Chapter 5: The Sacrifice of Another
Some times later, Zell came out of the training center where he past his anger on a T-rexaur and defeated it all by himself! It was long and hard but it was worth it. He walked with his head up with a pride smile. He found himself wishing Squall would have been there so he could tell him. He wondered if he would be proud of him. But then he frowned and shook his head. He was mad against himself. He went to the training Center to get Squall out his mind and here he was thinking about him!!
As he past by the dorms on his way to the cafeteria, he stopped and looked down the hall. Then he bit his lips feeling remorse thinking about Coran.
"I was too hard on her... It means a lot to her and I was a real pain in the ass... I guess I should apologize to her..."
But as he started walking again, a sound made him freeze.
"Zell!" a voice called in a whisper.
Zell turned around in a flash and couldn't believe his eyes. Squall was standing in the shadows.
"Squall! I thought you... Everyone was worried sick!"
"Hush! Can I talk to you privately? It's really important."
"Sure! Let,s go to the Quad, no one's there right now."
Zell went first and Squall followed him looking around as if he was afraid would be looking for him.
Once they're standing on the Quad, Zell notices Squall's hands are tied with wrists bands. Following his gaze, Squall decided to explain.
"Hyne wanted to make I would not escape. She didn't think I'd be able to do it anyway..." he said bringing his fists up.
"I must tell the others about this to get you free."
Squall raised his hands.
"No, no..I should keep them just in case..."
Zell frowned to the strange tone then shrugged. Maybe it was better. If he was close to Hyne, who knows of she wouldn't be able to take over his body!
"Hey, how did you escape? Did you learn anything useful?"
"No," Squall said shaking his head a sorry way. "Nothing useful. Hyne took me to the unmaterial world she stays to get her strength back but there,, I grew weaker. I found a failure in this dimension and came back."
"Well, I'm sure glad you're alright. Coran and Rinoa are gonna be so relieved! The others too of course!"
Zell went to the edge of the balcony that has been repaired after Seifer and Squall broke part of it few weeks ago. He rested his forearms on it and looked at the horizon.
"Hey! I defeated a T-Rexaur all by myself!"
Squall slowly came behind Zell.
"Great! It could be useful..."
His wrists bands suddenly melted from Squall's wrists and morphed into a small nunchaku. Zell turned around and widened his eyes with shock as he saw Squall run to him at incredible speed with a grin on his face and a mean glow in his eyes. He swung the nunchaku and hit Zell's arm hard.
He felt the pain but the biggest pain was in his heart. He couldn't believe it! He must have been under Hyne's control!
"You're under Hyne's control?!"
"You wish!" Squall exclaimed as he swung the nunchaku towards Zell one more time.
Zell managed to turn aside and dodge it.
"I followed Hyne," Squall explained as he kept walking and running around Zell in search of an opening in his defense to strike a painful blow. "I followed her because I wanted to live!"
It was what Zell told the others but hearing Squall say it himself sounded so wrong he knew it couldn't be right.
"No way! I don't believe it! You wanted to protect Coran, didn't you? That's why you left, wasn't it?"
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Don't be more stupid than you already are! I only wanted to have my chance!"
But Zell wasn't fooled. He could clearly see now Squall's eyes weren't normal. He realized they already looked like that when he saw him in Garden... What a fool he didn't notice earlier!
Zell kept dodging every single blow Squall threw at him. Then a smile came to his lips.
'Hey, Hyne was pretty stupid to make your weapon a nunchaku! Your weapon's the gunblade, not the nunchaku!"
Squall smirked and moved as if he was gonna strike left but when Zell moved right, Squall changed his move and hit Zell's knee real hard. A cracking sound was heard and Zell dropped on his good knee. It was painful but he didn't scream, he wasn't allowing himself to do it. He refused. He wanted to try and get Squall back by himself. If he'd scream, it would attract people and they'd surely attack or even kill Squall. Zell was thinking about Coran and Rinoa who would never forgive him if thet would ever happen. Especially Coran. She was already mad at him for what he said he didn't want to carry the burden of his death.
Unable to stand anymore, Zell was like a piece of meat in the middle of a starving bunch of wolves: done for. Squall seemed to enjoy running and jumoing around him and swinging his nunchaku around, each strike always finding aspot on Zell's body to do damages to. When he tried to get up, a nasty blow on his good leg was sending him back on the ground. Along with the whistling sound of the nunchaku, Zell could hear Squall's maniacal laugh.
It's not him...it's Hyne... Squall I know you're not like that...
In the beginning, Zell figured out Squall missed him on purpose. Squall was a SeeD after all so he was good at acting and good with any kind of weapon. Just that he prefered the gunblade.
A strike on his face nearly broke his nose and he spitted blood. His chest hurt, probably from broken ribs. One of his arms was numb, probably broken in many places. Now, even if he'd have wanted to fight back which was not the case anyway, he wouldn't have been able to do it anymore. He felt like he had inner injuries from the beating.
Zell found himself wishing he wasn't that strong physically. It damn hurt! If only he would faint, at least the pain would end!
The time came where he couldn't hold himself up so he collapsed on his front and that didn't help the pain. He felt something slide under his neck and roughly pull him up on his knees, choking him. Squall was using the nunchaku to strangle him. Instinctively, Zell's good hand reached up for the deadly chain and desperatly tried to pull it away. His eyes were shut and his teeth gritted in the effort.
Squall brought his face close to Zell's ear, holding a firm grip on the nunchaku behind Zell's back.
"I'll kill them all, one by one," he whispered and smirked. "I'll get rid of every threat to Hyne."
Zell was having a hard time just to breath. The smallest drop of air finding its way down his throat was painful, he need more. With only one of his hands and after all that beating he went through, he wasn't strong enough to pull the chain away. The remaining strength he had in store was just slowing things down, making him suffer and die slowly.
"I...always knew...I'd...(cough) young being...a S...SeeD... (ack) If I mu...st die... (ugh) let it b...e at a ffffriend's han..d..."
He managed to take a deep breath which he feared would be his last.
"I'm glad.....it'ssss you.... Squall.... (gh)"
His sight was blurred with fog mix of red and black. Even though he was dying, he managed to form something close to a smile on his face.
Seeing this, Squall's grin vanished a moment and he hesitated. That second of hesitation was accompanied with a scream.
"Squall, stop!!"
Squall looked up to the entrance of the Quad's balcony where he saw Coran and the others. She was the one who screamed. She had pleading eyes, but also horrified at the scenery. Squall was killing Zell, his best friend.
Squall let one of his hands release his grip, letting the nunchaku loose and realsing Zell from the deadly grip. He fell down face first.
"Get away from him!" Coran ordered as she ran towards the dying SeeD.
Squall obeyed, moving backwards.
She carefully pulled Zell away to her friend's safety and tried her best to cure the worst of his injuries but Squall really didn't go easy on him.
He nearly killed him... Few seconds later and he was dead...
"I'm so sorry Zell..." she said feeling tears burn her eyes.
But it wasn't her fault of course. She raised her head and frowned madly at Squall.
"HYNE!! You're a coward! Sending my own brother to do your dirty work in your place!!"
A shadow suddenly appeared right next to Squall. Hyne.
"He's really faithful to me and there's nothing you can do or say to bring him back!" she said in a defying tone.
She seemed rather pleased with the turn of events. Like a little girl looking for trouble because she was bored.
"That's where you're wrong," Coran stated with a confident smile. "It seems you forgot just one little detail..."
Hyne arched an eybrow with curiosity. Coran answered her with her confident smile.
"I also am a Sorceress!"
She quickly turned her face towards Squall's and locked her eyes on his. His face was suddenly freed of all emotion and his eyes turned blank, empty. Hyne lost her smile.
"That's impossible!"
"What is she doing?" Selphie asked.
The others all wondered the same thing except for Rinoa and Seifer. They knew what she was doing. She was getting over Hyne's control on Squall to control him herself. And she was winning! No wonder: after all she was stronger than Ultimecia and Hyne wasn't really herself yet.
Coran smiled comfortingly at her brother now completely under her control.
"Come over here and give me your hand," she said a seducive way.
Like he was hypnotized, Squall walked towards her and gave her his hand. She took it and took the ring off his hand. Squall didn't say a thing or move a single muscle.
Coran placed the ring on her own hand and showed it to Hyne with a frown of determination and fatality. She knew she couldn't go back now.
"If a man wears the ring that brings grief by the time Hyne comes back, he shall be her knight... But if it's a girl, she will become her host... Let Squall go, he no longer holds the ring. I do!"
"Will you keep your part?" Hyne asked as her face lightened up.
Everything was going just the way she wanted it to. Nothing could be better.
Coran nodded, accepting her fate.
Squall sudenly closed his eyes as they rolled back in his head and he collapsed.
"Come get him, you guys," she ordered with a tone that wouldn't allow a no for an answer.
Seifer and Irvine came to pull him back where he slowly came around. He shook his head and quickly looked around.
"Where am I?" he wondered.
But then he placed his eyes on Coran facing Hyne and evrything came back to him in a flash like it was stocked somewhere in the back of his mind. He looked at his hand then understood.
"Coran!" he called with despair as he got up to run towards her.
But he bumped into something invisible, some kind of wall and fell backward. The others all hurried to him to bring him back on his feet. He roughly broke away fromtheir hands.
"CORAN!! You can't do this! I had the ring! It was mine!" he yelled.
"You said you'd keep your part," Hyne reminded. "You'll become my host! It's an honor only you will receive!"
Coran turned around to see her brother savagely punching the invisible wall she set herself to keep anyone from coming closer and try to stop her.
While Squall was trying brute force to reach his sister, Seifer was staring at her with a fearful face. She granted them a sorry look full of sorrow but her eyes said she didn't have a choice.
"It's my fate," she whispered in a barely audible tone.
She walked towards Hyne. The ghostly figure had a smile of pleasure and opened her arms to the girl. As she walked through Hyne's figure, they merged in an unbearable light. Everyone had to shield their eyes.
"Coran, no!!" Squall screamed.
When the light was gone and the gang risked an eye out, they were stunned. What they had in front of them was beyond human. Hyne looked a bit like a human before, but now! She was no longer ghostly first thing, she was material. She had small transparent wings, not like Ultimecia's. Her face was perfect. She had Hyne's smile but the depth of Coran's blue eyes. She also had most of her shape. Being one with Hyne made her a perfect being. Shining with pleasure, her eyes were a darker blue.
What they were facing wasn't Squall's twin anymore. She still had similarities, but that's where it ended. Coran was gone, Hyne was now material and more powerful than she ever was. And she was delighted.
She looked at her hands with admiration and clenched her fists. Her smile grew bigger and she started laughing. Her laughter was clear as crystal with some kind of metallic sound to it. She was dressed a funny way. It was a dressed but like it wasn't finished or torn in pieces covering her body. She had marks all over but they looked more like ancient runes.
She looked at the others and granted them a look that made them shiver.
"I must leave for now, I'm exhausted. It asked a lot of energy out of me to merge like this. In three days, I'll be at full power," she said showing three perfect fingers with the ring on the middle one. "In three days I'll remake this world. You can always come and try to stop me if you feel like it."
"Coran!" Squall called banging his fists on the invisible wall.
"Coran!" Seifer called as well.
Hyne pointed a finger at Squall.
"You should be more concerned about your friend over there than your sister. I kept my promise, she won't be hurt, she'll rule the world!"
Squall arched an eyebrow then Hyne disappeared along with the invisible wall. He nearly lost his balance, but got it back.
He turned around.
"Damn shit!!" he exclaimed.
But then hie eyes were placed on Zell laying on the ground, nearly lifeless. He widened his eyes. He was afraid he knew only too well what happened to his friend.As the others were treating him, Squall brought his head down and clenched his fists so hard they started shaking. He couldn't believe he did this even though he knew he did.
By his side, Seifer was frowning at him but he didn't say a thing. Coran... Squall went to Hyne to protect Coran but then Coran offered herself to Hyne to save Squall. And what did he do? Stand back and watch... How pathetic! How could he call himself her Knight? His mind was overflowing with emotions. He could think straight or say a thing. He wanted to grab Squall and get mad at him, say he was foolish, that it was all his fault! That if he wouldn't have taken the ring in the first place, none of this would have happened. But he couldn't because it wasn't Squall's fault. Part of Squall died when Coran and Hyne merged together. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like.
Squall was mad against himself, he felt helpless, powerless. But then he realized something.
"Three days... We only have three days to figure out something."
He looked at everyone with a broken face.
"Take Zell to the infiramry and don't neglect the medicines to bring him back to health!"
He past them but instead of leaving the Quad, he stopped and stood by the entrance, facing them his back.
"I know I'm responsible for Zell's injuries... I don't expect you to believe me or to forgive me, but tell Zell I'm sorry when he wakes up... I know I did it but I don't remember actually doing it..."
He shut his eyes again.
"I won't leave it like that! I lost my sister, I won't let the world be destroyed and do nothing! I'll think of something to save both the world and Coran! I'll save her even if it's the last thing I do!!"
And he ran back in Garden.
"Squall!" Rinoa called.
But he didn't answer.
Seifer helped Irvine take Zell but since he had a broken arm and leg, they required Quistis and Selphie to help carefully take him in. They all wondered if he would be able to find something. Of course no one held him responsible for what happened to Zell, but they knew he did. They all saw Zell's face as he was nearly dying at Squall's hand, so they knew he wouldn't hold him responsible either.
Rinoa clenched her necklace for comfort. She used to carry Squall's ring on it, whatwould have happened if she'd have been the one to wear it when Hyne appeared? She would be at Coran's place right now. Maybe it would have been better since she was less powerful than Coran. But she wouldn't have been able to do it. She couldn't control minds the way Ultimecia, Hyne and Coran did. She could read minds, talk telepathically but not control minds. And she wasn't as strong as Coran was. She lived all by herself for years! She was strong, not like her. She needed to be around people, she didn't like to be alone at all.
Now the person she liked most to have around was facing the biggest dilemma of his life: the world or his sister? Would he be able to save both?
He doubted it. Walking all the way to the dorms, he tried not to trouble himself with the recent events, only with the main thing: how to save Coran and eliminate Hyne in the same time.
"I'll find a way," he said outloud. "I'll save you, Coran. Even if it's the last thing I do!"
Unfortunately, it could be...
Whew! This chap was long!!! I couldn't stop typing! It's nearly 3A.M!!! I can't stand that chair anymore! I want my bed!! I work tomorrow!! ARGH!!
Well, sorry, I'm tired...
So? Don't forget to come back in a while! According to my notes, I've got half the story done, but I think I just wrote too many details so I think it's nearly over, only have one chapter left and the epilogue! Wanna hear something funny? I wrote the epilogue 2 years ago! The prologue of The Forgotten Guardian Force wasn't even done and I had the epilogue of this one!!! Sheesh! Hope you like it! Send reviews, is it too confusing? Since I'm so tired I can barely see the screen anymore! I'll just go to bed and dream of Squall torturing himself about what to do to save his sister...
I got a cool fight coming up: Squall vs... Seifer!!! Find out why and how on the next chapter: Last resort! (make it sound like a TV show...)
Good night... zzz.zzz.