Disclaimer: I do NOT own Shaman King, or Final fantasy. I however, do own a lot of money to my nana and granddad for the electricity bill, no thanks to all my time on the computer… Lol. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are welcomed with open arms. Flamers can get lost! End of disclaimer. Also, I've finally decided that I'm officially a Horse in the Chinese zodiac… I know that was random, but it's because I've just recently become obsessed with Fruits Basket. I LOVE MOMIJI AND KYO! (Squeal's really loudly!)
Hao's new destiny. Part 16.
"Where are we now?" Horo-Horo asked glumly as the whole Shaman King group slowly forced there way through the snowy woods of Macalania.
"How should I know, I've never been to Spira before!" Ren snapped in annoyance, but he was secretly thinking the same thing as Horo-Horo.
"I never asked your opinion Ice cream cone head! Go back and drink your milk!" Horo-Horo yelled at him whilst shaking his fist. Ren's spike shot up a few inches and he roared, "ARE YOU INSULTING MY MILK?"
"MAYBE I AM!" Horo-Horo screamed back, banging his head against Ren's to prove his point. Yoh sweat-dropped in the background, and starting yelping, "Um, guy's, can we save the arguing till later?" Anna looked at the floor in anger before bellowing, "WILL YOU BOTH SHUT UP OR I WILL PERSONALLY MAKE YOU RUN BACK ACROSS THE THUNDER PLAINS AND BACK!"
At these very words, Ren actually gulped and stayed silent. Horo-Horo grumbled slightly, and started walking into the opposite direction, before bumping into someone unexpected. It was Amy, who was running in a panic, obviously looking for help.
"Amy!" Jenn-Chan cried, grabbing her shoulders, forcing her to a halt. "What's wrong?"
Amy looked up, gasping for breath. "It's… Sarah-Chan… she and her friends… are in trouble! Some type of fight I think."
Jenn-Chan at this looked nervous too. "Do you know where they are?" She asked nervously. Amy nodded, and indicated for them to follow her…
Meanwhile…
"OUCH YA?" Wakka cried as the giant machina aimed at them all, firing at least no more then 40 bullets at him, Hao and Lulu.
Wakka groaned and collapsed to the floor in pain. Hao grumbled and switched places with Auron, seeing as Auron had the most powerful physical attacks in the group. But even so, the bullet's got the better of him and he collapsed eventually.
From the distance, Yoh and the others watched in dismay. The group were obviously struggling.
Ren grumbled and smacked his fist against a tree in anger. "As soon as I found out who it was who created this field thing, stopping us from using our Oversoul's, I will personally send them to the flames of he…"
"You had BETTER NOT finish that sentence off Tao Ren!" Jenn-Chan yelled at him, whilst holding onto her necklace with fright. Ayeka, Jenn-Chan's spirit was stood behind the group, staring at the sky in wonder. She sighed and whispered, "The barrier is going to crack…"
Everyone (in Yoh's group that is) spun on the spot and ran towards Ayeka, and looked at her with a face that said, 'What?'
"The barrier's going to break?" Yoh asked hopefully. Ayeka smiled.
"Get ready to thank the latest Shaman whose furyoku level broke the barrier…" Ayeka said with a weak smile. Jenn-Chan was now positively twitching with anticipation. "Who?" She cried.
Suddenly, Lyserg spun around on the spot and gasped, "Jeanne-sama!"
Jenn-Chan froze in shock, and slowly turned around. "Iron Maiden Jeanne!"
The all well known X-Laws leader, Jeanne, was stood behind the group, and calm and hopeful smile on her face. She looked weak, but was still emitting a glow of energy.
"Ho… How!" Jenn-Chan gasped in shock. Jeanne sighed and sat down onto the floor. "Even though Hao ate Shamashu all those years ago, I still have my Furyoku level. I was able to concentrate all my Furyoku to breaking the Barrier, like I did whilst opening the Gate of Babylon."
"So you mean now we can use our Oversoul's again?" Horo-Horo asked with excitement. Jeanne nodded weakly before fainting from exhaustion.
"I wonder how she got here?" Lyserg mumbled in wonder, picking up Jeanne and balancing her onto her feet. Jenn-Chan gave him a hand.
"We'll ask later." Ren said firmly. "Right now, we've got to help the others." He nodded towards Yuna's group. The others all nodded and ran towards the fight…
"EPITARUKI UPAHHORUKKE!" Horo-Horo bellowed, jumping onto his newly formed snowboard. Huge waves of freezing cold water tumbled down towards the Giant Machina. Hao gasped in shock and jumped out of the attacks way.
"Hey Hao, are we actually trying to save your ass today?" Horo-Horo yelled as he landed next to him in the snow. Hao didn't bother laughing. He just nodded weakly and quickly stood up in pain. The Machina stormed forward and went to hit the two of them until…
CRASH!
Hao looked up to see Anna stood in front of them, holding her beaded necklace in front of her. It looked like that her Itako skill's still worked in the world of Spira. Stood by her sides were Hao's shikigamis, Zenki and Kouki. They had simultaneously hit the Machina with full force, causing it to grind to a halt. Wakka stuttered at the sight of the giant wild looking beasts, before stuttering "Wh… what are those… things?"
Hao laughed at how white Wakka had gone. "Zenki and Kouki." Then he frowned. "But I thought that…"
Anna sighed. "I can still use them in battle, even after the others destroyed them. They are in a way, spirit's, aren't they?"
Hao slowly nodded, a little envious that Anna had now mastered how to control them, when previously; he'd been able to break that control. But for now, he wasn't going to complain.
Tidus eyed up the pair of shikigamis nervously before mumbling, "They're pretty cool…"
Anna didn't bother replying. She just glared up at the Al Bhed who were watching from a distance. They were starting to look worried. Eventually, Brother yelled something else in Al Bhed, and the Machina backed away from the battlefield.
Rikku stared up at Brother, before yelling in Al Bhed, without realising it, "Good thing you realised you were doomed Brother!"
Brother narrowed, then rolled his eyes at Rikku's childish behaviour, before replying, also in Al Bhed, "I just hope you realise that father won't be happy about this!"
Rikku just threw the last comment over her shoulder and replied happily, "I'll be okay!"
Brother gave Rikku one last nod of goodbye before turning around, and leaving with the Machina just behind him. Rikku sighed with relief, but suddenly realised she'd made one big mistake… Wakka had heard her speaking in Al Bhed.
"How… do you know Al Bhed ya?" He asked nervously stepping closer. Rikku nervously stepped back, turning her face away from Wakka's, so that he wouldn't see her eyes, but she wasn't quick enough.
As quick as a flash, Wakka had grabbed her face and turned it to face his, and examined her eyes carefully. Eventually, he let go, his face white with shock and rage.
"I've been travelling with a… barbarian…" He whispered, his voice cracking. "A HEATHEN! I can't believe it! I've been travelling with scum!"
Rikku's eyes went watery, and Tidus stepped forward, putting a protective arm around Rikku, like any brother would do for their sister. Hao stood in between Rikku and Wakka, in case Wakka tried to hit her. He didn't, but his mouth was doing enough to hurt her.
"I've been walking side by side with an Al Bhed! Just when I thought my life couldn't get worse, I find out I've been travelling with the spawn of the Devil!" Wakka bellowed over Hao's shoulder. Rikku tears fell as she cried with fright.
"ENOUGH!" Anna suddenly snapped, stepping forward at her quickest pace, and slapping Wakka's face firmly. Wakka went silent and stared down at the Itako in fear. Anna glared back, her eyes burning holes into his.
"If you keep speaking like that about someone whose been trying to help you and your friends, then the only 'spawn of the Devil' here, is you!"
Everyone was silent. Rikku was still crying, but she as quiet as a mouse, as she waited for Wakka or Anna to speak. Neither of them looked like they were ready to reply, so she spoke herself, whilst continuing to cry.
"I don't care if I'm Al Bhed or not! I just want to protect Yunie, and nothing you say will make me change my mind." She said, her voice a bit shaky. Wakka looked like he was about to yell again, but still weary of Anna stood right in front of him, he chose not to.
Yuna stepped forward, and embraced Rikku closely, whilst Rikku started wailing noisily. "It's alright Rikku. No matter what, you'll always be my Guardian until the end…"
As Yuna said 'the end', Rikku gasped as though in pain and took a deep breath. Hao also felt sick at Yuna's words, but tried to cover it. Suddenly, he realised Sarah wasn't there.
"Hey, did Tromell sneak off with Sarah?" He asked, looking towards the pathway that must of lead to the Temple.
Yuna looked around too, before gasping. "I better catch up! I need to keep an eye on Sarah, and pray to the Fayth!" She quickly ran off down the path, leaving the others still standing there. Silence seemed to have blanketed the group, seeing as Rikku was still hiccupping from her tears, and Wakka was now only just starting to calm down.
"Hey, what's this?" Pirika suddenly called out, pulling a sphere out of the snow. Everyone crowded around it. Hao suddenly gasped.
"What is it?" Yoh asked his stunned twin brother. Hao quickly gave his head a quick shake and told the others, "Yuna found a sphere on the floor after she sent Jyscal back in Guadosalam. I think this might be the same sphere."
Auron took the sphere from Pirika's grip, and switched it on. A fuzzy image of Jyscal appeared. Everyone stared at the image with frayed nerves. The image suddenly spoke, his voice almost croaky with desperateness.
"I will leave this world soon." The image spoke. "But not by pure cases. I will leave this world by the hands of my very own son, Seymour."
The others eyes widened slightly, whilst Hao growled, and whispered under his breath, "I really should of known…" He remembered what Auron had said about Jyscal dieing an unclean death. So Seymour had been the one responsible!
"But do not blame him!" Jyscal continued sharply. "He has gone mad, and it's all my fault! I should have protected him and his mother from the cruelties of the world! I accept my death as punishment. But, please… stop my son before he destroys himself and many others. Including the bond between Shaman's and their spirits!"
Hao and everyone else looked stunned at this. Did this mean that he was also responsible for the barrier's formation?
"Please, I implore whoever finds this. Stop him…!" Jyscal finished, before the sphere switched off. Everyone continued to stay in a silent trance. Suddenly, Kimahri roared in horror, "YUNA! She is in trouble! Kimahri need to protect her!" And he ran off.
"HEY!" Hao yelled, trying to run after him, but he clumsily tripped over one of the Al Bhed ski bikes. Hao just growled in frustration and flipped over the ski bike the right way, and drove off on it. The rest of Yuna's Guardian's followed his lead, leaving Yoh's crew behind in the snowy open ground…
Hao stared ahead of him as he tried to control the ski bike, thinking only one thing.
'Sarah, just be okay…"
At the Temple…
Sarah winced, holding onto her wrist where Tromell had been dragging her along. She stood at the edge of the entrance to the Temple, waiting for Tromell to tell her it was okay to come in. The doors that lead into the Temple slowly opened. Tromell walked out and beckoned for Sarah to come in.
"Maester Seymour is ready to speak to you." Tromell told her as she walked through the doors. She nodded and looked across the room to see Seymour stood by the stair way that lead to the Fayth. He smiled in greeting and preformed the Prayer for her. Sarah didn't respond. She was growing increasingly nervous about this.
"I wasn't expecting your reply so soon Sorceress Sarah." He told her, walking forward. Sarah just nodded.
"I've… I've…" She started, but with hesitation. She felt like maybe this wasn't such a good idea now. But it was too late to turn back now. And she had a good reason to go through with this…
"Sorceress Sarah, you're okay!" Yuna's voice suddenly echoed from the entrance, as she walked through the doors in the prayer room area of the Temple. Sarah sighed; glad to see Yuna was okay. Seymour nodded in Yuna's direction and preformed the prayer.
"Ah, Lady Yuna, I see you are here to pray to the fayth." He greeted her calmly. Yuna nodded slowly and said, "Will Sarah still be able to travel as my Guardian if she marries?" Yuna double-checked with Seymour, just to make sure.
Seymour nodded once again with calmness. "But oh course, I wish nothing more." Yuna looked relieved, and gave the prayer one more time, and quickly stumbled up the stairs towards the doorway that lead to the Chamber of the Fayth.
"I'll come to, I'm still your Guardian." Sarah called boldly up the stairs. She started to follow her, but Seymour called to her as she got half way up, " Lady Yuna doesn't need to worry about passing the Cloister of Trials until she's received the Fayth."
Sarah just continued walking up the stairs, as she called back, "Even so, it's my duty to protect her. I am her Guardian still."
Seymour smiled at Sarah's caring. "Caring, as always…" He said as he followed her. Sarah felt herself blush slightly, but quickly turned away so that he wouldn't spot it.
When they got through the hallway, where the Cloister of Trials might of taken place, Sarah had been expecting walls that needed unlocking and deep dark rooms. Instead, the area was like an open wide refrigerator. It had one single icy bridge crossing over a room that was covered in blankets of snow. Icicles were everywhere, and the room was well lit.
Sarah and Seymour quickly crossed the path after Yuna, who was already on the other side. When they got over, there was a strange sound of glass smashing. As they turned around, they spotted that the bridge they had just walked over had smashed.
"Don't worry, that's meant to happen." Seymour told Sarah, noticing her look of worry, as though she'd been responsible for it smashing. She sighed with relief when she realised her mistake and laughed weakly, before following Yuna through the door into the Chamber of the Fayths entrance chamber.
Yuna walked into the actual Chamber of the Fayth, whilst Sarah sat on the floor with patients. She eventually lay flat on her back in boredom, but remembered also not to let her guard down. The way she could sense not to let her guard down was because she could feel Seymour's eyes burning in the back of her neck.
"You seem tense." Seymour suddenly told Sarah calmly. "Are you nervous about anything?"
Sarah couldn't reply. She just gulped slowly, before sitting up straight, her back still facing Seymour.
"If it's any help, I'm sure the rest of your journey will go smooth." Seymour continued, regardless of whether Sarah was facing him or not. "I wish to help you out with it."
Sarah slowly stood up, feeling more relaxed, but still nervous of the events to follow. But she couldn't remain silent forever, and spoke clearly.
"I've got support from so many. My friends, my family, and in a way, my enemies… and now, even my fiancé." Sarah walked towards the far end of the room and rested her head against the wall. "But if I was to choose my greatest supporter, who has been by my side since I arrived, whether we argued or not, was Hao."
Seymour's muscles seemed to go tense, but he continued to listen as Sarah continued. " Even after our first argument on the Mi'ihen highroad, we stood by each other, and looked out for each other. He's… special…" She said her last line with such softness, that Seymour felt the tension within himself intensify.
He asked the ultimate question, although he half dreaded the answer, "Do you love him?"
Sarah was so stunned at the question, that she didn't even have time to stop herself from blushing. She'd been curious about her current feelings towards Hao, especially after that incident in the Inn about an hour ago, but she was still uncertain.
"I'm… not sure…" She whispered, turning around and walking back in Seymour's direction, before stopping so that she was stood about a metre away from him. Seymour looked down at her, his sudden feeling of jealously intensifying even more so. He quickly contained his anger and stayed silent. But Sarah did too. She obviously had no more to say…
Outside the Temple…
"I'm afraid we don't let the lights of 'her kind' through!" The Priest stubbornly told the group. He was refusing to let them through because of Rikku being an Al Bhed.
Auron glowered at the Priest in anger that he was wasting their time over a small matter. Tidus was tapping his feet in annoyance. Lulu had her arms folded, and her eyes were gleaming with hatred. Hao was pacing back and forth, trying to connect his mind to his Spirit of Fire. It was his way of buying time. He could feel it burning in the back of his mind, but he couldn't call it forward. He needed more time. But time wasn't exactly there at the time.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe that an Al Bhed can be a Guardian!" The Priest responded stubbornly. Hao stopped pacing and turned towards the Priest and hissed, "If it's hard to imagine an Al Bhed as a Guardian, then why aren't you objecting to me? Or any of the other Shaman's here? Or Kimahri? Why just an Al Bhed? You Yevon loving hicks are just as bad as racists!"
The Priest didn't respond to this. He just sighed weakly and stepped to the side to let them all pass. Hao nodded to the Priest in thankfulness and ran ahead of the others, his eyes starting to water in fright. He was sure Sarah was in danger…
Back in the Chamber of the Fayth…
The silence between Sarah and Seymour was now almost painful. But it was better then getting caught up in a horrible position where your future fiancé was questioning you. Sarah didn't want that. But it looked like she wasn't getting anywhere.
"Um… if you don't have those kind of feelings for Hao, do you have them for me?" Seymour suddenly asked, almost to quietly for Sarah's liking.
Sarah was silent. She didn't want to answer, because she didn't know. Luckily, the perfect distraction came along to stop her from having to answer. A few Guado Guards ran in, and started urgently whispering stuff to Seymour, who looked almost amused, as he whispered something back to them. They nodded and stood back by the door that let into the Cloister of Trials.
Sarah started to feel apprehensive. "What's going on?" She asked nervously, hoping that Yuna would hurry up with praying to the Fayth. Seymour just smiled down at her with a look that said, 'You'll see soon…'
But Sarah didn't want to wait. She started walking towards the door in a panic. But the Guado guards held their arms out, stopping her from passing.
She turned back to Seymour and cried, "What's going on?"
Seymour smirked. "Nothing much. It's just your friends are causing some hassle…"
Sarah actually felt herself go white. She was in trouble, otherwise why would they be trying to get to her at a time like this? "Let me out…" She whispered.
Seymour suddenly didn't look friendly any more. He was smirking at her. "No." He told her simply.
Sarah stared at him in fright, before turning around and trying to shove past the guards. They held their clawed hands out firmly to stop her, and pushed back against her. She smoothly jumped back down to the ground on her feet. She glared up at the Guards, and held onto her necklace. It grew in length to a normal sword length. The cuts that the necklace had caused on Sarah's hands started to heal up. She stood in a fighting stance, and turned to face Seymour, who sneered at her in disbelief.
"You really believe you can defeat me on your own?" He asked her coldly. There was suddenly a loud bang from outside the room, as the door suddenly threw themselves open. At that moment, the figure of Hao ran in, and grabbed Sarah before jumping away from Seymour.
"She won't be on her own!" Hao bellowed, pulling his staff out in defence. As he did this, the others ran in, their weapons at the ready.
"We saw the Jyscal sphere!" Wakka roared. Sarah stared at Wakka, shocked that he would yell like that at a Maester. "You killed him!" He finished. The others all nodded, and waited for Seymour to deny it or something.
The reaction wasn't what they expected. He sneered and hissed, "What of it?" He didn't hiss it loud enough for the Guards to hear him though, who were currently looking at the group of Guardian's as though they were nuts.
There was a loud rumbling sound as the doors that lead into the Chambers of the Fayth opened. Yuna stepped out, looking as usual tired, but determined.
Seymour looked from Yuna to the group of Guardians, and then directed his gaze to Sarah, who was still holding her sword in defence. "Sorceress Sarah, you knew this, did you not?"
Sarah stared at the floor as though guilty, before looking up and nodding. "Yuna showed me the sphere in the Thunder Plains…"
Seymour looked only faintly surprised by this, before asking coldly. "Then why did you come?"
"We came to stop you!" Yuna suddenly called from the tops of the stairs, before running towards her guardians, and holding onto her summoning staff in vain.
All the guardians nodded and crowded in a protective circle around Yuna. Seymour now just looked highly amused. "Of course, the code of a Guardian, to protect their Summoner, even at the cost of their own lives. I guess I'll have to take those lives and have fun whilst doing it." He told the group with a horrible sneer. Sarah stared at him in disbelief.
Yuna looked shocked too, to hear him speak like that. "Maester Seymour, I trust my Guardian's with my life!" She cried in horror. Seymour just smirked and pulled out his black mage staff. Then his eyes froze on Hao.
"Do you really want to remember what happened in Guadosalam?" He said coolly. "That memory you lost?"
Hao stared at him for a minute; before he suddenly felt his head go dizzy, as he had his final flash of his stolen memory…
Flashback.
Hao was stood in the doorway, where his last flashback had left off. He was watching Seymour, who was knelt in front of Sarah, watching her sleep calmly. Hao felt foreboding at what was going to happen. He didn't need the memory any more to guess what was about to happen…
And it did… Seymour slowly leant forward and kissed Sarah fully on the lips. Hao felt like he'd been punched in the gut, that he'd somehow forgotten this… but then he realised… Seymour must have been the one who blocked this memory…
End flashback.
Hao collapsed to his knees, which were shaking in both disbelief, and pure hatred and anger. Just when he thought he couldn't hate Seymour more, he learnt that hate could over come any boundaries, and he would have been quite happy there and then to strangle the hell out of Seymour.
"You… KISAMA!" He roared in anger, charging full speed towards Seymour, his spear outstretched in his shaking fists.
Seymour was going to die for this…
Phew… took me ages! But luckily we came home from our holiday early, so I was able to finish this off really quickly, cause it wasn't far from finished when I was about to leave for Spain, so I hope you enjoyed this!
Songstress910.