--Here it is, (finally) chapter eleven! I think this chapter is well worth the wait. Be sure to note that this is a fictional story and that Gusgen is, um, well, not quite this bad I guess. Heh, heh. Enjoy!--
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Chapter Eleven
Back inside the dingy tunnels of Gusgen Mines, Aonir had practically glued her body to Zakk. She had tried not to but the creepy shrieks and moans of the mine made her exceptionally jumpy, something she felt was unfair. Zakk was amazing in her eyes. He skillfully mined while rarely breaking his pickaxe and he did not jump at every little sound. He also knew his way around, taking small shortcuts as they traveled around the top floor of the mine. The eerie green flames that flew around in the air, only to vanish slowly into thin air, were finally the last thing on Aonir's list of 'things to fear'.
Zakk, on the other hand, found Aonir's fears amusing yet understandable. The fact that he understood, and the solid fact that she was stuck in the mine with no map, is the only thing that kept Aonir from leaving him entirely. The two of them combined managed to mine several chunks of Darksteel Ore, Gold Ore, as well as some colored stones. Zakk even began to drag around a mining cart just to help carry some of the stuff.
Every once in a while, the siren would blare, just as Trish had said it would. This time, the siren sounded warped, constantly restarting itself in mid-blare. The image of a partially, if not entirely, decomposed corpse of a Bastokan officer swinging side to side, hitting the switch ran through Aonir's mind, causing chills to slide up and down her spine.
"It's ok." Zakk said consolingly.
"E-easy for you to say." Aonir stuttered.
"Look," Zakk said with a small smile, "Trish just has an attitude issue. Ignore what she says, OK?"
Aonir looked at his soft expression, the siren having stopped and the remains of it slowly fading through the tunnel, and tried to smile, "OK. I'll trust you."
"Good." Zakk said with a grin.
"But if you're wrong, I get to hit you with a rock." Aonir added quickly as she chased him.
"Hey, that's not fair to me."
"Well, you think my being afraid is a joke."
Just then, a shriek of horror rang out, echoing through the tunnel as if it were an enraged specter. Zakk looked straight ahead, his eyes open and his ears trying hard to pin-point the location of the shout. Aonir spun around, her back to Zakk, her legs quivering as she knew that if someone were in trouble, she had to help due to her job. It was her duty to help travelers, even prisoners, when they needed it after all. Zakk dashed off, telling Aonir to stay put. Unfortunately, he had moved so quickly, and had failed to notice Aonir's attention being elsewhere, that Aonir did not hear a word of what he had said.
Aonir muttered to Zakk, who was no longer near her, that she was going to follow the tunnel and run northeast until she reached the bigger of the two rooms on that end. Without looking back, she dashed north and followed the path by taking the east tunnel which opened into a somewhat small area, she was back in the room where she had first experienced the siren and met Zakk. She looked to her left to see the mining carts then darted across the room, following the tracks, downstairs, through the room where she saw the ghost and into a much bigger room just beyond.
Aonir followed the left wall around until going behind a second wooden structure. The shriek rang out again, this time; the noise sounded like the person was in pain, under attack even. Aonir's heart jumped into her throat as she felt along the wall. The screaming was not as clear, in fact, it seemed to be getting weaker. Aonir, having no lantern of any sort, felt along the wall until a strange breeze could be felt coming from just below her. She looked down to see a small hole, barely big enough for two fingers.
She grabbed her pickaxe, her adrenaline doing the thinking, and took a quick swing at the hole. Nothing happened. She did it again, the shriek echoing through again. Upon the third attempt, Aonir slid the pickaxe back into her bag and sighed. She felt she was useless as a white mage. Being unable to help someone that, from the sound of it, was dying hurt her. Filled with sadness and hopelessness, Aonir slammed her fist against the wall. Suddenly, she heard what sounded like rocks falling. It was then that the ground beneath her seemed to vanish. She fell.
Aonir quickly caught the floor with her hands and tried desperately to pull herself up, only managing to get her head up and her elbows bent. The rest of her hung below the floor, an easy snack for a monster. She kicked, there were no walls around her below. She was too afraid to look down. She reached her left hand out to grab for a rock to help pull herself up. Unfortunately, the rock was not sturdy. Upon her pulling the stone broke free and Aonir was sent falling down, splashing into rusty water below.
She tried to open her eyes but the large amounts of rust and dirt in the water stung her eyes. She kept sinking, the weight of the pickaxes pulling her down into the water. She opened the bag and dumped all but one. She managed to peek out only to find the skeleton of a person lying underneath an old cart; she panicked and quickly swam to the surface. When her head broke through to the surface she gasped for breath, coughing up the water she had ingested upon her entrance. She began to recover from her sudden fright only to feel a sudden chill. The water was moving slightly, something that could not have been caused by her splashing. She looked right and left, scanning the area as quickly and carefully as she could. The waves grew harsher and the feeling that she was being watched had begun to set in. Aonir heard the water splash from behind her and she quickly turned around.
There, to her horror, was something that beat the horror of a ghost. The stringy hair, the partially decomposed skin, exposed bones, the lack of true eyes. Aonir's eyes shot wide open with terror as the creature opened its mouth, exposing where teeth and tongue use to reside. The clothing on it, or what remained of clothing, seemed like a child's dress. Aonir began to swim backward as quickly as she could, unable to take her eyes off of the hideous creature before her. It was then that it let out an ear-piercing shriek. The sudden jolt caused Aonir to lose speed, having to catch her breath from the fierceness of her heart's beating.
The ghoul began to swim for her, if you could call the movements swimming. Aonir's movements became even more frantic, desperate to get to shore and run. She could feel her body trying to give out on her, the wave's force overmatching her strength and slowly draining her energy. The creature let out another shriek, louder than the first. This one seemed to make rocks from the ceiling drop, one of which tapped Aonir on the head sending her under for a moment. Her head resurfaced, a small trail of blood began to trickle down her head, onto her forehead, then down the side of her nose beside her left eye.
Suddenly, her hand hit mud, she had reached the shore. She frantically pulled her heavy, water-drenched body up onto the dirt and clay. Her legs weak, she looked back to see the creature begin to rise from the water, its shape contorting, twisting, transforming into a monstrous ghost. It looked like brownish black cloth-like tendrils and scrawny, boney arms swinging below. Aonir pushed away, her body too weak to stand. The ghost began making its way, flying over the water, toward her. Aonir continued to scoot back until her back hit something soft, she froze. Something warm and wet fell near her right hand. She gazed down to see what looked to be a piece of bloody meat. With a gulp, she looked up.
Aonir screamed. Just above her, standing clearly of its own strength, was a partially devoured and mangled Trish, her pickaxe clutched tightly in hand. Trish grunted and raised the pickaxe, swinging it down at Aonir. Aonir rolled left just as the axe fell and got on all fours, glancing over to see Trish's form twist and deform into a ghost as well. She looked to the ghost that was over the water to see that it was now over land and moving ever-closer to her. With all her strength, Aonir pushed to her feet and darted right, down the tunnel. She halted only for a moment to choose a path to take at the fork, and then proceeded east, through an open area and around. The shrieks of undead growing louder and more frequent as she made her way through the dark tunnels. Aonir could not take it, her eyes practically closed as she went. Following the wall the best she could, she smacked into something, falling backwards onto the hard tracks with a thud and a shriek.
"Aonir!" Zakk's familiar voice rang out.
"Zakk!" Aonir shouted opening her eyes to see a dust and dirt covered Zakk before her, sword in hand.
Zakk pulled her up and held her close to him, "What happened? I told you to stay put."
"You did not! I told you where I was going!" Aonir argued while gasping for breath.
"Oh, well, whatever the case, we have to get out of here." Zakk ordered, turning around and leading Aonir south, through the tunnel and down through a door.
"How did you know that door was open?" Aonir asked.
"I didn't, we got lucky." Zakk replied, darting up the wooden stairs, passed the ghost of a child.
Aonir nearly freaked at the sight of the small ghost hopping up the stairs but with what she had been through, this ghost was a small threat, possibly the smallest of them all. Her mind was racing; trying to gather together everything she had witnessed and put it into words that would not make her appear insane when Zakk froze in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" Aonir muttered in a whisper.
"We've got company." He said sternly, his eyes focused to the red dots, eyes, shining at them from the darkness ahead.
Meanwhile, in Port Jeuno, Plureague had already given each person a job to do while breaking into the airship. Giraenis would use one of his great swords to pry open the door, allowing Plureague, Smedile, Kitaku, and Ayame to enter the ship. Tara will stand watch along with Hien, Smedile's dragon. If everything went smoothly, the team should be able to gather the information they needed, if there was any to be found, and then scatter away from the scene with little sign of their presence. Plureague decided to keep Giraenis outside the ship to help keep an eye on Tara, since he trusted her about as far as he could throw her.
Giraenis found it odd, and somewhat insulting, that his purpose was more manual labor than anything else but he kept his mouth shut about it. Tara had her usual attitude about being told to stand guard and managed to give Plureague a good death glare before following instructions. Smedile told Hien to fly over the city and keep watch, which the little dragon did with haste. Kitaku, who had been pulled into his ninja gear again, felt sick to his stomach about breaking into the airship but Ayame kept him on a leash. Smedile, who was still the curious kitty, was beginning to feel tired from all the stress.
"All right, go, Giraenis." Plureague whispered.
Giraenis nodded and wedged the sword's blade between the sliding doors and began to lean against the hilt of the sword. The doors of the ship groaned under the pressure and slowly slid open. Plureague raised his hand, palm to Giraenis, ordering him to hold his weight. He looked to Ayame and Kitaku, who had placed themselves on top of the ship, for the sign of 'all clear'. Ayame nodded to Plureague and he waved them down, dashing into the ship as he did so. Tara watched as Ayame, Kitaku, and Smedile rushed into the ship after Plureague and she rolled her eyes at their eagerness.
"What did you mean, Tara?" Giraenis whispered.
"About what, Galka?" Tara said coldly, her back to him as she watched for guards.
"About Plureague. That comment just before we went down by the auction house."
"Heh, that is something I do not have to share with," She began as a light began to emit from the stone in her pocket, "damn. Be right back."
Tara took off around to the other side of the ship, leaving Giraenis to hold onto the sword. She pulled the stone from her pocket to see a Dark Knight, his surrounding green and grey, holding a scythe to what appeared to be two people. She looked closer and saw that there was a man with a woman, both in green clothing, surrounded by skeletons. Her expression grew filled with rage and she thrust the stone into her pocket.
"My lord, take me to the Dark Knight." She said harshly. "A strange mist enveloped her and she vanished.
Inside the ship, Plureague lead the way through the rubble, stepping over wooden planks that had been forced up. Ayame could not believe that an airship could be in such good condition after crashing into something with such force. Kitaku did not care; he just wished he was not in his ninja attire. Smedile, on the other hand, was in awe with how the ship looked. Ruins, yet salvageable. This continued until Plureague caught a glimpse of something in the passenger hall. Covering the walls and floor were the same blue crystals that he had seen in San'd Oria. Inside the crystal were several passengers, about four.
"In here. Look at this." Plureague said in a hastened whisper.
The group entered and saw the sight, jaws dropped. The crystals were light blue, glowing as if gaining energy from something within the ship. They gathered together at the back and stretched out toward the doorway where the party stood like vines or roots. The roots extended out from the rear wall, along the ceiling, floor and side walls themselves as they seemed to reach out like arms. Smedile about fell backwards in shock at the site but everyone's trance broke when Ayame spoke.
"President Karst!"
Everyone shot a glance at Ayame, who had bolted through the door and was standing near the back of the room by the core of the crystal. Plureague followed, waving his hand to tell the others to follow him in. Smedile was a little hesitant but she went in anyway.
"By the goddess…" Plureague whispered as he got a clear view of the trapped passengers.
"President Karst…Lord Lucius…all of them…" Ayame whispered, her voice cracking slightly. Plureague went to place a hand on her shoulder but she jerked away. "Whoever did this…shall pay dearly. You will make sure of that, will you not, Plureague?"
"Yes, but what of you?" Plureague asked.
"I'll keep Kitaku in my custody; after all, he is a ninja." Ayame explained, Kitaku's groan of annoyance ignored, "I failed my duty. I was too late. So I'll stay behind."
"Then why drag me through the mud if you're the one that failed?" Kitaku argued.
"Because, I arrested you so you are my responsibility. Where I go, you go."
"Argh! Why did my mother have to fall in love with a ninja?"
"Hey, pops," Smedile blurted out to Plureague, "you ok?"
Plureague fell to one knee, his hand grasping his chest, as he muttered, "I'm not sure…"
"Giraenis! Get in here!" Ayame shouted.
Giraenis, who was still wondering where Tara had run off to, heard the sudden call and looked around him. No one was near him. He carefully wedged the sword in place then slipped underneath the blade and into the ship. Giraenis rushed to the passenger hall to see the large mass of crystal and Plureague kneeling, obviously in pain, while being surrounded by everyone else.
"What happened here?" He asked as he pushed over to Plureague.
"Don't know, he was starrring into that rrrock and fell all of a sudden." Smedile stated.
"Get…me…out…of here…" Plureague strained.
Giraenis quickly picked him up and jogged out of the room, under the blade, and out into the street. Smedile followed, leaving Ayame and Kitaku in the ship. She whistled, the sound echoing out of the ship seconds before she did, to call Hien. Plureague looked up at Giraenis, his body so weak that all he could see was a grey blur.
"Where did Tara go?" Plureague asked.
"Don't know, she just ran off." Giraenis answered.
"We'll go to Bastok. She'll know where to meet us." Plureague muttered.
"What about you, grrramps?" Smedile blurted out as she let Hien fly off. "You know that you're too weak to cast a teleporrrt spell."
"Like hell I am." Plureague argued, his tone still weak, as he pushed himself free from Giraenis' grip. He pulled a staff from his bag and used it as a crutch then looked to Smedile and Giraenis and shook his head. "Like I said, we shall go to Bastok and wait. Besides, I have something very important I must do."
Giraenis stared at his friend for a moment then lowered his head. "Understood, Plureague."
Smedile shrugged. Giraenis stretched for a moment while Plureague began casting. The team would camp out by the crag for the rest of the night then run to Bastok. Plureague felt something was wrong but he kept his thoughts to himself as the team vanished from Jeuno.
Meanwhile, inside Gusgen Mines, Zakk was facing off against a wave of skeletons. Six of them had pulled up from the rocky ground, red eyes hunting for life to destroy. Zakk swung his old sword, noticeably used and worn from the years of him being inside the mines. Rust had settled on parts of the blade and the hilt had imprints from where his hand always rested. Each skeleton wielding a scythe, the blade fully rusted and black with rot. Aonir kept close, her back to his, as they carefully battled the skeletons. Aonir flung her pickaxe, catching one skeleton by the skull and cracking it.
The two continued this for several minutes, even hours, until only one remained. The skeleton slashed. Zakk lifted his sword to parry. The only sound that arose was a loud clink followed by the sound of torn flesh. Aonir spun around to see Zakk fall backwards against the wall, his arm clutching his chest and a thick, red liquid flowing over his arm and onto the ground. Zakk slid down the wall and sat on the ground, his body hunched over in pain. Aonir rushed over and stood between Zakk and the skeleton.
"Aonir, just run!" Zakk winced.
"No. You've helped me since I came into this place. It's my job to help so I am going to stay." Aonir shouted.
"Run, you idiot!"
"NEVER!" Aonir said as she gained a white aura around her.
"D-divine seal?" Zakk stuttered under his breath. "She's a white mage?"
Aonir glared at the approaching skeleton. She then cast a spell on Zakk, it was not very strong but it halted the bleeding and created a scar in the place of the wound. She then focused on the monster that was now running toward her.
"HOLY!" Aonir shouted, unleashing a wave of light from within the skeleton's body.
"Shit." Zakk exclaimed as he shielded his eyes from the bright light.
When the light vanished, the skeleton's body was in shambles. The only thing left in tact was the scythe. Aonir looked back to Zakk and smiled weakly, her eyes empty.
"My master…would be proud…of me…" She muttered, her eyes rolling back into their sockets. Her body fell limp and collapsed onto the dusty floor of Gusgen, right at Zakk's feet.
"AONIR!" Zakk shouted.
"Hah, hah, hah." A male voice echoed.
Zakk's body went rigid, he looked around, frantically searching for the source of the laughter.
"That was fun. I wasn't expecting that little flea to be a mage. Not a white mage, at least." The voice laughed. "What a bonus."
"Where are you?" Zakk shouted.
A figure with black hair walked out from the shadows wearing black armor and carrying a scythe on his back. He was a Hume, his black hair stringy and long.
"Heh, heh, here I am." He said, "Looks like my friends didn't finish you off. That white mage put a damper on my game."
"Game? You asshole!"
"Tsk, tsk, such language from a paladin." The man laughed.
"Why would a dark knight be in this hell? You're powerless over undead." Zakk said with a determined grin.
"Yeah, but they listen better than those infernal beastmen." He said with an evil grin as he pulled the scythe from his back. "But, time to finish this."
The man stood in front of Aonir's body and licked his lips, his scythe clutched in his hands.
"Don't you dare!" Zakk shouted.
"Heh, woman blood is so fun…too bad she can't scream when she's unconscious." He said as he lifted his blade.
"NO!" Zakk shouted, his body still in too much pain to move.
The scythe fell, cutting through the air with a swift motion. Smooth, as if no friction were involved. Zakk could not take his eyes off of the blade's edge as it came closer to Aonir's body. Suddenly, there was a loud clunk. The scythe had stopped, not even inches away from Aonir's back. In the scythe's path was another scythe, a bone-like scythe. Holding it was a woman in black mage attire. Her expression filled with annoyance and her eyes filled with rage.
"Thoric…" She said harshly, her eyes narrowing.
"Well, well, if it isn't Tara." Thoric said with noted sarcasm. "What brings you here?"
"You know well my purpose. Our lord as use of this girl. Do not touch her for she is mine." Tara said coldly.
"What of the paladin?" He asked.
"That is out of my hands. Do not touch this girl. I need information from her."
Thoric laughed and moved his scythe toward Tara. "They are in my territory, I don't give a shit about you're needs. Why should I give her to you?"
Tara lowered her scythe and pointed her hand at Thoric's throat. "If you fail to comply with my order, I shall kill you."
"You can't kill. Heh, heh." Thoric laughed.
"I killed Asht at the pier in San'd Oria…I felt nothing." She said evily.
Thoric's eyes widened, "So, what should I do? Let them go?"
"Yes. Let them go. Plureague and crew are heading toward Bastok. I'll be meeting them there." She said as she turned her back to him, "Keep you're guard up. Knews of your actions are pissing off other dark knights."
"Pssh! They can come if they like. I'll kill them as well. The more I kill, the stronger I become."
Tara looked to him and shook her head. "Do not be blinded by your thirst for power. You have not long as it is." She vanished from view and Zakk sat in complete confusion over what he had just witnessed.
The woman looked like Aonir. The resemblance was shocking enough as it was. The dark knight huffed and vanshed from sight as well, another confusing event. He pushed up from the wall, his body somewhat stiff, and crawled to Aonir's side. She had no visible wounds and seemed to be asleep. This was a relief but something besides the two people that had been with he and Aonir was confusing him. How could Aonir have so much power that using it would cause her to lose consciousness? He lay down beside her and closed his eyes, ready for a uneasy nap as he waited for her to wake up. He made a silent vow to himself to figure out Aonir and what connection she had with that woman just as the world faded from knowledge and he fell into dream.