Broken Dreams
Chapter IX - The Demon of Tyrael
~*~
I watch helplessly as Seifer and the Centaur meet in the middle of the hall with a dramatic clash, and with a wide sweep of his bardiche, the beast simply threw Seifer aside. The gunblader lands hard down on his side, over twenty feet away from where his flight started. Groaning lightly, he gets up slowly, stumbling slightly.
Zell chooses this opportunity to come out of his stupor and charges at the Centaur. I watch with a vivid sense of horror as he goes running from my side and at the beast. He comes up behind it, probably hoping to surprise it, but his tactic fails and the creature turns to face him. The Centaur rears up high, and comes crashing down, causing Zell to jump out of the way lest he be crushed.
"Zell!" Quistis shouts as she pulls out and cracks her whip. It snaps (not in the actual sense of breaking) and lies limply at her feet. She's obviously worried, but I doubt there's much she can actually do. Besides, Zell did make it out of the way (just barely, but he made it). He came out of that in just about the only way he could without dying being involved on his part, so I wouldn't worry about him just yet.
I feel like such a spectator. I can only watch as Seifer runs forward again, this Time a little slower, and if I know anything about swords (and I'm quite sure I have enough experience to claim so), then he's got his gunblade in a defense position. He's holding it at a diagonal angle in front of his chest, the sharp blade facing outwards.
That's not going to help, it's not going to help. . .
And I am proven right as the creature brings down his bardiche upon Seifer's head, and the gunblader is just able to get his own weapon in between before his brains would be smashed asunder. Still, the large pole arm is slowly crushing Seifer, and he can't move because if he does then he'll lose any chance of holding that thing back. He wouldn't have Time to dodge it then.
There's gotta be something I can do. . .
"A little help here!" Seifer shouts, grunting with the effort it's taking him to hold the weapon away from his head. He can't hold it back for much longer. . .The Centaur has the advantage of gravity being on his side. . .
Goddesses damnit it all!
A loud whip crack echoes in the room, and the red leather like substance of Quistis' weapon coils around the shaft of the bardiche several Times, and after a moment, she pulls it back and the whip goes taught. Now, with a good grip on the weapon, she struggles to pull it to the side and free Seifer.
Her plan backfired.
The Centaur simply looks at her, and then he casually yanks the bardiche in the opposite direction violently. Quistis, not having the time to realize what was happening and let go, is pulled with her whip, and soon she becomes airborne. Of course, now that the danger has been removed, Seifer is free to get the hell out of there, but he only manages in the moment of surprise to fall back on his ass.
With a loud thud, Quistis hits solidly in to the wall and falls to the ground in a crumbled ball. I'd fear that she is dead, but I can see her eyes. They're open and aware, although heavily fogged by the pain. She glances briefly at me, as if pleading, before looking back at Seifer.
The blonde gunblader is back on his feet again, and he immediately runs over towards Quistis, his dirty white coat trailing behind him dramatically. He positions himself in front of her, protectively, his gunblade once again raised in a defensive manner.
Where is Zell when they need him?
I look around to spot him over by the entrance, looking rather dumbfounded as he surveys the room.
What? Did he drop something. . .?
No, I think he's seeing if there's anything he could use. . .
Suddenly, the Centaur rears again, and his hooves shake the room with the sound of thunder. He again drives the butt of his weapon down into the stone floor, and looks first at Seifer and Quistis, and then over to Zell. He doesn't seem to notice me, as he does not look in my direction.
Maybe he can't see me?
{What is it you seek, Mortals?} his voice booms, though I am quick to notice that it has a underlying hiss to it, {Why are you at this forgotten Tomb of the Tainted? Surely you come for treasure?} His face frowns slightly, giving the impression that he is curious. It is impossible to read emotion from his eyes, as they are pure black, and seem to repel the light around them, {There is no gold here. So why do you come to this forsaken place?} His mouth does not move, or even open as he speaks. He seems just to use his mind, or something, kind of like how I do in my current state.
"Why do you think? To free him," Seifer points at me, drawing the beast's attention to himself, "So get out of our way!"
{What do you point at? There is nothing there,} the Centaur's eyes narrow as he looks at my position, obviously seeing nothing, {Do you try to mock me, Mortal?} He turns to face Seifer again, seemingly annoyed by Seifer's large smirk.
"Nah, I don't mock ya. You seem to do a good job of doin' it yourself," Seifer stares at his opponent with a proud glare, "And you must be blind as a fuckin' bat not to see ole Ghosty -" (so the name has caught on to him too, huh? It's good, I like it better than Ethereal), "- over there. He's glowing like a bloody searchlight."
Both the Centaur and I express some confusion on the word 'searchlight', but it isn't long before the beast looks in my direction again. It still seems as if he can't see me, and I start wondering whether that is a curse or a strange blessing.
{So, you wish to pass? I am the Guardian left behind by the archangel Tyrael. None shall get by without my Master's blessings.}
Tyrael's blessings? Why would he let anyone by in the first place? And why not say something like, 'my Master's permission', or something? Is there something special about his use of the word 'blessings'?
"Listen, buddy," Zell says, coming closer to the beast, waving his arms as he talks, "I don't give a bloody fuck on who put ya 'ere, ya know? We're here to help a friend," he looks over in my directions, "Or two. Either way, you ain't stopping us. I don't care who left ya here, we've done greater things than beat donkeys before, ya know?"
Obviously, the last comment was an insult, as the beast is clearly a half man, half horse. Wait a minute. . .
{I have warned you; No Mortal is allowed beyond these halls. Now, you will die!} The Centaur reared again, and galloped towards Zell, holding it's deadly weapon horizontally by its side. At first, Zell cannot seem to do anything but stare in shock, but it doesn't take him too long to get his butt in gear as the creature nears him. He rolls to the side (kinda reminds me of when I would attempt that, but back then I had a shield and a sword strapped to my back) just as the Centaur storms by where he was only moments ago. The beast pivots and faces him again, {I, Chiron, shall destroy you!}
Chiron (what a strange name, but then again, Tyrael did chose him) charges at Zell again, swinging the bardiche horizontally. Zell takes a step backwards, but again the Centaur steps forward, stabbing with the blunt end of his weapon. Even speedy Zell can't avoid that, and he gets the shaft right into his ribcage. Groaning in pain, the martial artist sinks to his knees after falling back a step, and Chiron takes this opportunity to his advantage.
He shifts his grip on the bardiche, and hefts the blade above Zell's head, and swings downward, bringing the bladed edge towards the earth. Zell, in his current state (I wouldn't be surprised if a few of his ribs are broken), can only look up and stare in horror.
And just before the blade can make contact, Seifer comes in and does a repeat performance of his earlier defence. Trying to hold back the bardiche with his gunblade (though he has to resort to using two hands, one on the hilt and one at the tip of the gunblade), he grunts with effort and the strain. Luckily, it isn't long before Quistis comes over and does her part by pulling (gently) Zell away from the danger, and she takes him over to the side of the room. Seifer is still holding back Chiron's blade with his own (and I fear that he's stuck again) when he suddenly pulls to the side and rolls out from the path of the weapon. The Centaur's blade crashes to the ground with a clang of metal (leaving a chink in the stone floor), and when he turns to face Seifer (who's now flanking the beast on his right side, I notice) I can clearly see the anger imprinted on his face.
There's gotta be something I can do. . .Something more than just be a spectator to this whole battle. . .
Seifer's gunblade is swung, and slices through the scales of the beast, drawing blood. Chiron rears from the pain and back steps, thus avoiding Seifer's next attack. The Centaur lands down heavily, fretting as he tries to keep his unprotected sides away from Seifer's vicious blade. It isn't long before the beast regains his composure and again attacks Seifer, who dodges (rather deftly, I do notice and applaud) and slashes again, this Time against the front legs. Chiron screams in a high pitched hissing wail at the pain and takes several steps back, trying to keep his knees from receiving further damage. As it is now, they are just a bloody mess.
I look over at Quistis to see that she is checking Zell's wounds (he doesn't look so good) before clasping both hands together, palms facing outward. A white light erupts from her, traveling upwards in three small tendrils, before flowing down and into Zell. He jerks a little at the intrusion of the strange magic, and then I truly witness a miracle.
His wounds, all of the minor ones heal completely. The larger and more serious only heal up partially. Either way, he is able to stand up now, though his breath is still quite shaky (he probably does have a broken rib). He takes a moment to look around and thank Quistis, before noticing Seifer's battle. Giving Quistis a quick nod, he runs towards the bruised gunblader and bleeding creature. the instructor faces the battle, and pulls out her whip again, giving it a good crack.
Seifer attacks the Centaur again, and the creature blocks quickly, seemingly amused. Chiron's smile, however, fades quickly and he pushes Seifer back with his weapon, restoring a bit of space between them again. The gunblader looks slightly annoyed, and he quickly covers that distance, attempting yet another slash. Chiron grins and whirls his weapon like how I've seen people with bowstaffs do (kinda in a circle, and fast enough that it looks like it is completely full) and then, he abruptly brings it (the sharp end) down.
I begin worrying again (I've been doing that a lot of Times this battle so far) when Seifer manages to roll away.
And right under the monster.
My relief is short lived, knowing that he is now in - or under - the belly of the beast, but soon he surprises me yet again. I can clearly see the smirk on his face as he looks up at the stomach above him, mere seconds before stabbing his gunblade upwards. It easily imbeds itself into the hide of Chiron, and still upwards, until I can see the tip come through his back. Now the beast is impaled (as best as he can be on a four foot gunblade) when Seifer pulls the trigger.
There's a loud explosion of flame from under Chiron, and then silence.
Once the flash fades, I can see Seifer looking rather annoyed at the blood that has poured down on him like syrup onto his coat and pants (and even some on his face), and Chiron looking rather like he is in shock. The gunblader jerks his blade back out of the Centaur, and walks out from under the beast, looking rather proud.
He couldn't have defeated the Guardian already. . .Has he (not that it would be a bad thing)?
Suddenly, on Chiron's death-like face, emotion suddenly returns. He's not in pain, he's not angry, he's not dying.
He's smiling. And then laughing.
{Do you really think that you could defeat me so easily?} he asks, facing Seifer, who's now looking at him in shock (or at least the closest Seifer will ever come to being in shock), {I am a Daemon, fool. Mortals such as you will need to be much stronger and far more clever than that to defeat me.} He laughs again, and I am reminded of the hissing of the Demon Majora during our battle in the moon.
Still gives me the creeps.
"Um, Link, how the hell do I beat this guy?" Seifer yells at me, just as Zell runs up to his side.
Yep, there's a definite problem with Zell's chest, and there's no doubt that it's his ribs. That spell might have helped, but the boy ain't completely healed yet.
"Link! A little help here?" Seifer shouts again, and now Zell's attempting to draw attention away from Seifer by running around to Chiron's side's. It isn't working though, because both I and Chiron know that Zell is injured and won't be able to keep this up for to long, that and he can't do as much damage as Seifer can with his gunblade.
~Hyperion,~ a whisper tells me from within. Hyperion? Is that what he calls his gunblade? I shake my head, there's more than just that to worry about here.
[Um, I don't know!] I shout out, loud enough to overcome the sound of the clashing metal, [I've never fought an enemy like this before!] I hear a groan come from Seifer as he moves quickly out of the way of the incoming bardiche, his coat flying behind him, [But I'll try to think of something! Just give me a little Time!]
Time, that all accused word. Just as the sentence was out of my mouth, the creature suddenly changed his method of attack and swung, his weapon nicking Seifer's shoulder. The gunblader gasps in pain and grabs the wound, and Zell suddenly has to change course to push Seifer out of the way as an uncharacteristically fast attack follows. They both make it out of the way, but Seifer's shoulder is bleeding rather bad. Since he is wearing a coat, it covers the wound rather well, preventing me from seeing the extent of the damage.
Quistis' whip comes from nowhere, and wraps around one of the horns on the creature's head. It latches on tightly, and she does her best to try to send him off course. Chiron just smirks, reaches up, and with one hand grabs the whip, and attempts to snap it, but Quistis sees and quickly snakes the weapon away. A broken whip would still work for her, but its range wouldn't be as long. Again she lashes out the whip, this Time the leather like substance hitting the creature against the side of the horse like portion of its body. The scales there quiver ever so slightly, but that's it. No permanent harm or anything.
Okay, Link, you got to think. What could be this thing's weakness?
Well, Tyrael was always had some kind of fetish with his designs. He always made some kind of strange poetic connections. So. . .what could it be this Time?
Oh come on Link, think!
~Tyrael's Blessings . . .,~ my helpful inner voice helps again. And as usual, it makes next to no sense. . .Wait a minute.
Tyrael did give me his blessings once. . .Just before I undertook the final challenge to find and destroy Diablo in Hell. And, his choice of a Guardian, what about that? A horseman. Centaurs were, in most regions, normal men on horseback, and primeval peoples thought them to be Demons, and thus the Lords of Hell made that design into a Demon of their own, as an eternal reminder of the massacres back then. . .A man on horse back. . .
I'm the only one in this group who's ever ridden a horse, probably the only one to even have seen one before (from all my travels with Squall, I have never heard or seen any mention of horses. They have chocobos, but not horses).
'Horseman' must be referring to me. So what about me?
I'm also the only one who's ever gone into Hell. So it's got to be me.
I vaguely notice that Seifer is being flung across the room, and Zell is hanging on to the bardiche, but for reasons I know not. I don't really care or understand. I'm too focused on my thoughts.
Okay, what else about Hell? Um, there's lava, and Demons. . .
And Andariel was a Lesser Demon. . .
A sudden crack of Quistis' whip echoes through the room, drowning out all other sounds, as it hits the human like back of Chiron, leaving a bright red welt that bleeds profusely. The Centaur rears suddenly, his movement causing Zell to lose his grip and drop to the floor. Immediately after her attack (while the Centaur is still acting out) she brings her palms together, and is surrounded by a light blue aura.
A large ice shrapnel forms, and flies straight at Chiron, heading right for his heart.
Everything slows down. . .
After an eternity, the ice cuts through his flesh, and comes out the other side. Chiron stumbles slightly in mid rear and lands down on his feet rather hard. Quistis' attack forced the Centaur back far enough that Zell would not be crushed by the hooves, but the martial artist is very slow to get back up to his feet.
Unnaturally slow. . .
Chiron laughs, and reaches up, and with a gut wrenching motion, he pulls the ice clear out of his body, barely grunting in pain. Zell gets up (rather wearily) just in Time to see the blood coated piece of ice being hurled at a stone wall where it shatters into hundreds of small pieces, right above where Seifer lay. The cold lands on Seifer, and coaxes him out of semi consciousness (he hit that wall pretty hard), causing the blonde to stumble to his feet.
A lot has happened, but I'm still stuck on one moment.
Quistis shot a spell of ice. . .
// Suddenly, I hear a sigh from behind me, and before I have Time to react, there is a fairly loud roaring noise. Kinda like the sound our fire would make, if they could ever get it started. Anyways, I try to turn around, as the sound is coming from the same direction as the sigh - [Quistis,] my mind states, recognizing that sigh - and I swivel just in Time to see a large flaming orb pass right through me. \\
Andariel was weak to fire. . .Hell represented fire. . .And this is also where I fought Andariel all those years ago. . .
It would only be fitting that the new Demon here (he was even placed in the exact same room as she was) was also weak to fire. Tyrael even made a big spectacle with the torches coming alight, much like they did in that dream I had.
Tyrael. . .You old fool. . .
[Guys! The torches! He's weak to fire!] I gain everyone's attention, every the bleary eyed glance of Seifer, [Just trust me! Quistis? Can you do another fire spell?] All I am greeted with is a nod. It's good enough.
And finally, I have an answer to a question I had not even the Time to think about. I was wondering why Seifer's gunblade seemed to do so much harm. You would think that Tyrael would leave something with a rather thick hide behind, kinda like that Afflicted that attacked the SeeDs and trainees. . .
The reason the Hyperion did so much damage is because it's a gunblade. And, therefore, when you make it explode (like Hell if I know how they do that), you cause a little burst of flame. And it's weak to that fire. If only there had been some trick that could have been pulled on the Afflicted that Squall would have trusted me on. . .
Speaking (or thinking) of which, where did that thing come from? I've only known them to exist in this world. . .
Quistis begins the now well known ritual of raising her hands, and she is once again surrounded by a bright red aura. . .A far brighter aura then last Time. . .Nothing happens at first, and then a little ball of yellow light forms in the gaping cavity that is the monster's chest. There is a moment in which it just hovers there, the blood dripping down and through it, showing that it is not an actual physical object, when suddenly it disappears.
Everyone (except Zell, who has for some odd reason run over towards the entrance) watches, even Chiron, and after a tense moment, the ball reforms, and immediately explodes.
Once the smoke clears, Chiron whinnies in sheer pain (that hissing sound more prominent then ever) and he rears away from Quistis, backing up towards Seifer, who still hasn't fully regained his senses. The blonde is able to stumble out of the way (albeit slowly), weakly raising his gunblade. . .
With his left hand. . .And Seifer isn't left handed. . .
Oh, I sense a broken arm. Ouch.
Chiron's chest is now heavily burnt, and for the first time since this battle started, there's pain in his eyes. He begins slowly backing away from Quistis, before suddenly charging at her. I guess he thinks that if he can take her out, then he's good again. What he doesn't know is that Zell has just ran up behind him, holding one of the torches from the entrance. It's a good four feet long with a strong flame at the end, so he's got a good enough range to keep out of the fray.
However, he doesn't immediately start attacking Chiron. Instead, he walks up calmly behind the beast and puts the flaming end of the torch to the monster's tail. Having a normal horse tail (except sized properly for his body), it catches fire quickly.
It isn't long until Chiron notices that his ass is actually on fire.
The result is him doing his best to put out the fire, while trying to out run Zell (who's chasing him like an idiot, shouting and waving the torch). He fails though, and his tail is disintegrated right up to the scales. The fire wears out after that, but a case of hot ass didn't seem to please him any more than did the fire spell into his chest.
Meanwhile, Quistis and Seifer are laughing so hard that I'm afraid Seifer's gonna drop or choke or something. Quistis, still chuckling, raises her hands and begins forming another spell. Another white aura surrounds her, and she once again heals a comrade, though this Time her target is Seifer. His stance straightens a bit, but he's still looking rather pale.
"Admit it," the blonde gunblader mutters, surprisingly weakly, "You've lost. Give up and show us where the body is, and we'll let ya live."
Chiron shakes his head, {I shall never! Not even in death!} And thus the Centaur again charges, this Time at Seifer. The gunblader is not yet far enough out of it yet to be defenseless, and so he raises his weapon, but before he can do anything, Zell jumps in between them, waving the torch. Chiron halts and rears, landing without the usual thunderous clap. The horse part of him begins to fret as Zell starts backing him into a corner. As they near the throne, the Centaur realizes the intent of the martial artist, and begins to try to flee around Zell and towards the others. Quistis cuts him off, standing next to Zell with a fire spell forming before her, a smile on her face. Again Chiron comes to a screeching halt, and begins backing up. Zell takes a sudden feint at the Demon, and Chiron just about falls on his butt trying to scramble away, eliciting a laugh from the three. Seifer walks up behind the other two, positioned between them and a little bit behind, his smug smirk back in place. There's pride and victory in his eyes. He knows they've won.
"Time to die, Chiron, any last words?" the blonde gunblader asks, taking another step forward and raising one hand, palm facing outwards. It's aimed at the Centaur, and it's similar to how Quistis was doing her magic, so I assume that's what he is doing as well, though I usually imagine the women better with magic.
Quistis sill has her aura, and the light forming between her hands, but she's not using the spell, kinda like she's holding it there as a threat.
{You are indeed mighty Mortals, but know this: All Deamons have their weaknesses, not all of them fear fire,} Chiron takes a brief glance in my general direction, and gives the area a knowing look. He looks back towards the others, {I can hear your accomplice, but I can not see him. Tell me, is he the spirit of the being that rests within these halls?}
"Uh. . .Yeah, sure," Zell replies, though he's agreeing more out of uncertainty then out of understanding.
{Then I have failed. Be strong Mortals, for the love of God shall never return to you once you step through the door.}
"Ah, shove it up your fucking ass," Seifer says, sounding a bit stronger than before, "You're history." With that, eight orbs form around Seifer, each a dark grey, with lighter grey symbols, surrounding him in a circle. He and the others (to the amazement of both myself and Chiron) begin to fade away, and just before they are completely out of sight, I catch a glimpse of Seifer rubbing that scar of his, the matching one to the one he gave Squall several years ago. His finger follows it up the bridge of his nose, and back down.
By then, he and the others have gone.
Did they just leave us here? Like, I know I should be thankful that they've come this far, but still, why leave now? It would just be one big wasted effor-
Suddenly, out of the ground, a large red beast rises, standing on top of a steadily forming ball of molten lava. It looks like a cross between a lion and a goat, or something with large back horns that are straight on the whole, but twist and turn. Its mane is a fiery red, while the main part of its body is a reddish brown. Its eyes are small black coals that burn deeply within its sockets, and it just radiates confidence.
Hmm, reminds me of Seifer.
It stands cockily on the growing sphere of lava, rising slowly into the air. It has its massive, muscled arms folded across its chest, the large black claws tapping against its skin, as if in annoyance.
The sphere rises up high (and suddenly, its as if the ceiling is not there anymore, instead the ball just keeps rising up higher into the darkness), and suddenly, the beast jumps off the top of the orb, and floats around behind it, his mane floating in an unknown breeze. He comes up behind it, and raises both fists, pounding them into the sphere. The giant orb comes crashing down back to earth, and with wide eyes, Chiron watches as the molten rock smashes into him and spells out his doom. The sphere continues on briefly, sinking deeper into the ground, before suddenly it fades. And so does the lion beast.
And the others come back into view, back into the exact same positions they were in before.
The sphere may be gone, but Chiron isn't. His eyes are still locked in that same stare, now looking at nothing, when suddenly, his whole body just collapses into itself, somehow (even now that the spell is done) catching fire. His whole body compresses, concaving upon itself. His chest collapses and sprays blood, there's the sickening sound of bones crunching, and all the while his body is being burned ever so slowly.
Within moments, all there is left of Chiron is a small black orb floating where he stood only so long ago. The orb at first remains suspended, before plummeting down to the stone floor, and splattering. It explodes much like how a water drop would have done, and the black residue soaks through the cracks in the stone.
And thus, is the end of Chiron, the Guardian of my tomb.
". . .So, Link," Seifer says, facing me, "How'd you know it's weakness?"
[Um, well. . .The guy who sealed me here had a real love for similarities. . .patterns, if you will. The Demon I fought here, long ago, was also weak to fire. That, and a few other things, helped me to realize that it didn't like fire.]
"Oh, well, as long as it worked," Quistis replies, looking thoughtful, "Say, where are we supposed to go now? Chiron didn't say where the door is."
"Ah, don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll find it sooner or later," Zell says, a hand clutching his ribs.
"Oh, Zell! Sorry! I forgot you guys are injured! Here, come over to the wall and sit down, and I'll get right to healing you." She leads them over to the wall, and hardly before they have had a chance to sit down, Quistis starts casting her spells. After about three or four, she suddenly decides that there is nothing more she can do for them, but they both already look far better. Seifer looks like he can use his arm again, and Zell is breathing a lot better. She helps them to their feet, and walk over towards me, rather slowly, but that is to be expected.
Click.
Everyone stops and looks at Zell, he's standing on that same step he punched before. It sunk in a little with the weight of his foot, and after staring at it for what feels like an eternity, he suddenly jumps off of it. The sudden motion makes him raise a hand to hold his ribs, probably causing him an extraordinary amount of pain, but otherwise he looks fine.
He lands, and we all watch as the switch slowly raises itself back up to floor level.
And suddenly, everything collapses.
I watch as the flooring beneath the others drops and they fall with it. A large expanse of the stone flooring drops down, leaving a hole that disappears into nothingness, and the others disappear into the black, while I remain, floating, above the abyss that has devoured them.
[Guys?] I look down, but not even my handy ghost vision can help me see down there. Without a second thought, I plunge into the darkness. I follow it down, worrying whether this hole has an ending to it or not, when suddenly, I can see an red light up ahead. Of course, the change is welcome, and I speed towards it, the thought on how Zell fell with that torch still in his hands rather reassuring.
I emerge out on to a room, completely made out of some kind of dark stone, and in the center, there's a large pit. In that hole, there's a small circular island, made from that same kind of rock, floating above the dark abyss beneath it. There's a bridge that connects the island to the rest of the chamber, but the bridge is slightly on fire. The flame doesn't spread, however, and I think I might know why.
Tyrael didn't want to block off the island, he wanted to scare people away.
Surrounding the edges of the island are walls of fire, rising up five feet easily into the air, existing without any form of fuel. They, however, have left an opening just in front of the bridge, allowing access without being heavily burned. A few of the planks on the bridge are broken as well, but it's all a ruse. That rope bridge will hold, it's just meant to look as if it's going to collapse any moment.
In the center of the floating island, there's a large crystal jutting straight upwards from the ground, black and as dark as the night. In it are bright red ruins, painted on, or just held there by magic, I do not know. The crystal, around fifteen feet in height, is covered in many tentacles, much like those a squid would have, and they are wrapping themselves around the crystal almost protectively, and very tightly.
And, at the base of this crystal, being held back by the tentacles, is a white figure.
My body. . .
I don't know how come I can't see my body in detail, I mean, my body looks like how Zell described me; surrounded by a large aura, and so bright I can't really make anything out.
However, I can feel it calling to me. . .I'm almost complete.
"Link?" Zell asks, detangling himself from the pile of rubble and his companions, "Is that you? Out there, on that. . .Island thing?"
[Yeah.]
Quistis and Seifer have now as well straightened themselves out, and are also staring. But I can no longer just look upon my body. . .I must be one with it again.
[Guys,] I say, having a hard time to form whole words, due to my anxiousness, [I need you to go over there, and free me. I'll have some equipment lying about, near the base of the crystal. Could you. . ?] I leave the question hanging, unsure of what words to use in this situation.
Quistis nods, and I speed over the bridge and towards my body. . .I still cannot see it fully, but that doesn't matter now. I take one second to do a last gaze upon myself, before I can contain my urge no longer. I float into my body, and almost instantly, I can feel things changing.
There's a great surge of energy that runs through me - and my body - followed by a bright flash of white light that destroys all other sight. . .
I remember no more. . .
~*~
I nod, and Link suddenly flies across the bridge and into the figure at the base of the crystal. We run over, myself in the lead with Seifer and Zell following closely behind. At first, nothing happens, but by the time we reach his body, the pale young man that's being held back by so many tentacles suddenly jerks. There's a bright flash of light, and it fades, withdrawn back into the body and into the strange altar.
At first, the wild thoughts of the boy being dead appear in my mind, when suddenly the boy jolts again, and his eyes shoot open. My eyes meet with his, orbs of a light blue, gentle and yet tough, and hauntingly beautiful. The surprise forces me back a step, and I hardly notice that I bump into Seifer's chest.
The young man before us is somewhat short, just a little shorter than Squall with bright blonde hair, though in this red light (the light seems to be coming from the abyss below and the fire all around) he looks tired and worn, beaten and destroyed. He regards us slowly, with those eyes of his, showing a slight hint of fear, and wildness, and great pain, before he again hangs his head. It doesn't drop far, for one of those tentacles, about as thick as my arm, is coiled about his neck, holding up his head. His eyes don't met ours again. Link is a very lithe looking man, skinny (a little unnaturally so), but I can see that he's got some muscles on his arms. What did Selphie tell me that kind of build was called? Cut, or something.
He is almost naked, except for a small black towel wrapped around his waist. I guess it was a part of the sealing ritual.
"Quistis, come on. You can check him out later," Seifer winks at me, and I sigh, "Let's just get him out of here for now, okay?"
I nod, and look about. He never told us how to free him! He was in such a rush, that he must have forgotten to say something about that important aspect of our rescue mission here. I relay my thoughts to the others, and their faces droop a little. I suggest that we find a way to release him, and they quickly agree. I turn back to face Link, who is staring at me again, the wildness in his eyes has faded slightly. He looks me in the eye, before his mouth moves, ever so slightly. He whispers something, something so barely audible that I can not properly hear it, and so I lean in closer, putting my ear almost to his mouth.
". . .please. . .can't. . .save me, please. . .?" his hot breath blows against my ear, and his voice fades. I back up and look at him again, and his head is back down. It also appears that after what he has said, the tentacles around his waist and his wrists, have tightened again. He stands upright, knees slightly buckled, and his arms out above his head and out to the sides, forming a sort of 'Y' shape to his imprisonment. His blonde bangs fall in front of his face, and his breath comes slow and ragged. The tentacles wrap around him, holding him tightly in their coils, slithering and encircling him, holding him here.
"What should we do?" Seifer asks from behind me, and without facing him I shake my head. He still didn't tell me how to help him, how to free him. I look about, before grabbing one of the tentacles and pulling hard. Accomplishing nothing. The tentacle tightens on his arms some more, and I hear him groan slightly. This must be causing him some horrific pain.
Seifer moves up beside to help me, but I raise a hand, "Don't touch the tentacles. They'll just tighten on him. There's got to be another way. . ."
And then I see it. On the boy's chest, there is a patch of skin that's a bit lighter than the surrounding flesh, fashioned in a bit of a star shape, five points and upside down compared to the normal way such a figure is usually drawn, so that the single point that is at the top is instead at the bottom. And out of the center of this strange scar, in the very center of his chest, pokes out a cylindrical jewel. It's a blue, a bit darker than the blue of his eyes, and it pokes from his chest and out about two, two and a half inches.
Hyne, it looks as if someone stabbed him with that thing. . .it's embedded into the flesh, and I can see the red of his muscles around its edges.
Is that how I free him?
I look to see that Link is looking at me again, and there's great pain and sorrow in his eyes, as his lips attempt to move again. I lean in closely to prevent him from having to repeat himself, ". . .stone. . .t-take it out. . .just pull. . ."
"Okay," I whisper in response, "We'll get you out of here," I grab the stone in my hand, gently, afraid to harm him, "Please forgive me, this may hurt a little.
He nods, and continues staring at my face as I pull on the stone, hard, but not hard enough to forcibly harm him. It does, however, begin to come out slowly. He cries out in pain and arches away from me, his head drawn back. I continue to pull, but it starts sliding back into him again, so I pull even harder. It seems almost like the gem gets caught in his chest, when it suddenly comes loose. It flies from my hands and rolls over near Seifer's feet, but he's soon by my side as we watch.
The stone had flashed once, and that light was now buzzing through Link, and as it reached his limbs it disappears. As do the tentacles, they just fade into thin air, leaving their captive without any support. Link pitches forward limply, but Zell quickly runs over and catches the boy, laying him gently on the floor. Link is lain on his back, and I quickly kneel next to him.
His eyes are closed, and he is definitely unconscious, but his breathing is already a little more regular. I look over him, and try to determine his current health, and if he is going to survive.
Well, one thing is for sure. The boy is all skin and bones, I can see his ribs quite clearly through his skin. His stomach is caved inwards, and not in any healthy way. This boy is seriously underweight. His cheeks are a little shallow, and his skin is very pale.
What I had earlier taken to be a towel, was actual clothing. The only thing is that it had actually rotted and still clung to his skin. There was also another tatter of the fabric around his left elbow. The original colouring of his clothes might have been green, though I cannot be sure.
How long had he been down here?
The wound in his chest from the strange jewel was not bleeding, but it didn't fade or heal up, even when I cast a cure spell on him. But at least he is not losing blood, so I will just have to take a better look at it later. For now, I think it will be okay to leave it alone as long as we take care not to disturb it.
I take a closer look at his face, moving his hair away to see. . .
Oh, Hyne. . .
"Um, we have a bit of an. . .unsuspected surprise here," Seifer and Zell immediately surround me, and look at what I have found. The boy has large pointed ears, long and pointed backwards, angled rather closely to his skull, though they do stick out somewhat as they progress.
"What the Hell? He's an. . .what is it called? An Elf?" Seifer asks from beside me, sounding curious and confused. As far as I knew, Elves only existed in fairy tales and legends. I thought they were just a part of children's stories. . .So they actually exist?
"I guess. . .We'll. . .just have to ask him once he wakes up. For now, I suggest we get him out of here," I say, looking at where we had fallen from, "But how do we get up? Never mind, how do we get him up?"
"I'm sure one of us can climb up or something, and then drop a rope down. It's all good, I think I could do it," Zell says, having regained some of his vigor. Earlier, his ribs were broken, but a slight healing spell, and the proper realignment of his bones helped to heal him quickly. Now, he's almost as active as usual.
I look over to Seifer, "He said his equipment was around the base of the crystal, could you check? Although, after looking at what's left of his clothing, I guess most of it won't be of use. Still check it out, and anything that still works should be brought. Okay?"
He nods, and then walks over to the base of the crystal and starts looking for anything. I watch him for a moment, as he sorts through an extremely small pile of belongings. I turn to face Zell, who's run ahead and started looking for a way back up and out of this secret room. He's completely absorbed in his work, trying to scramble up the near vertical cliff face, and as he slips back down, I find myself wondering if that boy can actually feel pain. By the time his feet touch the floor, he's already scrambling back up, only to slid right back down. He is slowly managing to get higher up, but it looks like a slow process.
Of course, I don't know much about rock climbing, so I can't be sure.
As I walk over to lend him a hand, my foot hits something. I look down to see the stone lying at my feet, it's cool ocean blue surface glittering at the tip of my shoe. I can half fancy that I can see the waves billowing in the small stone, but I know it's just a trick of my imagination. It shines, and I find my attention drawn deeper towards it.
Maybe I should take it and give it to Link when he wakes up?
I guess I should, as I have no idea as to what it does, but I am sure he knows. It could be important.
My mind made up, I squat down and pick it up in one gloved hand, and I slowly stand, still gazing in its depths.
It is like nothing I have ever seen before, beautiful beyond all belief. It seems to have no definite size, as it almost appears to glow, that depthless blue radiating and pulsing. Such a beautiful stone. . .
But it's blue. . .was not like the blue of Link's eyes. That blue. . .it was gentle, and yet commanding. Strong and yet kind.
What a weird young man.
I pocket the stone, and look back at the unconscious boy. He's breathing better now, though he stirs slightly in his sleep, as if he is having a bad dream.
But it's alright now, he won't be living one anymore.
He shivers, and I suppose that it would be because he is cold. Understandable, completely. Even with this fire all around, I am a bit chilled, and there he is, having spent Hyne knows how long trapped in this place, with barely a scrap of clothing. I'm surprised he hasn't freezed to death.
I reach into the pack I have on my back, and pull out a blanket from within. I lay it on him, and soon he ceases shivering, though he still tosses. It's a lot better than letting him freeze, and besides, it looks like it's going to take Zell a bit longer to find his way up the slope.
I only hope that he can get up that cliff wall.
~*~
A/N :
(Updated: 1:22 AM July 31: Hey, sorry about the spells and summons being a little off in looks, I can't remember for the life of me what they look like, and I'm a long ways away in the game from coming across such things (though I suppose Ifrit is already in my junctions. . .) so sorry if the spells are off. If you have a problem with this, just calmly state it in the review, and I'll work on getting to such a point in FF8. Of course, this would take time, and I wouldn't get as much of the story done, meaning slower updates. So, I suggest just going with it, but if it bothers you that bad. . .well, then just let me know, k?)
Chapter IX - The Demon of Tyrael
~*~
I watch helplessly as Seifer and the Centaur meet in the middle of the hall with a dramatic clash, and with a wide sweep of his bardiche, the beast simply threw Seifer aside. The gunblader lands hard down on his side, over twenty feet away from where his flight started. Groaning lightly, he gets up slowly, stumbling slightly.
Zell chooses this opportunity to come out of his stupor and charges at the Centaur. I watch with a vivid sense of horror as he goes running from my side and at the beast. He comes up behind it, probably hoping to surprise it, but his tactic fails and the creature turns to face him. The Centaur rears up high, and comes crashing down, causing Zell to jump out of the way lest he be crushed.
"Zell!" Quistis shouts as she pulls out and cracks her whip. It snaps (not in the actual sense of breaking) and lies limply at her feet. She's obviously worried, but I doubt there's much she can actually do. Besides, Zell did make it out of the way (just barely, but he made it). He came out of that in just about the only way he could without dying being involved on his part, so I wouldn't worry about him just yet.
I feel like such a spectator. I can only watch as Seifer runs forward again, this Time a little slower, and if I know anything about swords (and I'm quite sure I have enough experience to claim so), then he's got his gunblade in a defense position. He's holding it at a diagonal angle in front of his chest, the sharp blade facing outwards.
That's not going to help, it's not going to help. . .
And I am proven right as the creature brings down his bardiche upon Seifer's head, and the gunblader is just able to get his own weapon in between before his brains would be smashed asunder. Still, the large pole arm is slowly crushing Seifer, and he can't move because if he does then he'll lose any chance of holding that thing back. He wouldn't have Time to dodge it then.
There's gotta be something I can do. . .
"A little help here!" Seifer shouts, grunting with the effort it's taking him to hold the weapon away from his head. He can't hold it back for much longer. . .The Centaur has the advantage of gravity being on his side. . .
Goddesses damnit it all!
A loud whip crack echoes in the room, and the red leather like substance of Quistis' weapon coils around the shaft of the bardiche several Times, and after a moment, she pulls it back and the whip goes taught. Now, with a good grip on the weapon, she struggles to pull it to the side and free Seifer.
Her plan backfired.
The Centaur simply looks at her, and then he casually yanks the bardiche in the opposite direction violently. Quistis, not having the time to realize what was happening and let go, is pulled with her whip, and soon she becomes airborne. Of course, now that the danger has been removed, Seifer is free to get the hell out of there, but he only manages in the moment of surprise to fall back on his ass.
With a loud thud, Quistis hits solidly in to the wall and falls to the ground in a crumbled ball. I'd fear that she is dead, but I can see her eyes. They're open and aware, although heavily fogged by the pain. She glances briefly at me, as if pleading, before looking back at Seifer.
The blonde gunblader is back on his feet again, and he immediately runs over towards Quistis, his dirty white coat trailing behind him dramatically. He positions himself in front of her, protectively, his gunblade once again raised in a defensive manner.
Where is Zell when they need him?
I look around to spot him over by the entrance, looking rather dumbfounded as he surveys the room.
What? Did he drop something. . .?
No, I think he's seeing if there's anything he could use. . .
Suddenly, the Centaur rears again, and his hooves shake the room with the sound of thunder. He again drives the butt of his weapon down into the stone floor, and looks first at Seifer and Quistis, and then over to Zell. He doesn't seem to notice me, as he does not look in my direction.
Maybe he can't see me?
{What is it you seek, Mortals?} his voice booms, though I am quick to notice that it has a underlying hiss to it, {Why are you at this forgotten Tomb of the Tainted? Surely you come for treasure?} His face frowns slightly, giving the impression that he is curious. It is impossible to read emotion from his eyes, as they are pure black, and seem to repel the light around them, {There is no gold here. So why do you come to this forsaken place?} His mouth does not move, or even open as he speaks. He seems just to use his mind, or something, kind of like how I do in my current state.
"Why do you think? To free him," Seifer points at me, drawing the beast's attention to himself, "So get out of our way!"
{What do you point at? There is nothing there,} the Centaur's eyes narrow as he looks at my position, obviously seeing nothing, {Do you try to mock me, Mortal?} He turns to face Seifer again, seemingly annoyed by Seifer's large smirk.
"Nah, I don't mock ya. You seem to do a good job of doin' it yourself," Seifer stares at his opponent with a proud glare, "And you must be blind as a fuckin' bat not to see ole Ghosty -" (so the name has caught on to him too, huh? It's good, I like it better than Ethereal), "- over there. He's glowing like a bloody searchlight."
Both the Centaur and I express some confusion on the word 'searchlight', but it isn't long before the beast looks in my direction again. It still seems as if he can't see me, and I start wondering whether that is a curse or a strange blessing.
{So, you wish to pass? I am the Guardian left behind by the archangel Tyrael. None shall get by without my Master's blessings.}
Tyrael's blessings? Why would he let anyone by in the first place? And why not say something like, 'my Master's permission', or something? Is there something special about his use of the word 'blessings'?
"Listen, buddy," Zell says, coming closer to the beast, waving his arms as he talks, "I don't give a bloody fuck on who put ya 'ere, ya know? We're here to help a friend," he looks over in my directions, "Or two. Either way, you ain't stopping us. I don't care who left ya here, we've done greater things than beat donkeys before, ya know?"
Obviously, the last comment was an insult, as the beast is clearly a half man, half horse. Wait a minute. . .
{I have warned you; No Mortal is allowed beyond these halls. Now, you will die!} The Centaur reared again, and galloped towards Zell, holding it's deadly weapon horizontally by its side. At first, Zell cannot seem to do anything but stare in shock, but it doesn't take him too long to get his butt in gear as the creature nears him. He rolls to the side (kinda reminds me of when I would attempt that, but back then I had a shield and a sword strapped to my back) just as the Centaur storms by where he was only moments ago. The beast pivots and faces him again, {I, Chiron, shall destroy you!}
Chiron (what a strange name, but then again, Tyrael did chose him) charges at Zell again, swinging the bardiche horizontally. Zell takes a step backwards, but again the Centaur steps forward, stabbing with the blunt end of his weapon. Even speedy Zell can't avoid that, and he gets the shaft right into his ribcage. Groaning in pain, the martial artist sinks to his knees after falling back a step, and Chiron takes this opportunity to his advantage.
He shifts his grip on the bardiche, and hefts the blade above Zell's head, and swings downward, bringing the bladed edge towards the earth. Zell, in his current state (I wouldn't be surprised if a few of his ribs are broken), can only look up and stare in horror.
And just before the blade can make contact, Seifer comes in and does a repeat performance of his earlier defence. Trying to hold back the bardiche with his gunblade (though he has to resort to using two hands, one on the hilt and one at the tip of the gunblade), he grunts with effort and the strain. Luckily, it isn't long before Quistis comes over and does her part by pulling (gently) Zell away from the danger, and she takes him over to the side of the room. Seifer is still holding back Chiron's blade with his own (and I fear that he's stuck again) when he suddenly pulls to the side and rolls out from the path of the weapon. The Centaur's blade crashes to the ground with a clang of metal (leaving a chink in the stone floor), and when he turns to face Seifer (who's now flanking the beast on his right side, I notice) I can clearly see the anger imprinted on his face.
There's gotta be something I can do. . .Something more than just be a spectator to this whole battle. . .
Seifer's gunblade is swung, and slices through the scales of the beast, drawing blood. Chiron rears from the pain and back steps, thus avoiding Seifer's next attack. The Centaur lands down heavily, fretting as he tries to keep his unprotected sides away from Seifer's vicious blade. It isn't long before the beast regains his composure and again attacks Seifer, who dodges (rather deftly, I do notice and applaud) and slashes again, this Time against the front legs. Chiron screams in a high pitched hissing wail at the pain and takes several steps back, trying to keep his knees from receiving further damage. As it is now, they are just a bloody mess.
I look over at Quistis to see that she is checking Zell's wounds (he doesn't look so good) before clasping both hands together, palms facing outward. A white light erupts from her, traveling upwards in three small tendrils, before flowing down and into Zell. He jerks a little at the intrusion of the strange magic, and then I truly witness a miracle.
His wounds, all of the minor ones heal completely. The larger and more serious only heal up partially. Either way, he is able to stand up now, though his breath is still quite shaky (he probably does have a broken rib). He takes a moment to look around and thank Quistis, before noticing Seifer's battle. Giving Quistis a quick nod, he runs towards the bruised gunblader and bleeding creature. the instructor faces the battle, and pulls out her whip again, giving it a good crack.
Seifer attacks the Centaur again, and the creature blocks quickly, seemingly amused. Chiron's smile, however, fades quickly and he pushes Seifer back with his weapon, restoring a bit of space between them again. The gunblader looks slightly annoyed, and he quickly covers that distance, attempting yet another slash. Chiron grins and whirls his weapon like how I've seen people with bowstaffs do (kinda in a circle, and fast enough that it looks like it is completely full) and then, he abruptly brings it (the sharp end) down.
I begin worrying again (I've been doing that a lot of Times this battle so far) when Seifer manages to roll away.
And right under the monster.
My relief is short lived, knowing that he is now in - or under - the belly of the beast, but soon he surprises me yet again. I can clearly see the smirk on his face as he looks up at the stomach above him, mere seconds before stabbing his gunblade upwards. It easily imbeds itself into the hide of Chiron, and still upwards, until I can see the tip come through his back. Now the beast is impaled (as best as he can be on a four foot gunblade) when Seifer pulls the trigger.
There's a loud explosion of flame from under Chiron, and then silence.
Once the flash fades, I can see Seifer looking rather annoyed at the blood that has poured down on him like syrup onto his coat and pants (and even some on his face), and Chiron looking rather like he is in shock. The gunblader jerks his blade back out of the Centaur, and walks out from under the beast, looking rather proud.
He couldn't have defeated the Guardian already. . .Has he (not that it would be a bad thing)?
Suddenly, on Chiron's death-like face, emotion suddenly returns. He's not in pain, he's not angry, he's not dying.
He's smiling. And then laughing.
{Do you really think that you could defeat me so easily?} he asks, facing Seifer, who's now looking at him in shock (or at least the closest Seifer will ever come to being in shock), {I am a Daemon, fool. Mortals such as you will need to be much stronger and far more clever than that to defeat me.} He laughs again, and I am reminded of the hissing of the Demon Majora during our battle in the moon.
Still gives me the creeps.
"Um, Link, how the hell do I beat this guy?" Seifer yells at me, just as Zell runs up to his side.
Yep, there's a definite problem with Zell's chest, and there's no doubt that it's his ribs. That spell might have helped, but the boy ain't completely healed yet.
"Link! A little help here?" Seifer shouts again, and now Zell's attempting to draw attention away from Seifer by running around to Chiron's side's. It isn't working though, because both I and Chiron know that Zell is injured and won't be able to keep this up for to long, that and he can't do as much damage as Seifer can with his gunblade.
~Hyperion,~ a whisper tells me from within. Hyperion? Is that what he calls his gunblade? I shake my head, there's more than just that to worry about here.
[Um, I don't know!] I shout out, loud enough to overcome the sound of the clashing metal, [I've never fought an enemy like this before!] I hear a groan come from Seifer as he moves quickly out of the way of the incoming bardiche, his coat flying behind him, [But I'll try to think of something! Just give me a little Time!]
Time, that all accused word. Just as the sentence was out of my mouth, the creature suddenly changed his method of attack and swung, his weapon nicking Seifer's shoulder. The gunblader gasps in pain and grabs the wound, and Zell suddenly has to change course to push Seifer out of the way as an uncharacteristically fast attack follows. They both make it out of the way, but Seifer's shoulder is bleeding rather bad. Since he is wearing a coat, it covers the wound rather well, preventing me from seeing the extent of the damage.
Quistis' whip comes from nowhere, and wraps around one of the horns on the creature's head. It latches on tightly, and she does her best to try to send him off course. Chiron just smirks, reaches up, and with one hand grabs the whip, and attempts to snap it, but Quistis sees and quickly snakes the weapon away. A broken whip would still work for her, but its range wouldn't be as long. Again she lashes out the whip, this Time the leather like substance hitting the creature against the side of the horse like portion of its body. The scales there quiver ever so slightly, but that's it. No permanent harm or anything.
Okay, Link, you got to think. What could be this thing's weakness?
Well, Tyrael was always had some kind of fetish with his designs. He always made some kind of strange poetic connections. So. . .what could it be this Time?
Oh come on Link, think!
~Tyrael's Blessings . . .,~ my helpful inner voice helps again. And as usual, it makes next to no sense. . .Wait a minute.
Tyrael did give me his blessings once. . .Just before I undertook the final challenge to find and destroy Diablo in Hell. And, his choice of a Guardian, what about that? A horseman. Centaurs were, in most regions, normal men on horseback, and primeval peoples thought them to be Demons, and thus the Lords of Hell made that design into a Demon of their own, as an eternal reminder of the massacres back then. . .A man on horse back. . .
I'm the only one in this group who's ever ridden a horse, probably the only one to even have seen one before (from all my travels with Squall, I have never heard or seen any mention of horses. They have chocobos, but not horses).
'Horseman' must be referring to me. So what about me?
I'm also the only one who's ever gone into Hell. So it's got to be me.
I vaguely notice that Seifer is being flung across the room, and Zell is hanging on to the bardiche, but for reasons I know not. I don't really care or understand. I'm too focused on my thoughts.
Okay, what else about Hell? Um, there's lava, and Demons. . .
And Andariel was a Lesser Demon. . .
A sudden crack of Quistis' whip echoes through the room, drowning out all other sounds, as it hits the human like back of Chiron, leaving a bright red welt that bleeds profusely. The Centaur rears suddenly, his movement causing Zell to lose his grip and drop to the floor. Immediately after her attack (while the Centaur is still acting out) she brings her palms together, and is surrounded by a light blue aura.
A large ice shrapnel forms, and flies straight at Chiron, heading right for his heart.
Everything slows down. . .
After an eternity, the ice cuts through his flesh, and comes out the other side. Chiron stumbles slightly in mid rear and lands down on his feet rather hard. Quistis' attack forced the Centaur back far enough that Zell would not be crushed by the hooves, but the martial artist is very slow to get back up to his feet.
Unnaturally slow. . .
Chiron laughs, and reaches up, and with a gut wrenching motion, he pulls the ice clear out of his body, barely grunting in pain. Zell gets up (rather wearily) just in Time to see the blood coated piece of ice being hurled at a stone wall where it shatters into hundreds of small pieces, right above where Seifer lay. The cold lands on Seifer, and coaxes him out of semi consciousness (he hit that wall pretty hard), causing the blonde to stumble to his feet.
A lot has happened, but I'm still stuck on one moment.
Quistis shot a spell of ice. . .
// Suddenly, I hear a sigh from behind me, and before I have Time to react, there is a fairly loud roaring noise. Kinda like the sound our fire would make, if they could ever get it started. Anyways, I try to turn around, as the sound is coming from the same direction as the sigh - [Quistis,] my mind states, recognizing that sigh - and I swivel just in Time to see a large flaming orb pass right through me. \\
Andariel was weak to fire. . .Hell represented fire. . .And this is also where I fought Andariel all those years ago. . .
It would only be fitting that the new Demon here (he was even placed in the exact same room as she was) was also weak to fire. Tyrael even made a big spectacle with the torches coming alight, much like they did in that dream I had.
Tyrael. . .You old fool. . .
[Guys! The torches! He's weak to fire!] I gain everyone's attention, every the bleary eyed glance of Seifer, [Just trust me! Quistis? Can you do another fire spell?] All I am greeted with is a nod. It's good enough.
And finally, I have an answer to a question I had not even the Time to think about. I was wondering why Seifer's gunblade seemed to do so much harm. You would think that Tyrael would leave something with a rather thick hide behind, kinda like that Afflicted that attacked the SeeDs and trainees. . .
The reason the Hyperion did so much damage is because it's a gunblade. And, therefore, when you make it explode (like Hell if I know how they do that), you cause a little burst of flame. And it's weak to that fire. If only there had been some trick that could have been pulled on the Afflicted that Squall would have trusted me on. . .
Speaking (or thinking) of which, where did that thing come from? I've only known them to exist in this world. . .
Quistis begins the now well known ritual of raising her hands, and she is once again surrounded by a bright red aura. . .A far brighter aura then last Time. . .Nothing happens at first, and then a little ball of yellow light forms in the gaping cavity that is the monster's chest. There is a moment in which it just hovers there, the blood dripping down and through it, showing that it is not an actual physical object, when suddenly it disappears.
Everyone (except Zell, who has for some odd reason run over towards the entrance) watches, even Chiron, and after a tense moment, the ball reforms, and immediately explodes.
Once the smoke clears, Chiron whinnies in sheer pain (that hissing sound more prominent then ever) and he rears away from Quistis, backing up towards Seifer, who still hasn't fully regained his senses. The blonde is able to stumble out of the way (albeit slowly), weakly raising his gunblade. . .
With his left hand. . .And Seifer isn't left handed. . .
Oh, I sense a broken arm. Ouch.
Chiron's chest is now heavily burnt, and for the first time since this battle started, there's pain in his eyes. He begins slowly backing away from Quistis, before suddenly charging at her. I guess he thinks that if he can take her out, then he's good again. What he doesn't know is that Zell has just ran up behind him, holding one of the torches from the entrance. It's a good four feet long with a strong flame at the end, so he's got a good enough range to keep out of the fray.
However, he doesn't immediately start attacking Chiron. Instead, he walks up calmly behind the beast and puts the flaming end of the torch to the monster's tail. Having a normal horse tail (except sized properly for his body), it catches fire quickly.
It isn't long until Chiron notices that his ass is actually on fire.
The result is him doing his best to put out the fire, while trying to out run Zell (who's chasing him like an idiot, shouting and waving the torch). He fails though, and his tail is disintegrated right up to the scales. The fire wears out after that, but a case of hot ass didn't seem to please him any more than did the fire spell into his chest.
Meanwhile, Quistis and Seifer are laughing so hard that I'm afraid Seifer's gonna drop or choke or something. Quistis, still chuckling, raises her hands and begins forming another spell. Another white aura surrounds her, and she once again heals a comrade, though this Time her target is Seifer. His stance straightens a bit, but he's still looking rather pale.
"Admit it," the blonde gunblader mutters, surprisingly weakly, "You've lost. Give up and show us where the body is, and we'll let ya live."
Chiron shakes his head, {I shall never! Not even in death!} And thus the Centaur again charges, this Time at Seifer. The gunblader is not yet far enough out of it yet to be defenseless, and so he raises his weapon, but before he can do anything, Zell jumps in between them, waving the torch. Chiron halts and rears, landing without the usual thunderous clap. The horse part of him begins to fret as Zell starts backing him into a corner. As they near the throne, the Centaur realizes the intent of the martial artist, and begins to try to flee around Zell and towards the others. Quistis cuts him off, standing next to Zell with a fire spell forming before her, a smile on her face. Again Chiron comes to a screeching halt, and begins backing up. Zell takes a sudden feint at the Demon, and Chiron just about falls on his butt trying to scramble away, eliciting a laugh from the three. Seifer walks up behind the other two, positioned between them and a little bit behind, his smug smirk back in place. There's pride and victory in his eyes. He knows they've won.
"Time to die, Chiron, any last words?" the blonde gunblader asks, taking another step forward and raising one hand, palm facing outwards. It's aimed at the Centaur, and it's similar to how Quistis was doing her magic, so I assume that's what he is doing as well, though I usually imagine the women better with magic.
Quistis sill has her aura, and the light forming between her hands, but she's not using the spell, kinda like she's holding it there as a threat.
{You are indeed mighty Mortals, but know this: All Deamons have their weaknesses, not all of them fear fire,} Chiron takes a brief glance in my general direction, and gives the area a knowing look. He looks back towards the others, {I can hear your accomplice, but I can not see him. Tell me, is he the spirit of the being that rests within these halls?}
"Uh. . .Yeah, sure," Zell replies, though he's agreeing more out of uncertainty then out of understanding.
{Then I have failed. Be strong Mortals, for the love of God shall never return to you once you step through the door.}
"Ah, shove it up your fucking ass," Seifer says, sounding a bit stronger than before, "You're history." With that, eight orbs form around Seifer, each a dark grey, with lighter grey symbols, surrounding him in a circle. He and the others (to the amazement of both myself and Chiron) begin to fade away, and just before they are completely out of sight, I catch a glimpse of Seifer rubbing that scar of his, the matching one to the one he gave Squall several years ago. His finger follows it up the bridge of his nose, and back down.
By then, he and the others have gone.
Did they just leave us here? Like, I know I should be thankful that they've come this far, but still, why leave now? It would just be one big wasted effor-
Suddenly, out of the ground, a large red beast rises, standing on top of a steadily forming ball of molten lava. It looks like a cross between a lion and a goat, or something with large back horns that are straight on the whole, but twist and turn. Its mane is a fiery red, while the main part of its body is a reddish brown. Its eyes are small black coals that burn deeply within its sockets, and it just radiates confidence.
Hmm, reminds me of Seifer.
It stands cockily on the growing sphere of lava, rising slowly into the air. It has its massive, muscled arms folded across its chest, the large black claws tapping against its skin, as if in annoyance.
The sphere rises up high (and suddenly, its as if the ceiling is not there anymore, instead the ball just keeps rising up higher into the darkness), and suddenly, the beast jumps off the top of the orb, and floats around behind it, his mane floating in an unknown breeze. He comes up behind it, and raises both fists, pounding them into the sphere. The giant orb comes crashing down back to earth, and with wide eyes, Chiron watches as the molten rock smashes into him and spells out his doom. The sphere continues on briefly, sinking deeper into the ground, before suddenly it fades. And so does the lion beast.
And the others come back into view, back into the exact same positions they were in before.
The sphere may be gone, but Chiron isn't. His eyes are still locked in that same stare, now looking at nothing, when suddenly, his whole body just collapses into itself, somehow (even now that the spell is done) catching fire. His whole body compresses, concaving upon itself. His chest collapses and sprays blood, there's the sickening sound of bones crunching, and all the while his body is being burned ever so slowly.
Within moments, all there is left of Chiron is a small black orb floating where he stood only so long ago. The orb at first remains suspended, before plummeting down to the stone floor, and splattering. It explodes much like how a water drop would have done, and the black residue soaks through the cracks in the stone.
And thus, is the end of Chiron, the Guardian of my tomb.
". . .So, Link," Seifer says, facing me, "How'd you know it's weakness?"
[Um, well. . .The guy who sealed me here had a real love for similarities. . .patterns, if you will. The Demon I fought here, long ago, was also weak to fire. That, and a few other things, helped me to realize that it didn't like fire.]
"Oh, well, as long as it worked," Quistis replies, looking thoughtful, "Say, where are we supposed to go now? Chiron didn't say where the door is."
"Ah, don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll find it sooner or later," Zell says, a hand clutching his ribs.
"Oh, Zell! Sorry! I forgot you guys are injured! Here, come over to the wall and sit down, and I'll get right to healing you." She leads them over to the wall, and hardly before they have had a chance to sit down, Quistis starts casting her spells. After about three or four, she suddenly decides that there is nothing more she can do for them, but they both already look far better. Seifer looks like he can use his arm again, and Zell is breathing a lot better. She helps them to their feet, and walk over towards me, rather slowly, but that is to be expected.
Click.
Everyone stops and looks at Zell, he's standing on that same step he punched before. It sunk in a little with the weight of his foot, and after staring at it for what feels like an eternity, he suddenly jumps off of it. The sudden motion makes him raise a hand to hold his ribs, probably causing him an extraordinary amount of pain, but otherwise he looks fine.
He lands, and we all watch as the switch slowly raises itself back up to floor level.
And suddenly, everything collapses.
I watch as the flooring beneath the others drops and they fall with it. A large expanse of the stone flooring drops down, leaving a hole that disappears into nothingness, and the others disappear into the black, while I remain, floating, above the abyss that has devoured them.
[Guys?] I look down, but not even my handy ghost vision can help me see down there. Without a second thought, I plunge into the darkness. I follow it down, worrying whether this hole has an ending to it or not, when suddenly, I can see an red light up ahead. Of course, the change is welcome, and I speed towards it, the thought on how Zell fell with that torch still in his hands rather reassuring.
I emerge out on to a room, completely made out of some kind of dark stone, and in the center, there's a large pit. In that hole, there's a small circular island, made from that same kind of rock, floating above the dark abyss beneath it. There's a bridge that connects the island to the rest of the chamber, but the bridge is slightly on fire. The flame doesn't spread, however, and I think I might know why.
Tyrael didn't want to block off the island, he wanted to scare people away.
Surrounding the edges of the island are walls of fire, rising up five feet easily into the air, existing without any form of fuel. They, however, have left an opening just in front of the bridge, allowing access without being heavily burned. A few of the planks on the bridge are broken as well, but it's all a ruse. That rope bridge will hold, it's just meant to look as if it's going to collapse any moment.
In the center of the floating island, there's a large crystal jutting straight upwards from the ground, black and as dark as the night. In it are bright red ruins, painted on, or just held there by magic, I do not know. The crystal, around fifteen feet in height, is covered in many tentacles, much like those a squid would have, and they are wrapping themselves around the crystal almost protectively, and very tightly.
And, at the base of this crystal, being held back by the tentacles, is a white figure.
My body. . .
I don't know how come I can't see my body in detail, I mean, my body looks like how Zell described me; surrounded by a large aura, and so bright I can't really make anything out.
However, I can feel it calling to me. . .I'm almost complete.
"Link?" Zell asks, detangling himself from the pile of rubble and his companions, "Is that you? Out there, on that. . .Island thing?"
[Yeah.]
Quistis and Seifer have now as well straightened themselves out, and are also staring. But I can no longer just look upon my body. . .I must be one with it again.
[Guys,] I say, having a hard time to form whole words, due to my anxiousness, [I need you to go over there, and free me. I'll have some equipment lying about, near the base of the crystal. Could you. . ?] I leave the question hanging, unsure of what words to use in this situation.
Quistis nods, and I speed over the bridge and towards my body. . .I still cannot see it fully, but that doesn't matter now. I take one second to do a last gaze upon myself, before I can contain my urge no longer. I float into my body, and almost instantly, I can feel things changing.
There's a great surge of energy that runs through me - and my body - followed by a bright flash of white light that destroys all other sight. . .
I remember no more. . .
~*~
I nod, and Link suddenly flies across the bridge and into the figure at the base of the crystal. We run over, myself in the lead with Seifer and Zell following closely behind. At first, nothing happens, but by the time we reach his body, the pale young man that's being held back by so many tentacles suddenly jerks. There's a bright flash of light, and it fades, withdrawn back into the body and into the strange altar.
At first, the wild thoughts of the boy being dead appear in my mind, when suddenly the boy jolts again, and his eyes shoot open. My eyes meet with his, orbs of a light blue, gentle and yet tough, and hauntingly beautiful. The surprise forces me back a step, and I hardly notice that I bump into Seifer's chest.
The young man before us is somewhat short, just a little shorter than Squall with bright blonde hair, though in this red light (the light seems to be coming from the abyss below and the fire all around) he looks tired and worn, beaten and destroyed. He regards us slowly, with those eyes of his, showing a slight hint of fear, and wildness, and great pain, before he again hangs his head. It doesn't drop far, for one of those tentacles, about as thick as my arm, is coiled about his neck, holding up his head. His eyes don't met ours again. Link is a very lithe looking man, skinny (a little unnaturally so), but I can see that he's got some muscles on his arms. What did Selphie tell me that kind of build was called? Cut, or something.
He is almost naked, except for a small black towel wrapped around his waist. I guess it was a part of the sealing ritual.
"Quistis, come on. You can check him out later," Seifer winks at me, and I sigh, "Let's just get him out of here for now, okay?"
I nod, and look about. He never told us how to free him! He was in such a rush, that he must have forgotten to say something about that important aspect of our rescue mission here. I relay my thoughts to the others, and their faces droop a little. I suggest that we find a way to release him, and they quickly agree. I turn back to face Link, who is staring at me again, the wildness in his eyes has faded slightly. He looks me in the eye, before his mouth moves, ever so slightly. He whispers something, something so barely audible that I can not properly hear it, and so I lean in closer, putting my ear almost to his mouth.
". . .please. . .can't. . .save me, please. . .?" his hot breath blows against my ear, and his voice fades. I back up and look at him again, and his head is back down. It also appears that after what he has said, the tentacles around his waist and his wrists, have tightened again. He stands upright, knees slightly buckled, and his arms out above his head and out to the sides, forming a sort of 'Y' shape to his imprisonment. His blonde bangs fall in front of his face, and his breath comes slow and ragged. The tentacles wrap around him, holding him tightly in their coils, slithering and encircling him, holding him here.
"What should we do?" Seifer asks from behind me, and without facing him I shake my head. He still didn't tell me how to help him, how to free him. I look about, before grabbing one of the tentacles and pulling hard. Accomplishing nothing. The tentacle tightens on his arms some more, and I hear him groan slightly. This must be causing him some horrific pain.
Seifer moves up beside to help me, but I raise a hand, "Don't touch the tentacles. They'll just tighten on him. There's got to be another way. . ."
And then I see it. On the boy's chest, there is a patch of skin that's a bit lighter than the surrounding flesh, fashioned in a bit of a star shape, five points and upside down compared to the normal way such a figure is usually drawn, so that the single point that is at the top is instead at the bottom. And out of the center of this strange scar, in the very center of his chest, pokes out a cylindrical jewel. It's a blue, a bit darker than the blue of his eyes, and it pokes from his chest and out about two, two and a half inches.
Hyne, it looks as if someone stabbed him with that thing. . .it's embedded into the flesh, and I can see the red of his muscles around its edges.
Is that how I free him?
I look to see that Link is looking at me again, and there's great pain and sorrow in his eyes, as his lips attempt to move again. I lean in closely to prevent him from having to repeat himself, ". . .stone. . .t-take it out. . .just pull. . ."
"Okay," I whisper in response, "We'll get you out of here," I grab the stone in my hand, gently, afraid to harm him, "Please forgive me, this may hurt a little.
He nods, and continues staring at my face as I pull on the stone, hard, but not hard enough to forcibly harm him. It does, however, begin to come out slowly. He cries out in pain and arches away from me, his head drawn back. I continue to pull, but it starts sliding back into him again, so I pull even harder. It seems almost like the gem gets caught in his chest, when it suddenly comes loose. It flies from my hands and rolls over near Seifer's feet, but he's soon by my side as we watch.
The stone had flashed once, and that light was now buzzing through Link, and as it reached his limbs it disappears. As do the tentacles, they just fade into thin air, leaving their captive without any support. Link pitches forward limply, but Zell quickly runs over and catches the boy, laying him gently on the floor. Link is lain on his back, and I quickly kneel next to him.
His eyes are closed, and he is definitely unconscious, but his breathing is already a little more regular. I look over him, and try to determine his current health, and if he is going to survive.
Well, one thing is for sure. The boy is all skin and bones, I can see his ribs quite clearly through his skin. His stomach is caved inwards, and not in any healthy way. This boy is seriously underweight. His cheeks are a little shallow, and his skin is very pale.
What I had earlier taken to be a towel, was actual clothing. The only thing is that it had actually rotted and still clung to his skin. There was also another tatter of the fabric around his left elbow. The original colouring of his clothes might have been green, though I cannot be sure.
How long had he been down here?
The wound in his chest from the strange jewel was not bleeding, but it didn't fade or heal up, even when I cast a cure spell on him. But at least he is not losing blood, so I will just have to take a better look at it later. For now, I think it will be okay to leave it alone as long as we take care not to disturb it.
I take a closer look at his face, moving his hair away to see. . .
Oh, Hyne. . .
"Um, we have a bit of an. . .unsuspected surprise here," Seifer and Zell immediately surround me, and look at what I have found. The boy has large pointed ears, long and pointed backwards, angled rather closely to his skull, though they do stick out somewhat as they progress.
"What the Hell? He's an. . .what is it called? An Elf?" Seifer asks from beside me, sounding curious and confused. As far as I knew, Elves only existed in fairy tales and legends. I thought they were just a part of children's stories. . .So they actually exist?
"I guess. . .We'll. . .just have to ask him once he wakes up. For now, I suggest we get him out of here," I say, looking at where we had fallen from, "But how do we get up? Never mind, how do we get him up?"
"I'm sure one of us can climb up or something, and then drop a rope down. It's all good, I think I could do it," Zell says, having regained some of his vigor. Earlier, his ribs were broken, but a slight healing spell, and the proper realignment of his bones helped to heal him quickly. Now, he's almost as active as usual.
I look over to Seifer, "He said his equipment was around the base of the crystal, could you check? Although, after looking at what's left of his clothing, I guess most of it won't be of use. Still check it out, and anything that still works should be brought. Okay?"
He nods, and then walks over to the base of the crystal and starts looking for anything. I watch him for a moment, as he sorts through an extremely small pile of belongings. I turn to face Zell, who's run ahead and started looking for a way back up and out of this secret room. He's completely absorbed in his work, trying to scramble up the near vertical cliff face, and as he slips back down, I find myself wondering if that boy can actually feel pain. By the time his feet touch the floor, he's already scrambling back up, only to slid right back down. He is slowly managing to get higher up, but it looks like a slow process.
Of course, I don't know much about rock climbing, so I can't be sure.
As I walk over to lend him a hand, my foot hits something. I look down to see the stone lying at my feet, it's cool ocean blue surface glittering at the tip of my shoe. I can half fancy that I can see the waves billowing in the small stone, but I know it's just a trick of my imagination. It shines, and I find my attention drawn deeper towards it.
Maybe I should take it and give it to Link when he wakes up?
I guess I should, as I have no idea as to what it does, but I am sure he knows. It could be important.
My mind made up, I squat down and pick it up in one gloved hand, and I slowly stand, still gazing in its depths.
It is like nothing I have ever seen before, beautiful beyond all belief. It seems to have no definite size, as it almost appears to glow, that depthless blue radiating and pulsing. Such a beautiful stone. . .
But it's blue. . .was not like the blue of Link's eyes. That blue. . .it was gentle, and yet commanding. Strong and yet kind.
What a weird young man.
I pocket the stone, and look back at the unconscious boy. He's breathing better now, though he stirs slightly in his sleep, as if he is having a bad dream.
But it's alright now, he won't be living one anymore.
He shivers, and I suppose that it would be because he is cold. Understandable, completely. Even with this fire all around, I am a bit chilled, and there he is, having spent Hyne knows how long trapped in this place, with barely a scrap of clothing. I'm surprised he hasn't freezed to death.
I reach into the pack I have on my back, and pull out a blanket from within. I lay it on him, and soon he ceases shivering, though he still tosses. It's a lot better than letting him freeze, and besides, it looks like it's going to take Zell a bit longer to find his way up the slope.
I only hope that he can get up that cliff wall.
~*~
A/N :
(Updated: 1:22 AM July 31: Hey, sorry about the spells and summons being a little off in looks, I can't remember for the life of me what they look like, and I'm a long ways away in the game from coming across such things (though I suppose Ifrit is already in my junctions. . .) so sorry if the spells are off. If you have a problem with this, just calmly state it in the review, and I'll work on getting to such a point in FF8. Of course, this would take time, and I wouldn't get as much of the story done, meaning slower updates. So, I suggest just going with it, but if it bothers you that bad. . .well, then just let me know, k?)