Author's Note: -smiles sheepishly- Sorry about the long waited update. However, we lost some writers, gained a new one… Things were hectic. We want to thank everyone for reviewing, the personal thank you's will be sent out soon. We hope you enjoy this chapter, it was long worked on. Ok, well, do enjoy!
Disclaimer:
Reyavie: We own nothing, except the plot, the OCs, and the muses…
Shadray: One of which, seemed it necessary to EAT two of our authors… -gives look to Bellona-
KeRMySteRr: I however own our new author –grins-
Anbu713: -eyes go wide- er… when did that happen?
Ker MySteR: When you signed this contract that says I own you…-picks Anbu up and tosses him over shoulder- Ok well enjoy the story, the OCs we own, and the characters we don't own!
Shadray: And Review Please!
Reyavie: It'd be greatly appreciated!
-Whole crew waves-
---xXx---
Song of Freedom
Jecht opened his eyes slowly to see his environment. His whole body hurt from being subjected to the crazed woman's tender care and his head was pounding with the beginning of a monumental hangover. "That's it," he thought vaguely, seeing the stoned ceiling "This was all a dream. I'm gonna close my eyes and will find myself back in my boat. Nothing to it."
He proceeded to do as he had told himself only to observe the exact same grey stones he had seen a moment before after he opened his eyes again.
"Could you stop acting like a psycho?" asked an unknown voice. "We know you are out of it but it's not like you can clap your hands, wish hard and disappear"
The blitzball player frowned, bringing another jolt of pain to his head "Who are you?" he growled out loud.
"Hey!" Someone kicked something metallic near him "Keep the noise down, you blasphemer. There are people trying to sleep."
He fell silent, and looked around. Bars were the first thing that met his view. He was in a cell.
"I can't believe he managed to get himself arrested already." That voice he knew. It was one of them, the ones that had brought him here. "Are you that stupid?"
"It's not like I knew I couldn't mention Yevon, you lightning witch," Jecht growled.
"I said silence, you scumbag." This time a silvery cup was thrown against the bars, its metallic sound resounding with the strength of a canon due to his already hurt head.
"So you needed a sign and some drawings to suspect that people saying praise be to Yevon wouldn't like hearing Yevon being badmouthed?" This voice, contrary to the ones before it, was a male one
"How…" Jecht stopped, either due to remembering the warning made by the unknown person or just because of the surprise of having several persons speaking on his mind "How the hell do you know that? Are you reading my mind?"
"Give him a cookie." The blitzball player winced involuntarily when he recognized that voice. His bruises seemed to know it quite well also. "It's not like we want to be here, you bastard. More like we don't have a choice."
"Get the hell out!" Apparently he forgot once more that he was the only one able to hear the elementals voices.
"I said silence!" Something was thrown in the cell, hitting him square in the face increasing the pain from the already horrible headache.
"You brought us this," whispered a last voice. "Well done."
"I'm beginning to think the crates would have been a better option," Cassandra muttered again.
"Only now? I'm beginning to lose respect for your intelligence, Cass." The dark elemental's love for him seemed to have decreased if that was even possible and Jecht was certain that he would not escape unscathed if he was near her at the moment.
With a frown he chose to put the voices aside. An unfamiliar hatred was already connected with the so-called protectors and hearing them was only making him feel sick as well. So instead Jecht looked around more closely.
The cell was practically empty besides the cot he was using and a small cup with a jar of water beside it. On the outside of his cell nothing much could be seen. The sound of flowing water was a constant, reminding him of the fountains that filled Zanarkand's streets and the man he assumed to be the guard was nodding off against a wall, the chair he was occupying in a very precarious balance.
The rest of what he could see brought no memories forth. It was just too alien, all of it. He had lived all his life among the metal buildings of Zanarkand, thrived with the artificial lights, the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Now he had been dumped by in medieval ages by the owner's of the voices murmuring in his mind.
His life just kept getting better and better by the second.
Minutes passed in silence. It seemed the group couldn't force a connection with him far too long. Jecht smirked lightly as he lay down once more. The least contact he had with them the better.
"Just because we aren't talking it doesn't mean we aren't listening," the male voice said with a hint of annoyance "I am Daniel, by the way."
"And what are you?" was the spiteful reply, "the Guardian of flowers and touchy feelings?"
"Wind actually." Now even a five year old with a severe case of density of the mind would be able to detect the coldness on the eighteen-plus-a-thousand year old's voice. "And now that I think about it you have a lot of that inside this head of yours. Want to see just how well your skull can handle it moving"
"Do I have to repeat that we need him alive for now?" Jecht grinded his teeth together to the point where one would have to deaf or dead to fail to hear.
The voices quieted for a moment "You don't have to repeat it Cassandra," continued the unknown female voice. "It's not like we don't know that. You have been preaching it for the past two hours. Oh and I'm Lydia, Space summoner."
"He's Jecht, blitzball player and drunkard extraordinaire," introduced Roxi with disgust in her tone. "By the Darkness when I think a sneeze made us bring this poor excuse for a human being back with us…"
Someone sighed in Jecht's mind and for a moment he thought it to be an echo of his own, as stupid as that seemed.
"Look, I really don't think you'll be able to help us," continued the other male voice, "but you are the only one that knows about us so…" Another pause. "Anyway I'm Xanthos."
"Fire guy," completed Lydia. "So, leaving that place anytime soon? I'm kinda tired of being here."
Jecht growled again. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm kinda jailed right now."
"And we got ourselves a comedian," Cassandra commented dryly. "Just get out of there."
"And how do you propose me to do that?" There was no answer from the other side besides a mutter of something that sounded too much like a threat.
"Move, you idiot!" ordered Roxi with disgust in her tone "We've waited long enough. If you had done as we'd told you we wouldn't be here anymore and you wouldn't be in that cell."
"Basically, find a way to get out of that mess," added Daniel. "And I think someone is coming."
Jecht took the chance to try and ignore the crowd in his head once more. There were people considered to be crazy over hearing voices that no one else could hear. He was sure, though, that the voices were the crazy ones and he was willing to pay dearly to have them out.
However crazy they might be Daniel had been right. Jecht watched in silence as a strangely robed man entered the room where he was being held. He was silent, sky-blue eyes carrying kindness and a kind of calmness that wasn't usually seen. An amused smile crossed the unknown man's lips as his gaze fell on the sleeping guard.
Maybe it was the weight of that gaze that brought the hazel eyes of the guard to open slightly then close once more. Then open…then close…until they finally opened in alarm as their owner jumped in the chair, the sudden movement sending both the furniture and the man to the floor.
"Idiot," murmured Jecht, observing the guard standing up quickly, an embarrassed look on his features as he did… "Why is he wishing victory to the guy? It's not like he's going to play Bliztball in that clown costume."
"Are you always that stupid or this is just a special time?" inquired Roxi blandly
The comment was left unanswered as the Zanarkandian watched the middle-aged man approach. His skin was light, soft brown hair barely escaping the constraint brought by the hat like extension of his robes and the circlet that held the fabric together. A light blue gem shone softly on its exact middle rivalling with the colour of his eyes, just as brilliant. Behind him walked another man, definitively younger. Dark brown hair was pulled behind his neck allowing his hard features to be fully seen. Dark hazel eyes shone with something akin to disapproval as he looked at the other man only to turn to disgust as he met Jecht's.
"What a hottie!"
"By Venulio, Lydia, we really don't need to know what you think about the opposing gender," exclaimed Xanthos. For the first time Jecht agreed with one of the elementals. He really didn't need a woman's opinion on anyone especially a would-be samurai wearing a red coat over the sturdiest piece of armour he had ever seen. Really, where did these people live? The middle ages?
The man in the constricting….well, the one that just had to have extreme problems with moving with the gigantic robes that made him look…
"He looks like an upside down flower," said Roxi with distaste. "Not even the bloody acolytes from the Darkness tower were that bad."
Jecht's eyebrow twitched. He apparently hated to agree with her of all people. With a sudden jerk he turned to the man, the brisk modes that characterized him showing strongly.
"Who are you?" he asked bluntly. Someone groaned.
Daniel heaved a sigh, clear exasperation flowing through the sound as he tried to control himself not to snap "Can't you just try to be civilized?" It seemed not.
However the poor tortured man didn't seem concerned over the blatant disrespect. The man behind him was a very different story. If his fists closed with more strength he would need medical help.
"You are the one they call Jecht, the man from Zanarkand, are you not?" the first one asked calmly.
"What of it?" was the rebuke. It seemed that not even Roxi's kind treatment earlier had done something to make him think before speaking.
The second man ran ahead, his features contorted into a scowl, hands twitching towards the giant blade he kept on his waist. "Watch your tongue, knave," he hissed.
"That would be slightly hard," commented Lydia, probably thinking something none of the others had the slightest inclination to know.
The light brown haired man turned slightly to his companion and nodded, all in his attitude saying "back down" before turning to the prisoner, a soft look on his face.
"My apologies. I am Braska, a summoner." His voice was so calm that only increased the fatherly aura he seemed to carry. Someone snorted something about too good to be true. "I've come to take you from this place."
The bliztball player gave him a suspicious look as he stood up. It seemed as if the recent events had made him think twice about propositions. Of course the one made before hadn't been one at all "Sounds sweet. What's the catch?"
"Are you that much of a MORON?" The lightning elemental didn't seem the least happy "He's trying to get you out of there and we want to get the hell out of here, you freaking idiot!"
"Cass?" called Roxi
"Yes?" Her voice had returned to her normal calm tone though a hint of curiosity could be felt.
"Get out of my mind and stop stealing my lines." There were loud shushing sounds as everyone tried to quiet the dark elemental. It would have worked more with the walls around them as Roxi had never been one to follow orders.
While any normal person would have been slightly angered or bothered by the man's question Braska didn't seem to be in the least. Something that was quite strange to see. He seemed to have a tremendous amount of patience.
"That easy to see was it?" the summoner asked with a half chuckle. "I soon leave on a pilgrimage…to Zanarkand."
"Seriously?" Surprise showed for a moment before being hidden behind the tough façade Jecht appeared to favour so much
"No, he just came here to make fun of your face." Sarcasm dripped heavily from Daniel's tone. Normally they wouldn't be so snappish…or most of them wouldn't.
Braska, without a mental audience or anyone to relate the comments going around, continued as if he had been talking about a walk in the park. "I would like you to join us. It will be a dangerous trip. Yet, if we do reach Zanarkand..." A small pause was made for dramatic effect. "...My prayers will be answered, and you will be able to go home, we think. What say you?"
Jecht didn't have much choice in the matter. The pregnant silence in his mind clearly said that he was not going to keep his health intact if the one answer they expected didn't leave his mouth.
"Great, let's go!" he said without missing a beat.
"Good boy," Lydia smiled roguishly in her chamber.
"Do you even think he's going to be able to find us?" asked Xanthos, frowning. "He doesn't seem that bright…"
"He will or Roxi will have his head," commented the wind summoner with a shrug. "Either way he better do something or I'll join her."
The summoner gave Jecht an appraising look, now he the one carrying a slight suspicion mixed with the amusement "So quick?"
"Anything to get out of here," Was the quick, extremely quick, answer. It was a reflection of how fast he wanted to get rid of the five elementals that seemed to take a liking for his mind.
Braska gave him another of his impossibly kind smiles and nodded once more. "Then it's settled"
The matter didn't seem to be settled if the man accompanying him had a word to say about it. The warrior walked to his side, fists still clenched and an aversion on his eyes that one would have to be tremendously dense not to see.
"But I must protest…" he started "This drunkard a guardian?"
"Don't worry," Commented Cassandra. "Give him bottles to guard and he'll do a fine job."
"Hey! You want to step in here and say that?" For once the fact that he did say that out loud didn't matter in the least.
"Actually, she would do that," Added Daniel calmly
"If she wasn't STUCK IN A DAMN CHAMBER LIKE ALL OF US! MOVE!" Roxi snapped angrily, the last bit of her patience going out the proverbial window.
"What does it matter?" Braska continued calmly "No one truly believes that I, a fallen summoner wed to an Al Bhed..."
"What is an…Al-Something-something?" Mumbled Lydia. "Sounds like a stupid name"
"Not everyone can be called Lydia," Daniel said easily. "I, however, am more interested in the why he's deemed a fallen summoner…strange" Nobody answered that remark. A thousand years locked away from everything didn't exactly keep the gossip lines running and they knew no more than him.
"Could possibly defeat Sin. This is what they say. No one expects us to succeed." A collective frown took over the five summoners expressions even though no could see it. Jecht would have thanked the silence if he didn't have the slightest suspicion that something should be wrong for them to be so quiet.
"Am I the only one that thinks Sin is bad news?" Asked Xanthos after a moment.
"Got that only by the Sin bit, Xan?" Cassandra's smirk could be felt miles away "Seriously," Her tone left any kind of joking out, "I think we're losing a lot of the story here"
"More like a thousand years of It," The dark summoner hissed. "When I get my hands on that bastard I'll…" Everyone choose to shut out the rather ghastly ways she would inflict pain on the former elemental.
The man, presumably Braska's guardian, flinched as if someone had hit him. "Braska, sir…" He seemed almost apologetic.
"Let's show them they're wrong," The summoner said suddenly, another smile on his face "A fallen summoner, a man from Zanarkand..." He made another pause, turning to his guardian, "And a warrior monk, doomed to obscurity for refusing the hand of the priest's daughter."
"AH! He's free!"
"LYDIA!" Came a collective mental scream
"What delightful irony it would be if we defeated Sin!" Hope and determination shone in his light blue eyes, a strength everyone could see.
"Just what in Thanthos's name is Sin?" Whispered Daniel worriedly.
Jecht seemed to get his fill then. All the conversation is his head was changing from serious to sarcastic then hormonal and back to serious again.
"Stop gabbin' and get me outta here!"
"Ever the pleasant conversationalist," Smiled Cassandra. "But at least you are getting the job done"
The guard approached after a small sign from the summoner but his attitude showed he wanted to do everything but free the Zanarkandian. Jecht didn't seem to mind. Actually the smug smirk that had taken over his face seemed to translate what he was feeling quite well. Like an "I'm getting out and you can't stop me" message.
"Who's the lapdog?" Jecht asked as soon as he left the small holding cell, small cricks sounding from his bones as he stretched. The guardian glared at him in a way very similar to Roxi's when she was slightly annoyed which meant that is was bad enough to scare the common mortal out of its wits.
Braska gave his companion an apologetic look once again. The idea of the mess he just placed himself in seemed to finally settle in his mind.
"This is Auron, my friend of several years and also my guardian for my journey," He introduced calmly with no apparent sign of annoyance. "I would appreciate if you would get along. That means the insults will stop," A slight narrowing of eyes told the two that anything else would have dire consequences.
The same could not be said about Auron that was looking at the blitzball player as if he was a very disgusting bug that had attached itself to his boots.
"It's a pleasure," he said in his gruff tone of voice, eyes locked with the bars behind Jecht as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
"What a nice fellow" Daniel said out of the blue.
"He's going to be a dead nice fellow if he stops the idiot from getting us out," Threatened Roxi. "And you. I thought I had said for you to move your bloody ass over here!"
Jecht felt a part of his brain erupt in pain following that command.
There was a collective search for the culprit among the elementals but none came forth to assume the guilt of the action. And if he, or she, did the most probable thing would be being congratulated. With all the tension they were feeling whatever small action was welcome.
"Right now I don't want to know," Confessed Xanthos
"I would want to but I'm more interested in getting out," Declared Daniel. "You should now say you need some time alone. Then look for us"
Jecht raised an eyebrow very slightly, a smug smile appearing on his face "How do you suppose I'll be able to trick the summer-ner to let me go alone into a city I've never seen before, looking for a place I don't have any idea of where it is to free…"
"I would be careful with what you call us," Lydia singsonged with a cheeriness that was almost creepy. "Or…" The sentence was left unfinished.
Roxi scoffed loudly "First of all it's summoner. Second, you lie and third you do it the old fashion way."
"You search top to bottom," Completed Cassandra as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
At that moment Jecht discovered that they weren't the only ones Fate hated without a single drop of mercy. He, apparently, had done something very wrong to that particular cosmic entity and therefore was about to suffer for it for the rest of his existence.
-----xXx-----
That was when hope flared in our hearts and, with it, fear. Because when one is betrayed too much hope is a sin, a danger…the bigger the height, the bigger the fall after all.
But knowing that there was someone out there, that knew of our plight, knew that we had suffered, even if he didn't understand it in the least…it was pure and undiluted strength to our hearts and minds.
Never in the thousand years that had passed had we felt freer even with those walls around us. And that was a danger that we were willing to go through if the prize was destruction of our shackles.
-----xXx-----
"Would you freaking hurry up?" Jecht contained the urge to snap at the dark elemental knowing that it wouldn't have any more effect than the dozens of times he had already done so to several of the summoners. It seemed forever since he had entered the temple searching for the hidden chambers. Doubt had crossed the group over the location of the prison but after a short, but very loud as Jecht's headache was ready to testify, discussion they had reached the conclusion that the smartest option would be on the temple.
The 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer' sounded all too appropriate to the occasion. So there was the Zanarkandian, receiving all sorts of weird looks from the faithful visiting the temple as he walked from side to side following the random instructions like 'There's one major energy source to the right!' Now that was one hell of a direction.
Jecht scowled to himself as he ran from statue to statue, from passage to passage looking for something he didn't quite know what to be. His mind went back to the summoner he had left behind making the preparations for the departure. Braska had been quite surprised when the blitzball player had asked to be left alone in the city, but had said nothing. If he thought that the man was crazy or just wanted to go sightseeing that remained to be known.
"Do you think that maybe the summoner's path has something to do with it?" Asked Daniel out-of-the-blue
"What?" Was the oh-so-intelligent remark from the brown haired man.
"He means the Cloister of Trials… I think," explained Cassandra "Though I have no clue why you would think such a thing, Daniel."
"The woman…the one that came to mock us," Started Lydia
"And that I'm going to feel an incredible delight in torturing," There was a moment of silence in which most wondered how many people were a part of Roxi's to-kill list.
"Well, she was a summoner right?" completed the younger girl as if nothing had been said. "Her energy seemed too much alike the summoners from Zanarkand to be anything else so I suppose that would give her permission to get inside the chamber."
"But how could someone bring five persons inside without anyone noticing?"
"The same way they got us out, Xan!" Continued Roxi with an undertone of hatred in her voice that had become all too usual for her "It's easy to close your eyes when you have something to gain from it"
Jecht looked around quickly, watching as the men and women walked around, kneeling in front of the different sculptures. The stairs leading the inner sanctum of the Yevon religion were, as always, guarded by two acolytes making sure the Taboos were respected, by force if necessary. He sneered when one of them looked at him for more than five seconds before turning once again to stare at the stone ladder. It didn't give any more information about the secrets hidden in the depths of the temple.
"Jecht?" The brown haired man turned to see the summoner he had agreed to protect. Behind him Auron waited, a glare on his face that seemed to be the only thing that Jecht would ever see from him. "What…" A very strange look was sent to him "Are you doing?"
There was a moment of silence in which the three men looked at each other and in which…all the other visitants looked as well ending up placing the Zanarkandian in a very tricky situation. He was already known as a blasphemer and now he was placing an I-am-crazy sign on his back by acting like a lunatic on the temple. With a frown he made a sign to the two and walked next to the stairs waiting for them to join him.
"Don't you think you have done bad enough to my lord's reputation by your actions since you have arrived?" Auron inquired harshly.
The blitzball player just narrowed his eyes "Right now I don't care about that in the least. Know anything about a secret chamber around here?"
"Can you even think before you speak?" Cassandra glared at the walls in front of her since she wasn't able to glare at the man "Last time we checked secrets aren't publicized."
If the summoner hadn't thought that something was wrong with him he sure had to so now. "A secret chamber?" A piercing gaze found its way to sky blue eyes, a small movement of his brow enough sign of his confusion over that statement. "You do realize that whatever chamber you are speaking of, if it exists, must only be known by the members of the order of Yevon. Why do you ask?"
"HELL NO" Was the collective shout of five voices. Jecht winced, eyes closing for a mere moment before a slow smirk crossed his features.
"What would you say if I told you there are five summoners trapped in this temple and they have been there for the past one thousand years?"
"That you haven't been too close to Sin but have lost your mind," Answered Auron gruffly.
"Well done," Daniel felt a huge headache begin to hammer against his head. "Now you're getting a nice, comfy cell somewhere in this temple"
"No, He's not because I am killing him" Lydia threatened
Roxi punched the wall in irritation, showing no outer signs of pain. "You sure as hell won't, Lydia!" Dark blue eyes narrowed dangerously, "I so have first dibs on the idiot."
He seemed unaffected the threats. Either he was too confident that they couldn't get their hands on him or he was just totally unconscious of the mess he had just placed himself in.
-----xXx-----
At that moment I wanted to kill him. Any of us wanted in on that precise activity. For one thousand years we had waited in the dark for a way to get out. For one thousand years we had prayed to our gods, to the walls, to whatever sentient being that would listen. And for the first time we had managed to do something about it instead of praying…we had to place our hopes in someone that didn't have the slightest concern over us.
Our lives were just getting better and better by the second…
-----xXx-----
"So you are saying that the reason for you to be here, and I mean in Bevelle, is five summoners that apparently are being held inside?" Braska seemed quite unconvinced even as he tried to hide it and not plain call the other man crazy.
"You don't believe me," Jecht accused, crossing his arms.
"Would you believe if someone told you that amazing piece of information?" Daniel asked sarcastically. All the elementals were strained to the point were they could burst. It had been their only chance and they were risking it because one person couldn't keep his mouth shut.
Braska seemed quite at odds with what to say. The Zanarkand origin bit hadn't been easy to stomach but the idea of a thousand year old summoners was almost too much for him. Auron had a slightly smug look to his stoic face. If he wasn't who he was he would have said "I told you so". Fortunately for both Braska and him he was who he was and kept silent.
"Look," Jecht continued, "I don't care if you believe me or not right now. The only thing I care about is getting them out so they can get me back home"
"Did anyone…""Lydia please" The space summoner could almost see the frown that she had watched time and time again taking place in Cassandra's face. The tone carried a veiled threat but the message was quite clear. "Do not finish that sentence."
Jecht paid them no mind; his mind was set. For him the only way out was getting the summoners free. Which was a great path of thinking in the said summoners' opinion. He turned to the staircase ready to probably do something stupid like climbing or beat the unfriendly looking guards to the ground…or just be beaten by them and be thrown once again in prison. But just in that precise moment his eyes were drawn to a small carving in the stones. It was almost hidden underneath the dust and marks of time and he probably wouldn't have noticed if it wasn't for a sharp intake of breath taken by the five summoners. Because there, engraved in cold stone, in the heart of Bevelle…was the symbol of Zanarkand.
"This has to be a joke," Muttered Roxi. "This just has to be another freaking way for someone to mock us!"
"What?" Asked Jecht forgetting that he was not alone and that talking to voices in his mind out loud wasn't the smartest thing to do.
Daniel scowled slightly looking at the wall in front of him, the image of that symbol burning in his mind. "It's just too strange," he finally said. "Any symbol from our city was banished from Bevelle. Even songs and messages had been abolished in the last two years."
"It was propaganda," Continued Xanthos. "We were just monsters not people"
"The less they knew the better," finished Lydia.
The blitzball player didn't understand really what they were meaning but he cleaned the symbol nevertheless, letting it see the light for the first time in several years. It was a large circle involving the Zanarkandian symbol nestled on the interior of a pentacle. On the points of the star a small disk could be seen, each with a different symbol carved. The rest of the circle was marked with strange patterns and lost writings that didn't make any more sense to him than the first ones.
"I'm not liking this," whispered Cassandra. "Those are our symbols"
"What?" asked Jecht for the second time in less than one minute.
"By the darkness would you get a clue?" snapped Roxi "The main symbol is from Zanarkand. The others are elemental ones. They marked each of our towers. Now the question is what in Nephthys's name is this doing here and for what reason?"
A rough hand was brought to Jecht's face and he let out a shuddering sigh. He wasn't quite sure how they could see what he was seeing but the fact was that he didn't care about that in the least. He just wanted to get rid of them and the faster that happened the better.
He was totally oblivious to the looks he was attracting. The visitants of the temple had been scared away, quite literally, by a more forceful look sent by the guardian but both he and Braska waited hesitantly. "What do I have to do?" Was the muttered question.
"Quite frankly?" Daniel continued "We are most certain that…we have no clue…"
At that moment Jecht had an urge to turn around and leave the temple without looking back. But the thought of how they were his only hope seemed all too bashed in his mind. That was the sole reason why he did no comments…and bashed his head against the wall a couple of times. "Any. Of. You. Have. Any. IDEAS?"
"How about you stop talking to us as if we were a bunch of two year olds mhmm?" suggested the lightning elemental in a way that was more of a forceful suggestion than a question.
"How about pressing the disks?" Lydia continued before the conversation went down a very dangerous path. "Seems better than staring at them as if they were the eight tower of Zanarkand" It was an idea as good as any other it seemed.
Jecht shrugged and slowly pressed the disk resting on one of the "arms" of the pentacle. The symbol carved on its bronze like surface was a small triangle whose borders seemed to be covered in waves of some kind. One of the sides of the triangle was already fading, destroyed but not by time. "Argh!" He backed away just as quickly, face distorted by pain as he grabbed his hand.
"Jecht!" Braska came forth but halted as he saw the blistering red wound on his new guardian's hand. The symbol seemed to have burned itself into the skin, the marks that had faded on the wall clearly seen now in the injury. "What in Yevon's name…?"
"Nice choice of words there little boy" commented Roxi "Great idea Lydia"
"It wasn't as if you had a better one" Xanthos shot back "Stop blaming her"
"Would you please just stop?" Cassandra sighed out of the blue. She was beginning to tire, the stress of the whole situation wearying her nerves.
Roxi scowled slightly "You pressed the wrong one" She finally said
"What?" That sole word seemed to have been used a lot in the last minutes but this time it hadn't been the Blitzball player, too concerned over the marks still burning in his skin that Braska was attempting to cure as a completely uninterested Auron looked at the symbols calmly. It had been Daniel "How can you know that?"
The dark elemental scoffed slightly, the action a sign of how moronic she thought the question to be "That, Daniel, was the fire symbol"
"Really?" Interrupted Jecht with a groan where the sarcasm was well present "Hadn't noticed"
"And Fire wasn't the first element to appear either here or in Zanarkand" she continued choosing to ignore the other man "Forgotten your own damned story?"
It took barely a moment for that information to register. They had indeed been neglecting their own history, the data drilled into their minds ever since they had been brought to Alliance's Keep so long before.
"First came darkness" whispered Daniel "And from dark, matter was born"
"Wind filled the heavens, blessing of the skies" continued Lydia "Though why Daniel is considered a blessing beats me"
"Finally the Fire of Life came as Light burst forth" completed Cassandra "Of course, the song of the elements. I never did catch the end of it but I guess that can be the order needed to open…something"
"Does this hold any meaning to you?" Asked Auron out-of-the-blue. He was still staring at the symbols, their cravings and patterns seeming much more interesting than anything else.
"N-" A sharp pain crossed Jecht's skull once more making the two letter word remain unfinished. "Yes" He spat out.
"Dear Isis" Lydia smiled "They grow up so fast. I'm so proud"
"Make it simple or else he won't be able to follow the path of thought" Counselled Roxi in the tone of voice that pretty much one had to be dense as a door to not understand she was insulting you.
Daniel closed his eyes for a moment. He suddenly was very happy that they needed the other man otherwise he wasn't too sure of how much time said Zanarkandian would survive the dark elemental. It had been hate at first sight it seemed.
"Just listen alright?" Called Xanthos "First darkness, then space, followed by wind and…"
"By Seyane…" Cassandra interrupted "Everyone we have a problem"
"Just one…?" The lightning elemental frowned
"Xan, do me a favour and don't comment" She said with a frown "In the song lightning and fire are not given a specific order. How are we supposed to know which one comes first?"
Jecht didn't say a thing. Suddenly he wasn't so interested in getting them out. Braska had offered a way for him to get to his city. What good would it make have a bunch of old geezers behind him? His mental process kept coming back and forth in the last couple of hours.
"I would not call us old geezers" Daniel stated lightly "Just because we can't leave doesn't mean that we cannot make your life hell. Maybe pressing both disks at the same time?"
"So I can be burned and toasted at the same time?" Jecht shot back
"Well yeah," Lydia said simply "That or you trying all of them one by one" Her smile was definitively devilish at that moment.
The burn in his hand pulsed that same angry red it had showed barely moments before but he paid it no mind. Calmly he stood up straight and raised his uninjured hand facing the several disks.
"Darkness" He muttered slowly, hand touching the symbol on the other "arm" of the pentacle. In it could be seen what vaguely resembled a crescent moon. Vaguely because the whole lines that would have been the full representation of the moon were apparently being destroyed by…nothing. A dark cloud advanced slowly but surely over the astrological object. Jecht pressed gently before almost jumping behind as if the metal was about to bite his fingers off. The disk simply entered a crevice that was supposedly behind it, peacefully
"One down, four to go" Muttered the Fire elemental
"Don't need to look so disappointed about it not hurting him Roxi" The lightning summoner added dryly. The glare Roxi sent to the wall, and that remained unseen, was the only answer.
"Space" The disk held sorely an upside down triangle, like if it was some kind of cup defying the force of gravity. Near the top a single bronze line could be seen. Yet again Jecht raised his hand and pressed. The same dance that made him look like he was attempting to walk on little pieces of glass was done. The second disk entered just as easily.
"Lydia, you sneeze again in your life and I'm killing you" Daniel breathed deeply as the time for his symbol to be inserted came forth. His disk was the exact opposite of Lydia's, but otherwise the exact same form and shape. It followed its predecessors without a complaint.
"Have you thought this maybe a trap?" Asked Xanthos as Jecht raised the other hand to touch the last two disks. The one for lightning was a small circle from which several lines departed making it seem like sunlight falling on the earth. Of course the way the lines angled in certain ways showed that their falling would be much more dangerous.
"He certainly thought it now" Cassandra forced herself not to comment anything else as the last two disks were pressed at the exact same time. Nothing happened besides their silent joining to the others.
"Alright," Jecht growled "All of you, what was that supposed to accomplish?"
The stones from the staircase moved as if in answer, melting into each other and then to the side leaving on its place a hole big enough for a tall man to pass easily. Or for someone of Yevon's stature and with an ego as big. Yevon had never been one to lower himself to someone especially when that someone was something as normal as a door.
"A way to enter maybe?" Answered the space summoner with a touch of annoyance
"As always you are a mistress of the obvious, Lydia" Roxi rolled her eyes as she allowed herself to see through Jecht's eyes the door that had been opened. Not for the first time she cursed the way the unknown eyes obscured her natural ability to grasp the shadows.
"This seems too easy for someone like Yevon" Cassandra allowed herself to stop the slow pacing she had been doing and slid down next one of the walls. "He was one to always have something hidden, to take a card from under his sleeve when someone least expected. He's allowing entrance with a children's song?"
Daniel scoffed slightly "Yes, we loved the last one he pulled on us. Lovely gift that was. As easy as it seems it is the only way for us to go"
"Us?" Jecht's voice sounded incredulous "I don't see you moving your good for nothing lazy asses out of…"
"I don't think you quite got it" Lydia whispered slowly like she was talking to two year old that barely knew then meaning of some words "We are jailed. We have been so for the past thousands years. What part of that you couldn't get?"
There was a moment of silence that seemed to echo throughout the temple. If it was some kind of magic that had been buried beneath those symbols or just the forceful presence of the acolytes pushing all people out showing that it was the time to seal the doors they didn't know but they could almost bet it was more because of the first than of the latter. After all the weapons carried around were very good incentives.
A collective burst of pain crossed the five elementals, so sudden that none of then could stop the slight gasps of pain that left their lips. Jecht frowned lightly understanding that something was very wrong with that picture. They could be a major pain in their ass but he needed them.
Xanthos grimaced as he felt the pain cross his nerves like small snakes, infiltrating each and every pore of his skin. Tiny needles seemed to sting at the same time and from the groans and hisses of pain of his companions he knew they were feeling the same thing. "What in Venulio's name…" he winced again "What is…this?"
The sting began to lessen to a supportable itch. But still there and annoying as ever giving origin to an extremely painful headache and a feeling of weakness that they had not felt for a long time.
"Guys…" whispered Lydia, her voice barely heard "Something is really wrong"
"I can't hear it!" Daniel was the next and his tone held fear, a fear so strong that seemed to shake the ground where they stood, the very foundations of the temple.
Roxi began breathing deeply trying not to throw up when she realized what had happened. The darkness felt almost cold, the shadows screaming in a voice she could barely distinguish. "I can't feel the storm" Cassandra's pain was more sorrow than any other feeling, as if a part of her was being ripped from her body.
"He's using us," The dark elemental finally stated. "He's using out powers against us"
There was no need to ask just who the "he" Roxi had referred to was. They all knew. It was the supreme irony of Fate, the final touch of Yevon's will to destroy everything they had ever stood for
"What next?"
Not one of them answered to Lydia's question. The bad thing about Fate was that it always found a way to make the bad…worse.
---xXx---
A/N: Ok, well… we were going to have them get out this chapter, but then the chapter would have rivalled one of Anbu's so, we didn't! Ok! Well please do review! It's a nice thing to do! Alright, well until next time:
DaKeRMySteRr: Toodles! –waves excitedly-
Anbu713: Don't Die!
Reyavie: See ya
Shadray: Shalom!