Cloud, scratching a bit at his emerging stubble, closed the door behind him a bit loudly. He didn't simply dump his sword by the door anymore. That was too much of a risk. Instead, he kept it strapped behind him as he walked out from the entry way and toward the Seventh Heaven portion of the building. Once he reached the door to the living room, he opened it and walked right in.
Tifa was sitting alone in it in their ancient, torn, stained recliner. She seemed to be thumbing through a book without really reading it. She had the phone nearby. However, on Cloud showing up, she turned and looked over to him. She hesitated a moment, but then gave a bit of a teasing look.
"You missed dinner again."
Cloud frowned a bit in response. "…I had to make sure they wouldn't be coming around again." He answered as he began to walk inside.
"So you found them?"
"Only one. It didn't take much for me to make him tell me who the others were." Cloud answered. "I didn't have to pull my sword, if that's what you're thinking."
"Was it who Azure and Denzel said it was?"
"Probably." Cloud answered, letting out a sigh as he went into the living room. Soon after, he unstrapped his sword, placed it against the side, and sat down. "But I'm not to the point yet where I feel safe with them handling these things."
Tifa gave a shrug from her position. "They're both stronger than almost anyone in their school."
"They'd probably be able to handle them. But I don't want them to. I'm not sure they're careful enough to know when to hold back." Cloud responded. "I settled things with just talking. They might have broken a few noses and gotten people angry for revenge if they had done it."
Tifa shrugged again. "They have to learn some day, Cloud. And sometimes you can only learn through experience…or the 'hard knocks'. Kind of like we did."
Cloud narrowed his eyes a bit at this.
"I'd rather no one had to learn about life the way I did." He answered. "Did Ragnar and Aerith call back yet?"
Tifa gave a nod, realizing that Cloud wanted to change the subject, and leaned back a bit more. Her look became a little less casual and calm. "There's something weird going on up there, Cloud. At first they just found this shrine area buried underneath the Dome. But today something really strange happened. You told me that Hoeng had spliced together people with animals, right?"
Cloud gave a nod. "Right."
"Well…one of them was at the site, and something happened to her." Tifa continued. "I'm not sure I got all of what they said…but I think Ragnar was trying to tell me that she had gotten possessed."
Now the ex-mercenary looked up and looked considerably confused. "Possessed?" He echoed. "How did that happen? And you said 'she'? The only she in that group was the half owl woman. What was she doing there?" He hesitated a moment after saying this, but then leaned back a bit more in his seat and looked out to the side. "I thought this was just some new chamber that Ragnar's group had dug up…but now I'm starting to wonder what the hell they uncovered."
Tifa ruefully leaned back herself and exhaled. "Sorry, but he wouldn't say anymore than that. He sounded like he was preoccupied and in a hurry."
"I might be myself if all of that is happening." Cloud answered. "Now I'm actually a bit nervous about it. If it wasn't for what happened this morning, I might try to head up there to find out what's going on."
Tifa looked to him again, and seemed a bit regretful. "I don't think you'd be able to help much anyway, Cloud."
"I know I wouldn't." The man answered. "But it would still give me some peace of mind. I'd get a better idea of what was going on and I wouldn't have to be on stand by if something else developed. Things don't tend to work out that well when I learn about them secondhand." Cloud paused for a few moments after saying this, and continued to stare out as he did so. He appeared to be thinking the matter over a bit longer.
"If things stay calm here for a few more days, I might just do that." He finally concluded. "I never have felt that safe leaving those two out on their own…"
It was getting close to midnight, and Ragnar was still up and about.
A storm was rolling in. Already, the distant sound of thunder was beginning to approach. Ragnar couldn't hear it that well from his current position, inside Shalua's lab, but if he was closer to the doors it would grow more and more audible. Everyone else had packed in for the night, just about. There wouldn't be any late night excavations now, even if there was something of interest. People had to quickly cover up their dig sites and delicate artifacts and then get themselves inside. They were still way ahead of the time, but as a result not much digging had gotten done today. Ragnar didn't really notice or care…not with what was going on now.
The man had walked in just a few moments ago. The doors to Shalua's lab were sliding, but they were also very silent. As he walked into the inner area, and once again saw the spread of devices that had been lying about hours earlier, he looked out and saw that one figure was still there. Shalua was still typing away at her computer, much as she had been since they had left her earlier that day. She was so absorbed in her work she didn't seem to notice him.
Ragnar made her way over to her next. His footsteps clicked slightly against the ground, but not loud enough to be heard over the keystrokes. Nevertheless, as he got nearer and nearer to her, she eventually hesitated briefly in her work. She turned her head over her shoulder while he was still far away, and noticed him approaching. She turned back soon afterward. Apparently, she had noticed his presence. Some people were keen about that…feeling the air patterns in a room change when someone got nearer. Especially if you knew the layout of the room very well. At any rate, she didn't say anything else as Ragnar approached and came to a stop at her side.
"…Hello." She sounded as she continued to type away. A moment later, she reached a certain point and hit the enter key. After that, she leaned back a bit and let the computer work. She turned up to him. "How's our guest?"
"I managed to get Horus…Quetzacoatl…upstairs." Ragnar answered. "It's convenient and all…but I did think it was a bit weird for a scientist to have a spare bedroom."
Shalua appear to pause for a moment on hearing that.
"…One never knows." She answered, a bit quietly.
Ragnar thought there was something else in that comment…but he said nothing about it.
"She's still completely confused…and now she had depression to worry about. However, she's also still feeling weak. I don't know why. Maybe she can't use Horus' body as effectively as she could have used an esper one."
Shalua leaned back a bit, and gave a shrug after a pause. "I wouldn't know. My forte wasn't on espers. I didn't even really ever have a good idea of what they were supposed to be until today."
"Have you come up with anything?"
Shalua frowned and turned back to her screen. "Very little." She answered. "Then again, most of the questions that I'm asking at this point have to do with what actually went on at the site and the site itself, and all of those I've had to ask you and Aerith secondhand."
"Anything at all?"
"Nothing that has to do with getting the spirit of Quetzacoatl back out of Horus, especially since I've never heard of a person in myth, let alone reality, being possessed by a spirit that didn't know how it got in or how to get out again." She answered with a sigh. "But based on what you told me, I have come up with a few theories about how it got in there. Of course, they're all bogus if my assumptions are wrong. First off…you said that the shrine had a bunch of bowls arranged around it, and that you and Aerith could hear specific voices coming from them, right?"
Ragnar frowned regretfully in response. "Aerith said something to that effect…but not exactly. She said she only heard far fewer and more distinct voices. But I think she said they were still changing too. My own ability isn't strong enough to get into specifics."
"Alright." Shalua answered. "And you said that one of the bowls in the shrine was empty next to her. So you could assume she spilled it on herself? Even drank it?"
Ragnar hesitated, but could only shrug. "I guess so. That was the only thing out of place. Nothing like this has happened to anyone else in that chamber. I know it's bizarre that these bowls have filled with water like this, forming stalactites on top of them. And I don't want to dismiss it as coincidence either. But even so, most of the houses in the City of the Ancients were formed from natural structures. And they're still just homes. So I'm not sure what to think about these bowls."
"Perhaps more than you would assume." Shalua responded, looking back to her screen. "Water might be considered to be one of the Four Elements in the mythos of the Ancient World, but it has a specialness that pertains to this. Water is considered the primary medium through which spiritual energy can flow, unlike the other three elements. It always has a special place in sacred areas throughout history. Even the Cetra named the mako energy flowing through the Planet 'the Lifestream'. Not the 'Life-flame' or 'Life-breeze'. As far as facts are concerned, mako seems to most readily matrix with water. Natural materia is due mostly to water, pressure, and time. So perhaps the fact that these things have been distilling water into them for so many generations is relevant."
Shalua typed a bit on her computer at this. Ragnar looked, and saw that a subscreen popped up. It showed some sort of readout of a humanoid form, similar to a full body scan at the hospital…but based on the shape Ragnar immediately knew it was Horus.
"Another thing about water is how essential it is to life, and how easily and readily it is absorbed." Shalua continued. "I can't begin to do a radiolabeling study at this late in Horus' 'game', but if she drank it then that would have been a very easy way to get it into her system and quickly. I'm detecting heavy amounts of energy readings within her bloodstream. It appears to be the source of the overall pattern I'm detecting from her. If she would have drank the water and had it readily transported into her blood, then it would have easily moved throughout her entire body within a matter of minutes. Perhaps seconds. I see an empty bowl, one that Aerith admits had some sort of voice coming from it, and now we have a strange energy pattern moving through her bloodstream. My idea is that she somehow got ahold of the water herself, and that somehow it did this."
Ragnar still looked confused. "But how would that be possible? Even with the history of water and how people believed in it, how would it have gotten into that spot? And why would it have? Quetzacoatl doesn't appear to know anything of how she got in there, let alone into Horus. And why her? Why would the spirit that would inhabit that shrine be her? And who are the other spirits? What do they have to do with this?"
Shalua frowned and shook her head. "I don't know, and I'm running out of questions that I can ask that I can hope to answer here. I need to get to the site itself. And we'll probably have to bring in a lot more specialists than just me. Whatever the answer to this problem is, it's likely an 'overreaching' discipline. Every single aspect of the construction, history, and energy patterns of that place will have to be researched and categorized to be able to know exactly how any of this is possible…assuming any of it is true. And they may all have to see it themselves or at least send in people who can sample it for us."
Ragnar let out a bit of a sigh at this. That was a lot of work, a lot of involvement…and no guarantee any of it would turn up anything.
"At the bare minimum, I want to get there and start taking readings as soon as possible." Shalua continued. "And I need to start working closer with you and Aerith. I'll probably have a lot of questions about what I'm looking at, and how your senses coincide with my readings."
"What about Horus?" Ragnar asked. "How can we get Quetzacoatl back out of her again?
The woman sighed and slumped a bit in her chair. "I don't know. I don't even have any theory yet…other than draining all of the water out of her body, which is hardly practical or safe. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something if I see that place myself."
Ragnar crossed his own arms.
"In the case…I hope we can still get out there tomorrow. That storm outside is looking worse all the time…"
You better just get used to it. You don't know how long you're going to be here.
Was it wrong for one to wish themselves dead in this situation? On the other hand…would it actually be "right" to do so? She was stealing another person's body to cheat death as it was…and she didn't even know how it had happened. There was little doubt in Quetzacoatl's mind now that the vague "dreams" she had were memories for her experience after death. But she could hardly believe that she would have willingly come into this state. Why would she have wanted to return to a world where she was the only one left? Hundreds of years in the future where everything was strange and alien, and humans would hunt her down as soon as talk to her?
The esper didn't know what to think as she walked on her too-long, too-awkward legs into the room. She hated this body. Everything about it seemed clumsy. A moment later, she snapped and gave a yelp before turning behind her, watching as a wall of iron slid over the doorway. For a brief moment, she thought that she was trapped…before she remembered that doors weren't the same in this era. What a concept. Even doors had changed to become foreign objects to Quetzacoatl. It made her hate being here even more.
She turned and looked around her room. She hated it immediately. Everything above and below was made out of cold iron. No windows. Breezes were coming in through slits in the walls. Nothing wooden to be seen anywhere. The bed itself looked to be only the barest essentials. The sheets were tightly knit and looked all together thin and harsh against the skin. What was worst was that Quetzacoatl usually didn't sleep in beds. She made roosts for herself. Yet she felt far too awkward and drained to fly again, and so she was trapped here.
Some things did catch her eye, however… As she looked away from the rather uncomfortable-looking bed, she saw a dresser of some sort against the wall. There were things that looked more traditional and decorative on top of it. A bit curious, and having nothing better to do, she walked over to it.
On reaching it, she noticed a few things. There was an older lamp made out of some sort of material Quetzacoatl didn't recognize. However, it had a softer tone to it, and as a result she felt a bit more at ease concerning it. Other than that, she noticed a few other things on the dresser. They were old and dust covered, but they had been placed with care. One was an old medal in a language the esper didn't realize. Another thing looked like an old, battered book with a dragon and a princess on front of it. Seeing as the dragon bore a saddle, Quetzacoatl wondered if it was a fairy tale version of Princess Lenna… There was also a hair brush that was brightly colored, a length of ribbon, and a few other odds and ends. All of them were old and seemed to be made for a younger person.
There was one final thing on that dresser, and it mostly attracted Quetzacoatl because it was the only thing made out of wood. It was a small box, like a jewelry box or a music box. She didn't know which, and so she reached over and opened the lid with the tip of her feathers. She pushed it a bit as a result of clumsiness, but she got it open.
It was a music box. Immediately, a slow tune began to play. Quetzacoatl couldn't place it, but she didn't really notice it either. Her attention had already shifted again.
This time, she was looking to the picture in the box. It showed a woman she didn't know, and two younger girls. She guessed their ages about about 15 and 10. She did notice that all of them seemed to have long, brown, messy hair, which naturally formed a sort of messy look on each of them. Due to this, it didn't take much to deduce that it was a mother and two daughters. It was an outdoors picture in a setting with trees and grass. Quetzacoatl liked it. She hadn't seen many nice areas like this since she had come back, and she was glad to see they were still around. She focused on the girls after noticing this, however. In particular, she looked to the older one. She wore glasses…and her face looked somewhat familiar.
…Shalua. She finally realized.
The esper hesitated a moment…but then began to realize it. Why these things were set out. Why they looked older and had some dust on them. They were mementos. She had set up this room in her sister's memory…but based on how much older she was in the picture and the fact that these things were so much older, it likely meant that her sister was…
Quetzacoatl swallowed a bit. She hoped she hadn't upset anything too much. Quickly, she shut the box again. Only then did she realize she had already moved it, leaving dust streaks on the dresser. Unfortunately there was nothing she could do about it now. Deciding that she had seen enough, she decided to just turn out the lights and go to bed.
The esper turned to the lamp, and immediately reached out with her wings to remove the shade and blow out the candle. However, on grabbing it and pulling up…she saw the whole lamp came with it. Surprised, she immediately lowered it again. She didn't want to spill the candle or wax and ruin these mementos. Moving slower this time, she pulled up once more. Once again, the lamp began to rise with it. Her face turned to puzzlement at this as she set it down again.
This was an odd shade. She concluded it had to be screwed in somehow. With that in mind, she began to twist on it as she pulled up. At first, she didn't seem to be getting anywhere. So she put a bit more force into it. Again, nothing seemed to happen. Growing frustrated, especially since this was hard with her awkward limbs, Quetzacoatl began to bend the shade back as she twisted.
It held a bit longer…but then Quetzacoatl bent it a certain distance. Suddenly…it popped off all together. She nearly spilled forward from the sudden move and knocked the lamp over again. However, she quickly managed to right herself and catch the shade. She hesitated a moment, surprised at what had happened. She pulled the shade back, and examined it a moment to see how it had attached. To her surprise, there seemed to be some sort of iron wire array inside it. This only puzzled her more and made her frustrated. Was anything in this era not made of iron? She quickly put it to one side and moved to blow out the lamp…
When she realized she couldn't. To her surprise, some sort of bulb shape made out of glass was covering up the light. This only made Quetzacoatl more frustrated and confused. Why do that when you have a shade? However, she soon realized why the metal array was there. It could grasp the glass bulb. It still seemed to be too much to her. She didn't try to worry about it. Instead, she reached over and tried to pull the bulb up. Once again…the whole lamp came with it. She also soon yelped and nearly dropped it when she realized how hot the glass was.
The esper quickly put it down and sighed again. Why did humans make these things so complicated? Having no other alternative, the esper reached out and grabbed the sides. She tried to turn it as she had before. It was hot and she had to be tender with her clumsy hands, but this time it did turn and begin to come out. However, long before she managed to fully unscrew it…she saw the light go out. This puzzled her even more. Was the air cut off or something? If so, how did one manage to light these things and put the bulb on? She decided to check it out a bit further before going down to bed. She would have to know how to light it in the morning, after all.
Moments later, and she had fully unscrewed the bulb and removed it. She looked inside the space it left, and expected to see a candle or wick of some sort. Instead…she saw nothing. Nothing but an empty hole. Again, Quetzacoatl was left confused. She turned and looked to the bulb, and to her surprise saw that it had no opening on the bottom. Something iron was poking down, but other than that there was nothing. No signs that it could have enclosed a light. But that was impossible. There had been a light on inside it. How could it have been lit?
The esper turned back to the open space and frowned. There had to be some wick in there. Immediately, she reached out and dipped the tip of her wing inside.
A second later…and something strange happened.
A sharp jolt suddenly shot through Quetzacoatl's feather tips, immediately shooting up the rest of her wing. Giving out a yelp of surprise, she immediately yanked her arm back. She quickly looked to where she had placed her wing in to see what had happened to it, expecting a bite or cut of some sort.
Nothing was there, however. At least…not in terms of pain or damage. Instead, the tips of her wings had turned a little strange. They seemed to be a bit brighter than before…less drab and more shimmering…
At that moment, however, Quetzacoatl began to think back a few moments. She realized something. Actually, she hadn't felt pain at all from putting her wing in there. She had only felt a surprise sensation. That was what made her recoil. Curious, she looked back to the open hole. For a moment, she held back and thought. But then she decided to try it again. Reaching forward, she once more dipped her wing inside.
Almost immediately…she felt it. It was strange. It was some sort of vibration feeling…and it did quickly shoot up her wing and into her shoulder. She only held for a second, however, before pulling it out again. She wasn't sure how good this was supposed to be for you.
Yet as soon as she pulled it back…she began to realize something. Not only was it not painful, as she had continued to hold, it had started to feel good. It almost felt like a little relaxing massage going through her arm and, toward the end, starting to move into her chest. It made her limb feel more relaxed. Less clumsy and sluggish. It was a pleasant feeling… Realizing this, she raised her wing and looked at it again.
To her surprise, her whole wing was brighter now. Not only that. The feathers seemed smoother…sharper…even longer. And it didn't feel as awkward to her anymore. She almost felt a bit of her old power returning into it…like it was becoming more familiar to her senses. She looked further, and saw that the healthier color had spread all the way to part of her chest before stopping. She knew why. That was when she had cut it off.
Quetzacoatl didn't understand what was in this lamp that had done it…but she realized that she was feeling better. More at ease. More comfortable with herself. And because of that, she reasoned that it was a good thing. For a moment, she almost turned and left the room. She would find the Cetra and that Shalua person. She'd ask them what was in the lamp…and then see if it would be alright to get more.
She had begun to lift one awkward leg…when she froze.
…Surely it would be fine. They had been hospitable to her so far. They wanted her to be comfortable, right? Of course…she didn't understand anything about this generation. She didn't know what this substance was or why it was doing this to her. But still…a bit longer wouldn't hurt. She was already feeling better. What if she held on long enough for it to travel all the way to her head? She was sure she'd feel better then by quite a bit. Far more at ease. Maybe she'd even remember more of what led up to her coming back to life… If so, it would benefit everyone…
With that conclusion reached, she turned fully back to the lamp. She let out a faint smile as she reached out with her feather tips and dove them back in.
It felt even better this time. The sensation was definitely pleasurable and relaxing to where it had already hit. Yet as it was allowed to move fully into her chest this time and spread from there…it felt even better. She almost felt like her old strength was beginning to build in her. She felt as if everything was relaxing. As it began to spread out into her limbs, it felt as if her body had been cold and dead until now, but was slowly being worked back to life. She began to feel it creep up her neck and approach her head. She felt the first tickles begin to work their way into her lower brain, exciting her and making her own pent up stress and concern slowly loosen…
Yet then…it stopped.
Quetzacoatl's eyes snapped open. It didn't matter to her that she didn't remember closing them so that she could fully drink in the power she felt. Yet something else she sensed did alert her. The smell of burning. She looked down to the source.
To her surprise, the lamp was smoldering. In particular, it was doing so from some long cord that was attached to it. Parts of that cord and the strange material it was made out of appeared to be melting and blackening. Smoke was coming from it, and some sort of buzzing sound was flaring up around it. It didn't look good.
Quetzacoatl stared at this a moment…and began to reason that whatever fueled the lamp might actually be coming through that cord. If so…then perhaps she had just broken it. And it appeared to be a memento like the rest of the items on the dresser. The thought made her anxious. She had just broken something. She needed to tell them…
But…it could wait.
First she quickly wanted to see if any of the other lamps in this room did the same thing.
The lamp on the dresser had been producing a lot of light. However, there were also some sort of lights fixed into the ceiling. They seemed to be coming from long, glowing rods covered up by glass. They didn't look like any lamps that Quetzacoatl had ever seen…but she decided to take a chance on them. She leapt on top of the bed to get a better position and then reached overhead with her wings. They seemed to move more easily now in her grasp, but she still moved in a rush as she felt around on the glass. A moment later, she knocked it loose and sent it to the bed. She didn't care that it fell off and hit the floor, fracturing on the way. She immediately looked up for more bulbs. Instead, she saw long glowing tubes of some sort. Figuring they did the same thing, she reached up and immediately twisted them. She did so a bit hard… They ended up snapping on the ends and breaking. But she didn't care. They were out. She nearly threw the bulb to the ground, but in the end tossed it on the bed with her. She reached up her fingertips to the place that they were in and felt inside. For a moment…she got nothing, and that actually made her feel a little angry…but then she touched it.
It felt even better this time. It came in faster and more powerfully, and soon her eyes were closing again as she was drinking in the feeling. She didn't even hear the sizzling buzz that soon began to go out in the light fixture, or the fact that the other lights in the room soon began to flicker and buzz as well. She just impatiently waited for it to hit her mind. It did this time, after what seemed like forever. But once it did…she felt things loosening up more than ever…
She was quite unaware of the fact that the ends of her wings began to grow longer…or that more feathers were starting to erupt from her skin…or even that her shine was becoming stronger. She only cared about getting more…and started to care about other things less and less…
However…it only lasted for a while before a rather loud sizzle snapped out…and once again it cut off. Quetzacoatl opened her eyes, still feeling rather excited by what had happened…and saw the room go dark. Whatever was causing the light had burned out in the room. There was a smell of burning around where the bulbs had been. Yet this time…she didn't care about what the others would think. She just thought of finding another source of this.
Immediately, she looked down, leapt off the bed, and began to search the room. It was dark at this point…but she was starting to get some of her old sensations back. A small glow seemed to be coming off of her now…dim, but enough for her improved vision to search with. But there were no more lights. She had broken them all. The only lights that were in the chamber now were outside. However…even that gave her little comfort. These lights weren't helping. They were too little. She needed a larger source…
Then…she remembered. The cord in the wall. Perhaps it wasn't the lamps themselves…but whatever was feeding them. Maybe they got it through those strange holes in the wall. It made sense. She had seen many of those things since she had gotten here, and some of them had lights or other machines that moved on their own in them…
She moved to try it out immediately. Quickly, she ran over to the wall and made for the set of holes that had the burned, melted cord in them. Almost ravenously, she reached out and tore the plug out with a bend in her wing. Then she quickly dipped her own wingtip inside…
Aerith looked outside of the Inn's window and back to the City of the Ancients. It was visible from her position, being on a higher elevation and able to look back over the forest to just see the tops of it. The rest of Gateway spread out to the sides, and she could just look down one street of it. She didn't focus on that though, but back on the city. She couldn't deny that she had different feelings here. Like Ragnar, she too had an innate sense of peace being close to the city. She had a desire to walk through it, but she didn't encourage that at the moment. After all, her twins were behind her and sleeping. And she wasn't about to leave them alone to go meditate or sightsee. And because of that, she turned her attention away…and back toward the laboratory.
Aerith had already told the children that she was going to try to look for tickets back to Midgar tomorrow. They wouldn't be able to leave until the next day, but she was ready to head back. She had a feeling that Tifa was more than ready to have her take control again back home. And there wasn't much more she could do out here. She could try to assist Shalua a bit when she went to the site, but other than that she didn't think she could provide much help. At any rate, the children had been a bit disappointed. It wasn't just in leaving their father again. Ragnar, who Aerith had to admit was a bit too enthusiastic about espers for her, had brought them both up telling them all sorts of stories about espers and Bahamut and the Ancient World. Hence, when they saw Horus and heard she was a real esper, they were a bit excited to see her a little longer. It was a bit strange to Aerith. She had seemed monstrous to her when she and Cloud's children had first ran into her, but her own twins thought she looked the way she did because she was a mythological beast…
The Cetra leaned back a bit more in her chair. She supposed she should have been glad to meet Horus again. The two hadn't exactly parted on friendly footing. Aerith herself was still a bit unnerved by her whenever she remembered the threat she had given her back in the Seventh Heaven…but she wanted to get past that. It was over and done with now. She wasn't a threat to her anymore. And now, the poor woman probably needed all the human contact she could get…the kind that didn't involve people trying to shoot her or call her a monster. Aerith knew all too well what it was like to be hunted for being different. But at least she could pass for a regular human. Horus couldn't even show herself in-
Aerith's train of thought was suddenly cut off. Something caught her vision outside. She stopped daydreaming and turned fully to it.
The storm had been getting worse overhead. It hadn't broken out yet, but by now there were distinct bolts of lightning and thunder getting louder. Aerith had wondered if she'd have to try and get in bed with the twins. They were still scared when it came to storms if they were really bad, and she had a feeling being in a strange bed in a strange place wouldn't help. It caused a number of flashes around over the city and the surrounding area. Yet a new type of flash was attracting her.
It was coming from Shalua's laboratory. The small, two story building wasn't far from where she and the children were located. Just down the street a little, and still in full view of Inn. Yet something was different now. The lights that were around it were flickering. They were fading in and out, some of them staying dark a lot longer than others before coming on again. At first, it was just that building. But then it started to spread out into the street. The street lamps were beginning to flicker as well, and Aerith just barely began to make out a buzzing over the distance and through the glass window.
Seeing this…Aerith immediately grew anxious. One might say she could dismiss this due to the storm, but that made no sense. The rest of the street was fine. And she had seen that Shalua had a backup generator just in case a storm knocked out power to her computers. So whatever was causing this couldn't be external…but something happening on the inside…
The Cetra tensed up a bit more. If it was just her, she might have immediately left to see what was going on. Yet she had the children with her, and she didn't trust them to be safe simply behind a locked door. If she was going to go out there…she'd have to have them with her.
With that in mind, she decided to hold back a bit longer. She didn't want to have to take them in somewhere dangerous if she could avoid it. She supposed she could try and throw up a spell of protection around them, but her instincts as a mother didn't let her feel safe with that, and she didn't want to try it yet. However…she did want them awake in case they did have to move…
The Cetra turned back to the bed and pushed up and out of her chair. Soon she was back at the side of it. She reached out a hand soon after and put it on the shoulder of Simoa. She began to give her a light shake.
"Simoa… Samoa… Wake up…" She called in a soft voice.
"Now this is a bit interesting…"
Ragnar turned his head back to Shalua at this. "What is?"
The woman was glued to her screen again, but was still paying attention to Ragnar as she pointed at it. "This right here. I was running over the various diagnostics in the chamber around Horus while she was in it. I didn't come up with much…except this. The ionic content in the air being run through the chamber seemed to diminish closer to neutral. It was a small change. Something you wouldn't normally notice. But it was significant."
Shalua typed a bit more after pointing this out. Ragnar himself turned his full body back to her. A few moments went by, before she pulled some set of numbers up on the screen again. She looked at them and marveled a bit.
"Hmm…now this is interesting too…"
"What?" Ragnar asked, starting to feel like an inexperienced kid listening to an adult conversation.
"The energy within Horus' blood stream seemed to have ebbed inversely with the dropping content of ionic charge in the air around her." She answered.
Ragnar looked puzzled none the less. "So what does that mean?"
"It means that whatever was let loose in Horus, either consciously or unconsciously, seemed to be absorbing electrical charge from the air." Shalua responded. "I don't think I've seen anything like this before. Maybe we ought to wake her up real quick. This may seem a bit cruel, but I want to know what happens if I give her a little shock…"
Shalua, however, was cut off before she could elaborate. Suddenly, the lights in the lab flickered. The screen in front of her jumped once, indicating a ripple through it…before, below the two people, something suddenly kicked on and began to hum. The screen immediately stabilized. The rest of the room, however, continued to flicker and shift.
Both Ragnar and Shalua looked up and around at this. A moment passed as it kept doing this, before Shalua frowned. "Hmph…stupid storm. Although I've never seen it screw with the power like this before…" She hesitated a moment, and then began to look puzzled. She sniffed the air afterward. "…Do I smell burning?" She asked.
Ragnar, however, didn't answer. His full senses were focused overhead.
Quetzacoatl's power had grown. It was already twice as potent as it had been before. It was approaching a tripling. Seeing this, Ragnar realized that something was up. Something was changing within the esper and the body that she was possessing.
Shalua seemed to pick up on that.
"Ragnar? Are you sensing something?"
The man turned back to the scientist. Urgency was in his eyes, as well as growing anxiety.
"We need to check on Quetzacoatl right now."
The scientist paused a moment after hearing that…but seemed to get the sense of what his voice was saying. Immediately, her own look grew serious. She turned away from him and to the side of her lab bench. She reached for one of the nearby cabinets and opened it. Apparently, she was getting something out that she thought would help in the situation. However, Ragnar didn't wait. He immediately turned and ran for the door himself. While Shalua was still clamboring behind him, he reached it. The power systems were flickering wildly now, but after a moment the door did get enough juice to open and let him out.
Outside of Shalua's lab, there was a hallway that led to the front door, other chambers of the building, and to the foot of a spiral staircase at the far end. The stairs was what Ragnar went for. He could smell an acrid scent as he ran. Something was definitely burning. What more, as he neared the staircase, he became conscious of a glowing from upstairs. Yet just as he reached the stairs…the flickering ceased all together. The power seemed to totally go out, and he was plunged into blackness, save for the glowing that he saw overhead. Yet that only lasted a moment before the backup generator covered that as well. Dim emergency lights went on, and Ragnar was able to see his way again. Immediately, he ran up the stairs, headed closer to the glowing as he did so. Soon he was at the top, and turned to see what had happened.
He halted when he did and stared blankly.
Horus' body had changed. Most of the feathers on it now were shimmering brightly, looking almost like they were charged with electricity. The feathers themselves were also becoming smoother and more uniform. The neck appeared to actually be longer, and the beak that had been sharp and hooked seemed to have been smoothed and vastly reduced. The eyes had shrunk considerably. Her legs, which had been human bent before, were now backward and completely feathered. More feathers appeared to be growing from the sides of her hips, starting to splay out around her.
Ragnar didn't know what to say. He was immobilized for a moment. Quetzacoatl, however, was clearly starting to look a lot more like…herself. She seemed less and less human and more and more esper. As he continued to hold, abruptly the figure picked up one of her taloned claws, which seemed to be reducing in size, and stepped back. She revealed that she had torn a hole in the floor viciously, and had grabbed what looked like electrical wires. They were melted now, and smoldering. But that wasn't all. Ragnar looked around the hallway…and noticed that each of the electrical outlets were blackened and smoking. He realized what was happening. The esper was messing with them, electrocuting herself…
That was crazy. Why in the world was she doing that? And furthermore, if she was doing that to herself, then why did she look so good? She actually looked healthier…stronger…
But then, more of Ragnar's memory began to click. One of the most basic principles of spell use was that you didn't cast a spell on something that was of the same element. That healed it. Even before magic had reappeared, people had known that from materia. And Quetzacoatl was of the thunder element…
She's absorbing the electricity. That's what Shalua saw.
The Cetra wasn't sure what to do. He supposed he had better try to speak to her… But just as he was opening his mouth to say something, the esper looked up.
"More…" She spoke lowly, sounding almost ravenous. "This isn't enough… I need more…"
Ragnar froze again. He didn't like the way she had said that. It was thick and almost wild sounding… He swallowed and continued to hold for a moment. It seemed as if Quetzacoatl hadn't even noticed him. She was staring at the ground, looking almost frozen. He tried to think of something to do… Yet as he held back and thought…a tremor suddenly went through the room. When that happened, Quetzacoatl's head immediately snapped up to the ceiling.
Ragnar actually stepped back in surprise, expecting an attack. However, one didn't come. The tremor died down…and Ragnar realized what it was. It was what Quetzacoatl heard. It was the thunderstorm outside. The latest crack of thunder had been loud enough to send some sound into the building itself.
For a moment, the woman looked up to the ceiling.
Yet then…Ragnar saw a grin spread across her face of absolute delight.
"That's IT!"
Before he could react or think about asking what that statement meant…Quetzacoatl snapped up and spread her wings out widely. Immediately, the blaze around her appeared to glow even more fiercely than before…becoming almost blinding. A buzzing sound began to become audible, as Ragnar saw what looked like small bolts of electricity beginning to come out from her feathers and crackle around her.
Abruptly…a bolt of light erupted from Quetzacoatl's body. The thunder that accompanied it was deafening, making Ragnar back up and shield himself. The energy itself, however, shot for the ceiling and impacted it. Immediately, an eruption of sparks and debris came forth as the bolt was focused into force. It pierced it with all its might, and in doing so…a cold wind was allowed to be leaked inside the hallway. Ragnar, still covering his eyes and head, felt its coolness begin to flow in. He realized that she had punched a hole to the outside. Now the sounds of rumbling and thunder were far more audible.
Yet Quetzacoatl, still blazing, didn't hold there. Immediately, she gave a cry out as she flapped her large wings down once. Being propelled with both the power of her muscles as well as new magical power within her, she shot to the sky and smashed into the opening she had made, widening it further as she ripped out into the night.
Aerith let out a gasp.
Immediately, her children picked up on it. Both were up now, although Simoa was the only one standing and Samoa was still sitting in bed, wiping away at his eyes. The girl noticed Aerith's behavior, and immediately turned concerned as she stepped closer.
"What's wrong, mommy?" She asked. However, even as she said this, her eyes caught a glimpse of what she saw. Immediately, she turned her own gaze out through the window and let her eyes widen. "Oh…wow!"
Aerith felt rather awestruck herself, but she had experienced too much in the past to assume that it was safe just to marvel at this.
Horus…or what she assumed was Horus…had transformed into a bird-shaped blaze of light. It gleamed like it was electric. She almost thought she could see beams of energy encircling her. Not only that, but she had taken off and punched through the ceiling of the laboratory, not long after the power had gone completely dead over there. Now, she was sailing to the heavens, seeming to almost streak light behind her as she did so.
Samoa wiped his eyes a bit more, but then looked up. He soon saw out the window as well, and his eyes widened further. "Whoa! Is that the esper?"
Aerith didn't answer, but she did turn back to the kids. She was growing worried now. She didn't know what had happened or what Quetzacoatl was doing, but she was sailing straight up into a thunderstorm. She was practically asking to be struck by lightning. And the old esper Quetzacoatl may have enjoyed a little thunder, but she was in Horus' body now. She was afraid that the woman wouldn't be able to take it. What more, she had to have turned violent. She had burst out of the lab, after all. That meant that she had to do something herself. Yet it was impossible for her to take the kids with her now… She'd never get over there before something happened, especially as violent as it was getting outside. It could downpour at any moment. But she couldn't just wait here.
At last…she had to choose.
…She only hoped that it wouldn't take too long.
Suddenly, Aerith began to rise out of her chair. She continued to look to the kids, but she also began to move her hand behind her for the window lock.
"Simoa…Samoa…mommy has to go out for just a little bit. Just stay here and wait until I come back…"
Yes…this is what I need!
Quetzacoatl was practically in a state of ecstasy. She hadn't felt this good in a long time. She felt as if everything about her was loosening up. She was feeling more and more like herself. She understood what was in those holes and lamps now. Somehow, humanity had harnessed the power of lightning. She didn't know how, but it was welcome. Lightning was her element. Being shocked by it refueled her power. And now, her former state of being drained and clumsy had disappeared. She felt healthy and alive now. The body worked much better now. Her old magical powers were even starting to come back. But despite all of this…the lightning on the ground wasn't enough. It was nearly enough…but not quite. She still had to have one more push. And she couldn't get it down there. The machines would break before it gave her enough.
Yet she had found a way around that, it seemed.
With nervous delight, waiting for that wonderful sensation once again, Quetzacoatl flapped in midair, hundreds of feet in the sky. She was definitely the highest point here, and she could sense that the clouds around her were turbulent and charged. They were ready to fire at any moment. And when they did…they would fill her with a bolt of lightning. Then she would feel complete…feel perfect… Just one more blast of power, and all would be done…
But…what exactly was the thing that would be done?
She didn't know…and she didn't care anymore. She barely even cared about the people who had tried to help her. All she cared about was this…
The esper turned her head further to the sky, looking up into the swirling black vortex above. She could feel cold drops beginning to fall down on her. The rain was breaking now. She closed her eyes and let it come. She couldn't wait. She used her power to levitate herself slightly, so that she could spread her wings farther…let it all come in one powerful blast…
She didn't notice or care about the people running out of the lab far below, shouting up to her. She didn't even notice as, farther back in the city…a new light, far more pure and bright than that of electricity, began to build…
At last…it happened.
The skies broke, a tremendous boom flooded over her feathered body, flaring her wings and feathers out more…and a bolt of electricity shot through the sky and struck her directly.
Immediately…Quetzacoatl's body was bathed in electric light. Bolts of the energy exploded from her again, this time thicker and in greater number. The light grew and grew, becoming blinding. It shone out as a terrific beacon over the world below, almost like a second sun for a moment as the heavens were filled with its glory. Through it all…before fading into the light…Quetzacoatl's head snapped back and gave out a glorious cry…not of pain but of joy and release…the same sound that a baby makes as it breaks from the realm of the internal to the living world around it…a birth.
Then…the light faded. It didn't go out. It just faded. At the same time…the sky seemed to lose its turbulence. It was as if the energy that the storm had possessed had been drained by the figure in the black heavens. When that happened, it didn't hold anymore. Rain began to pour down. It came as one, in a large, all encompassing, sheet of rainwater. It fell down from the sky and toward the figure still in the air.
As soon as the cold water touched it…something happened. One shape, still blazing with electricity, although much dimmer now, took off to the side, and then swept up into the heavens. But there was a darker shape with it too. This one was lifeless…and immediately began to sink to the ground. Soon, it was leading on the sheet of rain as it began to fall back to earth below. The glowing shape was as unmindful of it as a soul that had been freed from a painful life and a dead body.
However…the dark object was not abandoned.
Moments later, another being, glowing with a light even more potent than that of the electric shape, came forth on four angelic wings, each one glowing with holy radiance. The one who was bourn on them, almost angelic herself, immediately extended her arms and caught the form that was falling. That done…she spiraled around and began to descend to the earth herself.
As the first drops of cold rain struck Ragnar, he let out a slow sigh of relief.
Good job, Aerith.
Shalua herself was blinking her one remaining eye, and wiped away some fog from her glasses to try and process what she had just seen. She didn't seem to know whether to stare at Aerith or at the glowing shape that was now soaring through the sky, seeming to flip on itself and spin and enjoy the rain and storm. She kept rather silent as a result. It took Ragnar a moment, but in the end he realized what the scientist had seen. That made him swallow a little. There were precious few people alive who knew about Aerith's "alternate nature"… He wasn't sure how people would react if that was the case.
Aerith was soon headed right for them. As she did, her wings began to break into feathers, turning into a trail of shimmering bits of light. The feathers themselves fluttered off and dispersed, and seemed to break into more pieces as they did so, gradually turning into nothing. By the time she had reached them, they were almost gone. Ragnar was a bit unhappy about that. That meant that when she landed, both she and the figure she carried were plunged into darkness. The power was now quite out in Shalua's as well as the surrounding area. And so, they were going to have to bumble around in the shadows for a while.
Soon, the three were left standing there as the rain continued to fall. For a moment, none of them said anything. They just continued to get wet.
"Um…" Shalua finally began to speak up. "Are you…Aerith?"
Ragnar couldn't see that well, but he did notice Aerith turn her head slightly to the side and bow it. She was clearly nervous now. The male Cetra swallowed a bit at this. An air of anxiety went over the two of them. He turned his head to Shalua shortly thereafter.
"…I was hoping that you wouldn't have to see this on this trip. Shalua…I'd appreciate it if you would try to forget what you just saw. I'll explain it to you later, but-"
To Ragnar's surprise, the scientist seemed to suddenly snap out of something, and turn to Ragnar. When she did, she cut him off.
"Oh…I'm sorry, Ragnar. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." She immediately apologized. "You don't have to worry. My lips are sealed. I've versed myself in enough history of Shinra Inc. and it's sciences to realize what happens to people when they end up being different. And some people have looked a lot more fearsome than this before, and simply been a result of some mad scientist's attempts at transformation. And I'm not shallow enough to think you're a monster because of this. I was just caught off guard by it, that's all."
Ragnar was a bit puzzled at this apology. She hadn't expected her to sound so understanding. However, that wasn't to say he wasn't glad for it. One less headache to try and explain. There were plenty of people in the world already who were scared of anything magical, let alone the Sorceress. To that end, he held his ground and calmed down a little. Shalua then turned to Aerith.
"I'm sorry. Really…it just surprised me. I didn't know that female Cetra had wings…"
Ragnar and Aerith alike both shifted a bit at that.
"Actually, it's not because I'm a Cetra…" Aerith began to respond.
Yet before she could get any more out, all three people were blinded. Immediately, they winced and began to cover their vision as best as they could. Aerith was holding onto something and could only look away, but Ragnar and Shalua raised up their arms and covered their eyes. As they did this, Ragnar began to hear a crackling and snapping sound in the air. It was close…sounding almost like electric bolts firing. He had to shrink back a second or so longer, but then his eyes began to adjust. When they did, he was able to slowly open them again. He slowly removed his hand, and turned to look to the source.
To his surprise, and the surprise of Shalua and Aerith…they had a fourth member in their company now.
Her change was complete. Her feathers were so fluid and smooth now that she looked to almost be a single flawless entity. Only a few faint black streaks, like lightning of some sort, across her body offered any stand out difference. Her head was no longer an owl's in the least. The beak was gone. Now, it was just a pure, streamlined organ. Brighter, more golden feathers hung underneath her chin on her neck, and two black streaks along the top of her head provided the only sign that there were eyes there at all. The actual organs were almost invisible.
The wings were no longer broad like an owl's, but now long like an albatross' or other high speed soaring bird. The legs seemed to have disappeared all together, giving rise to a smooth, long body that ended in a wide bird's tail. What almost seemed like a skirt or dress of feathers splayed out around from her hips, hanging all the way down to the end of her tail. The black coloration trimmed it all around, providing a simple yet effective design.
The giant bird was at least ten feet long from head to tail. It flapped and hovered in the sky, seeming through both magical means as well as physical. It was pulsing with electrical power. Ragnar could feel it pouring off from it. Not only that…but both he and Aerith could sense the difference. What before had been a spirit was now expressed throughout the entire body. The form had ceased to be a simple indwelling. It had come back in its own.
The bird opened its mouth. The voice that came out was far lighter than Horus', yet echoing with an inner power and majesty.
"I am…Quetzacoatl."
Ragnar was left staring in stunned silence. He slowly began to realize what he was seeing. An esper. A real live esper. The only one left…right before him in her full glory and power. It didn't matter to him that she had been a minor esper in life…he only was amazed to see that one was here…come back from the dead. For a moment, he could only marvel at it, thinking of nothing else.
But then…he did think of something else. He remembered that Quetzacoatl wasn't supposed to have a body…but that she was borrowing it from someone else…
He looked harder at the esper, and stiffened a bit.
"What about Horus?" He asked her. "Is she…?"
"Umm…"
This sudden moan not only attracted Ragnar's attention, but that of Shalua and Quetzacoatl herself. They all turned and looked behind them, and found themselves looking back to Aerith. Rather…to what was in her arms…
A human hand slowly raised up and put itself to a human brow. The owner looked tired and sore, and she rubbed herself for a moment as she moaned and turned. However…it was only for a moment. She suddenly slowed down. Her eyes opened, and looked over to her arm. They were lazy and glazed for a moment…but soon began to become wider and more alert. Immediately, she began to lean up, no longer appearing tired. Aerith let her go, letting her down to stand on her own two feet. The woman herself put both arms in front of her, and marveled at both of them. She looked down and over her body, and seemed to be growing excited. She didn't care that she was totally naked in front of strangers at the moment. She just gaped at it as if it would go away, before she reached up and put her hands on her face, beginning to feel all over it. Everything was there. A mouth with teeth, a nose slightly elevated…even long blond hair.
Seeing this, the woman's eyes closed. She pressed her hands closer to her nose and mouth and seemed to almost smell them…taste them… Tears soon began to flow from the cracks in her eyelids.
"…I'm human again…" Horus spoke aloud in a trembling whisper.
To be continued...