Chapter 10
The storm was picking up intensity now, rain coming down like a tidal wave. Zidane jumped a little as thunder boomed overhead, but tried to pass it off as a sneeze.
"Real convincing…," Mikoto muttered from the edge of the deck, staring down into the dark, choppy ocean waters. They had taken to parking the Red Rose down in the harbor lately, as it could lift off easier after picking up a little momentum on the ocean. Today, however, that meant trouble.
"The engine is too cold, your highness! We just can't get it to warm up enough!"
It was cold. Not like, freezing, but it was only about fifty-two. Zidane had made sure he wore a little extra, but Mikoto simply wore her regular clothes. She said it didn't bother her. Zidane brought an extra cloak for her anyway.
"Keep trying! If we can't get off of the water, we'll never know who's up there!" shouted Zidane over the torrent of water and wind.
Freya calmly approached Zidane. "You need a new ship, I think."
"Yeah, Cid's building us one now. I-" The ship jolted, catching him off guard. He fell to the deck with a hard thump. "…I'd say that this is probably the Rose's last voyage."
The ship began picking up speed a little as the engine warmed up more. The propellers started spinning, but weakly.
"C'mon…," Zidane muttered, "just a little more…"
Mikoto glanced at the propellers and then turned back out towards the open ocean. She watched as a bolt of lightning cracked down on a little island about twenty miles out.
"Electrical discharge…Terra did not experience such phenomena."
Suddenly the propellers lurched and sped up four-fold. Shakily, the Red Rose lifted off from the surface of the ocean. The wings extended, and their propellers spun to life.
The target was a big wooded valley in the center of the Aerbs near Treno. The valley was supposedly uninhabited. Zidane, at least, had never been there.
Beatrix exited the bridge, cloaked in a white robe. "Might I suggest we all go inside?!"
Zidane nodded and started walking, but Mikoto stayed put. He grabbed her wrist and pulled. "Nuh-uh, you're comin' in!"
Zidane pulled the door closed with a sigh – it was much warmer in here. He approached a chair, but just as he began to sit, the ship lurched slightly, and the chair toppled over, causing him to fall flat on his back.
"Sorry, sire!" said the pilot. "The engine's not responding very well! The ship's just too old!"
Zidane shrugged. He stood and glanced out the window. They were now rising up over the Aerbs, and the closer they got to Treno, the lighter the weather became. Zidane suddenly wondered if this storm was centered around the valley they were going to, but reasoned that that was simply foolishness.
The ship somehow made it to the valley, but it was severely shaken. The engine sputtered and nearly died as they touched down in the valley. They'd have to keep it going – there was nowhere to park, and the Rose wasn't lifted by balloon or blimp.
Zidane could clearly see two ships in the valley. One looked like it had crashed, but the other was in one piece. It was small, and looked to be foreign.
"That's the ship," Amarant muttered, pointing at the hunk of wreckage crashed nearby. "I saw it with my own eyes."
Zidane was now a little unnerved, because he had been right – the storm ceased entirely within this valley. It was warm, too.
He leapt off of the side of the ship, and Freya and Amarant followed. Beatrix stepped down on a ladder like a sane human being. Mikoto did the same.
"Nuh-uh, no way, sis! You're staying right here!" Zidane said.
Mikoto shook her head. "No, Zidane, I'm not."
Zidane was going to continue protesting, but Amarant placed a hand on his shoulder. "Girl's made up her mind, Zidane."
The king sighed. "Fine! But you're sticking right by my side, you got that?"
Mikoto nodded. "Acceptable."
"I'll go with you two. Freya and Amarant, would you mind going and checking out the wreck?" asked Beatrix.
The other two nodded, and immediately left.
"Okay, guys. Be careful! We don't know what we're up against!" Zidane said.
"Relax. I've been sword-fighting since before you were born," Beatrix said. "Besides, I once killed one hundred knights single-handedly. To me, whatever we face is nothing more than an insect."
Zidane turned and found Beatrix grinning. He smiled too. "Yeah yeah, don't forget who saved the world now."
The woods here were rather thick, and the clouds overhead blocked out the sun sufficiently enough to make seeing difficult. A thick, gray haze wafting through the trees didn't help either.
"Get a load of this stuff, Beatrix. If I didn't know better, I'd say it were Mist!" Zidane said, running his hand through it.
Beatrix was silent.
They finally reached the clearing where the little ship sat, suspended by a blimp. Six figures stood by, three of whom appeared to be charging magical spells. What was weirdest was that each of them had a very genome-like tail wagging behind them.
As if to mirror his thoughts, Mikoto muttered, "They're genomes."
"Nah! Couldn't be…right?"
Mikoto didn't reply. She simply moved closer, keeping low to the ground. She ducked behind a boulder and waved for the other two to follow.
"Girl's crazy," Beatrix muttered, following. Zidane glanced around cautiously and then went out.
The six genomes surrounding the little ship hadn't noticed. The three casting the spell looked like normal, every-day genomes, but the other three were special.
Two had gleaming silver hair; one was a male, and the other a female. The male sat casually on a crate, munching on something. A short lance or glaive had been stabbed into the soil beside him – its blade was a shiny gold color. The female stood nearby, monitoring the generic three genomes' progress with the spell. She carried a staff.
The other special genome had jet black hair in a style not unlike other generic genomes. What looked like a katana was slung through his belt.
"C'mon, charge up that spell faster! Veitt will return soon, and it must be done by the time he arrives!" the female shouted.
The silver-haired male laughed. His laugh chillingly reminded Zidane of Kuja; come to think of it, he looked a bit like Kuja as well…without the man-thong, though. "Calm down, sis. Give 'em some time, they're just worthless soulless vessels!"
"I don't understand why we didn't just take all of the genomes from that pathetic little village! Why make more? Doesn't make sense!" the girl replied.
The black-haired genome, who Zidane thought looked the most sinister, now spoke. "Because the ones in that village have been tainted with knowledge. They are useless."
So they were making more genomes? Who, anyway?
The girl yawned. "Hurry it up, Veitt. Seriously."
"Hey sis, why don't you shut up?!?" yelled the silver-haired male.
"Hey dumbass, why don't you make me?!?"
"Both of you, be quiet. You're pathetic," interjected Black Hair.
Finally, a silvery light materialized out in the distance, right about as the generic three genomes finished their spell. They cast it, and a purple light shot into the sky. Sparkles rained down on the valley, and then a purple bubble rose up from the mountains, enclosing the entire area. It then disappeared.
"Alright. Spell finished! No one's getting in until we're done here. Hey, have any of the genomes we sent to the wrecked ship got back yet?" asked the girl, turning to face the other two.
"Course not! Do you see anybody else here, idiot?" replied the silver male.
The silver light in the distance was getting closer now, and Zidane could barely make out a figure amidst it.
"You two, shut up. Veitt is here," said Black Hair. The other two did as instructed. He seemed to be their leader.
The figure finally emerged from the woods at the other end of the clearing and walked forward. He was indeed surrounded by swirling, shining fog. Mist?
His face was indistinct, as were most of his features. Zidane could make out a long-fingered hand wrapped around a white staff at least.
"Are you three finished? It is about time. Pathetic, the lot of you. I have finished opening the channel in this valley, by the way."
The three special genomes saluted.
"So, then we didn't really need to cast that spell at all?" asked the girl.
"Hahah, I think not. Did you find out if there were any survivors from the crash?" Veitt asked.
Black Hair spoke. "Not yet, sir. I sent a group of three vessels to investigate, so if they find anything, we shall soon know."
The man shrouded in Mist laughed. "I suppose we shall be waiting for a while, hmm? Not acceptable. You three, go get them. And you three…," he said, turning to the soulless vessels. "Get on board. We are wasting time!"
The three genomes did as instructed and marched on board. The special three ran off into the woods.
Veitt glanced up at the sky. "You three can come out now. I know you're there. Behind the boulder?"
Zidane glanced at Beatrix, who shrugged. The three walked out.
"Who are you? What's with those genomes? What's going on?!" Zidane asked.
He could see Veitt's face better now, but it was still a little indistinct. He slightly resembled garland. "You two…ah, you must be the old…what were they? Yes, 'Angels of Death'. Am I right?"
"Answer my question!" Zidane shouted.
"Hah. You are quick to wonder, aren't you? Always have to be the hero, right? That's why you saved the world, I imagine."
Zidane's hand absent-mindedly gripped the handle of his holstered Orichalcon. Beatrix had her hand on the Save the Queen.
"The Mist is eternal…I don't know why you thought you had stopped it. So I've brought it back. We need it, you see," Veitt replied, swirling his hand around.
"Who's 'we'? What do you need it for?" asked Zidane.
Mikoto nudged Zidane, who turned and looked at her. "You're stupid, you know. He won't tell us anything."
Zidane growled, pulled out his dagger, and sent it spinning at Veitt. He didn't respond in the least – the dagger passed right through him.
"What the hell?!" shouted Zidane.
The Mist-man laughed. "Your part in our performance has yet to begin, Zidane. So today, you three shall leave with your lives. Besides…no harm done."
"Beatrix! Hit him with Shock! Do something!" Zidane ordered.
The knight shrugged. "I don't think it will do any good, Zidane."
Amarant and Freya approached the wreckage cautiously. The red-haired man glanced around with his hand on his holstered revolver.
"Look. Over there…" Freya whispered, pointing at the edge of the woods where three figures now emerged. Two had silver hair, one had black. Each had a tail.
"That's…that's the genome I saw in Luxor…," replied Amarant.
Three other genomes emerged from the wrecked ship, each possessing blond hair. Amarant caught one mentioning 'no survivors', and 'ruined shipment'.
The black-haired genome growled. "Ciert will be furious!"
The silver-haired girl said something and he stopped raging.
Amarant heard propellers whirring to life in the distance, and watched as the little airship lifted off from amidst the trees.
"What the hell?! He's just leaving us?!" yelled the silver-haired male. The black-haired one slugged him and muttered something.
"What do you mean, you knew?!" shouted the silver-haired male. "Why didn't he tell us?!"
Black hair said something and silver uttered what looked like an "Oh."
Black hair pointed at the three generic genomes and said something, and the silver twins moved in on them. The boy slashed them all down in one sweep of his glaive, and the girl torched their bodies.
"I guess they can't leave evidence…," Freya muttered, turning away from the rather grizzly sight.
Black hair started climbing up the mountainside, and the other two followed.
"C'mon…let's get back to the ship," Amarant muttered.
The five regrouped at the Red Rose, and they told each other what they had found out, which wasn't much.
Zidane kicked the dirt roughly. "I wonder where those three are going then?"
"I dunno, but it sounded like the black-haired one knew exactly what was going on," Freya replied.
"Well…let's just…get back to Alexandria…" Zidane muttered.
As they climbed aboard, he looked back towards the valley and wondered what all of this meant.