Chapter Eleven
Squall watched in horror as Cid charged toward him with his Blizzaga sword. Instead of using his sword, Cid threw it at Squall and it transformed back into the Blizzaga spell. Squall was still protected from Selphie's Wall spell, but the spell weakened the barrier.
"Wall!" Selphie began to recast.
"I don't think so." Cassius stared at Selphie. Her voice steadily became lower until her voice was inaudible.
"Flare." Cid's solemn monotone voice seemed distant to Squall. A flaming sword appeared in his right hand. "Ultima." Squall's eyes opened wide as a glowing green sword appeared in Cid's other hand.
"What should we do?" Zell cried.
"We need Selphie to recast Wall before Squall gets hurt!" Quistis informed.
Irvine began on the Esuna spell as Rinoa watched in horror. She was torn between protecting her husband and causing pain to her son. She couldn't push herself to do either. She just stood there and did nothing as the two people she loved most battled.
Before Irvine could cure Selphie from the Silence, the Wall spell worn off. Cid stopped his charge and Squall stood before him, prepared to retaliate. Cid pulled back his left arm and let the Ultima sword fly. It flew straight at Squall's chest, but he swiftly moved out of the way and it stuck in the ground a few feet from Squall. Suddenly the sword erupted with the Ultima spell. Everyone felt the powerful blow rush by them as Squall was blown back by the green semicircle.
Squall slowly opened his eyes to see his son hovering above him with the Flare sword, ready to strike. Cid prepared his sword and then charged Squall once more to finish him off. Squall closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain that would kill him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rinoa watched as Cid hovered above Squall with his sword ready.
Oh no! He's going to finish Squall off! Rinoa realized. She felt so helpless. The love of her life was about to be killed, and she was going to do nothing!
But what can I do? she thought. She saw Cid ready his sword. She knew Squall had a few moments left. Rinoa was about to cast a spell to distract Cid, but she was still unable to bring herself to do damage to her son. She felt the desperation rise inside her. She needed to do something, anything!
What's taking Selphie so long to cast Wall? Rinoa thought. She looked over to see that all her companions had been silenced. She considered casting Esuna on Selphie, but would there still be enough time to cast Wall as well? She turned back to her son and husband.
Rinoa watched in horror as Cid raced toward Squall, who had closed his eyes. She did the only thing she could think of. Rinoa ran in front of Squall and raised her arms to protect him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A deafening scream echoed throughout the Training Center. The sound seemed extremely painful to Squall, who still had his eyes closed. He opened his eyes to see why he hadn't been killed yet.
"NO!" Squall cried. Rinoa stood in front of him with the flaming sword protruding out her back. Rinoa dropped her limp arms to her side. Her head drifted to one side. Squall watched as Rinoa slowly reached up and grabbed the sword. He watched in terror as she pulled the sword deeper inside of her, forcing her son to come face to face with her. Squall watched as she looked straight in his eyes, saying nothing.
"NO!" Squall screamed again. He immediately tried to stand, but he was still weakened by the Ultima spell. Squall's eyes welled up with tears, blinding him. He quickly wiped them away and looked up at his wife and son. More tears blinded him and he wiped them away again.
Squall watched as he saw a tear trickle down his son's face. It seemed out of place with the emotionless look on Cid's face. He dropped the sword and began to scream. The cry was deafening, so much that Squall's ears began to bleed. He watched as Rinoa fell lifeless to the floor and Cid seemed to be hysterical, screaming with all his might. Squall was finally able to make out what he was saying.
"MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!"
"What?" Cassius wondered out loud, "How did he break my Manipulation spell?"
Cid dropped to the ground and ran to his mother's body.
"Mommy!" he cried, tears streaming down his face, "Mommy, I'm sorry!"
"Cid," Rinoa said weakly, "I'm so proud of you. I love you. Take care of your father for me and become the sorcerer I never was."
"Mommy!" Cid repeated, "Please don't go! I love you Mommy!"
"Take my powers, Cid." Rinoa looked up into his eyes, "To remember me by."
Purple smoke slowly rose from Rinoa's body. Cid closed his eyes, still sobbing, letting the smoke enter his nose and mouth. Cid finally opened his eyes and looked down at Rinoa. Her head slowly tilted to one side as she died. A few more tears fell from Cid's eyes, but he stopped crying. After wiping away the tears, Cid gently put his mother's body down and stood up, facing Cassius.
"Father," Cid started addressing his father. The word sounded odd to Squall coming from Cid. It was the first time he had spoken to his father in that way.
"Take your friends and go. I will handle Cassius." Cid ended.
"Cid," Squall stood wiping one last tear from his cheek.
"Father." Cid turned and faced Squall, "Go."
Squall nodded and, after picking up Rinoa's body, he and his companions raced out of the Training Center, leaving Cid alone with Cassius.
"Cid," Cassius began, "Why do you want to fight me? Join me! We are the next generation of sorcery! Our powers are unparalleled by any other! We could rule over everything, everyone, every time!"
"Shut up."
"What did you say to me?" Cassius demanded.
"After all that you've done. All those you've killed. All those you plan to." Cid motioned toward all the captives who had been silent for a while. At that moment Cid noticed that they were all under a Sleep spell, which explained the silence.
"You deserve to be punished."
"Do you think you're able to defeat me?" Cassius raised a hand and a familiar glowing ball appeared above it. The orb exploded sending rays toward Cid. He remained motionless as the rays encircled him. Cassius chuckled lightly as the rays slowly moved to surround Cid.
"What?" Cassius cried as the rays were blown away from Cid and raced toward Cassius. The rays wrapped around Cassius, getting smaller and smaller. Cassius closed his eyes, and the rays vanished.
"Well, it seems like this battle won't be as easy as I thought." Cassius observed, "But I will defeat you!"
The Training Center background suddenly vanished from sight. Cid wasn't sure how, but he instantly knew this was a Meteor spell. Maybe the powers from his mother had more effects than he realized.
Cid spread his wings from his limit break and slowly ascended in the air. He closed his eyes as the falling rocks dropped all around him. He didn't need to see them, Cid could sense where they were falling. He felt a feeling grow inside him. Cid moved to the side as a boulder zoomed by him. Cid continued to dodge and avoid the comets falling from the sky, zipping around at a high speed until the last one fell.
Cid opened his eyes and landed softly on the ground and crossed his arms, staring intently at Cassius.
"Why won't you die!" Cassius vanished from sight. Cid remained still, waiting for Cassius to attack. After a few moments a green semicircle raced toward Cid. He recognized the Ultima spell from when he had cast it on Squall. Cid held out his hand.
"Ultima." he said. The sword appeared in his hand as the spell approached. Cid lifted himself off the ground and then charged at the spell. He made one swipe at it and then landed on the ground. The spell advanced toward him. However, just before it reached him, the green cloud split in two, passing by Cid on either side.
"How did you do that?" Cassius demanded becoming visible again.
"Time to die." Cid charged toward Cassius with his Ultima sword.
"No, stay back!" Cassius cried casting the Wall spell.
Cid continued forward, casting the Dispell spell.
"Stay away!" Cassius cried, "Get back!" Cassius cast Ultima one last time. Cid sliced through it just as he had before. Cid thrust his sword forward, stabbing Cassius through the chest. Cassius made a sobbing noise, and started to choke on the blood rising in his throat. Cid looked in his eyes to see the fear and pain inside him. Cid knew what it was like to lose a mother, but Cassius needed to be stopped.
Cid let go of the sword and floated up into the air. Cassius managed to pull the sword out of his body and held it while clutching his chest. Cid concentrated on the sword and the Ultima spell erupted.
"Mother..." Cassius whispered before he was consumed by the spell.
Once the spell had passed, Cid looked down where Cassius had been standing. He wasn't surprised to see Cassius still there. He somehow knew that before a sorcerer passed on, they needed to pass on their powers. Cid landed in front of Cassius and placed a hand on his shoulder. Cassius weakly looked up with a puzzled look on his bloody face.
Cid leaned close to him and whispered, "Go to your mother." The purple smoke escaped Cassius' body and entered Cid through his nose and mouth. The young sorcerer smiled and then collapsed dead on the Training Center's floor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall stared down at his wife's grave, smiling. He could almost picture her smiling back from the heavens. Squall had thought that it be fitting that Rinoa be buried near her parents. He was sure she would have wanted it that way. Now she could be close to those she was unable to be attached to in this lifetime.
Squall planned on staying there a few moments longer when he heard a message over the intercom from Balamb Garden stationed behind him.
"Squall, please come to the Infirmary." Dr. Kadowaki's familiar voice rang in his ears, "It seems that Cid and Braza were injured in a training accident, and you'll never believe where their scars are."
Squall watched in horror as Cid charged toward him with his Blizzaga sword. Instead of using his sword, Cid threw it at Squall and it transformed back into the Blizzaga spell. Squall was still protected from Selphie's Wall spell, but the spell weakened the barrier.
"Wall!" Selphie began to recast.
"I don't think so." Cassius stared at Selphie. Her voice steadily became lower until her voice was inaudible.
"Flare." Cid's solemn monotone voice seemed distant to Squall. A flaming sword appeared in his right hand. "Ultima." Squall's eyes opened wide as a glowing green sword appeared in Cid's other hand.
"What should we do?" Zell cried.
"We need Selphie to recast Wall before Squall gets hurt!" Quistis informed.
Irvine began on the Esuna spell as Rinoa watched in horror. She was torn between protecting her husband and causing pain to her son. She couldn't push herself to do either. She just stood there and did nothing as the two people she loved most battled.
Before Irvine could cure Selphie from the Silence, the Wall spell worn off. Cid stopped his charge and Squall stood before him, prepared to retaliate. Cid pulled back his left arm and let the Ultima sword fly. It flew straight at Squall's chest, but he swiftly moved out of the way and it stuck in the ground a few feet from Squall. Suddenly the sword erupted with the Ultima spell. Everyone felt the powerful blow rush by them as Squall was blown back by the green semicircle.
Squall slowly opened his eyes to see his son hovering above him with the Flare sword, ready to strike. Cid prepared his sword and then charged Squall once more to finish him off. Squall closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable pain that would kill him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rinoa watched as Cid hovered above Squall with his sword ready.
Oh no! He's going to finish Squall off! Rinoa realized. She felt so helpless. The love of her life was about to be killed, and she was going to do nothing!
But what can I do? she thought. She saw Cid ready his sword. She knew Squall had a few moments left. Rinoa was about to cast a spell to distract Cid, but she was still unable to bring herself to do damage to her son. She felt the desperation rise inside her. She needed to do something, anything!
What's taking Selphie so long to cast Wall? Rinoa thought. She looked over to see that all her companions had been silenced. She considered casting Esuna on Selphie, but would there still be enough time to cast Wall as well? She turned back to her son and husband.
Rinoa watched in horror as Cid raced toward Squall, who had closed his eyes. She did the only thing she could think of. Rinoa ran in front of Squall and raised her arms to protect him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A deafening scream echoed throughout the Training Center. The sound seemed extremely painful to Squall, who still had his eyes closed. He opened his eyes to see why he hadn't been killed yet.
"NO!" Squall cried. Rinoa stood in front of him with the flaming sword protruding out her back. Rinoa dropped her limp arms to her side. Her head drifted to one side. Squall watched as Rinoa slowly reached up and grabbed the sword. He watched in terror as she pulled the sword deeper inside of her, forcing her son to come face to face with her. Squall watched as she looked straight in his eyes, saying nothing.
"NO!" Squall screamed again. He immediately tried to stand, but he was still weakened by the Ultima spell. Squall's eyes welled up with tears, blinding him. He quickly wiped them away and looked up at his wife and son. More tears blinded him and he wiped them away again.
Squall watched as he saw a tear trickle down his son's face. It seemed out of place with the emotionless look on Cid's face. He dropped the sword and began to scream. The cry was deafening, so much that Squall's ears began to bleed. He watched as Rinoa fell lifeless to the floor and Cid seemed to be hysterical, screaming with all his might. Squall was finally able to make out what he was saying.
"MOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!"
"What?" Cassius wondered out loud, "How did he break my Manipulation spell?"
Cid dropped to the ground and ran to his mother's body.
"Mommy!" he cried, tears streaming down his face, "Mommy, I'm sorry!"
"Cid," Rinoa said weakly, "I'm so proud of you. I love you. Take care of your father for me and become the sorcerer I never was."
"Mommy!" Cid repeated, "Please don't go! I love you Mommy!"
"Take my powers, Cid." Rinoa looked up into his eyes, "To remember me by."
Purple smoke slowly rose from Rinoa's body. Cid closed his eyes, still sobbing, letting the smoke enter his nose and mouth. Cid finally opened his eyes and looked down at Rinoa. Her head slowly tilted to one side as she died. A few more tears fell from Cid's eyes, but he stopped crying. After wiping away the tears, Cid gently put his mother's body down and stood up, facing Cassius.
"Father," Cid started addressing his father. The word sounded odd to Squall coming from Cid. It was the first time he had spoken to his father in that way.
"Take your friends and go. I will handle Cassius." Cid ended.
"Cid," Squall stood wiping one last tear from his cheek.
"Father." Cid turned and faced Squall, "Go."
Squall nodded and, after picking up Rinoa's body, he and his companions raced out of the Training Center, leaving Cid alone with Cassius.
"Cid," Cassius began, "Why do you want to fight me? Join me! We are the next generation of sorcery! Our powers are unparalleled by any other! We could rule over everything, everyone, every time!"
"Shut up."
"What did you say to me?" Cassius demanded.
"After all that you've done. All those you've killed. All those you plan to." Cid motioned toward all the captives who had been silent for a while. At that moment Cid noticed that they were all under a Sleep spell, which explained the silence.
"You deserve to be punished."
"Do you think you're able to defeat me?" Cassius raised a hand and a familiar glowing ball appeared above it. The orb exploded sending rays toward Cid. He remained motionless as the rays encircled him. Cassius chuckled lightly as the rays slowly moved to surround Cid.
"What?" Cassius cried as the rays were blown away from Cid and raced toward Cassius. The rays wrapped around Cassius, getting smaller and smaller. Cassius closed his eyes, and the rays vanished.
"Well, it seems like this battle won't be as easy as I thought." Cassius observed, "But I will defeat you!"
The Training Center background suddenly vanished from sight. Cid wasn't sure how, but he instantly knew this was a Meteor spell. Maybe the powers from his mother had more effects than he realized.
Cid spread his wings from his limit break and slowly ascended in the air. He closed his eyes as the falling rocks dropped all around him. He didn't need to see them, Cid could sense where they were falling. He felt a feeling grow inside him. Cid moved to the side as a boulder zoomed by him. Cid continued to dodge and avoid the comets falling from the sky, zipping around at a high speed until the last one fell.
Cid opened his eyes and landed softly on the ground and crossed his arms, staring intently at Cassius.
"Why won't you die!" Cassius vanished from sight. Cid remained still, waiting for Cassius to attack. After a few moments a green semicircle raced toward Cid. He recognized the Ultima spell from when he had cast it on Squall. Cid held out his hand.
"Ultima." he said. The sword appeared in his hand as the spell approached. Cid lifted himself off the ground and then charged at the spell. He made one swipe at it and then landed on the ground. The spell advanced toward him. However, just before it reached him, the green cloud split in two, passing by Cid on either side.
"How did you do that?" Cassius demanded becoming visible again.
"Time to die." Cid charged toward Cassius with his Ultima sword.
"No, stay back!" Cassius cried casting the Wall spell.
Cid continued forward, casting the Dispell spell.
"Stay away!" Cassius cried, "Get back!" Cassius cast Ultima one last time. Cid sliced through it just as he had before. Cid thrust his sword forward, stabbing Cassius through the chest. Cassius made a sobbing noise, and started to choke on the blood rising in his throat. Cid looked in his eyes to see the fear and pain inside him. Cid knew what it was like to lose a mother, but Cassius needed to be stopped.
Cid let go of the sword and floated up into the air. Cassius managed to pull the sword out of his body and held it while clutching his chest. Cid concentrated on the sword and the Ultima spell erupted.
"Mother..." Cassius whispered before he was consumed by the spell.
Once the spell had passed, Cid looked down where Cassius had been standing. He wasn't surprised to see Cassius still there. He somehow knew that before a sorcerer passed on, they needed to pass on their powers. Cid landed in front of Cassius and placed a hand on his shoulder. Cassius weakly looked up with a puzzled look on his bloody face.
Cid leaned close to him and whispered, "Go to your mother." The purple smoke escaped Cassius' body and entered Cid through his nose and mouth. The young sorcerer smiled and then collapsed dead on the Training Center's floor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall stared down at his wife's grave, smiling. He could almost picture her smiling back from the heavens. Squall had thought that it be fitting that Rinoa be buried near her parents. He was sure she would have wanted it that way. Now she could be close to those she was unable to be attached to in this lifetime.
Squall planned on staying there a few moments longer when he heard a message over the intercom from Balamb Garden stationed behind him.
"Squall, please come to the Infirmary." Dr. Kadowaki's familiar voice rang in his ears, "It seems that Cid and Braza were injured in a training accident, and you'll never believe where their scars are."