Arisen: Part One
And he awoke, for what seemed like the first time. And it was, in a way. His bones creaked unwillingly, his mind started again, complaining quietly. He urged his heavy eyelids to rise, and show him the New World after such a long time. Ever such a long time.
And he opened his eyes, wicked thoughts and ideas streaming into his mind, and he welcomed them. He was back, back again. And this time, he would not fail. He would not trust anyone now. And he would get his revenge. On her. That wicked woman, whom he had believed in, and trusted. He would not have his back to anyone. He would rule. That was what he did. He was good at it. He had been.
There were some people close to him. It was dark. He opened his mouth, and ran a tongue along his dry, cracked lips. He tried to formulate a sentence, but was lost for words. Thankfully, someone else spoke first.
"Ah, I see you have awoken, Mr President."
The words were heaven to hear. After all this time, he was back, and still in charge. It was good. A plan sprung into his mind, as if it had always been there. He wheezed a few times in an attempt to speak.
"No," soothed the voice, "you don't have to speak. You have been through a lot. We will understand your silence."
He relaxed, letting the words wash over him again and again. Then the itching started. A small itch on his neck began, tickling him slightly. It grew. He raised a stiff leaden arm, bent it, feeling his joints protest, and rubbed at it.
"No, Mr President, please, don't do that. You will make the wound worse."
Wound? He was wounded? "What wound?" he asked at last, his voice so distant he could barely hear it. It sounded rough and low, moving muscles that had long lain dormant.
"A side effect of the operation. We are terribly sorry, sir, but we had to do it."
"I understand," he growled. It still itched. "How was it done?"
"Our scientists were able to develop an extremely powerful substance, a delicate operation took place in order to bring you back, sir. The neck incision was necessary, sir."
He shut his eyes again. The plan grew. "Listen to me," he rasped, his throat aching. "I want you all to do as I say. Bring me your scientists. Oh, and bring me Mayor Dobe. I need him."
"With respect, Mr President," the voice began.
"Do it!" he snapped. "Don't disobey me! Bring Dobe. I want to see him as soon as I have recovered. I want it done!"
"As you wish, sir."
He lay back, listening to his orders being relayed. Ah yes, Vinzer Deling was back, and the world had better look out. Especially that witch, the traitor, Edea. She would be the first.
---
Dobe sat in the relatively pleasant light, soaking up the warm sunshine. He sighed, and shut his eyes. Flo would soon be back from the opening soon. The grand opening of FH's new market. She must enjoy all these functions, he thought, or she wouldn't go to so many of them.
The rays fell onto his face, and Dobe held his head back, a soothing sensation rushing over him. Life couldn't really be better. Since the sorceresses, a lot of people had moved to FH. A life of peace and security suddenly sounds appealing after a life and death struggle with evil.
Martine coughed from somewhere outside. Dobe raised his eyebrows in thought and made his way to the window. Martine was sitting there as usual, dangling his long legs over the side, staring across the solar panels.
Dobe smiled at him, and waved, even though Martine was not looking. He wandered down the stairs and browsed a bookshelf. "Hmm" he murmured.
A title caught his eye. It shouldn't have been there. It was half sticking out from underneath an old machine. Advanced Energy Engineering and Usage for Experts', it read. Written by Professor Dobe of Esthar'. Dobe froze. The shock dripped down his neck like a melting ice cube. He scooped up the book and his hands started to shake. Oh, why must the past keep returning to haunt him? He rammed it into the recycling bin and backed off, sweating.
Footsteps outside. Dobe heard Martine get up, walk towards the front of the house. He was frozen in terror. What was going on? He peered out of the window shakily, his vision slightly blurred. People running down the path through the panels, like little ants. People dressed in a familiar blue uniform, and one in red.
He heard Martine stride onwards, stopping somewhere near the panels. Dobe took a moment to reflect on the panels. Did they display his knowledge of energy too much? Had people caught on? Who was coming towards his house? They looked like a lump shot down Dobe's throat they looked like Galbadian soldiers.
It couldn't be. The sorceress was dead; there was no Galbadian army any more. Was it a childish prank? It definitely wasn't funny.
Martine's voice rang out. "What's going on?"
"Out of the way, civilian," one of the soldiers shouted. But he hesitated when he saw who it was. "Mister Martine, sir!" he gasped.
Dobe carried on staring out of the window. It was clear that Martine had some sort of power over these people. "Benjamin Green." Martine stated. "Well, well, well. I don't think much of your uniform now, Green. Cadet clothes suited you so much more."
There was silence.
The sergeant at the back snorted. "What are you waiting for, men? Our orders were to let nobody get in our way!"
"Yes, but," began the one called Benjamin, "he taught us, Sir. We couldn't He was our Garden master. He taught all of us!"
"Well you aren't in the Garden any more and he didn't teach me!" roared the sergeant. "Now go! Get Dobe!"
Dobe fell back from the window. Think calmly, rationally, he told himself, trying to ignore the frantic sounds of a struggle outside. He dashed up to the huge metallic robot and activated it. With some creaks and groans, the robot's heavy arm lifted, revealing a sparkling pink shower of magic. He shut his eyes, regretting his every move. "Draw!" he called out eventually.
He bit his lip. It was now or never. He sprinted up the stairs and tensed, waiting.
The front door crashed open. Dobe steadied himself, and poised, ready for battle. Soldiers poured in. Dobe briefly wondered what had happened to Martine, but he couldn't dwell on it.
"He's not down here, Sarge," a voice called out.
"Right. Search upstairs."
"I wish I didn't have to do this," Dobe muttered. "Oh Ultima!" He screwed his eyes shut but the intense viridian light stained the inside of his eyelids. A few screams broke out. He opened his eyes as the green clouds were disintegrating. Some of the soldiers had fallen to the floor at the bottom, rolling in agony and clutching at wounds.
Dobe was immediately invaded by guilt, it grasped him and showed him the injured men and roared, Look what you've done!' Dobe groaned and backed away.
"Bad move, Dobe," grated the Sergeant. "Do that once more, or anything like it, and I'll kill your friend Martine over here." Dobe could just hear Martine's muffled protests. "Now, listen up. You're to come with us, and co-operate."
"But why?" Dobe wailed, desperation overcoming him.
"Can't you tell?" the sergeant said, coming into the view, clutching Dobe's book on energy between finger and thumb. And he laughed.
---
Xu leaned over him, an anxious look painted on her otherwise pristine face. "Squall? Wake up, Squall C'mon, wake up!"
Squall opened his eyes and blinked at her. She waited patiently until he had recovered his senses enough to speak. "What time is it?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Good morning to you too," she remarked.
"Sorry. What's happened? Or is this just my new wake-up call?" He sat up uncomfortably, rubbing his arm. He realised with some shock that he was leaning against a log in the training centre. "What? The hell am I doing here?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, Squall," she told him. "It took forever to find you. I think it might have something to do with the fact that Nida was waiting for you in your dorm."
Squall groaned. "That's it. Bloody idiot Nida. Said he was going to go over some new designs for the cafeteria. I told him I was busy so he said he would wait in my dorm. That jerk!" Something clicked in Squall's mind. "Why were you in such a hurry to find me?"
"Some woman has turned up. Says she wants to hire SeeD. And as Cid hasn't come back yet, I thought you'd better see her."
"Hire SeeD? There hasn't been a war started, has there?"
"Not that I know of," she said.
"Alright. Just let me shower and get changed, I'll be up as soon as I can. Oh, and if you run into Nida, then say you don't know where I am. Make sure he isn't still in my dorm, will you?"
"Alright," Xu agreed, and wandered off. She hesitated before going into the elevator, contemplating the lady's reaction when she was told that she would have to wait to see Squall. Tears and screams would come, probably. But she had a duty, and a job to do, so she got in the elevator anyway.
"Third floor," she told it miserably. She listened to the clanking machinery, and shuddered as it lurched into life. She grasped the rail and stayed as still as she could. "Stupid lift," she whispered. Before long it had reached the third floor, and Xu couldn't decide which was worse. Putting up with the wild movements of the lift or being stuck in a room with this woman and Nida.
To her surprise, she found Nida crouched next to the woman, talking calmly. The woman sniffed once or twice and listened to him, nodding.
Xu coughed politely. "Erm, I'm terribly sorry Miss, but Squall will be a few minutes. He has to sort out some urgent business."
For a moment it looked like the woman, Flo, would protest, but Nida glanced at her and shook his head. "Remember what we discussed."
"Fair enough," she said. "I just want my Dobe back!" And she burst into tears.
---
Squall could feel Nida's angry eyes boring into the back of his skull, so he spoke quickly and briskly. "How can I help, Flo?"
She sat before him, tearful and wretched. "I didn't know who else to turn to! Dobe has been kidnapped, he's in trouble, I need him back!"
Squall stifled a smile. "Are you sure you aren't being a little too hasty? He may just have gone for a vacation."
"Oh, no, he would never, ever do that! He says that he never wants to leave FH! He said it was good enough for any vacation. He would never go anywhere else!"
Squall frowned. "I'm dreadfully sorry, but I can't think of any reason why someone would kidnap your husband. If they were after ransom money then they would choose a wealthier city, like Esthar," Squall noted how Flo flinched when he said it, "and kidnap Laguna. I wish they would," he added quietly.
"Oh, it's not like that. I know what they want. I wish I didn't have to tell you this. I found this lying on the floor. There was blood too. And Mister Martine has gone. I think they took him too." She reached into her handbag with trembling fingers and held out a dirty old book.
Squall took it and glanced t the cover. "Energy usage? Engineering? I don't see what this has to do with your husband." Nida coughed behind him and leaned forwards. Squall groaned.
"If you would look there, Squall," he almost spat the name, "you will see that the author of the book is Dobe."
"Right," Flo agreed, wiping her nose and sniffing.
Squall thought it over. "Esthar? Dobe used to work in Esthar? I would never have guessed." He tested a few theories before it struck him. "So you think Dobe was kidnapped so some group of evil guys could take advantage of his knowledge?"
"Yes," Flo said. "It all adds up. Martine was taken too, as I say, and I think he was a hostage. Poor Dobe always liked Martine. Said they had a lot in common."
"Hmm." Squall wrinkled his forehead in thought. "I can probably be able to dispatch some SeeDs. Most of them have gone with Selphie to help rebuild Trabia Garden. Erm no, Irvine's gone too. Rinoa isn't a SeeD, stupid of me to forget Nida?"
"I regret I cannot," Nida said silkily. It sounded like he had planned his response. "I have important work to do. Headmaster Cid asked me to find out about easier steering methods for the Garden. I won't be here forever you know."
Squall was sure he heard Xu say, "thank heavens" behind him. He grinned. "How about Zell?"
"Not wise, Squall," Nida said smugly. "This may be a mission where stealth is of the utmost importance."
"Zell can do stealth," Squall argued. "Oh, alright. How about you, Xu?"
She hadn't seen that coming. "Erm well, I guess I could," she said, miserably. Why couldn't she think of anything?
"We will need more than one SeeD," Nida informed Squall with a sly grin.
"Quistis can go. She's still here, isn't she? Yeah, she can go. I think that's everyone. But you'll need one more. I could always send one of the cadets. If only everyone hadn't gone to Trabia, they won't be back for days."
"Oh, that's too long," Flo said quickly.
"And yourself?" asked Nida.
"Me?" Squall asked, bewildered.
"You can go. I have checked, and you have no more important matters to attend to this week. You are the only alternative. You will have to go."
Squall opened his mouth. And shut it. He was trapped. There was no way out. "Very well. I shall go with you. I will leave you in charge of any clients, Nida," he said, regretting it almost before he had said it.
"Thank you, Squall," Nida said, without a trace of sincerity. "I will take good care of the Garden. You must prepare for departure at once."
"To where?" asked Xu, picturing the look on Quistis' face when she found out what she had been roped into.
"I thought we could try the ruins on the Southern Continent," said Flo meekly. "There is a lot of energy there. Very odd place. Perfect for working with."
"Except for those damn Tonberry's," Squall said quietly.
---
Nida stared at the desk. It had been Cid's desk for so long, and then it was Squall's desk. And now it was his. Or it would be, very soon. There were two things preventing his immediate happiness. One was Zell and Rinoa, who were currently downstairs in the cafeteria, and another was the strange yellow creature sitting before him.
"Money is not a problem," the creature murmured. "I can pay you."
Nida leaned forward and folded his arms across his chest. "SeeD is not a murder mystery agency," he reprimanded sternly.
"I am aware of this, but the others didn't know what to do. And since the SeeDs have been so kind to us in the past, even helping to build our statue"
"Oh? Which SeeDs were these?" Nida asked, puzzled. "You must be thinking of a different Garden. Trabia maybe, or Galbadia. I know none of our SeeDs built statues for you."
"Yes, but they didn't build it, they just helped us find the rocks."
Nida's eyes bulged. He tried to speak but words escaped him. "You are trying to tell me that some of our SeeD's, OUR SeeD's, pick up rocks for you? Who were these SeeD's?" he asked, expecting an answer that was centred on Squall. He was just the sort of person who would do that.
"Squall, Rinoa and Selphie. I think those were their names."
The mention of Rinoa gave Nida a cunning idea. One of his greatest, he later decided. "We can spare you two SeeD's, but no more. Well, one SeeD and one girl who's always following Squall around."
"Can they fight?"
"Oh yes. You'll like them." He grinned. He pressed the intercom button. "Zell and Rinoa to third floor immediately." He decided to refrain from calling it Nida's office just yet. Might arouse suspicion. He sat for a minute or two, still smiling cheerfully. He glanced momentarily at the small yellow creature, to check it wasn't planning anything, and to check that it was alive.
You could never be too careful.
Soon, a disgruntled Rinoa stepped off the elevator, followed by Zell, whose face showed only boredom and dislike for Nida.
"Ah, Zell, Rinoa, allow me to introduce you too your new client." There was silence. Nida let his grin broaden.
Then Rinoa smiled sweetly at the creature. "Hello, I'm Rinoa. I'll help out in any way I can. And so will Zell. Right, Zell?"
But Zell wasn't listening. "Hey, what's going on? Rinoa isn't a SeeD!"
"I am aware of that."
"And where's everyone else? Where's Squall? What the hell are you doing up here giving orders?"
"Zell," Rinoa began.
"Squall has left immediately on a special mission. You and Zell are the only capable SeeD's left. And Rinoa, if you complete this mission to a satisfactory standard, you may become a SeeD. I assume that is why you are always at my Garden."
"Your Garden?" Zell repeated, sneering.
"I am taking charge while Squall is away. He told me to himself."
"What is this mission," Rinoa asked, interrupting before Zell could argue any more. "We are going to need a little more information."
"There has been a murder," the creature said. "A terrible murder, the likes of which has not been seen for years. And then our greatest scientist went missing, along with a troublemaker who stood to follow in the footsteps of poor Sculptor."
"Oh, no!" Rinoa gasped. "Not Sculptor! Why on earth would anyone want to hurt him?"
"We do not know, Miss Rinoa, so we decided to request your presence to help us. To give us an outsider's point of view. Also if the killer strikes again, we may need you to protect us, if the Moombas are not strong enough."
"Okay," Zell agreed. "We'll go to the Shumi village with you. I don't really want to leave this jerk in charge, but we can't really say no."
Nida blinked. Jerk? Him? At least they knew who he was now. He stared at the little yellow creature, taking in his robes, conveniently shielding his hands from view, and the strange, impatient, tortured expression that was on his face. So this was a Shumi, was it? Not as impressive as he had heard. Still. He of all people knew that appearances could be deceiving.
He threw back his head and gave way to maniacal laughter, something he had been dying to do for some time. He had finally got rid of all those SeeDs, and if everything went correctly at Trabia then the Garden was his for the taking. He laughed some more, feeling the power seep into his veins, feeling that nothing could stop him now, and feeling-
"Is something funny?" Zell snapped.
"What? Oh, no. Sorry. Heh, heh. Don't mind me. Just imagine I'm not here."
"With pleasure," he replied.
---
Selphie sat back and admired her handiwork. Sure, they hadn't exactly asked her to make a sculpture made of the rubble, but they hadn't forbidden it either. She was certain that they would love it when the saw it.
Irvine wandered in to the little garden area, and stood, staring at the monstrosity before him. "Hello, Selphie," he said, because he couldn't think of anything else.
"Ooh, Irvine, what do you think? It's beautiful, isn't it!"
"Erm yeah, course it is. You've really captured the, erm"
She whacked him over the head with a glove. "Stupid. Don't you know what it is? It's a monument depicting Trabia remaining strong even after being hit by those missiles. Incidentally, I'm thinking of asking to borrow that faulty missile to put on my sculpture. It would be awesome."
"Um... definitely. Booyaka."
"Exactly! Now I should get back to laying down some turf. Want to help?"
"No, sorry, Selph, I have to, go, do something. Something outside. Maybe I'll go make snow angels," he said, winking. And with that he was gone.
Selphie threw the glove after him. "Irvine Kinneas, you lazy, lazy man! Get back here!" But he was too far-gone to hear her. She sighed, but looking at the new sculpture really cheered her up. "They'll thank me for this," she decided. "It's amazing. If I do say so myself."
"Talking to yourself again Selphie? First sign of madness, you know." Irvine was back.
"Oh, you've decided to help, have you?" Selphie leapt up and thrust a spade into his outstretched hand.
"I was thinking of something else, actually. I'd much prefer to let you do all the work." He caught Selphie's warning glare. "But I won't because that would be um bad?"
"Uh huh."
"So you sit down and let me lay down some turf. Great spot for a garden, by the way," he added, looking around him. The enclosure was about as big as his dorm, covered in soil, a heap of turf in one corner and a thick door in another. Not forgetting Selphie's statue, of course. "Did this used to be a cell, or something?"
"Must have been. Amazing how the sunlight gets down here. I suppose they wanted to let the prisoners have a little comfort."
"Or freeze them to death," Irvine reasoned. "It must get real cold up here at night." He winked at Selphie again, but she was staring up at the ceiling.
"Look at all the air vents. So pretty."
"Whatever," Irvine said, heaving a patch of turf into place.
"Oh, now you're starting to sound like Squall!" she giggled.
Irvine groaned. "Right, fine. Great, Squall. Um, Booyaka."
---
Edea sipped her tea, her eyes taking everything in. Cid wasn't concentrating at all, his eyes roving across the sea. "You are missing your Garden," she told him, smiling serenely.
Cid jumped. "What? Oh, no dear, I'm perfectly happy here with you. Perfectly." And his eyes wandered off again.
"Is that why you are looking straight at Balamb? Or where Balamb would be if you could see it? It's all right Cid, you can admit it. We can go back as soon as you like."
"You mean that?" he asked, carefully looking at the table and not out to sea. "I just want to know how things are getting on."
"Everything will be fine, it always has been. Squall is such a nice, clever boy. I'm sure he'll have everything under control."
"If you say so," he said, shifting his gaze from the table to the sea.
"Cid, you're doing it again. Just relax! Oh, I can see this is going to get me nowhere. I will send a message to the White SeeD ship and get them to take us up to Balamb. Is that alright?"
She sat back, letting the sea breeze play across her skin. She smiled at him, but it was pretence. She was still a sorceress, of sorts, and could sense danger. Danger and hatred. It was all so familiar. But something was out to hurt her, she could feel the passion for death, infiltrating from all sides. She had no idea who or what it could be, but she feared the worst.
Always fear the worst, she had been told. But this time she did not know what was the worst. It could be anyone, and they were closing in on her. She prayed, inwardly, that it was not some new enemy, arisen from the depths of the night, something evil in every sense of the word. Someone that would stop at nothing to get what it wanted.
She didn't know just how close to the truth she was.
Like it, loate it? (It's very possible.) Please R&R, I would be most grateful.