Author's Note: Woo…Kirika gets to act like Carrie…almost. Sorry for the delay people. This chapter was actually ready on Friday. For those who are actually reading, this chapter will sound weird.
Sosei, Reincarnation's Sequel
Chapter 4-Nightmare
Neo Lindblum Grand Castle
Shortly after Midnight
Kuja:
The evening after the Lindblum ball was quiet and peaceful. Neo Lindblum reminded me a lot of Alexandria, perhaps maybe too much. I had to admit I missed that city and its many pleasures. Lindblum just reminded me of darker things like the discovery of Kirika. Well…not dark. I sat in the soft light of my room and thumbed through my theory. If it were correct, then a strange event would occur tonight. If it was like what happened to Alexandria, we could kiss our asses goodbye. Silver snorted and turned her nuzzle up to me.
'Kuja, go to bed.'
"Patience goes a long way, Silver," I said calmly.
'Patience is for awake people.'
I stifled a laugh and set my papers aside.
"I'll turn off the light, but I won't go to sleep quite yet."
'You'll be irritable in the morning.'
I reached over and turned the light off with a grin.
"I'm always irritable."
Kirika:
I couldn't sleep now matter how much I tried. Something felt wrong within the castle and it kept Amaranthine wide awake, which in turn, kept me up.
"Ugh, Amaranthine, you are being stubborn. Just let me sleep," I snapped, easing back under my bed sheets.
Amaranthine whined and yanked the sheets off of my bed again. I started to hit her, but I thought the better of it. Maybe she was just scared and she needed a little milk to help her settle down. After all, she was just a child.
"All right, you win," I said softly as I got out of bed.
I stroked Amaranthine's head and went to the door. I twisted the knob easily and threw it open. (A/N: Have you ever played Silent Hill 3? Well, if you have, you are familiar with the level layout. For example, Normal Shopping Mall and Dark, Corrupted, Rusty, Shopping Mall level. I'm using it in the Lindblum Castle's description. It's just my way of being creative.) The hallway was dark, no—pitch black as far as the eyes could see. And it was the silence…the dead silence that tortured me.
"What happened here?" I whispered, stepping out into the hall. Amaranthine bounded past me with a growl and disappeared into the darkness. I started to call after her, but I knew better. Amaranthine would come back in time. In the meantime, I had to focus on feeling around the hallway. I moved further around the hallway to the best of my ability until I began to hear music. Music? I strained my ears, trying to at least identify the tune.
"Kirika…"
I turned around sharply, hoping to see what was calling my name. Nothing was there. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw the dim outline of a light behind a rust covered door. The music grew louder and the air grew colder immediately. I was not going to be afraid. This was probably my body playing a trick on me. And yet, why did it feel so real? I approached the door and pushed it open. I found myself in another dark room with the outline of some kind of statue. The music grew deafening, but there was also the undertone of an inhuman growl.
"I knew this would lure you out."
I blinked and glanced all around me, but sadly, that was in vain.
"Who are you and why are you doing this?"
All of a sudden, the room exploded with light and I saw a figure dressed in black. I somehow recognized her as the female genome that tried to attack Kuja a few days ago.
"See, I told you I would be back."
"But why?" I asked, realizing I was in no shape to use magic.
The female genome held her hand out and up into the air. A strange purplish mist shot up from the ground, blinding and burning every part of my body that wasn't covered. It was poison! Probably paralyzing poison. After the mist faded away, the female genome was kneeling down right next to me with an evil grin on her face. I tried to at least push her away, but my muscles had locked up painfully.
"Trust me, you won't survive this encounter."
Kuja:
A loud scream shook me out of my meditative state and made me sit upright quickly.
'What is that?'
"I don't know, Silver. But it sounded a lot like Kirika."
That wasn't what I needed to say or to think. Kirika's energy hasn't recovered itself since the entire poison gas incident. That was not good. I got out of my bed and slipped my plush robe on.
"I'm going to go check on Kirika. Go find Amaranthine," I whispered, heading out of my door.
The hallway was dimly lit and silent, but I couldn't help but feel like I was missing one important detail. It was then that I noticed a small stream of blood snaking out from under Kirika's door.
"Kirika!" I shouted as I threw myself at her door.
It wouldn't budge.
"Silver, wake everyone else up!"
Kirika:
Was that the voice of my father? I let out a scream of agony as I was launched halfway across the room. I was already in sorry shape from the kicking and the beating the genome had given me. This wasn't fair…I couldn't defend myself at all.
"Have you given up yet?"
I closed my eyes and focused on the muscles that had locked up. The sound of footsteps picked up again and I knew I had to work faster to free myself. I felt a kick to my ribs and groaned. Come on, Kirika, remember! I felt myself being lifted off of the ground and screamed out the one word I knew would cure me: 'Esuna!'. I suddenly fell to the floor again, this time much harder than before and was surrounded by darkness.
"Come on, Kirika! I know you can fight back!"
There was an evil giggle and then the opening of a nearby door. Moonlight poured in the doorway illuminating half of the room. I had no choice but to continue through that door. I had no one with me, not even Amaranthine. And even though I freed my muscles, there was still some regular poison in my system. I wouldn't last without help. I got to my feet and walked to the door. In front of me was the crosswalk to the Airship complex. What luck…
Kuja:
The interior of the hallway had changed again, this time it was bloody and rust was everywhere. So far, the only people that was awake was me, Kirei and Melinda.
"I don't understand how the hallway could have changed. It was normal just a few seconds ago," Melinda pointed out.
"Kirika's blood was oozing from under that door. So apparently, she's trapped in the same weird universe we're in," I said softly.
I didn't want to tell the others about the pain I felt through that door earlier.
"How do we get her out of it?" Kirei asked.
"We have to find her first."
'I think I've seen her on the crosswalk separating Lindblum castle from the Airship dock.'
Silver?
"Guys, Silver just told me that she last saw Kirika on the crosswalk."
"But how do we get there?" Melinda asked.
Good question. The entire layout of castle had changed a lot since we've been out. But wait…what about Kirika's door?
"Kirika's door points the way," I whispered.
Kirika:
I was halfway across the airship crosswalk when my legs began to ache. Well, that was it; I was dragging my dead weight. The wind whistled past my ears blowing my hair into my face, nearly blinding me. I stumbled somewhat and collapsed onto the tiles. Where was that genome? I know she was watching me somewhere out there, waiting until I was completely weakened. A loud snap sounded and there was a shudder under my body. I had to get off this damned thing and quick.
"Amaranthine! Help me! Please!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.
The shuddering grew violent and I saw the opposite end of the crosswalk cave in. It was like a domino effect, that's how perfectly it fell. I started to edge away with my available strength, but that didn't do much. The collapsing bridge caught up with my body and I found myself falling. A dragon call sounded and then I hit something solid and feathery.
'Be easy, Mommy. Amaranthine is here!'
I have never been so glad to see my pet dragon in all of my life.
"Thanks so much, Amaranthine! But how did you know where to find me?"
'Mommy, told me.'
Yes, that was an excellent question Kirika. Why did you ask her that again? Of course, I knew what she was talking about, but still…
"Flare Star!"
The shout seemed to come out of nowhere. A ball of fire shot down from above, headed directly for Amaranthine's wing. I held my arms out and pushed energy out of them to form half of a shield. It materialized instantly, knocking the fire away from the wing, but in turn, it made me dizzy.
"Amaranthine, let's hurry and get out of here. We can't afford any more hits," I whispered.
My throat hurt terribly from the entire ordeal within the castle and I didn't have my whistle. I was running out of hope for survival now, and that wasn't good.
"Are you afraid, Kirika?"
"No, never!" I hissed, trying to stay as quiet as I could.
Amaranthine swooped down and swerved around the corner until we were flying directly above the cathedral of Lindblum.
"Goodbye child of Iifa."
The sky darkened above my head and thunder sounded loudly. My eyes widened at the possibly of spells this could mean and I crossed my arms in front of my chest defensively. Two lightning bolts shot down from the sky; one shattering the shield I made, and the second striking me directly in the chest. I screamed loudly as my body flailed about from the discharge of electricity. It was then that several other bolts crashed down on Amaranthine's thin body, knocking her out of the air.
Kuja:
By the time we reached the crosswalk, it was too late to get a hold of Kirika. Not only that, but we were forced to watch helplessly as Amaranthine fell through the cathedral's roof.
"Sister!" Melinda shrieked loudly.
I knew my daughter wasn't dead. I hated to say it…but I prayed that she wasn't fatally injured in the falling of her pet dragon.
"Silver, get us over there!" I ordered.
I heard Silver's audible growl of pain and then the swoosh of wings. I doubted she would listen to me now, the grief for her daughter was too great. Now how are we going to get over there? Oh, Melinda's a psychic! Maybe.
"Melinda can you teleport us over there?" I asked.
"Maybe…but it will take some time."
Time was not on our side right now.
Kirika:
I awoke to the sound of dragonish wails and the rapid beating of my own heart in my ear. What just happened? I had to struggle to remember what happened after being struck by light. Speaking of which, Amaranthine was hit too. I lifted my head off of the floor and tried my best to look around for my pet dragon. I could only see the outline of her tail, but not her face. In other words, I had no idea where exactly my dragon was.
"Amaranthine…" I choked out.
There was a weak whine off to my left and then nothing more. I hoped the lightning bolts did nothing more but scorch her. She was still a very young dragon and she wasn't used to magic being thrown at her.
"Ah, she lives."
I recoiled at the sound of the voice. Somehow, I just knew it belonged to the genome that landed us here in the first place.
"What is your name?" I asked, struggling to curl my body into a small ball.
The genome grabbed my hair and pulled my head up to face her.
"I owe you at least that, don't I?"
I kept silent.
"Kalani of the Black Tail. And your time is up."
Kalani pointed her finger at my chest and smirked. Energy was brimming up on the tip of her finger, burning my skin. It was over. My life…my spirit…
"Pulsar Cannon!"
My breath caught in my throat as a blinding flash of light occurred. (A/N: Before I continue, I must let you know that the next scene will be based off of Carrie (whichever one you want to think of. All of them include that famous destruction scene.) Also, the next scene will be written in third person, hence normal. It may sound a little weird since I hate writing in third person.)
Normal (Third) Point of View:
The beam went through Kirika's chest and into the marble floor, shattering some of it. Kalani smiled in triumph and pushed her limp body away roughly. Her deed was done and even though it took a day and a half to accomplish it, she was extremely sorry that it was over. Hunting Kirika down had become a new sport, with all of the energy drainings or so. It was a shame to lose such an excellent genome. And plus, she was naturally born. Alas, Kalani sighed and turned away, ready to return back her follow genomes.
There was a gargle and a gasp of air behind her. Kalani turned around and frowned at the sight that lay before her. Kirika was on all fours and she seemed to be breathing. Perhaps she (Kalani) had underestimated the power of the Life Crystal. Then again, the crystal could only support life, not restore life. So what was this? It was then that Kalani noticed Kirika's hair. It seemed like it was bleeding or at least reddish part of her hair was.
"You can't get rid of me," She hissed as she lifted her head to see me.
Her entire face was ghostly white and veins popped out everywhere on the bottom half of her face. Not only that, but there was mysterious outline of vines all over it and her eyes were completely black.
"What are you?" Kalani asked, easing toward the open doorway just a few inches from her location.
Kirika floated up from the bottom of the floor and stood upright. The hole that she had pierced in her chest stood out amongst the shadows that clung to her form.
"I am the child of Iifa, of course."
Kirika lifted her hand and pointed at Kalani, with all the giddiness of a perky schoolgirl. The darkness from around her body lashed out, sending Kalani down the hallway she had been trying to get to earlier and into something hard.
Kuja:
Thankfully for us, there was another path to the cathedral from the Industrial District. I hadn't given up hope on Kirika, but the stab of pain I felt earlier made me think otherwise. Melinda led us through several passageways until a person stopped us in our tracks. She/he/it fell past us with so much speed into a wall that it made us wince and it also put us in danger. Normally, some sick part of me would have enjoyed that entire scene. But something wasn't right. That was confirmed when a girl that looked exactly like Kirika, only surrounded by death and shadows, entered the room. I glanced at Kirei out of the corner of my eyes to see what her reaction was. She wasn't too happy about this situation obliviously.
"Stop it! Don't kill me!"
Things were about to get interesting. But if that girl really was Kirika…
"Your death will be quite quick, trust me. I know."
Kirika lifted her hand and spread all of her fingers out. Energy bubbled up through her skin and gather out into an orb. The girl attempted to back up, trying to escape her fate. Kirei elbowed me roughly and pointed her finger at Kirika.
"You need to stop her, Kuja. She can't have blood on her hands, she has no control over her actions."
"Give me suggestions on how to stop her then," I snapped.
The orb disappeared and appeared in front of Kirika's index finger, just ready to fire.
"Too bad. No one will save you now."
The energy vanished from her finger and the girl fell silent. I kept my face expressionless as I figured out just what Kirika had done. The spell she cast was way too quick for any eye to follow. That kind of power was…scary. Kirika smirked and turned in out direction. Her eyes held darkness and a feral intelligence behind them.
"Kirika, don't you recognize us?" Melinda asked.
Kirika hissed and narrowed her eyes.
"I guess her answer for me question is no," Kirei commented.
A dragon's cry sounded, making us all jump out of our skin. When I glanced at Kirika again, she was on the floor and barely breathing. Not good. However, concern for my well being kept me from approaching her.
"Amaranthine…she's hurt. I gotta get to her…"