Chapter 11, Into the dark

The night still remained but was nearing its end as the Returners reached the destination that Setzer led them too. In order for him to find the way they had been forced to widen their magical lights a little during the ride, even if it had been a great risk. A few times they had heard imperial choppers in the distance, each time turned out all lights and stopped. But even though searchlights had run over the ground they had missed, by luck and avoiding skills.

    The flyers hadn't overall seemed very spirited, obviously not believing that the escapees had gotten this far south yet. Still the Returners knew that the enemy was coming closer, and they had to hurry. Haste wasn't easy however as there were eleven of those, and Clyde had only managed to get them four more chocobos that the eleven warriors had to share. The birds weren't used to carrying more than one grown person at the time which gradually but steadily slowed them down.

    When Setzer announced that they had arrived at their goal, the chocobos showed proof of being more intelligent than they looked by letting out relieved kwehs.

    The albino man jumped off the bird he had shared with Strago and held up his hand in the darkness. The magical flame shed its light over a smooth rock sticking out of the ground. Trees whispered in the chilly ocean breeze around the group.

 "Yes, we're here," Setzer definitely concluded with a sigh of relief, "hang on for a second."

    His friends waited in puzzlement as the white-haired man ran his free hand over the cliff. Seconds ticked by, and in a distance there was the sound of more choppers. Their lights flashed through the night, but they weren't nearly close. Still, it added to the anxiety. Celes' arms reassuringly squeezed Locke's waist, and despite all he smiled.

 "Here!" Setzer hissed in triumph and hit a hidden button.

    The chocobos kwehed in surprise and the humans muttered briefly in the same as a part of the cliff neatly swung upwards to reveal a big opening. A dry, heavy smell of old air welled out.

    Setzer simply waved his hand at the scent, calmly.

 "What is this place, sir Setzer?" Cyan wondered with raised eyebrows.

 "Well… to be honest it's a grave."

 "It's a what?" the other Returners said in disbelief.

    Setzer faintly smiled.

 "Don't worry about it, I doubt Darryl would mind since we need her airship," he said, and quickly added as if to stop any more questions, "old friend of mine. She said I could have the Falcon if anything happened to her, but I hid it here as I couldn't stand the thought. But I'll have to change that fixed idea now."

    Edgar dismounted his and Gau's chocobo with an intrigued look in his eyes.

 "The Falcon?" the exile king said, "the fastest airship in the world?"

 "It's always a pleasure to work with somebody who's got your kind of knowledge," Setzer said with a wink of his eye, "we may have to fix the ship a bit since it's been down here for quite a while, so it's good to have you here, Edgar."

    He cleared his throat and motioned at the dark opening.

 "But first we have to get to it," he continued, more gravely than before, "and considering that this catacomb has been closed to humans for just as long as the ship's been here, I have no idea how safe it is monsterwise. So how should we proceed?"

 "What kind of weapons do we have at our disposal?" Edgar asked the group.

    They complied to his question in the proper manner.

    When they finally had brought out everything it was a poor collection. Cyan was all set with his katana, so that was well. But otherwise they faced a problem.

    Locke had one dagger left since his other one was back in the palace, and Relm had her magical brushes that only she could make use of. Her father had another dagger, Gau had his skills learned by animals and Sabin had his fists.

    Then there was everyone's more or less good sense of magic and the four last pieces of magicite. And of the espers, only two of them were made for attacking since Kirin and Unicorn were healers.

    Finally Clyde calmly took the four tack stars that Locke handed him with a cringe.

 "That's it," the treasure hunter grimly concluded.

    They all looked at Edgar for leadership. It happened naturally, since he had taken great responsibility together with Banon before the catastrophe. As a king he also had managed to get himself an air of trustworthiness, he was their best tactical planner. 

    As their silent vote was apparent, Edgar silently sighed and grimly scratched his hair. He was used to being a leader even in almost impossible conditions after the human world's downfall, but this wouldn't be pretty. At least the Figaro rebels had a somewhat decent supply of armor and weapons, even if it was far from the best these days.

    Being optimistic and hope for no monsters or at least weak ones weren't a good idea in their situation.

    But at least they'd be pretty much safe from the empire down in the catacombs, since the chocobos had been treated by the float spell as well. No tracks would be found leading here and it seemed to be a very backwater place.

    Well then…

 "Alright," Edgar said and let out a deep breath, "Clyde, Cyan, you two are the ones who can be best prepared for battle here. So Clyde, take a dagger. Setzer, you know the way down here so take the other. I want Setzer in the lead, Clyde follows him closest. Cyan cover our backs. Terra, accompany Cyan, Celes in the front since the both of you are our best magic users."

    He stopped to think for a moment while Clyde and Setzer armed themselves.

 "You two women take Ifrit and Maduin, as well. Just to make sure."

 "Alright," Terra grimly nodded and handed the fire esper to her blond friend.

    The ones that had received orders had split up in two groups on either side of the opening while the others stood by Edgar, waiting for his decisions.

 "Sabin, you go with Terra and Cyan… Gau, Locke, you too. And Locke, take Kirin in case we need emergency healing. Relm, you handle Unicorn. There'll probably be poisonous monsters down there, it's that kind of place. Strago, Mog and me…"

 "You will just stay in the middle and be protected, bro," Sabin resolutely stated, "you might have been healed but you're still in no shape for this."

 "None of us truly are," the king protested, unwilling to be a weak link.

 "Well, as soon as we're down there we should be able to rest for a little," Setzer said with an ironic smile, "not the coziest place to nap but we need it."

    That was yet another thing that they all could agree on. They hadn't been very well rested as they started the escape, and several hours of fleeing hadn't made it any better.

    As to remind them the helicopters roared by in the distance, closer now.

 "Shall we, then?" the gambler invited, motioning at the darkness.

    Terra walked over to the chocobos and cast another round of the float spell on them to make sure that they wouldn't leave any dangerous tracks. That done, Locke let go of the reins that he'd been keeping.

    Immediately the giant birds turned and hurried off into the night without a sound, heading back home.

    They were cute, easy to handle, and if they got stolen they'd come back anyway at any given chance. Very economical. But hard to buy for a longtime use, of course… 

    Assembling per Edgar's orders, the Returners descended into the darkness. As soon as Setzer began to close the opening, those who could work it well nervously let their magical lights rise in strength.

    The door closed with a very definite slam and echo. This caused almost all the magical flames to grow to double size with a jump.

    Looking around the warriors found themselves in the middle of a human-made tunnel. The darkness was gaping to their left and right, ahead was a stair leading down into a black void. It was completely empty but looked to overall be in pretty good shape, save the dust. At least there were no footprints to be seen on the ground, which was a good sign.

 "Now then, ladies, gentlemen and moogle," Setzer said, "there are some safety mechanisms keeping the road ahead closed, but I repeat that we should take a rest first. Just to make sure we could go deeper in of course."

 "Yeah, let's kupo go," Mog muttered and glared up at the closed door, "I don't feel that safe yet with those psychos out there."

 "This way."

    Setzer led them towards their left, and took a turn to the new right. This led to a smaller, empty room. The three walls without a door was covered with spider webs, and below those there were what looked like stone hatchets. Each one big enough to push a coffin into, if opened.

    Definitely big enough for coffins.

 (Author's note:

I'm not completely sure of the tomb's inner looks but I strongly believe there is a Genji helmet in this room. However, I leave that out of this, since it doesn't seem very natural to leave pieces of armor in treasure chests that in turn are in a catacomb, does it?)

 "Great, I'll be snoozing gently here," Relm muttered as she stepped in.

 "I'm not too fond of it either but it's all we've got," Setzer excused with a grimace.

 "Oh well…"

    Relm sat down and started digging in her depressingly light backpack. After a moment she produced the remains of half a bread, wrapped up in a piece of cloth to avoid that the crumbles fell into the pack.

 "This is all I've got left, how about you guys?" she sighed.

 "I think I've got some left," Terra said and took of her pack as well, "but there's not much after our last break…"

    She sighed as she took out about half of what Relm could provide.

 "We need to get out of this situation, fast," she grimly concluded, "alright, I say we sleep now and eat what's left after we wake up, then it'll be more efficient."

    Slightly back at dispirited, the Returners sat down on the floor. Their magical light lit up the darkness of the room, but their situation didn't seem very bright at all even if they had a moment of rest to spare. Without food they wouldn't be any match for any monster that could lurk in the dark tomb.

Gogo awoke with a groan and pressed his hand against his forehead.

    It was too damn bright…

    He blinked a few times, then glared at the room overall. Where the light came from he couldn't figure out, and he was too irritated by the sudden awakening to even bother.

    With a sour grunt he sat up in the sofa and rubbed his eyes.

    The extra door slammed into the wall. Gogo jumped by the crash.

 "Damn! What the heck are you doing?!" he growled, glaring at the opening to the bathroom.

    Kefka leaned backwards so that his head became visible in the opening. With a big, amused sneer on his pale face.

 "Still sore in the mornings?" he said with a cackle and snapped back to finish whatever he was doing.

 "Not any worse than you," Gogo growled and stood after another few seconds of collecting himself.

 "I'm smiling, see?"

    Gogo stumbled over to the door, finding the inside a rather exaggerated bathroom. Separate shower and bath tub? Come on…

    Everything in the room had a creepy shade of red, and somehow the mimic wasn't too surprised.

    Kefka smirked at him, standing in front of the porcelain washbasin with a tiny brown pot of something white in his hand. Gogo glared at his brother.

    Mornings had never been the mimic's strong side, even the monsters in the zone eater had learnt to know that well. The painful way.

    Those who had known Gogo never believed him when he mentioned morning gruffness.

    But his brother hadn't ever liked them either; the two men were both night persons.

 "You're awfully cheerful…" Gogo muttered and leaned at the doorframe, rubbing his face.

    Kefka chuckled again and put the pot down. He exchanged it for another one out of the collection of various items beside the basin. Mostly pots of different kinds looking to contain a variety of soaps, and several of them didn't even seem to ever have been opened.

 'Well, he never cared much for that kind of luxury…' Gogo absently thought.

    Kerr had been focused of complicated calculations and machines, and in the later business there was no use being hysteric about keeping clean all the time.

    At least that was the same…

 "Why did you have to turn the bloody light on like that?" the mimic grunted aloud, drawing himself from the thoughts.

 "Hey, at least I didn't pour water on your face," Kefka smirked.

    Had Gogo not been so tired, his mind would have jumped far ahead in the conversation at once and seen what was to come. But as it was…

 "Don't make me punch you…" he growled and tried to straighten up.

 "Watch it, I'm older than you," Kefka snickered without turning away from the mirror.

 "Yeah, five minutes. Big deal."

    Kefka began to chuckle, but it froze at the same time as Gogo turned tense as a bowstring.

    The realization came a little too late, but at least it reached them at the same time.

    That was one argument they had thrown at each other ever since their first few years, even if the childish fire in it had faltered into a joke between them.

    However, right now the puzzle of the words didn't work out well with the picture.

    Kerr was the older of the twins.

    A mistake had been made.

    Kefka blinked at his own, pale reflection in the mirror, with the same sort of confusion as the night before. Gogo bit his lower lip.

 "Kef…" he said and held back a wince as the expressionless, grayish eyes turned to him.

    The lifeless gaze seemed to burn against the white powder covering Kefka's face. His brother forced himself to stay calm.

 "We should have needed more sleep, I think," Gogo finished.

    At first Kefka didn't say anything, but he slowly turned his head at the new pot in his hand. Whatever was inside, it was darkly reddish and that color was nothing Gogo wanted to see more of right then.

    Suddenly Kefka's head snapped up, almost causing the mimic to jump.

 "Yeah, now that you mention it…" the one with the make-up idly muttered, "got a bit disoriented there…"

 "Sorry, I just went along since the words were familiar," Gogo quickly assured.

    Kefka smiled a little, but it definitely wasn't his natural grin. Without another word he rubbed the tip of his pointing finger in the pot's insides, rendering the skin brightly red.

    Hardly focusing on what he really did, his finger ran against the white powder below and above his eyes. A few swift, simple rubs with the little finger created sharp edges cutting at the rest of Kefka's face.

 "Question, bro," Gogo carefully said.

 "Eh?" Kefka replied, now coloring his lower lip in the same way as he had did his skin.

 "Why is that?"

    The man serving the empire finished one part of his mouth before he attempted to answer.

 "I have an image to maintain, you know," he said with more of his usual sneer.

    As the lips smacked against each other due to the words, the still moist whatever‑it‑was colored the upper lip as well. Still Kefka began to fully color it with skilled fingers.

 "Ah, of course…" Gogo said in a dry voice, truly calmer now.

 "Speaking of which…" Kefka said and put the pot aside, turning on the water in order to wash his hands, "I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere."

 "Where would that be, pray tell?" the mimic commented, on his guard again however.

 "Just making sure, big bro."

    Kefka dried his hands on a red towel and let it thump back at the wall again. The look on his face was completely normal – for him – again; he had managed to shake the confusion off once more.

 "I've got stuff to do and planned to cast a spell on the door just in case," he announced.

 "I'm not going anywhere, Kef," Gogo assured with true honesty, "Gestahl must have put up your description of me on every wall by now."   

 "Ah, it's not only that."

    Kefka gave an extremely rare kind of sneer; it was a tiny bit gentler than his usual. Hardly noticeable, but it was.

 "It'll make sure that you won't go out, but no one will go in either," he clarified.

    Despite the wild twists between doubt and fragile hope, Gogo couldn't help but feel gratefulness with a stitch of triumph, and he smiled.

 "Thanks, bro," he said.

 "Can't have that bastard of an emperor making a fuss about beheading you now, it would be far too messy," Kefka tsk'ed. 

 "A-ha! You do care!" Gogo said, daring a teasing snicker.

 "Lies. All lies!"

    The madman chuckled as he made his way out of the bathroom, fiddling absentmindedly with the red ribbon keeping his hair in a slick pony tail. Not a single blond thread was free from the bundle.

 "It would just be a bit too much to explain if somebody found you here," he stated, crossing the floor.

 "Whatever you say…"

    Gogo's voice was far from serious.

    Putting his hand on the doorknob Kefka chuckled and raised his other hand as well. His fingers twisted a little and the wood faintly glowed.

 "There, all safe," the pale one concluded, "see you by lunchtime, bro."

 "Very well."

    Kefka opened the door much less than he could and slipped through. Still Gogo noted that the dim light that covered the small portal only showed on the inside.

    The door closed.

    Letting out a deep breath Gogo sat down in one of the armchairs and rubbed his face again.

 "Alright, now what…?" he muttered to himself.

    There was a bond again, but how long would it hold? And if it did, how long could he stay here without being found?

    Speaking of found…

    Gogo straightened up and concernedly frowned.

 'Can the others have managed to escape?' he thought, hardly daring to hope.

    It seemed too much to pray for… but much depended on which way they had gone. There was room for a very weak optimism.

    Either way, he'd know soon enough. His brother wouldn't be able to contain such a secret for long, he had never been good at keeping a straight face. If he didn't blurt it out by mistake, his absolute zero skill in acting would give him away. He forgot himself quickly.

    Gogo clenched his teeth.

 'Great…'

    But maybe, maybe Kefka would manage to keep this secret safe…

 'We're doomed,' Siren bitterly concluded.

    Gogo's lips twitched.

 'You're awake, hm?'

 'Just woke up. How is he this morning then?'

 'He lost himself in Kerr again for a moment, but got back.'

    Siren shook her head, but the mimic wasn't completely sure how he could know. The knowledge was just there in his head.

 'Is the lock on the door safe?' Gogo asked, just to make sure.

 'On moment…'

    For a couple of seconds his head felt strangely emptied, then the female esper returned.

 'Yes, it'll hold back almost anything. Nothing is unbreakable but that's pretty close for a human,' she reported.

 'Then we're safe.'

 'Imprisoned,' she corrected.

 'If I leave the room I'll get killed on sight, and if I bring you with me then you're going to the facility… if they still have one now that they have the goddesses.'

    Siren shuddered.

 'Well, I'm not going to look,' she said, 'it was bad enough seeing it before I escaped with Ramuh and the others, and then saw it again with the Returners. I'm not going back there willingly.'

 'Who would… sorry, I made you feel horrible.'

    She tried to smile by his honest apology.

 'You're a good man for being bored here, Gogo,' she admitted, 'thank you,'

 'It's the least I can do.'

    Sighing the mimic leaned his check in his palm, trying to think of how his life possibly could move forwards without ending in disaster for him, his brother and friends anytime soon.

    Despite the friendship with Kefka, the fact was still that he was locked inside the enemy's lair.

 'The secret prisoner of Vector… again.'

    He shuddered at the thought and grimaced.

 'No, this is not like back then… there's still hope now,' he sternly told himself.

 'You fascinate me, Gogo,' Siren gently said, 'you still love your brother despite all that he's done. I cannot understand you.'

    The mimic leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

 '… Neither can I…' he finally thought, shaking his head, 'I must be crazier than he is.'

 'Indeed.'

 'Hey!'

    He smiled sarcastically without any joy.

 'It might be in our family…'

 'Now that wouldn't surprise me the least,' the esper concluded, sighing softly.

 'Hm.'