He wasn't corrupted.

Baralai held his head in his hands. He wasn't sure how much time passed since that attack by Ace's brother. The curtains were drawn shut and every other member of this encampment was out. Something happened with Terra, Rydia, and Fran, but only those outside chattered about the details. He forced back the vain wish that Paine stuck around.

The door slid open. Baralai straightened.

"Hey, Baralai," Penelo said. She and Vaan stepped into the room before closing the door behind them. Penelo took a spot against the wall and Vaan plopped down on the ground.

"So," Vaan said, "your friend seemed pretty cool. The mercenary one."

They never failed to surprise him. "Paine," Baralai said, the sound of her name bitter on his tongue. "She's an old friend."

Vaan whistled to himself. "Old friend as in…?"

"Shut up Vaan," Penelo said. "That's her real name."

"Her real… mercenary name, right?"

Penelo puffed up with embarrassment. "Vaan."

Baralai stood, heat prickling at his back. "It's not important."

Penelo jumped between him and the door. "If you overwork yourself, it's only going to make this harder."

"Always take some time in the shade," Vaan said.

"Actually, there is something I wanted to ask of you two."

Penelo pulled back. "Oh?"

"I can do something," Vaan said. "But it depends on the something."

Penelo flicked him on the ear and Vaan gave a disgruntled sound.

"I need someone to go to Spira." Baralai mentally cursed himself. It was the first world that came to mind. "Go to Spira and get something from the Council there."

The two of them shared a glance.

"That's your world, right?" Vaan asked. "How long has it been since you've been there?"

"Too long."

Penelo shifted. "You don't need us more here?"

"I will. But first, we'll want the sphere of the former Praetor more. Gippal will know what that means."

"Gippal?" Vaan asked. "You've mentioned him before. How are we supposed to find him?"

"I'm afraid there's no answer I can give you there. You'll have to ask around, but most know him well enough to point you in the right direction."

"A~nd what's this for?"

"That's complicated. But you should pack and get going soon lest you hit an… anomaly."

"How?" Vaan asked. "None of us have shards anymore."

"I never gave away Paine's."

"Will it be enough?" Penelo asked. "It was hard enough with all the shards before…"

"Take it gently and you'll make it but take time to rest once you land. Give yourselves as long as possible before jumping again."

Vaan slowly nodded, confused. But Vaan wasn't slow, so Baralai couldn't give him too long to think.

Penelo spoke before he could. "We're not leaving without saying goodbye to Balthier and Fran."

"Of course." He took her hand and said, "But you'll be back soon, so don't dawdle."

Penelo agreed and left with Vaan. Baralai caught a glimpse of age in them as they walked off, the size of them and the wind-blown hair not enough to hide their maturity. He gambled to send them away like this.

The door shut, leaving Baralai alone in the dark again. He took comfort in that. If he were corrupted, he'd seek out the light. Instead he found the darkest corner to read and shut out thoughts of endless walking among stars.


Desch whistled to himself as they headed for the reported monster hotspot behind Ur. Doing his job as an ancient. Protector of the world or some such.

Gladiolus growled behind him. "Your world needs more travel options."

"It could be worse," Iris said.

"How so?"

"You know… the airship could have crashed or made an emergency landing in the water."

"It also could have dropped us off closer to the target."

"Cid didn't think so."

Desch listened with half an ear to the siblings' bickering as he searched for the altar cave. He still hadn't seen the crystal there, right? It had to be quite the sight, being so near to the homes of the Light Warriors.

He veered off and the siblings followed without skipping a beat. He felt a sort of buzz in his ears that got stronger and quieter at the same time. He followed it to a narrow opening in the ock.

"Wait," he said. "I found the Wind Crystal. Let's check it out."

"There's a crystal in there?" Gladio asked.

"Yeah." Desch bent down to get past the low entrance of the cave. It widened up inside and Desch knew the way through here. Straight ahead and through the opening to the little "room," with the cave-in.

Torches glared inside, ever lit by the power of the crystals, though they were few and far between.

Iris asked, "Why such an awkward place?"

Desch crouched and prepared to work his way down. "What do you mean?"

"Do you not want to make it more accessible?"

"We don't usually have a lot of reason to get up close and personal with it." Desch jumped down. "Follow me!"

Gladio jumped down next. He hit the ground like a rock and straightened to catch Iris when she fell.

She dusted off her shoulders as Gladio set her down. "Seems quiet," she said. "But let's keep it quick."

"We'll be back soon." He flashed Iris a smile and she faked one back.

The air hung heavy, but maybe that was just his imagination. Some adverse effect of going back to the floating continent after so long away. He found himself impressed that the other two showed no signs of oxygen issues despite walking as long as they did on the Floating Continent.

"Hold on," Gladio said and they stopped. "I heard something."

Iris readied her fists. "We've gotten pretty good at hunting in the dark."

"Then we need to get to the crystal." Desch moved toward a natural light in the distance It danced in nebulous patterns across the cave's ceiling. They were close.

Gladio hissed but Desch didn't stop. He skid around the corner and whipped his sword from its sheath. The stench of rotting flesh filled his nose. He twisted around the crystal chamber, momentary ease washing over him that the crystal door looked intact. Though scratched and gouged in crisscrossing patterns.

Desch spun on his heel and faced the wellspring. A twisted spire of metal emanated patches of darkness that seeped into shapeless forms on the ground.

One of those gates. But this one was corrupted.

Gladio and Iris joined him, backs to the crystal chamber.

"They look like daemons," Iris whispered. "Eugh, smell like it, too."

A red eye appeared in the mass. It looked around before locking onto them.

Desch swung first. His blade met twisted, jagged, and barely coalesced flesh. The dog-like creature howled a bloodcurdling cry as it fell to smoke and ash, echoing all through the antechamber and sending ripples across the wellspring.

"Guess that makes this just another day." Gladio hefted a massive sword off his back as he moved away from Desch. Desch chilled at the thought of dodging that thing in here.

Dozens of eyes perked open by the gate. Desch channeled thunder energy into a condensed spell.

The dark pools rippled out, covering the walls, the floor, and parts of the ceiling.

Gladio cut through a good half dozen of them in one move. Iris moved from one target to the next, using well-placed jabs and chokeholds to take the things out.

Desch unleashed thundara. It crackled through the dark and rained ash.

More creatures formed from the gate.

"We got a plan here?" Gladio shouted over the vicious screams of the horde.

Desch channeled. Judging by the scratches on the door, these things weren't new. And they tried to get to the crystal before. The only safe way they had out of this place was through that door to the exit runes on the other side of the crystal itself. No way were they going to climb back up through the cave-in with these things around.

"We've got to destroy the gate." Desch threw more magic and reset his grip on the sword.

Gladio grunted and stabbed his great sword into the jaws of an approaching beast. He kicked another away. "It'll be tight!"

"Toss me up, Gladdy, I can make it!" Iris crouched low and knocked a handful of them off-balance.

"Hell no! You get surrounded by these things and its over!"

"I'll go." Desch couldn't get close enough to do anything with his sword. "These things aren't gonna kill me."

Gladio grimaced. "Jump when I tell you to."

Iris snapped the neck of another critter. "I'll follow!"

Desch dropped his sword, channeled in one hand, and took Gladio's hand in the other.

"Jump!"

Desch did so and got flung over the hordes.

Panic numbed his hands, but he hit the ground in a roll. He loosed the thunder in a big bang. It ripped through dozens of monsters and left him inches to move.

Iris landed beside him and turned her back to him as the shadows closed in.

Desch channeled more thunder but couldn't keep up. He broke off toward the gate and released a weaker thunder that cleared few of them.

He reached the gate. But… now what?

Iris kept up a frenetic fight, barely keeping the things back. Desch released another thunder that hit the gate.

Iris screamed. A hulking beast caught her in its teeth and wrenched her back and forth. Desch yelled and bolted the thing's heart.

Iris stumbled free and cured.

Something slammed into him from behind. Last thing he saw was the wall, shimmering with watery light.

Familiar buzzing in his head, followed by tingling near his heart and jaw. He went from not feeling his fingers and toes to finding them cold and sluggish. And heavy.

He tried to breathe. And choked on water. Man, he hated dying.

Desch forced his eyes open to see Iris floating near him. Desch kicked into motion, grabbed her, and brought her to the surface. She couldn't have died, she couldn't—

Iris gasped in air. But then how…?

Desch turned to see the horde rip towards a new target, sporting a silver ponytail.

"Hey, guys!" Luneth threw knives and hit monster after monster. He retrieved his weapons again with inhuman speed.

Iris remained lucid enough to keep herself afloat and pull herself to shore. Desch went for the gate. He jumped up, glad to find the monsters more interested in eating a Warrior of Light than a lousy Ancient.

Gladio stomped down his fair share of monsters as he moved towards the wellspring. At the sight of Iris, he turned beastly.

"I think they'll stop coming if we take that gate out," Desch said to Luneth. "I've tried hitting it with magic, but it did nothing! Any ideas?"

"Sure!" Luneth vaulted over the mobs to get closer and pulled a spear off his back. "Hit it harder!"

He jabbed it straight into the center of the twisted metal. Desch hadn't noticed before that it still had that crystal-like orb there. It was just… dark.

The creatures screeched as it disintegrated into nothing. They fell as one and bodies turned to dust at its destruction.

Luneth grinned and turned to look at the others. "Crystal sent me. What'd I miss?"

"Where've you been?" Desch asked. His sword still lay over by the chamber entrance. There was a small pool of blood on the ground by where the gate was, that was Iris.

"Sorry, I got distracted." Luneth watched Iris and Gladio join them, the former carrying her arm with pain in her face. The wounds were tenuously healed over. "Who're these guys?"

"Iris!" Desch looked between her and the wellspring. "You fell in the wellspring! That's why you're alive!"

"Saw a spell go off." Gladio kept a close eye on Iris. "Heard a splash after that."

"One of the daemons hit Desch." Iris nodded to him. "His thunder threw us in the water."

"Smart." Luneth made for the entrance. "Let's get going! I haven't seen everybody in ages! Including you new guys—you'll have to tell me your stories on the way out."

Desch picked up his sword on the way. They passed the crystal and Luneth talked about its history with the siblings. He also talked about where he went, having fae powers, and making odd connections. They kept chatting all the way back to the airship.

Desch couldn't bring himself to participate.