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 purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
EMPEROR OF DARKNESS
CHAPTER 18
Eyes speak louder then words
Beads of sweat washed down Squall's face as he ducked low from an overhead strike. His opponent, an advanced Shumi of immense skill, lurched back and took up his battle stance yet again. Squall sighed inwardly. They had been practicing together for nearly 20 hours now. Squall was not going to deny he appreciated being able to train extensively again as there was little time to do such things while he was the leader of Garden but he had to protest that this was heading across the lines of going overboard.
They were currently fighting in a fully simulated forest inside the Shumi training facility. Not only did they have to contend with each other but they also had to dodge the different trees and bushes and other obstacles that managed to get in their way.
The Shumi he fought now was one which he had never seen before. The man was extremely tall and lengthy with furry forearms and similarly furry legs. He looked as if her were a half breed between a moomba and a Shumi. His long reddish, gold hair was tailored in a spiky fashion which leaned in a backwards motion and was positioned with a white headband. He also had spiky dark face paint on the sides of his face. He sported long sharp ears yet other then that, his face was relatively human looking. He wore baggy, dark brown pants and a loose sleeveless shirt. Like Squall, this Shumi also fought with a gunblade, yet his had an added feature to it. It glowed with radiating power, unlike the one Squall now wielded which was simply his standard issue weapon of choice.
The Shumi noticed Squall's increasing fatigue and relaxed his muscles a bit. "How about we take a break huh?" The Shumi offered gently.
Squall had to hold back from nodding too fast as he bobbed his head in agreement. He must have failed terrible as his Shumi opponent chuckled mirthfully by his response.
"I hope I do not offend you when I say you have a long way to go before you reach your highest potential."
Squall, uncharacteristically, chuckled a bit at his response. "No I take no offense by it. To tell you the truth, I should be thankful for this. You don't get much time to exercise when you're the head general of Garden."
"I understand. But I sense something else is holding you back. I noticed it in your fighting stance and posture. You can do more then you have done so far. Why do you resist."
Squall reluctantly took a step back then sat down on a nearby log. "It's nothing." He replied finally.
This brought a throaty laugh from the more experienced Shumi fighter. "Ha, now you are lying. Lionhart, you profess to be at ease with your inner self yet when I look into your eyes I can see conflicting emotions. What is it you keep hidden away that is so secretive that you cannot tell me?"
Squall became increasingly annoyed with the Shumi's questions. "Look, my problems are my own ok? It's none of your business."
"Ahh but it is my business if it effects your fighting ability in the way that it does. For you will never reach your maximum potential if your mind has yet to be purified."
A slight frown creased on Squall's brow. "Whatever…"
The Shumi sighed heavily. "Well you may do what you like Lionhart but I must warn you that you will regret it when the final battle comes. For you will not have the skill to fight Zeilak and then you will die painfully as he has proclaimed it. Then once you are finished, he will have no problems with finishing the rest of your friends off."
The dark haired seed general turned his head away stubbornly. He didn't like talking about his problems, he never did. It was one of the few negative qualities that remained with him from his former days of solitude.
Squall finally heaved a sigh of annoyance. "It's personal… Something those Shumi elders of yours obviously didn't seem to care about."
This issued a chuckle from his opponent who had previously been wearing quite a serious expression. "Ohhh… Now I understand!"
This only made Squall angrier. "What's so funny?"
The Shumi fighter could not stop laughing now. "I apologize but your reaction is so typical of humans! Sir Laguna used to wear almost the exact same expression as a matter of fact!"
Squall was now fed up. "I don't have time for this! Let's just get back to the training."
This time the Shumi was now greatly calming down. "No, no. I apologize for my unbecoming behavior. I was merely reliving the past that's all. As far as your problems are concerned, I can guess at what you are worried about and I offer you my deepest apologies but you really have no other choices in the matter."
"Supposedly!" Squall interjected vehemently.
The Shumi fighter rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I take it you do not appreciate our elders much."
Squall shot him a sarcastic look. "How did you guess."
"You miss you wife greatly do you not? It must truly be tearing you up inside."
"What would you know about it?" Squall spat angrily. "You people seem to be pretty immune to my feelings from what I've seen so far."
"The elders perhaps but not all Shumi should be judged by the actions of the few."
"But I can't just abandon my former responsibilities just because some Shumi's decide that they need my help! How do you think it makes me feel when I look back on the decisions I made?"
The Shumi fighter sighed heavily and sat down on an adjoining rock across from the Seed. "I would assume you are feeling… guilty, empty inside, a feeling of absence, as if something is missing within you. A void that can never be filled until you find your missing piece sorta speak. You feel as if your life is meaningless and that you should be slain a thousand times for your decision even when everyone else says you made the right choice. They may even hail you for it."
Squall said nothing but simply continued to stare intently at the shumi, urging him to finish.
The fighter let another sigh escape his breath before continuing. "I know these emotions clearly Lionhart. I know them all to well… you see I too once faced what you now find yourself going through. 30 years ago war broke out in the Shumi realm. It was during the Reign of Adel as you are aware was an evil demon. We fell under massive assault. We had reached a dead end in our temple and my consort and I were amongst the few protecting our people from Adel's clutches. There was only one option left to us. As I and a few other warriors were fighting for dear life holding Adel's minions off and buying our people time, my consort was leading our people through the lower levels of the catacombs. When we finally converged it was then that I had learned my beloved had discovered a detonation switch. The switch would eliminate all enemies in the lower levels but someone had to do it from the upper levels and the lower levels. My consort was already at the lower levels holding them off. I was the only one who could reach the attic of our temple and fight through the enemies there long enough to throw the switch at the same time she did. I didn't want to do it, I cried I would die a thousand deaths before I would take her life. But in the end, for the betterment of our people, I did what I was obligated to do."
Tears of pain and regret were now spilling down the shumi's eyes, softening Squall's heart.
"She was dying you see? The enemy were breaking through the last defenses guarding our people. They were killing her in the lower levels… KILLING HER! She begged me to end the pain… she begged me to end… her life. I too was severely injured, I was on the last rope, I wanted to die after what I did. I wanted to jump into the fire with her when I heard her last scream or tortured pain. I wanted to feel that pain instead of her, for I deserved it more for what I did. Not a day goes by that I don't regret what I did…"
Now the shumi raised his face and stared intently into Squall's sorrowful eyes. "But do you know what Squall? Had I not done what I did, my people would have died, hundreds of our young would have been brutally slaughtered and our people would be extinct. Adel would spare no one in her reign of death. Now, I'm not telling you to make that kind of Sacrifice Lionhart! I'm not asking you to kill your lover! All I am asking you is to be aware of the consequences of your actions. Now is not the time to think selfishly. You must think for the better glory of the world. I must live everyday with the weight that I will never see my wife again. That is the burden I must bear to atone for my sins. You on the other hand still have a chance. You can still see your wife and friends when this conflict is over. You're only sacrifice is in letting them act independently without you. Think of what I must go through and then remember your position then ask yourself… Is it really all that bad? Would you really sacrifice a few months for the sake of humanity?"
Finally Squall raised his eyes, meeting those of his Shumi sparring partner and the determination in his eyes was almost frightening. "For my wife…" He began. "I would sacrifice the entire Universe… But if what you say is true then the best way I can protect her is by killing Zeilak. I can't do it alone, I realize that, and that's why I need your help."
"So you're saying you accept our pledge?"
"I am saying you were right as far as thinking selflessly. I will do what needs to be done. I was wrong to mope about things I cannot change. I will fight this war you speak of. I will fight it and I will kill Zeilak, however you cannot deny me my right to see my wife. Yes I will help you in this war but when the time comes that my wife needs me, you better be prepared to know that I will go to her, no matter what! That is my obligation and the consequences I receive for those actions will be 'my' burden to bear!"
****
"Are we there yet!" Cried Zell from the back of the group.
Everyone was exhausted by now. They had been traveling for hours now and still they had not reached the end of the tunnel.
"What's going on Laguna?" Rinoa asked with a touch of annoyance in her voice. "I thought you said we'd reach the lower levels below the bridge three hours before now?"
"Yeah that's what I said, however what I see is a completely different story."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Zell shot out, beginning to grow agitated.
Rinoa sighed heavily and placed a claming hand on the young man's shoulder. "Calm down Zell. What he mean's is that we're lost."
"No!" Laguna blurted quickly. "That can't be right! We followed the layouts completely."
The aging man quickly tapped the switch next to his helmet connecting him with the outside connection. "Quistis, this is Laguna over! Quistis do you copy?"
Zell, Rinoa and the other two Estherian guards waited patiently for his answer. After a few moments, Laguna lowered his arm slowly and brought his hand away from the communication device on his helmet. He looked up towards his companions regrettably. "There's too much static. I can't get through. It looks like we're on our own."
"There's gotta be something we can do!" Zell said enthusiastically.
Laguna turned to one of his Estherian guards. "Lt. you're pretty good with tactics and analysis as well as map layouts. What do you think? What are our options in this kind of situation?"
The man saluted smartly. "Sir, in these kinds of situations we have one of two options. We could either back track until communication is clear enough to resume reliable radio contact or we can continue further blindly until we find something familiar on our own."
"Gee that's great logic there!" Zell said sarcastically. "I could have surmised that much!"
Look I don't think it's such a good idea that we back track." Rinoa replied. "I don't know about the rest of you but I'm anxious to find Squall a.s.a.p."
"Same here!" Laguna agreed. "The rest of you head back, Rinoa and I will resume our search. If you find anything new, double back and tell us."
"Oh you two ain't hogg'in all the fun for yourselves!" Zell interjected. "I'm coming along too!"
"Are you sure?" Laguna asked. "It could just be a dead end we're walking into here. Or even worse, a trap."
"I'm prepared for the risks Laguna. You forget that these are my friends trapped down here!"
"Ok." Laguna complied. "Lt., you and the Sgt. Backtrack until radio contact is established. Once you've received confirmation, let us know via radio communication. It shouldn't be too hard to get clear reception if were all in the basic general vicinity."
"Yes sir!" The two men replied smartly then quickly ran down the opposite direction.
"Ok then folks." Laguna said, making his way forwards. "Let's get this show on the road."
Together, the three rescuers continued to make their way down the slim dark corridor. As they walked further and further, however, they noticed the walls became more and more narrow.
Zell looked carefully at his surroundings with every step. "This doesn't look too good guys." He said anxiously. He reached his hand out and carefully touched the wall. "If we go any further, we might end up having to squeeze our way through."
Rinoa nodded with Zell's observations. "He's got a point Laguna. What do you think? Should we backtrack?"
Laguna raised his head in thought. "I say we keep going. All we can do is go forward. When we get to the point that we're locking shoulders then we'll turn back. If Squall and the others are down this way I don't want to lose a moment."
"But we don't even know if we're going the right way!" Zell argued. "This whole trek could be for nothing."
"I agree with Zell." Rinoa said silently. "It wouldn't make any sense for Squall and the others to travel this way."
The middle-aged president of Esther closed his eyes carefully, thinking the issue over in his head. Rinoa and Zell watched him with careful eyes.
Finally he breathed a sigh of defeat. "I guess the two of you have a point. You're both right. We should turn back. Maybe my men have discovered something."
Laguna turned to walk back and join the others when suddenly…
SHOOOOM
In a matter of seconds Laguna had placed his foot on the floor then quickly raised his arms in panic as his tall form quickly vanished beneath the very floorboards he was standing on.
"$hit!" Zell hissed as he and Rinoa ran up to the hole where the president had fallen through. "Laguna!" Zell screamed, running up to the edge of the hole. "Laguna are you ok?"
"*cough* … Yeah… I'm ok, just shaken up a bit." Came the Estherian President's reply.
"What happened?" Rinoa asked anxiously.
Her answer was met by a slightly suppressed chuckle. "Well I think it's pretty obvious what happened. I fell. Although I think yet again my clumsiness has opened up a new clue for us."
"What do you mean?" The dark haired woman asked curiously.
"There's a path down here. Pretty dark and smells a bit but it's definitely a path. From the looks of it, I'd say it's a pretty new area too. I bet it didn't even show up on Quistis maps."
"We don't have time for this man!" Zell hissed. "Did you forget our plan? We should backtrack and get a situation report before investigating any further."
"I disagree." Rinoa countered.
"What? Aw come on Rinoa, we don't have time for these kinds of games."
"Look Zell, Laguna has no way of getting back up here unless we went back to get rope which could take hours. I say our best bet is to follow him down. We may even find a shortcut."
Zell grumbled his reply. "I guess you have a point there. I still have a bad feeling about this though."
"It can't be helped Zell." The young woman replied. "Now let's go."
Carefully the two made their way down into the lower depths of the structure. As soon as they dropped, their eyes met Laguna Leaning heavily against the side wall.
"Are you alright?" Rinoa asked in a concerned voice.
"I'm fine." The man said in a strained, cheery voice. "Just taking a second to catch my breath that's all."
"This place is new!" Zell observed, looking around at the structure of it.
"No time to sight see though." Laguna said pushing away from the wall.
"Which way do we go?" Rinoa asked curiously.
"Left. We keep going and we may reach some sort of a shortcut hopefully."
Once again the three set off again to find their missing compatriots. The walk seemed to drag on and on and soon they all began to grow even more weary as the realization and grief that this tunnel may never end began to sink into their conscience.
"We're lost." Zell mumbled miserably.
"No we're not Zell." Rinoa argued. "Just shut up and keep walking. We'll find our way out of here soon. Just have confidence."
"Hey what's that!" Laguna said pointing a few feet ahead of them. They all rushed up to see a huge bolder of mechanical wreckage blocking their path.
"Looks like there was a cave-in here." Zell said, examining the damage.
"Guess that mean's we try the other way." Rinoa said turning slightly.
"No wait!" Laguna prompted. "I'm curious as to where this tunnel leads. Lets get this wreckage out of the way."
"That could take a while." Zell said wearily.
"Are you giving up so quickly Zell?"
The blond fighter cast an annoyed glance towards the President. "What do you mean?"
"Aren't you the 'strong man' of Balamb Garden? If legends are correct, you could move this wreckage easily."
Zell simply glared at the man. "I hate to break your bubble but legends are mostly fairy tales buddy. There's no way I could move all this."
"You never know until you try."
"Listen 'pops' I'm telling you there's no f#ckin way I'm moving that boulder on my own! I ain't strong enough!"
"Then I'll assist you."
The blond swung his head around to stare wide eyed at Rinoa. "But Rinoa… wouldn't that put a strain on your health? I heard about that battle over Balamb. You nearly died. I don't think you should be stressing yourself all over again."
"I'll take the risk!" She replied in a determined voice.
"But Rinoa…"
"Zell! Please!" the woman interjected firmly.
The blond slowly lowered his head in defeat. "Fine."
Cracking his knuckles, Zell walked up to the boulder gripping both sides with all of his might. With a loud strained grunt, the martial artist yanked at the two ends of the wreck moving them ever so slightly. At the same time however, the walls began to give way even more, making his weight lighter. Zell stared wide-eyed then realized that Rinoa was aiding him with her sorceress powers. With a final yank, the martial artist hurled the wreckage a few feet away from them.
Rinoa immediately slumped over to the ground. Zell rushed up to her. "Hey Rinoa are you alright? Come on don't faint on us now! I told you ya shouldn't have used your powers!"
Rinoa raised her weary eyes towards the anxious irises of her friend and smiled slightly. "Don't… worry Zell." She said in a quiet voice. "It was worth it."
Zell carefully helped her up to her feet and turned around to see Laguna hunched over the path they had just opened. The man's head seemed to hang with an uncertainly heavy burden.
"What's wrong?" Zell asked, fear seeping into his voice.
"Guys… this doesn't look too good." Laguna replied heavily.
At this Rinoa opened her eyes wide and firmly pushed Zell's helpful hands away so that she could stand on her own two feet. "What have you found?" She asked carefully.
"I don't know yet…" The President replied heavily. He began to stand up sagging his shoulders heavily. Zell and Rinoa carefully walked up to see what he had been staring at. Zell's eyes widened in shock.
"I… is that blood?" Zell asked fearfully.
Rinoa shook her head furiously, refusing to let any negative thoughts enter her mind. 'It can't be! It just can't be! Squall's alive! He has to be alive!'
The woman quickly turned to face the two weary looking men. "This only means that we're on the right track! We haven't found any bodies yet right?"
Laguna took a few steps forward ahead of the rest of them nodding his head furiously. "Rinoa your absolutely right! We don't know unti-!" Suddenly his faced turned ashen white and he stumbled back a few steps. "Oh… Oh god no! This… No!"
Rinoa and Zell both responded immediately and rushed up next to him. "What is it?" Zell asked anxiously. Suddenly his face too became pale. Rinoa could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces.
'No!' Her mind protested furiously. 'This can't be! No this can't be happening!' This can't be happening!' Yet her eyes proved her wrong. She couldn't deny the plain truth that revealed itself firmly before her.
Laguna fell to his knees, the look on his face clearly revealing all the years and strains age could ever put on a man. Zell too seemed to slouch low looking older then he truly was. Rinoa couldn't stand it any further.
"NO!" She screamed in anguished shock as tears burst from her eyes. She immediately embraced the blond haired man, burying her face in his shirt, denying the sight before her eyes, not wanting to look any more. Her feet became unsteady so that she leaned heavily on to the fighter for support. Grief stricken sobs escaped her lips as she lightly pound on the man's muscular chest. No further words could escape her lips for she was too caught up with trying to breathe through her cracking heart and her suffocating lungs. Zell too began to weep silent tears of relentless sorrow.
It was the worst thing the three rescuers could ever saw in their lives, for none could deny reality any further as it reared it's cruel visage before them. Not a single one of them could refute the Stiff and dead bodies on the ground bearing the appearances of Squall, Irvine and Renix crushed and maimed by fallen wreckage.
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 19.