Chapter
2: Disappearance
The next morning, Citan grumbled, not
having been able to get back to sleep after the rather disturbing dream and
started looking for Midori, who seemed to be up and around already.
She
normally does not wander off like this, not since she hurt her leg running down
the mountain a few months ago, he thought, so where could she be?
As he walked outside, he heard voices
coming from near the workroom where the Land Crab had once been.
"Are chu sure about that dream?"
a female voice asked in a puzzled tone.
"Uh-huh."
Who
is Midori talking to?
"I had the same dream," another
female, this one familiar, replied, "But I was one of the women."
"I think something really bad is
about chu happen," the first voice continued, "Chu and Citan having
the same dream...and the names Midori told us."
"I saw his dreams too," he
heard his daughter say, "The two bad ones already took Julia, Eve and
Victoria."
"Chu-Chu, just because doc and Elly
had the same dream doesn't mean that something gonna happen to them," a
familiar male voice retorted.
"What about these other names you
mentioned? 'Althena, Dena'? Was there any others?" Elly asked.
"Uh-uh, other than Elhaym."
A female-but-robotic voice added, "I
have a bad feeling about this."
Citan walked over and called out,
"Is that you, Fei?"
"Oops, I think he found us,"
Midori said in a meek manner.
A few steps revealed Elly, Fei, Chu-Chu,
Emeralda and Midori sitting on the grass in a circle. They looked up and saw him.
"Uh, hey doc," Fei said in an
"you caught me" tone.
"We were coming up here to
visit," Elly added, "And we happened to run into Midori out near the
storeroom."
"I admit, it is good to see all of
you again," Citan said quietly, "but the topic of discussion is
rather...unsettling."
"I know," Chu-chu replied,
"Midori told us all about it.
Methinks the Musias are being gathered, yes I do!"
Citan sat down, interested and asked,
"Musias?"
"There's an ancient legend from when
the Eldridge crashed here,"
Chu-chu started to explain in an unusually serious voice, "When what we
know now as Miang and Elhaym first came chu be, a young girl arrived chu our
world somehow. Her voice had the power chu
change the world around her and open doors into other places. The legend also says that there are five
other people throughout the cosmos just like her."
"O-kay," Fei asked, "so if
someone evil got a hold of these people, if the legend were true..."
"It'd be a disaster, chu better
believe it."
"Uh, Chu-Chu, perhaps we should go
inside where it would be more comfortable," Citan suggested.
"Yeah," Elly agreed and got up.
***************
In the strange castle-like building that
the voice sent the kidnapped women and the two evil ones, Ultimecia saw Ghaleon
enter the part that seemed like a courtyard.
"Well, Ghaleon, we have two more to
retrieve today," she stated, "But this time it's up to us as far as
who gets who."
"Ah. According to the book, who is left?" he asked.
"Let's see...we already have Eve,
Julia and that strange woman called Victoria...that leaves 3 left. The next two have been located. One is in your native world...an old friend,
as a matter of fact."
"Oh, who is it?"
"A goddess."
Ghaleon nodded after a moment and said,
"I know who it is. And the other
one?"
"This one will be rougher than the
past ones. She is a fighter from a
world called Zenogias. However, their
technology level and otherwise are rather primitive so there shouldn't be that much trouble with her. They certainly won't be able to come after
whoever goes."
He asked, bluntly, "What's her
name?"
"Elhaym."
"I'll take it."
***************
In another room of the strange palace,
the three women sat on one of the couches, looking about them.
The strangely mutated woman said, "I
can't see where this place is. It's
almost as if it's in the middle of, literally, nowhere."
"I wouldn't doubt it, Eve. I guess that's what they meant about dying
if we try to leave."
Eve turned and asked, "How were you
brought here, Julia?"
"I think I was hypnotized, now that
I think about it," the woman called Julia replied, “I know that I fell
into a very deep sleep, full of different, pleasant dreams. I don’t know how long I slept, but I know it
was a long time.”
“I’d say it was. Even when we got here, you were out of it
until a bit ago.”
"Hmm...our kidnappers have different
methods, I see," a woman spoke.
She had long, black hair that seemed to stand up in a beehive-like
fashion. It also had two white
horn-like streaks in it. Her outfit, a
long, lounge-length dress, was also black. "The one that took me simply
used force."
"What world did you say you came
from?" Eve asked, curious.
"I thought it was Earth, but they called it Persona," she
replied, sighing, "I was a singer in a place called the Velvet Room,
working for a mindmanther named Igor."
"I thought I came from Earth too,"
Julia agreed, "But our captors called it Gardenia. Eve, what was your world called?"
"Personally, they gave it by a more
fitting name: Evolution."
"And you were taken moments before
you were to die? Odd..." The black
haired woman said quietly.
"What are they going to do with
us?" Julia asked, "I'm worried about my daughter."
"You have a child?"
"Yes...Rinoa. She's three."
"Nice name," the third woman
said with a smile, "Oh, speaking of which, I forgot to tell you mine. It's Victoria."
"It's a fitting name," Julia
replied, "If we're going to be here a while, we may as well get to know
each other."
"It will work for a cover," Eve
said quietly, one extremely long finger carefully tapping against her chin,
"but we must figure a plan to not only escape but to get rid of our
captors."
"One that won't get us all
killed."
***********************
Citan looked out the window, watching
Elly and Midori playing outside while the others were sitting in the equivalent
of the living room, chatting.
It
has been quite a while since the house has been this full, he thought, ever since Lahan was destroyed...even when
we held Yui’s wake here, it hasn’t been.
His thoughts were broken by the sound of
Chu-chu bouncing up to him, then asking quietly, "Oh, how's Midori's leg?
She didn't seem like she was limping this time, chu."
"She is a little," the doctor
replied, "That is to be expected when you break one."
"I guess chu would know."
"Are you okay, doc? You look like you haven't got any sleep in
the past few days," Fei, who was in one of the chairs, suddenly asked.
"Actually, I have not. That dream Midori told you about has
been...reoccurring."
“Yeah, so we heard. Twice last month, Six times during this one,
including the three this week. I’d
laugh it off, but when more than just you have it—“ He was cut off in
mid-speech.
Suddenly, a cold blast of air went
through the room, causing all of them to shiver.
"What was that?" Chu-chu asked
after a minute.
"Unknown," Emeralda replied,
"But--"
Right at that moment, everyone heard a
scream from outside. A second later,
Midori called out something that made them all stand and run.
"Fei, daddy, Elly's hurt!"
Outside, the group saw Elly lying on the
ground and a man with white hair in dark robes standing beside her. On one side, Midori was moving her lips, but
no sound came out.
"That will shut you up, kid,"
the man said, voice sounding sinister, "No need to call for help when
there's nothing you can do..."
Citan, fortunately could read lips and
understood just what she was saying: He's come for Elhaym.
"Hold it right there," he said
in a steely voice, hand on sword, "What do you think you are going to do?"
"Oh, my...you want to fight? I can guarantee, you will lose."
Fei asked angrily, "Just who are you
and what do you want with Elly?"
"Elly? Oh, you mean Elhaym. What
I want is none of your business, but if you must, the name's Ghaleon. Ghaleon of Lunar," he replied,
"She was right, this is a primitive world. Now, I'm taking Elhaym out of here. No funny business and nobody will get hurt, all right?"
"Where could you possibly go?"
Fei asked.
The dream from the night before flashed
through Citan's mind...and in particular, the face he was fighting against.
Standing
on the balcony, six women behind him and…
It’s him, from the dream!
"Wait...! I know you! You are the one kidnapping women!" he
called out and drew his sword.
“What?
That’s him?!” This caused the
long-haired young man to charge forward, “Hands off of her!”
"Hah!" Ghaleon simply said and
waved a hand towards them, sending Fei backwards with a ball of flame.
"What the--?" Emeralda asked,
shocked, "There is no more Ether power here! That fireball is not possible!"
He ignored her and sent another flame at
Chu-Chu, which set her fur on fire.
"Ouchy-wowowowow!" she
shrieked.
"Farewell...fools," the wizard
said and picked up Elly, slinging her over one shoulder as if she were a sack
and waving the other hand.
A blue and black vortex appeared from out
of nowhere.
Ghaleon laughed and walked into it.
Normally, Citan did not give in to wild
impulses, but the face from the dream that was now carrying Elly away caused
him to obey the impulse just this once.
"Oh no you don't!" he shouted
and jumped into the portal, sword held in front of him.
A split second later, the vortex slammed
shut with such a loud boom that had left everyone deaf for a short time.
It took a few moments for Fei and the
others to mentally realize that Elly had been kidnapped and taken to nobody
knew where and that Citan had disappeared into thin air.
***************
Ultimecia frowned when the portal opened
in a rather abnormal manner, admitting Ghaleon and an obviously unconscious
Elhaym.
"You knocked this one out? Really, Ghaleon, you don't have to club them
over the head," she said in a what-am-I-going-to-do-with-you tone.
"I had no choice. She fought rather fiercely and nearly
escaped," he replied and gestured to the girl slung over his shoulder.
A second after he said that, the portal
slammed shut with a bang.
"What happened to the portal?"
"Some native fool jumped through
after me with a sword drawn. Luckily,
it caused the flows to shift, sending him elsewhere."
"Hmm...an excellent way of dealing
with pests. Wherever he winds up, he
won't be able to come after us. So...is
this Elhaym of Zenogias?" she asked, looking at the girl on his shoulder.
"Yes. What is it? You look
furious."
She said angrily, one wing twitching,
"Couldn't you sense the difference?
Unlike the others, this one's Musia powers haven't come to life
yet!"
"That's impossible. I
sensed strong powers within, that’s how I was able to track her down."
"You sensed something else, but that
wasn't it. Although, it might be
something we're seeking..." she drifted off in thought.
"Do you mean the Ultimate
Power?"
"Possibly."
Ghaleon hmphed a little at this, then
asked, "Did you make your trip yet?"
Ultimecia said, suddenly remembering,
"Oh, yes. I almost forgot about
her. Yes, I made my run a few seconds
after you did. The girl wasn't hard
to...convince. Did you use some mind
control in the past on her?"
"How did you know that?" he
asked, surprised.
"Seemed like your influence when I
went in. Anyway, she's asleep in that
crystal case nearby. She won't wake up
until it's opened," she replied, gesturing to a large, nearly transparent
crystal casket that was balanced on a rose pedestal.
"Ultimecia, the voice that brought
us here said that at one time, you spoke in a strange way...with k's in place
of c's. How come you don't talk that
way now?"
She frowned and replied, "I don't
remember much of anything other than the ones that killed me in the first place
and my own name. Did I really talk that
way?"
He nodded and changed the subject.
"So, now we have 5 of them,"
Ghaleon stated, "And there's one left."
"And who gets her, is that what
you're asking?"
"...basically."
"All right. We'll use a coin from my world and flip for
it," she said, extending one hand to the air, causing a strange coin to
materialize, "This is a gil.
Heads, you retrieve the last one.
Tails, I do."
He nodded and said, "Fair
enough," and watched as she flipped the gil in the air.
They quietly watched as it landed on the
ground...and looked at the item in shock as the gil lay rested upon the table
on its edge.
"I believe we both go after her,
then," she said.
That
will have to wait for a time, you two, the voice spoke. This time, instead of in their minds, it was
audible.
"What is wrong?"
The
power of the last one hasn't awakened yet either. Unlike Elhaym, you won't have anything to hunt her down
with. Start working on the others'
minds until the powers of the final one wakes up...and do get Elhaym to the
room you put the others in.
"We might as well," Ultimecia said,
"Whoever it is hasn't steered us wrong yet."
***************
At the school of St. Hermelin, a small
but familiar group of students had gathered near the entrance to the gym.
"This'll be the last day we can use
this shortcut," a young man in a yellow hat said with a grimace, "So
why don't we sneak over to the Peace Diner for lunch, guys?"
"So you want to spend it getting
into trouble, eh Mark?" a young girl giggled, "Sounds good to
me! The cafeteria food has gotten so bland!"
"Normally, I would stay inside the
school since we are so close to graduating," Nate, the heir to the Trinity
Trust, said with a sigh, "But this time I'll agree with Mark and Alana. Anything looks better than fighting demons
on the streets."
"Pretty strange thinking, since it's
been a year since the incident with the Deva System and Pandora," a tall
red-headed boy said to them, shaking his head, "Although in comparison to
that, everyday life has been so...boring."
"What, man?" Mark turned and
asked, "You want to be fighting
demons again?"
"You know what they say,
Atlus," Nate said, "Be careful what you wish for, because you just
might get it."
The door leading to the main part of the
school opened just at that moment.
“Aw, sh—“ Mark started to say when Nate clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Casual!” Atlus added.
The others nodded, Nate removed his hand
and they all stood about as though they had been there a while, chatting. After all, it could have been anyone coming,
even Dean Harding, who everyone hated.
Instead of the strict teacher, Ms. Smith
and two younger women were walking towards them. As soon as they reached the students, the teacher started giving
them strips of paper.
“Huh?
What’s going on?” Mark asked.
"These are absence passes," she
explained, "But I don't think you'll be going to the Peace Diner just
yet."
"Is something wrong, Ms. Smith? You look pale," Atlus asked.
"You could say that," one of
the girls beside the teacher, Ellen, explained, "Mary and I just got this
note and we showed it to her."
"Lemme see that!" Mark
exclaimed and snatched the note from Ellen's grasp.
Nate stood beside him, reading the piece
of paper.
"It's from Igor and Philemon," the
latter said after a minute, "They want to see us at the Sun Mall's Velvet
Room immediately."
"I don't like the tone of
that," Brad, who had been quiet until now, said, "If both of them
sent that…!"
Mark nodded. “When it’s from Igor, there’s usually trouble. If it’s from him and Philemon, the
doo-doo’s goin’ to hit the fan.” He
always found it hard to restrain his language, but managed when teachers were
around.
“Looks like we’ve got battle ahead of
us,” Atlus agreed.
Ms. Smith nodded, finished passing out
the passes, "I think so, too. Now,
all of you get going!"
The group nodded and left the school
through the hole in the wall.