So… yeah. Final Fantasy 7 is giving me a hard time lately. Haven't touched the thing for the entire day. Stupid WEAPON. Did he defeat me? Oh no. That's the point. I defeated him, all right. But… I thought that when he flew up into the sky, he was going to perform some terrible attack. Only Vincent was left, and he was barely functioning. Just as I hit the reset button, lo and behold, Vinnie twirls his gun in his standard victory stance. Mxedcherub'll vouch for it. I went completely insane. How insane? I walked to the back door and opened it, thinking that I was just going to walk out and keep walking forever until I found the Lifestream. Luckily what was left of my sanity told me that there was no such thing as the Lifestream in reality like there is in Final Fantasy, so I instead turned around and stalked through the house cackling maniacally and saying things about "Black Materia". I haven't been completely normal since. Especially when I hear the music that played during the WEAPON battle…
Otherwise, I got to… What part am I at? Oh, I know. I just did the whole thing with Tifa trying to get Cloud to remember who he is. Now I'm on the Highwind, just sitting around. I lost my green marble… I got the others back, but the green marble was my favorite and now it's gone. Oh well.
Yay for long authors' notes! Here's the story; a present to Blondie91 because I put her on Ignore in a chat room and made her sad.
Chapter 3: Seabound
"Wake up, Zephyr!"
The boy groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. "Must you be so loud, Sister?" he yawned. Maris giggled and scampered across the ice. Once she got to the other side, she began waving her arms wildly. Zephyr heaved himself up with a sigh and trudged over to his sibling. She gestured to the water. "Let's go, let's go!" she said impatiently as she jumped into the open air. As she presumed it would, a pillar of ice sprang up to support her. It wasn't nearly as far to the next ice floe as the other was.
"Look!" Maris shouted as she pointed into the distance. Zephyr did so. There was the ocean. He had seen the little rock-strewn bays before, but never had his eyes feasted upon the glory that was the Great Sea. "It's beautiful," he breathed. The waters reflected the sky like a mirror. Waves lolled gently across the surface. Fish swam in massive schools.
"Look there!" Zephyr exclaimed as he gestured to a huge shadow. "That's one big school of fish." That 'big school of fish' soon emerged from the water with a deafening roar, revealing itself to be an enormous sea dragon. Zephyr pushed Maris back and unsheathed his rapier. He'd never fought in a real battle before, but his instincts to protect his sister served as all the strength and experience he'd need.
Instincts or no, his grip upon the hilt was unsteady and sweat formed across his brow. What if he failed…? He shook his head and tightened his grip. The dragon submerged, swimming in predatory circles around the ice. It soon leapt upwards and dove completely over the ice, drenching Zephyr and Maris. Everything stilled. All was quiet…
Until the sea dragon rammed the ice berg. The ice fractured almost into two pieces. Zephyr staggered up and ran to the edge of the island. There it was. The serpent looked up at him through the water with menacing eyes. It emitted a low growl and backed up a bit, preparing to ram again. "Stay back!" Zephyr demanded as he slashed his rapier through the air. A whirlwind formed around the slender blade.
"Wh-what's this?" he said in awe. Maris leaned forward to get a better look. "Zephyr… you've got wind magic!" she proclaimed. The sea dragon lunged forth, directly at the young wind mage. He slashed wildly at his foe. Every time his rapier tore through the air, the tornado was launched and another was formed. Zephyr continued in this fashion until the sea dragon was so cut up by the winds that it gave up on its 'easy' meal and swam away scornfully.
Zephyr rested the point of his rapier on the ice and gasped for breath. "Wind magic," he repeated softly. He turned back to his sister with a victorious grin. "Guess you aren't the only one with special powers, huh?" he bragged. Maris rolled her eyes and stood at the edge of the ice floe. "You forget who had their powers first," she smirked. Zephyr turned his head from her disdainfully.
Maris looked at the Great Sea with a heavy heart. She thought she'd find something when she got there, but there was nothing but water and ice. We're too far north, she told herself. If we want to find what we're looking for, we need to get to Seabound. The girl closed her eyes and placed her hands over her heart. She walked forward slowly. As she did so, the sea parted and stairs of ice formed, leading to the sea floor.
"Sister… is that safe?" Zephyr asked cautiously as he cast a nervous glance at the walls of water on either side. Maris didn't give any reply; she held her attention on the water and pressed forward. Her brother eventually gave up calling for her to come back and instead ran after her.
It soon became evident that Maris couldn't hold the ocean back much longer. Zephyr looked around desperately for some island or something. However, he too had seen Sisha's map. There was no land between the Glacial Islands and Seabound. He shuddered thinking about how close they were to the Divine Isles. Those three islands were the Monastery's home base. It was from there that the Monastery controlled nearly everything.
On the southernmost piece of land, which was also the smallest, was the Temple of Unra. Zephyr could hardly bear thinking about that place. Every month, the Monastery would send paladins to a different clan and demand to see the all village's young girls. They would then select one and use her as a sacrifice to Unra at the Temple. Zephyr couldn't stand the thought of it. To think… one day, it might be his sister that they choose.
The notion of his younger sister brought his attention back to her condition. "I'm going to release it, Brother," she warned with a strained voice. Zephyr gasped. "No, Maris! We'll be crushed!" he exclaimed. Maris opened one eye gave her brother a despondent smile. "I don't think we will. I just can't… hold it… any… more…!"
With the utterance of that last word, the walls came crashing down. Zephyr dove upon his sister to shield her. At the same time, he gave forth all the energy in his body. A barrier of wind formed around them and weakened the water that pressed on them from every direction. However, this barrier did nothing for the fact that they were underwater. As his shield dissolved, Zephyr made for the surface with all the energy he had left. Maris was already unconscious, but he wouldn't allow himself rest until they were safe.
Daylight shone down upon him like a beacon. Finally his head broke the surface. He held Maris afloat, his cloak billowing around him on the waters. They were stranded in the middle of the Great Sea. To make matters worse, sleep soon claimed Zephyr's weary mind.
---
The boy sat up slowly. His head hurt, and his body was sore. He was cold and damp. What happened?
Zephyr's thoughts raced as he remembered the sea crashing in upon him and his sister. He looked around swiftly, trying to locate Maris floating upon the waves. As his vision came into focus, however, he found that there were no waves. He was lying beneath pale blue sheets on a soft mattress. The room resembled the inside of a sea shell. Across from him, Zephyr could see his younger sister sleeping peacefully beneath her own covers.
"You're the other two Chosen, huh?" came a young voice. Zephyr whipped around, feeling for his rapier but finding it gone. It mattered not, though, as it was only a small Zora boy. Zephyr had never seen a real Zora before. This one was young, probably no older than himself. He had a fish's tail in place of hair and a pair of fins instead of ears. His arms and legs bore long fins that billowed like sleeves. His eyes were a deep, almost glowing emerald color. Upon his forehead was a gem shaped like a teardrop.
"You're a Zora?" the blonde boy asked dumbly. His company frowned. "Well, duh!" he huffed as he put his hands on his hips. "Not only am I a Zora, but I'm the prince of all Zoras!"
Zephyr raised an eyebrow. "The prince, eh?" he repeated. "Mind telling me what my sister and I are doing here, your majesty?"
The Zora walked across the room to tend to Maris. "You two were drifting in the ocean, unconscious. The Navy found you. I told my mom that you were both two of the Chosens. She put you in bed until you woke up. And here you are now. By the way, my name is River," he explained casually.
"I'm Zephyr, and that's my sister Maris," Zephyr introduced. "Now, do you mind telling me what all this business about 'Chosen' is? You lost me there."
River tilted his head. "How could you not know?" he asked. "You're one of them!"
"I've lived pretty much in isolation for my whole life," Zephyr shrugged. River took this as a worthy excuse and proceeded to explain.
"There's a prophecy that one day a dark god will rise over the land and slowly destroy the world. So the four Chosens will come together and fight him back. You can tell someone's a Chosen by the color of their eyes. See, mine are deep, glowing green. That means I'm endowed with the power of the Earth, making me a Chosen. Your eyes are very light blue, and they also shine. That makes you the Chosen of Wind. There's one Chosen for every element. Your sister is Water, so all that's left is to find the Chosen of Fire and we're all set to save the world."
"That doesn't make any sense," Zephyr interrupted. "Why would my sister, a Hylian, be Chosen of Water instead of a Zora that lives in the ocean?" River shrugged. "I didn't make up the rules. Now, if you'll let me continue." He cleared his throat.
"The glowing means that person has a pure soul. The moment they do something unjust or immoral, they're eyes turn to normal and they're no longer a Chosen. So we have to be careful. We're the guys who'll save the world, after all. If we lose out power, then goodbye, Hyrule. You get it?"
Zephyr began to nod, then shook his head. "I still wanna know why the Zora is Earth and the Hylian is Water," he mumbled. River heaved an exasperated sigh. "Look, it pertains to your personality," he said, becoming frustrated. "Earth is stoic and determined, Wind is strong and gentle, Fire is powerful and fierce, and Water is serene and fluid. My personality constitutes for the Earth element. Can I assume that yours and Maris' match up as well?"
This time the Hylian boy could agree with one hundred percent certainty.
"River!" exclaimed a regal voice. "What are you doing? I told you to leave those children be!"
Who's the voice belong to? It's pretty durn obvious if you think about it. I mean, really. But I'm not going to say anything. River… Couldn't think of a very earthy name that would be good for a Zora, so I called 'im River. Here we have some of the plot being revealed. Not so much history. The whole thing with the Chosens, that's Tales of Symphonia all over. We'll get some Sword of Mana in there somewhere, somehow. Final Fantasy, oh yeah. I'll get a lot of that.
But now I'm at an impasse. I want one of the characters to be insane. So, I'm asking for an OC from a reviewer. Whoever it is, just know he/she will be completely insane. Angel of Atonement, I'll use yours if you give me one. (He's been really great to me, guys. Plus, he gives the best reviews. If he wants his character used, it's gonna be used!)
Key points: Gender (girl/boy), race (Hylian/Zora/Goron/Kokiri/Gerudo), description (physical description/abilities/family/birthplace/age/background/etc.), and personality (when he/she's not being insane). Oh, and anything else I forgot. Like his/her name.
I look forward to reading your reviews and seeing your characters! Oh, and Angel of Atonement, did you know that there's a fourth option for the date at Gold Saucer? With Barret! I have the steps to get the Yuffie date if you want them.
AND EVERYONE IN THE UNIVERSE SHOULD LEARN TO PLAY OCARINA! I adore my ocarina! You all should get one and learn it! It sounds so great! I like playing Final Fantasy 7 music on mine… Hee hee.