I thank Chaka, Insane Child, and Kyanos for their reviews, and I thank everyone in general for reading this story. Really, you have all been great and I truly appreciate it. Now, it is time to move onward and upward.
Chapter 18: Long Live the King
The arena monsters were free, thanks to Yojimbo and Odin, and it made the group's journey across the Calm Lands far more perilous. What normally would have only taken half a day became far longer, now that the grassland was flooded with fiends of unnatural strength. "I think we've got a serious problem on our hands, you guys," Ria panted after they defeated the Demon-Wolf, Fenrir.
It had taken nearly everything the group had to defeat it, along with the bloodthirsty pack it had collected when all the Lupines escaped from captivity, and now the group was completely exhausted. "You're right, but there's no help for it," Auron told her. "We have to keep going, or we won't make it to Mt. Gagazet by nightfall."
"In case you haven't noticed, Auron, it's already starting to get dark and we're not even halfway there, yet!" Rikku pointed out.
"Yeah," Bob agreed, his shoulders slumping with fatigue. "We're all exhausted, and if we try to cross at night, as tired as we are, then we're definitely going to end up on something's dinner menu."
"What about you?" Auron asked waspishly, rounding on Ria, "Did you want to stop, too?"
"There's no need to take that tone with me," the sorceress replied, her green eyes flashing. "It's not my fault that all those monsters got loose, so don't take it out on me! And yes, I do need to stop. We're out of Ethers, my magic's running low, and I don't have a weapon anymore, thanks to that whole ordeal back in Sunrise Cove."
"Are you saying that it's my fault?"
"No, I've already told you that I don't blame you for that, but Rikku and Bob don't have any extra knives I can borrow, and I definitely don't have the kind of upper-body strength needed to swing one of those big-ass swords of yours around!"
When he didn't reply, she sighed, "I'm sorry, we're all tired, and our tempers are wearing thin. Let's just find someplace secure to stay for the night, okay?"
"Hey, let's go see if that rest stop is still open," Rikku suggested.
Auron gave both girls a baleful look and stormed off, swearing under his breath about hardheaded women. "Sheesh, what's his problem?" the thief muttered.
"I think he's just got a chip on his shoulder, that's all," Ria replied.
"I think he needs a good spanking!" Bob said, irritated at the swordsman's attitude.
"And just who, exactly, were you planning on volunteering for the job?" the sorceress demanded in a hard tone.
The Tonberry saw the look on his friend's face and flinched. "Nobody. Just forget I said anything."
They continued onward and arrived at the rest stop just as the sun sank below the horizon. Rikku spotted the proprietor and, in Al Bhed, asked, /Hey, are you still open?/
The shopkeeper nodded, and replied, /Yes, even though all the customers were scared away during that battle./
The thief switched to English and said, "Yeah, and now all those arena monsters have escaped, so everything's gotten pretty bad out there. I'm surprised that the fiends haven't attacked this place yet."
The shopkeeper shrugged. "Nip Grass grows wild in this part of the Calm Lands, and the fiends won't come near it. The chocobos seem to like it though."
She pointed, and the thief turned around and saw two wild chocobos rolling on some clover-like plants, with Bob giggling nearby. "Bob, doesn't the grass bother you?" Rikku asked.
"Not really," the little fiend replied, "But I'm a 'wild' fiend, so the smell of the Farplane doesn't really bother me the way it does the unsent."
Ria picked up one of the crushed plants and sniffed it experimentally. It smelled like cinnamon and patchouli. "Hey, this has the same smell as that bug that attacked me back home!" she exclaimed.
The Tonberry turned to the sorceress and said, "It must've just become a fiend, then. All who die, but remain here, have that smell when they first return, but it fades as time goes by. The ones who become fiends never forget that smell, even though they have forgotten everything else, and they fear it like nothing else in the world."
"Wow, Bob," Rikku whispered in quiet awe. "I didn't know anything about that."
He sighed sadly, "Sometimes, humans who die in the caves become Tonberries, and we offer to let them join our society, but they've become hollow with anger and grief, so they attack anything that comes near them. The unsent are more like an empty copy of a real fiend. This is kind of a painful subject, so can we just drop it, please?"
The girls nodded and left the little fiend to his own devices. Ria turned her attention back to the shopkeeper, and asked, "Excuse me, but do you sell weapons here?"
"Yes, I sell many kinds," she replied with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"
The sorceress looked at Rikku with a helpless expression, and the thief said, "My friend is a mage, so she hasn't had that much experience with weapons."
"I see…" the proprietor trailed off, eyeing Ria carefully. "I think I have something you can use."
The older Al Bhed rummaged underneath the counter for a few minutes, and brought out an old, heavily wrapped bundle. "I've had this thing for quite some time, and it's an excellent weapon, but no one has ever seemed interested in it. Go on, open it."
Ria untied the twine, and as the wrappings fell away, she let out a gasp of surprise. The weapon was a pole type, with a shaft that barely came up to the sorceress' chin. The staff was midnight blue, engraved with an intricate star design in a spiral pattern. Atop the pole was a long, curved blade that seemed more like a sword than a spear. "I found that at an excavation site many years ago, and I've been trying to sell it ever since. I don't know what its name, so I've been calling it Starblade," the woman told her.
Ria picked up the weapon and hefted it experimentally. She was just a novice, but even she could tell that it was superbly balanced. "How much do you want for it?" she asked.
The shopkeeper shook her head. "You keep it. It seems like it was made for you, and I don't think that anyone else could appreciate it as much as you do. Was there anything else that you wanted?"
Ria and Rikku bought some Potions and Ethers, and after putting the items away, split up to go check on their companions. The sorceress found Auron in the rest area, but he'd fallen asleep. In slumber, all the stolidity of the guardian's face faded away, and a semblance of the young man he once was rose to the surface. "He tried to act like he wasn't tired, but I knew better," she chuckled quietly to herself.
Ria ran into Rikku and Bob just as she was leaving the rest area. "Auron's passed out back there," she told them, her voice was full of amusement. "Are you two going to sleep, too?"
"Yeah, are you coming with us?" Bob wanted to know.
"No, I think I'll go practice with the Starblade for a while, first. I need to get the feel of it anyway."
The sorceress stood a little ways off from the station, lashing out at imaginary fiends with her blade. Her moves weren't very graceful, but they were good enough to keep her alive, and that was all that mattered to her. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder, causing her to shriek. Ria whipped around, ready to face whatever fiend that had braved the odd smell of the Nip Grass, and saw Auron standing there, his face full of amusement. "You scared the hell out of me, you sadist!" she hissed, more irritated than angry.
"A little fear is good for you; it keeps the blood pumping," he replied, still smiling.
"Ha, ha, very funny," she made a face at him, and then asked, "Why are you up, anyway?"
"Bob's snoring woke me up, and I was wondering where you were. Where'd you get that?" he pointed at the staff.
"The lady at the shop gave it to me. She said that no one else wanted it, so she let me have it for free."
"Are you any good with it?"
"I do okay. I'm not exactly warrior material, you know, but I think I could keep myself alive with it. I would have showed it to you earlier, but you were asleep, so I left you alone."
"I wouldn't have minded."
"Oh, really? I wouldn't have figured, because you were pretty pissed off when we got here." She raised an eyebrow at him. "What were you so mad about, anyway?"
"A lot of things, I suppose, but mostly it was because I didn't want to be delayed. I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, and when the others wake up, I'll apologize to them, too."
"I'm sure they'll appreciate it," she replied.
He gave her a peculiar look. "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"What made you so desperate to get a new weapon, all of a sudden?"
"Oh…that…" she sighed and closed her eyes. "It's because of that stupid dream! I was alone in the dark…with you…"
"Sounds like fun," he grinned.
"It wasn't like that!" she scolded. "Anyway, we were alone, and you told me to stay away from you. You looked really angry, and I didn't know why. Then I asked you where Rikku and Bob were, and you told me that they were dead and it was my fault! They died because my magic wasn't enough to save them. You said that you were tired of always having to save me, and that you should've just let that bug kill me! I got angry…and you died, too," her voice started to break.
"What else happened?" he asked, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"Wes showed up, along with the rest of my family. He said that I destroy everything that I care about, and that it was my fault that they all died, too. He said that they died because I was a weakling, and…do you know what the worst part is?"
Auron said nothing, his gaze searching. Ria, unable to meet that stare, looked at the ground, and whispered, "I believed it. Auron, I believed all of it, and a small part of me still does. I wanted a weapon, because I don't want to rely on someone else to save me all the time! It's not fair: not to you, not to Rikku and Bob, and it isn't fair to me."
He pulled her close and held her tightly. "Sometimes you have to rely on others, Ria. You can't fight every battle by yourself. I had to learn that the hard way, and it cost me dearly. You have done more than your share of fighting, and you have suffered through things that no one should have to deal with, but you will never be alone. Wes came back to help you, Rikku and Bob care about you, and…" his voice took on a fierce quality. "…I love you, Ria. You say that you aren't a warrior type, but I don't believe that. You have the soul of a warrior, and that is what's important. You may be ill-tempered…"
Ria laughed at that. "…And you may be stubborn, and swear more than the law allows, but I see past all that to the light that shines within. Ria, if you are ever to let someone watch your back, then let it be me."
She just stared at him, totally at a loss for words. Finally, Auron took advantage of the moment, and kissed her. They stayed that way for a long moment, their blood rising, when an all too familiar voice interrupted them. "Well, well, well. What have we here?"
Auron and Ria quickly backed away from each other and turned to glare at Bob. "Did she need some more kissy-face magic, Auron, or is there some other excuse you want to try this time?" the little fiend eyes sparkled in a mischievous way.
"Bob, how long have you been standing there?" Ria asked, her face burning.
"Long enough to hear something about him watching your butt, or something like that."
"I said back, and aren't you supposed to be asleep?" the swordsman was suppressing the urge to strangle the Tonberry.
"Rikku wouldn't stop kicking me, so I came to see what you two were doing," the little fiend waved his hand dismissively. "You know, Auron, it would be a lot easier if you'd stop sneaking around, trying to hide from everyone."
"Maybe what I do isn't meant for public display," he replied, biting off the words as he spoke.
"What's going on?" Rikku yawned, walking over to the group. "I woke up, and everyone was gone."
Bob turned around and shot the thief a long-suffering look. "They were sneaking around, hoping that nobody would notice that they're doing courtship dances. They're not very good at it: I've been able to tell how they feel about each other since Panama City. You humans just confuse me more and more everyday."
"Okay, I'm going to bed now!" Ria announced, her voice squeaking slightly.
They all returned to the station, and it didn't take any of them very long to fall asleep. The next day, the four of them continued to battle their way across the Calm Lands, with a little more success than yesterday. Their major concern was the Malboro Menace, but since it had engaged in an all-out battle with Catastrophe, it wasn't the grave threat that it usually was. Rikku managed a surprise attack on the two plant fiends, using a pair of flame grenades, and they were able to sneak by while the monsters were distracted.
"See, I told you that my plan would work," the thief cried triumphantly as they all emerged in the canyon below Mt. Gagazet.
"Oh, yeah?" Ria said, stopping in her tracks. "Well, what do we do about THEM?"
The four of them found themselves surrounded by lots of Bobs, and they did not look happy to see them. "Tonberries!" Rikku shouted. "Hey, Bob, we've found your people!"
The little fiend chuckled nervously. "Yeah, but I think that you all might want to be quiet now."
"Why? What's going on?" Auron growled.
One Tonberry, an adult male, separated from the rest of the mob. "You are all under arrest!" he announced in a lofty tone.
"What?" Bob shrieked. "Who came up with that stupid idea?"
The older fiend looked at him closely. Their captor's eyes light up and he joyfully shouted, "Prince Bob! Your Highness, we thought you were dead!"
"Yeah, it's a long story, but right now, I want to know who gave the order to start arresting people, Joe."
Joe flinched. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, but the word came from King Ralph himself. You'll have to take it up with him."
"What about my friends?" Bob's voice was cold.
"They'll have to be put with the other prisoner."
The Tonberry mob led Auron, Ria, Bob, and Rikku deep into the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. "Hey, I don't remember these tunnels," the thief said as they trudged through the darkness.
Bob turned to look at them and replied, "That's because we usually use illusions to hide our homes, but something bad must be going on if they're not working anymore."
"Like what?" Ria wanted to know, staring at the strange-looking living quarters of the Tonberry Nation.
"I don't know, but I'm going to have a word with my father about it."
They came to a stop at a large doorway obstructed by a wall of light. "Okay, prisoners, you are to go in that room and wait until you stand trial," Joe told them.
"I trust it will be a fair one?" Auron's gaze was grim.
Joe glared at him. "I don't know what you're used to, human, but we have a different way of dealing with those who corrupt the sacred offices of the Tonberries."
Ria, Rikku, and Auron walked through the wall of light, and looked around their prison. It was a large, dead-end cave, and it was empty, save for a few pieces of furniture. In a dark corner sat a rather haggard-looking man. Rikku eyed the stranger carefully, and called out to him. "Wakka, is that you?"
The man looked up at the group and shouted, "Rikku, Auron," he paused when he saw Ria, "I don't know who you are, but I'm glad to see you anyway."
Wakka was a tall, muscular, Hawaiian-looking man with bright red hair worn in a crest. He wore a yellow outfit that, to Ria, looked vaguely like a garbage man's uniform, and a pair of sandals. "So you've come to rescue me, ya?"
"We didn't even know you were down here, Wakka," Auron told him. "We met Lulu in Bevelle, and she told us that you had gone off for some extreme blitzball several months ago."
"Oh, yeah? How is she doing?"
"A lot better than us, at the moment," Rikku replied.
"You mean you've been captured, too?" Wakka was incredulous.
The next little while was spent telling the blitz captain about the journey they had, and about Bob. When they finished, the big man sighed and said, "Yeah, well I've been down here for a couple of months now. They were going to try me as a spy, but then this stupid war broke out, and I've been put on hold. It's really annoying, ya?"
"Not as annoying as some things, ya?" Ria muttered to herself.
Meanwhile, Bob had been led to the throne room, where King Ralph was waiting for him. Ralph was slightly larger than his son was, and had a golden crown floating six inches above his head. He set his gold lantern and his trademark kitchen knife down and embraced his once-missing heir. "Bob, I'm so happy to see you again! Those barbarians didn't hurt you, did they?"
Bob drew away from his father. "Barbarians? Those were my friends you just threw in jail!"
"You mean they didn't kidnap you?"
"No, dad, and whoever else you have in there is probably innocent, too. You need to let them all go."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, son."
"Why not?" Bob was becoming testy.
"Varuna is back," Ralph sadly replied.
"But I thought that he and the rest of his kind were banished to the deepest part of the Omega Caves."
"Well, whatever's been corrupting the pyreflies has also broken our seals. We can't even hide our homes anymore, and Varuna and his little Imp friends have been causing all kinds of mayhem."
"What about Marlene? Is she okay?"
"Marlene is just fine, Your Highness," said a female voice.
This Tonberry was slightly shorter than Bob, and she was lighter in color than the rest of her race. "I've missed you a lot."
"I've missed you, too," the prince replied.
"Where have you been?" she demanded, while Ralph chuckled.
"I was off helping some human friends of mine, and I still am," he explained.
He relayed his whole story to King Ralph and Marlene. Once he was finished, the king thoughtfully said, "I wonder if your friends would be willing to help us get rid of Varuna."
"Yeah, if you let them out."
Suddenly, a rumbling shook the caves, and Marlene said, "Well, we'd better hurry up, then."
Auron, Rikku, Ria, and Wakka looked around as their prison started shaking. "What the hell is going on?" the sorceress griped.
"I don't know, but we'd better take advantage of it," the thief replied as the light barrier vanished.
The four of them escaped from their prison and ran into a battlefield. Tonberries and Imps battled each other, their Karma and Thundaga attacks crackling through the air. "We've got to help them!" Ria cried, retrieving the Starblade from the now-abandoned guard post.
"Why?" Wakka asked after he found his blitzball.
"Because I said so, that's why!" the sorceress belligerently replied, rushing to the aid of the Tonberries.
"She's kind of bossy, ya?" the blitz captain said to Rikku.
"That's why Auron loves her," she answered before entering the fray.
Without a word, Auron strode into the battle, and finally, Wakka sighed and joined the fight.
The four of them fought their way through the army of flying spell-casters, and eventually made their way to the throne room, where Ralph, Bob, and Marlene battled with Varuna. He was a large, black demon with inverted wings and glowing orange eyes. The three Tonberries fought bravely, but Varuna was clearly gaining the upper hand. Without a word, the demon blasted Bob and Marlene across the room with a Tornado spell, leaving King Ralph to face him alone.
"Surrender, fool," Varuna commanded in a guttural voice. "Surrender, lest I slay thee and all of thy subjects."
"Never!" Ralph shouted in defiance. "Our ancestors refused to be your slaves, and I stand by their decision."
The Tonberry King charged the demon, but was caught halfway by a Blizzaga spell."
"DAD!" Bob shouted, rushing to his father's aid.
"Thus, the Tonberry Fool and his son are both destroyed," Varuna cackled, raising his claw.
"NO!" Ria screamed.
The demon turned around and saw the sorceress standing in the doorway, her eyes burning with determination. "I won't allow it!" she said, fury clear in every line of her body.
"And who art thou, wench, to defy me with such anger?" Varuna demanded, amused by her courage.
"I am Ria, friend of the Tonberry Nation, and I challenge you to a magical duel! Now, fight me, or be forever branded as a coward! The choice is yours," she yelled, striding toward the fiend.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Auron asked her, his voice concerned.
She smiled back at him. "Trust me."
Varuna laughed with murderous glee and called out, "Come then, human. I accept thy challenge, and once thou art dead, I will remember thee as the bold wench who dared defy one of her betters."
The demon lashed out a claw and hissed, "Burn, wench."
Ria was engulfed by a wave of flame as the fiend's Firaga spell exploded beneath her feet. Varuna started to laugh in triumph, but his celebration was short-lived, because the sorceress stood unharmed in the inferno. "Nice try, bastard!" she retorted, raising her staff in the air. "Waterga!"
A deluge of water rocketed out of the floor, knocking the demon off his feet. He quickly recovered and cast another spell. This time lightning rained from the ceiling, but still Ria was unharmed. "What foul witchery is this?" Varuna growled at the ineffectiveness of his spells.
The two mages battled this way for quite some time, until Ria finally ran out of magic. "Ha!" the now-tired Varuna hissed. "It looks like I am the victor."
"I don't think so!" Bob shouted, stabbing the demon in the back of the leg. "Marlene, NOW!"
The female Tonberry rushed forward and plunged her kitchen knife into Varuna's throat, and the demon died with a gurgling sigh. Afterward, it collapsed into a cloud of corrupted pyreflies, and everyone rushed to Ralph's aid. The king was not in very good shape. "Dad, are you all right?" Bob whispered.
"No, I'm dying, son," Ralph weakly replied. "Before I go, though, I have something I have to tell you."
"Don't talk like that!" the little fiend shook his head. "You're going to be okay."
The king chuckled. "Bob, I just want you to know how proud I am of you and Marlene. You two are going to be the best rulers our nation has had in quite some time. Just do me one favor?"
"Anything Dad."
"Name your first kid after me."
With that said, Ralph the Tonberry King passed away. The fallen monarch transformed into a cloud of pyreflies that did not corrupt before vanishing. When the tiny lights disappeared, all that remained were the crown, knife, and lantern. "Oh, Dad, no!" Bob wailed.
Ria pulled the grieving fiend close, and held him as he cried. Wakka solemnly comforted Rikku, who silently cried into the big man's stomach, while Auron closed his eye and bowed his head. Marlene retrieved the golden crown and walked over to Bob, who still had tears running down his face. "Bob, this belongs to you now," she told him softly, placing it on his head.
The rest of the Tonberries emerged from their various battlegrounds, also mourning the death of Ralph. Joe, who was apparently the captain of the Tonberry Guards saluted Bob. "Long live King Bob!" he intoned.
"LONG LIVE THE KING!" the rest of them roared in unison.
I know that was really long, but the last chapter was somewhat short, so I made up for it. I hope you didn't get too bored with it. You know, I almost made myself cry writing this, so I hope it moves you, too. Anyway, keep reviewing and I'll see you later.