Author's Notes:

Final Fantasy… still don't own it. Ah well. Maybe one day. Final Trinity is coming. www . finaltrinity . 0catch . com

Chapter Fourty Seven

Questions Without Answers

After the announcement of Barret as Elder of Cosmo Canyon, there was a grand celebration. Cosmo Canyon was glad to welcome such a renowned and passionate man as one of their leaders, and Corel happy to see one of their own to call the shots. Those from Gold Saucer, used to such celebrations, were just glad there was cause to celebrate.

The party lasted well on into the night, and the sounds from Cosmo Canyon kept the Tali Hishna at bay. The enemy was unsure as to what was going on, but sign of such amazing morale in their opponent made them hesitant to attack that night.

Before Barret or Dio could even thing of participating in the cheer, though, they were both pulled aside by Vincent and Red XIII and led to the library. Once inside, they made careful that the doors were shut and locked. None would interfere with their discussions now.

"What's goin' on?" Barret asked, once they were clear of the crowd. "We should be celebratin'! I'm an Elder now. Dunno what I'm gonna do with the position, but at least now I get a say in what's goin' on 'round here."

"I'm not so sure," Vincent said.

"What?" Barret asked.

Red XIII supplied, "It was Dorret that nominated you for the position, correct?"

"Well, yeah…"

"As I thought. Dorret is attempting to use you, Barret. He nominated you as Elder probably because he thought you, well… Dorret has no respect for your intellectual prowess."

"You sayin' I'm dumb?" Barret asked.

"Not at all. I'm just saying that Dorret thinks you are. As a result, he picked you to be an Elder, probably so that he can gain our trust while he attempts to betray us to the Tali Hishna."

"Now hold on," Barret said. "I know Dorret's a bad guy, but what makes you think he'll betray us to the damn albinos?"

"We found evidence of tampering with the door to Cosmo Canyon's weak spot," Vincent supplied.

Barret looked shocked, and Dio nodded. "The same thing happened with Gold Saucer. Someone let them in. Opened up the elevator from the prison below and hid a large raiding party til everyone was asleep."

"So there might already be in here?" Barret asked.

"Negative," Red XIII said firmly. "I would smell them if they were still within the walls of Cosmo. They are not here."

"So what're we gonna do 'bout that door then?"

"I've already dealt with it," Vincent explained. "I constructed a small bomb that will cave the tunnel in if anyone attempts to open the door or tamper with the bomb. The only way to deactivate it is to enter the password 'Lucrecia.'"

Barret snorted, but the group remained silent for a moment. The fact that there was a traitor in their midst did not seem to settle well with them, and the inevitable conclusion that it was Dorret was painfully obvious.

After a moment, Dio supplied, "What about Frennal?"

"What about him?" Red XIII asked.

"Could he be the one who tampered with the door? And killed Juyan?"

"It's possible," Red XIII said, "but unlikely. Frennal is a coward. He's a lackey. He does what Dorret tells him to."

"Wait," Barret said. "He voted against me, though. He voted against Dorret's choice."

"Maybe he doesn't like you?" the cat supplied.

"No," Dio said. The man stood straight, and seemed contemplative. "When Dorret approached Barret for the position, he was alone. Me and Barret were the only ones there, and Frennal was late for the meeting to decide Barret's place, too. It's entirely possible he just didn't know who was being voted on. Maybe he's really on our side and just wanted to oppose Dorret."

Vincent thought it over for a moment, stroking his gun as he did. It was an old habit of his, dating back to his time in the Turks when he had been just a rookie. It helped him think, kept his mind focused. How did Frennal fit into all of this? He nodded to himself as he pieced it altogether, but he lacked one thing – proof. He would not voice his theory until he had that.

"Nah," Barret said, breaking the silence. "Puny li'l shit prob'ly jes' voted against me cuz he saw me as a threat. I'd bet my last gil that Dorret told Frennal who he was nominatin'. Luckily, I still got three votes."

Dio made a shrug-like motion, and Red XIII padded away towards the stacks of books, seemingly caught up in something. Vincent eyed the cat's sudden interest in the book-littered table, wondering what the protector of Cosmo Canyon could be up to now.

The feline was closely examining one book in particular, muttering one word over and over again, as if lost in thought. "Aha!"

The sudden outburst startled both Barret and Dio, but Vincent had been expecting it. "What is it?" Vincent asked. "What have you found?"

"Three," Red XIII said, as if the word explained everything. "Barret said 'I still got three votes,' and it made me think. There was a particularly difficult passage I had been trying to translate, and I always got stuck on one word. I had been focusing too much on it being a word, and not a number! Once I solved that, it came all together."

"Well, what's it say?" Barret asked.

"It's a prophecy, laid down by Jenova herself just before the Cetra defeated her. It told the Tali Hishna to flee to their caverns, and to rise up once more in the future. Here, the final passage…

"Three are mine,
Three are theirs,
Three the warrior,
Champions they are,
'Ware the Whirlwind,
Flee the Demon,
Fear the Swordsman.

In Wind is our Salvation,
In Wind is our Defeat,
I shall fall many times,
But never shall I be defeated.

No blade shall cut the Demon,
No spear will pierce his flesh,
No weapon will ever harm him,
Only in health will he die.

The Swordsman is the weakest,
The Swordsman is the strongest.
Do not confront his massive blade,
To do so brings only death.

In three they are,
In three we are,
Let not my Children know the truth,
Ere Victory we shall never have."

"The hell's that s'posed to mean?" Barret asked incredulously. "Don't even rhyme or anythin'."

"I assure you, it does in old Cetra," Red stated. "A dead language even when the Tali Hishna were still among us."

Vincent mused over the poem, thinking it over. What could it all mean? He wasn't sure, but he had a few ideas. Still more questions left unanswered. Ever were there more questions to be answered.