"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I want to help you somehow," was my answer.
"Help me find a way to protect the Garden from the missiles," Squall instructed.
"How?" I asked.
"I don't know!" Squall yelled while he raised his hands in frustration.
I began to look around at the walls and seen a few of the panels out of place, as if they had been moved. I walked over to them and tried to pry them open, but it didn't work. I stood and kicked one of the panels on the top part and the panel fell to the floor. I bent down and looked in the square-shaped hole. I seen books of some sort hidden within. I carefully took the books out and counted five of them, they looked really old.
"Found something!" Squall exclaimed from the control panel. I turned to look at him as he jumped through the window, shattering it, as he fell to the floor below. I continued with what I was doing, and then heard a battle ensue.
I stood, went over to the shattered window and shouted, "Can somebody help me up here?" Zell and Mathias ran over to the ladder and began to climb up to where I was.
"What is it?" Mathias asked.
I pointed to the panel and the books on the floor. "The panels have things hidden behind them and I need help getting them out."
I watched as Mathias ran both hands through his black hair with a worried expression on his face. "Maybe we should put them back..." he started.
Zell was picking up a book beside me and Mathias grabbed it out of his hands, "What the hell?" Zell asked.
"I'm telling you, it is best we leave these where they were found," Mathias demanded.
"You're acting weird dude," Zell told him.
Mathias turned his gaze to Zell and replied, "I just don't think we should disturb these books."
"They may offer a clue as to how to defend the Garden from the missiles," I put in. I looked up at Mathias and seen that he was trying to think of something. "What is it Mathias? You know something that you aren't telling us...don't you?" I asked as I stood up with one of the books in my arms.
Mathias took a deep breath and let it out in defeat. "Some of those books belong to me...I wrote the ones that are mine."
"But they look so old," Zell put in.
"Because they are old, and so am I," Mathias said. He must have seen the confusion on mine and Zell's face. "Mathias isn't my real name and I am not a Sorcerer."
"So, you have been lying to the Headmaster?" I asked.
"Yeah," he gave a slight nod of his head, "I had to because I needed an alias to hide my real identity."
"This sounds too ridiculous to me," Zell said while raising an eyebrow. "If Mathias isn't your name, what is it?"
"Ultimaticus, I am a demon, and these journals were written by my lover, the Sorceress Snowe, and myself. I was going to burn my journals, however, Snowe hid them from me before I could, I've looked all over the Garden for my journals so I could take them."
"Why are you telling us this for?" I asked.
"Because you are my direct descendant Eternity," was his answer. "I know this because of your white bangs. Since Snowe was turned into a Sorceress thanks to that evil wizard Hyne, her bangs turned white from the power he transferred to her with the help of the Machina Tower."
"Show us," Zell demanded with a hint of challenge in his voice.
"What?" Mathias asked.
"If you're a demon, show us," Zell repeated.
Mathias took his shirt off and extended his arms. I noticed something red begin to extend out of his back and I thought they looked like bat wings. The joints of the wings were black. His eyes also glowed crimson and his skin turned a slight reddish hue. "Damn!" Zell swore. I was just as surprised as Zell sounded.
"But...if what you say is true," I began, "these journals are part of my family history..."
All of a sudden, we were all knocked off our feet when a shudder shook the Garden. Zell crawled over to me and wrapped his arms around me protectively while Mathias kneeled next to us with a hand on each of our backs. "The missiles must've struck!!" Zell exclaimed. We all heard metal scraping against metal.
"The Garden is activating!" Mathias exclaimed. "The energy waves are activating and that means we will start moving!"
"How do you know?" Zell asked.
"I've lived here over three thousand years ago," was Mathias' answer. "The energy barrier makes the Garden hover in the air, so we may be able to avoid the missiles!" Another shudder went through the room around us and we heard explosions somewhere. Soon after, we felt a smooth vibration and the movement of the Garden. We all slowly stood and looked around us and Mathias said, "We are moving now. We are safe for the time being."
"Mathias?" I started. He looked at me. "If I am your direct descendant...why..." I couldn't finish my question. I noticed Zell over at the control panel staring down at the floor below.
"Why what?" he asked.
"On the way back from Mysidia...on the ship...you know...me, Seifer, Johann, you and Zeke..." I seen understanding written on his face as he remembered.
"You may be a direct descendant of mine, however the blood between us has been diluted over the generations, so it doesn't matter what we do together anymore," was his answer. "Just as Snowe was a direct descendant of me when she was my lover."
"I thought demons were suppose to be evil," Zell began, "you're don't seem to be evil at all."
"Correction, I had to conceal my identity while I was at Garden. I am inherently evil, I will kill others in a heartbeat and not care," Mathias told Zell and advanced toward him while Zell backed up. Mathias stopped in his tracks and continued, "Don't you ever tell me that again or you will regret it." I watched as Zell swallowed nervously.
"As for you Eternity," Mathias flew toward me and grabbed my shoulders fiercely. I struggled against him, trying to free myself. I felt myself calm down as I did at the Triumphal Gate in Deling. My breathing slowed and I looked up at Mathias. I felt my hand crackling with energy, so I looked out of the corner of my eye to see that the black energy was back. I used my Sorceress power to throw Mathias away from me. He landed on his back, slowly got back up and looked at me.
"Try to fight this power Eternity," he instructed. "I did not mean to make it seem I was attacking you. I was going to tell you that because you are my family, I would never harm you." I continued to stare at Mathias. "Fight it Eternity...this power you wield is a danger to yourself as well as others around you...try to control it so it doesn't consume you."
"You seem to know about my power," I suggested.
"Yes, only because this dark power comes from me. You are not a demon, so you can easily be controlled by it, unlike me." Mathias began morphing again until he looked like the way he always did. "You are one of the most powerful humans I have met in a very long time. Now, bury the dark energy within yourself and keep it there. You may need to use it again in your life, however, you need to learn how to control it first before you do something you may regret later."
Mathias walked up to me once again and I let him take hold of my shoulders in his hands. "Please, calm down...it wasn't my intention of hurting you and I'm sorry I made it seem that way," he said smoothly. I focused my energy to calm myself down and I felt dizzy afterwards. I fell to the ground with Mathias kneeling beside me. "That dizziness is probably the energy draining out of your mind," he told me.
"Are you okay Eternity?" Zell asked me. I slowly nodded and smiled up at him.
"I'll tell you what Eternity," Mathias began. "You can read each journal, one at a time, but you must leave the rest hidden here so nobody else can steal them."
"Do you promise not to destroy any of them?" I asked.
Mathias nodded, "I promise." He stood up and continued, "I am going up into the main part of Garden to see what's going on." With that, he jumped down to the floor below us and made his way to the elevator.
After Mathias was gone, Zell asked, "What now?"
I picked up a few books and made my way back to the holes they came from. I began putting them back while saying, "I'll read them when I am bored. I have to many responsibilities right now to bother with these...I will just have to trust that Mathias will keep his word and not destroy them."