MY SUMMONER GIRLFRIEND

CHAPTER 2:

THE TOWER OF BABIL

Maybe I should tell you a bit about myself. Just to, you know, let you know who you are dealing with.

I'll be perfectly honest, I don't know much about myself. My name, until I was old enough to attend school, was 'freak' or 'you' or, if the Dursleys were feeling particularly generous, 'boy'. I guess they had to tell me my name (Harry Potter, if you've forgotten it already, and I'm sure you have) just in case someone at the school took notice of the fact that a boy was calling himself a freak. My childhood for nine years, from the age of one, to the age of ten, was basically spent as being servant and scapegoat to my adoring, loving aunt, uncle, and cousin. You can sense the sarcasm there, can't you? I meant it. That wasn't a home, not to me. It was a prison and slave house. My bedroom was a cupboard, for fuck's sake. A cupboard. You put brooms and vacuum cleaners into a cupboard, not a kid.

According to my dear relatives (and to use the politest language they ever used), my parents were freaks, dole-bludgers, and good-for-nothing drunks who died in a car crash, which incidentally gave me the rather rakish-looking scar on my forehead. Of course, it must've been a really weird car crash, given that Asura, Queen of the Eidolons, and the nearest thing I have to a mother nowadays, extracted some sort of soul fragment from it. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if my relatives lied about that. They certainly lied to themselves about how good and nice Dudley was (and he gave baby whales a bad name), and how evil and delinquent I was to the neighbours and to the teachers.

I do remember instances where I performed what must have been magic. I once turned a particularly obstreperous (damn Asura and her elocution lessons!) teacher's hair blue. And when Dudley and company were chasing me, I somehow ended up on the roof of the school. Both times, of course, I got into deep shit. Chucked into the cupboard, starved a little, beaten a bit. Fun stuff like that.

Now, how did I come to live in the Feymarch? Well, I was wishing, fervently, for a friend on my 10th birthday. Rydia was using her ill-advised summoning spell at the time. Nobody in the Feymarch knows exactly how I ended up there, only that it happened as soon as I made my wish for a friend. So maybe my wish intersected with the spell. You know, wishful thinking actually working for a change. It's as good a theory as any, and while nobody knows for sure exactly what happened, we believe that to be the most likely explanation. Quite frankly, the other explanations are downright insane, and while I may flirt with insanity, she's somewhat fickle. Rydia is more reliable.

My first meeting with Rydia was, honestly, a strange one. Rydia hadn't met any human beings her age, or of any age at all, for the past few years. Plus, she was surrounded by what looked to my impressionable, ten year old eyes by monsters. So, I was understandably freaked out. I screamed for long enough to pass out from a lack of oxygen. I started screaming again when I was shaken awake by a horned, fiery demon who I later learned was Ifrit. And I passed out again. This went on a couple more times, until I finally managed to stop freaking out at the fact that I was with a group of monsters, as well as a green-haired girl.

Of course, once I learned I couldn't go back home, I started screaming again. In retrospect, that was stupid. The Eidolons had been far better to me than my aunt, uncle, and cousins ever were. But even so, it was still understandable. I had been torn away from everything I knew into a bizarre, strange world.

Admittedly, that time, I only screamed until I fainted once. Partly because it was getting older than Leviathan, and partly because my throat was getting wrecked by my screaming. I needed a lot of throat-soothing medicine afterwards, I can tell you.

Once I had gotten over my panic, I got dragged away by Rydia to play Rock-Paper-Scissors. The Eidolons had kids, but few of them had human-like forms, and those rarely wanted to play with Rydia. Admittedly, she did have an occasionally bratty attitude, but those were few and far between. And I found myself enjoying her games. For the first time in my childhood, I actually had someone to play with who wouldn't treat me like a punching bag.

Now, it took a while for me to fully accept that I couldn't go home again. It really took realising that I didn't really have a home to begin with at 4 Privet Drive to truly get me to accept living in the Feymarch. And when that realisation came, I actually asked for a party, and got given one. You know, a 'Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish' party. That was a good day, one of the best days I had ever had in my life. There was even a chocolate cake and everything.

I learned more about Rydia's past from the girl herself. Until relatively recently, she led a fairly quiet and relatively idyllic life in Mist, a small village not far from the Kingdom of Baron. Her father died when she was very young, but otherwise, her life was fine. Then, someone killed the Eidolon linked to her mother. Rydia would later gain her own version of that Eidolon, the Mist Dragon, but the death of her mother's primary summon killed her mother. And the culprits, a Dark Knight called Cecil and a Dragoon called Kain, waltzed right into Mist and delivered a ring that sprouted Bombs, explosive creatures that laid waste to Mist. Cecil and Kain, horrified at what they had done inadvertently (they didn't know they were there to exterminate the summoners, just deliver a gift to the people of Mist), decided to rebel against Baron, but try explaining that to a distraught seven year old girl with the ability to summon Eidolons. In the depths of a major hissy fit, she managed to summon Titan, who caused an earthquake.

Separated from Kain by a massive chasm, Cecil found an unconscious Rydia, and took her to a nearby desert town, Kaipo. Rydia, once she recovered, was understandably reluctant to trust Cecil. After all, he had more or less killed her mother and wiped out not only her fellow summoners, but most of the inhabitants of Mist. Only when he defended her from a squad of Baron's knights did she begin to trust him. And when she saw his anguish at finding his comatose lover Rosa in the same town, beset with a bad fever, she decided to go with him in earnest.

One adventure led to another. They met Tellah the ornery Sage, Edward, the diffident Bard, and Yang, the valiant Monk. They learned of Golbez, the true power behind Baron's throne, and found that Kain, under Golbez's mental control, was working for him. It was decided to head to Baron to confront Golbez, but Leviathan, who had been attacked by Golbez (while he was having a nice swim for recreational purposes, apparently), attacked the boat they were travelling on in a rage. He was angry about the death of the summoners, and of Golbez ganking him while he was trying to have a nice little swim. Rydia was flung overboard, and, well…Leviathan, shocked out of his mind that there was a summoner left, took her to the Feymarch. And then, she summoned me, and, well, I've talked about that.

Anyway, from that point onwards, Rydia and I grew up together. We became friends. The very best of friends, actually. And while at times our relationship has been rocky, we're partners in more ways than one. She's a kickarse summoner, and I'm a smartarse Red Mage. We're a surprisingly good team.

Now, back to the story…

Our next port of call was to be the Tower of Babil. As Golbez intended to try and take the Crystal at the Sealed Cave, King Giott told us to try and retrieve the ones taken to the Tower of Babil in order to thwart the armoured megalomaniac. Giott was going to distract the defenders by using the Dwarves' tanks.

Now, the Tower of Babil was apparently Golbez's base of operations. He had several. He had been based at Baron, as well as the Tower of Zot (which had collapsed), and now, it seemed, he was based at the Tower of Babil. It was a legendary structure that not only extended high into the heavens, but also pretty deep underground. I personally reckon Mr Dark Armour was compensating for something, but what do I know?

Before we set out, Rydia and I met one of Cecil's compatriots, Cid, an airship engineer who was currently repairing their own airship, the Enterprise. A squat, bearded man with a rough tongue and a good heart, Rydia and I liked him quite swiftly. However, he had to deal with the repairs to their airship, and we had to travel to the Tower of Babil on foot.

It was, surprisingly, filled with technology. Whoever built this place certainly had one of the more advanced technologies in this world. It even seemed more advanced than back home, like something out of a science fiction movie.

We eventually made our way to a chamber where a massively tall man, dressed in a red mantle and with skin of the same colour, looked at an older man. You know how I was snarking at Golbez for looking like a fantasy rip-off of Darth Vader? Well, this old coot looked like an even worse rip-off of every mad scientist you can think of, complete with messy white hair and thick glasses. "Fare thee well, Lord Rubicante," the mad scientist said in a simpering, obsequious tone.

"There is little to worry about. Eblan's castle has fallen, along with Eblan's shinobi," the red-skinned and clad man, presumably Rubicante, said in a deep, resonant voice. "You are now responsible for the running of the Tower, Dr Lugae, until I return." He then vanished in a rather ostentatious swirl of flame.

Lugae then began to giggle, and pranced about with glee. "Yes! With Rubicante and Golbez gone, I am the lord of this tower!"

"What's wrong with him?" Rydia asked.

"How long a list would you like?" I remarked.

"Quiet!" Rosa hissed, but it was too late. Lugae had spotted us, and was making his way over.

"Who's there?!" He glared at us. "Cecil and his fellow fleas? When the hell did you get up here?"

Kain marched forward confidently. "I remember you, old man. A Baron scientist that Golbez has doing his filthy work for him. Neither Rubicante nor your master is here to save your decrepit hide. I suggest fleeing."

"Fool! I will not stand for such disdain!" Lugae snarled. "I may not be one of the Archfiends, but I am Golbez's chief strategist! And I will not flee! Barnabas!" He snapped his fingers, and a massive, hulking form emerged from a nearby door. Blue-skinned, yellow haired, with a flat top of the skull, and electrodes sticking out haphazardly.

I looked at it, and then back at Lugae. "Yep, it's official, you're a rip-off merchant. That's so Frankenstein's Monster."

He stared at me for a moment, before he said, flatly, "What."

"Seriously, that's so much a rip-off of Frankenstein's Monster. Did you invent a TV that can see across dimensions?"

"I, ah, NO!" But there was something in his tone, surprisingly, that suggested otherwise. He then pointed at me. "Barnabas, kill the annoying Red Mage first!"

"Aw, you do care!" I crooned, even as the creature charged towards me with a snarl. I dodged at the last moment, with an "Olé!", allowing it to crash into a wall.

What followed was a not so much an epic battle to the death as much as a bullfight. Barnabas tended to charge at us, fists swinging, and all we had to do was dodge. Cecil, Yang, and Kain did most of the physical attacking, while Rosa healed us from the times when Barnabas or his master managed to hit us. At one point, Kain's spear was left buried deep in the hide of the beast, which was actually some kind of robot. "Rydia," I hissed as we dodged another charge, which sent the beast careening into Lugae, "Thunder spells on that spear?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "I'll use Ramuh, and you use Thundaga."

"GET OFF ME YOU OAF!" Lugae screamed, trapped beneath a Barnabas who had tripped over as he had collided with his creator. Barnabas was trying, but was rather slow, given that Cecil had managed to sever something in his leg earlier.

"Come, I summon you, Ramuh!" Rydia called out. Lightning smashed in from nowhere, and Ramuh, an old man wearing robes, bearing a staff, and sporting a very large beard, appeared.

"Hey, Lugae, wanna know what happens to a robot and a madman who's struck by lightning?"

"I AM NOT MAD!" Lugae screeched from underneath Barnabas.

"That is an opinion you are having(1)," I remarked.

"Ramuh, use Judgement Bolt on that spear, please," Rydia said to the Eidolon.

"Very well, Rydia," Ramuh replied. And as he gathered energy, so did I, preparing a Thundaga spell.

"Anyway, as I said, Lugae, wanna know what happens to a robot and a madman who's struck by lightning? THUNDAGA!"

As I unleashed my spell, Ramuh yelled, "JUDGEMENT BOLT!" And simultaneously bolts of lightning from both of us smashed into the spear, running into it, and thus deep into Barnabas' body. Monster and creator convulsed, worms of electricity crawling along them and eating into their flesh. Smoke rose from them, and then, Barnabas collapsed.

Lugae gurgled. "Damn…burnt out…my transformation…system(2)…but…Rubicante's already taken…the Crystals…away. That's what you came for…isn't it?" A weak, rasping chuckle emanated from the dying man's mouth. "The Tower stretches to…the surface…and you won't…be able to…follow…Rubicante. And my cannons…they will…annihilate…the Dwarves. You…have…lost." A rasping chuckle once more emanated from Lugae's mouth, before he choked, and coughed up blood and spittle.

Dr Lugae died. Big loss.

"The Dwarves!" Rydia cried out. "We need to stop those cannons!"

We made it to the control room for the cannons, finding a bunch of goblins firing on the Dwarves. Although we dispatched them easily enough, they destroyed the controls, preventing them from being shut off.

"Go now!" Yang yelled, but I shook my head.

"And do what? I've got a better idea. Rydia? Another Twincast?"

She sipped from an Ether bottle, and threw another one at me. As I drank, we left the room, but kept the door open. "This'll be tricky. Rosa, please cast Protect on us," Rydia said.

Rosa nodded, and did so. Then, we concentrated, before we unleashed Ultima on the room, annihilating it, and sending most of the debris, now little more than small shard of metal, glass, and plastic, raining down to the ground far below. The rest bounced off our Protect shields. We then closed the door. I then glared at Yang. "Were you going to sacrifice yourself and go out in a blaze of glory or something?"

Yang fell silent for a time, but he said, "You have my thanks anyway. At least the Dwarves are safe. But we need to leave the Tower. If the Crystals have already been taken further up, and we can't follow Rubicante, we'll have to find another way."

"Rubicante and Lugae mentioned Eblan, the kingdom of the shinobi," Kain said, his arms crossed. "It is true that the Tower of Babil emerges from the surface near Eblan."

"But what do the Crystals have to do with the Tower of Babil?" Rydia asked. "You told me before we came here that Golbez claimed that it would reactivate the Tower, and draw upon power from the Moon."

"Heaven knows," Cecil said, "but though it sounds like the ravings of a madman, he is fixated on his goal, and I don't doubt that this tower has power."

"Well, we'd better stop him," I remarked, with a cheer I certainly didn't feel. We'd come in to try and stymie Golbez by nicking the Crystals, but to no avail. The best we managed was to destroy his weapons and kill his chief strategist and mad scientist.

I only hoped that we could do better before long…

CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:

Hope you enjoy, especially with Yang not going through with his senseless sacrifice.

1. This is what Barret says to Cloud in episode 1 of Final Fantasy VII Machinabridged when Cloud claims that he knows what he is doing. It's a good series, despite being new and having a somewhat rocky start (episode 2 and its treatment of Tifa is a major bone of contention).

2. I didn't feel up to writing a battle scene with the Lugae cyborg (Lugae-Z), so I wrote in this line.