March 29th, 1820, Generator Room, Southern Radio Tower, Alexandria.
15:20 P.M.
"Hmph! Mmmf! Mmmmf!"
"Oh, will you shut the fuck up, brat?!"
Ari paused for a second, shot a fiery glare at her captor, and started wiggling and kicking her feet once again, trying to free herself.
"Can't you understand that those are fucking mythril wires, kid? You're only pissing me off!" the albino Burmecian barked, exasperated by the little girl's stubbornness.
"Hmmmf! Mffmmmf!" Ari replied, desperately trying to spit her gag, much to the albino's annoyance.
"Okay, listen up, you little bitch!" he yelled. "If I let you talk, will you stop getting on my nerves?!"
The girl in red stopped moving and nodded her head three times.
"Geez, kids these days are impossible!" the kidnapper muttered as he reached for Ari's gag. "There, what the hell do you want?"
"Where's Soren?! What did you do to him, you monster?!" she shrieked, baring her small incisors in a childish attempt to intimidate him.
"I only took him back to his family, you little shit!" the kidnapper replied, staring her down with his only working eye. "If you hadn't jeopardized his extraction, you wouldn't be tied to a shit-ton of explosives right now!"
"... W-what?!" Ari squeaked. She stopped moving at once and stared at the ocher blocks stuck to the walls, finally understanding what they were. Faint red lights came from tiny magical stones lodged in them and, worst of all, they were all connected to her through extremely thin metallic wires. "W-why? Why are you doing this?"
"An eye for an eye, missy," the albino replied, removing his wide brimmed hat. Ari gasped; not only was he missing an eye and chunks of his ears, but his entire head was nothing but a deformed mass of scar tissue.
"Ahhh! Somebody help me, please! Heeelp!" she screamed, completely terrified.
"What the hell is going on here?" an armor-clad figure boomed, stepping into the room. He seemed to be human, but Ari wasn't sure about it, as his attire completely obscured his features. To complicate matters further, his helmet distorted his voice, giving it an unnaturally low pitch. "Yeesh, Horik! Put that thing back on! You're scaring the kid!"
"Heh... my bad," the Burmecian replied, hiding his disfigured scalp under his hat once again.
"The fleet is near. They should be here in an hour, so get ready for extraction," the armored stranger stated.
"About godsdamn time!" Horik exclaimed. "We've fucked 'em up real good, eh Red?"
"You kidding? One day, people will study what we did to these suckers!" Red answered, letting out a satisfied chuckle.
"Heh! Damn right!" the Burmecian said. "Okay, I'll go run a quick perimeter check and then I'll get my stuff ready. See you in a couple minutes."
"Good. Just don't get yourself killed," Red said as Horik passed him by. He then stared at Ari for a moment through his glowing visor, sending shivers down her spine.
"P-please, don't hurt me..." she pleaded, unnerved by his almost featureless helmet; she wondered if he even had a face under all that metal.
"Listen to me, kiddo..." the man replied, approaching her and picking up the discarded gag from the floor. "I won't make you wear this again, but you'll have to promise not to scream anymore, okay?"
Ari nodded her head repeatedly.
"Good girl," Red said. "Stay quiet, and we'll set you free very soon."
"O-okay..." the little Burmecian said, watching him leave. She listened to the sound of his footsteps until she was sure that he was gone, and only then did she remember how to breathe. Her eyes started welling up as it dawned upon her that never seeing Soren or her father again had just become a very real possibility.
"... Stop, you weakling... true dragoons never cry..." she sobbed as her vision got blurrier and blurrier.
March 29th, 1820, Lebender Forest, Gunitas Basin, Alexandria.
16:15 P.M.
"She's alive..." Eiko said, holding the bloodstained cloth with a quivering hand. "She's alive, and she's in trouble!"
"Are you sure it belongs to her, ma'am?" one of her soldiers asked.
"White silk's not a very dragoonish thing to wear, don't you think?" the summoner replied, extending the cloth to Major Dionne. "Would you hold it for a second, please?"
"Um, yeah, sure ma'am," the demi-hippo replied, a little confused. "What do you want me to do with it?"
"Try not to get your hand chomped off," Eiko said, and then she started playing a tune on her flute; it was vaguely reminiscent of a wolf's howl.
Major Dionne had witnessed Eiko's summoning powers several times in the past, and was even fond of the adorable, yet somewhat temperamental Carbuncle, but Fenrir was a completely different story; he terrified her on a primal level, and suddenly there he was, standing right next to her in all his supernatural glory.
"What do you need, master?" the Eidolon's voice boomed inside Eiko's mind. She was the only one in the world who could 'hear' him thanks to having kept her summoner's horn despite its many political disadvantages.
"There's a summoner lost in this forest, and I need you to track her down. Will you help us, O noble spirit?" the princess replied through their shared mind link.
"I'm not a dog, Eiko Carol. I just happen to look like one," Fenrir replied dryly, letting out a snarl that scared the bejeezus out of the entire squad.
"Please, only you can do this!" Eiko pleaded. "I know! Lead us to our friend and I'll wear that horrible perfume you love for a week! Deal?"
"... You offend me, woman; I'm above extorting my own summoner!" the Eidolon stated, haughtily tipping his snout. He sighed after a few seconds and gave her the canine equivalent of an exasperated look. "Alright... I'll do it, but just because you asked nicely."
"Really?! Oh, thanks, Fenrir! You're the goodest of boys!" Eiko piped up, much to the giant wolf's chagrin.
"... Don't make me regret my decision..." he replied. The summoner could almost feel him mentally facepalming.
"Sorry... it's like a reflex," the princess replied, nodding her head apologetically. "Dionne, would you please show Fenrir the cloth?"
"R-right away, ma'am..." the master-at-arms stammered, extending the bloodstained item to the Eidolon. He sniffled it a few times, cold ectoplasmic drool splashing over the demi-hippo's hand and turning into mist. She would never get used to him.
"Your friend has left quite a noticeable trail behind..." the wolf telepathically stated, staring at a hidden path leading deeper into the forest. "It reeks of magic, too. She's been spell-casting."
"Can you tell all that through smell?" Eiko marveled."I can't feel anything at all!"
"Being made of flesh limits your perception, I'm afraid," Fenrir stated. He then sniffled the ground near the brambles for a while and then gave her a worried look."Your friend is not alone... two magic users are with her."
"Wait, what? Which kind of magic are we talking about?" the princess mentally blurted out.
"One of the trails literally oozes human spiritual energy... ugh... it smells terribly..." the Eidolon replied, visibly disgusted.
"That's probably Steiner!" Eiko exclaimed."Even his aura stinks when he empowers himself with magic! He must be with her!"
"About the other one... I sense a mixture of ectoplasm and... dragon magic," Fenrir said, angrily wrinkling his snout. "Whatever that thing is, it's no Eidolon."
"Shit! Can you lead us to them?"
"Follow me!" Fenrir ordered, disappearing into the foliage.
"He's found Garnet, and she's in danger!" Eiko barked, chasing after the giant wolf.
"You've heard her, boys! Go, go, go!" Major Dionne shouted, following the summoner deeper into the forest.
16:30 P.M.
"The scent grows stronger! We're close!" Fenrir's voice boomed inside Eiko's mind.
"She's near, guys! Don't fall behind!" the summoner yelled, nimbly chasing after the Eidolon despite the extremely rough terrain.
"Easy for you to say it... you're not wearing armor!" the youngest of the soldiers thought, panting heavily due to the strain and heat.
"There!" Fenrir exclaimed, stopping suddenly and pointing with his snout at a cave entrance hidden among the trees.
"I can't thank you enough for this, buddy," Eiko said through the mind link, stroking the Eidolon's radiant fur.
"I wouldn't celebrate just yet..." the giant wolf replied. "This place reeks of human blood. We might be too late."
Eiko gasped and stared at the dark opening in the stone. "Garnet?! Garnet!" she yelled, impulsively running towards it.
"Your Highness, wait!" Major Dionne yelled, chasing after the princess.
With a powerful leap, the Eidolon interposed himself between his master and the cave, stopping the summoner dead in her tracks.
"What are you doing, Fenrir?" Eiko yelled.
"Something's wrong. Wait here, I'll tell you if it's safe inside," he answered. The giant wolf then entered the cave, disappearing into the darkness.
"What should we do, ma'am?" the demi-hippo asked, preemptively drawing her weapon.
"He told us to wait outside," the princess replied. "For all his big bad wolf attitude, he's actually a complete softie..."
A sharp thud, followed by a high-pitched yelp echoed from deep within the tunnel. Eiko and Dionne stared at each other, eyes wide open.
"Fenrir! Are you okay?!" the summoner telepathically asked.
"How do you like this, you filthy beast?!" a familiar voice boomed inside the cavern, followed by a loud thwack.
"Ngh! That rust bucket you call friend is here, Eiko!" Fenrir snarled through the mind link. "Make him stop or I'll... ack! Get off me, human!"
"Steiner, is that you?!" the princess yelled, rushing to her spirit companion's aid. "Steiner, stop! You're hurting him!"
"No, he's not!" Fenrir squawked, trying to save face.
WHACK!
"Augh! My ear!" the giant wolf telepathically bellowed."Now you've really done it, vermin! Take this!"
"Lady Eiko..? Is that y-?" the Pluto Knight said before the Eidolon smashed him against the wall with a resounding clang. "Oof! Not fair!"
"Guys, could you please stop?!" the summoner shrieked, entering the damp chamber where her two friends were fighting.
"Lady Eiko, it's really you!" Steiner exclaimed, getting back up from the ground. "Oh, thank goodness! What are you doing here?"
"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm saving your ass!" the princess barked, assessing Fenrir's wounds. "Sorry for that, buddy... do you need help with the pain?"
"I'll live..." the Eidolon huffed, licking a cut on his leg.
"Princess! Don't run off on your own like that!" the demi-hippo exclaimed, barging into the chamber, war hammer in hand. "General Steiner..? You're alive!"
"Major Dionne! Long time no see!" the Pluto Knight piped up, saluting her.
"Oh, sorry, where are my manners?" the master-at-arms stammered, nervously returning the salute. "I'm glad you're fine, sir!"
"I'm so confused! How did you know that we were stranded here?" Steiner asked, staring at the summoner in utter disbelief.
"It's a very long story. I'll tell you when we're outta here, I promise," Eiko replied. "Where's Garnet? Is she okay?"
Steiner's candid smile evaporated, and a somber expression took its place.
"She saved our lives... but ended up sustaining grievous injuries in the process," the Pluto Knight replied, his wrinkled visage wreathed in shadows. "Come with me. With you here, there might still be hope for her."
...
"Your Majesty! Look who's here!"
"... huh..?"
"Oh gods, Garnet... what happened to you..?"
"... that voice... who are you..?"
"It's me, Eiko! I-I'll fix you up in no time! Dionne, bring my stuff, please!"
"Eiko... yes... I remember someone... someone called..."
"Save your strength, sis! Steiner, hold her hand and keep her awake, talk to her!"
"Y-yes! M-my queen, can you hear me? It's me, Adelb..."
"Father..? Is that you..?"
"Uhh..."
"Don't just stare at me, Steiner! She thinks you're her father! Be her father!"
"Am I... dying..?"
The Pluto Knight had to bite back a sob to answer that question.
"... Of course not, my dear. Everything will be alright, I promise."
"She's lost too much blood... we can't remove the shrapnel like this... Steiner, hold her down! Dionne, Elixir, now!"
"O-okay! Darling, this will hurt a little, but it will make you feel better..."
"Father... please, don't leave me..."
"Administering Elixir..."
"I'll never, ever leave you, my dear."
"Huh..? W-what is this..?! Oh, gods, it burns! Aaaaah!"
"It's okay, it's okay... hold my hand, I'm here for you..."
"The hemorrhage subsides! Hang on just a little longer, sis!"
"Did you hear that, darling? You're gonna be fine! You're gonna... Garnet..? Garnet! Eiko, what's going on?!"
"Shit! She's having a seizure! Help me roll her onto her side! Careful with her neck!
...
"Tell... mother... I said hi..."
...
"Huh..? Where am I..?" Garnet said, opening her eyes. The golden sunlight made her blink a few times until her vision adjusted to it. She found herself sitting under a large cherry tree's shade in a beautiful garden. A delicate petal, carried by the breeze, landed on her lap. "What is this place..?" she muttered, carefully picking it up.
"So, we finally meet, Queen Garnet..." a deep female voice said, prompting the summoner to look around, searching for its source.
"... Freya? Is that you?" Garnet said, as a familiar silhouette came into focus.
The Burmecian chuckled.
"You flatter me... but no," she said, approaching her. "I'm her mother, Frigg."
The summoner's jaw dropped. She glanced at her own chest, and then back at the Burmecian in utter disbelief. Frigg smiled at this small gesture and clapped her hands a few times.
"Bravo!" she exclaimed. "You've figured out the secret of the necklace faster than I expected. Well done!"
"A summoning beacon..." Garnet muttered, holding Freya's pendant in her hand.
"You could call it that way," Frigg said. "I can only interact with your realm through the things that I was strongly attached to in life. Alas!"
"So it was you..! The woman who led me to Steiner!" the queen said, connecting the dots. "You saved my life!"
"It was the least I could do. You saved my daughter's life, and you have my eternal gratitude for that," the Burmecian stated, extending her hand to the summoner. "Shall we go for a walk? There are a few matters I'd like to discuss with you."
"S-sure thing..." Garnet said, letting Frigg help her stand up.
17:40 P.M.
Once Eiko and Steiner managed to stabilize Garnet, they spent the following hour catching up, always keeping an eye on the queen in case further complications arose. Having fulfilled his task, Fenrir had returned to his realm, leaving Dionne and her squad in charge of patrolling the tunnels. The sun still shined outside, but they all knew that soon they would need to leave, before whatever lurked out there cornered them in such tight quarters.
"So that's how you two survived..." Eiko commented. "I can't believe she managed to aim a Float spell at you while free falling and with her body pumped full of shrapnel to boot..."
Steiner stared at the unconscious queen with a mixture of pride and sorrow.
"Her Majesty is just that powerful and selfless. There's no greater honor than to serve her," he stated.
"Hmm... the fact that she's been conscious for hours after losing that much blood still strikes me as an absurd feat of fortitude..." Eiko stated. "Did she use healing magic on herself?"
"Not that I know..." Steiner answered, returning to idly sharpening his broadsword. "Something started following us while we searched for a safe place to rest. She shot a couple magic bolts at it to scare it away, but that's about it."
"Something followed you? What did it look like?" the blue-haired summoner asked, her eyes wide open.
"Well... we couldn't tell clearly, as it always kept its distance, but judging by how easily Her Majesty chased it away, it must have been a Mu, or something similar."
"A Mu? Why would a Mu stalk you like that?"
"I have no idea..." Steiner lamely replied, lifting his sword and looking at his own torchlit reflection. "Lady Eiko, I need to know the truth... do you think she'll make it?"
"It's... complicated," she replied. "I'm almost out of medicines and there's only so much an Esuna spell can do if we can't safely remove the shrapnel from her body."
"I could go back to the Wind Rose's wreckage and scavenge for supplies. Would that help?" the Pluto Knight proposed.
"That's both sweet and ballsy as hell, but no... she needs antibiotics and actual surgery, and she needs 'em now," Eiko replied. "If she stays here, that infection will kill her in less than twenty four hours."
"Okay... what do you suggest, then?" Steiner impatiently asked, planting the Ragnarok in the mud. "There must be a way to save her life!"
Eiko's eyes widened all of a sudden.
"Life..? Life!" she exclaimed. "Steiner, that's it! You're a genius!"
"Am I..?" the burly knight confusedly asked.
"Yeah! We'll use Phoenix to send a distress signal to my crew!" the summoner yelled. "His magic should also give Garnet the boost she needs to survive the trip to Alexandria! It's perfect! "
"Splendid idea, Lady Eiko!" Steiner boomed. "Besides, there might be other survivors scattered across these woods. Your Eidolon should alert them to our position!"
"I wouldn't bet my money on it..." the princess stated with a somber expression. "After your ship crashed, a group of Burmecian soldiers entered the forest looking for you. They got butchered in seconds by... something, not too far from here. I don't think we'll be finding any stranded crew members, Steiner."
The Pluto Knight folded his arms and stared pensively at the unconscious queen.
"No one gets left behind..." he said. "That's Her Majesty's motto. That's Alexandria's motto. I don't know how things are done in Lindblum, but I'm not abandoning the crew if there's a chance that they're still alive."
"... Alrighty then," Eiko sighed. "If you wanna die that badly, I'll help you contact the Dali ship that should be searching for us right now. From then on, you'll be on your own, Captain Hero, for I'm taking Garnet straight to Alexandria. Capisce?"
"Thank you," Steiner replied, smiling warmly at her. "I knew you would understand."
"Your Highness!" one of the soldiers yelled, barging into the damp chamber. He was extremely pale, panting heavily and covered in sweat.
"Mark? What happened?!" Eiko exclaimed, already guessing what he was going to say.
"T-they've found us!" he stammered. "We're surrounded!"