Scene 1: Introduction Scene 2: Demotion Scene 3: Rosa-Cecil Dialogue Scene 4: The Journey Begins Scene 5: The Mist Village (Introduction) Scene. [The Red Wings, returning from a mission at Mysidia fly across the land. We see the deck of the main ship.] SOLDIER: Captain Cecil! We are about to arrive at Baron. CECIL: Yeah..., [The crewmembers turn and speak to each other.] SOLDIER: Looks like it's bothering the Captain as well... SOLDIER: Even if we were ordered to do so... SOLDIER: Taking the crystal from innocent people is... SOLDIER: Captain! SOLDIER: Why are we going as far as pillaging a town of Magicians who don't even resist!? [Cecil steps forward.] CECIL: Listen, everyone! His Majesty has decreed that possessing the Crystal is absolutely necessary. The people of Mysidia knew too much about the secret of the crystal, and were a threat to the continued sovereignty of our country. We are the Red Wings, the air power of Baron. His Majesty's orders are absolute... SOLDIER: Captain... [A crewmember approaches from the front of the ship.] SOLDIER: Captain! Monsters! [Fight with a group of Float-Eyeballs. Cecil dispatches them. When the battle is over, we see that one of the crewmembers has fallen.] SOLDIER: Agh! CECIL: Are you all right? SOLDIER: There's more of them! CECIL: Damn! [Fight with a Zû. Cecil is hurt, but only mildly; he dispatches the Zû.] SOLDIER: Captain! We have arrived at Baron! CECIL: I see... Prepare to land. [They land.] (Demotion) [At Baron Castle...] BEIGAN: Oh! You have the Crystal! CECIL: The Mysidians... They didn't resist at all... BEIGAN: What are you saying? ...Come, His Majesty is waiting. [Cecil] ... [At the doors to the throne room...] BEIGAN: Sir Cecil, please wait here a moment. [Cecil stays in the antechamber while Beigan proceeds into the throne room. Beigan approaches the King.] BEIGAN: Your Majesty... It seems Cecil has developed a distrust of the Throne... KING BARON: Truly? Well done, Captain of the Guards! Thank you for letting me know! But all that matters is the crystal... Call in Cecil. BEIGAN: Yes, my liege. [Beigan goes to the throne room's entrance.] BEIGAN: Sir Cecil, His Majesty awaits. Please enter. [Cecil enters and approaches the king; Beigan returns to the King's side.] KING BARON: Well done, Cecil. So, where is the crystal? CECIL: My lord, I have it. You gave the King the Water Crystal. [Beigan goes to Cecil, who hands him the crystal. Beigan takes the crystal back to the King. They look it over for a moment.] BEIGAN: Hmm...It appears to be genuine. KING BARON: It is! Oh, how it glimmers... like light shining on the depths of the sea... You may leave, Cecil! [Cecil starts to head out, but as he reaches the door, he thinks for a moment,] CECIL: ... [then turns around and approaches the King and Beigan again.] CECIL: Your Majesty! [The King and Beigan, surprised, turn to face him.] KING BARON: Wh..what!? BEIGAN: Wh, what is it? [Cecil steps forward.] CECIL: Your Majesty, we do not understand your motives. Why is it you need the crystals? Was it because the Mysidians were becoming a threat? Then why didn't they resist? We do not understand why innocent bystanders had to die. Some have even wondered if your actions are... altogether... honorable. KING BARON: So you distrust your own King, Cecil?! CECIL: !! No, I didn't mean that at all!! KING BARON: Did you think that I knew nothing about your true feelings!? To think that I took you in and raised you like a son! Now, you can't even trust me. I can no longer entrust you with the command of the Red Wings. As of now, you are relieved of your post! [Cecil takes another step forward in protest.] CECIL: Your Majesty! [The two guards in the room push Cecil back.] KING BARON: Your new charge is to eliminate the Phantom Beasts that haunt the upper valley! [Cain enters.] CAIN: Please wait! CAIN: Cecil wasn't... KING BARON: Cain, if you're so worried about Cecil, then go with him! CECIL: But your Majesty! KING BARON: I have nothing more to say! Here! Take this ring and go! [Received the Bomb Ring.] [Cecil and Cain are ejected from the throne room. Outside...] CECIL: Sorry for getting you mixed up in all of this, Cain. CAIN: Once you defeat those Phantom Beasts, His Majesty will surely forgive you, and you will be reinstated as Commander of the Red Wings. CECIL: ... CAIN: You've had a long day. Leave all the preparations to me, and go get some rest. [[[Cecil talks to people in the area.]]] The village of Mist is northwest of Baron. It's said to always be enshrouded in a deep envelope of fog. We will defend the castle in the name of the Dragon Knights! If the Dragon Knight Captain Cain and Sir Cecil team up, that ring has guaranteed delivery! Sir Cain is unflappable! A lot of things are being said about His Majesty, but if he hears about it... We will handle things while you are away! [Cecil talks to Cain again.] CAIN: What's wrong? CECIL: I'm sorry, Cain... CAIN: Why are you still apologizing? I defended you out of my own free will! CECIL: It's not that, Cain. It was my mission today... I learned the art of the Dark Sword as ordered by His Majesty. But it should have been to defend Baron, and not to harm innocent people. Maybe apologizing will help clear my conscience... CAIN: Don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure the king has a good reason for his actions. He raised us as his own sons. He would never do anything less than honorable. CECIL: Cain, I envy your faith in His Majesty. He spoke of your father... He had the same unwavering loyalty... CAIN: My father... My father was a Dragon Knight as well... If I had mastered the art of the Dark Sword as the King had commanded, I probably would have advanced up the ranks like you... However, I felt it was my duty to honor my father and follow in his path. He died while I was still a child...Sometimes I wish he could see me today. I hope he would be proud. I often have these moments... moments of quiet reflection when I can feel his spirit within me, guiding me... CECIL: ... CAIN: Sorry to have rambled on like that... That's not like me. Anyhow, I wouldn't worry too much about today. You really should be worrying about tomorrow! You did what the King wanted and became a Dark Knight... You have rank and prestige over me, but tomorrow we'll see who's better... We must get an early start tomorrow. Go get some rest. [Cecil heads towards the tower his room is in, feeling dejected in spite of Cain's rea**urances. As he goes down the stairs, he hears a voice call after him.] ROSA: Cecil! [Cecil turns to see Rosa come down the stairs after him.] ROSA: Thank God you're all right! Your mission was so sudden, I was worried. CECIL: We were all right... We couldn't get hurt by a bunch of Magicians who didn't even resist... ROSA: I'm coming to your room again tonight... CECIL: ... [Rosa goes back up the stairs, taking one last look at Cecil. Cecil continues on his way. As he nears the tower...] CID: You're back, Cecil! [Cid waves to Cecil from a balcony above, then comes down to meet him.] CID: Rosa's been worried! If you make her cry, I won't forgive you! (Short pause). By the way, how are my lovely airships doing? I don't want your crewmen abusing 'em. (short pause). Hey, what's with that face? CECIL: To tell the truth, Cid... [Cecil explains.] CID: What!? Nobody besides you could command the Red Wings! (Short pause.). Jeez, what's with the King recently? He wants me to make a new model of airship, but I don't want to turn 'em into war machines! Now he tells you to go hunt Phantom Beasts? The townsfolk are all confused, not to mention me. (Short pause.). In any case, you be careful now, hear! I'm going home. I've been spending a lot of time at work recently, and my daughter is giving me hell about it! [[[On the eastern side of the castle...]]] Have you seen our boss, Cid around? He went off thinking about God-knows-what, leaving us to clean the airships. Man, we've got to pull ANOTHER all-nighter? If he wasn't such an insulting ba*tard, we'd actually enjoy this. (Pause). Ah! D...don't tell our boss! T...tell him that...uh... work is fun! Baron's treasure is stored beyond here! Off limits! [[[And in a dungeon...]]] We imprisoned the Mysidian Magicians who resisted in this dungeon. You can talk to them through the bars. You're that Dark Knight! Do you expect to get away with this!? We don't care what happens to us. Just return the Crystal to Mysidia! You don't understand anything! The Crystal's not just an ordinary gem! [[[And elsewhere, too...]]] Ow! That's a bruise there! I'm going to go get drunk and try to forget about what happened at Mysidia... That job left me with a bad feeling. The Red Wings have sunk to a new low... [Tower, below Cecil's chamber.] [Maid] I've changed your sheets. I hear you're leaving early tomorrow morning... Rest well tonight. (Rosa-Cecil Dialogue) [Cecil's room. Nighttime. Cecil, unable to sleep, reflects on his day.] CECIL: Why is His Majesty behaving this way? As a Knight he was known for his kindness and valor. Cain and I were orphans, but he took us in and raised us like his own sons. But now... Mysidia's Crystal... Is it something so necessary that we must take it by force from innocent villagers? To think that we would do such a thing, even under orders!! [Enter Rosa. Cecil turns to face her, then turns away as she meets his eyes.] ROSA: What happened? One second you're being sent to Mysidia, the next you're being sent off to k** some ghastly monsters. And you've been acting strange since you came back. CECIL: No, it's nothing... [Rosa steps toward him.] ROSA: Then please don't look away... [For awhile, Cecil is silent, continuing to look at the wall. Then he speaks, still looking at the wall.] CECIL: In Mysidia... I k**ed innocent people, plundered their village, and stole their crystal, all for what?! Why did I do such a thing? It's as if my heart has become as dark as my armor! [Cecil turns to lie on his back. Rosa walks toward him.] ROSA: ...You're not like that. [Cecil looks back at the wall.] CECIL: I'm just a spineless Dark Knight, just a pawn of the King... [Rosa steps away.] ROSA: The Cecil of the Red Wings I know would never whimper like that! Not the Cecil I love... [Cecil turns toward Rosa.] ROSA: You're going to Mist tomorrow, right? If anything happens to you, I... [Rosa turns halfway toward Cecil; Cecil gets out of bed and goes to her side.] CECIL: ...Cain is coming with me... [A moment pa**es, then Cecil starts to return to his bed.] CECIL: It's late now... Get some rest. [Rosa turns toward him.] ROSA: Be careful! For my sake... [Exit Rosa. Cecil takes a few steps after her when she leaves.] CECIL: Thanks, Rosa... But I'm only a Dark Knight... What can I do? (The Journey Begins) [The next morning. Cecil and Cain meet each other at the keep's entrance.] CAIN: Are you ready, Cecil? CECIL: I'm counting on you, Cain. CAIN: Just leave everything to me! [They leave the castle.] (Thus, the Dark Knight Cecil was stripped of his command of the Red Wings. He and the Dragon Knight Cain were ordered to journey to Mist, a provincial village which lay beyond the mountains in a valley encased by a deep fog... Airships... Flight long had been an unattainable dream of mankind. These vessels gave men the power to soar through the heavens. Soon, like all of mankind's gifts, it became a tool of greed. The country of Baron became the world's strongest military power through their Airships, the Red Wings... But why would such a powerful country seek out the crystals? What power do they hold? Why does mankind corrupt every realization of its dreams? And why are the monsters increasing even in daylight? The crystals shed their light silently...) [[[Town of Baron.]]] Cecil of the Red Wings! The Village of Mist is beyond the cave to the northwest. Why did the king teach the Dark Sword to his men? I have a bad feeling about Mist... Whoa, it's a Dark Knight! Scary! But kinda cool... The door to the building in the west of town? That's an underground waterway that leads to the castle. But it's sealed now. The Dark Knight! No...s-s-sir, I haven't been speaking against the King! I...I'll dance for you. How's that sound? (The Mist Village) [Cain and Cecil reach Mist.] The ring is glowing..!? [Bombs and Pain Bombs spurt out from the Bomb Ring, enshrouding Mist in flames.] CAIN: What is this!? CECIL: This is why we were sent here...! CAIN: To burn the village...!? CECIL: WHY!? King Baron!! NO!! [They hear a cry.] 'Mom! NO...!!' -weep- CECIL: Who's that? [They rush over.] GIRL: Mom's dragon died, so Mom did too... -sniff-, -sniff- CECIL: Dear God! CAIN: Come to think of it, I've heard of this. People with the power to call monsters... They are called Summoners! CECIL: No!! It can't be that us defeating that dragon caused this girl's mother to die...? GIRL: You guys k**ed Mom's dragon?! CECIL: We didn't know... CAIN: The King sent us here to wipe out the Summoners... CECIL: Dear God... CAIN: Unfortunately, our orders...we have no alternative but to k** this girl as well. CECIL: Cain! CAIN: If we disobey the King, we'll be executed for treason! CECIL: But she's just a child! CAIN: ...Are you saying we should defy the King? CECIL: If he expects us to murder like this... I have no intention of following him! I renounce all loyalty to the King, to the Red Wings, and to Baron!!! CAIN: Hmm, I thought you'd say that. I won't let you oppose the King alone, of course. CECIL: Cain? CAIN: No matter how much I owe the King, as a Dragon Knight I could never perform such a lowly deed. CECIL: Then you didn't really intend to... CAIN: Baron is the strongest military power in the world. Just the two of us opposing it would mean nothing against their might. We must let the other countries know about Baron's lust for power and enlist their aid! And we must save Rosa! CECIL: Thanks, Cain. CAIN: I'm not doing this particularly for you though, you know. CAIN: Anyway, it's too dangerous for us to stay here. We've got to get out of this village. What should we do with the girl? CECIL: Only one choice! She goes with us! [The girl doesn't feel particularly good about this idea.] CECIL: Come on, it's dangerous here. Come with us. GIRL: No! CAIN: We've got no choice! We'll have to force her to come with us! GIRL: Don't come any closer! CECIL: Wait! GIRL: I can't stand it! I hate you! I hate you all! [Battle. The girl summons Titan, causing an earthquake. If there's any dialogue here, I don't have it. Fade to black.]