Summer Break Seven: Abyssea-Meridian

by KievaLynn

Kieva Lynn's Season Three sequel. Guardians of the Multiverse prequel. Last of seven one-shots in the Summer Break series. Elyon dreams of a terrible future. But is it a dream... ...or a warning?

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H., Final Fantasy, or any of their related characters/concepts, nor any other properties whose characters/concepts appear in this story. This is a work of fan fiction.

Author's Note One: This is the last in a series of one-shots which take place after the events of "Kieva Lynn's Season Three" and before the events of my next major W.I.T.C.H. story, the Final Fantasy Seven crossover "Guardians of the Multiverse." These tales will all take place in the summer break between the guardians' eighth and ninth grade, and will serve to fill loose ends left over from the previous story and provide foreshadowing for the next. In this chapter, On the eve of the first day back to school, Elyon has a frightening dream. But is it a dream, or a vision of a terrible future?

Author's Note Two: A bit off-topic, but I just saw the trailers for Disney's new film 'Frozen' and I have to ask... Am I the only one who thinks Anna (With her hair down) looks almost identical to Elyon?

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Summer Break Seven: "Abyssea: Meridian"

Author's Note: In Final Fantasy Eleven, "Abyssea" refers to an alternate dimension to the game's main world, a terrible red-skied world where all of the potential apocalyptic events prevented by the player in the real world actually happened. If you go to You tube and search "Ffxi Abyssea music" the first result will be the theme music from the Abyssea areas. (Title: "ffxi Vision of Abyssea zone OST") I recommend listening to it while reading the part of this story featuring Elyon's dream. It's very appropriate for the feel I'm going for.

WWWWWWW

Elyon Brown, Queen of Meridian, stood on the outer balcony of her bedchambers and gazed up at the dark night sky and the many thousands of shining stars. Without the glare of artificial light, the sky here was far more beautiful than any which she could see from Heatherfield. The thought of Earth made her glance into her rooms, where a heavy backpack sat waiting next to the door. She sighed. "Back to school tomorrow. It seems so soon."

Elyon didn't know whether to be sad that the summer was over (It was how a girl her age was supposed to feel after all), or to be happy that she would get more time on Earth with her friends again (Joel was going to be back at Sheffield, after all.) Shaking her head in indecision, the Queen took one last look up at the sky, then walked inside as a knock sounded softly from the door.

"Come in Mom." Elyon chuckled, knowing who it would be.

"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" Miriabelle asked as she stepped inside. She looked down at the backpack. "I know you haven't forgotten."

"Yeah, I know. Ninth grade. Actual full-scale high school." Elyon shook her head. "It's a bit intimidating."

Miriabelle favored her adopted daughter with a wry smile. "Intimidating? Elyon Brown-Escanor, Heart and High-Queen of Meridian, Guardian of Light, Banisher of Queen Neera and Prince Phobos... Intimidated?"

Elyon rolled her eyes. "C'mon mom, don't give me the royal standard. You know what I mean."

"I suppose... Still, I say again, it's high time you got some sleep."

"Yeah." Elyon nodded. "Just gotta finish cleaning up and I'm down."

Returning to the door, Miriabelle said "Alright. I'll see you before you leave in the morning..."

WWWWWWW

Sometime after laying down, Elyon awoke. She felt that something was wrong, but couldn't place what. Sitting up, opening her eyes, she gasped in shock at the scene before her. She was still in her bedroom, but everything was in ruins. The ceiling was gone, it's debris scattered all across the floor. Thick cobwebs, years worth of them, stretched between the walls and the ruined furniture, and less durable items such as the room's curtains and the bedding were entirely absent. Above, the sky was red, a deep blood-crimson shade. There were no sounds.

Rising, Elyon made her way carefully across the rubble-strewn floor to the balcony. She stopped short upon reaching the outer doorway, when she looked down and saw that the balcony itself was gone, leaving only a sheer drop of several floors to the hard packed ground below. There were no plants, no animals, no people in sight. The village which sat at the castle's base was in worse shape than the castle itself, little more than splinters of wood and shattered glass.

She started to call out for help, but quickly thought better of it. Until such time as she knew what was going on, it was better to not call attention. She moved to her closet hoping to dress, but everything was gone. "Great." she whispered. "I've got to do this in a nightgown..."

Elyon left her personal chambers and began to explore the castle. Everywhere she went, she found more of the same: cobwebs, dust, and ruins. She examined the entire floor, then took the stairs up to the roof. Most of it was gone, but she did manage to get a look out across the entire realm from that high vantage point. The sky confused her; the red color was uniform from horizon to horizon, not the slightest hint of variation in color, tone, or brightness. Further, there was no sign of the sun, nor of Meridian's moon, and no stars. In the far distance, just over the eastern horizon, Elyon thought that she saw a hint of movement from the corner of her eye, but when she looked straight at it it was gone.

Descending the stairs, Elyon continued past the floor she had already checked and began to examine the lower levels. For the first two floors she found only the same, but on the third level things changed. The area itself was the same, but there were skeletons scattered about as well. All were in heavy armor, and held various weapons. She gasped as she saw the massive holes torn into the armor. So disturbed was the girl by the scene before her that it took time for her to notice something important: The only skeletons present were those of the Meridian soldiers. Whatever they had been fighting, they hadn't killed it. No other body was present.

Descending the stairs again, towards the ground floor, Elyon heard the first sound she had noticed since this nightmare began. It was very slight, almost inaudible, a sound of something moving about in the rubble. She slowly, silently, edged to the bottom step and peered out around the corner.

Around the corner lay a wide, long hallway. As with the rest of the castle, it was in ruins. But it was not deserted. Bizarre creatures were about, wandering aimlessly back and forth through the hall. They were about the same size as an average adult human, but shaped like jellyfish floating in the air. They seemed to be mostly an opalescent blue-green color, and glowed faintly from within. To look at them, the creatures seemed like they would be physically weak, but Elyon had little doubt that such was not the case, that she was looking at the creatures responsible for the skeletons upstairs.

Anger crept into the Queen's heart. She wanted to jump out of hiding and blast them all, but knew not to be rash. "I've got to find someone else. Surely there's someone alive somewhere, who can tell me what's happened." She thought. And so she waited for all of the beasts to move to the far end of the hall, then started to head for the front gates.

She was heard. A terrible cry went up from the creatures, and Elyon turned to face then as they rushed towards her. She tried to use her powers, but there was nothing. Not the slightest hint of her usual abilities. Panicked, Elyon turned and ran. The creatures followed, but the Queen knew the layout of her castle better than they did, which allowed her to gradually gain a lead and eventually lose her pursuers.

For some time after, Elyon hid herself in a closet with a door that was still in place and closeable. Soon enough, though, she regained her determination to get out of the building and learn what had happened to the world. Easing the closet door open, Elyon looked out and saw that she was alone. Thinking hard, she tried to determine a different way to get out of the castle. All she could come up with was to go out a window, though that would mean swimming across the moat. But when she looked out the nearest window, she thought better. Whatever was in the moat, it wasn't water.

Resigning herself to the need to return to the entry hall in spite of the monsters, Elyon descended the stairs again and took a careful look around the corner. The hall was empty. "They must still be searching for me elsewhere." she thought. She ran for the main gate, the doors of which were busted in and laying flat on the floor, and out, across the still-intact bridge over the moat, and towards town...

WWWWWWW

Approaching the village, Elyon saw that it was in even worse shape than she had thought. Not so much as a single building was intact. All that was left was a field of rubble. She stopped at what had been the edge of town, fell to her knees. "What happened here?" she whispered. "What's going on?"

A loud scream filled the air. Elyon jumped up and looked around. From the north, flying high but descending rapidly towards her position, came a beast out of nightmares, a giant bat-creature which glowed blue-green just like the creatures in the castle. Realizing that it saw her, Elyon ran, but there was no shelter to be found. Fleeing headlong, in a panic, the Queen expected to die.

Then, as the beast was nearly upon her, it was intercepted. Another large entity leapt out from behind a rock, impacting the bat, forcing it to the ground. It struggled, but it's attacker was armed with a sword, and was standing on top, holding it down and stabbing again and again until the bat stopped moving. Elyon watched, curious if this new arrival was friend or foe. Then it stood and spoke. "Are you injured child?"

Elyon recognized the voice. "Vathic!?" She exclaimed, and ran towards him.

"Queen Elyon!?" Vathic asked, astonished. He held his arms around her as she reached him. "I don't believe it! It really is you! But where have you been all these years?"

"Years?" Elyon asked. She looked up, took a closer look at Vathic's face. He was clearly older than she knew him. "Vathic... I have no idea what's going on. I went to bed last night and everything was normal. Then I woke up to find this... What's happened?"

A high-pitched cry resounded through the air and Vathic spun in place towards the sound. Looking around him, Elyon saw more creatures like the one Vathic had killed, fortunately flying in the other direction. "It's not safe outside." Vathic said. "Follow me..."

WWWWWWW

Vathic led the queen a short distance to a small cavern. It was clear he had been living here for some time. Once they were both inside, he rolled a heavy stone in front of the door, then turned to face her. "What's going on here?" Elyon asked again. "I went to sleep last night in a safe, normal world and woke up to this."

"You really don't know do you?" Vathic asked. "Strange..."

"Just start from the beginning." Elyon said. "I need to know."

Vathic nodded, and began his story. It had began when Elyon went to earth with the Guardians, to deal with some new threat. He didn't know the details. They never returned. After a week the people became concerned. After a month concern turned to worry, then dread. It was at that time a fold opened in the throne room. But it wasn't Elyon that emerged. Instead, a strange woman with blue skin stepped forth. Palace guards charged to the defense of their home, and were cut down in moments. Then the woman spread her arms wide and released waves of dark energy, which coalesced into the first generation of the creatures Elyon had seen. The palace was ruined in hours.

From there, the woman began to travel around the world. Everywhere she went, she bought death and destruction, and the creation of more creatures. The sky turned red within the first few weeks, the sun and moon fading from sight. Crops withered and died everywhere, even in places the woman and her creations had not yet been. The people, forced to subsist upon stores of already harvested grain, began to suffer and die as the food stores ran low.

"How long has it been?" Elyon asked.

"Ten years." Vathic answered, shocking her. "So far as I know, I may be the only one left. Prior to you, I hadn't seen another living soul in four years. And I haven't long. I used up the last of my supplies three days ago."

"Horrible..." Elyon whispered. "No one ever figured out who this woman was?"

"I have the impression that you and the Guardians knew before you disappeared. No one here ever found out. Though... Those who survived being in close proximity to her said she babbled constantly about 'Enforcing the Third Law.' Whatever that means."

"The third law..." Elyon whispered. She had a vague memory of hearing the term somewhere, probably in a class at school, though she couldn't place what it meant. She looked up at Vathic. "We've got to do something. But I don't know what. My powers are gone."

"I do not believe there is anything we can do. Meridian is dead my queen."

"This can't be..."

Vathic started to answer, but before he could speak there was a loud screeching sound. Vathic jumped up and grabbed his spear. "Trouble." He said simply, and ran to the entrance of the cave. Elyon followed and looked out from behind him. A flying creature identical to the one Vathic had killed was diving down towards them. "Stay back." Vathic said, but then another scream pierced the air, and a third, a fourth.

"I cannot handle them in groups." Vathic said to the queen. "Run. I'll hold them as long as I can."

"But..." Elyon started to object.

"No buts. I think our world is lost. But if I am wrong, if there is any chance, you must live. Go!"

Elyon hesitated a moment more, then did as Vathic said, running to the north, around the side of the hill the cavern entrance was in, and through a long narrow ravine between two steep hills. The further she ran, the narrower the ravine grew, the higher and steeper the sides. The screaming call of one of the creatures sounded behind, and Elyon knew she was being followed when it sounded again, closer.

Continuing to run, Elyon rounded a bend and saw a swirling blue fold hovering above the ground. "What have I got to lose, no matter where it leads to?" she thought, and ran towards it. She jumped in as the creature's call sounded again, and rolled as she landed on the far side.

Once she stopped rolling, Elyon saw that she was in a dark alleyway between two tall buildings. She ducked out of sight and waited, watching the fold, expecting the creature chasing her to follow through. After perhaps ten minutes, she decided it wasn't going to happen. Looking around to get her bearings, the queen saw something familiar on the ground and ducked down to pick it up. It was a newspaper. "I'm back on Earth!" She thought excitedly. "I can get help here!" Elyon ran quickly towards the nearest end of the alley. She reached the main road. There was nothing left. Buildings were ruined, cars and trucks were upended and rusted into barely recognizable hulks, and there were skeletons everywhere. She looked down at the newspaper still clutched in her hands. It was a front page. The headline read simply "The End..."

WWWWWWW

Elyon sat up on her bed, choking back a scream. She looked around frantically, searching for any threats. But she was alone. She was alone, and everything that she saw was just as it should have been. The room was softly lighted by candles in wall-sconces, the furniture was intact and clean, the ceiling still where it belonged rather than scattered as debris across the floor. She stood and walked to the balcony. Gripped the heavy curtains drawn across the glass doors, and hesitated a moment before pulling them open.

Outside, all was as it should have been. The sky was dark and full of stars. The village nestled in the valley below, dark but still identifiable by the placement of glowing torch-lamps in the streets. As the Queen stepped outside, she could also see the faintest shimmering glow of approaching dawn on the eastern horizon, and was shocked to realize it was nearly morning already. She didn't feel like she had slept at all.

Standing on the balcony, Elyon knew that she should try to sleep another hour. She couldn't. In spite of how rough the sleeplessness would make the rest of her day, she needed to see the normal not-red sky once the sun was above the horizon.

"Elyon?" The Queen heard her name and turned to see Miriabelle standing in the open balcony doorway. She turned and ran to the woman, hugging her tightly as she was asked "What's wrong?"

Soon they were seated side-by-side on the bed, Miriabelle listening as Elyon told her about the nightmare. "It was horrible." the girl said as she finished. "Everything was dead or dying and there was nothing I could do... It was almost like..."

"Almost like what?"

"I know this doesn't make any sense, a planet isn't alive, it's just a big ball of rock, you know, but... But I felt like the planet had died somehow. Not just everything living on it, but the planet itself. But that's crazy isn't it?"

"Maybe not." Miriabelle mused. "We live in a world filled with magic and mystical powers. Maybe a planet being alive isn't that far-out."

"True. But you know what that means, right? It means I wasn't just dreaming. This was a vision of what could happen in the future if that's the case."

"You need to tell the other girls then. And speak with the Oracle too."

Elyon yawned. "Yeah. Today. I'm not waiting around on this."

"Gonna get some more sleep?"

"Not after that. Besides, I need to see the normal sky."

"I figured as much." Miriabelle rose and started towards the door, then looked back. "What do you say I fix a couple mugs of hot chocolate?"

Elyon grinned. "That sounds perfect... Hey mom?"

"Yes?"

"How did you know? That I needed you, I mean."

"Mothers know Elyon. You'll understand someday." She took two steps then stopped and added "But it had better not be someday anytime too soon." The Queen rolled her eyes. Only her mother could manage to reference that at a time like this...

WWWWWWW

Three hours later, Elyon passed through a fold to earth, arriving in the backyard of the home her family still owned there. As soon as she was through, she connected to the Guardian's telepathic link. "We need to talk ladies." She thought. "Before school if possible."

"Where you wanna meet?" Will asked.

"Silver Dragon's good. We can walk from there to Sheffield."

"We'll be there."

And soon enough they were. Elyon told her story again, and afterward everyone was thinking it over. "Any ideas?" Will asked after several minutes.

"Just one." Taranee answered. "Remember what happened with the Dominators a couple weeks ago? Whatever that thing was, it told them it was going to destroy our world."

"So, what? It destroys earth and moves on to Meridian?" Cornelia asked.

"There is no way we're letting that happen." Cassidy answered.

"Right." Will agreed. "And at least we've got Elyon's warning to keep our eyes open now. Don't worry El, we'll figure out what's up and put a stop to it."

"I know we will." Elyon answered. "But I still needed to tell you about it."

WWWWWWW

And so the first day of school had come. The girls walked to Sheffield together, then split up and went their separate ways once they learned where their first-period classes were. Irma rushed to the radio studio, Taranee and Hay Lin to the science hall, Will, to her disgust, to the mathematics hall, Cornelia and Miranda to history, and Alchemy to music. Elyon's first class was computer studies, so she made her way towards that part of the building, stopping in route to look at the newly rebuilt gymnasium.

As she was leaving the gym, she sensed something. A feeling of great power from somewhere in the building. The power seemed to be flickering in and out, coming and going, but she was still curious enough to follow the trail, which went cold within a couple of minutes. Confused, she shrugged and started to turn back towards her class when she saw a boy she didn't recognize. He was very tall, with long hair and striking features, and Elyon guessed he was probably a junior.

"Oh well." She thought. "At least I've got a chance to welcome a new student." She strode over to where the boy was standing in front of an open locker. "Hello!" She greeted him.

The boy turned slowly. "Um... Hello?" He seemed unsure of himself, perhaps even a little confused.

"Sorry to bother you, but I thought you were a new student, so I figured I'd introduce myself, say 'welcome to Sheffield' you know?"

"Ah. Yes, thank you. I am indeed new here."

"Thought so. Where'd you come from?"

A strange look crossed the boy's face, as if he didn't know the answer to the question, perhaps hadn't ever thought about it before. After a moment, though, he said "The east. My family moved here from the east."

"Vague answer." Elyon thought. She said "Okay. Well, I'll leave you alone, gotta get to class, y'know, but I hope you're happy here."

"I hope so as well."

Elyon started to walk away, then stopped and slapped herself. She turned and went back to the boy. "Sorry, I said I came over to introduce myself, then I didn't do it!" She chuckled.

The boy didn't laugh, but did say "I wondered when you would realize."

"Yeah, well, anyway, I'm Elyon Brown." She held out her hand.

The boy stared at the hand for a moment, as if unsure what a handshake was, then smiled and shook hands with her. "I'm Sephiroth." He said...

The story continues soon in

Guardians of the Multiverse

coming soon!