~*~Chapter 11 Golbez call for his minion~*~
"You!" the ninja snarled.
"I am sorry about your parents," Rubicant said, "I didn't know about it. I'm not like the others; I want to play fair."
His eyes stopped at Kain for a moment.
"Shut the crap-hole!" Edge roared, "I will avenge them!"
"Well then," the fiend said, "let us fight, though you are too weak. I will restore you all to make it fair."
'Sleep, Kain,' Golbez commanded, and the dragoon couldn't fight the mist.
He knew he fought, but he didn't do it very well. Only well enough to make the others believe that he was fine, just had a little bad luck. But even though he almost didn't hit Rubicant at all, the fiend finally dissolved under several magical waves of water and icicles. Kain hardly mentioned it, trapped deep inside the wicked magic. Somebody talked a bit, then there was the sound of many footsteps leaving. Had they closed in earlier? Maybe. Kain wasn't sure, and he really didn't care. Cecil said something about a crystal-room, and Kain felt himself walking. Four voices suddenly screamed in surprise and fear, and there was something about falling for a long time. Like through a wall, the dragoon heard voices talking.
"We're close to the bottom of the tower!"
"Inside of the Underground? Great…"
"Let's see if there's a way out."
Walking again. Shortly or for a long time, Kain didn't know.
"Hey, it's an airship!"
"Great, let's go!"
'Too bad that your abilities are about zero in this suspended mode…' Golbez' voice said.
'Let me go, demon!'
'First you will bring me the last crystal.'
'I won't!'
'You will.'
Flying? Yes, he was on an airship. But why? Then landing and walking again. And some familiar voices, but Kain didn't know whom they belonged to.
"Lali-ho, you're back!"
"We didn't get the crystals…"
"Well then, there are two things that I need to tell you. Firstly, Golbez is about to break the seal of the Sealed Cave, so you must get the crystal before he does. Luca has the key to it."
"And what is the second thing?"
"Your friend Cid is still alive. He's in the healing-quarters. Wait, if you go visit him, be careful, he's wounded. Come back here when you've greeted him."
Kain felt rushing and heard happy yells, but didn't understand what the excitement was about. He heard some more voices, but everything felt more and more distant.
'Careful, Golbez,' a woman's voice said, 'if you drain more he might collapse.'
The voice almost made Kain scream. He recognized it, he wanted to see the one it belonged to, so much that his heart ached. But why…?
'It's the only way I can keep him under control, Valvalis. Now pipe down,' Golbez said.
It was dark again, and there were big things with fierce jaws. Kain heard somebody yell that some cave was totally screwed up, filled with living doors, and that almost touched his mind only because of the strangeness of it.
"The wall's closing in!" somebody screamed.
There were so many screams. How irritating. Kain wished that they would all become quiet so that he could get some sleep.
He walked again, for a long time. The others seemed very relieved about something. Then Golbez' voice spoke:
"Well done."
"Watch out!" Cecil's voice snarled.
"Kain," Golbez sneered, "return to me and take the crystal with you."
The world became clearer again. Golbez. Cecil, there. Edge and the women, looking concerned.
"I'm… I'm fine," Kain stuttered, "he can't control me…"
Cecil has the crystal. He is over there. Go. Hit.
The paladin crashed onto the floor, and Kain snatched the crystal as it fell from Cecil's hand.
"Now we have all the crystals…" the dragoon snarled harshly and hurried out of the small cave.
In the enormous cavern, he ran as far away from the entrance of the Sealed Cave that he could.
'Well done, Kain,' Golbez' telepathic voice said.
'You!' the inner part of the dragoon growled.
'Now, you will return to me.'
'No!'
'Yes, indeed. Valvalis, go fetch.'
A wind made the dust on the ground dance, and the fiend of Air emerged from it. Her eyes were overfilled with a mixture of anger, pain and confusion.
"We meet again, Kain," she said.
He somehow knew he should be surprised about seeing her, but he couldn't remember why. She grabbed his shoulders, and wind whistled in his ears. Then he stood inside of a small room with white, slightly flashing walls. Golbez was there, and Kainazzo, a dark figure in a robe, and even Rubicant. Why were they there, they shouldn't, really… but why, and did it matter?
"The crystal," Golbez said.
"My liege."
Kain sat down on one knee and held his hand up high. Golbez took the crystal and then smirked.
"Stand up, my good man," he said.
The dragoon slowly obeyed.
"I will leave the crystal in it's room," the man in the black armor said, "you just guard our friend here for a while, my dear friends."
"Surely, Golbez," Kainazzo sneered.
The man in black disappeared into a shadow.
"And you can wake up, Kain," his distant voice said.
The dragoon blinked and shook his head. He lifted his hand to his forehead, but before he could touch it, he was thrown into the wall by a massive wave of water. Staggering he got to his feet, desperately grabbing his spear. All his memories and knowledge returned, and he realized where he was and who were there as well.
"You!" he stuttered, "you are dead!"
The one in the robe (Kain was glad the cloth hid the body, it didn't seem very pretty) edged closer.
"Surely," it hissed, whispering, "we were all dead, sssweet dead…"
"Master Zemus brought us back to life," Kainazzo sneered, "and now, you belong to us, you foolish man."
Valvalis and Rubicant said nothing. The robed one (Kain guessed that it was Milon of the Earth) reached out a twisted arm and put his rotting, clawed fingers around the spear. He didn't seem very strong, but he easily pulled the weapon out of the dragoon's frozen hands.
"Hang him from the ceiling," Milon hissed, "let me play with him…"
"No, I will drown him!" Kainazzo snapped, "and this time, I'll have the water rise slowly…"
"No," Valvalis said.
The other two fiends angrily turned around.
"What are you going to do?" Milon smirked, "strangle him with a cloud?"
"I won't kill him and neither will you," she said, "the master still wants him."
"Golbez is the only one who wants him alive," Kainazzo snapped, "and we were never under Golbez' control, remember?"
'You are wrong, my faithful.'
It was that terrible, cold voice again. Kain dropped to his knees, the feeling of total evil was so violent that his soul trembled.
"You do want him, master?" Kainazzo said, a bit surprised.
'Indeed. It makes me very irritated that I cannot control him completely. Golbez will have to work with him until I am satisfied, he's got one of the most stubborn minds I've ever encountered. I am pleased to hear that you feel my wishes, Valvalis.'
"Thank you, master…" she mumbled.
'When all is over, you will finish both him and Golbez off, my four faithful, this is your reward.'
And so the evil presence left.
"I will take care of this," Rubicant snarled.