Tears Of The Lioness
Chapter Five:
As Seifer and Fujin entered the second floor classroom, they found that Athena was already in her seat, in the seat where Squall had once been seated, waiting patiently for class to begin. Without a word the duo took their seats, in the row next to her.
Fujin eyed the dark haired woman silently, seeing her for the first time, and no longer wondered why Seifer was so baffled. The young woman had eyes that showed no emotion and her face as still as a statue's. She had look about her, though, like she knew something others did not. It made the one eyed girl's skin creep.
(Seifer was right,) she thought to herself. (She is very strange.)
As she finished thinking that Athena's head snapped to face her, eyes glowing briefly with anger and insult, as if she'd heard her. Fujin froze, her heart stopping, and opened her mouth to say something, anything, but then Quistis walked in.
"Good morning class. Be seated."
Fujin watched as the pink clad blonde set her grade books on the desk and sat down in her chair. When she looked back at Athena, she found that the tall woman was logging onto her computer panel very nonchalantly, as if those few moments had never happened.
Athena logged onto her panel, withdrawing the anger that had lashed so suddenly out at the silver haired woman. She had heard her voice as clearly as a bell, so much that she for a second thought the girl had said it out loud. She looked familiar, but where…?
"Today we are going to discuss the Garden's recent history," Quistis informed, picking up her chalk. "Commander Leonhart has told me and the other teachers to inform you of our recent events, so the rumors will stop spreading," she pointed out, a grating to her tone, "And so you might be able to handle similar situations in the future, should they arise." She turned toward the black board and wrote upon it in large letters 'Second Sorceress War'. "Our prevalent situation has been classified in the history books as the Second Sorceress War. Many people, militia and civilians alike, were killed due to the recklessness of one person. Sorceress Ultimecia. A sorceress from the far future, filled with hate and anger. She tried to destroy the world we know of, and make it into a vast, barren world where only she could survive…"
Seifer heard someone scoff lightly, and it wasn't Fujin.
Quistis lowered her glasses, seeing that she had every ear of the classroom with her talk of the deceased sorceress. "But that's not the topic of today's lecture."
Moans and groans filled the class, and Quistis smiled dauntingly. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find our topic more than satisfying." She turned to the chalkboard again, and wrote the words 'LUNATIC PANDORA'.
Athena's eyes widened vaguely.
"Lunatic Pandora is a baffling mystery to even the geniuses of our time," she said. She began to draw a crude sketch on the blackboard. "It is a rough rectangular prism shape, having a thicker base than a top. From where I saw it…and yes I did see it—it was about 3 miles in length and almost 1 mile in width on all sides. And yet, although it's size would portray its weight to be at least several thousand tons, it floated over the ground without any sign of jet propulsion, or engines, or any kind of energy that might have been holding it up. Sometimes it seemed transparent, sometimes solid, it was very confusing. It is rumoured to come from the ocean, though no one really knows. It is said to be able to trigger the Lunar Cry, the event from which monsters fall from the moon. Twenty years ago it left a crater in Centra, and wiped out the entire capital of the continent…"
Athena listened to Quistis, feeling suddenly hypersensitive to the air around her, and drowsy, and unaware of her surrounding classmates. Her eyes slid slowly closed; but instead of seeing darkness, she saw…
Beams of silver light, like the light of the moon, from a tall prism…but there was no air here, choking water, and so dark was the water, and the moon beams were dim, but slowly growing brighter, the sea floor was churning and glowing fish swam up and around it as if keeping guard…a voiceless cry in her mind, a whisper, a siren…
(Athena…come home…)
"…and it would be nice if some people would sleep in their dorms at night instead of in my classroom."
Athena's eyes snapped open and saw the instructor glaring at her, the other students chuckling and snickering at the reprimand. A flush of red briefly washed over her cheeks, and she glared right back at Quistis, her emotionless eyes gleaming.
"Awake now? Good. Now pay attention." Quistis turned around and began to write on the chalkboard again. "It seemed that once Lunatic Pandora appeared out of nowhere, monsters all over the earth began to behave quite erratically. Even usually docile creatures became very irate. When the Lunatic Pandora disappeared, the Galbadians that had been controlling it were left with amnesia and could not remember anything about even seeing it. Even I can't remember what it looks like inside…"
Athena's eyes seemed to glow briefly, and then there was a loud dying hum as all the computer panels and lights turned off at once. There was an echoing cry as the students stood up in their seats, confused and startled by the sudden outage.
"Now what in the blazes…! Zell must be playing around with the electrical system again! Remain calm, I'll be right back," Quistis said, going for the door and walked toward it, only to realize it wouldn't open. She pulled at the mechanical sliding doors but they seemed to be glued shut. "Damn these electric doors!"
As they all stood in the darkness of the room, panicking about being locked in, screams rang out as everything began to vibrate very barely, even the floor below their feet. Seifer looked over and saw Athena's face expressionless but her eyes gleaming with malicious merriment. Suddenly the entire room began to shake very violently; screams began to fill the air and loud thumps as people were thrown from their seats and into each other from the force of the rocking.
Hang on!" Seifer ordered to a panicking Fujin, grabbing her shoulder and holding her to the seat. The shaking increased dramatically, until it felt like the entire classroom were on the back of a bucking horse.
Athena smirked darkly as she sat in her seat without fear of falling out, strangely relishing the screams of fear sounding around her like firecrackers going off. Through the panic she heard the instructor screaming as well, on the verge of sobbing so afraid she was.
"Oh, Hyne!!!" she heard. "Please somebody stop this!!! Help!!!"
The shaking came to a very sudden halt, leaving everyone in silent darkness for one moment before the lights all came back on at once, the door whirred open and the computers snapped back on simultaneously, rebooting.
The classroom was quiet. Students were lying on the floor, slumping over desks, hanging onto their seats. Quistis was on the floor next to the now opened door, looking like a survivor of a sinking ship crawling onto a sandy shore. She crawled over to the wall and pulled herself up, very distressed, her glasses askew. She straightened them and looked about the classroom.
"Is anyone injured?" she called out.
"I'm okay, I think," one said.
"Fine."
"Could be better."
"What the hell was that?"
"An earthquake, I believe," Quistis offered, not quite sure herself. She straightened her skirt. "I'm glad no one was hurt." She looked around the classroom, and met Athena's eyes once more. The black clad girl was sitting in the same disciplined position as before, as if she hadn't even moved. The instructor squinted at her, a slight case of déjà vu gripping at her suddenly, then fading away.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to dismiss you all for today, until I can sort this out with the Commander. Others in the Garden may be injured from this quake…"
Just then the phone rang on her desk. She swiftly picked it up. "Hello? Squall…well, it's not my fault you've been trying to reach me for the past three minutes! If you didn't notice we've just had a major earthquake! Was anyone hurt?" Quistis' face tightened in confusion. "What do you mean, 'what earthquake'? The one that just rocked the entire Garden out of its foundation! Our electricity went out, the door locked and suddenly we were being tossed around like jumping beans! No I have not been drinking again, Squall!" She sighed in frustration. "What is it you called for?" She listened, her eyes widening. "Really? You're kidding…I'll have them ready in fifteen minutes, Squall. Until then." She hung up, a strange look in her eyes.
"Well, class, that was the commander on the phone…he said there was no earthquake. Either this has all been some massive delirium, or…or something very strange is occurring." She shook her head. "The commander has informed me that Dollet has requested our assistance once more. Your SeeD test is apparently starting right now. I want everyone to go back to their dorms and prepare, and be in the 1st floor lobby in fifteen minutes. You are not to wear your candidate uniforms. Class dismissed."
As everyone quickly hurried out of the room, Fujin and Seifer exchanged glances watching Athena silently slip away, her long black hair swaying behind her.
"I don't think that was any earthquake, Seifer," Fujin whispered, trying to sooth her still shaking limbs.
"Me neither."
"You know what I think? I think our friend Athena is a full blown psychokinetic…and Quistis just got on her nerves." The silver haired woman stood up.
"But there's no point in thinking about it right now. We have to hurry if we're going to make this pop SeeD exam."
Seifer nodded lightly, his eyes troubled. "Yeah. Okay."
Sehkma greeted Athena with a purr at the door, rubbing up against her leg in the most affectionate manner. The cat's almond shaped eyes sparkled, as if she knew everything that had happened moments ago.
"Yes, Sehkma. I did lose my temper on the little blonde. But it was worth it just to hear them scream." Athena enveloped the cat in her arms, rubbing her behind the ears. "And the look on Seifer's face…I think he knew it was me. And that silver haired one. Fujin, I heard him say?" She filled Sehkma's saucer with fresh milk and set it on the floor, putting the tabby down so she could drink from it. "But I relished to hear the blonde one scream. She deserved to feel fear…" The power hungry look in her eyes, however, began to fade. "At least, that was my feeling then." She took out her gunblade and began to polish and oil it thoroughly. "But she interrupted my vision. I knew I was about to learn something important, and then she broke the contact. Of course she did not know that was what I was doing…because she does not understand things such as that." She finished polishing and gave the Hyperia a few test swipes. "She is a teacher of the practical and known. She fights for what she sees. Or what she chooses to see. But then again, they all do."
"Mrrr," Sehkma responded.
"I tend to change that, Sehkma. I don't know how, but…" Athena paused in mid-sentence, suddenly feeling very lethargic. A piercing ring filled her ears, screaming its eerie lullaby into her conscious.
"Ah…aaagh…"
The world around her slowed down and Athena only managed to let her gunblade fall harmlessly onto her bed before collapsing onto the floor.
(Uhh…oh…what…what is this…?)
(Wait…this happened before…in the laboratory…)
(Ellone…?…)
Four people ran from the laboratory, getting in a car and driving as fast away as they could, Kiros, Ward, Laguna, and Ellone. Ellone looked out the backseat window desperately and cried.
(Ellone…Laguna…)
"What's wrong, Elle? Are you okay?" Laguna soothed her, trying to bring her away from the window.
"Luna! We have to go get Luna!" Elle sobbed. "Please, Uncle Laguna, we have to go back for her!"
(Don't come back for me…don't cry, Ellone…)
"You mean that black haired kid?" Laguna asked. Elle nodded tearfully. "Ah, Elle, we can't. We have to get back to the resistance headquarters."
"But you g-gotta go back!" she cried. "She'll die there! She's my friend!"
(I did not die…you know that now…only tortured…)
"No she won't." Laguna held her shaking form in his strong arms, planting a kiss in her hair. His sensitive blue eyes held guilt. "Dr. Odine is a maniac, but he'd never kill a kid. Once we overthrow Adel, we'll come back for her. Odine won't be able to stop us. I promise."
(He wouldn't kill a child…hah…)
"B-but what if she's gone!?"
"Then we'll look for her. I promise, Elle. She'll be okay."
"O-okay…"
(Ellone…you were my friend. But you were Luna's friend. I am not Luna anymore…)
(Ellone…you…you're here, aren't you?! Ellone!!!)
(I begged Uncle Laguna to go back for you, Luna. But it was too dangerous to go back. He promised me we'd come back for you someday…)
(But you were gone, just as I'd suspected. We searched for you everywhere, on land and ocean…but we did not find you, ever…)
(Only until I saw you at the Sorceress Memorial did I realize why my friend did not keep her promise. And now…)
(We're still looking for you, Luna. We're still searching. There is no reason to hide from me anymore. We're coming to rescue you like we should have.)
(But…!)
(I'm sorry, Luna. Your end of the connection is breaking. I'll speak to you again, goodbye…)
"Mrreow…"
"Get away, you stupid cat! Athena? Athena!"
Seifer stood over Athena's unconscious body, shaking her roughly. He'd been going by her door, to realize it was open, and that Athena was lying sprawled on her floor, a stray tabby, pawing at her arm and licking her pale face.
He felt slightly relieved as her eyes slid open, dazed.
"Damn, Athena, you okay? I thought you were dead."
At first she didn't respond. Her eyes were held naked emotion, as she seemed to be lost, thinking about something else. As she fully came to, however, her face shuttered the emotions, and she stood up, pushing him roughly away.
"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of being dead," she snapped, picking up her gunblade.
Seifer scoffed. He looked down as he saw the orange tabby rubbing up against his legs, frowning slightly. "I never imagined you one to have a pet, Athena."
She rose a thin black eyebrow. "I never imagined you one to be a chivalrous knight helping fallen damsels, but there you go."
"Hm." Seifer looked down with a grimace at the purring feline. "You got a way to make this thing get away from me?"
Athena shrugged. "I cannot help it if Sehkma likes you. She does what she wants, I do not control her." She sheathed her gunblade at her waist.
Seifer blinked at the ancient name. Sehkma…?
"We had better get a move on, Seifer Almasy," Athena continued, seeing the question in his eyes and wanting to ignore it. "Or we will miss our exam." She bent down and rubbed the cat between the ears, and then stopped at the door. "After you, Sir Almasy," she offered, a glint in her eyes.
Seifer's mind flashed.
After you, Sir Almasy…
"What are you waiting for?" Athena asked with a slight growl. "Go."
Seifer shook his head from the eerie thought and glared at Athena, marching out the door, his trenchcoat swaying behind him.
Athena squinted at the blonde man, and, after locking her door, followed him.
TBC…