Chapter 41 – Everybody needs love, even Redrumiel
A/N: Weird title, I know.
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WL: I present before you the speaker for today's Q&A session: Professor Quistis Trepe. Let's give her a round of applause!
*Lame claps ensue, followed by a grumpy looking Quistis who keeps pulling at her dressing robe… yeah you got that right, dressing robe.*
Quistis: Did you have to pick this time of the day to pull me out for a meaningless Q&A session? Nobody, I repeat, nobody has asked any questions as yet.
WL: *blinks innocently* What time of the day? Any way… I have a question. And in the space before and after the main story, it is MY opinion that counts.
Quistis: Alright, hurry up… or I can't guarantee that you can live to crawl out of here.
*Spotlight focuses on a murderous-looking Seifer brandishing his Hyperion.*
WL: Riiiiiight…. Now explain to our readers how the SeeDs in Balamb Garden were split up between the various cities?
Quistis: HOW WOULD I KNOW? I was battling up at Angel Land along with you, in case you didn't notice. You should have asked any of the Squad Leaders to answer this question, not me!
WL: I didn't pay you the speaker's fee for nothing… now answer my question.
Quistis: *grumbles* Alright listen up.
There are around two hundred and twenty SeeDs and Cadets combined in Balamb Garden… quite the squeeze, as you can imagine, which was why we keep pestering the Council for funds to expand the premises… but till this day there have been no reply of any sort.
The 220 were split up as follows:
75 were stationed in Deling, of which 25 were dispatched to Winhill along with Xu as Squad Leader. The large number is due to the status of the city as the capital of the entire Galbadian Empire. They were supported by the Deling Troops, the strength of which was around three hundred.
40 were stationed in Timber, with Irvine as Squad Leader and Selphie as his Deputy. The combined forces of the Galbadian troops and resistant forces (united for the first time in Timberian History) was around one hundred and fifty.
30 were stationed in Dollet. The number was limited as Dollet had natural geographical advantage, as it faced the sea and was fortified by two towering boulder/rock that restricted access to its entrance. However, we still stationed two teams in it, one at the shores in case the enemy could swim across deep waters and enter by means of its shores, the other at the entrance. There was an underlying agreement between all troops that if they had the capacity to help, they would dispatch some of their people to Dollet entrance team. (Twenty in strength.) Dollet's Galbadian troops were a small sixty compared to other cities. It seemed that the Galbadian cities had the same assumption as us on its geography.
This was the reason why Xu's first instinct was to help the Dollet team… besides that one other reason that I should not reveal. *Raises eyebrows suggestively*
75 remained in the Balamb Garden, consisting of the Juniors aged eleven and below and a some SeeDs. Out of these 75, fifteen were dispatched to Balamb Town as it was in close proximity to the Garden, another twenty to Fisherman's Horizon. As you can see, we were spread pretty thinly across the various places.
And that, is the end of the formation lecture. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
WL: Errr… no… you can leave now.
Q: Good… *turns and walks to Seifer*
WL: HEY! You can't do that here! Go back to your own room!
Seifer: Shuddup. *slashes her tongue with Hyperion.*
WL: Mmmmph MMmmph!!
A/N: They never said how many residents there actually were in Balamb Garden, did they? So I simply cooked up this number by myself. If it seems too large or too small, simply adjust accordingly.
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~In the Blue Crystal Trap~
I need strength… lots and lots of it… who is willing to bestow it upon me? Please…
Repeatedly, she pleaded for an answer to her request… she was getting more and more desperate as the seconds ticked by… and knew for sure that right now, Redrumiel was wasting no time summoning that Ultimate Monster he was gloating to them about.
How can I live with myself if I let him get away with it? I would rather die before I let him kill the entire race of humans… if only there was a way out of here!
She resumed to banging on her crystal walls, her fists bleeding with the effort but no results came out of her incessant punches against the wall.
"LET ME OUT OF HERE! REDRUMIEL!! YOU COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT! I FORBID YOU TO CONTINUE BRINGING HARM TO THE WORLD!"
She yelled at the top of her lungs, but of course Redrumiel could not hear it, for her screams could only amount to little squeaks outside of her crystal palace. And even if he did, he would not have paid any attention to her.
If strength is what you want… then strength I shall give to you. Limitless amounts of it. But first… you must answer me this question.
A foreign voice echoed in her mind, stopping her yells immediately.
The voice was soft, feminine, clear… much like hers actually, only it had a hidden tinge of history that hinted at the many centuries its owner had witnessed.
"What question?" Celestine asked a tad suspiciously.
If I gave you unlimited powers… what will you do with it? How will you stop Redrumiel from the massive destruction he is intent on creating?
"Kill him, of course." She replied without a moment's hesitation.
There was a pregnant pause in the other's speech.
If this is your answer… then I am afraid that you have no right to what I am about to give you. The power I give stems from love, not hatred. Your motive must not be one of revenge, or else you will not be any different from the one you have to stop.
"But it isn't. I kill him to protect, not because of revenge.
Are you certain of this? Are you sure there isn't some part in you that wants him dead because he killed someone very dear to your heart? There is no point in deceiving me, for in the process you are deceiving yourself as well… and it will prevent you from unleashing your greatest potential.
"If I do not kill him… then what other way can I stop him?"
You can seek to understand him… you can try to see what it is that drives him to so much darkness… why in the first place did he turn to the other path, when he used to be an Angel himself… and one of the pioneers at that. There must be some reason… and only you can unlock his heart, and in the process, not only save him, but the ones around you as well.
"But how do I begin to understand him? Each time I speak with him, he seems intent on driving me up the wall. Be it his attitude, or the way he looks down on my friends. And he constantly intrudes into my privacy by reading my thoughts. It is harder than you think."
First, you must learn to drive all your hatred and bad feelings towards him away, and think of him in a different light. From the very beginning, you have been biased against him, and that has clouded your judgment. If you can see the truth, then the way to the light will open up for both you and him. Remember what you chose in the maze of shadows? You must not forget it now, as you have been advised time and again by the Room Guardians. Now repeat after me… Everybody needs love, even Redrumiel.
"This is soooo weird! Alright….
EVERYBODY NEEDS LOVE, EVEN REDRUMIEL!
Are you satisfied now?" Celestine made a face, for she wanted to puke at the absurd sentence she had just spat out.
You must be able to convince yourself. If you feel like puking at the thought of it, then you're nowhere near succeeding. You have to repeat until you can say it like you mean it. Do not call for me until you have completed this task. Goodbye, for now.
With that, her presence completely disappeared.
"HEY! Wait a minute! You can't just disappear like that!" Celestine shouted after her, but received no response.
"Oh well… I guess I had better do as she says… if I want to get out of here."
********Two hours later********
"Hey! Voice! I'm ready now!" Celestine called out after countless tries at the task which the voice had set out for her.
So… are you ready to show me what you've accomplished?
"Everybody needs love, even Redrumiel."
Good… that was better and faster than I expected. You have talent. Now… before I give it to you… I need your consent on something important.
"Shoot."
If I were to release the power into your body, at the same time, you would have to accept your past-life memories as well… are you willing to do that?
"What has my past life got to do with him?" Celestine asked with a puzzled expression.
You will know when you receive it… so do I have your word?
"Anything you say, as long as I get out of here."
Very well then… now look into your heart… and feel… what it is that gives you the strength, the desire to live on? Who is the one you are willing to risk your life to protect… dive into that feeling, and let it encompass around yourself, then try to expand it with your will.
Without missing a beat, Celestine whispered,
"Zell. He is the one I would die as many times as it took to save him from harm of any kind. He is the predominant source of my strength. Without him, I would not be what I am today. I would not even be standing here, alive.
Let this feeling expand from within your heart to the outside, reaching out of your body, out of the crystal trap, out of the entire ZOK dimension… bigger than this world could contain… and you shall receive… the Power of Love in infinite capacity...
She could feel it. Celestine knew that the new source of power was now in her, for she positively radiated with the concentration of it within her.
And at the same time… a new kind of knowledge had entered her mind… that of her past life, as the voice had told her.
She stepped up to one of the walls, and placed a glowing palm upon it.
She directed a surge of energy against the wall, willing it to break apart upon the impact of the energy against it.
The wall shattered into tiny shards within seconds.
What had seemed like a paramount task before took only a slight effort to break now.
She proceeded to the rest of the crystals, cradling each of them in her palm and carefully easing the pressure in each of them, then broke the crystals with slight squeezing actions without harming the occupants inside.
The first who greeted her was Zell.
"Celestine… Are you alright? How did you manage to break the walls? Are you hurt?" Zell examined her for any sign of injury, but she stopped him with a gentle touch on the arm.
"I'm fine, Zell. Now Ihave to find Redrumiel, or it will be too late."
"You're right… but where do we find him?" Seifer asked, brushing the black remains of his broken crystal wall off his shoulders.
"I have an idea where he is… I can sense his presence emitting from that direction…" Celestine pointed towards the northeast, and started out for it, but turned back to face them at the last minute. "You guys stay here. I will look for him alone."
"But you're no match for him alone! Let us come with you!" Zell protested, while the rest (except one) nodded in agreement.
"I'm not going to fight him… I have to talk to him, and it wouldn't work if I had a whole entourage after me. Now be good… and stay here." She turned and ran out of the room before they could say anything.
"She knows what she's doing. Don't worry. As far as I can see… her persuasion powers are better than anyone else's. And I believe this would be a better method than tackling him head on." Damien placed a restraining hand on Zell's shoulder.
"Yeah, but I feel somewhat peeved that we couldn't kick his ass for beating us up like that." Seifer exclaimed with a growl and a clenched fist. "Now where am I going to vent all that frustration pent up in here?"
"My Master… forgive me for what may seem like a lecture… but sometimes, it is better to take a step back and let the waves die down, rather than rush headlong and try to ride them. When it is all over, you know that you have made the right decision."
"And what if she's in danger? How are we going to save her if we don't even know what's going on in there?" Zell was the most hung up among them. He simply could not stand the thought of Celestine jumping right into the enemy's hands alone.
"Don't worry… he's not going to kill her." Damien patted him reassuringly.
"How would you know? He tried to the last time I checked… with that Raging Torrent of his." Zell shot back, still unconvinced despite the Angel's repeated attempts to placate him.
"But did he? He could have killed all of us when we were unconscious from his attack… but he chose to seal us up instead. Of course, it wasn't in his plans that we were able to break out of it, but the most important thing is, he did not lay a finger on us while we were defenseless against him. I believe that it is due to something he still holds for Celestine." Patiently, Damien tried to explain his theory to Zell.
"What thing?" Zell asked, a little unsure now.
"I think he has feelings for her… of what kind I do not know, but sure enough he could not bear to kill her, even though he has had many chances all along."
"He's right, you know. When I was still a puppet under his control, acting as his General of SEI, he seemed to treat her especially well. Sometimes General ZOK and I would spy him smiling gently at her, and stroking her hair in a special way… we couldn't quite grasp what it was, but it was definitely not platonic, so to speak." Waterlily remarked, directing a concerned gaze at Zell.
"I guess… But I will only wait for fifteen minutes. After that I will be going in there no matter what!"
"She'll be furious if you interrupt her attempt to persuade him. I will know if she's in trouble, don't worry." Damien said, then turned to grin triumphantly at the others.
"I don't care! Twenty minutes the max! I'm going in there!"
"Alright, alright! We get your drift, Chicken-wuss. Now calm down, or you'll give yourself a nose bleed."
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~Redrumiel's Sealed Chamber~
He sat in a half-lotus position in front of a pool of murky water, his hands engaged in a series of elaborate signals while chanting in a weird, throaty voice.
The pool started to churn in response to his chants, its waves splashing up against the rims of the pot it was contained in.
Finally, he stopped the motioning of his hands, and directed a dark beam into the pool.
It became still, without a single ripple marring its smooth surface.
He opened his eyes, which have turned entirely black, including the white area that was originally around his pupils.
Darkness has claimed his heart and soul fully now, erasing any trace of kindness that might have resided in him.
Then he grinned, the expression a menacing one.
"The humans shall be destroyed, and no one can stop my Ultimate Monster now… not even myself."
He heard a noise behind him.
He turned, and saw a grave-faced Celestine at the entrance of his "Sealed" Chamber, the door smashed into smithereens.
"You're too late to stop me now. I have summoned the monster."
"Furhler… how you must have suffered… I am sorry……" The sorrow was eminent in her voice, her lip trembling under its weight.
"Lilacea?" He looked at her with a changed expression… a mixture between fear, disbelief, and mostly, pain.
"I remember now…" She nodded, a film of tears covering her wide, soulful eyes.
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~Fisherman's Horizon~
The setting sun appeared to rest upon the line that separated the sky from the sea, painting the waves a watery orange-red. Its reflection was distorted over the tidal waves, going with the flow as the wind blew across the surface of the sea. Seagulls cried out in the distance, perhaps calling out for their lovers to join them in their flight.
The old geezer, also known as "Master Fisherman" to the residents in Fisherman's Horizon sat at the very tip of the bridge stretching over the water, waiting for fish to bite at the bait he had dangled so tantalizingly in the water.
It had been a slow day, and he had not caught a single one ever since he sat there waiting for a bite from early morning till now.
Muttering to himself that it "just wasn't his day", he was entirely taken by surprise when he felt the line yank hard. Very hard.
"Hey… I might get lucky after all!" He said with a chuckle, and started tugging at his rod, and reeling the line to pull in his catch.
However, the "fish" biting at the other end of the line was a stubborn one, and refused to give in to his efforts to pull the line in.
"So, you wanna get tough, eh? I'll show you tough!" The Master Fisherman declared, and leant back as far as he could manage while pulling at his line.
The line broke, which was inevitable since the pressure exerted on it was too heavy for it to withstand.
"Dammit… the first bite today and it got aw…" He could not finish his sentence, for he was too preoccupied with staring at the thing that suddenly loomed before him.
It was no fish.
Instead, it was a hundred and eighty foot tall creature with hard scaly skin and two yellow lights for eyes. It was grinning at him, its yellow teeth razor-like and caked with gunk.
"Holy Shit…" The Master Fisherman dropped his rod and started running for his dear life… an inherent instinct that took over his mind that would probably save him if this was a different monster.
The monster opened its mouth.
"Goodbye." It said with that grin again, and flicked the index finger of its right hand against its thumb.
A massive wave of force erupted from his fingers, blowing everything in its path away.
The place that was formerly known as Fisherman's Horizon fell into pieces. All its buildings, structures and machinery were unable to withstand the force.
With gigantic splashes, everything fell into the ocean, the debris sinking quickly to the bottom while dragging the residents of the fishing town with them, pinned under the huge boulders with no hope of resurfacing again.
Not many survived. Those that did were severely injured, and did not have the ability to stay afloat.
"M…must inform the Commander…" A member of the FH squad dispatched from Balamb Garden tried valiantly to grab onto a piece of drifting wood.
"USE.CELLPHONE." A grey haired lady with a unique voice swam by him, and held out her water and shock-resistant Nokia ® to him.
"Thanks." He took it gratefully, and punched in the number of the Commander's phone in Deling camp.
"Commander… this is Yakuza, Squad Leader of Fisherman's Horizon… we have sighted a new species of the enemy's monsters in Fisherman's Horizon… the entire town has been destroyed… almost all of the residents have been killed.. please dispatch assistance immediately."
He listened for a few more seconds, switched off the phone, and handed it back to the lady.
Then he slid off the piece of wood, unable to hold on any longer, and sank into the water.
"TOO LATE." The grey haired lady turned to her companion, regret eminent the eye not covered by a black patch.
"We tried our best, ya know." Her hulking friend replied, shaking his head at the wood that drifted by them, now unburdened by the weight of the SeeD's body.
"WAIT FOR SEED."
"Yeah, ya know."
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WL: Yeah! Return of the two stooges… I mean, Fuj and Raij. Happy reunion perhaps for Seifer's posse? I don't really know…
Anyway… thank you, reviewers, again. You have earned my utmost respect. Allow the little one to bow in reverence to your unyielding support for yours truly. *Kowtows at 180 degrees*
Soul of Flame: Oh… you've GOT to update your fic… I'm waiting anxiously for the next chapter. Yay! And you don't need to leave a long review… just a "Good" or "Crap" whichever the case will suffice… I just need to know someone is reading it.
Celeste Spring: Glad you liked it! And thanks for your encouragement… It gives me a great boost of confidence! Or in the words of a famous Dintch, "Booya!!!!" Sappy endings… eh? I'll try my best.
Jengab057: Ahh.. you're right… at the end of the day, it's the writer's responsibility to make the decision. But thanks for your suggestion anyway!
Quistis88: Me sweet? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Clearly you do not know me at all, to be able to use that adjective on me. But thank you anyway… and I'm floating you know, from all those compliments. Now THAT's sweet. *Does a horrendous version of "Flying without wings."
I have decided to have my cake and eat it too…hehehhehehhee *evil laughter*. Regarding what? The ending of course. How? Be patient. It seems I'm doing some kind of monologue here *sticks tongue out* Anywayz… I've also decided what I'm going to write next. It's been bugging me for the entire month of May, and then some. Argh…. Meanwhile I have to finish this fic first. I hope you liked this chappy. If you do, please be kind enough to click on the review button and leave one, as you sweeties have been doing all this while. Tata pplez… have a nice weekend, or whatever's left of it…… (I have merely four and a half hours left of my weekend. Time flies, yes it does.)