**The usual disclaimers apply**
~In the last chapter…
The two looked at Rinoa, who seemed awe-struck.
"Rinoa?" Presea said, shaking her a bit.
"No...not another riddle..." Rinoa shook her head.
Notes:
~*~ - dream state
*...*- thoughts
* * * - another place, time, space,...etc.
THE LEGEND OF ATLANTIS
By: Rhys Icewind
Chapter 20 - The Survival of the Fittest
Nothing was going right. Reports from messanger SeeDs that have survived crossing
the battle grounds reported that Trabia Garden had fallen and Galbaldia was said
to be on the move. Balamb Garden was at the same state. Squall, noticing that the
first mission of these creatures was to destroy the Gardens, ordered that the
Garden be moved to the sea. Doing so, the hordes of mezmerize that seemed to appear
from out of nowhere mindlessly followed the floating Garden to the sea.
It all seemed that they would be safe at sea, but then more troubles came. Sea
creatures not seen before came at them, attacking them at all sides, preventing
escape and that was not all. From the skies appeared dozens of orihalcons. But
unexpectedly, the golden sea wyrm that helped Squall before came to their rescue
yet again. Along with other sea wyrms, they helped diminish the number of sea
and sky creatures that attacked the Garden.
"I wonder... why is it that those sea wyrms are not affected by Galaxia's
controll?" Selphie suddenly asked.
Emeraude, who was beside her casting spells, said, "they are ancient creatures
of the deep. They know magics that even the oldest sorceress or sorcerer living
today wouldn't even know exist. Nothing can controll them. Not even I or Galaxia.."
Selphie looked at her in amazement. "can you match Galaxia's powers?"
Emeraude stopped her spell casting and looked at Selphie sadly. I do know powerful
and dangerous magics but, the difference between Galaxia and I is that she has a
meduim that widens the scope of her power and I do not."
Selphie just sighed and casted another Blizzaga spell on a orihalcon that was
above them.
===
"what do you mean 'not another riddle?'" Presea asked.
"Okay guys. I'll tell you something. I asked you to come with me because I needed
someone with Cloud's flying know-how and Presea's knowledge" she said, looking at
them respectively, "because of my reaserch. I had a dream you see, but I can't tell
you what happened in it because I vowed not to. But all I can tell you is after
that, I had an interest to research about Guardian Forces. Then, I discovered that
there are six powerful GF, one for each of the six elements."
"wait..." Cloud interrupted suddenly, "six? I thought there were only four?"
"six." Rinoa answered, "earth, fire, wind, water, light and darkness. Now, as I
was saying, the six GFs are the most powerful. But, among the six, the light and
the dark reigned supreme..."
"I could have guessed that..." Cloud mumbled. Rinoa and Presea gave him a sharp,
repremanding look.
"but you have Eden, don't you? and isn't it the most powerful?" Presea asked.
"most powerful, yes, but I'm talking about a different thing! I'm not saying
that the six mentioned are Minotaur and Sacred, Ifrit, Pandemona, Leviathan,
Eden, and Diablos...NO!... form what I discovered, they were once called
Summon creatures by the ancients. They're only a lower kind of GF. The ones
I'm talking about are really powerful creatures!!"
"then that sounds like something that's more easily said than done." Cloud said.
Rinoa turned around to look at the mural on the cave wall. "but the answer is
so much closer than you think....." she said in an almost trance-like voice.
===
Another dawn.
But still the skies were covered in darkness.
Rinoa, Presea and Cloud had not yet returned and contacts made with the Ragnarok
were all a faliure.
Enemy forces were held at bay.
Magical and Healing magic and items were running low.
Squall paced around the bridge, looking for any possible signs of the missing
aircraft.
"Squall, all of the people from all towns are now safely evacuated and are in
Esthar." Umi said the moment her foot stepped on the flooring of the bridge.
"everything within the Garden is up and running and a-OK. We'll be reaching
Esthar in a few minutes time to replenish lost supplies."
Squall faced her with his normal look and quickly turned away. "that's good."
"still waiting?" Umi asked suddenly, making Squall look at her again.
"..."
"Ok, I'll help you. You just make sure that you guard this place right! I'll
be searching for the Ragnarok. If Cloud is with them, there should be no trouble
at all looking for them." she said, stating the words in a as-a-matter-of-factly-
type of tone.
"and how will you do that?" he asked in his monotonous tone.
"like this!"
Squall was staring at the empty space were Umi once stood.
===
Meanwhile, within the safety of her alternate dimension, Galaxia stared at her
scrying glass - looking at the busy bodies that was Balamb Garden. She smirked
at the people whom she thought as fools working around trying to help the people
around her as much as possible. How she hated them.
"master, the crystals are ready." a dead-like voice said.
Galaxia smiled at her servent - and what a servant she was! She knew more
about the Gardens than Galaxia would ever achieve to know and was mentally
and physically weak, making her a very 'loyal' servant.
Quistis looked deathly pale. Her unattended internal injuries were becoming
worse every second. Her once sparkling, bright-blue eyes were now faded and
worn. Her hair haggard and unkept, her red lips now almost brownish in color
and in her once healthy glow only an aura of death can be felt. She suffered
torture in many ways, being forced to subject to Galaxia's will and though
she fought long and hard, it was only time until she couldn't fight any longer.
"good." Galaxia replied. "go back and recheck. Make sure that everything is
prepared."
Quistis paused in her place and suddenly her body shook a little. "No." she
suddenly whispered, making Galaxia look at her.
"what did you say?"
"no." she repeated again, this time, in a more stronger voice.
Galaxia smirked at her. "fool!" she shouted, as red sparks flew from her
fingers and hit Quistis, making her fall to the floor in a heap of flesh.
"now," she said again, "go do as I say."
Quistis stood up and answered plainly, "yes master."
===
Umi appeared in a snowy plains beside the Ragnarok. The ship was locked and
following her instincts, looked for any trail left by the group going out of
the ship. Finding the said tracks, Umi followed them and they led them to a
small opening and she immediately went inside, hoping that her friends were
safe.
Not long after enteing the cave, she saw a faint light ahead and heard
voices of people. She immediately ran inside the chamber and smiled. "guys!
I thought I'd never find you safe! Squall hes been very worried 'bout you
guys, especially you, ms. Heartilly!" she greeted.
The three people in the chamber just stared at her in amazement.
"UMI? what are you doing here?" Presea asked.
"I'm here to fetch you!"
Rinoa turned towards her and walked closer. "how did you find us?"
Cloud gave a chuckle. "we pillars have some kind of sense for each other.
Using the Instant Transmission Technique taught to us by Grand Master Goten,
we teleport ourselves to the specific location where the other people are."
"I see. Does this work on other people?" the raven-haired girl asked.
"unfortunately, it doesn't." Umi answered again. "So, why don't we go now
so that your dear Squall would stop worrying ok? the battle's started you
know."
Cloud suddenly held Umi by the shouders and shook her a bit. "WHAT!?!??!
are you sure?!?!?!?"
Slapping Cloud's hands away from her shoulder, Umi fixed herself up a bit.
"Of course I'm sure! I'm not cooped up in here you know!!" she shouted at
him.
"sorry"
After a few moments of silence Rinoa, Presea and Cloud walked out from the
chamber. Umi stayed behind a bit, looking at the odd paintings on the cave
wall. There were things written on them too but she couldn't understand it.
What surprised her the most is how a certain painting caught her attention
and seem to want her to stare at it for hours.
It was a painting of two winged humans, a male and female, holding out a
brightly shining key in between them.
"hey UMI! are you leaving with us?" Presea's voice riverbrated off the cave
walls.
"YEAH!!" Umi shouted back, taking one last look at the mural, then left.
______________________________________________________________________________
END
~In the last chapter…
The two looked at Rinoa, who seemed awe-struck.
"Rinoa?" Presea said, shaking her a bit.
"No...not another riddle..." Rinoa shook her head.
Notes:
~*~ - dream state
*...*- thoughts
* * * - another place, time, space,...etc.
THE LEGEND OF ATLANTIS
By: Rhys Icewind
Chapter 20 - The Survival of the Fittest
Nothing was going right. Reports from messanger SeeDs that have survived crossing
the battle grounds reported that Trabia Garden had fallen and Galbaldia was said
to be on the move. Balamb Garden was at the same state. Squall, noticing that the
first mission of these creatures was to destroy the Gardens, ordered that the
Garden be moved to the sea. Doing so, the hordes of mezmerize that seemed to appear
from out of nowhere mindlessly followed the floating Garden to the sea.
It all seemed that they would be safe at sea, but then more troubles came. Sea
creatures not seen before came at them, attacking them at all sides, preventing
escape and that was not all. From the skies appeared dozens of orihalcons. But
unexpectedly, the golden sea wyrm that helped Squall before came to their rescue
yet again. Along with other sea wyrms, they helped diminish the number of sea
and sky creatures that attacked the Garden.
"I wonder... why is it that those sea wyrms are not affected by Galaxia's
controll?" Selphie suddenly asked.
Emeraude, who was beside her casting spells, said, "they are ancient creatures
of the deep. They know magics that even the oldest sorceress or sorcerer living
today wouldn't even know exist. Nothing can controll them. Not even I or Galaxia.."
Selphie looked at her in amazement. "can you match Galaxia's powers?"
Emeraude stopped her spell casting and looked at Selphie sadly. I do know powerful
and dangerous magics but, the difference between Galaxia and I is that she has a
meduim that widens the scope of her power and I do not."
Selphie just sighed and casted another Blizzaga spell on a orihalcon that was
above them.
===
"what do you mean 'not another riddle?'" Presea asked.
"Okay guys. I'll tell you something. I asked you to come with me because I needed
someone with Cloud's flying know-how and Presea's knowledge" she said, looking at
them respectively, "because of my reaserch. I had a dream you see, but I can't tell
you what happened in it because I vowed not to. But all I can tell you is after
that, I had an interest to research about Guardian Forces. Then, I discovered that
there are six powerful GF, one for each of the six elements."
"wait..." Cloud interrupted suddenly, "six? I thought there were only four?"
"six." Rinoa answered, "earth, fire, wind, water, light and darkness. Now, as I
was saying, the six GFs are the most powerful. But, among the six, the light and
the dark reigned supreme..."
"I could have guessed that..." Cloud mumbled. Rinoa and Presea gave him a sharp,
repremanding look.
"but you have Eden, don't you? and isn't it the most powerful?" Presea asked.
"most powerful, yes, but I'm talking about a different thing! I'm not saying
that the six mentioned are Minotaur and Sacred, Ifrit, Pandemona, Leviathan,
Eden, and Diablos...NO!... form what I discovered, they were once called
Summon creatures by the ancients. They're only a lower kind of GF. The ones
I'm talking about are really powerful creatures!!"
"then that sounds like something that's more easily said than done." Cloud said.
Rinoa turned around to look at the mural on the cave wall. "but the answer is
so much closer than you think....." she said in an almost trance-like voice.
===
Another dawn.
But still the skies were covered in darkness.
Rinoa, Presea and Cloud had not yet returned and contacts made with the Ragnarok
were all a faliure.
Enemy forces were held at bay.
Magical and Healing magic and items were running low.
Squall paced around the bridge, looking for any possible signs of the missing
aircraft.
"Squall, all of the people from all towns are now safely evacuated and are in
Esthar." Umi said the moment her foot stepped on the flooring of the bridge.
"everything within the Garden is up and running and a-OK. We'll be reaching
Esthar in a few minutes time to replenish lost supplies."
Squall faced her with his normal look and quickly turned away. "that's good."
"still waiting?" Umi asked suddenly, making Squall look at her again.
"..."
"Ok, I'll help you. You just make sure that you guard this place right! I'll
be searching for the Ragnarok. If Cloud is with them, there should be no trouble
at all looking for them." she said, stating the words in a as-a-matter-of-factly-
type of tone.
"and how will you do that?" he asked in his monotonous tone.
"like this!"
Squall was staring at the empty space were Umi once stood.
===
Meanwhile, within the safety of her alternate dimension, Galaxia stared at her
scrying glass - looking at the busy bodies that was Balamb Garden. She smirked
at the people whom she thought as fools working around trying to help the people
around her as much as possible. How she hated them.
"master, the crystals are ready." a dead-like voice said.
Galaxia smiled at her servent - and what a servant she was! She knew more
about the Gardens than Galaxia would ever achieve to know and was mentally
and physically weak, making her a very 'loyal' servant.
Quistis looked deathly pale. Her unattended internal injuries were becoming
worse every second. Her once sparkling, bright-blue eyes were now faded and
worn. Her hair haggard and unkept, her red lips now almost brownish in color
and in her once healthy glow only an aura of death can be felt. She suffered
torture in many ways, being forced to subject to Galaxia's will and though
she fought long and hard, it was only time until she couldn't fight any longer.
"good." Galaxia replied. "go back and recheck. Make sure that everything is
prepared."
Quistis paused in her place and suddenly her body shook a little. "No." she
suddenly whispered, making Galaxia look at her.
"what did you say?"
"no." she repeated again, this time, in a more stronger voice.
Galaxia smirked at her. "fool!" she shouted, as red sparks flew from her
fingers and hit Quistis, making her fall to the floor in a heap of flesh.
"now," she said again, "go do as I say."
Quistis stood up and answered plainly, "yes master."
===
Umi appeared in a snowy plains beside the Ragnarok. The ship was locked and
following her instincts, looked for any trail left by the group going out of
the ship. Finding the said tracks, Umi followed them and they led them to a
small opening and she immediately went inside, hoping that her friends were
safe.
Not long after enteing the cave, she saw a faint light ahead and heard
voices of people. She immediately ran inside the chamber and smiled. "guys!
I thought I'd never find you safe! Squall hes been very worried 'bout you
guys, especially you, ms. Heartilly!" she greeted.
The three people in the chamber just stared at her in amazement.
"UMI? what are you doing here?" Presea asked.
"I'm here to fetch you!"
Rinoa turned towards her and walked closer. "how did you find us?"
Cloud gave a chuckle. "we pillars have some kind of sense for each other.
Using the Instant Transmission Technique taught to us by Grand Master Goten,
we teleport ourselves to the specific location where the other people are."
"I see. Does this work on other people?" the raven-haired girl asked.
"unfortunately, it doesn't." Umi answered again. "So, why don't we go now
so that your dear Squall would stop worrying ok? the battle's started you
know."
Cloud suddenly held Umi by the shouders and shook her a bit. "WHAT!?!??!
are you sure?!?!?!?"
Slapping Cloud's hands away from her shoulder, Umi fixed herself up a bit.
"Of course I'm sure! I'm not cooped up in here you know!!" she shouted at
him.
"sorry"
After a few moments of silence Rinoa, Presea and Cloud walked out from the
chamber. Umi stayed behind a bit, looking at the odd paintings on the cave
wall. There were things written on them too but she couldn't understand it.
What surprised her the most is how a certain painting caught her attention
and seem to want her to stare at it for hours.
It was a painting of two winged humans, a male and female, holding out a
brightly shining key in between them.
"hey UMI! are you leaving with us?" Presea's voice riverbrated off the cave
walls.
"YEAH!!" Umi shouted back, taking one last look at the mural, then left.
______________________________________________________________________________
END