Haha! I'm back. Sorry for the late updates for my story. I was occupied
a little and my idiot brother, who returned from the army camp, occupied
the computer for the entire day. And this goes on for the entire week. So
I can't do anything since he's so stubborn and refuse to let me use the PC.
Now that I have the chance, on with the story. Please be warned that this
is a long story. I'm thankful if you have the patient to read the entire
story and REVIEW.
Disclaimers: I do not own FF9. Some Square soft freaks do. I own Anna, the Wise One and the 4 Elders. One more thing, there's no such thing as Monster's Mist in the game. I'm the creator of that place for this fanfic only.
Chapter 3 - The Queen's Plan
" Wow! This thing is fast!" Anna exclaimed as she stood at the deck of the airship. She leaned out from the side of the airship to feel the wind slapping against her face. " Of course, it's fast. You make that thing pilot this airship at full speed," he said casually as he walked out from the control cabin, his tail swaying insouciantly behind him. " It is the only way to get there quickly, Zidane," she replied. Just then, someone ran out from the cabin, bypassing Zidane. The usual cracking sound of metal accompanied him as he made his way towards Anna.
" Are you certain that that thing can really take us to our destination safely?" Steiner asked. Anyone would be concern as the thing that was doing all the navigation and the piloting thing job wasn't any normal living thing or any professionals. It was Anna's prune-sized crystal ball. It was floating in front of the steering wheel, magically steering the airship.
" Steiner, this is the fifteenth time you're asking me this," Anna said in an irksome tone, " Don't worry, the crystal ball will take us there. Now, trust the ball and STOP ASKING ME THE SAME QUESTION!" She stomped her feet and turned away.
" Are you sure about this?" Steiner asked again.
" YES!!" Anna hissed loudly. Her face was beginning to red with angry, completely annoyed by him.
" Proof that your words are true," Steiner challenged as he wanted a confirmed answer.
" Hey, cool off guys," Zidane said, knowing that something bad would happen if Steiner won't shut up. He was worried that Anna, out of anger, might start casting spells on Steiner or worst, on the ship itself. " Eh . . . Hey, Rusty, why don't you go check on the engine?" he suggested. " Why?" Steiner enquired. " Just go!" he hurried Steiner as he wanted to get rid of him before Anna really blew up. Not knowing why, Steiner just did as he said so and started to walk away. He stopped abrupt. Glaring at the monkey-tailed boy, he blared, " Why am I taking orders from you?"
" Just go, Steiner," said a female voice.
" Yes, my queen," Steiner bowed and made his way to the stern of the airship. He opened a trapdoor on the floorboard and disappeared through the hatch (A/N: The door is big enough to fit in Steiner). " It's pretty weird for something non-living to steer the airship," she remarked as she walked towards Zidane and Anna. " I agree," Eiko concurred as she followed her. Vivi was tailing behind them.
" Well, Dagger. We can adjust to that," Zidane said, smiling.
" I wonder when will we reach Sacred Meridian?" Eiko suddenly blurted out. It was evening now and they had been flying for the entire afternoon. " At this rate, we'll reach Sacred Meridian by tomorrow," Anna answered.
" How are you so sure about this?" Zidane asked curiously.
" Why, I flew to Alexandria at this speed. It's kind of strange for me to fly while standing instead of sitting," she explained.
" You fly !?" Everyone said in unison.
" Of course, I fly. You think I swim to Alexandria?" she said sardonically. " Look," she pointed to the gigantic body of water below them ----- the ocean, " it look so deep."
" So how did you fly?" Eiko asked, eagerly tugging the flaps of Anna's coat. She wanted to know badly how she got to Alexandria.
" I'll tell you when we get there so now my ways of getting to the castle is a secret," Anna smiled as she patted little Eiko's head. Eiko pouted her lips, expressing her disappointment. Then, there was everyone's familiar metallic sound. Steiner ran from the stern to the deck and stopped in front of Dagger. " Report, my queen," he saluted, " After a thorough check, the engines are working perfectly."
" Hey, Rusty. I thought you should report to me. I was the one who told you to check the engine," Zidane corrected.
" I did that on the account of the Queen so it's the Queen's order not you peasant's order," Steiner argued. He made a big fuss out of it, insisting that its the queen's order.
" Steiner, please stop addressing me as 'Queen'. I'm now out of Alexandria so call me 'Dagger', ok?" Dagger requested.
" But, my queen . . . " Steiner stopped protesting after receiving a killer's glare from Dagger and gave in, " Yes, my que . . . I mean, Miss Dagger."
Something caught his attention and awed at the view. " Wow, the sunset is beautiful from here," Vivi commented. Everyone, upon hearing this, turned and looked at the setting sun. It's true for what Vivi said. The sunset in the middle of the ocean was totally different from the sunset in Alexandria. The sky was brightly colored with crimson and gold. The small patches of cloud were painted orange and red by the rays of the sun. Everyone kept quiet, drinking to their eyes content. While enjoying the scenery, someone interrupted the silence. Someone's hungry.
" Is that you, Zidane?" Dagger suspected.
" Umm . . . No," Zidane lied. But after receiving a you-better-tell-the- truth-or-else stare from Dagger, he owned up, " Ok, ok, it's me."
" Let's eat," Eiko announced, " I, with the help of Vivi and Dagger, had just cook dinner."
" About time," Anna said.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The torches flickered as the cold air stirred eerily in the mines. To be more accurate, it's not exactly a mine now. Under Queen Aditya's magical transformation, the gruesome-looking mines metamorphosed into her desired lair ----- an underground castle. The queen sat quietly in the throne room. Her cut and wounds were magically healed. Her hair was neatly combed into a bun. She wore a beautiful and unique headdress, which was the shape of a black phoenix. It was ornamented with silver and gold lining and delicate cravings. The eyes of the black phoenix were socketed with two small rubies, fully shown the iniquity and the beauty it enhanced. She wore a black low-cut grown with long translucent sleeves to go with her exquisite headdress.
She sat comfortably on her throne. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping. Then, the door cracked opened. Aspen entered and knelt before her. " Sorry to disturb you, my queen, but our men had located the Seven Cairn Stones. I shall take you there anytime you please," he reported. She opened her eye, revealing her arctic cold emerald-green eyes. They stared coldly at him as though they could penetrate through his every bone and flesh. She lazily stood up from her seat and sauntered towards Aspen.
" Take me there," Aditya commanded in a standoffish manner.
" Yes, my queen," After that, Aspen stood up. He walked a few feet away from Aditya and took out a black orb. A red light shot out from the orb and a portal was created. " This was, my queen," he said as he stepped aside to make way for her. After the queen disappeared through the portal, Aspen followed suit.
Out of the blue, a portal opened in an unknown dark territory. It was in one of the many, many unexplored chambers of the underground. Coming out from the portal was Queen Aditya and Aspen. In front of them, were seven slabs of stones in a formation of a circle. Each slab had its own unique signs on it. She walked to one of the rune stones and touched it's coarse surface. Then, her luscious lips broke in to a malicious smile. She spoke, " Yes, these are the Cairn Stones indeed." Then, she walked to the center of the circle and stood still. She placed her hands together, like she's praying and began to mutter something sinister.
The chilling air began to galvanize. The strong wind circulated in the chamber as if it had brought in all the coldness, darkness and the evil the entire castle possessed. Then, the signs on each stone started to glow red ----- blood red. The moment the signs began to glow, the wind in the chamber grew stronger. Seconds later, the signs were projected out of the seven stones. The strong gust surrounded the 7 projected signs, each becoming large balls of wind, turning and twisting with great velocity. Suddenly, colossal amount of red light was produced from every ball, painting the entire area blood red. When all light abated, the balls slowly morphed into beings, creatures which harness great power.
" We await your orders, Your Majesty," the said uniformly, as they went down on one knee.
Aditya put down her hands and looked at her Summons. " I want all of you to find the Chosen One and his Seven Stones. Make sure that he's alive. Now go," she ordered.
" Yes," they answered and teleported themselves away to the outside world.
" Do not disappoint me, Seven Apocalypse," she murmured coldly.
" Pardon me, my queen, but why do you want to keep the Chosen One alive? Isn't he better off be dead," Aspen suddenly asked.
" Aspen, I'm a greedy person. I want more than Gaia. I want everything, the entire universe. And the person who is going to help me accomplish this is the Chosen One.
" Before I die, I actually found out something crucial. Gaia is at the center of everything. In other words, Gaia leads to many other worlds. But there's a problem. No matter how hard I tried or how powerful I am, I can never open the Doorway, the road to other dimensions. But there is one thing that can open the Doorway. The ring the Chosen One had is the key to it. And the only one who can release that power is the Chosen One himself. A fool Gadania was. She sacrificed herself to destroy me but now I can use her powers to conquer the universe. One by one, they'll all be mine. By then, I can even have the power to control Heaven and Hell. Everyone shall bow down to me," she said as she laughed mirthlessly.
" How are you going to obtain the ring's power if we can't even touch it?" questioned Aspen. The queen just stared at him and said nothing. Thinking that he had said something wrong, Aspen immediately knelt on the ground. Trembling with fear, he pleaded, " Spared me, my queen, for questioning your power." " Rise, Aspen. Don't worry. I know what to do ," Aditya said, her lips lopsided, obviously up to no good. " Oh yes, by the way, Aspen. You should look at the sun more often. Remember its beauty, it's vibrant, and its color. You might not have the chance again in the future," Aditya reminded Aspen.
" Pardon me, my queen, but I can't do as you say," Aspen replied. The queen looked at him, slightly shocked to hear about this. Then he, with a malevolent smirk, continued, " I prefer night than day."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The sun rises. Its morning and everyone was refreshed from a good night sleep. As you see, Hilda III had been modified for traveling purposes so the airship was equipped with the traveling necessaries like room accommodations and most importantly the kitchen. But not everything went well last night. Steiner was worried sick about the crystal ball doing the piloting so he kept bothering Anna. And Anna, out of anger (A/N: People are bad tempered when lack of sleep), cast a Sleep spell on him. Until now, Steiner was still asleep.
" Anna, I think the Sleep spell you cast is too powerful," Dagger commented as she looked at the motionless body.
" Serve him right for annoying me last night," Anna stated as she folded her arms and kicked the knight's armor.
Rapid footsteps of running could be heard echoing along the corridor, accompanied by a little girl's yelling, " Dagger! Anna! Come, see this." Eiko was jumping up and down excitedly after she kicked the door opened. The two women decided to abandon Steiner and follow Eiko. As soon as they reached the deck, she gasped at what she saw afar.
There was a mist in the middle of the ocean. It's dark and gloomy and worst of all, there were patches of light that went on and off in non- rhythmic pattern. They were the lightning that Steiner described about it the conference room. It was unnatural for mist to produce lightning. " That's Monster's Mist. And Sacred Meridian is in there," Anna exclaimed as she pointed towards the treacherous-looking mist.
" A-are y-you sure we're g-going in there?" Vivi stammered timidly.
" Of course," Anna replied confidently.
As the airship moved nearer and nearer towards the mist, strong wind began to rock the airship. Everyone on the deck moved into the safety of the control cabin, all except Anna. " Anna, come on in," Zidane shouted but there was no replies from her. She just stood there motionless.
" Dagger, take care of the others while I go get Anna," Zidane said loudly as the howling of the wind was extremely noisy. He slowly stumbled his way across the deck as the airship wobbled vigorously. As he's not far away from Anna, he called, " Hey, Anna!" but again, no response. Suddenly, Anna ripped off the key from her neck. The golden thread, which supported the key on her neck, shrank back into the key. In a split second, it began to gleam brightly.
Zidane watched in amazement as the key's gold light enveloped Anna. When the light vanished, she was holding a golden staff. It's about 1.8m long and the head of the staff was implanted with a big red octagonal crystal. The red stone was framed with gold, making it looked like the sun. The key turned into the staff. She held the staff with her both outstretched hands. A beam of red light came out from the glowing stone. When the light reached the mist, it subdivided into many threads of thin light and outlined the shape of a gate. After the lights completed their drawing of the gate, they disappeared and the gate liquefied.
Without stopping, Hilda III passed through the liquid-liked gate. The turbulence stopped. Zidane was astonished by the inside of the mist. They were now actually traveling in some sort of tunnel and it's a very weird tunnel. The walls of the tunnel had an array of different colored stars, flashing and changing their colors against the black backdrop. Dagger and the two children took cover in the control cabin were also amazed by what they saw. Almost instantly, the door to the rooms swayed opened fiercely. Steiner, who just woke up, didn't know what happened. He was completely baffled.
" What happened?" Steiner questioned.
" This is the tunnel to Sacred Meridian," Anna answered as she entered the control cabin with Zidane. She continued, " In other words, we are now inside the Monster's Mist."
" The staff . . . " Dagger pointed out to the long staff Anna's still holding.
" Oh this. This is my staff. The key I wear is the miniature of this staff, which changes into this staff. Got it?" Anna explained in a very quick manner.
" Yeah, I think," Zidane scratched the back of his neck , trying to figure out what she just said.
" Very soon, we'll be in Sacred Meridian, so let's rest and recover from that turbulence we experienced just now," Anna suggested, specking like a tourist guide.
**15 minutes later**
The airship finally reached the end of the tunnel. Like how the airship entered the tunnel, it exited through the watery gate. Everyone on board except for Anna awed at the sight. It was an island full with greenery. There was a large water catchment area or lake at the center of the island. The sun and the wind were gratifying. Another good thing about the island was that what you see from inside if the mist was totally different from the outside. Instead of the gloomy and terrifying-looking mist, it's a huge column of pure white clouds that surrounded the island. The top was clear and opened to let the sunshine in. The island was like a paradise. " This is Sacred Meridian," Anna noted.
** 20 - 25 minutes **
The airship landed a few kilometers away from a nearby town on the island. " Too bad, you can't take this thing in," Anna said.
" How come?" Eiko asked.
" Well, if you take this WHOLE thing in, you would probably scare the people," Anna clarified, " That's because no one in the town seen this kind of thing before. Understand?" When they heard this, they didn't know how to reply. They just stared blankly at Anna. " Hey what cha staring at? Come on, let's go," Anna urged. Everyone agreed and started their hike to the largest and the main town on the island. After walking for sometime, they finally reached their destination.
The people here flabbergasted the group. Many were flying around on broomsticks and long staff. Everyone was wearing strange costume and clothing and sold even stranger items. It was an eye-opener for them. There was no such activities around Mist Continent or other continents and villages they been to. " So this must be how Anna come to Alexandria," Eiko guessed in her mind, as flying around pole-like things seemed to be their main mode of transport.
The people in the town were even more curious about the newcomers. Some stared at them, some were whispering to their neighbor's ears, others continued to mind their own business. " Ignore them. They just look at you because you are the first batch of outsiders to enter Sacred Meridian," Anna said, which kind of making everyone bewildered about this.
After receiving all the stares from the locals and the strange questions and comments from the curious children (example: Why does that boy have a tail? / How come that little girl has a horn? / Are all outsiders like this? etc.), they finally reached the ancient-looking temple Anna had been excitedly talking about, the Holy Ring Temple. The group didn't know they were expected, for five elderly people were waiting outside the temple. " Hey, isn't that the Wise One and the Four Elders. They were highly respected people in the temple and on the island," Anna said.
The old man with his walking stick walked slowly towards Zidane. He had long white hair and beard and wore a white cape and pants with symbols on them. The four people behind him followed. They bowed. " Umm . . . You don't have to do this," Zidane said awkwardly as he wasn't used to have people bowing in respect of him.
" No," the old man insisted in a very formal way, " It's my honor to have you here, Chosen One." Then, he flashed his cheeky grin, he continued, " Welcome to Sacred Meridian. We are really grateful to have you here."
So how? Finally, Zidane get to meet the elders. And I finally finish typing this. I have to admit this story is loonngg. Next chapter is about a strange corridor that is related to the ring, Zidane's answers and what happen 3000 years ago. Please read & review. Catch the next chapter - Enter the Forbidden Corridor.
~winky golden, Nov 9th 2002, Saturday~
Disclaimers: I do not own FF9. Some Square soft freaks do. I own Anna, the Wise One and the 4 Elders. One more thing, there's no such thing as Monster's Mist in the game. I'm the creator of that place for this fanfic only.
Chapter 3 - The Queen's Plan
" Wow! This thing is fast!" Anna exclaimed as she stood at the deck of the airship. She leaned out from the side of the airship to feel the wind slapping against her face. " Of course, it's fast. You make that thing pilot this airship at full speed," he said casually as he walked out from the control cabin, his tail swaying insouciantly behind him. " It is the only way to get there quickly, Zidane," she replied. Just then, someone ran out from the cabin, bypassing Zidane. The usual cracking sound of metal accompanied him as he made his way towards Anna.
" Are you certain that that thing can really take us to our destination safely?" Steiner asked. Anyone would be concern as the thing that was doing all the navigation and the piloting thing job wasn't any normal living thing or any professionals. It was Anna's prune-sized crystal ball. It was floating in front of the steering wheel, magically steering the airship.
" Steiner, this is the fifteenth time you're asking me this," Anna said in an irksome tone, " Don't worry, the crystal ball will take us there. Now, trust the ball and STOP ASKING ME THE SAME QUESTION!" She stomped her feet and turned away.
" Are you sure about this?" Steiner asked again.
" YES!!" Anna hissed loudly. Her face was beginning to red with angry, completely annoyed by him.
" Proof that your words are true," Steiner challenged as he wanted a confirmed answer.
" Hey, cool off guys," Zidane said, knowing that something bad would happen if Steiner won't shut up. He was worried that Anna, out of anger, might start casting spells on Steiner or worst, on the ship itself. " Eh . . . Hey, Rusty, why don't you go check on the engine?" he suggested. " Why?" Steiner enquired. " Just go!" he hurried Steiner as he wanted to get rid of him before Anna really blew up. Not knowing why, Steiner just did as he said so and started to walk away. He stopped abrupt. Glaring at the monkey-tailed boy, he blared, " Why am I taking orders from you?"
" Just go, Steiner," said a female voice.
" Yes, my queen," Steiner bowed and made his way to the stern of the airship. He opened a trapdoor on the floorboard and disappeared through the hatch (A/N: The door is big enough to fit in Steiner). " It's pretty weird for something non-living to steer the airship," she remarked as she walked towards Zidane and Anna. " I agree," Eiko concurred as she followed her. Vivi was tailing behind them.
" Well, Dagger. We can adjust to that," Zidane said, smiling.
" I wonder when will we reach Sacred Meridian?" Eiko suddenly blurted out. It was evening now and they had been flying for the entire afternoon. " At this rate, we'll reach Sacred Meridian by tomorrow," Anna answered.
" How are you so sure about this?" Zidane asked curiously.
" Why, I flew to Alexandria at this speed. It's kind of strange for me to fly while standing instead of sitting," she explained.
" You fly !?" Everyone said in unison.
" Of course, I fly. You think I swim to Alexandria?" she said sardonically. " Look," she pointed to the gigantic body of water below them ----- the ocean, " it look so deep."
" So how did you fly?" Eiko asked, eagerly tugging the flaps of Anna's coat. She wanted to know badly how she got to Alexandria.
" I'll tell you when we get there so now my ways of getting to the castle is a secret," Anna smiled as she patted little Eiko's head. Eiko pouted her lips, expressing her disappointment. Then, there was everyone's familiar metallic sound. Steiner ran from the stern to the deck and stopped in front of Dagger. " Report, my queen," he saluted, " After a thorough check, the engines are working perfectly."
" Hey, Rusty. I thought you should report to me. I was the one who told you to check the engine," Zidane corrected.
" I did that on the account of the Queen so it's the Queen's order not you peasant's order," Steiner argued. He made a big fuss out of it, insisting that its the queen's order.
" Steiner, please stop addressing me as 'Queen'. I'm now out of Alexandria so call me 'Dagger', ok?" Dagger requested.
" But, my queen . . . " Steiner stopped protesting after receiving a killer's glare from Dagger and gave in, " Yes, my que . . . I mean, Miss Dagger."
Something caught his attention and awed at the view. " Wow, the sunset is beautiful from here," Vivi commented. Everyone, upon hearing this, turned and looked at the setting sun. It's true for what Vivi said. The sunset in the middle of the ocean was totally different from the sunset in Alexandria. The sky was brightly colored with crimson and gold. The small patches of cloud were painted orange and red by the rays of the sun. Everyone kept quiet, drinking to their eyes content. While enjoying the scenery, someone interrupted the silence. Someone's hungry.
" Is that you, Zidane?" Dagger suspected.
" Umm . . . No," Zidane lied. But after receiving a you-better-tell-the- truth-or-else stare from Dagger, he owned up, " Ok, ok, it's me."
" Let's eat," Eiko announced, " I, with the help of Vivi and Dagger, had just cook dinner."
" About time," Anna said.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The torches flickered as the cold air stirred eerily in the mines. To be more accurate, it's not exactly a mine now. Under Queen Aditya's magical transformation, the gruesome-looking mines metamorphosed into her desired lair ----- an underground castle. The queen sat quietly in the throne room. Her cut and wounds were magically healed. Her hair was neatly combed into a bun. She wore a beautiful and unique headdress, which was the shape of a black phoenix. It was ornamented with silver and gold lining and delicate cravings. The eyes of the black phoenix were socketed with two small rubies, fully shown the iniquity and the beauty it enhanced. She wore a black low-cut grown with long translucent sleeves to go with her exquisite headdress.
She sat comfortably on her throne. Her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping. Then, the door cracked opened. Aspen entered and knelt before her. " Sorry to disturb you, my queen, but our men had located the Seven Cairn Stones. I shall take you there anytime you please," he reported. She opened her eye, revealing her arctic cold emerald-green eyes. They stared coldly at him as though they could penetrate through his every bone and flesh. She lazily stood up from her seat and sauntered towards Aspen.
" Take me there," Aditya commanded in a standoffish manner.
" Yes, my queen," After that, Aspen stood up. He walked a few feet away from Aditya and took out a black orb. A red light shot out from the orb and a portal was created. " This was, my queen," he said as he stepped aside to make way for her. After the queen disappeared through the portal, Aspen followed suit.
Out of the blue, a portal opened in an unknown dark territory. It was in one of the many, many unexplored chambers of the underground. Coming out from the portal was Queen Aditya and Aspen. In front of them, were seven slabs of stones in a formation of a circle. Each slab had its own unique signs on it. She walked to one of the rune stones and touched it's coarse surface. Then, her luscious lips broke in to a malicious smile. She spoke, " Yes, these are the Cairn Stones indeed." Then, she walked to the center of the circle and stood still. She placed her hands together, like she's praying and began to mutter something sinister.
The chilling air began to galvanize. The strong wind circulated in the chamber as if it had brought in all the coldness, darkness and the evil the entire castle possessed. Then, the signs on each stone started to glow red ----- blood red. The moment the signs began to glow, the wind in the chamber grew stronger. Seconds later, the signs were projected out of the seven stones. The strong gust surrounded the 7 projected signs, each becoming large balls of wind, turning and twisting with great velocity. Suddenly, colossal amount of red light was produced from every ball, painting the entire area blood red. When all light abated, the balls slowly morphed into beings, creatures which harness great power.
" We await your orders, Your Majesty," the said uniformly, as they went down on one knee.
Aditya put down her hands and looked at her Summons. " I want all of you to find the Chosen One and his Seven Stones. Make sure that he's alive. Now go," she ordered.
" Yes," they answered and teleported themselves away to the outside world.
" Do not disappoint me, Seven Apocalypse," she murmured coldly.
" Pardon me, my queen, but why do you want to keep the Chosen One alive? Isn't he better off be dead," Aspen suddenly asked.
" Aspen, I'm a greedy person. I want more than Gaia. I want everything, the entire universe. And the person who is going to help me accomplish this is the Chosen One.
" Before I die, I actually found out something crucial. Gaia is at the center of everything. In other words, Gaia leads to many other worlds. But there's a problem. No matter how hard I tried or how powerful I am, I can never open the Doorway, the road to other dimensions. But there is one thing that can open the Doorway. The ring the Chosen One had is the key to it. And the only one who can release that power is the Chosen One himself. A fool Gadania was. She sacrificed herself to destroy me but now I can use her powers to conquer the universe. One by one, they'll all be mine. By then, I can even have the power to control Heaven and Hell. Everyone shall bow down to me," she said as she laughed mirthlessly.
" How are you going to obtain the ring's power if we can't even touch it?" questioned Aspen. The queen just stared at him and said nothing. Thinking that he had said something wrong, Aspen immediately knelt on the ground. Trembling with fear, he pleaded, " Spared me, my queen, for questioning your power." " Rise, Aspen. Don't worry. I know what to do ," Aditya said, her lips lopsided, obviously up to no good. " Oh yes, by the way, Aspen. You should look at the sun more often. Remember its beauty, it's vibrant, and its color. You might not have the chance again in the future," Aditya reminded Aspen.
" Pardon me, my queen, but I can't do as you say," Aspen replied. The queen looked at him, slightly shocked to hear about this. Then he, with a malevolent smirk, continued, " I prefer night than day."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The sun rises. Its morning and everyone was refreshed from a good night sleep. As you see, Hilda III had been modified for traveling purposes so the airship was equipped with the traveling necessaries like room accommodations and most importantly the kitchen. But not everything went well last night. Steiner was worried sick about the crystal ball doing the piloting so he kept bothering Anna. And Anna, out of anger (A/N: People are bad tempered when lack of sleep), cast a Sleep spell on him. Until now, Steiner was still asleep.
" Anna, I think the Sleep spell you cast is too powerful," Dagger commented as she looked at the motionless body.
" Serve him right for annoying me last night," Anna stated as she folded her arms and kicked the knight's armor.
Rapid footsteps of running could be heard echoing along the corridor, accompanied by a little girl's yelling, " Dagger! Anna! Come, see this." Eiko was jumping up and down excitedly after she kicked the door opened. The two women decided to abandon Steiner and follow Eiko. As soon as they reached the deck, she gasped at what she saw afar.
There was a mist in the middle of the ocean. It's dark and gloomy and worst of all, there were patches of light that went on and off in non- rhythmic pattern. They were the lightning that Steiner described about it the conference room. It was unnatural for mist to produce lightning. " That's Monster's Mist. And Sacred Meridian is in there," Anna exclaimed as she pointed towards the treacherous-looking mist.
" A-are y-you sure we're g-going in there?" Vivi stammered timidly.
" Of course," Anna replied confidently.
As the airship moved nearer and nearer towards the mist, strong wind began to rock the airship. Everyone on the deck moved into the safety of the control cabin, all except Anna. " Anna, come on in," Zidane shouted but there was no replies from her. She just stood there motionless.
" Dagger, take care of the others while I go get Anna," Zidane said loudly as the howling of the wind was extremely noisy. He slowly stumbled his way across the deck as the airship wobbled vigorously. As he's not far away from Anna, he called, " Hey, Anna!" but again, no response. Suddenly, Anna ripped off the key from her neck. The golden thread, which supported the key on her neck, shrank back into the key. In a split second, it began to gleam brightly.
Zidane watched in amazement as the key's gold light enveloped Anna. When the light vanished, she was holding a golden staff. It's about 1.8m long and the head of the staff was implanted with a big red octagonal crystal. The red stone was framed with gold, making it looked like the sun. The key turned into the staff. She held the staff with her both outstretched hands. A beam of red light came out from the glowing stone. When the light reached the mist, it subdivided into many threads of thin light and outlined the shape of a gate. After the lights completed their drawing of the gate, they disappeared and the gate liquefied.
Without stopping, Hilda III passed through the liquid-liked gate. The turbulence stopped. Zidane was astonished by the inside of the mist. They were now actually traveling in some sort of tunnel and it's a very weird tunnel. The walls of the tunnel had an array of different colored stars, flashing and changing their colors against the black backdrop. Dagger and the two children took cover in the control cabin were also amazed by what they saw. Almost instantly, the door to the rooms swayed opened fiercely. Steiner, who just woke up, didn't know what happened. He was completely baffled.
" What happened?" Steiner questioned.
" This is the tunnel to Sacred Meridian," Anna answered as she entered the control cabin with Zidane. She continued, " In other words, we are now inside the Monster's Mist."
" The staff . . . " Dagger pointed out to the long staff Anna's still holding.
" Oh this. This is my staff. The key I wear is the miniature of this staff, which changes into this staff. Got it?" Anna explained in a very quick manner.
" Yeah, I think," Zidane scratched the back of his neck , trying to figure out what she just said.
" Very soon, we'll be in Sacred Meridian, so let's rest and recover from that turbulence we experienced just now," Anna suggested, specking like a tourist guide.
**15 minutes later**
The airship finally reached the end of the tunnel. Like how the airship entered the tunnel, it exited through the watery gate. Everyone on board except for Anna awed at the sight. It was an island full with greenery. There was a large water catchment area or lake at the center of the island. The sun and the wind were gratifying. Another good thing about the island was that what you see from inside if the mist was totally different from the outside. Instead of the gloomy and terrifying-looking mist, it's a huge column of pure white clouds that surrounded the island. The top was clear and opened to let the sunshine in. The island was like a paradise. " This is Sacred Meridian," Anna noted.
** 20 - 25 minutes **
The airship landed a few kilometers away from a nearby town on the island. " Too bad, you can't take this thing in," Anna said.
" How come?" Eiko asked.
" Well, if you take this WHOLE thing in, you would probably scare the people," Anna clarified, " That's because no one in the town seen this kind of thing before. Understand?" When they heard this, they didn't know how to reply. They just stared blankly at Anna. " Hey what cha staring at? Come on, let's go," Anna urged. Everyone agreed and started their hike to the largest and the main town on the island. After walking for sometime, they finally reached their destination.
The people here flabbergasted the group. Many were flying around on broomsticks and long staff. Everyone was wearing strange costume and clothing and sold even stranger items. It was an eye-opener for them. There was no such activities around Mist Continent or other continents and villages they been to. " So this must be how Anna come to Alexandria," Eiko guessed in her mind, as flying around pole-like things seemed to be their main mode of transport.
The people in the town were even more curious about the newcomers. Some stared at them, some were whispering to their neighbor's ears, others continued to mind their own business. " Ignore them. They just look at you because you are the first batch of outsiders to enter Sacred Meridian," Anna said, which kind of making everyone bewildered about this.
After receiving all the stares from the locals and the strange questions and comments from the curious children (example: Why does that boy have a tail? / How come that little girl has a horn? / Are all outsiders like this? etc.), they finally reached the ancient-looking temple Anna had been excitedly talking about, the Holy Ring Temple. The group didn't know they were expected, for five elderly people were waiting outside the temple. " Hey, isn't that the Wise One and the Four Elders. They were highly respected people in the temple and on the island," Anna said.
The old man with his walking stick walked slowly towards Zidane. He had long white hair and beard and wore a white cape and pants with symbols on them. The four people behind him followed. They bowed. " Umm . . . You don't have to do this," Zidane said awkwardly as he wasn't used to have people bowing in respect of him.
" No," the old man insisted in a very formal way, " It's my honor to have you here, Chosen One." Then, he flashed his cheeky grin, he continued, " Welcome to Sacred Meridian. We are really grateful to have you here."
So how? Finally, Zidane get to meet the elders. And I finally finish typing this. I have to admit this story is loonngg. Next chapter is about a strange corridor that is related to the ring, Zidane's answers and what happen 3000 years ago. Please read & review. Catch the next chapter - Enter the Forbidden Corridor.
~winky golden, Nov 9th 2002, Saturday~