The Scions when the WOL is abducted
(I really like whenever our plot-armored WOL being the damsel in distress for once, but maybe that's just bc I'm a sucker for whump and hurt/comfort fics lol. Thanks to @whumpster-dumpster for prompt and reference material!)
It had been a party held to celebrate the anniversary of the Eorzean Aliiance. In a way, it was a sickening reminder of the Bloody Banquet. The Warrior of Light had seemed unusually genial, in hindsight. Originally, one of their own group was supposed to be the one to escort them to their room, but as usual the Scions were a hot commodity and attendees of all sorts were clamoring to speak with at least one of them. In the end, they had made the mistake of trusting someone dressed as a servant to take the Warrior instead.
They never made it to the room.
"We must remain calm. We have not yet received any kind of ransom note or other communication from their abductor, but we also did not find any signs of a struggle, so it is unlikely that our friend was harmed when they were taken." Alphinaud paced as he spoke, more for his own sake than anyone else's. The most dangerous element of the situation was the motive - or rather, the fact that they had no idea what the motive was. If it was to hold the Warrior of Light captive, then they need not worry for their immediate safety. But if the motive was something like revenge...
"No...no, I cannot think like that. I must--we must stay focused! They need us to!"
He worked himself ragged, using every connection he had made across the star to gather whatever leads he could. The Warrior of Light had trusted so many of his idealist plans before. He refused to fail them now.
To say Alisae was furious would be an understatement. The Warrior of Light had been getting hassled by some sleazeball claiming he wanted to be the first one to publish a biography on them, constantly showing up wherever the Warrior went to plead for an exclusive interview. It had gotten to the point that the Warrior was getting uncomfortable, but they didn't want to use force against someone who most likely couldn't defend themselves.
"Besides," they had said not so long ago, "it's not like they've actually done me any harm yet."
That line had been crossed not long after.
The call on her linkpearl had startled her in the middle of training, and she'd nearly given Tataru a tongue-lashing for it. But when she heard sobs from the other end, her blood ran cold, knowing it could only mean bad news.
The Warrior of Light had been abducted at Moraby Drydocks, where they had been waiting for a small ship to take them and some of their belongings to the Island Sanctuary they had been awarded by the Admiral. A robbery had quickly been ruled out, as all of their luggage had been left behind.
(They had brought furniture. They had been so excited to tell the Scions they were building a house on the island. One big enough for all of them to stay there comfortably if they ever wished.)
The over-eager would-be biographer quickly became the Yellowjackets' suspect number one - especially when a search of their home found it to be seemingly abandoned. The Scions then descended on La Noscea like a raging storm, coordinating with their various allies and contacts to aid in the investigation. But Alisae, who wasn't exactly one for information and espionage, quickly grew impatient and anxious. She found herself returning again and again to the spot at Moraby Drydocks where the Warrior of Light had last been seen, staring out at the sea as if to demand answers from it.
"I swear, when I find that bastard, I'll make sure he can never so much as pick up a pen again for the rest of his life..! Just see if I don't!"
She chased after every lead the Scions got. Broke down every locked door. Nothing would stop her from saving the one who had saved so many others. Nothing.
Money. How foolishly, foolishly ordinary.
The Warrior of Light, savior of Eorzea, Hero chosen by the goddess Hydaelyn,
had been kidnapped and held ransom for money.
Evidently, they had been visiting Ishgard, assisting with efforts to improve life in The Brume, when strange man had given them a note. Whatever was written on it apparently sparked the Warrior to rush off, and just as Lord Aymeric was about to send the Knights out to search for them, a squire arrived with a letter they said a man had told them was to be delivered to the Lord Commander as swiftly as possible.
It wasn't hard to figure out the who and the why. During the overhaul of the Ishgardian Orthodox Church, a thorough investigation had been done into any and all crimes the Church covered up, either to protect their own reputation or that of the aristocracy. As such, many nobles and high-ranking people of the cloth had been punished. Any number of them would bear a grudge against the person who ended the Dragonsong War by exposing the truth to all of Ishgard. And since they had all been stripped of their titles and had their wealth seized to fund restoration to the parts of the city most severely damaged by the War, they would be hurting for gil.
"I know not what was on that blasted note that made them surrender themselves as a hostage, but I plan on scolding them about not going off somewhere with a stranger when I find them," Estinien scoffed, fixing his old Dragoon armor into place, "And I will find them. Come hells or high waters."
While Estinien had no intention of reclaiming his place as Azure Dragoon, he knew the familiar armor would strike fear into any who were involved in the Warrior of Light's abduction. And he would make full use of it if it meant getting them returned unharmed as fast as possible.
A dragon does not take threats to those they've bonded with lightly.
The Warrior of Light had mentioned taking advantage of the newfound peace to relax and have some fun. They had gone to Ul'dah to use the dedicated airship to The Gold Saucer, but when they missed their scheduled flight, the Immortal Flames were asked to do a patrol off the city just in case. When one of the Flames found the Warrior's weapon abandoned in one of Pearl Lane's many winding alleys, the worst-case-scenario was confirmed, and Nanamo alerted the Scions that someone had spirited the Warrior of Light away.
The investigation began immediately. Thancred made use of every informant he had in Thanalan, with General Tarupin ensuring the Flames gave their full support. Soon, they had a lead. Apparently, the fall of the Garlean Empire hadn't been enough to stop some of their scientists from continuing their personal research. And one of the surviving scientists had decided she wanted the savior of the star as her next subject.
"Hmph. And here I thought Garlemald's researchers were supposed to be intelligent. There's no way the Adventurer who felled Eikon and Emperor alike will roll over and obediently become some kind of lab rat." Thancred scoffed, but while he might have seemed cool and collected to those who didn't know him, anyone who did could tell he was barely keeping it together.
"...that being said, I'm not about to sit back and wait for them to rescue themselves. So hang in there, my friend. I promise, I will bring you home.
The Warrior of Light had been in Dalmasca, claiming they had only ever been there on some strange quest of another but that it didn't really count since they hadn't gotten to see and experience the nation when not in a state of chaos and conflict.
Unfortunately, it seemed the goddess of Fate had taken that as a challenge, as not even a full week after their arrival a power struggle broke out between two factions that each claimed they should be the new leaders of the nation now that it was free from the Empire's cruel reign. One was backed by the resistance groups that had done so much to try and fight off the Garleans, but the other was mostly made of those who had worked with the Garleans in order to lessen their own suffering or even profit under the regime. Needless to say, the people weren't exactly struggling to choose which they'd prefer.
But in the battle, one of the Garlean sympathizer side's leaders had taken hostages. And the Warrior of Light, not able to stand idly by and let innocent people suffer, had stepped in to offer themselves as a replacement. Indeed, their worth as a bargaining chip far exceeded even a dozen ordinary citizens.
And so, they became a prisoner of war.
Y'shtola hadn't been the first of the Scions to be notified, but she had been the one closest to Dalmasca at the time, having been trying to see if The Burn could be healed in a similar way as Thancred, Urianger, and Ryne had healed The Empty with the Warrior's help.
"I can hardly focus on my research knowing a friend is being used as a pawn. I had hit a block anyway, so perhaps this will help clear my mind." She walked down the broken and battered street, the fighting seeming to stop around her as the fighters of both sides felt the pressure of her magic swell around them.
"Though I do hope your leaders know I will not hesitate to rain fiery destruction upon them, should they not comply with my simple request of my friend's freedom. You have been warned."
It would be hilarious if it wasn't so stressful. A group had recently been causing trouble in Gyr Abania - merchants and mercenaries who had been content to do whatever the Empire wanted as long as it fattened their own wallets, chased out of Ala Mhigo after the liberation. Resentment and desperation had caused them to start attacking smaller villages still struggling to rebuild from the long period of oppression, and the former Resistance turned formal military was constantly having to fend them off, only for them to strike somewhere else.
So, naturally, the Warrior of Light had offered to come help.
Lyse had felt bad for accepting, but admitted that it took a huge weight off her shoulders to have her old friend there to lend a hand. It was like the old days, working side by side again. And the people of Gyr Abania were happy to welcome their liberator back again.
But evidently, not everyone actually recognized their savior.
Because the former Garlean-allied traitors had abducted them, only to announce they had taken an Eorzean Alliance military captain hostage.
"I mean, they're not entirely wrong, they are also a part of the Grand Companies--but seriously?!" Lyse groaned in frustration over her linkpearl call to Tataru. She was well aware the Warrior of Light could take care of themselves, and probably wasn't even in that much danger, but as a leader of a nation that was still in a precarious position, she had to report the hostage situation to the Alliance and Scions both.
"Since they were put in danger helping me, I take full responsibility for this happening. The Liberation Army will stop at nothing to rescue the Warrior of Light and put an end to the traitors' chaos once and for all!"
The Warrior of Light had come down with a particularly miserable cold. Nothing serious in the long term, but terribly uncomfortable in the moment. Fortunately, Urianger wasn't busy at the time, so he volunteered to nurse his fellow Scion back to health. It had been going well - he'd been making sure the Warrior took medicine on-schedule, helping them through the rougher symptoms, and making sure they ate and drank water.
Then he had gone out to restock their pantry.
He hadn't been gone that long.
When he returned, the Warrior of Light's humble little apartment they'd managed to secure had been turned upside-down. Tomes had been thrown off the shelves, their dining table had been overturned, every sort of little box or jar was on the floor, their contents wither taken or discarded haphazardly.
And the Warrior themselves was nowhere to be found.
"It's not your fault, Urianger," Thancred tried his best to comfort his friend, "If you had been here too, you probably would've been harmed or taken as well."
"It was my duty to oversee our friend's welfare while they recuperated. Should their health decline while in captivity, even a slight fever may grow into a much more dangerous ailment."
"Thou shall not stop me from joining the rescue party. Our friend will need healing, and I intend on keeping my promise to care for them until they are well again. I...I must see with mine own eyes that they yet live and breathe."
Thancred relented, but continued to keep an eye on Urianger. He knew all too well how guilt drove the mage's actions, and how dangerous choices made from emotion could be. Even a healer can become a force of destruction if their loved ones are on the line.
It was a nightmare. It had to be. This couldn't be real, couldn't be happening. Not to his Hero.
A package had been delivered to the Baldesion Annex with no return address. Thinking it suspicious, Krile had asked the other Scions if they were expecting anything, or had sent it. When it became clear none of them knew what it was, they decided to be cautious. G'raha had been on his way back to Sharlayan anyway, so he volunteered to go and assist. He created a barrier around the package, carefully opening it within the barrier's confines.
Within was the Warrior of Light's weapon of choice, broken into pieces and covered in blood.
The alert was sounded immediately, calling all Scions to the Annex. The leaders of every nation the Scions had ever allied with were told to be on high alert. Every last connection and favor was called in and given the word:
The Warrior of Light is in danger. All hands on deck.
G'raha was still shaken, days into the investigation. He was lost in memories of a life- a timeline - long past. Memories of waking up in the Crystal Tower, only to find himself in a hell brought about by the death of someone he had, to his mind, just said his farewells to moments ago. Memories of collecting any and all tomes he could find telling him what had become of his friend over the century he had been asleep. Memories of begging Biggs' descendant to visit the place they had been laid to rest, just once - and memories of weeping before the memorial stone, cursing the Twelve for awakening him too late to save them.
He wouldn't lose them. He couldn't lose them. He had spent two hundred godsdamned years meticulously plotting to tear them back from Death's cruel grasp. He didn't care who was behind this, he was going to make them pay for hurting his friend.
"Your journey must not end here, brave Warrior of Light. There yet remain so many places you have not seen, so many mysteries you have not yet even learned of. Your tale is one that deserves a happy ending, therefore it cannot be over now. Whatever force yet holds you captive, I shall fight against it with all my might!"
