A/N:
More hiatus fail. You may have noticed that a certain scene in this chapter was altered. Or is in the process of being altered. Lines were given to different characters and events shuffled around.
I may have lost some folks with the crazy that is the magic systems and the crystals going into sleep mode—rest assured, I'm not done with that thread yet. I introduced it to have something to chew on for later chapters.
No, I'm not ditching the entire lunar whale scene, I'm just modifying it to fit in some extra details thrown in from the DS version, hence the re-ordering.
Cue the MOST RIDICULOUS LINES EVER UTTERED BY CECIL IN THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE GAME.
0-0-0-0
Truth Takes Time
The passage deposited them onto the rocky pathway that meandered down to the river delta below.
Kain took several angry steps toward the edge of the path, his toes sending pebbles rolling down the slope, before he looked back at them. For a fleeting moment, Rydia feared he might jump.
"You should have left me," he said. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"The gratitude we get," Edge muttered, glancing imploringly at Rosa who had come up with the entire idea.
"Kain, I'm sorry—" she began.
"You're sorry?" Kain asked hotly. "You of all people, Rosa. You should have left me there. I'm a danger to you and everyone else. I can't be trusted."
Rosa frowned, taking a step forward before halting. "Is that what you believe?" she asked.
"At least he's honest," Edge admitted.
Rydia glanced between the ninja and the white mage, and then at the tower on its hill. How long would it take for the soldiers and mages to realize where they'd gone? Bells were already clanging across the city.
"Send me back!" Kain ordered. "You heard them—I'm a murderer. What if it's one of you I kill next?"
"Get a hold of yourself!" Rosa said firmly, taking in a deep breath and standing taller.
"I'm a fugitive," Kain reminded her. "You've just made yourself an enemy to everyone in that main hall."
"I did what I had to do for a friend," she snapped back. "You have always been a friend to me, and I could not very well hand you over to be executed when you were not in control of your own actions."
"It was my own fault, Rosa," he repeated.
"Every man has faults," she said. "To let them govern you is what makes you weak. You're Sir Richard's son—have more pride than this. If you want to redeem yourself, come with us."
"I hate to interrupt this touching speech, but we need to return to the Lunar Whale before the others do," Edge warned.
"Like it or not, you're coming with us, Kain," Rosa told him, crossing her arms.
"Is that an order?" he scoffed.
"It is," she said resolutely, pointing down the path.
0-0-0
Edge had a knack for keeping the group behind cover where their movements were hard to track from the city's walls. He led them closer to the marshy banks of the delta and away from the search parties.
"Is Cecil meeting us?" Kain asked eventually.
Rosa looked at him, chagrined. "Cecil wasn't aware of what we were doing."
Kain raised both brows at the white mage. "You planned this?" he asked.
"I asked the others to assist me," she confided. "Things have gone smoothly so far, I think."
"How do you plan on getting onto the ship? It's a Lunarian vessel, isn't it? Won't it only obey a Lunarian's commands?"
Rosa had nothing to say to that. Instead, she stared and replied: "He'll know where we've gone. With any luck, he might already be on the ship."
Kain looked back at her flatly. "That's some plan."
0-0-0-0-0
Cecil wasn't on the ship. Nor was he anywhere near it when they reached the Lunar Whale, resorting to hiding in its shadow from the other airships docked nearby.
"They're going to find us and kill me," Kain said.
"Can we let them?" Edge asked.
"Stop it," Rosa said, hushing them both.
"We need to get on board," Rydia added, glancing apprehensively at the city gates and noticing a search party had just crossed them.
Rosa sighed and took action, striding to the side of the ship where the elevator capsule should have descended to collect them. It didn't.
"This—ship—is—just—as—frustrating—as-FuSoYa," she said, angrily kicking the panel with her booted foot in the hopes it would prompt a response.
Edge pulled her away, staring at the mage with newfound appreciation. "I don't think that's going to work," he said. "But please, tell us how you really feel."
"We need to get aboard!" Rosa hissed, pointing emphatically at the ship while trying to keep her voice down.
"I understand that," Edge replied. "But kicking the ship is only going to attract attention."
"Attention like the whole of Mysidia's search parties?" Cecil's voice chimed in.
They all spun to see Cecil marching toward them with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
"How did you—" Rosa began.
"Porom," Cecil answered succinctly; glaring at the company. "She figured her brother had had something to do with this whole affair and sent me ahead."
"An hour later," Edge muttered, narrowing his eyes.
"The timing is irrelevant," Cecil said curtly. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"
"We did exactly what you would have wanted," Edge replied, annoyed. "We freed your friend, and we're prepared to take him to the moon. You supported this idea. It was in fact you who proposed it in the Tower of Prayer."
Cecil glared at Edge exasperatedly. "I never said for all of you to go ahead on your own and do this. We have the citizens to answer to—we have kingdoms relying on us to mete out justice, and you just went ahead and solved things your own way."
Edge waved his hand in a flippant manner. "Playing by the rules was getting you nowhere," he pointed out. "And as the only royal of this company, may I just say that if the other kingdoms want to complain about how today was handled, they can complain to me. I have just as much right to handle Kain's sentence as anyone in that room."
"How very big of you," Cecil retorted.
"Eblan has always handled its own affairs," Edge said. "Relax, Cecil. Place the blame on me, and your sterling reputation remains intact."
"This was your plan?" Cecil demanded.
"It was mine," Rosa interrupted, stepping forward.
"What?" Cecil asked.
Rydia suddenly reached out and gripped Rosa's arm, pointing in the other direction. "We really do need to board the ship," she reminded them.
Cecil approached the ship and the panel suddenly opened. "We can continue this inside," he said, gesturing them onto the elevator.
With the five of them packed awkwardly into the elevator capsule, Rydia felt the heat of the space rise. Out of everyone in the company, she felt the most out of place.
The paneled door swooshed open and deposited them into the gleaming interior of the Lunar Whale. The lights and panels activated with their presence, and Cecil took several steps before turning to address the four of them again.
"Explain to me why you thought this was a good idea?" he said, directing the question at Rosa.
She held out her hands to him in a placating fashion. "There is unfinished business between the two of you. Settle it on the moon before you lose the chance to settle it at all."
"I told her she should have left me," Kain intervened.
"Clearly, she lacks the ability to be vengeful."
"I wouldn't say that," Edge remarked.
Rosa glared at the prince's unhelpful comment.
"Why not?" Cecil asked.
Edge sighed, fighting the urge to laugh. "The lover and the 'friend'. By all means, send him to the moon, but send him there with the woman he can't have? You're cruel, Rosa."
Her eyes had narrowed to slits. "That was not my intent in the slightest."
Cecil glanced at Kain who was refusing to meet the other man's gaze.
"You forced my hand, Rosa," Cecil said.
"It wasn't my plan to betray you, Cecil; it was just the only way I could think of to prevent us from being kept in Mysidia," she explained.
"I never changed my mind about going after Golbez," Cecil replied. "But I need to be able to rely on you, Rosa, especially with what's to come. This doesn't help."
"You were unsure about whether or not to go after him from the moment he left," she argued. "You had originally said to let him fix his own mess, but what if he fails?"
"I'm aware of that," he retorted. "And now we have Kain on board with us; a person Mysidia has just passed judgment on. I had hoped to avoid an altercation with the council if at all possible. We'll need their support if we ever come back from this."
"You can still leave me behind," Kain suggested, sounding resigned.
Cecil studied his friend, his eyes narrowed. "And rob me of the chance of a rematch?"
Kain frowned, confused.
"Fabul," Cecil reminded him. "I meant what I said in Mysidia, Kain. The moon is no easy journey. It will be brutal and unforgiving, and its only fitting that you suffer with us, since you are part of what drove us to this."
"I don't deserve forgiveness," Kain conceded.
"Of course you don't," Edge snapped, "In fact, pull that act again, and I will personally end you."
"Should I lose control again, I will expect nothing less," Kain told him frankly.
"That should no longer be a problem," Rosa interrupted. "Golbez broke free, that's why your mind is free as well. The telepathic link binding you has been severed."
"Broke free?" Kain asked. "Broke free of what, exactly. You mentioned a man named Zemus," he said, confused. "Are you telling me that there was someone controlling even Golbez?"
"Zemus is a Lunarian," Rosa explained. "And he was able to manipulate Golbez because of his heritage. None of this was your fault, Kain."
"Except for the parts that were," Edge muttered.
"I don't understand—what does this have to do with Cecil?" Kain asked. "If Golbez has gone after Zemus, why are you going after Golbez?"
Rosa glanced hesitantly at Cecil. "Golbez…is Cecil's brother," she said quietly.
"What?" Kain asked, baffled. "You said because of his heritage…so Golbez is Lunarian?"
"He is," Rosa confirmed.
"And Theodore?" Kain mused, recalling the name from his last brush with Golbez' mind.
"How do you know that name?" Cecil demanded.
"The last I saw of Golbez' thoughts, that name was on his mind. There were horrible memories, also. Of his father's murder and his mother who died on the birthing bed."
"I was that infant," Cecil said flatly.
Kain stared at Cecil, trying to sift through all of the information he had just heard. "The two of you are brothers," he said.
"Not by choice," Cecil said angrily.
"Cecil is also a Lunarian?" Kain asked, suddenly realizing a number of things at once. "That explains how you were able to control this ship," he said, surprised. "And why Golbez detested your involvement in the resistance. This plot is as old as either of us."
"It is suspicious how things were put into motion long before we realized it. The designs for the airship technology and the discovery of the flight crystals. Then, the king's interest in dark magic. Who knows how long Zemus had been orchestrating this," Cecil agreed.
"Golbez' Lunarian blood made him susceptible to Zemus' control," Rosa said. "And as a sorcerer, he was the perfect tool."
"He's gone ahead of us?" Kain asked.
"FuSoYa, the man who broke Zemus' hold over Golbez, is our uncle. They've both gone to put an end to Zemus once and for all," Cecil answered.
"Then that is where I must repay my debt," Kain said.
"Can you stay clear-headed long enough to accomplish that?" Edge needled him.
"If that should happen, do what you threatened. Kill me without a second thought."
Edge sighed, uncrossing his arms. "Then count me in," the prince announced. "I've got a pair of blades with Zemus' name on them."
"You don't think this is madness?" Cecil asked the prince honestly.
"Of course I think it's madness," Edge answered sharply. "But if I abandon the cause now, everything I lost will have been for nothing."
"Let's go, then. But," Cecil paused, turning to Rosa. "I can't risk you," he said.
"What are you talking about?" Rosa asked defensively.
"Your magic," he said.
She shifted uncomfortably. "Is not a problem," she assured him. "I can learn to master the alterations that FuSoYa taught me."
"The failure of your magic nearly got us all killed in the Giant," he said firmly. "Rosa, I can't put your life at risk. Nor Rydia's. The two of you have been unable to reliably control your abilities since the crystals dimmed. I can't protect you both if you can't protect yourselves. The two of you are staying behind."
"What?" Rosa demanded, too stunned to move.
"It's too dangerous," he said. "There is no guarantee that any of us will return, let alone all. There's no point in worsening the odds."
"You can't be serious!" Rydia blurted out, finding his assessment horribly unjust and unexpected.
"I will deal with my brother," he said. "There's no need for the two of you to have to endanger yourselves."
"Cecil," Rosa entreated, lowering her voice. "For all that we've already discussed…"
"This is a family matter, and you have no need to be involved. Get off the ship," Cecil ordered, pointing to the exit. "You too, Rydia."
Rydia glanced at Edge, hoping to find support there. Instead, his face was implacable. He looked back at her, daring her to argue the point that her magic had gone wild.
"This is a job for the men," he told her. "You're better off sitting this one out."
"You're a fool," she seethed, turning on her heel and marching to the elevator; feeling too many emotions to justify.
"Rosa, if I could guarantee your safety I would take you; but this is one mission I can't justify."
"Cecil," Rosa began, so angry that words wouldn't come to her.
"Leave the ship," Cecil repeated.
Reluctantly, reproachfully, Rosa joined Rydia at the ship's exit. Cecil opened the door from one of the consoles on the bridge, and the two of them stepped into the elevator capsule, looking over their shoulders.
"They have no idea what they're doing," Rosa said angrily.
"They can't get rid of us so easily," Rydia vowed, looking at the other woman.
Rosa looked back at her as the door shut and the elevator descended. "What did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Showing them just how determined mages can be," Rydia said. "After all, Cecil forgets that this isn't just about him. I have the Feymarch to answer to."
"I, too, would like to prove myself," Rosa agreed.
"I'm not about to be left behind after all I've been through," Rydia said. "I'm going to the moon whether Cecil wants me there or not."
Rosa smiled fiercely. "So am I," she decided, watching the capsule door open and refusing to step foot outside. It remained open for several long moments, and the two of them took their last looks at the golden fields and blue sky before the door shut closed again.
"What was your plan?" Rosa asked.
Rydia grinned, Warping them out of the capsule just before it opened again on the bridge. When the doors slid wide, the men saw nothing but an empty elevator—unaware that the women they had just forced off the ship were now not only on board, but about to embark with them to the very place they were told not to go.
The core of the moon.
0-0-0-0-0
A/N:
Ah ha! Some changes were made! There is yet another change for next chapter, and then we embark on THE END OF THE END. I'm…kind of freakishly excited. Partly because I'm so ready for this story to be finished, lol.
Wow…next chapter really does mark the beginning of the end…*sniffle*
There is probably more I could have shoved into this chapter, but…perhaps on a future edit. Or I'll just shoe-horn it into next chapter ;)
Have another shorty update!
Thanks for reading and reviewing!