Final Fantasy Dimensions
Chapter 3: AVALeeD
by ArchFaith (formerly known as the ArchPrincess of Saturn)
...Selphie.
What is it Irvy?
Who's that?
...is it a sorceress?
Where's she hiding?
There!
We have to tell the others!
Irvine and Selphie came out of their dream at the same time. They got dressed and met each other in the hallway. They galloped down the stairs to the dining room. "You guys!" Irvine exclaimed. "Selphie and I had this dream that we saw a kind of sorceress!"
"A dream!" Aeris and Sephiroth asked at the same time. "Tell it to us."
Irvine and Selphie explained the dream to everyone. "What did she look like?" Rinoa asked.
"Like Ultimecia, Edea, or Adel?" Quistis added.
"She was kinda like a mix of Ultimecia and something else," Irvine replied.
"And you saw where she was hiding?" Cloud asked urgently.
"I think so," Selphie replied. "It was kinda like a cave, filled with minerals."
"A cave," Tifa repeated. Her face brightened. "The Mythril Mine!" she exclaimed. "I'm pretty sure that's the place!"
"We should get going right away," Seifer said. Everyone got up and abandoned breakfast. They grabbed their weapons and armor and met in the front of the pagoda.
"Should we start heading out to the Highwind?" Cid asked breathlessly, the Venus Gospel leaning on his shoulder.
"Hold on," Vincent said. "I just thought of something. We have to come up with a name for our group. We can't be AVALANCHE and SeeD, because we are connected now."
"How about HARVEStorM?" Cait Sith suggested. Everyone thought about and decided no. They went through SNOWPlanT, DRIFTWeeD, and ICESteM.
"I have a good name," a tiny voice whispered. Marlene had been standing on the porch watching them. "Just take -ANCHE off of AVALANCHE to get AVAL. Take the S off of SeeD to eeD. AVAL plus eeD equals AVALeeD."
"AVALeeD," Laguna repeated. He smiled. "It kind of trickles off your tongue."
"That's a perfect name," Barret said, giving Marlene a hug. "I like it."
Everyone agreed. So began the tale of AVALeeD.
-
Cid had been able to sneak the Highwind into Wutai by using sensitive radar-blocking devices to block Junon's radar. It would have been captured if it had been caught. Cid had parked it outside of Wutai, in a small crevice covered with foliage. The crew had been alerted and were already inside the ship. AVALeeD climbed into the cockpit.
"So this is your airship, huh?" Selphie asked.
"Yes," Cloud answered. "Pretty nice, isn't it?"
"Mmm hmmm. We have an airship too. Called the Ragnarok. It looks like a dragon."
"Really? I'd like to see that someday," Aeris replied.
"You'll see it someday. I'll take you," Sephiroth answered. They smiled at each other.
"Is everything ready?" Cid asked the crew.
"Yes Captain Cid," the crew replied. "Prepare for departure."
The Highwind lifted off and into the deep blue sky. Marlene, Shera, Elmyra, and Reeve remained, waving goodbye until they were out of sight. "Smooth flight," Irvine commented.
A few hours passed before they arrived at the Mythril Mine. They passed several landmarks and towns along the way, including Rocket Town, Mt. Nibel, Corel and Junon. As the Highwind travelled above each location, Cloud or the other members gave the lowdown on their adventures in each location. Finally the team reached the Mythril Mines, on the edge of the Great Swamp.
The Highwind landed outside. At the entrance was a gigantic serpent impaled on a tree. "Wow," Squall said. "That sorceress probably did this."
"No, I did it," Sephiroth replied.
"You did this?" Rinoa asked. "But how?"
"Long story," Sephiroth answered vaguely.
AVALeeD approached the cave. Everyone gathered around the cave opening. "Guess I'll go in first," Cloud volunteered. He put one foot inside the cave.
"SO YOU'VE COME. I'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU."
AVALeeD backed away. "Who was that?" Cait Sith asked fearfully.
"Bet it was Ultimecia," Quistis whispered.
"Sounded like Jenova," Yuffie said.
"YOU'RE WRONG. I AM..."
The being came out of the cave. It was a weird and hideous sight. Jenova's tentacles combined with Ultimecia's wings. A mixture of the two, if such a thing could be imagined.
"JENOVECIA. THE SORCERESS JENOVECIA. AND YOU MUST BE AVALeeD?" the creature asked.
AVALeeD was frozen with fear. Red XIII summoned his courage and replied. "Yeah, we're AVALeeD. And just who are you?"
"I AM JENOVECIA. I AM BOTH JENOVA AND ULTIMECIA, AND YET NONE OF THEM. JENOVA AND ULTIMECIA, THE TWO GREAT SORCERESSES, DIED AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. THEIR DEATHS CAUSED A SLIGHT RIP IN THE DIMENSIONS. THE SORCERESSES'S SOULS MET, THEIR EVIL MINDS FUSED, AND I WAS THE RESULT. I WAS THE ONE THAT CAST A SPELL ON JUNON, TO MAKE THEM REBUILD THEIR CANNON AND DESTROY THE WORLD!"
"You did all this!" Yuffie screamed with rage.
"INDEED, LITTLE ONE. NO ONE CAN STOP ME." She laughed, and flared her wings. With one great flap, she took off.
Everyone stared after the entity. Complete silence.
-
The team, feeling depressed and overwhelmed, stopped by at Fort Condor. The Fort had escaped Junon by surrendering to it. There were Junon soldiers everywhere. They looked suspiciously at AVALeeD.
"May I see some ID, sir?" a soldier at the entrance asked.
"We don't have any," Cloud answered. "We're all traveling together. We weren't planning on causing any harm."
"I can see about the ID, but you will need to leave your weapons at the entrance." AVALeeD shrugged off their weapons and were allowed to enter. They climbed all the way up to the roof, to the baby condor's nest. The baby was out flying, and the roof was the only place where there was total privacy.
"We need to have a plan," Cid began. "There's gotta be a way to defeat that #."
"There has to be a way," Vincent echoed.
"But what is it?" Selphie asked. No one said anything.
"I don't think it's fair," Rinoa said suddenly. "We have saved our worlds from evils, and now we have to do it again? When we thought the nightmare ended, it began anew?"
Everyone was silent. It was true. "Let's sleep on it," Barret suggested. "Our heads will be cleared up in the morning, right?"
AVALeeD agreed.
-
Tifa, are we dreaming?
I think we are, Cloud.
...I see her!
Jenovecia!
Yeah, over there! In Junon!
Let's get a move on then. We can't waste any time.
Tifa opened her ruby eyes. She sat up in bed. Yuffie and Aeris lay on beds next to her, breathing quietly. Tifa rubbed her eyes and shook Yuffie. "Get up Yuff. Time to go get Jenovecia."
Yuffie whimpered. "I don't wanna."
"C'mon," Tifa urged, shaking her harder. Yuffie rolled off the bed and trudged into the bathroom.
Aeris was already sitting up in bed. "What's the deal, Teef?"
"I had a dream about Jenovecia," Tifa replied.
Aeris's eyes grew wide. "What happned?"
"Cloud and I saw Jenovecia in Junon. I have a feeling she's influencing the leaders of Junon to do her bidding."
"I see," Aeris said thoughtfully.
"I'll get dressed and wake everyone," Tifa continued. In a few minutes she was dressed.
Meanwhile, in the room where Cloud, Barret, and Cid were, Cloud was explaining to two very grouchy men. "You guys, I had a dream about Jenovecia! I saw her near Junon. We've gotta get outta bed and leave!"
"##!" Cid shouted.
"Aw heck...guess we gotta. No use complaining, Cid. Let's go," Barret said.
"Glad you see it my way. I'll wake everybody," Cloud replied.
In a few minutes, AVALeeD was gathered in the main corridor. All of them were very grumpy and annoyed. Their eyes tingled with sleep and their heads longed to hit the pillow.
"The reason we woke you up was because," Cloud began, "Tifa and I had a dream about Jenovecia."
"We saw her near Junon. We have an idea she might be influencing Junon's leaders," Tifa added.
"We should leave right now, but I think everyone should have breakfast first," Cloud said quickly before AVALeeD pounced on him.
AVALeeD sat down to breakfast, then hit the road. Cid had decided to leave the Highwind by the swamp, since there were so many radar-tracking devices stationed at Junon. By now everyone was cheerful and awake. "There are enemies here," Vincent informed the group. "Everyone equip their weapons and armor and get ready to fight!"
There were some battles along the way. Each time, AVALeeD proved to be more sturdy than the monsters they fought. Finally the team reached Junon. "We have to be careful," Sephiroth whispered. "That ID trick may have worked at Fort Condor, but it won't work here. We can't risk leaving our weapns at the entrance, what with Jenovecia and all."
"Than what are we going to do?" Squall asked.
"I got an idea!" Yuffie squealed. She reached into her pocket and took out a piece of Materia. "We can use this!"
"What kind of Materia is that? Never seen it before," Red XIII commented.
"It's very special Materia," Yuffie told him. "It's Invisible Materia. I cast the spell on everyone, and we can sneak through!"
"Are you sure?" Rinoa asked, very suspious.
"Sure I'm sure!"
"If you're lying, Yuffie..." Barret threatened.
"Me, lie? Never! So c'mon, whadda say?"
AVALeeD was silent. Finally Zell said, "Even if she's lying, what do we hafta lose?"
AVALeeD grudgingly agreed. "Great!" Yuffie yelled. She slipped the Materia into her weapon, combining it with an All Materia. "Invisible All!" she commanded. Nothing happened.
"Looks like your plan didn't work, Yuffie," Quistis said.
"It worked! You just didn't feel it, but now you're all invisible!"
"If we're invisible, how come we can see each other?" Irvine questioned.
Yuffie frowned, thought, and answered, "Cause invisible people can see other invisible people."
Everyone sighed. They all stepped up to the gate and tried to slip past the guard. "You! Where do guys think you're going?" the guard yelled. He pulled an alarm. Before AVALeeD could react, dozens of soldiers came running up.
"You guys look suspicious," the guard remarked. "ID?"
"We...don't have any," Cloud admitted.
"No ID, huh? Well you can't get into Junon without proper authorization. And what're those weapons? Civilians carrying weapons was banned a few weeks ago."
"Well we don't know your laws," Selphie answered.
"...you guys are way too weird for me to let you into Junon. I can't just let you go either. I'll have to take you to our leaders and see what the punishment is for trying to sneak into Junon without authorization, having no ID, carrying illegal weapns, and treating a soldier rudely."
"Treating a soldier rudely!" Irvine snapped. "We did no such thing! You lying-"
The guard raced up to Irvine and punched him in the stomach. Irvine flew back and collapsed into Selphie's arms. "There, you just treated me rudely," the soldier smirked. "No more funny business or I'll execute you on the spot."
-
"Nice going, Yuffie," Tifa whispered harshly.
"Thanks to you, we aren't gonna get a chance to find Jenovecia," said the normally mild Laguna.
"It wasn't my fault...I bought the Materia from Checkov! He said it would work! I was saving it for a special occaison, so I never tested it," Yuffie explained.
"Oh yeah? Well-" Zell began.
"Arguing won't help us," Aeris said calmly. Everyone sighed.
Squall and Selphie knelt next to Irvine, who was still recovering from his injury. "It's all my fault," Irvine whispered. "I shouldn't have gotten angry."
"Don't worry about it," Squall replied. "That jerk woulda put us here anyway."
"Full cure!" Selphie yelled. A blue light surrounded Irvine and he got up.
"Thanks Selphie," Irvine replied.
Cait Sith looked around the holding cell they had been escorted to. It was incredibly small, and the eighteen members had to cram in. "So how are we gonna get outta here?" he asked.
"I don't think we can," Seifer replied. "Maybe it's better to just wait and meet these leaders."
The jail door opened. "C'mon," a guard barked. AVALeeD shuffled out of the cell. A dozen soldiers surrounded them. They couldn't have fought back even if they wanted, because their weapons had been confiscated.
They were marched through several rooms until they stopped outside of the leaders' chambers. "In!" the guard yelled. AVALeeD meekly stepped inside.
There were three people, their backs turned on AVALeeD. The soldier stepped up and said, "Sirs and Madam, these scum were found trying to sneak into Junon without authorization. They had no ID, were carrying harmful weapons, and treated several of my men insolently."
"I see," one of the leaders replied. "There is no need for you to stay, soldier. Leave us." The soldier turned on his heels and walked out.
The leaders turned around. Half of AVALeeD gasped. It was...
The Turks.
"Reno! Rude! Elena!" Cloud gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"Cloud...never thought we'd see you again," Reno commented. "Well, looks like your whole gang's here. Some new faces...Aeris? Thought you were dead. Is that Sephiroth? You're supposed to be dead too...and you've should've remained dead, for killing Tseng."
Sephiroth paled and shrank back into a corner. The uninitiated gathered around him. "Sephiroth, who are these people?" Rinoa asked.
"They are the Turks. Shinra's elite force. I don't know much about them, just that they were my enemies. They were Cloud's enemies too. I thought they hadn't survived, but...I was wrong," Sephiroth concluded.
"That's not important now," Aeris answered. "What's important here is why you guys are doing this?"
Elena sighed. "I really don't think it's any of your business. But I might as well explain. After Midgar and Shinra were destroyed, we Turks went scouting for jobs. We eventually found them, as administrative officials here in Junon. We quickly became top advisors to the mayor of Junon. Then one day, the mayor died, for some mysterious reason. We became Junon's leaders. We decided to rebuild Junon's cannon, so we could defend our city against evil. Then we decided, well, why not take over the world?"
Rude continued, "So we invaded all the towns, cities, everything. We will someday rule this world."
"Why?" Barret asked angrily. "The threat was gone, and you've brought it back!"
"Just because," Reno answered vaguely.
"You are under Jenovecia's control!" Cid gasped, figuring out the puzzle. "She's brainwashed you!"
"Jenovecia? Who's that?" Elena asked.
"You don't even know who she is!" Tifa yelled. "She's using you!"
"We have no idea what you're talk-" Rude was interrupted by a low rumbling noise coming from the floor. Cloud quickly cast Shield on everyone, as Jenovecia burst out of the floor.
"SO YOU'VE MET MY LITTLE PUPPETS," she said, gesturing to the terrified Turks. "SO STUPID, AREN'T THEY? BUT IT'S TOO LATE. THIS DIMENSION WILL STILL BE MINE, NO MATTER WHAT."
"You're wrong, Jenovecia!" Vincent yelled. "Battle!" he cried fiercely.
Aeris looked toward the Turks and spotted the confiscated weapons in a drawer. Reno stood up and threw the weapons into AVALeeD's arms.
AVALeeD rushed in. There were three rows. Cloud, Tifa, Irvine, Squall, Rinoa, and Vincent were in the first row; Sephiroth, Aeris, Zell, Seifer, Selphie, and Red XIII were in the seond; and Barret, Cait Sith, Quistis, Yuffie, Laguna, and Cid were in the last row. "We gotta make this count!" Squall yelled over the rush.
Shield was on everyone. Selphie, using her limit break, cast Aura on the party. "Use your limit breaks!" she called.
Jenovecia raised her hand and cast a spell on AVALeeD. "What was that?" Red XIII asked in alarm.
"DON'T BE FRIGHTENED OF YOUR END, CHILDREN. I'VE PLACED A SPELL ON YOU THAT WILL LIMIT YOUR ATTACKS TO THE WEAKER ONES," Jenovecia answered.
"You lie!" Cloud snapped back. He stepped forward. "Braver!" he shouted, leaping up and slashing Jenovecia visiously. It missed.
Jenovecia smiled. "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT," she replied.
"Don't worry about it," Tifa told Cloud. She unleashed her combo attack. "Beat Rush!" she yelled as she pummeled the enemy. It didn't work.
"You're tough, but I'll rip you down!" Irvine shouted. "Normal Shot!" Bullets hit the evil one. No damage.
"Renzokuken Rough Divide!"
"Angel Wing Angelo Rush!"
"Galian Beast Flare!"
"I WARNED YOU," Jenovecia shurugged. She raised her hands. "MAKO TIME WARP!"
A bright light flashed before everyone. A green portal appeared and great gusts of howling wind emerged from it. It was so strong it knocked out the entire first row.
"No!" Sephiroth yelled. "Someone from the back take care of them, we'll handle it from here!"
Quistis and Cid rushed in and cast Life spells and threw Phoenix Downs. Sephiroth raised his sword above his head. "Fallen Angel!" It didn't work at all.
"Mine won't work very well against her," Aeris realized. She cast Healing Wind, but it didn't heal anyone.
"Duel Burning Rave!"
"Fire Cross!"
"Slot Rapture!"
"Sled Fang!"
Nothing worked. The team was frustrated and desperate.
"THEY NEVER LEARN," Jenovecia muttered. "METEOR JUDGMENT!"
A gigantic meteor hurtled toward the second row, forming a strange grid under their feet and ripping their hit points to pieces.
The first row, who had been revived but were too weak to participate in the fight, gathered the unconsious second row up. "It's up to you guys now," Irvine whispered.
"We'll do it!" Barret assured him. He rushed up to Jenovecia. "Big Shot!" As expected, no damage.
"Dice!"
"Blue Magic Ultra Waves!"
"Greased Lightning!"
"Desperado!"
"Boost Jump!"
Everyone gasped. Cid's Boost Jump did one point of damage. "ONE POINT?" Jenoveica asked. "ONLY ONE? HOW PATHETIC! I SHOULD LET YOU DIE AND END YOUR MISERY...BUT, I WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED JUST A WHILE LONGER." She got ready to perform her spell. "AQUA MAELSTROM!"
The third row was wiped out. Jenovecia laughed insanely and disappeared in a flash of light. Rinoa struggled to her feet. "C'mon, you guys," she called. "We have to Revive everyone and heal them."
-
"We had no idea..." Reno whispered.
"Jenova...I mean, Jenovecia, was controlling us?" Elena asked.
"How could we do such a thing?" Rude wondered.
"It's not your fault," Seifer told them.
"She's powerful," Yuffie added. "She could hypnotize anyone."
AVALeeD stood around the ruined mayor's office. Everyone had been healed and were at full health. The Turks had realized how they had been manipulated.
"What are we going to do now?" Elena questioned. "The world hates us for rebuilding the cannon and killing hundreds of innocent people."
"It wasn't you," Zell replied. "Jenovecia was controlling you. She commanded you to fix the cannon. It was her."
"What can we do to fix the damage?" Reno asked.
"First, disassemble the cannon," Cloud said.
"Then, send a declaration of peace throughout the world. And explain Jenovecia was controlling you," Tifa replied.
"Send food supplies and medicine to war-torn areas," Aeris added.
"But will the world understand us?" Rude returned fearfully.
"Realistically, no," Sephiroth grimly replied.
"But do your best," Vincent countered.
All three Turks nodded. "Where will AVALeeD go now?" Elena asked them.
"We don't know," Squall admitted.
"You can stay in Junon tonight!" Reno said.
"Thank you Mr. Reno," Laguna said gratefully.
"Yeah, I'm really tired! We'd better sleep so we can figure out what do to in the morning!" Cait Sith yawned.
-
...?
I'm dreaming...are you there, Zell?
Yeah, Quisty. Is this what the other guys were telling us about?
I guess...there she is.
Jenovecia?
Yes...but where is she?
It looks like a little island with elves running around...hmm, strange.
We have to wake up.
Zell rose from his bed. He quickly slipped out and shook Squall, who was on the bed next to his. "Squall, I had this dream bout Jenovecia," he whispered. Squall rolled out of bed with sleepy eyes. He wasn't one to complain, but anyone could tell he was annoyed.
"Hey Irvy, wake up," Zell called, shaking Irvine.
"What the heck is it?" Irvine complained.
"I dreamt about Jenovecia," Zell answered.
"Oh her? Man, I guess I better be getting up," Irvine replied, sitting up.
In a few minutes, AVALeeD assembled in the town square. Zell had awakened the men and Quistis had gotten the women. Everyone was grumpy, but they all understood about the dream. Cid and Barret had been sent on chocobos to retrieve the Highwind.
"So what was the dream about?" Red XIII asked.
"We saw Jenovecia. She was hovering over this forest," Quistis explained.
"The forest had elves in it," Zell added sheepishly.
"Elves?" Seifer said. He burst out laughing. "Hahahahahahaha!" He stopped when he saw the serious look on everyone's face. "I mean, elves could be real too," he quickly added.
Cloud thought for a moment. "There is an island with elves."
"Oh yeah, we went there to get the Zeio Nut to breed the Gold chocobo!" Tifa realized.
"What was the island called again?" Aeris asked.
"I don't think it had an official name. Everyone called it Goblin Island," Sephiroth answered.
"Goblin Island," Yuffie repeated. "It's our next destination!"
"We'll go as soon as Cid and Barret come back with the Highwind," Vincent concluded. Just then, a great rushing noise was heard. The Highwind flew over Junon and landed on a grassy meadow outside.
"Goodbye, and thanks for all your help!" Rinoa called to the Turks as AVALeeD started toward the ship.
"Good luck," Cloud added."
"Good luck to you too," Reno answered. All three Turks watched the Highwind drift away.
"Guess we better start writing our declaration of peace," Elena said.
"It's gonna be hard," Rude whispered.
"At least we're better off then AVALeeD," Reno said hopefully. "They have to go against Jenovecia..."
The Turks walked back into their office.
To be continued...
Notes: This fic is definitely not one of my best. But keep in mind that this was written well over a year ago, when my writing skills were not as good as they are now. Geoff, thanks a lot for all your tips and suggestions. I tried to modify the fic so it followed what you told me, but I don't think I did a very good job. Actually, I'm planning to rewrite the entire thing, so check back in maybe a week for new, modified Chapters 1 and 2. I'm writing as fast as I can, but I'm also working on two other fics, so it maybe take a while. But keep reading and reviewing! Ciao!
P.S. I do not suck at writing. Update: 2/21/05 Back when I wrote this I did!
