Eternal Farewell
Lily ran as fast as she could to Esthar's
elite hospital. Once she got the message from her Auntie Elle regarding her father,
she ran as fast as she could. Allundia's words kept running through her head:
You'd better go back home and check on daddy dearest.
Everybody else left already, she knew.
Lily was the last person to know because she stupidly left her watch in her satchel
which was in the car while she was out shopping for new gloves. Dammit, that's
the LAST TIME I'm going to freakin' leave the damn watch in the car! Shit...
She entered in the hospital, not even bothering
telling the receptionist anything. Turning a corner, Lily entered in the waiting
room and stopped. Everyone was there, including all of the children who inhabited
the Orphanage. Mustering all the courage she could without crying, Lily entered
in the waiting room. An elder Ellone stood up and walked towards her.
"How is he?" Lily asked as normally
as she could.
"Lily, you better sit down, first,"
Ellone said, her tired brown eyes concerned.
Lily shook her head furiously, fighting
back tears. "I'm not going to sit down, Auntie. How is Dad?"
Ellone stood there with her for a moment,
contemplating. Some of the children sniffed, the little girl Contesta dug her
head further into Phoenix's shoulder to muffle the sobs.
Might as well tell her, Auntie, Phoenix
said.
Ellone sighed. "Your father's in a
coma." She heard Lily stifle a sob. "The doctors don't know if he's
going to wake up or not."
"Don't-don't tell me that!" Lily
looked away, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. Tears began to fall down her
cheeks. This can't be happening, this isn't happening...
Ellone grabbed Lily's shoulders so that
she could face her.
"Now, Lily, look at me," Ellone
said, trying to look at the once strong, spunky tomboy who never followed the
rules. All she saw now was the little girl wondering why life had to be so cruel
to her. "Look at me, Lily."
She turned look. Her emerald eyes were
filled with tears that were dangerously close to falling and staining her already
tear stained face.
"Lily, listen," Ellone demanded
softly, wiping some of her tears away. "Crying isn't like you. Now, your
father wouldn't like seeing you like this, right?"
Lily nodded, wiping her eyes. Ellone smiled
softly; she gestured to the door. "The doctors won't let anybody in except
family members for now."
She led her through the hallways to her
father's room. Lily didn't care at the moment what the others thought of her small
outburst. Her father was her only family by blood. If anything had happened to
either of them, one would be left alone. Her mother died when she was really little,
so her father had to raise Lily on his own. Then Angel's Orphanage appeared and
that's where lifelongs friends were made. No, they were more than friends, they
were her other family.
They paused in front of a door. Ellone
just stood there, waiting, and nodded. Lily stepped in, the door sliding electronically
behind her as she stared at the lifeless body lying in bed. Tears began to well
up in her eyes again as she came closer to the bed. Her father, Seifer Almasy,
was being supported by an air respirator, his already scarred face badly burned
and who knows where else. He slept peacefully, not even knowing that anybody was
in the room. The tears finally slipped as Lily looked down at him, holding his
hand. It was still warm.
"You...idiot," she murmured as
the tears now flowed freely down her cheeks. "You shouldn't have gone against
her, old man. Idiot."
Her knees gave way as she sunk in the chair
and cried.
"Might as well leave them alone for
a while," Ellone said as she reentered in the waiting room. "They need
some family time alone."
"It's been a while," Phoenix
said, gesturing to Contesta sleeping in Kenji's arms. "We should go home."
"But what about Lily?" Quistis
asked.
"Let her be. It's been at least six
years since she left the Orphanage," Ellone asnwered. "Hopefully, she'll
be okay after a few days."
One by one, everyone left the room. Seifer
was the last to go, looking back at the hallway as the image of the little girl
at the grave reappeared in his mind. Why did Lily remind him of that girl so much?
"Seifer?"
He snapped back into reality at the call
of his name. He turned to face Quistis who was looking at him strangely.
"Seifer, what's wrong?" she asked.
One look in her eyes and he couldn't bear
to look away. So instead, he looked down at the ground, scratching the back of
his head and walking away.
"Nah, it's nothing," he answered.
Quistis watched him go, frowning. These
past few days, Seifer didn't act like the arrogant gunblade weilder of Balamb
Garden. He was acting like a normal person for once. She wondered why.
"Alex! Alex! Let's play swords again!"
He froze on the spot. No, not again.
Rinoa secretly giggled to herself from
behind the kitchen shutters. Ever since they arrived at Angel's Orphanage, Alex
was the idol of the children there. He wasn't the oldest, but the most experienced
in combat, and they all wanted him to show what he had learned while travelling
with his sisters. They play fought most of the time with sticks, but sometimes
Alex would teach them a basic survival technique or two. Like lighting a piece
of wet wood. Although the children enjoyed it, Rinoa could tell that sometimes
Alex wanted to be left alone.
"Um...I'm kinda...busy right now,
guys," Alex said for an excuse.
Contesta cutely pouted. "Pwease???"
He gulped as he stared into Contesta's
light brown eyes. It was hard to resist the little girl especially since she had
an attachment to him from the start.
"Uh..."
"Hey, you guys want some cookies?"
Rinoa came out, holding a fresh batch.
The children soon forgot Alex as they ran
to Rinoa. "Yeah!!!"
Alex breathed a sigh of relief, mouthing
a "thank you" to her. She smiled at him in reply as the children devoured
up the batch. He quickly and silently left the area like a cat.
Phoenix brushed back her hair, sighing,
and read the next mission. Trabia, huh?
"How are we supposed to get the generator?"
Luna asked behind her.
"I'm not really sure," Phoenix
said. "It's coordinates are unknown."
"Trabia Garden's demolished...wait,
I remember that there's an ore mining village by the mountains," Kenji replied,
walking in. "Maybe if we ask the locals, they can lead us to the generator."
"IF they know of the generator's whereabouts,"
Luna pointed out. She took a picture of Trabia and looked at its blank landscape.
"...How many people do we actually need?"
"You have to remember that we also
need to keep an eye on the others," Phoenix reminded her sister. "So,
we have to take them with us. One of us alone with them against the new shadow
prototypes is not a very good idea."
"Oh...you mean the regenerating freaks,"
Luna remembered. A pause, then a sigh. "Man, I really hate this Time
Compression. It's getting to my head."
Kenji leaned against the wall, putting
his hands in his pockets. "Hah, you can say that again. But at least you
two get to see your parents, right?"
The twins smiled simultaneously.
"Yeah, that's true," Luna agreed.
Phoenix added, "At least they're happy
together and living the life that we used to have."
"...What about Lily?" Kenji asked.
"What about me?" Lily's voice
came from the doorway.
The three in the room were a bit surprised.
"Lily, you're back!" Luna exclaimed.
Lily grinned. "Of course I'm back.
You can't leave without me."
"But your dad---" Phoenix was
about to say.
"No buts. He'll be fine," Lily
cut her off. "Besides, I don't think my old man would like me staying behind
with him. Would drive him crazy to see me pace around in circles."
She...seems okay,
Phoenix thought.
Whaddya mean 'okay'? She's acting like
she always does, Luna pointed out.
"He's awake?" Luna asked incredulously.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Lily replied
a bit sarcastically.
Flashback
She felt him stirring and slowly lifted
her head that was resting on his arm.
"...Daddy?" Lily asked.
"Hah, that's a voice I haven't heard
in years," Seifer muttered. He opened his eyes and turned his head. "Hey
there ya Pyro."
That was a nickname she absolutely despised,
but Lily didn't really notice.
"Hi there, you big Idiot," Lily
replied, smiling. Then she frowned as she stared back into the eyes that she mirrored.
"What the hell were ya thinking, going against that bitch?!? You could've
died, ya know."
"And you think that you'd do any better?"
Seifer retored. He took his daughter's silence as an answer. "I thought so.
Don't worry about me, Lily." He noticed the dried streaks on her face and
laughed despite of himself. "Hyne, I don't die that easily. Quit crying over
me. You should know better."
"Dad..." Lily warned.
He let go of the limp hold she had on his
arm, waving for her to go. "Go. Kick some ass for me."
This statement confused her. "Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. I know you two well.
You're itchin' to go with the others, aren't ya? Just go."
"But---"
"You're going to annoy me to death
stayin' here, pacing around like a cat ready to pounce on a mouse and complainin'."
He waved his hand again. "Just go."
end of Flashback
"So, let's kick some ass and get to
Trabia, huh?" Lily shouted triumphantly.
They sat around the kitchen table, a large
map spread on top of it. After much explaination, the orphanage gang weren't suspicious
anymore. Actually, they understood what the others were going through. To be able
to not experience a happy childhood with a normal family, to be able to know who
their parents were, to be forced into a life of killing and war, they all knew
that too well.
"Our next destination is Trabia,"
Phoenix began to explain about the mission. "We're to locate the generator
complex hidden somewhere on the continent and destroy it. It's whereabouts are
unknown, but there's an extremely high level of energy inside the mountains, so
we'll check out there, first."
"Is there any increase of monster
activity in Trabia?" Squall asked.
"No. It's the exact opposite,"
Luna answered for him. "All of the monsters have been totally oblitereated
due to the generator's radiation waves. It's power is the exact opposite from
the ones that we've seen already, so it must be a huge complex in one."
"There's a coal mining village nearby,
the only known area where humans are actually inhabiting at the moment,"
Phoenix continued. "We'll dock off there and see if there's any clues regarding
the generator."
"How many people do we actually need?
I mean, there's so many of us...," Quistis inquired.
"Since we don't know exactly where
the generator's at, everyone. Also, I don't think any of us can take on the newly
upgraded shadows," Kenji answered.
"We'll split off into groups of three
or four, to make searching much easier," Phoenix said. "Pick who you
wanna go with."
Naturally, everyone went with who they
wanted to be with or were forced to be with when they couldn't decide: (AN: Ha,
ha, ha...don't be expecting alternate pairings! I'm kinda like a "forever"
person ^_^...Ahem, anyhoo...) Squall, Rinoa, and Alex; Lily, Seifer, Quistis,
and Fujin; Irvine, Selphie, and Gene; Zell, Fujin, and Sakura w/ K-chan; and Phoenix
and Kenji. Luna was still contemplating the choices.
"Well, Sis?" Phoenix asked her
twin.
Luna thought for a moment, her hands cupping
her chin as she weighed the choices. Then finally, "Mm...I'll go with you,
Phoe. Gotta keep an eye on you two in case if something happens to one of ya."
She had a small smirk and a teasing glint in her eyes.
Phoenix and Kenji turned beet red for a
moment, but Phoenix cleared her throat, looking away from her Knight. "Okay...it's
settled, then. We'll leave tomorrow morning."
Allundia laughed softly to herself, sipping
a glass of wine. Ultimecia was proud of her progress; to be able to take her orders
seriously unlike the idiot Deling. She never liked the man. She thought that he
was rather pathetic, begging to do anything for her mistress in exchange for returning
his life. Men. She was disgusted with them. They never did anything precisely
as told and would do everything their own way. Hah, and he had wanted to be her
mistress's Knight. He wasn't even qualified for a duty of a dog, nevertheless
a Sorceress's Knight.
She stroked the head of her beloved pet
werewolf, smiling evilly as she watched her mistress's enemies land at the ore
mining village.
"Now go, my pet Kaen," she whispered
metallically in the werewolf's ear. "Kill those pathetic SeeD who dare to
defy our mistress Ultimecia."
The werewolf growled and leaped away, disappearing
into the blizzard.
Rinoa shivered once she stepped off the
Ragnarok. Although everybody was wearing at least ten pairs of winter clothing,
it was still at least fourty below and very, very, cold. Visibility was next to
nothing, so they all had to depend on infrared goggles. Weapons couldn't be used
whatsover, unless they were thermalized, so everyone had to hide their own with
their own body heat with the exception of Luna who left her katana in the Ragnarok.
She had said that it would be useless to use the wind when there was already wind
around.
They drudged through the snow as the winds
stung their partially exposed faces. It was the time of the year when weather
in Trabia was at its worst. Rarely anybody inhabited the area except for those
in search of striking it rich. So people from all over the world came to settle
in small groups nearby. The only successful one was now a very prosperous village,
welcoming any visitors that came by.
"It's cold," Sakura said as soon
as they entered the village gates.
"Hah, you can say that again, Sakura,"
Zell agreed and sneezed.
Kereberos popped her head out of Zell's
scarf. "Ahh, I can breathe!" She
shook her head a bit and went back inside again to keep warm.
"Alright, this is where we split up,"
Phoenix announced.
"But how are we suppossed to contact
each other if we find the generator's location?" Rinoa asked.
Luna elbowed Alex in the ribs. He grimaced
in pain while shifting his backpack to take out whatever he put in there this
morning. What he took out were five dynamite-like sticks.
"Oooh, firecrackers!" Selphie
exclaimed.
"They're not firecrackers," Alex
corrected. "They're signal flares." He
gave one to each group while keeping one for himself. "Since we can't use
any magic, we'll have to resort to these. If one of us finds the generator's location,
just fire these and we'll be able to see it."
"Even in this weather?" Quistis
asked incredulously.
"These things are really, REALLY bright,"
Luna answered. "They've been modified to be used in any weather condition."
As everyone split into different directions,
Seifer eyed the signal flare in his hands suspiciously. It was the first time
he actually ever saw a modified one despite his Garden training.
"Uh...question. How the hell do these
things work?" he asked.
"You pull on the string, ya idiot,"
Lily said bluntly, walking past him. "C'mon, let's go."
Seifer growled at the fading figure before
following. There was something about the girl that just plain annoyed him to death.
But then there was something about the girl that she had meant something to him.
Not love...at least not the romantic type. It was more fatherly. Ellone didn't
tell him anything when he asked about Lily. Or, at least, she didn't want to tell
him. Why is that? he asked himself.
"Whoa, what the hell is this thing?"
Kenji asked, looking up at the large column. It had been a few hours of futile
search until now.
"You got me..." Luna replied.
The thing was so big to her; she felt tiny next to it.
Phoenix examined the writing engraved on
the column. "It's ancient Trabia language, I think."
"Well, what's it for?" Kenji
asked again. "This thing's been put up like it's a shrine or something."
Luna looked around for someone passing
by. She stopped an elderly woman who looked like was on her way home from the
mine because she was covered with black soot.
"Excuse me, but can you translate
this for us?" Luna asked politely.
The woman gazed up at the column. "Oh,
this? This pillar's a very sacred shrine regarding how the Ice Princess Shiva
came down to this world. I'm not really sure about what it says since nobody but
the well-educated have learned the ancient Trabian language, but it's supposed
to locate the cave where Shiva was imprisoned before set free as a Guardian Force."
"Do you know of anyone who can read
this?" Phoenix asked.
The woman shook her head. "Unfortunately,
no. But maybe you can check the Cianta precinct. That's where the wealthy live."
The trio looked at one another. Then Phoenix
smiled at the woman. "Okay, thank you."
The woman returned the smile and went on
her way, leaving the trio alone in the street.
Luna sighed deeply. "Now what?"
"It's simple. We gotta go find someone
who can read this," Phoenix answered. "This cave could be the place
where the generator's at."
"Ya think so?"
"It could be," Kenji answered
and began to walk away. "I'll go to the Cianta precinct. You guys stay here."
"But Kenji!" the twins protested.
"It's better going alone than together
while asking. If we all go together, the villagers will get suspicious,"
Kenji explained, still walking until finally his form disappeared in the winds.
The twins found a bench nearby the column
and sat down.
"Damn, he still treats us like we're
little kids," Luna said angrily. She turned to her twin. "You know,
you should at least tell him something."
"Is it my fault that he's already
like this?" Phoenix asked back.
"He's your Knight for Hyne's sake."
"True..."
"Then you should ask him why!"
"You already know that he's very protective.
It can't be helped," Phoenix smiled slyly.
Luna held a look of annoyance. "You're
enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Yup."
Luna sighed again as her twin giggled in
amusement.
Lily's group entered in a bar called Selenity's
Haven. Since nobody was paying much attention to their entrance, they found an
empty booth pretty quickly. A drunken waitress came by, clumsily setting down
four glasses of alcohol.
"Enjoy," she slurred, and sauntered
off.
"What IS this place?" Quistis
asked.
"This is where we start off,"
Lily answered and took a sip of her drink. "Basically, we just listen in
on conversations and pick up whatever interesting information we can find relating
to the Trabian generator."
"Boring," Seifer remarked, making
a fake yawn.
"You may call it boring," Lily
retorted, smiling cleverly, "but would you rather listen or hang out with
Ultimecia's goons for a while?" She took his silence for an answer. "I
thought so. Besides, practically everbody here is drunk. They'll blab out anything
when their minds aren't exactly clear to focus normally."
"DRUNKEN IDIOTS," Fujin remarked.
They laughed at her hidden meaning, taking
sips from their drinks. A man staggered towards them, carrying a large bottle
of beer that was poured a bit too full and spilled to the ground with every step
he took.
"Hey, baby," the man slurred,
looking at Lily. She turned her head to face the man. He cupped her chin in his
grimy hands. "Oh 'n youra pretty lookin' one, too. Wanna have a drink wit'
me? I promise you'll have a great time."
WHAM! The man was sprawled on the floor,
knocked out. Lily brushed off her hands as if she was just dusting off dust while
her three comrades stared in amazement.
"Hah, I may be a woman, but I ain't
that cheap," Lily told the drunk.
"Ya know....I just realized something,"
Seifer observed. "The majority of the drunks in here are men. No wonder why
they're going after you."
One of the drunks from a table halfway
across the room bellowed, "Hey, baby, come sit wit' us! You can bring your
cute friends wit' ya, too! Just leave 'im. You'll hava better time wit' us!"
"To come to think of it..." Quistis
began.
"MAJORITY WOMEN. BAD IDEA," Fujin
finished.
"Exactly."
Seifer leaned back, putting his arms over
his head and smiling arrogantly. "Hah, so THAT'S why they're hitting you
guys. Probably think I'm a pimp or somethin'. It's gonna be hard to get some info
out of these idiots with you guys around."
"Well, excuse me for being born a
girl," Lily replied, gazing around at the crowd.
Seifer mimicked her, making silly faces
behind her back. Quistis had to stifle the itching feeling that came to her throat.
Lily took one swing of her drink and set
the empy glass on the table.
"Hmm...if they won't leave us alone,
then I'll try this instead," she said, grabbing her glass and throwing it
across the bar, just barely missing someone's head.
"Hey, who the hell threw that?!?"
shouted the young man who just barely missed getting his head knocked off.
"Oh, and I thought everyone was drunk
here," Lily said lightly.
"Say that again?!?"
The young man stood up as well as the men
at his table. By the looks of him, he seemed to be the leader of the gang. Lily
just grinned, taking a couple of steps forward. The others could tell by the way
she walked was that she was itching for a fight.
"And why do you wanna know?"
she asked dangerously.~~~~~
"Do you think we should help her?"
Quistis asked.
Seifer drank all of what was left in his
glass in one gulp the exact same way Lily had done. "Nah, she'll be fine."
"WHY?" That came from Fujin.
"Lily's the type who can take care
of herself, from what I've seen," Seifer answered knowingly. "She'd
rather be killed than be helped."~~~~~
"Because I ain't the type to step
down to a woman!" the man answered and gestured to the others to attack.
A mere five minutes later, all of his men
were on the floor in a heap of unconsciousness. The young man's eyes pratically
came out of its sockets at the sight as Lily stood on top of one of his own, grinning
happily.
"Oh, that felt great!" Lily exclaimed
and turned to the young man with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Any more?"
Much of the customers, with the exception
of Seifer, Quistis, and Fujin, barely noticed the pending fight. The young man
growled and charged forward. Lily was about to roundhouse kick him when---
"That's enough."
She stopped, her foot mere centimeters
away from knocking her opponent out. She balanced herself on one leg, her catlike
eyes gazing at the lone man in the table where the young man came from.
"My son lost. He's too arrogant to
understand defeat, so just let it go," the old man said. "You won. Now,
what do you want?"
"Hmm...you got a wise old man, small
fry," Lily said and swung around backwards to land her other leg. "Wise
old man indeed."
The werewolf named Kaen sat on his haunches
while gazing down at the village before him. A keen sense of the five human senses
as useful during weather conditions such as Trabia. Trabia. His hometown; the
hometown he despised. Something stirred within him, and he howled up to the sky,
releasing all of the anger he had for the people that inhabited there.
Rinoa stopped in her tracks as the howl
echoed throughout the village. She looked up, the other two taking the same action.
Although the blizzard was still strong, she could see patches of blue in the sky
and that meant only one thing: the storm was almost over.
"What was that?" Rinoa asked,
regarding the howl.
"Sounded like a wolf or something,"
Alex answered.
"Or both," Squall added.
They were heading to an inn to see if there
was a man named Culzenberg staying there. After asking the locals, all of the
information that they picked up led to the village's only inn.
"Both? How can a wolf be something
else at the same time, Squall?" Rinoa asked him.
He shrugged. "Just a suggestion."
Suddenly, the storm stopped altogether.
It began to snow lightly soon afterwards. Rinoa smiled as she held out her palm
to catch a flake of snow. It was not the kind that she was used to. It looked
clearer, and more crystalized than the ones that she had seen in the Trabia before.
"Wow, it's so pretty," she said.
They continued walking, but in silence.
It was still hard to make a conversation with the two, although it was a bit easier
with Alex. When it took at least an entire year to break into Squall's shell,
it only took two days to break into Alex's mask. He reminded of Laguna's personality
at times: easygoing and seeing the good things of life. But then, other times
he was like Squall: cold and masked. Rina snapped back into reality when she heard
Squall call out Phoenix and Luna's names.
The twins sat on a bench next to a large
column that was beautifully decorated in jade. Luna was apparently bored, and
when she saw them, she waved happily. Phoenix was looking somewhere else, but
saw the others and politely waved as well.
"What're you guys doing here?"
Luna asked.
"I was about to ask you two the same
question," Rinoa answered. "We're about to go to the inn."
"What's the thing behind you?"
Alex asked.
They continued walking towards the twins
and conversing, unaware of the danger that lie above them.
Kaen watched closely before jumping off
the shrine's roof. Knife-like claws ready and targets chosen, he was about to
pounce on his prey.
"Kill!"
"Squall, Rinoa, watch it!" Luna
shouted.
Running as fast as she could, she shoved
the two out of the way. She hissed in pain at the deep cut on her shoulder as
they landed on the ground. The impact made her bounce on the ground, and rolled
sideways to keep Squall and Rinoa from crushing her.
Kaen sat on his haunches, gazing coldly
at the crowd that he had attracted.
"Luna!" Phoenix shouted and stopped
as Kaen stared at her. W-what the hell is that?!?
"M-monster!!" one of the bystanders
shouted.
Squall and Rinoa stood to stare at the
creature. Alex had taken a defensive posture.
Luna lifted her head and got up on one
knee, clutching her shoulder.
"It's one of Ultimecia's creatures,"
she muttered through gritted teeth.
Kaen stared back at the crowd as they instinctively
stepped back. His eyes glowed red as he chased after them as they ran, grabbing
one innocent bystander who was too slow to react and began eating him alive.
Squall felt sick to his stomach as he watched
the creature eat the man. Kaen turned around, blood staining his hands, and a
torn arm still in his mouth.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
Kaen spit out the arm, wiping his already
blood-stained mouth. "Old geezers are easy to catch, but taste awful. Hmm....I
wonder what SeeD taste like."
"Well, you'll soon get to fight one!"
Alex shouted, throwing a dagger that was hidden in his sleeve.
Kaen turned a second too soon and howled
in pain as the dagger dug into his right eye. As he took out the dagger, he howled
even more. Glomps of red fell to the snow, staining it dark red. Phoenix took
out the flare in her pocket and fired it at the creature. He barely dodged it,
the flames singing his flesh lightly as it passed by. Before anybody could do
anything else, Kaen leaped away.
"Just what the hell was that thing?"
Squall asked.
"It looked like a werewolf..."
Phoenix answered.
Alex went over to pick up his dagger, wiping
off the blood with a handkerchief. He examined the dagger carefully.
"Luna, are you okay?" Rinoa asked,
concerned.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied,
standing up. She winced in pain as the gentle breeze bit through her exposed flesh.
"He got you pretty badly," Phoenix
said, examining her sister's wound. She took out the ribbon in her hair and tied
it around Luna's wound. The red streaks in her hair stood out even more with it
down.
"Do you think that thing will come
back?" Alex asked, hiding his dagger back in its original place.
"Probably," Phoenix answered
and finished bandaging the wound.
"Its target is you two," Luna
said to Squall and Rinoa. "Be careful where you're going."
"Are you two going to be okay? That
thing might as well come after you, too," Squall said.
The twins smiled and nodded.
Kenji returned a few hours later. It had
taken a while, but he was able to discover the generator's location. It was exactly
the place where Shiva was once imprisoned. Mount Leika...
"Ken-ji!"
He turned around to find a large snowball
flying straight at him. WHACK! All that Kenji could hear were footsteps and two
women laughing. Everything else was white and cold.
"Oh? I didn't think you'd fall that
easily," came Luna's teasing response.
Kenji growled in anger as he forced his
way out of the snow. "Luna! Damn you..."
"My, my. Temper, temper," Luna
replied.
Phoenix laughed some more. "We were
tired of waiting, so we went to look for you. So, did you find out what the column
meant?"
He brushed off the snow that was in his
hair. "Yeah, Shiva's cave is the place. It's called Mount Leika now and isn't
that far from here. Only a few kilometers northeast." He could tell that
the two were hiding something from him. "So? Where's the signal flare?"
"Um...actually...." Luna began
to explain what had happened.
"Say what?!?" Kenji exclaimed
when she finished.
"Well, I didn't mean to use it,"
Phoenix said quietly. "It was just there. And besides, we can't use our magic
because we're afraid that she might find us."
"That means we gotta look for the
others," Kenji replied in understanding. "I'll go to the generator and
you two go find the others."
"No, I'LL go to the generator and
you and Phoenix find the others," Luna corrected. Then she grinned. "I'm
itching to do something. And besides, you're her Knight for Hyne's sake. At least
fufill that duty, Kenji."
"Sis..." Phoenix began.
"I'll be fine! Just fine!" Luna
said as she walked away, waving back. "It's Mount Leika, right? I'll meet
you guys there."
Kenji and Phoenix watched her go, alone.
"I wonder if she'll be okay,"
Phoenix murmured.
"It probably hurts still," Kenji
added and then gestured her to follow him. "She'll be fine, Kajimi."
He grinned. "I don't think that anybody would be able to withstand Luna's
wrath for long."
Phoenix smiled and nodded, following. "Yeah,
you're right."
Luna held her hair back while running through
the snow. She was a blur in a normal human's eye, a streak of black and violet
when she rested for a second. She wished she brought her katana with her, just
in case if she needed to make a fire.
A knight has to fufill his duty, huh?
Luna thought while climbing up the slope. The packed snow came up to her knees.
Geez, I can say a whole bunch of stuff and yet not know what they really mean.
She was glad that it was cold. For one thing, it numbed the pain that was on her
shoulder. For another thing, it numbed the pain in her heart. I wonder if Shiguyou
wanted to fufill his duty; he never said anything like that to me. Only once he
said that he'd protect me from harm. She shook her head. No, you can't
keep on bein depressed like this. He'll never like it if I'm always like this.
I should be happy for Phoenix.
"So, this is the place, huh?"
she said to nobody in particular.
The cave in Mount Leika was blocked off
by a boulder made of pure ice.
"Talk about 'do not enter,'"
she murmured as she walked towards the entrance. "Glad that I came."
One good thing about being a half sorceress
was that if all elements combined with the other half, it would create a unique
defense against one kind of element. Fire was her specialty. With her sister,
both she and Phoenix could make a fire crystal which was made of both fire and
ice. The only thing was that she hated the cold, and anytime her sister casted
any water spell on her, she would get burned and vice versa. She began to concentrate
on a spell when she felt a strange aura behind her. Turning around, Luna saw the
werewolf that had attacked before, not far away.
"I'll kill you, SeeD!" Kaen growled.
Luna flipped back her hair. "Oh, really?"
I'm not going to look back now. She stared coldy back at Kaen. "I
won't let you get to them." Her bracelets shifted into the gauntlets.
"I'll NEVER let you mess with them!
C'mon, bring it on!!"
Kaen charged forward with a quickness of
a wolf. Luna was surprised by the creature's speed and narrowly escaped from getting
her arm ripped off. He's fast, despite his size. Although he missed, Kaen
was able to grab Luna's hand. He swung her around and tossed her against the cliff's
wall. Some snow began to fall.
Luna's impact was hard, making an indent
of her body on the solid rock. She grimaced in pain and slid slowly down to the
snow. Clutching her side, she coughed up blood. She continued to stare coldly
at the werewolf. Not only fast, but strong, too.
Kaen charged again in a raging fury, his
fist ready to smash her head against the wall. Luna jumped out of the way as a
tiny avalange fell on top of Kaen. He popped out of the snow, still in attack
mode, howling like a possessed demon. Luna blocked every punch he gave her before
landing on the ground again.
Damn, I can't even get a hit in! Not
only that, he's not giving me any time to blast him.
Luna thought as she faced Kaen again. And the freak doesn't look the least
bit tired.
As always, Kaen charged first. Luna this
time took off her trenchcoat and flung it at the charging werewolf. While blinded,
she used his back as a spring and jumped over him, flying freely in the air.
The only thing she didn't notice was the
look Kaen gave as he turned his head...
A shock ran through all of them, signaling
that there was something wrong.
Lily's group had found Zell's and Irvine's,
who, coincidentally, were all going to the same destination. They stopped in the
middle of the wilderness.
"Just what the hell was that?"
Lily asked.
Kereberos looked on at the horizon. "Something's
happened."
The Leonharts stopped in their tracks.
It was as if a part of them was fading away.
"Did you feel that?" Rinoa asked.
"...." That was Squall. He had
felt that line of shock, frowning.
Alex had turned around to stare back at
the mountains that they passed by. He hadn't given a reply. He couldn't. That
wave of shock, that was like five years ago had been like. But that aura that
leaked out, he knew whose it was. No. It's happening again. Not again.
"Alex, what's wrong?" Rinoa asked.
He didn't reply. He only reacted. Rinoa
and Squall chased after him.
"Wait a minute, Alex!"
This shock was stronger than before. Much
stronger. So strong that she shivered.
"Phoenix?" Kenji asked. He had
felt that shock, but didn't really know what it was. But Phoenix...he knew that
Phoenix knew. Although two different bodies, they shared one mind.
It was like half of her disappeared and
she was only functional on one side. Phoenix turned to the mountains. Luna...
"Kenji, let's go," she said and
began walking. "Let's go." Her pace quickened and then suddenly turned
into a fastbreak as she felt the aura leak even faster. "Hurry!!"
Her midnight hair blew softly with the
gentle breeze. Blood trickled down her chin as she looked at the blue sky above
her. Then after moment, she felt blood rising in her throat. She spit it out,
ridding of the metallic taste.
Kaen had dug his sharp claws right through
her side, the tips showing on the other. He held her upright in midair, digging
in her wound further at every second.
Luna gritted her teeth in anger as she
flipped backwards and put a chokehold on Kaen. He struggled to be free, to have
air. Luna struggled to keep her grip. A sudden rush of adrenaline filled her body,
and she yelled out loud, her grip strong.
The sound of bones cracking and the fall
of a corpse echoed in the still air.
Luna gasped heavily. "Don't...EVER....mess
with me!"
She dragged herself to the edge of the
cliff, away from the fallen body. Dark red stained the once pure snow with each
step she took. Reaching the edge, Luna fell to her knees. She first looked at
the sky then at her bloodied hand that had covered her wound.
"Sometimes I wish I had Phoenix's
ability to heal in mere seconds," she murmured to herself. Looking back up
at the sky, she laughed gently until it began to hurt. "I can't make fun
of Alex anymore, can I?"
Despite the pain, Luna forced herself to
turn around. Her pale face stood out under her dark strands. The boulder had remained
where it was.
"I gotta melt that thing, don't I?"
she asked herself. Slowly, she got
up and dragged herself back to the generator's entrance. "Hah, I wish I brought
some potions with me. It's been a while since I got hurt this bad." She let
out a small chuckle. "Stupid me. I forget everything like Gramps does."
She concentrated hard as a faint aura began
to surround her body. Blood flowed freely from her open wound. She started to
feel dizzy from lack of blood. C'mon, I can't let them down like this, she
thought to herself. Mom, Dad, help me...
The aura that surrounded her glowed a dark
violet and she opened her eyes, shouting, "Heaven's Cry!!!" The
boulder was incinerated in seconds as the white flames slowly began to engulf
it.
But Luna really didn't care if she melted
it or not. To her, all time had stopped. She stood there, staring at the bright
sun.
Luna...a voice called her.
Her eyes began to water.
Commander Shiguyou, guys. How long have
you been up there?
Luna, come back to us.
But---
"Luna!!"
She turned her head instinctively. Now
what?
"LUNA!!!"
She saw two figures running towards her,
but couldn't make out who. Her legs felt weak, her eyes struggling to keep open.
Maybe if she'd lie down for a moment....
"LU-------------------------NA!!!!"
Kenji and Phoenix shouted as her body collapsed to the ground.
"Kenji, it's not working," Phoenix
said desparately, her eyes close to fallen tears as she covered her sister's wound
and her wrist. "She's not healing fast enough."
Kenji concentrated at the small pile of
sticks. "Fire."
It went aflame, making a small stack of
smoke as well.
"Okay, now that's set, I'll go look
for the others," he said to himself.
Opening her eyes again, she saw her mirror
reflection above her. "Sis..." Luna whispered.
Phoenix leaned in closer. "Luna? You're
awake?"
"Sis, I..."
Kenji kneeled down on the opposite side
of Phoenix. "Luna, save your energy. Don't speak."
"Sis, I'll...I'll be fine," Luna
continued, ignoring Kenji's request. "I'll be just...fine. So...don't worry."
She coughed a bit and then looked up at her sister again, smiling. "I don't...fall
that easily, 'member?"
The tears began to fall. "Luna..."
Luna looked away and stared into space,
still with that enigmatic smile on her face. "Hyne, you're too...soft. Don't...don't
worry about me. And besides...you got this hunk of weight on ya. YOU'LL be...fine.
I'll be...fine. We'll...we'll both be fine." She looked at Kenji. "You...remember
to take care good care of...her. Got it? Don't...don't leave her again. I don't...I
don't want to see my sister crying again because of you...or else...or else I'll
kick your ass."
Kenji couldn't help but smile at the comment.
"I promise."
Luna smiled even more, turning back to
her twin. "Sis...don't let her have...it." Her eyes began to flicker
between catlike amber and her normal sapphire. "Tell...tell Alex to...protect
the ring..."
Phoenix began to panic as soon as she saw
her sister's eyes flicker. No... "Don't you DARE go to Griever! You're
not supposed to go yet!! Don't you dare die on me, Sis!"
The catlike amber dominated her eyes as
she still smiled, but tears were in those eyes. Luna slowly began to fade away.
"Mommy...and Daddy...I miss them. They miss us. So...so...I havta go...just
to see...."
Sparkles of life drifted to the sky, leaving
in Phoenix's hands her sister's gauntlets. "Sis?? Sis?!? NOOOO!!!!"
Phoenix grabbed the gauntlets tightly in
her hands as if trying to pull her sister back. She shook her head furiously as
the tears quickly fell. "No! You're not supposed to go to them, yet!!! They
told us that! LUNA!!!"
"Kajimi, calm down!" Kenji shouted
at her, grabbing her shoulders.
"I can't! I won't! She wasn't supposed
to go yet! She wasn't supposed to see Griever yet! She's...she's..." Phoenix
tried to argue.
Kenji wrapped his arms around her as she
began to break down. At first she resisted, pounding on his chest and mumuring
incoherent words, but then she obliged and cried in his arms.
She lost a sister once. Now she has lost
one again.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm going to get shot,
aren't I? Aren't I? *bows down* I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll make it
up, okay?? Okay???? *glares at the crowd, particularly her friend Celestial Senshi*
You have been warned! Lots of angst and death coming up in the next couple of
chapters!!! Hey, this chapter was really, REALLY hard to write, so don't blame
me! I had to do it! It's like how I don't want to eat, but my body doesn't oblige
to my head!!!
To you Fushigi Yuugi fans: Luna's death
kinda reminds you of Nuriko, ne?? I know, I know, I know, but I just couldn't
resist! It...just fits!! R&R!!
WHAT'S TO COME
Do I really need to do this? *thinks* Naaaaaaahhhhhh.......There's
just going to be too many spoilers in the next chapters! Okay, how about this?
I'll just give you the title of the next chapter:
Angels Chapter Eleven ~ To Fly Free...