The Last Days
SINGLETON JEFFERSON
I'm posting parts 28 and 29 together. So look out!
J
THE LAST DAYS
XXVIII
For Relm, night came all to quickly. Relm, her friends, the moogles,
and the mimics loaded up the Figaro warship, and made the short flight from
Thamasa to Ebot's Rock. The lone mountain loomed ominously against the
skyline, a huge black shadow blocking out the stars. Under Mog's
direction, the army filed into the pitch black cave in rows of five.
Several mimics produced torches, lighting the tunnel as they entered. Mog
lead the march, while Gogo brought up the rear. Relm walked near the front
of the legion, surrounded by Gau, Sabin, and Umaro. She had left
Interceptor back in Thamasa, and she missed the old dog already. Peace
walked at her side, holding her hand. In her other hand Relm held a sword,
an old blade she borrowed from Strago. It was more for her own peace of
mind than anything else; she knew it would do her little good in the coming
battle.
The cave began to twist and turn as they went deeper into the mountain.
They made progress quickly, the sound of an oncoming army scaring away the
creatures who resided in the dark recesses of the cave. The air was damp
and musty, and it was obvious no one had entered the cave in a long time.
Relm herself had not been there since she helped Strago find the Hidon.
The tunnel branched several times; at each junction the army stopped, and
after a moment's thought, Peace chose their path. The cave sloped
downward, and Relm could tell they were far below the ground. As they
descended, she began to sense an unfamiliar power; similar to the aura that
surrounded Peace, and yet very different. She had no way of knowing
whether it was the junction Peace had spoke of, or perhaps something they
did not want to encounter. Either way, the feeling was growing steadily
more intense, and each passage Peace chose seemed to bring them closer to
the source. Relm hated not knowing to expect; but, in the last few days,
she had come to expect just that. She tightened her grip on her sword,
steeling her determination. The time to be afraid was past, she decided.
It was time to be strong.
They had been marching for forty minutes when the cave opened into a
large cavern. Mog stopped them at the mouth of the cavern. He signaled
for silence, and after a few quick gestures, Mog and three other moogles
disappeared into the blackness of the cavern. Without the footfalls of the
army the cave was deadly silent, and Relm could almost hear her heart beat.
She understood fully what was happening; this would be the perfect place
for an ambush. Peace squeezed her hand, sharing her anxiety.
"We're very close, painter," Peace whispered.
"I feel it too," Relm said, nodding.
"I don't like this, Relm," Gau said, his voice a quiet growl, "it smells
strange here."
"Like the demons?" Relm asked.
"No," Gau said, shaking his head, "it's different. It smells like
death."
"That's a lovely thought," Umaro said. Relm smiled, appreciating the
sasquatch's levity.
"Can we go around?" Sabin asked quietly.
"Given the volcanic origin of these caves," Umaro said, "it's quite
likely that all the tunnels connect to this cavern."
"Then it's time for some action," Sabin said, cracking his knuckles.
The silver claws he wore chimed softly as they rubbed against each other.
Mog and the moogles stepped into the torchlight.
"It looks alright, kupo," Mog said, "how much further, Lady Peace,
kupo?"
"Not far," Peace replied, "a few more minutes."
"Let's go then, kupo," Mog said, "formation zero, kupo. Keep your eyes
open, kupo-kup-kupo."
The army marched into the cavern, forming a defensive circle around Relm
and Peace. The roof of the cavern was barely visible in the torchlight,
fifty-some feet above. Relm scanned the darkness nervously, expecting to
see hundreds of glowing red eyes appear at any moment. The entrance had
melted into the darkness, and the opposite side of the cavern was still not
visible.
"Stop!" Gau shouted suddenly. Relm's heart nearly leapt out of her
chest. The entire army dropped into a defensive posture, countless weapons
raised to unseen targets. The footfalls of the legion again fell silent;
but this time there was a trickling noise, echoing through the cavern.
"Water?" Relm whispered.
"I don't think so," Gau said. Grabbing a torch from one of the mimics,
Gau pushed to the front of the army. He walked forward a few steps, and
the torchlight fell on a still river of red liquid, several yards across.
Gau knelt at the bank, sniffing the air. Mog crept to his side.
"What is it, kupo?" Mog asked quietly. Gau dipped a finger into the
river. The liquid hissed and foamed at the touch and he recoiled quickly,
yelping in pain.
"Not water," Gau answered, shaking his singed finged.
"Is it deep, kupo?" Mog asked. Gau grabbed a stone and threw it into
the river. The splash echoed loudly through the cavern.
"Yes," Gau replied.
"I think we're in trouble, kupo-po," Mog said.
"We're in trouble!" Gogo called from the rear of the army. All eyes
turned in horror to see an identical river had appeared behind them, where
only bare stone had been a moment before. In fact, Relm realized as she
surveyed the outskirts of the torchlight, the river had somehow formed a
circle around them; they were trapped.
A blackened human arm suddenly reached out of the river, grabbing Gau's
arm. Without a moments hesitation, Gau snapped up a scimitar in his free
hand and severed the charred arm at the elbow. He leapt away from the
river bank, tearing free the half of the arm that still clung to his own.
A horde of disfigured human corpses began to crawl out of the river on all
sides. Their flesh barely clung to their bones; their voices were only
agonized, miserable groans. Each set of dead eyes stared directly at
Peace. Relm nearly vomited at the sight. The corpses completely encircled
the army, and began to close in.
SINGLETON JEFFERSON
THE LAST DAYS
XXIX
"What are they?" Relm screamed.
"The damned," Peace said, her voice oddly sad, "souls trapped in
Tartarus."
"Push to the bank!" Gogo shouted, "keep them in the water!"
The army quickly spread to the edge of the circular island, engaging the
oncoming swarm of animated dead, and leaving only Relm and Peace standing
alone at the center. Relm watched the battle develop in absolute horror.
Lightning coarsed down the moogle weapons as they hit home, and the corpses
burst into white flame and fell back into the river. The mimics fought
similarly, whooping and hollering as they did. But for every corpse they
incinerated, two more crawled of the river to replace it. Moogles and
mimics were dragged screaming into the red liquid, and the battle lines
began to collapse.
"I have to help," Relm said, starting toward the bank of the river.
"Stay with me, painter," Peace pleaded, clutching Relm's hand.
"I can't just-" Relm began.
"Time for us to go, kupo!" Mog said. Umaro suddenly appeared beside
her, with Mog sitting on his shoulders. Both wore blood stains all over
their white fur.
"Sabin!" Umaro shouted. After a few moments Sabin rushed to them from
the battle line.
"There's too many of 'em," Sabin shouted.
"Follow my lead," Umaro said. Turning to Relm, he said, "if you would
be so kind as to carry Lady Peace." Relm sheathed her sword and picked up
the young girl, cradling Peace in her arms. To her complete surprise,
Umaro scooped both of them up in one arm.
"Where is Gau?" Umaro shouted. Mog pointed to the blue-armored figure
at the far edge of the battle line. Umaro began to sprint toward Gau,
carrying Relm and Peace in one arm and Mog on his shoulders. Gau never
knew what happened as a massive white-furred arm wrapped around his waist
from behind and lifted him into the air. Umaro leapt over the river,
lowering his shoulder and plowing through several corpses on his way. He
soared through the air, and landed on the other side, his shoulder crashing
into the hard stone. Relm, Peace, Gau, and Mog were scattered to the
ground like dolls as the yeti hit the opposite bank. Sabin followed a few
steps behind, leaping through the gap in the wall of corpses before it
closed. His eyes opened wide in terror as he began to fall a yard short of
the bank. Umaro was back on his feet incredibly quickly after the rough
landing. Reaching out his massive arm and catching Sabin by an
outstretched arm, Umaro flung the large man over his shoulder and clear of
the river. Sabin hit the stone hard, nearly landing on a bewildered Gau.
"What the hell did you do that for?!" Gau shouted, scrambling to his
feet.
"We have to get Lady Peace out of here," Umaro barked, helping Relm and
Peace to their feet
"Which way, my lady, kupo?" Mog asked. Peace pointed to the opposite
side of the cavern. "Let's move, kupopopo!" the moogle shouted.
"We can't just leave them!" Sabin shouted.
"The fiends want you, not them," Umaro said. They looked back to the
river, to see the corpses now crawling out on the other side, and steadily
advancing on them.
"Let's get out of here!" Relm shouted, taking Peace's hand. They bolted
away form the oncoming swarm, but soon found themselves in total darkness
without the aid of a torch.
"Wait!" Gau shouted, stopping the group. He fumbled at his belt, and
produced an extinguished torch. "I need a light!" he shouted.
"I have one," Relm said, frantically rumaging through her pouch. She
pulled out a small piece of flint, and handed it to Gau. He dropped to
one knee, and began to pound on the stone floor, producing several sparks.
"Hurry!" Sabin shouted.
"Got it!" Gau yelled triumphantly, holding up the lit torch. The light
fell on the teem of corpses, only a few feet behind.
"Go!!" Umaro shouted, grabbing Gau and lifting him off the ground. They
continued to run, until the finally reached the end of the cavern. The
stone wall was riddled with caves. All eyes fell on Peace. She closed her
eyes, and after a moment pointed to one of the caves to the left, it's
mouth several feet off the ground. Umaro stood beneath the opening,
hoisting the others up to the cave one at a time. Gau and Sabin stood at
the mouth of the cave, reaching down to Umaro.
"C'mon!" Gau shouted, motioning for the sasquatch to jump.
"I weigh five-hundred pounds, wild boy," Umaro said, grinning.
"Then jump!" Gau screamed desperately.
"Too narrow," Umaro shouted, turning to face the walking corpses, now
only a few yard away, "get going, I'll stall them!"
"Umaro!!" Sabin shouted.
"GO!!!" Umaro barked, dashing forward into the swarm. Bodies flew in
all directions as he hammered away with him huge arms. But there were just
too many of them, and the corpses had Umaro surrounded after only a few
moments, and they began advance on the cave.
"Damn," Sabin grumbled, grabbing Gau's arm, "c'mon, let's go!" Sabin
and Gau dashed into the cave, where Relm, Mog, and Peace waited a few steps
ahead. They sprinted through the narrow cave as fast as them could, Relm,
Gau, and Sabin forced to duck under the low ceiling. Relm looked over her
shoulder constantly, searching for signs of persuit. She saw nothing, but
the angry moans of the corpses echoed down the tunnel, and they could not
be too far behind. After what seemed like several minutes, the cave
suddenly dead ended in a circular chamber.
"No!" Relm screamed in dispair.
"This is it," Peace said excitedly, "This is the junction!" Relm
surveyed the chamber. The stone walls seemed unnaturally smooth, but other
than that it was no different from the rest of the mountain.
"Alright," Relm said, "so what do we do?"
"You and I will cross over," Peace said, "to the other side."
"We die?!" Relm said in disbelief.
"No," Peace answered calmly, "but we can't enter the nexus in these
bodies."
"It's like a trance, kupo," Mog said, "you spirit will go to the nexus,
while your body remains here, kupo."
The roar of the corpses echoed down the tunnel, this time much closer.
"They're coming," Sabin said, rushing to the entrance to the chamber.
Relm and Gau's eyes met. They could both tell that they were thinking
the same thing. They might never see each other again.
"Keep me safe," Relm said.
"Always," Gau said solemnly. Relm grabbed his shoulders and pulled him
close, kissing him shortly and strongly. She released him, and they locked
gazes once more.
"Let's get 'em, wild boy, kupo-kupo-ku-kupo!!" Mog shouted, banging the
butt of his lance against the stone.
"Right," Gau growled, baring his canine fangs.
"We'll meet them in the tunnel," Sabin said, "we'll need room to fall
back."
Mog, Gau, and Sabin rushed back into the tunnel. The light of Gau's
torch slowly faded away, leaving Relm and Peace alone in the darkness.
"How do we do this?" Relm asked, her heart pounding.
"Take my hands," Peace said, extending her small hands. Relm took the
little girl's hands in her own. "People often see their lives flash before
them when they cross planes," Peace continued, "do not be afraid, painter."
Relm nodded, and Peace smiled. Relm's eyes opened wide in amazement as
Peace's body began to glow, illuminating the entire chamber.
Then everything went black.
SINGLETON JEFFERSON
Chapter 30: Relm has a bad acid trip.
Have any of you seen the movie 2001? You know, with Hal, the evil
computer? You know when the guy gets sucked into the monolith? That's
kinda what I was thinking of. Anyway...
J
THE LAST DAYS
XXX
Falling.
The first thing Relm could feel was falling. She could not tell which
direction was down; she was simply tumbling through total darkness. She
tried to open her eyes and get her bearings, but she found she had no eyes
to open. In panic, she flailed her arms and legs, but found she had no
appendages to flail. She tried to scream, but found she had no voice to
scream with. She was falling through some infinite void, without even a
body to house her mind. Terror gripped her, and she knew she would go mad
in a matter of moments.
Then came the visions. Images flooded into her mind, and she couldn't
even close her eyes to keep them out. The visions changed too fast for her
to even separate them; she could discern only a blur of color, accompanied
by a roar of voices. Relm's mind raged maniacally, desperately trying to
force the unintelligible visions away. But the images persisted, unabated.
In that swift instant, Relm forgot everything she knew and everything she
was; she was nothing more than a disembodied consciousness, wallowing in
madness.
Suddenly, as though by some unseen hand, Relm felt her mind ripped open,
and she was somehow forced to see through the insanity. Without
understanding, she knew that she was falling through time. She looked
through the chaotic swarm of images, through the bounds of mortality. Her
mind's eye saw the evolution of her own universe as decades passed by in
mere moments. She saw a perfect sphere glowing radiantly and heard an
angelic choir of infinite voices, and knew that it was Harmony. She saw a
tiny crack form in the sphere, and watched in sadness as the fault spread
over it's surface. Finally, in a brilliant flash of light and darkness,
the sphere shattered into countless tiny sparkles. Each sparkle was a
sphere of fire, burning brightly against the darkness. Relm saw the birth
of her world, a tiny speck circling around one of the fiery sparkles. She
saw ages of fire shape the land, and ages of rain form the oceans. She saw
a time when monsters ruled the land, and saw them destroyed by a change in
the global climate. She saw the birth of man, and the tribal beginning of
civilization, and saw it wiped clean by an age of ice. She saw an age of
simple people: farmers and hunters, and she saw it destroyed by drought and
plague. She saw her own time, a mix of magic and machines, and she saw it
shattered by the days of ruin. She saw an age of great machines and towers
of steel that reached up to the skies, and saw it destroyed by weapons of
unimaginable power. She saw the vicious cycle of balance and ruin repeat
over and over again; each time mankind persevered, until they were finally
able to reach out to the other sparkles, where other worlds much like
Relm's had undergone similar struggles. She watched as the sparkles began
to flow together, and in a flash of darkness and light, Harmony was reborn.
Then suddenly it was gone.
Relm opened her eyes. She was quite relieved that she again had a body.
She felt like she had just awoken from a dream. The understanding she had
felt just a moment ago was slipping away from her. She struggled to hold
on to it, but the effort was futile, and she was left with only a partial
memory of what she had seen and felt.
The visions were all but forgotten as Relm turned her attention to her
surroundings. The entire world was black and white, even her own body.
She was in a strangely familiarly room, alone. A slight breeze rustled
the curtains around an open window. After a moment's thought, Relm
realized where she was: her own room, back in Thamasa. But it was
different than she remembered; the walls where she had hung many of her
paintings were bare, and there was no furniture. Relm looked out the
window, not sure what to expect. Thamasa was there, much to her relief.
It to be mid-morning. The grass was lush, and the trees and flowers were
in bloom; it looked as it did before the days of ruin. But, Relm noticed,
there were no other people, save herself.
A faint sound reached Relm's ears. It sounded like a woman's cry from
down the hall. Relm timidly opened the door, and walked out into the
familiar corridor. The sound of labored breathing grew increasingly loud
as she approached Strago's room. The door was already open, and she walked
in.
Strago's room was not as she remembered it either. The walls where
Strago's numerous book shelves once rested now bore paintings Relm did not
recognize. A woman lay in the bed against a mountain of pillows, her knees
pulled up to her chest. She seemed completely oblivious to Relm's arrival.
She was sweating profusely and breathing arduously. From the bulge of her
stomach under her long white dress, Relm gathered that the woman was in
labor. A man sat at the foot of the bed, his head covered under the dress.
Relm nearly fell to the floor as her eyes fell on the woman's face.
The woman was Relm!
At yet, it wasn't. The woman was slightly older than Relm. Her hair
and eyes were a slightly different shade than her own. But the resemblance
was uncanny.
"You're doing great, Ariel," the man said, his head popping up from
under the dress.
"Strago!" Relm gasped aloud. The man at the foot of the bed was indeed
Strago, but he looked much younger.
"Keep pushing," Strago said, ignoring Relm, "you're almost done." The
woman groaned in response, and gritted her teeth determinedly.
"Strago," Relm nearly shouted, "what's going on?" Strago continued his
to assist the delivery, completely oblivious to Relm's call. The woman too
seemed unaware of Relm's presence. Relm's heart raced as she began to
grasp what was happening. Ariel, Strago had called the woman.
"Mom?" Relm whispered, her voice trembling.
A young man suddenly burst through the doorway, holding a clear jar of a
sludgy white salve in his hand. He frantically rushed into the room,
passing right through Relm's body.
"I have it!" the man shouted.
"Give it here," Strago said. The man handed Strago the jar, and sat on
the bed beside Ariel. The young woman grabbed his hand tightly. The man
leaned down and gently kissed her forehead.
"I love you," the young man whispered to Ariel. Relm dropped to her
knees, her entire body numb. She started to speak, but found she could
barely even draw breath. Her mind whirled, desperately trying to find some
explanation for what she was seeing. She recognized the man. He looked
much younger, but there was no mistaking it.
"Congratulations, Clyde," Strago said, "it's a girl!"
Strago stoop up, cradling a baby in his arms. He held the child upside
down by her feet, and gently smacked her bare behind. The child choked
once, and began to cry. Strago gingerly laid the baby in her mother's
arms.
"Little Relm," Ariel said, the love for her daughter shining in her
silver eyes.
"She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Clyde said, touching
the baby's hand. The child gripped her father's finger in her tiny hand
tightly. She stopped crying, and opened her eyes to the new world around
her.
Time suddenly seemed to freeze. Strago, Clyde, Ariel, and the child
were silent and still for a long moment. Relm could hear her heart
beating. Then everything began to fade away into darkness. Everything
except Clyde. Soon it was only Relm and Clyde, alone in the void. Clyde's
eyes suddenly focused on Relm, acknowledging her for the first time. He
held out his arm to her, and opened his palm. In his hand was a strangle
sparkle of light. He smiled warmly, and motioned to the shining object.
Relm timidly reached out and took the sparkle, clutching it in her fist.
Clyde smiled, and then he too began to fade away.
"Wait!" Relm shouted desperately. But Clyde was gone, and she was alone
in the blackness.
"Painter."
Relm snapped open her eyes. Peace stood before her, her green eyes
shining. They were still holding hands.
"We're here," Peace said.