Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Apotheosis ❯ Moonlit Meeting ( Chapter 10 )

Mei leaned forward carefully, craning his neck in an attempt to catch sight of the travelers foolish enough to stray from the road without rattling the bushes he was hidden in and betraying his presence. They couldn't be too far off now.

The band had been following them for most of the afternoon and deep into the night, skulking through the forest, watching, assessing, and trying to determine whether the pair was worth the effort. The little woman looked easy enough; it was her companion, the tall, hooded fellow, who looked like trouble. But times were hard, and they were starving; and neither of the travelers seemed to notice the 'escort' they had acquired; a positive sign.

He hoped it would at least be quick. In the short run, fear and hunger far outweighed one's conscience; the robberies didn't bother him anymore, after spending a few weeks with the band. The killings, though… he suppressed an involuntary shudder. He hated the killings; hated the small part he played in them. His father would have been disgusted, had he been alive to see what Mei had come to.

He had said as much to Jacqui, the first time he had done it. Jacqui, who had been all consolation and welcoming warmth when she and her men had come upon him, a lost young boy, wandering in the forest between North Corel and Nibelheim. She had listen to him as he explained himself, how he had left Wutai in search of work in one of the cities, how he needed to care for his ailing mother, how fruitless the search had so far been. She had nodded understandingly, offering a hot meal, a place by the fire, and a lift to North Corel if Mei would perform a small, simple favor for her.

None of that understanding had been present later that night. "Aye, and the bastard who sired you is dead, along with all the other foolish shinobis. Can't expect much from the spawn of a man stupid enough to fight Shinra--you're lucky I fed you. In fact, I don't think you're worth wasting meals on--not until you've proven your worth. Get out of my sight--and don't dare think of running." Her fingers had slipped down to caress the maul that hung at her hip as she smiled odiously. "Crippled children are so endearing."

Mei had stood before her, openmouthed with shock. "But you said--"

Her leather-gauntleted hand caught him a brutal backhand, splitting his lip and knocking him to the ground. He had wailed in pain, clutching his ruined mouth. "Not another sound!" she snarled, kicking him in the ribs. Choking, he had done his best to swallow the sobs.

"Here, lad, best do as she says," a rough, alcohol-thickened voice had rumbled as a massive paw descended on his shoulder and yanked him upright. The hand's owner grinned down at him, exposing a mouthful of rotten teeth. "Welcome to our lit'le fambly."

The sharp crack of a branch snapped Mei out of his reverie. Quickly orienting his gaze, he saw the two travelers approach. The young woman scurried along the narrow track almost as nimbly as the deer who had created it, but it must have been she who made the noise; the man following her seemed almost to glide along the trail.

Carefully, he watched their progress, mouth dry with anxiety and fear. When he judged the distance sufficient, he dated out onto the trail.

"Ma'am! Sir!" he gasped, feigning exertion, "help, please help! My parents, my--"

The woman hurried to him and dropped to one knee, grasping his shoulders. "What's wrong with your parents? Where are they?" she asked urgently.

"They--help--there were thieves," he panted, scanning the treetops for Jacqui's men. He caught sight of Marco, moonlight glinting off his belt buckle. That meant Delilah and Jared weren't far behind, and--

The man had noticed his gaze, and followed its direction. "Why, you little wretch," he hissed, reaching over his shoulder and whirling around.

"What--?" The woman turned to look at her companion. Mei took the opportunity to wrench himself from her hands and dart back into the bushes as the night erupted in screams.

It was quick. Jacqui's men dropped from the trees, howling their war cries, while Jacqui herself erupted from the underbrush and took a vicious swing at the man. He produced a glimmering sword seemingly from thin air, blocked it easily, then neatly spitted her. Jared battered at the woman with his cudgel; somehow she snatched it from his hands, smashed the end into his nose, and, spinning the staff, turned to face her next assailant. The next few moments were a confusion of violence; Mei cowered down as far as he could. Finally the man turned towards the woman, expecting another attacker; she faced him, the two she had felled collapsed around her feet.

His hood had fallen back during the struggle; Mei could see the look of mild amazement on his features. "I am most pleasantly surprised," he said.

The woman spun the staff again, planted it into the ground, and leaned against it. "I told you I wouldn't get in the way," she panted, smiling. "I know how to deal with monsters."

"Indeed." The man walked over to survey the bodies at her feet; Mei could see that at least one--it looked like Marco--was still breathing. The man nudged him with a boot, and was rewarded with a groan. Almost casually he hefted the sword.

"What are you doing?" the woman gasped. "You're not going to just kill him!"

"I'm not?" The blade flashed down, a spatter of gore blackly visible in the moonlight. The woman uttered a small shriek. "Not this one, either?" Another flash, another gout. Mei couldn't restrain a whimper.

The woman seized the staff and uprooted it, holding it before her as she backed away from her companion. "You murdered them! They were unconscious--there was no need--and you--you--"

The man bent down, tore a strip from Marco's shirt, and began wiping off his sword. "A band of robbers set upon us in the woods, intending to do God knows what, and I murdered them. I see."

"They were unconscious! They couldn't hurt us any more!" The woman put an arm out to brace herself against a nearby tree, the hand that held the staff rising to cover her mouth. She retched.

The man rounded on her, flinging the bloody rag at her feet. "No, they couldn't hurt us any more," he snapped. "You bragged about having dealt with monsters a moment ago--these are worse. These are men, humans, who choose to do this. Would you have them free, to fall upon the next travelers who get lost? Travelers who don't 'know how to deal with monsters'?" He snorted. "Never mind if they realized who I am and decided to share that information." The woman, head bowed, clutched the staff even tighter, but made no reply. The man sheathed his sword and turned away. "At any rate, their bait is still running around loose."

Mei swallowed with difficulty. It was far too late to run now; he'd never get away. His only hope was to stay very still, and pray he had inherited some of his father's abilities. I am a shinobi, I can do this, I can escape--

"Aha." Mei howled as the hand clamped around the scruff of his neck and yanked him out of the bushes to dangle a foot above the ground. He was shaken roughly, and writhed desperately to free himself. The hand merely squeezed tighter. "Although perhaps I give your sort too much credit. You are no man, but I fail to see how a human child could consent to an act such as this."

"I DIDN'T WANT TO!" Mei shrieked, thrashing again. "I WANT MY MOTHER! I want to help her, I came here to, and they found me, and they made me-" he sputtered, gasping as the man's fingers dug into his windpipe. He grabbed at the hand holding him, clawing frantically for release.

"You will not hurt this boy," said the woman, barely audible. Gray spots began to dance across his vision.

"This is the same story we heard a moment ago-"

The woman lunged across the clearing, and there was a sharp crack as her staff glanced off the man's skull. He danced back, dragging Mei with him, and was suddenly holding the end of the staff away from himself at arm's length. The movement caused his grip to loosen slightly and Mei heaved in great whoops of air, wheezing. The woman was trembling with the effort of keeping a grip on her weapon.

"You will not hurt this boy," she said again, her voice ragged with strain. "He is a child. I don't care what you think about it; he is not evil, no matter what he's done. You let him go."

"And you think you can stop me? Stop me from doing your precious Planet a favor by removing this filth from it?" He hauled on the end of the staff, nearly wrenching it from her grip.

"I don't know if I can. But we'll find out." Her voice quivered on the last words, but she held firm, meeting her companion stare for stare, the silence stretching long between them. Mei was dazed, still struggling for breath, and oddly disconnected from the situation; he was hearing his life and death discussed, but he was too tired and hurt and frightened to feel its immediacy; it almost seemed as if they were arguing about something else…

He hit the ground with a thud, branches scraping him cruelly as he slid into the underbrush. "Go, then," the man spat, breaking his gaze with the woman to glare at Mei. "Go fast, and go far."

The lady nodded slightly, then stepped over to Mei and once again knelt before him. She fumbled at her belt, and then pressed a few coins into his limp hands. "If you really have a mother, and you really want to help her, head back to the Corel Road," she said tiredly, and tried to smile. "We passed a trader caravan yesterday morning. Catch up with them; they will at least take you out of the wilderness."

Mei licked his dry lips, trying to form words, but his throat was too sore for speech after the crushing grip it had been held in. He swallowed a few times, and was finally able to wheeze, "Thank you." Tears finally began to trickle down his cheeks.

She reached out and brushed one away with her thumb, her smile more firm this time. "I think you had better do as he says, now."

He nodded, levering himself to his feet, and began to head back the way he had come down the trail as quickly as he could. He stole a last glance over his shoulder; the silhouette of the lady, kneeling on the path as if in prayer, and the dark, fearsome shape looming behind her, all limned in moonlight.