Final Fantasy Spiral
Disclaimer: All characters, places, scenes belong to their respectful owners!
Chapter 1: Let's All Go to Hell!
-8-0-8-
Well, Kiako had done it again somehow. Even though it didn't seem like her fault, I still blamed her anyways. Kiako's fireplace went berserk and sucked back all the people who weren't from this world. She was all like 'whaa!' and I was all like 'dammit…' Soon after, the fireplace's gates flew open and we were in for another heck of a journey!
Landing in Besaid, we were miraculously reunited with everyone along with a new friend, Kariudo and some of her pals from the Fire Emblem series. Albel got sick with my group and decided to join Kariudo's group instead. As for Kratos…
Diablos served as my new Oversoul spirit since Shadow returned to his original world. I told Diablos to keep a low profile when with the others for now until things could settle a little. The last thing I wanted was for Kiako to freak out at the thing I brought back all the way from Hell.
"Hm, so this is Kilika Temple?" said Hao awed by the place.
"Hmph…" said Leon bored by the place.
"This feels JUST like home!" said Diablos in his human form overjoyed by the place.
"Ah…"
"Train! Don't you dare sneeze on me!" said Sven not even caring about the place.
"Ah-achyoo!" said, er, sneezed Train allergic to the place?
"Train still has a cold?" said Eve sarcastically.
"I'm leaving without you all," I said impatiently stamping forth.
We were in the entrance way. There were candles everywhere inside and everything was dyed in every shade of red possible. It actually hurt my eyes a little.
"DONNAAA!" That Barthello bastard was still looking for that woman?
"Would you like to hear a story of this temple?"
"Wha!" Everyone was startled by the old man behind us. I violently shook my head as a no. This old man talked as slow as Ansem from Kingdom Hearts AND his stories were damn long! "Mister Maechen… No stories for us please," I said faking a smile and trying to withhold my anger.
"… Pity." And he simply walked off.
"What was up with that?" asked Train. "I wanted to hear a story."
"You don't want to be standing here for hours and hours to let him finish his story… My explanations are much faster," I said. "So I'll explain about this place. This is Kilika Temple, home to the fire Aeon, Ifrit. Each temple in Spira has a Cloister of Trials one must face before being able to obtain an Aeon. But in this case, we are here to defeat it and send it to the Farplane where… it may rest in peace."
"Let's go then," said Leon walking to the platform at the end of the foyer followed by everyone else. He placed his hand on the panel and we started moving downwards.
"Kuro, what's wrong?" asked Diablos noticing my gloomy face.
"Has Kratos really returned to the world he's from?"
"What's with you suddenly? Hao said that he's fine, right? Even if he didn't make it back, he's resting at the Farplane… and probably watching over you."
"It was thanks to my stupid mistake in that battle against Ochu that cost his life," I whispered.
"It couldn't be helped… You were poisoned at the time…"
Even here in a different world, thoughts of my past kept tramping around in my mind; tramping around and around, stomping down my memories until only the nightmares were left. I had forgotten about those bad memories for awhile because nothing made me want to bring them back. When something like this happens, all of my nightmares come tackling me at once.
"I probably can't pull you out of your dark past, but just remember that I'll be in the darkness with you. It's where I live after all," said Diablos.
I sighed and thought for a moment. "Understood… Captain Coal Miner," I saluted and laughed at the "Damn you…" reaction on his face.
The platform we were on was descending really slowly and was almost at the bottom. I was about to kick the control panel to make it move faster until I was interrupted by a long groan fron Train. "Huuh I want milk… Hey Kuro, do they sell milk in this world?"
"Not that I know of," I replied. "You definitely won't find any vending machines here though…"
"Quit being a baby, Train… You're a grown man; you don't need milk every next second," protested Sven.
"Milk is good for bones you old man…" I mumbled rummaging through my backpack and pulled out a glass bottle. Train gasped happily and snatched it.
"Thanks Kuro!"
Finally, the platform halted with a loud clung. I played the Cloister of Trials music in my head for the fun of it. The trial looked significantly different than the original. "Well this is new…"
"What are you talking about?" said Leon.
"Well, there never used to be this much lava," I said scratching my head and observing the vast glowing orangey room ahead. It took a moment for me to adjust to the sudden increase in temperature. "Ehh, this can be a little troublesome."
"So, what should we do?" asked Eve.
"I can traverse this area with Spirit of Fire," said Hao.
"And I'm pretty much used to places like this," said Diablos.
"Leon-san, can your Stone Wall spell work here? It might be possible to use it to ride on," I told him.
"Probably."
"All right," I said. "By the looks of it, the room splits into three paths so we'll have to split into three groups."
"Well then, I guess I'll return to my true form," said Diablos, a shimmering dark light surrounding him. These fluttering shadows started engulfing him as some wings and claws took form. In a deeper voice, Diablos chuckled. "It's great to be normal again!"
"Define 'normal'…" I muttered.
"Let's go, Kuro," he said grabbing my arm.
"Eh, what? Hey!"
-8-0-8-
Summer is my most hated season; and being in here felt like the hottest day of summer, but ten fold! Casting Nulblaze on myself barely helped since my MP kept draining from holding up the spell as White Magic wasn't my forte. I would've suggested using my oversoul and searching around myself, but I was too exhausted so I rode on Diablos' back instead.
Heat from the lava below blinded my vision slightly, but more importantly, it made it really hard to breathe. Something was really odd other than the fact that the layout was completely different. The walls seemed to have been clawed at or something, as if a creature went on a rampage. My guess that it was Ifrit but…
"Yo Kuro, find anything yet?" Diablos asked still soaring across the seemingly endless hallway.
"No. Usually there would be Spheres to play around with and solve the puzzle," I replied gasping a little. "There's absolutely nothing here."
"Let's go back; we might've missed something along the way."
"S-sure."
After all this time I would've expected to be back at the room where everyone else was. Looking back, I wondered, "What the heck's going on? We didn't fly this far forward…"
"Try asking them," said Diablos.
"What're you talking about; There's no—whoa!" Right in my face were a bunch of those monsters that looked like Diablos; they had multiple names, but I couldn't remember them at the moment!
"Leave them to me, Kuro. Graviga!" A giant violet sphere appeared and caused the devil-looking creatures to struggle to keep aloft. They ended up sinking into the fiery grave below with the dark shadows of Graviga slowly fading. Pyreflies rose from below.
One half alive jumped out of the lava looking quite deformed and struck me with Firaga. There goes my NulBlaze… I countered with a Firaga of my own and blasted it to the Farplane where it belonged.
"So you can use Gravity magic?" I said sarcastically.
"You don't sound too amazed," mumbled Diablos pouting. Just then, the room started to deform and the Trial had truly started. The room temperature suddenly dropped a thousand degrees causing me let go of Diablos. I fell on a pointy pedestal with something shiny in the center and then I toppled to the ground.
"Ow," was all I could say.
"You okay there?"
"Fit… as… a… fiddle…" I managed to croak.
"Bloody fiddle more like it…" Diablos landed and reverted to his human form. Ripping off a part of his mantle, he tied it around the arm I crashed on. Stupid pedestal…
"Kuro? Kuro! Is that you Kuro? What's going on there? Are you alive? …" came a booming voice behind me. It came from the side of the evil hunk of rock that acted like a TV screen.
"Argh! Shuddup you old man; you're too loud!" I snapped. "Geez, what kinda moron designed this stupid place anyways?"
"O-old… man…"
A different voice came on; it was Train's. "Ahh… Sven got petrified."
Then Leon came on. "Should I use a Remedy?"
"Sven?" said Eve from another side of the pedestal.
"Eve? Eve! Where are you? I can't find you," said Sven who became unstoned immediately upon hearing Eve's voice and now was frantically searching.
"Everyone shut up and listen!" I ordered. "We need to figure out how to get to the end and send Ifrit to his grave, er the Farplane. I can't do this alone as much as I'd like to. Now if one of you can describe the room you're in, that'd be great."
Hao went first. "Eve and I are in a square room with a tightly shut door and we're speaking to you on this screen on a small pillar."
"Us too," said Leon; Train and Sven were arguing about something in the background and Leon used Stone Blast to shut them up.
"There's something on the door," said Eve. "It looks like… a hole."
"Okay." I thought for a brief moment and told everyone in the other 2 rooms to put the shiny orb from the pedestal into the door.
…
"Nothing's happening," stated Train.
"I know that!" After further observing the markings on the door I figured that I needed the fire element to pass. Hao and I could use Fire, but Leon can only use Earth magic with his Swordian, Chaltier. And of all the things Sven's attaché case didn't have, it was a flame thrower.
"Wouldn't this be enough?" asked Sven trying to click his lighter. "Ngaaah! Work dammit!"
"Sven, can I borrow your hat?" said Train snatching it anyways and tossing it to the ground. "Leon, can your Stone-something create flint stones?"
"Train! What're you doing!" shouted Sven.
"Ah, so that's it. Alright, Stone Blast!"
Drawing his Hades gun, Train inserted a single bullet and shot. "Burst Bullet!"
"Ahhh!" Sven cried as the bullet hit the stones and ignited a small flame on Sven's hat.
"Sorry I had to waste a Burst for something like this, Sven. I know how you feel."
"Hao, everyone is ready now," said Eve. Apparently Hao was napping during the little skit in the other room.
Simultaneously, we cast a flame into the orb as it started to glow bright crimson with the rest of the markings on the door. Opening with a low groan, we proceeded to the next part of the trial. Before the door closed behind me, I looked back at the forth side of the pedestal that I never got a chance to see. At that moment I saw an explosion, and the face on that screen was…
"Hi, ya? Ya? Ya? Ya? Ya?" echoed the voice of doom across the circular atrium ahead.
"… Diablos."
"Yeah?"
"Let's quit this pilgrimage and become miners."
"… I heard the Mythril Mines has a few open jobs…"
On the left came in Hao and Eve, and on the right; Train, Leon and Sven who was taking out a spare hat.
"Hm… This is quite strange," said Hao looking about the large room.
"Huh? What d'you mean?" asked Train.
Sven said shaking his head, "Look around; there's no other exits."
Another puzzle to solve and over half of us were idiots, me not included. This circle room was entirely empty other than the eternally dark ceiling. Might as well check it out.
"Diablos, spirit ball mode. Oversoul!" I dashed upwards into the abyss above. In nearly seconds something flew past my face; a searing ball of fire. Soon more started to appear and soon I realized I had triggered a trap or rather something to solve this stupid trial. I heard whining and wailing from below as the floor moved up like an elevator and halted several hundred metres up. Problem was that I got hit by the damn floor before I could fly any higher.
"Kuro, you okay?" asked Hao looking over me.
"Just fine… Eh- where's Wakka?" I said standing up and releasing my Oversoul. The room was only lit by the fireballs now.
"WHEEE! Haha! You can't stop any goals from me, ya? Block! Vemon Shot!"
"Tell me, exactly how he is doing that? Playing Blitzball with fire?" said Diablos gawking awkwardly.
"Tackle Slip WHOOSH! Missed me, ya!"
"I think the real issue is how good he is…" Hao said.
"…And the fact that Wakka is swimming in AIR doesn't concern you one bit…" I mumbled. Noticing that the fireballs only appeared to shoot along that horizontal plane, I wondered… "Hey! The opponent's goal is upwards!"
Wakka gasped dramatically. "That means that I have not been scoring any goals… The score is still 0 – 0, I can still win! YAA! Jecht Shot!" He kicked a fireball to the side of the wall, then punching it as it bounced back. With a swirl and a twirl he smashed the flames one by one towards the ceiling and moving about as if he were teleporting DBZ style. Soon the room was pitch-black as the fireballs disappeared. The room was rising again. What a weird puzzle this was… I didn't even know what the heck I was doing. Well, as long as we reached Ifrit, nothing else mattered.
"… How does he know Jecht Shot?" I asked somewhat astonished. I poured a little bit of MP into my scythe-staff faintly lighting the room.
Landing with a thump, Wakka replied, "GOOOALL! Thank you Tidus for teaching me such a great technique; thank you Lu for allowing me to learn a single spell from the Sphere Grid!"
"Lulu, eh? That explains the flying…" I said scratching my temple. "Wait, the Float spell doesn't even exist in FFX…"
Some light from a hole in the ceiling above crept into the area. When the elevating platform stopped, I suddenly collapsed to my knees and the light from my staff blew out. "K-Kuro?"
I gave my evil glare. "Can you please not surround me like this? It's really unnerving… I just get dizzy from elevators…"
Ahead were one last door and a strange discolouring in the wall to the side with a slot to put something in it. Agh! The Destruction Sphere! Every Cloister of Trials had one! Damn, now the treasure was locked in there forever.
"Kuro. I have been meaning to ask, but what is this for?" Eve handed me a glowing object.
"Something to open this door?" Hao wondered.
"Not exactly…" I replied.
"Oho, good job Eve! We can count on you in times like this unlike this other guy here," Sven said glancing at Train who retaliated with a punch. As usual, they started another pointless squabble.
"The Destruction Sphere… Eve, where'd you find this?" I asked.
"When Train was burning Sven's hat," she answered in her usual meek tone.
"What's this 'Exploding Sphere' thing for anyways?" wondered Diablos who had already snatched it out of my hands.
"Destruction Sphere. It's for revealing hidden treasure basically… Though I like the name 'Exploding Sphere', heheh."
"Okay…" Diablos stuck the sphere into the socket in the wall as it shone and then, well, exploded. He opened the giant chest and found a weapon inside. "Oooh! Now I won't have to transform back all the time to fight!" He was just happily waving around the new sword of his. It looked similar to Tidus' Baroque Sword except black instead of red.
Shaking my head and looking up to the hole in the ceiling, I saw a Kilika Sphere suspended from some vines… and Wakka… floating away into the sky…
"Ahh! Help me! Sir Kurooooo!" he cried.
"If he's not in Blitzball mode he can't do anything…" I groaned to myself. Tearing off the bright crimson sphere from the vines with my scythe, I carefully placed it on the final door. The lines and symbols started radiating a blaze of light. After the door finally opened, there was a very strange silence.
"What're we just standing here for?" complained Leon
"Are you going in or what?" said Sven to Train.
"Why do I have to go in?" Train retorted. "It's Kuro's job to fight the monster."
"Ehhahahaha!" echoed a creepy voice.
"Creed! I'm going in there!" shouted Train instantly dashing off and the rest of us followed. I was about to take off when I noticed the flames lighting the stairway ahead suddenly turned azure. Pyreflies were starting to show up too. I had a bad feeling about this.
"Kuro-sama!" echoed a high pitched voice followed by a "Uuuoogh!" from Train. Hurrying up the steps, I found Charden and Kyouko clinging to Train at the top.
"Who the hell are these people?" asked Leon.
"Creed, Charden, Kyouko…" I said pointing at then respectively. "I believe we met them back in your world."
"Really? I don't recall…"
"Creeeeeed!" Train was in a shooting frenzy with the seemingly invincible Creed.
"Train! Calm down!" I shouted and then suddenly I heard footsteps. Quickly I signaled to Diablos with random gestures to get the hell out of here ASAP. He somehow understood and vanished into the darkness. It looked like Kiako and her gang was finally here.
-8-0-8-
A/N: The first chapter of the sequel is at last done! Sorry for the eternally long wait! School's been a hell itself so I couldn't really help it.
Next chapter, out of the frying pan and into the electrical stove! Er, wait… how'd it go again? Kuro heads to the Djose Temple where Ixion lies and awaits its sending!