Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Notice: The story goes on, and I still have more reviews to reply to! I thank you all for this, and know that after the replies and this chapter I'll be getting back to the main quest.
BlazingEdge: Yes, Deiru will be getting his own ride.
SolidSamurai: Yes, that will be epic.
Rsdk525: That's what I was aiming for.
Devil-l'Cie: Well, here it is, in this chapter.
StorSpeaker: It won't be before too long, rest assured.
And now, here is Chapter Number Seven!
Ch.7 Family Reunion
I looked at Light in amazement. Gordon Gourmet, Seedy's son? "Yes. And that also explains why Gordon refuses to actually see Seedy. Regardless, you should take Seedy the recipe and the civet musk," Hope said. "Got it," we replied. We walked until we reached Seedy's, and he looked up as we came closer. "Ah, my friends! Did you meet Gordon Gourmet?" he asked. "Yeah, and he made a new recipe for you," Lightning said, taking it out. "You have to make this along with this civet musk. According to Gordon, doing that will save your business," I said, handing him the bottle. "Wh-Why thank you! This is incredible! Let me see it," he said. He took the recipe and read through it carefully, wonder and surprise slowly appearing as he read it.
"This... This is incredible! Everything here is in black and white- a groundbreaking dish! I'd never have thought to do have the things in this recipe! The genius of Gordon Gourmet oozes from every word!" Seedy declared. Lightning made a small smile. "Notice anything else?" she asked. "About the recipe? No, not particularly. It's well-organized, written in a clear hand... Wait," he said, looking closer. "This handwriting... These swirls, these bold loops... Could it be?" he said, shell-shocked. "I think so. It turns out Gordon Gourmet has a secret identity. He's your long-lost son," Lightning told him. "He is?! And you're sure it was him who created this wonderful recipe? But more importantly, he's in town! Is he happy?" Seedy asked, eyes huge. "Very much so. He's doing great," I answered.
"Except, I'm really sorry, but I don't think he wants to see you again. I can't tell you where he is," Lightning said. Seedy frowned. "But why? Yes, we quarreled when he left, but that was a long tome ago. Is he still angry at me?" he asked. "Do you want me to give him a message? I'll make sure he gets it," Light offered. "Well, er, how about this? I'm going to make this dish, just like the recipe lays out. Would you be so good as to deliver it to him? At the very least, I want him to try it. Truth be told, what I really want is for him to come back to Seedy's and work with me," Seedy said. "Perhaps if he knew I still haven't lost my touch. Would that be enough to entice him? I don't know," he said. "I don't think just words will be enough. But maybe if he tried the dish and liked it, that might do it," I said.
"Very well, then. I'll get started on it right away!" Seedy said, disappearing into the kitchen. We waited while he cooked, and I could smell the most delicious fragrance wafting from there. Just from the scent I knew- both Gordon and Seedy really did know their stuff. Eventually Seedy finished, and came back out with a plate wrapped in paper. "...And there it is. Here, please. I want you to be the first to taste it," he said. "All right. I'm feeling hungry anyway," Light said. "Same here," I added. We unwrapped the plate to find it was a steak, one which we sat down and ate. My eyes widened. I had a fair number of steaks before in my life, but this one was... Whoa. The flavor was there and packed to burst, but there was almost no fat, it wasn't too tough or too soft, and cooked at just the right temperature.
What got me though, was the spices. When I cooked I was always particular about the number and amount of spices used in a dish, and this one fulfilled the criteria with flying colors. "Wow. This might actually be the most delicious thing I've ever had in my life. Really, it's incredible," Lightning said, completely serious. "Why, thank you! Although, all the credit must go to my son. It was his doing. Here, I've made enough for one more. I've asked you for many favors, but would you do this one last thing for me?" Seedy asked. "Sure," Lightning said, taking the steak. We walked back to the Banquet of the Lord as quickly as we could without dropping the food, and approached Gordon. He didn't even have to look, saying "Oh? Do I smell what I think I smell? I do, don't I? That must be my recipe." "Yeah. Seedy insisted we bring you a portion, so you could taste it yourself," I said.
"I see. Well then..." he said, taking the plate from Light. Grabbing a knife and fork he dug in, eating it with as much gusto as we did. Once he was done he grinned. "Oh yes! A perfect balance of fuzzy mutton and civet musk! The palate sings- it's a microcosm of culinary delight! A theme park of olfactory and gustatory attractions! And if you think that's hyperbole, I've only just begun! This is even better than I imagined. I always knew he was a skill chef, but this..." he said. Deciding to finally drop the bomb, Lightning said "Yeah. So why don't you go back there and help him out again in the kitchen?" Gordon went stiff as a board, looking at us. "Go back? Wh-What do you mean? I've never... Oh, all right. That cat's out of the bag. You've somehow figured it out. What my true identity is. Yes, I admit it. I am indeed Seedy's son. It was a long time ago, but one day we quarreled, and I left the shop vowing never to return."
"We fought over cooking, you see. But ever after I left, I vowed that one day I would rebuild the restaurant. That's what started me on my journey to becoming Gordon Gourmet. Since then, I devoted every waking our to learning the culinary arts. After many years of study, I finally had an epiphany. I realized what Seedy's Restaurant needed to regain its former glory," he said. "You had a falling out over the menu, but when he saw your recipe, you father was thrilled. All he could talk about was how he dreamed of you coming back, so you could run the restaurant together like old times," Lightning said. "So he recognizes my ability! But, it's too late. I can't go back now. The fact is, I abandoned him and the restaurant when times were time. I'm ashamed. I can't face him again," Gordon said sadly. "You shouldn't feel that way," I said.
Just then we heard a voice behind us, saying "The young man has a point, you know." Gordon gasped, and we all spun around to see Seedy standing right there. "F-Father?! How did you find me?" Gordon asked. "My apologies to the young man and lady, but I wanted to see you again, so I followed them after they left the shop," Seedy admitted. "Not a problem," I said, smiling. Seedy smiled and turned back to his son. "What do you say? Let's start over. You set out on your own, did things your own way, stayed true to yourself, working hard to achieve your dreams... and now looks at what you can do. The recipe you created was amazing- I've never seen the likes of it before. What can I say except that I'm proud of you," he said. "But Father, I-I left you," Gordon protested. Seedy smiled again, placing his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Not in my wildest dreams could I have conceived of such a dish. Indeed, if you would have given it to me back then, I doubt I would have recognized its greatness. But worse, I wouldn't have believed you could be capable of such a thing. I always underestimated you, my son. For that, you have my sincere apologies," Seedy said, hanging his head. "It's alright. And for that it's worth, I'm sorry for abandoning you and the restaurant... when you were struggling to keep it going," Gordon said. I smiled. "Looks like the two of you made up, huh?" I said. "Yes!" Gordon replied, smiling. "Now, let's get to it, shall we? Together..." Seedy began. Gordon nodded, and together they said "We'll make Seedy's a success again!" As they made that declaration their souls emerged as one, both entering Lightning unseen by all but her and me.
I smiled. Father and son had been reunited, and with it their lives were given salvation. Together they left, and once they were gone Hope said "That went well. A microcosm of culinary delight? Sounds tasty." Lightning smirked, saying "You want me to grab you some take out?" "Actually, what I would prefer is one of your specialty dishes, Light." "I haven't spent much time in kitchens, but if you want something off the campfire maybe I could rustle something up. I wasn't even half as good a cook as Serah, but I have been I grill a pretty mean behemoth steak" Lightning said. "Amen to that," I added. All three of us laughed, and just then the clock struck 6 o'clock. "Well, I guess it's time to bring you can to the ark. Hold on a second," Hope said. We stood still before everything turned white, and we were taken back to the ark.
When Lightning and I returned to the ark it looked just like it had before. Hope was still sitting in front of the monitors, but when we arrived he stood. "Welcome back, Light, Deiru. Now, stop forward and offer your Eradia to Yggdrasil so we can give time back to the world," he said. Lightning and nodded, and she stepped forward. "As the world dies around me, I offer this blessing..." Lightning said, holding her hand over the mark on her chest. It shined and a large orb of energy came out, flying towards Yggdrasil. It entered the flower on top and the tree glowed slightly, before a large flower suddenly spouted from the side, growing rapidly until it was in full bloom. As a gift from hope, we received a treasure sphere containing the Red Mage garb, the sword Liberator, and the shield Juno Saspita. We replenished our stock of items and made sure our weapons and armor were properly modified. Once that was taken care of we stepped onto the teleporter, heading back to the world below. It was time to look for those numbers and enter the rites.
While Lightning and I were in the ark, the Children of Etro were finishing up their rites in the graveyard. Why did they last so long, you ask? The Children were forced to hide their beliefs away from the rest of the world- it was only during these rites that they could be who they really were. They wouldn't waste a possible minute of it. The heretic standing in front of them on a monument raised his arm, saying "Fellow Children, our rites are nearing its end. However, we have one more speaker who wishes to speak before us all, and proclaim the will of the goddess. Let him take the stage now!" The other heretics applauded as the one speaking steeped down, and another stood. Like all of the others his face was covered, but they could see from his build was just over mid-height, and finely muscled.
The heretic smiled, and opened his mouth. "Children of Etro, I stand before you all as a fellow member of our religion. I say 'religion' for that is what it is. Not a cult, not a brand of heretics, and certainly not a bunch of white-garbed lunatics. Am I correct?" he said, not yelling but speaking loudly enough for all of them. "Yeah!" they all called, others making various cheers. The resentment those words brought could be felt; if there was one word the Children of Etro hated, it was "heretic". "Those who believe in the Order of Salvation and their God reject us, claiming Etro's word as taboo, foolish to even speak of," the man said. The rest of the heretics began shouting in anger, until he held up his hand. "But I know better. While their great Bhunivelze slept away for eternity, it was our goddess that saw over life and death, keeping the real and Unseen Realm in balance," he said.
"Our goddess perished, and her destruction heralded the beginning of the end. Now only a small amount of time remains before Armageddon. But even with that in mind, the Order does not stop. They preach their words and dump poison into the ears of the people, and all for what?" he asked. After a moment of silence, one of the heretics got it and said "To keep the truth from being heard?" The man smiled. "Exactly! The Order proclaims their word to be true, and once the people are ensnared they will not listen to the truth! But we know the truth- the Children of Etro is the true Order of Salvation! Were the world in our hands, we would be able to bring the light of truth to the people of Nova Chrysalia, and the word of Etro would not be rejected! If the Children of Etro are to save the people, we must destroy the Order of Salvation!" he called.
The heretics all sheered at that, until they processed that last sentence, and stopped. Before they could begin to doubt, the man said "Yes, I meant what I said. Think about it. If the Order of Salvation endures, the people will continue to be shown a false belief. As long as the Order stands, the Children of Etro will eventually be destroyed!" That brought a series of mutters, all of them concerned. They didn't want to be destroyed. "Yes. We must sever the head of this snake, before it swallows us whole. We must save the people, and tear down the Order of Bhunivelze!" the man said. Slowly the mutterings grew louder, and the other heretics looked at the man standing before them. Maybe he was right. "However, if we are to prove that we do not belong in the shadows, we must not continue to exist within them. No longer will we gather at night and scurry off like rats.
"No longer must we use these hoods to enshroud our face, keeping our identities hidden. We must take off our hoods, show who we truly are, and take up arms against the Order!" the man proclaimed. The others were unsure. The Order was massive, and composed of so many people. How could a group as small as them stand a chance against it? The man saw this, and said "My fellow Children, listen to me. All across time and throughout history, the greatest events ever take to place were set in motion by but a small group of people. Yes, we are small. But we have the light of truth on our side. Even in death, the goddess Etro shall watch over and protect us. This I promise you." The heretics were silent, unsure but slowly beginning to turn around. They just needed one more push. "If you do not believe that this is true, let me ask you this. If their great God could save the world, why would he not have done so already?" the man asked.
The Children of Etro stopped, shocked. Then they began to think, and started nodding their heads. "Yeah... The guy's right! We have to fight!" one of them, a female, said. Hearing one of their own agree, the rest began saying the same thing, until they were all crying out, ready to fight. The man smiled. "I am happy that you believe these truths I speak. At midnight tomorrow night, we will no longer meet in this graveyard. But rather, we will convene in front of the North Station as we always have, and we shall be armed to the teeth with weapons. Then we will march forward through the streets of Luxerion, bringing an end to all who stand in our way, and storm the cathedral of the Order of Salvation! The Children of Etro shall live on!" he yelled. The heretics all cheered, some also clapping, rejoicing in their newfound courage. But then one of the heretics jumped up and down.
"Hey!" he called. The rest of them stopped, and everyone, the man included, looked at him. "If we're going to be showing our faces when we fight, I want to know that you'll do it too! From the looks of things, you'll be the one leading us, so how about you take it off now?" he said. The Children thought about that, murmuring their agreement. The man shrugged, as if he didn't care, and said "Very well then. At your behest, I shall remove my hood and show my face to all, doing the same tomorrow night as well." The Children watched, and the man raised his hands to grasp his hood pulling it off. Once free of it he opened his eyes, gazing out at them all.
"You asked to see my face, and now you have. My name is Uried, and as one we shall destroy the Order of Salvation!"
Oh no! Uried has made his appearance! Now that the Children of Etro have been mobilized, will Deiru and Lightning be able to stop them?
Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)