//------------------------------// // 21. Queen of the Abyss // Story: The Ninth Fantasy - Gaia // by MrAlterad //------------------------------// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATE: Brahne's Greed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Your Majesty!” Zorn declared with urgency. The jesters moved to address the queen, but they were stopped by the guards. Being informed that she will not see them, any business they have will be given to the guard. The jesters shared a worried look, then told the guard that the queen's guests have arrived. The guard informed the queen, then returned to the jesters. “Let the guests through,” the guard ordered. “You two are dismissed.” “What does that mean?” Zorn asked, not familiar with the term. “Queen Brahne is quite upset with you two for letting the princess escape with the pendant. You should go, now.” The jesters shared the worried look again. “Whatever to do are we!?” Thorn asked. “We cannot live without the queens backing!” Zorn admitted “We must first tell the guests to come in!” And they quickly moved to do so. Brahne sat in silence for a couple minutes, overlooking the city. “What a view” A female voice carried energetically. A short woman with dark skin and a large axe walked up to the queen, brushing off the guard that got in her way. By her side was a tall man with light blue skin with a large red afro flowing back. They both approached the queen, and the woman addressed her. “It's a pleasure to meet you,” she said sarcastically, “your Majesty. I hear things aren't going to well.” “Have you no manners?” Brahne asked bitterly, “This is what I get for hiring lowlifes.” “I'm sure you didn't hire us for our manners, your Majesty.” Making the queen harrumph. Dismissing the guards, she informed the mercenaries of their task. “You have two objectives. The first is to retrieve the pendant, a national treasure, from Princess Garnet. The other is to assassinate the orange pony traveling with them.” “Who is that?” The red headed warrior asked. “A spy from another country, Applejack." Brahne replied with a frown, "Who knows what secrets my general fed her before she escaped.” The axe wielder appraised the queen. “I don't know what happened between you and the princess, but what should I do if I meet with resistance?” Brahne looked at her like that wasn't her problem. “Just get the pendant back from that wretched girl!” She declared “Wonderful. My axe is pleased to hear that. It won't take long.” The female warrior declared, prompting the other warrior to eye her with disgust. “Good day, your Majesty,” She said as she left. The red warrior moved to follow, but paused. “Is it true that a boy with a tail is traveling with the princess?” He asked. “Yes, that accursed monkey! I shall give you an extra reward if you take care of him,” Brahne added. “I was right, I'll take care of your request after I finish him,” he said as he left. Brahne sat alone for a minute, considering what was needed to be done. A guard came up to her in a rush, divvying out a report. “Your Majesty! The Alexandrian fleet has returned to home waters! Please prepare to depart on the Red Rose.” “Ah, finally! We leave immediately!” She declared as she let out a sickening laugh. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mother, why? Dagger thought as she stirred awake. Queen Brahne had once been a kind and loving mother, but now... Dagger found herself to be the only one awake, a glow on the horizon hinted at either sunset or sunrise. Looking to her friends, she saw that the others were sprawled out around her, injured. Mois was nowhere to be seen, and looking back, she saw that the carriage was crushed beneath a pile of rubble that she assumed was once the caves exit. Getting up, she aided the others with her magic, and awakened them. “Ugh, we made it?” Zidane asked, surprised they were relatively fine. “Where are we?” Looking around, taking in that they were at the bottom of a small canyon, and spotting a large root, he climbed the root up the side of the cliff wall, and upon reaching the top, got his bearings. “I can see Lindblum!” He declared in surprise, “It's still a ways away, but now we don't have to worry about crossing the border this time!” He climbed back down to the others, then remembered something. “Spike!” His alarm reminded the others as well. “He must still be in the cave! We gotta go help him!” Applejack declared. “Not to be a party pooper, but I don't think we can,” Pinkie replied sadly, pointing to the cave-in. “Like that's gonna stop us!” Applejack said as she moved to applebuck the rubble. “AJ, Wait!” Zidane said quickly, making her hesitate. She followed his gaze and saw the rocks overhanging the cave. “That looks like it'll come down on you if you try,” he said, looking apologetic. “Spike's a toughy, he'll be in that Treno place before we know it~,” Pinkie said, trying to cheer up the others. “You're right,” Dagger claimed, “Treno is where he'd end up. We should go after him!” “From where we are right now,” Zidane said, motioning to their surroundings, “we'd be better off heading to Lindblum and getting an airship to Treno. And while there you can talk to Cid,” he offered. Dagger nodded and looked towards where Zidane had indicated Lindblum was. First Freya and Beatrix, now Spike. What happened to Marcus? She wondered as she worried over those left behind. As they prepared to leave, an apparition taking the shape of humbly dressed elderly man with a powerful looking staff appeared in the air near the party. They were naturally taken by surprise. Zidane and Applejack got in front of Dagger as they asked if the old man was friend or foe. “Whether I'm friend or foe is up to you.” He said, “My name is Ramuh.” That name, it's familiar. Dagger thought as she slipped past Zidane and Applejack, addressing Ramuh. “I've heard your name somewhere.” Dagger admitted, “Oh! It was in a book about summoning magic. Are you actually Ramuh, the Thunder Spirit?” She asked curiously, and he nodded in kind. She had always felt the power to call upon summon spirits, eidolons, for as long as she could remember, but she was always afraid of that power. Her curiosity led her to reading on it, this was the first time she's ever conversed with one. “Wait, a spirit? Are you somethin' similar to Discord?” Applejack asked, and Dagger noticed Pinkie make an odd look upon hearing the question. Ramuh quickly looked to Pinkie before nodding. “Well fancy that.” Applejack finished. Ramuh then turned back to the princess. “Did you know that your summoning magic destroyed Clerya?” Ramuh asked Dagger, and she shook her head in surprise. That happened!? How!? “An eidolon follows its summoner's orders.” Ramuh explained, “And it responded to the orders of a woman filled with greed this time.” No, Mother! She fell to her knees, almost unwilling to accept it. “I can't believe it. I was confined while Cleyra was destroyed.” “It wasn't your fault,” Zidane assured her, looking upset that she was upset. “Like I said, it was that big meany queeny,” Pinkie added with a frown. “They knew,” Zidane explained, “that's why Freya and Beatrix stayed behind.” “True,” Ramuh said, “you were not the one who caused the destruction. But I must ask you, what will you do now?” Dagger thought on that. She's been relying on others over the last week, ever since leaving Alexandra five days ago, she hadn't accomplished anything for herself. When she sought out her mother with Spike, she ended up being captured, and now so many had fallen behind to free her. I'm too weak. I need to be stronger. “If I were more powerful, if I could use summon magic.” She said to no one in particular as she turned to the spirit, “I beg of you, please help me!” “And cause more destruction?” He asked skeptically, and she shook her head. “No. I was afraid of my summon magic, but not anymore! I won't use this power in the same manner as my mother!” If I want to be stronger, I need to cast away my fear. The old mans form shifted to that of something more befitting a spirit of thunder. His humble look exchanged for a robe of power, his hair getting longer and flowing with electricity. “Many years have passed since I last served. I must test to see whether you are truly fit to be my master.” He turned to indicate the direction they intended to travel, “Hidden in this canyon are five manifestations of myself. Each will carry a piece of the 'Hero's Story.' Collect all the pieces and tell me the story. If I find your telling of it satisfying, I shall become your eidolon.” Garnet looked to the others, This will take up time. “I'm sorry, I know we must hurry-” She started, but was interrupted by them. “It's okay,” Zidane assured, “we can see you want, and likely need this. If your mother is using eidolons to get what she wants, we'll need that same power to counter her." “Yea! We~ will~ help!” Pinkie declared, and Applejack nodded with her. Dagger looked at the others, and finally understood something. They weren't helping her because she was the princess of Alexandria, they were helping her because they were friends. “Thank you, everyone.” She said with a smile. For Alexandria, and my friends, I will become stronger! Ramuh disappeared, and they set out into the canyon to find the pieces of the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATE: On an Adventure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Spike moved to the entrance of the cave as the large snake dissipated into mist. It was the third one that attacked him, and was likely going to be the last. He found that using Thundara about three times was enough to take them down, and he had plenty of potions to handle their damage, although the magic the snakes used had been particularly annoying, especially that shrinking spell. Thankfully, it's effects were only temporary. When he fell from the carriage, he had fallen into some underwater stream, and got lost in shot order. He probably wouldn't have found his way out if Mois hadn't followed after him. Leaving the cave behind him, he saw that they were below the mist, and couldn't make out where they were from here. “So where's my friends from here?” Spike asked his moogle friend. She did a short dance and the pon pon on her head glowed red before she indicated a direction. “I think that way leads close to Lindblum.” She stated, which caught Spike off guard. “Wait, if they're close to Lindblum, does that mean we are too?” Spike considered that for a moment, then what Applejack said to him back in Lindblum came to mind. She still considered him a baby dragon. Spike suddenly felt a strong urge to prove her wrong as his brow furrowed. The princess will be safe with the others, I think its about time I showed them I'm not a baby anymore. He asked Mois which direction Choco was. When she indicated where, he wrote a short letter. 'I'm off to find treasure. I'll find you when I've found something to prove I'm not some baby dragon anymore. I'm the Master Hunter, and I intend to prove it. -Spike' He handed her the letter, and asked her to deliver it, and when she could, return to him. She saluted her hero and departed to follow through. Spike counted on his friends, he knew they would be fine without him for a little bit of time, but he wanted them to know that he would be fine on his own as well. Looking into the mist, he intended to do just that. Spike started climbing down the mountain. He knew the monsters of the mist in this region, he was somewhere close to the Chocobo forest. The monsters in the mist around Lindblum were beneath him, so he ventured off to an adventure staring him, with Choco at his side. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Having spent half an hour looking through the canyon, they had found four fragments of the story, although two of the fragments sounded similar, the difference being the meaning of the ending. The monsters were the normal affair, relatively easy to take down with the four of them. Large scorpions had a tendency to poison them, but they had plenty of antidote, and Dagger's magic to handle it. There were also Zaghnol's, which answered where Lindblum had captured one for the Festival. And there were bats, which Applejack had been extra violent in handling, to Pinkie's amusement. Going through the canyon, Zidane and Applejack were caught off guard when they ran into a familiar moogle. Monty, the moogle they met in the Evil Forest, was residing in a tree with several holes in it. When he noticed the party, he greeted them warmly. “Did the letter get sent?” Applejack asked, curious. She had already filled in Twilight, so she wasn't too concerned about the letter reaching Celestia. “Terribly sorry, it hasn't been sent yet. Mognet, our mailing HQ, has been weird of late. I did talk to Artemicion, and he assured that when it was up and running again, he would take care of it.” “Ah shucks, don't fret too much over it, we managed to send word home,” Applejack said with a smile. Bidding him a farewell, they continued on to the last piece of the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ATE: Rats in the Underground ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marcus was looking at the hole made in the gate. “Yep, pretty sure this was Applejack's doing, she packs a mean kick,” he admitted, the kick to the cage still fresh in his mind. “So, they got away just fine without us,” Blank said, masking his relief. “Oh, that reminds me, she wanted to tell you 'Sorry' or something like that.” “For what?” Blank asked, confused, and Marcus shrugged. Moving through the Alexandria underground, they prepared to leave, but something caught Blank's attention. “Hey, Marcus, someones over here, and they look to be in pretty bad shape.” He said as he walked over to an unconscious burmecian in red armor, a spear laying on the ground next to her. “Well, let's patch her up then!” Marcus declared, and they worked to do just that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Looks like you found all the parts,” Ramuh pointed out. “Although the story is only made of four parts. One of them doesn't belong, now, young lady, tell me the story.” He said, and the others looked to Dagger, she nodded and recounted the tale of a hero. “Once upon a time,” she began, “thirty three small countries fought together against an empire. One day, a rebel troop visited a man named Joseph, who lived with his daughter, Nelly. Owing the troop, he was quick to accept their plea for help. They headed to a cavern in the snow field. With Joseph's help, the troop defeated the guardian of the Goddess Bell they needed, to enter the empire's castle. On their way home, they fell into a trap set by a traitor. Joseph gave his life to save his comrades. The troop left for the empire without telling Josephs daughter about the tragedy.” She recounted, then paused. There were two parts left, both were a different outlook of the ending. One ending places Joseph as a hero, the other places his troop as nothing more than human for not telling his daughter of his fate. Does Ramuh want to hear about heroes, or humanity? She considered it hard, getting looks from her friends, Oh, I don't know. I guess I'll simply choose the one I prefer. She looked to Ramuh, a fire in her eyes. “Although Joseph's death was not reported to his daughter, the manner of his death speaks for itself. This is the story of a true hero.” “Hmm,” Ramuh considered, “let me ask you one thing. How come you chose the hero's ending?” She thought for a moment before replying. “People follow a person who keeps on track.” She admitted, “That's why I think a hero, who acts in a straightforward manner is remembered for generations.” Ramuh stared at her, not completely convinced by her reply. “I want to know what you think, in your own words.” “Me?" She considered it for a moment, "I am away from my country, but I haven't forgotten about my people. I suppose I chose hero because I want to be that for Alexandria, a queen remembered for generations for what she did for her country.” She admitted, surprising herself with her own words. Ramuh considered her for several moments, making Dagger nervous. “Your soul is very tense right now. Maybe you'll relax once I become your eidolon.” He said with an old smile. Dagger took up a smile of her own at his decision. “Thank you!” “There are many paths.” He said, “Remember that you alone choose the path on which you walk.” As he finished, his apparition disappeared, and in it's place hovered a green gemstone, that Dagger was drawn to, and picked it up. Maybe now I can save my kingdom, with this power. “Bound within precocious stones lies the power of the eidolons, seek out the others if you seek to use their power.” Ramuh's voice explained to her, and the others. Dagger nodded as she turned towards her friends. “Let's go," she said, "we need to reach Lindblum, there's people to talk to, and friends to reunite with!” She proclaimed to her companions. She was then drawn by a look on Zidane's face. Their eyes met, and he let out a sigh. “Hey, old man! You gone already?” Zidane asked the air. “Somethin' wrong?” Applejack asked, Dagger walked up to him with curiosity. “I just wanted to know why he made us play such a silly game. Heroic? Human? Those are just things people say after the fact. Why try to give meaning to the main character of the story by choosing the outlook?” Zidane explained. “Hero or human?” Applejack stated, “Yer right Zidane, I don't think any of that mattered. Just imagine being Nelly in that story.” She said as she looked to the early dawn, a little forlorn. “She'd want to know what became of her father,” her voice was laced with sadness. Zidane looked at Applejack with surprise, he hadn't expected something like that from her. Dagger was also a little worried, Applejack looked sadder then seemed appropriate for the situation. “I betcha he would have said yes to either answer!” Pinkie proclaimed, grappling her friend in a hug, defusing the air around the orange mare. Applejack nodded, giving her a smile as Ramuh's apparition appeared before them again, looking impressed. “You're exactly right. It's not what the people say afterward. What's important is being true to oneself. Young lady, when you wished to learn how to use summon magic, your power returned to you,” he explained as he turned Dagger. “Summoning magic can be used for good, or evil. You want to protect your people, I believe you will use my power for good. That's why I accepted you. I'll look over you, and see where your path takes you,” he then turned to the others, “And I hope you look after her as well.” "Ya betcha!" "No worries!" "Never a doubt~!" With that, Ramuh dissipated, and the four of them shared a silly grin. The group of friends moved forward, reaching the edge of the canyon, revealing the plains outside of Lindblum, the city far in the distance. As they stopped to take in the vista, Dagger broke the silence. “I want to use my summoning magic to protect everyone. My people, my friends, Lindblum, Burmecia, everyone.” “I know you can do it!" Zidane said with honest enthusiasm, getting a grin from Dagger in turn. “I've seen that ship before!” Pinkie shouted out, glaring at the sky, changing the mood instantly. Everyone's eyes were drawn to where she indicated. In the sky, heading towards Lindblum, was the airship they saw at Cleyra. “That's the Red Rose!” Zidane declared, and they all shared a look of terror. “No! Not Lindblum!” Dagger shouted as she ran towards the city. “Pinkie! Get Zidane!” Applejack ordered as she ran to Dagger's side. “Hop on princess, we'll move like the wind!” She got on Applejack and grabbed around her neck to hold on, Zidane did the same with Pinkie, and they bolted through the plain to the city, as fast as they could. They saw lights flashing inside the city, explosions were going off as the city was bombarded from the sea. They could make out a large number of red and blue orbs entering the city, bypassing its defenses. “They're sending Black Mages directly in with the urns!” Zidane declared. “Ohhh, that nasty woman! She'll probably going to use a summon too,” Pinkie finished sadly. “No! We're not gonna get there in time to help!” Applejack said, looking on in worry, before glaring at the Red Rose. “That villain! We need to find a way to get to her!” Dagger looked on in frustration. She now had an eidolon to call upon, but she didn't have it in her to destroy her mother's ship. The Alexandrian naval fleet was bombarding the city from the sea, but as they were up high on a plateau, she couldn't see the fleet. Why! Now that I have this power, why can't I use it to save Lindblum!? She looked to the skies, wondering why they seemed so empty. “Where's Lindblum's fleet!?” Dagger asked in a panic. “They must still be assisting Burmecia!” Zidane said as the sky suddenly took on a red hue, making the party stop in awe. A monster almost as big as the city, with a terribly large mouth, was summoned before Lindblum. It started to suck in everything near it, drawing large chuncks of the city into its maw. Buildings, people, everything winthin the maws reach was drawn up into it. The noise it generated made them quiver, it was unworldly and terrifying. Dagger looked away, trying not to picture all the people being pulled into the maw of that summon. A entire third of the city was swallowed up by the time the magic tied to dissipated, making the summon vanish without a trace. In the span of several seconds, a third of Lindblum was utterly annihilated. They were too appalled to move, too shocked by the destruction for words. The battle was over before they could even finish their trek across the plains. Continuing on, and reaching the city, they found ruin none too different from Burmecia. Applejack had turned her despair into fury, as did Zidane. Dagger was quiet as they reached the city, still not believing that her mother had laid waste to it. Pinkie looked sad, but her mane hadn't changed. There was a fire burning beneath those sad eyes. “Let's do what we can,” Zidane began, “and be careful, there may still be Black Mages and soldiers within,” he finished as they walked into the broken front gate of the ruined city. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Moogle Notes: ~~~~~~~~~~~ 'Howdy Equestrian, Mois the moogle here with more tid-bits about Gaia!' 'The place Ramuh was giving Dagger her little test is called Pinnacle Rocks.' 'Spike was hit by a status known as Mini, it shrinks you down and makes your physical attacks weaker, while taking more harm from physical attacks. Mini can be countered with another application of it's affects, as the second affect negates the first. Spike's magic was unaffected by being shrunk, and his teleporting made it terribly difficult for the snakes to harm him.' 'The summon that destroyed Lindblum is known as Atomos, a spirit of gravity the pulls on those caught in its field of affect. Kupo.' ~~~~~~ Dagger ~~~~~~ Items Equipped: *New Item Equipped* Stardust Rod: Ability Up, Reflect, Float Elem-Def: Shadow damage reduced by 50%. Magus Hat: Slow Raises Ice Elem-Atk. Mythril Armlet: Bug Killer Bronze Vest: Jelly *Peridot: Ramuh, Thundara, Brotherly Shield Lvl Up! Lvl-12 HP 414/414 MP 54/76 AP 4/19 *Chemist (4) - Double the potency of medicinal items. *Ability Up (3) - Characters learn abilities faster. *Antibody (4) - Prevents Poison and Venom. *Jelly (4) - Prevents Petrify and Gradual Petrify. Abilities: White Magic: Cure 6 MP - Restores HP of single/multiple targets. Life 8 MP - Recovers from KO. Scan 4 MP - Scan enemy to determine HP, MP, and weaknesses. Panacea 4 MP - Removes Venom and Poison. Shell 6 MP - Reduces damage from magic attacks. Protect 6 MP - Reduces damage from physical attacks. Silence 8 MP - Causes Silence, which disables magic in single/multiple targets. Reflect 6 MP - Reflect magic attacks back onto caster. Float 6 MP - Allows single/multiple targets to float in the air. Summon: Ramuh 22 MP - Causes Thunder damage to all enemies.