The Tower of the Moon
Did it make you strong inside
Every time you do what's right?
In the times of darkness,
You will find the light.
You'll find you have the courage within.
To fight for what you truly believe in.
With all your heart.
I know you can do anything.
With All Your Heart
Plus One
Staggering down the ramp of the Celsius, Sam made a private vow to never ride upon it again. Clutching at his stomach as he fought off another wave of nausea, he tried to take his mind off of his flight sickness by looking around.
Where they had landed was a long stretch of path, leading to a large city that seemed to have red as its signature colour. Looking up at it with interest, Sam noted the guards moving along its barricaded walls. A mixture of city and fortress it seemed, an odd occurrence in what seemed like a relaxed country. As Yuna, Tidus, Rikku and another woman called 'Paine' walked by him; Sam inhaled deeply, straightening out. He was beginning to feel better, and for that, he was glad.
For all its fortifications, it did seem peaceful. There were children running around, smiling, but under the watchful eye of senior citizens. Frowning, Sam looked around for any signs of teenagers or adults, finding a lack of either, other than the guards upon the wall and his own small group.
"Lady Yuna! Thank goodness you've arrived." Turning his attention from his study of the intricate pillars that lined the path, Sam's blue eyes focused on the man walking towards the group. He seemed their own age, making his presence that much odder. Judging from the people bowing to him, he was a man of great importance. As he conversed quietly with Yuna, his eyes flickered to and from Sam with great regularity, plainly noting his own clothes and assortment of technology.
"-headed deep into Via Infinito. We've scaled the first twenty floors so far, but only you three have the ability to head into the deepest levels." The man said, his voice so quiet it was difficult for Sam to pick up. "We have men stationed by, but these fiends don't seem to have a weakness towards any weapons in general. Magic seems to destroy them, but we have a limited amount of mages." He paused, turning to Sam. "And who is this?" He asked, his voice turning it into a polite question.
"This is Sam." Yuna said, with an encouraging smile towards the Pokémon Trainer. "We think he might come from somewhere similar to the girl you found."
"In that case, welcome." The man said, his soft voice now carrying over to include Sam in the conversation. "I apologise if any Yevonites have attacked you, but this is a hard world, and we dislike surprises."
Sam gave a shrugged, signalling it hadn't happened to him. "If they do attack me, I'll let you know." He offered to the man. Receiving a grim smile in return, Sam frowned, wondering what he had said.
"We are short on time. Please, follow me." The man said, turning on his heel. Falling into line behind him, Yuna, Tidus and the other two women began walking up the long stretch of path towards the city. Shrugging once more, Sam set out, backing up the small party and eying the intricate decorations on the pillars and city as he walked. Yuna continued talking to the man, while Rikku bounced along, happily discussing something with Tidus. Only Paine was silent, her eyes set on the entrance to the city coming up before them.
"Oh, Sam!" With a jolt, Sam stopped, only centimetres away from Rikku, who had stopped talking to Tidus. Grinning, she held out a small device to him. "We might get into danger, so if anything happens, press one of the three buttons on this."
Looking doubtfully at the machine before him, Sam picked it up, eying it warily. His thumb danced gently along the surface of the device, pausing on one of three little nubs that broke the smoothness of the stone. "What is it?"
"It's a Dressphere, it lets you change into different outfits to fight in."
Sam made an odd face. "Changing clothes helps me fight better?"
"These ones will. They often come with their own weapons, which you don't have." She replied, amusement dancing on her face as she looked him over. "We're going into a pretty dangerous place, and Yunie said you're coming with us."
With a sigh, Sam shook his head, giving the device back. "I should be able to hold my own." He explained, giving her a quick smile. "Thanks though, I should be able to surprise you if it comes to a battle." Quick as lightning, his hand snapped down, grabbing Artemis's Pokéball from under his shirt and spinning it on his finger, a trick acquired through rigorous hours when it was too wet to even consider travelling, a frequent case in the humid region of Dictioy.
"Rikku! Sam! Come on!"
With a sigh, Sam looked past Rikku to Tidus, who was standing there with an expectant look on his face. Giving Rikku a wink, ignoring the confused look on her face as she looked at the Pokéball in his hand, Sam jogged up to Tidus, looking past him into the big city that was Bevelle.
Looking down from the height she was at with interest, Kairi frowned as she realised just how far away the ground really was. The guards she had escaped coming into this world had been lost in the labyrinth that was this city, and since then, Kairi had been looking around with interest. Her clothing hadn't really fitted in with the people she saw, so she had tried to make sure she avoided crowds. As a result, she had ended up in a temple, and then up into the tower she was on.
Hearing running footsteps, Kairi decided it was probably wise to continue on. Darting around a corner, she saw another flight of steps, scaling them as quickly as she could. The marching was getting closer, and with an irate sigh, Kairi doubled her speed, emerging onto a large walkway that connected to several other small towers, leading up to a podium. Running for it, her red hair blowing in the strong winds, she froze where she was as a large red ship roared over her. Looking up at it, shading her eyes to block the sun, she wondered what kind of person would drive such a machine when she heard a yell. Whirling around, she found the small troop of guards she had eluded for so long glaring at her, some looking worn out, others were simply red in the face. Giving a shrug, she took off again, heading for the podium. At the last second, she dashed down one of the pathways close to it, moving down the stairs as quickly as she could.
She stopped when she came into another tower. Frowning, it looked familiar; Kairi looked around until she spied what looked like a small computer. Leaning close to it, she studied it, wondering what it did. Her answer came when it beeped at her. Jumping back, she looked over at the stairway which worked its way around the inside of the tower. The stairs on it had disappeared, flattening out. A small platform waited at the top for her, as if asking for her to step onto it.
Taking a wary step forward, she stepped onto the gold platform, giving a shriek when it took off. Falling onto the slide it was going down, she skidded after it, trying desperately to stop, coming to a halt when she reached the bottom of the stairway. Tumbling onto the ground, she muttered, sitting up and rubbing her abused body parts.
An odd glow reached her eyes. Looking over, she saw a small statue, one part of it glowing a vivid pink. As if in response, her hand throbbed and with a flash of light the Crest of Love appeared. Looking between the two with confusion, she got to her feet slowly, taking one step, and then another, towards the statue. Seeming to sense her presence, the statue began to glow more urgently, the Crest of Love answering with equally fast flashes. Reaching out, her hands hesitated before she laid them flat against the cool metal of the device.
With a noiseless roar, the statue seemed to explode. A pillar of energy shot from the top of the statue, up the stairway and shattering the roof above. Looking up at the rain of falling debris, Kairi's blue eyes widened and with a squeak, she ran out of the way, taking shelter under the closest part of the spiral stairway.
Feeling urgency, Sam, Yuna and Tidus looked up as the top of the Tower of the Moon exploded, a beam of pink light shooting high into the sky. Yuna and Tidus exchanged panicked looks, breaking into a run while Sam, Paine and Rikku took off after them. As they went across the walkways the city seemed to be comprised of, Sam studied the Tower, wondering what was going on. Obviously this wasn't normal. With a sigh, he looked at the distance between them and the Tower, his impatience winning out. Stopping where he was, eyes focused on the door in the distance, he gathered up his psychic energy, and with a flash of blue light, he teleported.
A feeling of exhaustion he hadn't felt in months filled his bones as he rematerialised at the Tower. With a wince, he remembered his powers had been weakened by his experience earlier that day. Staggering forward, he stopped when he saw a girl his age peeking out at him curiously from under the stairs. Debris lay on the ground everywhere, as did dust. Ignoring that, Sam cocked his head, until his memory surged.
"Kairi?" He asked tentatively.
"That's me." She said cheerfully. "I don't know what just happened here, but it happened when I touched tha-." She stopped. Another part of the pillar had begun to shine now, this one a deep blue. Looking down at his left hand, Sam frowned as the Crest of Friendship appeared.
"What is that?" He asked, pointing to the machine with his right hand. When Kairi shrugged, Sam frowned. As Yuna, Tidus and the other two came running up, the machine flashed orange and white, feeling the arrival of two of the other Crest Holders.
"Sam?" Yuna asked, confusion in her voice.
"How'd you get here so, is that Kairi?" Tidus interrupted himself. "And what did she do?"
"I didn't do anything!" She answered. "This machine began flashing at me, and I was being chased by guards, then I touched it, the machine, not the guards, and THAT happened." She pointed at the beam of pink energy coming from the tip of the machine.
"What is it doing?" Sam asked, looking over at Tidus, who simply shrugged.
"Whatever it is, it's made a huge mess doing it." Kairi murmured, looking at the assortment of rubble. Turning her attention from it to the other Crest Holders, her brow furrowed. "Uh, Yuna, right?" She asked, looking at her. When Yuna nodded, Kairi smiled apologetically. "Sorry, there was a lot of information to remember in only a small amount of time."
Yuna waved her hand empathically. It seemed she didn't mind. Walking around the statue, she quirked her mouth, her eyes fixed intently on the glowing pink area Kairi had touched. "You touched it there, right?" Kairi nodded. "Let's see what it does for me then." Yuna muttered, extending a hand to rest it gently on the machine. In answer, the pillar of energy broadened slightly, the pink energies diluting as a thread of pure white entered into it.
"Looks like it wants us all to touch it, if it changes colours like that." Tidus said, scratching his head. Turning to him, Sam arched an eyebrow, and then shook his head.
"What the heck." He said, walking forward and touching the device. Blue entered the column, intermingling with the white and pink energies of Yuna and Kairi. When Tidus walked forward to touch it, orange entered the fray as well.
"Ooh, me! My turn!" Rikku bounced forward to touch the machine. When it didn't respond, she pouted. "Aww."
"It must be related to the Crests." Kairi copied Yuna's previous motion, walking in a circle around the machine. "But it doesn't look like we're enough, or something else would have happened." As if to prove her point, the beam of energy cut off, the statue returning to its previous, ordinary state.
"Well, that answered that." Sam narrowed his eyes at the creation. "If those panels are any recommendation, I'd say it needs at least nine of us." He hadn't noticed he had lumped himself in with the others. "But where are the others?"
"Lady Yuna! Lady Yuna!" A voice called out, drawing the attention of those in the room. A boy rushed in, obviously not winded by the long walk. "Lady Yuna, what's that?" He cut himself off, looking with wide eyes at the rocks scattered around the room. "Um, oh, the guards of Via Infinito want you to hurry, they say something weird is going on down there. There are some really weird howling noises."
Yuna rolled her eyes. "There are always howling noises." Looking at Kairi, she beckoned. "You'd better come as well. We should stick together."
"Good idea." Kairi agreed. "I had some men chasing me before, but I think I shook them of-."
"There you are!"
Looking up at the five men angling spears at her, Kairi looked sheepishly at Yuna. "Hey, I found them!"