#He pretty much takes care of Orcus while the other WoLs deal with Babil

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write 2022 Prompt #7 – Pawn

For upon thy life’s reel wind too many threads. Of Fate. Power. Weal, enmeshed with woe. More terrible still is the attrition wrought upon thy companions, as they are swept up in the storm of thine existence.

Take heart and protect them well. They will be your strength and your salvation.

After willing the nightmare to end for what seemed like an eternity, Aleister’s eyes finally opened.

A comforting weight was resting on him, arms wrapped around his body. Someone was holding him. Gwenefyr. She was weeping softly, and he raised his arms to return her embrace. She cried out in joy and cried harder.

“Thank goodness, he’s finally awake!” Alphinaud’s voice. A sound of running feet, crunching in the snow. He looked up to see everyone, the Scions, Maxima, Lucia, his fellow Warriors of Light, all rushing to gather around him.

Rheika reached him first and she knelt down next to him, ruffling his hair. “Welcome back, Old Man”

He could only smile and nod as he bent forward to whisper loving soothing sounds to Gwen.

When she finally calmed down a couple of minutes later, he raised his head to address the others. “Is everyone all right? Please tell me that lunatic didn’t kill someone with my body.”

Everyone shook their heads, but it was G’raha who verbalized it first. “Everyone is perfectly fine. I hope the same can be said of you”

Aleister mumured something into Gwen’s ear, and she immediately began to stand, assisting him to do the same. Nothing felt particularly sore or in any pain, really. He examined himself, stretching a couple of limbs. It all felt well enough.

“Everything in working order?” asked Alisaie.

“Seems like it, but I doubt I’m going to be doing anything before Gwen can scan the heck out of me, so if something IS wrong, we’ll all know soon enough.”

“You’re damn right about that, mister” Gwen said from his side, still clinging to his arm.

Fearless stepped forward. “We…think we pieced together what happened. Fandaniel teleported you away in the chaos of the temperings, then….removed you from your body so Zenos could steal it and threaten us with….a voidsent. I’m not sure I get that last part tho.”

Aleister clenched his head as the memories came unbidden

redandblackandglintingsteelandredsosomuchredtoomanyhandsnotmyhandsbloodanddeathandPAIN

“Aleister??”

Gwen’s voice pulled him out of it. Her voice always could, even before.

Dahkar was at his other side, holding him up against the sudden dizziness that was threating to debilitate him. “Easy, old man. I gotcha. You think you’ll be all right, now?”

Aleister had to sigh. “No. Not right now. That bastard used me to kill for him. Maybe one day, but I don’t know if I’ll be entirely all right for a long time.”

“Given recent events, I would be surprised if you were.” Y’shtola piped up. Her face was grim, Aleister looked to her and knew from her countenance. She blamed herself for saying nothing. She had seen his aether was wrong but realized far too late what it meant. She forced a smile for him. “Under normal circumstances, I would suggest a hearty meal and some rest to start your recovery process, but these are anything but, if Fandaniel’s boasts are to be believed.”

Franks snarled at the mention of the Ascian.

“Loathe as I am to suggest this, pray focus on your anger. It may help you clear away the cobwebs. Once you feel ready enough, we can discuss our assault on the Tower of Babil”+

“No.”

“….what?”

“I said no. I’m not going with you.”

The whole of the Scions turned to him in shock.

“Come on, Old Man, what’re you talking about? We need you.” Dahkar’s voice was concerned.

“No, you don’t. Not for this. The amount of warriors here is more than sufficient to put an end to that tower. What we are sorely lacking in now is information. Information I can gather.”

He looked down to the snow. “The fact is….I am not at a hundred percent right now, mentally. If I go in there with you….I can’t guarantee my usual degree of skill. So, Rheika? Take Gwen with you in my stead. Yes, she doesn’t have the Blessing, but she’s been fighting for nearly as long as I have, and you’ve all seen how quickly she’s taken to those nouliths. She’s more than capable of standing with you all.”

Alphinaud’s face was still shocked. “But…what will you be doing? What avenues do you plan to pursue?”

“You all saw what he used to attack G’raha, Alisaie, and Gwen with. Plus, he had a new weapon. Some kind of scythe. It looked odd, Partially magitek for certain, but it felt like it had some of the void imbued into it. We need more information for when the fight inevitably comes. I’m going to find it. So I’m heading to Ul’dah, right into the Thaumaturge guild archives, and with any luck, we’ll learn exactly what he’s capable of. And then we can plan on how to deny him whatever advantages it gives him”

Alphinaud sputtered “But….but this is hardly the time for research! We could-“

“Stop, Alphinaud”. Gwen waved him off, then moved to take Aleister’s face in her hands. He grasped them in return. “You need this, don’t you. To process what happened.”

He quietly nodded.

“Okay” she replied, kissing him softly. Then she turned to the others. “This is happening, full stop. When we come back from that tower, we’ll join back up with him, and I don’t doubt for a second the information he’ll come back with will be exactly what we need to end this miserable scum. Anyone want to complain, you can tell it to me, not him. Am I clear?” Her eyes met each of the Scions and the others in turn

Alphinaud looked like he wanted to say more, but he wisely shut his mouth. The other Scions looked uncertain, but none said a word. Dahkar and Rheika smirked and nodded. Fearless still looked worried, but she nodded as well.

“Good. Now get going, love”

Aleister smiled at her, forever grateful that this amazing woman stood by him every day. Thenreached out with his aether senses, finding the Ul’dahn aethereyte far from there, and began the familiar steps of the teleport spell.

Zenos would rue the day he’d used his body for a pawn. He swore it.