AN: The next chapter is here! I hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far. Please continue to read and leave reviews because it really brings a smile to my face. I think you'll love where the future chapters are going to go. Enjoy Chapter 13 of Fall From Grace! For this portion, bold text means singing together. Regular italics is being sung alone.
"Geez, how much further does this cave go? It feels like we've been walking for hours now," Claire would say behind Chris as they trekked up a flight of smooth, stone steps.
With Alana now leading the pack with the Light of Arlathan, which was gently tugging her to where they needed to go, the mystery seemed to only deepen for the group. However, they would come across a dead end at the top of the stairs, to which Jill cursed softly under her breath.
"Dead end.." Then she noticed something; when the light touched the wall, it seemed to.. shimmer? Gasping a bit, she urged the young girl "Alana, point the light towards the wall! There's something there!" Getting a nod in response, the light brightened a bit more as Alana held it up, the dead end seemingly melting away to reveal it was nothing but an illusion and on the other side was a large wooden door.
"Alright! That light is really coming in handy. I wonder what else we'll find with this thing?" Claire smiled as Alana turned the iron door handle and opening the door, leading into another room, which was dimly lit by a couple of lanterns on the walls. Yet, inside them, the flames were.. blue, yet they were not burning at a low light.
"Blue flames? The only times I've seen them like this is when they were burning carbon or burning low," Jill replied as she observed one of the lanterns.
As Chris would shut the door behind them, it seemed to lock on its own, sealing the way backward. "Well.. no going back now," he mutters before trekking further into the room, seeing that the others were looking around to see what could be found in here.
While the group was wandering about, Wesker's eye caught something etched into the stone floor. He knelt down on the ground and brushed away some of the sand, revealing the markings to be mildly faded runes. "Hey.. there's something here. Looks like there are runes marked into the floor. It looks like Celestelian, but.. it's not like what I can read.." he says as they now gathered around him.
The others grouped up around him as Chris took a knee next to the STARS Captain. After tracing the contours of the runes with his fingertips, he would dig into his back pocket and pull out his dad's small journal, quickly flipping through until he landed on something. "Aha.. here it is. If this is translated correctly, it says here 'Here beyond is the path to fate. Here beyond lies thy hidden truth...'
"What language is that?" Jill asked him.
"Ancient Celestelian," Chris replied and Wesker picked up where he started.
"Language of the goddesses from long ago. I can only read modern Celestelian and why I can is because I made it a little hobby of mine over the years. Stories my mother told me intrigued me, even to this day," spoke the Captain and Chris finished up.
"And my dad and grandfather were into the more ancient version of Celestelian. Or by its other name, High Sindarian. When the vault was first placed here, Grandfather was studying tomes in trying to decipher the words of said goddesses," he replied.
"And what does it mean when it says 'Here beyond is the path to fate. Here beyond lies thy hidden truth'?" Claire asked.
Alana knelt down and ran her fingers along the runes and the Light of Arlathan shone upon them. The runes seemed to shimmer with a pinkish light before the runes seem to rearrange themselves before their eyes, this time in plain English. "It says 'Follow my song and thou shalt find the key to salvation's road'. Maybe that's the translation for what it said earlier?" She asked them, looking up to Chris, who rubbed his chin in thought while Wesker looked down with the same expression, arms crossed.
" 'Follow my song'? 'Key to salvation's road'? I swear we are getting more questions than answers.." Jill sighed a bit, running a hand through her hair.
"Well, if we are going to get answers, we'll need to keep moving. Hey kid, does that Light lead us anywhere in this room?" Chris asked as the two men got back to their feet while Alana raised the vial a bit higher.
Just then, something seemed to appear on the wall next to one of the two doors in the room. Shining in neon blue light, Wesker saw it was ancient Celestelian and nodded to Chris. "What does it say Chris?"
Chris looked to the journal again and took a few moments to match each rune to the letter it corresponded to, finally getting his answer after a few minutes. "It says 'When the darkness meets the water, turn your gaze to the daughter. Beneath the depths, the truth is behind. And the treasure, you hope to find'," he read out.
"You mean there's another river in this place? Was this place built upon an underground river channel?" Jill asked.
"Apparently, yeah. And according to this, that tunnel is our way to the vault. But.. 'turn your gaze to the daughter'? The heck's that mean?" Chris replied, brows furrowed in confusion at that one part.
Wesker was silent for a moment, running the poem over and over in his head. Turn your gaze to the daughter.. perhaps.. yes, that's probably it. The daughter meaning.. HER. There was nothing else he could think of on who else it could mean. "I think I know what that may translate to." Turning to the small group, he would continue "Who knows the song 'Daughter of the Sea'?"
Chris's eyes widened a bit at that, along with Claire's. "Mom sang that song sometimes when we went vacationing on the east coast one time. When Dad would take us out on his boat, sometimes at night, we sang that song together when the seas were calm," she recalled, a smile on her face at the memory.
"I know what you're thinking, Wesker. You think the answer is in the song, right?" Chris asked him, getting a nod in reply.
"Right. 'Turn your gaze to the daughter'. From what you were told about the old stories, who is referred to as the Daughter of the Sea?" Wesker asked and recognition flashed in everyone's eyes. The siblings and Alana were not the only ones who knew the tale of the goddesses, Jill recalled the times when she begged her mom to read her the story of the sea goddess, claiming she was her favorite.
"OCEANIA!" the four exclaimed at the same time.
"So, if I've translated the runes correctly, they're referring to Lady Oceania, Queen of the Seven Seas. There must be a statue of her here somewhere..." Chris pondered, rubbing his chin.
"Then let's go look for it!" Alana piped up eagerly before she jogged towards the door in front of them, turning the handle and opening it.
Before them were some more stairs, leading downwards into the darkness. She lifted the glowing vial a bit via telekinesis and used it to guide them as they slowly trekked the stone staircase. Chris held his sister's hand while Jill hung on his arm, seeing that there was no railings of any kind. Wesker kept close to his adoptive daughter, knowing her power was not strong enough to help her fly if she fell. Their footsteps echoed out in the vast cavern area as they began to hear the unmistakable sounds of rushing water and the two men in the group peeked over the side to faintly see the glistening surface of a river about 100 feet down.
"I wouldn't look down if I were you, girls," Chris warned them and the three nodded in reply.
Finally reaching the bottom of the stone stairs, they would be now on a stone bridge that spanned across the river below. Water droplets continued to drop down from the stalagmites above and drip into the puddles beneath their feet, their drops echoing out in the vast cavern. As they would start to venture across the bridge... the group would stop when they heard something upon a subtle wind. A song, it sounded like. "What is that?" Claire whispered to her brother as the others would strain their ears to listen.
For Alana, she felt her father go stock still. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes went wide upon hearing the siren like call with his mind racing. He knew that voice anywhere.. 'She's here?! Of all places?!' He couldn't let them know about HER..! As they slowly began to trek across the bridge, it was taking everything in the Alpha Captain not to give in and race towards the voice. That song.. that oh so familiar song...
As the song wafted into their ears, it was accompanied by a woman's voice.
Beware, beware the daughter of the sea
Beware I heard him cry...
His words carried upon the ocean breeze
As he sank beneath the tide
Those blood soaked shores of my beloved home
Where sailors fought and died
The Admiral fell, his eyes they did mourn
Because she left his side
"That song.. that's the song we sang during one of our boating trips!" Claire gasped as she tugged a bit on her brother's hand.
"Yeah, I know... that voice almost sounds like Mom's whenever she joined in.." Chris smiled warmly at the memory as he gently squeezed her hand back when he saw her near tears. Before he knew it, he found himself and his sister singing back with Wesker joining in a more softer tone
Why this, why this
O daughter of the sea?
Why this, did you forget your seaside days?
Always the pride of our nation's eyes
How could she go astray?
However, they were not the only ones singing. As if rising from their eternal slumber, voices all around them began to sound off like a choir, their spirits lighting the way across the bridge with the music becoming louder. Jill and Alana looked on in awe while Claire, Chris and Wesker continued to sing with them, as if the melody was compelling them to do so. It was as if.. they were being guided.
When she did flee across the ocean deep
The Admiral followed west
What else but sail to save a daughter's life
And pray she still drew breath
But there he found, upon those distant shores
Enemies 'pon the rise!
But when we face those savage foes
His daughter stood aside!
Jill found herself curling a bit closer to Chris, who wrapped an arm around her in comfort and giving her a look, saying she was going to be fine with him. Alana found herself doing the same with her father, who stroked her hair in response. However, the trio continued to sing with the glowing spirits around them. If one were to get a good look at them, they all looked like they were various time eras, yet their voices were as one.
And buried deep beneath the waves
Betrayed by family
To his nation with his last breath, cried
'Beware the Daughter of the Sea'!
As the song crescendoed, it just as quickly went soft as they finally came to a huge lake just beyond a small cliff they now stood on. For some reason, it was glowing beneath the surface with a female figure encompassed in bright light standing near the edge. Her face couldn't be seen by them, but to Wesker, he could sense it. It was her; she was leading them to where they needed to be to proceed. Suddenly to them, the clue they found back there made sense: 'Follow my song and thou shalt find the key to salvation's road'.
Alana's light shone upon some steps leading down and lead the way with Wesker, just as the woman finished her song with him alone joining in.
I heard, I heard
Across the moonlit sea
The old voice warning me
'Beware, beware the Daughter of the Sea'
Beware... beware...
"... Of me." The two seemed to finish together and the group could almost feel the smile rolling off the voice's lips.
As they finally came to the edge of the lake, the woman in the light gave what seemed to be a nod to the group before suddenly diving into the water, vanishing into the depths. Yet the light remained down below.
"This is the location mentioned by the runes. 'Where darkness meets the water...' This is where we must pass through." Chris said.
Wesker knew this was coming sooner or later. Whether it be at the office where Joseph, due to his clumsiness, would cause his tail to appear or something of this matter. Well, he might as well get it over with.
"But Chris, who knows how long this tunnel goes on? What if there's no air pockets for us to breathe in?" Claire asked, slight trepidation creeping into her voice.
"Remember what the second part said? 'Turn your gaze to the daughter'. We just gotta trust in Lady Oceania's magic," Alana piped up with an encouraging smile as she removed her jacket and boots, as did Jill and Wesker.
The Captain then stopped at the very ledge of the lake and took a knee, taking a few calming breaths. He knew this would cause a stir with the two siblings and Alana, but it had to be done. So he stuck his hand in the water and shut his eyes. "May they trust in your protection, my lady.. lead them safely," he whispered. Standing to his feet, he then discarded his vest before diving in without hesitation.
When he came up, imagine the looks of shock and surprise with the siblings when they caught sight of Wesker's tail beneath the glowing surface. "You're.. You're a..!" Claire stuttered, to which Wesker nodded to her before turning his eyes to the sharpshooter to gauge his reaction.
"How did you get to be like this?" Chris asked once he had shaken off the initial disbelief.
Wesker had to think fast; he made a promise to HER that he would keep her presence a secret. "Remember those few days off I took for some personal time?" When Chris would nod, he would continue. "Ever since I was a teen, I liked to explore new places, especially sea caves. So while I was walking along the beach's shore, I spotted one around a cliff. I went to check it out... and found this." Here, he displayed a sea foam green crystal on his neck upon a thin, silver chain. "Curious, I thought someone had dropped it in this seven foot pool I found while I was in there. So I jumped in and grabbed it... and as you can see.." He gestured his head to his tail. "It had effects I did not expect. But I've learned to live with it. It has its advantages."
"Are you able to take it off?" Jill asked, to which Wesker shook his head no.
"I've tried the first few times. However, it seems bound to me, so I've given up trying to remove it," he replied.
"Do you have magic?" Alana piped up next with an excited grin now, in which Wesker chuckled in reply.
"Yes. With this crystal, I have also gained water magic from some... ahem.. accidents." At this, he would frown with a slight hint of embarrassment. That was when Chris and Jill remembered that one day when he had been back for about a week; when he had spilled water on himself, he claimed he accidentally dropped his glass and had made a beeline for the bathroom.
Flashback
While the others had been working on reports and what not, there was a small glass shatter sound, followed by Wesker's voice. "Blast it!" The door suddenly burst open, showing Wesker with some of his shirt and pants being wet.
Chris could not help himself, smirking as he quipped "What's happened, Wesker? Did you piss yourself somehow and got it on your shirt?"
"Shut up, Redfield. Not now," Wesker snapped back before power walking towards the men's bathroom.
He barely made it with seconds to spare before he felt his change come along. The next thing he knew, he was falling on his ass, his tail taking place of his legs, a grunt escaping him as he fell onto the marble tiled floor. Thankfully, no one was inside when the change took place and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Captain? You okay?" came Barry's voice, making the transformed male freeze for a moment. If he saw him like this... he looked around for a moment before remembering he had magic to assist him.
Focusing on the sink, he stretched out his hand. 'Come on.. don't fail me now. Help me out..' he called out in his mind. Slowly, the cold knob of the sink began to turn and water began to stream from the faucet. Just as he heard the doorknob jiggling, he summoned what was there and it flew to it, holding it fast.
"Captain? I think the door's jammed again," came Barry's voice again.
"I'll handle it in a minute. Get back to work, Burton," Wesker replied before sighing in relief to himself. Bullet dodged...
"Yes, Captain. Hope you can figure it out." With that, he heard receding footfalls and Barry was gone.
With the gun expert now back at his desk presumably, Wesker now had to figure out how to change himself back. Trouble was, there was no towel within reach. He knew there was some on the shelves but he would have to drag himself over. And that was going to be a pain in the ass.
"Joy.." he groaned as he fell flat onto his back. He was NOT looking forward to this.
Flashback end
"You have no idea how hard it was. But enough about that, we need to keep moving. Come," Wesker said with Alana picking up with "And don't forget the second part of the poem!"
"Alright, if you say so." Claire would say before sliding into the surprisingly warm water. Alana would follow next, then Jill and finally Chris.
"Alright, you three" Chris nodded to the girls. "Take a deep breath and let's go. We don't know how long this tunnel is but if the clue is right, then.. we just gotta trust in it." All four took a breath and plunged beneath the water, starting their hopefully short swim to the other side.
Under the water now, the tunnel would be as large as the cave on the surface, brightly lit by gorgeous crystals that littered the walls and the floor below them, illuminating it in a soft rainbow like glow. Alana rode on her father's back, her hands gripping his shoulders with her head between his shoulder blades with her eyes closed. Chris, Jill and Claire stuck close, not wanting to get separated from each other. Thankfully, Wesker swam at a speed where they could keep up in case there was any danger. However, Chris thought back to what that clue said. 'Turn your gaze to the daughter'. They did not know how far this tunnel went and he knew his sister could not hold her breath long and neither could he or Jill. So going out on faith, he shut his eyes.
'I trust you, Daughter of the Seas. Protect us..' he would pray before taking a breath of water.
Hearing Chris sucking in water, Jill looked over in shock, wondering if something went wrong. To her surprise, she did not get to witness her partner's imminent struggle for oxygen like one were to do when drowning. Instead, he was fine. In fact, he was breathing as if on land. Right there, she understood and the smile she got from Chris confirmed her theory. Letting go of the breath she held, she took a deep breath. She remembered this feeling; it was the same when Wesker rescued her from being stuck underwater. Looking to Claire, who looked like she was beginning to struggle a little, she nudged to her partner and nodded to the teen girl.
'I got her' Chris would use sign language to Jill, getting a nod in response before swimming on ahead a little to catch up to their Captain.
Meanwhile, Chris turned his attention to his sister, his hands gently holding her by her shoulders. His grip tightened a little when he felt starting to quiver and squirm a little, perhaps her anxiety and fear starting to get to her. He nudged her to get her attention and as she turned to him, he began to speak, his voice slightly hampered by the water.
"Claire, listen to me. Look at me, you are going to be okay. Think back to the stories Mom told us about Oceania. What would she do for those who trusted her and placed their lives in her hands? She protected them, even those who were stranded out at sea. All you have do is trust her that she'll protect you. Do you trust me?" Chris would see his sister nod and he would nod back to her. "Now calm down and take a breath. Trust her.. and trust me."
Claire shut her eyes, forcing back her fear. Chris had no reason to mislead her now, so she began to let go of her breath and stomping down her instinct to panic, she took a breath. Slowly her fear abated as she coughed a bit, bubbles flying from her mouth, but it didn't take long for her to adjust. It was like breathing thick, viscous oxygen, like that one guy did from that one movie she watched with her brother last summer. She finally relaxed and gave a thankful smile to him, who nodded in return and took her hand. Together, they went to catch back up with Wesker, Alana and Jill, who had been patiently waiting for them.
"Well done, you three. I see Chris was the first to figure it out," Wesker spoke with a tone of approval, earning a nod from the brunette male. "Indeed, 'turn your gaze to the daughter' was to place complete trust in Lady Oceania's protection. How do I know this, you may be wondering." Here, he would gesture for them to continue along the tunnel, explaining as he went.
"Ever since I got my powers, I have been doing a lot of research into its origins, wondering who or what was the source. And my search led me to the Daughter herself. She controls all forms of water, from the most microscopic droplet to the very seas you know. She sees all that transpires through any body of water like one way mirrors: you may not see her, but she definitely sees you. Stories say that she is a benevolent goddess, willing to help sailors during their travels with calm seas." His tone dropped a bit at this next part.
"But she can also be nasty to those who seek ill will against those under her protection or those who taint and destroy her oceans and those that dwell beneath the depths. And hence, the vicious storms one may hear of from folklore or have experienced them firsthand, if they survive her wrath," he finished, leaving Claire, Jill and Alana enthralled and in awe.
'I remember those stories. Mom told us about her through tales found in our library. Claire even claimed when she was a kid that she was her favorite goddess to hear about,' Chris signed to him, making Jill giggle, knowing what he was on about and also confusing Claire for a moment.
"Her favorite goddess, you say..?" Wesker asked in a teasing tone, causing Claire to give a mock indignant look towards her brother, knowing now what he had told his Captain.
Chris smirked back at her and made chuckling motions when she tried to slug him in the shoulder, the water slowing her punch down. Joking aside now, the group enjoyed the rest of the swim, breathing freely within the depths. Alana even let go of her father for a moment to swim closer to the crystals, in awe at their beauty. Her fingers brushed over a large purple crystal cluster and looked up over her shoulder when Wesker placed his hand on her.
"We can look later once we are done here. Right now, we have something to finish first," he says, getting a nod from the young psychic before she took his hand again and the group would continue on their way.
THE MYSTERY DEEPENS... STAY TUNED!