* Heh. I'm back and I hope Skullfire and Hell Stalker are happy that this
chapter has arrived quicker then usual. ^^*
Chapter 42
Undersea Adventure
As the Ragnorak sank beneath the oceans surface, several things played throughout her mind. When she was a little girl she encountered a demon and her price for that was five years of unexpected isolation. She fought a chimera prematurely then most training students and overcame the creature! She was the best skilled in the gunblade known in Balamb, besides her famous father, Squall. She sighed and tried to remember her mother the last time she saw her. She was in the infirmary and her parents had come to meet the outgoing yet injured girl, but they didn't recognize her. She thanked Hyne that she was covered in bandages. They would have taken her dreams away like before and then she would have nothing left. They didn't understand, or did they? They saved the entire world two decades ago and why wouldn't they want their daughter to fulfill her own dreams? The metal walls screamed a bit as the pressure around the vessel increased. She relaxed a bit and her thoughts sank deeper within her dark walls. Her GF's Siren and Quezocotl chose her; she found out she inherited sorceress powers from her mother! 'Could my little brother Riva inherited powers too? Humph! Ridiculous! A boy who has sorceress powers? Preposterous!' Then she became leader of the top SeeD enforcement squad and got kidnapped along the way to be thrown into a dead dimension! She thought that her life couldn't get any worse then that, but no! She had to face her past life! The thought of dying at the hands of her parents brought chills coursing up and down her spine. Eve punched the wall with her bare fist startling her friends. "Everything all right?" "Everything is fine." She retorted coldly. Kato was about to lecture Dava on her manners but shut her yap when she got a warning glare from Odyssey. Minutes passed whereas they sank deeper traveling through ancient fossilized volcanoes and barren caverns. "This is as far down that we go." Kato said. "Why?" Odyssey inquired. "Argh! If we go any lower you'll be swimming to the surface!" "All right I get the picture!" he exclaimed. Eve rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. "Ahh, just as I thought! Look there is the ancient columns." Kato announced moments later. Eve rushed to the Ragnorak's wide skylight window and watched in amazement as they neared the primordial structures. "Paellas Ruins." "The what?" "Paellas Ruins. This used to be a great city eons ago built on top of the water. That was until the empress destroyed it. What remains are the columns which stand silent." "Why did she destroy it?" Eve asked. "She went mad. Rumors were that she drank some poison and became hysterical." He answered. "I don't think that craziness was the key to such a devastating destruction." Kato added. "Of course not, she was a sorceress. First Disciple of Hyne as a matter of fact and I remember her still to this very day." "What did she look like?" Kato asked. She absolutely adored hearing stories of the past, which included history of the planet. "She was tall, her hair was pure white and up to her waist. Her eyes were pale violet and as much as she was beautiful, her tongue was quick and her mind sharp." "Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be human." Kato said dreamily. "Why?" asked Eve. "I want to experience the feeling of walking on two legs, talking to human historians." Kato was cut short. "Um Kato what's that?" Eve asked as she saw a large creature slither along the cavern some thousand feet below. "That's Plateaus. Kato stick to the vegetation, we don't want to intrude on its hunting." Odyssey suggested first. Instantly Kato flicked a few switches causing the Ragnorak to head into some giant seaweed. It amazed Eve how skillfully Kato handled the vessel even if she had paws instead of hands. "We should wait here to avoid contact with that one." Odyssey murmured. * * *
Several hours later.
"Um how long before Mr. Plateaus leaves?" Eve asked sarcastically.
"That I don't know." The hybrid replied. Kato paced from one end of the room to the other, thinking. "The sub base entrance is up ahead but that ancient creature is below it! We have no other choice but to steer quickly toward the opening." "The entrance is opened, but we'll have to manually shut the doors if we don't want extra company." Odyssey added. "Heck, what do we have to loose?" "Our fur, well skin for you." Kato griped. "Shut up fur ball." Kato glared at the human and muttered a few short incoherent words under her breath. "Just put on the oxygen suits and get ready to exit." Kato ordered.
Eve equipped herself to the fullest, stocking up on basic potions and megalixers. Her Goldenraine was clipped to her waist belt and ready for use. She then quickly put on the wet suit, which was a state of the art model and she waited for the command patiently. Kato brought Ragnorak into a steady pace and flashed her two comrades the go. "When I turn away from Plateaus, jump out of those doors and swim for the entrance. I'll cover you until I turn back around. I should be able to give you enough time to be able to close the base doors manually." No sooner had she finished, the vessel was shot forward at immense speed hurtling both Odyssey and Eve back against the walls. * * *
A creature's head shot up at the disturbing echo. It rippled its incandescent monochrome jade skin and blasted upward at the disturbance. It's reptilian eyes glowing like dying embers. * * *
Odyssey and Eve rushed to the airlock doors and entered waiting for Kato to click the yellow button. The Ragnorak sped toward the entrance barely missing the dangerous creature as it slid past. The sharp turn and the flick of the yellow button sent both of them into the vast dark blue. Luckily, Plateaus was concentrating more on the vessel and didn't catch sight of them. Odyssey grabbed Eve's arm pulling her up toward the darkest area above: the base entrance. It was only a few moments later when they erupted out of the water into a semi-large chamber. Dava ripped her helmet off quickly and ran to the desk to what seemed to be a simple model of a computer. 'Computers existed that long ago?' Without answering her thoughts, she examined it. "It's no use, it seems to have lost power." Odyssey explained and seemed to search the chamber until his blue eyes rested on several large wheels opposite the room. "Over there!" When they reached the enormous contraption, they tried to turn one of the helms but it was no use. "Rusty, I guess." Eve whispered sarcastically. "This is no time for games, Kato is going to be here any moment now." A spray of salt water bursted from the surface of the cold ocean as they saw Ragnorak emerge. The lion jumped out and panted, "Close it!" "It's jammed!" Eve replied. "Then unjam it!" Kato growled back, "That things coming!"
Summon me mistress, I can put Plateaus to sleep until you close the gates. Hurry.
Eve heard the Sirens voice in her head and didn't think twice. "What are you doing?" Kato exclaimed. "Summoning Siren." As Eve concentrated, a vicious head exploded to the surface hissing angrily at its intruders. Golden orbs encircled Eve and the other two ran to the back. The cavity was filled with shallow shimmering water and behind Plateaus, Siren appeared with her golden harp. Siren began her song and whispered into her holders mind to hurry.
Hear my ethereal sing
Of the lullaby dream
Listen.
The creature seemed to loose control immediately from the sound of the Sirens song. It's serpentine head slid beneath the placid surface and the Siren sang on keeping her hold over the ancient creature. Meanwhile, the trio had finally figured out how to close the doors manually by pulling two shafts on the wall. The five ft. thick doors began to close slowly in a spiral shaped pattern, closing together firmly. Siren had already stopped her song and disappeared back inside Eve. It was then when they heard a large creaking pressure beneath the closed doors. "Plateaus is definitely pissed off." Odyssey announced. "No shit Sherlock." Eve answered, "Lets go. We don't have much time." Eve examined her surroundings and found to her surprise that even if this underwater palace was millions of years old, it still held beauty. The base cavity was covered by marble flooring and strengthened walls. As they exited walking up several flights of stairs, the ancient walls contained oil paintings so dusty that Eve could barely even see their colors. Kato seemed the most excited of all as she tried to read the brass plates below the masterpieces. "I have decided to live here and explore it for the rest of my life!" Kato cheerfully declared. "Thank Hyne." Eve muttered, but Kato didn't catch that. "She's still a young cub like you, you know that?" Odyssey began. "I have noticed. I once read about her kind in my studies at Balamb Garden. They were a mix of lion and wolf, fire lions. Kato is one of the first I have ever seen and I didn't know there were ice lions too." "Oh that was an accident. You see, two thousand years ago when she was a cub, she ran away from home. Her father Nanaki had just died." The hybrid explained. "Oh, I'm sorry. How old was he?" Eve asked. "Six hundred years old." "Wow, but then how could have Kato outlived her parents?" "Well I didn't tell you about the accident. Five hundred years after Nanaki and his friends defeated Meteor, he went on a search for a mate. He found Minoa, another soul survivor who gave him two cubs. One of them was Kato and the other was her twin brother, Hunter." "I thought fire lions died out." "No it didn't, the fire lion line still exists even today. They just hide in the Shumi Mountains up North." "Are Moomba related to them?" asked Eve. "Yes, somewhat." Odyssey answered. He looked at Kato who ran ahead to look at a wall painting. "Go on with the story; you know the accident?" Eve begged. "Oh yes, when Nanaki died, Kato was so saddened that she ran away and ended up at a city that now doesn't exist. It was once called Midgar and when she arrived, her curiosity got the better of her. She fell into a reactor that held as chemical called, Mako. It changed her completely and sadly she woke out of it two hundred years later." "So this Mako thing transformed her completely and expanded her life span, am I correct?" "Yes of course. You are one smart young woman." Odyssey complimented. "So what happened when she returned back to her family?" Odyssey sighed, "They were gone. She's been looking for them ever since." "But they are probably dead by now. Its been what?" "Two thousand years?" the Hybrid concluded. "How old is the earth anyways? You were born in the beginning, so how old?" Eve inquired again after a few minutes of silence. Odyssey laughed whole-heartedly and looked at the human next to him. "It's been so long that I can't even remember. But I do have a secret library hidden in this realm somewhere, I just have to remember." Kato stopped in her tracks when she heard the words: 'secret library.' "Did u say secret library? Or are my ears too dirty and I heard wrong?" Kato said sarcastically. The hybrid chuckled again and nodded. "And why haven't you told me this before?" "I forgot, I guess." He shrugged innocently and smiled when Kato bursted out, "You forgot?! How can you forget a library that contains all the manuscript known to the planet???" Eve chuckled and walked ahead of the fuming lion and her laughing friend. She passed several doors, which she already knew led to bedrooms. She soon approached a long hallway with winding stairs at each end. To her surprise the walls contained blue orbs that were still glowing brightly, illuminating the gloomy atmosphere. "Hey come on! I found something!" Eve yelled back over her shoulder. Without waiting she turned left and ran down the hall and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, there was a closed doorway. The door was covered in a fake velvet auburn red and had bullion handles. She carefully pulled the doors open and walked into the biggest ballroom ever know to man. It was ten times bigger then the average Garden ballroom! 'Maybe even bigger!' She added. The stairs wound down to the marble floor and straight across her were the other doors that had just opened revealing Kato and Odyssey. Even though they were far away from her she yelled out to them. "Hey guys!" They waved back at her and began to memorize this grand place. Eve looked at the ceiling and realized that this ballroom was actually an enormous dome! The ceiling was made up of thick glass and she could see the dark blue/violet see swirling outside. There was a faint blue light shining down upon the dome, casting a feint light upon them. She figured that she was standing on a balcony entrance to this grand room and on the wall was a blue sphere just barely alive. Eve carefully plucked the sphere of its holder and tried to pry it open. Minutes later she opened the sphere to find a strange element made up of fire and ice. A light flared from the other balcony illuminating that corner of the dome. "Put it back on its holder, it will light up by itself!" Kato instructed over the distance. Obeying Kato's directions, she closed the sphere and put it back. Eve smiled warmly when the light flared vibrantly to life again. After looking around herself she noticed lights all around the dome flicker to life brightening the place up. What caught Eve's eyes was the ancient tree at the far end of the dome. She realized it would have taken almost thirty people to encircle the girth of that tree. It's gnarled branches reached halfway over the dome. She raced down the stairs and ran across the marble flooring to the base of the tree. The back corner of the tree was a fairly sized clear pond abundant with colorful fish. Two streams, like arms from the pond encircled the tree at the base. "That's how the tree survived. The water quenched its thirst and it grew to a grand canopy tree." Odyssey explained and then added, "I remember when it was just a sapling." Eve was amazed as she arched her head back to gaze at the lushes green leaves. She noted assorted fruit clinging to many branches and vines that grew upon the bark. She noticed the exotic birds that sung their sweet song as the lights blazed. "They're alive?" Kato asked in a confused manner. "Yes, you see they sing in the light and sleep in the dark. They must have bred over the years and it seems like there are much more birds them just a hundred." Odyssey said as he gazed at them. Eve walked over to the cold hearths at the other end of the dome. She quickly cast a spell of fire and sparks leapt from her hand. The fires raced all around the dome and up the inscribed walls held by what seemed to look like clear glass. Suddenly the ceiling shook and she shot her head up to see Plateaus ramming the glass ceiling. "Um Odyssey! It will destroy this all!" Kato shouted. "No it won't, notice the sparks that light up as it draws near. The dome is shielded even from that creature." "Magic." Eve whispered. After a while the creature gave up and curled up on top of the dome. Eve began to observe the grand palace and noticed dusty silk pillows and drapes. Tables stood along the walls with trays full of emptiness. 'Food must have decomposed after a year or so.' She thought. The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings and expensive looking tapestries. Some of them portrayed dramatic scenes of war and one painting in particular caught her interest. It was of a woman enveloped in the whitest light and there was no word in the planets vocabulary that could explain the color of her soft hair. Her eyes too had no name for the color. She wore absolutely nothing at all, but her delicate hands held a golden staff. It looked like hardened metal. Without thinking she was on her knees saluting this woman. "You kneel before the portrait of the Goddess Hyne. I am glad that you have faith in my mother. If only I can look upon her face once more." The wolf said with pride. "If you are truly her son, then you are a angel on earth. Her true watcher." Kato answered, hearing his silent plea. She had known for some time now, that he always wondered why Hyne had never come to bring him home. Plateaus suddenly lurched off into the blue and attacked something floating down. Junks and pieces of skin and scales were shredded at once. Eve steadied the poor creature now stuck in Plateaus's maws. It was the enemy's minions, the common water wyvern or in other words, the simple sea serpent. "I suggest we get to the surface as quickly as possible before FH falls to the nine armies." Eve said. The others nodded in agreement and began to search for an exit. "Odyssey, don't you remember any exits?" Eve asked after finding none. "I remember faintly that there was an egress behind the throne near the canopy tree." He answered. The three raced over to the tree and searched the perimeter. "I found something!" Kato shouted, "It's covered by all this vegetation." Kato's enormous paws quickly ripped away some of the green undergrowth which hidden behind was a doorway. "I am to good to be true!" Kato stopped short when she slammed into an invisible barrier. "Hey! What in Holy's name was that?!" "That, as they say, is a barrier my dear." Answered Odyssey. "You should have told me before I ran my face into it. So Mr. I know it all, how do we break this force field?" Kato asked sarcastically. "I don't know. Paella never cast any shields on doorways before." He replied. "Great." Eve on the other hand noticed that there were words inscribed upon the stone, just above the door. The words were ancient writing, but she knew what it meant! She read over it again and again while her two companions argued over who was responsible. To leave this place you need a key The way to leave is through the tree. "Odyssey, do u remember anything about a key?" "What?" he asked finally stopping the argument short. His blue eyes studied her face as her eyes were still glued to the ancient script. He followed her gaze and then back at her. "You read that didn't you?" "Yeah. It says: to leave this place you need a key. The way to leave is through the tree. "The strange thing is that I have never studied this type of language and I seem to understand it." Eve said aloud. "That's because you're a sorceress. This is Magic's oldest language known to man and it can be only read by a sorceress." Kato answered before Odyssey could open his mouth and explain the deeper mysteries of the language. He looked at her with a foul face and growled deep within his throat. "Aww, don't worry," Kato said as she walked by, her tail seductively curling around his waist, "You can tell her when this is all over." "Kato you are quite a mischief." Odyssey snapped back with a feint blush across his face. Eve was already by the tree examining it when she saw a shallow hole in the marble flooring. It was a neat slick half-inch entrance to something, but what? Around that slit were loose cracks. A sudden idea flew by her mind and she brought Goldenraine out. With it's sharp tip she tried to pry the slit open a little bit wider, just to see. "What are you doing?" "Trying-to force open this damn-ACK!" Eve exclaimed when her blade slipped into the small crack and locked securely. "What the F&$%?!" Eve swore as she tried to pull her sword out. Her grasp slipped and she fell backwards on her butt swearing all the more. "Dava." Kato and Odyssey said in unison. "What?" she yelled angrily. "Look." The hybrid whispered capturing her attention. Eve followed her companion's gaze and looked at her sword that began to glow along with the trees roots. Everyone could see that after the nimbus glow faded, Goldenraine was no more but a new weapon. "Lion Soul." Odyssey announced, "It's your new upgrade." "But I hardly fought with Goldenraine!" Eve pouted. "At least you learned the limit break. That's all that counts." The wolf said considerately. Eve sighed and knew that he was right. She stood up brushing the millennia old dust from her pants. With that done she walked over to her new blade and plucked it out with ease. Eve's breath was swept away when she examined her weapon; the blade was pure glass and strong enough to attack a hexadragon or even a ruby dragon! Its hilt was a metallic element, probably Ixion stone. She gave it a couple swings and smiled genuinely accepting this newfound bequest. "Hey! The barrier is down! Lets go win this war!" Kato shouted. Eve ran through the doorway and looked at the painting before running up the hundred flights of stairs. For some reason, she knew that this war wasn't the only thing she would have to deal with. * * *
*GRR! 15 pages! Can you believe it? Now shut your complaining! There are a couple more long chapters coming soon, so give me a break now. ^^ R/R *
Chapter 42
Undersea Adventure
As the Ragnorak sank beneath the oceans surface, several things played throughout her mind. When she was a little girl she encountered a demon and her price for that was five years of unexpected isolation. She fought a chimera prematurely then most training students and overcame the creature! She was the best skilled in the gunblade known in Balamb, besides her famous father, Squall. She sighed and tried to remember her mother the last time she saw her. She was in the infirmary and her parents had come to meet the outgoing yet injured girl, but they didn't recognize her. She thanked Hyne that she was covered in bandages. They would have taken her dreams away like before and then she would have nothing left. They didn't understand, or did they? They saved the entire world two decades ago and why wouldn't they want their daughter to fulfill her own dreams? The metal walls screamed a bit as the pressure around the vessel increased. She relaxed a bit and her thoughts sank deeper within her dark walls. Her GF's Siren and Quezocotl chose her; she found out she inherited sorceress powers from her mother! 'Could my little brother Riva inherited powers too? Humph! Ridiculous! A boy who has sorceress powers? Preposterous!' Then she became leader of the top SeeD enforcement squad and got kidnapped along the way to be thrown into a dead dimension! She thought that her life couldn't get any worse then that, but no! She had to face her past life! The thought of dying at the hands of her parents brought chills coursing up and down her spine. Eve punched the wall with her bare fist startling her friends. "Everything all right?" "Everything is fine." She retorted coldly. Kato was about to lecture Dava on her manners but shut her yap when she got a warning glare from Odyssey. Minutes passed whereas they sank deeper traveling through ancient fossilized volcanoes and barren caverns. "This is as far down that we go." Kato said. "Why?" Odyssey inquired. "Argh! If we go any lower you'll be swimming to the surface!" "All right I get the picture!" he exclaimed. Eve rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. "Ahh, just as I thought! Look there is the ancient columns." Kato announced moments later. Eve rushed to the Ragnorak's wide skylight window and watched in amazement as they neared the primordial structures. "Paellas Ruins." "The what?" "Paellas Ruins. This used to be a great city eons ago built on top of the water. That was until the empress destroyed it. What remains are the columns which stand silent." "Why did she destroy it?" Eve asked. "She went mad. Rumors were that she drank some poison and became hysterical." He answered. "I don't think that craziness was the key to such a devastating destruction." Kato added. "Of course not, she was a sorceress. First Disciple of Hyne as a matter of fact and I remember her still to this very day." "What did she look like?" Kato asked. She absolutely adored hearing stories of the past, which included history of the planet. "She was tall, her hair was pure white and up to her waist. Her eyes were pale violet and as much as she was beautiful, her tongue was quick and her mind sharp." "Sometimes I wonder what it's like to be human." Kato said dreamily. "Why?" asked Eve. "I want to experience the feeling of walking on two legs, talking to human historians." Kato was cut short. "Um Kato what's that?" Eve asked as she saw a large creature slither along the cavern some thousand feet below. "That's Plateaus. Kato stick to the vegetation, we don't want to intrude on its hunting." Odyssey suggested first. Instantly Kato flicked a few switches causing the Ragnorak to head into some giant seaweed. It amazed Eve how skillfully Kato handled the vessel even if she had paws instead of hands. "We should wait here to avoid contact with that one." Odyssey murmured. * * *
Several hours later.
"Um how long before Mr. Plateaus leaves?" Eve asked sarcastically.
"That I don't know." The hybrid replied. Kato paced from one end of the room to the other, thinking. "The sub base entrance is up ahead but that ancient creature is below it! We have no other choice but to steer quickly toward the opening." "The entrance is opened, but we'll have to manually shut the doors if we don't want extra company." Odyssey added. "Heck, what do we have to loose?" "Our fur, well skin for you." Kato griped. "Shut up fur ball." Kato glared at the human and muttered a few short incoherent words under her breath. "Just put on the oxygen suits and get ready to exit." Kato ordered.
Eve equipped herself to the fullest, stocking up on basic potions and megalixers. Her Goldenraine was clipped to her waist belt and ready for use. She then quickly put on the wet suit, which was a state of the art model and she waited for the command patiently. Kato brought Ragnorak into a steady pace and flashed her two comrades the go. "When I turn away from Plateaus, jump out of those doors and swim for the entrance. I'll cover you until I turn back around. I should be able to give you enough time to be able to close the base doors manually." No sooner had she finished, the vessel was shot forward at immense speed hurtling both Odyssey and Eve back against the walls. * * *
A creature's head shot up at the disturbing echo. It rippled its incandescent monochrome jade skin and blasted upward at the disturbance. It's reptilian eyes glowing like dying embers. * * *
Odyssey and Eve rushed to the airlock doors and entered waiting for Kato to click the yellow button. The Ragnorak sped toward the entrance barely missing the dangerous creature as it slid past. The sharp turn and the flick of the yellow button sent both of them into the vast dark blue. Luckily, Plateaus was concentrating more on the vessel and didn't catch sight of them. Odyssey grabbed Eve's arm pulling her up toward the darkest area above: the base entrance. It was only a few moments later when they erupted out of the water into a semi-large chamber. Dava ripped her helmet off quickly and ran to the desk to what seemed to be a simple model of a computer. 'Computers existed that long ago?' Without answering her thoughts, she examined it. "It's no use, it seems to have lost power." Odyssey explained and seemed to search the chamber until his blue eyes rested on several large wheels opposite the room. "Over there!" When they reached the enormous contraption, they tried to turn one of the helms but it was no use. "Rusty, I guess." Eve whispered sarcastically. "This is no time for games, Kato is going to be here any moment now." A spray of salt water bursted from the surface of the cold ocean as they saw Ragnorak emerge. The lion jumped out and panted, "Close it!" "It's jammed!" Eve replied. "Then unjam it!" Kato growled back, "That things coming!"
Summon me mistress, I can put Plateaus to sleep until you close the gates. Hurry.
Eve heard the Sirens voice in her head and didn't think twice. "What are you doing?" Kato exclaimed. "Summoning Siren." As Eve concentrated, a vicious head exploded to the surface hissing angrily at its intruders. Golden orbs encircled Eve and the other two ran to the back. The cavity was filled with shallow shimmering water and behind Plateaus, Siren appeared with her golden harp. Siren began her song and whispered into her holders mind to hurry.
Hear my ethereal sing
Of the lullaby dream
Listen.
The creature seemed to loose control immediately from the sound of the Sirens song. It's serpentine head slid beneath the placid surface and the Siren sang on keeping her hold over the ancient creature. Meanwhile, the trio had finally figured out how to close the doors manually by pulling two shafts on the wall. The five ft. thick doors began to close slowly in a spiral shaped pattern, closing together firmly. Siren had already stopped her song and disappeared back inside Eve. It was then when they heard a large creaking pressure beneath the closed doors. "Plateaus is definitely pissed off." Odyssey announced. "No shit Sherlock." Eve answered, "Lets go. We don't have much time." Eve examined her surroundings and found to her surprise that even if this underwater palace was millions of years old, it still held beauty. The base cavity was covered by marble flooring and strengthened walls. As they exited walking up several flights of stairs, the ancient walls contained oil paintings so dusty that Eve could barely even see their colors. Kato seemed the most excited of all as she tried to read the brass plates below the masterpieces. "I have decided to live here and explore it for the rest of my life!" Kato cheerfully declared. "Thank Hyne." Eve muttered, but Kato didn't catch that. "She's still a young cub like you, you know that?" Odyssey began. "I have noticed. I once read about her kind in my studies at Balamb Garden. They were a mix of lion and wolf, fire lions. Kato is one of the first I have ever seen and I didn't know there were ice lions too." "Oh that was an accident. You see, two thousand years ago when she was a cub, she ran away from home. Her father Nanaki had just died." The hybrid explained. "Oh, I'm sorry. How old was he?" Eve asked. "Six hundred years old." "Wow, but then how could have Kato outlived her parents?" "Well I didn't tell you about the accident. Five hundred years after Nanaki and his friends defeated Meteor, he went on a search for a mate. He found Minoa, another soul survivor who gave him two cubs. One of them was Kato and the other was her twin brother, Hunter." "I thought fire lions died out." "No it didn't, the fire lion line still exists even today. They just hide in the Shumi Mountains up North." "Are Moomba related to them?" asked Eve. "Yes, somewhat." Odyssey answered. He looked at Kato who ran ahead to look at a wall painting. "Go on with the story; you know the accident?" Eve begged. "Oh yes, when Nanaki died, Kato was so saddened that she ran away and ended up at a city that now doesn't exist. It was once called Midgar and when she arrived, her curiosity got the better of her. She fell into a reactor that held as chemical called, Mako. It changed her completely and sadly she woke out of it two hundred years later." "So this Mako thing transformed her completely and expanded her life span, am I correct?" "Yes of course. You are one smart young woman." Odyssey complimented. "So what happened when she returned back to her family?" Odyssey sighed, "They were gone. She's been looking for them ever since." "But they are probably dead by now. Its been what?" "Two thousand years?" the Hybrid concluded. "How old is the earth anyways? You were born in the beginning, so how old?" Eve inquired again after a few minutes of silence. Odyssey laughed whole-heartedly and looked at the human next to him. "It's been so long that I can't even remember. But I do have a secret library hidden in this realm somewhere, I just have to remember." Kato stopped in her tracks when she heard the words: 'secret library.' "Did u say secret library? Or are my ears too dirty and I heard wrong?" Kato said sarcastically. The hybrid chuckled again and nodded. "And why haven't you told me this before?" "I forgot, I guess." He shrugged innocently and smiled when Kato bursted out, "You forgot?! How can you forget a library that contains all the manuscript known to the planet???" Eve chuckled and walked ahead of the fuming lion and her laughing friend. She passed several doors, which she already knew led to bedrooms. She soon approached a long hallway with winding stairs at each end. To her surprise the walls contained blue orbs that were still glowing brightly, illuminating the gloomy atmosphere. "Hey come on! I found something!" Eve yelled back over her shoulder. Without waiting she turned left and ran down the hall and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, there was a closed doorway. The door was covered in a fake velvet auburn red and had bullion handles. She carefully pulled the doors open and walked into the biggest ballroom ever know to man. It was ten times bigger then the average Garden ballroom! 'Maybe even bigger!' She added. The stairs wound down to the marble floor and straight across her were the other doors that had just opened revealing Kato and Odyssey. Even though they were far away from her she yelled out to them. "Hey guys!" They waved back at her and began to memorize this grand place. Eve looked at the ceiling and realized that this ballroom was actually an enormous dome! The ceiling was made up of thick glass and she could see the dark blue/violet see swirling outside. There was a faint blue light shining down upon the dome, casting a feint light upon them. She figured that she was standing on a balcony entrance to this grand room and on the wall was a blue sphere just barely alive. Eve carefully plucked the sphere of its holder and tried to pry it open. Minutes later she opened the sphere to find a strange element made up of fire and ice. A light flared from the other balcony illuminating that corner of the dome. "Put it back on its holder, it will light up by itself!" Kato instructed over the distance. Obeying Kato's directions, she closed the sphere and put it back. Eve smiled warmly when the light flared vibrantly to life again. After looking around herself she noticed lights all around the dome flicker to life brightening the place up. What caught Eve's eyes was the ancient tree at the far end of the dome. She realized it would have taken almost thirty people to encircle the girth of that tree. It's gnarled branches reached halfway over the dome. She raced down the stairs and ran across the marble flooring to the base of the tree. The back corner of the tree was a fairly sized clear pond abundant with colorful fish. Two streams, like arms from the pond encircled the tree at the base. "That's how the tree survived. The water quenched its thirst and it grew to a grand canopy tree." Odyssey explained and then added, "I remember when it was just a sapling." Eve was amazed as she arched her head back to gaze at the lushes green leaves. She noted assorted fruit clinging to many branches and vines that grew upon the bark. She noticed the exotic birds that sung their sweet song as the lights blazed. "They're alive?" Kato asked in a confused manner. "Yes, you see they sing in the light and sleep in the dark. They must have bred over the years and it seems like there are much more birds them just a hundred." Odyssey said as he gazed at them. Eve walked over to the cold hearths at the other end of the dome. She quickly cast a spell of fire and sparks leapt from her hand. The fires raced all around the dome and up the inscribed walls held by what seemed to look like clear glass. Suddenly the ceiling shook and she shot her head up to see Plateaus ramming the glass ceiling. "Um Odyssey! It will destroy this all!" Kato shouted. "No it won't, notice the sparks that light up as it draws near. The dome is shielded even from that creature." "Magic." Eve whispered. After a while the creature gave up and curled up on top of the dome. Eve began to observe the grand palace and noticed dusty silk pillows and drapes. Tables stood along the walls with trays full of emptiness. 'Food must have decomposed after a year or so.' She thought. The walls were decorated with beautiful paintings and expensive looking tapestries. Some of them portrayed dramatic scenes of war and one painting in particular caught her interest. It was of a woman enveloped in the whitest light and there was no word in the planets vocabulary that could explain the color of her soft hair. Her eyes too had no name for the color. She wore absolutely nothing at all, but her delicate hands held a golden staff. It looked like hardened metal. Without thinking she was on her knees saluting this woman. "You kneel before the portrait of the Goddess Hyne. I am glad that you have faith in my mother. If only I can look upon her face once more." The wolf said with pride. "If you are truly her son, then you are a angel on earth. Her true watcher." Kato answered, hearing his silent plea. She had known for some time now, that he always wondered why Hyne had never come to bring him home. Plateaus suddenly lurched off into the blue and attacked something floating down. Junks and pieces of skin and scales were shredded at once. Eve steadied the poor creature now stuck in Plateaus's maws. It was the enemy's minions, the common water wyvern or in other words, the simple sea serpent. "I suggest we get to the surface as quickly as possible before FH falls to the nine armies." Eve said. The others nodded in agreement and began to search for an exit. "Odyssey, don't you remember any exits?" Eve asked after finding none. "I remember faintly that there was an egress behind the throne near the canopy tree." He answered. The three raced over to the tree and searched the perimeter. "I found something!" Kato shouted, "It's covered by all this vegetation." Kato's enormous paws quickly ripped away some of the green undergrowth which hidden behind was a doorway. "I am to good to be true!" Kato stopped short when she slammed into an invisible barrier. "Hey! What in Holy's name was that?!" "That, as they say, is a barrier my dear." Answered Odyssey. "You should have told me before I ran my face into it. So Mr. I know it all, how do we break this force field?" Kato asked sarcastically. "I don't know. Paella never cast any shields on doorways before." He replied. "Great." Eve on the other hand noticed that there were words inscribed upon the stone, just above the door. The words were ancient writing, but she knew what it meant! She read over it again and again while her two companions argued over who was responsible. To leave this place you need a key The way to leave is through the tree. "Odyssey, do u remember anything about a key?" "What?" he asked finally stopping the argument short. His blue eyes studied her face as her eyes were still glued to the ancient script. He followed her gaze and then back at her. "You read that didn't you?" "Yeah. It says: to leave this place you need a key. The way to leave is through the tree. "The strange thing is that I have never studied this type of language and I seem to understand it." Eve said aloud. "That's because you're a sorceress. This is Magic's oldest language known to man and it can be only read by a sorceress." Kato answered before Odyssey could open his mouth and explain the deeper mysteries of the language. He looked at her with a foul face and growled deep within his throat. "Aww, don't worry," Kato said as she walked by, her tail seductively curling around his waist, "You can tell her when this is all over." "Kato you are quite a mischief." Odyssey snapped back with a feint blush across his face. Eve was already by the tree examining it when she saw a shallow hole in the marble flooring. It was a neat slick half-inch entrance to something, but what? Around that slit were loose cracks. A sudden idea flew by her mind and she brought Goldenraine out. With it's sharp tip she tried to pry the slit open a little bit wider, just to see. "What are you doing?" "Trying-to force open this damn-ACK!" Eve exclaimed when her blade slipped into the small crack and locked securely. "What the F&$%?!" Eve swore as she tried to pull her sword out. Her grasp slipped and she fell backwards on her butt swearing all the more. "Dava." Kato and Odyssey said in unison. "What?" she yelled angrily. "Look." The hybrid whispered capturing her attention. Eve followed her companion's gaze and looked at her sword that began to glow along with the trees roots. Everyone could see that after the nimbus glow faded, Goldenraine was no more but a new weapon. "Lion Soul." Odyssey announced, "It's your new upgrade." "But I hardly fought with Goldenraine!" Eve pouted. "At least you learned the limit break. That's all that counts." The wolf said considerately. Eve sighed and knew that he was right. She stood up brushing the millennia old dust from her pants. With that done she walked over to her new blade and plucked it out with ease. Eve's breath was swept away when she examined her weapon; the blade was pure glass and strong enough to attack a hexadragon or even a ruby dragon! Its hilt was a metallic element, probably Ixion stone. She gave it a couple swings and smiled genuinely accepting this newfound bequest. "Hey! The barrier is down! Lets go win this war!" Kato shouted. Eve ran through the doorway and looked at the painting before running up the hundred flights of stairs. For some reason, she knew that this war wasn't the only thing she would have to deal with. * * *
*GRR! 15 pages! Can you believe it? Now shut your complaining! There are a couple more long chapters coming soon, so give me a break now. ^^ R/R *