Rosa's feet dragged on the ground as she trudged to the crystal. Her head hung low; her very aura looked wilted and small, dimmed down to half its normal brilliance into a dull yellow. She looked broken, and Cosmos' heart weighed heavy in her chest at the sight. She knew Rosa would need time, but she suspected Rosa would not have the luxury. Not for Rosa's own sake, or for her sake.
She waited until Rosa settled before she sat down on her throne, sighing out her frustration. She smoothed her white dress down her legs and clasped her hands in her lap, but her emotions compelled her to wring and knead them.
"What's wrong?" Warrior asked. Of course he picked up on her nervous tics.
"I do not know what to make of this," she told him, referring to their discussion of Rosa's role in the long-term. "And I am sad for her." She met his eyes and held his gaze, and he nodded his understanding.
Cecil crossed his arms. "I know what to make of this. I think it was revenge, and nothing more," he said.
Warrior pulled his helmet from his head, letting his silvery hair loose. He gestured next to Cosmos and asked, "May I?" At her nod he sat next to her. "The Emperor always has ulterior motives," he said. "I have a difficult time believing this was only revenge, without some secondary purpose."
"I feel the same," Cosmos said. "What do you think his purpose was?"
"To strike down our White Mage. He had a previous encounter with Rosa, so he experienced first-hand how powerful she is. The Emperor is gifted enough in strategy to know that to cripple a battalion the most, incapacitate the mages."
"Then you believe this to be motivated by the cycle, and not by Rosa herself?" Cecil asked.
"I cannot say for sure, and neither can you. Though I believe so, yes. Should Rosa fall, it would be devastating to us. She is the only primary White Mage in this war. The Emperor saw an opportunity and tried to take it." It was a truncated version of what he and Cosmos had discussed. Warrior stared at her, perhaps searching for validation that he said the right thing, and she figured he had. She affirmed it with a gentle tilt of her head.
"Well, regardless of his motives," Cecil said, "that was the most reckless thing I've ever seen a Chaos warrior do." He curled his finger around his chin and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, thinking through the Emperor's attack.
"Agreed," Warrior said. "Brazen is the word I'd use. Apparently, his desire to attack was strong enough for him to infiltrate Order's Sanctuary, with Cosmos and all seventeen of her warriors in the vicinity, just to attack one person."
"Not just one person," Cosmos said. "Rosa." Arguably the most essential warrior in her ranks at the moment. Doubt and uneasiness balled in Cosmos' stomach, turning it around inside of her. Without Rosa, all the hopes she had of turning the tides in her and her warriors' favors were lost. All the security she thought she had in a White Mage was gone. And she had no way to project exactly what it would mean for her and her warriors if Rosa fell. The only broad conclusion she could come to was destruction.
It was extremely out of character for the Emperor to go so far out of his way and endanger himself to harm her. The fact that he was ready to abandon his tendencies made him far more unpredictable than he already was. Any other Chaos warrior, and Cosmos would have felt inclined to tell her warriors to keep their guard up. But this was the Emperor.
Though she knew to hide it, the attack had shaken her.
"At the very least," Cosmos added, hoping to change the subject, "it proved exactly why we need her. She reversed an advanced-level Death spell without a hint of difficulty. Firion owes her his life, and we owe her our gratitude for reviving him."
"To be sure . . . " Cecil started, but his distant voice trailed off. "But why? Why go after Kain?" Cecil blurted out, still stuck on the Emperor. "He Cursed Kain before the battle even began. If he wanted to harm Rosa, why Curse Kain first? Why Curse Kain at all? That seems a bit superfluous. It is the only part of this that I cannot fit into any sort of rationale."
She shook her head. "I do not know, Cecil." Maybe the Emperor already knew of Kain's betrayal. From the way Rosa asked her about it earlier, Cosmos could guess it affected her greatly. The Emperor may have known that, and may have wanted to punish her in the harshest way he could think of.
Cosmos took a deep breath, huffing it out through her nose. "He was gloating," she said, voicing her thoughts.
"Gloating? How so?" Cecil asked.
"Before the battle, Rosa asked me about Kain. She told me that Kain betrayed his allies before. Perhaps the Emperor knew of this betrayal?" Cosmos asked. "And perhaps he was trying to parade the fact that he knew? The Emperor has a flair for the dramatic."
"I don't know how he could possibly know anything about that, unless my brother accidentally mentioned something at some point-" He froze, eyes going wide with his realization. "He said something to me, when we were battling. Tidus and I faced off with him, and he made a comment. He said that Rosa being here was 'fortunate' for me, and that he hoped the process of remembering everything wasn't too painful for me since she remembered something that happened to us while at home in our worlds."
"How would he know about that any more than Kain's betrayal?" Cosmos asked.
"We had been discussing it, after our sparring match."
"Then he was eavesdropping," Warrior said, "and masking his presence so we would not notice."
"Perhaps," Cosmos said.
"Even more brazen," Warrior replied softly. "I think the questions now are will he strike again, and how."
"I was hoping to speak to Firion about that," Cosmos told him. "I am sure that he can provide insight on the Emperor that will help me form an appropriate response to this." Bold retaliation had already briefly crossed her mind, but she dismissed it just as quickly. She would have to ask Rosa to be responsible for her teammates once again while they attacked the Emperor, and to ask that would be incredibly insensitive. He could - no, probably would - have any number of traps and snares ready.
Warrior hauled himself to his feet with a small grunt and set his helmet back down on her throne. He walked away, and Cosmos watched him stroll up to Firion and gesture back to her. He followed Warrior back, and when he came to rest in front of her, he stood casually, with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Like he hadn't died not minutes ago.
"How may I be of assistance?" He asked. Cosmos always thought of his voice as velvety. Smooth one way, and coarse the other.
"How are you feeling?" Cosmos asked first.
Firion nodded. "I am well, thanks to Rosa. I was hoping to thank her, but . . . " he said, turning and staring at her sleeping form across Sanctuary.
"She needs the rest now. When she awakens I am sure you will be able to speak with her. In the meantime, the Emperor orchestrated this attack. We are questioning his motives, and considering our next moves. I value your thoughts on this, Firion."
"With the Emperor, who can say for sure what his motives were? For all we know, it could have been some small part of any number of larger schemes."
"But what do you believe it to be?" Cosmos asked.
"This attack feels . . . different. I'm not sure that he had any motive. I think this was out of the blue."
"Why do you say that?"
"First, he has reason for cold revenge, and it's not unheard of for him to lose his temper. Second, for the Emperor, it seemed rather . . . spontaneous. Or sloppy, like he didn't have a plan. And he loves to plan," Firion said dryly.
"What if he did plan it out," Cecil countered, "and it just went horribly wrong?"
"I don't think so. He's more careful than that. He moves his pieces into place far ahead of time. When his schemes are set into motion, it's nearly impossible to stop him. If he had this all worked out, he'd have had both Rosa and Kain alone."
"What do you think we should do?" Cosmos asked. "I think some sort of response is required, but I do not favor direct confrontation with him."
Firion shook his head. "I don't either. He'll be expecting that. He will have no doubt surrounded himself with traps and defenses by now. By the way, did he seem . . . injured to you?" Firion asked. "I noticed during the battle that he was favoring his left side. He kept his arm down, and when he did lift it, it seemed to pain him."
"I noticed that as well," Cecil said. "That was Rosa's doing, probably. She told me that when she battled him, she had stabbed him with her knife in the side. But anyway," he said, turning to Cosmos. "Should we mount some sort of indirect counterattack, then? Or perhaps round up some protection for Rosa? What say you? I think Rosa is in real danger, here. If the Emperor is targeting her, as Warrior said, he could be planning another attack as we speak. We need to keep her safe, especially if she is that important to us. Right? Don't you think we need protection for her?"
His tone rose steadily with each sentence until it sounded like he was panicking. Cecil looked down at Cosmos, almost pleadingly, as though he was begging her to say yes. Cosmos averted her gaze, pretending she didn't see the weight there in his eyes. She couldn't commit to anything right away. She needed time to think through all of her options. If she could spare the manpower, then perhaps she could protect Rosa, but she would have to leave other defensive opportunities weak-
"What say you?" Cecil asked again, stepping closer to her. "We have to do something!"
"I'm not sure yet, Cecil. Please give me time to think this through."
"If he strikes again, Rosa may not have time."
"There is more to think about than just Rosa, Cecil-" Warrior started, but Cosmos stopped him by placing her hand on his arm.
"I agree that Rosa must be protected. She is too important to us. My concern is how we will do it. Ideally, I'd have enough protection for Rosa and for Sanctuary both."
"We should start with Sanctuary," Warrior said. "We should fortify our defenses here in case of another attack by changing our patrol numbers and our patrol schedules. It would allow for more people to protect you at any given time."
"In case of another attack . . . " she repeated. The Emperor may not attack Sanctuary again. If he didn't, they'd be wasting their efforts. "Firion, do you think he will attack again?" Cosmos asked. "If not, I will focus on Rosa's protection."
"Cosmos-!" Warrior started, but she placed a warning in her blue eyes and looked up at him.
"You know why she needs it," Cosmos said, lowering her tone. "Do not challenge it."
"Your protection must be paramount. If you are injured or killed, then we are all doomed to fade. Rosa is important, yes, but so are you."
"I grow stronger by the day. Soon I will be strong enough to defend myself, and with a few warriors, I will be fine." Cosmos ended the discussion by turning back to Firion. "I apologize. Do you think the Emperor will attack again?"
Firion paused for a second to consider, then he answered, "No. I don't think he will. And even if he does, it won't be in the same way. He won't make the same mistake twice."
Cosmos nodded. "Then we will organize around Rosa."
Cecil jumped on her decision. "A protection detail, first and foremost. We should limit her patrol rounds, and give her extra protection when she goes out. And when the rest of us patrol, send less groups, but more people," Cecil added. "Just in case Rosa wasn't his only target."
"That would probably be best," Cosmos said, pausing to weigh the positives and negatives of each. By sending more people out on patrol, the chances of another random ambush or sneak attack diminished. By sending out less groups, even if there were more warriors on patrol, there would still be warriors left in Sanctuary to protect her. She wasn't sure if Rosa staying close to her side would afford either of them any safety considering the nature of the Emperor's first attack, but at the moment she couldn't foresee any other encounter. "I value Rosa's thoughts on this as well. We may decide something, but if she disagrees, we will respect her wishes. Warrior, I entrust you with the organization of the details of our new circumstances."
Warrior's discomfort was evident on his face, and he bristled against the order. He grudgingly agreed. "When I complete it, I will relay it to everyone."
"Thank you. It is imperative that Rosa stay safe. We need her."
Cecil nodded, clearly grateful for any extra efforts, no matter their reasons. "Warrior, I request permission to accompany her as often as possible. Even if it means I pull double shifts on patrol."
"I will do my best to see that you are together. However, if circumstance demands that you part I will separate you," Warrior said.
"Understood. Thank you."
"Very well."
After talking through it with her warriors, Cosmos felt a bit of the pressure lift from her shoulders. She had a plan, and she trusted her warriors enough to do whatever they had to do for a fellow Warrior's safety, and for her safety. Her immediate panic was gone, but instead it was replaced by a slow-eating dread. Something was not right about the Emperor's attack. All was not as it seemed, and the Emperor was planning something. She couldn't fathom what it could be, but no matter what, she and her warriors needed to put a stop to it. Especially if it endangered Rosa.
There was only one thought that kept the Emperor from seething:
His back-up plan was still in motion.
For a refreshing change of scenery, rather than return to his throne in Pandaemonium, the Emperor opted instead for the decrepit throne in the Chaos Shrine. He always liked how bland and quaint it was. He always liked the shredded, dirty cloth draped over the back. Probably pristine and colorful in its prime, but no longer. The red carpet that led upwards to the throne, elevated above everything else.
He sat down in the throne gently, slouching back to a comfortable position that didn't pull at his side. He rested his elbow on the armrest and leaned his head on his fist, sighing in relief.
The odd, old-fashioned, and simple aesthetic of the basement throne suited his unnaturally calm demeanor. He couldn't muster up the rage that normally would have plagued him over this disaster. The embarrassment was there - it seemed to be his constant companion of late. But he wasn't angry.
His back-up plan was still in motion.
Ultimecia, Kefka, and Exdeath were still hunting her, after all. And when they found her, they would eviscerate her. They would flay her, hopefully quarter her, murder her. His little excursion didn't work out, but it was fine. Her head would decorate Pandaemonium soon enough. And they would destroy her so completely, Shinryu wouldn't be able to collect enough of her pieces to revive her. Rosa would end up dead in the end, no matter how many times she managed to best him.
Yes, his back-up plan was still in motion.
Back-up plans were there for a reason. His hastily-made plan failed, but his back-up plan would not. He was certain of it. All that he could think to do now was check in on the three of them. He wanted to be sure that they were still in agreement. But he could do that later. His side ached, and what was left of the arrow wounds throbbed with his heartbeat. The Emperor tried another healing spell on his side, hoping the wound had healed enough on its own to close completely, but he didn't feel like checking it.
His entire attack had been a disaster, but no matter.
His back-up plan was still in motion.
And it would not fail on his watch.
A/N: It's me again! Back with another update!
Let me know what you think of this chapter, or this fic in general! Leave a comment if you have the time! After Rosa and Cecil's fight scene, and after the Emperor's attack, they needed some down time. In the upcoming chapters I'm hoping to include more interactions with Rosa and the other warriors.