A/N: Whoo, here it is! I hope you guys enjoy it! THIS CHAPTER IS FOR
EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED! YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!
Disclaimer: I won nothing except the story idea and Leona =P
*
I nervously followed Zell up to squall's office. Ok Leona, you have just chosen to throw away any memory you have of your friends, your family.. Your world.. Was I really willing to give this up? was I really giving up such a precious gift for...the precious gift of power in return. I sighed, I knew that it was considered an honor to be junctioned to a GF, especially to the special creature. Power... Power was what I was bargaining for.
'Leona?'
I closed my eyes softly and looked up and smiled at Zell.
'Yes Zell?'
He gently cupped my face in his hand, his gloved thumb running over my lips. He then sighed and pulled away, indicating towards the large double doors before us.
'Its nothing, don't stress it ok?' he flashed me a toothy grin and pushed the doors open, 'come on, we gotta tell Squall.'
I nodded, albeit nervously and followed Zell into squalls office, stopping in front of a large wooden desk where Squall sat. He looked up from the paper work he was doing and looked at us curiously.
'Zell? Leona? What are guys doing here?'
Zell looked over at me and nodded, I had to be the one to tell squall.
'I've been thinking a lot of juntioning a GF to myself,' I began, moving my hands like I was preparing to give a speech, 'and well... I'd like to junction one to myself. There MUST be a reason why I've been sent here and I'd like to have a GF not only for protection but also for security...'
Squall stood up from his desk and walked around to the front of it. He leaned against it, gently clicking a pen in his hand.
'But?' he asked, coaxing the rest out of me. I sighed and turned my head, looking the other way.
'But I'm still battling with myself. I'm not sure if I want to sacrifice my memory's,' I said then turned around to face him again, 'I don't want to lose them.'
'Leona, it's a sacrifice you'll have to make if you wish to obtain a GF,' squall said, his tone completely serious, 'there can be not buts.'
I sighed and put a hand to my head. I had to decide here and now, power for memory's, power for memory's, power for memory's-
'Why doesn't she just keep a journal? You know, like we all used to do Squall,' Zell said, interrupting my thoughts, 'you don't automatically lose your memories once a GF's junctioned to you, maybe she can write about her world, her family and her friends.'
'Zell that's brilliant!' I cried, jumping up and wrapping my arms around his neck, ' I can't believe I never thought of it before!' I turned and looked over at squall to see he was seriously considering this.
'I do not doubt that it will take you a while to record all your memories,' he said, albeit skeptically.
'Don't worry about it Squall, as long as I have something that will at least jolt my memory than I think I should be fine,' I said confidently.
'Alright then, well GF's aren't something that just pop up in thin air,' squall said then went and scribbled something down on a piece of paper, 'here's the Rangnarok's pass codes, take her down to Centra; the fire caverns too busy right now with students and such,' squall explained, handing the piece of paper to Zell who nodded his thanks. He then turned and flashed me an encouraging smile, 'you should find one down there, you'll need to draw it out of the monster most likely if you do not battle one head on but I'm sure you'll be alright.'
'There's no need to worry, Squall. I'll keep an eye out on her and besides, I'll just weaken the thing up and have hr draw it out then I'll finish the monster off,' Zell said. I noticed how he puffed his chest out a bit; hee hee, Zell was so cute.
'Alright, just you two be careful. If you DO get one, as soon as you get back I want you to start that journal, Leona,' Squall advised.
'Of course, 'I said then copied the salute Zell did and left the office. Once Zell and I were back into the elevator I felt myself being roughly lifted off the ground and swung around. My foot painfully smacked a bar and I cried out and playfully smacked Zell's arms.
'Let me down you goof ball! You just killed my foot!' I yelled.
'Aw, dude I'm so sorry!' Zell said then leaned down and yanked my foot, pulling my upside down. I yelped and tried to balance myself by putting both hands down on the ground.
'Zell exactly WHAT are you doing?' I asked, kicking slightly.
'Stop squirming Leona! I'm trying to see if you hurt you foot badly!'
'Zell what are you talking about? It's fine now let me-'
'Ping.'
I looked up as high as I could to see Zell and I had arrived on the first floor and were now being stared at by half of Gardens population. We WERE in a pretty odd position; his hands holding my one foot up while the other dangled haphazardly and my arms struggling to keep myself balanced. I blushed and awkwardly fell to the floor with a clunk as Zell let me go. I laughed nervously and jumped back up, hiding my face with my hands as I stormed out of the elevator, dragging Zell behind me.
'Whoa, Leona slow down! My legs can only go so fast!' he stumbled.
'Zell, why the hell did you turn me upside down?' I asked then sighed when he flashed me his 'I'm-so-sorry-it'll-never-happen-again-' smile, 'oh never mind, you may be a doofus,' I teased then gave him a kiss on the cheek, 'but a cute one at that.'
Zell blushed then shook his head and lead me around to the back of Garden where we came upon a large hangar. Zell walked up to it and yanked one of the large metal doors open to revel a huge dragon like ship.
'Whoa..' I murmured then turned to Zell, pointing at the large ship, 'what IS that?'
Zell smiled and walked up to it, digging into his quite large pockets for the piece of paper squall had given him. After he punched in a couple numbers there was a mechanical hiss and suddenly hatch opened and a staircase made its way to the ground.
'This Leona, is the Rangnarok! BOOYA BABY!' he cried then happily ran up the stairs. I raised my eyebrow, shaking my head bemusedly as I followed behind Zell. The moment I stepped into the ship I was overwhelmed, it really was huge!!
'Zell?' I called out, my voice echoing through the large open space. I heard a door hiss open and Zell's blonde head popped through it.
'Follow me, I gotta go get the engines started up,' he said then disappeared again. I shrugged and followed him, going through the door only to come into a much smaller one that had a small lift on one of the walls.
'Over to the right of this lift is another room, you can go wait in there for now while I start up the engines and get us going. I'll call you up here in a while,' he said then gently pushed m off the lift, 'se ya in a minute.'
I nodded and watched Zell disappear up into the ceiling then sighed and walked into a long room that had chairs along each wall. I heard a loud nose and stumbled a bit as the Rangnarok gave a jolt. I quickly jumped into one of the chairs and buckled up my belt then watched through the large glass windows as we pulled out of the hangar and was soon in the sky. Once I felt I could trust my own legs I unbuckled my belt and stood up, walking towards the window. I put a hand to the cool surface and looked down to see Garden quickly disappear from sight.
'Ok, so how long you gonna leave me alone down here Zell?' I sighed and flopped back into a chair. Great, now that I was alone again I'd probably start thinking about my decision and then that will probably lead to m regretting it, and then all this trouble Zell's gone to will be a-
'Leona? Get your butt up to the cockpit!'
I laughed and spun my head around, looking for the speaker. I stood up and walked out of the room and cautiously stepped onto the lift.
'Ok Mr. lift, I don't like you and you don't like me but I'm sure we can come to an agreement,' I muttered as I searched for the button that made it go up. I growled, irritated when I couldn't find it. I tilted my head upwards, hoping Zell would be able to hear me.
'Zell?? I cant get the lift to work!!' I yelled. I waited a couple minutes and then saw the three blonde spikes and then Zell's tattooed face.
'Whattya talkin' about Leona? See that big red button right there? Yeah, that one will get ya up here,' he said, and then stuck his tongue out playfully. I turned to see a big red button on one of the railings and let out an angry growl. Way to go Leona, you've succeeded in making yourself look like a total idiot, is there anything else you'd like to add on to this? Don't forget to actually get off the lift and I'm sure you'll be fine.
'Oh shut up,' I muttered to my nagging brain and slammed down on the button.
*
I yawned and slowly blinked my eyes open. Damn it, I must have fallen asleep on the way to Centra. I slapped my lips together and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes lazily to see I had cuddled up into the co-pilots chair. I sat up and ran my hands down my face when something slid off of me and I looked down onto the floor to see it was Zell's jacket. He really was too sweet.
'Zell?' I asked aloud. He wasn't in the pilots seat; he wasn't even in the room! I climbed out of the chair, pulling Zell's jacket over my shoulders as I stepped onto the lift and went down. Still no Zell. I walked into the large hangar of the 'Rok and went down the stairs, my feet stepping into sand.
'Zell, where are you?' I asked. Ok, now I was starting to get worried, Zell wouldn't have just left me here alone.. it wasn't like him. Plus, in all honesty, I didn't like being alone, especially somewhere that was totally unfamiliar to me.
'GOTCHA!'
I screamed as I was roughly picked up and swung over someone's should. I started to kick and punch, screaming Zell's name at the top of my lungs. I clobbered the guy right in the head, heard an 'oomph' and was dropped to the ground. Then the guilt hit.
'Oh Zell!' I cried; dropping to my knee's as I took his head in my arms. I had gotten him pretty good and while he was still conscious there was a large bump forming on his forehead that looked quite painful. I suddenly remembered how badly head scared me. The anger hit.
'Zell you bumfuggly!! Why would you scare me like that?' I asked, poking his chest repeatedly.
'Leona- ow- I was only -ow- playin! Come on -ow- cut me some -ow- slack here!' he protested, his palms turned up submissively. I leaned back on my heels and looked at him skeptically.
'Give me a better reason why I shouldn't eat you,' I said menacingly, crossing my arms.
'Well,' Zell began, putting a hand to his chin, 'when you put it THAT way..' he teased.
'Argh! Your unbelievable sometimes Zell!' I said, throwing my arms up into the air exasperatedly. Zell jumped up from the ground and wrapped his arms around me from behind.
'Yeah, maybe but that's why you love me,' he said then leaned in and planted a kiss on my neck. I physically melted and felt a shiver run up my spine. I turned around and flashed him a lop-sided grin, proving to him that he was right. I pulled off his jacket and handed it back to him.
'Sha up,' I said, gently cuffing his shoulder with my fist. Zell tilted his head back and laughed then clipped a belt of bottles and other odd items to him. I looked at them curiously, weird fluids and gases floating around in the tiny bottles. I also saw what looked like a marble bag but seemed to carry strange looking stones.
'What IS all of that?' I asked, pointing to his belt.
'Wha? Oh, just some healing items and such,' he said then reached into the little pouch and pulled out a shiny blue stone, 'this hears an Ultima stone, if I were to throw it at an enemy there'd be a large green and yellow blast and it would do some serious damage,' he explained the carefully tucked it back into his pouch.
'Right Leona, have you learned the 'draw' ability?' he asked.
'Yeah, I went over it with Quistis the other day when she and I were practicing in the training center. I have a couple Sleep's and confuses on me. Will they be any help?'
Zell shook his head uncertainly.
'Depends, sometimes the monsters are too strong for those to take effect but its great that you know how to draw from enemy's. Right,' Zell began, dusting off the sand from his hands, 'I was checking out the area, luckily I wasn't attacked but I have found a pretty menacing looking cave and I have the sneaking suspicion that there may be a water GF in there, most likely Leviathan or if we're lucky Brothers,' he explained then took my hand and lead me across the small sand dunes and into a forest. I moved closer to Zell, strange sounds from animals that were unknown to me echoing all around us.
'Don't worry, there isn't anything worse out here then maybe a Grat of a Jelly Eye, ' Zell explained. I heard another noise behind us and spun around to take a look but didn't see anything. I took a back step towards Zell but bumped into him.
'Oomph, Zell what's going on?' I asked, turning around as I placed a hand on his shoulder.
'That's the cave just up ahead; I want you to stay close to me all right? When we come to the GF you just let me make the first blow and then I want you to draw from it ok? If its not just a normal monster that has a GF inside of it and is an ACTUAL GF, you just hit it as hard as you can and then let me do the rest ok?' Zell explained, his tone grave.
'Zell, I can fight too. I don't want you wearing yourself out,' I said. Zell smiled and squeezed my hand.
'Leona, I NEVER wear out so don't sweat it ok? Come on, lets go find that GF and get it junctioned to you as soon as possible.'
I nodded and didn't follow Zell into the cave; instead I stood at his side, prepared for anything.
*
Zell and I had been inside the cave for twenty minutes, had fought numerous bite bugs and weird looking bat creatures before my hope to attain a GF became small. I sighed and sat down on a rock, looking around the blue, sparkling cave.
'Zell, its hopeless, there isn't anything in here, I'll never attain a GF,' I said, burying my face in my hands. Zell walked over to me and pulled me into his arms.
'Aw, come on Leona, don't talk like that. It's just nothing like ya,' he said then gave me a kiss, 'your gonna get a GF just I guess not today. GF's don't just pop up in thin air as Squall said.'
'Yeah, I guess your right,' I said. Zell nodded and stood up, looking around the cave a bit.
'This was still a pretty cool adventure,' he said then flashed me a toothy grin. I loved his smile; it just screamed 'bring it on!!' but was so sweet at the same time. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back; Zell was right, this trip had been a lot of fun and this cave was totally beautiful. I decided that before we left I'd collect a couple stones from it just for mementoes.
'Well, I say we head back to the 'Rok and- AHHHH!'
My eyes shot open when I heard Zell's scream and just saw his stunned face as the ground collapsed before him.
'Zell!' I screamed and dived forward, trying to grab him before he fell. I got a grip of it but before I could react Zell's weight was dragging me across the ground and into the gaping hole. Zell and I both screamed as fell for what seemed like a long time before we roughly hit the ground. I groaned and rolled over to see Zell slowly sitting up and dusting himself off.
'Leona? You ok?' he asked.
'Yeah, yeah I'm fine, nothings broken. What about you?' I asked, turning to face him. There wasn't much light; only a pillar of it shone down from the hole that Zell and I had fallen through.
'I'm fine, nothings broken either,' he said then stood up and helped me up onto my feet. I slapped my hands across my legs and butt to get the dirt off and sighed.
'I guess our little adventure isn't over yet.'
Zell nodded and took the lead, stepping into the darkness.
'What do you thinks down here?' I asked as we walked deeper and deeper into the darkness. Suddenly, as if we had stepped into a fridge, it got very cold. I started to shiver, my teeth chattering slightly.
'Here, take my jacket,' Zell said, pulling me close to him as he helped me put his jacket on. I smiled my thanks but then frowned when I realized all he had on underneath was a black muscle shirt.
'No, Zell you take it, you'll get sick,' I protested, already peeling the jacket off of me. Zell put a hand on my arm, stopping me.
'I'd rather have it that way then you be the one who's sick,' he said then rubbed my arms with his hands, 'I'll be fine.'
I nodded and was about to say something when suddenly huge icicles erupted from the ground, surrounding us like a cage. I cried out in surprise and felt Zell pull me closer. Oh my god, what if one erupts right beneath us..
'Stay close to me,' I heard Zell mutter. For a couple minutes all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart and Zell's quickened breaths. Suddenly there was a woman's laughter echoing through the tunnel we were in. It was a very surreal laugh, almost a little too high-pitched for a human and very mysterious. Zell and I both spun around, trying to find the source of the laughter when another large icicle erupted from the ground before us.
'Shiva..'
I just barely heard Zell's astonished whisper as I stared at the beautiful creature before us. She looked like a woman but her body was white, almost like snow with blue and yellow stripes and gentle spikes here and there. She seemed to glimmer and the whole hallway lit up in her presence. She tilted her head to the side and smiled curiously.
'And what has Hyne sent me today?' she asked, hr voice echoing eerily. I shuttered from the sound of it and closed my eyes. Oh god, she was going to kill us, she was going to kill us, she's going to kill-
'We are seeking a battle,' Zell said. Thank god he had found his courage cause god knows I hadn't. Shiva seemed to lift her nose up at this proposal and she crossed her arms disdainfully.
'You humans, it's all you wish to do,' she sneered then set her eyes on my form. I must have looked pretty pathetic to her cause she wore a mask of disgust. Suddenly though, her face softened and she now wore a look of either amazement or curiosity, I couldn't really tell.
'Who is that girl?' she asked in her echoing, musical voice.
'My names Leona,' I said, albeit timidly.
'Leona?' she smiled and unfolded her arms, 'And tell me, Leona, where do you reside from?'
'Uh, Earth,' I muttered, still totally amazed.
'Just as I expected,' she said then closed hr eyes and stepped down from her ice platform and walked towards us. She obliterated two of the large icicles that was encasing Zell and I and stepped up to me.
'Hey! What are you doing?!' Zell yelled and jumped forward but Shiva lifted an arm and instantly Zell's feet were covered with ice and stuck to the ground.
'LEMME OUTTA HERE!' he screamed, leaning down to punch at the ice. Shiva only glared at him and then with a flick of the wrist an invisible energy knocked him up against the wall. Icicles formed around his hands and his feet again.
'Stay quiet, I have no intention of harming her,' Shiva cooed then turned back to me, 'how long have you been here?'
I gulped and shivered a bit; the temperature had dropped even more since Shiva had come.
'I- well, maybe a month,' I said quietly.
'A month?' Shiva asked again, although she sounded surprised, 'then it hasn't happened yet,' she muttered, turning around so her back was to me.
'What hasn't happened?' I asked fearfully. Shiva turned around and looked at me, almost sadly.
'Things that I and many others like me have seen but you humans are still oblivious to,' she said softly, 'do you know why you have been sent here?'
I shook my head. I started to shake again and it wasn't because of the temperature.
'You were sent here for a reason, just as the other men and women who have come here were. Some of them were sent here so long ago that they're appearance has been long since forgotten,' Shiva explained.
'But what IS the reason?' I asked, 'I don't understand any of this, I don't see how I can be of any help.'
'You will be of great help when the time comes, Leona, you just haven't realized that,' Shiva said, standing by the podium of ice she had created.
'Why me though what is to come? What good am I?' I asked desperately, 'there's so many questions I have and you seem to be the only one who can answer them. Will you do that for me?'
Shiva closed her eyes ad slowly nodded.
'I will answer as many as I can.'
I nodded, deciding on my first question.
'Why was I brought here?'
'You were brought her because like few others in your world you carry a hidden gift.. A special power so to speak,' Shiva explained then sighed, 'This gift differs between each person. The last man who had traveled here came in the form as a GF,' Shiva smiled at me, 'although I'm sure you've already figured that out.'
I nodded and put a hand to my forehead.
'But what IS my special power?' I asked.
'Nobody will know until the right moment comes. In the last young mans case, as soon as he came here he took the form of the GF Ifrit. I would know this because we GF's can communicate with each other. We know every language of every world, we are the wisest of all creatures on this planet.'
'So, when will be my right moment?' I asked, my head clearing up just a little.
Shiva tilted her head from side to side.
'It could be a very emotional or painful moment, it all depends on you,' she explained, 'I fear that there is a great evil drawing closer and closer to this world.'
'Where is it from?' Zell asked, still struggling against the ice that had him pinned to the all.
'I do not know for sure but what I do know is that it is not this world,' she turned back to me, 'nor yours.'
'Could it be Ultimecia again?' Zell asked. Shiva shook her head.
'I do not believe so, she was indeed destroyed.. No, I fear this is something more powerful and much more fearsome.'
'And I've been sent here to stop it,' I choked out and fell to my knees, 'I'm useless, I'm not a good fighter, I got scared just when I saw you Shiva, how can I take on this new evil,' I said then hid my hands in my face, tears stinging at the corner of my eyes.
'Everyone gets afraid child, it's only natural. Great and terrible things will happen once this new evil arrives but I have confidence that you will be able to handle what ever it is. There is a great power hidden in you and while I can not pin point exactly what it is. its there, and its shining brightly,' Shiva said then soared towards me and placed a cool hand on my cheek, 'you just don't see it yet. The evil will come but you will defeat it.'
I furiously wiped at the tear that was streaking down my cheek, almost ashamed to cry in front of Shiva.
'But I can not do this alone,' I said softly.
'No, you cant without the support of the people you love,' she said and smiled, 'I know you left behind many when you came to this world, people you cared strongly for and had great bonds with. But,' she said and took my hand, 'I know you have made bonds with new people here and its those people who will see you through such hard times and in the end you will be victorious,' she said, glancing over at Zell. I smiled and wiped away my remaining tears.
'Do not be fearful because fear is what will be your downfall, stand tall and be strong and keep faith in yourself and others and you will succeed,' Shiva said then encased herself in another sheath of ice. I heard her quiet, soothing voice say 'farewell' and then she disappeared. I took a deep breath and ran a hand down my face then turned and ran to Zell.
'I can't believe it, ' he muttered as I used a fira on him to melt the ice. He fell into my arms, knocking us both to the ground.
'Zell are you ok?' I asked, quickly looking over him to make sure he wasn't hurt.
'Yeah, I'm fine Leona...,' he turned and pulled me close to him, 'we have to get back to Squall, he has to know about this.'
'I know, lets go,' I said then remembered e had fallen through a hole down here, 'damn it, how do we get out Zell? We fell into here remember?'
Zell grinned and pointed over towards the pillar of light that seeped in through the hole to see a staircase made of ice leading up.
'Looks like Shiva was looking ahead,' Zell said then the two of us walked to the staircase of ice and began to climb up. I couldn't believe it; I did have a reason to be here.. To protect this world from an unknown evil.. Oh god, how was I supposed to protect anyone? I didn't even know if this power inside me existed.
'Do not be fearful because fear is what will be your downfall, stand tall and be strong and keep faith in yourself and others and you will succeed.'
Shiva's encouraging words pushed the doubtful thoughts out of my mind. I WAS here for a reason and I now had people I loved here and the thought of them being hurt made me want to do whatever I had to. I would prevent any pain and suffering that was to come to this world, the people here didn't need it. From what I knew, they had experienced enough. Everyone I had met had done so much for me. It was now my turn to do something for them
*
A/N: WHAAA! Yes, I got it done! Whoo, fifteen pages that's right! ^_^ Hehe, sorry for the long wait everyone! I really hope this chapter was worth it! This chapter basically explains the real reason why Leona is here. Leona will not obtain a GF because she does not need it, and you'll soon see why in later chapters so please, be sure to continue to read and review! Also, thank you to EVERYONE who has read and reviewed, you guys are super and I owe you so much for taking the time to read and review my story! You really are great and I cant thank you enough =)
On a sadder note, my grandfather has just passed away so I may not be writing for a while, I will get back to it, I just need some time. Thank you everyone.
Disclaimer: I won nothing except the story idea and Leona =P
*
I nervously followed Zell up to squall's office. Ok Leona, you have just chosen to throw away any memory you have of your friends, your family.. Your world.. Was I really willing to give this up? was I really giving up such a precious gift for...the precious gift of power in return. I sighed, I knew that it was considered an honor to be junctioned to a GF, especially to the special creature. Power... Power was what I was bargaining for.
'Leona?'
I closed my eyes softly and looked up and smiled at Zell.
'Yes Zell?'
He gently cupped my face in his hand, his gloved thumb running over my lips. He then sighed and pulled away, indicating towards the large double doors before us.
'Its nothing, don't stress it ok?' he flashed me a toothy grin and pushed the doors open, 'come on, we gotta tell Squall.'
I nodded, albeit nervously and followed Zell into squalls office, stopping in front of a large wooden desk where Squall sat. He looked up from the paper work he was doing and looked at us curiously.
'Zell? Leona? What are guys doing here?'
Zell looked over at me and nodded, I had to be the one to tell squall.
'I've been thinking a lot of juntioning a GF to myself,' I began, moving my hands like I was preparing to give a speech, 'and well... I'd like to junction one to myself. There MUST be a reason why I've been sent here and I'd like to have a GF not only for protection but also for security...'
Squall stood up from his desk and walked around to the front of it. He leaned against it, gently clicking a pen in his hand.
'But?' he asked, coaxing the rest out of me. I sighed and turned my head, looking the other way.
'But I'm still battling with myself. I'm not sure if I want to sacrifice my memory's,' I said then turned around to face him again, 'I don't want to lose them.'
'Leona, it's a sacrifice you'll have to make if you wish to obtain a GF,' squall said, his tone completely serious, 'there can be not buts.'
I sighed and put a hand to my head. I had to decide here and now, power for memory's, power for memory's, power for memory's-
'Why doesn't she just keep a journal? You know, like we all used to do Squall,' Zell said, interrupting my thoughts, 'you don't automatically lose your memories once a GF's junctioned to you, maybe she can write about her world, her family and her friends.'
'Zell that's brilliant!' I cried, jumping up and wrapping my arms around his neck, ' I can't believe I never thought of it before!' I turned and looked over at squall to see he was seriously considering this.
'I do not doubt that it will take you a while to record all your memories,' he said, albeit skeptically.
'Don't worry about it Squall, as long as I have something that will at least jolt my memory than I think I should be fine,' I said confidently.
'Alright then, well GF's aren't something that just pop up in thin air,' squall said then went and scribbled something down on a piece of paper, 'here's the Rangnarok's pass codes, take her down to Centra; the fire caverns too busy right now with students and such,' squall explained, handing the piece of paper to Zell who nodded his thanks. He then turned and flashed me an encouraging smile, 'you should find one down there, you'll need to draw it out of the monster most likely if you do not battle one head on but I'm sure you'll be alright.'
'There's no need to worry, Squall. I'll keep an eye out on her and besides, I'll just weaken the thing up and have hr draw it out then I'll finish the monster off,' Zell said. I noticed how he puffed his chest out a bit; hee hee, Zell was so cute.
'Alright, just you two be careful. If you DO get one, as soon as you get back I want you to start that journal, Leona,' Squall advised.
'Of course, 'I said then copied the salute Zell did and left the office. Once Zell and I were back into the elevator I felt myself being roughly lifted off the ground and swung around. My foot painfully smacked a bar and I cried out and playfully smacked Zell's arms.
'Let me down you goof ball! You just killed my foot!' I yelled.
'Aw, dude I'm so sorry!' Zell said then leaned down and yanked my foot, pulling my upside down. I yelped and tried to balance myself by putting both hands down on the ground.
'Zell exactly WHAT are you doing?' I asked, kicking slightly.
'Stop squirming Leona! I'm trying to see if you hurt you foot badly!'
'Zell what are you talking about? It's fine now let me-'
'Ping.'
I looked up as high as I could to see Zell and I had arrived on the first floor and were now being stared at by half of Gardens population. We WERE in a pretty odd position; his hands holding my one foot up while the other dangled haphazardly and my arms struggling to keep myself balanced. I blushed and awkwardly fell to the floor with a clunk as Zell let me go. I laughed nervously and jumped back up, hiding my face with my hands as I stormed out of the elevator, dragging Zell behind me.
'Whoa, Leona slow down! My legs can only go so fast!' he stumbled.
'Zell, why the hell did you turn me upside down?' I asked then sighed when he flashed me his 'I'm-so-sorry-it'll-never-happen-again-' smile, 'oh never mind, you may be a doofus,' I teased then gave him a kiss on the cheek, 'but a cute one at that.'
Zell blushed then shook his head and lead me around to the back of Garden where we came upon a large hangar. Zell walked up to it and yanked one of the large metal doors open to revel a huge dragon like ship.
'Whoa..' I murmured then turned to Zell, pointing at the large ship, 'what IS that?'
Zell smiled and walked up to it, digging into his quite large pockets for the piece of paper squall had given him. After he punched in a couple numbers there was a mechanical hiss and suddenly hatch opened and a staircase made its way to the ground.
'This Leona, is the Rangnarok! BOOYA BABY!' he cried then happily ran up the stairs. I raised my eyebrow, shaking my head bemusedly as I followed behind Zell. The moment I stepped into the ship I was overwhelmed, it really was huge!!
'Zell?' I called out, my voice echoing through the large open space. I heard a door hiss open and Zell's blonde head popped through it.
'Follow me, I gotta go get the engines started up,' he said then disappeared again. I shrugged and followed him, going through the door only to come into a much smaller one that had a small lift on one of the walls.
'Over to the right of this lift is another room, you can go wait in there for now while I start up the engines and get us going. I'll call you up here in a while,' he said then gently pushed m off the lift, 'se ya in a minute.'
I nodded and watched Zell disappear up into the ceiling then sighed and walked into a long room that had chairs along each wall. I heard a loud nose and stumbled a bit as the Rangnarok gave a jolt. I quickly jumped into one of the chairs and buckled up my belt then watched through the large glass windows as we pulled out of the hangar and was soon in the sky. Once I felt I could trust my own legs I unbuckled my belt and stood up, walking towards the window. I put a hand to the cool surface and looked down to see Garden quickly disappear from sight.
'Ok, so how long you gonna leave me alone down here Zell?' I sighed and flopped back into a chair. Great, now that I was alone again I'd probably start thinking about my decision and then that will probably lead to m regretting it, and then all this trouble Zell's gone to will be a-
'Leona? Get your butt up to the cockpit!'
I laughed and spun my head around, looking for the speaker. I stood up and walked out of the room and cautiously stepped onto the lift.
'Ok Mr. lift, I don't like you and you don't like me but I'm sure we can come to an agreement,' I muttered as I searched for the button that made it go up. I growled, irritated when I couldn't find it. I tilted my head upwards, hoping Zell would be able to hear me.
'Zell?? I cant get the lift to work!!' I yelled. I waited a couple minutes and then saw the three blonde spikes and then Zell's tattooed face.
'Whattya talkin' about Leona? See that big red button right there? Yeah, that one will get ya up here,' he said, and then stuck his tongue out playfully. I turned to see a big red button on one of the railings and let out an angry growl. Way to go Leona, you've succeeded in making yourself look like a total idiot, is there anything else you'd like to add on to this? Don't forget to actually get off the lift and I'm sure you'll be fine.
'Oh shut up,' I muttered to my nagging brain and slammed down on the button.
*
I yawned and slowly blinked my eyes open. Damn it, I must have fallen asleep on the way to Centra. I slapped my lips together and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes lazily to see I had cuddled up into the co-pilots chair. I sat up and ran my hands down my face when something slid off of me and I looked down onto the floor to see it was Zell's jacket. He really was too sweet.
'Zell?' I asked aloud. He wasn't in the pilots seat; he wasn't even in the room! I climbed out of the chair, pulling Zell's jacket over my shoulders as I stepped onto the lift and went down. Still no Zell. I walked into the large hangar of the 'Rok and went down the stairs, my feet stepping into sand.
'Zell, where are you?' I asked. Ok, now I was starting to get worried, Zell wouldn't have just left me here alone.. it wasn't like him. Plus, in all honesty, I didn't like being alone, especially somewhere that was totally unfamiliar to me.
'GOTCHA!'
I screamed as I was roughly picked up and swung over someone's should. I started to kick and punch, screaming Zell's name at the top of my lungs. I clobbered the guy right in the head, heard an 'oomph' and was dropped to the ground. Then the guilt hit.
'Oh Zell!' I cried; dropping to my knee's as I took his head in my arms. I had gotten him pretty good and while he was still conscious there was a large bump forming on his forehead that looked quite painful. I suddenly remembered how badly head scared me. The anger hit.
'Zell you bumfuggly!! Why would you scare me like that?' I asked, poking his chest repeatedly.
'Leona- ow- I was only -ow- playin! Come on -ow- cut me some -ow- slack here!' he protested, his palms turned up submissively. I leaned back on my heels and looked at him skeptically.
'Give me a better reason why I shouldn't eat you,' I said menacingly, crossing my arms.
'Well,' Zell began, putting a hand to his chin, 'when you put it THAT way..' he teased.
'Argh! Your unbelievable sometimes Zell!' I said, throwing my arms up into the air exasperatedly. Zell jumped up from the ground and wrapped his arms around me from behind.
'Yeah, maybe but that's why you love me,' he said then leaned in and planted a kiss on my neck. I physically melted and felt a shiver run up my spine. I turned around and flashed him a lop-sided grin, proving to him that he was right. I pulled off his jacket and handed it back to him.
'Sha up,' I said, gently cuffing his shoulder with my fist. Zell tilted his head back and laughed then clipped a belt of bottles and other odd items to him. I looked at them curiously, weird fluids and gases floating around in the tiny bottles. I also saw what looked like a marble bag but seemed to carry strange looking stones.
'What IS all of that?' I asked, pointing to his belt.
'Wha? Oh, just some healing items and such,' he said then reached into the little pouch and pulled out a shiny blue stone, 'this hears an Ultima stone, if I were to throw it at an enemy there'd be a large green and yellow blast and it would do some serious damage,' he explained the carefully tucked it back into his pouch.
'Right Leona, have you learned the 'draw' ability?' he asked.
'Yeah, I went over it with Quistis the other day when she and I were practicing in the training center. I have a couple Sleep's and confuses on me. Will they be any help?'
Zell shook his head uncertainly.
'Depends, sometimes the monsters are too strong for those to take effect but its great that you know how to draw from enemy's. Right,' Zell began, dusting off the sand from his hands, 'I was checking out the area, luckily I wasn't attacked but I have found a pretty menacing looking cave and I have the sneaking suspicion that there may be a water GF in there, most likely Leviathan or if we're lucky Brothers,' he explained then took my hand and lead me across the small sand dunes and into a forest. I moved closer to Zell, strange sounds from animals that were unknown to me echoing all around us.
'Don't worry, there isn't anything worse out here then maybe a Grat of a Jelly Eye, ' Zell explained. I heard another noise behind us and spun around to take a look but didn't see anything. I took a back step towards Zell but bumped into him.
'Oomph, Zell what's going on?' I asked, turning around as I placed a hand on his shoulder.
'That's the cave just up ahead; I want you to stay close to me all right? When we come to the GF you just let me make the first blow and then I want you to draw from it ok? If its not just a normal monster that has a GF inside of it and is an ACTUAL GF, you just hit it as hard as you can and then let me do the rest ok?' Zell explained, his tone grave.
'Zell, I can fight too. I don't want you wearing yourself out,' I said. Zell smiled and squeezed my hand.
'Leona, I NEVER wear out so don't sweat it ok? Come on, lets go find that GF and get it junctioned to you as soon as possible.'
I nodded and didn't follow Zell into the cave; instead I stood at his side, prepared for anything.
*
Zell and I had been inside the cave for twenty minutes, had fought numerous bite bugs and weird looking bat creatures before my hope to attain a GF became small. I sighed and sat down on a rock, looking around the blue, sparkling cave.
'Zell, its hopeless, there isn't anything in here, I'll never attain a GF,' I said, burying my face in my hands. Zell walked over to me and pulled me into his arms.
'Aw, come on Leona, don't talk like that. It's just nothing like ya,' he said then gave me a kiss, 'your gonna get a GF just I guess not today. GF's don't just pop up in thin air as Squall said.'
'Yeah, I guess your right,' I said. Zell nodded and stood up, looking around the cave a bit.
'This was still a pretty cool adventure,' he said then flashed me a toothy grin. I loved his smile; it just screamed 'bring it on!!' but was so sweet at the same time. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back; Zell was right, this trip had been a lot of fun and this cave was totally beautiful. I decided that before we left I'd collect a couple stones from it just for mementoes.
'Well, I say we head back to the 'Rok and- AHHHH!'
My eyes shot open when I heard Zell's scream and just saw his stunned face as the ground collapsed before him.
'Zell!' I screamed and dived forward, trying to grab him before he fell. I got a grip of it but before I could react Zell's weight was dragging me across the ground and into the gaping hole. Zell and I both screamed as fell for what seemed like a long time before we roughly hit the ground. I groaned and rolled over to see Zell slowly sitting up and dusting himself off.
'Leona? You ok?' he asked.
'Yeah, yeah I'm fine, nothings broken. What about you?' I asked, turning to face him. There wasn't much light; only a pillar of it shone down from the hole that Zell and I had fallen through.
'I'm fine, nothings broken either,' he said then stood up and helped me up onto my feet. I slapped my hands across my legs and butt to get the dirt off and sighed.
'I guess our little adventure isn't over yet.'
Zell nodded and took the lead, stepping into the darkness.
'What do you thinks down here?' I asked as we walked deeper and deeper into the darkness. Suddenly, as if we had stepped into a fridge, it got very cold. I started to shiver, my teeth chattering slightly.
'Here, take my jacket,' Zell said, pulling me close to him as he helped me put his jacket on. I smiled my thanks but then frowned when I realized all he had on underneath was a black muscle shirt.
'No, Zell you take it, you'll get sick,' I protested, already peeling the jacket off of me. Zell put a hand on my arm, stopping me.
'I'd rather have it that way then you be the one who's sick,' he said then rubbed my arms with his hands, 'I'll be fine.'
I nodded and was about to say something when suddenly huge icicles erupted from the ground, surrounding us like a cage. I cried out in surprise and felt Zell pull me closer. Oh my god, what if one erupts right beneath us..
'Stay close to me,' I heard Zell mutter. For a couple minutes all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart and Zell's quickened breaths. Suddenly there was a woman's laughter echoing through the tunnel we were in. It was a very surreal laugh, almost a little too high-pitched for a human and very mysterious. Zell and I both spun around, trying to find the source of the laughter when another large icicle erupted from the ground before us.
'Shiva..'
I just barely heard Zell's astonished whisper as I stared at the beautiful creature before us. She looked like a woman but her body was white, almost like snow with blue and yellow stripes and gentle spikes here and there. She seemed to glimmer and the whole hallway lit up in her presence. She tilted her head to the side and smiled curiously.
'And what has Hyne sent me today?' she asked, hr voice echoing eerily. I shuttered from the sound of it and closed my eyes. Oh god, she was going to kill us, she was going to kill us, she's going to kill-
'We are seeking a battle,' Zell said. Thank god he had found his courage cause god knows I hadn't. Shiva seemed to lift her nose up at this proposal and she crossed her arms disdainfully.
'You humans, it's all you wish to do,' she sneered then set her eyes on my form. I must have looked pretty pathetic to her cause she wore a mask of disgust. Suddenly though, her face softened and she now wore a look of either amazement or curiosity, I couldn't really tell.
'Who is that girl?' she asked in her echoing, musical voice.
'My names Leona,' I said, albeit timidly.
'Leona?' she smiled and unfolded her arms, 'And tell me, Leona, where do you reside from?'
'Uh, Earth,' I muttered, still totally amazed.
'Just as I expected,' she said then closed hr eyes and stepped down from her ice platform and walked towards us. She obliterated two of the large icicles that was encasing Zell and I and stepped up to me.
'Hey! What are you doing?!' Zell yelled and jumped forward but Shiva lifted an arm and instantly Zell's feet were covered with ice and stuck to the ground.
'LEMME OUTTA HERE!' he screamed, leaning down to punch at the ice. Shiva only glared at him and then with a flick of the wrist an invisible energy knocked him up against the wall. Icicles formed around his hands and his feet again.
'Stay quiet, I have no intention of harming her,' Shiva cooed then turned back to me, 'how long have you been here?'
I gulped and shivered a bit; the temperature had dropped even more since Shiva had come.
'I- well, maybe a month,' I said quietly.
'A month?' Shiva asked again, although she sounded surprised, 'then it hasn't happened yet,' she muttered, turning around so her back was to me.
'What hasn't happened?' I asked fearfully. Shiva turned around and looked at me, almost sadly.
'Things that I and many others like me have seen but you humans are still oblivious to,' she said softly, 'do you know why you have been sent here?'
I shook my head. I started to shake again and it wasn't because of the temperature.
'You were sent here for a reason, just as the other men and women who have come here were. Some of them were sent here so long ago that they're appearance has been long since forgotten,' Shiva explained.
'But what IS the reason?' I asked, 'I don't understand any of this, I don't see how I can be of any help.'
'You will be of great help when the time comes, Leona, you just haven't realized that,' Shiva said, standing by the podium of ice she had created.
'Why me though what is to come? What good am I?' I asked desperately, 'there's so many questions I have and you seem to be the only one who can answer them. Will you do that for me?'
Shiva closed her eyes ad slowly nodded.
'I will answer as many as I can.'
I nodded, deciding on my first question.
'Why was I brought here?'
'You were brought her because like few others in your world you carry a hidden gift.. A special power so to speak,' Shiva explained then sighed, 'This gift differs between each person. The last man who had traveled here came in the form as a GF,' Shiva smiled at me, 'although I'm sure you've already figured that out.'
I nodded and put a hand to my forehead.
'But what IS my special power?' I asked.
'Nobody will know until the right moment comes. In the last young mans case, as soon as he came here he took the form of the GF Ifrit. I would know this because we GF's can communicate with each other. We know every language of every world, we are the wisest of all creatures on this planet.'
'So, when will be my right moment?' I asked, my head clearing up just a little.
Shiva tilted her head from side to side.
'It could be a very emotional or painful moment, it all depends on you,' she explained, 'I fear that there is a great evil drawing closer and closer to this world.'
'Where is it from?' Zell asked, still struggling against the ice that had him pinned to the all.
'I do not know for sure but what I do know is that it is not this world,' she turned back to me, 'nor yours.'
'Could it be Ultimecia again?' Zell asked. Shiva shook her head.
'I do not believe so, she was indeed destroyed.. No, I fear this is something more powerful and much more fearsome.'
'And I've been sent here to stop it,' I choked out and fell to my knees, 'I'm useless, I'm not a good fighter, I got scared just when I saw you Shiva, how can I take on this new evil,' I said then hid my hands in my face, tears stinging at the corner of my eyes.
'Everyone gets afraid child, it's only natural. Great and terrible things will happen once this new evil arrives but I have confidence that you will be able to handle what ever it is. There is a great power hidden in you and while I can not pin point exactly what it is. its there, and its shining brightly,' Shiva said then soared towards me and placed a cool hand on my cheek, 'you just don't see it yet. The evil will come but you will defeat it.'
I furiously wiped at the tear that was streaking down my cheek, almost ashamed to cry in front of Shiva.
'But I can not do this alone,' I said softly.
'No, you cant without the support of the people you love,' she said and smiled, 'I know you left behind many when you came to this world, people you cared strongly for and had great bonds with. But,' she said and took my hand, 'I know you have made bonds with new people here and its those people who will see you through such hard times and in the end you will be victorious,' she said, glancing over at Zell. I smiled and wiped away my remaining tears.
'Do not be fearful because fear is what will be your downfall, stand tall and be strong and keep faith in yourself and others and you will succeed,' Shiva said then encased herself in another sheath of ice. I heard her quiet, soothing voice say 'farewell' and then she disappeared. I took a deep breath and ran a hand down my face then turned and ran to Zell.
'I can't believe it, ' he muttered as I used a fira on him to melt the ice. He fell into my arms, knocking us both to the ground.
'Zell are you ok?' I asked, quickly looking over him to make sure he wasn't hurt.
'Yeah, I'm fine Leona...,' he turned and pulled me close to him, 'we have to get back to Squall, he has to know about this.'
'I know, lets go,' I said then remembered e had fallen through a hole down here, 'damn it, how do we get out Zell? We fell into here remember?'
Zell grinned and pointed over towards the pillar of light that seeped in through the hole to see a staircase made of ice leading up.
'Looks like Shiva was looking ahead,' Zell said then the two of us walked to the staircase of ice and began to climb up. I couldn't believe it; I did have a reason to be here.. To protect this world from an unknown evil.. Oh god, how was I supposed to protect anyone? I didn't even know if this power inside me existed.
'Do not be fearful because fear is what will be your downfall, stand tall and be strong and keep faith in yourself and others and you will succeed.'
Shiva's encouraging words pushed the doubtful thoughts out of my mind. I WAS here for a reason and I now had people I loved here and the thought of them being hurt made me want to do whatever I had to. I would prevent any pain and suffering that was to come to this world, the people here didn't need it. From what I knew, they had experienced enough. Everyone I had met had done so much for me. It was now my turn to do something for them
*
A/N: WHAAA! Yes, I got it done! Whoo, fifteen pages that's right! ^_^ Hehe, sorry for the long wait everyone! I really hope this chapter was worth it! This chapter basically explains the real reason why Leona is here. Leona will not obtain a GF because she does not need it, and you'll soon see why in later chapters so please, be sure to continue to read and review! Also, thank you to EVERYONE who has read and reviewed, you guys are super and I owe you so much for taking the time to read and review my story! You really are great and I cant thank you enough =)
On a sadder note, my grandfather has just passed away so I may not be writing for a while, I will get back to it, I just need some time. Thank you everyone.