Fuu: Sorry it has been a while folks.
Fini: We were just lazy and couldn't have enough strength to continue chapter fourteen, right Fuu?
Fuu: That isn't it at all!
Fini: Sure. Whatever.
Fuu: Wait, who's going to say the disclaimer thingy this time?
Al-Cid: ME!
Fuu: You haven't even appeared in the story yet! –Pushes Al-Cid away-
Jote: Fuu doesn't own Final Fantasy XII, including the storyline, settings, and characters: excluding herself, Fini, Yuko, and Misa.
Fuu: Here's chapter fourteen, y'alls!
Going Into Ivalice
Chapter 14: Mystery Phobia
Although I played Final Fantasy XII a gazillion times before, I never noticed how much work these poor party members faced and went through. I mean, they were going from one place to the next and battling fiends and foes non-stop! And now, I was truly apart of it all.
So, to find Mjrn the Viera, we had to go back to the Ozmone Plains to find the Henne Mines…wherever the heck they were.
Fran and Balthier led the pack, Basch and Ashe not too far behind…leaving Yuko, Vaan, Penelo, and me usually in the back of the pack. It was fun to be able to chat a lot with the younger people, but I was a bit jealous of the older members of the group being able to lead the way. I mean; I was Raithwall's Told Legend.
"So, Fuu," Vaan went right up to my face, completely ignoring the fact that I needed personal space while walking. "I never got to ask you this, but what is your world like?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Balthier turn around and look at me. Balthier asked this question all the way back in the prison where we first got arrested, and I never really got to answer anything at all.
"There's a lot to tell, actually." I stated. Yuko nodded her head in agreement.
"Are there any precise niceties you would like to know?" Yuko asked Vaan.
"Well…" Vaan tapped his finger on his chin, thinking of something to ask. "Fuu, you mentioned marching band a couple of times. What is that?"
"Surely there has to be marching bands in Ivalice!" I stated in a slight tone of shock. Marching band was practically life for me (Besides playing FFXII of course!!)!
"Uhh…so what are they?" Vaan ignored my statement.
"Umm…" How should I explain? It was like trying to explain something to a three-year old. "It's this big group of people who have different instruments to play…and they all march in organized lines while playing music!"
"Whoa! What kind of instruments?" Penelo joined in the conversation.
"I play the clarinet!" I held up my hands to hold an invisible clarinet.
"Clarinet?" Vaan asked. I sighed…explaining this kind of stuff was going to take a whole lotta effort. Before I tried to think of an answer to Vaan's question, we all stopped our tracks when we spotted two Imperial soldiers lying on the ground…one bleeding badly.
"They're from the Imperial army." Penelo whispered hesitantly.
"But they look like they need some help." I said. I walked up, past the older members of the group, to the soldiers.
"Fuu, what are you doing?" Yuko asked, just as hesitant as Penelo.
"Traveler…have a Potion on you?" The non-bleeding soldier asked me. "My friend is badly wounded. I fear that…he may die. Please, just one Potion…"
I turned around to give a glance at everyone in my group, telling them that these soldiers were no baddies. None of them returned compassionate glances, however. What a bunch of scaredy cats…or they were just rude…
"Somebody toss me a flipping Potion here!" I scolded them. "This guy really needs some help!" Ashe finally took a vile of Potion from her belt and tossed it to me, where I clumsily caught it with both hands. I gently handed it to the wounded guard, who drank it hungrily. In no time, he stood up on both feet.
"Thank you so much, young Miss. We are in your debt." They both bowed down. I smiled approvingly, giving 'Haha' looks to everyone else in my group. The guards stood up.
"Wait, where did you dudes come from?" I asked them.
"The Henne Mines." One of the soldiers replied. "We were attacked, so we fled. We're still a little weak, so we're still going to rest a bit here."
"Take your time, bro." I said. "So, the Henne Mines are that way?" I glanced in the direction whence they came from.
"Yes. If you like, we could lend you a Chocobo until then. There are a lot of paths, which only Chocobos can cross. Let me know when you need one."
"Thanks!" I squealed gleefully. You see, the first Chocobos we borrowed from Jahara suddenly ran off while they were supposed to wait outside of Golmore Jungle…so getting another free Chocobo made me super happy. They were cute and fluffy, so why not love them? "Do you mind if we use one now?"
"Do as you please, Miss." The guard stated.
I spotted the Chocobo and hopped onto its back.
"To the Henne Mines, baby!" I said, pointing in one direction. The Chocobo cawed gleefully and scampered in that direction, everyone following my trail.
………..
It took about half an hour to get through all the paths on the Chocobo…but we finally made it to the entrance…
And we were greeted by the stench of dead bodies…oh, and the dead bodies themselves.
"Oh my," Misa gasped. "By the smell of it, these corpses are pretty new." I hopped off of the Chocobo (telling it sternly to stay in the same place and not go off anywhere) and headed towards the entrance of the cave. The odor was unbearable, which made me feel sorry for the people on CSI…facing corpses 24/7.
"These are Researchers from the Draklor Laboratory," Larsa gasped. "What were they doing here?"
"Research." Balthier responded.
Well, duh.
"Fuu, I'm scared." Yuko whimpered as she tugged onto my camisole.
"Don't worry, Yuko-chan. We'll be all right." I grabbed her hand and we all walked into the entrance.
……………
Like all Mines should be, it was dark and creepy and felt like walking in a zone of damp garbage. It was even creepier than the Lhusu Mines or Barheim Passage.
I used my cell phone as a light to guide the way of everyone, holding Yuko's shivering pale hand with my free hand. As always, I almost passed out every single time a fiend popped out of the ground or ceiling. I relied on the other party members to fight them off and eventually defeat them.
"Oh, shit." I muttered angrily.
"What's wrong?" Fini asked me.
"My cell phone lost a bar of energy." I responded, closing my cell phone with my teeth.
"How many bars does it have before it dies?"
"One more, which means that if I keep using it for one more hour, its battery will die."
"Fuu, I can't see!" Yuko shrieked.
"I'm sorry." I flicked on the light again. "Yuko, you seem pretty scared. We've been in other Mines, haven't we?"
"Yeah but these ones are darker than before." Yuko whimpered in fright.
"So you're afraid of the dark?" Misa questioned Yuko.
"Isn't every five-year old?" Yuko muttered. Larsa then came up and picked up Yuko, carrying her bridal style. "B-brother?"
"I'll keep you safe, sister." Larsa whispered. "Just stay tranquil. We'll be out of here before you even realize it."
"Thank you Larsa." Yuko snuggled herself in Larsa's arms and shut her eyes tightly.
We continued to walk ahead, twenty more minutes passing by…until we reached a larger room…Magicite was in this room…
"Look at the Magicite," Larsa stated, holding Yuko closer. "These Mines justly resemble Lhusu. Of course. Draklor must be searching for new sources of ore. Should the Resistance move, the Magicite in Bhujerba will be forever beyond their grasp." We continued looking around the room, spotting another dead guy.
"Get it away!" Yuko screamed loudly.
Since when did Yuko act like a typical five-year old? Ever since she entered the Mines…
"What is this Mist? Mjrn!" Fran ran ahead, sensing Mist…of course.
"Fran, wait up!" I called out after her, running beside her. She stopped her tracks. I stopped clumsily and we waited for everyone to catch up…and when everyone caught up, a figure came inside the room…
Mjrn.
She was stumbling oddly until she was only a good few feet away from our party.
"The stench of Humes. The stench of power." Mjrn said.
"What's wrong with her?" Ashe asked Fran. Mjrn stopped Fran from answering, who was pointing directly at Ashe.
"Stay away! Power-needy Hume!" Mjrn then ran away…stumbling oddly even more.
"Wait!" Ashe called out.
"Please come back, Mjrn! Just get us out of here!" Yuko cried. Larsa hugged her as she cried into his shoulder.
"Yuko, tell me what is disturbing you." Larsa softly asked. She didn't answer…only wails were heard from her.
I couldn't bear it. Yuko in this mysterious pain…a pain I never expected from her.
She just wanted to leave the place. I don't blame her, because it was dark and smelly and crap, but I really thought she could handle it like previous places we traveled to.
I was pissed off…I just felt anger rise up out of nowhere.
"Come on, everyone!" I shouted. "Quit standing around! We have to follow her!"
"But Fuu, it could be dangerous." Penelo exclaimed.
"Danger or none, we need Mjrn!" I ran ahead, Fran following right behind me, probably thinking my exact thoughts. We ran into a larger room…where Mjrn wasn't awaiting us…
Instead the nasty monster Tiamat welcomed us, ready for a fight.
"Oh, snap!" I shouted. "Fini, gimme my ninja sword!"
"I'm on it!" Fini unzipped my backpack and lifted my trusted weapon with all of her strength, handing it to me as fast as she could. Fran instantaneously got out her bow and arrow as everyone else also got out his or her weapons.
Tiamat let out a wild roar and stomped one large foot on the ground, making the ground shake violently. Unalarmed, I fell backwards and landed right on my butt. I looked up, where Tiamat was looking directly at me. It was about to attack me with its giant claw, but Larsa jumped out in front of me and sliced it with his sword. Tiamat shrieked in pain and staggered in a different direction temporarily.
"Yuko, please keep a close eye on Miss Fuu." Larsa ordered his sibling.
"Yes." Yuko nodded her head and turned to me. "Are you all right, Fuu-chan?"
"I'm fine, I'm a lot more worried about you." I stated. She blinked.
"Just for my little phobia?" She asked me; as if she had no idea what I was talking about. Before I said anything else, we saw Basch ran up to us.
"Legend, stand! I would not want you to get in harm's way!" Basch ordered.
"Sheesh, take a chill pill Basch!" I stood up gracelessly. Tiamat then spotted us and was stomping over to where I was standing. The ground was shaking violently each step Tiamat took, making running away a difficult thing to do. I tripped a couple of times but was able to get out of the way from being attacked. I turned around…but saw that Yuko was not behind me. Terrified, I looked around me…where she was lying in the middle of the battlefield.
"Fuu! Help her!" I heard Misa call from where Yuko was. I didn't hesitate as I ran over to Yuko, who was unconscious. Did Tiamat do this?
"Look out!" Fini screamed. I turned my head around to see Tiamat's claw up in the air, ready to strike at me. I flinched down and waited for the pain to come at any moment…any minute now…any second…but I soon realized that the pain wasn't going to come…someone stopped Tiamat!
I opened one eye carefully (If I were to die, the last thing I wanted to see was Tiamat's bloodthirsty eyes)…and saw Balthier standing a few feet in front of me. I was so caught up in dealing with pain that I didn't even hear gunshots!
"Are you all right?" He turned around and asked me. I nodded my head, although I didn't really feel okay. I was worried about Yuko-chan…
"Fuu, focus!" Fini shouted. I whipped my head around and saw Tiamat charging our way. The ground began shaking, and I scooped up Yuko with both hands and attempted to stand up. After a second attempt, I was on both feet and began running from Tiamat. I ran into one corner of the room, where Balthier stood in front of me and loaded his pistol.
"How is she doing?" Balthier asked me.
"She's knocked out," I replied. "Maybe Tiamat hit her or something."
"I don't see any injuries on her. That doesn't make any sense." Misa pointed out. I blinked a few times and noticed that Misa wasn't kidding around…not a single scratch was on Yuko's body.
"Then…how come she's unconscious?"
"Here he comes!" Balthier yelled. Tiamat was trudging towards us once more, as we were ready to attack. Balthier shot a few bullets into Tiamat, who squealed painfully and audibly. I wasn't too focused on winning the battle though…Yuko was scaring me in her condition.
"Wake up!" I called to her. I even felt a small tear stream down my cheek as I only saw her face: peaceful and undisturbed as she slept. I sobbed loudly as I lightly shook her. Still nothing. "COME ON AND WAKE UP ALREADY!!"
"Fuu." Fini whispered solemnly. I was crying so much that I didn't even feel the ground vibrate ferociously any longer. Balthier's gunfire was muted by my wails as well as Tiamat's constant shrieking.
Around that time, I felt this…warmth. Warmth in my heart that I couldn't really describe. It began to grow inside of me…as if I was becoming a new person. I lay Yuko gently on the ground and turned to Tiamat. I took out my ninja sword from my backpack and walked up to the creature.
"Fuu! What are you doing?" Vaan called out from the other side of the room. I walked past Balthier, who grabbed my shoulder.
"Are you risking your own life? You must stay back!" He exclaimed. I turned to him…where he gave me a strange stare…it was a combination of awe and fear. I lightly pushed his hand away as I continued walking up to Tiamat. It spotted me, glinting its creepy-looking eyes at me. It roared then lifted its large claw into the air…where I ran up and stabbed its leg countless times. It roared in pain…but I didn't stop the attacking. I kept going on until my arms were extremely sore.
Tiamat couldn't bear the pain, so he used his claw to push me aside and into a wall, where I hit my head against the cold stone. The power drained from me…I felt normal again. I heard one more shot of gunfire before I blacked out…
………………………………
"She wakes." Fran said.
I opened my eyes to see Fran, Ashe, and Vaan looking over me. We were out of the Mines and back at the entrance of the Mines. The sunshine from the Ozmone Plain nearly blinded me.
"Are you all right, Legend?" Ashe asked me.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." I said, getting up wearily. My head was aching like crazy, as if there were tons of loud and obnoxious sounds buzzing through my head.
"You really gave us a scare when you walked up to Tiamat like that." Vaan stated.
"Tiamat…did we win?" I asked dumbly.
"Patently." Ashe replied.
I suddenly remembered Yuko-chan.
"Where is she?" I asked tensely.
"Over there with Balthier and Mjrn." Fran pointed in a direction. I realized that I missed the whole event where the demonic creature came out of Mjrn and she turned back to normal. She wasn't psycho anymore. I stood up and jogged over to where Yuko was.
"Yuko-chan, are you—," I stopped my sentence when I noticed that Yuko was still unconscious…Mjrn was bending down and feeling her forehead as Balthier sat on a rock and glanced at me. "You're kidding me…she's still out cold?"
"It's been almost a full hour since the battle." Balthier stated.
"I sense…fear." Mjrn said. "She has a fear inside of her that cannot be contained very well."
"What…her fear of the dark?" I questioned.
"No…something that fears her doubly." Mjrn responded.
"I just want her to wake up, I'm scared." I said, the tears slowly coming back. As the first tear trickled down my face, Balthier got off of the rock and began rubbing my back. I liked the attention, so I couldn't resist beginning to weep in his chest.
"F…Fuu-chan?" A weak voice was heard. I stopped crying and looked down…Yuko woke up.
"Yuko!!" I shrieked excitedly, giving her the biggest hug in the history of big hugs.
"Thank goodness you're up, Yuko! We were scared to death!" Misa exclaimed breathlessly. She was as worried as I was.
"I…fainted?" She wondered.
"Uh, duh!" I said. "For about an hour!"
"Well…I think I know why…" Yuko sighed. "I regained a memory…"
"You mean…" Fini stated. "You mean a memory from your Ivalice self?"
"Correct." Yuko nodded her head slowly.
I looked over at Balthier, who was the only other person who knew Yuko's secret. He nodded his head.
"Can't you trust me enough?" He asked me, grinning my favorite grin.
"Of course I can." I grinned back. I turned back to Yuko's attention. "So, what was this one about?"
"Well…" Yuko began…
…
It was another beautiful, sunny day. Yuko was walking throughout her house, running through the hallways. She giggled cheerfully as she enjoyed the freedom of running around.
"Larsa! Larsa! Larsa! I want to show you something!!" Yuko chanted happily. As she was running past one room, she heard her father's voice…and Vayne's. She stopped running and leaned against the door, listening to their words.
"Vayne, you haven't been acting like yourself." Her father said. "Is something troubling you at all?"
"What a daft inquiry to ask me," Vayne responded. "Maybe the question should be to you, dearest father. Is something troubling you?"
"My son…you are acting rather chary…don't cause any redundant misconduct."
"Father." Vayne growled sternly. "Leave me be."
Yuko heard Vayne's footsteps exit her father's throne room, and she ran down the hallway to the end of it as she saw Vayne exit and leave the opposite direction.
"Vayne…is being chary?" Yuko asked herself.
………………………
"The Mines reminded me so much of that eerie feeling I got that day…that suspicion I had towards him…" Yuko said.
"I still don't fully understand." Fini sighed.
"Neither do I, but we'll get to the resolution soon, Fini." Yuko agreed.
"I dislike interrupting," Mjrn said. "But we must return to Eruyt with haste."
"Mjrn is right." I said. "We need to go back to Eruyt, and soon we'll be back on track to go to Mt. Bur-Omisace."
"Yuko!" Larsa suddenly called over. Yuko smiled and ran up to her brother.
"Larsa! Did I distress you too much?" Yuko hugged her older brother.
"Only a little." Larsa chuckled. "I'm just pleased to see you well."
I smiled at how Yuko and Larsa were so happy around each other…they loved each other very much, as normal brothers and sisters should.
To be continued in chapter fifteen…