Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 8 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of them. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
With the battle of the Garden finally at rest, can the seeds move on without their leader? And amidst all the commotion, Zeilak puts his true plan into motion. Can Squall and Co. hope to repel it?
EMPEROR OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER 14
Broken
The sun glistened off the mountains as a new day dawned over the horizons. Atop a tall cliff, one man watched as endless rays of magnificent light pierced the blue sky. Seifer Almasy stood frozen in his kata stance. His body was crouched down low and he situated it so that his upper torso and shoulder blades were at an angled arch. His muscles twitched from the stain of holding the same pose. The sword in his right hand was positioned all the way out at arm's length. Sweat beaded down his face and bare back. He wore simple baggy training pants and boots. He had long since, discarded his shit, as it only stifled him earlier in his training. His long, golden hair trailed in the wind. He no longer wore his beard as it existed as a symbol of the bleak three years of his life.
The first ray of light struck his sword and suddenly he was in a flurry of motion. He moved fluidly through his kata as though he were one with his blade. He swung his sword forward in a horizontal arch then continued the spin as he slowly arched his way up vertically. As soon as he reached his peak, he then came down hard with his blade. In the same fluid motion, he thrust forward. Spinning 180 degrees he struck forward again. After that, he went into another flurry of movement as he spun 900 degrees and thrust his sword out. He recoiled and swooped his sword low while changing direction at a perfect 180 degrees. Once his sword reached up to his waist, he pulled back as though he were a fencer, then thrust forth again. He continued this long array of twists, turns and feints almost in a mechanic ritual. After almost two weeks of training with Dawn, he improved tremendously in his gunblade skills.
As he repeated the steps of his kata, his mind began to trail back to all that had happened in only two weeks time. At first he had been a reluctant trainee. The vestiges of his ego and his anger towards Zeilak had prevented him from working at his best. However, Dawn was an exceptional teacher. She threw him through the worst drills of his life. And she played on his emotions so that he gave it his all. Whenever he became sluggish in his trained, she reminded him of his purpose. She reminded him of how Zeilak brutally killed his surrogate parents. This infuriated Seifer enough to give 100 % and more. She threw him through drills that could give Garden a run for its money. Seifer smiled slightly at that. She would have him train to the break of dawn then after only a few hours of sleep, she would have him train even more. And after each day, the training would become harder and harder. Into the 4th day of training she pitted him against monsters. It was a disaster as the low-level monster easily defeated him. Dawn had saved him at the last moment. But after that, she became furious and as things ended up, he fought monsters for the whole day straight until he beat them with ease.
Suffice to say it had been hell, those past two weeks but Seifer was thankful. He still didn't know much about this girl who had taken such an interest in him but he did know this. He owed her big time. He hadn't felt so alive before, even while serving in Garden. He felt as though he were invigorated with new purpose and meaning. Seifer finished up his 20th kata. He plopped down on the ground and grabbed his water bottle that was close to him. Opening the lid, he drained some of the fresh spring water into his mouth. Making sure not to drink too much, he resealed the lid and lay the bottle back down on the ground. Again he smiled at Dawn's training procedures. She had taught him much. Even when working for Ultimecia, he had never picked up the kinds of gunblade sword strokes that he did now. He felt as if he was one with his art; as if he and his gunblade were of one mind and body as he horned his skills to perfection.
A slight breeze began to pick up and goosebumps ran across Seifer's back. He shivered then reached for his discarded shit. Pulling the rough material down over his shoulders, he trained his eyes skyward. The clouds were darkening. 'Storm coming…' He thought to himself. Not the least bit eager to train out in the rain, he pulled himself up to his feet. He picked up his towel and water bottle and began heading back to the small hut he and Dawn shared.
Suddenly a dark shadow began to fall over the skies from behind yet Seifer hadn't noticed. He continued to walk until.
"So we finally meet at last Mr. Almasy!"
Seifer's eyes widened at the new voice and he shot his head around towards the outline of the most intimidating person he had ever seen in his life. The man was completely envelped in darkness with only the vague hints of polished, dark armor encasing the huge muscles and pitch-black chain mail beneath. Surrounding it all, was the crimson red cape he wore, fluttering furiously in the wind.
"Who are you?" Seifer hissed through grit teeth. His fingers reflexively tightened on the hilt of his gunblade.
The man watched all of this in mild amusement with a faint smile on his face. His Black armor seemed to capture the essence of all life surrounding them. His dark aroma was overwhelming and for a moment Seifer thought he would be engulfed by it.
After a few minutes of pause the man finally spoke. "Why, I thought you would have heard of me by now Mr. Almasy." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he baited him on with taunting eyes.
Seifer narrowed his eyes in return and raised his sword slightly. "I'm not in the mood for games! Tell me who you are right now or I'll gut you where you stand."
The man shrugged casually. "I guess it can't be helped. Seifer Almasy, I am Emperor Zeilak, Master of this world."
Seifer Instinctively gripped his sword even tighter. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were narrowed in scorn. He shook with rage as he tried to keep himself under control. "What do you want from me?" He seethed.
Zeilak smiled. "What else? I want you to join my cause of course. I have recognized your potential while under the service of Ultimecia. I believe you could prove useful to me. Besides, I think you are the kind of person who would appreciate siding with the winners, correct?"
Seifer was furious. "Burn in hell." He hissed.
Zeilak was unfazed. "I am offering you a place in my army. Such honor is not given lightly. Make the right choice and accept Almasy. It is simply put. Either you live within my army or suffer by my hands. The choice is yours."
Zeilak smiled at Seifer's reaction and decided to push his buttons a little more.
"I know all about you little boy. I know you're a lost lonely boy who constantly tries to ridicule others to create self esteem for yourself."
"Shut up!"
Zeilak chuckled. "Ah I see I must have hit a nerve. You are a lost cause Almasy. You've spent your whole life searching for a reason for your existence and all you've found is how useless you truly are."
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
"You are nothing boy, nothing! You try to become strong but you are continuously beaten and humbled by Squall Lionheart. You hate the fact that he made something of himself. In the midst of your arrogance, that young man whom you ridiculed, excelled you in every way. How does that make you feel? How does it feel to have a low life gain status over you? That shows that you are less then nothing. You will never amount to anything in this world Almasy! I offer you a place in my army. And although you will still be nothing, you will be a more useful nothing to me. And so now I will ask you this one more time… do you accept my offer?"
Seifer was now shaking violently, half from the sting of Zeilak's words and half from the rising anger of all of Zeilak's diabolical actions. Seifer looked at the demon and had only one thing to say.
"Eat shit and die!"
Zeilak shook his head lightly. "It seems I gave you more credit then you deserve Almasy. I didn't assume you would be this stupid."
"Enough!"
In one quick motion, Seifer charged towards Zeilak and preformed a rising arch slash at the man. Seifer's eyes widened in shock as his sword bit into damp air instead of the familiar softness of blood and flesh.
"What the hell?" He hissed as he looked around frantically for his opponent.
"Right behind you…"
Seifer whipped around and was Suddenly knocked off his feet. Zeilak stood right in front of him with an amused smile on his face, his hands folded neatly behind his back. Seifer could not comprehend how he was hit in the first place.
'He's fast…' Seifer thought as he rose up to his feet once more.
"This battle is pointless." Zeilak said in a bored tone. "Why not just give up now?"
"Not yet!" Seifer ran towards the Emperor of Darkness once more. He continuously struck lighting fast at the man. Unfortunately, Zeilak dodged every one of his strikes easily.
The blond haired man struck once more only to have Zeilak pass his head right past the blade. The Demon king then proceeded to set his foot out, effectively tripping the man. As the rambunctious fighter stumbled over his armored boot, a wicked smile crept up to Zeilak's face and he swiftly struck out his hand, allowing a huge transparent globe of energy to release from it, striking Seifer dead center in the chest.
The man flew straight into the hard earth, painfully cracking the ground below from sheer impact.
After a few moments, he slowly stood up once more, absently coughing up a load of blood from his mouth. His face was beaded with sweat from overexertion yet he still stood tall against this new menace.
"I won't give up!" Seifer yelled. He suddenly charged in again launching strike after strike with renewed vigor. Zeilak chuckled softly and continued to dodge him.
Seifer felt his anger rising with each strike he missed. He tried different maneuvers on him. He struck left, right, up, down and all other types of variations. Nothing seemed to work on Zeilak. Seifer exhausted the entire extent of his skill yet still he was not able to even touch the demon of darkness. Finally Zeilak skillfully extended one of his arms and swiftly buried his fist deep into the blond man's gut.
Seifer fell to his knees from immense pain and exhaustion. The blond man's head was lowered as he continued to viciously tear at the pain now threatening his tortured body. "What the hell are you…?" he panted.
Zeilak's smile broadened. "Your master."
Seifer glared daggers towards the demon who boastfully stood over him.
"I assume you have given me your best? Are you quite done or do you wish to waste more of my time?"
Anger boiled over in Seifer and he shot up to his feet once more, despite the pain.
"I'm not giving up yet Zeilak!"
Seifer took a few steps back then held his hand out towards his opponent. He gathered the necessary energy and fired a fire spell at him. Zeilak raised an eyebrow slightly and held his arm up in defense. The fire seemed to meld into his armor. The aura of heat faded in and out in a transparent haze of colors.
Seifer took this as his one opportunity. He swirled his gunblade around until it was bleeding off neon green energy. Once he felt the power build up enough, Seifer swung his blade forward, sending a spear of searing energy towards Zeilak.
"NO MERCY!"
Everything else was a blur. At the last moment, Zeilak returned the fireball, allowing it to collide with the energy blade Seifer sent his way. To Seifer's surprise, the fireball tore through his attack, and quickly came his way. Seifer's eyes snapped wide in understanding. All that time his fire spell was melded to Zeilak's arm, he was amplifying it with his own power. Seifer had no time to rebuke himself. He was immediately sent flying back into a world of pain. The fireball engulfed him completely, snapping his gunblade in half and sent him flying back into the side of a nearby boulder. Seifer slammed into it and crumbled to the ground like a sack of potatos.
****
Dawn swam through her morning kata's with the same graceful movements as always. She spun this way and that, making calculated cut strokes then dancing in multiple patterns of parries and attacks. To say she was skilled was only an understatement. She had trained vigorously throughout her whole life, yet still she found the need to grow even stronger.
She was dressed in loose fitting, black jogging pants, and a dark red tank top. Her hair was tied back securely at the nape of her skull. At her side, lay her infamous cloak which she never left far behind. Around her neck, rested a single charm, something she had never shown anyone before yet at the same time, something that was very dear to her; even more so then the favored GF sword she was currently training with.
As she finished her tenth set for the day she closed her eyes and let the wind cool off her sweating face. She felt the breeze pick up and slowly, she opened her eyes. Something was wrong. She scanned the horizons for any signs of danger. Looking up, she noticed the traces of an approaching storm. However that was the least of her problems. She gathered her cloak closely around her shoulders. Suddenly it struck her clear as day. 'Seifer is in trouble!'
Once again, she looked off into the horizons, looking for some sign of battle.
BOOM
The sound of the explosion was all she needed to hear. Heedless of the rain that was now pouring down about her, she dashed off into the distance towards the sounds of war.
****
Seifer lay motionless on the ground. Zeilak stood over him, watching the fallen man with mild interest. 'So this is the man who is supposedly destined to carry out half of the legend?' Zeilak pondered. 'It is hard to believe this man capable of anything.'
Zeilak slowly raised his massive sword up to eye level and stared at his hilt. The sword was of fine craftsmanship. The blade itself was double edged. The hilt was richly designed with rough material stronger then leather but just as rough. Coiling at odd angles around the hilt was a silver lining. Its significance represented the frailty of all things. Even as the strong material engulfed the hilt of his sword, the coiling silver would always be there to show just how imperfect the rough material really was. This served as a reminder to Zeilak that no matter what, he should never under estimate his opponents. Memories of his distant past swam through his mind. 'Has it really been that long?' He queried in his thoughts. 'Has it truly been so long since-'
The sounds of footsteps immediately brought him back to reality. He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind as he regarded the new figure standing in the distance.
"I've been waiting for you. I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up. I must say I was surprised when I first felt the presence of a Strega in the area. However, I am not so surprised now that I see it was only 'you' this whole time. I thank you for making my task so much easier. You save me the effort of having to search for you later on."
Dawn stood there in the shadows. Rain drenched her entire figure as the storm raged on from above. Her blood froze over and she found herself locked into place. She clenched her fists and opened her mouth to reply yet nothing came out. Shutting her eyes tightly, he mind began to swim violently with images of the past. 'Whatever you do, don't think about the fear!' She told herself mentally. However actions belied words. She looked down and saw that she was trembling violently. She glanced back over at Zeilak and saw that he was watching her every reaction with an amused smile on his face. This gave her enough confidence to speak.
"So it was you all along Zeilak? But why have you come to this region? You have no purpose here!"
Zeilak raised a single eyebrow. "Oh? I'm not here to fulfill any necessary purpose. To be quite blunt with you, I'm merely picking up a package; Just an added precaution as I'm sure you are already aware."
With that, he hoisted Seifer's unconscious body up on his shoulder and sheathed the broken Hyperion into one of his own scabbards. Dawn's anger rose at the sight of Seifer's defenseless form.
"If you've hurt him Zeilak I swear that I will-"
"You'll do what?" Zeilak taunted then laughed evilly. "You can do nothing but watch! Watch me Strega!! Watch me as I carry off your precious companion and use him for my own purposes!!!"
Dawn grit her teeth tight then reached for the hilt of her sword preparing to draw on her opponent.
"That's not a wise decision." Zeilak said before she could fully unsheathe her weapon. "Don't worry, your time will come soon enough. Be patient. You are not needed right now. I will allow you this temporary freedom for now but be ready when I return."
An evil smile rose up to Zeilak's face. He turned slowly then raised his right arm. A dark blue aura of energy formed out of nowhere signaling that he was called up one of his portals.
Dawn watched in horror as he slowly made his way to it. 'No matter what, I can't let him get away with this!'
Dawn drew her sword then charged at the retreating figure. "ZEILAK!!! PREPARE TO DIE! I WILL NEVER LET YOU HAVE HIM!"
Zeilak turned around casually, as if expecting this turn of events. Dawn charged in for the strike and swung her sword as fast and furious as she could. Suddenly, Zeilak quickly drew his own demon sword then parried her attack. The momentum sent shock waves throughout their surroundings and Dawn found herself being propelled back from the force. She slammed hard into the ground.
After a moment Dawn rose back up to a kneeling position. She violently coughed up blood then looked up. Zeilak was still standing there as smug as always.
"I warned you, little Strega. Defy me again and I will not be so merciful next time."
Dawn's knee's buckled as she tried to rise again. "Wait! Zeilak you coward! Don't turn your back against me!"
Zeilak ignored her comments and continued on through the portal until he was completely gone.
With the last of her energy, Dawn pushed herself up to her feet and raced to the portal as fast as she could. Yet, once she reached her destination, the dark blue aura had disappeared and she found herself plunging straight into the ground. Tears burned her eyes. She simply lay there, not having enough strength to do much of anything else. As exhaustion and sleep began to take her over, on sentence paced through her parched lips. "Damn you Zeilak…"
So what do you all think? Interesting enough? I've got tones of plans for everyone and this is still only the beginning. Please keep reading as the plot will pick up. As always, thanks for reading J
-Cordis