Ch7-6: Manipulations
“So, you were in there getting all chummy with the prisoner, eh?” Kip tilted his head back with a teasing sort of grin. Though he felt anything but teasing about what was just about to take place.
Joran just doesn’t seem to understand – this is practically a war. You don’t go discussing your plans with the opposite side. Even if they are your prisoner. That’s the kind of thing that comes back to bite you on the bum.
“What do you mean? Is there something wrong with talking to her?” Joran answered, peering up at him in that wide-eyed little girl way she tended to have. Still, there was a part of her that seemed to know that what she was doing could be frowned upon by other members of her side.
If you can consider anyone to be on anyone’s side around here.
Not that Kip didn’t want to see Pren get screwed any way possible. But he wanted it done his way — with Incrytan in his possession and Golbez at his feet in a pool of his own blood.
Since Golbez is going to be harder to kill than I thought, I’m going to have to double my efforts to get hold of that trinket of his.
And the last thing he wanted was for information leaked to a prisoner to get in his way.
But, of course, none of this O.M.E.G.A. let show through. He simply turned to the girl and frowned with an act of concern, “There’s nothing wrong with talking to her. But if Pren thinks that the prisoner has found out too much… you know what Pren is going to do to her, don’t you?”
Joran’s face turned absolutely pale. As if she hadn’t even considered the danger she had been putting the Caller in. “Oh… I…”
“Yeah. So you see… you gotta be careful. Understand?”
She nodded slowly with that little lost orphan look that was common for her lately. The girl was drowning in the sea of malice. For within every seemingly harmless and kind act she tried to give to the world, she was discovering the underlying darkness.
That’s just how it goes when corruption starts to set in, kiddo. Even good intentions get twisted. It’s the story of my life.
Suddenly, with a sense of renewed vigor, the girl turned to him. Both of her small white hands clutched the front of his dark coat, gripping it with an intensity that was almost startling. Her voice gushed out in one quick breath, as if she was scared to speak and forcing the sounds, “Kip..! When are we going to set her free?”
“Huh?” was his only reaction. It wasn’t a usual one. But this time, he hadn’t seen this outburst coming at all. “Set her free?”
“This place is awful, Kip!” Joran exclaimed with a sharp plead. “I’ve felt it… and I know you can feel the way it’s been… changing, too. Just like the Daear have been. Something is terribly wrong… we just can’t leave Rydia here to suffer!”
Rydia, hrm? So she managed to get the Caller’s name.
Kip pursed his lips, staring down into the girl’s face. It was the look of a child coming to someone that they trusted with their deepest concerns. He knew right away that he had to be very careful about handling this.
“You know what? I agree with you,” O.M.E.G.A. nodded slowly. This could play her closer to his goal if he moved things in the right way. “This is a rotten place for anyone to be cooped up in.”
“Then you think that she should be set free, too?”
“Of course I do. Holding hostages for no real reason is bad practice. But the main thing here is – the human is Pren’s prisoner, yes?” Kip fixed his single eye on her sharply, studying her response.
It came, just as he hoped. A mingling of disgust and dislike for Pren. “Yes… Because we got into a fight with Rydia when we went to retrieve one of the Crystals. But, Rydia was only trying to protect the people she cares about. The same as I want to.”
“I see,” O.M.E.G.A. leaned back, tapping his metal plate with one finger. “So you think that Pren is holding her here just out of spite?”
“Maybe. I don’t know,” Joran frowned.
“Well, there’s not a lot I can do if Rydia is held here by Pren’s command. If it were up to me, I’d gladly let her go,” he sighed softly. “I hate seeing the human locked up here a much as you do, I assure you.”
“I know…” And that’s when the words came, “I really don’t like Pren very much. I wish there was some way that we could do things without her.”
“Oh, really?” O.M.E.G.A. peered over, trying not to seem too eager. It took everything in him not to show the sudden thrill of delight that rushed through him at that very moment. “In what way?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking. And you know, Pren is the one that wants me to go around destroying the Crystals like this,” the girl spread her hands. “She keeps saying that there’s no way to undo what’s already been done with them. She says that the energies of the Blue Planet are now out of balance because two of the four Crystals are gone… and that it won’t be fixed until they’re all destroyed.”
“Hrm… yes…” Kip scratched behind one ear, letting the girl talk.
“But, at the same time, as we’ve destroyed the Crystals, something’s been happening to the Daear. I think they’re gaining power because of it,” Joran gave a serious look. For all her girl-ishness, the last statement held a lot of weight. Even to Kip’s mind.
“You know what?” O.M.E.G.A. mused for a moment, slowly leaning forward. “I think you’re on to something there. Things have been feeling out of sorts here. And it does seem in correlation to the weakening influence of the Crystals on this world as they’ve been destroyed.”
“The only reason Pren wants to work with me is so that I’ll destroy the Crystals for her!” the girl threw it all out on the table in a rush of terrible realization. “As much as she talks about protecting the Blue Planet, she never cared about preserving life on this world… at least, not human life! And once the Crystals are completely destroyed – then what?”
“Then… I would say that you and I are expendable at that point as well. Pren has no love for Lunars either,” he allowed his words to drop heavily on her shoulders.
“Pren will… kill us?”
“Chances are very likely. We’d only be in the way at that point.”
Joran’s face grew wan as she struggled to find words to match the thoughts that flickered through her mind.
Very good. Very, very good… you’re figuring it out. Bit by bit.
“What should we do, Kip!?” alarm rang through every ounce of her voice. She was shaking all over, green eyes pleading up at him for an answer.
And really… I couldn’t have asked for a better set up than this.
“Now, now… Joran,” O.M.E.G.A. said softly, putting a hint of power into her name. He placed one hand gently down on her quivering shoulder, sending waves of calming sensation through her body. “Panicking is not a good choice of action at this point. We’ve got to think this through, okay?”
The girl nodded and peered up at him. “Then… you’ll help me?”
Kip spread his hands wide, his grin even wider. “What? You think I’d leave you to get through this all by yourself? I told you before, I’m only sticking around because of you. Not because of Pren. Not because of the Daear – I could really care less about what they have to say in this matter.”
“And what about what they’re doing to the humans?” she asked quickly. As if trying to see into his intentions, ever so shallowly.
“I think it’s absolutely disgusting and uncalled for. And I agree… this madness needs to come to a stop,” Kip replied, somewhat honestly. Though he wasn’t losing sleep over the destruction and killing that had been done in Troia, he certainly wouldn’t have chosen such an outcome if it had been his call to make.
Joran breathed a soft sigh of relief. Happy that someone was agreeing with her.
He decided to put the pressure on, if only a little. “You know… there are two more major human cities that hold the final Crystals. The destruction is far from over with.”
“Yes… I know,” she looked down at her feet with a somber face. At the least, she seemed to be getting her emotions under control now.
“But also, Pren has done something that may not be so wise,” Kip waggled a finger at her nose to make her look up.
Joran blinked at him. “What’s that?”
“Pren’s gotten a bit overconfident. She’s divided her troops up. And I have a feeling that’s going to be part of her undoing here,” O.M.E.G.A. leaned back with a casual air.
“Do you really think so?”
“Yeah. The whole idea behind her meeting with Cecil’s group in Troia was to lay a trap for him. Very obvious,” he flourished a hand. “She doesn’t want them to cause problems when she goes to destroy the next Crystal in Fabul. She sent out part of her troops to attack Baron as a way to distract Cecil and Golbez.”
“So that they’d go back to Baron… instead of going to Fabul?” Joran asked slowly with a frown.
“Exactly,” Kip pointed with a sharp smirk. “But the thing that Pren didn’t count on is the fact that if her motives are obvious to you… and they’re obvious to me… chances are, they’re quite obvious to the Paladin, too.”
“Then, you don’t think Cecil is going to fall for her trick?”
“I don’t know,” he answered grimly.
I hope not. Any day to face down Golbez in battle is a happy day for me… and the best chance I’ve got is to meet him again in Fabul. Now that I know some of his tricks, he won’t get off as easily this time.
Joran’s face was heavy with thought.
“Well, the point is… Pren’s divided up her forces. That may have been a foolish move. We have yet to see her plans in action,” O.M.E.G.A. summed up quickly. “But you can bet, she’s got plans for us that she’s not cuing us into yet.”
The girl nodded somberly. She had fallen into silence, while her mind churned in circles of doubt and confusion. He decided to give her another little nudge.
“I know it’s a lot to think about… I’m sorry that these rough things are stuck on your shoulders. But I thought you needed to know what I sense is going on,” Kip offered her a concerned expression.
And she took it. “Thank you, Kip… I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here.”
He gave a slow, friendly smile. “Just keep in mind… I told you before that I’d help you out if you ever decided to ditch the Daear. The offer still stands. You don’t have to go this alone.”
Joran drew in a deep breath and peered up at him. Her eyes were awash with the struggles that tore her from within. She wasn’t ready to make the choice just yet. So he backed off.
“I need to think about all this for a little bit,” she told him in a quiet voice.
“Alright… I understand,” O.M.E.G.A. nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Just don’t spend too long. Pren is going to expect a raid on Fabul once all her troops get moving in Baron.”
“That doesn’t give much time at all…” Joran sighed, twisting the end of her braid between her fingers.
“No. It certainly doesn’t,” he agreed. Then he sighed. “That’s just how things seem to go in life. One thing to another… it feels never ending.”
“Does it?” the girl asked him out of the blue.
“Does it what?” Kip peered over at her.
“Ever end?”
“Sure it does. Don’t you worry about that,” his voice was soft. But the words were like acid to him between his lips.
It just never ends the way you hope it will.
“I’m glad.” Joran was smiling, unaware. She had already turned with a quick glance down the shrouded hallway. The conversation was at its end. She would need lots of time to mull it all over.
“You need me to walk you to your room?” Kip found himself surprised by the genuine consideration in his offer.
“No. I’m okay. It’s just around the corner. Thank you,” Joran turned back to look at him.
Her face was warm as she reached out and grasped his hand, giving it a thankful squeeze. Then Joran made her way off down the hall to her room, leaving the O.M.E.G.A. alone in the lingering darkness.