21
Mind Tricks
Waiting on top of the unaffected top of the mall; Fujin, Raijin, and Dr. Raven stood by waiting for the true Ragnarok to pass. In his hand Raijin held a grappling hook; one he had tied himself.
The ship had been making frequent passes around the downtown area where the riots were at their hottest. With the power down, they were grateful for the waxing moon; even though it was oddly violet in colour.
"Fujin," Raijin asked, "why are we trying to hook the Ragnathingy again?"
She hadn't the foggiest, so she asked Raven. "RAGNAROK! WHY?!" She asked in Galbadian.
"Why not." Was his blunt answer.
Fujin turned back to her brother. "BECAUSE!" Was her translation.
He still didn't understand, but he went along with that answer anyway. As the ship came around, he tossed the hook, snagging it behind one of its thrusters. The Ragnarok pulled them off the building, but since they weren't hanging on by their feet, and the ship wasn't going that fast, it was easy to climb up.
"Now how do we get in, ya know?" Raijin began. "There's a door underneath, but I don't know how to open it, ya know."
"GANGPLANK!" Fujin corrected on 'door'. "ON SHIP, GANGPLANK!"
"Whoah, easy on the Estharian Fujin. It took me long enough to learn Alcauldian, ya know."
I know. Youﾒre still learning it. Thought Fujin bitterly.
"You've been on this thing before." Raven interjected. "You should know how to get in around the gangplank."
"He knows Estharian too?!"
"MORON!" She would have kicked him; but her balance was more important. Not putting any faith in her brother, it was up to her to find that air lock. As she had guessed, it was at the back. It had a very easy opening mechanism; betrayed by a large button that might as well have the words 'press me' scrawled on them in her own language and screed. With gusto, Raijin jumped in; just as the ship listed, throwing her off balance. Nearly she did fall off but the ship righted itself before that could happen. It was no surprise that Dr. Raven didn't react to her distress at all.
Steady there Fujin. She reminded herself. He probably didn't see you. He does wear glasses after all. Another question to ask him: why does he wear glasses? Maybe he has glaucoma...
An even better question for the moment was: did the pilot notice them?
It turned out the pilot didn't notice them, for as Raijin found out; there was no one at the helm.
"That is some awesome auto pilot on this thing, ya know." Raijin commented.
Fujin didn't agree. More likely is this thing is on remote control. I wonder what that Karrion thinks about this?
Even with the moon and being upside down Zell could tell they were heading towards the Lunatic Pandora; how could one miss it? The swarm of imps rose higher, and higher. They flew over the bowl of cracked monoliths that ringed the circumference of Tears Point. He never knew what the purpose of those monoliths were for, all he knew was that they were cubes that went from cold blue around the outside to a warm pink on the inside. He had no idea they could glow, but under the sky of night they were doing just that. And there in the very middle of the Point's plaza were encircled a ring of large statues, the likes of angels in the form of youthful girls in flowing robes and holding a lyre each. Each angel held the hand of the one beside her, but they were badly cracked, and one was missing a head. The setup eerily reminded him of those angels in that place under the Salt Lake, except those angels were facing in and standing up. And, of course, hovering above it was the imposing grand monolith of monoliths itself, and the imps were heading right for the top floor of it. Getting closer only augmented its sheer size.
Like they were being sucked inwards, the swarm veered into a maelstrom. Unceremoniously the queen threw Zell away; skidding to a halt on the very roof of the monstrosity. It was the first he had ever seen of the very top of the Lunatic Pandora. It wasn't as completely flat as what he first figured, but seemed to be set with various grooves; possibly wires or something; it was too dark for clarity. But the size of the roof; it must have been large, though the darkness made it hard to get a descent judgment of size.
The floor bellow his feet began to glow intensely, as did the centre of that whirling of imps. Afraid, Zell ran off the glow; and just in time, out of it shot a beam of brilliance that connected to the one by the imps. Then, just as the glow got intense enough that he had to avert his eyes, the pulse, and the imps, were scattered; seemingly jettisoned upwards like ash from a volcano.
I wonder where those imps are going to now?
"Whoah, dude..." Now what? The imps had dragged him there, and now he was left to get back on his own? Most likely. But first was first, he should probably get down. But there seemed not to be anything at all in sight. "Dammit!" He shouted. He hit the floor with his fists, pouring all of his frustration into the punch. "DAMMIT!"
It was too bad he didn't take a look around. Zell wasn't the only one the imps dropped off there. Squall, still junctioned to Strychnine, heard his outburst very well.
How did he get here? Squall thought. It was his knowledge that Siphon Thrice Fit only wanted to pick him up. What would she do if she found out who else was here? Continuously, Zell would rant and whine about his predicament, making it very easy for Squall to hear him, and find him.
Zell stopped his mindless cussing. It was time to stop beating himself up and do something. But making plans was never his strong suit. Perhaps if he jumped off the edge...
I wonder how far off the ground I am?
In the moonlight it was hard to make out, but he saw something else on the roof with him. It appeared to move slowly, but it also appeared to move towards him. The creature was tall; its legs looked thick at first, but as it came closer he could tell that the thing was wearing clothes. It had a long, thin snout, and carried two large blades. Zell got into his fighting pose; ready to duck it out with this unknown monster if need be.
The imps must have dragged that thing here. I wonder where they got it?
So quickly did the moon glow a strong green that it surprised Zell, and a flash of a face right in front of his was even more unsettling. It was a face that was too darkened, and shown too fast to identify, but he remembered the eerie glow from those empty white eyes. The image had startled him off his feet; he fell on his back, and he barely got up before the monster was on him.
The beast took hold of his arm with its skeletal foot, but the talons did not pierce skin.
"Well, I hope youﾒre happy Rinoa!" Seifer snarled. "We're at the Lunatic Pandora!"
"Yes, I am happy!" She quipped back, looking him straight in the eye.
Tired of their fighting Quistis stepped in. "No more fighting you two!" Turning away, she rubbed her temples. Hyne, she yells as much at Seifer as she did at Squall.
Nida watched the exchange from a ways away, close behind him was his own entourage.
"Are we really going along with them?" Rick whined. "I mean that's two people you do not want to mess with: Squall Leonhart and Seifer Almasy..."
"...Which is exactly why we're behind him." Explained Nida, exasperated at his lack of foresight. "If Leonhart gets violent, he's the perfect buffer. Look, just stick to the plan..."
"Hey Fly Boy!" Seifer shouted. "Are you and your mime troupe coming or are you going to discuss the weather some more?"
Nida turned back to Rick. "Show time." Rick was going to ask what kind of 'show' it was, but Nida was already walking away.
"This place is huge!" He started. "Sure we should stick together? We'd actually have a better chance of finding both Squall and Zell by going off into groups."
"You know," Added Quistis, "that isn't a bad idea. The monsters in here are comparatively weak so we don't need strength of numbers."
Irvine wasn't so sure. "But we can't, like, just go off on our own. We're here to find two people, not fourteen..."
"I'm inclined to agree with Irvine." Rinoa seconded. "I've only been here once before and you seven are here for the first time. Seifer's the only one with any real directions."
With that praise, Seifer's face lit up.
"Donﾒt get cocky." She warned, or snarled, either/or.
"Hmm? Did you say something Rinoa?
"All right you nubes!" He shouted. "Seeing as how I'm the only one with any info on the where's and what way's of this place, I'mma goinna cut this peanut gallery up!"
"Seifer," Interrupted Quistis. "That isn't what Rinoa meant..."
"...Rinoa, her bitch, and Sindri will be with me. Kord, Quistis and Yuri will be second. Nida, Irvine, and Yagi will be third. Which leaves Brokk and Selphie; you can take the too moombas with you."
"MOOMBA!" She corrected vehemently.
Sindri looked at Yuri. "Like he said: show time."
Each of the groups split up. Rinoa, Sindri, and Seifer went up. The second team went down, the third went back, and the fourth made their way right.
Nida wasn't so sure if he liked how Seifer split them up. Sure, he wasn't too worried about Irvine; what could a sniper do at close range? But what about the others? He would have split them up to better compliment the new powers of his minions. In actuality, Seifer wasn't concerned about those powers. In fact, he wasn't concerned much at all. He chose Rinoa specifically, but not because she was a sorceress, but because she had a dog.
Before they had embarked, Nida had given his group a little something-something; Seifer included. Using his innate charm; which worked better than he had hoped, he led Rinoa away to some random location. It was by some ledge; the sides were uneven and jutting a bit but the bottom was many stories bellow them.
Perfect! Seifer thought with sly glee.
"Well, will you look at that..." He began, looking down into the crystal cavern.
Rinoa looked down as well. "What is it?" The moment she turned her back to Sindri was the moment he struck her in the neck with some sort of two pronged contraption. The two levers bit into her skin, knocking her out with a sudden jolt to her brain. Sindri caught her before she could tumble over the edge.
Startled by the attack on her master, Angelo growled threateningly, lunging straight at Seifer. With Guardian Force granted strength, he batted the dog aside. He looked down into the chasm, but Angelo had already tumbled out of sight.
"Well," he began, "so much for the mutt."
"I think she was an Illigan Shepherd." Sindri corrected, pointing out her breed.
"So what, I use the term loosely. You got that tracker Nida gave you?" Sindri took the cell phone sized contraption out of his pocket. Seifer swiped before he could say 'yes'.
"Good. You carry Rinoa, I'll lead the way."
As he walked ahead, boasting about how well he pulled that charade off, Sindri tossed Rinoa over his shoulder. For a small woman, she was heavy! As he lifted the unconscious girl, he saw something dark and brown on the other side of the chasm. It was Angelo, also unconscious. Seifer had thrown her farther away then he had thought. Out of spite Sindri would not say anything to him.
Kord, Quistis and Yuri had taken the lower route.
"Over here..." Came a sudden whisper. To Quistis; she couldn't quite pin point where it came. She spun around and there was that voice again.
"This way..."
Which way?
"Over here..."
She turned herself around again and came face to face with Kord. Before Quistis could say anything her head started to feel numb, her eyes came out of focus and before she knew it, she had passed out; hitting the crystal floor face first.
"You know," Yuri started to Kord. "I have that brain shocker thingy with me."
"You didn't have to do that little 'mind whisper' thing either." She snapped.
"Hey, I told you I'm bad with throwing my... 'mind whisper'. I wanted to distract her so she would turn her back to me..."
"Well nice job with that."
Yuri carried Quistis while Kord led the way back to Nida.
Irvine, Nida, and Yagi had backtracked from the group.
"...I really wish some monsters would show up right about now." Irvine whined. "I mean, I gotta get some practice with this Estharian tech here. I've gotta test out all these dia...hey, what's that over there?" He moved just as Nida was taking that pronged gadget to his neck.
Irvine was disappointed. "Just a rock. Thought it was a behemoth." He moved again before Nida could zap him.
"Hey Yagi, you got a watch. What time is it anyway?"
Yagi shook his head. "Can't help you there. This damn thing is well over an hour slow, I just wear it for looks."
"Well over an hour?...It's a digital watch, I bet I can fix that." He moved towards Yagi just as Nida was about to zap him again.
"Damn, the light here is weak." Irvine complained, taking the watch. "Light looks good over here." He moved again as Nida lunged for his neck.
"Now that's good light!" He worked the buttons until he got what he was looking for. "Looky there. Now if only I knew the actual time I could sync this baby." He walked over to give the watch back to Yagi; just as Nida dove for his neck yet again.
"You didn't fiddle around with the buttons I gather?" Irvine inquired of Yagi.
"No, button scare me."
"How, you afraid something could go boom or something like that?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"You do know the odds of that happening don't you?"
"That happened to me a few times."
"And how often have you pressed buttons?"
"A few times."
"So you stay away from buttons?! Wha, do you have the same problem with switches?"
"No, switches are fine, but I'm not so crazy about cords."
"Then what about the remote. How do you solve thEHHH!" Nida had finally succeeded in zapping him. Irvine fell in a dead heap at his feet.
"Say Yagi." Began Nida as if nothing happened. "How do you solve the problem with the remote?"
Selphie and Brokk had gone to the right. Bishop and Deacon came up with them. They didn't notice but Brokk was sweating like a block of ice under the noonday sun. He knew what he had to do, but how to do it without gaining the attention of the Moomba? It was the little one that started up first; jumping and squeaking excitedly and getting the attention of the big guy. The big guy responded and went up to the little guy. The little guy did some more hopping and pointed away and growled. The two then plodded off for in a hurry for some reason.
"Hey wait, were are you going?" Shouted Selphie. She started to go after them and Brokk panicked. He hit her as hard as he could over the head was a large piece of crystal. Just as she fell to the ground unconscious did Brokk remember that alien do-hickey that Nida gave him. It was only fortunate that the Moomba were too far away to have noticed anything. Brokk only hoped he could carry that dead weight.
Bishop had thought he had heard something. It had been Selphie, but her calls stopped. He didn't think much of it; she was still with that other human after all. He fallowed Deacon and hoped she would be all right. Deacon had brought them to a massive opening in the crystal. A monsterous hole was in the middle of it and above it was a high chimney. Stretching upwards was darkness, and bellow was the same darkness; neither top nor bottom was to be seen of that shaft.
Though a striking image in itself, it was hardly enough to compare to a lone statue of a Moomba. It was expertly carved and in a dramatic pose; a pose like that of defense. But as Bishop cast a scan to know the material of the work, he found that it was not originally stone. It was an actual Moomba! Come to think of it, the sculpture did share a distinction with Cardinal, and she was still alive inside that crunchy coating.
Impatiently Deacon hopped up and down: squabbling and waving his arms around like a young Shumi. Trying not to get distracted by him, Bishop threw an esuna spell on the unfortunate Shemoomba. Swiftly the spell washed over her, the stone membrane evaporating with the sound of sizzling butter. Even the effects would tickle on the skin. With the membrane softened and gone Cardinal fell over on her back. She coughed a few times desperately to get air in her free lungs. She was still shaky and her fur was matted with sweat and the leftover residue of the petrify.
With the moment of joy passed, Cardinal remembered her last moment before the petrify. She recalled getting into the Lunatic Pandora with Squall. She recalled his little talk with the pillar. And she remembered the toromae.
Immediately she made a bunch of distressed growls. Bishop, though glad to see she was okay from an unknown amount of time on petrify, was concerned. He twittered a string of calming chirps, but Cardinal kept on growling, she even roared. Bishop kept on with his chirps. Deacon, curious of Cardinal's attitude, did turn around, and was terrified at what he saw. He got Bishop's attention by pulling on his arm. At first, he would have none of it, but he had tugged pretty hard. And there, circling them like prowling cats were seven toromae.