Into the Future, To An Orphanage And a Castle, Tuesday Morning Fandom Time (NFB)

[angelo_wings]

Ellone	No one really understood Ellone's abilities. She wasn't a Sorceress, although Adel had assumed that she was a potential. Perhaps Adel had been right. She might never know. What Ellone could do was send a mind into the past, to ride along in someone else's consciousness. She had sent Squall back to Laguna, twenty years ago, to try to fix the damage that Adel's war had done to their family. She had discovered that it was impossible to change the past, as much as she had wanted to. Dr. Odine had made a machine to mimic her, and if he was right, then Ultimecia was now using that machine to try to possess Rinoa. She wished she hadn't known that. It made her feel strangely responsible for the situation. She might, now, be able to use her abilities in order to help. She had to hope she was doing the right thing. She would trust in Squall. She always had. Ellone closed her eyes and found Ultimecia and Rinoa's minds. She had never tried sending back two people into the same place, but they were intermingled enough that this should work. And she couldn't afford to hesitate. Ultimecia might take that opportunity to hurt them. Ellone could only connect to those she knew, and she only knew two Sorceresses in the past; Edea, as Matron, and Adel, before she had been sealed. Edea would fight against possession, but Adel had always conspired with Ultimecia. Which meant that her choice was simple. Ellone connected Rinoa-and-Ultimecia with Adel, twenty years in the past. She opened her eyes to nod to the dark-haired girl. It was Raven's turn.
Raven	Raven wasn't entirely confident about the plan as explained to her, but it was better than doing nothing and allowing Rinoa to fall as she had only weeks before. If there was anything she could do to spare Rinoa -- and Squall -- that, then she would do it. She summoned her Soul-Self, letting its wings sweep around those gathered before her and drawing them into the netherverse. She could feel Rinoa's physical presence inside her, of course, but she could also sense the pull of Ultimecia to the future and Adel to the past through their bonds to Rinoa. Ultimecia was who she wanted to track, so she kept a firm hold on that thread. She had a physical form with those inside her, standing on the stepping stones scattered across the red-purple cosmos. "I am ready," she said.
Ultimecia	Ultimecia could hardly contain her glee. Three sorceresses, three times, and now, and now, and now, to begin. They were one Sorceress, in one body. They were three Sorceresses, each with her own ghostly flicker of light. They were, she was, they-she were beginning now, drawing their-her arms up, pulling them down again, and twisting. They-she would need a great deal of force, to begin. Then, once time began to fold, all they-she would need would be to direct the flow of it. To channel it into one place. Ultimecia was quite sure that they-she were equal to the task.
Rinoa	Rinoa, the bit of Rinoa that was still Rinoa, Rinoa was scared. They-she were pulling together all of these strands, and feeling the heft of an entire dimension, and turning it. Bending it. Folding it in on itself. It was like seeing an avalanche start. The momentum was picking up, and carrying itself forward. It was soon to rage out of control, and all of that energy -- all of it -- was pouring through the three of them and focusing here, in the center, where they-she willed it to go. There was nothing but light, and Rinoa was sure that somehow, she was dead, that they-she had unleashed something which was now devouring their-her face. And yet, she couldn't stop. Couldn't let go. It was in motion now, and time would not be denied. Rinoa's mind was smashing itself to bits. It had to be. There was no way anyone could channel this and live. But she breathed, so she couldn't be dead. She couldn't be dead. She'd never felt this alive. She was the only thing that lived. They-she were life, and all other creatures shadows. She was Sorceress, made of power, made of magic, made of might. And that was more terrifying than feeling Time begin to collapse in on itself. She might have screamed, but they-she didn't have the energy to spare. So close now.
Ellone	Raven had disappeared, and so had everyone else in the conference room except herself and Laguna. But Ellone was still connected, herself, seeing through Rinoa's eyes. When she felt the weight of what was happening, she knew it had begun. Now was the time. She forcefully disconnected, separating herself from Rinoa, and Ultimecia from Rinoa, as well. Whatever magic was linking them for time compression might hold them together; once it dissipated, Ultimecia would be sent back to her own body, and Adel, to hers. Ellone exhaled slowly, turning to her Uncle Laguna. "It's in their hands now," she said.
Ultimecia	Ultimecia felt the sudden disconnect. Was that the children's ridiculous plan? No matter. They were too intertwined to separate just yet. Not until compression was fully started. It would be harder, without the connection, but it would not stop them in any way. They were nearly finished, as it was.
Raven	Raven felt the sudden twisting discomfort that meant the time compression had surely begun. Whatever Ultimecia did would affect outside world; everyone else would be safe inside her, shielded by her soul, but she had to struggle not to be caught up in it herself. The netherverse was a separate dimension from Rinoa's world, but part of her soul was still tied there. When Ultimecia and Adel separated from Rinoa, she could feel them withdraw to their own bodies. Adel she dismissed, but Ultimecia she followed, using that rapidly vanishing thread to trace her to her back to her body. Time outside was losing its meaning as the spell flattened it, but Ultimecia still had physical form somewhere, and that was where Raven took them all now. She crumpled to her knees on one of the stepping stones, feeling like she was holding her breathe and struggling not to drown as she raced after Ultimecia. Then they were there and she released everyone from the confines of her Soul-Self, breathing raggedly from the exertion.
Jono	When Raven crumpled, Jono had started to move toward her without so much as a thought. By the time he actually made it to her, he was on the outside all over again, crouching down to put an arm around her back before he so much as registered that they were wherever it was that they were supposed to be at. Or whenever. One of those. //Easy, luv,// he murmured. //You did good.//
Raven	Raven leaned against him gratefully, still struggling to catch her breath. Teleporting a large group of people did strain her normally, and these had hardly been normal conditions. "I am all right," she said. "Merely drained. My strength will return." Just hopefully in time to help stop Ultimecia.

Edea's Orphanage	The group exited from Raven's netherverse in front of a beautiful stone building crawling with vines. All around them flowers bloomed, and the sun shone brightly in the blue sky overhead. Behind them and to their left, a field of flowers stretched as far as the eye could see. From the other side of the building, the smell of salt air and the sounds of soft waves and circling gulls beckoned. If this was the dark future where Ultimecia reigned, it didn't seem all that bad.
Rinoa	There was light, and noise, and a roaring in her ears, and the sudden feeling of being alone in her head, of being herself again. What was foremost in her mind was the fact that her legs had turned to jelly and no longer felt connected, in any way, to her brain, or the rest of her, either. So they were going to go splat and dump her onto the ground. Oh! Ground. She remembered ground. It was nice and firm and kept you from falling into the center of the earth. Rinoa was going to need a few moments before she managed anything resembling coherence.
Squall	Squall didn't have a chance to take in their new surroundings, because he only had eyes for Rinoa. When she wobbled, he rushed in to catch her before she could fall. He cradled her in his arms, and gently brushed the hair out of her face with his fingers.
Raven	"Is she all right?" Raven said, struggling to rise to her own feet now. "The link was broken -- I felt it."
Squall	"I don't know yet," Squall answered worriedly. She didn't seem hurt, which was a good sign.
Rinoa	Oh, hey, Squall! Squall would hold her up, if her legs weren't working properly. Squall was wonderful, and she was going to remember how to breathe while holding on to Squall and burying her face in the ruff of his jacket. Squall? ... She waited for the complicated swirl of emotions that went with his name, lately, and found none of them. "She's gone," Rinoa sighed, slumping with relief. And then the rest of the conversation caught up to her, and she straightened. "S-sorry! I mean. I'm. Fine? I think?" She tried to push herself away from him. Just to see if her legs would work now that the initial shock had worn off. They were a little unsteady, but other than that, she seemed to be okay. She wasn't sure how that was possible, but she was going to start with the more pressing questions. Such as: "Is everyone -- here?" she asked, looking around. And noticing Raven's difficulties, for the first time. "Oh! Are you okay?!"
Raven	Raven held up a hand to wave off her concern. "I am all right," she murmured. "Just...very tired. Even with the time compression, it was difficult to follow Ultimecia. I will be all right." She wanted to curl up and sleep for a very very long time, but she'd push through until they were safely home.
Rinoa	"I'm so sorry," Rinoa said, worry creasing her face. She reached, impulsively, to hug the other girl, before stopping short. Raven might ... not want to be hugged, by her. She had been ... not the most pleasant of people, a little while ago, and she wasn't sure if anyone was upset about that. They'd have every right to be. In which case, she probably shouldn't go around forcing hugs. "... Thank you," she said, awkwardly, rubbing her toe in a circle on the ground.
Raven	Please, there was never a time when Raven didn't want to give or receive hugs. She got to her feet and held out her arms to Rinoa. "I am glad you are yourself again," she said softly. "I was very worried."
Rinoa	Rinoa wrapped her arms around Raven and squeezed. "Me, too," she admitted. "I'm sorry you're all in danger. But thank you so much."
Seifer	While everyone else was getting their hugging on, Seifer was taking stock of the situation. "Not to interrupt this touching moment," he started as he kicked some rocks around, "but what the hell are we doing at the orphanage?"
Raven	Raven looked around, truly seeing the area for the first time. "I do not know," she said, shaking her head. "This was where Ultimecia's presence led me. I did not want to bring us to her immediate proximity, however, as I feared that would be dangerous, but we are close."
Squall	Squall looked around, then, and realized he recognized the place, too. "Our story's going to end in the same place it began," he told Seifer -- which was, really, an incredibly astute observation for Squall to make. "Ultimecia's being overdramatic at us."
Seifer	"No, there's overdramatic and then there's overkill. This is overkill." He paused and looked at Squall. "I almost feel like calling up Chicken Wuss and telling him to come over so I can push him off the porch again."
Squall	Squall glared at Seifer. Why was he feeling protective of Zell? He didn't even like Zell. "Whatever." He looked around, considering. "It looks like we're in the past, instead of the future. Take a team and recon for traces of Ultimecia. I'm going to stay with Rinoa until she recovers." Seifer might not be good at following orders, but he was good at giving them, which made him a good person to delegate to. As long as he didn't do something stupid. "DON'T try to attack her without us."
Seifer	"Who, me?" Seifer answered with a grin. He would never do that. Except for that one time. Totally just the one time. He looked around at the others. "Who wants to do recon, and who wants to stay and watch Princess' back? Rinoa's too."
Rinoa	"I'm recovered," Rinoa chided, gently. "Just ... a little tired." Okay, her legs were still wobbly. Maybe she wasn't entirely recovered. Her body was a little unsure of itself. And her powers ... Her powers, she would have thought, would be completely tapped out. But they were still there. That was even scarier. She plopped back down on the stonework of the sidewalk, crossing her legs. "Okay, I'll stay put," she said. "I ... oh. I should probably get my shields back up." If her powers were still there, that shouldn't be too hard. Although getting rid of that icky feeling, all the traces of the inky-black paranoia ... "Sookie?" Rinoa asked suddenly. "Can ... can you help me with that?"
Sookie	"On it, sweetheart," Sookie said quietly, watching Rinoa as she shifted her own shields around the other girl's, for just a moment. She closed her eyes, dipping into Rinoa's mind with the lightest possible touch, repairing holes in her shields quickly. "It's a band-aid, basically," she murmured aloud as she patched the shields together, "but it'll hold. And if you need, I can keep you under mine, okay? But this'll keep you safe while you build your own shields back up."
Jono	Jono nodded, satisfied that Rinoa was being looked after, at least. //If Sookie's staying here with Rinoa, I'll head out with Seifer for recon, then. It can't hurt to have a telepath in any groups we split off into, in case something happens along th'way.//
Sookie	<< I'll keep a mental ear out, since my shields are mostly on her, anyway, >> Sookie agreed, amplifying her telepathic voice for the whole group and taking a moment to refamiliarize herself with the particular sound of Jono's brain signature in case she needed to find it. Aloud, she added, "That also puts us with at least one person with offensive powers that can do damage in either group, and one person with big scary weapons, if we run up against something, and that's discounting Tara and Raven and what you guys can do, too, and that's nothing to sneeze at. We should be okay."
Rinoa	There was still power lingering, the dregs of what she had used to ... had she really been part of compressing time? It didn't seem real. It seemed immense and like it had happened to someone else. She hadn't locked it all away again. She needed to. She couldn't leave that much out, sitting there to dip into. But before she did ... she was going to use some of it to seal in those gaps that Sookie was fixing. To bolster up her shields with all that she had, and loop it around her protectively. If they were to face Ultimecia, she would need to be herself, and not a potential pawn. "Seifer?" she said, opening her eyes again quickly. "Be careful." Ultimecia wouldn't take kindly to his defection from her side.
Seifer	Seifer smirked as he mock-bowed to her. "I always am." He turned and nodded at the others. "Okay, recon people with me. And watch out, this island isn't the safest on normal days." Yes, they built an orphanage on an island with monsters. Is it any wonder the kids run around with sharp, pointy objects now?
Squall	Squall nodded. "...And Jono?" He paused, not really sure how to put into words what he was asking, and then shrugged. "Make sure Seifer doesn't do anything stupid."
Jono	Jonothon very nearly managed a smile at that. The corners of his eyes crinkled a bit, at least, and he offered Squall a small nod in turn. //It'll be a difficult task, given who you've got me babysitting, but I'll give it a go, mate. Hang tight, Squall. We'll be back soon enough.//

The Castle	Behind the orphanage, a path led down to a sandy beach, against which soft turquoise waves lapped calmly. In the distance the land narrowed to a rocky point, on which was set a gorgeous lighthouse. As the group looked out over the scene, it flickered. Times were overlapping, here, and it was easy to step from past to present to future. One version of the scene was nearly identical, with the grass less green and the lighthouse aged and worn. When the other version rippled into view, though... The lighthouse was gone, the buildings were destroyed, and the sky was dark. Twisted metal lay strewn about, fused into the rocks and sand. Here and there lay the bodies of soldiers -- SeeDs, some freshly dead and some long crumbled into dust. And above it all rose a giant castle in the clouds, on a chunk of rock floating high above the sea. Huge iron chains, each link the size of a person at least, anchored the floating rock to the ground below. One of the chains ended in the bedrock of the point, right next to where the group was standing.
Tara	Tara wrapped her arms around herself and shivered as she looked at the castle, carefully not dwelling on the bodies. "That looks like the home of all bad vibes," she said in a low voice.
Seifer	"I will agree with you there." Look everyone, Seifer is standing there and not running away screaming!
Jono	//I'm going to go out on a limb,// Jono ventured, //and say that there's where we need to be.// He looked up toward the Castle, pointedly not looking at the corpses around them, shaking his head a little. //Just once would I like to see a world-ending psychopath who sets up shop in a cozy little cabin in th'countryside. If we stare at that thing long enough, I half suspect bats'll come flying out at us.// Thank you, Jono, for your keen insights.
The Castle	Normally, Jono would have been completely wrong about that. All of the Red Bats in this world lived far to the northwest. However, Time Compression had caused a few of them to get lost, and they flew out of the castle towards the group. They got caught up in the Time Compression again, though, and disappeared before they reached land.
Jono	Blink. Blink blink. //... Right, then.// See? He'd totally called it. //I suppose from here, we... gather th'troops and figure out how we're getting up there?//
Raven	"I could try to teleport," Raven offered, looking up at the castle and having a really bad feeling about what might lay inside. "However, after what I just did, I am not certain I am strong enough to bring you all with me yet. But I am willing to try if you wish."
Jono	Jonothon shook his head a little, reaching for her hand. //Save what strength you've got, luv. There are always other ways.// He looked around for a moment, and then nodded to the massive chains that were hanging down. //Hell, she practically left us a bridge, didn't she?// Of course, it would be one crappy climb, but...
Raven	Raven squeezed his hand. "You are right," she nodded. "I should conserve my strength for healing." But she had to make a silent prayer to Azar that that wouldn't be needed.
Jono	Jono glanced at Seifer and Tara to see if they had any argument, and then made his way to the chain, giving it a critical once-over before starting to climb. Yes. This would do nicely. So long as he didn't do something idiotic, like look down. //Sookie, luv? We've found a way up, and th'coast is more or less clear. It's time to come and meet us. Bring th'lovebirds with you, if you please.// Telepathy was so handy, sometimes.

The Castle	The climb proved to be less difficult than it had looked from the outset. The chain stayed flat enough that the group could walk on top of it until very close to the end. It was thankfully not a windy night, but it was still for the best not to look down. The top of the chain was anchored securely to a terrace. Directly ahead was a large set of stone steps, with imposing double doors sitting triumphantly at the top.
Rinoa	"Everyone be on your guard," Rinoa said warily. "She knows we're coming for her, so I'm sure there will be traps." Ultimecia wasn't about to let her plan be ruined now. Rinoa carefully nudged the door open, frowning at the room inside. The foyer was large; a wide, curving staircase led up from the center of the room to terraces the next level up. The stonework was graying, and the thick plush carpeting on the stairs was dulled by age. The railings were ironwork, and matched the ornate candelabras scattered about. It could be a grand, if cold, room, if not for all the cobwebs and signs of disuse. At the other end of the room, at the top of the stairs, sat a purplish-pink four-legged monster. Four curved, stubby wings extended from his back. He sat idly on his haunches, watching them with an inscrutable expression. He made no move to come any closer. "I guess he's part of the welcome committee?" she asked.
Squall	"He's in our way," Squall grumbled. He also looked pretty big. A Scan spell would give them an idea of just how big. Squall put a hand to his forehead, and then thrust it out towards the monster, but nothing happened. "Crap, I've been Silenced!" he growled, all evidence to the contrary.
Jono	Jono glanced at Squall, already pulling his wrappings down in preparation to fire off an attack of his own. His flames seemed dulled when he did so, flickering in muted yellows and the occasional attempt at orange, but not actually reaching forward. No matter how hard he tried to project those flames toward that monster, nothing happened. And now he was swearing. Honest. He was swearing very loudly in his own mind. But his inability to actually project that outward meant that he was mostly just standing there, looking utterly gobsmacked. And also, kind of on fire. Well. Crap.
Raven	Raven had been staring up at the creature, wondering if she could pacify it, tired as she still was. She didn't feel Jono's confusion and panic as she normally would, but she did turn and see it reflected on his face. "Jono, what is wrong?" she asked, frowning, reaching out with her gifts. Except she couldn't feel him as she normally did, and she suddenly realized she wasn't just exhausted, she couldn't feel anyone. "What is going on?" she said, fighting a surge of panic.
Squall	"Calm down," Squall told her. "Don't panic." He took a handful of Remedies out of his pocket, drank one, and started tossing the rest to people. "Drink it, and..." He paused, realizing that his magic still wasn't working properly. "...Nevermind, panic. Or whatever."
Jono	Drinking it wouldn't do Jono any good, anyhow. But he wasn't about to start panicking. There was an ugly monster thing up ahead. Okay. That sucked. But he'd nearly been eaten plenty of times before. Sometimes, getting out of rough scrapes just took a bit of... creativity. Which was why he was reaching for the nearest thing that could serve as a weapon. A candelabra nearby looked as if it was sturdy enough to be swung about a few times. It was going to have to serve. And then he nodded toward the ... purple thing. He didn't know about anybody else, but he wasn't really in the mood to sit around waiting to be eaten, today.
Sphinxaur	The pink monster -- which was actually vaguely sphinx-like, if you were from a world that had that particular legend -- stayed at the top of the stairs, looking down at them menacingly. It was practically daring them to attack it, really. "Face my wrath for seeking thy sealed power," it growled.
Squall	Squall didn't need to be told twice. He nodded at Jono, raised his gunblade, and ran up the stairs to slash the monster.
Raven	Raven moved back, trying to stay out of the way. She couldn't fight, and without her powers there was nothing she could do now.
Sookie	Sookie felt blind -- it wasn't like being around vampires, or people shielding. She'd lost one of her senses entirely, not to mention her electricity. She retreated with Raven, eyes wide as she watched those who could fight do their thing.
Tara	Tara wasn't much of a fighter either -- and certainly not without magic -- and it looked to her like Squall, Jono and Seifer knew what they were doing. She stepped back to stand with Sookie and Raven. The main question on her mind: What Would Kennedy Do?
Rinoa	Rinoa still had her Cardinal, but she was content to let the fighters try their hands, first. If she needed to attack, well, it was a ranged weapon, anyway. And it wasn't as though it did all that much damage, compared to someone in SeeD. "'Thy sealed power,'" Rinoa repeated thoughtfully. "Does that mean he's what's doing it?"
Seifer	"Oh Hyne. And he bitches about me running into things," Seifer grumbled as he hefted Hyperion and followed the belted moron.
Sphinxaur	Beneath the onslaught of two gunblades and a candelabra, the monster wasn't even able to to retaliate. It tried to cast spells a few times, but kept getting interrupted by all the beatings. Then its mask got knocked off and it stood up straighter, seeming to become more powerful. "Face my wrath NOW," it insisted. Then, instead of showing any wrath, it waved a paw and summoned a jelleye. Maybe the Fandomites wouldn't recognize the floating squid-thing, but to Squall, Rinoa, and Seifer this was clearly not so much "wrath" and more "a sad joke".
Seifer	The tip of Hyperion dipped for a moment, and Seifer's arm shook. It wasn't from fear though. The blond was trying not to fall over from laughing so hard. "Seriously? We kicked the shit out of these when we ten."
Rinoa	Rinoa was fighting to keep a straight face herself. "That's his idea of wrath?" Because jelleyes were far better at, say, tickling, than causing real damage.
Squall	The jelleye swum in a circle in the air, casting a lightning bolt at Squall. He didn't notice it, though, because he was back to slicing at the pink sphinx-thing.
Jono	Which left Jono to deal with the... squashy... jelly... Look, it wasn't his fault that every bloody creature on this planet was absolutely naffin' ridiculous, okay? He wanted to say something witty, right about then. But he'd settle for reaching out and bonking the jelleye with his makeshift weapon. Poor thing never saw it coming.
Seifer	Seifer shot a thumbs up at Jono as the Jelleye crumpled to the floor, and then turned his attention to helping Squall hack at the pink thing. "You know, I think Selphie has a plushy version of this thing in her room."
Squall	Squall shrugged. Did she really? Did it matter? "And I have its Triple Triad card. What's your point?"
Seifer	"My point," Seifer started as he sliced at the thing's next, "is that it doesn't seem so badass when you imagine it getting hugged and dragged around by Selphie." As if it's 'wrath' wasn't amusing enough.
Squall	(That's a stupid point.) "It doesn't seem badass now," Squall pointed out.
Sphinxaur	The Sphinxaur shook his head as if to fend off all of the attackers at once. The last of his strength gave way. He reared up in his death throes before collapsing in a heap on the ground. The heap shimmered, then dissolved. All that remained was a curious light, curling upwards and dissipating near the ceiling.
Rinoa	Rinoa had a hunch. She lifted one hand, and summoned a Blizzard spell into her palm. There was the tingling cool of frost, as if she had opened a freezer door. There were tiny ice crystals in her hand, only for a moment before they melted against the warmth of her skin. It was weak at best, but it was more than she could have accomplished a few moments ago. "He was a magic dampener," she said. "We'll have to find all of them, before we can face her."
Squall	"And waste time that we don't know if we have," Squall grumbled. "Okay." He looked around and waved his gunblade to get everyone's attention. "Split up. Same groups as earlier. Search room-to-room, and find and kill all of these monsters. If you find Ultimecia, try not to engage until all of our magic is back and we're all together."

Squall	The crew split up and made their way through the castle. There were seven more monsters to take care of, and although they put up more of a fight than the Sphinxaur had, they were all eventually dispatched of. Some of them had been standing out in the open, and some hiding behind closed doors, but it was the ones protected by puzzles that were the most frustrating. The puzzles weren't fiendishly difficult, per se, so much as incredibly annoying. Between the musical lock where the correct "tune" to play was a keysmash, and the art gallery puzzle that was hard to solve even after you knew the trick because it had been set up poorly, there was plenty enough to facepalm over when the adventure was done. The tallest spire of the castle was actually a giant clock tower that stretched up into the clouds. Considering Ultimecia was trying to destroy time, it seemed an appropriate place to find her. Squall's group had found the last monster inside the clock itself, on a balcony that could only be reached by swinging across a gap on the clock's pendulum. Once that was taken care of, they continued up the tower. Near the top of the clock tower was a narrow catwalk. Below, above, and around the platform the gears of the enormous clock turned, and at its end was a small door that appeared to lead out into open air. "This looks like a good place to rest," Squall decided. Because there was a Save Point there. "And I don't think there are any more monsters to kill. Does everyone's magic feel like it's at full strength?"
Rinoa	Rinoa closed her eyes and focused. "I think so," she said. "If it's not, it's close enough that I'm not able to tell the difference." They could spend days searching the castle for more monsters. If they were back to full powers, or close to it, then now was the time to strike. They didn't have days. Which was an odd way of putting it, since time had nearly stopped, so far as she could tell. "I've lost count, of how many it's been," she admitted. Seven, eight? "Should we have the others meet us here?" They were nearly there. She didn't know how she knew that. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Sookie	"Already doing it," Sookie said, closing her eyes and reaching out to find Jono and tap lightly at his conscious mind. << We're at the top of the clock tower, guys. There's a door up here. Think you can meet us up here? >> She sent along a few images -- their current surroundings, landmarks on the route they'd taken, and the door itself -- before adding aloud, "By the way, yeah, my telepathy's all restored. I'll test-drive my sparkle-fingers in a second."
Jono	Jono was rather relieved to get Sookie's message, loud and clear. Even more relieved that he was able to reply, in turn. //Actually, we're not far from there at all,// he noted, nodding to the rest of the group and gesturing for them to follow him while he talked. //Top of th'tower? We'll be right there, luv.// Because he said so. That was why.
Rinoa	While they were waiting for the others to show up, Rinoa was going to take a moment to explore. The door ahead was open to the night sky; she peered out, then frowned. "We're on the clock face," she said. "It's just a sheer drop from here. About thirty feet."
Seifer	Seifer and the rest of his group made their way there just a few minutes later. The blond stepped up to the edge and looked over, considering. "It would hurt like a bitch, but with the right spells, it's survivable."
Squall	Squall peered out, too, then rolled his eyes. "We can just walk across the hands of the clock," he pointed out. "There's a ladder over there, and the minute hand reaches almost all the way to it." He shrugged. "But if you want to jump, go ahead. I'll cast Float for you."
Seifer	"Hey, I was just mentioning it for those who tend to stumble around hot chicks," Seifer countered as he headed for the clock hands.
Jono	//Suffer from that problem frequently, mate?// Jono was a smug bastard when he wanted to be. Right now, he was going to just saunter his way for the clock hands, as well, his flames illuminating the area in flickering shades of oranges and reds. A little extra lighting to walk by.
Squall	Across the clock face and at the bottom of the ladder was a balcony that ran all the way around the clocktower. Nearby, another ladder led down again. At the bottom of that ladder, a stone path led forward to where an imposing set of doors stood in the distance. "This is it," Squall announced determinedly. "That's where she'll be."
Rinoa	Rinoa had thought it was lucky, that the clock's hands hadn't been moving as they were climbing across. Of course they weren't. Time had stopped, here. "Are we ready?" she asked, reaching up to grasp her rings.
Tara	"I don't think we're going to get more ready," Tara said, a nervous smile flickering across her face. "Let's ... do this." And then maybe they could just go home.

(This is Part 4 of plot. Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7.)

(Preplayed with the seriously winsauce trigons_child, furnaceface, whateverknight, justwantsquiet, life_inshadow, and once more with special-awesome guest star Kym as our very own Seifer Almasy. Much love to all, as they rocked the hell out of plot. NFI, NFB, but OOC is love. ♥)