Chapter 51

The Lost Kingdom

The White SeeD Ship reached northern Centra just after sunrise, a few days after departing Cactuar Island. Having spent most of their existence sailing these waters, White SeeD knew these waters and scattered landmasses just as well as the unpoliced smuggling and piracy rings that were in abundance here. Even if they weren't cloaking their vessel from the Empire, the pirates had long since learned not to mess with Edea's SeeD. Sorceress Edea herself had razed one such ship that had dared to threaten her children, and even decades later, the gleam of those silver sails filled pirates with dread.

They were nearing an almost vertical cliff, about thirty metres high, several miles away from any imperial settlement. Most of them would be departing on what would undoubtedly be a very dangerous journey, traversing many miles of enemy territory to reach an area even the Esthari dared not go. Ultimecia had done so once, with a full fleet of Valkyrs and every imprisoned GF she had held at the time.

Kurin had nominated a chosen few to remain behind with White SeeDs new guardian, Fujin. Those who were the best at their chosen disciplines and could shoulder the elite organisation's legacy, refining the skills of those yet to earn their White Beret. Raiden was among them for his expertise with the staff. As was Tian, whose swordcraft was second only to Celes'. Not that this would detract from the quality of the force about to depart. Anyone skilled enough to earn the White Beret was worth at least a score of common Esthari soldiers. Almost fifty White SeeDs would be disembarking in all. A company of cactuars would be bolstering them, and each of those were worth a hundred Esthari. Shiva, Minimog and the Jumbo Cactuar – now junctioned with Kurin – were worth thousands.

Raiden and Tian looked the most unhappy with not being able to journey with the rest. Yet they understood they had been given the much more responsible charge of ensuring White SeeD thrived long into future, regardless of the outcome of the war. Minwu was to be the only exception. His power would be needed at the Necropolis, and there was someone almost as adept at white magic to replace him. The turbaned White SeeD was with Ellone at the stern.

'She completely purged the toxins from Hope's finger and closed the openings,' Minwu was saying.

They were talking about Raine. Following Dollet's liberation, the Neo-SeeD had asked Minwu and her mother to begin tutoring her in white magic, following the peril she and her team had got into on the Saronan mesas. Raine was already a master of the water and wind elements. Mastery of a third element was rare, let alone a different magic class altogether. Though the Lioness had shown great aptitude at casting curative spells so far, learning almost as quickly as Minwu and Ellone had as Sorceress Edea's proteges.

The cactuars had spent the last few days congregating near the ship's bow. They had been wary of the humans at first, but after the first day, some of braver ones had tentatively tiptoed sidelong down the gangway to get a better look at the crew. They had approached the children first. The children had been fascinated by the cactuars. The only incident occurred when a boy named Hope had picked up a cactuar as though it were a cuddly toy, causing its many needles to protrude from its coarse skin. Raine had urged Minwu to let her try healing him first.

'My Lioness never ceases to make me proud,' Ellone said.

She instantly regretted the words, however, alluding to a huge behemoth hanging over them. Minwu had been Ellone's first love. The white mage was civil enough, however, and it meant a lot to Ellone that Minwu was willing to tutor children she had had with another man.

'We know what this means, Elle,' he said. 'Raine is a potential Sorceress, just like her mother. It is likely that Edea is, too.'

Ellone shuddered. 'I guess it would be okay if Raine were to succeed Ultimecia, or even Rinoa or Selphie. But as for myself, the power would be too great. I would be able to change anything that I wanted if I were to Connect as a Descendant of Hyne. Yet I don't believe that was ever my fate, in any timeline, or the future Ultimecia would have just possessed me.'

'If Ultimecia dies before reaching that future, it would not matter,' Minwu stated.

Ellone changed the subject.

'Are you sure about me being your replacement?' she asked.

'Of course, Elle!' he responded. 'You would have been awarded the White Beret years ago, if not for your gentle heart. Yet Raijin has hardened you to a point that you can hold your own against most of our fighters. That makes you superior to I, Dreamweaver!'

Ellone closed her eyes. 'I hate that moniker,' she whispered.

'Sorry,' Minwu said earnestly, then added, 'The journey will be perilous. We will have to evade more than twenty thousand colonial troops before we even get to the Necropolis. And we have no idea what reception we will get from the Wraiths of Zefer or the tonberries when we arrive. If the wraiths join us, they will need someone of our skill to be their shield. The hoplites were lions, but they will be blown apart before Esthar's plasma cannons without strong enough barriers!'

'But, Min, that will take an astronomical amount of power!' Ellone pointed out. 'More than either you or I could hope to channel with para-magic!'

Minwu nodded once. 'I have a plan.'

Ellone's eyes widened. 'Min, no! You can't sacrifice yourself!'

The white mage's face was set. 'I never stopped loving you, Elle. If not for my infidelity, we would have been married under the Centran moon! Just know that not a night has passed without my regret for what happened between Scarlet and I. I despised Raijin for what he took from me, but always knew I had only myself to blame. And I would not trade knowing your children for the Planet! It's been an honour to serve with Raiden, and I would have loved to continue tutoring your lionesses.'

Minwu's hand came up to caress Ellone's cheek, wiping a tear from it. Her hand moved to touch his, but he dropped it just before they touched.

'Minwu,' Ellone whispered.

The white mage walked away before Ellone could say another word.

The cactuars hopped from crag to crag ahead of the White SeeDs. They almost looked like a creeping plant extending up the cliff face with their line of gherkin green. When the cactuars reached the top, they hopped impatiently and bounced on the spot, squeaking madly. They were all outside of the ship's cloaking sphere long before they reached the top.

With the infrared scanners of Esthari patrol pods, moving by night would be equally as hazardous as moving by day. Therefore, Kurin opted for a daytime move. The iconic White SeeD uniforms were left behind, the crew now adorned in green and brown fatigues matching the Centran landscape. The diminutive cactuars would be equally difficult to spot from a distance. It would take them three days to reach the ancient Centran capital on foot, even travelling as light as possible. They had deliberately set their insertion so that it was on the other side of the subcontinent from any major military bases.

Aside from colonial patrols, the only other life they expected to see on these sparsely populated plains was monsters. After several generations, most of the beasts here were much less in number and of a weaker breed than the ones that had devastated the Lost Kingdom. The descendants had largely been culled with the onset of the First Sorceress War, when both Esthar and Galbadia had juxtaposed for position on the northern subcontinents. The hardier monsters had migrated to the forests and caverns, the latter ones displacing the tonberries.

Beyond the cliffs was a flat brown landscape for at least twenty miles. As the crew set off, they encountered only jelleyes and bitebugs that posed small threat to the cactuars at the point. The groups of grand mantises they met a couple of hours later proved to be too tough for the flying needles yet were swiftly felled by the White SeeDs in the cactuars' wake. They saw no colonials, human or otherwise.

Just before the sun set on the first day, they reached a forest. After securing the first half mile, they retired for night, Kurin and Celes opting to take the first watch.

The next afternoon, the crew caught first sight of the winding river that divided the landmass. They marched several miles parallel to it to avoid a new colonial settlement. Occasionally, they passed the ruins of the ravaged Centran towns. The crew wandered down an old concrete road for a time, which lead them to the central street of what was once a lakeside resort.

The concrete itself was deeply fissured, with various plants and trees coming from it. In other parts, vegetation grew to constrict many crumbling stone buildings in a green curtain. In some areas buildings had been totally obliterated, if not pockmarked with bullets and explosive shells, speaking of every Centran's plight against the Lunarians even in these smaller settlements. The squeaking cactuars leaped between the chassis of hundreds of wrecked automobiles, HMVs, and tanks, most of which were overturned or horribly crumpled by particular nasty beasts. There was no trace of any of the town's former inhabitants.

Many of the White SeeDs had their phones out, either snapping or recording. In particular, the fair-haired Prompto was turning in a full circle in a bid to include all of the crew in his vlog.

'This town must have had a population of tens of thousands, at least,' the spectacled Ignis mentioned. His Esthari accent had alarmed Raine initially, but he had earned his White Beret long ago, having been the orphan of two hanged deserters from Esthar's army. 'And we don't even know what it was called!'

'Your father would know, Noct!' Relm said. 'He has maps of the Lost Kingdom!'

The handsome but prematurely grey-haired Noctis looked up from his phone as he replied, 'They're barely legible, though.'

'I'll have to return here one day, do some sketches,' Relm resolved. '"Chaos under a claret sky", maybe? The townspeople deserve to have their story told!'

'If only we could make camp here,' Ignis mentioned. 'The lake would be an ideal spot for some night fishing! Alas, it is too early!'

After leaving the eerie lakeside town, the river started veering south away from them. The crew still met no Esthari through the afternoon. Yet that changed during the evening while they were caught out in the open. As a patrol pod was sighted in the twilight, they dropped to the ground as one. The cactuars burrowed their way into the ground. At first, Raine dared to believe the crew watching the infrared displays had somehow missed them, but then the pod swerved and came back.

'I'll handle it,' Rhodry said.

Surface-to-air weapons would be useless against their shields. Rhodry summoned Shiva, who flew toward the hovering pod with both hands raised and swiftly froze its components, also covering its windows with thick sheets of frost. Its engine stuttered before it dropped out of the sky, hitting the ground without an explosion. Despite this, the feeds of all pods were streamed live to the base at Palamecia. Now, there was no question that the colonials knew of their presence.

They decided to continue until they reached another forest, not stopping to make camp until the crescent moon had almost reached its zenith. Rhodry and Raine volunteered to stand watch. Though the White SeeDs managed to get only a couple of hours of shuteye before Rhodry sighted a single battalion of colonials approaching on hovering APCs. No doubt, Palamecia had hastily assembled this strike force to catch the weary White SeeDs.

Raine reluctantly roused the White SeeDs as Rhodry continued to watch. At battle readiness within half a minute, the elites waited for the Esthari to approach, their eyes already adjusted to the dim moonlight during their nap. As the colonials got within throwing distance of the trees, Rhodry could see they were cyborgs, as anticipated. What better way to catch an invading force unawares in the early hours of the morning? They were completely devoid of emotion as they mechanically jumped from the vehicles, their boots striking the ground as one before scanning the trees with their filtered vision. Their scanners must have caught some hint of the hiding crew, perhaps making out an arm or an ear in the shrub. Some of them spoke flatly into their communication devices, and then the unit marched forward in tandem.

There were suddenly several loud bangs, and the cyborgs became shrouded with a thick smoke. This was followed by more explosions that were heard rather than seen through the pall. Someone had lain a trap. The cyborgs did not cry out, but Rhodry thought he could hear a dog barking and the kweh of a chocobo between the bangs.

'We can take them all out!' Rhodry said, looking to Raine and Kurin as his ice-blue summoning orbs circled him. 'Come on!'

Mog appeared on their flank with his pompom bursting with quicksilver. Jumbo followed suit, the towering being appearing above the smoke. The green giant began kicking for the posts, sending ten cyborgs flying with a single punt. His lesser brethren charged. Their hail of killer needles ripped into the robotic units like machine gun fire, their magical essence allowing them to bypass the invisible projectile shields. Most of the cyborgs ceased to function as their outlying forms were badly damaged, some stopping in mid-stride. Shiva appeared last at the imperials' rear, having gathered much power. Hundreds of cyborgs were enveloped by a liquid essence that rose from their feet to cover their whole form, making them immobile as their liquid parts solidified. With a single click of her fingers, these frozen components exploded outward.

'Hynedamn!' Noctis uttered.

'Shiva's so beautiful,' Relm said longingly. 'So destructive!'

'If only we could have captured that!' Prompto complained.

When the smoke cleared, not a single cyborg remained operational. Kurin gave the command to remain within the tree line for a time. They knew that more Esthari could be approaching. But after a time, it was apparent that no more enemy units were in the vicinity, nor was there any sign of the one who had aided them. Doubtless there were enemy drones watching from above, but they would be invisible to the naked eye at this hour. Eventually, the White SeeDs left the tree line. Kurin gave orders to search the APCs.

Relm was commanded to lead a search of the nearest, but before she got close, there returned the sound of a dog barking. She reached for her sword at the sound of its bounding paw strides, turning to see its silhouette running up to her, barely visible in the moonlight.

'Interceptor!' a male voice shouted.

The dog looked to be a male doberman as it stopped and murmured, dropping to its haunches. Relm sheathed her weapon and confidently took a couple of steps up to him, scratching him behind the ears.

'Interceptor!' his owner called again.

The White SeeDs turned to the difficult-to-see figure shrouded in all black, leading an equally dark chocobo by a bridle. He wore a form-fitting bodysuit like those issued to Esthari troops, but it was topped with a more mundane cuirass and covered with a travelling cloak. A cowl obscured his face. Interceptor made a noise of longing before returning to the man.

Kurin approached the cloaked figure. 'Do we have you to thank for the distraction, friend?' he asked cautiously.

'That you do,' the man replied lowly, a Centran strine noticeable. 'I'm a sellsword, much like yourselves. Yet I will not ask for gil on this day, only company. Things are changing once again in Mother Centra, and I wish to be privy.'

'We head for the Necropolis!' Minwu warned. 'Also, the Esthari will likely be upon us in full force before long! As much power as we command, we cannot guarantee your safety, good sir!'

'My own life is not so precious to me,' the man answered. 'And sir I am not. I stand but a shadow of the man I once was, and that is the name I am known by. Allow this shadow to lead you through the Motherland, which I am highly acquainted with.' He regarded the cactuars, who were grouped together some distance away. 'I'm also intrigued. Cactuars rarely venture from the Kakashbald, and haven't worked with humans in recorded history.'

'Okay, Shadow,' Kurin said. 'You may join us at your own risk. I trust you will not be a burden.'

Interceptor was looking longingly at Relm, who had spared a thought for Shadow's chocobo. The black breed was rare, about one in a thousand, and they notably favoured flight over speed. It was also mature, meaning it would be capable of flying across the whole of the fragmented Centra.

'Do you have a cool name for your chocobo, too, Shadow?' Relm asked.

'Reaper,' Shadow answered, his unseen face lingering upon her's.

Noctis and some of the others were approaching from the APCs and shaking their heads.

'They won't start, Captain!' the hulking and tattooed Gladiolus said. 'Palamecia has disabled their engines remotely, just like we thought. There's not really anything we can use, either.'

Kurin nodded. 'Let's return to the tree line.'

'The colonials will need time to mobilise their full force,' Celes stated. 'With blessing, that was the entirety of their cyborgs within the colony! We should resume our rest and prepare to cover great distance come tomorrow!'

Following Shadow's lead, the crew had a more well-advised journey over the following thirty-six hours. Kurin had not asked the freerider to divulge more of his motivations, and Shadow had not volunteered anything. He would place Interceptor in a specialised harness upon Reaper and then take to the skies, scouting the far horizon for the benefit of the grounded crew. He would then descend for long enough to rest Reaper and advise Kurin and Celes of the next most favourable path to take.

The landscape itself had consisted of many small valleys, and they had now reached miles of more verdant plains dotted with the occasional small forest, or the ruins of a forgotten town or village. There had been no sign of drones or other enemy aircraft. The Empire would doubtless be following their journey on satellite, but there had been no concerted effort to impede them until now. This led Rhodry and the elder White SeeDs to deduce that the colonials did not have a second mobile battalion large enough to deal with them, and that Ultimecia was unwilling to spare any of her magicite holders.

Yet. News had reached them of Ultimecia's ambush on Gerra's party and the destruction of Dollet City. Instead, Kurin and Rhodry were expecting the colonials to try and cut them off from the Necropolis.

The sun had begun to retreat beyond some barrows that called an end to the flat land they had been crossing. Reaper flashed across the peach sun's waning light as he descended for the final time of the day.

Kurin waited for Shadow to reach them before he addressed Raine and the others. 'We will rest now. I have an idea for beating the colonials to the–' he caught himself, glancing wearily at Shadow, 'to Centra City,' he said respectfully.

'You may call it what it is, Captain,' Shadow said neutrally. 'The Necropolis.'

'I wished not to offend,' Kurin responded. 'I have great respect for your peoples' adversity. King Steiner's subjects stand as some of Edea's finest SeeDs, Prince Noctis and Princess Relm being chief among them! Additionally, Celes, Minwu and I have spent most of our lives sailing the seas of your nation!'

Shadow said nothing more, taking his bedroll from Reaper's saddlebags.

That night, Raine was around a fire with the White SeeD quartet of Noctis, Ignis, Prompto and Gladio, having already lost her mediocre Triple Triad cards to them.

The four White SeeDs seemed to be inseparable, despite them having differing personalities. Raine had felt obliged to accept all four of their friend requests on the Network. The White SeeDs were savvy enough not to stream live, though, as the Empire had long since hacked into the western social media platforms. But if they were able to, Raine suspected their media activity would be dominating her newsfeed almost as much as Selphie's. And Raine had thought Zhang had an attention-seeking problem. Anything Raine herself had recorded had been for her family, Thalassa, and Liu's benefit. Even though she had trended madly after sharing her recordings from Cactuar Island.

She tuned out of one of Prompto's vlogs as she noticed Relm speaking with Shadow on the edge of their camp. The two were far from them, but Relm's body language suggested that it was more than just a casual discussion. Suddenly, Relm turned on her heels and ran from the camp. Interceptor barked once and followed.

Raine would have excused herself, but Prompto and the others were so focused on shooting their vlog that they did not notice her slipping away. She briskly walked into the darkness, summoning Mog to dimly light her path across a prairie. When Raine glanced back to the camp, she saw Shadow head following her path, his face ever obscured by his cowl. She found Relm kneeling in some high grass, her arms loosely around the whimpering Interceptor.

'What's wrong, Relm?' Raine asked, startling the White SeeD.

Interceptor growled at Raine, moving protectively in front of Relm. Relm tugged on Interceptor's collar, and the doberman obliging ceased all noise and sat on his haunches. His eyes did not leave Raine, however.

'He's my father!' Relm choked.

'Who?' Raine asked. 'Shadow?'

Relm nodded. 'His name is Clyde Marston.'

'Wait,' Raine said. 'Aren't you a princess?'

'Yeah,' Relm replied. 'Technically, I am. My mother Thamasa was Steiner's sister.' Relm paused, and Raine waited for her to elaborate. 'My father was a smuggler. You must know about free Centra being bandit country. There's been no concerted effort to repopulate it, and after three world wars, none of the other nations have the manpower or the inclination to police it. Drugs, diamonds and counterfeit gil are smuggled into every major port from the south.'

Of course, Raine knew about this. Before Esthar had swarmed on the western continent, its three nations had often hired Neo-SeeDs to bolster their drug-busting task forces, who would be tasked with raiding the innumerable drug manufacturing plants and opium fields throughout southern Centra. But for every one that was taken out, another would surface elsewhere within weeks, and the flow coming into western ports was almost unabated. It was a profitless crusade, but the missions had helped finance Neo-SeeD immeasurably, so neither Squall nor Xu had ever turned one down.

'Some of these drug kingpins kidnapped my mother for ransom twenty years ago, and Steiner was forced to recruit Shadow to help get her back,' Relm explained. 'Sure enough, they did, and he and Mother ended up falling in love. But the rival gang retaliated, years later, when they realised where Shadow was. Mother and Rune – my brother – were murdered. Over the years Steiner had accepted Shadow, despite his past, and didn't hold him responsible. But Shadow exiled himself!' Relm paused. 'I haven't seen Father since Interceptor was a pup!'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' Raine offered. 'At least your father is still alive. It must please him that you earned the White Beret.'

Relm took one hand from behind Interceptor's ear to wipe her eyes.

'You don't get it!' she responded. 'Father won't even let me release him from his penance!'

There was a strained silence. Raine looked back to see that Shadow was still watching them.

'Just leave me with Interceptor, please,' Relm urged.

Raine sighed. 'Okay, Relm. Just try to get some sleep. Considering your captain's plan, we're all going to need to be at full strength tomorrow.'

Kurin, Celes and Minwu woke them all before first light. Shadow's predawn scouting had confirmed that the bulk of the colonial force – almost twenty-five thousand soldiers – were converging on the Necropolis from the northwest. Kurin's plan involved the first mass junction with the cactuars. White SeeD would crest the barrows separating them from Centra City with the cactuars lending them swiftness and endurance. There were five cactuars to every White SeeD, meaning that the elites could cover a great distance without having to pause for rest, and each cactuar could replenish while another took over the junction. It was likely the feat would be a world record.

Reaper hovered like a dark albatross as White SeeD embarked on this mammoth marathon. Shiva, Mog, and Jumbo temporarily unjunctioned from their summoners so that they could remain at full power for their arrival. Raine's phone remained in her bergen during the cross-country, as Noctis' group would no doubt later tag her in everything. Even though it visibly frustrated the quartet that they could not stop while filming the numerous cairns and stone circles at the barrows' crests.

At long last, the diamond-shaped structure surrounding the grand tower at the centre of the Necropolis was visible. Edea's SeeD had scored another victory over the Esthari, who were advancing slowly beyond the horizon.

(A/N: A shitload of tributes in this chapter. Aside from Leo, Shadow was my favourite character in FF6, so it was inevitable that I would be including him in some form. And we couldn't have Shadow without Relm or Interceptor. ;) There were also subtle references to Red Dead Redemption and Phantasy Star.)