Edonil: I kept meaning to write, but I've been kind of busy (birthday, Girl Guide camps, lots of homework, etc.). But here you go! The second to last chapter! Enjoy!
Reminder: I love receiving nasty emails! They keep me motivated! And just in case you're too lazy to go to my bio, you can email me at edonil(at)edonil(dot)com (what an easy email to remember; surely you can bug me when I'm horrible and don't update).
To Change
Chapter Forty-Nine
Avylonn strained to see the Iifa Tree. The airship had been speeding towards it for hours, yet it never seemed to get any closer. Zidane had told her some nonsense about 'a watched pot never boils', but that was silly; she could see the ground speeding beneath her!
"Look at how close we are." Avylonn turned to glare at Zidane. "Avylonn, relax; we're almost there. Just a few more-"
The world erupted.
Fire.
Water.
Wind.
Earth.
Darkness.
((Change POV))
Garland frowned. That girl on the airship, the one with the tattered, charred streaming red feathers protruding from her head… Was that her? But she was dead! He'd seen her die! She'd been blasted by the power of Kuja's anger and hate. How on Gaia…?
Unless…
Using a string of words not normally heard from civilized people (or whatever it was Garland was), he strode off, swishing his cloak.
He had work to do.
((Change POV))
"Avylonn…?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you alright…?"
"Yeah… What…" Avylonn gasped as a spasm of pain wracked her body, starting at her face. "What happened?" she asked when she could breathe properly.
"I don't know. Kuja, I guess…" It was Zidane's voice.
"Zidane? Where are you? I can't see anything; is it dark? Is there no light?"
"…"
"Zidane?"
"Avylonn… We're on the side of the Iifa Tree. It's very light; I can barely see through the sunlight."
"Oh…" But what…? "Alright then. Someone help me up."
"Ok." There was some rustling. She felt something lift from her face.
And she heard Zidane's yelp.
"What is it?"
"Lady Avylonn…" It was someone else's voice. Steiner's? No, too high. One of his knights, then.
"Somebody tell me what's going on!" Reaching up, Avylonn started to brush her hair out of her face.
And stopped, her fingers feeling blood.
"What happened to my face?" she asked quietly, her voice shaking. It was Zidane who answered.
"Your… There's… Something must have… hit you. Something sharp. I guess… Something sharp hit your face."
"Meaning?" Her voice sounded much calmer than she felt.
"Your eyes…"
((Change POV))
Steiner felt horrible. Absolutely horrible. He didn't like the girl, but this… How could Kuja blind his own offspring! It was unthinkable! Avylonn didn't deserve this!
Her face was a bloody ruin. It looked as though someone had attempted to cut the top of her head of, but not gotten deep enough to actually remove the top of her cranium. She must have been in unbearable pain. But she sounded so calm… Shock. That had to be it. There was no other reason.
Kuja would pay.
((Change POV))
"Alright…" She's lost her sight. Avylonn tried to envision never seeing again, but realized it was futile. Envision being blind? It was an oxymoron!
Stop babbling! You've survived worse than the loss of your site and permanent scarring! Besides, Kuja must be stopped. So pull yourself together, girl!
"Help me up."
"I don't know-" Avylonn cut Zidane off.
"Get me up, Zidane. My father must be stopped before he harms anyone else. Trust me; I'll be fine."
"If you're sure…" Strong arms grabbed her and helped her to her feet.
"Thank you. Now, how are we to reach my father?"
"Avylonn… Maybe you should stay here," Zidane suggested. "I'm sure Steiner wouldn't mind looking after you."
"Of course I wouldn't! Lady Avylonn, we could-"
"Shut up!" That got them quiet. "Thank you for your concern, but no; I have to do this. I'll be fine. I survived my father's insanity once; I'll do it again. Now, let's go."
Someone guided her to a path of sort (or so she assumed), and gently led her upwards. They were probably going up the Iifa Tree. It was going to be a long walk, so Avylonn began going over the powers Garland had alluded to that she'd never learned to use.
He said something about 'Majyk Syte'. I should be able to use that. Let's see… Concentrate hard. There are things around me. Things with a life-force. Anything that doesn't have a life-force, like a rock, will block out other life-forces. I will be able to see them. They are here, somewhere, just waiting for me to see…
And she did see. Not in colour, and not in detail, and not really seeing, but she saw all the same. There were blobs of shape. She was walking on something that sparkled green with life. Above and around her was a light sparkling of a bluish-white. In front of her, blocking out much of the sparkles was a humanoid shape of nothingness, from which small amounts of green life-sparkles entered her 'vision'. That must have been Steiner; his armour would surely block some of her 'vision'. Smiling (she couldn't see more than fuzzy shapes, but she wouldn't crash into something), she began to walk with more surety.
She would survive.
((Change POV))
Kuja woke slowly, every muscle hurting. What…? Seeing the tattered remains of a woman with crimson hair, he remembered.
And as he remembered, his silvery hair once again changed to the colour of blood.
How? Why? Oh, gods, WHY! She didn't deserve this! I did! I'm the one you want!
Really? There was a small voice in the back of his mind. He had not heard it in years. Not even when bringing Crims here. He hadn't heard it since… Remembered, have you? I missed you. But let's get back to our purpose.
What? What purpose? I only came…
That's right, you only came to see the Crystal. Like last time. You were going to do something very different with the Crystal this time, of course, but that didn't work, so we may as well go back to the original plan, right?
But…
Come now, don't you want to destroy it? Look at it, mocking your existence! You know very well that you won't live long anyway. So stop moping and destroy the Crystal! Bring the world into Hell with you!
But…
DO IT!
He didn't want to, but… The Voice was right. The Crystal was mocking him. He might as well destroy it…
No reason not to. Yes, I'll destroy it, and we can have a little party down in Hell. It will be pleasant, really…
As it had so long ago, back before his return, back when he was Garland's slave, the remaining shreds of sanity within him fled. But before, they only fled to a deep recess of his mind. Now, they fled completely.
The Eidolons, watching, wept for what the world had done to him.
((Change POV))
"Stop!" The group of glittering life-forces stopped at Avylonn's command. Avylonn let out a sigh of relief.
"What is it?" Avylonn turned to face Zidane. He drew back a little; she'd explained her Majyk Syte to them all on the long trek up, but they still weren't entirely used to it.
"This is where I go on alone."
"That's so cliché. And stupid. Listen, Avylonn, we'll all go, and-"
"No, Zidane, we won't. Only you and I have the protection to survive a confrontation with Kuja."
"But… We survived before!"
"True, but this is different. The pulse being emitted from Kuja is not what it was before. Garland described this Majyk Syte to me, and explained how to see people who are different. We are different, Zidane. Most people glow with a brilliant green light. You are blue. My father should be purple. I am red. When my father was insane before, his Aura turned a deep magenta; Garland said so, and I believe him. But there are sparkles coming from that cave ahead, and they are not magenta. Some are yellow. Others are black. Do you understand?"
"Uh… Nope." Avylonn sighed.
"The Aura reflects a person's mental health. My father's Aura changed to magenta before because his mind was growing ill, and it was tinged with blood."
"So… What does yellow and black mean?"
"It means…" Avylonn took a deep breath. "When a person's Aura looses its base colour, it means they are beyond insanity; it means they have… It means they have lost their soul."
Silence met her statement.
((Change POV))
Garland smiled. Despite the minor setback, all was going well. Disposing of the Third Angel was proving to be a difficult task, but soon she would be gone. And Kuja would no doubt be killed in the process. Zidane, though… Ah, well, he was a very foolish man, and seemed content to stay with his wife and child and help rule Alexandria. He would have to be disposed of eventually, of course, and if that daughter of his was anything like the Third Angel, she could prove troublesome, too, but that was years away.
At the moment, all he had to do was see to it that the Third Angel went to confront Kuja alone. Which she seemed inclined to do.
((Change POV))
Avylonn looked at all the pretty colours. Such a beautiful place… But for all its beauty, the Iifa Tree was a place of death. The chartreuse foliage might look pretty, but its pretty emerald branches strained to rip her life from her body.
Avylonn shivered despite the glorious sunlight.
And the branches were the sole reason for her shivering; ahead she could see the entrance to Memoria.
As she walked through Memoria, one of the greatest places she had ever seen, she thought back to her argument with the Heroes. Once they had realized that none but she and Zidane had a chance of survival, they had all tried to send Zidane. Avylonn wouldn't let them. Zidane might stand a chance, but not a one hundred per cent chance; she was very likely to die up here, and she didn't want someone with a family in danger of death.
Zidane had argued, but how could he not understand her logic? At last, he had agreed.
((Change POV))
"Come on. We… We should get a little ways away, in case…" Zidane didn't finish the sentence. He didn't want to contemplate the thought. Avylonn might be the Third Angel, Garland's third Angel of Death, but she was a young girl, full of life and spirit, and to consider her gone…
"She'll be alright, Zidane. Right?" Dagger didn't sound assertive, like she normally did. Didn't she believe?
"Zidane, you can not come; it is too dangerous. I am alone; I have no family. You have Queen Garnet and Sarah. You have your friends. For me, there is only blood and pain. My father is dangerous. He was created to kill people. If he does what he was created for… Zidane, do not come. Let me go alone."
Avylonn's argument was so convincing, but…
Life wasn't fair.
((Change POV))
Kuja smiled at the Crystal. So pretty, so shiny… He could destroy it, now. Then everybody would be dead with him. They could all go have a party together…
There was somebody on the ground. She was covered in blood. Her hair was very pretty. It was the same colour as her blood. Maybe her blood had dyed it. Or maybe she had been born that way.
Who cared? He would see her soon. Then he'd ask her.
The Crystal glittered faintly. What would it look like with a crack in it? A single flaw was all it would take to destroy life. Would the world go on without life? How would everybody die? Maybe the world would explode. If so, he wanted to see it; there would be lots of pretty colours.
He giggled at the thought. Of course he'd be there! He was ending his own life prematurely; he would die at the same time everybody else did!
There was an annoying noise behind him. Turning around, he saw a girl standing, saying something. She looked familiar… Who cared? She was interrupting him! Snarling, he lashed out with his magic.
She crumpled with another annoying sound. This sound was like the sound of air escaping from a balloon. Stupid girl. She was too noisy; she was destroying his concentration! And she was still moving. She twitched! Her movements were very distracting. He walked over, grabbing a long knife from the belt of the first woman, the one with the staring purple eyes and blood-stained crimson hair. Smiling at the twitching, noisy girl, he shoved it into her stomach.
That shut her up. Good.
Destroying the world required concentration.
Edonil: Duh duh duh! Cliffhanger! And in case I wasn't clear, Kuja is very insane, and the girl he stabbed at the end was Avylonn (he used Crims's dagger). Now review! And send me nasty emails to hurry me up!