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.
FINAL FANTASY/ ALTERED TALE
CHAPTER 9
Squall couldn't believe his eyes. Even after a direct attack from Quezolcot, Diablo still wouldn't fall. He was completely drained. Diablo flew towards him in an angry rage. Squall closed his eyes slowly. 'Nothing to do now but wait for the end.'
"ALEXANDER!"
Squall's eyes snapped open in surprise. Neither he nor Quistis had the Alexander GF. That could only mean…
"Rinoa!" Squall screamed as he swung his head in her direction. Alexander burst forth from the ground then opened his armada of missiles and fired them relentlessly at Diablo. The Guardian of darkness reeled back from the incredible pain that attacked him. The intensity of the blasts was not what weakened him. It was the strength of the light emanating from it. Once Alexander was done, he slowly disappeared into the distance leaving Rinoa standing in his place. She staggered slightly but held her ground.
Diablo was still reeling from the attack and seething with anger. He glared viciously at Rinoa. He thrust his wings hard and flew to her with lightning speed. However, Rinoa saw his attack coming and leapt to the side as huge gravel and stone crumbled under his merciless attack.
Squall was shocked. He forcefully rose himself to his feet. 'How can she stand after summoning a GF?' he pondered. He violently shook his head. 'Can't worry about that now! If we don't stop this monster, we're done for.'
With all the energy Squall had, he charged towards the demon and swung his sword hard on its tail. Diablo reared in pain and anger then thrashed its claws at Squall.
He jumped back at the last minute, avoiding the vicious claws. Unfortunately he was still weak and stumbled to one knee. Diablo struck again, this time with more intensity. Squall tried to dodge again but unfortunately, he didn't have the energy to stand. He grit his teeth, feeling the sting of sharp talons as they ripped through armor, clothing, then flesh, while the momentum hoisted him into the air. Squall flew back from the attack and slammed against the wall hard. He tried to rise to his feet but only fell back down from sheer pain.
Diablo flew over to him and sneered. He threw his hands up into the air and almost immediately a black mist began to form at the bast of his palm. Slowly, the mist grew larger and wider. Huge volts of electricity began to swarm around it until it became larger then even him.
Rinoa gaped at the huge orb flying over Squall. Without thinking, she sprinted over to the fallen Knight and stood in front of him.
"TRIPLE! BARRIER!" She screamed in succession. Swiftly, a shield formed around her and Squall then reinforced itself three times over. Diablo was unheeded and threw the glowing black orb at them. Rinoa called upon her magic once more. Her muscles were beginning to strain and her body was slowly breaking down. The threshold for mages was high when it came to using magic but she had already gone overboard after the last two spells. However, she would not give up. Forcefully, she summoned the last spell, draining all of her remaining strength.
"DEFLECT!"
The energy ball hit them full force. Rinoa's spell was not powerful enough to deflect the huge energy ball however it was able to repel some of its strength. The rest of the energy hit them hard, even breaking through the barriers she had set up. She screamed in pain as the energy slowly began to eat away at her. The sheer force of the blast sent them flying across the room and slamming into the opposite ends of the wall.
Rinoa was out cold, lying motionless on the ground. Squall saw Rinoa's unmoving body and his eyes filled with rage. He had pledged to keep her safe. He would not let her die now. He struggled with intense pain but finally rose up to his feet. Diablo was on him in a heartbeat. He jumped back as the Guardian Force continued to attack him relentlessly with its claws. Squall drew his sword out and began to block the attacks he couldn't dodge. Squall had to think fast. His adrenaline rush was quickly running out and his wounds weren't making things any easier.
After the next attack, Squall used his sword to break in then drove it dead center into Diablo's chest. The demon screamed then punched Squall dead center in the face with all its might. Squall shot back through the air like a meteor and rammed hard into the wall yet again. Squall coughed up a sea of blood and bile as he tried to stand, then fell flat on his face. Diablo viciously ripped the sword from its heart and flung it to the ground. He was now totally pissed off. These mere humans had hurt him so. It was unthinkable. He would destroy the man with the sword first. Then he would finish off the mage girl. And finally he would kill the blond-headed one.
He stood at full height in front of Squall's unmoving form. He raised his hand for another attack when suddenly…
"SHIVA!"
Diablo was astonished. These humans had more fight in them then he had anticipated.
****
Coleman swung with all of his might as he severed the head of yet another Galbadian Knight. He was panting heavily and sweat rained down from his whole body. He looked on toward the bloody battlefield and saw all the maimed figures before him. 'Such a waste.' He thought to himself morbidly. He hated blood. He hated death. And most of all, he hated killing. But now he had no choice but to kill. If he didn't, many more lives would be lost and an even bleaker future would await the world.
With a wild shout, He charged towards another Galbadian Knight and drove his sword through the man's chest. Blood splashed on his face and the man sank to the ground. Coleman stood over his dead body for a moment, contemplating his actions. "Kill to end all killing…" He muttered to himself, sullenly.
A shout rang out and brought Coleman back to reality. Nida was fiercely locked into a life or death struggle. Nida charged forth towards his opponent and swung hard but missed as the man deftly moved out of the way. He clenched his teeth and swung horizontally. The man dodged yet again and then came in close through Nida's defenses. He tried to recover but it was too late as the Galbadian thrust forth striking him in the head with his blade. Nida's eyes opened wide as blood seeped from his head, matting his hair red. He crumbled to the ground. The Galbadian stood over him and prepared to sever his head as a trophy. Quickly, Coleman shot in and rammed into the man with the force of his shoulder armor. The Knight crashed to the ground but almost immediately shot back up.
"You wish to fight me?" The man raved, obviously insane.
Coleman drew his sword forth. "If a man cannot thing clearly with his own God given facilities, then he is not fit to live."
The man roared in rage then attacked him. Coleman easily dodged the attack but fatigue continued to gnaw at his reflexes. The man struck again and again Coleman weeved. Coleman then opened up with his own attack and jammed his sword right up under the man's arm. He screamed wildly then noticed Coleman's old wound. He desperately jabbed his fingers into it. Coleman hollered in shock as he removed his sword from inside the man's flesh. Blood foamed up in the Galbadian's mouth as he charged head on towards the still recovering Knight. He swung his sword hard cutting Coleman deep across the chest. Coleman hollered in pain but determination ruled all senses. He clutched his sword with sweaty fingers and drove it through the Galbadian's throat. They both fell to the ground limply.
Coleman stirred then shoved his blade into the dirt as he used it to hoist him up to his knees. He scanned the battlegrounds and noticed that Biggs and Wedge were nowhere in sight. He closed his eyes as realization hit him. They had fallen already. He looked up at all the eager Galbadian faces smiling cruelly at him. Their swords hungered for him blood. Coleman sighed heavily and smiled in the face of death. Fore he saw something much brighter waiting for him in the distance. 'Soon I won't have to worry about all the killing anymore. Soon I'll be free…'
The Galbadians walked in closer for the kill.
'Just please… One more time… Wait for me brother. I have one thing left to do…'
Some of them leapt at him in rage and bloodlust. Coleman didn't stop them as their swords tore into his flesh and ripped through his internal organs.
"Just a bit more blood to spill…" He whispered into the breezed while darkness began to wash over him.
More pain came to him and more swords ripped at his body. Silently he closed his eyes and held his arms out.
"ULTIMA!" He screamed with the last of his dying breath.
The whole area erupted in a vicious explosion. The Galbadian's screamed as they were all engulfed in the raging inferno of destructive energy. From this attack, nothing would remain and slowly, death swallowed them all.
'Brother…I'm ready now….'
****
Diablo couldn't believe it. The insolence of these mortals was beyond belief. Yet all of this was drowned out by the sounds of his own ensuing screams of agony. Shiva had done her worst on him. He felt the sting of her ice as she embedded it deep within him. Once the attack was over with, he crumbled to the ground.
Quistis stood in the distance. It was beyond belief that any Knights could pull off a summon spell twice. To do so meant death. Yet at the sight of Squall's suffering, she found the energy inside her to summon the Guardian once more. However the price was great. She fell hard onto the ground. She couldn't move. She felt so weak. She could hardly breath. She raised her eyes up to the demon. Even that took great effort on her part.
Diablo felt his suffering. He felt the pain all through his whole body as he lay there on the cold stone floor. However, he wasn't done yet. He clutched the pavement as he pushed himself back up onto his feet and approached the trio once more. He took slow measured steps towards the unmoving form of Quistis. He would kill this woman who had hurt him so. He raised his claws over her head to strike. It would all be over for her. He saw her fear stricken eyes on him. This only amused him and made the lust for her death even more pleasurable for him.
His claws glistened in the light, then brought them down hard.
SLICE
He stopped in mid-swing and looked down towards his abdomen. Protruding through the front end, was the tip of Squalls sword dripping with his blood. He roared out in agony and clutched at the blade but found he had no more strength left.
Shaking violently from overexertion, Squall removed his sword from the Guardian Forces flesh. Diablo fell to his knees before him. His head was low from shame as he suffered the guilt of losing to a human. "Finish me…" He said silently. "You and your group have fought valiantly and now I am defeated. Do me the honor of killing me now."
Squall's eyes were unwavering. He raised his sword then trust it forth in lighting speed.
CLUNTCH
Diablo's eyes napped open as he realized he was still alive. "What are you doing mortal! Kill me now!"
Squall still kept his cold eyes on him. "No…" He replied slowly. "I don't want to. You are powerful and it is true that I have beaten you. But there is another alternative other then death."
Diablo raised his head towards him in question.
"Serve me." Squall said evenly. "You have power. Enormous power that could be of valuable service to those who chose to do good. Serve me and together we can make peace for this world."
Diablo sneered. "You sicken me with this talk of peace mortal! But… you are brave. And I have seen the courage and selflessness in your comrades as well. I find that to be very… admirable. I accept your offer Knight. I will be your Guardian when you are in need of one. Simply call upon me and I shall be there to vanquish any enemy that you would have me defeat."
Squall nodded his head slowly. Diablo's form wavered then transformed into mist. Squall gasped slightly as the mist engulfed his body and sank into him. He let out a small sigh then fell to his knees, finally allowing exhaustion to take over him.
Quistis looked on towards him as he lay there on his knees.
"Squall…" She said, quietly watching him. She wanted to rise up and embrace him yet she couldn't move. All she could do was watch as her hero rested from his intense battle. "It's over…" She whispered. "Rest now brave Knight…"
Suddenly the ground shook violently, snapping Squall out of his slight slumber.
"What now?" Quistis moaned as she looked towards the source of the commotion.
To their horror, the object that burst forth into the area was none other then the near destroyed form of the X-ATM092. It's sparks flashed violently as it approached the ground. Everything began to shake as it neared the small pillar at the center of the room, totally ignoring the rest of them.
'What's it doing?' Quistis pondered. Then her eyes snapped wide when she realized what the intensity of the shaking was coming from. The battle with Diablo has severely weakened the supports for the tower and now the whole structure was falling apart. "Squall!" She yelled as loud as she possibly could, which wasn't by much given her current condition. "You've got to get out of here!" She continued. "The entire structure is falling apart!"
Squall snapped to his feet, ignoring the fatigue as panic shot through him. He looked around wildly. Then, Suddenly the ground below him split open and he fell back from the force of it. He shakily got to his feet and saw that he was split off from Rinoa and Quistis. Each of them were on three different parts of the three way split. He saw the duel exits on either side of both woman but he couldn't spare the time to jump to both. He looked from one woman to the next. Quistis simply stared at him with lost eyes as the ground continued to shake. He then thrust his eyes towards the still comatose Rinoa. He couldn't decide what to do. They were both in no position to move. He had to decide who he was going to save. He shut his eyes tightly as his conflicted mind struggled with what decision he should make. He didn't want to have to decide. He didn't want to leave anyone behind.
After what seemed like forever he made his choice. The truest and most costly choice he would ever make. He jumped to Rinoa.
Well, that ends the penultimate chapter of this Fanfic. Things will heat up. At least I hope so. The Dollet saga comes to a close in the final chapter to this fic. As always, Thanks for reading and please review! J
-Cordis