Chapter XXIX..... A Fighting Chance
Laguna, Kiros and Landers had finally reached the command centre. As the battle raged on, as soldiers fought for their lives; they rushed to find a way to defeat the unbeatable Estharians.
"Do you have any aircrafts?" Landers asked the headmaster.
The headmaster shook his head sadly, "No. they went down during battle."
"What is your current ratio of soldiers?" Laguna asked, his arms crossed against his chest. He glanced out the window, into the bright blue ocean. Sunlight was drifting towards them, and so was a large shape.
"Approximately 12000 Estharians, versus about -" he shuddered, ". 2000 of our soldiers."
"That's six to one!" Kiros cried, stamping his foot, clearly in frustration.
Laguna stared out the window, still, into the ocean at the approaching shape. It looked oddly familiar, could it be?
He touched Landers' arm. "Hey," he said, quietly, "Do you know what that shape is?"
"Huh?" Landers asked, bad-temperedly, "What are you on about, Loire?"
"Don't you see it?" Laguna asked, gesturing to the dark shape, imprinted against the on-coming bright skies.
Landers stared out the window, finally seeing it. "What is it?"
Laguna frowned, looking at Landers. "That's why I asked you!"
Just as he finished scolding Landers, the COM system began buzzing with a voice. "Needin' a bit a help?" the familiar voice said.
Laguna almost jumped for joy. he knew the voice. He stole a quick glance towards the oncoming shape, which was now clear against the sky, and almost reaching land. It was Galbadia Garden. and the voice was none other then Lexi.
"Lexi!" Laguna said excitedly into the microphone, "What are you doing?" He was both worried and happy. He couldn't decide on which.
"Well, lets just say that I know some people. important people. We talked." She said, brightly, "I was able to travel to the Garden - and, well, I'll tell you later. We have a war to win and I have four thousand eager soldiers on board, who're ready to kick some Estharian ass."
Laguna smiled broadly, "That's my girl," he whispered.
"Four thousand soldiers!" Kiros almost yelled, "Man! We might actually have a chance now!"
Laguna turned quickly to Landers, wondering what he was thinking. "Any objections?"
Landers smiled, "Not a word," he said, "Except - let this be the time that all of the Gardens and Galbadia unite as one - to set aside our differences and fight as real warriors do - as our ancestors did." He put a hand on Laguna's shoulder, "And let this be the time that two enemies join to help one another."
Laguna smirked. The words ran over and over through his head. He took the receiver of the COM system and said, "Bring'em in!"
Lexi's voice came through, like music to Laguna's ears. "Great! We have an air strike ready to attack. Just give us the go ahead and they will be there in thirty seconds. Our army will land on foot and attack from the back." She paused.
"The headmaster would like a word with Landers."
Laguna handed Landers the receiver as Martine's voice echoed through. "President Landers," the headmaster said formally, "Despite our past differences - our problems - I have come to see that we are still bound to one another as Galbadians. We must withhold the honour of our country and work together as one to accomplish what is to be done. That includes Balamb and Timber. Soldiers from all over the world have come to join our force, to help you and the Estharian President defeat Adel's army. I'm sorry for not realizing this sooner, when this could have been prevented."
Landers smiled, "I thank-you. And," he added, his smile fading, "I'd like to apologize for any problems Galbadia has caused for the Garden - any Garden, for that matter. We welcome you, and hope that we will prosper together in this battle."
The COM was silent for a moment. Lexi's voice came back on. "We will land in less than two minutes. We have already seen the approaching Balamb soldiers. There looks to be approximately 1000. We will join them and attack to soldiers in the outer rim, working our way in."
"Good. Send the air strike in five minutes, and give instructions to have them hit the soldiers at the gate. I will have our soldiers retreat at that time."
"Right," Lexi said.
"And," Laguna added quietly, "Thank-you"
The COM system went quiet, but he could faintly hear, "My pleasure, president."
The room was quiet for a moment. Rays of sunlight. or hope. beamed through the window.
"We must clear the gate," Laguna said quietly, "I'll send a messenger."
Although the moment was serious, and silent, they all smiled and laughed. They did, after all, have a chance at the battle now.
"WOW!" Selphie nearly shouted. They flew over the ocean towards Trabia. The land looked as though it were moving. Soldiers filled the gaps between the mountains in the Trabia Garden region.
"Great Hyne." Irvine muttered.
The moment was grim. All that they could see was Esthar soldiers, surrounding the tiny, defenceless Garden.
"Look!" Rinoa suddenly shouted, giving them a start, "It's the Balamb, and Galbadian soldiers -" she looked out the window carefully, "There must be at least six thousand there, if not more!"
"But look at all the Estharian soldiers," Irvine pointed out, "There's loads of'em!"
Selphie and Rinoa said nothing. All of them were quite shocked at the intense war beneath them. Occasionally they saw a started soldier look up at them.
"Whoa!" Selphie said, "Isn't that Seifer?"
"And Quistis?"
"And Squall!"
Vaguely, they saw the three battling next to Balamb soldiers, working their way through the army. Not far away they also saw Zell and Clarissa, fighting next to Dawn and Jem.
"FIRAGA!" Squall yelled in rage as an Estharian soldier caught him off guard. He fought next to Seifer and Quistis.
Although it was odd for them, after Squall came back, they still decided to put aside any disputes between one another, and fight the battle. When Squall had arrived in the Garden, Seifer anxiously awaited him. Refusing an apology from both of them, Squall explained that he and Rinoa had seen one another, and made their peace.
Though, it would take time for any. awkwardness to pass.
Squall felt strange to be fighting along with the Galbadians. especially since the Garden army had arrived. According to their leader, a woman called 'Lexi', they gathered up soldiers from the Balamb Island, Timber, and the Garden.
As they fought through the Estharian soldiers, Squall could see the gates clearly. They had been blown wide open by the air strike only minutes before. The goal was to get through those gates and reach Laguna - to secure the Garden premises and fight off the soldiers.
For once, Squalls mind was almost at ease. They finally had that break they'd been waiting for. He thought about the impossible odds they'd been facing. The possibility of winning before the reinforcements had arrived was almost none.
It wasn't long before Seifer, Quistis and Squall reached the blown gates of the Garden. After a brief rendezvous with a messenger boy named Riley, they fought they're way through the thick mound of soldiers.
As they battled their way through, with Balamb and Galbadian soldiers in their wake; they slowly secured the premises of the Garden's interior. As they fought, often Squall almost smiled. It seemed just like olden days.
He thought about Rinoa and Aurora often. and he worried. Where was Rinoa now? What was happening to Aurora?
Through the loud clashing to weapons and gun shooting, Squall could hear, faintly, his name being called. He stretched his head over the thinning crowd to see who it was.
In the distance, close the entrance of the Garden, he caught a glimpse of Laguna, waving them over. Squall gestured for Seifer and Quistis to follow him as he made his way through the disperse crowd.
Before he knew it, they had reached Laguna. He was standing with Kiros and another man.
"Squall," Laguna nodded, a smirk upon his face.
Squall stood for a moment, his back straight, and then out of nowhere, he embraced the man in a long and hearty hug. "Good to see you. dad."
Laguna was a little surprised, and almost looked slightly relieved as Squall pulled away. "And you," he said. He looked to his left, "This," he gestured to the unknown man, "Is President Landers. of Galbadia. And you obviously know Kiros."
Squall smiled at Kiros, and turned to President Landers, "Pleased to be of service," he said.
"Oh, don't be silly," Landers chuckled heartily, "You don't have to address me with such formality. Treat me as you would," he paused, thinking, "Any old friend." He finished.
"So," Laguna smiled, "Looks like we're not necessarily beaten after all."
Squall shook his head, and then frowned. "Do you know this 'Lexi' woman, who leads the Galbadian army?"
Squall was surprised by the look in Laguna's eyes. It was something he only ever saw when they spoke of Raine.
"You could say I do."
"Wha -" Squall was cut off.
"How was your trip in Galbadia? We were all quite curious." Quistis demanded, though, politely.
Laguna glanced at Landers. "It went. well."
"So," said Seifer, "Do you know what our plan is now?"
"To first have to Garden well secured, and work our way out, slowly defeating the oncoming Estharians. There's not much else we can do in this position," Kiros said.
Laguna looked at Squall, "So I guess that means we'd best get to work, doesn't it?"
Squall smiled back, "And I'd be pleased to fight beside such a top-notch soldier."
Kiros laughed suddenly, "I'd better come with, in case Laguna decides that you need a map to secure the Garden area."
Chapter XXX........ The Crystal
"I just don't get it," said Aurora exasperatedly, shivering uncontrollably, "Where is this tunnel going?"
They had journeyed along the tunnel leading off from the large cave they'd come up in for nearly three hours. The greenish tint in the air had faded and the gentle slope steadily went downwards. The air had gradually gotten cooler until it was almost unbearable.
"I don't understand either, Aurora." Sirus murmured, stopping in his tracks and crossing his arms for warmth, "We've traveled along this path for three hours now and its still sloping down! I figured that after a little while it'd flatten and then take an upward turn."
Aurora nodded. Her teeth were chattering slightly. "Isn't it supposed to get hot when you go below the surface?" Aurora asked, looking questionably at Sirus.
"Yeah," he replied, "I don't know why it's so cold. Something's definitely fishy. I don't think this is an ordinary cave."
Aurora's eyebrows raised, "Then what do you think it is?"
Sirus shook his head. He touched the wall of the cave. "It's warm," he whispered. "Why would it be warm? The air is freezing."
"Maybe we should go back and see where the other tunnels lead," Aurora suggested, "Maybe one of them leads to the surface."
"Maybe." Sirus muttered, examining the stonewall closely. He strained to think of why the walls of the cave would be warm, but the air would be so cold. It must have something to do with magic, he concluded.
"I think that we should keep going," said Sirus, "See where the tunnel leads. We can always turn back once it ends."
"I suppose," said Aurora, "And it'll give us more time, seeing as how Adel is searching for us. Even if she sends men in here, they won't know which tunnel. If they come this way, they'll turn back eventually, I'm sure." Aurora didn't know whom she was trying to convince, herself, or Sirus. Somehow, however, she doubted Adel or her men would ever stop searching.
After another hour of traveling down the cold tunnel, which had now taken a steeper drop downwards, they saw a turn.
"That's odd," Sirus murmured, "This tunnel has been going straight -" he thought for a moment, and then concluded, " - at least since we stopped last."
Aurora looked at him thoughtfully, "Your right." she gave a violent shiver, "C'mon, let's keep moving, it keeps us warm."
Soon enough, they reached the turn, which, turned quite suddenly and hard to the left. Sirus put out his hand, signalling Aurora to slow down. He peered around the corner cautiously, assuring that the coast was clear for them to keep going.
"Whoa." Sirus whispered. He moved forwards around the corner, followed closely by Aurora.
"What?" Aurora asked anxiously, straining her neck to see over Sirus' shoulder.
They rounded the corner completely and came into a short hall, where, at the entrance, they could see a huge cave covered in ice. The entrance of the tunnel was wide and off to the far right they saw a brilliant white light, where a twinkling crystal hovered about six feet in the air in the middle of a long pathway that stretched across the entire cave. Aurora found this curious, seeing as how there were no pillars holding it up.
"What is that?" Aurora murmured quietly to herself. Apparently Sirus heard her.
"I think it's. a Crystal."
Aurora looked at the cave entrance. Icicles hung around the top and a thin layer of ice framed the opening. It looked as though the crystal was the source of the ice, for every bit of rock the ice touched was covered in a thin layer of frost or ice.
"But," Sirus seemed to still be in the same frame of mind, "What would such a crystal be doing abandoned way down here? It must be dangerous."
Aurora nodded numbly. Her eyes were fixed on the crystal. Strangely, a weird hunger awoke inside of her. it was almost as though all she wanted was the crystal. nothing but the crystal.
"Watch it!" Sirus grabbed the back of Aurora's shirt to stop her. She was walking forwards, onto the ice, and nearly fell off the side of the path. She looked down. it was complete blackness. oblivion.
She looked around the cave. Something, other then the crystal, caught her eye. There was movement on the other side of the large tunnel. but who. or what could it be?
She tugged Sirus' sleeve. "Do you see that?" she pointed almost directly across from them at the two figures.
Sirus squinted and stared across the inconceivably large cave. He took a sudden step back and looked at Aurora in complete fright. "It's Adel!"
Aurora gasped, "What? It can't be, can it?" She looked back across the cave and she knew. One of the figures was quite large, the other, about the size of Sirus, from what she could tell.
"It is. We've got to get out of here! C'mon!" Sirus yanked her sleeve to get her going. They reached the corner of the cave entrance and Aurora stopped, stubbornly.
"Aurora, C'mon!" Sirus said again.
"No, wait," she looked back across the cave in thought, "They probably haven't even seen us. and what if Adel's after that Crystal?"
"Well, why else would she be down here?" Sirus said savagely, "C'Mon!" He tried pulling her again but she wouldn't budge. She was staring at the two figures, moving towards the small pathway. They were headed towards the Crystal. She felt a mad hunger for the crystal as well as the desire to stop Adel from getting it. She hesitated for a moment but in a blink she tore out of Sirus' grasp and ran towards the edge of the small pathway on the right.
"What are you doing? No!" Sirus said loudly, which seemed to have caught their attention. He could see Adel halt on the other side of the cave and turn backwards to give the man instructions. Within a moment he saw the man start running on the side paths of the cave towards him.
Sirus hesitated. Should he run after Aurora and help her that way or eliminate the oncoming threat. Pulling out the gun blade that he'd gotten when searching for Aurora, he ultimately decided that it would be best to first eliminate the oncoming threat and then go after Aurora.
"Please," he whispered, looking at the running Aurora, "Please be careful. I don't want to lose you."
He took off running at almost full speed towards the man. The closer he got the more the recognized the man - or boy, should he say. Only seconds later, Sirus watching the familiar face pull out a gun blade as well. The two clashed into a raging fight.
Aurora ran down the side pathway, watching Adel shout instructions to the person running away from her. To kill her, Aurora figured. She glanced to the side to see Sirus take off running towards the person still far off. "Thank-you," she whispered.
She slowed down cautiously as she rounded the corner onto the long arch that stretched across the icy cave. Fortunately, it seemed that for some reason, the ice leading up to the gradual arch wasn't very slippery, giving her the chance to gain some time to get to the Crystal. Unfortunately, however, the ice on the actual path she rounded the corner onto was quite slick.
She attempted to proceed along the path slowly but her hunger for the Crystal drove her on. Her legs were working faster than her mind and it wasn't long before she fell. Her right foot slid sideways and her left foot slid forwards. Her momentum brought her feet up in the air and she landed on the icy pathway on her left arm. She heard a large crack and cried out in pain. She'd broken her arm.
"Must. keep . going.. Crystal.." She breathed, shakily crawling to her feet and looking at the oncoming Adel. Luckily, Adel was still quite a ways from the Crystal.
Unfortunately, I won't be finishing the story - there would have only been a few chapters left, but I'm really out of the mode and to get back into would mean going through it all again, and I just don't really have the time or energy.. Sorry for those of you who are reading - at least you'll get to come up with a conclusion on your own - actually, if you really want to, then write one and send it too me. if it makes sense then I'll put it on here, alright? Once again, sorry..
Laguna, Kiros and Landers had finally reached the command centre. As the battle raged on, as soldiers fought for their lives; they rushed to find a way to defeat the unbeatable Estharians.
"Do you have any aircrafts?" Landers asked the headmaster.
The headmaster shook his head sadly, "No. they went down during battle."
"What is your current ratio of soldiers?" Laguna asked, his arms crossed against his chest. He glanced out the window, into the bright blue ocean. Sunlight was drifting towards them, and so was a large shape.
"Approximately 12000 Estharians, versus about -" he shuddered, ". 2000 of our soldiers."
"That's six to one!" Kiros cried, stamping his foot, clearly in frustration.
Laguna stared out the window, still, into the ocean at the approaching shape. It looked oddly familiar, could it be?
He touched Landers' arm. "Hey," he said, quietly, "Do you know what that shape is?"
"Huh?" Landers asked, bad-temperedly, "What are you on about, Loire?"
"Don't you see it?" Laguna asked, gesturing to the dark shape, imprinted against the on-coming bright skies.
Landers stared out the window, finally seeing it. "What is it?"
Laguna frowned, looking at Landers. "That's why I asked you!"
Just as he finished scolding Landers, the COM system began buzzing with a voice. "Needin' a bit a help?" the familiar voice said.
Laguna almost jumped for joy. he knew the voice. He stole a quick glance towards the oncoming shape, which was now clear against the sky, and almost reaching land. It was Galbadia Garden. and the voice was none other then Lexi.
"Lexi!" Laguna said excitedly into the microphone, "What are you doing?" He was both worried and happy. He couldn't decide on which.
"Well, lets just say that I know some people. important people. We talked." She said, brightly, "I was able to travel to the Garden - and, well, I'll tell you later. We have a war to win and I have four thousand eager soldiers on board, who're ready to kick some Estharian ass."
Laguna smiled broadly, "That's my girl," he whispered.
"Four thousand soldiers!" Kiros almost yelled, "Man! We might actually have a chance now!"
Laguna turned quickly to Landers, wondering what he was thinking. "Any objections?"
Landers smiled, "Not a word," he said, "Except - let this be the time that all of the Gardens and Galbadia unite as one - to set aside our differences and fight as real warriors do - as our ancestors did." He put a hand on Laguna's shoulder, "And let this be the time that two enemies join to help one another."
Laguna smirked. The words ran over and over through his head. He took the receiver of the COM system and said, "Bring'em in!"
Lexi's voice came through, like music to Laguna's ears. "Great! We have an air strike ready to attack. Just give us the go ahead and they will be there in thirty seconds. Our army will land on foot and attack from the back." She paused.
"The headmaster would like a word with Landers."
Laguna handed Landers the receiver as Martine's voice echoed through. "President Landers," the headmaster said formally, "Despite our past differences - our problems - I have come to see that we are still bound to one another as Galbadians. We must withhold the honour of our country and work together as one to accomplish what is to be done. That includes Balamb and Timber. Soldiers from all over the world have come to join our force, to help you and the Estharian President defeat Adel's army. I'm sorry for not realizing this sooner, when this could have been prevented."
Landers smiled, "I thank-you. And," he added, his smile fading, "I'd like to apologize for any problems Galbadia has caused for the Garden - any Garden, for that matter. We welcome you, and hope that we will prosper together in this battle."
The COM was silent for a moment. Lexi's voice came back on. "We will land in less than two minutes. We have already seen the approaching Balamb soldiers. There looks to be approximately 1000. We will join them and attack to soldiers in the outer rim, working our way in."
"Good. Send the air strike in five minutes, and give instructions to have them hit the soldiers at the gate. I will have our soldiers retreat at that time."
"Right," Lexi said.
"And," Laguna added quietly, "Thank-you"
The COM system went quiet, but he could faintly hear, "My pleasure, president."
The room was quiet for a moment. Rays of sunlight. or hope. beamed through the window.
"We must clear the gate," Laguna said quietly, "I'll send a messenger."
Although the moment was serious, and silent, they all smiled and laughed. They did, after all, have a chance at the battle now.
"WOW!" Selphie nearly shouted. They flew over the ocean towards Trabia. The land looked as though it were moving. Soldiers filled the gaps between the mountains in the Trabia Garden region.
"Great Hyne." Irvine muttered.
The moment was grim. All that they could see was Esthar soldiers, surrounding the tiny, defenceless Garden.
"Look!" Rinoa suddenly shouted, giving them a start, "It's the Balamb, and Galbadian soldiers -" she looked out the window carefully, "There must be at least six thousand there, if not more!"
"But look at all the Estharian soldiers," Irvine pointed out, "There's loads of'em!"
Selphie and Rinoa said nothing. All of them were quite shocked at the intense war beneath them. Occasionally they saw a started soldier look up at them.
"Whoa!" Selphie said, "Isn't that Seifer?"
"And Quistis?"
"And Squall!"
Vaguely, they saw the three battling next to Balamb soldiers, working their way through the army. Not far away they also saw Zell and Clarissa, fighting next to Dawn and Jem.
"FIRAGA!" Squall yelled in rage as an Estharian soldier caught him off guard. He fought next to Seifer and Quistis.
Although it was odd for them, after Squall came back, they still decided to put aside any disputes between one another, and fight the battle. When Squall had arrived in the Garden, Seifer anxiously awaited him. Refusing an apology from both of them, Squall explained that he and Rinoa had seen one another, and made their peace.
Though, it would take time for any. awkwardness to pass.
Squall felt strange to be fighting along with the Galbadians. especially since the Garden army had arrived. According to their leader, a woman called 'Lexi', they gathered up soldiers from the Balamb Island, Timber, and the Garden.
As they fought through the Estharian soldiers, Squall could see the gates clearly. They had been blown wide open by the air strike only minutes before. The goal was to get through those gates and reach Laguna - to secure the Garden premises and fight off the soldiers.
For once, Squalls mind was almost at ease. They finally had that break they'd been waiting for. He thought about the impossible odds they'd been facing. The possibility of winning before the reinforcements had arrived was almost none.
It wasn't long before Seifer, Quistis and Squall reached the blown gates of the Garden. After a brief rendezvous with a messenger boy named Riley, they fought they're way through the thick mound of soldiers.
As they battled their way through, with Balamb and Galbadian soldiers in their wake; they slowly secured the premises of the Garden's interior. As they fought, often Squall almost smiled. It seemed just like olden days.
He thought about Rinoa and Aurora often. and he worried. Where was Rinoa now? What was happening to Aurora?
Through the loud clashing to weapons and gun shooting, Squall could hear, faintly, his name being called. He stretched his head over the thinning crowd to see who it was.
In the distance, close the entrance of the Garden, he caught a glimpse of Laguna, waving them over. Squall gestured for Seifer and Quistis to follow him as he made his way through the disperse crowd.
Before he knew it, they had reached Laguna. He was standing with Kiros and another man.
"Squall," Laguna nodded, a smirk upon his face.
Squall stood for a moment, his back straight, and then out of nowhere, he embraced the man in a long and hearty hug. "Good to see you. dad."
Laguna was a little surprised, and almost looked slightly relieved as Squall pulled away. "And you," he said. He looked to his left, "This," he gestured to the unknown man, "Is President Landers. of Galbadia. And you obviously know Kiros."
Squall smiled at Kiros, and turned to President Landers, "Pleased to be of service," he said.
"Oh, don't be silly," Landers chuckled heartily, "You don't have to address me with such formality. Treat me as you would," he paused, thinking, "Any old friend." He finished.
"So," Laguna smiled, "Looks like we're not necessarily beaten after all."
Squall shook his head, and then frowned. "Do you know this 'Lexi' woman, who leads the Galbadian army?"
Squall was surprised by the look in Laguna's eyes. It was something he only ever saw when they spoke of Raine.
"You could say I do."
"Wha -" Squall was cut off.
"How was your trip in Galbadia? We were all quite curious." Quistis demanded, though, politely.
Laguna glanced at Landers. "It went. well."
"So," said Seifer, "Do you know what our plan is now?"
"To first have to Garden well secured, and work our way out, slowly defeating the oncoming Estharians. There's not much else we can do in this position," Kiros said.
Laguna looked at Squall, "So I guess that means we'd best get to work, doesn't it?"
Squall smiled back, "And I'd be pleased to fight beside such a top-notch soldier."
Kiros laughed suddenly, "I'd better come with, in case Laguna decides that you need a map to secure the Garden area."
Chapter XXX........ The Crystal
"I just don't get it," said Aurora exasperatedly, shivering uncontrollably, "Where is this tunnel going?"
They had journeyed along the tunnel leading off from the large cave they'd come up in for nearly three hours. The greenish tint in the air had faded and the gentle slope steadily went downwards. The air had gradually gotten cooler until it was almost unbearable.
"I don't understand either, Aurora." Sirus murmured, stopping in his tracks and crossing his arms for warmth, "We've traveled along this path for three hours now and its still sloping down! I figured that after a little while it'd flatten and then take an upward turn."
Aurora nodded. Her teeth were chattering slightly. "Isn't it supposed to get hot when you go below the surface?" Aurora asked, looking questionably at Sirus.
"Yeah," he replied, "I don't know why it's so cold. Something's definitely fishy. I don't think this is an ordinary cave."
Aurora's eyebrows raised, "Then what do you think it is?"
Sirus shook his head. He touched the wall of the cave. "It's warm," he whispered. "Why would it be warm? The air is freezing."
"Maybe we should go back and see where the other tunnels lead," Aurora suggested, "Maybe one of them leads to the surface."
"Maybe." Sirus muttered, examining the stonewall closely. He strained to think of why the walls of the cave would be warm, but the air would be so cold. It must have something to do with magic, he concluded.
"I think that we should keep going," said Sirus, "See where the tunnel leads. We can always turn back once it ends."
"I suppose," said Aurora, "And it'll give us more time, seeing as how Adel is searching for us. Even if she sends men in here, they won't know which tunnel. If they come this way, they'll turn back eventually, I'm sure." Aurora didn't know whom she was trying to convince, herself, or Sirus. Somehow, however, she doubted Adel or her men would ever stop searching.
After another hour of traveling down the cold tunnel, which had now taken a steeper drop downwards, they saw a turn.
"That's odd," Sirus murmured, "This tunnel has been going straight -" he thought for a moment, and then concluded, " - at least since we stopped last."
Aurora looked at him thoughtfully, "Your right." she gave a violent shiver, "C'mon, let's keep moving, it keeps us warm."
Soon enough, they reached the turn, which, turned quite suddenly and hard to the left. Sirus put out his hand, signalling Aurora to slow down. He peered around the corner cautiously, assuring that the coast was clear for them to keep going.
"Whoa." Sirus whispered. He moved forwards around the corner, followed closely by Aurora.
"What?" Aurora asked anxiously, straining her neck to see over Sirus' shoulder.
They rounded the corner completely and came into a short hall, where, at the entrance, they could see a huge cave covered in ice. The entrance of the tunnel was wide and off to the far right they saw a brilliant white light, where a twinkling crystal hovered about six feet in the air in the middle of a long pathway that stretched across the entire cave. Aurora found this curious, seeing as how there were no pillars holding it up.
"What is that?" Aurora murmured quietly to herself. Apparently Sirus heard her.
"I think it's. a Crystal."
Aurora looked at the cave entrance. Icicles hung around the top and a thin layer of ice framed the opening. It looked as though the crystal was the source of the ice, for every bit of rock the ice touched was covered in a thin layer of frost or ice.
"But," Sirus seemed to still be in the same frame of mind, "What would such a crystal be doing abandoned way down here? It must be dangerous."
Aurora nodded numbly. Her eyes were fixed on the crystal. Strangely, a weird hunger awoke inside of her. it was almost as though all she wanted was the crystal. nothing but the crystal.
"Watch it!" Sirus grabbed the back of Aurora's shirt to stop her. She was walking forwards, onto the ice, and nearly fell off the side of the path. She looked down. it was complete blackness. oblivion.
She looked around the cave. Something, other then the crystal, caught her eye. There was movement on the other side of the large tunnel. but who. or what could it be?
She tugged Sirus' sleeve. "Do you see that?" she pointed almost directly across from them at the two figures.
Sirus squinted and stared across the inconceivably large cave. He took a sudden step back and looked at Aurora in complete fright. "It's Adel!"
Aurora gasped, "What? It can't be, can it?" She looked back across the cave and she knew. One of the figures was quite large, the other, about the size of Sirus, from what she could tell.
"It is. We've got to get out of here! C'mon!" Sirus yanked her sleeve to get her going. They reached the corner of the cave entrance and Aurora stopped, stubbornly.
"Aurora, C'mon!" Sirus said again.
"No, wait," she looked back across the cave in thought, "They probably haven't even seen us. and what if Adel's after that Crystal?"
"Well, why else would she be down here?" Sirus said savagely, "C'Mon!" He tried pulling her again but she wouldn't budge. She was staring at the two figures, moving towards the small pathway. They were headed towards the Crystal. She felt a mad hunger for the crystal as well as the desire to stop Adel from getting it. She hesitated for a moment but in a blink she tore out of Sirus' grasp and ran towards the edge of the small pathway on the right.
"What are you doing? No!" Sirus said loudly, which seemed to have caught their attention. He could see Adel halt on the other side of the cave and turn backwards to give the man instructions. Within a moment he saw the man start running on the side paths of the cave towards him.
Sirus hesitated. Should he run after Aurora and help her that way or eliminate the oncoming threat. Pulling out the gun blade that he'd gotten when searching for Aurora, he ultimately decided that it would be best to first eliminate the oncoming threat and then go after Aurora.
"Please," he whispered, looking at the running Aurora, "Please be careful. I don't want to lose you."
He took off running at almost full speed towards the man. The closer he got the more the recognized the man - or boy, should he say. Only seconds later, Sirus watching the familiar face pull out a gun blade as well. The two clashed into a raging fight.
Aurora ran down the side pathway, watching Adel shout instructions to the person running away from her. To kill her, Aurora figured. She glanced to the side to see Sirus take off running towards the person still far off. "Thank-you," she whispered.
She slowed down cautiously as she rounded the corner onto the long arch that stretched across the icy cave. Fortunately, it seemed that for some reason, the ice leading up to the gradual arch wasn't very slippery, giving her the chance to gain some time to get to the Crystal. Unfortunately, however, the ice on the actual path she rounded the corner onto was quite slick.
She attempted to proceed along the path slowly but her hunger for the Crystal drove her on. Her legs were working faster than her mind and it wasn't long before she fell. Her right foot slid sideways and her left foot slid forwards. Her momentum brought her feet up in the air and she landed on the icy pathway on her left arm. She heard a large crack and cried out in pain. She'd broken her arm.
"Must. keep . going.. Crystal.." She breathed, shakily crawling to her feet and looking at the oncoming Adel. Luckily, Adel was still quite a ways from the Crystal.
Unfortunately, I won't be finishing the story - there would have only been a few chapters left, but I'm really out of the mode and to get back into would mean going through it all again, and I just don't really have the time or energy.. Sorry for those of you who are reading - at least you'll get to come up with a conclusion on your own - actually, if you really want to, then write one and send it too me. if it makes sense then I'll put it on here, alright? Once again, sorry..
