FFT Advance: Full Circle

-----Chapter 5: A Method to Madness?-----

Shaun held tightly onto the railing as he grogily made his way down the staircase. He and Aura had been up for a good length of time last night, worrying about the theif, but Alex and Ellah finally showed up, much to the templar's releif. The pubmaster looked over with a sly grin as the Bangaa trudged towards the door. "Morning, Shaun. Did the lady keep you up all hours of the night?" he asked with a smirk, but the clansman was still too tired to put up with the elderly man's jests. "Not thisss time, friend. We jussst had trouble sssleeping." The pubmaster nodded knowingly, and kindly decided not to pester the templar with sexual innuendo. "Well, there's something you might be interested in," the Human said, getting Shaun's attention. The Bangaa gave an "Oh, really?" look, easy to tell since he wasn't wearing his helmet. "The antlions out in Giza are acting up again... and from the way they're acting, it dosen't sound natural." Scrunching his face in thought, the templar nodded slowly and turned away from the bar, heading back to the stairs.

Battle-hardened knuckles met gently with the wood, coaxing little more that a groan from the slumbering thief; the white mage, however, cautiously wrapped a blanket around herself and moved to the door. Shaun quietly knocked on the door again; Ellah knew just by the tenative way the templar's knuckles sounded against the wood. She patted back twice, letting the Bangaa know someone was up, then opened the door a few inches. "Get Alex up, pleassse," he hissed quietly, "I think we may have a job to do." The Viera nodded and shut the door silently, then walked back over to the bed and tossed her blanket on the slumbering Human. Groaning again, the thief just twitched and rolled onto his side. Great, the white mage thought with a scowl, how am I supposed to wake him up? Several ideas went through her mind, and she couldn't help but smile mischeviously.

Ellah yanked at the covers the Human clutched to, tugging them out of his grasp. Even asleep, she still admired his form; thin and tapered, built for speed and accuracy; not surprising, as he had been a thief most of his life. The scars on his arms gave him a hint of mystery, but the Viera was still a little unnerved by them... it seemed like the young Human blamed himself for too many things. She ran a hand down the side of face, gently carresing him. Not surprisingly, he didn't respond. She laid back down on the bed on her side, facing the thief. His face was actually calm, a nice change from last night... Well, when I found him, at least... Ellah couldn't help but smile contentedly to herself; they had been particularly debaucherous last night when then got back to the inn. She wasn't sore by any means, but it did leave her quite exhausted. Get your brain on track, Ellah, she tought, I need to wake the lazy bum up.

With the same sly grin, she reached down to Alex's exposed groin and began to paw at his member. While it didn't get much of a reaction out of the Human in terms of waking him up, it did get him harder, giving the white mage the leverage she needed. She began to gingerly stroke his length, trying to coax the thief into a state of wakefulness. He groaned again, but didn't move. Ellah smirked and shifted her weight, nudging the sleeping Human onto his back, then moved her head down to his midsection. She planted a few tender kisses on his waist before she began to lick his shaft, swirling her tongue on the sensitive flesh. Without looking back to see if the young thief was awake, Ellah continued her work, slowly moving from licking to sucking, bobbing her head on his length, and rubbing his balls with her free hand. The heavy breathing and quiet moans told her that the Human had finally came to, but she didn't stop.

She continued her ministrations for another minute in bemusement before releasing his organ from her mouth's grasp and looked up to Alex's face. He smiled warmly at her as he propped himself up on one elbow, and caressed her cheek lightly with his other hand, rubbing the soft fur that covered her face. "Okay, El," the thief said with a sigh, "you win. I'm up." She smled lewdly and crawled her way up his body, forcing him to lie down. "So am I," she breathed healivly as their faces met. Alex new that look by now, and shook his head. "So fiesty today, my dear," he responded quietly to her, a reply that only broadened her mechivious face and caused her to lean down to his. "Mmm... you know it," she told him before they kissed.

If you didn't take the Viera's ears into account, Ellah was a head shorter than her lover, which obviously meant she had to scoot down a little before mounting the thief. The feel of her downy fur rubbing across his body only fuled his arousal, and the mage, teasing him like she always did, ran his shaft along the outside of her nether lips, rubbing hot flesh and fur on it. Alex goraned quietly from her tantilizing work, then shot a dissapointed look straight at her. "It seemed like you were all buisiness back here," he said with sly tone. "Are you sure you're even up to it?" The Viera stopped in astonishment for a moment, then half-glared at the Human from her perch. "All buisiness, huh?" she asked, still scowling. Without a word, she raised herself up and skewered the thief's member within her velvetine folds, then leaned as close as she could to him. "I'll show you the way that buisiness works around here."

Alex gasped. They sat there, interlocked, for a moment. "Well," the Human finally said, reaching up to Ellah's chest, "so much for foreplay." The mage smiled brightly and shook her head, then began grinding her hips on his. Taking the hint, Alex began rocking his lower body in a slow rythym, and began to massage the Viera's breasts. He knew the Ellah wasn't proud of her bust size; the thief rememberd overhearing her compare them to other women's as something like "small hills standing next to mountains," or something similar, but he really didn't care. "They're fine by me," he said aloud, earning a smile from his lover; he had told her that last night, too, and they both knew he would keep saying it. Being an expert thief, Alex knew that size was nowhere near as important as skill.

The Human twisted her pert buds slightly, earning a few extra moans from the mage as she rocked on him. Ellah placed her hands on the thief's chest for stability, moving her hips faster, and almost breaking the rhythm the two lovers held. "Careful," Alex said between heavy breaths, "we can't go too fast." The Viera arced an eyebrow at him and stopped. "Oh, really?" she half-stated, lifting herself up. "Then I think it's time..." she crooned, leaning up to his face, "to move things around, then."

Alex smirked and lunged slightly, grabbing the white mage in a tight embrace, and licked one of her large ears. "What did you have in mind, I wonder?" he asked softly, making sure his exiting breath hit the wet spot on her ear, causing the Viera to shudder. They kissed, twirling their tonuges around each other, and Ellah turned around, laying her upper body on the bed, and raised her rump with a tantilizing shake. Wordlessly, the thief took a position behind her and slid inside, grabbing her furred cheeks roughly for support.

Taking initiative, the Human made a steady pace inside of his lover; fast enough to keep her surprised, but only just. He moved one hand from the mage's soft rear to her clitoris, rubbing it from behind, and squeezed her ass gently. Ellah moaned a bit loudly, then quickly bit down on the sheets, grasping them in rough handfuls. The thief leaned down, draping himself over her, and leaned close to her head. "Is this more of what you had in mind?" he asked lustfuly, and the mage nodded, mostly perceptible due to her hears bobbing.

"I want to try something," he told her, removing his hand from her clit, "but you'll have to trust me on this." Ellah turned her head and gave the young Human a questioning look, but nodded nevertheless. Alex pulled out of her folds slowly, then sat back and placed a hand on her rear. She heard him chant softly, and a small, swirling sound was caught by her ears. Wait... is that...? Before she could finish the thought, something slick and warm was poking at her anus.

Ellah gasped as the thief pushed a finger into her ass. "Ohmygodwhatareyoudoing?" she spat out hurriedly as he pumped in and out, apparently using a Water spell to keep lubricated. "Just trust me on this, El," he told her softly, his voice heavy with concern. Moving his left hand, he gently buried his middle finger into her pussy, stroking her g-spot lightly as he fingered her ass. "Don't clench up," he advised, feeling her tighten down on him, "it makes things worse." She took a few deep breaths and complied, loosening her anus as the Human steadily stroked both her holes.

After a few minutes, he slid another finger into either entrance, getting a shocked gasp that was not devoid of pleasure. As long as he concentrated, the spell held unflinchingly, preventing her from being harmed by friction. Testing a bit more, he straightened out the fingers in her vagina and alternated the strokes. In one, out the other, reverse, and repeat. Ellah moaned, shaking her hips at the thief. "Alex," she pleaded lusfully, "Please... I want you..."

Taking his fingers out, the Human straightened himself up on his knees. The mage reached around, knowing full well his intentions now, and spread her furry cheeks. Alex flexed his hand breifly, and transfered the spell from his hand to his member, coating it in slick veil. With a bit of resistance, the thief slid his cock into her, pushing it in as far as he could, then waited for her to acclimate to the size.

Ellah took a moment to get used to the sensation, but when the awkwardness passed, she wriggled her hindquarters playfuly, signaling her readiness. The Human eagerly responded, pumping into her, each stroke becoming smoother than the last, due to Alex's liberal use of arcana. As he woked, the Viera trailed a hand to her cleft, pushing a finger inside and rubbing vigorously. She also began to squeeze on her lover's length, trying to draw out his seed as quickly as she could.

They both moved faster, barely keeping from crying out in pleasure. The Human moved his left hand from her ass to her shoulder, squeezing it gently, and muttering short phrases in the Nu Mou tongue, even as Ellah gasped oaths in her own. With her free hand, she reached over to the thief's hand and grasped it roughly, clamping down on it; she was obviously closing in on orgasm. Alex moved faster, now ramming into her with abandon, swiftly approaching climax as well.

The Human broke first. With a choked cry, he buried himself into her as far as possible, and filled her with his cum. The feeling of his load shooting into her set the Veira off, and she reflexively clamped her rear as her hips bucked and shook in extacy. Ellah bit down hard on the sheets to keep herself from shouting, but a few muffled squeaks managed to claw out of her mouth and into the room. They both shuddered from each other, their conjoined releases leaving theim in a mass of heavy panting and sweat.

Slowly, Alex pulled out of his lover; stooting off in her had broken his concentration on the spell, so he had to be careful. Ellah sat up, and the thief embraced her tightly. "Mmm, you didn't tell me you knew Sagacity," she purred at him. "Well," he responded with a chuckle, "I'm full of surprises, dear." The white mage smiled lewdly over her shoulder. "No kidding," she sighed.

Shaun sighed. If there was one thing the templar hated, it was waiting. Espacially for something that shouldn't take more than a few minutes. Go in, throw sssome water on him, and leave, the Bangaa thought. That'sss what he always asssked usss to do. The aged wooden stairs creaked lightly as Ellah walked down, who shot a glance over at Shaun. "He's cleaning up," she said quickly, "Aura still asleep?" The lizard man shook his head. "Ssshe'sss getting ready."

"Ready for what?" the Viera asked, feeling bad for having the templar wait. "We've been tipped off to a disssturbance in Giza Plainsss," he told her. "Bug problems, huh? Great." The healer moved down the rest of the stairs and sat at the table, resting on her folded arms. "Don't even get me started, Ellah," a bemused voice replied. The white mage chuckled lightly. "I didn't think you had a problem with them, Aura," she said over her shoulder.
"I just prefer not to tell anyone," the soldier responded, sitting next to her lover. They hugged, two sets of Opal Armor clinking together softly. "So," the Human started, "does Alex know about this?"

"Know about what?" the thief asked as he hopped down the stairs, two at a time. Aura had never seen him out of his combat gear before; his light brown hair was cut relatively short, with a lone bang dangling in front of his face, and was wearing a simple green tunic and plain linen pants. He stopped short of sitting down. "What's with the buisiness suits, you two?" "We've got a job," Shaun told him flatly. The Human's face fell in mock dissapointment. "Well, damn. Lemme gear up, then," he sighed, hurrying back upstairs.

Alex was back in minutes, trotting down in his thief uniform, the green cloth being barely covered the Bone Plate he wore. He had his usual Dash Boots and blue-and-white Thief Armlets, but Shaun saw he had two daggers strapped to his side this time; the templar recognised the slight glint of an Orichalcum, and the distinctive, tapered handle of the Tiptaptwo. "Going for overkill?" the Bangaa asked, arcing an eyebrow at his friend, who smirked in response. "I just call it making sure," he said gingerly as he took a seat.

They tried to leave quietly, but one person had been watching them the whole time. "And just WHERE," the Bangaa joked, "do you guys think you're going without me?" Aura's head snapped up, and she had to fight back an urge to reach for her Blood Sword. "Out on a mission, Visk. What's wrong," the soldier teased, "are you going stir crazy here?" The warrior sat down next to them and gave a weak laugh. "Actually, yes. I'm dyin' for a chance to do something," he told them. "Well, ok, I also wanna see how good you've gotten, girl," the Bangaa admitted, earning a shrug from Shaun. "I don't sssee why not, friend," the templar said calmly.

"Hey, I don't mean to be an ass or anything," the thief said, standing, "but can we go now?" Everyone looked up; Alex was visibly agitated. "Whas'sup with you, Alex?" the trainer asked, but the Human shook his head. "I don't really know," he admitted, "but something isn't right." "Then let'sss get moving," the templar ordered, rising from his seat. Chairs were slid under the table, and the five started at a brisk pace. "Be careful out there, allright?" the barkeep called out as they left. "I promise nothing!" the Human shouted back, getting a laugh out of the elderly man. "Old joke of theirsss," the templar told his lover quietly, seeing the ghost of a question form in her face.

Usually, a run from Cyrill to Giza took about 6 hours; with the liberal use of magic and a few shortcuts, they cut that time in half. As the group closed in, they saw a huge, dark blot over the plains. Alex, looking up at the cloud, visibly recoiled. "Something foul is at work here," he breathed, glancing around nervously. "Keep your witsss about you," Shaun told him, knowing well enough the habits of his friend. "I know, buddy, but I can't help it," the Human replied. "It just feels wro-"

The ground shook violently, cutting the thief's words short. "Shit, Phantasm!" the Human shouted, relexively shoving Ellah away, hopefully out of the Illusionist's range... and putting himself off balance. Fist-size and larger stones spewed out of fissures in the ground, bashing into all of them. When the spell finally ended, the only Clansmen still on their feet was Shaun, having dug his Dragon Whisker into the dirt at his feet. A cold and calculating laugh issued from somewhere close by.

"For being such a reputable Clan, one would beleive that you would have been more prepared for this," the assailant said. As Ellah, Visk, and Aura staggered to their feet, Alex kicked his legs up and pushed, leaping into a standing position. "Keep talking, chuckles," the thief said aloud, drawing his daggers. "It'll make you easier to find." Visk swung his Tabarise free of its sheath, glaring all around him. Ellah's ears picked up a faint sound; the buzzing of insect wings. Lots of them.

The thief snapped around, seeing the Illusionist plainly- well, almost plainly. The Nu Mou had a constant swarm of vermin whirling around him, and was accompanied by three unusually large jawbreakers. "Ssstay back, Ellah," the templar cautioned as he pulled the spear out of the ground effortlessly. The healer backed up tenatively and began chanting, casting a Protection spell on her allies. Visk glanced to Aura, then back at the mutant antlions. "Hey, Aura, wanna have a race?" he asked, his tone somewhere between a joke and a declaration. "A race? How so?" the soldier shot back, not taking her eyes off of the bugs. An involuntary shiver ran down the Human's spine at the thought of oversized antlions.

"I wanna see if you can kill one of those things before I do," the warrior explained with a murderous grin. Now, Aura actually looked over at her mentor, understanding dawning on her face. He wants to give me something else to focus on. The woman shot back with a smirk of her own. "You're on!" she shouted. "I'll take the nutcase," Alex told them, his voice cold and stoic. "Fair enough," Shaun told the thief. "Ready?

The Illusionist watched them patiently. Apparently, they had finally decided who would be fighting what, and looked at his minions. "Very well," he told them in his native tongue, "kill them." The three beasts moved forward, and the Nu Mou locked gazes with the thief, who pointed his right-hand dagger in challenge. His allies rushed up to intercept his minions, but the green-clad Human skirted the fight, and dashed straight for the Illusionist. Truly, are you so eager to die, child?

Alex charged at their assailant and lashed out with his blades, but to no avail; the swarm of insects was solid enough to deflect the barrage of knife strikes with astouding ease. In response, the Nu Mou lashed out with his Heretic Rod, clubbing the Human squarely in the left temple. Damnit, those bugs are hiding his movements! Alex thought, barely dodging another unnaturaly heavy swing.

Close by, Aura shouted as the antlion's pincers clamped down on her shield. Furiously, the girl swung the Blood Sword at the large mandibles, but it, too, bounced harmlessly off. Thinking quickly, she flipped the blade downward and stabbed at the creature's beady eyes. The hit connected, tearing out a chunk of chitonous exoskeleton, and making the thing shreik in pain. It released the iron grip on her Opal Sheild, and the soldier backed up a few paces. "These things are tough," she shouted to her companions, "too damn tough!" Steel crashed down heavily to her side as Visk's considerable weight was thrown to the ground. "Just keep at it!" he called over his shoulder from a kneel. "They're bound to crack eventually!"

Shaun was focusing on his opponent, blocking out everything else. The beast was lunging relentlessly at him, forcing the templar to shuffle back a bit more with each failed strike. Finally, the creature lunged too far, compromising its balance, and a Bangaa Cry tore from his throat, stunning the Antlion as the templar advanced. The spear flashed in the half-shaded light, striking swift and furiously, and Shaun regained every foot of ground he had given, one powerful, steel-tipped thrust after the next.

The thief leapt back, his blows again being easily rebuked by the cloud of vermin surrounding the illusionist. A twinge of fear chased its way up his spine, and on a whim, Alex looked back to his comrades. The mutated insects were giving them a tough fight, but that wasn't it. The ground rumbled again, and the Human braced himself for another wave of Soil Evidence. But the Nu Mou didn't call any Phantasm; instead, a hole opened up in the ground next to Ellah, and the thief's eyes shot open.

The white mage shreiked in alarm, then yelled in pain as the ground itself shifted, and a pair of mandibles peirced through her right thigh, shearing through the muscle and clamping down on the bone, refusing to let go. Trying to concentrate through the sea of red, the Viera chanted, calling on the spirits of nature. She threw her arm down, and a long, thin line of flame lashed out from her open palm, whipping the jawbreaker in the face before coiling around it. With a high-pitched wail of anger, it relenquished its hold on the girl, and clawed out of the dirt.

Shaun glanced over breifly, but he already knew that Ellah could hold out for a while. Her Fire Whip had disabled the creature, buying her enough time to heal and prepare another spell. In the split-second that he wasn't looking, the beast managed to slip through the templar's guard, and bit down on his free left hand. A short yelp of pain turned into a low growl of rage, and the Bangaa struck back in kind, jamming the Dragon Wisker into the beast with enough force to smash bones. Releasing the spear, Shaun reared back, and spat a gout of Fire Breath into the antlion's face.

Alex caught the heavy rod between his daggers and glared at the Nu Mou. "You do realise you're going to die, don't you?" the pychopath asked calmly. Shuffling back a handful of steps, the Human smiled humorlessly. "You first," he said, and chanted a short phrase in the illusionist's language. His face changed from slightly bemused to somewhat perplexed, not expecting the thief to know such things. The rotating mana symbol of Sagacity appeared over the boy's hands, and he pointed at the Nu Mou. A thick, noxious green sphere rose from the ground and burst, splattering the illusionist with poison, who recoiled, then began to cough violently.

"YOU!" the Nu Mou shouted, his face contorting with rage. "How DARE you turn our art against me!" "What, that?" Alex asked calmly, a sarcasticaly playful smirk forming on his face. "That's nothin'." Quickly, he sheathed the daggers and clasped his hands together, then drew one hand across the air in a loose fist, as if pulling a set of strings from hand to hand. Cords of shimmering energy sat suspended in the air, and the Human reached up to the empty space around them and grasped. The ghost of a harp frame formed around the phantom strings, and Alex began playing a sad, haunting melody that cut through the plains.

Visk slammed his blade down, causing a Tremor that threw the jawbreaker back. The soft melody floated to his ears, and he looked up at Alex. What in the blue fuck? the warrior thought, arcing an eyebrow in confusion. Then he noticed something; the bugs, while still present, had suddenly becone docile, and the insect cloud had vanished from their assailant. "He's controling them!" Ellah shouted, snapping the Bangaa back to reality, "Now's our chance!"

The illusionist was now cursing adamantly in his native tongue; the Human language just didn't have the words to properly convey his anger. Mana rings formed around his hands, and the temprature near the Human spiked violently. The air itself Flared into life, scorching Alex with raw mana. The vibrant red haze faded, but the Nu Mou was amazed and angered to see the boy still on his feet, stoicly continuing to play the phantom harp. The illusionist reared back to cast again-

-but the templar was quicker. Chanting in the rough, gutteral Bangaa toungue, Shaun flung a Silence spell at their assailant, just in time to prevent him from blasting the thief again. The Clansmen surrounded the Nu Mou; even Ellah had moved close enough to see the fear etched on the mage's face. Glancing at his friends who were flanking their doomed foe, Alex dropped the instrument, which quickly dissolved into errant strands of mana. In one swift motion, he drew the daggers and lunged.

The Cinqueda struck first, cutting deeply into the Nu Mou's flesh, and the Tiptaptwo followed in a barely visible streak. When the second blade struck, the others sprang into action. Shaun lead, leaping high into the air, and Aura followed him closely, her Blood Sword slashing to the side with impressive force. Visk took the next strike, darting forward and slamming his Tabarise into the poor sot with all of his might, and kicked away for the healer's strike.

Ellah seemingly appeared out of nowhere, but they all knew it was nothing more than a focused projection, designed to take one swing, then fade away. The white mage lashed out with her Cheer Staff, and the phantom actually connected, the hollow "thunk" of wood on bone bouncing from the scene. Now, the templar came crashing down with his spear, then bounced backwards, clearing a path for the Human.

Alex stood a few paces back and knelt, focusing the blessing of the Judges into his hands. White rings wreathed his body, and from a knee, he snapped his hand out, hurling one very solid replica of his dagger, then cocked his elbow and threw again. The whole exchange took less than five seconds.

The illusionist stagered, fell to his knees, then lurched forward, holding out an arm in a pleading gesture. "M... mas... ter..." he wheezed with his last breath, then slumped face-first to the ground, dead.

Alex panted heavily, the adrenaline slowly draining from his body. Visk offered the young thief a hand up, which he gratefuly accepted, and looked over at the jawbreakers; without the Nu Mou leading them, they fell madly upon each other, tearing themselves apart with their razor-sharp madibles. "We're done here," the templar said, hefting the Dragon Whisker up to his shoulder. "Let'sss get back to Cyril." Ellah knelt down briefly, picking up the fallen illusionist's rod, and tucked it into her robe. The thief gave one last, distant look at the plains, then beckoned with his hand. The four other Clansmen formed a line behind him, and silently, they trudged off.

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HAH! I FINALLY got it done! Special thanks to King of Hearts for the review; I'm not joking when I say that it gave me the spark of inspiration to finish the chapter. *shameless plug* Go read his stuff! It's better than mine! =P*/shameless plug*