Chapter 17 – Chaos
Zelda til Rednaxelos/Vamp Queen
Zelda: Hey! The Squall kiss was my part! What about Irvine? Wasn't he . . . ooohhh, Vaaaaamp Queeeeeen!
Damn it.
Anyway . . . here goes . . . time to undo the whole shit-bang.
Vamp- What, I get no say? Oh, well… hey; this is the chapter that we work together. Have fun!
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Terra's P.O.V.
"No . . . no! Who are you, what are you?"
"Welcome, little one. Do not be afraid."
"Are you kidding me? Of course I'll be afraid, faced with Wonder Woman From Hell!"
"You cannot escape this place, Terra Briar."
"You . . . you know my name?"
"I can give you power, Terra, power beyond your wildest dreams, if you will only allow me."
"But you didn't answer my question. How do you know who I am, and why do you want me? Hey . . . hey! Come back! Why do you want me? Who are you?"
"I . . . am . . . Aris . . ."
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"Aaaaahhhh!"
"Whoa!"
Squall was soon on the floor, rubbing his head and wincing, as I struggled to catch my breath.
Wait . . . Squall?
I jumped up off the ground, in complete shock, as I gaped at him. What in Hecate's name was that guy doing?
"Hey . . ." Squall started, looking up at me. "Terra – you okay? What happened?"
"You!" I glared at him, hardly able to contain my rage.
"Uh, yeah, it's me. Geez, did you just wake up from a nightmare?"
"No, apparently I'm still in it. That was just a recess!"
"Terra, please, calm down," Squall said, standing up. "Now seriously, is something wrong?"
"What's wrong?" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, fire blazing in my eyes as I looked into his. "I'll tell you what's wrong, Squall. I have secrets – everybody does. Some secrets are best left uncovered."
"Look, slicing wrists and going on a hunger strike is dangerous –"
"Dangerous!" I screeched, letting go of him, leaving him suspended in the air. A ball of lightning formed in my hands, which I soon sent straight towards him, sending him flying into the wall across the room. He cried out in pain as he slammed into the wall and slid to the floor.
Looking up at me as I stalked towards him, he called out weakly, "Terra, are you insane?"
"You want to know what's dangerous, Squall? Sticking your nose into my business, sleeping with me in my bed, all when I gave no consent is dangerous, Squall!"
He stood and faced me, hair in his face, clothes a mess. His eyes were hurt, confused, and angry. All at me.
"We're doing this because we love you, Terra!" he shouted.
"We? Who's we?"
"All of us! Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, Zell, Seifer, Raven –"
"Raven! That self-righteous, upturned-nosed bitch! Since when in Hecate's fucking name does she give a damn about anyone but herself?"
"Terra –"
"Is it because she feels obligated to do it? Or does she just feel guilty that I'm going to die sooner or later and it'll be all her fault? Best friends, indeed – she is the biggest liar I've ever known!"
"She loves you!" Squall shouted back. "We all love you – I love you!"
"Love! Ha!" I turned away angrily and stormed to a corner in the far side of the room. "Raven loves no one but her own goddess damned self. And you? You love me only because I look like I might be good in bed!"
"So you really think that I'm the kind of person who goes after looks?"
"Men are pigs. Why else do they go after me? Is it because I'm smart, or have a great personality? No! No one evens looks at that! I'm stupid and flighty, an overdramatic sap, as Raven so tactfully put it. No, people love me for my body, not me!"
"Stop it, Terra!" Squall replied, making his way towards me.
But there was no way he'd turn me around before I did it first. I sensed him coming behind me, and I could no longer contain my rage.
I balled up my fist, and just as he reached out to me, I turned around and swung at him. It hit him square across the cheek, and since it was a magic punch, it sent him flying once more.
As he was getting up, I grabbed a vase on the nearby table and flung it at him. It missed him by inches, going past him and ending up shattered on the wall.
"Hey!" Squall exclaimed. "What the hell was that for?"
"Get out!" I screamed, taking a perfume bottle and flinging it towards him. He dodged again, and it too broke against the wall.
"But –" he began to protest.
"Out! This is my bedchamber! Those cuts were on my arms! It's my choice whether I live or die!"
I was now throwing whatever I could get my hands on, as he rushed to the door. He got out, and before he left, he shouted back at me one last thing. "You can scream and shout all you want, you could deny whatever you wanted, you could kill me if you wanted, Terra – but I love you just the same, and I always will!"
He quickly shut the door behind him.
I stopped, staring at the door behind me.
What had he just said?
I love you just the same, and I always will.
No – no! I had already been hurt too many times in my life – I would not let it happen yet again!
"Damn you, Squall!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. "Damn you and everyone else in this goddess-forsaken realm! To hell with all of you!"
Tears were flooding down my face once more, and I collapsed on the floor crying. The pain I had suffered, the battle raging within my soul, all of it . . .
"Yes, Terra, child. You are lost, and all alone – you know this, do you not?"
That voice . . . no, it couldn't be!
I shot up and looked around, hoping that the voice, too, was part of what I was praying was a horrible nightmare. A chill went up my spine – the very same chill from the ballroom over three weeks ago.
"W-who are you?" I asked, voice trembling and tiny.
"Who am I? You do not recognize me?" The voice chuckled. "Oh, my poor little child. You really are confused."
"I don't exactly know that," I said, getting up, trying to sound brave, "and I certainly don't know you. I won't ask again – who are you?"
"Oh, that stings me. You truly cannot recognize me? I am Aris, child."
I could scarcely let it run through my head, when suddenly –
BOOM!
The wall behind me blasted apart!
"Aaaaahhhh!"
The force of the blast sent me clear across the room. The wind was knocked out of my lungs as I hit the ground.
As soon as I was able to recover, I scrambled up and looked around me. Fire engulfed the whole half of the room in front of me.
I heard someone cackling nearby. I looked up through the wall, which had been clearly blasted away . . . and what I saw nearly caused me to scream.
Huge black wings nearly covered what I could see of the midday sky. They supported a long, lean figure, clothed in scarlet and topped with long, flowing dark tresses.
The woman looked into my frightened eyes, and though her gaze was a beautiful dark blue, they seemed to burn just as searing as the blaze surrounding me.
"You're a madwoman!" I shot up at her.
She merely crowed at that, replying, "My, my! Are you always so harsh towards your visitors?"
"Only when they come uninvited!"
"Come now, I am not that bad. I merely wanted to get acquainted . . . child!"
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Raven's POV
I woke up on one of the hospital beds with a headache and a nagging feeling about the dream I had. Was this Aris really here? Is my world falling down around my ears? Was Squall ok? Or was it really a dream? Just a bad dream… if only.
"I want to run!" I yelled at the ceiling. I knew that no one was there so I did my intercession then and there. "Mother Goddess, I want out! Get me out of here, please! Have I not served you faithfully? Please, I beg of you, take me out of here with Terra. We do not belong!" I was just beginning to see Hecate's ever-changing face as I continued to beg her. "Show us how to leave and be rid of these demons. Please… this world has brought us heartache and one of our number is dead. We've had to grow so fast. Terra should be getting ready for the prom, not getting ready to stop a ghost. Please, Mother, help us."
My goddess's motherly face smiled lovingly down at me. "Dear child," she said. "You honestly love your sister." I could only nod. Her overwhelming presence had taken my voice and hid it far from me.
"She's being taken over by that evil one. Her sister will be clothed in blue and in a disguise that you will know and yet not suspect. She is coming for you now. It is best that you quietly take care of her, and then work on bringing your sister back. I have faith in you, my child, the one who wears the two hardest of my faces."
"But, Mother," I cried, finally finding my voice, "How can we leave? Why can't you just take us out of here now? You have the power."
She shook her head, slipping from the mother to the child. "You must remember the first of your lessons. 'Magic happens for a reason.' I want you here to take care of these two. Besides…" She paused as she slipped to the face of the lover. "Your love is here."
I turned my face away, ashamed. "He does not love me, Mother Hecate. He never will."
"Not necessarily. Remember, I am, but a prayer away." A breeze blew and when I looked up, she was gone.
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Third person perspective
The click of heels echoed down the hall. Many students glanced down to the source and were shocked. They could only look as the slender woman stalked past them. Her cold stare made most of them step back and the younger ones run off. Seifer heard one of the younger children crying as she ran down the hall. He looked at the girl as she ran into him, bounced onto the floor, and got up to run again.
'Whoever she is, I like this girl already,' he thought and turned to the source of the echo. His jaw dropped just in time for her to kiss him.
After a long and very familiar kiss, he pulled away from her. "Rinoa?" he asked.
Her blue eyes flashed and she giggled. "Yep, it's me. Did you miss me, Seifer? It's been so long since I was really with you. Over a year ago, if I remember." Her hands settled on his hips suggestively and she stepped closer. "You haven't forgotten, have you?" She gently kissed his ear and whispered, "Let's go relive that night."
She slipped her hand into his back pocket and pulled him off, not allowing him any time to protest.
Although it wasn't like he would, given the chance.
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Raven trudged down to the long deserted hallway. It was time to tell Seifer. She stopped at the entry for the library. 'Might as well take a look and see if there is a book I want,' she thought
She walked in and went straight to the science fiction. She nodded in approval at the authors such as Mercedes Lackey, Orson Scott Card, and Andre Norton. At least they had good taste in a video game world. A title caught her eye. It was The Many Faces of the Ancient Goddesses. She picked it up and looked at the back.
'Many different cultures have deities such as gods or goddesses. This book shows simply the goddesses of all of these cultures. Step into a world of mystic legends and decide- do these people worship to something real or fake? If it is true, are these deities out of line or are they too lax?
'You decide.'
"Perfect."
She checked the book out and walked to his room with less weight in her step. Maybe… maybe he wouldn't mind. He would just leave her alone and when she went back home, he wouldn't want the child. And if it was a girl, then she would teach her about the wonders of the goddess.
She slipped into his room; after all, his door was slightly open.
She saw the blue duster and her blood froze. Rinoa was back. Raven saw the slight, black-haired body next to Seifer's sleeping form and she sat down.
Adel was Rinoa. How would she be able to kill her with Seifer, Squall, and several other guys following her? She pulled out her book and got settled. She would wait.
She was patient.
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Terra's P.O.V.
"No! Stop!"
"Face it, Terra, you are alone now," Aris hissed as she threw fireballs in my direction. "No one will save you. Raven despises you. Your male friends here are chasing after another. You will be continually miserable!"
"Leave me!" I shouted up at her, terrified and tired, tears of fright running down my cheeks. "What do you want with me?"
To my surprise, Aris stopped throwing the fireballs and smiled down at me. "I came to help you, Terra. I was going to make you an offer. I have power, child, power beyond your wildest dreams. I have the power to create, to destroy, and to take over whole worlds. I can give this power to anyone I choose . . . and I have chosen you."
I stopped. Me? But . . .
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I see the trouble you have gone through. You come from a dysfunctional family. Your friends are turning their backs on you. You have never truly been loved. But now you can even the score with everyone who has ever wronged you. You have the power to get revenge."
Revenge . . .
"There's a catch, isn't there?" I asked suspiciously. "Why are you making a deal like this to me?"
"You have great strength that you have not yet discovered, and you can acquire even more. I ask only one thing of you."
"And that is?"
"I ask that you come with me. I will teach you what your Mother Goddess has kept from you. I will give you everything you need, and you yourself will take everything you want. All you must do is join me."
"Join you?"
"Yes, Terra. I will take you as my own, and together, we can rule over the entire world. We will show our enemies who is boss. That Raven of yours, that arrogant fool, will cower before us in fear and shame. Your enemies, every last one of them, will die at our hands, and the rest of the land will be ours! Join me, Terra, and I will raise you up!"
"And what if I say no to you?" I challenged. "What if I don't want to hurt the ones I love – no matter what they feel for me in return?"
Aris was no longer smiling down upon me. Her brow furrowed, and her mouth formed into a scowl. "You . . . refuse me?"
"Yeah. I do."
She tilted her head back and let out a wild scream, causing me to cover my ears. "How dare you! I give you an opportunity anyone would die to have, and you push me away! Do you not know who I am?"
"I know exactly who you are," I snapped, "a raving madwoman!"
"You will pay for this!" she screeched. "I will make your life a living underworld! I will attack this place, and with my sister destroying it from the inside out, you all will take your last breath! You will watch the ones you love die bloody and painful deaths, and then you, too, shall perish!"
I crumpled to the ground. "Go away!" I sobbed in horror. "Leave me, please, I beg you!"
Suddenly . . .
The blazing heat around me was gone. The fire disappeared, the wall mended itself right before my eyes, and everything I had destroyed before was fixed. It was as if nothing had been disturbed; everything had gone . . . except Aris's shouting. I heard her scream one last promise: "You will pay! You will pay!"
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I raced down the hallway, desperate to find someone, anyone, who would relieve me of the madness I had just witnessed. Squall . . . where was Squall? I had to find him, or maybe Irvine, or Zell – even Seifer would do.
Where were they all?
Soon, I was horrified to find my answer: a group of people were walking up towards me, laughing and chatting. All the guys were there . . . led by a woman in blue.
Rinoa.
I froze. What was she doing here?
She tossed her hair around and caught sight of me, eyes smiling. But I was horrified; something wasn't right about her, something was giving me a chill . . .
Those eyes. If memory served me, her eyes were brown, not blue.
They were Aris's eyes . . . was this her sister she was telling me about?
No. Adel!
She looked at me and smiled. "Hello," the slender girl greeted me. "Are you Terra?"
"Are you Adel?"
She looked at me, confused. "Adel? Huh?"
"Come on, Terra," Irvine said, bringing me over to the group. "This is Rinoa. Glad you came out in time to meet her. With what Squall was telling us, we were getting' worried about you –"
"Those eyes!" I exclaimed. "They can't be – no, it's Adel, I'm telling you!"
"What about her eyes?" Seifer asked, looking into Rinoa's face, searching. "They . . ."
A puzzled look came across his face, as Rinoa simply smiled sweetly. "Seifer?"
"Wait . . ." Squall began, studying her. "Your eyes were never blue. They were chocolate brown."
"Um . . . contacts?" Rinoa tried, breaking away. "Look, guys, I'm kinda hungry. Maybe we should go get something to eat –"
"Why did you come back on such short notice, Rinoa?" I confronted her. "What do you need contact for? Aren't they a bit of a hassle? And wouldn't you be halfway across the continent right now, in Dueling City with your father?"
"I'm getting uncomfortable here. Seriously, guys, who is this girl and why is she making such weird accusations?"
As I ranted on, Squall and Irvine tried to pull me back, but I pressed on. "You are not who you claim to be! Where's your sister, Adel, and why are you two coming after me? Raven's here, too, you know!"
"Stop it!" Rinoa cried. "You're crazy! Just go away!"
But she wouldn't, not that easily. I finally broke away from Squall and Irvine and swung, catching Adel in the nose and knocking her to the ground.
Everyone passing by in the hall stopped. Gasps were heard all around me, as I stared down at the sorceress.
Adel looked up at me weakly, before whispering, "I . . . have failed. But if I go down . . . Terra . . . you will come with me."
A ball of lightning formed in her hand. She shot her hand up at me as her body disappeared, and I had no time to duck. I was hit in the stomach, forcing me to the ground and causing me to stumble into darkness.
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"Sister, I have failed! The lover has destroyed my disguise, and now everyone there knows!""Do not fret. I was not successful, either."
"Well, if they will not join us, they will suffer! I have had it with these games, Aris! Let us attack them, now!"
"No! There is still a chance. We simply must try different methods . . . just wait, Adel. Do not be so impatient. Just wait, my sister."
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Terra walked down the hall to her room. Seifer was there and she planned on killing him as soon as she got in. hell, she was mad enough to do so. She walked in and slammed the door behind her. Terra threw a fireball at said annoyance and thought nothing else of it.
And was startled to hear him- or so she thought- simply stand from "his" chair.
"Gee, did Aris really get you that mad?" Raven said, walking over to her partner. "I know that you're not possessed because of watching you kill Adel, but what's your excuse for trying to kill me?"
"How about the fact that I hate you?" Terra snarled. "Why are you here? I thought it was Seifer."
"In a way it is. But we're not going to go into it now. We need to start working like a team. There's someone out there that will have Luna's powers and we need to find her. And knowing our luck," Raven paused to turn to Terra. "She's probably already stronger than both of us. I know that we don't get along. But we used to work so well together. Can we call a truce? I'll do whatever is needed. Just give me a chance."
Terra looked at her suspiciously. "Did the goddess put you up to this?"
Raven shook her head. "I talked to her, yes, but she said nothing about this. I was trying to get both of us out of here and she said no. She wants us to defeat these two, though."
"Well, I have a few questions for you then."
"Shoot." Raven sat in a chair, waiting for the interrogation.
"Why did you disguise yourself as Seifer? It makes no sense. I hate him as much as you do." She sat in the chair opposite of her once friend and partner.
Raven smiled sadly. "I don't hate him though. I love him." Terra looked at her, shocked. "But he didn't know that until after he took advantage of me. And since you read my diary, you know how bad that hurt me."
Terra's eyes nearly bulged out of the sockets. "How did you know?!"
Raven smiled wryly. "I found it in your room when I looked for it yesterday. I kinda guessed you read it."
"So, why did I feel Seifer?"
"You don't want to know."
"You're pregnant?"
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Raven smirked. "All the wonderfulness of me will cancel out the idiot of him."
"Anything else I need to know?"
"I know about your mom."
"How?"
"Vision."
"Oh…" Terra looked at her longtime partner and smiled. "Do you think that we can stand each other?"
Raven stoically looked at her and said, "of course not. I'll probably have killed you within a week. It's not like you could actually kill me."
Terra laughed and the two knew that they could get through anything.
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"Blast it! Aris, look at this!" the ghost-like form floated to her counterpart.
"What is it, sister?" she peered into the globe. "Is this true? They will get along?'
"Yes, it is. This next time, we attack the older. I want her power now!" the entire place shook as they watched Raven heal the scars on Terra's arms. When angered, Adel could do so much- she simply couldn't control that anger and she let it get the best of her.
"Hush, sister. You're next. You're next." Aris cackled slightly as she thought of the things they could do once Raven was under their control.
"Aris?"
"Hm?"
"Is Raven pregnant?"
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Terra's P.O.V.
"Stand each other, my ass!" I screamed as she left. "Who the hell does she think she is, trying to play nice girl after all she's done to me? She thinks she can atone now?"
And who was she? Not only to try to get me to forgive her, but for being as cocky as she always was with that remark about killing me within a week. She knew good and well that I could kill anybody I wanted to – including her. I was a first-class match for her, and she knew it, no matter how much she gloated. Arrogant bitch.
I knew that soon she would be causing me stress again. It was a good thing I was such a good actress, or I'd never get through this "truce".
I was determined to get through whatever she wanted, and then stay away from her. She was being a goody-two-shoes now, but only because Hecate wanted her to. After this she would be hellish to me once more. Well, Raven could heal all the physical scars on my body, but she could never heal the emotional ones. Never.
She didn't even bother to take the razor. It was still there, by the sink, waiting for me. Waiting to slice my wretched flesh apart, into a piece of art so twisted it was almost beautiful.
I sighed as I picked it up. Time to start all over again . . . but I didn't mind. Raven actually did me a service by giving me more room for my cuts.
And no matter how many times Hecate wanted Raven to take razors or knives away, I would always find something to release my sorrows with. Ingenuity had always been a gift of mine. I was determined to use it.
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Raven's P.O.V.
Cutting herself again?
"Damn it! Why does she persist in doing this? Why?"
I clenched my fists as a picture played in my head of her sit on the floor in the bathroom, letting the blood trickle down her arms. After I had just so graciously healed the cuts for her?
"She never gives up, does she?" I crossed my arms and growled as I continued to watch her. "I should probably just let that ungrateful brat do what she wants. I should have known she wouldn't accept my truce so easily."
My hatred of her was beginning once again to boil up. Why was I denying it? Like a truce would chase away my feelings about her? We hated each other – no use trying to reject it now.
Once this mission was done, our loathing of each other was official again. Witches Three, so what? Just because we were partners didn't mean we had to be friends. We never were.
"Raven?"
I looked around to see Squall standing behind me. "Yeah, what do you want?"
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing, just that Terra has decided not to pay attention to me once again, as she always does. I try to make a truce, and she flat out refutes it once my back is turned. And now she's taking up the razor once again and slicing her arm to pieces."
He sighed sadly. "She's destroying herself."
"She's been destroyed. A piece of rich trash since the beginning, if you ask me. Spoiled to the bone –"
Next thing I knew, the wind was knocked out of me faster than a speeding bullet as Squall grabbed me and pushed me against the wall.
He looked at me with fire in his eyes as I struggled to break free. "Geez, what the hell's your problem?"
"It's comments like yours that destroyed her, not the fact that she just happens to be better off than your jealous ass!" he shouted. "You and others like you wounded her day after day after day! And then you wonder why she's so damned depressed!"
"Let me go!" I cried.
He released his grip and watched me slide to the ground, his gaze still hard as steel. "I'm going over there to get her out before she wastes away. She won't come out of there otherwise. And I don't blame her, either, as long as it keeps her away from people like you. Unless you want to come with me – or do you have too many problems of your own to deal with?"
"Damn you. Help me up already and I'll come with you, you son of a bitch."
"You're a bitch, too. Join the club. At least I have a concept of what humility means."
He took my hand and helped me up, and we walked down the hall to Quistis's dorm. "We'd better round up the others, too," I said. "If I know Terra as well as I think I do, it'll take a lot of work to get her out."
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Zelda: Finally finished. God, this is why I can't stand joint chapters. Anyway, have fun reviewing. The next chapter is very sad . . . take a box of Kleenex with you, because it gets intense. Better get ready! Wait, no . . . sorry, too much Outlaw Star for me. We'll try again . . . see you, space cowboys! No, that's from Cowboy Bebop . . . damn it!
VAMP QUEEN: Oy, everyone in here seems to hate Raven. Hey, I thought the joint chapters were a joint idea! Oh, well. Next it's Zelly's turn.
So review!