The Last Gasp of the Sorceress
Characters: Ultimecia and ...Marlene
Progress: Complete
Summary: A Sorceress must pass on her powers before she dies
Location: Luca
Date: September 1, 1804 (after the big battle)
Warnings: One last act of evil for Ulti
She was dead... she knew she was dead, and yet something in her would not let her die. When she had performed her final task, she would be released to the sweet nothing of oblivion - not the solitude she wanted, but the only one she was going to get.
It shouldn't have happened this way. She wasn't meant to fail... But her legacy would live on, whether those fools wanted it to or not. She just needed to find the proper energy signature - the feeling of one capable of taking in all the powers at the disposal of a Sorceress... There. It was perfect, and not too far away for her to reach in this semi-disembodied, bizarre situation, the one she'd experienced from the other side the last time it happened to her.
In her bodiless state, she performed one more transfer, the last she'd ever do.
Marlene was outside. The weather in Luca was nice - it was the end of summer, so there was still plenty of time to play outside in the sun. The week was perfect. Her papa was on his way, things were looking up. She had shooed Rex inside, and was looking over Denzel's flower garden, humming to herself.
In the corner of the garden, a form slowly materialized. Wavery around the edges, as though being seen through a summer's heat haze, the tall woman was dressed outlandishly - her long hair done up in what appeared to be horns, makeup like a mask over her face, a red robe with black trim that was almost indecent. The woman stumbled, seemed to almost fall, then approached the little girl she found herself face to face with in some incredulity.
This child was the match...? But, she hadn't been much older herself at the initial transfer, perhaps even younger. And a child this young would be the perfect revenge - for surely someone had to love this child and care for her, for her to be amusing herself in a flower garden outside a well-kept house. Yes, this was a better match than she'd originally expected.
"Do you know who I am?" Her voice, even, was echoing and hollow - not the voice of the living, barely identifiable even to those from her own world. If this girl had heard the transmission from a week before, she would have to be some sort of preternatural genius to make the match between the two.
The voice jolted her from her musings, and she looked up. Fear and confusion settled in her brown eyes. One, two steps back, her hands clenching together at her sides. Who was this person? Even if Marlene had seen the transmission, which she had - there would be no way for her to figure this out. Her head shook back and forth. "No, I don't. Are you okay?"
The innocence of a child. Sometimes it was definitely to be taken advantage of. The Sorceress wasn't quite standing up straight; she couldn't manage that. But she could finish this. "I have to... pass this on... before I go." A shudder went through her body, the feeling of being torn limb from limb in that last explosion. She wasn't quite real now, she was only a shadow. "Will you... take it from me?"
Fear and confusion went to worry. This lady... she knew she wasn't going to make it. There was so much death and destruction lately... why couldn't people be happier? Why couldn't they just live peacefully? There was no reason to hurt one another, at least in Marlene's eyes. She understood the reasons why her family fought, but others just seemed to fight to hurt others. Her faace seemed to harden for a moment, before she nodded her head just once. "What is it?"
"The power... for those you love..." She wasn't about to describe it any more fully than that, and it was true that the powers of a Sorceress greatly depended on the uses they chose for it. Ultimecia held out a hand, holding up her palm to Marlene, energy, power, magic beginning to flow from her to the girl in front of her.
Marlene stepped forward once, nodding her head. That's all she's ever wanted to do, protect her family and those she loved. They've all done so much for her, she wanted to be able to help them back. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Papa, everyone... they had sacrificed so much to help save the planet, and now save Gaia. She almost felt helpless. "I want to be able to help them!"
It flowed faster and faster, leaving the Sorceress in waves and tides, flowing into the small girl before her. "Then take it... you will find a purpose for it." Much as she hoped that the purpose would not be only for peace, she had to take what was available to her right at that moment.
And suddenly, it was gone, all of it, and Ultimecia fell to her knees, gasping as the feelings of that last spell flooded through her again, rending her flesh in her memory and starting to remove her from the world entirely at last. "They will... not... forget me..."
And, wish a flash of light edged in darkness, she was gone, as if she'd never been in the garden at Luca.
It seemed like Marlene didn't feel any different. What had the lady done? She couldn't even fathom to think of what it was. She rushed forward as soon as the lady dropped to her knees, and as soon as it had begun, there was no one before her. Eyes wide, blinking quickly, she spun around to see if the lady had gone elsewhere... but she was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was a crazy trick - maybe she had been playing outside too long and the sun was getting to her. The flowers were waiting though, wanting her attention, so that's where Marlene went back to, humming her little tune once more.
Progress: Complete
Summary: A Sorceress must pass on her powers before she dies
Location: Luca
Date: September 1, 1804 (after the big battle)
Warnings: One last act of evil for Ulti
She was dead... she knew she was dead, and yet something in her would not let her die. When she had performed her final task, she would be released to the sweet nothing of oblivion - not the solitude she wanted, but the only one she was going to get.
It shouldn't have happened this way. She wasn't meant to fail... But her legacy would live on, whether those fools wanted it to or not. She just needed to find the proper energy signature - the feeling of one capable of taking in all the powers at the disposal of a Sorceress... There. It was perfect, and not too far away for her to reach in this semi-disembodied, bizarre situation, the one she'd experienced from the other side the last time it happened to her.
In her bodiless state, she performed one more transfer, the last she'd ever do.
Marlene was outside. The weather in Luca was nice - it was the end of summer, so there was still plenty of time to play outside in the sun. The week was perfect. Her papa was on his way, things were looking up. She had shooed Rex inside, and was looking over Denzel's flower garden, humming to herself.
In the corner of the garden, a form slowly materialized. Wavery around the edges, as though being seen through a summer's heat haze, the tall woman was dressed outlandishly - her long hair done up in what appeared to be horns, makeup like a mask over her face, a red robe with black trim that was almost indecent. The woman stumbled, seemed to almost fall, then approached the little girl she found herself face to face with in some incredulity.
This child was the match...? But, she hadn't been much older herself at the initial transfer, perhaps even younger. And a child this young would be the perfect revenge - for surely someone had to love this child and care for her, for her to be amusing herself in a flower garden outside a well-kept house. Yes, this was a better match than she'd originally expected.
"Do you know who I am?" Her voice, even, was echoing and hollow - not the voice of the living, barely identifiable even to those from her own world. If this girl had heard the transmission from a week before, she would have to be some sort of preternatural genius to make the match between the two.
The voice jolted her from her musings, and she looked up. Fear and confusion settled in her brown eyes. One, two steps back, her hands clenching together at her sides. Who was this person? Even if Marlene had seen the transmission, which she had - there would be no way for her to figure this out. Her head shook back and forth. "No, I don't. Are you okay?"
The innocence of a child. Sometimes it was definitely to be taken advantage of. The Sorceress wasn't quite standing up straight; she couldn't manage that. But she could finish this. "I have to... pass this on... before I go." A shudder went through her body, the feeling of being torn limb from limb in that last explosion. She wasn't quite real now, she was only a shadow. "Will you... take it from me?"
Fear and confusion went to worry. This lady... she knew she wasn't going to make it. There was so much death and destruction lately... why couldn't people be happier? Why couldn't they just live peacefully? There was no reason to hurt one another, at least in Marlene's eyes. She understood the reasons why her family fought, but others just seemed to fight to hurt others. Her faace seemed to harden for a moment, before she nodded her head just once. "What is it?"
"The power... for those you love..." She wasn't about to describe it any more fully than that, and it was true that the powers of a Sorceress greatly depended on the uses they chose for it. Ultimecia held out a hand, holding up her palm to Marlene, energy, power, magic beginning to flow from her to the girl in front of her.
Marlene stepped forward once, nodding her head. That's all she's ever wanted to do, protect her family and those she loved. They've all done so much for her, she wanted to be able to help them back. Cloud, Tifa, Aerith, Papa, everyone... they had sacrificed so much to help save the planet, and now save Gaia. She almost felt helpless. "I want to be able to help them!"
It flowed faster and faster, leaving the Sorceress in waves and tides, flowing into the small girl before her. "Then take it... you will find a purpose for it." Much as she hoped that the purpose would not be only for peace, she had to take what was available to her right at that moment.
And suddenly, it was gone, all of it, and Ultimecia fell to her knees, gasping as the feelings of that last spell flooded through her again, rending her flesh in her memory and starting to remove her from the world entirely at last. "They will... not... forget me..."
And, wish a flash of light edged in darkness, she was gone, as if she'd never been in the garden at Luca.
It seemed like Marlene didn't feel any different. What had the lady done? She couldn't even fathom to think of what it was. She rushed forward as soon as the lady dropped to her knees, and as soon as it had begun, there was no one before her. Eyes wide, blinking quickly, she spun around to see if the lady had gone elsewhere... but she was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was a crazy trick - maybe she had been playing outside too long and the sun was getting to her. The flowers were waiting though, wanting her attention, so that's where Marlene went back to, humming her little tune once more.