CHAPTER 32
DELITA'S LAST STAND
"Not so fast!!!"
The party members were about to enter the portal that would take them to The Realm of the Dead when they heard this. They all whipped around to see Delita walking towards them. His cape was ripped to shreds, and his golden armor was now grimy and coated with mud.
"Delita..." Ramza said as he turned around to face his friend.
"He got away from Flite and the others?!" Agrias asked angrily.
"What do you want?" Mustadio growled as he loaded his gun.
Delita's mouth twitched into an insane grin. "You think those losers can hold me?!" he asked. "I'm just getting warmed up! Before you go anywhere else, you'll have to beat ME! Well, not me, exactly..."
"What are you trying to say, Delita?" Rafa asked.
Delita chuckled coldly. "I have a surprise for you, Ramza," he said. "I suppose you could call it a reunion of sorts. Come on out now!!!"
Delita snapped his fingers, and a familiar figure stepped out from behind him. He had blonde hair and wore a red Limberry Aegis Knights uniform.
"Algus?!" Ramza exclaimed. "But... What..."
"..." Algus said.
"Heh heh heh..." Delita chuckled. "That's right, Ramza; he's dead."
"Dead?!" Cinna exclaimed. "But he's standin' right in front of us. How can he be dead?"
"Didn't you just see that ZomVeila creature?" Meliadoul exclaimed. "Man, you have the memory span of a goldfish, don't you?"
"So, you do have a sense of humor..." Cinna chuckled.
"Furkkes found the body and did some experiments, and now he's as you see him here," Delita chortled. "He's just a shell of what he used to be. He's one of the living dead; just a loyal puppet who will obey his master."
"You!..." Alma gasped. "You're disgusting! No one deserves that, not even Algus!"
"Isn't it ironic, Ramza?" Delita asked, not even hearing Alma. "Algus and you were nobles, always controlling and using the peasants for your own desires. Well, who's doing the controlling now?"
"...Kill me..." Algus groaned.
"What was that, Algus?" Ramza asked, looking at the dead-yet-living Squire.
"Please... Kill me..." Algus groaned again. His body may have looked vicious and ready to attack, but his eyes were sad and remorseful.
"Enough talk," Delita growled. "Algus, I order you to destroy them!"
"Ramza..." Rafa said.
Ramza looked at her and then back at Algus and Delita. "I know... We'll do it for Algus's sake!"
"GRRR..." Algus growled, drawing his crossbow and firing a barrage of arrows. Ramza was able to pull out his shield just in time to block them. Algus lurched forward, his dead-colored face showing only signs of sorrow and regret.
"He's a zombie now, so most physical attacks won't do any good," Mustadio noted.
"So what SHOULD we use?" Malak asked.
"Hey guys," Cinna said. "Ever heard the story about 'Pete and Re-Pete?'"
"No, what was it?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, tell us, quick!" Orlandu said as Algus took a few shots at him.
"The story goes like this: Pete and Re-Pete were in a boat. Pete jumped overboard. How many were left on board?"
"...One?" Reis asked.
"No," Cinna said. "None."
"...I get it!" Ramza said. "Worker No.8, restrain Algus!"
"Yes, Master," Worker No.8 beeped as he lurched forward and picked up the necromantic noble like a rag doll.
"Thanks, Worker No.8," Ramza said. "Leave the rest to me." He pulled out a Phoenix Down and pressed it into Algus's forehead.
Algus gave a strangely relaxed sigh. "Thank you..." he wheezed. "...Sorry... about everything..." He evaporated and his crossbow clattered to the floor.
"Nice thinking, Ramza!" Beowulf said. "...But I still don't get it."
"Cinna was suggesting that we do what Agrias did with ZomVeila, since Algus was also a zombie," Mustadio explained. "Why do you think the guy's name was 'Re-Pete?'"
"...Oh. OH," Beowulf said as the light dawned on him. "I get it now! Hey, I know a joke like that. There were eight knights riding along the road-"
"Shut up," Agrias snapped. "Can't you see we still have a battle to fight?"
"Well, that was entertaining," Delita smirked. "Algus never was very good at much, anyway."
"How can you do things like that?" Ramza asked. "I know Algus didn't like you, but how could you violate him like that?"
"Oh, shut up," Delita said. "I'm sick of that."
"Sick of what?" Ramza asked.
"Your big heart," Delita growled. "That's your strength AND your weakness. So now I'll just have to cut it out!"
Delita drew his Chaos Blade and charged at Ramza. Ramza drew his own Chaos Blade and parried the blow.
"Ramza!" Rafa cried.
"Stay back, everyone!" Ramza yelled. "This is my battle!"
The two warriors sprang around the room as Delita slashed away and Ramza deflected his blows. "You can't keep this up forever!" Delita laughed menacingly as he thrust his sword towards Ramza.
Ramza moved out of the way quickly and brought the flat of his sword down on Delita's head. "What brought you to this lowly state?" he asked.
"...YOU!" Delita answered quickly and cast a Lightning Stab that knocked Ramza backwards. He then proceeded to leap at Ramza with his sword in a decapitating position.
"What did I do?!" Ramza asked as he quickly sat up and let Delita fly over him. "Why do you hate me so much?!"
"You took away everything I ever cared for..." Delita growled as he stabbed and slashed over and over. "My sister, my good name, Ovelia..."
"Delita, I never took any of that from you!" Ramza shouted as he leaped up into the air. "Why do you continue to insist that I did?!"
"It'll make things look all the more convincing..." Delita chuckled eerily as he waited for Ramza to land and then started slashing again. "I'm already a hero in the eyes of the people... If I use this story and claim I hunted down and killed the man that did it all, I'll be a LEGEND! They'll WORSHIP me!!!"
"So this is all for you again?" Ramza asked. "But killing off your friends won't get you anything, Delita. When they return to Ivalice, your former soldiers will tell everyone what really happened. You'll go home to a cold and resentful people who will want to see your head on a post. Is that what you want?"
"SHUT UP!!!" Delita roared as he started lobbing his sword around in random motions. "I'll kill you and use the stones you collected to bring back my sister! THEN everything will be just right again!"
"You're trying to resurrect Teta?" Ramza asked. "...Delita, why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Because it wouldn't have made a difference!" Delita laughed. "I wanted to kill you anyway... Why not do it with you totally ignorant?"
"But what about Ovelia?" Ramza asked angrily. "You told me once that you'd give your life for her... Was all that a lie?"
"No, it wasn't," Delita said, continuing his onslaught. "But she can rot in Hell for all I care now! I'm large and in charge, and no one's gonna take that away from me! This peasant's gonna stay right where he is!"
With one quick slash, Delita sent Ramza flying backwards into the waiting arms of his friends. "Ramza, are you OK?!" Rafa asked. "Please answer..."
"I'm all right..." Ramza said as he stood up. "...Delita, what are you doing?!"
Delita was using his sword to dig the Chinese Zodiac Stones out of their places on the wall. When all twelve of them were out, he picked them up and threw them into the air. "BRING ME MY SISTER!!!!" he roared in a voice that sounded more like a demon's than his own. The stones shimmered for a minute, and then buried themselves in the tablet again.
"He's gone completely insane!" Alma cried.
"Did anyone fill him in on the next part?" Cinna asked.
"...I don't think so," Rad said. "Look!"
Delita was watching in shock and horror as the putrid remains of his sister appeared, clutching another laser sword. He screamed as ZomTeta lunged at him.
"Let's not stick around," Malak said, pointing to the portal. "We have to beat Ajora!"
"Right," Agrias said. "Let's go, Ramza!"
One by one, the party members leaped into the shimmering, black hole. As Ramza was about to leap, he looked up to see Delita on the defensive as ZomTeta slashed at him continuously.
"I'll get you for this, Ramza!!!" he yelled angrily. "We aren't finished yet!!!"
Ramza jumped into the portal without answering the angry rant, leaving Delita to his fate.