You will notice more game twisting in this chapter and subsequent chapters, as we are getting closer to the end of the story. Hope you enjoy it - Please review
Everyone was silent for a short time, staring into the fire, thinking of the mysterious words that Hope had spoken a few days ago. "The kid's asleep," Sazh quietly announced "Now let's get to the bottom of this"
"Did anyone besides me, think that the robots saving Hope was weird?" Serah asked, and then quickly added, "I'm certainly glad they did, but usually your enemies don't try to save you."
Lightning stood up and crossed her arms in front of her, "That occurred to me as well, as if something else was controlling them"
"It could have been Barthandelus", Fang rationalized "he doesn't want us dead, he needs us. But, then again, does he need all of us? Why would he bother to save just one?"
"Good question" Sazh added, "Who would care if one of us died?" shrugging his shoulders.
Vanille shuddered at the thought, "This is scaring me" she whimpered, shielding her face into her hands.
"Hey, there now" Sazh said, trying to comfort her, "We're just trying to sort things out, OK?" She nodded her head that she understood, but she hated the thought of anyone dying.
"Etros…. she would care…" Serah slowly uttered, half hypnotized by flickering flames of the fire. Then, looking away from the flames and back to the others, she continued, "The Eidolons are servants of Etros, she allows them to be commanded by a l'cie of their choosing and no one else. Even the fal'Cie have no hold on them. I think the path made for us at the Ark, which led us to the ship, was a gift from Etros to escape Barthandelus."
"Serah, if you're right…." Snow asserted, pondering her words, "then the goddess needs us - she needs us to stop Barthandelus", and then glancing over to Vanille, he added "ALL of us." Snow's words brought a smile to Vanille's face; the thought that Etros was aiding them in their quest was such a reassuring feeling to her.
Lightning started pacing around the camp, trying to make sense out of all it. She decided to lean her back against a tree, a short distance away from the others, to think. Her thoughts went back to Raines, and the words he had spoken at the Ark and on the Lindblum.
"You know," Lightning started saying "Raines had the same strange speech pattern as Barthandelus, using words that didn't make a lot of sense, just like the words that Hope spoke."
"You're right, now that you mention it" Fang agreed, standing and walking towards Light, "It's like an old style of speaking, I'll bet Raines was a lot older than we thought, that's why he looked so weird when he revealed himself."
"It would also mean this has been going on for a long time, long before the War of Transgression started" Serah added, as she snuggled up close to Snow, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head on his chest. "I wish I knew why it's so important to them to bring the maker back" she continued, "It's like they want the maker to restore something they lost"
"Raines said something" Lightning added to the discussion, "that I didn't get. 'How it ends is not important' - What was that supposed to mean? Was he talking about how it ends for us or how it ends for Cocoon?"
"That's a puzzler," Sazh spoke up "that's for sure. But he did say to 'stay true to ourselves' or something like that. If we do what we believe is the right thing, somehow this is all going to work out."
"Yep, we'll make it through this AND save Cocoon," Snow asserted, positive in his statement, "by doing what we think is right, and not what the fal'Cie wants us to do".
Listening intensely, Vanille felt a growing feeling of hope that somehow, someway, they were going to make this all happen. She had tried so hard to run away from her fate, to forget she was l'cie, slowly she was understanding she needed to face it head on, and accept whatever consequences it would bring her by doing so.
Vanille was trying to stay awake, but could no longer fight the need for sleep. "Good night, everyone" she yawned, "I can't stay awake any longer."
"Good idea, Vanille" Sazh said, stretching and yawning, "Time for some shut-eye."
Everyone was tired, and it wasn't long before they all bedded down for the night, while Lightning prepared herself for the first watch. She patrolled the perimeter of the camp, returning to find Fang still awake, sitting close to fire, listening to popping and crackling sounds it made, and staring into its hypnotic-flickering dance.
"Still awake, huh?" Lightning commented, sitting down next to her.
"Yeah, can't sleep" Fang replied, "I keep trying to remember something – anything - from that blank spot in my memory, and it's just plain gone. Vanille told Serah and me what she remembered of it", leaning back onto the palms of her hands, "but not a single thing she said clicked in. It's completely gone from my memory."
"You know, maybe that's not a bad thing…" Lightning tried to offer, "There's only so much a human can deal with you know, before it becomes unbearable. You've been spared that agony."
"Hmm, never thought about it like that." Fang remarked, as she rose to her feet. "Thanks Light, for the insight. I better try to get some sleep before my watch comes up. Good night, missy."
Lightning raised her hand to Fang, to wish her good night, watching her as she settled down for the night. She gazed at everyone sleeping, thinking about how quickly their lives had changed, and if they would ever return to a normal way of life again.
The air was still crisp from the chill of night as they walked along the pathway to Oerba, the grass was giving way to orange-colored clay and the cliffs blazed an orange-red color in the morning sun. Vanille was skipping ahead of everyone, she was so anxious to see Oerba again; she could barely contain her excitement. They found themselves staring up a large, strange looking tower. It was severely damaged, as the top half had broken off, resembling a snapped twig, leaving it open and exposed to sky above.
"We get through there and we'll be in Oerba!" Vanille exclaimed to others, pointing to the odd looking structure.
"You're almost home." Snow replied to her, smiling at her excitement.
"Yep!" she squealed with delight.
Large dragon-like birds flew around the opening at the top of the tower, and this didn't go un-noticed by Sazh. "This doesn't look like it's going to be a stroll through the park" he commented, as he examined the round building, rubbing the back of his neck.
"A fal'Cie!" Vanille screamed, instinctively throwing hers arms up to cover her face, as large cylindrical creature whizzed over their heads, then up to the opening at the top of the tower. Several glowing orbs were incorporated along its long tail, and its face was covered with a gruesome mask of some sort.
The fal'Cie appeared to be displeased with the giant dragon-like birds flying around the opening, as it struck each one with a flick of its tail, instantly killing them in a blaze of fire and dropping to the ground. The l'cie watched the display, realizing just how right Sazh had been – it wasn't going to easy to get through this dam tower.
Hope became frustrated and frightened at the prospect of entering this spooky looking place, loudly voicing his concerns "So, we're going to walk right into a fal'Cie's lair? Great! And who knows what else is in there. I mean, look at that place…it looks like a haunted house at an amusement park!"
"I don't like this any more than you do, kid." Sazh responded, staring at the tower, "But to get to Oerba, we gotta get through there."
"Vanille" Fang interrupted, "You and Hope go find out what that way stones focus is", pointing to the Cie'th Stone a short distance ahead of them, "We'll take care of that first and worry about the tower later."
When the two returned, Hope was walking briskly in front of Vanille with a scowl on his face. Vanille was giggling so hard, she could barely walk straight. "It's not FUNNY" he retorted to her, without looking back at her.
"What happened?" Serah asked, smiling from Vanille's laughter. "She thinks the focus of the Cie'th Stone is funny" Hope responded, still scowling and visibly irritated. "Well, what is its focus" Serah inquired, as the others were also intrigued to find out.
"What else would be guarding a spook house" Hope sharply retorted "but a big bunch of goblins!" With that, Vanille fell to her knee's, laughing hysterically. Everyone else burst out in laughter and Hope was completely confused by their reaction. "I don't get it," he yelled "it's not funny!"
"It's the irony of it, Hope" Serah sputtered out "and you're making it even funnier. If you hadn't called it a 'haunted house' to start with, the goblins wouldn't be funny at all"
"It's still not funny," he pointed out to them, "It just proves to me that my observation was right to start with, and I don't like it. There's going to be all kinds of weird things in that place"
"OK, kid" Sazh said, patting him on the back, "We get where you're coming from, but that's the way we have to go."
"Come on" Snow added, trying to ease Hopes concerns "Let's go take down those goblins, we've fought them before, and we can do it again!"
"Fine" Hope muttered under his breath, and started following the others as they set off walking towards the tower. He knew they were right, there was no other way to go, but he didn't have to like it.
They encountered a new beast they hadn't fought before. Hope swore it was a specter of some sort, as it was bone white, devoid of any color, and resembled the canine-like creatures from the plains. They took the beast down, but it was much stronger than they expected it to be.
More of the beasts appeared along the way, slowing the progression to the tower, but they finally arrived at their destination, only to be attacked from the sky by one of the giant dragon-like birds that flew around the area.
"This thing must think we're breakfast" Sazh yelled, as the bird made a feeding frenzy move on them. They all used their magic against the flying demon and Serah used her bow, sinking several arrows deeply into the birds flesh. It finally collapsed dead to the ground, much to the pleasure of them all.
"There's the pack of goblins," Hope stated, pointing his finger to the outside corner of the tower where the goblins were waiting, "They're the focus of the way stone." "Our opponents are getting stronger" Fang commented, "We have to assume these goblins are stronger than the ones we have fought before, so be prepared"
Fang was right, the goblins were far more powerful than the previous ones. "Take out the small ones first!" Lightning yelled, as she executed her Blitz move on them. Snow and Fang followed with their Blitz moves, and Hope threw Firga, which hit all goblins with fire. Snow then threw Ruinga, striking several of the goblins and taking some down.
When the battle was over, none of the goblins were left standing. "Yeah!" Snow shouted, throwing his fist in the air "See Hope, I told you we could take em down!" Hope smiled at Snow and responded "Yeah, we did pretty good, didn't we!" "You bet we did, kid!" Snow said, while he ruffled up Hopes hair.
Serah then felt a strange tingling feeling throughout her body and a burning sensation from her brand. "Did everyone feel that?" she asked. "I did" Sazh replied, while everyone one else was nodding their heads. "What was it?" Lightning asked, covering her brand with her hand.
Fang knew what it was, "We've been absorbing the power of the opponents we defeat, that's how we gradually get stronger, we just didn't notice it because it was in small amounts. These goblins carried a large amount of power, and, as we absorbed it, we felt it"
"That's a relief" Hope informed them, "I thought I was getting possessed again!" making them all smile and Vanille giggle.
"Well, let's get going, and see what's waiting for us in that tower." Snow announced, taking Serah's hand and walking ahead of everyone, towards the entrance. "Remember," he started to say, when she interrupted "I know, stay close to you, right?"
"Well, I don't want anything happening to you" he said while touching his index finger to the tip of her nose. Serah smiled at him and said "Have I told you lately that I love you?"
"Hmmm, it's been at least an hour or so" he coyly said, with a crooked grin on his mouth, then bent down and whispered something in her ear.
Serah blushed and giggled "You are so bad!" she said, shaking her head and still giggling.
"Nah, I'm just in love with the most beautiful woman in the world" he rebutted.
"Oh, Snow" she said, "I do love you, with all my heart."
Snow stopped walking to lean down to kiss her.
"Hey you two!" Fang yelled from behind them, "No love fest till we get to Oerba!"
Snow and Serah laughed, joined hands and ran to entrance of tower, disappearing just inside the door.
Lightning rolled her eyes at Fangs comment, sharply remarking to her, "Really? - till we get to Oerba - there will be none of that in Oerba, either!" Fang sported a huge grin on her face, knowing she had struck a nerve with Light.
"What are you so worried about?" Sazh remarked, "Looks to me that ship sailed a long time ago". Lightning turned towards Sazh and punched him in the arm.
Sazh grabbed his arm in pain, shouting "What the hell girl, that hurt!"
"Good" she retorted "Next time, keep your opinions to yourself."
Hope didn't quite understand what was going on, and wasn't about to ask, after seeing Sazh get punched in the arm. Vanille was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh, also fearing the wrath of Light.
"I'll ask Vanille later" he thought "she'll tell me what that was all about."
They all gathered at the entrance, cautiously venturing inside. The corridor was about one hundred feet long and barely lit with small blue lights on both sides of the walls and the floor. It then opened up to a large open area, circular in shape, with a single-trenched track that ran around the perimeter of the walls. The second story of the building was built on giant wheels that rested in the tracks and the center of the tower was hollow, all the way up to the top floor.
In the center of the area, was another small circular structure, with two perpendicular arches rising up and over a bright blue, iridescent glow that blazed forth from the center, creating an eerie bluish haze to the whole area. Four large stone statues of warriors stood evenly spaced around the structure, as if they were guarding it from intruders. Next to the structure, were two ramps facing each other and leading to nothing but space.
No one spoke, as they walked across the vast area, listening to sounds of their own footsteps echoing back to them from the walls. They could see more of the ghostly colored canine-monsters roaming the structure and were careful to avoid them for now.
They stood in front of one of the stone warriors, when Vanille suddenly asked "I'm I the only one hearing that?"
Sazh replied, "No, I hear, too. It couldn't be them, could it?" pointing to stone statues in front of them.
The others all agreed they heard the strange mumbling noise, and Hope commented "It's weird, it's more like it's inside my head", holding his hands over his ears.
Fang was the only one that could interrupt the mumbling sounds into words, as she repeated what she heard to the others "Go now and leave this place at once – Your presence here draws the tyrants gaze" she repeated.
"We can't leave, we have to get though" Vanille pleaded, "Can you help us?"
Fang paused to listen to the response, then repeated the words she heard "So be it! Look for us and a way will open". To their astonishment, the stone statue started moving, grabbing his stone sword by both hands and plunging it into the ground before him, releasing a sudden flash of blue-misty light.
The wheels started moving in the trench, spinning the floors above them, soon a lighted path on the outside wall lined up and a round shaped elevator descended down, resting in the empty spot between the two ramps.
"Hey, that was easy" Snow calmly said, "Here's our ride."
Hope was skeptical, "But it could be a trap" he cautiously stated.
"Could be" Sazh replied "but I don't see any stairs, do you?"
Fang started walking to elevator, "The old man's right, bumpy or not, this is our ride."
The elevator took them to the second floor, where they were immediately greeted by the fal'Cie. Everyone ducked when the fal'Cie threw a fire ball at them with its long tail, missing them and punching a large opening in the wall. The corridor was blocked by enormous flames, so they quickly rushed through the newly created opening to escape a second attack by the fal'Cie.
Robots were guarding this room, pouncing on the l'cie the moment they entered, "Bring it on!" Snow shouted "We're taking you down!" It wasn't an easy fight, by no means, but they prevailed in the end, absorbing more strength and power from their defeated foes.
"Look" Serah exclaimed "Another stone warrior, but he doesn't have a sword like the others did."
They walked up to warrior and heard the same mumbling sounds as before, but this time a hologram was displayed, telling them of the plight of the warrior. His strength, and that of his brethren, had been stolen and held captive by monsters, defeat the beasts, and the warrior's strength would be restored.
The hologram displayed where the first monster was, and the l'cie didn't hesitate to take on the challenge, defeating the giant gelatinous Flan and restoring the warrior's strength, which turned out to be his sword.
Each room they entered had new enemies to defeat in order to reach the other warriors, the battles were intense and the monsters holding the swords were even tougher to defeat, but the l'cie never gave up, using all of their strength and magic to conquer the monsters, restoring the swords to the other two warriors.
The warriors extinguished the flames in the corridor, created by the fal'Cie, allowing the party to continue their path through this nightmarish tower. As they walked down the corridor, the fal'Cie swooped up from below to engage them again.
"Oh Great!" Hope shouted, and everyone readied their weapons for the ensuing battle.
"Here we go again!" Fang shouted, when suddenly the three stone warriors appeared in a flash of white light, hovering in the space between the l'cie and the fal'Cie. The fal'Cie attempted to engage the warriors, but the warriors were quick to cut off half of the massive tail of the fal'Cie, sending the fal'Cie soaring away and disappearing from site.
"Woo! Well, I'll be damned" Sazh shouted, watching the stone warriors as they turned towards the group.
The mumbling sounds could be heard again, telling Vanille that more of their brethren were trapped there, just as they had been. "Are they sad?" she asked, but the warriors disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.
"Guess the way really is open for us now" Lightning commented, proceeding along the corridor to reach the next level.
The floors and corridors were mazes, with a main and secondary elevator, forcing them up one elevator and down another to reach all the levels. They fiercely fought Vampire Cie'th, bats, flying Cie'th, and weird bird-like creatures, just to name a few. The further up the tower they went, the more powerful the monsters became and the l'cie were becoming more powerful with each victory.
Three more warriors were found, and the l'cie restored their strength by defeating the monsters that had stolen their power. They were almost to the top of the tower, when the fal'Cie swooped in again to take them on, "Are you kidding me?!" Fang yelled at the fal'Cie, as it made a dive for them.
Again, the warriors appeared and stood between the fal'Cie and the l'cie, challenging the fal'Cie to battle. And once again, the warriors were able to cut off more of tail of the fal'Cie, leaving only one orb left on a small stub of a tail.
"They saved us again!" Sazh exclaimed, as they watched two of warriors disappear. The third pointed to his brethren, standing at the end of the corridor, and removed the ice barrier so the l'cie could approach him, then disappeared as the others had done.
They approached the warrior and he plunged his sword into the ground, making the floors rotate again, and lining up the pathway for the main elevator to reach the top floor.
Finally the group reached the Apex of the tower. They walked around examining the area as Hope proudly commented, "See, I told you this place was haunted by weird things, but you guys wouldn't listen!"
"Ah, we listened kid," Snow responded, grinning at him "it didn't matter what was here, we had to get through, and we did it"
"Yeah, we did – didn't we!" Hope exclaimed, feeling more confident in their fighting skills.
They started walking on a platform that led to large area in the middle of the floor, it looked like a short cut, rather than traversing the perimeter. Once they reached the middle of the area, it started rising up, lifting the entire group to the level exposed to the sky.