I have no idea how the hell this chapter got to be over 4000 words. When I picked it up the other day, it was only 1,500 words...and it was basically only the part that was inspired by something someone said in the game. I hope you catch on to it! I absolutely love adding in tiny things like this...hee hee. Anyway, I like the way it turned out. I'm going to hold of on posting the next chapter, because it might be another 'in the past' chapter that I have yet to write. I am going out of town tomorrow (only over night for a quintet gig. UGH), so hopefully I will work on it soon. However, I beat Shadow Hearts tonight...so I have to start working on Covenant now! XD I can't believe how far I am in this fic...It makes me so extremely happy, you have no idea. This fic is my baby...I've worked so hard on it...and I'm going to be quite sad when it's all done and posted. Anyway, I need to get to bed because I have to wake up early tomorrow...again I say 'ugh.' Take care, everyone!
37. Figaro Castle
The next morning, Locke woke up and quickly gathered up his few belongings that he packed up the previous night. As he grabbed his dagger off the shelf, he looked around at his now bare room. He felt sad that he was going to put it behind him for it was his home for a little over two years, but something inside of him felt refreshed. My chance to start over…He told himself with a deep breath.
When he reached the door, he twisted the knob and walked out into the hallway. It was relatively early, so many of the treasure hunters were still asleep, but Locke still walked quietly to the entrance of the hideout. Vaughn's door was shut, but Locke knew that he was probably awake, so he lightly knocked on the door.
After a few seconds, the door opened and Vaughn poked his head out. He smiled when he saw Locke standing there, then ushered him into his office. "I was hoping you were going to say goodbye," he said with a chuckle.
"Of course," Locke replied with a shrug. "I'm not one for long good byes, but I would've felt guilty if I just packed up and left. Don't worry; you can't get rid of me this easily! I'll come back and visit. Maybe with some recon information or stuff from Banon."
"That reminds me," Vaughn began as he walked over to his desk and started to open some drawers. When he reached one on the left hand side, he pulled out an envelope then handed it to Locke. "Do me a favor and give this to Banon for me. It'll save me money on postage."
"Yeah, no problem." Locke put the envelope in his back pocket then looked back up at Vaughn, who had a smile on his face. "What's the look for? You're not going to give me the sappy 'I'm going to miss you so much' speech are you? It'll scare me if you do that."
Vaughn chuckled and walked back to his desk. Leaning on it, he crossed his legs at the ankles. "It'll be oddly quiet without you or Xane here, I will admit that much. Without the two of you arguing every three seconds, the hallways will seem quite empty."
"Xane and I haven't argued in a long time," Locke clarified with a chuckle of his own. "Okay, we've had our occasional bickering session every once and a while, but we more or less reached an understand that bitching wasn't going to get us anywhere."
"No, I believe it was more or less that you both realized that you were equally as stubborn," Vaughn said, pointing with his index finger. Locke smiled for a second, then his smile started to fade away. "I know what you're thinking. Don't worry about him, Locke. He's going to be fine."
"I know," Locke admitted, his smile staying off his face. He didn't want to dwell on the memory so he exhaled and looked at the clock that was on Vaughn's wall. "Well, I should probably go. I don't want to make King Edgar wait for my arrival."
"Take care of yourself, ya hear?" Vaughn raised an eyebrow as he spoke and Locke nodded his head. "I hope to hear from you soon."
"I'm sure you will," Locke reassured and walked up to Vaughn. With a smile, he put out his hand and Vaughn shook it. "You take care of yourself as well, old man."
"Ha, old man?" Vaughn exclaimed, throwing his hand up to his forehead. "I'm only five years older than you, so you better watch your mouth!"
Locke chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I always wondered how old you were."
"Why didn't you just ask?" Vaughn questioned, watching Locke shrug as a reply. "You're right. I probably wouldn't have answered you. However, now you know so you better keep it to yourself."
"I will," Locke said with a quick nod and walked toward the door. Putting his hand on the knob, he turned toward Vaughn again and smiled. "Bye, Vaughn."
Instead of replying, Vaughn nodded his head and walked to his chair behind his desk. Locke sighed when he closed the door then made his way to the entrance of the hideout, where he used a warp stone to go to the outside.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Locke felt his jaw drop when he saw Figaro castle in the middle of the desert several hours later. Knowing that he had never seen the castle before, it was odd to think that the entire thing was able to submerge itself underground and appear as if out of nowhere.
With an exhale, Locke made his way up to the front gate, where there were two guards standing on patrol.
"Good day," Locke said to them with a friendly nod as he started to walk between them. Surprisingly enough, they let him through without any trouble or questions. I'm just gonna assume that they know who I am…He thought to himself as he made it into the grand foyer.
A man with a long cape walked up to him when he saw the shocked look on Locke's face. "You must not be from around here," he said as Locke whipped his head toward him.
"What gave you that idea?" Locke asked with a chuckle as he continued to nonchalantly look around. "Is it that obvious?"
"Well, it's not every day that we have visitors, first of all," the man pointed out. "Especially when we're here on the Kohlingen side. Most of the time the visitors are either from the Empire or from South Figaro. And I can also tell that you're looking for King Edgar."
"Yeah, I was sent here by Vaughn," Locke stated and the man smiled and nodded. "I just want to say that this castle is amazing. Not just the fact that it can submerge, but it is beautiful."
"Why, thank you," he stated as he shook Locke's hand. "I'm the Chancellor of this castle. You said that Vaughn sent you here, eh? Well then, you must be Locke Cole."
"Ah, I see you've been waiting for me," he replied as he looked at his watch. "I'm sorry I'm a little early, but I didn't want to be late."
"Not a problem," the Chancellor said as he patted Locke on the shoulder. "Now, King Edgar is in the throne room, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you interrupted him now."
"Are you sure?" Locke asked with a slight hesitation. He didn't want to meet the king any earlier than he had to. "I mean, I can wait around for a few minutes."
"Nonsense!" The Chancellor chuckled as he turned and began to lead Locke to the throne room. "Right this way, please."
On the way, Locke kept an eye on everything that was going around him and he started to calm his nerves down slightly. All the people that he passed were polite and nodded their heads in a greeting. Although he wasn't sure why, he wasn't expecting such a kind arrival.
The Chancellor opened up the door and moved out the way so Locke could enter first. Once inside, Locke looked toward the center of the room where there was a young man down on one knee talking to a little girl.
"Now, how old are you, Ciera?" He asked her as she held the hem of her dress with her tiny fingers and swung back and forth. Her blonde hair was up in pigtails and they bounced slightly as she moved.
"I just turned five, your majesty," she replied with a slight curtsy, causing the young man to chuckle. Locke's eyes went wide when he realized that the young man was the king of Figaro. He can't be much older than I am…He thought as watched the conversation.
"Well, how about this? I'm going to need a bride eventually, and you are turning out to be a very beautiful young woman," he began, his smile widening as he gently put his finger under her chin. She blushed and let out a giggle at the touch. Locke tried not to laugh as he looked over at the Chancellor to see an annoyed look on his face as he watched what was going on. "So, how about when you get older, you and I get married."
"Really?" She squeaked with excitement and wrapped her arms around the young man's neck. "You mean it? I'm going to be queen one day?"
"Yep! You'll be able to wear pretty dresses and a pretty crown and—" he stopped talking when he saw an older woman walk in the room from a different door. He sheepishly stood up and gently patted the little girl on her head. "Hello, Matron."
"Hello, your highness," she replied with an amused smile as King Edgar cleared his throat in embarrassment. She motioned the little girl to come to her side. "Come on, Ciera. Your mother has been looking for you."
"Matron, Matron, guess what!" She exclaimed as she happily skipped over to the older woman and held onto her hand. "King Edgar said he'd marry me when I'm older! Isn't that just the bestest news ever!"
Ignoring the young girl's improper usage of grammar, she turned back toward King Edgar and playfully frowned at him as she shook her head. "Your majesty…"
"What? She'll make a fine queen someday. Besides, this is a big kingdom for me to run without a beautiful queen by my side," he protested with a shrug as Matron sighed. The king looked over at Locke and the Chancellor and gave them a look of relief. "I would love to explain myself some more, but it seems to me that I have company with impeccable timing. Have a good day, Matron."
"You as well, your highness," she said as she led the little girl outside of the throne room.
King Edgar chuckled as he watched them leave, then turned back toward Locke and the Chancellor at the front of the throne room. "Ah, hello! Thanks for coming at the right time so I didn't have to explain myself to Matron."
"So, just out of curiosity, how many fiancées does that give you now, King Edgar?" The Chancellor asked as the young king laughed. "Have you reached ten yet?"
"Oh no, my dear Chancellor! Don't tell me that you're going to patronize me as well! But, to answer your question, I think I'm only at six or seven. No worries though! I'll get to ten eventually!" He continued laugh as Locke raised his eyebrows. The king calmed down his laughter as he looked at Locke. "Oh, you must be Locke."
"Everyone knows me, don't they?" He asked the king as he nervously shifted his weight between his feet. "It's a pleasure to meet you, King Edgar."
"Oh, drop the formality, please. Just call me Edgar," he said as he shook Locke's hand. "I've heard a lot about you over the last few months, and I must say I am thrilled that you are now going to be my connection to the Returners."
"I…I am?" Locke blinked blankly for a second at the news. "I wasn't aware of that. I was just told by Vaughn to see you."
"Well, surprise," the king said with a smile. He turned to the Chancellor and patted him on the shoulder. "Would you please give me a few moments alone with Locke? I just want to go over some things with him that you and I went over yesterday, so there's no need to bore you to tears by having to hear it all again."
"Of course, your majesty," he stated as he bowed and left the room, leaving Locke and Edgar with some privacy.
"Very well then," Edgar started after the door shut. "We have been anxiously waiting for someone like you in the Returners, just so you know."
"Me? Why?" Locke asked, becoming a little self conscious. "Is it because of my hatred toward the Empire?"
Edgar nodded as Locke bowed his head and took several steps away from him. "We all have our hatred toward the Empire, but I do know your specific reasoning. Vaughn told us all what happened."
"Oh," he replied quietly, not taking his eyes off the floor. "I just want revenge for what happened to Rachel and Xane." Edgar furrowed his forehead and Locke turned around again when he noticed the silence. "What is it?"
"Xane?" Edgar asked, his eyes widening. "What happened to Xane?"
"Oh yeah," Locke mumbled and looked back down on the floor. I guess I'm going to have to do a lot of explaining once I get to the Returners Hideout, so I better get used to it now…He thought with an exhale. "Vaughn sent Xane and I to Jidoor yesterday and we were caught by a few Imperial soldiers."
"My my," he responded, putting his hand to his chin and grabbing his lower lip with his fingers. "This is quite an unexpected turn of events. I'm certain that Banon doesn't know about this either. Well, damn it."
Locke blinked at the king's language, but it did help him calm down. "Can I make things a little worse by adding something new in there?"
"Worse? Uh oh," Edgar mumbled. With a wave of his hand, he motioned Locke to continue.
"Well, when I went to rescue Xane, he refused to let me help him," Locke began with a sigh. He opened his mouth, the shut it again. As much as he wanted to tell Edgar about Xane's sister, he decided against it. They don't need to know anyway…He thought as he looked off to the side. "Well, you know Xane, so that was pretty much a given. I guess I really don't have anything to follow that."
"Whew, I thought you were going to say something worse," Edgar said with a relieved chuckle. "That's more or less expected from Xane. He'll probably want to see if he can get more information out of the Empire, that's all."
Locke shifted his weight again and nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly what he said to me. They didn't really have a tight grip on him or anything. It was almost as if…it hurt them to see him in a jail cell."
"He's an excellent soldier and they know it," Edgar replied confidently. "Karma will kick them in the ass sooner or later, so no worries." He took a step closer to Locke and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know that you just got here and all, but there is an assignment that I would like you to work on right away."
Locke looked up at Edgar once again. He felt slightly relieved that the king changed the subject and was thankful that he would be out doing something to take his mind off of what happened in Jidoor. "Sure. Anything."
"Word has reached our ears that something is going on with the more valuable scholars in this world," Edgar began, making sure that he had Locke's full attention. "Not that long ago, they started to disappear from their home towns. I'm not sure where they're going, but I smell a whiff of the Empire."
"Yeah, I do as well," Locke mumbled as he chewed the inside of his cheek. "Where do you hear all these rumors? Vaughn has informed me of several rumors, but not a lot of them are based on fact. It seems to me that sometimes they are so wild that no one would believe them."
Edgar nodded with a smirk. "Yes, that is true, but there have also been many rumors that have been proven true. The thing about the Returners; we don't believe in anything until we see it with our own eyes. Whenever there is a group with power, such as the Empire, people decide to spread rumors about them. That's where the Returners step in. We weed out the false information from the truth. You're a thief though, right?"
"Uh, heh, treasure hunter," Locke pointed out, trying not to jump down the king's throat about the misunderstanding.
"Same thing," Edgar replied, flicking his wrist. Locke weakly smiled and refrained from correcting him again. "Anyway, this will be the perfect job for you. You just need to find some information out, then report back here. How's that sound?" Before Locke was able to say a response, there was a knock at the door. Edgar narrowed his eyes as he said, "Come in."
"I beg your pardon, your highness," the Chancellor stated as walked into the throne room and handed an envelope to Edgar. "I have been informed that this just arrived. It has the Empire's stamp on it, so we all know what this means."
"Wonderful," Edgar sighed as he opened up the letter and began to read it silently. After several minutes, Locke started to look around so it wouldn't seem as though he wanted to know what the letter stated. "Just as I suspected."
"What's that?" Locke didn't mean to speak, but he was unable to stop himself. After the noise emitted from his mouth, he slightly cowered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask."
Edgar folded up the paper again and put it back in its envelope, his face remaining grim as he looked between the Chancellor and Locke. "No, it's not a problem. You're part of the Returners now so you have the right to know what's going on. It's a letter from Gestahl. He has some questions that he would like to ask the people of Figaro, namely myself. It also states that if we don't respond as soon as possible, he's going to send his boy Kefka to check things out. I'm telling you, he's up to something."
"You don't suppose he suspects you being part of the Returners?" Locke asked as Edgar held the envelope in one hand and tapped his other hand with it as he thought.
"No, I don't think he does, but I'm not really willing to take any chances," he stated as he bit at his lip. "Very well. I have a very strong feeling that Gestahl will act on this if I don't reply by the end of the day, so that means you're going to have to be very quick with getting information. I'm not going to reply to him. Not yet anyway. Chancellor, I would like you to give the orders to submerge to the other side of the mountains. Locke, when we arrive, I want you to go to South Figaro and see if you can get any information about where those scholars have been disappearing to. We'll let the Empire come to us if they desire to do so."
Edgar turned and started to walk toward his throne as Locke looked around uncomfortably. "Okay, I'll do that."
"When do you want me to give the engineer the order to submerge?" The Chancellor asked, causing Edgar to turn back around.
"Actually, I would like to submerge right away." Instead of turning again, he walked closer to Locke. "Why don't you go with the Chancellor to give the order, then you can walk around the castle for a while. I hate to send you off so soon without a meal, so please join us for lunch."
"Sure thing," Locke stated as he and the Chancellor left the throne room. He followed the Chancellor and almost ran into him once he stopped. "What is it?"
"I just remembered that I forgot to tell King Edgar something," he replied quietly. "Do me a favor. The engine room is right down there, so can you tell the mechanic that we need to submerge as soon as possible?"
"No problem," Locke said and watched the Chancellor disappear through a set of doors. With a shrug, Locke walked down the stairs and followed the increasing sound of the machinery. He grimaced at how noisy it was down there, so he quickly looked for the mechanic. He didn't see anyone around, so he started to look at the control panels that lined the walls. He saw a switch between two pillars and began to walk closer to it.
"Don't touch that! It's dangerous!" Locke spun around to see an older man wearing red standing behind him.
Locke placed his hand over his heart and chuckled when he realized it was only the mechanic. "You scared me!"
"What?" The man asked, practically shouting to talk over the roar of machinery. "I can't hear you!"
"I said that you scared me!" Locke repeated louder.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" The mechanic reached out his hand for a handshake and Locke followed through. "I haven't met you before. You new here?"
Locke looked down at his hand to see that it was now covered in grease, but he tried not to make a face at it. "Name's Locke Cole."
"Nice to meet you!" The mechanic yelled back. "What can I do for you?"
"King Edgar said that we need to submerge," Locke replied and put his hands in his pockets. The mechanic cupped his hand around his ear and motioned that he couldn't hear him. "I said, King Edgar said that—"
"Hold on a second!" The mechanic said as he walked to the control panel and flipped a few switches. The humming dulled quite a bit and Locke felt that he could again hear. "There, that's better."
Locke nodded and sighed. "Yes, much better. Thank you."
"Now, what did you say?" The mechanic asked and handed Locke a towel so he could wipe his hands.
"I said that King Edgar wants to submerge," Locke repeated for the third time in a normal tone of voice. He was thankful that he didn't have to shout anymore. "I'm assuming that switch over there is the one that does the trick?"
"Yes, it is," the mechanic said with a smile. "Pretty damn clever, isn't it? King Edgar designed the entire concept and even built most of it. It took him quite a while, but I think we'd all agree that it's the best defense mechanism, don't ya think? All I have to do is just pull the lever and make sure that everything runs smoothly."
"Very impressive," Locke stated as he looked at the room. "King Edgar thought up this all, eh?"
The mechanic nodded and made his way toward the lever. Before he put his hand on it, he looked back at Locke and smirked. "Oh, you might want to hold onto something if this is your first time experiencing this."
Raising an eyebrow, Locke responded with, "Nah, I'm sure I'll be just fine."
"Suit yourself, but it's a hell of a ride." The mechanic chuckled and grabbed the lever. With a grunt, he pulled it down then leaned against one of the pillars.
At first nothing really happened, so Locke began to fix his bandana. Just as he was finishing up the knot, the machinery in the room started to grow louder. With a grimace, Locke covered his ears with his hands to protect his hearing. As the floor started to shake, he cursed at himself for not listening to the mechanic's fair warning then grabbed onto railing by the control panel so he wouldn't lose his balance. It didn't take him long to figure out that it was impossible to hold onto the railing and cover his ears at the same time, so he chose to hold on and risk the chance of getting a headache.
After several terrible minutes, the machines finally calmed down and the ground stopped shaking. Locke put his hand over his heart to make sure that it was still beating, and sighed in relief when he felt a pulse. He swallowed and looked up at the mechanic, who was laughing hysterically.
"I told ya!" He said through his laughter. Locke was still too much in shock to laugh back, so he tried to take a few steps inside. "I wouldn't lie to you!"
"Y-Yeah," Locke admitted as he slowly made his way to the stairs again. Holding on tightly to the railing, he made his way up the stairs and saw that everyone was walking around as if nothing had happened. He heard more laughter and looked to the side.
"What's the matter, Locke?" Edgar asked as the Chancellor tried to conceal his laughter. "It looks like you've just seen a ghost."
"I never want to do that again," he said vehemently, putting his hand against the wall for more support. "I think I just lost six years of my life because of that."
"Ha, well, you should've felt the submerging when I first invented it." Locke whipped his head up and the Chancellor nodded at Edgar's sentence. "Even I felt a little queasy the first time it happened. After a few months I was able to tweak the kinks out, so it's smooth as can be now."
"Uhh…" Locke managed to squeak out, not agreeing that it was a 'smooth' process.
"Anyway, it's time for lunch so let's go to the dining hall," Edgar announced and pointed in that direction. Finally finding his footing, Locke moved away from the wall and followed the young king and the Chancellor.