Chapter 13: Truth
Back in the ship, everyone greeted Rinoa warmly of course…….
"But seriously, what do we do from here? I'm not really sure, but... Don't we have to do something about that 'Lunatic Pandora' in Esthar? After all, the Galbadians are controlling it. Which means Seifer is behind all this too, right?" Zell asked.
"Seifer is... Ultimecia's puppet." Squall said, thinking out loud. putting together everything he'd learned, that was the only conclusion he could come to.
"Yeah, and that Ultimecia! We can't let that sorceress from the future mess up our world! Let's go kick her ass! We're SeeDs! We're here to destroy the sorceress, right?"... Zell drew in a sharp breath, realizing his choice of words a little too late.
"ZELL!" Squall quickly reprimanded him.
Zell gave a nervous smile, lifting his hands with surrender. "...S-Sorry…"
! - ! - !
They ended up going to Edea's house next to sort things out, all of that left Rinoa and Squall to talk among themselves... until they got an emergency call from Esther's Presidential Palace. They'd come up with a plan to defeat Ultimecia and they wanted them to carry it out being SeeDs and all of their previous acts considering. Notably they found out the man that helped them at the memorial was actually Kiros.
So they went to the Esthar Air station, leaving the Ragnork to be serviced and refueled before proceeding to the Presidential Palace. They entered presidential room…..
'Ward. Kiros. And that's probably…' Squall thought to himself, looking at the three men, each one in official's clothing except the man in the center wearing something more casual who only could be... Laguna. 'What is up with this country?'
Ward looked at Laguna, an unrecognizable expression on his face. "………….."
"Oh, sure." Laguna said with a nod before turning around to meet his guest. "Hey there! Been wanting to meet you guys!" Laguna smiled, talking almost as if he'd known then personally. He softly adjusted the open blue shirt he wore, shifting the dog tag around his neck slightly. "You guys are the ones who were inside my head, right? It was like there were some kind of waves running through my head. They gave us so much power during battle, We thought they were some kind of faeries flying over us."
Laguna stopped when he realized he was getting off subject, he hadn't even introduced himself. "So I'm Laguna, President Laguna of Esthar. Pleased to meet ya... If we weren't in a state of emergency, I'd talk to you some more, but..." His eyes shifted up toward the ceiling with a few seconds of internal thought before shrugging lightly. "Well, whatever. Let's talk. What do you wanna know?"
Kiros sighed, shaking his head. "You'll never get going if 'President' Laguna keeps talking. So why don't you guys throw out some questions, and he'll try to answer them."
Laguna looked at Squall, figuring he was the leader of the group that stood before him. "Man, you look way too serious."
Squall didn't feel much like a casual conversation. "Whatever. Explain the mission to defeat Ultimecia." He retorted with a cold tone.
"Ah, straight to the heart of the matter, Just like a workaholic SeeD." Laguna said. "Uh..."
"Iz it my turn?" A familiar voice sound from behind them, followed by Dr. Odine pushing his way through the party that was standing rather close to the door. The short man still wore those same strange clothing, talking it that odd accent that no one could quite place.
(Dr. Odine? This is going to take a while.) Carbuncle moaned, Zell could hear him make a bored sigh.
"Yeah." Laguna passively nodded, folding his arms across his chest and looking toward the window. "Make it short and easy to understand."
Dr. Odine glared at him, shaking his fist toward the man with angery. "I will talk however I vant!" He was used to Laguna's comments and ignored him for the moment. "Egh, Sorceress Edea told me everything, Sorceress Ultimecia comes from ze future to possess ze sorceresses of present day. Meaning she leaves her body in ze future and sends only her consciousness here, Does zat sound familiar to you?
It did sound familiar. "It's like when Ellone sent our consciousness back to the past." Squall realized the similarities.
Dr. Odine agreed, that was exactly the analogy he was about to bring up. "You're a smart one! My first guess was zat someone in ze future with an ability like Ellone was sending ze sorceress back here to our time. But no! Zat is not ze answer. So how does ze sorceress come back to this time...? You vant to hear how?"
(Not really) Carbuncle murmured audibly to himself with clear annoyment.
"Yes." Squall nodded.
"Eghhhhhh! I kept this a secret to surprise you... It iz because of me, Odine! I researched Ellone's power long ago. I made out a pattern from ze current running through Ellone's brain. Once ze
pattern was determined, it was easy to mechanize. It may only be a toy right now, but in ze time of Ultimecia, it iz an impressive working machine!" A normal person may have kept that a secret from fear of wrath being incurred, but not Dr. Odine. He must have been really bold, considering all of this might possibly be partly his fault.
"Which means there iz a machine which imitates Ellone's power." He continued. "It iz I who made ze first model of zat machine. I named ze machine 'Junction Machine Ellone'! It iz a vonderful thing to know that my invention is used in ze future!"
Carbuncle shook his head. (Not a very good surprise.)
"Junction Machine Ellone." Squall folded his arms, thoughts following. L
Laguna looked at Dr. Odine to make sure there was nothing else, he got an affirmative response. "That's about it."
"So Sorceress Ultimecia came to know about Ellone from that machine." Squall made sure he had it strait.
"And Elle became Ultimecia's target. You can't blame Odine. It's Useless." Laguna was cut off by an angry Odine
"You vant to go outside?" Odine shouted in anger, lifting his fist. "You vant to fisticuffs?"
Zell had to hold back a laugh.
"Ok, we continue ze story! Let's see... There is only one way to defeat Ultimecia. You must kill her in ze future, there iz nothing we can do unless we go to ze future, there is no way to jump to ze future under normal circumstances. But there iz still a way! It iz because Sorceress Ultimecia plans to compress time. Compressing time with magic... Vat good will it do for ze sorceress to compress time? There may be many reasons, but it doesn't matter. Let's just figure out vat Ultimecia iz up to." Dr. Odine looked as if he'd gained a curiosity for the situation..
"In order for Ultimecia to exist in this time, she must take over ze body of a sorceress from ze present. But ze machine must have a limit, Ultimecia probably needs to go back further in time to achieve time compression. Only Ellone can take her back further into ze past, Zat iz why she iz desperately seeking her. We must take advantage of Ellone's power. There are 2 sorceresses in our time, Sorceress Rinoa and Sorceress Adel. Of ze two, Adel has not awaken yet."
Odine looked around at the group to make sure they didn't have any questions before he continued. "Once regeneration is completed, neither Laguna not I will be safe. Sorceress Adel is probably in ze process of awakening inside of Lunatic Pandora. Ultimecia will want to possess Adel, if Adel wakes up. Zat vill be a horrible event. Adel iz a horrible sorceress. If Adel's consciousness wins over Ultimecia, Adel will first destroy this era. So we must use Sorceress Rinoa to inherit Ultimecia's powers. Zat's all for ze mission briefing."
Again he paused, making sure everyone understood. "First, go to Lunatic Pandora. Ellone's probably being held captive inside, so rescue her first. Then kill Sorceress Adel before ze awakening process is completed. Now, we're left with Rinoa as ze only sorceress of this era. Then wait for Ultimecia to possess Rinoa. When Ultimecia arrives, it's Ellone's turn. Ellone will send Rinoa back to ze past with Ultimecia. Ellone will have to send Rinoa and Ultimecia inside another sorceress she knows in the past. Edea or Adel... Zat's up to Ellone."
"Once Ultimecia iz in ze past, she'll use ze time compression magic. We will see some influence here, I don't know vat kind of influence, but once Ellone feels it, she'll cut Rinoa and Ultimecia off from ze past. Rinoa will come back to this world, Ultimecia also goes back to her own world, vat would be left is ze time compressed world. Past, present future will all get mixed together. You will keep moving through ze time compression toward ze future. Once you're out of ze time compression, zat will be Ultimecia's world. It's all up to you after zat." After a very, very long speech I commend you for reading it all) Dr. Odine inquired if anyone had any questions before he left.
"So you were briefed about the mission? ...I don't really understand it, either." Laguna sighed, rubbing his head lightly with a small yawn threatening to come fourth "Will you do it? " Laguna asked.
"Yes." Squall replied without hesitation, but he did have a lot of time to think about it.
The small bit of sleepiness that had formed on Laguna's features vanished, replaced with excitement. "Alright! Let's go! We'll get aboard Ragnaork! Let's do the final briefing in there! I always wanted to ride that thing. Plus the name sounds so cool!"
! - ! - !
Their next stop was on board the Ragnaork, and inside the passenger room.
"Alright! Everyone! From here, we go straight to our final target, Ultimecia! Let's go over the plan again. First, enter Lunatic Pandora and rescue Ellone! Next, you fight Sorceress Adel! It'll be a surprise attack, Show no mercy. Now here comes the tricky part!" Laguna leaned against the windshield and peered outward like an excited child. "Adel will need to pass on her powers before being defeated. Rinoa, you be willing to accept them?" Laguna looked back to her.
She nodded. "Yes."
"Good! Next, we wait for Sorceress Ultimecia to possess Rinoa! This'll be hard on you, Rinoa, but will you do it?"
This time it sounded a little less inviting, she hesitated to answer "...Yes."
Carbuncle sighed audibly in Zell's head, knowing what was going next. (Another long speech…..)
"That's the spirit! Then, Ellone sends Rinoa and Ultimecia to the past! Ellone brings back Rinoa, then head to the future through compressed time... Ultimecia lives far in the future where none of us can technically exist." Laguna warned. "There's only one way to make yourself exist in a world like that, and that's as friends, don't forget one another. As friends, believe in one another, believe in your friends' existence and they'll also believe in yours. To be friends, to like one another, and to love one another..."
Laguna finally was able to tear himself away from the window to face them. "You can't do these things alone. You need somebody. Right, guys? What place reminds you of your friends? Imagine being in that place with all your friends, Once time compression begins, think of that place and try to get there, That's all. That place will welcome you, you'll be able to get there no matter what period you're in. You need love and friendship for this mission! And the courage to believe it, It's all about love, friendship, and courage! I'm counting on you guys!"
With high moral, everyone else disbanded to different parts of the ship, ready to fight. Except for Squall of course. "Love and friendship and all that sounds corny, but everyone seems to be up for it."
"You think it'll succeed?" Laguna asked him.
"We'll try."
! - ! - !
Bahamut unjunction himself headed off alone to some unknown part of the ship, possibly to think...Zell didn't know, he wasn't worried about it. Zell himself retreated to the side door's air lock, sitting down in the isolated room and waiting for the battle to start.
He was starting to have his doubts once again, but he was able to push them back as always, he had other, more important things on his mind.
Sincerely
I can say
That we should have met before today
Zell drew one leg up, resting his back against he door. 'Carbuncle?'
The small GF unjunctioned himself, seeing there was no reason to stay like that at the moment, and appeared up in Zell's lap. "Huh?"
He didn't stall at all, getting strait to the point. "What's wrong with you?" Zell had noticed something about him lately, Carbuncle had been acting differently, and trying his hardest not to making it even more noticeable then it already was.
But
I'm (Mmm) happy to have this chance (This chance)
To be with you
and I'm gonna make the best of it
"Nothing's wrong with me………" Carbuncle declined, his voice sounded a little unsure.
"Come on, I know something's wrong, you've been acting different now." Carbuncle looked up at him, then laid his head down.
This
is more than joy for me
To be like a family
Zell laid his hand down on Carbuncle's head, letting the other rest behind his neck. "Carbuncle, come on, you can tell me anything."
"……….." The small GF didn't say anything. "I told you nothing."
"I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me." Zell told him plainly.
"It's nothing." Carbuncle repeated, annoyment saturating every word of his sentence. "Just leave me alone."
"No." Zell shook his head, "Not until you tell me."
"It's nothing." Carbuncle shot back, staring at the ceiling with the best angry face he could generate.
And
when we go our separate ways
This feelin' will always stay
Zell moved his hand a little, rubbing the soft spot behind Carbuncle's ear... "Hey! Quit!" Carbuncle yelled, holding back a laugh. He squirmed and moved, but as much as he tried, he couldn't get out of Zell's grip. "Let go!"
Look
how long we've been around each other Look at all the times
And
we've finally found the chance to get together
"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Zell cooed, an entertained smile forming as he watched the GF struggle futilely while trying to resist not leaning in to his hand and admit how good that actually felt. But it was all in vein and after a few more seconds of this, Carbuncle gave in, finally telling Zell what was wrong with him, hesitantly though.
(Oh,
finally got a chance to get together, baby)
Look at all the times
we've seen each other Oh, yeah (Oh, yeah)
"Damnit...Fine…………" Carbuncle mumbled the next few words too low for Zell to hear, still hoping that he'd be left alone if he gave a bare answer.
The boy only smiled, rubbing his head again, "Come on Carbuncle, you gotta tell me."
Carbuncle sighed.
Feels
so good to be together Look at all the times we've wasted
Look
how long we've been around each other We've been around
"Damnit, you wanna know then fine. I love you Zell. Just remember you asked to hear it."
Zell leaned forward just enough to look down at him with an eyebrow raised, not the reaction he expected. "Huh?"
"I mean, your cute, your funny, your confident." Carbuncle admitted. "Your really strong and I like being around you." He overlooked Zell's faults, as many of them as there was, and listing them would only embarrass Zell farther. Though all of them were something that he liked about Zell, like how loud he got when he was mad, or that face he made when he was really annoyed...
Look
at all the time, look at all the time, girl
And we've finally
found the chance to get together Oh...sing it, Coko
Zell sat back and began to pet Carbuncle again, his eyes drifting closed. "You really like me that much?"
"Yeah, and your with Bahamut now." Carbuncle sighed. "I'm starting to hate being this small." He never noticed it before, he never looked as his size as a setback...
If
you take a listen deeply, deeply
You can hear the pride in my
voice
"Hmm…………" Carbuncle let out a sigh of relief after finally saying this.
"Well, there's nothing I can do about that. And if it's any consolation to you, I always liked your size... What do you want to do?" Zell really didn't know what exactly to say to this.
"It really doesn't matter to me, I just could hold that in any longer." Carbuncle looked up at Zell, "What's with you?"
It's
not that hard to see that
I'm happy about the way we came to be,
be
Zell continued to stare at the ceiling, almost as if he was avoiding eye contact with Carbuncle. And he was silent for a moment before he finally answered... "Well, this whole thing is starting to get to me. At first I was worried because we didn't have a plan to fight Ultimecia. I guess I'm glad we have a plan now, but it's the plan that worries me."
If
I ever get the chance Oh, ho again I know that
We make sweet
music together
"It is kinda………."
"Ominous?" Carbuncle offered.
"Yeah, that's a good word for it...It's not the whole plan that worries me, it's one part." Zell sighed.
"What?"
Look
how long we've been (Oh...) Look how long we've had around each
other
(Look around, look around, look around, look around)
"The Time compression, what Laguna said about believing in each other and stuff...It sounds good and all but I don't know if I can, I have too many doubts, I don't think a world like that could exist." Zell's head fell back against he steel door with an audible thump, his tone becoming flat and dry. "What if we try this and it's not what we expected, what if we try this and we end up just getting ourselves killed in vain for something that's not possible?"
Carbuncle couldn't give him an answer.
"Or what if we do succeed? How are we supposed to find our way to the future, how are we suppose to get to the right time? What if we miss it completely and end up getting trapped some place...I can't get it out of my head, something just keeps telling me we can't make it. I can't survive like that."
And
we've finally (Finally, finally) found the chance to get together
Oh...
Look at all the times Look how long it's been,
"Your thinking too much." Carbuncle shook his head, pushing Zell's hand way. He climbed halfway up the boy's chest, keeping his hind legs relatively in Zell's lap while so that he was face to face with him. "If you don't believe in yourself, I'll believe in you. There's no way I'm going to let you die in there."
"I don't know, what about you? If I can't believe in myself, I can't believe in you."
we've
seen each other Ho...
Feels so good to be together (Since fate
put us together once again, put us together)
"Stop. Thinking." Carbuncle gave him a forceful nudge into his chin with his head. "Yes you can!" He shouted, "We're connected remember, you won't be alone in there."
"What if we get separated, I don't know if we can stay together in a world like that..."
"Don't worry, it's not going to happen. Trust me." Carbuncle flashed a confident grin, showing all of his teeth. "I won't let it. And don't forget, Bahamut's going to be there too, there's no way we can fail."
Look
how long we've been Look how long it's been around each
other
And we've finally found the chance to get together We
finally got a chance to be together
It became silent for a moment as Zell rested his hand on Carbuncle's back, stroking the sensitive area.
Look
at all the times we've seen each other (All of this time, all of
this time)
Feels so good to be together Feels so good
"Hey Carbuncle."
Time
is precious, we must take advantage
Especially when we're often
apart (We're always apart, yeah), oh
Carbuncle was to busy focusing on how good his back felt that he barely heard him. It took a second prompting for him to answer "Huh?"
Baby,
when you see See me see me looking proud So proud, girl
I'm
only thinking of me and you Me and you (Me and you) Me and you,
baby
"Thanks."
I'm
only thinking of Me and you, me and you
Thinking of me and you,
oh...
Carbuncle shook his head, his smirk growing wider. "Thank you."
Look
at the times we've been together Look at how we've been
around
Now I have Finally, finally got the chance to be
"For what?"
Look
at the times we've been apart
Though I have never had the chance
to meet you
"Not going all crazy on me when I told you I loved you." Carbuncle admitted. "I swear I thought you'd freak out."
Zell asked. "Your not mad or anything because we're just friends?"
"Yes." Carbuncle made an audible growl and shifted his narrowed eyes away from Zell. "But I can live with friends, especially if you get to hold me like this."
"Hn……….Alright……Just Friends."
Look
how long we've been around each other I wanna Be with you
And
we've finally found the chance to get together
! - ! - !
! - !- !
All the times by LSG feat Faith Evans, Coko
