Chapter IX: Arrival of the King of Light
It was several months after Laguna, Squall, and Cid Highwind broke free from Ansem's dungeon, and now they had taken refuge in Raine's abandoned pub. Cid had taken a few essentials from his workshop, and Squall had taken a few things from Ellone's home while she was away. The three had banded together, to kill Ansem, and they would accomplish their goal... just as soon as-
"I can't find my ironcutters!" Cid yelled. Both Laguna and Squall gave him a look that told him to shut up. Cid looked around, and repeated, "I can't find my ironcutters!"
"Do you really need them?" Squall asked, scratching his head.
"Yes, dammit, now help me find them!" Cid ordered. Squall scoffed, and went upstairs. The room was cluttered with some of his stuff, some of Cid's tools, Laguna's writings, and two beds, one his, the other one Cid's.
Squall wondered which bed his mother had slept in, and who the other bed belonged to... This was his mother's pub, from when she was a bartender, before she died. She was killed during the rampage of the Behemoth, only a few months after he was born...
***~~~***
Ansem wiped the sweat off of his brow, and looked at his first invention. It was box-shaped, and had various gears, and belts, and other things to make it run, but did it work?
'Beta version it may be, it must still be tested... Perhaps now I won't have to sacrifice as many lives to conduct further experiments...' he thought. Ansem took a deep breath of anticipation, and flipped a lever. Jets of steam came from various orange pipes and valves, and all of the gears, wheels, belts, began to turn.
After a few minutes of this, a Heartless, came rolling out on a belt leading from the machine, to a containment cage.
Ansem cheered silently, praising his genius, and finished the page of his report that he had started earlier that week. Altogether, the page (now page eight) said:
"There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to the people's hearts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and the mysteries shrouding the heart. As a start, I have built a device that artificially creates Heartless.
By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I should be able to produce them artificially. This device is the culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run successfully created a Heartless. This may be a step toward creating a heart from nothing.
The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types remain distinct for the purpose of the experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially." Ansem chuckled in delight as he filed the page with the other seven, and pulled the lever again, to create more Heartless.
***~~~*** Cloud laughed heartily and Aerith looked at him incredulously. "Shut up! It is not funny!" she yelled, punching him playfully. The two had spent much time together the past few weeks, Cloud having nothing but free time, and Aerith stealing time away from the people at the orphanage. "Not true. If it wasn't funny, why would I be laughing?" Cloud replied, stifling a laugh by biting down on his lower lip. "You won't be laughing when I'm strangling the life out of you!" Aerith threatened, reaching a clawed hand to Cloud's neck. "I may be choking, but I'd still be laughing on the inside," Cloud replied slyly. Aerith seemed to have given up, and for a few moments she only stared at him, into his eyes. She felt a burning in her chest, and felt that she might throw up, something she never felt with her infatuations with Sephiroth. Was this love?! 'If so,' Aerith decided, 'love sucks... But I kinda like it...' With perfect timing, Cloud bent forward to kiss her, and Aerith gasped inward as their lips connected, causing her to be out of breath when he kissed her. She jerked away and coughed, then gasped for air. When she looked back to Cloud, he had looked away, to the mountains in the horizon. Aerith tapped his shoulder, and once he turned, she kissed him. The kiss lasted a good few minutes, before both reluctantly broke it. Both Cloud and Aerith looked at one another, and kissed once more.
***~~~*** Godo was furious. Yuffie hadn't been home in several weeks, and she was nowhere to be found. How could he train her to be the next ninja in the renowned Line of Wutai, if she wasn't at home, to be trained?! "Yuffie is foolish girl!" Godo growled to himself. "Not at home to train! Out fraternizing with friends! Maybe even ran away!!! Errrrggghhh...." Gala, who was drinking his tea, in the kitchen, listened to all of Godo's ramblings. 'Yuffie did not run away. If anything, she might even be in trouble! I must find her...' Gala thought to himself. He set down his tea, and walked into Godo's bedroom, and walked over to his weapons cabinet. It had been years since he wielded a weapon on any sort, as he was pushing his seventies, and as he picked up a thin sword, from the weapons cabinet, it felt almost too heavy in his aging hands. Gala tied the small sword to his waist, and set out to find his granddaughter- something his son was too stubborn and foolish to do himself.
***~~~*** Seifer and Lulu were walking through the waterways, Seifer with his gunblade, the Hyperion, drawn. "What are we doing down here, Seifer?" Lulu asked. "One of those little bastards attacked me the other day. It disappeared before I had a chance to get it," Seifer answered, looking diligently around for any Heartless to use as a scapegoat. "Why did you take me?" Lulu asked. "I wanted to show you how I'd protect you from any one of these shadowed freaks," Seifer replied, throwing one of his trademarked cocky grins to Lulu. Lulu turned a beet red in embarrassment. She wasn't embarrassed because of Seifer's obsession of being a "Sorceress' Knight", but because that he would risk his life for her. Nobody had ever treated Lulu as if she was of that much importance, except for maybe Matron. Lulu watched as Seifer hunted for a Heartless, to prove his love, although he really didn't have to. The thought that he'd protect her until the end, was plenty proof enough.
***~~~***
where am i
darkness... that is where i am...darkness... Yuffie, as a Heartless, had crawled her way up from the cavernous, abyssal, depths of the grand fortress, and was currently wandering around the castle, staying out of sight. If she stayed out of sight, nobody would see her like this... In the dark...
***~~~*** It was twilight now, and Ansem had taken a break from creating Heartless. He had also stayed busy, by emblazoning them with a seal he designed, based on a piece of the castle (a heart with an odd-shaped bottom, and an "X" with small spikes crossing the middle). He used this seal to mark the Heartless he created, so he could monitor the differences in the ones he made, from the real ones in the Bastion's Depths. Ansem was in the library, with the boy, Sephiroth, lurking about, reading, when he saw the sky tear open. Lightning emitted from the tear, and an odd airship floated out of it also. Once the airship had completely gone through the rip in the sky, the rip sealed itself shut. The airship, which looked like it was made from the meteors that rained a few weeks ago, had finally landed on the courtyard in the Rising Falls. From where he was, Ansem couldn't see anyone coming out of the airship, but he rushed as fast as he could to the doors to the Entrance Hall, and opened. Walking up to the castle, was an odd creature, certainly not human, but Ansem didn't detect any hostility from it. On the creature's head, rested a crown, signifying he was of some nobility. 'A creature from another world! This can't be! But it is... An inhabitant from another world, is in my castle!' Breathless, amazed, astounded, ecstatic, and overall, confused, Ansem greeted the newcomer. "W-welcome to t-the Hollow Bastion..."
It was several months after Laguna, Squall, and Cid Highwind broke free from Ansem's dungeon, and now they had taken refuge in Raine's abandoned pub. Cid had taken a few essentials from his workshop, and Squall had taken a few things from Ellone's home while she was away. The three had banded together, to kill Ansem, and they would accomplish their goal... just as soon as-
"I can't find my ironcutters!" Cid yelled. Both Laguna and Squall gave him a look that told him to shut up. Cid looked around, and repeated, "I can't find my ironcutters!"
"Do you really need them?" Squall asked, scratching his head.
"Yes, dammit, now help me find them!" Cid ordered. Squall scoffed, and went upstairs. The room was cluttered with some of his stuff, some of Cid's tools, Laguna's writings, and two beds, one his, the other one Cid's.
Squall wondered which bed his mother had slept in, and who the other bed belonged to... This was his mother's pub, from when she was a bartender, before she died. She was killed during the rampage of the Behemoth, only a few months after he was born...
***~~~***
Ansem wiped the sweat off of his brow, and looked at his first invention. It was box-shaped, and had various gears, and belts, and other things to make it run, but did it work?
'Beta version it may be, it must still be tested... Perhaps now I won't have to sacrifice as many lives to conduct further experiments...' he thought. Ansem took a deep breath of anticipation, and flipped a lever. Jets of steam came from various orange pipes and valves, and all of the gears, wheels, belts, began to turn.
After a few minutes of this, a Heartless, came rolling out on a belt leading from the machine, to a containment cage.
Ansem cheered silently, praising his genius, and finished the page of his report that he had started earlier that week. Altogether, the page (now page eight) said:
"There is no doubt that the Heartless are deeply connected to the people's hearts. Further study may unravel both their motivations and the mysteries shrouding the heart. As a start, I have built a device that artificially creates Heartless.
By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I should be able to produce them artificially. This device is the culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run successfully created a Heartless. This may be a step toward creating a heart from nothing.
The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types remain distinct for the purpose of the experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially." Ansem chuckled in delight as he filed the page with the other seven, and pulled the lever again, to create more Heartless.
***~~~*** Cloud laughed heartily and Aerith looked at him incredulously. "Shut up! It is not funny!" she yelled, punching him playfully. The two had spent much time together the past few weeks, Cloud having nothing but free time, and Aerith stealing time away from the people at the orphanage. "Not true. If it wasn't funny, why would I be laughing?" Cloud replied, stifling a laugh by biting down on his lower lip. "You won't be laughing when I'm strangling the life out of you!" Aerith threatened, reaching a clawed hand to Cloud's neck. "I may be choking, but I'd still be laughing on the inside," Cloud replied slyly. Aerith seemed to have given up, and for a few moments she only stared at him, into his eyes. She felt a burning in her chest, and felt that she might throw up, something she never felt with her infatuations with Sephiroth. Was this love?! 'If so,' Aerith decided, 'love sucks... But I kinda like it...' With perfect timing, Cloud bent forward to kiss her, and Aerith gasped inward as their lips connected, causing her to be out of breath when he kissed her. She jerked away and coughed, then gasped for air. When she looked back to Cloud, he had looked away, to the mountains in the horizon. Aerith tapped his shoulder, and once he turned, she kissed him. The kiss lasted a good few minutes, before both reluctantly broke it. Both Cloud and Aerith looked at one another, and kissed once more.
***~~~*** Godo was furious. Yuffie hadn't been home in several weeks, and she was nowhere to be found. How could he train her to be the next ninja in the renowned Line of Wutai, if she wasn't at home, to be trained?! "Yuffie is foolish girl!" Godo growled to himself. "Not at home to train! Out fraternizing with friends! Maybe even ran away!!! Errrrggghhh...." Gala, who was drinking his tea, in the kitchen, listened to all of Godo's ramblings. 'Yuffie did not run away. If anything, she might even be in trouble! I must find her...' Gala thought to himself. He set down his tea, and walked into Godo's bedroom, and walked over to his weapons cabinet. It had been years since he wielded a weapon on any sort, as he was pushing his seventies, and as he picked up a thin sword, from the weapons cabinet, it felt almost too heavy in his aging hands. Gala tied the small sword to his waist, and set out to find his granddaughter- something his son was too stubborn and foolish to do himself.
***~~~*** Seifer and Lulu were walking through the waterways, Seifer with his gunblade, the Hyperion, drawn. "What are we doing down here, Seifer?" Lulu asked. "One of those little bastards attacked me the other day. It disappeared before I had a chance to get it," Seifer answered, looking diligently around for any Heartless to use as a scapegoat. "Why did you take me?" Lulu asked. "I wanted to show you how I'd protect you from any one of these shadowed freaks," Seifer replied, throwing one of his trademarked cocky grins to Lulu. Lulu turned a beet red in embarrassment. She wasn't embarrassed because of Seifer's obsession of being a "Sorceress' Knight", but because that he would risk his life for her. Nobody had ever treated Lulu as if she was of that much importance, except for maybe Matron. Lulu watched as Seifer hunted for a Heartless, to prove his love, although he really didn't have to. The thought that he'd protect her until the end, was plenty proof enough.
***~~~***
where am i
darkness... that is where i am...darkness... Yuffie, as a Heartless, had crawled her way up from the cavernous, abyssal, depths of the grand fortress, and was currently wandering around the castle, staying out of sight. If she stayed out of sight, nobody would see her like this... In the dark...
***~~~*** It was twilight now, and Ansem had taken a break from creating Heartless. He had also stayed busy, by emblazoning them with a seal he designed, based on a piece of the castle (a heart with an odd-shaped bottom, and an "X" with small spikes crossing the middle). He used this seal to mark the Heartless he created, so he could monitor the differences in the ones he made, from the real ones in the Bastion's Depths. Ansem was in the library, with the boy, Sephiroth, lurking about, reading, when he saw the sky tear open. Lightning emitted from the tear, and an odd airship floated out of it also. Once the airship had completely gone through the rip in the sky, the rip sealed itself shut. The airship, which looked like it was made from the meteors that rained a few weeks ago, had finally landed on the courtyard in the Rising Falls. From where he was, Ansem couldn't see anyone coming out of the airship, but he rushed as fast as he could to the doors to the Entrance Hall, and opened. Walking up to the castle, was an odd creature, certainly not human, but Ansem didn't detect any hostility from it. On the creature's head, rested a crown, signifying he was of some nobility. 'A creature from another world! This can't be! But it is... An inhabitant from another world, is in my castle!' Breathless, amazed, astounded, ecstatic, and overall, confused, Ansem greeted the newcomer. "W-welcome to t-the Hollow Bastion..."