Chapter Three:
Home sweet home…Eiko woke again to the artificial light of the Invincible, this time being careful not to hit her head. She rolled off the bunk, and placed one foot on the ladder. Peering up, she saw that Vivi was still asleep. She considered waking him up, and decided it would be best if he didn't sleep in. They were landing on Terra today. She brushed his bangs out of his face, and his eyelids fluttered open.
"This has to be one of the nicest ways to wake up," he said.
"You wouldn't be getting too sentimental on me, would you?"
"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I like it."
"I'm going over to the bridge. You coming?"
"Yeah."
Eiko jumped off the ladder, and Vivi climbed down. The door hissed open, then hissed imperiously closed behind them.
After walking through the final door to the bridge, they were met by a sight that stopped them in their tracks. The once stark and mysterious planet of mushrooms had changed. Instead… were the ruins of a civilization. Crumbling spires clawed brokenly to the sky, as if they were trying to swim free of their grave of rubble.
"I didn't know we had landed already," said Eiko, confused.
"Neither did I," replied Zidane. "The ship took things into it's own hands."
Eiko looked out the window again. "My god…" she breathed.
"Yeah. I don't know what those mushrooms were for, but they must have been far above the surface." Zidane was pacing again, his tail swishing.
"Maybe to keep the inhabitants of them far from the surface?" Suggested Dagger, half to herself.
"Why?"
"Who knows? Do you think it's safe?"
The ship cut in. "Atmosphere seems safe. There is no life detected on the surface, either."
"Any other things to watch out for?"
"This was once a city, as you may have noticed. Things are falling down, above and below. So, watch your head and your step."
"Ok…. Time to move out"
They began the walk towards the main exit. They were almost there when Mikhael stopped. "Wait. There might not be anything alive out there, but I don't trust a dead city. Plus, some gear might be handy if something goes wrong."
"Good idea. Lets see what we can find in the armory."
They turned off, entering the small door. As usual, light faded into the room on entry.
"Last time I came here, everything seemed pretty alien and unusable, to me," warned Mikhael.
"There should be something. Mikoto, if you recognise anything, give me a shout. Let's get looking."
"Decisive as ever, Zidane" noted Dagger, affectionately.
"Yep"
Mikoto wandered off among the shelves. "We should stay away from the most advanced stuff, it's hard to use, and unpredictable." After a while, she set eyes on a rack. "Aha!"
"Found something?" asked Zidane
"Rifles"
"What's a rifle?", Eiko asked curiously.
"Advanced projectile weapon. Some, like these ones, work a bit like the cannons you have now."
"Might be useful," noted Mikhael, taking one off the rack.
"Be careful. The safety switch is on now, so it won't fire. That catch at the side readies the weapon, the trigger near the handle fires. It's got a kick to it, so you'll have to keep it still when you fire. It fires fast, but only use it in bursts if you can help it. Hold the trigger down and it could jam. Everyone clear?"
"Everyone? Why don't I just use magic?" asked Vivi, a little nervous.
"Because I'm not sure how various elements work here, and these seem to be the core of your magic."
"You're right."
One by one, they each took one from the rack. Mikoto also opened a chest below the rack and took out several metal containers, as well as a metal case.
"What are they?"
"Spare clips. If you run out, release the old one, clip in the new. The case is just general survival gear."
"Are we ready now?" asked Zidane, getting used to the feel of the rifle.
"Yep."
"Where'd you know all this from?"
"Garland and tapes, mainly."
"Save it for later," said Zidane, taking his rifle off safety. "Let's go."
They filed out the door, closing it behind them. At first hand, the landscape was eerie, to say the least. Every now and then there was a burned wreck of some machine on the ground, though wether this was Kuja's fault or earlier no one was sure. Eventually, they found themselves among the ruined buildings. There was no sound, other than the occasional gust of wind, or the creak of a ruin. Sharp metal supports jutted from rubble like skeletal ribs, as if part of the corpse of the city.
When the silence was broken, it was evident to all very quickly. A sound, like the hiss of quickly boiling water, seeped from an alley, followed by more.
"Guys, I think those things are back," said Mikhael, uneasy.
"How many this time?" asked Zidane
"More than two."
"Damn. Ok, fan out, keep out of friendly fire. If it gets rough, we can make a fighting retreat. Don't get cornered."
"Thanks, General." Quipped Eiko, nervously.
Zidane didn't reply, and Eiko took position behind some wreckage. The first beast poked its head around the corner, to be met by rattling gunfire. More hissing ensued followed by a quick dash out of their hiding place. Faced by four charging targets, Eiko picked one, and fired at it. The rifle kicked in her hands, making most of the bullets miss their mark. She swore, braced herself, and fired again. A hiss of pain and a spray of ichor from its midsection rewarded her. This one hissed, and fell back for a moment, hissing rapidly.
"I think they're communicating…" Eiko warned.
"How? They looked fairly unintelligent."
"I think they're part of a collective consciousness. Like bees, and ants," Freya suggested.
"Why does it matter? We're supposed to be killing them." Amarant shouted over the bark of his rifle.
Eiko braced herself again, and fired. This time she hit an artery, triggering a fountain of blood. The beast fell to the floor, twitching. She didn't stop to celebrate, instead taking aim at the next closest. She swore again, noticing more of them stepping out of the alley, as well as another two coming from the opposite side. She opened fire again, this time more panicked.
"Oh god…" Dagger shouted.
"What?" Zidane yelled back
"Look up."
Zidane did. Climbing on the building above them were a collection of different black shapes, these roughly man sized. Zidane raised his gun and fired off a volley at them. Almost in unison, they pushed off the wall, landing hard on the street in front of him. They were his height, but covered in spikes, with huge claws for hands. They hissed at the larger beasts, which then charged. Zidane was now firing frantically. Soon, three of the beasts lay dead from their collective fire. The man-beasts took cover, still watching. It seemed the beasts were losing again, with all the larger ones now dead. The smaller ones charged on an unheard signal, much faster than the others. None went for Zidane, but two attacked Freya.
They were almost upon her when she dived backwards, opening fire. Landing in a roll, she quickly found herself diving sideways again, as the beasts had matched her jumping ability. Freya fought on, trying to outjump the fiends.
Eiko did not posses the dragoon's skills, and found herself in a dangerous situation. Another two of the man-beasts were upon her, not bothering to run. Just slowly stalking her as she stepped backwards away, She fired a burst, which went completely wild, missing both of the beasts. Panic overtaking, she screamed and turned; hoping against hope she could flee. She had not seen them against Freya… A stunning blow to her back made her drop the rifle, stumbling forward, almost falling. She staggered back upright, and continued her flight. Someone screamed behind her, and she was hit again, knocking her off her feet. She rolled onto her back, as a set of claws hit where she just was. The next time… She wasn't so lucky. She felt the claws sink into her chest, shooting pain through her body. Feeling a wetness that dawned on her to be her own blood spread over her, she felt gripping terror she'd never matched, and futility, and anger, and love. And she knew none of it mattered, as she knew she was about to die…
"Eiko! Damn, she's down, and I don't know how bad it is!" Zidane yelled, whom one beast only had set upon. He finally got in a lucky shot, puncturing the beast's skull. It went down, and Zidane looked around. Freya was up on a window ledge, firing at a beast trying to climb up to her. Another lay dead below her. Zidane fired, knocking the beast from the wall. It fell onto it's back, and could not get up before Freya jumped down. She placed the gun against it's head, and fired, shattering it's skull.
Mikhael was fighting beside Vivi, with Mikoto and Amarant close by. Steiner, of course, was standing near Dagger protectively behind cover. One by one, the beasts were losing, but the two who had attacked Eiko were still alive, pacing around where she had fallen. Zidane fired off a burst, attracting their attention. They turned to him, and he found his fire joined by four others', which made quick work of the two remaining. Zidane looked around, assessing everyone's injuries. Quina, who he hadn't noticed before, was prying off a beast's exoskeleton with his ever-present fork.
"What are you doing, Quina?"
"I seeing if it taste good!"
"Not now. Eiko's hurt."
Freya had already run over to where Eiko lay. She shook her head sadly.
"What's wrong?" Zidane said, walking over. "How bad is it?"
"Very. I don't even have to check for a pulse."
Zidane looked closely, and saw the massive wound in Eiko's chest, blood now weakly flowing out.
"Oh god…" said Mikoto, walking up. "Dagger! Come quickly!"
Dagger ran over, and knelt next to Eiko. "She's to far gone to save…" Dagger brushed Eiko's hair out of her face. "I'm sorry, Eiko. We all are. If you can hear this, wherever you are, I hope you feel a little better." Tears were rolling down Dagger's cheeks now. Freya just bowed her head. Amarant looked sadly at Eiko's battered body.
"She wasn't all that bad, really." Amarant said.
Vivi was simply in shock. He couldn't say anything. Just hours ago she'd been laughing, talking, joking. Now she lay dead, in a forgotten city on a planet far from her home. He turned to Dagger. "Can you… clean her up a bit? It's more dignified."
Dagger nodded, and closed her eyes. Healing energies flowed from her hands, closing the wound. She looked over to Vivi, who was still silent. Steiner stood beside him; helmet held to his heart, tears flowing openly down his face.
Vivi knelt down next to Eiko, lightly touching her face. Her skin was cold, and Vivi felt something else, too. Like opening his eyes for the first time, he felt a new sense surface in him. He felt the flow of his friend's souls around him, and the absence of Eiko's. He felt the emptiness inside her, and also felt the current of death.
Do you understand what you feel, and what this means? Vivi was startled. There was a voice in his head, like what Mikhael had described. He formed an answer in his mind. What are you?
You are not ready to be told that. But I can help you. You have grown in power, and I can show you the way.
The way to what? Vivi thought back
You will understand. Place your hands to her skin.
Vivi did so, puzzled. I don't understand.
You will. Feel the depths of the emptiness that is in her. That is death. Put every part of your mind into willing one thing, as powerfully as you can.
Will what thing? Vivi asked, still puzzled.
Will yourself to Eiko. Imagine, in any way you can, fighting your way to her.
Vivi was still shocked. Won't that kill me, if it did anything?
In a way, yes. But you are more than other people. You recall you said you didn't understand your magic? What you will experience now is the depths of it.
Vivi then felt a presence in his mind, one of power, kindness, and forcefulness, all in one. He didn't understand at all, but it gave him strength. He did what he was told, willing with all his mind to be with Eiko, to find her, to fight towards her. He felt Death rush to welcome him, and he lost consciousness.
Zidane saw Vivi collapse forward, like a puppet with it's strings cut. "Vivi must have been wounded, or something. Quickly!"
Dagger lowered Vivi on to his back beside Eiko, inspecting him for any wound. "He's fine. Must be shock, or exhaustion. I'll check though, just to be sure." Dagger placed two fingers to Vivi's neck. "Oh my god, he has no pulse. But he's unhurt. I don't understand…"
Don't panic. There is more going on than meets the eye.
Dagger jumped. "Did you just hear that?"
Zidane looked spooked. "I did."
Vivi awoke, finding himself on a cobblestone path leading to a large house. Dusk was falling. Vivi stood up and brushed himself off. Walking up the path, he came to a doorway. It was twice his height, and made of some dark wood. There were two statues on either side, one in marble, and one in ebony. Both were of a hooded figure. Vivi placed his hand on the door handle, half expecting it to swing of it's own accord creakily. It didn't. He pushed in the doors, finding it surprisingly easy. They must be cleverly counterweighted, he thought. Through the doors, he found himself in a grand hallway, with a stone floor in a chessboard pattern. Everything inside was of monochrome shades. Walking down the hallway, his boots echoed eerily, a constant 'tap tap' that came back seconds later, like there was someone else nearby. He heard a sob from the intersection ahead. There was someone nearby. He came to the intersection, and looked around the corner Eiko was there, huddled into a ball. He walked over to her, and knelt down. "It's ok. I'm here," he whispered.
"Vivi? Where am I? I thought… I did…"
"Yes. You died. I'm taking you back"
"How? You can't."
"I don't care if I can't. Now stand up."
She did so, and Vivi placed his arms around her shoulders. "It's this way. Come."
She nodded, and they walked back down the hallway, coming to the door again. He pulled at the handle, and this time the door was stiff and rusted. "It's easy to enter death, but so hard to leave…" he mused.
"Philosophy?"
"No, practicality. Help me pull."
She grabbed the handle, and they pulled together. The door slowly swung open, and they stepped onto the path outside. It quickly disappeared into mist. They walked along the path, until they both passed out again.
Vivi found himself back in his body, freezing cold. He gasped, and pulled himself to his feet. He looked down at Eiko, who coughed weakly, then gasped, then started breathing strongly. He reached out his hand and helped her up. She looked around for a moment, then fell sobbing into his arms.
"I was so alone…" she whispered.
"Never again. I'm here…" He hugged her tighter for a moment, then released her, and looked around. Everyone was staring, shocked, except Quina, who was jumping happily, and Steiner, who was on his knees.
"Master Vivi! Eiko was… You were…"
"Dead." Vivi finished.
"How! Do you have such power?" gasped Steiner.
"Don't worry yourself. I don't know either."
Freya muttered one word to herself, shocked into silence. "Necromancer."
"What?"
"A word from a Burmecian myth. Necromancer. I think that's as good a word as any for what you just did."
Zidane turned to Freya. "You've told me that one. I never thought I'd see it come true."
Dagger was curious. "How did you know what to do? How did you even know you could?"
"A voice in my head told me."
Amarant seemed amused. "Isn't that a mental illness?"
"Whatever." Vivi brushed off the halfhearted insult. "Do you think it's safe to rest? I'm tired."
"Of course." Zidane agreed. "Do you think any of these buildings would be okay?"
"That one over there looks relatively stable."
Vivi only realized how tired he was when they walked into the building. Yawning, he went over to a corner where there was little rubble and debris, and settled down to sleep.
Vivi found himself in a graveyard. The sky was a roiling purple, and there were dead trees scattered randomly. There was a think bank of fog obscuring everything past a few metres. A wail from further away faded into his hearing, but Vivi couldn't pinpoint the direction it came from.
"Please, help me…" Vivi was startled by a whisper just behind him. He turned, but nobody was there.
"Help me. Get me out of here," a different voice pleaded, louder this time.
"Let me free!" A harsher voice shouted. Soon, a cacophony of voices was echoing around in his head, swelling to a painful level. He fell to his knees and screamed. "Stop! Leave me alone!"
Vivi sat bolt upright and looked around. Just a dream, he thought.
He was not expecting an answer. "Not exactly. It wasn't real, but it wasn't a dream either. Those voices were real. They were the voices of the dead."
"You again? Why would the dead want to speak to me? How can I make them stop?"
"They speak to you because you are a necromancer. They want life, for many reasons. Revenge, love, ambition… Few can leave the house of Death alone. You will only hear them while you sleep, when your unconscious though has more control. If you listened carefully, you might hear them while you are awake. Once you establish more control, they will leave you alone. Oh, and incidentally, something has happened which you may find a mixed blessing. It is likely to help some things a little further. I'll explain later, once you discover it for yourself."
"Great. How do I exert my control?"
"Try telling them to stop."
"Will they listen? I already did, nothing happened."
"You pleaded, not ordered. That makes a difference. Try that, next time."
"What were you talking about before?"
There was no answer now. He looked around the darkened building. The place was in ruins. The others were sleeping in various places around the room. Eiko was nearby, sleeping fitfully. Vivi shrugged, and leaned back against the wall. He wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight. He closed his eyes for a moment –
Fire sweeping through narrow streets, screams of pain and loss as people writhed on the ground aflame. A mighty wind buffeting anything left unburned, knocking over signs and tables. Some giant beast watching from the sky with a predatorial gaze –
Vivi's eyes snapped open. "What the hell was that…." he said uneasily. The room was unchanged. Everyone was still asleep. He couldn't hear anything outside, either. He felt himself drifting off again –
Running, running through winding, debris littered streets as still more screams cut through the air. Into a house, where a man held the door open. He slams it shut after a couple enters. They are both mortally wounded, one with horrid burns scarring her face, and one hand burned to a blackened crisp. She thrust a bundle of rags at the man, who nods sadly, tears in his eyes. He hurries over to the pantry, where a small door leads to the cellar. He gives the dying couple a final glance, and slams the door, hurrying down the stairs. There is a crash from above, and there is screaming. Incoherent noises of pure fear and pain echo down the stairwell –
- Snapping Vivi into consciousness as the screams continue into reality. He looked around in a panic, and saw Eiko huddled in a ball in the opposite corner of the room. Her screams died to sobs as Vivi walked over to her.
"Nightmare?" he asked.
She looked up, and threw herself into his arms. "It was horrible, Vivi. You wouldn't believe how horrible it was. I saw –"
"The death of your city?" Vivi finished questioningly.
"How did you know?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
"I had the same dream. Eiko, I – I never thought of what happened that way."
"I used to have that dream all the time. Now it only happens every now and again. Never usually that bad, though."
"Is that what really happened? The dream, I mean?"
"Yes. That man was my grandfather."
"Did you- Did you ever find your parents bodies?"
"No. There was nothing left. I found where they died, though. The fire was so hot that the only signs there were two flat disks of gold."
"Disks of gold?"
"Their rings… My grandfather reformed those rings for me. We took them out in our boat one day, and dropped them over the side. He said… he said they always loved to sail together. That the ocean would have been where they'd like to be remembered… God, we're a morbid pair, aren't we!" She grinned, and let go of his shoulders. "I don't think I'll be able to get back to sleep."
"Me neither."
"Why don't we sit and talk then. I don't think morning's far off."
They talked for hours, until the first touches of dawn reached the barren gray clouds. The pinkish hue made the wasteland a little less depressing.
"The others will be awake soon," Vivi said.
"Probably. Thanks for being there Vivi. I was so scared last night."
"Me too." He looked into her eyes for a moment, and then kissed her. He felt her tongue brush against his, and deepened the kiss, drawing her closer to him. She slid her hands up his back, running her fingers through his hair. She felt she could have gone on like this forever, until she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She broke away quickly and turned around to see a grinning Zidane. Vivi groaned.
"Don't worry. I'm the only one awake. I won't tell them."
"Thanks. I really don't think I could stand them if they knew" Eiko said.
"It took you long enough, Vivi" remarked Zidane.
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm not as immoral as you are, Zidane." He shot back, grinning.
"Ouch, you win. Anyway, I think we'd better wake the others and head off. I'd like to find what we were supposed to be looking for, whatever it is."
After much grumbling and complaints the rest were awake. They removed the door again, noticing the faded picture of a ruffled flag with four colors, and a word in some strange language. Continuing down the street, the city seemed much the same as before. There were no whole buildings, and there were burned wrecks every now and again. As the reached the top of a sloping street, the city unfolded before them. The buildings seemed to go on forever, but there was a cleared area not far from where they stood. It was plain of concrete, with only one feature. There was a huge building, looking like the top half of a hexagon was jutting out of the ground.
"What that?" Asked Quina.
"I dunno." Answered Zidane "But it looks a lot different to anything else around here. Let's keep going."
They continued down the street, until they reached the edge of that great plain. It took them almost an hour to reach the huge structure. It loomed over their heads, a giant wall. A zigzag crack went from side to side, but there was no other feature at all.
"Well, it's not a building," said Amarant.
"Yes it is," replied Eiko. "Someone built is, so it's a building"
"Whatever."
"I'll take a look on top," said Freya, leaping quickly almost to the top and scrambling up the sloped side to the top.
"There's a hatch!" she shouted. "I'm going in, I'll be back in a moment."
Freya opened the small hatch, and dropped down. There was a soft green light flooding the area, and some sort of machinery against the far left wall. Freya walked over to it, noticing then that there was a large red button, the size of her hand. She shrugged, and pressed it. A low drone came from somewhere below, followed by a rusty creak. Then, to her utmost surprise, the wall leading to the others opened, and the floor began to tilt. Afraid of some sort of trap, she quickly leaped through the widening gap to the outside. The others stood there, staring as the door finished opening. The floor had stopped tilting, creating a fairly steep incline leading downwards into blackness.
Zidane looked slowly at each of the others, then nodded. "That's where we're going. Ready your weapons, we don't know what's down there…"
They checked their rifles, then walked towards the yawning cavern…