Chapter 30 – Battle of the Angels (Part 1)

     "Quisty… does that mean you have been to this place before? But how?" Seifer rubbed his forehead trying to think of a reason for Quistis' knowledge of the place, which happened to be several feet up in the air.

     " Yeah… don't hide anything from us, Quisty!"

     "Actually, apart from the two of you, all of them have already been to this place. This… is Redrumiel's lair, presented for the first time before you eyes."

    Zell and Seifer let out a loud "WHAT?" at the same time, and gazed in amazement at their surroundings, which was probably the most extreme place they had ever been to.

      "Yeah… she keeps forgetting my existence…" Damien muttered to himself.

     "What are you talking about? Oh yeah… and you… but I was referring to them…" Celestine stuck her tongue out sheepishly, while pointing her finger at the SeeDs.

     "This place gives me a headache of the worst kind…" Waterlily had a terribly grumpy look on her face. "Little surprise though, considering how I died…coming back here just piles on the memories…"

     "Not to forget about the torture that scum had subjected you to… I wouldn't love to stay here either…" Seifer added.

     "Torture? In what way?"

    Zell, Quistis and Seifer exchanged glances. They had forgotten that Waterlily could not have possibly known that they had seen pictures of her whip-lashed back.

     "When the scientists had found the cure for the virus and called us to their labs, they showed us a picture of your…" Zell could not continue, wary of invoking yet more bad memories in her.

     "Oh… trust me. Those whips were small fry compared to the squashing of the brain. Nothing can beat that, Amen."

     "Can we NOT continue on this line of conversation?" Seifer protested with a queasy expression on his face.

     "Seifer… don't tell me you're afraid of…"

     "Chicken-wuss! Watch you mouth! I, Seifer Almasy, am afraid of nothing! Nothing you hear?"

     "Oh? So what's this trickling down your face? Saliva?"

     "THAT SICKO!" Celestine shouted when she finally realized what they were talking about, making all of them jump up from the unexpected noise.

     "Can we stop this nonsense at once? The Lord is waiting for us, as well as the sixty-odd Angels who are still following him. Besides, Redrumiel will attack any minute. Even if we said this was the safest place, he's bound to seek us out sooner than later." Damien, still slightly miffed with Celestine for overlooking his presence, nagged at them with a disgruntled look.

     "He's right… we can't afford to waste the time away like this. Let's go… we'll bring you to meet the rest of the Angels."

    The group of six trudged through the flower fields, only to arrive at a clearing, where the Lord of Angels sat before a massive group of wing-backed fellows, which they presumed to be the Angels. (Duh...)

     "Ah… the SeeDs approaceth." The Lord lifted his eyes upon them in a kindly manner… some might even say in a paternal way, for he had immediately taken them under his wing (No pun intended) after that first meeting.

    All sixty-odd heads that had previously been engaged in various groups of conversation stopped immediately, and turned around to see for themselves what their guests looked like.

    Apparently, the Lord had been heaping praises on them, for all of them were warm and respectful, some even bowing to them in reverence, which was quite a bit too much for the SeeDs to accept.

     "Oh… did I tell you that you people are quite famous up here too? Especially since Seifer and Quis had managed to get the extended services of THE Damien Silvergrace for the rest of eternity… or your life spans, whichever is shorter. Now how's that for SeeD prestige?"

     "Alright… now that our guests have arrived… we shall proceed with our strategy." The Lord paused for a little dramatic effect, and to get the attention of those in front of him.

     "We will not wait for them to attack us. Instead, we will initiate the battle. Far too long have Angels been accused of being too passive, never acting until the enemy strikes near. Well, this is exactly the time to refute that accusation. Yes, I know they outnumber us by many… but with the help of our friends here, nothing is impossible. For one thing, we have Hyne on our side. They have nothing but their leader, Redrumiel.

      What I propose is to avoid unnecessary conflict. Try to convince them to return to the Light of Hyne first, if it fails, then you attack.

      Remember though… our objective is not to beat them down, but to get rid of their leader. So the first priority is to clear the path for our SeeDs so that they can successfully target Redrumiel without having to waste energy on the others. And when the dark leader is defeated, it shall signify the end of this war.

      Short and simple strategy, but can you achieve it? You must be unyielding in your will to go against him. Only then can you succeed.

      Any questions?"

    Zell raised an arm.

     "Yes, Master Dintch?"

     *Gulp* Master Dintch? I'm not sure I can handle being called that by the Lord of Angels.

     "What makes you so sure that we can beat him? From what I gather from Celestine, wasn't he supposed to be an ex-Angel of sorts? I know they're pretty difficult to beat, for sure… let's not say one with his kind of power."

     "That is because I believe only the humans that he abhors so can disrupt his emotions and cause him to lose control. Of course, I do not expect you to beat him alone; you shall have the support of two of our most promising Angels, as I have mentioned yesterday. But at the end of the day… it is you who will do it, because I see a hidden strength in the four of you eight, to be accurate that is extraordinary… quite enough actually if you know how to unleash it."

     "Hidden strength… never heard of it before…" Seifer muttered.

     "But why do you not fight against him? Aren't you supposed to be the most powerful of Angels?" Zell raised another question, being the curious busybody that he sometimes was.

     "No… I have had a taste of going against him… and he has already surpassed me; that I can be certain of. Of course I will try to defeat him, but I doubt it will be of any use." The Lord's face darkened a little as the memory of his near-death experience came back to his mind.

    Celestine's face took on a similar darkness.

    Realizing that he had dug up a skeleton from the closet, Zell hastily tried to cover it up.

     "Ummm… so when are we leaving?"

     "Whenever you are ready."

     "So let's go!"

     "As you wish.."

    He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, seemingly to gather his concentration on one spot.

     "Everyone… May the blessing of Hyne be with you. Take her light as a gift from me, and use it wisely."

    He raised the staff into the air. Bright beams of light emitted from the stone at its tip, touching on every head in sight.

    The SeeDs felt as if all toxins had been cleared from their system, in every sense of the word.

    One by one, the Angels started leaving the clearing, floating towards the same direction in an orderly manner, even though the Lord had not given any verbal instructions.

     "We share a common train of thought, which is why the Lord doesn't need to spell out everything we have to do. It is rather efficient, because this way, there will be no such thing as miscommunication of orders." Damien explained, seeing the baffled looks on their faces.

     "I've got a question…" This time it was Quistis, whose questions were usually important ones.

     "Shoot."

     "If Angels all share a common train of thought, does that mean this Redrumiel would also be able to tap into your frequency, so to speak? I for one can be sure that he has the ability to read minds, even from Angels with high mental defense." She did not say it so plainly, but they all knew that she was referring to Celestine - a rather accurate assumption on her part.

     "Unfortunately, yes. But it does not matter if he can tap in or not… since this is no surprise attack at all." Damien said patiently, even though his heart was hung up on the impending battle.

     "We've got little luxury for explanations. Calm yourselves, so that I can encase you in those floating bubbles again." Celestine instructed. "Now take in a deep breath…. Release it slowly… slowly…. Good."

    She touched them on their foreheads again, and the bubbles returned to enclose them, hovering slightly off the ground.

     "Lift." She said, and the bubbles started to rise higher into the air, keeping up with the ascent of Celestine and Damien, and joined the long trail formed by the others across the cosmic expanse of sky… truly a sight of awe for the SeeDs.

    After soaring through what seemed to them like a few hundred miles, the moving stream of bodies grinded to a halt in front of a majestic gate. It rose up high above the clouds, higher than their limited sight permitted for them to see the top. On the sides, the gate was flanked by two imposing statues carved from the whitest boulders. One of them bore a shield in one hand, and held a spear in the other, while the statue on the right held a staff that had an uncanny resemblance to the one Lord Shin was using.

     "…….At least he had the sense to keep those intact, although the same cannot be said about what lies beyond." Celestine muttered, looking past the gates and finding the place almost unrecognizable.

     "This one looks like the Lord." Zell commented, stating the obvious for the staff provide a clue that stared at them in the face. This staff was a unique one that chooses its owner, repelling any one else with a stinging zap if they were to touch it.

     "It is him."

     "Oh. What about the other one?"
     "That, is the legendary warrior Angel Basturn Angelwing, so christened because of his single-handed feat in defeating the escapees from AKU, or hell as it is known in human speech, a few thousand years ago. He is also my great-grandfather."

     "He is, eh? He looks fearsome."

     "Yes, and he was even more intimidating when he charged at those creatures, as told to me by an elder. Fortunately, Celestine has inherited only his powers, but not his looks." Damien remarked with a grin.

     "What do you mean I've inherited his powers? I obtained my own through hard work and rigorous training alone!"

     "The ones with the gift are always the ones blind to the fact that they have it!"

     "Shh! It's starting!" An anonymous Angel warned them with a piercing glance.

    Sure enough, the gates started to scrape open with a metallic groan.

    A dense fog that had been hovering in front of the gate dissipated gradually, revealing the outlines of the Dark Leader and his Army of Fallen Angels.

     "Ah… Lord Shin and his White Followers. I have been expecting you hours ago."

    He paused a little, scanning the faces of those opposite him, and lingering especially long on Celestine. She glared back at him as if he was a cold-blooded murderer of all her kin, friends, and acquaintances... which wasn't a lot further from the truth.

    He merely smiled mockingly at her when he saw her fiery look.

    When his eyes fell upon the SeeD's faces, his expression turned completely to one of absolute scorn… and loathing.

     "What are YOU humans doing here? Your presence is sacrilegious in MY Angel Land!"

     "It was I who brought them here, to defeat you and chase you out of our lands." Lord Shin spoke softly, trying to force a calm to settle upon him. However, it has been well-known that the more calmness was forced, the more it flits away from the person trying to receive it.

     "THEM? Defeat ME? You must be getting senile in your old age, Shin. The time for you to retire has come and gone… although it truly saddens me to say this... hahaha… Let ME be the one who takes over your throne. As you can see, I have taken the liberty of releasing you from your duties. You may leave now." He smirked condescendingly, and gestured towards the gates with a sending-off action.

    For some reason, an unidentified rage started boiling in Seifer's gut… and he could hardly curb it in.

    Maybe it had to something to do with Redrumiel imitating his smirk without his permission. Or maybe he simply could not stand him.

     "Listen, you loser. You had better leave this place and clean up the mess you created, or else you shall have a taste of my Hyperion before you can blink!" He yelled at Redrumiel.

    The Dark Lord simply chose to ignore him, returning his gaze instead to rest upon Celestine again.

    Come on, attack me. Isn't that the reason you've come back for?

    She clenched her fists as the suggestive voice of Redrumiel echoed in her mind. The pungent seeds of her nasty memories started sprouting like fungi over damp wood.

    A hand clamped her heavily on the shoulder effectively cooling her flare-up for quite a degree.

     "Don't fall into his trap." Zell and Damien said at the same time then looked at each other in surprise.

     She looked at them in astonishment as well.

     "How did you know what I was going to do next?"

    Zell pointed wordlessly at the vein that was throbbing prominently in her forehead, as she was wont to react whenever her blood pressure shot up due to a hot temper.

     "You can't really hide your emotions too well, Celestine." Damien said, removing his hand from her shoulder.

     "I'm sorry. I'll be careful." She said, grateful that she had not given in to her impulse to attack Redrumiel, for it would have spelt the end of her manipulator-less days… a jail she never wanted to return to for the rest of her life.

    At the other end, Lord Shin had moved in front of Redrumiel, blocking his vision and thus diminishing his attempt to control Celestine for yet another time.

     "I believe that I am your opponent at this very moment… and I would appreciate it if you would look at me as a most basic display of manners."

    Redrumiel was silent for a while, holding the Lord's gaze with his own.

    His pupils flared with the emerald flame that had previously scorched Celestine's pair of sapphires.

    However, they had little effect on Lord Shin, for his own were filled to the brim with his ancientness, maybe even more so than Redrumiel.

    After the space of a heartbeat, Redrumiel broke off his gaze and gave his reply.

     "Very well. State your terms."

     "If you lose, I want you to get the hell out of Angel Land."

     "For sure I will. My pride disallows me to linger in a place where I have been shamed by the disgrace of defeat.

      And if I win, I want your life."

     "As you wish. I will show you no mercy. And neither should you show me any."

     "You should have known me well enough. Have I ever been merciful to anyone?"

     "Indeed. I was foolish to think otherwise. Take heed now, for I shall begin as soon as the feather touches the ground."

    Saying which, he threw a white feather into the air, and slowly it drifted down to the sandy ground, carried by a fitful breeze that brushed softly past their cheeks.

    As soon as its tip touched the sand, both pounded their weapons upon the ground, the impact creating a minor sand storm around them.

     "ZOK Army… ATTACK!" Redrumiel flung out a hand, and threw the command at his awaiting troops, who launched into the offensive as soon as he pronounced the last syllable.

    The clanging din of the weaponry was overpowering, as both sides clashed against each other with various kinds of objects, ranging from spears to swords to staffs. Occasional beams of light and what not of multiple colors erupted now and then, mingling with shouts as they announced their assorted moves to the opponent.

    In direct contrast to the clatter, the two Lords were engaged in their private world of numbing stillness. They were not only unaffected by the chaos around them; they had reached the peak of focusing, where they could not even register the noise even if they wanted to.

    Two distinctive auras were visibly emitting from both of them. One was peaceful, soothing, even to the extent of having curative properties – a light, clear aquatic aura that reflected the very nature of its owner.

    On the other hand, his enemy's aura was dark, originating from a glaring ruby center… one that was identical to an angry eye staring out from the core. An eye in the midst of dancing, and at the same time, forbidding waves of black flames.

     "Pssst… Seifer!" Zell whispered as inconspicuously as he could. "What do you think they're doing? They've been like this, staring at each other motionlessly ever since the battle started ten minutes ago!"

     "Shh!" Quistis put a disapproving finger on her lips, making a shushing sound. "Just watch quietly! They are now battling not through physical means, but using their auras to fight against each other!"

     "Wow… Quisty… how did you know about that?" Seifer said in an impressed tone.

     "Because I can see it… I suppose I have to attribute it to Celestine's rush of energy into my head."

     "But we had it too!" Zell protested, unconvinced of her theory.

     "The world is full of mysteries, and this is one of them." Quistis replied cryptically, while enjoying the clueless looks on the guys' faces.

    Just at that moment, two of Redrumiel's Angels started charging at them with pointed weapons, apparently intending to burst their bubbles, which were acting as a shield of some sorts for them.

     "Oh no you don't!" Celestine shouted, jumping right in front to sandwich herself between the SeeDs and their attackers.

    Meanwhile, her erstwhile opponent had followed her, intending to catch her with her defenses down.

    But her reflexes were far too quick for the three of them combined.

     "Mysterious Finger!" She shouted.

    With a simple flick of her third finger and thumb, a wave of chi was generated from the action and directed against them, flinging all three towards the far end of the battle field.

     "AWESOME!" Zell shouted, having only seen it for the first time.

     "That's a cool trick." Quistis nodded approvingly.

     "You've got to show me how to do it!" Seifer was bowled over by it as well, not an easy thing to achieve for sure.

     "Yes, and it's a new move I've just acquired. It consumes a lot of energy, which is why only Energizer (R) bunnies like myself can perfect such moves."

     "How many moves do you actually have in that ever-growing list of yours?" Waterlily asked, shaking her head in admiration.

     "I haven't kept count… around a hundred I think?"

     "CELESTINE! NO TIME FOR CHITCHAT! INCOMING AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK!" Damien shouted for assistance, as three more started going at him just as soon as he had knocked one unconscious.

     "Alright! I'm coming!" She yelled back.

     "Why don't you guys rejoin the light? This is so foolish of you!" She spoke, the line being a familiar sentence by now as she began each battle.

     "ONLY THE DARK LORD CAN DELIVER WHAT WE WANT… LIBERTY FROM THE ANARCHY OF HYNE!" They would automatically reply.

     "That is a load of SHIT! Now eat this!" She performed another of her attacks, warding off yet more of the opposing troops.

     "I feel so useless, just standing here and watching them fight like there's no tomorrow, which there isn't." Zell said with a sigh, as the urge to break through his bubble and get into battle mode began to stimulate his adrenaline rush.

     "Me too… The hand itches to grasp my whip… but things might actually get worst if we were to disobey the Lord's orders… we might distract them, having to ensure our safety at the same time. At least now, there's still an assurance that the enemy couldn't get to us without battering their way through."

     "Argh… my Hyperion is starting to scream for some action."

     "Me too… look at my bow and quivers trembling like hell… I can't control it for long!"

     "Our side is getting tired… don't forget, it is a ratio of three against one, with more to spare. The odds are definitely against us."

    Zell poked the bubble with his index finger. A slight ripple went through the surface for a short moment, but regained the original smoothness after a while.

     "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO, ZELL! DON'T MAKE ME SCOLD YOU!"

    He stuck out his tongue sheepishly at the sound of Celestine's voice, while shrugging at his friends at his failed attempt to penetrate the bubble.

    As always, there was an "I told you so" look on Quistis' face.

    A blinding flash of something interrupted their little incident.

    Or rather, it was two blinding flashes of something.

    At the middle of the battle field, where the two feuding Lords were, a spectacle beyond description was taking place.

    The two had snapped out of their silent power struggle of the auras, choosing instead to duel with their lights instead.

    Lord Shin's palm was held in front of him, with a flash of light of equal shade to his aura beaming from it.

    Redrumiel was in a similar position, only his light was a red one with ominous waves of black encircling it.

    The two flashes of light met in the middle, creating several sparks as they made contact.

    For several minutes, both sides were equal, neither relenting for even a single millimeter.

    However, as the time dragged on, the red started eating up the aquatic one, forcing it back little by little, until it was almost three-quarters into Lord Shin's territory.

    Lord Shin started to show pallor and sweat on his face, trying to keep up with the energy-burning stunt, and not quite having enough strength to maintain it.

    Steadily, then aggressively, Redrumiel started increasing his pressure on the red.

    Lord Shin concentrated the whole of his life force upon his palm, his hands trembling under the effort, and the strain from the red.

    However, it was not enough.

    In a burst of energy, the red devoured the rest of the aquatic beam, and zapped through the quivering arms of Lord Shin.

    As the red surged through him, Lord Shin's body was flung off the ground, lifted upwards by the force then slowly descended in a perfect curve…

    The White Angels watched in heartbreaking silence as their Lord landed upon the sand, his shield unable to cushion his fall onto the hardness of the ground…. His wings were unable to lift him away from the inevitable landing as he had nothing left of his energy to attempt to save his life.

    As soon as he landed, Redrumiel appeared before him, looking down at the Lord who was hapless upon the ground.

     "I have come to fulfill the terms of our battle. Clearly, you have lost, and I am here to claim your life. Do not worry… I shall make it short, and painless."

    He gestured one of his Dark Angels to come forward, and took a spear from him.

    With a swift action, he impaled Lord Shin's chest with the spear.

    With a strangled breath, Lord Shin's eyes widened as the sharpened end stabbed his heart, a bloody spray bursting from the fatal injury.

    His body fell limp upon the ground, the eyes staying in their opened position, as was the case for many of Redrumiel's victims, for all had suffered a wrongful end.

    Even before any of his remaining Angels could react, could yell at Redrumiel to stop, their leader had fallen……..

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    WL: Today's Professor at the Q&A booth is…. Seifer Almasy!

    Seifer walks in with an ill-placed mortar board upon his head, and sits grumpily at the booth.

    Thirty seconds passed, and no one approaches him. He drums his fingers impatiently on the table.

    Ten seconds later,

    "ALRIGHT! I've waited enough! This is such a waste of my time!" And he stalks off without another glance.

    WL: I'm sorry, Almighty readers. Seifer is an impatient man, as you all truly know. If you want him to answer your questions again, you'd better tell me in your reviews…. You can ask anything at all… not necessarily must be related to this fic (but preferably so)… it can even be about the color and pattern of his boxers (oops that's a secret, his choice of umm… you know.)

           Anyway, next change we shall have Quistis as our professor… now that's one who suits the title, dontcha think?

P/S Wouldn't it be funny if Zell were to be a professor? You want to see it, don't you? Admit it! You do!

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    Author says: Phew… took me three whole days to get this out of the way… that is how much I loath battle scenes, especially the major ones.

    Oh, before I forget… I've noticed in quite a few fics that someone is going around using other people's nicks to flame some of the author's stories (sounds weird)… something along the lines of "THIS FIC SUCKS! READ MINE!" So everybody please be on the watch. In case any of you see my anonymously signed flame on your story, it definitely isn't me. I for one do not believe in flaming. I only give nice reviews, period.

    My motto is, "Do not do unto others what you do not want unto yourself."

    I know, I know… that's only because I'm a coward.

    Ah… but this isn't to say that my fic will warrant that kind of attention (I lack that kind of talent, sadly.)… You get my drift right?

    Most importantly, I need to thank all my reviewers… especially Quistis88 and Quisty Almasy, to name but two out of so many, who has been following my previous sequel (a Seftis in case you didn't read) and this ridiculously long one! I love you! You are such dears! Without those reviews, I truly believe that this story would be perpetually left hanging in the air. Oh… how do I express my gratefulness?

    Not to forget… the imperial advisor whom I shall not name here as a respect for privacy… who has read every one of my stories, even though most of them suck big time…. The Lady-in-waiting seriously thanks you for it. *Kowtows* Ehehehe… I'm getting embarrassed.

    Till then… stay tuned for next chapter, which I have absolutely zilch idea what will happen. I wrote the above battle scenes on a bus, believe you me. Impromptu enough for you, is it not?