Chapter 3: Forgotten memories - Dark Plans
Selphie woke up. She yawned and stretched in her bed. The, she lazily opened her eyes and faced the ray of sunlight that woke her up. She got up and went to the bathroom. Before she could turn on the light, she stepped on something soft and heard a scream. She quickly turned on the light, ready to react if needed. To her surprise, the intruder was…
"Caesar!" she exclaimed as she saw her little dragon friend lick his tail in pain. "Sorry about your tail…but, whatcha doing in my bathroom?"
"Ouch…I can't sleep in the Training Center anymore. It's way too noisy and I'm in danger of being eaten! And bathrooms are much safer because when I snore I blow fireballs…" Selphie giggled and knelt down to pat her friend's head.
"Poor Caesar! I'm ok with you sleepin' in my bathroom, but don't get in the way!" Soon, she got dressed, picked up her nunchaku, and with Caesar flittering all around her, headed to the Cafeteria. Caesar had grown a bit bigger lately; he reached Angelo in size. In another month or so, he would reach the size of a horse and would be twice as strong. His horns had also grown a little too, and had turned into a darker red. He was the first dragon to be a SeeD. His exam was very soon, and he was training hard. When they got at the Cafeteria, Selphie took a sandwich and an apple juice and Caesar ordered his hot-dogs. They started looking for the others.
"Hey Selph! Caesar! Over here!" Zell said a little louder and waved his hand up so they could see him. "Ah-ha! There they are!" Selphie thought. They went over. Zell was devouring his hot-dogs, as usual; Irvine was eating a sandwich; Seifer was drinking coffee and Squall was having a juice and was sharing a sandwich with Rinoa who was enjoying a cup of cocoa milk.
"Hi guys!" Selphie said while sitting down.
"Mornin' babe! Heya Caesar!" Irvine said.
"Where's Quisty?" Selphie asked looking all around for her friend.
"Oh, Cid wanted to see her…She should be here soon…" Seifer replied slightly red. It was a common secret that Seifer had a crush on Quistis…
"Caesar, you ready for your exam on Friday?" Rinoa asked the little dragon.
"I'm always ready!" he exclaimed taking another gulp of his hot-dog. "Now that my fangs are poisonous, I'm sure I can take on anyone!!!"
"Hhmm…I wonder what Cid wanted Quistis for…" Squall said drinking some more of his juice. Everyone agreed with that. Just then, Quistis turned up.
"Hi everyone! Selphie, Irvine I got news for you. Cid wants you to go over to Galbadia on a little mission."
"Oh, really?" Selphie said lifting her eyebrows in surprise. "Why only us?"
"I don't know…It appears that a monster is attacking the herds of the Buff-Tauruses at the Solity Canyon. The farm owners are in disgrace…" Selphie had a brief idea what a Buff-Taurus was, but she hadn't seen one up close. They were a breed of heavy, two-headed buffaloes with dark brown hide. They were raised for their meat and milk production. Selphie sighed.
"Oh, ok. We'll go…sheez and we were planning of going to Deling for fun…Hey Caesar, wanna come along?" Irvine said. The dragon was delighted.
" Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, I do!" he exclaimed. Then he burped, letting a small ball of smoke out of his mouth. "Oops…sorry…"
"Selphie, which GFs are you taking along?" Squall asked her.
"Um…I guess I'll take Diablos and Viper…"
"You Irvine?"
"I'll take Bahamut and Alexander…"
"Caesar?"
"Maybe Ifrit and Shiva."
"Uh…Sorry Caesar, I'll be needing Ifrit today…I was thinking of slamming some Snow Lions and other Icy guys…" Zell said.
"Ah…Ok then, I hope it won't mind if I take Quezalcotl instead…"
"Alright." Said Quistis. "You guys will report at Trinidad Farm, just south of Solity Caves, in the north side of the Canyon."
"Okays, we're off then. We'll be back soon, so don't go anywhere with out us! See ya later!" Said Selphie and trotted out of the Cafeteria followed by Caesar and Irvine. They went to Balamb town, did some shopping there (Mega Potions, X-Potions, Mega elixirs, Chewing gum, etc) Irvine made sure they had some Phoenix Pinions in stock and that their magic was all junctioned up. The team took the train from Balamb to Timber and from there to Deling. At Deling they took the only train that was bound for Dairy Station, the nearest station to Trinidad Farm. Once they reached Dairy Station, and got off, they started looking for a means of transport to Trinidad Farm. As Irvine was looking around them for a car rent, Selphie noticed a girl standing next to three Buff-Tauruses. They were bigger than Selphie expected. She decided to ask her.
"S'cuse me…do you know how I can get to Trinidad Farm?"
"…You SeeDs?" the girl asked surprising them.
"Um…yeah. I'm supposed to report to the owner of the farm…" Irvine gasped.
"I'm her daughter…I can take you there. Hop onto a Buff-Taurus and let's go…AH! Look out!!! A dragon at your left!"
" Hey, hey! Calm down…Caesar is with us…he's a SeeD too…..well at least he's gonna be when he passes his test…He won't hurt you; he's our friend. He's a very special and very nice dragon." Irvine explained
"Nice to meet you!" Caesar squeaked.
"Wow…you're friends with a dragon?! You must be super duper good!" The little girl cried out and clapped her hands.
"Yeah, ok but we'd better get going because it's getting late." Selphie said trying to hide her blushed face.
"Huh?…Oh yeah! Hop onto a Buff-Taurus and let's go. They'll obey your commands. Try to remember these: 'Heya' is 'go ahead', 'Wow' is 'stop', 'Hey' is 'turn left', 'Sha' is 'turn right', 'Yahoo' is 'go faster' and 'Ah' is 'slow down'. Hey, don't worry it's less complicated than it sounds." Said the girl to Selphie as they got onto the Buff-Tauruses.
"Does it have a name?" Selphie asked, meaning the Buff-Taurus, which turned it's two heads and gave her a friendly look followed by a soft puff. "Yeah. Her name is Honey and this is Hoof…and the big male your friend is riding is Bulby."
"Oh, ok…Let's see…Heya!" Irvine said hesitantly Bulby dashed off, and Irvine held himself from the animal's thick fur of the back, so that he could stay on the Buff's back. The girl and Selphie followed.
"Hehehe! Your voice wasn't steady enough! Order it to slow down! Don't be afraid of it! " The girl cried out
"Whoa!!! Slow down! Ah! AH!!!" Irvine yelled. Bulby immediately decreased his speed and continued in a quick trotted style.
"Wow, that was fast…How fast can these guys go??" Selphie exclaimed.
"Pretty fast if it needs to. Sorry I should have warned you." The girl apologized. "Oh, you haven't told me your names! I'm Gina. What about you?" Gina asked after they reached Irvine.
"I'm Irvine, and this is Selphie and Caesar." Irvine did the introductions "Um…will you PLEASE get rid of whateva is attacking our Buffs? Please! If our Buffs die, we won't have money to keep our farm…" Gina said almost in tears. Selphie smiled.
"Caesar, Irvy and I'll do our best." She said with sympathy.
"Of course. We were sent for that, and we'll definitely do it!" Irvine said trying to cheer up Gina.
"I'll toast that thing's sorry ass!" Caesar said flying around Gina.
"Gee…you guys really look determined! I like that! I'm sure you can do it!! Can you please tell me how you met Caesar? Please?" Gina said. Irvine giggled and said
"It's a pretty long story…" It was already 10:30 in the night when they reached the Trinidad Farm. The owner, Mrs. Fler was delighted to see them and told them to spend the night at the farm. The team was delighted by the offer, as they were a little tired. Mrs. Fler sat them in the fireplace room and brought them a big loan of goodies to eat. She sat opposite them on the armchair and looked at them pleasantly.
"So, ya two didn't tell me ya names kids. What're ya names?" she said in her stout, country dialect.
"I'm Irvine Kinneas Ma'am, and this little critter here is Caesar, and this is Selphie." Irvine replied.
"It's Selphie Tilmitt…" Selphie said. "!?! What?! T-Tilmitt? Oh, my! OH my! I can't believe it! Ya. Ya gotta be her!" Mrs. Fler cried out.
"What? What is it Mum?!" Gina asked seeing her mother's shocked face.
"Excuse me, what do you mean Mrs. Fler?" Selphie said.
"You're ma niece! Ma long lost little niece! Ma little Sefie!" Mrs. Fler cried out.
"Excuse me?" Selphie gasped. Irvine and Caesar were watching the scene idle. They didn't know how to react.
"Listen to me ya little lass. Ya've gotta be my niece. My little Sefie should be ya age about now. I lost her long ago. Try and remember my little Sefie!" Mrs. Fler said with eagerness.
" I…I'm sorry…I can't understand what you mean…" Selphie said breathlessly. Mrs. Fler got up and took a box from a shelf. She opened it and quickly scanned through some old photographs in it. She then pulled out a photo and gave to Selphie.
"Take a look a' that an' try to rememba!" she said. Selphie took the photo and looked at it. It showed a little girl, 2 or 3 years old, wearing a pink dress, with short, brown hair, big, joyful green eyes, and a big, happy smile on her little face. She has hugging a white puppy with black spots. Selphie stared at the photo with curiosity. She felt like she knew that little face in the photo. Then suddenly, something lighted up in her mind.
" Oh…That…That puppy… I know it…It's name was…Prince…Prince! My Prince! Yes! That IS me!!!" Selphie cried out almost in tears. She turned the picture over and read what was written on it. 'My little Selphie and her Prince on the day of her 3rd birthday' was written in thin, fine letters.
"Those are ya mum's letters… I'm sure it's you Sefie…I know ya got a faint scar over ya left eyebrow, an' I know that ma lil' Sefie had one over there too." Mrs. Fler said with an emotional tone. Selphie placed her fingertips over her left eyebrow. Yes, she did have a little scar over there. Mrs. Fler was almost crying.
"I'm sure it's you ma lil' Selphie…Came on…Try to rememba how ya used to call me…" She said with tears in her eyes. Selphie pressured her mind. She was almost certain that that woman was her aunt. She pressured her mind, and there, in one corner she found it.
"Tita! That's it! I used to call you Tita!!" Selphie exclaimed.
"Aye, That's it alright! Ya used to call me Tita!" Mrs. Fler said and hugged Selphie who hugged her back.
" Oh Tita! Tita! Aunt Tita! I missed you so much! I'm sorry I forgot you! It's because of those lousy GFs! I'm so sorry!" Selphie said crying. Then, Mrs. Fler looked at Selphie.
"Tell me Sefie…Do you rememba that tragic day?" she asked. Selphie sobbed.
"Yes… How can I forget it? How can I ever forget it?" she replied.
Little Selphie could hear loud cries of people asking for help, running for shelter, of people dying. She hugged Prince even tighter. The little puppy was growling in fear. Selphie, her older sister and her mother were hiding in a little cave. Hiding from a monster that was crushing every living thing outside. Her mother was holding her and her sister in her arms. Selphie looked at her mother. She was a beautiful woman, with long, blond hair and emerald green eyes. Her older sister wept.
"Mommy! I'm scared!" She cried.
"Shhh!…Hush Fiona, hush. IT might be coming!" Her mother said. Selphie was scared too, but didn't dare to make a sound. Suddenly, a man stood in the entrance of the cave and said out loud:
"Anna! Anna, take the girls and run! Run away! We'll try to hold it back! Head for the shore!"
"Timothy! Be careful!" her mum said. Selphie saw her dad and cried out:
"Daddy! Don't go!"
"I'll come back Selphie! I promise!" he said, as the three women rushed away from the area of the tragedy. Anna Tilmitt held Selphie in her arms and Fiona was running by her side. Prince was struggling to reach them. From her mother's arms, Selphie looked back and witnessed the scenes that marked her memories forever. A huge bear-like creature with a demonic face ripped her father apart with its huge claws.
"Daddy! Nooooo!" Selphie cried out. The huge bear roared and threw hundreds of stone thorns out of its mouth. The thorns hit her mother, her sister and Prince, killing them. Selphie wasn't harmed because her mother's body protected her. They fell on the ground and everything faded. The next thing she could clearly recall was a Galbadian soldier with a kind look carrying her to a vessel. From the characteristics, she could tell that man was Cid, pretty younger though. Then, she could see Edea's kind face over her…
"Oh, Tita! I can remember everything!…" Selphie said and cried.
" I know my dear…I know… I was away that tragic day, an' when I returned, it was chaos everywhere, ya parents and sister were dead and ya were nowhere to be found." Tita said.
"Ma lil' Sefie…After so many years…I can't believe I've finally found you again…Ya made me so happy…Gina, do you know this lass 'ere is ya cousin? Ya know it?"
"Yes, mum…I know…" Gina said, completely lost.
"Sefie…Now, I want ya to tell me what's ya life been all about…an' this 'ere chap…is he ya boyfriend?" Selphie giggled half-sadly, half-happy.
"Yeah, that's him…" And Selphie started telling to her aunt and her cousin what her life was like, from the orphanage, to Trabia, to Balamb, about her adventures when they all fought Ultimecia. The night moved on, with the Tilmitts, Irvine and Caesar sharing experiences. Mrs. Fler was proud of Selphie.
"I'm very happy to know that ya did good things outta ya life Sefie. It's good to know that you were happy even without a real family…" Tita had said. The other morning, Selphie, Irvine and Caesar were preparing to follow Gina and the herd of the Buff-Tauruses of to their morning graze. Mrs. Fler as a little worried.
" Ya listen to my ya cowboy! Ya take care afta ma lil' Sefie or I'll smack ya with the fryin' pan!" she had said to Irvine.
"Don't worry Tita! Irvy loves me tooooooo much to not look after me!" Selphie had giggled. So, the kids got onto some Buffs and let the animals lead the way.
"Whew…this here canyon has plenty of caves…" Irvine exclaimed.
"Yeah, a river used to flow through it a long time ago." Gina explained them. Gina, with the help of the others hurried the animals to the small meadow in the dead- end of the canyon. Selphie was worried. Something inside her told her it was that monstrous bear that attacked the herds. She sat on the soft grass, watching the Buffs grazing peacefully. Irvine sat next to her. Gina ran around, playing with Caesar.
"Wazzup baby?" Irvine asked her, looking at her worried look.
"Oh, Irvy…" Selphie said, and told Irvine about her worry.
"Hey, chill out honey. If it's that thing, I promise you we'll kick its sorry ass for good! After the Weapons and Ultimecia, it should be a walk in the park!" Irvine said, trying to cheer Selphie up. He didn't like seeing her sad. "Oh, come on now! All grumpy doesn't suit you! Smile!" he said. Well, Selphie couldn't resist the laugh. It must have been midday, when Caesar's senses enticed him. He sniffed the air and stretched his ears.
"Guys, I can sense something coming this way…and it's something BIG!" he said. Irvine got up and looked all around him.
" Caesar's right. The air is really heavy. I think I can hear something too…Gina, better herd the buffs and hit the dirt!" he said. Just as he finished his speech, a loud roar was heard. The guys turned around and looked at the entrance of the canyon. A huge bear was blocking the way. It was tall as a one-floor building and very scary. Gina screamed.
"Gina! Take cover! The battle's gonna be bad!" Selphie yelled, as Gina dashed by her side heading for one of the caves. She curled into a small cave and stayed in there. Irvine pulled out his Exeter and filled it up as the enormous bear walked into the canyon solemnly.
"Selphie, I think it's got a bad eyesight. If we take that as an advantage, this battle should be easy!" Irvine said. The bear saw them and growled, walking towards them, with hulking footsteps.
"Selphie! Scan it!" Irvine shouted. The results of the spell weren't very surprising.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Magnus Arctus HP: 500.000/500.000 A type of a huge, mutated bear. Very | |ferocious, and is know for it's cruelty, even against it's own young. Weak | |against Thunder, Fire Strong against Ice |
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Caesar laughed.
"Did someone say Fire? My specialty!" he said casting Triple on himself. Irvine threw a Blind spell on the bear, and a black cloud surrounded its face. The bear growled in curiosity. Selphie burst a giggle with it's stupid look. After Caesar cast Aura on all three of them, Selphie activated her Limit Break, Slot.
" Irvy! Caesar! Buy me some time!" she shouted.
"Sure…!N-no…problem!" Irvine said, jumping back to avoid the bear's claws. Selphie was still looking for an effective spell to cast.
"Blizzaga…Do Over!…Aero…Do over!…Wall…Cast!" she said. The Protect, Reflect and Shell spells protected the three fighters, to protect them from further harm. In the meantime, Caesar activated his own Limit Break, called 'Dragon Rage'.
"Well…Here I go!" he said.
"Ok," he thought, "Ok, this needs mathematical accuracy. I gotta fly up 10 meters, position myself at a 30 degrees angle, and calculate the fire power…it should be: 370 km/h by 30 degrees, and I shouldn't miss!" He cast Berserk on himself and turned hot red. On Caesar, Berserk had a different effect. His firepower went way up. He formed a major ball of fire at his mouth and them he threw it on the bear. It exploded releasing a hot fire wave that covered a wide range. The intense scent of burned fur and meat filled the air. The bear roared in pain. Caesar's fire had damaged its eyes even more and it couldn't see a thing. Irvine cast an Ultima spell which did a whole blast on the bear.
"MAN! This thing won't die!!!" Irvine shouted dodging another attack from the Magnus Arctus. Selphie leaped aside avoiding the claws of the bear. Caesar attacked the bear head on, plunging his jaws in the bear's flesh, pouring poison in its system. The bear roared in pain but couldn't reach him and started swirling; trying to throw him of it's back. But Caesar just bit harder and hung on.
"Com'on! Shot!" Irvine called his Limit Break. "Eat some hot iron baby!" He shouted firing the bear with Fire Ammo at full speed. The bullets blasted into the furry skin of the bear, burning the flesh under it. The bear roared in pain again and rose to its hind legs. Caesar was still holding on, when the bear, in a moment of fury, rolled on the ground, squashing him.
"CAESAR!!!!!" Selphie and Irvine cried out. "Hurry Irvine! We still might be able to save him!!" Selphie continued, dashing over to the fallen bear, and actually grabbed Caesar, just before the bear's huge claws could rip them in pieces.
" OK!" Irvine growled, "That's it! Now I'm mad!" He said calling his Limit Break again. " I don't have many, but this Pulse Ammo should blow the hell outta you!" He yelled at the bear. He loaded the Exeter and started firing a full speed, and within 60 seconds, he had wasted 16 Pulse Ammo. The last one hit the bear's head, opening a big hole on its cranium. It's brain poured out, as the humongous Magnus Arctus, dropped dead with a loud thud that shook the ground. Irvine and Selphie crouched over poor Caesar.
"Oh…." He muttered. "Easy pal. Take it easy. It's gonna be ok." Irvine said, petting him. Caesar was in a bad condition. It seemed that all his bones were broken, and he was bleeding externally and internally.
" Caesar!…" Gina cried out when she came out of her shelter.
"Damn! If only Quistis was here! Her White Wind would help!" Selphie said.
"White Wind? No sweat! The Buffs can do that too!" Gina said happily.
"They can!? Alright! Quick! Tell them to heal Caesar!" Irvine said. Gina ran off and brought a big, female Buff-Taurus with her.
"Come on Kiki…Cure this little guy please…" She said to the Buff-Taurus softly. The big animal concentrated, and then released a gust of White Wind that affected them all, refreshing them, but mostly, nursing Caesar back to his health. The little dragon got up and growled.
"Hey! I'm all fine now!" he exclaimed.
"Thanks to Kiki here!" Irvine said. Gina hugged her cousin.
"Oh Selphie! Thank you! Thank you so much! And you too Irvine! And you Caesar! You guys are awesome!" she cried out. Selphie hugged her little cousin back, with love.
"Hey! Look! The Buff-Tauruses are ok! No one got harmed!" Irvine said, watching the big herd marching their way. They all then got onto a Buff-Taurus, and headed back to Trinidad Farm, to report to Mrs. Fler.
"We are the Champions! We are the Champions!…" Selphie and Gina sang all the way to the farm, with Irvine and Caesar arguing who had played a more vital part in slaying the Magnus Arctus. Once they had arrived, Mr. Fler ran up to them and hugged Selphie.
"My God! I was so worried 'bout ya four toddlers!" she said impatiently.
"Oh, come on Tita! It wasn't that hard!" Selphie said.
"Yeah, that thing was easier to beat than a drunk Geezard!" Irvine said.
" Oh, ya killed it?! Wonderful! We're rid o' that pesky thing! Come in an' tell me all about it!" Mrs. Fler said, and they all followed her in the house, despite they were dirty, and stained by blood. Selphie happily started to story the whole battle, with Caesar and Irvine butting in, to add their highlights. Later, after the story telling was over, Irvine remembered they had to report to Garden.
" Sefie, we have to report to Garden! And Caesar has his SeeD test tomorrow!" he said.
"Oh yeah! Sorry Tita, but we have to go back to Garden now…" Selphie said.
"Oh? So soon? Too bad…" Mrs. Fler replied.
" Don't worry Tita! I'll come back on Friday evening! And we can spend a whole weekend together! And from now on, I'll be coming around really often!" Selphie promised.
"I might follow Selphie too." Irvine said. "This place is so relaxing…".
" Ya three are always welcome 'ere! Run along now, ya betta not be late or ya'll miss the train!" Mrs. Fler said, as the kids rode off on Buffs, along with Gina to Dairy Station.
"Ya lass sure is a lot like ya Tim…" Mrs. Fler thought.
"Bye Selphie! Bye Irvine! Bye Caesar! We'll be waitin' for ya!" shouted as she waved them goodbye, while the train was leaving.
"I'll be back soon Gina! Bye!" Selphie Shouted back from on the train. The journey back to Balamb was calm, and out friends relaxed by playing Triple Triad, which ended with Caesar as a winner.
" Hahahahah! The unbeatable Caesar Card! With A's at the right side, saves the day with a Combo! Yeah!" he laughed after beating Irvine for a third time in a row.
"I can't believe it…I lost my Diablos Card! No!" Irvine mourned. And so, they were happy. By the time they arrived at Balamb Garden, it was late at night.
"Gee…I guess everyone should be sleeping now…" Selphie said. But, to their surprise, the gang, Cid and Edea were wide-awake, waiting for them.
"Welcome home guys!" Zell said, hitting Irvine on the back.
"Wheeee! You guys waited for us!" Selphie said happily.
" Of course we did! What did you think? That we'd heartlessly go to bed without waiting for our friends?" Rinoa said.
" Squall said you three got into a lot of trouble. But he won't tell us any details. So, do you mind to tell us?" Quistis said, with her hands crossed over her chest.
" Awww! Why didn't you tell them Master Squall!?" Caesar said.
"Come on! You guys know I don't like to boast around about my Prophet powers!" Squall said a little perplexed.
"Hah! You're goin' red Squall!" Selphie said.
"Ah, hush up and just tell us what happened!" Squall said sternly, but with an amusing tone on his voice. Irvine popped up and told the whole story this time, and Caesar butted in to say his own things.
"I'm very happy to see that you found your aunt Selphie." Edea said. "I'm, sure that you want to go and see her again, so I'll ask Cid to give you a little time off." Edea said, giving her husband a look that said ' just try to say no!'. Cid stirred under that look and said seriously:
"Alright all, better go to get some sleep. Caesar, you have to rest, because your SeeD field test is tomorrow. Goodnight all!" Everyone went to their dorms, and Caesar followed Selphie. He was going to sleep in her bathroom again, to keep calm from everything, because a bathroom is certainly calmer that Balamb Garden's Training Center! Yet, Selphie just couldn't sleep. She kept looking at a picture of her family her Tita had given her before she left.
" Mommy…you were so beautiful…Daddy…I loved you so much, but you didn't keep your promise…Fiona…goodness, how much we were alike…Oh, I love you all…" she thought to herself and fell asleep with the photo on her chest.
The next morning, all the gang was at the Fire Cavern, accompanying Caesar on his SeeD test. Quistis was an Instructor again, and she was supposed to escort Caesar alone, but he others insisted they came along. So they all were heading for the Fire Cavern where the test would take place, and Caesar was trying not to think of the humiliation he would suffer if he screwed it up. Since Squall and Quistis had defeated Ifrit the place was a mess. A new breed of Behemoths, the Infernal Behemoth had made the Fire Cavern their home. Those Behemoths were bigger and more ferocious that a normal Behemoth, and had a bright red color, which made them look more like the Catelopas but it's horns we're curled like a ram's and the mane between them was made from flames. Caesar was a little anxious, but Squall tried to keep him calm, telling him it wasn't gonna be all that bad. As you can guess, Squall knew what test Caesar was going to go through, but he kept his mouth shut after Quistis' order and didn't tell anyone but Rinoa, after she promised to say nothing too. Caesar kept his cool posture and tried to think of his advantages. He was immune by nature to fire, so it might be piece of cake, but he still was feeling a little panicked. Of course Quistis also knew, and truth was, she was worried about her friend.
"Ok, SeeD test, type 342, level 30. It should be easy for you, cadet Caesar. Select a time limit please…" She said, trying to sound like a serious Instructor. After a slight hesitation, Caesar picked the 10 min. time limit.
"Alright. You'll go in there alone and your objective is to collect the 'golden bell' Good luck" Quistis said. Caesar moved in.
"He'll be fine…" Squall assured Rinoa. As we trotted through the cave, Caesar knew that Garden Faculties were watching him, but he tried to pass that fact by. He was anxious, and felt almost like throwing up.
"It should be easy…It should be easy…my ass!!" he thought. He knew he had some aces in his sleeve, but that didn't comfort him much. As he ventured deeper into the Fire Cavern, he was wondering what that 'golden bell' he was supposed to find was.
" Where the hell could they have put a bell in here!?" He reached a river of lava. He was about to turn and look elsewhere, when he heard a dinging sound.
" Hmmm!?…Could that be it?" He though. He checked his timer and saw he had 9:30 time left. "Ah, what the heck…I'll go check…" Soon he saw he couldn't fly it across. The hot steams pushed him upwards and he couldn't maintain his balance.
"Tch… So what!? I'll swim it!" he thought. Since he was a dragon, lava was like water to him. Once he swam for a while, he saw an isle in the middle of the lava stream. An Infernal Behemoth occupied it. The Behemoth was wearing a sort of collar, with a golden bell.
"Bingo!…Aha…I see. So I have to beat the hell outta it." He thought. "I think I can ambush it. It won't know what hit him!…Shit! I gotta hurry!" He had only 7:00. He jumped out of the lava, surprising the Behemoth, and bit it, pouring poison in its body. Then he jumped back, and looked at the beast. The difference of size was that of a cat to a bear. The Behemoth countered using a 'Fire Trial', spitting fire and molten lava at Caesar, only healing the little dragon. The Behemoth was poisoned, and was jolted by the effect of the poison. Caesar blew a raspberry at it, sticking his tongue out.
"Nah, nah, nah ,nah! You can't catch me!" he teased it. "Man, this is easy after all!" Caesar said out loud, flittering around the Behemoth. The Infernal Behemoth snorted angrily, and Caesar did the same. " Uh-oh! 5:00 on my timer! Shit! No time to play! I gotta finish it off! Shiva!" he called the mighty GF, which used her 'Diamond Dust' and badly injured the Behemoth. Caesar was hoping the poison would double the effect, which was true, and he started firing Blizzaga spells like mad.
"Take this! And this! And that! And that!" he shouted as he finished the Behemoth off. "Wheeeeee!!!! I killed it!…Ghah! only 1:00 left! Arg! I gotta hurry!" Caesar grabbed the bell and rushed like a bullet to get outta the Fire Cavern, and made it on the inch of time. Everyone cheered him.
"Good job Caesar!" Zell told him, patting his back.
"I told you it was easy!" Irvine laughed.
"Hurray for Caesar! The first SeeD dragon! Hurray!" Selphie cried out jumping up and down.
"Not bad Reptile!" Seifer said. Seifer used to call Caesar 'Reptile' to tease him, but Caesar didn't give a damn now.
"Great job!" Quistis said, crossing her arms over her chest again. Rinoa was clapping in joy, and Squall just smiled wide. He didn't need any words to show his satisfaction his friend had done so well, and everyone knew that.
"Ok, let's head back to Garden and wait for the exam's results" Quistis said and they all headed for Garden, with Caesar marching ahead, brimming with pride. When they reached Garden, the results were out, and Caesar had done very well. His SeeD Rank was 7 and he had a great potential.
"I guess I have to take SeeD tests very often now, if I wanna hit a higher rank!" Caesar had said.
" But I guess, I won't be able to reach Rank A, like Master Squall!" he had added. That was true; Squall was one of the few SeeDs that had ever reached an A rank, with a 30.000 salary. Well, Squall spent a whole loan of his cash on medication and things…it was a fact that Squall was open handed. Now, Caesar could proudly march through the Garden halls, as a SeeD. Meanwhile, Selphie had arranged a time off for herself and Irvine, so that she could go and visit her aunt again. Irvine had no problem with going along, even though he wanted to stay at Garden and participate at a sharp shooting contest. He had said that he wanted to leave the victory to others too, but Squall knew he had another reason. Irvine was really in love with Selphie. She wasn't just a girl he liked. It was love. Maybe not like the Squall-Rinoa model, but was love. Besides, love and death have many faces. And Irvine loved Selphie in his own way. After all, she was a childhood love that had passed through his adolescence without being forgotten. So, if it wasn't love, what else could it be?
So, all was peaceful in the world…of the mortals at least. Because, in the world of gods, two not bad-famed gods were plotting against the Gods' Council secretly. Ares, the hotheaded god of war was in his dark palace. Ares was sitting in his black rock thrown, looking at the floor. He was tired of waiting. Just then, Seth, the hyena -headed god of evil, entered the chamber.
" Finally…you decided to come!" Ares threw at Seth as he sensed him enter. Seth frowned with anger.
"Yes…I know your boots are interesting, but I've come to discuss an 'urgent' matter with you, or isn't that the reason that you have called me?" Seth said in his sly, cruel voice. "What do you want to talk about Ares? I hope it is something interesting, like what should we do about the young SeeDs… " Seth said, looking at the war god lifting his head.
"That's exactly the reason I called you!" Ares shouted, raising his head. Seth sat on a black rock thrown opposite Ares.
"Don't you raise your voice at me…" he said. " I don't understand why you are worried. They are only a bunch of annoying adolescents." He continued.
"Annoying adolescents?! They defeated Ultimecia!! Even though we gave her the power she needed and cursed her with the madness of the Erinyes, she still failed!!" Ares roared. "It was my fault to listen to you, you idiotic, dog head god!"
"Ultimecia WAS a failure as an idea…and the idea was yours! Ultimecia was mortal! She had weaknesses! We are GODS!!" Seth yelled back.
"Yeah! My ass! Like, d'uh! Athena, Ra, Bastet, Sehmet, and all the others are gods too! And you know what!? They are all on their side!" Ares shouted.
"They do not have our allies though…Do not fear or hesitate Ares! We shall dominate!" Seth replied and laughed, filling the castle with a terrifying hyena giggle.
Another chapter! Please read and review this story! Please? Thanks!
Ruby Dragon
Selphie woke up. She yawned and stretched in her bed. The, she lazily opened her eyes and faced the ray of sunlight that woke her up. She got up and went to the bathroom. Before she could turn on the light, she stepped on something soft and heard a scream. She quickly turned on the light, ready to react if needed. To her surprise, the intruder was…
"Caesar!" she exclaimed as she saw her little dragon friend lick his tail in pain. "Sorry about your tail…but, whatcha doing in my bathroom?"
"Ouch…I can't sleep in the Training Center anymore. It's way too noisy and I'm in danger of being eaten! And bathrooms are much safer because when I snore I blow fireballs…" Selphie giggled and knelt down to pat her friend's head.
"Poor Caesar! I'm ok with you sleepin' in my bathroom, but don't get in the way!" Soon, she got dressed, picked up her nunchaku, and with Caesar flittering all around her, headed to the Cafeteria. Caesar had grown a bit bigger lately; he reached Angelo in size. In another month or so, he would reach the size of a horse and would be twice as strong. His horns had also grown a little too, and had turned into a darker red. He was the first dragon to be a SeeD. His exam was very soon, and he was training hard. When they got at the Cafeteria, Selphie took a sandwich and an apple juice and Caesar ordered his hot-dogs. They started looking for the others.
"Hey Selph! Caesar! Over here!" Zell said a little louder and waved his hand up so they could see him. "Ah-ha! There they are!" Selphie thought. They went over. Zell was devouring his hot-dogs, as usual; Irvine was eating a sandwich; Seifer was drinking coffee and Squall was having a juice and was sharing a sandwich with Rinoa who was enjoying a cup of cocoa milk.
"Hi guys!" Selphie said while sitting down.
"Mornin' babe! Heya Caesar!" Irvine said.
"Where's Quisty?" Selphie asked looking all around for her friend.
"Oh, Cid wanted to see her…She should be here soon…" Seifer replied slightly red. It was a common secret that Seifer had a crush on Quistis…
"Caesar, you ready for your exam on Friday?" Rinoa asked the little dragon.
"I'm always ready!" he exclaimed taking another gulp of his hot-dog. "Now that my fangs are poisonous, I'm sure I can take on anyone!!!"
"Hhmm…I wonder what Cid wanted Quistis for…" Squall said drinking some more of his juice. Everyone agreed with that. Just then, Quistis turned up.
"Hi everyone! Selphie, Irvine I got news for you. Cid wants you to go over to Galbadia on a little mission."
"Oh, really?" Selphie said lifting her eyebrows in surprise. "Why only us?"
"I don't know…It appears that a monster is attacking the herds of the Buff-Tauruses at the Solity Canyon. The farm owners are in disgrace…" Selphie had a brief idea what a Buff-Taurus was, but she hadn't seen one up close. They were a breed of heavy, two-headed buffaloes with dark brown hide. They were raised for their meat and milk production. Selphie sighed.
"Oh, ok. We'll go…sheez and we were planning of going to Deling for fun…Hey Caesar, wanna come along?" Irvine said. The dragon was delighted.
" Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, I do!" he exclaimed. Then he burped, letting a small ball of smoke out of his mouth. "Oops…sorry…"
"Selphie, which GFs are you taking along?" Squall asked her.
"Um…I guess I'll take Diablos and Viper…"
"You Irvine?"
"I'll take Bahamut and Alexander…"
"Caesar?"
"Maybe Ifrit and Shiva."
"Uh…Sorry Caesar, I'll be needing Ifrit today…I was thinking of slamming some Snow Lions and other Icy guys…" Zell said.
"Ah…Ok then, I hope it won't mind if I take Quezalcotl instead…"
"Alright." Said Quistis. "You guys will report at Trinidad Farm, just south of Solity Caves, in the north side of the Canyon."
"Okays, we're off then. We'll be back soon, so don't go anywhere with out us! See ya later!" Said Selphie and trotted out of the Cafeteria followed by Caesar and Irvine. They went to Balamb town, did some shopping there (Mega Potions, X-Potions, Mega elixirs, Chewing gum, etc) Irvine made sure they had some Phoenix Pinions in stock and that their magic was all junctioned up. The team took the train from Balamb to Timber and from there to Deling. At Deling they took the only train that was bound for Dairy Station, the nearest station to Trinidad Farm. Once they reached Dairy Station, and got off, they started looking for a means of transport to Trinidad Farm. As Irvine was looking around them for a car rent, Selphie noticed a girl standing next to three Buff-Tauruses. They were bigger than Selphie expected. She decided to ask her.
"S'cuse me…do you know how I can get to Trinidad Farm?"
"…You SeeDs?" the girl asked surprising them.
"Um…yeah. I'm supposed to report to the owner of the farm…" Irvine gasped.
"I'm her daughter…I can take you there. Hop onto a Buff-Taurus and let's go…AH! Look out!!! A dragon at your left!"
" Hey, hey! Calm down…Caesar is with us…he's a SeeD too…..well at least he's gonna be when he passes his test…He won't hurt you; he's our friend. He's a very special and very nice dragon." Irvine explained
"Nice to meet you!" Caesar squeaked.
"Wow…you're friends with a dragon?! You must be super duper good!" The little girl cried out and clapped her hands.
"Yeah, ok but we'd better get going because it's getting late." Selphie said trying to hide her blushed face.
"Huh?…Oh yeah! Hop onto a Buff-Taurus and let's go. They'll obey your commands. Try to remember these: 'Heya' is 'go ahead', 'Wow' is 'stop', 'Hey' is 'turn left', 'Sha' is 'turn right', 'Yahoo' is 'go faster' and 'Ah' is 'slow down'. Hey, don't worry it's less complicated than it sounds." Said the girl to Selphie as they got onto the Buff-Tauruses.
"Does it have a name?" Selphie asked, meaning the Buff-Taurus, which turned it's two heads and gave her a friendly look followed by a soft puff. "Yeah. Her name is Honey and this is Hoof…and the big male your friend is riding is Bulby."
"Oh, ok…Let's see…Heya!" Irvine said hesitantly Bulby dashed off, and Irvine held himself from the animal's thick fur of the back, so that he could stay on the Buff's back. The girl and Selphie followed.
"Hehehe! Your voice wasn't steady enough! Order it to slow down! Don't be afraid of it! " The girl cried out
"Whoa!!! Slow down! Ah! AH!!!" Irvine yelled. Bulby immediately decreased his speed and continued in a quick trotted style.
"Wow, that was fast…How fast can these guys go??" Selphie exclaimed.
"Pretty fast if it needs to. Sorry I should have warned you." The girl apologized. "Oh, you haven't told me your names! I'm Gina. What about you?" Gina asked after they reached Irvine.
"I'm Irvine, and this is Selphie and Caesar." Irvine did the introductions "Um…will you PLEASE get rid of whateva is attacking our Buffs? Please! If our Buffs die, we won't have money to keep our farm…" Gina said almost in tears. Selphie smiled.
"Caesar, Irvy and I'll do our best." She said with sympathy.
"Of course. We were sent for that, and we'll definitely do it!" Irvine said trying to cheer up Gina.
"I'll toast that thing's sorry ass!" Caesar said flying around Gina.
"Gee…you guys really look determined! I like that! I'm sure you can do it!! Can you please tell me how you met Caesar? Please?" Gina said. Irvine giggled and said
"It's a pretty long story…" It was already 10:30 in the night when they reached the Trinidad Farm. The owner, Mrs. Fler was delighted to see them and told them to spend the night at the farm. The team was delighted by the offer, as they were a little tired. Mrs. Fler sat them in the fireplace room and brought them a big loan of goodies to eat. She sat opposite them on the armchair and looked at them pleasantly.
"So, ya two didn't tell me ya names kids. What're ya names?" she said in her stout, country dialect.
"I'm Irvine Kinneas Ma'am, and this little critter here is Caesar, and this is Selphie." Irvine replied.
"It's Selphie Tilmitt…" Selphie said. "!?! What?! T-Tilmitt? Oh, my! OH my! I can't believe it! Ya. Ya gotta be her!" Mrs. Fler cried out.
"What? What is it Mum?!" Gina asked seeing her mother's shocked face.
"Excuse me, what do you mean Mrs. Fler?" Selphie said.
"You're ma niece! Ma long lost little niece! Ma little Sefie!" Mrs. Fler cried out.
"Excuse me?" Selphie gasped. Irvine and Caesar were watching the scene idle. They didn't know how to react.
"Listen to me ya little lass. Ya've gotta be my niece. My little Sefie should be ya age about now. I lost her long ago. Try and remember my little Sefie!" Mrs. Fler said with eagerness.
" I…I'm sorry…I can't understand what you mean…" Selphie said breathlessly. Mrs. Fler got up and took a box from a shelf. She opened it and quickly scanned through some old photographs in it. She then pulled out a photo and gave to Selphie.
"Take a look a' that an' try to rememba!" she said. Selphie took the photo and looked at it. It showed a little girl, 2 or 3 years old, wearing a pink dress, with short, brown hair, big, joyful green eyes, and a big, happy smile on her little face. She has hugging a white puppy with black spots. Selphie stared at the photo with curiosity. She felt like she knew that little face in the photo. Then suddenly, something lighted up in her mind.
" Oh…That…That puppy… I know it…It's name was…Prince…Prince! My Prince! Yes! That IS me!!!" Selphie cried out almost in tears. She turned the picture over and read what was written on it. 'My little Selphie and her Prince on the day of her 3rd birthday' was written in thin, fine letters.
"Those are ya mum's letters… I'm sure it's you Sefie…I know ya got a faint scar over ya left eyebrow, an' I know that ma lil' Sefie had one over there too." Mrs. Fler said with an emotional tone. Selphie placed her fingertips over her left eyebrow. Yes, she did have a little scar over there. Mrs. Fler was almost crying.
"I'm sure it's you ma lil' Selphie…Came on…Try to rememba how ya used to call me…" She said with tears in her eyes. Selphie pressured her mind. She was almost certain that that woman was her aunt. She pressured her mind, and there, in one corner she found it.
"Tita! That's it! I used to call you Tita!!" Selphie exclaimed.
"Aye, That's it alright! Ya used to call me Tita!" Mrs. Fler said and hugged Selphie who hugged her back.
" Oh Tita! Tita! Aunt Tita! I missed you so much! I'm sorry I forgot you! It's because of those lousy GFs! I'm so sorry!" Selphie said crying. Then, Mrs. Fler looked at Selphie.
"Tell me Sefie…Do you rememba that tragic day?" she asked. Selphie sobbed.
"Yes… How can I forget it? How can I ever forget it?" she replied.
Little Selphie could hear loud cries of people asking for help, running for shelter, of people dying. She hugged Prince even tighter. The little puppy was growling in fear. Selphie, her older sister and her mother were hiding in a little cave. Hiding from a monster that was crushing every living thing outside. Her mother was holding her and her sister in her arms. Selphie looked at her mother. She was a beautiful woman, with long, blond hair and emerald green eyes. Her older sister wept.
"Mommy! I'm scared!" She cried.
"Shhh!…Hush Fiona, hush. IT might be coming!" Her mother said. Selphie was scared too, but didn't dare to make a sound. Suddenly, a man stood in the entrance of the cave and said out loud:
"Anna! Anna, take the girls and run! Run away! We'll try to hold it back! Head for the shore!"
"Timothy! Be careful!" her mum said. Selphie saw her dad and cried out:
"Daddy! Don't go!"
"I'll come back Selphie! I promise!" he said, as the three women rushed away from the area of the tragedy. Anna Tilmitt held Selphie in her arms and Fiona was running by her side. Prince was struggling to reach them. From her mother's arms, Selphie looked back and witnessed the scenes that marked her memories forever. A huge bear-like creature with a demonic face ripped her father apart with its huge claws.
"Daddy! Nooooo!" Selphie cried out. The huge bear roared and threw hundreds of stone thorns out of its mouth. The thorns hit her mother, her sister and Prince, killing them. Selphie wasn't harmed because her mother's body protected her. They fell on the ground and everything faded. The next thing she could clearly recall was a Galbadian soldier with a kind look carrying her to a vessel. From the characteristics, she could tell that man was Cid, pretty younger though. Then, she could see Edea's kind face over her…
"Oh, Tita! I can remember everything!…" Selphie said and cried.
" I know my dear…I know… I was away that tragic day, an' when I returned, it was chaos everywhere, ya parents and sister were dead and ya were nowhere to be found." Tita said.
"Ma lil' Sefie…After so many years…I can't believe I've finally found you again…Ya made me so happy…Gina, do you know this lass 'ere is ya cousin? Ya know it?"
"Yes, mum…I know…" Gina said, completely lost.
"Sefie…Now, I want ya to tell me what's ya life been all about…an' this 'ere chap…is he ya boyfriend?" Selphie giggled half-sadly, half-happy.
"Yeah, that's him…" And Selphie started telling to her aunt and her cousin what her life was like, from the orphanage, to Trabia, to Balamb, about her adventures when they all fought Ultimecia. The night moved on, with the Tilmitts, Irvine and Caesar sharing experiences. Mrs. Fler was proud of Selphie.
"I'm very happy to know that ya did good things outta ya life Sefie. It's good to know that you were happy even without a real family…" Tita had said. The other morning, Selphie, Irvine and Caesar were preparing to follow Gina and the herd of the Buff-Tauruses of to their morning graze. Mrs. Fler as a little worried.
" Ya listen to my ya cowboy! Ya take care afta ma lil' Sefie or I'll smack ya with the fryin' pan!" she had said to Irvine.
"Don't worry Tita! Irvy loves me tooooooo much to not look after me!" Selphie had giggled. So, the kids got onto some Buffs and let the animals lead the way.
"Whew…this here canyon has plenty of caves…" Irvine exclaimed.
"Yeah, a river used to flow through it a long time ago." Gina explained them. Gina, with the help of the others hurried the animals to the small meadow in the dead- end of the canyon. Selphie was worried. Something inside her told her it was that monstrous bear that attacked the herds. She sat on the soft grass, watching the Buffs grazing peacefully. Irvine sat next to her. Gina ran around, playing with Caesar.
"Wazzup baby?" Irvine asked her, looking at her worried look.
"Oh, Irvy…" Selphie said, and told Irvine about her worry.
"Hey, chill out honey. If it's that thing, I promise you we'll kick its sorry ass for good! After the Weapons and Ultimecia, it should be a walk in the park!" Irvine said, trying to cheer Selphie up. He didn't like seeing her sad. "Oh, come on now! All grumpy doesn't suit you! Smile!" he said. Well, Selphie couldn't resist the laugh. It must have been midday, when Caesar's senses enticed him. He sniffed the air and stretched his ears.
"Guys, I can sense something coming this way…and it's something BIG!" he said. Irvine got up and looked all around him.
" Caesar's right. The air is really heavy. I think I can hear something too…Gina, better herd the buffs and hit the dirt!" he said. Just as he finished his speech, a loud roar was heard. The guys turned around and looked at the entrance of the canyon. A huge bear was blocking the way. It was tall as a one-floor building and very scary. Gina screamed.
"Gina! Take cover! The battle's gonna be bad!" Selphie yelled, as Gina dashed by her side heading for one of the caves. She curled into a small cave and stayed in there. Irvine pulled out his Exeter and filled it up as the enormous bear walked into the canyon solemnly.
"Selphie, I think it's got a bad eyesight. If we take that as an advantage, this battle should be easy!" Irvine said. The bear saw them and growled, walking towards them, with hulking footsteps.
"Selphie! Scan it!" Irvine shouted. The results of the spell weren't very surprising.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Magnus Arctus HP: 500.000/500.000 A type of a huge, mutated bear. Very | |ferocious, and is know for it's cruelty, even against it's own young. Weak | |against Thunder, Fire Strong against Ice |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caesar laughed.
"Did someone say Fire? My specialty!" he said casting Triple on himself. Irvine threw a Blind spell on the bear, and a black cloud surrounded its face. The bear growled in curiosity. Selphie burst a giggle with it's stupid look. After Caesar cast Aura on all three of them, Selphie activated her Limit Break, Slot.
" Irvy! Caesar! Buy me some time!" she shouted.
"Sure…!N-no…problem!" Irvine said, jumping back to avoid the bear's claws. Selphie was still looking for an effective spell to cast.
"Blizzaga…Do Over!…Aero…Do over!…Wall…Cast!" she said. The Protect, Reflect and Shell spells protected the three fighters, to protect them from further harm. In the meantime, Caesar activated his own Limit Break, called 'Dragon Rage'.
"Well…Here I go!" he said.
"Ok," he thought, "Ok, this needs mathematical accuracy. I gotta fly up 10 meters, position myself at a 30 degrees angle, and calculate the fire power…it should be: 370 km/h by 30 degrees, and I shouldn't miss!" He cast Berserk on himself and turned hot red. On Caesar, Berserk had a different effect. His firepower went way up. He formed a major ball of fire at his mouth and them he threw it on the bear. It exploded releasing a hot fire wave that covered a wide range. The intense scent of burned fur and meat filled the air. The bear roared in pain. Caesar's fire had damaged its eyes even more and it couldn't see a thing. Irvine cast an Ultima spell which did a whole blast on the bear.
"MAN! This thing won't die!!!" Irvine shouted dodging another attack from the Magnus Arctus. Selphie leaped aside avoiding the claws of the bear. Caesar attacked the bear head on, plunging his jaws in the bear's flesh, pouring poison in its system. The bear roared in pain but couldn't reach him and started swirling; trying to throw him of it's back. But Caesar just bit harder and hung on.
"Com'on! Shot!" Irvine called his Limit Break. "Eat some hot iron baby!" He shouted firing the bear with Fire Ammo at full speed. The bullets blasted into the furry skin of the bear, burning the flesh under it. The bear roared in pain again and rose to its hind legs. Caesar was still holding on, when the bear, in a moment of fury, rolled on the ground, squashing him.
"CAESAR!!!!!" Selphie and Irvine cried out. "Hurry Irvine! We still might be able to save him!!" Selphie continued, dashing over to the fallen bear, and actually grabbed Caesar, just before the bear's huge claws could rip them in pieces.
" OK!" Irvine growled, "That's it! Now I'm mad!" He said calling his Limit Break again. " I don't have many, but this Pulse Ammo should blow the hell outta you!" He yelled at the bear. He loaded the Exeter and started firing a full speed, and within 60 seconds, he had wasted 16 Pulse Ammo. The last one hit the bear's head, opening a big hole on its cranium. It's brain poured out, as the humongous Magnus Arctus, dropped dead with a loud thud that shook the ground. Irvine and Selphie crouched over poor Caesar.
"Oh…." He muttered. "Easy pal. Take it easy. It's gonna be ok." Irvine said, petting him. Caesar was in a bad condition. It seemed that all his bones were broken, and he was bleeding externally and internally.
" Caesar!…" Gina cried out when she came out of her shelter.
"Damn! If only Quistis was here! Her White Wind would help!" Selphie said.
"White Wind? No sweat! The Buffs can do that too!" Gina said happily.
"They can!? Alright! Quick! Tell them to heal Caesar!" Irvine said. Gina ran off and brought a big, female Buff-Taurus with her.
"Come on Kiki…Cure this little guy please…" She said to the Buff-Taurus softly. The big animal concentrated, and then released a gust of White Wind that affected them all, refreshing them, but mostly, nursing Caesar back to his health. The little dragon got up and growled.
"Hey! I'm all fine now!" he exclaimed.
"Thanks to Kiki here!" Irvine said. Gina hugged her cousin.
"Oh Selphie! Thank you! Thank you so much! And you too Irvine! And you Caesar! You guys are awesome!" she cried out. Selphie hugged her little cousin back, with love.
"Hey! Look! The Buff-Tauruses are ok! No one got harmed!" Irvine said, watching the big herd marching their way. They all then got onto a Buff-Taurus, and headed back to Trinidad Farm, to report to Mrs. Fler.
"We are the Champions! We are the Champions!…" Selphie and Gina sang all the way to the farm, with Irvine and Caesar arguing who had played a more vital part in slaying the Magnus Arctus. Once they had arrived, Mr. Fler ran up to them and hugged Selphie.
"My God! I was so worried 'bout ya four toddlers!" she said impatiently.
"Oh, come on Tita! It wasn't that hard!" Selphie said.
"Yeah, that thing was easier to beat than a drunk Geezard!" Irvine said.
" Oh, ya killed it?! Wonderful! We're rid o' that pesky thing! Come in an' tell me all about it!" Mrs. Fler said, and they all followed her in the house, despite they were dirty, and stained by blood. Selphie happily started to story the whole battle, with Caesar and Irvine butting in, to add their highlights. Later, after the story telling was over, Irvine remembered they had to report to Garden.
" Sefie, we have to report to Garden! And Caesar has his SeeD test tomorrow!" he said.
"Oh yeah! Sorry Tita, but we have to go back to Garden now…" Selphie said.
"Oh? So soon? Too bad…" Mrs. Fler replied.
" Don't worry Tita! I'll come back on Friday evening! And we can spend a whole weekend together! And from now on, I'll be coming around really often!" Selphie promised.
"I might follow Selphie too." Irvine said. "This place is so relaxing…".
" Ya three are always welcome 'ere! Run along now, ya betta not be late or ya'll miss the train!" Mrs. Fler said, as the kids rode off on Buffs, along with Gina to Dairy Station.
"Ya lass sure is a lot like ya Tim…" Mrs. Fler thought.
"Bye Selphie! Bye Irvine! Bye Caesar! We'll be waitin' for ya!" shouted as she waved them goodbye, while the train was leaving.
"I'll be back soon Gina! Bye!" Selphie Shouted back from on the train. The journey back to Balamb was calm, and out friends relaxed by playing Triple Triad, which ended with Caesar as a winner.
" Hahahahah! The unbeatable Caesar Card! With A's at the right side, saves the day with a Combo! Yeah!" he laughed after beating Irvine for a third time in a row.
"I can't believe it…I lost my Diablos Card! No!" Irvine mourned. And so, they were happy. By the time they arrived at Balamb Garden, it was late at night.
"Gee…I guess everyone should be sleeping now…" Selphie said. But, to their surprise, the gang, Cid and Edea were wide-awake, waiting for them.
"Welcome home guys!" Zell said, hitting Irvine on the back.
"Wheeee! You guys waited for us!" Selphie said happily.
" Of course we did! What did you think? That we'd heartlessly go to bed without waiting for our friends?" Rinoa said.
" Squall said you three got into a lot of trouble. But he won't tell us any details. So, do you mind to tell us?" Quistis said, with her hands crossed over her chest.
" Awww! Why didn't you tell them Master Squall!?" Caesar said.
"Come on! You guys know I don't like to boast around about my Prophet powers!" Squall said a little perplexed.
"Hah! You're goin' red Squall!" Selphie said.
"Ah, hush up and just tell us what happened!" Squall said sternly, but with an amusing tone on his voice. Irvine popped up and told the whole story this time, and Caesar butted in to say his own things.
"I'm very happy to see that you found your aunt Selphie." Edea said. "I'm, sure that you want to go and see her again, so I'll ask Cid to give you a little time off." Edea said, giving her husband a look that said ' just try to say no!'. Cid stirred under that look and said seriously:
"Alright all, better go to get some sleep. Caesar, you have to rest, because your SeeD field test is tomorrow. Goodnight all!" Everyone went to their dorms, and Caesar followed Selphie. He was going to sleep in her bathroom again, to keep calm from everything, because a bathroom is certainly calmer that Balamb Garden's Training Center! Yet, Selphie just couldn't sleep. She kept looking at a picture of her family her Tita had given her before she left.
" Mommy…you were so beautiful…Daddy…I loved you so much, but you didn't keep your promise…Fiona…goodness, how much we were alike…Oh, I love you all…" she thought to herself and fell asleep with the photo on her chest.
The next morning, all the gang was at the Fire Cavern, accompanying Caesar on his SeeD test. Quistis was an Instructor again, and she was supposed to escort Caesar alone, but he others insisted they came along. So they all were heading for the Fire Cavern where the test would take place, and Caesar was trying not to think of the humiliation he would suffer if he screwed it up. Since Squall and Quistis had defeated Ifrit the place was a mess. A new breed of Behemoths, the Infernal Behemoth had made the Fire Cavern their home. Those Behemoths were bigger and more ferocious that a normal Behemoth, and had a bright red color, which made them look more like the Catelopas but it's horns we're curled like a ram's and the mane between them was made from flames. Caesar was a little anxious, but Squall tried to keep him calm, telling him it wasn't gonna be all that bad. As you can guess, Squall knew what test Caesar was going to go through, but he kept his mouth shut after Quistis' order and didn't tell anyone but Rinoa, after she promised to say nothing too. Caesar kept his cool posture and tried to think of his advantages. He was immune by nature to fire, so it might be piece of cake, but he still was feeling a little panicked. Of course Quistis also knew, and truth was, she was worried about her friend.
"Ok, SeeD test, type 342, level 30. It should be easy for you, cadet Caesar. Select a time limit please…" She said, trying to sound like a serious Instructor. After a slight hesitation, Caesar picked the 10 min. time limit.
"Alright. You'll go in there alone and your objective is to collect the 'golden bell' Good luck" Quistis said. Caesar moved in.
"He'll be fine…" Squall assured Rinoa. As we trotted through the cave, Caesar knew that Garden Faculties were watching him, but he tried to pass that fact by. He was anxious, and felt almost like throwing up.
"It should be easy…It should be easy…my ass!!" he thought. He knew he had some aces in his sleeve, but that didn't comfort him much. As he ventured deeper into the Fire Cavern, he was wondering what that 'golden bell' he was supposed to find was.
" Where the hell could they have put a bell in here!?" He reached a river of lava. He was about to turn and look elsewhere, when he heard a dinging sound.
" Hmmm!?…Could that be it?" He though. He checked his timer and saw he had 9:30 time left. "Ah, what the heck…I'll go check…" Soon he saw he couldn't fly it across. The hot steams pushed him upwards and he couldn't maintain his balance.
"Tch… So what!? I'll swim it!" he thought. Since he was a dragon, lava was like water to him. Once he swam for a while, he saw an isle in the middle of the lava stream. An Infernal Behemoth occupied it. The Behemoth was wearing a sort of collar, with a golden bell.
"Bingo!…Aha…I see. So I have to beat the hell outta it." He thought. "I think I can ambush it. It won't know what hit him!…Shit! I gotta hurry!" He had only 7:00. He jumped out of the lava, surprising the Behemoth, and bit it, pouring poison in its body. Then he jumped back, and looked at the beast. The difference of size was that of a cat to a bear. The Behemoth countered using a 'Fire Trial', spitting fire and molten lava at Caesar, only healing the little dragon. The Behemoth was poisoned, and was jolted by the effect of the poison. Caesar blew a raspberry at it, sticking his tongue out.
"Nah, nah, nah ,nah! You can't catch me!" he teased it. "Man, this is easy after all!" Caesar said out loud, flittering around the Behemoth. The Infernal Behemoth snorted angrily, and Caesar did the same. " Uh-oh! 5:00 on my timer! Shit! No time to play! I gotta finish it off! Shiva!" he called the mighty GF, which used her 'Diamond Dust' and badly injured the Behemoth. Caesar was hoping the poison would double the effect, which was true, and he started firing Blizzaga spells like mad.
"Take this! And this! And that! And that!" he shouted as he finished the Behemoth off. "Wheeeeee!!!! I killed it!…Ghah! only 1:00 left! Arg! I gotta hurry!" Caesar grabbed the bell and rushed like a bullet to get outta the Fire Cavern, and made it on the inch of time. Everyone cheered him.
"Good job Caesar!" Zell told him, patting his back.
"I told you it was easy!" Irvine laughed.
"Hurray for Caesar! The first SeeD dragon! Hurray!" Selphie cried out jumping up and down.
"Not bad Reptile!" Seifer said. Seifer used to call Caesar 'Reptile' to tease him, but Caesar didn't give a damn now.
"Great job!" Quistis said, crossing her arms over her chest again. Rinoa was clapping in joy, and Squall just smiled wide. He didn't need any words to show his satisfaction his friend had done so well, and everyone knew that.
"Ok, let's head back to Garden and wait for the exam's results" Quistis said and they all headed for Garden, with Caesar marching ahead, brimming with pride. When they reached Garden, the results were out, and Caesar had done very well. His SeeD Rank was 7 and he had a great potential.
"I guess I have to take SeeD tests very often now, if I wanna hit a higher rank!" Caesar had said.
" But I guess, I won't be able to reach Rank A, like Master Squall!" he had added. That was true; Squall was one of the few SeeDs that had ever reached an A rank, with a 30.000 salary. Well, Squall spent a whole loan of his cash on medication and things…it was a fact that Squall was open handed. Now, Caesar could proudly march through the Garden halls, as a SeeD. Meanwhile, Selphie had arranged a time off for herself and Irvine, so that she could go and visit her aunt again. Irvine had no problem with going along, even though he wanted to stay at Garden and participate at a sharp shooting contest. He had said that he wanted to leave the victory to others too, but Squall knew he had another reason. Irvine was really in love with Selphie. She wasn't just a girl he liked. It was love. Maybe not like the Squall-Rinoa model, but was love. Besides, love and death have many faces. And Irvine loved Selphie in his own way. After all, she was a childhood love that had passed through his adolescence without being forgotten. So, if it wasn't love, what else could it be?
So, all was peaceful in the world…of the mortals at least. Because, in the world of gods, two not bad-famed gods were plotting against the Gods' Council secretly. Ares, the hotheaded god of war was in his dark palace. Ares was sitting in his black rock thrown, looking at the floor. He was tired of waiting. Just then, Seth, the hyena -headed god of evil, entered the chamber.
" Finally…you decided to come!" Ares threw at Seth as he sensed him enter. Seth frowned with anger.
"Yes…I know your boots are interesting, but I've come to discuss an 'urgent' matter with you, or isn't that the reason that you have called me?" Seth said in his sly, cruel voice. "What do you want to talk about Ares? I hope it is something interesting, like what should we do about the young SeeDs… " Seth said, looking at the war god lifting his head.
"That's exactly the reason I called you!" Ares shouted, raising his head. Seth sat on a black rock thrown opposite Ares.
"Don't you raise your voice at me…" he said. " I don't understand why you are worried. They are only a bunch of annoying adolescents." He continued.
"Annoying adolescents?! They defeated Ultimecia!! Even though we gave her the power she needed and cursed her with the madness of the Erinyes, she still failed!!" Ares roared. "It was my fault to listen to you, you idiotic, dog head god!"
"Ultimecia WAS a failure as an idea…and the idea was yours! Ultimecia was mortal! She had weaknesses! We are GODS!!" Seth yelled back.
"Yeah! My ass! Like, d'uh! Athena, Ra, Bastet, Sehmet, and all the others are gods too! And you know what!? They are all on their side!" Ares shouted.
"They do not have our allies though…Do not fear or hesitate Ares! We shall dominate!" Seth replied and laughed, filling the castle with a terrifying hyena giggle.
Another chapter! Please read and review this story! Please? Thanks!
Ruby Dragon