Running to You.
Chapter Two.
Five minutes after curfew. Ariana hurried along as fast as she could to the dormitory, all the while trying to plan out what she was going to do to get to him. She knew that she had to be in Esthar within three days, so she probably had to leave tonight. But how was she going to get herself organised in so little time? She wracked her brains for an answer, and finally came up with one, but she found herself sincerely wishing for another option. Well, there isn't one, she thought to herself, so I'll just have to lower myself to doing this.
Ariana reached the dormitory, and was relieved to see that the Faculty member hadn't yet reached his post. She hurried over to the female section, but instead of going to her dorm, she went to the one opposite hers. She stood outside the door, still not sure about what she was going to do. Finally, she took a deep breath. For him…for Zell, she thought as she lightly scratched on the door, so as not to alert anyone but the person who resided in the dorm. "Leisha," she whispered, "Leisha, I need to speak with you. Please let me in."
Leisha came to the door, and was surprised to see her friend standing there. "Ariana? What are you doing here? It's after curfew; if the Faculty guy sees you here he'll make your life hell for the rest of the term!"
"I sort of…sort of…" Ariana swallowed, then tried again. "I…sort of…"
"Need a favour?" Leisha asked, half amused, half annoyed. She knew very well that Ariana thought that asking someone for a favour was the lowest thing you could do, though she herself was always ready to help people. It exasperated Leisha sometimes to see her friend used by people, only to get herself into trouble and refuse help from anyone. "Come in, Ariana, and tell me about it."
Ariana did as she was told, her cheeks burning. However, she told herself firmly to get over it; this was all for Zell, after all. Sitting on the edge of Leisha's bed, she said, "You know how I went to give Headmaster Cid the books he had requested? Well, around that time, Commander Leonhart contacted here. I was able to listen to everything he said to the Headmaster."
Leisha leaned forward, interested. "So…what did he say?"
Ariana frowned slightly. "Headmaster Cid sort of made me promises not to tell anyone. But, from what he said, I get the feeling that Zell's sort of…depressed."
Leisha raised her eyebrows. "So? I mean, we're SeeDs, and teenagers too; we get depressed all the time. Zell's no different, you know, even if you do consider him a demi-god." She added sarcastically.
Ariana scowled. "It's different this time, Leisha. I know him better than anyone and I know it's not like him to let anything get in the way of his work. If he's acting different enough for Commander Leonhart to notice, it's serious! I mean, Commander Leonhart, for Hyne's sake!"
Leisha looked thoughtful for a while, and then finally sighed. "Alright, point taken. What do you need me to do?"
Ariana smiled nervously at her friend. "I…I need you to cover for me for a couple of days. I'm going to visit him where he's at."
Leisha grinned. "Just like last time, isn't it?"
Ariana blushed in embarrassment as she thought of the last time she tried to visit Zell while he was on the mission. She had followed him to Balamb in order to deliver one copy of Combat Kings. She had been planning to tell him then what she felt, but it had ended in disaster. She had become too tongue-tied and had mumbled out her feelings incomprehensibly, earning only a blank look from the object of her affections. To make matters worse, she had seen over his shoulder all five of his comrades watching in fascination. She had seen that they had known what was going on, even though Zell was still oblivious. Their smirks were the last straw, and she had run out of Balamb Hotel before she had had time to clarify what she had wanted to say.
Remembering how she had cried herself to sleep for days
afterward, she put her head in her hands. I must be crazy, she thought. I wasn't able to do it then, how am I going to be able to tell him
this time? And it's not as if he's at a
place that I'm familiar with and that I know is safe; this time, he's in
Esthar, a place I never saw myself ever going to. But then, that's why I need to go, isn't it? Everything is different; he's in danger now,
it's not as if he's just taking a vacation in his hometown this time. This is maybe the last time I might be able
to see him; and I…I really do…love him, even though I don't know why.
Ariana looked at her friend, and finally shook her head. "No, Leisha; it's totally different this time. He needs me." She frowned slightly. "I know it."
Leisha looked at her quizzically, then finally shrugged. "Well, whatever. Just take care of yourself, alright? Use your SeeD pass to get on the train to the Salt Lake, and then once you get to Esthar, use it again at the Hotel. Stock up on Holy magic before you go…wait a minute," she said, walking to her drawer and pulling out a velvet bag. Opening it, she revealed a stash of Moon Stones, "take some of these. This many should refine into more than enough."
Ariana looked at them wide-eyed. "How did you…No, Leisha, I can't possibly take these. You must have fought so many Toramas to get that many."
Leisha giggled. "No way! I couldn't take even one Torama by myself! These are sort of a family stash; my Great-Grandfather won some of these. Every member of my family since then has contributed to the stash, but it was given to me, since I'm the last descendant."
Ariana sighed. "Are you trying to make me feel guiltier than I already do?"
"No; you shouldn't be anyway, since there's enough here to fully junction about twelve people." Leisha reassured her. She suddenly became serious. "Look, Ariana, I really don't approve of all this. To me, you're being foolish and impulsive, two things that any SeeD can't afford to be. But," she held up a hand to stall Ariana's protests, "I'm also your friend, and being you're friend, I've got to support you to the end, especially since deep down, I know that you're right."
Ariana hugged her friend tight, feeling her gratitude spill over for Leisha. "Thank you for understanding." She said.
"Just hurry and get out of here. The last train leaves in two hours." Leisha pushed the velvet bag in her hand, as well as two potions and a phoenix down.
Choking out a final thanks, Ariana went back to her dorm and hurriedly made the final preparations for her journey.
************************
Ariana stood on the edge of the Great Salt Lake, feeling the wind circle around her. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her out of control nerves. It was only now, when she was alone, looking out at the eerie barrenness of the Lake, that the enormity of what she was going to do hit her. Back on the train from Fisherman's Horizon, in her comfortable SeeD cabin, she was numb to the ramifications that she was going to face. She looked up at the sky. The first rosy blush of dawn was beginning to appear on the horizon. Well, she thought, at least I won't be in the dark for much longer. She carefully checked her junctions. She was immune to poison, berserk and confuse, and she had a high tolerance of all elements, especially Holy. She thought of Leisha warmly, before stepping for the first time into the barren wasteland.
Ariana walked slowly and carefully across the gleaming Lake, trying her best to stay alert. She was thankful that her GF Iblis, a demon like Diablos, had an Encounter Half ability. She turned into a curve in the path she was following, and came to a cliff. She walked across it to the other side, thinking that there would be a path for her to keep following. To her despair, she saw that it was a dead end. I must have gone the wrong way, she thought, her head starting to pound. She was so tired. She hadn't slept at all the night before on the train, worrying about him, and she had also worried about Leisha too. It was all getting too much for her. However, she walked slowly back to the cliff, so she could figure out where she went wrong.
Suddenly, when she was around half way across the cliff, she heard a strange crackling noise, sort of like static. She spun around, looking for the origin of the disturbance. However, all she saw was the bare expanse of the Lake. Then, she saw a flicker of energy, almost like a bolt of lightning. Fully alert now, she stood still, watching the emptiness. Finally, the flickering came back, but this time, it seemed to be a projection of something that looked like a ladder. Tentatively, she reached out to touch it, expecting her hand to go straight through it. To her surprise and delight, she found that the ladder had substance. So, this is the entrance to Esthar, she thought to herself.
Just then, she heard a low growl
behind her. Prickles of fear ran up and down her spine. Turning around slowly, she beheld a Vysage,
complete with Righty and Lefty. She
sucked in a deep breath, desperately trying to control the paralysing fear that
had invaded her senses. She checked her
junctions quickly, before she was obliged to engage the enemy. Just as she had finished, the Vysage cast
curse on her. She fell to her knees,
feeling a horrifying mix of fear, weakness and despair. Gritting her teeth, she yelled "Triple!" and
felt a slight resurgence of energy as she watched the pentagram encircle
her. Suddenly, the Lefty came up and
picked her up off the ground, crushing her and shaking her without mercy. Ariana felt her bones crack, and tears
unwillingly sprang and flowed from her eyes. The monster left her broken on the ground. She knew she had precious little strength left, so she whispered
"Triple Curaga." She felt the curative
power enfold her thrice, and her strength came back. Standing up, she unhooked her composite staff from her back. With a cry, she ran towards the Vysage,
twirling her staff in furious precision, as the blades on each end of the staff
sliced deeply into the monster's flesh. It gave a chilling scream, and then the Righty slapped her away, grazing
her left arm and part of her chest. She
fell to the ground, bleeding, but this time she didn't cure herself; eyes
blazing, she called upon her limit. An
eerie looking flame appeared all around her. She felt the upsurge of energy, enough to choke her. She screamed, and flung her staff at the
monsters. It spun madly, slicing into
each of the monsters randomly, inflicting seven times the damage she could have
done normally. The staff came straight
back to her hand, and she stood there for a while, her staff held high above
her head, as she considered which spell to use with the final part of her limit
break; her Triple x3 ability, which let her cast a spell in Triple three
times. Holding her staff aloft, she
screamed "Triple Triple Holy!" She
watched as wave after wave of power, wrenched from the very planet, struck her
foes. Finally, it subsided, and the
three monsters disappeared into oblivion.
Ariana
fell to her knees, tears streaming out of her eyes as the Limit madness left
her. The pain returned in full
force. She drank the two bottles of
potion that Leisha had given her, feeling the healing that it bestowed upon
her. However, it wasn't enough. She looked at her left shoulder and arm, and
inspected the gashes. They had stopped
hurting with such intensity, and they looked partially healed. They left a scar though. At least for now. She was sure that once she was able to fully heal herself, the
scars would be gone. Until then, she
would have to put up with the pain. She
decided to cast three Cures on herself, having no Curas and having used all her
Curagas. Feeling a little better, she
stood up and reached for the ladder to Esthar. Slowly, painfully, she made her way up the rungs. She was the picture of misery; bloodied,
torn clothes, long gashes on her arms caked with scabs, and a face tear stained
and dirty. However, as she climbed the
ladder, and she felt herself getting closer to her mission objective, she
couldn't help but give a little smile, and her last thought before entering
Esthar was a wry one.
Zell Dincht, you'd better be
worth all this!
