Pamela Vance sat in the O'Bannon mansion near the harbor incredibly bored. For the past twenty-four hours she had sat and done absolutely nothing. She never really was the homemaker type. She didn't like staying home and keeping house, but she supposed that now that she and Masahiro were getting rather serious, he would be at work, whatever he chose to do, and she would stay home with the children. That was the way it had always been, and although she disagreed with it, Pamela knew that this hard truth was going nowhere. But this she could do something about.
But she was getting worried. Masahiro had stayed to protect the Mirror and he hadn't been back all day. She had gone looking for him earlier, but found only people gathering around the spot where Melissa attacked. No Masahiro. She was really worried about him. Rush had consoled her earlier when neither Masahiro or Strawberry had come back for a long time. He was good at knowing what to say, being the eloquent person he was. He always had the right words. Strawberry was a lucky woman.
She pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and her thoughts turned back to Masahiro. She had no idea where he was. Well, she did have some idea. That Mirror Rush found in the Deep Dungeon must have something to do with all this. Maybe…
She began to pack supplies for a few days for a trip to the Deep Dungeon. As she walked out the door, she passed Rush on her way out. He walked after her, and she sensed his presence.
"I'm going Rush," Pamela replied to his unspoken opposition to her leaving. "I'm going, and if you try to stop me, I'll hit you."
"Oh no, no, no, no, no," Rush replied. He had been on the end of a few of Pamela's slaps and it never ended well. "I figured you'd say that, so I'm offering to come with you. To help. I want to see Strawberry just as much as you want to see Masahiro."
"Well, you might need a cleric on the way," Alma said, appearing out of nowhere, and Pamela's heart sunk. Deep down, she didn't really like Alma, and she knew Alma would just be a liability just like always. But, Alma was a whiner and a brat, and she wouldn't stop complaining until she got what she wanted. Ramza, blinded to this by the fact that he's her sister, describes this quality as "perseverance". Pamela just called it "annoying".
"Well, fine," she said, opening the door to the mansion and beginning to leave. "Just don't get in my way. I want to find Masahiro. I want to be useful."
So Pamela, Rush, and Alma set off in another of Jack's boats, smaller than the other one but big enough to make it across the Gulf of Warjilis. Pamela hoped that her Masahiro would be okay when she found him. If she found him.
Cloud gripped the edge of his fake sword tightly as he went for another strike against Orlandu. The old warrior dodged out of the way and brought his own wooden sword down on Cloud's back. Cloud fell onto his stomach, moaned and turned over so he and Orlandu were face to face. Orlandu put his sword to Cloud's neck, signifying his victory. He offered his hand to the young Soldier, and he took it.
"You seem distracted today Cloud," Orlandu said, pulling Cloud up off of the ground. "What is it? No, wait, let me guess. It has something to do with that rather attractive flower girl from Zarghidas, am I right?"
"No, Teacher" Cloud said non-convincingly. He had gotten into the habit of calling Orlandu 'Teacher' ever since he started teaching the young man. "I'm just spacing a little that time. Come on, let's go again and I'll prove it to you."
Orlandu nodded, sensing the lie immediately but not saying anymore of it, and stepped seven paces ahead of Cloud, one for each of the Seven Deadly Sins that led man to go against the will of God. It was an ancient Ivalician tradition. He and his sparring partner bowed to each other, and then Cloud charged up to Orlandu. Orlandu saw his plans before they were executed, before he even moved: he would slash across him at about neck level, then try a stabbing motion. It was always his opening move. Orlandu didn't know his strategy past that point, however, because Cloud never got that far. He was always out after that attempted stab.
Orlandu noticed Cloud charging at him, training sword ready to strike at his neck. The aging Swordsman could sense it. He caught Cloud's blade with his own, pushed it to the left, and kicked him in the hip. Cloud cried in pain and went down. Orlandu put his sword to Cloud's throat.
"I win again Cloud Strife," Orlandu said simply. "And now please tell me what is distracting you, for if we do not know what it is, we cannot move on with our training. Please begin." Orlandu sat down on a bench lying in the courtyard of the Murond Holy Place and waited for Cloud to speak. He was silent for a time, but finally he conceded and spoke.
"You were right Teacher, as usual," Cloud began. "It is about the flower girl from Zarghidas. She's just so… alluring, I guess would be the word. I don't know what it is about her, but she's just so beautiful. I can't get her off my mind. I want to see her again. That's why I'm training: so I can go to Zarghidas on my own, without troubling Ramza, whose already been too good to me."
Cloud felt really bad about lying to the man he most respected, and he sensed Orlandu had already realized he lied. It wasn't a complete lie: he was thinking about her, but not in the way that Orlandu suspected. He did think she was beautiful, but she bore too striking a resemblance to a woman he knew in his old life, the one he had before Mustadio pulled him from the deck of the Highwind.
He remembered it vividly. He and his other friends, Cid, Barret, Tifa, Cait Sith, Nanaki, Vincent, and Yuffie, sat watching for the spell summoned by the girl in his thoughts to save them from the giant Meteor that was at that very moment rocketing towards them. Suddenly, the two magics collided, and there was a brief but violent flash of light, and Cloud found himself in Ivalice. That was the last thing he remembered, but there were painful memories of this girl before he was on the deck of the Highwind waiting for the world to end.
In an ancient city, the girl Cloud fell in love with knelt in front of an alter, praying. Her deep green eyes were closed in reverence, and her bangs fell in front of her muttering mouth. Her hands were folded a la prayer style, and she wore a pink button-up dress with a light burgundy jacket. From the bright pink bow in her hair to her leather work boots, this girl was pure goodness. She would never hurt anybody unless she had to, and her healing spells couldn't be beat. Cloud didn't realized how much he really loved her until she was gone.
That was the reason he thought so much of that flower girl from Zarghidas: she reminded him of that girl he loved in another life. The one with the pink bow and the Mako green eyes. The one he called Aeris, the one with the same name as the flower girl from Zarghidas. He witnessed her death: a sword pierced through her heart in that ancient city where she prayed to save the world. She died, and the bow in her hair fell out and lost her mother's bauble she kept tied inside it. The small gem fell into the pool of water, but Cloud saved the ribbon from her hair, and now kept it as a memento.
He knew the reason he could never show his affection for the nice flower girl from Zarghidas was she reminded him too much of his Aeris. He would never tell her that.
"Cloud?" Orlandu's words snapped Cloud from his thoughts. He turned his attention once more to his Teacher. "A penny for your thoughts."
"Nothing important Teacher," Cloud replied. "Now, one more round?"
Onboard the Alexa, Kletian Drowa mulled over the thoughts that were swimming in his head. First of all, there was the re-resurrection of Ajora hanging over their heads. Granted, he had aided in her second coming, but that was when Vormav's control had taken over his mind. He wasn't sure how he did it, but somehow being around Vormav had changed him. Perhaps it was the presence of Hashmalum, the Lion Brave. He was a powerful force, the likes of which have never truly been defeated. After all, Hashmalum did kill himself. Powerful as the arrogant noble was, Ramza barely scratched him.
Which brought him to his other point: Why does Meliadoul hang out with a heretic like him? What did she see in that skinny kid? Was it the boldness? The determination? That little strand of hair that stuck straight out of his head? What was it that Meliadoul, no, all the girls in his group, saw in him? Kletian had met some charismatic heroes in his time, but this child of Balbanes' was the first he knew of to carry such a large female following. Agrias, Meliadoul, Rafa, Kylie, Ophelia, Strawberry, Dorothy: all of them had had a crush on him. It's not like he was jealous or anything, he just was confused. Like a scholar, he wanted simply to gain information.
This brought him to another train of thought: Meliadoul. Why was she so nice to him while all her friends were so cruel? He suspected it was just to get him to help identify the weapons of Ajora, but it could be something else… Something a little more like- Nah.
"Kletian Drowa?" Delita's voice snapped Kletian out of his thoughts, much to Kletian's dismay. He did not show this however, but instead bowed for the King of Ivalice. Delita waved him up and he stood again. "You are the great Shrine Knight Wizard Kletian Drowa, are you not?"
"I am glad to see my talents have earned me some acclaim," he thought out loud without turning his head from the quickly moving sea. Vormav had never told him he was any good at magic, and Rofel's praises were few and far between. Not that he needed it, but still.
"I just wanted to know," Delita said, then paused. "Who are the other Zodiac Brave hosts? I knew you were involved and just
assumed-"
"That Vormav actually told me something?" Kletian asked. "Sorry, I wasn't in on most of his plans. Yes, I was ranked higher than most other people in the Shrine Knights, but the info was kept for number one and number two."
"Vormav and Rofel," Delita stated.
"Exactly my Liege," Kletian replied. He was the third highest ranked person in the Shrine Knights. This was fine with him: he hated most of the people underneath him anyway. He was the only mage out of the seven Shrine Knights, and this tended to alienate him. Meliadoul was always nice to him.
"I do know a few my King," Kletian continued. "Izlude was supposed to be Pisces. I know that because I gave him the Stone. There was a hidden Zodiac Stone in the Deep Dungeon called Serpentarius, and it was put there by Rofel years ago to be found by the great hero Elibidis. Somehow though, I think Ramza may be in possession of both Stones now. Maybe even all fourteen."
"Thirteen," Delita corrected. "Thirteen Zodiac Stones."
"Of course your Majesty," Kletian apologized. "I must have misspoke. I am sorry. Anyway, that is all I know of the Zodiac Braves that you do not."
"It's just that they did not seem like the immortal demons of legend," Delita said, and Kletian gave him a confused look. "I had kept a constant but silent watch on Ramza and his mercenaries. I know all about Ajora and the Zodiac demons."
"Thank you your Majesty," Kletian said, and bowed slightly. "I was a bit confused as to how you knew about all of this Zodiac demon nonsense."
"It is not nonsense," Delita snapped. "Of all people Kletian, I would have thought you should know that."
"With all due respect your Highness," Kletian justified, lowering his head. "I call it nonsense because even Ramza doesn't know the true nature of the Zodiac Braves. They are Ajora's twelve disciples. They are not demons, but the reflections of people's souls. The Archangel Ajora used her Mirror to create them. She used the evil in their souls to create the perversions Ramza fought. Hashmalum, Adramelk, Velius, Queklain, Elibidis, Zalera, Portia, Malris, Count Lorne, Kraken, Chiron, Minotaurus: all of them were once human. But Ajora used her Mirror to reflect the evil in their hearts and turned them into the Zodiac Braves."
"Those last few you mentioned," Delita said. "I am not familiar with them. I assume they are the Braves not let out by Vormav and Hashmalum. Am I correct?"
"I believe you are my Lord, although there is no evidence to support of deny this theory," Kletian said, crossing his arms. "There may be texts in Orbonne Monastery saying something about this. I don't know though, because I was not allowed time to study them while I was raising Ajora only a few days ago. Perhaps I will travel back there if we survive this."
"I hope we do," Delita mused, staring out at the waters. "I hope we do."
"Well, Ophelia, it's nice to see you," Ramza commented, although everyone else looked angry. This was a covert operation after all. They were trying not to be detected, and more people would just add to the danger. "We're trying to find Valdorna, the leader of the Acolytes. She's in here somewhere."
"Well, okay," Ophelia replied, very confused. "I'll just play it by ear then." She continued up the stairs with Ramza, and Mustadio looked at her. She had become friends with him right from the moment they met in Zaland. She was such a nice young woman, and she was a sort of counselor for everyone on the group because all this death and killing took its toll on one's emotions.
'Add on the added drama of having a group of young adults and all their emotional baggage and you've got one hell of a problem,' Mustadio thought with a slight chuckle. But he knew it was true. Tentative cliques had been formed within their little group, and Mustadio was a little worried about what might happen to those cliques if their ideas clashed.
Poor Mustadio had always been downplayed as kind of the fool of the group. He had never really liked that. Especially when the woman of his dreams saw him as a bumbling idiot. Agrias Oaks. True, they were the best of friends, but Mustadio had heard the way she talked about him behind his back to Ramza and Malak. And he knew she was in love with Ramza, but he didn't care: he could compete with that stuck up noble. Sure, he and Ramza were best friends, but that didn't necessarily mean they got along. As he had learned all too well, there are some friends you just have to be careful around.
"Mustadio?" Agrias asked, and he snapped out of his thoughts. She raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Anyone home?"
"Sorry," Mustadio smiled. "Must have zoned out there for a while." The group continued climbing the stairs until they got to the room where Reis, Miranda, and Christine were kept. This time however, Reis noticed a staircase on the far side of the room. She ran up it, and the others followed her into the tallest turret in the Temple.
The room was huge. It was lavishly decorated with foreign rugs like the Roan Silk. This especially caught Ophelia's eye and she draped it over her shoulders. Inside the room, just as they expected, was the Golden Key Valdorna. But this time she wasn't alone.
"Hello Ramza," she said from on top of what looked like Worker 8. It's eyes glowed red with energy, a sign that it was turned on at full power. "I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine: Worker 7-new. I rebuilt him. I made him better, faster, stronger. Plus I upgraded his weapon systems. I think you'll have a harder time defeating him now than you did back then."
Agrias swore under her breath and then spat on the floor. She was present at the battle where they first fought Worker 7-new. She remembered that they barely got out of there alive. She didn't even remember how Rafa was able to grab the Golden Escutcheon and the Ultimate Javelin. She blacked out about halfway through the battle. She was revived later by Ophelia. She never really knew what happened in the time she was out, but when she woke up, Reis was a human.
"Have at 'me my pretty," Valdorna said, and slipped off of her robot into the shadows. The mechanical behemoth flickered to life and swung one giant fist in the direction of Olan and Ophelia. Both dodged out of the way as Ramza and Agrias drew their swords. Reis took a big breath and shot a stream of fire from her mouth at the robot. It's chest opened up and it shot multiple streams of lavender energy her way. It met her pathetic flames and slammed her into the wall. Reis looked barely alive as her body slumped to the floor. Worker 7-new now turned it's attention to Mustadio. The brave Mechanic began to fire his Blast Gun at the humongous machine, but to no avail. Worker 7-new sideswiped its left hand under Mustadio's feet and he fell to the ground. As his fists descended from the air onto Mustadio, he fired his gun once more and this time, not only did he get a high level spell out of the gun, he hit it right between the eyes. Its central processor was fried, hopefully for good this time. Worker 7-new staggered back and swung its hands wildly around the room. As the robot swung its fist towards Agrias, but she blocked it with her huge Defender. As she fended its attack off, Ramza came on and drove his sword deep into its wiring. Worker 7- new sparked and grabbed Ramza around the waist with its other arm. It started to squeeze the life out of him. Ramza could feel his life slipping away, and he saw Agrias bring her sword back from its defensive position.
"Split Punch!" The ghostly periwinkle sword embedded itself in the robot's chest and then disappeared. The damage to Worker 7-new was extensive now, and it was on its last legs. Agrias swung her Defender to summon another one of her powers.
"Holy Explosion!" The ground cracked open and Worker 7-new and Ramza dropped down a floor. Ramza grabbed onto the edge of the floor as the ground collapsed all around him. He felt it fall off after Worker 7-new, and he fell back into the hole. Olan grabbed him by the wrist and held onto him so he wouldn't follow the robot into the darkness. Olan pulled Ramza up and followed Agrias, Ophelia, and Mustadio, carrying Reis, out the window onto the room as the tower itself was collapsing around them. As they got on the roof, they watched the tower fall onto the body of Worker 7-new. They assumed he had fallen down to floor one before the falling started, which put him under at least five stories of rubble. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Olan spoke up.
"Uh guys," he said. "We're up on the room. Any idea how we're getting down?" They all looked at each other and yelled for Besrodio in the Hindenburg.
Pamela, Rush, and Alma quickly docked at the Deep Dungeon lighthouse after about an hour sail and got off the boat where they saw a figure sleeping in the grass. It was Beowulf. Pamela pushed that lock of hair out of her eyes and walked up slowly to him and gently shook him awake. He jumped up, Hrunting in his hands, ready to fight. But he saw who it was and realized they were friendly and not a threat. He sighed deeply and snapped at Pamela.
"Don't ever do that again," he panted. He stood up and looked around. "Hey, have you guys seen Strawberry or Kylie anywhere? They were just here a few minutes ago but they jumped in some sort of portal and I wondered if they were back yet."
"Some how I don't think it was a return portal Beowulf," Alma said. "Portals don't really work like that. When you go in, you usually have to find your own way back."
"Well, I don't know much about this or what's going on at all as a matter of fact," Rush commented. "But Melissa has the Mirror and we've heard that she hangs out here so we came to take it back."
"With a Monk, a Cleric, and an Archer?" Beowulf asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, but even with my power I couldn't defeat her. Or so I hear."
"She is strong yes," Pamela said, reaching into her pocket. "But this time we have help." She pulled the Zodiac Stone Virgo into the light. It shimmered to life in the presence of the Acolytes on the tiny island.
"Are you crazy?" Beowulf yelled, grabbing the Stone away from Pamela and pocketing it himself. "Do you have any idea what they could do with this?"
"Well, no," Pamela replied, her eyes shifting around nervously. "I don't think anyone does."
"Neither do I," Beowulf said, his voice softer and less commanding this time. "And I don't intend to find out anytime soon." He turned towards the lighthouse and thought about Reis again. He hadn't seen her since she was taken by Buremonda, and that was a few hours ago. He knew that Buremonda wouldn't kill her, at least his crazy obsession with Reis proved useful for something, but he had no idea what he was doing to her at this very moment. He really missed her. He supposed that he and Buremonda did have something in common: they were both obsessed with Reis. The difference was that he was crazy and Beowulf wasn't. Both men loved her. What a strange yet familiar situation.
"Well," Alma said cheerily. "We might as well go into the lighthouse. What could possibly happen?"
"Um, Alma?" Rush asked, but she already began trouncing up the stairs at the foot of the lighthouse. Rush rolled his eyes. "Wait here guys. I'll be right back." He followed the youngest Beoulve into the interior of the lighthouse. As he sprinted after her, he found himself wondering where Strawberry was. Not that he was obsessive or anything, he was just very worried about his wife. He loved her very much. She was a rather shy person before she met him. He remembered hearing stories from Ophelia, who was on friendly terms with pretty much everyone, about her being very alienated in the group. They would go to a party, most likely prompted by Kylie and/or David, and Strawberry would stay home or stand in the corner.
Rush changed all that. He came into the party during the battle with Zalmo at Lesalia. Rush's life was regimented with training and the like until he was stationed with the Holy Priest to attack the heretic in Lesalia. Then, he met Ophelia and he joined Ramza's cause. That was when he met Strawberry and they hit it off right away. He broke her slightly out of her shell. They were married the next summer.
When he finally did find Alma, she was stopped in her tracks staring in fear ahead of her. Rush tried to get her attention, but she just pointed ahead wordlessly. He looked and saw a giant, three-headed Tiamat rearing it's three white heads in Alma's direction. He grabbed her around the waist and pushed her to the ground as the monster's lightning sizzled just above their heads.
"Beowulf!" Rush yelled for help because, strong as he was, he knew that no one in Ramza's party was a match for a Tiamat alone. Except maybe for Sir Orlandu. But Beowulf didn't come, so Rush grabbed Alma by the hand and pulled her down the steps of the lighthouse.
Beowulf and Pamela waited outside for Rush and Alma to come back because it was not a place one wanted to be alone in. As they stood waiting, they saw a boat pull into the harbor next to theirs. The name "Alexa" was painted on the side. Out of it came Meliadoul, Kletian and…
"Delita?" Pamela said questioningly. "What is he doing here? Doesn't he have to be, like, running the country or something?"
"I have an interim King in my place who is ghost ruling for me," he replied, and everybody else gave him a confused look. "You know, ghost ruling. Like ghostwriting." Everybody nodded in comprehension and Beowulf heard his name being called from inside the lighthouse.
"That sounded like Rush," Beowulf said, drawing Hrunting and began to run for the steps at the bottom of the lighthouse when someone grabbed his hand. It was Delita. He shook his head, and Beowulf gave him a disgusted look.
"It would be easier for him to draw it out here so we can fight it in an open space," Delita explained.
"And give it a chance to grab Alma and fly away," Pamela continued. "No, I think we should go in there and help him."
"We don't even know what that thing is that's in there," Kletian argued. "How could you even think of putting all our lives in danger like that?"
"No one asked your opinion, Shrine Knight," Pamela quipped, getting right in his face. She had an expression of pure hatred on her usually kind face. "We are going in there."
"No we aren't!" Kletian countered. The two opponents were in each other's faces by now when Rush, with Alma in tow, came running down the steps with a massive, and much bigger than normal, Tiamat flying directly behind them. Rush pulled Alma to the floor as its claws raked by their heads.
"Do something!" he yelled, and Kletian and Delita grabbed their swords, and everyone else drew their weapons with the exception of Beowulf who already had his drawn. Delita stepped forward with a solemn look on his face.
"Now we may fight it."
A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out. I just had production week for the play (gack) and Thanksgiving and everything. But at least it's done, and it's done pretty well, even if it is shorter than the others. I wanted to do a little more with Rush, and Pamela will appear again, hopefully. And still more will be done with Kletian and Delita.