Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, FF8, and its characters.
A Word from the Author: Hi! ~smiles brightly~ Thank you for reading this fic, and please hit that little button on the bottom left corner of this screen before you leave. Let the fun begin! ~Aims a remote control and presses a button~
Chapter Five: The Monster Hunt and Revelations
Silently the three of them, spread out in a triangle formation, walked through the trees, keeping a sharp lookout for monsters. Sephiroth used the time to surreptitiously check out his companions. They moved with confident, easy grace, and they held their weapons with familiarity with the air of one who knew how to use them, very well. Mako or no Mako, he was sure that they would prove to be formidable fighters.
The one thing that struck him as odd was the total lack of materia. It was possible that the two instructors preferred physical attacks to magical, but even so, they would still need at least some sort of recovery based magic if things got too hairy.
Then the answer came to him almost at once, and he could have slapped himself twice over on the head for his ignorance. He was weighing the two instructors up as though he was still residing in the Planet, which he no longer was. This was another world, far from his own, with a totally different system and a set of rules. It made perfect sense that they would wield magic differently. Hell, he couldn't be sure that a Lifestream existed here.
A familiar voice spoke inside his head, almost making him jump at its sudden entrance. –You're right—
(Nice that you could drop in, but I'm a little busy here) Sephiroth mentally thought in response, wryness coloring his 'words'.
—I am well aware of that, but there are a few things I wish to impart—
the Planet replied. –First of all, do not use your materia. You would be hard put to explain their existence. The people of this world rely on the drawing of magic from the monsters to increase the number of their spells. But they can only cast or draw when they have a Guardian Force who is willing to aid them living within their minds—
(Drawing? And why are these, uh, Guardian Forces necessary?)
—All shall be explained later in a safer environment. For now...heads up!—
Sephiroth broke from his telepathic communication with the Planet just in time to see a clump of bushes five yards away from them rustle, and then part to admit four monsters with tuber-shaped bodies and long, waving tentacles.
"They're Grats!" Keire announced, presumably for Sephiroth's benefit. "They use Sleep attacks, so watch out for those." With those words he hoisted his gunblade back and threw it, boomerang style. The gunblade spun in a lazy arc, impaling a Grat, causing it to squeal before it slowly toppled over in a heap.
Fire Edge cut its way through the Grat, and returned to its owner's hand. Keire smirked at Sephiroth. "One," he declared.
Then the Grats were on them. Mel flashed past, her claws scoring deep, bloody gashes across the eyes of one Grat, spraying disgusting green ichors everywhere, including across Mel. She made a face as she leapt clear of the Grat's wildly flailing tentacles. Once she was a safe distance away, she closed her eyes, locked both hands together, and concentrated. A bright stream of energy connected the monster's and her bodies for one instant, then was gone.
Drawing, Sephiroth surmised as he waded into the battlefield. It was a carnage, as the monsters were evidently too weak to be able to adequately defend themselves against their foes. He somehow ducked one Grat's blows and severed off a tentacle. The Grat scored a lucky hit on him, one tentacle slapping across his face and splitting his lip. Sephiroth ignored the small, stinging pain; the wound was minor, and with his Jenova-granted abilities, would heal in a matter of seconds. Just for fun, he removed the rest of the offending limbs with one sweep of the Masamune before slicing it downwards. The slash was so fast that, when he pulled the sword out, no blood stained its silver surface. The Grat crumpled, and, shaking his head at the poor challenge they offered, Sephiroth cast his gaze about for a new foe.
Keire was doing quite well too. He finished off his second Grat and ran to help Mel with hers. The female instructor was having a bit of trouble due to the fact that her chosen weapon had a shorter reach and she had to move within the range of the Grat's tentacles in order to deal a more serious blow. Before Keire could join her, the Grat began to make an odd, whistling noise that covered several octaves.
Sephiroth winced as the shrill, irritating noise penetrated his eardrums, but other than making him vaguely dizzy for a moment, a feeling he shook off easily, it seemed to have no other effect that he could discern. Keire also seemed unaffected by the Grat's attack, but it was a different story for Mel, who slid gracelessly onto the ground, her eyes shut. Her chest still rose and fell, so she only appeared to be unconscious.
The Grat changed tactics as it noticed Keire advancing towards it with Fire Edge upraised. It scuttled away and released a weird kind of black sap that spurted out of what presumably served as the creature's mouth that landed all over Keire and Mel. Mel jerked back to consciousness with a start, and joined Keire in his stream of vulgarities as she noticed her new burns and the icky black stuff clinging to her skin. Just as the Grat prepared to send off another volley, it keeled over as Sephiroth's sword entered its system.
"Couldn't you have snuck up faster?" Mel groaned, swiping at the jelly-like goop that decorated her face and clothes. "It's going to take forever to get this thing washed off." She cast a sideways glance at Keire. "At least he got it good too."
"Thank you for your concern," Keire snorted. He glanced at the silver- haired youth, who had remained silent throughout their conversation. "You may be able to handle Grats by yourself, but you've probably noticed that they're a piece of cake. That's because this training center is for beginners, though it's becoming rather obvious to me that you know your stuff, and because you haven't met the terror of all newbies, the almighty T-rexaur..."
From a short distance away, there came a loud, menacing growl that caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble slightly, and the musical complains of birds and crickets in the jungle faltered and fell silent.
"Be careful of what you wish for," Mel kidded. "You just might get it."
Keire smiled confidently. "Well, looks like one is heading our way. Normally I wouldn't let someone who isn't even a cadet fight one...but how about it?" He grinned, a flash of challenge in his garnet eyes.
Sephiroth shrugged. "Fine by me." Hopefully this T-rexaur, whatever that was, would be harder to defeat. There was nothing more he loved in the world than just fighting against a flesh and blood enemy, the Masamune in his hand, putting his swordsmanship to good use...
With another tremendous roar, the T-rexaur burst out of the trees, growling ominously, its huge feet slapping against the ground and causing another wave of tremors to resonate through the earth. It saw the three people standing there, and, its small brain determining that they would taste good for dinner, stomped towards them with obvious intent. Its mouth opened to reveal dozens of ivory, razor-sharp teeth that glinted wickedly. It looked very, very mean and extremely hungry.
Sephiroth dropped back to talk to Mel, shouting over the massive beast's earth shaking roar. "Have there been any casualties during training?" he asked.
Mel thought about it. "One or two," she said uncertainly, holding up a couple of fingers.
One silver eyebrow arched up. "Oh? That is not very reassuring."
Mel shrugged. "Mostly smart aleck cadets who thought they could take on a T- rex by themselves."
"Don't worry, you aren't alone," Keire said cheerfully, brandishing Fire Edge. "You've got us super instructors!"
"Should I be relieved or even more frightened?" Sephiroth muttered to no one in particular, rolling his eyes.
"Jeez, what a riot you are," Keire said dryly. A huge foot slamming down inches away killed his humor, however, and he winced at the dinosaur's proximity, particularly its smell, or rather, stench. "Blech. Remember, ice magic, Mel!"
"I'm not an imbecile like some people," she growled in response. She retreated a little and began to mumble under her breath, her eyes glazing over. Keire and Sephiroth took up a protective stance in front of her, hacking away at the T-rex's tree-trunk size legs, jumping back whenever its tail came their way.
Mel, apparently finished, shouted, "Blizzaga!" leaping back and swirling her hands in front of her. The air became unbearably cold for a split second as a giant shard of ice burst out of the ground, engulfing the dinosaur. It shattered, raining ice pieces in all directions, and instinctively they ducked. The shards, however, faded away harmlessly, and the dinosaur emerged out of the storm alive, but weaving like a drunkard and decidedly worse off.
Mel resumed another spellcasting stance and started off another chant. Confident that the T-rex, which was now stumbling around with a weaving gait and dulled eyes, would no longer pose any serious harm to her, the two men abandoned their post to launch more formidable assaults on the weakened monster.
Keire was the first to act, somersaulting up, one hand catching hold of one of the uneven ridges on the dinosaur's spine. The T-rex, sensing his unwelcome presence, attempted to shake him off, but Keire secured his position by driving Fire Edge into the dinosaur's thick hide. The T-rex shrieked with more rage than pain and wriggled itself harder.
The ploy was only partly successful as he was unable to fully penetrate the T-rex's thick skin. He was in a difficult position to drive the sword deeper as the 'ground' kept swaying beneath his feet. All he could do now was to grit his teeth and continue hanging on tightly to his gunblade.
Sephiroth was faring better. Since the dinosaur was fully occupied with shaking Keire off, it failed to notice the addition of a second intruder, who was rapidly scaling up the dinosaur's leg. Catching hold of a few armored plates sticking out from the T-rex's kneel, he leaned out and slashed the Masamune across the T-rex's more exposed belly with the whole of his prodigious strength.
Hot blood fell in huge droplets from the wound, scalding him where they landed on his skin. Smoke rose from his clothes where the blood fell. The Masamune flashed one more time, and the drops became a veritable downpour of crimson fluid. Seizing the opportunity, he shoved his hand deep within the gash and released the strongest Ice spell he knew.
Too late, he remembered the Planet's warning against using magic. But as the spell blossomed to frigid life within the very guts of the dinosaur, Mel's second Blizzaga spell, completed, took effect at almost the same time. The temperature lowered by several unbearable degrees, serving as a warning to Sephiroth and Keire, who leaped clear, landing on the ground in a ball to reduce the risk of broken bones. Their foe, literally frozen dinosaur steak, landed with a huge crash that must have shook the whole of Garden.
The two swordsmen picked themselves off the ground, shaken and bruised but unhurt. They walked over to Mel, who was admiring her handiwork, and unknown to her, Sephiroth's as well. "Wow, I've never seen my Blizzaga spells so powerful before!" she exclaimed, a surprised, and almost suspicious, expression on her face.
"Glad that you've improved, Mel." Keire clapped her on the shoulder. He toed the still corpse of the fallen dinosaur. Even as they watched, the gigantic body was beginning to fade out of existence. "Good work, everyone. And Sephiroth..."
The youth turned towards the instructor, with a curious expression. "Yes, sir?"
"I've yet to submit my report, but I think that when Xu sees it, she's going to love you." The instructor smiled. "Maybe this is a bit premature, but—" he held out his hand. "Welcome to Balamb Garden."
Sephiroth looked at it. He inclined his head. "Thank you, sir, for your kind words."
"The hand," Keire insisted, waggling it practically in Sephiroth's face.
Sephiroth sighed and shook it. "What do I do now until whatever?" he asked.
"You have the day off to do whatever you want," Keire answered immediately. "Just take the time to appreciate Garden...it's going to become your new home, after all. The canteen serves the best hot dogs, by the way, if you want to try some Garden dishes."
The trio started walking back to the exit. Other than another pack of Grats, which they disposed off with no difficulty at all, they departed without further incident. At the entrance, Keire turned back to Sephiroth with his confident grin firmly in place and said cheerfully, "You win this round. I look forward to fighting with you again, even if you're only a lowly cadet. But you're a natural with that sword, you know. I think you will have a great future in the mercenary world. Honestly. You won't win next time though, I promise you that!" He winked.
Sephiroth had to smile at the instructor's oddly endearing exuberance. "We shall see, sir."
Keire laughed and the two instructors waved a friendly goodbye, sauntering off and leaving Sephiroth to his own devices. As soon as they were out of sight, the silver-haired youth gently tapped on his bracelet with a fingernail, alerting the far away Planet to his wish to talk. "You still owe me that explanation on this world's magic, in case the matter has slipped whatever passes for your mind."
—You shall find what you seek in the library—was the Planet's only enigmatic response.
Sephiroth sighed but did as the Planet asked. He was directed down a path marked with a blue stripe and led to a secluded corner of the library, where he found himself staring at a shelf crammed with books devoted to the study of magic. Of its own accord, his right hand, the one with the Armlet of the Cetra, reached out, and grabbed a seemingly random book, and even helpfully flipped it open to a specific page.
Startled, Sephiroth flexed his fingers to make sure that all was in order before turning his attention to the volume he held in his hands. It was bound in night blue leather and looked very old and worn compared to the glossier spines of the other books sitting on the shelf. Its title was printed on the cover in peeling gold lettering: 'A History of Magic—since the Beginning' by a person named Dr. Finnibus Wilson.
The message was very clear, so Sephiroth retired to one of the tables in the corner and, burying his nose in the yellowing, dusty pages, began to read.
***
In the beginning, there was a void. But the nothingness demands to be filled, and various worlds were born out of a theory called 'The Big Bang.' Yet, for Gaia, the world was created by a mighty entity named Hyne, who in legends have been described as a powerful, sexless being both benevolent and capricious.
In Gaia, the flow of life is the magic. The monsters came about by wyld magic, which was concentrated mostly on the Moon, but later they appeared too in the earth. But it was the first humans that were Hyne's pride and joy. They had been formed personally by his loving hand, and thy had been infused with his life giving breath.
In those days, humans were near immortals, powerful winged creatures that soared the skies and ruled absolutely under the watchful gaze of Hyne, perfect in form and unsurpassed in beauty.
They were known as the Children of Hyne, and they called themselves the sorcerers and the sorceresses.
But power corrupts, and barely a millennium since Gaia was formed, war raged among the humans. We have been always ambitious, to our ultimate downfall.
Furious, Hyne cursed the battlers, turning them to terrible, deformed beings, a mockery of their former selves, whose hatred for Hyne could never measure up to their own hatred for themselves. Many killed themselves instead of facing the daily torment that was life. But there were a few who repented, whom Hyne spared. They, who had once conquered the skies, were now chained to the ground, fallen—our ancestors.
But to two of the sorceresses, Auth and Maia, Hyne was merciful, for they had always been his most faithful followers. Immortality was lost to the human race forever, but he did not intend for them to forget of lose magic, the mysterious force that would forever be part of life. He decreed that Auth and Maia would keep their powers, and when their lives passed, the gifts would pass on to worthy successors, and there would always be, as long as time lasted, two sorceresses.
Due to Hyne's curse, humans are now magic dead, unable to wield or cast magic without the aid of Guardian Forces, spirits which Hyne had formed out of the elements, second of his children. These were flighty, free-willed creatures, which would chose whoever they deemed worthy and serve them to the best of their ability, by lending them their strength in battle and enabling them to use magic for only the price of their memories. In this way, Hyne intended that magic would never be misused again. Examples of Guardian Forces are: Ifrit, god of fire, Shiva, spirit of ice, Pandemonium, guardian of the winds.
These Guardian Forces, of GFs, as they were known, would reside in the portion of the human brain that holds the memories of the host, and after a while these would fade, and the host would have difficulty remembering his past. If the GFs are removed, the memories will return, but very slowly, and some may even be lost forever. Most consider this a small price to pay for the GF's power, however.
The process of 'connecting' with the lifeforce of the GF is known as junctioning. Similarly, one can 'junction' the stock of one's spells to their magical defense/attack to protect yourself against a certain element or status effect or create a new, devastating attack.
***
Sephiroth frowned, laying his fingers flat against the book as he came across a painting of the first humans, their feathered wings spread, dark against the blue sky. Something stirred in his mind, and the lines in his forehead deepened as he tried to remember just what had nagged his memory.
(flashback)
—When you have become a god, my son, we will conquer the Planet...but do you know that there are other worlds out there, Sephiroth? The universe is infinite, filled with so many other lives and dreams...we will crush those dreams, as he crushed mine, eons ago...
He remembered himself asking. "What dreams, Mother?"
—I was the last one left...the others had all killed themselves in shame and misery...(soft, wistful)
"Who? The Cetra?"
—Others like me. (A flash of anger.) It was rightly mine! When we have drunk dry the Lifestream of the Planet, my beloved, darling son, we shall have the power to regained I lost, centuries ago...
"Yes, Mother," he replied dutifully.
(end flashback)
He had not understood then. Now he thought he did, as he remembered his own dark, raven-feathered wing, all but identical to the appendages of the immortals in the picture.
(Cursed, turned to terrible, deformed beings, by Hyne...)
He understood, with clear, cold clarity, the revelation pounding in his brain.
Unbidden, the voice of the Planet spoke into the numb disbelief of his shattered mind.
—Yes. Jenova's name wasn't always Jenova. Once she was Adele, high priestess of the sorceresses, until she was cast down by Hyne. Once, she was a sorceress of Gaia—
***
Author's Ending Note: Ta ta! Done! Surprised? Shocked? I hope that this new twist is believable enough, and also that I have managed to be as accurate as possible about the legend of Hyne from FF8, since as I haven't played it for a long time and may have left something out or ~smiles wryly~ thrown too much in. Thank you for reading, and bye til next chapter! ~bows and exits~
Thanks to:
Delphine Pryde—really? Thanks!
Noacat—Thanks for reviewing again, and in case you have noticed, though I have received the Review Alert in my e-mail, I can't see your review in FF. net. ~Shrugs~ Must be some kind of glitch. Ah, well, just thought I would bring it up.
And now...
I guess I don't need to remind you any longer what to do. I probably sound like a broken tape recorder anyway. But one last time, I'm appealing to you to review and make my day. Thanx!
A Word from the Author: Hi! ~smiles brightly~ Thank you for reading this fic, and please hit that little button on the bottom left corner of this screen before you leave. Let the fun begin! ~Aims a remote control and presses a button~
Chapter Five: The Monster Hunt and Revelations
Silently the three of them, spread out in a triangle formation, walked through the trees, keeping a sharp lookout for monsters. Sephiroth used the time to surreptitiously check out his companions. They moved with confident, easy grace, and they held their weapons with familiarity with the air of one who knew how to use them, very well. Mako or no Mako, he was sure that they would prove to be formidable fighters.
The one thing that struck him as odd was the total lack of materia. It was possible that the two instructors preferred physical attacks to magical, but even so, they would still need at least some sort of recovery based magic if things got too hairy.
Then the answer came to him almost at once, and he could have slapped himself twice over on the head for his ignorance. He was weighing the two instructors up as though he was still residing in the Planet, which he no longer was. This was another world, far from his own, with a totally different system and a set of rules. It made perfect sense that they would wield magic differently. Hell, he couldn't be sure that a Lifestream existed here.
A familiar voice spoke inside his head, almost making him jump at its sudden entrance. –You're right—
(Nice that you could drop in, but I'm a little busy here) Sephiroth mentally thought in response, wryness coloring his 'words'.
—I am well aware of that, but there are a few things I wish to impart—
the Planet replied. –First of all, do not use your materia. You would be hard put to explain their existence. The people of this world rely on the drawing of magic from the monsters to increase the number of their spells. But they can only cast or draw when they have a Guardian Force who is willing to aid them living within their minds—
(Drawing? And why are these, uh, Guardian Forces necessary?)
—All shall be explained later in a safer environment. For now...heads up!—
Sephiroth broke from his telepathic communication with the Planet just in time to see a clump of bushes five yards away from them rustle, and then part to admit four monsters with tuber-shaped bodies and long, waving tentacles.
"They're Grats!" Keire announced, presumably for Sephiroth's benefit. "They use Sleep attacks, so watch out for those." With those words he hoisted his gunblade back and threw it, boomerang style. The gunblade spun in a lazy arc, impaling a Grat, causing it to squeal before it slowly toppled over in a heap.
Fire Edge cut its way through the Grat, and returned to its owner's hand. Keire smirked at Sephiroth. "One," he declared.
Then the Grats were on them. Mel flashed past, her claws scoring deep, bloody gashes across the eyes of one Grat, spraying disgusting green ichors everywhere, including across Mel. She made a face as she leapt clear of the Grat's wildly flailing tentacles. Once she was a safe distance away, she closed her eyes, locked both hands together, and concentrated. A bright stream of energy connected the monster's and her bodies for one instant, then was gone.
Drawing, Sephiroth surmised as he waded into the battlefield. It was a carnage, as the monsters were evidently too weak to be able to adequately defend themselves against their foes. He somehow ducked one Grat's blows and severed off a tentacle. The Grat scored a lucky hit on him, one tentacle slapping across his face and splitting his lip. Sephiroth ignored the small, stinging pain; the wound was minor, and with his Jenova-granted abilities, would heal in a matter of seconds. Just for fun, he removed the rest of the offending limbs with one sweep of the Masamune before slicing it downwards. The slash was so fast that, when he pulled the sword out, no blood stained its silver surface. The Grat crumpled, and, shaking his head at the poor challenge they offered, Sephiroth cast his gaze about for a new foe.
Keire was doing quite well too. He finished off his second Grat and ran to help Mel with hers. The female instructor was having a bit of trouble due to the fact that her chosen weapon had a shorter reach and she had to move within the range of the Grat's tentacles in order to deal a more serious blow. Before Keire could join her, the Grat began to make an odd, whistling noise that covered several octaves.
Sephiroth winced as the shrill, irritating noise penetrated his eardrums, but other than making him vaguely dizzy for a moment, a feeling he shook off easily, it seemed to have no other effect that he could discern. Keire also seemed unaffected by the Grat's attack, but it was a different story for Mel, who slid gracelessly onto the ground, her eyes shut. Her chest still rose and fell, so she only appeared to be unconscious.
The Grat changed tactics as it noticed Keire advancing towards it with Fire Edge upraised. It scuttled away and released a weird kind of black sap that spurted out of what presumably served as the creature's mouth that landed all over Keire and Mel. Mel jerked back to consciousness with a start, and joined Keire in his stream of vulgarities as she noticed her new burns and the icky black stuff clinging to her skin. Just as the Grat prepared to send off another volley, it keeled over as Sephiroth's sword entered its system.
"Couldn't you have snuck up faster?" Mel groaned, swiping at the jelly-like goop that decorated her face and clothes. "It's going to take forever to get this thing washed off." She cast a sideways glance at Keire. "At least he got it good too."
"Thank you for your concern," Keire snorted. He glanced at the silver- haired youth, who had remained silent throughout their conversation. "You may be able to handle Grats by yourself, but you've probably noticed that they're a piece of cake. That's because this training center is for beginners, though it's becoming rather obvious to me that you know your stuff, and because you haven't met the terror of all newbies, the almighty T-rexaur..."
From a short distance away, there came a loud, menacing growl that caused the ground beneath their feet to tremble slightly, and the musical complains of birds and crickets in the jungle faltered and fell silent.
"Be careful of what you wish for," Mel kidded. "You just might get it."
Keire smiled confidently. "Well, looks like one is heading our way. Normally I wouldn't let someone who isn't even a cadet fight one...but how about it?" He grinned, a flash of challenge in his garnet eyes.
Sephiroth shrugged. "Fine by me." Hopefully this T-rexaur, whatever that was, would be harder to defeat. There was nothing more he loved in the world than just fighting against a flesh and blood enemy, the Masamune in his hand, putting his swordsmanship to good use...
With another tremendous roar, the T-rexaur burst out of the trees, growling ominously, its huge feet slapping against the ground and causing another wave of tremors to resonate through the earth. It saw the three people standing there, and, its small brain determining that they would taste good for dinner, stomped towards them with obvious intent. Its mouth opened to reveal dozens of ivory, razor-sharp teeth that glinted wickedly. It looked very, very mean and extremely hungry.
Sephiroth dropped back to talk to Mel, shouting over the massive beast's earth shaking roar. "Have there been any casualties during training?" he asked.
Mel thought about it. "One or two," she said uncertainly, holding up a couple of fingers.
One silver eyebrow arched up. "Oh? That is not very reassuring."
Mel shrugged. "Mostly smart aleck cadets who thought they could take on a T- rex by themselves."
"Don't worry, you aren't alone," Keire said cheerfully, brandishing Fire Edge. "You've got us super instructors!"
"Should I be relieved or even more frightened?" Sephiroth muttered to no one in particular, rolling his eyes.
"Jeez, what a riot you are," Keire said dryly. A huge foot slamming down inches away killed his humor, however, and he winced at the dinosaur's proximity, particularly its smell, or rather, stench. "Blech. Remember, ice magic, Mel!"
"I'm not an imbecile like some people," she growled in response. She retreated a little and began to mumble under her breath, her eyes glazing over. Keire and Sephiroth took up a protective stance in front of her, hacking away at the T-rex's tree-trunk size legs, jumping back whenever its tail came their way.
Mel, apparently finished, shouted, "Blizzaga!" leaping back and swirling her hands in front of her. The air became unbearably cold for a split second as a giant shard of ice burst out of the ground, engulfing the dinosaur. It shattered, raining ice pieces in all directions, and instinctively they ducked. The shards, however, faded away harmlessly, and the dinosaur emerged out of the storm alive, but weaving like a drunkard and decidedly worse off.
Mel resumed another spellcasting stance and started off another chant. Confident that the T-rex, which was now stumbling around with a weaving gait and dulled eyes, would no longer pose any serious harm to her, the two men abandoned their post to launch more formidable assaults on the weakened monster.
Keire was the first to act, somersaulting up, one hand catching hold of one of the uneven ridges on the dinosaur's spine. The T-rex, sensing his unwelcome presence, attempted to shake him off, but Keire secured his position by driving Fire Edge into the dinosaur's thick hide. The T-rex shrieked with more rage than pain and wriggled itself harder.
The ploy was only partly successful as he was unable to fully penetrate the T-rex's thick skin. He was in a difficult position to drive the sword deeper as the 'ground' kept swaying beneath his feet. All he could do now was to grit his teeth and continue hanging on tightly to his gunblade.
Sephiroth was faring better. Since the dinosaur was fully occupied with shaking Keire off, it failed to notice the addition of a second intruder, who was rapidly scaling up the dinosaur's leg. Catching hold of a few armored plates sticking out from the T-rex's kneel, he leaned out and slashed the Masamune across the T-rex's more exposed belly with the whole of his prodigious strength.
Hot blood fell in huge droplets from the wound, scalding him where they landed on his skin. Smoke rose from his clothes where the blood fell. The Masamune flashed one more time, and the drops became a veritable downpour of crimson fluid. Seizing the opportunity, he shoved his hand deep within the gash and released the strongest Ice spell he knew.
Too late, he remembered the Planet's warning against using magic. But as the spell blossomed to frigid life within the very guts of the dinosaur, Mel's second Blizzaga spell, completed, took effect at almost the same time. The temperature lowered by several unbearable degrees, serving as a warning to Sephiroth and Keire, who leaped clear, landing on the ground in a ball to reduce the risk of broken bones. Their foe, literally frozen dinosaur steak, landed with a huge crash that must have shook the whole of Garden.
The two swordsmen picked themselves off the ground, shaken and bruised but unhurt. They walked over to Mel, who was admiring her handiwork, and unknown to her, Sephiroth's as well. "Wow, I've never seen my Blizzaga spells so powerful before!" she exclaimed, a surprised, and almost suspicious, expression on her face.
"Glad that you've improved, Mel." Keire clapped her on the shoulder. He toed the still corpse of the fallen dinosaur. Even as they watched, the gigantic body was beginning to fade out of existence. "Good work, everyone. And Sephiroth..."
The youth turned towards the instructor, with a curious expression. "Yes, sir?"
"I've yet to submit my report, but I think that when Xu sees it, she's going to love you." The instructor smiled. "Maybe this is a bit premature, but—" he held out his hand. "Welcome to Balamb Garden."
Sephiroth looked at it. He inclined his head. "Thank you, sir, for your kind words."
"The hand," Keire insisted, waggling it practically in Sephiroth's face.
Sephiroth sighed and shook it. "What do I do now until whatever?" he asked.
"You have the day off to do whatever you want," Keire answered immediately. "Just take the time to appreciate Garden...it's going to become your new home, after all. The canteen serves the best hot dogs, by the way, if you want to try some Garden dishes."
The trio started walking back to the exit. Other than another pack of Grats, which they disposed off with no difficulty at all, they departed without further incident. At the entrance, Keire turned back to Sephiroth with his confident grin firmly in place and said cheerfully, "You win this round. I look forward to fighting with you again, even if you're only a lowly cadet. But you're a natural with that sword, you know. I think you will have a great future in the mercenary world. Honestly. You won't win next time though, I promise you that!" He winked.
Sephiroth had to smile at the instructor's oddly endearing exuberance. "We shall see, sir."
Keire laughed and the two instructors waved a friendly goodbye, sauntering off and leaving Sephiroth to his own devices. As soon as they were out of sight, the silver-haired youth gently tapped on his bracelet with a fingernail, alerting the far away Planet to his wish to talk. "You still owe me that explanation on this world's magic, in case the matter has slipped whatever passes for your mind."
—You shall find what you seek in the library—was the Planet's only enigmatic response.
Sephiroth sighed but did as the Planet asked. He was directed down a path marked with a blue stripe and led to a secluded corner of the library, where he found himself staring at a shelf crammed with books devoted to the study of magic. Of its own accord, his right hand, the one with the Armlet of the Cetra, reached out, and grabbed a seemingly random book, and even helpfully flipped it open to a specific page.
Startled, Sephiroth flexed his fingers to make sure that all was in order before turning his attention to the volume he held in his hands. It was bound in night blue leather and looked very old and worn compared to the glossier spines of the other books sitting on the shelf. Its title was printed on the cover in peeling gold lettering: 'A History of Magic—since the Beginning' by a person named Dr. Finnibus Wilson.
The message was very clear, so Sephiroth retired to one of the tables in the corner and, burying his nose in the yellowing, dusty pages, began to read.
***
In the beginning, there was a void. But the nothingness demands to be filled, and various worlds were born out of a theory called 'The Big Bang.' Yet, for Gaia, the world was created by a mighty entity named Hyne, who in legends have been described as a powerful, sexless being both benevolent and capricious.
In Gaia, the flow of life is the magic. The monsters came about by wyld magic, which was concentrated mostly on the Moon, but later they appeared too in the earth. But it was the first humans that were Hyne's pride and joy. They had been formed personally by his loving hand, and thy had been infused with his life giving breath.
In those days, humans were near immortals, powerful winged creatures that soared the skies and ruled absolutely under the watchful gaze of Hyne, perfect in form and unsurpassed in beauty.
They were known as the Children of Hyne, and they called themselves the sorcerers and the sorceresses.
But power corrupts, and barely a millennium since Gaia was formed, war raged among the humans. We have been always ambitious, to our ultimate downfall.
Furious, Hyne cursed the battlers, turning them to terrible, deformed beings, a mockery of their former selves, whose hatred for Hyne could never measure up to their own hatred for themselves. Many killed themselves instead of facing the daily torment that was life. But there were a few who repented, whom Hyne spared. They, who had once conquered the skies, were now chained to the ground, fallen—our ancestors.
But to two of the sorceresses, Auth and Maia, Hyne was merciful, for they had always been his most faithful followers. Immortality was lost to the human race forever, but he did not intend for them to forget of lose magic, the mysterious force that would forever be part of life. He decreed that Auth and Maia would keep their powers, and when their lives passed, the gifts would pass on to worthy successors, and there would always be, as long as time lasted, two sorceresses.
Due to Hyne's curse, humans are now magic dead, unable to wield or cast magic without the aid of Guardian Forces, spirits which Hyne had formed out of the elements, second of his children. These were flighty, free-willed creatures, which would chose whoever they deemed worthy and serve them to the best of their ability, by lending them their strength in battle and enabling them to use magic for only the price of their memories. In this way, Hyne intended that magic would never be misused again. Examples of Guardian Forces are: Ifrit, god of fire, Shiva, spirit of ice, Pandemonium, guardian of the winds.
These Guardian Forces, of GFs, as they were known, would reside in the portion of the human brain that holds the memories of the host, and after a while these would fade, and the host would have difficulty remembering his past. If the GFs are removed, the memories will return, but very slowly, and some may even be lost forever. Most consider this a small price to pay for the GF's power, however.
The process of 'connecting' with the lifeforce of the GF is known as junctioning. Similarly, one can 'junction' the stock of one's spells to their magical defense/attack to protect yourself against a certain element or status effect or create a new, devastating attack.
***
Sephiroth frowned, laying his fingers flat against the book as he came across a painting of the first humans, their feathered wings spread, dark against the blue sky. Something stirred in his mind, and the lines in his forehead deepened as he tried to remember just what had nagged his memory.
(flashback)
—When you have become a god, my son, we will conquer the Planet...but do you know that there are other worlds out there, Sephiroth? The universe is infinite, filled with so many other lives and dreams...we will crush those dreams, as he crushed mine, eons ago...
He remembered himself asking. "What dreams, Mother?"
—I was the last one left...the others had all killed themselves in shame and misery...(soft, wistful)
"Who? The Cetra?"
—Others like me. (A flash of anger.) It was rightly mine! When we have drunk dry the Lifestream of the Planet, my beloved, darling son, we shall have the power to regained I lost, centuries ago...
"Yes, Mother," he replied dutifully.
(end flashback)
He had not understood then. Now he thought he did, as he remembered his own dark, raven-feathered wing, all but identical to the appendages of the immortals in the picture.
(Cursed, turned to terrible, deformed beings, by Hyne...)
He understood, with clear, cold clarity, the revelation pounding in his brain.
Unbidden, the voice of the Planet spoke into the numb disbelief of his shattered mind.
—Yes. Jenova's name wasn't always Jenova. Once she was Adele, high priestess of the sorceresses, until she was cast down by Hyne. Once, she was a sorceress of Gaia—
***
Author's Ending Note: Ta ta! Done! Surprised? Shocked? I hope that this new twist is believable enough, and also that I have managed to be as accurate as possible about the legend of Hyne from FF8, since as I haven't played it for a long time and may have left something out or ~smiles wryly~ thrown too much in. Thank you for reading, and bye til next chapter! ~bows and exits~
Thanks to:
Delphine Pryde—really? Thanks!
Noacat—Thanks for reviewing again, and in case you have noticed, though I have received the Review Alert in my e-mail, I can't see your review in FF. net. ~Shrugs~ Must be some kind of glitch. Ah, well, just thought I would bring it up.
And now...
I guess I don't need to remind you any longer what to do. I probably sound like a broken tape recorder anyway. But one last time, I'm appealing to you to review and make my day. Thanx!
