Ch 18 – Round 3 – Zell VS Strange
"So, how was you're break, Zell?"
Zell simply sat on the sofa, his arms crossed, his eyes blank as he stared at the wall.
"You…didn't have a good time?"
Zell looked at Rinoa as if to say don't bug me, woman, and resumed him look at the wall.
Squall walked into the leisure centre. He took one look at the situation and walked over to Rinoa, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Lets just leave Zell alone, Rinoa. He hasn't had such a good day." He stood her up and walked her out, leaving Zell to his musing.
His mind was in a blur, his sight filled with a crimson rage. Who…who are you? Why do you want to fight me? For money? Revenge? Or some kind of personal gain…some kind of self realisation about yourself?
He looked down at his hands, covered in shining metal armour, the Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets glinting in the light. Why did I want these refined? They were good enough before. Do I think that I'll need the extra protection from you? Or do I think that I simply need the extra strength, the extra boost?
He shook his head. It was stupid to go back home. I should have known that something like this would have happened. Something like this would have happened. It's all my fault that my home was blown to bits. I should have seen it all coming…I should have gotten them out of the house as soon as I heard his voice…dammit, I should have figured out who he is by now!!
He realised that he had balled his fists, the metallic armour making small creaking noises as he flexed his hands again and again. He tried to relax, but found that he couldn't, his body seeming to teem with excess energy. Dammit…I guess all I can do for now is go on with the Tournament…I can't back out now. He'll just keep coming after me until we fight. I have to follow through.
Nodding once, he stood and moved out of the leisure centre, finding his way to the cockpit elevator.
* * *
"His home was destroyed, Selphie. How would you feel?"
"Hey, I lost Trabia, ok? I know how he feels."
"Ok, bad example. But I'm just saying, you have to give him a little leniency…this bastard tries to kill his family, and him, all in one morning. This morning."
"All I'm saying is that it wouldn't kill him to say hi when he sees us, that's all…"
Selphie and Irvine suddenly paused, both of them turning to see Zell standing behind them, still on the elevator platform, with his arms crossed. He waited until he had their attention, and walked forward. "Where we going?"
Irvine cleared his throat. "Uhh…Trabia. Squall says that the Tournament is back up already – the Galbadians got all they could from the Shooting Star guy, so they figured that they didn't really need to hold it off any longer." He looked at the shiny gloves. "Hey, what'd you do to you're Ehrgiez gloves? They look cool!"
Zell held one up for them to see. "You like?" He asked, balling his hand into a fist, as if to crush the air. "New and improved. The Uber Ehrgiez. Sweet huh?"
"'Uber'? Isn't that Old World for 'cool', or 'better'?"
"Yep. Cool, huh?"
Selphie stole a quick look before turning her head back to the controls. "Pretty sweet, Zell…" She said dully, not taking interest as she flew the Ragnarok.
Zell paused, lowering his hand. He opened his mouth suddenly, as if to apologise…but instead closed it, shook his head, and stepped back on the elevator, disappearing from view.
Irvine turned to Selphie, swivelling in the co-pilot chair. "That wasn't very nice, Selphie!"
"What?! I'm trying to fly, here!!"
* * *
Rinoa and Squall were in their quarters, spending some time together. Squall lay on the bed, Rinoa on top of him, lying forward. It was times like this that they liked to be close, they needed to touch, and it did the both of them a world of good.
If you met them individually, you'd think they'd be the perfect opposites – Rinoa, with her bubbly attitude, bright clothing and happy disposition. Squall, with his brooding angst, his leather and chains wardrobe and lone wolf attitude.
Together, however, they were like Ying and Yang – two opposites that connected perfectly. Squall's influence managed to bring the serious, critical Rinoa out, whilst Rinoa's influence managed to make Squall see the world in a brighter light.
Right now none of that mattered, however. All that mattered now was that they were together, and that they loved one another. Peaceful, calm times like these, where they could simply lay in each other's arms, not speaking, not moving, simply being, was when their relationship was at it's peak.
The sex helped too.
Right now, however, their time was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door.
Squall stirred. "Hyne, just go away…" he murmured, before squeezing Rinoa's shoulder. She broke away the stare that they had been building, looking into each other's eyes as if to try and find life's answers, and rolled to the side into the little crevasse between Squall's body and the wall. She placed an arm around his midriff and said nothing.
"Come in." Squall said loudly, and the door opened to allow Zell entrance.
He took two steps into the room, the door closing behind him, before he saw their position. "Ah, Hyne, sorry…" He muttered, looking down at his shoes quickly. He promptly turned and ran into the now closed door with a resounding bang.
Squall raised a hand. "Zell…it's ok."
Zell turned, rubbing his nose, slightly embarrassed. "I just wanted to know what we're going to do now."
Squall gestured to the desk chair, and Zell took a seat. "We're going to continue with the Tournament, gathering information as we go. The Tournament starts again today, and is being kicked off rather quickly. The first match begins in close to two hours."
"Do we know if the Galbadians got anything else from Shooting Star?"
Squall shook his head. "Nothing new. Which is why we'll need to remain alert throughout the remaining Tournament. We need to keep you in one piece until the end of the event."
Zell smiled, lowering his gaze to his gauntlets. "What makes you think I'll survive that long, Squall?"
"Because I know you will."
Zell looked at Squall, before nodding. "Ok." He stood. "I'll leave you two alone, then. I suppose I'd better rest up."
He walked to the door, before Rinoa spoke up. "Zell…I'm sorry about your home."
He paused, one hand hovering just above the door stud. "I am too…" He muttered, not bothering to look back as he pressed the stud and walked out the door.
* * *
Walking to his quarters, he removed the Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets carefully, placing them on the small table beside the cot. He pulled off his sneakers and tossed them into the corner of the room, before reclining on the cot, placing his hands behind his head.
He didn't feel tired – simply empty, like someone had ripped a piece out of him and blew it to bits.
He closed his eyes, remembering the flames as they licked out of the device embedded in the wall. He remembered stopping suddenly, the Shell forming almost instinctively around him and the women, the shock of the blast throwing them all back into the living room.
He remembered the look on Angel's face as he brushed the lock of hair away from her eyes, the ones filling with tears as he turned, the ones that looked uncertain as he turned from her, abandoning her, leaving her to the elements.
He closed his eyes to the tears, but they flowed down his face anyways.
* * *
The biting cold air of the Trabia winter land slashed Zell's face as his feet finally touched snow.
They all trudged off the Ragnarok into the bitter cold, Selphie the only one who seemed not to mind, instantly in her element as she ran around the ramp to try and find some people from Trabia Garden.
A stiff breeze had blown up, and Irvine raised the ramp before anybody could retreat back in, and before any snow could bank on the ramp.
Squall stood close to Rinoa, his black leather coat now draped over her slim shoulders. "The defect Galbadians might still try to retaliate for the failure of their soldiers on the Ragnarok…so stay sharp."
Irvine tipped his fedora up and pulled his trench coat closed, before slinging the double-barrelled shotgun to his shoulder. "Don't worry about us, Squall. We'll keep our eyes open. We'll meet in the eating area later, okay?"
Squall nodded, before leading a shivering Rinoa away to the eating area to get some hot food.
Zell cast an uninterested eye over the proceedings. Winter Island was just to the north of the Sorbald Snowfields, northwest of Traiba Garden. The Garden had been kind enough to help set up for the tournament here, allowing the Galbadian government to set up under their careful supervision – after the Missile Base episode, the Trabians had become slightly paranoid of outside interventions…but only slightly.
The first area of the island, the west side of the island, was the spectator area – set up just on the base of the mountain was a giant vid-screen, flanked by giant speakers to boom out the sounds of the battle. Just like the Serengetti Plains, the vid-screen had rows and rows of seats in front of it, as well as the separate booths for VIP and special showings.
On the other side of the island was the fighting arena – an elongated length of land, the peninsula spanning almost two hundred kilometres by fifty kilometres. Plenty of room for fighters to…expand each other's horizons.
Irvine clapped a hand on Zell's shoulder. "Hey man. How bout you and me go and get us some chow, huh?"
Zell looked at Irvine and nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, man."
They walked over to the eating area, moving to a hot food stand. Squall and Rinoa were nowhere to be seen.
Irvine walked up to the counter and placed both hands on the top of it. "Two hot chocolates, a steak and veg for me and three hotdogs for my friend."
The girl looked at Irvine, before looking over his shoulder at Zell - and promptly fainted, falling to the ground with a 'whump'.
Irvine blinked, before frowning confusingly. Zell scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I suppose the last anybody saw of me was a shot up corpse. It must be a shock to see someone walking around after they've been shot seven times with a high-powered rifle."
Zell and Irvine curiously craned their heads over the counter to look at the comatose girl, before looking at each other. Zell gestured at her with a hand. Irvine frowned again. "Why do I have to wake her? You're the one who's dead, remember?!"
Suddenly another girl walked out from the back of the store. "What's going on here…my Hyne! Mr. Zell…you're alive!!"
Zell smiled. "Oh! Hey, you're the chick who wanted me to sign your…" He suddenly realised that Irvine was standing next to him. "…Never mind."
"You're dead!!" She said, her hand over her mouth.
"Not quite."
"You're dead!!"
"Not quite."
Meryl tried to compose herself, crouching next to her fainted comrade. "I don't understand…we saw you get shot!"
Irvine looked at Zell. "Maybe we ought to go somewhere else."
"Yes. Lets."
They left the two girls to their own devices and went to another vender, one that had a guy behind the counter. He served them their food, rang up the cost, and gave them their change, before smiling. "Thanks for coming here, Mr. Dincht. Good luck next round."
Zell blinked, before smiling. "Uh…thanks buddy."
The two SeeDs took a seat at a table, snickering like children at the re-actions of the people around them. Most simply stared at Zell, as if they were waiting for them to lower his collar and show them his vampire bite. But all he did was smile and bite down on his hotdog.
The crowd around them consisted of a mixture of fighters and spectators. They mostly kept to themselves.
Irvine had gotten a full steak and veg lunch, and he began to cut up his potatoes. "So, who you fighting next?"
"You know the chick that had been around when we escaped from Serengetti?"
"The Goth?"
"Yeah. She says her name is Emily Strange…"
"Weird name…"
"Forget her name! I'm worried about her, man…she might be a handful."
"What makes you say that?"
Zell frowned. "She…she seemed to do something to me…I felt this urge to…kiss her. And I have no idea why."
Irvine frowned, munching on a forkful of peas, before swallowing. "You know what that sounds like?"
"What?"
Irvine summed up his idea in one word. "Blue."
Shit. Zell thought. Blue magic was in a league of it's own. It wasn't Elemental, or Forbidden, or Time, or White – it was the blue magic, the enemies foray.
Every now and then, there are humans born with the ability to use monster magic – Gatling Gun, Shockwave Fulsar and White Wind came to Zell's mind. Quistis was a Blue user – and it came in handy quite a lot, for a Blue user didn't need to draw magic from their enemies to use it.
A Blue user only needs to touch, smell, or simply see a certain part of a monster or a certain item refined from a monster, and a dormant part of their brain seemed to open, like a floodgate, infusing them with new powers almost instantly. Even worse, the person had an infinite supply of the magic – they didn't need to draw it, or see the item again to re-infuse them.
"So, what kind of Blue has she been using on me, then?" Zell asked, biting a hotdog.
"Well…it's hard to say…there's quite a lot out there…although I'd have to say it sounds like a variations of Ultra Waves, but don't quote me on that."
"Hang on…" Zell said, spraying the table with half-chewed dog. "…How do you know so much about magic?"
"When you desperately want to use magic as much as I did, you go to all the classes, even the Blue classes." Irvine shuffled the contents of his plate around with a fork. "But even that didn't help…"
Zell smiled and reached over the table, patting the gunslinger on the shoulder. "Don't worry, man. We all have our place in this world. You simply can't use magic."
Irvine smiled. "Yeah…"
"And besides, all those people joining you're classes just to try and learn the techniques of the infamous Sorceress Slayer…heh, I'd say your little secret coming out was the best thing that had happened to you."
"Look, enough about me, it's her that you have to worry about. If she's infused with a variation of Ultra Waves, who knows what else she's got bouncing around in that head of hers!"
"Who knows, indeed?"
Zell and Irvine both turned to see Emily Strange, looking dark in black leather pants and a leather coat…with not much under that. "The Hunter and the Slayer…a fine couple you two make."
Zell smiled. "I'd be careful with all that metal in you're face, Emily. It might slow you down on the field."
"Oh, be rest assured, Hunter, I wont be the one who's slow…" she smiled, narrowing her eyes.
Zell smiled back as the Shell sprang up around him, watching as she grimaced. "A good magician…" He muttered, his grin growing wider. "…Never repeats the same trick." He lowered the Shell as he sensed her assault dissipate.
Emily's frown turned into a sly smile. "Interesting…you're better at magic then most of these amateurs." She leaned close to him, her face a mere inch from his. He could see right into her jacket, at her bare chest underneath. He turned his head away politely. "My Blue magic isn't the only thing you'll have to worry about…but at least it'll keep you on your toes."
She turned to Irvine. "And what about you, Slayer? How would you fare against my unique ability?"
Irvine smiled, his shotgun not pointed at the fighter…but not pointed away. "Well, you could find out…but you'd have to speak to my friend here." He said, patting the large shotgun.
Emily smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you're friend isn't that hard to bypass." She straightened up, throwing her ponytail over her shoulder again. "I'll see you around, Hunter." She pulled a pair of wrap-around dark sunglasses from a pocket and put them on. "Places to be, people to do…"
Irvine and Zell watched her walk off, before Zell breathed a sigh of relief.
Irvine frowned at Zell's reaction. "What?"
"She's stronger then she looks…it took all my willpower to keep the Shell up when she assaulted me…"
"You think you can beat her?" Irvine asked cautiously.
"Physically? Yes…she wouldn't be able to stand up to me in a one-on-one…but magically? Well…" Zell frowned. "We'll just have to see."
* * *
Zell and Irvine talked about trivial things until Squall, Rinoa and Selphie finally appeared, taking their places around the table.
Zell leaned back in his chair, placing his boots on the table to stop himself from falling over. "Where have you guys been?"
"Gathering information, Zell." Squall stated matter-of-factly. "We need to find out as much of you're next opponent as we can."
"Big deal. We've already got enough info on her." Zell said with a wave of his hand.
Squall blinked at that. "What? How?"
"We talked. To her. Just a few minutes ago."
"Talked?!" Squall exclaimed, the idea that to simply walk up to the subject and ask them a question completely alien. "Why'd you do that?!"
"She walked up to us and began talking! It'd be rude to simply ignore her!"
Squall face-palmed, his voice straining as he spoke. "You ever heard of the term low profile, Zell?"
"She already knows a lot more of us then we know of her. Like the fact that she knows out Sorceress aliases. And that Irvine doesn't know how to use magic. She's been fully briefed. All we know is that she knows the assassin."
Squall rolled his eyes. "Then why didn't you just grab her and question her?"
Zell rolled his eyes at the contradiction to himself that Squall had made. "Squall, you obviously haven't met her. This isn't some chick who's good at martial arts. This is a chick who can crush a Red Dragon in a manner of minutes! Not only that, she's a Blue user."
Rinoa frowned. "Blue magic…that's uncharted territory, even for me."
Selphie smiled. "I know some Blue magic!!" She announced happily. It was true. Her Barrier and Freedom magic was one-of-a-kind.
Everybody looked at her as she beamed idiotically. Squall face palmed again and let his upper body topple to the table. Rinoa rubbed his back soothingly. "That's…great hon." Irvine said, patting her hand like he would a child.
"No! I know how to use Blue magic, and I know how to get around it!!"
Zell sat up and leaned forward, his attention completely on Selphie. "How?"
* * *
Zell shook his head again. I cant believe it's that simple! Usually I just get rid of em before I can use it, but it's just that simple!!
Zell still couldn't believe the tactic that Selphie had placed on the table for them. It was ingenious! It was magnificent! It was…so stupidly simple!
He lowered his body to the ground and pushed up once more, doing handstand pushups before the match. "Five hundred and twenty six…five hundred and twenty seven…" He had changed just before coming into the warmup tent into a black sweatshirt and a black pair of snow pants. He wore black snow boots too, SeeD issue, guaranteed to make you think you're running on solid ground when running through snow.
He looked at Emily, who was quietly doing some shadow boxing near a wall. You have no idea what I have in stall for you, little missy.
"Hi Zell."
Zell craned his head up to see July standing just inside the warm up tent's flap, her navy blue parka making her look like a bloated blueberry. Her blond hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she removed the sunglasses that adorned her face.
"Hiya July." Zell said, his tone neutral as he resumed the pushups. "Five hundred and twenty eight…five hundred and twenty nine…"
She walked into the tent, sitting on a bench next to where Zell was doing his warm-up. His equipment was laid out next to him – dark glasses to protect against the glare of the sun over the snow, a bandana to keep his sweat from freezing on his forehead, and his Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets. She looked down at them with curiosity. "Wow, cool…" she said, reaching out for them –
"Hey!" Zell said suddenly, pausing mid-push. "Don't touch!"
July lowered her hand sadly, placing it on her lap with the other one. "Sorry."
Zell nodded and resumed his pushups. "Five hundred and thirty five…five hundred and thirty six…"
"So…how was your break?"
Zell rolled his eyes. "Peachy."
The girl nodded, looking down at her hands in her lap again. Tension grew as the silence built, the only noise being Zell's counting and Emily's fists 'swif-swif'ing through the air as her punches increased in tempo.
July sighed, obviously getting agitated. "Look…Zell…I…I just came to say…"
"Five hundred and forty nine…five hundred and fifty!" Zell finished the pushups, lowering his body to the ground and pushing up, flipping backwards and landing on his feet. He held up a hand to silence July. "Don't worry about explanations, July. You just did what you had to do."
July's eyes widened. "No! I never wanted…"
"What? To sling mud in my direction? To sic the Galbadian government on me? Cause if that's what you wanted to do, then congratulations! Now I have to watch my back wherever I go, thanks to you!"
"I never wanted you're reputation to be sullied in the least! We have a mission to complete, but the mission briefing didn't include slinging dirt!!"
Zell cricked his neck, before rolling it on it's base. "Just leave, July. You're not even supposed to be here."
The girl stood, her bottom lip trembling – before she fled the tent, trying to fight the tears.
Unable to stop himself, Zell watched her run, before taking her place, sitting down where she sat and heaving a sigh. He shook his head and rubbed his face with a hand. Since when did you become so heartless, Dincht? Since my house got blown up this morning, that's when.
A pair of slim arms wrapped themselves around his chest comfortably, and he instinctively snuggled closer, memories of Angel wafting through his musings – before a cool voice whispered in his ear. "Having girrrrrl trouble, Hunter?" Emily purred.
He smiled, turning his head to look at her, their lips mere centimetres from each other. "That…is none of you're business."
"I make everything my business." She replied mysteriously
Why didn't you just grab her and question her then?
Hmm…you may have a point here, Squall. Zell wondered.
"Really?" Zell picked up one of the gauntlets and slammed it down onto his hand, opening and closing his hand to make sure it was snug. "Then how about telling me a bit about a certain someone."
She was obviously smitten with him. He could see it in her eyes. They danced playfully as her black lips twisted into a cute smile on her pale skin. "How about we trade?"
Zell cocked an eyebrow. "What kind of trade?"
"I get a kiss from you…and then you can ask one question about our certain someone." Her smile grew. "And I'll try to be as truthful as I can."
"Lemme guess…one kiss per question, right?"
"You're good, Hunter."
Zell smiled again. "What is it with you and trying to kiss me?"
Emily raised a hand and began to trace it on his chest. "Can't a girl have any fun? I train for almost two years, with no physical contact with anyone except those walking meat bags Sheran and Qultus and that bitch Clara, and I can't even fool around with a normal guy!"
Zell smirked. "I'm far from normal, hon."
Emily's smile grew wider, her eyes twinkling as her gaze meandered from his chest to somewhere lower. She cocked her head to the side. "I figured as much…"
Suddenly an official walked into the tent, looking down at a file in his hand. "Okay…Emily Strange and Zell Din…" His voice trailed off as he saw the position the two fighters were in.
Emily looked up at him with murder in her eyes, but Zell stood quickly, disengaging Emily's grip. "What's going on, buddy?"
"Uhh…your fight starts in a few minutes, sir. If the two of you would just follow me?"
Emily stood, straightening out her jacket. "We'll continue this conversation later, Hunter." She said, pinching his ass before sauntering out the flap, butting past the official with a growl.
Zell scratched the back of his neck with a small laugh. The official smiled pleasantly. "Lucky man."
"I don't think so, buddy. I don't think so."
* * *
"Ok, now hop onto the device, and you'll be on your way."
Zell turned to Emily as she put her input-output devices in her ears and cleared his throat. "I hope you're not going to do anything dodgy like Sheran did, are you?"
Emily rolled her eyes. "Please."
Zell blinked. "…Good. Cause I didn't want to go through that again. It hurt. A lot. A whole lot."
Emily seemed to pause, before turning to him and placing a hand on his chest. "Well…if it's pain you want…"
The official cleared his throat purposefully, and Emily turned her head to look at him again. Zell watched as her eyes began to glow a bright blue, and he immediately stepped in front of her and gestured to the device. "Uh, ladies first, I suppose." He said hurriedly.
Emily looked up at him with distain, the bright glow dissipating, before climbing onto the device unhurriedly.
Zell winked at the official, before jumping on the device himself.
The official, oblivious to the brush with death he had just survived, pressed the switch ignorantly, watching them blast off into the air.
* * *
The device took off with astounding speed, the landscape flitting past underneath them blindly as they flew through the air.
Zell took a seat far away from the pouting Strange, lest she actually did do something…but all she did was speak. "Why?"
"Why what?" He replied cautiously, interlocking his fingers and bending them outwards, allowing them to crack.
"Why didn't you let me…punish him for interrupting us?"
Zell lowered his gaze to his gauntlets, placing them in his lap. "We can't just walk around flaunting our powers. We have to use them only when we need to, to help people…not hurt them."
The gothic fighter snorted. "I can poke some many holes in that theory it's not funny. Why do you follow such a stupid ideal?" She turned to him, scooting around the device to sit next to him. "You could be worshipped with the power you hold right now. Why waste it on trivial matters like helping people?"
He looked down at her with sadness. "And why waste your powers on hurting yourself? Why waste them on hurting others?"
Her pretty face twisted with irritation. "I don't hurt them! I set them free from the pain in this world!!"
Zell frowned at her. "Do you really believe that?"
Her grimace twisted into a smile. "You should know all about pain. I heard about what happened this morning." She watched his expression change. "Oh, have I offended you?! You know, you really pissed him off, doing what you did. He said you simply deserved it."
Zell's eyes were filled with rage, and he spoke with a calm unused by the mask he wore. "Who is he?"
Emily raised a hand, waggling a finger at him. "Uh, uh, uh! I haven't received my kiss yet!"
The rage was building within him, and he tried to fight it back. "Just tell me who he is…and I'll let you walk out of here."
"Oh, threatening the little Goth girl with pain? Come on…" she pulled at one of her earrings, the sharp spike coming off easily. Toying with it in her hand, she suddenly stabbed it into the tip her index and middle fingers, watching with a smile as the blood began to ooze out of the small wounds. She breathed with ecstasy as she watched the blood trail down her hand. "Who do you think I am?"
He watched as she smeared the blood under her eyes, tracing two lines just under her eyes, before offering the finger to him. "Taste?"
He looked at her with dully, before pushing the hand away with a gauntlet. "I don't like the taste of blood."
"You don't know what you're missing, baby."
The device began to slow, coming to the battlefield. The time had come.
* * *
They both stepped off the device, watching it fly off. The wind was whipping around them, picking up clumps of snow and spreading them like dust in a stiff breeze.
The afternoon sun burned down through the small storm, muffling the light reflected off the ground – but still making them squint blindly.
Zell removed the bandana he had in his pocket, tying it to his head, before removing the wrap-around sunglasses and putting them on. He looked at Emily as she put her own glasses on, before wrapping her coat around her a little more tightly.
Contestants, you may begin when ready. The announcer said through their earpieces.
"Cool…" Zell said, taking his position.
Emily simply smirked at him through the snow. "Don't you think we ought to wait for the wind to die down?"
Zell rolled his eyes, even though she couldn't see it. "Come on. That could take ages."
Emily winked at him, before raising her tiny hands. With a shrill scream her hands burst in flames, the fire enveloping the air around them, dissolving the snow, killing the breeze, until the area around them was calm and peaceful.
Zell looked around him awkwardly. "Whoa…"
The Goth smiled. "That's right."
She stepped in close suddenly, her fists a blur, smashing his head around like a focus bag as she scored hit after hit, her tiny hands making small 'biff' noises as they smashed his head again and again and again…
Before he caught a hand in his shiny gauntlet, capturing the attack mid-punch. He smiled down at her evilly. He didn't have a scratch on him. "You'll have to better then that, my dear." He said coolly.
"Ok…" She replied, reaching back with her free hand and blasting a Firaga right in his face, blowing him away as the powerful fire magic picked him up and threw him away like a rag doll in a storm.
He managed to get the Shell up at the last millisecond, landing on his back and skidding through the snow as the remanets of the attack left his mind. Woo…better not do that again.
He looked up to see her flying down at him, her knee aiming for his stomach as she screamed like a premenstrual banshee.
He countered the attack, rolling his body up onto his hands and springing up, meeting her in mid air, his boots smashing her in the midriff, blowing the air out of her.
They landed on the ground together, skidding through the snow, Zell on top. He grabbed the lapel of her jacket and nutted her with a 'Booya!', driving his skull into her forehead like a battering ram. He watched as she tried to regain her senses – and retaliated, swinging her hands up to slap him on the ears, the suddenly burst of pressure like someone inserting hot coals into each ear.
He pushed himself off her and staggered back, his vision swimming as he tried to focus his eyes. He shook his head and looked around for her to see her standing before him, hands splayed in front of her, massive quantities of energy lacing around her arms.
"Oh crap." Zell muttered as she began to scream, the power ripping around her arms growing and growing, until she screamed the name of the attack.
"Meltdown!!"
"Oh shit!!" Zell yelled, crisscrossing his arms and letting the Shell spring up around him as the non-elemental attack bore down on him. It was like a stream of pure energy, the power bearing down on him like a thousand T-Rexaurs.
He stood the blast, though, the energy slamming into the Shell and stopping it in it's tracks. That didn't stop it from bearing down on Zell, and his legs began to dig into the snow as the powerful energy beam began to push him back, every so slightly.
Shit! What do I do?? He wondered as the pressure began to build. She's superior to me in magic in almost every way! And I can't pull off my countering move until she's finished!
"Just let go, Zell!!" He heard Emily cry over the noise of the Meltdown. "I can go like this aaaall day!!"
Suddenly, he heard a cracking noise. It chilled him to the bone as he looked up.
The Shell was cracking, like an eggshell. It began as a tiny crack at first, but began to spread, like a spider web, until it began to bend inward towards Zell. He knew, for a fact, that if the Shell broke, he would most likely be screwed.
He set his jaw, out of options. Back flipping a few meters away, he dropped the Shell.
The Meltdown came at him like a locomotive, the point of the energy blast coming straight at him.
Insanely, he held up his hands, capturing the magic in his hands.
The manoeuvre was tricky, but doable. If he could manage to apply enough pressure, he was able to…
Gritting his teeth with the effort, he threw his hands up, pushing the massive attack up into the atmosphere, where it exploded harmlessly.
"My Hyne, you are something special." He heard Emily say, and he turned to see her standing at ease, one hand on her hip, the other held up, hand open. "It took a lot to deflect my Meltdown…few people have been able to do it." Power began to flow through her, and she closed her hand as Dark matter began to swell in it. "But I'm not over yet."
Zell was ready for the attack, and watched as she tossed the Dark matter at him calmly, like tossing a baseball. He deflected the magic easily, slapping it to the side with an equally casual backhand, where it exploded in the snow to his left harmlessly.
"If that's all you got, then I'm not worried…" He began, turning to face her – to see that she had vanished. "Huh? Where'd you go?" He muttered, looking around himself, confused.
Ifrit's warm voice entered his mind. Look to where the Dark energy is, human.
A sinking feeling entered Zell's stomach and began to grow as he watched the area where the Dark matter landed pulsed…and launched a big black ball into the air.
* * *
"Oh shit…she drew Diablos from me!" Zell gasped as the sky around him grew dark, deep purple clouds forming in the clear blue sky as the giant black ball hovered in mid air.
From the bottom of the ball came a large taloned foot. It wormed it's way out of the ball, closely followed by another foot, a leg, a torso, before Diablos finally formed his corporeal body, dripping with black goo. He was covered in it, saturated in it, the liquid filling him with energy.
His body was nothing short of demonic, red and black skin on his upper body, purple and blue fur on his lower body. His bat-like wings flapped out, spraying the area around him with black liquid, powerful strokes keeping him up in the air. Big plates, like armour, grew out from his face, covering his deep yellow eyes and mouth. A long, thin, forked tail snaked out from his behind. He looked, for the record, terrifying.
Zell wasn't that easily frightened, however. He opened his gauntlets, now filled with Fire, and he threw them at the Guardian Force, the puny magic easily bouncing off its tough hide. Zell grimaced and decided to up the ante a lot, slammed both his palms together, splaying his fingers and fanning his hands.
The Flare attack blasted from his hands, hammering towards Diablos with unadulterated speed and fury – to be slapped aside by the demon as easily as a child's attack.
Foolish, Zell… Diablos said, his voice simply in Zell's mind. You know how powerful I have become now I'm with this female. I'll destroy you as easily as I destroyed you when we first met.
"We still acquired you, Diablos! And just like we did then, I'll get you back!!"
Impudent child! Diablos spat. You think I want to go back in your mind?! You make me want to vomit, you poor excuse for a human!!
"That's it, Diablos…" Zell said through gritted teeth, pointing his finger at the flying demon "You're going to get such a spanking!!"
You'll have to survive this, first, Zell. Diablos lifted his arm, stabbing his taloned claws into the gigantic black ball, lightening lacing out from the hole as he squirmed his hand into the ball of pure Dark matter.
Zell crisscrossed his arms once more, the Shell forming around him again. "Bring it on, you overgrown bat!"
Diablos seemed to try and pull his arm from the ball of energy, the ball flowing out with his arm – before it realised that he wanted to throw it somewhere. Then it suddenly sprang out from it's limbo, leaving his claws and rocketing down to Gaia, directly at Zell.
This…is going to hurt. Zell thought to himself as the attack hit him square on.
* * *
The demon watched as the destruction laid waste to the ground around him, the snow dissolving instantly for a mile-wide radius, a gigantic crater appearing where the ball burrowed into the ground to crush the victim. The sound was breathtaking, the explosion seeming to take forever. The dark light seemed to go into the infinite, able to be seen throughout the world.
When the carnage was over, Diablos lowered from his hovering to the ground, landing on it's taloned feet. The rubble around it seemed to clear of it's own accord, flying away as the demon's feet touched ground. Snow began to fall ever so slightly, the faeiry's gift seeming a little too late for the fallen warrior.
Diablos wandered through the debris, kicking over one piece of earth, lifting another, seemingly to search for the remnants of the warrior.
He didn't need to search long.
A pile of rocks suddenly exploded upwards, and a very angry Zell stood where the blast originated.
He was breathing heavily, his fists balled. His shirt had been utterly destroyed, his chest and back covered in nicks and scratches. The Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets weren't so shiny now – the metal was covered in small scratches, and rock dust killed the gleam. Zell's face was covered in sweat, his bandana and sunglasses lost, but his rage surpassed all else.
"I told you – I'm going to spank you like a red-headed stepchild!"
Diablos growled like a animal, before taking off in flight, speeding towards Zell like a bat out of hell…straight into a left straight from Zell, followed by a right hook.
Able to reach his foe now, Zell pummelled him for all he was worth, the Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets smashing Diablos's rock hard face into putty, the clang of adamantine hitting fleshy armour echoing around the now rocky peninsula.
Diablos tried to fight back – his claws scratched over Zell's chest, tearing a fleshy strip of skin off the SeeD's torso – but it didn't faze Zell, who simply grabbed the hand with the torn skin and bent it upwards, the brittle snap the only thing louder then Diablos's scream of pain.
The scream was inhuman, rattling Zell's bones, vibrating the metal in his Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets. He let go of the demon and watched him fall to the ground, clutching his arm to his chest like a child with a broken toy.
Zell grimaced. "I'll send you back to hell, demon!!" He screamed, grabbing Diablos's horns and hammering his head to his with a 'Booya!'.
Diablos fell backwards, landing on his back, collapsing on his tail and wings. Zell blinked, a suddenly flash of inspiration hitting him.
He reached down and grabbed the tail, the barb of the back trying desperately to dig into his hands…but only finding indestructible adamantine. Swinging the demon around him again and again like a yo-yo, savouring the yells of anguish from the monster, Zell finally let go, throwing the demon high up into the sky.
He set his hands back, palms pressed together, the ground trembling beneath him as he drew on power that he hadn't had the need to draw on for years. His body began to smoke white smoke, the energy accumulating into his hands. "Holy!!" He screamed, blasting the white ball of Holy energy into the sky, taking the demon with full force.
Diablos screamed as the air around him suddenly filled with the completely opposite energy then what was in his body. Much like a human trying to swim naked in a vat of acid, the effects were devastating.
The thing that collapsed to the ground after the attack dissipated was not humanoid in shape. It was more of a blobby mass, splattering to the ground in a big clump with a loud 'splut'.
Zell took his time walking up to it, crouching next to it as he grinned. "Who's your daddy?"
Zell! Diablos's dark voice screamed. Zell! Please! You cannot leave me like this!!
"You fuck with the Behemoth, Diablos, you get the horns. I warned you what would happen if you messed with me."
Zell!! Diablos now pleaded, Please save me!!
Zell stood, placing a hand on his chin. "Hmmm…" He lowered the hand, a ball of lightening forming in the base of his palm. "Nah."
Zell, I implore you! I'll serve you until you die! I swear by the almighty Hyne himself!!
Zell smiled, lowering his hand. "That's better."
Closing his eyes, he focused his mind. Sensing the severely wounded GF before him, he drew the excess energy from the corporeal form into his body, allowing it to take refuge in a small part in the back of his brain. Be thankful, Diablos. I don't know how long I'll be able to put up with your banter…but at least the Brothers will have someone else to talk to.
Diablos chose not to answer, deciding instead to rest.
* * *
Not far from the site of the reunion, Emily appeared in a small flash of green light. She shook her head as her body's molecules reassessed their situation, and took a few steps forward to take her bearings.
It looked like she had been transported to a different area, the ground massively disturbed, the snow falling slightly.
She kicked at the ground. She had hoped that Zell would have put up a better fight then that.
It was then that something ploughed into her back, picking her up off her feet and driving her into the ground as the thing on top of her road her down a small slope like a sand board.
She managed to rolled with the last few meters of the ride, coming up on her feet – to see Zell, beaten and bloody, but looking more filled with energy then before.
"Zell! Great to see that you survived!!" She muttered, picking herself up off the ground and patting down her black clothes.
Zell said nothing, not taking any chances and running forward, smashing a fist into her stomach. The attack lifted her off her feet, throwing her back into the snow. Zell pounced, straddling her and pounding away with his fists, smashing her again and again…
A sudden burst of energy threw him off her and they both stood uneasily, Emily probing her face painfully, Zells shaking his head to clear the chocobos running in his vision.
Emily spat out a mouthful of blood, her face twisting as the waves of pain hit her again and again…before she smiled.
Uneasily taking a few steps back, she spoke, her voice painful. "Nice…real nice, Hunter…you're just the person I've been looking for…my whole life…" She blinked, as if to try and focus her eyes better. "But…I can't just have this…being a one way street…now can I?"
She threw her arm out suddenly, the magic taking Zell by surprise. His body seemed to burn with pain, every fibre in his being seeming to twist and turn, to be stabbed by white-hot needles. The Pain magic did its thing, making every sense an unbearable agony, every movement unbridled torture.
He collapsed to the ground in a fit of excruciation, every twitch bringing more agony, every groan inviting more pain.
Emily walked up to him, sitting beside him and running a hand over his face. "Hush…it'll be over in a few second…" Her eyes began to glow once more, the Blue magic beginning to flow. "I'll tell you what you need to know…but only after a kiss…"
She bent over him, her lips pressing to his; her tongue worming it's way into his mouth. She pressed her face against his, savouring the moment, drawing him into her arms.
The Pain magic finally dissipated, and Zell blinked as his senses came back to him. He quickly pushed her off of him, scrabbling back to put some ground between them.
She smiled seductively, sighing like a girl on a prom night. "Oh…now that was something I'd die for…"
Zell blinked, frowning as his vision began to swim. "What…what did you do to me?"
"My Kiss Of Death technique…one of my Blue magic's." She sighed again, still savouring his taste. "You should have a few minutes of life left, before your heart stops and your head explodes." She looked down at her hands wistfully. "Too bad. You would have been so much fun to try and seduce…but your own willpower has been too much for me to overcome."
Zell blinked again. "Damn you!" He rushed forward, smashing a foot into her chest and landing an uppercut on her chin. Zell grabbing her jacket as she went up, and he pulled her down to smash into the ground.
"Hurt me all you want…I like it." She said with a smile. "There's nothing you can do now, Zell. My magic kiss will kill you. So…" She reached up slowly and ran a hand down his chest. "…Let's just make your last few minutes pleasurable, huh?"
He threw her away in disgust, looking around himself as if a cure to the magical poison would pop up out of nowhere…
Wait…he thought to himself. She must have a counter to the poison…
Concentrating, he Scanned her body, the list of magic she held entering his mind. It was wide and diverse, but he found something interesting.
Something that felt like a Dispel…but also an Esuna?
He narrowed his eyes and Drew some of it.
"What do you think you're doing?" Emily suddenly screamed, jumping up and running towards him, sending a jump kick right into his stomach.
The attack didn't even faze Zell – and he knew what the magic was. Blue. Concentrating hard, he felt the White power of the Blue flow through his body, and his mouth opened to utter the word of power.
"…Disuna…?" he muttered awkwardly, feeling his senses return to him, his vision clearing.
"Damn you!" Emily screamed, grabbing his head in both hands and pulling him down, puckering her lips for another try.
He intersected the interesting technique by shifting his palm in front of the both of them, her lips pressing against the cold adamantine of the Uber Ehrgiez gauntlet.
Moving fast, he pushed her away and traced a red pattern in the air, the magic sign flaring briefly before he pressed his palm against it, saying the word of power to activate the spell. "Silence!"
You could cast Silence simply by looking at the person who you wished to silence – but the best results needed the Forbidden Signs to be drawn in magical light and activated.
Emily grimaced, opening her mouth as she held up her hands – but no words came out, and no power was drawn. Her eyes widened as she realised what he had just done, rendering her only effective way of attack…utterly useless.
"You're no match for me now, Emily." Zell said slowly, drawing on his White magic to heal his wounds. "Give up. Now."
She seemed to try again, holding her arms out and silently screaming a word of power – but nothing happened. She threw her arms down in rage and ran forward, trying to attack Zell physically – but he either dodged the attacks, or simply fended them off.
He grimaced. "You can't beat me like this, Emily." He finally backhanded her, causing her to fall to the ground, knocked out. "Stay down."
* * *
Wooo…that took a while!!
I hope you liked this fight scene – it took me about two full days to figure out, as well as actually write. I'd like to thank Emily Strange (AKA Alexandra Knight) for letting me use her as a character in this chapter. While I'm at it, I'd also liked to thank ShootinStar (AKA whoever) for letting me use him as the Sniper in Ch 14 – Dead Ends.
Don't worry, however! There will be some more of Emily Strange to follow…as soon as I figure out what to write from here…
Have you figured out who the Assassin is yet? I'm beginning to get impatient now. The story is beginning to come to a conclusion, and I'm beginning to have trouble figuring out fight scenes. So, in two chapters, my competition will be officially closed! Remember, you have to make me believe that the person you think is the Assassin is the Assassin. And no half-assed excuses!! I'm trying to be serious about this!!
By the way, the next fight scene – I'll try to incorporate two GF!!
