Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Problems in the Mirror ❯ 3: Demon-Sages May or May Not Be There ( Chapter 3 )

COMMENTS: Again, these characters might SEEM original, but trust me, they aren't. Once I reveal my secret (which, to the savvy of you, I will almost immediately), I'll show you where you can find them. I'll tell you this, though: they're all characters of but not in a certain game. Which makes no sense now, but you'll see later.

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Problems in the Mirror

Teaser for Chapter 3.

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3: Demon-Sages May or May Not Be There

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1

Zell landed the Ragnarok as gently as he ever had. Ever since an unfortunate incident involving rust, jellyfish, a beached whale and nasty looks from several Galbadian fishermen, Zell had restrained from landing anywhere near beaches.

Unfortunately, Zell's determination to keep said incident from Ever- Happening- Again often led to long hikes. Today was such a day.

After cresting a grassy knoll covered with various colorful flowers, the hike to the Orphanage was a short trip downhill.

Until Zell took a step down the path and vanished.

Squall followed immediately to find himself in a forest.

"Squall!"

He turned to see Zell standing knee deep in a stream. A strange white cloud, rather like snow, fluttered around him. Some specks of white landed lightly on the black tattoo on his left cheek.

"Squall, where are we? Do you know what's happening?"

"No." Squall replied. "What are those things?"

Zell touched the speck of white on his cheek. "They're like snow. Like snow." Zell seemed to drift in a daze.

"Snowflies," provided a girl whom Squall could have sworn had not stood in the clearing a moment before. "They're called snowflies."

"Who are you?" Squall asked.

The girl smiled a distant, otherworldly smile. "I am Marlene, who shall be named a sage."

Squall noticed that she wore a symbol that he recognized as all too familiar- the signet in his mind when he summoned a certain GF. "Why are you wearing the sign of Diablo?"

"I wear the sign of my physical father. That you know his name I find surprising."

"Why?"

She inclined her head regally. "Come with me. Galerian should like to meet you, I think."

"You think a lot, don't you?" Zell asked.

"When one knows everything, there is little need for thought." She stressed the word 'knows' only mildly, her voice still distant.

"You know everything?"

"Not yet. But I will." She made her statement with a childlike piety, and Squall noticed how young she looked- she wasn't very tall, but she showed promise to be beautiful. Ears that swept lightly upwards, long, fine golden hair, skin a creamy pale: she reminded him of Quistis, except for her eyes. Her eyes were an uncanny color- a light gray tinged the white of her eyeballs, but her irises were a deep black, the same black as her pupils. She looked as frail as a pale young human child, but with a fey quality.

"Why?"

"I am the half-demon sage Marlene. You must come with me. It is very important."

They followed her down the path. It felt like hours, but they eventually reached an entrance to a great limestone city. A bridge made of a floating stone crossed over the water of the forest river to the city.

Squall glared at the floating cobblestone. It shouldn't exist. It couldn't exist. "What's that?"

"Oh, 'tis a cloudstone. 'Twill give a wobble when loomed in the foreground, but you needn't worry. You shan't fall off unless you jump."

With that, she climbed up a set of stairs and onto a structure. The cloudstone interlocked with a part of the structure and she stepped on it; but when Squall made to follow her, she, the city and the forest vanished.

They were only a few steps down the path to the Orphanage, and careening down towards them from atop the knoll was Quistis. She waved her arms rapidly, crying, out their names.

"What happened?" Zell asked. "D'ya think it's like time-travel?"

"Whatever."

"Where WERE you two? You completely vanished! I couldn't move past the hill!"

"Weird," Zell said.

"LEONHART! CHICKENWUSS!" A new voice cried out. Seifer emerged from the path, seemingly from nowhere.

"Where did you go?" Squall asked, grabbing Seifer by the collar and pulling him down to eye-level. He noticed that Seifer had finally gotten a sheath for his damned gunblade. The weapon was now slung in a back-sheath, a welcome change from the fighter carrying it on his shoulder all the time.

"To a forest," Seifer grunted. "Got stared at by some weird-eyed kid. Where were you?"

"Same."

Seifer nodded, then saluted, which Squall returned after a bit.