Chapter 18: The Devil in the Details

Yuna couldn’t take her eyes off Bahamut’s picture. It didn’t make sense. Either there were other light dragons roaming around the cosmos with much more malicious attitudes or… or…

No. That had to be it. Bahamut was the Luminous Creator! He preached cooperation and working to overcome the challenges of nature. He wasn’t some chaos-bringer.

“What exactly happened?” Cid asked, scrutinizing the painting.

Razim put his right hand on the bottom ridge of his crown. “It happened not long after I ascended to the throne. We had just finished mourning the passing of my father when Isfet fell from the heavens. He wiped out Aquardah’s shield.” The slowking pointed to his left. Crude drawings of buildings were covered by thin swathes of brown. Sandstorms, if Yuna had to guess.

“My gut instinct was to repair the shield, but I didn’t feel my people were safe with Isfet on the planet,” Razim continued. “So, we rallied together and attacked Isfet. Though it was large and its aura undoubtedly powerful, our attacks clearly upset it.” He pointed to one of the metal sheets stuck over the wall behind him. “The reason the palace is in such a decrepit state is because Isfet attacked it in retaliation. Despite this, we held tough and drove the monster from our home.”

Yuna swallowed hard. Yeah, that definitely wasn’t Bahamut. He wouldn’t attack people unless they were bringing harm to others. And Razim didn’t seem like a bad guy.

“Unless this is all an elaborate ploy and he’s actually in league with that Ahemait thingy,” Reshiram squeaked.

Seriously? That’s what you’re responding to? Yuna tried to keep her expression neutral. What about this Isfet business? Did Bahamut ever mention having a sibling or something?

“… no.” And Reshiram’s presence hastily retreated from Yuna’s mind before she could press further. She steadied herself with a deep breath.

No, this is a coincidence, that’s all. The Qliphoth is messing with me.

“So, what? Glowstick Dragon fled the planet and you couldn’t fix your shield?” Nikki scratched her head. “Or did something else happen?” She pointed to a familiar circle with five diamonds around it. Eternatus’ sigil.

Razim shuddered. “We were trying to begin the repair process when that symbol appeared in the sky.” The slowking looked at the ceiling. “Next thing anyone knew, night had fallen over our city. We waited for dawn to come, but it never did. Though sandstorms continued to ravage our buildings, the worst damage would always get repaired.

“We believe Isfet cast a stasis curse upon our nation.” Razim balled his hands into fists. “And now he has summoned Ahemait to bring death to us all.”

That sealed it, then. The Aquardians had no idea they were already dead. Heck, they didn’t know a thing about the Qliphoth beyond temporal stasis, either. Unless Razim was tricking Team Bastion.

No, Yuna told herself. Don’t let Reshiram get to you.

“Whoa, whoa. Time out.” Nikki held up her hands in a T shape. “You really mean to tell me that freak popped up out of thin air with no rhyme or reason?”

Razim flicked a glowing hand. His scroll rolled itself up and hovered back to lie against a worn cushion. “Not exactly.” He met Nikki’s gaze. “Though, if I may ask, what is with the interest in Ahemait? All the other lost souls only cared about figuring out to return home.” The slowking looked between Team Bastion’s members. “Yet none of you have brought that subject up. You all are taking this in stride.”

Arms crossed, Chiaki pivoted to his right. “Astute observation.”

“One does not earn his people’s trust without some wit and cunning.” Razim tapped the brim of his crown. “I would like to think I’ve been quite forthcoming. I do not think it too much to ask you to return the favor.”

Yuna reflexively gulped. That was much easier said than done. Ordinarily, she’d have no problem spilling the beans. But how could she look Razim in the eyes and tell him that he and his people were dead? She couldn’t bear that burden. There were at least a dozen responses she imagined. None of them were pretty.

“We’ve been hunting the beast you call Isfet and the daemons it summons,” Chiaki said. The Hooker sparked with a bit of napalm. “Chasing it across worlds left in similar states to yours.” He raised his hook. Orange flames washed over it. “Now that we know this Ahemait thing is after your people, we intend to get rid of it.”

Yuna struggled to keep a straight face. Chiaki was lying so effortlessly, the dreepy would’ve easily fallen for the ruse if she didn’t know any better.

“I see.” Razim stroked his chin. “I suppose that would explain some of your… unusual powers.” He pointed to Chiaki’s prosthetic, then Yuna’s pendant. “You are… the first outsiders to want to intervene. Some of my own people have looked to put a stop to Ahemait. All have met with failure.”

The slowking turned toward the red curtain that Yuna recalled was hiding a doorway. “Come.” He beckoned Team Bastion after him. The curtain swished aside following a flicker of Razim’s glowing hand. They walked through a stone corridor. At one point, it must’ve been open to the outside, as metal sheets boxed the team in from every side.

“Although my people have fallen in battle, there were some who managed to stumble on an unexpected discovery.” Razim led them to the end of the metal corridor and made an abrupt right at a square room littered with torn edges of what was once silk cloth and tapestry. There were open chests stacked against the far wall. Yuna’s parents had similar ones for storing gems and other treasures. What had happened to Razim’s?

The slowking guided Team Bastion up a cramped spiral staircase until they reached a circular room. It was encased by a glass dome from what Yuna could tell, but someone had painted over almost all of it with thick black paint. An attempt to convince someone on the outside it was actually metal?

There was, however, a single peephole through the paint. It was here that a small silver telescope stood. Razim approached it. “Here, have a look.”

Yuna leaned forward. She expected a limited view due to the persistent sandstorm. What she found instead was an eerily smooth road rising into the air and weaving its way around an upside-down pyramid floating high above a massive sinkhole. A sinkhole that wasn’t covered in ice, yet still appeared to be frozen.

“What the—” The dreepy backed away and gestured for her teammates to have a look. “Was that always there?”

“The pyramid was.” Razim studied Cid’s awkward attempts at trying to use the telescope with his massive orbeetle head. “It is the burial ground of the royal family, the Tomb of Turtankhamun.”

Snickers broke out from behind Yuna. Chiaki elbowed Nikki. “What?” The toxtricity rubbed her side. “That sounds like something straight out of one of them Indeedee Jones movies.”

“Frighteningly remarkable,” Cid whispered, hovering back from the telescope. “That ice road doesn’t look natural. Yet it’s not connected to the floating pyramid. Is it exerting some sort of electromagnetic field to levitate the structure? Curious…”

“This ain’t a science fair, Chrome Dome,” Nikki scoffed. He pushed the orbeetle aside. “Lemme have a lo— what the actual hell?” She stumbled back. “That ain’t even remotely normal.”

Razim cleared his throat. “If you had let me finish, I would’ve gotten to that.” The slowking frowned. “Ahemait appeared following a tremendous series of tremors that rocked our nation. Tremors whose damage was completely reversed, perhaps by Isfet’s curse.” He leaned against a rusted railing behind the telescope. “We noticed the tomb suspended in midair. Isfet must’ve disturbed it and the result is Ahemait unleashed to bring forth the wrath of my ancestors.”

Cid raised a chitinous brow. “Hold on… by that logic, the way to stop Ahemait isn’t through facing it directly, but by solving the mystery of the floating tomb.”

Reshiram’s presence finally stirred again in Yuna’s head. She wanted to press him on the whole Bahamut-Isfet matter, but merely thinking that made him recede. Yuna sighed. What? What are you going to say?

There was silence, then a squeaky whimper of an answer. “The way the pyramid is floating. It reminds me of Ray using his wind powers to lift things up.”

Then could that be where the Needle is?

“That’s my guess.”

Yuna frowned. Yeah, but in order to free you, we had to fight off a daemon. So, if the floating tomb is really related to Ahemait, it’s also possible we do need to defeat it to find the Needle. The dreepy looked at Cid. She had to speak up.

Before she could say anything, however, Chiaki interjected. “I agree. We need to go to the tomb.”

Yuna searched his face but his expression was stoic. Did he agree with Cid… or did he have the same idea as Reshiram?

Razim sighed. “I admire the dedication, but that is not such an easy feat. We have tried, but Ahemait always appears to intercept.”

Nikki scratched the base of her mohawk. “Well, what if we used that raft thingy?”

Razim’s eyes widened. “I… never considered that. The wind surfer cannot really fly, merely hover off the ground. I thought the ice’s frigid air would make it too difficult to control.”

Nikki snorted. “Well, if you can’t get there on foot, then it’s time to try. What have we got to lose?”

“Our lives, for starters.” Cid waved his tiny hands around. “That’s far too reckless. We barely avoided Ahemait on that thing last time. We might be able to handle falling off the road, but we can’t do that and ward the daemon off.”

“We have a faster wind surfer,” Razim said. “It sacrifices control for speed.”

Grinning, Nikki rubbed her hands together. “Now we’re talking. Let’s hit the road! Or the sand. Whatever floats your wind surfer.”

Yuna had a very bad feeling about this.

“Good, then it’s not just me.”

The Phantom Fraud stood against one of the broken, moss-covered pillars in Despair’s isolated hovel, staring at a pile of purple crystals pulsating with ominous black and red energy. “Remind me, sir. Exactly what am I looking at?”

A sigh. With his mask back, Despair’s body was predominantly ethereal once again. Meaning he could conjure a spectral hand to rest the bulk of his shadows against. How obnoxious. If he’d taken Fraud’s will like he did with the birds, he wouldn’t have to bother with such tedious explanations.

“Malice Crystals,” he said.

Fraud looked at him and made circular motions with his free hand. Despair sighed again. “They are concentrated deposits of the Qliphoth’s energy.”

“Of Eterna energy?”

Despair waved dismissively. “Same difference.”

“Why do you have them?”

“To pass this corrosive energy onto the people who took what is rightfully mine.” The gemstone eyes blazed in Despair’s mask.

“The Needle? Does that really matter, though?” Fraud rested his cane on the ground and conjured a playing card in his right hand. “If there’s an extra soul undoing the seals, then it gets you to your goal twice as fast.” The card suddenly became two, which telekinetically revolved around his hand until a black beam vaporized them both.

“Be silent.” Dark wisps evaporated from Despair’s mask. “The seals are mine. That energy is mine. Their power… is… mine.” More wraith arms spawned from his miasma. He didn’t care. Because Fraud would never understand.

He needed that power. To dull the pain. To feel whole again— no, to feel something other than emptiness.

Despair sank back against his makeshift throne. “If you really believe there is someone residing at that blasted school who can undo the seals, then it is only fair I hurt them as they have hurt me. No one within those pathetic walls understands real power. They do not deserve it.”

Not after what I had to give up.

Chuckling, Fraud shook his head. “We already tried to make a statement there. It didn’t amount to much.”

One of Despair’s hands snapped its fingers. “That’s because… we weren’t putting our backs into it.”

The zapdos he had corrupted stepped forward. Orange sparks danced across his muscular legs. “Take two Malice Crystals and force them onto whatever students you come across,” Despair ordered. “Let them see just how badly their worthless leaders are out of their depth.”

Blue light flared in Despair’s hands. A blue and white, checkerboard portal opened behind Quetzal— no, the Phantom Wrath. Fraud strapped two of the dark crystals to his back and he trotted into the wormhole without a second thought.

Things proceeded in complete silence after Noctum and Seifer left the kitchen. The keldeo didn’t acknowledge Baraz after shuffling into the two servants’ room. He stared blankly at the ceiling while they pooled their blankets together by the back wall to make something resembling a nest. Everything was wrinkled and bunched up, however. There were only about two body lengths between Noctum’s bed and Baraz’s, anyway. Seifer would need most of that space.

Baraz fell asleep not long after. Noctum was jealous as usual, especially with how the dracozolt didn’t even stir when he sat down on his bed and the rusty frame creaked in protest. He supposed it came with old age. Maybe once his scales turned gray he’d sleep as soundly as Baraz.

There was the matter of the blinds, though. Noctum wanted to reach for them, but Seifer was staring out the window. The grass had a blue tint under the moonlight. Clouds littered the sky, to Noctum’s disappointment.

He silently sat on the edge of the bed. After a minute, he fidgeted with his scratched-up bedsheet. It did nothing for Noctum’s restlessness. He had to say something. It was too awkward otherwise.

“Um…” Noctum looked at his feet. “Look, can we talk about what happened back there?”

Silence.

The charizard’s tail flame dimmed. “I know we talked about it already. But, like… I’m still a bit confused. What’s a Ryujin?”

More silence.

Noctum’s shoulders sagged. “I only want to help.”

“… they’re yakuza,” Seifer whispered, still staring out the window.

“Huh?”

“A criminal syndicate. The most infamous one in the kingdom, actually.”

Noctum blinked. “There are… multiple?”

“Yes. Part of my job—” Seifer winced. “Part of my old job was trying to take these yakuza out. I got some of the smaller groups, but new ones would pop up to take their places.” He lowered his head. “The Ryujin, though… are a different beast. Every time we were on the trail of someone we thought was high-ranking in their organization…” He trailed off and stared out the window again.

“Well?” Noctum leaned in.

“Why am I even sharing this? What does this have to do with me?” Seifer huffed.

“I, uh—” Noctum grabbed his tail and put it in his lap. “Thought maybe venting would help?”

“Whatever.” Seifer rolled his eyes. “Basically, targets the Radiant Guard went after ended up dead or wiped of their memories before we could arrest them.” He wrinkled his snout. “We’ve suspected the Ryujin of plenty of things. Running an illicit TM market, distributing performance-enhancing drugs, selling addictive substances to get commoners and nobles alike hooked, hijacking Polaris’ equipment.

“The problem is we could never concretely prove it.” Seifer leaned over. His horn plinked against the window. “Even making deals with rival groups hadn’t helped us make much headway.” Seifer squeezed his eyes shut. “Before I got canned, some of my sources reported the Ryujin were looking to take advantage of the confusion caused by this Needle business.”

“To do what?”

“To sow further discord amongst the nobles,” Seifer responded. “There was specific mention of getting Vegna to return to the inquisitor’s bench. Fan the flames of that Grim Reaper curse of his.”

“I don’t see the connection.”

Seifer furrowed his brow. “Most people who fell victim to the Grim Reaper’s curse were people of status. Wealthy, elite nobles. Folks who could afford the kind of defenders who could soundly best Vegna in a trial.”

“… oh.” Squeaking, Noctum squeezed his tail. That didn’t sound good at all! And not a subject he wanted to pursue much further. The Qliphoth business made him worried enough for Yuna. What if the Ryujin tried to go after her, too?

“I see.” The charizard wanted to change the subject. Or, at least, keep things from getting even darker. “So, um, how does this relate to that milotic?”

“Artemis?” Seifer tilted his head. The corner of his right eye met Noctum’s gaze. “He was… a kid I had chosen to sponsor. I was running drills with a water-type platoon in Venish when I noticed a Polaris cargo ship under siege. My team moved in, but most of the goons had been taken care of by this milotic kid.”

Seifer sighed. “He was strong. The kind of strength you don’t see much of in this kingdom. I wanted him in the Radiant Guard, so I offered to sponsor him for a scholarship. He was… overjoyed. As were his parents.”

His horn slowly slid down until it slumped onto the windowsill. “Then I got assigned to lead a raid on a suspected Ryujin building. Things went well… until I found Artemis’ parents among the people we arrested.” Seifer’s shoulders sagged. “We do extensive background screens on all Radiant Guard applicants. I had no choice but to report this to the rest of the Guard’s admission committee.”

Noctum’s wings drooped. “So, he wasn’t allowed to join because of that.”

“Worse.” Seifer swallowed hard. “Vortex got wind of it. Because of course he did. He expelled Artemis before he was due to graduate.”

“But he’s working here as a servant, isn’t he?” Noctum scratched a black-scaled horn in confusion.

“Because I begged Vortex to let him.” Seifer smacked a forehoof against the stone wall. “This place… it’s not like other schools. If you’re accepted here and you don’t graduate…” He turned away from Noctum, wincing. “You’re blackballed. No one will want to hire you to do anything that isn’t collecting garbage or cleaning sewers. Your life’s over.”

Seifer bit his lip. “I couldn’t let that happen to Artie.”

Noctum twiddled his thumbs. “And what happened to Artemis’ parents?”

“Sentenced to Citadark Isle.”

“Citadark?”

Seifer picked his head up. “A maximum-security prison on a remote island. Vortex’s company built it for Isola as part of the Crown’s efforts to crack down on crime. Anyone who goes there is serving a life sentence.”

“Li-ife sentence?” Noctum stiffened. “For smuggling?”

“We were trying to send a message.” Seifer’s eyes darted around. “Crime went down after it opened, you know. It was working!”

Well, that put a different spin on the argument Noctum had heard. He wasn’t sure what else to say. Noctum understood Artemis’ anger. At the same time, though, what was Seifer supposed to do? Turn a blind eye to the milotic’s parents? That could’ve ended up with the keldeo on that terrible island instead.

Sure, Saint Reshiram preached the importance of honesty. However, Noctum didn’t recall his teachings discussing the consequences of pursuing the truth. Was that worth bringing up to Yuna now that she was toting around the Sage’s spirit?

“Happy now?” Seifer looked at Noctum. “Bet this gives you plenty of gossip, huh?”

Noctum rubbed his shoulder. “Well, I—”

A distorted squawk sounded in the distance. “What the—” Seifer picked his head up in time to see some orange-feathered bird with massive legs tumble across the ground, kicking up grass and dirt. The keldeo squinted. “Hey, that almost looks like… ah!“

He leapt to his feet and kicked the window open with his hind legs. Noctum jumped in surprise. “What are you doing?” he called, but Seifer had already jumped out the window.

“Quetzal? Quetzal!” Seifer shouted, charging across the field.

“Get back, you idiot!”

A Dragon Pulse streaked across the ground. Seifer hopped back. Noctum’s eyes widened in recognition. “Valkyrie?” He watched the garchomp glide into view, then hopped out of the window himself. “What are you doing?”

“Me?” Her face was twisted in a snarl. “That prick tried to get the jump on me. Stand aside!”

Seifer shot forward via bursts of water from his hooves. “Absolutely not!” His horn glowed.

Valkyrie dropped to the ground, sliding through the dirt. “What are you doing here?”

“None of your business,” Seifer said. “More importantly, I won’t have you attacking that zapdos!”

“Zapdos?” Valkyrie cocked her head. “Get your eyes checked, idiot. That thing’s orange and stubby, not yellow and spiky.”

“Bwuh?” The keldeo turned around in time to see Valkyrie’s would-be assailant streak into the air as a stream of orange lightning.

Noctum realized what was happening moments before the bird broke out from the lightning and shot toward Seifer with his right foot extended. With a mighty beat of his wings, Noctum scooped Seifer up. The bird struck the ground, creating enough force to send the two tumbling through midair.

“… tch. Amateurs.” Valkyrie already had a Dragon Pulse charged. Smirking, she fired it off. Her opponent’s foot had gotten caught in the ground, leaving nowhere to flee. The blue bolt caught him between the eyes of his crystalline mask. He flailed his stubby wings around and shrieked his protest.

The garchomp wordlessly short forward. Noctum finished shaking the stars from his vision in time to see Valkyrie broadside Not-Zapdos’ neck with a Dragon Claw. His body jerked to Valkyrie’s right. Two purple crystals flew off his back and bounced to a stop a couple of meters in front of Noctum and Seifer.

“And that’s that.” Valyrie dug a claw into Not-Zapdos’ orange feathers and hoisted him up. He was totally limp. “Now, let’s stuff you somewhere you won’t cause any prob—”

Not-Zapdos’ eyes shot open. He slammed both feet into Valkyrie’s chest. Orange energy erupted around her and, next thing Noctum know, he was jumping back to avoid Valkyrie skipping across the ground like a stone on water. She slammed into one of the purple crystals, which began crackling with ominous purple energy and vibrating.

“Uh, guys?” Noctum’s attention was torn between the gem, Not-Zapdos, and Valkyrie.

“The hell?” Valkyrie snarled as she dug her claws into the ground to stop her skidding. “That wasn’t—” She put a fin against her chest, where her scales were noticeably burnt. “I felt that. But that… was an electric attack, wasn’t it?”

“Guys?” Noctum gestured toward the gem. The vibrations were getting worse. However, Not-Zapdos screeched. Noctum looked up to see an orange bolt barreling toward him. Seifer intercepted with a Secret Sword, but Not-Zapdos broke his charge, skidding to a halt by Noctum and the purple crystal.

“… Quetzal?” Seifer looked Not-Zapdos up and down. “Is… is that you?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Valkyrie sped toward them, blue energy sheathing her claws. “Strike him before he strikes us!”

Sure enough, Not-Zapdos took one look at Seifer and orange bolts crackled around his feathers.

“No!” Noctum cried. He tensed up his gut. Noctum had let that snorlax get the better of him. Not this time. He’d use Cosmic Blessing and bring the fight to a quick end. Noctum jus had to focus. Focus. Focus!

The charizard’s eyes blazed with multicolored energy. He opened his snout wide and roared. Rainbow sound waves shot toward Not-Zapdos, who looked at Noctum with wide eyes. Noctum thought he had Not-Zapdos for sure, but his Cosmic Blessing sailed wide as the bird ran right faster than Noctum had ever seen a foe move.

He dropped to one knee, hand on his belly. “… no. How could… I miss?”

Fortunately, Valkyrie was ready to avenge him, lunging with her Dragon Claws at the ready. Not-Zapdos spun around to meet her with one of his glowing legs. The attacks collided and both issuers bounced back. Valkyrie wound up to go again, as did Not-Zapdos.

Noctum, however, looked down and realized, to his horror, that cracks were running through the vibrating crystal. Had his Cosmic Blessing struck it by accident?

Before the charizard could warn anyone, the gem floated into the air and shattered.

White-hot pain spread through Noctum’s belly and multicolored lights swallowed him up whole. He was as light as air for the briefest of seconds, then something big and black rushed closer and closer to him.

… no, that wasn’t right. He was falling! Falling toward it.

Noctum squeezed his eyes shut. He struck something crystalline, then blacked out.