Disclaimer: Must we really go through this every chapter. You people know I don't own FFT.
A/n: Just so I don't get bad mouthed about this. If you remember two chapters ago, there was one knight who was frozen because of the Stasis Sword. He's supposed to play a small part in the story, so don't flame me. Also, I've been getting review that there are too many Original characters. Trust me, people; there will be some familiar faces real soon. In fact, there should be one by the end of this chapter. Oh, and I apologize for prolonged wait.
Chapter III: Alive
Pat lowered his wine glass, looking away from the knight on the other end of the table. "Where are the rest of your comrades? Where's Thebos?"
"Well, you see, sir. We found the Dark Knight that stole the Holy Stone, but the knight easily overpowered us. The Knight killed Thebos as we escaped. We found the knight again and tried killing her, but we were attacked by a Holy Knight and an assassin."
Pat stared, not amused with the knight. "And even outnumbering them, you were miserably defeated and only you survived?"
The knight swallowed a lump in his throat, "Yes sir. I couldn't take them all on by myself."
"But you have no idea where they're headed. You disappoint me."
"Er...sir. They're going to Lionel Ruins. The Holy Knight's name is Darion Arc and the assassin is called Nick the Snitch! That's all I remember!"
"I see. Nick has finally decided to rebel against me and after all I've done for him." Pat chuckled and laid his wine glass on the table. "You have provided some good information. For that, I am glad. However, you still failed and for that I am extremely disappointed." Pat lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. Right after the snap, a man wearing a dark green mantle came out of the shadows behind the knight. "Since you have failed me, you are no longer useful. Deblen, you're my best man now and for your first assignment; kill this pitiful excuse for a knight." The knight glanced back at the man and reached for his sword, but before he could get a hold on the hilt, the man had stabbed him through his armor and into his fragile heart. A sickening sound was heard as Deblen pulled out his dirk and sheathed it in his belt. "Excellent work. Now, for your other assignments..."
The three traveled far to the south, stopping only to rest and eat. They reached Zirekile Falls by nightfall of that day they began their journey together. Darion rarely talked unless spoken to by Nick, and even then, the assassin would receive no more than a few words or simple silence.
When he spoke to Sarubi on the other hand, she would don a smile and reply in the most cheerful of tones. Even if her armor was as dark as the darkest night, the soul underneath shone as bright of the holy light of God. Darion glanced back at the two talking as they neared Zaland Fort City, mostly watching the female Dark Knight smile and laugh. Seeing her smile made him smile so slightly that none could possibly see it. Their second rest was at the tavern in Zaland0 and after receiving a room for the night, they sat at an empty table.
Then, Nick started, "Next is Barius Hill and after that is Lionel Castle. Well, I should say Lionel Ruins, shouldn't I?" The two knights nodded, for they knew, through rumors at taverns all over Ivalice, that the once famous Lionel Castle had fallen abruptly to ruin after the death of Count Draclau. It was just like the royal city of Zeltennia did, when King Delita and Queen Ovelia Hyral were murdered at the Zeltennia Church ruins. Since there were no more nobles to rise up to the throne, the seat was left empty and the people began to lose faith, changing most of what Ivalice used to be.
Darion planned their course and spoke it, "We'll set out in the morning. If our pace is good, we'll reach Lionel by the end of the day. When we get there, we should meet with your so-called 'master'." Sarubi merely nodded.
They retired early that night and left as soon as the dawning sun tore through the night's darkness. As they traveled, they noticed day was different than the two days before. One thing was that Nick acquired Darion's habit of not talking and the other was that Sarubi, who rarely talked at all, had become silent as well. Although, this was pleasing to Darion's quiet environment; he became worried.
They reached the summit of Barius Hill, before the Holy Knight turned and asked, "Did something happen? You two haven't said a word."
"If you really want to know, it's just that we're not entirely sure if you meeting our boss is gonna end well." Nick explained.
"What do you mean?"
Sarubi answered that question, "Well, you see, he, um, isn't entirely a favorite of the Glabados Church. Actually, they despise him the most and since you're with the church, we just thought if you knew that, you wouldn't come with us."
"Look! I'm not a part of the church. I am just a Holy Knight hired by them. Even if your master is the most evil in the church's eyes, I couldn't care less. I'll come, until I see no reason to go on." He turned back around and continued forward, thinking 'I'll just leave out the part of how blindingly beautiful Sarubi is. That's why I'm coming' He smiled and laughed quietly to himself. Unfortunately, his small bit of fun was short lived. As they moved over the summit of the hill, they heard the crunching of dried leaves before them. It was followed by three thieves, two black mages, and a man in a hooded cloak coming before them.
The hooded man stepped forward, "Darion Arc?" The Holy Knight made a step forward as well, staring at the man.
"That is my name. What do you want?"
"Believe me, it's nothing personal, but I'm here to kill you."
"You another of Pat's lackeys?" Nick commented, "You really think you can take us?"
"You have no idea who you're up against. Let me tell you that defeat is inevitable."
"And who are you to state such a prediction?" The Holy Knight asked.
"I am Deblen Vanlemer and that is all you'll need to know." Deblen reached into his mantle and took out a long recurved bow, shining with magic runes. His hand came upon his quiver of arrows and he took one arrow and readied it on his bow. "Now draw your swords."
Darion glanced back at Sarubi "You got a sword back in Zaland, didn't you?"
Sarubi nodded and unsheathed her new diamond sword. Nick flipped out his dirk as he taunted the bowman. "I'm gonna ripped out your lungs and feed em to a couple of red panthers, you stupid mug!"
Deblen didn't answer, for he was leading the five soldiers under his wing towards battle. Darion held his sword firmly in both hands and he thrusted it into the belly of one thief. He yanked it out, turned and struck the fiend's neck before an arrow streamed atop his snow-colored hair, barely missing him. He turned his head and glared at the archer who fired at him, but no one could be seen. Meanwhile, the other two thieves assaulted Darion from the sides. He saw this and raised his blade to the right to parry a down coming slash from one thief, and he quickly lowered himself to avoid the attack from the other thief meant for the back of his neck. Then, when it seemed as though it was impossible to even scratch the Holy Knight, another arrow flew into his arm and came out the other end. Darion glared up to the direction where the arrow was shot, but he saw no one.
While Darion battled single-handedly with thieves, Sarubi fought with wizards. The two mages formed flaming orbs in their leather covered hands and sent them soaring through the sky at such great speeds that it would've been impossible for a guardian of wind to dodge. Sarubi still held her ground, taking flame after burn after hell fire burn. She did this by using cure spells and potions to heal, when her health was critical. But it was known fact that one couldn't use magic forever. One would exhaust themselves by using up so much of their energy. Sarubi knew this, and even though the pain was great as the heat of the intense flames of hell, she just smiled at what the mages would do, when their energies were depleted.
When that time finally came, the Dark Knight took her sword and dashed forward. Once she was close enough, she aimed her sword at one wizard and chanted, "Master of all swords cut energy. Night Sword!" Suddenly, a crimson blood orb appeared over the targeted wizard. Small bits of dark energy hovered down to the feet of the mage and came back up in the form of a sharp bloody stone. The stone traveled back down into the pits of hell from whence it came, and the wizards fell to his knees, weakened but not dead.
The crimson orb of blood above him hovered over Sarubi, and sent down the life energy that was thieved from the mage, restoring her own wounds. She then charged towards the weakened mage and drove her blade through the wizard's neck. Blood slid down the back of the mage's neck and down the surface of the sword. Sarubi pushed the dead wizard off of her sword and look to the other, who was trembling with fear. Although, none could see the face of a wizard, Sarubi could tell how scared he was. She stared at him sympathetically, and mouthed the word, 'go.' The wizard saw this and hurried away from the battle, hoping never to encounter anyone like Sarubi. Sarubi could tell this and she lowered her head. However, her sorrow quickly ended for she could tell someone was in danger.
Darion couldn't retreat nor could he win. The two thieves that kept surrounding and blocking his path and when you can't use your arm, fighting is probably the worst thing to do. Have to a slash at his arm there! Damn, he blocked! As his blade locked with one thief's knife, the other thief stabbed Darion's shoulder, followed by another arrow to his leg. "Damn!" His eyes darted around, where was that archer coming from? Suddenly the thief in front of him raised his dagger to bring down on the Holy Knight's head. Spotting it before the thief had the chance to finish him, Darion rolled over to the side, wincing in pain as he pressed his weight onto his wounded leg, but he gritted his teeth, ignored the pain and slashed his sword back at the thief that had tried to kill him. But before the blade could make contact with the thief's skin, something pushed it off course and it sunk into the earth.
"What the devil?" Darion struggled to pull his sword up from the ground, but it was deep, and was difficult to pull up with one good arm. The two thieves grinned as they approached the defenseless knight. Suddenly one of them gacked as a knife shot through his chest, and he was pulled back, quickly. The other thief in fear after what could've struck his teammate, then suddenly received a lethal blow to his back as Darion managed to pull his blade out of the earth. He glanced up at Nick, who was, give or take, 50 meters away. The Holy Knight nodded, before receiving yet another arrow in his shoulder, causing him to fall over in agony.
Nick hurried over to his teammate, but before he could reach him, another arrow fired and shot through his leg, "Bloody 'ell!" he cursed as he tumbled to the ground. The thief looked up towards Darion and saw Deblen, slowly trekking towards the Holy Knight, bow in hand, and his olive-green mantle wavering in the plain breeze. He drew an arrow and aimed it towards the Holy Knight's head.
"I win..." he coldly stated. But just as he was about to release, a body threw itself against him, steering the arrow off its course and dug into the ground right by Darion's ear. As he was shoved to the ground, Deblen pushed away the woman that tackled him, and hassled to his feet. He brought up his bow and readied an arrow, but Sarubi slashed at it again before he could fire. Then, Sarubi brought her blade up to slash down at the fiend's head, but as she neared, Deblen's body seemed to phase to the Dark Knight's side and struck her chest with a swift kick. Sarubi stumbled forward, coughing and catching her breath for the few seconds she had before Deblen struck the back of her head and threw to the ground. "Hmph...a meaningless effort..." Sarubi stared up at the expert archer with fear as he drew one more arrow to aim at her. His fingers slowly began to slip of the feathers of the arrow, when he suddenly felt cold steel press up against his neck.
"Fire that arrow..." a mysterious man in white robes spoke "And it will be the last one you ever shoot." His blond hair, which was fading to an dull gray, hid his dark eyes. He was holding a powerful-looking blade, one that Darion, Sarubi, nor even Nick had ever seen before.
"Man...that's a bloody awesome weapon!" Nick could just tell.
Deblen merely grinned at this, and against phased out of harm's away and aimed the arrow at the enigmatic man and fire, but the man seemed phase to the side with tranquility as he spun and slashed at the mercenary's bow, cutting it in two. Now the offensive warrior turned defensive, as the man thrusts his weapon at Deblen's chest. Quickly drawing his dagger, Deblen batted the blade aside and tried to counter with his own stab, but just as he was about to strike, the man quickly seized his wrist and shoved him into the dirt, bringing his sword to Deblen's neck again. "Who..." The mercenary began, "the hell are you?"
"My name..." Suddenly, the wind picked up and the man's face was recognizable, striking terror into Deblen's heart. "...is Ramza...and I suggest you run back to your master..." Ramza took his sword away, and once he had the chance, Deblen scampered to his feet and ran southward, muttering curses about his defeat.
Meanwhile, Darion, who had managed to prop himself on his knee, stared at the mystery man with unbelief. "Ramza? ...The heretic?"
Gemakai: And there's Chapter 3 for ya. Damn it took a long time for me to finally finish, huh?
Astar: Hmm...I almost forgot about this story.
Kora: Me too! We should celebrate Gemy's victory! Get the Ramen!