Note : Ok, so I basically changed the part with Blake. I'll tell you how after the chapter...
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(Near the Crystal Pillar, Kapri's POV)
So, now I've accessed my sorceress abilities. It was kind of nice to wake up and knowing that Shane was there, protecting me, but at the same time, I felt like I was only getting in the way. What kind of sorceress accesses her special powers and faints afterwards?
Angel Wing.
Aptly named.
I don't remember too much. Tori said it was like I was on Berserk. I knew who the enemies were, but was attacking them uncontrollably. Luckily, I wasn't under Confuse, or I would've killed my friends.
That possibility frightens me.
I had large, white angel wings appear on my back and my eyes glowed with energy. Would've been more useful if I could remember anything. It was like a dream. I could kind of see it happening, but with no control over it. I knew Shane was in front of me, and my powers seemed to feed off my desire to protect the ones I love and care for.
Anyway, we'd run into Toxica and Jindrax about an hour ago, and I was all set to fight them, when they promptly quit. Well, Toxica quit and then dragged Jindrax behind her as she walked off.
Now, as we walked along a big passageway that separated into many other passageways, resembling a spider web as they lifted in all directions, I felt my anxiety build with every step we took, knowing we were growing closer and closer to Sorceress Adel.
Also, I tried not to look up, or rather...down.
As I stated, the passageways went in all directions. Have you ever seen one of those large rooms with staircases that led up, down, side to side, and diagonal? You know, where you can walk upside down and not fall to the ground.
It was just like that.
We could walk on any of the paths and each one seemed to have a special gravity to it, keeping us from falling to our deaths.
Still, it didn't help our nerves much.
Soon, we managed to make it to a large chamber, and Dustin frowned thoughtfully.
"Hey! This is the place that thing blasted us outta here!" he cried in recognition.
There was thee sound of running footsteps and Taylor and Eric showed up, running to a large ledge.
"We meet again, ya know?" Eric put in with a grin. "We'll take you on, ya know?!"
I watched as Shane frowned and winced and I knew he was reconsidering the Cure he'd cast on them earlier.
Then, I switched my gaze to them and noticed as Taylor looked to the floor thoughtfully, with a frown. Shaking he head, she held up an arm. "NOW, NO FIGHT. NEXT TIME." she stated in her loud voice. There was a hint of regret in her eyes as she hit a button on a console beside her.
Eric frowned and looked at her in confusion before noticing what she was doing and grinning again. "That's right." Turning to us. he waved. "We have surprise, ya know!!" he called.
There was a loud beeping and a large, yellow machine lowered from the ceiling with two smaller, yellow balls on either side of it. It had one eyes and a set of metal shields over it's body. As it hovered in front of us, Taylor shot us a guilty look before taking off with Eric, and leaving us to fight the thing.
Immediately, Shane closed his eyes and raised his hand in front of his face, casting Triple on himself before hastily casting Haste on him, me and Hunter. Then, he repeated the process on Marah, Tori and Dustin.
Tori closed her eyes nd used her Blue Magic to cast Mighty Guard, protecting us from physical, and magical attacks.
Dustin ran forwards and flipped off a nearby ledge to catch leverage, doing a complete punch and kick combo before landing on his hands and spinning, kicking the larger machine as he flipped back.
Hunter loaded some explosive shots into his rifle and fired at the two metal balls, taking them out with major damage.
Closing my eyes I cast three Thundagas on it, not wanting to use my Angel Wing attack just yet, if I could help it. Afterwards, I cast three more in rapid succession, knowing it was damaging the thing.
Shane ran forward and slahed it multiple times, using a couple of his stronger attacks to weaken it.
Beeping loudly, the machine rose a little into the air before two side compartments opened and cannons came out. It fired at us, and I was barely able to avoid the shots, but Hunter, Dustin, Shane and Tori were hit and knocked out right away.
"Shane!" I yelled as I watched him fall.
"I don't think so!"
Turning my head, I watched as Marah glared at the machine before closing her eyes and raising her hands to her chest. Getting what she was doing, I turned and fired my crossbow before firing three more Thundaga spells on it, keeping it distracted.
"Full-Life!"
I looked over my shoulder as Marah raised her hands to the sky and a light shone down on our friends, ressurecting them and healing their wounds fully. Heaving a sigh of relief, I turned and shot three more spells that the machine, watching as combined attacks from Tori, Shane and Dustin finally took it out and we backed away as it floated off before exploding.
Once we made sure everything was all right, we continued on our way, following the same path Taylor and Eric had taken when they ran off. Who knew if we were running into a trap, but either way, we'd face whatever was coming, together.
(Lunatic Pandora Master Room, Shane's POV)
As we entered a large room, I frowned deeply at seeing Blake sitting comfortably in a throne-like chair at the top of a large flight of stairs. He was sneering evilly, and the purple glow in his eyes was easily visible by now. Tapping his gunblade against his hip with one hand, he gestured to the bottom of the stairs with the other and leaned back a little, placing his chin in his free hand.
Switching my gaze to the bottom of the stairs, I felt my eyes narrow as Taylor and Eric walked in front of us, Eric holding Kelly tightly by the arm. Taylor refused to meet our gaze, but Eric stared at us defiantly.
Nodding a little to Kelly, I turned to Blake and felt my whole body tense. "We've come for Kelly!"
He grinned and shrugged. "Looks like we got company. Guys, show 'em your hospitality." he stated in a bored tone.
Eric began to slowly walk towards us, when Taylor's head shot up and she turned to him. "ERIC, STOP!' she ordered firmly as she grasped Kelly's arm in his stead.
Blake frowned and his head lifted a little in pure confusion as he stared at his companions. "What's up?"
Sighing, Eric turned to him and frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We've had enough, ya know?" he stated softly, guiltily.
Taylor released Kelly and nodded in our direction. "GO." she stated simply.
Not needing to be told twice, Kelly ran towards us and I embraced her warmly, glad to have my Sis back. Pulling away, I looked into her eyes and smiled a little. "Go wait outside, Tommy should be here soon."
Her eyes lit up and she nodded with a smile of her own, taking off out of the room to wait for her 'Uncle' Tommy.
"Hey, hey..." Blake stood up and glared at us befor his gaze turned to his friends. "Come on, people." he demanded angrily.
"Blake... We're quittin', ya know?" Eric stated softly, refusing to meet his eyes. "Don't know what's right anymore, ya know?"
"Exactly my thoughts." he snarled from in front of the chair, holding out his gunblade threateningly. "I thought we were a posse."
Taylor took a step forward and nodded sadly, tears glittering in her eyes as she gripped Eric's arm lightly. "POSSE..." Taking a deep breath, she looked at Eric, who nodded encouragingly before turning back to Blake. "We are. We always will be." she stated in a surprisingly quiet voice as she stared at him earnestly. "Because we're a posse, we want to help you. Whatever it takes for you to fulfill your dream, we'll do."
I felt my heart beat painfully as Blake seemed pained for the briefest of moments for glaring once again.
"But..." Shaking her head, Taylor sighed. "You're being manipulated, Blake. You've lost yourself, and your dreams. You're just eating out of someone's hands."
Tori nodded and took a step forward. "We all just want the old Blake back." she almost whispered, giving a shaky smile to Taylor who semed surprised by her words.
Taylor glared at Blake sadly before heaving a heavy sigh. "Since we can't get through to you, all we have now, to rely on, is Shane! It's sad... Sad that we only have Shane to rely on."
I glared at their backs, ignoring as Kapri and Marah tried to muffle their giggles, and Hunter and Dustin grinned cheekily. "I'm right here..." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head to Tori who gave me a weak grin.
"Blake! Are you still gonna keep goin'?!" Taylor cried.
He seemed to think about it for a moment, and I knew that if he was in his right mind, he'd say 'no' and leave, but the purple glow in his eyes flared up and he shrugged before grinning and walking halfway down the flight of stairs. Saluting his friends, he chuckled a bit. "Taylor, Eric! It's been fun!"
Frowning at him, Taylor sighed and took Eric's hand, leading him out of the room and leaving us alone.
Staring at Blake, I felt my eyes narrow and unsheathed my gunblade, holding it in front of me to keep him from getting too close. I also noted that Kapri moved closer to my side, but remained glaring at him. "Are you going to continue with this knight thing?" I asked curiously.
He shrugged again as he walked down to us and shook his head with a chuckle. "The knight has retired. I guess you could call me a revolutionary."
"What do you think you're doing?!" I demanded.
He stared impassively at me. "I've always gotta be doing somethin' BIG!" he stated, turning his back to us and raising his hands to the sky as he laughed. "I don't wanna stop." Turning to us, he sneered and laughed again. "I'm gonna keep runnin'! I've come this far... I'm gonna make it to the end, to the goal!" Then, he pointed his gunblade at us again and grinned as he advanced towards me, only to be stopped when I easily raised my blade, pressing it against his and stopping his advance. "There's no way I'm sharing it with you!" he cried, pushing hard all of a sudden.
Staggering off balance, I stumbled back a foot, barely dodging a swipe at my head and rolling backwards, out of the way. There was the sound of a whip snapping and a crossbow firing and looking up, I watched as Blake glared and hissed in pain, clutching at his wounded arm where Kapri's bolt had struck him. Pulling the bolt out, he threw it to the ground and grinned evilly, holding out his hand and gesturing for us to bring it.
Dustin raced forward and dodged Blake's attacks while countering with his own. Pummeling the gunblade specialist, he flipped and kicked him in the chest before racing back, being protected by Marah and Tori who snapped their weapons at Blake to distract him.
Kapri whistled, calling Angelo, and the dog howled at a full moon, covering us with a temporary invincible shield. Once he was done, Angelo disappeared and Kapri summoned Shiva to use Diamond Dust.
Hunter followed suit by calling Ifrit, followed by Diablos.
Staggering back from the GFs' attacks, Blake glared at us as he wobbled and raised his hand, casting a powerful Firaga spell on Dustin. As the martial artist stumbled back, winded by the spell, Blake rushed at Hunter and slashed at him, but Hunter fired a well placed shot at him, knocking him back.
Shaking my head, I decided to pull Blake's own trick on him and cast Meltdown before running forward as the spell was in the midst of doing it's damage, and slashed him across the chest, sending him back a few feet where he stood shakily, his gunblade falling to the ground at his side.
"Is this...the end...?" he asked weakly with a frown as he collapsed.
I immediately looked to Kapri and noticed her frown as she exchanged a look between Hunter, Tori and Blake. Raising my eyebrow, I caught her eye and listened as she briefly explained.
"In my world, Blake and Hunter are adopted brothers, and Blake and Tori are head over heels for each other."
Tori blushed deeply and turned, leaving the room silently, but with a pained air everyone could feel.
Hunter frowned and looked at Blake in confusion, clearly not getting what she meant. Then again, he also didn't know anything about Kapri being from another world, so that would be fun to explain later.
"Blake..." Sighing quietly, Kapri grasped the chain around her neck that held both my ring and his, before turning and walking out of the room, followed by Hunter and Dustin.
Turning back to Blake, I rolled my eyes. Then, I took a step back and grasped my gunblade tightly as he slowly stood up, shaking his head and glaring at me.
"Not yet!" he hissed quietly. "It's not over yet!"
Running out of the room, there was a series of thuds and a scream, before Kapri's panicked voice carried through to me.
"Shane!!"
"Kapri?!" Spinning on my heels, I turned to find the others racing in, Hunter with a bruise already forming on his cheek, and Dustin standing groggily, shaking his head every now and then with a dazed look.
"Shane! Blake took Kapri!" Tori called in worry.
"Let's go after them!" I called as I raced out of the room.
(Kapri's POV)
Ok, so maybe walking away from Shane was a bad idea. I probably gave him the impression I was in love with Blake, which I'm not, and I ended up learning the hard way that I wasn't as safe without him nearby.
First of all, I left because seeing Blake lying there, badly wounded and fighting as our enemy... Seeing the look of triumph on Hunter's face, and then being reminded of the loyal brothers from earth... It was all too much. Part of me wanted to demand what Hunter's problem was, but then I reminded myself that they weren't brothers here. Hell, they weren't even friends!
Then, seeing the look of pain etched into Tori's face as Blake collapsed, I was reminded of the torture the two went through on earth and how they always managed to pull through it. It was obvious to me, this Tori had feelings for this Blake, but what I didn't know was if he returned them.
I mean, he seems to have feelings for me...
But... Well, it's all just confusing and painful to be a part of. So, I left. I decided to wait for them outside of the room.
Bad idea.
Really bad idea.
The others joined me soon enough. Well, most of them. Marah and Shane stayed behind in the room with Blake. But, it only took a moment before I heard a shout and turned to find Blake racing towards me.
All I could do was take a step back in surprise, and watch in shock as he quickly took out the others, leaving only Tori unharmed, for reasons... Well, I guess he had feelings for her. Feelings so powerful, they could overcome whatever was wrong with him.
Next thing I knew, I felt a painful grip on my arm and screamed as Blake dragged me away from the others. Tori tried to come after us, but a light shone on her and brought her to her knees.
Undoubtedly, the work of Adel.
"Shane!!" I called in a panic. Would my hero be able to come and save me? Biting my lip, I felt bad for all the times he had to be my hero and frowned as I turned to Blake. "Blake! Stop it!" I cried, stiffening up in fear when he raised his gunblade to my throat and glowered at me. "Haven't you done enough?!" I pressed on. "I know you're not like this!" Seeing that it wasn't working, I thought frantically. "What about Tori?!"
That made him pause and his gunblade wavered as a look of doubt and pain washed over his face. The pruple glow faultered in his eyes and he snarled as it intensified, taking another step forward and dragging me with him.
I saw my chance and pressed further. "You're hurting her with all this!"
His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something before shaking his head. The gunblade lowered even more and his grip loosened a bit as tears came to his eyes. "I..." He swallowed heavily and took a deep breath, closing his eyes and seemingly trying to concentrate on something.
I knew he was battling the control within him. "Blake, you don't want to do this." I stated more softly. "Think about it."
He frowned deeply and shook his head again, his hand falling away from mine as he took a step back. He glowed a bright pink, which quickly turned into a dark, muddy purple, and after a moment, the light shattered like glass, falling away from his body.
"...Blake?" I asked carefully. Did it work? Is he free?
"Sorry." he muttered quietly, opening his eyes a little and offering a weak smile. "Tell her...I'm sorry." Turning, he stalked off, leaving me alone in a long hallway.
Part of me was tempted to go after him, but I was afraid. Afraid he'd be possessed again and try to drag me to Adel. Afraid of being put in danger, or having something happen. Afraid for Shane.
"She loves you, you know!" I called absently as I carefully grasped my chain.
He slowly turned and gave a small nod and genuine smile. He knew who I was talking about, and from the look in his face, I knew he felt the same.
Taking the chain off, I slid his ring off it before re-fastening it around my neck and throwing him the ring. "You better come back to her!"
Catching the ring easily, he looked at it uncertainly a moment before sighing heavily and closing his hand tightly over it. I could see him shaking and he nodded quietly before turning and leaving the room completely.
"I'll hold you to that." I stated quietly. Hearing footsteps running in my direction, I turned to find Shane and the others racing into the room.
"Kapri!" Shane caled in relief, racing forward and hugging me tightly before kissing me lightly and then looking me over for injuries, making me blush.
"I'm all right." I said softly.
"How'd you get him to let you go?" Tori asked curiously.
I gave a small smile. "I made him remember someone important to him." I watched as Dustin and Hunter looked clueless, Tori looked uncertain and possibly a little jealous and Shane just looked completely jealous. Giggling a little, I shook my head and gave Tori a pointed look. "Not me! A certain blonde haired former Instructor."
Now everyone turned to Tori who looked shocked and blushed deeply. Looking away, she sighed. "Don't we have a sorceress to fight?"
Grinning, I grabbed Shane's arm and nodded seriously, sobering up as I remembered everything that was coming our way. "...We should go."
He nodded slightly and took my hand before we headed off, looking for Adel's room.
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Ok, so in the actual game, Seifer (Blake) never broke free at this point and dragged Rinoa (Kapri) to Adel, who fused with her. The hero's group had to fight Adel while taking care to mind when Rinoa got weak, since Adel often syphoned life out of her to stay healthy. Now, as you saw, Blake broke free, and since Kapri isn't possessed, he won't get possessed again, that way.
There's no actual romance shown/proven between Quistis (Tori) and Seifer (Blake), but since it's my story, I want there to be... Plus, it kind of made me think of Thunder Strangers and Blake's quilt for betraying Tori there. LOL. And look at that...he left again! LOL.
Hope you like it.
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"Kelly! Now's your chance!"
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R+R please.
Thank you.
Tenshi