Authors Note:
Good to hear you like the.er. revival. I think you'll probably like what
happens to them, but Chocobos. er... don't expect any of that... well..
you'll have to see..
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter XV...........A Familiar Face
"Selphie?" Irvine called again, beginning to become very worried. She was no-where in sight. He walked slowly forward, looking around before each step that he took. "This isn't a game, Selphie. If your hiding or something just come out!"
There was nothing but the regular sounds in a forest, birds chirping, animals breaking twigs and the soft wind shuttering the tree branches above.
"Hmm."
He took another step forward, to the exact spot where he'd last seen Selphie, he tried to call her name, but - "Sel.WHOOOOOAAAAAAAA!"
The ground beneath him collapsed and he fell, feet first, down a long tunnel and began to slide. Not long after the tunnel came to an end and he was thrown, face first, onto the ground.
He rolled over and groaned loudly in pain. The ground under him was soft and damp, like grass and mud after it'd rained, yet, it wasn't grass, and it was sort of solid, like rock. The air seemed to be stale as if been used over and over and it was extremely dark.
"Selphie?" he croaked.
"Irvine? Is that you?" sounded Selphie's voice out of the darkness, "Are you alright?"
"Do you think I'm alright?" Irvine said angrily and sarcastically, "What happened anyway? Where are we?"
"I don't know what happened," Selphie said as she helped up Irvine, ".Or where we are, at that."
"What's that?" asked Irvine, pointing through the darkness at a far away gap in the wall that had some greenish light coming from it.
"I don't know. should we look?" asked Selphie, warily.
"Well, yeah." Irvine said, starting forwards, "What else are we gonna do?"
They walked slowly over to the wall, tripping occasionally over rocks and what seemed to be roots but because it was so dark they couldn't tell for sure. Once they got to the gap, Selphie placed her hand onto the wall and felt it.
"It feels like a tree or plant or something. it doesn't even feel like rock!" she exclaimed.
"The floor doesn't either," Irvine said, "What is this place?"
"Should we?" asked Selphie, placing her fingers in the gap on the wall where the greenish light was coming from.
"Why not?" Irvine said, and placed his fingers on the other side of the gap. Together, they pulled with all of their might and gap moved apart, enough for them to walk through. They moved in front of the gap and looked inside. They both gasped.
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"Shhh! Guards!" hissed Seifer as they ducked out of view as much as they could but it was hard because there were so many of them. Seifer, Quistis, Rinoa, Ellone, Dawn, Jem and an unconscious Squall all huddled together, barely out of view of several guards moving their way talking about people sneaking around.
"They're coming this way!" whispered Rinoa, who was panicky, "They're after us!"
"C'Mon, this way!" said Quistis, gesturing to a nearby walkway that would hide them until they got into the building.
One by one, leaded by Quistis, they filed down the walkway, crouching, and went into the building. Seifer and Jem followed last, carrying Squall.
"Whew." said Dawn, wiping her forehead, "That was way too close for my comfort!"
"Yeah." they all agreed and slumped inside the building, not realizing where exactly they were, just knowing that they were safer then on the streets with the guards hunting them.
"And vat are ve doing here?" said a familiar voice.
Everyone looked up and recognized whom the voice had come from. Dr. Odine was standing behind them, his eyebrows raised, looking very peculiar.
Seifer drew his gunblade but Quistis put a hand out in front of him. "We're just hiding." she said, while scowling at Seifer for acting so soon, Dr. Odine hadn't done anything yet.
"Whose side are you on?" asked Rinoa.
"Don't be silly, Rinoa! Like he'll tell the truth anyway!" said Seifer, angrily, "I'll end this now."
"No you won't!" Quistis snapped, "But out of curiosity, whose side are you on?"
"Vhy? You're just going to kill me anyvay!" said Dr. Odine, eyeing Seifer up and down and slowly backing up, ready to run if he had to.
"No, we won't." Quistis side glared at Seifer, warning him to stop while he still had control. "Well?" she asked Dr. Odine, still tossing looks at Seifer.
"Vell, I'm vith whoever you vant me vith." He said.
"And what's that supposed to mean!" snarled Seifer, raising his gunblade again.
"Seifer, calm down." Rinoa snapped.
"I mean that I'm vith whoever is on Esthar's side. I'm only looking out for the best for my country." Said Dr. Odine.
"So, your not with Adel?" asked Quistis.
"Vhy vould I be with her?"
"You with her last time."
"Vat are you talking about? I vasn't with her!"
"Liar!" growled Seifer, "He was! I saw him even though I was brainwashed, even if he was brainwashed he'd still remember!"
"You were, we saw you. You made the broadcast of Esthar's takeover only a month or so ago!" Quistis said, "Why are you lying?"
Dr. Odine finally broke down. "Fine, I vas lying-"
"See!" exclaimed Seifer but Quistis put a hand up to silence him.
Dr. Odine started again, glaring at Seifer. "As I vas saying, I vas lying because I am ashamed that I could ever be taken over by something so evil. I vorked against her years and years ago to free Esthar."
"Why'd you lie to us?" asked Rinoa softly, though, she was thinking about how he had worked against Adel years ago, with Laguna.
"I just said!" exclaimed Dr. Odine, "I vas ashamed. You people do not get taken over so easily, except you." he added, nodding at Seifer.
"That's it you little." Seifer started forwards but Rinoa held him back.
"That's right! You vant to go outside and fisticuffs?" Dr. Odine said, jumping up and down.
"I'll fisticuffs you."
"Enough!" Quistis said loudly and glared at both of them, 'This is not the time to fight!'
"Fine." grumbled Seifer and stopped trying to get at Dr. Odine.
"Anyway," Quistis said, trying to keep the peace, "We're only hiding here to get away from the guards. We'll be gone soon, besides, we need to get to Adel. where-ever she is."
"Vat happened to him?" asked Dr. Odine, pointing at Squall who was still unconscious.
"Adel slammed him against a wall." said Rinoa.
Dr. Odine dug in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle labeled, 'Super- Elixir'. "Here," he said to Rinoa, "Give him this." He tossed it to Rinoa.
"Thanks" Rinoa opened up Squall's mouth and poured the elixir down his throat. Squall made a violent movement and then he coughed and gagged, but his eyes opened and he sat up, holding his head.
"W.Where am I?" he asked.
"Dr. Odine's house." Said Rinoa.
"How'd I get here?"
As Rinoa explained all about what happened, Dr. Odine turned back to everyone else. "You can come in and sit. No use leaving yet, the soldiers are everyvhere."
Everyone came in and sat on the couches and Dr. Odine turned to Rinoa. "Are you not the sorceress who was taken over by Ultimecia?"
"Yes."
"During the time compression about fifteen years ago?"
"Yes."
"I see. Vell, I imagine that Sorceress Adel vould be most interested in you then."
"She wanted to kill me, but it was Ultimecia that was interested in me too. and Aurora." Said Rinoa airily.
"Ultimecia? Aurora?" he asked, bewildered.
'It wasn't even Adel in the first place, it was Ultimecia that came back. She possessed Aurora and then for some reason Adel possessed them both and somehow forced them out of herself.' Rinoa explained.
"Oh." Said Dr. Odine. "I imagine that Aurora vould be your daughter then?"
"Yeah."
"What happened to Ultimecia?" asked Dr. Odine.
"I am Ultimecia. Ultimecia is I, we combined, she is my future and I'm her past but now we're the present in one." Rinoa said, twiddling with her fingers and Squall put his arm around her.
"Vat?" asked Dr. Odine, still bewildered.
"Well, you already know that all sorceresses do not age." said Rinoa.
"Yes, vell."
"Well, when I get to a certain age I would become evil, I would become Ultimecia. You see, her goal was to take over time so that she wouldn't have a past, it would only be her because the little part of me still lived inside her. or us." Rinoa explained slowly.
"I see."
"When she came back, she wanted to take over Aurora so that nobody would be able to live on and defeat her someday, even if it was her own daughter. When Adel took them both over and pushed them out and Ultimecia didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do."
"How did you combine?" asked Odine.
"I'm not sure exactly. Adel was hurting Squall and I couldn't help him. Ultimecia couldn't seem to take it so she jumped in front of the final beam of energy that would have killed him and nearly killed herself. We believe that Squall was her. I mean, my, weakness." Rinoa said softly.
".the only thing that was good in Ultimecia's heart was still there. Her undying love for Squall." said Dr. Odine, in a final realization, "Your belief was correct."
"Then something odd happened, her wings turned white from black and everything about her turned back to me, it was like a twin then she told me to close my eyes and I felt this surge of power. She is inside me now." Rinoa closed her eyes. "I can feel it."
"I see! I see! She became her pure self again, all the goodness in her heart shone through!" exclaimed Dr. Odine. "Even with the vorst of sorceresses, they still have a small bit of goodness and it seems that this time it shone through. How curious!"
Rinoa nodded slowly.
"Now, you vant to find Adel?" asked Odine, clapping his hands together.
"Yes." Said Quistis and Seifer at the same time, everyone else nodded but said nothing.
"You may vant to start in Galbadia. It looks to me like Esthar has already been taken over; she'll be moving on to the next big power in the vorld."
"What if she gets Galbadia?" asked Quistis.
"Zat vould be a big problem and I imagine that her next target vould then be Garden." Odine said solemnly.
"We've gotta find Aurora and Sirus!" exclaimed Squall so suddenly that everyone jumped, that was the first time they'd heard him speak out.
"Should we split up?" asked Quistis. "Wouldn't they still be here in Esthar somewhere?"
"Yeah, but who goes with whom?" asked Quistis, looking around at the seven of them.
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"What do you propose we do?" asked Landers, walking over to Laguna, Kiros, Caraway, Zell and Clarissa.
Laguna sighed, knowing he should stay. "We'll have to stay here. Esthar's been taken and there is no use fighting a losing battle over there until we're sure that Galbadia is definitely safe."
"So, you are good for your word then." Said Landers, then turned to Caraway. "Get the army together, both air and ground. Does she have soldiers?" he asked Zell.
"We didn't see any, but they may be coming." Said Zell.
"Probably Esthar soldiers then, if she's really taken it over." Landers stated.
"I'll help." Said Kiros, "I'll lead the air crew."
Landers turned to Kiros and stared at him hard, as if searching inside for a definite leader, and then without any more hesitation, he said, "Good luck."
"I'll lead the ground crew." Said Caraway.
"I'm going to help with that." Said Landers, staring hard at Caraway.
"But president!"
"No arguing, Caraway. You know that I'm not going to sit and watch this." Said Landers in a huskily sort of voice, "I fight for my country, and I know you agree.er. deep down."
Laguna turned to Zell and Clarissa. "We should go straight to Adel and try to drive her out." he said in an undertone.
"What was that?" asked Landers. "You're going to what?"
"We're going straight at Adel." Stated Laguna in a non-arguable voice.
"That's gotta be the stupidest-"
"Don't start." Said Laguna. "I've done this once before and I can do it again! Though, it was about 30 years ago or so." he added in a low voice, looking at the ground.
Landers sighed. "No chance of changing your mind, huh?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Still that same suicidal heroic thing going on, huh?"
"That's right." Said Laguna, proudly and smirked a bit. "Good luck, Major!"
Laguna, Zell and Clarissa took off out the door, "What was that about? What do you mean, major?" asked Zell.
"He was my major in the Galbadian army years ago. We never got along because of my crazy ways." He smiled in a devious way.
"I see."
"Look!" said Clarissa, pointing down the street where about three hundred soldiers dressed in flashy uniforms that Laguna recognized as his own Esthar soldiers.
"They're brainwashed." Said Laguna, "No use in trying to stop'em, they'll just kill us."
They continued running up the path until they reached the large arch where they'd seen Adel last.
"There she is!" exclaimed Zell, looking just past the arch where Adel was standing.
"Oh my god." said Clarissa, as they neared. Adel was holding a woman up by her neck. The woman was squirming and screamed, trying to get out but it was no use.
Laguna stopped dead for a moment, staring at the woman. she looked oddly like someone that he used to know, someone who was very important. but who?
"Raine?" he breathed as he got a closer look at the woman who was now gasping for breath. His eyes widened and he stopped dead, wondering whether or not it was her, but how could it be? It wasn't possible.
At last, Zell punched Laguna in the arm and he gave a start, finally yelling, "Let her go!" and he took out his machine gun. He ran at Adel and starting shooting at her until she let the woman go and she backed off several feet to regain strength.
Laguna ran over to the woman and knelt down beside her, the woman was massaging her neck. He stared down at her for a moment, realizing he was being crazy, it wasn't Raine. it couldn't have possibly ever been her. Still, he felt strangely sad.
"Are you alright?" he asked, anyway.
"Y.Yeah." she said, and looked at Laguna.
For a moment, their eyes locked and Laguna felt a jolt in his stomach that he hadn't felt since.
"Watch out!" the woman suddenly said.
Laguna turned quick enough to see a hand come swooping down. He wasn't fast enough to move, Adel had knocked him off of his feet and he flew several yards away. The woman ran over to him and knelt beside him as he got up.
"You should get away from here." Said Laguna to the woman, as he stood up, with help from the strange woman.
"Laguna!" yelled Zell, him and Clarissa were trying to fight off Adel. "We need your help!"
Laguna took one last glance at the woman and another funny feeling grew in his stomach. Ignoring this, he took off to join Zell and Clarissa in the battle.
"I'll be back." he whispered under his breath, "We'll see each other again."
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Chapter XVI...........The Lost Caves
Laguna, Zell and Clarissa stood in front of Adel, staring her in the eyes, waiting for someone to make the first move. All around them people were running away, people breaking into houses and stores and small riots were breaking out.Adel seemed to be very pleased with this; she was smiling.
"We can't beat her, can we?" whispered Clarissa. It was obvious that she was frightned, not only because of the look in her eyes, but also because her legs were shaking nervously and she'd never really been in a serious battle like this before.
"We've done it before," said Zell, trying to be reassuring, "That was 15 years ago though." he added in an undertone so that she couldn't hear him.
"Wretches." hissed Adel, sneering down at the three of them, "And you!" she snarled angrily, staring at Laguna with an insane hunger in her eyes, "I can finally get my revenge on you!" She put her arms into the air and boomed, "PAIN!"
Laguna felt a sudden hot surge of pain flow straight through his body and he fell over. He could no longer see or even hear, only faint words that sounded like Zell saying something and a faint blast that rippled through the nights cool air. A blast that probably would have been louder if Laguna were able to hear better.
He felt around in his waist buckle for a remedy that he'd had earlier but it wasn't there, he figured he must have dropped it earlier on. Another faint blast sounded and Laguna strained to hear what was going on, and he was thoroughly surprised when two hands lifted him off the ground and someone whispered, "Esuna!"
As quickly as the searing pain had come, it seemed to be gone and he felt better. He was finally able to see and hear again, with no pain searing through his body.
"Here, take this!" said a woman's voice.
Laguna looked up and saw the mysterious woman that he'd saved from Adel. She was standing over him, holding what looked a lot like a high potion.
Laguna took the potion, staring into her eyes. Feeling somewhat stronger, he stood up and said, "Thanks."
"Just returning the favor!" she smiled, despite the fact that people were battling all around them, and Adel was nearby, fighting against Zell and Clarissa.
"LAGUNA!" said Zell's voice urgently, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? COME HELP US! QUICK!"
"Er." said Laguna, but before he could say more the woman turned, still smiling, and ran off towards some people who looked to be in trouble.
Laguna turned around just as Clarissa was casting a very powerful spell that had blown Adel backwards several feet.
"She's. pretty. strong! Or. we're.. just.. weak!" panted Zell, as he did one of his Duel attacks on Adel after she'd used a blizzard attack on him that had left him weak. "Maybe. it's a combination. of both." he said.
"Ah!" yelled Clarissa, as a small meteor that came out of thin air and was followed by several others.
"Take cover!" shouted Zell to Clarissa and Laguna, who immediately took action. All three of them shouted the word, "Protect!" just as the meteors began to hit ground.
Adel stared directly at Laguna and her eyes narrowed, "Firaga!" she hissed in a low and cold voice.
Although still protected by his shield, Laguna felt as though he had been punched in the stomach and he nearly fell over, his coat caught fire and he shook it off. "THUNDAGA!" yelled Laguna, his heart thumping against his chest.
Adel stumbled but she didn't fall over. Instead, she advanced on them, glaring, ready to attack.
"She's too strong." Said Clarissa, looking over at Zell.
"We've got to use a spell together!" exclaimed Zell, "What's the most powerful one you guys can use?"
"Ultima," said both Laguna and Clarissa at the same time, glancing at Zell who nodded.
"Enough play." Adel said coldly and moved even closer, "Good-bye." she said simply and closed her eyes. They could see sparks of red coming from her fingers.
"Let's do It.," said Laguna, "We've got to do it before she attacks," he looked at her fearfully, "One more blow and we'll all be down. maybe for good."
Clarissa nodded. "NOW!"
All three of them stepped forward at the exact same time and yelled, "ULTIMA!"
Adel opened her eyes in horror, staring at the three of them. "NO!" she shrieked as she was hit with a series of explosions.
A bright flash of light and a shriek of pain ended the massive explosions and Adel was left staggering, glaring down at them. "This isn't the end." She muttered defiantly, "You can't beat me that easily."
With a crack like a whip being brandished, she disappeared into thin air, leaving Zell, Clarissa and Laguna standing on the street in front of the Presidential Palace, staring at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Umm." started Zell, but the words simply failed him.
"Oh god, I don't want to know what she's like when she's strong!" exclaimed Clarissa.
"It's strange. I've never felt drained from a fight like this. 15 years ago this would have been easy!" Zell said and shook his head, "Anyway, you guys alright?"
Clarissa nodded but Laguna's attention was elsewhere, he was staring down the street at a group of people huddled together and the woman that had helped him was talking like she was some sort of leader.
"Laguna?" asked Zell.
"Huh?" said Laguna blankly.
"You ok?"
"What?" Laguna said slowly then turned back to Zell who was staring at him expectantly. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."
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A dim light bulb flickered lightly and faintly in a dark cellar that smelled of foulness and was infested with rats. Against the wall, in the shadow of the cellar was Sirus, slumped against the wall with metal cuffs around his wrists that were firmly attached to the stone wall.
He opened his eyes slowly and groaned in pain, he took a deep shuddering breath and looked at his wrists for a moment and nearly gagged. The cuffs had dug in very deeply and created large gashes on the top of his forearm.
He slowly took one of his hands and pushed the cuff on the other hand upwards to get it out of the cut, he nearly shouted in pain, but did the same to the other wrist, gritting his teeth together.
As he tried to stand up he felt a small trickle of liquid seep down his forehead and touched it with his finger. It was blood, coming from his forehead.
"Where am I?" he croaked out loud and was surprised when he got an answer back from out of the shadows.
"Why does it matter?" said a harsh, drawling voice, "Its not like you're ever going to leave, anyway."
Sirus squinted into the shadows across the room where the voice came from, straining to see whom it was. A tall young man stepped out of the shadows, smirking. It was Dean.
"What're you doing here?" snarled Sirus, limping out on his chain as far as he could.
"Just come to give you a friendly-" Dean made a swift movement and punched Sirus in the stomach, making him double over and fall to the ground, grasping for breath,
"-welcome to your new home."
"What do you want from me?" asked Sirus, still gasping for breath from the blow to his stomach.
"Nothing-" Dean kicked Sirus in the chest making roll over, "-from you. What we want is from someone much more important."
"Aurora?" Sirus's eyes widened and he got to his feet. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH AURORA!" he shouted in rage and hit Dean across the face with all the strength could use.
Dean stumbled backward, hardly keeping his balance and he looked at Sirus with complete anger. "You going to pay-" he punched Sirus in the stomach again, "-for that!" then he kneed him in the chest, making him fall over again and yell in pain.
Sirus stood up again, his eyes wide and glaring but Dean took his chance. "Worthless piece of-" his last word was drowned out by a strangled yell from Sirus when Dean took him up by his hair and punched in the face, making Sirus fall backward, hitting the wall.
"So, this is how you fight," growled Sirus, glaring at Dean from the ground, "When I can barely fight back! No wonder Adel can control you, you're just a weak-"
Sirus was silenced by another blow to the stomach and was rolled into the wall. Dean walked over to him leaned over, grabbing Sirus by his hair and pushing his head against the wall and lowering himself so that their faces were inches apart.
"It's just a good thing that Adel wants you alive, otherwise I'd kill you right now." Dean said coldly.
"If you don't want anything with me, then why do you want me alive?" sneered Sirus.
"You're the only reason that Aurora is remaining in a conscious state." Said Dean, still grasping Sirus's hair tightly. "You see, a sorceress needs to know her knight is alive and well -" he was cut off by Sirus.
"Who ever said that I was Aurora's knight?" Sirus croaked.
Dean glared down at him. "You don't have to say it for it to be true," he said in disgust, "The point is that you love her. Adel sensed that. and you in your mind would give up anything for her. That makes you her knight."
Dean gave Sirus another swift kick, "Idiot," he muttered.
"Adel needs power. She will feed off Aurora until she's powerful enough to live on her own. That's why she needs to know you're alive. it gives her strength." Said Dean, "By the time Adel is a full power, Aurora will be dead and we'll have no more need for you."
"Aurora." whispered Sirus. Dean pulled Sirus's head forward and smashed it against the wall; he was knocked out cold.
"Pitiful." Said Dean, calmly and walked to the other side of the room. "Let me out, now." He said and the door opened, two guards were standing at the entrance and they closed the door again, leaving Sirus on the floor, bleeding and unconscious.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"W.Where am I?" asked Aurora in a dry, croaky voice and she opened her eyes. The room around her was dimly lit and the floor was dirty. There was a door that she could barely see across the small room that didn't have a handle on her side but she could see a faint light shining through the gap at the bottom and sides.
She got up and walked to the door, but before she reached it opened and Sorceress Adel entered, looking triumphant about something. Though, she also looked extremely weakened as though she'd fought.
"So. you're conscious are you?" she said in a low voice, "Good. This will make it much easier."
Aurora walked slowly backwards until she hit the wall, realizing that she could no longer go backwards, so she stared ahead, into Adel's eyes, frightened, at the slowly approaching Adel.
"Where's Sirus, and my mom and dad?" she asked, frightfully.
"Sirus is here, he's alive. Your mother and father, are. well, I hate to break it to you, but they're dead." Said Adel in the nastiest, harshest voice that Aurora had ever heard.
There was a long silence. Aurora had sunk to the floor tears coming down her cheeks. "You're lying," she finally said, in a cold and dry voice.
"I'm afraid that I am not lying," said Adel, placing her large hand under Aurora's chin, "They are very well dead, m'dear." She taunted.
Aurora shook her head, more tears coming.
"No use in crying, that won't help." Sneered Adel, her cold eyes boring into Aurora's. "Now then, let's get on with it."
"W.W-ith.w-hat?" Aurora stuttered.
"I need to be recharged, of course," she said, "So, just stand still then."
Aurora tried to run but Adel held her arms against the wall so that she couldn't move. Aurora closed her eyes.
"P.Please. don't!"
Adel said nothing and Aurora felt a sudden explosion of pain that seared through her entire body, it seemed to last forever but in reality, only really a few seconds. The pain suddenly stopped and Adel let go; Aurora fell to the floor and slowly opened her eyes.
Adel seemed to be surging in power; she was glowing in red energy. Soon after, the energy flickered and was absorbed into Adel's body and she stared down at Aurora, tauntingly.
"I'll be back again soon." She said and turned, as she reached the door she added, "You can count on that."
Aurora lay on the floor, weak and drained of energy. "How much life do I have left?" she asked herself.
She put her head down and put her arms around her knees. "They can't be dead. they just can't be. I saw them before we disappeared!" she thought, "And Sirus. Oh, I hope he's alright!"
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Irvine and Selphie gaped at what lay in front of them. For what seemed a mile, there was a giant cave, at least 100 feet tall and extremely wide. It was covered in green, very tall and thickly bushed trees and small green houses that had several colorful flowers around them that were placed in the trees on platforms made of wood.
They looked down and saw what seemed to be a very large lake or body of water that covered the entire bottom of the cave. They couldn't tell how deep it was because of how murky it was but the trees all seemed to be growing out of it.
There didn't seem to be any paths leading to the houses but as they looked up they saw several long vines that were attached together, they looked like very large swings.
"What is this place?" asked Selphie in awe.
Just as she said that they saw some movement and suddenly they were swept off their feet. They looked around in amazement; one of the vine swings had swooped down and was swinging them forwards, towards one of the larger houses that was specked in tiny blue flower buds.
The vine swing came to the platform and stopped, it somehow managed to stay long enough for them to jump off and then it swung back to the small rock platform where they were.
"The gap isn't there anymore!" exclaimed Irvine, looking at the wall that was actually covered in green, the gap that they'd come through was no longer there.
"I don't like this." said Selphie, beginning to become worried.
"I know," said Irvine, "It's just a little too strange here."
They turned around and looked at the small, shrub covered house just as the door creaked open and the most bizarre creature that they'd over seen walked out, smiling.
Chapter XV...........A Familiar Face
"Selphie?" Irvine called again, beginning to become very worried. She was no-where in sight. He walked slowly forward, looking around before each step that he took. "This isn't a game, Selphie. If your hiding or something just come out!"
There was nothing but the regular sounds in a forest, birds chirping, animals breaking twigs and the soft wind shuttering the tree branches above.
"Hmm."
He took another step forward, to the exact spot where he'd last seen Selphie, he tried to call her name, but - "Sel.WHOOOOOAAAAAAAA!"
The ground beneath him collapsed and he fell, feet first, down a long tunnel and began to slide. Not long after the tunnel came to an end and he was thrown, face first, onto the ground.
He rolled over and groaned loudly in pain. The ground under him was soft and damp, like grass and mud after it'd rained, yet, it wasn't grass, and it was sort of solid, like rock. The air seemed to be stale as if been used over and over and it was extremely dark.
"Selphie?" he croaked.
"Irvine? Is that you?" sounded Selphie's voice out of the darkness, "Are you alright?"
"Do you think I'm alright?" Irvine said angrily and sarcastically, "What happened anyway? Where are we?"
"I don't know what happened," Selphie said as she helped up Irvine, ".Or where we are, at that."
"What's that?" asked Irvine, pointing through the darkness at a far away gap in the wall that had some greenish light coming from it.
"I don't know. should we look?" asked Selphie, warily.
"Well, yeah." Irvine said, starting forwards, "What else are we gonna do?"
They walked slowly over to the wall, tripping occasionally over rocks and what seemed to be roots but because it was so dark they couldn't tell for sure. Once they got to the gap, Selphie placed her hand onto the wall and felt it.
"It feels like a tree or plant or something. it doesn't even feel like rock!" she exclaimed.
"The floor doesn't either," Irvine said, "What is this place?"
"Should we?" asked Selphie, placing her fingers in the gap on the wall where the greenish light was coming from.
"Why not?" Irvine said, and placed his fingers on the other side of the gap. Together, they pulled with all of their might and gap moved apart, enough for them to walk through. They moved in front of the gap and looked inside. They both gasped.
**********************************
"Shhh! Guards!" hissed Seifer as they ducked out of view as much as they could but it was hard because there were so many of them. Seifer, Quistis, Rinoa, Ellone, Dawn, Jem and an unconscious Squall all huddled together, barely out of view of several guards moving their way talking about people sneaking around.
"They're coming this way!" whispered Rinoa, who was panicky, "They're after us!"
"C'Mon, this way!" said Quistis, gesturing to a nearby walkway that would hide them until they got into the building.
One by one, leaded by Quistis, they filed down the walkway, crouching, and went into the building. Seifer and Jem followed last, carrying Squall.
"Whew." said Dawn, wiping her forehead, "That was way too close for my comfort!"
"Yeah." they all agreed and slumped inside the building, not realizing where exactly they were, just knowing that they were safer then on the streets with the guards hunting them.
"And vat are ve doing here?" said a familiar voice.
Everyone looked up and recognized whom the voice had come from. Dr. Odine was standing behind them, his eyebrows raised, looking very peculiar.
Seifer drew his gunblade but Quistis put a hand out in front of him. "We're just hiding." she said, while scowling at Seifer for acting so soon, Dr. Odine hadn't done anything yet.
"Whose side are you on?" asked Rinoa.
"Don't be silly, Rinoa! Like he'll tell the truth anyway!" said Seifer, angrily, "I'll end this now."
"No you won't!" Quistis snapped, "But out of curiosity, whose side are you on?"
"Vhy? You're just going to kill me anyvay!" said Dr. Odine, eyeing Seifer up and down and slowly backing up, ready to run if he had to.
"No, we won't." Quistis side glared at Seifer, warning him to stop while he still had control. "Well?" she asked Dr. Odine, still tossing looks at Seifer.
"Vell, I'm vith whoever you vant me vith." He said.
"And what's that supposed to mean!" snarled Seifer, raising his gunblade again.
"Seifer, calm down." Rinoa snapped.
"I mean that I'm vith whoever is on Esthar's side. I'm only looking out for the best for my country." Said Dr. Odine.
"So, your not with Adel?" asked Quistis.
"Vhy vould I be with her?"
"You with her last time."
"Vat are you talking about? I vasn't with her!"
"Liar!" growled Seifer, "He was! I saw him even though I was brainwashed, even if he was brainwashed he'd still remember!"
"You were, we saw you. You made the broadcast of Esthar's takeover only a month or so ago!" Quistis said, "Why are you lying?"
Dr. Odine finally broke down. "Fine, I vas lying-"
"See!" exclaimed Seifer but Quistis put a hand up to silence him.
Dr. Odine started again, glaring at Seifer. "As I vas saying, I vas lying because I am ashamed that I could ever be taken over by something so evil. I vorked against her years and years ago to free Esthar."
"Why'd you lie to us?" asked Rinoa softly, though, she was thinking about how he had worked against Adel years ago, with Laguna.
"I just said!" exclaimed Dr. Odine, "I vas ashamed. You people do not get taken over so easily, except you." he added, nodding at Seifer.
"That's it you little." Seifer started forwards but Rinoa held him back.
"That's right! You vant to go outside and fisticuffs?" Dr. Odine said, jumping up and down.
"I'll fisticuffs you."
"Enough!" Quistis said loudly and glared at both of them, 'This is not the time to fight!'
"Fine." grumbled Seifer and stopped trying to get at Dr. Odine.
"Anyway," Quistis said, trying to keep the peace, "We're only hiding here to get away from the guards. We'll be gone soon, besides, we need to get to Adel. where-ever she is."
"Vat happened to him?" asked Dr. Odine, pointing at Squall who was still unconscious.
"Adel slammed him against a wall." said Rinoa.
Dr. Odine dug in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle labeled, 'Super- Elixir'. "Here," he said to Rinoa, "Give him this." He tossed it to Rinoa.
"Thanks" Rinoa opened up Squall's mouth and poured the elixir down his throat. Squall made a violent movement and then he coughed and gagged, but his eyes opened and he sat up, holding his head.
"W.Where am I?" he asked.
"Dr. Odine's house." Said Rinoa.
"How'd I get here?"
As Rinoa explained all about what happened, Dr. Odine turned back to everyone else. "You can come in and sit. No use leaving yet, the soldiers are everyvhere."
Everyone came in and sat on the couches and Dr. Odine turned to Rinoa. "Are you not the sorceress who was taken over by Ultimecia?"
"Yes."
"During the time compression about fifteen years ago?"
"Yes."
"I see. Vell, I imagine that Sorceress Adel vould be most interested in you then."
"She wanted to kill me, but it was Ultimecia that was interested in me too. and Aurora." Said Rinoa airily.
"Ultimecia? Aurora?" he asked, bewildered.
'It wasn't even Adel in the first place, it was Ultimecia that came back. She possessed Aurora and then for some reason Adel possessed them both and somehow forced them out of herself.' Rinoa explained.
"Oh." Said Dr. Odine. "I imagine that Aurora vould be your daughter then?"
"Yeah."
"What happened to Ultimecia?" asked Dr. Odine.
"I am Ultimecia. Ultimecia is I, we combined, she is my future and I'm her past but now we're the present in one." Rinoa said, twiddling with her fingers and Squall put his arm around her.
"Vat?" asked Dr. Odine, still bewildered.
"Well, you already know that all sorceresses do not age." said Rinoa.
"Yes, vell."
"Well, when I get to a certain age I would become evil, I would become Ultimecia. You see, her goal was to take over time so that she wouldn't have a past, it would only be her because the little part of me still lived inside her. or us." Rinoa explained slowly.
"I see."
"When she came back, she wanted to take over Aurora so that nobody would be able to live on and defeat her someday, even if it was her own daughter. When Adel took them both over and pushed them out and Ultimecia didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do."
"How did you combine?" asked Odine.
"I'm not sure exactly. Adel was hurting Squall and I couldn't help him. Ultimecia couldn't seem to take it so she jumped in front of the final beam of energy that would have killed him and nearly killed herself. We believe that Squall was her. I mean, my, weakness." Rinoa said softly.
".the only thing that was good in Ultimecia's heart was still there. Her undying love for Squall." said Dr. Odine, in a final realization, "Your belief was correct."
"Then something odd happened, her wings turned white from black and everything about her turned back to me, it was like a twin then she told me to close my eyes and I felt this surge of power. She is inside me now." Rinoa closed her eyes. "I can feel it."
"I see! I see! She became her pure self again, all the goodness in her heart shone through!" exclaimed Dr. Odine. "Even with the vorst of sorceresses, they still have a small bit of goodness and it seems that this time it shone through. How curious!"
Rinoa nodded slowly.
"Now, you vant to find Adel?" asked Odine, clapping his hands together.
"Yes." Said Quistis and Seifer at the same time, everyone else nodded but said nothing.
"You may vant to start in Galbadia. It looks to me like Esthar has already been taken over; she'll be moving on to the next big power in the vorld."
"What if she gets Galbadia?" asked Quistis.
"Zat vould be a big problem and I imagine that her next target vould then be Garden." Odine said solemnly.
"We've gotta find Aurora and Sirus!" exclaimed Squall so suddenly that everyone jumped, that was the first time they'd heard him speak out.
"Should we split up?" asked Quistis. "Wouldn't they still be here in Esthar somewhere?"
"Yeah, but who goes with whom?" asked Quistis, looking around at the seven of them.
*******************************************
"What do you propose we do?" asked Landers, walking over to Laguna, Kiros, Caraway, Zell and Clarissa.
Laguna sighed, knowing he should stay. "We'll have to stay here. Esthar's been taken and there is no use fighting a losing battle over there until we're sure that Galbadia is definitely safe."
"So, you are good for your word then." Said Landers, then turned to Caraway. "Get the army together, both air and ground. Does she have soldiers?" he asked Zell.
"We didn't see any, but they may be coming." Said Zell.
"Probably Esthar soldiers then, if she's really taken it over." Landers stated.
"I'll help." Said Kiros, "I'll lead the air crew."
Landers turned to Kiros and stared at him hard, as if searching inside for a definite leader, and then without any more hesitation, he said, "Good luck."
"I'll lead the ground crew." Said Caraway.
"I'm going to help with that." Said Landers, staring hard at Caraway.
"But president!"
"No arguing, Caraway. You know that I'm not going to sit and watch this." Said Landers in a huskily sort of voice, "I fight for my country, and I know you agree.er. deep down."
Laguna turned to Zell and Clarissa. "We should go straight to Adel and try to drive her out." he said in an undertone.
"What was that?" asked Landers. "You're going to what?"
"We're going straight at Adel." Stated Laguna in a non-arguable voice.
"That's gotta be the stupidest-"
"Don't start." Said Laguna. "I've done this once before and I can do it again! Though, it was about 30 years ago or so." he added in a low voice, looking at the ground.
Landers sighed. "No chance of changing your mind, huh?" he said, raising an eyebrow. "Still that same suicidal heroic thing going on, huh?"
"That's right." Said Laguna, proudly and smirked a bit. "Good luck, Major!"
Laguna, Zell and Clarissa took off out the door, "What was that about? What do you mean, major?" asked Zell.
"He was my major in the Galbadian army years ago. We never got along because of my crazy ways." He smiled in a devious way.
"I see."
"Look!" said Clarissa, pointing down the street where about three hundred soldiers dressed in flashy uniforms that Laguna recognized as his own Esthar soldiers.
"They're brainwashed." Said Laguna, "No use in trying to stop'em, they'll just kill us."
They continued running up the path until they reached the large arch where they'd seen Adel last.
"There she is!" exclaimed Zell, looking just past the arch where Adel was standing.
"Oh my god." said Clarissa, as they neared. Adel was holding a woman up by her neck. The woman was squirming and screamed, trying to get out but it was no use.
Laguna stopped dead for a moment, staring at the woman. she looked oddly like someone that he used to know, someone who was very important. but who?
"Raine?" he breathed as he got a closer look at the woman who was now gasping for breath. His eyes widened and he stopped dead, wondering whether or not it was her, but how could it be? It wasn't possible.
At last, Zell punched Laguna in the arm and he gave a start, finally yelling, "Let her go!" and he took out his machine gun. He ran at Adel and starting shooting at her until she let the woman go and she backed off several feet to regain strength.
Laguna ran over to the woman and knelt down beside her, the woman was massaging her neck. He stared down at her for a moment, realizing he was being crazy, it wasn't Raine. it couldn't have possibly ever been her. Still, he felt strangely sad.
"Are you alright?" he asked, anyway.
"Y.Yeah." she said, and looked at Laguna.
For a moment, their eyes locked and Laguna felt a jolt in his stomach that he hadn't felt since.
"Watch out!" the woman suddenly said.
Laguna turned quick enough to see a hand come swooping down. He wasn't fast enough to move, Adel had knocked him off of his feet and he flew several yards away. The woman ran over to him and knelt beside him as he got up.
"You should get away from here." Said Laguna to the woman, as he stood up, with help from the strange woman.
"Laguna!" yelled Zell, him and Clarissa were trying to fight off Adel. "We need your help!"
Laguna took one last glance at the woman and another funny feeling grew in his stomach. Ignoring this, he took off to join Zell and Clarissa in the battle.
"I'll be back." he whispered under his breath, "We'll see each other again."
************************************************
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Chapter XVI...........The Lost Caves
Laguna, Zell and Clarissa stood in front of Adel, staring her in the eyes, waiting for someone to make the first move. All around them people were running away, people breaking into houses and stores and small riots were breaking out.Adel seemed to be very pleased with this; she was smiling.
"We can't beat her, can we?" whispered Clarissa. It was obvious that she was frightned, not only because of the look in her eyes, but also because her legs were shaking nervously and she'd never really been in a serious battle like this before.
"We've done it before," said Zell, trying to be reassuring, "That was 15 years ago though." he added in an undertone so that she couldn't hear him.
"Wretches." hissed Adel, sneering down at the three of them, "And you!" she snarled angrily, staring at Laguna with an insane hunger in her eyes, "I can finally get my revenge on you!" She put her arms into the air and boomed, "PAIN!"
Laguna felt a sudden hot surge of pain flow straight through his body and he fell over. He could no longer see or even hear, only faint words that sounded like Zell saying something and a faint blast that rippled through the nights cool air. A blast that probably would have been louder if Laguna were able to hear better.
He felt around in his waist buckle for a remedy that he'd had earlier but it wasn't there, he figured he must have dropped it earlier on. Another faint blast sounded and Laguna strained to hear what was going on, and he was thoroughly surprised when two hands lifted him off the ground and someone whispered, "Esuna!"
As quickly as the searing pain had come, it seemed to be gone and he felt better. He was finally able to see and hear again, with no pain searing through his body.
"Here, take this!" said a woman's voice.
Laguna looked up and saw the mysterious woman that he'd saved from Adel. She was standing over him, holding what looked a lot like a high potion.
Laguna took the potion, staring into her eyes. Feeling somewhat stronger, he stood up and said, "Thanks."
"Just returning the favor!" she smiled, despite the fact that people were battling all around them, and Adel was nearby, fighting against Zell and Clarissa.
"LAGUNA!" said Zell's voice urgently, "ARE YOU ALRIGHT? COME HELP US! QUICK!"
"Er." said Laguna, but before he could say more the woman turned, still smiling, and ran off towards some people who looked to be in trouble.
Laguna turned around just as Clarissa was casting a very powerful spell that had blown Adel backwards several feet.
"She's. pretty. strong! Or. we're.. just.. weak!" panted Zell, as he did one of his Duel attacks on Adel after she'd used a blizzard attack on him that had left him weak. "Maybe. it's a combination. of both." he said.
"Ah!" yelled Clarissa, as a small meteor that came out of thin air and was followed by several others.
"Take cover!" shouted Zell to Clarissa and Laguna, who immediately took action. All three of them shouted the word, "Protect!" just as the meteors began to hit ground.
Adel stared directly at Laguna and her eyes narrowed, "Firaga!" she hissed in a low and cold voice.
Although still protected by his shield, Laguna felt as though he had been punched in the stomach and he nearly fell over, his coat caught fire and he shook it off. "THUNDAGA!" yelled Laguna, his heart thumping against his chest.
Adel stumbled but she didn't fall over. Instead, she advanced on them, glaring, ready to attack.
"She's too strong." Said Clarissa, looking over at Zell.
"We've got to use a spell together!" exclaimed Zell, "What's the most powerful one you guys can use?"
"Ultima," said both Laguna and Clarissa at the same time, glancing at Zell who nodded.
"Enough play." Adel said coldly and moved even closer, "Good-bye." she said simply and closed her eyes. They could see sparks of red coming from her fingers.
"Let's do It.," said Laguna, "We've got to do it before she attacks," he looked at her fearfully, "One more blow and we'll all be down. maybe for good."
Clarissa nodded. "NOW!"
All three of them stepped forward at the exact same time and yelled, "ULTIMA!"
Adel opened her eyes in horror, staring at the three of them. "NO!" she shrieked as she was hit with a series of explosions.
A bright flash of light and a shriek of pain ended the massive explosions and Adel was left staggering, glaring down at them. "This isn't the end." She muttered defiantly, "You can't beat me that easily."
With a crack like a whip being brandished, she disappeared into thin air, leaving Zell, Clarissa and Laguna standing on the street in front of the Presidential Palace, staring at each other, not knowing what to say.
"Umm." started Zell, but the words simply failed him.
"Oh god, I don't want to know what she's like when she's strong!" exclaimed Clarissa.
"It's strange. I've never felt drained from a fight like this. 15 years ago this would have been easy!" Zell said and shook his head, "Anyway, you guys alright?"
Clarissa nodded but Laguna's attention was elsewhere, he was staring down the street at a group of people huddled together and the woman that had helped him was talking like she was some sort of leader.
"Laguna?" asked Zell.
"Huh?" said Laguna blankly.
"You ok?"
"What?" Laguna said slowly then turned back to Zell who was staring at him expectantly. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."
**************************************************
**********
A dim light bulb flickered lightly and faintly in a dark cellar that smelled of foulness and was infested with rats. Against the wall, in the shadow of the cellar was Sirus, slumped against the wall with metal cuffs around his wrists that were firmly attached to the stone wall.
He opened his eyes slowly and groaned in pain, he took a deep shuddering breath and looked at his wrists for a moment and nearly gagged. The cuffs had dug in very deeply and created large gashes on the top of his forearm.
He slowly took one of his hands and pushed the cuff on the other hand upwards to get it out of the cut, he nearly shouted in pain, but did the same to the other wrist, gritting his teeth together.
As he tried to stand up he felt a small trickle of liquid seep down his forehead and touched it with his finger. It was blood, coming from his forehead.
"Where am I?" he croaked out loud and was surprised when he got an answer back from out of the shadows.
"Why does it matter?" said a harsh, drawling voice, "Its not like you're ever going to leave, anyway."
Sirus squinted into the shadows across the room where the voice came from, straining to see whom it was. A tall young man stepped out of the shadows, smirking. It was Dean.
"What're you doing here?" snarled Sirus, limping out on his chain as far as he could.
"Just come to give you a friendly-" Dean made a swift movement and punched Sirus in the stomach, making him double over and fall to the ground, grasping for breath,
"-welcome to your new home."
"What do you want from me?" asked Sirus, still gasping for breath from the blow to his stomach.
"Nothing-" Dean kicked Sirus in the chest making roll over, "-from you. What we want is from someone much more important."
"Aurora?" Sirus's eyes widened and he got to his feet. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH AURORA!" he shouted in rage and hit Dean across the face with all the strength could use.
Dean stumbled backward, hardly keeping his balance and he looked at Sirus with complete anger. "You going to pay-" he punched Sirus in the stomach again, "-for that!" then he kneed him in the chest, making him fall over again and yell in pain.
Sirus stood up again, his eyes wide and glaring but Dean took his chance. "Worthless piece of-" his last word was drowned out by a strangled yell from Sirus when Dean took him up by his hair and punched in the face, making Sirus fall backward, hitting the wall.
"So, this is how you fight," growled Sirus, glaring at Dean from the ground, "When I can barely fight back! No wonder Adel can control you, you're just a weak-"
Sirus was silenced by another blow to the stomach and was rolled into the wall. Dean walked over to him leaned over, grabbing Sirus by his hair and pushing his head against the wall and lowering himself so that their faces were inches apart.
"It's just a good thing that Adel wants you alive, otherwise I'd kill you right now." Dean said coldly.
"If you don't want anything with me, then why do you want me alive?" sneered Sirus.
"You're the only reason that Aurora is remaining in a conscious state." Said Dean, still grasping Sirus's hair tightly. "You see, a sorceress needs to know her knight is alive and well -" he was cut off by Sirus.
"Who ever said that I was Aurora's knight?" Sirus croaked.
Dean glared down at him. "You don't have to say it for it to be true," he said in disgust, "The point is that you love her. Adel sensed that. and you in your mind would give up anything for her. That makes you her knight."
Dean gave Sirus another swift kick, "Idiot," he muttered.
"Adel needs power. She will feed off Aurora until she's powerful enough to live on her own. That's why she needs to know you're alive. it gives her strength." Said Dean, "By the time Adel is a full power, Aurora will be dead and we'll have no more need for you."
"Aurora." whispered Sirus. Dean pulled Sirus's head forward and smashed it against the wall; he was knocked out cold.
"Pitiful." Said Dean, calmly and walked to the other side of the room. "Let me out, now." He said and the door opened, two guards were standing at the entrance and they closed the door again, leaving Sirus on the floor, bleeding and unconscious.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"W.Where am I?" asked Aurora in a dry, croaky voice and she opened her eyes. The room around her was dimly lit and the floor was dirty. There was a door that she could barely see across the small room that didn't have a handle on her side but she could see a faint light shining through the gap at the bottom and sides.
She got up and walked to the door, but before she reached it opened and Sorceress Adel entered, looking triumphant about something. Though, she also looked extremely weakened as though she'd fought.
"So. you're conscious are you?" she said in a low voice, "Good. This will make it much easier."
Aurora walked slowly backwards until she hit the wall, realizing that she could no longer go backwards, so she stared ahead, into Adel's eyes, frightened, at the slowly approaching Adel.
"Where's Sirus, and my mom and dad?" she asked, frightfully.
"Sirus is here, he's alive. Your mother and father, are. well, I hate to break it to you, but they're dead." Said Adel in the nastiest, harshest voice that Aurora had ever heard.
There was a long silence. Aurora had sunk to the floor tears coming down her cheeks. "You're lying," she finally said, in a cold and dry voice.
"I'm afraid that I am not lying," said Adel, placing her large hand under Aurora's chin, "They are very well dead, m'dear." She taunted.
Aurora shook her head, more tears coming.
"No use in crying, that won't help." Sneered Adel, her cold eyes boring into Aurora's. "Now then, let's get on with it."
"W.W-ith.w-hat?" Aurora stuttered.
"I need to be recharged, of course," she said, "So, just stand still then."
Aurora tried to run but Adel held her arms against the wall so that she couldn't move. Aurora closed her eyes.
"P.Please. don't!"
Adel said nothing and Aurora felt a sudden explosion of pain that seared through her entire body, it seemed to last forever but in reality, only really a few seconds. The pain suddenly stopped and Adel let go; Aurora fell to the floor and slowly opened her eyes.
Adel seemed to be surging in power; she was glowing in red energy. Soon after, the energy flickered and was absorbed into Adel's body and she stared down at Aurora, tauntingly.
"I'll be back again soon." She said and turned, as she reached the door she added, "You can count on that."
Aurora lay on the floor, weak and drained of energy. "How much life do I have left?" she asked herself.
She put her head down and put her arms around her knees. "They can't be dead. they just can't be. I saw them before we disappeared!" she thought, "And Sirus. Oh, I hope he's alright!"
**************************************************
**********
Irvine and Selphie gaped at what lay in front of them. For what seemed a mile, there was a giant cave, at least 100 feet tall and extremely wide. It was covered in green, very tall and thickly bushed trees and small green houses that had several colorful flowers around them that were placed in the trees on platforms made of wood.
They looked down and saw what seemed to be a very large lake or body of water that covered the entire bottom of the cave. They couldn't tell how deep it was because of how murky it was but the trees all seemed to be growing out of it.
There didn't seem to be any paths leading to the houses but as they looked up they saw several long vines that were attached together, they looked like very large swings.
"What is this place?" asked Selphie in awe.
Just as she said that they saw some movement and suddenly they were swept off their feet. They looked around in amazement; one of the vine swings had swooped down and was swinging them forwards, towards one of the larger houses that was specked in tiny blue flower buds.
The vine swing came to the platform and stopped, it somehow managed to stay long enough for them to jump off and then it swung back to the small rock platform where they were.
"The gap isn't there anymore!" exclaimed Irvine, looking at the wall that was actually covered in green, the gap that they'd come through was no longer there.
"I don't like this." said Selphie, beginning to become worried.
"I know," said Irvine, "It's just a little too strange here."
They turned around and looked at the small, shrub covered house just as the door creaked open and the most bizarre creature that they'd over seen walked out, smiling.
