Lunatic Pandora
By: Ken Perrone
"Sir, incoming from sector 24"Yelled the soldier.
"Put it up" said the General as he walked over to the soldier's terminal.
"Yes Sir" exclaimed the soldier.
The vision that appeared to the General was startling to say the least. It was of a massive army of creatures that were coming from a large, rectangular building that seemed to be floating in the air.
"Sir, what do you want me to do?" asked the soldier
"Get Balamab Garden on the phone. Get me SeeD!"
The telephone on Squalls desk rang.
"Hello" Squall asked to the receiver.
"Headmaster Squall, this is General Cid of Ethsar. We need your help." Cid asked.
"What seems to be the problem?" Squall asks.
"Just take a look at this." A small screen appears over Squalls desk and an image begins to appear. After a minute the image was there. It was an image that stopped Squall dead in his tracks. After a minute, he answered.
"That is the Lunatic Pandora. It is a vessel that was around in the time of Ultamecia. When my team defeated her 20 years ago, the Lunatic Pandora disappeared. I fear a new power has taken over the otherworld. What you see is a Lunar cry. It is when thousands upon thousands of creatures fall from the moon to earth through the Lunatic Pandora. That is why the numbers of monsters in forests and on the plains has been less and less since we stopped it. But now the monsters are returning." Squall says.
"Is there anything we can do?" asks Cid.
"Assemble your army. Prepare to defend yourselves against invasion because you are most likely the first target. And begin evacuation of civilians. You can send some here and the rest to Dollet and Galbadia. I will assemble a squad of my best men to go in the Lunatic Pandora and investigate. Until then, I will keep in touch. Click." Squall hung up the phone.
"Ahh finally, I can get a stupid hotdog." I say after waiting in line for an hour. Around the cafeteria, many groups of people are meeting for they're lunch period in between classes. This is my only period that I am not teaching so I use it as lunch. To my right are the class clowns. They have done nothing but play their stupid card came, Triple Triad, all semester. I guess its paying off though, because a few of them have gotten into the Balamb-Centra Gardens Tournament, which is quite respected. Behind them, farther back into the room, are the jocks. They are the guys who play in a sport where competitors get into Roller suits, and race down the alleys of Balamb. It's very dangerous, but of course with the danger comes the fame. There are a few racers that have gone as far as competing in underground tournaments. Sitting with them are all the girls that cheer them on at their races. Of course one second you could be the one getting cheered for, and the next, you lose a race, and they have found someone else to cheer for. On the opposite side of the Cafeteria are the good students. They are all taking time to look over notes for the next class. The finals for classes are coming up soon, as well as the SeeD test.
The intercom comes on with today's announcements. Just as I sit down I hear the Announcement. "Would Instructor Ken please go to Headmaster Squall's Office on the double? Thank You."
"Stupid line. Can't even get decent food around here. Oh well better head up."
When I reach the elevator I push the button to go to the top floor, and I feel the elevator begin to ascend. In a few seconds I reach the top floor, where Headmaster Leonheart's office is located. When the doors open, I am surprised to see Adam, Matt, and Jess sitting in the waiting room.
"Hey guys, Long time no see!" I say joyfully.
It's been six months since we all last really saw each other. At that time we, together, fought the forces of hell. We all learned a lot about each other, and it really was a huge test for our friendships. Adam nearly died. A few times, and we all learned how much we meant to each other.
"Hey mister big instructor guy, what's new?" Adam sarcastically asks.
"Not much, 'sides this whole cold hotdogs problem. I'm an instructor, and I still have to wait in line! That is crap. I can't complain though, I drive the "company" car." I announce proudly." Jess! How are you doing?" I ask.
"I'm doing super!" Jess laughs.
"Well then, we all seem to be good, oh wait, Matt. Almost forgot about you!" I add.
"Haha craphead, I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking!" Matt says almost too real like.
"So what are we waiting for here?" I ask after catching my breath from laughing.
"Were not supposed to go in until the squad leader is here." Jess says dignity.
"Who's that?" I ask.
"You!" Everyone yells.
"Ok. Um, that sucks. I've got to do work! Let's go then!" I say as I laugh.
In my head I was thinking why I was made squad leader. I never did anything big in my life. I bet that it was just to test my ability as an instructor. Yea that's it.
"Sir, you asked to see me." I say as I walk in to Squall's Office.
"Ken, you know I don't like formalities. I ask you here because of something that has happened near Ethsar. Look at this." A small screen flickers on and an image appears on it.
"What the heck is that?" I say.
"That is something called the Lunatic Pandora. It is a reason that the demons you fight around the world are there. You see, those monsters under and around it came from the moon. Ken, did I ever tell you about what I did before I became Headmaster." Squall says.
"Yea, you told me, but what does it have to do with this?" I say confused.
"Well, Ultamecia, the witch my team beat, used the Lunatic Pandora to travel to another dimension to create her evil army. When I defeated her, the Lunatic Pandora disappeared. Now I fear its return means that someone else has traveled to that dimension and is building an army to take over this world. "Squall states.
"My God, is there anything we can do to stop it?" I say startled.
"That's why I called you here. Matt, Adam, Jess, Would you all mind going outside? Thank you." After they leave the room, Squall continues." I want you to take them and also Jamie, and Mandy, who will be arriving shortly, to the Lunatic Pandora. I want you to investigate what is going on and if possible and clause able, to try to destroy the Lunatic Pandora. I know this is going to be tough, so I'm going to help you the best I can. The ship that brought me there, The Ragnorok, is now yours to use. Here are the rest of the details of the mission." He hands me a folder. "Dismissed." As I turn around, he says, "And Ken, good luck."
When I get out of his office and into the waiting room, I decided to wait to brief the squad until they were going to leave.
"Squad, I want you all to gear up and meet me in the launch bay in 20 minutes. I will give you further information then. Dismissed." I say.
As I walk back to my room, I am thinking about the decisions I am going to have to make in the next few hours that could decide the fate of the people in my squad.
When I get to my room, I open the door, and take out my uniform. There is the black undershirt, reinforced with nylon fibers, then the black pants, complete with a combat knife on my right leg, and the black over shirt. There also is a utility belt that has a wide assortment of equipment on it, including a blowtorch, rope, 2 grenades, a med pack, and my personal GPS tracking system. Over my shirt I pull on a back loaded Sword holster. I grab a box from under my bed, open it, and take out my sword. It is a long bladed, 2-handed sword with an indentation near the base. It was my fathers' sword before he was killed. I never knew him, because I was so young, but at the orphanage where I was raised, I was told that he was a warrior for Ethsar, and was killed during Headmaster Squalls adventures with Sorceresses, and demons.
I close and lock my door, and begin to walk to the launch bay. When I get there I see that everyone has assembled and is in formation. I also notice that the other 2 squad members have arrived, and I give them all a nod as I move to the front of the formation.
"Well, this is my first time ever being squad leader, so bear with me. We have a very important mission here boys and girls. I am to take you, being my squad, to the Lunatic Pandora and we are to investigate and if I deem it clause able we are going to try to stop it. We have Adam and me as the combat specialists, Instructor Jess will be the magic specialist, Jamie will be the Medic, Matt will cover pilot, and Mandy will be the intelligence portion of our squad. If any of you do not feel that you can do the job, speak now." Silence and stillness. "Ok, we are going to go and board my new ride, the Ragnorok. Everyone, just chill out for awhile. I will inform you when we are going to combat stations. Until then, you are dismissed." I say to the group.
I walk to the boarding ramp and chose a seat near the main gunning station. Everyone else heads for the crew cabin, except Adam, who sits next to me, obviously wanting something.
He waits until everyone else leaves and then turns to me. "Ken, I've got a small problem. It's about Raine."
Raine is Headmaster Leonheart's daughter. Since six months ago, she has been studying at Trabia garden in many fields.
"I really like her, but I just can't tell her. What do you think?" he asks
"That makes two of us. I've never told anyone, but I am really fond of Jess. She is so great. I mean I get along with her so well and all too. Were kind of in the same boat, but why don't we talk after this mission and maybe we'll solve this problem!" I say.
"Ok deal." Adam says, and then walks over to the crew cabin. I feel the engines power up and the groan of the ship as it lifts off the launch pad. We reach cruising speed in about 1 minute, and begin to head to Ethsar airspace.
"Ken, could you come here." Matt calls from the pilots' cabin.
I walk to the cabin, and before Matt can talk I hear a message come over the radio.
"Ethsar overrun... (Static)Dead, enemy army advancing toward (static) Send help!"
"Matt, call Balamab!" I demand.
In a second the line to Squall is opened.
"Squall, Ethsar is a loss, the enemy is advancing to an unknown location, should we intercept and try to draw away some of the forces?" I ask.
"Ken calm down. Now where are they headed?"
"I don't know. We intercepted a message and it was very garbled."
"Ok, I want you to make 1 pass on the army, check for survivors in Ethsar and then attack the Pandora."
"Attack it sir?"
"Ken, it may be the only way. If it doesn't work, I want you to complete the original mission. Keep me updated."
"Yes sir!" I say.
I grab the intercom and begin to speak.
"Attention everyone. There has been an update to the mission. Ethsar was attacked and destroyed. I don't know how anyone could have survived the attack, but we are going to check. But first we are going to do a flyby over the army. That means we are going to try to make them follow us, then we are going to defeat them. We have 5 minutes until we reach them, and I want all of you in battle stations in 3. Ken out."
"Matt, fly low and fast, and don't stop for anything. Then turn on the sensors when we reach Ethsar Ruins and scan for life. Got it?" I ask
"Yes sir." He enthusiastically says.
I run to my battle station, and see that everyone is in there's and is ready to fight.
"1 minute folks." Matt says over the intercom.
I feel the engines go to full power as we begin to descend. Through my dome I see thousands of monsters looking at us. I fire the first shot, signaling to the rest of the crew that it is time. From all around me I see machine guns, rockets and energy beams firing into the army.
"Matt gets to cruising altitude and opens the bay doors. I am going to summon." I say into the intercom. From inside the cabin, I stand with my eyes closed. A quick prayer is said, and I walk to the door. After opening it I look outside. Around us, many enemies are attacking, and being attacked.
I walk to the opening, knowing that it would be all right, and I jump out. From below me a huge dragon takes off and is coming right towards me. I pull out my sword, and set it to strike. From above me I hear a screech so deafening that I should not be able to hear, but I know what it is from. I slice through the enemy and my summon, a large red dragon, catches me near the ground. We pick up altitude and hover right next to the Ragnorok. I signal to Matt to follow me. My dragon folds it wings and we quickly begin to fall. A few feet from the ground, she opens her wings and fires bursts of flame out of his mouth. Demons begin to attack us left and right, but the Ragnorok always has our back. After the pass is completed, I talk to Matt through my personal intercom.
"Matt, I want you to keep going towards the Lunatic Pandora; I am going to kill the ones that are following us. Good luck." and with that I turn around and begin to fight.
I steer my dragon to a high altitude and then I jump off and begin to dive. My dragon does the same right next to me, and together we kill all the demons that were following us near the ground, he catches me and opens his wings to fly. We remain low and fast for some time, and before I know it, we are caught up to the Ragnorok. I soar ahead, but suddenly weakness comes over me, and I know it is time to get back in the ship. I steer my dragon back over to the hatch, and climb in. Behind me I feel the Summon disappear. I make my way over to the crew cabin, and as I near my bed, my vision begins to blur.
"Ken, Wake up." a voice says. I slowly open my eyes to see Jess standing over me.
"Oww." I say as I try to get up.
"Ken, we've run into a problem, and we are heading back to Garden under orders from Squall." Jess says.
"Ok, thanks. Am I all right?" I ask a little weary of the answer.
"Well you are beat up, but I think you are going to be fine. I cleaned you up a bit when you came in. I think that summoning took a lot out of you. Now go back to sleep."
"Ok." I mumble as I drift back into sleep.
I wake up in Gardens Infirmary. "How long have I been out?" I ask a person standing over me, writing on a clipboard.
"Oh wow, I didn't expect you to wake up for at least another few days being in the condition you were in when Instructor Jess carried you here." the doctor said.
"Oh, how bad was I?"I asked.
"Well you were very beat up, but Jess wouldn't tell me what exactly happened, but you should be grateful, if she hadn't taken good care of you, you would have probably died. You need to be careful when you were doing whatever you were doing." Just then Jess walked in to the room.
"Hey Jess." I say kind of painfully.
"How's ee doing," She asks the doctor.
"Well, I think he'll be alright. I think he should be good off this afternoon."
"Ken, I'll see you then Ok?"
"Cool. See you later." I say, as sleep hits me again.
I wake up, waiting for a moment to see if anything still hurts, then slowly sit up, hoping not to pass out from a blood rush. I see that all my gear is sitting on the table, waiting for me, and added to that is an arm brace with a note attached to it. "You are going to have to wear this for a few days; you sprained your wrist during a fight. Doc."
I put all my gear on and walk over to the door, sign out, and begin to walk to the dorms. On my way I see Jess walking to get me.
"Hey you're up early." She says as she turns around and walks with me.
"Yea, I felt better, so I signed myself out. How have things been since I went out?" I ask.
"Well, not so good, but they could of been worse. We did find a few survivors. One of them was Chip, but he is pretty badly hurt. What can you say though; he got all of his squad out alive. That's a victory in a lot of people's books." Jess says.
"I agree with that. Speaking of squads, how are the rest of the rest of the guys doing?" I ask.
"There all good, most are helping the wounded, except Adam because he filled in as squad leader after you went out." Jess says, but suddenly she adds "Crap, I forgot to tell you. You are supposed to report to Headmaster Squall as soon as you're up."
"Ok, I'll talk to you later." I say as I go sprinting down the halls.
When I finally make it to Squalls office, I am panting. I wait a second to wipe the sweat off my face, and then I calmly walk in.
"You're up earlier than they expected. I guess you are a strong one." He says.
"I've been trained for battle Sir, uh I mean Squall." I say a little embarrassed.
"Right. Now since you are back in action, so to speak, you are to resume duties as Squad Leader. But first I would like you to tell me all that happened prior to you blacking out." He says.
I begin to tell him the story of all that happened, not leaving out a single detail. I tell him about my dragon, and he seems particularly interested in that part, and asks to learn more at a later date. After I finish, he briefs me on all that has happened since I went out. It seems that the army has begun to fight amongst it, and has split into two parties. The first, and stronger, has remained at the site of the Lunatic Pandora. The second army has begun to march eastward towards Dollet. SeeD was dispatched 36 hours ago, and is stationed with the Galbadian army near Dollet. The army is moving slowly, so its arrival will be in 3 weeks if its present speed remains constant. He dismisses me after that.
As I walk out, he adds "Ken, I've assigned someone who may be a strong asset to you to your squad. He is to arrive tomorrow."
"Thanks." I say, wondering who this person is.
I walk to the elevator, and push the button for the ground floor. A minute later, I'm on the ground walking back to my dorm. I feel kind of tired, and there is a strange feeling in my bones, but I figure that it's from all of the drugs I was on in the infirmary.
The next morning, I woke up, but I felt that strange feeling again. I decided that I should probably see how I can fight, and to make sure everything is okay, so I headed towards the Training center. As I walk in I hear a scream, and then a loud roar. I begin to run towards the source of the sound, but before I even get there, enemies begin to attack from everywhere.
"I don't have time for this!" I yell, and slash through 2 wolfs. I run a bit further and two Grats leap out of the trees. A quick fira spell takes care of them, and I am running again. I enter a clearing, and find the source of the sounds. On the ground is a girl, dressed in a cadet uniform, and about 20 feet away from her, is a huge t-rexuar. It looks even tougher than the ones I used to fight in the forests, and those were tough.
"Come over here, let's go!" I yell at it. It turns its attention to the new opponent on the field. After a few seconds of sizing me up, it begins to move towards me at a much greater speed than its size should allow. I start off right away by casting an Ice spell at it. It seems to slow for a second, but it keeps coming. I draw my sword and charge at it. From behind me I hear running, and then a bolt of lightning comes down on the T-rexuar. It stops for a moment, dazed. I turn my head, and I see that the source of the spell was Jess.
"Ken, I'll grab the girl, you hold it off." She yells, still running.
"Alright, be careful, it's strong." I yell back, and begin to charge again. I have to give Jess a chance to get through, so I run right up to the massive beast, and jump up to slash it, but as I am jumping, it's claw slashes me, throwing me back a few feet. I immediately assume I am wounded, but after a quick check, I notice no mark on me. I get back up, and cast a fire spell on my sword, and run up to slash again. This time, my sword hits its mark, and the beast seems hurt. Suddenly, the beast turns its attention from me to Jess who is carrying the girl away. It begins to charge up a fireball.
"Jess run!" I yell. Without thought I run in between the path of the fireball and Jess, and brace myself. Suddenly I am engulfed in fire. The heat is so intense, but it doesn't burn me. Startled, I almost drop my sword, but realizing my situation, I jump back and prepare to fight again. I notice that my clothing looks different immediately. My armor is red, and it looks like a flame is kindling inside of it, and my sword is on fire. I run at the beast, and jump, but I feel myself going higher and higher. I turn my head to look behind me, and I notice a pair of red wings.
"What the hell?" I say out loud. I look down, and I see Jess and the girl running out of the exit to the Training Center.
"All right, time to finish you!" I yell to the beast who is staring at me above him. After a few seconds, I figure out how to move, and I fly right on top of the beast. My sword is ablaze, and I begin to slash the beast across the back. It tries to throw me off of it, but every time, I manage to stay on. After I cut through its tough armor, I lift my sword up, and plunge it deep into its back. The T-Rexuar cringes, and then falls down. I jump off and land smoothly next to it. The beast is dead, lying limp on the ground now. For a moment I stand startled, realizing all that just happened.
"Wings? Armor? What is this? How?" I say out loud confused. A brilliant light surrounds me, and suddenly I am back in my old garb. I stand for a second more, and then decide to figure this out later. I begin to run back to the exit. I notice that no more enemies attack me on the way out, so I get out without any trouble. Outside of the training center is Headmaster Squall, Matt, Adam, Jess and the girl, along with a few other garden instructors.
"Ken, are you all right?" Squall asks.
"Yea, I'm fine. The beast is dead, whatever it was. It was like the T-rexuars we used to fight outside garden, but this one was stronger.
"Squall, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" I ask him.
"Yea." We walk over to the elevator, and then into his office." What's it about?"
I begin to tell Squall of everything that happened. After I explained it he said, "Ken, I think what the scientists said years ago, and how they criticized us for using summons, was right. They said that the art of summoning could meld two beings together, giving a negative effect, and thus killing the summoner. But you've proven them wrong. This is very good, perhaps with time we will be able to discover exactly why it happened, but right now we have to worry about the Lunatic Pandora, and its armies.
"Headmaster, give me the word, and I'll begin preparing a squad to go and infiltrate the Lunatic Pandora."
"Absolutely not. We still don't know enough about It." he sternly says.
"Sir, wont innocent people die if we don't do something? Aren't we supposed to be SeeD? The protectors of garden and its people? This is something we should do!" I say.
"But I can't risk losing my best men for nothing." He shouts back, "you are dismissed until I call you next."
I storm out, jump the rail, and walk to the cafeteria. Jess is sitting alone, and I decide to go and talk to her.
"What's that look for? You're pissed aren't you?" She asks.
"Arrgg. Yea I am. I can't really tell you, but Squalls an ass sometimes." I sit next to her and I nearly completely forget all my anger. I decide in my head something that had been bothering me for a long time. We finish eating, and as we get up, I say, "Meet me in the Launch bay in 5 minutes."
"Ok." she says.
I feel kind of stupid doing it, but something makes me run all the way to the launch bay. In what seems like forever, she finally comes. She walks over to me, and says "So, what's up?" "This may startle you a bit, but just watch." I say. Then I say a quick prayer, and I begin to get the feeling again, just like the first time. After a second, I run over to the bay doors and leap out into the air. From behind me I hear a scream, and then it is drowned out by the air rushing past my ears. I feel the transformation, and I open my wings. As I gain speed, I begin to level myself out and soar back to the bay doors. Just as Jess pops her head over to see where I went I appear in front of her face.
"Wow, you look like you just saw a ghost." I say giggling a bit.
Her face was white, and her mouth hung open. As she struggles to say something I interrupt her.
"What is this, I know. I don't quite know what myself. Squall said it has something to do with my summons, and there spirits being infused with mine or something like that." I say. "Want to ride?" I ask
"Um, ss..sure" She struggles to say.
I walk over to her and grab her in my arms.
"Hold on." I say as I take off.
I fold my wings around us and begin to free fall. About fifty feet above the ground, I open them and begin to fly. I cruise through streets and soar over the plains as I head to the Fire Cavern. I fly over the open lava pit, and gain huge air from the updraft.
"That's so cool." I hear Jess say with a scared, but calm voice.
After the fire cave I soar far above Garden and watch the sunset for the last few minutes of the flight. After five minutes, I fold in my wings again and free fall. I come right above garden and hover.
"Jess, have you ever seen Garden from 100 feet up? Well look down." Below us I see students and SeeD's walking through the many areas in garden. In the training center, a student is being taught a fire spell.
"That's amazing. I never thought Garden was so pretty. I guess things look different on the outside. Thanks." she says, much more calm.
"I kind of owe you. The doctor said you saved my life, you know. I never did thank you." I say as I set down in the Launch bay.
"See you later, Ken." Jess says as she jogs off to her dorm.
As I walk back to my dorm, I am amazed at how many stares I get. I guess I can't blame them though; the smile on my face was probably creepily large. I walk in to my room, close my door, and begin to change into my mission uniform. Its kind of my gift, intuition, and it was going off now. I was kind of hoping to go back to the Lunatic Pandora. I hurry back to Squalls office as soon as I am changed.
I walk to the elevator and push the up button. The doors pop open and I walk over to Squalls office and wait. Sure enough I hear the intercom bells, and my entire squad is called. I casually walk into his office.
"That was fast." Squall says.
"I try." I almost laugh.
"Well why don't you try and wait for your squad, outside." He says.
"Yes sir." I say and walk out of his office. Bad mood, I think to myself, and I wonder why.
After a few minutes, Jamie, Adam, Raine, Mandy, Jess, and Matt arrive, and we walk in to Squalls office.
"Thank you all for coming. There has been some new startling news. Thirty-five minutes ago someone spotted Rinoa Heartily, a former member of my squad, and a sorceress who, we thought, had contained her powers. She has been missing for some time. We all assumed she went away to learn more about her powers, and I didn't stop her, because I trust her. But now, myself, and many others believe that she is the cause of these armies. I want you all to prepare for battle because all of the nations have allied together to make a stand, and Garden will be flying into battle. Ken, you and your squad will be leading an insertion team into the Pandora to neutralize the source of the armies, whatever it would be." Squall says.
"Does that mean we have to kill Rinoa?" Jamie blurts out.
Squall sighs. "If saving the planet can't be done any other way, what must be done, must be done."
"Sir, I... I'm sorry. I know what she means to you, and I promise that I'll try everything possible to save her." I say, knowing no other way to comfort him.
"Ken, could you stay, and the rest of you all leave, and wait outside."
"Ken, the person who will be helping you is someone who never became a Seed, but if he would have been allowed to, could have been good. I don't necessarily trust him, but I do respect him. His name is Seifer Almasy. He is a gun blade user as I am, and will be acting as your second-in-command." He says.
"Yes sir." I say.
"Thank you. Dismissed." Squall says.
As I leave, I think of what would happen if something happened to the someone I love dearly, and the thought scared me sick. I try to keep my composure, and I brief talk to the group.
"Adam, Matt, Jess, Jamie, Raine, Mandy, I want to talk to all of you. I don't know if you all know it or not, but Squall loves this girl, and I kind of know how he feels. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to any of you. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this mission is going to be very dangerous so everyone take care of each other and watch your backs. Get ready and meet me at the Ragnorok tomorrow morning at 5:15 am. Dismissed." I say
I walk to my dorm, and prepare my gear. After that I say a quick prayer, and go to bed.
Beep Beep Beep. I wake up and slam my hand down on the alarm clock. I look at it, and it reads 2:03 am. I think to myself that it's too early and that I set my alarm to 4.
I get up, and realizing that it would be worthless to try to go asleep, I get dressed, and wander to the cafeteria. I look up and realize that Jess is sitting at a table facing the wall, all alone. I quietly walk over, and pull up a chair next to her.
"What's wrong?" I ask, noticing a concerned look on her face.
"Ken, I've been thinking. I feel so scared for Squall, but I feel like I can't do anything." she looks down.
"I kind of feel the same way. I guess the best thing we can do for him is try our best to save her. I have a feeling that she isn't doing this with her will, and that if we find out what is doing it, we could save her." I say trying to comfort her.
"Ken, when you said that you knew how he felt, what did you mean?" She asks me.
"I kind of just know." I say, feeling unprepared to tell her what I felt.
"Okay, thank you." she says.
"Go get some sleep." I say.
"I don't think I can, my alarm went off early." She says.
I feel like someone planned this, and immediately my mind is on Adam.
"Well, might as well make the best of it. Follow me." I say. I begin to walk toward the balcony and I hear Jess begin to follow. I walk over to the edge, and begin to transform into my dragon form.
"Hop on." I say as I finish.
Jess walks over and puts her arms around my neck with her face pressing into my shoulder. I Jump over the edge and spread my wings. I begin to catch some altitude and as I reach the top of garden, I stop and hover in place.
"Look." I say to Jess. She turns her head and looks into a dark world, but a second later, the sun breaches the horizon and a great beam of light shines upon us, and for a second we forget all that is going to happen, and feel at peace.
"Hey." I pause for a moment thinking." I kind of wanted to talk to you about something before we got going on the mission, and since this might be the last chance to talk before, can I talk now?" I say.
"Yea, what do you need to talk about?" I land on the balcony again, and gently let her down. I pause for a second, say a silent prayer, and come out of my transformed self, back to normal.
"Well, I guess it's kind of stupid, but uhh..." I pause again nervously.
"Yea?"
"Well, uh, I just wanted to say that this mission will be dangerous, and if you don't think you can go, then, well, just don't go. Stay here and help in any way you can from here, rather than going with me and risking your life." I say quickly.
"Ken! Why? I don't want to just sit here while my friends, who I care about, go off and fight. I know that death is a risk that we all will face, but I'd much rather die fighting by your... everyone's side, than sitting here waiting for something to come and get me when I'm all alone."
I stand for a moment, thinking about everything she just said. It kind of hit me like a train. Maybe if I really care about her, maybe I should stand by her, and protect her, even if I die doing it. Maybe that would be best.
"Jess, I'm sorry. I... I just don't want anything to happen to you, to anyone. I can't fight this battle alone, but, maybe with you, with my friends by my side, maybe we can beat this." I say. All of the sudden, she moves close to me and puts her arms around my neck and hugs me. I am startled, but I hug her back.
"We're all afraid. They all look up to you Ken. We all need you. Let's just go and do this, okay. Get it done and over with, and then we can all relax again okay? Just promise me that we will all come back, or none of us will."
"I promise." I say, letting go of her. The hallways of Garden are beginning to get light now, and I can see distant figures moving towards the launch bay. "Well, I guess its time to get going. Go get your stuff and meet in the bay." I say, and walk away.
I walk slowly and silently to the launch bay. Matt and Adam are sitting on the floor next to the boarding ramp for the Ragnorok, but as I walk over to them, the stand up and nod their heads. I stand wondering for a moment. Matt finally breaks the silence.
"Suicide mission eh? Tons of danger. Little chance for return. Promise of a lot of enemies. Just like the old days." Matt says. That's one of the coolest parts about Matt. The "old days" he is referring to is when Adam, Matt, and I were about 12 and in SeeD training. We used to go into the forest near the fire cavern outside of Balamb, and fight things. Hardly suicide, but I can't help but to admire how easy he turns a bad vibe into one of laughter.
The rest of the squad is now in the room, waiting my order.
"Hey guys?" I say.
"Yea" They reply in unison.
"Let's have some fun with this. If were going to die, we'd rather go out having a good time right? Let's go out in style." I say.
"Heck yea. Ken, we fight till the end." Adam says.
"Till the end!" We all say. We all turn to the sound of footsteps. There is a figure walking towards us. His outfit is of a Garden instructor, save for a Cross of fire on his sleeve.
"Squad, allow me to introduce you to my second in command. That is Seifer." I say as I walk toward him. I reach out my hand, and his gloved one meets it.
"Good morning. I assume Squall has briefed you?" I say. Seifer takes his hand back. His features are dulled by age, but still sharp. Streaks of silvery grey line his hair, but it still is predominantly black. A scar crosses his face between his eyes, a once deep wound given by Squall in training, now faded... He opens his Jacket to reveal a sword at his side, a Gun blade, and his gear pack. It looked very light, perhaps just a few things inside.
"Well, if we are all ready, shall we get on with this?" I say
"Yea, lets get going" Seifer says.
"You all heard him. Move out!" I say, and turn and run up the ramp to my station. Behind me I hear the others follow. The hatch is closed, and I hear Matt beginning to power up the engines. We all hear a loud obnoxious: YEEEEEEHHHHAAAAA! coming from the cockpit, and we all laugh.
As the Ragnorok bursts out of the bay, it enters a still world. The sun is just up, but it's high enough to shine bright, warm light into the ship. But as the ship changes direction, a shadow blocks the light. Smoke is rising from the direction of Ethsar.
"Matt," I say over the intercom, "what's that smoke coming from?"
"I don't know, want to check it out?"
"Nah, just get high enough so that I can see it from here." I feel the ship begin to ascend, and I begin to be able to see what is unfolding. The first section of the army is building a camp, but they are burning the ground, and trees, wherever they are.
"Matt, send a few images back to Squall, let him know what's going on."
"Alright...... Sent."
"Thanks" I say. I get up and begin to move about the cabin, going from person to person. Pretty much everyone is sitting, head down, in silence. They are all probably thinking about what is about to happen. As I near the last few people, I notice that one person is awake. In the corner of the cabin, I hear first, before seeing, Jess. She is humming something to herself, seemingly oblivious to the present situation, bleak as it is. I contemplate going over to her, but I decide that I might be better off going for some air.
I walk out onto the deck of the ship. The cold morning air rushes past my ears, and I feel a surge of energy as the brisk air cools my skin.
"A little cold to be outside isn't it?" Adam's voice from behind me says. I turn around, and he walks over to the rail next to me. He is dressed in his uniform. Grey pants and over
A blue shirt. His gear belt has on it a sheath for the sword he carries. It is shorter than mine, almost short enough to be one handed, but it is broad. Adam is one of the few people that I know that has the ability to use a sword well. He has a grey overcoat, unbuttoned, and his boots are black, but faded from much use.
"Yea, its cold. I just couldn't stand it in there, everything so silent."
"How bad is this going to be when we get there?"
"I don't know. Squall made it sound like it was going to be hard, and that means it's near impossible by our standards. I've been thinking though Adam. If we get to a point where we have to turn back, I want you to promise that you will get everyone out okay, no matter what happens to me. Okay, promise me that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just promise."
"Alright, I promise, but don't think we will just sit there and let something happen to you. It wont."
"Thanks"
"Anyti...." Adam is interrupted by the Intercom.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for flying Ragnorok Airlines. We will be arriving at the Lunatic Pandora within 5 minutes, so please be prepared to do what you must. Thank you from your pilot, Matt, for being behaved. Out."
"Well," I say, "I guess this is it."
"Yea let's go." Adam says. As we walk back in, everyone is standing around in the cabin, with all their gear ready. Matt is even there.
"Matt, who is flying the ship?" I state worriedly.
"New thing. Auto pilot, it'll send this baby back home, and I can call it when we need it too." He exclaims.
"Nice. Anyways, everyone, this is it. In 10 seconds, we jump. Under us will be the Lunatic Pandora. Upon landing, we may run into......" A blaring alarm interrupts me. Warning Warning. Incoming, 24 Pieces Incoming, Time till Impact 10 seconds. From the windows we see huge flying beasts moving toward the ship at rapid speeds.
"Welcoming party. We'll never get through that many of them. We have to turn back!" Matt yells. A rocket hurtles past the windows and impacts on one of the beasts.
"Ragnorok, this is the airship Excalibur. We'll take care of these beasts. Cid sends his regards."
I realize that the airship that is helping us must be a new weapon of Ethsar. As far as anyone knew, the Ragnorok was the only airship that was around. I guess that Cid and Squall hide more than they say.
"Excalibur, give us a hole, and leave the rest to us. Thanks for the help, tell Cid thanks too." I say over the Intercom. "Okay team, we have our hole. We'll only have a few seconds to clear, and jump, so once were through the beasts, we jump, and we fight till we get inside."
"Yea, lets go" Seifer says. 3 seconds till target drop point.
"Ready..... Jump!" I say, and the team leaps off of the platform, onto the deck of the Lunatic Pandora. Immediately enemies are around us. "Fight through them to the entrance!!! Move Move Move!" I yell over the sounds of battle.
Seconds later we are all inside of the entrance, hatch closed behind us. We are all in a small hallway leading to a grand chamber. It is unnaturally lit by glowing gems in the wall. Runes line the floor, ceiling, and walls. It has been said the Lunatic Pandora, was created by an ancient people for use as a weapon. The people would live in the Pandora, and when they wanted to attack, they would summon a Lunar Cry on top of the place to attack.
"Is everyone okay?" I ask. Seeing nods from everyone signals our moving on. We all walk slowly down the hall towards the chamber. As we near it, it begins to grow lighter and lighter. I enter the chamber first, and I stop in my tracks. Before me I see a massive room with wire-like threads running from corner to corner and in the center is a hole, probably a quarter mile wide that leads all the way to the top and to the bottom of the Pandora.
"That is where the lunar cry comes through" I say.
"If Squall was right, the cry may still be going on, so we may want to get out of this room before more beasts come." Seifer adds.
"I agree." I say. We begin to walk towards a door on the other side of the room.
"Hey, what's that noise?" Matt asks.
"I don't hear anything." I say back.
"No there is defiantly something." Seifer says, drawing his gun blade. "Everyone get back against the wall, something's coming." The squad pulls out their weapons. Suddenly, from the hole, a great winged beast that resembles a praying mantis fly's into sight. It stops, and begins to hover, level to us.
"We fight." Seifer yells, and charges toward the beast, which has now moved to the very edge of the hole. As Seifer nears it, it floats back into the hole, out of the range of any of our weapons.
"Jess, cast a spell!" I say. Immediately Jess begins to glow. A faint sound of the rush of wind is heard, and the winged beast is hit hard by a fira spell. This seems to anger the beast, and it charges Jess.
"Move!" I yell, and run in between her and the beast. With my sword out, I close my eyes and brace myself for what is to come. Suddenly, from in front of me, I hear Seifer's Gun blade slash something, and I open my eyes. The beast's wing has a huge gash in it, and Seifer is standing ready to attack again.
"You nearly got killed Ken. A hero isn't worth anything to us if he's dead!" Seifer yells.
"Sorry.... It comes again." I say. I run forward next to Seifer, and I hear Matt and Adam follow. I hear blades slash, and grunts from my comrades. I turn and look to Adam.
"Adam! Your power!" I yell over the sounds of battle. The beast takes off and starts to fly away from us, towards the ceiling. I say a quick prayer and I am transformed. I look to Adam, whose wings have spread out, and I nod.
"Let's go!" He calls, and takes off. As I fly, I launch a ball of fire from my hands and it hits the beast hard, stopping him. Adam fly's right to it and with 2 slashes of his sword, the beast is beginning to get weak.
"Adam lets get it from 2 sides at once." I yell. From below me I can see everyone else looking at us, wondering and hoping. I look back up, and begin to attack. Adam and I both hit the beast's sides at the same time. I drive my sword deep into him. The beast lets out a scream, and dies. As it falls, I notice that Adam is okay, and heading back to the floor we were on. I fly back to the rest of the squad, and cast an unsummoning spell.
"Is everyone okay?" I ask.
"Yea we're all good, I got a little scratch on my arm, but its okay." Seifer says.
"Okay good. Let's go." I say, beginning to walk to the door.
As we reach the door, I notice that the door leads to stairs, and from the looks of it, they go far down. Seifer leads the way down them.
"Hey Adam? How come you don't use your power as much as you used to?" I ask.
"Well, I guess that when Hell broke loose..." Adam chuckled at his humor, "and I almost died, that I just decided to only use the power when I needed to. I kind of forgot about it a little to be honest."
"Oh. Well, I guess that is cool, but we might need to use it in here, being how tough it's going to be once we find the otherworld. Just don't forget at a time when we need it." I say.
"Hey everyone. I kind of feel stupid asking this, but what's this otherworld?" Jess asks. I am about to answer but Seifer begins to talk.
"Some time ago, when Headmaster Squall was a SeeD, there were powerful sorceresses. Adel, Ultamecia, Edea and even Squall's love, Rinoa, were sorceresses. You see, SeeD was sent to the Lunatic Pandora before. They rescued Rinoa, and destroyed the Pandora, or so they thought. Later on, Squall, and his companions were sent to an alternate dimension, The Otherworld. Time in the otherworld did not pass as it does here. It simply remained one moment. Ultamecia had a huge fortress, a castle, in which she ruled this otherworld. Eventually, after battling many powerful foes, Squall defeated Ultamecia, and thus sealed the Otherworld. The Lunatic Pandora's reappearing must mean that that otherworld has been opened, and that someone has taken up the ruling of it. Only a sorceress can rule it, and the only known one remaining is Rinoa. Squall thinks that something more powerful is controlling her, but we don't know anything. The rest you all know."
For a few moments everyone sat in silence. We were all absorbing all that we had just been told, and it started to make sense.
"Wow, I didn't know any of that." I say. The rest of the group reacted the same.
"So now you know how important this mission is. If we fail, then it might mean the end of our planet." Seifer says.
"Alright then, well, let's get going." Jess exclaims. After about an hour of descending the stairs, the group reached a long corridor.
"What the hell!?" Adam yells. "Why cant we just get to the dang point already, this walking is pissing me off and there's nothing to fight."
"Yea it's kind of pissing me off." I say calmly. "But let's go. I think this corridor has to lead somewhere." We begin to walk again, heading toward the end of the corridor. Fifteen minutes pass, and there is still no sign of an end.
"Hey guys, I'm getting tired. Can we rest for a little?" Mandy asks.
"Sure, but only for a...." A yawn. "Little bit." I say. The group sits down, and one by one everyone begins to get tired.
"Guys, I'm falling asleep." Matt says, and slumps over asleep.
"What the..?" I say, and notice everyone else is asleep too. "Oh great" I think to myself. Suddenly I feel my eyes close.
I awake in a bright place. As my eyes begin to open, I see that I am sitting in a wide meadow, underneath a huge tree. At my feet is a path.
"What is this place?" I ask myself. No answer. I decide to get up, and, after a few seconds of wondering if my legs are awake, I stand. Before me, I see that the path goes on for a couple yards, and then it splits into two paths. I start walking and when I reach the fork in the road, I stop.
"Hello??! Is anyone here?" I yell. I hear nothing, no noise. I begin to walk down the path to my right, and after walking for a long time, I come to a forest.
"Hey!? What is going on here! Where is everyone?" I yell. Still nothing. I begin to walk into the forest. Above me the trees are taller and taller, as I get deeper in the forest. After some time, I notice that the tree tops are so high and thick, that they begin to block out the light of the sun. It is beginning to get very dark now.
"Come on!!! What is this! Hello!!!" I yell. I start to run down the path, frantically searching. As I run, it gets darker and darker. Eventually it becomes pitch black, and I stop. After finding a tree, I slump down with my back to it and sit. I begin to feel my eyes close.
"Get up." A mysterious voice says. It is very dim in the forest now, and I can barely see the path.
"Who is there?" I ask into the quiet woods. There is no response. I stand up and draw my sword. I begin to walk down the path again. As I walk, it seems that the trees are all looking the same, like I am going around in circles. I stop and stand still.
"Is anyone there?" I say in a quiet voice. No I am all alone now. Everyone has left me. There's nothing left to fight for. I think in my head.
"No! I will go on until I see my friends again!" I yell at the top of my lungs. Suddenly, I am not alone.
From the path behind me, I hear a deep growl. I turn, and a couple of yards away is a huge cat. It growls at me again, and prepares to pounce. It attacks, but I dodge its strike, and cast a fire spell at it. It has no effect. It gets ready to pounce again, but I lunge at it with my sword. I hit it in the side, but as I hit it, it slashes at me with its claws, findings its mark. I am flung into a tree. The impact doesn't faze me at all, so I get back up, but before I can get up all the way, I am hit hard by a thunder spell, dropping my sword. I open my eyes, and the cat is standing over me ready to finish me off. I feel heat in my hands, and I notice that they are glowing red. I punch the cat in the chest, and as I do, my hand bursts into flame. The cat is flung away and I stand with my fist on fire. I think for a second, a little confused, but then I grab the nearest rock, and as I touch it, the flame from my hand transfers to the rock. I throw the rock at the cat, and it hits it, catching the cat on fire. The cat begins to run away, and I let it go.
I walk over to where my sword was, and picked it up. Alone again, I thought to myself. I began to walk again, but this time, instead of seeing an endless path, I noticed that a little ways off, there was a bright light that looked like a clearing. I began to ran, and once I neared the clearing, walked again.
As I reached the edge of the clearing, I stopped and looked into it. Standing in the middle was a woman. She was wearing a long blue coat, with black pants. Her long brown hair was freely floating with the breeze. Printed on the back of her coat were two white wings. I begin to walk into the clearing, and she turns to face me.
"You've finally made it." She says to me in a sweet voice.
"Your... you are Rinoa, aren't you." I say.
"Yes, that is who I am, but we cannot waste time with introductions. The Pandora is back, bringing with it the Lunar Cry. You seek to stop this, do you not?"
"Yes. I want to stop it, and bring back peace to our world. Squall wants this too."
"Yes Squall. Always the one to try to help everyone. I am here to serve as a warning. Rinoa as you know, is not herself, all that is left of her is me, a spirit trapped in this world. For you this is just a stop on your path. There is a powerful foe ahead of you. It is called Sorcerer Omega. His beast is his guardian, and is invincible. You will not be able to defeat it in its current form. Squall knows how it was defeated before, go back and ask him. Tell Squall that I cannot return yet, but I will in due time. Go now. Awake."
Suddenly the ground drops, and the trees and sky disappear.
"Hey, good morning sleepyhead!" Jess's voice says.
"Sorry guys. I guess I overslept. I had this weird dream though, it was so life like."
"Hey Ken, where did you go?" Adam asks.
"Umm."I say. "Well, I guess I'm not so sure. It was weird. I think were supposed to go back and talk to Squall, something about an invincible beast."
"I had that dream too, it was a little different though, same idea." Seifer says.
"Yea same here." Matt adds.
"Maybe we should listen to it, there's no point in going on right now anyways, and this hallway goes on forever. We will have to find another way in. Let's go." I say. As we begin to walk out, everyone is silent, and I wonder if they all were thinking about the voice in the dream.
After the uneventful trip out of the Pandora, we board the Ragnorok, and begin to head back to Balamb.
"Hey everyone, incoming message from Ethsar, listen up." Matt says.
"Hello everyone, this is Cid of Ethsar. I would like to give you an update. Ethsars damage has been evaluated, and not all was lost. The presidential palace, residential district, and the tube transportation system were all damaged, but functional. The Industrial district, and the outlying sections of the city were lost, but those that survived are now being relocated anywhere we can move them to. The airship, Excalibur, which aided you earlier, was one of Centras. We uncovered it, and repaired it, in secret. There is rumor there are more of these ships, which we are investigating as we speak. I will keep your headmaster updated. Till next time."
"That's interesting, there's more than one ship.
"Anyways, we will be back in about 2 minutes, so get ready to get yelled at by Squall. Ken, don't take all the blame, because I know you will try to."
As the large ship set down in the launch bay, I jumped off the ramp, and began running toward the elevator. When I reach the elevator, I nearly run into the wall at full speed, but I stop just in time to hit the button. The door opens, and I jump in. After ascending the elevator, I run into Headmaster Leonheart's office, closing and locking the door behind me.
"Headmaster Leonheart." I say standing at attention.
"At ease. What news do you have for me; I am beginning to grow impatient."
"Sir. We made it deep into the Pandora, but all of us in separate dreams, were warned of a great foe called Omega, and his invincible beast, and told that you have defeated his beast once before, and know how to beat it. She said we cannot beat it in its "current form". Do you know what she is talking about?" I say. Squall begins to laugh.
"Ha ha ha. Omega. A dream you said. You are all out of your minds. Even if this is true. I am too old to face Omega once more. It is all over, my best men have failed me. Rinoa is gone. My daughter won't look at me. What is left to fight for?"
"Squall Leonheart! Get a hold of yourself. You say there is nothing you would fight for?! Fight for garden! Fight for the people who look at you as their hero. Fight for your friends! Squall. Fight for Rinoa, wherever she is. You can save her Squall! Tell me how to defeat Omega." From behind us, a door is broken down.
"Squall. You give up now, when you have come so far. You fought this before. I was there. I was so jealous of you. You became SeeD. I didn't. You got to save the world, you got fame, and you got the girl of your dreams. I still have nothing Squall. I am still jealous of you. Fight for all you once used to. For yourself. For the world, whatever you want to, just done give up. I have seen your best people fight, Squall, but they are good at what they do. They fight for each other. Something like that won't be beaten. They fight for you. To find Rinoa, save her. They fight to see you happy again. For garden, for SeeD, for the world. Give them the chance to fight. Squall, they can save her. I know it. Just give them the freaking chance!" Seifer says.
For a few moments, Squall sits in silence. He pushes a few buttons on a control pad, and a telephone rings.
Yes, this is Headmaster Leonheart. It has been brought to my attention that Omega is back. I have a team ready, but we have to open the gates to get them in. Yes, I understand what that means. Yes I know. We will have our armies ready and assembled to fight. Okay, ready our weapons. Gardens go to war once again. Squall out.
"Get your team ready on-board the Ragnorok. You won't have much time once the gardens are ready to attack. You have one shot at this. If you come back out, the gate will not be able to open again. Once it is opened though, massive amounts of demons will pour out, so we are going to make you a hole in, and then fight. The only way to stop the demons from coming is to kill the source, Omega. Good luck and Godspeed." Squall says.
I walk over to the intercom.
"May I?" I ask.
"You know what to do." Squall replies.
"Attention Garden staff and students. Please stop what you are doing. On behalf of Headmaster Leonheart, I have a series of announcements. Due to some recent developments, Garden is preparing to go to war. All staff, SeeD, and qualifying cadets please report to your squad leader for information. Squad leaders, please meet in the Quad for a briefing. Everyone else. Prepare garden for battle. Would Ken's Squad please prepare their gear, and meet in the Landing Bay on the double. That is all."
"Squall, thanks" Seifer says.
"No Seifer, thank you." Squall says.
"Seifer, will you still be joining my squad?" I say. He looks at Squall, who nods.
"Yes I will be." He says.
"Then you heard the order, move out."
Seifer begins to run out, and I follow him. When we reach the ground floor, he runs to his office, and I run to the quad. Once I get to my room, I close and lock the door behind me.
"Where is it?" I say out loud. After a few moments of searching, I reach into a folder carefully hidden behind my bed. Inside, I pull out an envelope, open it, and pull out a necklace. The necklace is a chain of silver, with a dark, swirling grey orb attached to the end of it. I was told that my father had given it to me in his will before he died, and I felt that now I needed anything I could get. I carefully hide the folder, and run to the landing bay with all of my gear.
"Squad at attention!" Seifer yells as I enter the room. Matt, Adam, Jess, Mandy, Jamie, and Seifer were all in formation.
"At ease. Everyone, listen up. What I am about to tell you is all we know about the mission we are about to embark on." I tell them about Omega, and his beast. I also tell them about going into the otherworld, and about how Garden will be fighting, along with all the other ones. "For the next few hours, we will be preparing the Ragnorok for battle, and we will be turning it into our home base for once we enter the other world. Cid and Squall together have built new weaponry, armor, and new internal systems for the craft, so it will take a bit of time to get ready. In the mean time, board the ship, get your stuff ready, say good bye to anyone you need to, and if you leave garden, be back here tomorrow at dawn. Dismissed."
I turn around, and walk up the boarding ramp into the Ragnorok. Inside, I head down to one of the lower cargo levels, the only one that won't be changed by the renovations in the ship, and I begin to set up my living space. I chose a corner near one of the escape hatches, so that if we came under attack, I could just open one of those and cast. I set up the mattress, along with my books. On a rack on the wall near my bed, I hung all my gear, and all my extra clothes. Across the room was where all of the food would be stored for our journey, and also any extra supplies we needed.
After moving everything to the edges of the room, there was a large space in the room with nothing in it. There I set up some targets to hit with my sword. Once done setting everything up, I sat down on the mattress. From my right breast pocket, I pulled out the envelope with the sphere in it. Slowly I unclasped the necklace, and then put it around my neck. Once the clasp was done again, I stood up, and began to move towards the bridge.
TO BE CONTINUED