Chapter 30: Soaking Ships
"Devastation. I simply love it." Judgement walked through a destroyed air ship. "What pitiful fools Cloud and his friends are. Even with Zidane and his friends EON cannot be stopped and we will reach the soul that is needed to produce Grand Weapon. Meanwhile, those side products of the search should keep them busy for long enough." Judgement started to hum as he walked out of the torn up aircraft and into EON, where the ship had crashed. White spiders and EON spawn scurried and crawled everywhere. "Burmecia Seed! Report!"
A cybernetic window gently floated down from the bowels of EON to Judgements face. In the window a large skull of a deer gruesomely attached to wires and a robotic arm that hung from a red fleshy ceiling. The deer's eye sockets glowed an insane white and a whale song came out. A high pitched, almost playful song it was.
"Damn. The soul is still yet to be found. Revenge will be ours EON, revenge will be ours." Judgement echoed. "EON Spawn! Come here!"
A spawn of eon lifted its spiked head and walked over to Judgement. It gave off a high clicking noise, like a porpoise would.
"Gather the Chimera Spawn and tell them to go to Gaia. EONs other self is almost complete." Judgement turned away from the beast as an opening appeared behind the spawn. "And download common language into your system. I have a message I want you to deliver."
** *
Wayne, the lieutenant from the Tradewind, woke up. But he wasn't where he expected to be. He was on gray, smooth ground that was inclined, like a hill. This gray hill was in the middle of swirling orange clouds. Above him was a large, circular gate filled with white energy. But before him was the lord of death, the large, almost heavenly, Necron.
"W-Where am I?" Wayne rubbed his head as he pulled off his visor, revealing his dark red short hair and blue eyes.
"You, simple traveler, are at the Hill of Despair, the entrance to the soul cycle, or the lifestream." Necron replied in a haunting monotonous tone.
"I'm dead…?" Wayne said wide-eyed.
"You are temporarily incapable of life. You are a soul that needs a body. But before you can be reborn into another, you must go through the soul cycle."
"But I don't want to! I have so much to live for! I can't be dead now! I need to get a wife and kids! I need to smell the roses and hear the cries of a newborn chocobo! I have to sit back in the morning on the dew-coated grass and reflect on life as an old man! Can't you bring me back?!" Wayne ranted.
"What a touching story. But no, now enter the gate."
Suddenly Wayne started to fade away. His body was slowly turning to dust. "What's happening to me?!" He shouted.
"There goes another. What force would tamper with the soul cycle…" Necron said.
** *
"Um, Zidane, there's monsters heading this way!" Vivi shouted.
"Everyone to battle stations! Get ready men!" Zidane shouted.
"What the %^&* is he talking about?!" Cid asked.
"I have no idea, but lets take these foos out!" Barret said.
"I just hope Irontail is all right…" Freya whispered.
The airship flew into the stormy clouds that forever surround Burmecia. From within these clouds the EON spawns flew in an attack formation. Thunder shook the Red Rose and lightning flashed, revealing the insidious hand of EON.
"Fire!" Steiner shouted. The ships crew fired the airships cannons. The cannons mounted on the sides let loose a fiery ball towards the approaching monsters. Several were taken down in a fiery plummet into the hordes below, but as with the monstrous groups on the ground, numbers kept them on. AVALANCHE kept a wary eye upon the approaching locust like beasts, while Steiner and his men shot blazing rockets at them. It felt like going inside an ants nest.
"I feel it guys! Today is our last day against EON!" Yuffie shouted in the drenching rain.
"Keep that optimism, Yuffie, it's a first for you." Cait Sith hissed.
"Dayum, talk about jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!" Barret shouted.
"No!" Zidane gasped. AVALANCHE peered into his direction, confused.
"What is it, Zidane?" Vivi asked.
"Zidane, spill it!" Freya shouted.
Zidane started to sweat, though invisible underneath the pouring rain. HE was nearby…
"She's not going to hold out! We're going to have to rise over the clouds!" Steiner shouted. Indeed a white wash was coming. The EON Spawn had sight like no other, and the white wash would leave the Red Rose defenseless inside a swarm of thousands of spawn.
The Red Rose gave an unhealthy lurch as she ascended through the black clouds and into the orange sky. Above the black clouds, the Red Rose gently wobbled as the crew tried to fix everything. The sun was setting.
"Hey! Why did we stop?" Yuffie spat.
"Every captain knows that you cant fly in a white out!" Cid yelled and stamped his foot. Everyone was soaking.
"Is everyone alright?" Vivi cried.
"Fortunately, I am alive." Steiner called out. "And so is my crew.
Zidane let out a gasp of breath. "I'm here."
"Still kicking." Cid shouted.
"Yo." Barret said.
"Cait Sith here." Cait Sith said.
"I'm alive." Yuffie said.
"I know that you cannot fly in white outs, but we must get down there! Irontail may need our help!" Freya spoke to Steiner.
"Damn man! We need a plan or sometin!" Barret sighed.
"Or a miracle." Yuffie spoke softly.
"Red Rose, Come In!" The radio cackled. A crew man immediately answered.
"This is Red Rose, who's this?" The crewman replied.
"This here is your miracle." A familiar voice said.
Cait Sith looked up. A whole fleet was sailing over them.
"The Lindblum fleet is at your command, master Zidane." Regent Cid spoke.