Cid Garlond along with his unit of Elite adventurers burst through the main entrance to Castrum Meridianum. He carried a large sack across his back as they stormed the compound.

A large Imperial ship was flying over, circling the grounds.

"Incoming! A suit of magitek armor!" Cid announced. A big, Garlean walker came through the gate sending attacks in their direction. It only took the Warriors a few minutes to take it down.

The master engineer went to inspect the downed, metal contraption while listening to the linkpearl call that just came in. He returned his attention to the rest. "We intercepted an imperial communication indicating that the Ultima Weapon is indeed being housed within the Praetorium. We also learned that the field which protects the compound is powered by no fewer than three generator towers. If we're to deactivate the field, we'll need to locate and disable them all."

He looked around, "See that chute? It leads to waste disposal. Somewhere nearby, there will be a cerulean facility supplying fuel to the closest of the three towers. Find the place and break things. Go along adventures I'll be right behind you once I finish these repairs."

The men and women bearing arms ran to the chute. Cid held his hand to his ear. "Farrah! can you hear me?!..." "Damn it! She must be too far underground." Once the adventurers reached the end of the chute, they were met with several sets of magitek armor, reapers, and Garlean soldiers. while fighting back, the Imperial ship dropped magitek vanguards on them. While also attacking the nearby equipment and misdirecting the Garlean attacks, They were able to blow up the generator. Thanks to the healers, everyone was able to make it through. Just then the wall next to them blew open. Walking out of the smoke was Cid, atop a set of magitek armor.

"There you all are! I didn't have the patience to take the long way 'round. I see you've all disabled the first generator. That leaves us with two." A loud alarm started blaring across the Castrum. "Ah, bugger. That was me, wasn't it? Well, there's nothing for it but to press on. We must see to the remaining generators before the enemy has the chance to regroup! Let's raise some hell!" He used his walking armor to blow through the next bulkhead.

After the unit of Phase three incredibly braved and defeated a magitek colossus, they finally made it to the next generator. Cid was going to have to leave the fighting to the rest while tinkering with the machines. "this might take a while! Watch my back!"

Out walked a colossus rubricatus and several cohort laquearius that were feeding it energy. While the group's tanks focused on keeping the giant rubricatus busy, the rest destroyed the energy giving machines. The enemies finally down, Cid breaks into the control panel and destroys it. "Fine work, adventurers! Stand clear. I have a mind to loose some fireworks. Diverting all power to cannons!" Cid aims his magitek armor up to the field tower and shoots a mass of energy, blowing it up. The barrier weakens but the magitek armor breaks.

"damn it. There goes the core. I fear I may have overestimated its maximum operating capacity...by a few orders of magnitude. I blame Marques. Ahem. We'll need to find another way to bring down the third generator."

He paused in thought for a moment. "You go on ahead. I need to get to the bottom of something." As the rest of the party runs ahead, Cid once more tries to contact his friend. "Farrah?! can you hear me?!" This time there was some static on the other end. "Farrah! We're here! Where are you?!" Only more static came through. About to try reaching out again, this time there was a clear "Close by!" followed by a tortured scream and lost connection. Cid heard the same scream from the linkpearl not too far away. Garlond ran in that direction, which just so happened to be the way the adventurers headed.

"Wait stop!" A man shouted, running after him. Cid geared up his fists waiting for attack. "I heard you say lady Farrah's name. Are you her friends?" Cid backed down a bit looking at the man with skepticism.

"What's your name and how do you know Farrah?"

"My name is Ilbrium. I was the doctor that saved her and her unborn baby. Please, Livia sas Junius has her! She needs help!" The two of them began running.

Once Cid and the healer arrived to their partnering combatants, the Empire craft began raining fire down on them. Just barely dodging the overhead attacks, the adventures also had their hands full with even more reapers and colossus".

The goggled man desperately looked around for anything to help and stopped when he noticed the floor canons. Cid ran to one and immediately began loosing them on the ship. The large craft took a lot of damage, spinning uncontrollably until it crashed into the third tower, blowing both up. The purple force field around the internal compound was downed.

"Fools!" They heard a woman's voice shout. "If you are resolved to die here, you might at least have done so without first making a mess of the place!" A white suit of magitek armor came crashing down in front of them. Accompanied by an Imperial with matching white armor. Cid, Ilbrium, and the Warriors all gasped in horror. Livia was holding Farrah's bloody mangled body by her hair "You're going to watch as I kill all your friends! Starting with Garlond!" She threw Farrah from the metal beast onto the ground.

As the brave adventurers fought the Garlean woman, and her armored suit, (distracting her from her true target), Cid and Ilbrium ran to Farrah. She was still breathing but it was labored, gagging on her own blood. The friendly, old doctor instantly began performing his rare healing magic.

"Farrah hang in there. We're here. We got you!" Cid told her.

With the spell still going, the brave Scion's color began to return to her. Scars slowly fading. "Miss Farrah, can you hear me? how much damage did your child take?!" She slowly moved her arms from their protective hold on her baby bump. The doctor quickly lifted her shirt to inspect. The two men both gasped. Their friends growing abdomen was severely bruised but luckily no internal bleeding. And the baby was still moving and kicking.

"I'm surprised it's not worse! Thank the gods for that." Cid stated.

Ilbrium looked carefully at her arms. "Her arms are fractured... she took most of the blows to them protecting her baby" He said incredulously. He continued the strong healing spell all over her body. in the matter of a few minutes she was well enough to get to her feet.

Cid Garlond threw down the bag he was carrying and opened it. Inside was Farrah's armor, bow, and arrows. "Kick her ass, Farrah."

She equipped her armor and drew her bow. With a thankful nod to her saviors, she ran off into the fight.

"No! Impossible!" Livia shouted furiously.

With a single, well place arrow and the work all of the other adventures have done, Livia's magitek armor blew up.

"You are nothing but an adventurer. No better than the multitude." Sas Junius said, walking towards the freshly healed woman. "Yet in spite of this, the masses hold you their champion, and shower honors upon your head. It defies all reason. How is it that you could be such a thorn in our side? Whenever you appear, you leave havoc in your wake. Well... I will not speculate. Truth be told, I couldn't care less how you have done these things. What matters to me is the fact that you have done them. If you are allowed to continue, you will eventually deprive me of all that I have toiled for. -All that is mine by right! My minions, my comrades... even my lord Gaius! Well, you cannot have him! His dreams and ambitions, his body and soul -they are mine do you hear me?! All mine! I lost everything once before! I will not suffer it to happen again!" She posed to attack. "Fuck the echo! I will kill you adventurer! Only your death can bring me peace!"

While Farrah battled Livia, the rest of the adventurers took care of the other threats. Much to the white mistress' horror, her former prisoner overpowered her rather easily. It didn't take long before the Imperial woman fell to the ground in defeat.

"No..." she sobbed. "It's happening... all over again... Please... I cannot bear it... Don't take him...away from me..." She reached her hand towards the setting sky. With the last of her dying strength called out "My lord Gaius!"

Cid walked over to his victorious friend, looking down at the dead body. "Another poor fool who craved Gaius's affection over all else... May her soul know rest." Garlond turned his head to look at Farrah. "Tis a miracle no further harm has come to you and the baby, my friend. One of which I will happily give thanks... Now that the field generator towers are out for the count, we can get you inside the Praetorium to stop Ultima Weapon. The only problem is, we can't reach it on foot. Nay, we'll need to take the Enterprise. I left her at the Ceruleum processing plant, so let's regroup there... This is it, Farrah! The final confrontation awaits!"

Farrah, Cid, Ilbrium, and the rest all left castrum Meridianum for the beautifully crafted Ironworks ship.

"The Enterprise is at your disposal. When you're ready to head for the Praetorium, you need only say the word." Cid Garlond told the beautiful, brown haired, gray eyed woman. "If we succeed in destroying the Ultima Weapon, it will deal a crippling blow to the Empire's hopes of conquest. After that, the XIVth Legion would not dare to move against us -barring the discovery of further Allagan doomsday devices, that is..."

Farrah nodded, ready to get this over with. "Let's be on our way then, Farrah! Gaius and his plaything await!"

"So here we are..." Cid stated as Farrah and the rest stepped off of the Enterprise. "The Ultima Weapon will almost certainly be housed in the depths of the complex." Biggs and Wedge waved them good luck before taking the glorious ship back to the air to help from afar. "This is it, my friend!"

Farrah, Cid, and the mighty adventurers ran into the Praetorium, weapons drawn ready to fight. Once inside, there were Garlean soldiers and suits of magitek armor waiting for them.

Between all of them, their enemy's went down pretty easily. The room, full of large machinery, was already falling apart, like bombs had hit it. They began checking the dead bodies, looking for an Imperial identification key. Once one was found, they used it to open the giant metal doors to continue on with the mission.

The entire compound must have been hit, because through the doors, the group had to climb down makeshift ramps from the crumbling walls and floors. At the bottom was a magitek transporter. After traveling by the Garlean technology, imperial arsenal were there waiting. However, these were just as easy to defeat as the last. The 1st Cohort eques dropped another key. With this one, the unit was able to enter the room to the right of the transporter.

Everyone filed into the room expecting more enemies but were shocked at what they found.

"Gaius!" Cid yelled.

"Ah, Cid, my boy... You are late." The large, armored, man said. He turned around to face them. "There is something I always meant to tell you, yet the time never seemed right. It concerns your father."

"...What of him?"

Gaius van Baelsar continued. "In the winter of his years, Midas came to abhor his part in meteor. He told me that he wanted nothing more than to wash his hands of the whole sordid business."

Cid interrupted, shouting. "But he did not wash his hands of it. He helmed the project until the day it killed him!"

"Come now, Cid... you must know that he did not have the luxury of choice. By the time he realized his error, it was too late. Meteor had him completely in its thrall. Shortly before his...transformation, mayhap sensing that something was amiss, your father confided to me all the regrets of his life. Most of them concerned you. Early on in your career, he realized that while you had a talent for devising armaments, it would never fulfill you. Long before you knew your own mind, he saw that you would be far happier using your knowledge for peaceful purposes, and the thought touched him. He was a changed man for it, though he could not let it show."

"You blew holes in this place just so you could say this to me!? What is it you want, Gaius!?" Garlond questioned aggressively.

"I want you at my side, Cid. Take up your father's mantle, and become the Empire's lead engineer. It is your destiny."

"My father had a change of heart -you said so yourself! Besides, I have long known my destiny, and I assure you, it lies not with the Empire!"

"A pity." The Imperial lord turned to look at his former Prisoner. "And what of you, adventurer? Will you not consider making common cause with me? With your powers joined to mine, we might do much for this realm. Together, we could bring order to Eorzea, and usher in a lasting peace. A wonderful world your child could be born into."

"Fuck you Gaius!" Farrah shouted at him, posturing angrily.

"No? And I can expect no better answer than this? So be it. It was your strength that made me proffer my hand in friendship, and it is your strength that makes me proffer now my blade. Save as an ally, you are too dangerous to be let to remain. 'Tis a shame you will never see your baby be born into this world, by reason of your own making."

The large metal doors opened and out walks a giant robotic contraption.

"Run, Cid. Or stay. It makes no matter. You cannot escape the past." Lord van Baelsar stepped onto the platform and disappeared downward.

"Gaius, wait! ...Damn it!" Cid exclaimed.

They all turned ready to fight the Mark II Magitek Colossus. Something none of them had seen nor fought the likes of which before. Spells and weapons thrown all about, the beast finally fell.

Cid stepped up to the control panel by the lift Gaius had taken. "Knowing Gaius, he is headed for the Ultima Weapon. If we find him, so too will we find our quarry. With these instruments, we can monitor every nook and cranny in the castrum. I think it's time we divided our forces. Pray go on and give chase. I'll track your movements from here and guide you through the complex." He looked his partner in the eye. "We'll stay in contact via linkpearl. Be careful, all right?"

Farrah nodded. As he walked away, she and the other adventures gathered on the lift and rode in the same direction as their target.

"There ought to be an identification key reader nearby. You need to complete pilot registration before you can activate an armor." Cid told Farrah through the linkpearl. carefully making their way around, they grabbed the key, registered it at a different lift's control panel, and rode it up to one of the artillery holding levels. Upon one of the racks of magitek armor, she spotted one with a familiar and unique marking. Then it began moving on its own, looking at the young woman, shaking with joy.

"Maggie!" Farrah ran to her sentient mechanical friend.

"Ah, there she is!" Cid began. "I trust you recognize our old friend. 'Maggie,' was it? They have shipped her here from Centri. Considering all she's been through, It's a wonder she's still operational. Tough old girl!"

Farrah climbed up into the seat of their Garlean made companion before Cid continued with further instructions. "Now that you're suitably armed, you can blast open that bulkhead. The external walkway will take you back there." Maggie began walking towards the hole in the outer wall and onto a makeshift ramp. "Follow it till you come upon a way down to the lower level."

Farrah, atop of Maggie, and the rest of the adventurers made their way down to a weird looking barrier.

"That bulkhead is composed of a special alloy. Extremely tough. Ordinary fire won't leave a mark, I'm afraid." Garlond explained. "You'll need to divert all power to the magitek cannon as I did once before. Only in my case, the armor's core is like to expire from the strain, but there's no hope for it if we want to press on.

"Now, listen well. Press... buzzzzzz...the control... fizzzzzz...engage ancillary... then fire away. Don't mind the warning lights."

Farrah patted (what she assumed would be) Maggie's head in terms of goodbye if she were to wear her core. the armor raised in aim of the wall, forming a brilliant yellow orb of light at it's mouth and hurled it forward. The door was no more... and so was Maggie. Final farewell to her friend, Cid reached out with the linkpearl again.

"You're a natural at this! All right, the way's clear, but it's just you and your own two feet now, so be careful."

They walked on and came upon a large open room with a man in red and gold imperial armor. "You have been leaving a fine mess in your wake adventurer." The man said.

"Is someone there?!" Cid asked through the earpiece.

The Imperial lifted his wrist. Activating something that interfered with their communication. "Garlond, old friend. How it warms the heart to hear your voice again after all these years."

"...Nero? Is that you!?"

"You sound well. It would seem this savage land agrees with you" Nero stated.

"The highest ranking tribunus of the XIVth... it was you all this time?" The Ironworks master questioned in shock.

"Tell me, Garlond. How long do you intend to keep all the glory for yourself?"

"Uh...what? You've lost me."

"Don't play the fool with me. Ever since the Academy, I have been condemned to live in your shadow." Nero said. "By all objective measure, I was the more talented of the two of us, yet that fact counted for naught beside your privileged birth. You were admired as the young prodigy simply because your father was the great Midas nan Garlond! When you defected, I felt sure my star would finally rise... But by disappearing, you acquired the status of a legend -your reputed genius gaining credence merely by dint of your absence! Instead of cursing you for a traitor, the people actually came to think of you more fondly! To this day, you are still the young prodigy of magitek! I, meanwhile, have ever been made feel second-rate -I who have continued to serve our nation faithfully. Whenever I fail to excel -why, it is only to be expected! Yet when I exceed all reasonable expectations, people proclaim that I walk in the footsteps of the great Cid nan bloody Garlond!"

"Nero, I... I don't know what to say."

"It matters not whit what I achieve. Your existence has rendered mine worthless. Even Lord van Baelsar saw fit to offer you a place at his side -and this in spite of your betrayal! Did he extend any such offer to me -the man who has remained loyal to him for all these years? Why, no. He did not." Nero looked up in thought. "Long have I endured this injustice... but no more. Lord Van Baelsar is in the midst of Activating the fully powered Ultima Weapon. It is my magnum opus -the creation that will win me the recognition I am due. I will not let anyone interfere."

"Nero! What are you-!?" Cid was cut off when Nero did something to the communication interference in his gauntlet.

Nero tol Scaeva looked to Farrah. "Ever since I first set foot in this benighted land, I have watched you -every move you have made, every step you have taken. You have felled eikons, a feat made possible by the Echo, a peculiar power which shields you from their corrupting influence. It is of little wonder that my lord has taken an interest in you. As have I, if truth be told. It is my desire to harness your power for use in the Ultima Weapon. If only Lord van Baelsar had entrusted me with the job, while you were still our prisoner." He lifted his arm up and descended upon him was a large battle hammer. "Should I succeed, Lord van Baelsar will surely take notice! Beside this, Garlond's achievement will be as child's play!"

The elite adventurers and their fearless leader pulled their weapons.

"Come, adventurer, and yield to me the secrets of your power!"

Nero swung his hammer at them and soon all began attacking. Magitek Death Claws came out from the shadows, binding Nero's attackers. However soon enough none of them were a match for the power of Eorzea's heros.

He fell to his knees in defeat. "This changes... nothing..."

Just then a terribly loud, heavy, machine sound was echoed throughout the place. Through blood and gasps Nero began cackling. "Ahahahaha! The Ultima Weapon is activated, and it brims with the power of eikons! Nothing can withstand its might!"

Farrah looked around in thought and fear until a familiar buzzing rang through her ear. putting a hand to her temple she heard Cid's voice. "Are you all right!?"

"Yeah I'm okay"

"What of Nero!? ...Fled!? Damn it! In the instant prior to the blackout, the instruments detected a massive power surge from the deepest chamber. Gaius is certain to be there! We have no time to waste! Word arrived from the Alliance a short while ago. It seems the Order of the Twin Adder has completed its blockade of Castrum Centri. What hands they can spare are hastening this way even as we speak, and likewise for the Maelstrom. All that's left is to destroy the Ultima Weapon!

"I should warn you: the chamber which houses the target appears to be saturated with Aetheric energies. There's bound to be heavy interference. But even if we lose contact, you must go on. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do, all right?"

"Okay... And Cid? Thank you" Farrah said before ending the connection. They pressed on down the hall to a massive lift. Giant geared wheels on either side of the platform.

"Look for the lift's control panel -it'll be somewhere nearby." Cid directed as Farrah made her way to the console. "Take the lift down, and you should find yourself in the chamber of the Ultima Weapon.

She leaned forward and pressed a button. Soon everyone's weight shifted and stumbled slightly as the wheels began to turn and the platform descended.