Creep. Creep creep…
SLAM! Laudo ran right into a chimney. He cursed at Mull, who’d directed him, and shook off the impact, staring forward after Quina.
The Qu had been quite interested in the search for Fratley. It had run across the rooftops after him, mumbling the entire way about "mousy-man gonna get it," leaving Laudo and Mull behind to fumble through the approaching darkness alone. They’d done a good job so far, but it was getting so neither of them could see and Laudo didn’t enjoy that.
"Quina!" he shouted. "Wait for us! C’mon!"
The Qu glanced over it’s shoulder, tongue lapping the air.
"I no wait, you hurry! Follow Quina! Mousy man here somewhere!"
And then Quina went bounding off again. Laudo looked at Mull and sighed.
"What do you say we climb down and forget this? Quina’s having enough fun searching for Fratly alone, and it’s getting too dark to see."
"Ha!" Mull retorted. "What, and when the captain hears that we were helping Quina catch Fratley, but we ran off? What then, bookworm? Naw, I’m staying up here. Not like we’ll have to do anything anyway. I mean it’s—"
Whoosh. The air over their heads thickened, then moved rapidly from them. Laudo looked up and saw a red form blur as it moved over them.
And it talked.
"Monster! Stay back, lest I pierce thy insides with mine lance!"
Mull stared up as well. "I think that was…the man we’re after."
"Yeah," Laudo agreed. "And I think he’s actually scared of Quina! Did you hear what he said? This is strange."
Mull snorted. "Not exactly strange. I mean look at Quina!"
The Qu came waddling up to the knights then, complaining under it’s breath. Quina looked quite mad, probably wanting dinner by this point.
"Mousy man go that way," it said, pointing with a spork toward the city’s Memorial Square. Laudo and Mull stared after, not sure whether they wanted to move. Quina went without them, still complaining, andf Laudo simply followed soundlessly. Mull glanced back the way Fratley’d come, then followed as well.
"This is getting old," Laudo said, fumbling through the darkness. "I wanted to relax in the theatre, but no. I had to save your hide, Mull, and it got me stuck in active duty for the rest of the night!"
"Don’t blame me!" Mull reacted. "I never asked you to rescue me from that thing. Although I would do the same…for a friend, ya know?"
"You’re not careful, Mull, we’re going to have a fight."
"What? Stab me with your pen?"
Laudo kicked Mull’s helmet as they descended the ladder to level ground. "Shut up and get to searching."
They followed Quina the entire way, the Qu on the prowl. Dojebon was still searching the same area as a few hours before, and still going off on anyone who dared walk in front of him. Laudo gave him a reproving look as they passed; Dojebon went to say something, then glanced at Quina and simply smiled and waved.
Main street was deserted. All the people of the neighborhood had turned in for the night, the sun having set a few hours prior to Laudo and company’s return to solid ground. The party of three marched in single file into Memorial Square, eyeing every corner and crevice they could as they entered.
Quina walked a circle around the statue in the Square’s center. It stopped, and looked up, sniffing the air.
"He here somewhere, Quina know. But where…?"
A noise from behind. Laudo turned to see a very unlikely pair approach.
"Hold," Beatrix said, coming to a stop before the knights and the Qu. "Any luck?"
"Well sort of, General," Laudo said. "We know he’s around here somewhere, but he’s not immediately visible."
Quina snorted. "I smell mousy man, that for sure."
Blank walked to the statue and leaned against it casually. "Well if he’s here he’ll show. I mean it’s you he’s after, Bea. Once he catches a glimpse of that hourglass figure he’ll come leaping outta the shadows after ya."
"But the difference is, you have four protectors now," Laudo said with a smile. Beatrix actually smiled back.
"It’s not quite a comforting thought, you know, that I’m the most powerful general in Alexandria and I have to be protected from anyone. But I do thank you all for your efforts. Without you, and especially you, Blank, this would’ve turned into a fiasco none of us would live down."
As everyone expected, a whoosh sounded from above. Sure enough, Fratley was perched atop the city’s front gates, spear at the ready. His eyes were cold and hard; no emotion was visible behind them. His pike shone dully in the moonlight, reflecting it’s silver hue upon the ground.
"Beatrix, thou art truly a coward," Fratley said, low and even. The other bristled at the word.
"I am no coward, Iron-tail. I simply have worthy friends. Would that you could experience the same!"
Laudo, Mull, Quina, and Blank each took a position close to Beatrix. They all looked to Fratley with mixed expressions; anything from anger to curiosity to, in Quina’s case, hunger.
"You have no chance, Fratley," Blank growled. "Just give up so I can take ya back ta Lindblum, already. This game’s gettin’ old."
"And we have better things to do than chase you around," Laudo seconded.
Silence. Fratley examined the party before him with a determined scowl. His spear went up…then fell to the stone on which he stood. His expression softened noticeably; no one knew what to expect.
Fratley climbed down to the street and approached Blank.
"Freya. I wish to see my dearest Freya, the one I met not long ago. I wish to tell her something. Something…important. I wish to tell her…I love her. Wouldst thou take me to her, kind sir? Wouldst thou?"
Blank was visibly shocked. But as he’d learned, he kept cool.
"Sure, Fratley. I’ll take ya somewhere you can see Freya. Lindblum, not too far from here. Ya wanna go in the morning? We could make a picnic of it, me an’ you. And tonight we can stay in the castle. Good eatin’ there, I tell ya. Whaddya say, Iron-tail?"
The other stared a moment at Blank, his face a mirror of apathy. Then he nodded, and looked to Beatrix.
"Wouldst thou have us in thine palace, lady knight? T’would be an honor."
"W-why yes," Beatrix stammered. "So long as you don’t attempt to kill me in my sleep."
There was absolutely no light in here whatsoever! It was frustrating as hell trying to walk around when it was this dark, let alone trying to find anything at all. Let alone a lousy book or something!
It has to be here somewhere, he thought. I can find that stuff later, after I learn what I want to know. Not like there isn’t time.
Of course, that was the point. There didn’t seem to be any time in the first place. He knew well enough that a good friend could die soon if he didn’t do what he could. And he knew there had to be a way to do it, too. Anything would help, by the Gods. Anything.
The door came open as chains lifted magically away to reveal it’s smooth blue surface. He watched the portal’s transfromation with marked interest and curiosity, then stepped through it to the huge rotunda beyond.
Inside, nothing had changed. Light filtered in out of nowhere, it seemed, illuminating the room and adding an eerie presence to it. A catwalk extended forward into the room’s center, a blue platform at it’s end.
Faces jutted out from preconstructed holes in the sides of the room, each depicting different expressions and the like. The eyes on some were closed, others open, but they were all equally imposing and eerie. Some were destroyed, it seemed, by something which meant to do so. Half a face stared lifelessly from one or another hole, almost looking as though it would speak at any moment.
And that was what they were constructed to do. They were record-keepers, programmed to share knowledge of times gone. Knowledge of a world now dead, destroyed by anger and selfish need.
He went up the catwalk, no noise to accompany him save the click of his boots on the stone floor. He stepped on the circular platform and waited. Sure enough, it lit up in a flash of brilliant blue-green, and he was taken into the air in the center of the room, amidst the dead faces.
The eyes opened on one, close to him. It was one of the whole faces, not a broken one. A toss-up as to whether that should be comforting or scary. But then it spoke.
~You are familiar to us~
He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well I’ve been here before. But I know what I’m doing now. I need help with something."
~You are heir to the power~
"Eh?" he responded. "What power?…Oh. yeah, that one. Well I don’t want it, but yeah, it’s in there. How did you know that?"
Another face came out into the light as the first retracted.
~We know all. The world we came from is the great mother, source of our knowledge. Now that it is passed, the knowledge has been brought to us~
"I think I get it. But like I said, I know what I’m doing now. I have questions. A lot of them, and probably more than you could ever answer, but I can try. Are you ready?"
~You are heir to the power. In any way, we shall assist~
"Good. Well, I guess my first question is…how did this place get here? And Ipsen’s castle, where the mirrors were held? I mean, if Gaia and Terra were two different worlds…how come there are Terran ruins on Gaia?"
And then he had reason to be frightened. All the faces, whole or not, came out of the walls and opened their eyes. The mouths moved in unison, a conflagration of motion that set him aback.
~Terra was once all there was. Gaia was born of Terra. This is the sacred knowledge, privelaged. You are the first to hear of it in ages~
"So this planet was once part of Terra? I’m guessing Necron had something to do with the split?"
~Yes. Necron saught to destroy all which he could not possess. Many worlds suffered at his hand. Terra was drained of life by Necron the Destroyer, but Gaia has survivied. It is only a matter of time, however, before the Destroyer returns. When that happens, Gaia shall perish as a result of the Balance being disrupted~
"…Balance? Explain."
~When Terra was one, the Balance was set into place. It is the flow of energy, the tide which washes over all those living on the planet. The cycle of souls is part of the Balance. The flow of energy was sustained through new life and the discovery of magic. Certain peoples gained knowledge in the different forms the flow took. The Eidolons, beings of great power, were the guardians of the Balance, the only beings who could sense the ebb and flow of it’s waxing and waning.
~But as Terra became less than whole, the Balance was thrown out of proportion. The Eidolons were ripped from their station and took refuge within the only ones who held enough power to sustain such violent life.~
So that’s part of the reason he wanted them, he thought. They were originally from Terra.
"Okay, so the Balance is out of proportion. How can it be restored? Is there a way?"
~We have sensed a resurgance in the energy necessary to restore the Balance to acceptable levels. It is fleeting energy, however, never lasting more than one of your cycles. But it is strong energy. Enough of it could send the Balance into acceptable precincts again. However, there is the question of durability~
"You must mean the black mages. Well that’s exactly the reason I’m here. I’m searching for a way to prolong the lifespans of these beings so they can endure and experience life. But that it would serve a higher purpose….tell me, might there be a way to create life like that? Where it never existed before?"
~There is such a method. However, it is forbidden, one of the most powerful formulae in existence. Since the dawning of time it has been sealed so that it may be safe from those such as Necron.~
"But this is the fate of the planet I’m talking about! You have to trust me. I’m…heir to the power."
As tedious a title as that was becoming.
~…~
"C’mon. without this formula, there will be no Balance. Gaia will shudder and fall, with nothing to save it. Would you live forever with that on your conscience? Provided you have one…"
~…Very well. For the heir to the power, it would be an honor. There is an entrance somewhere in this city leading to the catacombs. It is there that the forbidden magicks are kept. That is all we can say, for we know naught else. It is up to you, heir, to find what you need~
He nodded. "Good. But I have one more question."
~Ask~
"This power in me. I need to know the nature of it. It’s growing steadily now, and it’s scaring the hell outta me, so I want to be prepared."
~The power in you…is of your own choosing. It can destroy, or protect, whichever you desire. It is your responsibility to find your own path, and that of your abilities~
"…Nice answer. Let me down."
And the platform descended to it’s original position. He stepped off and eyed the faces, still sticking out, eyes wide open. They slowly began to retract, and he felt more at ease with each one’s return to it’s hiding place.
Then a noise from ahead. He panicked, rushing out the door and into the one just to the left of the portal he emerged from. He heard voices…familiar.
"Are we there yet?" a childish one sounded. "This is boring!"
"Patience, Eiko," another one came through.
Eiko…?
No way! What was she doing here?!
They approached. Four of them, and he knew them all. Freya, Eiko, Vivi…and Dagger.
That sent shivers up his spine. Dagger, after half a year…traveling around like before, with no aim? What was up with that?
And a small figure hobbled behid them. It looked like a doll…in a very familiar shape!
Instinctively he laughed. Dagger gasped.
"Who’s there?! Show yourself!?
He couldn’t. Not now. He lowered his voice as best he could…hope this works.
"You seek the secret of life?"
The party all gave startled exclamations. Eiko immediately began whining like the child she was. Vivi simply stared ahead.
"Y-yeah. Who are you?"
"That, I cannot say, but I can tell you this. There are catacombs under this city. Find them, for they hold the secret of life. If you are brave enough, that is…"
"But where do we start?" Freya asked.
"I do not know. Simply look, and you will find. I have said all I can. Farewell."
And he ran. As fast as he could, he ran out of the city, leaving them behind. He would return in a little while to search on his own and hope they were gone. If not…he’d deal with things then.
He just couldn’t let himself slip. Not after everything he’d learned. Not now,. When he knew anyone around him would be in danger.
As he sped away into the night air, Zidane fought hard against choking tears.
Dagger…I’m so sorry…