"Have they arrived yet?" the rebel leader asked.
The young boy nodded his head. "Yes, they have just landed in the outskirts of the perimeter." He replied.
The leader smiled, his dark cobalt eyes glinting at the news. He was a tall and imposing man with a large and toned build. He had black hair slicked back neatly with a trimmed goatee. He wore a black uniform with tall boots and a sash on his upper arm depicting a flame with a sword crossing it. The insignia of the Sorceress Hunters.
"Arrange a meeting for the Sorceress and I. Kill any that are with her, but I want the Sorceress alive!"
"Yes, sir!" the boy said curtly, saluting the leader then turning to leave.
"Oh, and Dante..."
The boy paused, hearing his name.
"Do not disappoint me."
"Yes, Father."
* * *
Rinoa walked through the field at a quickened pace, Seifer and Squall flanking either side of her. After a few minutes of uneventful walking, Seifer interrupted the growing silence.
"How much longer?"
"I don't know. I was told that when we reach the halfway point, we will meet a representative of the city to guide us the rest of the way." Rinoa replied evenly.
"Wonderful." Seifer groaned.
"Such enthusiasm..." Squall said quietly.
"I don't see you jumping for joy." Seifer retorted.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this pertinent conversation, but you have something I want."
The trio turned to face the speaker. A boy no older that 13 with lengthy silver hair and piercing violet eyes faced them. He stood before the three in a rather cocky stance, holding a black gunblade over his shoulder casually.
"Who are you?" Squall demanded more than asked.
"My name is Dante Reminaix. I've come for the Sorceress and no one will stand in my way." The boy replied coldly.
Both Squall and Seifer drew their gunblades on reflex. "You'll have to get past us first." Seifer scowled.
"Eclipse will gladly tear through your pitiful bodies." Dante promised, raising his dark gunblade to an offensive stance. "But first, allow me to even the odds." He raised his free hand into the air, making it into a fist then bring it down in front of him. A black essence swirled around him and then more of the black portal-like swirls made their way around the Sorceress and her two escorts. From these portals rose creatures that Squall had never seen before. They were tall and disgustingly thin with long gangly arms ending in three pointed talons. Their faces were round, their huge pupil-less eyes and gaping mouths with rows of long thin teeth adding to the creatures' grotesque looks. Six of the monsters circled them, making high-pitched throaty squeals and shrieks.
Rinoa stood frozen, all of her fighting instincts lost as fear overcame her at the sight of the deplorable creatures.
Seifer eyed they creatures carefully, each of their movements only increasing his anger. Every move the monsters made mocked Seifer, their piercing shrieks laughter to his ears. He pushed his rage aside, focusing on the upcoming fight. He didn't need to be blinded by rage, not when he had something else to lose. He looked to Squall. His blue-gray eyes were narrowed, completely focused on the threat at hand. No, Seifer couldn't allow his rage to take control. Not when he had someone else to lose.
"How the hell is three to seven even odds?" Seifer growled as two of the creatures flanked him. Dante laughed.
"Allow me to introduce my pets. They are called shadow stalkers. Precious, aren't they?"
"You're sick." Squall hissed.
"Your compliments are welcome, but it won't help you. Creatures!" Dante yelled. The monsters jerked their heads toward the boy. Dante issued a devilish grin, then pointed Eclipse toward Rinoa. "Take her."
The creatures shrieked and lunged towards their target. Squall swung Lionheart across in a wide arc, pushing two of the creatures back in retreat; Seifer using similar moves to defend Rinoa. Many minutes passed, the creatures trying to make their way to Rinoa and each time, they'd be pushed away by either Lionheart or Hyperion. Dante grew impatient, just standing by and watching. He wanted action and he wanted it now.
//The tall blonde seems more of a challenge...// Dante thought as he lifted his dark gunblade and charged forward, passing through the shadow stalkers and striking at Seifer. Hyperion countered head on, gladly accepting the challenge that this young gunblade wielder imposed on him. As Seifer and Dante exchanged blows, that left Squall to defend Rinoa alone. He did well for a while, but he soon began to weaken. Four of the six creatures surrounded Squall, isolating him from Rinoa.
As Squall fought now to defend himself, he saw out of the corner of his eye Rinoa being brutally beaten by the two other stalkers that weren't occupying Squall. Gray eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Squall!!" she shouted. "Squall, please help me!"
//The dream...//
"Rinoa?"
//No...//
"Rinoa!!" Invoking Squall's wrath was like invoking the rage of a storm. And nothing can stand in the way of a storm. Especially not a few shadows.
Lionheart glowed furiously, flashing across, slicing through two of the shadow stalkers, forcing them to retreat to where ever they came from. Squall reversed his gunblade, sending the blade into the belly of the stalker behind him. The creature shuttered, then also fled to its own world. He pulled the blade back as quickly as he had placed it, then spun around, blocking an attack from the remaining monster, then swinging Lionheart across, beheading the shadow stalker, causing it dissolve. The SeeD then charged the last two stalkers that had brought down Rinoa, dispatching them easily.
He kneeled next to the fallen girl, her breathing weak and labored. Scars adorned her fragile form, her clothes ripped and her blood rolling from her body and dripping to the ground. She lazily lifted her eyes when she felt Squall hold her up.
"Squall..." she whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear.
"I'm here Rinoa. It's alright. Everything will be fine. Just hang on."
Rinoa smiled then coughed, allowing blood to seep down the side of her mouth. Squall widened his stormy blue eyes, realizing just how injured Rinoa was. He closed his eyes, searching his mind for anything that could help the raven-haired girl.
"No..." he whispered as he realized that he had not junctioned any GF and therefore, he had no magic to help Rinoa.
"Squall?" Rinoa stuttered quietly. Squall looked down into Rinoa's dark eyes. A feeling of complete hopelessness fell over him as he looked at her.
"I...I must..." she inhaled sharply, pain ceasing her speech.
"Shh...don't talk." Squall tried.
"No...my...my powers...they must...be..."
"What?"
Rinoa grasped Squall's hands, desperately holding on to them. "They must be passed on." She whispered. Squall suddenly realized that the only thing that he could hear now was his and Rinoa's breathe. The sound of battle had stopped. He looked over to where Seifer and Dante were fighting. They were frozen mid stance. Then he looked down at the grass around them. The blades of grass appeared to be blown slightly over by the wind, yet they made no movements. Time had frozen.
Squall inhaled. //Is this the power of the Sorceress?// His breath, his heartbeat, his thoughts, they seemed so loud now as opposed to Rinoa's, hers faint and fast fading.
"Squall..."
"What is it, Rinoa?" he asked quietly.
"Accept them. Please."
There was no time to think. Or was there? Squall didn't care. If this was Rinoa's last wish, then he would make sure it was made. Squall nodded and Rinoa smiled, holding tighter to Squall's hand. A green essence lifted from Rinoa, swirling around the pair. Squall watched the essence warily as it enveloped him. It was a strange feeling, like all weight had left his body yet at the same time, it seemed that gravity was crushing him. Pain swelled throughout his body. It felt like his innards were being squeezed and hammered, mutilated by something unbearable. His breath suddenly hitched and he screamed out as all his world entered a deep darkness.
* * *
Seifer's concentration suddenly left as he heard a familiar tenor voice screamed over to his side. Dante was merciless, striking at every opening Seifer gave. But just as merciless, Seifer countered every attack, even parrying with a few of his own. This attack-counter routine was fine up until Seifer heard Squall's plea. Worry and rage coursing through his already adrenaline pumped veins drove him forward as he pushed his weight into a single fierce side long swipe, forcefully pushing Eclipse aside. Using agility Dante didn't expect him to have, Seifer reversed the blade, sending it across the young boy's face, slicing across his right eye.
Dante fell, covering his eye to stem the blood flow.
"Bastard..." he hissed as he watched Seifer retreat with his good eye.
* * *
"Squall!?" Seifer knelt next to the slender brunette, lifting him off the ground. He sheathed Hyperion, then looked back to Squall. He was unconscious, his breath very low and weak. He looked over and saw Rinoa, similarly unconscious.
It was then he heard another approaching force. He needn't to get away, but he couldn't carry both of them. He picked up Squall and slung him over his shoulder, then proceeded to trek back the Ragnarok. There wasn't much he could do for Rinoa. He wished he could, but he needed to at least save one of them, and his feelings forced himself to choose Squall. He prayed, to who, he didn't know, that Rinoa would remain safe as he ran towards Ragnarok.
* * *
"Quickly, take the girl back to my airship!" Dante commanded as troops from the Sorceress Hunters appeared, flanking him and Rinoa.
"Sir, perhaps you should get that checked." One of the soldiers mentioned, referring to Dante's injured eye. The boy merely scowled then waved him off.
"There is no time for that. Just get the Sorceress to my ship before she awakens. And don't hurt her!" Dante then looked off to where Seifer and Squall had fled. He touched his bloodied eye and winced. "Fucking bastard will pay for this." He growled before walking off to his airship.
The young boy nodded his head. "Yes, they have just landed in the outskirts of the perimeter." He replied.
The leader smiled, his dark cobalt eyes glinting at the news. He was a tall and imposing man with a large and toned build. He had black hair slicked back neatly with a trimmed goatee. He wore a black uniform with tall boots and a sash on his upper arm depicting a flame with a sword crossing it. The insignia of the Sorceress Hunters.
"Arrange a meeting for the Sorceress and I. Kill any that are with her, but I want the Sorceress alive!"
"Yes, sir!" the boy said curtly, saluting the leader then turning to leave.
"Oh, and Dante..."
The boy paused, hearing his name.
"Do not disappoint me."
"Yes, Father."
* * *
Rinoa walked through the field at a quickened pace, Seifer and Squall flanking either side of her. After a few minutes of uneventful walking, Seifer interrupted the growing silence.
"How much longer?"
"I don't know. I was told that when we reach the halfway point, we will meet a representative of the city to guide us the rest of the way." Rinoa replied evenly.
"Wonderful." Seifer groaned.
"Such enthusiasm..." Squall said quietly.
"I don't see you jumping for joy." Seifer retorted.
"I'm sorry to interrupt this pertinent conversation, but you have something I want."
The trio turned to face the speaker. A boy no older that 13 with lengthy silver hair and piercing violet eyes faced them. He stood before the three in a rather cocky stance, holding a black gunblade over his shoulder casually.
"Who are you?" Squall demanded more than asked.
"My name is Dante Reminaix. I've come for the Sorceress and no one will stand in my way." The boy replied coldly.
Both Squall and Seifer drew their gunblades on reflex. "You'll have to get past us first." Seifer scowled.
"Eclipse will gladly tear through your pitiful bodies." Dante promised, raising his dark gunblade to an offensive stance. "But first, allow me to even the odds." He raised his free hand into the air, making it into a fist then bring it down in front of him. A black essence swirled around him and then more of the black portal-like swirls made their way around the Sorceress and her two escorts. From these portals rose creatures that Squall had never seen before. They were tall and disgustingly thin with long gangly arms ending in three pointed talons. Their faces were round, their huge pupil-less eyes and gaping mouths with rows of long thin teeth adding to the creatures' grotesque looks. Six of the monsters circled them, making high-pitched throaty squeals and shrieks.
Rinoa stood frozen, all of her fighting instincts lost as fear overcame her at the sight of the deplorable creatures.
Seifer eyed they creatures carefully, each of their movements only increasing his anger. Every move the monsters made mocked Seifer, their piercing shrieks laughter to his ears. He pushed his rage aside, focusing on the upcoming fight. He didn't need to be blinded by rage, not when he had something else to lose. He looked to Squall. His blue-gray eyes were narrowed, completely focused on the threat at hand. No, Seifer couldn't allow his rage to take control. Not when he had someone else to lose.
"How the hell is three to seven even odds?" Seifer growled as two of the creatures flanked him. Dante laughed.
"Allow me to introduce my pets. They are called shadow stalkers. Precious, aren't they?"
"You're sick." Squall hissed.
"Your compliments are welcome, but it won't help you. Creatures!" Dante yelled. The monsters jerked their heads toward the boy. Dante issued a devilish grin, then pointed Eclipse toward Rinoa. "Take her."
The creatures shrieked and lunged towards their target. Squall swung Lionheart across in a wide arc, pushing two of the creatures back in retreat; Seifer using similar moves to defend Rinoa. Many minutes passed, the creatures trying to make their way to Rinoa and each time, they'd be pushed away by either Lionheart or Hyperion. Dante grew impatient, just standing by and watching. He wanted action and he wanted it now.
//The tall blonde seems more of a challenge...// Dante thought as he lifted his dark gunblade and charged forward, passing through the shadow stalkers and striking at Seifer. Hyperion countered head on, gladly accepting the challenge that this young gunblade wielder imposed on him. As Seifer and Dante exchanged blows, that left Squall to defend Rinoa alone. He did well for a while, but he soon began to weaken. Four of the six creatures surrounded Squall, isolating him from Rinoa.
As Squall fought now to defend himself, he saw out of the corner of his eye Rinoa being brutally beaten by the two other stalkers that weren't occupying Squall. Gray eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Squall!!" she shouted. "Squall, please help me!"
//The dream...//
"Rinoa?"
//No...//
"Rinoa!!" Invoking Squall's wrath was like invoking the rage of a storm. And nothing can stand in the way of a storm. Especially not a few shadows.
Lionheart glowed furiously, flashing across, slicing through two of the shadow stalkers, forcing them to retreat to where ever they came from. Squall reversed his gunblade, sending the blade into the belly of the stalker behind him. The creature shuttered, then also fled to its own world. He pulled the blade back as quickly as he had placed it, then spun around, blocking an attack from the remaining monster, then swinging Lionheart across, beheading the shadow stalker, causing it dissolve. The SeeD then charged the last two stalkers that had brought down Rinoa, dispatching them easily.
He kneeled next to the fallen girl, her breathing weak and labored. Scars adorned her fragile form, her clothes ripped and her blood rolling from her body and dripping to the ground. She lazily lifted her eyes when she felt Squall hold her up.
"Squall..." she whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear.
"I'm here Rinoa. It's alright. Everything will be fine. Just hang on."
Rinoa smiled then coughed, allowing blood to seep down the side of her mouth. Squall widened his stormy blue eyes, realizing just how injured Rinoa was. He closed his eyes, searching his mind for anything that could help the raven-haired girl.
"No..." he whispered as he realized that he had not junctioned any GF and therefore, he had no magic to help Rinoa.
"Squall?" Rinoa stuttered quietly. Squall looked down into Rinoa's dark eyes. A feeling of complete hopelessness fell over him as he looked at her.
"I...I must..." she inhaled sharply, pain ceasing her speech.
"Shh...don't talk." Squall tried.
"No...my...my powers...they must...be..."
"What?"
Rinoa grasped Squall's hands, desperately holding on to them. "They must be passed on." She whispered. Squall suddenly realized that the only thing that he could hear now was his and Rinoa's breathe. The sound of battle had stopped. He looked over to where Seifer and Dante were fighting. They were frozen mid stance. Then he looked down at the grass around them. The blades of grass appeared to be blown slightly over by the wind, yet they made no movements. Time had frozen.
Squall inhaled. //Is this the power of the Sorceress?// His breath, his heartbeat, his thoughts, they seemed so loud now as opposed to Rinoa's, hers faint and fast fading.
"Squall..."
"What is it, Rinoa?" he asked quietly.
"Accept them. Please."
There was no time to think. Or was there? Squall didn't care. If this was Rinoa's last wish, then he would make sure it was made. Squall nodded and Rinoa smiled, holding tighter to Squall's hand. A green essence lifted from Rinoa, swirling around the pair. Squall watched the essence warily as it enveloped him. It was a strange feeling, like all weight had left his body yet at the same time, it seemed that gravity was crushing him. Pain swelled throughout his body. It felt like his innards were being squeezed and hammered, mutilated by something unbearable. His breath suddenly hitched and he screamed out as all his world entered a deep darkness.
* * *
Seifer's concentration suddenly left as he heard a familiar tenor voice screamed over to his side. Dante was merciless, striking at every opening Seifer gave. But just as merciless, Seifer countered every attack, even parrying with a few of his own. This attack-counter routine was fine up until Seifer heard Squall's plea. Worry and rage coursing through his already adrenaline pumped veins drove him forward as he pushed his weight into a single fierce side long swipe, forcefully pushing Eclipse aside. Using agility Dante didn't expect him to have, Seifer reversed the blade, sending it across the young boy's face, slicing across his right eye.
Dante fell, covering his eye to stem the blood flow.
"Bastard..." he hissed as he watched Seifer retreat with his good eye.
* * *
"Squall!?" Seifer knelt next to the slender brunette, lifting him off the ground. He sheathed Hyperion, then looked back to Squall. He was unconscious, his breath very low and weak. He looked over and saw Rinoa, similarly unconscious.
It was then he heard another approaching force. He needn't to get away, but he couldn't carry both of them. He picked up Squall and slung him over his shoulder, then proceeded to trek back the Ragnarok. There wasn't much he could do for Rinoa. He wished he could, but he needed to at least save one of them, and his feelings forced himself to choose Squall. He prayed, to who, he didn't know, that Rinoa would remain safe as he ran towards Ragnarok.
* * *
"Quickly, take the girl back to my airship!" Dante commanded as troops from the Sorceress Hunters appeared, flanking him and Rinoa.
"Sir, perhaps you should get that checked." One of the soldiers mentioned, referring to Dante's injured eye. The boy merely scowled then waved him off.
"There is no time for that. Just get the Sorceress to my ship before she awakens. And don't hurt her!" Dante then looked off to where Seifer and Squall had fled. He touched his bloodied eye and winced. "Fucking bastard will pay for this." He growled before walking off to his airship.