Chapter VII: Revelations
"Ignorance truly is bliss."
***~~~***
Laguna, Cid, and Squall stared at the meteor for several minutes, all of their heads, poking out between the cell before one of them spoke.
"What is it?" Laguna piped up softly.
"It's an- erm, that is to say, it's a-"
"Meteor," whispered Squall, fascinated. He grabbed his sore chest, and coughed raspily, blocking his cough with his fist.
"Meteor? How do you know?" Laguna questioned, not taking his eyes off of the glowing rock.
"If fell out of the sky. Rocks don't rain from the sky for no apparent reason," Squall replied annoyed. 'I swear, he's a complete idiot,' Squall thought to himself.
"Ah, yes, I see...." Laguna said wisely, nodding sagely. Squall shook his head, rolling his eyes in the process. He looked at the bars, shook them violently, and thought for a moment.
Cid and Laguna looked at him oddly. "What are you doing?" Cid asked, lighting his pipe. Squall ignored him as Cid puffed lightly, his cell filling with vanilla scented smoke.
Squall cleared his throat, rolled his neck, cracked his knuckles, and slipped through the bars. Cid dropped his pipe, and Laguna applauded.
"Thank you all," Squall said, smiling lightly.
"I'll thank you once you get me out," Cid said lustfully.
"It would be a nice gesture," Laguna pleaded. Squall thought for a moment. 'I don't mind letting Cid out. But if I do that, Cid will want Laguna to get out... decisions, decisions...'
"Let me think about it," Squall replied, sitting on the cold, damp, prison floor. Laguna grunted in disapproval, and Cid shook the bars of his cell. He yelled, cursed, and threatened Squall, until Squall stood, and looked around for a key. "YOU LET US OUT RIGHT NOW, YOU RAT BASTAR-"Laguna cleared his throat loudly, cutting Cid off. Cid looked to the wall of his cell, as if it were made of glass, and he were staring at Laguna. "But, Laguna, friend, he could be our only chance to get us out," Cid said through clenched teeth, ever so calmly.
"He'll make the right decision," Laguna responded comfortingly. Squall shrugged.
"See, you guys," he said standing, and turning to walk away.
***~~~***
Ansem set the page into a portfolio with the other six, this page titled: "Report, Page Seven":
"I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily.
None of the records even mention such a substance. Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out!
Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place."
And Ansem believed it. Uncharted, worlds... How many worlds were there? Two? Three? Forty-seven? Five-hundred-sixty-two? Or even 1,253, 739, 295 worlds? It fascinated Ansem to no end.
Were there multiple worlds out there? And, if so, how did he end up at the Hollow Bastion? And continuing on that, say there were 1, 253, 739, 295 worlds, couldn't he just have easily ended up somewhere else?
But, if there was any chance of leaving the Hollow Bastion, Ansem was sure he would take it. For now, he would wait.
Ansem was tired of waiting. He captured some more Heartless, scouring the rocky abyss below the castle, where the Heartless were innumerable.
'Simply astonishing. I wonder why they are all down here? Why haven't they all been attracted to the surface, where everyone is?' Ansem thought to himself. With a few 'Shadow' Heartless- the variety that appeared most frequently, the small ones that had glowing yellow eyes, and wriggling antennae- stuffed into a sack, Ansem traversed through the crags of the cliff, where he finally came to a cave.
'So many aspects of this world even I haven't discovered...' Ansem's thoughts were put to a halt as he saw what was in the cave.
A statue. Not just any statue, but a memorial. And not just any memorial, but the memorial of King Tetsuya Nomura, the first king of the Hollow Bastion. The statue was sculpted in marble, but marble that was tainted black. Many Heartless were stuffed inside the cave, some clawing the statue, some trying to absorb the statue, any way they could.
All were very hostile towards the statue. Many different kinds of Heartless, some that Ansem hadn't even seen before, were packed inside the cave. One Shadow's antennae vibrated, and straightened out, pointing directly at Ansem. It turned, and got the attention of the other Heartless, who were all soon staring at the king.
Ansem swore, turned and ran, the Heartless quick on his heels.
"Not a good day," he grunted to himself as he ran, throwing the sack of Heartless over the side of a cliff trail.
***~~~***
Sephiroth was in the library.
"Go figure," Yuffie said, her eyes stinging with tears. "I thought you'd be here."
"Where else would I be?" Sephiroth responded, not looking up from the book he was reading.
"I don't know, with your friends, maybe? With- oh, say- me?" Her voice was sharp and cold.
"Why would I be with you?" Sephiroth asked incredulously, his nose still in the book. A pained wince crossed Yuffie's face, but Sephiroth didn't see it...
"We are dating!" Yuffie replied, her voice cracking as tears slowly slid down the contours of her face.
"So what?"
"What do you mean 'so what'?"
"I mean, what's the point? Of dating?"
"To... um... have fun. To get to know someone." Yuffie's voice was becoming more indignant than hurt.
"Alright. Go, erm, have fun."
"We're supposed to be together," Yuffie responded crossly. "We're supposed to have fun, being together."
"We're together now."
"Not all of us. You are reading a damned book!" Now anger seethed into Yuffie's tone, and was deepening, as Sephiroth continued reading.
"Mm," was Sephiroth's reply. Yuffie couldn't contain her anger, as she found one of her shurikens, and threw it at Sephiroth. The bladed circle dug into Sephiroth's angelic black wing, driving blood out, as it forced its way through feathers and into his flesh.
Sephiroth growled in pain, lowered his wing, and with one hand removed the shuriken, and his other hand turned the page. He dropped the shuriken, and it clattered to the library floor, the impact echoing through the walls. Sephiroth continued reading.
Yuffie, turned away, and ran out of the library, bawling to herself. She ran through the entrance hall, through hallways, through chapel, through the bowels of the castle. She ran for hours, and when she stopped, she was in an unfamiliar place.
Rocky cliffs surrounded her, and she looked around, her face mottled, saturated with tears.
'Great... Now I'm lost...' she thought bitterly. Thoughts raced through her head, some of her current situation, some of her bitter rage towards Sephiroth. Loud footsteps broke her train of thought. 'Who the-?'
"Ansem?" she muttered softly, confused. He was running from a stampede of the creatures... the "Heartless".
He was gesturing for her to run, all the while running himself. Yuffie stood, growling. Now her king was being attacked???!? Was nothing meant to go right today?!?!?
Yuffie screamed, and drew her Four Point Shuriken, a shuriken the size of a large dinner plate, somewhat resembling a cross, and ran into the stampede. Ansem tried to pull her to follow him, but she didn't budge.
"Come with me, Miss Kurasagi!" Ansem ordered, looking frantically back to the herd of Heartless that were pursuing him.
"Go," she snarled. "Run, now!" Yuffie's voice was saturated with distaste, and Ansem turned and ran, not in fear of the Heartless, but in fear of Yuffie. As Ansem ran away, Yuffie turned to face the Heartless.
It was only a few minutes later, and black dust, the only remains of the many Heartless, were blowing in the wind, and Yuffie was kneeling, wide- eyed, and breathless.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her breathing was labored. So much anger and hate had been released, and Yuffie's mind was empty. She hated nobody, and nothing. In fact, she felt nothing, either. Her heart was gone... Sephiroth destroyed it... Her heart was dead. Upon realizing this, Yuffie's vision went dark, and she blacked out.
When Yuffie awoke, she was falling...
did i fall off the cliff.... no... darkness... im in... darkness... abyss...cold...
Yuffie's body vanished, becoming a cloud of black smoke. A glowing heart rose from the cloud and dissipated. The cloud conformed, and twisted, into that of a Shadow Heartless.
***~~~***
Squall didn't get very far. As he started walking, he glanced over to cell two over from Cid's. Inside was a Heartless.
'Is it a Heartless?' Squall thought to himself. His mere presence caught the creature's attention, and it "faced" Squall (this breed of Heartless was the small wizard type that had interrupted dinner a few weeks earlier, the day Cloud came to the Hollow Bastion).
The two stood motionless, until the Heartless disappeared. Squall scratched his head in confusion, ignoring Cid's screams of anger. 'Where did it-' Squall didn't compete the thought as a blow struck him in the back of the head. Squall, rubbing the back of his head, angrily turned. The Heartless floated there, brandishing a small staff.
Squall growled, and punched the creature, which seemed to have no effect, as the Heartless tried to hit him again. Squall dodged the attack, and dashed over to Laguna's cell.
"Laguna! I need a weapon! A Heartless is here!" Squall exclaimed urgently, yet calmly.
"H-H-Hang on," Laguna stammered nervously. He fumbled around his boot, and after a few seconds, produced a small derringer. "Here," said Laguna raspily, handing the small gun to Squall. "It only has one shot, so be careful," Laguna warned.
"Ugh, fine," Squall replied, taking the pistol from Laguna's outstretched hand. He cocked it, aimed, and pulled the trigger. A loud pop issued from the gun, and the Heartless, who was approaching menacingly, swinging its staff, fell to the ground twitching. Squall dropped the pistol, and ran to the trembling creature.
He wrenched its staff from its hand, and beat the creature until it was unmoving, and finally turned into a cloud of black smoke, from which a glowing heart rose, and vanished.
Squall was breathless, and was gripping the staff tightly. He looked to Laguna, then to Cid, then back to Laguna. Squall then jammed the staff's bottom end into the cell's keyhole, and moved it around, until the cell unlocked. Squall pulled the door open, and Laguna ran out, cheering and praising Squall.
Squall, rolled his eyes, and walked over to Cid's cell, unlocking it. Cid opened his door, and as he walked out of his cell, he glared venomously at Squall.
"Why did you turn to leave?" he asked scathingly.
"I was... oh, I dunno... uh... getting the key to let you guys out," Squall replied slowly.
"Really?" asked Laguna, crossing his arms.
"No. But, hey, if it's not broken, don't fix it, right?" Squall asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brief flash- a much younger Laguna and two other young males, were all dressed in odd military uniforms, blue vinyl, with silver armor placed here and there. They were all standing in a tunnel of a multi-colored cave. "There! Like killing two pigs with one stone!" Laguna cheered. The large male cocked his head to one side, looking critically at Laguna. "Two pigs..." he started "...with one stone...?" a dark-skinned man finished. "Yeah..." Laguna replied slowly. "Never mind, let's just go..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laguna and Squall both stumbled backward, Squall putting a hand to his head, Laguna, leaning against a cell door for support.
Cid remained motionless, staring at them both. He cleared his throat, to get the duo's attention.
"You were saying?" he said gruffly.
"Hm? Oh, never mind," Squall replied, his mind a bit jumbled. A brief pause ensued, and Laguna piped up.
"Cid, a few days ago, you said a man was screaming in the cell close to you..."
"Yeah, why?" Cid asked, re-lighting his pipe, and taking a long puff.
"Well..." Laguna pointed to the cell that was two away from Cid's- it was empty.
"Wait... there was a Heartless in that cell..." Squall murmured slowly.
"You don't think that...." Laguna trailed off, his eyes slinking over to the Heartless' staff, resting on the stone floor.
"Heartless are actually people?" Cid inquired, furrowing a brow. He puffed on his pipe sagely, chewing on the end.
"And I'll bet Ansem did this... I can't believe it..." Squall said bitterly. "Ansem was our king. Our leader... One who puts his people and kingdom before all else..."
"Maybe," Laguna replied loudly, his voice chillingly drawled, "Ansem should have been put in the cell, and not you, Squall."
"Let's face it, you guys- Ansem has gone insane," Squall agreed.
"What are we gonna do?" asked Cid, puffing his pipe, chewing on its end nervously.
"The only thing we can do," replied Laguna, "We have to kill the king... We have to kill Ansem."
"Ignorance truly is bliss."
***~~~***
Laguna, Cid, and Squall stared at the meteor for several minutes, all of their heads, poking out between the cell before one of them spoke.
"What is it?" Laguna piped up softly.
"It's an- erm, that is to say, it's a-"
"Meteor," whispered Squall, fascinated. He grabbed his sore chest, and coughed raspily, blocking his cough with his fist.
"Meteor? How do you know?" Laguna questioned, not taking his eyes off of the glowing rock.
"If fell out of the sky. Rocks don't rain from the sky for no apparent reason," Squall replied annoyed. 'I swear, he's a complete idiot,' Squall thought to himself.
"Ah, yes, I see...." Laguna said wisely, nodding sagely. Squall shook his head, rolling his eyes in the process. He looked at the bars, shook them violently, and thought for a moment.
Cid and Laguna looked at him oddly. "What are you doing?" Cid asked, lighting his pipe. Squall ignored him as Cid puffed lightly, his cell filling with vanilla scented smoke.
Squall cleared his throat, rolled his neck, cracked his knuckles, and slipped through the bars. Cid dropped his pipe, and Laguna applauded.
"Thank you all," Squall said, smiling lightly.
"I'll thank you once you get me out," Cid said lustfully.
"It would be a nice gesture," Laguna pleaded. Squall thought for a moment. 'I don't mind letting Cid out. But if I do that, Cid will want Laguna to get out... decisions, decisions...'
"Let me think about it," Squall replied, sitting on the cold, damp, prison floor. Laguna grunted in disapproval, and Cid shook the bars of his cell. He yelled, cursed, and threatened Squall, until Squall stood, and looked around for a key. "YOU LET US OUT RIGHT NOW, YOU RAT BASTAR-"Laguna cleared his throat loudly, cutting Cid off. Cid looked to the wall of his cell, as if it were made of glass, and he were staring at Laguna. "But, Laguna, friend, he could be our only chance to get us out," Cid said through clenched teeth, ever so calmly.
"He'll make the right decision," Laguna responded comfortingly. Squall shrugged.
"See, you guys," he said standing, and turning to walk away.
***~~~***
Ansem set the page into a portfolio with the other six, this page titled: "Report, Page Seven":
"I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily.
None of the records even mention such a substance. Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out!
Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place."
And Ansem believed it. Uncharted, worlds... How many worlds were there? Two? Three? Forty-seven? Five-hundred-sixty-two? Or even 1,253, 739, 295 worlds? It fascinated Ansem to no end.
Were there multiple worlds out there? And, if so, how did he end up at the Hollow Bastion? And continuing on that, say there were 1, 253, 739, 295 worlds, couldn't he just have easily ended up somewhere else?
But, if there was any chance of leaving the Hollow Bastion, Ansem was sure he would take it. For now, he would wait.
Ansem was tired of waiting. He captured some more Heartless, scouring the rocky abyss below the castle, where the Heartless were innumerable.
'Simply astonishing. I wonder why they are all down here? Why haven't they all been attracted to the surface, where everyone is?' Ansem thought to himself. With a few 'Shadow' Heartless- the variety that appeared most frequently, the small ones that had glowing yellow eyes, and wriggling antennae- stuffed into a sack, Ansem traversed through the crags of the cliff, where he finally came to a cave.
'So many aspects of this world even I haven't discovered...' Ansem's thoughts were put to a halt as he saw what was in the cave.
A statue. Not just any statue, but a memorial. And not just any memorial, but the memorial of King Tetsuya Nomura, the first king of the Hollow Bastion. The statue was sculpted in marble, but marble that was tainted black. Many Heartless were stuffed inside the cave, some clawing the statue, some trying to absorb the statue, any way they could.
All were very hostile towards the statue. Many different kinds of Heartless, some that Ansem hadn't even seen before, were packed inside the cave. One Shadow's antennae vibrated, and straightened out, pointing directly at Ansem. It turned, and got the attention of the other Heartless, who were all soon staring at the king.
Ansem swore, turned and ran, the Heartless quick on his heels.
"Not a good day," he grunted to himself as he ran, throwing the sack of Heartless over the side of a cliff trail.
***~~~***
Sephiroth was in the library.
"Go figure," Yuffie said, her eyes stinging with tears. "I thought you'd be here."
"Where else would I be?" Sephiroth responded, not looking up from the book he was reading.
"I don't know, with your friends, maybe? With- oh, say- me?" Her voice was sharp and cold.
"Why would I be with you?" Sephiroth asked incredulously, his nose still in the book. A pained wince crossed Yuffie's face, but Sephiroth didn't see it...
"We are dating!" Yuffie replied, her voice cracking as tears slowly slid down the contours of her face.
"So what?"
"What do you mean 'so what'?"
"I mean, what's the point? Of dating?"
"To... um... have fun. To get to know someone." Yuffie's voice was becoming more indignant than hurt.
"Alright. Go, erm, have fun."
"We're supposed to be together," Yuffie responded crossly. "We're supposed to have fun, being together."
"We're together now."
"Not all of us. You are reading a damned book!" Now anger seethed into Yuffie's tone, and was deepening, as Sephiroth continued reading.
"Mm," was Sephiroth's reply. Yuffie couldn't contain her anger, as she found one of her shurikens, and threw it at Sephiroth. The bladed circle dug into Sephiroth's angelic black wing, driving blood out, as it forced its way through feathers and into his flesh.
Sephiroth growled in pain, lowered his wing, and with one hand removed the shuriken, and his other hand turned the page. He dropped the shuriken, and it clattered to the library floor, the impact echoing through the walls. Sephiroth continued reading.
Yuffie, turned away, and ran out of the library, bawling to herself. She ran through the entrance hall, through hallways, through chapel, through the bowels of the castle. She ran for hours, and when she stopped, she was in an unfamiliar place.
Rocky cliffs surrounded her, and she looked around, her face mottled, saturated with tears.
'Great... Now I'm lost...' she thought bitterly. Thoughts raced through her head, some of her current situation, some of her bitter rage towards Sephiroth. Loud footsteps broke her train of thought. 'Who the-?'
"Ansem?" she muttered softly, confused. He was running from a stampede of the creatures... the "Heartless".
He was gesturing for her to run, all the while running himself. Yuffie stood, growling. Now her king was being attacked???!? Was nothing meant to go right today?!?!?
Yuffie screamed, and drew her Four Point Shuriken, a shuriken the size of a large dinner plate, somewhat resembling a cross, and ran into the stampede. Ansem tried to pull her to follow him, but she didn't budge.
"Come with me, Miss Kurasagi!" Ansem ordered, looking frantically back to the herd of Heartless that were pursuing him.
"Go," she snarled. "Run, now!" Yuffie's voice was saturated with distaste, and Ansem turned and ran, not in fear of the Heartless, but in fear of Yuffie. As Ansem ran away, Yuffie turned to face the Heartless.
It was only a few minutes later, and black dust, the only remains of the many Heartless, were blowing in the wind, and Yuffie was kneeling, wide- eyed, and breathless.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her breathing was labored. So much anger and hate had been released, and Yuffie's mind was empty. She hated nobody, and nothing. In fact, she felt nothing, either. Her heart was gone... Sephiroth destroyed it... Her heart was dead. Upon realizing this, Yuffie's vision went dark, and she blacked out.
When Yuffie awoke, she was falling...
did i fall off the cliff.... no... darkness... im in... darkness... abyss...cold...
Yuffie's body vanished, becoming a cloud of black smoke. A glowing heart rose from the cloud and dissipated. The cloud conformed, and twisted, into that of a Shadow Heartless.
***~~~***
Squall didn't get very far. As he started walking, he glanced over to cell two over from Cid's. Inside was a Heartless.
'Is it a Heartless?' Squall thought to himself. His mere presence caught the creature's attention, and it "faced" Squall (this breed of Heartless was the small wizard type that had interrupted dinner a few weeks earlier, the day Cloud came to the Hollow Bastion).
The two stood motionless, until the Heartless disappeared. Squall scratched his head in confusion, ignoring Cid's screams of anger. 'Where did it-' Squall didn't compete the thought as a blow struck him in the back of the head. Squall, rubbing the back of his head, angrily turned. The Heartless floated there, brandishing a small staff.
Squall growled, and punched the creature, which seemed to have no effect, as the Heartless tried to hit him again. Squall dodged the attack, and dashed over to Laguna's cell.
"Laguna! I need a weapon! A Heartless is here!" Squall exclaimed urgently, yet calmly.
"H-H-Hang on," Laguna stammered nervously. He fumbled around his boot, and after a few seconds, produced a small derringer. "Here," said Laguna raspily, handing the small gun to Squall. "It only has one shot, so be careful," Laguna warned.
"Ugh, fine," Squall replied, taking the pistol from Laguna's outstretched hand. He cocked it, aimed, and pulled the trigger. A loud pop issued from the gun, and the Heartless, who was approaching menacingly, swinging its staff, fell to the ground twitching. Squall dropped the pistol, and ran to the trembling creature.
He wrenched its staff from its hand, and beat the creature until it was unmoving, and finally turned into a cloud of black smoke, from which a glowing heart rose, and vanished.
Squall was breathless, and was gripping the staff tightly. He looked to Laguna, then to Cid, then back to Laguna. Squall then jammed the staff's bottom end into the cell's keyhole, and moved it around, until the cell unlocked. Squall pulled the door open, and Laguna ran out, cheering and praising Squall.
Squall, rolled his eyes, and walked over to Cid's cell, unlocking it. Cid opened his door, and as he walked out of his cell, he glared venomously at Squall.
"Why did you turn to leave?" he asked scathingly.
"I was... oh, I dunno... uh... getting the key to let you guys out," Squall replied slowly.
"Really?" asked Laguna, crossing his arms.
"No. But, hey, if it's not broken, don't fix it, right?" Squall asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A brief flash- a much younger Laguna and two other young males, were all dressed in odd military uniforms, blue vinyl, with silver armor placed here and there. They were all standing in a tunnel of a multi-colored cave. "There! Like killing two pigs with one stone!" Laguna cheered. The large male cocked his head to one side, looking critically at Laguna. "Two pigs..." he started "...with one stone...?" a dark-skinned man finished. "Yeah..." Laguna replied slowly. "Never mind, let's just go..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laguna and Squall both stumbled backward, Squall putting a hand to his head, Laguna, leaning against a cell door for support.
Cid remained motionless, staring at them both. He cleared his throat, to get the duo's attention.
"You were saying?" he said gruffly.
"Hm? Oh, never mind," Squall replied, his mind a bit jumbled. A brief pause ensued, and Laguna piped up.
"Cid, a few days ago, you said a man was screaming in the cell close to you..."
"Yeah, why?" Cid asked, re-lighting his pipe, and taking a long puff.
"Well..." Laguna pointed to the cell that was two away from Cid's- it was empty.
"Wait... there was a Heartless in that cell..." Squall murmured slowly.
"You don't think that...." Laguna trailed off, his eyes slinking over to the Heartless' staff, resting on the stone floor.
"Heartless are actually people?" Cid inquired, furrowing a brow. He puffed on his pipe sagely, chewing on the end.
"And I'll bet Ansem did this... I can't believe it..." Squall said bitterly. "Ansem was our king. Our leader... One who puts his people and kingdom before all else..."
"Maybe," Laguna replied loudly, his voice chillingly drawled, "Ansem should have been put in the cell, and not you, Squall."
"Let's face it, you guys- Ansem has gone insane," Squall agreed.
"What are we gonna do?" asked Cid, puffing his pipe, chewing on its end nervously.
"The only thing we can do," replied Laguna, "We have to kill the king... We have to kill Ansem."