Chapter 6: Road to the Evil Sorceress I

[stardust]

Stardust gave an exasperated sigh. She was the one who suggested going to the office, so it was natural if she just joined Commander Squall as well. However, with Gemma and Polaris already escorting him, three might be considered a crowd especially if they were just going to go check out an office. Maybe the heart would be somewhere spacious....like the roof.

/At the very top, huh?/ Diwata piped in.

"I'll go with Mr. Dincht," she told Squall with a respectful nod before walking to where Jun and Blaze were.

~*~

Squall watched Stardust join Zell's group before clearing his throat. "It's settled then. Listen up, this is our meeting place." he said, slashing an X mark on the ground with his gunblade. "We're going to split only for a little while to check out the possible location of the heart." Behind him was the fork that led to three different places of the second floor. "Once you confirm that there is something up ahead, stop and don't approach it. You are to go back here and wait for the others." Squall's expression was critical. "If you notice anything wrong with your surrounding, I repeat, you are to turn back immediately and regroup with the others. Do not take on an enemy on your own and this is an order." His eyes moved from each of the girl's face to another. He paused. "Do you understand?"

/You commander sounds really worried about you girls./ Diwata told Stardust. /We are so alike./

"Understood," Stardust saluted.

[waterlily43]

"Yes sir!" Jun saluted. No matter how short they were, the Commander's orders and speechs were always so awe-inspiring. It probably had something to do with the way he looks at them. And she was glad too that Blaze and Stardust had decided to join Zell's group... it was like wearing old shoes. Although there might be a tendency for them to fight...

"Well...let's go then?"

[Polaris Lyn]

Polaris stared at the Commander for a moment. He looked grave.

After a moment, she smiled serenely. "Understood, Commander," she said softly.

[Myacu]

Gemma carefully listened to the commander's orders. Being on his team meant that she would have to be dead on, no excuses.

"Affirmative, sir."

[ST]

Vanesse spoke up right after Gemma finished her sentence. "We're ready here, too!" She glanced at Jaime then to Irvine.

And so, the three groups went to their respective paths....


Squall's group

The commander sure was a quiet person. He didn't say a peep once the three of you walked along the smelly corridor and into the stairs. You first arrived on Xu's office, seeing that Squall's office was pushed a little more ahead.

"We check out this room first," was Squall's first words after your group separated from the team that went to the roof. You three stared at a rusty double-door blotted with flesh on its exterior that appeared to be Xu's office. Squall lifted his gunblade and stood in front of the door.

Looking at you both, he signaled for one of you to kick open the door and the other one to come with him to barge inside.

He gripped Lionheart tighter. "One...two..." Squall whispered, staring straight at the double door. "Go!"


--------------------------------------------
K, STs XD I'll leave the other two paths to you lol

[Polaris Lyn]

"Go!"

She pivoted on her left foot, spinning around and executing a strong, forceful spining kick. The doors slammed open, flying into the room, and Polaris stepped back just as Squall moved forward.

With her small smile in place, Polaris turned to Gemma. "Ladies first," she said softly, gesturing inside.

[ST]

Zell's group


"C'mon girls. We gotta hurry, cos I've got a weirrrrd vibe about the roof... woah! Watch out there, the floor's not too friendly isn't it?" Zell jumps over a protruding vein-like obstacle on the ground, turning back in concern to see if any of you have tripped. He leads you through the corridor towards the stairs a little aways from Squall's group, who exits soon after. Zell continues up the stairs to the top storey taking two steps at a time.

"You know I thought at most one or two of you would follow me. Heh. Most people like to work under Squall, him being the commander and all that. I know cos I've worked with him for so many years and there's nuthin' like a great leader that inspires...oh here we are!" Zell skidded to a stop in front of the exit, and Jun almost bumped into his back if not for her trained reflexes.

Signalling you to stay put, he opens the door slightly, peered outside, before letting himself out.

"....the Hell is that?" You hear a muffled noise, and the door yanks open admitting Zell's head again. "You girls have got to see this! I was right!" He beckons you to follow him quickly.

As you step out on the roof, you are surrounded with a swirling mist, but the thing that really catches your eye is a spiralling staircase that leads up to the a blanket of clouds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

....LMFAO. My fellow ebul STs. Which one of you made the other 10,000,000,000 posts that I never knew of? XD XD

[ST]

Jaime and Vanesse

"The ladies always pick Irvine, don't they?" Irvine winks at you while you head over to the FH dock, "Well, let's--"

BOOOOOOOM!!

"What the--!?" Irvine looks dead ahead in the direction of the explosion.

The sound is all too familiar and you're not startled at all by it. In fact, you've heard this noise many many times before. Could it be?

[Blaze Sanaku]

Blaze stared wide eyed at the huge spiraling staircase leading up to the clouds. The mist was so foggy that there was no clear indication of what the staircase led to. Nobody was coming down it and the roof was completely barren. The fog was their only company.

"Nowhere to go but up..." Blaze looked at Zell and Jun for approval (she ignored Stardust) before she started running up the stairs two at a time.

[Myacu]

"Ladies first," she heard Polaris whisper to her, a somewhat condescending smirk on her face.

However the comment did nothing to shake Gemma's calm composure. Any traces of fear or apprehension in her eyes were erased, replaced by a stoic front. Silently, she crept towards the entrance, holding Paleruin at the ready.

With one hand firmly wrapped around the cedar handle and the other, delicately holding back the heavy chainlink, she stopped, her back at the adjacent wall to the doorway. Gemma took a deep breath.

Then in a flash, as she bolted through entrance, she released the spiked mace in one swift flick, creating a centripedal flurry of steel before the metal ball dropped soundly to the floor.

[Polaris Lyn]

Polaris watched Gemma fly into the office at full attack with a bemused smile.

It's like she wants to prove she can hold her own in battle... Polaris unsheathed her war axe, keeping the weapon low to the ground. Liar liar...how did that song go?

She stayed outside the office, playing the role of lookout as Commander Leonhart performed a standard sweep throughout the office. The hall she stood in was quiet, save for the shuffling sounds the Commander and Gemma were making in the office, and Polaris glanced around, almost half-wishing something would come out from the darkness so she could do something instead of stand around and loiter.

[stardust]

ROFL!! BLAZE XD And nope, Mama G!! I'm not gonna tell you about those 10,000,000 posts that I awarded ourselves in the royal admin functions because it's a secret and you shall NEVER know about it!!! *goes to "brat" mode and swims on grape juice on the floor* XD
--------------------------------------------------------------

Once they arrived in the roof with Zell, Stardust couldn't help but gape at the staircase stretching upwards before them, hidden in the clouds.

"H-how high are we from the ground?" Stardust mumbled, looking for a safety spot on the roof to check out the ground from below. The wind blew past them and she felt a cold shiver up her spine.

Oooh, reminds me of jack and the beanstalk, Diwata said.

She was going to say something when Blaze suddenly went for the stairs. Commander Squall's words quickly flashed in her head and she said, "Hey you! What are you doing?!" Stardust marched near Blaze. "Can't you understand orders? We're not supposed to approach anything. Get down there!" Stardust looked up at Blaze, annoyed, then to Zell as if expecting him to tell her off.

[vanesse]

Vanesse dropped down on the floor to cower from the sudden explosion. Looking ahead, she couldn't see much from the smoke, but the sound of that explosion was awfully familiar.

"Wha..." she blurted. "Are those Deo's bombs?!"

/Huh?/ Paridge interjected. /What are you saying?/

[ST]

Squall's group

As Gemma and Commander Squall stride inside Xu's office, ready for anything that will jump on them, they see nothing but darkness and smell a strong putrid smell. Squall covers his nose by the back of his palm and scans the area. Xu's spacious room is simply rotting. The tables and chairs are nonexistent, just tubes that look more like veins run on the floor, the wall and through it. The heartbeat seems to be louder inside the office despite the fact that there is no heart in sight.

"There's nothing here," Squall says to the two of you, tracing the direction of the veins passing through the wall. "These vessels lead to the place ahead of here." And the only place that's ahead of Xu's office will be Squall's office.

As the three of you go back to the hallway, you reflexively roll to the side as something splashed from above you. Spilled in the midst of the hallway is a formless liquid monster similar to the monster you faced earlier. It suddenly begins taking shape of a deformed human and quickly casts Thundaga on all three of you.

"Barrier!" casts Squall on the two of you, and gets the full-blow damage himself. He's pushed back, but you know the attack is way not enough to take him down.

[ST]

Zell's group


"Ehh..." Zell stuttered uneasily at Stardust's expectant face, his expression suspciously awkward as his gaze rotates between her and Blaze. In fact it certainly looked as if he was planning to follow Blaze up the staircase. You can't help but notice the tip of his foot was already touching the first step.

"Ahhh...I dunno we could just take a look? I think that'd be harmless? And if we see anything we'll get back to the meeting point pronto!" Zell suggested, his voice teeming with excitement.
"But...Mr. Dintch. The Commander gave us direct orders..." Jun said doubtfully, looking at Stardust but the impulsive blonde had already sprung up the stairs.

"Come on Stardust. We have to make sure no one does anything rash!"