Chapter 12
Squall silently cursed to himself as his foot got caught in a root. Out in the wilderness you had to be on your guard all of the time. Before Squall thought that he had seen a large blue squirrel, it hadn't looked too frightening, but you never could tell. Years ago when he had just become a SeeD he had been going with Selphie to Trabia Garden so that she could see the damage that the missiles had done. They had been set upon by a Mesmirize, which had almost killed them. Since then he had been much more vigilant.
The fog wrapped around him like a blanket, concealing him from Andria's sight. The problem was she always knew where he was, he could just feel her, and he was certain that she could do the same.
The squirrel suddenly jumped out at him, it bared its teeth and prepared to attack. Squall got out his gunblade and readied to defend. An eerie wail then unexpectedly sounded in the air. Squall covered his ears to try and muffle the uncomfortable noise, but then the squirrel caught his attention, it started to dance and then ran off into the distance. A loud cry could then be heard; something else had caught it.
Squall then moved off cautiously, he would soon reach the back of Lindblum, Daguero and Sia would be coming from the side and Zell from the front. They had had to enter from different points or else someone would notice them, and Andria might know anyway. Nothing could be chanced.
* * *
"Well now Leraikhe, how are we feeling?" Andria sat on a bench across from him, watching as he came back to reality.
Leraikhe was chained to the wall, as he looked around all that he saw was a candle in the middle of a table, and Andria opposite him. The darkness took away any walls or doors that might be there.
"Bitch," he whispered.
Something exploded in his head; the pain was too much. As he slipped away again, he heard Andria, say, "Oh dear, are my mind probes that bad…"
* * *
Squall stared up at the huge wall blocking his path; he gulped as he reached the top. The wall was too high for him to climb, so that was one idea scratched off. He made sure that he didn't get stuck in the bogs, or fall over the tufts that remained of grass, as he walked along looking for an entrance into the city.
Something all of a sudden made him look twice. A sewage pipe stuck out of the ground it wasn't that big, only big enough to crawl through, but it was better than nothing.
* * *
Daguero watched Sia as she reached the top. Her magic had enabled her to get over the wall. After following her up, they surveyed the lion's den. Monsters mingled in the town square, and many others were on their way there. They looked like they were preparing for war.
"How many are there?" she asked him. Within the mass, it was hard to determine. Fiends crawled over one another, clawing their way to the front, and who could blame them; at the front stood the black goddess herself. Andria laughed at the thousands of them. Her voice then subdued the fighting throng.
"Today we make history and take our place in this world. We will belong. In the next few minutes as they prepare to attack, remember that they are the ones who made us outcasts, and we will have revenge."
Leraikhe was then brought out, bound in chains. His tormented face showed a man who knew that his life was about to end. The fiends spat and pulled at him. Only a few hours in the hands of the enemy and this had happened, Andria had invaded his mind, showed him terrors that no one else could see. His blank face focused on nothing.
"King Zidane is about to attack, he'll be slaughtered. There's no hope," muttered Daguero.
"Yes there is," said Sia in reply. "There's us."
* * *
Andria could feel them; Squall was near. She could see Sia and the other one watching her, but they did not know that she knew. Squall on the other hand, did. Zell was somewhere in the crowd, but she couldn't tell where, he had been let in to play with.
Her followers were closing in on the two on the wall and would soon be brought down. Everything was all coming to plan.
"Be brave Leraikhe, dear brother; it will all soon be over."
Leraikhe stared blankly into space; he was already gone.
* * *
"Come on lets-"
Daguero stopped in mid sentence. Behind Sia were six guards, ready in case of trouble.
"Run Sia," he whispered.
"Wha-" Three guards then lunged and grabbed her. Daguero was next.
They were brought down into the pit of the hissing, spitting, ugly crowd. Creatures lunged and grabbed at their clothing, tearing bits. Daugero heard Sia sob, then cry out as one creature clawed at her leg. Blood then trickled down. The thing then licked at its hand, its tongue pulling off the blood. Coming towards the platform, Daguero then saw the goddess herself, smiling that sly, half smile that only she could do.
"Welcome, it was lovely of you to drop in," Andria said, still smiling. It was now starting to get a little strange. "Now what am I going to do with the two of you, you'll have to go somewhere; you're too dangerous to keep here. Ah I know."
Andria stepped towards Sia, her arm held out.
"No," screamed Daguero, and thrust himself in front of Sia, blocking Andria's way.
"Oh but that's not fair at all, then you can't watch the bitch disappear, and I was so hoping for that."
"I wanna go first, take me first," he said.
"Oh okay then if you insist."
As soon as Andria touched him, there was a brief flash. Then nothing. Smoke swirled where Daguero should have been. Sia gave out a large sob.
"Don't worry dear," said Andria soothingly. "You're next."
Suddenly trumpets sounded and through the gates burst thousands of Alexandrian guards. Shouts and screams could be heard through the air; fiends were fighting with guards. Sia found this the perfect opportunity to slip away from Andria unnoticed.
* * *
Zell was lurking behind a wall when the Alexandrians had attacked. He had seen Daguero disappear, and was afraid for Sia. Just then, as luck would have it, the Alexandrians had decided to attack, and he had seen Sia slip away in the confusion. Now he had to find her.
* * *
Andria saw that the other one was gone and cursed to herself. In her fury she called up a whirlwind that knocked a troop of soldiers' right back. Then she followed her escaping prisoner through corridors until Sia stopped and then Andria moved in.
"Running won't do you any good. I can still feel wherever you go."
Sia slumped against the wall, all her energy spent.
"Yes, you know that it's hopeless." Andria moved closer to Sia. "Don't cry for him, you'll soon be reunited."
"Get away from her," said a voice. Squall stepped out of the shadows, gunblade in hand. "You have no right to touch her."
"Why Squall do you challenge me to fight? Do you even know who I am?" Andria asked him, a slight mocking tone in her voice.
"Right now I don't care, but you will get away from her now!"
Andria sighed and stood up. "I am beyond you Squall. I am far more than you thought me to be. Your Great Hyne could not get rid of me. She found me upsetting because I am so different, but I am so much more Squall. I am a child of the Gods, untouchable by a mere servant. Even the great Ultimecia could only dream of becoming an angel, a dark servant of her leader. But me, I am an equal to them."
Squall backed away as Andria moved closer to him. Her rage was a repellent. As soon as he got too close his skin tingled with her power.
"Squall, I am a spirit of the Gods. You, a mere mortal could never have had me. You only thought that you did. Why would I have loved someone so weak and helpless? You meant nothing to me."
Then her rage took hold. Squall suddenly felt propelled back and hit the wall behind him. When he slowly got up, groaning, he saw that Andria had gone.
"Come on," he said, grabbing Sia's arm.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"To stop her doing something stupid."
* * *
Leraikhe lifted his head up slowly, as he didn't want to disturb the pain that he had already. She was approaching; he could feel her.
"Don't worry love, it will soon be over," she said then kissed his cheek.
Leraikhe knew that it was now time. Andria brought the knife across his wrists. Blood seeped down into the waiting bowls. She then cut her own wrists, mixing his blood with her own. Muttering her incantation, the power then took over.
* * *
Daguero gradually opened his eyes to view the land around him. He was lying in a huge cave. somewhere. He didn't recognise anything. Light streamed from one side of the cave, ad from the other, water gushed out of a wall and into a natural stream, which flowed out of the cave. Other chambers led deeper into the rock.
Daguero got up and walked to the opening of the cave. Outside he could hear monsters roam the grass, but he wasn't that strong at the moment.
"Oh well," he said to the echo. "I suppose I'll have to get a fire started."