~~~===~~~
Chapter One: Enter the Villain
~~~===~~~
"Thank you for seeing me, Yang. I know you're busy around here." I was walking through one of the gardens of Fabul with the high monk that I had fought beside for such a short time, before he'd nearly been killed fighting Golbez. I had left Baron but a few weeks ago, amazing even myself with the speed I made through the mountains between Mist and Kaipo, then across the shoals between Kaipo, the ruins of Damcyan, and the Fabul Mountains. How ironic, that trips that proved long and arduous for my friends, if not impossible without a hovercraft or airship, became simple exercises in endurance for my well-honed precision in jumping from one peak or rock to the next. Of course, I almost broke my neck when I found a rock that wasn't as dry as I'd thought it was, but you never learn unless you make mistakes.
"Never too busy to see a friend," he said warmly. "How are Cecil and the others doing?"
"As well as can be expected. Cid must be part dwarf, if you ask me - he's older than any of us, and still going strong, even if he is slowing down a little. He's taken well to being a grandfather," I added, not sure if Yang was aware of the marriage between Cid's daughter and Palom last year. Gods know nobody else was expecting it to happen, but the boy had changed quite a bit since the last time Cecil had seen him - matured greatly, though he was still a cocky little bastard.
"Ah, the young black mage has a child already, does he?"
"Yes, though he's not as young as you remember any more. It seems he still aged while he was locked in stone, it just didn't take until after Zeromus was gone. But father, mother, and aunt are all very glad that the Serpent Road isn't the only way to get back and forth between Baron and Mysidia quickly any more."
"I can imagine. That was hard on us, when we had to use it more often. I can't imagine it would be healthy for an infant. What of the others?"
"Cecil's a fine king, though he dislikes all the frills and protocol. Rosa took them much more easily, but she has that natural grace that makes for an easy transition to nobility."
"I assume they don't have any children of their own yet?"
"No," I said quickly. "I'm afraid not." Yang nodded quietly. I suspected that he knew about the nightmares, but I was never sure. She hadn't had any during the short time that he'd been with us after the Tower of Zot, except for that night, when all of us but Cecil and Rosa were resting in the town. And he'd been asleep when she screamed that night - only I had been awake, wondering if she would be all right after what had happened, now that she was safe. Foolish question from a foolish soul, I know, but I had hoped that she wouldn't remember what happened as vividly as she did.
Still, despite being asleep, I've never been able to tell if the monk's keen ears had heard more than I did.
"Have you heard from Rydia and Edge lately," I asked.
"Not lately, though we have begun to exchange trained warriors. I never would have thought that our monks would benefit so much from their techniques, but the results truly are amazing. We even have a few budding mages among our number now."
"And I suppose that the ninja are learning to use your techniques to their best advantage?"
"Have you ever seen two swords flying through the air with a trained warrior behind them?"
"Only when Edge fell off the battlements while he was showing off during Palom's wedding." Yang laughed, a hearty, booming sound that filled the enclosed garden with its echoes.
"I remember that, he was re-enacting a battle, wasn't he?"
"When one Shiva just happened to appear in the area and increase the wind speed drastically."
"Rydia always did have a way of bringing him down when necessary."
"I just wish she'd picked a lower perch to knock him from - it took hours to get the moat out of my armor after I caught him," I chuckled, remembering the happier times.
"So, Kain, why are you here?" I turned from the plants I was looking at sharply, meeting his level gaze.
"What?" Was I really that transparent? Or was it just that the older warrior knew how to look into the heart of any man and see the truth?
"I can read you like a book, Kain, at least when it's you I'm talking to. This isn't just a social call, any more than Mysidia is marching on Agart." I shook my head and chuckled.
"Well, believe it or not, my reason for coming here, to Fabul, is largely a social call. I was in the area, thought I'd stop by."
"And why were you in the area, on foot?"
"I'm looking for something, Yang. Someone, maybe, but either way I can't find what I need back there."
"Honor," he said simply. I nodded slowly.
"In part. You understand me that way, the others can't. Maybe that's why I came here first - if I was going to visit any of my old comrades, I wanted it to be you first."
"I'm flattered - but why?"
"Like I said - you understand my honor - the honor of serving. The others, they don't. Cecil used to, but he changed when he gained the Light. For the better, of course, but he lost his ability to understand when he lost his ability to serve a mortal, I think."
"He could still serve well."
"But not the way you or I can. Tell me, Yang, if your king hadn't ordered you to join us, but instead to sneak through his fortress and kill Golbez in his sleep, would you have done so?"
"In a heartbeat," he said, without any hesitation. "To do such a thing would be no dishonor."
"Not to us. We serve, we take our honor from our service, and our glory from our lords. Cecil and Edge, they take their honor from their glory, in many ways. Assassination wouldn't be an option to either of them, as unusual as that is for a ninja. War, though more costly, that is an option. An honorable duty, to make war on evil, to meet your foe on the field of battle and face him, even if you die in the process. To sneak into his bedchambers and snap his neck, though.that is inexcusable to them. Not fair. Not honorable." Yang nodded now, understanding.
"I see. It is as well, I think, that Cecil is a good friend to the rulers of the lands. If there was a war, the two of you would likely conflict on what to do almost constantly." I shook my head quickly, frowning.
"No, there wouldn't be. I would suggest that he use less 'honorable' tactics, he would refuse, and that would be the end of it, unless something drastic happened. No more than you would argue with your King if he suggested a course of action you didn't agree with. No more than I argued that we should try such techniques on the moon, or in the Tower of Babil. But I agree, it is good that they're all friends. Even Mist has allied itself with Baron, despite having more than enough reasons not to."
"True." I looked around the garden, plants of every possible description growing free. I knew that Yang and his wife spent hours every day tending to this garden, had seen the two working there before the ceremony in which Yang had been named successor to the king, but it looked perfectly natural. Like most of the high monk's hobbies, it left him immersed in life. Maybe that's why I had come here - the perfect counterpoint to my thoughts.
"Yang, do you think of death often?" He looked at me curiously, no doubt wondering where the sudden change of subject had come from.
"I'm a warrior, Kain - I think of it when I go into battle, but try not to most of the time beyond that. You?"
"On occasion. Hell, I don't even think of it when I go into battle, really. Too much training taking over to allow myself that luxury. I thought about it when we were fighting Zeromus - I think we all did, honestly. I know I was brought near it often enough. I must admit, though, I have thought of it more often lately."
"And in what context?" I smiled at the worried tone in Yang's voice.
"Don't worry, Yang, I don't plan on killing myself. Though I might deserve death, I've dishonored myself enough to give up like that. Whatever you or Edge might think, I was raised to view it as surrender. And surrender, unless it would help in the long run, is not an honorable way to end a battle. No, I think more about what people will remember us for once we die. Take yourself - when you die, you'll be the hero of Fabul, the warrior who nearly died saving the dwarves from Golbez, the man who risked life and limb to save perfect strangers. Cecil, well, I don't think there's anything that could tarnish his memory, and that's good - his only flaw, unless you count caring too much, was loyalty to a dark king he eventually rebelled against. Rosa, she'll be one of the greatest Queens that Baron has ever had, to say nothing of her renown as the foremost healer in the world. Porom hasn't even managed to catch up with her yet, though she's coming closer.
"Myself, I'll be the traitor who was lucky enough to be given the chance to redeem myself. A fool who loved the wife of my best friend, and let that love be twisted to drag me into the darkest recesses of my soul. I've dishonored myself, my father, and almost the entirety of the Dragon Knights."
"Kain, you do yourself a disservice. But I can't convince you of that, can I?" I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"Not likely. I still can't see how any of you trusted me after what I did, especially you and the others who hadn't known me before."
"I too served Baron, remember, though only for a short time."
"Yes, but at least you didn't serve as anything more than a guard, and didn't know who you were while you were doing that." I stopped, thinking about how many I'd hurt in my life. "I'd best be leaving, Yang. It was good to see you again."
"Where do you plan on going next?
"I don't know, honestly. Hadn't thought that far ahead."
"I'll speak to the King about getting you a small ship - you'll have a hard time going farther on foot." I smiled at my own foolishness. Of course he was right.
"Thank you, Yang. I don't know what I was thinking."
"You had a loved one on your mind, Kain, it's understandable. Many are the times I've made simple mistakes because I was thinking of my wife."
"I wasn't thinking about Rosa." Yang smiled softly at me, an almost patronizing look that I wouldn't have put up with from anybody but him.
"I wasn't talking about Rosa, Kain. Now, let's go get you a ship." He put his hand on my shoulder, and led me to the King of Fabul.
Now, I've got a small ship - a boat, really, but suitable for the open sea - and supplies enough for most of a month - all trail rations, but there are enough islands for me to set down and hunt up something fresh when I want. I give a good tug on the ropes that tie me to the dock, and cast off. I don't know where I'm going to go next - just keep moving, and keep searching. Maybe I'll try to figure out what it is that Yang meant by thinking about somebody I loved - and not thinking about Rosa..
~~~===~~~
Had Kain been looking towards the skies that night, perhaps his keen vision would have seen the great ship moving through the skies far above the Blue Planet. Or perhaps not. It was like no other airship - not even the Lunar Whale equaled its beauty and sophistication. A solid shell of deep blue metal floated high in the sky, a trio of jeweled panels on the outer section the only features marring the gleaming surface. Deep in the bowels of the ship, a horde of skeletal warriors sat, their unholy life being drained out of them to power the dark vessel. In the center of the ship, a man in a strange uniform fearfully approached the throne that sat in the back of the dark command center.
"Lord Dragonheart, we have found the ones you seek." The powerful figure in a dark helmet turned to look at the soldier.
"Good. What are they like, in this world?"
"I - I fear, milord, that they are not as you expected.."
"Speak, fool. I don't expect the Lord and Lady to be such on all worlds."
"That is the problem, Lord Dragonheart - they are Lord and Lady here, but not of darkness."
"Tell me more."
"They rule the Kingdom of Baron. The Lady is Rosa Farrell Harvey here, the most powerful white mage of the world."
"And his Lordship?"
"Cecil Harvey," the soldier paused and looked at Lord Dragonheart fearfully. "And he is to paladins what you are to dark knights throughout reality." Dragonheart looked at him with an expression of disbelief, then reached out and clamped a slender, powerful hand on the soldier's head. Tendrils of energy, so dark they seemed to glow in the dimly lit antechamber, crawled across the soldier's head and face, now locked in a silent scream. For what seemed an eternity, he sat there, watching as the dark power stripped the flesh and knowledge from his servitor. When he released the stripped skull, its owner stood and bowed, obediently moving away to join the skeletal servants that powered the massive ship.
Dragonheart leaned back into his chair and folded his slender fingers, considering what he now knew to be true as he brought the tips of his fingers to the bridge of his nose. This Cecil Harvey, counterpart to his own Dark Lord, disturbed him. A paladin, as pure as his namesake had been, if not more so to judge by the vast power he wielded. This problem would take a degree of strategy to deal with. A wicked sneer curled the cruel lips as he realized the weak-point of this sacred warrior.
Dragonheart stood and turned to a rack of spears on his wall. He picked out one that was wickedly barbed, and crackled with the same dark power that had slain the soldier when he took it in hand. From the way things looked, this Blue Planet was an exact opposite of his home world. If that was the case, then the loathing that his masters held for each other would be a devoted love here. Which meant that the white mage would be the perfect tool to use to control the self-righteous fool.
With her firmly under his control, Cecil would be forced to do as he said, or risk losing her. Dragonheart caressed the shaft of the spear almost lovingly, gazing on the blade with a twisted mockery of a lover's fond gaze. His eyes reflected off the polished edge, like two lanterns in the darkness his helm cast about his face. Most of his kind wielded swords infused with the power of pure darkness, but he had found that there was something about the process of forging a sword that diluted the power. Only the most powerful of blades, Excalibur, stood any chance against the power of the Lance of Mara, the weapon that the dark knight now held. In his hands, it was a weapon of mass destruction, capable of leveling a small city with but a prayer to the Lord of Darkness. He might not be as skilled in its use as a hand-to-hand weapon as some, but he was more than capable of teaching the paladin upstart the meaning of fear.
With that thought, Lord Kain Dragonheart donned his gauntlets, and walked towards his training room to prepare for his coming plan. After all, if he was going to be visiting his nemesis, it would hardly do to be at anything less than peak skill..
~~~===~~~
End of Chapter 1: Enter the Villain
~~~===~~~
Chapter One: Enter the Villain
~~~===~~~
"Thank you for seeing me, Yang. I know you're busy around here." I was walking through one of the gardens of Fabul with the high monk that I had fought beside for such a short time, before he'd nearly been killed fighting Golbez. I had left Baron but a few weeks ago, amazing even myself with the speed I made through the mountains between Mist and Kaipo, then across the shoals between Kaipo, the ruins of Damcyan, and the Fabul Mountains. How ironic, that trips that proved long and arduous for my friends, if not impossible without a hovercraft or airship, became simple exercises in endurance for my well-honed precision in jumping from one peak or rock to the next. Of course, I almost broke my neck when I found a rock that wasn't as dry as I'd thought it was, but you never learn unless you make mistakes.
"Never too busy to see a friend," he said warmly. "How are Cecil and the others doing?"
"As well as can be expected. Cid must be part dwarf, if you ask me - he's older than any of us, and still going strong, even if he is slowing down a little. He's taken well to being a grandfather," I added, not sure if Yang was aware of the marriage between Cid's daughter and Palom last year. Gods know nobody else was expecting it to happen, but the boy had changed quite a bit since the last time Cecil had seen him - matured greatly, though he was still a cocky little bastard.
"Ah, the young black mage has a child already, does he?"
"Yes, though he's not as young as you remember any more. It seems he still aged while he was locked in stone, it just didn't take until after Zeromus was gone. But father, mother, and aunt are all very glad that the Serpent Road isn't the only way to get back and forth between Baron and Mysidia quickly any more."
"I can imagine. That was hard on us, when we had to use it more often. I can't imagine it would be healthy for an infant. What of the others?"
"Cecil's a fine king, though he dislikes all the frills and protocol. Rosa took them much more easily, but she has that natural grace that makes for an easy transition to nobility."
"I assume they don't have any children of their own yet?"
"No," I said quickly. "I'm afraid not." Yang nodded quietly. I suspected that he knew about the nightmares, but I was never sure. She hadn't had any during the short time that he'd been with us after the Tower of Zot, except for that night, when all of us but Cecil and Rosa were resting in the town. And he'd been asleep when she screamed that night - only I had been awake, wondering if she would be all right after what had happened, now that she was safe. Foolish question from a foolish soul, I know, but I had hoped that she wouldn't remember what happened as vividly as she did.
Still, despite being asleep, I've never been able to tell if the monk's keen ears had heard more than I did.
"Have you heard from Rydia and Edge lately," I asked.
"Not lately, though we have begun to exchange trained warriors. I never would have thought that our monks would benefit so much from their techniques, but the results truly are amazing. We even have a few budding mages among our number now."
"And I suppose that the ninja are learning to use your techniques to their best advantage?"
"Have you ever seen two swords flying through the air with a trained warrior behind them?"
"Only when Edge fell off the battlements while he was showing off during Palom's wedding." Yang laughed, a hearty, booming sound that filled the enclosed garden with its echoes.
"I remember that, he was re-enacting a battle, wasn't he?"
"When one Shiva just happened to appear in the area and increase the wind speed drastically."
"Rydia always did have a way of bringing him down when necessary."
"I just wish she'd picked a lower perch to knock him from - it took hours to get the moat out of my armor after I caught him," I chuckled, remembering the happier times.
"So, Kain, why are you here?" I turned from the plants I was looking at sharply, meeting his level gaze.
"What?" Was I really that transparent? Or was it just that the older warrior knew how to look into the heart of any man and see the truth?
"I can read you like a book, Kain, at least when it's you I'm talking to. This isn't just a social call, any more than Mysidia is marching on Agart." I shook my head and chuckled.
"Well, believe it or not, my reason for coming here, to Fabul, is largely a social call. I was in the area, thought I'd stop by."
"And why were you in the area, on foot?"
"I'm looking for something, Yang. Someone, maybe, but either way I can't find what I need back there."
"Honor," he said simply. I nodded slowly.
"In part. You understand me that way, the others can't. Maybe that's why I came here first - if I was going to visit any of my old comrades, I wanted it to be you first."
"I'm flattered - but why?"
"Like I said - you understand my honor - the honor of serving. The others, they don't. Cecil used to, but he changed when he gained the Light. For the better, of course, but he lost his ability to understand when he lost his ability to serve a mortal, I think."
"He could still serve well."
"But not the way you or I can. Tell me, Yang, if your king hadn't ordered you to join us, but instead to sneak through his fortress and kill Golbez in his sleep, would you have done so?"
"In a heartbeat," he said, without any hesitation. "To do such a thing would be no dishonor."
"Not to us. We serve, we take our honor from our service, and our glory from our lords. Cecil and Edge, they take their honor from their glory, in many ways. Assassination wouldn't be an option to either of them, as unusual as that is for a ninja. War, though more costly, that is an option. An honorable duty, to make war on evil, to meet your foe on the field of battle and face him, even if you die in the process. To sneak into his bedchambers and snap his neck, though.that is inexcusable to them. Not fair. Not honorable." Yang nodded now, understanding.
"I see. It is as well, I think, that Cecil is a good friend to the rulers of the lands. If there was a war, the two of you would likely conflict on what to do almost constantly." I shook my head quickly, frowning.
"No, there wouldn't be. I would suggest that he use less 'honorable' tactics, he would refuse, and that would be the end of it, unless something drastic happened. No more than you would argue with your King if he suggested a course of action you didn't agree with. No more than I argued that we should try such techniques on the moon, or in the Tower of Babil. But I agree, it is good that they're all friends. Even Mist has allied itself with Baron, despite having more than enough reasons not to."
"True." I looked around the garden, plants of every possible description growing free. I knew that Yang and his wife spent hours every day tending to this garden, had seen the two working there before the ceremony in which Yang had been named successor to the king, but it looked perfectly natural. Like most of the high monk's hobbies, it left him immersed in life. Maybe that's why I had come here - the perfect counterpoint to my thoughts.
"Yang, do you think of death often?" He looked at me curiously, no doubt wondering where the sudden change of subject had come from.
"I'm a warrior, Kain - I think of it when I go into battle, but try not to most of the time beyond that. You?"
"On occasion. Hell, I don't even think of it when I go into battle, really. Too much training taking over to allow myself that luxury. I thought about it when we were fighting Zeromus - I think we all did, honestly. I know I was brought near it often enough. I must admit, though, I have thought of it more often lately."
"And in what context?" I smiled at the worried tone in Yang's voice.
"Don't worry, Yang, I don't plan on killing myself. Though I might deserve death, I've dishonored myself enough to give up like that. Whatever you or Edge might think, I was raised to view it as surrender. And surrender, unless it would help in the long run, is not an honorable way to end a battle. No, I think more about what people will remember us for once we die. Take yourself - when you die, you'll be the hero of Fabul, the warrior who nearly died saving the dwarves from Golbez, the man who risked life and limb to save perfect strangers. Cecil, well, I don't think there's anything that could tarnish his memory, and that's good - his only flaw, unless you count caring too much, was loyalty to a dark king he eventually rebelled against. Rosa, she'll be one of the greatest Queens that Baron has ever had, to say nothing of her renown as the foremost healer in the world. Porom hasn't even managed to catch up with her yet, though she's coming closer.
"Myself, I'll be the traitor who was lucky enough to be given the chance to redeem myself. A fool who loved the wife of my best friend, and let that love be twisted to drag me into the darkest recesses of my soul. I've dishonored myself, my father, and almost the entirety of the Dragon Knights."
"Kain, you do yourself a disservice. But I can't convince you of that, can I?" I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"Not likely. I still can't see how any of you trusted me after what I did, especially you and the others who hadn't known me before."
"I too served Baron, remember, though only for a short time."
"Yes, but at least you didn't serve as anything more than a guard, and didn't know who you were while you were doing that." I stopped, thinking about how many I'd hurt in my life. "I'd best be leaving, Yang. It was good to see you again."
"Where do you plan on going next?
"I don't know, honestly. Hadn't thought that far ahead."
"I'll speak to the King about getting you a small ship - you'll have a hard time going farther on foot." I smiled at my own foolishness. Of course he was right.
"Thank you, Yang. I don't know what I was thinking."
"You had a loved one on your mind, Kain, it's understandable. Many are the times I've made simple mistakes because I was thinking of my wife."
"I wasn't thinking about Rosa." Yang smiled softly at me, an almost patronizing look that I wouldn't have put up with from anybody but him.
"I wasn't talking about Rosa, Kain. Now, let's go get you a ship." He put his hand on my shoulder, and led me to the King of Fabul.
Now, I've got a small ship - a boat, really, but suitable for the open sea - and supplies enough for most of a month - all trail rations, but there are enough islands for me to set down and hunt up something fresh when I want. I give a good tug on the ropes that tie me to the dock, and cast off. I don't know where I'm going to go next - just keep moving, and keep searching. Maybe I'll try to figure out what it is that Yang meant by thinking about somebody I loved - and not thinking about Rosa..
~~~===~~~
Had Kain been looking towards the skies that night, perhaps his keen vision would have seen the great ship moving through the skies far above the Blue Planet. Or perhaps not. It was like no other airship - not even the Lunar Whale equaled its beauty and sophistication. A solid shell of deep blue metal floated high in the sky, a trio of jeweled panels on the outer section the only features marring the gleaming surface. Deep in the bowels of the ship, a horde of skeletal warriors sat, their unholy life being drained out of them to power the dark vessel. In the center of the ship, a man in a strange uniform fearfully approached the throne that sat in the back of the dark command center.
"Lord Dragonheart, we have found the ones you seek." The powerful figure in a dark helmet turned to look at the soldier.
"Good. What are they like, in this world?"
"I - I fear, milord, that they are not as you expected.."
"Speak, fool. I don't expect the Lord and Lady to be such on all worlds."
"That is the problem, Lord Dragonheart - they are Lord and Lady here, but not of darkness."
"Tell me more."
"They rule the Kingdom of Baron. The Lady is Rosa Farrell Harvey here, the most powerful white mage of the world."
"And his Lordship?"
"Cecil Harvey," the soldier paused and looked at Lord Dragonheart fearfully. "And he is to paladins what you are to dark knights throughout reality." Dragonheart looked at him with an expression of disbelief, then reached out and clamped a slender, powerful hand on the soldier's head. Tendrils of energy, so dark they seemed to glow in the dimly lit antechamber, crawled across the soldier's head and face, now locked in a silent scream. For what seemed an eternity, he sat there, watching as the dark power stripped the flesh and knowledge from his servitor. When he released the stripped skull, its owner stood and bowed, obediently moving away to join the skeletal servants that powered the massive ship.
Dragonheart leaned back into his chair and folded his slender fingers, considering what he now knew to be true as he brought the tips of his fingers to the bridge of his nose. This Cecil Harvey, counterpart to his own Dark Lord, disturbed him. A paladin, as pure as his namesake had been, if not more so to judge by the vast power he wielded. This problem would take a degree of strategy to deal with. A wicked sneer curled the cruel lips as he realized the weak-point of this sacred warrior.
Dragonheart stood and turned to a rack of spears on his wall. He picked out one that was wickedly barbed, and crackled with the same dark power that had slain the soldier when he took it in hand. From the way things looked, this Blue Planet was an exact opposite of his home world. If that was the case, then the loathing that his masters held for each other would be a devoted love here. Which meant that the white mage would be the perfect tool to use to control the self-righteous fool.
With her firmly under his control, Cecil would be forced to do as he said, or risk losing her. Dragonheart caressed the shaft of the spear almost lovingly, gazing on the blade with a twisted mockery of a lover's fond gaze. His eyes reflected off the polished edge, like two lanterns in the darkness his helm cast about his face. Most of his kind wielded swords infused with the power of pure darkness, but he had found that there was something about the process of forging a sword that diluted the power. Only the most powerful of blades, Excalibur, stood any chance against the power of the Lance of Mara, the weapon that the dark knight now held. In his hands, it was a weapon of mass destruction, capable of leveling a small city with but a prayer to the Lord of Darkness. He might not be as skilled in its use as a hand-to-hand weapon as some, but he was more than capable of teaching the paladin upstart the meaning of fear.
With that thought, Lord Kain Dragonheart donned his gauntlets, and walked towards his training room to prepare for his coming plan. After all, if he was going to be visiting his nemesis, it would hardly do to be at anything less than peak skill..
~~~===~~~
End of Chapter 1: Enter the Villain
~~~===~~~