Zell Chronicles
Forgotten
Chapter 7: The Strike, the Blow, and the Fall
Caladorei sat in the co-pilot's seat of the bridges in the Ragnorak. He was concentrating his energies toward the crystal, but was getting several other readings from many different places. This can't be right, he thought, the crystal is here, nowhere else. He was disrupted by a sudden snapping sound. Caladorei opened his eyes, but they were out of focus. The snapping sound came again, but this time, his eyes were focused, and he saw Seifer's gloved hand, getting ready to snap again. He pushed him away and said, "I'm fine." Seifer looked at Irvine and said, "Yup, he's awake." Caladorei looked at the mountains in the distance, with great, towering peaks that stood like kings on their thrones, majestic, commanding, and rich. The crew of the Ragnorak were all busy, whether it be handling the ship, or refining magical items, or polishing and fixing weapons, or whatnot. Caladorei looked out again and this time noticed that there was a beautiful gleam out there, near the mountains. The sun was just setting, and the sky was a radiant indigo-violet. Caladorei got up out of his seat and walked towards the elevator. He passed Kandi, who was using Gansal to refine items. Kandi paused for a moment to say to Caladorei, "It is near." Caladorei nodded and continued forwards to the elevator. He went down and into the passenger deck, finding everybody else there. Seifer and Irvine followed him, and they immediately went to their own "groups". Irvine went with Quistis and Selphie, while Seifer ran to Fujin and Raijin. Caladorei collapsed on a chair and took out his scythe from the closet installed on the side of the passenger deck. He took off the shaft and replaced it with a hollow metal one. He then tied a tough string around the head and attached a Dragon Fang to that. He then added a Red fang next to it, and then added an Inferno Fang. This finished it, and the scythe looked like a shaman's staff. He then took a bracelet of Marlboro and Ochu Tentacles, cut up, and placed it in his pocket. Caladorei then looked at Squall, who was oiling the barrel of his Gunblade. Caladorei said, "We're nearing." Squall looked up at him and nodded.
The city was in chaos. Ellone looked as the Rose and Cloud Beast wrecked building after building. She ran towards the shopping mall after Laguna. The Driver had already got there after abandoning Laguna and Ellone in fear. "Never hire reckless cowards. I learned it the hard way," Laguna mumbled.
Zell was surprised at the sheer power of Jiyaf. He then noticed that its name was closely linked to the pronunciation of GF. Interesting. Zell went back to his shelter to prepare food for his survival. He easily took down a cockatrice in the forest and summoned Ifrit to create a small flame for the roasting. He started eating when suddenly, he heard a faint sound in the distance, like the whirring of an engine. He listened harder and recognized to sound. It was the Ragnorak. He immediately ran out of his cave and looked into the blue sky for any signs of the ship. There it was, far away. The Ragnorak was flying at a low altitude. He threw a flare stone, then another. As it came nearer, it went lower. At last it landed right in front of the shelter. Zell waved wildly. Squall and Quistis came out of the ship. Zell took his pouch, the scroll, and the crystal into the ship. Grinning, he said, "Damn, you took a long time to find me. What was the problem?" "We were stuck in a fight when we got transported somewhere else. While we did manage to make the First Fear, or Rose Beast retreat, we didn't manage to establish anymore links to the whereabouts of the other Fears. We seem to have the crystal that the Fears were after." "Wait, I've got another crystal." All eyes turned to face Zell as he pulled out the crystal from his pouch. "Here," he said, giving it to Squall. Squall examined it. At this time Caladorei spoke up. "I was afraid of this. I might have seemed confident about my information. Now we must consider this variable. What if there even more crystals that were part of a larger doing? This I do not know. But that means that since there are more crystals, that means two for us is not enough. We'll need to devise a plan to find more crystals." Irvine made a suggestion, "I know this guy in Galbadia who can find similarities between any two things including material, and energy readings. He lives in Deling, in an abandoned presidential home, so he has no natural electric system. But, since he is a genius-scientist, he would be able to make his own, right? Any way, I say we go to this guy, and see if he can detect any similarities between these two crystal-things, and ask him to build like a machine or something to help us detect crystals or whatever, y'know?" "Seems like a good idea," Quistis commented. "Let's go!" agreed Selphie. Squall nodded and gave the signal to go to Deling. When the party arrived there two hours later, Squall let Irvine take the lead. He led them to an old shabby and, it seemed, uninhabited classic mansion. He banged on the door. No answer. He opened the door slightly and peeked in. Nothing. He opened it wider and stepped in. Squall then followed. Everyone else went in. They were in the parlor. A rat that scurried across the floor was unnoticed as the party headed forward. There were cobwebs strewn everywhere like grotesque wads of yarn. Outside it was dark and stormy. "Just like in a movie," Zell commented. The group moved on cautiously and neared a hallway with five doors on the sides. Squall motioned for them to split up. Zell and Quistis went into the first door. Irvine and Selphie went into the room across from them and Squall and Rinoa went into the door next to Zell. Caladorei and Kandi were across from Squall and the Disciplinary Committee took the last one. Zell and Quistis found themselves in a kitchen, or what used to be one. It was obviously archaic-type and had a stove, a shelf and a pantry. Across from them was another door. Zell opened the pantry door and rummaged through the empty jars of food until he found an old Elixir. He stored it in his pouch and checked the stove. It was full of coals and some Flare Stones. Zell took those, and walked over to the door, followed by Quistis. On the other side of the door it was darker than ever, so Zell threw a Flare Stone which revealed the features of the room. It seemed to be the dining room. Quistis saw that the broken chairs and the table were of a strong type of wood only found in Centran forests. The ceiling was gloriously high up and painted like the sky. Suddenly, there was a deafening crash and a roar as Quistis and Zell were immediately pitted against a giant monster that rammed through the wall and stomped the Flare out. Zell ran up to it and started pounding its monstrous hide. He cast a fire which stayed on the beast as it screamed with pain. Zell got knocked away by the violent monster and was gripping his left arm which was bleeding uncontrollably. Quistis threw him a Hi-potion and started lashing out with her whip. Zell drank the Potion and Scanned the monster.
On the other side of the house, Irvine and Selphie were searching the living room, or at least one of them, this being a large house. Irvine was lighting the way with a makeshift torch. Selphie was holding her arm and looking at the luxurious yet dusty and moldy and old and worn-out sofas and couches. From where they were, they couldn't hear the battle raging on between the monster and the two blond SeeDs. Irvine opened the door on the other side of the room, keeping his guard up. Selphie was holding her nunchakus "Strange Vision" in her left hand, letting one segment dangle. Through the door was a bedroom and a set of stairs and another door. "Which one do we take?" asked Selphie. "We'll flip a coin." Irvine said it with a hint a sarcasm in his voice. He got out a one Gil piece. "Heads we go up the stairs." He flipped it. Two seconds later he put it back into his pocket and "headed" up the stairs followed by Selphie. Upstairs, there was a hallway leading farther away from Zell and Quistis and one towards them instead. Irvine took out his coin again and said, "Heads we go forward." Five seconds later they were "heading" towards Zell and Quistis. Across the hallway they were met by Squall and Rinoa who have obviously been running, given their flushed faces. "Which way do we go?" Selphie asked. "How about back to the original hallway?" Squall said. "Fast," he added while grabbing Irvine's torch and running towards the stairs that Irvine and Squall just went up on. Rinoa followed and Irvine decided he didn't have a choice. He grabbed Selphie and ran after them. Squall explained while running, "We were in the west wing of the house and there were two paths. Through one he heard a roar and through the other we heard you guys. We decided to recruit you guys and then head for Zell. Get your gun out, Irvine." Irvine loaded and prepared some Pulse Ammo. The roars and screeches and yells were getting louder as they neared the main hallway from which they separated. Despite the short distance Squall's forehead was dotted with beads of sweat, partially from worry, partially of the speed that they were traveling at. Squall bashed through the doors. "Your show of concern is getting more evident now, Squall," commented Rinoa as she took her pinwheel and attached it to the launcher on her wrist. Squall only grunted in reply and opened the next door the civilized way to find Zell dodging poisonous streaks and Quistis trying to summon a GF. They all dissipated as Quezacotl flew forth and struck the beast with an electrifying jolt. When the party rematerialized, Irvine got his Exeter ready. Squall looked at the monster, which seemed to be a Blue Dragon, except it was...red? The more-than-light litigation between the Dragon and the party was soon resolved with the entire SeeD party running away from the battle. The Dragon followed to some extent, but it seemed too slow. "What the hell was that?" Squall gasped. "From Zell's readouts from his Scan it seemed as though it was a rare cousin of the Blue Dragon, and since not very many people see it, let alone survive it, have had a chance to name it, it must have been called a Red Dragon, high Spirit and Defense ratings," Quistis answered. "No wonder..." Irvine said, "Anyway, let's get the fuck away from that thing and find the other guys."
Seifer was starting to get impatient. The Committee had turned up with nothing. Seifer put his hand on the doorknob leading to the next room when he heard something on the other side. Voices. He listened. "Take it," said a thin scrawny voice, almost in a whisper. Seifer put his ear up to a crack in the door. "The hell with that!" responded another one, much more tougher this time, but still quietly. "Listen, they are definitely SeeDs. We need someone who can fight them, and no one is better at the sword than you are." "Fuck that sword! I need a better one to fit my needs. Perhaps even a gunblade." "You know I can't do that! Please take the sword, kill them off. I will pay you double." "Double of 600 Gil? Make it 2000 and I'll whip their sorry asses for you." "Deal." Seifer heard the exchange of the sword as it was placed in a sheath. The clinking of coins and the ruffle of bills was heard next. Toughie was grumbling about something and Scrawny was mumbling in what seemed to be glee. Then Scrawny let out a yell and Seifer heard his body drop to the ground. Seifer thought he owed Squall everything. For his troubles and for his childhood. Seifer knew he had to repent for his sins and his craze in the past when he was still a brash youth. It was payback time. He kicked the door open and threw a fire spell into the middle of it. The room was already lighted. He saw an old man on the ground, apparently knocked out, and a big, muscleman with a Samurai's sword. He went into a defensive stance as Seifer swung at him. No use. His sword was so sharp, so tough, that his gunblade was cut in half. Seifer decided that the blade was useless and detached it from the heat gun that served its use heating the gunblade. He shot the gun twice and his shot were absorbed twice by the sword. At this time Fujin was already backing him up followed by Raijin. Seifer looked around and saw a fiery red gunblade with a label below it. Hawk Wing. Good enough, thought Seifer as he took it and looked in the revolver. Nothing. He took some Pulse Ammo and loaded it up. Raijin was struck down by a powerful blow and Fujin followed having her Sai Blade lost. Seifer swung two times to get a feel for the gunblade, and found it incredibly feather-light. Seifer pointed his new weapon at his foe. His foe pointed his sword at Seifer and told him his name. "Fosdu." "Seifer. Pleased to be your..." He swung and connected with Fosdu's sword. "...acquaintance." He slashed Fosdu's shoulder which allowed him a short break to charge for his Blood Ceremony Limit Break. He cast the necessary Fire and followed it up with his crosses. He steeped back and saw the carnage he had created. Fosdu's body was barely recognizable, and what used to be a human face was now eligible to be a zombie's. Blood was cascading down from the many wounds he had created. "You killed him off easy, ya know?" Raijin had risen. "GOOD SWORD," Fujin commented, picking herself up. It was true, the sword Fosdu carried was made of a strong material and it was super-light. Seifer picked up Fosdu's sword and compared the sword with the gunblade. No known material was that strong and useful. It also seemed as though the gunblade and the sword were sharpened extremely finely. Seifer knew he would have to test the gunblade to be able to use it to its full extent. Fujin picked up the sword and examined it. Her pinwheel was bent and in three different pieces, so she contented with the sword. They went to find more clues regarding the secrets of the mansion.
Caladorei and Kandi were battling the Red Dragon Squall and party had just fought. Caladorei brought his scythe down but was reflected by the tough hide of the monster. He stood back and Kandi looked at him, ready for the signal. Caladorei nodded and concentrated. The fangs on his scythe began to shake, and emitted fire, poison, light, and ice. The energies traveled to the blade of his scythe and he put on the bracelet he had prepared. Kandi was soon hurt and jumped out of the fray and let Caladorei take over while she healed herself. The Red Dragon slashed at Caladorei, who blocked with his scythe and used his mental energies to strike the beast. He shot forth a streak of psychic power and brought down his scythe. The Dragon screamed and roared and stomped all over. Caladorei nearly got bowled over and called to Kandi. They performed their best attacks and stood back. The beast was weakened, bleeding from several places. But something in it kept on ticking, and it kept on going, tiring both of the humans. The beast cast meltdown and immediately Caladorei felt weaker, less secure. Same with Kandi. Then the Red Dragon blew fire that blinded Caladorei with its ashes and cinder. Caladorei dropped his weapon and rolled on the ground trying to put out any moderate flames that might have caught. He was grasping for his scythe and felt the hard, metal handle, grabbing it up and moving into an offensive stance. He drank down an Elixir he had in his pocket and cast Meltdown on the enemy. Soon after the Dragon fell and its life ended. Caladorei wiped all the sweat away from his forehead. and stood there, using his scythe as support for his exhausted, panting body. Kandi was sitting down on one of the old sofas and was taking deep breaths to try to wear off some of the adrenaline that ad pumped so powerfully during the battle. Both of them could feel the presence of more evil beings in the tainted mansion. Caladorei doubted that a scientist or kooky professor or whatever really resided within the flimsy walls. Caladorei needed to find Irvine.
*Three Months Later*
"Thank you, doctor," Squall said. He accepted the strange installment in the Ragnorak because of Irvine's claims of this doctor's "authenticity". Three months ago they had been searching for him in the wrong place. He had moved and was on an island off of Trabia, where Squall was now. The mansion was now empty save a few monsters who worked their ways in. Squall was alone and chose to do this alone. He would have an easier time not drawing attention from the Fears. He quickly boarded the Ragnorak and drove back to Balamb. Caladorei and Kandi were inaugurated as SeeDs by order of Cid. The Disciplinary Committee had to go through a test to prove themselves and earn back Cid's and Squall's trust. Seifer had really changed likewise the other two. When he came back his friends at Garden he announced that the sensor for crystals worked. Now all they had to do was find an energy source. "Fuck," Zell said. "Delays...." "What kind of an energy source?" inquired Quistis. "Something like a...Konim or something," Squall mumbled in reply. "Konims! They can be found in really hot places but are really rare. Ruby Dragons have particles of Konims inside them, that's what makes their breath so hot." "Always depend on Quisty to talk about all that science shit...," Seifer grumbled. He was rewarded by a smack on the back of the head. "We could find one in the Fire Cavern!" Selphie suggested. Everyone looked at Squall for an answer. "Alright." The party decided to walk there and cut through a path in the wild forest. Besides, it was easy dealing with Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars. Zell secretly wished he could run into a T-Rexuar. They arrived without any trouble. Zell took off his outer jacket which left him in a black T-shirt. They entered.
Chapter 7: The Strike, the Blow, and the Fall
Caladorei sat in the co-pilot's seat of the bridges in the Ragnorak. He was concentrating his energies toward the crystal, but was getting several other readings from many different places. This can't be right, he thought, the crystal is here, nowhere else. He was disrupted by a sudden snapping sound. Caladorei opened his eyes, but they were out of focus. The snapping sound came again, but this time, his eyes were focused, and he saw Seifer's gloved hand, getting ready to snap again. He pushed him away and said, "I'm fine." Seifer looked at Irvine and said, "Yup, he's awake." Caladorei looked at the mountains in the distance, with great, towering peaks that stood like kings on their thrones, majestic, commanding, and rich. The crew of the Ragnorak were all busy, whether it be handling the ship, or refining magical items, or polishing and fixing weapons, or whatnot. Caladorei looked out again and this time noticed that there was a beautiful gleam out there, near the mountains. The sun was just setting, and the sky was a radiant indigo-violet. Caladorei got up out of his seat and walked towards the elevator. He passed Kandi, who was using Gansal to refine items. Kandi paused for a moment to say to Caladorei, "It is near." Caladorei nodded and continued forwards to the elevator. He went down and into the passenger deck, finding everybody else there. Seifer and Irvine followed him, and they immediately went to their own "groups". Irvine went with Quistis and Selphie, while Seifer ran to Fujin and Raijin. Caladorei collapsed on a chair and took out his scythe from the closet installed on the side of the passenger deck. He took off the shaft and replaced it with a hollow metal one. He then tied a tough string around the head and attached a Dragon Fang to that. He then added a Red fang next to it, and then added an Inferno Fang. This finished it, and the scythe looked like a shaman's staff. He then took a bracelet of Marlboro and Ochu Tentacles, cut up, and placed it in his pocket. Caladorei then looked at Squall, who was oiling the barrel of his Gunblade. Caladorei said, "We're nearing." Squall looked up at him and nodded.
The city was in chaos. Ellone looked as the Rose and Cloud Beast wrecked building after building. She ran towards the shopping mall after Laguna. The Driver had already got there after abandoning Laguna and Ellone in fear. "Never hire reckless cowards. I learned it the hard way," Laguna mumbled.
Zell was surprised at the sheer power of Jiyaf. He then noticed that its name was closely linked to the pronunciation of GF. Interesting. Zell went back to his shelter to prepare food for his survival. He easily took down a cockatrice in the forest and summoned Ifrit to create a small flame for the roasting. He started eating when suddenly, he heard a faint sound in the distance, like the whirring of an engine. He listened harder and recognized to sound. It was the Ragnorak. He immediately ran out of his cave and looked into the blue sky for any signs of the ship. There it was, far away. The Ragnorak was flying at a low altitude. He threw a flare stone, then another. As it came nearer, it went lower. At last it landed right in front of the shelter. Zell waved wildly. Squall and Quistis came out of the ship. Zell took his pouch, the scroll, and the crystal into the ship. Grinning, he said, "Damn, you took a long time to find me. What was the problem?" "We were stuck in a fight when we got transported somewhere else. While we did manage to make the First Fear, or Rose Beast retreat, we didn't manage to establish anymore links to the whereabouts of the other Fears. We seem to have the crystal that the Fears were after." "Wait, I've got another crystal." All eyes turned to face Zell as he pulled out the crystal from his pouch. "Here," he said, giving it to Squall. Squall examined it. At this time Caladorei spoke up. "I was afraid of this. I might have seemed confident about my information. Now we must consider this variable. What if there even more crystals that were part of a larger doing? This I do not know. But that means that since there are more crystals, that means two for us is not enough. We'll need to devise a plan to find more crystals." Irvine made a suggestion, "I know this guy in Galbadia who can find similarities between any two things including material, and energy readings. He lives in Deling, in an abandoned presidential home, so he has no natural electric system. But, since he is a genius-scientist, he would be able to make his own, right? Any way, I say we go to this guy, and see if he can detect any similarities between these two crystal-things, and ask him to build like a machine or something to help us detect crystals or whatever, y'know?" "Seems like a good idea," Quistis commented. "Let's go!" agreed Selphie. Squall nodded and gave the signal to go to Deling. When the party arrived there two hours later, Squall let Irvine take the lead. He led them to an old shabby and, it seemed, uninhabited classic mansion. He banged on the door. No answer. He opened the door slightly and peeked in. Nothing. He opened it wider and stepped in. Squall then followed. Everyone else went in. They were in the parlor. A rat that scurried across the floor was unnoticed as the party headed forward. There were cobwebs strewn everywhere like grotesque wads of yarn. Outside it was dark and stormy. "Just like in a movie," Zell commented. The group moved on cautiously and neared a hallway with five doors on the sides. Squall motioned for them to split up. Zell and Quistis went into the first door. Irvine and Selphie went into the room across from them and Squall and Rinoa went into the door next to Zell. Caladorei and Kandi were across from Squall and the Disciplinary Committee took the last one. Zell and Quistis found themselves in a kitchen, or what used to be one. It was obviously archaic-type and had a stove, a shelf and a pantry. Across from them was another door. Zell opened the pantry door and rummaged through the empty jars of food until he found an old Elixir. He stored it in his pouch and checked the stove. It was full of coals and some Flare Stones. Zell took those, and walked over to the door, followed by Quistis. On the other side of the door it was darker than ever, so Zell threw a Flare Stone which revealed the features of the room. It seemed to be the dining room. Quistis saw that the broken chairs and the table were of a strong type of wood only found in Centran forests. The ceiling was gloriously high up and painted like the sky. Suddenly, there was a deafening crash and a roar as Quistis and Zell were immediately pitted against a giant monster that rammed through the wall and stomped the Flare out. Zell ran up to it and started pounding its monstrous hide. He cast a fire which stayed on the beast as it screamed with pain. Zell got knocked away by the violent monster and was gripping his left arm which was bleeding uncontrollably. Quistis threw him a Hi-potion and started lashing out with her whip. Zell drank the Potion and Scanned the monster.
On the other side of the house, Irvine and Selphie were searching the living room, or at least one of them, this being a large house. Irvine was lighting the way with a makeshift torch. Selphie was holding her arm and looking at the luxurious yet dusty and moldy and old and worn-out sofas and couches. From where they were, they couldn't hear the battle raging on between the monster and the two blond SeeDs. Irvine opened the door on the other side of the room, keeping his guard up. Selphie was holding her nunchakus "Strange Vision" in her left hand, letting one segment dangle. Through the door was a bedroom and a set of stairs and another door. "Which one do we take?" asked Selphie. "We'll flip a coin." Irvine said it with a hint a sarcasm in his voice. He got out a one Gil piece. "Heads we go up the stairs." He flipped it. Two seconds later he put it back into his pocket and "headed" up the stairs followed by Selphie. Upstairs, there was a hallway leading farther away from Zell and Quistis and one towards them instead. Irvine took out his coin again and said, "Heads we go forward." Five seconds later they were "heading" towards Zell and Quistis. Across the hallway they were met by Squall and Rinoa who have obviously been running, given their flushed faces. "Which way do we go?" Selphie asked. "How about back to the original hallway?" Squall said. "Fast," he added while grabbing Irvine's torch and running towards the stairs that Irvine and Squall just went up on. Rinoa followed and Irvine decided he didn't have a choice. He grabbed Selphie and ran after them. Squall explained while running, "We were in the west wing of the house and there were two paths. Through one he heard a roar and through the other we heard you guys. We decided to recruit you guys and then head for Zell. Get your gun out, Irvine." Irvine loaded and prepared some Pulse Ammo. The roars and screeches and yells were getting louder as they neared the main hallway from which they separated. Despite the short distance Squall's forehead was dotted with beads of sweat, partially from worry, partially of the speed that they were traveling at. Squall bashed through the doors. "Your show of concern is getting more evident now, Squall," commented Rinoa as she took her pinwheel and attached it to the launcher on her wrist. Squall only grunted in reply and opened the next door the civilized way to find Zell dodging poisonous streaks and Quistis trying to summon a GF. They all dissipated as Quezacotl flew forth and struck the beast with an electrifying jolt. When the party rematerialized, Irvine got his Exeter ready. Squall looked at the monster, which seemed to be a Blue Dragon, except it was...red? The more-than-light litigation between the Dragon and the party was soon resolved with the entire SeeD party running away from the battle. The Dragon followed to some extent, but it seemed too slow. "What the hell was that?" Squall gasped. "From Zell's readouts from his Scan it seemed as though it was a rare cousin of the Blue Dragon, and since not very many people see it, let alone survive it, have had a chance to name it, it must have been called a Red Dragon, high Spirit and Defense ratings," Quistis answered. "No wonder..." Irvine said, "Anyway, let's get the fuck away from that thing and find the other guys."
Seifer was starting to get impatient. The Committee had turned up with nothing. Seifer put his hand on the doorknob leading to the next room when he heard something on the other side. Voices. He listened. "Take it," said a thin scrawny voice, almost in a whisper. Seifer put his ear up to a crack in the door. "The hell with that!" responded another one, much more tougher this time, but still quietly. "Listen, they are definitely SeeDs. We need someone who can fight them, and no one is better at the sword than you are." "Fuck that sword! I need a better one to fit my needs. Perhaps even a gunblade." "You know I can't do that! Please take the sword, kill them off. I will pay you double." "Double of 600 Gil? Make it 2000 and I'll whip their sorry asses for you." "Deal." Seifer heard the exchange of the sword as it was placed in a sheath. The clinking of coins and the ruffle of bills was heard next. Toughie was grumbling about something and Scrawny was mumbling in what seemed to be glee. Then Scrawny let out a yell and Seifer heard his body drop to the ground. Seifer thought he owed Squall everything. For his troubles and for his childhood. Seifer knew he had to repent for his sins and his craze in the past when he was still a brash youth. It was payback time. He kicked the door open and threw a fire spell into the middle of it. The room was already lighted. He saw an old man on the ground, apparently knocked out, and a big, muscleman with a Samurai's sword. He went into a defensive stance as Seifer swung at him. No use. His sword was so sharp, so tough, that his gunblade was cut in half. Seifer decided that the blade was useless and detached it from the heat gun that served its use heating the gunblade. He shot the gun twice and his shot were absorbed twice by the sword. At this time Fujin was already backing him up followed by Raijin. Seifer looked around and saw a fiery red gunblade with a label below it. Hawk Wing. Good enough, thought Seifer as he took it and looked in the revolver. Nothing. He took some Pulse Ammo and loaded it up. Raijin was struck down by a powerful blow and Fujin followed having her Sai Blade lost. Seifer swung two times to get a feel for the gunblade, and found it incredibly feather-light. Seifer pointed his new weapon at his foe. His foe pointed his sword at Seifer and told him his name. "Fosdu." "Seifer. Pleased to be your..." He swung and connected with Fosdu's sword. "...acquaintance." He slashed Fosdu's shoulder which allowed him a short break to charge for his Blood Ceremony Limit Break. He cast the necessary Fire and followed it up with his crosses. He steeped back and saw the carnage he had created. Fosdu's body was barely recognizable, and what used to be a human face was now eligible to be a zombie's. Blood was cascading down from the many wounds he had created. "You killed him off easy, ya know?" Raijin had risen. "GOOD SWORD," Fujin commented, picking herself up. It was true, the sword Fosdu carried was made of a strong material and it was super-light. Seifer picked up Fosdu's sword and compared the sword with the gunblade. No known material was that strong and useful. It also seemed as though the gunblade and the sword were sharpened extremely finely. Seifer knew he would have to test the gunblade to be able to use it to its full extent. Fujin picked up the sword and examined it. Her pinwheel was bent and in three different pieces, so she contented with the sword. They went to find more clues regarding the secrets of the mansion.
Caladorei and Kandi were battling the Red Dragon Squall and party had just fought. Caladorei brought his scythe down but was reflected by the tough hide of the monster. He stood back and Kandi looked at him, ready for the signal. Caladorei nodded and concentrated. The fangs on his scythe began to shake, and emitted fire, poison, light, and ice. The energies traveled to the blade of his scythe and he put on the bracelet he had prepared. Kandi was soon hurt and jumped out of the fray and let Caladorei take over while she healed herself. The Red Dragon slashed at Caladorei, who blocked with his scythe and used his mental energies to strike the beast. He shot forth a streak of psychic power and brought down his scythe. The Dragon screamed and roared and stomped all over. Caladorei nearly got bowled over and called to Kandi. They performed their best attacks and stood back. The beast was weakened, bleeding from several places. But something in it kept on ticking, and it kept on going, tiring both of the humans. The beast cast meltdown and immediately Caladorei felt weaker, less secure. Same with Kandi. Then the Red Dragon blew fire that blinded Caladorei with its ashes and cinder. Caladorei dropped his weapon and rolled on the ground trying to put out any moderate flames that might have caught. He was grasping for his scythe and felt the hard, metal handle, grabbing it up and moving into an offensive stance. He drank down an Elixir he had in his pocket and cast Meltdown on the enemy. Soon after the Dragon fell and its life ended. Caladorei wiped all the sweat away from his forehead. and stood there, using his scythe as support for his exhausted, panting body. Kandi was sitting down on one of the old sofas and was taking deep breaths to try to wear off some of the adrenaline that ad pumped so powerfully during the battle. Both of them could feel the presence of more evil beings in the tainted mansion. Caladorei doubted that a scientist or kooky professor or whatever really resided within the flimsy walls. Caladorei needed to find Irvine.
*Three Months Later*
"Thank you, doctor," Squall said. He accepted the strange installment in the Ragnorak because of Irvine's claims of this doctor's "authenticity". Three months ago they had been searching for him in the wrong place. He had moved and was on an island off of Trabia, where Squall was now. The mansion was now empty save a few monsters who worked their ways in. Squall was alone and chose to do this alone. He would have an easier time not drawing attention from the Fears. He quickly boarded the Ragnorak and drove back to Balamb. Caladorei and Kandi were inaugurated as SeeDs by order of Cid. The Disciplinary Committee had to go through a test to prove themselves and earn back Cid's and Squall's trust. Seifer had really changed likewise the other two. When he came back his friends at Garden he announced that the sensor for crystals worked. Now all they had to do was find an energy source. "Fuck," Zell said. "Delays...." "What kind of an energy source?" inquired Quistis. "Something like a...Konim or something," Squall mumbled in reply. "Konims! They can be found in really hot places but are really rare. Ruby Dragons have particles of Konims inside them, that's what makes their breath so hot." "Always depend on Quisty to talk about all that science shit...," Seifer grumbled. He was rewarded by a smack on the back of the head. "We could find one in the Fire Cavern!" Selphie suggested. Everyone looked at Squall for an answer. "Alright." The party decided to walk there and cut through a path in the wild forest. Besides, it was easy dealing with Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars. Zell secretly wished he could run into a T-Rexuar. They arrived without any trouble. Zell took off his outer jacket which left him in a black T-shirt. They entered.