and then

recovered those lost through a warphole, it was assumed that their

adventures were over. However, they were only beginning……

And now we start our story……

Chapter 5 of the Zodiac Brave Story, The Morbol Plague

Part One: Infection

"Okay, Ivana, you take the Great Morbol out." Meliadoul started

her

commands in the raining landscape of Finath River, "Zeke, you and Carmen

take out the Taiju and Ochu. Emily, work on Zodiac to blow them all to

bits.

"What'll you do?" Zeke the ninja/thief asked Meliadoul readying

himself

for the onslaught.

"I'll take out their wind with some Holy spells." Meliadoul

responded

smirking a little. It felt good to be back in Ivalice fighting beside

her comrades in the heat of battle. The warmth it gave her was strange

to feel, but she thought that it was because fighting was in her blood,

and that battle was her way of having fun.

"Oh, and Zeke," she turned to the black costumed man, "Try to

get a

Defender this."

"Alright." He agreed to his superior's wishes.

Turning back around, Meliadoul quickly rose her arms and

summoned the

energy necessary for calculated holies. The battle ended almost too

quickly for Meliadoul's tastes as she slew the beasts with her Chaos

Blade and Excalibur. Suddenly, she heard a yelp come from behind. It was

Ivana.

"Ewwwwww!" the knightress in training cried out. Looking at the

scene,

Meliadoul could see that Ivana was covered in Morbol puke.

"That's disgusting!" Emily observed from afar, "What did it do

to you?"

"It hurled on me!" cried Ivana in her tears. She slumped down to

her

knees in front of the Great Morbol.

Meliadoul quickly disposed of the creature and went to console

the

dirtied Ivana while trying to stay away from her at the same time.

"You'll be alright, right?" Meliadoul asked in concern.

"Uh, yeah." Ivana answered while looking down at her discolored

armor,

"Just, can I get a change of clothing?"

Meliadoul smiled at the girl before her, "Sure, I'll lend you

some of

mine."

Bervenia's Bar and Inn was open late that night. Meliadoul was

glad

that it was, because she felt like taking a hot bath and eating some red

chocobo cuisine that the restaurants in Bervenia were well known for.

After fighting hordes of those damn birds, she was going to enjoy eating

their roasted meat that tasted sweet and was filled with delicious

flavors.

Ivana was doing better after bathing, drying, bathing again,

drying

again, and changing clothes. Still, she was somewhat psychologically

affected by the events that happened to her. She could hardly wait for

the chance to drown her sorrows in wine and friends at the Bervenia Bar,

the Roasting Chocobo.

"We're here." Emily, the summoner chimed in delight as they

entered the

city. Her blonde hair was drenched with rain, but her spirits were high

and flighty. This irritated some of the more serious members of the

team, namely Agrias and Beowulf.

"You think Ramza's back from his trip to the Deep Dungeon?" Zeke

Roadaia asked Meliadoul. He was a proper young man who spent some time

thinking back to his days in the Death Corps. He wasn't much the

daydreamer though, that was Emily's job.

"Maybe……" Meliadoul said quietly. She sure hoped so. It had been

over a

week or two since they last saw each other, and that was at Goug Machine

City, after the rescue.

"Honey," Carmen said while holding onto Zeke's left arm, "Do you think

we can have a suite by ourselves this time around? I want us to be alone

tonight."

"I guess we can," Zeke responded, "Ramza's rich enough, right

Meliadoul?"

Meliadoul had not answered. She was too far into her thoughts to

pay

attention too much. She never truly expressed how she felt about Ramza

because she didn't know if he'd return that love to her. This saddened

Meliadoul as she wondered what a life without love would be like. She

only loved two people in the world other than Ramza, and both of them,

her father and brother, were dead.

"Hey, Meliadoul," Ivana said while shaking Meliadoul's right

shoulder a

bit, "We're here."

Meliadoul looked up to see the wooden sign of the Roasted

Chocobo above

her. Smiling she went into the bar with her companions.

In the distance, a man on top of a roof across from the

restaurant

looked down. He smirked at the excitement the travelers' had as they

entered the bar and inn.

"What a delightful course of action." The figure said with glee,

"She'll spread it nicely."

The man then disappeared from sight of any possible onlookers.

"IVANA!!!" shouted Zeke as the drunken maiden finished kissing

him on

the lips. Ivana had too much wine that night and was going on a kissing

spree of everyone in the bar. Man or woman, it made no difference to

her, to the dismay of almost all the barmaids.

"I'm just having a little fun, heh-heh." Giggled the intoxicated

Ivana,

"Free kisses for everyone!"

Rafa, Mustadio, Orlandu, Reis, Beowulf, and Cinope (A tiamat and

Reis'

pet) were all at the bar and inn. Everyone felt the kiss of Ivana except

Reis, Beowulf, Carmen, and Meliadoul. This was because Reis threatened

to bludgeon Beowulf to death with her purse if she caught him kissing

another woman, and mainly because Ivana passed out on the floor.

Meliadoul slipped furthermore into depression while sitting

before her

meal of roasted red chocobo. Ramza had not come yet, and she feared the

worst. What if he encountered an enemy he couldn't beat? What if he

broke his neck while riding his chocobo? What if?

"Hey, you okay?" Emily asked Meliadoul while sitting down at the

table,

"You look depressed."

"It's Ramza." Meliadoul replied.

"If you're worried about Ramza, stop it." smiled Emily, "He can

take

care of himself."

"Emily." Started Meliadoul feeling a little better, "How long

have you

and Ramza been together?"

"Well," Emily thought out loud for a moment, "Ivana recruited me

during

the battle of a thieves' fort, sometime after Zeke was recruited. At

least, I think it may have been Ivana. Anyhow, I was part of the Death

Corps. back then. So I guess we've been together for a while now."

"Did you have any feelings for him in that time?" Meliadoul

inquired

while looking into Emily's eyes.

"Well, I thought he was a girl at first look." Emily laughed,

"But, I

guess I did for a while. Why?"

"I think I may have fallen or him." Meliadoul confessed.

"Aren't you going to tell him?" Emily urged.

"How can I?" Meliadoul questioned banging her right fist on the

table,

"I'm a Divine Knight of blood lower than a noble's. He's practically

royalty."

"Do you really believe that?" Emily stared at the woman before

her.

"No," Meliadoul answered quietly, "It's just that…… I'm scared. I

haven't been scared for almost all my life. I've always been the strong

one that everyone depended on. Now, I can't even open myself up to

someone I love for fear of looking vulnerable. What am I?"

"Human." Emily shortly answered back, "I know you'll find the

courage

to do so soon enough. Remember what YOU said, 'If you feel somebody is

more important than you, it may be love.' Went something like that,

didn't it?"

"Thanks Emily." Meliadoul responded, "I feel like heading up

tonight,

alright?"

"See you in the morning." Emily smiled as Meliadoul walked up

the

stairs to her room. Below, the team was picking straws to see who would

bring Ivana upstairs. Mustadio got the short straw and grumbled at his

luck while dragging the drunken girl up the stairway.

The next morning, Meliadoul awoke to a different air. Something

wasn't

right. The usual sound of people outside was replaced with a grumble and

symphony of animal noises. She walked to her window and peered outside

to see something horrible.

The town was full of Morbols.