March 29th, 1820, Gunitas Basin, Alexandrian territory.
15:00 PM
High above the clouds, the HSC Madeen, Eiko's customized airship, flew in search of the Wind Rose. It was a technological masterpiece, born from the combination of the summoner's prodigious arcane mastery and Cid's shipbuilding genius.
"Wait... what's that..?" Eiko said, squinting. Her heart skipped a beat; two pitch-black smoke columns rose from a distant forest. "No, no, no, no..!" she mumbled, brusquely steering the ship towards the shifting, dark plumes.
"Y-your Highness! You're sending us off course!" the second mate squeaked, alarmed by the sharp change in direction.
"I really hope you're right, Flynn..." the summoner replied in a wavering voice. "Flank speed ahead!"
"Flank speed ahead!" the chief engineer repeated.
The Madeen's engine seemed to roar in response and the ship accelerated to its maximum speed. For several tense minutes, the crew remained silent as they approached the nearest crash site.
"Oh, gods..." the master-at-arms, a stout, armor-clad demi-hippo, muttered; The Wind Rose and the Quicksilver burned beneath them, twisted and mangled beyond recognition.
Eiko's hands started shivering. Cold sweat ran down her spine as it dawned upon her that they were too late. She was too late.
Flynn cleared his throat, breaking the agonizing silence. "Um... what should we do now, ma'am?"
The summoner bit back a sob and shot a determined look at him.
"We look for survivors," she said.
Earlier that day,
Professor Tot's Laboratory, Alexandria Castle.
14:15 PM
"Alright, so, this goes here... and this goes... here," Mikoto said, plugging the last connector into the disembodied golem torso. She then put its soul core back into the chest socket and watched the creature's inner workings spring back to life.
"Poor thing, you must be so confused without your sensors..." the scientist thought, pitying the spirit that powered the infernal machine. Even if she knew that there was no time to lose, she couldn't help thinking for a moment about the sheer pain and terror that it must have been going through.
"Hang in there, buddy. I promise we'll set you free very soon..." she said with a compassionate smile, and then she extracted the tiny radio antenna from the robot's 'heart'.
"Okay... let's see..." she mumbled, shifting her attention back to her portable computer's screen. Lines and lines of encrypted code started appearing on it. She copied the unreadable text and compared it to a previously saved sequence, trying to spot differences between them. "Alright... so you run a different section of your code whenever you're not exposed to the radio signal..." she thought. "This must mean that you have an inbuilt AI to guide you in case you're out of the transmitter's range..."
The torso wobbled a little, trying to escape its confinement. It seemed not to realize that its limbs had been detached and removed, as its joints' servos kept turning over and over in a futile attempt to use them.
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Mikoto stared at the ringing beeper in shock for a few seconds and then scrambled for it, almost tripping over in the process.
"Sweet mother of science!" she yelled, holding the device with both hands; Kal had finally managed to crack the encryption. She pocketed the gizmo and left the laboratory running, almost knocking over a passing knight on her way to her ship.
March 29th, 1820, Town Square, Alexandria.
14:45 PM
"Uh... h-hello, sir..? " a young boy mumbled, studying the rotund cook that was serving lunch to the refugees; he had never seen a Qu in his life and Quina's bizarre appearance intimidated him quite a bit.
"HELLO, LITTLE ONE!" the Qu cheerfully greeted him, filling a wooden bowl to the brim with steaming hedgehog pie stew and handing it to him. "HERE, THIS MAKE YOU GROW STRONG!"
"T-thank you, sir!" the kid stammered, sampling the pottage's delicious aroma, "Oh, man! This smells so good!"
"TRADITIONAL QU RECIPE! ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES!" the strange chef declared, gently patting the boy on the head, "NEXT!"
The child left and a middle-aged woman took his place. She was exquisitely dressed, of noble origin, and was visibly offended by having to wait in line surrounded by commoners.
"... Make it quick, creature," she sneered, haughtily avoiding the cook's gaze.
Quina served the noblewoman's meal without a word and extended the bowl to her with the Qu equivalent of a deep frown.
"Ugh, what is this filth..?" she said, staring at the reddish pottage as if it was some kind of practical joke. "Is that peasant-born monkey mocking us or something?"
"HE GIVING YOU FREE FOOD AND SHELTER," the chef retorted, threateningly looming over the improvised counter, "NOW LEAVE, ME HAVE HUNGRY PEOPLE TO FEED."
"Free food? With the taxes I pay, I should be getting caviar for lunch, thing..." the woman spat, leaving the line and sitting near the other nobles.
"Good grief... sometimes I miss the marsh so much..." Quina thought, taking a deep breath. "NEXT!"
"This sure brings back memories..." Freya thought, staring at her empty bowl with a satisfied grin. Despite her talent at potion-brewing, cooking definitely wasn't her forte and neither Zidane had ever been skilled at it. By the time Quina first joined them back in the day, even Vivi had grown outwardly reluctant to eat their creations. Needless to say, they all rejoiced when the Qu turned out to be a magnificent chef.
"Hey, Freya..." Beatrix said in a low voice, leaving her half-finished meal on the table.
"Yes, Beatrix?" the Burmecian replied, shooting her a bemused look; it was the first time in years that the paladin had called her by her first name.
"... Sorry for what I said out there. It was rude and unnecessary," the general said, letting out a disheartened sigh, "It's just... I've trained those girls since they were teenagers. Seeing them getting slaughtered like that..."
"I'm sorry for your loss..." Freya said, lowering her eyes. "They seemed like honorable warriors."
"They were like daughters to me..." Beatrix said, suddenly looking much older and tired than usual.
"We'll honor their sacrifice by stopping whoever is behind this," the dragon knight declared, offering the general her hand.
"I don't get it... why are you being so nice to me?" the general asked, blankly staring at Freya's callused palm. "You, of all people, shouldn't care about how I feel."
"Even if we were still enemies, I would not mock your pain," the Burmecian replied with a smirk. "Besides, you're only trying to protect your people. I can empathize with that."
"Heh... I would have loved to meet you under different circumstances, Freya," Beatrix said, accepting the dragoon's handshake. "I'm honored to fight alongside such a fine knight."
"Am I interrupting something?" Zidane chimed in, barging into the command tent with an amused smirk. "Oh, please don't mind me, it's so cute to see you holding hands like that."
"How are things going out there?" Freya replied, letting his snark slide. "I'm ready to help with whatever you need."
"Well, there's some people I want you to meet," the genome said, "Careful, though; we don't know 'em well enough to be sure of where their loyalties lie. Come with me, please."
The dragon knight stood up with a perplexed expression and followed his friend out of the tent. A small group of Burmecians was patiently waiting for them not too far away. They were armed with spears and seemed ready for combat.
"Squad! Attention!" the tallest dragoon of the bunch exclaimed, solemnly saluting Freya. The rest of the warriors immediately fell in line and followed his order. "Ma'am, Sir Erik Osbern, reports!"
"They've helped us secure an evacuation route for the Burmecian district," Zidane explained. "When they saw you arrive with that group of survivors, they requested to be put under your command."
"Oh... at ease, then, brave knight." Freya replied, returning the salute.
"We refuse to believe what Ulrich's been saying about you and Lord Fratley!" the warrior exclaimed with military vehemence. "We shall protect you and this kingdom with our lives, ma'am!"
"Thank you. That's very kind of you." Freya said, humbly nodding her head. "How's the situation on Little Burmecia, Sir Osbern? Could you manage to bring everyone here?"
"Fortunately, our district was left largely untouched by the machines, ma'am," Erik said. "However, entire families have inexplicably vanished, and one of our friends' daughter has gone missing, too."
"Vanished, huh..?" Zidane said, folding his arms. "Do you think the golems took them?"
"Hardly, Your Majesty. Those things take no prisoners," the knight replied. "I don't think they're even capable of doing anything beyond killing!"
"Hmm... I'm not so sure about that..." Freya said, rubbing her chin. "They've used ambush tactics against us. Also, they seem to understand the difference between infantry and artillery. Those machines are smarter than we give them credit for, Sir Osbern."
"Are you saying that they can think, Freya?" the king asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, I'm just saying that they're organized," she replied, pointing at the radio tower in the distance. "And I bet my tail that whoever's giving them orders is hiding right there."
"Guuuuuuuys!" Mikoto yelled, running towards the group with her portable computer under her arm. The genome scientist skidded to a halt and took a brief moment to catch her breath.
"Whoa, Miko, what are you doing here? Are you okay?" Zidane asked.
"Meeting. Now!" she answered.
"So, Freya was right after all!" Zidane exclaimed. "If we take back the tower, we'll win this battle!"
"It's not that easy..." Mikoto replied, showing her computer's screen to him. "What you're seeing is their combat AI; it's independent from the signal, which means that they'll keep attacking us even if we disable the transmitter."
"So, how do we stop them?" Beatrix asked.
"Treno has already solved that problem for us," the genome scientist replied with a satisfied smirk. She started scrolling down the code until she found a particular line and highlighted it. "This is their deactivation command. If we broadcast this from the tower, their entire army will shut down at once!"
"... Are you serious? Why would they give their own weapons such a flagrant weakness?" Freya asked, utterly baffled by the idea.
"It's not a weakness; it's a feature." Mikoto declared matter-of-factly. "We've all witnessed how deadly this beings are. Failing to hardwire such a vital function into them would be suicidal."
"I see... they weren't expecting you to be here, let alone crack their code." Zidane added, rubbing his chin. "We just got lucky, eh?"
"Indeed," Beatrix replied. "Alright, I'll get a team ready. We'll storm that tower and beat Bishop at her own game."
"I'm coming too," Mikoto said. "You'll need me to operate the transmitter."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now... hold on a second!" the king brusquely intervened. "This is a warzone we're talking about, Miko! You've never been in a fight before, let alone a battlefield!"
"Military theory was a part of my training back in Terra. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Mikoto replied, folding her arms.
"Theory and practice are not the same thing, Miko!" Zidane exclaimed. "Dozens of warriors have died today! You'll just end up like them!"
"My skills have vastly improved, brother! You witnessed it yourself the other day; I'm not a helpless child anymore!" the scientist retorted. "Besides, Freya and Beatrix will keep me safe! We can do th-!"
Even to Freya's heightened senses, Zidane's reaction to his sister's tirade appeared like a fleeting blur; he had dashed across the tent in less than a fraction of a second and stopped inches away from Mikoto's face. The scientist's legs gave way beneath her and she fell on her backside, paralyzed by fear.
"Zidane! Have you lost your mind?!" the Burmecian barked, but the king completely ignored her.
"You. Are not. Ready." Zidane stated in a terrifying, distorted voice.
"Brother..." Mikoto mumbled, staring into his glowing red eyes. "You look just like him right now..."
Zidane's ferocious expression evaporated as he stared at his hands in silent shock; reddish arcs of energy sparked and crackled between his fingers, quickly dissipating into the air.
"Your Majesty... are you alright..?" Beatrix asked, carefully approaching the genomes.
Zidane's heart accelerated; he had to make a choice, and he needed to do it quick.
"... Yes," he lied. "I'm just... worried for you all."
He knew he was buying time, he knew it would all come back to haunt him later, but what would they gain if he told them about the bomb? Throwing his team off-balance could lead to them getting distracted and thus, killed. He wasn't going to run that risk, even if he hated himself for it.
"Miko... I'm so sorry for what I just did," he said, offering her his hand. She accepted it and let him help her stand up.
"Brother, you need to understand," the scientist pleaded, holding Zidane's hand. "I know you're scared, I'm scared too, but unless you have another Terran-speaking programmer working for you, we have no choice."
The king felt a shiver run down his spine as he stared into his sister's eyes; he saw himself arguing with Baku twenty years ago.
"Huh..?" he mumbled, slightly startled; Freya had gently placed her hand on his shoulder.
"We'll keep her safe," she said, giving him that little, old-friend smile that he could never say no to.
"They'll have to go through us both if they want to touch her, sir." Beatrix declared with a confident smirk.
"... Thank you, girls," the king muttered, and then he pulled Mikoto into a tight embrace.
"Brother, you embarrass me!" the scientist chuckled, hugging him back.
"Sorry. I'm just so proud of you..." Zidane replied, letting her go after a brief moment.
"Alright, we need a plan," Beatrix stated, staring at the city map on the table.
"Hmm... I think I have an idea..." Freya said, shooting a knowing look at Mikoto.
March 29th, 1820, Gunitas Basin, Alexandrian territory.
15:30 PM
"Alright, boys, listen up!" the Madeen's master-at-arms exclaimed, addressing her squad. "We've requested backup from Dali but, unluckily for us, their nearest ship is an hour from here, so we're on our own. Our prime objective is to reach the Wind Rose's crash site and extract any survivors that we can find. We'll then move on to the Quicksilver's wreckage and continue our search. Mist creatures are known to still lurk in forests like this one, so stay alert at all times if you value your lives!"
"With all due respect, are you sure this is a good idea, ma'am?" the youngest soldier of the team asked, fearfully clutching his war hammer. "Shouldn't we wait until help arrives? I mean... I've heard stories..."
"Are you questioning a direct order from the princess, private?" the armor-clad demi-hippo shouted, making him shrink in his place.
"Guys, come on, let's all calm down for a second," Eiko said, facing her team. "I know you're scared, but this is far greater than us. The fate of the entire continent might depend on what we do during the next few hours. We can't afford to waste any more time."
"You've heard her, boys! Now soldier up and protect Her Highness at all costs!" the stout officer ordered, punching a red button on the wall and deploying the ship's airstair. "Alright, team, let's move out!"
One, if not the nastiest effect of Iifa Tree's mist was the mutation of Gaia's wildlife into a horde of ravenous predators. Traveling by foot during those times had always been ill-advised at best; that's why stepping into a dark forest like the one they were traversing filled the improvised rescue team with an insidious sense of dread.
"It's so quiet..." one of the soldiers whispered. "Why is it so quiet..?"
"Listen... there are no birds!" another one answered, "This place is seriously creeping me out, mate."
"What do you think, ma'am?" the master-at-arms whispered, careful not to be heard by her unit.
"There's something really wrong about this forest, Dionne." Eiko replied, eyes scanning the environment. "I can sense no spiritual force, though. That's both good and bad news for us."
"How so?"
"Good news: everything but the plants is dead. Bad news: everything but the plants is dead," the summoner replied. "Question is: what killed all the animals?"
"We should stay on our toes then." Dionne added. "We're close, I can smell it."
Effectively, the scent of smoke and ash was getting stronger and stronger with each step they took. Eiko could feel her heart shrink; she wasn't ready to see the wreckage, but she needed to know if her lifelong friend and sister figure had somehow survived the crash.
They walked for what felt like an eternity, until the master-at-arms signaled the rest of the team to stop and hide. She then took point and disappeared into the foliage, war hammer in hand.
"Where did she go?" one of the troopers whispered, overwhelmed by anxiety.
"She must have heard something..." another one replied. "Will she be okay on her own?"
"Have you ever seen Major Dionne in a fight, Mark?," a third, older soldier chimed in. "I'm more worried for the monsters!"
"Quiet!" Eiko hissed, eyes fixed on the dense grove ahead. The sound of rustling leaves and heavy footsteps caught her attention. She drew her enchanted flute and signaled the rest of the squad to prepare for trouble.
"Your Highness..." the master-at-arms said as she emerged from the bushes, much to everyone's relief. "You need to see this..."
"We're screwed..." one of the soldiers mumbled, staring in awe at the gruesome spectacle at his feet. "We're so screwed..."
Scattered across a strangely shaped clearing, the fresh remains of a massacre confirmed Eiko's suspicions about the forest. Shredded pieces of armor, teeth and cloth painted a grisly picture of what that cursed place had in store for its visitors and the summoner seriously considered for a second retreating and waiting for the cavalry to arrive.
"Burmecians..." Major Dionne stated, studying a broken helmet. Something big and jagged had punched right through it, killing its owner with a single blow.
"What were they doing here..?" Eiko muttered, picking up a worn leather patch with a familiar coat of arms emblazoned on it.
"If Ulrich is Bishop's ally against Queen Garnet, then they were probably finishing the job," Dionne replied. "Luckily for us, something killed them before we arrived and then dragged their corpses deeper into the forest."
"Major, look! Over here!" the oldest soldier of the squad interrupted her, pointing at a nearby bush.
"What is it, Vega?" the master-at-arms replied, approaching him. A lone piece of delicate white fabric was stuck in the brambles. She swallowed hard; there was a bloodstain on it.
"Your Highness... I think you need to see this..."