Chapter 14: Where Do We Go From Here?
Author: Suzaku no Miko
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters..I do own Angela, however...
In the dreary hall of the haunted hotel, deep within the Golden Saucer, sat a rather large group. Everyone was silent, waiting for someone to speak up...
"Well, this is just great...So, what do we do now?" Seifer asked, growing impatient.
"Something's bothering me..." Selphie stated, scratching her head.
"What's wrong?" Zidane asked, curious.
Taking a deep breath, Selphie stood up from her seat. "If we're all here, don't you think whoever made these portals is here too?"
"What do you mean?" Quistis asked, unsure of what the young girl was saying.
"Do ya' think it was because...nah..." Barret wondered.
"What?!" Cloud exclaimed, his eyes becoming wide.
"Yo'! Calm your spikey-headed ass down! I was just wonderin' if it had anything to do with that bright light that came out of the portal before you guys came through..." Barret replied, now standing up.
"You mean..." Tidus began, still somewhat confused.
"I'm getting a feeling that who's responsible for this mess was trying to do something...but what?" Squall asked.
"And how are we supposed to find out who's behind this whole deal?" Wakka asked, rolling his eyes.
"I think I might be able to help..." a voice suddenly piped up.
Everyone then turned to find that it was Angela who spoke.
"How?" Seifer asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, when I was studying magic, for a class I was taking, I found this spell... That this ancient race from a long time ago created, can't remember the name at the moment....started with a 'C', I think... And I haven't exactly tried out the spell so I don't even know if it's going to work... But I copied it down...from this book on white magic." Angela explained, taking a piece of paper from her pocket.
"Can I see it?" Garnet stood in front of the young SeeD.
"Sure.." Angela said, handing the young queen the paper.
After studying it for some time, Garnet's eyes suddenly became bright and a smile formed on her lips.
"What is it?" questioned a very curious Eiko.
"It recipe for food?" Quina asked, happily bouncing about.
"Even better! I have read this in a chapter about ancient civilizations from a library book in the castle. The book was about white magic, possibly the same one. It is a 'Reocurrance Spell'. It's used when you want to know about something that has happened in the past. All you have to do is just concentrate on what you want to see and say these words three times. Soon, the image will appear in your mind and something that happened in the past will play again in your mind." Garnet explained, happily.
"No sound like good food..." the Qu pouted, shaking its head.
"That's all nice to know, but how are we supposed to cast it?" Amarant asked, folding his arms.
"He right." Kimahri agreed.
"Does it say anything else?" Lulu questioned, holding her moogle doll close.
"I didn't write it down but the spell required at least one ....one.... um...it started with a 'C'...a person from that civilization...but I can't remember it...." Angela tried to remember.
"One what?" Freya looked up.
"I can't really remember either..." Garnet pouted.
"Come on, kitten! You gotta' remember! What do you need to cast the spell?" Seifer begged, gently clutching his girlfriend's shoulders.
"Don't pressure her or she won't remember..." Tifa stated.
"C..Cetra?" a voice suggested.
"That's it! We need a Cetra! Thanks, Cloud!" Angela suddenly remembered, smiling at the young man.
"Oh no..." Red XIII shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked, kicking her feet against the chair.
"We can't...use the spell..." Tifa whispered, sadly.
"But we need to know what's going on! I mean, all we have to do is find the Cetra, right?" protested a very excited Rikku.
"The last two Cetra are no longer with us. They were both killed..." Cloud looked to the floor.
"What do you mean the last two?! They were both killed?!" Irvine exclaimed.
Picking up the silent Marlene, Barret heaved a heavy, grieving sigh. "The mom, Ifalna, and her daughter, Aeris...the last two of the Cetra....were both killed....A long time ago..."
"How...." began a shocked Angela.
"Aeris was with us. We were after Sephiroth because of all the things he had done... We went to the Lost City of the Ancients to find some answers...but Sephiroth found and killed Aeris! After that, we found out about Aeris' past and learned that her father was a brilliant scientist, Professor Gast, and her mother was a Cetra, Ifalna. When Aeris was just born, Professor Hojo, a sick man, broke into their home, killed Professor Gast and Ifalna just barely got away with Aeris. She was badly hurt and died in a train station in Midgar where she left Aeris to a woman who became her new mother..." explained a very depressed Cloud.
"So, that's it?....We don't have a chance at all?! You mean it's over before we even got to fight?!" Zidane cried, jumping out of his seat, enraged.
"There could be another way.....but Aeris and her mom were the only survivors to that ancient race, the Cetra, that Angela was talking about." Red XIII lowered his head, sadly.
"That's right...it was in the chapter on ancient civilizations...the Cetra being one of them... And these civilizations are no longer in existence." Garnet suddenly remembered.
The room suddenly became silent, everyone holding his or her head low. Many within the group, not even knowing anything about the strange land they were in, grew depressed. All they wanted to do was to go back home....
"I can't believe it... What are we going to do?" Yuna asked, resting her head on Tidus next to her.
"There's no way we can substitute for the absence of the Cetra?" Auron asked, looking at Yuna's sad expression.
"Oh my gosh! I nearly forgot! In the case there is no Cetra present, you need those who can use white magic. But to equal the power of a Cetra...you need three white magic users..." Garnet exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
"You're serious?!" Cloud asked, wide-eyed.
"This is perfect! And we just might have that!" Zell exclaimed happily, a great smile on his face as everyone around him cheered.
"So...just to match one Cetra's power, we need three regular white magic users...damn.." Wakka huffed, resting his head on his hand.
"And the great thing is that we have a chance now." Vivi happily added.
"Does that mean only one will get the vision or will all three get to see it?" Squall asked.
"Oh yeah...well, let's just try it and see what happens..." Angela realized, placing a finger on her chin.
"So, that means Eiko, Garnet, and who else is going to cast it?" Zidane looked around the room.
"I will." Angela spoke up.
"Damn, I'm finding out things I never knew about you before, kitten." Seifer winked.
"You can use white magic?" Vincent looked at Angela.
"Yup. So, let's get started!" she happily replied.
While the rest of the large group moved to stand against the walls, the three magic users stood in a triangular shape in the center of the room. There, they had several candles lit in the center, becoming the only light left in the room. Soon, the three of them stood on their points of the triangle, respectively, and extended their arms until they were just a few inches away from the next person's hands. Slowly closing their eyes, Eiko, Garnet, and Angela began to chant the words and concentrate....
"Oh great god of time and space! We call for your help! Please guide us as we re-enact a scene that we have envisioned in our hearts! Please allow it to show in our minds, oh great Chronos!"
Having it repeated two more times, Eiko, Angela, and Garnet were soon surrounded by a bright light. Everyone around them quickly shielded their eyes. And soon...
Several moments after, the light died down before totally disappearing. Lowering their heads, the three white magic users slowly opened their eyes, and saw the many expressions of awe on their friends' faces.
"Well?" Yuffie asked, impatiently.
"We saw it...it was..." Eiko began before she was cut short...
"EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE NOW! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, JUST GET OUT!" a voice suddenly cried as a man burst into the room.
"What...." Tidus began to ask when the man ran back out.
"Let's find out what's going on!" Cloud cried, quickly running out the door.
Soon, the large group followed and made their way towards the main entrance to the Gold Saucer. When they finally made it out, they quickly stopped before taking another step further....
"What the ^&%$(*^)*^% hell?!" Cid exclaimed, looking at the sight before them.
"What's going on?!" Tifa cried, watching as everyone that was within the Gold Saucer hurriedly made their way past them.
"IT'S THE LIFESTREAM! IT'S GONE HAYWIRE!" a woman screamed, pushing past the group.
Watching in shock, the group witnessed that it was indeed the Lifestream. Not only was it above the surface and flowing, but it was taking several people! The people that fell into the Lifestream screamed in agony and something...strange.. was happening....
"The hell is the damn Lifestream doing?!" Barret demanded, not believing his eyes.
"It's...taking the people's...spirits..." Freya whispered, watching as transparent reflections of the people were being sucked into the lifestream.
"Why is this happening?!" Selphie cried, becoming anxious.
"Look, it's leaving the bodies but taking the spirits!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing at several bodies that lay on the ground.
"Look, I really don't want to be like one of them so let's get out of here!" Zell hid behind Quistis.
"Hmm...it food?" Quina asked, moving towards the Lifestream.
"NO, QUINA! THAT'S NOT FOOD! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Zidane exclaimed, running after the hungry Qu.
Pulling Quina back, Zidane ran back to the group. Watching in horror as the Lifestream took everything in its path, destroying and taking spirits, the group could not just stay there....
"Alright! Let's take the Highwind and get the !$^%#%! hell outta' here!" Cid commanded, quickly running towards the hangar.
Everyone in agreement, quickly followed the pilot to the awaiting airship. When everyone was onboard, the pilot quickly took off...and not a moment too soon. For if they waited a few seconds more, the Lifestream would have destroyed the Highwind! As they started to get farther away....
"This is all your fault! If you had not told the queen to come, she would be at home, resting safely!" Steiner exclaimed, hopping mad.
"Oh, let's not start that again... Take it easy, Rusty. Besides, what woulda' happened if she wasn't there? We wouldn't have been able to use that spell." Zidane sighed.
"He's right, Steiner. Please, everything is okay now." Garnet pleaded with the heavy knight.
"You're right as usual, my Queen." Steiner gave up.
"Hey, what.." Zidane began.
"Just drop it....please..." Irvine begged, not wanting to hear them anymore.
"Well..looks like we have more things to figure out..." Seifer sighed.
"Oh, and we still didn't tell everyone about the vision! Now we can tell you what we saw!" Eiko jumped up and down.
When suddenly, Cid's voice came on the intercom...
"Uh, guys..don't wanna' worry you, but we got a &%$#! up problem!"
"We go!" Kimahri cried, quickly rising from his seat.
And soon, the group followed the huge animal to the deck....
To be continued.....
Author: Suzaku no Miko
Disclaimers: I do not own Final Fantasy or its characters..I do own Angela, however...
In the dreary hall of the haunted hotel, deep within the Golden Saucer, sat a rather large group. Everyone was silent, waiting for someone to speak up...
"Well, this is just great...So, what do we do now?" Seifer asked, growing impatient.
"Something's bothering me..." Selphie stated, scratching her head.
"What's wrong?" Zidane asked, curious.
Taking a deep breath, Selphie stood up from her seat. "If we're all here, don't you think whoever made these portals is here too?"
"What do you mean?" Quistis asked, unsure of what the young girl was saying.
"Do ya' think it was because...nah..." Barret wondered.
"What?!" Cloud exclaimed, his eyes becoming wide.
"Yo'! Calm your spikey-headed ass down! I was just wonderin' if it had anything to do with that bright light that came out of the portal before you guys came through..." Barret replied, now standing up.
"You mean..." Tidus began, still somewhat confused.
"I'm getting a feeling that who's responsible for this mess was trying to do something...but what?" Squall asked.
"And how are we supposed to find out who's behind this whole deal?" Wakka asked, rolling his eyes.
"I think I might be able to help..." a voice suddenly piped up.
Everyone then turned to find that it was Angela who spoke.
"How?" Seifer asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, when I was studying magic, for a class I was taking, I found this spell... That this ancient race from a long time ago created, can't remember the name at the moment....started with a 'C', I think... And I haven't exactly tried out the spell so I don't even know if it's going to work... But I copied it down...from this book on white magic." Angela explained, taking a piece of paper from her pocket.
"Can I see it?" Garnet stood in front of the young SeeD.
"Sure.." Angela said, handing the young queen the paper.
After studying it for some time, Garnet's eyes suddenly became bright and a smile formed on her lips.
"What is it?" questioned a very curious Eiko.
"It recipe for food?" Quina asked, happily bouncing about.
"Even better! I have read this in a chapter about ancient civilizations from a library book in the castle. The book was about white magic, possibly the same one. It is a 'Reocurrance Spell'. It's used when you want to know about something that has happened in the past. All you have to do is just concentrate on what you want to see and say these words three times. Soon, the image will appear in your mind and something that happened in the past will play again in your mind." Garnet explained, happily.
"No sound like good food..." the Qu pouted, shaking its head.
"That's all nice to know, but how are we supposed to cast it?" Amarant asked, folding his arms.
"He right." Kimahri agreed.
"Does it say anything else?" Lulu questioned, holding her moogle doll close.
"I didn't write it down but the spell required at least one ....one.... um...it started with a 'C'...a person from that civilization...but I can't remember it...." Angela tried to remember.
"One what?" Freya looked up.
"I can't really remember either..." Garnet pouted.
"Come on, kitten! You gotta' remember! What do you need to cast the spell?" Seifer begged, gently clutching his girlfriend's shoulders.
"Don't pressure her or she won't remember..." Tifa stated.
"C..Cetra?" a voice suggested.
"That's it! We need a Cetra! Thanks, Cloud!" Angela suddenly remembered, smiling at the young man.
"Oh no..." Red XIII shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Rinoa asked, kicking her feet against the chair.
"We can't...use the spell..." Tifa whispered, sadly.
"But we need to know what's going on! I mean, all we have to do is find the Cetra, right?" protested a very excited Rikku.
"The last two Cetra are no longer with us. They were both killed..." Cloud looked to the floor.
"What do you mean the last two?! They were both killed?!" Irvine exclaimed.
Picking up the silent Marlene, Barret heaved a heavy, grieving sigh. "The mom, Ifalna, and her daughter, Aeris...the last two of the Cetra....were both killed....A long time ago..."
"How...." began a shocked Angela.
"Aeris was with us. We were after Sephiroth because of all the things he had done... We went to the Lost City of the Ancients to find some answers...but Sephiroth found and killed Aeris! After that, we found out about Aeris' past and learned that her father was a brilliant scientist, Professor Gast, and her mother was a Cetra, Ifalna. When Aeris was just born, Professor Hojo, a sick man, broke into their home, killed Professor Gast and Ifalna just barely got away with Aeris. She was badly hurt and died in a train station in Midgar where she left Aeris to a woman who became her new mother..." explained a very depressed Cloud.
"So, that's it?....We don't have a chance at all?! You mean it's over before we even got to fight?!" Zidane cried, jumping out of his seat, enraged.
"There could be another way.....but Aeris and her mom were the only survivors to that ancient race, the Cetra, that Angela was talking about." Red XIII lowered his head, sadly.
"That's right...it was in the chapter on ancient civilizations...the Cetra being one of them... And these civilizations are no longer in existence." Garnet suddenly remembered.
The room suddenly became silent, everyone holding his or her head low. Many within the group, not even knowing anything about the strange land they were in, grew depressed. All they wanted to do was to go back home....
"I can't believe it... What are we going to do?" Yuna asked, resting her head on Tidus next to her.
"There's no way we can substitute for the absence of the Cetra?" Auron asked, looking at Yuna's sad expression.
"Oh my gosh! I nearly forgot! In the case there is no Cetra present, you need those who can use white magic. But to equal the power of a Cetra...you need three white magic users..." Garnet exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
"You're serious?!" Cloud asked, wide-eyed.
"This is perfect! And we just might have that!" Zell exclaimed happily, a great smile on his face as everyone around him cheered.
"So...just to match one Cetra's power, we need three regular white magic users...damn.." Wakka huffed, resting his head on his hand.
"And the great thing is that we have a chance now." Vivi happily added.
"Does that mean only one will get the vision or will all three get to see it?" Squall asked.
"Oh yeah...well, let's just try it and see what happens..." Angela realized, placing a finger on her chin.
"So, that means Eiko, Garnet, and who else is going to cast it?" Zidane looked around the room.
"I will." Angela spoke up.
"Damn, I'm finding out things I never knew about you before, kitten." Seifer winked.
"You can use white magic?" Vincent looked at Angela.
"Yup. So, let's get started!" she happily replied.
While the rest of the large group moved to stand against the walls, the three magic users stood in a triangular shape in the center of the room. There, they had several candles lit in the center, becoming the only light left in the room. Soon, the three of them stood on their points of the triangle, respectively, and extended their arms until they were just a few inches away from the next person's hands. Slowly closing their eyes, Eiko, Garnet, and Angela began to chant the words and concentrate....
"Oh great god of time and space! We call for your help! Please guide us as we re-enact a scene that we have envisioned in our hearts! Please allow it to show in our minds, oh great Chronos!"
Having it repeated two more times, Eiko, Angela, and Garnet were soon surrounded by a bright light. Everyone around them quickly shielded their eyes. And soon...
Several moments after, the light died down before totally disappearing. Lowering their heads, the three white magic users slowly opened their eyes, and saw the many expressions of awe on their friends' faces.
"Well?" Yuffie asked, impatiently.
"We saw it...it was..." Eiko began before she was cut short...
"EVERYBODY GET OUT OF HERE NOW! THERE'S NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, JUST GET OUT!" a voice suddenly cried as a man burst into the room.
"What...." Tidus began to ask when the man ran back out.
"Let's find out what's going on!" Cloud cried, quickly running out the door.
Soon, the large group followed and made their way towards the main entrance to the Gold Saucer. When they finally made it out, they quickly stopped before taking another step further....
"What the ^&%$(*^)*^% hell?!" Cid exclaimed, looking at the sight before them.
"What's going on?!" Tifa cried, watching as everyone that was within the Gold Saucer hurriedly made their way past them.
"IT'S THE LIFESTREAM! IT'S GONE HAYWIRE!" a woman screamed, pushing past the group.
Watching in shock, the group witnessed that it was indeed the Lifestream. Not only was it above the surface and flowing, but it was taking several people! The people that fell into the Lifestream screamed in agony and something...strange.. was happening....
"The hell is the damn Lifestream doing?!" Barret demanded, not believing his eyes.
"It's...taking the people's...spirits..." Freya whispered, watching as transparent reflections of the people were being sucked into the lifestream.
"Why is this happening?!" Selphie cried, becoming anxious.
"Look, it's leaving the bodies but taking the spirits!" Vivi exclaimed, pointing at several bodies that lay on the ground.
"Look, I really don't want to be like one of them so let's get out of here!" Zell hid behind Quistis.
"Hmm...it food?" Quina asked, moving towards the Lifestream.
"NO, QUINA! THAT'S NOT FOOD! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Zidane exclaimed, running after the hungry Qu.
Pulling Quina back, Zidane ran back to the group. Watching in horror as the Lifestream took everything in its path, destroying and taking spirits, the group could not just stay there....
"Alright! Let's take the Highwind and get the !$^%#%! hell outta' here!" Cid commanded, quickly running towards the hangar.
Everyone in agreement, quickly followed the pilot to the awaiting airship. When everyone was onboard, the pilot quickly took off...and not a moment too soon. For if they waited a few seconds more, the Lifestream would have destroyed the Highwind! As they started to get farther away....
"This is all your fault! If you had not told the queen to come, she would be at home, resting safely!" Steiner exclaimed, hopping mad.
"Oh, let's not start that again... Take it easy, Rusty. Besides, what woulda' happened if she wasn't there? We wouldn't have been able to use that spell." Zidane sighed.
"He's right, Steiner. Please, everything is okay now." Garnet pleaded with the heavy knight.
"You're right as usual, my Queen." Steiner gave up.
"Hey, what.." Zidane began.
"Just drop it....please..." Irvine begged, not wanting to hear them anymore.
"Well..looks like we have more things to figure out..." Seifer sighed.
"Oh, and we still didn't tell everyone about the vision! Now we can tell you what we saw!" Eiko jumped up and down.
When suddenly, Cid's voice came on the intercom...
"Uh, guys..don't wanna' worry you, but we got a &%$#! up problem!"
"We go!" Kimahri cried, quickly rising from his seat.
And soon, the group followed the huge animal to the deck....
To be continued.....
