"So she's in there?"
"Yes. I'm sure of it. The eye never lies."
"A monster holding facility...how appropriate."
"I find it rather ironic. But since we're here, we can increase the Sect's forces by freeing a few monsters. It'll make the job a whole lot easier."
"Are you sure that's wise? Think of the consequences."
"Let's see...mass murder, widespread panic...sounds like heaven to me!"
---
Vik wandered along the white-washed hallway. Since the Monster Holding Facility shared a building with the Bagabu Airport, the place was pretty huge. And on top of that, every hallway was an exact carbon copy of the one before it. The walls were blank, with no paintings or cracks. At around five paces, the floor tiles began to repeat their patterns. Seeing that it was impossible to tell where you were in a place where everything looked the same, Vik was officially lost. He couldn't find a map or sign anywhere, most likely because when you enter a door with the words "Authorized Personnel Only", they expected you to to know your way around. The only thing Vik was sure about was that he was walking west, a fact he picked up after noting the position of the sun when he walked past a window. As he continued down the halls, he tried every door he came across. Most of the rooms were locked or had security guards in front of them. After thirty minutes of wandering, the only room he had found open was a washroom. It was a somewhat interesting washroom, but it wasn't exactly what he was searching for. "What am I searching for." He said, suddenly stopping. He had been walking nonstop for almost half an hour, taking turns that felt almost random, yet not once had he run into a dead end. It was as if someone or something had led him here. By here, he meant the end of a deserted hallway standing opposite to a single door with no guards in sight.
Having nowhere better to go, Vik slowly approached the door. It was different from the others. The doors Vik had encountered so far were made of wood and swung on hinges; this door was pure metal from head to toe. Instead of hinges, a rubber-covered track ran along the floor, which probably meant it slid open. On the wall next to it, there was a small computer console with a number pad and and a tiny, black square: a fingerprint scanner. It didn't take a genius to figure out the door was locked. "How very...anti-climactic." His mind remarked. But just as he was ready to turn back, he got the sudden urge to press his thumb against the scanner. "There's no harm in trying." He thought, pushing his thumb against the black square, half expectang an alarm to go off. When no such thing happened, Vik gave a dissapointed sigh and pull ed away. He had barely lifted his thumb off of the scanner when the square suddenly slid open, jabbing a needle right into his finger. "Ow!" Vik shouted, yanking back his hand, a single drop of blood forming on his thumb. "Who the hell designed this place?" He thought angrily. He was just about to pound the console into scrap metal bue when he looked up to take aim, he caught sight of the doors sliding open. "Welcome, Mr. Maytron." Chimed the computer. Seeing Vik's last name was Fellcrest, it was obviously a mistake. But Vik could have cared less about why the doors opened or why someone out there had the same DNA as him. He was too caught up with what was inside.
---
Meanwhile, in the far south of the building, Allen the Bangaa stood guard in front of a private section of the facility. Housed in the room behind him were living specimens; monsters kept alive only for research purposes. Housed in this particular room were 100 Firebombs, 35 Lamias, 16 Icedrakes, and 24 Flans. They were, like the other monsters, suspended in water in a glass pod. The only difference was instead of corpses, these specimens were still very much alive. Stored in thes 175 pods were relics, ranging from snakeskins to bones, each no bigger than a volleyball. They were mere objects made significant by one thing: a spirit bond. Relics are what's left behind after a monster is knocked out so the monsters in this ward could be considered 'sleeping'.
Even though security personel gave round-the-clock protection, possesion of a live monster ran the risk of revival so extra precautions were still taken. With permission from the judgemaster, a spell was cast inside so using healing abilities was prohibited. Guarding that room probably wasn't the most difficult job in the world, since hardly anyone wanted to steal a flesh-eating killing machine.
---
"Well, here we are. Section 4: Bombs, Flans, Dragons, and Lamias. The only things you can control with that tiny bell of yours."
"It's more than enough. The only thing I was worried about was security but it turns out there's only one guy guarding it."
"This'll be a snap."
The voices finally stepped out from the shadows. The first belonged to a Nu Mou and the other one belonged to a Viera. Both were clad in similar Black cloaks with silver trim.
Allen eyed the newly emerged figures suspiciously as they slowly approached. A chill ran up his back when the stopped right in front of him. "Urm..." He said, trying his best to make his voice steady. "Ssssorry folksss. This isss a ressstricted area so unless you have a pass I'm going to have to asssk you to...Ugh!" The bangaa looked down and saw the steely fingers of the Viera had punctured his stomach. "You bi..." He never got to finish his insult because the Viera's leg shot up and kicked him in the chest. The guard fell flat onto the floor. "See. Not hard at all." She said, wiping the blood on the lifeless bangaa's pants.
"Bring him with us." Said the Nu Mou as he pushed open the door. "The monsters might like a fresh snack." They each grabbed a leg and dragged the limp body with them into the room. "Did you bring the antilaw?" The Viera nodded and withdrew a small brown card. "Let's do this." She said, throwing the card up and watching it break up into a thousand tiny sparks. With the law dispelled, the Viera formed a diamond with her thumb and index finger and concentrated. "Phoenix!" She called out. Flames shot up along the ground beside them, shaping themselves into the form of a proud bird. With a deafening shriek, it stretched out his wings and shot across the room, raining burning feathers down onto the motionless relics. Upon contact, the relics sprang back to life, growing over four times their size, some even more. Since glass wasn't known to adjust to size shifts, all 175 tanks burst open, spilling water and all other contents onto the floor. The monsters, now full-sized and throughly mobile, were thrown on top of eachother in a heap. "My my." Said the Nu Mou, removing a tiny glass bell as he watched the monsters' struggle for dominance as they attemted to climb over one another. "This is quite a turn out. I'm not sure there's going to be enough room for all of them here. You better take a few home." He gave the Viera a huge smile.
"You sure you're going to be alright?" She asked without returning the gesture.
"I'll be fine. How hard can it be to steal a sleeping girl?"
The Viera shrugged before waving her right hand above her head. "I'll see you later then." There was a sudden flash of light. When the room came back into focus, the viera was gone along with two thirds of the monster population. The Nu Mou gave a small chuckle before turning back to the remaining monsters. They were like they always were; reckless, confused, and untamed. Sighing, he held the bell straight out and started ringing it. The monster's ears(those that had them) perked up and turned their attention to the Nu Mou. "Good." He said, smiling. "Now that I have your attention, how's about you do a little favor for me?"
---
Vik stared in awe as the giant metal slabs slid open. The room behind them appeared to be a a small Hanger with a hundred foot ceiling, the kind normally used as a garage for airplanes. The room, which resembled a large warehouse in appearance, was nothing special and had it contained its expected object, it wouldn't have been worth even a second glance. This, of course, was not the case, for what Vik saw left him speechless.
In the middle of the hanger was a gigantic iron maiden. It reached from floor to ceiling and took up more than half of the room. A frilly white dress covered up most of her sapphire skin and its long blond hair rested softly on her shoulders. Six feathered wings stuck out from its back. It would have almost looked human if it weren't for it's bottom half, for in place of her legs, was an ancient but complex looking...something. Vik wasn't entirely sure what it was. At first glance, it had the appearance of a cannon. Four cylindrical chambers were arranged in a square with a large gun barrel nested between them. There were also two pieces of metal resembling helicopter propellers on the end of the barrel. The name "Ultima" was printed on the side of one of the chambers.
Vik's initial intention was to run but after examining it for a while, he doubted it could even move. In fact, it was badly damaged. Weather damage had left hundreds of thousands of holes and scratches were visible on it's skin. Evidence of rust, which were present all around its lower half, had compltely eaten away the nose of the barrel. It's entire left arm was missing and to keep it from falling over, its entire body was surrounded by metal scaffolding
Vik took a few steps towards it. There were no signs of movement and it made no sounds, but it somehow felt alive. It definitely was not a statue but he wasn't sure what else it could be. Deciding that it was probably harmless, Vik ran up and started climbing up the scaffolding, wanting to view the world through the giantess's eyes. He was only a short climb from the top when he noticed something out of place. With little difficulty, he swung himself onto the wooden walkway just slightly below the wings. Unlike the rest of the body, which had a brilliant luster, the wings were dull and dusty. They seemed almost...organic. Vik carefully leaned out and pressed his palm against it. "No way..." he thought, "It's...warm!"
"Amazing, isn't she?" The voice came so suddenly, Vik almost lost his footing and grabbed onto the railing for support. When his normal heart rate returned, he turned to confront his speaker. Standing at the foot of the iron maiden was a man in his mid-twenties. He had bright red hair and brown eyes. He wore a brown pilot jacket over a black tank top and brown cargo pants. His sleeves were rolled up revealing a snake tattoo on his left arm. "Um...yeah." Vik responded in a 'I'm so busted' tone. The man gave him a small smile. At least Vik thought it was a smile.
"Why don't you come down?" The man shouted up. "You almost broke your neck." Vik stalled for a moment to look at the height of the possible fall but figured he'd have to climb down sooner or later. Slowly, he descended to the ground and slowly approached the man. Looking up at the elder, Vik expected to be scolded. But thankfully, the man didn't appear to be angry. After looking him over and confirming the boy wasn't a threat, the man finally spoke up. "How did you get in here?"
"I walked through the doors." Vik said punctually.
The man gave him a slight look of disbelief before chuckling a little. "I could have sworn those doors were locked."
"They were." Vik mumbled, raising his bleeding thumb.
"You say they opened for you?" Vik nodded. "Do one of your relatives live here? Maybe you have a similar DNA sequence."
Vik shook his head. "As far as I know, my dad's family has always been farmers and my mom's family have been hand-maids. My mom and dad were the first generation to receive a formal education and they're both doctors."
"That's strange." The man looked Vik over and noticed the uniform. "You're with the tour aren't you?"
Busted. "Um...well...you see..."
To Vik's surprise, the man started laughing. "I understand. You snuck off didn't you?" He said when he finally stopped, "I know how boring it can get. Hell, I practically fall asleep when I walk through it every morning to get to the coffee machine." He was still chuckling lightly when he stuck his hand out at Vik. " I'm Captain Nicholas Acheron. Welcome to Hanger 15."
Vik returned the handshake nervously. Most grown-ups had weak handshakes, as if they were afraid to break the other person's hand. Captain Nicholas had a strong grip and shook fiercely; something that adults hardly ever did, probably because they were afraid of crushing the child's hands. The firm handshake meant the man was treating him as an equal and Vik decided to deem him trustworthy, an honor a teen rarely gave to adults. "Vik Fellcrest." He returned. Suddenly he remembering his school's etiquette policy and started reciting the long and arduous speech. "Cyril Academy Private School proudly accepts your welcome with..."
"Ok. I get the picture. You can cut the formalities." The Captain said, ruffling Vik's hair.
"Thanks. I was having trouble remembering the last part." Vik said, releasing the handshake. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is that..." Vik had the urge to say 'thing' but it sounded rather disrespectful so he just motioned towards the iron maiden.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow. "What have they been teaching you in that school? I would have thought that a private academy would at least teach our kids the country's history."
"They do. And believe me, the textbooks never mentioned this anywhere."
The captain walked passed Vik and strolled towards the maiden. "It's a Totema." He said finally.
Vik first reaction was that it was a joke but he noticed the man's serious expression. "That's impossible." He said doubtfully. "They're only myths. Urban legends! Old wives tales!"
"No, they're not!" Nicholas boomed, sending a jolt racing down Vik's spine. "They are real. They don't just exist in stories and legends, they're written on the pages of history. And the proof is right before your eyes."
Vik stared at Captain Nicholas and then at the maiden. Yes, it did seem alive somehow, but a Totema? "Where'd you find it?" He said when he finally managed to process everything that was happening now.
"A crew of Miners found it buried in a rock bed near Roda volcano. A few months later, it's left arm was fished out just a few miles south in the Ulei River." He jerked his head to his left. A large hunk of metal that only slightly resembled an arm laid next to the Totema. "Don't worry, it's completely harmless. Its spirit has long returned to its people ever since Marche destroyed the crystal."
Suddenly, the word printed on the barrel made sense. This was Ultima, the totema of the Nu Mous. "So why's it here?" Vik said. "Shouldn't it be in a museum or something."
"Most people aren't ready to accept the fact that these beings once walked among us. You are one of them." Vik looked shamefully at the ground. "Besides, it's an interesting thing to study. With a little luck and reconstruction, we can turn it into a floating fortress. It'll be the countries greatest defense."
"So that thing's lower half really is a cannon?" Vik was so caught up in the moment, he slipped and said the "T" word. Luckily, Captain Nicholas didn't notice. "So how does it work?"
"Follow me. I'll show you how it works." He said as the chance to brag won over confidentiality. They walked over to the corner of the hanger. It had the appearance of a cluttered office. Maps and blueprints were scattered on several desks along with various tools. A safe with a combination lock rested next to a smooth, plastic cube about the same size and shape of a large dishwasher. In the back, a computer terminal was set up with so many wires and switchboards Vik couldn't even locate the on switch. Captain Nicholas marched right up to the safe and spun the dial. A small click was heard and the door swung open. Reeaching inside, the captain carefully removed a large metal box about the size of a business suitcase and laid it on top of the desk. He undid the clamps and lifted the top off. Inside of it, tucked between a red pillow, were four glittering crystals. Each were about the size of your fist and changed color with the light. Vik knew exactly what they were but could hardly believe it. "Judge Crystals..." He managed to mouth.
Captain Nicholas nodded. "They were extremely hard to track down. Ever since Judgemaster Marche abolished the judgment system, the judges may have lost the power to penalize, but they lost the power to reward too. The demand for judge points skyrocketed within seconds. The average cost for one is over 400,000 Gil. With the funds at hand, we were only able to purchase 48 of them, which could only create 4 complete crystals."
With the captain's approval, Vik picked up one of the spare judge points and examined it. "So what's this got to do with anything?"
"Heh heh. You're looking at the Totema's bullets!" Vik almost dropped the JP in shock. It was like shooting pure gold out of a cannon. No, scratch that, gold wasn't even worth half as much as these crystals. Nicholas smiled at Vik's reaction. "I know. It's a pretty expensive shot. We found that the JPs could somehow draw out the Totema's power. If we load a crystal into that cannon, charge it up with the Totema's energy, and send it at, I don't know...enemy territory, the results will be unbelievable."
"But you've only got four shots." Vik said, aware that he was only pointing out the obvious.
"Three actually. We need to use one of the crystals as a power source to keep her in the air." He replied grimly. "We're trying to find an alternative for it but we haven't gotten much luck."
"There's an alternative?" So far, the only way Vik knew how to summon a Totema was with JPs, since that's where they probably got their energy from.
"Of course. We do have one..." He paused suddenly and took a hard look at Vik. Vik just stared back, since he never learned how to look innocent. "I guess I could show you." He placed the lid back on the box and walked over to the giant plastic cube. "Don't tell anyone about this!" He said sharply. Vik nodded silently and walked up next to him, staring at the cube with mild fascination. Captain quickly punched a few numbers into a number pad on the side and lifted the lid up. A wave of frost billowed out from the newly opened container. As the frost cleared up, a foggy glass sphere came into view. It took up almost all the space inside the box. "Behold, the alternative!" The captain said, brushing off the layer of ice on the sphere's surface. Vik's mouth fell open when he saw what was inside. Everything he had seen that day was beyond belief, but what he was saw now put everything else to shame.
---
Kili walked along the endless walls of glass containers. He had been wandering around aimlessly for over an hour and not a soul passed his way the whole time. As each minute clicked by, he felt a bit of his sanity slip away. He almost regretted not tagging along with Vik, and that was saying a lot. "Where the kupo is everyone!" He shouted out in frustration. "And who the hell built this place? Did they purposely make it so we'd spend the rest of our days-" SPLASH! The sudden sound made Kili cease his current rant. He found himself standing in a small puddle. "That's weird. Did a toilet clog up or something?" Looking around the room, he saw that the entire hallway was flooded. He followed the path of the water to a room on the southern wall. The water here was ankle deep, so this was probably the source. "What happened here, kupo?" He said to himself as he waded over to the door and peeked inside. What he saw was over a hundred shattered glass capsules. "What is this..."
"The beginning of life anew." Said a hoarse voice from behind him. Kili spun around and found himself staring face to face with a black-cloaked Nu Mou and a team of monsters. Live monsters! "Wha...what do you want Kupo?" Kili managed to choke out.
"Nothing right now." The Nu mou said before smiling evilly. "But my friends here would love some fresh breakfast." He snapped his finger at a flan and pointed directly at the moogle.
Before he knew it, a melting jawline closed around Kili and swallowed him whole, plunging him into a cold and slimy darkness.