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I suppose here's the next chapter. I'm proud of this chapter, especially
the ending.
Chapter Seven: One word comes to mind
Yuna was very stunned, at the news. She was lost for words, staring into the deadly eyes of the Guado who was her deceased Husband's little brother. But, how could that be? Didn't Seymour's Mother die so long ago? But the resemblance was so uncanny.
"So," he said clearly, but in a plain tone. "I suppose that makes you my sister in a way?" Yuna nodded, and gulped when she noticed him slowly reaching for his spear. His fingers graced the wooden outside of his weapon, down to the metal tip where plenty of fresh blood still dripped to the ground.
"You know," he continued in the same slow, menacing tone. "You may be a relative, or whatever you want to call it, but I'm holding quite a grudge against you. I never got to see my brother much, and thanks to you, I don't get to see him at all anymore."
His spear rose up and the tip held up Yuna's chin, but she didn't move. Rhett was still ready to attack should anything happen, and Rikku was just as shocked of the news. At first, the Guado's eyes were focused on hers, examining every bit of her smooth skin, but then it darted downwards towards her chest, where she still held baby Kaikou. A sinister smile appeared on his face.
"You know, I may not have to kill you to get my revenge, Yuna," he said. Then while everyone was distracted in the sudden moment of silence he had grabbed Kaikou from out of her arms and held the baby by her small neck, placing the spear near the baby as well. Rikku's angered flared and was about to lung at the Guado, but thought better of it when he put the tip of the spear closer towards Kaikou's throat. The baby flailed around and was screaming loudly, but he seemed to take no notice of it. All he saw was the frightened look in Yuna's eyes, the look of fear, the look that said she was about to cry.
"See? There are better ways to hurt you," the grin on his face deepened. He turned around, stuffing Kaikou in an oversized brown leather bag at his side. He started to walk of in the direction of Guadosalom, but then stopped. "Oh yes. Where are my manners today? I stole your child, pointed a bloodied spear at your throat, but most important of all, I forgot to tell my dear sister my name."
He turned back around for only a couple of seconds, saying, "I am the young leader of the Guado, Yenvie Guado." With that he turned and left, leaving a sobbing Rikku behind.
"Oh," Lakki said pointing up at the young man in the chair. "So you're the King! He's not ol- "A glare from Forest quieted him down.
The young boy looked up at the King, who was much younger than he suspected, and definitely not fat. He was thin and well built, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. The young child's eyes drifted to his chained necklace, silver and shiny, and he instantly recognized it.
"Hey! My Aunt Yuna has the same necklace as you!"
The King's eyes lit up with happiness, as if the words brought back the greatest of memories.
"Really?" he said. Lakki was about to start again when Forest interrupted, bowing down a little and blushing before she spoke.
"Pardon me, your highness," she said, leaning her body forward and letting her hair slip over her shoulders. She looked down towards the ground. "But this boy, Lakki, probably does not know what he is talking about. He has been a little delusional as I have observed under my care over the past hours, and may be mistaking some things as others."
"You think so?" The King sounded doubtful as he raised an eyebrow. But he ignored Forest and turned back to Lakki, who was busy entertaining himself by looking up at the ceiling with a distant look in his face. The King's words brought him back. "And what's your Aunt's name? I don't think anybody has the same chain as me."
"Auntie Yuna!" Lakki shouted, hopping up and down. "She's nice, and pretty, and. and. she's smart! And pretty too! It's true!"
"Lakki," Forest whispered, kneeling down to his height and looking him in the eyes. She started to talk to him as quietly as she could so no one else could hear. "Is lady Yuna really your Aunt?" Lakki smiled.
"Uh-uh, nope. Mommy said she's just her and Daddy's friend. They were friends even before I was born! That's a long time ago!"
"Excuse me."
Both heads turned to the King, whose face was brightly lit up with happiness. His grin which Lakki noticed was always plastered on his face had grown twice as large, and his eyes looked like they were on the verge of tears. It didn't look like he was going to cry for sad reasons, though; the atmosphere seemed too cheerful to make anything sad of it.
"Do you know Auntie Yuna?" Lakki asked, ignoring Forests' pleas to stay quiet. She was still kneeling down in the same position as before, and only her face had ever changed direction. Her eyes would constantly shift between the two young men, but she never truly made eye contact. After Lakki had asked his question, the King nodded, and the first tear fell down his cheek.
"Yeah," he replied. He stood up momentarily and walked up to Lakki and bent his knees to match the young child's height so they were eye to eye. Forest turned away, her face turning an incredible deep shade of red, and she stood up and walked by the entrance door where Auron was. Then the King continued again.
"I knew Yuna a lot," he said. "She was the most important person in the world to me, and nothing could ever change that. I wanted to have a life with her after our fight with Sin, but I had to go if Sin was going to die forever. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the ones you love."
"What's 'Sarifice'?"
"Sacrifice. It means you have to give up something in order to get something else. In this case, I had to die in order for Sin to die."
"Oh. What's Sin?" The King laughed.
"She never even told you that? Sin was a creature that was killing of the world little by little. It was Yuna's job to use her life to stop him, but after a while he would only come back. I didn't want her to die, so I used my life to stop him forever. That's why he isn't around today."
"Oh. Nope, Auntie Yuna never told me that. She said there was a man she really liked though. She misses him a lot, and she used to cry. But she doesn't anymore. His name was Tidus! And.. and... Hey, I bet that was you!"
The King laughed again, ruffling his hand through Lakki's black hair. "Can't get anything past you, can we? I'll have to watch what I say or you'll know everything."
"Yup!" Lakki said proudly, giggling. He was so happy he found the person Yuna loved more than anything, the one and only Tidus. It was such luck that he was meeting famous people like him. He also like Tidus a lot, and thought he was the perfect person for Yuna to love. It sounded like the King loved her back just as much too.
"Say Lakki," Tidus started. "Who're your parents? You look like one of our old friends, but I can't really see her as the Mother, even is she is a little motherly, truth be told."
"Daddy's name is Wakka! And my Mommy is Lulu, but she said she doesn't like it when I say their names. She says she likes it when call her Mommy, and Daddy says the same thing. I love them a lot, and they said they love me too!"
"They must really love you for you to not act like your Mom. She's a great person, but she can be moody. You're just a happy little guy, aren't you?" Lakki nodded, agreeing with The King's remark about his Mother. Sometimes she got very angry over silly things, but it would always be either him or Wakka that made her smile again.
"Your Highness!" Forest interrupted, clearly sounding a little agitated. "I am sorry for this, but we came here to discuss about what happens after death, if you do not mind."
Tidus frowned, standing back up. "Oh yeah," he muttered, stifling a small yawn from a sudden boredom. "Yeah, that. I don't think he needs to know about some of the bad things about being dead. He'll learn eventually, I guess. Besides, it's getting late, and the tournament starts in about the half hour."
Forest pulled back the sleeve of her blouse and around her wrist was a strange contraption Lakki had never seen before. It was like a band, only a remarkable silver and in the center there was a circle with moving lines. She took a momentary glance and her hands clasped on her cheeks as she gasped.
"Oh my Goodness!" she screeched. "It is almost time! I must go; Valefor and I are two of the contestants, your highness."
"Go ahead, I have to head there too. Auron, me and my old man are in it too, so we'll catch up later."
"You have a Daddy?" Lakki asked, after Forest left with Auron not too far behind. "Then how come you're a King? You're Daddy is supposed to be. That's what Mommy said."
"Yeah, I know," Tidus shrugged as if it didn't matter, but he answered anyway. "I don't know why they call mw the King, or why they gave me such a lame title, but I'm too used to it now to change it. Come on, you should go to bed. One of the soldiers will lead you to your room."
Lakki nodded, suddenly feeling a wave of sleepiness come over him. He yawned loudly, not even bothering to cover his mouth (even though he knew it would be something Forest would find rude), and he waited for a soldier to come by. Tidus left and behind him came a man with dark skin and rough shoulder-length hair. His eyes were a very dark brown but soft, and on his chest was the same symbol as the one on Tidus and Yuna's chain necklace.
"See you, Lakki," Tidus said with a wave. But before he left he said," This is my old man, by the way. The guard will be here in a minute."
When the two left, the guards that stood by the large chair The King sat on left and followed the two, leaving Lakki alone in the large room. He sat down on the floor, looking around curiously to see if there was anything he previously didn't notice before. There wasn't anything that looked too unusual in the room. The simple red carpet that led to the chair and the hallway were the only things in there. Nothing too flattering. Then he noticed that the chair pushed off the wall a little bit and his curiosity took control again; usually furniture didn't stick out like that, and who knows? He might find something behind it.
Lakki stood up again and took his steps as quietly as he could so no one could hear. He hoped the guard would come during his search and he wouldn't get into trouble. Whenever he got in trouble at his home, his Mother would be very strict and he couldn't imagine what either Forest or Auron would say if he were in trouble here. He looked behind the chair, and found it was wedged open enough that he could squeeze through.
He went behind the chair, and even though he could feel the wall and the chair push him, he wasn't afraid. Most of his friends thought that when walls were so small they would grow smaller when someone was inside until you were smashed. But not him; he thought that was silly.
"What's that?"
He looked a little bit in front of him, and covered only halfway by the chair was a perfectly round circle, that looked like it led deep into the ground. As much as he wanted to see what was down there, he wouldn't be able to wedge down the half-circle without the other half under the chair. For a second he decided to turn back, but then he heard a far off voice speak to him...
"Why are you giving up so easily?" It was that voice again. That same gorgeous, alluring, and yet frightening voice. It was the same voice that led him to the Temple, the same one that haunted him in his dream before death. Now it was with him again, and it sounded more alive than ever.
"Aren't you going to set me free? If you do, you will receive a great reward. A prize many would desire. Should my son not pay his respects to his dear Mother now?"
"Huh?" Lakki said, crawling as best he could near the hole and looking down into it. It was like a black endless pit. "But you're not my Mommy. You don't sound like her."
"Come, and I'll prove that you are my child, indeed."
"But I can't. I'm too big for the hole."
"Try."
Lakki obeyed the feminine voice, and tried his best to fit through the half circle. It was much easier than he thought to do it, and he first put his feet in like he always did. It felt like they were being pulled down to the bottom, and suddenly he was scared of what could really be down there. But still, he wondered. Fitting himself in the hole so only his fingers held the ring, he waited for a few moments, then let go.
Lakki slid down the tunnel at an amazing speed, and everything that passed by him seemed like a blur. It was like a rush of air was blowing in his face and he could help but yell at the top of his lungs with thrill. Yuna once told him about something the Al Bhed tried to build called a 'Roller Coaster'... could this be how one of them felt like?
But just as soon as the thrill came, it seemed to stop. He hit a cold steel floor with a 'thud', landing right on his bottom. It only took a few seconds to recover, and before him was a room that was lined up with round cases. Each had a small round window, and they were in three rows from the left and right of some stairs. At the top of the stairs was a small door.
"Wow," Lakki muttered, walking towards the steps. Then a thought occurred to him. "I think I've seen this place before... but how? Mommy and Daddy never took me to any place like this."
As Lakki continued up the dirty and dusty stairs he could feel constant beats pounding in his chest, faster and faster, going on and on. But he didn't seem scared. He barely had a conscience to tell him to be scared. When he reached the tall steel door, he pressed his ear against it and pulled back at the sudden cold sting. It reminded him of the cold silver objects the man in the white coat used.
He shivered inwardly, clearly remembering the nightmare he had only a few days ago. Everything about it was all so clear, the light, the needle, and the Jenova Cells. No image stood out on it's own until he remembered the pain that shot through his body when the needle was jabbed into his throat. Nothing had ever hurt like that before. It felt so real; it was almost like a memory. Almost.
"I'm waiting, my dear son."
Lakki's vision of the dream blurred in an instant when he heard the cold whisper of the woman again. It was close, too close for comfort. He dared himself to press his ear against the wall again, and this time he ignored the cold and heard a faint murmur behind it. He started to feel light headed.
"Can you come through yet? Can you move the door?"
"No," Lakki replied softly, leaning against the door for support on his abruptly weak legs. It was the same feeling he had when he first woke up after the Temple, when he was told he had a fever. Was he sick again? Was it possible for the dead to get sick?
"My, my, boy. Have you grown weak over these past five years? You're voice sounds so much different than before. Much higher."
"Who are you? Are you the lady that keeps talking to me?"
"My child, you don't remember your own Mother?"
Mother? That wasn't his Mother. She didn't even sounds like her in the slightest bit. Lulu couldn't even come here to the Farplane, and she wouldn't be able to lure him out of his sleeps with mere words. Who was this woman? How could she even say that she was his Mother, when he knew perfectly well who Lulu was?
"You're doubting me, aren't you?"
Lakki shook his head, although he knew the woman couldn't see him. "I don't know what that means."
"You've also lost your sense of intelligence."
Intelligence. He only heard that word a few time before. His Mother used it, and so did Chekkre few times. It had something to do with how smart you were, and if the woman said he lost it, she must have said he was dim.
"I'm not stupid!" Lakki shot back through the wall. "And you're not my Mommy! My Mommy sounds much different!"
"I don't understand," her voice started to sound sad. "Why have you changed so much? I'll open the door. I want to see my son with my own eyes."
Lakki jumped back as the steel door came to life, and lifted slowly. Deep inside, Lakki was disgusted by what this woman was doing. How could she say things like that? But still, he wanted to see what this woman looked like. Lulu said never to talk to strangers, but look what it's done to him so far? So far he's met a girl with a bird named Valefor, and even one of Yuna's closest friends. What's one more time at breaking those old rules?
When the door came up fully, he saw standing right before him a woman with a heavy brown cloak that covered her whole body from head to toe, with the exception of her face and her arms. Her skin was a light shade of blue, and like himself, she had glowing red eyes. When she saw Lakki, she kneeled down and let one of her thin and frail looking hands caress his cheek. As badly as he wanted to pull back, something inside him kept him nailed to the spot, just staring at the sympathetic smile on the woman's pale lips.
"You don't even look like yourself anymore," she said in a heavily saddened tone. "Why? You are small instead of tall; your eyes are large and red instead of narrow and green; your face is round and childish instead of long and handsome. But I know you are there. I can still see you."
Even in the dim light Lakki could see a tear roll down her cheek. This wasn't a joke. She was being serious. What was going on.
"I didn't want to believe it," she continued on, slowly pulling him into a hug and letting his head rest on her fully clothed chest. She stroked his hair and he listened willfully. He still couldn't understand why. "I truly didn't want to believe it. But you really did. When you fought them five years ago, you really did die."
".I.did?"
"You don't remember anything, do you? You were born again, weren't you? Please, for my sake, please at least remember the name those wretched scientists gave to you. The woman who claimed to be your Mother so long ago. That woman Lucrecia. Please, at least remember that name for me."
Lakki searched through his mind as hard as he could, obeying the woman's request. She didn't seem bad at all. She really thought that he was her son. Did he really die? When he thought as best he could to find what she wanted, only one word came to mind:
"Seph. Sephir.Sephiroth."
YES! Finally some reviews! *does review dance* I'm so glad! And more than one too!
Rosaliamendoza: Naw, you don't have to feel sorry for me. Some get reviews, and some don't, but I'll of course keep writing no matter what. But that's cute, how you said it was worth 500 hundred. *Has over 500 reviews now* ^_^
Alan Bates: Yup that's me! Low on action, high on suspense, or whatever you want to call it. I'm not good at action scenes AT ALL, so I just try and leave them out more often than not while at the same time trying to keep the overall plot interesting. Thanks for the compliment on the characters too! That one in particular means a lot! I really wanted to make characters that blended in with the old ones. I've read a lot of stories with characters that didn't seem to match with the others and it bothered me. I also wanted to alter the personalities of some of the other characters a bit (Like Rikku and Yuna's, if you noticed) because I knew that they probably wouldn't be the same after what they've been through. Hopefully the little twist in this chapter (that will be later explained, of course) will really get you.
DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW PLEASE! (
Yuna was very stunned, at the news. She was lost for words, staring into the deadly eyes of the Guado who was her deceased Husband's little brother. But, how could that be? Didn't Seymour's Mother die so long ago? But the resemblance was so uncanny.
"So," he said clearly, but in a plain tone. "I suppose that makes you my sister in a way?" Yuna nodded, and gulped when she noticed him slowly reaching for his spear. His fingers graced the wooden outside of his weapon, down to the metal tip where plenty of fresh blood still dripped to the ground.
"You know," he continued in the same slow, menacing tone. "You may be a relative, or whatever you want to call it, but I'm holding quite a grudge against you. I never got to see my brother much, and thanks to you, I don't get to see him at all anymore."
His spear rose up and the tip held up Yuna's chin, but she didn't move. Rhett was still ready to attack should anything happen, and Rikku was just as shocked of the news. At first, the Guado's eyes were focused on hers, examining every bit of her smooth skin, but then it darted downwards towards her chest, where she still held baby Kaikou. A sinister smile appeared on his face.
"You know, I may not have to kill you to get my revenge, Yuna," he said. Then while everyone was distracted in the sudden moment of silence he had grabbed Kaikou from out of her arms and held the baby by her small neck, placing the spear near the baby as well. Rikku's angered flared and was about to lung at the Guado, but thought better of it when he put the tip of the spear closer towards Kaikou's throat. The baby flailed around and was screaming loudly, but he seemed to take no notice of it. All he saw was the frightened look in Yuna's eyes, the look of fear, the look that said she was about to cry.
"See? There are better ways to hurt you," the grin on his face deepened. He turned around, stuffing Kaikou in an oversized brown leather bag at his side. He started to walk of in the direction of Guadosalom, but then stopped. "Oh yes. Where are my manners today? I stole your child, pointed a bloodied spear at your throat, but most important of all, I forgot to tell my dear sister my name."
He turned back around for only a couple of seconds, saying, "I am the young leader of the Guado, Yenvie Guado." With that he turned and left, leaving a sobbing Rikku behind.
"Oh," Lakki said pointing up at the young man in the chair. "So you're the King! He's not ol- "A glare from Forest quieted him down.
The young boy looked up at the King, who was much younger than he suspected, and definitely not fat. He was thin and well built, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. The young child's eyes drifted to his chained necklace, silver and shiny, and he instantly recognized it.
"Hey! My Aunt Yuna has the same necklace as you!"
The King's eyes lit up with happiness, as if the words brought back the greatest of memories.
"Really?" he said. Lakki was about to start again when Forest interrupted, bowing down a little and blushing before she spoke.
"Pardon me, your highness," she said, leaning her body forward and letting her hair slip over her shoulders. She looked down towards the ground. "But this boy, Lakki, probably does not know what he is talking about. He has been a little delusional as I have observed under my care over the past hours, and may be mistaking some things as others."
"You think so?" The King sounded doubtful as he raised an eyebrow. But he ignored Forest and turned back to Lakki, who was busy entertaining himself by looking up at the ceiling with a distant look in his face. The King's words brought him back. "And what's your Aunt's name? I don't think anybody has the same chain as me."
"Auntie Yuna!" Lakki shouted, hopping up and down. "She's nice, and pretty, and. and. she's smart! And pretty too! It's true!"
"Lakki," Forest whispered, kneeling down to his height and looking him in the eyes. She started to talk to him as quietly as she could so no one else could hear. "Is lady Yuna really your Aunt?" Lakki smiled.
"Uh-uh, nope. Mommy said she's just her and Daddy's friend. They were friends even before I was born! That's a long time ago!"
"Excuse me."
Both heads turned to the King, whose face was brightly lit up with happiness. His grin which Lakki noticed was always plastered on his face had grown twice as large, and his eyes looked like they were on the verge of tears. It didn't look like he was going to cry for sad reasons, though; the atmosphere seemed too cheerful to make anything sad of it.
"Do you know Auntie Yuna?" Lakki asked, ignoring Forests' pleas to stay quiet. She was still kneeling down in the same position as before, and only her face had ever changed direction. Her eyes would constantly shift between the two young men, but she never truly made eye contact. After Lakki had asked his question, the King nodded, and the first tear fell down his cheek.
"Yeah," he replied. He stood up momentarily and walked up to Lakki and bent his knees to match the young child's height so they were eye to eye. Forest turned away, her face turning an incredible deep shade of red, and she stood up and walked by the entrance door where Auron was. Then the King continued again.
"I knew Yuna a lot," he said. "She was the most important person in the world to me, and nothing could ever change that. I wanted to have a life with her after our fight with Sin, but I had to go if Sin was going to die forever. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the ones you love."
"What's 'Sarifice'?"
"Sacrifice. It means you have to give up something in order to get something else. In this case, I had to die in order for Sin to die."
"Oh. What's Sin?" The King laughed.
"She never even told you that? Sin was a creature that was killing of the world little by little. It was Yuna's job to use her life to stop him, but after a while he would only come back. I didn't want her to die, so I used my life to stop him forever. That's why he isn't around today."
"Oh. Nope, Auntie Yuna never told me that. She said there was a man she really liked though. She misses him a lot, and she used to cry. But she doesn't anymore. His name was Tidus! And.. and... Hey, I bet that was you!"
The King laughed again, ruffling his hand through Lakki's black hair. "Can't get anything past you, can we? I'll have to watch what I say or you'll know everything."
"Yup!" Lakki said proudly, giggling. He was so happy he found the person Yuna loved more than anything, the one and only Tidus. It was such luck that he was meeting famous people like him. He also like Tidus a lot, and thought he was the perfect person for Yuna to love. It sounded like the King loved her back just as much too.
"Say Lakki," Tidus started. "Who're your parents? You look like one of our old friends, but I can't really see her as the Mother, even is she is a little motherly, truth be told."
"Daddy's name is Wakka! And my Mommy is Lulu, but she said she doesn't like it when I say their names. She says she likes it when call her Mommy, and Daddy says the same thing. I love them a lot, and they said they love me too!"
"They must really love you for you to not act like your Mom. She's a great person, but she can be moody. You're just a happy little guy, aren't you?" Lakki nodded, agreeing with The King's remark about his Mother. Sometimes she got very angry over silly things, but it would always be either him or Wakka that made her smile again.
"Your Highness!" Forest interrupted, clearly sounding a little agitated. "I am sorry for this, but we came here to discuss about what happens after death, if you do not mind."
Tidus frowned, standing back up. "Oh yeah," he muttered, stifling a small yawn from a sudden boredom. "Yeah, that. I don't think he needs to know about some of the bad things about being dead. He'll learn eventually, I guess. Besides, it's getting late, and the tournament starts in about the half hour."
Forest pulled back the sleeve of her blouse and around her wrist was a strange contraption Lakki had never seen before. It was like a band, only a remarkable silver and in the center there was a circle with moving lines. She took a momentary glance and her hands clasped on her cheeks as she gasped.
"Oh my Goodness!" she screeched. "It is almost time! I must go; Valefor and I are two of the contestants, your highness."
"Go ahead, I have to head there too. Auron, me and my old man are in it too, so we'll catch up later."
"You have a Daddy?" Lakki asked, after Forest left with Auron not too far behind. "Then how come you're a King? You're Daddy is supposed to be. That's what Mommy said."
"Yeah, I know," Tidus shrugged as if it didn't matter, but he answered anyway. "I don't know why they call mw the King, or why they gave me such a lame title, but I'm too used to it now to change it. Come on, you should go to bed. One of the soldiers will lead you to your room."
Lakki nodded, suddenly feeling a wave of sleepiness come over him. He yawned loudly, not even bothering to cover his mouth (even though he knew it would be something Forest would find rude), and he waited for a soldier to come by. Tidus left and behind him came a man with dark skin and rough shoulder-length hair. His eyes were a very dark brown but soft, and on his chest was the same symbol as the one on Tidus and Yuna's chain necklace.
"See you, Lakki," Tidus said with a wave. But before he left he said," This is my old man, by the way. The guard will be here in a minute."
When the two left, the guards that stood by the large chair The King sat on left and followed the two, leaving Lakki alone in the large room. He sat down on the floor, looking around curiously to see if there was anything he previously didn't notice before. There wasn't anything that looked too unusual in the room. The simple red carpet that led to the chair and the hallway were the only things in there. Nothing too flattering. Then he noticed that the chair pushed off the wall a little bit and his curiosity took control again; usually furniture didn't stick out like that, and who knows? He might find something behind it.
Lakki stood up again and took his steps as quietly as he could so no one could hear. He hoped the guard would come during his search and he wouldn't get into trouble. Whenever he got in trouble at his home, his Mother would be very strict and he couldn't imagine what either Forest or Auron would say if he were in trouble here. He looked behind the chair, and found it was wedged open enough that he could squeeze through.
He went behind the chair, and even though he could feel the wall and the chair push him, he wasn't afraid. Most of his friends thought that when walls were so small they would grow smaller when someone was inside until you were smashed. But not him; he thought that was silly.
"What's that?"
He looked a little bit in front of him, and covered only halfway by the chair was a perfectly round circle, that looked like it led deep into the ground. As much as he wanted to see what was down there, he wouldn't be able to wedge down the half-circle without the other half under the chair. For a second he decided to turn back, but then he heard a far off voice speak to him...
"Why are you giving up so easily?" It was that voice again. That same gorgeous, alluring, and yet frightening voice. It was the same voice that led him to the Temple, the same one that haunted him in his dream before death. Now it was with him again, and it sounded more alive than ever.
"Aren't you going to set me free? If you do, you will receive a great reward. A prize many would desire. Should my son not pay his respects to his dear Mother now?"
"Huh?" Lakki said, crawling as best he could near the hole and looking down into it. It was like a black endless pit. "But you're not my Mommy. You don't sound like her."
"Come, and I'll prove that you are my child, indeed."
"But I can't. I'm too big for the hole."
"Try."
Lakki obeyed the feminine voice, and tried his best to fit through the half circle. It was much easier than he thought to do it, and he first put his feet in like he always did. It felt like they were being pulled down to the bottom, and suddenly he was scared of what could really be down there. But still, he wondered. Fitting himself in the hole so only his fingers held the ring, he waited for a few moments, then let go.
Lakki slid down the tunnel at an amazing speed, and everything that passed by him seemed like a blur. It was like a rush of air was blowing in his face and he could help but yell at the top of his lungs with thrill. Yuna once told him about something the Al Bhed tried to build called a 'Roller Coaster'... could this be how one of them felt like?
But just as soon as the thrill came, it seemed to stop. He hit a cold steel floor with a 'thud', landing right on his bottom. It only took a few seconds to recover, and before him was a room that was lined up with round cases. Each had a small round window, and they were in three rows from the left and right of some stairs. At the top of the stairs was a small door.
"Wow," Lakki muttered, walking towards the steps. Then a thought occurred to him. "I think I've seen this place before... but how? Mommy and Daddy never took me to any place like this."
As Lakki continued up the dirty and dusty stairs he could feel constant beats pounding in his chest, faster and faster, going on and on. But he didn't seem scared. He barely had a conscience to tell him to be scared. When he reached the tall steel door, he pressed his ear against it and pulled back at the sudden cold sting. It reminded him of the cold silver objects the man in the white coat used.
He shivered inwardly, clearly remembering the nightmare he had only a few days ago. Everything about it was all so clear, the light, the needle, and the Jenova Cells. No image stood out on it's own until he remembered the pain that shot through his body when the needle was jabbed into his throat. Nothing had ever hurt like that before. It felt so real; it was almost like a memory. Almost.
"I'm waiting, my dear son."
Lakki's vision of the dream blurred in an instant when he heard the cold whisper of the woman again. It was close, too close for comfort. He dared himself to press his ear against the wall again, and this time he ignored the cold and heard a faint murmur behind it. He started to feel light headed.
"Can you come through yet? Can you move the door?"
"No," Lakki replied softly, leaning against the door for support on his abruptly weak legs. It was the same feeling he had when he first woke up after the Temple, when he was told he had a fever. Was he sick again? Was it possible for the dead to get sick?
"My, my, boy. Have you grown weak over these past five years? You're voice sounds so much different than before. Much higher."
"Who are you? Are you the lady that keeps talking to me?"
"My child, you don't remember your own Mother?"
Mother? That wasn't his Mother. She didn't even sounds like her in the slightest bit. Lulu couldn't even come here to the Farplane, and she wouldn't be able to lure him out of his sleeps with mere words. Who was this woman? How could she even say that she was his Mother, when he knew perfectly well who Lulu was?
"You're doubting me, aren't you?"
Lakki shook his head, although he knew the woman couldn't see him. "I don't know what that means."
"You've also lost your sense of intelligence."
Intelligence. He only heard that word a few time before. His Mother used it, and so did Chekkre few times. It had something to do with how smart you were, and if the woman said he lost it, she must have said he was dim.
"I'm not stupid!" Lakki shot back through the wall. "And you're not my Mommy! My Mommy sounds much different!"
"I don't understand," her voice started to sound sad. "Why have you changed so much? I'll open the door. I want to see my son with my own eyes."
Lakki jumped back as the steel door came to life, and lifted slowly. Deep inside, Lakki was disgusted by what this woman was doing. How could she say things like that? But still, he wanted to see what this woman looked like. Lulu said never to talk to strangers, but look what it's done to him so far? So far he's met a girl with a bird named Valefor, and even one of Yuna's closest friends. What's one more time at breaking those old rules?
When the door came up fully, he saw standing right before him a woman with a heavy brown cloak that covered her whole body from head to toe, with the exception of her face and her arms. Her skin was a light shade of blue, and like himself, she had glowing red eyes. When she saw Lakki, she kneeled down and let one of her thin and frail looking hands caress his cheek. As badly as he wanted to pull back, something inside him kept him nailed to the spot, just staring at the sympathetic smile on the woman's pale lips.
"You don't even look like yourself anymore," she said in a heavily saddened tone. "Why? You are small instead of tall; your eyes are large and red instead of narrow and green; your face is round and childish instead of long and handsome. But I know you are there. I can still see you."
Even in the dim light Lakki could see a tear roll down her cheek. This wasn't a joke. She was being serious. What was going on.
"I didn't want to believe it," she continued on, slowly pulling him into a hug and letting his head rest on her fully clothed chest. She stroked his hair and he listened willfully. He still couldn't understand why. "I truly didn't want to believe it. But you really did. When you fought them five years ago, you really did die."
".I.did?"
"You don't remember anything, do you? You were born again, weren't you? Please, for my sake, please at least remember the name those wretched scientists gave to you. The woman who claimed to be your Mother so long ago. That woman Lucrecia. Please, at least remember that name for me."
Lakki searched through his mind as hard as he could, obeying the woman's request. She didn't seem bad at all. She really thought that he was her son. Did he really die? When he thought as best he could to find what she wanted, only one word came to mind:
"Seph. Sephir.Sephiroth."
YES! Finally some reviews! *does review dance* I'm so glad! And more than one too!
Rosaliamendoza: Naw, you don't have to feel sorry for me. Some get reviews, and some don't, but I'll of course keep writing no matter what. But that's cute, how you said it was worth 500 hundred. *Has over 500 reviews now* ^_^
Alan Bates: Yup that's me! Low on action, high on suspense, or whatever you want to call it. I'm not good at action scenes AT ALL, so I just try and leave them out more often than not while at the same time trying to keep the overall plot interesting. Thanks for the compliment on the characters too! That one in particular means a lot! I really wanted to make characters that blended in with the old ones. I've read a lot of stories with characters that didn't seem to match with the others and it bothered me. I also wanted to alter the personalities of some of the other characters a bit (Like Rikku and Yuna's, if you noticed) because I knew that they probably wouldn't be the same after what they've been through. Hopefully the little twist in this chapter (that will be later explained, of course) will really get you.
DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW PLEASE! (