Chapter 12

Wind and Lightning

Year of the Realm 873/311 AC

"All clear," Clive says as he drops down from their crawl space entrance "Remind me to never again infiltrate via a small crawl space, hard to move in there."

"That's because you are too big for them," Cid says as he drops down "You probably haven't crawled through spaces like that since you were a boy, you've got no idea of how to move properly anymore."

Torgal lands between the two, giving a bark of agreement with Cid. Clive narrows his eyes at his trusty companion "Traitor," he mutters, raising his left hand and conjuring a ball of fire for lighting "So, what are we in for with these Royalists?"

"For one thing, they'll be tough to beat." Cid says grimly "I should know, I trained a lot of them back when I was Lord Commander of King Barnabas' guard. Other than that, I can't say. Most likely the commander here is a woman, Benedikta Harman, she's not what you would call gentle."

"And why is that?" Clive cracks open the door to the dungeons, seeing no sign of any guards he pushes forward "All things considered, I would think that man Quinten described was more important."

"He is," Cid assures him "I've only ever known one Dominant of Wind, and that is Benedikta."

Clive stops short, whirling on Cid "You mean to tell me that we are walking into a potential fight with Garuda!?"

"Did I not tell you that was who she was? My mistake," Cid passes Clive by, taking the lead "And by the by, she'll know we are here."

"How?"

"Don't know how to explain it…but we Dominants…there's something about being a Dominant that keeps us all connected. Like we can tell when another is close by."

"That would have been good to know a while ago." Clive freezes as he feels a headache coming on "Not now…not now!"

Cid hazards a glance back "You alright? Clive? Clive?"

"I'm fine!" he snaps, eyes widening as he takes in their surroundings. Standing in what looked like a dining hall with seven Royalist knights "Fuck."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Cid chuckles "Well, gentlemen…I don't suppose any of you would be willing to surrender yourselves?"

Torgal growls as the Royalists draw their weapons. The wolf readies for a fight while Cid and Clive share a look. The Royalists stand ready, the captain of the bunch pointing at the intruders "Seize them!"

Cid shakes his head, taking the center position he brings his left hand to his right shoulder and chuckles "Didn't think so…well, it can't be helped I suppose."

Clive watches as with a simple flourish Cid summons a wooden staff to his hand. The man gives it a little twirl before he starts to wave it through the air, orbs of lightning racing out from the gem at the end of it and impacting a different Royalist. With the snap of his fingers the orbs burst, lightning branching off and striking between each of the Royalists before with an explosion of Aether they were blown back against the far wall.

"And with that…Blind Justice is delivered." Cid chuckles, stepping over a fallen Imperial knight "Guess negotiations for using this fine establishment were not so clean, Clive, anything you can tell me about this caer?"

Clive shakes his head, clearing up the fog from seeing just what the Dominant of Ramuh could do "Our garrison usually would deliver supplies up here, the caer has the stores to outlast most siege groups that could come up this way. Force deployment however is not my strong suit…never took the job myself so I can't say for certain how many men were here or who the commanding officer was."

"Well, that doesn't help us much…I wonder though…" Cid checks the main door to the hall "Nope…not this way, too many guards out there if we want to maintain some form of stealth…suggestions Clive?"

"How about a window?"

Cid turns, spotting the young man by a narrow window "With how you were complaining about a crawl space, you want to fit through a window that size? Sure, if you don't get yourself stuck."

"Fine, I'll go first then, and you can follow behind me." Clive steps up, leaning his head out to check for guards, and steps off the other side.

"Bloody show off," Cid mutters as he follows behind "If this is how you've always been, its no wonder they wanted you in the Bastards."

"Where exactly would this Benedikta be keeping your protégé?"

"Oh…knowing her, she will be someplace high up, likes to fight with the advantage that one does. But as for the lad…she might just treat him like any old prisoner but then why was he not in the dungeons?" Cid closes his eyes. Clive watches him just stand still for a few moments before the older man shakes his head "Probably have him fettered…to think she would be this prepared for him. Then again…Benedikta never was one to act without insurance."

"So, he's being restrained then?" Clive frowns, rubbing his wrists in thought. He had heard the stories, seen it happen once with a particularly nasty Bearer while in Northreach, but he could not fathom what those shackles would do to a Dominant "He won't last without our help then, what do we do?"

"What do we do? We do nothing reckless." Cid says as they skulk about the castle grounds in the dark "Right now, so long as Benedikta is in charge, we can't go breaking the lad out. But…that doesn't mean we can't aid him in his escape."

"You have a plan," Clive observes "A mad one, but if it works, I won't hear the end of it."

Cid laughs "You learn quick, Charon might just enjoy having you around more than I do."

Clive follows Cid's lead up to the higher parts of the castle. A few royalist guards were easy enough to take down for the pair, but the real trouble started when they got to a courtyard. They were outnumbered. Clive counted possibly twenty men, a single man stood at the front donned in black armor. The smirk on his face irritated Clive but Cid returned it in kind.

"Gerulf, fancy seeing you here," Cid greets, arms open "Did Benedikta send you to collect me? You've come a long way since being a lowly squire."

"It's been too long, Lord Commander," Gerulf sneers "My lady has requested you be escorted to the top, you are overdue a chat. As for your friend here…he and the Branded can wait. They will be left unharmed I assure you."

"Ah…d'you hear that? You will be left unharmed." Cid chuckles, taking the first casual step forward "Well then…how can I refuse? Take me to her. I doubt she has gained any patience since her youth."

Clive felt something was very wrong here as Cid is escorted by no more than ten knights further up the castle. The remaining ten facing Clive and Torgal didn't look like they had any interest in forgetting they were here, which meant there was no chance he was going to slip past them all. "Just sit still Branded, your master will be back after his chat with our lady."

"Master?" Clive asks incredulously "I have no master. And I never will."

"Hear that, boys? The Branded thinks he's human," a knight chuckles "Keep running your mouth branded, we'll be more than happy to hear your jokes, but mind what you say, or we will cut out your tongue."

"I would love to see you try," Clive says as he reaches for his sword "Course…like your commander said…you wont harm me. But he said nothing about me harming you."

"I had started to think you weren't going to make it, Cidolfus," Benedikta smiles as she admires the countryside from her perch by the edge of the wall "And with a Bearer no less. What are you thinking?"

Cid chuckles, brushing past his escort "I was thinking that we could have a chat. Like old times?"

Emotion flickers across her face, her shoulders tensing for a moment before relaxing as she turns to face him "Old times? I recall that 'old times' was you and I fighting for our King as two of his best. You remember…before you betrayed us."

"Ah…right, that. Well, you know me Benna, I couldn't sit by and listen to the mad ramblings of Barnabas any more than I had to."

"Ramblings? You truly do not understand just what it is our liege hopes to avoid," Benedikta turns, glaring at Cid "He would protect us from a cruel ruin, from our destruction. But you are all too happy to simply ignore his warnings and act as if the world will never end!"

"Which is why I am trying to save it…is it not better to save the world, that those who come after might have one worth living in?" Cid sighs "Benedikta Harman, chief intelligencer of the Kingdom of Waloed, was that not a dream of yours once? To be someone of importance, to be seen for your abilities and not for your pretty face? Where's that young girl I took in? The one that used to read to Mid so she would go to bed."

Benedikta's glare turned colder than Cid could recall it ever being "What is it that you want, Cidolfus?"

Cid winces as she says his name "Right…well, world peace is out of the question for the moment so I guess I will be sticking with what my young friend and I want. My protégé if you'd please."

"Protégé? Who could you have possibly found so mad as to follow you around?"

"What is it with you kids and calling me and mine, mad?"

"I can say that other than your companion, I do not know of any protégé you might have. I suggest you and your friend leave before I get…impatient."

Cid frowns "You would really throw away their lives for a petty fight? Benna…that is just cruel, even for you."

"Oh Cid, that's the beauty of it," she smirks, the wind suddenly picking up "I don't need Garuda to beat you into the floor."

"Well, guess I should respond in kind then." Cid chuckles as he gathers lightning in the palm of his hand "So…do you still want the first move? Or should I start whenever I am so inclined to?"

Benedikta rolls her eyes. She flicks her wrist, a powerful gust of wind battering against Cid's body as he is pushed back. Her men retreat to the safety of the castle's inner walls, leaving her to her own form of business dealings. "A war is coming Cid. A war of the Eikons and one way or the other you will have a part in it. My liege has foreseen it."

"Your liege can keep his prophecies and visions; I'll only answer to the truth that my eyes will show me in the world."

"Oh Cidolfus, if only you were as willing to see the bigger picture than you were to waste time on fool's errands such as this," Benedikta smiles, drawing her sword "Show me then. Show me just what it is that keeps you from listening to reason!"

Cid draws his blade, eyes focused solely on her "You would probably punch me for telling you the truth. Not that I wouldn't deserve it, or so I am told."

"Indeed, I would!" she charges, wind picking up as she comes at Cid with such speed and strength, she almost knocks him over. Their blades clash as she pushes him back, strike after strike kicking up the winds, battering the old man's defenses as his feet drag across the stone floor "Every single time! You never saw what was right in front of you!"

"In front of me?" he asks with a grunt as she keeps swinging her sword in a mad fashion "Funny…I don't remember the young girl I taught how to fight, ever fighting with such a sloppy form!"

Cid backs off as she comes in for another swing, thrusting his arm forward and blasting her with a low dosage of lightning. Benedikta falters, stumbling back as the electricity arcs off her body. Cid raises his blade, ready for her next move as she twitches. He did not have to wait long, Benedikta screams, a talon appearing in the air and lashing out at Cid.

"Oh for…" the old man grunts as the talon grips him tight in its grasp "Well…I already know I am not forgiving you for this one Benna."

"Stop, calling me that!" she screams, willing the talon to bring the man into the air before slamming him back down "You do not get to call me that! Never again!"

"Funny…usually you'd only throw a tantrum if Mid did something to a dress of yours," he chuckles, feeling his stomach get left behind as she raises him higher into the air "Oh bugger me."

Again, Cid is brought to the ground, body slamming into the floor and nearly cracking the stone beneath him. Benedikta smiles as Cid's body slams into the floor. He wasn't don't yet, far from it in fact and she knew it. He was just getting warmed up. A bolt of lightning shot past her, hiding the form of a lightning cloaked Cid.

"Too slow."

Benedikta smiles just as Cid reaches forward to grab her from behind. Before his fingertips can connect with her shoulder he is blown back by a powerful gust of wind. A small tornado occupying her place as she too embraces her Eikons abilities to the fullest that her human form can. A pair of wings sprouting from her back, and more control over her element had Cid feeling a stiffness to his back that he hadn't felt in a few years now.

"Glad to see you are taking this seriously," he chuckles "Your move then."

Benedikta rolls her eyes, swooping in low for an attack. Cid smirks as he raises his left hand, lightning arcing off his arm as he prepares to fire it right at her. Just before the bolt of lightning can even escape his fingertips, she has conjured up a wall of solid wind. Cid curses as his attack is sent hurtling off into the open air just moments before Benedikta lands before him.

"Oh bugger."

The Dominant of Garuda gives a vicious grin as Aether forms twin talons "Checkmate!" she shouts, slashing away at Cid's body. Were it not for the Aether within him in his semi-primed state he would surely be little more than food for the carrion birds. She gives one last vicious strike, hitting Cid so hard the mans body is sent careening into the castle walls, smashing right through and crashing into some supply crates.

"Had enough yet Cid?" she asks while hovering in the air "Perhaps you are too old, past your prime and in need of a replacement."

"Old, am I?" a bolt of lightning strikes Benedikta, knocking her to the ground "Always the problem with the young, never any respect for their elders. Now then…let's try that again, shall we?"

Cid brings his arms up, a stream of lightning striking Benedikta as she screams, writhing on the stone floor. Cid frowns as he approaches her. This was never the part of his powers that he liked. The more torture-based aspect of them. The stream cuts off, his fingertips smoking slightly.

"Ready to give up?"

Benedikta extends her arm, a talon grasping Cid by his shoulders before slamming him down into the floor "Never!"

'Why did I ever teach her that?' he thinks to himself with a groan. His body was sore, he could barely keep his head up too "Always were…a good student Benna." Cid coughs, gloved hand covering his mouth. He groans as he sees the blood staining his glove. "Well…that's not good. Tarja will…have my head for this...if she doesn't take it first."

"You were always too stubborn for your own good," Benedikta points out, grabbing the man by the arm and hoisting him up to his feet "Honestly, have you learned nothing in all the years I have known you?"

"Between you and Mid…I was bound to learn something…but maybe you girls are right, I am old." He concedes with a chuckle. "So why this…just too bored with your usual partners?"

"No one fights like we do…you know that."

"Guess I would…just set me down by the wall, no need to carry me all the way down again." Cid winces as she helps him to lean up against the wall "Yeah…she is going to kill me for this."

"If she doesn't, I will." Benedikta gives him a pointed glare "And another thing…since when did you start travelling with a Bearer?"

"Bearer? What Bearer?"

"The Branded my men claim you were with, and his dog."

Cid chuckles "Well…when he's done with you Benna…I'll be sure to let you know the story in full."

Clive's eyes widen as he hears the explosion. Whatever was happening up there was not good for anyone involved. More importantly, Cid no doubt was in over his head at this very moment and here he was staring down ten knights. The grip on his weapon never slacked as the noises he heard grew more numerous. If Cid did not return alive, what would Clive do then? What would happen at the hideaway?

"Getting nervous Branded? Afraid your master will fall before the might of our lady?"

Clive chuckles "Are you joking? I'm just wondering how easy it will be when I have to put you all in your graves. Torgal here could more than handle you lot, but I don't want him to have all the fun."

"Can't we just kill the Bearer and be done with it?" one knight complains "Not like he'll be missed. Besides, the Lord Commander could always get a new one."

"I'm guessing none of you have any idea just who it is you are dealing with, or do you?" The knights looked confused, there was some mumbling amongst themselves as Clive smirks "Funny then, that you would all be chosen for this mission but left woefully unprepared for what follows."

"What are you going on about Branded? We know exactly what we are do…ing." The knight's words die in the back of his throat as Clive vanishes from sight "W-what the!?"

"I may bear the Brand, but I am no Bearer," Clive growls from behind the man, heat building up around him "But more importantly, none of you were prepared for me!"

The Royalists felt a pull as their bodies were dragged towards Clive before in an explosion of fire, they were sent flying. Clive cast his gaze back to the heights of the castle, great gusts of Aether enhanced wind and lightning shooting off into the sky. Torgal steps up beside him, the canine's eyes also focused on what lies ahead of them.

"Come on Torgal, Cid won't survive without some help."

Clive and Torgal together raced to the top. A few Royalists stood in their way, being knocked tot eh ground by a wolf that goes for the throat or blasted by a great ball of fire. The stairs going up was the easy part. The path ahead of him, however, was not so easy, six more knights blocked his path forward with their own band of hounds.

"Halt!" the leader says, drawing his sword "By order of our lady Benedikta, surrender yourself, or be killed."

"What do you think boy?" Clive spares Torgal a look "Think we should give ourselves up?" The wolf eyes his master, growling at their enemy. Message was clear: Kill them all. "Shame, my companion says no, and I happen to agree with him."

"Take him!"

Clive shifts forward, a flaming uppercut sending the captain into the air. The closest pair of hound's leaps at him, one tackled by Torgal while the other is cut down by his blade. The knights charged, five men for he and Torgal to share with just three hounds left. They never stood a chance. Clive parries a swing, throwing his left arm forward and incinerating a knight while another comes in for the attack. Torgal pounces, dropping a knight before the hounds try to ward him off.

"You should have surrendered," Clive says, kicking a knight back and bringing his sword up in a single stroke, cutting another down "I don't show mercy often, especially for those who get in my way."

Torgal rips into the hounds, dropping one after the other. As Clive stares down one knight who has his back quite literally against the battlement, Torgal snarls as he spots the last one sneaking up behind his master. With a loud bark and a snarl, he pounces, sinking his teeth into the man's throat. Clive smirks as his opponent tries desperate attack, their blades locking.

"Apologies," he says, "But you have wasted your final chance to surrender."

The man gasps as a powerful kick strikes him in the stomach, nearly denting his armor. The back of his legs hits the battlements, his upper body going over the edge as he screams all the way down. Clive surveys the carnage, spotting Torgal finishing off his last victim.

"I see that the Lord Commander was right to not take my promises seriously," Clive narrows his eyes as Gerulf comes out to greet him, flanked by two knights "tell me, is this the power of a Bearer or perhaps the First Shield of Rosaria?"

"How do you know who I am?"

"Who hasn't heard the tales at some point. Clive Rosfield, a young knight who was blessed with the fires of the Phoenix, able to wipe out entire groups of men in the blink of an eye without too many flashy techniques. Were you a Dominant, I would say you are a danger to every kingdom in the land." Gerulf bows "It is an honor to meet you, Lord Rosfield."

"The feeling is not mutual, Gerulf was it?"

"Aye. My apologies for our lack of hospitality," he seemed sincere enough as he spoke, not eyeing Clive like he was no better than an ant to crush underfoot "My lady will be interested now in you, once she knows…there is always a place within Waloed for people like you."

"What sort of people would that be?"

"Men of war."

Torgal snarls, the wolf readying for a fight as Clive eyes Gerulf with distaste "War? Is that all you want from me? To fight your battles for you and be cast aside when I've done the dirty work."

"On the contrary, my liege sees a war on the horizon. Kingdoms fighting until no one remains to stand, no one wins but the dead." Gerulf motions for Clive to come closer "Come, you wish to see the Lord Commander, this way Lord Rosfield."

Clive and Torgal share a look "Just what are we getting ourselves into this time boy?"

Torgal tilts his head while Clive sighs. Neither one of them has an answer for the other. Hopefully, in the back of Clive's mind he wonders, they will have an answer to whatever questions Cid bombards them with. The pair follow close behind Gerulf, his men behind them, into the church. The rest of Gerulf's men were waiting for them. Eight more men of Waloed each with their own undying loyalty to their lady Benedikta.

"This way," Gerulf says as he leads them to the back "Stairs here will lead to the topmost point in the caer. You won't meet any resistance from our men, none are ever allowed up high enough to interrupt our lady's work."

"Just what are you playing at?"

Gerulf shrugs "Not playing at anything. Our lady wanted to fight the Lord Commander, so we backed off to keep others from interrupting. But you…she'll want to know you are here. Not every day one meets a soldier of your talents, you might even be joining us after tonight."

Clive narrows his eyes "I will not be joining you, Gerulf, now or ever."

"We'll see, Lord Rosfield. We shall remain here, leaving the rest to you…just try not to die, would hate to have to bury such a promising warrior."

AN: ….if I told you all that there wasn't a crazy scatterplot to explain the hoops I have had to jump through so everything went how it needed without crossing over and ruining a plot point for later, you would not believe me with how crazy it is. So, Cid vs Benedikta was a thing…not going to even claim I did better than in the game but I hopefully made it longer and more entertaining. Now onto the explanations…and I am doing this not because someone's forcing me to but because I know you all have questions and some of you probably have stopped before this because you don't like something. Well too bad, you will miss the reasons:

First up is Barnabas not being a puppet for Ultima since Ultima no longer exists here, or ever has actually…thus Waloed is just a gloomy and dark kingdom where Barnaby wants to bring the Dominants together. Why? As Benedikta said in the chapter "A war of the Eikons" and yes, I took that line from the trailers because naturally we thought that was what would happen. Also…Barnabas is still named Barnabas and is not getting any nicknames in fic at this time as I have no one planned to call him by said nicknames…I just like butchering Barny's name because Barnaby is the last villain before Ultima, therefore Bucky Barnes gets the butchered names. Case and point.

Second, Dominant vs Dominant fights are not going to be a simple affair like you are killing a common soldier. Cid vs Benedikta and inevitably Clive vs anyone is going to come down to a sort of power scaling. Weapons of any kind will not just break upon striking their bodies, but they will do a little damage…so yes, Dominants would be a little bit like damage sponges at times, at least when going all out or even half-way. Think of it like how their limit-break is them 50% primed into the Eikon, before they reach that point their bodies have enough Aether flowing through them that they can fight at a level that would be superhuman. Strength, speed, durability etc. All enhanced, making their fights a lot more dangerous. If anything, this would amplify things so that a semi-primed dominant is far more destructive than we really got to see in game. Joshua is probably the best example since even passively his flames incinerate everything. Cid vs Benedikta is not my first rodeo with a fight on that level...it is however me testing the water some more and getting a feel for how the characters act/fight…and of course there is a plot reason it isn't completely fatal or with intent to kill…spoilers for later though.

Third point: Was a long rant on why if you wanted a canon story you should look elsewhere but I'll keep it brief. This is a crossover AU; Jon is Clive, Clive is Jon, there is no Ultima, there is no whatever that pitiful final season was for GoT and there is no 'somehow' for a character returning/surviving something or anything. I'm not here to give you all a half baked story that ends just because someone says they want it to be done a different way or they prefer canon...this is fanfiction; if you do not enjoy it there's the door, and if you do enjoy it then hopefully we can all see where this goes, ok? Ok.

On that final note…apologies. Let's get to the reviews…

Mxm124: Well I can safely say that you are probably right on the contact, which wont be revealed till chapter...14...or 15. As for that first part...spoilers.