A/N:
WOW! It feels good to be back from an unannounced hiatus! ^_^* Sorry 'bout that. So on to the relay fic! It's hard to tie these ends together...^___^
~Mai
~*~*~*~
Lamirra rushed to her friend's hospital room as soon as she heard a shout. There was only one person who could scream that loud, and that person happened to be Nadesiko. Grinning absently as she remembered all of the other times she had complained to Siko for "breaking the decible scale," for once she was grateful for the racket. Just as she turned in the doorway, she barreled into Rufus as he sauntered out. A loud WHUMP! echoed down the empty hospital hallway as the two crashed to the ground in a tangled mess. Now, not only was she out of breath from running up the fourteen flights of stairs, but now she was in pain as well.
"Owwww..." Lamirra moaned and sat up as she attempted to free her leg from the blonde-haired Rufus. Hurried foosteps sounded from the hall. As they neared the open doorway, Lamirra heard Reno's voice.
"Hey! I heard a shout and a crash! Is everything-!"
Just as Lamirra and Rufus had recuperated from the fall, Reno tripped over both of them and fell flat on his face. His groan was followed by muffled yelps from the two unfortunated people underneath him. Nadesiko was doubled up in laughter on the hospital bed. An indignant Lamirra popped her head out from under the Turk.
"Shut up! Here I am, the kind, selfless friend rushing over to give you your clothes, and after a little accident, I get laughed at! Geez! Talk about inconsiderate."
Nadesiko attempted to stifle her laughter as she replied. "Sorry Mir. But, little accident? Thats a bit of an understatement. I haven't seen that much klutziness since-"
"Day before yesterday?" Reno rubbed his head and sat up. He winced as his fingers brushed against his new bruise. "Ouch! I think I remember seeing YOU trip over your high heels at work when you were carryin' some paperwork for Tseng. Your really one to be talking."
Nadesiko gave Reno a flat look. "I didn't trip. There was a snag in the carpet and-"
"It jumped out and attacked you? You should be more careful. That snag may be little, but it's vicious!"
Nadesiko snorted a little and turned her head, taking a moment to chuck an empty IV bag at the man. "Maybe I should pay it to attack YOU."
"Mirra, do you care to retort?" Reno looked down at his brown-haired friend as she slowly sat up,ignoring the bag as it narrowly missed his head.
"Yeah. Get off my arm." Reno stood and offered her a hand up, which she gratefully took. "Ow! I feel like a got hit by truck..."
"Close enough." Rufus got to his feet and brushed his white coat off. "What do you have in your jacket Reno? Bricks?"
Reno's smug reply was, "No, I've just got a torso of steel. It's called working out. Ever heard of it?"
Rufus just rolled his eyes and walked out.
"Nadesiko I want to see you in my office tomorrow morning." Rufus' voice lingered in the room momentarily before Reno groaned.
"So much for a raise..." Reno put his hands behind his head. Nadesiko opened her mouth slightly, as though she was about to say something, but instead closed it again and stared silently at the ground.
"Hey, Siko. How ya feelin'?" Lamirra tossed the clothes she had brought for her friend onto the hospital bed.
"Better, actually. There's something I wanna talk to you about." Nadesiko reached for the clothes that were offered to her. She eyed Reno with discomfort as she pulled the hospital gown off her body and replaced it with the loose nit sweater that lay across her legs.
"Let's talk about it at home." Lamirra said, taking note of the uncomfortable glance. "I'm beat."
~*~*~*~
Both young women were so tired that they were practically falling off their chocobos by the time they got home. Neither of them felt like talking, but they knew each other well enough to realize that whatever the other had to say, it was important, and could not be ignored. The final decision was to sit at the dining room table and discuss all they had to say over a cup of the French Vanilla Latte Rufus had given Nadesiko. After a few minutes of relishing in the comfortable silence, Nadesiko looked up.
"Mirra, I've gotta tell ya...I found this...journal. In the files at Shinra."
"Hm?" Lamirra looked over the rim of her coffee cup. After finishing her sip, she wiped her mouth. "Oh, yeah. When I got your clothes, it fell out of the pocket. That thing's pretty weird. Any idea who wrote it?"
"Yeah, that's what I was gonna talk about." Nadesiko stood and began rooting around for the journal. Lamirra took another swig and pointed to the desk drawer across the room. Her friend's ponytail bobbed as she struggled to open the stubborn drawer.
"Stupid...drawer..Weren't you supposed to fix it?" Finally the drawer opened to Nadesiko, who quickly plucked the delicate book out of it and brought it back to the table.
"Huh? So you know who wrote it?"
Nadesiko nodded. "Uh huh. This dude Seiki. It was in my dream at the hospital. A-..apparently he's in my...subconcious." Lamirra cocked her head, and her friend explained all that had gone on in her dream.
"I see. So, where's the fake key?"
After digging in her pocket, the brunette produced the shining amulet. Lamirra's eyes shone with admiration. "Wow! Even for a copy, that thing's beautiful!" Nadesiko nodded in agreement.
"Er," Lamirra paused, "but how exactly did the thing get from your mind to your pocket?" The two women stared quizically at eachother before Nadesiko shruged it off.
"Whatever. We have to find a key just like this and destroy the emerald carving in the center."
"This is great!"
Nadesiko gave her friend a questioning glance. "Huh? Why?"
Lamirra grinned slyly at Nadesiko. "Because, that was our mission in the first place!"
"Come again?"
"You know! The entire reason we had become Turks! We were hired by that weirdo on the phone, and he's gonna pay us $50,000,000 gil once we destroy it!"
Nadesiko furrowed her brows and replied, "No it's not. We're just supposed to *get* the key and then give it to..." The young women's eye widened. Both jumped up and began shouting at the same time.
"We don't even know who the guy is! How're we supposed to get paid?!" Lamirra cried.
"Maybe he's part of Shinra and just wants the key for himself!" Nadesiko exclaimed.
"Aw, crap..." The two fell back into their seats. Looking up, Lamirra pointed a detail out. "Well, since we don't even know the guy, I guess we can concentrate on just destroying the thing. I mean, we *were* supposed to get the key before Shinra so that they don't let Ronan out. Destroying the key would definitly get that job done. Besides how are we supposed to get the key to him in the first place."
"You know...somehow I don't think that the key really has anything to do with releasing Ronan or Tenshi. I think that no matter what we do, we might be forced to either confront the demon or keep him locked up some other way..." Nadesiko crossed her legs, the look on her face pensive.
"Hn? What makes you say that?"
"Look." Nadesiko opened the journal to a tattered page, that read:
Date: Fourth Cycle, Gray Sun, Year of Lightning
Today is a wonderous day for excavation, but a terrible one for human kind. We have found the scroll from the last known human to record what he saw in the time of the Lothloriel War. - Lamirra's eyes widened. So the war *was* real. - These are his last words.
I lie here in this cave dying. The demon killed everyone. At least that I know of. The wound its eye gave me months ago has been festering ever since, and I can feel its cursed touch spreading through my body. I write this in hopes of someone surviving, and preparing for the next part of the war better than we did. The Tenshi sacrificed itself only recently to seal in the demon. But I know that the sacrifice was in vain. The demon is stronger than the Tenshi by far. There is little hope now, unless another Tenshi is born, stronger. I pray someone will find this. The Tenshi cannot afford to sacrifice itself in the same way. If the demon is destroyed, than the Tenshi must be as well to maintain balance, and that was the last Tenshi's fatal mistake. It killed itself, but let the other live. And so, the next Tenshi must sacrifice itself to kill Ronan, and now I write his name without fear, because since I am dying, he has no power over me now. But such a mistake from the Tenshi is too shameful to bear. Honor and valor will never be able to compensate for the Tenshi's mistakes. I wish the next Angel of Gaia luck, for its journey is a sorrowful one.
No archaeologist finds truth in these words, but being raised as an Icefire Clan member, I know them to be true. But no one these days has the capability of becoming the next Angel of Gaia, and so all hope is lost. Mankind will collapse in on itself, and at man's weakest point the demon will strike. Their is, truly, no hope for us now.
Chilled to the bone by this grim message, Lamirra looked at Nadesiko expectantly. "Well? Now what? Even without the key, Ronan's apparently going to escape and destroy the world."
"Now, we find the key, destroy it, and go to Limestone Hills. Even if he'll escape eventually, he won't be able to anytime soon without the key. I won't give up this planet without a fight."
"Alright, then. Why Limestone Hills?"
"Because there's something there. I know it."
Lamirra stared at her friend as the girl went into a deep trance. Indicating that she was contemplation their situation. A smirk lighted on her face.
"Why did Rufus look so happy leaving your room earlier?"
Nadesiko allowed a small grin to play upon her lips and she looked back at Lamirra slyly.
"Oh, No real reason."
"SIKO!!!!"
Lamirra jumped up as Nadesiko stuck out her tongue with a giggle. Green eyes flashing with curiosity Lamirra chased the girl out of the room.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
They left the journal open on the table, not noticing the page that fluttered to the ground.
'Hopefully my beloved daughter and her close friend survived. That is our only hope..."
~*~*~*~
A/N: I have confidence in you Mai. Your tyin together the chaps great! I really liked this one. Anywho, onto the next chap.
WOW! It feels good to be back from an unannounced hiatus! ^_^* Sorry 'bout that. So on to the relay fic! It's hard to tie these ends together...^___^
~Mai
~*~*~*~
Lamirra rushed to her friend's hospital room as soon as she heard a shout. There was only one person who could scream that loud, and that person happened to be Nadesiko. Grinning absently as she remembered all of the other times she had complained to Siko for "breaking the decible scale," for once she was grateful for the racket. Just as she turned in the doorway, she barreled into Rufus as he sauntered out. A loud WHUMP! echoed down the empty hospital hallway as the two crashed to the ground in a tangled mess. Now, not only was she out of breath from running up the fourteen flights of stairs, but now she was in pain as well.
"Owwww..." Lamirra moaned and sat up as she attempted to free her leg from the blonde-haired Rufus. Hurried foosteps sounded from the hall. As they neared the open doorway, Lamirra heard Reno's voice.
"Hey! I heard a shout and a crash! Is everything-!"
Just as Lamirra and Rufus had recuperated from the fall, Reno tripped over both of them and fell flat on his face. His groan was followed by muffled yelps from the two unfortunated people underneath him. Nadesiko was doubled up in laughter on the hospital bed. An indignant Lamirra popped her head out from under the Turk.
"Shut up! Here I am, the kind, selfless friend rushing over to give you your clothes, and after a little accident, I get laughed at! Geez! Talk about inconsiderate."
Nadesiko attempted to stifle her laughter as she replied. "Sorry Mir. But, little accident? Thats a bit of an understatement. I haven't seen that much klutziness since-"
"Day before yesterday?" Reno rubbed his head and sat up. He winced as his fingers brushed against his new bruise. "Ouch! I think I remember seeing YOU trip over your high heels at work when you were carryin' some paperwork for Tseng. Your really one to be talking."
Nadesiko gave Reno a flat look. "I didn't trip. There was a snag in the carpet and-"
"It jumped out and attacked you? You should be more careful. That snag may be little, but it's vicious!"
Nadesiko snorted a little and turned her head, taking a moment to chuck an empty IV bag at the man. "Maybe I should pay it to attack YOU."
"Mirra, do you care to retort?" Reno looked down at his brown-haired friend as she slowly sat up,ignoring the bag as it narrowly missed his head.
"Yeah. Get off my arm." Reno stood and offered her a hand up, which she gratefully took. "Ow! I feel like a got hit by truck..."
"Close enough." Rufus got to his feet and brushed his white coat off. "What do you have in your jacket Reno? Bricks?"
Reno's smug reply was, "No, I've just got a torso of steel. It's called working out. Ever heard of it?"
Rufus just rolled his eyes and walked out.
"Nadesiko I want to see you in my office tomorrow morning." Rufus' voice lingered in the room momentarily before Reno groaned.
"So much for a raise..." Reno put his hands behind his head. Nadesiko opened her mouth slightly, as though she was about to say something, but instead closed it again and stared silently at the ground.
"Hey, Siko. How ya feelin'?" Lamirra tossed the clothes she had brought for her friend onto the hospital bed.
"Better, actually. There's something I wanna talk to you about." Nadesiko reached for the clothes that were offered to her. She eyed Reno with discomfort as she pulled the hospital gown off her body and replaced it with the loose nit sweater that lay across her legs.
"Let's talk about it at home." Lamirra said, taking note of the uncomfortable glance. "I'm beat."
~*~*~*~
Both young women were so tired that they were practically falling off their chocobos by the time they got home. Neither of them felt like talking, but they knew each other well enough to realize that whatever the other had to say, it was important, and could not be ignored. The final decision was to sit at the dining room table and discuss all they had to say over a cup of the French Vanilla Latte Rufus had given Nadesiko. After a few minutes of relishing in the comfortable silence, Nadesiko looked up.
"Mirra, I've gotta tell ya...I found this...journal. In the files at Shinra."
"Hm?" Lamirra looked over the rim of her coffee cup. After finishing her sip, she wiped her mouth. "Oh, yeah. When I got your clothes, it fell out of the pocket. That thing's pretty weird. Any idea who wrote it?"
"Yeah, that's what I was gonna talk about." Nadesiko stood and began rooting around for the journal. Lamirra took another swig and pointed to the desk drawer across the room. Her friend's ponytail bobbed as she struggled to open the stubborn drawer.
"Stupid...drawer..Weren't you supposed to fix it?" Finally the drawer opened to Nadesiko, who quickly plucked the delicate book out of it and brought it back to the table.
"Huh? So you know who wrote it?"
Nadesiko nodded. "Uh huh. This dude Seiki. It was in my dream at the hospital. A-..apparently he's in my...subconcious." Lamirra cocked her head, and her friend explained all that had gone on in her dream.
"I see. So, where's the fake key?"
After digging in her pocket, the brunette produced the shining amulet. Lamirra's eyes shone with admiration. "Wow! Even for a copy, that thing's beautiful!" Nadesiko nodded in agreement.
"Er," Lamirra paused, "but how exactly did the thing get from your mind to your pocket?" The two women stared quizically at eachother before Nadesiko shruged it off.
"Whatever. We have to find a key just like this and destroy the emerald carving in the center."
"This is great!"
Nadesiko gave her friend a questioning glance. "Huh? Why?"
Lamirra grinned slyly at Nadesiko. "Because, that was our mission in the first place!"
"Come again?"
"You know! The entire reason we had become Turks! We were hired by that weirdo on the phone, and he's gonna pay us $50,000,000 gil once we destroy it!"
Nadesiko furrowed her brows and replied, "No it's not. We're just supposed to *get* the key and then give it to..." The young women's eye widened. Both jumped up and began shouting at the same time.
"We don't even know who the guy is! How're we supposed to get paid?!" Lamirra cried.
"Maybe he's part of Shinra and just wants the key for himself!" Nadesiko exclaimed.
"Aw, crap..." The two fell back into their seats. Looking up, Lamirra pointed a detail out. "Well, since we don't even know the guy, I guess we can concentrate on just destroying the thing. I mean, we *were* supposed to get the key before Shinra so that they don't let Ronan out. Destroying the key would definitly get that job done. Besides how are we supposed to get the key to him in the first place."
"You know...somehow I don't think that the key really has anything to do with releasing Ronan or Tenshi. I think that no matter what we do, we might be forced to either confront the demon or keep him locked up some other way..." Nadesiko crossed her legs, the look on her face pensive.
"Hn? What makes you say that?"
"Look." Nadesiko opened the journal to a tattered page, that read:
Date: Fourth Cycle, Gray Sun, Year of Lightning
Today is a wonderous day for excavation, but a terrible one for human kind. We have found the scroll from the last known human to record what he saw in the time of the Lothloriel War. - Lamirra's eyes widened. So the war *was* real. - These are his last words.
I lie here in this cave dying. The demon killed everyone. At least that I know of. The wound its eye gave me months ago has been festering ever since, and I can feel its cursed touch spreading through my body. I write this in hopes of someone surviving, and preparing for the next part of the war better than we did. The Tenshi sacrificed itself only recently to seal in the demon. But I know that the sacrifice was in vain. The demon is stronger than the Tenshi by far. There is little hope now, unless another Tenshi is born, stronger. I pray someone will find this. The Tenshi cannot afford to sacrifice itself in the same way. If the demon is destroyed, than the Tenshi must be as well to maintain balance, and that was the last Tenshi's fatal mistake. It killed itself, but let the other live. And so, the next Tenshi must sacrifice itself to kill Ronan, and now I write his name without fear, because since I am dying, he has no power over me now. But such a mistake from the Tenshi is too shameful to bear. Honor and valor will never be able to compensate for the Tenshi's mistakes. I wish the next Angel of Gaia luck, for its journey is a sorrowful one.
No archaeologist finds truth in these words, but being raised as an Icefire Clan member, I know them to be true. But no one these days has the capability of becoming the next Angel of Gaia, and so all hope is lost. Mankind will collapse in on itself, and at man's weakest point the demon will strike. Their is, truly, no hope for us now.
Chilled to the bone by this grim message, Lamirra looked at Nadesiko expectantly. "Well? Now what? Even without the key, Ronan's apparently going to escape and destroy the world."
"Now, we find the key, destroy it, and go to Limestone Hills. Even if he'll escape eventually, he won't be able to anytime soon without the key. I won't give up this planet without a fight."
"Alright, then. Why Limestone Hills?"
"Because there's something there. I know it."
Lamirra stared at her friend as the girl went into a deep trance. Indicating that she was contemplation their situation. A smirk lighted on her face.
"Why did Rufus look so happy leaving your room earlier?"
Nadesiko allowed a small grin to play upon her lips and she looked back at Lamirra slyly.
"Oh, No real reason."
"SIKO!!!!"
Lamirra jumped up as Nadesiko stuck out her tongue with a giggle. Green eyes flashing with curiosity Lamirra chased the girl out of the room.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
They left the journal open on the table, not noticing the page that fluttered to the ground.
'Hopefully my beloved daughter and her close friend survived. That is our only hope..."
~*~*~*~
A/N: I have confidence in you Mai. Your tyin together the chaps great! I really liked this one. Anywho, onto the next chap.