Reborn Ones
Part 2-II
Disclaimer: Nope. Final Fantasy's not mine.
Me: Ahh... finally.... Prologue 2 Version 2 is finished. I don't think anyone has ever seee a prologue this long, right? I spent three chapters just for prolgue... I guess it can't be helped. Again, sorry for the late. As I said before... I live in hostel. And my exam is just over last Thursday. This chapter is done in a hurry. Forgive me for any mistake. Gomen nasai everyone!
Note: thank you so much for reviewing this lowly fic. Thanks a bunch!! ^_^
Note again: Sarah = Garnet/Dagger. So, obviously, Darla is Dagger's older sister.
***
Darla reached Madain Sari later in the afternoon. When she entered her house, Jane – her mother – was already waiting for her, hands on hips, her face telling that she was just about to explode. "You're in a big trouble, young lady," she said – very ominously. "Where have you been?" Her tone changed abruptly from threatening to concerned. "I was worried sick about you. You're much later than usual. I thought something happened. I had already asked our neighbours to find you. You've given us a lot of trouble, and now, you're going to get one too."
Little Sarah chose the moment to come from her room and ran happily towards Darla. "You're back!" she cried excitedly and wrapped her arms around her elder sister. "Ne, onee-chan, would you play hide-and-seek with me again today?" The little girl tugged at her sister's arm hopefully, giving her cute, heart-melting smile.
Darla looked down at her, and then at the angry face of her mother. Sarah came just in time to save her. For some reason, her mother never scolded her in front of Sarah. She quickly led the little girl out of the room to escape from her mother's wrath. Smiling, she shook her head. "Nope," she replied, earning a disappointed look from Sarah. "But, today we'll be playing a new game instead."
Sarah's face lit up at her words. "What? What is it?" she asked enthusiastically, a big smile formed on her face.
Darla can't help but smiled along at Sarah's reaction. She's too curious for her age, asking this and that and wanting to know everything. She always had something to ask the people around her, especially her own big sister. Although sometimes Darla became annoyed with Sarah's endless questions, she nevertheless enjoyed most of them. She particularly took pleasure in inventing new stories to explain some of the question that she can't answer, and she enjoyed even more to look at Sarah's wide-eyed face whenever she was listening to her stories. Darla really adored her, and so does everyone. With her cute little face and big brown eyes, she could charm anyone and make them comply to her wish.
"It's called 'the Knight of the Night'." Darla explained.
Sarah frowned up at her sister. "Night of the Night?" She clearly didn't understand what her sister was talking about. "I've never heard of it..."
"Of course. I was the one who invented it," Darla said proudly. "And you would be the first person in the whole Gaia to play it. Isn't that cool?"
"It's great!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly. "Tell me how to play it. Pleaaaaseee?"
Darla nodded at her sister's request. "Let's get outside!" she said and began to lead her sister out of the house.
"Where do you think you're going, Darla?" Jane asked.
"Um, outside?" Darla answered innocently. "Sarah wants to play, so I thought I should entertain her a bit, don't you think?"
"Not until you've both had your lunch. And definitely not until I'm done with you," her mother said.
"I'm in a BIG trouble." Darla muttered.
**
The evening sun hung low on the horizon. Darla was playing 'the Knight of the Night' with Sarah, as she had promised earlier. She became the knight, wearing her favourite Gilgamesh mask. Gilgamesh was her favourite legendary hero, and she had dreamed of summoning him as her Eidolon since as far as she could remember.
Sarah was acting as the victim, while Sildra was the villain. Darla had gone to some length to persuade Sarah to be the victim, as the little girl usually played the hero part. As today's game involved her favourite hero Gilgamesh, she would never miss the chance to be him.
The game began with Sarah being captured by Sildra. The dragon was carrying Sarah on his back as she cried for help. "Help! A bad dragon caught me!!" Despite the call for help, Sarah was laughing gaily on the dragon. It was the first time Darla let her mounted the dragon. Darla had a hard time convincing Sarah to let her become the hero, and Sarah had a hard time asking Darla's permission to mount the dragon. At last they both agreed to each other's wish, and they were both happy about it.
"Have no worry, my fair maiden, for here comes Gilgamesh, the mightiest knight of all!" Darla exclaimed grandiosely. She was riding Chessy, the family's only horse. "Hiya!" She kicked the horse's flank and the chestnut pony darted forward at a high speed. Slowly, the horse gained speed and finally caught up with Sildra. Darla put both of her feet on the horse's back, and then began standing up on the horse.
"Onee-chan, be careful!"
Darla gave a thumb-up to her sister as she fought to keep her balance. Once she was ready, she hurled herself towards Sildra, and managed to grabbed the dragon's leg. She scrambled up onto its back, and mounted behind Sarah.
"I will save you, my beautiful princess!" Darla said to her sister and steered the Silver Dragon towards the ground.
"That was cool, onee-chan!" Sarah cried happily, turning her head 175 degree to look at her elder sister. "Can I be the knight now? Please? Please?"
Diana scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Well... I think you're too young to ride on Chessy..." Despite its cheesy name and small figure, Chessy was an extremely hard-to-handle horse. It was merely a luck that it seemed to like Darla so much. If it didn't, she wouldn't even be able to stand within five feet of the pony. Chessy was fiercer than Sildra sometimes. "Maybe later, okay?"
Sarah pouted at her answer. "You always said that!" she protested, and gave Darla a pleading look.
The older girl returned the favour with a level look, trying her best not to be softened by the big brown eyes. She could've sworn that she saw the eyes shining – literally.
Darla gave in. "All right, I'll let you have a ride. But don't tell mom, okay?" she told her sister. Sarah nodded. As she ran towards the pony, the wind suddenly began blowing fircely. Dark clouds moved towards the sky above Madain Sari, blocking off the light and turned the sky as dark as night. All of a sudden, lightning pierced the sky, and thunders crashed around them, blocking every other sound with its rumbling. As if that wasn't bad enough, the village was soon pelted with heavy rain. Sarah quickly ran towards her sister and hugged her tightly.
"What happen? Why is it dark? Is it night already?" Sarah asked, her voice afraid and uncertain.
Darla didn't asnwer. She was staring up at the sky, knowing something really bad was about to happen. All around her, everything began to fall into confusion. The villagers who had been outside screamed and began running into their houses, while the ones inside peeked out of their windows to see what was happening, and then quickly shut their windows and doors.
"Darla! Sarah!" Jane gasped from the door of their house. "Quick! Come in!" Sarah did as she was told and ran obediently into the house, but Darla continued to stare up at the sky. "What are you waiting for, Darla? Come in!" her mother said.
Darla shook her head. "No. We should get out of this village. Something is coming this way." As soon as she finished her words, a great red eye came into view, looming threateningly on the sky above them. Those who have more courage came out to see it, while some other ran hysterically down the street, trying to be as far from the eye as possible.
"The Red Eye!" someone screamed, and the words spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone was either screaming the words out loud or muttering them with a terrified voice.
Like a switch to total pandemonium, the words struck everyone like a thunder and turned the place into chaos. People began screaming and running at the same time. Some even cried. The village was in a complete disorder – no one could think properly now as fear had taken control of their mind. The great Red Eye had appeared. The very eye that was prophesied to bring death to Madain Sari. The men of the village stepped forwards and summoned their Eidolons to fight, while women scrambled out of their houses to take their children to a safer place. As the Red Eye positioned itself on the centre of the village, monsters began swarming down from the Eye, destroying everything in their way.
"Mom, quick! We have to get out of this village!" Darla shouted at the top of her lungs. The screams of the villagers drowned her voice, but her mother already knew what to do. She went into the house and came back with three cloaks in her hand – and a sword. She gave the first cloak to Darla, and wrapped Sarah with the second one.
"Get onto Sildra," Darla told her mother and sister. They obeyed, and quickly got onto the Silver Dragon. When they were finally settled on the dragon, Darla mounted, taking the rein in her hand. "Take off, Sildra," she ordered, and the dragon shot into the air with high speed.
At first, their flight went on smoothly, but as they reached the shore, another dragon plunged towards them from their back. Its first attempt to attack Sildra failed as Sildra had managed to dodge the attack in time. However, the second strike ripped off a part of Sildra's wing. The Silver Dragon shrieked in pain, and fell down onto the sandy beach.
The soft sand broke their fall. None of them was hurt, but they had to find a new way to escape as Sildra was unable to fly anymore. As they looked around, Jane's eyes fell on their boat, rocking back and forth with the violent wave. "Get into the boat!" she ordered, and ran towards it, carrying Sarah with her.
For a moment, Darla simply stared at her mother and her sister's retreating back. She wanted to run, but something told her not to. Her desire to fight was too overwhelming. She wanted to stay and terminate those Mist spawns, and the Red Eye, if possible. After making up her mind, she ran towards her mother, and quickly grab the sword from her mother's waist.
"What are you doing?" Jane asked, startled at her sudden action.
"I'm sorry mom. I have to do this. You go ahead with Sarah. Don't wait for me, I'll catch up with you later," Darla said quickly as she ran further and further away from her mother.
"Wait, Darla! Come back!"
"Onee-chan! Where are you going?" Sarah called after her sister, then she turned to her mother. "Mom, where is she going? Why isn't she coming with us?"
"She wants to fight for us, dear," Jane replied, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Sarah looked at her mother and then at her sister. "She is always brave, isn't she mom?" she said, smiling proudly. She was very proud of what her sister chose to do, and can't understand why her mother was crying.
"Yes dear," Jane said.
'Someday I'm going to fight bad monsters just like her.' Sarah thought to herself.
Darla had began to disappear from their sight. Jane was torn between two choices. As a mother, she wanted to wait for Darla and escaped together as a family, but it's unlikely that Darla would be able to return. And if she wait much longer, they all might die. That left her only one choice – to leave Darla behind and escape with Sarah. The little girl might be the only hope for the Summoners. With tearful eyes, she continued to run towards the small boat with Sarah in her hands.
**
Darla flew back towards the village on Sildra. She had healed the dragon, and they were now flying with great speed towards the middle of the chaos. She was planning to go to the Eye. She wanted to know who was responsible for the attack, and for some reason, she felt like she knew who it was. She refused to believe her suspicion, though.
As she flew over the village, she saw bodies of the villagers lying everywhere on the ground, equaled with the dead bodies of the Mist spawns. She steered her dragon to fly lower above the ground, trying to find a survivor. As she flew, another Silver Dragon came and knocked her off Sildra. She fell to the ground as her dragon clashed into a combat with the Silver Dragon. It was not a long fall, and she managed to land unhurt on the ground.
"Sildra, be careful!" she cried, watching the battle between the two dragons anxiously. If Sildra loose, she would be in a great trouble. But she knew he was going to win.
"Darla, help!"
Darla turned abruptly towards the source of the voice and saw Aunt Rayna running towards her. She was suffering from severe injuries on her head and shoulders, which were probably a result of trying to protect her newly born baby in her arms. Chimomo the mog was flying along with them, screaming "Kupo!" again and again.
And not far behind them, a Myrid was chasing after them.
Seeing this, Darla quickly ran past her aunt towards the Myrid, her sword ready in her hands. Once she was close enough, she jumped onto the air, and slashed the monster easily into two. Although she was only 14 years old, Darla's fighting level was over 50. A Myrid was not a bother to her.
As its body splitted, the Myrid fell with a high-pitched shriek onto the ground. It thrashed its legs wildly before it was taken forever by death. Darla did not bother cleaning her sword. She quickly ran back towards Aunt Rayna to see her condition. She needed to be healed.
Darla found her aunt lying on the ground, holding little Eiko protectively in her arms. "Darla," she said weakly.
"Shhh..." Darla said, kneeling close to her aunt. "Talk later. I'll heal you first." She drew her aunt closer towards her body and positioned the older woman on her lap.
"No, don't," Aunt Rayna said quickly. "I won't make it. Please save yourself first, and take Eiko with you."
"But-"
"Please, hurry...." she said, and then winced. It was obvious that even one word caused her unendurable pain. Darla drew her head closer towards her aunt's as her voice was getting softer every second. "Take her to Eidolon Wall. There is a small room there." She coughed, and blood – a lot of blood – sputtered out of her mouth. The dark red blood stained her clothes, andtainted her face. "Stay there... You're Eiko's only hope." After she finished talking, she closed her eyes and exhaled her final breath.
Darla felt tears trickling down her cheeks as she witnessed her aunt's death. She wrapped her arms around her aunt, sobbing quietly. Too much death in just one day. She wished she could stop it, even if it caused her own death.
"Kupo!" Chimomo suddenly said. "A dragon is coming this way!"
She turned in alarm, only to see her own Sildra flying down towards her. He was slightly injured. "Don't worry, that dragon is my friend," she assured the terrified mog. "Let's go. We'll ride on him towards the Eidolon Wall."
The mog nodded, hopping towards Sildra's back. Darla bent to take Eiko. The baby was sleeeping soundly, oblivious to the chaos around her. As Darla looked closer, she saw another moogle, a small one, sleeping alongside her cousin. She smiled slightly at the sight and silently vowed to protect those young lives with all her strength.
**
Their flight towards Eidolon Wall was disturbed by some encounters with a Drakan and some Trick Sparrows. With Sildra's help, the Mist spawns were defeated easily. As Sildra descended towards the Wall, Chimomo flew down ahead of them and opened a path to the room Aunt Rayna mentioned earlier. The room was small, but it was enough to hold about five people.
Darla lay Eiko and the baby mog gently on the floor. "Please take care of them while I'm gone," she said, and began to walk away.
"Kupo? Where are you going?"
"I have some business to settle. I can't hide here," she explained. "Not until it's done at least. For now, please take care of Eiko for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Kupo..." The moogle looked uncertain, but he finally nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"
"I know."
Darla went out of Eidolon Wall and rode on her Silver Dragon once more, heading towards the red eye. As they neared the Eye, more spawns came towards them. Darla fend them off with her swords while Sildra did his own part with his Aerial Slash. After some encounters with the monsters, Darla finally came near her destination.
She soon discovered that the red eye was actually a part of a huge airship. As she stared at it in awe, she saw Kuja coming out from the cockpit, his face wearing an evil smirk. He was floating on the air, and stared down at the people in Madain Sari with cold blue eyes.
Darla was greatly shocked at the sudden changes in Kuja. She knew that she had to stop him and quickly urged Sildra to fly into his direction. "Kuja, don't do this!" Darla cried as she flew towards him. Kuja turned towards her, but he gave no sign of recognition. She suddenly remembered the mask on her face. Kuja must've not recognized her because of it. When she was about to take the mask off, Kuja raised his arm towards her direction.
"You should be proud to lose your life in the hand of the Angel of Death," Kuja said coldly. "Savour the prowess of my Flare Star."
As he said these, his hand began to glow with red light. Darla took the chance to say her final words. "Kuja, you don't have to prove yourself by doing this. This is wrong, and you know that. Please, stop this."
Kuja was taken aback by her words. Even though he didn't recognize her face, he recognized her voice. He tried to pull back the attack, but it was too late. Darla found herself engulfed in red light, feeling herself being torn apart by the light. A great pain seared through her body, paralyzing her whole body. Just before she passed out, she breathed her final words, "See you later, Kuja. I'll get you for this... in another life."
Me: Was it okay? Did I make any mistake? Please tell me how you feel. I hope you'll like it and would continue reading and reviewing this fic.
Note: Kuja and any of the characters wouldn't visit today as they're busy sleping. They sent their regards to y'all, though. They said.... "Thank you for reading!! And continue doing so if you don't want your life to end under the hands of the 'Silver Angels'."
Ja!
Disclaimer: Nope. Final Fantasy's not mine.
Me: Ahh... finally.... Prologue 2 Version 2 is finished. I don't think anyone has ever seee a prologue this long, right? I spent three chapters just for prolgue... I guess it can't be helped. Again, sorry for the late. As I said before... I live in hostel. And my exam is just over last Thursday. This chapter is done in a hurry. Forgive me for any mistake. Gomen nasai everyone!
Note: thank you so much for reviewing this lowly fic. Thanks a bunch!! ^_^
Note again: Sarah = Garnet/Dagger. So, obviously, Darla is Dagger's older sister.
***
Darla reached Madain Sari later in the afternoon. When she entered her house, Jane – her mother – was already waiting for her, hands on hips, her face telling that she was just about to explode. "You're in a big trouble, young lady," she said – very ominously. "Where have you been?" Her tone changed abruptly from threatening to concerned. "I was worried sick about you. You're much later than usual. I thought something happened. I had already asked our neighbours to find you. You've given us a lot of trouble, and now, you're going to get one too."
Little Sarah chose the moment to come from her room and ran happily towards Darla. "You're back!" she cried excitedly and wrapped her arms around her elder sister. "Ne, onee-chan, would you play hide-and-seek with me again today?" The little girl tugged at her sister's arm hopefully, giving her cute, heart-melting smile.
Darla looked down at her, and then at the angry face of her mother. Sarah came just in time to save her. For some reason, her mother never scolded her in front of Sarah. She quickly led the little girl out of the room to escape from her mother's wrath. Smiling, she shook her head. "Nope," she replied, earning a disappointed look from Sarah. "But, today we'll be playing a new game instead."
Sarah's face lit up at her words. "What? What is it?" she asked enthusiastically, a big smile formed on her face.
Darla can't help but smiled along at Sarah's reaction. She's too curious for her age, asking this and that and wanting to know everything. She always had something to ask the people around her, especially her own big sister. Although sometimes Darla became annoyed with Sarah's endless questions, she nevertheless enjoyed most of them. She particularly took pleasure in inventing new stories to explain some of the question that she can't answer, and she enjoyed even more to look at Sarah's wide-eyed face whenever she was listening to her stories. Darla really adored her, and so does everyone. With her cute little face and big brown eyes, she could charm anyone and make them comply to her wish.
"It's called 'the Knight of the Night'." Darla explained.
Sarah frowned up at her sister. "Night of the Night?" She clearly didn't understand what her sister was talking about. "I've never heard of it..."
"Of course. I was the one who invented it," Darla said proudly. "And you would be the first person in the whole Gaia to play it. Isn't that cool?"
"It's great!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly. "Tell me how to play it. Pleaaaaseee?"
Darla nodded at her sister's request. "Let's get outside!" she said and began to lead her sister out of the house.
"Where do you think you're going, Darla?" Jane asked.
"Um, outside?" Darla answered innocently. "Sarah wants to play, so I thought I should entertain her a bit, don't you think?"
"Not until you've both had your lunch. And definitely not until I'm done with you," her mother said.
"I'm in a BIG trouble." Darla muttered.
**
The evening sun hung low on the horizon. Darla was playing 'the Knight of the Night' with Sarah, as she had promised earlier. She became the knight, wearing her favourite Gilgamesh mask. Gilgamesh was her favourite legendary hero, and she had dreamed of summoning him as her Eidolon since as far as she could remember.
Sarah was acting as the victim, while Sildra was the villain. Darla had gone to some length to persuade Sarah to be the victim, as the little girl usually played the hero part. As today's game involved her favourite hero Gilgamesh, she would never miss the chance to be him.
The game began with Sarah being captured by Sildra. The dragon was carrying Sarah on his back as she cried for help. "Help! A bad dragon caught me!!" Despite the call for help, Sarah was laughing gaily on the dragon. It was the first time Darla let her mounted the dragon. Darla had a hard time convincing Sarah to let her become the hero, and Sarah had a hard time asking Darla's permission to mount the dragon. At last they both agreed to each other's wish, and they were both happy about it.
"Have no worry, my fair maiden, for here comes Gilgamesh, the mightiest knight of all!" Darla exclaimed grandiosely. She was riding Chessy, the family's only horse. "Hiya!" She kicked the horse's flank and the chestnut pony darted forward at a high speed. Slowly, the horse gained speed and finally caught up with Sildra. Darla put both of her feet on the horse's back, and then began standing up on the horse.
"Onee-chan, be careful!"
Darla gave a thumb-up to her sister as she fought to keep her balance. Once she was ready, she hurled herself towards Sildra, and managed to grabbed the dragon's leg. She scrambled up onto its back, and mounted behind Sarah.
"I will save you, my beautiful princess!" Darla said to her sister and steered the Silver Dragon towards the ground.
"That was cool, onee-chan!" Sarah cried happily, turning her head 175 degree to look at her elder sister. "Can I be the knight now? Please? Please?"
Diana scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Well... I think you're too young to ride on Chessy..." Despite its cheesy name and small figure, Chessy was an extremely hard-to-handle horse. It was merely a luck that it seemed to like Darla so much. If it didn't, she wouldn't even be able to stand within five feet of the pony. Chessy was fiercer than Sildra sometimes. "Maybe later, okay?"
Sarah pouted at her answer. "You always said that!" she protested, and gave Darla a pleading look.
The older girl returned the favour with a level look, trying her best not to be softened by the big brown eyes. She could've sworn that she saw the eyes shining – literally.
Darla gave in. "All right, I'll let you have a ride. But don't tell mom, okay?" she told her sister. Sarah nodded. As she ran towards the pony, the wind suddenly began blowing fircely. Dark clouds moved towards the sky above Madain Sari, blocking off the light and turned the sky as dark as night. All of a sudden, lightning pierced the sky, and thunders crashed around them, blocking every other sound with its rumbling. As if that wasn't bad enough, the village was soon pelted with heavy rain. Sarah quickly ran towards her sister and hugged her tightly.
"What happen? Why is it dark? Is it night already?" Sarah asked, her voice afraid and uncertain.
Darla didn't asnwer. She was staring up at the sky, knowing something really bad was about to happen. All around her, everything began to fall into confusion. The villagers who had been outside screamed and began running into their houses, while the ones inside peeked out of their windows to see what was happening, and then quickly shut their windows and doors.
"Darla! Sarah!" Jane gasped from the door of their house. "Quick! Come in!" Sarah did as she was told and ran obediently into the house, but Darla continued to stare up at the sky. "What are you waiting for, Darla? Come in!" her mother said.
Darla shook her head. "No. We should get out of this village. Something is coming this way." As soon as she finished her words, a great red eye came into view, looming threateningly on the sky above them. Those who have more courage came out to see it, while some other ran hysterically down the street, trying to be as far from the eye as possible.
"The Red Eye!" someone screamed, and the words spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone was either screaming the words out loud or muttering them with a terrified voice.
Like a switch to total pandemonium, the words struck everyone like a thunder and turned the place into chaos. People began screaming and running at the same time. Some even cried. The village was in a complete disorder – no one could think properly now as fear had taken control of their mind. The great Red Eye had appeared. The very eye that was prophesied to bring death to Madain Sari. The men of the village stepped forwards and summoned their Eidolons to fight, while women scrambled out of their houses to take their children to a safer place. As the Red Eye positioned itself on the centre of the village, monsters began swarming down from the Eye, destroying everything in their way.
"Mom, quick! We have to get out of this village!" Darla shouted at the top of her lungs. The screams of the villagers drowned her voice, but her mother already knew what to do. She went into the house and came back with three cloaks in her hand – and a sword. She gave the first cloak to Darla, and wrapped Sarah with the second one.
"Get onto Sildra," Darla told her mother and sister. They obeyed, and quickly got onto the Silver Dragon. When they were finally settled on the dragon, Darla mounted, taking the rein in her hand. "Take off, Sildra," she ordered, and the dragon shot into the air with high speed.
At first, their flight went on smoothly, but as they reached the shore, another dragon plunged towards them from their back. Its first attempt to attack Sildra failed as Sildra had managed to dodge the attack in time. However, the second strike ripped off a part of Sildra's wing. The Silver Dragon shrieked in pain, and fell down onto the sandy beach.
The soft sand broke their fall. None of them was hurt, but they had to find a new way to escape as Sildra was unable to fly anymore. As they looked around, Jane's eyes fell on their boat, rocking back and forth with the violent wave. "Get into the boat!" she ordered, and ran towards it, carrying Sarah with her.
For a moment, Darla simply stared at her mother and her sister's retreating back. She wanted to run, but something told her not to. Her desire to fight was too overwhelming. She wanted to stay and terminate those Mist spawns, and the Red Eye, if possible. After making up her mind, she ran towards her mother, and quickly grab the sword from her mother's waist.
"What are you doing?" Jane asked, startled at her sudden action.
"I'm sorry mom. I have to do this. You go ahead with Sarah. Don't wait for me, I'll catch up with you later," Darla said quickly as she ran further and further away from her mother.
"Wait, Darla! Come back!"
"Onee-chan! Where are you going?" Sarah called after her sister, then she turned to her mother. "Mom, where is she going? Why isn't she coming with us?"
"She wants to fight for us, dear," Jane replied, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Sarah looked at her mother and then at her sister. "She is always brave, isn't she mom?" she said, smiling proudly. She was very proud of what her sister chose to do, and can't understand why her mother was crying.
"Yes dear," Jane said.
'Someday I'm going to fight bad monsters just like her.' Sarah thought to herself.
Darla had began to disappear from their sight. Jane was torn between two choices. As a mother, she wanted to wait for Darla and escaped together as a family, but it's unlikely that Darla would be able to return. And if she wait much longer, they all might die. That left her only one choice – to leave Darla behind and escape with Sarah. The little girl might be the only hope for the Summoners. With tearful eyes, she continued to run towards the small boat with Sarah in her hands.
**
Darla flew back towards the village on Sildra. She had healed the dragon, and they were now flying with great speed towards the middle of the chaos. She was planning to go to the Eye. She wanted to know who was responsible for the attack, and for some reason, she felt like she knew who it was. She refused to believe her suspicion, though.
As she flew over the village, she saw bodies of the villagers lying everywhere on the ground, equaled with the dead bodies of the Mist spawns. She steered her dragon to fly lower above the ground, trying to find a survivor. As she flew, another Silver Dragon came and knocked her off Sildra. She fell to the ground as her dragon clashed into a combat with the Silver Dragon. It was not a long fall, and she managed to land unhurt on the ground.
"Sildra, be careful!" she cried, watching the battle between the two dragons anxiously. If Sildra loose, she would be in a great trouble. But she knew he was going to win.
"Darla, help!"
Darla turned abruptly towards the source of the voice and saw Aunt Rayna running towards her. She was suffering from severe injuries on her head and shoulders, which were probably a result of trying to protect her newly born baby in her arms. Chimomo the mog was flying along with them, screaming "Kupo!" again and again.
And not far behind them, a Myrid was chasing after them.
Seeing this, Darla quickly ran past her aunt towards the Myrid, her sword ready in her hands. Once she was close enough, she jumped onto the air, and slashed the monster easily into two. Although she was only 14 years old, Darla's fighting level was over 50. A Myrid was not a bother to her.
As its body splitted, the Myrid fell with a high-pitched shriek onto the ground. It thrashed its legs wildly before it was taken forever by death. Darla did not bother cleaning her sword. She quickly ran back towards Aunt Rayna to see her condition. She needed to be healed.
Darla found her aunt lying on the ground, holding little Eiko protectively in her arms. "Darla," she said weakly.
"Shhh..." Darla said, kneeling close to her aunt. "Talk later. I'll heal you first." She drew her aunt closer towards her body and positioned the older woman on her lap.
"No, don't," Aunt Rayna said quickly. "I won't make it. Please save yourself first, and take Eiko with you."
"But-"
"Please, hurry...." she said, and then winced. It was obvious that even one word caused her unendurable pain. Darla drew her head closer towards her aunt's as her voice was getting softer every second. "Take her to Eidolon Wall. There is a small room there." She coughed, and blood – a lot of blood – sputtered out of her mouth. The dark red blood stained her clothes, andtainted her face. "Stay there... You're Eiko's only hope." After she finished talking, she closed her eyes and exhaled her final breath.
Darla felt tears trickling down her cheeks as she witnessed her aunt's death. She wrapped her arms around her aunt, sobbing quietly. Too much death in just one day. She wished she could stop it, even if it caused her own death.
"Kupo!" Chimomo suddenly said. "A dragon is coming this way!"
She turned in alarm, only to see her own Sildra flying down towards her. He was slightly injured. "Don't worry, that dragon is my friend," she assured the terrified mog. "Let's go. We'll ride on him towards the Eidolon Wall."
The mog nodded, hopping towards Sildra's back. Darla bent to take Eiko. The baby was sleeeping soundly, oblivious to the chaos around her. As Darla looked closer, she saw another moogle, a small one, sleeping alongside her cousin. She smiled slightly at the sight and silently vowed to protect those young lives with all her strength.
**
Their flight towards Eidolon Wall was disturbed by some encounters with a Drakan and some Trick Sparrows. With Sildra's help, the Mist spawns were defeated easily. As Sildra descended towards the Wall, Chimomo flew down ahead of them and opened a path to the room Aunt Rayna mentioned earlier. The room was small, but it was enough to hold about five people.
Darla lay Eiko and the baby mog gently on the floor. "Please take care of them while I'm gone," she said, and began to walk away.
"Kupo? Where are you going?"
"I have some business to settle. I can't hide here," she explained. "Not until it's done at least. For now, please take care of Eiko for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Kupo..." The moogle looked uncertain, but he finally nodded. "Just be careful, okay?"
"I know."
Darla went out of Eidolon Wall and rode on her Silver Dragon once more, heading towards the red eye. As they neared the Eye, more spawns came towards them. Darla fend them off with her swords while Sildra did his own part with his Aerial Slash. After some encounters with the monsters, Darla finally came near her destination.
She soon discovered that the red eye was actually a part of a huge airship. As she stared at it in awe, she saw Kuja coming out from the cockpit, his face wearing an evil smirk. He was floating on the air, and stared down at the people in Madain Sari with cold blue eyes.
Darla was greatly shocked at the sudden changes in Kuja. She knew that she had to stop him and quickly urged Sildra to fly into his direction. "Kuja, don't do this!" Darla cried as she flew towards him. Kuja turned towards her, but he gave no sign of recognition. She suddenly remembered the mask on her face. Kuja must've not recognized her because of it. When she was about to take the mask off, Kuja raised his arm towards her direction.
"You should be proud to lose your life in the hand of the Angel of Death," Kuja said coldly. "Savour the prowess of my Flare Star."
As he said these, his hand began to glow with red light. Darla took the chance to say her final words. "Kuja, you don't have to prove yourself by doing this. This is wrong, and you know that. Please, stop this."
Kuja was taken aback by her words. Even though he didn't recognize her face, he recognized her voice. He tried to pull back the attack, but it was too late. Darla found herself engulfed in red light, feeling herself being torn apart by the light. A great pain seared through her body, paralyzing her whole body. Just before she passed out, she breathed her final words, "See you later, Kuja. I'll get you for this... in another life."
Me: Was it okay? Did I make any mistake? Please tell me how you feel. I hope you'll like it and would continue reading and reviewing this fic.
Note: Kuja and any of the characters wouldn't visit today as they're busy sleping. They sent their regards to y'all, though. They said.... "Thank you for reading!! And continue doing so if you don't want your life to end under the hands of the 'Silver Angels'."
Ja!