Final Fantasy: Rise of Despair
When we last left off. Casey, Racemaster of the Bangaas, easily staved off the black armies' leftovers and had a brief discussion with Harris. After said discussion, Harris revealed that the Black King is quite possibly MUCH stronger than Casey, but Casey instills some hope by proposing to find the remaining Racemasters. Now with both Casey and Adam in tow, the still growing party heads for Baguba to find Matt, the Racemaster of the Moogles.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance, I do own the characters and the plot.
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On to Baguba
"I just now realized something." Monty said. The group was heading to the East from Sprohm. The region was somewhat grassy, but the terrain was rather rugged and still had quite a few patches of rock.
"What would that be?" Harris asked him.
"We left the Chocobos at Sprohm." Monty said.
"Uh…" Adam said.
"What is it Master Adam?" Mendoza asked.
"I… forgot to tell you that those Chocobos you mentioned actually got killed by the Black Army during the invasion." Adam said.
"That's just great…" Hunter sighed.
"Bah! Where is this group's spirit of adventure? We can handle two days walking." Casey said.
"We can, but I don't think that weakling can." Laura said while looking at Hunter with a sly smile.
"Gah! Would you cut that out!" Hunter yelled.
"Laura, Hunter, we really should be on our best behavior in the presence of the Bangaa Racemaster." Kyle sighed.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Casey laughed. "Look, we're going to be companions for a while, so please call me by my name." Casey requested.
"Of course Master Casey." Heidi said.
"And you don't need to call me master either." Casey said.
"Right… Casey…" Heidi said with some difficulty.
"Heh… just like the first time we met. Though she struggled a tad she did stop calling me Master Paladin." Harris thought while looking at Heidi with a smile.
"Gah! I'm too old to be walking for so long." Syack griped.
"I must respectfully point out that I'm older than you are." Casey said.
"Not bodily though." Syack said.
"Say you said you would tell us how that was possible." Monty told Casey.
"I am most curious." Gilbert told Casey.
"Very well. I guess I can tell you some of our story." Casey said. "Here's a good spot for a break." He said, motioning at some rocks, just the right size to sit on. So the group walked toward the rocks and sat down.
"Well, I'm interested to hear your story." Harris said.
"Well, I guess I'll tell you then." Casey said. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began speaking. "I, the Moogle Racemaster, the Nu mou Racemaster, the Viera Racemaster, and the Human Racemaster were all close friends. We were all born in the same year in the now destroyed town of Helje. Our families were all close, and to each other we were like siblings. Every day after our schooling we would always meet at the town square and play together." Casey said with bitter-sweetness.
"They… sound so cute really. Like normal kids, I wonder what it would be like to have known them as kids." Heidi wondered.
"Every time that clans would come to town and engage with each other, we would always find a good place to watch the fights from. Always in awe of the battles." Casey continued. Casey then chuckled, "Although most of the time we got caught by either a judge or our parents, and boy did we ever get scolded. Ha ha ha ha." Casey's mouth then turned to a frown. "However, the year we all turned ten years of age, a great tragedy struck. A band of thieves ransacked and burned the town, our parents perished in the attack, as did the rest of our families. Only we and a few others we never knew survived."
"I'm… sorry to hear that." Syack said.
"The five of us then ran away. We didn't want the judges to take us and throw us in some orphanage. We ran and ran. We ran for days, and then we came across an abandoned Chapel." Casey said.
"Really? Where?" Monty asked.
"That I won't tell you." Casey said.
"Awwwwww…" Monty and Mendoza whined.
"Either way, we found refuge there, and the next day we found a hidden library down in the basement of the chapel. Heh… Matt and I weren't interested in the least. But we soon found that these books contained battle techniques, spells, some of which weren't even practiced for years. We dedicated ourselves to train for eighteen years in these techniques."
"Eighteen years!" Hunter gasped. "That's a long time to train." Hunter said.
"Even that could make a weakling like Hunter decently strong." Laura said.
"Grrrrrr…" Hunter growled.
"Well, we spent most of that time simply learning all of those techniques. However we spent a few more years to train our bodies to adapt to using any technique of our choosing." Casey said.
"I was wondering about that, most people can only use two sets of techniques at any given time." Gilbert said.
"That's because their bodies and minds can't adapt to use them all at once. But either way, once we finished our training, at the ages of twenty-eight, we vowed to use our strength to protect all that is right and to punish what is evil. We then used a combination of white magic, time magic, and a few of my unique healing skills to stop our bodies from aging." Casey explained.
"Wow…" Nearly everyone said.
"Yes well, we spent the next several decades improving on our techniques to new levels. And then one century from when we made our vow, we went our separate ways." Casey said.
"Why did you do that?" Syack asked.
"That is something I am not at the liberty to discuss." Casey said. "Well, we spent enough time resting, let's keep moving." Casey said.
"I agree with Master Casey." Adam said.
"Adam… how many times have I asked you to not call me Master Casey?" Casey asked with a slight chuckle.
"Um… I've… lost count Master Casey." Adam said.
"Ha ha ha ha ha." Casey laughed heartily.
"He really is quite interesting." Heidi said.
"Indeed he is." Harris said. "Hmmm… most of the story he eluded naming the others… well, perhaps that's…"
Later…
"Whew… I… need… my… sleep…" Syack gasped.
"I could… use a rest myself." Gilbert said.
"Very well, we can stop here. I'll be taking watch tonight." Casey said. "And I'll be doing that from here on."
"Huh? Don't you need your sleep?" Kyle asked.
"Ah yes, I did neglect to mention something else." Casey said. "You see, two unexpected side-effects occurred when we stopped our aging. Neither one was inconvenient though. Rather they were quite convenient."
"What were they?" Laura asked curiously.
"One, we don't need to sleep. Two, we don't need to eat." Casey said. "We can if we choose to, but several situations usually call for us not doing either." Casey explained.
"Well, that will save them from arguing over night watch." Hunter barbed at Harris and Heidi.
"Heh… I guess it does." Harris said.
"That's good." Heidi sighed. "Now maybe Harris will get some sleep." Heidi thought. "Wait… I wonder though…" Heidi looked at Harris curiously.
Later that night…
Casey was standing watch over them on a nearby hill, looking at the moon. "It's been nearly one whole century since then…" Casey thought. "I did come along willingly, but the others. The rest of them have lives they're leading other than wondering around looking for excitement, I hope we can convince them." Casey thought. "Who's there?" Casey asked.
"Well look here fellas." A Moogle Mog Knight said to five other guys behind him. "This is the guy worth 500,000 gil." The Mog Knight said.
"Oh brother… bounty hunters." Casey sighed, clearly annoyed.
"Get him!"
"Ice Breath!" Casey breathed out the equivalent of a blizzard at the small group and froze them from the outside in. We now had numerous ice statues standing in the place of the bounty hunters. "Fire Breath." Casey then breathed flames on the ice sculptors and melted them. "So sad…" Casey sighed.
Harris was breathing heavily in his sleep once again, sweating with tears leaking from under his eyes. "No!" Harris awoke with a start. "Damn it!!! Why… why won't this dream go away?" Harris asked while burying his face in to his left hand. He looked at that bandaged hand while wiping away his tears. "Hmph." Harris scoffed and then lay back down and attempted to get back to sleep. Behind him, Heidi was watching silently from her sleeping bag.
"Harris…" Heidi thought with pity.
The next morning…
"Everyone! Wake up! It's time to get moving!" Casey said with his voice raised.
"Oooooooog…" Gilbert moaned as he woke up.
"It's… too early…" Syack moaned as well.
"I'm ready to go Master Casey!" Adam said.
"I am as well." Harris said.
"Harris, why are your bandages wet?" Heidi asked, even though she knew the answer.
"Uh… rough time sleeping." Harris answered.
"You know, you never told us what happened to that hand." Gilbert pointed out.
"That's… a secret." Harris said.
"We shouldn't pry then." Heidi said softly.
"Come on weakling! Wake up!" Laura said while kicking Hunter to wake him up.
"Gah! I'm awake! Sheesh!" Hunter shouted angrily while rubbing his sore leg.
"Laura…" Kyle sighed.
"If everyone is ready then let us be off." Casey said.
"Alright! Let's go!" Monty cheered.
"Yeah!" Mendoza shouted. The two bolted toward the hill.
"No wait! Don't go over that…" Casey started to shout.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Monty and Mendoza found themselves slipping down the other side of the hill that was completely frozen over, bumping in to frozen trees as they went.
"What happened here?" Hunter asked.
"Um… I may have overdone it just a tad last night." Casey thought.
The group continued walking for most of the day towards Baguba. "Gah… I'm too old for all of this walking." Syack griped.
"Here then." Casey stopped, kneeled down and allowed Syack to climb on to his back. "Whoa… you're light." Casey said.
"Well that'll just make it easier on you right?" Syack asked.
"Ugh… that's a somewhat embarrassing sight to see." Laura said.
"For once I agree with you." Hunter said.
"You know, the way you battled those Black soldiers was amazing." Monty said.
"Heh… I've had years and years and years of experience." Casey said.
"Master Casey, are you sure you wouldn't be a match for the Black King?" Mendoza asked.
"I'm sure." Casey answered.
"But Master Casey, you know that mana isn't always an accurate representation of strength." Adam pointed out.
"I know, but if someone does have as much mana as the Black King is being described as having, then he probably does use that mana." Casey said.
"It wasn't just that, but his swordsmanship was on a different level. Even Casey's swordsmanship would barely be able to match it." Harris said.
"I guess we really will need the other Racemasters won't we?" Mendoza asked.
"Say, what are they like?" Hunter asked.
"The other Racemasters?" Casey asked.
"Uh-huh." Hunter said.
"Well, the Moogle Racemaster, he was an excellent strategist and he could take hits way better than the rest of us and he really was a weirdo." Casey said. "The Nu mou Racemaster by far was the best spell caster among us. He had the most mana and he cast the most powerful spells. He was, always so serious." Casey said.
"Hmmmm…" Laura was pondering something after hearing this. Casey seemed to hesitate before continuing.
"The Viera Racemaster was the swiftest, and possessed nearly as extraordinary magic as the nu mou Racemaster, and very skilled in all ranges of combat. She was definitely a caring individual." Casey sighed.
"Is, something the matter?" Kyle asked.
"No… just hard to imagine how they are now since I haven't really seen them in a century." Casey said. "Ah, and the Human Racemaster, he was interesting."
"How so?" Monty and Mendoza asked.
"Well, he wasn't as specialized as any of us in our respective specialties, but he was still a powerful magician, a powerful close-combatant, very swift, and very bright. He was the overall most powerful one among us." Casey said. "He and I were like brothers, any time we sparred I could never beat him."
"Wow…" Nearly everyone said in awe. Things were quiet for a moment while the group kept on walking. Now that everyone thought about it, things were too quiet.
"Hmmm…" Harris was suspicious about this and was darting his eyes back and forth. "Heidi…" Harris whispered.
"You feel it too?" Heidi whispered back.
"We're being followed." Casey whispered back to the two of them.
"Do you want us to take care of it or do you wish to have that honor?" Harris whispered.
"I'd like to see you guys take care of it, I would like to see where your respective skill levels stand." Casey explained quietly.
"I guess I'll draw them out." Heidi said as she used conceal to vanish.
"Hey what is Hei…" Mendoza started to ask.
"Shush." Gilbert hissed.
Near by…
"Say… wasn't there another person in there?" A human hunter asked from some bushes.
"Yeah, the third priciest one. Where did she AGH!!!" Before a bangaa warrior could finish asking that question, a knife penetrated his heart from behind.
"Right here." Heidi said as she drew her katana and stabbed the other guy.
"They know we're here!" A viera archer cried out, leaping out of her hiding place and open firing on the group.
"Shall I…" Adam started to ask.
"No Adam, I'd like to see what they are capable of, I already know your strength." Casey told Adam.
"Hiyah!" The archer fired a few arrows at Monty, he rolled to the side while firing his gun at her and planting a few bullets in her stomach. A ninja attempted to jump Monty from behind, but Mendoza got in the way of the attack and counter attacked.
"Blizzaga!" Gilbert caused large icicles to erupt from the ground and skewer a number of bounty hunters.
"Get him!" A number of bounty hunters tried to rush Hunter but soon found themselves unable to move. "What?"
"What? You didn't notice the wiring I set up?" Hunter asked confidently as he picked off the bounty hunters one by one.
"I don't even need to waste my mana." Laura sighed. A few melee attackers rushed her and attempted to strike her with swords, knuckles, and whatnot. However Laura's expert fencing style simply proved too much for them as she stepped away from attacks and pierced them through.
"Soul Sphere!" Kyle cast a purple orb of mana to stop a bunch of mages from casting spells on the group and then dashed through the lot of them with his lance.
"Star Cross!" Syack created a star of holy light that cast holy energy on the bounty hunters and killed them.
Heidi leaped out of the bushes while firing multiple arrows in to it and thus killing as many bounty hunters as there were in the bushes. Heidi drew her katana and practically danced her way through more bounty hunters, leaving deep gashes in their bodies as she passed by them.
Harris was allowing himself to get surrounded, merely blocking and not counter-attacking any strike made at him until a large number of them surrounded him. "Saint cross!" Harris killed them all in one blast of his saint cross attack. Naturally, our heroes made short work of the bounty hunters.
"Hm, that was well done." Casey said.
"Would the Black King really give bounty hunters money anyways?" Mendoza asked.
"No, they just put out those bounties to get rid of anyone they consider a threat, unless that person wants to join the Black Army." Monty explained.
"Figures." Mendoza growled.
"Well let's move on. If we keep moving we'll reach Baguba by the next morning." Casey told the group.
"Yes master Casey!" Adam said.
Later that night…
Monty, Mendoza, Gilbert, and Syack already went to sleep. Everyone else was sitting around the campfire except for Casey, he was already off by himself keeping watch. "You know, we really do have a powerful troupe going here." Hunter said.
"True." Laura said. "There's me, Kyle, Syack, Casey, Harris, Heidi, and Adam."
"Huh? What about me?" Hunter asked insulted.
"Huh? Oh you… nah you're too weak." Laura said.
"What!" That's when a shoe was tossed at Hunter.
"Shaddap you twit! I'm trying to sleep!" Syack shouted.
"Oooooowwwwww…" Hunter whined.
"The Black Army is still going to be a formidable force." Kyle said.
"Even so, with our strength we certainly have a fighting chance." Hunter said.
"That's true." Heidi said. "Even now, Casey is willing to help us. Now we just need the other Racemasters." Harris then got a rather serious look on his face.
"Um… Adam." Harris started.
"Hm? What is it?" Adam asked.
"What has Casey told you of the other Racemasters?" Harris asked.
"Really, no more than you guys have heard. Master Casey hardly mentions the others by name." Adam said. "I often times wonder why they did go their separate ways, but it is none of my business to pry." He concluded.
"I see." Heidi said in response.
"But you know, I should pass a word of caution." Adam said.
"What?" Hunter asked.
"As strong as all of you are, I've had a touch more experience fighting the Black Army than you guys. I've lead missions all across Ivalice to fight the Black Army, and trust me on this point." Adam said darkly.
"What point?" Kyle asked.
"The Black Army will do anything. Whatever is necessary to do what they want, they will do anything." Adam said.
"Would they honestly think of something we couldn't handle?" Laura asked.
"They just might." Harris said. "But whatever it may be, we need to be ready for it."
"…" Heidi looked at Harris softly, Harris turned to look at Heidi as she turned away.
"Heidi… she has already seen an extent of what the Black Army is willing to do. She's been through too much for someone at her age." Harris thought. "And hopefully, I won't have to put her through more."
"Something bothering you Harris?" Hunter asked.
"Hm?" Harris was snapped out of his thoughts. "You say something?"
"Uh… nothing." Hunter responded.
Even later that night…
Now everyone minus Casey was asleep. Okay that's not true, Harris was awake as well, off by himself in his workout clothing with weight strapped around his arms and legs doing martial arts routines. "It seems, as though he truly is afraid of his dreams." Casey thought while watching from a distance. What he saw next surprised him.
"Hm? Is something bothering you Heidi?" Harris asked. Heidi was behind him, also in her workout outfit.
"I'm… not going to be able to get you to sleep tonight am I?" Heidi asked.
"I'm afraid not Heidi." Harris sighed. Heidi wrapped weights around her arms and legs.
"Well then, I'm not just going to let you get ahead of me then, I can't afford to slow you down." Heidi said with a smile.
"Heh…" Harris said with a smile. "I don't think you could slow me down, but alright." Heidi stood to Harris' side and started mimicking his movements. Casey watched from a distance, watching the two silhouettes in the moonlight performing the same martial arts routine, like two figures dancing.
"Well well." Casey thought with a smile. "Watching those two together, it's almost as if…"
The next day…
"I can't believe, you gnawed on my arm the whole night…" Mendoza whined.
"Yeah well your arm isn't exactly chocobo meat either." Monty argued.
"Hey, it's coming in to view." Hunter said.
"Give me a second, I can't see as well as I used to you know." Syack said as he adjusted his monocle. "Oh there we are." From the distance, Baguba looked like massive walls with a few towers rising over the top of the walls with a single large gate made out of the same green adamantite as the wall.
"I have always wondered what it is like in Baguba compared to Sprohm." Adam said.
Meanwhile…
Two moogle gunners were sitting on top of the wall above the gates. "Hm?" One gunner picked up a pair of binoculars and noticed the approaching group. "Hey, someone's coming."
"More refugees?" The other gunner asked.
"Well, you know how most of the refugees have at least one or two armed escorts?" The gunner with the binoculars asked.
"Yes."
"From what I can tell all eleven of these guys are armed." The gunner said.
"They Black Army?"
"No but…"
"Let me see it." Another moogle voice said.
"Hm? Oh! Of course!" The gunner gladly gave his binocular to the other moogle behind him. The moogle looked through the binoculars carefully, and then smiled.
"Open fire." He said cheerfully.
"Huh? Are you sure?" The gunners asked.
"Yep. Go right ahead. I'll just sit here and watch." The moogle said.
"Um… okay." The gunners pulled out their outsider guns and aimed at the group.
Back to the group…
Harris and Heidi were walking right behind Casey when the three stopped suddenly. "Duck." They said simultaneously. By now they knew to obey first and ask questions later. They did as bullets whizzed above their heads.
"Whoa!" Monty shouted. The group noticed a few rocks nearby and went for cover. "Maybe I should fire back." Monty suggested.
"No." Casey said. "In fact, we should just try and get to the gates anyways." Casey said while smiling.
"And how many times will we get shot doing that?" Gilbert asked.
"None for Heidi." Harris said. The group looked to where Heidi was and found her not there.
"Did she…"
"Yes she went ahead of us." Harris said.
At the gates…
"They're taking cover." One of the gunners said.
"Well let's not waste ammo, let's just wait for them to come out of hiding." The other one suggested. After several minutes of waiting. "Okay they have to come out sometime."
"They already have." The other moogle that was watching them said.
"Huh?" They both said.
"Rockseal!" Heidi suddenly appeared behind them pressing a palm on each of their backs and promptly turning them to stone.
"I have to say, you're pretty good at that, I didn't even hear you coming until you neared the top of the wall." The moogle said surprisingly cheerfully.
"Are you the one who told these guys to open fire?" Heidi asked.
"Yeah pretty much."
"I want answers for why you did that." Heidi said, almost threateningly.
"You'll have to force them out of me." The moogle taunted while waving a finger.
"Okay, this guy… is annoying." Heidi drew her katana quickly and swiped at the moogle. The next thing she knew the moogle was behind her pointing a weapon at the back of her neck. "What!"
"Aw now that was just plain rude." The moogle said. Heidi turned around and finally got a good look at the moogle.
The moogle had brown eyes, stood 3'10" in height, had an antennae leading to his pom pom. He looked a bit like a Mog Knight, but he was wearing red clothing and a bit more outer armor that was silver in color on his chest, knees, and shoulders. He had a tattered red scarf around his neck made from pretty fine cloth. He wore a somewhat large brown glove on his right hand, and in his right hand was the most peculiar weapon. The weapon looked like a gun for the most part, but on top of and below the barrel were two blades that left a gap in between each of them for the bullet to travel through, on top of that there were a few small dials and switches on the handle of the gun as well.
"Who are you?" Heidi asked. That's when Casey came from above and landed on the ground. "Casey!"
"Matt, that was rather cruel of you. You know that this girl wouldn't match up to you." Casey chuckled somewhat.
"What! This is…" Heidi looked at the moogle again and found that there was another symbol similar to Casey's on the back of his left hand. However the black lines seemed to form a vague profile shot of a toad's head with a few swirls at the top of it. "You mean that you're…"
"That's right. I am the one and only Matt, Racemaster of the Moogles." Matt said while giving a wink and putting his gun/blade in to a sheath on his back.
A while later…
"So you were shooting at us to test us?" Adam asked.
"Absotively." Matt said. The group was now assembled outside the gates of Baguba.
"Um… are you really the Moogle Racemaster?" Laura asked.
"Yep."
"Really?" Laura asked, still skeptical.
"Yep." Matt said appearing behind Laura faster than Laura realized.
"I guess so…" She sighed.
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you." Harris said. Matt looked at Harris and seemed shocked for a moment.
"Is something the matter?" Kyle asked. Matt walked around Harris, studying him carefully and then…
"Wow, you're a rather serious guy aren't ya? How dull." Matt said.
"Heh…" Harris slightly chuckled.
"Ah well, forget about it. Enough talking out here, come on come on." Matt urged. He walked up to the gate and knocked on the door. A small circular section opened up in the gate.
"Master Matt!" The human on the other side of the hole gasped.
"just open the door Stan, we have very esteemed guests visiting us, and some not so esteemed."
"ha ha!" The human laughed. "Of course Master Matt." Stan closed the circular section and the gates started to open slowly. In front of the group was a vast city, bustling with activity, people walking around chatting happily and going about daily lives.
"Woooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww…" Almost everyone gasped.
"Welcome Casey and guests, to Baguba Port!" Matt declared proudly.
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Well, that be all for now. R and R.