The six of us stood or sat in the cockpit, staring at each other and waiting for someone to talk. I had just breached the subject of how we were going to find the sorceress and like I had figured, no one had an answer. Finally I sighed and spoke.
"What was the point of going through all the trouble of stealing the Ragnarok if you guys don't even have a plan?"
"We have a plan," Luke snapped.
"What's that?" I inquired, "Fly around and hope you see a big neon sign that says 'Sorceress Lantana's Secret Lair'?"
"That was the gist of it," Cale admitted wryly.
I threw my hands up in exasperation. "Why did I even bother to come?"
"Good question," Luke said while checking the instruments on the panel in front of him. "Everyone would've been a lot happier if you had just stayed in the Garden."
"Everyone would've been a lot happier if you had never been born," I shot back childishly.
"Both of you shut up for a second!" Vaughn insisted suddenly. Luke and I both looked at him in surprise. "Listen, the elevator's coming up."
All six of us turned towards the back of the cockpit where the elevator was located. Once it dropped off it's passengers in the top room, it went back to the passenger area. It only returned if it was called using the button next to the shaft. I looked at Tal, who was closest to it.
"Did you call it?"
"No," he shook his head, "I didn't touch it."
Instinctively, six pairs of hands went to their weapons, preparing for whatever was going to step off of the elevator. In the ten seconds or so it took to finally return to the cockpit, a million ideas ran through my head as to what could be coming but none of them were even close to what was really on the elevator.
As it came up, the first thing we saw was a head covered in dark brown hair. As the person came more into view, we recognized her easily as Raine Leonhart. We all relaxed on our weapons as the elevator stopped and she stepped into the cockpit.
"Raine!" Tal shouted, "What are you doing here?"
"I came because you guys need me," she stated simply and walked past him to where Luke and Cale were half out of their seats. She stopped in front of them. "I can track Raven for you."
The two guys stared at her for a second.
"What do you mean?" Cale inquired.
Raine sighed in irritation. "I can track her, lead you to her."
"How?"
"With my sorceress blood," Raine said, "It's not good for using magic, but because we're sisters, I can feel Raven's presence at all times. I can lead you to her."
"Why don't you just tell us where she is?" Luke suggested.
"Because I don't know," Raine explained, "I can feel her, but I don't know exactly where she is. I can tell what direction we need to go and if we're getting closer though."
"All right," Vaughn nodded, "we find, Raven, we find Lantana. Makes sense to me."
"So, which way should we be going?" Luke asked.
Raine closed her eyes for a moment, then pointed to the left out of the cockpit window. "That way."
Cale began to correct the flight path while Tal came forward and grabbed his sister roughly by the arm.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed, "This is a dangerous mission, not some training exercise. This is serious stuff."
"You think I don't know that?" she snapped, "I came because you need me to find Raven and I want to help. She's my sister too you know!"
It was obvious that Raine was worried about Raven so Tal didn't argue anymore. He let go of her arm and took a few steps back.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"I can take care of myself," Raine insisted and lightly touched her Kali sticks, which were hooked to her belt.
"Well, since everything's figured out," Vaughn commented, "I'm going back to the passenger area. Too cramped in here."
"He's right," Luke agreed, "All of you should go back down. Raine, you'll have to stay up here with us so you can tell us where we're supposed to go."
The younger girl nodded in agreement and the rest of us rode the elevator back down to the passenger area. The four of us took our seats and were silent for a while. Finally, Kayla spoke.
"What do you think's gonna happen?" she asked out loud.
We were all silent as we contemplated our answers.
"I guess we're gonna fight the sorceress," I answered finally.
"No," Vaughn contradicted, "We're gonna defeat the sorceress."
"And save Raven," Tal added.
"What if the sorceress isn't where Raven is?" Kayla inquired.
"Then we get Raven back and worry about the sorceress later," Vaughn answered simply.
"I like that plan a whole lot better than trying to defeat the sorceress," Kayla commented.
"Going up against Raven won't be any less dangerous," I told her, "Her powers are strong and with the sorceress controlling her, there's no telling what she might do."
"We'll get her back," Tal insisted stubbornly, "We have to."
The four of us fell silent again as the Ragnarok banked slightly to the left, obviously following Raine's instructions. We were silent for a few more minutes before Vaughn stood up and came and sat next to me. Kayla and Tal were on the other side of me and they both raised their eyebrows and smiled as he sat down. I glared at both of them then looked at Vaughn as he spoke.
"You guys nervous?"
"No," I answered quickly. I was, but I didn't want him to think I was some wussy girl who couldn't handle a real battle.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "No? You should be, this is some serious stuff we're getting ourselves into right now."
I stared at him for a second, trying to think of a way out of the hole I'd just dug. "Well, you know, I'm a little nervous…"
Next to me, I heard Tal and Kayla snickering. I pretended not to hear them and faced forward again, mentally cursing myself for answering at all.
"Hey Kaisa," Tal called with a grin. He was sitting on the other side of Kayla, closest to the wall, "Why don't you tell Vaughn what's really on your mind."
I could feel my face turn bright red as if it had been doused with oil and then lit on fire. Next to me, Kayla and Tal collapsed into fits of laughter. I continued to stare straight ahead, not even chancing a look at Vaughn to see if he understood the meaning of Tal's words. Suddenly, he spoke.
"Hey Tal," he called to the younger boy, "I heard you and my sister were in her room alone, 'doing nothing'."
Kayla and Tal fell silent as quickly as if a switch had been flipped. They both stared at Vaughn wide-eyed.
"I…I don't know what you're talking about," Tal insisted unconvincingly.
"Oh," Vaughn said and wrinkled his brow, "Well, I told my mom and dad about what I'd heard and neither of them seemed too happy about it. Gee, I'd hate to get you two in trouble for no reason." He smiled.
Kayla and Tal continued to stare. Finally Kayla spoke. "You didn't."
"Didn't what?"
"Tell Mom and Dad."
"Oh of course I did," Vaughn assured, still smiling, "I believe it's my duty as your older brother to protect you from boys."
Everyone fell silent again and I looked over at Vaughn discreetly. Of course, he caught me looking and winked before I turned away.
The rest of the trip was spent in virtual silence. Kayla and Tal were brooding about what Vaughn had said and I didn't want to open my mouth and say anything stupid, so I kept it shut. About two hours after departure from the Garden, Luke came onto the intercom.
"Listen up guys, Raine found Raven. We're approaching Centra right now and Raine says she's somewhere in the Ruins. We're gonna set down about half a mile away and go on foot to the Ruins. We're landing in about five minutes."
The intercom clicked off and the four of us put on our seatbelts just in case it proved to be a rough landing. It wasn't, and five minutes later we were landed half a mile from the Centra Ruins. As the four of us in the passenger area stood up and prepared to exit the ship, the three from the cockpit rode the elevator down and joined us.
"Raine, you stay here," Tal ordered.
"What?" Raine exclaimed, "I'm not staying here!"
"Yes you are," Tal insisted, "It's way too dangerous for you to go with us."
"You need me still," Raine said.
"No we don't."
"How are you going to find Raven once you're in there?" Raine demanded, "You need me to locate her inside the Ruins."
"She's right," Cale agreed, "She has to come with us. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her."
Raine glared at the older man. "I don't need adult supervision."
"Maybe not but you aren't a SeeD yet, so I'll stay with you and make sure you're okay," Cale stated.
Raine sighed in defeat and the seven of us left the Ragnarok. Out on the plains of Centra, the moon was barely enough to illuminate our way but we didn't want to take the risk of flashlights announcing our arrival, so we dealt with it.
On the way to the Ruins, the monsters were thick because Centra was hardly ever visited by humans. We fought through easily enough and I even managed to get a Power Generator for my Limit Break, Ray Bomb. It took us about an hour to reach the Ruins and by that time, the moon had disappeared behind some clouds, letting absolutely no light wash down onto our path. When we reached the tower amidst the Ruins, we all stopped outside to catch our breath, check our supplies and come up with a plan.
"Okay," Luke started, always ready to take charge, "As far as I can tell, we haven't been spotted but that doesn't mean that we can let our guard down. We could be attacked at any minute and a sorceress has the power to wipe us all out simultaneously. We're gonna have to support each other in battle. We need to coordinate it now so there's no confusion once we get there. Since Raine isn't a SeeD yet, I think she should stay in the back and cast curative magic."
"I want to fight!" Raine insisted.
"Too bad," Luke told her, "You're not ready for a fight like this. You stay in the back and heal. Kayla, since you can use Full Cure, you should stay with Raine and help her. You can occasionally cast spells if you get the chance but stay out of the actual fight. We can't afford to have our healers getting slammed. Vaughn and Tal, you'll be in front of our healers since you have projectile weapons. You can stand back and cover the rest of us. Me, Kaisa and Cale will be the front line since we have short range weapons."
"I don't know," Vaughn said, "Shouldn't me, you and Cale be front line? I mean, no offense Kaisa, but you've only been a SeeD for a few days and this is a serious fight. Do you think you can handle it?"
"I'll be fine," I snapped, a little more harshly than I had intended.
I saw a pained look wash over his face and he frowned. "Okay, sorry. I didn't mean to make you mad."
"You didn't," I assured, ashamed of the way I had acted. "I'm just nervous, that's all. I didn't mean to snap at you."
"Listen Vaughn, if you and Tal do your job and cover us, then there's nothing to worry about," Luke stated.
"Okay," Vaughn agreed.
"All right then," Luke continued, "Are we all clear on what we're doing?" We all nodded. "Good. Now, let's check our magic stocks and supplies."
After a half hour of going over magic and items, we were finally ready to enter the tower. Most of our curative magic had been given to Raine and Kayla, as well as a majority of our healing items. We didn't give them everything of course because if they got knocked out in battle, we'd all be screwed.
"Okay, is everyone ready for this?" Luke asked, standing before the broken entrance to the Centra Tower.
"As ready as we'll ever be," Cale stated. He stood next to Raine, behind Luke.
"No time like the present," Tal agreed. He stood in between Kayla and me.
"Okay then, let's do this." Luke was the first one to enter the Ruins, his Hyperion in hand. The rest of us held our weapons as well, except for Tal, who had his strapped to his arm and Cale, whose weapons were his fists.
Inside the Ruins, there was absolutely no light whatsoever and we had to proceed cautiously to avoid falling into a pit or crashing through the rotted floor. We reached the staircase without injury and after a brief consultation with Raine, we started up the rickety stairs. There were several places were the banister had rotted away or the steps had fallen off, so we were slowed even more. To make things worse, there were monsters inside the Ruins and we were attacked frequently. The only good thing to come out of our long trek to the top was that we fought a few Death Claws, which drop Missiles used for my Micro Missile Limit Break.
After what seemed like ages, we finally reached the top of the stairs. The landing we were on was not quite as old and rotted as the rest of the Ruins but there was a huge boulder blocking the path that led down a hallway. The only place we could go was back down.
"It's a dead end," Luke grumbled.
"It can't be," Raine insisted, speaking in a whisper, "Raven is up here, I can feel it. She's down that hallway somewhere."
"Well, unless you can walk through boulders, we aren't getting down there," Luke commented, "We'll have to go back down and see if there's some other way up."
"No," Raine shook her head, "There has to be some way around it. She didn't fly up here."
"She probably could've," Cale commented.
Raine glared at him, then turned back to Luke. "There's got to be some way around. Can't we just check it out before we walk all the way back down?"
"All right," Luke relented, "But quietly. If Raven is in this hallway, that means the sorceress might be here too."
"I don't think she is," Raine informed, "If she were close, I'd be able to feel her."
"Still, Raven is under the sorceress's control, we need to be careful."
The seven of us approached the large boulder, wary of anything that moved. We listened intently for any sign that we had been spotted and an attack was coming our way. Once we were satisfied that we were still alone, we began to search around the boulder for some way around it. It was Raine who finally spotted our way in.
"Guys," she called excitedly, "Come and look at this."
The rest of us crowded around as Raine pointed to a set of hand and footholds that had been carved into the rock. They led to the top where a portion of the boulder had been chipped away, leaving enough room for a person to crawl through.
"Good job Raine," Luke praised, "That's our way in. I'll go first and scout the area, then the rest of you can follow."
Before anyone could argue, Luke was pulling himself up the side of the boulder by the handholds. He reached the top and then squirmed through the opening onto the other side. He was gone for about a minute, in which time we all tensed, waiting to hear him yell for help, but he crawled back through and waved for us to follow.
The rest of us climbed the rock and crawled through the space on the top, then climbed down the other side and joined Luke in the hallway. Once we were all there, we turned to Raine.
"Which door?" Luke whispered. The hallway we now stood in had several doors, all of which were shut and looked as if they had been for years.
"The last one," Raine stated and pointed to the last door in the hall, directly across from where we stood.
"Okay, let's go," Luke said, "But keep your eyes opened. Just because that's where Raven is doesn't mean that we won't get attacked by someone else from one of the other rooms."
The seven of us huddled together as we began to move down the hallway. Cale and Luke were in front, Tal and Vaughn were in the back and somehow we three girls got stuck in the middle, the safest place to be. I could understand why Raine was there but the fact that the guys wanted to protect us just because we were girls really ticked me off.
We made it to the final door without being attacked from anywhere else and we stood in front of it for a moment, contemplating the consequences and getting ourselves pumped for the battle. Finally, without a word, Luke grabbed the knob and pushed the door open.
The door swung in with a loud creeeeeeakkkkk that anyone would've heard within a mile radius. Since the element of surprise was gone, we decided that there was nothing left to do but rush in and confront whatever awaited us.
Once inside the room, we weren't immediately attacked so we took the time to get used to our surroundings. The room was a rather large bedroom with a huge canopy bed and a vanity. The room was clean, which was a surprise considering the rest of the tower, and looked like it had been lived in. The room was lit by two oil lamps next to the bed but the far corner was swathed in shadows. It was there that the voice came from.
"So, SeeDs, you have come."
The voice was recognizably Raven's, yet it wasn't. There was something about the way she spoke the words and the words themselves that sent a chill down my spine.
"Raven?" Raine whispered feebly from behind me. She sounded on the verge of tears.
"Why have you come, SeeDs?" The voice floated out of the darkness but we still couldn't see her. "Have you come to destroy me?"
"We came to save you," Tal called.
A soft chuckle sounded in the dark. "Save me? It is you who need to be saved."
Without warning, a glowing fireball erupted from the shadows and sped towards us. We managed to jump out of the way just in time and the spell hit the wall harmlessly behind us.
"Get in formation!" Luke barked as we recovered, "Remember, we're not hear to defeat her, just to take her home."
"Foolish SeeD," Raven cooed, "You should rethink that order if you wish to leave with your lives."
Suddenly, two red dots of light flared in the shadows in the corner and I felt my heart stop for a split second. The lights moved and Raven Leonhart emerged from the darkness she had been concealed in. She wore a strapless black dress that was slit up the side and her black hair fell down her shoulders, making it hard to tell what was the fabric of the dress and what was her hair. She smiled as her crimson eyes fell on us.
"You have come here, seeking your deaths. I shall give them to you."
As ordered, the seven of us fell into formation, Kayla and Raine in the back, Vaughn and Tal in the middle and me, Luke and Cale up front. All of us readied our weapons in anticipation of her first attack. Instead, she turned towards the shadows she had just emerged from.
"Come my knight," Raven beckoned, "Teach these SeeDs the meaning of pain."
All of our attention was focused on the darkness as we detected movement. I heard Kayla gasp as Tristen Denko emerged, holding his katana in front of him. He looked down at us and we could all see that his eyes were glazed over as if he were in a trance. Without so much as a warning, he attacked.
Tristen leapt forward, passed Raven and swung at the closest person, Luke. Luke blocked the swing with his gunblade but Tristen was so fast that he had pulled back and was lunging again before Luke even had time to register. Luckily, Vaughn fired at Tristen, hitting him in the arm and sending him back a few paces. Blood began to seep through Tristen's shirt where the bullet had gone in but as we watched, the blood flow stopped and the bullet pushed it's way back out of the wound.
"Oh shit," Luke breathed. He rushed at Tristen, but Tristen saw him coming and batted him away with his katana as if he were a bothersome fly. Luke flew across the room and crashed into a wall, then slid to the floor. He was up again a second later with the help of a Cura spell from Raine, but not before Tristen attacked again.
This time I was the target and he charged at me with his katana in the air. He slid to a stop in front of me and started to bring the blade down. I put my Sais in the air, catching his blade in between the blades of my weapons, then quickly cast a Quake spell. The ground cracked underneath him and I just managed to step back as he was tossed around by the earth's movements. When the spell had faded, he got to his feet and still expressionless, rushed at me again. This time Luke stepped in the way, having recovered from his flight across the room. He blocked the blade of Tristen's katana and Cale stepped in from the side, pummeling the older man's abdomen and chest while Luke kept his sword out of play. Taking the hint, I went to the other side and after a moment's hesitation, plunged my Sais deep into Tristen's flesh. Unfortunately, the blood stopped flowing almost as it began and I knew that the wound was already healing.
"Raven's healing him!" Raine called from behind us, "We have to stop her!"
Without warning, a Fira spell surged forward, connecting with Raven, who had stood behind and watched the fight. She hissed as the spell burned her and then turned her crimson eyes on her sister.
"How dare you!" she seethed, "You will pay for your insolence!" A bright light began to gather around Raven's up stretched hands. "Holy."
"Raine, look out!"
The Holy spell left Raven's hands and shot towards Raine at deadly speed. Raine managed to dodge and the spell exploded onto the back wall, leaving a huge hole in it's wake.
"We're gonna have to fight them both at the same time!" Luke called as he continued to struggle with Tristen. He was quickly losing the match. "Cale, Tal, Kaisa, you three focus on Raven. Me and Vaughn will deal with pretty boy here. Kayla, Raine, keep healing."
Without questioning his orders, we broke up into the two groups Luke had dictated and the fight was continued. While Raven was more of a threat, we needed to take her down as quickly as possible to stop her from healing Tristen, who was much faster than any of us. After separating, Tal shot his Blaster Edge towards his sister, but it was deflected by a strong shield spell she had erected around herself.
"There's no way we can get to her with that spell in place," Tal called as we dodged a blast of energy from Raven, "We've got to do something about it."
"If we hit it hard enough, it should fall apart," I said and cast a Firaga spell at Raven, "It won't be able to handle a massive attack. Kayla!"
"Yeah?"
"Ready to do some damage?"
"Oh you bet."
"EMBER!"
"BLAYZE!"
The fire sisters appeared in front of Raven and then performed their Crimson Volcano attack. The attack was enough to shatter Raven's shield but none of the damage was done to her personally. The only thing we had accomplished was pissing her off.
"This ends now SeeDs!" Raven hissed, "Apocalypse!"
My eyes widened as I recognized the name of the most forbidden magic ever known to man. It was thought that it didn't even exist until the future, where Ultimecia had lived but here it was and it was coming right at us. The spell engulfed Tal, me and Cale, zapping the energy out of us and hurting us in the process. Once it was over, Tal was passed out on the floor, Cale was hunched over in pain and I was on my knees, gasping for breath. It was a miracle that we had survived. I heard Raine toss a Phoenix Down on her brother and he stood up, although shakily.
"Use your Limit Breaks!" Kayla called, "Then I'll heal you!"
I turned around and saw that she was glowing gold. Someone had cast an Aura spell on her. I faced back towards Raven again and saw that Cale had already launched into his Limit Break, Duel. He was punching and kicking Raven, although it didn't seem to be doing much good. She looked more annoyed than anything. After Cale was done, Tal started his Limit Break, Boomerang, in which he sent his Blaster Edge repeatedly at his sister. Seeing he was almost done with his attack, I shakily got to my feet.
"Blue Magic," I whispered and felt the magic in my mind become stronger. I mentally went through the list of spells I could cast until I came to the perfect one, one of my new ones. "Ray Bomb!"
The spell hit both Tristen and Raven, knocking them off guard and doing quite a bit of damage. As soon as the spell had left my lips, I felt the tingling sensation of curative magic envelope me. After it was done, I felt 100% better. Kayla had used Full Cure.
"Stand back!" Tal ordered suddenly, "I'm gonna call Aquarius!"
Cale and I got out of the way as Tal stepped forward and summoned his GF. The GF appeared, a man with blue skin and strange markings on his body. The GF then turned into water and enveloped Raven in a bubble, forcing her to hold her breath or drown. When the attack was done, Raven fell to the ground, soaking wet and coughing up water.
Behind us, I heard Kayla scream. I spun around just in time to see Tristen casting a Flare spell in her direction. I started towards her but somehow, Tal beat me there. He jumped at Kayla, trying to knock her out of the way, but ended up taking the spell himself. He crumpled to the ground at Kayla's feet and didn't move.
"Tal!" Kayla screamed and dropped to her knees next to him.
"Kaisa, pay attention!"
I spun around quickly as Cale shouted at me and was just in time to dodge a Firaga spell. Behind me, I could hear Kayla calling to Tal and crying, but I didn't dare turn around again, not even to see if he was alive. I focused my attention on Raven and cast another Quake spell. She merely laughed and cast Float on herself. While Cale wasted his time casting Dispel on her, I hit her with a Blizzaga spell. She hit the ground hard, half from the spell, half from losing her Float.
Next to us, I heard someone slam into the wall again. I looked over and saw that it was Luke again, but this time he didn't get up right away. With my brother out of the picture, Tristen turned his sights on Vaughn, who had no defense in a hand-to-hand fight. Tristen swung his sword, swiping Vaughn's gun away. It clattered to the ground and spun away towards the wall. Vaughn quickly cast a Flare spell but it wasn't enough to slow Tristen down. He advanced on Vaughn and brought his sword up in an attack stance.
"No!" I rushed over to Vaughn just as the blade was coming down and managed to get in between him and Tristen. I deflected the blade with my Sais once again but knew that I couldn't hold off Tristen for long. He was way too strong for me. I felt Tristen pushing his sword down, still trying to cut me and my arms were slowly but surely giving away. Suddenly, Vaughn's arms came around me and he closed his hands over mine, adding his strength to mine in an attempt to hold Tristen off for as long as we could. It worked for a few seconds but Tristen was just too strong, especially with the help of the sorceress. He once again began to push the blade towards us. I knew that if I didn't do something quick, we were going to die, so I did the only thing I could think of. I brought my foot back and kicked Tristen as hard as I could between the legs.
Almost instantly, the pressure he was applying to the sword lessened and he howled in pain and doubled over. Vaughn and I jumped out of the way as his sword came down and then clattered to the ground. Not wasting any time, I slammed my Sais hilt first into Tristen's head. His eyes rolled back and he slumped to the ground. He was unconscious, at least for the moment.
"Come on," I urged Vaughn, "we have to stop Raven before she heals him."
Vaughn scooped up his gun and the two of us ran over to where Cale and Raine were trying desperately to hold back Raven as Kayla tried to heal Tal. We immediately jumped into the fray and managed to knock her back a few steps while Raine fell behind us to continue healing. I heard her cast a Curaga spell and a second later, Luke joined us as well.
"This is it," he called as he fired a bullet from his gunblade into the new shield Raven had constructed, "We need to finish this now!"
"Quake!" I shouted. This time, Raven wasn't quick enough to cast Float on herself. The spell slammed her around on the ground and managed to break her concentration, so her shield failed. She picked herself up slowly and glared at us with ruby fire.
"Your end is near!" Raven cried demonically, "ULTIMA!"
"Oh crap," Cale whispered.
The forbidden magic engulfed us, sending shocks through our bodies and just all around messing us up. After it had passed, I was laying face down on the ground and I wasn't even sure if I was still alive. I could hear voices around me but I couldn't make out what anyone was saying. Suddenly, the tingly sensation of a Cure spell washed over me and I opened my eyes. In front of me, Cale was laying face down, not moving. I turned my head slightly and saw that Vaughn was leaning next to me. He didn't look like he was doing too good either. Luke was the only one I could see that was even remotely okay. He stood in front of us, firing spells at Raven while yelling at Vaughn to hurry up and heal us.
"What's going on?" I asked, still a little disoriented, "Where's Kayla and Raine?"
"They're both out," Vaughn informed, "Listen, do you have any Triple magic?"
I stared at him blankly for a second before his words sank in. "Uh…yeah."
"Good," Vaughn sighed, "Cast Triple on yourself and start healing us."
"Okay." I pushed myself up into a sitting position and managed to access my spells. I cast Triple, although not without a fair amount of pain. Once the spell was in play, I cast a Curaga spell on me, Vaughn and Luke. I only had a few to start with so I had to use them wisely. While Vaughn and Luke continued their assault on Raven, I managed to find a few Phoenix Downs for the three who were unconscious. Once they came around, I cast Triple on Kayla, Raine and Luke, then Aura on Luke, Cale and myself.
"Demon Slice!" Luke called as he accessed his Limit Break. He ran forward and began to chop up Raven. Next, I cast Micro Missile, which did quite a bit of damage. Last, Cale performed his Duel attack, further weakening the sorceress. After my Limit Break had been performed, I cast Aura on the three remaining fighters. Vaughn used his Limit Break, Shot with Pulse Ammo to lower Raven's power. Kayla used her Full Cure spell on us and Raine's Limit Break, Defender, allowed her to cast Shell and Protect on all of us.
After I cast three Firaga spells on Raven and Luke went in for another round of Demon Slice, Raven fell to her knees, gasping for air.
"It's over Raven," Luke called, "Just give up."
Raven chuckled, an eerie hollow sound devoid of any emotion but anger. "You are right. It is over, for you." She looked up and her eyes were glowing brighter than before. "ANGEL WING!"
Two black wings, which normally would've been white, erupted from Raven's back, carrying her into the air a few feet. This was her Limit Break, one she had learned from her mother and the result was not good for the receiving participants.
"We've got to take her down now!" Luke yelled, knowing that a few spells cast by Raven now would mean our doom.
"Meteor!" Cale screamed and the rocks fell from the sky, doing minimal damage to the now super-amped sorceress.
"Ha!" Raven's voice echoed throughout the room. "You'll have to do better than that."
"You asked for it," Vaughn muttered under his breath. "Ultima!"
The same spell that had almost meant our deaths had about half the effect on Raven. Her face contorted in pain while the spell was being cast but afterwards, it seemed to have no effect.
"I grow weary of this battle, SeeDs," Raven stated. She lifted her hands above her head and a ball of dark energy gathered there. "Maelstrom!"
The dark energy slammed into us, zapping our strength and afflicting Curse on us so we couldn't us our Limit Breaks. Immediately, Kayla and Raine started to heal but I could tell by the potency of their spells that they were getting tired. In fact, I was getting tired as well and I could tell that the guys were too. On the other hand, Raven seemed to be getting stronger by the minute. If we didn't end this now, the only end would be our own.
Suddenly, I remembered something I had learned in one of my classes as a cadet. During the final battle with Ultimecia, she had drawn Apocalypse from her own body, which meant that the SeeDs fighting her could draw it as well. Since I was only junctioned to use Magic, GFs and Items, I turned to Vaughn.
"Can you draw?" I asked eagerly.
He took a shot at Raven, then looked at me like I was crazy. "What?"
"Can you draw?" I repeated.
"Oh. No," Vaughn answered, finally realizing what I meant, "I didn't think we'd need it."
"What about Luke or Cale?" I persisted.
"No," Vaughn shook his head, "They're junctioned the same as me."
"Kayla!" I shouted and turned to her. She was alternately casting curative spells on the fighters and trying desperately to revive Tal. She looked up when I called. "Can you draw?"
She looked at me blankly, much like Vaughn had. Damn slow-witted Kinneas'! I cursed to myself. Luckily, I didn't have to wait for her to figure out what I was talking about because Raine spoke up.
"I can," she announced.
I sighed with relief. "Draw Apocalypse from Raven and then cast it back at her!"
Raine nodded and I heard her whisper, "Draw Apocalypse."
Raven grunted in surprise as the colorful orbs of magic left her body and entered Raine's.
"It's gonna take me a minute to cast them," Raine called up to me, "This is some pretty powerful magic."
"We'll cover you," I assured, "but hurry." I turned back to the fight and triple-cast some Blizzaga spells. They didn't do much damage, but they didn't need to. All they had to do was keep Raven distracted. The guys seemed to catch on to my plan and they too began firing high level spells at the sorceress. Finally, after what seemed like ages, I heard Raine shout "Apocalypse!"
The rest of us watched in tense anticipation as the spell slammed into Raven three times. The sorceress wailed in shock and pain but by the time the last spell had hit, she was crumpled on the ground, not moving. We all stood, silently watching for any sign of movement but there was none except the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
"What now?" Cale asked finally.
"We take them back to Garden," Luke informed.
"How are we going to get them there?" I questioned, "We don't want to take them with us. What if they wake up?"
"Just toss a Sleep Powder on each of them," Luke shrugged, "It'll keep 'em out for a while. We'll just keep them asleep until we get back."
"How're we gonna get them back to the Ragnarok?" Vaughn inquired, "We can carry her but not him." He nudged Tristen's unconscious form with the toe of his boot.
"We'll have to bring the Ragnarok to them," Luke answered, "Me and Cale can go get it. The rest of you wait here."
"Hurry, okay?" I pleaded, "I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."
Luke and Cale agreed and they hurried from the room. Vaughn wasted no time in covering both the sorceress and her knight with Sleep Powder. Once this was done, we were finally able to take a deep breath and relax slightly. The first thing I did was go to where Kayla and Raine were kneeling next to Tal.
"Is he gonna be all right?" I asked.
"Yeah," Kayla answered with a weak smile. I could tell she had been crying. "He's still unconscious but once he comes around he should be fine."
"What about you?" I turned to Raine. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she nodded, "just a little weak."
"That was some awesome spell casting," I praised, "You're gonna be a top-notch SeeD some day."
The younger girl blushed slightly. "Thanks."
Vaughn came over and joined us and we sat down to wait for the Ragnarok. We figured it would take them about an hour to get there and make it back but forty-five minutes later we heard the huge ship approaching. Vaughn went to the nearby window to watch as they approached while the rest of us stayed with Tal. When they spotted him at the window, Luke's voice came over the external intercom.
"We're gonna tear this wall out," he announced, "get everyone into the hallway incase the roof falls in."
Vaughn nodded and helped us carry the three unconscious people into the dirty hallway. We waited a few seconds and then we could hear the mechanical arms of the ship moving and a moment later, a loud crash as the wall was torn away. Hearing no accompanying crash from the roof, we waited for Luke's okay. A minute later, he entered the hallway from the bedroom.
"Come on," he said, "We've got the cargo ramp sitting in the room but Cale's afraid that roof won't hold out long. We'd better hurry."
Vaughn and I drug Tristen back into the bedroom while Luke scooped up Raven and Kayla and Raine half carried, half drug Tal. After Luke had deposited Raven's body in the infirmary on the ship, he came back and helped us with Tristen. Once Tristen was loaded, he came back one last time for Tal, who he picked up almost as effortlessly as he had Raven.
"Okay guys," he called as he carried the brunette boy to the ship, "Let's get the hell outta here."
That was the most beautiful sentence I had ever heard and I wasted no time in getting on the ship. Once we were all on board, the cargo ramp was shut and we were on our way back to Balamb Garden. Kayla and I remained in the infirmary where the three unconscious people were, looking over Tal and making sure the other two didn't wake up. We had only been in the air a few minutes when Tal regained consciousness.
"Hey," he smiled weakly at Kayla, who was leaning over him, "Did we do it?"
"Yeah," Kayla nodded, tears forming in her eyes.
"Good," Tal sighed and then closed his eyes again, though this time it was obvious that he was only sleeping.
"He's gonna be fine," I assured Kayla, whose tears were now spilling down her cheeks.
"I know," she smiled, "I was just so worried."
I hugged her tightly. "Maybe you should get some rest before we get back."
"No," she shook her head and wiped away the tears, "I'm gonna stay here with him for a little while."
"Okay."
I walked out of the makeshift infirmary room and back up to where Vaughn and Raine were in the passenger area. I could see that Raine was already asleep in her seat so I didn't tell her about Tal. She needed the rest. I went and sat next to Vaughn.
"Tal just woke up," I informed.
"Is he okay?" Vaughn inquired.
"Yeah," I replied, "He's asleep again through."
"How's Kayla holding up?"
"She's fine now that she knows he's okay," I told him. I paused and sighed. "She really does care for him."
"Don't sound so upset," he grinned, "They're your best friends. They aren't gonna stop hanging around with you just because they're dating or whatever."
"I know," I acknowledged, "It's just gonna be weird."
"Well, then you need to find your own boyfriend to hang out with," Vaughn said, "That way you won't be the odd one out."
I blushed slightly and stood up. "I think I'm gonna go make sure Kayla's okay."
"You just came from there," Vaughn reminded.
"I know." Before he could say any more, I hurried back to the infirmary. When I entered, I was surprised to see Kayla standing next to Tristen's bed. She was gazing down at him strangely. I walked over and stopped beside her.
"You know," she began, "I used to think he was the most perfect guy in the world, but after what he did to Tal and almost to me, he's nothing more than normal guy. One I don't particular like, at that."
"Does this mean the crush is over?" I teased.
"Yes," she answered seriously, "I could never see him in the same way again." She turned away from the silver-haired man and looked up at me. "Why don't you go and get some rest? You definitely earned it. I'll watch over things here."
"Are you sure?" I asked, "Don't you want to rest?"
"Nah," she declined, "I'll be all right. Besides, I want to be here if Tal wakes up again."
"Okay," I agreed, "I'll come and check on you later to see if you want a break."
"Okay."
I left the infirmary again and reentered the passenger area. Raine was still asleep and Vaughn seemed to be on the verge of it. I picked a row of seats near the middle and after moving all the armrests up, stretched out across them. I was only planning on resting my eyes but in seconds I was asleep.
I was awakened by the sound of Luke's voice over the intercom. "…so be ready."
I opened my eyes and blinked away the sleep. I started to sit up and realized that I was covered by something. I looked down and saw that it was Vaughn's coat. I pushed myself into a sitting position and saw that he was sitting in the row across from me. He smiled when he saw I was awake.
"'Morning sunshine," he grinned.
I yawned in response. "What was Luke saying?"
"We're coming up on Balamb right now," Vaughn informed, "He said that they've been trying to raise us on the radio ever since we left Centra and they sounded totally pissed. He said to be ready for our parents and the Headmaster when we land."
I turned towards the window by my head and could just make out the lights of the Garden before the plane banked, obviously correcting so we could land. I shivered and pulled Vaughn's coat tighter around me. After the stunt we pulled, things were not going to be pretty for us when we got home.
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It's a miracle! I wrote a whole chapter in just two days! This will be the last one for a while though, as I'm going to be without out a computer for an indefinate amound of time (probably a month or more). But since you have to wait so long, I will give you a sneak peak into the next chapter.
Chapter 11: The Search for the Odine Bangles
After returning to Garden and getting thoroughly yelled at, the parents decide that they need to find some Odine Bangles for Raine and Rinoa incase the sorceress comes after them again. They discover that the only place to find these is in Timber (the old doc passed on a few years back). The only problem with this is that Dollet and Timber are in the middle of a land dispute and no one is allowed in or out of Timber, which Dollet has occupied. As a solution, the orginal SeeDs and their children decide to parachute into the surrounding forests and then sneak into the city. Unfortunately, they are fired upon while jumping and Vaughn and Kaisa end up a ways away from the intending landing point. They figure the best thing to do is stay put so the others can find them, so they end up spending the night in a forest, alone. Of course, when Seifer does find them, he's not too happy...