Queen of Souls
By Soul Hunter
Chapter Eighteen
"What do you mean you let her go?"
"What part in that did you not understand? I let her go. I let her walk. Sounds like straightforward English to me, Chicken-wuss."
"For the last time, Seifer. Stop calling me Chicken-wuss!" An irate Zell barked into his communicator. "And don't you get it? We have direct orders to bring Quistis in!"
He heard that familiar, deriding chuckle answer back. And then the voice tone that he had learned to like as much as he did a hot dog that had been stored in the freezer for one year. "No, you're the one who doesn't get it, wuss. You have direct orders to arrest her. The Galbadians and the Estharians have direct orders to arrest her. I don't. Capice?"
A loud, banging noise shot out when the martial artist annoyingly slammed his fist against the metal-polymer wall inside the cockpit of their SeeD personnel carrier. "Hot friggin' damn! One of these days I swear I'll get even with that puke-face!" Irvine and Rinoa just looked on as Zell marched out of the small chamber, his feet like lead as they stomped furiously on the floor.
Squall wasn't making a sound as he sat beside Selphie on the co-pilot seat. But his mind was racing with perplexed thoughts. Never mind that he knew about the prophecy that was driving Quistis to such unorthodox behaviors. It was just too puzzling to even believe that anything could push her to this act of apparent betrayal. Seifer's account of her actions done in collusion with the black-garbed stranger brought even more dumbfounding angles into this flustering situation. They had been trying to contact her, but her communicator was off. A clear contradiction to her usually scrupulous method of operating.
But in truth, there was one perspective that he had been avoiding to ponder on. The one possible reason why all of the sudden his deputy would abandon them and take off just like that. Seifer's sneering guffaw even added to his perplexed mindset. Squall knew that there was something behind that condescending jeer. And in the back of his mind, he somewhat acknowledged that he already had a clue about the information his rival had defiantly refused to share with them. He thought about the man reportedly seen with his estranged friend. And for some reason, Squall felt irritated.
----------
Everything started to add up in Hunter's mind as he dismounted from the dark green aircraft loaned them by his former beau. His thoughts mixed in confusing shambles at first when he tried to analyze everything he knew about his enemy's behavior. Yet soon, the tangles slowly unraveled and pieced themselves together one at a time. He already knew that the incubus lord was going to the burial place of his people. He was already certain that he intended to resurrect them. And there was one remaining piece of the puzzle that only now was he able to solve.
"Can't believe I didn't think of this sooner."
"Think about what?" Quistis whispered back. Her voice was faint, but it was still more audible than the sound made by their nimble movements while they approached the soul reaper's stronghold.
"The incubus was excessively greedy while he consumed the lives of the villages that were on his path." He returned. "It's very peculiar."
"How so?"
"You see, Quisty, an incubus is nothing more than a supernaturally empowered parasite. A cross between a predator and a force of nature. It's like a squirrel collecting nuts. Usually, a squirrel eats only until he's full. And it doesn't take much to do it. You won't see one stuffing his cheeks unless"
"Unless he's storing it for himself" The instructor thought. " That, or he's going to use the food he stored to feed his young."
"Or in the case of the incubus, his clan." Hunter added. "He ravaged all those villages and towns because he was trying to store enough soul energy to replenish his people."
Her eyes remained alert, but over the years Quistis had learned how to master the art of dividing her attention between two sides of equal bearing. She heard everything that Hunter said and analyzed the ramifications herself. As a result, her pace quickened with the realization that if they didn't hasten, they will not be facing one, but an army of soul devourers.
Her pretty face assumed a scowl. Quistis nearly cursed at herself for neglecting to take back her junctions from Seifer. She needed them badly right now. Not that she always fought with junctions. Even before Quistis became a SeeD, her personal daily regimen already included at least two hours of combat training without the aid of Guardian Force abilities. As she remembered those practice sessions, Quistis subsequently created visions in her mind of one situation when she fought a T-Rexaur without junctions. She succeeded, but just barely.
How could she expect to fare any good against the incubus without magic powers? How could she even think of succeeding, much more surviving? Fighting the incubus without the assistance of the GFs is like fighting Ultimecia with a gag on her mouth and one hand tied behind her back. Quistis groaned exhaustedly while looking at the long, golden whip hanging from her waist buckle. She will just have to rely heavily on her weapon now. No magic, no GFs, no anything. Just herself and her bullwhip.
The cold air suddenly grew more frigid, its biting iciness penetrating deep into their bones. The cold carried with it an eerie stench normally present only in deserted mortuaries. Quistis and Hunter could easily detect the whiff of death, reeking with the foul smell of blood, lies and corruption. They knew the approach of the enemy and this was it. They readied themselves as the shadow in their minds grew larger and more ominous. Anytime now, the odious knuckles of doom will come knocking.
A rotting hand suddenly burst forth from the ground and grabbed Hunter's leg. "Aaaahhh!!!" He yelped as the slimy sensation startled him. Another hand emerged to grab his other leg. The dark warrior struggled to no avail as the hands pinned his feet into the ground.
"Quisty, move!" He bellowed. But before she could do so, another pair of grimy arms shot out and slithered around her body. Quistis shrieked in fright when the head of a minion suddenly pushed out in front of her face. She grimaced in disgust as her nose was assaulted by the decaying thrall's acrid breath.
One by one, the soul reaper's undead slaves began digging themselves out from their underground concealment. The picture was that of a nightmare, with the two embattled warriors finding themselves surrounded by the zombie-like throng. The horrendous facade facing the instructor widened the opening of its maw in a hideous grin as it oozed a thick, green material that flowed like rotten slime. She fought the tumbling sensation in her stomach brought by the substance's offensive stench.
"Bloody hell!" Hunter blurted while quickly reaching for his weapon. In one deft move, the Twin Jutte instantly cleaved the decaying appendages chaining him to the ground. White maggots spilled out from the severed wrists that were left sticking out from the ground. He quickly went to help Quistis break free from her ghastly shackles, but was surprised to feel the strength of the arms imprisoning her.
"Ugghhh!!!" The dark knight groaned as he poured all his might in prying the arms off her. Loud cracking sounds echoed as the appendages broke off from their joints. The minion wailed in pain after losing its degenerated arms. Quistis tried to get up but was hampered by the jagged teeth when the unholy creature suddenly bit her on the leg.
"Unhh!" Her teeth gritted in pain. Even with the Kevlar protection of her battle suit, she still felt the sharp fangs beginning to sink into her flesh. Her wrist instinctively snapped, striking a blow that sliced the minion's head open.
"At least now we know how the incubus broke free." Quistis got up to join her partner, her gloved hand clutching her bullwhip tight while her eyes darted swiftly to assess the threat of the undead thralls surrounding them. Hunter grimaced in a mix of pity and disgust, seeing that the minions had already degraded to an advanced, zombie-like state, the decaying flesh starting to fall off from the graying bones together with their teeth and eyeballs. His disgust turned to vindictive rage, as if he was seeing his friends in the forms of those pitiful victims.
"Hunter, I'm going after the incubus. Cover me."
"No, we go together." He objected. Despite the threat, he still couldn't bear letting Quistis face the soul reaper by herself. If the prophecy was to come to fruition, he'd rather it happen with his beloved beside him.
But the stalwart SeeD had another thing in mind. If the prophecy were to come true, she'd rather face it alone.
"No. Stay." Quistis uttered before lashing out with the Save the Queen to cut down one of the thralls surrounding them before running off.
"Damn we're not even married yet and she's already dominating me." Hunter muttered. He had no choice now but to engage the enemies in combat. With a mighty leap, he flew off over the undead minions, landing on the ground behind them like a cat. Hunter twirled, the Twin Jutte jutting out from the mini-whirlwind he created to pummel two more enemies with its Holy-powered blades.
Two more hands abruptly emerged from the earth and slapped a tight grip on his legs again. But this time, Hunter was ready. Channeling all his strength to his legs, he let loose a mighty jump that launched himself in the air, pulling out the undead thrall from the ground. While soaring in midair, the dark warrior bent his knees forward to bring the enemy before him and swiftly slice its head off. He then landed in the midst of more zombie slaves.
"This is going to be a long night"
----------
Quistis walked into the cave cautiously, all her senses primed to their peak in anticipating the coming of more enemies. Her footsteps were slow yet deliberate, leaving nothing behind as she treaded on the rocky ground without making any sound. Her ears filtered everything that entered it, noting the telltale trickling sounds of lime-laced water dropping from the jagged protrusions hanging down from the cavern ceiling. The freezing air continued to bite into her Kevlar-protected skin as the dark pupils of her sapphire eyes widened intensely to take in as much light as it could.
It took some time for her vision to adjust to the darkness cloaking the winding path that brought her deeper into the water-carved labyrinth. The air smelled of depravity and fornication, continuing to assault her senses. She fought hard to ignore the sickening stench that threatened to overwhelm her fortitude.
A portion of the walls started crumbling in the midst of clawing reverberations coming from inside it. The embankment collapsed to reveal a troika of zombie slaves that subsequently stood in her path. The SeeD's eyes blazed in combat readiness. She whirled her bullwhip in the air, cracking it in a flash of golden fury. In the blink of an eye, the three minions fell on the ground with their bodies cut in half.
"Impressive" A raspy voice tore through the deathly silence. "I think I now see why my enemy has enlisted your prowess. You truly are a master of your art."
She turned to the sight of the vile soul devourer. His eyes shone in the darkness with crimson sparks of malevolent power. The white orbs engulfing his hideous hands threatened with the raw force of a thousand souls he had feasted on in his decades long existence. As he spoke, Quistis was nearly intoxicated by the debauchery steaming forth from his mouth.
"It will be a shame to waste the life of one such as you."
The entity before her radiated with the power of a god. Quistis spent a moment to reconsider her options. In her current, powerless state, she was certainly no match for this murderer whose life spanned countless centuries. She felt like a gnat facing the wrath of a dragon. The way it looked for her, there apparently was no other course but to face death.
No matter, she told herself. If she was indeed the chosen one, she will find a way to conquer the death-bringer. It didn't matter if she died in the process. This will be a good death.
"My life won't be wasted as long as I take you with me to oblivion." She echoed defiantly. The incubus smiled with a wickedness that seemed to have gathered all of the world's evils.
"Then perhaps apologies are in order. For I truly am sorry to disappoint you."
Sizzling white fire exploded from his fists and eyes. Quistis didn't move, and just watched as the conflagration blazed toward her. The throbs of infernal pain subsequently engulfed her with its blowing wind fire that scalded her face and burned her body. Only the protection of the battlesuit she wore spared her from certain doom.
"Ahhh" She cried out in immense pain. Tears trickled down her burning face as she struggled to face her tormentor who was now upon her.
"So you have a death wish, I see." He said.
But before the incubus could follow up, he was startled by the sudden appearance of brilliant lights that surrounded his prey. He stepped back, unaware of the phenomenon that had taken over as the SeeD felt the force of her fury coming to fore. Despite the horrendous pain, the instructor allowed a faint smile in her lips after feeling her gamble pay off. Quistis then stood up and hollered her most powerful attack.
"Shockwave Pulsar!!!"
The darkness promptly obeyed her command, opening up to a bluish white maelstrom that extended its powers to seize the soul devourer with its unyielding cosmic grip. His eyed widened in dread, he wasn't ready for this. But the soul reaper couldn't do anything in the face of merciless rage as the energy tempest produced a light pillar in the center of its spinning antechamber. The pillar collapsed to an orb before exploding with tremendous force, introducing him to new heights of pain. The light died down to reveal the pain-stricken incubus as he slumped weakly against a boulder.
He salivated in a mix of suffering and anger. "ENOUGH!" The incubus declared furiously together with a Firaga blast that engulfed the instructor. She wailed in pain, feeling like her body had started rebelling against her. Quistis knew she couldn't risk launching another limit break attack with its precarious requisite posing a direct danger to her life.
"KIIIII-YAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Hunter's battle cry tore across the blood field. The incubus lord looked up, but it was too late. He felt the dark knight's steel-layered boots slam against his chest, sending him crashing against the granite escarpment at the far side of the cave chamber.
"Pick on my girlfriend, will yah" He growled. Hunter quickly followed with a barrage or airborne kicks that pummeled the soul reaper in rapid-fire fashion. Refusing to let up, he continued his onslaught with lightning quick punches into the destroyer's gut, chest and face. His fists and feet became like a blur in battering the incubus with ferocious force.
However, the enemy was still far from being conquered. A sudden force wave exploded from his being and sent Hunter flying off from him. But the dark warrior was not to be denied. Quickly picking himself up, Hunter again charged into the incubus, who countered with a series of energy bolts meant to incinerate his adversary.
Exhibiting his incredible speed, Hunter zigzagged on his path to avoid the force beams, then fired himself in a twisting airborne maneuver that ended with his legs slapping the incubus' head in a tight clamp. Steeled abdominal muscles contracted to bend him up face to face with his adversary. Another series of successive blows from his fists struck the incubus before Hunter stretched himself down on the ground. With the soul reaper's head still held tight between his ankles, the dark knight planted his fingers on the ground before using his lower body to hurl the foe against a pile of boulders. A loud crash reverberated as the incubus slammed hard against the rocks.
His mouth now dripped blackish red blood. Wiping off the dropping symbol of humiliation, the incubus slowly staggered up, throwing a sharp look of hatred against his archenemy. To Hunter's puzzlement, his baleful expression suddenly transformed into one of wicked rejoicing. His evil grin caught the intruder off-guard.
"You wish me to play your game. Fine. But I'm not one to indulge you given this pressing moment." The incubus snorted. "However, I will find it interesting to see how you will fare against your beloved friends."
Hunter's eyes widened upon witnessing a display of white light from the soul devourer's form. In spite of the blinding brightness, he felt an urge against shielding his eyes as he saw three orbs escaping from the radiant eruption.
The three globules momentarily hovered in the air, then slowly settled before him. Crackling resonance shot forth as the spheres gradually took the shape of three human figures. Hunter glared in utter shock upon recognizing the shaped that solidified before him.
"It's been a while, Hunter." The one in the middle echoed. His wiry, well-defined body glistened with what appeared to be evenly spread out sweat. His brown complexion complemented the black hair that flowed freely around his indignant face. The two others walked forward to stand beside the resurrected warrior. Hunter felt like his head was going to explode in shock.
"Liu Kang Blue Mary Kasumi"
"Hey, stud. Fancy meeting you here." The girl with the short blonde hair voiced out teasingly. Hunter blinked his eyes in reacting to her voice as he scrutinized her intently. She sported her familiar apparel composed of a midriff, camouflage pants and a pair of heavy combat boots. He couldn't believe his eyes. This couldn't be the girl he grew up with a long time ago. They all could not be his friends. There were all dead. He was forced to kill them with his own hands.
"I don't know, Mary." The blue-garbed blonde said. "Looks to me like he's still waiting for us to do us like he did before."
"The hell he will, Kasumi." Blue Mary retorted. This time, her voice was reeking with hatred. "We're not gonna let this traitor get away with what he did to us, are we Liu?"
"No, we won't." Liu Kang shot back as he turned to Hunter. "You may be the best among us, 'friend'. But even you cannot hope to win against the three of us."
He didn't even know if he still had it in him to fight his friends. One hundred years ago, these three warriors that belonged to the knight class fated to battle the incubus fell for an elaborate trap that paved the way for their enslavement. It broke Hunter's heart to have to be the one to liberate their souls from the soul reaper's clutches. He killed them, without knowing that in their dying breaths the enemy consumed their helpless spirits.
His dismal musing was partially broken when he noticed Quistis walking alongside him. She had previously invoked her White Wind power to replenish her lost energy.
"Quisty, go after the incubus." He said grimly. "I will take care of business on this end."
She looked at him, then at the warriors standing before him. Quistis opted to leave him earlier with full confidence that he will defeat the zombie slaves easily. But she knew she could not do the same thing now. One look at the three resurrected knights told her the Hunter will be needing her help in defeating them.
"No, you need me here, Hunter. I'm not going to leave you this time."
"Quisty, don't argue with me." He muttered back. "Just go."
She had never heard his voice echo this dark tone. Quistis was still afraid for Hunter, but she also knew that nothing in this world would change his mind right now, knowing that he didn't want her to see him fight his friends. Reluctantly, the embattled SeeD left her lover's side to pursue their real enemy.
Hunter braced himself despite his sullen heart as his lost comrades surrounded him. No matter how it grieved him, he had to accept that he must again commit to this embittering task. His soul once again burned with indignation for the soul devourer for having subjected him once more to this harrowing ordeal.
He vowed on his enemy's death. Come what may, this will end now, once and for all.
End of Chapter Eighteen