Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to this game or story,
all rights belong to (SQUARE ENIX Developers), but I do own everything that is OC related.
Speech...
Devine / Demonic Speech...
Inner Thoughts / Flashback story / Story progression...
Locations / Time Skip / Description...
"The best-laid plans often lead to the most unpredictable outcomes,"
Chapter 13
Unexpected Surprises
The Kingdom of Dalmasca
The Royal City of Rabanastre
Low Town
Northern Sprawl
Evening Time
Once Vaan had finished his preparations he waited until dusk before making his way through Low Town towards storehouse five where he ran into a familiar face.
"Kytes, what are you doing here?" said a questioning Vaan.
"Hey, Vaan I finally worked out how to get the door on the left side open! I hope there's something in there besides rats…," said an excited Kytes.
"I see, but why haven't you unlocked the door, Kytes?" said a questioning Vaan, as he stood before the door with Kytes next to him.
"Well, to be honest, I wanted you to go in first, so I waited for you to come before opening it. Actually, that was only one of the reasons why I waited…
The thing is, I'm gonna need some special tools to open the door… Gonna need you to go fetch 'em for me," said Kytes.
"You've got to be kidding me," said a disbelieving Vaan, as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"I know, I know. Not the most exciting thing to do, is it? Heh, heh," said a chuckling Kytes.
"I'm just messing with ya. I've got everything I need ready to go! Hang on while I open it…," said Kytes, as he went to work on the door,
leaving a somewhat disbelieving Vaan as he face's palmed himself for falling for Kytes's antics.
A Few Moments Later
"Hmm, let's see… Yeah, that should do it… Huh? Ungh, Urgh, Angh! Hrooph!" said a struggling Kytes, as he was trying to turn the lock
when suddenly there was a clicking sound.
"Ok, it's open! Now we've got a whole 'nother place to explore!" said an excited Kytes, as he began putting away all of his lock picking tools.
"You did a good job of unlocking the door Kytes; however I'm going to need you to lock the door behind me," said Vaan, as he stepped towards the door.
"What! But I just unlocked it," said a confused Kytes.
"I know Kytes, but for right now I need you to do this for me," said a reasoning Vaan in a calm tone.
"Uh…alright," said a giving up Kytes.
"Thanks, Kytes, I'll be sure to get you something when I get back," said Vaan, as Kytes immediately brightened up.
"You really mean it!" said an excited Kytes, as Vaan began making his way through the door.
"Of course," said Vaan, as he continued on his way down the steps into the Garamsythe Waterway.
The Garamsythe Waterway
A Few Minutes Later
After Vaan had entered the Garamsythe Waterway he pulled out a map that he had purchased from a Moogle cartographer, in order to get a rough layout of the Waterway
tunnels which stretched on for miles on end in all directions.
"Ok, the palace should be to the north of here, so if I take this route I should end up fairly close to the secret passageway that Old Dalan mentioned,"
thought Vaan, before putting the map away and beginning his long trek through the waterway.
As Vaan continued to make his way through the waterway he soon came across a few dire rats, Steeling bats, and Ichthon flying fish, which he quickly
dispatched and skinned before continuing on his way. However, it didn't take long as he soon came across a flight of stairs that lead straight up.
"This must be the secret passageway that leads into the palace, once I enter here it won't be easy getting out, sigh, well it's either now or never I guess,"
said Vaan to himself, as he soon ascended the stairs.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
The Garden Courtyard
Night Time
As fireworks lit up the palace fete imperial guards were making their rounds when a hoverbike with two mysterious strangers on it quickly and quietly zoomed out into the
open and in through a corridor unnoticed before coming to a quick and slightly screeching halt as one of the mysterious stranger's leaped from the hoverbike and landed on
the ground before holstering a gun onto their shoulder.
"Hmm…," muttered the mysterious stranger.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
Cellars
After Vaan had climbed the stairs and traveled down a corridor of tunnels he soon came upon what looked like a hatch with rays of light shining down.
"I guess this is my only way in," said Vaan to himself, as he began climbing up towards the hatch before slightly pushing it open to see if anyone was around.
Once the coast was clear Vaan climbed into the room and got a good look around and saw a few supply crates here and there.
"This must be one of the storage cellars of the palace, which means there will be a lot of palace servants to blend in with," thought Vaan,
as he made his way towards the door.
Once Vaan had opened and passed through the door he casually made his way through the cellars looking around at the servants and workers going about their business,
until he saw a group of servants standing near the stairs with a few imperial soldiers blocking the way.
"Have you gathered up all of the occasional's?" said an Imperial soldier, to which the group of servants responded with a yes or an uh-huh.
"Good, you'll be on clean-up duty when the fete's over. Wait here until we're ready for you, No one goes to the upper floor until we give the order.
Step out of line and you will be punished," said the Imperial soldier once again, only with a more serious tone towards the end, before the imperial soldier left
leaving his fellow soldier behind to stand guard.
As the servants began to disperse, Vaan casually made his way towards the stairs before the imperial guard who was standing guard noticed him.
"Sorry boy, but you'll have to wait here like everyone else until further notice," said the imperial soldier, as Vaan nodded before turning around.
"Great, now what do I do," thought Vaan, as a palace servant took notice of Vaan.
"…What's he doing? Trying to go upstairs?" said the Palace Servant to no one in particular, as he soon realized what the boy might be after,
thus he quickly waved his hand trying to get the boy's attention.
Vaan soon took notice of the Seeq and casually made his way over.
"I wonder what this Seeq wants," thought Vaan, as he stood before the palace servant.
"Do you need help with something," asked Vaan.
"You can drop the act, I know what you're up to," said the Palace Servant.
"Sorry, but whatever your thinking I'm-," said Vaan, but was cut off as the Seeq continued to speak.
"I know you're trying to go upstairs, ain't you! I know…," said the Palace Servant, as Vaan suddenly went silent.
"Dammit, caught red-handed even before I got started," thought a somewhat worried Vaan.
"Yer hungry!" laughed the Palace Servant.
"Huh," said a sweet-dropping dumbfounded Vaan.
"I don't blame you. An empty stomach makes me want to crash the fete, too!" said the Palace Servant in-between laughs.
"That's not exactly-," said Vaan.
"No, no, no use in tryin' to hide it! Look here, I'll help you out," said the Palace Servant.
"You…will," said a surprised yet confused Vaan.
"Of course, all you need to do is call the guard over and I'll handle him, while you make for the stairs!" said the Palace Servant.
"I guess I should consider myself lucky that this Seeq thinks more about food than anything else, but seriously, HOW CLUELESS CAN ONE SEEQ BE,"
thought a disbelieving Vaan.
Just be sure not to let him spot you as you make for the stairs, Alright let's giver a try!" said the Palace Servant with excitement, as Vaan just nodded in response.
"Hey over here!" said a loud Vaan, as he got the imperial guard's attention.
"Now's yer chance, Get goin'!" said the Palace Servant, as Vaan quickly got behind a pillar, before carefully making his way around as the imperial guard left his post.
"There's my opening," thought Vaan, as he carefully made his way up the stairs and through the double doors into what looked like a corridor of halls.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
Lower Halls
After entering the lower halls Vaan lifted up his dark hood over his head which cast a dark shadow over most of his face.
"Now, what was it that old man Dalan said?" said Vaan to himself, as he thought for a moment when he suddenly had a flashback.
"The signet yearns for sunstone's strength, to light the clouded way. Once in the palace, you'll find the signet tile. Give to it the sun's power, and it will light your path,"
said Old Dalan, as Vaan's sudden flashback came to an end.
"Looks like I've got a signet to find," said Vaan to himself, as he began searching the lower halls while avoiding the imperial guards that were patrolling.
Migelo's Sundries
Present Time
Meanwhile back at Migelo's Sundries Penelo was watching the store while Filo was tidying up the shop when Kytes walked into the store.
"Hey there Kytes took you long enough," said a somewhat agitated Filo.
"Yeah, sorry about that Filo I was taking care of something for Vaan," said a chuckling Kytes.
"What's this I hear about doing something for Vaan," said Penelo, as she came towards Filo and Kytes.
"Huh Penelo, what are you still doing here? I thought Filo and I were supposed to be watching the store," said a somewhat surprised Kytes.
"I was just finishing up for the day, but never mind that, what's this I hear about doing something for Vaan," said Penelo.
"Well, you know how Vaan always goes down into theGaramsythe Waterway through the right door of storehouse five to hunt rats, right," said Kytes.
"Right," said Penelo, as she continued listening to Kytes's explanation.
"Well I was able to get the door on the left opened, but the moment I do Vaan asks me to lock the door behind him," said a casual Kytes,
which immediately got Penelo's attention.
"Did he tell you the reason why?" said somewhat nervous Penelo.
"Not really, although he was acting kind of strange like he was in a hurry to get somewhere," said Kytes.
"Hmm, maybe it has something to do with the recent rumor that's been going around," said Filo, as she placed her index finger on her chin.
"A rumor? First time I'm hearing about this," said a questioning Kytes.
"Well to be more precise I heard it from a couple of wasted imperials that were coming from the Sandsea Inn. Something about the Blackwolf hiding a treasure
or something within Rabanastre," said Filo, who looked toward Penelo once again only to see that she had suddenly vanished without a trace.
"What the, where did she go!" said a loud Filo, as she quickly looked around for Penelo.
"I don't know, I turned away for a second and she just disappeared!" said a surprised Kytes as well, as he looked around as well.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
Lower Halls
A Few Minutes Later
After avoiding the imperial patrols, Vaan had come across a Hawk Signet that was located on the floor.
"Could this be it," thought Vaan, as he took out the Crescent Stone from his pouch before holding it over the signet, after a moment or two nothing happened?
"I guess this wasn't the one; there must be more than one down here," thought Vaan, as he continued searching the lower halls for the next signet while also continuing
to avoid the imperial patrols. After searching the halls for sometime Vaan came across another signet only this one was in the shape of a Lion.
"Alright, let's try this again," thought Vaan, as he took out the Crescent Stone from his pouch before holding it over the Lion Signet, which immediately began resonating
with the stone.
"The light of the sun is flowing into the signet. The hidden way should be lit now," thought Vaan, as he placed the Crescent Stone back into his pouch
before closing his eyes to concentrate on the energy around the signet before tracing the flow towards what looked like a wall.
"That must be it," thought Vaan, as he opened his eyes once again before noticing a patrol passing by.
"I better get a move on before I get caught," thought Vaan, as he began making his way through the lower halls before coming to what looked like a dead end.
However, Vaan soon spotted a faint light emanating from beyond the wall itself.
"This must be it," said a quiet Vaan to himself, as he approached the wall, which in turn gave off a sudden glow before opening up a secret passageway,
afterward's, Vaan proceeded on through the hidden door into the secret passageway.
"Well, that takes care of the secret passage. Now where's that…," said Vaan, but was suddenly cut off as the hidden door suddenly slammed itself shut behind him.
"HEY, WATCH IT!" yelled a sudden Vaan, which attracted the attention of one of the stationed imperial guards.
"Hey did you hear something," said the imperial guard, as he approached the hidden door.
"I didn't hear anything," said another imperial guard who was stationary.
"Strange, I thought I heard someone's voice just now," said the first imperial guard.
"You're just hearing things, now get back to your post before our superior's show up and reprimand's you for leaving your post," said the second imperial guard.
"Yeah, yeah," said the first imperial guard, as he returned to his post.
"Man that was close, if I yelled any louder the whole palace would have heard me," thought a sweating Vaan, as he was ducking below the window screen of the hidden door.
After the coast was clear Vaan stood up and looked back towards the hidden door.
"Sigh, guess it's not leaving me much choice," said Vaan to himself, as he looked forward once more before continuing on his way.
"Now if I remember correctly there should be a small switch somewhere around here," said Vaan to himself, as he ran his hand along the wall until he pressed in on one
of the stones which in turn caused a mechanical clicking sound from behind him. Afterward's Vaan made his way towards a rather suspicious looking wall.
As he got closer however a section of the wall suddenly opened up into what looked like the palace treasure room.
"Just like I remembered," said a quiet Vaan, as he remembered Princess Ashe showing him, Reks, Penelo, and Rasler the hidden passageways throughout the palace
during the anniversary of the Galtea Alliance six years ago.
"Thank you, Ashe," said a quiet yet somewhat smiling Vaan, as he took a moment to touch the braided white Chocobo feather behind his right ear.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
The Garden Courtyard
"Hmm," muttered a young woman.
"Is something wrong?" said Vossler, as he and a few other resistance fighters were getting into position.
"It's nothing just a strange feeling is all," said the young woman.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
The Treasure Room
A Few Minutes Later
"If I was uncle where would I hide an artifact," said Vaan, as he looked around the treasure room until he spotted a strange global map of the world that caught his eye.
After getting a closer look at the globe it seemed that most of the continents were misaligned.
"If I set the continents to what they look like now, then maybe," thought Vaan, as he began lining up the continents of Valendia, Ordallia, Kerwon, and a few others until
he heard a clicking sound, which caused the globe itself to open up.
"Wow, now that definitely looks like an artifact that my uncle would hide," thought Vaan, as he looked upon a sphere that had big and small circles with lines going through
them as well as lettering etched above and below the lines themselves.
"Hmm I better get this back to the guild and have the others take a look at it," said Vaan, as he picked up the orb and placed it in his pouch.
Afterward's Vaan closed-up the globe before making his way towards the treasure room doors; however, Vaan immediately stopped when he
felt a strong flow of Magicite emanating from the goddess statue.
"Dammit, I know I got what I need, but I can't just leave such a dangerous source of power like that lying around for the imperials to find,"
thought a cursing Vaan, as he began looking around for some kind of lever or switch to open the goddess statue.
A Few Minutes Later
After searching for sometime Vaan found the lever or switch he was looking for as he heard a clicking sound as the goddess statue's face began opening-up
showing what looked like a Magicite stone, which Vaan quickly secured.
"Quite a performance," said a sudden voice, as Vaan quickly turned around, as a well-dressed man came in through the hidden passage that he came through.
"Who are you?" said a calm Vaan.
"I play the leading man, who else?" said the smirking man, as he looked upon the cloaked figure with mild interest.
"Fran, the sphere and Magicite," said the man, as Vaan immediately turned slightly around to see a female Viera coming up from behind him.
"Now then, I'll be taking those," said the Viera.
"Sorry, but I found them first, their mine," said Vaan, as he carefully placed the Magicite stone into his pouch while keeping his eyes on the man and Viera.
"And then when I take them from you, they'll be mine," said the man, as he leaned against a few treasure containers while crossing his arms while his Viera partner came
to stand next to him. As the man and Viera continued to wait and see what the cloaked figure in front of them would do, they suddenly heard a commotion outside which
distracted them for a second, however that second must have been enough since the cloaked figure who had their prize was suddenly gone, as they looked from where the
cloaked figure stood towards the open door.
"Exit stage right," said the smirking man, as he and his Viera partner looked at one another.
"The gods do not smile on us," said the female Viera, as she watched the goddess statue close before turning back towards her partner.
"I like it better that way," said the man.
Rabanastre Royal Palace
The Garden Stairs
After Vaan was able to escape the treasure room he suddenly stopped and backed himself up when he saw a lot of imperial guards passing by.
"Dammit, can't go back the way I came," said Vaan, as he then looked at the stairs going up.
"Maybe there's another way out on the upper floor," said Vaan, as he began running up a flight of stairs before coming to a set of doors.
After slamming the doors open, Vaan quickly looked around before making his way across the palace rooftops, however, he stops for a moment to see what
all the commotion was about.
"What's going on," said a surprised Vaan, as he saw a battle between the Arcadian imperial guards and what looked like Dalmascan insurgents. However, an imperial airship
suddenly shows up out of nowhere and fires a shot into the garden courtyard killing many Dalmascan insurgents.
"Dammit, I need to get the hell outta here before I get caught in the middle-," thought Vaan, however, his thoughts were cut short when he heard a voice.
"The Ifrit, eh, that's quite an entrance," said the voice, as Vaan quickly turned his head to the right to see the same man he saw in the treasure room.
"Impeccable timing, If I didn't know better, I'd say they were waiting all along," said the man, as he continued to look on at the Arcadian imperial airship before it fired
another shot into the garden courtyard killing both imperial guards and Dalmascan insurgents, however, the shot caused a shockwave as well as a cloud of dust which
obscured the man's vision, which the cloaked figure took advantage of as he began running once again.
"Stop running!" yelled the man, as the cloaked figure kept on running until he was forced to stop by the sudden appearance of the man's partner, who blocked the cloaked
figure's path with their hoverbike.
"End of the line!" said the man, as the cloaked figure looked back towards him.
"You have somethings that belong to me," said the man, as he lifted up his hand in a gesture to fork over the items. However, the cloaked figure looked like he wasn't
going to give up the items so easily. Thus the man began making his way towards the cloaked figure.
"Dammit, guess I got no choice-," thought Vaan, however his train of thought was cut-short yet again as the man looked back.
"Chi damn!" cursed the man, as he heard a group of imperial guards making their way towards them, thus he began running as the group of imperial guards came
through the doors before quickly spotting them.
"More this way!" yelled the leading imperial guard.
"Fran, Let's move!" yelled the man to his Viera partner, who immediately moved the hoverbike off the rooftop.
Vaan quickly turned towards the man who came running toward him and immediately realized what the man was going to do, as the man ran towards Vaan
before grabbing him and jumping off the roof just before the imperial guards could get them.
As the man and Vaan were falling, the man's partner pulled the hoverbike underneath them as the man landed in his seat while Vaan grabbed onto the man's armrest
of the hoverbike, which took off around the garden courtyard, however, a problem soon arose.
"What's going on, Fran?" said the man, as he noticed the hoverbike was losing power.
"I don't know. It's not heeding me," said the Viera, as she tried to regain control of the hoverbike.
"Dammit, I don't have time for this," said the man, as the hoverbike continued to lose power when suddenly another shot was fired from the Ifrit which landed right in front
of them causing a cave-in just as the hoverbike lost its power causing the group to plummet right into the hole in the ground.
The Garamsythe Waterway
A Few Minutes Later
"What happened, our hover didn't just drop it disappeared," said the Viera, as she examined the hoverbike's remains.
"Bah, forget it, even if we could fly the Ifrit's playing with fire, and I'd rather not get burned," said the man, as he looked towards the sewer passageway with a smirk.
"We'll go the old-fashioned way," said the man, as he looked from the sewers towards his partner before turning his attention towards the cloaked figure that was
leaning against the stone wall with their arms crossed while looking at his partner.
"Not many Viera where you come from, thief?" said the man, as the cloaked figure pushed-off the wall before removing their hood.
"It's Vaan," said a somewhat agitated Vaan, as he looked from the man back towards the Viera.
"Sorry, it's just you look like someone I know," said Vaan
"Is that right, well, Fran here is special in that she'd deign to partner with a hume," said the man.
Fran is a Viera with dark skin like her kin, with thick white hair and long claw-like fingernails. Fran's eyelashes are black despite her white hair, ears, and eyebrows. Her long,
leporine ears are covered in white fur with speckles of brown fur at the tips. She has red eyes, a trait not uncommon to her race. She keeps her waist-long hair in a ponytail
and leaves the shorter pieces to frame her face. As for the way her feet are structured, Fran walks wearing stilettos.
Fran dresses in a revealing piece of armor that resembles lacy lingerie in the style of a teddy and stockings. Part of the material of her bodysuit and leg-wear is metal adorned
with filigree. The front of her armor is open with a sheer piece of fabric covering her stomach along with a "rabbit tail" style decorative piece at the small of her back. Fran
wears black elbow-length sleeves with red trimming fastened across her collar bone with a silver clip, slightly lower than the black band she wears around her neck. Her
forearms are covered in armor similar in design to her bodice and leg-wear. She wears a headgear adorned in a way similar to her bodice. The headgear has openings for her
long ears, and her hair tends to show around the sides. Fran wears open two-heeled stilettos with a claw-like design at the toes.
"Oh? Like a sky pirate that chooses to steal through the sewers?" said a retorting Fran, which got Vaan's attention?
"Your sky pirates? Then that would mean you would have an airship?" said Vaan in a questioning tone.
"It's Balthier," said the man, as he shot down any more of Vaan's questions before standing-up.
Balthier is six feet tall and has short brown hair with blond highlights, sharply styled sideburns, and green eyes. He wears an embroidered golden and olive vest over a high-
collared shirt and tight black leather trousers with leather shin pads, and steel, open-backed sandals. He wears two crossed, gold-buckled belts with two pouches attached to
both sides and a collection of brightly colored rings and bracelets on his left hand, and has a set of earrings in both ears.
"Listen, thief – Vaan, if you ever want to see your home again, you'll do exactly as I say, Myself, Fran, and you. We're working together now, understood?" said Balthier,
as he got his point across.
"Whatever you say," said Vaan, as he turned around before walking towards a flight of stairs.
"Heh, he certainly has a charming personality," said Balthier, as he looked towards his partner Fran, who seemed to be looking at Vaan intently.
"Is something wrong Fran," said a curious Balthier.
"It is faint, but I sense an unsettling power residing within him," said Fran, as she looked from Vaan towards Balthier.
"Is that so," said a very curious Balthier, as he looked from his partner back towards Vaan.
A Few Minutes Later
After Vaan, Balthier, and Fran began making their way through the waterway they soon came across a couple of dead soldiers, which Balthier took a moment to look over.
"Their insurgents, most likely they thought to take advantage of a lax watch while the fete's on, in order to feed the good consul a length of steel for his supper. I should think
Vayne used to such hospitality. Clever, he used himself as the bait to draw them near and then sent in the air brigade. A fine, bloody banquet," said Balthier, as he stood up
after examining the dead insurgents.
"Humph. I daresay I've soiled my cuffs. If a dungeon's waiting for us at the end of the night it had best have a change of wardrobe," said Balthier, as he adjusted his sleeves
before looking towards Vaan who was looking over what looked like a map.
"Is there a way out, by chance?" asked Balthier.
"There is, however, were going to have to take a long way around approach since most of the passageways are locked down and any passageways that are open have been
destroyed due to the bombardment from the airship or by the imperial guards who are trying to cut off any insurgents escape routes," said Vaan, as he placed the map back
into his pouch before looking ahead.
East Sluice Control
A Few Minutes Later
After the group made their way through the waterway while dispatching Dire rats, Steeling bats, and Gigantoads, the group soon came upon a large area.
"So, what does your map show for this area Vaan," asked Balthier, as he looked towards Vaan.
"Well, according to the map we're in the east sluice area, which is half-way through the waterway," said Vaan, as he put the map away.
"Good, the sooner we get outta here the better," said Balthier, as he and Fran continued ahead of Vaan, before making their way down a set of stairs. However,
they soon stopped when they heard the sounds of fighting, as they soon saw a young woman with a sword and shield in hand surrounded by imperial troops.
"Now we have her! There's no getting away!" yelled a couple of imperial soldiers.
However, the young woman quickly spun around and cut down the imperial soldier that was behind her before quickly turning back around.
"Who would be next!" yelled the defiant young woman, while Vaan looked on; he soon noticed a white feather hanging from the side of her hair.
"Could it be?" thought a surprised Vaan.
"Close ranks! Bring her down!" yelled the unit commander, as the soldiers began to close in. Vaan immediately jumped from the top of the stairs and landed on the ground
before quickly running towards the woman's defense.
"Jump down!" yelled Vaan, which surprised the young woman.
"Hurry!" yelled Vaan, as the young woman took one last look at the imperials before deciding to jump.
As the young woman was falling, time seemed to slow down to a snail's pace as she looked directly at Vaan and Vaan looked directly at her?
"Vaan," thought the shocked young woman, as she immediately recognized Vaan, before time seemed to move forward once again as Vaan gracefully caught
the young woman into a princess carry.
Afterward's, Vaan and the woman looked at one another for a brief moment before a sudden shout had drawn their attention.
"She's not alone!" said the unit commander as the group of imperials began to close in.
"Would you kindly put me down," said the woman, as Vaan complied with her request.
Soon after the woman stood ready with sword and shield in hand, however, she was soon joined by Vaan as he pulled out his broadsword and stood alongside her.
"Our ranks grow by the hour," said Fran, as she pulled out her bow and hurried to Vaan and the woman's defense.
"And our troubles with them," said Balthier, as he also pulled out his gun and hurried to Vaan and the woman's defense, as the gate behind him slammed shut.
Once the imperial soldiers had made it down they stood ready to attack Vaan and the others. Vaan made the first move by running towards the unit commander which got the
attention of the other imperial soldiers. As Vaan drew closer, the unit commander brought his blade down upon Vaan, who blocked it with his own broadsword, however,
he was not out of danger just yet as the other imperial soldiers were coming at him from the left and right, thus he quickly disengaged the unit commander by kicking him in
the gut sending him back a couple of feet before quickly dodging and countering attacks from the other imperial soldiers. The young woman soon joined him at his side as she
blocked an attack with her shield from one of the imperial soldiers that were meant for Vaan before pushing the imperial soldier's blade away making the imperial soldier focus
on her, as for Balthier he loaded his gun from a safe distance before taking aim while Fran moved quickly around to the side as she also took aim with her bow and before any
of the imperial soldiers knew what happened two of their own were killed, one with an arrow through their heart and the other with a bullet through their head.
"Two down," said Fran, as she stood ready with another arrow.
"And two to go," finished Balthier, as he laid his gun on his shoulder.
As for the young woman, she continued to block her opponent's strikes until she saw an opening, where she was able to divert the imperial soldier's blade to the side before
getting behind and delivering a fatal upper slash to the imperial soldier's back, causing him to fall forward into the waterway.
As for Vaan who had locked blades with the unit commander once again, looked slightly towards the young woman to see that she was safe, thus he refocused his attention on
the unit commander as he began to push the imperial back to the point where sparks began to ignite from the contact of their blades, before suddenly shoving the imperial
unit commander back sending him off balance which gave him the opening he needed to deliver a downwards diagonal slash which sliced through the imperial's
armor like butter causing blood to spill forth as the unit commander fell to the ground dead in his own pool of blood.
Afterward's Vaan swung his blade splattering the blood that was on it onto the ground before putting his blade away and making his way over towards the young woman.
"You all right?" asked Vaan, as he stood before the young woman as she turned towards him.
"Thank you," said the young woman, with a hint of joy in her voice as she looked upon Vaan for the first time since he had left Rabanastre all those years ago.
"I'm Vaan, and this is Balthier and-Hey!" said Vaan, as he turned around only to see Balthier quietly walking away but stopped after Vaan's sudden outburst.
"What's your name?" asked Vaan, as he turned back towards the young woman.
At first, the young woman was confused and thought Vaan had forgotten about her, but when he asked her, her name, she immediately remembered who she
was now and that she had to bury her feelings.
"Amalia," said the young woman.
"Amalia, huh, Nice to meet you," said Vaan, as Amalia turned towards one of the waterway passages.
"There were others with me," said Amalia, as she hoped that her comrades were still alive after covering her retreat into the waterway.
"I'm sorry," said Fran.
"No," said Amalia, as she lowered her head knowing that none of her comrades made it, however, her mourning was short-lived as her attention was soon diverted
towards a glowing light that was emanating from Vaan's pouch.
"Hmm," muttered Vaan, as he pulled out the glowing Magicite stone from his pouch.
"Oh, now isn't that impressive," said Balthier, as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Don't get any ideas. I said it's mine," said Vaan, as he kept the stone close.
I'm afraid the jury's still out on that one," retorted Balthier.
"You stole that?" said a surprised Amalia.
"Yeah, but only to keep it out of the hands of the imperials," said a clarifying Vaan, as he placed the stone back into his pouch, while Amalia breathed a sigh of relief
knowing that Vaan took it with good intentions.
"Have you finished? When the guards don't report in. they'll come looking for us," said Fran.
"If they aren't already," add Balthier.
"You should come with us. Better than being by yourself," said Vaan, as Amalia thought it over for a moment.
"Very well, I shall be in your care for the time being," said Amalia, as she began making her way towards the passageway followed by Vaan.
However, Balthier and Fran held back for a moment to let Vaan and Amalia get a good distance from them.
"Did you notice," said an intrigued Balthier, as he watched Vaan and Amalia, especially Vaan.
"Yes," said Fran, as she also looked on.
"The way Vaan moved while fighting those imperials shows that he's been trained by someone who's highly skilled in combat," said Balthier,
as he looked towards his partner, who seemed to be looking at something in particular.
"There also seems to be some kind of connection between them as well," said Fran as she nodded towards the white Chocobo feathers hanging from their hair.
"It seems we've come across something far more interesting than any treasure it seems," said Balthier, as he and Fran began making their way towards Vaan and Amalia.
Central Sluice Control
A Few Moments Later
As Balthier lead the group, they soon came to a sudden stop when three Flan monsters came crawling out of the waterway to block their path.
"Oh great just what we need," said Balthier, as the group carefully backed up into a defensive formation as the flans began to surround them.
"I'll take the one in front," said Balthier as he loaded his gun, "Fran you take the one on the left," said Balthier, as Fran nodded while readying her fire magick, "as for-,"
began Balthier but was cut off when everyone heard a splattering sound, thus everyone slowly looked up when they spotted a huge Flan on the ceiling right above them.
Before anyone could say anything the huge flan suddenly looked down on them before dropping from the ceiling to the ground right in front of Vaan.
"Leave this one to me," said Vaan, as he unsheathed his sword leaving only Amalia to take care of the flan on the right. With nothing more to be said
the party engaged each of their targets.
Balthier aimed his gun at a safe distance before firing a special round into the flan, after a moment had passed the flan exploded into a puddle of sludge; next up was Fran as
she readied her fire magick's and sent a wave of flames towards the flan which writhed in agony before dissolving into a puddle of sludge, she then turned towards Balthier as
they both nodded to each other before quickly making their way over to assist Amalia, who was blocking her opponent's attacks while also counter-attacking,
Vaan on the other hand was dodging and weaving the large flan's attacks.
"Even though this flan is larger than the others it's still quite fast," thought Vaan, as he avoided each of the flan's attacks, before quickly turning his head slightly to see that
Balthier and Fran were assisting Amalia in finishing off her slimy opponent before turning his head back towards his own.
"It's really inconvenient that I have to hold back, however, there might be a way," thought Vaan, as he quickly moved away from the big blob before lowering his sword out of
sight as he began channeling a slight amount of Demicite into the sword before dashing towards the giant flan while dodging its attacks, while Amalia had delivered the final
blow to her opponent, she along with Balthier and Fran turned around just in time to see Vaan run his sword into the giant flan before quickly moving away leaving his sword
embedded inside the big blob's body.
"Vaan, what in the world are you thinking," thought a worried Amalia.
"Why did he discord his sword?" thought a bewildered Balthier, as the giant Flan slowly made its way towards Vaan. However, it soon came to a sudden stop as a Dark mist
began to emanate from within the giant flan, thus it began flailing around wildly before dissolving into a puddle of slug, which then drained into the waterway.
After the battle was over Balthier, Fran, and Amalia made their way over towards Vaan.
"That was certainly unexpected," said Balthier, as he holstered his gun onto his shoulder.
"I'm curious to know-," began Balthier, but was immediately interrupted by Vaan.
"I would like it if you didn't ask me any questions," said Vaan, as he began walking away, while Balthier stared at him questioningly. However, Vaan stopped suddenly
and turned his head slightly towards Balthier.
"At least for the time being," said Vaan, as he turned his head forward once more and continued on.
"Hump, very well then," said a satisfied Balthier, as Amalia soon followed after Vaan.
After the battle with the flans was over, Vaan, Amalia, Balthier, and Fran quickly made their way through the West Sluice Control and north through the No. 10 Channel while
taking out any dire rats, Steeling bats, Gigantoads, ghosts, or Garchimacera that got in their way.
The Garamsythe Waterway
Central Waterway Control
A Few Minutes Later
After Vaan and the others had finished off a group of Garchimacera's, the group came upon the Central Waterway Control.
"Alright we're almost through, all we have to do is go through these doors into the overflow cloaca and up the stairs, and we're home free," said Vaan.
"Good, I could use a nice stiff drink right about now, after all the trouble that has transpired tonight," said a somewhat exhausted Balthier, as he started
messaging one of his shoulders.
"Indeed," said Fran.
While Amalia on the other hand was looking at the doors before turning her attention towards Vaan who was getting ready to open them.
"It's been several years since we last saw each other Vaan, there are so many questions that I wish to ask, but given our situation right now, it's probably
best to save them for later," thought a somewhat contemplating Amalia, as Vaan opened the doors allowing the group to proceed on through.
The Garamsythe Waterway
The Overflow Cloaca
Moments Later
Although after entering the Overflow Cloaca the group was starting to get a bad feeling as large amounts of steam was rising from the waterways, then out of nowhere a flying
sphere of fire descended upon them before bursting into a fiery horse known as Firemane. Without wasting any time the group readied their weapons except for Vaan who was
unarmed due to his earlier encounter with the giant flan.
"Amalia, Fran keep your distance until you see an opening, Vaan, you should take a step back if you don't want to get burned," said Balthier, as he loaded a round into his gun.
"Thanks for the concern, but I have my own ways of fighting," said Vaan, as Balthier turned his head slightly towards Vaan.
"Oh is that so?" said a slightly curious Balthier, as Vaan put two of his fingers into his mouth and whistled really loudly which got Firemane's attention.
"HEY YOU BIG PILE OF CHOCOBO SHIT COME AND GET ME," yelled Vaan, which in turn pissed off Firemane as it charged towards Vaan.
"I have to admit you certainly know how to get the enemies attention," said Balthier, as he and Vaan quickly got out of the way of Firemane's charge, which gave Fran and
Amalia a good opportunity to strike at Firemane, as Amalia delivered a couple of hits in one go while Fran let loose a couple of arrows as well, this however only made it even
more pissed off as it started to conjure fire wisps around itself, which Vaan quickly took notice of.
"GET CLEAR," yelled Vaan, as Balthier and Fran immediately took the hint and got to cover behind a couple of pillars, although Amalia was still too close, thus Vaan made a
mad dash towards Amalia while lifting up his hood over his head before quickly grabbing hold of Amalia's hand pulling her along towards the closest pillar just as Firemane
unleashed its bushfire attack, which lit everything around it on fire.
Moments Later
After the flames had died down Amalia opened her eyes once more and saw that she was unharmed and that Vaan was standing in front of her. She realized then
that Vaan had shielded her from the extreme heat.
"Are you alright," said a somewhat concerned Vaan.
"Yeah I think so, but Vaan," said a concerned Amalia as she saw some burn marks on Vaan's exposed skin.
"I'll be fine," said a slightly wincing Vaan, as he lowered his hood and refocused his attention back on Firemane as he looked around the pillar and saw that it was still
in the same spot.
"Damn, it must be waiting for us to come out so it can finish us off," thought Vaan, as he looked around and saw that Balthier and Fran were able to take cover behind
a couple of pillars as well.
"So Vaan, got any more crazy ideas," said Balthier, as Vaan pondered that very same thought.
"Hmm, there might be a way," thought Vaan.
"I do actually," said Vaan as he quickly explained his plan to the group.
A Few Moments Later
Out of nowhere, Vaan dashed out of cover which Firemane immediately took notice of; however, it was short-lived as an arrow soon found its way into one of Firemane's eyes
which caused the fiery horse to thrash about wildly.
"I'M OVER HERE YOU BIG DUM HORSE," yelled Vaan, as Firemane looked over towards Vaan's general direction with its one remaining good eye. It then began casting
multiple fires which it sent towards Vaan.
"That's right just keep your attention on me," said a smirking Vaan to himself, as he dodged and weaved around obstacles without getting hit by any of Firemane's attacks.
"It looks like Vaan's playing his part quite well," said somewhat smirking Balthier, as he had a bird's eye view from an elevated position. Afterward's he turned his attention
towards Fran who was also getting into position.
"Almost time," said Fran, as she readied her bow before looking towards Amalia who had her sword and shield ready.
"I can do this, I can do this," said Amalia to herself, as she closed her eyes and began breathing in and out slowly while clearing her mind.
After Amalia was mentally prepared she peeked around the corner and saw that Vaan was still dodging Firemane's attacks.
"It looks like everyone's in position," thought Vaan, as he stopped running away from Firemane and decided to charge straight at it. However, Firemane suddenly disappeared.
"What the-?" said a surprised Vaan, as he looked left and right when suddenly it reappeared right behind him. Firemane immediately began casting another bushfire attack.
When all seemed to be over for Vaan he went from a surprising look to a calm and collective smile.
"NOW," yelled Vaan, as Fran took aim and let loose an arrow right into Firemane's other eye effectively blinding it while also causing it to thrash about wildly once more.
Amalia then came out of hiding and delivered four consecutive strikes on Firemane which caused it to focus its attention on her. Although it was short-lived as Balthier lined up
his target and fired his shot right into Firemane's head causing the flame spirit to buckle from all the damage. Thus, it decided to give up its pursuit and transformed back into
its fiery sphere and disappeared into the waterway.
After the battle was over Balthier and Fran regrouped with Vaan and Amalia, however before anybody could breathe a sigh of relief a voice caught the group off guard.
"Stand where you are," said the Voice, as the group looked towards where the voice came from only to see imperial units with crossbows trained on them from the upper level
of the Overflow Cloaca. The voice soon turned out to be none other than Vayne Carudas Solidor who came forward to see who his men had captured. The sight of Vayne
however caused Amalia to become quite upset, luckily Balthier quickly grabbed a hold of her arm.
"Now is not the time," said Balthier, as he nodded over towards a group of imperial soldiers that were coming towards them with swords drawn,
thus she stayed her hand, for now.
Low Town
Northern Sprawl
Sometime Later
After the group had been bound they were brought outside of storehouse five where Dalmascan citizens were speaking about the events of last night.
"I hope they get what's coming to them," said an elderly Dalmascan citizen.
"They're the thieves who stole into the palace," said a young Dalmascan citizen.
"They disserve whatever they get," said the elderly Dalmascan citizen once again.
"Is that what the commotion last night was about?" said another young Dalmascan citizen.
"They think me some common thief," said Amalia.
"Better than a common assassin," replied Balthier, as Amalia was carted off.
"These people have done nothing, release them," said a loud Amalia.
"What are you doing?" question Vaan.
"Don't interrupt me, I'm thinking," said Amalia, as she continued on past Vayne who looked back at Vaan and the others before taking his leave.
Vaan stared at Vayne in disgust before a familiar voice caught his attention.
"Wait!" said a loud Voice, as Vaan turned his head only to see Penelo along with Alicia who was standing a couple of feet away from Penelo knowing full well that
she couldn't do anything.
"Where do you think you're going," said an imperial soldier, as he blocked Penelo's path.
"He didn't know what he was doing! You have to let him go! You have to!" said a worried Penelo, as another imperial soldier held her back.
"Penelo!" said a loud Vaan, as she stopped struggling.
"I'm sorry," said Vaan.
"I told you!" said a still upset Penelo.
"That's enough!" yelled the imperial soldier next to Vaan, as he went to hit Vaan over the head. However, Vaan wasn't the type to be knocked around as he quickly grabbed
a hold of the imperial soldier by the arm and threw him over his shoulder onto the ground knocking him out, which only caused the other imperial soldiers to draw their
blades against him.
"Leave him alone!" said a loud Penelo, as she pushed her way through the imperials and made her way towards Vaan only to be stopped by Balthier.
"Hold onto this for me, would you? Just until I bring Vaan back," said Balthier, as he gave Penelo a white embroidered handkerchief.
"Move along now! You, over here!" said an impatient imperial soldier.
"All right, all right, Edgy, aren't we?" said Balthier, as the imperial soldiers began to move out, which allowed Alicia to move towards her charge.
"It's Balthier, my brother," said a Bangaa who was observing the whole fiasco.
"What does that philanderer think he's doing? I was to kill Balthier, not those addle-pated imperials!" said another Bangaa only this one sound pissed off.
Unknown Location
"Vaan," said a voice, as Vaan got up from laying down in a field of grass, he looked around for the voice but only saw an endless field of Galbana lilies.
"Vaan, help," said the now echoing Voice again, as Vaan started to look around more but couldn't see anyone.
"Vaan help, Vaan please, Vaan where are you," said the echoing Voices of many people over and over again,
which caused Vaan to cover his ears and close his eyes until it suddenly stopped.
"Vaan," said a pair of familiar Voices, as Vaan uncovered his ears and opened his eyes only to see Rasler and Reks standing before him.
At first, Vaan felt overjoyed to see his brother and friend, he quickly held up a couple of Galbana lilies that somehow found their way into his hand and held them out to the
both of them.
However, Vaan soon spotted drops of blood on his hands as he suddenly dropped the Galbana lilies as he tried to wipe the blood off but more of it kept showing up, he then
looked from his bloody hands towards the field of Galbana lilies all around him as they started dripping blood until it was up to his ankles. Vaan quickly turned back towards
Rasler and Reks only to see a bloody arrow in Rasler's chest and a bloody knife in Rek's gut. Vaan quickly turned around again only to be surrounded by Twelve skeletal
specters in armor with a thirteenth one suddenly appearing in front of him before running him through with a dark blade, the skeletal specter in armor then removed their
helmet only for Vaan to see himself with blood-red slitted eyes.
To Be Continued
Author's Note: Like, Love, Hate, Favorite, Follow, Don't care. Any feedback or ideas for the story so far would very much be appreciated. :)
P.S: Hello my fellow readers and followers I hope you all have been doing well, I know I haven't posted since 2018, but a lot of things have happened
since then and I know after the Covid-19 this past year everything felt like it was going to the deep south.
I figured I bring in the New Year with an extra-long chapter.
I also want to give a shout-out to one of my readers for taking the time to give me a nice detailed review of each of my previous chapters.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday and New Year's parties and hope that this coming year is better.
Until the next chapter, this is Reaper-Team-Alpha signing off. ;)