Chapter Six: Esthar City Holds Magick




No one's picking up the phone
Guess it's me and me
and this little massochist
She's ready to confess
all the things that I never thought
that she could feel

"Hey Jupiter"- Tori Amos




Ceres yawned sleepily. All of the nights of staying up 'till daybreak were beginning to catch up to her. She didn't even have the energy to roll her eyes as Selphie asked her if she was excited about going to Esthar. Instead, she just blinked and stared sleepily at her.

They had to take two cars, with Ceres, Selphie and Quistis in one vehicle, and Squall, Seifer, Zell and Irvine in the other. Ceres was glad that they had seperated based on gender. She didn't think she would of been able to handle it if Irvine was in the same car as her, it just would of been too much..

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Ceres had just dozed off to sleep when the car came to a sudden halt. She half-way sat up and sent a cold look at Quistis and Selphie, "What the hell?" she moaned, stretching lazily. Her neck and back were sore from sleeping in the cramped car. "We're here!" Selphie exclaimed excitedly, and Quistis looked at Ceres, rolling her eyes.

They all got out of the car and looked around. "How the hell do you get in this place?" Squall wondered aloud. Ceres sighed, and began to walk towards the city entrance. Selphie looked at everyone, with her eyebrow raised, and then ran after Ceres. The others quickly followed.

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"We wish to speak to President Laguna," Ceres said to the guard. "What buisness do you have with the President?" the guard asked suspiciously. Ceres rolled her eyes and sighed, "We're the SeeDs he sent for." "I was not informed of this," the guard replied, eyeing Ceres critically. 'Oh god,' she thought sickly to herself, 'He thinks I'm one of those Satan Worshippers.' "Look, why don't you go ask him yourself?" Quistis asked quickly, seeing that Ceres was about to lose her temper. "I'm sure he will tell you that he did, in fact, send for us."

The guard merely stared at them, not moving. "Well," Ceres said after a few moments, "Are you going to move or not?" The guard just blinked, still not moving or speaking.

The door flew open, and the guard moved quickly, 'Damn,' Ceres thought, smiling to herself, 'If he woulda stayed put one more second then the door woulda hit him. Heh.'
"Ceres?!" Laguna exclaimed, pulling the younger SeeD into a tight embrace, "Where ya been kiddo? We've missed you!!" he pulled away from her and looked at her, as if trying to see if she had changed any. He raised his eyebrow and touched her hair, "What the hell did you do to your hair? It was so long and beautiful, and so.. dark."

Ceres rolled her eyes, " I cut it and then dyed it." "Well, I can see that," Laguna said, smiling. Ceres stuck her tongue out at him, which caused him to laugh.

"Where's Kakash?" he asked curiously after a few moments, "I didn't even know it was possible that you two could be seperated at all." Ceres looked down at the floor, "The Church of Galbadia have declared her dead, but the priestesses at The Dark Moon of Hecate speak that she is alive and well, being hidden from the persecution of Galbadia. I, personally, do not know, the last time I saw her she was trying to find Ash.."

As they started to map out their plans for the attack, Ceres mind began to wander, back to before she had ever met Zell, or any of the others. When life was much more simplier...


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(Flashback)

Ceres stood lonely at the back of the cafeteria. She had never felt more alone in her entire life, and she desperately wanted to turn around and run all the way home. But, she had promised Seifer to at least make it through today, and if she still couldn't handle public school, then he would convince mom and dad to withdraw her.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed. 'I hate this place,' she thought miserably to herself. 'I'm more alone here than I am at home! At least at home I have Seifer....'

"Why aren't you talking a mile a minute with the idiots over there?" came a cold ruthless voice, that was strangely delicate. Ceres turned around to see a petite blonde girl. "I don't like them, and they don't like me." Ceres responded quietly. The girl pulled out a seat and motioned for Ceres to join her. "Same here... What's your name?" "Ceres Leigh Almasy" Ceres said, smiling to herself, "What's yours?" "Kakash Kea Mila Bachiel." she girl replied, winking. "Wow, long name!" Ceres exclaimed. "I've never heard of having two middle names!" "What does your name mean?" Kakash asked the younger naive girl. Ceres shrugged her shoulders, "I have no clue..."

Kakash stood up and looked around the cafeteria, "Maybe one day you'll know..... What.. religion are you?" "I have no religion.." Ceres responded quietly. "Here," Kakash said, handing her a small white card, "Be there at midnight tonight, or miss out." She walked off, leaving a very confused Ceres.

(End of Flashback)
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Ceres had went that night, it turned out to be an old abandoned house. Inside there had been almost 20 people, all dressed in black. Ceres had felt out of place there, in her white shirt and blue jeans, but they treated her as though she was family. It was nice.

Kakash had then revealed to her that they worshipped the Ancient Greek Gods, Hecate in particular. Ceres had studied Greek Mythology in school, so she knew some about it. Kakash asked her if she wanted to be a part of The Dark Moon of Hecate. Ceres had asked her to let her think it over, and had returned in a week, agreeing to the circumstances.

After that, Kakash and Ceres were inseperatable. Everywhere they went, they went together. That is, until they met Ash. Ash was a dark-haired youth with a wild streak in him. One night he decided to publically shame the Galbadia Church, and the next thing Ceres knew he was calling saying he had to get out of the country as fast as possible. Kakash had left in the middle of the night, leaving a note for Ceres that simply said,

"Dear Ceres,
Went to look for Ash. Be back before tomorrow.
Love, Kakash Kea Mila Bachiel."

Ceres had waited and waited, but she never laid eyes on Kakash or Ash again.

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"Ceres?" Laguna asked, snapping her out of her thoughts, "You okay, hon?"

Ceres nodded numbly, and yawned, feigning tiredness. "Perhaps you should go take a nap," Laguna suggested, "In fact, you're all probably worn out." The others nodded in silent agreement. "Hold on," Laguna said, "Lemme call the hotel and get you guys some rooms."

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Later on, Ceres lied in bed, unable to sleep. Zell had lazily thrown his arm around her, and she couldn't move, in fear of waking him. He was exhausted and she knew he needed his rest. Ceres sighed and looked at the ceiling, silently praying for her troubles to go away.







* Okies, let's re-cap here. They got to Esthar City, blah blah blah, Ceres was part of a cult. o.0 Let's all hope she didn't sacrifice innocent babies and kitties. Hehehe. Naw, she wouldn't do a thing like that... would she? Eep! Find out what happens next in Chapter Seven: Organization Skills Needed. P.S. Sorry for this chapter taking so long! I've been busy with life and writing 2 joint fan ficcies with *Hikaru*. Go check 'em out. "Alone and Shaken" and "Final Fantasy 8 Interviews". R/R and I'll give ya a lollipop! Hehehe. Love ya! Lollipops for all! ZBG *