Disclaimer: As the same with all the other chapters, we don't own anything we didn't come
up with. That belongs to Square. We do this for no profit. Blah, blah, blah.
Chapter 25: Hero's Trial, Ending Theme
"This is it, everyone! Hit them hard, hit them fast! Clear a path for Vira to get to the
hallway. That's where Xana will be. As you know, a SeeDs purpose is to fight the sorceress, if
she chooses to be our enemy. Xana has chosen to be our enemy, so it is our duty to stop her. She
has Black SeeDs at her command. Too many for one Garden to take. That is why we have all gathered
here. Galbadia, Balamb, Trabia, White SeeD. It doesn't matter. We all have to do our best and
stand against Xana and her army of Black SeeDs. I'm sure you'll recognize some of them as your
fellow classmates, or even old friends. This battle will be the biggest we've ever had, and it
will be difficult. Remember, you do not have to kill Black SeeDs, only incapacitate them. We do
not need any unnecessary bloodshed. Half of the SeeDs have been put in the mobile Galbadia
Garden, while the rest are here. What we'll do is drive our Gardens into Xana's Silver Siren
airship and ram it, causing her and the Black SeeDs confusion. Then we'll attack. There's no
turning back now. Remember, hard, fast, and make sure that Vira gets to the main hall to stop
Sorceress Xana. Everyone understand?" Squall looked over the sea of students and SeeDs in front
of him.
"Yes!" They all yelled.
"Nida, the pilot of Balamb Garden here, said we have a few minutes before
impact. Make sure your junctions are ready, magic is well stocked, and weapons and armor are
working properly," Quistis added.
Squall looked over at Quistis, who held her Save The Queen out and ready, her face cool
and composed, as she always looked before battle. But, behind her eyes were a little...worry. She
looked back at Squall. "You ready?"
"Yeah," he replied, nodding. Squall drew out his gunblade, swinging it over his shoulder.
"Are you ready?"
Quistis nodded. "Yes, but I am worried about Seifer. He's still not 100%."
"Don't worry about Seifer. Let him worry about himself," Squall said.
"I know you two still don't see eye to eye..."
"We get along better than we used to," he interupted. "But I know that Seifer doesn't
like to be babied."
Quistis let out a nervous laugh. "Yes, I know that."
"Better to concentrate on your own battle and let Seifer do his," Squall added.
"Right."
Above them, the announcer bell sounded and Nida's voice came over the PA system. "Squall,
impact with the Silver Siren will be in about...one minute. Everyone get ready!"
Seifer threw a sideways glance at Vira, who was replacing the bullets in her
kamagunblades. "Any last words, Eronwil?"
She looked up. "What makes you think I'm going to die?"
"Hey, any of us can die here today. I got my own last words. Everyone needs em. How
about you?" He smirked.
Vira rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'last words are overrated.'"
Seifer chuckled. "Cute, Vira. Real cute."
"Ha! Cute. Now that's a good one," Vira said.
Squall looked at them. "Are you two ready?"
They both nodded.
"Vira, are you-" he started.
"Yeah, yeah. I understand what can happen. Just let it happen already, Squall."
"Sorry," he said. "Just have to make sure."
Selphie pumped one hand in the air. "Don't worry, guys! It'll be fine!"
"Selphie's right, we need to be positive. We're not going to lose anyone else," Rinoa
said.
Irvine pumped his shotgun, then tipped his hat up slightly. "Yeah, well, we got one
helluva battle before we can party."
"30 seconds!" Nida yelled over the PA system.
Dorin looked over at Vira, and she looked back at him. "I will back you up in this," he
said.
"I know. Just step aside when you have to," she replied.
"I won't need to."
"You might."
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Nida yelled.
Everyone braced themselves, as both Gardens slammed into the Silver Siren. The Gardens
shook and rumbled, a little dust and debris moving from the ceiling. Squall pointed ahead, where
Garden had crushed a massive hole open in the Sirens hull.
"There! Charge!" he ordered, running full speed into the Siren.
Yelling and screaming, the fellow SeeDs and Garden students followed. Weapons drawn, they
sped toward the hole, ready for whatever was inside.
The Siren shook, alarms going off and blaring in Xana's ears. She growled and called for
Kravis. He appeared a moment later, a sour expression on his face, his double bladed staff at
his side.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Xana screeched.
"The Gardens, ma'am. Both Balamb and Galbadia. They've rammed themselves into us,
causing two large holes in the hull. They're coming in, full force," Kravis replied.
"Get my Black SeeDs and attack immediately! Fight and kill them all!" she commanded.
"Already on their way, ma'am," said Kravis.
Xana eased a little when hearing this. "Good. GO AND FIGHT WITH THEM! NOW!"
Not wasting the time to reply, Kravis dashed off to fight the SeeDs, their battle cries
already audible in Xana's spacious main hall. Xana frowned, intertwining her fingers, her black
nails gleeming dully in the light. "Oh, Vira, so it comes down to this," she said to herself.
"So be it. Do not run. You will die today, anyway. And finally Hyne will pay for creating such
abominations..."
-It was the battle to end all battles. The first two Sorceress Wars hadn't had a battle
with so many SeeDs. Not with all of us united into one group. Nope. Never happened. I had never
seen such chaos. The battle on the beach in Draconia was chaos, but...managable chaos. Not as
huge as this. So many students, so many SeeDs. Fighting against SeeDs. I had wondered that if I
wasn't who I was...would I be one of Xana's Black SeeDs? I had fit the description of the
people she called out to. Hell, she tried to get to Seifer for so long. In the end, it didn't
matter. I was who I was. I couldn't change it no matter how hard I tried. And I had tried so
hard. Tried so hard to deny it, to not listen, but it was all true. It was a horrible truth. I
hated what hand Fate had dealt me, but I wasn't going to complain. No. Because there was nothing
I could do to change it. Not who I was. But...I could change who I wanted to be. I didn't want
to be a hero, but I wanted to do what was right. That was fighting Xana, fighting her Black
SeeDs, standing up and doing what was expected of me as a soldier. I fought. I had no regrets.-
Vira weaved through the battle field, a monument to chaotic confrontation. Everywhere
around here were students and SeeDs fighting Xana's Black SeeDs. People cried out in pain on
both sides. The smell of blood, fire, and water all mixed together in the air, as people would
cast spells on their enemy. In the distance, Vira could feel the heavy thud that the GF the
Brothers would make when the landed. She could hear the roar of Bahamut and feel the gust of
wind beneath his wings as he flew by. Dorin was not far from her, engaged in battle with a Black
SeeD. His Honor Blade sliced through the Black SeeDs arm, severing it from his body. Blood
gushed from the wound, the Black SeeD falling to the ground in pain, crying and reaching for his
lost arm. Vira watched this, rather than where she was running. It came as a surprise to her when
she smacked right into someone. Vira had readied an apology when--
"Oh, look, Xana's daughter. Won't you be fun to fight, though I was expecting Seifer,"
a boy's voice said.
Vira looked at the boy, instantly recognizing him from Seifer and Quistis's incident in
Winhill. It was Kravis. The scar on his face was a dead giveaway, along with his trademark staff
and spikey dark hair. He grinned. There was no warmth or humor in it. Without saying anything,
Kravis attacked, bringing down his bladed staff in a shining arc.
Acting on instinct, Vira stepped out of the way, giving Kravis a side kick to the ribs.
He doubled over, clutching them in one hand.
"Seifer!" Vira yelled.
To her right, Seifer looked up from his fight, finishing off another Black SeeD. "What?"
"Someone here wants to settle a score with you!"
Knowing right away who it was, Seifer made a mad dash over to Vira, jumping over a few
students in the process. "He's mine, dammit!" he growled.
Vira stepped aside, as Kravis recovered. "He's all yours, Seifer."
"Thanks," he replied.
Kravis stood up, clutching his staff and glaring at Vira. "Couldn't fight me, bitch?"
"Don't have the time, jerk," she answered, running off towards the main hall.
Kravis grinned again. "That's okay. I wanted to fight you more anyway, Seifer."
"Feeling's mutual," Seifer said, brandishing his Hyperion.
The two attacked.
Squall had been backed into a wall by three menacing Black SeeDs. A bad position for any
soldier to be in. He couldn't beleive that he had been cornered, but planned to get himself out
of it. The first Black SeeD, a boy a bit younger than Squall, with a gun that looked too large
for him, fired a round at Squall. Bringing up his gunblade, Squall let the bullet bounce off the
blade. He returned by swinging the gunblade sideways, the flat side out, whacking the kid in the
head. The Black SeeD fell to ground unconcious. One down, two to go.
Strange words sounding like 'santact' and 'arethgomor' came from nowhere, Squall and the
two Black SeeDs looking around. Squall looked up and saw Rinoa, angelic white wings spread open,
dark blue storm clouds forming over her head. She uttered another strange word and a bright bolt
of light blue lightning struck down through her, bursting forth from her hands and feet, and
striking the two Black SeeDs. Blue electricity coursed through them, as they jittered and
convulsed, until they both fell to the ground unconcious, small curls of gray smoke coming from
their uniforms. Rinoa's wings flapped slowly, bringing her down to the ground with an amazing
amount of grace. Squall let a little smile creep into the corners of his mouth.
"Always looking like an angel, Rin," he said.
She smiled at him a little. "No one messes with my boyfriend," she replied.
Squall blushed, looking towards the battle. "Uhm, let's go. There's more," he said.
Rinoa chuckled slightly and nodded, following him into another battle.
Irvine stared down the row of Black SeeDs in front of him, all running towards him with
their weapons drawn, intent to kill. One of them looked younger than him, another one older, and
most of them were probably soldiers from Dollet or Galbadia. Irvine tipped his hat back again,
whistling. He ejected a shell out of his Exeter, and put a few more in. The Black SeeDs continued
to charge, yelling out their battle cries. Irvine remained calm. He took a deep breath and looked
up. They were only moments from reaching him. Irvine showed no signs of worry. He squinted. The
Black SeeDs charged closer.
Closer.
They were breathing-down-his-neck close now.
Irvine let out a breath, squeezed the trigger, and Exeter shot out a slug up in the air,
hitting a metal beam above him. The beam wobbled, became loose, and fell to the ground right on
the Black SeeDs, who were mere inches from Irvine's face. The Black SeeDs groaned in pain. Irvine
sighed in contentment with his victory. "Never come after a man with a gun," he said to himself,
strolling into another battle.
WHACK!
Vira landed, her flying roundhouse kick finding its mark on the Black SeeD in front of
her. He weaved forward and backward for a second or two before he fell to the ground. Vira
shrugged. Another two Black SeeDs stood in front of her. A few more. She was surrounded. Vira
frowned. The first one attacked, a fist fighter, throwing two straight punches at Vira's head.
The first one missed, the second made it's mark, knocking Vira in the jaw. She stumbled back,
grabbing her jaw with one hand. She shook her head and waited for the Black SeeD to attack again.
And attack he did, charging at her with another barrage of punches. She was ready. Vira stuck out
her foot, a side kick connecting with the Black SeeDs chest. He fell to the ground, clutching it.
The next two came at the same time, running with full force that made Vira wonder if they knew
they could attack all at once, and they didn't have to run so much. It was a moot point. Vira
ducked, waiting for the exact moment they came in range. She sliced with her right kamagunblade,
hitting the Black SeeD to her left in the stomach, drawing blood. She did the same to the other.
The two fell to the ground. Vira looked up for the others, seeing them no longer wanting to take
turns and all advancing on her at once.
The next second, they all did not have heads. Vira blinked. The bodies fell and Dorin
stood behind them, Honor Blade drawn and covered in blood. Vira grimaced.
"Decapitation really necessary?" she asked.
Dorin nodded. "They were all older soldiers from armies and were intent on killing you.
It was."
Vira shook her head dismissively, looking ahead at the main hall. "...Whatever."
She began running for the main hall. Dorin followed.
Zell stared at the Black SeeD in front of him, obviously a soldier from Galbadia. There
was just something about him that screamed to Zell of Galbadia. It was weird. He hadn't noticed
it before, but the Galbadian soldiers carried themselves a specific way. And even those Galbadian
soldiers that Xana had "promoted" to Black SeeD still carried themselves in the way of a G-Army
lackey.
Luckily, this was another martial arts guy, which made the fight fair. As fair as it
could get, given the situation. The Black SeeD threw a hook which Zell ducked, delievering a
right uppercut to the guy's stomach. In retaliation for the pain, the Black SeeD threw a cross
punch, nailing Zell in the jaw. Zell threw out a left hook, hitting the Black SeeD in his jaw.
He staggered back. Zell readied himself for the next round.
"BOOYAKAAAA!!" It was Selphie's unmistakable trademark saying.
Zell heard her before he saw her in the flesh, jumping onto the Black SeeD's shoulders,
holding on with her legs crossed. The Black SeeD flailed and staggered. Selphie just giggled a
bit, bringing her nunchakus down on the man's head, whacking him with them like his head were a
drum.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. The sound of Selphie's metal nunchakus on the Black SeeD's hard bone
skull. She looked at Zell.
"Sweep kick, Zell!"
Without thinking, Zell obeyed, ducking down and letting his foot swing out from beneath
him. They connected with the Black SeeD's, Selphie leaping back at just the right moment. The
Black SeeD fell down to the floor, unconcious. Selphie threw a glance to Zell, waving her
nunchakus. "Thought you might like the help. I'm gonna see if Irvy needs any."
Selphie ran off, leaving Zell staring at the fallen Black SeeD. He could only think of
one thing to say, "Booya."
Quistis found herself surrounded by angry Black SeeDs. Odds were not in her favor. She
didn't mind. Her focus was more on Seifer. She couldn't help but worry. When Vira had ran by, she
had mentioned that Seifer and Kravis were fighting. And as much as she was worried about Seifer,
she was also angry at Kravis. She wanted to hurt him for what he had done almost as much as
Seifer. But, it wouldn't pay to lose all of her focus. She stared down at the Black SeeDs,
determined to win her battle. They all charged in a rush. Quistis was as ready as she was ever
going to be.
"Meteor!" she yelled, calling down the powerful spell. Meteors appeared from thin air,
crashing down on the majority of the Black SeeDs surrounding her. One after another, the meteors
came down, slight tremors from their impact. Half of the Black SeeDs surrounding her fell to the
ground. The meteors stopped, the spell was over.
The rest, though more apprehensive than before, attacked at full force.
Save The Queen lashed out like a lizard's tongue searching for a fly. It grabbed one
foot of an attacking SeeD and Quistis pulled, knocking him off his feet. Her whip then flew out
in a flash of graceful, fluid movements, snapping at the hands of some of the SeeDs, heads of the
others, feet, and chests. Quistis came full circle, Save The Queen following her lead, going up
and down in a wickedly fast pattern, until all the Black SeeDs had fallen.
Silent, Quistis ran off to find Seifer and Kravis before it was all over.
Vira stood at the entrance of the hall, staring at the iron bars that separated her from
Xana's throne. After several fights with Black SeeDs, her already overtired body was border
lining on just giving up on her completely. Sounds of fighting and clanging of metal against
metal was in the back round, filling her ears with the sounds of war. This was her final stand;
the last chance she had to put everything to an end. She was tired of hiding, running, and
failing to stop Xana. This was the last time she would do this, the last time she would try.
Because she would stop her now, any way she could. Dorin ran up behind her, panting from the
fighting he had been doing. He put a supportive hand on her shoulder, looking down the hallway
in front of them.
"She's down there. This is my last chance," Vira said, quietly.
"We'll beat her."
Vira looked up at Dorin, her eyes filled with sadness and determination. "This is my
fight. Not yours. You need to go and tell everyone to pull out. I don't care whether they're
SeeD or not, I want everyone out now. Go."
Dorin stood silently, looking deeply into her eyes. Vira frowned back at him. She knew
he was going to try to say he was going to stay by her, no matter what. It had been what
separated him from everyone else she ever knew, but Vira was not going to let him go this time.
This was something she had to do on her own, no matter how much he wanted to stay. "I'm not
leaving you," he simply stated.
"You have to. You have to tell everyone to leave."
"I said we'd get through this together, and we will," Dorin replied.
Vira's eyes began to blur, crystalline tears forming in the corners. "If there was ever
a time for you to stand aside, this is it. Look, thanks for putting up with me, even though I
acted like a complete bitch towards you and pushed you away. Not many people would've kept
bugging me like you did. But, you gotta get everyone to leave. I can't, I have to stop Xana.
Because...of everything she did...and that I'm tired of always running away or failing to stop
her. It has to end here or there will be no end to it. Ever. I don't think I'm gonna come back
from this, but there's always a chance. And that chance is for anything that we might have in
the future. Because I believe in the future now. It sounds so corny, but I do. Thank you so much
for caring. You're one of the first people that ever did."
"I have to go with you. We can get someone else to tell everyone to leave," Dorin
protested.
Vira stared at Dorin, her tears stopping, her gaze becoming hard again. "No. There's no
time. Leave or I kick your ass, Vachon. And you know we don't have time for that either. Now get
out. And in case I don't see you again-" Vira hugged Dorin as best she could, still feeling
awkward, not only from the action itself, but from her kamagunblades preventing any real
contact. She then cringed in apprehension, and kissed Dorin on the cheek. "Stay alive, okay? You
got a second chance at life, don't screw it up."
"You're not very good at goodbye for now speeches, are you?" he asked.
Vira shrugged as she let go. "I haven't had much practice...So...will you get everyone
to leave?"
Dorin stared at her one last time, still wanting to stand by her. He had promised
himself that he would; that he'd always be there. But now she was almost ordering him to leave.
Dorin sighed, knowing he would have to listen to her this time. It was against his feelings, but
he knew he had to get everyone out all the same. "Alright. I'll get everyone out."
"Thank you," Vira said, pushing one of the iron gates open. "Bye for now..." The gates
creaked open noisily, drowning out the sounds of battle behind them. Slowly, she shut the gate
behind her, separating the two with tall iron bars. Vira put one of her kamagunblades onto her
belt for the moment, and reached out through the bars. Dorin looked down at her outstretched
hand, taking it into his own. He noted the scar that was lined across her palm, but then looked
up at her. She squeezed his hand tightly for a moment, almost like a strange handshake, and then
slowly let go.
"Good bye..." Dorin whispered.
He watched as Vira turned and walked away, hoping that he hadn't made the biggest
mistake of his life.
Sparks flew as Hyperion met the Executioner blade for blade. Seifer grunted with
exertion as metal screeched on metal before shoving Kravis off of him and swung the gunblade in
a wide arc in a vain attempt to catch Kravis as he recovered.
Kravis was too fast though, and lept back into a defensive, grinning with wicked intent. They had fought their way to a long, narrow bridge that spanned a wide open expanse, the walls of the man-made chasm disappearing into the gloom below.
"Getting tired, Seify?" Kravis taunted. "It's no wonder you lost to Leonhart, your
skills aren't worth a damn."
Ouch, that one stung. "I wish you'd just shut up and die," Seifer retorted, taking up
his stance again. Kravis made the first move, slashing the Executioner in a tight arc at Seifer.
Seifer batted away the blow and the second as Kravis twirled his weapon with deadly efficiency.
Every slash and thrust made by Kravis was parried by Seifer. The clang of blades meeting echoed
strangely from the metal walls around them, mixed with the grunts from the combatants.
Suddenly, the floor shook beneath them and a huge explosion rocked the craft. Seifer was
thrown to the floor as Kravis grabbed a hold of a railing to keep from being knocked off his
feet. Suddenly, Seifer felt the floor beneath him groan and then give way. He blindly reached
out and grabbed at anything as he felt himself begin to fall. A prayer answered; he grabbed onto
the edge of the bridge as the collapsed section fell into the darkness below with a scream of
tortured metal. Seifer could feel the jagged metal gouged his palm, blood seeping from where the
skin had broken. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kravis on the other side twenty feet away.
Kravis smirked. "Hmph, not quite what I had in mind. Oh well, if at first you don't
succeed…" He turned and began walking away to the exit.
Seifer grunted as he felt himself loosing his grip. "KRAVIS!!!"
Kravis spared Seifer one last glance. "Don't worry, Almasy. We'll continue this at a
later date." With that, he left, leaving Seifer alone.
Another rumble shook the ship and the bridge began to groan again. Seifer looked up,
paling as the section he was cling to began to bend downwards.
"Oh shit," he whispered. "Not like this, not without Quisty…"
If Hyne heard, she didn't answer, as the section buckled, then collapsed with a mighty
shriek. As Seifer felt himself begin a sickeningly slow decent into the abyss, he just prayed
it would be quick…
SNAP!!!!
Seifer felt something wrap around his right wrist and then cried out in pain as his arm
was dislocated as the rest of his body jerked to a stop. He looked up to see Quistis, struggling
to pull him up by her whip.
"Seifer, once you get up here, I am going to give you a good tongue lashing about not
taking back up" she hissed through clenched teeth as she pulled him up, secretly relieved that
he was alive and that she had arrived just in time.
Below, Seifer let out a chuckle. "Will it require time in the Discipline room?"
Quistis allowed herself a small smile as she pulled him up the rest of the way.
"Perhaps."
"With you?"
"Maybe," she said as she pulled him up onto the bridge. Seifer sat up and rammed his
shoulder into the bridge's side, popping the joint back in as he let out a stream of curses.
"You know, I could've done that for you," Quistis said as she knelt down and cast a
Cure spell over him.
"Yeah well," Seifer said, giving her a cocky grin before capturing her lips with his
own. At that moment, the ship rumbled again and they broke off the kiss.
"We got to get out of here," Quistis said as they got up and Seifer retrieved his
gunblade. "The Siren is about to go up at any moment!"
"Lead the way, Instructor!" Seifer said as they began to run back to entrance.
Dorin ran into the fray, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Evacuate! Everyone! Now! We
have to get out!"
Hearing him, Squall over to him, pushing a few people out of his way. "What do you mean?"
he asked.
"Vira told me to get everyone out, SeeDs, students, Black SeeDs. Anyone who's still
alive. She says to pull back the Gardens now," Dorin said.
Squall squinted. "She's reached the main hall."
Dorin nodded.
"I don't know if this is gonna work..." Squall mumbled. He looked over the battlefield,
both sides had already lost significantly. He knew that both sides were getting tired. Arresting
the remaining Black SeeDs and getting everyone out shouldn't be too much trouble for him. Squall
reached into his pocket and took out a communicator. "This is Squall Leonhart, Balamb Garden's
SeeD leader. We have gotten the command to evacuate. The battle with the sorceress is starting
and there is a possibility that the ship will go down. We need both Gardens ready for departure."
He turned to the crowd, yelling as loud as he could. "WE HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO EVACUATE! EVERYONE
LEAVE THE SILVER SIREN NOW! PROCEED DIRECTLY TO YOUR RESPECTIVE GARDEN! ALL SEEDS APPREHEND AS
MANY BLACK SEEDS AS YOU CAN! MOVE IT! ON THE DOUBLE!"
He looked back at Dorin. "I hope she knows what she's doing. Once we leave, there's only
gonna be one way out for her: swimming."
Dorin looked back at the main hall. "I know," he said. "I know."
- There will always be moments in your life that you aren't ready for, no matter how
much time you prepare for it. For me, this was one of them. And all I could think about was...
how goddamn ironic life was. Life...is funny. But not in the way that makes you laugh. Irony is
a key word here. It really is. All my life I wanted my parents. I wanted them to be alive and
want me to be around. I never told anyone, didn't have anyone to tell. Yet, I still wanted it.
I think maybe all orphans might want that, deep down inside. Well, I'd found what I had wanted,
and it turned out to be the nightmare of all nightmares. Irony at its best.-
They are now alone in the spacious hall. Mother and daughter, together for one final
fight. Xana grins maliciously, raising her hand in the air and calling, "Death Spear!"
A roar of thunder bounds off the dark walls of the hall and back again. Above Xana
appears a large dark cloud, threatening with the roars of thunder. One last roar and the cloud
begins to crackle and snap, an impending storm about to hit. Before Vira is able to dodge out of
the way, a large spear of brightly colored green lightning shoots down from above, hitting her
in her stomach and disappearing. Vira looks down at herself, surprised to be alive. More
surprise is met when she sees her scar on her stomach. It begins to bleed, drops of hot, sticky
crimson blood pouring from within. She is bleeding. Bleeding to death.
- I've always wanted to be wanted by...someone or someplace, even if I've denied it all
this time. The kids at the orphanage didn't want me, and neither did the orphanage so they
shipped me off to Galbadia Garden, never mind if I want to be there or not. They don't want me
either, so when I'm about to leave, I get transferred to Balamb. That's the first place in the
whole damn world that ever invited me or wanted me there for some reason. That's when everything
started to unravel for me. I guess...the start of proving whether I'm worth keeping in this
world.-
"Vira, you seem to have more lives than a cat," Xana sneers. "No matter how hard I've
tried to get rid of you, you still seem to come back."
Charging, Vira slashes at Xana, the silver blade narrowly missing its target. "I could
say the same about you," she returns.
"Ah, but you haven't really tried that hard." Xana slashes at Vira, a small cut now
bleeding on her cheek. "Every time you do, you chicken out at the end. You really don't have it
in you to kill me. I'm the only family you've ever had."
- Is life just testing me? Just trying to see if I'm the ultimate reject from not only
an orphanage, a Garden, and kids, but also an entire world? Xana's right. She is the only family
I've ever had...by blood... -
Another overhead slash, this one meets its mark. A large gash on Xana's arm appears,
making her wince in pain and anger. Black blood oozes from the wound, spilling onto Vira's arm,
but she does not notice. "You're right. You're the only family I've ever had, by blood relation.
But you sure as hell ain't my real family. My real family are my friends," she says.
Vira tries another cut, this one to the side, but Xana is ready. She concentrates,
stopping the blade with her mind. Looking to her left, Xana makes Vira's arm fly backwards. She
then shoots her eyes at one of the swords she has displayed on the wall and her eyes dart back
to Vira. The sword struggles against its restraints, clanging loudly against the wall. It flies
out towards Vira, nicking her jacket at the shoulder. "You think those pathetic SeeDs are your
friends? You think that Draconian is your family? Vira, you've lived a life of complete social
isolation. Don't think they even would give a second thought to your death." Xana smirks, her
obsidian colored lips shining dimly in the ominous blue light.
- It hurts. Of course it does. Most of what I've known is pain in my life. Not much joy
to be had with Vira. But now, things are different. I'm different. And I've got to find out who
I really am. At least I know one thing; my family is my friends. It is Squall, Rinoa, Zell,
Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and hell, even Seifer. And...Dorin. Because despite how badly I've
acted, how much an ice queen, nutcase, bitch that I've been, they don't tell me to, "Go away."
They never have. They haven't taunted me like the kids used to, and they've tried to reach out
to me. Friends...family...they forgive each other, no matter how badly they act, right? They
know that. I know that. -
Stepping back, Vira looks up and calls out, "Crimson Pain!" Although, she has no idea
where the words came from, or even what she is doing. Now it is all instinct and Vira figures
these are the half sorceress powers in her coming out. Instinctively, Vira releases her
kamagunblades, now having an outer glow of red. Red that is also matching the tint to her eyes.
They float in front of her, as if suspended by strings. Suddenly, they spring to life, both
shooting out crimson bullets at Xana. They both hit either shoulder, black blood spewing forth
and causing Xana to scream in anguished frustration. Vira's red eyes turn to Xana, the
kamagunblades following her gaze. They both shoot at her, digging into her shoulders. Another
scream of anger and pain comes from Xana, now being knocked back by the blades in her shoulders.
Vira's eyes dim back to their dark brown as she charges for Xana, leaping onto her and grabbing
both kamagunblades. "I learned from my mistake. I have changed. I know what it is to love.
Something you'll never understand. Those people are my family, and even accepted me when I
showed them nothing but coldness. They care. They always will."
Xana struggles hard, forcing both kamagunblades out of her shoulders. With one hand she
digs her nails into Vira's shoulder, more sticky red blood flowing out. Vira winces, beginning
to feel weaker with the passing of each second. Xana grins evilly. "And they let you sacrifice
yourself to kill me? What kind of family is that?"
- But as I was saying, there may be a precise moment when you feel your life change,
when you see it heading somewhere else. You may feel yourself change. Most of the time you
don't. Either way, it happens and you can't stop it. I tried, and all I've ended up with was
less time to spend with people I now care about. That moment, that event, that day that your
life changes doesn't just change you, it changes the world around you. Then there's the one
moment that defines who we really are, deep down. For the longest time I thought I was a lone
wolf, like I heard they described Squall. I thought I was heartless, cold, and unfriendly.
Somehow that made me feel better. I could keep everyone away and never have to care what they
thought about me because, yeah, I cared too much and was hurt when it wasn't good. So I was Vira
Eronwil, the anti-social bitch who didn't care about anything or anyone. It was a wonder I was
ever a SeeD. Who am I now? I'm not doing this for anyone...except...I am. I am doing this for
everyone. Does that make me a hero, deep down? -
Xana forces Vira off her and glides over to a large staircase at the end of the hall.
She raises her hands high, and a small black ball appears over her head. At first it's tiny,
surrounded by electric waves of purple light. Then, it grows quickly, expanding in and instant
to the length of the wall behind her. It falls back and ripples into place.
Vira moves towards Xana, her kamagunblades fanned out and ready for the final attack.
"I decided this. Me. Alone. I can't let them live in a world with you in it."
Xana's grin stays and she mocks, "You can't kill me. You won't."
Hot, tingling sensation, one that was reaching all the way into her fingertips and
gathering in her chest told Vira she was doing it. The Final Justice was coming, and there was
no turning back. "I will."
Scowling, Xana snaps, "If you're so damn intent, then I'm making a hasty retreat.
This'll take me back to where your pathetic father came from. Start anew, without you around to
screw things up."
Vira smirks a little, feeling the spell coming out. She looks at Xana one last time.
"Too late."
- In the end, I don't think it matters. You just do what you feel is right, no matter
how twisted that right may be to you. Xana thought what she was doing was right, and I'm doing
what I think is right. Change isn't what is important, it isn't really something to blame, and
it isn't what defines you. What makes you who you are is what you do after the change, how you
handle it. -
Buzzing, humming, crackling noises match the bright white ball of energy that is forming
in Vira's kamagunblades. As the ball grows exponentially, so does the noise. In a matter of
seconds the ball of light has engulfed both mother and daughter and the white noise breaks. An
explosion of light spreads throughout the entire Silver Siren, electrical equipment failing,
errors on navigation equipment displaying on their screens, white sparks of electricity hopping
from them. A column of white light spreads upward as another spreads outward, burning a hole
through the ceiling. The ship rocks from the sudden spell, an explosion in the engine room
bursting forth rapidly. The slick, black, Silver Siren tips, and slowly descends into the oceans
off the coast of Balamb. A fiery ruin only disrupted by the white light slowly fading from
within.
- If you are alive to handle it at all. -
Vira choked and sputtered, blood coughing out of her mouth. On hands and knees, she felt
the gash on her stomach; it was still bleeding. It was a miracle itself that she had lived
through the last Final Justice, and how exactly, she didn't know. But, the tremors she felt in
the Siren yelled to her that the place was going down, and fast.
"I can't believe that didn't kill me," she whispered. Vira took out a potion and drank
it, feeling better again. There was no time to wonder, though. She had to get out. In less than
a minute.
"To tell the truth, I can't believe it either," a voice behind her replied.
Vira looked up and saw Kravis, just as bloody as she was, and getting worse by the
second. He stared down at her, his mouth fixed in a grimace, the corners of his mouth bloody
from his last fight. Kravis let out a yell and kicked Vira in the stomach. Pain struck and rang
out from her stomach as Vira rolled backwards, towards the black hole. She got up as fast as she
could and stared back at him, her eyes full of anger.
"What the hell is your problem?! This place is going down and you're trying to kill me?!
Give it up! It's over! Either we get out of here now, or I get out of her now, or we both die.
But, kicking me isn't gonna make it better!" Vira yelled.
Kravis walked up next to Vira and looked into the black hole. The depth of it was
endless, not telling where it could really lead.
Another tremor brought one of the columns of the hall down with a thundering crash. The
floor shook violently.
"This...is the only way out," he said, reaching out to touch the surface of the hole. As
his fingers touched it, the entire black whole rippled, like the surface of a lake.
Vira scowled. "You idiot. You don't know where it goes."
"And you know that you can't get out any other way. Not in time," he answered.
A tremor knocked down another column, this time cracking and breaking into large chunks
in front of them. Vira glanced at the hole, and then down the hall. Kravis was right. She
wouldn't make it, he wouldn't make it. What was it that Xana had said about the hole?
iThis'll take me back to where your pathetic father came from./i
Hadn't he come from Deling City? Yes, but there was still an unsettling feeling about
it.
Time was running out.
Kravis looked back at Vira for a moment, then at the black hole. It he went in, he could
get back to Balamb in a few days tops, probably. Why would Xana make something that'd bring him
somewhere so far? She wouldn't want to go too far. Either way, he'd be back and stronger and
able to get back at Seifer at long last. But...if Vira followed him, she'd know where he was and
that wouldn't be good. Not at all. It could ruin everything.
Raising his double bladed staff, Kravis waited a second for Vira to turn back to him and
then slashed down at her face; hard. It had meant to kill, Vira's reflexes were enough so that
she had only been knocked back, her face covered in blood. Kravis shrugged as Vira screamed out
in pain and fury. It had to do. He had no time for anything else.
"This is where I leave you to die with your mother and prepare for my revenge," Kravis
said, smiling in a cheerful manner that was quite a contrast to the collapsing and falling Siren
around them.
Vira shook her head and slowly began to stand up. "Idiot. You just told me your whole
plan."
"You won't have enough time to find and stop me. Goodbye," Kravis said. He stepped
through the black hole, the thing quivering with his presence. There was a flash of light.
Kravis was gone.
One last blast from the engine room, knocking Vira off her feet again. Then Vira felt
something she hadn't felt before. It was a strange sensation, like becoming as light as a
feather. To be more precise, it was her hand that felt light as a feather, lighter even, as if
it was just—
Disappearing.
No, it was impossible. Yet Vira's hand was doing the impossible. Instead of solid
matter, normal flesh tones and muscle mass she had felt her entire life, there was swirling
colors of blues, greens, pinks, purples. Her hand now looked like when oil mixed with water,
glistening in the sunshine. Shining as a pearl, and as solid as a bubble. Vira could not believe
her eyes. Where was the rest of her hand going? How the hell could it happen?
A wall began to crumble at her side, debris falling everywhere. Time was more than
running out. Vira could not let it end like this. No freaking way.
-It wasn't for a long time after that I understood why my hand was disappearing. Years,
in fact. And it's a completely different story. At the time, it was confusing as hell, and made
me question more than my own sanity. I had no time to question, though. Only the time to will
myself whole again, and I don't even know how I managed that. Magic, I suppose. My own magic
made me whole again. But that wasn't the end of my troubles. Oh, no, sir. There was still the
mysterious hole in front of me, Kravis's scar bleeding down my face, and the Siren crumbling
into the ocean underneath me. No time. Dammit, no time.-
Using all her will, Vira summoned a strength deep within her, a blue light coming from
the floor, traveling up through her, like a strong up draft of wind, leaving her hand back to
the way it was. She wiggled her fingers and sighed a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry
about.
One final blast. Last seconds of her life, she guessed. It was time to decide her fate.
Die in the Siren, or take her chances with the hole.
"Death…hole…death…no contest. Mystery hole it is," she said to herself. Vira ran and
leapt for the hole, feeling herself slip through it. Another flash of light. Vira was gone.
Author's Comments: Wow, eh? A showstopper of an ending, right? You think it's over,
don't you? That after over a year of waiting for the last chapters, it's all gone. That it's
finished, completed and done. Right? Wrong! That's right, folks, you've still got one more
chapter to go! Yep! An epilogue of sorts with the aftermath of the sinking of the Siren, and some
more on just where Vira went. Has anyone got a clue? No? Aw. Some final battle, though, right?
I thought so. This big battle sequence took me longer than I thought, though I had Vira and
Xana's written out for a while now. Took me long enough, didn't it? Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway,
won't take me long at all to get the last chapter up. Just a matter of cut and paste, really. As
always, R&R to let me know how you liked it. Or email me. Either way. Creative types love the
attention. 'Till next time!
up with. That belongs to Square. We do this for no profit. Blah, blah, blah.
Chapter 25: Hero's Trial, Ending Theme
"This is it, everyone! Hit them hard, hit them fast! Clear a path for Vira to get to the
hallway. That's where Xana will be. As you know, a SeeDs purpose is to fight the sorceress, if
she chooses to be our enemy. Xana has chosen to be our enemy, so it is our duty to stop her. She
has Black SeeDs at her command. Too many for one Garden to take. That is why we have all gathered
here. Galbadia, Balamb, Trabia, White SeeD. It doesn't matter. We all have to do our best and
stand against Xana and her army of Black SeeDs. I'm sure you'll recognize some of them as your
fellow classmates, or even old friends. This battle will be the biggest we've ever had, and it
will be difficult. Remember, you do not have to kill Black SeeDs, only incapacitate them. We do
not need any unnecessary bloodshed. Half of the SeeDs have been put in the mobile Galbadia
Garden, while the rest are here. What we'll do is drive our Gardens into Xana's Silver Siren
airship and ram it, causing her and the Black SeeDs confusion. Then we'll attack. There's no
turning back now. Remember, hard, fast, and make sure that Vira gets to the main hall to stop
Sorceress Xana. Everyone understand?" Squall looked over the sea of students and SeeDs in front
of him.
"Yes!" They all yelled.
"Nida, the pilot of Balamb Garden here, said we have a few minutes before
impact. Make sure your junctions are ready, magic is well stocked, and weapons and armor are
working properly," Quistis added.
Squall looked over at Quistis, who held her Save The Queen out and ready, her face cool
and composed, as she always looked before battle. But, behind her eyes were a little...worry. She
looked back at Squall. "You ready?"
"Yeah," he replied, nodding. Squall drew out his gunblade, swinging it over his shoulder.
"Are you ready?"
Quistis nodded. "Yes, but I am worried about Seifer. He's still not 100%."
"Don't worry about Seifer. Let him worry about himself," Squall said.
"I know you two still don't see eye to eye..."
"We get along better than we used to," he interupted. "But I know that Seifer doesn't
like to be babied."
Quistis let out a nervous laugh. "Yes, I know that."
"Better to concentrate on your own battle and let Seifer do his," Squall added.
"Right."
Above them, the announcer bell sounded and Nida's voice came over the PA system. "Squall,
impact with the Silver Siren will be in about...one minute. Everyone get ready!"
Seifer threw a sideways glance at Vira, who was replacing the bullets in her
kamagunblades. "Any last words, Eronwil?"
She looked up. "What makes you think I'm going to die?"
"Hey, any of us can die here today. I got my own last words. Everyone needs em. How
about you?" He smirked.
Vira rolled her eyes. "Yeah, 'last words are overrated.'"
Seifer chuckled. "Cute, Vira. Real cute."
"Ha! Cute. Now that's a good one," Vira said.
Squall looked at them. "Are you two ready?"
They both nodded.
"Vira, are you-" he started.
"Yeah, yeah. I understand what can happen. Just let it happen already, Squall."
"Sorry," he said. "Just have to make sure."
Selphie pumped one hand in the air. "Don't worry, guys! It'll be fine!"
"Selphie's right, we need to be positive. We're not going to lose anyone else," Rinoa
said.
Irvine pumped his shotgun, then tipped his hat up slightly. "Yeah, well, we got one
helluva battle before we can party."
"30 seconds!" Nida yelled over the PA system.
Dorin looked over at Vira, and she looked back at him. "I will back you up in this," he
said.
"I know. Just step aside when you have to," she replied.
"I won't need to."
"You might."
"BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Nida yelled.
Everyone braced themselves, as both Gardens slammed into the Silver Siren. The Gardens
shook and rumbled, a little dust and debris moving from the ceiling. Squall pointed ahead, where
Garden had crushed a massive hole open in the Sirens hull.
"There! Charge!" he ordered, running full speed into the Siren.
Yelling and screaming, the fellow SeeDs and Garden students followed. Weapons drawn, they
sped toward the hole, ready for whatever was inside.
The Siren shook, alarms going off and blaring in Xana's ears. She growled and called for
Kravis. He appeared a moment later, a sour expression on his face, his double bladed staff at
his side.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Xana screeched.
"The Gardens, ma'am. Both Balamb and Galbadia. They've rammed themselves into us,
causing two large holes in the hull. They're coming in, full force," Kravis replied.
"Get my Black SeeDs and attack immediately! Fight and kill them all!" she commanded.
"Already on their way, ma'am," said Kravis.
Xana eased a little when hearing this. "Good. GO AND FIGHT WITH THEM! NOW!"
Not wasting the time to reply, Kravis dashed off to fight the SeeDs, their battle cries
already audible in Xana's spacious main hall. Xana frowned, intertwining her fingers, her black
nails gleeming dully in the light. "Oh, Vira, so it comes down to this," she said to herself.
"So be it. Do not run. You will die today, anyway. And finally Hyne will pay for creating such
abominations..."
-It was the battle to end all battles. The first two Sorceress Wars hadn't had a battle
with so many SeeDs. Not with all of us united into one group. Nope. Never happened. I had never
seen such chaos. The battle on the beach in Draconia was chaos, but...managable chaos. Not as
huge as this. So many students, so many SeeDs. Fighting against SeeDs. I had wondered that if I
wasn't who I was...would I be one of Xana's Black SeeDs? I had fit the description of the
people she called out to. Hell, she tried to get to Seifer for so long. In the end, it didn't
matter. I was who I was. I couldn't change it no matter how hard I tried. And I had tried so
hard. Tried so hard to deny it, to not listen, but it was all true. It was a horrible truth. I
hated what hand Fate had dealt me, but I wasn't going to complain. No. Because there was nothing
I could do to change it. Not who I was. But...I could change who I wanted to be. I didn't want
to be a hero, but I wanted to do what was right. That was fighting Xana, fighting her Black
SeeDs, standing up and doing what was expected of me as a soldier. I fought. I had no regrets.-
Vira weaved through the battle field, a monument to chaotic confrontation. Everywhere
around here were students and SeeDs fighting Xana's Black SeeDs. People cried out in pain on
both sides. The smell of blood, fire, and water all mixed together in the air, as people would
cast spells on their enemy. In the distance, Vira could feel the heavy thud that the GF the
Brothers would make when the landed. She could hear the roar of Bahamut and feel the gust of
wind beneath his wings as he flew by. Dorin was not far from her, engaged in battle with a Black
SeeD. His Honor Blade sliced through the Black SeeDs arm, severing it from his body. Blood
gushed from the wound, the Black SeeD falling to the ground in pain, crying and reaching for his
lost arm. Vira watched this, rather than where she was running. It came as a surprise to her when
she smacked right into someone. Vira had readied an apology when--
"Oh, look, Xana's daughter. Won't you be fun to fight, though I was expecting Seifer,"
a boy's voice said.
Vira looked at the boy, instantly recognizing him from Seifer and Quistis's incident in
Winhill. It was Kravis. The scar on his face was a dead giveaway, along with his trademark staff
and spikey dark hair. He grinned. There was no warmth or humor in it. Without saying anything,
Kravis attacked, bringing down his bladed staff in a shining arc.
Acting on instinct, Vira stepped out of the way, giving Kravis a side kick to the ribs.
He doubled over, clutching them in one hand.
"Seifer!" Vira yelled.
To her right, Seifer looked up from his fight, finishing off another Black SeeD. "What?"
"Someone here wants to settle a score with you!"
Knowing right away who it was, Seifer made a mad dash over to Vira, jumping over a few
students in the process. "He's mine, dammit!" he growled.
Vira stepped aside, as Kravis recovered. "He's all yours, Seifer."
"Thanks," he replied.
Kravis stood up, clutching his staff and glaring at Vira. "Couldn't fight me, bitch?"
"Don't have the time, jerk," she answered, running off towards the main hall.
Kravis grinned again. "That's okay. I wanted to fight you more anyway, Seifer."
"Feeling's mutual," Seifer said, brandishing his Hyperion.
The two attacked.
Squall had been backed into a wall by three menacing Black SeeDs. A bad position for any
soldier to be in. He couldn't beleive that he had been cornered, but planned to get himself out
of it. The first Black SeeD, a boy a bit younger than Squall, with a gun that looked too large
for him, fired a round at Squall. Bringing up his gunblade, Squall let the bullet bounce off the
blade. He returned by swinging the gunblade sideways, the flat side out, whacking the kid in the
head. The Black SeeD fell to ground unconcious. One down, two to go.
Strange words sounding like 'santact' and 'arethgomor' came from nowhere, Squall and the
two Black SeeDs looking around. Squall looked up and saw Rinoa, angelic white wings spread open,
dark blue storm clouds forming over her head. She uttered another strange word and a bright bolt
of light blue lightning struck down through her, bursting forth from her hands and feet, and
striking the two Black SeeDs. Blue electricity coursed through them, as they jittered and
convulsed, until they both fell to the ground unconcious, small curls of gray smoke coming from
their uniforms. Rinoa's wings flapped slowly, bringing her down to the ground with an amazing
amount of grace. Squall let a little smile creep into the corners of his mouth.
"Always looking like an angel, Rin," he said.
She smiled at him a little. "No one messes with my boyfriend," she replied.
Squall blushed, looking towards the battle. "Uhm, let's go. There's more," he said.
Rinoa chuckled slightly and nodded, following him into another battle.
Irvine stared down the row of Black SeeDs in front of him, all running towards him with
their weapons drawn, intent to kill. One of them looked younger than him, another one older, and
most of them were probably soldiers from Dollet or Galbadia. Irvine tipped his hat back again,
whistling. He ejected a shell out of his Exeter, and put a few more in. The Black SeeDs continued
to charge, yelling out their battle cries. Irvine remained calm. He took a deep breath and looked
up. They were only moments from reaching him. Irvine showed no signs of worry. He squinted. The
Black SeeDs charged closer.
Closer.
They were breathing-down-his-neck close now.
Irvine let out a breath, squeezed the trigger, and Exeter shot out a slug up in the air,
hitting a metal beam above him. The beam wobbled, became loose, and fell to the ground right on
the Black SeeDs, who were mere inches from Irvine's face. The Black SeeDs groaned in pain. Irvine
sighed in contentment with his victory. "Never come after a man with a gun," he said to himself,
strolling into another battle.
WHACK!
Vira landed, her flying roundhouse kick finding its mark on the Black SeeD in front of
her. He weaved forward and backward for a second or two before he fell to the ground. Vira
shrugged. Another two Black SeeDs stood in front of her. A few more. She was surrounded. Vira
frowned. The first one attacked, a fist fighter, throwing two straight punches at Vira's head.
The first one missed, the second made it's mark, knocking Vira in the jaw. She stumbled back,
grabbing her jaw with one hand. She shook her head and waited for the Black SeeD to attack again.
And attack he did, charging at her with another barrage of punches. She was ready. Vira stuck out
her foot, a side kick connecting with the Black SeeDs chest. He fell to the ground, clutching it.
The next two came at the same time, running with full force that made Vira wonder if they knew
they could attack all at once, and they didn't have to run so much. It was a moot point. Vira
ducked, waiting for the exact moment they came in range. She sliced with her right kamagunblade,
hitting the Black SeeD to her left in the stomach, drawing blood. She did the same to the other.
The two fell to the ground. Vira looked up for the others, seeing them no longer wanting to take
turns and all advancing on her at once.
The next second, they all did not have heads. Vira blinked. The bodies fell and Dorin
stood behind them, Honor Blade drawn and covered in blood. Vira grimaced.
"Decapitation really necessary?" she asked.
Dorin nodded. "They were all older soldiers from armies and were intent on killing you.
It was."
Vira shook her head dismissively, looking ahead at the main hall. "...Whatever."
She began running for the main hall. Dorin followed.
Zell stared at the Black SeeD in front of him, obviously a soldier from Galbadia. There
was just something about him that screamed to Zell of Galbadia. It was weird. He hadn't noticed
it before, but the Galbadian soldiers carried themselves a specific way. And even those Galbadian
soldiers that Xana had "promoted" to Black SeeD still carried themselves in the way of a G-Army
lackey.
Luckily, this was another martial arts guy, which made the fight fair. As fair as it
could get, given the situation. The Black SeeD threw a hook which Zell ducked, delievering a
right uppercut to the guy's stomach. In retaliation for the pain, the Black SeeD threw a cross
punch, nailing Zell in the jaw. Zell threw out a left hook, hitting the Black SeeD in his jaw.
He staggered back. Zell readied himself for the next round.
"BOOYAKAAAA!!" It was Selphie's unmistakable trademark saying.
Zell heard her before he saw her in the flesh, jumping onto the Black SeeD's shoulders,
holding on with her legs crossed. The Black SeeD flailed and staggered. Selphie just giggled a
bit, bringing her nunchakus down on the man's head, whacking him with them like his head were a
drum.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. The sound of Selphie's metal nunchakus on the Black SeeD's hard bone
skull. She looked at Zell.
"Sweep kick, Zell!"
Without thinking, Zell obeyed, ducking down and letting his foot swing out from beneath
him. They connected with the Black SeeD's, Selphie leaping back at just the right moment. The
Black SeeD fell down to the floor, unconcious. Selphie threw a glance to Zell, waving her
nunchakus. "Thought you might like the help. I'm gonna see if Irvy needs any."
Selphie ran off, leaving Zell staring at the fallen Black SeeD. He could only think of
one thing to say, "Booya."
Quistis found herself surrounded by angry Black SeeDs. Odds were not in her favor. She
didn't mind. Her focus was more on Seifer. She couldn't help but worry. When Vira had ran by, she
had mentioned that Seifer and Kravis were fighting. And as much as she was worried about Seifer,
she was also angry at Kravis. She wanted to hurt him for what he had done almost as much as
Seifer. But, it wouldn't pay to lose all of her focus. She stared down at the Black SeeDs,
determined to win her battle. They all charged in a rush. Quistis was as ready as she was ever
going to be.
"Meteor!" she yelled, calling down the powerful spell. Meteors appeared from thin air,
crashing down on the majority of the Black SeeDs surrounding her. One after another, the meteors
came down, slight tremors from their impact. Half of the Black SeeDs surrounding her fell to the
ground. The meteors stopped, the spell was over.
The rest, though more apprehensive than before, attacked at full force.
Save The Queen lashed out like a lizard's tongue searching for a fly. It grabbed one
foot of an attacking SeeD and Quistis pulled, knocking him off his feet. Her whip then flew out
in a flash of graceful, fluid movements, snapping at the hands of some of the SeeDs, heads of the
others, feet, and chests. Quistis came full circle, Save The Queen following her lead, going up
and down in a wickedly fast pattern, until all the Black SeeDs had fallen.
Silent, Quistis ran off to find Seifer and Kravis before it was all over.
Vira stood at the entrance of the hall, staring at the iron bars that separated her from
Xana's throne. After several fights with Black SeeDs, her already overtired body was border
lining on just giving up on her completely. Sounds of fighting and clanging of metal against
metal was in the back round, filling her ears with the sounds of war. This was her final stand;
the last chance she had to put everything to an end. She was tired of hiding, running, and
failing to stop Xana. This was the last time she would do this, the last time she would try.
Because she would stop her now, any way she could. Dorin ran up behind her, panting from the
fighting he had been doing. He put a supportive hand on her shoulder, looking down the hallway
in front of them.
"She's down there. This is my last chance," Vira said, quietly.
"We'll beat her."
Vira looked up at Dorin, her eyes filled with sadness and determination. "This is my
fight. Not yours. You need to go and tell everyone to pull out. I don't care whether they're
SeeD or not, I want everyone out now. Go."
Dorin stood silently, looking deeply into her eyes. Vira frowned back at him. She knew
he was going to try to say he was going to stay by her, no matter what. It had been what
separated him from everyone else she ever knew, but Vira was not going to let him go this time.
This was something she had to do on her own, no matter how much he wanted to stay. "I'm not
leaving you," he simply stated.
"You have to. You have to tell everyone to leave."
"I said we'd get through this together, and we will," Dorin replied.
Vira's eyes began to blur, crystalline tears forming in the corners. "If there was ever
a time for you to stand aside, this is it. Look, thanks for putting up with me, even though I
acted like a complete bitch towards you and pushed you away. Not many people would've kept
bugging me like you did. But, you gotta get everyone to leave. I can't, I have to stop Xana.
Because...of everything she did...and that I'm tired of always running away or failing to stop
her. It has to end here or there will be no end to it. Ever. I don't think I'm gonna come back
from this, but there's always a chance. And that chance is for anything that we might have in
the future. Because I believe in the future now. It sounds so corny, but I do. Thank you so much
for caring. You're one of the first people that ever did."
"I have to go with you. We can get someone else to tell everyone to leave," Dorin
protested.
Vira stared at Dorin, her tears stopping, her gaze becoming hard again. "No. There's no
time. Leave or I kick your ass, Vachon. And you know we don't have time for that either. Now get
out. And in case I don't see you again-" Vira hugged Dorin as best she could, still feeling
awkward, not only from the action itself, but from her kamagunblades preventing any real
contact. She then cringed in apprehension, and kissed Dorin on the cheek. "Stay alive, okay? You
got a second chance at life, don't screw it up."
"You're not very good at goodbye for now speeches, are you?" he asked.
Vira shrugged as she let go. "I haven't had much practice...So...will you get everyone
to leave?"
Dorin stared at her one last time, still wanting to stand by her. He had promised
himself that he would; that he'd always be there. But now she was almost ordering him to leave.
Dorin sighed, knowing he would have to listen to her this time. It was against his feelings, but
he knew he had to get everyone out all the same. "Alright. I'll get everyone out."
"Thank you," Vira said, pushing one of the iron gates open. "Bye for now..." The gates
creaked open noisily, drowning out the sounds of battle behind them. Slowly, she shut the gate
behind her, separating the two with tall iron bars. Vira put one of her kamagunblades onto her
belt for the moment, and reached out through the bars. Dorin looked down at her outstretched
hand, taking it into his own. He noted the scar that was lined across her palm, but then looked
up at her. She squeezed his hand tightly for a moment, almost like a strange handshake, and then
slowly let go.
"Good bye..." Dorin whispered.
He watched as Vira turned and walked away, hoping that he hadn't made the biggest
mistake of his life.
Sparks flew as Hyperion met the Executioner blade for blade. Seifer grunted with
exertion as metal screeched on metal before shoving Kravis off of him and swung the gunblade in
a wide arc in a vain attempt to catch Kravis as he recovered.
Kravis was too fast though, and lept back into a defensive, grinning with wicked intent. They had fought their way to a long, narrow bridge that spanned a wide open expanse, the walls of the man-made chasm disappearing into the gloom below.
"Getting tired, Seify?" Kravis taunted. "It's no wonder you lost to Leonhart, your
skills aren't worth a damn."
Ouch, that one stung. "I wish you'd just shut up and die," Seifer retorted, taking up
his stance again. Kravis made the first move, slashing the Executioner in a tight arc at Seifer.
Seifer batted away the blow and the second as Kravis twirled his weapon with deadly efficiency.
Every slash and thrust made by Kravis was parried by Seifer. The clang of blades meeting echoed
strangely from the metal walls around them, mixed with the grunts from the combatants.
Suddenly, the floor shook beneath them and a huge explosion rocked the craft. Seifer was
thrown to the floor as Kravis grabbed a hold of a railing to keep from being knocked off his
feet. Suddenly, Seifer felt the floor beneath him groan and then give way. He blindly reached
out and grabbed at anything as he felt himself begin to fall. A prayer answered; he grabbed onto
the edge of the bridge as the collapsed section fell into the darkness below with a scream of
tortured metal. Seifer could feel the jagged metal gouged his palm, blood seeping from where the
skin had broken. He looked over his shoulder and saw Kravis on the other side twenty feet away.
Kravis smirked. "Hmph, not quite what I had in mind. Oh well, if at first you don't
succeed…" He turned and began walking away to the exit.
Seifer grunted as he felt himself loosing his grip. "KRAVIS!!!"
Kravis spared Seifer one last glance. "Don't worry, Almasy. We'll continue this at a
later date." With that, he left, leaving Seifer alone.
Another rumble shook the ship and the bridge began to groan again. Seifer looked up,
paling as the section he was cling to began to bend downwards.
"Oh shit," he whispered. "Not like this, not without Quisty…"
If Hyne heard, she didn't answer, as the section buckled, then collapsed with a mighty
shriek. As Seifer felt himself begin a sickeningly slow decent into the abyss, he just prayed
it would be quick…
SNAP!!!!
Seifer felt something wrap around his right wrist and then cried out in pain as his arm
was dislocated as the rest of his body jerked to a stop. He looked up to see Quistis, struggling
to pull him up by her whip.
"Seifer, once you get up here, I am going to give you a good tongue lashing about not
taking back up" she hissed through clenched teeth as she pulled him up, secretly relieved that
he was alive and that she had arrived just in time.
Below, Seifer let out a chuckle. "Will it require time in the Discipline room?"
Quistis allowed herself a small smile as she pulled him up the rest of the way.
"Perhaps."
"With you?"
"Maybe," she said as she pulled him up onto the bridge. Seifer sat up and rammed his
shoulder into the bridge's side, popping the joint back in as he let out a stream of curses.
"You know, I could've done that for you," Quistis said as she knelt down and cast a
Cure spell over him.
"Yeah well," Seifer said, giving her a cocky grin before capturing her lips with his
own. At that moment, the ship rumbled again and they broke off the kiss.
"We got to get out of here," Quistis said as they got up and Seifer retrieved his
gunblade. "The Siren is about to go up at any moment!"
"Lead the way, Instructor!" Seifer said as they began to run back to entrance.
Dorin ran into the fray, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Evacuate! Everyone! Now! We
have to get out!"
Hearing him, Squall over to him, pushing a few people out of his way. "What do you mean?"
he asked.
"Vira told me to get everyone out, SeeDs, students, Black SeeDs. Anyone who's still
alive. She says to pull back the Gardens now," Dorin said.
Squall squinted. "She's reached the main hall."
Dorin nodded.
"I don't know if this is gonna work..." Squall mumbled. He looked over the battlefield,
both sides had already lost significantly. He knew that both sides were getting tired. Arresting
the remaining Black SeeDs and getting everyone out shouldn't be too much trouble for him. Squall
reached into his pocket and took out a communicator. "This is Squall Leonhart, Balamb Garden's
SeeD leader. We have gotten the command to evacuate. The battle with the sorceress is starting
and there is a possibility that the ship will go down. We need both Gardens ready for departure."
He turned to the crowd, yelling as loud as he could. "WE HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO EVACUATE! EVERYONE
LEAVE THE SILVER SIREN NOW! PROCEED DIRECTLY TO YOUR RESPECTIVE GARDEN! ALL SEEDS APPREHEND AS
MANY BLACK SEEDS AS YOU CAN! MOVE IT! ON THE DOUBLE!"
He looked back at Dorin. "I hope she knows what she's doing. Once we leave, there's only
gonna be one way out for her: swimming."
Dorin looked back at the main hall. "I know," he said. "I know."
- There will always be moments in your life that you aren't ready for, no matter how
much time you prepare for it. For me, this was one of them. And all I could think about was...
how goddamn ironic life was. Life...is funny. But not in the way that makes you laugh. Irony is
a key word here. It really is. All my life I wanted my parents. I wanted them to be alive and
want me to be around. I never told anyone, didn't have anyone to tell. Yet, I still wanted it.
I think maybe all orphans might want that, deep down inside. Well, I'd found what I had wanted,
and it turned out to be the nightmare of all nightmares. Irony at its best.-
They are now alone in the spacious hall. Mother and daughter, together for one final
fight. Xana grins maliciously, raising her hand in the air and calling, "Death Spear!"
A roar of thunder bounds off the dark walls of the hall and back again. Above Xana
appears a large dark cloud, threatening with the roars of thunder. One last roar and the cloud
begins to crackle and snap, an impending storm about to hit. Before Vira is able to dodge out of
the way, a large spear of brightly colored green lightning shoots down from above, hitting her
in her stomach and disappearing. Vira looks down at herself, surprised to be alive. More
surprise is met when she sees her scar on her stomach. It begins to bleed, drops of hot, sticky
crimson blood pouring from within. She is bleeding. Bleeding to death.
- I've always wanted to be wanted by...someone or someplace, even if I've denied it all
this time. The kids at the orphanage didn't want me, and neither did the orphanage so they
shipped me off to Galbadia Garden, never mind if I want to be there or not. They don't want me
either, so when I'm about to leave, I get transferred to Balamb. That's the first place in the
whole damn world that ever invited me or wanted me there for some reason. That's when everything
started to unravel for me. I guess...the start of proving whether I'm worth keeping in this
world.-
"Vira, you seem to have more lives than a cat," Xana sneers. "No matter how hard I've
tried to get rid of you, you still seem to come back."
Charging, Vira slashes at Xana, the silver blade narrowly missing its target. "I could
say the same about you," she returns.
"Ah, but you haven't really tried that hard." Xana slashes at Vira, a small cut now
bleeding on her cheek. "Every time you do, you chicken out at the end. You really don't have it
in you to kill me. I'm the only family you've ever had."
- Is life just testing me? Just trying to see if I'm the ultimate reject from not only
an orphanage, a Garden, and kids, but also an entire world? Xana's right. She is the only family
I've ever had...by blood... -
Another overhead slash, this one meets its mark. A large gash on Xana's arm appears,
making her wince in pain and anger. Black blood oozes from the wound, spilling onto Vira's arm,
but she does not notice. "You're right. You're the only family I've ever had, by blood relation.
But you sure as hell ain't my real family. My real family are my friends," she says.
Vira tries another cut, this one to the side, but Xana is ready. She concentrates,
stopping the blade with her mind. Looking to her left, Xana makes Vira's arm fly backwards. She
then shoots her eyes at one of the swords she has displayed on the wall and her eyes dart back
to Vira. The sword struggles against its restraints, clanging loudly against the wall. It flies
out towards Vira, nicking her jacket at the shoulder. "You think those pathetic SeeDs are your
friends? You think that Draconian is your family? Vira, you've lived a life of complete social
isolation. Don't think they even would give a second thought to your death." Xana smirks, her
obsidian colored lips shining dimly in the ominous blue light.
- It hurts. Of course it does. Most of what I've known is pain in my life. Not much joy
to be had with Vira. But now, things are different. I'm different. And I've got to find out who
I really am. At least I know one thing; my family is my friends. It is Squall, Rinoa, Zell,
Selphie, Irvine, Quistis and hell, even Seifer. And...Dorin. Because despite how badly I've
acted, how much an ice queen, nutcase, bitch that I've been, they don't tell me to, "Go away."
They never have. They haven't taunted me like the kids used to, and they've tried to reach out
to me. Friends...family...they forgive each other, no matter how badly they act, right? They
know that. I know that. -
Stepping back, Vira looks up and calls out, "Crimson Pain!" Although, she has no idea
where the words came from, or even what she is doing. Now it is all instinct and Vira figures
these are the half sorceress powers in her coming out. Instinctively, Vira releases her
kamagunblades, now having an outer glow of red. Red that is also matching the tint to her eyes.
They float in front of her, as if suspended by strings. Suddenly, they spring to life, both
shooting out crimson bullets at Xana. They both hit either shoulder, black blood spewing forth
and causing Xana to scream in anguished frustration. Vira's red eyes turn to Xana, the
kamagunblades following her gaze. They both shoot at her, digging into her shoulders. Another
scream of anger and pain comes from Xana, now being knocked back by the blades in her shoulders.
Vira's eyes dim back to their dark brown as she charges for Xana, leaping onto her and grabbing
both kamagunblades. "I learned from my mistake. I have changed. I know what it is to love.
Something you'll never understand. Those people are my family, and even accepted me when I
showed them nothing but coldness. They care. They always will."
Xana struggles hard, forcing both kamagunblades out of her shoulders. With one hand she
digs her nails into Vira's shoulder, more sticky red blood flowing out. Vira winces, beginning
to feel weaker with the passing of each second. Xana grins evilly. "And they let you sacrifice
yourself to kill me? What kind of family is that?"
- But as I was saying, there may be a precise moment when you feel your life change,
when you see it heading somewhere else. You may feel yourself change. Most of the time you
don't. Either way, it happens and you can't stop it. I tried, and all I've ended up with was
less time to spend with people I now care about. That moment, that event, that day that your
life changes doesn't just change you, it changes the world around you. Then there's the one
moment that defines who we really are, deep down. For the longest time I thought I was a lone
wolf, like I heard they described Squall. I thought I was heartless, cold, and unfriendly.
Somehow that made me feel better. I could keep everyone away and never have to care what they
thought about me because, yeah, I cared too much and was hurt when it wasn't good. So I was Vira
Eronwil, the anti-social bitch who didn't care about anything or anyone. It was a wonder I was
ever a SeeD. Who am I now? I'm not doing this for anyone...except...I am. I am doing this for
everyone. Does that make me a hero, deep down? -
Xana forces Vira off her and glides over to a large staircase at the end of the hall.
She raises her hands high, and a small black ball appears over her head. At first it's tiny,
surrounded by electric waves of purple light. Then, it grows quickly, expanding in and instant
to the length of the wall behind her. It falls back and ripples into place.
Vira moves towards Xana, her kamagunblades fanned out and ready for the final attack.
"I decided this. Me. Alone. I can't let them live in a world with you in it."
Xana's grin stays and she mocks, "You can't kill me. You won't."
Hot, tingling sensation, one that was reaching all the way into her fingertips and
gathering in her chest told Vira she was doing it. The Final Justice was coming, and there was
no turning back. "I will."
Scowling, Xana snaps, "If you're so damn intent, then I'm making a hasty retreat.
This'll take me back to where your pathetic father came from. Start anew, without you around to
screw things up."
Vira smirks a little, feeling the spell coming out. She looks at Xana one last time.
"Too late."
- In the end, I don't think it matters. You just do what you feel is right, no matter
how twisted that right may be to you. Xana thought what she was doing was right, and I'm doing
what I think is right. Change isn't what is important, it isn't really something to blame, and
it isn't what defines you. What makes you who you are is what you do after the change, how you
handle it. -
Buzzing, humming, crackling noises match the bright white ball of energy that is forming
in Vira's kamagunblades. As the ball grows exponentially, so does the noise. In a matter of
seconds the ball of light has engulfed both mother and daughter and the white noise breaks. An
explosion of light spreads throughout the entire Silver Siren, electrical equipment failing,
errors on navigation equipment displaying on their screens, white sparks of electricity hopping
from them. A column of white light spreads upward as another spreads outward, burning a hole
through the ceiling. The ship rocks from the sudden spell, an explosion in the engine room
bursting forth rapidly. The slick, black, Silver Siren tips, and slowly descends into the oceans
off the coast of Balamb. A fiery ruin only disrupted by the white light slowly fading from
within.
- If you are alive to handle it at all. -
Vira choked and sputtered, blood coughing out of her mouth. On hands and knees, she felt
the gash on her stomach; it was still bleeding. It was a miracle itself that she had lived
through the last Final Justice, and how exactly, she didn't know. But, the tremors she felt in
the Siren yelled to her that the place was going down, and fast.
"I can't believe that didn't kill me," she whispered. Vira took out a potion and drank
it, feeling better again. There was no time to wonder, though. She had to get out. In less than
a minute.
"To tell the truth, I can't believe it either," a voice behind her replied.
Vira looked up and saw Kravis, just as bloody as she was, and getting worse by the
second. He stared down at her, his mouth fixed in a grimace, the corners of his mouth bloody
from his last fight. Kravis let out a yell and kicked Vira in the stomach. Pain struck and rang
out from her stomach as Vira rolled backwards, towards the black hole. She got up as fast as she
could and stared back at him, her eyes full of anger.
"What the hell is your problem?! This place is going down and you're trying to kill me?!
Give it up! It's over! Either we get out of here now, or I get out of her now, or we both die.
But, kicking me isn't gonna make it better!" Vira yelled.
Kravis walked up next to Vira and looked into the black hole. The depth of it was
endless, not telling where it could really lead.
Another tremor brought one of the columns of the hall down with a thundering crash. The
floor shook violently.
"This...is the only way out," he said, reaching out to touch the surface of the hole. As
his fingers touched it, the entire black whole rippled, like the surface of a lake.
Vira scowled. "You idiot. You don't know where it goes."
"And you know that you can't get out any other way. Not in time," he answered.
A tremor knocked down another column, this time cracking and breaking into large chunks
in front of them. Vira glanced at the hole, and then down the hall. Kravis was right. She
wouldn't make it, he wouldn't make it. What was it that Xana had said about the hole?
iThis'll take me back to where your pathetic father came from./i
Hadn't he come from Deling City? Yes, but there was still an unsettling feeling about
it.
Time was running out.
Kravis looked back at Vira for a moment, then at the black hole. It he went in, he could
get back to Balamb in a few days tops, probably. Why would Xana make something that'd bring him
somewhere so far? She wouldn't want to go too far. Either way, he'd be back and stronger and
able to get back at Seifer at long last. But...if Vira followed him, she'd know where he was and
that wouldn't be good. Not at all. It could ruin everything.
Raising his double bladed staff, Kravis waited a second for Vira to turn back to him and
then slashed down at her face; hard. It had meant to kill, Vira's reflexes were enough so that
she had only been knocked back, her face covered in blood. Kravis shrugged as Vira screamed out
in pain and fury. It had to do. He had no time for anything else.
"This is where I leave you to die with your mother and prepare for my revenge," Kravis
said, smiling in a cheerful manner that was quite a contrast to the collapsing and falling Siren
around them.
Vira shook her head and slowly began to stand up. "Idiot. You just told me your whole
plan."
"You won't have enough time to find and stop me. Goodbye," Kravis said. He stepped
through the black hole, the thing quivering with his presence. There was a flash of light.
Kravis was gone.
One last blast from the engine room, knocking Vira off her feet again. Then Vira felt
something she hadn't felt before. It was a strange sensation, like becoming as light as a
feather. To be more precise, it was her hand that felt light as a feather, lighter even, as if
it was just—
Disappearing.
No, it was impossible. Yet Vira's hand was doing the impossible. Instead of solid
matter, normal flesh tones and muscle mass she had felt her entire life, there was swirling
colors of blues, greens, pinks, purples. Her hand now looked like when oil mixed with water,
glistening in the sunshine. Shining as a pearl, and as solid as a bubble. Vira could not believe
her eyes. Where was the rest of her hand going? How the hell could it happen?
A wall began to crumble at her side, debris falling everywhere. Time was more than
running out. Vira could not let it end like this. No freaking way.
-It wasn't for a long time after that I understood why my hand was disappearing. Years,
in fact. And it's a completely different story. At the time, it was confusing as hell, and made
me question more than my own sanity. I had no time to question, though. Only the time to will
myself whole again, and I don't even know how I managed that. Magic, I suppose. My own magic
made me whole again. But that wasn't the end of my troubles. Oh, no, sir. There was still the
mysterious hole in front of me, Kravis's scar bleeding down my face, and the Siren crumbling
into the ocean underneath me. No time. Dammit, no time.-
Using all her will, Vira summoned a strength deep within her, a blue light coming from
the floor, traveling up through her, like a strong up draft of wind, leaving her hand back to
the way it was. She wiggled her fingers and sighed a sigh of relief. One less thing to worry
about.
One final blast. Last seconds of her life, she guessed. It was time to decide her fate.
Die in the Siren, or take her chances with the hole.
"Death…hole…death…no contest. Mystery hole it is," she said to herself. Vira ran and
leapt for the hole, feeling herself slip through it. Another flash of light. Vira was gone.
Author's Comments: Wow, eh? A showstopper of an ending, right? You think it's over,
don't you? That after over a year of waiting for the last chapters, it's all gone. That it's
finished, completed and done. Right? Wrong! That's right, folks, you've still got one more
chapter to go! Yep! An epilogue of sorts with the aftermath of the sinking of the Siren, and some
more on just where Vira went. Has anyone got a clue? No? Aw. Some final battle, though, right?
I thought so. This big battle sequence took me longer than I thought, though I had Vira and
Xana's written out for a while now. Took me long enough, didn't it? Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway,
won't take me long at all to get the last chapter up. Just a matter of cut and paste, really. As
always, R&R to let me know how you liked it. Or email me. Either way. Creative types love the
attention. 'Till next time!
