Chapter 7- Ballad of a Fallen Soldier
Cid led the group of Fated Children into a windowless storage room near the Quad. He walked in and pressed a small button under a table to reveal a golden chest in the floor. He urged Irvine and Zell to lift it, and a minute later they were all situated in a circle, ready to open it.
"What is it, Cid" Selphie said, regaining her childlike exterior.
Cid began to crack his knuckles, and the rest of the group knew that they were in for a long story.
"In the days of old, our lord and savior Hyne was still present on this earth. When his goddess, Esthe, revealed that she could not bear his children, he sought another place to receive an heir. He fell upon a beautiful maid, and her name was Ana. A child was born from their union and he was named Ayne. When Hyne died, he had his power divided among the Sorceress'. Being the son of Hyne, Ayne had the other half of the power of a god, and half the weakness of a human. He plotted against his Father's wife, and was cursed by her.
"The next male heir in your bloodline will be haunted by the embodiment of hate" Esthe declared, screaming. She was always resentful of the fact that he was not her son. Ayne did not heed her warning, and married. He had a girl, and when he died, his power went to her. She wed, and the same thing happened to her. This was continued for millennia, with women holding half the power of Hyne and not knowing it. It would only be released-"
"Could you get to the point please" Zell said, thinking out loud.
"Anyway, as I was saying" Cid continued. "It would only be released in a male, and that didn't happen until a man named Laguna Loire decided to fall in love with the 999th descendant of Hyne. Raine Leonhart.
After the 10 or so minutes of deadly silence, Irvine spoke.
"So if Raine is dead, and Squall, who is her son, receives her powers as a descendant of Hyne, makes Squall."
"Damn near god" Zell and Selphie said simultaneously.
"His recent bouts with insanity have been amplified by the fact that the Embodiment of Evil is pushing him off the edge." Cid supplemented to the adding shock of the situation. "If it overwhelms him, he could do massive damage".
"We have no choice, he must die" Irvine said, not wanting to let his camaraderie with Squall get in the way with is duty. One by one, Zell, Irvine, and after heavy persuasions, Selphie agreed.
Meanwhile.
Quistis had finished her prayer as Squall crept closer; looking more like Rinoa's possessed self than the quiet, yet cocky person she had grown to love. Squall suddenly stopped and prepared to swing the blade that had ended the lives of so many people over the past day.
"Kill her" Rasha screamed, sending shockwaves through Squalls body.
Squall seemed to be drifting into a deep corner of his mind, and began to feel Rasha's presence overpower him. He "nudged" Rasha's presence with his mind, and began to focus on the shape that was under him, quietly awaiting death. He noticed that this shape had a glow that the faceless, nameless victims did not. He still didn't know who it was, because he wasn't paying attention to faces for the last few minutes. However, he just couldn't kill this one.
"You fool!" Rasha said. "How dare you denounce my will? You shall be punished!"
Squall suddenly felt a mind boggling pain in his head. Rasha was shocking him with an energy that shorted most of his brain cells. He could not bare it, and fell to the ground unconscious after a few seconds.
Quistis was startled to say the least. She had just prepared for her death, and all of a sudden her killer was on the ground, seemingly dead. Quistis quickly checked Squall's pulse. It was weak, but he would survive, if Garden didn't kill him for escape and over 15 counts of murder. Quistis lay back against the blood-soaked wall, wishing she had a cigarette after the traumatizing experience, when the dead body of a young Seed began to ring. She realized that the ring was coming from the phone on the Seeds belt, and the Seed was the Communications officer. Quistis trudged over to the corpse and picked up the phone.
"Hello?" the unmistakable voice of Cid calmly said on the phone.
Cid led the group of Fated Children into a windowless storage room near the Quad. He walked in and pressed a small button under a table to reveal a golden chest in the floor. He urged Irvine and Zell to lift it, and a minute later they were all situated in a circle, ready to open it.
"What is it, Cid" Selphie said, regaining her childlike exterior.
Cid began to crack his knuckles, and the rest of the group knew that they were in for a long story.
"In the days of old, our lord and savior Hyne was still present on this earth. When his goddess, Esthe, revealed that she could not bear his children, he sought another place to receive an heir. He fell upon a beautiful maid, and her name was Ana. A child was born from their union and he was named Ayne. When Hyne died, he had his power divided among the Sorceress'. Being the son of Hyne, Ayne had the other half of the power of a god, and half the weakness of a human. He plotted against his Father's wife, and was cursed by her.
"The next male heir in your bloodline will be haunted by the embodiment of hate" Esthe declared, screaming. She was always resentful of the fact that he was not her son. Ayne did not heed her warning, and married. He had a girl, and when he died, his power went to her. She wed, and the same thing happened to her. This was continued for millennia, with women holding half the power of Hyne and not knowing it. It would only be released-"
"Could you get to the point please" Zell said, thinking out loud.
"Anyway, as I was saying" Cid continued. "It would only be released in a male, and that didn't happen until a man named Laguna Loire decided to fall in love with the 999th descendant of Hyne. Raine Leonhart.
After the 10 or so minutes of deadly silence, Irvine spoke.
"So if Raine is dead, and Squall, who is her son, receives her powers as a descendant of Hyne, makes Squall."
"Damn near god" Zell and Selphie said simultaneously.
"His recent bouts with insanity have been amplified by the fact that the Embodiment of Evil is pushing him off the edge." Cid supplemented to the adding shock of the situation. "If it overwhelms him, he could do massive damage".
"We have no choice, he must die" Irvine said, not wanting to let his camaraderie with Squall get in the way with is duty. One by one, Zell, Irvine, and after heavy persuasions, Selphie agreed.
Meanwhile.
Quistis had finished her prayer as Squall crept closer; looking more like Rinoa's possessed self than the quiet, yet cocky person she had grown to love. Squall suddenly stopped and prepared to swing the blade that had ended the lives of so many people over the past day.
"Kill her" Rasha screamed, sending shockwaves through Squalls body.
Squall seemed to be drifting into a deep corner of his mind, and began to feel Rasha's presence overpower him. He "nudged" Rasha's presence with his mind, and began to focus on the shape that was under him, quietly awaiting death. He noticed that this shape had a glow that the faceless, nameless victims did not. He still didn't know who it was, because he wasn't paying attention to faces for the last few minutes. However, he just couldn't kill this one.
"You fool!" Rasha said. "How dare you denounce my will? You shall be punished!"
Squall suddenly felt a mind boggling pain in his head. Rasha was shocking him with an energy that shorted most of his brain cells. He could not bare it, and fell to the ground unconscious after a few seconds.
Quistis was startled to say the least. She had just prepared for her death, and all of a sudden her killer was on the ground, seemingly dead. Quistis quickly checked Squall's pulse. It was weak, but he would survive, if Garden didn't kill him for escape and over 15 counts of murder. Quistis lay back against the blood-soaked wall, wishing she had a cigarette after the traumatizing experience, when the dead body of a young Seed began to ring. She realized that the ring was coming from the phone on the Seeds belt, and the Seed was the Communications officer. Quistis trudged over to the corpse and picked up the phone.
"Hello?" the unmistakable voice of Cid calmly said on the phone.