*hysterical weeping wounds*
I was soooooo set on getting this posted before the beginning of September, not to mention I was REEEEEEALLY hoping to end this story on 40 chapters, even. Sadly, none of those things happened.
I had most of this written for a good, long while, but life events kept interrupting and therefore, you're not getting it until now, the end of October.
On a more serious note, it cost a lot, personally, to write this chapter. There was…quite a lot else going on in my life through this and chapter 38, and that made the writing of certain scenes to be…rather difficult. In fact, some scenes aren't as developed as I'd like because…well…I just wasn't having it.
D:
At any rate, turned over a new leaf. We're now at the point where some threads get tied off, others get re-opened….
And here at the end of all things, I very nearly killed all the characters myself; and as Moonclaw likes to joke, they really need to take a Snickers break. Which reminds me, where is my emergency chocolate…
Also, in this chapter, I take a lot of transitional license. I got utterly sick of writing transition scenes about twenty chapters ago…so. If it seems like I'm jumping around, it's probably because I am.
And as it's appropriate for this chapter: "Equip masamune to Edge for sexy results." Yoinked from gamefaq ;)
p.s. WHOOPS. Made an error last chapter. There should only be one behemoth left, not two. Derp. Forgot about the Death spell.
0-0-0-0
The Eye of the Storm
"What I want to know is how—" Rosa told her later as they were sitting near the portal. "—how you cast Meteor and survived."
Rydia wasn't fully listening. "I already told you," she said at last, looking up.
"Two days ago you couldn't cast Flare, and now you're casting Meteor as if you've always known it."
Rydia chewed on her lip and spared the white mage a glance. "What about you?" she asked.
Rosa straightened. "Rydia," she admonished, refusing the subject to be changed. "You're the first person to cast that spell and live. What did it cost you-?"
"Isn't it enough that we're all alive?" Rydia said firmly, her eyes flashing.
The white mage pursed her lips and glanced at Cecil for help.
"I'm fine," Rydia said snappishly, crossing her arms.
Cecil gave Rydia a disbelieving look. "What's changed in the last two days?" he asked Rosa instead.
Rosa frowned. "The Ribbons," she murmured.
Cecil's brows rose. "Something so trivial?"
"By all rights, Rydia and I should be dead," Rosa replied.
Cecil nodded, resignedly.
"Will they be enough to get you two through the labyrinth a second time?" he asked.
"We don't have a choice, do we?" Rosa replied with a fleeting smile, holding his gaze.
"So," Kain chimed in uncomfortably, looking at Edge. "Explain the sword."
The prince had been sitting silently nearby, the sword in question across his knees. He looked at the dragoon, harassed.
"I didn't ask you to explain the lance."
Kain frowned.
"You were saying that you saw something," Cecil agreed, paying attention to someone other than Rosa. "There must be a story, there."
"Not one I feel like sharing," Edge retorted. "My primary concern is reaching the Core, and whether your brother made it there himself."
"They're there," Rydia said.
They looked at her, surprised. Concerned.
"How do you know?" Cecil asked.
"I saw them," she answered frankly.
Cecil shook his head in bafflement. "Saw them," he repeated. "Have you learned another new magic we're not aware of?"
She hesitated, hearing the accusation in his words. "When I summoned Meteor…I was able to glimpse what the Crystals saw. I saw the Core."
"Were they alive?" Rosa quickly interjected.
Rydia nodded. "They were. But-"
"Zemus had already reached the Core?" Cecil asked anxiously.
"No," Rydia said; putting him off. "There are shields guarding it, but he's close."
The three men exchanged apprehensive looks.
"So," Edge began, tucking Masamune back into his belt. "We have a behemoth to put down."
"After that, it's a race to Zemus," Cecil seconded.
"Speed I can handle," Edge droned. "You?"
"What about the mages?" Kain interrupted. "Ribbons or no, we can't possibly let loose that kind of magic again."
Rosa stared at the dragoon, and Rydia suddenly took notice of the wrinkles around the other woman's eyes; that there were more strands of silver mixed in with the gold. The ribbons may have kept them on their feet, but for how much longer?
"Any ideas on how to deal with the behemoth?" Kain asked.
"Bahamut," Edge answered immediately.
"Excuse me?" Rydia demanded, placing a hand on her hip.
Edge tilted his head at her with exasperation. "Were you saving him for something else?"
"Yes," she retorted.
"It's Rydia's decision," Cecil interjected. "Kain and I can take the beast head-on; Edge, you can attack from the rear."
"Have I mentioned how much I love behemoths?" Edge asked dryly.
"You have," Kain muttered.
"I'll cover you," Rosa added.
"So, no Bahamut?" Edge pressed, glancing sideways at Rydia.
Rydia frowned at him. "I don't want to insult the Hallowed Father on anything less than Zemus himself."
"Leviathan?" he suggested plaintively.
"No, but—" she answered, considering something. "There is someone else."
At Cecil's quizzical look, she shook her head. "If it doesn't work—your plan."
Now, Cecil was frowning. "Why do I feel as though I should be worried?"
Rydia held his gaze. "You'll see."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Cecil brought them to their feet and back to the portal with weapons drawn; magic readied. They had no idea if the Behemoth still hunted the portal, but they weren't taking chances.
Rosa had girded them with Haste and Protection, but it was Rydia's magic that would turn the tide at a time when they needed to conserve their strength the most.
Kain eyed the summoner, surprised that she was standing at all.
He would never forget the power of the spell she'd cast. Meteor's destructive force had first severed his connection to Golbez in the Tower of Zot, and to witness it here….from so young a person….
Kain's present kept mirroring his past, and the closeness of the two made bile rise in his throat. Was he nothing better than a puppet to keep playing the same parts over again?
"Are you ready?" Cecil asked Rydia, causing Kain to cut short his ruminations.
She nodded, tight-lipped.
Kain took his place beside Cecil, hoping that whatever Rydia had in mind would do more good than harm.
Rydia took a deep breath as she positioned herself between the two of them. "It might not work," she reminded them.
"That's why we're with you," Cecil assured her.
"Edge," Kain said suddenly, turning toward the other man.
The ninja nodded. "Don't worry, I have a welcome present I've saved for just such an occasion."
Kain looked again at Rydia and noticed how her countenance had changed. It seemed that death clung to her—the steely resolve of a woman prepared to do anything.
And her eyes….
They weren't as blue as he remembered, nor were they as clear. When he looked at her, it was like looking into a deep and fathomless sea.
For now, she'd closed them; already chanting and allowing Cecil to pull her forward onto the portal.
Kain kept a tight grip on his lance and prepared to follow them; unable to shake the idea that they were being pursued by the echo of hoof beats….
Space shifted as the portal enveloped and deposited them within the labyrinth, and like cogs in a wheel, everyone went into motion. Light flashed, accompanied by a concussive blast, and Kain, having prepared for Edge's preemptive strike, shielded his eyes.
The behemoth roared, and in the moment of its confusion, Kain and Cecil ran forward.
They needed to give Rydia the time to complete her summoning.
The sound of hoof beats was unmistakable now, and Kain noticed the light in the crystal labyrinth dim as if being devoured.
"What in hellfire…" Kain muttered, piercing the Behemoth's hide as he drove it backwards.
"Get away!" Rosa shouted at them.
He and Cecil obliged, diving out of the way as a giant horse galloped into sight; hiding Rydia behind its billowing tail.
An eight-legged horse. A knight with a curved sword. Odin.
Kain swallowed hard, but Rydia was still chanting, speaking to the man who had once been his king in a language he couldn't comprehend.
Kain stared, ignoring the behemoth and marveling at how the man he'd once known had been completely transformed into a being of such power. The man he'd once called his father. The man he'd betrayed.
He turned away, afraid that he would be recognized. That his second father would see him for what he was—a traitor.
Sleipnir whinnied and scraped a forehoof on the tiled floor, issuing his battle cry. A sound like thunder followed and a great gust of wind. Hooves pounded relentlessly, and the behemoth let loose a terrible, strangled sound before being cloven in two by the king's merciless blade.
Kain dared to look up, trying not to gag on the warm smell of blood and entrails, as horse and rider pulled round again, strutting triumphantly.
Odin tipped his visored head to Rydia before vanishing in a maelstrom of darkness; no doubt returning to his slumber in the afterlife. The light in the corridor returned, and the ominous presence of the unearthly king faded like a forgotten memory.
Rydia sighed.
Kain sighed.
"Odin," Cecil said, disturbing the stunned silence.
"I didn't think you'd like it," she said defensively. "That's why I didn't tell you."
The paladin's expression was dubious. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were taking lessons from him," he said, glancing in Edge's direction.
The ninja shrugged.
"You mean to tell us that you could have summoned Odin at any time, and you held off for this long?" Edge asked instead.
Rydia scowled. "I told you I wasn't sure if it would work. Summoning a soul from the afterlife isn't the same as from the Feymarch."
"That was one hell of a gamble," Cecil said.
"I know," she replied.
"Everyone," Rosa said, gesturing them all together.
"Save your magic," Edge answered, waving her off. "I can conceal myself; you take care of the others."
"Very well, then," Rosa answered, beginning the rest of her covering spells.
Kain felt the effects of Blink and Float, and after both spells were in place, Rydia drew close.
"I can get us back to where we were," she told them.
"Rydia, this isn't the time to go wasting magic," Rosa warned her.
"Magic or sweat, take your pick," Rydia snapped back.
Kain watched both women, amazed at their fortitude and at this rare battle of wills.
"Join hands," Rydia ordered.
Four people glared at each other, and Kain felt the unspoken murmur of dissent aimed in his direction.
"For Crystals' sake!" Rydia cursed at them, throwing Kain between herself and Edge and leaving the other two to fall in line.
She chanted again, and when the effects of her Warp spell dissipated, Kain realized she had returned them to the ruined corridor where Ogopogo had met his end. The crystal tiles and infrastructure of the platform were pulverized, but one path seemed to have escaped destruction; crawling along a wall into darkness.
There was still a way, after all.
"Right," Cecil said, taking stock of their bearings as he realized what Kain already had. "This way," he said, leading them deeper into the labyrinth.
0-0-0-0-0
Rydia walked behind Rosa, unused to the sound of her heels not touching the floor. Float carried them soundlessly through the corridors, and it occurred to her that the number of spells concealing them was made more effective by the miasma of the labyrinth. To the fiends, they were nothing more than a fixture of the environment as they slipped by.
Both light and sound were distorted in the deeper passages, and the five of them were careful not to draw too close to anything that resembled a living thing.
Conversations ceased. Directions were given by gestures only, and as the hours drew on, Rydia felt the walls close in.
She sensed the Crystals all around them and a nagging sense of doubt. What if Zemus reached the Core before they reached him?
Magic bubbled under her skin, roiling like waves against a dam. She had all the tools she needed; all the power in the world, but what she didn't have was time.
And a past…
They ducked under broken pillars, and Rydia glanced at Edge. He sensed her eyes on him and met her gaze.
"I didn't mean what I said earlier," she said so only he could hear, referring to their conversation before the labyrinth.
He didn't even hazard a guess, waiting for her to explain.
"When I said I lost the Feymarch…"
"That was your anchor," he said unsurprised; his face flickering indeterminably from the effects of his own magic.
She swallowed hard, blinking away more tears as she noticed Cecil giving them a reproving look from ahead.
The two of them waited until Cecil's back was turned again.
"You saw your parents, didn't you?" she whispered, looking for common ground.
He looked back at her guardedly. "I saw what this place wanted me to see."
Cecil turned again and fixed them both with a glare so fierce they immediately dropped the subject.
The corridor turned ahead, and Rydia heard a noise that made her heart jolt. Dragon's breath.
She glanced at Edge, feeling like an idiot, and he steered her after the others through a portion of crystal passageway that was too small for any great beast to follow.
Lumbering footsteps and rumbling breaths faded behind them and disappeared, but the group moved faster; finding a staircase that spiraled downward, and hopping the steps as if the dragon was hot on their heels.
At the stair's bottom, the air cleared and the group finally slowed to a stumbling crawl. At last—a chamber with no fiends.
"You did see them," Rydia said, sensing it was finally safe to speak again as she turned toward Edge.
He pressed his lips into a firm line, and her gaze fell.
Taking his silence as confirmation, she waited a moment. "I'm beginning to forget her face," she confided solemnly. "—and theirs. All of my impressions of them.…."
Edge stopped walking.
"I traded my most precious memories for power," she choked out, finding that saying it made it more real. "I've lost them all and if we don't stop Zemus, it will all have been for nothing."
She felt his hands fall gently on her shoulders.
"Rydia," he said softly.
She looked up at him through bleary eyes.
He placed his hand above her heart and the sudden closeness caused Rydia's attention to fix solely on him; her ears going red.
"Certain things leave a mark," he told her. "They brand us. And no power in the world can pry that from us."
He said it so seriously, that all she could do was stare.
She took a step back and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I hope you're right," she said.
"I am. And so were you," he admitted, causing her to frown at him. "I did see them."
"Why?" she asked.
His expression turned rueful. "Who knows," he guessed.
"It means something, doesn't it?"
"It means I have a kingdom waiting for me," he replied, not willing to divulge any more.
She stared at him, feeling his words strike her cold in the gut. He had responsibilities waiting, but what was waiting for her?
Their group was going to break apart the moment this was finished. The friendship, the solidarity…all of it would come second to the restoration of the world.
Rydia nodded tearfully, keeping her thoughts to herself.
"The spells have worn off," Rosa noticed from ahead.
Rydia stared down at her body and saw that, indeed, her clothing no longer wavered in and out of sight, and her feet were once more touching solid ground.
"How many levels do you think we've covered?" Kain asked.
"At least three," Cecil replied, counting slowly on his fingers as if he was having difficulty recollecting.
"Are you alright?" Rosa asked, stepping closer to the paladin.
"I'm—I'm fine," he answered hesitantly. "I'm just having a hard time concentrating for some reason."
Rydia glanced at him, realizing how her own mind felt momentarily freed from a great weight. Her brief talk with Edge had chased away a number of dark thoughts she hadn't realized she'd been carrying.
Zemus was getting to them. More and more.
"Cecil," she blurted out. "You don't have to listen to him."
He stared at her, dumbfounded, and Rydia saw a flicker of concern cross Rosa's face.
"What are you talking about?" the white mage asked, looking between Cecil and Rydia. "Zemus?"
"It's going to affect you most of all," Rydia answered, still looking at Cecil.
"I'm not out of my mind, Rydia," Cecil said defensively. "I'm able to block him out."
Rydia shook her head, blinking. "I never said that you were out of your mind," she replied, wondering why she'd felt compelled to tell him that.
Edge was looking at her sideways.
"It's all in our heads," she said.
"That goes for you, too," Edge muttered to her under his breath.
She glanced at him.
Rosa sighed heavily and drew closer to everyone. "I'll cast the spells again and if Rydia's right, then it's not fiends we have to worry about most—it's ourselves."
They looked at each other warily.
"Stay on your toes," Cecil advised, as the sound of Rosa's chanting filled the space.
"After you…" Edge grumbled.
0-0-0-0-0-0
The labyrinth had changed.
Edge cast his eyes in all directions and saw nothing but shimmering cascades of magic. The crystals' energy was most intense in these lower levels, but stranger still, they had yet to encounter any fiends. Either there were none nearby, or FuSoYa and Golbez had already cleared the way on their initial descent.
Edge glanced at his companions; at how everyone appeared to be seeing without seeing—their eyes fixed on indeterminate points in space.
"Kain," he said, grabbing the dragoon by the shoulder after a while.
The other man blinked at him as if waking up, and took a moment to find his voice.
"What is it?"
Edge frowned. "Are you here?"
Kain returned his frown. "Of course I'm here, where else would I be?"
"Somewhere in that head of yours," Edge suggested, not relishing the idea of where the dragoon might disappear to if he allowed himself.
"I'm here," Kain repeated, as though convincing himself.
"Shit," Edge muttered disgustedly, not believing Kain in the slightest. "He's already got us."
Kain frowned at him. "That was a quick admission of defeat coming from you."
"Stating a fact isn't giving up," Edge retorted. "He's got his hooks in us."
Kain frowned at the implication. "You think—"
"What—" Rosa gasped from ahead, interrupting his thought "-is that?"
Edge looked ahead at where she was staring and froze. A face appeared out of the haze; one unlike any they'd seen. It was made of rampant energy, the same miasma that had plagued them since entering the labyrinth. Its eyes were faint pinpricks of consciousness that seemed to sear into them, and the consciousness behind them….
"This," Edge replied. "Is not good."
"It's him," Cecil hissed, raising a fist to signal the others to stop.
Edge didn't question how Cecil knew, only that it spelled trouble for all of them.
Cecil drew his sword, and the strange projection of Zemus suddenly sped forward, its mouth open in a feral snarl as if to devour them.
Edge covered his face at the last moment and heard sinister laughter as the presence swept through him; like being touched by evil itself.
When he looked up, the presence was gone, but the cloying feeling of something clinging to his spirit had not.
He looked at his hands and patted his body.
"You did this!" Rosa accused, turning suddenly on Kain. "You summoned him here."
Edge glanced over at her, surprised at the outburst.
"I did no such thing," the dragoon retorted, taking several steps back from the irate mage.
"Rosa, what are you talking about?" Cecil asked, staring doubtfully at Kain.
"They're still connected," she reasoned. "How easy would it be to give our position away?"
"I would never," Kain snapped.
"You're lying!" she snarled.
"Why would I aid him now, so close to the end?" Kain shot back.
"Because you have nothing left to live for!" she countered.
Edge glanced at the dragoon, then Rosa; baffled, but not overly surprised.
"Zemus probably knew we were here the moment we set foot on the moon," Edge said to Rosa calmly, attempting to reason with her.
"What if that—that face was only a defense meant to ward us off?" Rydia seconded.
Edge looked at the summoner and tried to ignore the false optimism in her voice.
"Why are you defending him?" Rosa demanded. "You, of all people!"
"He's in your head, Rosa!" Edge reprimanded her.
The white mage blinked and took a step back, then frowned. She glanced at Cecil. "I—" she sputtered out.
"Hooks," Edge repeated to Kain, taking the lead from Cecil. "He's got us right where he wants us, and he knows it."
0-0-0-0
Rydia followed the others in a state of disbelief. The presence of Zemus being made so real to them left her stomach in knots. If only his presence had sown so much discord, what would the real Zemus be like?
Her feet felt full of lead, and she wasn't sure when, but Float had worn off some time ago. She trudged beside Kain, not paying attention to the direction they were traveling, only that her body was moving.
The labyrinth had become nothing but a bleak landscape of errant magic, walls blurring in and out of sight as they passed.
Rydia's eyes had a hard time focusing, but her other senses were being teased by sounds and smells that couldn't possibly….
Walls became toppled grotesques; scorched by flame and explosions. The smell of burnt flesh choked her nose….
Rydia shook her head, wondering why that particular memory was surfacing. She'd lost all of her memories—she'd given them over to her magic, so why…?
Not this one.
This wasn't a memory, it was a nightmare. Her fear of what she'd find when she returned home. Burnt homes, scavenged bodies.
The last thought brought a flood of images to bear as she tripped over something. Looking down, she saw what she thought to be a foot…of someone she'd once known.
She shook her head again, swallowing hard, and looked again. Only a bit of crystal rubble….
Her heart was pounding. Was this Zemus' doing? Was he really so powerful?
You'll never get home. And why bother? There's nothing for you, there.
"Rydia," Rosa's voice cut into her thoughts.
Rydia glanced at the woman through her mental fog and noticed the stern expression there.
"What is it?" she asked.
"You were the last person to go digging in my pack," Rosa accused.
Rydia frowned, trying to concentrate on the present. "You asked me—"
"I know what I asked you," Rosa retorted.
"You needed an ether," Rydia recalled.
"And now they're all gone," Rosa continued, sounding incensed.
"I'm…sorry?" Rydia offered, perplexed. "Would you like me to give you another?"
"I want all of the ethers taken from my pack to be returned. Unless, of course, you were hoping I wouldn't notice until we'd reached Zemus and I found myself an inch from death without any way to save myself."
Rydia stared, finding Rosa's anger overblown. "Why would I leave you in a crisis?" she blurted out.
"Because you want them all for yourself," Rosa accused.
"This is unbelievable—first you're accusing Kain of drawing Zemus to us, and now you're accusing me of stealing from you," Rydia shouted. "You're delusional!"
"I have every reason to suspect the both of you!" Rosa cried back. "What were you doing with my pack in the first place?"
"You handed it to me," Rydia said slowly as if she was speaking to an insane person.
"You don't want us to reach Zemus, do you?" Rosa accused, sounding manic with every word. "You would rather we all die here and never get home."
"What are you talking about?" Rydia demanded.
"You want Cecil for yourself!" Rosa seethed, striding toward the summoner until they were practically touching noses. "You want to start a new bloodline. His Lunarian heritage and your—your ability to commune with other beings! You're the one who hears the crystals. Maybe Zemus has been using you all along to lure us here!"
"And you're paranoid!" Rydia shrieked, shaking with anger as her mind tried unsuccessfully to process all the information being fed into it.
"Admit it!" Rosa screamed.
"What—the—hell!" Edge said, quickly intervening before the two women began exchanging blows.
"Let me go!" Rydia cried, struggling to free her arms.
"You're both out of your minds!" the ninja told them, trying to pull Rydia behind him as Rosa lunged, only to be pulled back by Cecil.
"Stop!" the paladin ordered, straining to hold Rosa back.
"For what other reason would FuSoYa be so interested in you!" Rosa spat out. "Maybe Zemus will feel the same way!"
"Whoa," Edge said in a surprisingly calm, low voice, facing Rydia squarely and taking her by the shoulders until she looked at him, her eyes still crazed with anger.
"She has no right!" Rydia seethed.
"Whoa," Edge repeated, pushing her away from the white mage until there was a substantial distance between them.
It took a long time for Rydia to calm down, and by the conversation Cecil was having with Rosa, he was having similar troubles. Eventually, Rydia broke into unexpected tears.
"Maybe she's right-I'm nothing but an experiment. Maybe none of us is making it out of here alive," she blubbered.
Edge wasted no time and pulled her forward until her face collided with his chest. She leaned into him.
"Woman, you've gone crazy," he sighed.
Kain approached cautiously, casting his gaze between the two of them. His own eyes looked haunted.
"Do they still need a minute, or can we move on?" he asked tiredly.
Edge spared the dragoon a glance and then tried to extricate himself from Rydia's death grip.
"Rydia," he grumbled.
"Even you thought I was losing my mind."
"That was then," he retorted, paused, then added. "And I still do."
She pushed herself away from him, angrily wiping tears from her face. "Right," she said, collecting herself. "What was I thinking?"
"Pull yourself together!" Cecil finally shouted at Rosa who was pacing back and forth behind them in agitation.
"You're right, you're right," the white mage was muttering.
Rydia glanced up at Edge and saw her own confusion mirrored there.
"How did this even start?" he asked.
Rydia let out a scoff of exasperation. "Ethers."
"Ethers," he repeated.
She was just as perplexed as he was. "Why is it always ethers," he muttered, stepping away from her awkwardly.
Rydia stood where she was, trying not to read into what had just happened between them, and watched Rosa approach her hesitantly.
"I'm sorry," the white mage told her, stopping a few feet away.
"Apology…accepted?" Rydia forced out, not sure why they had gotten into the fight in the first place.
"Zemus…" Rosa offered.
Rydia nodded. "I know."
"With all the strangeness of this place, and everything that's happened the last few days…"
"I know," Rydia repeated, hoping to drop the uncomfortable topic and forget the conflict altogether.
"You coming?" Edge asked from farther down the corridor.
Rydia looked over at him. "Of course," she said, dazedly following after him.
Cecil watched as the two women joined them. "We have to be close to the end," he said.
"Hopefully before another one of us loses their mind," Edge mentioned, giving Rydia a piercing look.
"In that case, you must be next," she told him as she fell into line with the others.
0-0-0-0-0
More hours passed, and Rosa's words kept re-playing in Rydia's mind like a nightmare revisited. Was that what Rosa truly thought of her—deep beneath the layers of her civility and kindness?
Rydia eyed the other woman with suspicion, but Rosa gave no indication of her former opinions.
It's just a product of Zemus' influence, she reminded herself, steering her eyes forward.
When silence continued to plague the group, a glance at her companions revealed she wasn't alone in her struggle; everyone appeared to be fighting their own private battles. But not to the point of hysteria. Not yet. Not again.
Cecil disappeared around another corner in the crystal maze, and Rydia brought up the rear of the group, finding herself in the footsteps of Edge. He paused just before rounding the corner, out of sight from the others, and she practically tripped to avoid walking into him. She glared, inconvenienced and annoyed.
"What is it?" she demanded, thinking something was wrong as he tugged the cowl from his face and studied her for a moment.
Was he having visions, too—trapped in a delusion and seeking a way out?
When he offered no explanation, she took a step around him; and was surprised when he took hold of her jaw and angled her face toward his.
"If this is about what happened with Rosa, Ed—" she sputtered as warm lips covered her own.
It was short, brisk. His lips lingered just long enough for her to close her eyes, but not long enough for her to wonder what to do next. In one breath, he had drawn away again, regarding her with caution.
For her own part, she stood stock still, too stunned to react.
A moment passed, and when it was clear there was no threat against his life, Edge breathed a sigh of relief.
"What—" she sputtered out, completely red-faced.
He frowned, an expression he quickly hid.
"You can cross one thing off that list of yours," he told her with a lopsided smile, tugging his cowl up to his nose again.
She shook her head, confused. "What—my—" she began. "This was about—"
"Stop dwelling on Rosa, we need you in the present," he told her.
She could tell he was grinning, but a note of intensity in his eyes belied something else, and before she could work out what—he'd already turned on his heel and left her. She stood where she was for another minute, fingers rising to touch her lips.
Why, she wondered, thinking she might be experiencing another delusion.
All she could do was stare as he disappeared around the corner; finding that Rosa was suddenly the furthest thing from her mind.
0-0-0-0
Edge stepped out of her range as soon as decorum allowed. It was a hell of a gamble he'd taken, kissing the only woman in the world who could summon Bahamut. He shook his head with sheer amazement and kept walking until she was far behind him.
He grinned, remembering the look on her face; but now that the fear of death had fled him, his grin tipped downward. If he had lingered, would she have answered him?
His frown deepened, wondering what a kiss like that would have been like.
Kain had been right. He'd never understand her unless he chased her, but now wasn't the time for that. Besides, they might never cross paths again; in fact, that's what made this situation so enticing, so convenient.
His step faltered and he was dimly aware that he'd rejoined the others.
He might never see her again.
The kiss had been a mistake. Not because it hadn't been enjoyable, but because the compulsion to do it again was stronger than any reason he had not to.
He scowled, thinking through possible scenarios.
"You look worse than I do," Kain said dryly, to which Edge shifted his gaze acerbically toward the other man.
"Where's Rydia?" Cecil asked.
"She was right behind me," Edge replied off-handedly.
"You left her behind?" Rosa asked incredulously.
Just then, Rydia appeared from around the corner, walking with her eyes focused on the tiled floor. Edge flicked his gaze away as quickly as he could.
"What did you do?" Kain muttered to him, picking up on the situation immediately.
Edge's glare narrowed.
"You chose this moment, now?" Kain hissed.
"I made a move, I didn't storm a castle," Edge retorted under his breath.
Kain's expression was flat. "There are so many things I'd like to say at this moment."
"Keep them to yourself," Edge said, as Rydia drew closer.
"Is everything alright?" Cecil asked her, noticing her confused expression.
"Fine," she said dismissively, shaking her head.
"Then we're moving on," Cecil said, ushering the group onward.
Edge did his best to keep his distance from the summoner, but now that she'd caught up, she wasn't about to be ignored.
She pulled him behind the others and gave him a look he'd never experienced before. The fear of mortal peril took hold again.
"Why?" she demanded, keeping her voice purposefully low.
Because I wanted to, the thought came unbidden to his mind. Outwardly, he frowned.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because—I thought we had an understanding. I thought your feelings were superficial," she contested.
He stared at her blankly, trying to figure out what to say to that.
"Am I supposed to believe now that things are different?"
Edge quickly developed a strategy. "Rydia," he said. "You looked in need of a distraction. I provided one."
"That's it?" she hissed.
He shot her a winsome grin; ignoring the twisting in his gut. "You're reading too much into this."
"Well, fine," she shot back, and walked past him.
"Fine," he retorted, feeling foolish for saying it as he followed.
Dammit, he seethed, watching her green hair swish across her back. If there was any way….
0-0-0-0
The next time the group stopped to rest, Rydia sat down beside Rosa and felt that her skin might set fire to everything nearby.
"What is it?" Rosa insisted, not in the mood for games. "I've already apologized, and if this is you trying to belabor the point…"
Rydia wrestled with her emotions, not wanting to tell Rosa the truth with everything that had happened between them; especially over so sensitive a subject. And yet…Rosa was the only person who would understand.
"It's nothing, apparently," Rydia blurted out, not willing to give anymore.
Rosa studied her, much the same way as if she were casting Libra.
"What happened?' she demanded sharply, immediately on the scent.
Rydia blushed, her mind cycling through every conversation and interaction she'd ever had with Edge; trying to follow the trail of events to reach some sort of conclusion.
"I—" she began, "—I guess I don't pick up on things very well," she admitted.
Rosa scowled and stood. "I told you he was trouble," she instantly ascertained. "Don't get your hopes up."
Rydia stared, wondering how Rosa had immediately realized her problem.
"I'm not getting my hopes up," Rydia said defensively, though inwardly she was annoyed. A part of her was delighted by the possibility that someone saw her as something other than a child; but rather, as a woman just as much worthy of love and devotion as Rosa.
Rosa already had everything she wanted….
"Of course you are," Rosa contradicted. "Rydia, you are worth more than a casual affair, and now is not the time to be worrying about such things."
"What about you?" Rydia contested. "I know what happened."
Rosa blanched. "You know what?"
"You and Cecil," Rydia said firmly. "We all know. Even though you're trying to hide it."
Rosa's eyes narrowed. "Cecil and I are different."
"Really?" Rydia quipped. "Why are you the only one allowed to capture everyone's adoration? You're just annoyed that for once, someone's interested in someone who isn't you."
"Rydia," Rosa said in a low voice. "You are out of line and reading things into this situation that aren't there. If throwing yourself at Edge just to spite me is your goal, then go ahead and get your heart broken. I gave you my warning as a friend, and that's all I can do. You are more than capable of making your own bad choices."
"I haven't made any choice," Rydia contested. "And it's none of your business."
Rosa scoffed and strode angrily away, joining the men on their lookout.
Rydia watched her go. I'm not getting my hopes up, she told herself stubbornly. I'm not.
0-0-0-0-0
Rosa wasted no time, striding right up to Edge and slapping him hard across the face.
He winced and took a step back as Kain and Cecil looked on in bafflement.
"I was wondering when I'd get a slap from you," the prince said with annoyance.
"What are you playing at?" she hissed.
"Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?"
"Rydia," was all she had to say to make his expression turn dour.
"What about Rydia?" he fished.
"I swear to you, Edge, if you toy with her heart and give her false expectations, I will personally end you."
His brows rose in mock surprise. "It was nothing, Rosa."
"You can't treat Rydia like every other girl," Rosa said. "She hasn't had experience with these situations; she doesn't know what they mean."
Edge's expression narrowed. "And you keep making the mistake of thinking that Rydia is still a girl," he shot back. "Stop meddling in things that are none of your business."
"You kissed her, didn't you," Rosa demanded.
"I can kiss you, too, if it would make you feel any better," he quipped. "After all, everyone else has."
The look she gave him was acid, as were the looks he was now receiving from Cecil and Kain.
"She'll read into this," Rosa warned. "She'll take it the wrong way, and you'll be responsible for the damage. Don't tell me you have long-term plans to continue this once we're home again. You'll go back to living the life you've always led, and all she'll be left with are questions."
"Stay out of it, Rosa," Edge retorted.
"Stay away from her," Rosa rejoined with a snarl. "I don't care what game you're playing; whether it's just a ploy to give her a reason to live after the war, or only a stupid impulse. But if you hurt her, I won't have to kill you. I'll just let Zemus do it," she said, whirling away to stride down the corridor.
Cecil and Kain glanced at Edge with twin looks of pity.
"She means it," Cecil said after a moment; following the white mage down the corridor.
Kain clapped Edge on the shoulder, and nodded with a whistle. "That's rough."
Edge threw the dragoon's hand from his shoulder and walked off in the opposite direction. "Don't even say it," he seethed angrily back at the dragoon, not catching the look of sympathy he received.
0-0-0-0-0
The group returned to their downward march; practically swimming in miasma. No one mentioned the arguments of the hours before, but the dispersal of the group was evidence of where the lines had been drawn. Contention ran high.
Kain kept to himself, merely keeping one foot in front of the other. The air was soup; stifling and disorienting, and his thoughts wandered in circles. His mind had been snarled with anxiety for hours, interrupted only by the conversations of his companions that provided temporary relief.
But here, so close to the end of their journey, his thoughts had turned especially dark. This was his last stand. He'd played all of his cards. There was no going back.
They will revile your name. You will be remembered in history as the man who betrayed his kingdom—his friends.
Kain shook his head.
They hate you.
End it.
It took everything in Kain's power to fight the crippling nausea. To muster his courage and pierce through every dark thought to say:
"Because you made me this way. No longer."
"Kain?" a voice asked at his left.
It was Rydia.
"You were saying something," she continued, looking at him with concern.
Why is she concerned about me when she has her own troubles? He wondered, thinking suddenly of Edge.
"Did I?" he asked.
"Kain, if it makes any difference, I want you to know that I—the past is the past. You don't have to carry that weight anymore."
He stared at her in amazement, having not expected that from her. "But what I did—the things I've done," he began.
"I've learned that maybe…at some point we're all influenced by desires that can steer us the wrong way even if we had good intentions."
"That is a complicated thought," Kain said to her. "Why tell me this?"
"Because I think I understand, now, and I'm not sure I could have resisted Golbez—or Zemus—any better under the same circumstances. I wouldn't want my life to be measured by my failures."
Kain looked at her and felt a strange surge of hope.
"You are a rare person, Rydia," he said.
She forced a grin. "No one should have to walk alone in the dark," she answered. "I think you've suffered enough."
The unexpected words struck him profoundly. If even one person had hope for him in a situation he'd felt was irredeemable….
"Thank you, Rydia."
"You're here, right?" she queried. "You're with us?
He found it strange that her question mirrored Edge's from hours earlier. They truly are kindred spirits, he thought. It's a shame.
"To the end," he answered her.
You haven't won yet, Zemus, Kain's thoughts rang out as a challenge in his mind. Not yet.
0-0-0-0-0
Edge glanced back at Rydia who was walking beside Kain. They seemed to be having companionable conversation, and he could only imagine what about. He supposed the dragoon was the last safe person she could speak to, given recent events, but he couldn't help the jealous twist in his stomach at losing these precious moments with her.
He wished now more than ever to defy Rosa's orders; angry that his own decision to downplay his affections coincided with her warnings about the damage they would cause.
There's no chance for you, his thoughts teased him. She will remain a mystery best left for someone else to discover.
He sighed.
"Things rarely turn out the way we expect," Cecil said, as if echoing his thoughts.
Edge turned toward the paladin as they began climbing a staircase; not registering the strangeness of going up instead of down.
"How so?" Edge asked, humoring the other man.
"I never thought that there would come a day when I would have to fight my own brother—only to realize that we share the same darkness. How can you hate a person with the same weakness without also hating yourself?"
"You chose to overcome your fears," Edge told him.
"But it could have just as easily been me," Cecil said quietly. "I could have become Golbez. How can I possibly stand against Zemus with that weight on my conscience?"
"You couldn't have become Golbez," Edge declared.
"Why not?" Cecil said, still burdened by his own doubts.
"Because Golbez didn't have us," Edge answered confidently, giving the paladin a smug grin.
Cecil cracked a brief smile. "You always did know how to put spin on a conversation."
"Put it behind you," Edge said. "The dark knight is dead. Every step you've taken since then has defined the person you've chosen to become. We're with you, Cecil."
"Thank you, Edge."
"Don't thank me, thank the people who've stood by you the longest. I'm only along for the ride and I shouldn't have to keep re-stating the obvious."
Cecil looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group, his expression hardening with resolve.
"You're right," the paladin agreed. "It's time this ended. For all of us."
All of a sudden, Edge realized that the floor had leveled out and his feet were no longer climbing stairs.
"This room," Rydia said from behind. "It's quiet. The miasma is gone."
"Where are we?" Kain asked.
Cecil looked ahead and saw a glowing, solitary portal set into a platform.
"The eye of the storm," the paladin answered.
0-0-0-0-0-0
A/N:
Sweet mother of pearl. As mentioned, the characters are in need of a snack break.
The eternal E/Ry conflict…yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah, I went there, guys. But I had to leave that thread open because we ALL know what happens in the epilogue ;) ugh ugh ugh
This chapter kind of snow-balled into the ending which I don't really like, but at the same time am too tired to do anything about. I suppose, better that, than dragging this out to 10k with more emotional baggage, lol.
The face that attacks them (which is the only fiend this chapter) is one of those Zemus' Breath monsters. I have no idea what their purpose serves other than to be extremely obnoxious and a magic drain, so I just decided to play it off as psychological warfare. Hence, everyone going instantly bonkers.
Phew. A lot happened in this chapter, oddly…
BUT. With this over, we are FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY at the final battle. *falls over dead*
I'll start that after a very long nap. Yaaaaaaaaaay ;)
Thanks again for reading, and especially to those reviewing!
It's been a long journey…we're almost there :)
Till next chapter,
~Myth