Final Fantasy 8: Shattered - Chapter 7
Music: Dance of the Lux Veritatis
The air around the Ragnarok had grown cold as the ship moved higher into the atmosphere. It was just on the edge of breathable air and since the ship has just passed the divider into night, it was impossible for anyone to know how high they were unless they read a panel on the bridge that showed their elevation.
Suddenly Quistis' eyes went wide and she gasped like she had never taken a breath of air before. She tried to sit up suddenly, but Selphie held her down out of surprise. Quistis grabbed the young girl's arms and looked into her eyes. Selphie noticed that Quistis' eyes were back to the soft baby blue they had been before.
"Quisty?" Selphie squeaked out.
"Where's Zell?" Quistis looked horrified as she asked the question.
Selphie looked scared as she answered, "He's on the bridge...why?"
Quistis was on her feet and out of the room before Selphie had finished answering, "We're in danger!"
The door to the bridge slid up and Zell jumped out of his seat and snarled at Quistis. His skin was a green tint and his eyes were black with red in the middle. "You're too late human! I'm already more powerful than you could ever imagine. I don't need this pitiful body any longer. The sheer limits of it are insulting to me." His voice sounded evil... deep...almost like a recording played back too slowly. Selphie ran in behind Quistis and gasped as she saw Zell. Both of the girls could feel the evil presence in the room. It felt like too much humidity...the temperature 10 degrees too high... electricity in the air...sheer evil.
Quistis asked the demon, "Who are you?"
It laughed a deep chuckle, pressed a key combination on the console, and within a split second, the presence melted out of Zell, went through the bulkhead below him, and out the ship, back towards the Earth. Zell hit the floor hard, and started to slide along towards then as the nose of the ship pitched forward and began accelerating. He moaned softly to himself as he was trying desperately to regain control of his body.
Selphie and Quistis held onto the railing near the back of the cockpit as the speed began to increase.
"Uuuuhhh....what.....happened..?" Zell groggily asked as Quistis reached down with one arm to help him up. He seemed too disoriented to even know where he was, much less what was going on.
"Later. Right now we've got a bigger problem." The earth clearly came into view through all the forward windows of the bridge and the orange glow of re-entry began to flicker around them. Whatever the demon had done, it's intent was clear...murder...to anyone who stood in it's way.
Quistis ripped her whip from her belt and with all her strength attempted to snag the pilot seat and pull herself to it, but the inertia in the cabin was pushing against them so strong that her whip couldn't reach.
Zell regained his composure enough to realize the situation and began pulling himself along the railing, as though he were climbing a rope. Gravity was clearly against him and his arms were straining against the G- forces. He had wedged himself between the glass and the railing and slowly inched his way up. Sliding into the pilot seat he attempted to regain control of the systems, but was locked out of every operation. "We're bordering on Mach 15, and I can't override...If anyone has a suggestion, now's the time!" No one answered. "That's about what I thought..."
Quistis and Selphie were laying flat against the back bulkhead of the cabin at this point barely able to move. Zell, on the otherhand, hung onto the display in front of him for dear life and frantically pressed any combination of commands he could think of to give them some kind of control, but nothing seemed to give.
"Zell! I've got an idea!! Get back down here! QUICKLY!!" Selphie yelled out as an idea flashed across her face. Zell pushed himself out of his chair and fell backwards almost too fast to grab one of the seats behind him. He dropped himself back one row at a time until he was back with the two girls.
Through the flames in front of the ship, a mountain range came into view. Selphie's eyes went wide with horror as she realized what little time they had. Everyone clenched their eyes tightly shut as the Ragnarok ignited into a brilliant ball of plasma a split second before slamming into the mountainside. The resulting explosion sent millions of pounds of snow tumbling down all sides of the mountain in a tremendous avalanche, covering the crashsite almost instantly and extinguishing a huge portion of the flames left remaining.
Music: Stereo Fuse - Everything
Squall stepped out of the small shuttle after a long flight. He didn't care to come to Esther that often. He always felt out of place and inadequate when he went anywhere. He didn't care for the looks that he would get from the people that lived there. They all seemed to regard him as a relic, with little importance...like they were all better than he was. He didn't have time for this, though. He was here for a reason.
After nearly twenty minutes of taking lifts to get from the airport to the Presidential building, Squall was making his way into the front lobby. He had forgotten how big this place was. He went to the receptionist and asked to speak to "President Loire". The young girl looked at him incredulously and following protocol, she asked if he had an appointment.
"Tell him that his son is here to see him."
Her eyes went wide and instantly saw the resemblance. She even felt a little embarressed for not seeing it sooner. He looked almost exactly like him, but his features were a little softer and his hair was shorter.
Ten minutes later, he was standing in his father's office, looking at the books neatly arranged on shelves. Nearly all of them had been written by Laguna Loire.
"Squall? What are you doing here?" Laguna walked in, wearing a suit. Squall wasn't used to seeing him in such a get-up, and a very slight smile touched his lips.
"I've come to ask you a favor." Squall went straight to business.
"Before you ask...how...when did you find out?"
"That's part of why I'm here...something has happened to me recently. I'm finding out a lot about myself that I never knew before now."
"You're not mad with me for never telling you?" Laguna asked, almost a little hurt that his son seemed so cold to their relationship.
"You must have had your reasons...and we can discuss it later...right now, I need to ask you for a favor. What information do you have about the Guardian Forces? Where did they come from, and when were they first used?"
Laguna was caught off guard slightly by the random question. He looked down for a minute, then looked around his office like he were trying to come up with somewhere to begin. "...Why did you come to me for that answer?" He almost sounded a little frustrated with the question.
"Because you travelled the world when you were working for Timber Maniacs. Not to mention you were in the Galbadian Army special forces unit, then you went on to become President of Esther? It's natural to assume that you would know where this kind of technology, magic, or whatever you want to call it, came from. I'm sure you've used Guardian Forces in the past....can you help me?"
Laguna breathed in deeply and then exhaled just as deeply. "You don't ask the easy questions...do you? Not to mention I had been rehearsing about a dozen different answers for completely different questions on the way up here to meet you." He paused as if waiting for Squall to ask a less complicated question.
"So...can you help me or not?"
Nope...not any easier "I can't answer all of your questions...but I can get you started in the right direction. The 'Guardians' were created by a race of people that are extinct now. They were called 'The Ancients'."
"Where were they? Is there any records of them that I could study?" Squall asked instantly.
"Squall..."
"Why are you being so secretive about it?" Squall crinkled his brow as he asked.
"...The Temple of the Ancients..." Laguna reluctantly answered.
"Where? Where is it?" Squall asked almost frantically.
"It's at the South Pole." He finally answered.
"...But the..." Squall started to question Laguna's answer.
"And Esther was just a desert before it was revealed as being hidden. The temple is under the surface of the water." Laguna answered, almost proudly, waiting for his son to ask how he knew all of this.
Squall put his hands on the table in front of him, leaned in and asked his father, "Can you help me get there?"
Laguna sighed again, and looked off to the side. His eyes then met with Squall's again. "Seeing as how you saved the world, and as how you are my son, I suppose so. When would you like to leave?"
Squall responded without pausing, "Immediately, and I need to go alone."
Laguna smiled as he finally got a prediction about his son correct. "Of course."
End Chapter 7
Music: Dance of the Lux Veritatis
The air around the Ragnarok had grown cold as the ship moved higher into the atmosphere. It was just on the edge of breathable air and since the ship has just passed the divider into night, it was impossible for anyone to know how high they were unless they read a panel on the bridge that showed their elevation.
Suddenly Quistis' eyes went wide and she gasped like she had never taken a breath of air before. She tried to sit up suddenly, but Selphie held her down out of surprise. Quistis grabbed the young girl's arms and looked into her eyes. Selphie noticed that Quistis' eyes were back to the soft baby blue they had been before.
"Quisty?" Selphie squeaked out.
"Where's Zell?" Quistis looked horrified as she asked the question.
Selphie looked scared as she answered, "He's on the bridge...why?"
Quistis was on her feet and out of the room before Selphie had finished answering, "We're in danger!"
The door to the bridge slid up and Zell jumped out of his seat and snarled at Quistis. His skin was a green tint and his eyes were black with red in the middle. "You're too late human! I'm already more powerful than you could ever imagine. I don't need this pitiful body any longer. The sheer limits of it are insulting to me." His voice sounded evil... deep...almost like a recording played back too slowly. Selphie ran in behind Quistis and gasped as she saw Zell. Both of the girls could feel the evil presence in the room. It felt like too much humidity...the temperature 10 degrees too high... electricity in the air...sheer evil.
Quistis asked the demon, "Who are you?"
It laughed a deep chuckle, pressed a key combination on the console, and within a split second, the presence melted out of Zell, went through the bulkhead below him, and out the ship, back towards the Earth. Zell hit the floor hard, and started to slide along towards then as the nose of the ship pitched forward and began accelerating. He moaned softly to himself as he was trying desperately to regain control of his body.
Selphie and Quistis held onto the railing near the back of the cockpit as the speed began to increase.
"Uuuuhhh....what.....happened..?" Zell groggily asked as Quistis reached down with one arm to help him up. He seemed too disoriented to even know where he was, much less what was going on.
"Later. Right now we've got a bigger problem." The earth clearly came into view through all the forward windows of the bridge and the orange glow of re-entry began to flicker around them. Whatever the demon had done, it's intent was clear...murder...to anyone who stood in it's way.
Quistis ripped her whip from her belt and with all her strength attempted to snag the pilot seat and pull herself to it, but the inertia in the cabin was pushing against them so strong that her whip couldn't reach.
Zell regained his composure enough to realize the situation and began pulling himself along the railing, as though he were climbing a rope. Gravity was clearly against him and his arms were straining against the G- forces. He had wedged himself between the glass and the railing and slowly inched his way up. Sliding into the pilot seat he attempted to regain control of the systems, but was locked out of every operation. "We're bordering on Mach 15, and I can't override...If anyone has a suggestion, now's the time!" No one answered. "That's about what I thought..."
Quistis and Selphie were laying flat against the back bulkhead of the cabin at this point barely able to move. Zell, on the otherhand, hung onto the display in front of him for dear life and frantically pressed any combination of commands he could think of to give them some kind of control, but nothing seemed to give.
"Zell! I've got an idea!! Get back down here! QUICKLY!!" Selphie yelled out as an idea flashed across her face. Zell pushed himself out of his chair and fell backwards almost too fast to grab one of the seats behind him. He dropped himself back one row at a time until he was back with the two girls.
Through the flames in front of the ship, a mountain range came into view. Selphie's eyes went wide with horror as she realized what little time they had. Everyone clenched their eyes tightly shut as the Ragnarok ignited into a brilliant ball of plasma a split second before slamming into the mountainside. The resulting explosion sent millions of pounds of snow tumbling down all sides of the mountain in a tremendous avalanche, covering the crashsite almost instantly and extinguishing a huge portion of the flames left remaining.
Music: Stereo Fuse - Everything
Squall stepped out of the small shuttle after a long flight. He didn't care to come to Esther that often. He always felt out of place and inadequate when he went anywhere. He didn't care for the looks that he would get from the people that lived there. They all seemed to regard him as a relic, with little importance...like they were all better than he was. He didn't have time for this, though. He was here for a reason.
After nearly twenty minutes of taking lifts to get from the airport to the Presidential building, Squall was making his way into the front lobby. He had forgotten how big this place was. He went to the receptionist and asked to speak to "President Loire". The young girl looked at him incredulously and following protocol, she asked if he had an appointment.
"Tell him that his son is here to see him."
Her eyes went wide and instantly saw the resemblance. She even felt a little embarressed for not seeing it sooner. He looked almost exactly like him, but his features were a little softer and his hair was shorter.
Ten minutes later, he was standing in his father's office, looking at the books neatly arranged on shelves. Nearly all of them had been written by Laguna Loire.
"Squall? What are you doing here?" Laguna walked in, wearing a suit. Squall wasn't used to seeing him in such a get-up, and a very slight smile touched his lips.
"I've come to ask you a favor." Squall went straight to business.
"Before you ask...how...when did you find out?"
"That's part of why I'm here...something has happened to me recently. I'm finding out a lot about myself that I never knew before now."
"You're not mad with me for never telling you?" Laguna asked, almost a little hurt that his son seemed so cold to their relationship.
"You must have had your reasons...and we can discuss it later...right now, I need to ask you for a favor. What information do you have about the Guardian Forces? Where did they come from, and when were they first used?"
Laguna was caught off guard slightly by the random question. He looked down for a minute, then looked around his office like he were trying to come up with somewhere to begin. "...Why did you come to me for that answer?" He almost sounded a little frustrated with the question.
"Because you travelled the world when you were working for Timber Maniacs. Not to mention you were in the Galbadian Army special forces unit, then you went on to become President of Esther? It's natural to assume that you would know where this kind of technology, magic, or whatever you want to call it, came from. I'm sure you've used Guardian Forces in the past....can you help me?"
Laguna breathed in deeply and then exhaled just as deeply. "You don't ask the easy questions...do you? Not to mention I had been rehearsing about a dozen different answers for completely different questions on the way up here to meet you." He paused as if waiting for Squall to ask a less complicated question.
"So...can you help me or not?"
Nope...not any easier "I can't answer all of your questions...but I can get you started in the right direction. The 'Guardians' were created by a race of people that are extinct now. They were called 'The Ancients'."
"Where were they? Is there any records of them that I could study?" Squall asked instantly.
"Squall..."
"Why are you being so secretive about it?" Squall crinkled his brow as he asked.
"...The Temple of the Ancients..." Laguna reluctantly answered.
"Where? Where is it?" Squall asked almost frantically.
"It's at the South Pole." He finally answered.
"...But the..." Squall started to question Laguna's answer.
"And Esther was just a desert before it was revealed as being hidden. The temple is under the surface of the water." Laguna answered, almost proudly, waiting for his son to ask how he knew all of this.
Squall put his hands on the table in front of him, leaned in and asked his father, "Can you help me get there?"
Laguna sighed again, and looked off to the side. His eyes then met with Squall's again. "Seeing as how you saved the world, and as how you are my son, I suppose so. When would you like to leave?"
Squall responded without pausing, "Immediately, and I need to go alone."
Laguna smiled as he finally got a prediction about his son correct. "Of course."
End Chapter 7