Chapter 9 : Rescue
The jaws never got to taste any flesh as the Blue dragon was yanked by the tail and sent crashing onto the floor, accompanied by a thunderous war cry. After a bloody pounding by Raijin's bo staff, the dragon remained limp.
'Stay away from my sister!' Raijin pumped a fist at the dead dragon. Turning back to his sister, he pulled out a healing potion for her that she gulped down immediately. Her wounds closed up slightly, but the weak potion didn't manage to heal her completely. Fujin stood up weakly with the help of her brother and both surveyed the fierce battle going on around them.
Dead and mangled corpses lay scattered all across the courtyard. Although it was night, the sky was still a sickly purple, with rays of the devilish light shining piercing through the thick clouds and shining onto Galbadia Garden, giving it a deathly hue. Monsters continued to appear through purplish portals, replacing those that have been fallen just moments ago. This endless stream of monsters was slowly wearing down the Galbadian SeeDs resistance. Even the two Balamb SeeDs knew that it was just a matter of time before they themselves joined the pile of bodies that lay in front of them.
'We can't win Fuu. No way ya know.' Raijin said dejectedly and looked at his sister, hoping for some kind of advice.
Fujin remained silent. In her current condition, she knew she couldn't hold out against the fearsome monsters for long. To make matters worse, she knew she served as a distraction for Raijin, with the fighter constantly worried for her sister. The only logical solution was to retreat and head back to the Panther, leaving the Galbadians to fend for themselves. Zell was a tough nut and Fujin was certain that he would be able to get out of the mess safely. But still, the idea of abandoning everyone for their own lives just wasn't the way the twins worked. Her hand tightened around her chakram as she moved to locate the next monster. Raijin sighed and followed his sister, knowing what it meant.
'LOOK!'
He was surprised to see his sister stop as well as speak suddenly. Looking up to observe what caught his sister's attention, he saw the thick clouds slowly fading; even the grisly purple that stained the sky had vanished. Everything was suddenly normal again as darkness crept back into the night sky. The monsters were still present but one thing was certain, more stopped appearing. At least now they had a chance, albeit a slim one.
Revitalised with a newfound sense of hope, the twins charged aggressively, slashing and bashing up monsters that stood in their way. Missiles suddenly appeared from nowhere, blowing apart the beasts that had stood in front of the two just moments ago. More missiles streaked in and blasted the monsters apart as fighter jets swooped past Galbadia Garden. This was accompanied by shouts of reinforcements as mechanized units armed with laser cannons appeared along with soldiers in blue and red uniforms. The new reinforcements all bore the Galbadian insignia. A new batch of soldiers soon arrived clad in green uniforms bearing the Dollet insignia.
The monsters were still great in number, rivalling even the combined strength of all the remaining cadets and SeeDs, Galbadian and Dollet army. However facing against deadly gunfire and explosive rockets, piercing laser beams and powerful magic, and more importantly a strong will to exterminate all the fiends, the monsters soon found themselves being ripped to shreds by the raging armies.
It was to be half an hour later before the last beast was finally killed. The Malboro slumped to the ground, its body smoking with bullet holes and chunks of flesh blown away by rockets. Fujin strode up and pulled out her chakram lodged in the monster's head. She turned around to see her brother panting hard; his arms were badly burned by the Malboro's acid while multiple gashes could be seen throughout his body, a result of him getting too "personal" with a few blue dragons. Fujin herself was slashed by a Chimera, leaving her with a rather limp left arm.
A Galbadian medic in white uniform came towards Fujin who was clutching her badly bleeding arm. 'You're hurt ma'am. You need medical attention immediately.'
'NONSENSE!' Fujin walked to her brother, leaving the bewildered medic behind.
'It's over Fuu, we survived.' Raijin said meekly, clearly exhausted by the savage battle. Fujin sat down beside her brother, she too needed a breather. Raijin lay sprawled across the floor, his chest rising with every breath he took. All around Garden, Galbadian medics went about tending to the injured. The rest of the military cleared the enormous piles of carcass that was stacked around the courtyard, burning the rotting flesh in heaps and mountains. Among the throng of soldiers, a familiar figure strutted towards the twins. His blonde spiky hair was badly disoriented after the battles he had gone through. But it was only when he came closer did the twins noticed how badly he was injured.
His upper right shoulder was bleeding profusely, resulting in his uniform being soaked. Gashes of varying depths decorated his body. What was alarming was these slashes were made by a fine blade, not by any of the monsters that were present.
'What happened Zell? Who did this to you and where's the council?' Raijin couldn't hold on to his curiosity.
'Some madman slaughtered them all and almost made mincemeat out of me. I'm lucky to be alive.' Zell answered, but there was a clear lack of enthusiasm that was ever present in his voice.
'ENEMY?' Fujin asked, wary that the person who had killed the council was still at large.
'He's gone, left through a portal. Looks like our mission's a failure, some leader I am.' Zell replied dejectedly.
'It's not your fault ya know?' Raijin tried to reassure Zell, but was soon interrupted by a Galbadian soldier.
'Lieutenant Zell from Balamb Garden? I'm Sergeant Smith, have been looking all over the area for you. We received reports that a man has murdered the Galbadian Council. Reports indicate that you were the last to enter the Command Centre. Did you manage to encounter that man?' The Galbadian soldier was decked in full battle gear, and had two gold lines at his sleeve, indicating his rank.
'Yeah I did. But I can't tell you much.' Zell replied the sergeant who looked just as young as him.
'May I invite your team back to Deling City for further investigation over this case? The Galbadian Government views this to be a rather serious situation. With the entire Galbadian Council out of commission, plans have to be made for the future of Galbadia Garden. We will notify Balamb Garden for approval.' The sergeant stated clearly. He made it seem that Zell's best course of action was to follow him back to Deling City. Coupled by the fact that Deling City was much nearer compared to Balamb Garden, it would be wise to obtain medical treatment as soon as possible considering the fact that the three of them were all seriously injured.
The sergeant was about to usher the group to a nearby transport, but Zell had other plans. 'All right, we'll follow you back, but we'll use our own transport. I rather sit on our own cushions, their more comfy.' The three puzzled SeeDs stood up and started their trip to Deling City, unaware that they would soon find the answers to their questions in the great Galbadian city.
Not a soul in sight.
What lay in front of Seifer was nothing but an endless view of barren and desolate wastelands. The disruption was tracked to the eastern part of the great Centra Ruins, which was nothing more than deserts and hard rock. He had no idea why would Rinoa be brought all the way to an uninhabitable location. Then again, this could be the perfect hiding place for the enemy.
Seifer had instructed the pilot to drop him 2 miles away from the disruption to prevent the enemy from detecting his arrival, willing to travel the remaining distance by foot. It was almost nightfall when he arrived at the desert. The hot blazing sun was nowhere to be seen, instead the sky was filled with a beautiful array of sparkling stars. The cool night wind blew against him gently, bringing with it a soothing sensation. He stood there for a moment, looking and enjoying the wonderful atmosphere he was in before continuing on his quest. In the past, Seifer wouldn't have given a damn about such things, but after two years of abstinence from fighting and killing, he slowly developed a loving for peace and serenity, a passion for the good things in life. This was not like the Seifer of the past, and the former knight knew damn well. He was a changed man.
The Kashkabald Desert stretched for miles and miles. There was no telling whether he would be able to find Rinoa in this deserted place. It was like going on a wild-goose chase, with close to zero leads. Furthermore, the enemies who kidnapped Rinoa were rumoured to be highly skilled. Heck, they managed to take down a sorceress! And now he was charging right into their nest solo. What chances did a rusty warrior like Seifer had for beating even one of them? The more he thought about it, the more stupid it seemed. Anyone who had even an ounce of common sense could tell that it was suicide. However, the lower the odds, the more excited he felt. Seifer was a man of the moment, taking risks and challenging the odds were things he did best. He had a gut feeling that he would succeed rescuing Rinoa, and that was what mattered.
However, running in the desert aimlessly for hours was bound to demoralize anyone as Seifer soon started to have doubts. The source of disruption was tracked down to a certain area of the desert, which covered almost 50 square miles. Seifer had no idea what he was looking for, was it an outpost in the desert or a sunken pit? Was it a temple or shrine? He was basically clueless, which made matters worse as he continued his search fruitlessly. He soon reached rocky terrain, signalling the end of the sprawling desert. He continued trekking across the stony landscape, climbing over small hills and descending sloping cliffs.
Reaching a steep rock wall, he ascended it skilfully within a matter of minutes, his GF-enhanced abilities coming into good use as he scaled the wall effortlessly, all four limbs demonstrating strength and agility of the highest. As he made it to the top, he finally saw it.
From afar, one would never have spotted it as it blended into the night sky. However from the wall that Seifer was on, he could see the dark spire of deathly energy rising from a crater in the ground not far away. The column rose all the way into the sky, ending in a swirl of ghastly clouds. Seifer wondered what that was but he sincerely hoped Rinoa wasn't a part it.
'That's the Triumvirate Portal of Death. You sense the evil in it too don't you?'
Seifer almost fell upon hearing another voice other than his. He turned to see a young teenager standing beside him.
'Fuck! Who the hell are you?' The former knight was practically screaming. Seifer was one who rarely got frightened, but having a young boy appearing out of nowhere right beside him in the middle of the night and in a deserted part of the world scared the balls out of him. Seifer would have thought he had seen a ghost if not for the following events.
'Seifer Almasy, my name is Shinji.' He had a warm smile over his face that calmed Seifer down. The boy extended his hand to Seifer, who gave serious thought on touching it, fearful of meeting a ghost. Finally he reached out to shake the boy's hand.
'How do you know me? And more importantly, how did you sneak up behind me like that without me knowing?' Seifer calmed down a great bit as he felt the warmth of Shinji's hand. At least he wasn't a ghost.
'There are a lot of things I can do, but I do not have time to explain to you. Seifer Almasy, you are about to challenge an enemy whom you have no chance of defeating. Listen to me carefully.' The young boy's tone was very serious. Seifer nodded and remained silent in which the boy continued.
'The one you seek to rescue, Rinoa Heartilly was captured by The Triumvirate. That deathly power which you sense is their doing, capable of raining hellish fiends onto the world. They will be drained after the summoning and will not be guarding the young sorceress. However there is one warrior, Sakon who is guarding over her. Your current Guardian Force abilities are far below his and the time is not right for you to achieve your awakening. Challenging Sakon will only lead to your death. You can never defeat him alone.' The boy suddenly paused and looked at Seifer, whom he had a feeling did not understand a word he said.
'GF abilities?' Seifer sounded his confusions.
'Your current abilities only allow junctioning to Guardian Forces on a surface level, granting you basic speed and strength enhancements. However you have yet to attain the level of becoming one with your Guardian Force, where you can draw the special abilities of your Guardian Force itself. That difference alone is enough to ensure the failure of your mission.'
'I have met seemingly unbeatable foes. Most of the time they don't turn out to be as great as they claim.' Seifer replied confidently.
'You have the potential Seifer Almasy, but there are limits. At this moment, you alone cannot defeat Sakon.' Shinji said with finality.
'Err… In simpler terms, basically you're saying I'm bound to fail?' Seifer did a brief summary.
The boy nodded and continued to stare at Seifer, as though awaiting his answer.
Seifer soon started to get impatient. 'If you have nothing constructive to offer, I'm leaving cuz I have a friend to save.'
'Even though you will fail? You are throwing your life away and achieving nothing.' The boy asked with a puzzled look.
Seifer didn't answer the boy immediately. He looked down on the floor as though in deep thought. Finally, he spoke. 'You don't understand, I should have been dead long ago. These friends are the reason for my existence; they brought me back to the right path and have accepted me as one of them, even after the numerous sins I committed. They forgave me. I can never repay them what I owe. If the one being captured today was me, I bet my life that they would do the same trying to save me, even at the cost of their lives.'
He lifted his head up and faced Shinji. 'What you said maybe right, I might not have a chance at saving Rinoa. Hell, maybe I am throwing my life away for nothing. But I will never back out without giving it a try. I know I'm capable of saving her and if I don't do it, no one can at the moment.'
There was fierce determination in Seifer's eyes, one would normally give up trying to persuade him at this point but Shinji knew exactly what to say. 'So nothing I say will change you? Your stubbornness persists my friend. Do not forget that your stubbornness was the cause of you going astray in the first place, the unwillingness to listen to the advice of others, going against everyone to prove that you were the best, the ultimate knight; in the end look at the amount of grief you caused. You always thought you were right Seifer Almasy, but that is rarely the case. Is it worth repeating that mistake at such a vital juncture? Charging headfirst based on pure gut-instinct and primal confidence without thinking of the consequences? If you fail, your friend dies. Understand that.' It was clear that he was mocking Seifer.
Seifer was suddenly lost for words. It wasn't the fact that Shinji knew so much that stunned him, it was the words he said. Was he really repeating the same mistake again? Were his actions going to cause more grief and pain? 'It can't be, I'm certain I'm not making the same mistake again… I…' His words faltered as doubt started to creep into his head.
The boy stepped forward and placed an arm on his shoulder. 'Do not repeat the same mistake you made. I understand your resolve to save your friend, but your methods of approach are wrong. Your mentality is flawed.'
'My mentality is flawed?' he questioned. The boy was clearly hinting something.
'Yes. You are approaching the task at hand alone, bearing all the responsibility alone.' Shinji explained.
'But I am alone. The rest of them are all involved in other issues. This is a crisis I am tackling alone.' Seifer replied but Shinji only shaked his head, like a teacher lamenting over his pupil's ineptness.
'You fail to notice that you are not alone in this. Alone, failure is certain, but if u allow me to help, you might still have a chance.'
'Your help? What do you mean?' The boy was offering Seifer help? He was just a young teenager of at most 15 years old, what can he do?
The boy grabbed Seifer's hands and something pearly white dropped into his palm. It appeared to be a drop of liquid but Seifer didn't feel a thing and it disappeared on contact with his palm. 'Remember Seifer, you are not alone. You have friends, friends whom you have met since the orphanage, friends you have met in Garden, friends who will go through thick and thin with you. It is this strength that Sakon does not have, and this will be your trump card to activate my help. Draw on this strength when the time comes. Remember, you are not alone.'
Seifer was about to ask the boy more questions but he was already gone before he knew it. He suddenly found himself staring into space; it was as though waking up from a dream. But he knew it was no dream, he was certain he was talking to that boy called Shinji just moments ago. But where the hell did he go?
Seifer would have given it a bit more thought had he not sensed the presence of someone else. He turned around to see a heavily armed warrior standing with a large spear in hand. The warrior was easily as huge as Raijin, clad in fearsome crimson armour from head to toe; it made the heavy battle armour worn by Galbadian soldiers look like cotton. His huge spear had a golden blade with serrated ends, spotting two bladed fins at the sides. It was a weapon designed to kill, and Seifer silently prayed he didn't end up meeting the end of the blade.
Immediately, the warrior raised his palm at Seifer. Swirls of reddish energies gathered into a globe in front of his hand and flashed towards Seifer. The fighter instincts kicked in instantly as Hyperion was raised to deflect the magical blast. The blast slammed into his gunblade with such force that Seifer was pushed off the cliff that he was standing. He crashed onto the rocky ground below, which gave way under the weight of his body as Seifer plummeted further down.
He finally met the ground, crashing hard but still managed to come back up in a roll to soften the impact. He was in a huge underground cavern that was dimly lit by torches. It looked like a tomb, with multiple empty sarcophagi erect on the floor, complete with engravings and magnificent statues. The tomb seemed to have been frequented recently judging by the fresh tracks on the floor. But it was what lay in the middle that made Seifer freeze on the spot.
He wouldn't have been able to recognize her had it not been her trademark cotton blue jacket worn over her black shirt and pants that were now tattered and torn. Covered with cuts of different sizes, her face was deathly white with a faint trickle of blood from her mouth. Gone were the rosy pink in her cheeks; Rinoa lay motionlessly in a small pool of blood that was undoubtedly hers. He tried hopefully to spot a glimpse of her chest rising or any signs of her still being alive, but found none. The idea that Rinoa might be dead immediately flashed in his mind.
A loud crashing thud behind him caught his attention. Seifer swirled around with gunblade raised, pointing at the warrior in front of him who had a spear raised in his direction. He had a feeling this was Sakon.
'What the hell did you do to Rinoa?' Seifer shouted furiously at Sakon.
'For someone who is about to die, you sure make a lot of noise.' The warrior replied casually.
'For an over-confident ass like you, don't be surprised when I stick this in your gut.' Seifer waved Hyperion at Sakon.
'Why should I be surprised? I had been trailing you ever since you set foot in the desert. That thing you came in is long destroyed. And till the point I decide to show myself, you hadn't noticed me at all. The stark difference between us is in terms of ability is just too great. What can you surprise me with?' The warrior replied smugly.
Seifer was clearly taken aback that Sakon had been following him all the while. He immediately took out his transceiver, but failed to get any response from the transport. The warrior wasn't lying.
'You only saw me?' Seifer questioned. 'I wasn't alone.' Sakon had mentioned nothing about Shinji.
'Do not try and trick me. You were the only one who stepped out of that thing. Only a fool like you would dare step onto the Centra Ruins alone. Enough talk, are you ready to die?'
That made Seifer even more curious. Why did Sakon not see Shinji who was right beside him? The boy had indeed appeared out of nowhere, but surely Sakon would have spotted the two of them speaking? Anyone could have seen that. However he had no time to answer that when the warrior charged at him with great speed, spear aimed at his chest. The battle had just begun.
A loud clang resounded as Hyperion met the spear tip, Seifer immediately pushing the sharp tip away. To his amazement, the spear pushed bach against his gunblade with tremendous strength as Sakon swung the spear like a bat, lifting Seifer off his feet and sent him many metres across the room as the knight was being batted away along with his weapon. The warrior had strength equivalent to many Seifer's, prompting him to change tactics.
Charging forward to meet the warrior, he immediately ducked low as the spear swept past his head. However, Sakon was much faster than Seifer had expected. The bladed fin of the spear slammed downwards, missing his leg barely as Seifer quickly rolled out of harms way. The warrior poked his spear on the ground as Seifer rolled left and right evading the impaling strikes. Timing perfectly, his legs shot up and locked themselves firmly along the shaft of the spear as it missed him by whiskers. Pulling himself up immediately by using his legs anchored at the spear as a pivot, he cried triumphantly as Hyperion came down in an overhead cleave directly at Sakon's defenceless head.
Specks of tiny red dots appeared on Sakon's face, but it wasn't his blood.
Hyperion never touched the warrior who had jabbed Seifer in the gut with his left hand just before the gunblade crashed down. Blood gushed out from his mouth instantly as intense pain spread across his lower abdominal portion. His legs immediately felt weak and lost its grip against the shaft as Seifer was thrown many meters away in the direction of the blow.
Never before in his life had he experienced such a powerful punch, he was certain even Zell would have been impressed by the speed and strength of that blow. Seifer clutched his painful stomach as he got up slowly, but paid the price as a crashing right foot caught him across the jaw. Seifer tumbled across the floor like a ball but quickly forced himself up as the warrior came charging at him again.
The deadly spear lunged forward. Seifer raised his gunblade and flicked the spear away, sidestepping towards the warrior's undefended flank. He slashed against Sakon's arm, which suddenly shot up and grabbed his shirt at the chest. Bright red light flashed from his grip as a stabbing pain erupted across Seifer's chest. The knight was thrown away from Sakon by the magical blast; the front of his shirt was torn and shredded, revealing a badly burnt and bloodied chest.
Again, he evaded the crashing tip with a quick roll to the side. Still on the ground, his gunblade made a sweeping slash against Sakon's legs, hoping to score a lucky hit. However, he was far from lucky as the clashing of blades resounded. Sakon had quickly retracted his weapon to parry Seifer's attack. This was followed by a thunderous kick into Seifer's gut, which sent him skidding across the floor.
Seifer got up again much to the warrior's surprise, but the blood flowing from his mouth was evidence that he wasn't going to last for long. Sakon attacked with multiple thrusts and side-slashes that Seifer parried and ducked, waiting patiently for the warrior to offer an opening which he could take advantage of. He leapt backwards as Sakon came down with a splitting overhead cleave, the blade leaving a slight cut on his forehead.
This was the chance he was waiting for. Even while leaping backwards, his hand was already up, aiming a spell at Sakon. The Firaga spell erupted from his hand directly against the warrior. To his amazement the spell crashed into a purplish barrier that suddenly materialized in front of Sakon. Seifer didn't allow himself to be stunned for long as he quickly sent spell after spell against Sakon, who seemed to be amused at Seifer's efforts for every offensive spell he cast crashed and faded harmlessly against the warrior's magical barrier. Initially planning to use lightning quick spells to catch the warrior off-guard and allow him to injure Sakon thus swinging the battle to his favour, it appears that Seifer was back to square one again as his spells proved useless.
'Don't you understand that feeble spells such as the ones you are casting are useless against me?' Sakon said finally.
Seifer stopped. He was panting heavily after launching a total of 14 elemental spells against the warrior and all were rendered useless. 'What kind of monster are you. Why can't my spells affect you?'
'Of course you won't understand, your Guardian Forces do not provide you with their special abilities. You cannot possibly expect your meek junctions to provide you with the powers to harm me.' Sakon's eyes suddenly flashed bright red as a scarlet silhouette enclosed around him. 'Have a glimpse of real power. Feel the wrath of my Guardian Force, Tumbaras!'
A deafening roar boomed within the cave that closely resembled a tiger's growl. Sakon came dashing forth like a savage beast. With all his might, Seifer leapt over the warrior and whirled around, gunblade coming up together with a side-slash. But the slash never got far when a tremendous impact to Seifer's side sent him flying as Sakon retracted his weapon and slammed the butt of the spear into Seifer's ribs. The knight felt the crunching of bones, but ignored the pain and got up. The spear crashed down as Seifer raised Hyperion to parry, his feet sinking into the ground upon the powerful blow. The bladed end was suddenly lifted with great speed as Seifer's gunblade met no resistance, only to be clobbered by the chin as the butt of the spear swung from below. Seifer never had time to react to the warrior's sudden attack as his mouth was stained crimson again. Sakon's speed and strength were heightened to a higher level, one that Seifer knew he could never attain.
The blow was so powerful that Seifer's mind was in a complete blur. The spear danced in front of him as Seifer stumbled backwards, leaving deep cuts in his chest and stomach, but Seifer was too weak to prevent anything. The butt of the spear crashed against his jaw as Seifer was hurled across the floor. He never came to a complete stop as a foot was planted into his gut. Seifer found himself being kicked around like a ragged doll as the warriors foot swept against his gut numerous times. Finally, Sakon grabbed the bloodied knight by his collar and flung him hard against the stone wall, leaving cracks behind. The warrior followed up by throwing his spear like a javelin towards Seifer. Blood squirted out as the flying spear lunged deep into his shoulder, pierced through him and lodged itself firmly within stone. His feet were hanging a few feet above the ground as the warrior had him pinned to the wall. Seifer yelled in agony, but there was nothing he could do, his whole body ached throughout; the spear was stuck so firmly into the wall that Seifer doubted pulling it out, let alone in his current state being pinned by it. The spear had missed his heart, even its bladed fins were centimetres away from slicing his neck; Seifer knew the warrior wasn't going to kill him yet, however he recognized the fact that it was impossible for him to punish the warrior's overconfidence. There was not a single ounce of strength left in his battered body to continue fighting.
His cries of pained were silenced when a crashing fist slammed into his jaw and cracked bone. The next punch landed onto his nose, smashing it and leaving it flattened. The pounding continued as Seifer was brutally beaten by a monster with superhuman strength. Sakon wasn't planning to kill Seifer on the spot but to beat him to death; his punches were meant to cause maximum pain as the next blow to Seifer's chest cracked his ribs, sinking him further into the rock wall.
Sakon smiled as his next cross landed on Seifer's cheek, leaving it swollen and bloodied. As he suspected, the intruder was nothing more than a nuisance who was now his new punching bag. However he was impressed with Seifer's sudden magic offensive and his toughness. Had he not have Tumbaras protective shield, the intruder might have gained a fighting chance. Sakon's elbow slammed into soft flesh and bone as more cracks appeared in the wall.
The warrior continued his smashing good time as his fists pounded away.
Pain was overloading his senses; Seifer Almasy was on the verge of being beaten to death. His mind was completely blank as nothing else other than pain registered in it. Blood poured from his mouth endlessly as another crushing punch into his stomach rocked his internal organs violently. As Seifer waited for his body to slowly give way when his swollen eyes suddenly caught sight of Rinoa lying on the floor.
The reason for him being here registered within his mind immediately. He was here to rescue Rinoa, not allow himself be beaten to death by some oversized warrior. The words of Shinji just moments ago rang clearly in his mind.
'Remember, you are not alone.'
The goal of rescuing his friend gave rise to renewed vigour and fighting spirit within him. His body ached from top till toe but Seifer knew he could not give up. He thought about everyone; his instructor Quistis, his past romances with Rinoa, his bickering with Zell, how much he owed Squall. He thought about the times when he was at his lowest, when there was no one that he could turn to, yet there were still people who stood up for him and fought for him. This was a battle he had to win, for everyone's sake and most importantly, for his sake. He was always lucky enough to have someone drag him out of the oblivion. Now it was his chance to be someone else's knight in shining armour, the knight he had always dreamed of becoming.
A blinding flash of bluish-white light erupted from within Seifer, briefly illuminating the dimly lit cave. A powerful force knocked Sakon off his feet and threw him metres away from Seifer. The spear that pinned the knight to the wall violently shot out, landing near its owner. Sakon watched in bewilderment as Seifer hovered in mid-air for a moment before slowly floating to the ground. His eyes glowed eerily, as though being possessed.
His body was moved on its own, as his battered arm raised Hyperion up and baited Sakon to strike. Seifer could feel a powerful energy engulf him, flowing into his wounds, momentarily stopping the bleeding. It was this energy that was supporting his wounded body, propping him upwards like a puppet. It was a wonderful feeling as the pure essence washed over him, cleansing him of his agony and pain.
Before he could further bask in this wonderful sensation, Sakon charged forward like a raging bull. To Seifer's surprise, his body was already gliding out of harms way and had already positioned himself behind the warrior. Only then did Seifer realize his heightened senses. His body movements were fast enough to match Sakon's, but what intrigued him was the faint red line that traced out from the spear. It seemed to show the path of attack that was coming his way. He already knew exactly where the warrior was going to attack next as he ducked his head even before Sakon's spear slashed behind. He rolled forwards and leaped up to face the warrior, just in time to see Sakon's look of horror as Hyperion slashed across the warrior's chest.
A loud crash resounded as Hyperion ripped through the thick armour. And even louder noise reverberated through the cavern as a huge spear soon crashed onto a spot Seifer was standing just split seconds earlier. Hyperion slashed across the warrior's back to score a second hit, as Seifer leapt on top of Sakon even before the warrior turned around for a kick, only to find himself sweeping air. As Seifer registered his fourth successful hit across the warrior's arm, his vision suddenly turned red as his senses detected impending danger. Instinctively, his legs kicked off the ground with all the strength he could muster while ice crystals formed in his hand as huge swirls of reddish energy surrounded Sakon at the same moment.
Sakon could sense a powerful presence within Seifer; something that manifested right after the light erupted from him. From that moment onwards, Seifer fought like a different person. Not only were Seifer's moves as swift as his own, the eerie thing was his enemy seemed to be able to predict and read his every attack. His attacks were being dodged and sidestepped even before they were executed, as though his mind was being read.
Blood gushed out from his deep wounds as new ones were being made. His opponent resembled a pesky fly swirling around, taking pot shots at him. Annoyance and frustration hit its limit as Sakon called forth the Guardian Force within him.
'Annihilate my enemies Tumbaras! Firedance!'
At his command, streams of thick flames shot out of Sakon's palms. In a flash, the whole cavern was lit with dancing fire, whirling in graceful arcs and circles, burning everything in sight. Beams of red light soon sprouted from the warrior.
'The Howl.'
The beams intensified, drilling into stone and rocking the entire cavern. Stones toppled from the ceiling as the beams threatened to bring the whole place down. A dazzling display of lights followed as the rays flashed about, leaving their marks on stone and cleaving through anything in its path. As the chaos died down, Sakon looked about to admire his handiwork. Thick smoke filled the cavern after being cooked by fire while rubble littered the floor. He was exhausted after the massive use of magic, but all satisfaction fasded when his foe still remained standing in front of him.
Seifer still could not believe how he survived that onslaught. He cast Blizzaga spells at directions where flames would appear just moments later, the ice impeding the flames advance, allowing Seifer to dodge just in the nick of time. The rays had him sidestep and cartwheel about like a clown, with the beams just whiskers away from piercing his vitals. All the time he was in a trance-like state, his body acting on its own accord, dodging naturally and evading attacks that were yet to come.
However, all the dodging seemed to have drained him significantly. He could feel the essence within him slowly ebbing away. He had to defeat Sakon soon before he loses the chance. As though answering his prayers, Shinji suddenly appeared in front of him. The boy stood in a battle stance back facing Seifer, with Hyperion clasped in his hands. Seifer was lost for words seeing his gunblade in Shinji's hands when just moments ago he was still holding it!
'Time is running out, we only have one chance at defeating Sakon. Hold my hands and channel all your power into your weapon.' The boy was right; he only had one shot at victory. Doing as told, he grabbed the boy's hands. Shinji vanished again like a ghostly apparition and Seifer was left holding Hyperion. He was certain Sakon had no idea that he was talking to Shinji. He concentrated in focusing every drop of power into his gunblade, and prepared to deliver the final blow. Seifer sensed a great outburst of energy coming from Hyperion, engulfing him in the process. His surroundings blurred beyond recognition and suddenly it was all over.
In a blink of an eye, he had covered the distance between them, with Hyperion stuck in his foe. Sakon had a look of equal shock as he stared at the gunblade sticking out of his chest. With all his might, Seifer pulled out the gunblade, a torrent of crimson blood soon followed, pouring out of the large gaping wound.
'I'm better than you. You didn't win. I'll come back for youuu…' Sakon never finished his sentence as he collapsed to the ground.
