Thank you wjc-the guardian, my love, and sifer, my bestest buddy!

Chapter Nine

Maena screamed as her feet dangled out over the dark ocean. She reached up with her free hand and grabbed onto Vincent's arm. Suddenly, the airship gave another shudder… and Maena felt Vincent's grip weaken.

"I can't hold on much longer!" Vincent cried. He was straining himself even now. The pain in his arm was intense. "Maena, let me swing you to the side of the ship and you grab on to something!"

"Okay!" Maena called. She closed her eyes, feeling dizzy.

"Ready?"

Maena nodded tightly. "Ready!"

Vincent gently swung her towards the side of the Highwind.

Maena reached for one of the window, but missed. "I can't reach it!" she called.

Then… it happened. Something dark and shadowy came up behind Vincent.

"Vincent! Look out!" Maena screamed.

Vincent turned--just in time to get a fist in his face. He stumbled against the railing, reaching for his gun with his free hand. But before he could get to it, the think in the shadows grabbed his arm and gave him a jerk. "Noooooooo!" Vincent cried as his hand was ripped from Maena's arm.

Maena screamed as she plummeted towards the ocean. It was as if the entire world had turned upside down. The stars seemed to be at her feet, and the ocean above her head. Please… please… She felt something awaken with in her, then rushe out of her. It was a familiar sensation. The magic!

A shimmer of light suddenly appeared around her. She heard a strange music coming from it.

Then, she hit the water. It stung a bit, then she was beneath the surface, struggling. Because it was night, she could not tell which dark direction was up. And then… something rubbed up against her. Instinctively, she screamed, releasing all her air. She couldn't breathe now. Then, the thing came back, grabbing hold of her nightgown.

Suddenly, her head broke the surface and she took a huge, gasping breath, floundering in the water, terrified at whatever was in the water with her. She finally relaxed, floating on the gentle waves, looking around with wide, wet eyes. Then, she smiled, then laughed. She had been rescued--rescued by a dolphin. And the dolphin was floating around her in circles, taking care of her. Her magic had summoned a dolphin.

Meanwhile, Vincent was still struggling with his attacker. It was a large, scruffy looking man in red who was obviously a professional at fist-fighting. Vincent was frantically dodging his punches, trying to reach his gun. Then the awful truth hit him. He had left his gun in the storage room! He was stunned by the thought, just long enough for the fighter to punch him hard in the ribs.

Vincent staggered to his knees. Then he felt it inside him… that demon thing that he would become. He couldn't fight it. He never did. He gave a cry of rage as he transformed into the black winged creature Chaos. His cry turned into a bird-like screech and he flew down upon the man.

Yuffie came onto the top deck just in time to see the creature decapitate the attacker. "Hey! Vincent!" she yelled. "We're under attack! Get your dragon self down here and help us!"

The creature that was Vincent didn't really understand what she was saying. It only knew that it had fought alongside her before. So it followed Yuffie down to the lower decks, eager to fight.

Down in the water, Maena was climbing onto her dolphin friend. Its cool, smooth skin was refreshing, and with every cheerful noise it made, Maena's strength and courage returned. "Something's going on up there, my friend," she said to the dolphin. "And we need to get up there and help out." She looked around, trying desperately to find a way up to the Highwind. Then she saw it and immediately knew what had happened.

A sleek, blue airship had crashed into the side of the Highwind. The Highwind had been boarded. Thorn! The masked man!

Maena felt frustration tingling through her body. She HAD to get up there. But how?

Suddenly, she felt the waves grow stronger beneath her. The rocking motion increased. It felt good. She clung tighter to her dolphin friend. Something was happening… and it probably had to do with her impulsive magic. Her frustration and determination had awakened a new feature to her magic. Water magic.

Suddenly, the water beneath her rose up, carrying her and the dolphin with it. It was rising towards the Highwind. "Woohoo!" Maena yelled happily. Soon, the wall of water had carried her up to the rail. In one graceful movement, she leaped from the dolphin's back, landing in a crouch on the deck of the Highwind. As she slowly stood, she could hear the sounds of battle below her--cries, the clash of metal weapons, gunshots.

For a moment, she stood there on the deck, smoke rising around her, the wind moving her golden hair and white coat, pulling the coat back from her nightgown. Then, she slipped out of the coat and took a step forward, raising her arms in the air. "I WILL use my magic the way I want to!" she cried. And it came to her, like a flash of lightning.--HER magic.

Maena ran forward, sliding down the railing of the steps and landing in the midst of a battle that was raging.

"Maena!" Vincent called. Suddenly, he was beside her. "You made it!"

Maena nodded. "My magic," she explained. She looked around. Her friends were battling five men, all dressed in red.

Yuffie shot a ball of fire out at one man, knocking him down. She ran to join Vincent and Maena. "Hey, Maena! You missed Vincent turning into Chaos!"

Suddenly, Vincent aimed his gun at her. "Yuffie, get down!" he yelled. Yuffie ducked and he fired, killing the man who had been behind Yuffie, about to stab her with a knife.

Cid and Nanaki quickly took out another with their weapons.

There was one man left. And he was rushing straight for Maena. Vincent and Yuffie moved to protect her, but she yelled, "NO! BACK OFF!" And then, strands of lightning were shooting from her fingers towards the man in red. The man was battle-mad, causing him to keep rushing--straight into the strands of electricity. He dropped to the deck the moment they hit him. He was dead.

For a moment, everyone stood there panting.

Maena swiped at the smoke in front of her face. "Hey, why is it smoking in here?" she asked.

"Those #$% men set fire to my ship!" Cid cried indignantly. "Luckily, Shera was in one of her quicker moods today, and she put it out." He grimaced at all the smoke. "It's still kinda smoking, though."

Nanaki spoke up. "So… do we board their ship in return?" He turned to face the massive blue shape through the smoke. The others followed his gaze.

The beautiful, sleek, blue enemy ship was smashed up against the side of the Highwind. And all was quiet. No more of the red men were coming from the ship. In fact, nothing was.

"Were those the only people on board?" Yuffie wondered.

Cid crossed his arms and frowned. "Couldn't be. Wouldn't that #$# masked man and Thorn be on board, too? Maena said they were?"

Nanaki shook his head. "No. No one else is around. If they were, I could smell them."

Suddenly, Maena grabbed hold of Vincent's arm, her green eyes staring off into space. "Vincent!" she cried. "I'm--I think I'm having another vision."

Vincent gently grasped her upper arms. It made chills go up his spine when he realized that she wasn't looking at him. She was looking through him. "What is it, Maena?" he asked in a soft voice. "What do you see?"

"We're in grave danger," Maena whispered. "That airship. It's not what it seems. It… it can still bring us harm."

"It's just a crashed airship. What harm can it do?" Cid spoke up.

"Shut up, Cid! Let her speak!" Vincent snapped, reverting back to his cold nature. He turned to Maena and visibly softened. "Take your time, angel."

Cid frowned. Angel? Was Vincent getting soft? He turned to Shera and gave her a confused look.

"I'll explain later," Shera mouthed. She shook her head, smiling. Was it not obvious that Vincent and Maena were in love?

"It's not just a crashed airship…" Maena shook her head, her green eyes clearing. "It's a robot."