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The Crystal Rule	By : QueenDraggyofSwords Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Views: 956 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: chrystal Chronicles, any of its characters nor am I making any profit off of them.

Chapter List
- 58
- 59
Chapter Fifty-Nine

Bridge town always reeked of oil, smog, and machinery. There was never any other smell throughout the streets. One had to wonder if the long term residents of the mechanical city had forgotten what fresh air smelled like.
It had been a while since Layle and Keiss' last trip to the desert city, and while it looked the same in appearance, and certainly smelled the same, the atmosphere about the place had changed. There were far more guards than Layle recalled, fewer people in the streets, and of course, not a single Crystal Bearer in sight.
"Come on," Keiss stood half way down the metal stairs leading from the airship dock down to the city streets. "If we move fast, and you keep your head down we can get to Cid's without any trouble."
The Clavat looked out over the side of the railing at two Lilty soldiers lumbering down one of the alleys.
"…Keiss, I don't think there's any place we can go at this point where we aren't going to have trouble."
"We'd have less of it if you kept your cool." The Selkie turned around on the stairs and continued down to the metal plated streets.
"And when do I not keep my cool?" The Clavat followed behind him unamused.
Keiss stopped and looked over his shoulder, "Are you kidding me? How about yesterday? What part of last night was you 'keeping cool?'"
"I told you that was different-"
"How so?" The red head snapped. "Layle, you were ready to brutalize anyone and anything that got in your way last night."
"So!" The Crystal Bearer waved him off with a hand gesture, "What? You think that they didn't deserve it? You think that those guards didn't know what was happening to those people in there? You think I should have taken it easy on them?"
"What I think," Keiss turned around and started to walk down the stairs again, "Is that you're becoming more like Clockwork the longer this thing carries on."
Layle followed his partner down into the streets. Keiss led the way keeping a look out for any guards, which there was no shortage of. Every few feet the boys stopped and did their best to seem inconspicuous as they made their way across town over the Izbor River to get to district where Cid's workshop resided. If they had come by train, they would have entered the city through that very side of town. However there probably would have been three times as many guards since the Bridge Town train station is also used to transport criminals to Prison Sands. It was somewhat ironic to think about; that the Selkie Trains the Lilties insisted were so unsightly or unnecessary at first were now used by said Lilties as the quickest and safest way to transport Selkie criminals to their correctional facility at Prison Sands. If not for the Guild Master's trains they'd probably have more breakouts before the rogues even set foot in the prison, than they did afterwards.
The two entered into the sub district that connected the southern commerce district to the northern workshop district, the so called 'bridge' that the town was named for. To one side there was a clear view of the Izbor river that ran through the terrain, separating the dry and arid prairie lands from the expanse of desert on the other side. On the other side the tracks ran the Selkie train, the very one that Keiss had nearly gotten killed on earlier that year.
The red head stopped next to one of the pillars supporting the buildings that were stacked on top of the bridge.
"Maybe you ought to let me go on ahead and see Cid. Alone."
"What? Why?" The Clavat crossed his arms.
"Well, the other side of town is bound to have more guards. And there's less cover for us on the way to the workshop. I don't want guards chasing us all the way there."
"And who's to say they aren't going to come after you?"
"Look, Layle," Keiss put his hands on his hips and shifted his weight, "I'm just saying, I can get through there a lot faster without having to worry about you, your crystal, and your temper giving us away."
"Fine, whatever." Keiss watched as the Clavat walked away from him. He made his way over to the railing of the bridge's pathway and leaned on it. "Go see, Cid. I'll wait right here."
Keiss' lips twisted a little bit. Layle was looking out over the water and not at him. He doubted that his partner would stay put. Especially with the way he had been acting, but what choice did he have? He wasn't going to take Layle through the open sections of the city and risk him having another all out fight with the guards. He did want to resolve this with as little blood on his hands as possible.
Well, at least with only just what blood had already been spilled.
"I'll be back…" Keiss turned around and made his way across the rest of the bridge, sprinting around the bends and turns of the pathway and out of sight into the workshop district of the desert town.
Layle looked over his shoulder at the empty pathway. He wasn't necessarily mad at Keiss for wanting to leave him behind, but he didn't enjoy it either. Since when did the Selkie suddenly stop trusting him? Hadn't they already resolved this before?
The Clavat pushed off the railing and reached into his pocket to pull out the damaged locket. He held it tight in the palm of one hand and ran the fingers of his other hand over the crack.
"…It wasn't too much. Clockwork is right, Keiss. We can't take it easy on them anymore. We shouldn't." He looked back up at the way the Selkie had gone before turning around and heading back the way they had come.

Keiss made his way around the winding turns of the alleyways and paths through the workshop district of Bridge Town until he reached the vast open streets. Overhead the desert sun was shining down, making it nothing less than unbearably hot. Heat could be seen rising up off the metal roads while people and trash Moogles went about their business. About every ten feet there was a Lilty guard looking about for trouble – or possibly escaped prisoners from Prison Sands.
"Yeah, this would not have gone well with Layle." Keiss walked out into the street, keeping his head up and his gaze focused. He moved about like it was a regular day, doing his best to be unassuming. Like the rest of the Bridge Town folk, he didn't bother to pay attention to the guards, and moved like he had something more important on his mind. It didn't take him long to reach Cid's workshop. He could see the giant, grinning, onion-shaped head of the old tinkerer from across the courtyard.
The red head smiled a bit as he started forward towards the steps.
"You there!" Keiss heard shouting but he kept walking forward. "You there! Stop walking!" The red head glanced over his shoulder. Hopefully it wasn't him they were shouting at. He caught sight of a guard pointing at his back and cursed. The former Guild Member turned his attention forward ready to run only to find now there was another guard in front of him.
Keiss looked to his sides and saw a few more moving towards him. "Maybe I should have brought Layle," The read head moved his hands to his side ready to reach for his weapons and fight.
"You there, Selkie!" The guard from behind started shouting again, "Turn and face me!" Keiss kept his hands down and turned to face the man. He was a shorter Lilty, and was standing just a few feet away from him. He lifted his helmet and peered up at Keiss. The red head watched as he titled his head to the side and then snorted. "No! That's not the one!" He waved his gloved hand at the other guards who were still closing in. "Keep looking! That prisoner couldn't have gotten far!" The Lilty lowered his helmet and turned away from Keiss without even so much as an apology.
All of the guards resumed their watch now, completely ignoring him. Keiss sighed and let his shoulders drop. What a waste of time. He turned back to his destination and made his way into Cid's workshop.
Inside, Keiss found the place was its usual mess. There were papers and blueprints strewn about, along with grease smears, machine parts, and tools. All long the counter of what should have been a reception desk there were books, notes, and bottles of Rainbow Grape Wine – empty bottles.
Keiss put his hands up to his mouth and shouted, "Cid!" he waited for a response. "Hey, Cid, are you in here!"
A muffled voice responded to his shouts, "In the back!"
The red head proceeded to walk around the workshop and made his way over to another large metal plated garage style door. It was half open, so he had to duck under it to enter into the back room. This room was just as messy as the rest of the workshop, but there was a new terrible burning smell along with a mixture of smoke and steam hanging in the air. Keiss' nose wrinkled in disgust and he coughed a few times.
"Guh! Cid- Cid what is that odor!" He put his hand over his face and squinted. "It smells worse than that time Lotta kept a dead rat in my room for three days!"
"That, my boy, is the smell of the sulfur in the water burning against these heating coils!" Cid was sitting a few feet away from where Keiss had entered. Unlike the Selkie, he had a gas mask to filter out the smell, though it kept his voice muffled. He was standing next to a large covered vat that came up to his waist and had a series of tubes coming out of the top of it linking it to a large scale motor. Cid was holding onto a chain hanging from the roof. Next to the chain was a chute with a closed door. He motioned Keiss to come over to him. The Selkie did so but not without pulling his shirt up over his nose. "Now watch this!" Cid pointed up over head. He pulled on the chain above his head and the chute door opened. A steady stream of water came pouring out and down into the covered vat before them. In the vat there were several hot coils, twisted and warped around each other; as soon as the water hit them the sparked and sizzled and became shrouded in mist and steam. Cid pointed to the left of Keiss and instructed him to press a button to his left located on the vat. The Selkie leaned over and did so, watching as the steam was let up into the tubes, but blocked off from a seal further down.
Cid let go of the chain and moved around him banging his palm on the tube.
"See this, here? I've been collecting the steam now for an hour. Keeping it hot and letting it pressurize." He slid his hand down the tube and moved over to where it linked up to the engine. "I had been thinking before about making one that ran off of coal. But it's such a bother to get the coals, and once you use them their gone. It's a finite resource. But we can recover and reclaim water and steam." He flipped a switch on the engine and Keiss looked over as the tubes seemed to rumble. At almost immediately the pressurized steam streamed out into the engine and the thing started to turn and crank.
Cid pointed up to where there was steam and smoke coming out of the engine. Over head he'd built a set of fans that were sucking it up and filtering it out into a set of canisters. "You see, we keep it under the pressure, the release powers the engine, the runoff is recollected, and then re-pressurized-" As he was speaking the device started to slow down until it finally came to a halt. "The only problem is getting it started. I still haven't found and adequate way to start the initial power up. Something has to keep the cycle going; otherwise it will eventually lose power and shut off."
Keiss coughed through his shirt, "Well, Cid, I'm sure that you'll think of something…" The Selkie walked over and put a hand on the Lilty's shoulder. "But it's funny you're working on engines today… I actually wanted to talk to you about a similar subject."
"Oh?" The Old Lilty moved away from him and motioned for him to follow as he made his way out of the back room. "What did you do to the Acoote now?"
"I didn't do a thing," Keiss ducked under the door and stood up straight. "It's not the Acoote I want to ask you about," the redhead pulled his shirt from over his nose as Cid lowered the door of the back room. "I want to talk to you about the accident."
Cid stopped working to lower the door and looked at Keiss. Even though his face was still covered by the mask, the look in his eyes let the Selkie know the man was more than likely frowning at him. "Out of the question." Cid turned away and started to pull off the mask.
"But, Cid, it's important."
"No," He shook his head and waved his hands, "We're not going to talk about it."
"But you're the only one I can ask!" Keiss followed pleading with him. "It's a life or death matter, Cid. I need you to listen to me."
"You're right, Keiss, it is a life or death matter. And I'll tell you how it ends," The former head of Crystal Research and Development turned around and pointed at him, "It ends in death."
"…" Keiss stopped walking as Cid lowered his hands. The old Lilty rubbed the side of his head and turned away from him. "…Cid I think Spinosa is trying to use Crystal Bearer's crystals as energy sources."
"What?" Cid lifted his head, but he didn't turn to face Keiss.
"I've got proof." The Selkie pulled out the paperwork he stole from the medical facility and held it up in the air. "Piper and Oides' research notes. Cid, I really need to talk to you about Crystal Energy. I really need you to tell me that I'm wrong about this…"
Keiss watched as Cid turned to him and held out his hand for the notes. "Come, Keiss, let's talk."

Layle wandered his way back through town; he managed to avoid the guards by sticking to the lower streets, which was where his destination was anyway. Down on the lowest levels of Bridge Town, toward the center of where the metal roads and walkways crossed over head there was something of a little pit – a dead end in the middle of everything where all that stood where three shuttered doors with bright neon signs over them.
The Crystal Bearer walked up to the shutter on his far left and yanked down the lever to open the door. As it opened up it revealed a series of shelves filled with oddities and knickknacks stacked up so high they were spilling off the shelves. Once the shutter was up there was a bit of noise, the sound of junk being moved about hastily before a white dash of fur and bat wings flew into view from the side.
"Welcome! Welcome, Kupo!" The shop Moogle nodded its head to Layle, the pompom growing out of its fluffy head bobbing as it did so. "What can I do for you, Kupo?"
"This." The Clavat reached into his pocket and set the twin's locket on his counter. "I want it fixed."
The Moogle fluttered down and picked it up. It turned it over on its hands a few times and then proceeded to open it.
"Hmn, hmn, very exquisite material. Rare. Hard to come by… I will need you to gather some items. Kupo." It closed the locket, "It will need a new casing. It won't be able to open again. Just and emblem to hang from your chain. Will that do, Kupo?"
Layle rubbed the side of his neck, "Is it really that damaged? Can't you just seal the crack and get a new chain for it?"
The Moogle held it out to Layle, "The casing is made of crystallized princess flan. It takes years to form, Kupo. You can get me materials like it. But the new seal will go over the lock. It won't open. Just a crystal emblem. Do you want it, Kupo?"
Layle crossed his arms and turned his head away thinking. "Yeah, I'll take it. Tell me what I need..."
The Moogle fluttered off to the side of the shop and out of sight before quickly returning with a list for Layle.
"Just these three. Bring them back. I will fix it. A shiny new accessory for your girl, kupo."
"Yeah…" Layle took the list and then eyed the locket in the Moogle's hands. "Can I have the pictures taken out? Since it won't open again?"
"Of course, Kupo!" The Moogle opened the locket and pulled out the two pictures. It handed them to Layle and as soon as he took them the Moogle bowed its head again and the shutter fell closed.
"An emblem, huh?" Layle tucked the pictures into the bag he kept at his side. "At least I can give her back the pictures."

"Well, Cid, what do you think?" Keiss leaned over the counter of Cid's desk. The Lilty sat at the cluttered desk near the front of his shop while he read over the reports. He'd been reading over them while steadily drinking from whatever bottle of wine that still and something left in it to drink.
Cid rubbed the side of his forehead with one hand and groped about for a half full bottle with the other. "Its… Its remarkable…"
"…You're kidding, right?" Keiss frowned.
"No, no it truly is… It's remarkable, and terrifying that they would resort to this." He finally found a bottle with a few swallows left in it and held it up to his lips. "To think that energy is running this scarce. It shouldn't be. They should have enough Crystal Shards to last them at least two hundred years more…" Cid took a long drink from his wine bottle and set it down. "Someone is squandering energy elsewhere."
"So what do you think I should do?"
"…Jegran," Cid looked up at the Selkie, "Take this to Jegran…"
"But Spinosa is his man; won't he already know about all of this?"
The onion headed Lilty shook his head, "Since my experimental reactor failed, the King has had Jegran focused on civil projects. He does no Military advancement work. All of that is left to the Research Team. The last orders received when I left were to being working on ways to fuel Crystal Reactors without exhausting the shards we had…" He pushed Piper's notes aside. "My reactor, what I made back then was going to triple the output of energy a single shard could produce. The exponential growth of energy would mean you could power anything with a fraction of the amount of shards it took. You could power an entire armada of battle ships with just a handful of shards."
"And your reactor?" Keiss picked up the notes, "Where is it now, Cid?"
The old Lilty shook his head. "It was all scrapped. The reactor, the weapons, the ship it was all built into. I don't think his Majesty could bear to have it around and ordered it destroyed…"
"And if the Military didn't scrap it?"
"No," Cid shook his head, "I was there. Jegran and I received the same orders from the King. It's gone."
"Alright, alright, but…" Keiss held up the paper work, "It looks like they're still pressed for energy. Even if the King and Jegran didn't approve this, they're going to show it to them. But by then their refusal would be too late. So… I need to know, Cid, where would they develop all this stuff at?"
"There are several Military facilities used for weapons research and development. Veo Lu, Rebena Te Ra-"
"What about Kilanda… Could there be something in the volcano?"
Keiss watched as Cid leaned back in his chair and thoughts. "I remember it being proposed, for security measures, to use deadly places like the Kilanda or the quicksands of the desert to keep top secret weapons under wraps. It was proposed to build over the sands and within the dormant lava tunnels of Kilanda… But…"
"You left before they were done." Keiss tucked the notes under his arm. "Alright, we'll check it out. Thank you, Cid."
"Keiss," the old Lilty pushed himself up to stand, "Listen to me… You need to bring this to light, And fast… These solutions, they're still just temporary. Even if Crystal Bearer shards and Yuke shards posses the same energy, they'll burn out. And who knows what putting that energy into a Crystal Reactor would do, let alone utilizing it as a weapon. It's not safe, not for anyone of the populace."
"Don't worry, Cid. Layle and I will put Spinosa's little illegal side project to rest." The red head nodded to him before hurrying out the door to find his partner.
Cid took a deep breath and sighed. He moved away from his chair and walked around his workshop toward the back. The old Lilty stopped in front of a wall covered not with blueprints and idea charts, but of old news paper clippings and a picture of a woman. The headlines of the papers read in bold print 'Disaster', 'Explosion Claims Queen's Life', 'Military Failure Devastates Kingdom', 'Head Researcher Resigns'. He reached up and tentatively put his hand on the faded image of the Lilty woman. What was once a bright beautiful painting was now tarnished from hanging on the workshop wall. The bright orange and yellow dress seemed dingy, pink hair faded like her green eyes. The only thing that seemed intact was her smile.
"In your absence, it would seem things have gone awry. That accursed ship might be gone… But its power is still tainting your Kingdom."

When Keiss arrived back at the bridge he was not the least bit surprised to find that Layle was not there. The Selkie threw his hands up in the air and sighed. There was no point in going to try and find him. He'd either return to the bridge or eventually the sounds of chaos breaking out in the city streets would alert him as to where the Clavat went.
The Selkie mercenary leaned against the bars and shook his head, "That Crystal Bearer is nothing but trouble…"
Layle took his time wandering back toward the bridge. He didn't honestly think he'd beat Keiss back to their meet up location, but it still surprised him to see the red head there waiting for him. The Clavat took note of the fact his partner was leaning with his back to the rails of the bridge and his eyes closed. He had a slight frown on his face. More than likely due to his absence.
"Hey," Layle waved to him as he opened his eyes. "You done talking to Cid?"
"Yeah," Keiss pushed up off the rails, "You done causing trouble?"
"You don't even know where I went." He crossed his arms. "Are you going to just remain openly hostile toward me for the rest of this investigation?"
"I will, so long as you keep behaving hostile."
"I am not being hostile."
Keiss raised his hand and tightly balled his fingers into a fist, "Crushing enemies doesn't sound hostile to you?"
"Just tell me what you found out, Keiss."
The red head pulled out Piper's notes, "Since Cid left at the start of the fall of Crystal Shard usage, they've been trying to find ways to expend their power."
"Yeah, Clockwork told us that already."
"But the Military isn't supposed to be the ones doing it, at least not the weapons division. Cid says that Piper's prediction of the time the Crystal Shard's energy will run out is much sooner than what was initially predicted. He says to check out the Military bases. Find where they're funneling shards to. Maybe even try to talk to the High Commander about all of this."
"The High Commander?" Layle tilted his head, "Isn't Spinosa doing this for him?"
"According to Cid, yes and no. The High Commander now oversees the King and Council's projects, all of which are civil works, like Clockwork said. So the higher ups are in the dark on what his generals are developing behind the scenes – and what they're using to do it." He walked past his partner, "Cid also said there was talk about making secure research facilities in dangerous locations that are nearly inaccessible to keep such covert projects safe. Facilities built in places like over the desert's quick sands, or even within the old lava tunnels of an active volcano."
"Like Kilanda… So, Clockwork wasn't lying." Layle turned as his partner passed him, "She can be trusted at times."
"But not all the time. And next time we see her, we catch her. She likes to use us to buy herself time, well not any more. Our next encounter, she's going to be buying us time to undo this mess."

In order to find their way into the Kilanda secret base, the boys needed to find out more information on it. And Keiss could think of no place more informative than his favorite bar haunt. When the duo arrived back in Alfitaria it was late in the afternoon, and the Selkie set out immediately for Chime's tavern. Surely the bar maid could give them a few pointers on where to start looking, for the right price of course.
Layle on the other hand felt that asking the Selkie woman would take too long. As far as he was concerned they should seek out Dr. Oides and question him.
"We will question the doctor in due time, Layle. But it's not like we can just walk into his office and see him whenever we want now."
"And why not?" The two were walking down the lower streets of the capitol into the Selkie occupied part of town.
"Well for starters, Spinosa is pissed at me. And I'm pretty sure by now they have orders to shoot you on sight," Keiss shrugged, "Not to mention you're a Crystal Bearer, and right now all Crystal Bearers are on the 'immediately round up and force to be treated list'." He turned around and pointed to his partner as he walked, "Oh, and because the last military facility we were in you helped burn to the ground. With people in it. And there were lots of witnesses."
"You're not going to stop bringing that one up are you?"
"I understand that you're upset about that girl, Layle. But the guards are just doing what they're paid to do- isn't that what you told Clockwork?"
"Yeah, and developing equipment and being paid to lock people up until they're murdered isn't the same thing!" The Crystal Bearer snapped at him and for a moment Keiss through for certain Layle was going to toss him.
The red head put up his hands defensively and shook his head.
The two stopped walking and stared at each other. Neither of them moved while each waited for the other to make a counter argument. A few Selkies passed them by looking on confused as to what their hold up was.
Finally Layle sighed and turned his head away, "Whatever, Keiss." The red head lowered his hands frowning and started to walk forward again. As he did so he swore he heard Layle muttering under his breath, 'You wouldn't be so calm if it was the Guild we were talking about…'
When they reached Chime's, Keiss opened the door, his partner still trailing behind him with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Hey! Chime! Where are you at!?" The red head walked in shouting for the bar maid to make appearance. Layle followed him inside shutting the door before quietly taking a seat at the bar.
"Quit all your shouting!" The woman entered from the back room of her establishment. She ran her fingers through her bangs and smirked at the two as she walked up to the opposite side of the counter. "Well, well, I was wondering when you two were going to show up."
"You were expecting us?" Keiss took a seat.
"You went home!" Chime smacked the counter with a smile. "And this one-" She turned to Layle, "This one… I have to see it to believe it."
"See it?" Layle raised an eyebrow to her.
"The earring. Let me see it." Chime pointed to her earlobe and Layle slowly turned his head for her. The woman reached forward and grabbed his chin. She turned his head so fast he heard his neck crack. "Look at that! It's true! A Crystal Bearer Guild Member!" She let go and the Clavat rubbed his chin as she laughed. "Oh boy, Vaigali must really think you're a winner."
"Chime," Keiss crossed his arms over the counter, "We didn't come here to talk about Layle's Guild status- that he is not going to be using."
"You would say that, Keiss." She leaned forward and smiled at the Guild Master's son. "How much does it eat you up inside? Hmn? You know he half did it just to aggravate you."
"Of course he did. He has nothing better to do than find new ways to make my life difficult from afar." Keiss leaned forward, "But I'll talk about that later. Chime I need some information."
"Oh yeah?" She pulled away from Keiss, "And what are young to pay me?"
"Nothing." Keiss shook his head. The woman laughed. "Chime, it's not a matter of getting a job done…" He glanced at his partner out the corner of his eye, "It's a matter of life and death." The red head looked back at the woman, "We think the Crystal Bearer Cure, is being used to make a weapon. And, a Bearer Layle knows has already been taken in for treatment. So I haven't got time to pay you."
"…" Chime looked at Keiss and then at Layle. The Clavat wasn't looking at her, but at his partner. There was a look on his face she couldn't quiet read. It looked like some mixture of shock and appreciation. "Alright. Tell me where you need to go."
"Has anyone heard anything about a secondary base around the Kilanda Volcano?"
"You mean other than the one on the neighboring islands? No."
"What about any weird military activity?" Layle asked her next. "Anything strange coming or going?"
"Handsome, that happens every day out there."
"What about an excess of construction equipment. Not recently, but perhaps a few years ago? Anything bizarre?"
"Well," Chime rubbed her knuckles under her chin, "A few years ago they went out to the Volcano with some drilling equipment. A few other ships too that they moved in at night. Told the Guild they were reconstructing the lava tubes on the northern end of the island away from the shore line. Due to recent seismic activity, they wanted to create a runoff channel so if there was an eruption it wouldn't affect the coast line."
"I don't suppose you've got copies of those report do you? Of exactly where that took place on the island?" Keiss leaned forward with a smile.
The woman smirked, "Not on me. But I can get copies."
"That's great!" Layle nodded to her. "You're the best, Chime."
"Oh you don't have to tell me that, Layle. I already knew I was."

With the promise of Chime looking up the information on how to enter Kilanda's secrete base, the boys made their way home. It was getting late, and Keiss knew they weren't going to get to see Oides today.
"What if instead of the lab we tried to see him at home?" The red head looked over his shoulder to the Clavat as they made their way down the hall to their apartment. "He lives in Marr's Pass. We could go to his home there… That is, if we can't find out where his temporary home is here in capitol."
Layle slowly nodded, "Yeah… Marr's Pass… Uh, what do you say we try searching here first? I mean, I don't think he'd just uproot himself so quickly. Even if they did give him the boot, he's probably still in town trying to appeal it."
"Yeah, probably…" Keiss put his key in the door and stopped. The red head tilted his gaze inspecting an envelope wedged in the cracks of their door.
"What is it?" Layle leaned over his shoulder.
"I-I don't know…" Keiss pulled it out and turned it over. "There's no address."
"…Well it didn't come by Moogle then, open it."
Keiss tore open the letter and pulled out a note. As he unfurled it two thin slips of paper fell out. Layle reached out with his hands and caught them with his magic before they hit the ground. The Crystal Bearer pulled them up into the palm of his hand and studied them.
"Tickets?"
"And invitation." Keiss held it up for Layle to see. "To an Officer's Ball… It says it's from Dr. Oides…but, it's not his handwriting."
Layle took the letter, and his eyes widened a bit. It certainly wasn't the old doctor's handwriting but he recognized it right away. He'd gotten a letter in Denthe with the same elegant style.
"Vill…" he muttered under his breath.
"You recognize it?" Keiss watched him. The Clavat looked up from the paper and shook his head. The red head held his gaze on him, but Layle's look of cluelessness didn't falter. "Fine." He snatched the paper away and opened the door.
"So… Are we going to go?"
"The officer's ball is a huge party for all the Military officials to celebrate their accomplishments. Everyone goes. From the lowest ranked officer, to guys like Spinosa, to the High Commander himself. Hell, the King or Princess may even show up."
Layle stepped into the door way and leaned on the frame, "The High Commander, huh? Well I guess that means there's no way we aren't going to go."
"We were sent these tickets… May as well put them to use right?"
"You know it's probably a trap."
"So?" The red head turned to face his partner, "There's only one thing I'm worried about, and it has nothing to do with this being a trap."
Layle pushed off the frame and shut the door, "You're not worried about the trap? Then what are you worried about?"
"The High Commander is going to be there!" Layle rolled his eyes, "We can question him about Spinosa, and make a good impression."
"I should have known…" Layle shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey, Crystal Bearer," his partner put his hands on his hips, "Tell me you know how to waltz."
"Why do I need to know how to waltz?"
"What part of 'good impression' didn't you hear? It's a ball. Lilties waltz. Tell me you can do more than that Clavat hoedown."
"You saw where I grew up right? What makes you think I can waltz?"
Keiss tilted his head back and sighed. "Well we've got a few days… And we have to wait for Chime's info anyway." He looked forward again and nodded, "Don't worry, by the time I'm done with you, you'll be a perfect ballroom dancer."
"…Can we just skip it and go right to the trap part instead?"

On the night of the officer's ball Keiss stood in front of his mirror running his fingers through his hair. It had been five days since he and Layle had found the invitation stuffed in their door. And in that time Chime had gathered as much information on the construction work around the volcano as possible. The former Guild Member had it all tacked up on his mirror and was reading over it as he got ready to attend the obvious trap laid out for the two of them.
He finished fixing his hair and reading over the notes. Before he they were caught he was going to make as many inquiries as possible.
On the bed he'd laid out a black jacket to wear for the evening. They weren't going in their usual run of the mill mercenary attire. No tonight was a suit and tie affair. And even though the Selkie blood in him loathed wearing standard shoes, he was still dressed up in a tuxedo for tonight's shenanigans. Keiss scooped up his jacket and exited his room to see Layle already dressed and leaning against the wall.
"You know, like that you look like you could almost pass for a civilized individual, and not a country bumpkin."
The Clavat pushed off the wall and smirked at him, "It's perfectly okay to admit you're jealous I look better in a tux than you, Keiss."
"Don't hold your breath."

The event was being held across town in the upper city levels nearest the palace. Here the homes of the nobles and the highest ranked officers lined the streets. One of the estates was host to the affair for the night. It took the boys a good half hour to get there by tram and then walk the remaining distance.
They stood across the street watching a few carriages arrive with guests and nobles, all dressed up for the party. There was a line of common guards at the gate checking each individual in.
"So, we're just going to walk in?" Layle looked over to his partner.
Keiss pulled out the Clavat's ticket and handed it to him, "We were invited remember? May as well." The red head started across the street and Layle followed.
"So what's the plan?"
"Let's find our friend Regal first. He was at both facilities and is Spinosa's right hand. We'll question him about Kilanda."
"And if we see Spinosa?"
"We'll grill him as well. He's bound to be here." Keiss stopped at the gate and smiled to the guard, giving him his usual overly polite grin that he dispensed on cue for any Lilty. The solider took his ticket leering at him from under his helmet. He then took Layle's and allowed him to enter, but not without muttering to his partner about how strange it was to see them there.
"He's probably going to have someone run up and tell them we're here anyway," Layle looked back at the two whispering guards.
"Good." Keiss nodded as they entered the doors of the building. "It will save us the time of hunting them down."
The guests were all ushered in to the side entrance of the establishment. It was in its own right a large ballroom. Certainly not anything nearly as grand as the ballroom of the palace, but it was still big enough for this affair. The entire back wall was made up of glass panels revealing an expansive garden behind the house where more guest were walking about eating and drinking. There was a band playing a gentle waltz in the corner, as Keiss had promised there would be, and several waiters walking around with plates filled with food and wine. Off to the side there was a small stage set up, more than likely for the host to give a speech or perhaps the High Commander when he showed.
As a waiter passed by the two Keiss reached out and picked up a glass of wine. The man carrying the tray seemed appalled that he had taken it. In return Keiss winked at him and mouthed a quick 'thanks'.
"See anyone?" The Selkie raised his glass to his lips.
"Nope." Layle looked around.
"Well, it's a long shot, but let's see if the doctor is here, hmn? If nothing else we can start with him." Keiss took another long gulp form his drink emptying it and put the empty glass on the tray of a passing waitress. "Come on." The Selkie started forward, moving around the outer edges of the dance floor.
In the middle of the room Lilty men and woman were dancing and chatting. Certainly as the only Selkie and Clavat present they stood out like a couple of sore thumbs. But it didn't bother either of them really. They'd come expecting to be ambushed by now, and the fact that they were still moving about freely was what actually agitated Keiss.
Where was Oides?
Where was Spinosa?
"I see Regal…" Layle stopped walking. He gestured across the room close to the band stand. The Lilty they'd come to identify as 'Sir Rosebush' was engaged in a conversation with a group of other officers. They were laughing and carrying on. "I wonder if Sparks is here?" The Clavat asked absentmindedly.
"She's not," Keiss shook his head. His tone was distinctly bitter. Layle thought perhaps he was upset he'd forgotten the woman's name. However when he turned to address Keiss he realized the Selkie was glaring at something across the room. "But I will tell you who is."
The Crystal Bearer followed his partner's line of sight to see what was angering him so. Not far from them, across the dance floor was a Lilty woman. Her green eyes were locked with Keiss' as she smiled and took a sip from her wine glass. Green and purple hair, with lilacs woven into the locks, fell around her shoulders over her light blue ball dress. The smirk on her face was more smug than anything Layle had seen in a while.
"Clockwork." The Selkie hissed.
"She's coming this way." Layle tucked his hands into his pockets. The Lilty Crystal Bearer was indeed walking towards them now. Never taking her eyes off of them and smiling the entire time.
"My my, you two made it!" She stood before them, dressed as a proper noble woman. "And here I thought you'd skip the party."
"You sent us the tickets." Keiss frowned at her.
"Of course I did!" She beamed and took another sip from her glass. "I did say I wanted to see Layle again, didn't I? And besides, I need you two here."
"What for?" Keiss snapped at her. "What are you planning now? We're not going to serve as your distraction again."
The Lilty woman finished her drink and smirked at Keiss, "Oh you're not are you?"
"No, we're not." He crossed his arms and looked over her shoulder. As soon as she had reached them, the boys' presence had caught Regal's attention. And he was making a beeline for them. Layle noticed it too, as he glanced at his partner. "In fact, you are going to serve as our distraction tonight, Clockwork."
"My, you're awfully confident with that statement."
"Keiss, I think we should move-"
"No. We're going to stay right here." He shook his head, "So tell me, Clockwork, before you go, what was your plan tonight? Were you going to burn this place down? Murder a few officials? Kidnap someone?" Layle kept his eyes on Regal as Keiss spoke to the woman; the Lilty was almost to them now.
"My! Such devious thoughts, Selkie." She shook her head. "I just came to attend the party, just like you have."
"Bullshit." Keiss narrowed his eyes at her. "Whatever your stupid little plan is, it's not going to work tonight." The red head abruptly stepped to the side and spoke around the woman with a smirk. "Hey! Regal! You're just in time!" Layle looked at Clockwork. The woman pressed her lips together and glanced at him. He watched her lips curl up into a bit of a smile and the Clavat sighed.
This was not going to end well.
Keiss gestured to the time wielding Lilty, "I've got someone I want you mee-"
"Can it, Selkie!" He cut Keiss off and pushed him back. "You've got some nerve showing up here! What do you think you're doing! How did you get past the guards?"
Keiss put his hands up and sighed, but he didn't stop smirking. "We were invited, Regal. But I do have a party crasher here you should meet-"
"Impossible!"
"It's true," Clockwork spoke up and turned to face Regal. She smiled at him, in such a sweet way that for a moment the man's anger faltered. "Didn't I tell you, Royce, dear? I was just dying to meet them. Grandfather goes on about them so much."
"Royce?" Keiss looked at Regal with a surprised glance.
"Dear?" Layle curled his nose at the affection term.
"You invited them! Why would you want to meet such bilge?"
"Hey!" Keiss snapped his fingers at Regal, "She didn't invite us. Dr. Oides did!"
"No, I did," the female Lilty turned to him and nodded. "Though I suppose it was rude of me to sign Grandfather's name. But I didn't think you'd come if you didn't recognize whom the invitation was from."
"Grand…father?" Keiss leaned forward as he asked.
"Why yes!" Layle watched as the woman wrapped one arm around Regal's and extended her left hand to Keiss showing off her engagement ring, "But how rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Villosie Oides. Sir Regal's fiancé. You work for my Grandfather."
Layle looked over at Keiss who looked at the woman's offered hand. He couldn't tell if the look on his partners face was one of shock or offense. He didn't take his eyes off Keiss as he reached out with his powers and lifted a full bottle of wine from a tray and pulled it towards his hand. He caught it and then extended it to the Selkie.
"I think you'll want this for the rest of the night."
- 58
- 59
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The Crystal Rule