THE FOURTH UNIVERSE
CHAPTER 7
The air felt offensively cold, aggravated by the damp and seemingly ice-covered floor viciously biting at her unprotected skin. Mustering just enough strength to open her eyes, the pathetic figure of Mina Ranziel, small town flower vendor and now helpless prisoner of her unknown assailants, tried to accustom her vision in the dark and squalid chamber, whose only source of illumination is a thin ray of moonlight seeping though a small, rectangular opening on the wall, meant to allow stale yet life-giving air to feed her tortured lungs. Resting her head back to the chilly concrete, Mina had no recourse but to weep silently out of despair.
No, not despair.
Rage.
Pure, unadulterated, soul-consuming rage.
If she really wanted to, Mina thought, she could call upon great powers to at the very least free herself from this dismal hellhole she currently languishes in. She can summon innate mystical energies to generate infernal fires hot enough to burn down the wooden door, or freeze the wall opposite her and subsequently have it shattered into a million pieces. If she really wanted to. And she desperately wanted to.
But no, Mina dared not. Haunting memories of gruesome events a dozen months past began to plague her psyche like some vindictive specter intent on depriving her of peace. More than a year ago, a slightly younger Mina pondered on the thought of finally using her sorceress powers, if only to provide fascinating entertainment for herself and her childhood friend. Curiosity got the better of sound judgment and led her to conjure her very first Blizzara spell against a budding and unmindful Funguar. As the ice began to form, so did some alien consciousness deep inside her defenseless spirit. Mina tried to eject the foreign entity trying to possess her, but to no avail.
A wall of darkness momentarily consumed her, followed by visions of stars, a great crimson pillar extending from the moon, and an exploding lunar space station. When she came to, Mina Ranziel threw up after gazing with horrified eyes at the sight of her friend: her body totally still while lying on top of a barren soil patch; her skin pale white, mouth ajar, and eyes wide open with deathly terror written on its lifeless pupils. The deceased girl's neck bore deep scratch marks together with a gaping cut that apparently emptied her body of its blood.
Terrified by the frightful sight, Mina subsequently noticed her two hands: one whose fingers show signs of caked blood inside the fingernails, and the other clutching a blood-soaked knife, the same knife she normally uses for pruning her flowery plants.
Her trauma was so immense she spent the next six months listlessly staring at the grayish wall of her small room. She would have spent the rest of her life in a state of incurable catatonia, if not for the aid of a homeless Shaman who informed the townspeople of Winhill of a certain malevolent sorceress from the future. A conscience-devoid witch, whose spirit travels back through time to possess the consciousness of present sorceresses and make them do ghastly deeds against their will.
Vindicated and declared innocent, Mina since tried to move on with her uneventful life. The ghosts still occasionally come back to haunt her, but not so maliciously. In her mind, these visions are merely reminders of the horrific end-result should she attempt to activate her angel wings again. No matter what happens, no matter how much she suffers, she vowed never again to invoke her forbidden powers.
But now, she asked herself: is her freedom not enough reason to break her vow? Is preserving her own life not worthwhile enough to risk losing control of her faculties once more? As she sullenly stared at the feeble source of light, Mina's eyes became tear-soaked once again. An answer was not in any way forthcoming.
"There it is. Let's come in for a closer look." Squall directed Selphie, who cautiously proceeded to maneuver the slightly unstable Ragnarok above a star-shaped break in the icy terrain of Bika Snowfield. It took them an unusually long time to fly from Timber to Trabia, taking extra care lest the newly repaired spacecraft starts to manifest signs of damage that the skillful hands of the FH repair crew might have overlooked.
"Are you sure about this, Squall?" Rinoa asked her beau while clutching on his arms.
"Well, it's a long shot. But I've always been curious about the strange energy signature we detected before in this crater. Let's call it a hunch." He replied, before going back to Selphie. "You think it's safe to land the Rag beside it?"
"No problem." She retorted while skillfully bringing the Ragnarok to a soft landing. "Hey Squall, you think we have time to drop by Trabia Garden after we're done here?"
"Let's talk about it later, Selphie."
The automated stairway hummed steadily while extending itself on the snowy ground. One by one, the party members emerged from the underside of the spacecraft amidst the eerily whistling sound made by the frigid winds. Squall promptly took off his heavy parka to put it on the shivering Rinoa, who's not really accustomed to exceptionally cold weather.
"Damn it's cold!" Zell exclaimed, rubbing his exposed forearms briskly with his gloved hands. "Hey Irvine, can I borrow your coat for awhile?"
"Here." The gunslinger quipped while handing Zell his spare overcoat. "Why didn't you bring a cold suit like the rest of us?"
"Pipe down, you two." Quistis warned the pair. "I don't feel like running into a Snowlion right now, so let's try not to attract attention."
"Whoa! Where going down THERE?!?" Selphie blurted out when the party reached the rim of the star-shaped crater. "It looks sooo deep! I can't even see the bottom from here."
Squall didn't answer, and instead leapt boldly on top of a ledge approximately twenty feet below them. Deeming it stable enough, he then looked up to his crew. "Let's go!"
Thankful that the sinking terrain wasn't as steep as they expected, the team of seven cautiously descended the ever-darkening ravine, their minds and eyes fully alert for whatever obstacles they might encounter. Fortunately, the long descent turned out to be quite uneventful, with the exception of a few roaming Bug Bites that were easily neutralized by Rinoa's Shooting Star and Irvine's Exeter. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the stalwart seven reached the bottom of the crater. The air felt ominously heavy, and Squall thought it best to be prepared, drawing his Lionheart aloft which served as the crew's only light source.
"I have a very baaad feeling about this." Selphie murmured, as if prophetically, when her dreading quip was followed by foreboding footsteps which seemed to be approaching their way.
"Do you hear that?" an equally apprehensive Irvine exclaimed, turning around to the source of the noise. They almost simultaneously reeled back upon catching sight of a pair of sharp, burning slits staring back at them. Feeling their hairs standing on ends, the party subsequently became fear-stricken when the smoldering pair of eyes began to draw even closer to them.
"IT'S BEEN AWHILE, SELPHIE." The menacing figure exclaimed as it revealed its wolf-like form. "WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE TO MY DARK DOMAIN?"
"Hey, I remember you" Selphie retorted, recalling an event in her twelfth year when after single-handedly defeating a Blue Dragon, she inadvertently fused spirits with a servitor entity that served as her Guardian Force for a short period of time. "You're the first GF I junctioned! Uhh what's your name again?"
I CAN SEE THAT YOU'VE BEEN AFFLICTED WITH THE SAD TRADE-OFF OF THE POWER JUNCTION." The canine entity snapped back. "I AM LOBO. AND I ASK AGAIN: WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE TO MY ABODE?"
"We're in dire straits." Squall boldly went forward. "And we desperately need your help."
"YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST MORTALS TO HAVE COME FOR MY ALLIANCE." Lobo returned, pausing for a short while before continuing. "VERY WELL, LET'S SEE IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE LAST. YOU ALREADY KNOW THE DRILL, INTREPID ONES. PREPARE FOR COMBAT."
"Whoa, whoa! Hold on a sec!" Irvine blurted out. "I thought you're with Selphie before. Why do we still have to fight you?"
"I HAVE SEEN SELPHIE'S PROWESS, AND HAVE NOT A DOUBT OF HER ABILITIES. BUT AS FOR THE REST OF YOU, I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU."
With that, Lobo cut loose with a preemptive attack in the form of a Meltdown blast that connected on Squall. The head SeeD got knocked down by the forceful assault, and consequently felt a brittle sensation overwhelming his body – as if it will readily shatter with a single, well-placed blow from the enemy. Seeing his plight, Quistis immediately directed Siegfried to treat their squad leader with an Esuna spell, while an enraged Rinoa instantly retaliated with a Shooting Star blow that hit Lobo squarely on the jaw. The others immediately followed suit, attacking the GF one after the other. Zell's assault particularly stunned Lobo when the martial artist's gloved fists connected with a solid upper cut on his chin. Staggering back, the GF shook his head in a mixture of pain and delightful disbelief.
"IMPRESSIVE! EVEN WITH MERE PHYSICAL ATTACKS, YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO HURT ME." Lobo hissed, to which a confident Zell arrogantly replied.
"Yeah? Well there's more where it came from, doggie."
"IS THAT A FACT? ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN STAND YOUR GROUND AGAINST THIS!!!" the GF howled, followed by a swift Meteor spell that relentlessly pummeled the seven warriors with mystically conjured metallic rocks plummeting down from the heavens. The powerless SeeDs were tossed about by the assault, particularly Rinoa when an unusually oversized boulder sent her frail body crashing against the hard surface of a nearby slate bed, knocking her unconscious.
Squall, horrified at the sight of his battered partner, turned a hateful stare on Lobo. He charged headlong toward the Guardian, unmindful of his own safety and thinking nothing but retribution as the Lionheart began a deathly descent towards the wolf creature's head. However, fury turned to trepidation when Squall's otherwise formidable weapon was instead caught by Lobo's mouth. Trying vainly to pull it out of the beast's tight grip, the SeeD commander instead found himself flying in the air after Lobo hurled both him and the gunblade away. Landing with a loud thud beside Rinoa, Squall winced in pain while struggling to stay conscious. The rest of them frenziedly stepped back after what happened to their leader, totally baffled and at a loss for what they should do next, cursing for not having their powers to aid them in this battle.
"HRGH, IS THAT ALL YOU GOT? COME ON, DON'T TAKE IT SO EASY ON ME." Lobo taunted.
However, his smug attitude was interrupted by loud rumbling noises coming from above him. And before he could react, Lobo suddenly found himself being pounded by tons of earth and snow when an unnatural landslide discharged its fury on him. In a matter of seconds, the vicious Guardian Force became buried under the avalanche.
"Sorry, Lobo. Really don't wanna do that" Siegfried mumbled while psychically tuning down the energy level of his mystical battle rod, the Soul Hunter, which conjured the Ice Avalanche. Quistis just stared at Siegfried, not knowing what to think about the awesome power displayed by his weapon.
But just as quickly as it ended, the battle restarted anew with a loud explosion that scattered the mass of icy earth trapping the wolf beast. The party gazed in timorous awe as Lobo, his body smoldering with power, extricated himself from his less than capable prison.
"THAT'S A NEAT TRICK, MORTAL." The GF snarled. "BUT THIS ONE IS EVEN BETTER!" Drawing a deep breath reminiscent of a Grendel, Lobo unleashed his Wolf Cry, a debilitating Breath attack that sprayed deadly, white-hot plasma from his fang-studded mouth on the startled warriors. Unimaginable torment engulfed their beings and brought the SeeDs to a convulsing fit of pain as the hot plasma overwhelmed them with its scalding touch. Only their iron-willed resolves enabled them to stand their ground in the midst of the excruciating ordeal. Lobo tried to hide it, but he was definitely held in wonder by his opponents' resilience.
Not about ready to give up, Siegfried threw away all caution out the window in coming up with his counter-attack. "Acid Rain!" he yelled, which was followed by the unexpected appearance of yellowish-black clouds in the atmosphere.
Within seconds, the warriors became cloaked with protective intangibility as a lethal torrent of acid and water poured its rage on the GF, hitting him with his main weakness: Poison. Lobo cried out of immense pain, his tormented howls echoing almost to the outer rims of the Trabian continent and disturbed even the quiet town of the Shumi people. After the downpour, the GF lay dazed and weakened, appearing to be ripe for conquest.
"Give up, Lobo?" Selphie gently asked her erstwhile ally. Lobo didn't utter a word, and instead strove to hoist himself up on his four paws. "Lobo, please give up."
"Polaris." The wolf creature muttered.
"Now what kind of white flag statement is th" Irvine was stopped dead upon beholding another creature taking form right beside Lobo. Brandishing a less flashy appearance than his conjurer, the Guardian Force known as Polaris nevertheless screams unmitigated might with his jet-black, shiny body which appear to have been carved from a proverbial black diamond.
There is no mouth from whence speech might emanate, not that Polaris really needed to say anything to begin his attack. Without warning, the four remaining SeeDs and the pacifist-warrior started feeling another wave of pain overwhelming them. But this time, the torturous ordeal seems to be coming from inside their bodies, as their blood vessels were twisted indiscriminately by Polaris' invisible magnetic powers by taking control of the microscopic iron molecules in their blood. They were just about ready to pass out from the pain when the onslaught ceased. Unbeknownst to them, it was Lobo himself who instructed Polaris to stop. In the midst of the weakened SeeDs' quivering forms, the two GFs stepped forward.
"I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO CUT YOUR LOSSES AND TURN BACK. YOU ARE NOT READY FOR US."
Unsteadily, Quistis stood up and fearlessly faced the two Guardians. Her curt utterance was more than enough to send a message to the pair that surrender is simply not included in her vocabulary.
"Shockwave Pulsar."
Two radiant white orbs and one exploding energy pillar later, both Lobo and Polaris staggered back, stunned and severely hurt by the headstrong SeeD's incapacitating desperation attack. With both parties now exhausted, it was only a matter of time before the victor of this grueling battle gets decided. Still holding the stamina advantage, the two Guardians consequently beat the SeeDs to the next move. Lobo once again unloaded his deadly Wolf Cry that pummeled the warriors with white-hot fury. Though this time, Polaris followed it up with a magnetic stream of his own to take control of the hot plasma. The frigid surroundings was subsequently filled by the anguished cries of the pain-stricken warriors when Lobo's atomic fluid, being maneuvered by Polaris' magnetic field, repeatedly assaulted their weakened bodies.
"Sieg fried" Squall laboriously called out. "Use Holy" The weak Siegfried just looked at Squall blankly, unsure of what he wanted to say. The SeeD leader then poured all his might in one desperate roar.
"Holy War!!!"
With shaking hands nearly impossible to control, Siegfried reached into the SeeD pouch for the life-saving item and, with tremendous effort, tossed the diminutive flask into the air, which then shattered by itself and sprayed the SeeDs with invincibility-granting fluid. Lobo and Polaris ceased their onslaught after recognizing it an exercise in futility, as Squall and his crew once again roused themselves for one final wave.
Unable to strike back, the GF pair recoiled in helplessness as they were bombarded by a flurry of double Ultimas, Ray-Bombs, Blasting Zones and Pulse Ammos. The battle closed with a hyped up Zell smashing his fist against the burning ground, delivering a catastrophic tremor that split the terrain apart from where erupting flames unleashed their red-hot ire against the two Guardians.
The smoke cleared to reveal Lobo and Polaris, both unmoving while intently staring at their conquerors. The former then broke the permeating silence between them.
"YOU CHEATED."
"We do whatever it takes to win." An exhausted Squall shot back. "And we don't have time to observe petty combat ethics. Lives are at stake."
Lobo stepped closer to the resolute warrior and gazed straight into his eyes, each of them as if measuring the firmness of their convictions. Stepping back alongside Polaris, Lobo let out a growling snicker before speaking out once more.
"THOUGH YOUR METHODS ARE SOMEWHAT SUSPECT, YOUR INTENTIONS ARE, NEVERTHELESS, NOBLE." The wolf beast echoed. "VERY WELL, YOUNG WARRIORS. OUR ALLEGIANCE IS YOURS."
The sun has just submerged back into the reddening horizon, basking the partially restored main building of the once bustling Trabia Garden with heartwarming crimson splendor. The students who survived and stayed behind to rebuild their cherished school are in high spirits. It's been more than a year now since the day of that lethal missile attack from Galbadia that destroyed the greater part of this Garden and murdered nearly half of its population. Much repair job is left to be done, but the compound is fast looking more like its old surroundings with each passing day. Thanks in part to a small contingent of FH engineers who have been generously sparing their time and expertise to lead the restoration efforts. When Selphie witnessed the extent of the improvement to her beloved Alma Mater, her eyes instantly welled up in heartfelt joy. This is perhaps the first time that Irvine saw her genuinely happy, and he can't help but share in her profound gladness.
The team of seven was warmly welcomed by their Trabian counterparts and instantly offered a warm and hearty meal. After supper, Squall, in displaying his old, pre-Time Compression self, decided against joining the Welcome Back, Selphie!' festivities and instead proceeded to the makeshift yet warm quarters their fellow students graciously prepared for them. He hasn't stayed for more than two hours inside his room when Rinoa arrived.
"Hey, what are you doing here alone?"
Rinoa's smiling face proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the exhausted and downhearted Squall. Feeling a momentary surge of strength, he quickly lifted himself from the feather bed and reached out for her hand. Rinoa responded by playfully jumping on to Squall's lap as they assumed a position reminiscent of the time in outer space when they assumed control of the awe-inspiring Ragnarok.
"What's going on outside?" Squall softly asked Rinoa.
"Oh, nothing much." Rinoa muttered, leaning her head on Squall's shoulders. "Zell and Irvine trying to outdo each other in dancing, while Selphie's patronizing them by playing referee."
"Oh, so that explains the noise." He remarked. "What about Quistis?"
"Quistis? Haven't seen her around since after dinner. Actually, I dropped by her room before coming over here. And she's not there either." Rinoa replied, evoking a brief pause from her lover.
"And Siegfried?"
"Likewise, not even a shadow." Rinoa then noticed the sullen look that befell Squall's face, which provoked her to voice out an out-of-place question. "Those two must be hanging out somewhere together Hey, are you jealous?"
"Why would I be jealous?!?" a defensive SeeD commander shot back.
"You're jealous because you never expected Quistis to actually hang out with another guy. Admit it, Squall!" Rinoa exclaimed, more of jokingly teasing her lover than anything else. His face assumed an even darker shade than before.
"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just messing with you." she echoed with a grin. Rinoa's demeanor then straightened with a more thoughtful question of her own. "But seriously, do you think there's something going on between those two? Not that I object, okay. But they really don't look that good together."
"None of my business."
"Oh geez. There you go again. And just when I thought I'd never hear those words from you anymore"
Squall didn't utter a word of response, and instead gently pulled Rinoa's face towards his, smothering her with a passionate yet tender kiss that expressed the entirety of just how much he cared for her. Not a few moments elapsed before the two broke off their emotional communion.
"Squall, I I love you. I love you so much."
"And I love you, Rinoa Heartilly." He responded with fervor. Their lips were just about to fuse again when approaching footsteps interrupted them. And before they could assume a more presentable pose, Quistis and Siegfried came rushing in, and consequently blushed with embarrassment upon catching sight of the couple.
"Ooops! I didn't know you were here, Rinoa oh my I'm so sorry, you two" a red-faced Quistis profusely apologized. Rinoa childishly returned a smirk at her.
"What's up, Quisty?" Squall echoed as he gently guided Rinoa to sit beside him on the bed.
Brushing aside her embarrassment, Quistis cleared her throat before speaking out her business. "Remember what Jeremiah said about GFs, their being immortal and all?"
"Yeah. He said GFs weren't supposed to be killed. So..?"
"No, not that. The latter part, about immortality being inherent to all GFs except for two counterfeits."
"Okay" Squall's voice faded when he caught on to his deputy's train of thoughts. "Two counterfeits?"
"That's what he said." Quistis continued. "I remember you telling me about someone telling you that Eden is the only artificial GF in existence. But Jeremiah said there are two. Could he just be mistaken or is there really another man-made GF out there?"
Rinoa was slighted by what Quistis said, then turned a questioning look toward Squall. How come he told Quistis about this, but not her? She then dismissed the thought for later in light of this more pressing SeeD matter.
"No, Jerry couldn't have been wrong." Siegfried joined in. "I can't remember an instance when he actually made a mistake in anything he said."
"I second that." Rinoa agreed. "I think he really meant two artificial GFs. The question is, if one of them is Eden, then who or what is the other?"
"Who knows? But then I think I know the first place to check." Squall iterated, which elicited a curious inquiry from Quistis.
"Where is that?"
"The Deep Sea Research Lab." The head SeeD retorted. "The people who used to occupy it experimented on alternate Draw methods. That must have led to Eden's creation. So who's to say that she it Eden was the sole GF they created?"
"That's right." the instructor agreed. "So I assume that's out next destination?"
"We leave first thing tomorrow morning. So I'd suggest all of you to get some rest." Squall said, after which he trained a suspicious glance at Siegfried after hearing how he spoke to his golden-haired comrade.
"Bed time, Quisty. Let's go."
Oblivious to the latter proceedings, Rinoa closed her eyes in brief meditation as she tried to call on their newly acquired ally, Lobo, to junction to her. Almost instantly, she felt the familiar infusion of power when the wolf creature's ethereal essence merged with her spirit, making her aware of all the abilities Lobo possessed. Rinoa was mildly shocked after a short exploration of the new GFs myriad powers.
"My goodness..!"
Squall noticed her alarmed expression. "Rinoa? What's wrong?"
"I just junctioned Lobo and"
"And..?"
" Quistis can learn Terra Break"
He's done it again. What's that smell?
Smells like rotten fish.
He looks around to see if the stench attracted the attention of the reporters milling around town. Half of him wished they did, maybe it'd be enough to make them leave. Damn tabloid jerks are making way too much out of that restoration project. Is the world in danger again? Are we facing another Sorceress War? Will Esthar and Galbadia finally clash head-on? Irresponsible idiots! They even went to the extent of alleging' that the meeting between General Caraway and President Loire is a farce, meant to hide the truth' that the two superpowers will never be able to settle their differences, and all out war is inevitable.
Spreading needless fear for the sake of increasing circulation. Damn infuriating! If he can have it his way he'd slice off the malicious fingers and lying tongues of these incorrigible doom-spreaders. He'd do it gladly, and show them no mercy. In his book, they do not deserve mercy.
"Oh well, I think it's way too much power for me to handle, anyway."
"Yeah, but it would've been real cool, Quisty. Terra Break? That's one major ass kicker if I ever saw one. Too bad we don't have enough Star Fragments." Irvine remarked, shaking his head. "What else is on that list, Rinoa?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just enough to enable Quistis to take on Ultimecia one-on-one." Rinoa wryly responded. "Of course, we can always go after the required items. But I'm not about to spend at least one whole year in any one of those two islands. No way!"
"Yeah, me too." Selphie followed up. "But it would have been real cool."
"Oh let's just stop this." Quistis shot back. "Why would I need this much power, anyway?" She then tossed a cautious look toward Siegfried. Though his gaze was trained on the cloudy patches littering the otherwise clear, blue sky, she can tell that he has been eavesdropping on the conversation she's having with her fellow SeeDs. And Quistis didn't have to be a telepath to know that he doesn't like what he's hearing. And that concerns her a lot.
"Deactivating auto-pilot." Zell, the designated pilot for that journey, announced. "Heads up, guys. Battleship Island dead ahead."
"Okay team, you know the plan. Except for Rinoa and Irvine, all unjunctioned personnel will stay here and be ready for anything." Squall rebriefed his crew. "That translates to Selphie and Zell. The rest of us will descend the Research Center."
As they traversed the length of the catwalk leading to the entrance of the long-abandoned facility, Squall looked back at the team he commissioned for this task. Quistis, as his deputy, naturally is included in almost all of their missions. Irvine will be the trouble shooter, as his sniping abilities have proven more than valuable in most occasions – especially recently that he seemed to have overcome his confidence problem. Siegfried well, he doesn't like the only non-SeeD member of the team. But he has certainly proven his capability during the battle against Lobo and Polaris.
And Rinoa? Though he insisted otherwise, the SeeD commander knows that his comrades are not pansies. And more than anything else, they are aware that the main reason why he included her in the task force is he simply wanted her to stay close to him. The threat of Vesta going after Rinoa had been bothering him during the past few days, and he's not about to take any chances. Better the devil that doesn't give a hoot, he reasoned.
What followed was another tension-filled trek going down to the various undersea levels, which ultimately ended at the spot where they defeated the deadly Ultima Weapon. Quistis began to breathe more easily after the party successfully completed the long descent through the winding concrete path they traversed before.
"Hmm, we must have wiped out all the monsters." She silently marveled in gratitude for not having encountered the lethal array of creatures that used to inhabit the excavation site.
"Hey, what's that?" Rinoa exclaimed while pointing to an obscured cave just beyond the underground lake.
"Hmm, didn't notice that before." Squall observed. "Let's take a closer look."
The quintet carefully tiptoed along a narrow ledge leading to the slightly glowing opening. Stepping inside, the crew was amazed upon finding themselves inside a gigantic cavern, with dimensions that appear spacious enough to house the mobile form of Balamb Garden itself. But they were even more mesmerized by a series of luminous, crystalline rocks decorating a panel at the center of the enormous cavity. The rock crystals themselves seem to be alive, as they shine enough blue light to amply illuminate the cavern.
"I've seen this before in a movie" Rinoa softly muttered "about a man from another world who came to our planet while he was still a baby." But no one was listening to her anymore. Exercising extreme caution, the team approached the light source in a single file, with Squall leading the pack as usual. Coming within arms-length, he carefully examined the blue light-emitting crystals, which subsequently began to pulsate. Drawing a deep breath, Squall reached out for the shiny rock and slowly rested a finger on the uppermost tip.
"Whoa!" the head SeeD exclaimed when a weak surge of electricity penetrated his supposedly insulated gloves. "What the is this thing alive? It reacted like it doesn't like to be touched!"
However, the team's attention was drawn away when a sudden burst of wind startled them, as if an extremely fast object just sped by. They haven't regained their composure yet when the irregular winds again lashed against their faces.
"Did you see that?" Irvine blurted out. "There's something flying right by us, but it's so fast all I saw is a blur!"
Now they know that something is indeed about to come down. Subtle clanging and clicking sounds reverberated through the cave as the five warriors equipped themselves for battle. Brandishing the Lionheart, Squall stepped forward to address the unseen foe.
"Though we don't wish to fight, we are prepared to do so if that's what you want!"
As if in response to his pronouncement, the invisible adversary suddenly screeched to a halt and revealed its mind-boggling form. Its entire body appeared to be made of gleaming metal, but subtle waving movements along its shiny contours undoubtedly displayed sentience. It's eyes, alive with alternating blue and red radiance, unblinkingly locked at the five warriors as if its actually assessing their capabilities. Its four wings are wide, perhaps wider than the total length of its streamlined body, which measured approximately ten feet. Though they appear to be metal wings patterned after that of the aggressive Thrusteavis birds, each of the two pairs had a massive apparatus which appear to be rocket engines situated halfway between the base and the pointed tips. It didn't seem to have claws, which suggested that this seemingly robotic creature was cursed to forever spend its existence in the lofty state of being airborne. The metallic beast's entire appearance is menacing enough to make the Ragnarok's pale in comparison.
The creature didn't utter a word as it continued to gaze upon the obstinate quintet. For reasons unclear to him, Squall decided to approach the metallic beast. But as soon as he took his first step, a sudden explosion stunned the SeeD leader when the robotic avian blasted off with such unbelievable acceleration that it immediately broke through the sound barrier, once again disappearing from their sight.
"Aahhh!!!" Quistis cried out. Without even seeing anything coming, her leathered right forearm suddenly squirted blood when something cut across it. She briefly reeled from the pain, then promptly reassumed a battle stance while switching her golden whip from her right hand to her left. Siegfried instantly came to her aid.
"I'm alright." The fearless instructor shot out. "Just go for that thing!"
The pacifist reluctantly complied, then turned his attention back to the surroundings to determine what form of attack he can use. But before he can even raise the Soul Hunter, Siegfried was knocked back when the speeding bird popped up in front of him and struck with its broad wings. The avian vanished just as quickly as it appeared, leaving Siegfried more dumbfounded than hurt.
"Dammit! Hold still for one second!" a frustrated Irvine hollered when his bullets didn't even come close to hitting their foe. He then watched helplessly as Rinoa suffered the same misfortune, cursing vehemently after hurling the Shooting Star against a wall of solid rock where the bird hovered a split-second previous.
Subsequent tries to tame the bullet-quick creature all proved for naught, as not even the all-consuming bombardment of a Meteor spell was enough to come close to touching the metallic avian. The closest they ever got was when Squall summoned Polaris, hoping that his magnetic powers would be enough to slow down the bird beast. But it likewise didn't hit pay dirt as the avian's momentum was too strong to be contained by the otherwise debilitating magnetic force. On the other side of the fence, the metallic foe is hitting his stride with impunity, repeatedly striking the warriors with lightning-fast assaults to continually disrupt their attacks.
As they neared exhaustion, the SeeDs began to be beset by that unwelcome sense of defeat. However, Siegfried had other things in mind.
"You can outrun bullets good" he muttered. "Let's see how well you can do against light itself!" After which he echoed a summons to call upon the aid of his ally. "JEREMIAH!"
A prompt stillness blanketed the gargantuan cavern, as the shadows littering the area assimilated themselves to give form to the most ancient of all Guardian Forces: the benevolent servitor-entity who calls himself Jeremiah. Performing his designated task, Jeremiah's otherwise caliginous shape promptly began to emit sharp rays of incredibly bright white light that totally engulfed the enclosed battlefield. And even with his great speed, the robotic bird was unable to out-race the blinding flash that effortlessly overtook it, flooding its intricate optic nerves with an overload of visual input that consequently inflicted severe disorientation to its magic-infused micro-circuitry. A deafening boom reverberated when the blinded foe smashed against the hard wall of the cavern. When the white brilliance receded, the avian's metallic form lay sprawled on the rocky cavern floor, too stunned to pick itself up. The quintet gathered around their fallen foe, only to be startled when its silverized beak opened up to talk.
"Hhh never met anyone who actually outsmarted me."
"You can talk?" Squall marveled at the bird beast, genuinely surprised by its unexpected faculty to communicate in lieu of his knowledge of its origins.
"Of course I can, you half-wit." It tauntingly snapped back. "You're wondering how I can talk when that grotesque Eden can't?"
"Y-Yeah something like that uhh" the SeeD head reluctantly replied, wary of the next possible insulting remark he might get for his general cluelessness. And Squall's defensive behavior wasn't in vain.
"The name's Lockheed, ignorant mortal. And whoever told you Eden can't talk, huh? Have you even tried speaking to it?"
"That's not important right now." Quistis intermitted. "We've beaten you, so that means you'll be joining us."
"Of course I will. Like I said, you're the first ones to have outwitted me. And I find that very admirable for humans." The GF agreed. "And sorry about the arm, okay? I was really going for your weapon. Guess my aim's a little off."
Turning around, Squall discreetly whispered to Rinoa. "I will never build any compatibility with a wise-cracking GF like him. But I have just the person in mind." Rinoa tried not to laugh.
"Squall! Squall! Do you copy?" the SeeD commander's communicator crackled to life with Zell's voice.
"Zell, I was just thinking about you." Squall responded. Rinoa wasn't able to contain her laughter.
"? Whatever. Listen, we received an urgent message from Kiros in Esthar."
Reverting to his serious posture, Squall returned a quizzical response to Zell. "Urgent? Why? What's wrong?"
"Said it's really serious. We have to go to Esthar on the double!"