Carolyn's Comments:
Mood: Bored
Rant: I had the last normal day of classes today. I am emotionally drained. Freshmen year was hell. The reason for my lack of updates is because I have my finals next week and I have been studying like mad to get ready. I know I promised a link to the picture I drew, and the pictures of me, Katie, and Caitlin, with Darren Shan, but that's just not going to happen in this chapter. I had no time to scan the drawing, much less color it. (Hey, I've got it right in front of me; maybe I'll do that now…) And my mom hasn't transferred the photos with my fav author to the computer yet, so I can't post a link to those either. I'll get it done eventually. Maybe not in this chapter, maybe not in the next, but in some chapter. Summer break's almost here, time to get some major work done one the ol' novel.
By the way, I had an awesome time at Acen. Fred Gallagher rules.
"Odd…" Raphael said raising an eyebrow.
"Hey Care?" Cronos said gently trying to pry the wire off the dying Katie's throat. "Maybe you should calm down a little…"
"Five more minutes." She growled dangerously. Her eyes flickered a demonic red color. "I've put up with this for eight years. I DESERVE FIVE MINUTES."
"I see no problem with that." Cronos said standing up quickly. It was obvious he didn't want to further invoke her wrath.
"So you summoned us all here?" Mia asked Raphael. She hoped that if she changed the subject, Carolyn would forget about strangling Katie.
"Tira did actually. She's a very skilled sorceress."
Cedric frowned and stared at Tira. Now that he really concentrated, he could detect a strong magic aura surrounding her. Why hadn't he noticed before?
"Well, you're a Pure-Heart short." Carolyn said straightening up. A semi-conscious Katie slumped to the ground. The near-comatose teen stared straight up at the stone ceiling of the room as Carolyn continued to talk. "Yuna isn't here. Are you going to summon her later?"
"Yuna, the second Pure-Heart, won't be coming." Raphael sighed. "You see, her world known as Spira; is an old world. For thousands of years, they've been plagued by monsters and the entity known as Sin. The have only recently regained their peace. This makes them very susceptible to the looming threat of darkness. Right now, the strength of her heart is the only thing maintaining Spira. If we were to take Yuna from her world, it would fade, along with all the people in it. We're looking to SAVE lives, not end them."
Riku felt a pang of despair in his heart. He'd known that eventually Yuna and the others would go back to Spira, and he'd never see them again. But since hearing that all three Pure-Hearts were needed, his hopes had slowly been climbing. Now they had completely fallen. It was true. He was really never going to see them again.
"Then how do you expect to restore the seal without this 'Yuna' person?" Alex asked frowning. He had his head tilted to the side and was frowning at Raphael. His eyes wore a suspicious glare.
Raphael responded to his glare with a small smile. "We can improvise, we don't necessarily need the person to be Yuna. Just someone with the power of the Pure-Hearts." He turned to Carolyn who was watching Caitlin poke Katie with a stick to see if she was still breathing. "Don't you agree, Carolyn?"
"Huh?" Carolyn said pointing at herself. Her face looked bewildered. "Me? But I'm no Pure-Heart."
"You got that right." Katie growled weakly from the floor. This remark was met with a swift kick in the side from Carolyn. A sickening crack and popping sound could be heard from Katie's back. Carolyn was in one of her wonderful moods again.
"That a fact, Skippy?" Carolyn snapped. Katie was moaning on the ground in pain.
"At one point, you merged your powers with the three Pure-Hearts to use the Omega Arrow, didn't you?" Raphael asked calmly, as if he'd been expecting that response.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anythi-"
"You took some of their powers into your soul." Raphael interrupted. Carolyn's eyes narrowed. She hated being interrupted, but she let Raphael continue his speech. "Those powers became a part of you. You had great Spirit Power before this happened, so your body accepted them and gave you those abilities. Basically, you ARE a Pure-Heart now. Therefore, you can perform the sealing ceremony along with the others."
Alex's face hadn't changed. It seemed that this explanation was good enough for him. But he was still looking at Raphael as if he had just committed some grave sin.
"So we perform this stupid ceremony and we all go home, right?" Cronos asked grinning hopefully. He waved his hand. "BAM! It's over and we're back in the living room, watching crappy reality TV. Right?"
Tira shrugged. "I wish it were that simple. But the ceremony can only be perform on two specific days." She held up two fingers. "The first night of the full moon," She lowered a finger, "And the last night of the full moon. If we miss both of those dates, we'll have to wait a whole month before we can try again. And by then, it will be too late."
"A MONTH?!" Cronos roared. He was apoplectic. "GREAT! JUST GREAT! I'M GOING TO MISS THE RELEASE OF THE THIRD 'HARRY POTTER' MOVIE! AND IT'S GOT GARY OLDMAN IN IT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I LOVE THAT GUY! SOMEBODY SHOOT ME!"
"Calm down man!" Sam said quickly, "Don't you watch 'The Weather Channel'? The first night of the full moon is in three days!"
Cronos' face immediately returned to normal. "Really?
Phew. What a relief. If I ever lose control like that again, shoot me."
"Will do." Caitlin said giving him a mock salute.
"How do you know so much?" Kairi asked frowning.
Raphael stared at her for a moment. His eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're a…Princess of Heart?"
"I…guess…" Kairi said nodding slowly. She felt like if she made any sudden movements around him, something horrible would happen.
Raphael looked at her for a second; then he let out a sigh of relief and smiled warmly. "I see. Well in response to your question, I am the High Priest of this temple. Tira is the High Priestess. You probably didn't see them earlier, but there are many more people here as well. Most of them are survivors from the Heartless' first attack. This temple has been dedicated to guarding the legend, and we have been entrusted with the task of summoning the Chosen Ones should the worst happen. And the worst HAS happened. The Lifeless are being unleashed. They haven't been completely released yet, because the seal was only PARTLY destroyed. But trust me, if the seal was completely shattered, we'd all be dead right now. And the damage to the seal is getting worse, even as we speak."
"Why can't we just kill them off using the Keyblades?" Sora asked, "You know, hunt the ones the have escaped down, and wipe them out, one-by-one."
"The Keyblades have no effect on these creatures. Nor will any other weapon we possess here, harm them. There is only one thing to do. The seal must be restored. For good this time!" Raphael now seemed very anxious, almost pleading. "What do the three Pure-Hearts have to say about this?"
Mia looked over at Carolyn and Katie. Carolyn had her arms folded and her head lowered slightly. It seemed she was thinking it over very carefully. Katie was still on the ground. Mia wondered if Katie had actually heard any of the conversation through her blinding pain.
Mia decided to make the first move. She stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
Carolyn sighed and shrugged. "What the hey. I'll do it too."
Everyone waited for a response from Katie. When none was heard, Carolyn knelt
down next to her friend/abuse-outlet and said, "Uh…Katie? Why don't you
stand up and say something?"
Katie looked up at her. "I'm waiting from my vertebrae to realign."
She said flatly.
Caitlin calmly knelt next to her. She grabbed Katie by the arm and jerked her into a sitting position, and then with one movement, she put her hand on Katie's back and shoved hard. There was stomach-churning crack.
"YOW!" Katie screamed as Caitlin released her arm.
Katie seemed to have fully recovered in the span of five milliseconds.
"SHOW SOME MERCY! I'M DYING HERE!"
"A twisted spinal column," Caitlin mused, (being a master of healing
arts and all), "Two broken ribs, strangulation wounds, and an exploded
kidney. If Carolyn gave you those injuries just now and you're still breathing,
then you won't die anytime soon." She whipped out a small silver sword
with holes running up the sides. She blew a few quick notes on it, and Katie's
numerous bruises and lacerations disappeared.
"Okie dokie!" Katie said, suddenly cheerful again, "I'll do it!"
Raphael breathed a huge sigh of relief and smiled. He
collapsed back into his throne and closed his eyes. "Thank the Gods… Well
I imagine you're all weary after this. Tira will take you to get some food and
then she'll show you to your rooms."
"FOOD?!" Katie squealed hopping up and down excited, "YIPPERS!
I'M STARVING! LETS GO!" She turned and sprinted out of the room. Riku
smiled. Katie was fun to be around…if
you overlooked the collateral damage that constantly sprang up in her wake.
