A/N: Another chapter to the Final Fantasy story. Enjoy XD
Chapter 9: Garden of the Gods
Sam introduced his brother to some old friends. Of course Dean felt like a rice grain since some of them were in dragon form. A young gold just grinned at the elder summoner's skittishness. Dean just glared at his brother.
"Why do you have to introduce me to ever single dragon?" Sam gave his brother a look.
"I'm not. Just some really good guys, er….dragons. So they don't eat you," Sam grinned at the last sentence. Dean narrowed his eyes.
"Ha, ha. Very funny," the summoner commented. A bronze dragon behind them snorted as T'gora came up to them.
"Yo, airship's repaired," T'gora raised an eyebrow at the bronze. "The Nine Hells your problem?" The dragon humpfed and walked away. The Shadow Dancer just shook her head.
"Whatever," the blue mage stated while waving a hand at them. "Jealousy will get them nowhere." T'gora scratched between her horns.
"The sooner we head to the Garden of the Gods the better off we'll be," the Haluraan stated. Dean and Sam exchanged looks. T'gora switched her gaze back and forth between the both of them. "You've never heard of the Garden of the Gods?"
"Uh, no. If we'd heard of it we wouldn't have these confused looks on our faces," Dean retorted. The Shadow Dancer frowned.
"It's where we'll get our army to storm Lucy's castle. The Garden of the Gods was the sister city of Haluraa. It's here on the States Continent, though it liked to be near the Rocky Hills," the blue mage explained. Sam looked at his brother than at the Haluraan.
"Uh, you mean the Rocky Mountains right?" the summoner asked. Again T'gora frowned.
"No. Rocky Mountains? Is that somewhere on the Asia Continent?" Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. The blue mage had been stuck in the desert for so long that she was out of tune with the world. Sam gave a sigh.
"The Rocky Hills became the Rocky Mountains," the younger summoner explained. T'gora blinked and finally got it.
"Oh," she simply said.
Airship Aurora….
"Welcome back Lady Von Drake," the computer's hologram was a full fledged humanoid rather than speaking through a panel. The woman hologram bowed to the Shadow Dancer.
"Hey, Aurora. How's it been?" T'gora asked. The hologram smiled. Everyone in the party was now confused.
"It has been too long M'lady," the airship answered.
"Okay she wasn't doing that when I was piloting," Dean huffed. T'gora smirked.
"Well, part of her processor was damaged. Aurora is an AI, Artificial Intelligence," the Haluraan explained. "She's sat for so long that some of the wires were cut off by rats or whatever creature that likes the taste of copper and metal." That had Sam and Dean paling. T'gora raised an eyebrow.
"I would have gotten you to Esther Providence if that was your intended destination," Aurora stated. The Haluraan turned to her AI.
"That small town?" The AI brushed her fingers through brown strands of her hair.
"Now it's much larger than Haluraa Lady Von Drake. I hacked into the computer systems of Serenity City. Though I don't understand why they made Esther into a tree shape," the airship explained. T'gora rolled her eyes at the look on the Winchesters' faces. The Haluraan turned to the other members of their party.
"Ellen would you like to pilot Aurora?" The amethyst dragon blinked her confusion.
"I…I've never piloted an airship before," the dragon stated. The AI smiled at her.
"It's nothing to it. It's like steering a boat," the airship explained. "I'll walk you through it." Dean looked confused at the Haluraan.
"What? Aurora likes when a different person learns her controls," the Shadow Dancer explained.
Rocky Mountains. Near the Garden of the Gods….
"Holy sheep shit Batman!" Dean exclaimed. They could see the lush rock formations, plants, and water fixtures from their distance in the sky. T'gora beamed at Haluraa's sister city Serenity. Serenity much like the Floating Gardens did in fact float in the sky. At the time when Eden disrupted the magic flow, the Garden of the Gods was docked, so the city suffered little damage. Also unlike Haluraa, Serenity was still a functioning city. The people of Serenity had built their airship docks on stone towers since the ones below could no longer be accessed.
T'gora steered Aurora, after giving some false information, and docked on a dock closest to the mountains. Aurora bowed and locked the computer so no one could access her. The only way to unlock Aurora's computer was through T'gora. Like in Esther an elf was the ticket holder and greeter. Raganrok Inc. liked to hire elves for their greeters because they were neutral on anything.
"Welcome to the Garden of the Gods also known as Serenity City," a brunette female greeted the group as they departed from the airship. She gasped and looked frightened at the sight of the Haluraan. T'gora just raised an eyebrow.
"What? You never seen a half-dragon before?" T'gora asked and lied at the same time. The elf was gaping like a fish. She quickly closed her mouth and bowed.
"My apologies. I meant no disrespect," like most elves; for I do say most for Jo didn't wear beads or feathers; the female's beads jingled with her sudden movement. Jo rolled her eyes at this. The elf quickly collected her composure and got up from her bow.
"If you're staying the night at one of our inns please let me know and I'll arrange a night's stay," the elf smiled. T'gora smirked at that. Several minutes later the group of eight were sitting in the Inner Light Tavern. The Haluraan was looking down at a dusty looking panel, similar in ways to the Haluraa panels.
"Oh, that thing don't work. Hasn't worked since the Time of Troubles," the innkeeper said from the bar. T'gora just shrugged and walked back to the group's table. Dean was enjoying an ale. Castiel was looking at his drink with curiosity. Sam wrinkled his nose at the smell when he sniffed his brother's drink.
"You're seriously going to drink that piss?" Sam asked. Dean sniffed his drink, shrugged, and took a long swallow. Castiel raised an eyebrow and took Dean's cup. The angel looked at the contents and then sniffed it.
"It doesn't smell like urine. It smells like hobs and grapes. A bit of water and a little bit of vinegar as well," the ex-knight stated. Crowley covered his eyes. T'gora pinched the bridge of her nose. Bobby faced palmed. Ellen was in the same boat with Sam.
"I don't understand how you humans drink that crap," the dragon stated.
"We don't understand how you dragons drink whatever you call that redish liquid that smells like sheep's shit wine," Crowley countered. Ellen glared.
"We don't make it. The elves do," the amethyst dragon replied.
"Doesn't mean we drink it," a rowdy elf called from across the room and the entire tavern filled with laughter. T'gora rubbed her face.
"See this is one of the reasons why my people stuck to the desert," the Haluraan stated. "Fighting over something as crazy as what a drink smells like."
"Hey, we didn't start it. Sammy did," Dean said. The Shadow Dancer glared.
"I don't care who started it, I'm finishing it," T'gora growled. The Haluraan scratched at her left horn. Her gaze swept across the table.
"Where's Bobby?" the blue mage asked.
With Bobby…
Robert Singer was born and raised in Serenity. The reason he traveled away from it was because of wonderlust. He could never really sit still long enough and practicing the black arts helped ease some of the unsteadiness.
The black mage was standing in front of his old home. The sign above the large yard said Singer Salvage. Before he became a black mage, Bobby was a mechanic for airships. He still like to tinker with the floating ships now and then.
Bobby walked to the gate that he closed off years ago. The mage put in the key he kept in his pocket and opened the iron barrier. It creaked at the misuse of being left alone for so long. The black mage sighed and breathed in the air that surrounded the airship yard. He walked to the middle of the yard to see the house still intact after those many years.
The black mage went into the house. He went down to the basement. Bobby knew about the army T'gora was taking about. His family had been guarding the entrance to 'beasts' for centuries. On the iron clad door was a large tree.
Bobby didn't realize that the Haluraan followed his scent. T'gora had also known where the entrance was or where it use to be. The treeants, for that was what the army was, were a bunch of dormant trees who could think for themselves.
"Surprising that all those years ago your ancestors decided that building an airship salvage yard would cover the entrance to….." T'gora paused for a moment. "….the 'beasts'." Bobby turned to glare at the blue mage.
"The Nine Hells you doing here?" the black mage snarled. T'gora's expression was blank and she scratched at her left horn.
"I helped built the sanctuary," T'gora's eyes seemed to dull and fade into the distance. "Though I'm afraid I'll have to stay." Her voice sounded distance as well.
"T'gora?" Bobby questioned. The horned Haluraan said nothing and that's when the black mage heard the rumbling. He felt it beneath his toes.
"Nothing to worry about," the blue mage stated. Somewhere in the yard scraps and parts of airships came crashing as the ground slid open in the distance.
Crowley had just come out of the Inner Light when his sharp hearing heard the crashing of airship parts. That annoyed him to no end. The scrapping and grinding of metal against metal annoyed the demon's ears. The demon white mage looked over in the direction of the noise and started walking in that direction. No doubt that it was the stupid blue mage getting into trouble. Sam and Ellen heard the noise and decided to follow the demon as well. Dean and Jo looked at each other and soon followed.
T'gora and Bobby looked down the grand stairs. It led down into beyond either mage's vision. The Haluraan started walking down while the black mage made a ball of flame to light their way. The walls around them were damp with moss and cobwebs.
"Watch your step. There are traps in place," stated the blue mage who just kept walking. The stairs suddenly came to a stop and the floor went down a dark corridor. Along the walls were alcoves with statues. Cobwebbed covered statues. Bobby recognized some of them from the Temple of Eden in Haluraa. As they walked slowly T'gora pointed at the walls where torch racks were. The black mage complied and lit them.
"How are we going to get them to the surface?" Bobby asked. T'gora didn't reply. A hour later after following T'gora's route the mages came to a circular room. All a long the walls were statues. Bobby saw the path went straight to the middle of the room. Down in the pit that surrounded them were large trees. Full lush trees. A round opening in the ceiling was bringing in the sunlight for them. The black mage noticed that on the floor was a glowing blue light. Bobby then realized that it wasn't light but water.
T'gora crept towards the center. The black mage leapt back as the bridge that led to the center slid away from him. A panel slowly came out of the floor where the blue mage was standing. But it wasn't a panel in fact it was a sword. The blade curved with the actual blade being black. There was writing on it but Bobby couldn't make it out. The hilt was a clothed in red and a sash hung down. The black mage looked at T'gora's face and saw a sad smile upon it.
"Odin my friend I have come to ask you to help my companions in this time of need. This land is plagued by an evil and must be returned to it's people. Command your army like you once did in the days of old," the blue mage grabbed the hilt of Zantetsuken and took it from its pedestal. T'gora turned towards Bobby.
"Make sure Dean gets this!" the last Haluraan shouted and threw the blade. Zantelsuken clattered a few feet from the black mage. The room started to shake and a couple statues came crashing into the pit below. The temple to Odin was coming down on their heads.
Bobby Singer came sputtering as dust followed behind him just as he was coming out of the entrance of the sanctuary. He used Zantelsuken to lean against and coughed whatever was left in his lungs. The rest of the party came and looked at the collapsed temple.
"Where's T'gora?" Jo asked looking around for the blue mage. Bobby shook his head.
"She didn't make it. She sacrificed herself to get this," the black mage held out Zantelsuken. He gestured for Dean to take it. The summoner grabbed it and held it high for everyone to see.
"Odin," he and Sam whispered. Crowley's eyes widen and then pinched to bridge of his nose.
"Damn that annoying Haluraan. She knew that it would take an army to get into Lucy's castle. The only one who can command such an army was the god Odin," the demon explained.
"Wait what? Odin is a god?" Ellen asked.
"And a summon. He commanded the armies against Lucifer the first time," Sam stated. "He and Michael defeated Lucifer and brought peace to this land. Odin didn't wish to be disturbed and was sealed by the archangel."
"And Michael ruled this land with peace until Lucifer regained his powers and overthrew him," Crowley finished explaining. "I was there when old Lucy did it. I was his right hand man. That is until…."
"Until he made you put that curse on me. That would explain why you turned white mage," the amethyst dragon replied. The demon glared.
"I don't like doing other people's dirty work. And it wasn't Lucy who made me do it. It was Lilith. Thought it would be fun to mess with dragons. I don't really like dragons. Can't clean up after themselves," the white mage said.
"And we don't like demons who always make a mess of things," Ellen retorted.
"For mortals you're all very noisy." Everyone turned to Dean. He had Zantelsuken strapped to his back. A strange glow came from his eyes. A bored expression graced the summoner's face.
"As pre of T'gora's request I'll help you. But on the condition that I'll be not disturbed for a good…say ten thousand years after this," the god Odin spoke. "And when you see Michael tell that asshole he's not getting anymore help from me."
A/N 2: Sorry for the chapter being so short. It'll be longer than this next time.
Next time: The adventure starts coming to a close when the party storms Lucifer's castle with Odin by their side.
