Chapter 13: You Won't Believe This
The beautiful blond woman sat in the tiny room. A bright white Aura surrounded her body. She was breathing heavily. Her face was calm, but her body appeared to be under extreme pressure.
She was sweating badly. The perfect concentration that conducted her thoughts at the time was almost more than her small frame could bear. Finally, she broke. Her thin body collapsed, and the Aura began to fade from her. She stared an the ceiling for a moment. Thoughts now raced back in to her head.
"He has to realize who he is," She thought. "They all must. Tralen's time has come. The slave girl will gladly do as he wishes. If only she could remember." That was why she sent the dreams. She had been sending the slave girl the dreams for a long while, but it hadn't worked. Time was short. Her only hope now was to enlighten him.
She had been shown who they were. She knew their role in this crisis now facing the world. But she also knew Her role, and the role of her lover Orion... Orion Hughes. She had been shown it during the time of her captivity. She had been shown it by none other than her captor. Master Tralen. He had told her of the identity of the slave girl.
From the time she mysteriously fell from the sky and landed on their doorstep. Tralen knew who she was. It was as if he sensed it. He ordered her to heal the girl before it was too late. And she did her best. But ever her powerful healing magic couldn't fully heal the damage. It took days for the girl to fully recover.
"Fate has brought her to me!" Tralen had exclaimed. "It's now time for me to take what is rightfully mine."
For years he had kept Christina. knowing all along that her power as a sage would enable him to conserve his powers and build them to an immense level while still having the ability to cast such powerful magic as portals, and mass resurrections. He was using her powers for his own gains. But it was killing Christina. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out. It was too much. She was a powerful sage, but casting this powerful magic every day was more than she could bear. She wasn't a sorceress... Well, not entirely anyway.
That's why she sent the dream to Leonhart, or rather, she sent Leonhart to the past to see the beginning of it all. To help him see the role he would play in the end. She only hoped he'd gotten it. It was the only hope now. The slave girl remembered nothing... perhaps that was to their advantage. But Tralen was confident and ready to make his move. His use of her powers was increasing, and it was taking it's toll on her health. She had done her part for now. All she could do was hope... Hope to Hyne that her plan would work.
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It was noisy back at Garden. Too noisy for Seifer's taste. Excited SeeD's and underclassmen rushed around swapping stories about the bizarre incident that had occurred only hours ago. Talk varied form SeeDs trying to one up each other's abilities all the way to those who spoke of what this could mean to the future.
Perhaps the main thing that was the topic of conversation was none other than Orion Hughes. No one had ever seen him fight before. Now they had. There had always been stories of the great warrior, but no one had believed them... until now. After seeing him fight they believed it.
It was like he was in some sort of God Mode. Some sort of invincible untouchable force or Aura came over him. Some called it Chi, others said it was Zen power. What it was was Rage, pure and simple rage.
The noise level built up until Seifer could take it no more.
"Shut the hell up!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "As head of the disciplinary committee, and make no mistake that I still am, I'm telling you all to head back to your quarters. All of you.
To his surprise, they seemed obliged to obey him. "Maybe they saw me out there tonight...." he thought. "Maybe now, I'll get some of the respect I deserve."
He began walking towards his own quarters when his progress was delayed by a voice on the loudspeaker. "All SeeD team leaders please report to the cafeteria area."
"Damn it!" He thought aloud. "Just when I thought I might get a little sleep. Oh well, I guess I better go." And with that he began walking toward the cafeteria. He didn't have to guess what the meeting was about.
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The AV was speeding along under water. The auto pilot was on, and the crew had all fallen fast asleep. All that is except Squall. Squall had seated himself by a window and was staring out it intently. His mind was troubled. What he had just witnessed was more than he could easily comprehend.
He'd had a dream, or was it. It seemed too real. It was like he was watching something unfold. Something Legendary. But then he saw Rinoa, or at least the spitting image of her. And what was the weirdest of all was that she looked at him and acknowledged him. It had to have been her right?
"Get it together Leonhart." He told himself. "You think you hallucinate because of a lack of sleep, and them when you get the chance to sleep you have even worse hallucinations tan ever. What a way to be!" He laughed in spite of himself. It just seemed his luck.
He moved back to his seat in the front when he saw the com light flashing. Someone had turned off the indicator noise. There was no telling how long it had been flashing. He couldn't believe that someone had missed it. He went to the key pad and typed in the password he'd been given. It worked. He read the short message on the screen.
URGENT: TO THE CREW OF THE AV. THERE HAS BEEN YET ANOTHER STRANGE ATTACK ON GARDEN. WE ARE FINE, BUT WE REQUEST A VOICE CONFERENCE WITH YOU ASAP HUGHES.
Squall immediately reached for the microphone. He tuned in the frequency as he'd been shown by Delea to do, and started speaking.
"Garden this is AV reporting over."
He awaited an answer. None was forthcoming.
"Garden, this is AV answering request for urgent voice conference. Over."
Still no reply. He hit the panel.
"Damn it!" he yelled.
Rider awoke with a start, and Delea followed soon after.
"What's up man?" Rider started off.
"I'll tell you what's wrong. We slept through an urgent message, and that message told us that Garden was hit again, and that we needed an emergency voice conference. That's what's wrong. And the reason we missed it was because someone turned off the indicator noise." The anger was evident in his eyes, as well as the frustration. He wanted to get as much Intel regarding Rinoa as he could. He needed it. It kept him alive.
"Whoa man, slow your roll. We can't have a voice conference while submerged. The signal isn't strong enough, We'd have to surface. It's the only way." Rider stated matter of factly.
"Then what are you waiting for? Take her up NOW. I'm not letting any leads slip through my fingers. Not a single one." Squall replied sternly.
"I'm not sure it's safe right no....." Squall gave him a look that he recognized immediately. A look that said do it, or be sorry you didn't.
With that he gave Delea a signal and she began to bring the vessel up. When they reached the surface Rider tried to connect.
"Garden this is Rider. Commander Leonhart is ready for the voice meeting. Over."
There was only silence.
"I repeat. This is the crew of the AV. We request to speak with Master Hughes."
Still there was only silence.
"What could be the problem?" Delea asked. "Could our transmitter be messed up?"
"No, no way. Everything's online and operational according to the instruments. Something is jamming the signal. I don't know what it is, but something is. That's the only explanation. It's got to be some sort of energy field near by that's interrupting the transmission."
"Um, a, guys could that be it?" Delea said pointing out the window.
What they saw was a large dome of energy and it appeared that they were near one edge of it. But what was amazing was what they saw going on near the center. A large portal opened in the sky. It was black as night. It looked to be an abyss of blackness. Energy swirled around it. Then Out of the water began to shoot what looked like bubbles containing men. The hole was sucking them in one by one. At quite a rapid pace I might add. There must have been hundreds of them. It would have been impossible to count them. Then with just as little warning as it had appeared, it vanished. but three bubbles were not sucked in.... They were left, and they were heading straight for the AV.
"Everyone to the deck!" Squall said. "And have your weapons ready."
With that the crew made their way toward the deck. Once they had arrived there they Formed up. Rider and Squall were in the front, as they had no magic with which to fight. Delea was well stocked with magic of all elemental types. She stayed in the back to support with magic. The three bubbles approached and landed right on the deck of the AV. Rider didn't even wait for them to break out before he started attacking. He quickly drew Aurora and severed the first one's watery cacoon, and it's head without even a thought. And he even added a little sarcastic "Hate to burst your bubble."
Squall was not amused as the monster, or whatever it was wasn't stopped, but kept on coming. He grasped Renzokuken, and attacked furiously In a second the grand arc of his blade cough the monster man and sent him reeling. His body fell in two pieces.
The second one was dispatched easily by Rider. He swung Aurora directly upwards cutting his enemy in two. The final monster began fleeing, but Delea hit him with a stop, and he froze dead in his tracks. Then she slammed him with Firaga, and he was toasted.
"That was easy!" Rider said with a smirk.
"Don't get cocky Rider. That was too easy. It was some sort of test." Squall said. He only wished he knew what was going on. He had to know. Then he heard the communications link going off. And they all proceeded back into the AV to find out what the news was.
"What took you all so long to respond?" Orions voice asked.
"Well we ran into a little problem, but it's fixed now. What's up?" Squall stated.
"Well hold on to your pants Squall." Quistis's voice came next. "You won't believe this."
"Oh, I don't know about that." Delea said. "Try us."
The beautiful blond woman sat in the tiny room. A bright white Aura surrounded her body. She was breathing heavily. Her face was calm, but her body appeared to be under extreme pressure.
She was sweating badly. The perfect concentration that conducted her thoughts at the time was almost more than her small frame could bear. Finally, she broke. Her thin body collapsed, and the Aura began to fade from her. She stared an the ceiling for a moment. Thoughts now raced back in to her head.
"He has to realize who he is," She thought. "They all must. Tralen's time has come. The slave girl will gladly do as he wishes. If only she could remember." That was why she sent the dreams. She had been sending the slave girl the dreams for a long while, but it hadn't worked. Time was short. Her only hope now was to enlighten him.
She had been shown who they were. She knew their role in this crisis now facing the world. But she also knew Her role, and the role of her lover Orion... Orion Hughes. She had been shown it during the time of her captivity. She had been shown it by none other than her captor. Master Tralen. He had told her of the identity of the slave girl.
From the time she mysteriously fell from the sky and landed on their doorstep. Tralen knew who she was. It was as if he sensed it. He ordered her to heal the girl before it was too late. And she did her best. But ever her powerful healing magic couldn't fully heal the damage. It took days for the girl to fully recover.
"Fate has brought her to me!" Tralen had exclaimed. "It's now time for me to take what is rightfully mine."
For years he had kept Christina. knowing all along that her power as a sage would enable him to conserve his powers and build them to an immense level while still having the ability to cast such powerful magic as portals, and mass resurrections. He was using her powers for his own gains. But it was killing Christina. She didn't know how much longer she could hold out. It was too much. She was a powerful sage, but casting this powerful magic every day was more than she could bear. She wasn't a sorceress... Well, not entirely anyway.
That's why she sent the dream to Leonhart, or rather, she sent Leonhart to the past to see the beginning of it all. To help him see the role he would play in the end. She only hoped he'd gotten it. It was the only hope now. The slave girl remembered nothing... perhaps that was to their advantage. But Tralen was confident and ready to make his move. His use of her powers was increasing, and it was taking it's toll on her health. She had done her part for now. All she could do was hope... Hope to Hyne that her plan would work.
================================================================
It was noisy back at Garden. Too noisy for Seifer's taste. Excited SeeD's and underclassmen rushed around swapping stories about the bizarre incident that had occurred only hours ago. Talk varied form SeeDs trying to one up each other's abilities all the way to those who spoke of what this could mean to the future.
Perhaps the main thing that was the topic of conversation was none other than Orion Hughes. No one had ever seen him fight before. Now they had. There had always been stories of the great warrior, but no one had believed them... until now. After seeing him fight they believed it.
It was like he was in some sort of God Mode. Some sort of invincible untouchable force or Aura came over him. Some called it Chi, others said it was Zen power. What it was was Rage, pure and simple rage.
The noise level built up until Seifer could take it no more.
"Shut the hell up!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "As head of the disciplinary committee, and make no mistake that I still am, I'm telling you all to head back to your quarters. All of you.
To his surprise, they seemed obliged to obey him. "Maybe they saw me out there tonight...." he thought. "Maybe now, I'll get some of the respect I deserve."
He began walking towards his own quarters when his progress was delayed by a voice on the loudspeaker. "All SeeD team leaders please report to the cafeteria area."
"Damn it!" He thought aloud. "Just when I thought I might get a little sleep. Oh well, I guess I better go." And with that he began walking toward the cafeteria. He didn't have to guess what the meeting was about.
================================================================
The AV was speeding along under water. The auto pilot was on, and the crew had all fallen fast asleep. All that is except Squall. Squall had seated himself by a window and was staring out it intently. His mind was troubled. What he had just witnessed was more than he could easily comprehend.
He'd had a dream, or was it. It seemed too real. It was like he was watching something unfold. Something Legendary. But then he saw Rinoa, or at least the spitting image of her. And what was the weirdest of all was that she looked at him and acknowledged him. It had to have been her right?
"Get it together Leonhart." He told himself. "You think you hallucinate because of a lack of sleep, and them when you get the chance to sleep you have even worse hallucinations tan ever. What a way to be!" He laughed in spite of himself. It just seemed his luck.
He moved back to his seat in the front when he saw the com light flashing. Someone had turned off the indicator noise. There was no telling how long it had been flashing. He couldn't believe that someone had missed it. He went to the key pad and typed in the password he'd been given. It worked. He read the short message on the screen.
URGENT: TO THE CREW OF THE AV. THERE HAS BEEN YET ANOTHER STRANGE ATTACK ON GARDEN. WE ARE FINE, BUT WE REQUEST A VOICE CONFERENCE WITH YOU ASAP HUGHES.
Squall immediately reached for the microphone. He tuned in the frequency as he'd been shown by Delea to do, and started speaking.
"Garden this is AV reporting over."
He awaited an answer. None was forthcoming.
"Garden, this is AV answering request for urgent voice conference. Over."
Still no reply. He hit the panel.
"Damn it!" he yelled.
Rider awoke with a start, and Delea followed soon after.
"What's up man?" Rider started off.
"I'll tell you what's wrong. We slept through an urgent message, and that message told us that Garden was hit again, and that we needed an emergency voice conference. That's what's wrong. And the reason we missed it was because someone turned off the indicator noise." The anger was evident in his eyes, as well as the frustration. He wanted to get as much Intel regarding Rinoa as he could. He needed it. It kept him alive.
"Whoa man, slow your roll. We can't have a voice conference while submerged. The signal isn't strong enough, We'd have to surface. It's the only way." Rider stated matter of factly.
"Then what are you waiting for? Take her up NOW. I'm not letting any leads slip through my fingers. Not a single one." Squall replied sternly.
"I'm not sure it's safe right no....." Squall gave him a look that he recognized immediately. A look that said do it, or be sorry you didn't.
With that he gave Delea a signal and she began to bring the vessel up. When they reached the surface Rider tried to connect.
"Garden this is Rider. Commander Leonhart is ready for the voice meeting. Over."
There was only silence.
"I repeat. This is the crew of the AV. We request to speak with Master Hughes."
Still there was only silence.
"What could be the problem?" Delea asked. "Could our transmitter be messed up?"
"No, no way. Everything's online and operational according to the instruments. Something is jamming the signal. I don't know what it is, but something is. That's the only explanation. It's got to be some sort of energy field near by that's interrupting the transmission."
"Um, a, guys could that be it?" Delea said pointing out the window.
What they saw was a large dome of energy and it appeared that they were near one edge of it. But what was amazing was what they saw going on near the center. A large portal opened in the sky. It was black as night. It looked to be an abyss of blackness. Energy swirled around it. Then Out of the water began to shoot what looked like bubbles containing men. The hole was sucking them in one by one. At quite a rapid pace I might add. There must have been hundreds of them. It would have been impossible to count them. Then with just as little warning as it had appeared, it vanished. but three bubbles were not sucked in.... They were left, and they were heading straight for the AV.
"Everyone to the deck!" Squall said. "And have your weapons ready."
With that the crew made their way toward the deck. Once they had arrived there they Formed up. Rider and Squall were in the front, as they had no magic with which to fight. Delea was well stocked with magic of all elemental types. She stayed in the back to support with magic. The three bubbles approached and landed right on the deck of the AV. Rider didn't even wait for them to break out before he started attacking. He quickly drew Aurora and severed the first one's watery cacoon, and it's head without even a thought. And he even added a little sarcastic "Hate to burst your bubble."
Squall was not amused as the monster, or whatever it was wasn't stopped, but kept on coming. He grasped Renzokuken, and attacked furiously In a second the grand arc of his blade cough the monster man and sent him reeling. His body fell in two pieces.
The second one was dispatched easily by Rider. He swung Aurora directly upwards cutting his enemy in two. The final monster began fleeing, but Delea hit him with a stop, and he froze dead in his tracks. Then she slammed him with Firaga, and he was toasted.
"That was easy!" Rider said with a smirk.
"Don't get cocky Rider. That was too easy. It was some sort of test." Squall said. He only wished he knew what was going on. He had to know. Then he heard the communications link going off. And they all proceeded back into the AV to find out what the news was.
"What took you all so long to respond?" Orions voice asked.
"Well we ran into a little problem, but it's fixed now. What's up?" Squall stated.
"Well hold on to your pants Squall." Quistis's voice came next. "You won't believe this."
"Oh, I don't know about that." Delea said. "Try us."