FF8: The Saviours - Part Three
by Astarte
Chimera slowly opened her eyes, feeling in a way that she had never known before. Her entire body ached, she felt as though she were on fire, and every time she moved her head the world seemed to move faster than her head did. These side effects were not unexpected but it was one thing to understand something intellectually and something else entirely to actually experience it for the first time. She found that she did not much care for human frailty.
She was able to tolerate the discomfort but it was the sound in her head that was almost intolerable. The sound was like a roaring sound that wouldn't go away. Sometimes it was quiet but other times it was very loud indeed. Right now, it was loud and getting louder by the minute. Instinct drove her to plug her ears but she couldn't stop the noise. She was not hearing it with her ears.
*Go!* A thought suddenly burst out of the noise, startling her. It was not her own thoughts for it had a distinctly male sense to it. *Go now!* The voice shouted at her with urgency. The voice had sounded distant even though it was shouting. What was going on, she wondered hazily.
*They come. Leave and live, stay and perish.* The voice was getting louder as though the owner of the voice was approaching. Now her sensitive hearing could pick up a distant humming sound. It was a definitely mechanical sound, one that she recognized. It was the sound of a mobile Garden. Balamb Garden was headed towards her.
Staggering out of the van, Chimera found refuge in the sea. Sinking as deep as she could, she watched the beautiful Garden float over her and onto the beach. Someone must have discovered the lab and alerted SeeD. They had come hoping to find her. If the voice had not warned her, she would have been captured and very possibly killed.
Thank you, she tried to say to the owner of the voice, casting her thoughts to the entity. Straining to hear, the noise in her head burst like a dam and Chimera was suddenly aware of at least a dozen voices. Some were feminine, others male, and at least one definitely hissed. Despite her current weakness, she was curious to find out who these beings were. Her inborn instincts drove her to find out if these new people were threats or potential allies.
*Your gratitude is unnecessary. You are of us now.* The voice resonated within her as though she were a tuning fork. The voice sounded much closer now and had a deeply male and regal voice. The voice seemed familiar somehow but Chimera wasn't sure where or how she recognized the voice. It struck her as peculiar. If she had ever heard the being's voice before she should have remembered it. For the first time in her life, Chimera was confused.
The owner of the voice seemed moderately amused by her confusion. She heard a smoky laugh echo in her mind, a low rumbling sound. The familiarity of it nagged at her. *Of course you know me, little one. I am Bahamut.*
Bahamut? This was completely unexpected, she had not realized that the Guardians were even aware of her. She thought back to her assumption that Bahamut had been junctioned but perhaps she had been mistaken. Perhaps he was free. Could she possibly persuade him to ally with her? Her mission would be much more easily accomplished if she had the Lord of the Guardians at her side.
*No, little one. I cannot choose sides in this matter. A handful of humans earned my respect enough to allow them to junction me. Honour prevents me from acting against them. Yet, you are one of my own and I must protect those of my kind.* Bahamut paused, distaste colouring his mental tone. *This has become complicated.*
Chimera could only agree. It was becoming steadily more complicated as each day passed. She could not even begin to comprehend the ethical dilemma the great dragon faced. Such was the burden of leadership, something she would never aspire to even if the opportunity ever presented itself. She was the only one of her kind. She doubted that the opportunity would ever arise.
After that brief conversation, the Guardians kept silent no longer speaking to each other or to her. She supposed that they were all caught up in this conflict of loyalties. Chimera found it somewhat surprising that such powerful beings should feel compelled to junction themselves to such lowly creatures as humans. As a group humans were too driven by the trivial and the mundane, rarely tried to exceed their limits, mostly satisfied by the superficial and the quick fix. The rare few who did stretch beyond the limitations of their species were generally looked down on by the masses. Perhaps the Guardians had found the gems among the dross.
Chimera waited patiently for the Garden to leave. By the time they did go, heading to the east, Chimera felt completely recovered. Waiting until she could no longer hear the hum of the craft, she launched herself into the air and hovered there. She could feel strange powers coursing through her, if only she knew exactly what those powers were. Landing not far from the lab, she regarded it for a long time. SeeD had torn the place apart looking for her and any information that they could use against her.
A faint sound alerted her. A small craft was approaching. Keeping hidden, she watched as a group of soldiers in black military gear got out of the ship and started sweeping the area, weapons at the ready. The uniforms were unmarked so she couldn't identify which army they belonged to but it was certain that they were not SeeD. They had been following the SeeD obviously hoping that they would be led to her. She had her own suspicions as to whose soldiers these were.
She patiently watched as they cautiously approached the abandoned laboratory, determined to learn as much about these enemies as she could. Highly professional, a group of men stood guard while others cautiously entered the lab. After a few moments, they came out looking rather frustrated. One of the soldiers saluted another. That was the one in charge, Chimera noted to herself, the one to watch.
"Sir, the lab has been abandoned. There is nothing left to indicate the target's whereabouts, Sir," the female soldier said in a voice that was clipped and precise. The officer merely nodded, looking as though he wasn't entirely surprised.
"Is there any evidence to establish proof of the target's existence?" the officer asked in an equally clipped voice. The soldier nodded and held up a plastic evidence bag. Inside it was the syringe that Chimera had used to inject herself with.
"There should be traces of blood in the syringe. If the target exists, the DNA won't be human." She handed it over to her superior officer. He held it up before his eyes regarding it thoughtfully.
The officer handed the bag back to the soldier and turned away, walking towards the ship. "Destroy it, soldier. We have our orders. No evidence that contradicts our department's official position."
Chimera was amused, humans were so predictable. Even faced with a common threat they still engaged in political machinations. Instead of dealing with potential extinction, they were jockeying for social position. How the species had managed to survive so long was a mystery to her.
The power was flowing within her. Newborn knowledge was starting to creep into her conscious mind, telling her what she could do and how. What she was unsure of were her limits. These soldiers provided a perfect opportunity to test herself.
Bursting out of her hiding spot, she caught them off guard. Manifesting her powers to their fullest she felt herself lift off the ground, surrounded by a pillar of living green fire. Tongues of flame caressed her as she hovered over her enemies. They tried firing at her, wasting round after round of ammunition that merely vaporized as soon as it touched the hellish heat of the pillar. Others tried to fight fire with fire, using flame-throwers against her but to no avail.
Some of the soldiers bolted, trying to run for the ship and its supposed safety. Chimera merely reached out her hand and a tendril of green fire lashed out at the runners. As soon as the fire touched them, they seemed to whither and change to ash gray. They stood there like shriveled statues until a stiff breeze made them collapse into piles of ash.
Other soldiers, having learned that their weapons were useless, tried using magic against her but it did little good. The magic they cast against her only fed the fires, making her stronger. A soldier cast meltdown on her, blowing away most of her vitality but the fire protected her from their guns and magic. Surprisingly it was a stone that one desperate soldier hurtled at her that successfully hit Chimera. A natural chunk of granite, it pierced the heat of the fire and struck her full in the chest, causing her to grunt in pain. Unfortunately the rock was only enough to make Chimera very angry.
The pillar of green fire was alive and swelled in reflection of her fury. She stretched out her hand, claws unsheathed and made a violent slashing motion. Tendrils of fire whipped out in mimicry of her action, striking the surviving soldiers. The fire wrapped itself around each soldier it touched and literally sucked the very life-force out of them.
Chimera let the power drain from her and stood there, half crouched and panting, her hands on her knees. She was exhausted and covered in sweat. Looking around wearily, she saw piles of gray ash and nothing else. She tried to sense the presence of survivors but there were none.
*Interesting.*
She looked up, sure that she had heard Bahamut's voice but she didn't hear anything. She had pushed the limits of her powers but she knew that they would grow as she practiced. Right now though, all that she really wanted was a nice swim to wash the sweaty grime from her body and a nice long nap.
*** *** ***
As soon as the Ragnorok had landed in Esthar, the SeeD team was quickly ushered into Laguna Loire's office. The Esthar had been radioed ahead and told that something was seriously wrong but they hadn't been told exactly what it was. Even Zell realized that radio frequencies weren't secure. Quistis had suggested bringing Doctor Echid along because no-one else was capable of explaining the Chimera Project in sufficient detail. Odine would almost certainly have questions that none of the SeeD would be qualified to answer and since they had the former head of the project in their possession, she figured that they should use that advantage.
Iris, who had been assigned to shadow Ceta, helped the emotionally fragile woman into a seat and gave her encouragement. Laguna's face grew pale as he listened to Ceta Echid explain, yet again, everything that had happened. Laguna opened his mouth several times, only to shut it without saying a thing. For once, Ward didn't need Kiros to translate for him, he was more than a little disgusted with the doctor and it showed. Kiros just shook his head. Odine, on the other hand, was clearly fascinated and even impressed. Zell wasn't terribly surprised at that, after all, Odine was the poster child of amorality.
Laguna took a deep breath and looked at Squall. "How much damage has she done so far?"
Squall cocked his head slightly. "She's killed thirty people that we know of. Did you have any decapitation murders lately?" Zell couldn't help but notice the huge empty space between the two men. He wondered what the heck Squall had against Laguna, he thought that Laguna was a terrific guy, even if he was a bit goofy sometimes. He figured that he'd ask Iris later, she had a good nose for this kind of thing.
Laguna scratched his head and looked towards Kiros with a vaguely helpless expression on his face. Kiros shook his head in resigned amusement and answered the young SeeD leader's question. "No, we haven't had any problems at all. Chimera likes decapitating people?"
Odine pushed Kiros aside with an annoyed expression on his face. Kiros, for his part, just rolled his eyes and stepped out of the little scientist's way. "Go avay. No one cares about trivial things," Odine said, "What iz important iz knowing details of how zis girl vaz created." Personally, Zell would have liked to hit the scrawny little man.
The two scientists spent the better part of an hour speaking a language that no-one except another scientist could ever hope to understand. The conversation grew rather animated and Ceta Echid seemed to warm up to the subject. Zell wasn't really fond of the idea that these two got along so well, neither one had the ethical maturity to be trusted. What was truly unnerving was how animated Odine had become, it was as if he liked the entire concept behind the project. Zell sneered, knowing Odine, he probably did.
"Gives you the creeps, doesn't it?" Zell nearly jumped, startled out of his wits. Looking around wildly, he saw Laguna standing beside him, a smile on his face. "Sorry to scare you there," Laguna laughed, "I never thought I'd ever frighten a SeeD." His grin faded somewhat and he nodded towards the two scientists. "She's just like him, isn't she?" He was looking at Ceta Echid with just a touch of distrust in his eyes.
Zell nodded his agreement. He was glad he wasn't the only one who'd noticed how similar those two were. If even Laguna Loire noticed, then it had to be really obvious. Zell wished that he knew what it was that Squall had against Laguna. "Did you and Squall have a fight or something?" he asked before common sense could kick in. Looking at Laguna's sad expression, he wanted to dive into a deep dark hole someplace. Man, he groaned to himself, when was he going to learn to keep his mouth shut. "I'm sorry Mr. Loire, just forget I asked."
Laguna had the most odd expression on his face, one that Zell couldn't identify. Laguna was looking at Squall, who was quietly talking to Quistis and Rinoa. "You didn't know?" he asked but didn't sound all that surprised. Laguna sighed. "He's my son. I told him a couple of weeks after that whole Ultimecia thing was over. He called me an irresponsible moron."
Zell was stunned, he just couldn't believe it. Raine? Yeah, now that he thought about it, Squall did look a lot like Raine. Why wouldn't Squall bring it up? Probably because he'd been hurt and upset and getting Squall to bring anything up was an adventure in itself. Zell tried to put himself in his friend's position, picturing how it would feel to learn that your father had been alive all this time and knew about you but didn't come for you. I guess I'd be mad too, Zell thought to himself. "Have you talked to him?" he asked. He would really like it if Squall would be able to get along with his father, parents were important even the goofy ones.
Laguna nodded another sad smile on his face. "I did. I don't think he's really all that mad at me anymore, he's just not willing to let me into his life just yet. My own damn fault." He scratched his head again and shrugged. "Besides," Laguna confessed with a rueful smile. "He wasn't a big fan of mine even before I told him. When we first met, he called me a…silly Galbadian soldier." Looking towards his son, Laguna said, "Squall's way too serious and my casual approach to life bugged the heck out of him."
Odine's triumphant approach prevented Zell from saying anything in response. Actually, Zell was grateful to see the little weasel for once. That way he didn't have an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth again. I should just keep it there permanently, Zell gripped to himself, its in there so often.
"Why ze long faces? Odine understands all." His expression was rather smug and Zell remembered why he detested Odine so much.
"Well?" asked Laguna impatiently. "And make it short and easy to understand."
Odine's expression became angry. "Very vell. You are screwed." Odine pouted. "Iz zat short and easy enough?"
Zell was getting very tired of the man. "C'mon! Be helpful for once in your life," he growled in frustration. Laguna glared at the little scientist but Odine simply stood there, sulking. Squall, Quistis and even Kiros tried talking to Odine but he wouldn't budge. Squall and Laguna were both getting very angry.
Suddenly Iris whipped out her tristaff, swinging it right under the obnoxious little man's nose. "Quit wasting our time, Odine." Then she grabbed him by his collar and pulled him so close that their noses nearly touched. "Disregarding your president's orders sounds suspiciously like treason. The punishment for treason is almost universal." With a glance towards Laguna, she smiled coolly. "Meaning no disrespect towards Mr. Loire but I'll bet he never got around to abolishing the death penalty for treason."
Odine's expression was a mixture of shock and fright. "You cannot! I am Odine," he stammered. Odine didn't look as though he was used to being roughed up and Iris looked as though she enjoyed acquainting him with it.
"You won't be anything unless you start behaving with a touch more loyalty. Mr. Loire is much more patient and forgiving of treason than I am." She swung her tristaff experimentally, a deceptively sweet smile on her face. "Its your choice: breathing and cooperative or dead and defiant. I don't care which option you choose." Zell had to stifle a laugh. People were always making the mistake of assuming sweet little Iris was helpless and timid. They were always surprised to see the ferocious creature that lurked just beneath the adorable exterior.
Odine stared at Iris' cold expression for a few seconds then grumbled, "All right. I vill talk, just go avay you nasty girl." Iris smiled charmingly and let him go with a shove towards Laguna. Laguna seemed slightly shocked. Of course, he'd never met Iris before either.
With a glance towards Iris, Odine reluctantly started talking. "Echid's procedure was very efficient, almost as good as my work. Ze being she created is not merely a chimera but genetically engineered as vell. Ze problem iz that Echid did not understand ze true nature of ze Guardian Forces. If zis chimera becomes fully activated she vill become very powerful and very difficult to stop."
Odine went on to describe the problem. GFs resided in many levels of reality at once, what most people termed "dimensions". A GF was quite capable of splitting itself apart, one reality at a time. "Ven you summon or junction a GF, it iz only ze part of the part of ze GF that exists here, with us. GFs are very careful not to harm their host and do not junction physically. Echid essentially made a physical junction of GF to human. " He went on to explain that the GF's ability to split apart and rejoin made its cellular structure rather aggressive. This meant that inevitably the GF tissue would overtake the human tissue within Chimera. All that held the process in check was the inhibiting agents that Echid and her team had used. "If she reverses zis, she vill be very hard to defeat. Even though ze junctioning of human and GF tissue vill not be complete, it would be correct to call her a Guardian."
Chimera might turn into a GF? Zell was surprised but not terribly worried, they'd fought and beaten GFs before. They'd survived Diablo, Cerberus, Bahamut and even Griever. Zell said just that to Odine with a touch of confidence creeping into his voice.
Odine laughed. "Fool. Griever vas not even real, he vas an illusion Sorceress Ultimecia pulled from your mind. There is no such Guardian. Ze GF's you fought were not really interested in killing you, it vas just a test. You have never faced a GF that vas really trying," He sneered and stomped away. "If any did, you would not be here."
They were interrupted by the sound of a communicator going off. Quistis opened the channel and started nodding. Her face became concerned and as soon as the person on the other end had hung up she turned to Squall. "That was Xu. They found the CDC lab. Abandoned. She said that it looks as if Chimera was finished whatever it was she was doing there."
Zell was beginning to hate his job. Every time he thought things couldn't get worse, they did. Every time he thought the situation was bad, it was even worse than he thought. If Chimera was finished that could only mean one thing: They were now faced with fighting a GF that would, as Odine put it, really try to kill them.
Odine became suddenly sober. "Zis substance Chimera vas encased in. It might be ze only weapon available to us. I must have some. With it, Echid and I can create something for SeeD to use." Zell was slightly shocked that Odine was now taking this all seriously. Of course, Odine's neck was on the line as well. He was probably high on Chimera's decapitation list.
Squall turned and pointed at Zell. "Zell, I want you, Iris, Selphie and Irvine to take the Ragnorok to the Deep Sea Research Facility and get Odine as much of that stuff as you can. The rest of us will try and pinpoint Chimera's next target."
Zell frowned in confusion. "Wouldn't she come and attack Esthar? That's what she was supposed to do in the first place." Still he was very excited. He was finally going to be able to do something instead of just sit and wait around.
Rinoa hesitantly stepped forward, her expression very thoughtful. "No," she said shaking her head slowly, "Chimera hasn't rushed into anything so far. Besides, she was supposed to protect Galbadia, not attack Esthar. I'm not so sure that she'll come here until she's positive that she can beat Laguna's army."
Zell thought about it and had to agree that Rinoa might be right. But if she wasn't coming to Esthar, where would she go? What would he do first if he were on the same mission as Chimera? He asked the others.
None of them had an answer either.
*** *** ***
Sheyd was a quiet little fishing community that had discovered the benefits of tourism. Situated comfortably halfway between Timber and Dollet, Sheyd attracted tourists twice a year. They came here to watch the whales as they made their annual migration to, and later from, their summer feeding grounds. Normally a sleepy little town, twice a year Sheyd became a bustling community whose population exploded to more than three times the off-season. Little cafés, boutiques and inns opened in a bid to part some of their wealthy clientele from their money. The tourists also loved the charm of the street vendors who often shouted at the passing tourists as though they would expire if no-one bought their wares very soon. What people visiting Sheyd loved best, however, was the friendliness of the people who lived there. In Sheyd, there was always a friendly face and a welcoming smile. Inevitably, the tourists would leave and the residents would close down most of the boutiques, cafés and street stands. Sheyd would begin to settle back into its quiet comfortable routine.
Sheyd was very quiet today. There were no people on the streets, no fishermen on the docks, no sales clerks in the stores, no children at class or in the playgrounds. Everything was very silent. The streets were deserted, with only abandoned cars scattered here and there, some parked neatly on the side of the road, others sitting at mad angles right in the middle of the street. Some cars' engines were still idling, waiting for their owners to come, others had crashed into walls or light posts. One car had collided with a fire hydrant; water gushed out in a towering geyser, flooding the entire street. No one rushed out to see what was happening.
The little restaurant that the locals liked to frequent, a greasy spoon owned by a plump man named Victor and his cheerful and equally plump wife Ariel, was completely empty. Some of the tables had food on them, waiting for the patrons to eat. An order pad and a pencil lay on the floor, written on it an order for two cheeseburgers, two coffee and extra large onion rings on the side. Neither the waitress who'd written the order nor the customers could be seen. In the back, a dishwasher patiently waited for its load to be removed so that another load could be cleaned. The telephone was making a steady beeping noise, the handset dangling on the floor like a fish on a hook. On the grill, a large T-bone steak was burning to a charcoal crisp. On the burner, the café's specialty of the house, bouillabaisse, was boiling over unattended.
Over at the town's only supermarket, the parking lot was full of cars but there were no people inside shopping. No one was behind the meat counter, or the cheese counter, or the cash registers. There was no one in the truck out back to unload that morning's shipment of fresh vegetables and fruit. There was also no sign of a driver. There is no one to clean up the mess in aisles four, seven, and eight where jars of canned fruit and jam had inexplicably fallen and shattered in the middle of the aisles, far from the shelves that they had been sitting on. Shopping carts sat everywhere all filled with groceries but with no one to push them or purchase their contents.
Arden Sheyd Public School was completely empty. There were no teachers or students in the classrooms or halls. There were no janitors to turn off the water faucets in the boys' and girls' washrooms. There was no one in the library to pick up the books that were lying on the floor or stacked on tables. In the cafeteria, trays full of food sat on the tables, waiting to be eaten. A big sign colorfully announced that "Today is Hot Dog Day - Catch 'em" but no one was lined up for the popular lunch item. The big clock on the wall patiently ticked away the time; 12:00… 12:15… 12:30… 12:45... 1:00… The bell rang, announcing the end of first lunch but there were no students to hear.
The playground was filled with toys and bikes but no children. Buckets and shovels sat in the sand box next to little toy trucks and brightly coloured tricycles. Someone had carefully made a road in the sand that ended at a little sand house, little twigs had been used as trees, pebbles substituted for mountains. A little margarine tub filled with water had served as a lake and an origami boat floated in it unattended. There were no sounds of laughing children, no shouts or screams of delight, no hollering in outrage when one child refused to share a toy.
Sheyd was silent but not empty. Looking around, one would see mysterious piles of gray ash lying everywhere. It was in homes, on streets, in the stores and cafés. It was in the schools, on the docks, and it even mingled with the sand in the playground. Gray ash. Blowing through the town, out onto the ocean, to drift away to some unseen shore. The citizens of Sheyd had become a part of the ocean that they had once so loved.
Death walked along the sidewalk, her steel-shod boots clicking loudly against the cement. Chimera wandered the streets, a large flower perched over one ear. She momentarily stopped and closed her eyes, sighing in sensual pleasure as the wind rippled through her hair. It was heavily scented with flowers, freshly cut grass and salt air. She continued her walk, looking at the neat rows of houses in disdain.
They looked incredibly ugly to her. Unnatural boxes surrounded by expanses of green desert. The only flowers that had been permitted to grow had been those that had met mankind's narrow, ignorant ideal. No vetch, no dandelions, no thistles. None of those tough, lovely little plants had been permitted for fear that they would spoil the sterile perfection of the stark green deserts man called lawns. Not even the showier blooms were good enough for man. The fragile beauty of a wild violet wasn't sufficient, they had to be bred into obscene caricatures of the original.
Chimera glanced towards a large tree. There was a bird feeder hanging from one branch from a long wire, a big metal collar protecting the precious contents from squirrels. In a sudden burst of anger, Chimera strode up to the offending feeder and pulled off the collar. Even man's generosity was reserved for the select few. No squirrels or uglier birds were permitted here. Never mind that they too might have empty bellies or hungry offspring. No, man only cared about the attractive, musically inclined few.
Nature would reclaim this place, the once reviled weeds and pests would be the ultimate victors. Galbadia would reclaim what had always been hers alone. Hyne, for all Her wisdom, had made a grave mistake when She first breathed life into man. After all, Chimera thought, what sane species would deliberately create its own destruction?
Whatever regret she felt at killing had to be balanced against what needed to be done. Man had become like a pathogen, contaminating every place and everything they touched. If they had wished to live so badly, they should have given more thought to what they were doing. If you create a weapon, you must be ready to accept responsibility for what happens when that weapon is used.
As she walked, Chimera noticed that she had entered a graveyard. It was small and the gravestones were all very old and faded. Looking at one particularly old marker, she could barely make out the words "Beloved Wife". Above was a name lost to the years. Chimera felt an awareness, many in fact, all around her.
Cocking her head slightly, she strained to hear the voices. At first she wondered who they might be since they sounded nothing like Bahamut and his children. Then she understood. The long dead, tied to this place by bloodline and history. Low and murmuring, they protested, some in despair, others in anger, some seemed full of pity. Murderer, some shrieked. Why, others wailed, even in death weeping for lost family. Others, the ones who seemed to pity her, merely pleaded for her to reconsider her path.
Think of the rule of three, said one old, old voice. Do no harm lest it return to you threefold. There are always consequences, no matter how well-meaning your intentions. You will not come to a good end if you do not change your ways.
Chimera sneered. "Do not speak to me of consequence. Your own species has brought this about. Your kind created me so you would do well yourself to think of the rule of three." She folded her arms in angry defiance. How dare they?! Who were they to speak of consequences when they were the biggest offenders of all. Destroyer, murderer? They would have done well to look in the mirror. No human being could claim to have blood-free hands.
The wind seemed to sigh. An' I pity you, said the ancient voice.
Chimera turned away. She had no need for any dead woman's pity. She would not come to a bad end, she would be the victor.
Galbadia was depending on her.
*** *** ***
Zell didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't just the clamminess that was making his muscles ache or the flickering, sputtering lights that cast weird shadows over everything, it was the endemic corrosion that made him uncomfortable. Everything was rustier than it had been the last time, decaying as though some sacred place had been violated by mortal man. Damp, salty air had begun to corrode all the metal and everywhere Zell turned the rust seemed like an indictment.
He, Squall, and Irvine had opened up the Deep Sea Research Centre, level by level, on their trip down to the bottom. It was increasingly obvious that the hurricane Irvine mentioned had driven sea water into the place. Somehow, either the hurricane itself or the intruding ocean had been responsible for freeing Chimera. Guilt nagged at him. The idea that Chimera might have slept for an eternity if they hadn't been nosey kept eating away at him. He couldn't help but wonder if those people she'd killed were partly his fault too. But how were they supposed to have known?
Maybe he was just feeling so guilty because the real people responsible hadn't felt any. Someone had to feel at least a little bit of guilt about all this. Ceta Echid was only concerned with avoiding the consequences of her actions, saving her own skin and reputation. That she had been creating a slave race had never seemed to bother her, horrify her. She had never seen anything wrong with the idea of owning another person. Likely, she'd never even considered Chimera a person at all. Zell did not even want to imagine what kind of impression Chimera had been left with, what she thought humans were.
The four of them cautiously made their way down the levels in a strange repeat of the past. Irvine was in the lead, holding his rifle at the ready; he was followed by Iris who had a semi-automatic in each hand, her tristaff keeping company with the grenades on her belt. Selphie followed close behind, her nunchaku at the ready and another of Iris' semi-automatics on a belt. She hadn't wanted it but Iris had been insistent so she'd given in just to get some peace. Finally, Zell brought up the rear. They were far more cautious this time than before, none of them really wanted to waste precious time fighting scores of monsters, especially the kind that liked to haunt this place. It was better to take their time heading down than to rush, alerting every ruby dragon in the entire place.
Caution paid off and they only had to fight a handful of Trifaces. Reaching the bottom, they immediately started to search the dark pit that Ultima Weapon had once called home. Selphie set up some lighting so that they could see better and Zell was immediately attacked by pangs of guilt at the sight of a huge skeleton. Ultima Weapon.
"Ummm, is that Ultima?" Selphie asked quietly looking up at Irvine. Iris was also looking at the incredible remains, her eyes wide in almost childlike wonder. Iris had been an instructor's assistant at the time and Selphie had missed encountering both Ultima and Omega.
Irvine just nodded solemnly and Zell realized he wasn't the only one who felt bad about what had happened here two years previously. He wished he could make it up to the ancient being. The only way he knew how was to fix the mess that he had helped create.
Iris tore her gaze away from the hypnotic remains and started searching around. Hands on hips, she looked up at the distant ceiling. "You guys, if Chimera was here two years ago, where the heck was she?"
Good question, Zell thought. He looked around trying to remember if anything looked different from the last time. It was much darker for one thing. The crystals had all been glowing the last time. They were all dark now. The machinery over there was still in place. Zell managed a half-smile. For once, Zell hadn't done anything disastrous, it had been Squall's playing with the console that had awakened Ultima Weapon. It was, like all the other machinery, rustier. The pool was still there, unchanged. Zell tapped his foot. What was different? Something had to be different. Girl sized chunks of crystal weren't that inconspicuous.
Irvine suddenly pointed to the large stone column that dominated the chamber. "There!" He said excitedly, "In the back. There was a huge cluster of crystals there the last time. Its gone now." Irvine looked slightly sheepish. "I remember 'cause I'd sort of thought it might be valuable. Then Ultima came and I kind of forgot…" Irvine shrugged with a smile. Striding over, Irvine crouched down to inspect the area. With a triumphant expression he held up a dusty hand.
"White dust everywhere. It looks like ground up crystal." Standing up he looked at one of the crystalline formations on the pillar. Tapping it, he was surprised to see it crumble away. "Yep, this must be the stuff." Irvine looked around. "Its all dead though."
Zell sighed and looked at the crystals near him. They were all dead too. They had glowed a greenish white back then but now they were opaque and crumbly. Whatever it was that had happened, it seemed to have gotten them all. Frustrated that they had come all this way for nothing, Zell bashed his fist into the wall.
He was stunned when part of the wall fell away, chunks of rock nearly hitting his toes, and revealed sedately glowing crystal. Hitting his forehead, Zell felt like an idiot. Of course! Only the crystals that had been exposed during the hurricane had been destroyed. Stuff buried in the rock was still okay. Eagerly, he began to dig at the crystal with his bare hands.
"You found some!" Iris exclaimed. She ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Lemme see!" She eagerly watched as Zell wrenched the rod-like piece of crystal out of the wall. Carefully he handed it to her and she crooned softly as she held it in her arms like child. "Its gorgeous." Almost reluctantly, she handed it to Irvine who carefully put it in a protective case.
Selphie handed Zell a small digging tool and he dug around in the weak area of the wall. He was rewarded by another piece. After about an hour, he had found two more pieces in the same vein before it disappeared below the floor. A total of four pieces, each nearly a foot and a half long and almost five inches in diameter, a stupendous haul. They had been packed carefully into a padded case that Irvine carried on his back like a backpack. Everyone knew how important those crystals were.
The abrupt sound of gunfire jolted them into action. They all dove for cover behind a jumble of rocks, desperately trying to figure out who was firing on them. Several soldiers in nondescript black uniforms had taken positions on the stairs. There was nothing on them to identify whose army they belonged to. How had they gotten here without an airship? Zell cursed. The Ragnorok! He had no doubt that some of them had taken over the Ragnorok. Only a complete idiot wouldn't leave troops behind to guard a vehicle like that.
"SeeD. Surrender and you will not be harmed," shouted one, obviously the man in charge. "We want whatever evidence you might have obtained here. Hand it over and we'll let you go."
Evidence? Evidence of Chimera's existence? Zell started swearing. He didn't need a uniform to figure out who they were working for. He had no idea what Galbadian Special Operations was doing here but if they were looking for evidence, Zell was not inclined to co-operate. Now he realized what had been bugging him. Talos Natok had been too quiet, he should have realized that Typhon's bastards would be up to no good. They had created Chimera in the first place, in fact, Zell was willing to bet that was why they were here; they wanted to eliminate any evidence that they had had a hand in her creation. That way, if she nearly wiped out humanity there wouldn't be any proof that it was their fault. The likelihood that they would let anyone just go was very slim.
"Go to hell," shouted Irvine, punctuating his response with his rifle. Ducking behind a rock, he reloaded. "What the heck are they on about?" he asked. He fired a couple more shots at the enemy.
"Special Ops, I bet. Natok sent goons here to get rid of evidence that they created Chimera," Zell explained. He ducked as the soldiers continued firing. "What are we going to do?" he asked as he got off a firaga spell at them.
Iris held a grenade in her hand and pulled the pin. "This!" She threw the grenade towards the soldiers before Zell could utter a single word of protest. A grenade? What if that thing brought the entire roof down on their heads?
The blast sent several of the enemy flying, killing a couple. Several more scrambled into the room. Zell wondered how many of them there were and began to fear that the four of them would have to fight their way up the entire way to the Ragnorok. He didn't really like the odds. Irvine and Iris were both firing their weapons and Selphie was casting ice magic on them. Zell decided that perhaps a GF or two might be in order.
Selphie cried out and jerked backward, falling to the floor. Irvine whirled towards her and Zell grabbed his rifle from him. He trusted Irvine to look after their tiny teammate. Getting off a couple of wild shots, he glanced towards her. She had been shot in the shoulder. Pasty and pale, she didn't look good at all. Irvine was casting healing magic on her in an attempt to get ahead of shock. Iris ducked, narrowly avoiding getting shot herself, then retaliated with several more grenades. Irvine made a motion with his hand and Zell tossed him back his rifle.
Selphie looked pale but her injury was gone. "Can you fight?" Zell asked her. Selphie nodded and proved her point by casting a volley of Meteor on the enemy. Several more fell but even more seemed to pour out of the hallway. They were swarming into the room like bugs. Zell was beginning to get angry. He called out for Ifrit, hoping to get rid of the whole lot of them at the same time.
Zell waited and waited for Ifrit to appear but he wasn't coming. Zell couldn't understand it, he had always gotten along with him and their compatibility was very high. So where was he? Gunfire and shattering rock made Zell crouch even further. They were so badly outnumbered that if Ifrit didn't come soon, there would be no point in him coming at all. The roar of thunder and the crack of lightning nearly deafened everyone. The closed space made the sound nearly shake the cavern to pieces. Spiraling majestically out of a bolt of lightning was Quezacotl. Zell was utterly confused. Had he summoned Quezacotl by accident? No, he thought, he was very sure that he had summoned Ifrit.
The feathered serpent seemed larger, brighter and more… there somehow. Zell suddenly noticed the after-image that seemed to linger just behind Quezacotl's every move. He'd never looked like that before. First Quezacotl appears instead of Ifrit and now he looks different. What the heck was going on?
Quezacotl threw back his head and struck down the Galbadian soldiers with an arc of lightning the likes of which Zell had never seen before. The light was so bright that even closing his eyes was no protection. Between the incredible sound and painful light, Zell thought that his head was going to explode. And then the light and sound were gone. So were the soldiers. Only eerie shadows on the wall marked where they had once been.
Instead of vanishing though, Quezacotl turned to face the young SeeD. Spreading his huge wings, he started to speak in a sibilant voice. "Thou art summoned to my lord's presence. Come and obey."
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