Disclaimer- I don't own any of the Final Fantasy characters in this story.
Author's notes: At this point, I've got to give credit where credit is due.
I'm long overdue for saying this, but I want to thank the channel GoingCrazy201 on youtube for putting up a complete walkthrough of Final Fantasy IX. This has helped immensely in the creation of Shattered Mind. Not only has seeing the game played again been fun, but it gave me important details on various visuals, as well as a nearly complete script. Half the time when I'm writing this story, I have a window open to part of GoingCrazy201's videos relevant to what I'm writing.
Also, there are over 1000 videos on that channel, mostly on other video game walkthroughs from what I can see, so you might find something interesting for yourself.
And there we have it. I should have said that 3 years ago. XD
Oh, and what's more important than that? MICRO GOD IS NOW FOR SALE! XD You can find it on the Kindle, the Nook and the iBookstore. More details are in my profile, as well as a description of the story. Help finance the sequel so I can keep you guys entertained well beyond Shattered Mind! ^^
Chapter 2- Recollection of the Past
XXXXXXXX
Memoria.
The game could never do this place justice.
The second the light subsided, we were flying above a cobblestone pathway leading up to a castle so tall, intricate and magnificent, I could only stare in awe. Towers interlinked with other towers. Not only were there several types of designs adorning the building, but there were several themes. There were more modern towers, spliced in with older towers. Some looked Arabic, some were Greek, some Roman, and there were plenty of others that I found difficult to relate to. The entire castle seemed like it was composed of nothing but towers, climbing higher and higher within itself, like a realized Tower of Babel. There was no way this castle could exist under normal physics.
"This is… incredible," Zidane said, at as much a loss for words as I was. Clouds rolled by in the sky, but avoided the castle, giving the light plenty of room to shine down upon it. More clouds fluttered blow the castle, making me wonder if anything could exist below. The whole thing seemed almost holy by contrast.
"This is Kuja's castle?" Dagger said. "It's… This is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen! How could he have built it so quickly?"
"How could he have built it at all?" Freya asked. "That thing could hold more people inside than all of Burmecia! No, all of the Mist Continent!"
By now, everyone had gathered in the bridge. We were alone. The Silver Dragons that dogged our way were nowhere to be seen, but then again, neither were any of Lindblum's Air Fleet. We really were cut off from the others. Completely alone.
I looked down at the cobblestone path leading into the lowest section of the city. Coming to my senses after who knew how long, I flew the Invincible over the path, trying to aim the transportation pad directly at it. After checking the monitor and putting the ship in standby, we were ready to disembark.
We all gathered around the teleportation pod in the center of the ship. Before we left, Quina had talked about how he zapped himself inside during our escape from Terra, so the opposite might be possible as well. We stood in line, waiting for someone to man up and go in first.
"Are you sure this will work Quina?" Zidane asked.
"Is no problem!" Quina assured us. "I warp in from outside before."
"But are we sure we'll land safely?" Steiner asked. "We all saw the environment. What if we don't land on that sole pathway?"
"Are you questioning my piloting?" I asked. "We'll be fine, we're right over the pathway. I checked."
"Then you go first if you're so sure," Amarant said.
Everyone seemed to turn to me, as if calling my dare. I just scowled at the tall bandit and huffed. "Fine, I will," I said. I took a step forward into the middle of a circular pad, marked with the same triangular rune we saw in Mt. Gulug and Oeilvert. As soon as my feet settled, bright rings swam up from the outer most ring, passed through my body, then sank back into the middle of the rune. I could feel myself sinking, until my heart raced suddenly. I felt like I was running at a million miles an hour. The world rushed by me so quickly that I didn't have time to comprehend it. As soon as I opened my eyes and looked around though, I realized that the Invincible was floating passively above me.
"Woah," I said, checking my body out. The teleportation had happened so quickly that I wasn't even sure it had happened.
I took a few steps towards the castle. The walkway was wider than I thought, but was really got my attention was Memoria itself. The castle was so tall that craning my neck as high as I could, I still couldn't see the top.
This is it, huh Kaiten?
"So it would seem," he agreed. "This place is even bigger than Rivnia Tower back on Terra."
For the tenth time that day, my hand found its way to my stomach. The bruise had already spread to the rest of my torso. Was the bruise only skin deep? How were my organs faring to this rot? My stomach hurt, but that could have been from stress. That's what I hoped at least.
"Trevor, remember to stay focused."
I am.
"You're worrying about dying far too much. When you're on a mission, there are thousands of ways you could get killed. Don't think about that. Think only of the mission and what has to be done."
I'm sorry, but I don't exactly have Delta Force training here.
"You don't need it. Just think of something simple, and peaceful, and calming. Anything can work if it takes your mind off of things."
Peaceful, huh?
I shut my eyes and sighed, leaving the moment and letting my mind wander to a better time. A simpler time. Back when I was still a college student trying to get by in classes. Every weekend, I'd spend my times relaxing and blowing off steam from a week's worth of work. Other students drank or partied into the wee hours of the night. I however, found a much better solution in the pancakes the cafeteria sold only on Saturdays.
"Better?"
Mmm… Pancakes…
Kaiten was silent for a moment before he said, "I shouldn't be surprised. Like, at all."
"Trevor!"
I turned and saw Zidane standing at the front of the group as the last of them teleported down.
"Quit zoning out!" Zidane said.
"Hey, you know you would too," I said. "I mean, just look at how vast this place is!"
"Well, you're right about that," he said. Zidane looked like he was about to give a small speech, but he was interrupted, twisting his head around quickly looking for the source of whatever he heard.
"What's wrong Zidane?"
"Did someone just call my name?" he asked.
Hooray! I wasn't the only crazy one hearing voices now!
"No," Dagger said, giving me a short look. After what I told her in Pandemonium, I wasn't surprised. "Are you feeling alright?" Dagger asked.
"That's weird…" I said.
"Maybe you're just hearing things," Freya suggested.
"I don't know…" Zidane said hesitantly. His head craned wildly a second later, searching for that sound again. "You hear that?"
"I hear nothing," Steiner said.
Zidane craned his head up once more a second later, and to everyone's surprise called out, "Garland?"
Everyone let out a gasp or a groan until Zidane silenced them. Even I was surprised to see that Garland was still around, even if I couldn't see or hear him myself. There was a kind of comfort in having the old guy around.
"General Saiko…" Kaiten said forlornly.
Kaiten? You alright?
"I'm fine. I read ahead in your memories so I knew he would be here, I…"
What? Is something wrong?
"No. I guess I had just hoped he would reach out to us as well."
It made sense. Kaiten was the last Terran alive, not considering Zidane's origins. Still, it must have been disheartening for a father figure to reach out to someone else.
He's probably straining himself to talk to just one person, I suggested. I know he would talk to you too if you had the strength.
"Perhaps," he said, though somehow, I didn't feel he was truly convinced.
After another moment, Zidane lowered his head and looked at all of us. "You all heard me talking to myself just now, right?"
Everyone nodded, including myself. My best guess was that Garland had talked to Zidane the same way Kaiten and I talked. What a strange coincidence. We could learn so much from the Terrans, if we had better ways to study them than asking Kaiten random questions.
"I was just talking to Garland," Zidane continued. "He told me that our memories created this place."
"Wait, what?" Eiko blurted out. "You mean we made this place?"
"Well, it's not just us, I don't think," Zidane said. "Garland wasn't really clear, but he made it sound like everyone's memories on the entire planet helped make this castle."
While the others turned to the castle again, watching the particles build new sections around it, I just folded my arms in thought. It wasn't just the people alive now that made this place, but every single person who ever lived, and there were still memories before that! The scenes inside Memoria captured the planet's entire life. Did that mean the planet itself was alive? Did it have memories?
"I guess we'll have to keep moving forward if we want any answers," Zidane said, trekking down the long path to the castle. "Let's go guys."
I followed in the back of the group as everyone overtook me. I just trudged along, arms folded and losing myself in thought.
"I wonder where we really are?" Eiko wondered aloud as we walked.
Where were we? Good question. A magical castle that just happened to have Gaia's Crystal at its very center? That wasn't enough. Something was off about it. Even after beating the game some twenty-something times, I still wasn't sure what it was exactly. And even then, how did all this come to be? Kuja couldn't have had enough time to build this place, no matter how powerful he became. And yet, it existed, right here for us all to see. The hard cobblestone beneath my feet was proof enough of that.
Memories… That was the key. Memoria was a mass collection of memories and events, built in by the experiences of everyone on the planet. But the memories went all the way back to Gaia's birth. No one was around to build it then. So then what created it?
The Crystal. Was it truly so simple? Could the Crystal, the focal point of all life on this planet, have drawn the memories into itself? But then why? What was the purpose? Defense? Clearly not, even though Memoria boasted its own brand of monsters. How long had the Crystal existed here? Or the planet? What created the Crystal? And what about Terra? Their Crystal went dark and died, ruining the planet. Could the overuse of the Crystal on Terra be the exact reason why Terra fell from grace? But why would that be?
What was I missing? What piece did the game fail to mention here? I went over everything I knew about Terra, Gaia, Memoria, Oeilvert and Final Fantasy IX. I thought about the souls that powered the Crystal, the memories that built themselves around the Crystal, and the portal that brought us—
The portal! Yes, of course Kuja never created this place! But why would he create a castle when he could steal one? And what better castle to steal than the one housing the planet's Crystal? But if that were true… then that would have to mean that we were in the only place the Crystal would truly exist. I looked around at the swirling clouds, and back at the portal that led us here…
We were at the center of Gaia!
I didn't know if it were the physical center or the metaphysical, but looking around, I imagined that anything we did here could have dire consequences on the rest of the planet. I remembered the roots of the Iifa Tree, and how they dug in deep, reaching every continent in the game. If they could stretch that far, then could they dig deep enough to reach us?
I looked again at the swirling clouds around us. What if they weren't clouds? Souls powered the Crystal, and all processes like that had byproducts and residue. Then maybe… Maybe those weren't clouds at all.
It was mist!
I wanted to shout, to scream, to do anything! So many thoughts raced in my head! The plot holes from the game! Vivi's short life span! The fate of the world! All could be solved right down here! And all I'd have to do was—
BAM!
My excitement ended abruptly and my thoughts lost track as I fell on my ass, rubbing my forehead where I had run into the wall. We had already made the mile long walk in the time I had been contemplating our reality, and were now just entering the castle. The others, already walking inside the front portcullis, gave me curious and concerned looks.
"Trevor?" Dagger asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," I said as Steiner gave me a hand up. "It's just my pride, after all."
"You're going to get into trouble if you don't pay attention," Zidane scolded. "We don't know what we're getting into. Keep your guard up."
"Right, sorry," I said, stepping inside as well. My pulse still raced from my supposed discovery. I wasn't even sure if I was right at all, but if I was…
…Maybe there was a way Kaiten and I could survive…
XXXXXXXX
At first, Memoria had all the inner workings of a regular castle. There was a portcullis at the front entrance, stone carvings in the walls, ornate pillars set precisely and a welcoming hall with a twenty-foot high ceiling. Light poured in from the caged windows, with wires hanging inside each pane in a floral design. It was exactly the kind of castle I would want to live in.
Then we left the front hall and "normal" went out the window.
"What the—?" Zidane blurted out inside the next room.
"Is this…" Dagger started. "Are we inside a giant clock?"
The next room opened above and below us, adding easily twenty more feet in both directions. Our path led us around the perimeter of the room while a fifty-foot pendulum swung precariously close to us, avoiding the path by mere inches. Somewhere, ticking echoed within the room, though I was hard-pressed to find the source.
"What's with this place?" Eiko asked. "Who would design a castle like this?"
"Well, our memories, if you believe Garland," Zidane explained. "It doesn't make much sense to me, but I think we should be ready for literally anything."
"It's fascinating," Dagger said, never taking her eyes off of the pendulum as we made our way around the room.
"Thinking of redesigning your own castle?" I teased, with an elbow in Dagger's shoulder.
"Don't be absurd!" Steiner said. "Such a contraption would never fit inside Alexandria Castle! It is completely impractical."
"Someone should really describe sarcasm to you someday," I frowned.
The walkway took us outside again, but by the time we were out, it was nighttime. Somehow, we had taken hours to get to this point, though it felt like only minutes. Perhaps the room we had just left really was a clock and had slowed our progress. Then again, could this all be part of the memory as well? Did time flow normally in this place, or at all? No, it had to, or else additional details and memories couldn't add themselves. But that still didn't answer my question on time flow. I was starting to feel light-headed at all of it and tried not to worry myself over small details.
The path snaked its way up the side of the building, zigzagging between peaks and lookout towers. The gothic design of the whole side of the building reminded me of the Legacy of Kain games. This entire world was making my head spin again. If I could ever get home, I would lay off Final Fantasy for a while and only play brain numbing, "kill everything" shooters.
The path continued up ahead, jutting directly out of the top of a tower. With no support beams or cable holding it up, the bridge was clearly defying the laws of physics and there was no way it could be real.
How often would I say that while in Memoria?
The bridge overlooked the entire gothic structure that we had seen so far. We could see the entry hall, the clock room, and if I squinted, I was sure I could see the Invincible parked out in the distance. Torches lit up the halls below us and fog rolled over the rooftops, making the area look like some 1800's version of London. I wondered briefly if we would have to worry about Jack the Ripper, but then I remembered that the Chaos Guardians were still waiting for us ahead.
"I could never have dreamed that a place like this exists," Freya said. "Such majesty… I'll have to remember it for when we rebuild Burmecia."
"Don't you think it's a little dark?" Vivi asked. "I mean, Burmecia is already the kingdom of eternal rain. These buildings just might make everything look creepy."
"Burmecia has open roads and we constantly suffer from blinding fog. But down there, the fog just rolls away, siphoned off by the tight roads and light breezes."
I nodded. "Yeah, that, or you could just build somewhere else."
"My people," Freya paused, "have lived in Burmecia for centuries. It's our homeland. We won't abandon it for something so petty."
"Or, you could realize that there's better weather less than a day's march away and build away from the rain. You know, the rain that never fucking stops!"
Freya swung her polearm up at me to intimidate me, but was met by my crossed short swords. We struggled for a moment, holding each other in place. Metal ground upon metal, going nowhere.
"I would make sure you were forbidden from entering the city," Freya threatened. Her polearm glowed red as she powered up a dragon technique.
"Like you could stop me," I countered, as my short swords glowed purple.
"STOP IT!"
Zidane rushed in and pulled Freya back as Steiner ran in and lifted me backwards. Our attacks grazed off each other, fading as soon as contact was lost.
"What the hell guys?" Zidane shouted between the two of us. "We have enough to worry about with Kuja and you're going after each other?"
"We can't trust him!" Freya said. "You heard how long he kept those secrets from us! Who knows what else he's hiding from us!"
"So now I'm not allowed any kind of privacy?" I shouted back. "You think that no one here has any kind of secrets that you don't know about?"
"Those secrets didn't nearly get people killed!"
"I SAID, ENOUGH!" Zidane shouted again. "I don't care who doesn't like who here, but right now, we're going to worry about Kuja and Kuja alone! Anyone who disagrees can go back to the Invincible! Got it?"
There was a short pause as Freya and I traded glances. "Understood," she said in a huff.
"Fine," was all I said as I slid my short swords back into their sheaths.
"Good," Zidane said, continuing the lead. "I have enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other."
My wounded pride alone was enough to keep me away from Freya anyway, but the others filled in the space between us, forcing us apart. Considering the spat we just had, it was a good idea.
We continued along the bridge and I tried to think of ways to get Freya to back off. I crossed murder right off my list, lest my jokes bring Damien back at all. An apology and flowers? Somehow Freya didn't seem the type to be taken aback by flowers and chocolates. Should I help her rebuild Burmecia? That would probably help a little, but it might not be enough. She was pretty pissed.
I tried thinking of something else, but then I remembered my stomach and rotting body. Funny. Perhaps I hadn't quite accepted my inevitable death yet. Even after obsessing over it as much as I did, I still didn't see it as real, even after traveling to Terra, fighting with purple magic, and living the last several months inside a video game.
"Hey, what's that?" Eiko asked, pointing at the far end of the bridge.
In the distance, I could see a red streak winding its way over and around the bridge, darting in a spiral right for us. It looked like a red blanket flittering in the wind. It came closer and closer, until I realized just what it was.
"Get back!" I shouted. "It's gonna ram us!"
I twisted back, tripping on my own feet and falling to the ground, just as the red river crashed over us. Impossibly quick, it sprang up and revealed a blue underbelly and two thin arms. Each hand held a sword bigger than the arm itself. We didn't have time to react as each blade swiped down at us. Vivi and Eiko were small enough that the attack missed them, but Steiner and Amarant were immediately caught up in the attack.
Steiner's armor protected him, but the attack picked him up entirely and slammed him into Zidane, throwing them beyond the bridge and sent them crashing into a window of the clock room. Amarant caught the attack in his claws, but was picked up the same way, crashed into Quina, and was tossed into a tower behind us. Quina was too heavy to lift off, but he rolled head over heels backwards until he fell over the side of the bridge.
"No!" Dagger cried out, reaching with futility to save any of our thrown friends.
I quickly drew my short swords and faced this new enemy. Maliris, this first of the four Chaos Guardians, towered over us as she unfolded four more arms, each armed with a sword or a spear. Her serpentine body curved over us, yet I couldn't see her face. Her flaming red fur draped over her head. I had to watch myself with this one. In only a few seconds, she dispatched four of our allies.
"We meet again, so to speak," Maliris chimed. "I am one of the Chaos Guardians. Kneel before my power!"
"Get back!" I said to the others, taking point. My new obsidian armor would probably hold out against those blades, but I wasn't in any hurry to find out. Eiko and Vivi scurried behind me quickly, but Dagger insisted on standing beside me, protecting the kids as well. This was not the party I would have chosen, but we were the only four left and didn't really have a choice.
"So, you're going to fight?" Maliris mocked. "How adorable. And frivolous! You don't stand a chance!"
"We'll see," I said as my short swords cracked with power.
"You would send children to fight?" the snake-woman said. "You must be desperate! You don't even have—"
"Demooon!"
A shout and a crack split the air as a red streak of light came crashing down onto Maliris' head. The guardian shouted in pain, swiping at her attacker. The red streak jumped back and landed beside us and I looked at Freya in surprise.
"Nice entrance," I said. "I thought you got taken out by the last attack like the others."
"This monster is like the guardian I fought in Mt. Gulug!" Freya said, readying herself at my side. "I know how it fights, so I leapt out of the way. Just follow my lead and we'll be fine."
"Right," I said reluctantly. "You have the lead."
I looked at the weapons Maliris wielded. There were two scimitars that dwarfed her arms, a pair of incredibly sharp katanas, and a polearm that she held in her lowest arms. It was going to be a real challenge getting through those defenses of hers. I took a short glance behind me and saw Vivi and Eiko ready to fight as well. We were going to need them.
"GO!" Freya shouted, leaping high into the air. Maliris craned her head up to watch Freya as the Burmecian vaulted over her, but then she turned back down to see me charging in. I used only a small amount of energy, yet the Demon Sabers I created spread a good three feet out of my blades, yet without the hint of extra weight.
However, Maliris' use of multiple weapons came with full knowledge of her surroundings and how to use them. She brought the polearm down to block me, then swung in with both katanas for my head. I barely dodged one and caught the other with my Demon Saber, but to my shock, the energy didn't cut through. Only Damien had been able to resist my attack like that, and he existed inside my head. How could corporeal blades withstand my assault?
The counter didn't end there. Even with my distracting her, Maliris swung her long tail up, catching Freya in midair. The snake tail wrapped around Freya's waist once and drove her into the ground, erupting with a tremendous crash. The monster's entire body was in my way, so I had no way to tell if Freya was injured or not.
"Freya!" I called out. "Freya, are you alright?"
She didn't answer. I only heard grinding blades as I held off three weapons at once. Both katanas pressed against one short sword while the polearm kept my other arm busy. I was in an awkward position and could feel the effort sapping my strength. However, with Freya down, what prevented Maliris from using her other two blades on me.
"Hardly worth my time," she said, bringing her scimitars above her head.
I pulled all the energy out of my Demon Sabers and collapsed them into an Explosion. I shrank back the instant both of them exploded and pulled away. Maliris' weapons were forced back and her scimitars widely missed me thanks to the debris I kicked up. I fell back in front of the kids as they looked up to me expectantly.
"Trevor!" Dagger called from the edge of the bridge behind me. "Give me a hand!"
I kept my glance on Maliris, ready to counter her next move, but chanced a quick glance backwards. Dagger was hanging on the edge, trying to pull Quina up from the side, but not doing a very good job at it. I wanted to help her, but there was no way the kids could hold off an attack from Maliris if I left. I had to stay on the front line. I was the only one left.
"Hold on!" I called. "Vivi, give me something here! See if you can blow her up."
"I've been gathering my magic," he said. "Give me a second."
As I prepared another pair of Demon Sabers, Maliris came at us again, this time, with everything she had. I caught a katana and scimitar on one side, then matched the other side, binding all four blades against me at once. I was confident that I could hold her off long enough until she raised the polearm up, giving herself an easy and clean strike at my head. If I dropped any of my defenses, then her swords would slice me to ribbons. If I didn't, then her polearm would cleave me in two. I started to panic, until—
"FIRAGA!"
A massive explosion ripped through the bridge underneath Maliris. A cone of fire overtook her, causing her to shriek and back away. Her entire body shivered, giving me a chance to escape. The fire remained in place for another moment, but as I peered through it, Maliris just peered right back. Fire wasn't the right element to use. It had startled her, but that was it. She slithered towards us, raising her swords again to attack.
"DRAGON BREATH!"
A sudden blast of green light exploded and overtook Maliris from behind. This time, she roared in real pain. To add to it, Freya launched herself over the snake woman, swinging her polearm low and cutting into Maliris' upper arm. Blood traced the wound and sprayed into the air. Freya landed next to me as Maliris dropped one scimitar to grip the wound.
"You bitch!" Maliris accused. "Attacking someone from behind?"
"You don't make it easy," Freya quipped. "That tail gets in the way."
"That gets rid of one arm," I said, joining Freya at her side. "Five more to go. Think you can do that again?"
"Not likely," Freya said. "She's going to be on her guard now. Besides…" Freya turned and glanced back at Dagger, who was only now pulling Quina up over the edge. At least that was one less thing to worry about.
"Look, this thing fights just like the Fire Guardian did," Freya said. "Amarant and I tried flanking her and it did us no good."
"So how'd you kill it?" I asked.
"We whittled it down, but we might not have to here," she said with a smile. "Vivi, we'll need ice magic, and lots of it. Dagger, summon your ice Eidolon. Eiko, keep us healed and Trevor, stay back and defend the others."
"Wait, you want me on defense?" I argued. "Screw that, I'm killing this thing!"
"We don't have time to argue!" Freya said. "Zidane's gone and I'm the only one who's fought something like this. Now stick to the plan or just leave!"
At first I thought Freya was just being defiant because she didn't trust me. However, once I got a good look in her eyes, I could tell she meant all business. She wasn't thinking about right or wrong, or her pride, but whether or not she could get everyone out of this mess alive. That was all I needed in a leader right now. I just had to swallow my pride sometimes.
"Fine, I'll keep them safe," I said.
"Good," Freya nodded. "Vivi, are you ready?"
The little mage finished charging the spell and gripped his staff tightly. He had a determined look in his eyes and he shouted, "Ready!"
Freya flipped her polearm into a ready stance and stood at the front of our pack. "Good. You start off. Dagger, finish with your summon after I attack, got it?"
"I'm ready," Dagger said. Despite the situation, she looked serene as she shut her eyes and began chanting under her breath.
"BLIZZAGA!"
Maliris hadn't heard our plan, so when the twenty-foot ice spike shot out of the bridge, she was completely unprepared. It didn't skewer her, but it did cut a deep gash in her tail. Blood traced up the side of the icicle, leaving a red streak almost like a piece of art frozen in place, just before the spike shattered.
Maliris covered her face with her five remaining arms as ice rained down, covering her in shrapnel. Several smaller cuts poked all around her arms and body, letting steam loose as the ice melted into Maliris' fiery skin. The ice countered her natural attunement with flame and did as much internal damage as it did external. As soon as the air cleared and the ice halted, Maliris lowered her arms and growled.
"You miserable little—wha—!"
The attack, though effective, had only been a distraction. By the time Maliris lowered her arms, Freya was already in her face, soaring through the air with polearm lowered. The snake woman didn't have time to react as Freya swung her blade low, cutting into the second arm of the night. Maliris screamed as her second upper arm was severed. It hung loosely for only a moment, connected only by several strands of muscle and skin, then fell to the ground in a bloody pool.
With two arms and both scimitars now useless, Maliris had to redouble her efforts. She used a fire spell to cauterize the stump on her shoulder, sealing the blood off and leaving a sticky puddle beside her.
Freya meanwhile landed on Maliris' other side and wasted no time in reacting. She spun around and launched another Dragon skill as soon as she could. "Cherry Blossoms!" she yelled as a pink light surrounded her target.
The pinkish light spun like a tornado, quickly taking on the appearance of a dragon. Its maw opened wide as flakes and scales started to peel off, dropping all around Maliris. Each "blossom" fell against the monster and popped in a small, but loud explosion. Dozens of popped filled our ears, accompanied by Maliris' gasps of pain. The dragon around her made one final run, opening its mouth wide and engulfing her, biting down around Maliris' upper body and setting off a chain reaction. A hundred pops all went off at once, knocking the snake woman off balance and sending her onto her stomach.
"We did it!" Eiko cried out. "We're winning!"
"No…" Maliris coughed, quickly getting her bearings back. "You are not!"
Rather than attack us, Maliris swung her tail for Freya. The Dragon Knight saw the attack coming and leapt out of the way, jumping high into the air. "Dagger!" she shouted down at us. "Use your summon!"
The words barely had enough time to leave Freya's lips as the tail came back for another swipe from behind. This time, Freya didn't see it coming and was caught off guard. Maliris' tail wrapped around Freya twice, trapping one arm under the coils and tightening instantly. The air was constricted out of Freya so fast that she didn't even have time to gasp.
"FREYA!" I called up to her. Her polearm fell from her grasp and dropped harmlessly over the side of the bridge, falling to the "city" below us. There was no safe way below to recover it, so Freya was now defenseless.
With no blade or counter to worry about, Maliris gladly slammed Freya's body into the bridge, sending a shockwave our way and denting the path ahead. Freya's face bulged from the pain and the constriction, and she didn't even have the pleasure of crying out. With her domination over the Dragon Knight now settled, Maliris laughed as she looked the rest of us over.
"Dagger!" I called out, bringing my Demon Sabers to life.
"Oh chilling maiden of the freezing sea," Dagger chanted. Magical energy radiated from her, and we were all braced to run for cover as soon as Shiva came forth. "Encase my enemies in your glacial prison! COME FORTH SHIVA!"
Quina, the kids and I ran behind Dagger as a gentle pillar of snow started to fall on the bridge. It quickly collected, and from it, Shiva burst to life. Her skin was a light blue, like she was covered from head to toe in frostbite, but from her fluid movement as she spun in the air, it didn't impede her in the slightest.
Shiva landed gingerly on the bridge and took one look at Maliris. With a wave of her hand, Shiva summoned forth six large icicles, each the size of a broadsword. The icicles flew through the air, right for Maliris. With six icy crashes, the icicles slammed into the bridge, covering it like quills on a spine. Ice grew from the icicles and covered the entire bridge, before breaking apart in a fine, snowy dust. The snow blew away in the breeze, and we were left with a clear, empty bridge.
"We… we did it?" I asked. I knew Dagger's Eidolons were strong, but I didn't think Maliris would have died so easily.
"Great job Dagger!" Eiko congratulated. "I knew you'd do it!"
"Aya! I jealous!" Quina said. Blue magic had nothing on summoning magic. Or black, or white in my opinion.
"That was amazing!" Vivi said. "That looked so much stronger than my own magic!"
"Uh, thanks," Dagger said, looking around the bridge in confusion. It was about that time that I looked around and started to come to the same conclusion as she was. "Guys?" Dagger asked. "Where's Freya?"
Suddenly, the cheering stopped. Everyone had a sobering moment as they all realized that Freya was nowhere in sight.
"I didn't… I didn't kill her too, did I?" Dagger asked. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"No, no, I'm sure she's alright," Eiko assured the queen. "You've seen how high she jumps. A fall from here just couldn't kill her!"
But Vivi was unconvinced. "But what if she was caught up in the attack?"
"VIVI!" Eiko shouted.
"Oh, ah… sorry Dagger. I didn't mean it like that."
Dagger just fell to her knees, saddened by our sudden loss. Even I was unsure how to feel. It was entirely possible that Freya had survived, but it was also entirely possible that she had been killed. Then again, what had happened to the others? Zidane, Steiner and Amarant were still missing. If they were alright, then surely Freya had a chance as well. If nothing else, we could start a search party and look for her. Memoria couldn't be that big, right?
I looked back at the others after sheathing my blades. Quina had pulled a sandwich out of his pack and was offering it to Dagger. "You eat," he said. "Food makes things better. Eat."
Dagger stood again, but declined the sandwich. "Thanks Quina, but I'm really not hungry."
Quina frowned, but took solace that Dagger was feeling better. Then he ate the sandwich himself. Better that it not go to waste.
"So what do we do?" Dagger asked. "The others are still missing."
"Zidane and Steiner crashed into the clock room," I said. "They'll catch up soon enough. And I'm sure Amarant can find his way back. We should just wait here."
"You'll never last that long!"
There was a moment of horror as we all looked down the bridge, just as two enormous hands gripping a pair of katanas slipped over the edge. With a grunt and a heave, Maliris hoisted herself up, still as well armed as before. I took a moment to check her tail. To my relief, Freya was still wrapped up, though she looked unconscious. At least we still had a body to heal.
"That was a foolish effort," Maliris taunted. "I was able to wrap my body around the support pillar below us. Now that your party is down to half strength, you have no chance against me!"
With Freya down, we only had myself as melee and defense. We could still use a magical barrage, but surely Maliris would be expecting that. It was likely that she had a counter for that ready. I pulled out both short swords and charged them with Demon Sabers. I would have to be ready for anything as well.
After the style Maliris had used so far, I had expected her to come at us with a few sword slashes, but I only noticed the two charged spells in her hands at the last moment.
"Double Firaga!" Maliris cried.
I only heard the first explosion as it erupted behind me. Dagger and Eiko screamed for a moment before the second blast hit. I heard Vivi gasp while I was knocked forward right onto my face. In just two blasts, not even a second apart, Maliris was able to decimate our entire defense line. In the crash, one of my short swords slipped from my hand. I kept a death grip on the second and pushed myself onto my back as I tried to recover my breath. The blast had taken more out of me than I had thought.
As I looked up, Maliris towered over me and looked down. I could see a sinister smile behind that head of overflowing hair. "And another one falls," she gloated.
I couldn't breathe. I coughed as I frantically tried to fill my lungs, but I was too off-guard. All I could do was hold my short sword up defensively with one hand on the blade for support. I shut my eyes and prepared for the impact.
However, when I heard the crash come, I didn't feel anything. Slowly, I opened my eyes, but to my surprise, I didn't see Maliris standing over me.
It was Quina.
Quina was the only one who had escaped the firaga, and now was holding Maliris at bay. Both her katanas were trapped within the prongs of his giant fork. I always thought of Quina's weapons as a joke, but it actuality, they had a lot of use in capturing enemy weaponry.
"I…not…let…YOU!" Quina shouted. However steadfast he may have been though, Maliris was stronger, and was already pushing the Qu back.
"You bloated bastard!" Maliris said. I could see her bringing her polearm out at her side. "Take this!"
"QUINA!" I shouted. Instinct and fear overtook me as I swung my sword out at Maliris. I extended the Demon Saber to the furthest that I could muster. Purple magic met scales and the purple magic won, cutting deep into Maliris' skin and spilling her blood by the pint.
At once, Maliris screamed and dropped her defense. She kept some strength in her struggle with Quina, but in her agony couldn't swing her polearm. She bent over, trying to contain her pain, but that was all the advantage we needed. I spun myself to my feet, still a little woozy from the explosion, and pressed the attack.
Quina and I worked in a strange sync. I stepped in, cutting into Maliris' stomach again. Quina, seeing the effect of ice from before had his blue magic ready. "Aqua Breath!" he cried out. With his head held back, he snapped forward and spat a pool's worth of water at the open wounds. Steam rose from the contacted water, causing plenty of damage and further hindering Maliris.
With the sudden break in combat, I took the chance to disarm Maliris again, literally. I continued my momentum and swung into her lower arm, which held her polearm. The Demon Saber cut into her easily enough, slicing bone and muscle like it was butter. With a cry of shock and fear, Maliris' arm fell, dropping the polearm.
"You bastard!" Maliris cried out, reaching for me with her other hand. However, Quina had my back covered.
"Aqua Breath!" he shouted, spitting another wave of water at Maliris' exposed stomach. The snake woman screamed and did everything she could to keep Quina from pushing her back any further.
"Aqua Breath!"
With the polearm gone, we only had the two katanas to deal with. However, I was more concerned with Freya. She hadn't made a sound since Maliris climbed back up. She could still be under constriction. I had to get her out of there.
"Quina can you handle her for another minute?" I called out.
"I fine!" he said confidently. "She not win! Aqua Breath!"
I picked up the polearm as Maliris screamed again. The polearm itself was heavy, yet seemed to emanate a powerful aura. The shaft was a strong metal that I couldn't quite guess at. The head was an orange metal in the shape of a tall flame. It seemed to glow, brewing with power deep within. Suddenly, Freya's missing polearm didn't seem like such a tragedy.
"Freya!" I called out. "Head's up!"
I hoisted the polearm onto my shoulder and held it in both hands. I took a short running start and threw it javelin-style for Maliris' tail. My aim wasn't perfect, but it was good enough for Freya to pluck out of the air. I cheered as I saw her move. Even better, she was able to gather enough strength to swing the blade against the tail confining her. The new polearm severed the tail cleanly, freeing Freya at last.
I ran to Freya's side as she collapsed and struggled to regain her breath. "Are you alright?" I asked.
"No," she muttered, pressing down on her chest. "Broken ribs…. Trouble breathing… Maybe punctured lung…"
"Just take it easy," I said. "She only has three arms left. Quina and I can finish her off."
But Freya would have none of it. She glared at me angrily, then at Maliris hatefully. "Never…" she muttered. Before I knew it, she was covered in a soft green light. It was Reis' Wind, her healing ability. It didn't seem to heal much since I could still hear her rasping, but Freya was able to stand and hold her new polearm easily enough.
With a single leap, Freya jumped onto Maliris' back. With no other option, Maliris grabbed Quina with her free hand and threw him away. Her stomach had turned dark and crusty from his Aqua Breaths and her skin cracked as she moved, but she still raised her katanas and swung at Freya. Fortunately, it was an awkward stretch and the dragon knight was able to counter each attack.
Freya was in prime position to finish this, and I had to help her. I extended my Demon Saber once more and dug it into Maliris' back. I could see the blade spearing her all the way through, jutting out her crusty stomach. The shock was all that we needed to make the snake woman freeze up for half a second. It was all the time Freya needed to bring her blade up and swing it down in a precise arc.
Freya leapt from Maliris' back, falling weakly to her knees. However, her decent was soon followed by Maliris' head, landing with a wet smack against the bridge. The rest of her body soon collapsed as well.
"Freya!" I shouted as I ran to her side. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Help…" she muttered. Her voice was so quiet that I could barely hear her more than a foot away.
Dagger and Eiko were still out from the explosions. I didn't have any healing spells. What good could I do? "Potions!" I quickly realized. "Um… I have some around here… Uh… Who was carrying them?"
"Trevor," Quina said, stepping up in the center of our fallen group. "No worry. I heal."
A gentle white aura surrounded Quina for a moment. He shut his eyes in concentration, stretching his arms out like he was trying to reach all of us. After a moment, when the aura became its most intense, Quina released the magic and it washed over all of us.
"White Wind!"
A warm light encompassed all of us. Light sparkled around us, touching our wounds lightly and doing a moderate amount of healing. Soon, Dagger, Eiko and Vivi stood again, and Freya's breathing seemed to improve and quiet.
"Thanks Quina," Dagger said.
"Yeah, nice job," I had to agree. "You really stepped up in there."
"I not let you die," Quina said, holding his fork and adopting a brave stance, though it was likely unintentional. "We finish this!"
"Hold on," Dagger interrupted. "We should heal up a little more, and we still need to wait for the others to find us."
Everyone relaxed at once. Vivi and Eiko plopped right onto the ground, glad for the chance to finally sit. I looked back at the clock room, wondering what was taking Zidane and Steiner. Would we have to send a search party after them? And what about Amarant? There was no way we could complete the rest of Memoria with three people missing from our party.
"Trevor," Freya said. I just glanced up at her as she nodded and said, "Good job."
I just nodded back at her and said, "You too."
While the others began tending their wounds, I wandered over to Maliris' corpse. While her body was piled in one corner of the street, her blood poured out by the gallon from both her stumped head and tail. My shoes got sticky enough to remind me of the bloody field within my mind.
Moving to her arms, I looted both her katanas. While I had gotten used to my short swords of the past few weeks, I took an instant liking to the katanas. They were reminiscent of my days in the dojo and their balance was perfect. I took a few practice swings, charging them with purple magic. To my surprise, they charged almost as easily as my current short swords.
"How are they?" Kaiten asked.
Pretty good, I said. Good weight, very sharp edge… If Maliris wasn't trying to overdo it with having too many weapons, we would have been in trouble.
"I noticed the same. She was more of a showoff than a warrior. More swords does not mean better fighter."
So says the dual-wielder.
"Hello pot. My name is kettle."
Ahahaha… I said sarcastically.
"Hey, let me try the swords out."
Good idea. This way we can use our own sword set when we switch control.
As my entire body went numb, Kaiten wasted no time in testing the blades out as soon as he had control of our arms. He went through a routine, swinging one sword while blocking with the other, swapping between offence and defense so quickly that I wondered how I could have ever beaten him within my mind. Kaiten was leagues beyond me. I really did need to take lessons from him.
Not bad, Kaiten decided. These aren't my blades, but they're damn close.
Kaiten charged one blade up and shot an Arc into the distance, slicing into a far off building. There was a small avalanche as the building's support collapsed and dropped into the city below us.
Yes, these will definitely do.
"Good. Now all we have to do is find a cure for death and we can make your new swords worthwhile."
There is that problem, Kaiten admitted. Any ideas?
"This place is surrounded by mist. So far, mist has been the source of everything within this world. Maybe, if we could get into the clouds, we could find a cure, or repair ourselves."
Is that it? Do you think it'll really be that easy? That would only be a temporary solution at best. It would be like how Terra had to restore itself.
"Perhaps, but it's better than dying."
We'll have to delve into caves to find leftover mist.
"Yeah, and that's assuming it doesn't all dry up when we kill Kuja here."
Kaiten sheathed the Masamune alongside the short swords, making for an awkward fit, but it was the best we had. He sighed, looking up to the open skies. This far into Memoria, we were no longer seeing the mist from outside, but artificial clouds swayed above instead. Was there mist inside Memoria for us? Would we have to break away from the others? Would the plan even work? I tried not to think about dying and maintained the foolishly optimistic attitude that had kept me from breaking down so far.
Alright then, Kaiten said. Let's go for it.
XXXXXXXX
Before anyone points out that I didn't end the fight with Maliris using Raining Swords, I'd like to point out three things: 1) She was missing three arms by the end and only had two swords anyway. 2) I like making crap up as I go along. 3) She was missing her bloody head. Makes it a little difficult to counterattack. :P
Hope you guys liked my thoughts on the Theory of Memoria. So far, no scientific journal has offered to publish my findings, but I can wait. God knows I've waiting long enough to publish my other work. -.- At least you can still buy my book! And for only 99 cents too! :D
Still, I was thinking about Memoria one day when I was out on a walk. I tried to recreate my thought process as best I could as I wondered exactly what Memoria was. The game didn't offer much help, and the online wiki was limited, but I like to think that I've offered a complete and roundabout explanation for everything within the world of Final Fantasy IX. Any questions/thoughts/debates on the topic are welcome.
And yes, I'm aware of just how much of a nerd I am. ^^