UnShaekable (FFXII)

V) Escape

Breathless, Vaan slumps against the rough brick of the tunnel wall, boots propped up against the lip of rusted, old railroad tracks. These likely haven't been used since airships were invented. Fran paces along the wooden planks lining the ground, Balthier watching her steps with a bored expression.

"The Mist seethes," Fran comments, brows furrowed.

"It reeks," Balthier shakes his head. "Something's close."

I lean against a pillar beside Basch as he kneels, pulling armor from the decaying body before him. Flies buzz around as he removes an iron bangle, dropping a grayed hand back to the ground gently. He pulls a cord free from the man's waist, eyeing it.

"Need help tying that mess back?" I offer with a yawn. He glances up at me before shaking his head.

"I can handle it," he replies softly, moving to sloppily wrap the cord around the long, matted mess of greasy blonde hair hanging down his broad back.

I shrug indifferently, shifting uncomfortably around the pole stabbing the length of my back. Basch then stands, now thoroughly armored in what he fits into from the man. He takes hold of the basic iron sword at the man's side, giving it a few experimental swings. A slash hardly three inches from my face leaves me raising an eyebrow, refusing to flinch.

"Nice moves there, Captain," Balthier muses, arms crossed. Vaan pushes off the wall, looking as irate as ever.

"You mean 'traitor'," the thief scoffs, his fair hair waving with every shake of his head.

"So they say," Balthier acknowledges with a shrug. "But I didn't see him kill anyone."

"My brother did," Vaan replies bitterly, glaring at Basch. The captain frowns, turning sharply to look back at the boy.

"Reks," he breathes, voice painfully raspy and rough. "He said he had a brother two years younger." He turns to look Vaan in the eye. "I see. He meant you. Your brother. What became—"

"He's dead," the boy snaps, averting his gaze.

"I'm sorry."

"It was you who killed him!" Vaan shouts, scowling at Basch.

"I give you my word: that was not the way of it." From the older man's tone, though this may make me naïve, I feel as though he's telling the truth. I may know nothing now and he may be evil and a sick, twisted liar, but I want to believe him.

He goes on to explain a somewhat unlikely tale of a twin brother, a man identical to him who murdered the king and Vaan's older brother, Reks. The crime was then pinned on Basch, the captain supposedly present. In all this, Basch is innocent, a knight fallen from grace and honor, as this twin roamed free, happy to imprison his brother for a crime he did not commit. However, perhaps it's not all that unlikely. In a world such as ours stuck in a time such as this, not many families avoid torn, ruined, and evil practices. Basch sinks to the floor, arm hooked over his hunched knees. 

"A twin brother," Balthier murmurs, pinching his chin between his forefinger and his thumb. "Fancy that." He hums, tilting his head to the side. "But still, the pieces fit. I'll give you that much. And he did look like you." Why so much interest in a prisoner all of a sudden?

"I don't believe you," Vaan says firmly, keeping his back turned to the captain.

"Of course not," Basch sighs. "It was my fault Reks was there." He hangs his head, staring long and hard at the armor on his wrist. "I am sorry."

"My brother, he trusted you," Vaan grits, hands clenching into fists. "He trusted you, and he lost everything. How can I believe you?" I wish I could open my mouth to speak, to explain to him that trust means you have bet it all. You win everything or you lose everything. So far, I've been on my fair share of the losing team, but holding a grudge never helped anyone. Instead, I watch Basch push himself to his feet.