Five-Sense Memory: Exdeath
Krile sat huddled in a giant, shaking cave. Her nerves hummed and she held her knees tightly, peering into a large shimmering square. She was doing this on her own, but the sound of her heart beating loudly told her that there was no other choice. Each passing second brought her closer and closer... through the square, she could see blue seas and green landmasses growing larger.
She set her hands on the square's raised edge, listening to that heartbeat as she steered. Now she could see an immense floating fortress made of metal and gears rather than stone and mortar. It hovered over desert and mountains, easily large enough to be a city in its own right.
And she was headed straight for it.
Krile gritted her teeth as it grew larger in the viewing square, tweaking and adjusting by moving her hands and trying to ignore how terribly afraid she felt. She didn't have time for that right now! And then she didn't have time for anything else either because she was about to collide with the flying city. She grabbed her head in her hands, tucking herself into a ball just before the crash--the sound of rock tearing and bashing through metal roared in her ears as the cavern shook like it was in an earthquake.
As soon as it had started, it was over. Leaping to her feet, she clambered up over ledges and ramps to a door as everything began to tilt backwards. Sudden daylight almost blinded her as she scrambled out the door into the somewhat-mangled fortress. Behind her she could just make out a meteorite plummeting earthward, but she didn't waste any time watching it.
The inside of the fortress was as bizarre as the outside. But though Krile had never seen it before, she knew exactly where she needed to be. It felt like an invisible trail laid out in front of her. The wall ahead collapsed into a huge room, where a crystal taller than a man rotated gently above some sort of machine. Four people had been knocked off their feet: a brown-haired man that she recognized as Lix, a woman with pink hair, someone with purple hair and--and Grandpa.
No time. There was a fifth, a bearded and caped man with his arm upraised. Before he could do whatever he intended, Krile struck him with a Thunder spell and he crumpled to the ground.
Grandpa and Lix climbed to their feet, and Krile started breathing again before breaking out into a huge smile, jumping up and down in glee. "Grandpa!" Then she ran to him as fast as she could. "Grandpa! I'm so glad you're okay!"
He frowned down at her and scratched his mustache. The smile on Krile's face slipped as he turned away, looking nothing but perplexed... then he barked a laugh and the confusion seemed to bounce away across the floor. "Krile..." He turned back. "You're... Krile...!"
She grabbed his hands and spun him around as he laughed, bouncing up and down and then finally flinging her arms around him. "Grandpa, I missed you so much..."
The two women stirred and then ran to the man in blue Krile had knocked down. "Father! Papa!" They both sounded desperately worried... oops.
"Oh, don't worry," Krile assured them, breaking away from Grandpa. "I just hit him with a little strike of Thunder! He should be okay."
The two women rushed over to him as he began to get to his feet, looking rather muddled and a little scorched but otherwise all right. Their names were obscured by a sound like rushing water or fire, but it was clear that they were father and daughters--family long lost, for the rough-looking woman. She barely said it at first, but then it echoed around the stone chamber. "Papa... Papa!" Krile felt herself smile for the three of them. What a wonderful thing to see...
Then something changed. Krile couldn't put her finger on what, but the entire room, in sight and feel, went dark. She spun to look as Bartz ran over to the crystal--it slowed to a halt and then shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering around the chamber. A light flashed from the place it had been, harsh and blinding.
"Exdeath...!"
"Galuf." The blue-armored warlock stood on the pedestal, cape settling into place. "It's good to see you again... for it means I have returned! Mwa-hahahahaha!" He raised his arms and more light flashed out from the crystal shards. They rose from the flooor and began to orbit the six people. "Crystals! Obey my magic... Give me your power!" Exdeath boomed. "Smite these vermin!!!
"You think we're gonna just sit back and let you do whatever you want?!" Lix shot back, stepping forward. Exdeath's reply came in the form of hideous green light bursting from the fragments, knocking Lix flat. The smell of burnt, rotten soil rose from the smoke.
"Bartz!" the pink-haired woman exclaimed as she and her sister helped him to his feet.
Krile clenched her fists and looked up at Grandpa. He was glaring at Exdeath, but she could see that he didn't intend to rush him, not now. But he would know what to do... surely he knew... he had to. "Hah!" She flinched at Exdeath's voice and snapped her attention back to him. "Now the crystals have been destroyed. Next shall be your world, Galuf!!!"
[Memory can be found here!]