Chapter 29, More diplomacy

Siren sped forwards through a blurred, bluish void streaked with white. She vaguely recognized the blur below as it switched between blue and green to darker green and back again. This was moving above the world at the speed of a thought. Interesting. At least, for this one time, Kerr's powers were used for something good.

    She focused, searching for that muscular, horned and fatherly presence of Maduin, trying to call out to his mind.

    Several blurry seconds passed before she received a distant reply, one colored by surprise. And as it did, a tiny red spot appeared in the blur. Siren smiled briefly to herself as she dived towards the darker blue. She saw a flash of gray, then brown, followed by the twisted jungle of a mind… and came to a halt in a softly flowing landscape.

    Lush green hills rolled around her – literally – and swirls of color swept around her bare feet, somewhat resembling flowers though they appeared to have no constant form but moved like bubbles of unruly water. But despite the overall beauty the sky was cloudy, and a few thin, dark streams ran through the grass like polluted rivers.

    Terra had a healthy soul, but it was still troubled by the state of the world and what she had already gone through in her young life.

 'Wha…?' the half-esper's thoughts somewhat groggily echoed through the soulscape as Siren fully landed on the soft ground.

    Maduin stood up from where he had been sitting on a smooth, rounded rock, blinking in disbelief as he regarded the friend he thought had been lost.

 "How did you get here?" his warm voice rumbled as he took one step forwards and then suddenly stood before the triumphantly smiling guest, a moment ago several feet away.

 "I'll explain in a minute," Siren promised, reaching out to place her hand in his offered palms, longing for the familiar touch of another esper, "first…"

    Her expression turned grim.

 "The floating continent is on the way to Maranda from the northwest, will the Returners that set up the riot be safe?" she quickly asked.

    Maduin's big, yellowish eyes bulged slightly and he opened his mouth in disbelief, but then caught himself and looked upwards. The information screamed louder than new questions.

 "Terra, are you listening?" he called.

 'Yes father, I'm on my way to tell Setzer!' she thought back, no trace left of the exhaust that had been in her thoughts a moment ago.

 "We should be safe but…"

    Maduin's voice trailed off and he looked down at Siren. As he had spoken those last words she had allowed her tension to fade and with that the power to keep her standing straight. As she lowered her guard, the strain of everything that had passed in the last hour threatened to come crashing down on her blond head at alarming speed.

 "Siren!"

    The beast that Doom long ago had created out of a man quickly caught his swaying friend's arms and gently helped her to sit down in the grass, placing himself beside her so that she could lean against his impressive frame.

 'Are you alright?' Terra called out, sensing what was going on in there.

 "You… won't believe it…" Siren murmured, gratefully letting her harp slide into the grass as she curled up against the furry warmth of Maduin.

    The male esper frowned, worriedly placing his big hand on her shoulder to give her a little of his strength. His fears abated a bit as he when doing so felt that it was only exhaust that tugged at the frail-looking mind esper.

 "What in Goddess' name has happened with you since last time you were with us?" he asked.

 "You won't believe it…"

    She listened to the whispering thoughts of her current host and breathed a sigh of relief as she from that realized that the Returners weren't stuck on a regular ship, but one that would bring them to safety far more easily.

    In the more worldly world, Terra pushed her way through the inside of the Falcon, muttering hoarse excuses to the freed prisoners she made it past. Most inside had already settled on the floor, but more were still stumbling down the stairs from the deck as they still hadn't finished loading everyone onto the airship. The wounded man whom the half-esper had been healing before Siren came crashing in had been left with a still stinging wound in his leg, though the worst pain had been removed.

 "Is something wrong?!"

    Terra vaguely heard this being shouted at her from all directions, snarling out something in reply as she fought her way up the crowded stair to the outside. There was almost no place for the men to move to in order to let her through, even if they tried as they saw her wide eyes and clenched teeth between parted lips. Few were fully aware of who she was, but the fact that she was clean and had clothes that weren't rags was enough for the freed men to know that she hadn't been in Maranda's cells. Which, in turn, meant that she was one of their current commanders. 

    The prisoners assembled around the stair entrance stumbled out of the way as Terra busted up through the Falcon's bowels.

 "Setzer!"

    The sudden disturbance of the thankful, tired murmur and unstable sound of insecure feet caused a halt to everything.

    The gambler looked up from where he had been standing by the gangway, casting healing spells over the last men to come up on the Falcon's deck. By the stern and stem respectively, Locke and Celes turned around in surprise from their suspicious viewing of the landscape.

 "Is there a problem?" Cyan's voice came from the ground, automatically though not without a wince reaching for his sword.

    Despite his willpower he knew that he was sagging; for the first time he was prepared to admit that he was becoming too old for some things. The battle and the rush from Maranda, guiding the small army of limping, weakened prisoners all the way to the Falcon while trying to keep a bleeding cut on your own shoulder under a healing spell was quite an ordeal.

    He vaguely saw Shadow on the other side of the gangway, past the frozen feet and legs. The ninja would, to anybody not knowing him, have appeared unfazed. But Cyan had seen his comrade's eyes closed a couple of time. Now the man in black uncrossed his arms in alarm however, and Interceptor's paws softly bounced against the grass as the dog stood up.

    Terra's gaze ran over the frozen, surprised and mostly hairy faces around her, for a moment nearly panicking at their sudden lack of movement.

 "Don't stand around, hurry!" she called, violently waving with her whole arm at the tired men to get going, "we have to get out of here, now!"

  "What is it?" Locke shouted, leaving his vantage point to hurry towards the half-esper as fast as the crowded area around the stair allowed.

    The new recruits meanwhile caught on and forced their tired limbs to bring them up to the planks, making use of the deck's size as much as possible.

 "Siren told me-"

    Terra cut herself off, realizing what panic it would cause to announce that Vector was coming at them as they spoke.

 "I'll explain, but we have to leave here first!" she amended, "go south! South!"

    The last bit was to Setzer, who was making his way towards the wheel. Somehow the men managed to create a narrow path for the gambler to quickly reach his destination. He almost pounced at the control panel, skidding to a halt before crashing into it after the violent breakthrough from the crowd. Still people where everywhere around him as he tried to take in a calming breath and turned his head in an attempt to look at Terra. She was now staring intently towards the west, causing everyone else to do the same.

    But even as Setzer looked in the direction of her stare but saw nothing, right then hardly having the nerves to believe that nobody else did. Only white streaks of thin clouds adorned the green-blue morning sky, peacefully floating about their own business and mocking his nervous gaze, unwilling to show him the danger he needed to know about.

    That moment of staring was cut short however as Terra realized that all movement had slowed down again. Quickly she started ushering the rebels down the stair to get out of the way.

    A couple of chaotic minutes followed, with people trying to move too quickly on too little space accompanied by nervous mutters from all around and questioning shouts from below about the ruckus on the deck. Only when Celes, on the outskirts of everything, managed to raise her most authoritative general voice to half a roar did some order return and the rebels managed to cram themselves down the stair at a fairly steady pace.

    Still the seconds seemed to race by far quicker than they should be allowed to, Terra finding herself throwing desperate glances at the western sky more and more often.

 'Where exactly is Vector?' she called to the new esper in her mind.

 'I'm not sure,' Siren replied, exhaust lining her mental voice, 'I know that they would arrive to Maranda in about an hour, and that was over ten minutes ago.'

    That had to be enough time… still Terra had to bite her lower lip to keep from letting the wave of fear take over. It was still far too close for comfort, more than only their lives were at stake. If the Returners lost the Falcon, they would loose their most important trump card.

    And she still did not dare to voice her worries, not with all these distraught men still crowding the deck and trying to get out of the way efficiently so that they'd be able to take off towards safety.

    Finally, after what appeared to be ages, Cyan and Shadow wandered up the gangway last, with Interceptor in tow.

 "We art prepared to leave, Sir Setzer!" the last warrior of Doma called as soon as he touched the deck.

    The gambler hardly waited for his ally to finish before he hit the button that caused the gangway to fold behind the last warriors, the wood still being retracted into its pocket below the deck's planks as Setzer fired up the engine. Gracefully the Falcon rose up from the ground and turned with the orders of the wheel towards the south, starting to soar off as soon as it was high enough up to pass the treetops in the distance. As it continued to rise up during the flight however, the branches became no obstacle.

 'Stay as far up as you can,' Siren instructed, 'there might be imperial ships along the coast.'

    Terra experienced a stitch of paranoia as she heard this, hurrying towards Setzer to give him the information without letting loose all hell's panic. There were still too much people on the deck to risk that kind of thing. But how could the empire possibly get the news and set off their troops so quickly? If it hadn't been for the fact that she trusted her father to see through any trick, she would surely have wondered if Siren's warnings were a trap. As it was, she just briefly feared something like that but shook it off.

 "How does Gestahl do this!?" Setzer hesitantly hissed as he heard the news, almost as if he heard Terra's own thoughts on the matter.

    But he naturally hit the gas even harder, nevertheless.

    As the landscape far beneath them turned from green to blue, the last tired prisoner had stumbled down the stair.

 "We'll get this sorted out and inform you as soon as possible," Locke called down at the quizzical faces staring up at him from below when he passed the hole in the deck, "just be patient, we're safe for now! Just get some rest, we'll start healing you again soon!"

    Though Terra still hadn't said anything more, from her actions he had read that it was best to keep the new rebels calm and unaware.

    The original Returners assembled by the control panel, all eyes on Terra who kept glaring towards the western horizon.

 "Now what is it?" Setzer demanded, knuckles turning white as he held on to the wheel while almost breaking his neck to look at the half-esper.

    She turned around with a frown, nervously resting her left hand on her sword hilt.  

 "I suddenly got a message from Siren," she said in a low voice with a glance at the square hole a few yards away, "she says that Vector is on its way to Maranda."

    Questions about the esper's sudden appearance got stuck in a few throats.

 "We should be alright though, now," Terra quickly added for the shocked looks that surrounded her, "according to her they'd come from the west."

    She reached up and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.

 "How the-" Locke asked, grimly watching the sky in the dangerous direction.

    His words disappeared in a sharp hiss, which sent everyone's full attention towards the direction of his stretched out arm and finger.

    It was just a dot, but still a dark spot on the sky that cut against the blue sky and pure clouds. But as the Falcon was speeding away from it, the tiny blemish soon disappeared from view.

 'What is it?' Maduin called out to Terra's mind, the shock that had completely frozen the young woman's soulscape slowly dwindling.

    The two spirits carefully sat back down as the green hills began to gently roll along and the dark rivers in the grass once again thinned. That had been an ugly sight indeed.

 'Vector…' Terra replied, still sounding very tense, 'but it's not visible anymore. We got away.'

    The Returners weren't the only ones letting out relieved breaths.

    Terra waited for a few seconds, intently watching the sky to make sure that the floating city wouldn't magically reappear and deliver to the Falcon the same fate as the Blackjack. When her breathing began returning to a fairly good rhythm, she turned her focus onto her own mind and asked the obvious.

 'But how can you be here, Siren?'

    The esper looked down at her knees to hide the fact that she couldn't keep from biting her lower lip. Oh, this would be just peachy to explain…

 "It's a bit of a long story…" she started, taking cover behind something so clichéd that it practically screamed "bad news!" to the ones listening. 

    She had already gone over this to herself ever since she first suggested trying to contact Maduin. And had reached the conclusion that there wasn't really anything she could say that would keep everyone from screaming bloody murder at her.

 'He's going to kill me…' she concluded, from the corner of her eye seeing Maduin's huge, clawed paw-hand reach for hers in a calming gesture.

    Or at least fry her really well. If this didn't brand her an insane traitor, she didn't know what would.

 "Siren?" Maduin gently murmured.

    She gulped in an attempt to clear her mouth of the sour taste that had crept over her tongue.

 "You… just don't jump to conclusions, alright?" she whispered, fully realizing that she was almost begging.

 "Now you're starting to make me nervous," the great beast tried to joke.

    His voice was too filled with worry to make it seem humorous however.

    Siren closed her eyes.

 "Gogo is alive, and I am alright. It's all thanks to his inhuman cunning in diplomacy," she said very quickly, all in pretty much one breath.

 "Alive, Gogo?" Terra repeated aloud, frowning at the sky in confusion.

 "What?" Shadow incredulously demanded, his eyes widening in a rare case of the ninja being completely taken aback.

 "He's diplomatic?" the half-esper added, clumsily trying to sort out her own confusion and relay Siren's message to the other Returners at the same time.

 "What are you saying?"

    Shadow's hand landed on Terra's arm, causing her to jump slightly. She turned around to see the confused faces around her, realizing how incoherent she must appear to those who only could hear her and not Siren.

 "I mean…" she began to amend.

    But then her father's voice cut her off.

 "You must be joking…" Maduin growled, though his voice was almost threatening, his eyes were instead wide open in disbelief.

    Siren wouldn't look up, hugging her knees still with the harp in one hand, which pressed the instrument against her thigh and side.

 "I'm not sure how he managed, no," she muttered in a hoarse voice, "but Gogo made Kerr… Kefka…"

    She couldn't continue, hardly surprised when Maduin's first reaction was to edge away from her in shock. Even if the realization had begun to dawn on him, her confirmation was apparently a blow.

    It didn't ease her darkening mood to distantly hear how the other humans shouted at Terra, doubtlessly because of the face she made.

    Siren's guess was rather accurate; the half-esper fumbled for something to hold on to while all color drained for her face. Shadow turned out to be a convenient support, even if he flinched away by instinct at first.

 "Terra!?"

    Hands reached for her, friendly, careful hands. But she shut her eyes tightly, trying to get the name Kerr to work together with information that had just saved their lives. No, no… that just couldn't be anything but a…

 "It's not a trick!" Siren hastened to assure, straightening up in an attempt to seem much calmer than she felt, "Gogo talked him into it…"

    Maduin just stared at her as if she was insane. Unable to keep from doing so, she groaned and pressed her free hand against her forehead.

    Okay… calm. Calm and steady.

 "Look…"

    She didn't get further before a sudden blow of power sent her toppling out of Terra's head in a flash of blurred light, vaguely hearing the half-esper sharply gasp as it happened. Next thing Siren knew, she was floating just a couple of inches above the Falcon's deck, staring at six blinking Returners and a dog. The blue and orange morning sky equally spread out around the ship, adorned with smooth whiffs of clouds blushing in purple.

    A quick glance downwards informed her that she could see the deck through her arm, hardly a hint of an illusion.

    Wha…

 'I can hear some of what you're babbling,' Kerr's voice snarled in her mind, the surprise causing her to jump in front of all the people that already were shocked enough by seeing her and having heard Terra's incoherent mutters from before, 'I'm on a schedule here. Toddle along already!'

    Siren held back a smirk as she immediately came to the conclusion that he was just itchy because he knew that he was doing something good this one time.

 'Though itchy apparently isn't the word,' she thought as a string of death threats followed up on him hearing her opinion of his message.

    It was somewhat amusing to really see – hear – Kerr being royally irritated, without toppling over into violence. At least on this distance, even if she was well aware that it hardly was a truly safe one. But she sobered within a moment, knowing that this definitely not was the time to be idle. Especially not with the strange looks she was collecting.

    … One strange look coming from the stoic Cyan. Terrific. Just the one she really wanted to explain any relation with Kerr to. They just had to have brought the most hotheaded avenger with them, right?

 'If you don't get this done right now, Kef will be busy with glue and a magicite puzzle later on,' came another impatient mental push.

    Siren bit back a comment and instead focused on the people before her.

 "I'm short on time," she hurriedly said, "as I told Terra, Gogo is alive because he managed to talk his brother into letting him live."

    The first response was nothing but blank stares.

    Then, in a very low, growling voice, Shadow spoke.

 "Brother?"

    Siren's fingers nervously tip-tapped against the frame of the harp, and she only nodded silently.

 "Gogo's brother… is Kerr, Siren."

    The plain fact sounded almost comical, and would have fully appeared so if it hadn't been for the dangerous tone of the ninja's voice.

    The stares weren't blank anymore, but had turned into skeptical scowls. Cyan's hand was even floating towards the hilt of his sword; Celes had crossed her arms and her eyes were growing thin as she scrutinized the esper suspiciously. Even Interceptor seemed to regard Siren with distrust.

    Peachy.

    The only one who wasn't glaring by now was Terra, who looked more distant. She was probably listening to something her father said.

 "Listen to me," Siren started again, fumbling for some kind of understanding despite all logical sense, "I know it sounds crazy… but Gogo has spent all this time since we parted, with Kerr. Even if he's almost gotten killed several times he's made it through."

 "How in all hells would that be possible?" Locke glowered, crossing his arms in what probably was a subconscious mirror action of what Celes had done.

    This would take too long, and in the end they probably still wouldn't believe her. But there was another way. If it worked, that was.

 "Give me a moment, I'll show you my memories," Siren said, raising her harp.

 'Give me a bit more power,' was what she told the distant anchor, several miles away.

 'What was that? I thought you wanted me to be more careful, esper,' Kerr replied, drawling.

 'And who's the one being short on time?'

 'It is not my problem whether they believe you or not.'

 'But it is your brother's,' Siren very calmly pointed out.

    Strike.

 'You'll owe me big after this, woman.'

    She refrained from answering that, in a well secluded thought wondering if he understood that that had been one of his more effective threats. It was, for once, something he was right about.

    But that musing flashed away when she nearly was fried from the inside by the explosion of magical energy that Kerr so very kindly sent. With a hoarse choking sound she quickly ran her hand along the strings of her instrument in an attempt to hide the jolt of pain.

    Since she wasn't inside a mind this time, and several people were involved, it was more difficult to hand out her own knowledge. The music helped her focus and worked as a catalyst for the magic.

    It was no surprise that the Returners at first drew back in distrust when the thin ribbons of light crawled out of her peacefully flowing hair. The esper halted the advance immediately, waiting in order to give them a chance to see that she wasn't trying any attack.

    Offhandedly she dryly thought that she probably reminded of Medusa right then, with the tendrils of magic snaking around her head; that woman being one of the less friendly looking espers.

 "Father says that it's not dangerous," Terra finally slowly said after a few moments, taking a step forwards.

 "I assure you that it isn't," Siren nodded, gently moving the links of memories towards the young woman.

    Of course, the female esper's affirmation surely meant very little, but at least Maduin was still considered trustworthy.

    When Terra showed agreement, Celes stepped forwards as well though she still looked doubtful. Locke shrugged in a weak attempt to appear casual and followed the former magitec knight. Clyde, Setzer and Cyan did the same after a bit more consideration.

    Siren sent a ribbon each at them all, and images flowed through her mind only to pop out of her memory as she transferred them to the humans. From the moment when Gogo hid her under the wardrobe and – though deathly afraid – hurried back to his fallen brother, through the first fragile peace and onwards to the moment when Gestahl entered Kerr's room. She cut out the details about the spell that Kerr had burned, thinking that the Returners probably would sleep safer not knowing that such a thing had existed. They didn't need anything more to worry about. Other than that she didn't leave out anything, even if it wasn't pleasant to hand over memories of the madman's mind.

    It wasn't a very peaceful exchange; especially Cyan snarled aloud whenever another reminiscence of the madman was given.

    After having sent of the last memory of how Kerr finally gave in and took her magicite in his hands, Siren retracted the ribbons and reclaimed her memories. The images would stay with the humans that swayed slightly as the mental insertion left again, even if they wouldn't be able to remember as clearly as Siren did. It would hopefully be enough.

    Interceptor growled dangerously as his master pressed his gloved hands against his head in unnatural confusion. The esper couldn't be scared of any attacks from the monster of a dog, but she read the behavior as a clear message.

 "I'm sorry about the dizziness, it'll pass soon," she promised.

    There was no clear answer, apart from a few grunts that sounded rather far down on the rate of delight. With little hope Siren opened her mouth in another hopeless attempt to calm the Returners.

    She got no chance.

 "I really have no time to wait for you to kiss their booboos, witch. Say ta-ta for now, like a good girl."

    Siren nearly screeched in a mix of surprise and outrage, but perhaps by luck no sound made it over her tongue before she was pulled away from the Falcon. The last view she got of the warriors and the dog was of them turning rigid as pokers and their wild eyes racing towards her – or rather, the voice that had rung out from her direction.

    Kerr really had a special talent when it came to rip up hope.