[B] Chapter Five –

Chapter Five – ????

Marrin woke up with one hell of a hangover the next day. The beer in the Rec. room was strong; she had gotten drunk on the second glass! She groaned and cast Cure on herself to ease the pain in her head.

"I see that you had one too many drinks last night," said Shiva coolly.

"Oh, be quiet Shiva! How would you know, GF's can't get drunk," Marrin replied.

"True…"

The GF went silent, and there came a knock no the door, followed by Selphie's voice:

"Marrin, get up! It's time to investigate the town!"

"I'm coming!" Marrin said. "I'll be down in 5!"

She heard Selphie run off and began to get dressed. Five minutes later, she was downstairs with Squall and Selphie.

"C'mon, let's go," said Squall. "We'll get some breakfast and then head over to the police station for some information."

Marrin and Selphie nodded and they all headed over to the dining hall. A loud explosion stopped them in their tracks.

"What was that?" Selphie asked. "Some kind of explosion?"

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Tempest came out from the blazing building followed closely by Rebecca. They had taken care of the crime lord and his hoodlums, but there was no sign of the real threat anywhere.

"He must've thought that he was in danger and got out of town," said Tempest. "Damned spirit!"

"At least Marrin and her friends will be safe," Rebecca said calmly. "Ruberk won't know about her existence for a long time yet. But when he does, we'll have to stop him."

They heard the sounds of people running toward them, and promptly disappeared.

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"What happened here?" Selphie said. "It looks like a massive battle occurred here!"

They heard coughing nearby, and the crime lord came stumbling out of the smoke.

"Winged…man…" he said. "S-sorceress!"

"A Sorceress?" Squall said. "Here? This could be trouble."

"You're tellin' me," Selphie said. "This could turn into another Sorceress War!"

"A…winged man?" said Marrin. "It couldn't be him!"

"What did you say? Do you know who, or what, did this?" Squall said. Marrin looked blankly at him.

"In the Training Center yesterday," she said. "I was attacked by a large, winged, bear-like monster and a man with grey wings saved me. It could be the same man…"

"Wait, the doctor said that you had just fainted. There were no marks or cuts on your body," Selphie said.

"My staff was cut in half," said Marrin. "That…thing was about to kill me, but a man with large grey wings rescued me and took the battle outside."

"That must be why there's that huge hole in the roof of the Training Center," Squall said. A loud, blood-curdling scream suddenly echoed throughout the streets of Kibabar.

"What?" Selphie said. "It came from over there!"

They ran toward the local Junk Shop, and found that the front door had been blown outwards. The owner, a woman with long black hair, stumbled outside holding a large cut on her shoulder.

"M-monster," she said softly. "Bear…with wings and a sword…"

She fainted right in front of them.

"Oh no!" said Selphie. "Curaga!"

The wound healed, and Squall contacted the local hospital. Afterwards, he turned to Selphie and Marrin. Marrin had turned a deathly pale.

"What's the matter, Marrin?" asked Selphie. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"That woman mentioned a bear with wings," Marrin replied. "I-I think it's the same creature…it must be after me!"

Squall and Selphie looked at each other, a concerned look on their faces.

"Why?" Squall asked finally. "Why come after you?"

"Because of her powers."

The voice came from above them, and they looked up to see a woman with blue wings, brown hair and eyes wearing a long blue dress and carrying a sword floating above them. She came to the ground and stood in front of Marrin.

"She is a threat to him," she said. "He is an evil spirit that hunts down people like her. Her Necromancer powers could easily destroy him."

Marrin stared at her. "Who are you? What are you talking about?" she asked. "I don't have any special powers!"

The woman sighed. "That is because they haven't shown themselves yet," she said. "You, Marrin, are a Necromancer Sorceress. Sorceresses like you haven't been heard of for a long, long time."

Squall and Selphie shot a quick look at each other. "Marrin, a Sorceress?" Selphie said. "You can't be serious!"

The brown-haired woman looked at the young SeeD. "You say that I can't be serious," she said. "But you are thinking that Marrin could turn into a threat, maybe even another Ultimecia. Don't worry, if she's anything like her mother, you won't have to worry."

Selphie stared at her. "Just who…" she began.

"My name is Emily," the woman said. "And I am one of the three warriors that have been protecting Marrin for the past year."

Marrin chuckled. "Oh, come on!" she said. "I'm supposed to believe this? Three warriors protecting me? HA! Right!"

"That winged man that saved you from the spirit is one of them," Emily said. "In fact, he's your father."

Marrin went silent. "What?"

"You heard me."

"My parents are dead," Marrin said. "All I have to remind me that I even had parents is this medallion."

Marrin produced a small medallion from underneath her dress. It was black, with a white jewel carved into the center, with two swords on either side and a black sword in the center of the jewel. It had her name on the bottom.

"The Angelheart Royal Crest," Emily said. She smiled when she saw Marrin's jaw drop. "Oh yes, you are, in fact, the Imperial Princess of a distant planet called Trivadia. Oh, don't worry; you're human. You've just got a greater potential for power than most humans. Haven't you ever wondered why you were so powerful?"

Marrin fainted.