Author's note~ Okay the last, but one chapter for you guys, hope you like it. It is a bit wierd, I had trouble figuring out whose perspective I wanted to write it from ^_^ anyway enjoy.
Selphie shut her eyes against the tears that threatened her, she coughed and felt warm blood spatter across her lips, she could taste it's warm metallic flavour in her throat and in her mouth. She knew now that she was going to die, Badier wasn't stopping to cure her, she was now a means to an end, she didn't have to survive for him any more. It was now she began to look back at her life and regret, not the things she had done, but the things she had never had the courage to do. She regretted never telling Zell just how much she had loved him when she had the chance, she regretted never showing Quistis how much she appreiciated her friendship and loyalty, she regretted never making her peace with Seifer. Coughs grabbed at her throat making it ragged and hard to breath, if her friends only knew how much she loved them, then she could die peaceful.
*Please Selphie, join with me.* Bahumut said to her.
No, my friend. I won't bring your life into the balance as well as my own.
*
'Squall, wake up you hairy arse!' The voice was insistant, as was the shaking. Squall groaned, his chest felt like it had been stampeded over by a troop of Galbadian soldiers. 'I mean it! If you don't wake up I'll go by myself.' Squall's eyelids fluttered open.
'What hit me?' He asked.
'Good question but we've been out for about half an hour, so I think moving back towards Trabia would be a good option. Nobody can fight that guy.' It was Seifer, Squall tried to move but grunted as his chest protested. Seifer sighed and lay him back to have a look at it. 'Nice bruise.' He told him.
'It was Diablos.' Squall told him.
'Whatever it was broke at least four of your ribs.' Squall looked down at his purple torso, Seifer sighed and began tearing up strips of his coat using his gunblade.
'What are you doing?' He asked, it hurt to talk but he had never shown weakness in front of Seifer and he wasn't gonna start now.
'Getting some bandages, you won't be able to move until you've had your chest strapped up. And we have to get going as soon as possible.' A thought came into his head and he swallowed.
'Rinoa, Selphie said Badier wanted Rinoa.' Seifer paused and thought about it.
'Then we really do have to be getting back to Trabia.' He looked into Squall's face and saw the fear that was there. 'Don't worry, we'll save her...' Squall let himself be reassured by Seifer's words. When he had finally bandaged him up Seifer handed him his gunblade and helped him stand.
'It's a little tight.' Squall complained and Seifer raised an eyebrow.
'I could loosen it and have a rib puncture your lung if you want... You know I'm quite willing to do that...' Squall frowned at him and Seifer shrugged. Squall took the lead and they emerged into the bright white world of the Trabia continent, Squall pointed at the footprints leading away from the cave. 'Badier?' Seifer asked and Squall nodded.
'Now all we have to do is follow the footprints, as long as nothing obscures them... Let's pray it doesn't... snow.' Both men looked up as the first flakes began to fall. They then looked across at each other, then began to run towards Trabia.
*
Irvine walked beside Zell in companionable silence, the strained look on Zell's face made him realise the stress that he felt was nothing near what Zell was feeling. Irvine marvelled at their different approaches to the problem that Selphie was in trouble, Zell had organised this force and Irvine had hit the bottle, that in itself made him feel ashamed. He sighed and put his hand on Zell's shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look when he had turned around to look at him in surprise. The young girl, Jill ran up to them and gave Zell a quick little salute.
'We should be in the caves in little under forty minutes.' She said to him and he smiled at her affectionately.
'Thanks, Jill. We're making good time. We just have to go up through the mountains a little way now.' Irvine looked around, they were in the foothills of the mountains surrounding Trabia. It was him that first saw the laden figure, he was carrying something in his arms.
'A friend of yours?' He asked Zell pointing. Zell stared in confusion and then his face seemed to harden involuntarily.
'I thought he was.' Was all he said and then called an all stop. Quistis and Rinoa walked across to him.
'Problem?' Asked Quistis.
'Nope... Badier.... and Selphie.' He looked across at Rinoa whose face had gone even whiter. 'Sorry Rinoa, I wish I could tell you what happened to Squall. It's probable that they missed him completely.' His face betrayed the unlikeliness of that situation. Rinoa looked close to tears but her face tightened and anger began to burn in her eyes.
'Then let's go and end this.' Badier began walking down the slope as Zell called out a squad to accompany them. No one would raise a white flag, this was not a parley, it was a kill or be killed scenario.
*
Selphie looked across at her friends as they broke off a small group to come and meet them. She recognised everyone in the main party, all her friends from Balamb as well as Roo, Delta and Jill, the backup was a goup of SeeDs and students that walked around them in a protective semi circle. Badier stopped and waited for them to come to him, they were perhaps twenty yards apart when Badier threw her to the ground and slid out his gunblade to threaten her. Her body was wracked with bloody coughs, she saw the blood speckle the snow in front of her, turning it a mottled red and white. She felt Bahumut howl with rage inside her. Zell stepped forwards.
'What do you want Badier?' He asked, his tone steely. Selphie gazed at him, eyes watering with the pain tearing her up from the inside, he looked down at her and their eyes locked. She saw him swallow, and it seemed to take him a lot of effort to wrench his gaze away from hers when Badier started to speak.
'Now it seems to me that I've been asked that question recently.' Badier's gunblade hovered over her head in a slight figure eight pattern. 'Oh yes, Squall asked me that question, I didn't answer him either.' Rinoa stepped forward with dispair blazing in her eyes, but she faced him bravely enough.
'What have you done with Squall?' She asked him, her voice nearly swallowing the words.
'Don't you worry, he's quite safe, for now. I figured that killing him wasn't the best way to go about gaining your acquiescence to my requests.' He smiled at her and grinned when she stiffened.
'You're scum Badier, I don't care how much better than us you think you are, but you aren't, you're much worse' Zell said, spitting out the words. 'What hope can you have of winning?' Zell asked and Badier grinned at him brightly.
'You think that your belief that I am worse than you makes it a fact? I'm immune to your semi adolescent ideas and your self delusion that you are unbeatable. Everyone can be beaten eventually.' He said to him.
'Even you?' Zell asked him, scoring his first point in that whole discussion, but Badier merely laughed.
'Everyone... But not today, let's see if I can tip the balance a little here... by the way nice army you have here.' Selphie tried to gurgle out a warning as Badier reached out his hand.
'What are you doing?' Zell asked.
'Umm Zell...' Jill whispered in faint horror, the squad that they had brought with them held their weapons threateningly, it took Zell a few moments to realise that they were pointed at them and not Badier.
'You understand now Zell?' Badier asked. 'You understand now why it is impossible for you to beat me... you could never beat me.' The grin on Badier's face made Selphie's head go light... or maybe it was the blood loss.
'But could I?' Rinoa asked him stepping forward, it gave Badier slight pause.
'Maybe... But even if I came out winning, I don't kill soceresses. Unlike some evil bastards.' He sneered at Zell, whose eyes fired.
'I killed a soceress, Badier.' Rinoa told him. 'Does that make me evil as well?' Badier smiled at her.
'No it makes you misguided.' He laughed. 'Soceresses have always fought between themselves, it's in their nature, but few killed their sisters.' He tilted his head to her. 'If I asked you to repent of it, you wouldn't listen to me would you? If you attacked me you would just be compounding your sins you know?' Rinoa's face betrayed the rage that was building within her... and without her, a bright bubble of sorcery glowed around her, colouring her skin a pale gold.
'How dare you! How dare you!' She screamed, Zell began backing away but Badier stepped over Selphie's body towards her. Selphie could feel some kind of force building within the knight... was this his power, how could she even begin to feel it?
*It is because you are junctioned to me, I am sensing through you.*
'You haven't used your powers for a long time have you?' He said calmly. 'Well I have... I've used them everyday since I was ten years old... you have no power over me.' It was said so calmly as he lifted his hand to her face, the golden sphere of sorcery began to mottle and turn black, Rinoa began to scream in agony and Badier's eyes fixed on her writhing form in fascination. 'Now you see Rinoa what I'm making you do it create a vortex, you didn't know you could do that did you?' His only response was her aguished wails. 'It hurts a bit and it will trap you until I make it let you go, you only have to do one thing for me.' The gunshot that rang out whistled from behind Badier and created a gouge in his cheek. The field on Rinoa dropped suddenly and she passed out. Badier turned in surprise and saw Seifer and Squall running down the side of the foothill, they were a long distance away but everybody could hear their faint arguement.
'I can't believe you missed.' Squall was yelling.
'Hey at least I have the power in my arms to actually lift my gunblade.' Seifer shouted back. Zell took that moment to make a move on Badier. The knight began to turn in surprise and Zell plowed into his side driving him into the snow. The wind picked up the snow that was forced into the air and it swirled around them in a mini tempest. All Selphie could hear was the sound of fists making contact with flesh, but she could feel the gathering of power within Badier and then saw on the edge of her vision the needle fine points of that power that he drove into Zell's mind. Zell staggered away from him holding his head, Badier increased the power of the needles and Zell cried out in pain, most other people would have collapsed by now. Selphie found the energy to cry out in pure panic, seeing Zell so completely in anguish broke her heart. She wanted to reach out to him... to save him. But what could she do, then it hit her.
*Bahumut I've made up my mind.*
*
Zell could feel his head screaming out in agony, he couldn't breathe enough to make a noise, everything around him was pain, it was fear and panic and horror. He could hear Quistis yelling something and Jill was shouting something back at her. He managed to look around, all of his friends had either been grabbed by SeeDs or were fighting them off in the case of Jill and Quistis.
'This is going to stop, right now.' He heard Selphie's voice ring out, the painful buzzing in his head lessened significantly, he turned his head towards Selphie, she was supporting herself on her knees, one hand across her abdomen where a thin stream of pale blood trickled out, she was staring at Badier. With a short gasp of pain she staggered barely keeping herself upright.
*
Selphie gasped as Bahumut filled her, tendrils of him slid inside her and locked there. It was a bright and glorious experience, she knew then that whilst she lived she would never be alone. They became one being, neither having dominance but both co-excisiting in one body. The pain in her stomach was an isolated glittering nusience so they began to slow the pain and put a seal across it so no more blood could leak out. The pain relief was done clinically and coldly much like the way the wound was inflicted, a means to an end, not the end itself. Now they were together they shared each other's strengths yet the weaknesses were halved instead of shared, together, they would always be stronger. Bahumut began to join her on the corporeal plane and they smiled.
*
'I should have killed you when I had the chance.' Badier snapped, picking up the gunblade he had dropped in the fight with Zell. Zell took some satisfaction in the fact that he was bleeding from several places, he nearly screamed when Badier held the blade above Selphie's head, execution style. She lifted her head and Zell nearly screamed anyway, from shock, Badier staggered back in surprise.
*I really wouldn't do that you know.* The voice echoed in their heads, it was Bahumut's voice lieing within Selphie's. Her glowing purple eyes, took Zell's breath away. He had always thought her bright green eyes were beautiful but these made him take stock. She shut her eyes and began to straighten up and a bright light glowed within her skin, a wisp of light exited her body and formed a seal over her wound. The light beneath her skin began to change and her skin changed with it, becoming pale lilac. Zell looked around at everyone and got to his knees and then staggered to his feet, they were all staring with open mouths. He moved towards Rinoa who was beginning to wake up, she stared at Selphie.
'What's happening to her?' She asked.
'Ifrit tells me that Selphie and Bahumut are joining souls.' He frowned . 'I don't understand myself.' Both watched the woman complete her transformation. At the base of her hairline faint sparkles began to glimmer and he heard Rinoa gag as the faint glistening dragon scales moved across her forehead and cheeks, the ecstatic look that grew on Selphie's face, because it was still hers reguardless of the fact that Bahumut was sharing it, was joyful to see. Zell felt his heart go out to her. Her head turned towards Badier who stretched out his hand to her, the film of power that he had leached off of the elemental plane exploded across her skin in a bright light. Zell shut his eyes against it, but when he opened them Selphie/Bahumut was standing there unscathed.
'What the hell?' Badier screamed.
*You said Badier that one day everybody would be beaten, we are bringing that day to you.* Badier stumbled backwards in fear, it had been the first time that Badier had ever expressed that emotion. *You have taken our friends from the elemental plane, you have stabbed us. You have inflicted yourself on so many innocents and you have caused indefinable pain to us. We do not wish you dead, mainly we need to see you neutralised. Pass to us your power.* Badier shrank back back from Selphie's glowing purple eyes.
'Never.' He said. 'It's mine, it was passed to me from my father.'
*It was not passed to you, you stole it. And it is our choice to steal it back from you, the only other way for it to be passed is for you to die. We will bring that occaision forward if you do not gift us with the power.* He shook his head and slid another wave of bright light towards them. It, again, did nothing.
'Why won't you succumb.' Badier screamed in frustration.
*We are no longer attached to the elemental plane, your power has no affect on us.* Badier shook his head.
'I'd rather die than give you my power.' He said to them stubbornly.
*As you so wish.* They said to him, Selphie lifted up her hands and a brilliant white light gathered in them, it was Bahumut's power, so bright and beautiful because they were sharing it and Zell's heart grew with it. For the first time he allowed himself to hope that she would be okay, as long as she was okay nothing else mattered. It sheared itself away from their hands and into Badier's body, he staggered backwards. *Last chance.* Zell was certain it was Selphie that had vocalised that last comment.
'Never.' The gun shot wound that appeared in Badier's head made everybody jump, including Selphie/Bahumut. Zell turned his head to Jill as she put the gun away. She looked at him. Her face completely oblivious to the fact that she had ended another mans life in a single heartbeat.
'No sense in dragging it out... besides... point and bang... what skill was there in that?' She said with a small grin.
'Damn girl, that was one of the best shots I've ever seen.' Irvine yelled. Zell wasn't listening, he was watching the dragonlike motions that Selphie's body was making. She walked over to Badier's body and tilted her head elegently. A diffuse yellow light began to emanate from the man and Selphie walked into it and it began to envelop her. It took him a moment to realise it was the power of the true knight that slid into her body and began trying to find a foothold. He could almost sense the battle it was making within her as it tried to find itself a place within a male host. But Selphie was not male, and neither was Bahumut, the light slowly began to disapate and then it winked out.
*It is over.* They said and all around Zell students realised that they were holding their teachers against their will, Squall and Seifer reached them at that moment, Squall went immediately over to Rinoa and hugged her, stroking her hair. Seifer walked over to Quistis and began talking in a low voice to her and pointing at Selphie... Presumably to try and make sense of what had just happened. Zell just stood and watched Selphie who was smiling at everyone.
He couldn't stand it anymore, he didn't care that Bahumut was inside her, he didn't care that she was covered in scales, all he cared about was that she was alive. He walked over to her and threw his arms around her, Selphie was shocked and then a bright smile lit their face. *We love you.* The woman and the guardian force said in unison, it seemed that one couldn't talk without the other but Zell knew what they meant and he began to grin. A grin that faltered when those purple eyes began look worried, then alarmed. Selphie's body faltered and then it's knees gave out and Zell caught them and lowered them to the floor.
'Selphie?' He said in a panic. 'Selphie?' When the eyes looked at him he knew that they were Bahumut's alone that looked up at him, there was no bright, intelligent Selphie within those purple depths.
*It wasn't enough. She died.* Zell felt his heart seize up.
Author's note~ Okay the next chapter is the last one, hope you enjoyed this one so please R+R ^_^