Chapter Four – New Arrivals
I sigh softly and stare at the others. We were in the Ragnarok in an underground hangar, thinking of what to do next. They had decided that maybe they wouldn't be able to get the Sorceress by ourselves. That's when Selphie piped up and suggested, "How about we go down into the Undersea Research Lab, if I'm correct Bahamut and Tiamut are in there. After we defeated Tiamut in Ultimecia's Castle, Bahamut disappeared from me, and if I'm correct, they went back there, to be a team. We could defeat them, or ask for their aid in help?" he smiled weakly and Squall nodded.
Selphie jumped slightly and moved to the controls and said, "Well, I've modified the ship a little bit, well, a lot. Where the seats used to be, there is now a small training room and arsine in there. There are guns of types, shot guns, handguns, couple whips, other things, just small things. I installed a cloaking device on the ship, lets us blend with environments and not show up on radar, so, we're good on stealth, and there are a couple bedrooms with three beds each, so, you never know," she said and lifted out and headed full speed for the Undersea Labs.
The ship rode a lot smoother than the last time I was in it, but the last time was when we were storming Adel's Lunatic Pandora, after that, I stopped riding in it, don't know why. Well, Squall and Rinoa were in a corner talking quietly, so, I moved up to a new co-pilot seat and took up a conversation with Selphie, "So, how have you been?" I asked softly and looked her over a little, she was pretty, but also had a look of sadness and slight rage on her face, but it brightened a little.
"I've been fine, training a whole bunch. Had a job, and with salary from Garden at Trabia, I was able to buy all of this. I saved for five years to buy my two guns, and spent a year saving for the Ragnarok installments. Basically, over the years, and I had a little help from Irvine's death money," she got a little quiet and then asked, "What about you? I mean, I don't hear from you since Matron and Cid's deaths, and then I'm here, helping you all go against the Sorceress, again. Though, we've never seen her, so, I don't know, but I'm with you all the way," she smiled brightly.
"That's good to know. Anyway, after the funeral, I moved into Odin's empty tomb area and trained without magic, Guardian Forces, nothing. Just pure raw fight, hand-to-hand combat with Tonberrys and other monsters there, it wasn't so hard. Gilgamesh showed up a few times to try and scare me off from his dead pupil's tomb, but I fought back every time, and he finally left me alone. So, nothing too much really, I mean, just trying to live day to day. After I heard about Quistis dying at Balamb Garden, it was the last straw, and I set out to seek people. Squall, Rinoa, and I went to seek help from Seifer and Friends, but they refused with us, so, we came after you first," I concluded and looked forward, "We're there guys!"
Selphie landed the ship with such expertise; you'd swear she was driving a car or something. We all got our weapons ready and descended out onto the clear sky and walked along the crumbling pathway. The place looked a bit more beaten than normal; maybe it was age? We didn't know, so, we entered.
The place looked a bit dustier than normal, and the vines were still moving down, but the hole was a bit bigger, maybe the two GF's we sought were down below where Ultima Weapon used to be. Squall led down, followed by Rinoa, Selphie, and finally me. We moved through the floors, not hitting a single monster, there was nothing, why was that. I knew the monsters were more vicious, and now they were hiding? It didn't make any sense to me, but whatever.
Changing Point of View
Kaidrin ran with her brother, moving fast along the pathway. The portal was just ahead, and they needed to make it, or else she feared that they might die, or worse, get captured by the Sorceress' guards and be tortured beyond imagination. "Come on Athryn! We have to hurry!" she pleaded with her older sibling as they turned a corner and slipped, pulling her brother down with her. The two were high above the city of Esthar, on a huge high bridge, about two hundred feet above the city. Ath picked his sister up and they started running again. Magic, bullets, arrows were flying past them, but he ignored and ran.
Kaidrin was only about nineteen years old; she had mid-back length hair, a light brunette, like her dead father's, and her brother got their mother's dark hair. She was about five feet and six inched tall, she had amber eyes, soft, but full of sorrow from past events. She was dressed in her fighting outfit. All light clothing, black pants, white spaghetti strap tank top, her hair in a ponytail, and she had on her dance shoes. Her clothing was like martial arts class clothing, all light, easy to move around it. Her shoes were light as a feather, and had the soles on the bottom as hard as Bahamut's skin.
Athryn has messy black hair with all of his tips a caramel color, much like his mother. He had soft blue/gray eyes and he was built well too. He stood about six foot and one inches tall, a slim, but built chest. He was dressed in blue jeans, black leather boots, a white shirt that clung to him, and a necklace hung around his neck, with a lion pendant on it. He had been with his sister and special someone, talking and things, when the guards broke into their home. They killed his friend and he escaped with his sister, and they were now running along the pathway toward the portal that their mother had activated.
"It's starting to close! Hurry Kaid!" Athryn shouted and ran faster, pulling his younger sister behind him. He was about twenty-two years old, and he would put his sister before him always, no matter what. They reached a drop off of their pathway, and both almost fell to their doom. The portal was not far in front of them, so, they decided to jump into the swirling portal of black, purple, and blue lights, and the two disappeared into it.
Changing Point of View
I yawned softly as we descended the last steps and walked into the small engine looking room. I moved passed the others and into the room where Ultima Weapon had once stood, and saw the waterfall was still there, and then saw two large bodies, cold to the touch, and dried blood was under them, not good. "Hey! Guys, they're dead! Tiamut and Bahamut are dead, and by the look and smell of them, they've been dead for awhile!" he said and the others rushed in. Selphie let out a soft moan of defeat, and Squall shook his head a little. Rinoa was looking at the waterfall and said, "Look!"
We all glanced over at the waterfall and a swirling circle appeared at the top and it was a mix of black, blue, and purple swirls, moving clockwise, and then there were two shouts. A male shout, and a female shout, and to bodies flew from the lights and landed into the endless water. My instincts kicked in and I rushed over and dove into the water when the two didn't come up and swam down. I spotted both slightly, holding hands tightly and swam down after them. I grabbed each hand and kicked up as hard as I could, using my new strength to get the two to safety. Gasping for air as I emerged with the two, I moved them to shore and Selphie came over, "Full Cure!" she shouted and a mix of feathers and white light shone over the two, and a few scrapes and cuts disappeared.
The girl opened her eyes first, and fear flooded them and when she spotted my face, she lit up and with a good paced speed, she sat up and threw her arms around my neck and pulled me into a tight hug and I struggled out of it and she looked at me funny. "You're not dead Zell! Why are you pulling away from me?" her soothing but firm voice asked me. I looked at her and looked her over a little, I had never seen her before in my life, and she was talking to me like she knew me completely, from top to bottom.
"I…I don't know who you are, sorry," I said softly and saw her face get sad for a second, then confused, then she asked, "Then, she really did it. I'm home, but not home," she said softly and when her eyes met Rinoa, who was standing behind me, smiling down at her, the girl leapt off the ground and tackled Rinoa, and tried to pound on her with knives that she pulled from somewhere. She managed to make three shallow cuts on her left arm before Squall pulled her off and shoved her to the side, Lionheart drawn and ready to fight.
"D…D…Daddy?" she asked and the blades fell from her hands and Squall looked at me, and I shook my head and he had a dark expression on his face, "Sorry, but I'm not," he said and lowered his weapon. When it was sheathed, the girl stood and looked at Rinoa, and rage played across her face, "You deceived him too, didn't you? This is just another sick joke huh? Holograms of some kind, you evil b…" and her brother cut in, "No Kaid, that isn't her, that portal took us somewhere else. We are in our world, but we aren't. She opened it to another reality, because, Selphie looks different, and so does," he paused and then said, through a pained voice, "Zell." He stood and moved over, staying away from Zell and said, "This isn't them," he moved to stand next to his sister and looked Squall and Rinoa over a little bit.
Rinoa gasped as she gazed at the others and then said, "K…Kaidrin? A…A…Athryn?" she asked, voice shaking and a few tears formed in her eyes. Squall looked at her with an angered face, but she didn't really see it, she only saw what looked like her children. When Squall looked at them, he gasped as well, "Oh my…" he trailed off and the two newcomers looked at them and had a bit of a confused look on their faces. Athryn was staring at Zell a little, but he looked back to the alternate reality of his two parents, and then he nodded, along with his sister, "Yeah, we are," he smiled softly and nodded again.
End Chapter Four – New Arrivals