A/N: For some reason, FF is not letting me bold the telephathic thoughts of the angels. So instead they are underlined :p
Welgaia was burning.
Zelos' eyes widened as he stepped out of the transporter and onto the cold steel floor. Yuan and Kratos stood a only few feet away, eyes glued to the scene of chaos unfolding in front of them. Fires rose high in the sky, their flames licking the transparent walls of the city. Sweat started to run down Zelos' forehead; the heat of the flames filled the air, making his clothes stick to himself. He looked to his right to see Presea walk up next to him, her eyes solemn. Zelos still was getting used to seeing her older, and just a few inches shorter than he. But now was not the time. He looked back to the conflagration: it was surreal to see the stars twinkling above, calmly in space, juxtaposed against the destruction of the holy city.
The ex-Chosen took a few steps forward, processing the spectacle through his mind. The tunnel just ahead to the northwest had caved in, broken piping strewn across the moving walkway. Sparks wizzed and popped, wires fell over the sides towards the darkness of the the gap below. Flames danced across the pipes and moving walkway, cutting off access to the other portions of the city. To the direct right of the tunnel, a building burned. The metal of the walls began to curve and bend. Zelos gulped. How hot was that? He didn't want to go anywhere near that fire. In fact, he definitely didn't want to be here any longer. "Holy shit," he muttered.
"Oh my goddess!" Colette gasped, stepping out of the portal.
"Yeah, right? Looks like the bastard went to town." Zelos said. More than that. It's like he had a mental breakdown...
"We have to check the exsphere storage," Kratos pointed to the building adjacent to the one burning to a crisp. It was unclear what damage had been wrought from the outside, if any, as it looked like unharmed. However, Zelos knew better than to trust a book by its cover.
"Let's move." Yuan said and headed towards the storage facility.
"We're going in there?!" Zelos responded as Colette and Lloyd passed him, hand in hand. "What if it's a trap and Miguel's in there waiting for us?"
"All the better! You're not telling me you're afraid of a fight?" Lloyd goaded, glancing at him over his shoulder.
"Watch it, you punk." Zelos shouted and raced after the group.
His stomach churned as they ran across the platform towards the building. The angel certainly wasn't in the mood to die today, especially not to that crazy super soldier. He recalled how strong Miguel had been before in battle. What would he be like now when he was desperate to survive? Desperation made men do crazy things, and Zelos wasn't sure he wanted to be anywhere near Miguel when he cracked.
Before six months ago, Zelos didn't truly value his life. Before the World Regeneration, he was reckless, wild, careless; he didn't actively seek death but he wasn't exactly thrilled with the state of his life either. Death didn't scare him. Sometimes, he thought the world would be better off without him. Now was different. Now he had Sheena.
Kratos pulled the door open and the angels ran into the building. Smoke filled the room, stinging Zelos' eyes. He could feel it tickling his throat just as Colette fell into a coughing fit.
"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked.
Colette nodded but coughed again.
"Shit." Yuan cursed. As Zelos' eyes adjusted to the gray haze of the room, his focused on the mess in front of them. Large titanium crates had been moved and thrown about the room in disarray. Many of them had their tops ripped from them, expelling their contents, which were...Exspheres. Hundreds of exspheres covered the floor, clumping together in little piles, glinting through the smoky haze. The angel could feel the parasites within the cold spheres calling to him. Had this been what Miguel was looking for? A cold dread flushed down Zelos' spine.
Kratos called out to him, but Zelos could hear no words in the roar as the the door to the storage was ripped away. Fires burst to life around them, the heat intense on his body. Embers filled the air, burning his skin. He hissed in pain.
Head for the exit! Kratos ordered.
As they rushed towards the doorway, a large plank fell from the ceiling towards Lloyd. "Watch out!" Colette cried and jumped, pushing him out of the way. It fell, narrowly missing the two of them. The roof continued to shake, showering debris down on the group. Zelos picked up Colette as Presea helped up Lloyd and they ran.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" A voice boomed from outside the quickly burning building.
At the exit, Zelos caught sight of the origin of the voice in the plaza: a huge creature loomed at the center. Cautiously, the group walked out of the building and closer to the being.
It was twice the height of a human; it's skin a translucent pink. The blue and red veins that ran through its body stuck out against the backdrop of the skin so well that Zelos could see them twitch as they pumped blood through the body. Its legs were stocky, as if three boulders had been stacked, one on top of the other, and glued together. Its arms hung at its sides, long and boulder-like as well, touching the ground. They were huge like mallets; the hands themselves were big enough that Zelos estimated one hand could scoop them all up simultaneously and squeeze them to most certain death. Tatters of cloth hung around the creature's torso. Could it be?
When Zelos looked at the creature's face, he knew. Miguel. The shiny head was free of the blonde hair that once sprouted there. The eyes were still there; though stretched horizontally, almost to the point of slits. His nose had morphed into a doughy blob on the face, with two small holes presumably working as nostrils. But his mouth was a blood red; less than a mouth. More like a perfect circle lined with sharpened teeth. What the hell happened to him? And then he knew
"I was wondering when you would come." The creature said, raising its hands in greeting.
Zelos noted that Miguel's arms were pockmarked, as if there were small divots in his skin. Using his angelic vision, he examined the pockmarks and recoiled. Desperation had left its mark.
The dude has exspheres embedded in his skin! Zelos thought to everyone.
Oh, fucking hell. Yuan cursed.
I have calculated that his strength will have increased at least 150%. Presea interjected.
That's not comforting. Zelos responded.
Draw your weapons. Kratos said.
Reluctantly, Zelos pulled his sword from his side. How were they going to take on this thing?
"Oh, do you think you can match my strength? You are no match for you, any of you." Miguel jeered.
"Let's go!" Lloyd yelled and he and Colette charged forward. As they neared Miguel, they jumped away from each other, rounding him from opposite sides, and moved in for the strike. Miguel, however, was one step ahead. He lifted his arms and swung them in a windmill fashion around his body, slamming into both Colette and Lloyd simultaneously, knocking them backwards a few feet away.
Before Miguel could ready himself for the next attack, Yuan and Kratos rushed towards the brute, brandishing their blades in the offensive position. Kratos slid between the creature's legs, slashing at its ankles as he passed beneath Miguel. The villain hollered in pain as Yuan jumped high into the air, and brought his double edged sword down onto Miguel's shoulder. As the angel flipped away, ripping his sword from the shoulder, Miguel howled in pain, and reached to clutch the wound. Blood gushed from the wound and flowed down his arm in small rivers, dripping onto the ground.
Enraged, Miguel pounded the ground with his fists. Fissures spread through the ground, causing them to lose their balance and stumble. Taking advantage of their instability, Miguel charged towards Presea, who dove away, her axe skidding away from her on the cold floor. Miguel loomed over her, sneering, arching back one of his fists. Without hesitation, Zelos sprinted towards the giant and sunk his sword into Miguel's hip. "Haha, take that!" He shouted as he felt the metal slice through the skin into warm flesh. He tried to retrieve his sword, but was too slow. Miguel smacked him and he flew backward through the air, landing on his back.
Wincing, Miguel pulled the sword from his hip and tossed it aside, out of Zelos' immediate reach. Then he started to laugh. "Is that all you can do?"
Zelos could feel the rage bubble up inside of him. He wanted to rip that chunk of a nose off Miguel's face. He wanted to run his blade across the creature's neck and watch the blood pool downward, covering the entire body. He wanted to—
Zelos stopped the thoughts dead in their tracks and stood. It was happening again.
Instead, he rushed towards Miguel, feinting left, then right, and sank his hands onto Miguel's back. He imagined the flames sprouting from his arms, burning into Miguel's skin. The screams caused him to open his eyes and he back flipped twice to retreat from the creature's arm swings. The smell of burned flesh wafted into the air; Miguel howled as he tried to touch the burned area. Zelos darted towards his sword and picked it up, though feeling sluggish from the depletion of mana from his body.
Together, Colette and Kratos invoked "Judgement", raining down bolts of light onto Miguel. The noise was deafening as the pillars of light bombarded the battlefield. Many of them pierced his flesh, but Miguel laughed, and grabbed Kratos, flinging him towards the burning building. "Kratos!" Lloyd screamed and ran towards his father. But Zelos continued to watch Miguel's body. The wounds from the angels' spell were slowly closing, even though blood pooled from them. The ex-Chosen looked at the slice he'd delivered to Miguel's hip: it was pink, but closed. Then Zelos' eyes darted towards the slice on his shoulder: it was nonexistant. All that was left was the severe burn on his back.
He's healing at the same time we're hurting him. Dude is invincible! Zelos thought to his friends.
Shit. The exspheres. Yuan inferred.
They must allow for him to accelerate his healing. Presea agreed.
How the hell are we supposed to kill him? The burn is the only thing that's sticking. Zelos asked. His question was met with silence.
Miguel shouted "DEATH EATER!" as he punched the ground.
Beams of light flew towards each of them like homing missiles seeking their targets to destroy. Before Zelos could invoke Guardian, a light beam crashed into him, forcing him to his knees. He felt blood seep into his shirt; a stomach wound. Not good. He reached down and, with his last bit of mana, whispered, "First Aid". He felt the blood flow slow, but it wasn't enough. He hadn't sealed the injury.
Zelos looked up from his position and watched helplessly as Miguel knocked Presea back into Yuan, and their bodies skidded along the ground. The ex-Chosen struggled to raise himself by leaning on his sword, but he stumbled and fell forward onto his hands and knees, pain erupting from his stomach. His eyes wandered between each of his friends. Each was in various states of injury.
Oh goddess, this could be the end.
Let me out.
That voice, again.
No.
Now was not the time to be having an internal struggle with whatever it was inhabiting his mind. Zelos pushed back against it, but he could feel his mental strength decrease rapidly. There was a chance he wouldn't be able to fight to keep it in. But he had to focus on the now, on the fight in front of him. For if they fell to Miguel here, he would descend on Aselia and kill everyone. Sharp pain burst through the angel's muscles as he forced himself up from his knees. Miguel's ears twitched, and he swung around his head and his eyes zeroed in on Zelos, the veins in his throat squishing as he did so.
He's coming. And you will lose.
I will not lose.
You have no more strength left.
Zelos stood on his feet, gripping his bleeding side with one hand. Maybe he could melt the bastard with fire. That stopped him before. Maybe this time, he'd set himself fully on fire. Vainly, the ex-Chosen tried to call up the flames, but he knew the truth of what the voice told him: his mana was depleted and his strength on its last legs. If he didn't avoid Miguel's attacks, there was a fair chance he would die then and there.
And then an image of Sheena came unbidden to his mind.
He will kill her. He will kill them all.
Zelos watched her brush a strand of hair behind her earlobe and smile. He wanted to reach out and stroke her cheek, hear her voice one last time.
Then she was screaming. Shrieking in pain as tentacles wrapped around her waist and squeezed, taking the breath out of her. She called for him, her voice an eery wail in his mind. Tears rolled down her cheeks and the life slowly faded from her eyes.
Let me save her.
The angel closed his eyes, feeling the rage grow deep in his gut. He had to protect her. But what the devil was this thing inside of him? He didn't know.
But he was desperate. If this thing inside of him could kill Miguel, he had to take that chance. He had to kill the devil in front of him.
Promise you'll save everyone.
I will.
And Zelos let go, feeling the darkness consume him.
