Flight of the Jellyfish

By Baby Kat Snophlake

Chapter 45

Too many things happened at once, Raine couldn’t tell what was going on. What sounded like metal and creaking chains shrieked, ripping the air just before Forcystus fired his cannon. The loud clash that followed and Forcystus’s hollering meant that he had been hit. After that, all she could hear were snarling, screaming, and her own heart thundering in her ears. She was thrown aside, blinded by her own tears. She tried to stand, reaching for anything that she could use as a crutch.

The noise was deafening, but it died away, abandoning her ears as if she was unimportant. She found a tree and rose, turning as if the world had slid into slow motion and she surveyed the scene properly for the first time.

Forcystus was on the ground, unmoving, with his cannon arm twisted at an odd angle. Hatsule stood over him with his sword drawn while Rilder struggled to yank his sword from beneath Noishe’s paw. Noishe snapped violently at Rilder’s shoulder, forcing him to let go and leap back, abandoning his weapon. He then drew a knife he swiped with, but Noishe caught it easily with his teeth.

Tyrad had managed to take Pixie by her remaining wing allowing Serest plenty of time to strike her but an arrow caught him before he could raise his sword. Pixie twisted in Tyrad’s grip, turning her body to snap at him, but he sidestepped along with her, and she only managed to bite thin air.

Timoha had taken to running the edge of the clearing from the monster and wound up smacking right into a huge red horse. The horse reared as Kratos came close, its plate-sized hooves stamping into the ground with force enough to crack the earth. She snorted, shaking her head at him and took careful steps around Timoha as she backed Kratos back into the clearing.

Noishe’s flews were bleeding but he was just as reluctant to let go of the knife as Rilder was. The half-elf got the impression Noishe was enjoying their tug-o-war from the smile in the animal’s eyes and Rilder glowered. “You won’t beat me, beast!” He yanked the knife to the side and Noishe released it, allowing Rilder a free ride to the ground. Noishe pounced, his huge paws flattened Rilder’s chest, crushing his ribs and drowning him in his own blood.

Hatsule sheathed his sword and bent to pick up Forcystus. Their only hope for survival now was not sticking around. He pulled his friend over his back, allowing his cannon arm to hang dragging on the ground. “Let’s get out of here!”

“Not so fast!”

Raine snapped out of her reverie. Was it really…?

Sheena leaped from above, blocking Hatsule from the forest. Several cards were poised ready for throwing. “You’re not going anywhere! Desians, you are outnumbered, I suggest you lay down your weapons, now!”

Tyrad released Pixie’s wing the moment a blade poked him in the back. He raised his hands and dropped his sword, turning his face just enough to see a teenage boy with brown hair pointing a second blade at his cheek. Timoha was driven to stand by Tyrad with his hands on his head. Behind him, Zelos was holding him prisoner with a knife to the throat. Both Noishe and Pixie calmed down instantly, taking guard around Kratos.

Sheena nodded to Hatsule. “Drop him.” After a quick glance around, Hatsule did as he was told.

“Hang on, woman.” Hatsule pointed to Raine. “She needs Forcystus alive so she can find her brother. There’s a lot to explain, please allow me time—“

“Silence!” Though Sheena noticed Raine standing against the tree. She addressed her. “What is going on? What are you doing here? And why are you dressed in Desian armor?”

Raine’s lips fluttered as if soundless words were dribbling through and her eyes remained focused yet not at the spot where Kratos stood. He almost appeared to be studying the scene again, but she wasn’t sure she could believe it.

Sheena returned her attention to Hatsule. “Raine seems unable to speak for now. We might as well hear you out.” Hatsule nodded and slowly walked back to his comrades, bending down to be tied up with them. It was here that he noticed one missing… Forcystus was unconscious at Sheena’s feet, Serest had fallen, an arrow sticking up from his heart, Rilder also lay motionless bleeding from a crushed chest, Timoha and Tyrad were tied together with Hatsule and Umtaiough was nowhere to be found. In fact, neither was an archer…

Satisfied that the Desians were fully incapacitated, Lloyd and Zelos backed away from them. Seeing Raine, Zelos immediately made a beeline for her, while Lloyd hurried to stand by his father, checking him over to make sure he was okay. Kratos merely stood, watching Lloyd circle him and Lloyd again wondered about the dull intelligence within the exsphere eye. What his father really still in there?

Kuchinawa turned on the spot, scanning the clearing, and he noticed something missing as well. ‘The horse is missing… Where did it go? Who did it belong to?’

Sheena stood over Hatsule, glaring down at him. “So, now’s the time to start talking.”

But it was Tyrad who spoke up. “We fled the beach and came here to hide. I brought them here, I didn’t know this place was the den of a monster.”

“That ‘monster’ is my father!” Lloyd said. He withdrew one of his twin blades and moved to threaten Tyrad’s neck. “Don’t speak of him like that. His name is Kratos.”

Tyrad eyed the sword and swallowed. “Right. I didn’t know Kratos was here. But once he became an Exbelua, there’s nothing anyone can do for him. You’re only making him suffer by keeping him alive.”

“Kratos’s wife seems to believe otherwise.” Sheena said. “She says there’s a cure and we’re looking for it. You weren’t being chivalrous by trying to kill him.”

“We don’t know anything about a cure!” Hatsule said. He nodded towards Forcystus. “If there was, Lord Forcystus would’ve known about it, he wouldn’t have attacked him.”

“I doubt that,” Kuchinawa muttered. “There’s no reason for him to keep Kratos alive.”

“He would’ve if she requested it,” Hatsule replied, inclining his head towards Raine who until now had been ignoring Zelos and finally gave her attention to everyone else. “Go on, ask her. Forcystus was trying to spare the beasts that attacked us.”

Raine’s gaze jumped from one set of eyes to another. She would’ve stepped back if not for the tree. “I… Is that really…?” She lifted a shaky finger to Kratos.

Sheena frowned, but it was Lloyd who answered her. “Yeah. He removed his Exsphere.”

“That idiot!” Timoha said, but immediately clammed up at seeing the look in Lloyd’s eyes. He cowered closer to his comrades as best he could.

“Are you ready to talk to us, Raine?” Sheena asked and Raine nodded. “What’s going on? Where have you been? Kuchinawa said he hadn’t seen you or Martel for a long time. And where is Martel for that matter?”

“Martel is safe,” Raine said in a low voice. “We’ve been posing as Desians. I found Genis and she’s still keeping an ear out for Yuan.”

“We’ve agreed to help them.” Hatsule said. “Lord Forcystus knows the passcode to the prisons. He’s the only one, so you’ll need him alive.”

“Is that true, Raine?” Sheena asked. “The Desians have agreed to help you?”

“Well… yes. I forced them into it.”

“How?”

“Well, if I tell too many people the plan, Martel might get caught.”

“But Lord Forcystus was planning on helping her anyway, I know it.” Hatsule said. “As soon as he realized that she was headed for the same base that he is, he was thinking about working with her. I could tell, I know him well enough.”

“You’re more worried about his neck than you are your own...” Sheena grinned, placing a foot on Forcystus’s chest. “Good to know. I think it’s time to wake our prisoner. Zelos, if you don’t mind…?”

Zelos flashed Raine a wink and smile which she didn’t return and moved to tie Forcystus up with the others. “See now? Aren’t you glad you decided to help me?” Zelos gave Sheena another smile and bent to commence tying Forcystus down. “Oh, that’s looks nasty.” He pointed to the break in Forcystus’s cannon arm. “I don’t think he’ll be using this arm much for a while.”

“That’s a good thing.” Sheena said. “I just want to know Forcystus’s motives behind all this. What I’m hearing doesn’t make much sense. I want to hear him defend himself.”

Zelos stood up and emptied what was left in his canteen on Forcystus’s face. It was as if someone flipped an on-switch and Forcystus gasped, trying to sit up to no avail. He grimaced from the wound in his arm but realized quickly enough that he was bound. His eyes opened.

Standing above him was a woman he had only seen in passing but recognized well enough to know which side she stood on. So. The elf had already betrayed him. She must have disagreed with him, thinking that the monster was better off waiting forever for a cure that didn’t exist.

“So, we heard a lot of interesting things,” Sheena said. Forcystus frowned. “Why did you decide to be so helpful?” He remained silent, focusing his attention anywhere but on his broken arm. “What’s the matter? Don’t have an answer I want to hear?”

“That depends. What you find interesting?” Forcystus replied, calmly. But he said nothing more, despite Sheena’s obvious expectations for him to continue. He shifted in his bindings, trying to at least raise his head. Who was here now? Where did they come from? And what became of his men?

“Lord Forcystus,” Hatsule said. “They know we made a deal.”

“And some deal that turned out to be,” Forcystus growled. “You didn’t even wait to leave the forest to betray us.”

“I haven’t!” Raine said. “I didn’t even know these guys were here.”

“Can I trust that?” Forcystus asked.

“Are you in a position to question it?” Sheena said. Forcystus scowled. “So what happened at the beach? Why are the Desians fighting with each other?”

“They’re... Upset about my changing the passcode to the experimental prisoners. Murderously upset. I’m no longer considered a Desian.”

“What do the Desians want with the prisoners?”

“Again, that depends.” Forcystus replied, but with the ropes cutting into his injured arm, it was becoming harder to ignore the break and focus on the conversation.

Sheena raised a card between two fingers, “I don’t recommend being vague.”

“It. Depends. Which part of the Desians are you asking about?”

“There are actually several different goals of the bases,” Hatsule said. “Who runs the base and the type of prisoners held within determines the goal of that particular base. A few of them hold prisoners for Exsphere creation purposes. The age seems to be a factor in how the experiment turns out, so the prisoners were divided up by age. The only prisoners who aren’t in the Exsphere experiments are the young women that Lady Pronyma takes to her own base, and the elves that… well frankly, I’m not sure why Lady Pronyma wants them.”

“For their blood,” Forcystus said. “And she wants the Ancient Heroes to expedite the creation of Exspheres that work like theirs.”

“Why is she so interested in the Exspheres?” Raine asked. “It seems so silly to sacrifice so many lives for such a small stone…”

“The idea of immortality appeals to her,” Forcystus replied. “Among other things. She’ll sacrifice endlessly for her own image. Frankly, I’m not sure it works.”

“Don’t let Lady Pronyma hear you say that…” Hatsule let his voice trail off in a fake cough.

“Wait a minute.” This was the first time Sheena had seen Zelos serious, and she almost forgot what they were talking about, she was so stunned, and then he stepped closer. “You mean the reason so many girls are missing is because she’s killing them? Well… doesn’t that mean…?”

All Forcystus had to go on was Sheena’s face. She frowned and glanced in the opposite direction, but it was enough. “A few of her sacrifices actually wound up in Flanoir with the experimental subjects. They got mixed up when my base near Luin was evacuated. I won’t make any guarantees, but it’s possible that she’s not mixed up with the lambs next in line for slaughter.”

Zelos’s face came into view above Forcystus, his expression stern, but he could see a mild hope in his eyes. “My baby sister has pink hair, kinda small. Know anyone like that?”

Forcystus inwardly groaned. “That little bitch—“ He paused, remembering who was standing on his chest at the moment and tried to cover the slur with a cough. “Girl is your sister?”

Forcystus could see the young human’s face and those lips curling up in an evil smile he only saw on Pronyma’s face when she was plotting something that made her eerily happy. For a heartbeat, Forcystus feared what the human was going to do. Then a fierce pain shot through him as a hard sole slowly ground his broken arm into the forest floor.

When the pressure lifted, it took a moment for the pain to subside and Forcystus opened his eyes to see Zelos grinning, balancing on one foot.

“Should I do it again? Or are you gonna be polite?”

Forcystus gritted his teeth against the pain but said nothing.

“Speak up, Desian.” Zelos said in a low voice. “Where’s my sister? What did your freak buddies do with her?”

So… all humans were the same. Only half-elves had known any kind of compassion. “She was gutted and used for bathwater, just like the rest of them. I hope Lady Pronyma does the same thing to you.” Forcystus paused, staring at the somewhat feminine face with the long red hair held back by a headband. “She might, actually. You’re young enough and you look more like a woman than the girls do.”

Zelos straightened and laughed, finally planting his raised foot to the ground. “You’re lying. You’re just mad about the pain. You said a moment ago it was possible she was alive, that you didn’t know. I’ll take your bitter reply as proof you think she’s still alive. Oh, and thanks for the compliment.”

“Okay,” Sheena said. “So we have two current objectives. We need to head for Meltokio to find Boltzman’s family now that we have Kratos, and I’m assuming Raine would rather take these Desians off to Flanoir than come with the rest of us… Raine, do you want to go alone with them or would you rather we sent someone with you?”

Forcystus tried turning his head to see more than Zelos and Sheena looking to the side, but it was impossible. Instead, he focused on what he could hear while trying to ignore the stinging complaint in his arm.

“I… I trust Forcystus to keep his word.”

“What?! Raine are you crazy?!”

Forcystus recognized that young voice… “The Ancient Hero’s brat is here?”

Sheena glanced down at him. “What of it?”

“Hmph, nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Forcystus replied, employing his poker face. Inwardly, Forcystus was grinning. The blonde Ancient Hero had died, the blue-haired one was broken, the red-head was transformed, and the fourth Ancient Hero was still nowhere to be found, but the red-head’s son might be what Pronyma needed to accomplish her goals. And Forcystus could now tell her exactly where he was going. If he spoke quickly enough, he might could save his own life before she blasted his heart into ash.

A/N: I am going to quit making promises I don't keep. It's obvious I can't keep up the pace I started. I apologize for this, but I do promise, this story will reach its ending. Also, if something doesn't make sense, please let me know. This draft will not remain the final draft as I have already discovered things I want to change. But before those changes come, I want to reach an ending, THE ending that I have imagined this whole time and haven't written in its entirety yet. Thanks for reading!

--Kat