Part Thirty One

The Lunar Station

Orbiting Gaia

The Lunar Station

Leon had seen many impressive things in his life but this took the cake by a long shot. He had been told that the Lunar Station was a constructed lab orbiting the planet but to be actually on the bridge of the station and staring at the planet he just left was something marvellous. Once the Lunatic Pandora had emerged from the ocean floor the President of Esthar wasted no time in granting Squall and his party access to the station.

A ship called the Solar Vessel was the only means of getting to and from the station and the President alone had the authority to grant access to the ship. After being given access Edea and Romana led the others into the small cylindrical shaped vessel for the launch. Sora ended up being sick rather violently and Riku created a shield around himself just to block out the smell.

Baralai, Ienzo, Roxas, Leon and Cloud were sitting together as the vessel rocketed towards the Lunar Station orbiting the planet and once the station came into view it was quite the impressive sight. The Lunar Station was a large dark blue object and circular in shape.

Three thick walkways spread out from the main body of the station and Leon could see that the walkways were protected by thick glass and shields. The station looked like a large bubble with three extensions. When the Solar Vessel docked with the station the group were led by Romana through the docking area and into a large corridor where men and women wearing white coats came and went.

Romana took them through the tunnel towards a lift. She tapped the button for the top floor and the group were soon taken to the bridge of the station. Odine had been brought with them for his expertise on Sorcery and how it worked. Although he wasn't a Sorcerer he still spent half of his life studying the basic uses and myths surrounding Sorcery.

This was what led him to construct the Sorceress' Chamber on the Lunar Station. The Chamber was rumoured to be able to extract large amounts of Sorcery from any living being but it had never been tested before on an actual Sorceress. When Riku saw the Sorceress Chamber he went cold and Sora was hit with déjà vu.

It was in the shape of a pod much like the one Sora had been put to sleep in back in Twilight Town. The pod was black in colour and various wires were hooked up on the inside of the machine. Riku placed a hand over his heart and took a step back. He'd prefer to never step foot inside that thing even if it did mean he could get rid of this Sorcery.

After a lot of threatening from both Roxas and Sora Odine left Riku alone and the group were left on the bridge of the Lunar Station. So far there was no sign of either Saix or Seifer. Sora stood against the large glass observation window on the bridge, his cerulean blue eyes fixed on the impressive ship on one of the other docks below him.

The ship was red in colour and in the shape of a large dragon. The vessel had arms with silver talons and thick metal wings. The cockpit was the head of the dragon ship and large black horns decorated the crown. He whole thing just made Gummi Ships look like a child's plaything. Sora was reminded slightly of Bahamut, the mighty Dragon King. The Keyblade Master wondered what the ship was called and if it was a warship. It certainly looked like one.

"What's that ship out there?" Sora asked a passing man with a clipboard.

"Oh that's the Ragnarok." The man replied.

"It's really cool." Sora whistled.

"It was built during the Sorceress War. It was design to be a war machine." The man said before walking on again.

"How is the Lunatic Pandora?" Romana questioned one of the men at the large control console on the bridge.

"There are no signals coming from it. The thing is dormant." The man replied.

"So when do you think Seifer and Saix will arrive?" Sora asked Roxas quietly.

"I can't say. And where the hell has Luxord vanished to?" Roxas scowled.

"He might be on the Pandora." Baralai suggested.

"All that matters is getting Almasy back." Squall interrupted.

"We know that." Cloud nodded. "But we can't do anything until he turns up."

"Even if he does arrive how the hell can we get him into that pod thing?" Riku crossed his arms.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Romana said. She looked unsure though.

"He's too strong. Yes we fought a Sorcerer but Myde only had the power of one." Sora cried. "Seifer has the power of three. He's the most powerful one out there."

"Have you been watching Charmed again?" Riku cocked an eyebrow to which Sora blushed and buried his face in Riku's neck.

"We need a back-up plan at least." Cloud affirmed.

"Demyx...but you know what happened...no..." Ienzo said hastily.

"What is it?" Sora turned to the lilac haired man.

"Demyx says that if things get out of control...I'm to use the Rune Blade." Ienzo choked.

"What?" Baralai yelled. "But you'll kill Seifer that way. We saw what it did to Myde."

"What are you talking about?" Squall said icily.

"Demyx wants to explain everything." Ienzo murmured and he summoned up the Guardian Force.

"Listen to me Squall," Demyx sighed heavily. "I was a Sorcerer once and I came this close to destroying the world. The only way to stop me was to use the Rune Blade."

"But Sokar possessed you at the time." Sora cried helplessly.

"I was already corrupted." Demyx replied sadly. "If you can't get Seifer into that chamber the Rune Blade is the only way to stop him."

"What is a Rune Blade?" Squall asked tersely.

"It's the only weapon capable of killing a Sorcerer with a single blow." Demyx muttered.

"You're not killing Seifer." Squall's hands tightened on the hilt of his Gunblade.

"We not gonna do that." Sora waved his hands frantically. "We're just telling you how we defeated the last Sorcerer we came up against."

"Romana, there's something in the docks. It just appeared there." A man said suddenly.

"What is it?" she leant over his shoulder to see the console he was staring at. On the computer screen she saw a blue haired man with a blond man possessing glowing yellow eyes.

"It's Seifer and Saix..." she whispered as her skin paled. "They are in Dock 3."

"Doctor Odine and I will prepare the chamber." Romana said.

"The rest of us better cut them off." Cloud said.

"Let's go." Squall hefted Lionheart onto his shoulder and made his way to the lift with the others following him.

Lunar Station

Docking Area

"They are koming my Knight." Ultimecia hissed after teleporting onto the station. The creature controlling Seifer smirked down at Saix.

"They won't stop you. They won't risk hurting your host." Saix remarked.

"Seifer can help me achieve Time Kompression. Once that happens you will have you reward." Ultimecia ran Seifer's fingers through Saix's silky locks.

"With your power you can control the Heartless once they arrive here." Saix grinned.

"To think I am using a man for this moment." Ultimecia sighed. Her golden eyes shone brightly. "But he is suitable. It is hard to believe that a man can handle all this power. Even I am having diffikulty controlling this magic."

"What are you going to do with him once he opens the Gateway?" Saix asked.

"He will no longer serve a purpose." Ultimecia scowled. "And I cannot have someone of his power alive to threaten me."

"Once Time Compression happens and the Gateway opens I'm going back to my own dimension." Saix crossed his arms.

"I shall send you back to that moment my Knight." Ultimecia placed her hands on Saix's face. "I will send you back to save Xemnas from his fate."

"That's all I want." Saix murmured.

"All you shall have it." Ultimecia smiled and Saix thought Seifer looked beautiful like that...twisted and dark.

"This is it." Saix smiled when he saw the docking hatch facing the moon.

"I wish for the SeeD to see this. To watch as his lover dies before him." Ultimecia laughed.

"Here they come now." Saix spotted Squall and his companions emerging from the lift.

"Remember, go to the Pandora and find Adel. I may still have some use for Riku." Ultimecia whispered. Waving her hand she teleported the blue haired Nobody back down to the surface.

"You're not getting away this time." Squall snarled from the other end of the docking area.

"So the lion has arrived to take back his mater." Ultimecia smirked. "I've been waiting a long time for this moment."

"Let him go!" Sora summoned up the Ultima Keyblade.

"Not yet my sweet boy." Ultimecia backed away towards the large steel doors. "This party is just beginning." She smiled before raising her hands and creating a thick purple bubble around her host's body.

"NO!!" Squall screamed when she brought Seifer's fist down upon a red button t unlock the hatch doors.

Squall and the others were blocked off when a door slid into place while the docking area went through decompression. The bubble around Seifer somehow protected him from the vast vacuum of space. His body was floating just outside the docking bay and a smile graced his distorted features. Golden eyes flashed and his veins stuck out across his skin like black spaghetti. Squall watched helplessly as Ultimecia took Seifer farther away, out of the Lunar Station and into the vast coldness of space.

"Back up to the bridge!" Baralai yelled and he was already running for the lift.

"What the fuck is she doing?" Roxas yelled when they ran back onto the bridge towards the glass window.

"Hyne is that a human?" Romana gasped when she saw Seifer moving away from the station.

"Is there any way to bring him back inside?" Ienzo asked.

"Something's happening." Roxas shouted above the noise.

Ultimecia smiled when she stopped moving. The protective shield was truly astounding. To hold back the vacuum all around the host like this. She stared ahead towards the moon then began muttering the ancient spell she found so long ago. After years of planning and building her magic to god-like levels she was about to receive her reward. Bringing up both hands she unleashed all the magic Seifer possessed within his mortal body. The magic gather to create a thick beam of dark pink and red light that shot towards the surface of the moon.

When the light hit the surface nothing happened for a few moments. Then the red light began to spread out at an alarmingly fast rate. Within a few minutes a whirlpool of magic was formed on the moon and another beam of light was created.

The light was brighter than ever and it shot back towards the planet this time. Ultimecia smiled from within her host as the light fell towards the Pandora along with all the monsters and hellish beasts imprisoned within the celestial prison above her. All that was left now was to tear open a small hole into the Gateway.

With his power Seifer was practically a god now and she was going to milk him dry. She blasted another beam of energy towards the moon again and the whirlpool increased in power. She only needed to create a little rip in the fabric of dimensions and allow it to grow on its own. Then the Heartless would come here. From the bridge on the Lunar Station Demyx felt his blood turn to ice as his worst fears were realized. Somehow the Sorceress had opened the Gateway.

When she was finished Ultimecia released her hold on Seifer and she retreated back to her own time. The blond couldn't stay awake anymore and he slumped against the shield around him, the other thing keeping him from death while the Gateway continued to open.