Chapter 78

Absolution

That afternoon, the Children of Fate were gathered at the stern. For backup, Rhodry was asked to remain with them, and Squall had members of the faculty enforce a strict cordon a hundred yards down the ship. Selphie, with Norg's obsidian magicite in her hand, stared at the swirling, shadowy essence within. It may have been her imagination, but she thought she could see flecks of amber staring back.

'It so weird, with magicite,' she commented. 'I only have to throw out a mental bond to junction. It pains me to admit it, but Odine had it perfected. Complete control over the GF, with no invasive thoughts or amnesia.' She shrugged. 'Time to introduce myself, I guess. You guys ready?'

They doubted Selphie would lose control, but they were ready for anything. Rinoa was holding her free hand, and Rhodry had Icefall drawn. Black orbs surrounded Selphie as she performed the summoning, and the Shadow Moomba formed a giant shape at the edge of the ship. He was both towering and motionless, with claws like scimitars and vacant eyes the same fiery colour of an ordinary moomba's fur. The four of them repositioned themselves so they were in a line facing Norg, though he did not move.

'Can you hear me, Norg?' Selphie asked cautiously.

The dark, shaggy head swivelled, and those amber eyes rested on her. Norg nodded.

'Do you recognise Rinoa and myself, Norg?' Squall called.

Selphie looked at Squall, but Norg did not move. He remained very still, as though carved from volcanic rock. Selphie waved the magicite and said, 'It's okay, you can answer him!' With that, Norg subtly moved his head towards Squall and gave that same, single nod.

Squall stepped forward now. 'Let me start by saying that we don't condone what your people did to you, not for one second. But it was for their own protection, and we see little reason to free you from your prison for the same reason.' He hesitated. 'SeeD was defeated by Esthar thirteen years ago, and Balamb Garden was lost to the ocean. Xu and I led the survivors to Esthar's long abandoned Deep-sea Research Facility, also known as Battleship Island, which is the vessel upon which we stand. It could never replace Garden, but it has nurtured Neo-SeeD in the years since, and we are now in the strongest position we have ever been to avenge our defeat.'

Norg neither moved nor spoke. Squall resumed.

'None of those old enough to remember Balamb Garden have forgotten your ill-fated uprising against Cid, in which many cadets and a junior classmember lost their lives. Even more criminal was your imprisonment of Leviathan. As for our battle,' Squall paused, glancing at Rinoa. 'Well, it was a long time ago now, and you struck first.' The SeeD leader looked the Shadow Moomba up and down. 'And it would appear you got what you always craved. Absolute power.'

Squall did not expect a response and did not get one.

'Twenty years incarceration may be seen as due punishment in some societies. Personally, I would have executed you. And Zell gave it his best attempt when he drowned your beaten hide inside your own pod. We thought you dead until your people explained the cocooning and evolutionary process, and then they took you off my hands.' He shrugged. 'We had more pressing concerns at the time, such as all-out war against Galbadia.'

Selphie waved the magicite impatiently, and Norg looked at her.

'Fast forward twenty years,' she said, 'and we could really use your help, Norg! So, you're gonna be junctioned with me! I wasn't there when you got your fat butt kicked, and I'm the only one on board that can use your element, so I hope you're okay with that! Once the war is over, we give you our word that we'll extract you from the magicite, and you'll be free to go! Deal?'

Squall glanced over his shoulder to check his faculty were doing as he bid. There were no spectators. No one could see Norg from where they were situated.

'Better that than the alternative,' Rhodry told Norg suddenly, his voice as cool as his preferred element. 'In the hands of Ultimecia, you would serve her until she ends all time. What you are being offered is a chance to repent. I can only hope you use it wisely.'

Norg remained still.

'Well, I guess that's it,' Selphie said. 'I'm drawing you back in, now!'

Norg's hulking form contorted into a shifting black cloud, which rapidly resembled a narrow, spiralling plume as it was sucked into the clear crystal in Selphie's hand like smoke through an extractor. When no clearness remained in the crystal, Selphie placed it inside in one of her utility pouches.

'What about the Disavowed?' Rhodry asked now.

No one said anything for a moment. Nida had said Norg's old henchman had given him no trouble throughout their voyage, that he had forced them to surrender their para-magic before they left Shumi Village and that, while he had forbidden himself to bare steel, he would have used his own water magic to send them all overboard at the first hint of hostility.

Squall looked contemplative. 'They will always be pariahs among their own people. Not that anyone involved in Norg's Uprising would be able to forgive them for the deaths of Kojiro and the others.'

Rhodry nodded. 'Kojiro was the first to befriend Anwen and myself. He saw how lonely we were when Selphie was dispatched to Timber, and he kindly introduced us into his circle. It is a shame we only knew him for a couple of weeks.'

Sombre silence followed until Rinoa drew breath.

'The obvious problem,' she said, 'is that we can only punish them in accordance with our own disciplinary system. We don't have the jurisdiction to imprison, much less execute them.'

'Can't we speak with President Martine?' Selphie suggested. 'Have them sent to D-District?'

'That wouldn't work,' Rinoa said. 'Even if my father were still alive, Galbadia wouldn't imprison them for crimes that happened outside their country twenty years ago. Besides, they had just declared war on SeeD at the time, for the attacks on Deling and Edea.'

'Yeah, you've got a point,' Squall admitted. 'At the time, the Galbadians would have applauded Norg. He was keeping everyone busy while those damn missiles approached.'

One of the faculty members had approached, stopping some distance away and giving them a questioning look. Squall mimed pointing at his watch to signal that he needed a minute.

'Should we get them to fight for us?' Selphie asked. 'If Norg can be given the chance repent, I don't see why they can't either. They're not so physically tough, the shumi, but they're good para-magic users. If we allow them to draw restorative magic, they can help the vanguard tomorrow. As long as I've got Norg's magicite, they'll do everything I tell them too.'

Squall's ever-present frown was there as he looked out to sea, towards the Obel estuary, where they would have to pass through a wind farm. The waves were lapping repeatedly against the hull.

'Let's speak with them.'

In the brig, Squall had ordered all the solitary cells containing the Disavowed opened, and then he had all eight of the new inmates marched into a disused, open area containing a backlog of unwanted goods that his logistical staff had slowly been relocating off-ship. The Disavowed said not a single word, but all eight of them formed a loose semi-circle to face Squall and the others.

'Is there a leader among you?' Squall asked.

They all said, 'Master Norg!'

Stupid question, he thought, slightly annoyed with himself. Rinoa must have picked up on this, because she suddenly tried to divert their attention, asking, 'What are your names?'

Not one of them answered or even gave the slightest gesture.

'As much as your legacy is despised here,' Squall told them, 'you are only 'disavowed' among your own race. You can tell us your names.' He pointed at the leftmost one. 'Who are you?'

'Gahkt,' he said simply.

'Razgoth,' a second said, when Squall's finger was aimed at him.

'Gul,' came from the third.

The other five followed in sequence, each name as short and uncouth sounding as the others. Characteristic of their race, they never gestured with their hands as they spoke, which ironically had been the total opposite with Norg. Squall nodded at Selphie, who took out Norg's magicite.

'Your master has agreed to junction with me until the end of the war,' she said. 'Then he will be set free.'

Yet it was as though the Disavowed were not listening. They bent and moved their arms up and down, their hands now open in reverence, saying Norg's name repeatedly. Suddenly fearful that they might try to extract him, Selphie closed her hand around the magicite, but nothing untoward happened. She put it back in its pouch, and the Disavowed resumed their rigid status.

'You too are going to fight, if you want to earn your keep around here,' Rhodry said now, stepping forward. Icefall was still barred threateningly in his hand. 'We are at war, and Battleship Island cannot afford any freeloaders. When you go topside, you will be permitted to draw upon curative magic. I am leading the vanguard tomorrow, of which the moombas will be playing an integral part. The eight of you will be assigned to a single squad each, in which you will do your utmost to keep shielded and healed from any debilitating injuries. I command the power of Shiva, and at the first hint of dissent or disobedience, her icicles will impale you all on the spot!'

His words carried the iciness of the threat. Perhaps he had bidden Shiva to send a chill among them, because they suddenly went from standing stiffly to shivering. They were many miles from their cosy, terraformed settlement now.

'Your master's magicite will remain with Selphie,' Squall said now, 'who, along with myself and Rinoa, will be striking at Ultimecia and her Knight directly. You have my word that your master will be freed after Ultimecia's defeat, from which point you will be free to join him. You must appreciate that until then, we cannot risk extracting him from the magicite.' He looked among them. 'Now, are these arrangements acceptable to you?'

They did not speak as their shivering abated, resulting in a strained silence. Rinoa suddenly approached them, her body language open and her high voice gentle.

'Believe it or not, we've met someone who came from the future. The final Knight of Sorceress Ultimecia.' Her voice took on a more sorrowful tone. 'Gerra said that Ultimecia had your entire race exterminated, and that she kept the moombas for hard labour until they all died out. I'm not sure what happened to Norg in that timeline, but it was likely he was never discovered. He probably remained lost on Winter Island the whole time, trapped within his magicite.'

The chill seemed to come back, but this time it had nothing to do with Shiva.

'It is not a friendship we propose,' Squall said, 'but a necessary alliance. Think of this as service to your master. Only we offer Norg his liberty. If Ultimecia gets her hand on his magicite – worse still, if she manages to win the war, then he will never be free.'

Eventually, the one called Gahkt moved his head ever so slightly.

'Can we have time to convene?' he asked.

'Fine,' Squall allowed. 'I expect your answer no later than 1700 hours. Otherwise, we'll have no choice to keep you imprisoned until the war is over. And if Ultimecia is not defeated in Timber, we cannot determine how long that will be.'

Nida awoke with the sunrise, as was his custom, keeping close the warming memories of the previous evening.

Dinner at Squall and Rinoa's quarters had been an occasion that should have been momentous, considering the standing of those in attendance, including a president. Yet in truth, as the six of them had conversed, reminisced and otherwise made merry to a background playlist of Uematsu, with Squall himself in a pinny and flipping d-cut geezard steaks in his island kitchen, it had turned out to be a humble experience that Nida would hold dear. Squall had even served Nida's steak pre-cut on a pepper skillet, as he would have struggled to slice the meat without using his off-hand to steady it.

Inevitably, Nida had been shown some media of his daughter's nameday. Nimue was beginning to resemble Quistis, but she had Nida's eyes. She was in excellent hands with White SeeD. Custom decreed he could have no association with her, as he had been exiled from his clan. So, really, Nida could treat her no differently than a stranger. Perhaps when Nimue came of age, she would seek him out, but that would not be for many years. And even if she did, he could not reciprocate any familial feelings she may have. Nida could never be a father to her; he would have to sternly tell her to leave him be and never seek him out again.

Even so, Rinoa and Selphie had both said they would send him regular updates of her life whether he wanted them to, or not. Those updates would come by Mognet, as the shumi did not use the Network, but Nida did not have to open them, and he would not opt to.

Squall had given him leave to depart Battleship Island during curfew, and he would literally be slipping away before the majority of the crew knew he was gone. So, his first stop was the stables, from which he retrieved Soyokaze. She seemed disappointed about being led away from the friends she had made in the stables, but Nida would not leave her here. She was too old to go war and had seen enough of it besides. Soyo had earned the right to see out the rest of her years in the tranquillity of the shumi settlement, where there would now be a lack of moombas to disturb her, at least for a while.

As he led Soyo down the gangways, from stern to port, members of the faculty nodded at him when they realised they were witnessing his departure. Some of them tried to give a SeeD salute. One around his age said, 'It was an honour to have known you, Aki-sama!'

'Thank you,' Nida responded gratefully.

This truly was more than he deserved. Well, soon, he would be off. Just a little further.

The Island had entered the Obel estuary just before high tide, and Nida would be riding the waves to the northern shore, from which he would be heading to an eastern Saronan harbour town. From there, Nida would bribe his way aboard the whaler or longlining vessel braving northern Trabia, even if it cost him most of what he had left. After all, there was little use for gil at Shumi Village.

As he turned the corner, Nida was faced with a sight that automatically filled him with dread. First, because he saw a series of unusual things that his brain simply refused to process. Twice, because Nida knew with a cold certainty that he would not be leaving.

His father stood facing the direction of the rising sun, which was beginning to creep its way over the Central Ocean, holding what Nida assumed was the Aki katana obscured with black cloth. Next to him was Selphie, in a slightly different variant of the magnolia battle dress she wore all the time, though the Sorceress had those emerald eyes fixed on him. Between them was the clan armour, on its pedestal which had been moved from his father's office.

An orange flicker was the moomba Nida recognised as Hinokegawa, who immediately begun calling, 'Aki! Aki!', before running to him. The ecstatic moomba stood on his hind legs to let his coarse tongue trail up Nida's bearded face, and it was all Nida could do to open his arms in acceptance.

'If moombas have taught me one thing,' his father said, 'it is that no matter what society decrees of an individual, no matter what their custom, the blood running rampant through one's veins remains ever the same.'

Nida said nothing as Hinokegawa started running excited circles around him, waiting for his father to continue.

'Aki!' it cried.

'You returned the clan katana as you thought was your duty,' Instructor Aki said. 'Yet I have not exiled you from our clan. And even if I had, this moomba would still call you by your clan name.'

Nida hesitantly rested his free hand on the moomba's head as it stilled.

'Oto-san, the Knight who allows their Sorceress to die-'

'Servants of Sasune must evolve from the old ways!' Aki snapped. 'If we do not, then Sasune itself will cease to exist, as has been witnessed in a dystopian future. Hideyoshi exiled himself, and most of those close to him were lost along with the Tenkai. He felt it was his obligation, that it would be expected of him. Though our world is now a fundamentally different place. In fact, it could be argued Sasune suffered hundreds of years of occupation because Hideyoshi buried the Blades of the Tenkai, parted with Mizo no Kami and would not use their power to surmount a rebellion.' Aki sighed tiredly now. 'Would be that he had.'

The instructor was still facing the rising sun, though now he had to avert his eyes from it slightly. Selphie was giving Nida that longing gaze that he had caught a couple of times during the dinner. He sighed and waited, unable to meet those emerald eyes, and knew his father was not finished. Selphie, however, could no longer contain herself.

'Be my Knight, Nida!'

Instructor Aki moved his head, glancing over his shoulder. Nida surmised Selphie had spoken out of turn.

'Selphie,' Nida said hoarsely. 'I am not worthy. And there is a far superior candidate. Surely Rhodry-'

Selphie cut him off. 'I want you, Nida! Just stop this behemothshit! We've been friends for over twenty years! We passed the Hynedamn SeeD exam together! Irv and Quis are both gone, and it makes perfect sense! We can avenge their deaths together, along with Xu and all the others, and you get the chance to redeem yourself for whatever twisted sense of infamy you think you have!'

Instructor Aki did not look approving at her choice of words, but he was not about to contradict her. Instead, he finally turned to face his son, resuming his speech.

'The next great battle against tyranny approaches forthwith. When the hour arrives, you will don the clan armour and take your mantel, not as the Autumn Knight of the Azure Sorceress, but of the Guardian of Trabia! You will restore the honour of our clan and etch its next chapters!'

He removed the black cloth covering what Nida thought was the Aki katana, handing it to a compliant Hinokegawa.

'Masamune!' Nida realised.

Instructor Aki offered Sorceress Nakano's blade to Nida by the hilt.

'You will wield the Blade of the Tenkai and unleash the Ghost of Amaterasu upon our enemies!' he stated potently. 'With Amaterasu using you as Her vessel, you will strike down that fiend from the future, Leonidas Christophe!'

Every single barrier Nida had walled around his mind following Quistis' death came tumbling down in one. It was only symbolic that Nida use his dangling offhand to take the blade, so he used his sword hand to unbutton his tunic, the SeeD colours falling over his shoulder. He then raised his offhand to take Masamune's hard sheath from his father, thus absolving him from his infamy.

'Whoo-hoo!' Selphie cried shrilly.

Finally meeting Selphie's eyes, Nida gave her the same vow he had given Quistis nineteen years before.

'Sorceress Selphie, I devote myself to serving as your Knight henceforth. I will remain steadfastly at your side to shield you against all enemies and persecutors, and I will defend your life until my dying breath.'

Nida lowered Masamune to bow before her, his hands by his sides, but the moment was ruined when Hinokegawa shot up to lick his face again, and Selphie burst out laughing. Nida joined her, realising that he had almost forgotten how to do so, and even his father cracked a smile. She shot forward to hug her dear friend tightly, her feet coming off the ground as Nida spun in a couple of circles. He waited for Selphie to let go and lowered her gently.

'And best of all,' she said, 'you can be there for Nimue! We all can!'

Nida smiled delightedly, more elated than he had been since Nimue had awoken from that cryogenic sleep and emitted the wonderful sounds of a healthy baby's first cries.

'Please!' he said. 'Call Thalassa, will you? I have to hear Nimue's voice again!'