Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance
When we last left the group. Harris' doubts only deepen and Heidi starts to see that something is indeed bothering him. The group finally arrives in Uladon Bog as what is apparently the ghost of the bog appears and attacks the group. With the group about to be crushed under a massive wave of water, is there any chance of survival for them?
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance, I do own the characters and plot.
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The Phantasm
The waves were starting to converge on the group, Monty, Mendoza, and even the much calmer members of the group were panicking to an extent.
"This is bad." Hunter said.
"We need to think of something." Gilbert said.
"Everyone get close!" Harris ordered. Everyone got as close to Harris as they could. "Shell!" Since everyone was in such close quarters everyone was affected by the shell spell and thus a blue aura covered their bodies. The water crashed on top of them, although everyone was hurt, they were okay.
"Whew… things could have gone much worse if Harris hadn't thought of that." Heidi sighed.
"All right you coward! Where are you?" Hunter demanded as he prepared an arrow.
"Heh heh heh heh… I must say, you are certainly an interesting group? What makes you come to this bog and risk my wrath?" The ghostly voice asked.
"We seek Clan Phantom. And we know they are here." Harris said.
"So show us where they are or face the consequences once we find you." Kyle threatened. "Easier said than done though, the wet air is making it hard for me to smell out anything." Kyle thought.
"You will not find Clan Phantom." The voice said.
"They're not here?" Monty asked.
"The reason you won't find them is because you'll die here!" The voice threatened.
"Death by what? Your spells? Please." Laura mocked.
"You dare mock me!?! You shall face the consequences." The voice shouted. Lightning then began to strike all around the party as the clouds darkened.
"He's going to attack us again!" Mendoza shouted.
"Gya ha ha ha ha ha ha! I must say, this group interests me. Be ye friend or foe?" The voice asked.
"That all depends on whether you make us allies or enemies." Harris answered calmly.
"Very well, I shall ask you a riddle. If you can answer correctly, you might just live. If you get it wrong, you will never find what you seek." The voice said.
"A riddle? Hmph, very well then." Gilbert said.
"Upon mortal misery it draws power, all who see it have met their final hour. Its powers are beyond mortal call, its purpose to bring doom to all. Rarely is it ever seen, because it hails from where none have ever been. Tell me, of what creature do I speak?" The ghostly voice asked."Uuuuhhh… maybe it's a dragon." Monty suggested to the group.
"No, that wouldn't fit in with it drawing power from other people's misery." Kyle said.
"Perhaps it's a lamia or lilith?" Mendoza suggested.
"That doesn't fit either, and now that I think about it, everyone knows the natural habitats of both of those." Laura said.
"I know. Tonberries!" Hunter said.
"No, those things do fit sort of, but I doubt its powers are as great as the riddle describes." Gilbert said.
"Maybe it's a vampire." Heidi said. "No wait, that isn't quite right either." Heidi said before anyone could agree or disagree. Harris was oblivious to this deep in thought. Finally…
"THE ANSWER IS A DEMON!!!" Harris shouted.
"Gah! Couldn't you have talked about it with us?" Kyle asked.
"If it's wrong we're doomed." Monty moaned.
"Correct…" The voice answered.
"That's right?" Nearly everyone asked.
"Now then, how about showing us who you are?" Harris suggested.
"Very well then." An unknown voice that vaguely resembled the ghost voice from earlier said. The fog cleared up a little bit and an old nu mou illusionist walked forward.
"Huh? Who is that?" Mendoza asked. "And how come I never smelled him?"
"Maybe he hid himself that well." Heidi said.
The illusionist had brown fur and a slightly gray nose. He had blue eyes, the left of which was behind a single eyeglass. His black pointed hat was bent to the right, and his completely black robes with gold runes on the lining of them were dragging on the ground somewhat. He stood about 5'3" in height. Unusual for most nu mou, he had no earrings. "Hello, I am Syack." He said.
"Syack… dang where did we hear that before?" Mendoza asked.
"Ummm…" Monty couldn't figure it out.
"Honestly, can you two be that dense?" Laura asked. "He's Syack the phantasm."
"Oh yeah…" They said. "Hey!" They shouted when they realized that she insulted them.
"Anyways… why have you come to my bog?" Syack asked.
"Do you have a place where we can speak?" Harris asked.
"Oh right. Right. Come along then." Syack said. He motioned for everyone to follow him.
"So what was that ghost thing you were doing?" Hunter asked curiously.
"Hm? Oh that's right. I'm a ventriloquist, which is how I projected my voice. And then the ghostly illusion you say was done by a candle light on me standing in front of a piece of cloth, and the light bouncing off of the cloth on to a mirror." He explained.
"Well, that's a decent trick." Laura said a tad disinterested.
"Ah, here we are." Syack said. The group stopped at a patch of grass that wasn't quite so muddy.
"What's here?" Monty asked. Syack clapped his hands and then the ground opened up beneath them.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Needless to say, Monty and Mendoza were the only ones screaming as they suddenly fell down below. Although everyone except for Syack was a tad shocked. Everyone landed on some soft padding at the bottom of the pit so that none of them would get hurt.
"I've noticed that all of these clans have had rather shocking ways of getting to the bases." Heidi said.
"Indeed." Harris said.
"Come on, chop chop." Syack said impatiently. After a little while of walking down a tunnel, the group came out of a tunnel and back in to open air in a part of the bog that had various trees, tree-houses, and lots and lots of water and mud.
"Why couldn't we just walk here?" Kyle asked.
"Look around you again." Syack said. Everyone looked and cliff walls surrounded the whole place with only a few carved in stairs leading over them. "And there are no stairs or ladders in from the outer wall either." Syack said.
"That's certainly an interesting defense." Gilbert said.
"Look, let's hurry and move, I'm not very comfortable with company so let's get this talking over with." Syack said.
"Man, what a cranky old geezer." Monty thought. The group went to one fairly large building that was a lot like a jungle hut in that it was on a wooden platform suspended by wooden posts that had stairs leading up to the wooden building with a straw roof. Once they entered, Syack went to a seat that was on a slightly suspended platform and sat on the cushion that was at the center of the platform.
"Well sit down, hurry it up now." Syack said as he pointed at the cushions placed in a semi-circle around the platform. Everyone took a seat on the cushions cross-legged, Harris taking the one that was directly facing Syack. "So, what is it that you want?"
"I'm assuming you didn't get my letter since you clearly weren't expecting us." Harris said.
"You're assuming correctly. Any travelers that come here I scare them off. I prefer being alone." Syack said.
"But what about this clan then?" Mendoza asked.
"The clan consists of old acquaintances that I knew. In fact before that blasted Black King took over they didn't even live here." Syack said. "However I felt just a tad bit of pity since I knew them and managed to slip out the location of this place to them." Syack said.
"Well regardless…" Harris started. "It's the black king that I'm here to talk about."
"Oh?"
"Yes, I am Harris, the clanmaster of Clan Falcon."
"Oh, so you're that whippersnapper that's on the top of the wanted list. Well don't get high and mighty on me now you hear!" Syack said in a really cranky tone of voice.
"Must… resist… temptation to… clobber old man for… insulting clanmaster Harris…" Mendoza thought to himself as a sweat drop came from under his helmet.
"No intention of that I assure you." Harris assured Syack. "You see, people on the outside have been living under the Black King's oppression for ten years now, and it has gone on long enough." Harris said.
"And?" Syack asked
"And I am hoping to unite with other powerful clans to take down the Black King." Harris said. "Here with me are the clanmasters of Clan Forest." Harris said gesturing to Hunter with his hand.
"Hiya!" Hunter waved.
"Whippersnapper." Syack muttered, clearly referring to Hunter.
"And the clanmaster of Clan Laura." Harris said while gesturing a hand to Laura.
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Laura." Laura said.
"Naming the clan after herself? She must be quite conceited." Syack thought.
"And now I am here asking for the support of Clan Phantom." Harris said, sensing Syack's rather negative thoughts of them he took a deep bow. Heidi took a deep bow as well, followed by Gilbert, Kyle, Hunter, Mendoza, a hesitant Laura, and Monty was the last one because it didn't quite click with him for a second.
"Hmmmm…" Syack stared at Harris for a moment. "Well, I'm not so sure about some of those other guys, but I can tell that this Harris fellow has his heart in the right place. Wait though… I am getting a feeling of some, inner-turmoil. I may not like being around people but I can tell these kinds of things nonetheless, and I don't think I can help someone who can't help themselves." Syack thought. "Sorry, try your luck with someone else."
"Hm?" Harris slowly rose from his bow and looked at Syack inquisitively.
"I have my reasons, but the only ones I'll give you is that I am perfectly happy in the confines of this bog. Sure the Black King knows about me since any Black Soldier that comes to this swamp gets attacked by my phantasm skill and my clan members, but other than that I don't want any more trouble with the Black King." Syack said. "It's none of my business what happens outside." Syack said.
"How can you…" Monty started to say when Heidi quickly put a hand around his mouth.
"Don't make this more difficult than it already is." Heidi whispered to him.
"Very well then." Harris said standing up.
"You may stay here for today, and tomorrow, but I want you out by the next day." Syack said.
The group was now in a mess hall of sorts in a long house suspended on another wooden platform over the mud and water.
"Man, what a cranky old man." Hunter said.
"At least he's not an excitable weakling." Laura sighed.
"Hey!" Hunter shouted.
"How can that guy say all of that? Does he even care about what's happened?" Heidi asked as she took a sip of some water.
"You'll have to forgive Syack. He's always been rather hard to reach." A nu mou beastmaster told them.
"Yeah, he's been like that since…" A human soldier started when he quickly clasped his mouth shut.
"Since what?" Monty asked, his curiosity now piqued. Heidi was looking at him inquisitively as well.
"Gah! Nope! I'm not supposed to say anything." The soldier said.
"That idiot nearly spilled it." A Moogle Mog Knight whispered to himself.
"Surely we can convince him." Kyle said.
"Yeah, I mean if we convinced someone as stubborn as Laura we can surely convince him." Mendoza said.
"What was that?" Laura asked threateningly.
"Uuuuuuuuhhhhh…" Mendoza quickly turned around and ran out of the house.
"You had better run!" Laura yelled.
The next day…
Syack was in his hut, sitting on his cushion reading. A knock on the door was heard. "Who is it?" He asked.
"It's Harris."
"What do you want?" Syack asked.
"I would like a chance to speak with you." Harris said.
"Oh alright, enter then." Syack said. Harris opened the door and entered again. "So what is it?"
"What you said yesterday about anything going outside these walls not being any of your business. It made me think." Harris said.
"Think? About what?" Syack asked impatiently.
"If you truly don't care or never did care about the outside, then why did you let in the people of your clan?" Harris asked.
"Because those people are my business." Syack said. "After all, they were old friends before I became a hermit and then a clanmaster." Syack said.
"I see then." Harris said. "That deluge spell that you cast on us when we first came to this swamp was quite well practiced." Harris said.
"Well I've had many years to practice my magic. I may be old but I'm not too shabby with my magic either." Syack said.
Harris sighed. "In my lifetime…"
"For someone so young you sure talk like you're old." Syack interrupted.
"I'm older than I look." Harris said. "But as I was saying, in my lifetime, I've found that power and wisdom is a gift that people do receive if they really want it in this world." Harris said.
"Yes, very true. Very true indeed." Syack said.
"But when it comes to that power or wisdom, people have a choice whether to abuse it and make people suffer, or to take the responsibility that comes with it and do the right thing. Yet so far, there are none that choose not to use it, and yet here you are." Harris said, letting that last little bit sink in.
"What are you saying?" Syack asked, getting agitated.
"You are a powerful illusionist, so why are you just sitting here waiting as Ivalice falls deeper and deeper in to darkness and despair?" Harris asked.
"Are you implying that I'm in the wrong just sitting here and letting the world deal with its own problems that I have no business meddling with?" Syack asked, standing up.
"I am saying that you are wrong just sitting here and not using your gifts!" Harris said standing up. "We've all suffered some tragedy involving the Black King, and I'm beginning to think that you are no exception." Harris said with his tone of voice being far more assertive.
"Get out of this house." Syack said.
"You have already saved those that you know. And thus you have shown that you have started to accept your responsibility, and now you can't just abandon those that need you just because you feel that you don't have any business." Harris said.
"I told you to get out." Syack said.
"You have made it your responsibility, and now you are abandoning those that need you!" Harris said. "Whether you deny it or not, you've made it your business!" Harris nearly shouted.
"I said get out!" Syack shouted.
"Good day to you then." Harris said with a hint of anger. Harris turned around and left through the door. Once he shut the door, Syack slumped back down on to his cushion, and his hard look turned to a much more softened and hurt look.
"Whippersnapper…" Syack said softly as a few tears started to leak out from his eyes. He turned around and pulled apart a piece of the floor, underneath it was a small box. Syack opened the box and inside of it were a blue feather and a picture of a young nu mou boy riding on a somewhat younger Syack's shoulders. "…What does he know?" Syack asked himself as he cried while looking at that picture.
"It… can't be…" Heidi thought from the shadows, having used conceal to make herself invisible to Syack, looking over his shoulder. If you could see her, her eyes had a look of shock and pity in them.
A little while later…
"… So that's what you found." Harris said, having just heard what Heidi said about Syack. He was thinking now, as his left hand was rubbing his chin.
"If there was anything else I knew it might have helped. But that's all I know." Heidi said.
"He must have experienced a terrible loss." Harris said. "Where is everybody?" Harris asked.
"Gilbert is looking at a collection of books that Syack has in some tree-house, Kyle is with Laura trying to keep her from getting on anyone's nerves." Heidi explained.
"What did that woman just say I was?" Came the shout of a random clan member.
"Ugh… Laura." Kyle's voice moaned.
"What? What did I do?" Laura's voice asked. Both Harris and Heidi sighed.
"What about Hunter, Monty and Mendoza?" Harris asked.
"Those three are on the wall to the south, but I couldn't tell you what they're doing up there." Heidi said.
Speaking of that wall, Mendoza was having a flexing contest with a bangaa dragoon, Monty was laughing at the both of them. And Hunter was just looking over the bog.
"Wow… you really can see a lot from up here." Hunter commented.
"Yep, we have a view of nearly the whole bog." A moogle black mage said.
"Yeah, I can see nearly everything. Pools of water, animals running about, the black army." Hunter was saying. "Wait… the black army?" Hunter asked himself as if he had just realized what he said. He looked straight south. "Oh damn it!!!" Hunter shouted.
"You really see black soldiers?" The black mage asked terrified.
"Is their any way to alert the clan?" Hunter asked.
"There is one." The Black mage pulled a horn with a rotating lever on it and he began twisting the lever around and around and the horn blared loudly.
"Ow…" Hunter moaned as he closed his ears. Down below, you could see the clan and anyone below scrambling up the stairs to the top of the wall. Syack walked slowly out of his hut, and then disappeared. "Huh? Where'd that old geezer go?" Hunter asked.
"Who are you calling and old geezer?" Syack demanded.
"Gah! When did you get there?" Hunter asked.
"I teleported a few times with my fairy shoes, now what in blazes did you blow the horn for?" Syack asked the moogle harshly.
"The black army is marching this way." The moogle explained while pointing in the direction of the black army.
"Hm? Is that all you called me for? Even if they knew about this place they couldn't get over the wall anyways." Syack said.
"Tell that to those cannons that they're wheeling over here." Monty said as he peered ahead.
"Hm?" Syack peered forward and true to Monty's words, the black army was wheeling a bunch of cannons toward the wall. "What? But when did they… doh never mind!" Syack said. "Clan Phantom! Prepare to defend the bog!" Syack shouted.
"Yes!" Everyone shouted. All of the clanmembers got their equipment, and some ropes. Once they grabbed the ropes, they tied a knot to an anchor point on the ledge, and then scaled down the side of the cliff while Syack was preparing to teleport.
"Oh and by the way…" Syack said to Harris and the rest of the group.
"Hm?" Harris looked at Syack.
"Beat it." Syack said.
"I beg your pardon?" Kyle asked.
"This is my business and none of yours." Syack said as he teleported down.
"Harris…" Heidi said while looking at him.
"Of course we're not going to leave them." Harris said.
"But how exactly are we getting down?" Monty asked.
"Ah-hem." Hunter pointed at the ropes that the clan had left tied up near them. "Going down anyone?"
"Wait… we have to climb down those things?" Monty asked. Mendoza grabbed Monty. "Wha!"
"Come on pal!" Mendoza ran toward one of the ropes, jumped off the cliff at an angle.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Monty shouted. Mendoza grabbed a rope and slid down it.
"Take the ropes if you will, I'm taking a faster way." Harris said.
"What do you mean?" Laura asked.
"Ready Heidi?" Harris asked.
"Of course." Heidi said cheerfully. Harris and Heidi hopped lightly over the ledge.
"Are those guys nuts?" Laura asked.
"No, they're not." Gilbert said as he started to let himself down on a rope. Kyle, Laura, and Hunter looked over the side of the cliff and saw Harris and Heidi literally running down the side of the cliff.
"At this point, I'm not entirely surprised by anything those two can do." Hunter said.
"I guess I shouldn't either." Kyle sighed.
At the battlefront…
"Sir! When do we fire the cannons?" A human soldier asked.
"Did you already forget that we didn't load those cannons?" The moogle in front of him asked. The moogle was a Mog Knight in red clothing that had black gloves, boots, and small plates of armor around his neck and chest. He was a male, his eyes were brown, and he stood a good 5'3" in height. Which is quite tall for a moogle.
"We didn't sir?" The human asked.
"Those were just to make that clan come to us." The moogle said. He looked through a pair of binoculars. "Heh… and it looks like it worked." He said with a smile. "Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarge!" The moogle shouted.
"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" The large number of black soldiers, surged forward, ready to demolish any enemy that stands in their way.
"Alright, magic users stay back here with me!" Syack commanded. A nu mou black mage, a moogle black mage, a human white mage, and a nu mou beastmaster stayed with him. "Everyone else go!" Syack commanded. Soldiers, dragoons, and a small variety of other melee fighters then surged forward to meet the army headlong. "Prominence!" Syack slammed his hands in to the ground, a very wide area of the ground underneath the black army cracked open and flames from below blazed upward and burned several of them to death. The ground then quickly sealed itself back up.
"Chocobo Rush!" A moogle animist caused a stampede of chocbos to appear from nowhere and trample over several black soldiers. However a black soldier thief came from behind and stabbed him in the back. "Gah!"
"Tempest!" Syack thrust his hands in to the air and lightning bolts began to rain down on several black soldiers at a time, electrifying them until they perished. "Heh… I may be old, but that doesn't mean I can't fight." Syack smirked.
"Fire breath!" The dragoon breathed out intense flames that burned a number of soldiers in front of him. "Gah!" A human fighter suddenly came from the side and hit him with a backdraft punch and sent him sprawling. "Oooogh. Whoa!" The dragoon narrowly jumped back to avoid a subsequent attack.
"Gah! These guys are starting to get through!" The human white mage said as he healed the dragoon from a distance.
"Soil Evidence!" Syack stomped the ground and caused an earthquake that caused rocks to rise from underground and batter black soldiers in to submission. However he failed to notice a large number of arrows heading for him. "Ah!"
"Cover!"
"Gah!" Syack ducked, however the arrows never struck him. "Hm?" He looked up and saw Harris standing in front of him with all of the arrows that were flying at Syack lying on the ground in front of him. "What are you still doing here?" Syack asked.
"Taking my responsibility." Harris answered while drawing his swords. "Full-life!" Harris revived the dead animist before rushing off in to the fray.
"Jump!" Kyle leaped over the army and came crashing down with his lance.
"Get him!" Some black soldiers attempted to rush at him from one side.
"War cryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!" Kyle shouted at the top of his lungs. Most of the black soldiers charging at him froze in their tracks stunned by the loud cry. "Bangaa CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!" This time he shouted loud enough to send a wave of sound in front of him that knocked back most of the black soldiers before he resorted to using standard melee attacks.
Black soldiers were wading across the water to get to the magic users unnoticed when. "Sonic Boom!" Hunter fired an arrow that sent out a blast of sound that killed those soldiers and several more. "Ha! How was that?" Hunter asked Laura in a taunting manner.
"I call upon thee! Shiva!" Laura summoned Shiva and had her freeze over the water the soldiers were wading across and thus kill them by freezing them. "Weak." She answered him.
"Gah!" Hunter cringed in frustration before going back to shooting down Black Soldiers.
"Conceal." Heidi made herself invisible once again.
"Hey where did she… gah!" The sucker that asked that got killed straight off as Heidi slashed him in the back.
"You should know that I kill the first person to ask that." Heidi said.
"Jump her!" A bunch of soldiers attempted to converge on Heidi, but she disappeared and got out of the way just before they did jump her.
"Too easy." Heidi disappeared and within the next thirty or so seconds…
"Gah!"
"Guwah!"
"Ack!" Black soldiers began dying left and right from stab and slash wounds.
"Saint Cross!" Harris repelled several attackers that tried to surround him. Harris then raised his swords up to block about eight attacks at once with little effort.
"This guy's tough…" One soldier groaned.
"I've got him! Blizzara!" A black mage attempted to hit Harris with a blizzara spell.
"Hmph." Harris didn't even show any sign of worry. He spun around and slashed all of the soldiers that tried to attack him and then leaped in to the air above the black mage, causing the spell to miss by a longshot.
"Oh crap." The black mage managed to say before Harris landed and killed him with a single slash. Harris used the momentum from the slash to spin around and continue to slash two more enemies before spinning to the side to avoid several arrows and swords. "Saint cross!" Harris once again repelled more attackers with a ring of holy magic.
"Grrrr… Freezeblink!" Syack caused numerous icicles to rise from the ground and impale a very large number of black soldiers. "Heh…"
"Wild Swing!" Mendoza spun around and slashed away at several black soldiers before rushing forward and sword fighting with five black soldiers at once. "Fire Sword!" Mendoza quickly slashed through all five of them in one swipe as ninjas and assassins from the nearby pools of water leaped out from underwater to try and jump him.
"Bolt shot!" Monty himself then leaped out from underwater and fired some shots in to the air that caused lightning bolts to rain down on the surprise attackers.
"Thanks pal." Mendoza said as he stabbed another guy with ice sword.
"No problem." Monty said as he used fire shot.
"… meteor!" Gilbert was nearby those two and caused a massive meteor to crush a large number of black soldiers.
"Augh… one-thousand men, and they can't even fight a few measly members of some clan?" The moogle in command of all of this asked.
"Look! That guy must be the commander!" The clan Phantom soldier shouted.
"I've got him!" The dragoon shouted.
"Hang on, I'm coming for back up!" The Phantom mog knight said. All three charged at the mog knight commander.
"Pfft. I was getting bored anyways." The black Mog Knight said as he gave a twisted smile. He quickly drew his blade and blocked two quick slashes from the other mog knight before thrusting his blade and stabbing that mog knight in the stomach.
"Gwah!" The mog knight collapsed. The second after the black mog knight stabbed the other one he turned around and jumped on to the lance that the dragoon thrust forward and ran along the length of it before stabbing the dragoon through the chest.
"Argh!" He screamed. The mog knight then leaped up in to the air and spun around so that he was looking at the soldier.
"Help…" the soldier squeaked out.
"Mog lance!" The mog knight thrust his sword forward and sent a small yellow lance made from mana flying forward until it pierced through the guy in the lung.
"Gwah!" He shouted in agony.
"Too easy." The Mog Knight scoffed.
"Ice shot!"
"Huh?" The mog knight turned to the side to see icicles flying at him. He quickly slashed his sword horizontally and shattered all the icicles before they could reach him. He found Monty, Mendoza, and Gilbert all looking at him. "And you are?" The Mog knight asked.
"We are elites of clan Falcon!" Mendoza declared. "Now then, prepare yourself to die!"
"Elites of the infamous clan Falcon hm? This might be fun." The Mog Knight said with a smile.
"Be careful you two." Gilbert warned.
"Hiyah!" Mendoza lunged forward and the two began a high-speeds swordfight. At first Mendoza seemed to have the edge since he was keeping up the pressure with quick and powerful slashes, but the Mog Knight ducked under one slash and slashed his sword at Mendoza's chest and left a decent cut on it. "Gah!" Mendoza fell back for a moment.
"Oh no you don't! Stopshot!" Monty fired a bullet that had a greenish/bluish aura around it. The Mog Knight jumped backwards to avoid it.
"Firaga!" Gilbert cast a large fireball that crashed down on top of the moogle. "That got him. Wait… what?" Much to Gilbert's horror, the fireball suddenly bounced off of the moogle and hit him instead. "Gaaaaaaahhh!" Gilbert went sprawling for a moment. He looked up and saw a green aura around the moogle. "When did… he have reflect on him?" Gilbert asked.
"Oh… don't you know? I'm a time mage as well." The Moogle told him with a clearly superior attitude.
"We… can still… win…" Mendoza said while getting up. Gilbert stood up as well.
"Don't underestimate us." Gilbert warned.
"Just give me a reason not to." The mog knight dared.
"Monty, Mendoza, triple attack number three. Let's go!" Gilbert ordered.
"Right!" They both said. Monty hopped on to Mendoza's shoulders as Mendoza charged forward.
"Oh you guys are trying to make me laugh to death or something?" The mog knight chuckled. The mog knight dashed forward.
"Go!" Mendoza cupped his hands in front of him, Monty leaped off of his shoulders and on to his hands. "Alley-oop!" Mendoza gave Monty a boost and Monty went leaping high through the air. Mendoza then quickly drew his blade and began sword fighting with the mog knight again.
"Oh please." The Mog knight was once again trading blades with Mendoza but this time he was forced to go on the defensive more as he realized that Monty had begun firing bullets at him from above. "Damn." The Mog knight cursed as Mendoza began to gain the edge in the fight. Monty landed far behind the mog knight and…
"Fire shot!" Monty fired a flaming bullet at the mog knight. The mog knight however saw this coming and back flipped over it.
"Fire sword!" Mendoza created a sword from flames and the bullet got absorbed in to it.
"Fire!" Gilbert cast a small fireball on Mendoza who once again absorbed it in to his fire sword
"Alright, that's all I can maintain!" Mendoza shouted as he advanced with the now blazing fire sword.
"Damn." The mog knight said. He jumped backwards but still got singed by a few embers that came flying from the sword once he swung it.
"Ice Shot!" Monty fired several icicles that the mog knight ducked under, this time they hit Mendoza's fire sword that caused both attacks to disappear as a large cloud of steam came from this. Mendoza leaped backward out of the cloud of steam and landed close to Monty. "Now! Bolt shot!"
"Thundaga!"
"Bolt Sword!" Mendoza thrust his bolt sword in to the cloud of steam as large lightning bolts hit the cloud and bolts from Monty's bullets struck it.
"What are they… OH DAMN IT! That's right, steams conducts electricity!" The mog knight thought. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The mog knight could only scream as several volts of electricity coursed through his body.
"Ha! We did it!" Mendoza shouted.
"Yes!" Monty shouted.
"That's a relief." Gilbert sighed. His eyes then popped open. "No… he survived!" Gilbert suddenly shouted.
"Haste!" Too late, The mog knight cast haste on himself and zipped at Mendoza and slashed at him rapidly.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Mendoza cried as his body was being bombarded by these rapid slashes. The mog Knight finished by kicking off of Mendoza and practically soaring through the air.
"Mog lance!" The mog knight thrust his blade rapidly at Monty, who could do nothing to stop the yellow mana lances from bombarding him.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He cried.
"Flare!" Gilbert attempted to hit him with a flare spell where the mog knight would land. The area where the mog knight landed hit a spike in temperature and blurred vision there. "Did I get him?" Gilbert asked.
"Guess again!" The Mog Knight rushed forward and rammed Gilbert hard in the abdomen.
"Hack!" Gilbert was rammed so hard that he coughed up blood as he sprawled backward.
"Any last words?" The Mog Knight asked.
"… may the black army… be damned to heck." Gilbert cursed.
"Not a good way to enter the afterlife." The mog knight said. The mog knight dashed forward ready to strike down Gilbert.
"Cover!" Harris then teleported right in front of Gilbert.
"Huh?" The mog knight was a little surprised by this. Quick as a flash, Harris drew both his knight swords and stopped the mog knight's charge cold.
"Hiyah!" Harris then pushed the blade away and took a quick slash at the mog knight, who barely brought his blade up in time to stop the attack. However Harris wasn't done with just one slash and thus he proceeded to rapidly slash at the mog knight as the mog knight kept desperately blocking the slashes.
"Who is this guy?" the mog knight asked himself. Harris then used the momentum from one swing to spin to the side of the mog knight and attempt another slice, however the mog knight leaped backwards to avoid it.
"Not so fast." Harris said as he dashed forward and continued his merciless onslaught. The mog knight made a vertical slice that Harris blocked and pushed away. This made both of them leap back and then leap toward each other high in the air and swordfight in mid-air.
"Damn, this guy is fast. Even when I'm under the influence of haste." The mog knight thought to himself. Harris blocked one horizontal slice and made an upward vertical slash that the mog knight dodged by pushing off of Harris' sword and thus pushed himself away from Harris. The two landed and looked at each other, that's when the mog knight noticed a bleeding cut on his cheek. "Ah! This guy actually managed to… hit me? Who the hell is he?""Are you three alright?" Harris asked.
"Clanmaster Harris." Mendoza sighed.
"Yeah… we're good." Monty moaned.
"Oh… so you're Harris the white paladin." The mog knight said. "Ha ha ha ha. This is great, I've always wondered what it'd be like to battle the most wanted criminal in Ivalice." The mog knight laughed.
"Hmmm… this guy is pretty good. To be able to battle Monty, Mendoza, and Gilbert with hardly any wounds." Harris thought. He looked at Monty and Mendoza. "Curaga!" Harris healed those two with a powerful white aura. "You two get Gilbert to Clan Phantom's white mage while I take care of this guy." Harris ordered.
"Yes clanmaster Harris!" Mendoza saluted.
"Be careful, he uses time magic as well." Monty warned.
"Like I'm going to let you get away." The mog knight threatened. "Mog lance!" He thrust his blade and sent numerous mana lances at the two as they got to Gilbert.
"Cover!" Harris teleported in the way and used his swords to knock the mana blades to the side with unseen speed.
"What! To do something like that requires superb accuracy. This will be a challenge after all." The mog knight thought to himself with a strange mixture of shock and glee. "Listen up Harris the white paladin!" The mog knight demanded.
"Hm?" Harris did seem to focus more.
"Today is the day that you will die! After all, you had the unfortunate luck of running in to me as your opponent!" The mog knight shouted.
"And you are?" Harris asked, maintaining his calm disposition.
"I am Chief! One of the five colonels of the Black Army!" He shouted.
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Can Harris battle one of the feared colonels of the Black Army? And can the rest of them hold off against the rest of the Black soldiers? Find out… next chapter!