On the way to Esthar, the six of us second generation SeeDs traded magic and talked about what we might find in Esthar. Although the older guys had been on countless missions since becoming SeeDs, Tal, Kayla and I had only been on two and one hadn't even been sanctioned by the Garden. We were newbies going into what could very well be the next fight for the survival of the planet and we were a little nervous about it. At first I thought we were the only ones until I started paying attention to the others. Vaughn, who was sitting next to me, was unusually quiet, Luke wouldn't shut up the entire way, which was a dead giveaway that he was nervous and Cale sat still the entire time, no shadowboxing or animated movements. Even our parents seemed a little nervous. They spoke in hushed whispers and every once in a while would cast a glance back in our direction.
The flight itself took about an hour and when Uncle Raijin came over the intercom to say that we were approaching the city of Esthar. Uncle Squall practically sprang from his seat and went to the intercom by the elevator door.
"Have you been able to reach anyone in Esthar yet?"
"Sorry Squall, we haven't heard anything yet but we'll keep trying, ya know."
"Okay."
Uncle Squall settled back into his seat and everyone fell silent in anticipation of the landing at the Airstation. Of course, if there was no answer from Esthar, we would have to land on the plains and hike in because there would be no one to guide us down and we were liable to hit one of the buildings. In the front of the area, the intercom came to life again.
"Squall, still no answer but we're gonna circle while dropping, ya know. Maybe if we get closer we can reach them, ya know."
Once again, Uncle Squall went to the intercom. "Okay. Remember to keep an eye out, we don't know what's waiting for us."
He turned to go back to his seat when the intercom crackled yet again. "Uh, Squall, we're seeing some kind of movement over the Presidential Palace, ya know."
"Can you tell what it is?"
"No," Raijin answered, "it almost looks like something's opening up, ya know."
"Don't land until..."
He was cut off as Uncle Raijin shouted, "Hold on!"
A loud explosion sounded and the ship rocked violently. Uncle Squall was thrown to the ground and the rest of us had to fight to stay in our seats. Alarms began to blare overhead and the ship seemed to shimmy under us.
"Raijin, what the Hell is going on?" Uncle Squall had picked himself up and was back to the intercom.
"They're firing at us, ya know!" Uncle Raijin informed urgently, "We've been hit on the port side! The wing's almost gone, along with the engine. I don't know if I can keep her airborn, ya know."
Uncle Squall turned to us. "Everyone, seatbelts, NOW!"
We wasted no time in complying. Once the seatbelts were fastened, Vaughn grabbed my right hand and I in turn grabbed Kayla's. I looked over and saw that she had Tal's as well. She glanced up at me and her face was white as a sheet. I could see the fear in her eyes and I figured it was probably mirrored in my own. Another explosion sounded but this one didn't seem to hit us.
"They're still firing, ya know," Uncle Raijin said, his voice strained, "We're gonna try to land but I don't know how rough it's gonna be. Hold on, ya know."
The ship began to drop altitude rapidly but not dangerously. Suddenly, an explosion erupted on the right side of the ship so close to us that we could see the pieces of the missile falling out the window. We also saw large chunks of red painted debris. The Ragnarok shuddered again and then began to fall at a dangerous speed, pitching and yawing as it went.
"We lost the starboard wing!" Uncle Raijin cried, "We're going down!"
My breath caught in my throat as the ship began to tailspin as it descended. I looked around the seats and saw that everyone was thrown back in their seats by the G force but all of them were holding on to the people around them. Even Uncle Zell was clutching to Aunt Selphie's hand as we plummeted to the ground. I looked past Vaughn out the window and gasped when I saw the tops of trees. We were only seconds from impact. I braced myself as we hit. The shock was tremendous and I was thrown forward in my seat against my seatbelt, which pushed all the air out of me. I tried desperately to hold on to Vaughn and Kayla's hands but the force was too much. My hands came free and the last thing I remember before the blackness took me was the back of the seat in front of me speeding towards my face.
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When I regained consciousness, the first thing I remember was the smell of smoke. I sort of panicked when I smelled it and I tried to open my eyes. They refused at first but finally cooperated. Once they were opened I saw that the seat in front of me had broken away from it's mooring and was laying a few aisles up. I wondered dully if my face had served as the battering ram that dislodged it. It sure felt like it. My head felt like it had been hit with some sort of blunt object. I tried to lift my arms to see if there was any damage to my head but they were extremely heavy and hard to move. It was then that I realized they were hanging down in front of me and that my entire body was still strained against the seatbelt. That meant that the nose of the Ragnarok was in the ground but the back end was sticking up and judging by the angle, it was pretty straight. I tried to move my arms again and this time I managed to pull them back to me. I felt my head and groaned as my fingers found a small cut near my hairline. I moved my hands down and felt the blood all the way down my face. It was partially dry and I wondered how long I had been out.
"Kai?"
I looked to my right and saw that Vaughn had unhooked himself and was now resting on the seatback in front of him. His hat was gone and he had a few small cuts on his face but other than that, he seemed to be okay. I was so preoccupied with my condition that I hadn't even noticed he was awake and moving.
"Vaughn."
He leaned up towards me and bracing me against him, unhooked my seatbelt. I fell into his arms, pushing him back against the seat and the side of the plane. He grunted in surprise or pain, I wasn't sure which, then smiled down at me.
"You okay?"
"I think so," I mumbled, "Just a cut on my head."
"It looks pretty bad," he commented and eyed it closely.
"Vaughn, I think the plane's on fire," I stated, the panic returning as the smoke billowed out of the empty room behind where we were, "We have to get everyone out."
"You're right." He looked past me, "Leonhart, how is she?"
I turned around and saw that Tal leaning on the seat in front of him and was cradling Kayla in his arms. He didn't look hurt at all but Kayla was still unconscious and her face was streaked with blood.
"I don't know," Tal admitted.
"Do you think you can make it down the aisle with her?"
Tal nodded.
"Okay." Vaughn turned back to me. "Go with them. I'm gonna stay here and help get everybody else out."
I looked up farther where our parents had been sitting and saw that both of my parents were awake, as was Uncle Zell, Uncle Irvine and Aunt Rinoa. My dad stood with his feet on the wall, trying to pry open the elevator door. Uncle Squall was on the floor next to him, unconscious, and my mom and Aunt Rinoa were bent next to him, obviously trying to bring him around.
"Seifer, we're gonna need your help getting him out of here," my mom started.
"I'm not leaving without Fu and Rai," he insisted, still working on the door.
Remembering my aunt and uncle made my stomach turn. They had been in the front of the plane. There was almost no way they could still be alive.
"Tal, keep an eye on her," Vaughn told him and motioned to me, "She says she's okay but..."
"All right. Come on Kai."
"Where are we going?" I asked in confusion.
"The farther up we are, the closer to the ground we'll be," Tal explained.
I nodded, still not quite comprehending, but I followed him anyway. As I crawled on the seats to the aisle, I saw that Luke and Cale were with Uncle Irvine, Uncle Zell and Aunt Selphie near where they had been sitting. It looked to me like Aunt Selphie was pinned inbetween two seats and the four of them were trying to pull her free. She was unconscious but her hair was in her face so I couldn't see if she was hurt. I saw that Cale was favoring his right arm and it looked like it may be broken. Luke's shirt was torn at the neck and his face was peppered with cuts and bruises, probably from flying shrapnel.
I made it to the aisle and followed Tal as he climbed down the seats like a rock climber, Kayla slung over his shoulder. I started down, slowly at first but then quicker as the smoke became thicker and I was having trouble breathing. My arms ached as I neared the end of my climb and almost let go when a loud metallic screech rent the air. I looked down and saw that my dad had succeeded in prying open the elevator door. Without waiting for anyone, he jumped in and disappeared. I returned my attention to the task at hand and made it to the floor, or wall, or whatever, where Tal was. He had lain Kayla down and was moving towards the closest window. He brought his foot back and kicked it hard, shattering the glass and making an exit for us. He turned back around and picked up Kayla.
"Come on," he urged and then jumped out the window. My arms and legs were burning from the impact of the crash and the climb down the chairs and I literally crawled to the window. When I looked out, I was surprised to see at least a ten foot drop. Down below, Tal was just picking himself and Kayla up off the ground. I moved into a sitting postion, careful not to get cut on the broken glass, and swung my feet out the window. I took a deep breath and then pushed myself out of the window. There was a short freefall and then I hit the ground hard. I groaned loudly and then rolled over onto my back and stared up at the sky. My view was blocked by trees and what was left of the Ragnarok.
"You okay, Kai?"
I moved my eyes to Tal, who was standing over me with Kayla. I groaned again and sat up slowly. "I hope so."
"We need to get away from the ship in case it explodes," Tal insisted and that got me moving. I jumped up and ignoring the pain in my legs, limped after Tal as he carried Kayla away from the burning plane. We stopped about a hundred yards away and Tal laid Kayla down on the ground, then knelt down next to her. I collapsed a few feet away and made no move to get back up.
"Kai, are you all right?"
"Ugh," I moaned, "my legs are killing me and my head hurts."
"Don't you have any Cure magic?"
I was so mad at myself that I nearly smacked my forehead with my palm. Luckily I didn't because it probably would've caused me to pass out. "Duh! What is wrong with me? I think that crash scrambled my brain. Curaga." I felt the spell encircle me with it's warm healing and the pain in my legs disappeared, as did the cut on my head.
"Better?" Tal chuckled.
"Yeah." I got up and sat down next to him and Kayla. "How is she?"
He shrugged. "She's got a few cuts but other than that, she seems fine. She just hasn't woken up yet."
I nodded and then turned back to the ship, which was smoking quite a bit. "Do you think they'll be okay in there?"
Tal shrugged again. "As long as it doesn't explode."
"I think I should go back and help them." I started to get up.
"No," Tal stopped me, "I need you here in case we get attacked. There are some pretty powerful monsters around."
I looked around and for the first time took in my surroundings. We were near the outskirts of the forest that gave way to a vast desert. I could barely see the city of Esthar on the horizon. I turned back to Tal. "Where are we?"
"Grandidi forest," Tal replied. He had been to Esthar far more times than I had and I trusted him when he said it. I suddenly wished the others would hurry up and join us. It was a known fact that the monsters of the Esthar plains and Grandidi forest were high level monsters that made T-Rexaurs look like a walk in the park. I looked back towards the Ragnarok, or what was left of it, again and still saw no sign of the others. To make matters worse, the smoke was now billowing out in a thick, black cloud that rose into the sky like a beacon. If anyone was looking for us, they couldn't miss that. I turned back to my friends as Tal spoke.
"Hey, I think she's waking up."
Sure enough, Kayla's eyelids fluttered and she groaned, then opened them. She blinked a couple of times and then focused on us. "What happened?"
"We crashed," Tal reminded.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Yes," Tal answered quickly. He obviously didn't want to get into detail about the others until he was sure she was going to be okay.
"What about you?" I prodded, "are you okay?"
"I think so," she answered, "my face hurts."
"You've got a few cuts," I told her, "nothing serious. I can heal them for you if you're sure you're okay."
"Yeah," Kayla agreed and to prove her point, pushed up into a sitting position, "I'm fine. Heal away."
I cast a Curaga on her and the cuts disappeared, leaving behind only the blood. Once she was better, she stood up and me and Tal followed. She looked around, obviously taking in her surroundings, and she gasped when her eyes fell on the smoking Ragnarok three hundred feet away.
"Oh my Hyne!" Kayla exclaimed, "the Ragnarok is on fire! Where is everybody? Are they still on board?"
"Yeah," I answered, "When we left they were trying to get Uncle Raijin and Aunt Fujin out of the cockpit." I specifically left out the fact that her mother was unconscious and pinned in the plane. I didn't want her to go running back there and put herself in danger. Tal was obviously thinking the same thing because he kept quiet as well.
"We should go help them," Kayla insisted, "Maybe they need us."
"No," Tal shook his head vehemently, "they told us to get away from the plane in case it explodes."
I knew that was a lie and so did Tal. Vaughn was the one who told us to leave. I'm not even sure our parents really realized that we had left. Tal knew that Kayla wouldn't disobey and order from our parents so he had made it up and I wasn't about to contradict him.
"What about Vaughn and Luke and Cale?" Kayla prodded, "Why didn't they make them leave?"
"They needed their help," I lied. Tal looked over Kayla's head and smiled in thanks.
"I feel so useless," Kayla whined and plopped down on the ground again. At that moment, an unearthly howl emitted from the trees behind us. We spun around and to our horror, were face to face with a Hexadragon. The three of us froze, Kayla still on the ground and the two of us standing next to her.
"Oh Hyne," Kayla moaned, "What do we do?"
"We can't outrun it," Tal told her, "We have to fight it."
"Can we win?" I asked doubtfully.
"I have no idea," Tal answered truthfully.
The monster roared again and stomped a few of it's six feet threateningly. Then it charged. We were surprised by the aggresiveness of the beast and we jumped out of the way. Actually, Kayla more rolled than jumped because she was still on the ground. She sprang to her feet next to me and Tal and drew her nunchaku.
"We're gonna get eaten, aren't we?" she asked.
Neither of us answered as we pulled our own weapons. Tal turned to us.
"Anybody know what this thing is weak against?"
I tried to concentrate and remember my Monsters course from a few years ago. "Uh...Oh! I got it! It's weak against water!"
"Are you sure?" Kayla inquired, "I don't want to accidently heal this thing."
"Positive," I assured, then remembered something else. "Uh oh. Bad news."
"What?"
"It absorbs fire magic."
"Great," Kayla stated, "We're dead if we can't use Blayze and Ember."
"Not necessarily," Tal smirked, "You guys stand back and let me handle this." He took a step toward the agitated creature that was stamping and pawing the ground but hadn't charged again. "Aquarius!"
Kayla and I scurried out of the way as Tal summoned his GF. The water-man morphed into a bubble and engulfed the Hexadragon. The beast roared in pain and fear as the water kept it from breathing freely. Once the GF was done, the monster fell down on the ground and was momentarily disoriented.
"Hurry," Tal insisted, "You need to keep him busy until I can summon Aquarius again."
"What do you want us to do?" Kayla asked incredulously, "All we have is low level Water spells."
"There're gonna have to do," Tal told her, "Or attack, I don't care, just do it quick!"
I turned from Tal and saw that the Hexadragon had recovered and was attacking.
"Here it comes!" I warned and jumped out of the way. The others did the same. As it charged by, I raked it's side with my sais, drawing bright blue blood. The Hexadragon roared and turned around much quicker than an animal that size should be able to move, it's half a dozen eyes trained on me. I felt the blood drain from my face.
"Oh crap."
The monster roared again and then lumbered towards me. It stopped just short of trampling me and reared up on it's back four legs with the other two waving dangerously above my head. I knew that it was going to stomp me into oblivion if I didn't get out of the way but I couldn't move. All I could do was watch those two huge legs waving above my head.
"Kaisa! Get out of the way!" Tal shouted.
I heard his warning but still couldn't move. It was like I was in a trance or something. I knew I was about to get crushed and could do nothing about it. The legs started to lower and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable. I heard Tal and Kayla screaming at me but they were behind the Hexadragon and they'd never make it to me in time.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out and I heard the monster wail in pain. I opened my eyes and saw that the Hexadragon had reeled back but was still waving it legs above my head and they were close enough that if it decided to bring them down, I was toast. I started to move but was hit hard from the side. I stumbled and would've gone down if an arm hadn't wrapped around my waist. I grabbed on tight and held on until we stopped moving. When I looked up I wasn't surprised or disappointed to see that it was Vaughn who had saved me.
"Hyne Kai, what were you doing?" he demanded angrily, "You could've been killed!"
"I'm sorry, I just froze I guess..."
He hugged me tightely, catching me off guard. "Don't ever do that again, okay? You scared the Hell out of me."
"Okay." I looked up and saw that he really was scared for me. I heard the monster wail again as a high level thunder spell crackled through the air. I turned to it and saw that everyone from the plane was all right, including Aunt Fujin and Uncle Raijin, and that they were now surrounding the monster and firing spells and attacking mercilessly. It wasn't long before the beast fell to them, leaving behind nothing but an Inferno Fang in the dust. Vaughn and I hadn't joined the fight and were still standing off to the side in each other's arms. I looked up at him and realized that he was wearing his cowboy hat again.
"Where'd you get your hat?"
"I found it on the way out." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a white cloth. He began to wipe the blood off of my face. Because of the terror and exertion of fighting the Hexadragon, I had started sweating and the blood was wet again. Most of it wiped off, leaving only a few dry smudges behind. When he was done, he put the cloth away and then bent down and kissed my forehead. I leaned up and tipped my head back so he could get to my lips without taking off his hat when another roar cut through the air, this one human in nature.
"KINNEAS!"
Vaughn's eyes widened in terror and we looked in the direction of the shout. My dad was just a few feet from us with his Hyperion raised above his head. He was obviously going for Vaughn and there was nothing he could do to protect himself. Reacting purely on the instinct that moments before had escaped me, I spun in front of Vaughn and raised my sais, catching Hyperion's blade with my weapons. My dad instantly relented the pressure he was putting on the gunblade and I swept it away. It clattered to the ground a few feet away.
"Daddy, stop it!" I cried, furious. Luckily, before he had time to regroup, my mom was in front of him, her face red with anger.
"What are you doing?!" she screeched, "Have you gone completely insane?"
"Did you see him?!" my dad screamed back, "He kissed her! My baby girl! I'll kill him!" He started forward towards Vaughn, who was still behind me, but my mom stopped him with a crack of her Save the Queen. He froze in his tracks and she leaned closer to him before he had a chance to recover.
"If you don't stop this right now, I will be forced to stop you against your will, do you understand me?"
My mother's voice was low and I don't think that anyone but my dad, me and maybe Vaughn heard her words. I saw the anger seething in my father's eyes but he wasn't about to challenge my mom. He'd fought her enough times to know that she wouldn't hold back like he would if he forced a physical altercation.
"Hyne woman, why are you protecting him?" my dad demanded, "He seduced our daughter!"
"Daddy, this screaming, crazy threatening is getting old," I insisted.
"Stay out of this baby girl," he told me, "This doesn't concern you."
"Yes it does!" I shouted, "this is my life and I'll be damned if I'll let you make my decisions for me!"
My dad stared at me, stunned. I'd never, in my entire life, raised my voice to him and I felt terrible for doing it now, but it was the only way to get him to listen. I saw the hurt in his eyes and I completely broke down.
"Daddy!" I ran to him and hugged him like a little child. I couldn't help it. He was my dad, after all. He hugged me back and I felt tears slipping down my cheeks.
"Baby girl, I'm sorry," he whispered into my hair, "I didn't mean to upset you. I just thought..."
I moved back a little and looked up at him. "Vaughn is my choice Daddy. He didn't seduce me or anything."
"I just don't want you to get hurt."
"I'm an Almasy remember? I can handle a Kinneas."
My dad smirked. "Yeah, I know."
"And besides, Luke already told him that he'd kill him if he hurt me."
My father's eyes narrowed. "Luke knew?"
Uh oh. I looked over at Luke and saw that he was watching us. His eyes went wide when he saw our father's glare.
"You and I are going to have a talk when we get back to the Garden," my dad told him.
Luke didn't respond and slunk deeper into the crowd, who I realized at that moment, were all watching us. My father saw it too.
"What are you guys looking at?" he demanded. Everyone mumbled noncommital replies and turned away quickly. My dad looked back down at me. "Are we okay then?"
"Yeah," I told him, "As long as you stop trying to kill Vaughn."
His eyes narrowed but he didn't make a move for him. "Okay."
"We should get moving," Squall suggested after a minute, "If it was the sorceress's people who shot us down, they could be looking for us."
"Where are we going?" my dad asked.
"To Esthar," Squall answered, "If the sorceress is in control there, we need to liberate the city and it's people."
Everyone agreed and we started the long march to Esthar. I was given the Inferno Fang from the Hexadragon for my Limit Break, allowing me to learn Fire Breath. We had barely gotten onto the open desert plains when a huge explosion rocked the silent landscape. We all turned to see that the Ragnarok had finally exploded, sending a plume of smoke and flame at least a thousand feet in the air. We all stared at it for a moment, then continued on.
As we crossed the desert, we were engaged in several battles, sometimes more than one at a time. No one was really upset about it, as we got some valuable items and magic from such high level monsters. I even managed to get my Limit Breaks Aqua Breath, Bad Breath, Lv. ? Death and Barrier. Now my repitoire of Blue Magic was complete except for the most powerful of all Blue magic, Shockwave Pulsar. I didn't expect to be getting that anytime soon since I need 100 curse spikes to refine into a Dark Matter and at the moment I had a total of six.
As we neared Esthar, I noticed that Vaughn hadn't been with me the entire trip. Kayla, Tal, Luke, Cale and I had been in the front of the group for most of the time but Vaughn had been back with our parents. I saw him several times talking to one of the olders SeeDs and then glancing up at the rest of us. I couldn't figure out what he was doing and the only reason I could think of for him to stay away from me was because of my dad's crazy reaction back at the outskirts of the forest. I didn't want to ask him because I was afraid of what he would say so I kept my thoughts to myself and continued on.
When we reached the outskirts of the city, the group of us stopped to discuss the best course of action. Our parents thought it would be best for them to go in and for us to wait outside as back up. Of course, we disagreed and wanted to go in with them. We had a lengthy arguement about it but in the end, our parents won and we were forced to stay outside on the plains while our parents entered the city. It sucked but there was nothing we could do about it. They were our superiors and we had to obey or risk demotion or worse.
Waiting on the plains got very boring very quick and to pass the time we fought some more monsters. I now had twelve Curse Spikes and was hoping to get quite a few more before we left here. During a lull in monsters, we were all sitting around and talking about how bored we were. Vaughn was still staying away from me and was acting really nervous. I couldn't figure out what was going on with him but I could tell that Kayla noticed it too. She kept watching him as he paced back and forth and would look at me questioningly. I would just shake my head and we'd resume our conversation.
After about a twenty minute break, we heard the shuffling of a monster nearby. We all got to our feet and spotted a Malboro not too far away. We started towards it but I was stopped by a hand on my arm. I turned and was surprised to see that it was Vaughn who had stopped me.
"Done avoiding me?" I asked, a little harsher than I had intended.
"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly, "but I was doing something important."
I eyed him suspiciously. "Oh really? What?"
"Getting this." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to me. It was a large, black sphere with a strange gray aura swirling inside of it. I recognized it immediately.
"Oh my Hyne!" I gasped, "where did you get that?"
"I had my mom refine it for me."
"Where did you get all the Curse Spikes?" I questioned, still not taking the object from him.
"From everybody," he replied, "no one has any use for them. That's why I was talking to everyone. Here take it."
I took the Dark Matter from him and stared at it. It was heavy in my hand and took up my whole palm. I watched the gray swirling in the black and was almost hypnotized. "Thank you."
He smiled. "No problem."
I closed my eyes and concentated on the Dark Matter. I heard the words "Shockwave Pulsar" echoing in my head and then suddenly a bright white light erupted and I cried out in pain. I felt myself start to fall but Vaughn caught me before I hit the ground. The light faded and I opened my eyes. Vaughn was staring down at me with concern.
"Kaisa, what happened?"
"I don't know," I admitted shakily, "I guess the magic was too much for me."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
A second later, Kayla and Tal were by my side.
"Kai, what happened?" Kayla questioned.
"I guess that was a little too much magic for me," I grinned, embarrassed.
"Are you okay?" Tal inquired.
"You guys are like mother hens," I joked, "I'm fine, really."
"I'm sorry," Vaughn apologized, "I didn't know it would be that powerful."
"It's okay," I assured and stood up, "It's my fault. I should've known that I couldn't handle it. Everything's fine now, I just won't use it until my magic gets stronger."
"Hey!" Luke called from across the plain, "Are we gonna fight this thing or what?"
"We're coming," I yelled back, "Don't be so damn impatient." We joined him and Cale and commenced tearing into the Malboro.
After another hour of fighting and being bored, we were once again sitting around outside the city. None of us were saying much as we had been here for nearly two hours and had said all we had to say. We were basically just sitting there with nothing to do. To make matters worse, the temperature had risen considerably and we were sweating and constantly batting away bugs that were drawn by our scent. I had the sleeves of my battle outfit rolled up as far as I could get them and was considering cutting them off all together. I was sitting on the ground with Vaughn, his black coat spread out under us. Kayla was sitting on it as well and Tal was sitting on his green overshirt next to her. Luke and Cale were lounging nearby. Suddenly, Luke sprung to his feet, drawing all our attention.
"This is bullshit!" he exclaimed, "They've been gone for almost two hours and we haven't heard a damn peep out of them. I say we go in."
"They told us to stay," Kayla reminded, "if we disobey a direct order..."
"Screw the orders," Luke interupted, "I'm so frickin' bored I could die. And besides, they might need our help."
"I'm with you man," Cale agreed and began shadowboxing, "I've got the urge to beat up on something besides Malboros and Tri-Faces."
"Wander a little farther from the city," Vaughn smirked, "I'm sure you'll find something more to your liking."
"Whatever," Cale scoffed, "I'm ready for action!"
They continued to argue about what we were going to do but I was ignoring them. My attention was now fixed out in the desert plains. I could see something approaching us from the direction we had come in the first place. At first, I thought it was just another monster but as I continued to watch, I realized that it was different. As it drew closer I saw that it was more than just one thing, three actually, and they were heading straight for us. The heat was causing weird waves in the air and it was hard to tell what they were but I was almost certain they weren't monsters. Wanting to get a better look, I stood up.
"What's up?" Vaughn asked, standing up next to me.
I pointed out across the desert. "What the Hell is that?"
Kayla was now next to me and Tal was next to her. "It's not a monster."
"There's three of them," Tal added.
"It looks like people." Cale and Luke were now staring across the plains as well.
"Why would there be people in the middle of the desert coming towards us?" Luke asked and his hand went to the hilt of his gunblade.
"You don't think it's the soceress, do you?" Kayla inquired fearfully.
"Why would she come personally?" Vaughn wondered, "Wouldn't she send her army or whatever?"
Tal took a step forward and I turned to him. I saw him blink, then squint his eyes. "Son of a bitch."
"What?" Kayla demanded.
"It's Raine." Without waiting for us to acknowledge what he said, he took off towards the approaching figures. Kayla and I glanced at each other and then we hurried after him. As we got closer I could see that it was Raine, along with Gavin and Morgan Dincht. Tal got to them first but Kayla and I were just a few steps behind.
"What the Hell are you doing here?" Tal questioned.
"We came to help you," Raine stated simply.
"Help us?" Tal repeated incredulously, "Are you insane?! This is official SeeD business! You can't be here! How did you even get here?"
"We stowed away on the Ragnarok," Gavin answered.
"You were on it when it crashed?" I asked, astonished.
"We were hidden in the infirmary," Morgan told us, "We got thrown all over the place and didn't wake up until everyone was already gone."
Tal hugged his sister fiercely. "You're lucky to be alive."
"Get off me," Raine insisted and pushed Tal away, "We're not babies, we can handle our own."
At that moment, Vaughn, Luke and Cale joined us.
"Morgan?" Cale said in surprise, "Gavin? What are you guys doing here?"
We filled them in on what the twins and Raine had done.
"How did you get across the plains without becoming monster chow?" Luke questioned.
Gavin blushed. "I took Diablos from my mom's room before we left and junctioned ENC-NONE."
"Not bad," Luke praised, "you guys really thought this out."
"Hey," Raine said suddenly, "Where's Mom and Dad?"
"They went into the city about two hours ago," Tal informed, "they told us to wait out here incase they needed us."
The nine of us made our way back to where we had been sitting before I had spotted the twins and Raine. We had almost gotten to where we were sitting when Raine suddenly stopped.
"Oh no," she moaned, gathering all of our attention.
"What now?" Kayla nearly wailed.
"The sorceress," Raine spoke breathlessly, "she's here."
Almost as one, we drew our weapons and began surveying our surroundings. When we didn't see anything, Tal turned to his sister.
"Where Raine? Where is she?"
"Inside the city," Raine told him, "I can feel her essence. Mom's there too, and Aunt Ellone."
"Are they alive?" Tal prodded.
"Yes," Raine assured, "Mom and Aunt Ellone's forces are close together but the other one is a little ways away. It's weird though..." She trailed off.
"What?" Tal urged.
"They're moving," Raine stated, "all of them, together. I mean, the sorceress isn't with them, but they are all moving the exact same way and it's really slow."
"What do you mean?" Cale questioned.
"I don't know," Raine admitted, "it's weird. Like maybe they are in the same building but not in the same room, but I don't know why they would be moving like that."
"That's it," Luke began, "I'm not staying out here anymore. Come on, we're going in."
We all looked at him. He had been appointed field leader by Uncle Squall and we knew we couldn't disobey his orders unless they went directly against Uncle Squall's, which they did in a way but we hadn't heard from them in so long and the fact that the sorceress was in Esthar changed things. I was the first to speak.
"Let's go."
Luke grinned in appreciation and we followed him into the city. When we entered, the first thing we noticed was the total and utter silence. There was no sound anywhere in the city. Nothing moved, nothing breathed, and nothing attacked us. We went deeper into the city, towards the Presidential Palace and we passed several destroyed structures that had been houses and stores. They had all been burned and then the rubble had been bulldozed, leaving nothing but an empty lot.
"Whatever happened here was very thorough," Luke commented as we headed towards the Palace, which seemed to be the only structure still standing. Even the transporters were gone. The only thing that told they were there at all were the empty stations.
"The sorceress," Tal spat, "It had to have been. Who else would do this?"
We continued on in silence to the Palace. When we reached it, we realized that there was no way we were going to get in. All the doors and windows had been covered with thick sheets of metal. Other than that, the Palace seemed to be intact. Tal and Raine stared up at the home of their grandfather and aunt in silence.
"There's no one here," Raine murmured.
"You're probably right," Luke agreed, "I don't think there is any way in or out."
"Then where are our parents?" Kayla asked.
"They're still moving," Raine told us, "And they're coming this way."
"But from where?" Cale asked, "there isn't anything left here."
"I don't know," Raine said, "but they're coming from that way." She pointed to the left of the Palace. The view in that direction was blocked by a wing of the Palace but as we got quiet, we could hear something, the first sound besides those that we made since we entered the city. It was a strange, almost humming sound and we could tell that it was definately getting closer. Without a word, we pulled our weapons and began moving towards the sound, not knowing what we were going to find when we got around the Palace.
What we did see was nothing any of us would have imagined in our wildest dreams.
"Holy shit," Luke breathed.
A building was moving slowly but steadily towards us. It was huge, although most of it's bulk went up instead of out. It was so tall that it was impossible to see the sky behind it.
"Do you know what that is?" Raine nearly shrieked.
"It's Lunatic Pandora," Morgan murmured, almost trance-like.
"And that's where our parents are?" Kayla questioned worriedly.
"Yes," Raine answered, "that's where they are and the sorceress too. I'm sure of it."
"Then we have to find a way on," Luke stated simply.
"How are we going to do that?" I asked, "I don't see any doors."
"Let's wait until it gets closer," Vaughn suggested, "Maybe we'll get lucky."
The nine of us stood silent as the gigantic structure approached. It was about five minutes before the closest end reached us and then slid by. All of us searched the exterior for some handhold or recess where we could at least get onto the thing, but we saw nothing. Then, to our surprise and fear, the building came to a stop right in front of us and a small doorway materialized, the door sliding open as it did. We all tensed, waiting for the inevitable attack, but it didn't come.
"Wow, that was lucky," Vaughn joked.
Everyone ignored him and turned to Luke for our orders.
"We board," he told us finally, "I don't like this situation anymore than you guys but it's our only choice and we have to get inside. Let's go."
We all tensed, and one by one, entered Lunatic Pandora.