Chapter Thirteen

The Garamsythe Waterway, under Rabanastre
Year 706 of the Old Valendian Calendar

The first thing Balthier noticed was the smell, an awful, pungent odor filling the air. After that, he heard the sound of water rushing and felt cold stone underneath him.
Balthier let a stifled groan, straining to sit up. His movements were restricted, and he found with dismay that his legs were tangled up in the hoverbike's wreckage. Balthier moved his focus from that situation and took in his surroundings. It seemed like an elaborate sewer system, filthy water rushing along pathways and over waterfalls. Everything was made of damp, smelly stone, stretching onward in a network of massive tunnels. The place looked more like a maze or an underground citadel than a sewer; walkways and stairs built for maintenance lined and crisscrossed the waterways, providing an easy path, and dim lanterns hung here and there. Balthier had heard of the Garamsythe Waterway, a sewer passage that ran underneath Rabanastre. The place was infamous as an easy way to sneak undetected from one point to another, if you were willing to put up with sewage. Balthier deducted that the hoverbike must have hit a storm drain and fallen through to the waterway. The Garamsythe Waterway was below even Lowtown, Rabanastre's underground slums, so that meant they had fallen quite a ways. It was a miracle Balthier wasn't hurt.
Balthier's legs were still hopelessly trapped in the hoverbike's tangled wreckage, so he decided to check on his companions. Thief was sprawled unconscious next to the hoverbike, still clutching the Dusk Shard tightly. He looked surprisingly fine. Fran knelt near the hoverbike's front fiddling with a few components. She looked up as Balthier glanced over at her.
"You're awake," she said before turning back to the pieces of her hoverbike. Her face and voice showed no emotion, but Balthier could tell she was frustrated.
"Are you alright, Fran?" Balthier asked.
Fran nodded. "I've healed both your wounds. If only this hoverbike were so easily fixed."
Balthier let out a sigh. He knew Fran had worked long and hard on that thing, and it wasn't in her nature to abandon such a project, but this was a lost cause.
"Fran," Balthier said, trying to keep his tone gentle. "While I'm certain whatever flaw caused us to crash could have been easily fixed, I believe the damage to its frame is irreversible."
Fran looked up from the pieces she worked with and stared at the twisted wreckage that had once been her hoverbike. She let out a sigh, a rare expression of emotion.
"Perhaps you are right."
"Now that that's all settled," Balthier said, "could you perhaps help me get out of this thing?"
Fran nodded, reluctantly abandoning her pieces and moving to help him. With her assistance, Balthier managed to extract himself from the wreckage. Thief was still out cold, so Balthier sat down on the hoverbike, and Fran went back to rifling longingly through the rubble.
"What will we do know?" Fran asked, setting down another piece of hoverbike.
"We need to get out of these sewers," Balthier replied. "I suppose we'll have to walk."
"And what about him?" Fran nodded over towards Thief. Balthier let out a sigh; there was that to consider.
"Well, we can't very well leave him here," Balthier said after a moment's consideration. "I suppose we'll have to take him with us."
Fran nodded and was about to speak when a slight groan captured their attention. Thief sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his head. His gaze darting suspiciously between Balthier and Fran, eventually settling on Fran. He stared at her tall white ears with wide eyes.
"Not many Viera where you come from, Thief?" Balthier asked, half-amused by his shock.
"It's Vaan," Thief said. He turned back to Fran. "Sorry."
"Well, Fran is special," Balthier continued, "in that she'd deign to partner with a human."
"Oh?" Fran set her gaze on Balthier. "Like a sky pirate who chooses to steal through the sewers?"
"Pirates?" Vaan suddenly jumped to his feet, eyes wide. "You're sky pirates? So you have an airship?"
"It's Balthier," Balthier cut him off before he could continue, trying not to let the puppy-dog adoration in this kid's eyes annoy him too much. The last thing he needed now was some Rabanastran kid hero-worshiping him, especially this aggravating one who'd nearly gotten them caught. They still had to get out of the waterway, after all, and Balthier was determined this kid wouldn't be any more trouble. "Listen, Thief- Vaan," Balthier corrected himself. "If you ever want to get out of these sewers, you're going to do exactly as I say. You, Fran, and I- we're all working together now, understood?"
A quiet glow attracted Balthier's attention, and he found his eyes wandering to the crystal Vaan still held tightly. That thing- it had felt just like the nethicite. Surely it couldn't be nethicite as well?
"Don't even think you're getting this," Vaan said, hiding the stone behind his back.
Balthier scoffed. "The thought never crossed my mind." He stood. "Now, time's a wasting. Let's be off, shall we?" The more time they spent lingering there, the later Balthier and Fran would be in their return, and the longer Strahl's lecture would be. Balthier was glad to have her around most of the time, be he knew he'd be in for an earful if they were too late.
Vaan still didn't look comfortable around them, but that didn't matter. Balthier wasn't thrilled about working with the kid he'd spent the last five minutes chasing, but getting out of the waterway in one piece was top priority. And, as he'd told Fran, he couldn't in good conscience leave a kid like that to be caught by the imperials.
As they left the wreckage of Fran's hoverbike and started off down the damp, smelly pathway, Balthier noticed for the first time that Vaan had a sword. It was a short one in a crude sheath, but it was a weapon. The kid hadn't gone blundering into the palace completely unprepared after all. And he'd be able to hold his own should they run into any guards. That, at least, was a relief.
"Hey, wait! Look down there! What is that?" Vaan dashed away from Balthier and Fran and leaned over the pathway's edge, staring down into the filthy waters below. Balthier bit back a sharp remark about running off, but walked over to where Vaan pointed, nonetheless. Three corpses clad in Dalmascan armor like those who had fought in the palace garden lay lifeless under the water's surface.
"Insurgents," Balthier said, frowning. "Most likely they thought to take advantage of the lax watch while the fete's on… to feed the good consul a length of steel for his supper. I should think Vayne used to such hospitality." Balthier raised one hand to stroke his chin as he thought aloud. "Clever… He used himself as the bait to draw them near, and then sent in the air brigade. A fine, bloody banquet…"
"Insurgents?" Vaan said. "Then they're really real? The Dalmascan resistance? I knew we couldn't sit by and let the Empire stand over us forever!"
The way Vaan spat those words, 'the Empire,' brought back a fresh pain inside Balthier. In his mind, he saw the village of Lemahl, torn to pieces by the Empire. And he'd been a part of that.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Balthier said to Vaan, dragging himself back to the present. "The insurgents couldn't have had large forces to begin with, and they took heavy casualties in that battle up above. Your Dalmascan resistance will have taken quite the blow, if not been torn apart entirely. Just like Vayne planned, I'm sure."
"Argh…" Vaan kicked a nearby stone. "I hate the Empire! They've taken everything away from us!"
The pain and anger simmering in Vaan gaze struck deep. The kid couldn't be more than seventeen, and yet he'd had to endure such pain and loss. The image of Lemahl resurfaced in Balthier's memory again, that little girl, blond hair sticking to her sooty, tear-stained face… Archadia, the Empire he'd clung to so dearly… Balthier couldn't deny that Vaan's hatred was well founded.
Balthier turned away from the dead insurgents in the water, shoving his own pain back to the dark corner he'd resigned it to. "We'd best keep moving," he said. "You want to get back to the surface, right Vaan?"
"Yeah," Vaan replied. "Let's go."

The Garamsythe Waterway was surprisingly empty save for Balthier, Fran, and Vaan. There were no insurgents or soldiers, and least, not yet. The three of them tramped on through the putrid sewers, headed towards the exit. At least, they took every upward path, and Balthier hoped that would bring them to an exit. They had just crested another damp stairway with a scratching sound caught Balthier's attention.
"Wait," he said, raising a hand to stop the others. "Did you hear that?"
"Over there!" Vaan said, pointing behind them. "Rats!"
At first, Balthier thought Vaan's cry of 'rats' was just an exclamation of frustration. Then he saw that there really were rats, massive rats the size of cats with mangy brown fur and sharp yellow eyes. The massive creatures scrambled up the stairways behind them, hissing and chattering.
"Really?" Balthier let out a sigh. He expected trouble from soldiers and rebels and everything in between, but rats? And these rodents were really going to run up there and attack them? He knew their brains were small, but they really thought they stood a chance?
Apparently, they did. One rat jumped up and sank its teeth into Balthier's pantleg, and he quickly kicked the disgusting creature away. Unfortunately, there were more behind it.
"Leave this to me!" Vaan said with a cocky grin, whipping out his short sword with a flourish that failed to be anything close to impressive. He decapitated two rats with a precise movement, and the others turned tail and ran back down the stairs. Vaan slid his sword back into its sheath with a grin.
"Impressive," Balthier said. "I take it this isn't your first time taking on overgrown sewer rats?"
"I train down here all the time!" Vaan said. "I gotta be ready to take on the world when I get my own airship!"
"Ah-ha," Balthier said, half amused by the kid's ridiculous dreams. "I take it that's what your little break-in was, too? Practice for your future sky pirating career?"
"Yeah!" Vaan said, clearly unaware Balthier was mocking him.
"And how do you think your parents feel about that?" Balthier asked.
Pain washed over Vaan's face, and he stared at the ground. That same simmering anger rested in his eyes.
"They're dead," Vaan said at last.
"I see," Balthier replied, growing serious. "The war?"
Vaan shook his head. "No, they died a few years before that. Me and my brother, Reks, we lived with my friend Penelo and her family. But her parents were killed during the war. Then, when the king went to sign the treaty, the Order of the Knights went after him, you know? Reks volunteered to go with them." The anger in Vaan's eyes grew hotter as he spoke. "When Captain Basch killed the king… Reks was there. After everything was over, the Empire tortured him, 'cause they thought he was working with the captain! He… never said a word after that. He died… just about a year ago." Vaan's story reflected that of so many others: lives torn and destroyed by war. Destroyed by Archadia. The Archadia Balthier had grown up in was gone, and all that was left was the evil Empire everyone hated. Balthier knew that. It shouldn't even trouble him because all that was Ffamran's life, and he'd left it behind. Yet still those bitter memories refused to remain caged for even a moment.
"There's a lot of us in Rabanastre," Vaan continued. "Orphans, you know? But someday I'm gonna be a sky pirate! Then I'll be free to go where I will! I won't have to worry about the Empire anymore."
"We should move," Fran's voice interrupted. She'd been so silent the whole time Balthier nearly forgot she was there. "I hear voices up ahead, getting closer. Soldiers, perhaps."
Balthier nodded slowly. "Come on then, let's move." He started off, motioning for Fran and Vaan to follow.
"Wait!" Vaan jogged up to walk beside Balthier. "What's it like? Being a sky pirate?"
"It's no walk in the park, if that's what you think," Balthier replied. "It's easier when armature thieves don't come along and take your loot. Unless, of course, you want to give that back, now."
Vaan scowled, moving one hand to cover the pocket where he'd stashed his treasure. "No way! It's mine."
At least that got Vaan to stop pestering him. Balthier couldn't stand that hero-worshiping, puppy-dog look Vaan gave him when he talked about sky pirates. Sure, the kid had dreams, and that was fine, but Balthier just wished he'd leave him alone.

In the next room, a ledge loomed over the damp walkway Balthier, Fran, and Vaan tramped through. From that ledge above them, shouts and the sound of steel-on-steel echoed down. Balthier looked up sharply as those locked in combat came into view.
Four imperial knights chased a woman in a white dress, pinning her against the ledge. Seeing she was trapped, the woman spun around to face them. Her golden-blond hair framed her face, swishing as she turned to face her enemies. One knight lunged at her, but the woman slashed out her sword, catching a joint in his armor and thrusting it straight through. The soldier tumbled backward and landed dead on the walkway far below.
"W-Who'll be next?" the woman asked. Her blue-grey eyes glittered with fear, though she stood firm. The soldiers closed in, baring their blades and preparing for the final blow. It was obvious she didn't stand a chance.
Vaan dashed away from Balthier and Fran, who were still watching the spectacle above. Balthier could barely believe his ears when he heard Vaan shouting up to the lone woman on the ledge above.
"Jump down!" Vaan called, holding out his arms. "Hurry!"
The woman spun around, letting out a gasp as she saw the three on the walkway below. She glanced between her attackers and the band of strangers below, weighing her options a moment. She only took a moment, then jumped. Vaan managed to catch her, less than gracefully, Balthier couldn't help but notice.
"There's more of them!" one of the soldiers shouted, pointing down below. The three began to climb down the ledge to the walkway below. Vaan had already put the mysterious woman down and drawn his sword, while Fran was pulling out her bow.
"Our ranks grow by the hour," Fran said as she nocked an arrow.
"And our troubles with them," Balthier replied with a sigh. He agreed with Fran's sentiment; when he flew into the palace grounds that night, all this hadn't been his plan. Nevertheless, there were three imperial soldiers to deal with at the moment. Balthier whipped out his rifle for the battle ahead.
Fran's arrows took down one of the three knights before he could even get to the bottom of the ledge. One knight flew right at Vaan, who blocked him with his short sword. It was obvious right away that Vaan had never used his sword against another man before. The motions of blocking the knight's sword came awkwardly, and Vaan barely managed to keep himself alive. Such an inept attempt at swordplay was painful to watch; how could someone with the privilege to wield a sword stand to do so that clumsily?
Balthier raised his rifle, delivering a few shots to lend Vaan a hand. The knight was finished in moments.
Fran sent a rush of fire magic at the knight her and the mysterious woman were fighting, but he managed to dodge it. The woman in the white dress leapt at him, locking him in an intense swordfight. She was better than Vaan with a sword, but not better than the knight. He shoved her back with a sweep of his blade, and she fell to the ground, face contorted in pain. The woman dropped her sword as she fell, grasping one arm, eyes wide in terror as her foe advanced. Crimson blood ran down the woman's arm, dripping onto the damp stone beneath her. The knight moved in to finish her, but Balthier hit him with a precise shot, and he fell, motionless.
The enemy taken care of, Fran dropped her bow and knelt on the cold stone beside the mysterious woman. She reached out to take her wounded arm.
"I-I'm okay…" the woman said, breaking off with a cry off pain. The look on her face told quite a different story.
"Hold still a moment," Fran said in her usual cool manner. A familiar white light pulsed from her hands, illuminating the wound. The woman stared with wide eyes as Fran worked to heal the wound, the deep gash slowly closing.
"Oh… Thank you," the woman said, shakily, swinging her gaze over the three of them. "A-All of you."
"No problem!" Vaan said, a little too enthusiastically. Balthier understood; it was every teenaged boy's dream to save a beautiful damsel in destress. However, Balthier was a little more suspicious of this newcomer.
"Let me guess- you're with the insurgence," Balthier said, narrowing his eyes. The woman cast him an equally unfriendly glare.
"Resistance," she corrected. "And yes, I am." The woman glanced back up at the ledge. "There were… others with me, but…" Pain glinted in her eyes, and she let her gaze fall back to the ground.
"I'm sorry," Fran said, with genuine sympathy. Apparently, she didn't see this woman as a threat, either.
"I'm Vaan," Vaan said, still with that eager look in his eyes. "And this is Fran and Balthier. What's your name?"
Balthier bit back a frustrated remark. The kid had to go out and spew their names to this random stranger? Did he want to get caught?
"I'm… Amalia," the woman said, standing up. Fran had finished healing her wound. As she stood, a sudden pulse of bright light gushed through the air, along with a weird, horribly familiar feeling Balthier knew only he could sense. Vaan pulled the source of the sudden light out of his pocket: the Dusk Shard. Amalia let out a gasp. Balthier could feel something in the sudden pulse of power, a feeling of… recognition? Some strange, eager longing, coming from that stone. And in Amalia's eyes, there, too, was recognition. She knew what that thing was.
"Now isn't that impressive?" Balthier said under his breath. He trusted Amalia even less now.
"Don't get any ideas!" Vaan said, pulling the stone back against him. "I said it's mine!"
"You stole that?" Amalia said, eyes wide in horror.
"Yeah!" Vaan replied with a big grin, like this was a complement. Balthier rolled his eyes. How could he be so naive?
The glow from the stone died away. Vaan tucked it safely into his pocket, then turned back to Amalia.
"Hey, you should come with us!" he said. "It'll be safer than going on your own." Vaan turned to Balthier. "You know, if you're okay with it."
The last thing Balthier wanted was to bring some insurgent with them. Keeping Vaan out of trouble was bad enough; he didn't need to keep an eye on suspicious little Amalia, too. However, judging from both Vaan and Fran's looks, Balthier was outvoted. And could he really just leave her there to be killed by the knights? Besides, she obviously had some connection to that stone, and that got Balthier's curiosity piqued.
"Fine," he said at last, less than happy about it. Maybe Amalia would just say no, and that would be the end of that.
Amalia pulled herself together, holding her head high in an attempt to look regal rather than shaken, scared, and everything else she was.
"Well, I… uh… My situation demands… that I accept what help I can find, albeit from thieves," she stammered. "I will accompany you to the surface, and no farther."
Balthier couldn't help but smirk. The poor girl's attempt at confidence was laughable.
"We should hurry, then," Fran said. "When the guards don't report in, they'll come looking for us."
"She's right," Balthier said. "Let's move."
Amalia picked up her sword from where she'd dropped it and slid it back into its sheath, then nodded.
"Very well," she said, striding away down the path ahead. Balthier bit back a sigh and started off after her. He had a feeling working with this Amalia wouldn't be an enjoyable experience.

…

Amalia. Her name was Amalia, at least for the time being. That was one thing she had to remember, especially around these people. Amalia didn't trust the ragtag trio of sky pirates one bit; really, she wasn't even certain if they all trusted each other. At least, the other two treated Vaan like an outsider. But she didn't care. She just wanted to get back to the surface as quickly as possible and see what casualties the resistance had taken. The events proceeding Amalia's unexpected rescue played in her mind over and over again: all her comrades died trying to protect her, falling one by one to the mass of imperial knights. The image of each of their faces, their last screams flooded her mind. Maybe Vossler had been right. Maybe she should have stayed behind during the raid…
But let her friends and helpers for all these years risk their lives while she sat in safety? Amalia couldn't do that. But in the end, it was her presence that had got them all killed. Before that, however, they'd gotten separated from Vossler and his division. Perhaps they were still alive. They had to be. Without Vossler, Amalia didn't know what she'd do. But until then, she had to be strong. She could hold her own. She always had.
"Are you alright?"
Amalia turned at the sound of Fran's thickly accented voice.
"Uh, yes," she replied curtly. Amalia had managed to get through most of this journey without speaking to the three thieves, and she liked it that way. The less she spoke to them, the less likely they were to realize who she really was. That was unlikely anyway, but Vossler had told her to always be careful around outsiders.
Fran fell into step beside Amalia, behind the pair of Balthier and Vaan. Those two were locked in some conversation about sky pirating that Vaan seemed far more interested in than Balthier.
"You seem troubled," Fran continued. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I'm fine," Amalia replied. She couldn't trust these people, she couldn't tell them anything, much less spill out her worries to them. A listening ear would have been greatly appreciated, but Amalia couldn't risk revealing some secret about the resistance or herself. She wasn't supposed to talk to people outside the resistance, not even ordinary citizens, much less these shady characters. She could talk to Vossler when she finally got back to base. Then, everything would be fine. Amalia clung to that.

…

"Over there!" Vaan shouted, abruptly cutting off his interrogation. At least, it felt like an interrogation. The kid had been asking Balthier ever question possible about being a sky pirate and what it was like and how he could possibly become one. The relentless questioning had gone on for who knew how long, and Balthier was glad it was finally over.
Vaan pointed at a set of black metal gates. "That way leads to Lowtown," he said. "I get in here through there all the time."
"We're back at the surface?" Amalia asked, speaking for what seemed like the first time. Though she didn't use words, Amalia had communicated quiet clearly that she didn't trust them. That was fine; Balthier didn't trust her either. However, he was quite curious as to who she was and what she knew about the Dusk Shard. He hoped she wouldn't slip away before he had a chance to ask her.
"Let's go, before the guards catch up with us," Fran said, nodding towards the gate.
"Yes, let's hurry," Amalia said, starting off towards the exit with an air of haste around her. Clearly, she didn't want to spend any more time with Balthier and the others. He, however, still hadn't had his chance to learn what she knew. Perhaps she even knew if the Dusk Shard was nethicite or not.
If Balthier wanted his answers, he'd have to act soon. But what was he going to do? Go up there and interrogate the poor girl? With how tight-lipped she'd been, he doubted Amalia would talk any other way.
"Are you coming?" Fran's taciturn voice broke through Balthier's ponderings. Vaan had already started off after Amalia, and Fran hung a little behind them. Balthier made no reply and started off. He'd get his answers as soon as there was an opportunity. Hopefully, that wouldn't be too late.

On the other side of the gate, a startling sight awaited. Balthier came to a halt beside Amalia, staring at the row of rifles aimed at them from a ledge high above. At least a dozen imperial knights were up there, pinning them down.
"Stay where you are!" a familiar voice called down. It took Balthier a few moments to place it, but then he realized: Vayne Solidor, Rabanastre's new consul. Vayne emerged from behind the row of knights, descending the staircase with four more guards. His presence surprised Balthier; the consul was heading up the search in the sewers? But, then again, Vayne had obviously known the resistance would make their move that night. Perhaps he was just the kind of man who preferred to do his own dirty work.
Upon seeing Vayne's face, Amalia let out a gasp, a searing look of hatred rushing over her face. Balthier grabbed her arm before she could rush out at him and get mowed down by the row of guards.
"Now is not the time," he hissed to her. Amalia swung her venom filled gaze from Vayne to Balthier; it wasn't all angry; fear and confusion flickered there, too. She stared at him a few moments then turned her stormy eyes back to Vayne.
Vayne approached, his gaze sweeping over the group, finally settling on Amalia. A satisfied smile flickered over his lips, and Amalia's simmering look of fear and hate intensified.
"Bring them," Vayne said, turning away and motioning to his guards. They quickly surrounded the group, pushing them along to follow Vayne out of the sewers. The whole time, Amalia's gaze never left Vayne.

…

Balthier, Fran, Vaan, and Amalia had all been handcuffed by the time they were led out into Lowtown by the division of knights. Citizens crowded around the procession, gawking as the four prisoners were led in chains to the stairway leading up into Rabanastre proper. They stopped there, and Vayne talked with one of the knights about arranging transport for the prisoners. As they lingered, the crowd of murmuring Rabanastrans grew.
As much as Balthier disliked being made a public spectacle, he had more important things to worry about at the moment. He could easily pick the locks on his cuffs, but then what? With so many knights around, he wasn't likely to get away unharmed, and there would be no way to free Fran or the others. Besides, with all those bystanders flocking around, any fight would surely result in innocent casualties. It seemed there was nothing to do but wait.
"I have to do something…" Amalia mumbled under her breath from her place beside Balthier. She was trying very hard to hide the panic on her face, and perhaps she would fool most, but not Balthier.
"Start moving," one of the guards said, shoving Amalia forward. Apparently, they'd decided where to take them.
"These people have done nothing!" Amalia said suddenly. "Release them!"
No one took any heed of her, of course.
"What are you doing?" Vaan asked.
"I'm… thinking," Amalia replied, shutting her eyes, as if that would block the fear and panic in her gaze from the world's view. Balthier almost felt sorry for her: so scared and struggling so hard to hide it, her cover of bravery corroding so quickly in this hopeless situation.
"Wait!" A voice shouted from the throng of gathered citizens. A girl with blond pigtails broke from the crowd, rushing straight towards Vaan until the guards caught her. She looked on the brink of tears.
"He didn't know what he was doing!" the girl pleaded. "You have to let him go! You have to!"
"Penelo!" Vaan called, worry on his face. Evidently, he knew this girl. "Sorry. I guess that dinner will have to wait."
"I told you!" Penelo shouted back. Tears leaked out of her eyes and streaked down her cheeks.
"That's enough!" One of the guards holding Vaan struck him in the back of the head, and he dropped to his knees.
"Leave him alone!" Penelo all but screamed, somehow breaking free from the guards and racing towards Vaan. Balthier could already see it in his mind: the guards instinctively whipping out their weapons, Penelo falling to the floor in a bloody mess. He wasn't sitting back and watching while that happened. Balthier pulled away from the guards, putting himself in Penelo's path. He grabbed the first thing in his pocket he could reach with his hands cuffed and held it out to her: a handkerchief? That worked.
"Hold on to this for me, won't you?" Balthier said. "Just until I bring Vaan back safe." He hoped she saw the hidden message behind those words and that token; don't get yourself killed, because I'm bringing him back. Of course, that meant Balthier had just signed on to babysit little Thief for a while longer. Oh, well; it wasn't like he could just leave the kid rotting in prison, anyways.
Penelo tentatively took the handkerchief. Her teary gaze met Balthier's, and she nodded slowly.
"On your feet!" One of the guards roughly pulled Vaan back up, then turned to Balthier. "You, over here!"
"Alright, alright," Balthier said with a sigh. "Edgy, aren't we?"

The four prisoners were led out of Lowtown and to Rabanastre's aerodrome. There, the guards talked to the staff about departure. Balthier didn't have to reach out to Strahl; she made contact as soon as they entered the aerodrome.
"I can't believe you!" she all but shouted. "You had to get caught? Again?! I thought you were going to be careful this time!"
"Don't worry," Balthier replied. "I'll be back soon. I always am."
"You'd better be!" Strahl said. "Oh, if only there was something I could do to help!"
 That was a common sentiment he heard from Strahl. Whenever he and Fran got into a jam, or even just telling her about it afterward, Strahl would lament that there was nothing she could do to help.
"Just be here when I get back. Don't let YPA take you, alright?" Balthier said, trying to sound comforting. Unfortunately, that wasn't his strong suite.
"Easier said than done," Strahl scoffed. "Just hurry back, okay?"
"I will," Balthier replied.
"Over here!" one of the guards motioned for the four bound prisoners to follow him towards a small transport. They all started off, but a voice interrupted.
"Wait." It was Vayne. They all stopped. What could Vayne want now?
"Not her." Vayne walked up to Amalia staring down at her with dark satisfaction. "I have other plans for this one."
Balthier didn't like the look in Vayne's eyes. Yes, Amalia was a member of the resistance, but what did Vayne want with her? It could just be interrogation, but the way he said it made it seem like something more important. The guards compliantly guided Amalia away from the others, towards a different transport.
"These thieves are to be sent to the Nalbina Dungeons," Vayne said to the remaining guards. "I entrust you with their safe transport."
The guards replied with a unison cry of "Sir!" then led Balthier, Fran, and Vaan towards the other transport. On to the Nalbina Dungeons, was it? A nasty place, to say the least. But Balthier had a feeling it was a kinder fate than Vayne had in store for Amalia.