A/N: Yes, yes... It's been a while...
I know I've said in my last A/N that it would take some time, but I didn't think it would take more than a week. Unfortunately, aside from exams, I came to face a serious writer's block of sorts. A weird one, though... I knew what I wanted to write, had it all planned out, but I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and type. I felt like doing nothing, much less write. But now I'm back 'in action' and ready to go on with the story!
What can I say? Took me long enough but at least it's a lot… I sincerely hope I haven't 'lost' any of you during the course of this month and a half…
Many kudos to Chris for his patience and help to put the finishing touches on this
The whole deal with Ultimecia's Guardians had to be changed, in order to make things more realistic. Among the eight original seals, you can have the 'Save' and 'Command' abilities. But how the hell was I going to explain that one? "We have sealed the ability to 'save' your actions, so that if you die you can go back and correct them." ? Nuh-uh... So I had to come up with something different. I gave it some thought, and finally decided on creating three different branches of magic. Offensive (Fire, Ice, Thunder, Ultima... that sort of thing), Defensive (Protect, Reflect, Shell, etc...) and Supportive (Aura, Meltdown, curative spells...).
For more info on what I've changed and for comments on your wonderful reviews, check my journal as always.
Last chapter summary: Seifer and Quistis managed to survive during Time Compression and reunite with their friends, always in search of Ultimecia's hide-out.
A second chance
By: Sickness in Salvation
Chapter 40: The castle amidst the barren flower field – Part 1
Selphie piloted her way among the dark clouds that surrounded the ominous castle, slowly descending to lower heights to avoid the crackling thunders slicing the air.
- "I can't get too close." she mumbled at the others standing behind her "There's not enough space to land the Ragny ahead. We'll have to stop somewhere before the gates."
- "Try over there," Squall pointed at the ground below "On the clearing in front of those…" He squinted "Chains?"
- "Certainly looks like chains…" Irvine mumbled.
- "Just land the damned thing and we'll figure out what that is once we land." Seifer piped in, rubbing his lurching stomach.
- "Alrighty…" said Selphie, pressing the steering pedal forward, causing the Ragnarok to make a dive towards he ground.
Seifer staggered backwards and grabbed hold of one of the seats, gritting his teeth and trying to breathe properly. He felt a hand close upon his own. Quistis; he recognized her perfume.
- "I'm seriously starting to doubt whether Ultimecia will turn out to be a bigger threat than Selphie behind the controls of Ragnarok…" he mumbled at her, out of the corner of his mouth.
- "Relax." Quistis whispered to him, squeezing his palm tighter.
With eyes still closed, Seifer held his breath and waited fretfully, until he felt his stomach did the familiar upturn it did when Selphie landed the spacecraft. Wobbling a bit on the spot till the Ragnarok was firm in place, Seifer finally opened his eyes.
- "Oh, thank Hyne…" he breathed out.
- "Is everyone ready?" Squall asked, looking around his peers.
- "Yup. All set." Zell said, cracking his knuckles.
- "Xu," Squall turned to the brunette "Is your squad ready?"
- "Ready. They're waiting on the hangar below for instructions." the girl replied.
- "Good." said Seifer, approaching them, finally in a state calm enough to give out orders "Once out there, just follow our lead till we give further orders." Xu nodded.
- "Who'll take over the controls of the Ragny till we get back?" Selphie asked.
- "Don't worry, we'll send one of the pilots you trained up to take care of it." Xu replied "We'll have everyone here on stand-by till we get back from the castle."
- "But," Rinoa piped in "If we manage to defeat Ultimecia, won't Time go back to its original state?" she asked "If that's the case, then the Ragnarok won't be here when we return. As a matter of fact, we won't be 'here' either."
- "She's got a point." Irvine agreed.
- "We'll worry about that later." Squall said "Let's just focus on finding and beating Ultimecia for now."
Quistis was the last to disembark the hanger of Ragnarok, taking Seifer's hand and jumping off the ledge. Her boots made contact with soil and she looked around the outlandish environment surrounding them all.
Numerous bodies of men and women lay spread-eagled on the ground, only feet away form them. Some were clad in what appeared to be SeeD uniforms, both white and dark blue.
- "Future SeeDs…" Squall mumbled, carefully stepping among their carcasses, gunblade out at the ready "We're fighting across generations…"
Seifer scanned the ground around him, when suddenly, he tightened his grip around Quistis's wrist and pulled her forward, quickening his step.
- "Seifer… What-?" Quistis began.
- "Come on, let's just move ahead faster…" he muttered "This scenery is too morbid…"
- "But-" Quistis said, trying to realize what it was that had triggered his reaction.
She craned her head to the back, while examining the corpse-infested ground. Her eyes suddenly went round in shock.
Only a few feet behind her, lay the bodies of two people she recognized all too well. A woman, dressed in a dark purple dress was lying onto the ground, lifeless, her long black hair barely covering a deep gash that ran all the way up her left cheek and temple. Right above her, lay a man with brown hair, in a position that suggested he'd been trying to cover her. His clothes were tattered and dirty. One of his palms was loosely encasing one of the woman's hands.
Cid and Edea.
Swallowing with difficulty, Quistis took a deep breath and hurried to Seifer's side, holding his hand tighter.
- "Ultimecia's reign…" Seifer whispered "…We have to end it now… Otherwise… This is what will happen…"
- "We won't allow that…" Quistis whispered back, voice quivering.
The seven SeeDs leading the mission, followed by Xu and her own squad of allies, made their way through the ground ahead of them. Squall, leading the group, stopped before what he'd perceived as a chain from aboard the Ragnarok.
He found that he'd been right, but the one thing he'd been wrong about, was the enormity of it. Gigantic, oval-shaped metal rings were linked to one another, leading all the way up to the outskirts of the shadowy castle. Squall turned and looked at his peers for affirmation. He met with nothing but a round of shrugs. That would have to do.
Taking the first step, he noticed that the chain would easily hold on to their weight, but it was quite unstable, so they'd have to be cautious.
- "Just be careful. This thing's trembling around a bit, but other than that, seems safe enough." he said, and began pacing ahead.
The small troop slowly made their way up the chain, inching closer and closer to the gates surrounding the castle. With every step forward, everyone stopped, synchronizing their footing, trying to make the chain wobbling as little as possible. The way to the grounds outside the castle seemed to take forever, but eventually, all of them managed to step upon earth once again.
The castle itself was every bit as unsettling as Seifer had remembered it during Time Compression in their world. He had seen it from afar, from the beach of the Orphanage Lighthouse, thunderbolts striking the surface of its medieval structure. The dark clouds above did nothing to relax the atmosphere and gave it an even more ill-omened exterior, creating doubts and terrors about what could hide behind its each and every murky corner…
- "Good." said Squall "We all made it."
- "Whoa…!" Zell exclaimed, letting out a low whistle "So this is her castle?"
- "Finally." said Selphie.
- "I've never seen anything so creepy." Irvine commented, frowning "You think what's-her-face really lives here?"
- "We've come this far. She's gotta be here." Rinoa replied.
- "So this is the future…" Quistis said, looking around her "This is where Ultimecia reigns…"
No sooner had she finished her sentence, than a pair of gleaming yellow eyes emerged from the darkness on the right side of the castle. To everyone's terror, that pair was soon followed by many others, as one by one, a swarm of glossy-scaled Ruby Dragons made their appearance.
- "Oh fuck…" Seifer hissed "We don't have time for this! We have to get inside as soon as possible!"
- "Go." Xu said firmly.
Quistis whirled around and stared at her.
- "Xu…" she said in a hushed voice.
- "I said go!" Xu insisted firmly "We'll keep them at bay. You seven go inside. We'll follow you afterwards, don't worry!"
Squall nodded and nudged everyone from his peers within reach forward, towards the small stairway leading to the entrance of the castle. Seifer grabbed Quistis's hand, as she put up a bit of a fight to stay back. She gave Xu one last look full of worry.
- "We'll see each other again." Xu said, taking out her daggers, trying to reassure Quistis that everything would turn out alright. But something in her voice told Quistis that deep inside, she believed that those could be the very last words they'd ever utter to each other "Go, please!"
- "Xu, be careful!" Quistis called at her, as Seifer pushed her through the double massive doors.
He looked at Xu as well, swallowing hard. The brunette looked back at him and this was the first time in their common history that they reached some sort of understanding by a mere glance.
- "Take care of her!" Xu yelled at him, as the Ruby Dragons drew near.
- "You know I will!" Seifer called back "You take care of yourself!"
And with those words, he disappeared behind the entrance of the castle…
The door closed behind Seifer with a loud thud and instantly, the sound of a myriad locks being secured was heard. The tall blond whirled around immediately, placing both palms against the heavy wooden door. He banged a clenched fist upon it, running a hand through his hair. The door had locked behind them and had therefore separated them from the others outside.
They were alone.
Turning around to share the bad news with his peers, he found everyone silent, gaping at the interior of the castle in awe. It was very soon that he joined them, gaping at the gothic decorations of the lobby room.
The only lights inside the castle were provided by flickering candles, allowing the corners of the room to remain well-hidden, giving anyone the impression that a dark creature could be lurking around in each and every one of them. Ominous, gargoyle-shaped statues stood near every wall and hung from the ceiling. The ticking sound of a clock could be heard, coming from the ancient-looking one standing only a few feet away from them, next to a dark doorway. Every tick was followed by a small cloud of dust, when the particles fell from each hand as it moved. A long, illustrious stairway unfolded itself in front of their feet, swirling up to the second floor, ending in front of a pair of double doors. Two paths spun away from the end of the stairs, each leading to a different door as well.
The clock struck midnight, emitting an eerie ringing sound that woke everyone from their trance, sending shivers down their spines.
It also brought Seifer Almasy down to his knees.
The tall blond grasped his ears with both palms, face screwed into a painful expression. It took less than a second for everyone to notice him, and Quistis immediately kneeled by his side, placing her palms on his shoulders gingerly.
Seifer could hear everyone's concerned voice, mingled with each other, but the words made no sense. The walls of his head were throbbing so hard he was afraid they'd shatter and his eyes were watering from the shrill pain inside his mind.
You do not belong here…
He was staggering amidst the snowy plain of a place unknown,
a blizzard engulfing his trembling form,
as he wrapped his tattered trench coat around him tighter.
You are the odd number out…
He was cold, alone and lost.
You always were…
He was calling out for someone, anyone…
But no-one ever answered.
You should not be here…
He curled into a fetal position,
as a single, salty tear trickled down from his eyes and onto his ice cold lips.
You do not belong here…
A woman, dressed in red.
With jet-black wings, gray hair and red eyes.
She was leering down upon him.
Be gone…
- "SEIFER!"
The tall blond snapped his eyes open at the sound of Quistis's scream. He didn't know, nor remember how he'd gotten in such a position, but he now found himself sprawled upon the cold marble floor. His head was resting on Quistis's lap. One of his hands was engulfed into her soft, tender palm, and her other hand rested upon his sweaty forehead. Everyone else had kneeled by his side, staring at him with a mix of bewilderment and concern in their eyes.
- "Are you alright?" came Quistis's calm voice, as she leaned closer to him.
He blinked a few times, staring at the flickering candles, before realizing where he was and how he'd gotten there. He swallowed with difficulty.
- "Yeah… I'm fine…" he croaked out.
- "You gave us a real scare, man…" Irvine said, sighing in relief, while patting him on the knee.
- "You sort went into a fit." Selphie said, voice wavering. Her eyes were still very round in fear.
- "What happened?" Quistis asked, running her fingers through his slightly damp hair.
- "I… I…think…" Seifer stuttered "I think I saw her…"
- "Ultimecia?!" Zell asked, eyes snapping wide. Seifer nodded.
- "What did she look like?" Squall asked.
His face bore just a tiny hint of surprise, but the dominant expression on his features was that of suspicion.
- "Gray hair… Red eyes… Black wings…" Seifer uttered "She was dressed in red… Purple markings on her face…"
Squall's jaw visibly tightened. And he knew by now that Seifer was telling the truth. He knew, because he had seen the very same woman once, when trying to get Rinoa back from space… He had sensed the ice cold feeling that penetrated his body, freezing his blood, once she peered through him with her empty gaze… And he had instantly known it was her.
- "That's her alright." Squall mumbled.
- "How do you know?!" Rinoa asked, widening her eyes at him.
- "That's not relevant." Squall snapped, getting up to his feet "Are you feeling OK?" he asked Seifer, quickly changing the subject.
Quistis placed a tender kiss on Seifer's forehead, cradling his face in her arms. It seemed to help bring back some of the drained color to his cheeks. He pecked her forearm and gently nudged her away, trying to get up.
- "I'm alright…" he said, slowly getting back up to his knees.
He wrapped his arm around Quistis's shoulder, as she hugged him from the waist tightly, resting her face against his chest.
- "So…" Squall spoke "What do we do from here?"
Seifer cast one swift glance around him.
- "Well… The main doorway has been locked if you've noticed. So no-one from outside can come in; we're on our own. Seems like we have four options." he said "This door over here," he pointed at the one right next to the old, dusty clock "Or one of the three up there."
- "Well the most logical choice seems to be the one straight up the stairway." Zell suggested.
There was a round of nods supporting his proposal, and all seven mercenaries slowly made their way towards the red-carpeted staircase. The moment Squall's boot made contact with the very first step, all of them froze at once.
Out of thin air, a shadowy cloud of fog began to slowly take shape at the very top of the staircase. When the fog molecules settled down, what appeared to be a sphinx-like creature stood on the far end of the staircase, right in front of a double-doored entrance. The peculiar beast was shielded in a colorful armor or purple, blue, yellow, orange and fuchsia, while four rigid-looking tentacles swayed around from its back. A headpiece, very much like the one a real Sphinx might fashion covered the foe's head, colored in shades identical to those of the armor. Blue and very sharp looking claws were protruding from all four of its limbs. It stood still, calmly not uttering a single cry, or moving the slightest bit, aside from the swaying of its tentacles.
Rinoa was the first one to attempt to step ahead and approach it, when she was pulled back abruptly from Squall. The young Commander tugged her a few steps backwards by pulling her wrist, face somber, and moved forward himself, while pulling Lionheart out. Deciding that he would simply not allow Squall to upstage him, Seifer took his cue in following the first's footing, drawing Hyperion out as well.
- "Step aside and leave it to the men, won't ya?" he addressed the girls.
His suggestion merely raised scornful glares and eye-rolling on the women's part, but it seemed to suit the three other guys quite well, for none of them phrased any objections. Seifer felt someone brush by him and he cocked one eyebrow at the sight of Zell.
- "I said leave it to the men, Chicken-Wuss." he spoke at the other blond "Where do you think you're going?"
Zell stopped on his tracks. If looks could kill, Seifer would be lying spread-eagled and very much dead on the floor right now by the glare the shorter man was giving him. The tangible tension between the two blonds was abruptly alleviated when Irvine nudged Seifer on the ribs and Squall mumbled at Zell's ear to 'Ignore him and drop it'.
- "Nudge me again," Seifer growled at Irvine "And I'll make sure your ass gets intimate with the sharp edge of Hyperion, cowboy."
Quistis sighed and crossed her arms as she watched the four men ascend the stairway towards the creature speechless.
- "Why am I with him, again?" she muttered at the two girls beside her.
When Selphie half-coughed, half-spoke something that sounded a whole lot like 'Mattress performance', Quistis chose to keep her level of vindictiveness to nothing but a sharp, icy glare and do nothing to help raise the tension again, this time between the girls.
The male quartet stopped in front of the Sphinx, feeling somewhat apprehensive; new enemies could always prove dangerous since one knew neither their powers nor their weaknesses. The beast seemed to seize them up with its unnervingly tranquil, almost empty gaze and, all of a sudden, spoke in unearthly tones.
I am Sphinxaur…
Face my wrath for seeking thy sealed power…
Seifer's eyebrows knitted together at the sound of these words 'Sealed power? What the hell is that thing going on about?' He was ready to step forward and attack, but the bewildered looks on the faces of his comrades, as well as a flashback from the past, held him back.
Guardian spirits such as myself have powers humans cannot even come close to comprehending, if I'm allowed to say so, master.
'So… You could tell me what, say… Instructor Trepe thinks of me?'Seifer thought, grinning.
I could, but it's against the morals of a spirit like myself, master. Besides, I'd… rather not.
The tall blond arched an eyebrow at the unexpected memory that rolled back into his head at a time when he needed it the most, as an idea rushed through his mind 'Ifrit,' he addressed his GF 'What is the meaning of this? What's this sealed power this Sphinxaur thing is talking about?'
………………
…No answer.
And right then, it dawned on him that he could feel the same weird sensation of emptiness in his head that he had felt back in the desert prison…
- "Something's going on here…" he mumbled at the others "I can't feel Ifrit's presence and he won't speak to me. Like back in D-District…"
- "What do you mean?" asked Zell.
- "I mean, that we most likely can't use GFs and I've got the bad feeling that magic's out of the question too…" Seifer elaborated.
- "You couldn't use magic in D-District?" Irvine asked.
- "Nope. Barely. And no GFs at all." Seifer replied "Had to rely on physical attacks only. It's wasn't really a problem then, because we only had soldiers to go up against, but I dunno how tough it's gonna be this time."
- "I'm guessing very?" Zell said, frowning.
- "Might be." Seifer replied.
- "Well, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Squall said, readying his Lionheart.
He took a step forward and extended a gloved palm.
- "Thundaga!" he yelled.
The familiar bluish spark began to appear between his fingers, but as soon as it appeared it was wiped away, and the young Commander was left with his hand extending forward and no magical attach whatsoever.
The Sphinxaur took a step forward, and Squall could have sworn it smirked back at him, even with the rigid, expressionless mask it had on. It bowed its head down a bit and an orange aura began to surround it. The energy field soon began to concentrate to the top of its mask, where what was unmistakably a Fire spell formed rapidly. Squall's irises dilated as the spell sped towards him and had only time to shield it partially with his Lionheart.
The young man was thrown backwards by the force of the Fire spell and did a backwards roll on the ground, only to stop a few feet behind, wincing. He rolled his eyes upwards, where one of his locks was now burned off at the tip.
- "Physical attacks it is, then." Seifer said, grinning, as he cast one swift look at Squall's once silky, elegant hair, now quite disheveled.
The tall blond whipped out Hyperion and made a run for the beast, bringing his gunblade down with force. The blade slashed down the mask, adorning it with a deep scratch. He made a move to bring the gunblade down again, but the beast let out a screech and brought one clawed limb up, ready to teach Seifer the meaning of pain. He managed to avoid it just in time, rolling away to the side. The Sphinxaur, however, managed to rip the back hem of Seifer's beloved trench coat. The ripping sound made the blond halt in place right after rolling back up to his feet. He grabbed the torn hem of his garment and examined it, giving the beast a murderous glare.
- "The fucking bastard ripped my coat!" he hissed.
Behind him, Squall was already standing once again and rushed forward, right after Seifer had attacked. The cyan blade of Lionheart came racing down, just as the Sphinxaur's claw ripped through the grey fabric of Seifer's coat, and found its target right upon the clawed foot. The sharp edge cut through flesh and bone with ease, detaching the limb completely by the beast's body. Squall stepped back as the Sphinxaur let out an almighty shriek and frantically waved its severed foot, spraying the marble floor with crimson blood.
Seifer was about to avenge for the mutilation of his favorite piece of clothing, when he heard the distant clicking of Irvine's shotgun.
- "Move away!" the cowboy shouted two both swordsmen, aiming with his gun at the Sphinxaur "My turn to boogie…" he muttered, as his finger encased the trigger.
Squall and Seifer stepped aside and not a second later, the now familiar 'Boom' of Irvine's state-of-the-art weapon was heard.
The aim, perfect as always. And it collided with the enemy's mask right between the drawn-upon eyes. A small explosion took place and the mask was blown to particles, revealing the foe's true face underneath it. It was that of an original Sphinx; a female visage, still blank and wearing a small headpiece. Only now, the face was left uncovered.
Even with the deadpan expression, however, the monster somehow managed to look infuriate, and demonstrated so by turning its attention to its most recent attacker and bowing its head once more. Irvine rolled out of the way as the ground crackled underneath him and a Thunder spell surged its way up to the surface. The Thundaga caught Irvine on the leg, just as he jumped away, making him stop in mid-roll and fall on the ground, clutching his aching leg.
The next thing everyone saw was a blur of red and blue, as Zell cart-wheeled his way towards the Sphinxara and shoved his Ehrgeiz-gloved fists down upon its exposed face. The beast received two consecutive heavy blows and took a step back, wincing in pain.
Seifer and Squall, took the opportunity of the monster's weakness and, one by one, brought their gunblades down, piercing through the hard-shelled armor of the Sphinxara. They barely had time to draw them back, when their enemy gave out its shrieking swan-song and fell to the floor in a crumple. Another explosion, greater this time, forcefully thrust the two men away and the Sphinxara's armor collapsed along with its owner.
Seifer cringed and slowly raised his head up, turning to look at the fallen monster.
- "Is it… dead?" he croaked out.
No sooner had he finished his sentence, than the Sphinxara's booming voice filled the air once again.
You have fought well…
And it is my duty to unseal one of your powers…
Choose wisely…
- "Am I the only one who's still got no idea what the heck all this 'sealed powers' jabbering is about?" Zell asked, slowly getting up from the ground.
- "Nope. I got no clue either." Irvine said, shrugging feebly, rubbing his sore leg in comfort.
Seifer never phrased it, but he couldn't understand what was going on either. He wasn't going to let everyone know, though…
- "Didn't you see what was going on during the fight?" Squall asked all three "The only thing we could use was Physical Attacks. It's obvious that we'll have to fight our way in unlocking more of our powers, like magic, or items…"
- "Yeah… Obvious…" Seifer mumbled, nodding, only now realizing that what Squall was saying was indeed true.
- "Alright…" said Irvine "But how do we know what powers those are? Or how many are sealed?"
- "We could always…" Zell hesitated "Ask it…"
All three turned around and looked at Zell, eyebrows arched.
- "Be my guest…" Seifer said, motioning towards the fallen Sphinxara.
Zell took his sweet time in re-approaching the creature and stood before it, somewhat rigid.
- "Erm…" he began "Err… Hello."
Seifer slapped a hand on his forehead and dragged it down to his face.
Greetings…
- "Uhh… Can you- Could you… tell us… what erm… powers… uhh… we can unseal?" Zell muttered.
The powers that have been sealed, are those of Item use,
Guardian Force use, the Draw Magic ability,
the use of emergency physical attack techniques-
- "The what?" Zell asked, frowning in bewilderment.
- "Limit Breaks." Irvine mumbled at him.
- "Oh right…" Zell said "Erm… Go on."
The ability to resurrect fallen allies and the ability to use Magic.
However, the latter branches out to three separate powers.
The ability to use offensive, defensive and supportive magic…
- "That's it?" asked Zell.
That is all…
Now…
Choose wisely…
After the end of Sphinxara's small speech, Irvine turned around and beckoned the girls to come over with his index finger. All three stepped up the staircase, gaze falling upon the beaten Sphinxara with interest.
- "There's some weird deal with our powers going on here…" Irvine began.
- "Yeah, we heard." said Selphie "So we have to fight our way through the castle to regain our powers?"
- "More or less." replied Zell.
- "That doesn't really make sense…" said Rinoa, crossing her arms.
- "On the contrary," Quistis said "I think it makes much sense… She's trying to test us. See if we're worthy to face her in battle."
- "And now we have to choose a certain… power to be unlocked?" asked Selphie.
- "Exactly. Choose one between Offensive, Defensive and Supportive Magic, Resurrection, Limit Breaks, Item use, GF use and Drawing Magic." replied Squall.
- "Which one should we go for?" Irvine asked.
There was silence for a fair few minutes while everyone tried to decipher which would be the most logical and useful choice.
- "How 'bout…" Seifer suggested "Offensive magic?"
A round of shrugs met with his proposal.
- "OK… Why that and not another seal?" Zell questioned.
- "Well…" began Seifer "The first opponent wasn't really that tough, but something tells me that as we progress things are gonna get more and more challenging."
- "So physical attacks only won't do…" Squall continued for him, nodding, getting his train of thought.
- "That's right." Seifer said in consent.
- "But what about healing?" Rinoa piped in "Don't you think it's essential to be able to cure ourselves during or after a fight?"
- "That can always be the seal we unlock afterwards." Seifer said, shrugging "We barely got injured during this fight and I think everyone has rested enough to be able to hold on for one more battle…"
- "True." Irvine agreed, nodding.
- "So we all agree then?" Squall asked the group "We go with Offensive Magic?"
Everyone either nodded or spoke for the motion, so it was unanimously passed among them. Zell turned towards the always tranquil and awaiting Sphinxara.
- "We choose to unseal the Offensive Magic seal." he spoke.
The beast gave a nod.
Very well…
And with those words, it collapsed to the ground, where it began to dissolve into thin particles that soon scattered onto the air and disappeared.
- "So… Now what?" asked Selphie.
- "Now, we move on." Seifer replied "Explore the castle for the rest of them before we get to Ultimecia."
- "Just make sure you're all well-prepared." Seifer commented "We can only use magic to attack, so our defense is very vulnerable. Make sure you junction a powerful spell to your elemental defense. Full-Life would be great, if everyone's got it maxed out."
- "I do." said Rinoa.
- "Yup. So do I.said Quistis, nodding in agreement, just like everyone else.
- "Good, good." said Squall approvingly "So now we can move on. How's the leg?" he asked Irvine.
- "Fine. I didn't hurt it that much. Just have to walk it off a bit. So… Should we split up?" Irvine suggested.
Squall and Seifer looked at each other, nodding the slightest bit.
- "Who are you taking?" Squall asked the blond. Seifer looked at Quistis.
- "Why don't we let them decide…?" he proposed.
Quistis moved close to Seifer and held his hand.
- "I'm coming with you." she said.
- "You sure?" he asked. Quistis nodded, smiling.
Seifer smiled inwardly. After all the times Quistis had chosen to be apart from him, this is all he'd longed to hear…
- "I'll go with you." Irvine told Squall.
- "Me too." Rinoa said.
- "Selphie?" Squall asked.
- "I'll go with Seifer, if that's OK with Irvy…" she said, grinning at Irvine.
- "I'm fine with it." the tall cowboy said, taking Selphie hand in his palms, kissing it reverently "Just be careful babe."
- "I will." Selphie said, giggling.
- "And… Zell?" Rinoa asked.
The blond shrugged and made a move towards Squall, but Seifer pulled him back from the shoulder.
- "Zelly-Boy's comin' with me.he said, smirking "I could use with some entertainment along the way." Zell rolled his eyes.
- "Fine…" he sighed.
- "Alright then. We'll be communicating at all times to report progress and the unsealing of powers." Squall said to Seifer, tapping on his cell-phone as Seifer nodded in affirmation.
- "We'll take the right-hand doorway over there." Seifer said, pointing at a pair of doors that stood on the right branch of the balcony.
- "I guess we'll try the center one." Squall suggested, pointing at the doors behind them.
Seifer's team began to head towards their designated direction, when Squall spoke again.
- "And, Seifer," The blond turned around "Try not to kill each other before we get to Ultimecia…" he said, motioning at him and Zell "What you do afterwards is neither of my business nor of my concern…"
Seifer merely cocked an eyebrow at that and scoffed, turning away and continuing down his chosen path.
Squall looked up at the double doors standing tall before his small group and took a deep breath. Could it be that Ultimecia was waiting right behind that doorway? What if they stepped inside and came to face her, just the three of them, with the greatest portion of the powers still unsealed? Would the others have to step in later and finish the job for them…?
But no… It couldn't be that easy… They were still in the very beginning of their quest, and surely Ultimecia would have a lot more up her sleeve till they came to challenge her…
Letting go of the breath he'd been holding, Squall began ascending the few steps ahead of him. His gloved palms closed around the handles of each door and slowly pressed the down, pushing the doors aside. He heard Rinoa's sharp intake of breath right behind him as the doors creaked and a few particles of dust fell down upon his front bangs of hair. He dusted his hair clean, bringing his clenched fist forward as he coughed, clearing the dust away with his other hand.
The doors gave out another creak and a semi-loud thud as they collided with the walls behind the next room and came to a stop.
- "Clearly," Irvine coughed "No-one 'sides the Ultimecia lady has been in here for a looooong time…"
- "Clearly." Squall agreed "Better watch your step, then." he warned both his allies.
The next room was as poorly lit as the grand hallway, and Squall guessed that the case wouldn't be different for pretty much any other room inside the elaborate castle. And thankfully, there was still no sign of the Sorceress as Squall had guessed. And hoped…
Instead, he came across with the sight of what looked like a semi-floor. There was very little floor ahead of them, along with a fallen wooden chair, and it ended only a few feet ahead of them. A vast, majestic chandelier hung from the ceiling and reached down to the height of the semi-floor. It seemed like the only way across, leading to another small part of floor and right in front of another pair of doors.
- "Looks like Miss Ultimecia could use with a hand in cleaning this place up a bit…" Rinoa said, letting out a small, nervous giggle. Behind her, Irvine chuckled a bit as well.
Squall, however, was not nearly as amused.
- "Do you honestly think this is a good time to be cracking jokes?" he spoke to Rinoa, giving her one of his specially reserved cold looks.
The girl seemed quite taken aback by his harshness and blushed, lowering her face to the floor.
- "I… I just thought…" she began mumbling.
Squall caught Irvine's gaze. His peer was giving him a rather austere glare, one eyebrow raised. Squall sighed.
- "I'm sorry…" he muttered to Rinoa "That was callous…"
- "It's OK…" Rinoa said, shrugging, looking up at him "I understand."
- "It's just that I'm worried about what might come next." Squall went on "Things aren't going to be easy. So I'm a bit on the edge…"
- "Yeah, it's alright." Rinoa said, giving him a small smile this time.
Irvine gave Squall an appreciative nod and just when the Commander made a move to turn around again, he saw Irvine motioning with his head towards Rinoa and doing something weird with his arms. Squall gave him a puzzled look, creasing his forehead. Trying to help him understand, Irvine wrapped his arms around himself and swayed a bit on the spot, closing his eyes. Squall's eyebrows arched and his eyes widened, still not quite getting Irvine's train of thought. His expression made Rinoa curious enough to turn around and look at Irvine as well, her face now screwing into pretty much the same way Squall's had.
Irvine finally opened his eyes and saw both Squall and Rinoa looking at him, dumbfounded. He straightened up, rubbing the back of his hair with his hand, grinning awkwardly.
- "I miss Selphie…" he said.
- "Awww…" cooed Rinoa, her facial expression becoming milder at once "That's so sweet!"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Squall turned around to face the chandelier again.
He took a hesitant step forward, allowing his feet to carry him right to the edge of the floor. He stared at the chandelier intently.
Rinoa caught his gaze and realized exactly what it was he had in mind. She approached him and spoke right above his shoulder.
- "You sure that's a good idea?" she asked, her own gaze traveling to the room right below.
It looked as abandoned as the rest of the castle, but the way down wasn't a short one…
- "That chandelier doesn't look too steady to me…" she went on "And that's a long way down."
Irvine moved close to them and dared to take a glance to the room down below, realizing immediately what Rinoa was talking about.
- "I hear ya…" he agreed, taking a step back "I don't think it's a good idea either, Squall…"
But the young Commander's stubbornness wasn't going to back away so easily… He turned around and faced both of them, a casual expression on his face.
- "Where's your sense of adventure?" he asked rhetorically, arching both eyebrows.
He turned back around and raised his right foot up. Burying all apprehension deep inside him, he leaned forward.
- "Squall, NO!"
- "DON'T MAN!"
Squall's boot pressed upon the chandelier and it barely budged. He aided himself up and stood with both feet upon the chandelier. It still remained unmoving.
Smirking the slightest bit, he turned around.
- "See?" he said somewhat smugly "Perfectly safe."
Irvine and Rinoa turned to look at each other and shared a look of uneasiness. The girl sighed audibly and began approaching the edge of the floor.
- "OK…" she mumbled.
Biting her lip, she raised her foot and oh-so-carefully, placed it atop the base of the chandelier. She took Squall's outstretched hand and rode up, shivering from head to toe. The chandelier gave a small, but very audible creak.
Rinoa froze on her tracks.
- "Did you hear that?!" she said in a hushed voice.
- "I did…" Irvine said, obviously quite terrified. Squall rolled his eyes.
- "Relax… You could have barely even heard that. Besides, it's an old chandelier-"
- "Our point exactly!" Irvine piped in.
- "So it might be a bit rusty." Squall continued, voice a bit raised "Now come on, don't be such a wimp…"
Irvine arched an eyebrow and, carefully, climbed up the chandelier. Squall turned around and began pacing across, grabbing hold of the protruding edges for safety.
The chandelier gave another creak, a bit louder this time, and a small vibration.
- "OK… I have a really bad feeling about this…" Irvine mumbled "This old piece of junk is clearly protesting under our weight, you were channeling Seifer right before… Things are definitely spooky…"
Squall stopped on his tracks and gave a barely audible groan. He wheeled around.
- "When was I channeling Seifer? Of all people?!" he growled.
- "Right before, man…" Irvine replied with a chuckle "The whole 'wimp' talk? That's totally Seifer…"
- "I'll have to agree with Irvine…" Rinoa said, grinning the slightest bit "I think he's beginning to rub off on you…"
- "OK, listen here." Squall said, eyes shining with a sign of fury "I was NOT channeling Seifer," he said, stomping a foot on the chandelier "He is NOT rubbing off on me," The thing gave a dragged-out screech "And THIS," It vibrated greatly "Is a one hundred per cent," Squall's face, as well as everyone else's, paled "…safe…"
- "Just ignore the frickin' bell and let's get on with it!" growled Seifer.
- "But I wanna know what it does!" Selphie whined "What if it's something important?" she retorted.
Quistis sighed deeply as Zell buried his face in the crook of her neck, letting out a moan of protest.
- "Just let her ring the bell and then we can go, Seifer…" she said wearily.
The tall blond strode back from the double doors over to them.
- "First off, we don't know what that fucking bell might trigger-" he began.
- "Don't swear." Quistis scolded him.
- "And second, we're los-" Seifer went on, ignoring her, when he suddenly stopped.
His eye gaze traveled to Zell who was stifling back a chuckle. He crossed his arms and stepped over to him, leering down upon him, a deadly frown crossing his features.
- "Something you find particularly funny…?" he spoke in a low voice.
Zell shook his head in disbelief, always grinning.
- "Nothing… just…" he began.
- "Just what?" Seifer spat at him.
- "I just can't believe you went and got yourself a second 'Matron', man…" Zell replied.
Seifer's eyes glistened at the sound of those words and he made a grab for Zell's shirt, when…
!CRASH
All four of them jumped up startled at the deafening thud that had just echoed among the entire castle and froze in place, even Selphie who'd seized the opportunity of an upcoming quarrel to try and pull the bell's chain.
Seifer immediately wheeled around to her. Reading his expression, Selphie let go of the chain and threw her palms up in the air, eyes widening.
- "I didn't pull it!" she protested "I did nothing, I swear!"
Seifer cursed under his breath and made a run for the spiraling stairway.
- "Trust Puberty-Boy to bring mayhem within a heartbeat…"
Squall groaned in pain and clutched his aching back, slowly rolling off the chandelier.
The moment his weight abandoned it, it sprang back up to the ceiling and to its original place, swinging on the spot the slightest bit. He coughed and waved his hand in front of his face, as the cloud of yet more dust began to settle down. He slid his eyelids open half-way up, just as a clicking sound was heard from above.
- "Everyone alright?" he mumbled.
The response he got was two different groans.
Rinoa pushed herself up from the floor with a bit of difficulty and rose up to her feet, swaying a bit before she steadied herself.
- "Less than half an hour in this place and I'm already hating it…" she muttered, dusting her clothes clean in disgust.
- "Don't be such a wimp…" Irvine nagged, still on the floor, mimicking Squall's voice "It's one hundred percent safe… Come on, cross the chandelier to your almost certain death…" Squall rolled his eyes.
- "So I made a mistake…" he mumbled, aiding himself up "Go ahead and shoot me, won't ya?"
- "Oh, I intend to." Irvine retorted "The moment I'm able to move my hands down to my shotgun…"
- "Did you break anything?" Rinoa asked, offering a hand to help him get up.
- "Nah, babe…" said-slash-groaned Irvine, taking her hand "I've had years of trainin' on how to fall properly." He dusted his coat clean "The times I've been accidentally pushed offa beds while sleepin'…" He said, tipping his hat at her, making her giggle.
- "Accidentally?" Squall quipped between gritted teeth.
- "I think this is a tad different, IrvineRinoa said, grinning.
- "YO!"
All three mercenaries looked up towards the floor they'd fallen off, where Zell's face was visible. Soon, three more familiar faces appeared beside him.
- "Is everyone alright?!" came Quistis's worried voice.
- "All fine, Quisty…" Rinoa shouted back up, wiping the dust off her hair "We just fell…"
- "Yes, we can see that…" came Seifer's drawling voice "How the hell did you manage to do that? Even Chicken-Wuss ain't that dumb to fall off this thing…"
- "HEY!"
- "Irvy, are you OK?!" Selphie shouted.
- "I'm fine, babe!" Irvine replied, sending her a kiss from the floor below.
- "So how d'you do it?" Seifer asked again.
- "It's the chandelier." Squall spoke for the first time "We tried to cross it, but it wasn't steady enough."
- "Well no shit, Sherlock…" Seifer scoffed, taking a look at said chandelier "That thing's ancient!"
- "It was OK until Squall started stomping on it because we said he was channeling you." Rinoa taunted.
- "HEY!"
- "Channeling me?" Seifer said with a chuckle "Awww… Pubes… Did you miss me that bad?" he teased.
- "It was NOT OK…" Squall went on, ignoring Seifer "It was creaking when we mounted it, so-"
- "That's not what you were saying before!" Irvine snapped.
- "So it probably isn't steady anyway. Besides, it sprang back up the moment we fell off of it and there was some sort of clicking sound after it went up." Squall continued, ignoring Irvine this time "So there's probably something we have to do to keep it steady."
- "Can you get out of there?" Quistis asked.
- "Yeah, there are two doors." Rinoa said "We'll be fine."
- "You go ahead and go back to your own route." Squall added.
- "Alright…" Seifer said shrugging "Oh and, Pubes? Try not to kill yourself before we get to Ultimecia…What you do afterwards is neither of my business nor of my concern…"
Returning back to the room they'd entered before the crashing sound of the chandelier falling was heard, Seifer made a move to push the doors open again. He turned around once, giving Selphie a glare as she approached the bell yet again –Selphie let go of the chain- and opened the double doors.
He stepped inside, closely followed by the three others. The room they'd entered was by far the best lit one they'd been in so far. There wasn't really much inside it, except for a stairway on their right which led one floor up, various paintings scattered upon the walls. There was yet another pair of doors straight ahead. Not giving it a second thought, Seifer proceeded to the doorway, only to find it locked shut. Frowning, he wiggled the handles more forcefully, pressing his shoulder against the doors to aid them open.
- "Fuck…" he mumbled, eventually giving up "They're locked."
- "Think we should go back and try a different route?" Zell suggested.
- "We can't just back away at the first obstacle." Selphie said "There's gotta be a way out of here."
- "Of course there is, only it comes in the form of a key which we clearly don't own." Seifer said.
- "Maybe…" Quistis spoke, her gaze traveling around the room "There's something we have to do in here. Like… pull a secret lever."
- "Alright then…" Seifer said "You girls take the second floor. Me and the wuss will search around here."
Zell, who had by now learned to ignore Seifer's name-calling, approached one of the paintings near-by and began to examine it thoroughly. Selphie and Quistis ascended the stairway to check out the top floor.
Seifer looked around for a bit, before what seemed like the biggest painting in the room caught his attention. He moved towards the left wall and squinted, looking at the painting.
Within the elaborate golden frame, there was a picture of what appeared to be a garden, amidst ruins and white marble columns. They reminded him of the lighthouse orphanage in Centra. Ancient Centraic architecture… He lowered his head a bit, to where a golden ribbon with an inscription stood. He squinted even more, trying to make out what the inscription said.
- "There's a title on this picture…" he said, loud enough for everyone to hear him "But it's too faint to make out… Do all pictures have titles beneath them?"
- "No…" replied Zell, shaking his head in negation "Yes… Kinda."
- "What do you mean, kinda?" Seifer asked scornfully, turning to look at Zell's direction.
- "Well…" Zell began "They've all got this small sequence of letters next to the painting."
Seifer approached Zell and leaned above him, looking at the small golden plaque next to the painting the shorter man had been viewing.
- "See here?" he said, pointing at it "It's got four Is next to it. 'IIII'. Oh, there's an inscription too, you're right." he said, looking below the painting's frame.
The girls who had heard the conversation between the two men had descended back to the lower floor and had approached them as well, all leaning over the same painting.
- "What does it say?" asked Selphie, squinting.
- "In…ter…vi…geyi…leeum." Zell muttered.
- "Let me take a look at this." Quistis said, gently pushing Zell aside.
She kneeled in front on the painting and looked at the inscription. 'Intervigilium'
- "Hmm…" she hummed "Intervigilium…"
- "Does it ring any bells?" Seifer asked her.
- "I think so…" she said, frowning, obviously doing some serious thinking "What was that painting you saw called?" she asked Seifer.
- "I dunno. Couldn't make it out." he replied.
- "You mean you couldn't pronounce it?" Quistis asked again.
- "No, it wasn't like this one. You couldn't make out the letters at all." he said, shaking his head.
- "Show me.said Quistis intrigued, getting up to her feet.
Seifer walked back towards the main painting and pointed at the inscription below. He turned around to speak to Quistis, only to find her a few feet behind him, staring at the floor, a weird expression plastered on her face.
- "Quistis?" he spoke "Are you-?"
- "Zell, what did you say the writing next to the painting was?" Quistis snapped.
- "Erm… Inter-" Zell began.
- "No, no. The other one." Quistis interrupted him "The letter sequence."
- "Oh, OK…" Zell said, looking back at the golden plaque "Four consecutive Is. IIII."
Quistis looked back down to the floor. She took a couple of steps back, when her eyes suddenly became very round.
- "Centraic numerals…" she mumbled, and sprinted up the stairway to the upper floor.
- "Quistis, what-?" Seifer called at her, following her upstairs.
He found her standing on the left branch of the top floor, staring down to the floor below in glee. He walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder.
- "What is it? Did you discover something?" he asked her.
- "It's Centraic numerals, Seifer!" she exclaimed, pointing at the floor in ecstasy "It's a puzzle, look!" she said, grabbing his face in both palms, pointing it towards the floor "A clock, see?!"
Seifer screwed his face into a puzzled expression. What he was looking at, was two concentric circles, with a dozen numerical sequences inscribed within. Three arrows of different sizes were pointing at three different numerical sequences. His expression changed.
- "Ohhhh…" he said, finally beginning to get Quistis's train of thought.
- "What, what?!" Selphie said, running up to them, Zell behind her "Did you find anything?"
- "It's a puzzle!" Quistis replied, her eyes always glinting with the light of discovery "We obviously have to solve it for the doors to unlock."
- "What kind of puzzle?" Zell asked.
- "See the clock down there?" Quistis said, pointing at the floor below yet again "It's pointing at three different Centraic numerals!"
- "Centraic whaaaa-?" Selphie asked, coking her head to the side.
- "This is how the ancient Centraics used to represent numbers. By a sequence of letters." Quistis explained "Examine the clock. I stands for one, II is two and so on. It goes up to four Is, then the V which is five, X is ten-"
- "OK, OK slow down…" Seifer said, putting up his palms "This is all fine and good, but how does it help us get outta here?"
- "The clock hands point at three different numerals. IIII, VI and VIII." Quistis replied "We have to find those paintings. We already have the first one; it's the one Zell was looking at."
- "OK, and then what?" Seifer asked again.
- "Oh, oh!" Selphie piped in "Maybe there's something behind those three paintings, like switches or something that will pull the door open!"
- "Maybe." Quistis said, shrugging "Go find paintings VI and VIII. That's numbers six and eight."
- "Gotcha." said Selphie and ran off ahead in search for the two paintings.
Zell followed suit behind her, while Quistis moved to the painting closer to her. Seifer walked right behind her, hand rubbing the back of his neck.
- "What's wrong?" Quistis asked him, then turned her attention back to the painting.
- "I just don't think that all we have to do is find those three paintings…" he muttered.
- "Why?" Quistis asked, examining the plaque next to the picture "That's X, number ten. 'Xystus'. No good…" she mumbled.
- "Well the painting I saw didn't have any numbers on it like the rest do and the inscription wasn't clear enough. I don't think it was put there for no reason at all." Seifer replied.
- "Hmmm… You're right…" said Quistis, getting up "There has to be some logic behind it as well… Anyway let's just find those three first and then we'll see what we'll do-"
- "We have a winner!" called Selphie "Number six, VI! Vee-ator!"
Quistis approached Selphie and leaned before the painting Selphie was looking at. It was the picture of a city as seem from a certain angle above, while a bird flew away from it, carrying something in its claws. The blonde's fingers brushed by the golden ribbon with the title.
- "Viator…" she mumbled "Messenger…"
- "What?" asked Selphie.
- "Viator means Messenger." Quistis replied more firmly.
- "In what language?" asked Seifer.
- "Ancient Centranean." said Quistis.
- "We've got another one!" Zell called, a bit further away "Number eight, VIII. That one's called… Vee-vee… Meh, you read it…"
Quistis got up and walked over to Zell's painting this time. This one showed the picture of a beautiful garden, with tall tress and fuchsia flowers spread all over its length.
- "Vividarium." Quistis read "I think that means Garden and judging by the picture, I'm probably correct."
- "Since when do you speak Ancient Centranean?" Selphie asked Quistis.
- "Yeah, isn't that like a lost language or something?" Zell added.
- "There's no 'New Centranean'. The language was last spoken centuries ago from the once thriving Centraic communities." Quistis replied "The only one who still speak it are the tribes that reside in the few remaining inhabited villages of Centra. And that's actually a slightly more modern adaptation of Ancient Centranean, modified as time passed by into what one could call 'slang'."
- "OK…" Selphie said, arching both eyebrows "But you still haven't told us how come you can speak that thing…"
- "I'm not an expert." Quistis said, shrugging "I just studied it briefly in my early years in Garden. Thought it might come in handy some time. Especially now with Rinoa's recent possessions and all."
- "Why exactly?" asked Zell. Quistis rolled her eyes.
- "The first ever records of an appearance of a Sorceress trace back to Centra." she began "Hence, the ancient language they speak is a lot like Ancient Centranean. It's only logical that Ultimecia would have a riddle that included her own language in it."
- "Geez, you sound as if I'm supposed to know all this…" Zell mumbled.
- "One of your best friends is a Sorceress!" Quistis protested "Shouldn't you at least know her origins?!"
- "Why? We've got you to ask when we want to know something." Selphie said, grinning.
Quistis let out a sigh and put her palms up in resignation. Seifer snaked an arm around her shoulder and smiled at her.
- "You're a genius, you know that?" he said, smiling at her.
The blonde blushed and looked down to the floor, flattered, while Zell and Selphie made loud retching sounds behind the couple. Quistis shook her head in disbelief and gently nudged Seifer away.
- "OK, let's concentrate back on the puzzle!" she ordered "We've got the three paintings, now let's figure out what they do."
- "Try wiggling it around a bit." Selphie suggested to Zell "There might be something behind it."
Zell grabbed the frame of the 'Vividarium' painting and tried to make it budge, but nothing happened.
- "Nope. Don't think it's gonna be that easy…" he said, shaking his head.
- "What were the three paintings again?" asked Selphie.
- "Vividarium, this one, Viator and Intervigilium." Quistis replied "Garden, Messenger and uhh… Intervigilium… Intervigilium… Ah! Sleep! Garden, Messenger and Sleep."
- "Garden?" Selphie said, frowning "Hey, Seifer. Didn't that painting you saw-"
But Seifer was already descending the stairway back down and heading towards the big painting on the left wall. He pressed his palms up against it and grinned.
- "This one is the picture of a garden as well." he spoke out loud "They've gotta be connected somehow."
- "Maybe it's like a code." said Selphie, running up behind him "Maybe we have to say something and it'll unlock."
- "Like the titles of the three paintings?" Zell suggested.
- "Could be…" said Selphie, shrugging "Quisty? Will you do the honors?"
- "Alright…" said the blonde, approaching the painting.
She took a deep breath and looked at the big painting.
- "Vividarium, Viator, Intervigiluim."
Nothing happened.
- "Try them in the order the numbers refers to." Zell proposed.
- "Erm… Intervigiluim, Viator, Vividarium."
Still nothing.
- "I don't think we'll just have to speak them." Selphie said "Maybe we have to connect them together in a sentence."
- "Hey…" said Seifer "Try using them like this: Vididarium, Intervigiluim, Viator."
- "Why?" asked Selphie.
- "When you tell the time, you say the hour first, then the minutes, then the seconds." he replied "The big hand clock is pointing at VIII. Vividarium. The minute one is pointing at Intervigilium and the second one at Viator." Quistis's face lightened up.
- "You're a genius," she said, giving him a peck "You know that?"
Seifer grinned, as she turned away and looked at the painting again.
- "So… One sentence with this sequence…" she said, frowning in thought "Garden, Sleep, Messenger…"
'Garden, Sleep, Messenger… Hmmm… Inside the garden, a messenger sleeps… That doesn't make much sense… Unless by sleep it means that it lies dormant. Change the sequence a bit… Inside the garden sleeps a messenger. And in Centranean that would be…'
- "Vividarium et Intervigilium et Viator." Quistis spoke clearly.
All four of them waited in heated silence for a couple of seconds.
The picture began to suddenly change, as if all clouds disappeared from view and the landscape became more clear. A small cloud of black smoke began to rise from their feet, moving upwards.
I am Trauma…
Face my wrath for seeking thy sealed power…
Selphie was the first one to turn around, towards the source of the voice. Her eyebrows arched.
- "Oh my…" she muttered.
The three others wheeled around as well, eager yet somewhat fearful of the sight they'd come across.
A gigantic, golden, mechanical beast was hovering only a couple of feet above the floor, standing in front of the stairway that led to the upper floor. It seemed like a deadly weapon, taken right out of a lab from Esthar, futuristic and without a doubt full of nasty surprises. Instead of arms, its only limbs, the creature bore two thick, pipe-like constructions that looked horrifyingly like cannons. Seifer didn't want to give this idea any more thought…
- "Oh my, indeed…" mumbled Zell.
- "Air-borne monster…" said Quistis, out of the corner of her lips, while readying her weapon "Wind spells will come in handy…"
Seifer either chose to ignore or never heard Quistis's piece of advice. Probably the latter, but the outcome was the same, as he charged their awaiting foe with the only weapon he ever trusted; his Hyperion. Quistis rolled her eyes and sighed, getting into a battle position between Selphie and Zell, who did the same.
The blond Commander who was already in mid-motion, got a belated surge of enlightenment which informed him that swords against mechanical foes didn't have the wanted results. Too late… Realizing that backing away was not an option at this moment, he armed his right arm with as much force as he could muster, and brought his gunblade slashing across the metallic torso before his as he leapt in mid-air.
The blow proved to be a bit more damaging than he had expected. The golden metal was apparently somewhat softer than he estimated, so Hyperion scraped it with enough ease. The hit created a deep scratch upon the beast's chest, partially harming the interior circuits of the Trauma. Seifer was back on the floor and the mecha-enemy seemed fairly pissed. As much as a machine could look angered, anyway…
The tall blond stepped backwards hastily, returning to his three peers. Selphie moved aside, allowing him to come to a halt next to Quistis.
- "Had to rush in, didn't you?" Quistis spat at him, through gritted teeth.
- "Hush, woman." Seifer said, rolling his eyes "It did some damage, didn't it?"
No sooner had he finished his sentence, than the Trauma retaliated, lunging forward towards its attacker. Seifer didn't have the time nor the space to back away and found himself back-first onto the floor, with the gargantuan machine atop him, bringing one of its canon-like limbs down towards his face speedily. Quistis cracked her whip in the air once and brought it forward. The whip coiled around the arm and the sharp barbs of Save the Queen penetrated the metal surface of the Trauma's limb. She pulled the whip back, trying to slow down, or even stop the arm's movement. She did manage to slow it down a fair amount, but it yanked her forward as it continued with its course.
The tip of the limb crashed against Seifer's jaw, causing the latter's head to slam against the floor from the intensity.
Hurrying to prevent the arm from doing anymore damage, Selphie swung her nunchaku in the air and brought it down upon it with force, just as Quistis uncoiled her whip and pulled it back in place. The cannon arm flew backwards, but never got detached from the body. The Trauma turned its attention towards Selphie, obviously planning to attack her next, but Zell was quick to act. The beast never saw the blond's clenched fist coming, making contact with its face. The second blow found its target on the same spot as well and shoved the enemy back just a couple of feet, but it was Zell's kick on the torso that sent it flying backwards much further.
Seifer slowly rose from the floor, clutching his aching jaw, eyes wide.
- "Son-of-a…" he muttered under his breath.
- "Now will you listen to me?" Quistis muttered at him, holding her whip with one hand, while outstretching her free arm.
- "Fine…" Seifer grumbled, just as Quistis shouted.
- "Tornado!"
Out of nowhere, a rather strong breeze began to blow, that quickly began to turn even fiercer. The Trauma turned its mechanical head around frantically, trying to discover the source of the powerful wind that had mysteriously entered the room. The wind currents began to circle around the floor beneath the monster, creating a whirlwind that caused the tiles below to crack and swirl around in mid-air hysterically, carrying the Trauma along. The golden beast was suddenly shoved hard upon the cracked floor and the wind disappeared. The Trauma swayed around in mid-air for a few seconds, obviously quite injured from the Tornado spell.
Once regaining balance, the enemy didn't counter-attack, but brought the palms of its cannon-like arms close together. A small sphere of energy began to form in between them that steadily grew bigger. And out of the concentrated energy, a swirl of gold appeared. Within everyone's very eyes, the Trauma created what looked like a miniature version of itself that was now set free and hovered by its side.
Wanting to recover from the wound inflicted on his dignity, Seifer smirked and decided to try something he hadn't performed in a long time.
- "Now, let me show you a neat little trick, my dear instructor…" he said sinisterly, bringing his armed hand backwards "Duck!"
Quistis lowered her back down as she was told, and felt Seifer's arm brush by above her. To her utmost surprise, the moment the gunblade had come to arm-reach, Seifer released it. Hyperion sliced the air in front of it, swaying gracefully like a boomerang, heading right for the mini version of Trauma. The move was performed in less than a second, and Hyperion's blade, cut through the mini-Trauma's head. The blade swung on air, but the grip hit the little robot's metallic torso right before it came crumbling down to the ground. Hyperion's course changed, and it flew back towards their direction. Seifer raised one arm up and caught the handle, lowering his weapon back down again.
Quistis was left gaping at Seifer dumbfounded, as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully and allowed an ever-so-arrogant smirk to cross his features. The blonde shook her head in disbelief, grinning, getting ready for her next attack.
Zell and Selphie stepped up, arms both extended.
- "Tornado!" they shouted in unison.
The idea of using two combined spells that had proved to be the Trauma's weakness proved more than devastating. The wind that blew brought all four allies to their knees, struggling to prevent from being drawn in to the whirlwind as well. This time, the monster was thrust onto the floor with such force, that it split in two, shoving the Trauma into a deep crack, sending up a cloud of dust and scattered debris.
Selphie coughed and squinted, trying to make out what had happened to their foe; there was no sign of movement for a couple of minutes. Eventually, a screech was heard, a good sign that the Trauma was trying to break free. It thrust both arms upon the floor, pulling the remainder of its body out, with apparent difficulty. Its once shiny surface was now tattered and broken in many places, while sparks flew from the exposed circuits of its torso.
Slowly ascending back on mid-air, the Trauma seemed ready for some serious avenging. With a swift move, it dropped forward, pressing the intact part of the floor with its palms and brought its rear forward. Seifer saw in horror that even though he seemed more concerned about its limbs, it was the now exposed part of the beast that he should have been afraid of. Because that was apparently the cannon part of its body…
The hole on the lower part of the Trauma seemed to suck air from its environment at first, while a humming sound was being distinctly heard from its insides. The humming and sucking suddenly ceased and a golden flash appeared before everyone's eyes.
When Seifer re-opened his eyes, he found himself lying stomach-first on the floor, aching all over his body quite a bit, realizing that this could very well be what being run over by a truck could feel like…
- "Ow…" came Selphie's muffled moan of pain.
Taking no time to regard its fallen opponents, the Trauma brought its palms close together once again, and the familiar energy sphere began to form.
- "Not…" Zell panted "…another one…" He got up on his knees "…of those little…" He extended his arm as he ascended "…shits!!! Firaga!"
The Fire spell directed at the mini-Trauma did the job easily, bringing a second one down to the floor, and it was then that Zell realized that they were but a mere diversion to point their attacks towards them and ignore the real danger.
Quistis seemed to have also realized that and got up to her feet, bringing one arm forward as well.
- "Tornado!"
The spell gave all four of them some precious time to recover from the previous blow and regroup themselves, but it also did more significant damage to the Trauma. The latter lunged forward once again, this time heading towards Quistis.
Seifer clenched his still aching jaw 'Not this time…' he thought.
Pushing Quistis aside, he stepped in front of the Trauma's course. When the beast was within reach, he raised one leg. His boot collided with the remainder of a torso of the monster and his knee bent from the velocity and force of his enemy. For the second time, Seifer was lying on his back, foot pressing against the machine above him. The Trauma repeated its previous attack pattern and raised one thick arm, but Seifer was prepared this time.
Tightening his grip on Hyperion, he brought it down and plunged it right among the exposed circuits. The Trauma came to an abrupt halt in mid-movement and convulsed once. Gunblade still jammed within it, he kicked it backwards and sat up on the floor, breathing heavily. All four watched the robotic creature begin to vibrate wildly in spasms, as thin electrical bolts began to devour its manufactured body.
It gave out one shrill screech and exploded on the spot, sending innumerable golden particles flying across the room. Seifer shielded his face with one arm and covered Quistis's body in reflex.
When the last clank of the metallic objects hitting the floor died out and rendered the room in heated silence, he looked up. His eyes widened.
- "My Hyperion!" he hissed.
He sprang up to his feet and made a run towards the destroyed Trauma, almost slipping on his way. He kneeled above it and began moving away metallic debris, wincing as a spark or two flew up from time to time. At last, he let out a sigh of relief, and retrieved his best friend, still intact. He swung it around a bit and sighed once again.
- "Oh, thank Hyne it's alright…" he breathed out.
- "Ahem…"
The tall blond turned around, and saw Quistis sprawled on the floor, glaring at him, arching an eyebrow. Seifer stood back up and ran to her side, grinning awkwardly. He took her gloved palm, dusted it off and gave it a peck. Selphie and Zell took their cue in making yet more retching sounds…
- "And thank Hyne you're alright…" Seifer said, trying his best at a charming smile.
- "I was only joking…" Quistis said, chuckling.
- "Well, we've checked the left-hand door and that just leads to that elevator room," said Irvine, walking down the stairs to the Main Hall "And that's a dead-end. I say we go back to the room below the chandelier and move on from there."
- "OK, but what are our options from there?" Rinoa spoke "There were two doors. The one we opened led us back inside the Main Hall and then there's the second one."
- "Don't forget the hatch." Squall added.
- "What hatch?" Rinoa and Irvine asked in unison.
- "There was a hatch on the floor where we landed." Squall explained "It was a bit covered in dust, but noticeable enough if you looked a bit more carefully."
- "Alright then." said Rinoa "Let's get back to that room and we decide there what to choose."
She hopped off the last stair and approached the entrance that stood on the left of the room, pushing the doors open. All three of them walked down the now familiar corridor, with the red carpet-coated floor and the ominous stone gargoyles lurking above them in the shadows. If the door on the other end of the hallway hadn't been left open, there would almost no light within the corridor to guide them, making the already daunting trip down to the other end even more chilling.
Rinoa shuddered as she accidentally brushed by a spider web with her left shoulder and rubbed it with her stone cold palm. Subconsciously, she quickened her step and approached the light source, coming from the ajar door. She pushed it the slightest bit and came face to face with the room they'd fallen into after their misfortunate accident with the chandelier. She walked towards the middle of the room, right between the two damaged beyond repair staircases. She squinted, looking at the floor, where she could now indeed make out the outline of the hatch Squall had been talking about. On her left, there lay their second option for an alternate route, a pair of double doors.
- "Well… Here we are." said Irvine "What do we do?"
- "I say we go with the hatch." said Rinoa "Those doors will probably lead us deeper within the castle, so better check the floor below first."
- "And how do we know that there's even more road down below?" asked Squall. Rinoa shrugged.
- "Just a thought." she said.
- "Either way, I agree. Let's check it out first before moving on." said Squall Irvine
- "Yeah, whatever. Let's do it." agreed the cowboy.
The three of them approached different edges of the hatch, hooking their fingers beneath the tiny opening between the lid and the floor. Rinoa felt the dirt beneath the lid plunge under her fingernails and gave out a disgusted grimace.
- "Not any cleaner than the rest of the castle, eh?" Irvine said, chuckling.
- "Even dirtier I daresay…" Rinoa mumbled, shuddering.
- "On the count of three." said Squall, bringing them both back to reality "One… Two… THREE!"
With all the might she could muster, Rinoa pulled up the lid. At first it didn't seem to budge the slightest bit, but under the combined forces of her and both men, it finally gave out a screech and got pulled up. The double lid plopped open, baring its soiled lower surface that was tainted by something greenish brown which Rinoa didn't know nor dare wonder what could be. The fall of the wooden lid brought a minor thud, as well as a noteworthy cloud of smoke.
Rinoa coughed and cleared the dust away from her face.
- "If we ever…" Cough "Get out of this alive…" More coughing "I'm soaking myself in a bathtub for a week!"
- "That makes two of us…" Irvine agreed. He was clearing out the air in front of him with his hat. Flipping it back on, he spoke again "Do we dare?" he said, motioning with his head towards the darkness that lingered beneath the lid.
- "We do…" said Squall, resting a palm on the floor, aiding himself down the open hatch.
He held on to the edge of the opening quite tightly, being mentally prepared for a possible fall. But his boots made contact with surface beneath. He hopped on the spot for a couple of seconds.
- "Wood." he said, and looked down below him, squinting "There's a ladder leading all the way down. Come on."
Rinoa watched Squall's head disappear below the floor and then saw Irvine follow Squall's lead, offering her a hand. She took it and carefully slid down the hatch. She ducked as she took the first few steps down, until her head disappeared from the upper floor as well.
She held on to the wooden railing, looking around the dimly lit room in interest. The wooden, spiral stairway led down to the stone floor below. Thankfully, there were no more visible doors or archways, meaning that if they found nothing inside, they could proceed to the upper floor again and move on. The walls and the greatest part of the floor were covered in brown wooden barrels.
- "This must be some sort of wine cellar…" Rinoa said "Most of those old castles have at least one and it certainly looks like the one in my house…" she added "My former house." she corrected immediately.
- "Well you would know…" said Irvine, sort of playfully "You grew up among the riches, Princess. We are but humble soldiers who know not much apart from military Academies…"
Squall gave a small chuckle at that, while Rinoa rolled her eyes, but wasn't really offended.
- "Oh shut up…" she retorted, continuing to look around "My dad was a General; it's not like we were-"
A small flash of light caught her attention among the shadows of a corner, but was gone as soon as it appeared. Rinoa frowned and shook her head.
- "What is it?" Squall asked, standing a few steps below her.
- "Nothing…" replied Rinoa, still frowning a bit, though "Nothing."
- Nothing."
The trio continued to descend until all of them reached the floor. The room was rather small and aside from the stairs and barrels, only a wooden table lay inside it, with a few pewter plates scattered upon its length and a candlestick on the side. A bottle stood right next to the candlestick and Squall picked it up. It was empty and had been so for what was most likely many decades. He brushed away some dust and a spider web and examined the long worn-out label. He couldn't possibly make out what it said, but there was no doubt it had once labeled the name of the drink contained inside. And most likely, said drink had been wine.
- "You were probably right…" he said to Rinoa "Can't be anything more than a wine cellar. I guess we just lost time by trying to get down here. Oh well…" he said, resting the bottle onto the table again.
I am Tri-Point…
Face my wrath for seeking thy sealed power…
All three of them slowly turned around. Squall's eyes slowly took in the sight of the beast standing before them.
- "Or maybe not…" he mumbled, hand slipping to the side of his belt, where his Lionheart lay.
The second Guardian the young SeeDs had come across, had form which came very to close to that of a dragon. Gray, orange and seemingly indestructible scales covered its entire body and its snout was identical to one a dragon might fashion. However, its body was horribly misshapen. Squall has the distant hunch that the ill-fated creature standing before them had once really been a dragon, but was mutilated horribly under Ultimecia's 'care'. The only part of its former body that had remained was most likely the head and torso, but there was an evident loss of any limbs whatsoever. Instead, three equally lengthed and shaped members protruded, all three fashioning a razor-sharp, needle-like claw at the tip.
Rinoa was the first one to step up in front, extending her right arm forward, hand outstretched.
- "Blizzaga!" she shouted.
A thin sliver of ice gray energy escaped her palm, directed straight at the beast. The Ice spell hit the Tri-Point square on the center of the torso and, slowly, a thick crust of ice began to form around it, emitting cold heat waves to the entire room. The creature remained still for a fair few seconds, before it began to inch its three limbs towards its body, creating thin cracks on the ice layer. With what was obviously tremendous force, the Tri-Point yanked all three members inwards harder, shattering the solid sheet of frost covering its torso. With a third move, it tightened the muscles on its limbs, smashing the remaining ice crust covering its body.
However, even with the struggle the Tri-point had put up to rid itself from the ice prison it had been trapped in, the spell seemed to have made no substantial damage to it.
But it had angered it, triggering a rather brutal counter-attack.
All three claws on the Tri-Point's limbs lit up, and what was unmistakably electricity began sizzling, dancing around them in glistening tongues of pure energy. The bolts intensified and glowed immensely, surging out to unite in the middle, right in front of the torso of the beast. There was a flash of lightning that rendered the three mercenaries' visions white for a split second, before all they knew was pain.
The source of concentrated lighting had split into three once again and had sped away with tremendous agility towards each and every one of them.
Squall felt his every cell ignite and awaken, his pulse picking up to delirious tempo, his teeth ready to shatter as he gritted them together in pain and the energy vibrating inside him. His body felt ready to explode and for the first time in his life, he was glad he had heeded Seifer's advice in junctioning magic to his defense. Otherwise, he feared that the damage inflicted on all of them would have been even twice as great.
He got shoved backwards along with his two peers and kneeled on the floor, breathing heavily.
- "Holy…" Irvine panted "…Shit…"
Anger began piling up within him, and Squall experienced first-hand what it felt like to have an action triggered by strong emotion. If only he could use his Limit Break right now…
Getting up to his feet with difficulty, he took a deep step forward, Lionheart grazing the stone floor, emitting sparks as it brushed by. He made a run for the Tri-Point, eyes narrowed and furious. When the enemy was in range of his weapon, he leapt onto the air, blade following his movement. Lionheart made contact with the creature's scales at the bottom of the torso and raced all the way up through flesh to scrape the chin of the Tri-Point's face.
It all happened in slow motion in Squall's eyes.
The monster threw its head back, letting out a shrill scream. The cobalt blade swung in the air and got pulled back with force, just as the beast's head moved back in place. The young gunbladist centered the weapons course and brought it straight down the middle of the Tri-Point's face. The second scream began to slowly die out as Squall's boots hit ground and the SeeD hopped backwards, sword still at the ready.
The counter-attack came even more rapidly this time, but Squall, who was still a fair few feet ahead of the others, received the full blow of it, while weaker thunder bolts hit his two allies. The thrust backwards was much rougher now, and for the second time this day, Squall found himself rolling backwards and lying back-first onto the floor, wincing in pain.
- "Squall!" Rinoa said in a choked whisper, making a move to run to his side.
- "I'm fine!" Squall snapped, voice forced out, motioning at her to remain in place.
Pursing his lips, Irvine pulled the cock of his shotgun and took a shot immediately, aiming for the very center of the Tri-Point's body. The massive Pulse Ammo bullet found its target and ripped through the foe's chest, creating a small explosion, shattering many a bone. The creature got shoved backwards in mid-air vehemently and hit the wall behind it, crashing barrels of wine that came splashing out and causing great pieces of plaster to peel off the wall and crumble down on the floor.
Behind a tall cloud of dust, a bluish flash appeared and, with a shriek, the Tri-Point came out charging them with yet another bolt attack, sporting a very apparent hollow spot on its chest. However, the dust clouded its vision a fair amount and the three thunders sped off a bit off target. Squall barely rolled to his side and out of the way, as the bolt hit the floor and cracked it open. Rinoa and Irvine moved away in time as well, ridding themselves of another painful assault.
When Rinoa regained her balance, she raised her arm once again, deciding to take another shot at casting magic. It was, after all, her strongest point.
- "Firaga!" she shouted, and a sphere of scorching mass formed before her palm.
She shoved it forcefully towards the monster's right shoulder, where it penetrated its body. The sphere grew larger, while rays of striking orange light surged out of its skin. A second explosion took place within the Tri-Point's body and covered the beast in flames. The latter let out an otherworldly scream; the Fire spell seemed to have taken its toll on it. With a sharp, strong shake, the Tri-Point extinguished the fire, but left apparent burn marks upon the entire surface of its body.
The enemy flew right towards its most recent attacker and wade a sharp move to bring one of its claws upon Rinoa. The girl rolled out of the way, escaping with only a scrape on her back and a grand rip on her duster, but she had already been preparing her attack. Being quick to notice the effect Fire apparently had on the beast, another Firaga spell was now hovering between the girl's fingers. The next fire sphere found its target on the Tri-Point's other shoulder.
This explosion sent the beast back and closer to its primary position. While Squall made an effort to get back to his feet, Irvine pulled the cock of Exeter once again, getting ready to aim.
But the monster was too quick for either of them and its perilous thunder attack came yet again.
Rinoa's eyes widened. Squall was still half on the floor, but his wounds were much graver than hers or Irvine's. He'd received a full blow of thunder just before and his fall had not been pretty either. Another attack could prove lethal. And worst of all, they would never be able to resurrect him in time…
Not thinking for a single second more, Rinoa dove to the floor grasping Squall by the shoulders and pinning him down again. The lighting bolts came once more, but Squall, under the protection of Rinoa's body received very little of its force. He hadn't even seen her land upon him, as his eyes had been forced back shut by the pulsating energy of electricity. Surprised by the faint effect it had on his body this time, he slid his eyes open and met with Rinoa's hair-curtained face.
The young Sorceress slowly raised her head up, locks parting slowly to reveal her face. Squall's eyes widened, as she gave him a weak and painful smile, then fell to her side, clutching her bare arms in pain.
Suddenly, a vast surge of energy, fueled yet again by anger, filled his body and brought him to his feet in a split second. He took his second lunge at the Tri-Point and found himself riding the monster's body. His arm seemed to have a mind of its own the moment it came down rapidly and pierced through the center of the foe's scull, spraying his face with pale yellow fluid. A drop fell on his lips; it tasted like blood. Lionheart cut through the beast's head and came out from the rear.
He never realized which came first; the shriek, the shock of electricity, or the sharp claw that blindly found its way through his right arm.
All he felt, was his own lips slightly rip on the edges from the scream he let out. But he didn't hear his voice. The world had gone mute and blank in a matter of a second. He didn't feel his back crash against the stone floor, or his body convulse from electrical power.
Having witnessed the entire scene, Rinoa began to painfully crawl her way towards his fallen form. With her aching arms, she cradled his face and pressed her forehead against his, as his body shuddered in spasms. She couldn't cure him, she couldn't help him, and the monster still hovered in mid-air.
Irvine brought Exeter before his eyes…
His finger closed around the trigger…
…Bang…
- "I believe in one God…" Rinoa whispered.
The bullet found its way on the tip of the rightmost limb, shattering it to pieces…
The claw fell to the ground…
…Bang…
- "…Father, ruler of all…"
The leftmost limb…
The claw hit the floor…
…Bang…
- "…Creator of the heavens and earth…"
The bottom limb…
Third claw on the floor…
And screams… So many screams…
…Bang…
- "…Of all that is visible and not…"
One last scream was cut off when the Tri-Point's head got detached from its body and rolled onto the floor…
………………
…Silence…
You have fought well…
And it is my duty to unseal one of your powers…
Choose wisely…
- "The Supportive Magic seal!" Irvine shouted, not giving it a second thought.
Very well…
- "NOW, RINOA!" Irvine yelled.
- "…Cura…"
A single tear fell from her eyelashes.
A green aura surrounded Squall's trembling body, embracing it in warm, soothing light, calming it.
The tear splashed on the inner corner of Squall's eye.
The brown-haired boy frowned and took in a quiet, sharp breath.
Rinoa's head sprang up and her lips parted in a surprise and a warm smile. Squall opened his eyes with apparent difficulty and winced, letting out a soft groan. Irvine sighed in relief and ran a hand across his damp forehead.
The Tri-Point had disintegrated into thin air and was no longer in sight.
- "You alright, man?" Irvine asked.
- "Yeah…" Squall croaked out, trying to sit up with Rinoa's aid "I… I'm OK…"
- Irvine, did you get hurt?" Rinoa asked, turning her attention to the cowboy for a second "Can you cure yourself?"
- "Yeah, don't worry hon." he reassured her "I've got many Curas and Curagas with me."
- "Don't take a Curaga immediately." Rinoa warned "Cast a Cura first, get a few minutes' rest and then go with the Curaga."
- "Alright, alright…" Irvine said, chuckling "Hey, better call the others. See how they're doing and inform them on the seal we've just unlocked."
- "Good call." said Squall, nodding, slipping his hand into his pocket "Hey…" he frowned "Where-"
- "It's over there." Rinoa said, pointing at a spot on the floor, where a small black contraption lay.
Irvine walked over to it and scooped it up, opening the lid.
- "Lucky it fell from your jacket man…" he said, examining it, realizing that it was fully functioning "It would have been toasted if it had stayed in there any longer."
- "Could you," Squall winced "Make the call?"
- "Sure." said Irvine, finding Seifer's number in the catalogue.
Rinoa watched him for a couple of seconds more, while he brought the phone to his ear and rubbed his shoulder with his free hand, the green aura of a Cura engulfing him. She turned her attention back to Squall. She placed her palms on top of one another on Squall's arching chest.
- "I'm going to cast a Curaga now, OK?" she warned him "So hold your breath."
Nodding, Squall did as he was told. The spell's effect brought warmth to his body, but not as much as the touch of her palm did… He watched Rinoa squint and then blink once, letting out a sigh.
- "Phew… Gonna have to wait a bit till I cast one on me…" she said, chuckling a bit.
Casting of multiple spells in consecutive manner weakened the body for a certain amount of time, and Rinoa had done her share of casting in the past ten minutes. Three spells in the fight and now two curative ones on him that had drained her even more.
- "Did you heal yourself?" he asked her.
- "Not yet." she said "I will though in a bit."
- "I'll cure you, I've got-"
- "You're exhausted." Rinoa cut him off "I'll do it myself in a bit, there's no worry."
- "But I feel fine. I-"
- "I'm not hearing a word." she interrupted him again, in a serious tone that meant no arguing. He'd never heard her speak like that before…
He watched as she moved her neck side to side, little cracks coming out. She rubbed her sore temples, closing her eyes for a few seconds. Squall's gaze traveled to her bare arms, where more than few burn marks were visible, undoubtedly caused by the numerous lighting spells that had hit her body. Her once beautiful, alabaster skin was now marred by wounds that he knew wouldn't heal soon. He felt guilty…
- "You shouldn't have gotten in front of me…" he muttered, head lowering to stare at the floor "You got yourself hurt…"
Rinoa smiled at him.
- "You're forgetting something very important, Squall…" she said.
- "What's that?" he asked, looking up at her.
- "I'm a Sorceress." she said, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world "Not only can I cast more powerful spells, but my tolerance against them is much higher."
- "Still…" Squall trailed off, shrugging.
He grabbed his right arm with one hand, frowning a bit. Rinoa, noticing this, grabbed the hem of his jacket and lowered it down to expose his arms.
She examined the wound on his right arm that was slowly, but visibly healing second by second and grimaced as she touched it gingerly.
- "Ouch…" she said in sympathy "That must've hurt…"
- "A bit…" Squall said, shrugging, his own gaze locked on the wound as well.
- "The spells will help," Rinoa said, pulling his jacket further down "But they can't work wonders… We'll have to tie that up." she said, removing the leather garment entirely from Squall's body.
She took of one of her wrist-warmers out and split it in length.
- "Hey, what are you doing?!" Squall protested, trying to stop her "You love those!"
- "Oh, hush…" she said, continuing to rip the baby-blue piece of clothing to thin ribbons.
She took one and began tying it around his arm and went on doing so with the rest.
- "Aw, Rinoa…" Squall said, sighing "Now it's all ripped and bloody…"
- "Squall." she said, looking at him straight in the eye "I can always buy another pair of those once all this is over. But I can't go and by myself another 'you' now, can I?"
Squall's lips parted and he felt his cheeks burn. And when Rinoa gave him one of her turning-knees-to-jelly smiles, he was certain his face got flushed crimson.
He didn't reply, just turned his gaze back on the wound that Rinoa continued to pamper…
You have fought well…
And it is my duty to unseal one of your powers…
Choose wisely…
- "I choose to break the Supportive Magic usage seal." said Seifer immediately.
This power has already been unsealed…
Seifer frowned in surprise and he could see he wasn't the only one.
- "Already been unsealed?" he wondered out loud, turning to look at the others. Quistis just shrugged, indicating she had no idea either.
- "Maybe the others encountered another Guardian and unsealed it." Zell suggested.
- "Well why the hell didn't they call?!" Seifer snapped "We could have used curative spells during the entire battle!" He shook his head "Never mind… I say we go with resurrection next. Agreed?"
- "Yeah, we'll unlock defensive magic later on." Selphie said, nodding "Go ahead."
Seifer turned towards the fallen foe once again and spoke.
- "I choose to unseal the Resurrection seal."
Very well…
- "Now let me get that idiot on the phone and give him a piece of-" Seifer began, but was interrupted by the ringing sound of his cell-phone "Speak of the devil…" he said, and opened the lid "Why the hell didn't you inform us about the second seal, Pubes?!" he shouted at the phone, not even giving Irvine the chance to utter a word.
- "It's Irvine… And nice to hear from you too…" came Irvine's worn-off voice "We just now unlocked it. That's why I called you. I take it you broke another seal?"
- "Yeah, I chose resurrection." Seifer replied "Why are you calling from Puberty-Boy's phone?"
- "He's getting patched up by Rinoa." replied Irvine "What do we choose next?"
- "We here agreed to go with the defensive magic one." said Seifer "We've got support magic and offensive magic now, plus resurrection, so we should be good."
- "OK then. Whoever reaches a Guardian first goes with that." Irvine agreed "And if the same situation occurs, the others should go for the Limit Break seal."
- "Agreed." said Seifer "Everyone OK there?"
- "Yeah, we're all fine. Had a rough fight, but we'll be OK now that we can heal ourselves. Just resting a bit and then we'll go on." replied Irvine "What have you covered so far?"
- "Only the first room." said Seifer "The doors were locked and there was this weird-ass puzzle we had to solve before we moved on. You?"
- "We checked the door on the left-hand side, right across the on you entered." Irvine began "Turns out it led to some sort of elevator room, but we couldn't operate it on our own. The other part of the elevator is on the second floor. So let us know if you come across it."
- "OK. That's all?"
- "No, we went back to the room where you found us." Irvine went on "You can access it through that doorway in the Main Hall. We opened a hatch there and went down to the wine cellar. That's were we found the Guardian. And now we're going back up to try the other pair of doors there."
- "So we're clear with the front part of the castle?" said Seifer.
- "Aside from the elevator, yes. Clear."
- "Alright, then. We'll talk again later." said Seifer, terminating the call.
He slipped the phone back inside his trench coat pocket and turned to look at his team.
- "What did they say?" asked Quistis.
- "They're all fine." Seifer replied Irvine says they've found some sort of elevator, but they need us too to operate it, so they moved on ahead. Aside from that, all the front part of the castle's clear. Plus, they've unsealed one power as well, meaning that we've got both supporting magic and resurrection to our side now."
- "So three down and five more to go?" asked Selphie.
- "Exactly." Seifer said, nodding.
- "Better get a move on, then." Zell said, getting back up to his feet.
Seifer offered a hand to Quistis and led the way towards the double doors they'd been trying to open for so long through the puzzle. His gloved palms encased the handles and he turned around to face the others.
- "Now we'll know if that whole painting charade actually paid off…" he said and pressed the handles down.
The doors creaked open and Seifer pushed them aside, smiling, letting go of the breath he'd been holding.
- "Finally…" he said "Come on, let's move ahead."
A/N: Phew, that was a handful, eh?
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'A SECOND CHANCE':
More of our heroes' quest within the castle of Ultimecia…