Ah yes, I thought I'd metnion this in the last chapter, but forgot as I uploaded it :P
Anyway; Deth Star, my verion of the story is only 38 pages long, but it depends on the text size of course :)
Now on with the show!
~*~Chapter 13 The giant and feelings awakes~*~
A hit in the stomach awoke him a while later, but he only gave a silent moan, too weakened to even show pain and surprise.
"Time for surrender, sleep-over," Kainazzo said with a vile grin.
"Keep dreaming, you deformed fish…" Kain muttered.
"Stop it, Kainazzo!" Golbez demanded as the fiend of Water growled in an alarming way.
The blue monster-turtle sneered.
"Of course, Sir…" he said, forcefully calm.
Golbez and Kain glared at each other.
"Today you won't be the victorious, trust me," the man dressed in black snarled.
"We'll see about that," Kain replied and clenched his teeth.
Golbez raised his hands.
"Wait!"
"What?!" Golbez, Kainazzo, Milon and Kain growled.
Valvalis only turned her head in surprise.
A flame erupted from the floor, and Rubicant rushed into the room.
"What is it now, then?" Golbez asked, most irritated.
"The giant is ready for start, Sir!" the fiery fiend reported, "don't waste time on that puny human now!"
Golbez smirked.
"Well then," he said, "I suppose that seeing whole countries fall to their knees by a wave of my hand even will bring the revolt out of this foolish dragoon. Bring him with to the control room."
"Of course," Valvalis said.
She grabbed one of Kain's shoulders, and everything became unclear to the sound of whispering wind. The dragoon next found himself hanging on a wall in another light room. The opposite wall had an enormous window, covering the upper half of it. But it was too dark outside of it to see anything through the glass. The other half of the wall was hidden behind peculiar, grey tables covered with strangely colored buttons. Some of them flashed silently. The four fiends and Golbez stood by the tables, the one in the black cloak sneering over his shoulder.
"Watch carefully, Kain," he said, "I will now turn the last pieces of Eblan into fine dust."
He and Rubicant pushed a few buttons, and everything began to shake. Then there was a heavy crash to be heard. Another one followed the first, and a third and forth… Kain slowly realized that what he heard were footsteps. But they were loud enough too… oh no, could it really be true!?
Sunlight hit his eyes, and he had to look away. When he once again looked at the window, he watched in horror as the land of Eblan with its crumbled and empty castle to the east could be seen way down. He could even see the distant ocean. The room was as high up as any airship…!
Golbez pushed another few buttons, and a stream of fire cut a wound in the grasslands. Crashing step, more fire. Crashing step, the castle of Eblan was going to get burned to the ground…
Then suddenly everything shook again, but not because of another step.
"What the…?" Golbez growled.
"Ssstupid, ssstupid dwarwesss…" Milon hissed, irritated.
"With their stupid, stupid tanks, I see," Kainazzo scornfully said.
He gazed through the window. Something big and reddish flew past.
"I see that the Red Wings also wants to play," Golbez sneered.
Everything shook yet once more.
"They can't hope to win," Kainazzo smirked, "the central computer will heal any damage with normal and scientistic magic."
"It's hopeless to fight," Rubicant snarled, "silly humans… what!?"
His hands crashed upon several buttons as he leaned forward and stared out, upwards, through the window. A shadow covered the sun.
"What in the name of…?!" he said and pointed, "look, can it be?"
"But it's impossible!" Kainazzo growled.
"The Big Whale?" Valvalis exclaimed, "it can't be!"
"It's Cecil, that's what it is!" Golbez growled.
"I see that there might be trouble anyhow, Sir!" Kain sneered.
Golbez snorted.
"Don't start the celebration too soon, my friend," he said, "even if they should manage to somehow enter the giant, there's far to many monsters in here for them to pass through."
There was a beep to be heard from the tables. Rubicant rubbed his forehead.
"Sir Golbez," the fiend of Fire said, rather tiredly, "Cecil and his friends have entered the giant, and I believe that they are aiming for the central computer."
"So, so…" Golbez said, frowning, "he never know when to stop, the little knight… very well, you four go to guard the computer. Should he manage to get there, which I do doubt, his friends are all yours. But bring Cecil himself to me, alive."
"Finally…" Milon sneered and vanished through his fountain of mud.
Kainazzo and Rubicant disappeared without a single word, but Valvalis quickly looked at Kain before she snorted and left.
Golbez pushed some more buttons. The wall to Kain's right turned blank for a moment, then showed a picture of Cecil, Rosa, Rydia, Edge and an old man in purple robes, with a beard so long that it reached to the floor. All five of them moved through a strangely lit corridor, their hands equipped with their weapons of choice - the old man held a mage's staff - and their eyes dark with determination.
"Fascinating," Golbez muttered as a huge robot stumbled with the help of Rydia's whip and then got massacred by Cecil and Edge.
The ninja-prince didn't see the small, eye-formed robot sneak up behind him, but the old man and Rosa did. The white magician sent an arrow into the vital part of the attacker and then, before it had re-energized the bearded one sent it a powerful lightning spell, blowing it into bits. Another giant robot came running. Rydia and Edge exchanged glances and nodded. The summoner/black magician chanted a second lightning, just like the old man had done, at the same time as the ninja leaped forward. The shock of the magic stunned the robot just long enough for Edge to penetrate its metallic throat with his katanas, ripping the head off. Though the prince and the young woman had argued through all the time Kain had been awake and around, they made a great team, that had to be admitted.
Kain watched with a good sensation of triumph, but yet he also felt a rising fear.
They would undoubtedly make it all the way up to the central computer, where the fiends awaited them, and…
The fear swallowed the triumph completely.
No!
"Golbez!" the dragoon shouted, "let me fight instead of Valvalis!"
"What?"
The man in black glared at Kain, surprised and irritated.
"What's that rubbish about?"
"She'll get killed!" Kain hoarsely said.
He knew it was true. Cecil and his friends would defeat all of the fiends, nothing could stop them. And then Valvalis would truly be dead, Kain strongly doubted that Zemus would consider resurrecting his servants if they failed him a second time.
"Killed?" Golbez scornfully repeated, "do you really believe that Cecil will accomplish that?"
"I know he will! Golbez, I'll give you my mind, please!"
"I see that I never understood the depths of your foolishness. Are you telling me that you're actually in love with a fiend?"
Having Golbez speak the truth that Kain hadn't seen himself was like an ogre's fist hitting the dragoon's stomach. All that the warrior had thought he felt was a desperate urge not to let Valvalis die or end up in Zemus clutches again. He had thought that it was because that she had saved his life and he had paid her back by killing her. That the shame about that was why he wanted to protect her. But he now understood that it was more than that, his despair was far to deep. Yes, it was foolish, even stupid and insane.
But he loved Valvalis. He loved the fiend of Air. Because she had saved him, she had suffered like him, being a slave. She was a fighter of the air, as she had said to describe him once. She was strong and yet vulnerable, just like the dragoon had felt for a long time. He hardly knew her at all, but somehow he did anyway. The thought of her had helped him withstand Golbez' power, better than the memory of his friends had done. It was so, stupid, silly and foolish; it didn't matter. He loved her.
"Yes," Kain coldly said.
Golbez snorted.
"No, you won't fight instead of her," he said.
"But…" the dragoon growled.
"Answer me this; are you a fiend? No. You might want to give me the power over you, but I will take it anyway. Later. You and Cecil will scream in unison as I destroy your puny resistance."
"Golbez, he will kill all four of them!"
"I doubt it. They became much stronger as they were resurrected, and this time they are working together."
"It won't help them!" Kain desperately yelled, "Cecil and the others will defeat them, don't you see?! Look how they wave off the monsters in here!"
He pointed at the moving picture as well as he could. Rosa sent a flood of healing stars over Edge, who didn't stop his quest on punching a screeching dragon even at that. Cecil grimly ran his sword through the beast's chest, while the old man and Rydia sent lightning-bolts flying in all directions.
"It doesn't matter," Golbez snorted, "they're no match for the fiends. Now shut up."
A bolt of dark energy left the evil one's hand and hit Kain's lips, covering his mouth. He wildly shook his head trying to get it off, knowing it was hopeless. Even if he could speak, nothing would make Golbez listen. He could only watch in growing horror how his friends ran over a long bridge, approaching a big platform. As they reached that, a fountain of mud, one of water, a tornado of dust and a flame erupted around the warriors, and the fiends entered. Cecil and his companions gasped in surprise but then grabbed their weapons, ready for battle. Rubicant held up his hands and sent a rain of healing stars over his enemies.
"Idiot," Golbez grumbled, "that man has a far too big sense of honor."
'Valvalis, get out of there!' Kain desperately thought, 'they are too strong! Rubicant, don't let her fight…'
He saw both the fiend of Air and Fire frown and exchange bewildered glances. But the dragoon wasn't very surprised, after all his arguments with Golbez consisting of mere thoughts he knew telepathy. And Valvalis had seemed to know that the dragoon had been thinking about her as the man in black tried to convert Kain a second time.
'Listen to me, Valvalis, Rubicant!' Kain thought, hoping they could hear what he wanted to tell them, 'Cecil and his friends have become too strong!'
'We have no choice, Kain,' Valvalis' voice whispered in his head, bitterly, 'farewell.'
'No! Valvalis!!'
But she didn't answer.