Part Two: Jade Tides
Verdant Rain Moon
Chapter Twenty: Fatal Truths
With the Emerald Shark Squadron successfully defending Kapena from an attack by Those Who Slither in the Dark, Finn sends scouts out to every corner of Fodlan looking for a clue to Rebyx's next step. Until a clue comes in though there is nothing to be done.
"Before we begin this council commences, allow me to apologize for my reclusiveness over the past month." Finn said. "I let my self pity blind me and cloud my abilities. For that I must truly apologize."
"Why does this still feel like a pity party?" Atamai asked. "Finn, permission to speak freely."
"Permission granted." Finn said with his head hung.
"If you are going to act like this then I should be even worse. I couldn't figure out my own mother was some demon lady. So please, spare us all the apologies and lead us. That's what we all need, and, dare I say it, want." Atamai stated coldly.
"Damn right Atamai!" Hukai jubilantly laughed, smacking Atamai in the back.
"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Penina laughed. "C'mon Finn, we just repelled enemy forces. Let's have a laugh!"
"We've come so far back from where we were. Because of you we were able to reclaim my territory." Olaga thanked him.
"Besides, we need you so that Malosi and Keola stop bickering as much." Kai said.
"We do not bicker! We have thoughtful and meaningful debates." Malosi assured the group.
"Do we? It feels a lot like bickering." Keola interjected.
"Do NOT bicker over whether you two bicker or I swear I will feed you to my wyvern!" Lawe yelled.
"You have brought peace and settled the war of Fodlan. That's over because of you and your abilities. Though I think I was a large contributor." Fetu congratulated himself.
"We all helped out so much. I love you guys so much." Fiafia smiled brightly.
"Told you Finn. We are all behind you. So what do you want to do?" Oceania smiled.
"I want to give you all a hug! Get in here, you too Hoaloha!" Finn was on the verge of tears. "But seriously we do need to figure out what to do next."
"Well," Penina said, breaking the hug. "Our first step should be to find Rebyx."
"Obviously Penina. Do you strategize or do we call you clever for fun?" Atamai smirked.
"As I was saying." Penina glared at Atamai. "We need to find Rebyx. And my bet is that our first order of business should be to check all of Kapena and the palace."
"Check the palace?" Kai asked. "You don't think…"
"That would be too bold. Though I guess we didn't see her during the assault so really…" Malosi added.
"Okay, we get it! You are all SO clever." Fetu mocked. "Can somebody speak plainly for the simpletons like Hukai and I so we can understand what's going on?"
"I understand what they're saying." Hukai stroked his chin in deep thought.
"Do you now?" Fetu asked. "Then what's happening?"
"I think Atamai should explain since he insulted Penina's abilities." Hukai deflected.
"Solid deflection Hukai. I guess Penina really is quite clever. She is assuming that Rebyx had other malicious plans during the attack. So yes, Finn, I would concur with the suggestion to review our inventories to see if anything has been stolen or added." Atamai agreed.
Finn was pale. "Oceania," he whispered something into her ear and her eyes widened. "Quickly please."
"You already know, don't you?" Keola read Finn's body language.
"I have a dangerous hunch." Finn sighed. "Malosi, if I'm right can you draft a request for Johann to send some troops to hold Kapena. I might know where she is heading."
"Of course Finn. I will have it done." Malosi bowed his head.
Just then Oceania re-entered the room and spoke quickly with Finn.
"Damn." Finn put his head in his hands. "Fine. Keola, what are our standings with the Alliance?"
"Amicable. There are rumors the Alliance is leaning towards joining the Coalition. You don't think Leon would back Rebyx, do you?"
"No, I think I get it. Oceania, did you go to the Royal Vault?" Olaga asked.
"Indeed I did Olaga." Oceania frowned.
"Okay, again with the circle speaking!" Fetu was flabbergasted.
"I am not one for strategies, but I do understand firepower. Finn, tell me we still have Grioavalr." As Olaga said those words, everyone understood what was going on.
"I will send a letter to Leon to see what's happening." Keola assured Finn.
"So it's true then." Fiafia said.
"Yes, during the assault Rebyx got a hold of Fosite, Joyeuse, Patas, and Gungnir." Finn shook his head. "All of you get equipped, we leave for the Abyssal Congregation soon."
"Finn, what's in Abyss." Atamai asked.
"You don't remember?" Finn asked. "I think Rebyx is going to use the Forge to create a new weapon."
Following Finn's suspicions the Emerald Shark Squadron with the permission of the Fodlan Coalition to mobilize into Souter to check the Forge where the Relics of the modern age were formed.
"At your instructions Finn the Forge is open to you. But I don't know why you would want to use it." Constance told Finn.
"Thank you Constance. I see that I should probably fill you in and apologize."
"I do love a good apology though currently I don't see why I need one."
"During the assault on our capital Rebyx stole away into our vaults and took four relic weapons."
"I see." Constance frowned. "That is quite bad and merits a lot of discussion. But right now we have bigger problems, don't we?"
"If I'm right then the answer to that is probably yes. If Rebyx is trying to create some kind of super weapon then I have to know." Finn told her.
Just then the ground shook. Stalactites started falling from the cave ceiling and Constance and Finn used some basic magic to create a kind of umbrella.
"Earthquakes aren't common here Finn." Constance said. "I'll hold the roof, you take care of whatever is going on down there."
"Thank you President Constance. My team will not let you down." Finn said and then left Constance, running down the tunnel.
"You mean let me down again." Constance said to herself.
Down in the cavern the Squadron was waiting for Finn. There was a huge empty room with lava rings running throughout the chamber. In the center there was a very large red orb that seemed to be emitting the heat of a star. Rebyx was right there chanting while kneeling in front of the orb.
"There's that fun old lady that stole my body." Oceania cracked her knuckles.
"You'll have your revenge soon enough mother. But not before I have mine." Atamai said and gave a crooked smile.
"Don't underestimate her." Lawe said.
"Oh Lawe, it is she that should not underestimate me." Oceania told her.
"Lawe is right. We haven't faced her in battle before. She has lasted this long on just her wits alone. We have to give it everything we got." Penina reminded everyone.
"Guys! If we can just stop Rebyx here we can finally rest and rebuild." Fiafia marveled.
"Then let's give it everything we have! I have so many ideas that I want to become a reality." Keola smiled.
"I would've thought that we would already have been giving it our all." Malosi sighed.
"Not me. This battling really involves too much sweating for me. Though I suppose if a little effort ends it all here then I should really try." Fetu added.
"Alright guys let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Be prepared and vigilant." Finn told his troops before moving to the head of the squadron.
"Ah, you came!" Rebyx feigned surprise. "I guess you were a little smarter than I originally thought."
"Rebyx! On the behalf of the Fodlan Coalition you have been sentenced to death and are to be executed by Emerald Shark Squadron." Finn declared; readying his staff, Grioavalr.
"Cheeky!" Rebyx laughed, much to the dismay of Finn. "Don't think I would travel without my posse. So sad though that these are the last of Those Who Slither in the Dark. Time to make it count!"
Suddenly Mages, Paladins, and Brutes flooded into the room. It was as if they had come from thin air. They quickly surrounded Rebyx and got directly into formation.
"Thought that it wouldn't be this easy." Finn smirked. "But don't think we will kneel here Rebyx. This ends today!"
"Sure it will be sweetie." Rebyx cackled before sending her forces forward.
The Emerald Sharks were locked in intense combat with Those Who Slither in the Dark. Maira was busy protecting Fetu and Fiafia, who had been badly injured by a blast of Rebyx's Meteor. They were unconscious, burned and blistered, as Maira stood in front of them. She had separated Ultimus into twin sickles. Swarms of mages and brutes were flooding in. Maira hacked, slashed, and weaved through her enemies. Intensely focused on maintaining pressure while not straying too far away from her injured comrades. But all the focus in the world could not have protected Maira forever. As she turned to face a mage in the crowd she was blasted backward by three Thoron's. Maira flew backward, barely able to recover at all. As she tried to get up four brutes moved forward. But for the first time in a long while Maira used her powers. She reversed time to the point when she was about to turn towards the mages. She leapt backwards before the Thorons hit, throwing a newly combined Ultimus at the mages and ending their lives. She then zeroed in on the brutes and summoned back Ultimus. She quickly separated Ultimus and used energy waves emitted from Ultimus to kill the brutes. Maira however was still very tired from the exertion. Having cleared the area she was forced to take a rest as the battle raged around her.
On the other side of the chamber Hukai, Lawe, Malosi, and Keola were all fighting together. Hukai and Keola, fins and wings, stayed above the battle and provided aerial support. They were busy protecting Lawe and Malosi from pegasus knights that were attacking from above. Hukai was chucking hand axes as he pursued two knights on his Apukohai. Each time they were able to narrowly avoid the incoming projectiles. But with a little ground support from Lawe and Swarm Ζ to halt their advance Hukai caught up to them and took them down with a few strikes from his axe. He used the Combat Art Diamond Axe and brought his axe down into the skull of his foe. The force was so great and the damage so deadly the pegasus charged wildly knocking into the other Knight and taking down the pair. Keola, with his axe Kino, worked quickly. With the support of Fire from Malosi to keep any aerial threat on their toes Keola was able to take advantage of dodges and slash off wings, heads, and whatever got in his way. The group was working together quite well and had almost cleared out a sector until large blasts of fire rained from the cavern's roof. It was Rebyx's Meteor raining hellfire on Keola and Hukai, bringing them crashing down to the floor. Suddenly on the defensive Lawe and Malosi took defensive positions and started to protect their fallen allies. In fact, most of the Squadron was in bad shape. Fiafia and Penina were backed into a corner, only surviving because they had retreated back to Maira and held that position. Olaga and Kai had linked up with Lawe in order to stave off the hordes of troops. The only ones left in good fighting condition were Oceania, Atamai, and Finn.
While Finn and Atamai held the rear, Oceania and Rebyx went head to head. Both were very powerful mages with great capabilities. Oceania rushed Rebyx, swiping at her with her staff. Rebyx slid under the staff and tried to blast Oceania in the back with Miasma Δ. But Oceania had shifted and knocked the blast away with her staff, retaliating with a blast of Seraphim. Rebyx just knocked the blast away with her wand.
"You think you are gifted with magic?" Rebyx smirked.
"Who thinks when it comes to magic. You feel it in your soul. So I never understood why you could cast." Oceania countered.
"Guess that it's time for round two. Expect to lose this time too." Rebyx cackled.
"I wouldn't get my hopes off witch." Oceania started cackling as well.
The two combined laughters filled the chambers, sending a sense of dread throughout the forces. Oceania cast the first spell, Ke Kai. Water flooded from the sigil she created. The force of the water spewing out towards Rebyx who gracefully spun out of the way. She summoned a spell glyph and cast Thoron at the water around Oceania, hoping to electrify her. Oceania expected this and used Whirlpool to pick up the water and send a cyclone of thunderous power at Rebyx. Rebyx dissipated the cyclone by casting Excalibur, sending the wind the direction opposite the cyclone was traveling to neutralize the force. Both women then readied their final spells. Oceania cast Abraxas while Rebyx chose Hades Ω. The forces of light and dark collided and exploded. The explosion sent ribbons of shadow and light dancing around the two combatants as both mages worked on gaining control of the powers that played around them. To win the struggle Oceania threw her staff at Rebyx and broke her concentration. All the shadows and light were sent towards Rebyx, bringing her to her knees.
"Kneel." Oceania commanded, standing over the defeated mage.
"Attention!" Rebyx yelled at her soldiers. "Defend your leader!"
All the soldiers turned their attention from the injured Squadron and came rushing back on Finn and Atamai.
"Rebyx no!" Finn screamed. "Just admit defeat. I have no wish to commit genocide today."
"No Finn. I knew my grand reveal wouldn't break you. But this will. For all your talk of uniting cultures. How will you fare after you eradicate an entire race of people?" Rebyx cruelly smiled.
"You would kill your people just to mess with me?" Finn was flabbergasted. "Why? Don't do this!"
"Make your choice Finn, win and commit genocide, or lose and die."
"Finn. The odds of us defeating the remaining troops are quite high." Atamai reported. "The choice is yours."
"What's your game Rebyx? What do you want?" Finn begged.
"For it all to burn. Tick tock Finn. Better choose." Rebyx taunted.
"Finn! We don't have much time." Atamai urged him.
Finn's face fell. His expression changed, his whole demeanor did. A burden had fallen upon him, one that would weigh heavily on him for a long time. "We don't have a choice. Neutralize the threat."
"Understood Supreme Leader." Oceania backed away from Rebyx. "We will see it done."
Finn just watched as his two attendants slaughtered the remaining forces of Those Who Slither in the Dark. The last of a race brought to an end by his own command. Tears streamed from his eyes as he watched the story end.
"Hard to watch, isn't it?" Rebyx asked. "We're the last ones you know. Just you and me, the last Agarthans. Well in your case half. Son of Thales."
"What are you talking about?" Finn spun to look at her.
"Just take a look." A purple glow came from Rebyx's hand and the glow showed Finn's white Agarthan. "Your Outsider traits hide your truth."
"That's what this was! You wanted me to slaughter my own people!" Finn said.
"Well when Thales admitted he had a child I couldn't give up the opportunity. And it will kill you that you will never know half of the culture of your lineage." Rebyx gave a half smile as she waved her hand and disappeared.
"NO! Come back!" Finn cried.
"Finn! Where did she go?" Atamai asked.
"I don't know. I really don't know." Finn turned to face them. He had tears in his eyes. Oceania walked over to him and gave him a hug.
"Everything is going to be alright." she promised as the cavern went dark and the flames died.