Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong to their respective owners.
Ch. 20 Despair, Trial, and Sacrifice
The three of us ran as hard as we could, and as we passed a pavilion we stopped and saw Hope. He was facing off against an Ushumgal Subjugator all by himself, and from the looks of it the fight wasn't going well. "Let's go!" Lightning said, drawing her gunblade and running forward. Fang and I nodded, and we all ran up to Hope. He saw us and Fang said "Not bad kid." "Where's Snow?" I asked, and Hope replied "He's okay!" "Sure you're up to this?" Fang asked. "Thing will never know what hit it," Lightning said.
With that our battle began. The Subjugator fired several beams into the air, and they rained down on top of us. Grumbling, I cast Libra and learned that it was weak to Thunder spells. "It's weak to Thunder. Use that!" I called. Lightning and Hope nodded and did just that while Fang kept attacking it with her lance. Within minutes we had the thing knocked off balance, and Fang launched it into the air.
Once it was in the air the Subjugator was defenseless, and the four of us were able to hit it with everything we had. It got to the point that a single hit left a dent in the machine's armor, and I began smiling. Eventually though the monster regained its balance and landed back on the ground, where it stood back up. Then a glowing circle began to appear around me, and I remember that this was where the Subjugator began targeting for its Pinpoint Beam.
I called "Fang, I need you to provoke it and absorb its fire!" She looked at me and nodded, and yelled to the monster "Try to take on me!" It looked at her and the circle around me began to glow around her instead. Fang activated her Steelguard and the machine fired its Pinpoint Beam. A total of eight beams shot down on her in rapid succession, but thank to her Steelguard Fang was able to hold against the attack
Then it fired again, and she grunted. "This thing's shooting hard now. You better hurry up and kill it!" she called at us. Light, Hope and I nodded, and we kept on the Subjugator with another barrage of Thunder spells. A few minutes passed in this manner, the three of us casting spells and healing Fang when she said she needed us to, and the machine making sure Fang stayed on the defensive.
That was, until I delivered on particularly vicious hit to the Subjugator's side, and it actually buckled a little bit from the force of the blow. I smiled. "The thing's weakening! Let's take it down!" I called. The others nodded, and Fang dropped her Steelguard to attack along with hope and I while Lightning summoned her Eidolon. With it being weakened and under our relentless barrage, the monster couldn't attack anymore, and from atop Odin, Lightning only added to the damage.
The fight ended when I called "Lightning!" I threw Indomitus at her. She took her dual swords and combined them into one, and then caught my sword with her left hand. She jumped off Odin and spun around in the move Zantetsuken, the use of both her and my weapons doubling the damage. The Subjugator shuddered for a second before falling to the ground, defeated. "And that takes care of that!" Fang said. I nodded, that was one more enemy down.
Suddenly the thought filled me with despair, more than I had ever thought possible. "Yeah, just one enemy out of hundreds more," I said. Fang stopped and looked at me, noticing the tone in my voice. "Something up?" she asked. "I'm just tired. I'm tired of all this running, this endless fighting. I can't take it anymore!" I yelled, falling to one knee. "Deiru, what going on?" Hope asked.
"I already know everything that's going to happen to us. What our Focus is, how our journey end, all of it!" I called. I had no idea where the words were coming from, but I couldn't will them to stop. Even when my brand on the palm of my right hand began burning, I didn't stop. "I'm tired of walking down this path, do what I already know will happen just so that things can stay the way they are. If you already know how your path ends then what's the point…" My brand glowed purple and silver, and began burning brighter. "Of even taking it!"
Then my brand flared brighter than ever before, and I screamed in pain. The ground below me turned smooth as glass and black as night, adorned by a silver crescent moon. Below it there was a shifting darkness, almost like mist, and I could feel something rising up through it. I hurriedly stood up and ran outside the circle, just as an arm broke through the glass and reached upward. I stared in horror and disbelief as another arm broke though, and the two gripped the edge of the hole they made and pulled. Out of the hole rose a nightmare.
The beast stood about twenty five feet tall, and it was somewhat human in appearance. It skin was as brown as leather, and it clutched to its skin. The creature was skin and bones, with barely any muscle between. Its fingers and toes ended in iron-gray razor sharp claws, and its teeth were all sharpened to a fine point. Long ash-silver hair framed a skull-like face, with no nose and two eye holes that were pits of blackness. The creature wore only a tattered black kilt or skirt that reached just above its knees, and pair of broken shackles around its wrists. On its head was a black crown, rusted over in places, and on the front of the crown was a silver crescent.
I stared at this monster, uncertain of what it was, until I looked down at my still-growing brand at it hit me. My Eidolon. This was my Eidolon. And what a terrifying beast it was. The beast in appearance wasn't completely frightful, but it exuded an aura of power, of bloodlust and complete fear. This creature survived and thrived in shadows, and if ordered to it would kill anything in its path. And if this truly was my Eidolon, that order was going to be exactly what it had been given.
Lightning and the others rushed forward to stand by me, but the Eidolon flung out a clawed hand and a barrier suddenly appeared around it and me. It was similar to the barrier Anima had erected to prevent Hope and Vanille from escaping its chambers, only it was silver rather than red, and instead a Pulse brand it was a crescent moon. "Deiru!" Lightning called, striking against the barrier the Eidolon had erected, but to no avail.
Sadly I closed my eye and said "It's no use Light." She looked at me and said "There's no way I'm standing by and letting this happen!" I shook my head and opened my eye to look at her. "Sorry, but this is a challenge I have to overcome alone." She looked at me with concern and even a bit of desperation in her eyes, but I looked away and faced my Eidolon. Steeling my resolve, I lifted Indomitus. The monster made an inhuman roar and in the pits it had for eyes two orbs of red glowed while a pair of huge, black leathery bat wings sprouted from its back.
"You want a fight? Then come and get one!" I called. It roared again and cast the spell Doom. A black mist enveloped me and I could feel my life force already beginning to drain away. Not wanting to waste time, I cast Protect and Shell on myself. The Eidolon flung its hand out at me, and in the palm of its hand a silver fire glowed. Then the fire split into fire smaller balls and fired towards me. I held my sword in front of me and blocked the first three, and dodge to the side to escape the other two.
I cast Libra and learned all about what I needed to defeat my Eidolon. It attacked quickly and relentlessly, and while it was resistant to magical attacks, it was susceptible to Imperil. With that in mind I cast Imperil a total of four times, and when the Eidolon jerked its head back I knew it had taken effect. While it tried to regain its balance I charged forward and cut it just below its knee. The cut was shallow, and its blood was as black as ink. It roared and punched the ground. Pillars of earth erupted in random areas, and one those random areas happened to be beneath my feet.
The ground shot up from below me and I was sent through the air like a cork out of a bottle. I landed on my side, and I could feel something snapped. Crying out in pain, I cast Cura on myself and the broken rib mended itself, but it still left a nasty bruise. Grimacing, I turned back to my Eidolon just as it cast Blizzaga. The shards of ice shot toward me from the ground, and one missed my head by the width of a wire. Before the monster could cast another spell I hit it with Quake and then cast Aerora.
The pillars of earth hit the Eidolon in several places, and then it controlled the Aerora spell so it wind would blow the leftover dirt in the Eidolon's eyes. It let out inhuman scream and covered its eyes with its hand, rubbing vigorously to remove the dirt. Now that it was wide open, I charged forward and stabbed it in the foot before cast Thunder on my blade, the electricity running through Indomitus and into its cut. This time the beast screamed high enough to nearly shatter glass and it kicked me hard enough to send me back and knocked Indomitus out of its cut.
It blinked a few times to clear the last bit of dirt, and then it looked at me and growled low in its throat. I stood up and looked to see my sword lying near the Eidolon's feet. I frowned; I wouldn't be able to do much without Indomitus, besides magic. So I cast Quake again and tried to blow more dirt in its eyes. This time it anticipated the trick however, and before the dirt got in its eyes it responded will Aeroga. A small tornado grew in front of me and spun me around in the air before tossing me right at its feet.
Fortunately that placed me right next to Indomitus. Unfortunately that left me right in front of a twenty-five foot tall Eidolon bent on killing me. It raised its good foot and was about to step on me when I rolled to the side and grabbed Indomitus. I stood up and backed away, but it merely growled and pointed a claw at me. A bolt of lightning shot from the tip and I blocked with I blocked it with in Indomitus, but I could feel the power of the bolt my blade was deflecting. This Eidolon was strong and nowhere near giving up. Once the light from the bolt had faded I cast a Fira spell at the Eidolon and charged forward.
It blocked the spell with its arm, but in doing so it didn't see me until was right in front of it. I covered my blade in ice and gave it a cut on the leg, the chill from the ice dealing extra pain. The beast screamed and knocked me back, and then it held its hand in front of its chest. A giant orb of fire appeared, one that had a white center but the rest on it was purple and black. The orb grew to the size of a car, and then the Eidolon raised it behind its head with one hand and threw it like a baseball.
The ball sailed toward me at almost blinding speed, and I had just enough time to raise my sword before it hit me. Indomitus bore the brunt of the attack, but tendrils of flames curled around the blade and shot towards me, singing my clothes and burning my skin. Then the orb exploded, and the blast was strong enough to send me flying. I landed on my back and skid a few feet, ending sprawled on the ground. The Eidolon roared and began closing in on me.
This wasn't good. I was burnt bad enough for it to be problem, the Eidolon was still ready to go, and I was down on the ground. Not only that, I could feel the Doom spell still draining me, ticking away until it killed me. Still, I refused to give up, and pushed myself back onto my feet. I was going to defeat this thing and continue this journey. I was going to see Lightning and the others again.
The Eidolon growled and swung at me with its claws, and I managed to both knock it back and cut one of them off. It screamed in pain and took a step back, pressing the advantage. It gave it yet another cut below the knee, and before it could retaliate I jumped and gave it a slash across the face. It cast another barrage of fire spells against me, but I swung my sword like a bat and knocked them all back toward the Eidolon, resulting in one fiery explosion. The beast howled and waved its arms through the smoke. While that smoke was blinding it, I spun my sword around in my hands and stabbed the Eidolon in the knee.
This time the Eidolon did scream loud enough high enough to break glass, and I covered my ears to block the noise. It used Aerora to clear the smoke and punched me square in the chest. The blow knocked the wind out of me and sent me back until I crashed into the barrier. It kept on me, firing spells of one element after another, each one more powerful than the last. Fire, Blizzara, Thundaga, Aero, Watera and Ruinga ending with Quake.
I ran around the ring and tried to escape the relentless assault, but the Eidolon cast Watera the water from it spread across the ground, and I ended up slipping. Then the Aero spell sent up into the air before Ruinga sent me crashing back down to be pummeled by Quake. By the time the Eidolon stopped I was bleeding several places and barely able to move. The beast walked over, limping slightly from the stab in its knee, prepared to finish things off.
I couldn't get my body to pick itself up, and I began to lose hope. While it was injured, this Eidolon was still capable of fighting, and I could barely move. This beast was just too strong, this was one fight I couldn't win. The task Etro had given me I would fail, and the timeline would be destroyed. But most of all, I would never be with the people I cared about again.
That was, until I heard a voice, one voice, call out "Deiru!" Lightning.
That's right, I said I would see Lightning and the others again, and that I refuse to give up. No matter what I had to accomplish, no matter who I had to fight, I would live to see the next day. Regardless of the things I would have to do, I would see Lightning again. So with that in mind my eye snapped open to see the Eidolon standing above me. It raised one arm, claws glinting in the fading sunlight, and brought it down to tear me to ribbons.
Digging down farther than I had ever thought possible, I tightened my grip on Indomitus and brought it just in time to block the oncoming strike. Sparks flew from the impact of claw against metal, and if it had any facial expressions the Eidolon would have looked surprised. "There's no way, no way in hell, that I'm going to lose to you," I said firmly. I pushed, and to the Eidolon's astonishment it was sent back. I lock gazes with it, jumped up and shoved.
The shove sent the back hard in enough it had to take a step to regain its balance, and I cast Thundara. The bolts of electricity struck it head on, and it covered its head to block the attack. I ran forward and spun Indomitus around in my hand, ending with a stab the knee that I hadn't hit before. With both knees injured, the Eidolon had trouble standing, and I jumped up and off its knee to be level with its head, where I spun my sword around until I smashed the flat of the blade into the side of its face.
Now that it was thoroughly injured and knocked completely off-balance, the Eidolon wobbled for a second before falling backwards onto its wings and back. I landed down on its chest and I looked into the Eidolon's eyes. I raised Indomitus over my head and held it so the blade was pointing down. I called "Now your fight is over!" before I brought my sword down and stabbed it in the center of its chest.
The Eidolon went rigid before howling and thrashing around in pain. I removed Indomitus and ran off the Eidolon, and its body began to glow. It clawed at the wound in its chest, hoping that would do something but for naught. Its body glowed brighter, and it let out one more cry of anguish before it faded, revealing a single crystal that hung in the air. The eidolith floated toward me and lowered into my hand, and I got a good look at it.
It was like a diamond, perfectly formed and glinting in the light, but instead of clear as, well a diamond, it was as black as night and I could see more face reflected more than a dozen times on the surface. The crystal eidolith shimmered for a second before disappearing, and suddenly I knew my Eidolon's name. The Queen of Darkness and Lady of Night, she who serves the goddess from now until forever. The Eidolon of Shadows, Regnuma.
The barrier around me faded, and Lightning, Fang and Hope ran forward. "Are you okay?" Hope asked. I smiled. "Yeah, that Eidolon was a tough customer, but I managed to chew what I bit off." Fang sighed and said "You really don't know when to quit do you? That Eidolon could have ripped you to shreds!" "Well with all due respect Fang, that Eidolon had cast Doom on me. So unless I beat in a fight, I was pretty much dead," I replied.
She smiled. "Yeah, that was a good fight. Just don't expect me to go so easy on you if you ever fight me." "I wouldn't expect anything less," I told her. We both laughed, Lightning said "Just don't surprise us like that again, okay?" I looked at her, and I was surprised to see her expression was one of concern. I rubbed the back of my head, but I was spared from saying anything when Hope turned to Light and held out the knife she had given him. "Um… Operation Nora didn't work out," he said.
Lightning took the knife and held in gently, then she look and Hope and suddenly hugged him. "It's all right," she said. "I'll keep you safe." Hope was silent for a moment, before saying "Lightning, I… Me too. I'll keep you safe too. At least, I'll try to." I stepped forward, wincing slightly from the numerous cuts, burns, and bruises and my body. "We all will," I said.
The two of them came apart and looked at me with confusion, and I said "How about all three of us make a promise, right here now? We'll vow to always look out for each other, and keep each other safe." I stuck my hand out, and for a second no one did anything. Then Hope smiled and said "Why not?" before putting his hand on top of mine. Lightning said "Let's do it," and put her hand mine as well. I smiled "Well, as the saying goes: All for one…" They both smiled and we all said "And one for all."
"Great. Now that you're all done bonding, can you give a hand with this lunk over here?" I heard Fang call. We all turned to see she was trying to pick up Snow, but apparently 6 feet and seven inches of heavily muscled hardhead was too much even for her. I smiled again and said "Yeah, we can help," before the three of us started forward.
Then something happened.
The Ushumgal Subjugator from before shuddered, and made a dying whir of defiance. Time seemed to slow down, and I looked at it until I saw the glowing targeting circle appear around Light. My eye widening, time returned to normal, and I rushing forward. Instead of beams, bolts of electricity shot down from the heavens, and headed down for the pink-haired soldier. "LIGHTNING!" I shoved her out of the way, and the bolts hit me straight on my back.
Electricity coursed through my body, and in less than a second the pain became so great I couldn't even speak. I writhed and jerked in series of muscle spasms, until my body went slack and fell onto the ground. Someone may have been running to me, and I think I heard the word "Deiru!"
Then I closed my eyes and fell into darkness.
xxx
Well, Deiru now has his own personal Eidolon, but on that last part things took a wild twist, didn't they? More in this story is soon to come, and if I get a review then it'll only come all the faster. So with that, please review! (Flames will be used as fuel for a campfire so I can burn marshmallows. And ignored)