Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 8 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of it. This fanfic is strictly for the fun and enjoyment of others and I make no profit off of it.
Fate. A word that holds much emphasis for those who believe. Yet, is it truly fate that Darkness should befall the world? The nations and capitals of the world have fallen. The seeds have been beaten and now Squall and Irvin have been added to the high toll of casualties. Does the world have any hope at all to succeed? If fate truly is at work then only time will tell.
EMPEROR OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER 9
Aftershock
The sky was dark. The atmosphere was desolate and dead. If anything had once survived in this forsaken landscape, it was most assuredly dead now. Yet Rinoa felt no fear as she stood in the middle of it all. She slowly waded through a knee deep river of blood. The lands beyond that were even worse as they were covered in stacks and piles of rotting cadavers. Rinoa would have normally wanted to scream and look away as the maggots feasted on the corps. Even the maggots were disfigured. Instead of the usual small maggots, these creatures were as big as hawks with sharp teeth and blood exposed claws. She would have wanted to cringe at the way they ripped through the flesh, exposing intestines and feasting on them. A couple of the maggots managed to fall into a tug of war with one string of intestines which ended in the organ splitting in half causing blood and other disgusting matter to shower over them. Rinoa would have been appalled. She would have run until she couldn't run any further. She would have screamed for this nightmare to end. Yet, for some odd reason, she just simply didn't fear it anymore. She was prepared for what she would see and she could now bear to see it on her own two feet.
Thus, it was with this attitude that Rinoa slowly emerged from the sea of blood and walked onto the desolate landscape searching for the sign that will give her insight. She continued to walk for hours upon end until she finally came upon it. In the center of all the desolation was a throne of pure evil. The armrests of the throne where carved in the shape of bones. The seat was made up of the material of soft internal organs that still pumped and beat to the rhythm of a true living soul. The rest of the throne was made up of disembodied patterns of stacked bones of various different organisms including humans. Sitting atop that throne was none other than Zeilak.
Rinoa's face became an angry scowl as she stared at the demon who ruthlessly murdered her father. However the Emperor of Darkness did nothing; nor did he say anything either. He simply sat there, looking on at his path of destruction. Rinoa's patience had run dry at the sight of this evil man.
"WHY HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME HERE ULTIMECIA? WHAT IS IT THAT I AM TO SEE?" She screamed out into the horizon. "WHAT SIGN AM I TO KNOW?"
Suddenly the whole sky became dark and a thunderstorm broke out hailing her with relentless rain.
"Beware of the 12. Beware of the dark angel. Be weary of the day when the moon the star and the sun become one. Know that when the alignment is complete all shall become lost…"
"What are you talking about? You speak in riddles, Sorceress. What is all this stuff you speak of?"
"A means to unending power…"
"what am I to do?"
"Journey forth to Balamb."
"Balamb?"
"The wheels of time have begun to turn…"
"How much time do we have left?"
"None…"
****
Rinoa bolted upright as she shot awake from her dream. She looked around and found that she was covered and surrounded in rubble. She felt a searing pain in her head and immediately brought her hand to it. When she pulled it away she saw that it was matted with blood.
She closed her eyes for a minute, letting her scattered thoughts fall into place. She remembered that everything was exploding and that she was trying to calm down the younger occupants of garden. She remembered leading them to a safety zone then hearing an explosion from the upper levels. She had immediately feared for Squalls life and had run towards the elevator. At that point, the walls had fallen lose and she remembered drowning in the hailing debris.
She reopened her eyes then slowly rose up to her feet. Almost immediately afterwards, she stumbled back a few steps. She clutched a wall to regain her balance then took a tentative step forwards. Just then, a voice rang out.
"Hello? Is anyone alive out there?"
"Hello!?!" Rinoa hollered back. "I'm here! Can you hear me?"
Suddenly the owner of the voice emerged from behind a broken beam.
"Selphie!" Rinoa screamed in delight. "I didn't know you were down here! What are you doing here?"
Selphie had a bandage on her head from her run in with Xu but otherwise she seemed unscathed and even a bit cheerful despite the recent disaster. "Hiya Rinoa!" The young woman greeted. "After that mega huge explosion, I got worried about everyone else. So I decided to see if there was anyone injured out here."
"Me too." Said Rinoa. "I don't think those explosions came from the reactor Selphie. It sounded like they came from the bridge. I'm going to check it out. Want to come along?"
Selphie gave her one of her most famous adventure smiles then hopped a bit as she yelled. "Of course I'll go Rinoa! Our friends are up there." She stopped hopping as a new thought came to her. "But… um how are we going to get up there? The lift is totaled."
Rinoa flashed her friend a mischievous smile. "Why Selphie, have you forgotten that I'm a sorceress?"
Selphie lit up like a Christmas tree. "WOW! You mean we can actually fly there?"
Rinoa nodded, smiling broadly.
"COOL!!!!!!!!! YAYYYY!!!!! WHOOOO HOOOOOO!!" Selphie was ecstatic. "What are we waiting for? Lets go!"
****
Lt. Jerick was an honorable man. He had tried to live up to his morals all of his life. Even life as a Galbadian soldier could have honor to it. And every day, Jerick had done everything that was required of him but he had done it in a way in which it was honorable. However, today was different. He fully served Emperor Zeilak and would carry out his every wish however something didn't seem right to him. His actions did not carry the regular trait of honor he was so used to. For the first time in his life, he felt his hands were dirty. Stained with the stench and blood of war and cruelty.
Jerick looked up from his hands as he sat on a bench in Balamb City. 'What am I doing here?' He asked himself mentally. 'This is complete cruelty. These people have suffered enough by our hands. Why must we continue to harass them? They have done nothing to merit our attention.'
"Hey Jerick!" Yelled another Galbadian officer coming towards him from the distance. "What are you doing sitting around? We've got a whole City under our arms! I'm sure you can find more to do then just sit around moping all day."
Jerick looked at his friend and fellow officer, Mike Warden, but he didn't say anything.
"Hey, what's wrong man? You look like someone just died or something!"
Jerick flinched at this statement. "Mike, look around you. There's death everywhere."
"Yeah, so? These people are just cattle. They stand in the way of the Emperors divine dream. Such a nuisance must be swept away if we are to pave the way for his majesty's new, world order!"
Jerick sagged his head. "Yes, your right. I see the vision of his excellency's wishes clearly in my mind. Yet at the same time I feel this is wrong. Aren't these people still living human beings? Why should they be treated in such a way?"
Mike wore a shocked and somewhat frightened expression on his face. "Do you dare to question the orders of his majesty!?"
"No… no of course not. It's just that something doesn't sit right with me."
Mike cast his friend a worried glance. "Look Jerick, just get over it man. If any of the higher-up's hear you talking like that, you'll be executed for sure! You know what the penalty is for treason!"
"Yeah, don't worry Mike. I won't bring that subject up again. It's just something I had to get off my chest for a while ya know? Don't worry I'll watch my tongue."
Mike nodded his head sagely. "Good, be sure that you do. Look, I'm going to go get some water from the town basin over there. This scorching heat is giving me sunburn."
Jerick nodded. "Ok, sounds good. In the meantime I'll take your advice and find something to do to get my mind off this senseless brooding."
"That sounds like a good idea!" Mike replied enthusiastically. "I wouldn't want to see my best buddy get executed because of a few delusional thoughts. Anyway, I'm heading out. I got duty all day so I'll meet up with you again at midnight or something like that."
"I gottcha," Jerick agreed. "I'll be around this area. You'll find me easily. See you later." With that Jerick and Mike walked off into separate paths. Jerick walked towards one of the ruined houses. He bit his lip as he saw a torn doll lying amongst the wreck.
"What's the matter dog?" Came a voice from the distance. "Do you actually have enough humanity in you to feel sorry for your actions? Well I must say I'm impressed!"
Jerick glanced over to see an old woman standing a few feet away from him in the distance. Her friend was standing next to her, apparently trying to calm her down.
"Rose, just drop it! You'll get yourself hurt if you carry on this way!" the old woman urged pleadingly.
Rose shrugged her off and continued her barrage of verbal attacks. "What's the matter you scum? Is your conscience finally creeping into that thick plated head of yours?"
"Rose! Stop this!" Her friend Maggy urged her. She was desperately clinging to her friend's shirt, afraid of what might happen.
Jerick walked up to the elderly woman and rose backed up a bit, despite herself.
Jerick narrowed his eyes as he stared at the old woman. "Lady I probably deserve your hatred just like the rest of us soldiers but I must ask you to stop your banter right now. If you don't, the next guard you harass like this won't be as lenient as I am."
Rose simply glared her hatred towards the soldier. If looks could kill, he would have died on the spot. Jerick shrugged uselessly. Apologizing wouldn't make any difference in this woman's eyes. But he was a man of honor. Even if his orders contradicted his philosophy, he would continue to cling to his way of life. It was all he had in this crazy war that would bring much blood before it found its proper end.
"This may not matter much maim but I am truly sorry. Whether you believe me or not is really irrelevant but on my honor I wish this raid had never happened. This war is a mistake. But don't get me wrong, I will serve his Majesty's wishes to the letter. I just wish there was another way we could settle things. You have my sympathy Miss."
Rose had quietly listened to his speech and when it had ended her expression contorted to a sour look. She narrowed her eyes and spat in his face. "You can take your honor and shove it you DOG!" She seethed.
Her friend Maggy pulled her away as Jerick stood there and wiped his face of her saliva with the side of his glove. He trained his eyes on the woman as she and her companion left. He was shocked for a few seconds at first but now he fully accepted his punishment. Never before had anyone ever spat upon his face. However, never before had he ever committed a deed the merited anyone take such a course of action. Many things had changed in his life and he was definitely not happy with it.
****
The door barring the entrance to the main office on the third floor of Balamb Garden flew open with a loud crash as Rinoa used the powers of sorcery to bend its will. Rinoa was afraid of what she would find. Looking at Selphie who stood next to her, she was sure the feelings were mutual with her as well. However, nothing could have prepared the two women for what really lay inside. The room was utterly decimated.
Selphie gasped in shock and for once in her life she was speechless. Rinoa was similarly taken aback. She held back her stinging tears, desperately clinging to the vine of hope. Before their very eyes, they saw complete destruction. Nothing could have survived the storm that had struck this room. Even after its initial hit from the Galbadian missile a week ago, the bridge had not looked nearly as bad as it did now. Huge chunks of the floor were broken up into huge craters that were jutting out of the ground at odd angles. Enormous cave-ins had crushed many of the crew and the sun beamed brightly from the wholes in the parts of the walls were the ceiling had gave way.
The bridge was completely terminated. Rinoa shook violently as she took a tentative step towards the high raised platform. Selphie gasped as she passed by a corps of a man who's terminal had ripped off its hinges and crushed him. Bodies lay everywhere around the room. The stench of death filtered through the air making the two women queasy as they walked. Selphie finally regained her voice, too scared to stay silent in a graveyard like this.
"I-IRVIN?… SQUALL….?" She hollered into the empty depths of the room. "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?!"
Rinoa waited patiently for a few minutes, praying that they would get a response. Yet, the minutes simply passed by and the room continued to stay silent. Selphie couldn't hide her grief any longer as tears began to gush forth from her eyes. Rinoa looked at her friend with sadness. She too wanted to cry but she couldn't. She wouldn't give up hope on Squall yet. Not until she found his body. So without another word, Rinoa picked up pace towards the bridge platform and began to float up to the upper levels. Selphie saw what her friend was doing and immediately rushed forth so as not to be left behind.
"Wait up!" Selphie choked, her voice still raw with emotion. "I want to be sure as well!"
Rinoa paused in her levitation. Unbeknownst to Selphie, All of this was having a very big effect on her. She was still injured and she probably had a concussion from the crash but regardless she would walk into the face of death to save Squall. That was the price of love. And she was more then willing to pay up.
She slowly reached out her hand and cast a float spell on selphie, leveling her up to the same height she was at. She then advanced towards the bridge without another word. Selphie obediently followed. Once she stepped onto the platform, Rinoa wanted to drop to her knees and weep. It was horrible. Much worse then down below. Body parts were literally scattered about the ground. A trail of intestines lay a few feet from the body of a man who was probably caught in some of the explosion when it hit. Another man was impaled by the piloting rod. Two others were crushed by their own seats as they were turned over. Selphie quickly lost her lunch. Rinoa would like to have been able to dispose of her queasiness so easily yet she had nothing to give. She had seen sights much worse then this before. All that remained was the familiar dread that a wicked horrible fate was coming to pass.
"Uuuughhhh…"
Rinoa and Selphie both immediately jumped at the voice. Selphie pointed to a large bolder to their left and they quickly rushed towards it. As Rinoa used her magic to lift the boulder away, she saw that lying beneath it was a battered old man. She quickly disposed of the weight of the boulder and kneeled down beside the old man. Selphie likewise kneeled.
The man was in bad shape. His legs were completely crushed under another pile of rock, metal, and pipes. The part that Rinoa had exposed was not much better. The man's forehead was gushing with the blood of his life force. One of his arms was completely disfigured. Broken bones and ligaments were clearly exposed through his open, torn skin. His chest and body were horribly ripped and mangled. A large piece of jagged metal protruded from his stomach and his chest was ripped open at some areas. Suffice to say, the man was in a great deal of pain and he was dying slowly. Tears ran down Selphie's face as she turned away from the horrible sight. Rinoa slowly began to cast multiple spells of Curaga on the poor man but she knew it was no use. The spell only managed to heal some of his wounds and make his departure easier. The man slowly opened his eyes to see the faces of those who tried diligently to save him.
"Your chief engineer Reynolds aren't you?" Rinoa asked in a kind soft voice. The man nodded slightly. An expression of intense pain laced his face.
"A-… cough and you are … Ru- Rh- Rinoa… Correct? wheeze"
Rinoa nodded her head slowly. "Yes I am. And this is my friend Selphie Timult. Just rest easy sir, e- everything will be okay in a while."
The man caught on to what she meant and nodded solemnly. "I-… hack cough u-… understand…"
"Chief? May I ask you what happened here? Did Squall or Irvin survive? We haven't found their bodies yet."
The man's face contorted in a grimace of pain. " pant wheeze T- the… General … hack cough pant pant …. The General was injured… cough…. Very badly…"
Rinoa's blood froze. "How bad? Was he dead when you last saw him?"
"… pant cough cough cough ……. No… H- he was hack cough he was alive… Graaaahhhh….. cough cough"
Rinoa urged the man to stay silent as he convulsed in another fit of pain but he insisted to continue.
"N-no… let me fi- fin- finish young cough young lady… pant heave … The General was alive… He… his straps came undone from the … I- impact. … cough he was knocked unconscious by the mo- momentum…. T- the man … heave cough cough …. pant man… Irvin saved his … life at the last minute… T- the last thing I saw of them… they were falling… I'm so- sorr- sorry… cough cough They seemed to have been crushed…"
Rinoa lowered her head. The tears burst forth at last from her face. Selphie cried louder and louder as reality began to sink into her mind. The old man let the two women cry for a while then he interrupted them both. "P- please… cough now is not the time… for mourning….. no – not yet… We were attacked!… The G- albadian … forces may still be on the loose. They are most…. Likely… invading the Garden… Be advised… That last explosion wasn't from the engine room…"
Rinoa's eyes widened in shock. Selphie was befuddled. "What?" she said in disbelief.
Rinoa shook her head. Selphie was becoming hysterical. But something had to be done. If the Garden truly was under attack, the seeds had to be warned. Silently, Rinoa rose to her feet. She looked down at the haggard old man with deep sympathy.
The man looked up at her with understanding. "Go to … them..." He replied silently.
"Thank you…" Rinoa whispered.
The man slightly clutched Selphie's hand before she rose up to follow Rinoa. "I – I wanted to live … long… enough… to make… i- it to … Balamb… but that's no- longer… possible… cough wheeze wheeze … I … have a son in Balamb… could - cough could you…. Give this to him…?" The man reached into his shirt pocket that miraculously hadn't been damaged in the explosion and pulled out a glowing orb. It was a GF. "T- this was our family heirloom th- that I wanted him to have… could you…"
Selphie nodded briskly, accepting the man's legacy with complete care. "Don't worry about it!" Selphie reassured him. "I'll do it. What's your son's name?"
The man closed his eyes slowly. He was fading fast. His grip on Selphie's hand began to slack. "Ryan…" the man said in a sigh as his grip on Selphie's hand completely went slack and fell lightly to the ground. She looked on with sadness at the man who had done so much in the history of Garden and had done even more at the edge of his death. Not knowing of anything better to do, she stood up and saluted the man. "Chief Reynolds, your bravery is an inspiration to all seeds everywhere." She said silently. "May you finally find your eternal peace."
Rinoa nodded and likewise saluted in memory of the old Engineer.
BOOM
A blast suddenly struck the flying fortress. Both women were caught off guard from the sudden attack. Everything shook, as the Garden careened from the blast.
"What was that?!" Selphie asked in shock.
Rinoa opened her mouth but stopped as she heard the familiar buzz of engine rotors. "It can't be…" She muttered.
Selphie was also momentarily mesmerized by the sound. "That noise… But how!?"
The two women rushed to the window and just as they suspected, soaring in the sky, before their very eyes, was none other then the Ragnorak. "How did they get possession of the Ragnorak?" Selphie pondered in confusion.
Rinoa was silent for a moment. "That's not the Ragnorak." She concluded. "At least, that's not the same one we fought in during the Second Sorceress war. See the emblem on the side? That's the symbol of Galbadia. Apparently, Galbadia had Some Ragnorak's of their own, hidden under wraps."
Selphie continued to stare out over the horizon as the massive space ship came in for another pass. Rinoa quickly grabbed Selphie's hand and led her away from the bridge.
"Come on Selphie! We have work to do and we have to do it fast. We have to warn Garden of what's happening and prepare them. And somehow we have to break the news to them that for the first time, they will be going into battle without their leader."
Little did the two women know that, as they passed a mound of rubble, had they looked further down under it, they would have found the whole in which Squall and the others had found their tomb.
Okie dokie! Yet another chapter completed! Whew, I'm on fire! Well what do you think? Rinoa's taking charge and Selphie's becoming more and more aware of the harsh realities of life. Things continue to heat up and the seeds can do nothing about the new changes that are washing over all of them. Well as always thanks for reading and please review! J
-Cordis