II
THE ANCIENT RUINS
The dank, murky cold chilled his face. Slowly, he could feel a light breeze ruffle his soaked clothes. His feet seemed weightless, swaying back and forth. With a slow deluding wake from comatose, Squall realized that he was half submerged in water, and his feet were swishing with its undercurrent. He lifted his head; he lied upon a small obsidian rock, jagged and outward, where an bird was perched. Squall watched the dark colored bird pluck its feathers, slowly cleansing them with its beak and tongue. Turning away, Squall analyzed his new environment. Tall, once great structures littered the surface in ruins. A hue of mist layered over the shallow waters; clear enough too just barely see through.
He had hoped that this had been some horrible dream. That the Duggles captain just hit him too hard; that Zanarkand was fine-it was safe. That there wasn't anything called Sin. But as Squalls troubled eyes surveyed this new world he waded in, the truth slowly ate away from his heart.
Squall punched the hard rock. "No!"
His voice echoed endlessly. The ruins carried no response to his cries. Only silence. Squalls' eyes lifted to the bird. It just stood there, its beady eyes looking into the distance. It had no care in the world, a troubleless soul on a constant search for food to stay alive. It merely whimpered as the fog thickened.
"Hello! Anybody out there?" He burst. His echo became the very answer. "Aiden!" Nothing.
Where did Sin take me...
There was no one to answer questions now. He was alone. The feeling plummeted deep into his soul. There was nothing he could do. There was no where to go. Now his life was much like the birds, to consistently look for way to stay alive.
A burst of flapping roared by Squalls ear as the bird ascended into the sky. It arced slowly like a vulture and swooped through some thick fog. Squall squinted and could see a shadow behind a cloudy mist of fog. It was a building.
Squall pulled himself completely into the cold water, his weak legs slowly adapting and treading softly. He swam forward, his blue eyes fixated on his destination. And slowly, like panning for gold, emerged from the mist great stone pillars that rose high into the sky, obscuring the very clouds hovering above. Pushing himself with his hands, Squall could see the aged stone, riveted and corroded from thousands of years of abuse.
Suddenly, the sound of falling water struck his ears. To his right, a once colossal building lied in fragments, scattered over the submerged island. Squall could only guessed that this place used to be a great city many years ago that had been struck by some natural disaster. But then, the image of Sin hovering over Zanarkand stabbed his heart.
Maybe it was Sin?
Squall continued treading forward until the mist dissipated and the building could be seen in full. However, much like the ruins around its perimeter, it too lied in debris. Layered with stone and drenched in the icy water, the only thing that remained in form was its enormous dome ceiling. Squall swam to the base of a small staircase leading to a stone walkway. Squall climbed up, the cool breeze freezing the very blood in his body. He slowly went up the stairs and came to the stone bridge. It crossed over a section of water deeper than the one he emerged from. It was a narrow path, only wide enough for a persons feet to carefully walk across. Large cracks and fissures covered the surface of the bridge, casting a dismayed look upon Squall.
Squall stepped lightly crossing, huddling his arms close together, shivering from the cold breeze sweeping down through an open path of ruins. He looked over his shoulder several times, hoping that he might see some kind of settlement or vessel. Only darkness.
He looked down into the water. A small layer of mist dissolved, revealing a very clear image of the structures beneath the surface of the water. A village, devised of boxed-stone houses, layered in rows and columns, covered the sea floor. Seaweed and algae plagued the cobblestone, creating a vast network of a dangling sea-forests clinging to the dead city. It was lifeless.
WHISH!
A shadow zipped pass, sending pockets of air racing to the surface. Squalls eyes searched frantically around to see what it was. It was gone. Squall indecisively moved forward, caution pounding against his heart. He reached the arch in the stone walkway; the furthest area above the water.
Being a blitzball player, Squall had incredible instincts. When something didn't seem right, he new exactly what to do. But, playing Blitzball, every adversary is in front of the player. Everything is laid out plain and simple. A player knows what to expect. Considering this unknown place, tracking and finding out about what's safe and what's dangerous was Squalls priority. And since his focus was on the shadow itself, maybe that's the reason when he stepped forward again, he didn't hear a crack break loose in the walkway.
He stepped forward again. Another crack. He stopped. A sound much like ice failing under pressure suddenly pounded into his ears. He looked down. A fissure ran jaggedly through the walkway, right between his feet. He burst into movement.
Too late.
The walkway broke loose beneath his feet. Gravity pulled him straight down into the murky water below. He descended deep beneath the surface, huge chunks of stone slowly falling to the seabed. Squall hurriedly swam to the surface and gasped for breath.
He looked right and left. His body ached with fright. Adrenaline ran through his veins. Whatever he saw zip pass him was somewhere in the vicinity. Above the water, he could see everything beneath the surface. But now at the surface level, the reflection of the ruins upon the water blurred his view, making him even more nervous. His body began to tremble in anticipation; he knew something was going to happen but it was the mere fact of when and what.
Something tugged at his feet. He jolted around. Nothing.
What is it dammit! Squall dipped underwater. He opened his eyes, feeling the sting of salt water eat at his pupils. He turned in a complete circle to find only darkness. Maybe it was his imagination. Maybe he was creating fear in his head. He popped up taking a breath and chuckled. Im being paranoid . . . he muttered to himself. He sighed, relieving the stress he just put his conscious through. There was nothing to fear out here.
Abruptly, a sharp pain exploded from his leg and he was pulled underwater. Squall desperately looked down his body to see his foot was lodged within the mandibles of some creature. Blood smeared into the water, flesh slowly ripping as Squall struggled to break free. He screamed gripping his leg, releasing his last bit of air.
The creature released his grip, leaving Squall deep under the surface and bleeding profusely. The creature glided toward some ruins and spun around again, looking dead at Squall.
Squall gripped his ankle looking up at the fiend. It was long, shaped much like a shark, with two wing like dorsal fins and a long, saw-like snout. Its black eyes gazed at its new meal with expectancy. Squall looked around hurriedly. And in a fleeting moment, something caught his eye. It was his sword; the one Aiden gave to him in Zanarkand just before being sucked into Sin. Squall bolted for it, the Sahagin (the creature) in close proximity. He swooped down, using his skills in Blitzball to slid through the water and down close to the rock ledge where his sword rested. He reached out his hand and gripped the handle firmly. He turned around and his eyes glared upon the Sahagin creature. A stream of confidence powered his body.
He stood his ground.
The Sahagin, without much thought to any danger, glided hastily, opening its huge razor mandibles for a victorious bite. Without thinking, Squall parried and slashed hard, severing the Sahagins head clear from its torso. Blood slithered throughout the water, slowly deluding as it journeyed.
Squall swam to the surface, still bleeding from his ankle.
It was a sleeping giant. It lied within the consuming shadows of its buried shelter. It never woke from its internal comatose, surviving only from algae or small fish who dared to enter its cavern. How long or why the creature chose this as it home is unknown for the mind of it couldn't comprehend such things. But, over the years it has increased in size, to the point where the original threshold leading into the cave was smaller than his body. It didn't care. He knew his food would come to him; they didn't know better. But something caught its scent, a scent of blood. He inhaled through his nostrils a long deep sigh, feeling the warmth of the blood sooth his overture of sour alae. Its backbone shivered. It had a sweat taste, much like a dolphin-but not as sour. It was a scent more like seals-they had sweat blood like this. But the creature continued taste the water and concluded it was not a seal. No-the blood was more intelligent than a seal. It was more . . . more like a..
...human!
For the first time since its dormancy, the Geosgnaeno woke up.
Squall took a deep breath. He waded in the water looking around. How do I get out this place? Squall searched around. Ruins and fog completely surrounded him. Squall sighed. He started to a small pillar half concealed under the water. But something caused him to stop. He looked down at the water close to his face. Ripples in the current suddenly changed. He jerked his head to the nearest set of ruins.
Rocks and chunks of debris crashed into the water.
An earthquake?
Everything rattled with tremendous momentum, causing the already crumbled blocks of stone to slide into the ocean. Waves from aftershock struck Squall in the face, shooting him underwater for safety. He treaded several feet under looking out for any danger. But unbeknownst, the danger wasn't in front him.
Something exploded. He turned around and looked at the seabed. A huge cloud of sand engulfed an entire block of the sunken town, large roofs of homes scattered over the watery terrain. Squall squinted to focus.
It broke through the small cavern threshold, a mammoth dorsal crushing the roof of the entrance, causing a massive landslide, blocking any attempt for the Geosgnaeno to return to its shelter. It emerged from the sand cloud, coming into full detail in front of Squall.
Larger than any thing Squall had ever seen (save Sin), it had a huge hunched back. It carried two colossal arms with sharp black claws for digging. Its stomach was exposed through an un-skinned rib-cage which provided for easy digestion for its main prey. Its leathery skin on its back was green and filled with pores of poison for it's rare but deadly predator. It had a large, multi-jointed jaw good for any size of food with seven large red scorching eyes for heat-vision. And its keen, multi-angled pupil focused and brought Squalls image racing to its retina.
Squall gasped.
That's a big fish!
Wasting no time, Squall raced forward. The Geosgnaeno charged after him with incredible speed, coming up to his wounded leg. Squalls heart raced swerving toward a stone foundation; the creature following. With incredible swiftness, Squall arched to his right at the foundation wall, sending the Geosgnaeno slamming head first into the stone. Squall burst to the surface for air.
His desperate eyes searched around.
In the foundation was an opening. He dipped back underwater just as the Geosgnaeno used his massive hands to pull free from the crippled stone. He turned his gigantic body and set eyes onto Squall now moving hastily toward another foundation. Letting out a blood curdling roar, the creature glided after him.
Squall used both his hands and feet to drive himself forward. He looked over his shoulder to see the bulkiness of Geosgnaeno behind him, ready for any moment to take a chunk from his body.
The threshold of the opening was right in front of him. He swam to the surface, skimming the top of the water. Like a shark, the creature followed, his intense red eyes glaring on his pray, instinct telling him to pursue. But Squall was getting away-this pathetic human was outsmarting him. The Geosgnaeno wasn't going to give up.
Suddenly, the creatures' mouth folded open, revealing a long and hollow throat. Abruptly, Squall no longer swam forward despite efforts. He looked over his shoulder to see the Geosgnaeno sucking in the ocean water, bringing him closer and closer to his mandibles. Squall gritted his teeth and clung onto the edges of the entrance. His legs were now within his jaw. At any moment, Squall knew he was going to loose this battle.
But the Geosgnaeno coughed, sending a huge wave of ocean water erupting from his throat. Squall went tumbling head of feet through the foundation entrance and into the dark.
The entrance was caved in. There was no way out and it was freezing. Squall sat on some stone steps, holding his arms close together for warmth. His lips were already blue and he could barely feel his toes. He thought his was going to die. Maybe this was part of the punishment . . . maybe . . . in some twisted way, all this had to do with Sin. Maybe this was Sins way of slowly killing someone. Breaking them down to nothing; until all hope and resolve has left their body.
Squall sat there on the stone steps, within the chamber of some building, and closed his eyes. Tears streamed down his face. Everything he ever knew, everyone he ever loved, had been killed or taken. It started with his father, then his mother, then Zanarkand, and now, his very mentality. He couldn't stand it. There was only one way to end it. That was to just sit there until his body shut down from the cold and his spirit fled into the dark.
He curled up on a ball and lied on the stone, the cold water brushing against his face. This was going to be the end. He wasn't strong enough to carry on. He closed his eyes again, slowly shutting out all thought, emotions, and pain. If he was going to die, he would want to do it peacefully. And before he knew it, he was humming the song he used to do before each match. The same one he hummed at the Blitzball match before Sin attacked.
Squall opened his eyes. He could feel a breeze touch the back of his neck. He looked over his shoulder, through the fallen debris and rubble to see a stone door partially ajar. He turned back to the water. He figured there was no difference through that passageway then there was here. No, Im going to die here.
Squall turned back and looked at the opened door. Squall stood and sighed. Staring harder at the door.
Squall denied his gut feeling and crawled through the debris.
Enormous broken pillars suddenly began to roll from a passageway and Squall crawled up and out. His eyes slowly surveyed his new surroundings. Three stories of stone, built in a cylinder form, rose up with half standing statues lying in front supporting columns, which beamed to the domed ceiling. Although the chamber was much larger, a gaping hole lied in the ceiling, allowing the cold frost to blaze into and chill Squall.
He dropped to his knees. The feeling in his arms started to give way. He bent down and stared at the marble floor still partially submerged in water. Squall took a breath and his eyes slowly rose.
Half a meter away was a raised pile of rocks with a wood pile arranged to make a fire. Squall crawled over, his hand slipping on the water. A glimmer of hope resided in his blue eyes as he stared down at the remains of the old camp fire. He looked around for something to start it, but there was nothing.
There has to be something . . .
Squall stood up, looking around. Across the chamber, there was some loose rocks laying on the ground. Squall went to them and brought them to the campfire. He took his sword and cut some of his hair and threw it into the pile of weathered wood. He took the two rocks and started clashing them together, hoping to spark a fire.
Nothing.
The rocks weren't flint.
Squall continued to bang the rocks together, anger fleeting across his face. He wanted a fire, he had to start a fire or else he was going to die. And five minutes ago, death sounded really good to him, but there was no way that this campfire was here for a tease. Therefore, Squall clashed, chipped, and collided the two stones until his face turned beat red.
"You stupid...!" Squall stood and threw the rocks. He walked away from the campfire pacing. He couldn't believe this. How could things be so complicated? Why can't things just be easy for once?
Squall turned back, grabbed the rocks, and clashed them together."Why wont you just start!"
The rocks suddenly sparked and the wood burst into flames.
Squalls face morphed relieved, tears piling under his eyes. He bent down and lied on the marble floor, the warmth of the fire calming his distressed spirit.
He hesitantly closed his eyes, exhaustion overthrowing his senses. He figured that maybe by sleeping, he might be more energetic to look for some kind of settlement-for he cant be the only person left. No-Aiden had been sucked into the portal as well.
Where is he? Squall pondered.
Everything was just too strange. Zanarkand was destroyed, Aiden was there somehow to save him and...and...
The child.
A chill ran down Squalls back at the mere memory of the child. Somehow the girl knew; somehow she was able to stop time during the attack. And the more he dwelled on her, the more she seemed familiar; as if he had seen her before...
It was the big finals before the Jecht Memorial Tournament. Squall sat in the locker room seething with frustration, glaring intensely at the ground. He couldn't believe it. How could it happen again. He had tried so hard not to be his father that even anybody comparing him to such a man was repulsive. And even in the inevitable, Squall always lost his composure when such things would happen during a game. But it would usually lead to a increase of performance and a total victory for the Abes team. However, this time, the team plummeted into defeat. Why...why...Why can't I just forget my old man! Squall demanded.
He cringed thinking of the solidly cocky Duggles captain. Squall needed to pull things together between him and his father. He was dead, he was gone and he was still allowing him to effect him in his day to day life. No More!
Squall slammed his fist onto the metal bench.
"Squall," A familiar voice boomed.
He turned around. Standing in the threshold of the locker room was the red robed Aiden. Squall rolled his eyes, turning back to the floor.
"What do you want?" He demanded softly.
Aiden chuckled stepping forward. "It was a bad call."
Squall couldn't believe this. Aiden had come to give him a lecture about his Blitzball strategy.
"Your team lost because of you." Aiden continued.
Squall whipped his head around annoyed. "You came here just to say that!" He shook his head walking over to his locker room. "You know Aiden, some times I just wish I could quite Blitzball and move away-far away and never return!"
Aiden sighed, studying Squall thoroughly. "Maybe, eventually, you might get your chance. But you need to ask yourself if that's what you would really want."
Squall laughed. "If it gets me away from the image of my old man, yes. That's what I would want."
"Hmmm." Aiden paused. "It's been ten years since he disappeared."
Squall turned and faced Aiden. "Yeah, so."
Aiden stepped forward again. "I thought you would be crying."
"Who?" Squall queried. "Me?"
"You cried." A voice echoed behind Aiden. Squall looked behind him and standing erect on a locker bench was a hooded and cloaked child. Its smooth face and blue eyes expressed that the young child was a girl. Squall had never seen her before until...
Squall opened his eyes. He had seen the hooded child before the Tournament when Aiden came to see him. What did she want? Why was she there? Did she somehow create the attack on Zanarkand? How would that even be possible? The third occurrence of the girl struck his heart. It begins. What begins? Aiden had said something similar just before being engulfed in Sins portal. I need to find the girl!
Squall rose up suddenly chilled. He looked at his fire. Only a shimmer of ashes burned now.
"Hey, Wait!" He jolted up and held out his hands, pleading to the fire. "Don't go out on me!" he looked over his shoulder and around. "Just hold on. I'll get more wood."
Squall stood erect and turned.
Red eyes glared back.
It had four, spiked, clawed legs with stringy black hair all down its spine. It's neck was extended from its torso for better maneuvering and had deathly sharp mandibles, dripping with ooze. Squall glared back at the new foe with confidence, he had been quite used to creatures dropping out of nowhere. The only trouble this time was there was no where to escape to-he would have to face this one by himself.
Squall slowly lowered himself to the floor, his fingertips grabbing his sword-his eyes directly on the creature who stood suspended at the edge of a balcony overlooking the marble floor.
Squall stood back one step.
The Klikk leaped and landed in front, almost knocking Squall into stone debris. Squall side stepped, moving around the monster with caution. It grunted, watching Squall motion him back with his sword. The Klikk cared not for weapons. He had a way to take care of them.
Squall slashed forward but missed, for it leaped and landed behind, already slashing Squall from behind.
"AHHH!" Squall screamed in agony. He fell forward, a enormous gash running down the side of his back. He turned over, blood mixing with the wet marble floor. He looked up at the creature as it walked up to him. He gripped his sword tightly, bringing it up.
The Klikk opened its wide jaw, twisted his black tongue and a whisp of concentrated saliva burst and sent the sword to a column. Its bulky-teared eyes turned to Squall laying below him. It rose its claw and extended to Squalls chest.
Missed.
Squall rolled out just in time, sprinting to his blade stuck to the column like glue. He pulled with all his effort but it wouldn't budge.
The Klikk calmly turned to Squall across the way. It slowly waddled to him, its tongue constantly licking the saliva from its mouth. Squall looked around and noticed another door, closed and obscured with stone fragments. Squall figured, even if closed, he might be able to open it. Squall sprinted forward to crash face first onto the marble. He rolled over and looked down. A white goo locked his feet together. Squall reached down to it and tried to pull the near-plastic like material from his shoes, but no effort availed.
The creature slowly and calmly walked up to Squall ready to claim his new meal.
"No! No!" Squall burst, struggling away, dragging his heavy feet behind him. The Klikk cocked its head to the side. It was tired of this game.
It sent its sword-like-claw right through Squalls leg.
Squall burst into a cry, gripping his leg, tears streaming down his face. Blood and ripped flesh covered his innocent hands. He looked up at the Klikk horridly. It used its claws to turn Squall over on his stomach. Squall could see his own blood streaming in front of his own eyes on the floor.
Light-headedness antagonized Squall. His eyes slowly glazed over. Who knew what the creature would do to him next. Squall, whatever it was, just wished it would be quick.
The Klikk stared down at its injured prey. It licked its plaque-covered teeth and locked its jaw for a scrumptious bite. But something caught his sensitive ears. It popped his head up and around. Its eyes slowly rested on a stone door.
BOOM!
A massive eruption rocketed the door into mere stone rocks. Squall felt the debris fall onto his body and looked forward. Standing in the threshold was six men. They all bore armor and rifles of intricate design. Even their uniforms, devised of rough leather and scraps of weathered metal, was something which Squall had never seen before. He was just happy they were here.
The Klikk growled. It urinated beside Squall and regarded the new foes in front of him. Leading the six men was a petite, young woman completely covered in straps. Belts holding grenades and holsters for the several pistols dangled beside her waist. She stepped forward and motioned to the Klikk; her face completely covered with a strange helmet and goggles.
The creature burst forward, its torso waddling out of sync of its long neck. The girl swiftly reached to her pouch and pulled out a grenade. Her teeth gripped the pin and pulled it loose. With a quick toss, the grenade arced and detonated. Huge nail-shrapnel flew out and punctured the skull and torso of the creature.
It slowly fell to its knees, legs giving way until it finally expired.
The girl rushed over to Squall still lying on the floor bleeding teemingly. The other men approached and grabbed Squall up by the hair while another cut his feet loose from the ooze.
"Hey..." Squall could barely speak. "Let me go..."
"Fryd ec drec?" A man spoke to the girl.
The girl looked up and down Squall.
"Y fiend! Eh risyh teckieca!" Another man burst.
One man pulled a small jagged knife exotically shaped to Squalls neck. "Fa gemm ed?"
The girl stepped forward shaking her head. "Fyed? Fryd ev ed ec risyh?"
The man laughed, pushing the blade closer to Squalls neck. "Drao yna dra cysa eh taydr!"
The girl shook her head, grabbing the mans arm and pulling the blade away from Squalls neck. "E vunpet ed! Fa pnehk ed fedr ic!"
The men rolled his eyes as if they had been stolen from some good sport. She looked at the nearly unconscious Squall. She stepped close to him, bringing her mouth right up to his ear.
"Cunno" she whispered.
Abruptly, her fist slammed into Squalls gut, causing him to crash onto the marble floor. His last images were of the Al Bhed dragging his body across the marble.