Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ One Heck of an Adventure ❯ Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy (one day I will…BWHAHAHAHAH*cough cough* Ahem. Here is my eighth chapter, yay. I'm not even close to finish yeah. Uhh I haven't gotten a lot of reviews, *peers into audience* maybe you just don't like me, fine be that way. This intro is going to be long because I don't know where to go with this and uhhh yeah. I haven't played Final Fantasy seven in a long time so I had to ask around to see what happens next and if I mess up on the description, my friend wasn't very clean on that either so I'm sorry. And although it looks like the end, it's not.

I awoke to a hard shake.

"Come on, we're almost there." Squall whispered to me as he helped me up. I groaned as I was removed from my comfortable position. Everyone was up and ready to continue. Vivi looked as sleepy as me.

"Don't we get to eat something?" I asked.

"We eat while we walk, we're too close now." Vincent remarked. I groaned louder. I marched in the back with Cloud and Vincent leading. I grumbled and groaned, irritating everyone but I was grouchy so I had an excuse. I wanted to go back to bed. I wasn't that anxious to figure it out.

"Why do we have to go now? How bout a few more hours of sleep?" I asked.

"Because a few other people want to figure this out as much as you do, maybe even more." Auron remarked. I shut up after that. Why do they want to know? It's me that is going through this. Of course they all had that dream about me. No, it wasn't about me, it was about another girl that looks like me, yeah. Is it? I'm beginning to doubt that. Maybe I am the girl in the dream but how is it possible. I don't have that kind of power. The others seemed so sure though and Sephiroth seemed so sure too. Speaking of Sephiroth, where is he?

"Does anybody know why Sephiroth hasn't attacked us in a while?" I pointed out. The party came to a halt. Everyone stared at me.

"Don't say anything about him." Cloud remarked menacingly.

"Why not?"

"You might jinx it." He remarked. I kept my mouth shut after that knowing of jinx and it seems like I always trigger them.

We walked on for miles and miles it seemed. I kept my mouth shut, only complaining to myself. I was getting anxious. A part of me wanted to know and the other didn't but I always felt like there was something missing. Maybe I'll find it at the ruins. We continued walking. I stared at the ground, in deep thought. What would I possibly find there? Pictures on the walls? Old artifacts? What could possibly be there that shows that I'm not who they think I am? I ran into the back of Zidane.

"We're here." Cloud announced. I glanced up and there was a large cavern hidden by random trees and bushes. I would have missed it if Cloud didn't point it out.

"Come on." Cloud ordered.

"We'll stay out and watch. This is more for Emily than for us." Vincent remarked.

"But I want to go." Yuffie began to whine. Red stopped her.

"Let them go, they'll come back and tell you everything." Red ordered. Yuffie nodded and back away.

I stepped into the frozen cave, followed by Cloud close at my heels. Wonderment and silence fell upon the group. I stared at the cavern walls as I stepped down the stone stairs. I couldn't tell if they were carved or if it was natural but my hard boots echoed with each step. I breathed heavily as I stepped down first, my breath easily visible. I shook with cold. It was freezing. I heard the chattering teeth of Zidane and Titus behind me.

"Do you want my jacket now?" I asked, although the cold easily pieced my jacket to my skin. They both still shook their heads.

"Let's just hurry up." Titus ordered, pushing me on. I continued on, crossing my arms for warmth. The father I climbed down, the darker it became and fortunately Vivi was skilled in black arts and his hand became a human torch. I vaguely made out the steps that I was taking. I relied on the cold wall for support and assurance. I felt like the steps were forever. What was I going to find? Am I going to like what I find? It was driving me crazy. I wanted to know but there was that chance I might not like it. I turned to ask Cloud but he was distracted by something else. His eyes held this dark sadness behind it and calmly followed me but I sensed that something was wrong. I decided not to worry him and ask so I kept my mouth shut. I stumbled on the last step. I was surprised but Cloud caught me. He urged me to continue on.

"Everyone stay together, we don't want to get lost." Auron ordered, his voice echoing through the cave. I felt Cloud at my heels. Shafts of light shinned through sinkholes at the surface, allowing us to see where we were going. Vivi's fire died down. The cave was sparkling and glittering with different rocks and ponds slowly formed by the dripping of one drop of water. Stalactites clung to the ceiling, slowly collecting water at the tip then dropping in one of the large ponds, echoing through the giant cave. Platforms were in the water, some high up and some almost in the water.

"Where do we look first?" Titus asked.

"Where does Emily look first is the real question." Auron turned to me. I paused and glanced around, everything caught my eye, and everything drew me closer. It's like it was familiar in some way but I didn't know how, like from a lost memory or dream. I glanced at Cloud for guidance but he had a faraway look in his eyes, like he was remembering something he didn't want to. I decided to figure this out by myself. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to sort out facts. Thoughts and images raged through my mind, feeling overwhelmed. I thought I heard a voice call my name.

"Relax, Emily, listen to the earth." I heard a voice gently calmed my wild thoughts. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

"We're with you Emily, we won't leave you." Zidane assured. I swallowed my doubt and fears and was prepared to go.

"I'm ready." I remarked to all of them. "Thank you." I took a deep breath and began to walk. I felt everyone behind me, supporting me. I let my legs take me to where to go, I wasn't even thinking, just going. Soon I came to a large platform rising out of the water like a god. It was in the middle of a lake but little white stones, only enough room for one person led up like stairs to the giant platform. A shaft of light from above shined down on it like it was from heaven. I was about to head up to the platform but a hand caught my shoulder. Cloud was holding me tightly with a vise grip. His fingers dug into my shoulder. I glanced into his eyes. His deep green eyes were to the brim with water. His eyes shown a deep fear for once. Something about this place brought memories back to him and they weren't pleasant.

"Please don't go." He mouthed so nobody could hear.

"I have to, please let me go. I'm not going to go anywhere, I promise." I promised him. I wonder why he was so sad. I'll ask him about it later, right now, I got to find out this dream.

"But I know what you are. You are the girl from my dream, stay please." He begged.

"Please Cloud, let me go." I requested. His grip released and I was free. I paused for a moment, staring at his eyes.

"I'll be back." I assured him. He sighed heavily and swallowed his tears. He quickly got back his composer before anybody noticed.

After that look, I was afraid to go. I hopped on one of the stones, waving my arms for balance. The water seemed to hold some sort of secret. I glanced back at everyone, they encouraged me to continue. I hopped to the next stone. I felt sick and wanted to turn around. I didn't want to know, I wanted to go home and forget all of this. Back to my normal life with no secrets about me that I don't even know. I wanted to toss this aside and just think it's a dream but I didn't want to forget them. Not any one. They were all precious to me and I didn't want to lose them but I wanted to go home. I took another step. Maybe I could just live here with Cloud and the others. They would take care of me, like they promised and I could help them, somehow. I would be fine here and I would never be alone. I took another step. What was I going to find anyways? They were just a bunch of carvings and stuff, nothing that even looks like me or describe anybody. It doesn't make any sense. Another step. I'm afraid that's all. I'm afraid what I would find. What if I am that girl from their dreams, then what? What do I do after that? I took another step. I mean, and then what if I'm not, how am I going to get home? I'll just be here. I took another step. The sickness spread to my legs and I didn't want to go on. I wanted to just sit there forever, never moving forwards or backwards. I forced myself another step and now I was only a step away from the pedestal. I trembled with anxiety and fear. I didn't want to go, I wanted to go away. I just didn't want go. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes, dreaming of softer, gentle dreams. I could remain that way forever.

"You can do it Emily. Go ahead. Don't be afraid." Titus encouraged me. I lifted my head. Do I want to know what I am? I want to know, I need to know or it will haunt me for the rest of my life. I struggled to stand. My legs felt like Jell-o. I just wanted to pass out.

I took one last step on the final platform. Thoughts raged in my head and my body felt weak and helpless. I circled around the raised area, seeing nothing that caught my eye. I glanced above and below. Something was in the thick dust below my feet. I bent down on my knees and wiped away the dust to revel writing. It was strange writing with symbols and pictures but it looked familiar. Like I saw it in a dream or learned it a long time ago. I strained to remember, my eyes becoming red and watering from staring at the symbols for so long, hoping some sort of sense will come out of it. Thoughts swirled in my head like a raging bull. I wanted to remember so badly, but it was like drawing water in a desert. I strained myself, feeling weak and tired. Something was mystical and frightening about it but I wasn't scared.

I felt a dark sense behind me. The hair on my neck stood up on end and I felt a chilling sensation in my spine. I heard Cloud scream my name in fear and anger. I swirled around and Sephiroth's blade was only a few inches from my head. He drew it back and with all his might, slammed his sword between my eyes. I didn't have time to react or even think. My mind was on pause. A shot rang out, halting Sephiroth. I turned and Cloud was trembling, holding Squall's gun-blade in his hand. A fierce glare was fixated on Sephiroth. He drew his own blade from his back and held the sword at his side and the gun-blade at Sephiroth, ready for an attack.

"I won't let you take another one." He remarked, growling low. Sephiroth smiled. He slowly stepped towards Cloud from one platform to the next. Cloud never released his glare. I sat on the platform, watching, shaking in fear. Something about this seemed so familiar but this was a memory I didn't want to bring up. I wanted to forget. Sephiroth lunged at Cloud, blade drawn. Cloud didn't see him coming and the gun-blade was knocked out of his hand. The others rushed to his aid but Cloud stopped them

"I want to take him on by myself." He ordered.

He lunged at Sephiroth with speed, wielding the giant blade with powerful swings. I could see raw anger in his eyes. Sephiroth simply moved to the side and struck Cloud across his side. He didn't even react. He swirled around and was able to slice across Sephiroth's chest. Blood was seeping through Cloud's side but he ignored it. Blood started to seep through Sephiroth's black robe. He didn't care. The others watched from the side, unable to do anything. I stared from the platform, unsure of what I should do. I stared at the ground with the symbols on them. It still didn't make any sense. I glanced back at the fight. I felt something cold streak across my face. A stinging sensation was left. I felt blood ooze out of the thin line of my cheek. I remained motionless in fear. I felt the knife crawl to my neck. My breath stopped. I heard laughter in my ear. A tickling numbing ran through my body. My heart stopped.

"It's a shame that you don't know why you're going to die." Seymour giggled again. I said nothing. I felt the knife press down into my neck, slowly gathering pain. I felt the blood rush down my body into a thick pool on the ground. I was going to die but somehow, I wasn't scared. I felt no emotion, like I was drained of them. The world around me blurred and went out to focus. The sound of swords clanging was off in the distance, muffled under the blood. I thought I heard someone call my name but I was unsure. Seymour released his grip on me and let me fall to the floor, letting me feel the warm liquid that was my blood. The pain was unbearable but at the same time, it was numb. I couldn't feel anything; I couldn't grasp the world around me. I saw a figure near me and I heard the sound of bones breaking but I didn't know what it was. I tried so hard to hold onto that little consciousness I had left. I felt something lift me up. I was trying to focus on the face that held me close to his chest.

"You're going to be okay, Emily." I heard Titus's voice said. It was far off and away, like I couldn't grasp it. I knew I was going to die. I heard his racing heart beating in my ears. I felt weak and could stay in his arms forever. The warmth of him made me hold on as long as I could. I tried to recall memories but they already died and now are waiting for my body. I felt Titus's hand upon my neck, slowing the gushing blood. I didn't want to die; I wanted to know about me. I wanted to know where I belonged. I stared into Titus's sparkling blue eyes. He had bright white stars glittering along with the blue sky. Water slowly formed and a tear streaked down his check. I couldn't dare see him like that. I wanted to tell him not to cry but it pained me too much. I began to weep. I didn't want to leave him; I didn't want to leave any of them. I cared too much for them. Tears fell from my eyes and landed on my bleeding wound. A strange feeling welled up inside me. The salt from my eyes didn't burn the wound and pain me. I began to twitch uncontrollably as the tears kept falling. I felt myself being drawn back into the world of the living. The sounds around me became clear and crisp and the sights became clear and focus. I was still in Titus's arms. The tears wouldn't stop flowing. The pain from my neck soon subsided and the blood became cold. I couldn't understand. Did I die or am I alive? Did my tears save me? I was still close to Titus, his grip almost crushing me. I heard soft sobs from him.

"Titus." I whispered, a burning feeling ran through my throat. He finally pulled me back and stared at me in amazement and in happiness.

"You're alive. The bleeding stopped." He said, swallowing back his tears. I couldn't explain it but it was true. The bleeding stopped, I was alive. Titus smiled gently.

"I don't know how." I said.

"Relax; we're getting you out of here." Titus picked me up effortlessly. I held onto him closely, as if I was going to fade into darkness again. He began to hop from one platform to the next, holding me till I couldn't breath but I didn't mind. Something large knocked Titus roughly in the side and he lost his balance. The freezing cold water sent my body into shock but I quickly recovered. I kicked myself up to the surface. As I swam through, I spied Titus and blood was leaking through his side, mixing into the deep water, making it thick and harder to see. He held his side in pain but swam up quickly, I followed. We both were left to gasp for breath. I felt something tug at my leg and I was pulled under. It felt like a hand but I couldn't be too sure. I squirmed and twisted under the firm grip of my assassin. They pulled me deeper and deeper into the depths of the freezing cold waters. I kicked and tried to scream but only bubbles came. The familiar sense of death loomed over me as I scrambled franticly for air. I took a gasp of water, mistaking it for air and threw my body into frenzy, coughing and trying to grasp so much air but getting more and more water. My body froze up and my mind begged for air. I felt Titus grab my hand and holding it tightly. He pulled me away from the watery graved and began to raise me to the surface. I knew I wasn't going to make it and he knew it too. He glanced at me then realized that he had to something drastic if I was to live. I felt myself being shoved into his arms and he pressed his lips against my mouth, forcing it to open. I felt a breath of air into my lungs, forcing the water to come up. He still held on through lips, capturing my water vomit in my mouth so I couldn't swallow more water. I didn't know whether I felt weak because of the lack of oxygen or because he had kissed me.

He began to pull me back up to the surface but something pulled me back down again. Nothing real, just like I lost something important in the waters and I needed it now. I released Titus's grip and swam down into the deep water. Something was calling for me and I had to find out. Titus followed and aided with air with a few gentle kisses on the lips. All my attention and energy was locked onto this one feeling I had. This one madly search for a hidden memory. I was determined, maybe I was going crazy. Maybe all of this was a sick hallucination from too much stress. I couldn't miraculously die and come back to life. I swam deeper, I felt my madness slowly consuming me as I ventured deeper. Titus was the few sanity checks I had. He was the only thing that kept me wondering what I was doing. I ventured further down until my hand brushed against something soft. I gripped in my hand, feeling it gently. I slowly realized that it was a human hand. I was surprised and scared but I was more so curious. I wondered why a body was in the lake. The water perfectly persevered the dead body. My hand brushed up the forearm to the chest. It was a girl, judging what I felt. I continued to the face. It was a gentle girl; I felt it deep in my heart. Her cheeks were soft and gentle and a little pudgy. I felt her hair that was long and to her waist. It was wild and tangled in the mess of water and floated like straw in water. Her skin was leather and thick and sent shivers down my spine but I didn't care. Something was familiar about it. I brushed my hand passed her eyelids. It was chilling but I wasn't afraid. I felt something sad about the eyes I felt inside. A part of me wanted to break away from the dead body but I couldn't, not now. I was trembling with lack of oxygen, the cold water, but mostly because I knew this body somewhere.

The eyes shot open at my touch. I scrambled back in fear but the water slowed down my movement. I wanted to scream but I couldn't. Titus was right behind me, shielding from the once dead body. Suddenly, a bright light blinded my world and I felt weak. When the light finally dimmed, I was by myself in a bright white room. There were no doors or windows, just white, like something from heaven or an empty room inside a mind. Aries was there, her hair unraveled to her waist. She was still in her same dainty dress and her blazing green eyes still stared at me. There was a calm sense about her.

"I knew you were the one. Your eyes said it all. Now I can be in peace." Aries remarked with a true smile on her face.

"What did I do?"

"You released me from my prison; I was trapped by the one that steals souls and sometimes hearts."

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You have the gift to stop him, you can stop him. Remember that, only you can stop him."

"Who am I attacking? Who am I stopping?" I demanded.

"Not here, ask the girl with the wings on her back." Aries told me. "Just know you have a power to use and people will try to take advantage of it. Don't let them." Aries ordered.

"Where would I find her?"

"In the Garden." Aries said. "Just trust your heart. It'll show you the way."

"But what do I do? What's my power? I need to know."

"All will be reveled to you, just be patient." She assured me. I wanted to know

"Please, tell me something."

"You're not alone." My world grew bright again and I didn't open my eyes afterwards. I couldn't. I just rested in blissful sleep.