Fan Fiction ❯ Black Orchid ❯ Revelation of the Light ( Chapter 27 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

ARRGHH: F-! I screwed up!!! i was supposed to put deluge and the lightning fragment in last chapter... ah, well. I got them in this one. Anyways, I have lots to talk about. First, I want to reward my reviewers. Nobody got who the second blonde is, but Zanisha and Demon Surfer both got who the first one is. It's everybody's favorite clone. So yay! -hands Zanisha and Demon Surfer Montblanc plushies- And, just because you two are my most faithful readers, I'll let Aliasfan and Hislight fight over an Arc plushie. -tosses them a disgruntled looking plushie-I don't look like that!!!You do right now...
Hiroshige: anyways, I'd like to congradulate Demon Surfer for embarassing me by noting 7th Heaven's origins. No, Jing doesn't appear, I just stole the idea and name. 'Cause it's cool. And you'll probably recognize the next world. The only thing's I'll have stolen are the city's name, and the badguy (mr. whitehair), his name, and... um... the theme of the city. But, the cast will be different, and a whole lot of things will be different. But something's will be somewhat similar.I'd like to tell you all about a wonderful band called Burning Airlines. They're unheard of. If by any rare chance you happen to have their CD, Identikit, you'll highly enjoy seven chapters of my fic. If not, you can email me at hirohay@aol.com if you want the song. This chapter's BGM is "Surgeon's House" by Burning Airlines. Start playing it as soon as you start reading. Final note: I'm going camping. So i might post tomorrow. but, i won't be back 'til Sunday. Anyways, R&R everybody!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All across the prison, the only noise was the sound of grating metal as the barred doors slid back, metal bars, rusty with neglect and lack of use. Bleary eyed prisoners blinked in the waves of light and shadow, uncomprehending at their new found consciousness. Only two knew what was happening.
Dim lights flickered fitfully, and toughened boots stepped across the grungy floors. He smiled. Revenge would be so sweet after all these years, like a wine left to age. His blade scraped across the cement, leaving a trail of sparks behind him. He would get out of here. And he would find him.
His smile was like the devil's.


Where did my father find this photograph?

His blue eyes stared down at the picture. He missed her so much.

Where is the spite, the narrowed eyes?

Thoughts of the past brought back thoughts of Him. The cold, green eyes, the silvery hair.

She was so beautiful in black and white.

His thumb gently caressed her face on scrap of paper he held.

Anywhere else, would I recognize, this smile?

She was beautiful. That one smile, captured here forever.

(is it like mine?)

He smiled weakly. How he missed her.

Was this before she died...

A single, solemn tear hit the paper.

from making the best of it?

Shackles broke like glass as he stood up and swung his arms, the picture clutched in his fist. His eyes glowed harshly in the shadows as he strode out, grabbing his enormous blade as he left the cell. It dragged against the ground, setting off a shower of sparks. He swung it across the walls and ceiling as it came to rest on his shoulder, leaving deep gashes through the solid cement. He was getting out of here. And he would find Him.

Prehistory in tacked-up Polaroid.

They had crashed here, the two of them.

Some proof of a life nothing survived.

The guards had attacked. He had been overwhelmed.

Anger like amber, where they're fossilized.

He had shouted for her to run. She wouldn't leave him.

Maybe I like the way it dulls the light.

His fist clenched as he remembered what happened next.

Anaesthetized.

He had taken her.

Were we ever alive?

She had screamed his name.

Drawn of lines.

And he could do nothing more than shout hers.

So cold...

"Aerith!"


"Who are you?" demanded Orchid.
"Where's Leonhart?" the man screamed at them, gray trenchcoat flapping.
"What do you want with Squall?" growled out Arc.
"I'm gonna kill him!" yelled the man, waving his wickedly sharp gunblade at them.
"Why?" shouted back Arc.
"He gave me this scar!" responded the man, pointing at the cut across his face.
"And you gave him his!" growled Arc, as the man lunged at them.
"Seifer!" There was a clang of clashing blades, and when Orchid opened her eyes, there was a man standing in front of her, locking blades with Seifer.
"Strife..." growled Seifer.
"Leave them out of this!" roared Cloud, swinging his buster sword, knocking the other blonde away from him.
"I wanted to kill Leonhart, but since I can't, you're the next best thing!" yelled Seifer as lunged forwards again.
"So be it!" cried the spiky haired blonde.
Their swords clashed again and again as they fought, slashing at eachother, each looking for an opening in the other's defense. Sweat poured down their bodies as they fought at a level that Orchid and Arc could only dream of acheiving.
"Demonslash!" cried out Seifer as he began to whirlwind, his gunblade threatening to cut anything that came close.
"Omnislash!" responded Cloud, bursting into a blur of motion with his enourmous buster sword.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Seifer fell, his back slamming against the cement wall. He moved to get up, then froze as Cloud's blade came slicing down into the cement, mere inches from his head.
"You've lost, Almasy," said Cloud in a low growl. "And you're going to stay here."

So cold inside.

"No..." whispered Seifer, eyes wide with fear.

Were we ever alive?

"Yes."

So cold inside...

"You-you can't!"
"Watch me."

the surgeon's house tonight.



"Why was he so afraid?" asked Orchid as they walked down the halls with Cloud.
"Because," started the blonde haired warrior, "he know's they're coming."
"Who?" asked Arc suspiciously.
"The beings of light," Cloud responded shortly.
"What?" asked the trio in confusion.
"You've only seen darkness taking worlds," continued Cloud. "But the light's taking worlds. Darkness devouring light-hearted worlds, and light engulfing dark-hearted worlds. Like this one. This world reeked of darkness and shadows. Demons patrolled the hallways; Wedge and Biggs were two of only a few free humans in 7th Heaven. But now, as you can see, it's empty; the demons have dissappeared. The light's been cleansing it."
"So, if the light is taking over worlds too, why haven't we seen the opposite of the Heartless yet?" asked Orchid
"Because... it's so easy for someone to lose their heart..." answered Cloud, halting in his walk. "To let their light become extinguished in total darkness. To become a Heartless. But very few are taken by the light, to have all darkness removed from them."
"But isn't that a good thing?" she asked as the trio stopped behind him.
"No. Humans are both light and dark. That's what makes them human. It's easy to lose your light in the darknessbut only very few can reach that pure form, to have all shadow purged from them, to achieve that horrible, perfect state, devoid of humanity. They are the Shadowless."
Silence rang out at the name of the terrible beings.
"They are the burning beings of light," continued Cloud, starting to walk again. "They burn away all impurities. Love. Hate. Happiness. Sorrow. Glory. Regret. Everything human. They are powerful beyond reason. And they are coming."
Almost unconsciously, the trio's pace quickened. If they were enough to make a ruthless fighter like Seifer curl up like a child in the throes of a nightmare, then these Shadowless were certainly something to fear.
"What do they look like, kupo?" asked Montblanc.
"You'll know them when you see them," responded Cloud grimly. Then he paused. "Or maybe not."
He turned around suddenly to face them, his face a mask of cold seriousness as his blue eyes pierced the gloom to stare at them.
"Most of them, ones that have been totally been possessed by the light, look like burning white specters, beings of holy flame, insubstantial but no less dangerous," explained Cloud. He turned and continued talking as they walked down the hall. "But there are a few that have retained concsious thought, instead of becoming mindless vortexes of light. They are the elite, and are extremely powerful and deadly. While they have powers that make armies of Heartless tremble in fear, they still retain human form and intelligence. They may look human, but don't expect to be able to reason with them."
"We'll keep that in mind," said Arc solemnly as they reached the hangar that they had left their gummi ship in.
"What was Seifer imprisoned for?" asked Orchid.
"He attacked Squall and Rinoa in Hollow Bastion, five years ago," answered Arc. "He was protecting the Sorceress, a lady who was trying to overthrow Ansem's rule. He and Squall scarred each other, and Seifer nearly killed Rinoa."
"Oh..." said Orchid. It was strange to hear about people she had only heard of in other's stories.
"Here, take these," said Cloud as they turned to go to their ship. When Orchid turned back, he saw him holding a sphere of magic and a glowing shard. The orb was a deep blue color, and the fragment was an electric yellow.
"What are they?" asked Orchid as she took them.
"The magic is Deluge," responded Cloud. "It's a stronger version of the Water spell. I don't know what the fragment is, though it strongly radiates an aura of lightning."
Orchid took in the magic and felt a rushing sensation through her body, and momentarily felt as if she was drowning. When it was gone, she turned and tossed the shard to Montblanc. "You can have it. I don't think I need something to boost my lightning magic."
"Kupo?" murmured Montblanc as he caught the yellow sliver. It pulsed faintly in his hands.
"ReLeAsE mE."
Montblanc looked around, but no one else had heard the voice. Shrugging, he put the crystalline shard in a pocket and followed after Arc and Orchid.
"Hey, Cloud?" asked Orchid as they got into their gummi ship and Cloud walked over to another that was docked there. "Can't I lock this world, and keep the Shadowless from coming?"
"No," answered Cloud and Arc in unison. Cloud explained, "7th Heaven is only made of a fragment of a world. Even if you did find a keyhole, it wouldn't matter, since the world's heart is fully exposed. Within the month, I expect 7th Heaven will be gone."
"Then where are you going to go?" asked Orchid as he climbed into the gummi ship he chose to pilot.
"I..." he paused, eyes averted. "I'm going to find her."
The door closed, and moments later, the ship took off as Arc readied their ship for departure.
"Who do you think he was talking about?" asked Orchid as they took off.
"I think I might know..." murmured Arc under his breath as Montblanc shrugged.
Meanwhile, Cloud was murmuring some words of his own.
"I don't know what you did, Sephiroth, but I will find her."