Note: I do not own Sony Computer Entertainment America or any of its affiliates. Consider this a disclaimer to the ideas/characters presented in this story.

I almost called this chapter "Getting My Ass in Gear".

Chapter Eight: The Last Alliance

Cecilia did not feel as if she had just awoken, but she felt as if there was a significant gap between her last memory and the moment she was in now. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she played the scenario over in her head—she had seen the figure walk through the mirror, and she suddenly felt—no, knew—that the figure was Stoldark. She followed it, and now she was standing in darkness.

No, my eyes are just closed.

She suddenly became aware that she was in fact in her own body (feeling as if at one point she hadn't been) and opened her eyes. An involuntary gasp escaped her as she observed her surroundings. She was standing in the old, ruined library in Curan Abbey, lost amongst the labyrinth of shelves. She looked down at herself, and found that she was still wearing the clothes she had come to the Temple in. No, I was checking to see if I was in my own body. Why?

She looked around the aisle, still feeling confused and disoriented. Why am I here? "Hello?" she called out. Her voice echoed against the high ceiling, leaving her behind with no reply. She walked to the end of the aisle and looked up and down the hall in between the shelves. It looked just as it had when she first entered the Sealed Library about a week before.

"Hello?" she tried again. There was no one and nothing there.

Cecilia walked through the hall that stood in between the grand shelves. There was a book that lay discarded on the ground, leaning against one of the cases. She bent down to look at it, then flipped through the pages. It's real.

"The Guardians," she whispered to herself. She looked around expectantly, as if in hopes Stoldark to appear and tell her why she had been taken back to this place. She decided that the only way forward would be to make her way through the library in the same fashion she had before.

Cecilia stood and made her way through the rows towards the back of the library. She didn't know whether or not she would see a door in the wall or not; when she had first made her way through the trying library, she had to unlock the door through a series of obstacles. When she breached the end of the row, she peered around the corner to find the door was not there.

I'm going to have to unlock it again, she thought to herself. She knew that it was a trial, that she was being challenged. What am I going to find down there, Stoldark? she thought, hoping he might answer. Gripping her wand tightly in her hand, she went to work finding the books that would open the way to the lowest part of the library.

"How in the hell did we end up back here?" Jack asked Hanpan. He was standing in the dark, empty halls of the Temple of Memory; the walls were dusty and the halls echoed their voices ominously. Jack knew it had to be an illusion, but the place felt so real, as if he had been transported back to the place. He knew that he hadn't been teleported; whatever had happened to him had felt much different from when Cecilia teleported them down the mountainside. But the ruins were just too real to be an illusion.

"I think we're just seeing a projection from our memory," Hanpan said. "Maybe this is what the Guardians want us to see."

"Couldn't imagine why," Jack said. "S'not like I learned a whole lot in here."

"It's not what you experienced here so much as what they can challenge you from here, probably. Let's try and find our way out at least."

"Right. Well, it's darker in here than I remembered, but at least it's not night out." The Temple was completely without light other than what poured in from the vents and openings in the ceiling from outside. Jack walked along slowly until his eyes adjusted and he could properly see his way around.

"Do you think the others are here, too?"

"No, I'm pretty sure this is your memory. They wouldn't be here; I think they're in their own memories somewhere else."

"If you say so," Jack said sardonically. They walked on in silence, following the hall to the next corner. Jack hoped when he reached the end, he would recognize what part of the temple he was in, and he could find his way out.

"I don't remember a hallway this long," Jack said warily.

"It keeps going..." Hanpan replied.

They kept walking on fruitlessly; Jack was starting to get annoyed with these so-called Guardians that seemed only to want to toy with his mind.

"Who's there?" Hanpan asked Jack quietly.

"Huh?" Jack peered into the dark, trying to see what Hanpan had seen. He caught a glimpse of red disappearing behind a corner that he was sure wasn't there before.

"Hello!" Jack held the hilt of his sword defensively as he advanced around the corner. When he peered around the wall, he saw the glimpse of red again, and he was certain it was someone's hair.

"Elmina?" he whispered quietly.

"What? You mean..."

"Let's go," Jack said quietly and seriously, advancing down the hall after her.

The further Rudy travelled down the cave, the more uneasy and frightened he felt. It wasn't the cave itself that caused him anxiety, but the uncertainty of what he would find there. He knew that he wasn't inside the physical cave itself, that he was just imagining the place. But he also knew that since it was an illusion, he wouldn't know what he would find at the bottom of the place. The first time he had been there, he was determined to save Tony, a small boy who had dared the cave in order to find berries to help his father. He had told Cecilia and Jack that the villagers had seen how he saved Tony, but he didn't tell them that it had scarred him permanently. That moment was one of the worst in his life, and he was certain that whoever or whatever was showing him the cave was going to show him another reason to hate himself even more.

"Rudy!" He heard Tony calling him from further down the cave. "Rudy, help!"

He hesitated for only a second; illusion or not, he could not ignore a call for help. Rudy rushed through the cavern, climbing carefully through crevasses and over boulders that lay scattered in the dark tunnels. Tony's voice became clearer and clearer, and once Rudy rounded the last corner, he could see Tony standing in the glowing pool in the room filled with Holy Berries.

The boy was crawling backward through the shallow pool away from the towering zombie that advanced on him. Rudy reached for his ARM, aiming carefully before he fired. The zombie stumbled, yelping and clutching its oozing wound on its arm. Rudy raced by Tony, drawing his sword, and ran it through the zombie's middle.

He wasn't sure when it happened, but suddenly the zombie was human size. Rudy's blood chilled as he found himself standing before his grandpa, Zepet Roughknight, his sword buried to the hilt in his gut.

"Rudy," Zepet whispered, "you don't belong here..."

Rudy's hands had gone numb, and he let go of the sword, letting Zepet fell backward into the pool, water and blood splashing up onto Rudy. Even though it was all an illusion, Rudy could still feel the wet on his clothes, the blood on his hands, the disbelief clutching his heart.

"You scare me," Tony whimpered from behind him. "You're no different from the monsters!"

Rudy turned to face Tony, which issued a terrifying shriek from the boy.

"Wait," Rudy said, reaching out his hand to try and calm him. But it wasn't his arm he extended—it was scaled and rough looking. He stared at his arm in shock, then looked down to the rest of his body. He fell to his knees, splashing water everywhere and sending ripples outward. Tony was still shrieking, but all he could hear was whispers coming from all directions.

The ARM is an ancient technology used by the Demons. You're no different from them.

You are a blight to Filgaia...

You don't belong here.

When the water cleared and the ripples died down, Rudy could see his own ugly, deformed reflection in the pool.

No! he tried to scream, but his voice would not come. He suddenly sank into the water and kept falling.

Jack was running through the halls of the temple, dodging attacks from creatures that had appeared literally from the shadows. They were the same monsters that had devastated Adlehyde, the ones that had come with the Demons.

"Jack!" Hanpan shouted over the shrieks and howls of the monsters around them, "stop trying to fight them!"

Jack wanted to argue, but he obliged his friend's words. They ran past two flying fauns that swooped down on Jack, missing him by mere inches. Jack was suddenly able to make out the end of the hall, and he could see light shining down on a majestic looking sword that stood lodged in the ground. He had no idea of what it was, but something clicked in his brain, and he was certain that the sword at the end of the hall was the Absolute Power he had been searching for for so long.

"We just need to get that sword!" Jack bellowed. He pumped his legs harder; he focused on the sword with so much intensity that he had nearly drowned out the sights and sounds of the creatures coming after them. Desire had taken him over, and he was more than determined to reach the blade. The need to reach the Absolute Power was so intense that he had forgotten he was in an illusion.

Jack lunged for the sword and tugged on it, trying to relinquish it from the ground. All the creatures were gathering on them quickly, and Jack had only moments before they swarmed him from behind and overwhelmed him.

"Jack!" Hanpan called shrilly again.

Jack pulled the sword from the ground and held it in both hands triumphantly. He had no time to turn; the creatures were right at his back. Before he even devised a plan of attack, however, the sword became sweltering hot and extremely heavy. Jack was pulled to the ground with the weapon, but he did not let it go at first. It yanked itself from his grasp and plummeted through the ground, which had become a bottomless pit of black. Jack watched it go with fury, the burning in his palms barely noticeable through the rage that had overcome him. It was mine, I was so close!—

He then realized that he was lying on nothingness, floating in black. "Hanpan?" he called out, but heard nothing. He looked around desperately for his friend, but the darkness was impenetrable. "Hanpan!"

Another friend that you left behind, a soft and cold voice said. Jack looked around wildly for the speaker. He knew that voice.

"No, I didn't leave him—"

Because you needed the Absolute Power. You've always been in need of power. Can you remember a time when it was not necessary?

You look for another source of valour, because you haven't the courage yourself to face up to what you've done.

You've spent a lot of your life looking for a reason to avenge someone. You've let a lot of your friends fall in order to fulfil that need within yourself. You're a danger to everyone because you're a coward. You can't protect a thing.

"Everyone..." Jack felt the overwhelming despair coming over him again. It had been so long that he kept it buried that he had forgotten the sorrow he held for what had happened so many years ago.

This is where you belong.

"Elmina..."

Cecilia had unlocked the door and made her way through it without any problems or attacks. However, it only served to make her more anxious: the longer nothing leapt out at her from the shadows, the more nervous she became.

She descended the winding steps slowly, but they seemed to keep going on forever. After what felt like hours, Cecilia came to the bottom of the steps. It was not the bottom room of the Sealed Library she stood in, but in the Grand Hall of Adlehyde castle. She froze in shock, staring into the faces of all the knights and guards that she had grown up with. They stood like statues, watching her with blank faces and accusing eyes. Cecilia felt she could barely move for a moment until her eyes fell upon the throne.

"Father..."

He did not reply. He held the same expression as everyone else did, staring at her with sharp eyes. She advanced into the hall slowly. This is just an illusion, Cecilia... but it looks so real, it feels so real...

"Stop there," the king said.

Cecilia halted in her tracks. All the palace guard had turned to stare at her. Everyone was watching.

"You have a duty to uphold as a princess," Capilano said next to her.

"Everyone counts on you to act as a princess," Terwillegar added.

All at once, all of them started muttering directions to her of just what a princess should do, how she should act, who she should be. She stood stalk still, listening to the odd sound of their muttering, but not taking any of it in. She watched her father, terrified of how alive he looked. She felt tears welling in her eyes.

"No, father..."

"You are no one," he said quietly. The others' voices should have drowned his out, but she could hear him clearly as he shattered her heart. "You are an archetype. You always have been."

He sounded bored, distant. It's just an illusion.

But it's true.

"Please," she muttered, the voices of the others growing stronger.

"No one loves Cecilia; they embrace the princess."

Cecilia turned to see herself standing in her pristine white dress with flowing blonde hair. She held her hands in front of herself as she smiled delicately. "No one loves you because you are a thing incapable of love."

"Stop it," Cecilia told her image, clenching her fists.

They never called her by name.

Cecilia stared at her reflection, and the girl smiled back deviously as she felt her world collapsing.

Cecilia felt like she had been sitting on the stone cold floor for a long time, like she had been dreaming and lost track of just how she had gotten there. She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. It was dark where she was; it seemed like she was floating on an island, and infinite space surrounded her. She looked up to the ceiling. There was a mirror there from which light seemed to pour—the same mirror she must have walked through before she was pulled into the illusion. In the reflection she could see the vague forms of two other people sitting on the island with her.

She slowly looked over her shoulder at the other two. They were sitting in similar fashion as she—their knees drawn in, their shoulders slumped, their heads hung. Wherever they had been, they had seen just as unnerving things as she had. Truths about themselves they did not want to know.

"Rudy. Jack."

They slowly looked over at her. They stared at each other silently, each contemplating what they had just been forced to recognize about themselves. Finally, Jack spoke.

"Hanpan?"

"I'm right here," the wind mouse said weakly.

Jack looked into the inside pocket of his jacket to find Hanpan curled up in a small ball. "I thought I'd lost you," Jack said.

Hanpan didn't reply. They all sat quietly for a moment longer, the sadness and defeat still too heavy to say anything to each other.

This is the girl Stoldark has chosen?

Cecilia perked and lifted her head. It had been a while since she had heard a voice like that in her mind, but it was not Stoldark speaking.

Her mind is weak, her will is nonexistent. Her and these humans are not strong enough to fend for Filgaia. Is this truly the best we can do for the planet's future?

"They're angry..." Cecilia muttered.

Jack and Rudy turned to her. "What?" Jack asked.

We have no other choice. There is no other hope in the world.

"They doubt us..." Cecilia said. "They've seen through us."

"Who?"

"The Guardians..."

She hears us.

Cecilia looked around the room, as if she would see the Guardians somewhere in the room. "Are you here?" she asked out loud.

Yes.

The room darkened. Jack let out a hiss of surprise, and Cecilia knew it wasn't just her illusion. There was an odd glow that seemed to emanate from nothingness, and Cecilia turned around to see a magnificent creature standing before her. It appeared to be like a mythical dragon with crystals sprouting off its back. Its gaze was almost malicious, but Cecilia felt no fear in its presence. It was a strong and benevolent being. It spoke the words directly into Cecilia's and the other's minds.

I am Gurdijeff, the Earth Guardian. You humans have come here under the guidance of Stoldark.

Another creature appeared out of nowhere—this Guardian was a grand bird that seemed to be completely composed of flame. You humans are weak, but we seem to have no choice but to rely upon you. I am Moa Gault, the Fire Guardian.

A third figure appeared: a white tiger with vicious fangs but a soothing appearance. I am Fengalon, the Wind Guardian. Humans, we are in need of your aid.

"You were the ones to put us through those illusions, weren't you?" Jack said viciously, his voice sounding small and dull compared to the voices of the Guardians in their minds. "Damn you! Why are you toying with us if you want our help?"

We could see your weaknesses, but you could not, Moa Gault replied. You cannot begin to be able to defend others if you cannot first recognize your own faults.

Us Guardians do not have the strength to defend Filgaia from the Demons, Gurdijeff added gravely. They have suddenly taken action after nearly a millennium, and since, our strength has been drained. You three are our only hope now.

"Please," Cecilia started, staring up at the Guardians pleadingly, "I've come to ask you for guidance. I've given the Tear Drop to the Demons, and I don't know how to get it back."

You've been drawn here for that reason, Fengalon answered. The Tear Drop is a source of life—our life. The Demons intend to revive their Mother with that power. If this happens... Filgaia will be engulfed by her greed.

"Mother..." Jack repeated angrily.

We will send you into battle with the last of our power, Moa Gault declared. We will give you the strength you need to reclaim the Tear Drop.

"Wait, we don't stand a chance against the Demons!" Cecilia called. "If we go against them, we will fail!"

There is little other option, Gurdijeff said. If we do not stop the Demons now, there is little hope in stopping them in the future. We will give you the ability to summon our essence into battle, but this is the extent of our help.

"I'll take your power," Jack said determinedly, "I'll kill them all..."

Moa Gault scoffed. Human, you are weak. You desire power not for others, but for yourself. Remember the fate of our world is resting on your shoulders.

There is no more time to spare, Fengalon said sternly. Gurdijeff, we must send them now.

"You're going to send us directly to the Demons?" Cecilia asked in awe.

Show us your faith, humans, Gurdijeff said. Go forth and strike them at the heart!

Cecilia began to feel a peculiar pulling sensation, just like the feeling of casting the teleportation spell. The pull was slower, however, and Cecilia could feel the vast amount of energy that was going into the magic.

"Gurdijeff!" Cecilia called out.

To reclaim the Tear Drop, we—

A shock ran through Cecilia's body suddenly, like dark electricity, as if every part of her body was on verge of exploding. The pain was immense and full, and Cecilia thought that no pain could have ever existed—

It felt like it could have lasted only a second or several days, but suddenly the pain vanished. Cecilia lay limp, breathing slowly and trying to recollect herself.

She suddenly realized that she was no longer suspended in nothingness. She was lying in the grass, and a gentle breeze was blowing through her hair.

"Are you okay?" Rudy said from above her.

She squinted up at Rudy, whose face was silhouetted by the sky. The sky... are we there?

"Where are we?" Jack said form somewhere to Cecilia's left. Rudy helped her up to her feet. Jack came over to join them, looking around the clearing they had landed in. They were somewhere warm, in the middle of what looked like a small forest.

"Is this where the Demons are?" Jack asked, his hand resting dangerously on his sword. Cecilia furrowed her brow.

"No, they were interrupted by something..."

"By what?" Jack asked, his voice demanding. He sounded incredibly angry, as if pure hate flowed through him.

Cecilia tried to remember. Gurdijeff was about to transport them to where the Demons held the Tear Drop, but something had gone wrong. In the middle of the spell, something—or someone—had interrupted the process.

...Dark Spear...

"The Demons," Cecilia said. "They knew we were coming. They attacked us."

"Is that what that shock was?" Jack asked.

"Yes... and Gurdijeff was forced to bring us somewhere else."

"So, all of that bullshit about facing our faults was for nothing? They sent us all the way out in the middle of nowhere to fight Demons that aren't even here?"

"Jack, calm down," Cecilia said. Jack kicked at the ground and walked away. Cecilia returned to her thoughts, trying hard to remember what had transpired after they were shocked. She knew something had happened, that Gurdijeff had explained to her what they were about to do...

She opened her palm suddenly. Rudy circled her in order to look at the objects in her hand. "What are those?"

"They're the essence of the Guardians," she said, looking at the tablets as if they were small children. "The last of their powers."

Rudy looked at her with worry on his face. "What are we going up against?"

Cecilia remembered the vague direction she was given at the last moment. "There should be a village to the north of here. We need to speak to someone there."

Zeikfried stood in front of the Incubator, staring at the cocoon with worry. The Guardians had breached the Photosphere. He had felt Gurdijeff's mind inside the room only moments before. He had struck back, but he had felt something else...

They have the humans now.

"We've shut off any possible scans coming into the Photosphere," Lady Harken said from behind him. She had always been silent when materializing in another room; Zeikfried scarcely had time to recognize she was there before she spoke. "But they had the humans with them."

"I know," he replied. He turned towards Lady Harken. She was slightly more petite than the rest of the Demons, but given her unusual birth as a Demon, it wasn't unusual. She was covered in light and sustainable armour, and her scythe rested on her belt, the handle fully retracted to make it easier to carry around. Zeikfried never saw her go anywhere without her scythe, just as he always carried the Dark Spear on himself at all times.

"But there is nothing to worry about, my lord," Alhazad spoke into his mind. Zeikfried watched the thick, eerie white glow expand to his left as Alhazad materialized inside the room with them. He was a ghastly looking animal, but he kept himself covered in a huge white garb and an ancient head covering made for him in their old home, Hades. Zeikfried was still repulsed by his appearance, however, because he still knew what his brother looked like under his disguise. "The Guardians' powers are spent, and all they have left to rely on are the weak. Without the Elws on their side, they don't stand a chance."

Zeikfried could see Belselk approaching them from the entrance; he was the only one who had considerable difficulty materializing anywhere, and usually travelled on foot anywhere he went. His iron-like skin gleamed in the unnatural lights around the Incubator, and Zeik's lip curled under his helmet in disgust. "I'm already anticipating the feel of their snapping bones under my flail... heh, come on, Zeik, why not let them come? We could destroy them now."

"Your actions are rash," Lady Harken retorted in her cold voice. "To bring them here would create a hazard. In addition, we could have received the Tear Drop without so much destruction on your part. Your methods are sloppy."

"Agh, what do you know, you newbie?"

"Enough," Zeikfried said. They all looked to him. "The Guardian's minds are now locked out of the Photosphere, and the humans with them. Now the Guardians will be sending the humans to each of the three seals. We've bought ourselves some time, but we must not underestimate what these humans can do. We must reach the Guardian Seals before the humans do, or else our plan to revive Mother will take much longer."

"Excellent," Belselk said fervidly. "I'll take the first one. I've been dying to see those little shits again..."

"Do not fight them on your own," Zeikfried demanded. "Take one of the Surrogates; you obviously couldn't handle the humans yourself the first time."

Belselk looked at Zeik with as much disgust as his already twisted face could convey. He turned and left the room, growling under his breath as he did so.

"Oh, dear. I was hoping to meet our new human friends sooner," Alhazad said serenely as he faded out of the room.

Lady Harken gave Zeikfried a curt nod before dissipating herself. Zeikfried sighed, turning back to the Incubator. The Quarter Knights were a bit of a haphazard mess, but they were all he had for the defence against the Guardians and their newly found alliance with the humans.

He stared at the cocoon longingly. It sat suspended in the Incubator peacefully, pulsating gently with the weak amount of life it had left inside it. The Quarter Knights would retrieve the three pieces of her heart that were sealed away by the self-sacrificing Guardians, and with the Tear Drop they would mend her and revive her.

"Mother," he whispered. He could almost trick himself into thinking he saw a smile form under the cocoon.