Chapter 33: Busting through
On the bridge, Brother could hardly remain still.
"Vydran! E lyhhud pameaja fryd e caa!" he said, in shock.
"Pameaja ed, cuh! Drao'ja tuha ed! Ed ec rybbahehk!" Cid replied to him, psyched.
Rikku arrived on the bridge, Yuna right behind her.
"Rikku, aqlamahd!" Brother exclaimed at his sister.
She raised an arm up in the air, psyched, hopping a little. Yuna did not seem to share her enthusiasm. She looked thoughtful.
"It's going to come back, isn't it?" she asked, although her tone made it sound more like a statement rather than a question.
Tidus arrived behind her at that moment and walked past her to get ahead.
"I know."
"What?" Cid exploded, spinning around to the youth. "You're kidding me!"
The others all made their way back to the bridge as well. Once again, some remained in the hallway due to the limited space. None of them seemed surprised to hear those words. They knew it was not over yet.
Tidus turned around
"No!" he said, replying to Cid's exclamation. "We have to beat the guy inside Sin."
"The Crusaders would be out of a job if it was that easy, ya." Wakka pointed out.
"Hey it crashed, so it's bound to have weakened up, right?" Veronique asked, standing by her brother.
Rikku ran to the other side of the bridge, traced by everyone.
"Yeah, we're winning!"
"All right," Cid agreed. "I'll do what I can with the main gun!"
Cid walked out of the bridge as Yuna lowered her head for a few seconds, lost in her thoughts. Then she turned around and left as well. Squall advised for everyone to relax a little and prepare for the next battle. It was bound to start soon. When he noticed Yuna was gone, Tidus left the bridge as well to go after her.
Now that the immediate battle was over, the adrenaline rush quickly faded away. As it faded, some of the SeeDs were showing signs of weariness. As the leader he was forcing himself to be, Squall tried not to show it himself, but he was also getting tired. They could take a little break but none could really afford to sleep, yet. Sin crashed into the ground, but was not defeated. Everyone knew it would rise again and they had to be ready for it.
"Let's get some food," Quistis suggested. "It should help us restore some energy."
"Good idea," Squall approved with a nod. "But don't eat too much. A full stomach will make you tired anyway."
Most walked out to go grab themselves something to eat. Squall was thinking about getting some as well and he was about to ask Carole if she was hungry, but he found her missing. Frowning, he looked around but saw no traces of her.
"Now where did she go this time?" he wondered under his breath.
He tried to concentrate and find out if he could sense her, or if she blocked him from her mind again. A smile showed up on his face as he did sense her. He left the bridge to go where he believed he would find her.
The blonde guardian found the young summoner on the deck. The airship was slowly circling over Bevelle.
"I wonder if Sir Jecht is in pain," Yuna said as Tidus got closer to her.
"Let's just end this… quickly. The fayth said they'd help us, right?"
"It bothers me, the way they said that."
"Huh?"
Yuna reached a hand to her chest, clenching it slightly.
"I mean, they've been fighting alongside us this whole time, but now they say they'll help?"
"I guess so…" Tidus trailed off a little uneasy.
"Wait!"
Joining her hands together on the front of her skirt, she placed an interrogative look on her friend.
"Sin is reborn when Yu Yevon merges with an aeon, isn't that right? If I summon an aeon, Yu Yevon will join with it. But at first, it'll be small won't it?"
"Yeah…" Tidus agreed. "Then, we might be able to defeat it without the Final Summoning."
"I don't know. What if Yu Yevon jumps again?"
"Then we'll take it down again!" Tidus answered with confidence. "We'll fight him until there's no place left to run!"
Staring ahead of herself, Yuna ended up turning her head and reaching a hand to her chest once more.
"I never thought it would come down to this."
"Yeah, I know," the blitzer said. "Hey, the fayth, they're tired of this whole thing, too. Let's let them rest."
"The fayth said it's pointless to keep dreaming," Yuna recalled referring to the encounter in the temple of Bevelle. "The dream will disappear, he said. What did he mean? And what is it that Yu Yevon is summoning from within Sin?"
"The dream of the fayth," Tidus answered without hesitation.
"You won't…" Yuna started, lowering her head as her voice was suddenly filled up with concern. "Go away, will you?"
Then two things suddenly happened, interrupting the conversation. The elevator came up, carrying Carole with it. Just as she stepped onto the outer deck, Rikku's voice started resonating in the speakers.
"Yunie! Guys! Come look! Something's happening to Sin!"
Intrigued by her panicked tone, Yuna, Tidus and Carole hurried to the edge of the ship to take a look down. From where it previously crashed, Sin rose up slightly, arching its back. Four large white wings spread out from its back. Sin pushed itself off the ground, taking off. It went up a little and landed on the tower of the central building of Bevelle, like some sort of preying bird. The airship circled around it, allowing the three standing on the deck to get a good look. Yuna put a hand to her chest while Tidus was frowning. Carole could not take her eyes off the monstrosity.
"Can this thing be stopped at all?" she started wondering.
It seemed that no matter what they would do, Sin would always rise again.
"Yes it can," Tidus assured. "We'll do it!"
He turned to his female companions and nodded at them.
"Let's go."
Nodding as well, Yuna headed towards the elevator and Tidus followed her. When he realised Carole was not following him, he signalled for Yuna to go ahead. Granting him a little smile, she nodded again and disappeared back inside the airship. Once he found himself alone with the sorceress, he stared at her back. He was still trying to find signs that she might have been different. As far as he could tell, she was still the same as she was when they met on the island of Besaid. If anything was different, it was that the girl had gotten more inner struggles to deal with along the way.
"Hey…" he started.
She spun around to him, startled. Tidus arched an eyebrow.
"I thought you had gone back inside," she explained his curious look. "You can go, I'll come in a moment."
She grabbed her forearm in her hand, clenching it slightly and staring ahead of herself. Tidus noticed traces of pain on her face before she turned.
"So you don't want to be around me for the short time I have left?"
She suddenly went stiff and clenched her forearm tighter.
"I knew it," Tidus stated.
Carole turned her head further to hide the tears that started to flow.
"I thought… maybe if I didn't look at you so much and avoided you for a while, it would be less painful… when the time comes."
What she had seen and heard together with Tidus as he came into contact with the wall of fayth on Mount Gagazet was eating her up. She managed to block it from Squall but she was having more and more trouble not letting it show on her face that she was troubled.
"You really believe that?" Tidus inquired getting a little closer to her.
"No, I don't!" she exclaimed spinning around to face him.
Her face bore trails of tears and her eyes betrayed fear. She shook her head strongly.
"I just don't understand how you can be so calm about it…"
"Well…" Tidus started as he came to her side, looking ahead towards Sin. "I know it's not gonna be in vain. It's not like I'm throwing my life away or anything and I'm not exactly eager to disappear either. But I'll disappear so Yuna doesn't die and there won't be anymore pilgrimages requiring more sacrifices in the future."
She closed her eyes to think. She could detect in his tone that he was accepting what was going to happen. He was accepting his fate.
"I see your point," she admitted. "But it's just so sad… so unfair…"
He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, making her turn her face to him once again. He was showing her a warm smile as well, hoping to cheer her up.
"I'll say the same thing Yuna said: I want my journey to be full of laughter. You're so full of life, being like that doesn't suit you. Cheer up, show me that pretty smile of yours. I want to take it with me when I go. I don't want to have any regrets…"
The pain struck her throat and her lower lip trembled under her effort to hold the sobs in. Eventually, she stopped fighting them and threw herself at Tidus. She gave him a tight hug, clenching his yellow jacket. He responded to her embrace and could not help but smile a little, seeing how devastated she was over his upcoming disappearance.
Carole was not looking forward to the moment they would all go home. Although she was missing her friends and family who remained behind, she knew she would never have a chance to see any of the friends they made in this world again. But even if they were to see them again, Tidus would not be there anymore… he would be gone.
Suddenly, she brought her head up and locked her eyes on his, startling him.
"What are you…?" he started.
The surprise on his face slowly turned into a frown as he felt something strange inside his head. He could sense some energy emanating from the girl. He tried to look away but he found himself unable to. It made him nervous but after a minute, Carole settled down and closed her eyes, sighing.
"I don't even know what I'm doing…" she whispered. "If only I had time to train more…" she trailed off in a sorry tone.
"What were you hoping to do?"
"Make you real…"
The blond showed a wide smile of joy.
"Aw, that's very nice of you. But what is real, anyway? Something you can touch? You're touching me right now, aren't you?"
"Well… yeah, but…"
"Look I appreciate the effort, but don't overdo it, okay? Who knows, if you try too hard you might actually do worse, like make me disappear faster."
She widened her eyes in horror and broke away from him fast. She noticed the playful look on his face and figured he was only teasing her, but she had to admit there was still some truth behind his words. She had no clue what she was doing; she could very well make things worse. But the sorceress could not shake off the feeling that if she had more time, she just might be able to do something. Like study the fayth, figure out the kind of power or energy they were giving off, go check the wall again and perhaps take all that knowledge and figure out how it was all linked to Tidus and then perhaps do something about that.
"I'm counting on you to help," he stated, suddenly looking serious again. "On all of you," he added when the elevator sounded behind him again.
Carole spun around to face her back on the elevator as she quickly wiped the tears off her face.
"Come on, you two," Squall called from the elevator. "I think we gave Sin enough time to rest now."
"Yeah," Tidus approved as he walked back after a last look at Carole.
Squall traced him and he frowned suspiciously at him when the blond stepped unto the platform to go back down.
After taking a deep breath, Carole turned back around and walked towards Squall, avoiding a direct look into his eyes. Not moving an inch, he traced her as well when she walked past him to get on the platform when it came back up empty.
"Let's do this, then," she said.
Before she could step on it, Squall grabbed her arm. He did not pull her to him, and did not say anything. He simply stopped her.
"What are you blocking from me this time?" he asked.
He was not supposing she was hiding something, he was implying it. He knew.
She hesitated a moment, standing still. When she turned a fake smile to him, he frowned even more.
"I can't tell you…" she said shaking her head. "It's too hard."
"Carole, that's the whole point. I'm your knight, am I not?"
"Of course, you are."
"My task is not only to fight by your side and support you. It's part of my job to help with what's happening in here too," he said tapping her forehead. "Open up to me, let me try."
She lowered her head. He started to feel a wave of fear and apprehension coming from her.
"Don't keep it in, it's not going to do you any good. Share it with me."
Putting her eyes back on him, her shoulders dropped and so did her guard. She gave up.
"I can't say it, it's too hard but… I'll show you…"
Squall nodded, ready. Carole got closer to him and hugged him. He hugged her back and waited. He closed his eyes and slowly, images appeared in his mind. Time ceased to exist as his brain processed the information Carole shared with him. He saw and heard the same thing she had seen and heard when she touched Tidus after he passed out by the Wall of fayth. Everything the fayth revealed that Carole had learned, Squall now learned too. Once the images died out, Carole's legs became a little uncertain and Squall had to tighten his grip around her so she would not collapse. He helped her kneel on the ground and he kneeled down in front of her. She placed her palms on the ground and kept her head low, her shoulders shaken with quiet sobs at the memories she had to recall to show Squall. He placed both his hands on her shoulders and gently clenched them.
"He's going to disappear?" he asked in a low tone as though he absolutely needed to confirm this, unable to believe it himself.
"Yes…" she said with a nod.
"Is there… anything…?" he started pretty sure she already went through that herself.
She shook her head.
"He's a dream of the fayth… if the fayth are awakened and they stop dreaming… I wanted to try and make him real, but I have no idea how to do that!"
Squall pulled her close to him once again and held her in his arms, trying to send comforting waves at her, shutting his eyes tightly to focus on the link.
"You can't expect to be able to change everything, Carole… You may be a sorceress, you're still human."
He placed a hand under her chin and pulled it up to look inside her wet eyes.
"And you are really a great human. More than many I've come across in my life. You put others' well-being before your own and that's noble, but it's also dangerous. You brought Kerry back to life, that's no small feat. It was nothing short of a miracle, but you almost died in the process. Just don't overdo it, okay?"
Carole chuckled at the words.
"Tidus said the same thing," she explained before he would ask what was funny.
"There, you see? And he's the one who's going to disappear."
She nodded, knowing he was right. Knowing they were both right.
"Don't tell anyone, okay?" she asked him.
"Of course. We want everyone to be able to focus on the fight and not on what will happen once it's over."
"Exactly."
Squall got up and reached his hand out to Carole. When she grabbed his hand, he pulled her to her feet in a swift pull.
"Let's not make the others wait any longer," he advised. "You should grab a bite while you still can."
"I'll try," she agreed with a light nodding gesture.
Moments later, everyone had once again gathered on the bridge. Once he saw that everyone was there, Cid faced them.
"Well, kids, the main gun is still busted!" he told them in an apologizing tone. "We can't give you any cover fire!"
"Hey, just take us in," Tidus demanded, waving it off. "We'll do the rest."
He turned his head to Lulu and she nodded at him. Then he looked at Rikku seated at the front of the airship and she smiled at him. Wakka raised a hand in the air to show he was ready. When some of the SeeDs gave him a thumb up and others a smile, Tidus could not help but smile as well at the sight.
"All right," Cid said walking around the globe to the pilot seat where Brother sat. "Take us up, flush to the mouth! No mistakes, or I'm gonna tear out that mop you call hair!"
His head turned as far back as he could from his seat, Brother nodded repeatedly while some people were burying laughs behind their palm.
"Trust… me. Me… take you there. No problem… ya?" he managed to pronounce.
"Let's get ready to blitz!" Tidus exclaimed, putting both hands on his hips.
Lulu came closer to him.
"Let's go. Just you and me."
Tidus scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed while others chuckled at him.
"Don't count us out just yet," Zell objected.
Everyone nodded and Tidus preceded them up to the deck. Once again, they had to split to ride the elevator up. As they rode it up, the SeeDs became restless.
"I can't believe this is it!" Selphie exclaimed, readying her giant nunchaku.
"It's not over yet," Squall reminded her, keeping his everlasting cool. "We still have to get in there and defeat Yu Yevon so Sin never comes back again."
"And then we can go home!" Zell exclaimed.
When Squall felt Carole's trembling hand grab his and squeeze it nervously, he frowned towards Zell but before he could scold him for his lack of tact, Quistis beat him to it.
"Zell, that was not nice. Yes, we're going home, but…"
Even she seemed to be at a loss for words.
"We'll be leaving friends behind," Rinoa explained in her place.
"Oh yeah…" Zell said in a low sorry voice, lowering his head and scratching the back nervously.
"But we'll leave them in a peaceful new world they will be able to rebuild to their liking without being afraid to see every building come crashing down every now and then," Seifer pointed out.
That seemed to put the cheer back on their faces along with determination. Putting on their serious combat faces, the SeeDs emerged on the deck right behind Yuna and the others. Squall gave Carole's hand a comforting squeeze he hoped would give her the strength to get through this ordeal before he let go of her hand to grab his gunblade. She followed his example and the others all took their weapons out as well.
Everyone scattered across the deck, looking around, over the edge. They easily spotted the enormous form of Sin on top of Bevelle, as a predator. When it noticed the airship, it took off and started hovering in front of it, its long tail waving under it.
"Here we go!" Cid's voice exclaimed in the speakers.
"Yeah!" Tidus agreed. "I'm coming for ya, Dad!"
The ship was shaking dangerously, as though it was threatening to fall into pieces. Most crouched down or simply spread their legs, slightly crouching to keep their balance as the airship was drawn towards Sin slowly. It was not within melee range yet, so the shooters took over for the time being. The others were clearly restless, but still stood prepared and ready. After all, they were facing Spira's greatest enemy.
"I've been saving it just for this… Clear out!" Irvine called.
Everyone turned to him, wondering what he was preparing. He looked at Squall and showed him a handful of bullets he took out of his pocket. Winking at him, he started loading his gun with them. Figuring his friend's plan, Squall waved his arm out and every SeeD moved to the side, leaving a clear line of fire between Irvine and the head of Sin, slowly closing in on the airship.
Irvine secured his footing on the surface of the ship and pointed his gun, aimed and shot. A large trail of light shot forth from Exeter's muzzle, accompanied with a loud bang followed by a wheezing sound. When the blast hit Sin, it exploded with violent shockwaves. Irvine shot another time. And another. And another. He shot this blast of light six times before he dropped to a knee, breathing heavily. The shot was powerful and had quite a strong recoil effect. Hyper Shot put a lot of strain on his body, but the range was incredible and the damage could not be overlooked.
Selphie hurried to Irvine's side once he went down and everyone else cheered at him while taking their positions again.
"Irvy, I didn't know you were ready to use your limit break!" Selphie exclaimed in a scolding tone.
"Hehe, yeah well... I didn't have that many pulse ammos on me anyway. Figured this was as good a time to use 'em as any. I'm alright Sefie."
He pushed himself off the ground and got up. Squall nodded approvingly at him.
"Nice one, there."
"Just doing my job," Irvine assured, tipping his hat.
"Uh huh… I remember the last time you were supposed to do your job," Squall recalled with a smirk on his face.
"Aw come on, I did it in the end, didn't I?"
"Hey guys!" Tidus called from the front, holding his sword in his hand. "Sin's getting closer!"
"I believe we are the ones getting closer," Lulu corrected.
The airship was still getting drawn towards Sin, shaking dangerously in the process. Trying not to lose their balance due to the shaking, the range fighters did their best to deliver damage as long as Sin was not within range of the melee fighters. Yet Sin was not shaken by the insects.
"Ugh! Magic does not seem to have much of an effect on its shell!" Lulu pointed out.
"We'll see about that…" Carole whispered.
Gunblade in hand, Squall spun around just in the nick of time to watch her take off, her eyes now a burning red. She climbed a few feet in the air, above everyone's heads and started casting.
"Ultima!"
The fighters were not sure whether to watch her reaction, or check on Sin to see if the spell did any apparent damage. If it did anything at all, it was not showing. The ship was still being drawn closer to Sin.
Almost everyone had their eyes back on Sin except Squall and Kerry. The commander's eyes traced the airborne sorceress as she landed, sighing with her eyes closed. When she opened them, they were brown. Squall breathed out and nodded before turning back towards Sin. It was almost within reach.
"Get ready!" Squall advised.
The range fighters kept shooting, throwing and casting while moving to the sides to give the melee fighters some space. Impact with Sin was inevitable.
Once the tip of its "nose" was but a few inches from the surface of the ship, Tidus dashed with a war cry.
"Yaaaah!"
And he slashed Caladbolg, his new sword, across the surface of Sin's face. The impact resonated almost as though it hit rock. Tidus leapt backwards.
"Ugh, so hard!"
"Hmmph! Let me handle that," Auron cut in.
Tidus moved aside when his mentor brandished his weapon, gathering energy into it before he slashed it across Sin's face. This time the impact sound was different. A shattering sound was heard and to the trained eye, Sin's shell now looked slightly softer.
"All right!" Tidus exclaimed.
Kimahri ran in, slashing his spear upwards. Adjusting his gloves, Zell dashed to deliver a few punches of his own. As though they were one mind, the three gunblade wielders ran in, blade pointing behind them, ready for a slash and an extra blast upon impact. But before they even reached Sin, the head moved slightly and the mouth opened up. A wave of energy was released, breaking the gunbladers' advance roughly and sending everyone either to their knees or on their backs. It was not strong enough to blow anyone off the ship, but it was still painful.
The SeeD leader rose up first, making sure his closest companions were unharmed at first.
"Carole! Seifer! Are you okay?"
Seifer used his gunblade for support to push himself up.
"I'm fine. Stupid thing!" he exclaimed in an angry tone as he ran back towards Sin for a counterattack.
"I'm okay, I was just surprised," Carole assured as she got up as well, a firm grip on her weapon.
Once reassured about those two, Squall looked up and around to inquire everyone's state. Everyone went back up on their feet, visibly unharmed.
The detonation of Seifer's blast into Sin's face brought everyone's eyes back on their current target.
"Come on, this should be easy!" Adam cheered. "It's not like it can hit us! That wave was annoying, but not that big a deal!"
He shot an arrow right above Rachel's head when she went in to slash with her axe, Kerry on her tail.
"He's actually right…" Squall pointed out, frowning thoughtfully. "It's too simple…"
"H-hey! Look at Sin!" Rikku suddenly interrupted, pointing nervously towards the enemy.
The mouth started opening up a little and wind started blowing out of nowhere, like a small typhoon was forming up right in front of Sin's face.
"Oh Hyne…" Carole let out with her eyes opened wide. "It's gathering energy… nothing to do with that little blast we got earlier… It's… that attack it did that broke the land."
Selphie and Rikku yelped, others gasped. Some simply stared at Carole like they were waiting for the punch line of something that was turning out to be a very bad joke.
"You're kidding, ya?"
"Please, tell me you're kidding!" Zell begged, growing nervous.
Carole swallowed, trying to settle her dry throat, but to no avail. She shook her head.
"It's the same energy…"
"She's right," Veronique confirmed in a serious tone.
Kerry, Rikku, Yuna and Selphie looked at Sin in a discouraged way, almost convinced they were doomed.
"Hey, hey!" Tidus exclaimed. "All we have to do is to beat it before it gathers enough energy to unleash the attack! It's a matter of being the fastest!"
"Fastest, huh?" Seifer said, smirking.
He focused a moment and summoned Cerberus once again. The three-headed dog materialized on the top of the elevator and howled loudly, providing everyone with the capacity to cast two or even three spells at once. It was a little useless to the ones not using any magic, but for the SeeDs, it was a precious asset.
Squall started focusing as well, then he cast haste on Carole, Veronique and Rinoa at the same time.
"Give it hell, sorceresses," he said with a little smile.
"Whoo-hoo!" Veronique cried out as she took off and flew towards Sin faster than she ever flew.
She had special abilities, but no magic as she pointed out before. Still the effect of the haste spell was not only accelerating the casting speed, it was giving the whole body a boost, providing muscles with a greater endurance, making it possible to move and attack faster than usual. The spell would wear off quickly as well, so there was not a moment to lose.
While Veronique was busy cracking her whip on top of Sin's head like a maniac, Rinoa closed her eyes and folded herself in two when her white wings spread out of her back. She flapped them and took off to go join Veronique and cast a multitude of spells closer to Sin. Carole seemed to hesitate a moment, but not for long. She took a deep breath and determination showed on her face when she looked around.
"Anyone has any aura spells?" she asked.
Squall literally felt his heart jump in his chest when he turned a concerned look towards her. And he was not the only one.
"Why would you want an aura spell?" Audrey asked her.
"Why would anyone want an aura spell cast?" Carole asked in an impatient tone. "Come on, it's supposed to be a matter of time!"
"Yeah, but…"
"C-chan?"
A hand grabbed her arm gently, but firmly. Carole turned her determined look to Squall's concerned one.
"Are you sure? You know it doesn't have the same effect as a normal limit break…"
She nodded.
"I'm aware."
"What if… it goes wrong?" Squall asked, emphasizing on the last word.
Carole tried to keep her shuddering under control, but Squall noticed it. Figuring this would be settled between the two, Audrey and Kerry both joined with the other fighters to deliver some damage as quickly as possible.
"I'm in control now. It's my usual limit break I'm counting on, anyway."
She smiled.
"Plus, if it goes bad… you're here."
"Carole…"
A red light suddenly engulfed Carole, causing Squall to leap back a little in surprise. The sorceress seemed surprised as well, but nothing else happened except for the light. Her eyes remained the same and no wind started blowing her hair around.
"Quistis, what are you doing!?" Squall demanded in an angry tone.
Carole turned around to see Quistis lower her hand after the spell was cast. She nodded at her, confident. Carole returned a thankful smile to her and ran towards Sin. Squall was frowning angrily at his former instructor.
"Why did you do that?"
"Saved the time from a useless argument. Squall, don't let her cower in fear of her powers, she chose to take the risk. You should support her, isn't that what a knight is for as well?"
Squall sighed heavily and closed his eyes.
"I guess you're right. Sucks we have to rush, huh?"
"You can yell at me once Sin is defeated."
Her whip in hand, Quistis hurried forward. After only half a second of thinking, Squall followed her quickly, Lionheart pulsing in his hand. He knew he should have been concentrating on the enemy, but he was watching Carole. The aura spell was causing the one who had it cast on to unleash a limit break at will. But as Squall mentioned it on Mount Gagazet, the nature of the limit break can not be controlled and it puts a lot of strain on the body. A limit break is usually triggered by a rush of adrenaline once one becomes very weak, a last resort, a hidden strength lying dormant within, unleashed once everything seems lost to perhaps have another chance at victory… and survival. Forcing this power out with a spell could have some side-effects. Squall noticed Carole was still in control, she was not berserk and she was not calling on any magic. But he feared the aftermath. What if the strain on her body caused by the spell would cause her to lose control?
His grip on his gunblade tightened up as he came closer. He focused on her, on the link, hoping it would be enough to keep her conscious. Aware of his presence, she slightly turned her head his way, looking at him from the corner of her eye and she smiled at him.
She parted her legs one from the other and held her gunblade upwards. Then she closed her eyes to look for that inner strength, that inner boost she wanted. And she found it.
"Sword dance!" she called out as the usual red aura engulfed her, giving her more strength.
Now lighter on her feet thanks to the limit break, her steps were also quicker due to the haste spell still in effect. She started spinning and slashing along, her feet constantly moving, giving the impression that she really was dancing. After several slashes, all followed with blasts of energy every time the trigger was pulled, the aura vanished and she staggered a little. As fast as if he also had a haste spell in effect on him, Squall caught her before she would fall to the ground. He pulled her a little backwards while the others continued.
"Squall, I'm okay," she assured him.
He put her back on her feet and looked at her face, into her eyes. She did not blink nor flinch. After a few seconds, he seemed satisfied.
"Just don't overdo it, okay?"
She smirked.
"Why do you give advices to which you know how I will react?"
He sighed.
"Maybe because I hope someday you will actually listen."
"I do what I know I can. And if I don't know, then I try."
Turning back towards Sin's head, they noticed the mouth had opened up wider still and the energy gathered in front of it was now visible.
"We better hurry," Carole pointed out before she ran in once more, gunblade in hand.
Shots and slashes rained on Sin without a pause. Sin was no common enemy, countless attacks from everywhere at once did not shake it as much as it would another monster. It released the small energy wave once again, stopping the runners in their tracks, sending a few to the ground again.
"Alright, that's it!" Rachel exploded. "Now you pissed me off!"
A strong red life engulfed her.
"Rampage!"
The axe started glowing brightly. Jumping back to her feet, Rachel dashed Sin and unleashed a fivefold attack of continuous deadly slashes at Sin, swinging her axe over her shoulder every time. Every single slash left a trail of light behind it as though the axe was moving in slow motion while it was actually moving very fast. It was cutting clean through Sin's thick shell, even leaving cuts larger than the width of the blade, as though they were burned. After the final slash, Rachel leapt back to give room to the others.
"Nice, Sis!" Carole cheered at her younger sister. "I never saw you use that!"
Rachel was catching her breath.
"That's because I never did. Never got either mad enough or hurt enough to feel it come. Always had someone to protect me," she explained looking at Zell who also looked amazed.
"Hum… Remind me never to piss you off, then," he said, scratching the back of his head nervously.
Sin's maw was getting wider and wider, and the energy it was gathering was now visible, making everyone more nervous and hesitant to attack and risk touching it. The air was getting heavier and hotter. Everyone could feel it.
"Argh, will you just die already!?" Tidus burst out as he ran to slash again.
Yuna clenched her chest in her hand.
"Oooh!" Rikku moaned in fear.
"Let's all do it together again!" Squall suggested. "All at once! Weapons, spells, let's give it everything!"
"Not much room to achieve that," Lulu stated.
"Then waves," Squall insisted. "Blades first, spells on top, shooters can attack over the heads, then the impact fighters."
Zell bounced and punched the air.
"That's me!"
"It's everyone not casting spells or having blades, Zell."
Squall looked around and everyone nodded at him. He could not help but wonder if perhaps, someday, the trust everyone placed in him would prove to be misplaced. He was used to his friends looking up to him for decisions, but Yuna, Tidus and the others as well?
He took a deep breath and grasped Lionheart.
"On three…"
Everyone tightened their grip on their respective weapon and stood ready, concentrating to strike at the right time.
"One…"
Legs parted and knees bended, ready to leap forward.
"Two…"
Blades were held upwards or sideways depending on the style of the bearer.
"Three!"
Steps echoed all across the surface of the airship when the blade wielders all dashed at the same time. They slashed in unison, shaking Sin with the amount of damage delivered. As the blades were slashing, fire, ice, thunder and water assaulted Sin as well.
"Range!" Squall called as he pulled away quickly, followed with the other blades.
Arrows, bullets and balls were shot and thrown from the back row.
"Next wave!"
The last attacks were unleashed, just as ferociously. Just because these weapons could not cut did not make them any less deadly in the expert hands of their wielders.
The airship started shaking more violently and a scream echoed in the air, forcing some to go to their knees and shield their ears. The scream was coming directly from Sin. Careful, Cid pulled the ship away to a safe distance, allowing the ones riding on the deck to witness an interesting phenomenon. Instead of the energy ball building up to wipe them all out, something that strangely resembled the pool of energy that brought all the SeeDs to Spira was materializing right in front of Sin's head. It was a lot larger, and looked immaterial.
"What the hell is that!?" Zell asked, staring with wide eyes.
"That's what we wanted to see!" Tidus answered. "A way inside!"
Cid seemed to have come to the same conclusion, because the airship headed straight for that mysterious portal. Some held their breath, nervous, while others stood ready.
The airship met no resistance whatsoever when it slowly flew through the portal, but what was awaiting the fighters on the other side was not what anyone expected at all. They ended up in an orange sky, as if the portal brought them to a completely different world. Everyone even turned to Veronique, wondering if perhaps she had anything to do with this, but she shook her hands quickly to dismiss that theory.
"Hey, don't look at me, I didn't do anything!"
"You saw this before?" Wakka inquired.
"No," she answered, shaking her head, looking at the orange sky just as surprised as everyone else. "Sin is… different. I had no way of accessing this."
Nobody knew what to expect, but they absolutely did not expect this. There were pyreflies everywhere around them, countless pyreflies giving the place a charming, yet creepy look.
The airship kept moving forward, or perhaps it was the scenery moving on top of them, nobody could tell the difference. They were all looking around in a mixture of both shock and surprise when an eerie and evil laughter started echoing in the air all around them, startling many. Kerry jumped on Carole's arm with a yelp while the others were looking around, trying to figure where that came from, but it really seemed to come from everywhere at once. At that moment, an eye of gigantic proportions opened up in the sky ahead of them with a familiar face around it. Continuing on its path, the airship flew right through it without any resistance and everything went back to normal. As normal as the inside of Sin could look, that is.
Everyone spun around to look behind them, wondering what that was, but there was no trace left of the apparition and the airship continued forward.
"The fuck was that…?" Rachel trailed off.
"That sounded and looked a little too much like Seymour," Tidus said in a low tone.
Selphie widened her eyes.
"What? He's here too?"
"He's still alive!?" Zell exclaimed, dumbfounded.
"How could he have done that?" Quistis inquired.
Tidus folded his arms and shook his head.
"I dunno… But if he's not giving up, then neither am I!"
Yuna came to his side and smiled warmly at him, nodding her head in approval.
Both turned around to look ahead of them and noticed the airship was going lower, getting ready to land. There was a somewhat solid looking spot that appeared safe enough for landing. The orange sky was gone, replaced by dull and grey scenery. The "ground" was covered in a thick mist.
"Let's return inside," Auron advised as he headed for the elevator.
Everyone followed him, splitting in two groups to ride the elevator down again. Yuna and her guardians first, the SeeDs and their companions next.
"Good job, everyone," Squall commented. "I'll see if the place is safe enough for us to get some rest before we disembark."
"That'd be nice," Rachel said as she stretched herself a little.
"The rush is wearing off, huh?" Carole asked her with a smile on her face.
"It always does, this sucks…"
Carole rubbed the back of her neck.
"I'm a little sore too. The haste spell plus the aura spell and the forced limit break…"
"I warned you about that," Squall interrupted. "Which reminds me…"
He turned to Quistis while the others got off the elevator and headed inside the ship. Carole turned around to wait for him, but he dismissed her.
"Go ahead, I'll be right there."
His tone was betraying authority and she figured he was not "her" Squall at that moment. He was the Commander. She nodded and went ahead with Kerry.
"Are you hungry, K-chan?"
"Yes, and I'm tired too…"
"Let's go grab a bite and get some rest, if possible."
Kerry nodded and the two disappeared from Squall's view. He turned around to Quistis with a fist to his hip, sighing. Quistis was not looking nervous one bit. She waited.
"Look, Quistis... I understand why you did what you did, but you went against me on that one."
"You're not objective when it comes to Carole, Squall. You've been with a sorceress before, and you were not that protective."
Squall opened his mouth to object, but Quistis raised a hand and he closed it up. Even though he was the leader of SeeD, he still looked up to her as a mentor.
"Yes, you were protective, but not that much because being a sorceress was not that troublesome for Rinoa. I'm aware it's more complicated for Carole and I have no doubt that it is for you too."
Her tone was soft and comforting. Squall's shoulders dropped and he sighed.
"Yes, it's more complicated," he acknowledged as he rubbed his nose ark. "When she tries to hide her feelings or her fears, I seem to feel them even more, like they flow into me to compensate. I'm just getting used to it, now."
He shook his head, realising he drifted from the subject.
"But my point is, I'm supposed to be the leader and I objected to Carole having an aura spell cast on her and you disregarded that."
"Yes, and I'm sorry for disobeying. But do you really think smothering her and over-protecting her will be better for her?"
Squall allowed half a smile to show on his face.
"No, you're right."
"She wanted to take this risk, she was ready for it. Don't let her cower in fear, as I said earlier. She is a sorceress and no one can change that, now. She wanted to hide and you didn't let her, that's good. But if she wants to try moving forward, don't stop her, let her go."
Once again, Squall sighed. He was beaten.
"That's why I like having you around, Quistis. I know I can count on you to set me straight."
Touched, Quistis got closer and gave Squall a little hug.
"That's what a big sister is for, Squall."
Smiling, Squall nodded, hugging her back.
"Thank you."
Letting go of him, Quistis started walking down the hall.
"Now you go get some food inside you, then you rest. We made it inside, I believe the toughest part is done now, but that doesn't mean we can take it easy."
"Right. You go rest too."
She saluted.
"Yes, sir."
The two SeeDs made their way through the ship, to their waiting companions. Soon they would be ready to move once again. After some food and rest, they would disembark and search for Yu Yevon in order to bring an end to Spira's endless cycle of suffering.
A/N: I apologize for the wait, this chapter gave me some troubles. This part in the game is very short and easy with the final weapons, but I want to get "outside" of the game and make it look like it's tougher. This story is almost over, and I'm looking forward to finishing it. I'm running out of original ideas for the fights, hehe. Thanks for sticking to me despite my slow updates. Remember, though: I WILL finish it. I hate to leave things unfinished.