Author's note: This fic is based on an alternate reality. Imagine our own world, in the future, visited by Squall & co from FF8, hence the appearance of Bahamut and other Guardian Forces. As the character's thoughts feature heavily, I have been forced to colour-code those belonging to each character:
Red: S2
Blue: Edge
Green: Auggy
The main characters in this fic are actually based on people I know......I guess this is kinda my way of thanking them for all they've done for me. Enjoy!!
Chris "S2" Bailey.
The Flight of the Angel
Chapter two - Clipped Wings
Se'tath stepped out from the shadows, directly in front of the running ZG. She skidded to a halt, a look of pure hatred flashing in her eyes. Se'tath grinned at her as his blade darted from its sheath into his clawed hand.
"Boom, baby...." His blade swept a mighty arc through the air, clashing with Xaiyou in mid swing. He started into ZG's eyes and grinned. "Good. I was worried this was going to be easy." He backflipped away and landed in a crouching position, the twisted grin never once leaving his face. ZG blinked away the tears filling her eyes and snarled.
"You killed them...you killed them all!!!!!!" She lunged at Se'tath. who sidestepped with a over-dramatic flair.
"Yep sweetie, that was me. And guess what?" He stepped back at her next lunge. She stopped as she landed on top of him, feeling a blunt piece of steel pointing into her midriff. "I just killed you too." He fired his shotgun at point blank range. ZG flew backwards, her intestines flying back for several metres before being joined by the rest of her twitching corpse. He strolled over casually and ripped off her left arm, nibbling on it thoughtfully. "Pfft.....this reality has gotten so BORING. I hardly get a decent fight any more.....perhaps I should consider fighting fair again......" He glanced down at his shotgun, still clasped in his hand. "Naah....." He twirled his gun in his right hand and slung it over his shoulder, placing a foot on ZG's chest as he tore off one of her legs. "Well, that's the first sacrifice taken care of. One more and Kane will rise again.....then I can take care of that son of a bitch S2......." Once done with the arm he was holding, he bit into the leg. "Now this in unacceptable...I need some white wine to go with this. Guess red will have to do." He held up the leg and drank the blood pouring from it. Gorged, he used the still dripping fluid to draw out a series of ornate symbols on the ground in front of ZG's corpse. "Right, I'm done here...where to next?"
They can't make things worse for me
Cut my life into pieces
This is my last resort
Suffocation, no breathing
Don't care if I cut my arm bleeding
This is my last resort
Cut my life into pieces, I've reached my last resort
Suffocation, no breathing
Don't give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding
Do you even care if I die bleeding?
Would it be wrong? Would it be right?
If I took my life tonight, Chances are that I might
Mutilation out of sight and I'm contemplating suicide
Cos I'm losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
Losing my sight, Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
I never realised I was spread too thin
Until it was too late and I was empty within
Hungry!
Feeding on chaos and living in sin
Downward spiral, where do I begin?
It all started when I lost my mother
No love for myself, and no love for another
Searching to find a love up on a higher level
Finding nothing but questions and devils
Cos I'm losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
Losing my sight, Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
Nothing's alright, Nothing is fine
I'm running and I'm crying
I'm crying
I'm crying
I'm crying
I'm crying
I can't go on living this way
Cut my life into pieces, I've reached my last resort
Suffocation, no breathing
Don't give a fuck if I cut my arm bleeding
Do you even care if I die bleeding?
Would it be wrong? Would it be right?
If I took my life tonight, Chances are that I might
Mutilation out of sight and I'm contemplating suicide
Cos I'm losing my sight
Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
Losing my sight, Losing my mind
Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine
I'm running and I'm crying
I can't go on living this way
Can't go on living this way
Nothing's alright
* * * * *
"Aargh!" S2 looked around, dazed as he was knocked off his feet.
"You ok bud?" Edge and Auggy ran to their comrade's side, pondering the identity of their apparent invisible assailant.
"I..I think so." Auggy looked around the ranch where they now found themselves, searching for any possible signs of the attacker.
"What happened?"
"I dunno....seemed I got hit by some sort of psionic wave...." Auggy shook her head solemnly.
"We should pray that wasn't it...." S2 and Edge looked at her strangely.
"Why?"
"The only reason you would have been hit that hard is if someone close to you, someone you care deeply for, unleashed an impossibly large emotional surge. The sort only brought about by death." S2 hung his head sadly.
"But who?" Auggy moved to walk over to him, but Edge blocked her path. He turned to S2.
"Don't worry about it man. It could have been anything. Let's just keep moving, ok?" S2 nodded.
"You're right. Irvine sent me here for a reason, our first concern is to figure out why." The three walked over to the rickety old wooden house at the center of the ranch. As they approached it, its state of deterioration became apparent. Doors hanging off hinges, windows shattered, huge gaping holes in the roof....the place had obviously seen better days. A tumbleweed blew past, just in front of Edge's feet. He whistled.
"Phew......I'm expecting John Wayne to come riding over that hill any second now. This is straight out of some old Western." Auggy giggled, quickly checking herself and regaining her composure. S2 walked over to the door and pushed it gently, causing it to fall off its already worn hinges with a deafening crash. He swallowed.
"Ok, that's kinda a bad omen....ah well, hell with it. What have we got to lose?" Edge raised an eyebrow.
"You mean apart from our asses?" S2 turned round to face his two friends.
"You two wait here, I'll go check it out." He slowly walked into the shack, taken aback once inside at the relatively good keep of the interior. In fact, the inside of the building looked as if it had hardly been touched since the abandonment of the ranch. It also seemed a lot bigger on the inside than the outside had hinted at. A LOT bigger. "Just my luck...I end up in a cowboy equivalent of the Tardis...." He caught sight of a steel table in the center of the room, with a holo-projector sitting on it, not dissimilar to the one Auggy had used earlier. He cautiously examined it from a distance before, once gaining confidence, picking it up. A small figure of Irvine blinked into existence in his palm. A small metallic-sounding voice came from the emitter.
"This message is intended for the son of Squall and Rinoa Leonhart." The mini-Irvine made the motions of pressing a few buttons, invisible to S2. The small figure started to talk."
"Hey kiddo, how's it going? I don't have much time, seeing as we're about to head off to confront Kane and all. Squall asked me to leave something here for you, in case something happens to us. See that chest over there?" The small figure pointed to the right, directing S2's gaze to a small wooden box on the floor. The small figure started talking again. "In there, you'll find something that should help you out in case Kane ever comes back, or if we fail and he doesn't die at all. Good luck kid. Oh yeah, one more thing. If I don't make it.....take care of Sefie for me. I'd appreciate it. See you around, kid." The projection blipped out of existence just as quickly as it had been created. S2 walked over to the chest and opened it. A blinding flash filled the room, as a deep voice filled S2's mind.
"Son of Squall. Son of Rinoa. You have a responsibility. The very fabric of reality is under threat. My name is Goku. Se'tath is trying to resurrect Kane. Should he succeed, even time as we know it will not remain free from his wrath. This is your destiny. You are more than just a mere man...you are the chosen. You are the Archangel!" As S2 opened his mouth to speak, he was struck by a burning sensation in his back. Falling to the ground in pain, he curled into a ball. Screaming, he felt his skin tearing and something emerge from within him....but at the same time, he was filled with an all new sensation. The sensation that, for the first time, he was being made whole....
Outside, Auggy was staring in to the sky while Edge leant back against his truck, flicking a playing card between his fingers. He looked up at Auggy, raising an eyebrow.
"You never answered my question earlier." Auggy turned to look at Edge, puzzlement registering on her features.
"What?"
"About why you came with us. You never told me." Auggy suddenly went very quiet.
"I......I...."
"There must have been a reason. Are you REALLY just after Se'tath?"
"No....that's not the only reason. I came with you...I came because...." Before Auggy could finish what she was about to say, the wooden building S2 had entered erupted into a pyrotechincal display of flames, explosions and smoke. Auggy gasped in shock, as Edge sprinted over to the burning shack.
"S2!!! NO!!!" Before either of them could move, something shot out of the top of the flames. A figure of a man, but with something strange about him. He had wings.
* * * * *
A containment facility deep in the Nevada Desert. Se'tath walked up to the door in the largest building and grinned.
"Time for a wake-up call...." He coughed and leant down to the voice recognition panel, speaking in a voice so different from his own English tone that it seemed as if someone else was using his body, their words and voice coming from Se'tath's mouth. "Alvin Leong" He flicked a button on the watch he wore on his left wrist and his appearance changed from that of hideous blue demon to an ordinary-looking American man. "I love this thing.....know having alternate identities would be useful. Such a shame Mr. Leong had to suffer that terrible accident in order for me to gain his passes. Who would have thought his car would lose control and plummet off a cliff just like that? SUCH a tragedy...." He passed through the doorway, strolling down a long passageway until he reached a door with the words "No Unauthorized Access" printed in military type across it. The usual inhabitants of the base had never been able to gain clearance for this room, with good reason. Only Se'tath knew the required codes, as he himself had placed the contents within.
Punching in the clearance codes, he stood back as the door slid open, closing once again as he stepped through. What was contained beyond that door, Se'tath thought to himself smugly, was quite possibly his most impressive bit of handiwork to date. Vast reams of pipes and complex looking control panels lined the wall, with six deep holes in the floor at the middle of the room. Walking over to one of the panels, he punched in yet more codes and a whirring noise filled the chamber. The cover over one of the holes slid back to make way for the stasis tube that rose from the bowels of the complex. Se'tath crossed over to it and ran a hand across the smooth surface. "Yes....perhaps you should have the glory of becoming my master's ticket to this world? Or perhaps....." He walked round to the next tube as it rose from the depths in a style identical to the one before it. "Perhaps you?" He strolled round as each tube rose from its resting place. Se'tath ran a clawed hand over the surface of each of the six tubes as he walked past. "Of course, if I had my way, you'd ALL have died by my hand already. Such a shame that I need you to recall my glorious master.......I would so dearly LOVE to make each or you suffer for what he did to me when you defeated me and returned him to his own dimension. Yes, it was because of you all that I lost my mortality and took on the hideous appearance that now curses my existence." He stopped by the nearest tube. "Perhaps you? No, he'll want to take care of you himself. No doubt he has plans for this one too.....perhaps to get to you as well...and of course, that wretched son of yours."
Walking past the first two tubes, he stopped by the third. Looking through the glass plate at the occupant, he grinned. "Most certainly not you, my dear Miss Trepe. I have GREAT plans for you myself once I regain my humanity...." He stood halfway between the fourth and fifth tubes. "Now I do have SOME mercy in me....I think I'll let you both live for now. At least then you may have the satisfaction of dying in each other's arms. Should Kane let you LIVE that long of course. Which just leaves...." He stroked the sixth tube gently, as if caressing a newborn baby. "You, Mr Dincht. Aren't you a lucky one? You have the singular honour of creating a passage for my master's return. Now then...." He went back over to the control panel and punched in a series of long, complex codes. A red light filled the chamber as five of the six pods slid back down and the sixth took on a dull blue, pulsating glow. Se'tath watched as the stasis field subsided and the pod door slid open. A 20 year old man fell out and looked around, dazed, trying to get his bearings. Se'tath smiled at him.
"Welcome back, Mr. Dincht" The man's hair, spiky and yellow, was exactly the same as it had been at the time of his freezing, as was the rest of his body. Gloves with spiked knuckles adorned his hands, a kevlar jacket covering his chest. His lower body was mostly covered by middle-length denim combat trousers. He slowly pulled himself to his feet and stared at Se'tath.
"Who the HELL are you?" Se'tath grinned.
"Of course, you won't recognize me will you? Allow me to refresh your memory. 19 years ago, you and the rest of your little group assaulted and killed.." The recently released man cut Se'tath off.
"Woah..19 years? No way! That can't be possible!"
"I'm afraid it is, my young friend. You see, after you all returned Kane to from whence he came, he was somewhat...annoyed. As a result, he took away the human form of his trusted aide and reduced him to a horrific blue demon, cursed to walk the Earth for all eternity, until Kane was returned."
"Aide? You mean Se'tath, right? The son of a bitch who conned us into revealing our locations? The bastard who nearly killed Quistis?"
"The very same. Oh yes, Zell?" Se'tath flicked off the image inducer. returning once more to his demonic true self. "I'd be VERY careful when talking to anyone about something like that. You never know WHO might be listening." Zell's featured twisted into pure rage.
"You BASTARD!!! I'll kill you!"
"I wouldn't recommend it. The last person who attacked me while blinded by rage is lying in small, bite-size pieces. Besides, my punishment involved the removal of my mortality. You can't kill me, kid. Anyway, I need you."
"Me? What for?"
"Someone has to be my sacrifice so I can bring back my master, don't they?" Zell snarled.
"Over my dead body." Se'tath sighed.
"You're not the brightest of them are you? That's the whole bloody POINT. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Se'tath pulled out his shotgun and leveled it at Zell's head. Zell smiled back and kicked the gun away with one swift movement.
"I'll go with hard." Se'tath smiled back once more.
"Suits me." He spun round and pushed a button on a panel, causing the door to start to close. Spinning, Zell dashed towards it, sliding underneath as it slammed shut and sprinting out of the complex.
"Gotta get out.....gotta find what happened to the others......" Se'tath grinned as he strolled outside after his quarry.
"And so, the game begins...."
* * * * *
S2 looked down at the burning wreckage of the ranch. Wings? He replayed the situation over and over. Open the chest, fall to ground in pain, grow wings. Made perfect sense. Nothing weird about that. Nothing at all. He shook his head. How the hell had he known how to use his new wings like that? It felt as if he'd had them all his life. The knowledge of how to fly came naturally. As if he had finally attained his true self. But something else was different.....knowledge. New information had been implanted into his mind. A location. Nevada. Six people. Two of whom were his parents. Two demons. Se'tath and Kane. And one more thing...a vision. A vision of what Se'tath had done. A vision of what had happened to ZG. S2 choked back the tears and screamed with uncontrollable rage.
"Se'tath!!! You murdering BASTARD!!!! I'm coming for you!!!" S2 skillfully maneuvered using his new appendages and flew in a beeline for the Nevada desert and Se'tath. From the ground, Edge spun round to follow the flight path with his eyes.
"SHIT! Come on, we have to follow him!" Auggy froze to the spot.
"But...I never told you...." But Edge had already started up the engine of his truck.
"It can wait for later! We have to follow S2!" Auggy shook her head.
"You go. I'll join you later....I have someone to see first." Edge nodded.
"Alright! Come find us as soon as you can! I think we're going to be needing your help!"
Edge gunned the engine, then stopped. He had spotted something lying on the groud, something that had been thrown clear by the explosion. He got out of his truck and walked over. A cowboy hat and long, sandy-coloured trenchcoat. Raising an eyebrow, he tried the hat on. A perfect fit. Taking them with him, he walked back over his truck, started it up again and kicked up a large cloud of dust as he took of in pursuit of S2.
S2 looked around the desert, attempting to shield his eyes from the blinding sunlight. He had been flying for two hours in his attempt to locate the place he had seen in his vision. Now, approaching a speck he had sighted on the horizon, he stopped in mid-air, clutching his head. Falling to the ground, he went down to his knees.
"Argh....I..I can sense his aura.....Se'tath? No..too strong....wait, Kane? It can't be....." He clicked a button on the side of his sunglasses, activating their inbuilt zoom function, in order to focus better on what had been a speck earlier. He could now make out the shadow of an old military base. Taking to the skies once more, he headed directly for it.
* * * * *
"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." Se'tath prowled around the dunes outside the base, his shotgun at his side. He paused and sniffed the air. Casting his eyes around the desolate landscape, he spotted a dark shadow dart between two of the dues. Invisibly smiling behind the cloth covering his lower face, he stealthily crossed over to them. Listening carefully, his senses heightened ever beyond what he was used to in his demonic form by the thrill of the chase, he made out the sound of heavy breathing. Stepping lightly, he datred around the back, to be met by a fist hurtling through the air, making direct contact with his skull. Looking up, he saw Zell's snarling face glaring at him. Se'tath almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow as he drew himself to his full height, relishing the sight of Zell's expression changing to one of pure terror. Zell stammered in disbelief.
"But...but...you can't be standing! That was my mosy powerful shot!" Se'tath laughed quietly.
"And a good shot it was too, Mr. Dincht. But as you can plainly see, you may be good, but I...I am far better." With a lightening movement, Se'tath pulled up his shotgun and placed a bullet directly in Zell's kneecap. Collapsing in agony, the young man stared up at the features of his assailant, terror and rage mixing in his eyes.
"You...bastard...."
"Hm, quite. But you know the saying, my dear Mr. Dincht. An eye for an eye. You were the one to kill my beloved mother. So, I kill you."
"What? Your..mother? That WITCH was your mother?" Se'tath snarled and slashed Zell across the face with a clawed fist.
"You'll regret that later, Mr. Dincht! You killed her, you were the one who caused THIS.." He raised a hand to indicate his face "to happen to me. How ironic though, that I should use the death of the very one who's actions resulted in my appearance becoming warped in order to regain my former beauty."
"T...the others?"
"All perfectly able-bodied, for the moment at least. However, I cannot vouch for their safety once I summon my master back to this plane of existence. I'm sure he has great plans for all of you, especially that bastard who defeated him before."
"You...you mean Squall, don't you?"
"Of course. And his spouse, Rinoa wasn't it? No doubt Kane plans to use her to get at him somehow. As the cowboy with the large mouth? Not to mention that little shrimp he seems to care for. I'm sure Kane has plans for them too. As for Quistis....no need to worry about her. I have my own, rather special plans for her." Zell, usingg the last reserves of his strength, hauled himself to his feet and spat in Se'tath's eye.
"You talk...too much..." Se'tath snorted with amusement as he wiped the sputum from his face.
"And you, Mr. Dincht..." He levelled his weapon at Zell's other kneecap. "Are FAR too cocky..."
* * * * *
"I can sense them.....five weakened spirits....one strong, dark spirit.....and one very weak one! Shit...please, don't let anyone be dead...." S2 redoubled his efforts, working his wings ever harder. Waves of sand flew up beneath him as he skimmed across the desert, his destination never leaving his sight. Approximately a mile behind him, Edge pressed his foot harder to the floor, pushing his truck as hard as it could possibly withstand. Both men sharing the same thought: "Let me be in time...."
* * * * *
"Pie lesu domine, done eis requiem.....fithos lusec wecos vinosec, fithos lusec wecos vinosec...." As Zell slowly regained conciousness, the first thing he took in was Se'tath's chanting. The second thing, was his location. A dark, gothic looking room, candles burning on each wall and the choking, thick, vile smell of whatever incense was burning. Looking around as best he could, he noticed a thcik wooden door in once side of the room, a slit in which allowed a small amount of light in. Through the slit, he could make out the same room he had made his escape from earlier. He guessed that was where the others were. Noticing Se'tath had momentarily turned away, Zell tried to get up and make a break for freedom, but found himself clamped down by large metal restraints. Se'tath turned around, allowing Zell to see that he had removed the cloth from below his face and that he in fact had no lower jaw. In fact, his entire chest area was missing.
"Guess that explains why you wouldn't go down, huh?" Se'tath still managed a grin. Instead of any real physical presence, he had some form of psionic energy in the place of his mouth and chest, that had taken the shape of what body would have been there. The light that was in place of his jaw twisted itself into a demonic grin whenever he wished to smile.
"Correct, Mr. Dincht. You see, once you had all sent Kane back to where he came from, he punished me with this form. I resisted, so he ripped out my chest and jaw."
"But..you can still talk?"
"I don't fully understand it myself, just that I never lost the use of my voice. But revenge is sweet, Mr. Dincht. Wth your passing, my master will return and I shall be restored. The unfortunate side effect, of course, is that you will be dead. But you can rest safely in the knowledge that your demise allowed for a glorious new reign of terror for this world. Have a nice day, Mr. Dincht." Se'tath raised an ornate dagger above his head and finished his incantations. "Pie lesu domine, done eis REQUIEM!!!" He plunged the dagger into Zell's chest, who let out an agonised scream.
"Squall..Rinny...Quisty...everyone..I..I'm sor..." Zell's eyes closed as he passed from the mortal plane. Se'tath let out an insane cackle as the candles around the room were slowly extinguished, the smoke from each one swirling towards the middle of the room and escaping through the roof. Outside, above the building, the dark cloud swirled into a vortex, blocking off the sunlight. Approximately half a mile away now, S2 halted his flight as the skies around him darkened. Another half mile behind him, Edge slammed on the brakes in his truck as the same effect happened all around him. As one, both men started once more towards their destination. The vortex crackled with purple lightening as a large, red creature emerged from within. Kane.