Disclaimer: Final Fantasy Tactics is the property of Square/Enix. I do not own it, though I hope I someday will. =)

Author's Notes: Hooray for boredom… lack of anything else to do has sped up my production schedule. On to my response corner…

tenshi no ai: Thanks for the compliments. By 'dense' do you mean wordy? Sorry if it was a bit hard to understand, I have this tendency to overly embellish things. Sometimes I add in all sorts of weird tidbits or phrases that seem out of place because I want to emphasize certain things.

I'm actually very bad at titles… I spend a lot of time thinking them up. I just figured 'False Dawn' was as good as any- it's sort of saying that the end of the game (defeat of Altima) was a false dawn of sorts for Ramza because his problems aren't all solved yet…

Evanescence: Again, thanks for the compliments. Stuff like that keeps me going…=). I'm trying to walk the line between 'descriptive' and 'overly descriptive' while trying to find the right amount of add-ons and detail that will be 'vividly descriptive'. I more or less figured 'shiny' would be enough for the door, but I do agree I could have worked at describing the council chambers, but I was sleepy and I wanted to end the chapter and go to bed.

I'll keep what you said in mind for the rest of the story.

Whew…okay, a few other clarifications I have to make (this is long, but bear with me, it'll help clear any confusion that might arise)

- Ramza's Party: I can't spend a lot of time working on the no-names (extras from the original group at Gariland and any others you pick up along the way), so I'm killing them all off before the story begins. That'll leave only the special Jobs, like Orlandu or Agrias, and they'll still be a handful. Perhaps I'll reduce the number somewhat. I'll use my own party as a basis, so they'll probably use the abilities that I had them learn in my last file. Certainly no one kept them in their base class forever without letting them learn some skills, right? Well, with the exception of Cid, of course. No point in bothering.

- Time frame: Well, I can't really set the date that Altima is killed because the player more or less decides when s/he wants to go tangle with him (in my last file Ramza was 28 before I went to Orbonne), but for the setting of this chapter I'll assume there was a period of time (maybe two weeks or so) between Altima's defeat and Alma's 'funeral'.

- Combat scenes: I'm making combat a bit more fluid by making equipment, abilities, etc. a little bit more flexible than in the game, like a little less emphasis on job-specific weapons. So don't freak out if you see a Knight carrying a spear or something. Handbags will be completely removed.

- Story: I'll have to twist the ending a bit, I guess. They can't 'never be seen again'. So inconvenient, that ending…

Chapter Two

Lakus idly studied his surroundings, letting his eyes roam over the grassy field. The green monotony of the churchyard was broken here and there by the gray shapes of headstones of every shape and size. Some were ornate, carved with images of angels that leaned over the tombs in prayerful poses, while others were simply hunks of rock with names etched on them. Towering over the rest of the cemetery were the brooding and somewhat menacing dark gray forms of mausoleums and crypts owned by nobles. Each building had its own unique design and bore the heraldry of the family whose dead reposed within.

The Pagan Examiner found such an ostentatious display of pride and wealth to be overly arrogant. A tomb was a tomb. It did not matter if yours was carved from elegant marble or rough stone; the worms would eat you all the same. People ought to realize that what happened to your body when it was dead was none of their concern; you should be worried about what would happen to your spirit.

The sound of clanking armor interrupted his musings, and he turned to see Tyralt Argus, his Shrine Knight escort, weaving his way along the overgrown path towards him. He had pulled down his hood, revealing his close-cropped brown hair, which was somewhat offset by his trademark beard, which he always kept well groomed and trimmed. The Divine Knight was over thirty, but he wore his age well; he moved with an easy, light step despite his heavy armor, and his clear hazel eyes and unlined face would not have looked out of place on a man ten years younger. Perhaps his features reflected his nature, Lakus thought. He was ever dependable and trustworthy, was one of those people you thought would be around forever.

"The knights are ready, your Eminence. I would have had it done sooner, but the priests the council sent along slowed things down a little."

Lakus nodded. The old men had sent a couple of their underlings along with him, insisting he might need the magical support they could provide. More likely they still remembered the treachery of their former 'servant', Delita. He would have thought that they would trust him to do his duty, but something about this mission was making them nervous.

Whatever reason they were there for, the acolytes of the senior clergy were getting on his nerves. They and the knights sent along 'just in case' were undoubtedly scrutinizing his every move while trying to act like they were being useful. He wondered, not for the first time, what exactly was it about the man they were hunting or the artifacts they sought that made the Cardinals so nervous. Perhaps they were simply learning caution, but this was a bad time to start. He was used to his knights and mages; they'd worked together for a long time now, and he knew he could count on them to do what needed to be done, but these outsiders were breaking up the system.

He knew, and had known for a long time, that the Shrine Knights were more or less broken into different camps; even within the Church there were plenty of power struggles and influential churchmen tried to win over the knights to their own cause. His suspicions of their divided loyalties had been proven over the past few months, when Vormav, Rofel, and Kletian had up and vanished along with a sizable body of warriors. He was still suspicious of what part those three had had in the killing of the High Priest and the appearances of the heretic Ramza at Murond and Orbonne. They were almost certainly related somehow, and after he caught Ramza, he would extract a confession from him and decide what was to be done about the missing knights.

However, this was not the time to be thinking that far ahead. He had to catch the heretic first, and before that, he had to find him. The churchman turned his attention back to a certain group of people gathered around a grave. They were beginning to disperse.

"You are certain of the placements? None will escape?"

"Yes, your eminence. It would have been better to take them all right now, though- then we can be sure."

"No." Lakus' reply was absent as he rubbed his jaw. "If we captured them all this instant then someone who was watching might know."

Tyralt shifted slightly, hitching his thumbs into his sword belt.

"Your eminence, would you explain to me the reasoning behind capturing all the mourners at Alma Beoulve's funeral? If any of them believed that she was still alive, they probably wouldn't even be here."

"True." The Pagan Examiner turned and started down the path, gesturing for the knight to follow. "However, this is as good a place to start as any. The Church reward on Ramza Beoulve or any information pertaining to his whereabouts is still being offered, and sooner or later someone will see him and report. In the meantime we may as well keep busy by following up every lead we can. These people would not be here if they were not close to the young Miss Beoulve. We can capture them, interrogate them, and find out some more information. Perhaps they can provide names and locations of other known friends of hers. Perhaps they might know of places where she's likely to hide if she were being pursued. Perhaps they might have some information regarding her whereabouts for the past while. The last anyone could recall about her was that she was at Lesalia quite some time ago. A report obtained from Zalmo when he was requisitioning more men indicated she helped her brother when he attempted to capture Ramza, which means that it is likely she is with him. If they are alive, they are probably on the run somewhere…she may attempt to contact an acquaintance we don't know of. There is no harm in being thorough."

"I see. One more question, if I may, your eminence?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"What is written in these Germonik Scriptures that the Cardinal spoke of?"

"I am not entirely certain myself. I do know that Germonik, one of St. Ajora's disciples, wrote it. Perhaps Funeral was also using it to recreate the Zodiac Brave story. Either way, they are in all probability an important document of our faith, and so they do not belong in the hands of a heretic. Tyralt, go ahead and make sure that the cordon has secured the mourners. I'm going to take a look around the gravesite."

"Yes, your eminence."

Lakus rounded down another pathway after separating from the Divine Knight, heading closer to Alma's grave so he could take another look in case some late mourner showed up and dodged the watchers. Thoroughness was always important in his line of work…

Standing behind a thick tree trunk, he peered around at the still-distant burial site, and stopped dead as he saw a couple emerge from some nearby trees and walk up to the grave. The woman laid some flowers on top of it. They stood for a bit, then the woman walked away. A moment later, the man began to leave as well, then stopped for a moment. Lakus was so engrossed in watching him that he almost missed the flash of yellow and the glint of sunlight off steel as a pair of chocobos and riders tore past the grave. The man apparently recognized them, for he tried to follow but was easily outdistanced almost immediately. The woman returned and the man pointed excitedly after them. Lakus did not stop to watch any longer. Pulse quickening, he turned and dashed off towards his knights, not caring that he looked rather awkward in his robes. This was something he hadn't expected, not in a hundred years- but the chance had jumped right into his face, and he knew he mustn't waste it. If those riders had been who he thought they were…

It took precious time for him to gather enough men and to find Tyralt. When they returned, the gravesite was deserted.

"I want you to search the entire graveyard!" Lakus gave them the description of the man and woman who'd appeared after the funeral. "Find them, and capture them. They must not escape!"

Steel jangled as men rushed off to obey, forming groups as they moved away in every direction. The Pagan Examiner spun and gestured to Tyralt.

"Find someone who can follow tracks and have him start after these chocobo prints! They must be found."

The knight nodded and turned to issue orders, waving at his soldiers while Lakus turned back to the grave, feeling the powerful sense of impatience that always came when he felt he was growing close to his quarry.

He was almost sure now that it was the Beoulve siblings who had ridden by, and he knew he absolutely had to capitalize on their mistake.

Coming to your own funeral? How fitting.