Dissidia Final Fantasy: Unus Mundus

Chapter Two ~ Untold Ties (Firion)

I don't understand... I thought we defeated the Emperor!

Firion paced throughout the halls of the Castle of Fynn in a panic, twirling the ring on his finger, a gift entrusted to him from the fallen Prince Scott of Kashuan. He and two other friends of his who became leaders of Fynn's military heard that the empire of Palamecia was in an uproar all of a sudden with people disappearing, unknown people appearing as if out of nowhere, and the most unsettling of things, the second revival of Emperor Mateus. He remembered the big war they fought back then, all the lives that were lost just so they could defeat the Emperor once and for all, and he was back. 

"Hey, Firion!"

Firion immediately shifted his focus to the familiar voice. A man with purple hair slicked back and spiked while he wore armor that matched the color of his hair approached him. It was Leon, one of his closest friends and another of the three leaders of Fynn's military. Once Firion confirmed it was him, he spoke. "Any word on the situation?"

"So far, not a whole lot." Leon put his hand on his hip and looked around. "Hilda's got some spies in Palamecia, but we haven't heard from them since they left." He sighed and looked at the floor. "Hell, we don't even know if they're alive."

"So, he really is back..." Firion crossed his arms and felt his heart drop upon hearing himself say that. "Emperor Mateus Palamecia. What does he want? Revenge?"

"Hilda wants us to go investigate with Gordon," said Leon. "She feels that if need be, we could fight back against him and maybe end him before another war can begin." As soon as Leon said that, Firion shot him a glance of doubt and shock.

"What!?" he exclaimed. "Is she insane!?"

"Firion, calm yourself!"

"How the hell can I calm myself!?" Firion began pacing around again, this time faster as he panicked even more. "Doesn't Hilda even remember everything he did to us? Doesn't she remember how powerful the Emperor is!? It took so much to kill him last time, and it's been so long since then. Who knows if we even have that kind of strength these days?" Leon put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him from pacing, looking at him sternly.

"Listen to me, Firion," he began. "We didn't question our strength when facing him last time. Do you know what we did? We trusted each other. We trusted the fact that we could take him out together, because we had to. This is the same case. While it has been a long time since we fought the Emperor last, I choose to trust in the fact that we still have the same power we had back then, so I firmly believe we can take him on. This isn't the Emperor we faced in Pandaemonium, Firion. This is just regular Emperor Mateus. A human." Leon stepped back and held his hand out. "What do you say? Want to join your lifelong friend for one last showdown with that monster?" Firion hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't help but smile as he grabbed Leon's hand and shook it.

"You always play that lifelong friend card," Firion chuckled. "Alright, I'm in. Maria and Guy are gonna be safe in town, right?" Leon scoffed almost out of surprise.

"You act like they can't handle themselves," he laughed. Firion went to speak, but they were interrupted by the sound of frantic panting and the running footsteps of a soldier hurrying their way. 

"It's Gordon!" the soldier exclaimed between heavy breaths. "He's... he's...!" Firion and Leon exchanged glances and ran towards the soldier, both of them placing a hand on the soldier's shoulders to stop him from running.

"Take deep breaths," Leon spoke calmly. "Tell us; what's the matter?" The soldier started to breathe deeply as he looked up at the two men.

"Gordon..." he began. "He comp... he completely vanished!" Immediately, Firion and Leon stiffened upon hearing the news.

"Gordon vanished?" asked Firion. "Where? How?"

"We don't know..." the soldier panted. "We checked his bedroom, and... he's just gone!"

"Does Hilda know about this?"

The soldier shook his head, and Firion and Leon exchanged glances once more, nodding before they stood and began to run towards the throne room. "You don't think he went to Palamecia alone," Leon said as they ran. "Do you?"

"Gordon wouldn't go alone," Firion replied. "Not unless it was a direct order from Hilda. There's no way he'd go to Palamecia alone otherwise." Firion and Leon burst into the throne room, but as soon as they did, they saw Hilda pacing back in forth in a panic as well. "Lady Hilda?" Firion began. "What's wrong?"

"Paul has gone missing," Hilda answered, breathing deeply to regain her composure. "A lot of people all over Fynn have been going missing today, just completely vanishing." Firion and Leon exchanged glances before Leon stepped up. 

"Lady Hilda..." Leon was hesitant to speak, but he cleared his voice and went for it. "Gordon is missing too." Hilda stopped pacing around and looked up at Leon, even more panicked as he spoke. "Do you think the return of the Emperor could have anything to do with all of these disappearances?"

"Well, i-it's got to be!" Hilda stammered in her fear. "It can't just be coincidence that Mateus comes back  and suddenly, hundreds of people go missing..." She finally stopped panicking and walked back to her throne, looking at Firion and Leon. "With Gordon missing, I think only you two should investigate Palamecia. If the Emperor is behind this at all, maybe all the missing people are there." Hilda shook her head and chuckled a bit. "Yes, it's a bit of a stretch, but regardless, this matter needs further investigation." 

"Milady, they cannot do such a thing alone."

Firion and Leon turned around at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. It was a Dragoon clad in sea blue armor, a helmet concealing his eyes, and a long spear in hand. "Wait a minute..." Firion looked at the Dragoon closely with concern. "Ricard? Is that you? I-I thought—"

"Ricard was my father," the Dragoon replied as he stopped walking. "He passed away many years ago in my life, but only about a year ago in yours. I'm his son, Kain Highwind."