Chapter 12: Unearthed
You could find the continent of Trabia in the northern part of the world blanketed by snow due to its harsher climate. The weather kept many people away, which left it quite bare when it came to societies. The Shumi was one tribe that took up occupancy on the continent. They lived underground in their village self titled Shumi Village, with their brethren, the Moombas. They were soon joined not long after by the facility known as Trabia Garden. Edea and Cid Kramer built the garden in hopes of housing orphans and training them as students.
The air was cold and bitter as the wind blew softly across Dahlia's face. Dahlia hovered above the ground to avoid getting stuck in the snow, moving like a leaf in the wind. The sleet was quite impairing her vision. She followed a light source in the distance, moving ever so closer as she heard voices. She followed the echoes of the sound, stopping herself right before colliding into a giant structure.
As she floated to the top, she could see a road that consisted of ruined concrete and overgrown branches sticking out of the cracks embedded in the ground. Dhalia tried to remain hidden from the people she could see occupying the space while still spying and ears dropping for any vital information. Not far ahead in the distance were the main lobby's remnants, all crumbled in pieces with a fountain that now ceased to function. A young female sat on the fountain's edge, talking to her friend with her legs crossed as another young guy walked over towards them.
"Hey Selphie, do we have any more of that Ms Moogle's Cake? It's so delicious". The young female asked.
"Hey, Kat, we are all out. I will have to ask Ma Dincht to bake us some more. It's the bomb!". Selphie replied, jumping into the air flapping her arms wildly.
"Hey, ladies". The young guy said as he winked at Selphie.
"Irvine! I thought you were helping out in the classroom?" Selphie yelled, putting her hands on her hips.
"Selphie, can you come with me for a minute. We found something in the quad underneath the rubble". Irvine replied urgently.
Irvine grabbed Selphie's hand and pulled her away as she was trying to talk to her best friend.
"I apologise, Kat. We will talk later." Selphie yelled as Irvine was pulling her away.
Selphie and Irvine were a part of Squalls party that helped defeat the sorceress Ultimecia who tried to destroy the world due to being persecuted for being a powerful sorceress. Selphie is a young woman who can be rather clumsy and childish but is a very upbeat person. Her cheerfulness is a trait born out of desperation due to the fear of unhappiness. She was one of the many orphans like Seifer and Irvine who ended up at Edea's Orphanage when she was young. Selphie wore her favourite yellow overall dress, which clipped at the front and contained two large pockets at the back. Combined with a shiny silver pendant, brown battle boots and a blue strap on her left wrist, Selphie charged into any battle with her weapon of choice, an oversized nunchaku.
Pulling Selphie's hand, Irvine dashed past the broken fountain. He entered the makeshift bedrooms and could see many students reading or sleeping the day away. This part of the garden was once a classroom. Still, after the surprise missile attack struck the garden, they turned the area into functional sleeping areas. Halting in her tracks, Selphie pulled on Irvine's hand and yanked his body onto the path leading towards the computer room. Upon entering the room, a young child approached Selphie.
"Selphie! You are back. Will you come and skip with me". The little girl asked.
"I can't right now, Jess. But I bet you are happy I saved Mr Bobo from the fire?". Selphie replied as she crouched down and smiled.
Suddenly from behind, Selphie was requested by another little boy eager for Selphie's attention.
"Will you come and play Hide and seek with me, Selphie". The little boy asked, tapping her on the shoulder.
The children were very energetic about Selphie as they liked her playful attitude and happy nature.
"I'm sorry, kids, I can't right now. Irvy and I are busy with some important stuff". Selphie announced.
"Hey, Billy, why don't you go hide, and if I find you, you will have to skip with me, okay?". Jess shouted.
"Yay!". Screamed Billy as he ran off to hide.
Covering her eyes, Jess counted to ten.
"Ready or not, here I come!". Jess said as she ran off towards the quad.
"Damn it. I thought I nearly had it there for a moment. Just need to press this and press that". Lank growled.
Selphie and Irvine slowly walked over to Lank, who was trying to reprogram the schools main computer.
Port was behind the computers fiddling with some wires, working to connect them again, listening to Lank's tirade.
Port and Lank were frustrated that their efforts were not leading to any successful attempts to get the Gardens messenger system up and running.
"Booyaka Selphie, we are so close. Soon, we will be able to access all the old data". Port yelled from behind the electronics.
Booyaka is an expression of greeting Selphie has been trying to teach as a greeting, although failing at getting it to spread. Port inserted another power cable into the computer's back when a few sparks fly out, and Selphie's file popped up on the screen.
"Port, I think we did it". Lank said as he punched in a few more codes into the keypad as a ding rang out.
"Hey, that's my private information! Take that down". Selphie said, feeling a little embarrassed.
"But it's got such a nice picture of my girl Sephie". Irvine said, trying to cheer her up.
Port ran out from behind the computers and stood beside Lank as he continued to input more directions.
"Selphie, let's go. I need to show you something important!". Irvine insisted, pulling at Selphie's arm.
"Okay, I'm coming. I'll be back, guys". Selphie shouted as she dashed off.
"Don't worry about us. We will have the messenger system back online when you come back". Lank replied, sounding confident.
"Selphie, wait!" Irvine yelled.
Irvine is Selphie's closest friend in battle and has always had a romantic interest in her. Ever since he was younger at the orphanage, Selphie had always made him smile, and he admired that about her. Although Selphie could be a little destructive, Irvine takes that in his stride and goes along with her. Irvine was another orphan that ended up at one of the Gardens and didn't remember much before the orphanage. As such, he ended up attending Galbadia Garden and training in the military and graduating as a sharpshooter. His training led him to use firearms in battle as his weapon choice, most notably the shotgun. Irvine's notable features are his brown hair, a ponytail hanging out the back, and striking blue eyes. He enjoys wearing his black cowboy hat and a beaded necklace he has had since he can remember. His purple vest was covered by a long khaki coloured jacket and paired with black trousers under his brown chaps. Heading into any battle with his Black boots, Irvine wasn't your typical cowboy.
Selphie sprinted past the bedrooms and into the quad where the last missile had landed. The missile had obliterated the stage on impact, leaving pieces of wood chunks scattered along the grounds. Although the missile had landed, it had not exploded on impact and now lay on its side, blocking the basketball courts' path.
Sarah, the student body president, was currently inspecting the missile.
"Hey, get away from that, Sarah". Selphie yelled.
Selphie ran over quickly with Irvine right behind her to pull back the young student as she was worried for her safety.
"What are you doing, Sarah? Selphie shouted.
"It's fine, Selphie. Irvine and the other students have already confirmed that the missile is no longer a threat". Sarah explained.
"How do we know that?" Selphie asked.
"I'll answer that". Irvine proudly said.
"Do you remember when we were at the missile base in Galbadia with Zell? The computer screen we messed with before we left said that the missiles only impacted on collision thanks to a contact fuse. So we opened her up and discovered the fuse is dead. So the missile is nothing more than dead weight". Irvine explained.
"I see. So my next question is, how do we move it? It's so heavy!". Selphie asked.
Irvine headed off and gathered a few other male students to assist him in the task. They lined up against the missile and started to push it out of the way.
"I'll help too". Selphie announced.
"You can count this lady out". Sarah said.
With the missile now lying on the basketball court, Selphie hugged Irvine in thanks for his help. As she smiled his way, she could hear Sarah calling out from a distance.
"Hey, Selphie, how much do you know about the Gardens history?". Sarah asked.
"I am constrained on the history of Trabia Garden. I was only here for a few years while I trained to become a SEED, and with Headmaster Ren now gone, thanks to the Gardens destruction, the only other person who would know is Cid who built this place.". Selphie expressed.
"We need you to see what we found under the stage area! Irvine, did you forget to tell her?". Sarah asked.
"The missile did distract us. Plus, it was of importance to remove it before it could cause any damage". Irvine remarked.
Sarah turned and returned to the quad. Irvine and Selphie traded one more smile as they took off back themselves. Arriving in the central area, Selphie could see many students pulling apart the wooden structure and digging within the rubble. Throwing the wooden planks to the side, they uncovered the total size of a metal composition within the remnants of the shattered ground where the missile had struck.
"It looks like a door?". Selphie questioned as she looked on.
After the students removed the last pieces of the stage, Irvine and another male student tugged at the unearthed handles. Irvine struggled with the force of the door, eventually falling back as the door gave way. A cool mist lifted into the air from the enclosed space beneath. Listening to everyone's surprise, Irvine regained his footing and assisted the young student with the other door. Once Irvine had opened both the doors, they revealed a staircase leading farther under the garden.
"Was this here the whole time?". Sarah asked.
Selphie was stunned as she looked over to Irvine for some explanation.
"Selphie, it might be a good idea to ask everyone to leave the quad. We don't know what's down there. Until we have investigated the area, it's probably best for everyone to evacuate." Irvine pleaded.
Selphie heeded Irvine's request and asked Sarah's to assist in moving all the students out of the area and back into the sleeping quarters. Selphie gathered Irvine and Sarah in the computer room and started to discuss the dilemma at hand.
"Irvine, what do I do? I'm not the headmaster. Squall just sent me here to help rebuild the garden". Selphie asked.
"Squall sent us here because he believes we can make a difference. You have been a Trabia student before. They like you, Selphie. So we do what we know how to do. We go down there, investigate and protect the garden!". Irvine proclaimed.
"Hey, guys, our system is back online. We can now communicate with the other Gardens". Port expressed.
—
Dahlia bided her time long enough for the area to become empty as she floated down to the ground to inspect the newly discovered entryway. She ran her hands across the open metal door to get a feel of what could be inside. She felt a surge of energy through her fingers which excited her greatly. Hearing voices, Dahlia growled at the thought of interference and quickly crouched through and made her way down the stairs. Stepping off the staircase led to a skinny corridor covered in crystallised ice and sheets of snow. The way ahead was dark and had no light source. Dhalia held out her hand, and a glowing light radiated within her grasp. Treading cautiously ahead, being careful of the sharp icicles hanging from the ceiling, she turned a corner, leading to another set of stairs leading deeper into the ground.
She reached the bottom without any care, taking in the view of the vast open area that stood in front of her. A pathway extended out towards the centre of the area lit up with blue fluorescent lights to show you the way. Following the path led to a rocky climb that spiralled around the structure with three massive ice crystal pillars extending into space above. Dhalia floated higher, reaching a central circular platform lit up by dreamy blue night lights. The ice cavern had not been touched in years and was built upon and ignored to make the current structure. Dhalia noticed a tiny altar at the foot of the middle crystal pillar. Touching it, she could feel the energy of a guardian sealed within. Closing her eyes, she radiated magnetic energy as she concentred her focus on mumbling words of conjuring.
Suddenly a magical force filled the quiet room with strong blowing winds as snow begun to flow through the air. Dahlia could hear cracking noises within the air as enormous icicles broke free from the ceiling and crashed into the floor below. Moments later, the central crystal pillar shattered utterly, revealing a human-shaped woman floating in the air. The guardian looked more human than a creature; blue hair dangled from its head in a braided dreadlock style, wearing a dark blue dress and white boots with a gold tip. The guardian's eyes opened slowly, revealing a dark shade of purple tinting its iris. Surrounded by a frosty vortex, the guardian began its descent down onto the platform where Dhalia awaited.
The awakening of the Guardian Force had triggered an unnatural snowstorm from within the cave. Upon the surface, a raging quake shook the land as a Blizzard whipped up across the continent.
