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Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time

Book 1: The Begininng

Chapter 8 - Dream's End

Part 8.4 - Narsille Under Siege

The Maiden's homecoming was a lonely one. Even with the storm, there had still been dock workers bustling about when they had left Narsille nearly a month ago. Now, there wasn't a single soul in sight. The increased violence of the great storm had made any attempt at navigating the Lethe River impossible. It was only by a small miracle and the expert steersmanship of the Maiden crew that they had been able to reach the port at all. There would be no evacuating the population from here.

Besides the ravages of the storm, there was one other curious aspect to the scene that greeted the Maiden crew. There were no people, but there were no ships either. It was possible that the city had already evacuated as many people as they could via transport ship, but this seemed unlikely. The massive amount of debris both in the water and on land hinted at a more violent end to the Narsille fleets. After the scene on the shores of Crescent Island, only one thought came to the crew's mind.

"Levi was here already."

Bismark spoke the thoughts everyone on the deck shared.

"Nothing we can do about it now. Let's get a move on. There's still a city in there that needs every hand it can right now." Bismark waved his hand to signal the crew to prepare to disembark.

"What about...Leviathan?" One of the crew members spoke up, obviously terrified.

"What about him!" Bismark snapped back. "We didn't come this far to turn around! If he's out there, he's out there. Let's go!"

Before walking off the ship, Bismark turned to Dune, a sly grin on his face.

"Here Dune, take this."

He handed Dune a familiar weather-beaten wide-brimmed hat and a pair of glasses. Dune looked at them curiously, and took them with a knowing smile.

"Thank you, Bismark. But why are you giving these back to me?"

Bismark shrugged. "Keepsakes, I suppose. That hat has been all over the world, first with your father, then with you. It just seems natural to hold onto it. Besides, if we find Mae, I think seeing you with these things will help." Bismark coughed, not used to displays of sentimentality. "Seeing you still wearing that hat when you came back through that gate was the only way I still knew it was you. Trust me, it helps."

Dune smiled, and tried putting the hat on his head. The curved horns made it difficult, but he managed. The glasses were too small for his head now, so he simply tucked them in a pocket of what was left of the pants he had been wearing. The sight would have been funny, if it wasn't a sobering reminder of how much Dune had changed.

At least he still has the same grey hair, Bismark thought, trying to see the old Dune through the monstrous Esper form.

"So, what's the plan now?" Dune asked once everyone had assembled on deck.

"First, we go back to your apartment tower, Dune," Bismark said. "Indie wants to go back there first and make sure that pet moogle of his is safe. We'll tag along and check on your apartment, see if Mae has come back. If the Committee is telling the truth and they don't have her, then that's the best place to start looking for her. Maybe we missed something last time we were there."

"Sounds good to me," Dune said agreeably.

Indie spoke up once he had joined the group. "After I get Kumiro, I'll be heading to the ATLAS main tower and see if I can't do something about this storm. I know it's a long shot, but maybe science still has some sway over this beast. Gotta try, right?"

What about you, Alex?" Bismark asked.

"I'm heading underground. I'll join the rest of my mechanics and try to get the Figaro online as soon as possible. It should only take a few hours to get the entire fleet up and running, and from there we'll see."

"Wait!"

A small figure ran out and grabbed onto Alex's arm. It was Kite.

"I want to go with you, Mr. Figaro, sir!" she said, her face looking up at Alex's with frantic intensity.

Alex couldn't help but give her a fatherly smile. She looked so much like his daughter! But this was no place for a young girl to be. Half of him wanted to take her with him to protect her, but the other knew she was safer here on the ship, away from that horrible city. He knew how much she idolized him, but he couldn't let her put herself into danger.

"Kite...," Alex said as kindly as he could. "I don't think that's such a good idea. Narsille is too dangerous right now."

"But...!"

"Don't worry, Alex." Draco said, coming up next to the old man and young girl. "I'll stay behind make sure Kite is safe. I don't have any specific place to go inside the city."

"For now, so will I," Genju said from behind Draco. "Once the rest of you have determined what the state of Narsille is, I'll join you. Until then, I'll aid Draco in making sure this ship is still here in case we need to escape."

"There now, Kite." Alex said, wresting her grip from him gently. "You stay here with Draco and make sure nothing happens to him, alright?"

Kite looked like she was about to burst into tears, but she reluctantly let go of Alex's arm and walked over to Draco. She knew she couldn't help Alex, but she had wanted to do anything she could to pay him back for saving her life. If this was what he wanted, then she would stay.

"Right, then," Bismark said. "What about you two?" He turned his gaze to Eva Dehr and Adam Cruz standing away from the rest, saying nothing.

"We're leaving now," Cruz said. "We've got to get back to headquarters and try to make sense of this mess."

Dehr was a bit more gracious. "We appreciate your help, despite our...differences. Cruz is right, though. We must return to headquarters and organize relief efforts at once." Dehr smiled. "You may consider your employment with the Committee terminated as of this moment. Good day."

Without a further word, the two walked off the ship and made their way across the port and into the city from the central street.

Bismark smiled as well, appreciating the strength of this woman for perhaps the first time. He didn't like her still, but at least he respected her, just a little.

"Alright, let's go."

Bismark, Dune and Indie went first, turning north towards Dune's apartment. Alex and a handful of crew members he trusted went south towards the closest entrance to the underground network of tunnels beneath the city.

Draco, Genju, and Kite were the only non-crew members left on the Maiden, and could only watch and wait. The rest of the crew bustled about both on and off the ship, making sure it wasn't blown away in the hurricane winds of the storm.

They didn't have to wait long for something to do, however. No sooner had the rest of the group disappeared down their separate paths than a sickening cracking sound echoed outwards from the city streets. A half second later the ground exploded, and the entire crew was thrown to the ground. The rumbling intensified, sending fissures arching across the port and destroying the little that was left of the docks and warehouses.

Draco struggled to stand, trying to grab Kite, but he stopped cold when he saw her. Directly behind her the air was shimmering like a mirage, thickening into a grey fog. Before he could reach her, an emaciated hand draped in filthy rags materialized from the fog and fastened itself around Kite's neck.

Kite shrieked at the icy cold touch, but another grisly hand shot out and covered her mouth. She could taste something like dry ash and rotting flesh that made her want to vomit.

As the fog swirled around the helpless girl, the shape of a human began to take form behind her, its hands still on her neck and mouth. It was completely draped in fading rags, with only the white flesh of its arms visible around Kite. Two pale fires glowed in the depths of the rags wrapped around its head like a hood, but no face could be seen in the blackness. Despite the incessant shaking of the earthquake tossing the boat back and forth, the ghostly being stayed perfectly still, hovering inches above the ship's deck.

"Who are you?" Draco demanded through gritted teeth, still struggling just to stand.

"I am no one," the creature's voice whispered out from the empty face. "My master desires this girl, and he must be obeyed."

"He's an Esper," Genju said quietly from Draco's side. He had taken flight when the tremors started, and was calmly studying the being that had appeared out of thin air before them as he hovered above the deck. "I sense the power of Astarte in him."

"No more talk," the ghost figure rasped. "I will take the girl to Leviathan, and she shall join the army of the Goddess. Do not follow me if you want to live."

Before Genju or Draco could react, the figure twisted itself around Kite like a snake and the two vanished in a twisting blur that left no sign of their presence.

"Dammit!" Draco cursed, slamming the deck with his fist. "What the hell was that?"

"I have seen that man before." Genju said, still thinking about what he had seen, or thought he had seen.

"Who is he? What is he? Was he really an Esper?"

"Yes he was an Esper, although I do not know how. That was the silent man that had accompanied Levi to my hall. He was not an Esper then. The Fallen Masters have perverted the natural order more than I thought possible. They are creating Espers on their own, without the Crystal Forge, it would seem."

"I'm not sure what you're saying, but he's got Kite," Draco said angrily. "What do we do now?"

"He may be able to hide himself from the physical world, but I can still sense his magical trail. I can follow him."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Draco said, already grabbing at Genju's arms to steady himself. The shaking was beginning to subside, but the waves it had created were threatening to capsize the Maiden.

"Very well, but if the Fallen Masters are creating Espers, who knows what may be waiting for us. Are you sure you want to go with me? A human cannot possibly hope to stand against an Esper."

We'll see about that," Draco said with grim determination, checking his blade. If there was any chance he could fight an Esper, he wouldn't hesitate. The rage of the Dragon of the West had been roused, and the warrior part of him was eager to pit his skills against the ultimate opponent. The father-to-be inside him was also filled with rage at seeing the poor defenseless girl, no more than a child, handed over to a monster like Leviathan. He had given his word to protect her and he would save her, or die trying.

Genju took a measuring glance at Draco and smiled, then spoke. "I see you are prepared for death, then. This is good, for that is all I sense from inside that city now. We mustn't waste any more time. Let us be off!"

Genju grabbed Draco by the waist and lifted himself off the tilting ship with a powerful rush of his wings. he shot up faster than any bird, his flight amplified by his magical energies. Before any of the crew could even realize what had happened, Genju was out of sight, shooting towards the towers of Narsille like a hawk diving for its prey.