Chapter 19: A Matter of Trust
"…Rrggh…" A light groan is followed by Riku slowly lifting his head up while simultaneously opening his eyelids. His bones creaked in pain, and he could barely feel his muscles save for a little soreness in his arms. The first thing he notices is the glare of the sun above, which is something he didn't quite expect considering where he fell unconscious at.
"Outdoors…again?" Riku comments in a drowsy tone, his breath feeling rather arid as he leads into a cough from his dried throat. "God, I feel terrible…How long was I out for?" The teenage Overlord appears to not recall everything that he had done before, so while he tried to remember everything he takes one hand close to his mouth and appears ready to summon water into it from the palm.
He releases very little water, but he at least understood that it was because he was so weak that he couldn't get much out. Once he had satisfied his dried throat, Riku takes a look around to see where he was at. He glances to the left and sees the entrance to Palmacosta a few feet away along with a couple Rheairds nearby. It doesn't take long to realize that he was sitting on a Rheaird himself, and his body was placed in such a way that he wouldn't fall off if he were to suddenly wake up.
"Palmacosta…When did we get here? Last I remember, we met with the Renegades and were ready to go to Rodyle's ranch…" Riku lays one hand on the side of his head, which was wracking with pain as it tried to remember anything else. "…Where is everyone?" Is the next question the teenage Overlord placed on his mind.
Riku decides to sit on the Rheaird and slowly breath in and out to recover at a decent pace until he sees the others slowly walking back through the town. At that point the teenage Overlord leaps off of the Rheaird and goes to greet them. Lloyd speaks first, saying in a surprised tone "Hey, you're back to normal already!"
"I'm a little shaken still, but I can at least move again." Riku comments in a happy tone as he scans over the group. The first thing that sticks out is that Mithos is standing with everyone, but then the teenage Overlord looks up and something else comes to his attention. Botta was standing behind everyone with a look of reverence on his face directed at Riku.
"B-Botta?" Riku murmurs out the man's name, and as memories of before start to resurface he grips the side of his head again and remembers the events that unfolded at Rodyle's ranch, from the destruction of the Desian at Presea's hands to conquering his own doubts and doing the right thing by saving Botta and his two allies from drowning.
"That wasn't a dream then…I actually did it, didn't I?" Riku comments after letting out a slight laugh. Zelos nods his head with a smile and comments "You sure did! That was freaking amazing!"
"I can't believe you managed to pull it off, that was rather foolish, but at the same time very brave…" Raine says with a smile towards the teenage Overlord. "Alright guys, let's not bother Riku about this too much." Genis points out, being aware of how overwhelmed he might feel after just getting up.
"Heh, thanks Genis…" Riku says with a humble smile, leading to him looking at Lloyd with a serious expression and asking "So umm…What happened after I fell unconscious?"
"Well, the Professor picked up your body and brought you back to us, and afterwards we had to fend off a lot of dragons that emerged due to Rodyle's self-destruct attempt. Genis got this idea to play the flute Mithos gave him, which caused the Summon Spirit Aska to break through the glass dome, after which Mithos saved us with the Rheairds he borrowed from the Renegades." Lloyd has to take a momentary breath after explaining all that in rapid succession.
Raine goes on to state afterwards "We came back to Palmacosta to let Neil know that everything was ok, and he's going to send out a couple boats to the ranch to pick up all of the freed captives. Now we're planning to return to the Renegade Base and let Yuan know that everything went well."
"…That's right, I saved the people in the ranch too." Riku comments as he puts a light smile on his face, leading to Lloyd tilting his head and asking in a concerned voice "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Sorry Lloyd, I just…Kind of feel like a heavy weight has lifted off my shoulders. Anyways, lets go ahead and see Yuan." Riku decides to get everyone back on track with that second line, and everyone boards the Rheairds afterwards. Thankfully, there was enough there for Botta and the two Renegade soldiers to ride on.
As the group takes off, Riku is quick to fly beside Botta's Rheaird and ask of him "Are you feeling ok? I know you weren't underwater at all, but…" "If you're worried about my condition, then don't be. Minus a few minor wounds from fending off Desians, I'm otherwise alright." Botta politely replies.
Botta then turns towards the teenage Overlord and asks him "So, why did you save me?" Riku says in response "You want the cheesy response or an honest from the heart one?"
"Heh, I'm just more curious to know why you rescued someone who is by all means your enemy." Botta explains his question a little further, and with a nod of his head Riku answers "Well to be honest, I don't considering you an enemy. I wasn't around when you fought Lloyd and the others in the Sylvarant Base, and I was outside when you fought them in the Tethe'alla one. You never opposed our goals when I was around, so you never did anything to earn my ire."
"Is that so?" Botta says in a tone of surprise. "Not only that, considering the goals of the Renegades, you are more of an ally than you are our foe. We just didn't see things the same until this point. Of course, I guess there is the matter of you murdering the Chosens that came before Colette…" Riku ponders that final thought for a little bit as he leans back in the air and folds his arms behind his head.
"Heh, that's true. Everyone involved in this accursed affair has blood on their hands, but the time for amending those mistakes will be after we have dealt with Yggdrasill's plans." Botta replies. "I guess saving you gave you a slightly new outlook on life? Glad I could help then, Botta." Riku replies.
"As am I glad you and the others were there to help, Elemental O…No, Riku, I shall call you by your real name from here on out. I am forever in your debt." Botta's words are met with a humble chuckle from Riku, who proceeds to point out "It was Sheena's pacts with Undine and Gnome that saved you in the end, even if it was my power that quelled the water."
"Very true. I will extend my thanks to the summoner later, but my original words still stand." Botta then turns his head back towards the front of his Rheaird, while Riku glances at the half-elf and thinks to himself "…You did it Riku, you made the right decision by saving Botta. Changing the timeline for the better is going to take some getting used to, so it might be best not to do anything like that for a little while…"
After a few more minutes of flight, the group lands their Rheairds outside of the Sylvarant Renegade Base, which was in the middle of a vast desert just over the sea to the west of Palmacosta. Thankfully, the air wasn't that arid, though such a thing barely mattered since the moment the group entered the technologically advanced base they were met with a cool and relaxed atmosphere.
It was but a straight path through the base before the group arrived at Yuan's office, which was decorated with ancient memorabilia and bookshelves filled with old text books. Yuan sat back in a purple clothed chair with a book in his hands as the doors slid open, at which point he set the book down and commented in a somewhat surprised tone "You're back."
"Yep. We managed to finally defeat Rodyle and deal with his Mana Cannon." Lloyd replies as Yuan rises from his chair and folds his arms against his chest. The man looks over at Botta with more surprise on his face than one would expect him to have, and he commented not long afterwards "Botta…You're alive?"
"In the flesh, Lord Yuan." Botta replies in a docile and polite tone of voice. "Heh, so the mission went off without a single complication. Color me surprised…" Yuan smiles partially and holds his head down, but from the way he spoke it was as though he had a little difficulty comprehending what had went down.
"It's all thanks to Riku. Rodyle tried to flood the entire corridor leading to the Mana Cannon with sea water and then blow it up when we defeated him, and Botta chose to stay behind and deactivate the self-destruct device." Genis is the first to explain, but then Colette enthusiastically holds her fists up and states "But then Riku took a portion of Undine and Gnome's powers and was all 'Huah!' 'Urgh!' 'Argh!', and he managed to save Botta by pushing the water back!"
"…Is that true, Elemental Overlord?" Yuan calmly asks after hearing things out. Riku nods his head in response and says naught a word, to which Yuan replies "I see. Well then, I shall activate the dimensional transfer system. You may now travel between the two worlds at your leisure, thank you for your help."
"Before we go, I thought I'd bring it to your attention that our companion borrowed a Rheaird from you, so if you want to pick it up now would be the best time." Raine explains, leading to Yuan looking at her with a puzzled expression and commenting "Excuse me? Borrowed one of our Rheairds?" He spoke mostly to himself.
Shaking his head, Yuan further explains "Never mind, we'll take care of it soon. Before you go, ask the control room staff about procuring energy for the dimensional transfer system." The group then turns around sans Botta, but before they leave the room Yuan specifically asks "Elemental Overlord, could you stick behind for a bit? There are a few things I wish to discuss."
Riku glances at the group and comments "You mind waiting for me outside?" Lloyd nods his head and replies "Sure, we'll probably be in the control room for a few minutes." "Just don't take too long, I don't want to be sweating out in the desert heat." Zelos jokingly comments.
After the group leaves and the door shuts, Riku turns around and looks at Yuan while gesturing out with his right and asking "What do you want Yuan?" Yuan walks past his table and stands a few feet away from the teenage Overlord with Botta standing off to the right of him. Folding his arms against his chest, Yuan asks in a curious manner "Tell me, Elemental Overlord, what motivated you to save Botta?"
"Are you unappreciative of my efforts?" Riku asks, to which Yuan shakes his head and comments "Not at all. It just find it to be a rather bizarre action considering my allegiance."
"If I may interject for a moment, Lord Yuan, but from what I was told Riku never considered us to be an enemy because he was never around when we directly opposed the Chosen's group." Botta's explanation leads to Yuan glancing at him before commenting "Interesting, but don't you think you are being rather trusting considering what other side I am aligned with."
"You mean Cruxis? Why should I be concerned about that?" Riku calmly asks as he has a brief smile on his face. Yuan grins and comments after a momentary laugh "What proof do you have that I am fully on your side? For all you know, I've played you and the Chosen's group like chumps to get rid of Rodyle for me, and now that I've left you here alone I could capture you and take you to Lord Yggdrasill like I was originally assigned."
"If that was your plan, Yuan, then you wouldn't have brought this up to me. Besides, I don't have reason to suspect you of being truly loyal to Yggdrasill at this point." Riku's words were rather interesting to Yuan, who proceeded to ask after a momentary pause "Elemental Overlord, tell me, did you save Botta to earn my full loyalty towards the Chosen group's cause?"
Riku immediately shakes his head and says in a barely offended tone "Not at all Yuan. I did it because it's the right thing to do. But I guess helping out an ally of yours was just an added bonus. Besides, don't you think it's time you stop losing those close to you?"
The teenage Overlord immediately widens his eyes in surprise while Yuan does the same, only the Renegade Leader has his heart skip a beat and his cool is lost on his expression for a single moment. After a rather awkward pause that puzzled Botta, Yuan comments "Botta…Could you leave us for a bit?"
"Absolutely, Lord Yuan. I will go deal with the spare Rheairds." Botta politely departs from the room after glancing at Yuan and Riku for a moment. Once Yuan was certain that Botta was out of earshot, he lets out a slightly unhinged chuckle and comments "Heh, so my assumption was right all along. To think that being proven right would be more terrifying than the alternate…"
"…You always suspected it, huh?" Riku points out in a semi-apologetic tone of voice. Yuan lifts his head up slightly and glances at the teenage Overlord, saying to him in a firm tone "The first thing you did on this world was immediately go to where the Chosen and her friends were on the Fooji Mountains. I didn't think much of it at first until Kratos told me that you mentioned Lloyd to him during your battle, but what you have done here today has proven to me my original theory."
"…I can't believe I am about to ask this, but…Elemental Overlord, you know everything that is going to happen on this world before it occurs, don't you?" With Yuan asking such a precise question, Riku didn't feel like hesitating as he responded with a simple "Yes."
Yuan turns around and closes his eyelids, letting out a tired sigh before he shakes his head slowly as though he was about to get a headache thanks to this revelation. "The implications of this are astounding…" Yuan's distressed words made Riku feel terrible, since he was the one responsible for these conflicting emotions inside of the man.
"Yuan, I didn't mean to-" Before Riku can apologize for what he has done, Yuan glances over his left shoulder and asks "What are you exactly? A seer of the future? A visitor from the future?" Riku doesn't want to worsen the issue further, and after glancing down and to the side the teenage Overlord replies "I think it's better I don't answer."
"…No, you're right." Yuan calmly states as he turns around and glances at the boy, lowering his arms inside of his cloak as he proceeds to ask "So tell me, how much do you exactly know?"
"I think the most important thing I can say to you now is that I know exactly why you are doing all this for Martel. More specifically, I know your relation to her." Riku explains quietly, and after Yuan nods his head he turns around and walks towards his desk. He places his right hand on the side, revealing a single engraved ring on one of his fingers.
"…Martel was a kind woman, one who dedicated herself to peace between Sylvarant and Tethe'alla alongside her brother, Mithos. Her goal always remained selfless, even when the world refused to change despite all of her efforts. She was a half-elf, and will forever be my wife…Hence why it is imperative that I stop Yggdrasill's plan, and give her the rest she rightfully deserves." Yuan's explanation of his motives in better detail is given a bittersweet tone, and once he's done he turns around and faces the teenage Overlord.
"…I suspect you know the truth about Yggdrasill, that he is truly Mithos the Hero. I know that the original Elemental Overlord came to this world and spoke with Mithos, but I have never learned exactly what went down. Tell me, would you perhaps know what he wants from you?" Yuan proceeds to ask in a curious tone of voice.
"…Mithos wants me to use my powers to revive Martel. Not in a body of another, but actually physically revive her." Riku explains things without revealing that Mithos is a part of their group now, but he had a little hesitation as he goes through with this. "You could do that? You could actually revive Martel?" Yuan looks completely surprised by this bit of news as he asks the question.
"I could, yes, since she still has her body. But I'm wondering if that's really the right thing to do. I mean on one hand I'd be helping Mithos, who has ruined this world with his actions, but on the other hand, Martel is an innocent victim and your wife, and-" "You cannot revive her, no matter what happens." Yuan interrupts Riku with a surprising response, leading to the teenage Overlord blinking a couple times as he glances at him.
"I honestly didn't expect you to say that, Yuan." Riku comments, leading to Yuan stepping forward away from the desk and stating in a very firm tone of voice "It was really hard to…But as much as I would like to see her again, the world and the people she knew have changed so much, and not for the better. With Mithos' age of lifeless beings plan and Kratos becoming a shell of his former self, not to mention my own atrocities, I can only imagine the strain it would put on Martel's heart."
"Hmm, thanks for that answer. That honestly helps me with this whole dilemma. Now Yuan, can I ask something of you? Can I trust you to keep everything we've discussed from Botta and everyone else?" Riku puts all of his trust on the table here, and considering everything Yuan has done in his life that was a heavy risk to take.
"Yes, I definitely think that will be beneficial to both parties. There is something I feel I should mention though. Kratos is probably close to putting everything together, and if he were to let Mithos know-" "Kratos won't do it, trust me." Riku tries to reassure Yuan with those words, and the man nods his head and states "Very well, I will trust your word on this."
"However, I want you to tell me something. Is there anything I should be aware of in the immediate future?" Yuan tries to pry out an answer from the teenage Overlord, but Riku states quickly in response "Sorry, I can't do that. The most I can suggest is try and keep Botta out of the Renegade affairs for a while. Please trust me on this matter."
"I figured that would be your response. Then I guess there is nothing else for us to discuss for now." Yuan stated in an almost disappointed tone of voice. "Yeah, I should really get back with the others. It'll be a while before we cross paths again Yuan, so I hope you fare well until we meet again…Sorry you had to find out the truth about me." Riku replies as he turns around and begins to leave the room.
As he departs, he thinks to himself about how terrible it was to not tell Yuan about future events, especially regarding the fate of the Great Seed and Martel along with it. "Tsk…" Riku scoffs in anger, but takes a deep breath upon remembering that he vowed to stop worrying heavily about such affairs. "Just keep going forward Riku, everything will work out fine in the end as long as you stay on path…"
After Riku has left the Sylvarant Base, Botta goes back into Yuan's office, saying to him in somewhat worried tone "Lord Yuan, I have put the Rheairds away as you suggested, but I do believe there is something we need to discuss regarding them."
"Are you referring to the female half-elf's comment regarding a companion using them? Yes, that has perplexed me quite a bit. I didn't send for reinforcements, which means someone knew they were at the ranch…" As Yuan ponders this matter he sits back down on his chair and folds his hands in front of his face. "If I may, there's something I'd actually like to report now that the Chosen's group and Riku have left the premises." Botta says in a respectful tone of voice.
"Yes, Botta?" Yuan says as he glances towards his comrade. "When we were saved from the dragons in Rodyle's ranch, the one who brought the Rheairds was a blonde-haired half-elf. I consider it no mere coincidence that his name was Mithos." Upon Botta mentioning this, Yuan's face went pale with shock, and he widened his eyes as he glanced up at his comrade.
"What did you just say?" Yuan asks. "I believe it would be right to assume that Mithos has infiltrated the Chosen's group. Should we attempt to kill him while he's pretending to be a normal half-elf?" Botta tries to offer a solution to this predicament, but Yuan is left thinking about everything he had discussed with Riku just moments ago.
"You knew of this as well, didn't you, Elemental Overlord? Hmmm, there has to be a reason you didn't tell me about Mithos…Could it be that…" After Yuan thinks about this to himself, leading to him saying to Botta "Let us not try anything foolish. We'll bide our time for now, and strike when the moment is right. Besides, there is still one thing I require of him…"
Outside the Renegade Base, Riku joins back up with the rest of the group, who seemed to have been sitting at the Rheairds for a few minutes now. Zelos is waving his shield in front of his face like a fan, panting as he glances at the approaching teenage Overlord and says to him "You…You really need to have a better sense of time Riku…We've been out here for a while now."
"No we haven't Zelos, quit being a baby." Genis comments in a nonchalant tone of voice. Zelos glares at Genis and says to him "Quiet runt." He then looks back at Riku and says to him "Anyways, we're ready to go back to Tethe'alla. We're gonna drop Mithos off at Altessa's and then get back to work."
"Say, how are you gonna get back to Tethe'alla? You can't use the Rheaird's energy whatever to cross dimensions…" Lloyd asks in a curious tone of voice. Riku points towards the sky and comments nonchalantly "Oh, I'll just fly out into space and head right over to Tethe'alla. I know where Altessa's house is anyways."
"…Oh yeah, forgot you could do that. Is Tethe'alla and Sylvarant really that close together?" Lloyd asks. Riku nods his head and explains in a rather calm manner "Well yeah, the world would be screwed if both sides were separated by even an inch. Anyways, I'll see you on the other side!" The teenage Overlord quickly kicks off the ground and rockets off towards space, while Lloyd and the rest of the group glance up for a few seconds before they get on the Rheairds and take off for the dimensional rift Yuan opened up for them.
After a few minutes, Riku ends up back in Tethe'alla, but he takes a quick glance at Derris-Kharlan before he makes it there. After a few more minutes, he then flies straight for Altessa's house at high speeds, making it back there a good few minutes before Lloyd and the others arrived and landed their Rheairds. As Lloyd approaches from the entrance, he looks at Riku and says in a surprised tone "Huh? You made it back before us?"
"Well yeah, I'm actually really fast when it comes to aerial travel. You can't expect someone to travel the vast depths of space at 60 miles per hour, after all." Riku's explanation is met with a puzzled tilt from Genis, who asks "Huh? What's a mile?"
The teenage Overlord shakes his head and brushes the matter off with a simple "Never mind. So Mithos, you'll be sticking around here for a while, right?" Mithos looks at Riku and says to him "Y-Yeah. I hope you all come and visit me when you get a chance."
"Don't worry, we'll be back here eventually." Lloyd comments in an assuring tone, while Genis steps beside his friend and comments "Yeah, why wouldn't I come see my friend? …Sorry again about the flute, though."
"Genis…Stop worrying about that, I told you it'd be fine." Mithos quietly reassures his friend of this matter, and then looks towards Presea and says to her "Presea, while it's on my mind, I shall be praying for your success in avenging your sister."
"Wait, avenge her sister?" Regal's interest is piqued by this particular comment. Lloyd glances over at Regal and says to him "Oh yeah, sorry we hadn't told you yet. We were so wrapped up with Rodyle and the Otherworldly Gate that we forgot."
Zelos oddly tries to divert attention away from this matter by mumbling to Lloyd "Umm, hey, you know, that's not really a topic we need to drag out now, right?" Genis exclaims in disbelief to the Chosen "What the hell Zelos?! This is important! Presea's sister was killed?"
"Killed?" Regal says as he curiously tilts his head. Colette proceeds to explain "Yes. It seems Presea's younger sister served under a noble named Bryant…But then, he ended up…" As Colette sinks her head in sadness Sheena blurts out in anger "He's a monster! How can anyone kill a child like that?!"
"…It can't be, could it?" Regal whispers to himself as his face becomes somewhat pale. He then looks at Presea and asks of her "Presea, what was your sister's name?" She responds with a hesitant sounding "…Alicia…"
"…Then it's settled." Regal comments as he hangs his hands down in an almost shameful manner, which leads to Lloyd asking "Do you know something all this, Regal?"
Regal nods his head and bluntly demands of the group "Take me to Altamira. I believe I know who that murderer might be." Presea's thirst for vengeance comes to the surface as she proclaims excitedly "Really?!"
"Alright Regal, we'll make a detour to Altamira, for Presea's sake. Is that ok with everyone?" Lloyd asks. "Do you even need to ask? Let's just get a move on, I want that murderer brought to justice!" Sheena replies earnestly.
Mithos starts to head towards Altessa's house while everyone walks back for the Rheairds. With only Zelos and Riku lingering behind for a moment, the Chosen murmurs out "Damn it all, I was really hoping Regal wouldn't stick his neck out like that." The teenage Overlord glances back at Zelos and says to him "You pieced everything together as well?"
Zelos looks at him in surprise and says after a smirk "Sheesh, you have some really good ears Riku. Well, whatever, everything going to have to sort itself out once we get to Altamira. Let's get moving." The Chosen runs to catch up to the rest of the group, and Riku kicks off the ground ready to take flight for Altamira. The truth of Alicia's demise would soon be revealed…
Next Time: A Tragic Affair