Final Fantasy VIII: Legacies
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: All characters and material...blah, blah, blah...legal nonsense galore...blah, blah, blah...belong to Square, not me. But the story and all new characters do belong to me.
Author's Note: Hello out there. Those who've read my FF7 fic may feel like this is more of the same (brooding character insert). While it does have a similar feel, I'm going to try to do something different with this. Do not worry, this is not my other fic simply regurgitated (or at least I hope not). I will, as some readers requested, tone down the "broken hero" bit, but the new guy(s) is/are broken heroes. Oh, and the beginning has a lot of screwy time-travel connotations, directly influenced by time compressions (sort of, and I did mean the plural). Confusing? Probably. Please, bear with me. I hope you enjoy it. A warning though, this story will be a bit more "cloak and dagger," than FF7:DF, and develop more around the lives of the characters. That isn't to say there won't be any action. I hope to have plenty of action up the wazoo by the end of this fic.
Quirks: "oh Hyne" is the equivalent of saying "oh God." All uses of these signs: "" are when a GF is talking to a person (it is junctioned to, but sometimes not) through the mind-link. All other stuff is normal. Oh, this is raw and unrevised, I'm just posting the rough rough copy up here for now.
Pairings: To dispel any false hopes/fears... Lots of possibilities here, some of them will be: Squall/Rinoa, Seifer/Fujin, and Irvine/Selphie. You'll see what, if anything, happens with the others.
Legacies: Chapter 1
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own FF8. But I do own this story.
Trapped in time, they floated on a castle in the sky...
This was the end of the line. This why they had strived, what they had fought to reach. They had battled their way through the hellish castle. Now the final enemy awaited them behind these gilded doors.
Gothic architecture rose high into the sky, parapets and gargoyles staring back, stone gray and enigmatic. Smoke everywhere added to the feeling that it was all surreal.
Squall uttered her name, as if it were a curse, "Ultimecia..."
The others nodded, signaling that they were ready. Squall spoke a few words of encouragement, because it was expected of one in his position. His teammates returned a variety of looks, aware that he wasn't used to such displays.
Squall simply shrugged past it, "be careful everyone."
He opened the door, and stepped forward, his friends following right behind. They walked into a vast hall, staring past stone gray columns to look at their enemy.
Ultimecia was sitting on her throne, glaring evilly down at them. Her flowing gown was blood red, and her eyes had no mercy in them.
"Seed," said the chilling voice, cursing its name, "Seed, Seed, Seed. Kurse all Seeds. Swarming like lokusts akross generations. You disgust me..."
Squall looked to the others, dismissing Ultimecia's words. Irvine and Zell stared at the sorceress, with predatory gleams in their eyes and lips curled. Quistis, calm and collected as always, pulled back a strand of her hair, as she readied her whip. Selphie brought out her weapon, preparing for battle. Squall looked past them, to the woman in blue who meant so much to him.
Rinoa looked back, and bravely returned a smile.
Squall nodded, as if to say, 'I'll protect you.'
Then there was no time for thought, for Squall found himself thrust into battle. He looked to his sides, and found that his friends were gone. All save two. Where had the others gone? But somehow, he knew...the were trapped in time, but it would take all their efforts to defeat Ultimecia.
Irvine emptied his rounds at the sorceress, hardly feeling the recoil as blast after powerful blast engulfed the woman. Ultimecia retaliated
Squall raised his face to his hands, as he was blinded by a spell from the witch...
In the days of a future long passed, amongst shadowy halls of a gray stone fortress...
His cloak collar was turned up, covering most of his features, but his hazel eyes were intense and sharp, looking past black strands of hair. His name was Greymalkin. Not his real name, only a select few knew that, but it would suffice. He led his team through the fortress, bypassing the wraiths and demon guards. There was no time to waste with them, his team had to make it to the sorceress, before she destroyed them all.
Once more, Greymalkin heard explosions coming from outside. The stone gray pillars and masonry revealed nothing of the war taking place outside. Countless lives were being spent to ensure the distraction they needed to break through.
Greymalkin tapped his earpiece, "Shadow Unit, move out."
Several black clad figures made their way through the darkened halls.
"Hold it," he commanded.
There were several guards waiting in frond of a red door. This was obviously the way to the sorceress. Greymalkin took out a sniper rifle, setting his sights to night vision.
"Move in as soon as the guards are neutralized," he said.
"Don't order us around," came a reply.
"Now is not the time Wade," said another voice over the comm, "Shadow Unit, prepare for incursion."
He grumbled, then replied, "yes sir."
"Sorry Grey," said the second voice.
"Don't worry Gideon," answered Greymalkin, "they have no reason to like me."
Indeed, for he had killed their general. Of course, the loss for him had been even worse, though the Unit didn't know that. Without another word, he fired one shot into the midst of the demon guards. Immediately, the blast engulfed the figures, and broke down the door. The Shadow Unit quickly filed in through the opening, taking up positions in the great lighted hall beyond.
Greymalkin walked through the door, fully expecting to face scores of enemies.
All he saw was an empty room, with columns, stairs, and fountains. There were no enemies anywhere, only blue glass shining behind gold metalwork.
He barely had time to think, 'it's a trap,' before tendrils of energy lashed out at him and the others. It skewered some of the Unit, as the screams of men and women tore through the air. The bodies flailed about, falling lifeless to the marble floor, as the others took shelter behind the columns, and a maniacal laughter broke through the hall.
"You should never have come," said the voice.
Greymalkin looked out from behind his shelter, and couldn't believe his eyes. He cursed the fates.
A radiant beauty stared back at him, beautiful and terrible at the same time. She was clothed in and ancient blue silken garb, with brown tresses falling down her shoulders to match her armor.
She looked at him through sad, glassy eyes, and raised her hand, "you will all perish."
"Great move leader," said Wade, "your darling's with the enemy."
The evil laughter broke out again, and another figure materialized next to her. She was even more menacing, with black hair falling in circlets about her face, over shockingly blue eyes. Her blood red gown seemed demonic, accented as it was with claws made of ivory.
"It is useless, worthless mortal," said the sorceress, "you will never defeat us."
"What did you do to her Alicia?" demanded Greymalkin.
"She is no concern of yours fool," replied the sorceress, "she is mine."
He looked back at her again, and stepped out, whispering her name, "Arshes..."
She heard his voice, and lashed out, sending forth blasts of energy careening around the pillars. Once again, the Shadow Unit pressed close to their pillars, waiting until the barrage stopped.
"Great plan, fearless leader," said Wade.
Shut the hell up," demanded Greymalkin.
"What do we do now?" asked another of the team.
Greymalkin shook his head. What indeed...
The castle in the skies...
Ultimecia had fallen once already, but was far from finished. Three lone figures reeled in pain as a powerful spell took them.
"Griever," came Ultimecia's voice, "make them bleed!"
All was light and haze, and Squall nearly passed out as he felt wave after wave of white hot energy pound against him. But it ended, and he managed to regain his footing.
He immediately felt a healing wind soothe him, as Quistis brought her power to bear. Squall waited until Selphie cast a Meltdown on Griever, debilitating it. He then unleashed his fury, bringing his gunblade to strike out at the beast. The Lionheart struck blow after blow, as Griever was staggered by the raw fury of the blows.
The beast fell back, shattering into so many pieces. But Squall knew the battle wasn't over yet.
Ultimecia laughed cruelly, "I shall junction myself...unto Griever!"
Author's Note: Yeah, I changed this fight a bit, sorry. I was going to have a prologue, but I couldn't make it short enough. The first 5 or 6 chapters are essentially what I had planned for a 5 page prologue! Kind of gives you an idea of what's going on. Oh, and Arshes is a tribute to the love of Dark Schneider in the "Bastard" anime. I hope you all are liking this so far, and as always, feel free to give me feedback, I live for it.
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: All characters and material...blah, blah, blah...legal nonsense galore...blah, blah, blah...belong to Square, not me. But the story and all new characters do belong to me.
Author's Note: Hello out there. Those who've read my FF7 fic may feel like this is more of the same (brooding character insert). While it does have a similar feel, I'm going to try to do something different with this. Do not worry, this is not my other fic simply regurgitated (or at least I hope not). I will, as some readers requested, tone down the "broken hero" bit, but the new guy(s) is/are broken heroes. Oh, and the beginning has a lot of screwy time-travel connotations, directly influenced by time compressions (sort of, and I did mean the plural). Confusing? Probably. Please, bear with me. I hope you enjoy it. A warning though, this story will be a bit more "cloak and dagger," than FF7:DF, and develop more around the lives of the characters. That isn't to say there won't be any action. I hope to have plenty of action up the wazoo by the end of this fic.
Quirks: "oh Hyne" is the equivalent of saying "oh God." All uses of these signs: "" are when a GF is talking to a person (it is junctioned to, but sometimes not) through the mind-link. All other stuff is normal. Oh, this is raw and unrevised, I'm just posting the rough rough copy up here for now.
Pairings: To dispel any false hopes/fears... Lots of possibilities here, some of them will be: Squall/Rinoa, Seifer/Fujin, and Irvine/Selphie. You'll see what, if anything, happens with the others.
Legacies: Chapter 1
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own FF8. But I do own this story.
Trapped in time, they floated on a castle in the sky...
This was the end of the line. This why they had strived, what they had fought to reach. They had battled their way through the hellish castle. Now the final enemy awaited them behind these gilded doors.
Gothic architecture rose high into the sky, parapets and gargoyles staring back, stone gray and enigmatic. Smoke everywhere added to the feeling that it was all surreal.
Squall uttered her name, as if it were a curse, "Ultimecia..."
The others nodded, signaling that they were ready. Squall spoke a few words of encouragement, because it was expected of one in his position. His teammates returned a variety of looks, aware that he wasn't used to such displays.
Squall simply shrugged past it, "be careful everyone."
He opened the door, and stepped forward, his friends following right behind. They walked into a vast hall, staring past stone gray columns to look at their enemy.
Ultimecia was sitting on her throne, glaring evilly down at them. Her flowing gown was blood red, and her eyes had no mercy in them.
"Seed," said the chilling voice, cursing its name, "Seed, Seed, Seed. Kurse all Seeds. Swarming like lokusts akross generations. You disgust me..."
Squall looked to the others, dismissing Ultimecia's words. Irvine and Zell stared at the sorceress, with predatory gleams in their eyes and lips curled. Quistis, calm and collected as always, pulled back a strand of her hair, as she readied her whip. Selphie brought out her weapon, preparing for battle. Squall looked past them, to the woman in blue who meant so much to him.
Rinoa looked back, and bravely returned a smile.
Squall nodded, as if to say, 'I'll protect you.'
Then there was no time for thought, for Squall found himself thrust into battle. He looked to his sides, and found that his friends were gone. All save two. Where had the others gone? But somehow, he knew...the were trapped in time, but it would take all their efforts to defeat Ultimecia.
Irvine emptied his rounds at the sorceress, hardly feeling the recoil as blast after powerful blast engulfed the woman. Ultimecia retaliated
Squall raised his face to his hands, as he was blinded by a spell from the witch...
In the days of a future long passed, amongst shadowy halls of a gray stone fortress...
His cloak collar was turned up, covering most of his features, but his hazel eyes were intense and sharp, looking past black strands of hair. His name was Greymalkin. Not his real name, only a select few knew that, but it would suffice. He led his team through the fortress, bypassing the wraiths and demon guards. There was no time to waste with them, his team had to make it to the sorceress, before she destroyed them all.
Once more, Greymalkin heard explosions coming from outside. The stone gray pillars and masonry revealed nothing of the war taking place outside. Countless lives were being spent to ensure the distraction they needed to break through.
Greymalkin tapped his earpiece, "Shadow Unit, move out."
Several black clad figures made their way through the darkened halls.
"Hold it," he commanded.
There were several guards waiting in frond of a red door. This was obviously the way to the sorceress. Greymalkin took out a sniper rifle, setting his sights to night vision.
"Move in as soon as the guards are neutralized," he said.
"Don't order us around," came a reply.
"Now is not the time Wade," said another voice over the comm, "Shadow Unit, prepare for incursion."
He grumbled, then replied, "yes sir."
"Sorry Grey," said the second voice.
"Don't worry Gideon," answered Greymalkin, "they have no reason to like me."
Indeed, for he had killed their general. Of course, the loss for him had been even worse, though the Unit didn't know that. Without another word, he fired one shot into the midst of the demon guards. Immediately, the blast engulfed the figures, and broke down the door. The Shadow Unit quickly filed in through the opening, taking up positions in the great lighted hall beyond.
Greymalkin walked through the door, fully expecting to face scores of enemies.
All he saw was an empty room, with columns, stairs, and fountains. There were no enemies anywhere, only blue glass shining behind gold metalwork.
He barely had time to think, 'it's a trap,' before tendrils of energy lashed out at him and the others. It skewered some of the Unit, as the screams of men and women tore through the air. The bodies flailed about, falling lifeless to the marble floor, as the others took shelter behind the columns, and a maniacal laughter broke through the hall.
"You should never have come," said the voice.
Greymalkin looked out from behind his shelter, and couldn't believe his eyes. He cursed the fates.
A radiant beauty stared back at him, beautiful and terrible at the same time. She was clothed in and ancient blue silken garb, with brown tresses falling down her shoulders to match her armor.
She looked at him through sad, glassy eyes, and raised her hand, "you will all perish."
"Great move leader," said Wade, "your darling's with the enemy."
The evil laughter broke out again, and another figure materialized next to her. She was even more menacing, with black hair falling in circlets about her face, over shockingly blue eyes. Her blood red gown seemed demonic, accented as it was with claws made of ivory.
"It is useless, worthless mortal," said the sorceress, "you will never defeat us."
"What did you do to her Alicia?" demanded Greymalkin.
"She is no concern of yours fool," replied the sorceress, "she is mine."
He looked back at her again, and stepped out, whispering her name, "Arshes..."
She heard his voice, and lashed out, sending forth blasts of energy careening around the pillars. Once again, the Shadow Unit pressed close to their pillars, waiting until the barrage stopped.
"Great plan, fearless leader," said Wade.
Shut the hell up," demanded Greymalkin.
"What do we do now?" asked another of the team.
Greymalkin shook his head. What indeed...
The castle in the skies...
Ultimecia had fallen once already, but was far from finished. Three lone figures reeled in pain as a powerful spell took them.
"Griever," came Ultimecia's voice, "make them bleed!"
All was light and haze, and Squall nearly passed out as he felt wave after wave of white hot energy pound against him. But it ended, and he managed to regain his footing.
He immediately felt a healing wind soothe him, as Quistis brought her power to bear. Squall waited until Selphie cast a Meltdown on Griever, debilitating it. He then unleashed his fury, bringing his gunblade to strike out at the beast. The Lionheart struck blow after blow, as Griever was staggered by the raw fury of the blows.
The beast fell back, shattering into so many pieces. But Squall knew the battle wasn't over yet.
Ultimecia laughed cruelly, "I shall junction myself...unto Griever!"
Author's Note: Yeah, I changed this fight a bit, sorry. I was going to have a prologue, but I couldn't make it short enough. The first 5 or 6 chapters are essentially what I had planned for a 5 page prologue! Kind of gives you an idea of what's going on. Oh, and Arshes is a tribute to the love of Dark Schneider in the "Bastard" anime. I hope you all are liking this so far, and as always, feel free to give me feedback, I live for it.