Zyma drove Acma back to Balamb, securing her with a handcuff concealed beneath a piece of cloth. He sped recklessly down the dark road. Acma struggled to contain her fear, refraining from screaming when they narrowly avoided a collision.
"Zyma, I understand you're angry, but please calm down," Acma pleaded. "How do you usually communicate with Sean?"
Texting was only possible within internal networks, such as within a school or a building. Telecommunication from Garden to other cities happened inside the communication center, which only permitted staff usage.
Zyma remained silent, likely due to his lack of trust in her.
"Fine. I get it. You don't trust me," Acma continued. "But think about it, if I were involved in this, wouldn't I have run away at the first sight of you instead of opening the window and greeting you?"
"Please," Zyma finally spoke. "If you want to help, just shut up. I only trust what I see."
Acma complied, and once they arrived at the transportation center, their com devices received new messages.
Zyma confiscated Acma's device from her pocket, not allowing her to touch it.
"Who's messaging?" she inquired.
Zyma read the messages from both devices. He then stepped out of the car and opened the door for Acma, ensuring her handcuffs remained hidden beneath the cloth.
"Walk faster," Zyma urged as they walked passed Garden's gatekeeper.
They found themselves heading towards his room and, to their surprise, Raddie and Timeth were already waiting outside.
"Sean sent a telegram for me earlier this afternoon," Raddie explained to Zyma. "He asked me to find you and tell to speak with him immediately. I couldn't find you, and Acma wasn't in her room. So I asked Timeth about Acma…"
Zyma unlocked his room and hurried to a corner. He uncovered a peculiar-looking device and began dialing.
Meanwhile, Raddie and Timeth noticed Acma's handcuffs. "What's happening?"
"Just wait until Zyma is ready to talk. I don't want to disclose anything he isn't ready to share," Acma explained.
[whisper]
"Sean, what's going on?" Zyma whispered into the device, not letting the rest hear it.
"I'm sorry, Zyma. They had Talutia. The person who accompanied us the other day, the one I gave the ring to, was her twin sister."
"How did you not recognize your own fiancée? Is Tatulia ok now?"
"Thank Hyne they didn't harm her. She's with me now at our apartment. I noticed something strange but I thought she was nervous. Gema, her sister, made up something about GF junctioning's amnesia. Tatulia never told me she has a twin sister so I never think about her being a fake. It's all my fault, Zyma."
"But who is Gema? Why did she take our GFs?"
"Gema and two other friends escaped from a research facility in Galbadia. They're seeking your GFs for their own protection. They entered the cavern shortly after we left. Tatulia said they're in Centra Ruins now."
"Was Acma involved in this?" Zyma questioned.
"No, that's why I've been trying to reach you. I knew you would find her. Shit, I couldn't text you from FH. You haven't harmed her, right?" Sean asked, concern evident in his voice.
"Almost," Zyma admitted with regret.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could help you retrieve the GFs. It's all my fault. But Talutia mentioned that something terrible would occur if we sided against Galbadia. She was extremely vague and seemed panicked too," Sean added.
"Does she have any tracking device in her body?" Zyma inquired.
"How do you know? No, she doesn't have it, thank God. But her twin sister does," Sean revealed. "That's why her friends could follow us."
"Stay safe, Sean. Perhaps consider moving to another house near Mayor Dobe. Galbadia won't dare to make a move on the mayor's neighbors. Leave the rest to me," Zyma assured him.
[end of whisper]
Zyma hung up the call and hurriedly gathered supplies from his item shelf, evidently preparing his gear for the mission to rescue the GFs.
"What happened? Are Sean and Talutia safe?" Acma asked, her voice filled with concern.
"They're safe," Zyma replied tersely.
Raddie, confused by the situation, spoke up, "What's going on?"
"Your brother and sister-in-law are safe at their apartment. No harm has come to them. Don't worry, all of you. Go back to sleep," Zyma explained, feigning calmness for Raddie's sake.
"We were just playing being kidnapped, testing Sean's love before their wedding," Acma quickly inserted a makeup story, "Tatulia asked both Zyma and me to participate in her scheme. Sean panicked, made calls, and showed up at our supposed hostage location to save the girls. That's all," Acma chimed in, raising her handcuffs as evidence. "Now, Zyma, please release me. What an elaborate show they had us involved in."
Raddie didn't entirely buy the story, but Acma brushed it off.
"Why don't you ask your brother first thing in the morning? Now come back to your dorm, or I'll have to report you as a member of the Disciplinary Committee," she pressed.
"Fine, but surely you guys are hiding something. Well, if there's anything else let me know," Raddie reluctantly left and Acma kindly asked Timeth to escort him, making sure Raddie wouldn't come back.
As the young boys left the room, Anna turned to Zyma, demanding that he disclose the full story. However, Zyma remained tight-lipped.
"Sean confirmed you have nothing to do with it. Leave," Zyma responded firmly.
"I can't leave without knowing everything. Was Talutia involved? Is there any connection to Galbadia?" Anna persisted.
"The less you know, the better," Zyma evaded.
"Where are your flying GFs?"
He didn't respond.
"Are you going on a solo mission to rescue them then? Sean has retired and is getting married. He won't be joining you, correct?" Anna voiced her concerns.
"Just me is enough," Zyma declared, began packing his gear.
"Who are you fighting against? How many of them are there? Do they have any special abilities? You can't go without knowing any of these." Anna pressed for more information.
Zyma brushed off the questions, continuing loading items in his backpack. "I'll figure it out when I get closer."
"That's suicidal. If you're facing Galbadia spies like me... think about it for a moment. Timeth and I are trash from the research camp, and we are the top performers of Trabia and Balamb. You won't stand a chance if facing ten of them."
Zyma slowed down. Acma took the opportunity to convince him.
"Tell me what happened. I'll tell you what I know about my kind, to make sure you at least have some context about your opponents before your mission. Planning is not important for one-vs-one battles, but as far as I can tell, you'll face a bunch of cold blood mercenaries with GFs too. I know you are upset and enraged and want to avenge your dead GFs. But you have to calm down..."
"No GFs died so far," Zyma interrupted her. "I'm sorry. I said that to see your reaction."
"Oh..." Anna realized the great news but also felt a bit disappointed. Zyma never let his guard down. "It's okay, I understand. Is Basilisk alright then? So they only took the flying GFs, including Drakarion, right?"
"Drakarion, Tiamat, and Basilisk. Basilisk can fly… and yeah, you didn't know that," he admitted.
"I see…"
Another test…
Timeth knocked on the door. He had returned after making sure Raddie had gone back to sleep.
"What's going on? I heard something about Galbadia," Timeth asked, facing silence from Zyma.
"We can't help you if you don't talk," Acma said.
Zyma finally sat down and relayed the story from Sean.
"So, you're saying there were no signs of struggle at the GF Cavern?" Timeth asked.
"Yeah... I don't see any blood. But they must have forcefully taken them," Zyma said.
"How can you be so sure? If I remember correctly, you said some GFs could be willing to help humans. And I have a sense that Gema and her friends were seeking help from GFs to protect themselves from Galbadia researchers," Acma suspected.
"No! That's not possible," Zyma shouted, making her startled. Zyma realized he had scared her again. "It's not possible because Basilisk would never leave me. She's..." Zyma slowly revealed, "she's my mom."
Acma gasped, recalling how gently Zyma had caressed Basilisk.
She was a loving mom and a powerful soldier in her previous life.
No mother would leave her child for strangers. Acma understood why Zyma had reacted with rage, despite the lack of blood present at the cavern. The safety of his mom was unknown.
"Zyma, we'll help you find her," she said with determination.
"No, I'll go to Centra Ruins alone. This has nothing to do with you two. Go back to sleep," he refused.
"No!"
"If you go there and face Galbadian researchers, they'll capture all of you," Zyma snapped.
"We're no longer useful to them for experiments. That's why they made us spies. At worst, we can tell them we're helping Garden capture a GF thief or assisting them in capturing runaway lab subjects," she convinced him.
"It's too dangerous, too many unknowns!" Zyma said.
Acma nodded. "I agree. And you're emotionally unstable due to your mom's safety. That's exactly why you need us to help you, at least to figure out what's going on and who we're facing in Centra Ruins. Zyma, let's take a step back. How about we make a call to Sean and Tatulia again, and try to find out who we're dealing with?"
Zyma continued to cover his face with his hands, stressed.
"Take a deep breath, Zyma. I'll make the call," Timeth said, patting Zyma's shoulder and approaching the giant communication device in the corner. "This device is encrypted, right?"
"Yes, only Sean and I can use it," Zyma confirmed.
"Good, then Garden won't find out, and our identities will remain safe," Timeth glanced at Acma before dialing Sean's number.
This time, both Sean and Tatulia picked up the call. Tatulia had calmed down and was able to provide more details. Gema and her friends had managed to escape the research facility while being transported between research centers. Their group wasn't the only one missing. Galbadia researchers were stretched thin trying to find them. Nevertheless, the group had been constantly on the move and exhausted, which was why they sought help from GFs for protection. The tracking devices they had implanted had an expiration date to prevent reverse lookup. Three more days, and the group would be free from Galbadia's tracking and would likely return the GFs to Zyma.
"Did they specifically say they would return the GFs?" Zyma asked.
"Yes, Gema told me. I'm sorry for not mentioning it earlier. I was under the influence of drugs, and my memory was foggy," Tatulia said.
"That's alright. I still don't understand why Basilisk would follow them," Zyma said.
"Tatulia, do you know the names of the ones who escaped? Is Elutia one of them?" Acma asked.
"Is Elutia your twin sister? The Elutia?" Tatulia asked for confirmation.
"Yes, I'm her double," Acma confirmed.
"No, Acma. I'm sure she is highly guarded. I'm a few generations away from you two, but even I know her as the puppet master. G would never risk losing her.
"Do you know who was with Gema, the ones guarding you when we were in the cavern?" asked Acma.
"Two boys, Uhrik and Adelik," Tatulia answered, which struck a chord with Timeth and Acma.
"What does Uhrik look like?" Timeth immediately asked.
"White hair, tall, thin," Tatulia replied.
"Timeth's twin. No wonder they could escape," Acma said, observing Timeth's speechless reaction.
"Oh Hyne, that's why he looks so familiar. I was drugged and had an eyedrop blur my vision, so I couldn't recognize their faces. But now that you mention it, yes, his posture was just like Timeth's. He wasn't wearing eyeglasses though. And what about Adelik? He's also quite big, muscular, and has grey hair. He's the oldest among them, his posture is oddly familiar, too," Tatulia explained.
"I've never heard of him. What about you, Timeth?" Acma asked, but Timeth shook his head.
"Well, that's all I know. They were in good health, both the humans and the GFs, last time I saw them. I'm so sorry for causing all this trouble. But knowing my sister, she wouldn't harm the GFs," Tatulia said.
"It's not your fault, Tatulia," Zyma reassured her. "They could have followed any one of us. I'm just glad you're safe. Are you sure Galbadia won't come after you and Sean?"
"I don't have any tracking devices, so Galbadia shouldn't know about my involvement. I'm quite certain that we're in the clear. But we'll take your advice and move somewhere close to Mayor Dobe's house," Tatulia replied, coughing continuously.
"Do you know how heavily armed they are and exactly where they're hiding in Centra Ruins?" Acma inquired.
"No, they were on a different side of Centra when they had me. They only moved to Centra Ruins with the GFs because it's full of high-level monsters. It's dangerous for the Galbadia army to reach there, which is why they chose that location," Tatulia explained.
"That's… what all of us would have done. Please get some more rest, Tatulia," Acma said. "Zyma, what about the GF Cavern? It's compromised now. If I were you, I'd find another hiding place for them as well."
"I do have another backup location," Zyma interjected.
"What if you and Sean move the non-flying GFs to that place in the meantime?" Acma suggested. "Timeth and I can go to Centra Ruins to catch up with Uhrik and ensure they return the GFs after their tracking devices become inactive."
"No. I'll relocate the GFs on my own," Zyma disagreed. "No one else needs to be involved. I'll go to Centra Ruins alone."
"How do you plan to do all this on your own?" Acma frowned.
"I prepared the caverns myself, and the GFs listen to me. I don't need Sean," Zyma declared.
"Zyma, I'd love to lend a hand, but..." Sean stammered, "I'm sorry."
"That's okay. I understand. I'm sorry for dragging your family into this mess, mate," Zyma reassured.
"Zyma, Acma, we all need to think this through," Timeth interjected. "I will definitely go and see my twin brother."
"I'll come with you. We need to stick together," Acma sided Timeth. "Zyma, this is no longer just about you."
Zyma pondered for a moment and then made a decision.
"Fine. Give me two days to relocate the GFs. I'll come back and pick you both up to go to Centra Ruins. We'll have a little reunion for Timeth and reclaim my GFs."
"Now we're talking," Acma nodded.