With Ragnarok blazing off to his right, Squall flew through the air, enjoying the wind in his hair. To his left, Hyne flew with him, able to catch up but only barely. He didn't bather talking to him, because he now knew how to communicate telepathically.
Hyne. I... can't believe what I saw there. Darkness... he was so evil. So powerful. I'm beginning to believe him, about the 'me not being the one to destroy him' thing.
Hyne seemed to contemplate behind him, and then he nodded.
I've seen your power, and he's used his power against me. One curse and I couldn't seem to do any damage at all. Then, he summoned his hoard on me. It was all I could do to summon an ultima to head them off and teleport. I... I don't think even you could stop him alone, either. It would take more than you.
This didn't actually encourage him any. Without his normal vest on, wearing simply black, loose trousers and a couple of armbands, legbands, and headbands, his new garments, he flew through the air, thinking. Then, he thought to Hyne,
We should go inside and choose our next course of action. Where are we going again?
Hyne didn't answer him instantly, but flashed into the star/airship. Squall followed him, finding himself in the flight deck. Only Selphie and Irvine were there, though, trading thoughts. At least, that's what he thought they were doing. Rather than stay there with both Irvinne and Selphie looking at them, panicked, they teleported to the command room, where passengers would go. Reaching for the intercom, Hyne sighed.
"You know, Squall, that you may not win this alone."
"I know."
Activating the intercom, Hyne said throughout the ship,
"OK everyone. Squall and I are calling a meeting in the hangar bay. Meet us there."
At first, Squall wondered what she meant in summoning them to the hangar bay, but he figured he would soon find out. After all, when they were all in the room, the child didn't waste much time.
"I think we need to go on the offensive."
"Offensive? Against who?"
Selphie said from the back, swinging the Strange Vision around.
"Selphie has a point, Hyne. We don't really know how to reach the enemy. Communications have thusfar been one-way."
Quistis said, unsure of what to do. She always was the calculating one. Hyne nodded.
"We will never fight Darkness of our own accord. Not even Squall can distort space enough to do that. However, there is a meeting place for his servants that I know of, a place where they gather together to challenge one another to death matches, and where they stage new assaults on humanity."
"Whoa, now. Hold up. What are you talking about?"
Irvinne looked up at Hyne.
"Kind of like a dimensional arena."
"Yes. You might say that. The winners of the death matches tend to come to Earth to try to ruin the lives of normal people. Very few people can see them."
Squall nodded. It was all starting to make sense. Darkness' group wasn't too complicated, really. It was a lot like the Garden, except it expanded far beyond the Garden's influence. It had a leader, a training center, a mission, and abilities beyond those of normal people. Darkness was especially strong, as Squall had seen. In fact, he agreed very clearly with Hyne. He was definitely not powerful enough to defeat Darkness. After all, Darkness hadn't even cast an Ultima on his henchman to kill him. It was more of a telekinetic blast. He'd learned how to do that, but wasn't strong enough to do that much damage. Suddenly, Squall heard a distinctive swoosh and laser. Seeking out with his mind, Squall felt someone. Seifer.
"So, where is this pit stop to hell's doorstep?"
Everyone jumped and turned to see Seifer in his common grey trenchcoat, his own laser-gunblade in his palm, swinging through the air. Squall cursed himself for not thinking to sense for any unknown presences. Now, Seifer was on the airship.
"Where'd you get in from?"
Hyne asked.
"I walked in. How else. You still haven't answered my question."
Hyne didn't accept that answer, and neither did anyone else.
"Okay, okay. I was here at liftoff, hanging out in the airlock. You got a problem with that, chickenwuss?"
Suddenly, everyone noticed that Zell was sneering, almost enraged.
"Yeah, Seifer. I do. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Do you want me to have a problem with that?"
"Go right ahead."
Zell got into guard position with his Tintor Fins in place as Seifer pulled out Holy Cross. Squall sighed. Pulling out Lionheart and ignited the silver-blue blade in between the combatants, Squall entered the fight.
"You will not fight on this ship. We're in this together. Got it?"
He wasn't looking at Seifer, though. He was looking straight at Zell, and Zell wasn't too happy about it.
"But Commander!"
"Lieutenant General Zell Dincht, do I make myself clear."
He seemed about to contest that decision, but he sighed and backed down.
"Yes... sir."
Seifer grinned at Zell's forced submission.
"Chickenwuss, you're so pa..."
suddenly, he found himself unable to talk, and Rinoa had her hand up in the air, the air around her hand shimmering with magic power.
"I didn't want to have to do that, Seifer. Mute is not my favorite magic."
Squall smiled. Rinoa did know how to control Seifer. If no one else, she did.
"Thank you, Sorceress Rinoa."
She didn't get angry about that, but she wasn't exactly happy about it either, as everyone could tell by her frown. She didn't like the name, the title, or anything else having to do with the term 'sorceress.' They all tried to convince her that she couldn't have helped being a sorceress, but she didn't believe any of them.
"As I was saying,"
Hyne said.
"This 'pit stop to hell's doorstep' as Seifer so melodramatically put it can be accessed from two locations. The Moon, and the Island Closest to Hell."
Seifer sweared. None of them liked the Island Closest to Hell. After compressed time, many of the creatures there went insane, and they didn't attack in groups of one or two any more. Instead, they fought in groups of ten and twenty, and they seemed to have grown in power. They were all comparable in power to Bahamut at level 40, and although they could have beat them easily if they had their Guardian Forces, their Guardians couldn't be trusted.
"We'll have to go in, people. We just need to hold a rift open long enough to let Squall go through, and then produce one when Squall telepathically signals us to open it."
Easier said than done. No one knew how long it would take for Squall to ravage the enemy Arena, and, as some of them feared, he might not. These henchmen of Darkness were his crack warriors, willing to fight to the death. What if he lost? Seifer didn't miss that fact.
"Personally, Squall, I hope you don't make it back."
At everyone's glare, he stopped. Uncharacteristically, though, he finished it off with,
"Just kill some demons for us, Squall. Kill them all."
With the hangar bay open, all of them, including Seifer, prepared for the jump.
"You all ready, guys!?"
Even Seifer gave a thumbs up sign, as they all readied to use their float magics on the way down.
"Go! Go! Go!"
Two by two, they dove out. Squall and Hyne first, since they could fly rather than float, then Rinoa and Seifer, Zell and Quistis, and Selphie and Irvinne. As they came down, Squall watched Hyne close his eyes, focusing his mind on the dimensional folds so that she could rip open the space. Squall could have done it, but it took a considerable amount of power, and he couldn't spare any. When they hit the ground, they didn't have a moment to spare. His eyes glazed over, rolled back in his head, Hyne reached into a spot in the air, pulled it open, and was rewarded with the cackling of unseen energy as massive amounts of power flooded into the space. Suddenly, a field began to appear, a visible vibration in the air. As soon as it was human size, Hyne yelled out,
"Squall! Jump in!"
Without comment, Squall launched into the hole, straight into a myriad of cheering forces of Darkness.
Without any need to hide, these figures weren't wearing their normal white hoods. These being were nearly unclothed, except for some armor that they wore, waiting for their entrance. They were vaguely human, but something was different. Some of them had wings, others seemed to have powers breathing under their skin. Squall had shifted his vision into a wide-scan mode, and was shocked by the amount of power in the room. Before they could react, he launched a series of Holy attacks, sending waves of awesome forces cascading through the lines as hundreds of these evil being recoiled and shrieked in horror and pain. Running with adrenaline, Squall yelled out,
"Go ahead and kill me!"
Unfortunately, they responded in kind. The two in the Arena, apparently the most powerful for the fact that they didn't recoil in pain, both stopped fighting each other and focused on Squall, launching two magics that he'd never seen before. The two green beams came at him at awesome speeds, and although he avoided one, the other hit him in the foot. As he looked down, he saw the skin become semi-transparent as it infected his body. At each pulse, it pained him like crazy, causing him to nearly grow dizzy. When his opponents tried to blast him with it again, though, he brought up a field in front of him, the same field that had subconsciously arisen the day that Rinoa blasted him in the training room. The magic hit him, but started flooding through him, fueling him, stocking him with new power. Doing what no one else had ever done, he fused it with an esuna and fired at himself, relieving the pain. Only 3 seconds had passed since the first blast, and he was ready to fight again. Rather than face those two, he dove straight to the ground, slamming into three recovering demons, sending them flying into the wall. One of them dissipated, and he got up quickly, his arms burning with unleashed power. Unfortunately, about half of the demons had recovered and were facing him. Before he could unleash another Holy on their unholy forms, a crystal beam was fired at him from a distance. Unleashing the Holy, he held out his other hand and created the same absorbing field, feeling the magic flood into him. His mind subconsciously evaluated it as a non-elemental energy attack, much like the pulse ammo except magic and far more powerful. Reaching up with his hand, now lit up with this new power, he touched the electro blade of the Lionheart, and flooded it in, causing it to burn with new power. With a swipe, he took out two nearby demons with the power of the Lionheart before more came to attack him. However, he knew it wasn't just more demons. It was the two arena combatants. Rather than face them and the hoarde, he unleashed a meteor on the rest of them, causing most of them to be knocked unconscious, and encouraging others to get into the fight. He was going to face these two alone.
In his eyes was holy fire. In his blade was new power. In his heart was the courage of a lion. In his mind, there was only one desire. Defeat the enemy. Swinging his saber, he advanced on the one in front of him, focusing his vitality field behind him to protect from his other enemy's assaults. Of course, that meant that he would be killed with one physical hit to the front, but he didn't intend to let his opponent live long enough to do that. Swinging Lionheart, trying to find a moment of weakness, he secretly started fusing magics in his mind. He didn't have the time for more than one magic attack before the enemy behind him cracked through his vitality shield. Fusing Ultima, Meteor, Holy, 'Pulse Crystalline', and 'Venom', he focused all his energies not to any part of his body, but to the tip of his blade. The blade could not contain the magic at its current size, and increased in length by a foot, brightening to a level so high that he had to cast a self-inflicted Blind on himself to keep from blinding himself completely. The enemy to his front wasn't so lucky. Not suspecting the sudden increase, he staggered backwards... only to be skewered by the energy blade. His body seemed to hand there in mid air before he started to slowly fall downwards, more parts of his body being cut through before he dissipated like the others. Suddenly, Squall's vision exploded in white as the demon behind him hit him harder than ever. He could barely stay conscious. He tried a curaga, but he wasn't focused enough. He lost consciousness.
Watching a group of seven hexadragons come from the distance, Rinoa readied to face her opponent's when she heard Squall's voice through the void. Whether it was really his voice or simply an unconscious calling, she wasn't sure, but she didn't care. Abandoning the others, she jumped through the void. The last thing she heard before she crossed was,
"Rinoa! Wait!"
After crossing the gap, she saw one side of the stadium littered with unconscious or barely conscious aliens. On the other side...
"Squall!"
Squall was lying there, a demon clawing behind him, ready to deal the final blow.
"No!"
Behind her, she felt wings come out of her back and expand outwards, drifting her to the grounds. Her limit. Angel Wing. Before the demon could bring his attack down, she summoned a Holy and blasted it, causing it to turn. In horror, she realized that it hadn't done any real damage. It walked towards her, it's teeth bared.
"How dare you humansssssss attack Ssssssorion."
She started to back up, unsure of what to do. Squall started to stir, barely, and he looked up. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. He sent a telepathic message to her,
"Rinoa! Don't!"
He could have taken him down 1 on 1, but she couldn't. Backed up against a wall, Rinoa fired another Holy, only to see the creature not even flinch. The demon walked closer, its claws readied. In that hissing voice, he said,
"You'll be meeting my friends on the 'other plane' very soon, young one."
Then, suddenly, a bright light flashed through the void between the worlds and lit on Rinoa, so bright that neither Squall nor the demon could look into it. The light started growing larger, expanding to all corners of the room. When it was all over, Rinoa stood there, wearing her old clothes... but now silver. There were two noticeable differences, though. Her wings, once white, were now gold. On them, a simble was emblazoned... a feather. A glowing, white feather. Squall managed to lift his head, looking at his own hand. That glow...
Rinoa smiled as the demon backed off, his eyes flitting left and right, looking for an escape. Before he could take one, she raised her hands, her eyes blazing.
"For Squall, for me, and for the whole world. Go to Hell."
The air started to feel charged and Squall, in his continuous-scan mode, could feel it in the air. The Holy energy, its power gathering, was tremendous. Squall could tell what she was doing. Focusing more that one Holy from her stock, she was congealing it in one blast. Suddenly, the energy in the air became visible, as an expanding cloud of sheer explosive punch. Squall brought up his absorbtion field to shield himself as the energy passed him. Even as powerful as he was, he started to reel in pain, the energy causing racks of devestation beyond anything he'd ever felt. Then, it was all over. The demon was nothing more than a cloud of dust, along with the other demons. Squall, now free to cast magic, used a curaganai, the most powerful of the curative magics, to heal himself. He walked over to Rinoa, his hand outstretched.
"Rinoa, are you all right?"
She made a faint smile, then moved her wing so she could see it.
"All that power. It's like... being a sorceress again."
Squall nodded, but didn't stop there. He brought his hand up to her face, gently brushing it. He could almost feel the care in her eyes when she looked up at him, as well as the pain.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Rinoa. You have powers like mine. There's nothing wrong with that. You're no sorceress. You're beyond that. You're a servant of the Creator."
She seemed to consider it, and then smile.
"All right, Squall. Let's go help the others."
Together, they went through the void, hand in hand, flying through the air.
On the other side, they something that shocked them. In circular formation, back to back, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvinne, Hyne, and Seifer guarded themselves against an army of about 5 hexadragons, 4 Marlboros, 1 Ruby Dragon, 2 Blue Dragons, 2 Iron Giants and, surprisingly, a couple of Thrustaevis. Squall readied a crystalline, knowing that his friends were in trouble. Rinoa herself started to fly towards them when Squall put his hand in front of her. Something was going to happen. Something big. He could feel it coming, like a storm. All at once, in a suicide effort, they ran forward, their weapons brandished, their magic attacks prepared. They all went their own ways, each taking on one of the groups of monsters. Their swords, whips, fists, flails, and guns flashing and firing, unleashing devestation, they crossed through enemy lines. They fought with a vigor Squall had rarely seen, and his scan registered them all at a level of consciousness rarely achieved by humans. However, their power hadn't raised, and he knew what that meant. When the monsters got in their shots, his friends were doomed. However, he still felt that power, that insistent power, echoing along the edges of the fight. He watched, waited, and hoped to the Creator that all went well.
Soon, Seifer was acrosst the line of hexadragons, and he slashed behind him, knowing that he hit something from the sound of metal and bone succumbing to the power of shear energy. Before he could turn around completely, though, the back claw on one of them struck him, cutting a deep gash through his trenchcoat. On the spot where his cross was, a blood stain started expanding, discoloring the cloth.
"You want a piece of this, you filthy creatures?!"
He reared Holy Cross back and made a lunge to one of the creatures, sinking the weapon through the armor plating. Before he could retrieve it, though, a claw slashed him, sending him flying through the air far from his original target. The hexadragon he had lanced was staggering, but it wasn't doomed. He was. Without a weapon, and without any GFs to summon, he was doomed. He didn't feel it, though. He didn't try to run, he didn't try to dodge. He just stood still. The wind whistled through his hair and time seemed to stand still. He didn't care. He nodded his head, looking to the ground, acknowledging his own defeat. The creatures prepared to attack him again, to claw him from right shoulder to left hip when a fire blazed out of the ground, surrounding him, engulfing him. He could see his flesh burn off, but he felt no pain. Instead, he felt stronger. It wasn't the feeling that came when a Flare hit him, but it felt more like... like he was being refined. After it dissipated, he looked down at himself. Now, there was no trenchcoat. For some reason beyond him, it had been replaced by gray trousers, two armbands, and two footbands. To him, it reminded him of Squall's outfit. Then, it hit him. Looking at his left leg, and under the pants, he saw a glowing mark, a red cross. He looked up to the Hexadragons who were now confused. He assumed a fighting stance, his hand outstretched, his eyes forward. His body blazed power.
"Are you scared? I'll show you what 'scared' really is."
Quistis made a running dive through the Marlboros, her whip whirling like a helicopter blade above her head, cutting deep gashes in the skin of her opponents, the disqusting, smelling creatures. She was in the midst of them now, her whip whirling, when she felt her whip stop passing through Marlboro.
"What the..."
She came out of her battle trance and saw the Marlboros had taken positions around her in a wide circle. She sneered, rearing up her whip.
"Do you want some?"
In her anger, she didn't notice the wind pick up. The Marlboros started to lash out, their whip leaves striking at her, hitting her whole body each time. Each time she was hit, she felt a burning sensation like poison ivy pass through her. She could barely stand after they were through, and after a moment of stillness, her legs passed out on her. She collapsed into the ground, her face hitting the dust. Suddenly, she noticed the wind, and not because she was tired and delusional. She noticed it because it was visible now. She didn't know why, but the wind started taking shape. It was a white whirlwind, swirling around her. Then, she gasped as it focused into a sharp wedge and... entered her. She breathed it, and it lifted her up off the ground. Suddenly, she realized that she wasn't wearing the clothes she wore before. Rather, she was enshrouded in a blue, loose cloth that seemed to flow around her, carried by the wind. At her will, it clamped down suddenly, clinging to her far better than any other clother she'd worn. She looked down at herself... and saw something strange. On the cloth, a blue light seemed to shine through, a neon color that was impossible to miss. When she looked, she saw a tornado, and as the cloth fluctuated around her, she saw that it moved, too. It spun around and the cloth seemed to respond to it. Then, she knew what had happened. She brought up her whip and when the next Marlboro struck, she grabbed its leaf. The normal poison didn't effect her, and she threw the thing high into the air, far higher than the Brothers threw their opponents. By the time it came crashing down, her magics had decimated her enemies, it was over.
Zell whizzed through the air, striking the two blue dragons that plagued him. He swung as hard as he could, his fists even stunning the dragons, causing them to change color and rear back, their equivalent of flinching. He called a thundaga to strike one of them, the one behind him. He struck the one he was fighting straight in the chest, his fin-armed Tintor Fin cutting a gash so deep and close to the heart that he could swear he saw it pumping, beating out a steady rhythm. Then he felt a scaled wing slam into him from behind, causing him to fly into the air and slam into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He felt a slight trickle of blood come out of his lips, the coppery scent and taste causing him to cringe.
"Don't do that again or I'll..."
Before he could get up, the one he had struck stomped on him, nearly crushing him. Gasping in pain, he got up on one knee, trying to focus enough to use a curaga.
"Maybe I could get you a drink at a bar or something. I know a good one in Balamb." Suddenly, he saw a bright flash as a lightning bolt came from the sky, striking him. He felt him course with electricity as it touched every pore, filling his mouth, striking everything on him. He found himself hovering in mid-air when it was over. He couldn't see it, but he felt something. The tattoo that had been on his cheek since he joined SeeD started to burn, and then the pain faded. He touched it, and brought his hand in front of him. The sparking energy coursed through his finger, making him smile. This is what he'd lived for. His old blue vest and red shirt were replaced by a gold vest, cackling with energy. His shorts were replaced by replaced by white trousers marked in gold with and with the mark on the cheek, the mark of Lightning. His eyes flashed with energy and he lifted his hand, summoning a Thundagaina. The sky darkened, then lit up. The lightning hit him, burned him, then flooded into his hand, ready to be used. Ready to destroy whatever crossed its path.
"Hey Blue boys! You probably should've taken the drink."
Selphie watched the air, her eyes flicking from side to side, watching for an attack as her opponents, a group of 3 Thrustaevis, surrounded. Summoning a Tornado, she blasted a gust of swirling wind at all the creatures that assaulted her. Being weak against it, the creatures started to spiral out of control, giving her a moment of open attack. She cast a Meteor on them, causing a hail of rocks to fall from the heavens, trying hard to hit them. To Selphie's shock, the Thrustaevis were able to recover and they started diving in and out of the falling projectiles, only one of them getting hit in the process.
"What in the world?"
She was too shocked to scream, she just whispered. Suddenly, she felt a claw rip at her from above, catching one of the straps on her sunflower dress and snapping it, making a red mark where the claw struck. Then, a gust of wind blasted at her from above, followed by another claw strike, this time at her back. She yelped in pain, then knelt. It was over. She might as well face it with dignity. Then, she heard a faint sound of music. It was soft, lifting music that caused her to lift up her head. Off in the distance, she could see waves coming towards her, like the waves of Siren, but they were much more beautiful. She could almost see the beauty in them as they came towards her.
"Is this... what... death is... like?"
Suddenly, they hit her. She expected to black out, to wake up in heaven wearing a white robe, but she didn't. She felt the gash on her back heal, the pain of the mark dissapear. She could feel energy flow in her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw something different. Her clothes... she was no longer wearing the sunflower dress she had on earlier. Rather, she had on a white tank top of sorts with a slightly exposed midriff. Her spike bracelets, black leather shorts and black boots made her look like more of a rebel. Like the person she'd always wanted to be. The smile on her face came from the fact that maybe, now that she had new clothes and new power, she could be a different person, a life on the fringe. It would, at the very least, give her an excuse to do it. Finally, she could live the life she'd always wanted to live. She could still hear the music in the back of her mind, flowing through her. At her will, it started to get louder, striking the Thrustaevis. They started to twitch as they collapsed to the ground.
"This is almost better than heaven."
Irvinne walked forward like a true warrior, his gun cocked and firing. Flash after flash exploded from out of Exeter, striking the Ruby Dragon wherever he thought it would be most effective. Walking forward calmly, he let off round after round of his ammo, watching as the cartridges fell to the mud in a 'splut.' The Ruby Dragon, now angered by the bullets piercing his skin, flew up into the air and came down, trying to hit him. He fired two more shots, then dodged to the right, still getting hit by a wingtip on its way down. He stumbled from the blow as he tried to bring Exeter up. He never had the chance. The creature turned just before he could load in a new cartridge and blasted him with its fire breath, its most powerful attack. Irvinne was devestated, being left reeling along the ground. As he lay there, hearing the Ruby Dragon stalk closer and closer, he felt like he was going to die. He had no chance. Then, he heard a distinct rumble coming from the ground beneath him. Right before the Ruby Dragon slashed, a collection of vines grabbed at him and pulled him underground. He tried to fight them, but he had no strength left. Suddenly, he felt a sharp twist in his body, like the cracking of a knuckle or the reallignment of a bone. Then, he found himself on the surface again, gasping for air. Then, he realized something. There was no pain left. He wasn't burned at all. As he looked down on himself, he saw himself in a deep black trenchcoat with matching leather shoes. He pulled up his hat, which was also now black, and put it on. Then, he noticed something burning slightly on his heart. He looked down and saw a butterfly symbol glowing. Noticing that the Ruby Dragon had started to back off, he picked up his gun and fired, but nothing came out. Belatedly, he realized he had simply failed to put the cartridge in the right way. Suddenly, the butterfly lit up and pulse energy fused into the gun, causing it to crackle and grow a very light purple. When he fired it, the creature reeled back from the pain. The ammo was even more powerful than pulse ammo, he realized. Then he smiled. Maybe this would be fun after all.
Hyne was ferociously battling the Iron Giants, dodging their sword blows whenever she could and striking out with whatever magic he saw fit to use. However, the battle was not going well. The two had already used a Mighty Guard, and were proving nearly invulnerable to his attacks. One of them came up behind him as he took the other giant on. He focused an Ultima and struck, hitting the both of them. Before he could power up a thundaga, though, the one behind him struck. This time, he couldn't dodge. If it weren't for the energy contained in his body, he would have been sliced in two. Actually, it would have been better if he had. His legs were nearly a bloody mess, and he couldn't stand any longer. Hyne watched in horror as one of the metal beasts came down with their sword, only to scream in pain. He could barely see the red tip of Seifer's Holy Cross through the beast's armor. If he could see it, though, that meant the blade went clean through its body. As the thing slid down, Seifer held the sword there, allowing the creature to kill itself at the hand of its enemy. Then, he saw the other Giant start to look confused as a white-gold blur blazed around its feet. Before long, Hyne noticed telltale gashes of the Tintor Fin all around its feet. Suddenly, the blur slowed down behind him to reveal Zell.
"Timber!"
It took him only a moment to figure out what Zell had done. Being metal, the creature had joints like any robot, and without those joints, it collapsed into a pile of scrap. When he looked at all of them, he saw the telltale signs of power, and he could read it from his scan of them, too. Squall used another of his curagainas to heal his leg, which he politely thanked him for. Then, he turned to the others.
"Well, my friends. We may just win this after all."
Author's Note:
In case you haven't figured it out, each one of their powers had a specific significance to the owner. Their clothes are meant to match their personality and form, their symbol matches something that means much to them, and their power does as well. Their powers are all even, except each of them has one stat that is higher than the others (Seifer-strength, Squall-vitality, Quistis-spirit, Zell-speed, Irvinne-accuracy, Selphie-luck,
Rinoa-magic). Also, each one of them has a specific ability, which they find out between this chapter and the next.
Quistis- Living cloth that can defend her from all sides
Irvinne- Shear ammo
Zell- Super Speed
Squall- Absorption field
Seifer- Cross field, devestates any enemy that comes inside of it
Rinoa- Faster flying, invulnerable shield-wings.
Selphie- Subconscious musical blasts
These abilities become important later on in the storyline. Keep watching for more abilities and chapters in this awesome twist.
Power of the Lion II: Force of the Creator
Hyne. I... can't believe what I saw there. Darkness... he was so evil. So powerful. I'm beginning to believe him, about the 'me not being the one to destroy him' thing.
Hyne seemed to contemplate behind him, and then he nodded.
I've seen your power, and he's used his power against me. One curse and I couldn't seem to do any damage at all. Then, he summoned his hoard on me. It was all I could do to summon an ultima to head them off and teleport. I... I don't think even you could stop him alone, either. It would take more than you.
This didn't actually encourage him any. Without his normal vest on, wearing simply black, loose trousers and a couple of armbands, legbands, and headbands, his new garments, he flew through the air, thinking. Then, he thought to Hyne,
We should go inside and choose our next course of action. Where are we going again?
Hyne didn't answer him instantly, but flashed into the star/airship. Squall followed him, finding himself in the flight deck. Only Selphie and Irvine were there, though, trading thoughts. At least, that's what he thought they were doing. Rather than stay there with both Irvinne and Selphie looking at them, panicked, they teleported to the command room, where passengers would go. Reaching for the intercom, Hyne sighed.
"You know, Squall, that you may not win this alone."
"I know."
Activating the intercom, Hyne said throughout the ship,
"OK everyone. Squall and I are calling a meeting in the hangar bay. Meet us there."
At first, Squall wondered what she meant in summoning them to the hangar bay, but he figured he would soon find out. After all, when they were all in the room, the child didn't waste much time.
"I think we need to go on the offensive."
"Offensive? Against who?"
Selphie said from the back, swinging the Strange Vision around.
"Selphie has a point, Hyne. We don't really know how to reach the enemy. Communications have thusfar been one-way."
Quistis said, unsure of what to do. She always was the calculating one. Hyne nodded.
"We will never fight Darkness of our own accord. Not even Squall can distort space enough to do that. However, there is a meeting place for his servants that I know of, a place where they gather together to challenge one another to death matches, and where they stage new assaults on humanity."
"Whoa, now. Hold up. What are you talking about?"
Irvinne looked up at Hyne.
"Kind of like a dimensional arena."
"Yes. You might say that. The winners of the death matches tend to come to Earth to try to ruin the lives of normal people. Very few people can see them."
Squall nodded. It was all starting to make sense. Darkness' group wasn't too complicated, really. It was a lot like the Garden, except it expanded far beyond the Garden's influence. It had a leader, a training center, a mission, and abilities beyond those of normal people. Darkness was especially strong, as Squall had seen. In fact, he agreed very clearly with Hyne. He was definitely not powerful enough to defeat Darkness. After all, Darkness hadn't even cast an Ultima on his henchman to kill him. It was more of a telekinetic blast. He'd learned how to do that, but wasn't strong enough to do that much damage. Suddenly, Squall heard a distinctive swoosh and laser. Seeking out with his mind, Squall felt someone. Seifer.
"So, where is this pit stop to hell's doorstep?"
Everyone jumped and turned to see Seifer in his common grey trenchcoat, his own laser-gunblade in his palm, swinging through the air. Squall cursed himself for not thinking to sense for any unknown presences. Now, Seifer was on the airship.
"Where'd you get in from?"
Hyne asked.
"I walked in. How else. You still haven't answered my question."
Hyne didn't accept that answer, and neither did anyone else.
"Okay, okay. I was here at liftoff, hanging out in the airlock. You got a problem with that, chickenwuss?"
Suddenly, everyone noticed that Zell was sneering, almost enraged.
"Yeah, Seifer. I do. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Do you want me to have a problem with that?"
"Go right ahead."
Zell got into guard position with his Tintor Fins in place as Seifer pulled out Holy Cross. Squall sighed. Pulling out Lionheart and ignited the silver-blue blade in between the combatants, Squall entered the fight.
"You will not fight on this ship. We're in this together. Got it?"
He wasn't looking at Seifer, though. He was looking straight at Zell, and Zell wasn't too happy about it.
"But Commander!"
"Lieutenant General Zell Dincht, do I make myself clear."
He seemed about to contest that decision, but he sighed and backed down.
"Yes... sir."
Seifer grinned at Zell's forced submission.
"Chickenwuss, you're so pa..."
suddenly, he found himself unable to talk, and Rinoa had her hand up in the air, the air around her hand shimmering with magic power.
"I didn't want to have to do that, Seifer. Mute is not my favorite magic."
Squall smiled. Rinoa did know how to control Seifer. If no one else, she did.
"Thank you, Sorceress Rinoa."
She didn't get angry about that, but she wasn't exactly happy about it either, as everyone could tell by her frown. She didn't like the name, the title, or anything else having to do with the term 'sorceress.' They all tried to convince her that she couldn't have helped being a sorceress, but she didn't believe any of them.
"As I was saying,"
Hyne said.
"This 'pit stop to hell's doorstep' as Seifer so melodramatically put it can be accessed from two locations. The Moon, and the Island Closest to Hell."
Seifer sweared. None of them liked the Island Closest to Hell. After compressed time, many of the creatures there went insane, and they didn't attack in groups of one or two any more. Instead, they fought in groups of ten and twenty, and they seemed to have grown in power. They were all comparable in power to Bahamut at level 40, and although they could have beat them easily if they had their Guardian Forces, their Guardians couldn't be trusted.
"We'll have to go in, people. We just need to hold a rift open long enough to let Squall go through, and then produce one when Squall telepathically signals us to open it."
Easier said than done. No one knew how long it would take for Squall to ravage the enemy Arena, and, as some of them feared, he might not. These henchmen of Darkness were his crack warriors, willing to fight to the death. What if he lost? Seifer didn't miss that fact.
"Personally, Squall, I hope you don't make it back."
At everyone's glare, he stopped. Uncharacteristically, though, he finished it off with,
"Just kill some demons for us, Squall. Kill them all."
With the hangar bay open, all of them, including Seifer, prepared for the jump.
"You all ready, guys!?"
Even Seifer gave a thumbs up sign, as they all readied to use their float magics on the way down.
"Go! Go! Go!"
Two by two, they dove out. Squall and Hyne first, since they could fly rather than float, then Rinoa and Seifer, Zell and Quistis, and Selphie and Irvinne. As they came down, Squall watched Hyne close his eyes, focusing his mind on the dimensional folds so that she could rip open the space. Squall could have done it, but it took a considerable amount of power, and he couldn't spare any. When they hit the ground, they didn't have a moment to spare. His eyes glazed over, rolled back in his head, Hyne reached into a spot in the air, pulled it open, and was rewarded with the cackling of unseen energy as massive amounts of power flooded into the space. Suddenly, a field began to appear, a visible vibration in the air. As soon as it was human size, Hyne yelled out,
"Squall! Jump in!"
Without comment, Squall launched into the hole, straight into a myriad of cheering forces of Darkness.
Without any need to hide, these figures weren't wearing their normal white hoods. These being were nearly unclothed, except for some armor that they wore, waiting for their entrance. They were vaguely human, but something was different. Some of them had wings, others seemed to have powers breathing under their skin. Squall had shifted his vision into a wide-scan mode, and was shocked by the amount of power in the room. Before they could react, he launched a series of Holy attacks, sending waves of awesome forces cascading through the lines as hundreds of these evil being recoiled and shrieked in horror and pain. Running with adrenaline, Squall yelled out,
"Go ahead and kill me!"
Unfortunately, they responded in kind. The two in the Arena, apparently the most powerful for the fact that they didn't recoil in pain, both stopped fighting each other and focused on Squall, launching two magics that he'd never seen before. The two green beams came at him at awesome speeds, and although he avoided one, the other hit him in the foot. As he looked down, he saw the skin become semi-transparent as it infected his body. At each pulse, it pained him like crazy, causing him to nearly grow dizzy. When his opponents tried to blast him with it again, though, he brought up a field in front of him, the same field that had subconsciously arisen the day that Rinoa blasted him in the training room. The magic hit him, but started flooding through him, fueling him, stocking him with new power. Doing what no one else had ever done, he fused it with an esuna and fired at himself, relieving the pain. Only 3 seconds had passed since the first blast, and he was ready to fight again. Rather than face those two, he dove straight to the ground, slamming into three recovering demons, sending them flying into the wall. One of them dissipated, and he got up quickly, his arms burning with unleashed power. Unfortunately, about half of the demons had recovered and were facing him. Before he could unleash another Holy on their unholy forms, a crystal beam was fired at him from a distance. Unleashing the Holy, he held out his other hand and created the same absorbing field, feeling the magic flood into him. His mind subconsciously evaluated it as a non-elemental energy attack, much like the pulse ammo except magic and far more powerful. Reaching up with his hand, now lit up with this new power, he touched the electro blade of the Lionheart, and flooded it in, causing it to burn with new power. With a swipe, he took out two nearby demons with the power of the Lionheart before more came to attack him. However, he knew it wasn't just more demons. It was the two arena combatants. Rather than face them and the hoarde, he unleashed a meteor on the rest of them, causing most of them to be knocked unconscious, and encouraging others to get into the fight. He was going to face these two alone.
In his eyes was holy fire. In his blade was new power. In his heart was the courage of a lion. In his mind, there was only one desire. Defeat the enemy. Swinging his saber, he advanced on the one in front of him, focusing his vitality field behind him to protect from his other enemy's assaults. Of course, that meant that he would be killed with one physical hit to the front, but he didn't intend to let his opponent live long enough to do that. Swinging Lionheart, trying to find a moment of weakness, he secretly started fusing magics in his mind. He didn't have the time for more than one magic attack before the enemy behind him cracked through his vitality shield. Fusing Ultima, Meteor, Holy, 'Pulse Crystalline', and 'Venom', he focused all his energies not to any part of his body, but to the tip of his blade. The blade could not contain the magic at its current size, and increased in length by a foot, brightening to a level so high that he had to cast a self-inflicted Blind on himself to keep from blinding himself completely. The enemy to his front wasn't so lucky. Not suspecting the sudden increase, he staggered backwards... only to be skewered by the energy blade. His body seemed to hand there in mid air before he started to slowly fall downwards, more parts of his body being cut through before he dissipated like the others. Suddenly, Squall's vision exploded in white as the demon behind him hit him harder than ever. He could barely stay conscious. He tried a curaga, but he wasn't focused enough. He lost consciousness.
Watching a group of seven hexadragons come from the distance, Rinoa readied to face her opponent's when she heard Squall's voice through the void. Whether it was really his voice or simply an unconscious calling, she wasn't sure, but she didn't care. Abandoning the others, she jumped through the void. The last thing she heard before she crossed was,
"Rinoa! Wait!"
After crossing the gap, she saw one side of the stadium littered with unconscious or barely conscious aliens. On the other side...
"Squall!"
Squall was lying there, a demon clawing behind him, ready to deal the final blow.
"No!"
Behind her, she felt wings come out of her back and expand outwards, drifting her to the grounds. Her limit. Angel Wing. Before the demon could bring his attack down, she summoned a Holy and blasted it, causing it to turn. In horror, she realized that it hadn't done any real damage. It walked towards her, it's teeth bared.
"How dare you humansssssss attack Ssssssorion."
She started to back up, unsure of what to do. Squall started to stir, barely, and he looked up. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide. He sent a telepathic message to her,
"Rinoa! Don't!"
He could have taken him down 1 on 1, but she couldn't. Backed up against a wall, Rinoa fired another Holy, only to see the creature not even flinch. The demon walked closer, its claws readied. In that hissing voice, he said,
"You'll be meeting my friends on the 'other plane' very soon, young one."
Then, suddenly, a bright light flashed through the void between the worlds and lit on Rinoa, so bright that neither Squall nor the demon could look into it. The light started growing larger, expanding to all corners of the room. When it was all over, Rinoa stood there, wearing her old clothes... but now silver. There were two noticeable differences, though. Her wings, once white, were now gold. On them, a simble was emblazoned... a feather. A glowing, white feather. Squall managed to lift his head, looking at his own hand. That glow...
Rinoa smiled as the demon backed off, his eyes flitting left and right, looking for an escape. Before he could take one, she raised her hands, her eyes blazing.
"For Squall, for me, and for the whole world. Go to Hell."
The air started to feel charged and Squall, in his continuous-scan mode, could feel it in the air. The Holy energy, its power gathering, was tremendous. Squall could tell what she was doing. Focusing more that one Holy from her stock, she was congealing it in one blast. Suddenly, the energy in the air became visible, as an expanding cloud of sheer explosive punch. Squall brought up his absorbtion field to shield himself as the energy passed him. Even as powerful as he was, he started to reel in pain, the energy causing racks of devestation beyond anything he'd ever felt. Then, it was all over. The demon was nothing more than a cloud of dust, along with the other demons. Squall, now free to cast magic, used a curaganai, the most powerful of the curative magics, to heal himself. He walked over to Rinoa, his hand outstretched.
"Rinoa, are you all right?"
She made a faint smile, then moved her wing so she could see it.
"All that power. It's like... being a sorceress again."
Squall nodded, but didn't stop there. He brought his hand up to her face, gently brushing it. He could almost feel the care in her eyes when she looked up at him, as well as the pain.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Rinoa. You have powers like mine. There's nothing wrong with that. You're no sorceress. You're beyond that. You're a servant of the Creator."
She seemed to consider it, and then smile.
"All right, Squall. Let's go help the others."
Together, they went through the void, hand in hand, flying through the air.
On the other side, they something that shocked them. In circular formation, back to back, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvinne, Hyne, and Seifer guarded themselves against an army of about 5 hexadragons, 4 Marlboros, 1 Ruby Dragon, 2 Blue Dragons, 2 Iron Giants and, surprisingly, a couple of Thrustaevis. Squall readied a crystalline, knowing that his friends were in trouble. Rinoa herself started to fly towards them when Squall put his hand in front of her. Something was going to happen. Something big. He could feel it coming, like a storm. All at once, in a suicide effort, they ran forward, their weapons brandished, their magic attacks prepared. They all went their own ways, each taking on one of the groups of monsters. Their swords, whips, fists, flails, and guns flashing and firing, unleashing devestation, they crossed through enemy lines. They fought with a vigor Squall had rarely seen, and his scan registered them all at a level of consciousness rarely achieved by humans. However, their power hadn't raised, and he knew what that meant. When the monsters got in their shots, his friends were doomed. However, he still felt that power, that insistent power, echoing along the edges of the fight. He watched, waited, and hoped to the Creator that all went well.
Soon, Seifer was acrosst the line of hexadragons, and he slashed behind him, knowing that he hit something from the sound of metal and bone succumbing to the power of shear energy. Before he could turn around completely, though, the back claw on one of them struck him, cutting a deep gash through his trenchcoat. On the spot where his cross was, a blood stain started expanding, discoloring the cloth.
"You want a piece of this, you filthy creatures?!"
He reared Holy Cross back and made a lunge to one of the creatures, sinking the weapon through the armor plating. Before he could retrieve it, though, a claw slashed him, sending him flying through the air far from his original target. The hexadragon he had lanced was staggering, but it wasn't doomed. He was. Without a weapon, and without any GFs to summon, he was doomed. He didn't feel it, though. He didn't try to run, he didn't try to dodge. He just stood still. The wind whistled through his hair and time seemed to stand still. He didn't care. He nodded his head, looking to the ground, acknowledging his own defeat. The creatures prepared to attack him again, to claw him from right shoulder to left hip when a fire blazed out of the ground, surrounding him, engulfing him. He could see his flesh burn off, but he felt no pain. Instead, he felt stronger. It wasn't the feeling that came when a Flare hit him, but it felt more like... like he was being refined. After it dissipated, he looked down at himself. Now, there was no trenchcoat. For some reason beyond him, it had been replaced by gray trousers, two armbands, and two footbands. To him, it reminded him of Squall's outfit. Then, it hit him. Looking at his left leg, and under the pants, he saw a glowing mark, a red cross. He looked up to the Hexadragons who were now confused. He assumed a fighting stance, his hand outstretched, his eyes forward. His body blazed power.
"Are you scared? I'll show you what 'scared' really is."
Quistis made a running dive through the Marlboros, her whip whirling like a helicopter blade above her head, cutting deep gashes in the skin of her opponents, the disqusting, smelling creatures. She was in the midst of them now, her whip whirling, when she felt her whip stop passing through Marlboro.
"What the..."
She came out of her battle trance and saw the Marlboros had taken positions around her in a wide circle. She sneered, rearing up her whip.
"Do you want some?"
In her anger, she didn't notice the wind pick up. The Marlboros started to lash out, their whip leaves striking at her, hitting her whole body each time. Each time she was hit, she felt a burning sensation like poison ivy pass through her. She could barely stand after they were through, and after a moment of stillness, her legs passed out on her. She collapsed into the ground, her face hitting the dust. Suddenly, she noticed the wind, and not because she was tired and delusional. She noticed it because it was visible now. She didn't know why, but the wind started taking shape. It was a white whirlwind, swirling around her. Then, she gasped as it focused into a sharp wedge and... entered her. She breathed it, and it lifted her up off the ground. Suddenly, she realized that she wasn't wearing the clothes she wore before. Rather, she was enshrouded in a blue, loose cloth that seemed to flow around her, carried by the wind. At her will, it clamped down suddenly, clinging to her far better than any other clother she'd worn. She looked down at herself... and saw something strange. On the cloth, a blue light seemed to shine through, a neon color that was impossible to miss. When she looked, she saw a tornado, and as the cloth fluctuated around her, she saw that it moved, too. It spun around and the cloth seemed to respond to it. Then, she knew what had happened. She brought up her whip and when the next Marlboro struck, she grabbed its leaf. The normal poison didn't effect her, and she threw the thing high into the air, far higher than the Brothers threw their opponents. By the time it came crashing down, her magics had decimated her enemies, it was over.
Zell whizzed through the air, striking the two blue dragons that plagued him. He swung as hard as he could, his fists even stunning the dragons, causing them to change color and rear back, their equivalent of flinching. He called a thundaga to strike one of them, the one behind him. He struck the one he was fighting straight in the chest, his fin-armed Tintor Fin cutting a gash so deep and close to the heart that he could swear he saw it pumping, beating out a steady rhythm. Then he felt a scaled wing slam into him from behind, causing him to fly into the air and slam into the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He felt a slight trickle of blood come out of his lips, the coppery scent and taste causing him to cringe.
"Don't do that again or I'll..."
Before he could get up, the one he had struck stomped on him, nearly crushing him. Gasping in pain, he got up on one knee, trying to focus enough to use a curaga.
"Maybe I could get you a drink at a bar or something. I know a good one in Balamb." Suddenly, he saw a bright flash as a lightning bolt came from the sky, striking him. He felt him course with electricity as it touched every pore, filling his mouth, striking everything on him. He found himself hovering in mid-air when it was over. He couldn't see it, but he felt something. The tattoo that had been on his cheek since he joined SeeD started to burn, and then the pain faded. He touched it, and brought his hand in front of him. The sparking energy coursed through his finger, making him smile. This is what he'd lived for. His old blue vest and red shirt were replaced by a gold vest, cackling with energy. His shorts were replaced by replaced by white trousers marked in gold with and with the mark on the cheek, the mark of Lightning. His eyes flashed with energy and he lifted his hand, summoning a Thundagaina. The sky darkened, then lit up. The lightning hit him, burned him, then flooded into his hand, ready to be used. Ready to destroy whatever crossed its path.
"Hey Blue boys! You probably should've taken the drink."
Selphie watched the air, her eyes flicking from side to side, watching for an attack as her opponents, a group of 3 Thrustaevis, surrounded. Summoning a Tornado, she blasted a gust of swirling wind at all the creatures that assaulted her. Being weak against it, the creatures started to spiral out of control, giving her a moment of open attack. She cast a Meteor on them, causing a hail of rocks to fall from the heavens, trying hard to hit them. To Selphie's shock, the Thrustaevis were able to recover and they started diving in and out of the falling projectiles, only one of them getting hit in the process.
"What in the world?"
She was too shocked to scream, she just whispered. Suddenly, she felt a claw rip at her from above, catching one of the straps on her sunflower dress and snapping it, making a red mark where the claw struck. Then, a gust of wind blasted at her from above, followed by another claw strike, this time at her back. She yelped in pain, then knelt. It was over. She might as well face it with dignity. Then, she heard a faint sound of music. It was soft, lifting music that caused her to lift up her head. Off in the distance, she could see waves coming towards her, like the waves of Siren, but they were much more beautiful. She could almost see the beauty in them as they came towards her.
"Is this... what... death is... like?"
Suddenly, they hit her. She expected to black out, to wake up in heaven wearing a white robe, but she didn't. She felt the gash on her back heal, the pain of the mark dissapear. She could feel energy flow in her, and when she opened her eyes, she saw something different. Her clothes... she was no longer wearing the sunflower dress she had on earlier. Rather, she had on a white tank top of sorts with a slightly exposed midriff. Her spike bracelets, black leather shorts and black boots made her look like more of a rebel. Like the person she'd always wanted to be. The smile on her face came from the fact that maybe, now that she had new clothes and new power, she could be a different person, a life on the fringe. It would, at the very least, give her an excuse to do it. Finally, she could live the life she'd always wanted to live. She could still hear the music in the back of her mind, flowing through her. At her will, it started to get louder, striking the Thrustaevis. They started to twitch as they collapsed to the ground.
"This is almost better than heaven."
Irvinne walked forward like a true warrior, his gun cocked and firing. Flash after flash exploded from out of Exeter, striking the Ruby Dragon wherever he thought it would be most effective. Walking forward calmly, he let off round after round of his ammo, watching as the cartridges fell to the mud in a 'splut.' The Ruby Dragon, now angered by the bullets piercing his skin, flew up into the air and came down, trying to hit him. He fired two more shots, then dodged to the right, still getting hit by a wingtip on its way down. He stumbled from the blow as he tried to bring Exeter up. He never had the chance. The creature turned just before he could load in a new cartridge and blasted him with its fire breath, its most powerful attack. Irvinne was devestated, being left reeling along the ground. As he lay there, hearing the Ruby Dragon stalk closer and closer, he felt like he was going to die. He had no chance. Then, he heard a distinct rumble coming from the ground beneath him. Right before the Ruby Dragon slashed, a collection of vines grabbed at him and pulled him underground. He tried to fight them, but he had no strength left. Suddenly, he felt a sharp twist in his body, like the cracking of a knuckle or the reallignment of a bone. Then, he found himself on the surface again, gasping for air. Then, he realized something. There was no pain left. He wasn't burned at all. As he looked down on himself, he saw himself in a deep black trenchcoat with matching leather shoes. He pulled up his hat, which was also now black, and put it on. Then, he noticed something burning slightly on his heart. He looked down and saw a butterfly symbol glowing. Noticing that the Ruby Dragon had started to back off, he picked up his gun and fired, but nothing came out. Belatedly, he realized he had simply failed to put the cartridge in the right way. Suddenly, the butterfly lit up and pulse energy fused into the gun, causing it to crackle and grow a very light purple. When he fired it, the creature reeled back from the pain. The ammo was even more powerful than pulse ammo, he realized. Then he smiled. Maybe this would be fun after all.
Hyne was ferociously battling the Iron Giants, dodging their sword blows whenever she could and striking out with whatever magic he saw fit to use. However, the battle was not going well. The two had already used a Mighty Guard, and were proving nearly invulnerable to his attacks. One of them came up behind him as he took the other giant on. He focused an Ultima and struck, hitting the both of them. Before he could power up a thundaga, though, the one behind him struck. This time, he couldn't dodge. If it weren't for the energy contained in his body, he would have been sliced in two. Actually, it would have been better if he had. His legs were nearly a bloody mess, and he couldn't stand any longer. Hyne watched in horror as one of the metal beasts came down with their sword, only to scream in pain. He could barely see the red tip of Seifer's Holy Cross through the beast's armor. If he could see it, though, that meant the blade went clean through its body. As the thing slid down, Seifer held the sword there, allowing the creature to kill itself at the hand of its enemy. Then, he saw the other Giant start to look confused as a white-gold blur blazed around its feet. Before long, Hyne noticed telltale gashes of the Tintor Fin all around its feet. Suddenly, the blur slowed down behind him to reveal Zell.
"Timber!"
It took him only a moment to figure out what Zell had done. Being metal, the creature had joints like any robot, and without those joints, it collapsed into a pile of scrap. When he looked at all of them, he saw the telltale signs of power, and he could read it from his scan of them, too. Squall used another of his curagainas to heal his leg, which he politely thanked him for. Then, he turned to the others.
"Well, my friends. We may just win this after all."
Author's Note:
In case you haven't figured it out, each one of their powers had a specific significance to the owner. Their clothes are meant to match their personality and form, their symbol matches something that means much to them, and their power does as well. Their powers are all even, except each of them has one stat that is higher than the others (Seifer-strength, Squall-vitality, Quistis-spirit, Zell-speed, Irvinne-accuracy, Selphie-luck,
Rinoa-magic). Also, each one of them has a specific ability, which they find out between this chapter and the next.
Quistis- Living cloth that can defend her from all sides
Irvinne- Shear ammo
Zell- Super Speed
Squall- Absorption field
Seifer- Cross field, devestates any enemy that comes inside of it
Rinoa- Faster flying, invulnerable shield-wings.
Selphie- Subconscious musical blasts
These abilities become important later on in the storyline. Keep watching for more abilities and chapters in this awesome twist.
Power of the Lion II: Force of the Creator