Inspired by Teepeelio
CHAPTER 1
PROLOGUE
At Igros University, In a small room on the second floor on the west side of the building (overlooking the lake), Professor Alazlam Durai pored over his huge stack of history books, letters and notes as he searched for one last elusive clue that would prove his new theory.
"Ruglia... Ruglia... Ruglia... There must be something here..."
It had been six months since Alazlam and his aide Regis Watson had left Ivalice to journey to the country of Zeratul on a request from Alazlam's old friend, Atremis Katrea. Atremis had found a book deep in the bowels of Zeratul's capital library that proved that Ramza Beoulve and his band of "heretics" had had other adventures after being driven from Ivalice by King Delita's armies. According to this account, Ramza and his friends had met a mysterious Bard, Cinna Garnomm, who began an unprecedented chain of events that lead to Ramza facing off against King Delita and then a horrible evil from the past, Ajora. Cinna had died during the ordeal, but he had given the story to a good friend, Cress Woodrow, who had it published.
As he was about to leave the library, Alazlam met a small child by the name of Cinna Ruglia. Since Alazlam knew that "Ruglia" was the name Ramza had used while he was being pursued by the church, Alazlam had decided to research the hero's geneology, hoping it would lead to more stories about him. So far he had found very little, but he was always hopeful that the important note he was looking for was just beyond the next page.
Alazlam leaned back in his chair and sipped his tea. According to the grandfather clock on the far right side of his room, it was 3:30 AM. Alazlam had been up for three days straight trying to find the passages he was looking for. He groaned aloud and stretched.
While he nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as if someone faintly rapping, rapping at his chamber door. Alazlam grumbled about the plagiarism of the writer as he wondered who would be up at this hour (besides him).
After about five seconds, the rapping became a banging. "All right, I'm coming!" Alazlam grumbled as he put a stack of papers back on his desk. As he got up, he wondered exactly who it could be. Perhaps it was Kozue Rumsfeld, the janitor, checking around to see who was still in the building before she left. Maybe it was Watson, coming back from his trip to Murond in hopes of finding more information on Ramza (no such luck there).
"Yes?" Alazlam asked as he opened the door. Who he saw standing in front of him made him step back and his eyebrows lift in shock.
There before Alazlam stood a man dressed in Temple Knight outfit (which was strange considering the Temple Knights had been abolished over 70 years before). He had silvery gray hair and deep grooves in his cheeks. His eyes were small and beady, and they darted about anxiously and suspiciously. His eyebrows were almost smooshed together in a frown. It was Cardinal Cyril Gideon, the head of Igros's Glabados Church.
Gideon was a strange case. After Alazlam had released his first report on the Lion Wars, several priests reviewed the evidence and condemned what the church had done, but most of them denied the evidence. After his second report about Ramza's adventures in Zeratul, many more priests and priestesses followed the first batch. Nowadays the only ones that still believed that Alazlam was wrong were the zealot extremists, of which, unfortunately, Cardinal Gideon was.
"Cardinal Gideon!" Alazlam exclaimed. "It's 3:30 in the morning. What're you doing here?"
"God's work," The Cardinal said as he pushed Alazlam, sending him crashing to the floor. Without taking any more notice of him, he stepped into Alazlam's tiny (and cluttered) office.
"Hey, you can't come in here like that!" Alazlam protested. "I'm doing legitimate research!"
"Oh, you are, are you?"
Alazlam turned towards the sound of this new voice, which had come from beyond the door. When the old scholar saw who the voice belonged to, he involuntarily stepped backwards. "What?! Impossible! You're a heretic! What're you-"
The man stepped entirely into the lighted room and Alazlam could see that he had a sword with him, and it was unsheathed. The sword was pitch-black and seemed to absorb all light the gas lamp threw upon it. Two words were etched into the blade in silver and they glistened in the light: DARK RIVAL.
"Cyril..." Alazlam exclaimed. Alazlam and Cyril were not the best of friends, but they usually got along well enough to use first names. "You've joined up with this criminal?! Why?"
"It's not what you think," Gideon muttered as he knocked a stack of papers off the desk. "HE joined ME."
"What is this madness, Cardinal?" Alazlam asked. "Why're you here, and making an even bigger mess than what was there?"
"I want that report you wrote six months ago," Gideon answered without even turning to face Alazlam. "What was it again? The one about the book written by that bard... Forgive me, I'm terrible with names."
"It would be in your best interests to hand it over, old man," the man with the black sword rasped as he waved his blade towards Alazlam.
Alazlam looked at Gideon with anger and frustration. "The Church had nothing to do with that paper!" he argued. "I was in Zeratul when I wrote it! You've no right to-"
"Shaddup!" the other man growled as he kicked Alazlam in the side, forcing him back down onto the floor.
"Calm down, professor," Gideon muttered. "You'll get it back soon enough. I just want some information. Now, where is it?..." Gideon began to shove whole mountains of paper, books and reports onto the ground without a care. Alazlam could only watch helplessly as a blizzard of paper swept through the room. Finally, it stopped when Gideon triumphantly announced "Aha! Here it is."
"Good," the other man said. "What does it say?"
Gideon began to leaf through the report, unaware that he was flipping the pages with such ferocity that they were being ripped and thrown from the rest of the stack. Finally he stopped at one of the pages.
"Here we are," Gideon said as he ripped the page out of the report. He looked it over for a second and then turned to his accomplice. "We use the Rooster Stone, Law."
The man named Law reached into his raggedy pocket with his free hand and pulled out a familiar object: the Chinese Zodiac Rooster Stone. "THIS thing?" Law asked with a hint of amusement. "Hard to believe a chicken could have the power to send people through time."
"What are you up to?" Alazlam asked as he grabbed onto Law's ankle. "Where'd you get that?!"
Law grinned cruelly and shook Alazlam off. He then proceeded to kick the scholar about nine times. "I'm just earning my pay," he finally said. "It's the Cardinal here that really wants to change things."
Alazlam forced himself into a sitting position. "Change?..." he wheezed as he tried to regain his breath. "What do you mean?..."
Gideon bent down on one knee so he was at eye-level with the professor (he was smaller than Alazlam). "I'm going to correct a mistake," he said. "Your little hero brought disgrace upon the Church. He humiliated us and made us look like fools to the world. And do you want to know how? He and his band of rogues defeated the Church and Ivalice by destroying our greatest hero's mind and sending him back to his country with a broken will. He was so ravaged after the affair that he had to have his top general lead the country."
"Surely you aren't talking about Ramza Beoulve and Delita Hyral?..." Alazlam asked.
"Heh heh heh," Law chuckled as he put the tip of his blade against Alazlam's chest. "No wonder you're a scholar. And now for the grand prize, a quick and easy-"
"No, Law," Gideon admonished as he put his hand on the heretic's shoulder. "We have what we came for. No need to kill anyone."
"Awwww..." Law grumbled as he sheathed Dark Rival. "You're no fun."
Gideon turned to Alazlam. "So sorry about the mess, professor," he mused. "I just needed some instruction; I was having ever so much trouble with these stones." He turned to Law again. "Are you bringing your two assassins?"
"Yeah, they're waitin' outside," Law said, motioning towards the window.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light and the sound of an explosion rocked the university. "What the hell?!" Law asked crossly.
"We'd bette go see what happened," Gideon said. They both ran out the door, leaving Alazlam on the ground, buried in a horrid mess of papers.
Law ran outside first with his sword drawn and ready to slit some throats. He ran out to the university's fountain, where he met his two assassin partners.
The first one was a young man that wore a lightweight black suit with an accompanying purple scarf. Two flails dangled from his belt, as did several ninja stars. He had oily, black hair and an unpleasant smirk.
The second was a girl. She wore a white bandana that complemented her caramel hair and ponytail. She wore a light blue vest and gold shoulderpads, and a large black robe beneath it all. She clutched a large katana in her two hands.
"Silas! Adela!" Law barked. "What's goin' on?!"
"Someone just attacked us," Adela (the girl) remarked.
"Is that the best excuse you can give me?!" Law snapped at her. She winced a bit at his fury, but stayed still. "Who was it?!" Law demanded.
Just then, a man stepped out of the darkness. He was dressed in the armor of a Lancer, but this armor was unlike any Lancer Law had ever seen. This man's armor was pure black. The only things with any color on him were his face, which was caucasian, and his spearhead, which was silver.
"Who're you?!" Law demanded. The Lancer merely stood still, watching them.
"Maybe he can't talk," Adela suggested.
"What's happening, Law?" Gideon asked as he emerged from the building. The millisecond the Lancer saw Gideon, he vanished.
"Where'd he go?!" Silas asked.
"He's jumping!" Law yelled. "Get outta the way!!!"
Silas and Adela moved to the sides and the Lancer landed where they had just been standing.
"Don't just sit there!" Law yelled. "Get him!!!"
"KIKUICHIMOJI!!!" Adela yelled as she held her blade up. The sword shattered and a shockwave shot out from it. The attack didn't seem to faze the intruder.
"Stop," the Lancer said as he lifted his left hand. Suddenly, Adela couldn't move.
"You idiot!!!" Law growled. "Silas, it's up to you!"
"Yes, sir," Silas said as he pulled out his flails. The Lancer looked him over, and then lunged forward with his lance bared. Silas moved to the side quicker than a blink. "Fool. I'm much more skilled than a common Ninja," Silas chuckled. "Image."
Silas began to project holographic duplicates of himself that surrounded the Lancer. After a moment's hesitation, the Lancer stabbed at one of the images and missed. The real Silas appeared behind him and swung his flails.
Law grabbed Gideon's arm. "Use that rock and get us outta here, Cardinal!" he barked.
Just before Silas's flail could hit him, the Lancer leaped up into the air and crashed down on Law. Law fell to the ground and had to quickly raise his sword to deflect what would have been a fatal stab from the Lancer's spear.
"Do it!!!" Law yelled at Gideon. The Cardinal raised the Rooster Stone high into the air. After a bright flash of light, the university courtyard was empty.
"Professor, I've got some fantastic news from Murond," Watson said as he walked into Alazlam's room. "They've agreed to let me research the archives, and... WOAH!"
Watson ran to the downed professor and helped him to his feet. "What happened, professor?" Watson asked anxiously.
"Cardinal Gideon..." Alazlam wheezed. "...And assassins..."
"Cardinal GIDEON?!" Watson gulped. "The extremist they call 'Heretic Hunter?'"
"They have the Chinese Zodiac Stones..." Alazlam choked. "They're gonna use the Rooster Stone to... ugh..."Alazlam passed out and sank to the floor.
"Sir? SIR!!!" Watson yelled. He turned and ran out of the room. "Kozue, call a Chemist! The professor is injured! Kozue!!!"
Delita Hyral sat silently in his room in Zeltennia Castle. A window was open, allowing the chilling February air to come howling through the room, but Delita didn't seem to mind. He was too insane to care about catching a cold.
"(Teta... not you too... Ramza, this is all your fault...)" Delita thought as the cacophony of crazy ideas flowed through his head.
Delita tilted his head to look out the window. Snow was beginning to melt outside, and brown, dead grass could be seen underneath some of the areas of the courtyard. It was a gray day, which complemented the icy winds. It was a lot like the day Delita had slain Ovelia about six months ago. Since then, he had gone on a rampage through the country of Zeratul in hopes of getting "revenge" against Ramza Beoulve (who in reality had done nothing) only to end up being crushed by the hero. Ramza had brought Ovelia back to life, but she made it quite clear she would have no more to do with the commoner-turned-noble. Delita had tried to revive his dead sister, Teta, but the plans had gone horribly wrong and Delita was forced to slay her reanimated corpse. This, coupled with Ovelia's rejection of him had driven him completely off the edge.
"(Ovelia... Did I only dream you, too?...)" the ruined man thought.
Captain Flite, Delita's most trusted aid (and the one in charge of the government while Delita was in this condition) came by on occasion, but he never stayed long. He often just showed up and gave Delita a look that made him shiver. It was a glare of contempt; the look of a man who had been betrayed by his most trustworthy friend. Delita didn't want to remember being that traitor, nor did he want to remember anything to do with Ramza, Teta or Ovelia. He suppressed the memories and was simply mindless for most of the day.
Every day at noon a Priestess and a Chemist came in to check on his condition, though Delita wasn't quite sure what 'condition' they wanted him in; he felt just fine. Perhaps he was injured from a battle? On occasion he had heard Flite mention a campaign in Zeratul, but Delita couldn't remember; he was just too crazy.
While Delita was wallowing in these thoughts, the door opened. The fallen king looked up, expecting to see Flite or the doctors, but he saw neither. There were four people entering his room: three men and a woman. The first thing that shot through Delita's mind was how beautiful the woman was... just like some of the other women he had enjoyed the company of. The next thing he noticed was that the men looked quite ferocious. The third thing he noticed was that one of the men was dressed in clerical robes. This made Delita fill with an unexplained rage, like the rage he felt whenever someone from the church came to speak with him.
"Who are you?" Delita demanded as he stood up. "Where's Captain Flite? I'm still king around here, and I demand to know-"
"King? Don't make me laugh," Law snorted as he fingered Dark Rival anxiously. "You're just a puppet king these days. Flite does all the work for you. I wonder if you're really loopey or just lazy."
"Silence, Law," Gideon said as he stepped forward and bowed low. "Your majesty, I have come to free you."
"What?" Delita asked, his eyebrows shifting into a suspicious stance. "Free me?..."
"Yes," Gideon said. "You see, you're being... manipulated. Captain Flite conspired with Ramza Beoulve and an impostor pretending to be Queen Ovelia brought back to life to get you off the throne."
"What?!" Delita gasped. He felt something in those words stir him... It wasn't the truth, but it was something he desperately wanted to believe. He wanted to believe that he wasn't just a prop king, too mentally ill to rule the kingdom he had won; his own kingdom. His own kingdom? That sounded awkward, even to him.
"Your Majesty, do you remember Ramza Beoulve?" Gideon continued.
"I... I don't... know..." Delita moaned as he clasped his face with his hands and turned away from them.
"Of course you don't," Gideon said as he walked over and put his hand on Delita's shoulder. "Flite has been having someone tamper with your memories. Who comes to visit you?"
"A Priestess and a Chemist..." Delita recalled. "They give me... my medicine..."
"That must be it!" Gideon cried, surprising Delita and making him give a little jump. "They've been giving you some sort of chemical to weaken your body and erase your memories. Don't worry, your Majesty, we have just the remedy."
Delita looked up to see that Gideon was offering him a spherical stone. It had a picture of a rabbit carved into it. Though Delita didn't remember, it was the Chinese Zodiac Rabbit Stone.
"A rabbit?..." Delita asked.
"It will help you recover," Gideon said. "I give you my word."
Delita hesitated for a minute. A swarm of dark thoughts shot through his warped mind...
Watching Teta die from the arrow wound Algus had given her...
Hearing Algus mock him as being "just another commoner..."
Watching Ovelia's eyes change in anger as he tormented Olan...
Killing Ovelia in the garden on her birthday...
Watching Ramza defeat every one of his soldiers as they attacked...
Losing to Ramza in battle...
Fighting the horrible zombie Teta...
And finally, Ovelia glaring up at him with anger and sorrow, and watching two words come from her mouth...
"Go home."
Go home? Go home? Delita didn't have a home anymore. He wasn't a respectable king. All of his relatives were dead. Where could he go home to?
These thoughts formed one single word, which wore a groove in Delita's mind: REVENGE.
Gideon continued to hold the Rabbit Stone out to Delita. "Come, your Majesty. Take your place back from those that have hurt you. Ivalice needs you."
"Yes..." Delita said, grasping the Rabbit Stone in his palm. Suddenly he was filled with energy. As everyone watched, Delita's worn and dirty robes were replaced with glistening, golden armor. Delita's mind cleared as the stone gave him power beyond anything he had ever known. He remembered the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Ramza and his friends, and how he had been forced to return to Ivalice a broken ruler and without either his sister or his Queen.
"One question," Delita said as he looked at Gideon. "How?"
"Chinese Zodiac Stones," Law chuckled. "They've got some zip, huh?"
"But I thought Ramza had all the stones," Delita said as he looked over his shining gauntlets.
"He does," Gideon chuckled. "These stones are from the future."
Delita eyed Gideon suspiciously. "And who are you, exactly?" he asked.
"We are your humble servants," Gideon said, bowing low again. "I am Cardinal Cyril Gideon, also known as 'Heretic Hunter.'"
"I'm Law," Law said. "Don't expect me to stick my neck out for you; I'm just doing what it takes to earn my pay."
"You're from Zeratul," Delita said.
"How ever did you guess?" Law mocked.
"You have a strange air around you..." Delita explained.
"Well, give the man an apple," Law muttered. "Don't worry; as long as I'm workin' for Gideon, I won't be runnin' you through."
Delita didn't care for Law's smart-alecky attitude. He made a mental note to dispose of the bounty hunter when he was of no further use.
"Come, your Majesty," Gideon said. "We must bring justice to your enemies."
"How?" Delita asked.
Silas held out a familiar weapon, still housed in its sheath. "Your Chaos Blade," he said.
Delita took the old weapon in his hands and his face twisted into a cold grin. He was starting to feel like himself again.
"But how do we deal with Beoulve?" Delita asked. "He's got sixteen other people with him, not to mention Captain Flite."
"Simple," Gideon said as he reached into his pocket and drew out another stone. This one was engraved with a sheep. "The Sheep Stone's power is mind control. We can make our enemies work for us... and anyone working with Ramza is one of those, am I correct?"
"Hmmm," Delita mused. "I like the way you think, Cardinal. But why are you helping me? You could use these stones for anything."
Gideon held up the Rooster Stone. "The four of us come from a time when you aren't recognized for the true hero you are. Come, King Delita, your country needs you."
Delita observed the man's eyes for any sign of deception- a trait that Delita was very familiar with. There was none. This man was a zealot, plain and simple. Delita smiled to himself. What irony it was that he would actually WANT help from this holy man.
"Come on, Gideon, and bring your friends with you," Delita said. "We've got a lot of work to do."