Fantasy Thunder Chapter Twenty-One: Phi
By Blue Dragon
Pyros isn't his real name, is it?
"Pyros" marched back and forth across the hospitalization area; recovery had taken longer than expected. It was long ago determined that a few of the seriously wounded (such as Gamma, Epsilon, Alpha) might not ever see the light of day again. The injured had been held inside the pillars evt rejuvenation. (Translated into pillars of rejuvenation). The full recovery of any of them would take at least another twelve hours. "Pyros" walked to the third from the left, an oblong circular plastic encasing, fluids extracted from the planet itself floating around inside with the power to heal anyone-assuming they were Zatach.
The smaller tubes connected into the vital organs through the stomach, chest, nose, and a cup over the mouth. A small monitor over the device would display the rate of recovery. Delta was closest to being ready for battle, or at least walking.
"Pyros" also found that most of the injured had endured mild amnesia.
"Who would have thought that they would do all this . . . ?" "Pyros" asked aloud as he paced around. He smiled sadly, also realizing that he was out of Kasarov, a Zatach term meaning "sheep in wolves' clothing". It meant that because the Kasarov, often contained in a small flask, was meant to disguise someone to be scarier or more intimidating than they actually were.
After a few seconds, "Pyros" completely lost his looks.
His eyes faded to azure, his seemingly wrinkled and withered skin became young, his muscles liquefied and solidified, his hair melted from faded white to a brighter platinum shade, he lost weight, he lost height, and his original garments fell slightly around him. The one who had once appeared as a seventy-six year old man was now just a twenty-six year old man.
***
Oren watched the stars melt away from the sky and the clouds replace them. The black became a pink, then orange, then blue. He stood from his resting place atop the Esthar Garden, and dropped down the shaft back to the inside.
"Today is the day."
He launched himself into an infamous maneuver, down half the length of the hallway leading to the shaft, bounced up three floors, off the ceiling, and down the hallway at a speed that blew any loose material away and the hair of any unlucky SeeD in the hall at the early hour.
Only Nida was the bridge, drinking what must have been his seventh cup of coffee, keeping the craft stable.
"Do you ever sleep?" Oren asked, coming behind him.
"Do you?" He returned.
"I take it you want this" he continued, handing him the speaker attached to a coil.
"Yes, thank you."
He flicked the switch and began speaking.
"People of garden, we are about to make a leap out of the atmosphere. During the short trip we are likely to encounter turbulence, and constant inertia of massive levels. I highly recommend that you hold on to something within the next fifteen minutes, and keep anything that is not firmly attached secure in the unlikely event that the craft 'bounces'"
He put the system back in the holder.
Nida yawned.
"We're going into space?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Sure."
Nida threw the paper cup into the nearby trashcan, and turned in his seat.
"Just how do we get to space?"
"Push the small circular green button under the lower-left panel and the garden will be equipped, then just do what you see fit."
"What I see fit . . . ?"
"Fly up until we're in space."
"You don't understand, if we go to where the air is to thin, being way high up, the engines will stall."
"Not if you push the green button."
Nida sighed.
"I'm trusting you on this."
A few minutes later, Squall, Xu, Quistis, and the other four members of the command arrived at the bridge, Squall giving Nida the okay to do what had to be done.
Oren sat down in some corner, bracing himself, and Nida heard a clinking sound when he pushed the green button that he hadn't known existed until then.
The entire shell of the garden extended outward, as if it puffed up. The tiles that made up the outside scattered and rearranged so that the once circular back formed a sort of shark's tail, and the top reorganized so it became as a dorsal fin of a Fastitocalon-F. The front extended to a nose, and almost poked a hole through the Balamb Mountains. The sides stretched into wings, or maybe fins, and then flattened. After a few minutes, Esthar Garden looked like a large shark from the outside. The bridge became dark and displayed holographic images of the stars and the whole room was filled with a map of the solar system and how it was moving on a much smaller scale.
"Cool" Nida said as a holographic asteroid flew past his head. He looked behind him, and noticed that it grazed the atmosphere of the holographic image of the home planet. Nida looked in the sky and saw a flash of light.
"Whoa, I didn't no that garden could monitor things like this."
"Push the yellow, square button." Oren suggested.
Nida pushed it twice, and the entire universe was displayed in a hologram around the room.
"Awesome" He said this time.
Squall cleared his throat.
"Oh yeah, my bad" Nida put on a pair of goggles and earned looks from everyone on the bridge.
"Nida . . . ?" Xu began.
"These? They make me feel like a real pilot." He said. He flicked some switches.
"You are a real pilot . . . " Squall muttered, sitting down. An electrical charging was heard, and then the ship shakily rose.
"You're never going to escape the gravity of this planet using that speed" Oren told him.
"I know, I know. I just wanted to get a feel."
He pulled out the P. A. system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, those of genders unknown, gnomes, genomes, mages, foreign species, etc., you are flying Unida airlines. On this Unida flight, your pilot will be . . . Nida. Please keep all appendages in the vehicle and do not use any devices that connect to satellites of any sort. In a few minutes, the garden will be completely stable and you may continue regularly scheduled activities."
Squall held back a laugh.
"UNIDA airlines? You've got to be kidding me."
" . . . "
There was a rumbling as the garden picked up speed. The blue sky visible through the windows seemed infinite for a time. The blue became light, and then purple as the garden flew above the clouds. Later, it became dark, and then for a few minutes there was a horribly loud blazing sound and the windshield turned bright red, then dark red. Nida struggled to keep the ship tilted at just the correct angle. Suddenly, the ship broke through and only endless black dotted with yellow and red stars lined the windows.
Nida picked up the P. A. system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to your right, you will see our wonderful planet, filling every window on the right hand side." He said as he turned right.
"To the left, that yellow light a bit larger than the other stars is the sun of a planet called Gaia" he continued.
"Now what?" he asked Oren after putting the system back down.
"I programmed the coordinates in prior. Hit the clear button under autopilot and the ship will automatically adjust the setting."
It took Nida a few minutes to find it, but when he did the ship started moving at a steady rate.
"How fast are we going? I can't tell in space." Nida asked again.
"The speedometer." Was all Oren said.
" . . . Just under a thousand mph. It'll take us days if we don't go faster."
Nida accelerated, but it wasn't noticeable.
"That'll do it!" He lay back in his seat. He turned on the radio and the song "Greased Lighting" started playing, making everyone groan. Oren chuckled as he left on the elevator, the song blaring loudly.
***
Zidane sat bolt upright in bed and found the blackness of space staring him in the face when he looked outside. At first, he thought it was the night sky, and then a star that was so close it wouldn't be possible for it to be next to most planets without pulling them in could be seen as the garden passed by it.
He rubbed his eyes and gasped.
"I can't be in space!"
Suddenly a computerized voice said "Releasing artificial gravity. Hang on to your hats." Zidane floated up into the air and bumped the ceiling, then went back down.
"Crap"
You see, the bad thing about no gravity is the frustration of movement. Aside from propulsion, there is virtually no way to get around. You could be a few inches away from something and not reach it for hours.
"Reestablishing gravity, ½" the computer said again.
Zidane dropped back to the ground, feeling light, and making half the sound he normally would have. He opened the tap on the sink to wash his face, and the drops bounced unnaturally high.
"Damn gravity . . . " he muttered to himself.
He accidentally took and inexperienced step and he bounced four feet into the air.
***
Cloud had been trying to find Tifa for hours through the night, and then through the day. She didn't seem to be anywhere to be found. He thought he saw her, then the gravity went temporarily off and by the time it was reapplied, he had lost her again. He was dismayed to find that the elevators weren't working and that even in the early hour students crowded the flights of stairs. He sighed to himself.
"I don't want to do this . . . "
He remembered what he had tapped into that day passed, and used it again. Shakily he rose from the ground and rose up to the next two floors, and then landed. For some reason the air seemed unstable. He panted heavily as such a maneuver for someone inexperienced in flight usually caused exhaustion in a short amount of time.
Cloud regained his breath and walked down the narrow hallway that he thought he saw Tifa go through. The hallway led to the high shaft that led to the roof, which of course was sealed off with the quintuple locks and airtight seals. There was still, however, the small isolated rooms near that area that was meant for storage but not really in use.
Cloud walked to the end of the hallway that was getting darker as well as less humid, and then began to climb the ladder straight up after Tifa.
***
Seifer was taking daily flight laps around the empty quad; Oren had recommended it to stay in shape. Oddly for him, when the gravity was turned off he couldn't fly at all, and when it was at ½ he only flew half as efficient.
What's going on? He thought to himself.
"Gravity has an effect on flight."
That lifeless voice; Pi. It was impossible to tell which one.
Seifer easily made himself a bed out of the open air, which would have been impossible in fully activated gravity.
"Stay out of my head." He said, for some reason not surprised that she could read thoughts.
"If you think something a certain way, I can't help but hear it." She said from some unknown location.
"But it's a two way ability."
Seifer thought about this.
"So you can read thoughts from others, but because of it others can read thoughts from you?"
'I never liked humans' she said through thought.
"Keep you opinions to yourself." He answered aloud.
"Fine, you are no longer aloud to read my thoughts" she said aloud as well.
"Where are you?"
" . . . "
"I thought so. I'm sure no one can safely talk about YOU behind your back."
"They only call me Pi"
"And you don't have a real name."
"None of your business!"
"How'd you get split into two?"
"Confidential"
"We're after whatever force you work for, you might as well tell us."
"You'll have to kill me!"
"I guess you're pretty passi-"
"Pretty doesn't even cover it! I'd murder each and every last one of you if I could!"
"Why can't you, or should I ask, why don't you?"
" . . . "
Seifer dropped to the ground and stared through the window. He hadn't been in space before. He was surprised to notice Adel's old tomb as he flew by.
"You released her, correct, Seifer?"
"Stay out of my head!"
"Sacrificed Rinoa, tried to kill Squall on more than one occasion, alliance with Sorceress Ultimecia, carried out an order for the attack on Balamb Garden? With your record, it's a wonder you're still around."
Seifer pulled out Hyperion and started launching random fire spells hoping to hit something.
"It's time's like this when I wish I could shoot bullets!" He snarled, sending the spells flying.
***
Oren counted off in his head that it would be fifteen minutes before Esthar Garden was close enough to the target ship.
"Only a few will be coming" he said aloud to the bridge.
"As we advance further, people will be weeded out and divided into groups of two to make things easy. Aside from that . . . " Oren stood up and looked at Squall.
"Summon someone to take command. I've done my part for now . . . "
***
The stars never came out of the eyes of Sephiroth, except when remember his life's dependence.
THWAACK!
Another poor tree was mutilated, as Sephiroth went on his random slicing spree of trees in the training center.
"Take that, Hojo!" he pictured the trunk of the tree as Hojo's face, and slammed it down, shattering the bark.
"You never loved me! But now I've found it!"
"Your mother loved you." A voice said from above.
Sephiroth looked up and found Vincent lying on a branch, staring upwards and twirling the Death Penalty.
"What magic did you use, Valentine!?"
"Magic?"
"Not even SEPHIROTH can sneak up on Sephiroth!" He growled insanely.
"You are insane." Vincent said smply.
"You are odd" was his answer.
An awkward silence.
"Your mother loved you" he repeated.
"JENOVA is incapable of love in her present state."
" . . . Not JENOVA."
"What do you mean? JENOVA is my mother!"
"No."
"Explain."
"You were injected with JENOVA's cells, but she isn't your biological mother."
"Lies!"
"Would I lie to you?"
Sephiroth was about to say yes, but realized the truth.
"My mother then?"
"Lucrecia."
"And how, I shudder to think, might you know?"
"I lost Lucrecia to Hojo! I loved her. Do I still love her?" Vincent was talking more to himself.
"What do you mean 'lost'? Start making sense, Dracula!"
"Hojo seduced Lucrecia. I fell into depression. I became one of his experiments." He said to himself.
Sephiroth started laughing maniacally.
"It all makes sense! Of course I needed a vessel! I knew someone bore me, and I wasn't just engineered! Unfortunately, that would make me an orphan." Sephiroth said with no sadness whatsoever.
"Orphan? Lucrecia is still alive."
"Explain yourself."
" . . . "
"You all and your emotional problems . . . " Sephiroth grumbled to himself, hacking and slashing at random trees, scaring the living crap out of any man or beast that came across him.
***
Nida pushed a few buttons, and stared ahead.
Esthar garden came to a halt and filling the window was a large, large, large ship that resembled a space station, except larger.
"Holy . . . " Nida's jaw along with everyone else's on the bridge dropped. The whole thing must have been three miles long. A network of large silver spheres were connected in an even bigger network of long lines and mile- long circular hallways that connected to each other in a way that made the whole complex look like a floating labyrinth, the playhouse of a giant. Esthar garden was like a marble beside a bowling ball.
"Ladies and gentlemen . . . " Nida announced on the speakers.
"We have reached our destination."
A distant electrical sound could be heard.
"Uh . . . what's that sound?" Nida asked, hoping to get a reply.
"I suggest activating the shields and preparing for the return fire." Oren said so that only Squall could hear him.
"Activate shields and prepare for return fire!" Squall then commanded.
The shields came on silently and invisibly. Nida wasn't very worried, until a large yellow beam lanced out of nowhere from the ship and headed straight to Esthar Garden. Then he yelped and pushed all of his weight left on the joystick. Everything in garden that wasn't firmly nailed down, including unsuspecting persons, when flying to the right. Squall crashed into Quistis who then slammed herself on an unused panel. There was a not- to-promising sound as at least fifty things in the complex shut down from having been slammed.
"Hmm, computers, bookshelves, SeeDs, weapons, Nida, with that one maneuver you've probably toasted fifty-thousand gil's worth of equipment. You could at least put on the shock absorbers or give prior warning before trying something like that!"
"Sorry, commander. I didn't know I'd have to do that."
An electrically charging sound could be heard.
"Damn!" Nida yelled aloud. He barely flipped on the shocks and then tilted the joystick wildly to the right. As a result, the garden was for five seconds tilted at a complete ninety degree angle with everyone positioned in a way so it seemed like they were standing on a wall, which didn't really matter because in space there was no up or down.
"We can't take much more of this!" Squall complained in his mind.
"We should board his ship . . . " Oren said again so only Squall could hear him.
"Board the ship! Organize the proper persons to prepare for docking!"
Nida picked up his speaker.
"Will Squall Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, and anyone who is not a registered member of garden please report to the front gate."
***
Cloud found Tifa in a narrow corridor. At first she was just standing in front of stone columns and pillars, her back facing him. In a flash, she brought her left leg up with force enough to crack the pillar partially, spinning to the right in a flash, bring up her right leg, and connecting it once more turning the pillar into dust and chunks of rock.
The next pillar she pummeled four times fast with left-right punch combinations, and then stabbed an elbow with a metal bracer attached forward, forcing the second pillar to a similar fate. She somersaulted and brought her left heel down, smashing a column into the ground.
Cloud let out a light whistle.
She then grabbed a chunk of rock the size of her fist, clasped her left hand around it, and crushed it into even more dust.
"I didn't know you could do that." Cloud said, accidentally revealing his presence.
She looked surprised.
"Cloud, I didn't see you there. Good morning."
"Good morning."
A silence.
Nida's announcement blared and Tifa rushed down the corridor and passed Cloud.
"I have to be going."
She dropped directly down the shaft, not even giving Cloud time for a response.
***
Zidane got used to the gravity, and saw Amarant flipping a two-gil coin up and snatching it out of the air.
"Yo" he said, sitting on the railing next to him by the front gate area.
"Robbed anyone lately?" he asked sarcastically.
"You're the wanted man."
"Whose fault is that . . . ?"
"Yours, right?"
He sighed and stood.
"You still don't know, do you boy?"
" . . . Know what."
"Zidane, I'm wanted thanks to you."
"What!? What'd I do?"
"Remember the auction at Treno?"
Zidane's mouth dropped to the ground.
"I forgot all about that! They put your face up in pictures for that!?"
" . . . "
"Geez, I'm sorry, I-"
"Screw it. That doesn't matter now."
He flipped the coin up, it caught fire, and disintegrated.
Zidane's eyes went lazy.
"Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?"
"That thing! You're always smacking that coin up and down, and then setting it on fire! And you throw it at monsters all the time! And then you do it whenever you want to be cool."
" . . . My mind doesn't work like yours. I feel there's more to life than being cool."
Zidane noticed that all of his friends were there, minus one . . .
"Where's Quina?" he asked.
Amarant shrugged his shoulders.
"When you have something good, you don't ask questions."
"That's not a nice thing to say."
"That THING will probably get in the way. Did you know it sleeps naked?"
"I certainly didn't need to."
"And it sleepwalks!"
" . . . "
"And yesterday it was break dancing in its sleep, scaring the shit out of anyone that was unfortunate enough to be out at that hour, including me! Those pathetic students trembled in fear!"
"Great Gaia, don't tell me anymore, man!"
"I don't want to tell anymore. The bottom line is that that thing would get in our way to friggin' much."
"I guess."
Most of the people called were already assembled and prepared, weapons and all.
Squall paced around waiting for Seifer to show up, nervous that he wouldn't care to come. He was relieved when he walked around the corner. When he saw, Laguna and Ward, he almost objected.
"Hey!" he whispered loudly, walking briskly to his father.
"It could be dangerous, where we're going!"
"I can still fight." Laguna said in a way mentioning that he wouldn't budge. Ward nodded silently.
"But . . . what about Kiros?"
Kiros dropped in from thirty feet, Sorceress Ultimecia having flown him. She landed behind him soon after.
"Kiros!?" Laguna asked in surprise.
"Hey, Laguna. I just had to wait for Thuka here to wake up."
Laguna and Squall raised eyebrows simultaneously.
"Thuka?" They both asked.
"That's what they called me." She explained.
Squall eyed her.
"Why?"
" . . . It could be because it was my name? I'd prefer to be called that."
Laguna looked at Kiros suspiciously.
"And how were you so oriented to the events of her awakening?"
Kiros folded his arms.
" . . . None of your business."
Laguna and Ward looked at each other and held back laughter.
"Sure man." Laguna patted his shoulder.
***
Yuna pleaded with her father.
"Father, you can't go. There will be too much danger-"
"I know white magic like you, I can help. I'm still physically young, and can't let you go without supervision."
"But . . . "
He put a hand on her cheek.
"I've missed too much. Don't let me miss anymore. You let Auron come. You let Jecht come, why, you let that Seymour character come!"
" . . . Alright. Please, don't let anything happen to you."
"I'll be fine."
Braska hugged her.
"And we will be back from wherever it is we're going."
Oren flew in from a higher floor and descended upon the mass of people gathered.
"Well. You have all been summoned from far corners of this galaxy, for the sole purpose of doing what we are about to do now. We've come far, far enough to say that failure is not an option. Those of you who can fly, lead us in."
Thuka, Kuja, Sephiroth, and Seymour as well were about to eagerly come forward.
" . . . Except for those recently revived from oblivion."
Oren toed the ground with his foot.
"I didn't revive you for fun. As well as reuniting with loved ones, those that I brought back hold special powers to block a lot of the negative energy we are going to encounter, which is why I would like for you all to station yourselves in various positions among this large crowd . . . "
The ones Oren mentioned began to move.
"But bring one you love deeply and trust your life with, or it won't work very well. Your ability to do this relies on them."
Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Jessica, Tidus, an angry-looking Seifer, Pi number one, and Pi number two that looked like she had magic burns had assembled in the front.
In a few seconds Esthar garden shook as it docked with the door of "Pyros"'s ship, which was much bigger.
When the door opened, there was a large white rectangular hallway lined at the top with glowing colored lights, each leading to a specific area. The hallway was around six-hundred meters wide and eight-hundred of them tall.
Slowly, the crowd spread out in the ridiculously large space, the front gate closing behind them. Those that could fly did, and the party that had been so far invincible descended into the space.
"Something's not right . . . " Zidane thought.
He heard large stomping. He groaned in defeat when he saw Quina walking behind him.
For fifteen minutes the crowd did nothing but walk down the endless hall, until it suddenly opened into a large corridor, with three halls branching and hundreds, possibly thousands of lifts meant for one person each.
"Stop!" Oren warned.
At first it seemed that there was nothing there, but sitting on a pillar in the middle of the corridor was none other than Kappa.
Pi number one who floated beside Oren smiled.
"Now you are in trouble."
Kappa jumped down and landed silently. Nu and Xi appeared out of nowhere next to him. Unfortunately for her, Xu had made the mistake of coming along. Omicron appeared out of the shadows, and a blur ran next to him, none other than Lambda. Finally, the mysterious man that had been with Omicron appeared as well.
"Would that be Rho?" Squall asked Oren, slowly pulling out the Lionheart, which glistened, in the blinding light at the top of the white corridor.
Oren laughed.
"No. That's someone whose power matches 'Pyros' himself."
"Who?" Cloud asked, his Ultima Weapon almost blinding him.
"His name is Luminerion."
"This room will be painted with purple and red blood!" Kappa yelled from across the room.
"Definitely purple blood, but I'm not sure about the later!" Oren yelled back.
The battle began.
_______________________________________________________________________
AN: There's a reason that "Pyros"'s name is now in quotes. Anyhow, he's tied to the new appearance, Luminerion. I'm near the end, but still a way's to go. I might have to split some chapters into two parts . . . 60+ reviews. I really appreciate it. Old questions and mysteries will soon be answered and solved. (If this page has typos or errors, I'll have to revise it later.)
By Blue Dragon
Pyros isn't his real name, is it?
"Pyros" marched back and forth across the hospitalization area; recovery had taken longer than expected. It was long ago determined that a few of the seriously wounded (such as Gamma, Epsilon, Alpha) might not ever see the light of day again. The injured had been held inside the pillars evt rejuvenation. (Translated into pillars of rejuvenation). The full recovery of any of them would take at least another twelve hours. "Pyros" walked to the third from the left, an oblong circular plastic encasing, fluids extracted from the planet itself floating around inside with the power to heal anyone-assuming they were Zatach.
The smaller tubes connected into the vital organs through the stomach, chest, nose, and a cup over the mouth. A small monitor over the device would display the rate of recovery. Delta was closest to being ready for battle, or at least walking.
"Pyros" also found that most of the injured had endured mild amnesia.
"Who would have thought that they would do all this . . . ?" "Pyros" asked aloud as he paced around. He smiled sadly, also realizing that he was out of Kasarov, a Zatach term meaning "sheep in wolves' clothing". It meant that because the Kasarov, often contained in a small flask, was meant to disguise someone to be scarier or more intimidating than they actually were.
After a few seconds, "Pyros" completely lost his looks.
His eyes faded to azure, his seemingly wrinkled and withered skin became young, his muscles liquefied and solidified, his hair melted from faded white to a brighter platinum shade, he lost weight, he lost height, and his original garments fell slightly around him. The one who had once appeared as a seventy-six year old man was now just a twenty-six year old man.
***
Oren watched the stars melt away from the sky and the clouds replace them. The black became a pink, then orange, then blue. He stood from his resting place atop the Esthar Garden, and dropped down the shaft back to the inside.
"Today is the day."
He launched himself into an infamous maneuver, down half the length of the hallway leading to the shaft, bounced up three floors, off the ceiling, and down the hallway at a speed that blew any loose material away and the hair of any unlucky SeeD in the hall at the early hour.
Only Nida was the bridge, drinking what must have been his seventh cup of coffee, keeping the craft stable.
"Do you ever sleep?" Oren asked, coming behind him.
"Do you?" He returned.
"I take it you want this" he continued, handing him the speaker attached to a coil.
"Yes, thank you."
He flicked the switch and began speaking.
"People of garden, we are about to make a leap out of the atmosphere. During the short trip we are likely to encounter turbulence, and constant inertia of massive levels. I highly recommend that you hold on to something within the next fifteen minutes, and keep anything that is not firmly attached secure in the unlikely event that the craft 'bounces'"
He put the system back in the holder.
Nida yawned.
"We're going into space?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
"Sure."
Nida threw the paper cup into the nearby trashcan, and turned in his seat.
"Just how do we get to space?"
"Push the small circular green button under the lower-left panel and the garden will be equipped, then just do what you see fit."
"What I see fit . . . ?"
"Fly up until we're in space."
"You don't understand, if we go to where the air is to thin, being way high up, the engines will stall."
"Not if you push the green button."
Nida sighed.
"I'm trusting you on this."
A few minutes later, Squall, Xu, Quistis, and the other four members of the command arrived at the bridge, Squall giving Nida the okay to do what had to be done.
Oren sat down in some corner, bracing himself, and Nida heard a clinking sound when he pushed the green button that he hadn't known existed until then.
The entire shell of the garden extended outward, as if it puffed up. The tiles that made up the outside scattered and rearranged so that the once circular back formed a sort of shark's tail, and the top reorganized so it became as a dorsal fin of a Fastitocalon-F. The front extended to a nose, and almost poked a hole through the Balamb Mountains. The sides stretched into wings, or maybe fins, and then flattened. After a few minutes, Esthar Garden looked like a large shark from the outside. The bridge became dark and displayed holographic images of the stars and the whole room was filled with a map of the solar system and how it was moving on a much smaller scale.
"Cool" Nida said as a holographic asteroid flew past his head. He looked behind him, and noticed that it grazed the atmosphere of the holographic image of the home planet. Nida looked in the sky and saw a flash of light.
"Whoa, I didn't no that garden could monitor things like this."
"Push the yellow, square button." Oren suggested.
Nida pushed it twice, and the entire universe was displayed in a hologram around the room.
"Awesome" He said this time.
Squall cleared his throat.
"Oh yeah, my bad" Nida put on a pair of goggles and earned looks from everyone on the bridge.
"Nida . . . ?" Xu began.
"These? They make me feel like a real pilot." He said. He flicked some switches.
"You are a real pilot . . . " Squall muttered, sitting down. An electrical charging was heard, and then the ship shakily rose.
"You're never going to escape the gravity of this planet using that speed" Oren told him.
"I know, I know. I just wanted to get a feel."
He pulled out the P. A. system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, those of genders unknown, gnomes, genomes, mages, foreign species, etc., you are flying Unida airlines. On this Unida flight, your pilot will be . . . Nida. Please keep all appendages in the vehicle and do not use any devices that connect to satellites of any sort. In a few minutes, the garden will be completely stable and you may continue regularly scheduled activities."
Squall held back a laugh.
"UNIDA airlines? You've got to be kidding me."
" . . . "
There was a rumbling as the garden picked up speed. The blue sky visible through the windows seemed infinite for a time. The blue became light, and then purple as the garden flew above the clouds. Later, it became dark, and then for a few minutes there was a horribly loud blazing sound and the windshield turned bright red, then dark red. Nida struggled to keep the ship tilted at just the correct angle. Suddenly, the ship broke through and only endless black dotted with yellow and red stars lined the windows.
Nida picked up the P. A. system.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to your right, you will see our wonderful planet, filling every window on the right hand side." He said as he turned right.
"To the left, that yellow light a bit larger than the other stars is the sun of a planet called Gaia" he continued.
"Now what?" he asked Oren after putting the system back down.
"I programmed the coordinates in prior. Hit the clear button under autopilot and the ship will automatically adjust the setting."
It took Nida a few minutes to find it, but when he did the ship started moving at a steady rate.
"How fast are we going? I can't tell in space." Nida asked again.
"The speedometer." Was all Oren said.
" . . . Just under a thousand mph. It'll take us days if we don't go faster."
Nida accelerated, but it wasn't noticeable.
"That'll do it!" He lay back in his seat. He turned on the radio and the song "Greased Lighting" started playing, making everyone groan. Oren chuckled as he left on the elevator, the song blaring loudly.
***
Zidane sat bolt upright in bed and found the blackness of space staring him in the face when he looked outside. At first, he thought it was the night sky, and then a star that was so close it wouldn't be possible for it to be next to most planets without pulling them in could be seen as the garden passed by it.
He rubbed his eyes and gasped.
"I can't be in space!"
Suddenly a computerized voice said "Releasing artificial gravity. Hang on to your hats." Zidane floated up into the air and bumped the ceiling, then went back down.
"Crap"
You see, the bad thing about no gravity is the frustration of movement. Aside from propulsion, there is virtually no way to get around. You could be a few inches away from something and not reach it for hours.
"Reestablishing gravity, ½" the computer said again.
Zidane dropped back to the ground, feeling light, and making half the sound he normally would have. He opened the tap on the sink to wash his face, and the drops bounced unnaturally high.
"Damn gravity . . . " he muttered to himself.
He accidentally took and inexperienced step and he bounced four feet into the air.
***
Cloud had been trying to find Tifa for hours through the night, and then through the day. She didn't seem to be anywhere to be found. He thought he saw her, then the gravity went temporarily off and by the time it was reapplied, he had lost her again. He was dismayed to find that the elevators weren't working and that even in the early hour students crowded the flights of stairs. He sighed to himself.
"I don't want to do this . . . "
He remembered what he had tapped into that day passed, and used it again. Shakily he rose from the ground and rose up to the next two floors, and then landed. For some reason the air seemed unstable. He panted heavily as such a maneuver for someone inexperienced in flight usually caused exhaustion in a short amount of time.
Cloud regained his breath and walked down the narrow hallway that he thought he saw Tifa go through. The hallway led to the high shaft that led to the roof, which of course was sealed off with the quintuple locks and airtight seals. There was still, however, the small isolated rooms near that area that was meant for storage but not really in use.
Cloud walked to the end of the hallway that was getting darker as well as less humid, and then began to climb the ladder straight up after Tifa.
***
Seifer was taking daily flight laps around the empty quad; Oren had recommended it to stay in shape. Oddly for him, when the gravity was turned off he couldn't fly at all, and when it was at ½ he only flew half as efficient.
What's going on? He thought to himself.
"Gravity has an effect on flight."
That lifeless voice; Pi. It was impossible to tell which one.
Seifer easily made himself a bed out of the open air, which would have been impossible in fully activated gravity.
"Stay out of my head." He said, for some reason not surprised that she could read thoughts.
"If you think something a certain way, I can't help but hear it." She said from some unknown location.
"But it's a two way ability."
Seifer thought about this.
"So you can read thoughts from others, but because of it others can read thoughts from you?"
'I never liked humans' she said through thought.
"Keep you opinions to yourself." He answered aloud.
"Fine, you are no longer aloud to read my thoughts" she said aloud as well.
"Where are you?"
" . . . "
"I thought so. I'm sure no one can safely talk about YOU behind your back."
"They only call me Pi"
"And you don't have a real name."
"None of your business!"
"How'd you get split into two?"
"Confidential"
"We're after whatever force you work for, you might as well tell us."
"You'll have to kill me!"
"I guess you're pretty passi-"
"Pretty doesn't even cover it! I'd murder each and every last one of you if I could!"
"Why can't you, or should I ask, why don't you?"
" . . . "
Seifer dropped to the ground and stared through the window. He hadn't been in space before. He was surprised to notice Adel's old tomb as he flew by.
"You released her, correct, Seifer?"
"Stay out of my head!"
"Sacrificed Rinoa, tried to kill Squall on more than one occasion, alliance with Sorceress Ultimecia, carried out an order for the attack on Balamb Garden? With your record, it's a wonder you're still around."
Seifer pulled out Hyperion and started launching random fire spells hoping to hit something.
"It's time's like this when I wish I could shoot bullets!" He snarled, sending the spells flying.
***
Oren counted off in his head that it would be fifteen minutes before Esthar Garden was close enough to the target ship.
"Only a few will be coming" he said aloud to the bridge.
"As we advance further, people will be weeded out and divided into groups of two to make things easy. Aside from that . . . " Oren stood up and looked at Squall.
"Summon someone to take command. I've done my part for now . . . "
***
The stars never came out of the eyes of Sephiroth, except when remember his life's dependence.
THWAACK!
Another poor tree was mutilated, as Sephiroth went on his random slicing spree of trees in the training center.
"Take that, Hojo!" he pictured the trunk of the tree as Hojo's face, and slammed it down, shattering the bark.
"You never loved me! But now I've found it!"
"Your mother loved you." A voice said from above.
Sephiroth looked up and found Vincent lying on a branch, staring upwards and twirling the Death Penalty.
"What magic did you use, Valentine!?"
"Magic?"
"Not even SEPHIROTH can sneak up on Sephiroth!" He growled insanely.
"You are insane." Vincent said smply.
"You are odd" was his answer.
An awkward silence.
"Your mother loved you" he repeated.
"JENOVA is incapable of love in her present state."
" . . . Not JENOVA."
"What do you mean? JENOVA is my mother!"
"No."
"Explain."
"You were injected with JENOVA's cells, but she isn't your biological mother."
"Lies!"
"Would I lie to you?"
Sephiroth was about to say yes, but realized the truth.
"My mother then?"
"Lucrecia."
"And how, I shudder to think, might you know?"
"I lost Lucrecia to Hojo! I loved her. Do I still love her?" Vincent was talking more to himself.
"What do you mean 'lost'? Start making sense, Dracula!"
"Hojo seduced Lucrecia. I fell into depression. I became one of his experiments." He said to himself.
Sephiroth started laughing maniacally.
"It all makes sense! Of course I needed a vessel! I knew someone bore me, and I wasn't just engineered! Unfortunately, that would make me an orphan." Sephiroth said with no sadness whatsoever.
"Orphan? Lucrecia is still alive."
"Explain yourself."
" . . . "
"You all and your emotional problems . . . " Sephiroth grumbled to himself, hacking and slashing at random trees, scaring the living crap out of any man or beast that came across him.
***
Nida pushed a few buttons, and stared ahead.
Esthar garden came to a halt and filling the window was a large, large, large ship that resembled a space station, except larger.
"Holy . . . " Nida's jaw along with everyone else's on the bridge dropped. The whole thing must have been three miles long. A network of large silver spheres were connected in an even bigger network of long lines and mile- long circular hallways that connected to each other in a way that made the whole complex look like a floating labyrinth, the playhouse of a giant. Esthar garden was like a marble beside a bowling ball.
"Ladies and gentlemen . . . " Nida announced on the speakers.
"We have reached our destination."
A distant electrical sound could be heard.
"Uh . . . what's that sound?" Nida asked, hoping to get a reply.
"I suggest activating the shields and preparing for the return fire." Oren said so that only Squall could hear him.
"Activate shields and prepare for return fire!" Squall then commanded.
The shields came on silently and invisibly. Nida wasn't very worried, until a large yellow beam lanced out of nowhere from the ship and headed straight to Esthar Garden. Then he yelped and pushed all of his weight left on the joystick. Everything in garden that wasn't firmly nailed down, including unsuspecting persons, when flying to the right. Squall crashed into Quistis who then slammed herself on an unused panel. There was a not- to-promising sound as at least fifty things in the complex shut down from having been slammed.
"Hmm, computers, bookshelves, SeeDs, weapons, Nida, with that one maneuver you've probably toasted fifty-thousand gil's worth of equipment. You could at least put on the shock absorbers or give prior warning before trying something like that!"
"Sorry, commander. I didn't know I'd have to do that."
An electrically charging sound could be heard.
"Damn!" Nida yelled aloud. He barely flipped on the shocks and then tilted the joystick wildly to the right. As a result, the garden was for five seconds tilted at a complete ninety degree angle with everyone positioned in a way so it seemed like they were standing on a wall, which didn't really matter because in space there was no up or down.
"We can't take much more of this!" Squall complained in his mind.
"We should board his ship . . . " Oren said again so only Squall could hear him.
"Board the ship! Organize the proper persons to prepare for docking!"
Nida picked up his speaker.
"Will Squall Leonhart, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dincht, Selphie Tilmitt, and anyone who is not a registered member of garden please report to the front gate."
***
Cloud found Tifa in a narrow corridor. At first she was just standing in front of stone columns and pillars, her back facing him. In a flash, she brought her left leg up with force enough to crack the pillar partially, spinning to the right in a flash, bring up her right leg, and connecting it once more turning the pillar into dust and chunks of rock.
The next pillar she pummeled four times fast with left-right punch combinations, and then stabbed an elbow with a metal bracer attached forward, forcing the second pillar to a similar fate. She somersaulted and brought her left heel down, smashing a column into the ground.
Cloud let out a light whistle.
She then grabbed a chunk of rock the size of her fist, clasped her left hand around it, and crushed it into even more dust.
"I didn't know you could do that." Cloud said, accidentally revealing his presence.
She looked surprised.
"Cloud, I didn't see you there. Good morning."
"Good morning."
A silence.
Nida's announcement blared and Tifa rushed down the corridor and passed Cloud.
"I have to be going."
She dropped directly down the shaft, not even giving Cloud time for a response.
***
Zidane got used to the gravity, and saw Amarant flipping a two-gil coin up and snatching it out of the air.
"Yo" he said, sitting on the railing next to him by the front gate area.
"Robbed anyone lately?" he asked sarcastically.
"You're the wanted man."
"Whose fault is that . . . ?"
"Yours, right?"
He sighed and stood.
"You still don't know, do you boy?"
" . . . Know what."
"Zidane, I'm wanted thanks to you."
"What!? What'd I do?"
"Remember the auction at Treno?"
Zidane's mouth dropped to the ground.
"I forgot all about that! They put your face up in pictures for that!?"
" . . . "
"Geez, I'm sorry, I-"
"Screw it. That doesn't matter now."
He flipped the coin up, it caught fire, and disintegrated.
Zidane's eyes went lazy.
"Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?"
"That thing! You're always smacking that coin up and down, and then setting it on fire! And you throw it at monsters all the time! And then you do it whenever you want to be cool."
" . . . My mind doesn't work like yours. I feel there's more to life than being cool."
Zidane noticed that all of his friends were there, minus one . . .
"Where's Quina?" he asked.
Amarant shrugged his shoulders.
"When you have something good, you don't ask questions."
"That's not a nice thing to say."
"That THING will probably get in the way. Did you know it sleeps naked?"
"I certainly didn't need to."
"And it sleepwalks!"
" . . . "
"And yesterday it was break dancing in its sleep, scaring the shit out of anyone that was unfortunate enough to be out at that hour, including me! Those pathetic students trembled in fear!"
"Great Gaia, don't tell me anymore, man!"
"I don't want to tell anymore. The bottom line is that that thing would get in our way to friggin' much."
"I guess."
Most of the people called were already assembled and prepared, weapons and all.
Squall paced around waiting for Seifer to show up, nervous that he wouldn't care to come. He was relieved when he walked around the corner. When he saw, Laguna and Ward, he almost objected.
"Hey!" he whispered loudly, walking briskly to his father.
"It could be dangerous, where we're going!"
"I can still fight." Laguna said in a way mentioning that he wouldn't budge. Ward nodded silently.
"But . . . what about Kiros?"
Kiros dropped in from thirty feet, Sorceress Ultimecia having flown him. She landed behind him soon after.
"Kiros!?" Laguna asked in surprise.
"Hey, Laguna. I just had to wait for Thuka here to wake up."
Laguna and Squall raised eyebrows simultaneously.
"Thuka?" They both asked.
"That's what they called me." She explained.
Squall eyed her.
"Why?"
" . . . It could be because it was my name? I'd prefer to be called that."
Laguna looked at Kiros suspiciously.
"And how were you so oriented to the events of her awakening?"
Kiros folded his arms.
" . . . None of your business."
Laguna and Ward looked at each other and held back laughter.
"Sure man." Laguna patted his shoulder.
***
Yuna pleaded with her father.
"Father, you can't go. There will be too much danger-"
"I know white magic like you, I can help. I'm still physically young, and can't let you go without supervision."
"But . . . "
He put a hand on her cheek.
"I've missed too much. Don't let me miss anymore. You let Auron come. You let Jecht come, why, you let that Seymour character come!"
" . . . Alright. Please, don't let anything happen to you."
"I'll be fine."
Braska hugged her.
"And we will be back from wherever it is we're going."
Oren flew in from a higher floor and descended upon the mass of people gathered.
"Well. You have all been summoned from far corners of this galaxy, for the sole purpose of doing what we are about to do now. We've come far, far enough to say that failure is not an option. Those of you who can fly, lead us in."
Thuka, Kuja, Sephiroth, and Seymour as well were about to eagerly come forward.
" . . . Except for those recently revived from oblivion."
Oren toed the ground with his foot.
"I didn't revive you for fun. As well as reuniting with loved ones, those that I brought back hold special powers to block a lot of the negative energy we are going to encounter, which is why I would like for you all to station yourselves in various positions among this large crowd . . . "
The ones Oren mentioned began to move.
"But bring one you love deeply and trust your life with, or it won't work very well. Your ability to do this relies on them."
Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Jessica, Tidus, an angry-looking Seifer, Pi number one, and Pi number two that looked like she had magic burns had assembled in the front.
In a few seconds Esthar garden shook as it docked with the door of "Pyros"'s ship, which was much bigger.
When the door opened, there was a large white rectangular hallway lined at the top with glowing colored lights, each leading to a specific area. The hallway was around six-hundred meters wide and eight-hundred of them tall.
Slowly, the crowd spread out in the ridiculously large space, the front gate closing behind them. Those that could fly did, and the party that had been so far invincible descended into the space.
"Something's not right . . . " Zidane thought.
He heard large stomping. He groaned in defeat when he saw Quina walking behind him.
For fifteen minutes the crowd did nothing but walk down the endless hall, until it suddenly opened into a large corridor, with three halls branching and hundreds, possibly thousands of lifts meant for one person each.
"Stop!" Oren warned.
At first it seemed that there was nothing there, but sitting on a pillar in the middle of the corridor was none other than Kappa.
Pi number one who floated beside Oren smiled.
"Now you are in trouble."
Kappa jumped down and landed silently. Nu and Xi appeared out of nowhere next to him. Unfortunately for her, Xu had made the mistake of coming along. Omicron appeared out of the shadows, and a blur ran next to him, none other than Lambda. Finally, the mysterious man that had been with Omicron appeared as well.
"Would that be Rho?" Squall asked Oren, slowly pulling out the Lionheart, which glistened, in the blinding light at the top of the white corridor.
Oren laughed.
"No. That's someone whose power matches 'Pyros' himself."
"Who?" Cloud asked, his Ultima Weapon almost blinding him.
"His name is Luminerion."
"This room will be painted with purple and red blood!" Kappa yelled from across the room.
"Definitely purple blood, but I'm not sure about the later!" Oren yelled back.
The battle began.
_______________________________________________________________________
AN: There's a reason that "Pyros"'s name is now in quotes. Anyhow, he's tied to the new appearance, Luminerion. I'm near the end, but still a way's to go. I might have to split some chapters into two parts . . . 60+ reviews. I really appreciate it. Old questions and mysteries will soon be answered and solved. (If this page has typos or errors, I'll have to revise it later.)