CHAPTER 15
NAZDRUBIA MINES
Law sat at President Maclus's desk, drinking some wine and reading a comic book that he'd brought from the future. He turned his head as he heard the door to Maclus's bedroom and Delita staggered out. His hair was completely messed up, but he looked pleased and well-rested.
"Didja enjoy yourself?" Law muttered as he turned back to the book.
"Indeed," Delita said. "Senator Moto's daughter Cherry should change her name now."
"I don't need a description, bub," Law grumbled as he turned a page. "If I want to hear about what you did, I'll watch an erotic film."
Delita snorted at Law's comment. The bounty hunter was getting on his nerves. "Have you heard anything about Ramza?" he asked.
Law grinned maliciously. "That's the good news. Our spies in Porta Vista say that Ramza was there, and he's already collected four Chrono Stones. He's getting closer and closer to our trap."
"It wouldn't matter to me if Ramza had all the Chrono Stones," Delita laughed as he looked at his Rabbit, Rooster and Sheep Chinese Zodiac Stones. "As long as I have these, I'm indestructible."
"They also said that Ramza's got some new friends," Law said. "There's some pretty weird folks traveling with him, including that Cloud guy you mentioned."
"Cloud? The time traveler?" Delita growled. "Maybe he brought along his friends to help out..."
"You were sloppy," Law muttered. "When you raided Ramza's airship, you didn't even think to grab Alma Beoulve, Thunder God Cid or that robot..."
"What difference would it have made?" Delita retorted.
"Think, Big D," Law said. "Having Orlandu on your side would have made you even more powerful. Alma Beoulve was the vessel that the Bloody Angel Ajora attacked the world from, and the robot is a big, hulking powerhouse. Any of them would have been useful instead of some of the nuts you captured, like Ramza's drip lackey or Agrias's two apprentices."
"Ngrrrr..." Delita growled as he decided to change the subject. "Who else is with him?"
"Ramza's traveling with Cloud, his sister, Orlandu, the robot, his student, Agrias, her two flunkies and Queen Ovelia, but he's picked up quite a few new friends, too," Law repeated. "There's a big-chested brunette that seems to hang around Cloud a lot, a wild boy, a cave woman, a red-haired bounty hunter, a smart-mouth kid with a scar on his face, a female military general... and a black-armored Lancer."
"A black-armored Lancer?..." Delita asked. None of the mentioned characters excited him much (except maybe the new girls), but the Lancer sounded interesting.
"I don't know who he is, but he followed the Cardinal and me here through the time warp," Law growled. "I've got a score to settle with him..."
"Do whatever you want," Delita snarled. "Just leave Ramza and Ovelia to me. I want to kill them myself."
"You already killed Ovelia once," Law grumbled. "Give someone else a chance, why don't ya?"
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Delita muttered.
"Whatever. I'll leave 'em to you," Law said. "Just leave the Lancer and Orlandu to me."
"Thunder God Cid?" Delita asked. "Why?"
"Dark Rival has been acting odd lately," Law said. "I think that her sister Rival is carried by one of Ramza's friends. Orlandu's Excalibur may be Rival in disguise. If that's true, I will kill Orlandu and destroy his sword."
"Have it your way," Delita said. "I'd best be heading back to Ivalice. Take care of things here, Law."
"Whatever," Law grumbled as he shrugged. Delita went outside, boarded his personal airship, which he had named the Teta, and took off for Ivalice.
Law grumbled to himself for a few minutes after he'd turned the page of his comic. "Lousy nitwit," he grumbled. "When I'm in charge of everything, he'll be the first to go. It'll be a pleasure to feast on his blood, won't it?"
Dark Rival, which was hanging over a painting nearby, pulsed greedily.
"Hmmm..." Agrias said as she took in everything that Ramza and his friends had told her. "Well, that would explain a lot, wouldn't it?" she asked.
"If we're gonna get back to our own time, we have to get those Chrono Stones back," Seifer said. "It's as simple as pie."
"It will not be as easy as you perceive," Everhart said to Seifer. "Delita's allies from the future are strong. That is why I need to regain the Chrono Stones. My powers will increase with each stone collected, and that will ensure our victory over him."
"So that's why Celia and Lede are with us, huh?" Lavian asked.
"Everhart just hired them to help him out," Alicia added.
"Yeah, that's it," Celia said.
"So glad that you understand," Lede said. "We won't be hurting you guys this time."
"That's all we can tell you, really," Celes said.
"Agrias know anything?" Ayla asked. "Maybe know something help Ramza find friends?"
Agrias chuckled a bit. The cave woman's simple speech and fiery spirit reminded her of herself as a little girl. "Well, all I can really see is that we have four stones now, not counting the Chinese Zodiac Stones and Taurus and Aquarius (the one in Worker No.8). We've got a head start on collecting the stones, but Delita's probably got plenty of nasty tricks up his slimy sleeve."
"There has to be a way to end this without spilling blood..." Ovelia sighed sadly.
"If there is a way, we'll find it, Ovelia," Alma answered. "...There is a way, right, Everhart?..."
"...Perhaps," Everhart responded. "We should go and find another Chrono Stone."
"I hope we can find them soon..." Agrias sighed as she looked out the window at the cloudless blue sky. "I'm kinda worried about Mustadio."
"So am I," Ramza grumbled. "If Delita has some way of picking people's brains, he might have found out some engineering secrets that could put us at a disadvantage."
"Oh, come on!" Seifer snorted. "He can't have a brain probe in this day and age. They haven't even made 'em in my time yet."
"You can't underestimate someone you've never met face to face," Amarant muttered as he stood with his back against the wall and his arms folded, as usual.
"We should check all the major cities," Alma suggested. "If Delita and his friends have stationed the Chrono Stones anywhere, they would be scattered all through the Zeratul cities."
"The one closest to Porta Vista is Nazdrubia," Cloud said as he read the map on the table.
"Noss-droo-bee-awww?" Gau asked. "Gau never hear of it. Then again, Gau new in town, so no wonder, oh ho ho!"
"That's a good plan," Ramza agreed. "We'll search the major cities and the landmarks around them. To Nazdrubia!"
"Nazdrubia?" Rad gulped. "Isn't that where that crazy High Priest Nodyl and his Desperadoes hang out?"
"Yeah" Alicia said. "That's where we had to work on that chain gang!"
"I really don't want to repeat that experience," Lavian groaned.
"With Delita running Zeratul, I bet the Church's minions are crawling everywhere," Ramza sighed. "You three might not want to come."
"I'm coming, Ramza," Agrias said. "I'm gonna help you every step of the way, and make sure Mustadio goes free!"
"I shall accompany you, Ramza," Orlandu said. "My old bones need some exercise, so..."
"Ayla come too!" Ayla said as she bounced up and down. "Ayla want learn all about this place! Ayla very curious."
"I'll come along as well," Celes chimed in. "Ramza saved Gau and me. I'll see this through to the end."
"I've heard that line before," Ramza said as he recalled what Algus Sadalfam had said to him. "But I don't think you'll be betraying me any time soon."
"Huh?" Celes asked.
"Never mind," Ramza said as he turned on the Cassiopeia's engine. "Let's go!"
The sleek and speedy Cassiopeia flew through the Zeratul skies towards Nazdrubia. It was a short trip, and within fifteen minutes the craft landed just outside of the western-style town. As the ship landed, it sent several tumbleweeds flying off in different directions.
"We've gotta save Mustadio and the others," Agrias said as she stepped out of the ship and onto the desert landscape.
"This Mustadio guy sounds pretty important," Seifer said as the others exited the craft. "What's the deal with him?"
"Mustadio helped us stumble upon the entire concept of magical stones," Ramza said. "In a way, he helped the rest of us figure out what Ajora was up to."
"He also was the first person that we ran into after our struggle with Ajora in Murond Death City," Alma recalled as she began to stroke her chin with her hand. "We had just trekked past the cemetery where I had supposedly been buried..."
(Flashback)
"Ramza," Alma said as her brother and she rode their Chocobos through a dense forest. "Why didn't you stop to talk to Olan back there?"
"It was too dangerous," Ramza said. "There are still plenty of Ajora supporters hanging around, and I don't want to start anything else."
Ramza sighed heavily. Ajora and his demonic airship had exploded two days ago. When Ramza had regained consciousness, he found that he was inside Orbonne Monastery, and only Alma was with him. Where everyone else had gone to, he had no idea. He assumed the worst as they rented Chocobos and decided to disappear into the wilds of Ivalice. He was glad that Olan was all right, but compared to losing thirteen of his best friends, it was small consolation.
"Brother..." Alma said as the Chocobos crossed a broken stone bridge over a large, blue river. They were now deep within uncharted territory. "I'm really sorry about all of this..."
"It's not your fault, Alma," Ramza sighed as he pulled out his backpack and opened it. Twelve glistening stones looked up at him. "It's the whole Lucavi lot and their boss Ajora's," he muttered as he began tossing the stones into the river like skipping stones.
"Are you sure that you should do that?" Alma asked with a hint of alarm.
"Nobody should be able to use them any more," Ramza said as he chucked the last one over his shoulder and it landed with a SPLASH in the river. "Besides, all we really need is the Aquarius Stone, and that's in Worker No.8..."
Ramza then recalled that Worker No.8 was probably blown to smithereens and he sighed again. After he had put his backpack on his back again, the Chocobos continued walking.
"It's a day for victory, I guess," Alma said. "But it's awfully bittersweet..."
"Hey, guys!!!"
Ramza halted his Chocobo and looked around. "What's up, Ramza?" Alma asked.
"I could have sworn I heard someone..." Ramza said.
"Hey! Ramza! Alma!!!"
"Yeah, I hear it too," Alma said as she looked around. "Where's it coming from?"
"Ramza! Up here!!!"
Ramza looked up and almost gasped in shock. Up in the trees above them, with his pants snagged on a long branch, was Mustadio. "Good morning, guys!" he said as he waved at them.
"Mustadio! You're alive!!!" Ramza exclaimed as he climbed up the tree and helped his friend down.
"Yeah," Mustadio admitted. "After the airship blew up, I was thrown really far out. When I came to, I was stuck in the tree. Boy, am I glad to see you guys! I thought that I was the only one left!"
(End Flashback)
"Fortunately, we ended up finding all of our friends scattered around Ivalice with the same explanation," Ramza concluded. "Still, that's another story. What matters now is finding them again and getting those stones back."
"I'd assume that Delita sent one or more of 'em to guard the cities," Orlandu said.
"You threw the original Zodiac Stones into the river?" Everhart asked.
"All of them but the Aquarius Stone," Ramza said. "That's what powers Worker No.8." Mustadio was working on finding an alternative source, though..."
"It is safe to assume that Delita now has the original stones," Everhart grumbled. "It was very careless of you to cast them away like that, Ramza."
"Hey, give him a break!" Cloud said. "Nobody saw this kind of thing coming! He did what seemed right at the time!"
"Let's go into town and see Cress Woodrow," Alma broke in before an argument started. "He was Cinna's best friend. I'm sure that he can help us."
"Hey, check it out," Seifer said as he pointed to the wooden gates of Nazdrubia. "It's just like an old western town, ain't it?"
"Now this kind of terrain I like," Amarant said.
"It's pretty bleak, but the people are friendly," Rad said. "I heard that a lot of the folks here bought our album."
"You've got an album?" Amarant asked.
"Yep," Rad said. "I even saved a copy. See?" He pulled out a vinyl record that had the words WISHY-WASHY-REAR-ENDED-CACTUS stamped on it. "Alicia sang, Lavian did a finger-popping sound and I played a banjo," Rad said proudly.
"You have a banjo?!" Amarant asked quickly.
"Uh-oh," Tifa gulped.
"Yeah," Rad said. "Wanna see it, Amarant?"
"Please, you must tell me where you bought it!" Amarant huffed as he grabbed Rad and shook him. "I need to buy a new one! My old one got smashed!"
"I got one at a music store in Igros," Rad answered. "I can show it to you when we get to Ivalice."
"Please," Amarant said. "I need a banjo, or else I'll go crazy!"
"Don't you mean crazier?" Seifer snorted.
"Let's go and find Cress..." Ovelia said as she tried to change topics. The group agreed and walked into the town, leaving Rad, Alicia and Lavian back at the Cassiopeia.
Nazdrubia hadn't changed much since Ramza had visited it before: the ground was mostly dirt and few plants grew besides a couple of cactus plants. Tumbleweeds skipped across the landscape now and then, and the sky was completely blue and cloudless. The town was arranged all down one street, and several water troughs and horse hitches lined the walkways. Signs and symbols of what was in each building hung over the push-in saloon doors. A buffalo skull lay in the dirt near a building with a sign that stated:
Reasonable Rates
C. Woodrow, Proprietor
"This is the place," Ramza said as he looked at the sign. "Let's go in."
"It looks kind of small," Celes pointed out. "How can all sixteen of us fit in?"
"Good point," Ramza said after he thought about it. "Errr... Just the people who'll help find the next Cativo come in."
Orlandu, Celes, Ayla and Agrias stepped forward. "The rest of you just check out the town," Ramza said. "And TRY not to get in trouble."
"You bet, Ramza," Cloud answered. "No trouble will come from here."
"We'll be good little girls," Lede chuckled coyly.
"I will try to gather information about the remaining Zodiac Stones," Everhart said as he turned around and swiftly walked away. The other characters dispersed and left the remaining five to enter the store.
"Cress is a bit eccentric," Ramza said as he opened the door. "Just be really nice."
"'Nice' Ayla middle name!" Ayla said.
The five warriors stepped into the store. Display cases filled with precious stones stood in several corners of the room. A cashier's counter stood at the far end, and a door leading elsewhere stood behind it. A cash register and a small bell lay on the counter.
"Is he home?" Celes asked. "This place looks pretty empty."
"Wow! Look at shiny stones!!" Ayla exclaimed as she looked into the cases. "Shiny, shiny, shiny! Shiny, shiny, shiny!"
"You've been hanging around Gau too much," Celes chuckled.
"It does look a bit empty..." Orlandu said. "But I should have expected as much. Didn't you guys notice that the entire town looks deserted?"
"Maybe if we ring the bell..." Ramza said as he walked up to the counter and tapped the bell with his left hand. A crystal-clear note rang through the room. As soon as the bell had sounded, the door in the back crashed open and out popped a skinny man wearing a terrifying mask and shaking two maracas.
"Booga booga!" the deranged old man shouted as he shook his maracas. "You can't come in here! Leave or my good juju will turn your lungs as black as coal! BOOGA!!!"
"Hey, Cress!" Ramza exclaimed. "It's me, Ramza Beoulve. I was a friend of Cinna's, remember?"
"Heh?..." Cress asked as he put the maracas down and took off his mask. He had a rather big nose and chin and white hair and whiskers shot out from his head, nose and mouth area like a huge explosion of ice. He looked pretty creepy even without his mask. "Oh, Ramza!" he exclaimed. "So, it IS you! What brings ya here, boy?"
"We're looking for the Chrono Zodiac Stones," Agrias said as she looked the old coot over. "Have you seen any?"
"You're that chickie knight Agrias, ain'tcha?" Cress asked. "Good ta see ya! Lemme think... Hmmm... Aha! I've got it!"
Cress reached into the display case beneath the counter and pulled out a purple stone with a Gemini symbol on it. "Is this it, younguns?" Cress asked.
"No, that's just a regular Zodiac Stone," Orlandu said. Suddenly, he realized what Cress had. "HEY! Where'd you get that?!"
"This?" Cress asked as he held the Gemini Stone up to the light that was streaming in through a window. "Well, when those damn Ivalice troopers came marchin' in here, one of 'em came into my shop and tried to make me give up all my jewels. When I refused, she attacked me with her katana, but I put on my magical mask and shook my juju sticks and she backed outta here really fast! She dropped this when she turned and ran."
"It sounds like a girl samurai dropped it," Celes said.
"Ayla remember hearing about girl sam-oo-rye," Ayla said. "Ovelia read paper, say bad guy Law have two assassins. Ovelia say one a girl sam-oo-rye, call Adela."
"A Samurai named Adela?" Ramza asked. "I wonder what she was in here for..."
"She mighta been a samurai, but she said she wanted ta look purdy fer a guy she likes," Cress explained.
"Well, whatever," Agrias said. "Cress, could we buy that Zodiac Stone from you?"
"Jes take it, missy," Cress said as he handed the stone over. "T'ain't worth nothin' in these parts anyway."
"Thanks, Cress," Ramza said. "But have any other stones or suspicious characters shown up around here?"
"Come to think of it," Cress said. "Them Ivalice bozos said that they put some kinda operative in the mine... Said he was an engineer..."
"An engineer?" Orlandu asked.
"MUSTADIO!!!" Ramza, Agrias and Orlandu said at the same time. Celes and Ayla just looked at them oddly.
"That sounds about right," Cress grumbled. "And now that he's there, there's been a heap of trouble around here. The Ivalice troops are real jerks, High Priest Nodyl and his Desperadoes are out hunting heretics, and the mines are brimmin' with monsters... Can you fellas help us out?"
"We sure can, Cress," Ramza said. "We've been looking for Mustadio for a while. Thanks for the info! We'll go down to the mines and clean up the mess."
"Thanks a heap, fellas!" Cress said. "But be careful. If Nodyl catches ya, it'll be thirty years on the chain gang for sure!"
"That's something I'd like to avoid," Celes said.
"Let's go, guys," Ramza said as the five left the jewelry store. After they had gone, Cress put his mask back on and began shaking his juju sticks all around the shop again to shower it with good magic.
As Ramza and his four companions stepped out of the jewelry shop, they saw that most of their friends were just milling around outside. Seifer and Amarant were pacing back and forth anxiously, Ovelia was trying to hide in the shade of a water barrel and Everhart was skewering tumbleweeds with his lance.
"Hey!" Lede cried. "They're back!"
Everyone went and gathered near Ramza. "Well? What's the situation?" Everhart asked.
"Apparently, Mustadio is in the mines nearby," Agrias explained. "The problem is... I think he's housing a Cativo like I was."
"That's awful..." Alma said. "What do we do?"
"I'll take these guys and go find him," Ramza said. "The rest of you stay here and help the townsfolk. If High Priest Nodyl gives you any trouble, defend yourself."
"Gau help townspeople!" Gau declared.
"I've seen that trouble-making priest before," Cloud growled. "I'll give 'im the what-for!"
"Thanks, guys," Ramza said as Orlandu, Agrias, Ayla and Celes began to walk towards a large mountain in the distance that housed the Nazdrubia Mines. "We'll see you when we get back."
"Catch you later, Ramza," Seifer said as the youngest Beoulve vanished into the desert landscape.
"This town's all locked up..." Tifa said as she looked around at the sealed buildings. "It's pretty eerie..."
"Delita's men have made this town a haven for fear," Everhart said. "It is most unpleasant..."
"Should we-" Ovelia started to say. She was interrupted by a door slamming.
Out of the sheriff's office came a terribly familiar man. He had straw-colored hair and wore a nasty scowl on his face that matched the ugly, red scar that ran along the right side of his jaw. He wore white clerical robes and a cowboy hat, which oddly enough complemented the robes. He was surrounded by about eight other men in cowboy hats holding double-barrel rifles.
"Uh-oh," Cloud gulped.
"Well, well, well..." High Priest Nodyl chuckled in his husky, sandy voice. "What have we here? Looks like the heretic and his friends have come back... What're y'all doin' in these here parts, anyway?..."
"We're here to stop Ivalice's armies!" Agrias snarled. "And you! You're the one that sent my girls to the chain gang, aren't you? You'll hang for that!"
"If you're makin' an enemy of Ivalice, you're makin' an enemy of the Glabados Church," Nodyl growled. "Now, are ya gonna let me carry out yer sentence... or do we hafta do this the hard way again?..."
"We'll take the hard way, scarface," Seifer huffed as he readied his gunblade.
"You're one to talk," Tifa commented. Seifer chuckled embarrassedly.
"Ramza, you go on ahead and find Mustadio," Alma said. "We can take care of these goons."
"Thanks, Alma," Ramza said as he ran to catch up with the others, who had started running for the mountain.
"You won't be escapin' mah Desperadoes this time!" Nodyl said as he gave a hand signal and the right sharpshooters surrounded the rest of the group. "Irvine! Vincent! Lead your men into battle!"
"Come on, we'll take you on!" Celia said as she drew her scimitars.
"This'll be fun!" Lede laughed as she swung her nunchucks around menacingly.
"Finally, I get to fight!" Tifa yelled happily as she charged a gunner and knocked him down with one kick.
"Alma, do you have the newer Chrono Stones that we've collected?" Everhart asked Alma.
"Y-yes," Alma answered as she pulled the stones that they had won from the fight with Volt, Cryo and Gaia.
"The Frost, Shock and Earth Stones..." Everhart said as he took the stones from Alma. "These will help."
Everhart flashed light blue, then yellow, then brown. Judging by what she had witnessed when he'd touched the Blaze Stone, Alma guessed that Everhart had just regained some of his previous power.
"Aurora, Exhale Bloody Air! Dark Holy!" Everhart shouted as he pointed his lance at a Desperado. A huge, black explosion blew the cowboy a good fifty feet away.
"Uh... Those Stones gave you a boost, huh?" Cloud asked.
"Indeed," Everhart said as he leaped at another Desperado.
"So, these are the Nazdrubia Mines..." Agrias said as she looked at the forboding entrance. It was nothing more than a huge hole in the side of the mountain with train tracks leading into it, but it emitted a very devilish aura.
"It can get pretty wild in there, so be careful," Ramza advised his friends.
"Ayla know way around caves," Ayla said. "Ayla can see well indark. Ayla find way to Ramza friend!"
"That's very generous of you, Ayla, but do you know what this Mustadio fellow looks like?" Celes asked.
"Uh..." Ayla gulped.
"I can fix that," Orlandu said as he looked at Agrias. "Agrias, don't you have something of Mustadio's?"
"...Oh, yeah!" Agrias said as she started digging around in her pocket. "Mustadio gave me a ring that he made out of old machine parts as a symbol of our... uh... friendship."
"Oooooh," Celes and Ayla said as they chuckled a bit. Agiras glared at them and they shut up.
Agrias pulled out a small ring. It was made of silver and was shaped to fit Agrias's ring finger exactly. On the top of it there was a shiny little square object that was colored green with a lot of silver lines crisscrossing all over it.
"What's that?" Ramza asked as he noticed the object on the ring.
"Mustadio said that it was called a 'microchip,'" Agrias explained. "Don't ask me... I haven't a clue what it does."
"What's your idea, Orlandu?" Celes asked.
"This," Orlandu said as he took the ring from Agrias and showed it to Ayla. "Ayla, see if you can get a scent."
"Oh, Ayla get it!" Ayla said as she sniffed the ring intently. She then started sniffing the ground around the mine.
"What's going on?" Agrias asked as Orlandu handed her ring back.
"Ayla's trying to pick up Mustadio's scent so she can find him easier," Orlandu explained.
"That's pretty smart, Cid," Ramza laughed. "Let's hope she finds something!"
Just then, Ayla's body stopped moving and she stared straight into the mine. "Agrias friend in there... WAY in there..."
"So, he IS in the mine," Celes said.
"Lead the way, Ayla!" Ramza said.
Ayla started running forward on all fours, sniffing around on occasion to keep on the trail. The others had to ask her to slow down several times so they could catch up.
What seemed like hours passed as the five adventurers walked through the ancient mine tunnels. Once in a while they ran into some nasty monsters, but Agrias and Orlandu took care of them with their Holy Explosion and Lightning Stab attacks.
"Those Skeletons didn't stand a chance!" Agrias smirked as she dusted off her gloves.
"I wonder what Delita's plotting with these Chrono Stones?..." Celes asked.
"I'd assume that he wants to use them to keep our friends captive so he can use them to take over entire countries," Orlandu grumbled. "I wouldn't put it past him."
"I really worry about Delita sometimes," Ramza sighed. "On one hand, he's vowed to kill me, turned my friends against me and slew Cinna in cold blood... but on the other hand he's lost the two women he loved: Ovelia and Teta. I'd think this is partly because of that. I saw how he reacted when Ovelia told him off at the Phantom Waterfall Temple... He's heartbroken."
"Heartbroken? Delita?" Agrias asked. She was going to add that she questioned whether he even had a heart, but she thought better of it.
"We have to make him see reason," Ramza sighed as they walked. "I just hope he'll listen..."
"(Snort) Ayla smell Mustadio up ahead!" Ayla announced as she stood up again. "But Ayla also smell other human... Maybe bad men working for Dee-Lee-Taw?"
"You just have to love how she talks," Celes chuckled. "But she's right. There may be Ivalice troops helping Mustadio."
"We'd better prepare ourselves..." Ramza said as he drew his Chaos Blade.
"I'm ready, Ramza," Agrias said as she whipped out her Rune Blade.
The five combatants charged around the next corner and came to a very strange sight.
The room they had entered was very wide; about the length and width of a basketball court. It was lit by several torches that hung on the walls at four places of the room. Mustadio stood in the back of the room. His face looked very odd in the faint light: he wore a deep scowl of anger as he glared at the newcomers. Two Knights, an Archer and a Chemist all bearing the uniforms of Ivalice's Nanten Knights stood in front of them.
"Mustadio!" Agrias exclaimed.
"Stay back," Orlandu said. "He looks just like you when you housed a Cativo..."
"Oh, no..." Agrias gasped.
"Nice of you guys to show up," Mustadio chuckled darkly. He turned to the Nanten troops before him "You four, get rid of them!"
"Time to brawl!" Celes said as she unsheathed Illumina.
"All right, guys! Eeeaaaaaggggh!!!" Ramza shouted.
"Eeeeaaaaaggggh!!!" the others answered, though no one was really sure why.
Orlandu and Ramza attacked the Knights while Ayla went for the Archer and Celes took on the Chemist. Agrias headed straight for Mustadio.
"There's a demon inside of you, Mustadio!" Agrias shouted to her friend. "Can you cast it out, or does it need some persuasion?!"
"Mustadio's not at home, my dear," Mustadio growled. "But I'll be glad to send you to the great beyond! I am Drill, Cativo of Steel!"
"Well then, Drill," Agrias growled as she swung her Rune Blade around. "Let's see how good you are at knocking holes in people! Try me!"
"That can be arranged, foolish girl," Mustadio growled. He pulled a silvery, spherical jewel out of his pocket and held it up. After a bright flash, Mustadio was replaced with a giant, metal gopher with a huge drill fastened to the top of its head.
"Woah!!!" the Chemist shouted as he turned around and saw the monster.
"That's it!" the Archer shouted. "I quit!"
All four of the Nanten soldiers ran away down the tunnels, screaming in terror.
"Well, so much for them," Celes said. "Now..."
"You defy Ajora, the 'Bloody Angel...'" Drill growled as the drill on his head spun around at a furious pace. "Reconsider such foolishness in the next world!!!"
Drill charged at Agrias with his deadly head weapon spinning crazily. Agrias managed to leap to the side and land a blow on the monster's back. Drill stumbled forward and then spun around to face her again.
"Agrias can't handle that thing on her own!" Ramza said. "Let's help!"
"Ayla open can of whupass on you!" Ayla shouted as she charged forward and smashed her fist against Drill's drill. A loud, metal CLUNK was heard, and Ayla fell backwards, yelping in agony and sucking on her knuckles.
"So much for the direct approach," Celes said as she put her hands together and began to recite a spell. "ICE 2!!!" she yelled as a huge block of ice appeared above Drill and plummeted towards him.
"Ignorant fool!" Drill laughed as he bore right through the ice chunk, reducing it to powdered snow within three seconds.
"He's pretty tough!..." Orlandu noted. "We'd better come up with a strategy..."
"You won't last that long!" Drill chortled as he charged again. He slammed his drill right into Ramza and sent him flying.
"Ramza!!!" Agrias shouted. "Are you OK?!"
"Ugghhh..." Ramza groaned as he got up. "I'll say one thing... This Maximillian Armor is built to last!"
"You won't escape me this time!!!" Drill yelled as he ran forward, knocking Ayla and Celes down on his way towards Ramza and Orlandu. He bent down and aimed his drill right at Ramza. "BORING GUN!!!" The massive drill shot out of his head and flew straight at Ramza.
"Whaaaaaahhhh!!!" Ramza cried as the huge drill crashed into him and started to pierce through his armor.
"Begone!" Orlandu shouted as he swung Excalibur and executed a Lightning Stab attack. The electric move knocked the drill away and it embedded itself in a wall.
Drill cackled darkly. "You fool! You only delay the inevitable!!!" He then recalled his giant drill and launched a Boring Gun attack at Orlandu. The huge conical weapon hit Orlandu dead on and sent him crashing into the back wall.
"Orlandu!!!" Ramza shouted.
"Arrrgh..." Orlandu grunted as he tried to shove the spinning gizmo away. "Can't push it..."
"Old man no OK?" Ayla asked.
"We have to disable that drill!" Celes declared as she started charging another spell. "METEOR!!!"
A huge black hole into space opened up near the drill, and hundreds of gray space rocks flew out and belted the machine away. It clattered to the ground, and Orlandu sank to his knees. He was breathing hard; the attack had drained a lot of his energy.
"Orlandu can't handle another one of those attacks," Ramza said.
"Such welcome advice," Drill laughed as he recalled the drill and readied himself to attack again. "You're very helpful to us, boy!"
"Ayla stop you!!!" Ayla shouted as she charged at Drill and landed three devastating kicks on his stomach. The overgrown rodent toppled backwards and fell on his butt.
"How dare you!!!" Drill shouted. "You shall go before the old man!!!"
"I don't think so," Agrias growled as she stepped in front of Ayla. "You're goin' down, Drill!"
"Let me help you out!" Ramza said as he cast Yell on Agrias and increased her agility. She grasped her Rune Blade and charged at Drill.
"LIGHTNING STAB!!!" Agrias shouted as she swung her sword. A bolt of pure electricity fell from the roof of the cave and thrust itself into Drill's body through his huge metal drill. He shrieked in agony and madly twitched about, trying to free himself.
"Curse you, woman!!!" Drill shouted.
"Electricity must be his weakness!" Ramza said.
"It must be because of the huge metal drill..." Celes said. "All right! BOLT 3!!!" Celes cast a spell and another huge blast of lightning blew Drill over. The metal gopher roared in agony.
"Take this!!!" Ayla yelled as she punched Drill ferociously. Ramza added his argument by slicing the monster with his Chaos Blade.
"Let Mustadio go, you bastard!!!" Agrias shouted as she cast another Lightning Stab attack. This time, Drill screeched and fell to his knees.
"Damn you all!!!" Drill cursed. "'Bloody Angel' will not stand for this..."
Drill exploded, and shrapnel flew all over the room.
"Woah! Are you sure that he wasn't a Mechannite?!" Orlandu asked as he shielded himself from the chunks of sharp metal.
When the smoke from the explosion dissipated, Mustadio crouched in the place Drill had fallen, and a silvery, spherical stone sat on the ground nearby.
"Ooog..." Mustadio groaned. "What happened?..."
"...Mustadio?" Ramza asked. "Are you all right?"
"Ramza?" Mustadio asked as he looked up. "Oh, thank God you're all OK... I feel like I've done something terrible..."
"MUSTY!!!" Agrias shouted gleefully as she threw her arms around Mustadio's neck and squeezed.
"Gyarrrrrgh!!!" Mustadio yelled as he clutched at his neck. Agrias loosened her grip enough so that he could breathe. "I missed you too, Agrias..." Mustadio managed to choke out.
"Ramza friend Agrias big on bear hugs," Ayla commented.
"Yeah, we noticed," Ramza chuckled as he watched Agrias smother Mustadio with more hugs and a few kisses.
"So, you got rid of the monster inside of me?" Mustadio asked as the group walked out of the mines and back towards town.
"Yep," Agrias answered as she eyed the silver stone that she held in her hand. "This is another of those accursed Chrono Zodiac Stones. Well, that's five down and seven to go."
"I wonder if Delita knows that there are demons inside of the stones?" Mustadio asked.
"I guess we'll find out when we-" Celes started to say. Just then, she gasped and pointed ahead. "LOOK!!!"
Everyone did look. In the center of town, the rest of Ramza's friends were still locked in combat with Nodyl and his Desperadoes. The battle didn't seem to be going either way. Even Celia, Lede and Everhart were having trouble with the sharpshooters.
"These guys're tougher than they look," Cloud growled as he slashed at a cowboy.
"It's that doggone Nodyl," Amarant growled. "He keeps using White Magic to heal the snipers."
"Let's try taking him out, then!" Seifer growled as he ran at Nodyl.
"Y'all never learn, do ya?" Nodyl chortled as Seifer charged at him. "Shine Light On Bloody Impurity! HOLY!!!"
Nodyl's attack sent Seifer flying backwards and crashing into Tifa and Gau. "Gauooooo Gauooo OWWWW!!!" Gau yelped.
"Unless we can get close to Nodyl without him casting spells, we're toast!" Alma exclaimed.
"...?" Everhart asked. "Ramza's back, and they have your friend."
"That's great news, but our hands are kinda full right now..." Ovelia grumbled as she swung her Gold Staff and fended off a Desperado's attack.
"Everhart!" Ramza shouted. "Are you guys OK?!"
"Ramza, do you have the Chrono Stone?" Everhart called. "Please, throw it to me!"
"All right!" Agrias said as she hurled the stone at Everhart. He lifted his hand and caught it between his thumb and forefinger without flinching.
"The Steel Stone... Perfect," Everhart said as he glowed silver for a moment. "Now I have the edge that we need. INNOCENT!!!"
The black-armored Lancer swung his spear and a black heart appeared and flew into Nodyl. The High Priest gulped and shrank back. "Dammit! I can't cast no spells no more!" he exclaimed.
"Now you're in for it!" Seifer shouted as he ran up and slashed Nodyl. The wild west priest went flying backwards and landed in the dust.
"Now for the Desperadoes," Cloud said as he readied his sword for a Limit Break attack.
"Come and get me, boys!" Tifa dared as she raised her knuckles.
"Now the fun begins," Celia chuckled, swinging her scimitars around.
"Let's get it on!" Lede laughed as she readied her nunchuks.
The rest of the group took care of the Desperadoes pretty quickly. Nodyl looked on in horror as his loyal soldiers were knocked clear out of the ballpark by the team's fierce attacks. Pretty soon, only Nodyl was left.
"You!..." Nodyl growled.
"What're you gonna do, Nodyl?" Alma asked. "Make us work on the chain gang?"
"Want some more?..." Amarant growled as he tightened his grip on his Rune Claw.
"D'oh! Ah hates when this happens..." Nodyl said as he looked around. "Buh-bah!" He threw his hands up in the air and vanished in a flash of light.
"Yeah! We beat 'im good!" Cloud laughed as he sheathed his sword.
"Well, so much for the High Priest," Ovelia said. "At least we didn't have to kill anyone."
"Everhart, did you gain new powers from the Chrono Stones?" Alma asked as she looked at Everhart.
"My full powers were locked away long ago," Everhart explained. "The Chrono Stones allow me to regain parts of my past glory."
"Wow, who're all the new folks?" Mustadio asked as he looked around.
"We'll explain at the airship," Ramza said.
"Airship?!" Mustadio exclaimed. "Boy, have I been out of the loop!"
"Master Mustadio, how good it is to see you again," Worker No.8 said as Mustadio approached him.
"Hello, Worker No.8. You look nice and shiny," Mustadio chuckled.
"Thank you," Worker No.8 responded. "I have been using a new varnish."
As Mustadio got acquainted with the new people, the doors of Nazdrubia's houses began to open and the residents re-emerged.
"Hey, the soldiers are gone!" a kid said.
"Those people must have scared them away," a girl said as she pointed to Ramza and his friends.
"My goodness, that's Ramza Beoulve!" an elderly gentleman exclaimed. "He saved Zeratul from invasion once before. He's come to save our country!"
The entire population of Nazdrubia began to applaud. Ramza and his friends suddenly noticed and began to leave.
"Why're we leaving so soon?" Seifer asked. "I was just starting to enjoy this."
"Don't misunderstand," Ramza said. "If we stay here, we'll be endangering these people. We have to keep moving or Delita's forces may catch us."
"I'm all for not being caught," Alma said. "Let's split."
Ramza and his friends waved goodbye to Nazdrubia and boarded the Cassiopeia to discuss their next move.
