelling than bringing Eisenberg any harm. They found the Eschalot moored in the Shieldbearers' harbour, as they had expected; a sandy shore to the south, leading to a section of land otherwise inaccessible, was used for them to keep the Dark Knight out of sight and out of mind until they needed to act.
"Well, now what do we do?" Edea inquired.
Ringabel had returned the hourglass to Tiz, and now he turned it in hand idly, watching as the sands shifted without affecting anything - they flowed a lot faster than he expected an hourglass to do. "We've got to wait for them to approach the Fire Crystal," he mused. "But the Black Blades will have the mythril mine. How are we going to get in there without them noticing?"
"Could we not simply wait for Olivia and Til to clear them out, and then go in after them?" Ringabel inquired.
Agnès angled her head. "I suppose that might work," she admitted. "But Mount Karka's underflow is a maze. There would be no room for error if we were to catch up to them in time to convince Olivia."
Edea hummed. "Tiz, can I see your hourglass?"
The Norende boy tossed it to her lightly, and she peered carefully at the sands as they settled to one side. "This thing was full when you were at the Temple of Wind, right?" she asked.
"Close to it," Tiz confirmed. "It hardly all fit on one side."
"Well..." She shook the glass lightly. "It's still full."
Everyone turned to her at that. Tiz was shocked. "What?" he asked. "How... how does that even work? We didn't get more than one shot out of it for each crystal, before."
Agnès hummed. "But... before, we were using it for battle, correct?" she observed. "Perhaps it only drains the sands if we do something... combat-worthy, during the period in which time is frozen."
Edea clicked her tongue. "Well," she mused, "now we've got a way to get in and keep up. Agnès, you want to do this one, or you want me to?"
"I do not know that I would be able to convince her," Agnès admitted. "It is best you try."
"But you're a vestal," Edea insisted. "Wouldn't you be the one most likely to convince her?"
Agnès shook her head. "It does not seem that Olivia have been through the same struggles I have," she observed. "She has yet to forge a bond with Til, such as we have forged with each other. At this point, I do not know what would turn her away from the crystals."
Edea sighed, flipping the hourglass in hand. "Well, I'll try," she mused, "but it's gonna take some tricky wordplay."
Tiz drew his asterisks. They had re-divided them so that they each had the same stones as they had when Lord DeRosso had advised them divide them. "Which one did you want for your trip there?" he asked.
The templar's daughter hummed, drawing her own asterisks. "I need a reaction," she mused. "I don't think she's going to be like that about a threat, anymore."
"A 'reaction'?" Agnès mused. "Perhaps... the spell fencer?"
"That's a lot of loose, flammable cloth," Edea insisted. "Plus, I think I saw her using that one when she went to deal with DeRosa."
Ringabel hummed, drawing the Vampire asterisk. "Have either of you actually tried the Vampire before?" he asked.
Edea shrugged. "I don't think so," she admitted. "Toss it here."
+x+x+x+
A loud grating of stone sound roused Edea from the depths of slumber.
Annoyed as she had been to find Ringabel sleeping on a sign, Tiz had once praised her for her ability to pass out anywhere. With the time-stopping hourglass, she had managed to sneak into the mythril mine with the Black Blades still there and take refuge in an out-of-the-way corner. She had meant to keep her eye out for the vestal's arrival, but Til and Olivia didn't seem to be in quite as much of a rush to clear the mine as she had expected. The lack of canary boys in the mine might have had something to do with it. A day had passed in wait, but Edea had insisted to herself that if she could put up with the Sky Knights, she could put up with a little wait.
Alas, it seemed she had fallen asleep at her station; but the roar of the door opening caused her to pull herself out of her slumber. She had hidden herself behind a box of mythril ore, and upon realizing that the vestal must have been here, she kept herself low behind it, not wanting to risk being seen - feeling just out of bed, she didn't trust herself to see and not be seen.
A few words between Olivia and someone who must have been Til; then they headed further in, and Edea made to follow them with hourglass in hand.
She couldn't keep right close to them, but it was about the halfway point of the cavern when she heard the sound of rock shifting; a thick curse sounded when she realized that one of them must have stepped onto one of the rock walkways that fell apart (one of which had nearly claimed Tiz's life, when they had last gone through the cavern). Edea's breath was tight as she heard Olivia shout - Til must have been the one on the stone - and when the rock faded, and she heard Olivia sigh in relief, she understood that Til had survived, and she loosed a breath of her own.
"What do I do?" The voice was similar enough to Egil that Edea was not at all surprised that the canary boy had reminded Tiz of this kid.
"Stay there." Olivia sounded like she was trying not to panic. "Stay away from the lava. I'll find a way around to you."
"Can you make it?" Til's question prompted Edea to steal the quickest glance around the corner - Olivia's white robes told her that, like Agnès, she had favoured spellcasting. Must be a vestal thing. "I'm sure if I start walking-"
"NO!" Her sudden shout caused Edea to flinch. "We'll just lose each other. Wait. Right. There. I'll make my way around to you."
Footsteps left Edea knowing that Olivia was on her way. Not wanting to risk being seen, Edea quickly set both hands on Tiz's hourglass, willing the time to stop; she quickly made her way past the view of anyone on that stone before letting time resume. Olivia had her staff out to her side when Edea caught up her with her, and for a brief moment Edea was confused before she realized she needed to keep track of where Til was.
She quickly pocketed the hourglass and drew her Gladius knife, calling upon that power she had been so amazed by in the hands of Lord DeRosso. A joined dual helix rose up around her as a sphere of voltage gathered before her, bringing still more heat to the air around her. When it was built up sufficiently, she hurled the charge forward, causing Olivia to go still; then she turned away, bracing her knife at her side and waiting for Olivia to react.
"Oh, mizu."
Edea forced herself not to laugh; after the way Agnès had spoken of following Olivia's footsteps, the vestals of wind and water had more in common than she had thought. The female attire for the Vampire asterisk seemed to be a weave of belts that covered her body... very suggestively. After the way she had used the Bravo Bikini, Edea felt this was nothing - although it would leave some very weird tan lines if she was in this heat of this cavern too long - but the vestal's tone was one of embarrassment, and as Edea looked over her shoulder she saw Olivia looking away awkwardly.
"You are a vestal of the crystals?"
Olivia slowly turned back to her, fighting to not flinch reactively, and gave a heavy sigh. "Yes."
Now Edea had to turn away, so the smile on her face wouldn't be too obvious, as she thought of her words; and she really hoped her voice wasn't as 'edge of laughter' as she thought it was.
"Tell me. Would you defy the crystals, if it meant protecting your home?"
Olivia sounded almost offended when she replied. "My home depends on the crystals for its well-being. I am incapable of protecting one without the other."
"There is no town, no land, no way of thinking that would rather see the crystals alight than the world intact."
The vestal paused for a brief moment; then her words were confused. "What are you talking about? The crystals are the four pillars that protect the world. You're not making any sense."
Edea's smile vanished when she realized that, even after all the time she had been on the run, Olivia was a crystal vestal same as any other; she looked over her shoulder at a girl who doubtless knew damn near every Crystalist scripture by heart, and trusted them all.
"You believe your teachings, without question."
"Of course I do," Olivia insisted."
Now the templar's daughter turned away, breathing through pursed lips. "...Then you have my sympathies."
A moment's pause; then she reached for her side, not caring if Olivia saw her vanish.
Bravely Second.
+x+x+x+
"I take it you were... less than successful?"
Ringabel had moored the Dark Knight not far from the shore near Hartschild - close enough that they could pass by for a pick-up or drop-off, far enough that the Shieldbearers wouldn't notice the big black airship. When Edea had appeared on the shore with a very displeased look on her face, they had brought the ship just close enough for her to hop on and grab the guardrails, then sailed the ship far enough away to be unnoticeable.
"I wasn't thinking," Edea admitted at Tiz's question. "I know the position she's in, and I ran flat into the same train of thought that had me working under Ominas Crowe."
With a sigh, Ringabel got the ship into the air - the skies were dark enough that the black ship wouldn't be obvious. "Well, what next?" he mused.
There was a fiery glow from below, and everyone rushed to the railing to see the Temple of Fire - or, what was still visible - shining bright red.
"The crystal," Agnès realized. "She is awakening the Crystal of Fire."
A fierce grunt from Ringabel caused all of them to turn towards him. The airship pilot had a hand on his forehead, and he seemed to be stumbling back; at the same time the light intensified below, to show that the Rite of Awakening had been completed, Ringabel gave a shout of pain and fell to his knees.
+x+x+x+
"Hm..."
Grandship's deck, surrounded by that threatening white light.
The fairy's wings, shimmering.
And a menacing giggle from one who had played aid to the vestal.
"And after you'd come so far... A pity."
Tiz and Agnès in Caldisla.
Templar Braev Lee in the Chamber of Six.
Edea roaring at him on Grandship's deck.
"I'm sorry... everyone... I couldn't..."
Edea...
"Can you hear me? Ringabel!?"
"Ringabel!"
His eyes shot open, and he realized that he was on his knees, dangerously close to the railing of the Dark Knight. Tiz and Agnès were kneeling at his sides, and Ringabel looked like she had been about to slap him awake if he hadn't opened his eyes right then.
"What the hell just happened?" Edea snapped.
"I..." Ringabel groaned, stumbling to his feet. "I... was right..."
Everyone looked confused. "Right...?" Agnès inquired.
Ringabel grunted, a hand going to his head. "Damn you... piercer..."
Without waiting for anyone else to speak, he charged into the cabin, setting himself down at the internal com and grabbing the stylo he had set there. He drew out the two journals that had been sitting in his pocket; the unillustrated copy was tossed onto the desk, and he pulled the other one open to the page he had marked.
The 6 on the wing - the second, smaller one.
He had sized and placed that version such that he could draw three more. Quickly, he set the stylo on the surface, drawing the wing's outline again - but once he had the pattern on the rim, he stopped short of the number, before shifting the location and drawing again. Once that was one, he drew once more; and then he was aware of the presences behind him.
"What happened?" Tiz demanded.
Ringabel was quiet for a moment; then he reached for the second drawing, tracing a number onto the wing.
5.
Then another.
4.
And then the last.
3.
He turned to the others, holding out the journal. "Any of these look familiar?" he inquired.
Agnès was the first to notice. "This one," she murmured, setting her fingers against the wing marked 5. "This was what Airy's wings looked like when I first met her."
Tiz turned to her. "Are you sure?" he mused, pointing to the one with the 4. "I could swear I've seen this one before."
"I think I've seen them both," Edea mused. "But, what's these other two..."
Ringabel pulled the journal away from them, setting it on the desk and lying back in his chair. "I... I remember everything, now," he murmured. "Those scattered memories when I saw the crystals... They've all fallen into place."
Edea turned to him. "Your memory's back?" she mused. "That's..." She stopped herself. "That's not as good as it sounds, is it?"
"No," Ringabel mused. "I don't think it is."
He sighed, pulling himself around and lashing his hand down to draw his asterisks - and his gaze fell on the Dark Knight's stone.
Tiz was the first to notice. "Alternis," he mused. "You figured out...?"
"I am Alternis Dim," Ringabel interrupted. "The dark knight. I... I think, what Airy's been doing, with the Holy Pillar... has been going on for a long time now. When we would speak of 'this world', the 'last world' - that's a lot more accurate that we could have guessed." He shook his head. "I... Every time I saw one of the awakened crystals, in this world, I would see glimpses. Crossing swords with all three of you. And seeing you all die..."
He grabbed his journal again, turning back to the dark figure before the first drawing of the wing.
"At the hands of this."
Agnès' gaze fell. "You mean... other than..."
Ringabel nodded. "I..." Here, he turned to Tiz. "Do you remember when we first met, in Caldisla?"
Tiz thought for a moment. "The world before the last, I think," he mused.
"Yes..." Ringabel murmured. "I think... I am dark knight... from the world before that." He turned back to his four wings. "This one, the six - I saw Airy's wings with this, when I woke up on this ship. And just now... I saw it turn into this one with the five." Turning to Agnès. "You said this was what Airy's wings looked like when you first met her?"
Agnès nodded.
"And after we had gone through the Holy Pillar the first..." He tapped the one Tiz had indicated. "It was the four, here."
"It's counting down," Edea mused.
Ringabel nodded. "Yes, I think so," he mused. "Which means that in this world... it's the three."
Edea grabbed the journal from him, flipping back through the writings. "Then, all of these notes, the stuff you kept calling prophecy..."
"They're a personal record, from my own world," Ringabel confirmed. "That's why they don't line up with what's happened."
"They just sort of... helped us find our way," Agnès mused.
Ringabel sighed. "What I remember... Airy... She killed all three of you, the moment you were in the Holy Pillar. I..." He scoffed angrily at himself. "I just looked on while it happened. I think... the only reason she took us to the world where her wings said four, is because I was here."
Edea set a hand on her temple. "I remember, when she saw the Alternis from our world... She started muttering to herself. She mentioned something about an extra member. I think you're right."
"I remember," Tiz observed. "She said... She said something about..."
"Eleven hundred million years," Agnès finished. "She said she has been doing this for eleven hundred million years." She shook her head. "And... I think, from what Ringabel said... Airy has killed us at least as many times."
"And now," Ringabel mused, "she's going to do the same thing to Olivia and Til if we don't stop her."
That grim fate settled over the group.
"Ringabel," Tiz prompted. "Take us to Yulyana Woods."
The former dark knight raised his gaze. "What?"
"We need to talk to the Sage."
Draco: Alright, a little more break here.
