A/N: Alright! I finally got around to fixing that crappy summary! It's much more interesting now, eh? I'm also in the middle of revising some of my chapters but it's nothing big. I'm just going to fix some of the text so it'll sound more interesting and fill in a few holes in the storyline. Sorry if this chapter was late, it's the longest one I've written to date, 23 pages! I'm splitting it into two parts again. Man, these chapters just keep getting longer and longer...
Family Relations
Exodus stared in disbelief as the Totema of Nu Mous picked up the young girl and laid her down besides a tree. She looked no different from the way he remembered her; blue skin, human face, six wings with a pair of sapphire horns adorned on her forehead. Her white dress was sleeveless but a set of cuffs were still worn over her elbows. A pair of miniature wings sprouted out from the sides of a golden battle helmet nestled on her head. The only difference was in place of the laser cannon, she stood on a pair of slender blue legs and high-heels with a lace garter wrapped around her right thigh. "What are you doing here?" Exodus snarled at the other totema.
Ultima paid no attention to the armored tree's word, laying the girl down on a thick, sturdy branch before turning back to Exodus. "Dear brother, what would Mother Grim say if she could see you now." She said, shaking her head in disappointment. "Attacking a poor, defenseless young girl. And with a broken ankle too! I never thought one could sink that low."
"She crushed an Exodus fruit." The Totema of Vieras growled in retaliation. "I have the right to defend my own existence as well as the thread that binds this world."
"All of which could have been accomplished without bloodshed." Ultima added with a light smile. "Admit it, you were just trying to redeem yourself because you were too weak to fight back when Marche came to smash your crystal the first time around."
Exodus growled and turned away, though Ultima could tell he knew she was right. "Why are you here, anyways?" The Life Tree repeated. "The war is over and our mediums have relinquished their control over us. We are free to return to our elemental homes yet here you are, playing guardian angel for some low-life human."
"She is not a low-life human!" The angel shouted, "She is my master!"
Exodus laughed coldly. "So you went and promised yourself to another mortal? My god, Ultima. And you dare say I can't sink much lower while you've become a slave to civilization!"
"I did not promise myself to anyone!" Ultima responded. "She is my charge, the one born in my protection!"
The Life Tree looked at her in confusion for a second before realization of the truth spread throughout his face. "You mean to tell me that this...girl is...that she's your...?" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence but decided to back away a few feet just to be safe.
Ultima looked down at Saria and sighed. "She is." She answered solemnly. "Before my mistress passed on, she had one final request. I must obey my master's orders even though her power over me died with her body." Ultima suddenly glared up at her brother Exodus, "And if anyone dares to harm her, I will make them wish they never tried."
The life tree grimaced. "Is that supposed to be a threat?"
"Consider it a promise. Come between me and my charge again and I will not hesitate to flatten you."
The angel's words made Exodus clench his jaw. Crossing his hand behind his back, he curled it into a fist and called for the streams of aura to wrap around it. "Flatten this!" He barked, slamming his fist on the ground.
"Again with the temper..." Ultima sighed as the earth beneath her feet began to rumble. She jumped up into the air, using her wings to propel her to the left seconds before a sharpened spire of clay shot up on her right. "I mean, come one! You are an earth spirit. I would expect one who spends so much time outdoors to have a more peaceful attitude." She said, touching down on top of the spire.
"Shut up!" Exodus screamed, sending a wave of earth at the other totema. Ultima retaliated by punching the air, sending a spiral of wind in the opposite direction. It tore right through the wave, spraying Exodus with chunks of dirt and rock.
"Is that all you got?" The angel chanted with a smirk. "You are going to have to try much harder if you actually intend to harm me."
The Life Tree uttered a seething roar as he sent streams of purple aura along the floor, twisting them into a circle of runes around Ultima. "Breath of God!" He called, clapping his hands together. The area around the female totema ignited with purple flames, completely burning away in the split second the fire was present. Ultima was nowhere to be seen. "Hmph...too easy." He breathed, lowering his hands.
Just then, a ball of darklight nailed him in the back of the head. His jaw jarring in agony, he turned towards the direction of the blast and found Ultima hovering above him in the sky. "Nice try, little brother, but I can see you still have trouble drawing the divine circle. I'm surprised that mess you call penmanship actually summoned up a flame. But a small one for that matter." Angrily, the life tree threw back his hand. A bud of a flower bloomed in his palm, the pedals shooting straight out so it resembled a throwing star. Gripping it tightly, he hurled it upwards at the fallen angel. "Then again, you always were the weakest." The angel continued, sending a gust of wind against the projectile with an unused wing. By the time it reached her, it had lost so much speed it took Ultima all but a flick of the wrist to deflect it. "You could not even rise up to defend yourself even when the fate of Ivalice was on the line."
That had done it; the angel's words had finally hit the right notes and shattered his ego, unbridled fury billowed forth from the darkness behind it. A savage roar resounded from Exodus's throat as he slammed his hands against the earth, elevating the earth where he stood. A pillar rose from beneath his feet, propelling the earthbound tree into the air. He brought his fist to eye level, ready to silence the angel once and for all when he got close enough. The second ball of darklight slamming into the base of his column made sure he didn't. Exodus felt himself sinking as the earth crumbled beneath him, regaining his senses just in time to bail off seconds before it completely collapsed. He pulled himself back up and slammed his hands to the ground once more, causing another pillar to rise beneath him along with five others on his side. Ultima sent another darklight sphere at him, but he quickly jumped onto the pillar to his right and continued to rise. He did this 3 more times, jumping to the next pillar to avoid the angel's attacks. One last sphere wheezed by him, aiming for the base of the fifth pillar but before it could even come in contact with it, Exodus was already in range of the Nu Mou Totema. She tried to back away but he leapt forward, bringing his fist to her face.
Ultima crossed her arms in front of her, catching Exodus's punch with her wrists. She felt momentum begin to push her away but before it could take hold, Exodus's left hand shot forward and grabbed her wing. He twisted himself around, forcing himself on top of the angel as he turned her towards the ground. His hands closed around the feathered wings, making sure they wouldn't stop them as they began to fall back down to the earth. Below, pointed spires rose up from the earth, each one of them prepared to impale the fallen angel when she landed.
"You're finished!" The armored tree spat in her face. He braced himself for a desperate, tearful plea from his defeated sister but it never came. In fact, she was smirking.
"Here, let me show you how it's done." She said, folding her hands against her chest. Exodus looked over her shoulder at the needle-covered earth as a ring of red aura formed around it. A series of runes formed around it as a second ring encircled the letters. A six-pint star was drawn in the middle and one final character was placed in the center. "Breath of God!" She called out. The symbol in the center ignited, shooting a pillar of red light up at the descending totemas, piercing right through Ultima's back and into Exodus's chest. The blast burst out on every side, tearing through the spires and leveling the earth. The outer ring of the circle was the only thing that kept the blast from spreading to the teens.
The blast lasted for a full 10 seconds before it dissipated into the air, though the circle remained visible. Exodus hit the ground first, landing in the center of the ring while Ultima touched down right outside of it. "So, you had enough yet?"
The life tree responded to her words with a roar and sprung back onto his feet. He charged, arms outstretched, at the fallen angel, who gave a small sigh as she snapped her fingers. The symbol in the center lit up once more as the circle issued another blast. Exodus howled in pain as the flames embalmed him, searing off the the top layers of skin. He continued to run, but, for he was blinded by the light, he ended up several feet from his intended target. He emerged from the wall of flames, swiping angrily at the air in front of him. A heavy kick to the shins caused his legs to buckle, sending him sprawling backwards towards the flames. Luckily for him, by the time his head the ground, the blast had already disappeared. But as he tried to get up, a blue high-heel pressed against his stomach. "I will ask you again." Growled a female voice. "Have you had enough yet?" Something told the Earth spirit that her fingers were positioned to snap again. With a pain-filled wheeze, he nodded. The heel lifted itself from his chest and he scrambled to get up. "Now disappear for a while. And don't come back until these children are found."
Exodus hissed under his breath. "You will pay dearly for this, Ultima." He muttered as he took one step back and vanished in a swirl of smoke.
The guardian angel smiled before turning back towards the tree she left Saria in. "I'll be looking forward to it, dear brother." She approached her master, withdrawing a single finger and pressed it lightly against the girl's neck. The timid thump of a pulse pushed back against it but the girl remained still. With a sigh of relief, Ultima lifted the girl off the tree and laid her back down on the ground. "Esuna." She whispered, waving her hand over Saria's broken ankle. A ray of white light flowed from her hands and embalmed her entire foot. The girl inhaled sharply as the broken bones moved back into place and rejoined. Ultima looked up to find a pair of gray eyes staring straight at her, though they only remained open for a second. Before she she fell back into unconsciousness, the angel offered her a motherly smile, the kind that told you that you were safe and everything was right with the world. She checked the girl's heartbeat once more before pulling herself up and turning to the lifeless bodies of the other clan members. "Life." She whispered, raising her hands above her hands. A sphere of holy magic descended over them, bursting into a cloud of diamond-dust as it touched down on the ground. The white light washed over the teens' bodies while the dust surrounded their mortal injuries. It squeezed itself into their cuts and wounds, flowed through their bloodstream and right into their chest. Their hearts started up again and pumped the magic throughout their entire body. When the light finally cleared, their cuts and bruises had completely disappeared and, leaving only a shroud of smoke as evidence that it was ever there, so had the angel.
---
"Hey, kid! Are you alright? Say something!"
As his brain suddenly clicked on, Vik felt a large hand shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see who it was but found only upturned grass. "Wait a minute, grass can't talk..." The hand shook his shoulder once more, which relayed to him that whoever was shaking him was standing in front of him. Groaning, he lifted up his head and searched again, this time ending up face to face with the truck driver and Alise, the farmer. "Something." He mumbled sleepily, struggling to pull out his stiffened arms. As he pushed himself up, about half a foot of soil fell off his legs. "What the heck happened here?" He asked after taking a closer look at his surroundings, finding himself at the bottom of a 3-foot hole.
"Well, there's no way we would know since we were going to ask you the same question." Alise responded, "We just found you lot here, beaten and unconscious. One of the girls said you were buried here so we dug you out."
"Buried...?" Everything suddenly came rushing back to him; the armored tree, the blue tulips, and finally, the tidal wave of earth. "Saria!" He suddenly snapped, grabbing the unexpecting farmer around the shoulders and shaking her. "Where is she? Is she alright? Is that armored tree still out there?"
"Calm down, boy!" Alise exclaimed, pushing Vik away from her forcefully. "She's up there with the rest of your clan. She's still trying to shake off the shock from whatever the heck happened but other than that, she's fine. And what do you mean by ar-"
Vik didn't wait for her to finish. By the time she uttered the last few words, Vik had already scaled the wall of the crater and was climbing over the edge. He twisted himself around, scanning the entire area until he finally spotted them sitting on a fallen trunk about 10 yards away. "Hey! Guys! Over here!" He shouted, a huge smile spreading across his face as he started sprinting towards them.
"Vik, kupo?" The clanners looked up and saw their leader dashing towards them. Similar expressions of relief crossed their faces only to be replaced a second later by overwhelming rejoice. "He's alive! Vik's alive!" They sprang up from their seats and ran towards him, practically knocking him over as they embraced him, though it seemed to Vik that they were just piling on top of him.
"Okay okay, that's enough!" He shouted, trying to shake Kili off his leg. "I might not be dead now but I will be in 10 seconds if you keep this up!" As he attempted to emancipate himself from his over-excited friends, his subconscious did a quick head count and found that they were one person short. At first, he thought it was Elena, seeing that she pretty much cared for no one other than herself. He found her a second later, clinging to his left arm. "Wait, if she's here, then who's.." Mosely had Vik in a head lock and Yolando was standing on the sidelines, trying to pull him off. When the bangaa finally succeeded in freeing Vik from the Soldier's grasp, Vik looked back up at the fallen trunk and found that Saria was still sitting there. "Of course. She has a broken ankle." His brain recalled, "It's not like she has a choice. She could barely stand up; how can you expect her to run over to you?" He couldn't see her expression from where he stood but he was almost positive she wasn't overjoyed, unlike the other clan members.
"Calm down already!" Yolando hissed, helping Vik liberate himself from Elena's grasp. "The guy hasss just been dug out from 4 feet of dirt. Let him sssit down and give him sssome room to breath!"
"Well, at least one of us still has common sense." Vik thought as while clan practically pushed him towards the trunk. As he took a seat, he stole a look at Saria and saw she had on the exact same ashamed face she was wearing before. "What's up with her?" He thought before turning back to his friends, who were all huddled together around him. "Um...thanks for your consideration and all," He said awkwardly, "But I'm fine. Really."
"Are you sure?" Mosely inquired, "No broken bones? Head Trauma? Internal bleeding?"
"No, I'm pretty sure I don't have any of those. Why do you ask?"
"Well, they're all common causesss of mistaken-"
"Saria said you were dead, kupo." Kili interrupted, cutting Yolando's medical lesson short.
Saria shot Vik with a quick glance just in time to catch Vik's reaction. "She did what?" He looked at the girl with disbelief but she had already gone back to staring at her shoes.
"'Vik's dead'; they were the first words out of her mouth when she woke up." Elena explained. "We were only digging you up so the police could perform an autopsy before giving you a proper burial."
"The police?" Vik looked over Kili's head at the woods behind him and found it crawling with judges. They weren't wearing armor or helmets but the golden badge sewn right under their uniform's right shoulder signified their martial rank. All of the officers there were Humans or Moogles, though there was a Nu Mou and Viera working with the forensics. Their uniforms consisted of a green shirt, camos, and a green beret. A yellow sash held the shoulder-plate in place on their left, ending in a leather holster on their right. Moogle officers carried firearms while Human officers carried longswords.
"One of Alise's neighbors called the cops when he heard the roar." Kili said, "They thought it was a bomb going off."
"Excuse me." Said a voice behind them. Vik turned around and saw an officer walking up behind them. "Sorry to bother you like this but we have a few things to clear up. Would you mind coming with me to answer a few questions?"
"Of course we won't mind. Just leave him out of this." Mosely said, pointing at Vik. "We just dug him out from underground and he's still a bit shaken up. He won't be able to tell you much."
"Very well." The judge responded as he led the four of them to his car. But before following them, Kili motioned for Vik to lean down.
"We've been practicing an alibi." The moogle whispered into Vik's ear. "We are not going to tell them the real story. There's no way they would believe it."
As soon as Kili had ran off to join the others, Vik turned his attention back to Saria. "You could have been a little more subtle when you announced my death." He joked, punctuating it with a small laugh. A reaction was nonexistent in Saria as she continued to look off into space. Slightly annoyed, Vik moved across from her and waved at her face. "Hey," he said, poking the girl in the arm when she failed to notice him. "What's eating you?"
Saria immediately jumped up and scanned her spot on the log. After realizing there was nothing to be found, she gave Vik a confused look. "Did you see where it went?" She asked in a trembling voice.
It took Vik a few seconds to register what had happened and then a few more to subdue his laughter. "I didn't mean it literally." He said, snickering mildly. "It's a term that's used to ask what's on your mind."
Saria collapsed in relief across from him, laughing along. "Don't scare me like that!" She exclaimed as she gave Vik a swift kick to the shins.
Vik whispered a silent 'ow' as he tried to conceal his pain, though he wasn't doing a very good job since the pain is the only thing one can pay attention to when they get kicked in the leg. He needed something else to focus on and that's exactly what he got when he noticed Saria had just kicked him with her left foot. "What happened to your ankle?"
"I don't know." Saria replied, giving her foot a little shake. "It was all healed up when I woke up. They must have done it while I was sleeping."
"I guess that's possible." Vik returned. He was just about to go back to thinking about his throbbing pain when another question crossed his mind. "But if there was nothing wrong with your ankle, how come you didn't join in with the others when they tackled me?"
Saria's cheerful expression suddenly disappeared and her eyes fell back to the floor. "I didn't think you wanted to see me." She mumbled, turning her face away.
"What are you talking about? I was worried sick about you!" Vik responded, "I didn't think that wave of earth was going to hurt that much. I passed out before I could see if you were okay."
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be?"
"You almost died because of me." She said, lowering her voice even though there was no possible way for her to get any quieter without dropping out completely. "All of you almost died just because I was too weak to protect myself."
"All? You mean the rest of the clan? What happened to them?"
"They tried to take down that monster by themselves. They told me they were trying to avenge us." Saria replied, "I put your lives at risk, even though it was indirectly and unintentional. It would have been better if you've never met me at all."
Vik's expression suddenly grew stern. Acting on instinct, he grabbed Saria around the shoulders and spun her around so they were face to face. "Don't ever say that." He growled. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."
The girl almost laughed as she pushed Vik's hands away. "And where exactly are we?" She returned with equal pensiveness, moving her head so it was a little over an inch from the boy's face. "Look around, Vik. What do you see? Chaos, discord; all of which was brought here by yours truly. I dragged you away from your normal lives and by doing that, I almost had you killed."
Vik felt a bit uneasy, since it was the first time he had ever seen Saria so close to him, much less with a serious face. But he stared right back at her with hard eyes, checking his reflection in the large gray orbs to make sure he wasn't showing any sign of weakness. "But imagine how it would be without you. We're not entirely sure what those guys in robes would have done to you but chances are their end result would have been far worse than what we just faced. And don't forget, you are a member of this team. You were one of the main reasons we decided to stay together in the first place."
"Oh yeah, I am a member. If dead weight counts as one at least." Saria mumbled, pulling herself away.
This only made Vik smile. "You're not dead weight. Sooner or later, me or one of the others would get in trouble and it'll be up to you to defend us." He pronounced, "And when that day comes, we'll have no regrets of ever meeting you."
Saria gave a small laugh as she returned Vik's smile. No matter what kind of pain, whether emotional or physical, Vik always had a cure for it. It was probably something he picked up from his parents. Saria wasn't sure if Vik had this effect on everyone but something told her the treatment she was receiving had a reason behind it. "Vik," She spoke up, feeling it was the right moment to change the subject after a period of silence followed their argument. "Why do you care so much about me?"
The Omnivari sneered. "I have no idea what you mean. What makes you think I treat you any different from others?"
"I don't know..." Saria paused for a moment to prepared a mental list, which to her surprised turned out to be very short. "You're always there for me when I'm down and you've never done anything to hurt me."
"I'm like that to everyone, not just you." Vik answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll offer advice to anyone in need that would listen. If I have to say something negative, I word it in such a way that the person gets confused."
"So you don't care about me?"
Vik hung his head in frustration. "I never said that!" He reacted with a edgy tone. "I'm just saying that I treat people as equals, no matter how much or how little they mean to me so it would be useless for one to determine my standing from my actions."
"Then why were you willing die for me?"
The question surprised Vik, since he wasn't sure why he did it. He knew he would have done the same had it been someone else so that ruled out any personal reasons. He didn't want to die, fear of the unknown has kept people as far away from the afterlife as possible. "I guess if someone had to die, better it be me then them." Saria gave him a shocked look but he motioned for her to calm down. "I've been through life and I think I've had enough. I've seen, done, and learned more than I wanted and I've had my fill of good and bad experiences." He continued after pausing for a second to absorb his own words. "Believe me, I'm in no hurry to go anywhere. I just feel that, when compared to everyone else's lives, mine is pretty insignificant. This is common among people; it's called self sacrifice. In their eyes, the other person just has so much more to live for." He looked up and stared straight at Saria. "This is especially the case with you. You have barely started your journey. If you were to die now, you'll die with so many questions unanswered. You won't die like that, I'll make sure of it."
Saria wasn't sure what to say. Here was perfectly content human being willing to give up his own life so someone else could keep their own. It would be the last gift he would ever give and he would get nothing in return but he didn't seem to care. There was no proper way to thank someone who was ready to die for you but she felt she had to say something. "Well, let's hope it never comes down to that." She remarked with a weak smile. "But still; thank you. It means a lot to know you'll always be there for the rest of us."
"Weren't you listening?" The Omnivari said with an elfish smile, "I'm going to be the first to die." Saria wasn't sure whether or not to laugh, since she couldn't tell if he was joking or not. She was, however, a little freaked out by his expression so she scooted aside a few seats. Luckily for her, the rest of the team showed up before Vik could try anything funny.
"Mission accomplished! We have officially convinced the police that it was a bomb, kupo!" Kili announced, keeping his voice down in case they were being overheard. "I suggest we get out of here before the police come up with any more questions. Besides, the Captain is probably going to start wondering where we are."
"Right. We should head back." Vik responded, swinging himself back onto his feet. "I think I've had enough action for one day." The members of Clan Senbunsu moaned in agreement as they headed back down the road. A silent race back to the car began, though they were all too tired to run. They were all so caught up in being the the first to occupy the front seat that they failed to notice Saria was lagging behind.
---
She wasn't entirely sure how to explain why she stopped but it had something to do with the wind. It curled around her when she stood up and it started to follow her as she began walking. She continued to walk until she was well out of earshot from the crime scene and her clan before turning to see what was going on. Although there was no one to be found, she had a feeling someone was watching her. It was the same feeling she got while she was bringing back the water. "Who's there?" She called out.
"I am..." The words made Saria jump back, mainly because she wasn't expecting anyone to answer. The second reason was the fact that the voice didn't make an echo when it spoke, like the words were only sounding in her mind.
"Who...where are you?" She called back.
"I am all around you." The voice returned, "You cannot see me in your current state but if you close your eyes, I will reveal myself." It seemed like an harmless request but it sounded a bit odd. How are you supposed to see something if your eyes are closed? She was well aware that it could all just be a trick; that the owner of the voice was just waiting for her to let her guard down before making his move. Waiting until someone closes their eyes was the perfect way to catch them off guard. "Trust me..." The voice came again.
"Well...it wouldn't hurt to try." She thought to herself. After all, there was a whole crowd of police officers just down the road and her friends weren't too far ahead. But just to be safe, she laid one hand on her rapier in case whoever it was attacked her. Glancing around quickly to make sure no one was around, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. As a curtain of darkness immediately fell over the world around her, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her neck and pulled her upwards. Swift gales of wind swirled around her, forcing a scream from her lungs. The air pressure kept her from pulling away from the person's embrace but as soon as the winds died down, her legs pushed forward and she practically ran out of the person's arms. With her eyes still closed, she started sprinting in whatever direction she was facing at the moment but stopped about a minute later for she ran out of breath.
The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was the ground, though it looked a little different somehow. That was when she realized she was standing several feet above it. "What the..." She tapped her foot against the 'floor' and felt nothing underneath her shoes but somehow, she was standing on it. As Saria turned to look the other way, something brushed against her arm. She glanced down at her side and found a feather floating slowly gliding down to the floor. She traced its path back up to her shoulders and found a small pair of white-feathered wings on her back. Her reaction was no different from anyone who just realized something was growing out of their back: she freaked out. It took her a while to work up the nerve to inspect them again but when she did, she found that they weren't connected to her at all. They were just hovering over her shoulder blades, beating every now and then against a non-existent wind.
"Hello, Saria."Said the voice. Hesitantly, Saria turned around and found herself staring up at a another woman with angel wings, though they were a bit different from her own. Her six wings were more organic and sprouted from her back in a similar fashion of a butterfly's. The wings, however, were not the only thing that was weird about this women. She was also 10-feet tall and seemed to be made out of a shiny, blue metal. Without taking her eyes off of the totema, Saria started to back away. "Do not be afraid, my child." The metallic woman said, smiling warmly. "I'm not here to harm you."
Saria nodded at the colossus but decided to keep her distance. "Where are we?"
"In your dreams, your nightmares, your body, your mind..." The Angel responded, "In your soul."
"My soul..." Saria took a look around. There was nothing interesting around her, only silence and darkness. A single candle hovering in midair created a circle of light on the 'floor' between them. She had no idea what a soul was but , as far as she had seen, it didn't look like much. "What is a soul?"
"A soul is the essence of your being." The angel began. "It connects itself to the objects you touch and to the hearts of the people you meet. It provides life to your body and emotions to your heart. And most importantly, it is the memory of you left behind long after your life comes to an end."
"And these wings?"
"Well, they are not exactly wings. They are a type of aura that reflects the nature of your heart. The color of your feathers reflect your affinity while the amount of feathers you have depends on your actions. Whenever you commit a sin, your feathers will lose a bit of their color and begin falling off. They usually remain hidden but if you can see them, deciding who you could or could not trust would be an easy feat."
Saria could only blink in confusion. Somehow, beyond all possible scientific reason, she was inside herself talking to a a ten-foot tall iron maiden while some kind of supernatural scoreboard was sticking out of her back. But there was plenty of time to sort that out later. She had to focus on something else right now. "You look familiar." She pronounced. "I think I've seen you before...yes, it was at the airport when I woke up! You were there getting repaired!"
"Repaired?" The angel responded, half-shocked. "The winds have carried rumors to me saying that my body was being held in an airport somewhere but I didn't actually think it was true. Tell me, how bad is it?"
"Well, there were a few cracks here and there and you were missing an ar..." Saria's voice trailed off when her mind finally got to process the angel's words. "Did you just say your body?"
"I did." The angel returned grimly, "I have been searching for my body ever since the rebellion ended. But if it is as damaged as you said it is, I might as well just wait until the humans figure out a way to repair me before jumping back into it." She looked up at the girl and found she was inching away from her yet again. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to go on a rampage like Exodus. I just want to rest in peace and I just can't do that unless I'm sleeping in my own skin."
"Oh. I understand now...so how is it that you know my name," Saria asked, "Yet I don't know yours?"
The angel frowned. "You do not remember me?" Saria sadly shook her head. "Oh well, we might as well start from the beginning. My name is Ultima." The totema reached out her hand to shake but Saria immediately jumped back, knowing the gargantuan angel could have very easily crushed her to death. "Oh, excuse me." The Angel responded with a laugh before waving her hand in the air. Her body disappeared in a cloud of smoke and in place of where she stood was a blond girl wearing the exact same dress and high-heels. "This works much better!" She exclaimed, walking up to Saria and putting her hand out. The girl looked at it doubtfully for a few seconds but eventually took it in her own and gave it a few weak shakes.
"Are you human?"
"Heavens, no! I'm a totema!" The high-heeled girl responded with a giggle. "This is just a disguise I use if I ever want to walk around unnoticed which, as you might have predicted, is pretty hard to achieve when you're ten feet tall. Unfortunately, it takes a toll on my personality and I find it to be annoying sometimes. I prefer a nice, quiet Nu Mou form but at least when I'm like this, we can see eye-to-eye."
"Of course." Said Saria, pulling away from the handshake. "Who is Exodus?"
Ultima let out a small laugh. "He was the one attacking you, silly." She answered, "He and I have quite a history together. In fact, he's my brother, though I'm not exactly proud of it. He can be a real pain sometimes, especially when you make him angry. And picking one of his fruits will do just that."
"But I didn't pick any fruits. Just-"
"A flower." Ultima finished with a smile. "Though it didn't look like much, that flower was a seed pod for one of his Exodus Fruits. He's waited over 200 years for those flowers to start budding so the fruit could start growing. But then you come along and start plucking up his life's work. How do you expect he would react to this!"
Saria hung her head as she forced herself into an awkward bow. "Please forgive me." She pleaded, "I thought it was a tulip; like the kind in Mrs. Fellcrest's window."
"Don't apologize." Ultima said, blushing as she grabbed Saria around the arms and pulled her back up. "I know it was impossible for you to know exactly what it was and I think Exodus knew this too. The only difference is, he doesn't care. He only saw you as a threat and that's why he attacked you and your friends."
"So...you were the one who saved me?"
"And healed you up!" The angel added, "Which reminds me, your ankle should be safe for walking but try not to run any marathons for a week or to. And tell your bangaa friend he might experience some minor headaches throughout the day."
Saria gave her a quick nod but pressed on with the interrogation. "But why did you save me? You might not be that fond of him but Exodus was still your brother. I was threatening the existence of one of your kind yet you stopped him from destroying me."
"The crystal of the Vieras has been shattered centuries ago and its totema has been reduced to a mere spirit. It takes an especially large amount of energy to maintain a solid form but we have the ability to live through the land, like how I became the wind earlier. Exodus was lucky enough to have the element that is the most versatile so he can stay in solid form as long as he wants." Ultima explained, pausing every now and then so the young girl could catch up, "I would hardly call destroying a single Exodus Fruit 'threatening his existence'. If anything, he was threatening mine!"
"He was? How?"
"I live through you. You are my master."
Saria's jaw dropped open. "I'm your what?"
"My master." The totema repeated, issuing a large bow. "I live to protect you and fulfill your every wish."
Saria cheeks flushed a deep red as she motioned violently for the angel to stand back up. "There must be some kind of mistake. I'm not royalty, I haven't done anything special, there's nothing about me that's even worth protecting. Don't waste your efforts on me. Why don't you go see if you can work for the queen or something."
"There is no mistake." The angel replied with a earnest frown, "I have been watching over you since the day you awoke. You are the one I was assigned to protect. Transposition is impossible but even if it wasn't, I would still stand by you. I have sworn an unbreakable oath and my dismissal is the one order I cannot accept."
Saria felt a low growl buzz against her throat as she turned around and started pacing. Her insides were churning with frustration and she had no idea why. Afterall, who wouldn't want their very own spirit that was willing to submit to their every whim. Men have dreamed of having this sort of power for generations and now it was at her disposal. She should have been happy but somehow, it just didn't feel right. "So what you're trying to say is that you are bound to carry out every order I give you unless that order is for you to leave?"
"That is correct."
"Then I would like to make my first wish." The girl said, biting down on her lower lip. "I want you...to leave me alone."
The blond girl immediately shook her head. "I've told you already! That's the one command I cannot obey!"
"No, you said the only thing you couldn't do was leave." Saria retaliated, "I am not sending you away. I just telling you to back off. I might call on you every now and then to ask for advice but other than that, stay out of my life."
"But..." The angel tried to find some fault in the girl's reasoning but came up empty. It was a completely justified request and she had no other choice but to obey it. "Why?" was the only word the totema could utter.
"I'm not so sure myself." Saria said, smiling affectionately, "A week ago, I would have been fine with being your master. I always wanted the power to defend myself and the ones I love and I would have been able to accomplish just that through you. But I learned something today..." Saria paused for a second to force the memory of the scene underground from her mind. She shifted through the gruesome images until she found what she was looking for: the promise she had made to herself. "True power cannot be acquired or bought; it must be earned. Using you to fight my battles would be no better than hiding behind someone for protection. I promised myself today I will stop clinging to others for support and that includes you. I have to learn to stand on my own and that's not something I can accomplish with you constantly watching my back."
"I see..."
"So here's what I want you to do." The ex-master continued, "I want you to turn your back to me and stay out of my way No matter how much danger I'm in, even if my life is on the line, you will not intervene. Understand?" Against her better judgment, the angel nodded. "Now, I think it's time for to return me to the living world. I've said all that I needed to say and my friends are waiting for me. So goodbye."
"Goodbye m...Saria." Ultima corrected herself, giggling as she took Saria by the hands. "Should you ever need my help, I will be waiting here in your soul. Call out to me an I will answer. Until then, farewell." And with that, her image dissolved and the curtain of darkness lifted. Saria opened her eyes and found herself standing in the exact same spot she started from with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Still shivering from the otherworldly experience, she began to walk back towards the road, wondering if it was all just an illusion. Had she looked back, she would have seen a blond haired girl in high-heels sitting on top of a tree.
"You're not the same Samantha I used to know..." Ultima sighed as the girl's figure disappeared through the wall of trees. "You've changed a lot but it's too soon to say if it is for better or for worse." She gave a small laugh as she started to fade away. "But I can see you managed to maintain your stubborn attitude. Maybe Lady Samantha hasn't left us for good after all..."
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A/N: I'd like to take this time to clear up a few things. First of all, Vik is NOT suicidal. He just thinks that if anyone should die, it would be better if it was him. Secondly, "Breath of God" has been used by pretty much every totema you fought in the game and if given the chance, Ultima and Exodus would have used them too! And I apologize for making a ditzy version of Ultima, I'm watching too much anime. As I said before, that personality is only due to her form and she isn't that fond of it herself. Anyways, I'm not quite done with the second half of this chapter so that'll be coming by some time later. Hold on until then!