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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 7 - Confluence

Part 7.5 - Into the Deep

High above and far away from where Atma watched over Maria, Draco held his night meeting with Dune and his friends in his hotel room. Had he known his wife was in the city at that very moment, he would have dropped everything and thought only of her safety. Maria had been careful, though, and made sure her husband would not be burdened with the knowledge that his beloved was not safe at home as he thought.

Now, Draco focused only on the task at hand - finding out as much as he could from the infamous Dune Karn and hopefully plotting the course he would be taking next. Without Dune's help, Draco would probably never be able to learn what was really going on in this city, and it was with this sobering thought Draco welcomed the man he had nearly attacked hours before.

"Welcome, Mr. Karn," Draco said humbly as Dune, Bismark, Indie, and Alex appeared at the appointed hour. "First, let me apologize for earlier. I was under the impression you were the enemy I came here to find, but it appears the situation is more complicated than I had originally assumed."

Dune seemed no less grim than he had before, but the cold fire, the look of impending violence, was gone from his eyes. He looked tired. Draco offered him and his guests seats, and they gladly took them as they dried themselves off. They all looked weary of the day's events.

"I understand. Sometimes I wonder if we aren't really the enemy after all," Dune said cryptically as he brushed the rain off his hat, an old beaten thing that looked like it belonged in a museum. He pushed his glasses up in a gesture of embarrassment, obviously as ashamed of his earlier actions as Draco.

"How do you mean?"

"We've been 'asked' to go on another mission for the Committee. I had no choice, and no matter how hard I struggle, it seems I keep doing exactly what they want of me." Dune sighed, and Bismark grumbled something that sounded like a curse under his breath.

"And what kind of mission are they forcing you into?" Draco asked, not surprised at the Committee's underhanded actions. He suspected this was how the organization really operated. And he also suspected this mission was tied to his purpose here.

Bismark spoke up this time, apparently more familiar with the specifics than Dune. "They want us to go with them to Crescent Island, on the other side of the blasted world. Why, I don't know, but I'm sure it's nothing good."

"Crescent Island?" Draco asked. "I have heard of it, I think, but only as a curiosity."

"Curious, indeed!" Bismark exclaimed. "The island's got nothing but primitives on it, and nothing else besides rumors of treasure and monsters. All faraway places have those kind of tales, though."

"We've already had our fill of both," Indie interjected quietly.

"And I have a feeling we aren't done yet, either." Bismark grumbled. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know much about the specifics of the place, but your father, Dune, was a bit of an expert on it, if I remember right."

"My father?" Dune asked with surprise. Bismark hardly ever mentioned his father.

"Aye, Silas spent a few years there, studying their language. He called it the Isle of the Moon. Said it was a very interesting place, though I don't know why. 'Rich in the deep histories' he said, whatever that meant."

"Isle of the Moon...," Draco mused. "I have heard it called that, too. A traveler to my kingdom once claimed that a moon fell to earth there and carved half the island away, eons ago, and that's how it got its curious shape and name. I'm sure that's a fairy tale, though."

"You never know what the truth behind a legend might be," Alex said suddenly from his quiet corner. But he said no more, keeping his thoughts to himself, as he usually did.

"Anyways, we're headed there tomorrow," Dune finished.

"So soon?" Draco asked. "That does not give me much time to make a decision on what I must do." Now Draco was concerned. He must hurry and get the information he so badly needed without wasting any more time on idle banter. " Please, first could I ask you about the woman who came here looking for you a few months ago? Her name was Cassandra, and she would have been dressed in the black robes of the Order of the Pearl."

Dune thought for a moment, and he remembered the crazed young woman who had burst into his room. Hadn't she called herself Cassandra? What had happened to her?

"Yes..." Dune pondered slowly. "I met her in my apartment. Or should I say, she forced her way in like a robber and claimed she was trying to save the world. She was quite insistent."

Draco couldn't help but smile. That was Cassandra all right. A more exuberant girl he had never seen. "That sounds like our Cassandra. What did you do?"

Now Dune paused uncomfortably. What had he done?

"I...I don't remember very well, honestly. She grabbed for my..." Dune stopped and clutched the pocket of his shirt where the crystal slept, feeling a sudden surge of cold energy from it. "She grabbed me and I must have fainted. I was very tired at the time. When I came to, she was gone. I don't know where she went."

"But you do know, Dune," a small voice whispered in the back of Dune's mind. He ignored it as best he could.

Draco had caught Dune's correction, and knew he must press the man. This was what he had come to find.

"Dune, she came to you looking for something. It would have been some sort of crystal, which she claimed had tremendous power. Do you know what she meant?"

Dune said nothing and looked down at the floor. But Bismark, Indie, and Alex all looked at him for a moment with worried eyes. After a long period of silence, Bismark spoke up.

"We know. And before we tell you more, we want to know just what you want with it."

"I want nothing more than to keep it out of the hands of those who would use its power for their own greed and ambition. If that means destroying it, then so be it. I am here on behalf of my kingdom, small as it may be compared to your grand city, and I will do what I must to protect it."

Bismark smiled gravely. "That's good enough, I suppose. We're not sure what it is, but it certainly has power, make no mistake about that. You saw that power first-hand when you raised your sword to us earlier."

Draco had suspected as much, and as he glanced at Dune reaching for his shirt pocket, he knew exactly where the crystal must be as well. "So what do you intend to do with it?"

"Don't know," Bismark said. "We certainly aren't going to hand it over to the Committee, you can be sure of that. I guess we'll just keep holding onto it until something comes to us."

"Besides," Dune spoke up, "I don't think I could part with it even if I wanted. It seems to have...attached itself to me, and whenever it feels threatened, it stirs to life. Violently..."

Draco looked at the unassuming young man with his unnaturally gray-white hair and glasses. It was hard to believe how dangerous such a timid looking man could be, but he had seen that look of insanity and felt the coldness. He thought again of Cassandra, wild unpredictable Cassandra, demanding the crystal from him without a thought to her own safety. Just what had happened to her? Could Dune be lying about what had happened?

"I see no reason to demand it of you like Cassandra did," Draco said carefully. "But I cannot in good conscience leave you on your own with such a dangerous artifact."

Bismark ruffled at this, but Draco held his hand up. "No, I trust your friends to protect you as best they can, but I feel at this point you may need my assistance. I have an entire army at my disposal, and can offer asylum from anyone in Narsille that would try to attack you."

"Just who are you?" Indie asked sharply.

"Ah, forgive me! I suppose I never properly introduced myself. I am the lord-regent of West Jidorik, soon to be king once I return. I am here under the pretense of ambassador of peace for my country."

A stunned silence filled the room at this proclamation. Dune and his friends had assumed he must be nobility from his dress and demeanor, but a king? And this king was offering the aid of his entire nation to their cause? Suddenly their fight against the Committee's machinations didn't seem quite so hopeless.

Indie immediately bowed his head and said humbly, "I did not know, my lord! Had we known we were in the presence of royalty, we would have shown more respect."

"Please," Draco said. "Don't call me "my lord" or "king" or anything like that. You have treated me exactly as I wanted to be treated. I am a simple warrior who had the mantle of leadership thrust on me for a lucky victory. Do not act any differently than before. Right now, I am no more than a warrior offering his sword to you. Do you accept?"

Dune struggled to get his voice back, and said as calmly as he could, "We would be grateful more than you know if you would help us. To be honest, we were wondering how just the four of us could put up any resistance to the Committee, but it seems the answer has come to us unexpectedly. Will you really help us?"

Dune smiled at his good fortune. He had not smiled like this for a long time. Perhaps they really could save Mae now.

Draco returned his smile. "I will. I give you my word that I will help you in whatever way I can, even if it means my life."

"Will you accompany us to Crescent Island tomorrow, then?" Dune asked.

"Yes. You may consider me a bodyguard, if you like. I must remain hidden, however. The Committee does not know I am here with you, and I doubt they would be pleased to see me with you during the voyage. I must think of my people too, and Narsille has the power to decimate my country if they choose. However, I fear if they gain this power they are seeking, it will only be a matter of time before they reach out to conquer my land, whether they know I am helping you or not."

"I understand," Dune said. "They have my wife hostage, and it is for that reason we have agreed to this mission. My wife, your country...Narsille still holds our all our fates in their hands, it seems."

Draco inwardly tensed at Dune's revelation. If those scoundrels had taken Maria, he was not sure if he wouldn't have beheaded the lot of them right in the middle of the meeting room. But they would never reach her, and he sympathized with the poor Dune. No wonder he was so determined!

"I am sorry about your wife, Dune. I have a wife as well, and I would do no less than you to save her. For your wife, and for my country, we will stop these people. Tomorrow, I set sail with you."

"Thank you, Draco," Dune said wearily, but happily. "Now, I think it is time we left. Time is short, and we must be ready for tomorrow."

"Meet us at dawn by the eastern docks, pier 4," Bismark said. "My ship's there, the Maiden of the Sea. You'll recognize her, since she's the only ship that doesn't look like a floating refrigerator. She's a real ship, not some Narsillian abomination. Stay out of sight, you hear? If the Committee sees you with us, things may get unpleasant, if you get my drift."

"Of course. Now, it is late, and I must prepare, as should you. Farewell, Captain. Farewell, Dune, Indie, Alex. Be safe."

"You, too." Dune said. The two men shook hands with vigor, bonded by the stranglehold that the Committee had over them both. From enemies they were now friends, and they both knew it. With a real smile, Dune put his hat back on and followed his friends out the door. Soon, everything would be put right.

On their way back to their separate homes, Dune said good-bye to Alex and Bismark, and continued to his apartment tower with Indie. The old man not only ran his shop at the base of Dune's building, he also lived there, as was usually the case with shop owners in the city. Dune had rarely ever seen Indie outside of his shop, though, until the two had been unexpectedly thrust into their shared fate by the Committee.

As the two men trudged through the rain towards their tower, Indie looked at the sky and shook his head. After a moment he spoke to Dune in a more serious tone than he had ever heard the usually jovial man speak.

"Dune," Indie said quietly, still looking at the sky. "Do you remember your father at all?"

"My father...?" Dune said, surprised once again by the mention of his father. What did Indie know of his father?

"I only remember his face. I was very young when he died. I remember it was a strong face, and full of goodness. Why?"

"Dune, did your mother ever tell you how your father died?"

Now Dune was curious, and a little frightened. What had gotten into Indie?

"She said he was lost at sea on an expedition, but nothing else. I always asked, but she never went into details. She would just start to cry, and soon I stopped asking."

"My boy, your father was one of the bravest men I have ever known," Indie said with feeling. He was still looking up at the sky, as if remembering long forgotten adventures.

"Indie, what do you know? Why are you talking about my father now of all times?"

"A long time ago, your father, Mobius, Alex, and myself all went on a mission very much like the one we're going on tomorrow. Your father never came back. He gave his life so that we could live. This sky...it feels the same as it did back then. We though we had finished that nasty business, but fate has a way of catching up with everyone, I suppose."

"You were with my father? All of you?" Dune was trembling. He had not expected to ever know the truth of his father's death, much less from the old shopkeeper who sold trinkets at the base of his building!

"It was a long time ago, like I said. But I feel you need to know what happened back then, maybe to prevent it from happening again. Looking at those clouds up there, I think it's time you were told. Mobius should have told you long ago, but he doesn't like to talk about the past, especially that past."

"Captain Bismark knew, too?" Dune couldn't help but feel a pang of anger at the man who had been like a father for so long. Why hadn't the captain ever told him?

"Yes, he knew, but don't blame him for keeping silent. We all kept silent after the incident, and perhaps we shouldn't have. There were many things that should have been said, but we respected the wishes of the Order and said nothing. Looking at what the Order has become in recent years, perhaps that was a mistake."

"The Order was involved too?" Dune said, stunned. All this, and he never knew any of it. He felt like a child as the old man revealed one hidden memory after another.

"Many people were involved, Dune," Indie said sadly. "But let us get out of this rain first. It feels like the clouds are listening to us, and who knows who else might be, too. Come."

The two men walked through the front entrance, and sat down behind Indie's shop. There was no one on the floor except them. Everyone was locked way in their rooms, asleep, or just afraid of the storm.

"First, I must apologize," Indie said once they were seated in the little backroom of his store Indie called home. It was a modest home, despite the man's great achievements. Indie's moogle, Kumiro, greeted his friend and master happily as soon as they entered the room. Reading his master's feelings perfectly, he remained quiet and sat on a little cushion beside them, as well behaved as any human.

"Dune," Indie continued, "I was not entirely honest when I said it was pure chance that I set up shop in the very same building that the son of my friend lived in."

Dune started to speak, but Indie held up a finger and continued speaking. "When Silas died, he entrusted your care to Mobius, but as I'm sure you know, he is not much of a family man. He was awkward in the position, but he did not betray your father's last wish. He did the best he could, and we helped him as best we could. I offered to look after you once you had grown and moved here. Mobius needed the open seas, and Alex was needed underground to maintain the power plants. I was not needed very often after my weather machine was set up, though, so I decided to look after you while you lived here."

Dune looked at Indie a little suspiciously. He had never seen the strange old man outside of his shop, and yet he was watching over him the whole time?

"No, no, I didn't spy on you, and I certainly wasn't a spy for the Committee," Indie said with a smile, reading Dune's train of thought. "That much of what I said when we met that day was true. You are a grown man, Dune. We don't need to look after you any more, but just in case you ever were in trouble, we had pledged ourselves to you. Before you had ever even met us, we were already your friends, and we would never completely abandon you." Indie stopped, and wiped his eyes, looking at Dune with a warmth the young man had never seen before.

"And as a friend, and maybe even as a father, just a little, I am proud of what you've become, my boy. We all are, even Mobius. Silas would be glad to know his son followed in his footsteps, not just professionally, but as a human being. You father was a good man, and we all believed in him. Now, we all believe in you, Dune."

Dune was overcome with emotion. This was a talk he had always wanted to have with his father, with the captain, with anybody. But his mother could not talk to him like this, not after his father's death. She had distanced herself from the world, and now she did not even speak to her son. Dune guessed she was bitter at what his father's friends had dragged his father into, and how they had attached themselves to him afterwards. He wondered how his mother was, and wondered just what kind of man his father really was. Now was the time to find out. Dune took a deep breath, and asked the question he had waited his entire life to ask.

"Indie, tell me about my father."