Visions Of The Darkness

Chapter 9, Awaken To The Light

The evening had just begun. The light from the sunset was fading and the darkness of the night was taking over. Clouds of white were quickly turning into murderous, storming clouds of black velvet. The only light in the sky was the infrequent flash of lighting while the sky boomed and crashed with thunder almost like one of Seifer's favourite rock songs.

The four stood solemnly outside Balamb in the nearby field under the still darkening sky which was now threatening to storm. "This can't be a good omen," said a rather unnerved Malacia. "Well you never know, right?" said Syke smirking rather Seifer-like at Malacia who just laughed at the expression. "Well we'd have better get going then. Does everyone have everything they need?" said Lacia.

The group nodded. "Quistis, don't forget we have our communicators on so don't hesitate to tell us if you find anything, ok?" said Syke. Q silently nodded.

The two guys looked out into the distance while Quistis waved goodbye and Malacia quietly chanted the words of an incomprehensible language that would take them over many miles of both land and ocean that would take days usually but would take them merely seconds.

As the others travelled through time and space, Quistis took no time in leaving and heading back to the hotel to start her work on find the clues and information that they had discovered during their search of the recked Garden. Q gathered up all the items and documents they had found and pilled them on her table with her laptop. She sat down opened the laptop and started work with the Garden Network files. She loaded each disc in, copied it and then read all the relevant details left behind. On the first 3 discs there was nothing of use but on the other 3ther e was an online diary right up to the day Balamb was attacked. Quistis skimmed most of the over excessive writing but stoped on certain parts that caught her attention. The first one was the Seifer came back to the Garden and then mysteriously left for a year and then came back as if nothing had happened, the second was that Irvine and Selphie left a year before the attack because Irvine was the newly elected President of Galbadia and that Quistis herself left that same year to go to Trabia and be the Headmistress at the Garden. What Quistis found stranger still was that was also the same year both Squall and Zell returned to the Garden to take up their roles working there again and being the impeccable Quistis she checked the date of the attack and who was stationed there on that day with the records she found on the other discs. This proved a major discovery for Quistis, Zell wasn't posted there on that day and even if he was there on the day that would mean that his body would have decade but according to what Irvine said he wasn't even physically wounded. Having figured Irvine's terrible mistake she grabbed Zell's gloves and her battle medical pack and ran out of the hotel. Before she was even out of the city the sky finally open the gates and the tears of Hyne fell. Within minutes of the rain storming down Quistis was totally soaked but she kept on running, for Zell wasn't really dead but KO-ed because he wasn't wounded and his body hadn't decade so he simply need to be revived but it needed to be done soon because if Zell didn't receive medical attention in a couple of days and his condition was bad, he would most likely die and Quistis did not know how much time she had left.

Meanwhile, Irvine, Syke and Lacia had made their ways to Edea's Orphanage.

Clouds still hindered the darkened sky, but rain did not grace the earth. Syke, Irvine and Malacia trudged through the open field to the looming building in the distance. As the came upon the crumbling building, they silently walked up to the path taking in their surreal surroundings.

The rubble of the building was very disconcerting. Luckily, the part of the building they were looking for was still intact. As the three quietly made their way down to the basemen, they jumped the broken stairs and squeezed past the larger broken parts of the floor. Then they saw it. The mysterious door not even the orphanage kids had remembered. Without saying a word, Syke passed the metallic object that Q thought might be a key to Malacia. Lacia stepped forward trying to find the keyhole but finding nothing. Then as if he were possessed Irvine took the key and pressed it into the door causing the door to flash with words in all different languages, known and unknown then disappear before their eyes with the key no where in sight. They all took a deep breath not knowing what would come next as their eyes fell on the scene in front of them. All done in stone blocks of grey was the ruins of a city before them; it was like another world…..another dimension. Pillars of faded white now turning grey stood supporting the ceiling, which looked very much like the floor. The only beautiful thing in the dreary room was the pool of water in the middle of the room with a statue of a fey (person with fairy blood in their veins) which sat intricately carved sitting on a large rock as a water feature in the middle of the pool. Irvine, still in a seemingly trance like state took a step into the room with Lacia and Syke following close behind. Little did they see the door reappear behind them, locking them in.

Meanwhile, Quistis ran into the Cafeteria

Quistis skidded into the Cafeteria just missing the debris on the floor as she started her search for Zell. Seeing a familiar piece of pointy blonde hair poking out from behind a part of pillar Quistis ran over to see the body of Zell lying motionless on the floor. Quickly and skilfully, Q found his pulse on his wrist; faint but still there. She pulled out a Phoenix Down out of her medical kit and used on Zell leaving him conscious but very weak and then continued to use High Potions till he was back to full strength. Zell slowly got up trying to brake anything as he got up. "Q! What are you doing here? What happened? The last thing I remember is trying to find Xu in here before Ri - I mean Ultimecia attacked." said Zell rather frantically. "Well Zell try not to be surprised but I am not the Quistis of your time….I've come to the future after the defeat of Ultimecia to find out the truth about Ultimecia and to aid the good Sorceress Malacia in defeating her evil sister Sorceress Melotia to save our futures. I think what happened here was along time ago….I don't know how you lasted so long., maybe it's a spell or something because this happened I think…according to the records …… years ago. You should be dead. If it was not for the group and I searching through here and Irvine finding you I doubt you would be. You were very close then Z! Either way, you need to clean up a bit and no doubt eat something so follow me and we'll talk more." said Q. Zell looking rather shocked blinked a couple of times and then nodded. Zell and Quistis walked back to the hotel silently until they went up to their rooms. Zell as always bounced straight up to the fridge and took out some microwave-able hotdogs, some Ginger Beer while Quistis sat down on the couch with her laptop making a quick slideshow of what happened and what Q and the others were planning to do, to help Z understand it all.

Back with Lacia, Syke and Irvine in the mysterious chamber

Lacia and Syke not knowing Irvine was possessed tried to talk to him but with no success, then started to get worried which was well deserved when Irvine turned to face them with his back facing the statuette in the water feature. He spoke with a voice not of his own, in a language to old for him to have learnt. As he chanted,Lacia tried to cast protection spells and banishing spells while Syke started to sway almost hypnotisingly. When Lacia finally realise what "Irvine" was doing it was too late. The thing possessing Irvine had transferred itself to Sykes's consciousness. Irvine dropped to the floor drained of all energy. This left Lacia all alone with "Syke" slowly advancing on her.