Chapter 14: Don't Be Afraid
"Selphie!". Irvine screamed.
"Irvine, I'm okay. Please help me up". Selphie replied.
Selphie was losing grip as Irvine tried to pull her up. His arms were not long enough to reach her. Selphie threw up her Nunchaku to Irvine, which she still was holding onto too. He grabbed onto the end of her weapon and pulled her up. He cast a cure spell onto her to try and relieve some of her fatigue.
"Where is Seifer?". Selphie asked.
"He is up there on the platform. We can't get to him. The pillar has blocked our entry". Irvine responded.
—
The battle raged on as Seifer was left to defend himself becoming stuck in a fight against two powerful Guardians. Celsius still had her focus on Seifer as she lunged at him, throwing fists of ice in his direction. Seifer's Gunblade collided with the guardian's attacks defending himself as he slashed into the air. Celsius flipped backwards off Seifer's last swing and conjured an ice pillar that rose out of the ground. Just inches away from impaling Seifer, he ducked to the side and became surrounded by a green glow as he cast "Flare", a high-level non-elemental spell. The room became bright from Seifer's magic as rays of light danced around the room before a final explosion knocked Celsius out of the sky, landing down to the ground.
"I see you have some skill, boy. But how long can you last against my eternal power of ice?". Celsius declared.
As Irvine and Selphie tried effortlessly to carve a way through the fallen crystal pillar, Celsius had her back turned, focused entirely on Seifer. Dhalia now had ample opportunity to sneak up from behind. Dhalia teleported behind Celsius and grabbed hold of Celsius's head, trying to control her mind. Resisting her power and breaking free from her grasp, Celsius turned and grasped Dhalia by the throat, smashing her into the last crystal pillar left untouched. Dropping her to the ground, Lilith rose from Dhalia's physical body in response to Celsius's attack. With Dhalia free from Lilith's control, she now laid unconscious on the floor.
"Useless human! Celsius, you are mine!". Lilith declared.
"You are no Guardian. I will never surrender to your darkness. We are here to protect and balance the world". Celsius announced.
Lilith extended her finger like claws as Celsius began throwing a barrage of ice magic in her direction. With her claws breaking the oncoming attacks, Lilith dashed forward, clawing at Celsius, landing many strikes in quick succession. Following that up, she fired off a beam of dark magic blasting Celsius. Not being able to stop the attack, Celsius encased herself in a crystal shell to defend against the powerful magic. Seifer, still holding a grudge against his recent foe, began charging forward. Seifer slashed in her direction as Lilith deflected his attacks with her claws as sparks flew out as she pushed him back. Seifer's Gunblade lit up as he fired off multiple fire-based discs of physical energy. Lilith dodged all but one incoming projectile passing through the air as it grazed her side, making her fall to her knees on the platform below. Screaming out in pain, she exploded with darkness and power. Seifer had now become trapped within her magic, slowly losing consciousness. He grasped his Gunblade tightly as it held him up, trying desperately not to be swallowed up by Lilith's power.
Lilith's power spread like wildfire through the room, causing an enormous burst of light to shoot out of Seifer and clash with the negative energy. The light danced through the air as it spun around, slowly revealing itself as Ouroboros. Flying past Selphie and Irvine, it crashed through the pillar and let out a mighty roar. Floating just above Seifer's position, it breathed a holy fire breath engulfing Lilith as she screamed out in pain. The magic surrounding Seifer dissipated as Lilith's strength weakened.
Lilith was now losing the fight due to the eclipsing summoning from Seifer. She let out one last attack aiming her magic up high into the ceiling above and smashing into the structure. It began to cave in and give way as Seifer got to his feet. He watched Lilith fade away, escaping the incoming destruction. With the cavern now unstable, rocks and icicles were falling from above. Seifer thanked Ouroboros for his appearance as the creature disappeared back into spiritual energy. Irvine and Selphie rushed to Seifer's side, glad to see he was safe.
"What's happening". Selphie yelled.
"The whole place is coming down. We need to get out here". Seifer replied.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?". Irvine asked.
As Selphie and Irvine started towards the entrance, Seifer could hear moaning from behind him. Noticing that Lilith had disappeared at the fight's end and that the woman she had possessed was still here, he knew he could not just leave her behind. She, too, was a victim. Seifer picked the young woman up and started running to catch up to his party. He realised she was pretty light, which allowed him to catch up rather quickly. The place continued to collapse and shake as the party cautiously travelled back across the path to the stairs. As they closed in on the exit, a massive block of ice dropped from above and crashed through their path. A wide gap now in between them and their escape.
Selphie and Irvine leapt across the gap, sliding into the wall.
"Can you make it, Seifer?". Selphie yelled.
"I can't make the jump while carrying her". Seifer replied.
Celsius had broken free from her defensive shell back up on the platform as she watched her home now fall apart. Off in the distance, she could see the party trying to escape as they loudly conversed over the noise of crashing debris. Flying over to the entrance, she stopped in front of Seifer, floating in the gap where the path lay.
"Where is Lilith?". Celsius shouted.
"She's gone. Who are you?". Seifer yelled back.
"I am Celsius the Guardian of ice. Why have you come here?. Celsius continued.
Seifer was getting more and more anxious as the cave continued to crumble. Selphie and Irvine watched on from the entrance, cautiously aware of the power Celsius held.
"Are you the cause of the blizzard raging outside? We came to find whoever was causing it and stop them". Seifer explained.
Seifer was freezing, standing on the edge of the broken path. The platform where the crystal pillars once stood had now collapsed into the pit below. The ceiling lost all integrity and dropped at a rapid speed. Celsius conjured up some ice steps to fill in the missing path gap in a move of desperation. As Seifer raced ahead to meet Selphie and Irvine, he looked back as Celsius vanished into spiritual energy. They quickly ascended the stairs as a loud explosion behind them could be heard shaking everything around them. They felt the tremors beneath their feet as they came to the surface and back into Trabia Garden.
Selphie and Irvine rushed back to the classroom to retrieve Lank and Port. They met Seifer back at the abandoned classroom as they made their way back towards the entrance.
"Hey, wait, guys. How do I get her over the gate? I can't carry her and climb at the same time". Seifer asked.
"Just leave that to us". Port said.
"Everyone stand back". Lank yelled.
Lank and Port rigged some small makeshift bombs to the front gate to make a new entryway to the Garden's front.
"How long have you planning on doing this?". Selphie asked
"A little while. Do you know how hard it is climbing up and down that netting?". Port replied.
Port adjusted his remote control, and Lank finished plugging all the wires together. The group hid behind the fountain as Port hit the button. A loud boom rang out as smoke flowed up into the sky. Lank and Port ran ahead to inspect the damage and to discover the result. Seifer laid the young woman on the ground as he flexed his muscles.
"Who is she?". Irvine asked.
"She is quite beautiful". Selphie added.
"Her name is Dahlia. Lilith has been using her body as a vessel to move around undetected". Seifer explained.
"So like Ultimecia, who possessed Edea and Rinoa?". Selphie asked.
"Sort of like that. I don't know". Seifer concluded.
Lank yelled out across the lobby and confirmed the entrance was now clear and that everyone was safe to come on over. The party now left the Trabia Garden behind to board Galbadia Garden to escape the outside's ferocious weather. Arriving at the front entrance, Seifer could see Martine and Quistis waiting in view. Martine directed Selphie and Irvine to the auditorium on the second floor after Selphie asked about the Trabia students whereabouts. Lank and Port followed them, leaving Seifer at the gate.
"Seifer, please present your battle report!". Martine asked.
"Not now, Martine. I need to get this woman to the infirmary". Seifer shouted.
"Seifer, please remain calm. I will escort you to the infirmary. Martine, please excuse us. We shall meet you later". Quistis said.
Quistis walked off towards the dormitories on the ground floor beside Seifer. They made their way towards the Infirmary, where Doctor Ishii gave Dahlia a bed to rest on so he could monitor her health.
Seifer sat by her bedside, pondering on what was truly going on. He still had to report to Martine about the events inside Trabia Garden. With so much on his mind, he didn't know what to address first.
"I'm glad to see you made it back in one piece. I was worried about you". Quistis said.
Seifer peered over to Quistis, who was sitting beside him.
"Why were you worried about me?". Seifer asked.
"That's what friends do, Seifer. Don't you worry about others?". Quistis replied.
"I guess I never really have. I have always just looked out for me!". Seifer responded.
"What about Fujin and Raijin? They are your closest friends". Quistis asked again.
"Okay, I'm a crappy friend. Are you happy?". Seifer shouted.
Seifer got up from his seat and stared at Quistis, making her feel guilty about hitting Seifer's nerves.
Seifer flopped back down in his chair beside Quistis and apologised for his outburst.
"I'm sorry, it's been a long day. I need to start caring for the others around me. I'm trying". Seifer responded solemnly.
