Chapter 11

Sunken Shrine

For the second time in their lives, Squall and Quistis stood before the enormous doors to the abandoned excavation site. Battleship Island, repurposed as Neo-SeeD's mobile base after the fall of Balamb Garden, had been docked where the Children of Fate had found it by chance twenty years before. Bahamut had informed them the ruins had once been called the Sunken Shrine. Eden had hibernated here since the War of the GFs, watched over by Leviathan. It was suspended several hundred yards below the ocean surface.

Behind their Commander were the twins Liu and Zhang. Along with Raine, they were among the batch of cadets hoping to be become Neo-SeeDs before the inevitable, decisive battle against Esthar. They knew they could be among the last. The twins were the sons of Xu and Sabin. Their father had not been a SeeD himself but had been the chief PT instructor at Garden, and the martial artist who had trained Zell Dincht. Slain by General Zebalga during Garden's fall, Sabin had been posthumously referred to as the Iron Hand. They had a younger sister, Tian, who had requested a transfer to the more elegant White SeeD Ship after just a year on Battleship Island.

Now at seventeen namedays, Sabin's sons were proud to fight on in his memory. They were filled out for their age, chiselled with broad shoulders. But they were not identical. About the only thing they held in common was their love of mixed martial arts, of which they were both serious practitioners, participating in the annual tournaments that were held on Battleship Island in honour of Zell and Sabin. Liu's skin was light and his eyes blue, though he had inherited his mother's dark hair and slanted eyes; often wearing shades, he had a neat goatee. Zhang's skin was slightly darker. He had longer hair and brown eyes, but his face was bare, his voice with slightly more tenor. Zhang wore a dark vest that showed the tattoos on each of his defined biceps, a torama fang on the right and an iron hand on the left.

They both wore metal-inlaid gloves. Additionally, Liu wielded a jian similar to Xu's. Zhang wore a couple of sai on his belt and had a pair of leatherbound, durable nunchucks in hand.

'Sunken Shrine, huh? Let's do this!' Zhang said boldly, clenching his free fist. He was more brash and conceited than his twin, who made no comment.

'Most of the monsters disappeared when we defeated Ultima Weapon,' Quistis informed them. 'The ones that did not really belong. But not all. Sahagins and the children of Leviathan will surely remain, too.'

'We drew as much lightning para-magic as we could,' the more reserved Liu said, then hesitated, as he did not know his Commander's old ally well. 'Sorceress Quistis,' he addressed her respectfully, as she had not been an instructor for twenty years.

Zhang said, 'We're ready to kick some snake and froggy ass!' He twirled his nunchucks but did not show off the elemental power.

'We may run into a stray ruby dragon or iron giant, yet,' Quistis said dryly, with a slight smirk.

Quistis wore her usual, peculiar battle attire: the salmon zipped vest with the big collar and the pliable matching skirt, tied with a silver waistband. Quite tall, her captivating eyes were a sapphire blue, and she had two distinct blonde bangs trailing down either side of her face. The rest of her hair was tied. Coiled behind the Blue Mage's back was her distinct golden chain whip, Save the Queen, another gift from the now deceased Edea.

They took her warning on board. Both cadets knew that the Commander – junctioned with Bahamut – and the Sorceress were more than capable of dealing with larger than life threats. But even Zhang did not want to appear too arrogant, as ready as he felt. All Neo-SeeDs and cadets held the Children of Fate in reverence, not yet informed that their number was now down to four. The youngest person ever to become a SeeD, Quistis was a year older than Squall, albeit untouched by time. The gift of near eternal youth from her power meant she appeared to be from a younger generation than the SeeD leader.

Especially with the near-permanent frown on Squall's brow, split by the deep recess of his old facial scar, and the telling lines around his eyes, any other cracks obscured by his grizzled beard. The years had been unkind on him. His greying brown hair was now long, resembling the mane of the fantastical lions he revered. The Lionheart wore the same short leather jacket he had worn in his teenage years, with dark grey combats and matching boots. His sapphire-blue gunblade of the same name was held over his shoulder.

'Lead the way, cadets,' Squall commanded.

'Yes, sir,' they said in unison.

Liu and Zhang went through the doors unhesitatingly. They had fought with the Commander as part of Xu's unit in Timber, but they had been just fifteen then. The SeeD leader was accompanying them on this assignment personally, even though it was really Quistis' journey; the Sorceress was seeking the elder Guardian Force, Eden. The cadets were merely along for the ride, but it was an excellent opportunity to ascertain whether they were ready for Neo-SeeD.

The big, open area beyond contained ruined architecture like some of the more ancient ruins that littered Centra, with reflective stone buildings, grooved round pillars and various patterned tiles and mosaics on the ground. There were several eroded buildings around a pit in the centre, which was surrounded by a walkway with a broken stone wall, cracked steps leading down into it. Liu and Zhang had been forewarned they would have to keep descending this pit until they reached the bottom. But standing in the open area between the pit and the cadets was a group of sahagins, their chieftain waving a trident at their front.

The sahagins were sentient, communicating in their own grunting language. Their faces were fish-like, akin to the shumi, but their bodies were more like frogs, a light green with broad webbed feet. Their hands were also large and webbed, their forearms larger than their upper arms. They had compact shells covering their shoulders and upper back, the largest of which was the chieftain's.

Knowing the Commander would expect them to use discretion, Liu and Zhang stopped, making no threatening gestures. They heard Squall and Quistis stop shortly behind, either side of them. The chieftain made a guttural sound to one of the others, and one moved forward, its disproportioned arm rearing for a harpoon throw. The pointed weapon was hurled at Liu, who pivoted and knocked it downward. It hit the stone behind, and he was glad that the Commander had not remained behind him, realising that was likely why he and Quistis had moved position.

Bristling with lightning para-magic and unafraid, the cadets met the sahagins in the middle. Liu was not as proficient at casting lightning spells as Zhang but would use the power to augment his strikes against the water-elemental creatures. Liu knocked aside one spear and slew the first, Zhang merely turning his body to narrowly avoid a spear thrust, crushing a second's skull with his brisling nunchucks. A third rushed Liu from above, having leapt high into the air and coming down with a deadly thrust. Liu sidestepped, gripping the weathered wooden haft with his free hand, and stabbing the sahagin's open torso with his right. He parried another harpoon as he withdrew.

Another sahagin swiped at Zhang with its claws, who lazily checked the telegraphed strikes and struck the monster's chest with his nunchucks, the electricity stunning it. Zhang drew a sai and drove it into the reptilian throat, through its brain. More of a baton, his sai had a sharply pointed edge for strong thrusts.

Squall and Quistis had remained immobile, merely observing the prospective SeeDs and keeping their eyes on the chieftain. One underling had detached and charged the elder pair, but the Commander had killed it with a quick flash of Lionheart, cutting through its harpoon, head, and shell in a single stroke.

As the last sahagin was struck down, the chieftain raised its trident and gave a throaty noise. It moved toward the two cadets.

'Not too bright, this one!' Zhang said, unable to contain himself.

Suddenly, the eyes of Quistis began to glow, and two laser beams struck the head of the chieftain. Melting through brain matter, it was killed instantly. Proficient in the archaic Centran art of Blue Magic long before receiving a share of Rinoa's power, Quistis was now a master, perhaps the most unmatched for thousands of years. Liu and Zhang looked at the Sorceress fearfully. They were disturbed at Quistis being able to kill the chieftain so effortlessly from afar. Thank Hyne that she was on their side. If she junctioned with Eden, then surely Reina and Tiamat would be no match for her.

'Impressive, cadets,' Quistis praised. 'Efficient use of para-magic, and you killed each of them with less than two hits. You can afford no more against multiple odds. Keep up the good work!'

Although she had been fired from her post of Instructor quite young, Quistis naturally slipped back into the assertive tone of one, despite never formally resuming the role after multiple offers from Xu and Squall.

'Shall we move on?'

The twins wordlessly nodded. They walked around the dead sahagins. The steps led down into the dark, hugging the edges of the square-shaped pit. Quistis raised one palm to the ceiling. A golden ball appeared, like a miniature sun, but the same salmon colour as her battle attire. It slowly floated down into the pit, lighting the way. They saw nothing below. Squall gestured for the cadets to move. They led the descent, their weapons down, arms relaxed at the sight of no threats.

As Quistis' light revealed more of the depths below, they could see a blue shape moving up the steps. As it got closer, they could see it was a sea snake, the scales on its back a dark blue. Its face was unseen. Zhang, in front, raised his nunchunks, poised to run down to meet it. But Liu silently placed his hand on his shoulder. Raising his free hand, Liu gathered para-magic in his palm, visualising a powerful lightning strike hitting the unsuspecting snake. It did so, making it recoil, but was not potent enough to kill it. The serpent slithered back down the steps.

'Liu, only do that if you are sure you can kill it,' Quistis warned. 'I appreciate that our angle is awkward for a melee, but there will surely be more of them down there, and now they will know that something isn't right.'

'Damn it,' Liu conceded.

'You've never been the best with lightning magic, bro,' Zhang said. 'You should've let me bash its skull in!'

Liu did not respond, instead opting to take point.

'Mistakes are inevitable,' Squall said. 'I made plenty of them as a SeeD and as Garden's leader. Just don't let them happen too often.'

'Yes, sir.'

The area at the bottom was a narrow stone path at a right angle to the steps, half of the round pillars supporting the ceiling now collapsed. Several snakes slid around each other at the bottom, their bodies about a foot in diameter, the undersides of them a lighter, aquamarine shade than their backs. Their fangs glinted white under the false sun.

Squall and Quistis let the twins meet the challenge. Zhang met a lunge from the first with a firm blow to its jaw, the elemental attack stunning it as its head was knocked aside, and he got a clean stab through its eye with his prong. The second effectively impaled itself with a similar lunge, Liu's sword coming out the back of its head. Immediately, Liu sent lightning bolts from the sword tip to knock the others back, then put his foot on the snakes twitching, aquamarine front and withdrew his weapon. There was four remaining.

The snakes came at them all at once, with enough room for them to do so on the narrow passageway. The twins had enough time to prepare to prepare bolt spells, aiming at the outer two by unspoken common sense. Zhang's spell was slightly more powerful, bordering on mid-level, killing its target. Whereas Liu's, a lower-level spell, merely stunned the other.

Liu moved diagonally with a sweeping cut, slicing deep into the side of the serpent nearest to him and sending small ripples of electricity around its entire body. Zhang confidently met the head of another with a firm roundhouse, sending it skidding over the floor. He pounced like a torama with his sai angled downward, driving it deep under its jaw until it was stopped by the hilt. The sahagin thrashed at Zhang held it down, dropping his nunchucks as he used his free hand to hold its head still, channelling just enough electricity to fry its brain.

Liu was ready to meet the remaining, stunned serpent. But Quistis killed it with a single, potent lightning bolt, the same salmon colour as the false sun lighting their way.

'You shouldn't have skipped lightning class, Liu,' Zhang laughed.

'You know I'm better with fire,' Liu shot back, then turned to Quistis. 'Thanks, Instructor.'

It took years of dedicated training for a cadet to become proficient in one element, and only SeeDs were usually adept at two, typically opting for restorative or anti-ailment magic as a second. The mastery of three was rare. Junctioning with a GF significantly boosted one's affinity for that summon's respective specialty, but one still had to have learned to channel strong magic beforehand. To think that the Sorceress in their presence could cast what she wanted, when she wanted, and had a vast array of Blue Magic techniques to boot.

'You're welcome, Liu,' Quistis said. 'But I'm not an Instructor, remember.'

'Sorry, ma'am' Liu replied. 'It's just, you act like one. I don't know what our founder Cid was thinking, dismissing you before the last war!'

'It was a long time ago,' Quistis said dismissively.

'I'm sure Headmaster Cid regretted it,' Squall remarked, with the slightest hint of a smile. 'Stay focused, cadets. We're only about half-way to the bottom.'

As if on cue, they heard the unmistakable sound of another snake coming from beyond the pillars, in an unseen part of the chamber. It dropped down over the high wall of the path, causing Liu and Zhang to back up. It was thrice the size of the blue serpents that lay dead around it. Its scales were a lighter shade of blue, its underbelly golden. Most startling was that its face appeared human, albeit a florid pink colour. It had a wide nose, eyes with horizontal slits, and a toothy, bulbous mouth.

'A water naga?' Quistis remarked. 'I've never seen one before. Have you, Squall?'

'No.'

The naga spoke the Common Tongue, but its forked tongue meant it had trouble forming certain words. 'The last time humans were here, one had the Lord Protectorate within him! I saw them from afar, and I remember you two! Where is our overlord's vessel?'

'He's dead,' Squall said bluntly. 'His name was Zell. He was murdered by Sorceress Reina years ago, and Leviathan is now a slave to her.'

'Lies!' the naga hissed. 'The Demon of the Deep would never bend before the will of a Descendant of Hyne!'

'Let us pass!' Quistis firmly demanded. 'We have come seeking Eden. With his power, we can free your overlord!'

'Never!' the naga said, and started slithering forward.

The Sorceress began to shine more brilliantly than the false sun above them, golden light instantly brightening the entire chamber but somehow not dazzling them. Lightning appeared at her fingertips as she flexed both gloved hands, linking to a growing ball above her. The threat of its elemental weakness made the naga stop.

'You are a Sorceress, too?'

Quistis nodded. 'That's right. This is your last chance. Let us pass.'

'Curse the Descendants of Hyne!' it muttered, just loud enough for them to hear, then it slid back the way it had come, up the wall and out of sight.

The twins somewhat relieved, they proceeded down the path to another set of winding stairs. These led into a square chamber with a pit much like the first. The only monsters here were a few floating blood souls: eyeless, undead monsters with huge, brown heads and jagged teeth. They had two stubby, pink feelers and a peach-coloured torso. The cadets knew that the teeth were known to cause a zombie virus, and neither were learned enough in healing or holy magic to damage the things. Fire would have been effective, but they had both maxed out on thunder para-magic; Liu now realising that could have been a mistake.

Instead, Liu drew a suppressed, semi-automatic pistol. Calmly aiming, he dispatched each blood soul with two shots to their oversized heads. The shots were muted, but still audible pops in the stone chamber.

As he changed the nearly depleted magazine, Quistis said, 'Good marksmanship, and nothing wrong with silently killing them from a distance, Liu. Monsters are about the only thing guns are good for, these days. But I think you know you're at a disadvantage, having to use lightning here. Perhaps you should have trusted in Zhang and drawn on your preferred element, as SeeDs seldom work alone.'

'I'll keep that in mind, Instr – ma'am,' Liu replied.

The next set of stairs led to a narrow path like the one above, but a little wider. On the path's left was the statue of a winged woman with a fish's tail, holding a trident. Sorceress Thalassa of the Water Shrine; one of the Original Four of Hyne's Descendants. After the Second Coming of Hyne was thwarted by the Warriors of Light, the Water Shrine became the Sunken Shrine, and Sorceress Thalassa became much more amphibious than this ancient depiction of her. Squall and Quistis had met Thalassa during at the start of Time Compression, though in that particular era, Thalassa's wings had changed to glorious fins and her entire body had been covered in scales of silver and gold.

The room shook, with small fragments of stone coming from the ceiling. It shook repeatedly, the twins looking perplexed at one another, and Squall cried, 'Get back!' They saw movement above, Quistis' false sunlight glinting on something huge that was dropping down to them. Trusting Squall's command, the cadets backed up as surefootedly as the martial artists they were.

They assumed the massive object above their heads was a rectangular club, about a foot wide and four feet in breadth, coming down in a crushing blow. It shattered the statue in an instant, fragments of it striking the two cadets. As the dust settled, they could see the iron gauntlet and vambrace of an armoured giant, and they realised the club was a huge, blunt sword. They craned their necks to look up at the mountain of metal.

Liu and Zhang stood with their weapons ready, prepared for what would be the most arduous fight of their lives. One they might not survive. But there was a strange noise, and the iron giant was lifted from its sabatons. It spun like a wheel, as though it weighed nothing, and gradually became smaller. When they looked behind them, they could see Quistis standing slightly bent, her arms ramrod straight and her palms proud. It took only a few seconds, but the iron giant became no larger than a toy, and then was so small they could no longer see it.

The Sorceress relaxed. 'That was a foe too strong for two unjunctioned fighters! Even your Commander would have found it difficult. Right, Squall?'

'Well,' Squall seemed slightly irritated, looking at the floor to his side, an old habit his former Instructor made him lapse into. 'Not really.'

Quistis smirked, shaking her head. Liu said nothing, but Zhang looked like he wanted to protest. The Blue Mage continued. 'It's okay, cadets. You have proven yourselves quite adept so far. Without Guardian Forces or exceedingly strong para-magic, there is no shame in running from strong monsters.'

'What happened to the iron giant? Did you open up a black hole, or something?' Liu asked fearfully.

'It made it as tiny as an ant,' Quistis replied. 'I doubt it will be alive for long; it couldn't outrun an ant in that armour.'

'Hyne, fuck me!' Zhang swore. 'Was that sorcery, or one of your monster techniques?'

'Blue Magic. But made more potent by the Sorceress power. Some of the more powerful techniques I could once only use in crisis; a limit break, if you like. But now I can use them whenever I please,' the Sorceress explained.

The deepest part of the excavation was down the next stairway. This time Squall led the way, and they emerged into the vast, final chamber, with a pit at the end of the stone walkway. There were no monsters present.

The twins knew of what had happened here twenty years ago. That the Children of Fate, after proving themselves against Bahamut, had investigated the entirety of Battleship Island, gaining access to the Sunken Shrine. But the pit before them had been sealed off by the Esthari researchers at the demand of Sorceress Adel, the entire excavation abandoned. And for good reason, as it contained a demon called Ultima Weapon, whose power had superseded that of Adel. Exactly who Ultima was, and where it had come from, was not known. The Esthari had theorised that a Lunar Cry may have changed it into a monster, that it might have once been human, which had been said to happen in legend.

Trapped within Ultima's body was the Elder Guardian Force, Eden. As it happened, Ultima had encountered the slumbering Eden while Leviathan was absent and somehow drew the GF into himself. Bahamut had sensed his Elder's presence and implored Rinoa – newly a Sorceress – to free him. With Eden joining the Children of Fate, Ultima had not stood a chance. Only one of Hyne's Descendants can junction with an Elder GF. Eden agreed to pledge his power to Rinoa in gratitude for freeing him, and the Elder had been instrumental in subsequent battles. Particularly against Ultimecia, who had long since enslaved his future self.

Now, Quistis sought to become Eden's bearer. She closed her eyes, feeling for the Elder GFs presence. Feeling her mental touch, Eden slowly emerged from the large pool. The eyes of Liu and Zhang went wide as it appeared, feeling privileged even to lay eyes on the legendary GF.

Its lower half was female and angelic. But much larger than any human, a purple and silver in colour, with jade green wings. It had a pointed, blue tail that looked more deadly than the fiercest lance. Above this humanoid form was nothing that could be described as a head, its neck a widening violet spiral. There was a huge, revolving halo like the rings surrounding a neighbouring planet, interspersed with the lights of many colours. The halo was fringed with giant white feathers, and it had blue and purple crystals at its centre.

Perhaps to get Eden's attention, Quistis started glowing again, and the angelic humanoid turned vaguely in her direction.

The Sorceress spoke. 'We need your power once again, Elder, for Ultimecia has emerged in the present.'