Back to home page
Back to "The Blue Sky" contents page
Back to previous chapter
THE BLUE SKY
(BASED ON "FINAL FANTASY")
BY
SOPHIE GREEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The march to Galvatron started within half an hour of Captain Blax landing back on the mainland. They knew that they were facing a nearly impossible task. Sianna had told the Captain about the Emperor’s army that she saw in the Crystal. But the thought of not going to Galvatron didn’t cross any of their minds.
During the march the party marched side by side, with the Captain ahead of them and the remainder of the soldiers behind them. They all had thoughts of apprehension over the task that lay before them. But it was a task that they simply had to do.
Bevern said to Gaian, “Do you think we’re going to come out of this thing alive?”
“I hope so, and, yes, I believe so as well. Look at all the trials that we have faced so far – the Maelstrom, the airship, the rhino. We came through all of those unscathed. And now we have the support of these soldiers, and the support of the Crystals themselves. I think we’ll do it, I really do.”
“Well, I’m with you every step of the way.”
“I know.”
Tyght was deep in thought. Whilst he still had the presence of the figure subdued, he was concerned that he might lose his control. Now that all of the Crystals had been restored he feared that the figure would try to take over his body and attempt to kill the others in order to gain the Crystal’s power. As well as this, he had to try and find a way to convince the others of the correct way to use the Crystals powers, in line with Leven’s teachings. They had to find a way to prevent people from abusing magical power, from craving it too much, in order to avoid a repeat of this catastrophe. Unlike the figure, who wanted to wage war against the whole world, he did not want there to be any other war other than the one that they were now marching to Galvatron to fight against the Emperor. This was now to be the war to end all wars.
Sianna was still thinking about the Ultima spell. Now that she had the Crystal’s strength she felt that she would be able to cast it without exhausting herself. But she could still feel its destructive, indiscriminate power. She expected that if the Emperor had discovered a power that could destroy the world in this fashion, the Ultima spell may be the only thing that had the power to stop him and his army. Even so, she was dreading the moment when she might have to cast it.
The march went on for several hours. The only sound that they could hear behind them was the rhythmic marching of the soldiers, who didn’t say a word to each other. Captain Blax also just kept on marching. He didn’t look to either side or behind him. He just concentrated on looking ahead, towards Galvatron.
Then they saw the spires of the Imperial Palace ahead of them, surrounded by the still smouldering ruins of Galvatron. Feelings of apprehension came over the party. There were no signs of life, but they were expecting to face the Emperor’s new army at any moment.
This feeling continued right up until they reached the now destroyed city walls. When they silently entered the ruined capital they started to feel that maybe they would be spared from facing the army of beasts and dragons.
It was Bevern who finally broke the spell of silence, “Do you think the Emperor’s still here?”
It was Tyght who answered him, “Undoubtedly. I can sense that he’s here, in the palace, waiting for us. He knows that we have restored the Crystals, that we possess their power. And he hungers for it. He is waiting for us to come, so that he can try to take that power.”
And no sooner had Tyght said these words they heard a loud siren sound out across the city. Instinctively everyone – Captain Blax, the party, and the soldiers that followed them – all stood still and drew their swords.
The siren died down, and everyone looked around warily. There were a few uncomfortable moments which terrifyingly ended when they saw the clear outline of dozens of dragons flying towards them from the other side of the Imperial Palace. They could feel the ground shaking, and around the sides of the palace, running towards them, were all manners of beasts, dominated mainly by huge elephant-like creatures.
Bevern said, “How are we supposed to fight all of those?!”
Sianna knew what they should do, as she prepared herself to cast the Ultima spell. For better or worst, now was the time to use it. She raised her arms, but before she could say anything she heard a small voice sound out from her left, “What’s happening?”
She turned round and saw a small girl dressed in rags and carrying an old teddy bear. She walked over to her and said, “It’s OK, it’s all OK now. We’re here to put an end of this. Where are your Mummy and Daddy?”
Tears started to flow down the young girl’s cheeks, “They're gone. When the dark clouds came...”
Sianna put her arms around the girl and said, “It’s alright now, it’s alright. It’ll all be over soon, you’re going to be OK, you’ll see...”
“Can you make the monsters go away?”
“I hope so...”
Bevern walked up and put a hand on Sianna’s shoulder, “Sianna, if there’s anything that you can do, if there’s any spell that you’re able to cast that will help us...”
She let go of the girl, stood up, and nodded. She held the girl’s hand and walked over to one of the soldiers, “Can you look after her?”
“Yes ma’am.”
She knelt down once more, “This soldier is going to take care of you whilst I make the monsters go away. This will all end soon, I promise.” The girl smiled shyly at her.
She rejoined the rest of the party. The beast army was getting closer, and so she had to cast the spell now, or all of their efforts would have been in vain. But she was still fearful of just how powerful the spell had become. Would they be safe where they now were? And what of the other survivors in the city? The spell was likely to kill them as well as the beast army, were they able to justify doing that?
Tyght looked at her urgently, “Sianna, do it now! If you don’t we’ll all be doomed, and everything we’ve gone through over the past few days will have been for nothing!”
Sianna realised that he was right. With a heavy heart she asked God for forgiveness, raised her hands, pointed them towards the beast army, and shouted “ULTIMA!!!!!”
A huge beam of energy shot out from her hands and travelled to the very heart of the beast army. It appeared to collapse in on itself. Then, after a brief moment, there was a bright flash that forced everyone to cover their eyes. This was immediately followed by a massive explosion, one large enough to spread throughout the entire city, which they could feel shaking the ground beneath them.
The army scattered, the dragons fled. From the heart of the explosion a ball of flame rose high up into the sky, whilst further flames spread out around it, destroying all in its path.
As the flames spread towards them Sianna grabbed the little girl and held her towards her, repeating over and over, “Everything’s going to be alright, everything’s going to be alright...”
She then heard the soft voice of the Crystal say in her head, “You will be protected...”
The flames reached them, and everything turned orange. However, the flames seemed to just pass over them without causing them any harm.
When the flames had passed and they could stand up again they saw that the beast army had fled. The city and been flattened, but the Imperial Palace still stood unharmed. Bevern said, “He must be using some dark magic to protect it somehow.”
Gaian then said, “Yes, and so we’re going to have to storm it.”
Captain Blax turned to look at his troops and said, “The beast army has been defeated, but the Imperial Palace and the Emperor remain. We must march on the palace to face him, to end this once and for all. Forward!”
They started marching once again, making their way through the rubble of the twice-destroyed city. As they passed through Sianna looked around her, and, to her amazement, she saw other people making their way through the rubble. She wondered how they could have possibly survived the explosion. Then she realised that the Crystal had protected them as well. They were truly lending them their power for the good of the world.
It didn’t take them long to reach the Palace. The Captain ordered his troops to halt. He then turned to face the palace and started to walk towards it. However, he came to an abrupt halt. There was still clear air in front of him, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t move any further forward. There was some force holding him back.
Gaian walked up to him, “What’s the matter?”
“He’s erected some magical barrier here, we can’t pass it.”
Gaian took a step forward, and was able to pass through the barrier as through it weren't there at all. He called out to the rest of the party and said, “See if you can pass.” Bevern, Sianna, and Tyght were all able to pass through effortlessly, but the Captain still could go no further forward.
He then said, “It would appear that only you, the Warriors of Light, are able to pass. You will have to face the Emperor alone.”
Gaian nodded, “Thank you and your troops for everything that you have done for us.”
“It was an honour. We will be praying for your victory. Good luck, Warriors of Light.”
Gaian nodded, and then turned to walk towards the large solid gates, with Bevern, Sianna, and Tyght by his side. As they approached the gates they automatically opened before them. They passed through and, once they were inside the palace, the gates closed behind them with an almighty thud.
Forward to next chapter
Back to "The Blue Sky" contents page
Back to home page