Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Ashes Can Dance ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

"I'll never get this spell right..." Starki sighed.

Yet again she was trying to cast a simple fire spell, and yet again she failed to do it. She looked up to Lulu; she was a great mage who helped take down the evil Sin along side Yuna. She has looked up to Lulu since she was a little girl and her mother; Rikku who also looked up to Lulu, told her stories about the mage.

"Let's heat this up..."

Starki copied what Lulu would say before casting a fire spell. She slowly lifted up her hand and swung it down hugging her plushie to her side and making a small fire on a near-by tree.

"Alright!!! I got it!"

Starki hopped around the small yard as a bored Salci watched her.

"Sis...? Can we go now?" Whined a bored Salci.

"Just once more Sal!"

Starki smirked and lifted her hand.

"Need a little heat- ECK!"

Starki jumped about 16 feet into air after seeing a bug and casted the spell into her little sister; who was set on fire and also running about the yard.

"Starki!! What the!! AAHHH!! Ow, ow, ow!! Hot, hot, hot!!"

"Sorry Salci!"

Starki grabbed her plushie and knocked the bug into the air and casted water on Salci. But sadly like Starki's other spells it failed.

"Starki!! HELP!!"

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder!"

"I am trying my hardest!"

"HOT!! HOT!!"

After about 4 trys Starki casted water and put up the fire on her little sister; who shocking lived to tell the tale about Starki first magic spells.

"I think you burned off all my hair."

Salci rubbed her head to check and lucky for her the only thing that got burned was her shirt.

"I'll never be able to do black magic as good as Lulu..."

Starki sighed.

"Starki... Cheer up! You can do it in time, maybe be better then Lulu!"

Starki looked up as Salci handed her the magic plushie.

"You think so Salci?"

"I know so Starki!"

"Thanks..."

Starki smiled at her younger sister who was always full of energy. Starki then looked down at the rag plushie in her hands thinking about how Lulu felt when she was watching over Lady Yuna, maybe... Just maybe Lulu felt like a big sister and maybe... Like Starki she was scared for her little sister.

"Starki!"

Little Salci yelled to her sister to snap her out of a daze.

"Huh?!"

Starki jumped a little then smiled down to Salci.

"Little jumpy?"

"Nah..."

Both girls laughed, but their laughing was stopped by a sudden darkness taken over the small town of Deli. Loud crashes came down around the towns edge; as if the sky were falling down around them.

The sky continued to grow dark, then into a deadly blood red. Unwelcomed screams and cries took over the small town as people fled out to the street. An erie smoke took over the view from the eastern sky, and the smell of blood and ash came across Salci's and Starki's noses.

Salci stared in shock and fear at the surroundings, as her home began to crumble before her very eyes. Salci felt a warm soft hand grab onto her own hand tightly and pull her backwards.

"Salci come on!" said Starki; her voice filled with fear.

But girls fled the other way; running as fast as thier legs would take them, away from the black sky and the sound of cries. The town of Deli was filling more and more with the stench of death.

"Sis!! What's happening!" Salci cried out; trying to keep up with Starki.

"I don't know... Keep running!"

Starki didn't know where they'd run to.

Everything around them caught fire, making a small ring trapping them inside. Ashes came down from the heavens; if it were raining ashes. Gun shots were heard coming from behind them. Then, a coughing moan crying out for help. This lating for mere seconds turn into nothing but a soft quiteness.

Starki felt the ashes burning her eyes shut as she clung closer to Salci.

"Starki?"

"What... Sal?"

"I want mommy..."

"Sal.. it'll be- Oh shit! Mom's still home!"

Salci's eyes began to fill with heavy beady tears.

"What if she-"

"Don't say it Salci, we have to get out of here and find her!" Starki's fear started to grow slowly as she thought about her mother.

'What if she was trapped inside thier home. What if she's hurt.'

Just then, the strong wind and the dark sky started to fade slowly; the sky turned from black to a red-ish brown, and the wind was slowly starting to let up. There were no more screaming cries or people yelling for help, only a deady silence over took the two little girls. The fire around the two girls kept burning; the smoke stinging there eyes.

"Starki... I want mommy."

Salci as she went limp, her eyes rolled back in her head and she drooped forward; she had fainted.

"Sal... Don't!! You can't leave me now!"

Starki shook the limp body of her little sister.

"Please..."

Tears filled up in the young 1/2 Al Bhed's eyes.

The calm was broken by a loud crash near-by. The ground under Starki shook knocking her off her feet as she fell into some mud face first. Gaining her senses from out of a daze Starki knelt by Salci's limp body and picked her up putting her on her back.

Starki's feet sank into the mud with the extra cargo she was carrying. Feeling weak Starki took a small step forward only to fall down, dropping Salci to the ground next to her. The ring of fire moved in around them; moving in for the kill.

Starki gasped for air, the fire closing in around them was making it harder for her to breathe. The more she waited the worse it got. Every second began to count and time slipped away; water in cupped hands, it was now or never.

Starki stood up slowly and with the last bit of strength she had, she pulled her little sister on her back and ran as fast as she could right through the hot flames; this was stupid, yes, but it saved her very life.

As she ran right through the bright flames she could feel her skin start to burn, she couldn't see, couldn't breathe, and couldn't think.

Starki soon found herself in cold air; she could breathe again. The girl stopped running when she was about ten feet away from the fire, and fell forward hard on her knees. Her little sister rolled off her back and layed limply on the ground. Starki's eyes were burnt; she couldn't see from all the ash in her eyes.

Warm tears rolled down her cheeks, washing away the ash, but not washing away the pain. Slowly picking herself off the ground she walked off towards her small house. The two floored country house, was mere firewood burnt down into ash. The home Starki knew her whole life was gone, everything in it was gone too. With a broken heart Staki pushed oer what was left of the door.

The smell of burnt paper and wood filled the house.

"Mom..?"

Starki's soft voice rang out over the house.

There was no answer.

"Mom?"

Nothing.

Starki wandered the house looking over everything. A few small fires were lit. Their small glow shined back in Starki's green eyes. Slowly stepping over fallen object too burnt to tell what they once was, Starki made her way to the next room; this was the last place she saw her mom and Teii.

"Mom..?"

Starki's voice was losing hope.

No answer.

Starki started to walk to the next room but something wet and sticky was caught under her feet.

"What... What is this..?"

Starki asked herself out loud.

She knelt down close to the redness taking over the floor under her. She eyes dimmed out when she finally knew what it was.

"Blood..."

Starki jumped to her feet with chills running up her back.

"Mom..?!"

Starki tired once again.

Still nothing.

Her eyes fell back to the blood and with her eyes she followed the trail of blood back to the table.

Laying in an endless sleep was Rikku; Starki's mom. Impaled in her own blood Rikku laid shot through the head. Starki knelt down next to her as she eyes searched Rikku's body; her eyes closed not tight, not fearing death, and lips curled into a soft smile, maybe she was thinking about the past with her little girls and her husband Wakka.

Starki placed a hand on Rikku's cheek and felt the last of Rikku's warmth turn cold with death. Deli, Starki's home for her whole life was a graveyard now.