CHAPTER FOUR

I know everything now…

When they had taken a moment alone, toward the back of the Enterprise, Cecil had heard his brother utter those words. He was Nathaniel now, the memory of his human name returned in five years’ time. Although Cid, Edward, and the crew still whispered that dreaded name when they felt the tall half-Lunar walk past them. Golbez; the utterance of that title sent shivers up every spine on the Blue Planet. It was Nathaniel’s middle name; the one he would just as well cast off. He was stuck with it, though, despite the removal of the spiked armor and grand helmet; the long flowing cape and ogrish gauntlets. Indeed, Cecil saw a whole new person in his brother. It was beyond words.

But that one statement. Cecil was bothered by it and didn’t know why. Probably because he had no idea what his brother was talking about.

"I know everything now," Nathaniel said again, louder this time, and looked to Cecil with pleading eyes. The younger brother simply stared for a second, then looked Nathaniel in the eye and bid him to tell the story that was weighing on his shoulders. The big man did, kneeling slowly on the deck of the ship and staring off into nothing as he began.

"We grew up on this planet, Cecil, you and I. We were the lucky ones, because we didn’t fall victim to Zeromus’ taint. Well…not right away.

"Our uncle, FuSoYa, knew Zemus very well. They were the best of friends during their younger years…when the Moon held its orbit without falter. Zemus was the perfect student in the Old ways; a master of the forbidden magics and a scholar of Lunar history. He and FuSoYa used to go out for walks…in the middle of the night…and watch the Blue Planet pass by them.

"But then…something changed Zemus for the worse. Uncle tells me that it was the Crystal that did it. Zemus would stand among the Crystal and speak with them; a talent no other Lunar had displayed since…well, since our father, KluYa. But…Zemus’ conversations with the Crystal were of a different nature. Their logic and wisdom eluded him, and he wished to challenge it. He did; openly and quite violently. Uncle was distanced from Zemus for it, and they both lost contact.

"It was then that Zemus felt Zeromus within him…"

Nathaniel looked away then, to the sky above him, where the cloud he’d arisen from had now disappeared and there was only bright blue. Cecil’s gaze followed that of his brother, and then returned to the big man’s pained expression.

"You mean…that Zemus and Zeromus truly were the same being?"

"Not quite," Nathaniel replied calmly; slowly. "There is much to be explained here.

"Zemus made a home in the dark from the beginning. He was a private man, very secretive and easily scared off. He was never evil, as Uncle says. It was the Crystal."

Confusion wormed its way into Cecil’s gut. "Nathan…please, explain that. How was the Crystal Zeromus? The Crystal helped me to find you and Uncle…without them I never would’ve found my way into the Sealed Catacombs and claimed the Crystal Blade."

"But…brother, when you heard the Crystal speaking, it was myself and Uncle. We thought you knew that…"

The Paladin-king shook his head. "No, I thought they were independent beings…"

"Well they are, but…they were placed on the Moon for a reason, brother. Didn’t you wonder why there were so many crystals on Earth, and then all of these on the Moon?"

Realization shook Cecil a bit; he nodded despite the numbness.

"That," Nathaniel continued, "is why. Those crystals you saw in our palace…in Falfimath…they were dark crystals. I know you consider the Underground’s crystals the dark ones, but these ones from the Moon truly were dark. And they even gave themselves names, brother.

"One of them was named Zeromus."

"H-How is that possible?!" Cecil demanded. Apparently, he thought, there was a lot he needed to learn about Lunar mysticism, and fast. He bid his brother continue, wanting to hear every detail of what Nathaniel had to say. The big man glanced at Cecil, smiled very slightly, and went on.

"Well, here is what happened, from what Uncle told me. He tried so hard to bring Zemus out of his shell, but it never worked for more than a few days or weeks. Zemus was simply too private a person, apparently. But he was a scholar to the bone, always tearing books and tomes apart, looking for every angle to every situation.

"This, Uncle says, is probably what Zeromus used to get Zemus’ attention. The Hatred would talk to Zemus, we speculate. Intellectual stimulation was Zemus’ greatest pleasure, and odds are Zeromus or one of the others in the Crystal used that."

"It makes sense…" Cecil mused. "Seeing as how Uncle said Zemus would spend a lot of time with the Crystal refuting their outlooks and such."

Nathaniel nodded. "Yes, but those refutations were probably good. To be honest, brother…of those eight crystals the majority bore tainted, seedy souls. Zeromus was the perfect example. Zemus’ arguing with the Crystal was an indication of the goodness within him. It is important to look deeper than the simple appearance of people, as Uncle always says.

"But somehow…Zeromus got to him. The Hatred wormed his way into Zemus’ mind and found a method to…move himself into Zemus’ body. That is how everything began."

The skies were still bright. It was a beautiful day, despite the weight of Nathaniel’s words. Cecil stared off toward the northern mountains, catching a glimpse of Cid and Edward watching the brothers converse. Kalahn and Malcolm had found their own entertainment. Probably staring at a chocobo down below or something.

"Tell me something," Cecil asked suddenly. "Did Zeromus try to…destroy our people? The Lunars?"

Slowly, Nathaniel nodded. "Zemus’ body was filled with magic power. He was one of the few left who could summon the Meteo, in fact. Zeromus saw this as the perfect advantage. He ravaged many of our cities with his host’s magic, and he was never the one to blame. Everyone thought it was Zemus…that in all those years of solitude, he’d gone mad. Uncle was the only one who knew better.

"Then, when Zeromus decided to target Falfimath…Zemus stopped him somehow. This…made Zeromus very angry…so he allowed his host to be caught…put under the spell of sleep…and then the Hatred worked his magic from the bottom of the Sealed Catacombs. No one knew what had really happened but Uncle. And not a one of his colleagues would listen to him. He felt defeated..."

It looked as though Cid and Edward wanted to approach the pair, but they opted to hang back and watch how things were progressing. Cecil knew that both of them had less than zero trust in Nathaniel, even though they both knew he’d changed. The Paladin king trusted that they’d behave themselves, at least, for his sake.

"How…did Zeromus get to you, Nathaniel? And why? I mean, I know he wanted to come here for some reason, but…"

"Because of the Crystal," the big man answered immediately. "Because he was after the Crystal.

"There is a reason why Lunars refer to all sixteen crystals of your world and ours as one. They used to be one mass…a very powerful mass, capable of reordering whole universes. That, in fact, is how the Lunars and Humans found each other, very long ago. Zeromus was as old as the original Crystal…he knew of it’s capabilities and how to unleash them. He…used me…to gather them all. Deep inside me, coursing through my veins, was the knowledge of the Lunar seal on the Crystal and their holding places.

"Seeing as how I was free…and naught but a child on this world…I was perfect for the job, it seemed. I was still with Father, Cecil…you were with mother, in Baron.

"So…I was raised by Father until the sacking of our village…Zeromus loosed the four Fiends to retrieve me, and they subdued Father long enough to spirit me to Zot and begin the brainwashing process."

"But…" Cecil asked, "what of Father? How did he end up in Mysidia? And then on top of Mount Ordeals? And why…"

Silence. Nathaniel knew what Cecil was asking, and he honestly didn’t have an answer. He had all the answers but that one. The silence stretched out over them, washing their eyes in shadow and substance. And then…impulse.

"Father killed himself when he lost me," Nathaniel blurted out. "When the Fiends took me, Father climbed Mount Ordeals and threw himself off. The mountain’s ghosts took up his soul and he rested in the crystal chamber until you came to him. Cecil, I think…I think Father knew all of that…five years ago…was going to happen.

"I never found out why Father ended up on the Blue Planet…Uncle would never tell me.

"But as for Mysidia…we drifted. Further evidence that Father was some sort of prophet, perhaps. We never settled in one place for too long, usually. Baron was the longest, but then I remember Father telling our mother…Jenna was her name…that a separation was necessary. That your powers were not yet realized and you were safer than I. So…we left you.

"Mysidia was a good place to be because all of the other magics present masked my own, as well as Father’s. Besides that, the Mysidians were on the verge of a revolution of sorts. Father helped them. He’d been there before, when he first came to the planet, and the Elder then was a good friend of his. He set us up with lodging and such…but we still couldn’t stay long. We left immediately after Father hollowed out and finished the Serpent Road. It seemed like he’d completed one objective and was simply moving on to the next, you know?

"Then we found this small village of Imps and Elves on the outskirts of Silvera…and then I was taken."

Nathaniel cast his eyes to the ground; the weight of what had happened so many years ago was heavier, it seemed, now that the big man knew the entire truth of it. Cecil tentatively placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, waiting patiently for him to continue; to finish the story.

"It…" Nathaniel began one last time. "It is a mystery to me how Zeromus managed to influence me. Uncle says it is simply because there is a wealth of Shade in me, but…That only sounds to me like a tired excuse, Cecil. It sounds haphazard."

"Well it isn’t," Cecil responded, defensive. "Remember when we’d reached our journey’s end, Nathaniel? Uncle had said that if it weren’t you Zeromus had taken, then it could have been any one of us. Edge, or Kain—Kain was a perfect candidate. Nathaniel…it could have been me.

"But how did Zeromus know about you? And all of this? Was he as much a prophet as Father, maybe? Or…"

"It would seem so." One blue eye, one green, blinked in unison. "Or perhaps it was the old prophecy."

Cecil blinked now. "Old prophecy? Like the one on the Legend Blade?"

"Yes. You see, in Falfimath’s library there was a large runic inscription hidden behind a bookshelf. Uncle knew where it was; during out time there, he showed it to me as a lesson in Lunar language. I can see it clearly in my mind. It speaks of the both of us, actually; the light and the dark. But…that’s not the unsettling thing about it."

More silence. Cecil was truly scared of this.

"It mentions Zeromus by name," Nathaniel said. "By his actual name, Cecil. In prophecy, that is an ill omen of the worst possible proportions, you must know that. And…that brings us to the reason I’m here now."

"Good," the Paladin king answered, green eyes flitting to Cid and Edward who were still as stone. "Tell me, Nathaniel. Perhaps I can help you."

A dry chuckle escaped the big man’s frame as he went to stand. The ship rocked a bit with his rising, which subsequently caused Cid and Malcolm to rush for the wheel.

"Well…as I said, Crystal is the trap of the soul. In each of the crystals our worlds hold in balance, there is at least one soul, captive and forever alive. That is indeed the origin of our old nemesis.

"He was resealed when you slew him, Cecil, not destroyed. Zeromus cannot die so long as his crystal is alive, and thus…"

"Thus, Zeromus is reaching for this planet again," Cecil finished for his brother. Nathaniel simply nodded and snarled, staring again at the sky. There was no air now, the breeze moved on to the northern forests of Toroia and the deserts of Kaipo.

"But, see…" he said in a small, measured tone, "Zeromus’ minions, the Fiends, were born of this planet’s upper world crystals. Milon of Earth was born of Toroia, Kainazzo of my old home Mysidia, Valvalis of Fabul, and Rubicant of Damcyan."

The snarl had not left Nathaniel’s face. He stared forward, at his brother, with eyes hard and intent.

"There are four more…underground, in the world of darkness, there are more who Zeromus may free. And my suspicion is…he has. Or will soon. I need your help, Cecil, in making sure we do not see another Crystal War hit this planet. I came here to stop history from repeating itself."

Well, the Paladin king thought as he stared back into blue and green. I suppose this is my excuse for getting out of the kingdom. Maybe…I’ll take Kain or Rosa with me, and keep them apart. Maybe…that will be my answer to this all.

More importantly…a smile crept it’s way onto the man’s face. More importantly, this is my brother standing before me. Nathaniel Golbez Ya…

"I’ll help in any way I can, brother. On one condition, though."

Nathaniel smiled, a much more inviting gesture than the sneer he’d only seconds ago worn.

"What would that be?"

"Let me go with you." Cecil’s grin was that of a five year old let out to play for an entire week. His brother returned it, nodding fervently and laughing a bit. Enough so that the sound wouldn’t scare the rest of the party off the airship.

Speaking of which…

"Nathaniel," the younger brother said, "don’t you think we could use…allies? Like, say…Cid? Edward and his friends? Two of them are good friends of mine, and…well, I suppose sooner or later we should talk about Kalahn. But now is not the time. What do you say?"

"Of course!" Nathaniel replied, overjoyed. "But…I do think they’re…afraid of me. How do I…"

"Give it time, brother. Time heals everything."

Looking at his brother like that, and then remembering the expressions on Cid and Edward’s faces, Cecil wasn’t so sure that he hadn’t just lied.

"Cid! Edward!" Cecil called. Hesitantly, but attentively, the pair approached the Paladin king and his brother. Cid’s face, although nearly covered in hair and leather, seemed harder somehow. Edward was wearing an expression his allies had become quite familiar with; fear.

Nathaniel only sat, blinking rapidly. He was as nervous as everyone else, if not infinitely more. To think, he’d tried to destroy these people five years ago…and now he’d be fighting alongside them.

"What do you guys say we pay old Giott a visit?" Cecil asked, the boyish grin hard to ignore. "I have a feeling he’ll be much happier to see us this time around."