ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The closer they got to Sanctuary, the more worried Warrior seemed to get.
The more worried Warrior seemed to get, the more nervous the whole rest of the group became.
Rosa could see him trying to hid the subtle traces of anxiousness that he constantly tried to relax: the new furrow his eyebrows took on, the ever-increasing frown, the way his fists clenched and unclenched when he looked to Cosmos' throne, far off in the distance.
She wasn't certain if the others picked up on his nervous tics, but she was certain they were there. And tensions built with each new layer.
Warrior was their leader. Whether it was said out loud or not, he was. His very presence displayed precise control; he could take charge of a room just by walking in. He could efficiently command 19 people without trouble, because he knew what to do, and he issued instructions with such confidence he convinced them all of his way. Not in a tyrannical way, but a confident, assured way. It felt odd disobeying him even when his tasks became meticulous: proper fire-extinguishing and camp-breaking so they left hardly a trace, patrols and scouts watching down to a rock that looked out of place.
And yet, he was unraveling.
They all were, just because he was. They all were jittery, anxious, the closer they got. After a few more minutes of walking, Warrior stopped.
"I cannot feel Cosmos here anymore!" he yelled so suddenly that some of them jumped. "I have not been able to sense her for some time after we spotted her! This has never happened before. She should be the strongest presence I feel!"
His outburst was met with a thick silence, but none made an attempt to explain. Nobody could. Rosa scanned everyone's faces, looking for some hint of any understanding in anyone's visage. But everyone sat in the same near palpable silence. When the tension felt like it was about to snap, Vaan stepped up.
"You know, she could be waiting for us to get there! Yeah! Don't worry!"
Warrior stared disbelievingly at Vaan. "Something is wrong. Something. And this sluggish pace is tearing at me! Do NONE of you feel it? Do NONE of you sense something amiss?! If we get there, and something's happened . . . "
Rosa couldn't tell if that was a threat, or a sound of despair, because she could hear traces of both. He WANTED to threaten them, to push them forward, but he HAD to be cautious if he wanted to keep everyone safe.
Cecil slipped his arm from Rosa's, where it had stayed since his last bad episode. He went over to Warrior and put a hand on his shoulder. "What exactly are you feeling?" he said with so much concern it made Rosa's heart swell. "If Cosmos is in peril, then yes, we've much need to make haste. If you are uneasy about Cosmos, then we need to hurry back, but proceed further with caution. If you are just generally uneasy, with no direct link to her, then we need only proceed with caution from here on forward."
"I . . . It is linked to Cosmos."
"Tell us, friend."
"Before, a while ago, right after I first sensed Cosmos was gone, it felt like she was being suppressed. It faded slowly, but with an urgency, like she was scared. I assumed it was her lack of power that caused me to lose her, or that it was my mistake and she was fine. I forced myself to think she was fine, I suppose. I was too scared to think otherwise. I got a surge of unease while you were still unconscious, but I could do nothing while we were held down with you." Warrior looked at Cecil apologetically. Cecil nodded, unoffended, and he continued, "But then we saw her. I saw her, and it quelled all of my storms apart form one: I still couldn't sense her. He light was her own, and yet . . . "
Cecil nodded, and gripped Warrior's shoulder tightly. "Then we should hurry. I, too, feel we should be hurrying back to Sanctuary. I think we all do. Besides, Warrior, it could be as Vaan said. She could just be waiting for us to reach the throne."
Warrior raises his eyes to Cecil's, and the reassurance made the fog of doubt disappear in his own. He sighed, and stood up a bit straighter, nodding to the others. "Yes We shall hurry back to Cosmos."
They all turned and followed at his pace, a light jog, but Rosa still slipped in beside Cecil and gripped the hem of his cape where it covered his shoulder. He looked at her questioning and she smiled, careful not to make him angry. "Just so I don't lose you again," she said. He smiled, and she puffed a sigh of relief through her cheeks. "I think Warrior needed that reassurance," she told him. "He seems more comfortable now. That was very kind, what you did for him." She added near silently under her breath, "Maybe you're back to normal."
"Back to normal from what?" he asked. She nearly stumbled. She couldn't believe he heard her! When she looked up into his face he returned her gaze innocently, but for a second- not even, a fleeting fraction of a fraction of a second- she thought she saw a glint of something more in his eye. Like he knew something obvious that she overlooked. She inspected closer, but whatever she had seen, if there had been anything there at all, was gone. She gripped the hem of his cape a little tighter.
"Nothing," she assured him. "Just thinking out loud."
They maintained their easy pace all the way to about a half mile, Rosa guessed, outside of Sanctuary. Suddenly, Warrior started and broke into an all-out sprint.
"I can sense her again!" he yelled her over his shoulder. "She's there! Come, we haven't much time to lose!"
The rest sprinted after him, and they quickly came upon Sanctuary's border. Warrior broke through, and his excited new face dropped instantly.
Cosmos wasn't there.
"Comos?? Cosmos, we're here! Where are you?"
Silence. Not even the water dared to make a lap in the stillness.
"Cosmos!" he yelled, running to her throne. "I . . . I don't understand! She should be here! I- she- . . . I sensed her! I felt her presence! I feel it now! She's here!"
"But she's not showing herself?" Firion asked hesitantly. He spun in a slow circle, scanning all of Sanctuary. "Cosmos!!" he yelled more forcefully.
Cecil looked the most visibly confused. "I . . . thought . . . I don't understand . . . I thought she'd be here! She was supposed to be here!"
"She IS here!" Light yelled. "We can TELL she's here! She just doesn't wanna come out and face us! Tch! She picked an EXCELLENT time to be a coward-"
"Cosmos is NOT a coward!" Warrior yelled.
"Then WHY won't she show herself?!" Lightning yelled back. "Why show up, so we KNOW she's here, then chicken out? She's hiding on purpose!"
"Yeah, this doesn't make sense," Tidus added. He put down his blitzball for better emphasis. "Look, we were all here." He put his finger on a spot in the air. "Sanctuary. Cecil got nabbed." His other finger on his other hand drifted away to another spot. "So we followed Cecil, and Cosmos left." His pinkie became Cosmos, who separated the opposite way of his pointer finger. "We got Cecil." His two pointer fingers connected. "But when we went back to Cosmos, she's gone?" He scratched his head. "Wait, I'm confused. Lemme start over-"
"No!" they all said at once. The awkward silence that followed echoed with their voices.
"Come on, guy. Don't you think you're being a LITTLE too hard on her? What if something happened to her?" Zidane said, scratching the back of his head. "She could be in trouble right now! And we're sitting here arguing!"
"Then why is her presence here, where we all can sense it?" Onion said.
No one had an answer for him.
Laguna spoke up next, "Look, ok, so this looks bad! No amour of reason will change that. But I think the SAFE thing to do would be to give her the benefit of the doubt! If she IS in trouble-"
"Then we should go after her! Why show up for the performance, then chicken out? Cosmos doesn't strike me as the kind of woman who gets stage fright," Zidane finished.
A collection of "yeahs" rang out, but a loud snort from Squall cut everyone off. "Fine. But where do we look for her? She's here. So we leave to look for her? That's stupid."
"We'd be going in circles!" Tidus agreed. "And plus, you're all talking about her like she's not listening somewhere!"
"That's the thing- we don't know that she is!" Tifa said. "This could be some kind of trick. There's nothing to disprove either of our theories. The thing to do would be to test them! And how do we do that if we don't look for her?"
"Right," Firion said, nodding to Warrior. "Let's look for her, first. This is a trick of some sort."
Zack shrugged. "A trick? Not a trick? Whatever. If someone's in trouble, I'm here to help."
Rosa watched the whole exchange, unwilling to take sides. She couldn't decide for herself which she thought to be the case: Cosmos hiding, or a trick of some sort, and her in trouble. Evidence pointed to the former, but it was all circumstantial. On the other hand, Warrior was CLEARLY distressed, and he had the closest link to the goddess out of all of them.
Still, though, something wasn't right. Something beyond Cosmos being there or not. Between Golbez, Cecil's behavior, Kefka, Ultimecia, Exdeath, and the Emperor's lack of movement or action, and Cosmos' anomaly, something didn't sit well. The pieces didn't fit. There was no link there. No connection. She felt all over again like a lost puppy, stumbling blindly through a fog of ignorance and doubt. Only instead of blurry memories making up the fog it was a plan well beyond any of their knowledge. Someone out there on the other side knew what they were doing. Whether it was the Emperor, Ultimecia, maybe even Chaos himself, there was no way of knowing.
She was about to voice her concern just as they all (some a bit grudgingly) turned their backs to the throne to start searching. But a sharp, powerful tug on her hand nearly wrenched her arm from the socket.
"Cecil!" she cried angrily, spinning to face him. As soon as she did, however, her anger left her.
His one hand was pressed to his temple. The other began squeezing her hand so hard she felt the bones in her wrist gnash together. She cried out, pulled her hand as hard as she could, but his grip was too tight. Tears sprang to her eyes and she shut them tight, bracing for the pain that would come if he broke her hand. Suddenly, the pressure released and she was free. She staggered back, cradling her hand against her chest, and watched Cecil press her other hand to his temple.
"I- . . . I don't understand!" he yelled, doubling over. "C-Cosmos . . . where IS she?" he cried out, staggering back. Dark orbs began to pool around his fists and he screamed again. He straightened up with a gasp and shifted to Dark Knight. He paced angrily. "She SHOULD be here! The coward!"
"Uuuh, YEAH, Cecil, we already es-TABLISHED that!" Light said snidely.
"She's HIDING. She's hiding from us!" His fists clenched so hard they shook. He called his spear to his hands.
"Glad you're caught up-" Zidane said lightly as something of a joke.
Cecil spun and in one smooth motion launched his dark spear at Zidane. He dove to the side just in time, his tail avoiding near impalement. He glared at Cecil. "What the HELL, man?!"
"She need found," he said simply. "Now. We must find her, the coward, and-"
"And do WHAT, hot shot?" Laguna yelled. "What would you do? Attack her?? Cuz you've got 18 people right here who'll NOT let that happen!"
"Why are you so upset?" Bartz asked, putting his hands up, palm out in a calming gesture. "This isn't like you. We're all mad too, Cecil. But we're gonna find her! Calm down, ok? Let's take it easy, now-"
"Because she was sup-POSED to be here form the START! She SHOULD have been waiting for when we got back!"
"Yeah, we KNOW, Cecil!" Zidane yelled irritably.
"No, you don't understand! He said-" Cecil cut off abruptly.
"Who said? Was it Golbez? Cecil??" Rosa prodded.
His hands went to his temples again, and he said in a voice tight with pain, "Sh- she's hiding from us! Too cowardly to face us! I'll find her," he warned in between ragged breaths. "And she'll not be happy when I do!" He pushed past all of them and began walking to the edge of Sanctuary.
"What? What did Golbez tell you? Cecil!" Rosa chased after him. He kept on strolling. She thought he was going to leave Sanctuary, but he stopped right on the edge to pace angrily. Watching him tear back and forth in a way that was so uncharacteristic of him it reminded her of something. She watched him, willing it to come back to her-
There! She saw it! Right before her first battle ever in this realm, the Emperor had paced exactly the same way.
The Emperor.
She ran to the center of the group. "Keep your eye on him," she said to Kain as she passed. Then she addressed the whole crowd. "Do any of you remember what the Emperor said? Right before he returned Cecil to us?"
"I remember," Firion said. "He said that if Cosmos failed to give us answers then he would." He saw the look on her face. "You think we should talk to the Emperor?!" he asked incredulously.
"Absolutely not!" Warrior yelled.
"But this is exactly what he said would happen!" she argued.
"That's probably because he PLANNED it himself! Did you ever think of that?" Firion asked her. "That's the way he WORKS! HE is probably keeping Cosmos from us! It makes sense now! HE'S trying to lure us to him, straight into a trap!"
To be honest, as soon as she thought of him herself, it had crossed her mind. But no matter how they looked at it, or who they guessed was right, ALL of the pieces still didn't fit. Cecil didn't fit at all. The light they saw from the distance, she wasn't sure that any of the warrior of Chaos could replicate it. What's more, Warrior would have sensed a fiend of Chaos. The fact that he hadn't, and still didn't, was an extremely large clue.
And the biggest clue, she noticed, was the warriors' presences here now. If Cosmos was being injured or killed, they'd have disappeared.
When she voiced her opinion, Firion shook his head. "Does it MATTER if the Emperor planned any of it or not anyway? The point is is that it IS a set-up! I can't believe you're actually considering trusting not only his actions, but also his words! You, of all people . . . " He didn't need to finish. She hadn't forgotten what the Emperor did to her, and her glare told him that. He looked away.
She softened her gaze after a moment. "Listen, what other choice eco we have?"
"We could go after Cosmos!" Warrior said. "I thought that was what we decided already!"
She played her trump card. "I also think maybe he could help Cecil."
They all sat in pensive silence. Each had its own risks. If they went after Cosmos, where would they even look if she was hiding? If she was injured, they still don't know where to look. If she was captured, it wasn't likely, but then what? Beg her captors to let her go? And if they trust the Emperor, they could walk into a trap.
"Cecil is the only tie to all of this, and he's not in his right mind. Maybe, with a clear head, he could help us make sense of all of this. You owe it to him," she guilted them. "Maybe . . . Maybe this is exactly what they're planning," she finished to herself.
"Then let's ask HIM!" Bartz said, clapping his hands together. "Yeah! He'll be the decider of what we do!"
"But he's CRAZY-" Zidane yelled. Bartz held up his hand to silence him.
"Now, it's HIS decision, so no arguing after he picks, ok?" He looked at everyone in the crowd to close the matter. Rosa held her breath, expecting another objection, but they all seemed to respect the fact that it should be Cecil's decision. Bartz looked to her and raised an eyebrow and she nodded her permission to him.
"Heeey! Cecil!! Ceeeecil!"
"Hold on, I'll ask him," Rosa said. "So far it seems that I'm the only one that can bring him back."
"You, and a good slap," Vaan added.
"Well, yes, but I think both he and I would prefer that his face remain intact, hm?" she countered. She strode hesitantly over to Cecil, still pacing angrily, muttering incoherently to himself. She put herself right in his path and calmly called, "Cecil? Cecil!" Just as he did before, he roughly shoved past her like he didn't see her. She staggered back, and Kain angrily strode past her to apprehend him, but she grabbed his arm. "Wait, Kain," she said simply.
Rosa followed behind Cecil's angry pace. "Cecil, please, listen to me! Listen to my voice. It's Rosa! Don't you know me?-"
He froze, his right foot in front of his left. She relaxed, thinking she got through to him. "Cecil? Are you alright?" Her steps towards him made small splashed in the water that were unusually loud. She glanced back at Kain and the others. All of them were staring wide-eyed at their exchange. She continued hesitantly and reached out for his shoulder. "Cecil, we-"
He whipped around and she jumped back, landing heavily and off-balanced. She couldn't recover as his arm drew and back and he hurled his spear right for her chest. She screamed and braced for the deadly pain that she knew would come when the spear struck her.
But instead of a spear, a hand pressed to the top of her sternum and shoved her back. She was thrown on her back, and when she somersaulted to her feet, Kain stood between her and Cecil. He spun his lance to his left hand and put it back at the ready, while Cecil's spear lay harmlessly off to one side.
Cecil's heavy, ragged breaths gradually subsided to light panting. "R-Rosa?" he asked hesitantly, squinting at her like she were fuzzy before his eyes. He suddenly cried out and collapsed in the next instant, trembling violently. Rosa could only watch as he screamed, arching his back and shoulders against another spasm, rolling onto his side and tossing back again while the darkness melted and dripped off his armor again. Gradually, painfully, the white faded through like a light house amidst the storm clouds. As the darkness deteriorated, it hissed int he water of Sanctuary, then dissolved into nothing, until Cecil lay still, clad in his Paladin armor once more.
She got up on shaky knees and stumbled over to him where he lay. She looked into his face and saw tears welling up in his eyes behind the dread and pain and fear.
"Wh . . . what happened?" he asked in a weak, shaky voice. "I heard you cry out, and then I- I . . . where are we?! How did I . . . "
"Shh! It's alright! You're safe, and I'm ok." She tried to sound reassuring, but he shook his head.
"I can't recall before that! I'm scared, Rose."
"I know, Cecil. And we want to help. Listen, I think the Emperor may be able to help you. But it's up t you whether you want to go or not. Whatever you decide is up to you, just, please . . . tell us how to help you."
"H-help?" He looked around, confused.
"Yes. Can we take you to the Emperor?"
He nodded. "He can help," he said.
She nodded back. "Alright."
He relaxed against the water. Without warning, he shot back up and grabbed her arm. "N-no! Rosa! D- don't let me . . . d-don't . . . let me . . . " he trailed off. He fell back to the water, unconscious.
Kain's footsteps clanked up behind her. "Is he alright?"
"He's fine. Just exhausted from all this, I think. Will you carry him?" she asked. He nodded, and pulled Cecil gently up from the ground, hefting him over his shoulder again.
Rosa straightened up and looked to the others. "We're going to see the Emperor."
The more worried Warrior seemed to get, the more nervous the whole rest of the group became.
Rosa could see him trying to hid the subtle traces of anxiousness that he constantly tried to relax: the new furrow his eyebrows took on, the ever-increasing frown, the way his fists clenched and unclenched when he looked to Cosmos' throne, far off in the distance.
She wasn't certain if the others picked up on his nervous tics, but she was certain they were there. And tensions built with each new layer.
Warrior was their leader. Whether it was said out loud or not, he was. His very presence displayed precise control; he could take charge of a room just by walking in. He could efficiently command 19 people without trouble, because he knew what to do, and he issued instructions with such confidence he convinced them all of his way. Not in a tyrannical way, but a confident, assured way. It felt odd disobeying him even when his tasks became meticulous: proper fire-extinguishing and camp-breaking so they left hardly a trace, patrols and scouts watching down to a rock that looked out of place.
And yet, he was unraveling.
They all were, just because he was. They all were jittery, anxious, the closer they got. After a few more minutes of walking, Warrior stopped.
"I cannot feel Cosmos here anymore!" he yelled so suddenly that some of them jumped. "I have not been able to sense her for some time after we spotted her! This has never happened before. She should be the strongest presence I feel!"
His outburst was met with a thick silence, but none made an attempt to explain. Nobody could. Rosa scanned everyone's faces, looking for some hint of any understanding in anyone's visage. But everyone sat in the same near palpable silence. When the tension felt like it was about to snap, Vaan stepped up.
"You know, she could be waiting for us to get there! Yeah! Don't worry!"
Warrior stared disbelievingly at Vaan. "Something is wrong. Something. And this sluggish pace is tearing at me! Do NONE of you feel it? Do NONE of you sense something amiss?! If we get there, and something's happened . . . "
Rosa couldn't tell if that was a threat, or a sound of despair, because she could hear traces of both. He WANTED to threaten them, to push them forward, but he HAD to be cautious if he wanted to keep everyone safe.
Cecil slipped his arm from Rosa's, where it had stayed since his last bad episode. He went over to Warrior and put a hand on his shoulder. "What exactly are you feeling?" he said with so much concern it made Rosa's heart swell. "If Cosmos is in peril, then yes, we've much need to make haste. If you are uneasy about Cosmos, then we need to hurry back, but proceed further with caution. If you are just generally uneasy, with no direct link to her, then we need only proceed with caution from here on forward."
"I . . . It is linked to Cosmos."
"Tell us, friend."
"Before, a while ago, right after I first sensed Cosmos was gone, it felt like she was being suppressed. It faded slowly, but with an urgency, like she was scared. I assumed it was her lack of power that caused me to lose her, or that it was my mistake and she was fine. I forced myself to think she was fine, I suppose. I was too scared to think otherwise. I got a surge of unease while you were still unconscious, but I could do nothing while we were held down with you." Warrior looked at Cecil apologetically. Cecil nodded, unoffended, and he continued, "But then we saw her. I saw her, and it quelled all of my storms apart form one: I still couldn't sense her. He light was her own, and yet . . . "
Cecil nodded, and gripped Warrior's shoulder tightly. "Then we should hurry. I, too, feel we should be hurrying back to Sanctuary. I think we all do. Besides, Warrior, it could be as Vaan said. She could just be waiting for us to reach the throne."
Warrior raises his eyes to Cecil's, and the reassurance made the fog of doubt disappear in his own. He sighed, and stood up a bit straighter, nodding to the others. "Yes We shall hurry back to Cosmos."
They all turned and followed at his pace, a light jog, but Rosa still slipped in beside Cecil and gripped the hem of his cape where it covered his shoulder. He looked at her questioning and she smiled, careful not to make him angry. "Just so I don't lose you again," she said. He smiled, and she puffed a sigh of relief through her cheeks. "I think Warrior needed that reassurance," she told him. "He seems more comfortable now. That was very kind, what you did for him." She added near silently under her breath, "Maybe you're back to normal."
"Back to normal from what?" he asked. She nearly stumbled. She couldn't believe he heard her! When she looked up into his face he returned her gaze innocently, but for a second- not even, a fleeting fraction of a fraction of a second- she thought she saw a glint of something more in his eye. Like he knew something obvious that she overlooked. She inspected closer, but whatever she had seen, if there had been anything there at all, was gone. She gripped the hem of his cape a little tighter.
"Nothing," she assured him. "Just thinking out loud."
They maintained their easy pace all the way to about a half mile, Rosa guessed, outside of Sanctuary. Suddenly, Warrior started and broke into an all-out sprint.
"I can sense her again!" he yelled her over his shoulder. "She's there! Come, we haven't much time to lose!"
The rest sprinted after him, and they quickly came upon Sanctuary's border. Warrior broke through, and his excited new face dropped instantly.
Cosmos wasn't there.
"Comos?? Cosmos, we're here! Where are you?"
Silence. Not even the water dared to make a lap in the stillness.
"Cosmos!" he yelled, running to her throne. "I . . . I don't understand! She should be here! I- she- . . . I sensed her! I felt her presence! I feel it now! She's here!"
"But she's not showing herself?" Firion asked hesitantly. He spun in a slow circle, scanning all of Sanctuary. "Cosmos!!" he yelled more forcefully.
Cecil looked the most visibly confused. "I . . . thought . . . I don't understand . . . I thought she'd be here! She was supposed to be here!"
"She IS here!" Light yelled. "We can TELL she's here! She just doesn't wanna come out and face us! Tch! She picked an EXCELLENT time to be a coward-"
"Cosmos is NOT a coward!" Warrior yelled.
"Then WHY won't she show herself?!" Lightning yelled back. "Why show up, so we KNOW she's here, then chicken out? She's hiding on purpose!"
"Yeah, this doesn't make sense," Tidus added. He put down his blitzball for better emphasis. "Look, we were all here." He put his finger on a spot in the air. "Sanctuary. Cecil got nabbed." His other finger on his other hand drifted away to another spot. "So we followed Cecil, and Cosmos left." His pinkie became Cosmos, who separated the opposite way of his pointer finger. "We got Cecil." His two pointer fingers connected. "But when we went back to Cosmos, she's gone?" He scratched his head. "Wait, I'm confused. Lemme start over-"
"No!" they all said at once. The awkward silence that followed echoed with their voices.
"Come on, guy. Don't you think you're being a LITTLE too hard on her? What if something happened to her?" Zidane said, scratching the back of his head. "She could be in trouble right now! And we're sitting here arguing!"
"Then why is her presence here, where we all can sense it?" Onion said.
No one had an answer for him.
Laguna spoke up next, "Look, ok, so this looks bad! No amour of reason will change that. But I think the SAFE thing to do would be to give her the benefit of the doubt! If she IS in trouble-"
"Then we should go after her! Why show up for the performance, then chicken out? Cosmos doesn't strike me as the kind of woman who gets stage fright," Zidane finished.
A collection of "yeahs" rang out, but a loud snort from Squall cut everyone off. "Fine. But where do we look for her? She's here. So we leave to look for her? That's stupid."
"We'd be going in circles!" Tidus agreed. "And plus, you're all talking about her like she's not listening somewhere!"
"That's the thing- we don't know that she is!" Tifa said. "This could be some kind of trick. There's nothing to disprove either of our theories. The thing to do would be to test them! And how do we do that if we don't look for her?"
"Right," Firion said, nodding to Warrior. "Let's look for her, first. This is a trick of some sort."
Zack shrugged. "A trick? Not a trick? Whatever. If someone's in trouble, I'm here to help."
Rosa watched the whole exchange, unwilling to take sides. She couldn't decide for herself which she thought to be the case: Cosmos hiding, or a trick of some sort, and her in trouble. Evidence pointed to the former, but it was all circumstantial. On the other hand, Warrior was CLEARLY distressed, and he had the closest link to the goddess out of all of them.
Still, though, something wasn't right. Something beyond Cosmos being there or not. Between Golbez, Cecil's behavior, Kefka, Ultimecia, Exdeath, and the Emperor's lack of movement or action, and Cosmos' anomaly, something didn't sit well. The pieces didn't fit. There was no link there. No connection. She felt all over again like a lost puppy, stumbling blindly through a fog of ignorance and doubt. Only instead of blurry memories making up the fog it was a plan well beyond any of their knowledge. Someone out there on the other side knew what they were doing. Whether it was the Emperor, Ultimecia, maybe even Chaos himself, there was no way of knowing.
She was about to voice her concern just as they all (some a bit grudgingly) turned their backs to the throne to start searching. But a sharp, powerful tug on her hand nearly wrenched her arm from the socket.
"Cecil!" she cried angrily, spinning to face him. As soon as she did, however, her anger left her.
His one hand was pressed to his temple. The other began squeezing her hand so hard she felt the bones in her wrist gnash together. She cried out, pulled her hand as hard as she could, but his grip was too tight. Tears sprang to her eyes and she shut them tight, bracing for the pain that would come if he broke her hand. Suddenly, the pressure released and she was free. She staggered back, cradling her hand against her chest, and watched Cecil press her other hand to his temple.
"I- . . . I don't understand!" he yelled, doubling over. "C-Cosmos . . . where IS she?" he cried out, staggering back. Dark orbs began to pool around his fists and he screamed again. He straightened up with a gasp and shifted to Dark Knight. He paced angrily. "She SHOULD be here! The coward!"
"Uuuh, YEAH, Cecil, we already es-TABLISHED that!" Light said snidely.
"She's HIDING. She's hiding from us!" His fists clenched so hard they shook. He called his spear to his hands.
"Glad you're caught up-" Zidane said lightly as something of a joke.
Cecil spun and in one smooth motion launched his dark spear at Zidane. He dove to the side just in time, his tail avoiding near impalement. He glared at Cecil. "What the HELL, man?!"
"She need found," he said simply. "Now. We must find her, the coward, and-"
"And do WHAT, hot shot?" Laguna yelled. "What would you do? Attack her?? Cuz you've got 18 people right here who'll NOT let that happen!"
"Why are you so upset?" Bartz asked, putting his hands up, palm out in a calming gesture. "This isn't like you. We're all mad too, Cecil. But we're gonna find her! Calm down, ok? Let's take it easy, now-"
"Because she was sup-POSED to be here form the START! She SHOULD have been waiting for when we got back!"
"Yeah, we KNOW, Cecil!" Zidane yelled irritably.
"No, you don't understand! He said-" Cecil cut off abruptly.
"Who said? Was it Golbez? Cecil??" Rosa prodded.
His hands went to his temples again, and he said in a voice tight with pain, "Sh- she's hiding from us! Too cowardly to face us! I'll find her," he warned in between ragged breaths. "And she'll not be happy when I do!" He pushed past all of them and began walking to the edge of Sanctuary.
"What? What did Golbez tell you? Cecil!" Rosa chased after him. He kept on strolling. She thought he was going to leave Sanctuary, but he stopped right on the edge to pace angrily. Watching him tear back and forth in a way that was so uncharacteristic of him it reminded her of something. She watched him, willing it to come back to her-
There! She saw it! Right before her first battle ever in this realm, the Emperor had paced exactly the same way.
The Emperor.
She ran to the center of the group. "Keep your eye on him," she said to Kain as she passed. Then she addressed the whole crowd. "Do any of you remember what the Emperor said? Right before he returned Cecil to us?"
"I remember," Firion said. "He said that if Cosmos failed to give us answers then he would." He saw the look on her face. "You think we should talk to the Emperor?!" he asked incredulously.
"Absolutely not!" Warrior yelled.
"But this is exactly what he said would happen!" she argued.
"That's probably because he PLANNED it himself! Did you ever think of that?" Firion asked her. "That's the way he WORKS! HE is probably keeping Cosmos from us! It makes sense now! HE'S trying to lure us to him, straight into a trap!"
To be honest, as soon as she thought of him herself, it had crossed her mind. But no matter how they looked at it, or who they guessed was right, ALL of the pieces still didn't fit. Cecil didn't fit at all. The light they saw from the distance, she wasn't sure that any of the warrior of Chaos could replicate it. What's more, Warrior would have sensed a fiend of Chaos. The fact that he hadn't, and still didn't, was an extremely large clue.
And the biggest clue, she noticed, was the warriors' presences here now. If Cosmos was being injured or killed, they'd have disappeared.
When she voiced her opinion, Firion shook his head. "Does it MATTER if the Emperor planned any of it or not anyway? The point is is that it IS a set-up! I can't believe you're actually considering trusting not only his actions, but also his words! You, of all people . . . " He didn't need to finish. She hadn't forgotten what the Emperor did to her, and her glare told him that. He looked away.
She softened her gaze after a moment. "Listen, what other choice eco we have?"
"We could go after Cosmos!" Warrior said. "I thought that was what we decided already!"
She played her trump card. "I also think maybe he could help Cecil."
They all sat in pensive silence. Each had its own risks. If they went after Cosmos, where would they even look if she was hiding? If she was injured, they still don't know where to look. If she was captured, it wasn't likely, but then what? Beg her captors to let her go? And if they trust the Emperor, they could walk into a trap.
"Cecil is the only tie to all of this, and he's not in his right mind. Maybe, with a clear head, he could help us make sense of all of this. You owe it to him," she guilted them. "Maybe . . . Maybe this is exactly what they're planning," she finished to herself.
"Then let's ask HIM!" Bartz said, clapping his hands together. "Yeah! He'll be the decider of what we do!"
"But he's CRAZY-" Zidane yelled. Bartz held up his hand to silence him.
"Now, it's HIS decision, so no arguing after he picks, ok?" He looked at everyone in the crowd to close the matter. Rosa held her breath, expecting another objection, but they all seemed to respect the fact that it should be Cecil's decision. Bartz looked to her and raised an eyebrow and she nodded her permission to him.
"Heeey! Cecil!! Ceeeecil!"
"Hold on, I'll ask him," Rosa said. "So far it seems that I'm the only one that can bring him back."
"You, and a good slap," Vaan added.
"Well, yes, but I think both he and I would prefer that his face remain intact, hm?" she countered. She strode hesitantly over to Cecil, still pacing angrily, muttering incoherently to himself. She put herself right in his path and calmly called, "Cecil? Cecil!" Just as he did before, he roughly shoved past her like he didn't see her. She staggered back, and Kain angrily strode past her to apprehend him, but she grabbed his arm. "Wait, Kain," she said simply.
Rosa followed behind Cecil's angry pace. "Cecil, please, listen to me! Listen to my voice. It's Rosa! Don't you know me?-"
He froze, his right foot in front of his left. She relaxed, thinking she got through to him. "Cecil? Are you alright?" Her steps towards him made small splashed in the water that were unusually loud. She glanced back at Kain and the others. All of them were staring wide-eyed at their exchange. She continued hesitantly and reached out for his shoulder. "Cecil, we-"
He whipped around and she jumped back, landing heavily and off-balanced. She couldn't recover as his arm drew and back and he hurled his spear right for her chest. She screamed and braced for the deadly pain that she knew would come when the spear struck her.
But instead of a spear, a hand pressed to the top of her sternum and shoved her back. She was thrown on her back, and when she somersaulted to her feet, Kain stood between her and Cecil. He spun his lance to his left hand and put it back at the ready, while Cecil's spear lay harmlessly off to one side.
Cecil's heavy, ragged breaths gradually subsided to light panting. "R-Rosa?" he asked hesitantly, squinting at her like she were fuzzy before his eyes. He suddenly cried out and collapsed in the next instant, trembling violently. Rosa could only watch as he screamed, arching his back and shoulders against another spasm, rolling onto his side and tossing back again while the darkness melted and dripped off his armor again. Gradually, painfully, the white faded through like a light house amidst the storm clouds. As the darkness deteriorated, it hissed int he water of Sanctuary, then dissolved into nothing, until Cecil lay still, clad in his Paladin armor once more.
She got up on shaky knees and stumbled over to him where he lay. She looked into his face and saw tears welling up in his eyes behind the dread and pain and fear.
"Wh . . . what happened?" he asked in a weak, shaky voice. "I heard you cry out, and then I- I . . . where are we?! How did I . . . "
"Shh! It's alright! You're safe, and I'm ok." She tried to sound reassuring, but he shook his head.
"I can't recall before that! I'm scared, Rose."
"I know, Cecil. And we want to help. Listen, I think the Emperor may be able to help you. But it's up t you whether you want to go or not. Whatever you decide is up to you, just, please . . . tell us how to help you."
"H-help?" He looked around, confused.
"Yes. Can we take you to the Emperor?"
He nodded. "He can help," he said.
She nodded back. "Alright."
He relaxed against the water. Without warning, he shot back up and grabbed her arm. "N-no! Rosa! D- don't let me . . . d-don't . . . let me . . . " he trailed off. He fell back to the water, unconscious.
Kain's footsteps clanked up behind her. "Is he alright?"
"He's fine. Just exhausted from all this, I think. Will you carry him?" she asked. He nodded, and pulled Cecil gently up from the ground, hefting him over his shoulder again.
Rosa straightened up and looked to the others. "We're going to see the Emperor."
Suggested Collections
Featured in Groups
OMG OMG OMG!!! I seriously almost leaked this chapter, too!!! CRAP CRAP CRAP I gotta STOP doing that!!!!! Sorry!!! Anyway, this one's a long one!! They're gong to see the Emperor! They're falling right into his trap!! Will they figure it out and escape? Or will the Emperor reach his end game? Stay tuned to find out!! Thank you so much to 
and 
. And all my readers!
and . And all my readers! © 2015 - 2024 brynhildr13
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In