Hello! This is Dawnshadow, the author. I'd like to thank those of you who've reviewed. I'd just like to mention that, if you didn't see this at the beginning, that everything before this chapter has also been edited somewhat. Interlude One is all-new.
On with the 'fic!
~*~Chapter Two: Aftermath~*~
The battle was over. The firestorm had killed most of the monsters, and the rest were quickly slain.
The White Wizards, both Baronian and Mysidian, were busy through the night. Many Baronian soldiers had been injured fighting the monsters, and Edge's out of control Flame spell had also wounded-- or killed-- more of the militia. Most of the survivors were fully healed due to the wizards' efforts. One of the few that had not yet recovered was Edge. The Flame firestorm had drained his magical energy to the limit, and perhaps beyond. He lay unconscious in a small room off the hospital, so far gone that not even dreams could reach his mind.
Cecil hovered worriedly over him, his slight magical talent drained from what healing he had done during the battle itself. Rosa had gone to help treat the injured soldiers, with magic and herbcraft both, and had not yet returned.
"Cecil!" He spun to look at the speaker, and immediately recognized her. Rydia. She looked anxious. "What happened? Is Edge all right? Where's Rosa? Is anyone else hurt?"
Cecil sighed. "Slow down a bit. Now, in order... A huge army of monsters attacked the city. I think they were being controlled by some outside force, but who-- or what-- it could be I have no idea. Edge cast Flame on the monsters, but he somehow lost control of the spell and it drained him to exhaustion. He should be fine once he gets some rest. Rosa is healing our soldiers. Many were wounded fighting the monsters...."
Rydia nodded. "Were any of them hurt by Edge's spell?"
"A few were injured." True.... Cecil sighed, knowing that most of those who had been caught by the firestorm were instantly incinerated. But he wasn't sure how to explain it without making Edge seem like a monster himself. Cecil knew that Edge would never-- could never-- kill that many people on purpose.... It was a mistake, a simple slip of magic.
"Cecil?" He looked up from the spot on the floor he'd been staring at. Rydia was giving him an odd look. "Are you feeling all right?"
"...I'm fine. Just tired." Rydia went back to watching Edge sleep.
"Oh! Hello, Rydia." Rosa entered the room, looking rather fatigued herself. Cecil stood and held her close. "How is Edge doing?" she asked of Cecil.
"The same as he was before," he replied. "How are the soldiers?"
"The Mysidian White Wizards have been a real help. We've healed the soldiers as much as we can, but some of them are hurt badly. And with so many lost..." She let Cecil lead her to a chair next to his own.
"Just relax. You need a break," he said, sitting next to her.
"So," Rosa said to Rydia, "what brings you here?"
"Leviathan sensed an elemental disturbance near here and sent me to investigate."
"Edge?" Rosa asked.
Rydia nodded. "I thought that was it at first, but one detail didn't quite fit."
"And what's that?" Cecil wondered.
"Leviathan thought it felt like a Fiend's power. But if it's Edge we're talking about here, that would be impossible."
"Then maybe he was sensing the spell that was controlling all those monsters," Cecil suggested. "Could that have been a Fiend?"
"Only if one that we fought survived. I took a few hours to do a little research before I left the Land of Summoned Monsters, and I found that a Fiend's elemental power builds slowly over time. There can only be four Fiends at a time, one per element, so any new Fiends to replace the ones we defeated won't have that sort of power for centuries."
"And if one survived?" Rosa asked.
"I don't know enough about them to tell what they'd do." Rydia sighed. "This is getting us nowhere."
"Maybe Edge will be able to help us when he wakes up," Cecil said.
The three sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own private thoughts. They were interrupted by a soft groan.
"Edge?" Rosa asked, kneeling by his side. Rydia and Cecil stood behind her.
"Oh... My head....." Edge slowly raised a hand to cover his eyes. "This makes a hangover seem like a good thing...." he mumbled.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Rosa asked, silently preparing to cast Libra with what little magic power she had regained through her short rest.
Edge slowly uncovered his eyes, opening them slowly in the dim candlelight. "The battle... I cast Flame, and something happened. It just-- I don't know how to explain it, the power-- it changed... changed into..." He sighed, words escaping him. "I must have got hit with something, because I don't remember anything after that." Rosa's Libra spell washed over him.
"Hmm...." she mumbled, "...you're still fairly weak, but that'll go away with a little rest."
"Weak from what?"
Cecil moved next to Rosa. "When you cast Flame, it went out of control. You eventually ran out of power and collapsed from the magical strain. That's why you have such a bad headache."
"That's reassuring..." Edge replied. He uncovered his eyes and looked around. "Rydia... Nice to see you. When did you arrive?"
"Just a few minutes ago," she replied, slightly worried. He's too weak to even try to flirt. This isn't a good sign.
Edge was silent. Rosa gently pulled the blanket over his shoulders. "Sleep now," she encouraged.
"I was just asleep a minute ago...."
"Hush," Rosa commanded, her voice gentle. "You're still very weak. You need to rest."
"...if you insist," Edge replied. He rolled onto a side, facing the wall. He quickly fell into a deep slumber.
Rydia sighed, returning to her chair. "Now, tell me exactly what happened."
"The monsters must have come out of the Mist Mountains," Cecil started. "I estimated that there were about five hundred of them, of mixed types. There was no visible commander, but they were fighting with strategy, in formation. Our troops fought, but were being pushed back. Then Edge cast Flame, and it ended up wiping most of the monster army out. The surviving monsters that didn't flee were easily eradicated."
Rosa said, "You said before that you assumed that they were spelled. But, if they were, you, I and every other person with the least bit of magical potential within miles would have been alerted."
"Could the caster have shielded the spell?" Rydia asked. "Or might it have been a spell not of an ordinary variety?"
"Why would that matter?" Cecil replied.
"There are several types of magic," Rosa explained, "each with its own properties. Each magic-user draws on their innate magical power to shape the elemental forces that surround us into spells. Normally, magic-users can only sense spells in their own type- I can sense Wizard spells, black and white, and Rydia can sense Summons as well, where I would not. Neither of us can sense magic of other types- Ninja magic or the spells of the legendary Magic Knights, for example."
"...I think I understand," Cecil said.
Rydia sighed. "So we have five hundred spelled monsters and no explanation of how they got here or why they attacked Baron in the first place. Is anything happening that would attract anything's attention?"
"Nothing comes to mind," Cecil replied. "Do you think it could be Zeromus?"
"Already? It's only been a few months since we returned from the Moon." Rosa said. "If it is Zeromus again, we could be in trouble."
"From what we know...." Rydia sighed. "I'm not sure if even Zeromus could summon up that much raw magical power."
"So... if this isn't Zeromus...?" Cecil frowned, concerned. We were lucky to all survive the battle with Zeromus the first time. But the Crystal of Light I used to weaken it to the point where we could damage it is back where we got it from, in the Sealed Cave- and buried under several tons of rock and rubble. If this being is more powerful....
"Maybe...." Rosa paused, thinking. "Cecil-remember the picnic? That ball of light?"
Rydia blinked, startled. "Ball of light?"
"Yes. About... three weeks ago Cecil and I were having a picnic when this weird bluish orb of light appeared. When I touched it, it sort of... disappeared-absorbed itself into me. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it...."
"Ro-Rosa-" Rydia sounded surprised. "I saw one too, a few months ago. I think, with the time difference between the overworld-the surface, here-- and the Land of Summoned Monsters, that would have been at about the same time."
Cecil said, "You saw one, or you... absorbed... it?"
"I absorbed it. A green one." Rydia looked at her hand. "Could that be it?"
Nobody answered. Edge stirred restlessly in his sleep.
"I wonder if any other orbs could have appeared...?" Rosa wondered. "And what they could represent? They have to have some purpose, I'd think."
"Yes, but what?" Cecil said. "Have either of you noticed anything unusual since you found them?
"Nothing comes to mind," Rosa replied. Rydia nodded in agreement.
"Hmm..." Cecil studied the floor, then Edge. "Wait..." He walked to Edge's side and shook him gently. "Edge..." he murmured quietly, "just wake up for a moment.... Edge...." He was rewarded by a soft groan and an unintelligible mutter. "Wake up," he continued, still gentle. Edge slowly opened his eyes and glared at Cecil.
"I thought y'guys wanted me to sleep..." he said grumpily. "What do you want?"
"Just to ask you something. It's important."
"So important that you had to wake me up?" Edge turned over and pulled the pillow over his head.
"Did anything strange happen to you about three weeks ago?" Cecil asked.
"Actually... yes. I saw this strange ball of orange light." He put the pillow back under his head. "Why?"
"It's a long story. I'll explain when you're more awake."
"I'm awake...." Edge replied, yawning. Cecil quickly summarized what the three had discussed in the past few hours.
"Huh," Edge replied after Cecil had finished. "So you're saying that that orb could have had something to do with it?"
"It's possible."
Rydia suddenly grabbed for her pack and started digging through it. She pulled out an old-looking book written in a runic language. She began to leaf through it rapidly, then more slowly.
"Have you ever heard of the Legend of the Light Warriors?" she asked, reading through the text.
Cecil shook his head. "...Doesn't ring a bell."
"Anyway, thousands and thousands of years ago, these four warriors were given the four elemental Orbs- the Orbs that were later re-forged into the eight Crystals that we know and love today. The rest isn't important right now, but what if our Orbs are somehow related to the elements? I mean, we have fire," she motioned to Edge, "and mine would most likely be Earth, since it was green."
"I'm assuming mine might be Water." Rosa shrugged. "It was dark blue, aquatic colors."
"So we're missing Wind," Cecil said. Wind. How many people could it be, besides him?
Rydia shook him out of his thoughts. "Maybe there's a link, something we all have in common- including the missing person."
"We're all-no, never mind." Edge said.
"What?" the summoner asked.
"I was thinking we were all rulers, but you're not. And Cecil, along with about a dozen other people, are."
They continued throwing out ideas and discarding them like broken potion bottles. None of them seemed to have anything to do with their current situation.
"Maybe we should just start asking people we know, 'Hey, have you seen a bluish ball of light lately?'" Edge remarked. "It might be faster."
"Actually, you may be on to something," Rosa replied. "So far, we can't figure out a pattern, so why not just start asking people who fought by our side? That's just about all we have in common."
Cecil nodded. "Might as well start with Cid. We're going to need airships...."
_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_
Cid laughed. "Elemental orbs?" He looked from Cecil to Rosa and back again, then peered at Rosa through his eyepiece. "Look at that! You do seem to have some Water elemental in you now! But sure as Shiva I don't know nothing about it."
Cecil looked at Rosa, then back at Cid. "You can see that...?"
"Yep, plain as day."
"Hmm...." Cecil said. If he can see... "Think you could give us a hand?"
_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_
"So, we've got a plan?" Rosa asked as she entered their bedroom. Cecil nodded.
"Yes." He showed her the itinerary. "Rydia's going to try to summon Bahamut to take a letter to FuSoYa. I'm also hoping that we'll find some sign of Kain while we're talking to people...." Cecil sighed.
If he's the one, we could have some trouble finding him. He could be anywhere....
"Anyway," he continued, "I was just about to write that letter." He sat at the ornate desk (a wedding gift from Toroia) and pulled out a parchment, ink, and a Chocobo quill, which he began to sharpen with a dagger. He dipped it in the ink and began to write:
Dear FuSoYa,
It's been a long time. I'm sorry for waking you, but we have a minor question. It seems that about three weeks ago, three balls of light appeared to three of my companions on our quest that ended with the defeat of Zeromus. We have deduced that these orbs have an elemental connotation, and so believe that a fourth has appeared to someone, most likely one who fought by my side. However, with no other common thread between the four apparent, we are forced to ask everyone we can think of.
By chance, have you encountered a light blue ball of light? That is the form that these strange spheres take. We know nothing of their purpose or their power, but we hope to find that out. If you happen to have any information that can help us, Rydia will be summoning Bahamut back in three days time, hopefully with a reply. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Cecil
_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_-^-_
Bahamut disappeared into the Summon portal the next morning, a small envelope clutched in a claw. The four friends boarded the airship Enterprise and flew off into the sunrise.
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