"And you're ok with this?"

Penelo sat close to Basch, during one of her fanciful trips to Archadia. Before Archadia, there was Ashelia. He was smitten with her in the most discreet way possible. His charge allowed him the proximity he desired to be close to the princess, yet the codes and regulations surrounding his chosen lifestyle prevented him from taking that extra faithful step. It was a sort of limbo, which he was most comfortable in. He could take care of her and love her from afar, yet never once need he step out of line. She would be an artful masterpiece, which he intended on guarding from the public, while admiring the same shrine, which everyone else seemed desperate to glance at.

"She has made her choice; one that we must all respect."

Penelo jumped off the table they were both perched upon in Larsa's exterior office. She swung in front of him flashing the letter in front of his face as if though the paper itself was a living breathing creature that needed to be acknowledged.

"Al-Cid is making advances towards her! Can't you see, she's warning you? She wants you! Don't do this!"

Crossing his arms, he let the silence between them linger longer than necessary. He needed the right words if he were to explain to Penelo his state of mind. At the forefront of his mind, his first reaction was political in nature. He would act distant, unmoved by this bit of news. Running off to Dalmasca, putting Al-Cid in his place and running away with the bride was more of a fantasy. He knew this, Ashelia knew it too. Explaining these binding rules between Ashe and himself would prove difficult. Penelo was still young at the time and believed love conquered all.

She knew nothing of life and its bountiful sacrifices.

"The Lady Ashe understands what an alliance between Rozarria and Dalmasca signifies." He pauses searching for any hint of comprehension on Penelo's tiny facial features. "Her wishes are to be respected as they are for the greater good of Ivalice."

Penelo sighed placing the letter on the desk. He had already given up.

"I can't believe you." She hissed as she begins to shake him. This is uncommon of her.

Something is definitely wrong.

"I can't believe you ate the last succulent fruit," he hears a new distinct voice. He grabs his double-handed sword and within seconds, it lands a mere inches away from the victim's neck. Vaan yelps, which Balthier would later categorize as a 'feminine squeal' once Basch was fully awake. All of his surroundings were different. He was not in Lord Larsa's exterior office. Penelo was nowhere near in sight. The memory was real aside from the interruption from Vaan.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up." Vaan scratched his head worried that his next words would surely earn him a decapitation. "I was just going to-" Vaan stopped mid-sentence. Basch was still a bit shaken from the dream. Vaan had always been warned by Balthier that the legendary knight was cranky at the start of his shift. This behavior bordered near menacing.

"So, uh, what were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing of consequence."

"Oh, right."

The two of them had the last shift of the night, which meant the moment they woke up was the start of a new day. With two less people on their team, it meant fewer hours to sleep and more work that needed to be done. It could be accomplished, but Vaan had almost regretted his adventurous personality traits as Basch did not speak to him for the rest of the watch. Was he to poke and prod for more information? It amazed him how Penelo and Fran were able to retrieve information from Basch, while the rest of the team had to play a game of cat and mouse with him.

Vaan hated games. He was the direct type not feeling the need to hide behind false sentiments. That wish to avoid fake sensibilities was both an irritating facet to his personality and refreshing all at once. Basch, indeed, liked that the younger man was willing to confess his flaws and tell everyone what he thought of them. What he didn't like was Vaan's need to be so open with the group. There was no need to indulge the group about the difficulties of menstruation and how that was a most dangerous time for him as Penelo would tend to use him as a punching bag. Not that Vaan would complain, as what he most detested was that during Penelo's...time...she was much fiercer and deadly with her weapon proving what Vaan knew all along. She wasn't unleashing her full strength against him during their battle of the strongest youth in the group! The more he dragged the issue the more unsettled Basch became about the whole scenario. Menstruation was a normal part of a woman's biology, but Vaan's research into the matter was a whole other issue.

He was quietly thankful that Fran promised to maim him should Vaan's menstruation research expand beyond the realm of humes. Vaan knew then that once the viera promised bodily damage, it was time for him to be silent about his current musings.

After several excruciatingly boring hours the watch was over and the quartet gathered together to detail their newly thought out plan. Each one of them sat around a map of the Ozmone Plain as they attempted to pinpoint Shemhazai's exact location.

"Lore tells us she frequented the Ozmone plains for its proximity to Jahara and the Giza nomads. We shall frequent the area until she appears."

"How do we know she's going to be there?" Vaan asked. He was unnerved by their lack of preparation, but he was the only party member willing to voice these concerns.

"I know she is here. For she still whispers to me, taunting me, as she excites those most vulnerable to her."

One could not argue against the viera's natural ability to speak with Espers such as Shemhazai, so their only option was to travel in vain all over Ivalice or believe that her hearing allowed her to stay in touch with the Esper. Fran, though she acknowledged her gift, was ruffled by the experience. She felt she brought this upon the party so there were times she took the lead and forced the others to stand behind and watch. Believing this was a wise move, the party headed out waiting for her capture.

Having now roamed across the Ozmone Plains, the party was beginning to tire, as their three-hour long search had yet to produce any results. No one would verbally acknowledge their frustration, but the frenzied look on everyone's face as soon as they heard a blade of grass being crushed in the distance only to discover a strain of hare or snake was most unappreciated. The gods were mocking them.

"She is here. Shemhazai taunts the younger set."

Basch's eyes widened, as he quickly understood what the viera's words meant. Before he could yell for Vaan to take cover, the centaur came crashing through an invisible veil that only Fran's perfected vision could detect. Charging towards him, Vaan was taken unaware and slammed against a high rock, common to the area. His body slumped to the ground. Basch now waited, as Vaan was known for feigning injury as a combat strategy. The boy does not awaken so everyone now must go into formation. Two of them will tend to the menace at hand, the other stands back and heals. Fran would be a fighter in this scenario and Balthier would tag along. Casting a curaga spell upon Vaan, Basch concentrated on both Vaan and the fight in progress.

If one wished to test their sanity, they only need look upon Shemhazai and her billowing cape. To witness her, Basch would have believed that a strong burst of wind was flowing north, affecting this Esper's appearance. However, the remaining evidence said otherwise. The air was stale as their had been no fresh breeze in the Ozmone Plains as of yet. Vaan recovered shortly and ran next to Basch who was calculating his next move.

"Balthier will be taken next."

His prediction was correct as Balthier fell to the ground blinded by an offensive spell. He was willing himself to continue to fight, aiming at any direction, his katana now a disabled extension of his arm. Fran was shooting arrow after arrow, while Vaan was preparing himself to lunge towards the earth bound creature once more. Basch grabs the back of Vaan's vest and points at Shemhazai using his other hand.

"She intends to target Fran. We must protect her."

Understanding the order the two run over to meet with Balthier and heal his lost sight. The three men scattered towards Fran once they heard a loud crash. It was so unlike them to not cover one of their own, but losing an Esper was also inconceivable at one point. Everything about the fight went against all of the experience and years of wisdom, that Basch had earned on the battleground. Though his battles with Espers were few, there was a law that stated "once conquered the Esper was bound to its owner". How Shemhazai was able to release herself, from that irrevocable bond would need to be looked into after the battle.

Fran was on the floor, but she picked herself up. Balthier had already raced to her side, ready to aid her. Vaan had drawn his sword and attacked the foe only to be repelled. Basch knew weapons were useless at this point as the villain shoot out bursts of fire, energy, and bullets against them.

Upset at his own incompetence, which he himself did not tolerate, he swung his sword and began to attack the ruby beast repeatedly. She does not flinch. Again, her attacks are known to him. The Esper disables the group and charges after her true victim. The men are merely stray cattle in the way of the predator's intended prey. Again, dissatisfied, Basch hastily runs to an area where they kept their spare weapons. Their was a gun and a double handed sword, which was in need of slight repair, though much stronger than the weapon he currently held. Unfazed, he tossed his weapon to the side, so that the double handed sword may guide him to victory.

Now the battle darkened as he became unaware of his surroundings. The Esper is forced to have the blunt sword repeatedly plunged into her side. She made no sign of retreat. Again, Basch continues with the torment. He goes after her calves. They are her weak point. The weapon will now stab its victim repeatedly, hurriedly, in a rhythmic fashion until the victim is slowed or deceased. Somewhere in the distance, Basch hears Vaan's voice as he unconsciously verbalized the number of hits he had made with his blade. The two of them attacked the beast in a similar motion, together, slashing and hacking away, needing the beast to be slowed.

One hit.

Two hits.

Three.

The fight continued.

Balthier held Fran, as she was the victim of Shemhazai's rage. She wished not to be a burden. She is no damsel to be rescued. Pushing him off she gave him the signal to join the others, but at that moment, all three of them have been immobilized. Basch looks wary as his sword no longer moved with the speed of lightening. He has been halted. He looks at Fran ready to break the spell if he must. Basch had always been ready to sacrifice his life for that of others.

It was the only way he knew.

Fighting the spell he watches as Fran gracefully grabbed her bow and arrow. She locked on to the target. Her eyes neither squinting nor trembling at the pain she has experienced. In that next moment, the bow is released and rammed into the core of Shemhazai's body. She is now weakened, as Basch is able to move once again. He desires nothing more than to have the creature be destroyed, but that was Shemhazai's final bow. She cows down and whispers the name of Ultima to the group.

They have won Shemhazai, but there are still others.

"What do we do now?" Vaan asked his mentor.

"We wait." Balthier replied.