Tainted fal'Cie
A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the celebrations. :) 2012 will surely be a great year, and to start things off, I've posted this chapter a few hours early. ^^
Warning: There is some graphic scenes and mild language ahead. If you like neither of those, now would be the time to close your browser or go to another page. You have been warned!
For those of you who left unsigned reviews, see my replies below:
Chocobo ProdoCo - Thanks for the review. ^^ No need to apologize for being late to review. It's not like I'm forcing you to. :P I know that real life stuff, no matter what they may be, from time to time steals one's time away. It happens to me all the time. So don't fret. ;) Just review when you can. ^^ I appreciate any review you leave, no matter when you leave it. Here's the next chapter. :)
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
*** ~ Chapter 45: Confrontation with the Damned ~ ***
So stepped forth the Goddess' champion, once slave to Lindzei's will.
Together, they became one and rose in the light.
- The Stolen Sermons of the seeress Paddra Nsu-Yeul
The rain began an hour after dawn.
At first no one paid any attention to it, everyone too consumed in their final preparations for the battle against Proganochelys and its tainted army. Then, one by one, people started to notice something odd about the rain. Specifically the fact that there was not a cloud in the sky for rain to fall, yet it did. For five very specific individuals, somewhere at the back of their minds they noted a tingling feeling on their skin whenever the rain hit their bare flesh. But none of them thought anything of it, passing it off as the normal chill one would get from the icy drops of water. It wouldn't be until in the heat of the battle that they would truly understand what it was.
A flare rocketed up into the sky in the distance, burning a bright red before exploding into nothingness. Two others followed suit, both of them closer this time, the rumble of thousands of feet pounding against the ground now being heard.
"They're here."
Captain Rygdea brought up the binoculars to his eyes and peered out at the horizon. He stood behind one of the many barricades made days before the battle was supposed to start, Hecatoncheir calling forth spires of stone from the ground to provide them all with cover. Other barricades were made from the thick trunks of Gran Pulse's trees, the other Eidolons helping to set those barriers up before they were all dismissed to rest before the final fight. The Eastern perimeter of New Oerba was littered with hundreds of these crude barriers, all of them acting both as cover for humanity's last resistance force and as barriers impeding the march of the tainted l'Cies army and Proganochelys. They were not the greatest of roadblocks, but it was the best humankind could manage given their time restraints.
The rain continued to fall harmlessly, thankfully not thick enough to diminish visibility. At the very edge of his line of vision, Rygdea could just make out the beginnings of shadows creeping up along the mountainous shores of New Oerba.
"Lieutenant," Captain Rygdea said, turning to his second-in-command who stood on his left. "Pass word to the rest of the men. Prepare to engage on my mark. They must not flank us, no matter what the cost."
"Yes, Sir!"
Rygdea brought up his binoculars again, his Lieutenant darting off to spread word among the ranks of soldiers gathered on either side of him.
New Oerba resided in the northern most mountainous region of Gran Pulse. While there were other much taller mountains than the one the settlement was situated on, this was one of the few flatter sections of the land which could accommodate Proganochelys and the significant numbers of its tainted l'Cies army, allowing for quick passage to Crystal Cocoon. While the Shadowed Four could have easily sent its minions through the shallow passageways of the Yaschas Massif or Vallis Media for faster travel, that would mean splitting up its army and making its lackeys easy pickings for soldiers in the thinner valleys and tunnels. That would also bar Proganochelys from getting any further as well.
"Mr. Estheim," Rygdea said without lowering his binoculars. "Is everything ready on your end?"
Bartholomew Estheim wiped the excess water from his glasses with his finger. "We're as ready as we'll ever be, Captain," he replied. He stood off to Rygdea's left.
The rumble from before grew in volume, every soldier tensing at the sound as they waited. At their backs lay the New Oerba settlement, protected by the Resonance Wall. While the aerial bombardment of tainted l'Cies had ceased, at least for the moment, each and every solider on the field knew their failure here today would not only doom New Oerba, but the rest of Gran Pulse too. The Resonance Wall would not be able to withstand the likes of Proganochelys.
"Corporal," Rygdea said to the soldier on his right. He handed the man his binoculars. "Prepare the first signal. Those surprises we buried earlier are about to go boom."
"Yes, Sir!"
An orange flare lit up the sky. All soldiers stood at attention.
"Mr. Estheim, on my mark."
Rygdea narrowed his eyes as the outline of forms could now be seen on the horizon without the aid of any magnification devices. Bartholomew stooped down next to a small Resonance Crystal Generator, one similar to the ones maintaining the outer barrier of New Oerba. Unlike the other generators, this one was only meant to release one single focused burst of crystal energy to activate the hidden Anti-Resonance Mines, dubbed the ARMs, which had been buried on the mountainside days ago. The sacrificial generator was mounted on a crude catapult of sorts, the catapult ready to launch the generator towards the incoming waves of tainted l'Cies the moment the device was activated.
"Countdown set for twenty seconds, Captain," Bartholomew said, bringing the generator online.
Rygdea remained silent, the captain of the New Oerban Guardian Command staring intently at the approaching mass of tainted l'Cies. From this distance, a good three hundred feet away, the tainted beasts resembled a moving wall of stone advancing upon them. Tainted Dagonites took up the front lines of Proganochelys' corrupted army, followed in second place by tainted Navidons which marched at a much slower pace. Proganochelys took up the rear, its massive crystal form unmistakeable even at this distance. The last of the Shadowed Four walked leisurely behind its lackeys, as if it wasn't staring down the enemy but instead going for a casual stroll through the park.
"Sir?" Rygdea's Lieutenant had just returned from relaying the original message and waited anxiously next to the brunette, watching as the tainted army and Shadowed Four continued their approach.
"Not yet," Rygdea said, eyes narrowing. The corrupted army was now two hundred feet away. From this distance, the snarls and roars from the twisted creatures and the booming footsteps of Proganochelys came through loud and clear.
"Captain?" It was Bartholomew who spoke up this time. It had only been minutes since the Lieutenant last said something, but in that time, the tainted army had already closed the distance between them by one hundred feet. If they didn't trigger the ARMs soon, the first line of tainted l'Cies would cross over unscathed.
"Wait for it," Rygdea said, despite the growing anxiousness of the soldiers. Even the former l'Cies were shooting glances in the brunette's direction, wondering what was taking him so long to give the order. Rygdea tucked a wet strand of brown hair behind his ear.
"C'mon... C'mon..." Snow muttered under his breath. Gloves squeaked as the tainted army continued their advance without hesitation. "Rygdea, what are you waiting for?" he mumbled.
Snow stood next to one of Bartholomew's Resonance Rail Guns. There were six of them in total on the field, each powered up by the Resonance Crystals which the Resonance Crystal Generators worked off of. Each of the former l'Cies stood between two R2Gs, designated as their protectors when the situation called for it. Bartholomew's engineers stood with the Resonance Rail Guns, ready to man them when the Shadowed Four came close enough. The R2Gs were specifically designed to take down Proganochelys and nothing else. The tainted l'Cies would be the focus of the soldiers, some of them wielding Crystal Energy Launchers with the rest wielding regular rifles.
It was not the most solid of plans, Bartholomew would admit. If the R2Gs failed, there would be little else they could do to stop the Shadowed Four save for the former l'Cies calling forth their Eidolons. In past battles, the Eidolons turned out to be the tide turners. Should the Resonance Rail Guns fail, that would be humanity's only trump card left.
"Now Mr. Estheim!"
Bartholomew didn't need to be told that twice. He slammed fist down on the generator activation button, starting the delayed countdown. A second later, the generator went hurtling into the air like a rail-gun projectile, straight towards the approaching corrupted army. Bartholomew counted down backwards in his head.
17... 16... 15...
Rygdea shouted at his second in command to prepare the next flare.
13... 12... 11...
Another orange flare lit up the sky above them.
9... 8... 7...
The generator continued to flip over and over again in the air.
5... 4... 3...
The tainted l'Cies continued forward, unfazed by the projectile.
2... 1...
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!
The air above the marching tainted army lit up with blue energy. The spectacle itself mirrored that of the Aurora Borealis, a natural Gran Pulse phenomenon which occurred every hundred years lightning up the night sky in ribbons of colour. Soldiers and tainted l'Cies alike stared at the distorted brilliant blue light as it vanished without a trace, disappearing into the ground under the tainted l'Cies feet.
The corrupted army continued its march.
Bartholomew swallowed nervously.
"I take it something else was supposed to happen?" Rygdea turned to Bartholomew, grimacing.
The eldest Estheim gritted his teeth. What had gone wrong? The calculations were correct. The mechanics were correct. They had even tested them out more than once, unlike the R2Gs which weren't field tested at all. So what could have gone wrong! Had the Resonance Crystals already burnt themselves out?
"It is quite possible-" Bartholomew began. He could feel his son's nervous gaze on him. "-that the crystals used to-"
BOOM!
Everyone jumped as an explosion shook the area directly in line with Rygdea and Bartholomew over a hundred and fifty feet away. Another explosion sounded, off to the left just behind enemy lines, tossing tainted l'Cies into the air and sending others crumbling into dust. An explosion to the right sent a tainted Navidon rearing backwards, falling over onto its back, crushing the smaller tainted l'Cies under it. Soon enough a cascade of explosions ripped through the advancing tainted l'Cies lines in quick succession of each other, scattering the organized march of the corrupted beasts. Some of the blasts even sent Proganochelys stumbling to the side when a few of the mines erupted under its feet, throwing it off balance.
Soldiers cheered in triumph, the former l'Cies breathing in relief at the sight of staggered tainted l'Cies and panic among enemy ranks. Not all of the mines went off however, judging by the gaps in the grid like formation which the Anti-Resonance Mines were buried in. But enough of them did go off giving humanity a chance.
Bartholomew wiped the excess rain from his glasses again, breathing in relief. The former Sanctum scientist wouldn't relax too much just yet though. Things had only just begun.
"Alright! Quiet down everyone!" Captain Rygdea shouted over the all of the noise. "It's not over yet!" The mass of soldiers didn't quite calm down until two orange flares shot up in the air calling for order once again. As everyone turned back to look at the enemies ahead, Fang went rigid.
"Fang?" Vanille shouted to her partner on the other side of the R2G separating them. Fang's posture was worrisome. "What's wrong?"
The grip on Fang's spear tightened. "Somethin's not right!"
Serah flinched when the first explosion erupted in the distance. She was in Lightning's house, along with Dajh and Feeve, on the upper level of the Farron residence, sitting at her unconscious sister's bedside. Dajh currently sat on Lightning's couch, Feeve over looking his shoulder as the young Katzroy read a story out loud to Serah. That was the only thing Serah could think of to keep Dajh busy during this time. It seemed to work for the most part as Dajh was oblivious to the faint sounds of battle just outside. Sadly, Serah herself could not do the same.
Yuj maintained watch over them all and the house from the roof, equipped with one of Bartholomew's Crystal Energy Launchers. The remaining members of Team NORA kept an eye on the settlement, organizing and running supplies over to the front lines when the time called for it. Much to Serah's worry, Snow and the rest of the former l'Cies currently fought the last of the Shadowed Four. The youngest pinkette bit her lip.
It was a waiting game now. Win or lose, the outcome for New Oerba and the rest of Gran Pulse would be settled in the next few hours.
A deep fog rolled over the area just as the final Anti-Resonance Mine exploded, thinning out the numbers of tainted l'Cies for the last time. The mist completely shrouded the enemy lines and everything within two hundred feet of them, like a dense foam blotting out everything in sight. Sazh couldn't but feel nervous about this new development, the gunner wiping rain from his eyes. If the fog advanced any further, they would be fighting blind.
Then there was buzzing.
"What's that sound?"
Snow's gloves squeaked, his fists clenching tighter. The fog in front of them was thicker than pea soup and he couldn't make out a damn thing!
The buzzing stopped.
Everyone held their breaths.
The wall of fog retracted a few feet, revealing a line of tainted l'Cies no one had ever seen before.
Vanille gasped. "That's a-"
"Shit," Rygdea muttered. "They've got aerial units now."
As one, the lines of tainted Barbed Specters at the front lines of Proganochelys' army flapped their stone wings, buzzing like a swarm of angry bees. They looked like bees too, with a scorpion-like tail and a head shaped like a fox. Not to mention they were a thousand times bigger than a regular bee, with their features twisted horribly in corrupted stone. Bartholomew was completely awed by the sight, yet at the same time, frozen in horror of what they were about to face.
"Corporal, use the blue flare," Captain Rygdea said calmly, to the soldier on his right. The Captain of the New Oerba Guardian Command unlocked the safeties on his Crystal Energy Launcher.
The rows of tainted Barbed Specters took off flight and charged right at them.
"Now Corporal!"
A brilliant light blue flare shot up into the sky, most of the awe struck soldiers getting their wits about them. All soldiers wielding Crystal Energy Launchers moved to the front lines, some of them kneeling down on one knee to get better leverage for their shot.
"Mr. Estheim," Rygdea said pausing next to the scientist for a brief moment. "We can't hold off using the Resonance Rail Guns just on Proganochelys. If we don't stop this next wave of tainted l'Cies now, we'll be long overrun before the big guy comes stomping through."
Captain Rygdea turned back to look at the enemy the moment the buzzing increased in volume. Bartholomew followed his gaze, swallowing nervously.
"Are they ready to fire?" Rygdea asked over his shoulder. He didn't look back at the New Oerba head scientist.
"Y-yes," Bartholomew replied in a shaky voice. He turned back to the holo screen for his designated R2G. "But they haven't been tested yet! I'm not sure they will even work!"
"Let's hope they will," Rygdea said striding forward to join the front lines. "They have to," the brunette murmured. "Lieutenant! Green and Blue flares, on my mark!"
Rygdea levelled his CEL at the tainted Barbed Specter closest to him. Narrowing his eyes, Rygdea held his breath, waiting for the wall of flying tainted l'Cies to come into range.
"Mark!"
Blue and green flares shot up in the sky, setting off the streaks of blue energy which raced across the air in arcs, towards the charging tainted l'Cies. Some tainted l'Cies disintegrated into dust under the crystal energy bombardment, while others deftly dodged the blasts with speeds that would make even Lightning jealous. Yet unlike their smaller, more mobile counter parts, the Resonance Rail Guns didn't fair so well. In fact, they didn't fair at all. All of them, every single one of them, sputtered and died before even getting off a shot.
"Please tell me they're supposed to do that!" Snow exclaimed as the engineer nearest to him frantically tried to fix the R2G.
With the CEL bombardment only half successful, the remaining tainted Barbed Specters zipped towards humanity's forces unhindered. Soon, soldiers and former l'Cies alike would find themselves in an all out battle with the tainted l'Cies, and not just with the flying ones. From the still lingering wall of fog, the surviving tainted l'Cies from the first formation burst forth and now pulled up the rear. Proganochelys itself also restarted its march forward again, pushing through the fog wall, the booming of its feet unmistakeable.
"Mr. Estheim!" Rygdea shouted, his Crystal Energy Launcher firing at a nearby tainted Barbed Specter. "Status report!"
Bartholomew cursed, dropping to his knees, almost literally ripping open the plating protecting the innards of the Resonance Rail Gun. Hastily dumping out his tools in a pile on the ground next to him, the eldest Estheim began to pull out the bits and pieces of the R2Gs circuitry.
"If I knew what was going on, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Bartholomew shouted back.
"What's your best guess then!" Rygdea yelled. The captain switched back to his regular rifle as his CEL was cooling down from its previous shot. That was a fail safe installed by Bartholomew's team, to prevent the Crystal Energy Launchers from overheating prematurely, resulting in a fatal explosion.
"I think the rain is creating some kind of damping field, preventing it from firing!"
Rygdea cursed as a tainted Barbed Scepter evaded his shots. His rifle clicked empty, the captain quickly dropping to a knee behind cover to reload. "Can you fix it?" The rest of the tainted l'Cies were nearly upon them now, the first wave of tainted l'Cies just fifty feet behind the second wave.
"If I can remove the Output Limiter, I think that will do it!" In his peripherals, Bartholomew could see fellow his engineers attempting to do the same thing, all of them with the panels of their designated Resonance Rail Guns open, their hands inside trying to rewire it.
"How much time do you need?" A tainted l'Cie disintegrated into dust in front of Rygdea.
"Ideally, an hour!" Bartholomew shouted over all of the noise. The first wave of tainted l'Cies had now caught up to the second wave. Two red flares ripped into the sky, ordering all soldiers to fire at will.
"You have two minutes Estheim!" Rygdea shouted. "That's all we can give you!"
"Fang!" Snow shouted to the fighting Pulsian nearby. Snow's fist met the fleshy red eye of a tainted Dagonite, turning the corrupted beast into ash. "We need to summon our Eidolons!"
"Really?" Fang shouted back in mock sarcasm. "Why didn't I think of that before!"
"Fang!" Snow leapt at lurching tainted Barbed Scepter, tackling it away from the engineer he was designated to protect. The woman frantically tried to rewire Bartholomew's mega weapon.
"I've been tryin' ta do that for the past five minutes!" Fang exclaimed, dancing around a tainted Navidon. The corrupted beast had already ripped off a chunk of her sari.
"Something's not right!" Vanille yelled to her companions. The wires of her Nirvana lashed out left, right and centre, causing tainted l'Cies to jump backwards to evade its whip-like blows. "I can't summon Hecaton! My magic isn't working either!"
To reiterate her point, Vanille conjured up a Firaga and hurled it at the closest tainted l'Cie. It quickly faded halfway through its flight, harmlessly sputtering against the tainted Dagonite's stone hide. Despite it raining harder now, the magical flames should not have gone out that quickly.
Snow gritted his teeth. He thought he was the only one having issues summoning his Eidolon. For the past few minutes, ever since the Resonance Rail Guns refused to fire, he'd been trying to summon Shiva to no avail. Sazh looked as equally unsuccessful off to Snow's right. And who knew if Hope's Alexander would ever make an appearance. Out of all of the Eidolons, Bahamut and Hecatoncheir were the only ones who showed up on a reliable basis, but even that wasn't happening right now.
"Mr. Estheim! We can certainly use those gadgets of yours right about now!" Rygdea peppered the air ahead with bullets, stopping the advancement of a tainted Barbed Specter. The tainted l'Cie screeched in protest, spinning and whirling away to avoid getting hit. One particular scream echoed above the rest, an unfortunate soldier who had somehow gotten too far out into the enemy's lines, being squished under Proganochelys' foot. A few blue streaks of crystal energy zipped towards Proganochelys in retribution, only to be intercepted and blocked by a wall of water which suddenly shot up from the ground before impact.
Regular bullets did nothing to the Proganochelys crystal hide, most of them not even getting through its water barriers in the first place. Of the ones that did, it stung no more than paper spit balls would. Proganochelys continued its march forward, completely oblivious to any attacks directed its way. All those who got in its way, may it be tainted l'Cie or otherwise, quickly met a painful end under its large feet.
"We're working as fast as we can!" Bartholomew said, his hands trembling as he frantically tried to remove his R2G's energy output limiter chip. With the rain falling faster and harder now, he could barely tell which coupling went in the polar positive side of the device and which one went into the polar negative side of the inner plating. Bartholomew flinched at the sound of a tainted l'Cie's roar nearby as it disintegrated. He almost lost his tools inside the Resonance Rail Gun at that, but managed to hang onto them.
Then Hope yelped.
"Hope!" Bartholomew's gaze whipped to the side just in time to see Hope's Bubble Guard activate, protecting him from a tainted l'Cie which managed to flank him. Rygdea fired a spray of bullets over Bartholomew's head causing the eldest Estheim to duck. The tainted l'Cie behind Hope dissipated into ash.
"I'm alright!" Hope said, nodding quickly in assurance to his father. Bartholomew eyed his son's Bubble Guard as the magical barrier fell. Hope staggered to his feet, the slick mud now underneath them all slipperier than ice. But soon his feet found purchase and Hope was right back in the action again.
"Mr. Estheim!" Rygdea said drawing Bartholomew's attention back to the matter at hand. "The Rail Gun!"
"R-right!" Bartholomew turned back to the panel of electrical chips and crystals. The ground shook from a nearby explosion, but Bartholomew's attention did not stray. He trusted his protectors and refused to let them down.
A shrill pierced through the sounds of gunfire.
"What in the-"
Before Bartholomew could react, he found himself pressed against the cold, muddied ground with Rygdea on top him.
"INCOMING!"
BOOM!
The explosion which followed sent Bartholomew's head spinning, and his ears ringing. Somehow, he ended up on his back with Rygdea having been thrown clear off of him from the force of the eruption nearby. And it was not just him. Everyone within a five foot radius of the blast site was knocked off their feet and currently lay moaning, sprawled in the mud. In the centre of them all was a tainted Dagonite, in a deep crater near Bartholomew's feet.
"Son of a bitch," Rygdea muttered, rolling onto his stomach. The captain rose to his hands and knees shakily, holding his head. A trickle of red ran down his temple and left cheek. "Anyone get the ID number of the freighter that hit me?"
Bartholomew looked around in a daze as similar sounding explosions sent soldiers flying all around them. Movement to his right caught his attention. Brown eyes widened in shock at the sight. Near Proganochelys' feet, jets of water burst up from the ground launching tainted Dagonites airborne. The catapulted tainted l'Cies fell to the ground like meteors, dispersing clusters of soldiers whose gaze was staring ahead at the Shadowed Four and its minions, and not at the sky.
"You've got to be kidding me," Rygdea groaned, also noticing the devious ways of the tainted l'Cies.
A distorted squawk drew Bartholomew's attention back to his feet, as the tainted Dagonite unwrapped its stone wings from itself revealing its red flesh eye. It looked at Bartholomew.
"Dad!"
There was a blur of motion before a yellow boomerang flitted into sight, striking the tainted l'Cie directly in the red eye. The corrupted beast shuddered with a roar before turning black and withering into ash.
"Dad!" Hope scrambled up to his father and shook him by the shoulders. "Are you alright? Say something!"
"Hope..." Bartholomew smiled at his son, putting a hand on Hope's shoulder. "You're alright."
Hope rubbed the excess water from his cheeks before squeezing his father in a tight hug. "Of course I'm alright. The Bubble Guard was made by you. I couldn't be better protected."
"My son..." Bartholomew hugged Hope, both Estheims momentarily oblivious to the happenings around them. The sound of bullets tearing through the air near them caused them both to flinch.
"I hate to interrupt your little moment there," Rygdea said, forcing a tainted Barbed Specter back with another spray of metal. "But we could really use that contraption of yours right about now Mr. Estheim!"
Hope and Bartholomew looked at each other and blinked.
"The Rail Gun!" Bartholomew exclaimed.
Both Estheims scrambled over to the R2G closest to them. It was now on its side, due to the blast caused by the tainted Dagonite, but was left mostly intact. The outside casing was cracked slightly and the inner chips and crystals were loosely scattered around the ground nearby. Thankfully though, none of the Resonance Crystals had exploded and all in all, it seemed to be operational.
"Hope, help me!" Bartholomew exclaimed. Together, both of them righted the contraption with Rygdea and another soldier's help. The moment it was upright, Bartholomew scrambled to put the inner pieces back together while Hope hastily picked up all the loose pieces he could see in the downpour, handing it to his father.
"No... No!"
"What?" Rygdea looked over his shoulder as Bartholomew patted the ground around the R2G, searching.
"Dad?"
"One of the chips are missing!" Bartholomew said, continuing his frantic search. "We need to find it! Help me!"
Hope immediately dropped to his hands and knees to search the muddied ground.
Rygdea gritted his teeth, calling for nearby soldiers to cover them as he too dropped to his knees to help look for the wayward piece. It was amazing they could see anything at all in this rain. "Can't you just hotwire it to work without it?"
Bartholomew shook his head, expanding his search area to outside of their immediate position. "It's one of the controller chips," he said. "If it was one of the energy distribution chips, I could make do. But without all the controller chips, it's as useful as a paper weight!"
A flash of colour caught Bartholomew's attention. There, lying ten feet away, was the light green coloured controller chip. Bartholomew jumped to his feet and took off running.
"Dad!"
"Estheim!" Rygdea moved to pursue but slid to a halt to dodge a flailing tainted l'Cie. "Shit! Shit! Lieutenant! Corporal! Cover him!"
Hope chased after his father, who was surprisingly faster than the silver haired boy ever thought possible. Both Estheims dodged tainted l'Cies and soldiers alike, thankful that most, if not all of them, were too caught up in their own smaller fights to notice them weaving through the crowd. Despite that fact, Bartholomew found himself no closer to snatching up the stray controller chip than before. Every time he got near to it, either a tainted l'Cie or soldier would stagger across his path, miraculously not stepping on the fragile chip, only to kick it further away in their deadly dance.
After the sixth time the controller chip was kicked away from him, Bartholomew dove forwards towards the piece fearing neither harm nor otherwise and managed to grabbed the wayward component once and for all. Miraculously, both Hope and Bartholomew made it through the mess of battle relatively unscathed. Though, Bartholomew would have been crushed under a charging tainted Navidon had it not been for Hope who finally caught up to him, summoning the Bubble Guard to protect them both. But that's when their luck ran out.
The increasing ferocity of the earthquakes shaking the ground should have been the first indication that something horrible was about to happen. The giant shadow slowly approaching them from the front also should have been another indication. But being too preoccupied on securing the fragile controller chip for the Resonance Rail Gun, neither of the Estheims realized just how far they had strayed. That is, until they saw Proganochelys' two feet in front of them. Both of them looked up at the crystal blue monolith. No amount of Bubble Guard would be able to protect them from getting squished now.
As the Shadowed Four's front left leg came down upon them, Hope couldn't but scream. "DAD!"
A/N: For those of you wondering, the rain created by Proganochelys acts like a Fogga, preventing the use of all magical related abilities. That leaves our former l'Cie heroes from being able to use their magic properly, as well as makes it impossible for them to summon their Eidolons.
On another note, I don't claim to know how the technology I made up for this story works. That would require a greater knowledge of physics and quantum mechanics than I already have. Whether or not in could actually be possible, let's just say for the sake of this story it could be. XD
