Disclaimer: I don't own rights to the game, the characters, anything—as much as I wish I did.
Thanks to all who gave me ideas for this fic.
A/N: Hooray. Lots and lots of special thanks to Medo for extended betaing on this one.
I'll shut up now.
As Luke entered the city, he felt his insides twist in fear. The miasma was so incredibly thick he felt like he was trying to breathe in liquid. In the city, people had collapsed from inhaling the mist, the able darted from building to building as they transported as many as they could to safety.
"Hey! There's room in the storehouse! Bring them over this way!" A man waved to several others carrying two men. They ran past Luke, who stepped out of the way to let them through, stunned.
"Oh, are you the relief team from Kimlasca?" The man approached him, wiping grime from his forehead with a soiled cloth. His face was red from exertion. Just looking at him made Luke feel uncomfortably warm.
"Er... Um..." Luke inched away from him, sending frantic glances over his shoulder.
Natalia dashed up from behind him. "Yes," she said. "We're here to help in any way we can."
"My name's Pyrope," he provided. "The mayor fell ill, so I'm looking over things in his place."
"We're here to meet up with Master Van!" Luke finally blurted.
"Yes," Natalia said, ignoring the rudeness of Luke's comment. "Have you seen an Oracle Knight named Dorian General Grants or Locrian Sergeant Grants?"
"He passed by on his way to Tunnel 14," Pyrope replied.
"Where is that?" Luke asked urgently.
"Tunnel 14 is on the lower level. You'll see it. It's clearly labeled, just like the rest of the tunnels." Pyrope turned back to Natalia. "You're free to use the rest facilities that have the room. Thank you so much for coming. We need all the help we can get."
Natalia bowed. "It's no problem at all. We're happy to be of aid to your people."
"Even from Kimlasca..." Pyrope looked bewildered. "Well, I have to go. I'm sorry."
"It will be fine here. Don't worry." Natalia watched the man run off to attend another party of rescuers returning with the wounded.
"We have to hurry." Jade wasted no time doling out orders. "Natalia, come with me to Tunnel 14. Anise, you stay on the upper level and help where you can. Luke—" Jade fixed him with a hard gaze. "You are to remain here as well. Help Anise keep an eye on Ion."
"Wait!" Luke and Anise shouted simultaneously.
"I have to see Master Van! Jade...!" Luke stared at the colonel , shaking. All of this death around him... And he had to see Van if he was to ever save them all!
"I want to come, too," Anise protested. "Besides, it'll be a lot worse down there, and you'll need the help, especially if there are more injured people down there than you think."
Jade looked pensive, then said, "Fine. With all this commotion, the last thing we need is unwilling workers in any area."
Luke allowed himself to relax for a moment. He was far from really being relaxed, but relief from one issue was the best he could hope for in the circumstances.
He followed Jade through the forsaken city. He descended down a staircase hewn of the native rock, loosely gripping the wooden handrail. He almost slipped in a puddle of water. With a sickening lurch of his stomach, Luke looked down and realized that the water wasn't water at all. It was blood. It had pooled in a shallow spot on the step, but the edges of it were smeared thinly as though a body had been dragged up the stairs.
"J-Jade?" Luke stood frozen to the spot, lifting his foot from the rock. "What— How—"
Jade looked over his shoulder. "It's from the miasma toxicosis. When too much of it gets into your lungs, it can get through and taint your blood by fusing to blood-fonons. The extra mass of the particles can thicken the blood and cause vomiting. When that happens, it's a sure sign that the heart can't last much longer. It takes a lot to pump that sludge anywhere, as you can see." Luke grew paler, shuddering uncontrollably.
Slowly, Luke let his foot drop, making sure that it landed on the next lower step, outside of the puddle of blood. He forced himself to keep moving, to think about Van and Ion, anything but the mess of disease that surrounded him. It was too much to bear. He made an effort to keep his eyes directly on the path before him, at his feet, watching to make sure... He avoided another pool of crimson liquid carefully. It was everywhere.
The entrance to Tunnel 14 was as barren as the others. The group had to step out of the way of another team of nurses as they rushed from the depths of the tunnel. Natalia looked after them, worried.
"Perhaps I should stay behind. I'm a Seventh Fonist, I might be able to—"
"We need you with us, Natalia," Jade said sternly. "If one of us gets poisoned, we'll need someone to heal it immediately."
"You're right." She nodded.
Luke was completely mute as he trudged into the tunnel. The lanterns that ran along a line down the middle of the ceiling leaked amber light into the cloud of poison that swallowed them. The walls so carefully carved from the stone were spattered with blood in some places. The passage was only high enough to allow someone to walk through comfortably. It was so dark, and the rock above looked like it was about to crash down on them at any second. Luke wanted to help the people, and he wanted to be a hero, but none of those feelings could compare to cold, bare fear.
Desperate calls reached them from all angles as they progressed. There were miners trapped on every level, Luke realized with a start. There was no way to get them all out alive. He glanced at the mangled elevators along the path. The whole place itself looked like it had been shifted, buckled—an earthquake, maybe. The miasma only appeared in the Fubras after the earthquake, so why not here, too? It must have been enormous—several caves were blocked off entirely.
He noticed Natalia and Anise break off from the group to help people, passing them onto the more able miners' backs when they could, to be taken back to the surface.
Jade seemed to be searching for something else—someone else. Was he concerned about Van? Luke stayed close by the colonel, hesitant to stray from him lest Natalia catch him slacking on his job to help the wounded... But he couldn't heal them, anyway! It didn't make any difference. She hadn't even noticed Jade's odd alertness, even. Something strange was going on, and it wasn't just the miasma.
Jade suddenly halted. "A Sephiroth. Just as I expected." Luke peered from behind him to the glowing door etched into the rocky wall down a short passage.
"The... Sephiroth?" Luke parroted.
"One of the world's ten most powerful fon slots." Ion trotted up from behind them.
"I-Ion!" Luke jumped. All this, and did he really need rogue Fon Masters sneaking up on him, too? "Wh-where were you?"
"I'm sorry, Luke. I was helping Natalia with some trapped men, but Anise told me to come back to you two to rest," he said simply.
"Are you all right, Fon Master?" Jade asked.
"You mean the miasma? Yes. It is pretty bad down here, but I'm doing fine for now." Ion approached the door. "What are you looking for, Jade?"
The quiet, thoughtful look never left Jade's face. "Ion, you—"
"Ah, Fon Master, Luke. Good to see you made it safely." Van smiled to the three calmly.
"M-Master Van!" Luke practically tripped over himself running to greet the commandant.
"Van. You're here." Ion gave him a nod.
Jade cast a wary eye over the Fon Master. "Ahem. Yes, it's good to see you safe and sound, Dorian General."
"Colonel Curtiss. I never expected to meet you here." Van gave him a decidedly unfriendly glare. "Why are you near the Sephiroth?"
"I should ask you the same thing. There are men in need of your help, General."
"They are no more in need of my help than they are yours." He looked down to Luke fondly. "Did the Fon Master tell you what to do? Are you ready?"
Luke nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir!"
"Where is your sister?" Jade aimed the question at Van harshly.
"I sent Tear to verify the legitimacy of the Seventh Fonstone found at the Fubras River."
"It's been found?" Jade was astonished. "When was this?"
Van breathed deeply, tensely. "It was only discovered a few moments ago. She'll be a while with her report, so don't worry about her for now."
"Jade!" Natalia's cry came from further down the other passage—the one leading away from the Sephiroth. "Luke, anyone! Help!"
"Princess? Is that you?" Van bellowed over his shoulder.
There was no reply.
"I'll go see about her." Jade gave Van and Ion one last hard look, then ran off after Natalia.
"Now, Luke," Van began proudly, "Are you ready to become a hero?"
"Yes, Master."
"It's in here." Ion faced the radiant door. He held forth both hands, closing his eyes to concentrate. A ring appeared in the center, spun from right to left, more and more rapidly, then shattered, the light beyond the ring fading. Ion staggered but caught himself on the wall. "...The last one."
Van gave Luke a gentle nudge, and the redhead stepped through the door.
What met him was nothing like what he expected. He anticipated another passage, more lanterns, and more miasma, but the room the door guarded was far from that: pillars of deep purple sprang from the long spiral path that led down to oblivion. Rows upon rows of softly luminescent blue panels lined the walls, and Luke suddenly felt like he had been taken to the top of a tower, its windows showing nothing but blue sky in every direction. Glyphs of pale golden musical scores ran along the bottom and sides of the path. It was absolutely stunning.
"What is this place?" he managed, unable to tear his eyes from the sight.
"This is the Sephiroth," Van provided, continuing down the path. "It was built two thousand years ago when the Planet Storm was created."
Luke nodded, trailing behind him automatically. What had looked like a shining veil of nothing below became more of the ramp, and to his surprise, a solid floor that led to another door.
Beyond that door was even more curious scenery. A slender path of bright, twitching strings of glyphs wound around the base of a large fonstone. The entire area was illuminated by countless memory particles swirling up from the translucent orb. Luke approached the fon machine in a daze. What kind of room it was, he had no idea. There were no walls to speak of, not counting the strip of one that held the door, and... no ceiling or floor. The passage simply went up and up and down and down, and it gave Luke a sick feeling to think of what would happen should he—anyone—fall into that vast... nothing.
Van stood directly before the fonstone. A pedestal in front of him moved, its top sprawling open. He took the top halves in his hands, holding it as he would a book. A small wheel of glyphs appeared at his fingers, and he began to input what must have been a series of codes. "Good work, Fon Master," he said.
"I was merely following orders, Van."
Luke looked even more confused, if that was possible, until Van took his arm and led him to where he himself had just been standing. The time had come; Luke swelled with pride at the thought of being a hero.
"Listen carefully, Luke." Van held the boy's shoulders firmly. "Close your eyes."
He did so.
"Now, Light of the Sacred Flame, show me your power. The power of Lorelei."
Luke subconsciously held up his arms. It was just like on the Tartarus. He felt as if he was floating, just listening and doing. Not thinking. Never thinking.
Ion's voice appeared next. He must have moved closer, because it was significantly louder than even Van's. He felt his breath close to his face. Ion spoke slowly and deliberately. "Luke... This is your chance. Open every fon slot in your body. Now, draw in the Seventh Fonons—just like that. You've got it..."
Luke inhaled deeply, then exhaled. He could feel the fonons—the power—so freely fluttering around the hovering fonstone. Never had he felt anything so clear and dangerous, much less so... untamed. It was all just there, waiting to be taken, to be used for anything.
Van spoke again. "...And summon forth the power of Lorelei. Hyperresonance."
He could feel Ion's hair brush against his ear. The Fon Master hissed one last command.
"Now. Foolish replica Luke."
"Jade!" Tear burst from the tunnel, gasping for breath. She spotted the colonel crouched over a body. He looked up to her.
"Tear! What's going on?"
Tear halted, struggling to catch her breath. Two large eagles careened down the passage from behind her and past the two. Another form came running after the birds. Tear pointed to him fervently. "Asch told me! Van's going to do something horrible!"
"Slow down, Tear!" Jade stood, placing an arm around her chest to stabilize her.
"Van's trying to protect me from what he's going to do! He wants to destroy Akzeriuth!"
"What?! Damn him!" Jade glanced at the open door to the Sephiroth, then back at Tear. "Tear, you stay with Natalia! I'll see what's going on at the Sephiroth!"
"No! I'll come, too!" she protested.
"Tear! Listen to me!" Jade's argument was cut short—Tear was not paying attention. She was hard at work healing the other Seventh Fonist. Natalia began to stir.
"Are you all right?" Tear asked, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible, but it proved an impossible task.
"I... think so," Natalia replied groggily.
"I'll carry her." Jade knelt next to her, startling Tear. "Please. Just go to Van."
"All right." Tear stood and left, dashing to the door to the Sephiroth. She nearly halted at the abrupt change of scenery. An eternity of fontech separated her from her murderous brother. She had to keep going.
It took her a sickeningly long time to pound her way to the door nestled under the ramp. Finally, she burst into the Passage Ring room.
"Van! What are you doing?! You said you'd protect these Outer Lands!" Tear shouted.
"Mystearica... One day you'll come to understand the folly and ugliness that is this world. I want you to live... At least long enough for me to see you come to your senses!" He whistled, and one of the eagles hoisted him up onto its back, soaring upward as the ground beneath it jerked and pitched, breaking itself apart. "And you, Asch!" Van turned his attention to the Oracle Knight that stormed in after Tear. "I told you to stay away!"
"Too bad!"
"I can't afford to lose you, Asch. Nor can you die here, Fon Master."
"Van..." Ion glared up at the commandant venomously. "He is more important to our plans! You know that!"
"Mystearica!" Van called. "You have the fonic hymns! Use them!" He spun again, whistling for the other eagle. It pounded its way through the miasma-ridden air, clutching the neck of Ion's robes as it passed him.
"What are you doing, you fool?!" Ion roared. "Save Asch, not me!"
"Asch will not die here... As long as Tear wishes to kill me, she will do all in her power to save herself." He gazed at his sister intensely. "Yulia's second fonic hymn."
Tear closed her eyes and began to sing. Foolish as her brother was, she wasn't stubborn enough to refuse good advice. Jade, carrying Natalia, called, "Anise! Asch! Get closer!"
The world was falling.
The first thing he felt was warmth. The growing heat was soothing, but it soon became too much to be pleasant. Luke squinted, then gave up trying to see altogether, turning away from the blinding sphere of light that had formed. It extended from his outstretched arms, the roar of fonons and memory particles deafened him, and the next thing he knew, obsidian glass was pouring from the fonstone, slitting his flesh to ribbons. The force of the explosion pushed him back, but the fonons pulled him forward, he couldn't breathe, and then he was thrust to the edge of the path, hanging between the wretched nothing below and the painful splinters of glass above. There was too much light, too much heat, and his fingers burned, slipped, and he was falling, falling, falling, spiraling into the void. The fonons rushed upward, the sky fell downward, and he was stuck in some kind of weightless limbo between reality and sensation. Everything blurred—oh, the pain, anything to relieve the pain, please!--and a torrent of shocking agony racked his torn body when he hit the solid ground, searing pain bursting along his spine.
Then everything hurt tenfold, the pressure—what he could feel, he was sure—was excruciating, and he couldn't move for the life of him. He couldn't feel his legs, and with a speculation he really didn't need just then, he hoped faintly that they were still attached to his body. He could tell his arms were, at least, by the fractured mess of pain that made up his fingers—what was left of them.
And damn it all if he was still falling... sinking.
He sobbed, mind blank—there was nothing to cry about. Nothing. Darkness closed in over him, and he couldn't get half a breath in before he went under, the life being wrenched from his body as he counted his final heartbeats.
I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I...I want to stay here! I want to live!
Thanks to Medomai (Apakoha) for betaing!