Chapter Text
It was a regular afternoon in Crossbell, and that simple fact was the most reassuring thing Father Wazy Hemisphere had experienced in a long time.
He made his way through the cars and crowds in Central Square and down to the main entrance of the Special Support Section building. His time living here was brief, but it wasn’t short enough to keep it from becoming his home.
Wazy smiled to himself. He’d been running back and forth and to Arteria too much of late, if just seeing a doorway could make him feel this good.
Inside, the building was quiet - likely because everyone was out patrolling and being good little civil servants for Crossbell. With no one to greet, he found himself drifting up the steps to his old room. He moved quietly, but that didn’t stop Randy from poking his head out of the door.
“Hey man, welcome back.”
Wazy smirked. “Slacking off again, Randy?”
“I’m holding down the fort, thank you very much,” Randy protested.
“Of course you are.”
“The rest of them went down to HQ to do paperwork, so I figured, why make a parade of it? And I was going to keep an eye on KeDo, but she and Zeit are running around with Shizuku today.”
“And Mirelle’s too busy doing her job to play around with you.”
“She’s got a meeting with some deputy-” Randy rambled, nearly forgetting that he was trying to play the Mirelle thing cool. “You in town for business or for a good time?”
“A little of both, I suppose.” Wazy shrugged. “The Testaments are holding a fundraising event at Trinity for the residents of Downtown who were displaced by all of the Erebonian ‘revitalization’, and I agreed to lend a hand.”
“Good for you,” Randy nodded. “I bet a lot of folks there will appreciate that.”
“It sounded infinitely more fun than anything Arteria was requesting,” Wazy continued. “But since I arrived a little early, I thought I would wander the city and see how things were first.”
“You know, I heard there’s a new bathhouse down there now,” Randy said. “Rean was talking about taking vacation to come see it, which is insane for that guy. He wouldn’t take vacation unless his family was dying, and even then he’d apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Azel mentioned something similar to me. Shame you’re stuck on duty, otherwise we could go take a quick dip before my engagement this evening.”
There was a creak and soft footsteps from the hallway behind. Both of them turned towards the door as Tio came in through the back West Street entrance. “Randy, I thought we asked you to take a look at the lock- Wazy?”
“Hello,” Wazy nodded.
“It’s nice to see you,” Tio said, cautiously. “What brings you to Crossbell.”
“Nothing too dire, fortunately,” Wazy said, explaining the fundraiser.
“You going to stick around, Tio-tot?” Randy asked.
“I was able to finish the reports earlier than expected, so I was planning on reminding Jona who the master of Pom Pom Party is,” Her eyebrows narrowed. “Why do you ask?”
“Could you keep an eye on the place for a while? Wazy and I are going to go check out this new bathhouse-”
“You’ll owe me.” She thought for a moment. “A plushie from the current limited anniversary Mishy run would do nicely.”
“Don’t you already have that one?” Randy asked.
“Not the variants, I don’t.” Tio said primly. “It’s not the same without the complete set of alternate hat designs.”
“Then, to the bathhouse we go,” Randy said, throwing his arm around Wazy’s shoulders. “Just two good ol’ boys heading out on the town.”
“I will presume you won’t be back for dinner,” Tio said. “We won’t leave the lights on. If you come back late, figure it out.”
“If you have nothing better to do tonight, the Testaments are having a fundraiser for Downtown, it’ll be a fun time,” Wazy said.
Randy winced. “She’s a little young for the club scene-”
Tio stared at him flatly. “I wasn’t planning on drinking, if that is what you’re so concerned about.”
“Of course not,” Wazy said, shifting so he could stare at Randy derisively with her. “This is an event for charity.”
“Precisely,” Tio echoed. “For charity.”
Randy groaned. “Let’s just go to the bathhouse already.”
Wazy smirked. “See you later.”
“It’s like watching my little sister go to Neue Blanc,” Randy muttered.
Randy and Wazy set out across Central Square and down East Street, idly chatting about changes in management at one of their favorite Entertainment District clubs. As they turned towards downtown at Long Lao’s, they both spotted two people walking through the East Crossbell Highway gate, both of whom they recognized.
Randy stopped, not sure if their afternoon was turning into work after all. “Is that who I think it is?” Randy muttered. “I thought Oroborus was done with Crossbell.”
Wazy looked them over. The Azure Diva and one of Class VII’s cast of thousands, although the second was far more notable as the former leader of the Imperial Liberation Front. And for coming back from the dead, but as that wasn’t a feat Crow was likely to repeat, it wasn’t a huge factor in Wazy’s threat assessment.
“She could be here for a myriad of reasons,” Wazy replied, shrugging with his hands in his pockets. “Why don’t we ask?”
“At least it isn’t Mariabell,” Randy grumbled.
Vita waved as they crossed over to meet. “Why, hello there. It has been awhile, hasn’t it?”
Crow nodded sheepishly at Randy. “Good to see you.”
Vita turned her smile on Wazy. “I don’t believe we were ever formally introduced, you’re a man of the cloth - if I’m not mistaken.”
Wazy made a slight bow. “And you’re the famous Azure Diva of the Heimdallr opera.”
Randy and Crow both stepped back out of the line of fire. After a long moment of sizing each other up, Wazy and Vita backed down.
“Now what brings you fine folks out here to Crossbell? Doing a little sightseeing? Running over to Mishelam?” Randy said, eager to defuse any possible tension as quickly as possible.
“Arc en Ciel, of course,” Vita replied brightly. “We’re planning a joint tour, and they were kind enough to get me a ticket for the show this evening as well.”
“You even brought your own arm candy for the occasion,” Wazy smirked at Crow, hovering behind her.
“Hey, I resent that,” Crow protested. “I’d prefer you use ‘boy toy’.”
“Do you now,” Randy snickered.
“If you’re a good boy, I’ll even play with you a little later,” Vita smiled.
There was a pause while Crow coughed. Randy stared off into space, wondering for the millionth time why some guys had all the luck. And Wazy leaned back and enjoyed the sight of these two very dangerous men squirming.
Crow shrugged. “This is your trip, not mine. I’m just here for the free room and the Entertainment District.”
“Where you headed? Maybe we’ll stop by later.”
Crow ruffled his hair. “I was just going to hop into wherever caught my eye first. I’ve been traveling so much, I ain’t picky.”
Randy slapped him on the shoulder. “Well, if you don’t have any solid plans, why don’t you come out with Wazy and I for bit? You can catch me up on Rean’s misadventures in love.”
“He had girls draping themselves all over him before he became the ‘knight’ of Erebonia,” Crow sighed. “Now he’s the hottest commodity in the entire country.”
“Women do love a man who will drop everything to come rushing to their side,” Wazy said. “And then they settle for a pale imitation, and end up crying to a host about how terribly they feel.”
“Hey, I’m the real deal,” Crow said, brushing his platinum hair out of of his face.
Vita chuckled. “I’ll leave you to it, I have a meeting to get to.”
The boys continued onto Downtown.
Crow surveyed the monotonous rows of shiny Imperial apartments. “They really gutted anything interesting out of this place, huh? Although you probably notice it way more than I do.”
“Trinity is still hanging on,” Randy said, not wanting to give up on the place just yet. Crossbell had recovered from far worse. Although maybe the shiny newness of them was why these leftovers of the Imperial occupation remained.
“And there is this new bathhouse - which should give the neighborhood something more interesting to play with,” Wazy added. “At the very least it will keep the neighborhood from getting entirely respectable.”
“Hope it’s good,” Randy sighed. “I haven’t done baths since my final visit to Thors.”
The door to the bathhouse was in an alleyway between two bland office meetings, and it would have been almost entirely unnoticeable from the street if not for a sign advertising “Eastern-style bathing with a West Zemuria twist.”
The receptionist looked up from her small desk, flanked by two large water features cascading down the walls. She was so intense that both Randy and Crow found their urge to flirt suppressed out of self-preservation.
“Welcome to the Crossroads Bathhouse. Baths are 500 mira per person. We have traditional private bathing rooms, or if you would prefer one of our themed rooms, I believe Zeiss and Ymir are open.”
“The what rooms?” Crow blinked.
“Our special Tour of Zemuria baths are inspired by famous hot springs across the continent,” she continued. “In addition to decor evoking the location, the baths have been filled with water matching the exact mineral profile of that spring.”
“I’m definitely bringing Rean here the next time he’s in town,” Randy muttered. “He’d go nuts over this.”
“They didn’t haul the water all the way here, right?” Crow asked.
“Our bath-keepers maintain a small sample from the source for purposes of comparison, but the baths themselves are composed of fresh water from the Mainz mountain springs, mixed with a careful blend of minerals in order to fully exemplify the experience of bathing in such esteemed Hot Springs.”
There was a pause as the three of them tried to process that statement.
“I’d be down for the Ymir one,” Crow finally said. “Just to see how close it is to the real thing.”
“You’ve visited the Phoenix Wings before? We would be delighted if you would try our version,” she slid over a keycard. “Please feel free to leave any feedback on the experience, I’m certain the bath-keeper would be interested in your perspective.”
“I-uh- will do,” Crow took the keycard.
She led them to the changing room and presented them with a menu listing the beverages on offer before disappearing down one of the hallways. The promise of alcohol had helped with the bewilderment, and not long thereafter Crow opened the door to the Ymir bath.
“Are we sure this ain’t Mishelam?” Randy said in disbelief. “Because this is way more than a bath with fancy water.”
The room on the other side of the door was made entirely to look like the outdoor bath of the Phoenix Wings, with artfully arranged rock formations and a charming wooden deck.
Another worker suddenly appeared, holding a large tray of drinks and snacks, which they set out on a tray in the vicinity.
“In addition to the water itself, we offer a variety of beverages from the region. For Nordia-”
“Do you have any beers from Roer?” Randy perked up.
“We have a selection of their special cold stored lagers,” the attendant said, indicating to a corner of the tray.
The bottle tops were popped with a satisfying fizz as the three of them sat back and enjoyed the water water.
“Maybe we shouldn’t tell Rean about this place, I’m not sure he’d ever leave,” Crow said, leaning back.
“I can’t believe he goes for the ones he finds out in the wilderness. He seems like such an upright guy, and then you find out he’s a freak like the rest of us,” Randy laughed.
“I don’t know, all of the women in Erebonia seem to think he’s a real life fairytale knight.” Crow muttered.
“You thought Lloyd was bad,” Randy said aside to Wazy.
“Oh really?” Wazy raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware someone outdid our illustrious leader in number of hearts broken.”
“It ain’t fair, is what it is,” Crow groaned. “First Angie twirls all the girls around on her little finger, and then he comes to sweep up what’s left. Like come on, leave something for the little guy.”
“Yet the Azure Diva invited you here, personally-” Randy said.
“Vita doesn’t count, we-” Crow sighed and reached for another beer. “She and I are- we have a complicated history. Even with that she only calls when she’s bored.”
“And how are things with Mierelle?” Wazy asked, watching Randy choke on his beer.
Crow tuned out Randy’s stuttered protests and idly watched tiny drifts accumulate on the top of the fence. He’d been in his fair share of artificial spaces, from the hallucinatory to the illusionary, but none of the previous ones had felt this real, with the little flickers in the breeze or the start and stop of the snow.
The door to the changing room swung open. Crow turned back to ask the steward for another beer but instead found himself staring at Zemuria’s No. 1 Hot Springs Fan.
“Rean, buddy!” Randy said holding up his beer.
Rean squinted at the three of them. “Hi… when did you make it up to Ymir?”
“Huh,” Crow said. “Last I checked, we didn’t.”
Randy leaned over to see the door behind Rean, barely remembering to hold his beer out of the water. “That can’t be right.”
“Crossbell is guaranteed to be worth the trip every time I come,” Wazy grinned. “A bath house with dimensional warping is definitely something you cannot get anywhere else.”
“How in Gehenna do you think that works?” Randy said. “Like is one of Miss Witches’ cousins hanging around casting spells on office buildings?”
Crow shrugged. “It’s probably the spirit veins. Everything weird is the spirit veins, unless it’s an artifact.”
Rean looked between the three of them. “So are you going to explain, or…”
The three of them quickly recapped their afternoon up to this point.
Rean started to look off into middle distance, starry-eyed. “One bathhouse… tied to hot springs all over Zemuria… It’s an opportunity to compare all of the greatest, truly appreciate each one’s nuances…”
“Sit down, you can get all moony over hot springs later,” Crow grumbled. “And grab yourself a beer while you’re at it.”
Rean hesitated. “It’s the middle of the afternoon, I probably shouldn’t.”
“You’re up visiting your parents; you’re on vacation.” Randy said, reaching over to grab another beer himself. “Surely one can’t be that bad.”
“Live a little,” Crow agreed. “You don’t have to be Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes all the time.”
“What is it about Divine Blades that gives them all a stick up their ass?” Wazy mused.
Rean sighed. “All right. Just one.”
Randy and Crow cheered.
Rean popped the top off of his bottle, found a seat against the massive rock in the center of the pool. “There is truly nothing better than hot springs.”
“I don’t know, but getting some ladies in here would improve my experience,” Randy said, implying a rude gesture.
Wazy snorted. “Like any woman would be willing to come into here with you.”
Randy waved his hand at Rean derisively. “And this guy won’t even bother inviting any of the crowds of women chasing him around. You ever going to reel one in? Or just keep hooking them and letting them loose?”
“You should know by now Rean never tells,” Crow grumbled. “Don’t think we haven’t seen you hanging around-”
“I don’t know what your talking about,” Rean said primly.
Randy shook his head at Crow. “Meanwhile your complete refusal to discuss Vita is-”
“None of your business,” Crow said, turning to Wazy. “What about you, man? You hit up any interesting chicks? Do they dig the priest thing?”
Wazy shrugged elegantly. “I personally look for far more than just idle admiration, but there was this one woman back when I was hosting…”
Wazy entertained them a while longer with tales of the wildest patrons from his club days, until Rean finally checked the time and realized he had to get back to his family. He left his half-finished beer in the small wastebin and left for the changing rooms.
The other three looked at the door they had come through, suddenly realizing that if Rean had been able to get in there was a high possibility they wouldn’t be able to get back to Crossbell.
“Who wants to try it?” Crow asked, pouring the remnant of beer number three down his throat.
“If worse comes to worst we could call Capua,” Randy sighed, gathering his empties. “I know you have a thing you need to get back for, and if I go AWOL, Lloyd will hunt my ass.”
Wazy crossed the room and opened the door, revealing the nondescript linoleum hallway behind. “This does appear to be the place we came from.”
A steward appeared in the doorway. “Are you gentlemen done for this afternoon? How did you find the baths?”
“Very authentic, I’m impressed,” Crow said, passing him on his way to the changing room.
“Felt like we were actually in Ymir,” Randy agreed.
“I’m glad to hear that, sirs. Please return, we would be delighted to serve you again.” The steward bowed and disappeared into the Ymir room, closing the door behind him.
None of them said much until they were dressed and heading back out into the alleyway outside.
“Well that was unexpected,” Randy said. “Think it was an artifact?”
Crow shook his head. “Definitely the spirit veins.”
“Or they have an uncannily realistic imitation of Rean Schwarzer they bring out for the experience,” Wazy said, face straight.
“Naw, that was the real deal,” Randy said, wrapping his arms around both of their shoulders. “But the day is young, so why don’t we continue? I know a great bar in the Entertainment District.”
Crow shrugged. “I have nothing better to do.”
“Let’s see it, then,” Wazy smiled. It was good to be back in Crossbell, where anything could happen. It was good to be home.