Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 8 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of the rights to any of this. This fanfic is just for fun and enjoyment.
EMPEROR OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER 4:
THE NEW ERA
Rinoa gasped for breath as she fell through the cloudless sky. She had no recollection of how she got here. Her only thoughts were of finding the precious air, which seemed to elude her. She struggled relentlessly for something to grab hold of. She could not breathe and she could barely move. She continued her decent. She felt herself loosing consciousness. Then everything was darkness.
Rinoa woke to find herself lying on a desert floor. As she scanned her surroundings she noticed that it was raining, however the heat was unmerciful. She gasped and yanked at her clothing to try to cool herself off, yet it was ineffective. She began to crawl about, trying to find shade. She found a shade in the horizon. It was a piece of earth that was jutting out over another. She crawled under it. Much to her surprise, she began to get unimaginably cold. She tried to crawl out but found no peace. The once hot rain had now turned to freezing hail. She screamed out at her misfortune and then she saw them. Two figures walking towards her position in the distance. One was clad in dark robes. The other was clad in white. They both wore hoods over their heads so that she could not see their faces.
The two figures continued to walk towards her until they where only a few yards away. Then they turned to face on another and drew aside their hoods. Rinoa gasped at what she saw. The one in dark robes was Seifer Almasy. Once he was guardian, her protector, her lover, her knight. Then he had betrayed her. He had renounced all of their happy times together and sold his soul to Ultimecia. But she had forgiven him. Even though she had never saw him again after he had given her to the sorceress she had felt his pain. She had seen the hesitation in his actions and in his voice. It was then that she realized how completely he was under the control of the evil sorceress and that deep down he was still the Seifer she knew.
The other figure in white robes was Squall. He was the new light of her life. He made everything right for her somehow. Everything fit together perfectly when she was with him. He was her new guardian. He was the one who held the key to her heart. He was her true knight. Her heart clenched when she saw the look on his face. It was plain and emotionless. That was the one thing she disliked in Squall. His former inability to express emotions. It had taken some time but finally she had broken through his shell and loved what she found inside. Squall was really a kind and caring person but he was afraid of expressing that emotion. After they were married, Squall never showed that look to her again. She was grateful for that. It meant that he trusted her. He could trust her enough to give her his heart without fear of it being broken. To see this long lost expression on his face now troubled Rinoa more then she would ever care to admit.
She looked at the two men as they regarded each other with unfeeling contempt and hate. They circled each other, gauging the others weaknesses. She wanted to scream out and tell them to stop but much to her shock she could not speak at all. She simply watched in dread.
Naturally, Seifer was the first one to act. Seemingly out from thin air, he whipped out his gunblade and swung it at Squall in a vertical arch. Squall dodged the attack deftly and retaliated by drawing his own gunblade, out from seemingly nothingness, and swung it downwards towards Seifer's head. Seifer dodged the attack and thrust his gunblade forward several times, attempting to impale Squall. Squall jumped back and dodged and parried each of his attacks. Then Squall thrust his own gunblade down and swung is wildly as well but he had a certain precision to his attacks. Oddly enough, Seifer dodged these attacks, side stepped, then thrust his gunblade swiftly towards Squall's mid section. Squall barely retaliated in time as he saw the gunblade flying towards his stomach. Squall jumped to the side and was grazed just below the ribs. He clutched his side but said nothing, not wanting to give his opponent the satisfaction of hearing him scream in pain. Strikingly, Seifer did not smile at his small victory. Instead his face was emotionless. For the first time Rinoa regarded Seifer's face more clearly and it made her want to cringe back in fear. There was nothing there. No emotion, no sparkle of his former pride and glory, no ambition, no nothing. His eyes were simply dead to the world, as if he were an unfeeling machine.
Squall jumped to the side, then swung left with his gunblade. As he had anticipated, Seifer parried the blow. Then Squall brought his gunblade right knowing Seifer had not foreseen such an attack. In one split second, Seifer's head flew away from his shoulders and his body crumbled unceremoniously to the desert floor. Squall slumped to the ground exhaustedly. Suddenly everything shone in bright rays of orange light. Rinoa cried hysterically as she heard Squall scream in agony. She looked forward and saw his body being maimed by an unearthly vision of a menacing sword. Squall's arms and legs flew away as the sword worked him over. Then finally his head split from his shoulders.
"NO!" Rinoa screamed for the very first time. Suddenly everything was white. Then she saw explosions towards her left. Looking that way she saw visions of burned and charred cities. She heard screams of agony and pain to her right. She looked that way and saw visions of people being tortured and mutilated. Then the two images began to mesh together. Rinoa screamed out in agony. Suddenly she was flying in the air, falling relentlessly once again. She could see the ground below and closed her eyes preparing for the impact. It never came.
When she opened her eyes, she realized that she way lying in a field of flowers. Much to her surprise, it was the same spot she and squall had agreed to meet up at after time compression. She scanned her surroundings and saw a figure standing over her. The figure's back was facing her.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"You already know the answer to that. Why ask questions when you already know the answers…"
"Your Ultimecia aren't you?"
"…."
"Why have you brought me here?"
"To prepare you for what is to come."
"Why me?"
"Because you are a sorceress, the most powerful sorceress of all the ages. You have the power to change destiny…"
"The past cannot be changed."
"But the future can…"
"What do you mean?"
"To him, time holds no meaning…"
"To who?"
"The laws of time are broken…"
"How can that be?"
"The time is near…"
"Why are you telling me this? Answer me!"
"Prepare your self…Rinoa…"
"NO WAIT!" Rinoa screamed as she shot awake from her nightmare. She looked around nervously and noticed she was still on the plane headed towards Deling City in Galbadia. Squall was sitting next to her. A worried look marred his face as he stared at her. Rinoa rested her head in her hands as she came to the realization that she was back.
Squall regarded her silently for a minute. He wore a straight face but she could see the concern in his eyes. "Another dream?" He asked softly.
Rinoa didn't meet his gaze when she responded. "Yes" she replied flatly. "I don't understand what any of this means. They keep getting more and more strange and the visions I see are more terrible every time."
Squall said nothing as he looked at his wife in concern. He sensed that there was something more this time. He was almost positive Rinoa had seen something else in her dreams that made her nervous. But she wouldn't speak of it. And Squall respected her enough not to push her. Thus Squall simply reached out to his wife and hugged her close to him.
Rinoa relaxed in Squall's strong embrace. There was no doubt that she loved him. However for some reason she could not get herself to mention the appearance of Ultimecia in her dream. Her eyes vaguely caught sight of Edea sitting across the seat from them. She made up her mind that when they land she would talk to her immediately. Edea was the only person who she could relate to with this. After all, she had been a sorceress under the control of Ultimecia for many years. Surly she could understand the symbolism of her visions.
Rinoa's thoughts were interrupted as a loud voice came over the intercom of the plane. "ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS. WE WILL BE LANDING WITHIN THE NEXT 15 MINUTES. AT THIS TIME, WOULD ALL OCCUPANTS PUT ON THEIR SEAT BELTS. IT'S BEEN A REAL PLEASURE HAVING YOU ABOARD."
Zell snickered at this. "I'm sure it has been a pleasure." He said sarcastically as he strapped on his seatbelt. "Carrying the party of seeds who took down the great sorceress Ultimecia. Not to mention we're flying with the president of Balamb who is now on his way to form a united power with Galbadia in the name of peace. Heh, this pilot will be bragging for the rest of his life!"
Irvin chuckled at this and stared mischievously at the slumbering Selphie sitting next to him. "I agree Zell. Poor Selphie here is gonna have to put up with all my female fans. Hmmm I can see it now… The Kinneas fan club…"
Quistis sighed in disgust. "Oh Irvin get over yourself! Being a seed is not about glamour! Besides, if you think your whole purpose in life it to be an admired idol to the public, you may start getting the same delusions Seifer did."
Irvin wore a mock expression of hurt on his face. "Why Quistis, you wound me! You know it's impossible for anyone to be 'that' arrogant and self-centered!" All three of them began laughing at that.
"Yes, that was a special trait only Seifer could pull off." Quistis agreed, with an amused smile on her face.
"Remember the time, back at the orphanage, when Seifer tried to take all the cookies and even after he got caught he still tried to play the big man?" Zell asked, reminiscing on old times. Irvin nodded his head slightly. "What an arrogant idiot." He said. Quistis lowered her head in deep thought for a moment. "I believe his exact words were, 'Matron, if I hadn't done it, one of those bratty kids would have. This way I'm saving them from getting punished by removing the obstacle.'" Quistis began to laugh at how foolish his words sounded now that they were all older. Zell soon joined in. Then Irvin started laughing as well, unable to hold it in any longer.
Rinoa's eyes widened in shock as she saw a slight grin form on Squalls face. He too was thinking back to that time. It had been a hilarious sight to see Seifer get caught with all that chocolate on his face and hands. It had been even funnier to see him try to swindle his way out of it.
Ivrin's eyes were watering. "And how about the time when we were all playing hide and seek and Zell accidentally locked himself in the closet!" They all burst into uncontrollable laughter. Selphie woke from all the noise and looked around curiously at everyone's odd behavior. "What's everyone laughing so hard about?" She asked innocently. Quistis couldn't help herself. "We were talking about that time when you were at the orphanage and you tried to dry your cat off by putting it in the dryer." They laughed even harder. Zell's face was now streaming with tears.
Cid and Edea sat in the background smiling fondly at old memories. "You know, I'm glad they all stuck together like this. It's times like these when true friends count the most."
"I know." Edea replied to her husband. "They all seemed so inseparable when they were younger. It's heartwarming to see them all now so many years later. They've all grown so much."
Cid was quiet for a moment. "It's really unfortunate what happened to Seifer. He was always a trouble spot when they were younger but he was still a good kid at heart."
Edea looked at Cid lovingly. "Sometimes we all don't get happy endings honey. Seifer chose his own path. He was controlled by Ultimecia just like I was however we each have our own way of dealing with what we've done."
"We don't even know if the boy is still alive. He was always impossible like that. I just think that if he did survive that last encounter, the least he could do is fess up to what he has done and reconcile. I think that would be a great benefit to all of them."
"Cid sometimes these things take time. And besides, you know that boy was never one to admit his own faults. Its shocking when you thing of how similar he was to Squall. So similar yet at the same time so different."
"I for one am glad Squall didn't take the same path. The boy's got more of a level head on his shoulders. I'm proud of him and I don't regret my decision in placing him as head of Garden. The boy seems born for the task."
Edea nodded at this. "Yes, Squall is definitely a very remarkable young man." Edea looked off for a bit, somewhat troubled.
"Edea dear, what is the matter?" Cid asked with a worried expression on his face.
"I… don't really know. It's just that I have a feeling… I can't explain it but it's a very bad feeling about what these kids will face in the future. Its been troubling me for a while. I suppose it is only the after effects of Ultimecia's presence and the over protective nature of a Matron at work here."
Cid conceded to this but still regarded his wife with a concerned look. "Wow!" Cid turned around at the loud voice he just heard. Sitting next to him, he saw his son jeffry staring outside the window looking at the runway as their plane approached it. Cid smiled warmly realizing that this was their son's first time in a plane. It must have been very exciting for him.
Minutes after hitting the runway, the plane screeched to a halt. The pilot got out and opened the doors for his passengers. As Squall and the others made their way down the steps, they where greeted by three men wearing top collar, Galbadian military suits.
One of the men in the suits gave them a crisp salute. "Garden General Lionheart; Balamb President Kramer; and last but certainly not least, honored guests and famed members of seed, by the orders of the President of Galbadia, we hereby welcome you to Deling City and hope your stay with us is to your utmost satisfaction."
Squall and his companions all returned the salute. Cid stepped forwards "As President of Balamb, I hereby accept your welcome and am deeply honored by your words."
"On behalf of Garden, I am flattered by your words. Thank you." Squall said, preferring not to say much in regards to formalities.
"Thank you for your kind words." The Official said. "If you both will follow me, ill take you to our president. Your guests will be led to the royal guestroom and will be given seats accommodating their position during the ceremony. Mrs. Lionheart, The President would also appreciate your audience with him after the ceremony is over."
"Of course." Rinoa said, pleased with the Official's words. She had missed her father greatly but she understood the importance of the meeting he was going to share with Squall and Cid. She knew that there was plenty of time for reunions after the ceremony. Also this would be a convenient time for her to talk with Edea alone about the visions she had been having.
Irvin let out a low scoff at how they were being treated in comparison to Cid and Squall but he kept his mouth shut. Zell also wore a look of indignation. "Well I'm offended." He said, barley keeping his tone in check. I had no idea some presidents get props over others."
The Official looked at Zell then flushed suddenly. "I'm sorry sir! I had no idea! Would you also accompany President Kramer, General Lionheart, and I to see our President? I'm sure he would be most pleased to meet the new President of FH."
Zell wore a pleased look on his face. "It's understandable." He said openly. "As it is, I understand the importance of this ceremony so ill just speak with the President when its over. If peace truly is in the air, we'll have to talk sooner or later."
Everyone around was surprised at how maturely Zell handled the situation. The Seeds and the Kramer family were shocked at how much Zell matured. They never thought he would ever utter the words he just did. The Galbadian officials, on the other hand, were surprised they got off so easily but were more then happy to accept their graces were they got them.
"U-Understood, Sir." Said the Galbadian Official who was the apparent speaker of the group. "And thank you for your mercies. I'm sure our President would be delighted to share words with you about peace prospects." The official then cleared his throat, returning to the original purpose of this meeting. "If you don't mind, without further delay, if you would follow me this way President Kramer and Garden General Lionheart?
Squall watched his friends depart in a separate limousine as he and Cid were being led towards Galbadian President Caraway's office. Squall almost laughed to himself as he thought of the irony of it all. The last time he was here on an official mission from seed was when he, Zell and Selphie had been assisting the Forest Owls. Their mission was to abduct their former President and assassinate the Sorceress. Squall briefly thought about how different his friends were now after three years. Zell, of all people, was the President of FH! Selphie was an instructor on combat! Irvin too! Out of all of them, Quistis had the least unsurprising life. She was now the main headmaster of Balamb Garden. Right under Squall's position. Squall was relieved about that. Quistis was always a huge support for him and she supplied him with direction when he was unsure of himself. She was an invaluable friend and surrogate sister figure to him. Even Squall had changed. He never would have expected himself to be sitting here making peace treaties on behalf of all of Garden. 'I guess everything changes fast in three years.' Squall mused to himself.
Before Squall realized it, the car came to a stop. They had reached the presidential office. The Official held the door open for them then led them through the great halls of Caraway's Manor. Cid said nothing as he walked towards their destination and Squall was preoccupied with studying the splendor of Caraway's home. It was very pleasant to look at however it lacked the intensity of Cid's own home. Cid had a certain historic relevance to his elegance, while caraway only showed off his wealth with expensive statues and priceless vases. The Official led them to a highly decorated double door, then knocked on it twice. The door was promptly opened by an assistant and they made their way inside.
The Official stepped forward. "Mr. President, Balamb President Kramer and Garden General Squall here to see you as you requested."
Caraway turned around to face them. He had aged slightly since the last time squall saw him. He now had more gray hair then black. His suit was highly decorated in a Galbadian fashion with their symbol crest on his overcoat. His shoulders were highly decorated in a military style and he still wore his customary white gloves. His uniform was a navy blue color with glossy white shoes. And he now wore glasses to accommodate his, now failing, vision.
"Thank you," Caraway said to his Official. "That is all, you may go."
"At your leave Sir." The Official gave a crisp salute then exited the room.
Caraway turned his eyes to Cid next. "Welcome to my manor President Kramer. I trust you find my accommodations to your liking?"
Cid laughed a bit at the formalities. "Very much so, thank you. However flatteries were never your style Caraway. Why the drastic change?" Caraway couldn't help but laugh at Cid's blunt statement. "When you become a president of a nation that is constantly at war you find that formalities are most commonly the norm, especially when talking with people of equal ranking."
Cid nodded in understanding. "I realize how stressing that must be. But where are my manners. President Caraway I present to you Garden General Lionheart. I'm sure the two of you have met before?"
"Indeed we have" Caraway said with a slight smile on his face. "It has been a while, has it not Squall? I trust you are treating my daughter well?"
Squall flushed slightly. "Yes sir, it has been some time. And yes Rinoa and I are perfectly happy."
"Good, I would expect nothing less from you Squall. My daughter is deeply in love with you and it would break her heart if the two of you had problems. You're a fine man Squall. Cid made a good choice appointing you as head of Garden."
'That's what everyone always says.' Squall thought to himself in annoyance. "Thank you Sir." He replied simply.
Caraway simply nodded crisply. "And while we are still on the issue of introductions, President Cid and General Lionheart, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to one of the finest officers of Galbadia." Caraway then pointed towards a very tall figure standing to one side of the room.
The tall man stepped forward towards the group. Squall's eyes lightly widened as he watched the man approach. He was at least seven feet in height. His frame was also very huge. Squall had to guess that the man had done extensive weight lifting. His complexion was a dark tan color. He had short chopped, raven black hair. And his bushy eyebrows overshadowed penetrating black eyes, which seemed to be full of intensity.
The man stared straight at Squall, apparently sizing him up. Caraway wore a big smile on his face. "My good friends, I'd like you to meet Zeilak, Supreme General of all Galbadian military forces." The General nodded towards Cid and shook his hand graciously. "It is a pleasure to meet you sir." He said in a deep voice. He then looked towards Squall and proceeded to approach the young General of Garden. He wore a big smile on his face and extended his rough weathered, hand towards him. "And it is a 'very' great honor to meet one as great as yourself General Lionheart. I have heard many good things about you. The youngest man ever to become a General, yet at the same time, the one man most deserving of such a title. It is truly a great pleasure. You are an inspiration to all of us."
Squall was momentarily taken aback by such praise and found that he was speechless. Zeilak seemed to sense Squalls discomfort and merely gave him another reassuring smile then turned back towards President Cid. "If all the seeds you've trained turned out like this young man, then I'm not surprised Ultimecia lost to them. Cid wore a very proud smile on his face. "General Zeilak, General Lionheart here is one of a kind. The best seed ever produced from Garden."
Squall was so flustered that he merely gave a crisp nod. "Thank you Sir. Your too kind." Cid merely chuckled as he shook his head at Squall's modesty.
Zeilak turned towards Caraway. "Sir as we had discussed earlier, the preparations for the ceremony are already underway and await your command." Caraway nodded towards his Supreme General. "Very good General; excellent job. You may go and issue the order. The ceremony will begin within the next thirty minutes. Be ready."
General Zeilak saluted smartly. "Very well Sir. I shall issue the order at once. President Cid, it's been a great pleasure Sir. And you too General Squall. I look forward to our next meeting with all alacrity." He turned back towards Caraway. "By your leave Sir." Zeilak then turned crisply and exited the room.
President Caraway had a pleased smile on his face. "He is truly an invaluable asset to Galbadia. He has benefit our nation greatly with his undying loyalty and support." As if breaking out of a short reverie, the Galbadian President immediately turned his attention back towards Cid and Squall. "Now, on to the business at hand. Cid, the ceremony will start off with…"
Squall stared off in the distance, not particularly paying much attention to the last minute arrangements Caraway and Cid were discussing. He constantly felt that his place wasn't here. Not with all the formal greetings and empty pleasantries. He couldn't stand all the political talk. Squall was not one for politics. The introduction of the Galbadian General had made him feel even worse. Was this truly what people thought of him as? A legend? He was not at all comfortable with the whole charade and was much more content with simply doing his job on the battlefield.
"Squall?" Squall jumped back to reality when he heard his name being called. "Yes? Sorry Sir, you were saying?"
Caraway looked at Squall with concern but continued what he was saying. "Squall, I want you to stand next to Cid during the ceremony. As the General of Garden, it will stand as a symbol of Gardens duty to Protect its founder and at the same time it will serve as an acceptance of Gardens role in becoming unified with Galbadia and Balamb."
Squall nodded his head in consent. Caraway continued talking but squall only halfheartedly listened to him. 'This is going to be a long day.' Squall thought to himself.
****
Rinoa smiled as she watched Edea play little games with her son Jeffry. It was such a charming sight to see Edea with children. After everything she did under the control of Ultimecia, it was a good turn around. She deserved all the happiness she could get after what she was forced to go through with harboring Ultimecia's spirit in her body for all those years.
Zell was sitting in the seat to the far left-hand side of the room next to the fireplace. He was playing poker with Irvin and by the look on his face, he appeared to be loosing. Selphie was watching them play with idle curiosity. Quistis was sitting on the sofa reading through some seed documents she had brought with her. 'Now would be the best time to get Edea alone without any interruptions.' Rinoa thought to herself.
She slowly made her way towards Edea without making herself noticeable to everyone else in the room. Edea looked up as she saw Rinoa approaching her. She lifted Jeffry off of her knee and gently set him on the right side of the couch next to her. Rinoa sat on the opposite side. 'Well here goes…' She mentally prepared herself.
"Hi Rinoa, is there something I can do for you?" Edea asked kindly. "Hi Edea, y-yes actually I was wondering if you could help me with something." Edea detected the note of hesitation in Rinoa's voice and immediately took on a more serious posture.
"I'd be delighted to help in any way I can. What is it that you need?" Edea was trying to sound more encouraging. Ever since being possessed by sorceress Ultimecia, Edea found a desperate need to help others in any way she could. She felt as if she had betrayed her foster children by failing to resist Ultimecia's control. Every time she thought of the events she did as the sorceress, she felt sick. She could still clearly see Irvin aiming his gun towards her head in her mind's eye. She could see all of her children, who once sat with her as she read them bedtime stories, now grown to adulthood, preparing to attack her and end the threat of the sorceress. To her, that image was worse then death. If Ultimecia had any plan to punish Edea for some wicked reason, she had succeeded in the worst way possible. All Edea hoped to accomplish now was to somehow atone for her failure and help as much as she could.
"Well… Edea I know this is a touchy subject and all but… well, when you were a sorceress, did you ever…I dunno… hear the voices of other sorceresses?"
Edea lowered her head in shame. This was indeed a very touchy subject for her but she would answer Rinoa's question even if it meant calling up those painful memories once again. "Rinoa…" She began, meticulously. "As a sorceress, I constantly heard the voices of Ultimeci-"
"No! I'm sorry Edea but I mean other voices, voices that actually conversed with you and gave you… insight on the future?"
Edea was quiet for a moment. She was perplexed that Rinoa would ask such a question, yet at the same time she felt something. Something told her she knew exactly what Rinoa was talking about but something else was holding her back. She closed her eyes, trying to think back for a moment to the time when she was still a sorceress. She remembered a faint voice that would tell her of evils to come. That was what made her decided to establish Garden and train seeds. To avoid the evil that the voices prophesized, she took steps to prepare the world so that the calamities would never happen. Could something similar be happening to Rinoa now? She finally decided to answer honestly with her.
"There…was a time, yes. I… I was not clear on what the voices were telling me, however I did what they told me to. I was Young and naïve I suppose. They gave me two courses of action that I could take. I naturally chose the lesser of the two evils… I openly allowed myself to become a puppet for Ultimecia. I tried to resist but she used me for her sick desires anyway. The vision told me this would happen if I had chosen the path that I had but at the time I felt it was the right choice to make."
Rinoa was quiet for a moment. After a while she replied. "Do you still think it was the right choice to make?"
"I honestly have no clue my child. In choosing my path, I had prevented the greater calamity from occurring… however the costs were great… so very great… and the wounds were deep. If I were to say my actions were just, it would only be for my own self-gratification. What some would consider as 'the correct course of action', others would view as a selfish choice made from ones own personal opinions of what is good and what is not. All I can say is that I made my choice and now all I can do is atone for the consequences and try to make due the best I can."
At that point, Rinoa felt a huge load of sympathy for the former Matron of the seed orphanage. She had suffered so much, yet no one really understood the severity of that turmoil. Her heart wanted to burst out for this tortured soul, however she had no words of condolence to say to her. She had been similarly under the control of Ultimecia and had also done many cruel things yet she had never been prepared for it. She couldn't imagine what dread Edea must have went through to know that someday she may wake up to find she was no longer in control of her own actions. To know that day would come but not be able to do anything about it. Rinoa felt warm tears slide down her soft cheeks as she uttered a silent reply. "I'm sorry…"
"No." Edea said softly. "Don't be sorry for me Rinoa. We all must make choices in our lives. Weather they are the right ones or not is one median. However, the true task is knowing when you have made a mistake and taking steps to correct it."
Rinoa nodded her head in understanding. She had not wanted to cause Edea such pain and turmoil. "Edea…" she said slowly. She waited a moment to collect herself. Edea waited patiently for Rinoa to get ready for whatever she had to say. "Edea … I've also been hearing voices. I've seen visions of a possible future." Edea was quiet as she took this information in. She seamed to have a worried look on her face but Rinoa didn't notice. "The visions were so awful. They all pertained to destruction. The most troubling one was my last one. Squall and Seifer were in it. It was weird. They were dueling and I wanted them to stop yet I couldn't say anything until an unknown force came in. Oh Edea it was so horrible. The visions of what it did to Squall. And then I was in a field." Rinoa found that she was very nervous and afraid to continue with her story. Edea simply closed her eyes, absorbing all of this information in. when she finally opened her eyes and nodded towards Rinoa to continue, Rinoa found the task harder and harder to carry out.
Finally working up enough confidence, Rinoa continued. "Edea, I… I saw Ultimecia." Edea's eyes widened in shock and she let out an involuntary gasp. Rinoa continued. "W- we talked. She told me something about a new threat and that only I could stop it. She said I have the power to change destiny and that all of the previous boundaries of time are broken while this new menace threatens us. Edea I don't understand what she means. What does she want me to do? How am I to stop this horrible nightmare from becoming reality?" Rinoa was now becoming somewhat frantic and urgent. Her visions were finally breaking down her last barriers of patience.
Edea was quiet. She stared into space in deep thought for a moment. Rinoa became restless. She didn't know what was going through Edea's mind. She desperately wanted Edea to tell her she wasn't crazy. She wanted her to reassure her that everything was going to be ok. She wanted… no she needed Edea's comforting words of support.
Finally Edea lifted her head towards Rinoa once again. "Rinoa… I too have been having these perceptions. I had initially hoped that it was just a side effect of being possessed by Ultimecia. There are no words I can give you of reassurance except that we can only prepare ourselves for the turmoil to come. However, I can promise you this Rinoa. Whatever happens, ill be there for you. I will support you and help you through this no matter what. Whatever we face out there, we face together."
Rinoa felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Tears sprang to her eyes as she gazed at Edea. "Oh Edea… thank you. You can't imagine how afraid and alone I have been in this. Thank you for your support." Edea smiled fondly at her. "Everything will be fine my child. Maybe this is another opportunity for my redemption."
Rinoa was quiet for a bit, then looked up at Edea again, rather shyly. "Uhh… Edea there's something else I wanted to ask you as well. I didn't want to tell Squall but I've been –" Just then the doors abruptly opened and an Official entered the room. Zell and Irvin wore expressions of annoyance at being interrupted from their game. Selphie looked curious as to why the official entered the room and Quistis simply stoop up and put her seed documents away for another occasion. "I'm terrible sorry to disturb you." The Official began. "But the ceremony will begin in five minutes. If you would all please follow me, I will lead you to your reserved seats."
One after another, they all followed the official out of the room and headed towards the area where the ceremony was to be held. To Rinoa's surprise, the area was the exact same place Edea had issued her speech from during the second Sorceress war with Ultimecia. Over three years ago, Edea stood along with the company of the Deling President and herself. Now the roles were replaced with the figures of Presidents Caraway and Kramer and flanked by the presence of the Garden General, Squall Lionheart. The Official silently led her and the others to their V.I.P. seats and Cid began his monumental speech.
****
Cid stood on the platform marveling at the beauty of Deling City from such heights. The irony of promoting a speech of unity in an atmosphere of serenity and peace hadn't escaped his mind. He smiled broadly as he prepared to give the speech that would change the future of the world forever.
"Ladies and gentleman," He began. "I want to personally thank all of you for coming to this very momentous occasion. Today marks the day of unconditional unity for, not only Balamb and Galbadia but also hopefully for the whole world! My fellow cohorts our history is plagued with the atrocities of wars and oppression. We are but pawns in an endless cycle by those who would use us to further their own ends and benefits. Today, President Caraway and I are prepared to change all of that. Every human life is precious. And at the same time, every human is responsible for his or her own actions. No one should force them to do what they don't believe is right. Yet this was exactly what happened over three years ago. We blindly followed the will of the sorceress, hoping that she would give us peace. Hoping that she would give us a war that would end all wars. However, I stand here to tell you that she was wrong! That we were wrong to believe her! We don't need the security of a Sorceress to guide our ways to peace. We can make peace by ourselves; through our own actions! We are not pawns that are to be used by those who have power. We are responsible for our own lives and thus we are responsible for our own peace! The unification of Galbadia, and Balamb is a symbol to all that we 'can' and 'will' make peace amongst ourselves. It is my dream that by our actions, war shall become a think of the past!"
Thunderous applause and adulation for his speech rewarded Cid. President Caraway regarded him with a bright smile and nodded his head. "As President of Galbadia, I hereby accept Balamb President, Kramer's stand for unity and hereby unite the countries of Galbadia and Balamb as one!" Squall stepped forward. "As head of Garden, I, Squall Lionheart, hereby declare that Garden will enforce and protect such peace so that none should bring hardship on this new unity of peace! Garden, which was once an institution for mercenaries of war, shall now be recognized as protectors of peace!" Caraway broke out a huge smile. Cid also smiled broadly. Their dreams of peace were now recognized at last. Squall kept a rigid face but inside, he was elated that such a time had finally come to pass.
Cid turned to face President Caraway and extended his hand in a public gesture of friendship as well as unification. Caraway reached out to meet his handshake however their hands never met as, instead, Caraway's eyes became large and glazed. Cid was utterly horrified as he noticed the sharp object of an ICE 3 shard protruding through Caraway's chest from his back. Blood oozed from his mouth as his eyes rolled to the back of his head. His, now lifeless, body fell unceremoniously to the cold marble floor and was soon overshadowing a pool of his own blood.
For a split second, everything froze. No one spoke as shock and the realization of what just happened sunk in. Cid was astounded and still in complete shock. Zell, who had been prepared to stuff a hotdog in his mouth, now dropped the forgotten hotdog and stared in a wide-eyed stupor of disbelief. Irvin blinked furiously, as if trying to dispel a bad dream. Quistis mouth formed the words 'oh god' but nothing came out. Selphie was completely confused and refused to believe what had transpired right before her very eyes. Everyone was in denial yet the seconds of shock were broken with a horror stricken scream.
"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rinoa yelled at the top of her lungs. Squall was the first to act, broken out of his slight stupor by Rinoa's scream, he ran right in front of Cid, protecting him with his body. He silently berated himself for not acting on time. For not protecting Caraway, and for not acting as soon as the assassination had happened. Squall scanned the area for some sign of the attacker. However after looking down at Caraway's lifeless body he was completely taken aback. The weapon used for his murder was almost the exact replica of the ICE 3 shard that he himself had been impaled with by Edea at that parade all those years ago. He was so absorbed with this new fact that he hadn't noticed Cid's urgent cry. "SQUALL LOOK OUT!" Suddenly Cid rammed Squall off of the Platform. As Squall fell listlessly, he saw similar shards of ICE 3 immediately impaled Cid, three in his back and two more in his legs. Only by sheer training was Squall able to position himself on the supports of the huge platform. Upon seeing Cid bombarded by ice shards, Squall became enraged and began to hoist himself back up. Suddenly a red beam of light seared the platform in half cutting it off from the adjoining corridors and allowing it to fall listlessly to the ground. Squall lost his balance and began to slide precariously down the side of the great structure. When he finally got close enough to the ground, Squall leapt off and tumble rolled over to his hands and knees. When he raised his eyes to the falling platform, he immediately had to shield them again as it suddenly exploded into a ball of flames. 'Who the hell did this?' Squall thought to himself in rage. This wasn't 'just' an assassination, it was a slaughter. There was nothing even remotely resembling the platform. Instead, there was simply a burning wreckage. Squall's eyes widened when he saw the outline of a huge man in armor standing amongst the flames. "YOU!" Squall seethed in rage as he rose to his feet. He could see the figure clearly now. The armor was a menacing black. The shoulder plates were huge and circular with spikes protruding from them. The chest plates and body armor clearly defined his muscular stature and also had spikes jutting out from the shoulders and back. The forearm plates had similar but small spikes shooting from them. He also wore waist, thigh, knee, and boot paddings which were also reinforced with the same colored armor and similar protruding blades. Underneath this horrible armor, he wore a similar black colored chain mail. And connecting from his shoulder spikes hung a huge black cape with red lining inside. His facemask, which currently rested in his arms, was horrible to look at. It had the shape of a demon face with sharp horns coming from either side of its head. Upon looking at the man's face, Squall's whole world crumbled. It was 'him', it was Zeilak.
Squall roared with fury as he rose to his feet and rushed towards him. "YOU BASTARD!" He screamed as he raised his gunblade, preparing to kill him with one hit. Squall's Garden uniform, now dirtied and ripped from the previous attack, fluttered freely as he ripped his honorary cloak from his shoulders with his free hand. Then he grasped the hilt of his weapon to better control his attack.
Suddenly, Squall flew backwards through the air from the force of another ICE 3 shard as it impaled him in the chest. Squall screamed out in agonizing pain as he hit the pavement. The ICE 3 shard had entered deep into his chest and was protruding all the way to his back. He could barley breath as he stared up at the sky with blood spurting from his mouth. However that view was soon overshadowed as a man in an onyx cloak loomed into his vision. This had been the man casting the magic all along.
****
Everyone was in complete shock. People were running around, screaming in shock. The Galbadian military could barley hold the people at bay. As a matter of fact, they were just as confused and engulfed in turmoil as everyone else. Everything happened so fast, no one knew exactly how to react. Zell couldn't believe what he was seeing. First he sees the President of Galbadia falling to his death. Next thing he knows Cid is sacrificing himself for Squall. And Squall is narrowly escaping death and then is engulfed in a lake of fire. Suddenly it all starts to sink in for Zell. His friends were dying all around him and he was just standing there aimlessly. "NO!" Zell screamed. He wouldn't lose anymore of his friends today.
He immediately jumped off the balcony seats. As he descended his arms started to flare up as he unlocked his limit break. He directed his attack towards the man who was standing over Squalls prone form. This outraged Zell. As the images of Squalls limp figure entered his mind, tones of pent up emotions began to flare in his thoughts and transfer over to the energy of his attack. "YOU BASTARDS" Zell screamed as he finally swung his energy charged fists towards the cloaked man standing in front of Squall. To his utter surprise, his target was blocked by what seemed to be a huge wall. As Zell's fists slammed into that wall he noticed, with disbelief, that he had no effect on it. Instead he reeled back as pain shot through his knuckles. Raising his head up, Zell was shocked to see that it wasn't a wall at all but rather it was some type of a humanoid figure.
"What the hell are you?" Zell muttered, trying to suppress his pain. The stranger looked like his skin was made of marble but Zell knew that it had to be way stronger then that, stronger then even adamantine. He wore a Black cloak similar to the one the man standing over squall was wearing. It was lined with gold underneath and the man's clothing was also black. His shirt was loose fitting with no sleeves. And his pants were baggy and folded beneath his boots which came up to his ankles.
The figure simply stared at Zell with an amused glint in his eyes. "So you're the one they call Zell Dincht eh? The renowned 'martial artist'?"
Zell noticed the hint of irony and sarcasm in his voice and immediately became angry. "Your gonna pay for what you did to my friend you f&*#@."
This only amused the tall figure even more. "Oh? And what are 'you' going to do about it, 'little man'."
Zell wouldn't take any more of this. "That's it man! Get ready to feel the pain!" He screamed as he rushed towards the mountain man again. Zell delivered a swift jab to the side then a quick upper cut and a right hook then leapt into the air with a flip kick. As he backed away, half from exhaustion and half from the pain of impacting on such a solid object, Zell noticed with shock that his attacks had no effect at all. "W-what the hell? Hey no fair man!" Zell yelled in outrage.
The man simply laughed more. "Is that all you got? I'm disappointed in you Mr. Dincht. It appears that I have been wasting my time with you." Suddenly he pulled his arm back with what Zell assumed was the speed of light then launched it forward striking Zell against the face. Zell found himself soaring through the air like a sac of potatoes. But the mountain man was not done with the poor seed yet. He immediately closed the distance and slammed his fist hard against Zell's rib cage, effectively shattering several of them. Zell was totally spent. He crashed pitifully to the ground. His opponent simply stood over him regarding him is disgust. "Oh come on. I hope your not done yet. The fun's only just begun."
****
"ZELL!" The seeds had all moved away from their seats and were now on ground level ready to face this new threat. Irvin whipped out his shotgun and shook it hard forcing it to cock itself. He then drew it forward in the same motion and fired at the man who was making short work of Zell. However as the bullet soared through the air it was knocked of track by another bullet. "What the hell?" Irvin screamed in shock and anger. "Who the hell did th-" Suddenly Irvin's words were cut off as he was knocked back by another bullet that had struck him in the shoulder. Irvin clutched his wound and scrambled over behind an overturned vehicle.
Quistis let out a frustrated sigh. They were outnumbered and losing rapidly. As far as she knew, Squall was near death, facing a menace seemingly more horrible then ultimecia, Zell was getting the living hell beaten out of him by some freak with rock hard skin, and Irvin was getting sniped by someone no one could see. She had had enough. Quistis stepped forward to take charge and get them organized for an effective retaliation. "Everyone pull back! We are at a disadvantage if we stay he-" Quistis never got the chance to finish that statement as huge coils wrapped themselves around her arms neck and legs. She could breath. Then she was violently flung to the side of a bulding, knocking her into darkness. The creature that had had Quistis wrapped in its coils wouldn't stop there. He then swung her in a full circle before bringing her down hard onto the pavement. This creature was also wearing a black cloak with gold lining and he wore a black silken shirt with baggy sleeves that folded at the elbows. From his elbows he had large tentacle coils protruding from disfigured forearms. The coils were electrically charged and looked as if they had a certain poisonous tint to them as well. His shirt came down to a V shape and his pants were also baggy and met at the boots. His face was shrouded in cloth but his eyes were a menacing blood red and seemed to glow with power and insanity.
Selphie was thoroughly scared now. 'What the hell were these things?' She thought to herself. 'Why couldn't her friends beat them and why were they losing like this?' She wanted to reach out to Irvin but the sheer sight of him made her heart break. He was leaned exhaustedly against the back of a car. Blood was flowing loosely from the bullet wound in his shoulder and his face was beaded with sweat. Only one thought entered Selphie's mind at that point. 'Were going to die…'
****
Rinoa, who was a few yards behind Selphie, hiding behind one of the trees, saw the fear in Selphie's eyes. She scanned the area viewing all of her friends and it suddenly came to her. "This is just like my dream…" She said quietly. Edea was sitting next to her, apparently still in shock over what happened to her husband. At Rinoa's words, Edea's trance seemed to break. "What did you say?" She asked Rinoa in a flat voice. "T- they're all going to die. I saw it in my vision. Irvin, Zell, Selphie, all of them, even my Squall… They're all going to die…" "No…" Edea said quietly.
Suddenly a new voice entered Rinoa's mind.
"Pathetic little girl…"
Rinoa looked up scanning the area for the owner of the voice but she knew who it was automatically. "U-…Ultimecia?…"
"You have the power to change all of this. You have the power to change destiny. Do you dare stay silent and allow your friends to die?"
"What can I do?"
"You are a sorceress…"
"How am I to fight"
"That is for you to decide. Search your heart young sorceress. The power is there, it is simply waiting to be untapped…"
"H-how do I do that?" But somehow Rinoa knew that the voice would not reply anymore. The words slowly sunk into Rinoa's mind and she knew that this was it. She knew at that moment that she would not allow things to proceed the way she saw them in her vision. "I will not allow this" Rinoa said slowly, firm resolve evident in her voice.
****
"Aaargh!" Irvin Screamed as another bullet passed through his knee. He immediately fell to the ground. He dragged himself back behind the vehicle as several more bullets pelted the area he was just at. Irvin was in pain and he knew for a fact that running was out of the question. He vaguely wondered if he would ever even be able to walk again with this new bullet wound.
Selphie screamed out for Irvin and was now running towards him. "SELPHIE NO!" Irvin screamed as he saw a figure land right in front of the poor girl. Selphie would not be deterred though. She whipped out her nunchucks and attacked the figure violently. However the figure dodged her attacks and pulled out a long staff from her black cloak. As the figure came into the light she revealed herself to be an attractive woman with purple hair tied into a tight ponytail. Just like the others, her black cloak was lined with gold and her black silken shirt was loose fitting and had baggy sleeves. She also wore baggy pants as well. However, her looks were not to be taken for granted. She swung the staff effortlessly and knocked Selphie's nunchucks from her hands. She then twirled her staff in a wide arch and rammed it into selphie's stomach knocking the wind out of the poor girl. Irvin simply looked on in horror and agony as the woman he loved was slowly being beaten to death.
****
Squall tried to sit up but pain suddenly shot though his chest. Squall suddenly froze, afraid that he was dying. Much to his relief, however, the ICE blade was impaled in his right chest. Almost on cue, the cloaked figure standing before him spoke. "It seems that you have the devil's luck Lionheart. That ICE blade was meant to kill you however it appears I struck the wrong side of the chest. Oh well it seems ill just have to correct that little error." Squall simply let out a rough grunt in reply to the man's statement. The man standing before him was wearing a dark black cloak which draped over to the front of him. On one side of the cloak was a gold crest bearing the emblem of a demon's face with two lances shooting criss cross underneath. Under the cloak the man wore a silken black robe which had a loose belt at the waist. Under the robes he wore black baggy pants and black boots just like his comrades. As squall studies his face, he noticed the man had long, raven black hair which was tied at the nape of his skull by a black coiled wire. His eyes were a deep brown and his skin was slightly pale.
He gave a crooked smile as he noticed Squall studying his features. "Get a good look while you can Lionheart. I'll be the last thing you see in this world." He, then, raised his hand above Squall's face. Squall was mesmerized as he saw intense blue energy forming into the man's palm. However, just then something blew the energy away from his hand. The cloaked man sneered in anger and searched the area for his attacker. Then his eyes landed on Rinoa standing in the clearing. His sneer quickly became a grin of pure evil. " A sorceress…" He said with such venom and lust for blood that Squall cringed inwardly. Squall tried to rise but was immediately struck with intense pain in his chest. The cloaked man simply regarded Squall with annoyance then looked off into the distance. "Knight, deal with him. I will handle the sorceress." He then walked off towards Rinoa.
Squall began to rise again, despite his pain but he was suddenly knocked back to the ground as he barely block a sword thrust in time. "Think not on the foes who leave you but rather think more on the foes at hand." Came the voice of his attacker. Squall looked up at this new foe. The man wore a black cloak similar to the rest. However, underneath that cloak the man wore gleaming, white armor, fully plated from the neck down. Underneath his armor, Squall saw the gleaming hue of chain mail. This new opponent looked as if he was directly pulled out from the fairy tale books of how a knight should look. However Squall's expression became grim when he noticed the man's weapon. It was an automatic gunblade. The handle was like a 9 mm however there was an added length of metal from the bottom of the handle that came all the way up to his elbow. The length up metal was bladed at its end. He main part of his gunblade was double edged and Squall was completely sure that the man knew how to use it effectively. The man's face was slightly haggard and old. Squall noticed that the man had to be at least around his mid fifties however that didn't take away from the determined glow in the man's eyes. His salt and pepper hair was short and trimmed is a fashion that was slicked back and his mustache was long and neatly shaped.
Squall slowly rose to his feet. "Who are you?" he said softly, trying to conceal the burning pain he felt in his chest. The night hiked up his blade vertically then brought it down in a chopping fashion then bowed aristocratically. "I am Sir Alfred Gustont. More affectionately referred to by my comrades as The Knight." Squall grimaced as thoughts of Seifer swam through his head. "And you are Squall Lionheart I presume." The Knight continued, ignoring Squall's expression. "Now that formalities are dispensed, let us fight with honor. I have heard much about you Lionheart and I now wish to test your skills. EN GARDE!"
****
The cloaked man stared at Rinoa in mild amusement. "So you are the great sorceress everyone's been talking about" He hissed with an obsessive tint in his voice. Rinoa grimaced at his tone of voice. This man was clearly insane or on the borderlines of it. "I am." She replied confidently. She stood tall against this menace. No matter the cost, she would not let her bleak vision of the future come to pass.
The man in the cloak merely shrugged and chuckled a bit. "Who would have thought the greatest sorceress of legend would turn out to be such a puny little girl. I was expecting someone more along the lines of… Adel perhaps? I know already that you pose no threat to me whatsoever." Rinoa's face contorted in anger at the insult. "But enough with that. I am Rhazenek, honored sorcerer of his excellency, the Emperor. I have waited my whole life to face you. I must say I am a bit disappointed but no matter. It is his excellency's will that I do away with you." With that, the sorcerer flung out his hand and fired a huge energy blast towards Rinoa. Without thinking, she immediately cast a barrier shield to protect herself against the attack. With a wave of her hand she fired a huge gust of wind his way. Rouzenak thrust both hands forward and dissipated it. "No bad." He replied with a smirk forming on his lips. You're better then I thought you would be. However your still very weak!" Lifting his arms, he summoned for multiple ICE3 daggers and hurled them towards Rinoa. She just barely had the strength to repel the all. 'What kind of power does this man have?' the thought to herself. 'Even Utimecia couldn't summon so much magical energy at once without feeling slightly exhausted from the effort.' "What are you?" she spoke at last. The sorcerer merely shrugged and summoned for another huge amount of energy. This time it was a huge meteor sized ball of lava looking fire. He hurled it towards Rinoa while at the same time replying to her question. "I am your worst nightmare." With that, the ball of fire flew from his hands towards her. Rinoa was knocked off of her feet as she tried to repel this new blast. She could barely move as she lay there on the ground. "It's really quite a pity." The sorcerer said as he walked up to her. "If your wondering what that was, it was an inferno blast. Oh don't feel bad, Ultimecia could never make anything as powerful as that. You see she was a low, level sorceress compared to me. She was a lackey, a push over, a weakling." Rinoa's eyes widened in shock at this revelation causing the evil sorcerer to laugh even more. "Oh don't look so surprised. That attack I just preformed was merely child's play. I assure you my main attacks are much more devastating then that. Allow me to demonstrate." He then raised his hands up and it seemed as if the world began to shake as he gathered energy from around it. Rinoa began to tremble involuntarily and tried to back away. He seemed to pay her no heed as he continued to gather energy and his hands slowly became engulfed in multi colored flames of power.
****
From the distance, Zeilak watched his royal acolytes massacre the members of seed one by one. He suppressed a laugh as he saw Squall Lionheart fall back from the force of his Knight's sword thrusts. Everything was coming into place now. He wished that his second in command were with him so that he could gloat over his success but he was fully aware that instead, his loyal servant was fighting valiantly against the sorceress Rinoa. He wasn't concerned. He had trained his minions well. There was no way they would lose to these pathetic seeds or to anyone for that matter. He looked up into the sky and saw that a huge thunderstorm had erupted. This was the best setting for him he surmised as he viewed the landscape of death and destruction before his eyes. The Galbadian military was now on the rise trying to repel his forces.
'Now is the time.' He thought to himself. "MINONS!" He screamed. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, hundreds of Galbadian soldiers rushed forth from the shadows and began killing the soldiers who were at the parade. These Galbadian soldiers wore red and black clothing instead of the traditional blue and black that the parade troops were wearing. The Emperor smiled evilly as he witnessed the horrible massacre his troops had on the remaining Galbadian troopers. They ruthlessly killed them in honor of his name. Of course he had his hand in making them feel that way but that was unimportant to him. They had carried out his wishes and that was all he cared about. He then laughed in amusement as his 'true' soldiers came on the scene. These new soldiers were not men but demons that wore black armor and had scaly green skin. Their faces, although covered with armored masks, were reptilian in shape and they had feline red eyes.
Finally, the Emperor moved from his position of viewing the carnage and moved over to where a microphone was set up. It was connected to outside channels so that the world could witness the even of upcoming peace made by Galbadia and Balamb. He moved over to the microphone and began to speak. "ATTENTION CITIZENS OF GALBADIA, CITIZENS OF THE WORLD! YOU THINK YOU HAVE ATTAINED PEACE? YOU THINK THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE FREEDOM THAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS FOUGHT FOR? THINK AGAIN! THIS IS REALITY! THIS IS YOUR FATE. YOUR FIGURES OF PEACE ARE DEAD! ALL WHO OPPOSE ME SHALL MEET THE SAME FATE. LOOK NOW TO YOUR 'PROTECTORS! THE ONES YOU CALL SEED, THEY TOO ARE OUTMATCHED BY MY ARMIES! THIS IS A DECLARATION OF WAR! THIS IS THE FUTURE! I SHALL RULE SUPREME! WE NOW ENTER A NEW ERA! MY ERA! YOU SHALL ONLY KNOW PEACE WHEN I SAY SO! NOW WATCH AS YOUR ONLY HOPE IS STRIPPED FROM YOU. WATCH AS I DESTROY YOUR GUARDIAN'S THE SEEDS AND KNOW THAT FROM THIS POINT ON, ONLY AGONIZING TERROR SHALL AWAIT ALL OF YOU! WATCH NOW, AS YOUR WILDEST FANTASIES BECOME REALITY!" The Emperor then broke off into maniacal laughter and walked away into another corridor with his cape flowing freely in the air behind his back.
****
Squall rammed into the pavement painfully. He wanted to scream out and avenge Cid and Caraway. He wanted to protect his friends. He wanted to wipe that smug grin off of Zeilak's face and most of all, he wanted to save Rinoa from that evil sorcerer. However he could do none of this. His endurance had left him almost as fast as his blood was now oozing from his open wound. Everything was hazy for him. His once rich cloak was now gone. His once magnificent suit, was now torn and ripped and covered in dirt, stains and blood. His hair was a mess and his face was covered in blood and bruises. Squall was now on one knee as he regarded the foe before him. However the man did not show pleasure for his apparent victory. "This is not right." The Knight muttered to himself as he held his blade, outstretched, towards Squall's face. "This is too easy and you are still weakened from your battle with the sorcerer. This is not the fight I had dreamed of all my life." And with that, The Knight withdrew his gunblade and sheathed it back into his scabbard then walked away leaving Squall slouched over in pain. Then everything went black and Squall found himself tumbling into darkness.
****
Rinoa closed her eyes as she noticed the sorcerer was reaching the climax of his spell. His hands were now wide apart. His fingers were radiating with so much energy Rinoa couldn't even look in his direction directly. The amount of energy he was creating was intense but surprisingly small, as if tones of atoms were compressed in an incredibly small area. Yet by no means was this attack anything less than outrageous. Rinoa knew she would not survive this no matter how much energy she produced.
Suddenly, the sorcerer was interrupted from his spell as a huge ice lance rammed into his shoulder. He screamed out in insane rage as he broke his spell and yanked the hated shard of ice from his body. He stared daggers at his assailant. "YOU!" He said venomously towards the figure standing before him. Hate seemed to be dripping from every expression he made. But before Rinoa could do anything she was shocked to realize that she was laying directly behind the person now.
To her utter surprise it was none other than Edea. Edea was the one who had rescued her. Little Jeffry was sitting next two here sleeping through it all. Edea must have cast a sleep spell on him. She then noticed that all the other seeds, as if one by one, began materializing next to her. Zell was sprawled on his back with multiple wounds and blood seemed to completely cover his face. Irvin was in slightly better shape but he too was in terrible pain. There was a bullet whole through his shoulder that bled profusely and another slightly above his kneecap. Selphie was unconscious and had many terrible bruises all over her face and body. Then there was Quistis. She was terribly injured with laceration marks along her neck, arms and legs and there was a terrible, blood soaked, wound on her head from when she was slammed against the wall. Finally, Rinoa's eyes rested on Squall. He was completely unconscious and seemed to be in pain. His face was sweating profusely and she noticed that it was turning slightly blue. Rinoa cried out as she noticed all the blood that had covered Squalls limp body. 'He can't be dead' Her mind screamed. 'He just can't be.' As she ran over to his limp form she noticed that Edea's resolve was breaking.
"R-Rinoa…" She said, exhaustion evident in her voice. "Edea, thank goodness! We have to get out of here now!" Rinoa screamed.
"N-no…" Edea continued. "That sorcerer is far stronger then me. He won't let us escape. Rinoa I don't have the strength to protect us and transport everyone out of here. Can you do it?"
Rinoa was quiet for a bit, then slowly muttered. "I don't know."
Edea became angry at this. "Rinoa we don't have time for that! Listen to me! You have to get them out of here! I don't have the power to do it myself. Those powers were passed over to you!"
Rinoa nodded slowly but then her head shot up swiftly. "What do you mean 'them'? Aren't you coming with us?" At this, Edea only gave Rinoa a slight smile filled with sadness. "Rinoa I have to hold them off so that you all may get to safety."
"NO!" Rinoa screamed. "I won't let you sacrifice yourself! We all have to make it out of here!"
"Rinoa I told you already! I can't hold them off much longer and neither of us are capable of defeating that evil sorcerer. Listen Rinoa please… You've got to do this. Otherwise Squall and everyone else will die. This time it's not just the seeds at stake, it's the whole world. Rinoa when you were given the powers of a sorceress you were also given the responsibilities of one. You must carry out your duty Rinoa! Just like I am. Rinoa… for the sake of every man woman and child on this world… Please do as I say."
Rinoa was now in tears. She couldn't believe what Edea was asking of her. Rinoa became angry at this. "Remember what you told me Edea! You told me you would never leave me! You told me that no matter what happened you would help me through this!… Please Edea… Please don't leave me alone now…" Rinoa could no longer hold back her streaming tears. This was all too much for her. She felt as if she would have a nervous breakdown any moment.
Edea only looked at Rinoa with sympathy and sadness. "Rinoa… I know what I told you and at the time I meant it with all of my heart. But now things have changed Rinoa. This is no time to be selfish. You must act to save all. Rinoa don't be selfish now. Its up to you to change destiny…"
Rinoa was about to make another rebuke when she suddenly heard a new voice.
"You truly are more pathetic then I once gave you credit for. Take the woman's advice and leave!"
"No! I won't leave! I won't do it Ultimecia! It's awful!"
"You must! Or all will become lost!"
"NO! I WON'T, I TELL YOU! NEVER!"
"Foolish spoiled child! Grow up and face reality!"
"I will never listen to You, Ultimecia!"
Just then, Edea stumbled to her knees as the sorcerer fired a huge blast of energy at her. Edea's shield had dropped and they were once again at the Emperor's mercy. Edea lifted her head painstakingly. "R-Rinoa… please…"
Images of The horrible visions flashed through Rinoa's mind over and over again. People dying Towns destroyed. Endless suffering.
"If you don't act now, all of this will come to pass Rinoa!"
"No" Rinoa mumbled silently.
"Please… Rinoa…" Edea whispered, now totally spent of all energy.
"ple…ase…don't let Jeffry… die…"
Rinoa screamed in agony as she called upon the power to transport them out of there. She looked at Jeffry's face and saw that, through it all, he was still asleep. He had no idea of what was going to happen.
"There is no other choice" Ultimecia's voice reminded Rinoa.
The sorcerer saw what Rinoa was trying to do and immediately attack. However, Edea countered this by throwing herself in the way of his attack. "NOW RINOA!" She screamed as she took in the full brunt of the energy blast.
Silently, Edea made her last request. "Please take good care of Jeffry for me."
Tears streamed down Rinoa's face as she called upon the full force of her magic and before anyone could blink they were gone.
Whew! That was a "HUGE" chapter! Well what do you think? I know its pretty intense (at least I hope so) and I know a lot of people are going to be mad at me for killing off Cid and Caraway but please just bear with me! I mean this is a fanfic but I'm trying to make this a very serious and action packed one. Well as always 'please' send any comments, Critiques, and or flames to me at cordis_xaltun@altavista.com