Chapter 55

The Shadow Moomba

Nida breathed in and out deeply, with brief pauses in between, soaking in the mineral water. It was a fine replication of the volcanic springs located throughout the Albatross, located by a purple maple tree splitting a ring of violets, some distance away from the nearest shumi habitation. He was becoming one with the environment. The only sounds at the edge of his awareness were the distant whirring of a water wheel and the faint ring of hammer on anvil; not enough to splinter his concentration. Soyokaze napped on the other side of the maple. The tomb of Hideyoshi was beyond the violets.

He had much more control over his thoughts in this state than he did in his dreams. Any images of Ultimecia, Christophe and Quistis slid off tested walls in his mind. Yet indulging in the water inevitably kept bringing his mind back to his conquered homeland, and some of his former compatriots. Zell. And Cid. They had not been indigenous to the Albatross, but the Dinchts and Kramers had lived on Balamb's mainland for generations, and had had as much right to call it home as the aboriginal clans. Furthermore, Zell had married into one of them.

Nida raised his cerebral shields just long enough to reflect on his most recently deceased compatriot, Xu. Not how she had died, but how she had been in life. Like him, she had been among the last of Cid's SeeDs, greatly revered not only throughout the Albatross, but the world over. The Torama Fang, the Seventh Hero, and technically the heir to Balamb's last ruling clan.

Xu had been the first to see something in Nida, even before his heroic stand on Lapin Beach which ultimately convinced Headmaster Cid to make him a SeeD. It had been during NORG's Uprising that they had first fought together, and she had shared the anguish of him and his father when tearfully informing them of Kojiro's death. Nida was at Xu's side during the decisive clash against the Galbadians at the Battle of the Gardens. When left in command of Garden after the Children of Fate departed for Esthar, she had often sought Nida's counsel during subsequent clashes against the Galbadians, such as the liberation of Dollet's mesas. His dear friend was with Sabin, Quistis and Cid, now; her three robust cubs carrying on her dynasty's legacy.

Nida knew Xu would try everything to bring him out of his self-imposed penance if she were alive, giving him the same spiel that Squall, Rinoa and Selphie already had. Albeit laced with much more profanity, he reflected with a faint smile.

Nida's ethnicity had made it easier to return to the Aki and Sato estates during Balamb's occupation. Yet even his homeland was liberated after Timber, he could never return. His home isle in particular was among the smallest in the southern Albatross. The Aki clan had ruled it until it had been absolved by the most powerful of the northern dynasties, and Empress Xu of antiquity had been its last dynastic ruler. With the onset of the Deadly Alliance between Adel and Jadis, Xu's namesake had pledged Balamb's united clans in defense of Sorceress Nakano, who was held in equal esteem as the Kami - or GFs - by the Balambi. Empress Xu had opted to stand in defiance against hopeless odds, rather than leave Nakano and Hideyoshi to face the Esthari and Dolleans alone, and had paid the ultimate price. SeeD's Xu had been her direct descendant, and had been proud to be named after her.

Sadness threatened to engulf his emotions, and he directed his thoughts in a completely different course. He took another deep breath, wondering how well the shumi could replicate Balambi cuisine. He had noticed several species of Balambfish within their crisscrossing streams. If he had time, he would converse with their cooks before his departure.

Nida's calm state was fractured by the sensation of what felt like sandpaper coursing along his neck.

'Aki!' a gruff voice cried.

In his homeland, it was considered extremely bad manners to interrupt one's meditation, especially in such an intrusive manner. Nida whirled immediately with a loud splash, adopting an awkward half-squat within the water, his feet struggling to find purchase among the authentic rock bottom. Soyo was on her feet, her head appearing around the tree. 'Kweh!' she voiced threateningly.

Yet Nida was forgiving when he realised it was a single moomba, planted eagerly on its paws, the end of its broad tongue now trailing in the disturbed water. Its fur was a fiery orange, though transitioned to a crimson as it reached a spiked crown and its tail end, while its underbelly was a soft cream. Its curved claws were a slate grey. Its amber eyes had round pupils like the shumi it had 'Evolved' from, brimming with an intelligence that belied their feline appearance. There was an old scar beneath one.

This moomba knew him by taste. Or his blood, rather, which evidently did not need to be pouring from a wound. His father had been one of Balamb's heroes during the First Sorceress War. After leaving the army, Heihachi Aki had accompanied Cid and a juvenile Seifer on their journey to find the abandoned Centran mobile shelters, and subsequently while securing financial backing to refurbish them as Gardens. Their adventure led them to Shumi Village more than thirty years ago, where they had met Norg and the previous Shumi Elder, and Cid's dream had been realised. Thus, Nida's father had been with Garden since the beginning, and still faithfully served SeeD to this day as an Instructor, respected among cadets young and old.

The shumi were reportedly very long lived, even though the Planet's climate was hostile to them. Some lived for centuries before their Evolution, and lived on for a similar amount of time as the moombas which most of them became. It was possible this moomba had also met Hideyoshi, for whom this spring had probably been constructed, and the purple maple planted by.

'Aki!' it cried again.

Nida held up a single hand to calm Soyo, then waded slowly to the edge of the spring and reached for the moomba's crown.

'You mistake me for my father, Heihachi,' he corrected gently, as he caressed its softly. 'Do you have a name of your own?' he asked, not expecting a reply.

The moomba stood on its hind feet and made a fist, pointing to itself. It struggled through a series of purs and grunts before articulating something. Nida realised this must be one of the moombas Laguna Loire had tried teaching speech to. He waited good-naturedly and moved his head closer as it repeated itself.

'Hi-no-ke-ga-wa!'

Of course, Nida thought. Though this particular moomba must have been partial to his father for him to name it, as they all shared that fiery golden coat. He returned the gesture.

'Nida,' he said slowly.

The moomba pointed its index claw at him.

'Nee-dah!'

He nodded, then smiled. For the first time since Quistis was taken from him, it touched his eyes.

'Nee-dah!'

'Easier to say than your own name,' Nida said, then chuckled. 'Did you have trouble saying Cid's name?'

'Cid!'

'A great man,' Nida said earnestly. 'As is my father.'

He reluctantly made his way out of the spring, checking the time before adorning himself in a fresh fundoshi that he had lain atop new clothes, the thermals being unnecessary here. As he rehydrated from a canteen, the moomba curled up beside him, basking in the settlement's artificial sun. Nida remained sitting cross-legged until he was dry from its light. Then he donned the clothes, a plain grey buttoned shirt over khaki combats, capped with his plain black headband. One of the buttons remained undone to leave room for his offhand. As he moved to leave the spring, Soyo following without needing to be commanded, the moomba raised on its haunches and looked at them quizzically.

'Are you coming?' Nida said kindly, gesturing with his head.

The three were soon joined by several other moombas, much to Soyo's irritation, though Nida calmed her with a single pet and reassuring word. He could only tell Hinokegawa apart from the others by its scar. Some of the others also bore scars or patches of missing fur, which spoke of cruelty. It was likely they had worked in Esthar's old mines or concentration camps, freed upon Sorceress Adel's own imprisonment. Or possibly at the D-District Prison until the end of the Deling regime.

Nida passed by Hideyoshi's tomb again. In the spirit of his people, it was marked by a mound of undisturbed stones as opposed to a dug grave. No two of the stones were the same, and it stood a few paces high. However, there was a headstone detailing that it was in fact Hideyoshi who lay there. If Nida had his way, he too would be buried close by.

Further along, on the way back to one of the settlement's main avenues, was a traditional grave of a certain Sergeant Cyan, marked with a stone crucible. Nida had since learned Cyan's painting had inspired the shumi's tributary statue of Squall and Rinoa, which Nida had admired earlier on. He had been surprised to see a katana propped up against the crucible, as opposed to traditional Esthari weaponry.

Another grave of an outsider belonged to Howard Peterson, one of Fisherman's Horizon's founders. Old Howard had suffered a cardiac arrest while enjoying his favourite pastime here, in the midst of reeling in their largest known specimen, and the shumi had interred their friend closest to their main avenue. A number of fishing rods lay on a stone platform by the grave, though there had been one addition since Nida passed the grave earlier. The shumi apparently used them in tribute.

The number of squeaking moombas had risen to the size of a platoon by the time Nida sighted the Shumi Elder's abode, endearing him with a continuous chorus of 'Aki!' cries after licking his hands, following him and Soyo like a spreading blaze. The house was no longer guarded by the Disavowed, which told Nida he was now free to enter. The moombas stopped advancing as one when Nida was within a few paces of the door. He turned to them all and bowed, reaching for the door as Soyo waited by it, regarding the feline creatures warily. The moombas were savvy enough not to get too close to her, and if they did, would receive a swift peck or a sturdy kick for their troubles.

He entered a broad, round reception room with numerous oil paintings around its circumference, specimen fish tanks on shelves spanning half the wall. Spiral staircases led up and down. Sitting in an armchair, with a single jade-robed attendant at his side, was an odd-looking human with a pallid complexion, wearing a tailored western business suit for the occasion. Nida was not surprised, as he knew this particular shumi had opted to Evolve into a human. Yet it seemed the Elder had given up his extended lifespan with this choice, as his hair was more grey than brown, and his face was already creviced. He had made this choice to improve relations between humans and shumi, though the Third Sorceress War had put a swift hurdle to that, and he would not have centuries to see his ambitions fulfilled.

'Kon'nichiwa,' the Elder said respectfully.

Nida was suddenly ashamed that he did not know how to return the greeting in the shumi language. Instead, he responded in the Common Tongue.

'Greetings, Elder.'

'I hope you enjoyed your time in our spring, SeeD of Cid,' he said. 'I too meditate there on occasion, though I prefer the reconstructions of the endless blue forests of our homeworld.'

'They are a thing of beauty, Elder,' Nida praised truthfully, having led Soyo through one of the blue forests earlier. 'They must have made the Grandidi or unspoilt Timber look like mere thickets in comparison.'

'That they did,' the Elder responded. 'The everblues stretched from coast to coast, from horizon to horizon. Not that I ever laid eyes upon them; the last of the Starfarers died many generations ago.' he admitted sadly, 'but we have many anecdotes and paintings to go by. The late Cyan gave us his best impression, also,' he noted, pointing a spindly finger to a painting over his shoulder, depicting a rolling blue landscape of a differing shade to the sea and sky.

'Please, Elder,' Nida urged after a moment. 'Tell me more of the Disavowed, if that's what you call them. How long have they been back here?'

The Elder intertwined his long, disproportionate fingers in a way that was not physically possible for a shumi.

'They came here in their depleted number,' he explained. 'The eight who survived the turmoil at Balamb Garden and Norg's… defeat.' Nida tilted his head at the Elder's pause, noting he did not say death. 'It was after the short peacetime following the Second Sorceress War, several months following your grand Garden's second visit. As their name would suggest, the Disavowed were pariahs here, stripped of their names and made to veil their faces, as is our custom. This was because they had sided with your Garden Master, going against my predecessor's wishes. They did so by dabbling in the newly created para-magic, bending the minds of this world's wildlife and scheming ways in which to entrap the power of a Guardian Force.'

'Of which he was successful!' Nida said distastefully. 'Mizo no Kami was missing for over a decade, to the heartache of my people, and he was entrapped in Garden's bowels the entire time, his power siphoned by Norg for years! It was always a mystery to us where the source for Garden's water features came from, and we discovered the truth far too late! Norg was monstrous, no better than Sorceress Ultimecia or her butcher of a Knight! Thank Amaterasu that Zell was able to free Mizo no Kami when he did, arriving in time to save Squall and Rinoa!'

Nida realised his fists were clenched. He took a single deep breath and sought to meet the beady eyes of the Elder, but the eyes of both he and his attendant were downcast.

'Norg was also forsworn,' the Elder went on, 'yet unlike his henchman, he did not respect my predecessor's sentencing. I only speak his name so you know who I refer to. My people cannot apologise enough for the actions of the Disavowed. We have made our home here since the Tools of Hyne – or Amaterasu - feasted on bananas and spent their leisure time swinging from trees. Yet this is not our world! An alien race has no right to dominion over the beings of this planet! Most of your GFs were born of a need to keep elemental balance, with pseudo-GFs emerging to look after most of the sentient races, such as the moogles and the tonberries. The Triumvirate watched over them all until their infighting.

'We had such beings on the Blue Planet, but they were known as Espers and they lived in a parallel realm to our own. Which should have remained unspoilt by the waning of our star. The Garden Master's ancestor, Nahgoth, once sought to conquer the Land of the Espers to make a new home for our race, before our star became too weak. In response, their Elders sealed off their world from our own permanently, and their incarnation of Ifrit burnt Nahgoth to ash! As it happened, Nahgoth's descendant coveted GF power, though not for such preservatory reasons! Even after my predecessor's judgement, the Disavowed knew their master had imprisoned Leviathan – or Mizo no Kami – but did nothing about it, deepening their sinful ways in the eyes of my people. They have been attempting to atone in the years since, but it will be many of your generations before enough amends can be made, in our eyes. The shumi have long lives, and our memories endure for all time.'

'As do those of my people!' Nida said curtly. 'And the Kami!'

'I am well aware of this,' the Elder stated. 'All the same, the Disavowed begged to be accepted back here after their master had forsaken them, as SeeD had spread tidings of their deeds and they were shunned by most human settlements. I… tolerate them, and my successor-' the Elder gestured to his attendant now – 'may well reinstate them with their identities before they Evolve.' He paused. 'Though their true motivation for returning here will be revealed to you in a moment, SeeD of Cid.'

Puzzled, Nida looked between them as the Elder rose from his chair. He had not seen him before his Evolution, though like the Disavowed, the Elder was unusually tall for a shumi, dwarfing his attendant.

'Please, let us step outside.'

Nida stepped aside as they passed. The attendant shuffled along on webbed feet as the shumi did, though the Elder walked stiffly with his elbows splayed out and his booted feet facing sideways, as though still unused to moving with a human body. Still, his balance seemed to be compensated for, and he led Nida beyond Soyo and toward the throng of moombas outside.

They stopped a few yards before the glittering stream, and the Elder drew an object from his robe. It appeared to be a shard of obsidian, inevitably making Nida think of Christophe, though its darkness lessened to a lighter shade of charcoal before returning to its original colour. This slow blinking repeated itself a couple of times, and Nida was even more distasteful when he realised what the object was.

'Magicite!'

The attendant dropped his head, and the Elder repeated that laborious nod of his.

'How dare you!' Nida snapped. 'After all that renouncing of the Disavowed's actions, you've been using an instrument of the Esthari! How long has that Kami been entrapped inside? On behalf of my people, I demand that you release it immediately!'

Slavery had always been forbidden among the Balambi. Nida's hand had unconsciously gone to where he katana usually rested, but he recalled it remained sheathed within Soyo's saddlebag, and rightfully so. He prepared to cast a water spell just potent enough to move the magicite from the Elder's grasp and into his own hand, though he was given pause when the attendant started to cry.

It was an awful keening sound that made Nida physically cringe. Then it was repeated by any shumi nearby, and the moombas joined in, causing Nida to shield his ears. It seemed that the Elder's misshapen human ears were suffering just as much, as he suddenly shouted at everyone present.

'Silence!' he demanded. 'You are greatly disturbing myself and our guest!'

Yet the keening did not stop, and Nida was forced to double over, the aching in his ears overwhelming. The Elder was not far behind, though he suddenly raised the magicite above his head. There was a flash of that obsidian shadow, and a colossal shape took form above them. The moombas collectively silenced, then rose of their hind legs to regard the lofty form. It had the shape of a moomba, albeit a huge one and onyx in colour. Its fur became grey toward the end of its tail and crown, and became a brilliant white at the ends, like the flaring of a distant star. Its claws were a shade of charcoal, curved and longer than any katana Nida had ever wielded, and looking just as deadly.

'How?' Nida gasped. 'An undiscovered Kami?'

The moombas seemed wearier of the larger, and much darker, one. Though they were characteristically brave; Squall would not be interested in their aid if they were not. They did not flee, but rather planted their paws, their fiery coats now standing on end as they hissed and growled.

Nida then noticed a few distinct shapes moving between the shumi buildings to the throng of moombas, wearing those distinct white and burgundy robes with their acid yellow hoods. The Disavowed. There were six in total, as two were guarding the draw point at the entrance. They all stopped when they reached the edge of the moomba circle, extending their arms and moving them up and down.

'Norg!' they started chanting.

'By Amaterasu!' Nida exclaimed. 'It can't be!'

'You see,' the Elder said sadly. 'The Garden Master wasn't killed by the Children of Fate. He went into a dormant state, and when the mobile Garden first visited here, my predecessor sent two of our emissaries there. Master Squall gave us permission bring his egg back here, for it had been left in Garden's basement, and he did not desire its presence to linger there any longer. My predecessor kept it under observation, confirming that the Garden Master was not only recovering, but Evolving. Alas, he traded what your race would call humanity for absolute power, and Evolved into an Esper, born from the Ninth Element. Even if not bound to the magicite, he would not be able to converse with us. I can command him to try if you wish. This is one reason we keep him bound, as we doubt he would be able to contain his power. Although he would have been equal in potency to a pseudo-Esper, his element actually puts him on par with one of the unsplit elemental ones, like your Mizo no Kami.'

Nida looked at Norg's amber eyes, though the magicite likely robbed them of the knowingness he had seen in the lesser moombas.

'Moreover, the Garden Master is too insatiable to be left to run amok. Especially here. When we realised that he was Evolving, we requested Master Squall also return the apparatus NORG used to imprison your Mizo no Kami. We placed the egg inside, and the Shadow Moomba hatched within. Although the machine had been repaired, it had been weakened somewhat by your friends during the battle, and the Shadow Moomba almost broke out on occasion. We knew we would need another method. When we heard tell of the Empire's use of magicite, we knew we could replicate the creation process, for the ore Odine uses is in abundance here. It was a great risk, but we were able to transfer the Shadow Moomba from the pod to the magicite, where he has remained in bondage ever since.'

Nida was astounded. Throughout the whole war, the shumi had been sitting on a GF with equal power to Leviathan. And they had done nothing, remaining deep underground even when Rhodry had visited them some time ago. And Rhodry had even warned them that Ultimecia planned to blockade Winter Island! It was beyond belief.

Though the Elder seemed to read his mind.

'You must appreciate, SeeD of Cid,' he began, 'we are not a warring race. The Blue Planet was peaceful to an extent your species could never comprehend, with the deeds of the Shadow Moomba's ancestor causing us eternal shame. It seems to be in human nature to destroy one another, with peacetime merely a respite before the conflicts of the morrow. Furthermore, the list of humans who would use the Shadow Moomba for personal gain does not stop with the Esthari.'

'I know,' Nida acquiesced.

'The Blue Planet was lost many generations before, and we can never return there. By now, it will be a colourless rock devoid of life. As beautiful as this planet is, it lacks the resources for another great migration, and the shumi are here to stay. Even though we can never live as we did back home; the light from your star differs greatly from ours, and is harmful to us,' he noted sadly. 'Now, we told the Trabian SeeD that if Sorceress Reina was beaten back in Galbadia, then we have a future. Reina has been beaten back. And, although we wish to have no participation in the next series of bloodshed, there are eight among us that will. The Disavowed will follow the Shadow Moomba's magicite wherever fate may take it.'

Nida glanced at them. The six had not ceased chanting their master's name.

'We will make good on our promise to lend you our moombas,' the Elder told him. 'Additionally, adding the Shadow Moomba to Master Squall's strength will help ensure Reina's downfall!'

Nida blinked. 'You will entrust Norg's magicite to me?'

'I will,' he said. 'It was the Children of Fate who defeated him, and the Shadow Moomba has now spent longer entrapped than Mizo no Kami did. Our species are not warmongers, but we do believe in a fitting justice. I believe the time has come to let Master Squall be the one to decide the Garden Master's fate. Whether he shall remain in magicite, or given the chance to use his power freely, and for the benefit of others. Yet I must warn you, the latter option comes with a great risk. The Shadow Moomba has never been freed, and you don't need me to tell you that the Ninth Element is extremely volatile!'

The Elder offered Nida the magicite. He glanced at the Disavowed again, who's heads were angled in the magicite's direction.

'And they will seek to come with me?'

'They will not stay here if their Master departs,' the Elder said simply.

Nida was torn. He had convinced Siren to unjunction from him, and fate was about to place another GF at his beck and call. Yet, despicably, he would become a magicite holder. Which would be another great dishonour, even if he would never summon Norg, and would only keep the magicite long enough to place it in Squall's hand. The thought of his final service to SeeD becoming so tainted weighed heavily. He stared at the crystal, thinking that he was already soiled beyond hope in the eyes of himself and his people. The one consolation was that Squall may opt to free Norg, whereas if the magicite remained here, he would remain bound indefinitely. If the Allies lost the coming battles and Ultimecia came here, then Norg would merely see a change in captors. And presently, Norg was one Kami that Ultimecia did not know about.

An advantage was that merely having it on his person would keep the Disavowed in line, should he opt to let them accompany him. Though even if he did not, they would remain a short distance behind. It would be better to keep them in sight.

'We will just have to ensure both Rinoa and Selphie are present,' Nida said, 'if Squall decides to free Norg. Whatever the outcome, two Sorceresses should be enough to contain him.'