The Story So Far...

[Setzer Gabianni]

its ok
i still paly it but i will never be as good as VII was

You think that deary.

Renmiri..what does cahoots mean? D:

[Yuriev's ghost]

Allied with.

[Setzer Gabianni]

(SPOILER)Bah, I highly doubt at that point he was allied with Vayne. -.-

[Renmiri]

Yeah but it was mighty suspicious for him to be AWOL on that particular moment. Just what was he doing ?

[Yuriev's ghost]

Hero stuff. Not even I'm pedantic enough to need an explanation for that.

[Renmiri]

You obviously never wrote fan fiction

[xtrava]

Luke Skywalker eventually turns evil!

[Renmiri]

No, that was his dad!

[BlackWaltz]

Nice description.

Im a lil further now so you may aswell do the whole story!

Obv i will only read up to where i am to not spoil the story!

Keep up the good work wolf!

[Wolf Kanno]

(SPOILER)
While traversing the waterways, Vaan is unaware of another group moving in as well. Apparently the Dalmascan Resistance has decided to crash the party as well. Vossler, former Captain of the Order of the Knights of Dalmasca and Lady Ashe, Daughter of the Late King Raminas and rightful heir to the throne of Dalmasca, are leading a unit of soldiers to try and ambush the Imperials and their new Consul. Vossler has a bad feeling and tries to get Lady Ashe to stay behind and let him and the other soldiers take care of the recapture of the Royal Palace. Lady Ashe refuses, and states she wishes to fight as well to reclaim the Dalmasca that was taken from her two years ago. Vossler caves in and lets her stay to his personal dismay.

After wandering through the Garasmythe Waterway for what seems like forever, Vaan finally finds the underground entrance to the Royal Palace. He finds the palace servants scurrying about trying to keep up with the extravegant feast being held above. Unfortunatly for him, the imperial guards are also standing watch to make sure no one tries to crash the party. Vaan quickly mingles with the servants since many of them are only temps hired by the Palace to help in the feast.

As Vaan tries to get to the main part of the palace he gets stopped by the guards who inform him that the help can't enter until after the celebration is over. A hungry and sympathizing Seeq notices the confrontation and mistakes Vaan for being hungry rather than a thief. The Seeq starts an argument with the soldiers which allows Vaan to sneak by unnoticed.

Vaan wanders about the halls of the palace and eluding Imperial soldiers as he tries to solve the secret to open up the Royal families treasure room. Thanks to Old Dalan's information Vaan finds it with no serious problems. As he scans the treasure room he comes upon a statue of a goddess and finds it hides a fabulous and expensive looking stone. Before he can appreciate his find, he is interrupted by the arrival of "guests". The infamous Sky Pirate Balthier and his Viera partner Fran have also sneaked into the Royal Palace to plunder it of the Royal Families secret treasure... the one that happens to be in Vaan's hands now. Balthier and Vaan get into an argument over ownership of the stone. Vaan refuses to hand the stone over and before Balthier and Fran get the chance to "persuade" him; Imperial soldiers burst into the scene. The trio decides to make a hasty retreat. While they were bickering, all hell has broken loose because of the resistance fighters.

Balthier, Fran, and Vaan battle and run through the palace which has become a war zone. Fran leaves while Balthier and Vaan run throough the battle, both still fighting over the royal treasure. Vayne watches the rebels try to fight their way in and decides a "show of force" is necessary. He orders the Ifrit to fire upon the soldiers in the palace courtyard. Vaan nearly gets killed when the Ifrit's cannon destroys the foundation to the archway he was walking on. He is saved at the last moment by Balthier and Fran, sporting their hover bike they used to get in. But the weight of the three bodies slows it down and makes it start falling to the ground. Mysteriously, the engine begins to fail on them and the three are forced to make a landing. Balthier notices the Ifrit is coming over head and firing indescriminately. He decides the group needs to make an escape on foot to the underground waterway.

The three make an uneasy alliance as they decide to fight together in order to escape. The group notices the bodies of fallen resistance fighters. Balthier speculates that Vayne had used himself and the celebration as a means to draw out the rebels and crush them. Hence the Ifrit being there so quickly...

The three traverse their way through the waterway until they spot a Lady Ashe fighting four Imperial soldiers on a ledge above them. It's quickly apparent she will lose the battle as she is forced to retreat to the edge. Vaan shouts to her, telling her to jump. She reluctantly accepts and Vaan catches her in his arms. The four soldiers dive down as well and the group fight them off. After the battle, Lady Ashe takes advantage of the group not being able to recognize her and introduces herself as Amalia. The royal treasure that Vaan carries glows and Balthier gets a rather bad feeling and wishes to leave quickly. Vaan convines Amalia to join them. She reluctantly accepts once again and now our trio is a quartet. The group fight their way through the nasties of the waterway, including an ambush from a group of hungry Flans and the appearance of a vengeful spirit in the form of Firemane.

Just as the group reaches the large chamber leading to the surface, they are ambushed by the imperial army under Lord Vayne. The group is captured and it's revealed to Vaan and the others that "Amalia" is actually Lady Ashe. Lady Ashe pleads for the safety of the others but Vayne quickly notices the infamous sky pirates. Vaan unfortunately is accused of being an accomplice and is arrested as well. As the group is being led out out of the waterway, Penelo arrives to find Vaan. She tries to run to him but is stopped by Balthier, who hands her his handkerchief, he tells her to hold onto it "...just until I bring Vaan back." As the group is hauled off, an unsavory Bangaa bounty hunter yelling about losing his chance to capture Balthier.


The scene opens with Vaan entering a white room. He carries with him flowers similiar to the ones he found in the desert during his Mark Hunt. Vaan is visiting his brother Reks, who had survived the battle at the Nabudis Fortress. He alone was able to tell the story of Captain Basche's treachery. His mind and body broken from the ordeal, Vaan watches as his brother dies and vanishes...



That will be all for tonight...

[Renmiri]

Great work WK!

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm going to post an update every few days (hopefully every other) since I do have a few other things to work on. But while I'm doing this project, are there any more requests? Character analysis? Commentary? What ever nonsense comes to mind?...

I'll keep chugging along but remember I'm not allowed to W-Post.

[Renmiri]

So my post was handy ?

Wee!

[BlackWaltz]

i still need to know really happened wolf! please continue!

[Wolf Kanno]

Sorry for the absence. I have alot going on in my personal life right now and I'm afraid this may be my last post for awhile. I hope someone picks up the mantle and continues this though (*hint* Setzer and Renmiri *hint*)

Anyway...

(SPOILER)
Vaan awakens to find himself in a dilapitaded fortress. Balthier is with him and explains that they are in infamous Nalbina Dundeon. Though it's not really a dungeon, it's just the basement of the Nalbina fortress sealed off and used as a prison. But this of course does not change the urgency of the situation. Balthier mentions that Fran has gone ahead to search for a way out and that he should not gain the attention of the dungeons wardens, since their equipment has been confiscated.

Vaan wanders about and witnesses the deplorable conditions of the dungeon. Bodies of former inmates litter the place and when Vaan watches a Bangaa be brutally beaten by the Seeq guards he tries to step in. Next thing Vaan knows, he's in a poor makeshift arena, unarmed and going against three Seeqs armed with clubs. Things are looking grim until Balthier jumps in to save Vaan. The two duke it out with the Seeq and are able to actually beat them. Before they are able to celebrate their victory the imperial guard show up with the unsavory bounty hunter from before. Balthier recognizes him as Ba'Gamnan, a ruthless hunter that has been pursuing him for years. Ba'Gamnan has pulled some strings to get a hold of Balthier so he can turn in the bounty.

Luckily, Fran appears on the scene with a way to escape unnoticed though it ends with a magic door she can't open; but before they leave they notice the entrance of another visitor. The Archadian Judgemaster Gabranth. Balthier recognizes him instantly. Vaan asks about the Judges and Balthier elaborates on the Judges keeping order in the Archadian Empire though they are more "executioner" than "judge" these days. Balthier feels the group should use the escape route and follow the Judge.

After a slight detour to grab their equipment, the group sneaks around the fortress dodging imperial soldiers. The group quietly follows the Judges party and see's them open the magic door for them. Following them through they come upon an isolation chamber for solitary confinement of prisoners. The cell hold only one prisoner tied in chains within a cage... former Captain of the Order of the Knights of Dalmasca, Basch Fon Ronsenburg. The man who killed the king and betrayed Dalmasca as well as killing Vaan's brother Reks. Balthier quiets Vaan so they may listen in on the conversation. The Judge removes his helmet to reveal that he shares the same face as Basch. Gabranth asks Basch how he is doing and mentions his connection to Basch. The two are brothers, in fact identical twins. Gabranth tells Basch that "Amalia" has been captured and will be brought from Rabanastre shortly. . After taunting him for awhile, Gabranth leaves Basch.

Balthier and company enter the scene. Vaan quickly attacks the cage Basch is in, screaming about his brother Reks. Balthier calms him down and calls Basch the "Kingslayer". Basch strongly denies the accusation and says he was set up by the empire. Fran feels the presence of the "Mist", she specualtes that if they follow the mist they will be able to find an exit out of their. The group free's Basch and Balthier invites him to join the party. "We could use another sword-arm." he says. Vaan is furious and argues about letting him go but Balthier is able to convince him otherwise. The group follow the mist to the Barheim Passage...

In the passage they meet Burrogh, another prisoner of Nalbina who tried to escape this way before. He gave up though cause the creatures that roam the passage are fierce and lethal. Burrogh seels the party some Tube Fuse which allows them to open the gate into the old tunnels. Here they encounter insect like machines that feed on electricity. As the power goes out the spirits of the dead begin to rise due to the influence of the mist. The group scrambles to kill the insects before they are overun by undead. The group battles it out through the tunnels. Eventually they decide to rest, Basch plunders a corpse for it's armor and weapons, while he explains what really happened two years ago.

Basch explains that his twin brother, Gabranth, disguised himself as him and murdered the king. He then framed Basch who was captured during the battle in the royal chamber. Reks was left alive to tell the tale of Basch's "betrayal" though it was Gabranth who stabbed Reks. Balthier feels the story seems logical but Vaan is not as satisfied and still distrusts Basch. The group moves on and finally meets the source of the insect issue... the Mimic Queen. After quickly dispatching it, the group finally makes it outside into the Dalmsca Estersand.

The group trecks back to Rabanastre. Upon arrival, the group splits up. Basch thanks the group and decides to find the resistance group stationed in the city. Baltheir and Fran feel the whole heist was a bust and decide to seek some entertainment before leaving the city. Balthier warns Vaan to keep a low profile. Vaan decides he needs to sell the royal treasure but feels he should show it to Penelo first.

Vaan heads to Migelo's shop but only meets Kytes when he gets there. Kytes mentions that Penelo hasn't been around in awhile and that Migelo just stepped out. Vaan figures she's off worried somewhere and now needs to find her and apologize. Kytes mentions that Old Dalan has an errand he wanted someone to run for him. Vaan decides to volunteer cause he doesn't want to feel the wrath of Penelo just yet. Old Daln is surprised to see Vaan but is happy to see he is safe. Vaan shows him the reward for all his work, Old Dalan unfortunately can't unload it from Vaan at this time and tells him to keep it safe. Dalan gives Vaan a Sword of the Order and tells him to deliver it to a man named Azelas. He tells him a man named Balzac should know where he is. Before leaving, Vaan asks Daln to help him locate Penelo so he can apologize to her.

Vaan brings the sword to Balzac, who reveals to Vaan the entrance to the Dalmascan Resistance. Vaan walks into the middle of an argument between the resistance members. Apparently a recent arrival has stirred a bit of controversy. The group is arguing about the arrival of Basch. Vossler tries to explain to them about Basch's loyalty and the conspiracy with his twin brother, but the other members refuse to listen. Basch appears on the scene cleaned and wearing new clothes. He asks the others to trust him but they throw him out. Vossler apologizes to Basch, but even Vossler mentions his inability to completely believe Basch's story. Basch recieves the sword that Vaan brought and Vossler tells him it's better to leave the princess' rescue to the resistance. Vaan is annoyed with the resistance, his time in the Barheim Passage has made him see that Basch is not really the villain. Basch decides he needs to find Balthier and acquire "wings". Vaan agree's to help and the two head to the Sandsea.

There they come upon Balthier being chewed out by Migelo. Migelo gives Balthier a note from Ba'Gamnan that tells Balthier to meet him in Bhujerba if he wanted to see the hostage alive again. Migelo yells at Balthier, cause his little "scene" with Penelo at the groups capture made her a target for the bounty hunter. Balthier is concerned about a rescue cause the Imperial army is amassing at the sky city of Bhujerba. Vaan argues that they need to rescue Penelo and Balthier agree's cause it was his fault she got captured. Besides it's "unbecoming for a leading man to not rescue the damsel in distress". Basch asks to go as well as he has some contacts in Bhujerba he wishes to speak to. The group leave for the Aerodrome where they come upon Balthier's airship the Strahl. A moogle crew finishes maitenience as Vaan gapes in awe of the first airship he has ever been on. Balthier promises to show him more of the ship laterand the group heads for Bhujerba...