Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Game Master! ❯ And now, a lovely look at Narshe's attractions! ( Chapter 9 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Final Fantasy 6. Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh, and he doesn't approve of Ryou jumping off cliffs. SquareSoft owns Final Fantasy, and while they don't condone suicide, they don't stop it, either.

 

Ryou didn't know how long he sat in the cavern, waiting, but he was pretty sure he didn't care, either. There was something to be said for being alone, and it did give him some time to do some much needed thinking. Most of that revolved around Sith, and around what the blonde man had said. Or why he'd shown up at all. Damn it all, he just made more trouble than he was worth. Ryou frowned; all that man ever brought was pain. But was there truth to what he said? Ryou couldn't be sure. Sure, Sith had seemed concerned, almost unhappy when he proposed, but he had thought it was just nerves. But now… perhaps it wasn't. She hadn't gotten any better as the weeks dragged on. In fact, she had gotten a little worse. She didn't even speak of the wedding. And for a woman, that was just a bit odd.

 

“I… I'm so cold,” Ryou whispered, shivering as his thoughts continued to whirl, “What does this mean? Was he… right?” Ryou's eyes narrowed. If the man was, that was pretty much admitting that Sith didn't care about Ryou. And she did. She had to! Why else would she have even said yes to him!?

 

“Why would she have?” Ryou asked no one angrily, and looked up at the hole Yugi had crashed through, up into the cloudy sky, “No… no, he's wrong! What he said was a lie! Sith chose me! That… that's what… that's what he meant… right?”

 

“What did who mean?” Malik asked, and Ryou turned suddenly, not expecting anyone to have heard him, “You okay, buddy?” Ryou blushed, and looked away. He couldn't tell Malik the truth… except that Malik seemed to have guessed on his own. Ryou sighed. This was just unfair.

 

“That's… that man is the one who always threatens me, Malik,” Ryou told him quietly, “He's got it in his head that Sith is his, and he's taken her somewhere. She's not even in Narshe anymore.” Malik blinked slowly, half wondering if he had actually heard correctly. Sith was gone. Sith was… gone!? Now the reality crashed on him. He shook his head in disbelief. Sith was gone.

 

“Shit, and we actually need her, too,” Malik mumbled, and sighed, “Okay, any ideas where she was taken?”

 

“Kefka said the man told him he was taking Sith to Figaro. That's a ways away, but it's a place, at least,” Ryou replied, but found Malik was unconvinced. He frowned and said, “What's wrong?” Malik snorted, shaking his head again.

 

“I'm not sure I'd be trusting someone who looks like a deranged clown,” he replied, raising a brow, “Okay, so assuming Kefka's right and we have to get to Figaro, how're we getting her back with us? By the way you put it, whoever we're dealing with isn't sane.” Ryou sighed somberly. If only Malik knew the truth. The man wasn't sane; he was absolutely, utterly psychotic. And he had grown worse with the months. Ryou remembered the time he had met him, on the old ship they had used to travel to Domino from Algon, close to a year ago. Back then, he might've been able to stop the man from his insanity. He had been relatively calm. Then… then it hit Ryou. He frowned.

 

“I… I don't know,” Ryou suddenly replied, “Malik, he won't give her back.” Malik frowned as well. There was a finality to Ryou's voice that said the boy wasn't kidding. But Sith would come back. She had to. Malik chuckled nervously.

 

“Why not?” he asked. Ryou looked away. He hadn't told Malik much of anything about the blonde man, but now seemed a good time as any. He was, after all, most probably an enemy now.

 

“Because… he's convinced she's his,” Ryou told him, and added, “Malik, I think… I think he loved her. In the past, before she came here, to our world.” Malik whistled. That made a little more sense. Initially, he thought the man might've been a stalker, but if what Ryou said was true… then that meant Sith might not come back. That was probably worse than dealing with a crazy stalker. His lips thinned.

 

“Are you sure?” he whispered. Ryou nodded.

 

“He's said he loves her, and he threatened me at gun point when he found out I proposed,” Ryou told him grimly, and his eyes narrowed, “Not like Sith did anything, though.” Malik frowned. That wasn't entirely fair to blame this on her. What was she supposed to do, anyway? What could she do? He asked that much, and Ryou grumbled, “For starters, she could not be so kind to him.”

 

“You're being a little unfair, Ryou,” Malik told him, and Ryou glared, “Listen to me for a minute. If this guy's from her past and she knows it, are you seriously going to want her to give up her past? Ryou, she wouldn't do it. She's worked too hard.”

 

“What do you want me to do!?” Ryou yelled, his voice bouncing off the icy walls, “Malik, it's more than that! She's supposed to be marrying ME! All of the sudden, you're on her side, too!?” Malik stood suddenly, looking down at Ryou with disappointment. Ryou felt the urge to look away. He had gone too far. But damn it, he had been right. Why was everyone making this so damn hard on him? He was being faithful. Sith was the one who couldn't make up her damned mind. But he saw that argument wouldn't work with Malik.

 

“Maybe I am, if you're going to be that possessive about it,” Malik said firmly, bordering on anger, “Also, be quiet or you'll wake Yugi. The kid needs his sleep.” Ryou's eyes hardened. To him, this was absolutely serious, and Malik was acting like he was just being whiny. He wanted to protest, but Malik had turned and picked Yugi up, slinging him onto his back. Then he walked down the path. To him, they were done with that conversation. There was more to this adventure than one person, after all.

 

The passage seemed repetitive and long, with no winding offshoot or intersection for some time. Malik had begun to doubt he had made any progress, but the fact that he was still moving told him he had to be going somewhere. But where that was, the cavern gave no indication. Everything looked the same; the walls were still gray sparkling with hints of frosted ice. The floors were packed with snow. And the passage ahead was still black. Everything was too similar. Except for one torch on the wall. And that caught Malik's attention. He stopped, looking at it. The fire was bright compared to the rest of the dim cavern. He squinted his eyes.

 

“A single torch,” he said, unimpressed as he looked back at Ryou, “Think anything lives here, then?” Ryou shrugged, looking up at the screen to his world.

 

“Any bosses here, Riz?” he asked, and the girl looked from the screen to the guide beside her. She flipped through, but found nothing. Turning back to Ryou, she shook her head.

 

“Nothing that's listed here,” she remarked, and snorted, “But who knows what Falnika put in for you. For all we know, it could be Omega Weapon.” Both Malik and Ryou paled. Neither were sure just what Omega Weapon was supposed to be, but neither wanted to be around to see it, either. Malik turned ahead again, and he shuddered when he saw that now several torches were lit up. And finally, the passage turned a bit, too. That didn't mark well in his book.

 

“Thanks for jinxing us,” he grumbled, and grunted as he lifted Yugi higher onto his back, starting forward again. Ryou followed silently behind him. As they walked down the path, the ice had begun to melt off of the walls. They must've been underneath the city by then; only the power of the furnaces above in addition to the torches could've melted the ice in there.

 

“Think we'll get out soon?” Ryou finally asked, seeing further sign of civilization. Malik shrugged. That was a question they couldn't answer. He didn't know just how far these mines ran, and the one person who did wasn't with them.

 

“It'll be nice once we do. I'm getting sick of these mines,” Malik replied simply, and stopped when they came to a larger chamber. This one had an old mining cart within it, on a set of rusted, half-buried tracks. The smell of charcoal was strong in here, and Malik saw crates stacked along a side wall. That worried him. Perhaps someone did live here, after all.

 

But when he looked around, he couldn't find any evidence of life. There was no flickering shadow, and no footprints in the dirt. The few tools that had been there had long since rusted over; anyone foolish enough to use one might get infected. And the crates? All of their contents were spoiled. He found that out the hard way. But if no one was there, he shouldn't have had such a bad feeling… should he? He suddenly shivered. It felt as though someone had been watching them, and had fled when he caught sight of it. But where was this invisible person!?

 

“Malik, what's wrong?” Riz asked him worriedly, “From here, it looks like your sprite's looking around, but you're looking for something. Is everything okay?” Malik silently cursed. For once, he wanted someone in their own world to confirm that he wasn't going completely mad. But maybe Riz had seen something. He looked up at the screen.

 

“Riz, did you see any other sprites run off the screen?” he asked her, “This cave's dark, but you might have seen something we didn't.” Unfortunately, Riz hadn't seen a thing. She shook her head.

 

“Haven't seen anything other than you two,” she replied. Malik left it at that, and beckoned Ryou to follow him. The two left the chamber from that point in search of another route to the outside. And as they left, something in the far back corner flashed red. A man stepped out, lifting his goggles off his face and frowning. Someone had been watching them. And this someone began to follow them again, too.

 

---

 

As Riz worked on the game, hopeful to be bringing back Ryou and his friends, Rex Raptor wandered the streets of Domino City. He had agreed to do a small side job for Yaten, but that was mostly out of worry that the man would do something completely irrational and crazy that would get Rex fired from his job, with which he was already on thin ice for failure to report any findings from his last mission. So far, he hadn't found much of anything, even as he interrogated Joey, Tea, Tristan, and even Kaiba for further inquiry. To his surprise, only Kaiba seemed to be of some assistance, as he offered ideas, though cold-hearted as they were, to the would-be detective. And now, he sat in an alley, for peace and quiet was what he needed, and absolutely no one with a sane mind would be in an alley. His only company was Sith's dog, Rush. And even that was a freak accident; the dog had escaped Ryou's house to piss in the yard, and somehow managed to run into Rex on the way. And out of complete reluctance, he followed the detective.

 

“Okay, what I've gleamed from his friends are this: None of them have seen Ryou, all of them know he's prone to running away from his father, and Kaiba's ability to illegally obtain phone records reveals that his last two calls were made to Yugi Mutou and Malik Ishtar,” Rex relayed to Rush, who simply barked at him flatly, “This sounds pretty suspicious to me… Why would he call those two, and for what purpose?” Rush barked again, obviously uninterested in anything Rex had to say to him, for he was just a dog. Ignoring the barks, Rex took out a notebook and flipped it open.

 

“From what Mr. Bakura said, Ryou's been gone for nearly six hours at this point,” Rex said, again to Rush, “What the hell could he be doing that requires him to be missing for so long? According to Malik's sister, Malik's been gone for some time, too… As has Yugi. Now, if I were them, what would I do to eliminate so much time in one day!?” Rex's eye twitched as he tried to ponder the thought. Finally, he snapped his fingers and stood up so suddenly that Rush let out a yelp of surprise, and then a growl of displeasure.

 

“I've got it! Finally, it's all so clear to me! They're obviously DUELING!” Rex exclaimed, picking up Rush's leash, “But now we need to find them! I should probably think about phoning Mr. Bakura… oh, screw that. I'm on a mission! Chalk another up for Rex Raptor!” With that, Rex ran out of the alley and down the street with Rush, who yelped and barked, and howled with annoyance. If anything, he seemed to be trying to find Sith to set Rex aflame, but if only he knew what had become of his master.

 

---

 

Bakura wished to all hell that Katt hadn't run off like she just had. His day was already bad enough. And yet, she somehow made it worse. And not just for running away. No, there was something to her that alerted Bakura to something he had overlooked before. Something that he knew might very well have prevented this from happening. At least, it might have helped lessen the severe damages Domino had taken in the past. But screw Domino City. Right now, he was forced to run all over the city trying to track the Esper down. And he prayed Katt would be smart and just appear. He was certain that if she didn't, he'd strangle her when she did.

 

Finally, he skidded to a stop. His lungs felt ready to burst.

 

“Why the hell… did she run!?” he demanded for the fifth time that evening. Yami and Ishtar both caught up to him, both just as tired as he. He looked back at them and frowned.

 

“More importantly, why are we chasing her?” Ishtar retorted just as grumpily, and shook his head, “Damn it, even I'm too fucking old for this shit.”

 

“She knows something,” Bakura told them both grimly, straightening and crossing his arms, “Katt knows something about this Mystic, and she hasn't told Sith yet. I'm guessing she's going to run and either hide or find Sith herself, but whatever one it is, she'd better hope Sith can protect her. I certainly don't want to, not right now.”

 

“Wait…” Ishtar straightened as well, Bakura's words sobering him, “Are you saying Katt knows what this Mystic wants!?”

 

“My guess is it's more than that,” Bakura replied, and looked down, “Katt's been hiding stuff from Sith, and I always let it slide, but not this. This is actually bad; Sith's in another world and she's without her magic. The Mystics can finally kill her.” That was enough to convince Ishtar. He exchanged a worried glance with Yami, and all three spirits seemed to understand what this meant. Sith was older than all of them. If she died… who knew what that might actually do. At the very least, it'd doom Domino to being thrown into the control of an evil race. And they all knew only Sith had the ability to put up resistance to that.

 

“Why would Katt hide anything from Sith?” Yami asked Bakura, when considerable silence had passed between them. Bakura frowned. There was only one reason, only one reason at all.

 

“Because she knows what happened to erase all of Sith's memory,” Bakura told them both, and his voice sounded grave, “And if Sith found out, all hell would break loose again. The war she fought so long ago, that she only vaguely remembers, would start again. And this time, she might lose.” Yami blinked profusely, and both he and Bakura exchanged terrified glances now. Ishtar, unfortunately, was supremely confused. Just what was Bakura getting at?

 

“Bakura… you think she…” Yami began, and Bakura nodded gravely.

 

“She is,” was the solemn reply. That was enough. Ishtar watched as both older spirits tore down the street now, after Katt once again. He had no idea what the hell just happened, but obviously, something had. And he knew he'd find out soon enough. With a shrug, he followed them.

 

---

 

If ever there was a time Malik had prayed for Sith to miraculously appear from out of nowhere, this was that time. He had, in all honesty, no idea what led to their new near-death predicament, and quite frankly, he didn't care. All he remembered was walking into a particularly grungy-looking room, and then hearing an inhuman roar of fury before he felt what he was sure had been an earthquake. That was when they met the inhabitant of the abandoned mines. And subsequently, that was when they learned just why the mines had been abandoned; yetis were rare, but fatal if ever encountered. How utterly ironic that Sith wasn't there to slay this one.

 

“What the hell!?” he screamed, as they tore down the passages, turning, zigzagging, doing whatever they could just to avoid the hulking beast that was chasing them. But it wasn't helping. The cave had taken a wind-around back toward the snow fields, and snow once again proved to be a terrible foe. They slid more than ran, and the yeti was more than able to walk on the ice.

 

“Looks like Riz was right, after all,” Ryou said between bursts of air, “Falnika had to have summoned it!” Except that Riz knew she hadn't. She had looked at the guide and found that indeed, a yeti did live there. He just wasn't supposed to show up right then. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was getting out alive.

 

Around the next turn, that happened. Not because the yeti had been slowed, but because Malik managed to actually fall into a hole in the ground, and being so close behind him, Ryou followed. Yugi fell only because he was on Malik's back. The three crashed unhappily to the ground far below, and the yeti passed by without notice.

 

“Shit!” Malik cursed angrily, getting up and rolling Yugi onto his back to make sure the small boy hadn't been seriously injured. They both had minor scrapes, but they'd live. Looking around, all Malik could see was darkness. “…where are we?”

 

“Looks like the lower levels of the mine,” Ryou said, standing up and looking toward the right, “But are we even close to an exit?” Malik frowned. That seemed too unlikely, and even if they were, he was sure there would be another lovely monster waiting for them. He snorted, crossing his arms.

 

“That'd be way too easy,” he replied, and without looking up he asked, “Riz, what in Ra was that thing?”

 

“It was a yeti named Umaro,” she replied, looking at the guide beside her and glancing up at the television screen, “But he's not supposed to appear until near the end of the game. Glitch?” Ryou would've laughed, except that it just wasn't funny. They were nearly killed again.

 

“Not surprising,” Malik grumbled irritably, and looked at Ryou, “What do you think? Should we try and fight it?” Ryou's brow rose, giving him an incredulous look. Was Malik actually serious? Did he even think they'd win? Ryou shook his head. The answers should have been obvious. Obviously, Malik wanted to die.

 

“Without Sith? I think we'd be better off getting back to Narshe than going any farther,” Ryou replied, and frowned, “But the question is, where do we go to get there?”

 

“How about the one damn path we're on?” Malik asked unhelpfully, and Ryou glared at him. Now wasn't the time for sarcasm. But he did hold a point, and reluctantly, Ryou followed it. It was straightforward; there were no intersections, and while the path did bend and twist, it didn't branch off. But it did stretch on for some time. Like the path had before.

 

Moments later, they had come to another large shaft. Cool air poured from a shaft leading down into another deeper level, and a faint smell of sulfur filtered through as well. Malik looked around carefully. There was no way he'd let them get ambushed again; thankfully, the room was empty of people. But he did spot something of even more interest. It was a large mining cart, and it looked, in the darkness, relatively new. He grinned and beckoned for Ryou to come as he set Yugi down carefully.

 

“Think we could ride this?” he asked when Ryou caught up, and Ryou gave the cart a good look. To be honest, it looked rusted over, and chances are it was, too. He shook his head.

 

“If we wanted to crash, we could,” Ryou reasoned, and Malik laughed, “I bet even I could dismantle this thing with a kick.” Malik didn't disagree, and when he lit a match and held it, he saw Ryou was right. He also saw that Yugi was moving a bit, and he bent closer to see. The younger boy opened his eyes groggily, and yawned.

 

“Pancakes?” he asked, and Ryou guessed the blonde man hit him harder than he thought. Malik just laughed again, patting Yugi on the back.

 

“You missed some serious action, buddy,” he told the boy, and Yugi blinked quizzically, “Oh, we were attacked by a crazy person, we fell off a cliff, and just now we were attacked by a yeti. It was just awesome!” Yugi yawned again, not quite processing what was just said. He looked around with tired eyes, and saw nothing but darkness, just as Malik had. If only he knew where they were…

 

“Where's Sith?” he asked, noticing that she wasn't in the room with them, nor did he hear her footsteps. Ryou grew silent at that, and Malik's skin paled. Yugi hadn't heard any of what Ryou said. Nor had he been conscious to see what happened to Sith. Malik risked a glance at Ryou. The young man looked ill.

 

“She's… gone,” Malik simply said, and when Yugi stood up with wide eyes, he added, “She'll be okay. We're going to head to Figaro and she'll meet us there. You up for it?” That seemed to calm Yugi down a bit, and he nodded, yawning once again.

 

“Yeah, sure,” the boy replied, none too serious about his answer until he stretched his muscles. They were a little stiff from being unconscious in the cold. He looked at Malik seriously and said, “So… what is this about a sasquatch? Did I hear right?” Malik just nodded, and as they went through the mine shaft toward the lower level, he proceeded to explain what happened. Yugi listened with wide eyes; it was hard to believe they actually managed to escape from a beast like that let alone live to tell of it. But they had. He just whistled.

 

“It's just too bad no one else was here to see it!” he exclaimed, and laughed, “Like anyone would've thought it was real, though.”

 

“I believed it,” Riz told them flatly, and Yugi just looked up at her through the screen. She looked vaguely annoyed that they didn't consider her to be someone. Yugi just shrugged, continuing on.

 

The shaft ended up being short. Ryou found he was glad for that. He was beginning to hate feeling cramped in the mines below the city, and liked the thought of seeing sunlight. After following the spindly, but short passage, they emerged onto a small snow bank just level with the rooftops of the lower section of Narshe. It was conveniently close to the entrance gates; escape would be easy. Malik took his look first. If there were guards, he was the best suited to beat them in one shot. Luckily, no guard was in sight for now; it was close to midnight in that world.

 

“Let's go,” he whispered, and leapt off the bank, onto the closest roof. Yugi climbed down with Ryou, and the three of them padded off and made another leap to a lower roof. From there, they slid to the ground, landing with only a soft thud; the snow muffled a lot of their noise.

 

“It's too quiet,” Yugi commented, but even in a whisper, his voice seemed loud in the silence. Ryou had to agree. For a city under Imperial control, there should have been more security. Sith had been pretty clear they'd be ambushed when they first entered. Then he remembered that Kefka had come through as well. As a general, he might have moved the troops in the city.

 

“Perhaps no one's here?” Ryou offered, as they moved at a snail's pace through the snow, keeping to the shadows as they came close to the square. The only noise came from the steam engines powering the houses and shops. Malik's eyes narrowed. He just couldn't trust the peace.

 

“Why would an entire city full of guards just vanish?” he asked Ryou incredulously. Ryou shrugged. It didn't matter what the reason was. For now, it meant an easy escape, and he said as much. But Malik shook his head and said, “Sith would probably tell us it's a trap. I know I'm pretty suspicious.”

 

“But nothing's here,” Yugi told him adamantly, brows creased with frustration as they continued to wait, “Malik, we need to go now! What about Sith?” Malik and Ryou both exchanged glances, knowing that Yugi held a point more valuable than he knew. They still had to find her.

 

“Damn it,” Malik growled, shaking his head, “Yugi's right, Ryou. We have to leave and get Sith.”

 

“But what about Kefka?” Ryou reminded him, and Malik's frown grew worse, “I know you don't trust him, but he might have found something. He's on our side now.” Malik wasn't convinced. His look went just a little flat as he regarded Ryou.

 

“Until there's a reason to double-cross us,” he pointed out, and Ryou found his point valid. Right now, it was in Kefka's benefit to help them. But if Sith wasn't there… Ryou shook his head. No, if Kefka meant to double-cross them because of Sith, he'd have done it beforehand. There was another reason he was helping. He had to have known something.

 

“We're waiting for him,” Ryou said sternly, and Malik's mouth dropped. To him, he made it clear that Sith had to be found. Ryou should have thought she was more important than that. Malik just narrowed his eyes as he watched Ryou. He didn't seem too worried at all. Then, he turned away.

 

“Whatever,” he grumbled, crossing his arms. They stayed in the shadows and waited; they hadn't need to wait long. Kefka was already coming toward them, and judging by his careful movements, he was also just as worried at being caught. He caught up with them a moment later, and before speaking, he checked to make sure he hadn't been followed. The way was clear.

 

“Hey, kids. Nice to see you got out of the mines,” he whispered grimly, and then beckoned them to follow him. As they ran across the square, he continued, “I used my influence and talked to the mayor here. That man you're looking for? He stopped at the mayor's for a moment.” Ryou's eyes widened, and before Malik could stop him, he grabbed Kefka's arm and turned the man to face him.

 

“What!?” he exclaimed, his voice higher than necessary, “Was… was Sith with him!? Are they still there!?” Unfortunately, Kefka shook his head.

 

“No, the man left. He stopped to ask about this Mystic of yours, though,” Kefka replied, almost amused, “Seems she's back in Vector for the time being.” Ryou didn't particularly care about getting to Vector, though. But Malik knew where this would lead; Ryou would go after the blonde man and then all hell would break loose. As the team leader, Malik knew he had to stop that. He couldn't let Ryou get killed. So, before Ryou could speak, he stepped forward.

 

“So where do we head, then?” he asked quizzically. Kefka's smile grew a bit. He looked smug. Malik did not trust that.

 

“Ironically, we should head to Figaro castle,” the man told them, and both Malik and Ryou stared critically, “Listen, listen. There's a mechanism in the castle that will allow us to travel directly to Tzen, which is on the Vectorian continent. You'll be able to track this Mystic down, and find this psycho of yours in one shot. I think you should take it.” That sounded like a way to get killed to Malik. His eyes hardened. And he realized he began to think like Sith: he didn't trust Kefka, no matter what his offer was.

 

“I don't trust you!” he said violently, as Yugi said, “We don't just trust bad goys, you know!” Kefka just laughed. To him, that was the stupidest comment he'd ever heard. Bad guys? To hell with that; there were no villains anymore. Not with that world crumbling as it was. He shook his head, his smile unfaltering. He looked just a bit too crazy for their comfort.

 

“Well, if you really wanted, I could just kill you,” he told them smoothly, and his grin went feral, “Without Sith Winchester, you don't stand a chance, and you know it. Shouldn't that be incentive enough?” Any hopes Malik had of killing Kefka vanished. Damn it! He'd forgotten that the only reason Kefka hadn't harmed them was because Sith had been there. Sith and her unending legacy through the realms throughout Oblivion. Malik almost audibly cursed. What a time to lose her. He turned to Ryou.

 

“We don't have a choice. We have to follow him,” he said grimly, “Ryou, I'm worried.” Ryou nodded in agreement.

 

“Me too. But we need Sith, and she's in Figaro,” Ryou replied, and whispered, “If we find her quickly, Kefka won't be able to hurt us. There's no risk here.” Malik wanted to point out that Kefka could easily kill them in the fields and hide their corpses, but he didn't. It wouldn't have helped. All it'd have done was give Sith a reason to fight back and utterly dismantle this realm when she did find out. He snorted. Maybe there was no danger in that respect.

 

“Let's go, then,” Malik sighed, and turned to Kefka, giving him the okay. Kefka nodded and led them out toward the edge of the city; they were surprised to see that even there, no guard had been posted. It felt awfully suspicious, and even with Kefka's help, Malik's feeling of distrust wasn't lessening. In fact, it seemed to grow. Damn it, Sith had rubbed off on him more than he wanted to admit. Not that it was a bad thing, but she was the one who had that pessimistic attitude, not him. He shook his head. What did it matter? Someone had to lead them, and Ryou didn't seem up for the task.

 

“Damn it, you old woman… what a time to go and leave me stuck here,” he grumbled, and then simply shrugged it off. Blaming Sith could wait for now; he had to survive living with the antagonist of the game for a few hours first, and he was sure that wouldn't be an easy task. At least, not as easy as just killing him. And he knew even that would be hard. What a time for Sith to be gone, indeed.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

After narrowly escaping Narshe's mines with their lives intact, Ryou and his team finds that, not only is Sith missing, but now they're forced into a truce with Kefka, the evil lord of the Vectorian Empire, known throughout for producing destructive weaponry. But does Kefka know what became of Sith and the blonde man? Will he lead our heroes to Figaro? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!