Chapter 15: The Mystery Deepens
By Kim Wild
The seagulls flew in the heavenly air as the wind rustled through the
towering trees. For once, everything was peaceful and quiet - a little
too quiet for the AGFF Docks. The place was deserted except for Cid and
his ship which puzzled Kim a great deal. Where was everybody? Kim set
off for the center of AGFF so she could get some rest and a bite to eat.
The journey ahead would no doubt be a tough one, one full of emotional
and physical challenges, and she would need all the strength she had to
face them.
"I hope the rest of AGFF isn't this quiet," thought Kim aloud as she
walked along the uneven path. She kept walking until she came to the
AGFF Community Center, only to find there was nobody there either.
"This is really wierd," thought Kim, puzzled. She walked away from the
Center and into the nearest bar. This too, was deserted, except for the
bartender.
"Where is everyone?" said Kim. The barman looked up. "Probably at the
chocobo races," he said as he put away a couple of beer glasses.
"Chocobo races?"
"Didn't you know?" asked the man in surprise. "It is National Chocobo
Racing Day. Chocobos from all around the world are raced against each
other while everyone puts a few bets here and there."
"Oh I see!" exclaimed Kim in relief. "I thought something bad had happened."
"What are ya talking about?" asked the man suspiciously.
"It doesn't matter. Just give me something to eat and drink. Something......
alcoholic. I think I'm going to need it."
======
"Wake up sleepy head!"
"Mrghshh?" Jason awoke to find Griff shaking his shoulder.
"We are going to AGFF soon. Greg is waking up the others."
"Oh. Okay." Jason sat up and winced.
Griff looked at him with concern. "You OK?"
Jason nodded. "Just got a bit of a headache, that's all. Nothing
to worry about."
"Yeah, whatever." said Griff unconvinced. "We better get a move on
before everyone gets impatient."
======
Reno stared at his black coffee in deep silence. The deaths of Atma and
Linda had disturbed him more than he could admit. They had both been noble
warriors and their undying love they had shared moved him more than he
thought possible. Reno sighed. He could never forget that painful look on
Atma's face when Linda gave up her last dying breath. For the first time in
his life, Reno was suffering from remorse. And he didn't like it one bit.
Tseng and Elena suddenly burst into the room giggling like a pair of
lovestruck teenagers. They became more serious when they saw Reno and
tried to act more "professionally", but it didn't seem to make much
difference. Reno didn't particularly care.
"So....er......Reno," Tseng said, clearing his throat. "How's it going?"
He was greeted by silence.
"We are going to get Daron from the Fooey Desert. You coming?"
More silence.
Tseng shrugged. "Suit yourself!" Tseng picked up the keys lying near
Reno. At this, Reno stood up and marched out of the room aggressively.
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"What's up with him?" she asked. Tseng shrugged.
"He's been like that ever since he killed Linda and Atma. I can't think
why."
"It doesn't matter," said Elena, walking up to Tseng. "What matters is
that we go and pick Daron up. The sooner we get him, the sooner our
'negotiations' can continue where they left off." Elena smiled
seductively. Tseng grinned. "Aye m'am!" he replied.
======
It wasn't long before Greg had woken everyone up. Michael Goldman, Small
Girl, Gann0n, Rachel, Unright, Omatu, Mary, Dana, Griff, Jason, Slipgate
and Greg were all gathered together as Jonny told him of the plan.
"The first thing we gotta do," he said carefully, "is find out where Telco
is."
"How are we going to do that?" asked Slipgate.
"I suppose we should ask around AGFF." Jonny shrugged.
"But won't people think that's a bit odd?" asked Goldman. Small Girl
beamed. "I'll ask around. Noone would suspect me of anything *laughs*."
she said.
"I guess that's settled then." said Omatu matter of factly. "I'll come
with you."
"Me too!" piped up Goldman. "We can all go together." said Slipgate. He
stood up, as did Greg, Jason, Griff, Jonny, Goldman, Small Girl and Omatu.
He looked at Dana, Gann0n, Rachel, Unright and Mary.
"You guys coming?"
"Nah..." said Mary. "I'm tired." Dana, Rachel and Unright nodded in
agreement. Gann0n said nothing.
"Fair enough." said Greg. "But if you change your mind, then just follow
on after us."
Slipgate, Greg, Goldman, Small Girl, Omatu, Jason and Griff started to
head toward AGFF. Jonny tried to slip away in the other direction but
Griff called after him.
"Hey!" he cried. "Where are you going?"
Jonny looked at the group guiltily. "There is something I gotta do. I'll
catch up with ya..."
Small Girl smiled. "Bye Jonny-san!"
The group turned around and continued walking. Jonny breathed a sigh
of relief. He hoped that they hadn't suspected anything. He watched
the adventurous group head toward AGFF and then went his own way.
From a distance, Griff looked at Jonny and then slipped away from the
rest of the group unnoticed. He was going to find out just what Jonny
was up to, no matter what the cost.
======
After Kim had finished her sandwiches and alcoholic beverage, she headed
next door for the Inn. Although she was extremely tired, her mind was
still churning over all the events that had passed. She chuckled as she
thought of the position she was in now. It had all started with Kain and
her investigating another Relm sighting. For five years, she had slaved
away with Kain on different cases, each reporting a sighting with Relm or
some sort of magical activity. Despite all the things she had seen then,
she had remained a skeptic. I mean, Relm was a video game character. It was
impossible for her to exist in the real world. As for magic, that was even
more improbable. But now things had changed drastically. Not only had she
seen first hand evidence that magic was possible, she had seen Relm herself
and see her die before her eyes. At that thought, she wept a tear. It was an
unjust way for anyone to die, let alone a child. She sighed. Just as she was
getting used to the idea of the existance of magic and Relm, she had
discovered that she was the Spearbearer of the Mysidian Legend instead of
Kain. It was almost too much to take in. It was a big responsibilty and she
wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it.
Kim rolled onto her back and stared at the distant ceiling. She closed her
eyes and let the soothing wave of sleep wash over her exhausted and weak
body.
======
The train that Citan, Dave and Celes were on now began to rock dangerously
from side to side. Celes tried to hang on to the side of the carriage while
Dave and Citan pierced open the heavy doors. Lord Bob stood there, unsure of
what to do for the best. "We gotta jump!" Dave cried, trying to stop the
doors from slamming shut.
Celes looked at him in fear. "I can't! We must be a 100 feet up!" she
shouted over the noise. "We have no choice! The train is going to crash!"
Dave cried.
Citan pushed Dave out of the train and jumped after him. Lord Bob picked up
Celes and jumped out after Dave and Citan. Their bodies cascaded through the
air and landed into the chilling water underneath them, as the train
continued its rocky course, before it crashed into the cliff ahead.
======
"Do you see him?"
Elena looked through her binoculars across the desert. "Not yet. What were
those coordinates again?"
"17, 86, South. Or was it North?" asked Tseng puzzled.
"You have such a lousy memory!"
"Well.....I did have other things on my mind..." he said, grinning
maniacally. Elena grinned back.
"That much is true." she said. She picked the binoculars back up and
started to look around.
"Hang on!" she said, putting her arm on his shoulder. "I think I see
him." Tseng grabbed the binoculars from Elena and took a peek. "That's
him alright. We'd better land this thing."
The helicopter slowly descended onto the rough sand, as the propellers
swirled the unusually cold air around. The vehicle landed with a thump
and Tseng turned off the engine. The propellers began to stop spinning
and Elena and Tseng made their way out of the chopper toward Daron.
He wasn't entirely amused.
"You took your time." he said sarcastically. Tseng and Elena made a brief
glance at each other. Daron noticed the exchange and smirked.
"I hope I didn't interrupt your 'plans!'" Daron said in a patronizing
tone.
"Never mind." said Tseng impatiently. "Did you get the spear?" Daron
shook his head.
"WHAT!!" shouted Tseng angrily. "You know how much we need that spear! It
was part of the agreement!"
"It wasn't MY fault." snarled Daron. "Everything was going according to
plan. She was going to hand over the lance."
"Spear." interrupted Elena.
Daron glared at her. "Spear, lance, what's it matter? Anyway, she cottoned
who the real Kain was and then this dragon creature appeared behind us.
Among the confusion, Kain managed to escape and ran to Kim. Then came this
tidal wave."
Tseng frowned. "Yes, I recall you mentioning that."
Daron continued. "I just didn't know what to do. And then this guy.......
Ragnarok appeared. I thought we were done for. It was so........wierd.....
Josh's and Rude's atoms just began to come apart for no reason. I didn't
think I was going to make it as the tidal wave got me. Somehow though, I'm
still alive."
Tseng stared at him thoughtfully and then sighed. "Strange goings on
indeed. Do we know where Kim or the lance is?" Daron shook his head.
Tseng cursed under his breath. "Well, we're going to have to come up
with something. They want the spear handed over in a few hours. If we
don't, there is going to be hell to pay." He looked at Daron and
Elena. "Any ideas?"
======
Sean sat down on his chair and swiveled from side to side, thinking
quietly to himself. It was essential that Kim was deterred from her
mission. The plans had gone too far now for her to interfere. Too
much was at stake.
Sean opened the top desk drawer and took out the bottle of vodka. Just as
he was taking a swig, the intercom buzzed. "Yeah?" snapped Sean. "Jonny
is here to see you, sir." answered the female voice. "Okay, send him in."
Sean turned to face the desk and waited patiently.
It wasn't long before Jonny strolled into his office. Sean smiled to
himself. He couldn't help but notice how professional Jonny looked,
despite the fact that he was so new to AGFFSDIAIA. Sean raised an
eyebrow. "Well?" Jonny swallowed nervously. "I've lost her." he
said. "WHAT!" Sean yelled, thumping the desk with his fist. Jonny
jumped in shock and tried to put on a brave face, unsuccessfully.
"It wasn't my fault. It was the tidal wave." said Jonny, gritting his
teeth. "Tidal wave?" Sean asked. Jonny sighed. "This is going to be a
long story..." he began.
======
Kim made her way out of the Inn. Now that she'd replenished her energy, it
was time to proceed with the task at hand. She walked past the AGFF Chocobo
Races, and heard some noises ahead of her. Drawing her spear, she quickly
advanced ahead to find Quiza, her old friend, climbing a tree.
"QUIZA!" cried Kim excitedly. "How are you doing?" Quiza looked down at Kim
and then smiled her usual impish grin. She somersaulted onto the ground
below. "Hey Kim, what's up?"
"It's a long story..."
Kim began to tell Quiza about everything that had happened to her and the
others, and how she was now the Spearbearer. Quiza smiled and did a
backward flip, much to Kim's amusement. "How about I come with you?"
asked Quiza matter-of-factly. Kim looked at her in surprise. "I wouldn't
want to impose..." Kim started. Quiza shook her head violently. "Nonsense.
I'm looking for adventure, and besides, my ninja skills should come in
handy."
As if to prove it, Quiza threw a ninja star which ricocheted from tree to
tree until it finally ended back in Quiza's nimble hand. Kim grinned. "You're
on." she said.
======
"Oh, my head!"
Dave opened his eyes to find his head was pounding incessantly. His clothes
were soaking wet from his journey in the sea and his body felt cold. He
shivered as he rolled over onto his side to see Citan sitting nearby. Celes
and Lord Bob were nowhere to be seen.
Dave sat up slowly and put his hand to his head gingerly. Citan glanced at
him. "So you're finally conscious!" he said. Dave groaned. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?" asked Citan, surprised. "The train derailed. If we
hadn't escaped the way we did, we would be mashed potatos right now."
"Where's Celes?" asked Dave, in immediate concern. "What happened to
her?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." sighed Citan wearily. "I haven't seen
her or Lord Bob." Dave glanced around his surroundings. Except for Citan
at his side and the ocean ahead of him, there was nothing but fine yellow
sand. Sand going on forever. "Where are we?" asked Dave puzzled. "Fooey
Desert."
"How do you know these things?"
Citan shrugged. "Just a gift I suppose."
"Great."
Dave lay down again and closed his eyes, trying to ignore his head trying
to burst open. "You aren't going to sleep are you?" asked Citan impatiently,
standing up. "We have to get out of here somehow!" Dave sighed. "There's
nothing here but desert." he said. "That's not the point." Citan said,
angrily. He hurled Dave to his feet. Dave began to howl in pain. "Ow!!!! My
head!! My poor head!!!!!" Citan grimaced. "Just shut up and follow me."
======
Slipgate, Greg, Jason, Goldman, Small Girl and Omatu had finally reached
AGFF only to come to the situation that Kim was in previously. There was
nobody around.
"Well, that's wierd." said Omatu. "Where is everyone?"
"Don't you remember?" said Goldman. "It's Chocobo Racing Day!"
"Oh yeah." said Greg, looking at the others. "I had forgotten about
that."
"Well, I am going to play with the chocobos!" said Small Girl happily, and
she began to run off toward the Town Square. "HEY!" cried Jason, "What about
Telco?" Small Girl responded, "It can wait. After all, Chocobo Day is only
here once a year. I wanna have some fun!"
"I suppose there is no harm in it." suggested Slipgate. "Just for a few
hours maybe." Greg, Jason and Omatu sighed. "Might as well take a look
for ourselves," said Omatu. "You never know, we might get some cash out
of it." So Goldman, Jason, Greg, Omatu and Slipgate followed after Small
Girl into the Town Square and marveled in amazement at what they saw.
The town square was buzzing with activity. A racetrack had been set up for
the chocobos and at the starting line were around 10 chocobos, all a
different color. There were even the rare white, gold, silver and platinum
chocobos waiting to be raced around the track. Surrounding the track were
various stalls. One was selling the standard items and equipment, another
was selling candyfloss, the one next to it was selling burgers and of course,
there was the stall for placing a bet on the chocobos. Around them were
hundreds of spectators, consisting of regs, newbies, trolls and even Final
Fantasy characters.
"Oh look, Tifa is here!" said Greg excitedly and he rushed toward Tifa where
they engaged into some deep conversation. "No need to guess what they are
going to do." said Jason slyly. Slipgate, Omatu and Goldman laughed loudly.
Goldman looked around the square and saw Small Girl feeding a baby yellow
chocobo in the corner, which was warking in delight. He set off to see her.
"Well, what are you guys gonna do?" asked Jason. Omatu grinned. "Place a bet
of course. I'm going to be rolling in it." With that, he ran to the betting
stall and waved some money. Jason looked at Slipgate. "What about you?" he
asked. Slipgate shrugged. "I don't know. Fancy some candyfloss?"
"Sure, why not?" Jason and Slipgate walked over to the candyfloss stall.
Just as Slipgate was handing over the money, Jason began to sway from side
to side. Slipgate looked at him with concern. "Are you OK?" Jason nodded
weakly, trying to regain his balance. "You don't look right. Griff told me
of those pains you were getting earlier. Are you sure you're OK?" Jason
swayed some more, and then he collapsed onto the floor at Slipgate's feet.
"JASON!"
======
Jonny had finished explaining everything about the tidal wave and what had
happened at AGFF Hentai. Sean looked at him grimly and sighed. "So you have
no idea where Kim is right now?" Jonny shook his head. "No. I didn't get a
chance to nab the spear beforehand and now she's gone, the spear is probably
with her." Sean looked at Jonny seriously. "Forget the spear. That can be
taken care of. But Kim must be found. She mustn't know the truth." Jonny
nodded. "How am I going to do that? For all I know she might be dead."
"Then make sure she is." Sean replied. "WHAT!" Jonny exclaimed, not believing
his ears. "You heard me. If she is still alive, kill her. We have come too
far. Her meddling could ruin all our plans." Jony stuttered, "But she is my
friend....."
"ENOUGH!" shouted Sean. He leaned forward toward Jonny so that their noses
were almost touching. "You do as I say and make sure she is dead. I don't
care how, just do it. You know the penalties of disobedience." Jonny gulped.
"Yes, sir. Is that all, sir?" Sean nodded and leaned back into his seat. "You
may go. But I shall be expecting reports from you." Jonny made his way out of
the door and Sean smiled. He picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hello,
BC?"
======
"Hiya, Sean." he answered smugly. "Everything went fine. The train was run
off the track as planned. I doubt anyone survived."
======
"Good!" Sean smiled. "Good work, BC. You will get your payment as set." He
clicked off and then opened the bottle of vodka. Things might turn out right
yet.
======
Jonny exited the room and walked over to the lift, only to be greeted by
Griff. "Griff, mate," smiled Jonny. "What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. I heard everything you said to
Sean, Jonny." Jonny's face fell. "Oh."
"I think you'd better tell me what the hell is going on. And the whole
story this time."
======
Meanwhile, Greg was busy chatting up Tifa in the town square, only to see a
familiar figure at the other end dressed in dragoon armor. "Kain?" he mused.
He apologized to Tifa and then advanced toward what looked to be Kain. He
stopped him from going any further. "Kain, is that you?" Greg asked, placing
a hand on his shoulder. "Yes," said Duke Kain Highwind, the fake Kain in
search of Kim the Spearbearer. His eyes wore an expression of hatred and
contempt and his rough face reflected his hostile personality. It made Greg
shudder to look at him. Something was wrong.
"Man, we thought you were a goner!" exclaimed Greg excitedly. Duke Kain
Highwind looked at him puzzedly. "What are you talking about? Who are you?"
Greg's face looked crestfallen. "Don't you remember? What happened?" He
shook the Duke impatiently. "It's me! I send you to the wastepaperbasket!"
Before Greg could say any more, Slipgate came running up to Greg, and Duke
Highwind made his escape into the shadows. "Greg, there's something wrong
with Jason" he panted. Greg looked at him with concern. "Lead the way!" he
said. Before he followed Slipgate, he looked behind him. "Could it have been
another Kain clone?" he thought to himself. "He didn't seem to know who I
was and he seemed so much more hostile than our Kain would be." He walked
after Slipgate, thinking about what he has just seen.
