Chapter 43 – Missiles Away…! But…
A/N:
Yippee!!! Finally we get to update! What a relief!
WL: Well, well, well… I guess some explanations are due... and that my subtleness had been so faint that it was pandering towards vagueness… cos yours truly doesn't have the skill to pull it off.
Redrumiel: Admit it… you just completely missed the whole thing. You needed someone to remind you, or you would not have been aware of your glaring gaffe!
WL: Today's speaker-cum-professor is our Redrumiel over here, returning from death's door to tie up some threads still loose from the last chapter.
Redrumiel: Changing the subject eh? Can't
say I blame you though…
WL: Professor Redrumiel aka Furhler shall be taking questions from the floor.
Your Highness No. 1: Why did you say the words "That was fast…" even while you were lying on your deathbed? It seemed inappropriate and unnecessary to me… *and it damned near spoilt the atmosphere for me, you lousy writer!* (parts in asterisks added by yours truly)
WL grabs the mike from the Professor, answering on his behalf.
WL: That was only inserted to cater to this fellow's quirky sense of humor and various behavioral oddities.
Redrumiel: Are YOU the speaker or am I?
WL (Sheepishly): Please continue.
Redrumiel: (Directs a piercing glance at Your Highness No. 1) You ARE rather sharp, young lady. I am tempted to abandon this useless one over here and follow you, if only you would let me.
Well… what did you expect me to say then? That I didn't want to die? That I didn't want to leave her like this? Telling her not to miss me? I could, but I'm not that kind of Angel. I deliberately tried to inject some light-heartedness into the situation so that Celestine would not be too disturbed by my death.
As I lay there, I knew acutely that the monster would be wreaking some havoc on the human world below… and that Celestine has to hurry to where it was and stop it. I can somewhat sense that Lilacea was deliberately trying to curb her memories, and at the same time, the 'anguish', as you say, at my impending death... thus leaving Celestine to her own mind. Celestine feels much less for me than Lilacea did, a big plus for speeding things along.
And so, I tried to help her by saying something that entirely destroys any kind of atmosphere that might have been in there. Can you imagine how long it would take if she allows her emotions to run over her? By the time we're finished, the Ultimate Monster would have been running rings around the destroyed human cities and still have ample time for a leisurely nap.
But… you had made a valid point… a very good one at that. And it was the fault of this girl over here…*glares fiercely at WL* that my noble act had not been conveyed across to you. So give her a good cyberkick for me… I can't cos I risk getting myself maimed in the endless depths of Hell if I were to so much as touch her again… I have suffered painfully enough for playing my role in the story as her torturer, believe you me…
WL: Does that sound confusing to you? Don't worry… all will be clear in the next chappie… cos actually the stuff between Lilacea and Celestine ain't over yet... and you ain't seen the last of Redrumiel yet, not if I had my way. Alright next question!
Your Highness No. 2: Why? Why do you have to die immediately after we have realized that you were not a bad guy after all? It's so sad!
Redrumiel: Despite having said the above… about me acting cool and all that about my present state of non-livingness, I'm glad someone still expresses some kind of grief over my death. Celestine was obliged to suppress her feelings, but the author herself nonchalantly studies her fingernails and grins maniacally all day long just because someone praises her for writing something utterly hollow and tasteless in my opinion. *Phew* Let me take a breather first…
Thank you, Your Highness No. 2. I was never a bad guy, just misunderstood. (WL: Yeaaaah riiiiight…. And Zell hates hotdogs.) My death was vital to the fic… and it must be on my own accord in order to demonstrate the moral of the story… that you will reap what you sow.
I had committed too many sins in my attempt to dominate the three dimensions, and as a result I had to pay for it with my life. Or else there would be some very disgruntled people like the SeeDs cos I have kicked their butts with my attacks, and then some, in human speak. And it would only heighten the sense of my return from the Dark Side if I were to sacrifice my life for the sake of all humanity… it will show that I was willing to exchange my life to protect human-mortals.. Even though I still hate them.
Why do I still hate them? Even if their ancestor might be mine and Lilacea's son, it still does not eradicate the blame they must bear for the damage they have done to the ecological world with their so-called scientific advancements. I will not condone such behavior… even if you were once part of us Angels.
WL: Alright, alright… no one wants to listen to your theory about us humans being viruses and all… Next question!... Um… no more questions?
Redrumiel: Good… Then I can leave now. *Disappears in a cloud of smoke.*
WL: Cheh! Such a waste of money! I could have answered them myself…
PS: Try guessing the identities of Your Highnesses No. 1 and 2! Not a very difficult one though…
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall Leonhart covered his eyes with his gloved fingers, trying to chase away the brain-splitting migraine in his head.
He was waiting for a call… a very important call… his impatience reaching to the breaking point of his endurance when it suddenly arrived.
The ring of the telephone pierced the silent and very stagnant air in the tent, signifying the end of his wait.
Usually irritated by the interruption caused by its ring, the Commander was almost glad for its presence now, grabbing the phone like a hungry beggar grabs a dollar thrown into his broken bowl.
"Squall… Evacuate the FH immediately. We will be launching our missiles against it in twenty minute's time." The voice at the other end was evidently in a hurry, but tried, though unsuccessfully, to keep it from showing in his tone.
"… Yes, President Caraway…" There was no small amount of hesitation in Squall's reply, and being the sharp one that he was, Caraway had caught it with little effort.
"Is there anything on your mind? If there is, feel free to speak out."
"… I'm just unsure that the missiles would work. Besides, it might provoke the creature into destroying more cities, and that's the last thing we need. The closest city right now happens to be… Timber!"
"If we don't try, we'll never know. I'm willing to take that risk. In any case, we're doomed anyway if we do not try to stop it while we can."
"As you wish, Sir."
"Good luck, son. And take care."
"Thank you, Sir. I wish the same to you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Squall stood up in his life boat, the leader among the thirty odd boats or so, each carrying four SeeDs or Cadets as had been assigned by the Commander.
He faced the hundred-strong squad, all decked in wetsuits for the purpose of their new mission, with a stern face and an even sterner tone.
"You are to evacuate the disaster site around Fisherman's Horizon within ten minute's time. DO NOT leave anyone who looks remotely alive behind. Dive in if you see any movement, however small… for it may be someone trying to grab your attention. Use the whistle that each of you had been issued with if you need help to release the injured persons from debris. But remember… your time is limited, for missiles will be heading this way in sixteen minutes. So act fast. Dismissed."
"Yes, Sir!" The rescue team shouted, and went off to various directions in search of survivors.
* * * * * * * *
It was strange… really strange… the monster had stopped moving completely, just standing there with a grin (an evil one) plastered on its face in freeze-frame stillness. Not even a blink, or rise and fall of its belly to indicate the exchange of breaths… as if it were a mechanical toy that had run out of battery power.
As such, President Caraway had decided to make use of its immobile state to bombard the monster with its missiles. However, Squall had his reservations about the missiles… maybe it was a bad hunch, or instinct trained through his years in Balamb Garden as a mercenary… but he was almost certain that things might very well go awry. That it was not as simple as the Galbadian President had hoped.
"WE HELP." A female voice, albeit one a little on the deep side sounded behind him, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah… we have more idea as to where the survivors are, ya know."
"Raijin, Fujin!" Squall looked down over the side of the boat in surprise, and saw the two of them swimming by it.
"Ya got any wetsuits left? We can't search for 'em in these clothes." Raijin asked, craning his neck a little to look for one.
"Here… let me help you up first." He pulled the two of them up, and threw two wetsuits at them.
"LOOK AWAY." Fujin said, and started stripping nonchalantly out of her soaking clothes, and put on the wetsuit.
"Better do as she says, or you'll suffer from unnecessary pain." Raijin whispered in Squall's ear, and started changing as well.
"RAGE! HEARD THAT!" Fujin rewarded Raijin duly with a kick at the shin, and the latter hopped around clutching at it.
"But… why are you here?" Squall asked in puzzlement.
"NO TIME." Fujin emphasized, and dived into the water to begin her search.
"Explain later, ya know. See you later." Raijin followed suit, making big splashes as he jumped in as well.
Twelve minutes later…
The rescue team and all the survivors had safely reached the shores, retreating to the mobile Balamb Garden that was stationed near the Timberian plains, acting as a temporary bomb shelter for all the occupants.
Squall stood upon the white sands of Mandy Beach, the waves lapping up against his trousers and making the cuffs all damp while he stood deep in thought.
"Commander, Sir. Squad leader of rescue team reporting on outcome of mission." He was broken out of his thoughts by his subordinate's voice.
"How many?" Squall asked the much-dreaded question with a heavy heart.
"Only fifteen survived… Sir…" The Squad Leader hung her head which seemed to be too big a burden for her neck.
The answer she gave implied at the numbers lost by the hand of the monster.
"You did well. Now retreat from here, or you'll get hit by the impact as well."
"Yes, Commander." The Squad Leader performed the salute, and ran off towards Balamb Garden.
"You two as well, Raijin, Fujin." He said to the two, who came up to him after the Squad Leader ran off.
"But… how about yourself? It's dangerous to stay here."
"AFFIRMATIVE."
"I will not retreat until the very last minute. This is my responsibility as Commander."
"FOOLISH. RINOA?"
"She's a little sedated right now. Leave… both of you."
"NEGATIVE!... We will not let you face this alone. We used to be enemies, but now we will not stand by and see you bear the burden by yourself. And you have to think how Rinoa would feel if you were injured… or even worse… dead while she was under sedation. She will have to wake up to a cruel truth… surely you do not want to do that to her?
Let nature take its course… and the missiles do their work. If they fail, then we think of something else."
Squall stared at her in surprise, for this was only the second time that he had heard Fujin link more than three words in a single sentence.
"She's right, ya know. You're somebody's husband now… you can't just sacrifice your life like that. You have responsibility."
"Smartest thing he's ever said… and you had better listen to it." Fujin said with a teasing grin.
"Let's go! To the Garden!" Both of them pulled a reluctant Squall with them to safety.
I guess they're right… He thought with a wry grin, and finally allowed his legs to follow after them.
* * *
Four minutes later, the Galbadian missiles were launched towards the direction of the monsters, as had been planned by President Caraway.
From the Garden, every SeeD, Cadet, and survivor who managed to stand up despite their injuries held their breaths expectantly, watching and waiting for the missiles to hit their target.
They blew up against the monster's thick hide, creating a screen of smoke that reduced the visibility of the monster to a negative.
Each person prayed fervently that the Monster would have been blown to smithereens by the explosive power of the missiles. But alas… Squall's hunch was accurate after all.
As the air cleared, they could see the faint outline of the monster, which appeared none the worse for wear from the attack. And it had started moving, having been jolted out of its momentary stunted-ness by the loud noise and heat generated by the missiles.
"Damn it… I was right! Missiles were of no use for such a monster!" Squall punched the wall in frustration, and realized that he had little time to waste lamenting about the failure of the attack.
"It's heading for Timber!" Someone cried out when they saw it lumber towards their direction.
"I'll stop it if it's the last thing I do!" Squall dashed out, ignoring the voices that called out for him to stop.
But as he stepped out of the door, someone barred his way.
"SQUALL!" The person exclaimed, refusing to let him pass.
"Rinny… what are you doing here?"
"SQUALL! How DARE you conspire with Dr. Kadowaki to inject me with sedatives? And what do you think you're doing?"
She placed both hands upon her waist, intent on obstructing his path.
"Stopping the monster." He replied curtly, and tried to dodge past her.
"I'm coming with you!" She followed him, no longer attempting to stop him.
"NO! It's too dangerous!"
"Oh? If it's dangerous for me, isn't it the same for you as well?" She tried to keep up with his pace, but his legs were longer, thus giving him a natural advantage over her speed.
"It's different for my case!"
"Well, Mr. Commander… I'm not leaving you to fight alone, no matter what you say or do."
He stopped abruptly, and turned to face her.
"Rinny… this isn't some kind of game! You might very well get killed! Be a good girl and stay back! I won't be able to protect you if I have to concentrate on fighting the enemy!" Squall resumed his brisk walk again, this time taking even longer strides.
"Squall Leonhart! Do you know how disrespectful it is of you to say that to me? Do you really think that I do not know how life-threatening the situation is? That is precisely why I want to fight side by side with you! I do not need your protection, Squall! I know that you can't do this alone… it is only when we're together that miracles can happen. And it takes nothing less than a miracle to beat that big guy down!"
"Rinny… But…." His eyes were full of hesitation, and at the same time admiration for his wife's courage.
"No buts. It's reaching soon, we've got to hurry!" She pulled him towards the entrance of the town.
As soon as they arrived at the gates of Timber, Squall was obstructed yet again by a couple.
"Hey, Squall! Rinny! You aren't going to battle by yourself, are you? At least let us join in too."
"Sefie… are you sure about this?" Squall looked at her doubtfully.
"Of course! We'd be angry if you don't let us fight. Right, Irvy?"
"You can say that again. C'mon, cool guy. Let's show it the stuff that we SeeDs are made of."
Squall shook his head in mock solemnity.
"I'm working with a bunch of lunatics who would throw their lives away willingly…"
"And you're the King of Loonies!" Selphie called back, earning a round of laughter at her retort.
However… all four of them knew how forced the laughter was, and sounded.
For it was merely a cover for their steadily increasing pressure, and apprehension, as the Monster approached them with ground-shattering steps that echoed from the bottom of the ocean to across the lands. They were afraid that if they did not find something to occupy themselves, they would lose out to the panic rising in their chests.
This Monster had survived a missile attack without so much as a scratch on it, which made it even more fearsome than the Black Ogre… And the after effects of their battles against the Black Ogres were still freshly imprinted in their minds, as well as healed but still sore bodies.
Did this Monster have a weak spot? They couldn't stop asking themselves… but it did not have a single weakness in its stance, as far as they could see.
The Monster came to grinding halt in front of them. Even as they tried to crane their necks as far up as they could, it was still hard to make out the Monster's face.
"Are YOU trying to stop me… little twerps?" The Monster asked with a patronizing smirk. "Show me what you've got then… provided you can live up till then… Nyahahaahhahahaha!!!"
Squall gritted his teeth at the unrepentant smugness in the Monster's voice and on its face… and became more and more incensed as he thought of the lives that had perished by its pair of bulky arms.
I shall summon the ultimate Guardian Force…
EDEN… oh most powerful GF… grace us with your presence, and defeat the enemy for us…
Show him that he cannot take away precious lives without feeling remorse… without some kind of punishment.
Let him terrorize our people no longer…
Your wish is my command.
Eden was a GF of few words. She would only affirm to her charge's request, and launch straight into her attack. However, she more than made up for her aloofness with the potency of her attack, which had often sent many of Squall's enemies to their graves with just a single summon of Eden.
The GF began its attack by surrounding itself in a circular greenish grid, before rising into outer space.
The Monster was brought along with Eden into the space by the pull of the GF's force, rising above the three dimensions as they viewed the world from their position above it. Multi-colored waves of light distorted the grid, bringing the Monster on a roller-coaster ride as the whole plane started shifting at a 180 degree angle.
The globular form of the three dimensions took on a translucence, followed by the imprinting of the basic symbols depicting the elements of the world against its interior wall. The solid, grayish core of the globe protruded from the protective cushioning of the translucent shell, and the beam generated from its tip shot through the Monster, sending it crashing upon the Timberian plains again, to where the four SeeDs were standing.
The GF disappeared, signaling the end of her attack.
However, defeating it was not as easy as Squall had thought.
"Not half-bad… for humans. You actually succeeded in wounding me…" The Monster growled, licking at numerous gashes on the left part of its body. "BUT IT ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH! TAKE THIS FROM ME!"
The Monster clapped its hands together, pushed its palms outwards, and at the same time slapping a wave of negative force towards them. Of course, this wave was nowhere near the one that it had generated with a mere flick of its fingers to destroy Fisherman's Horizon. Fortunately for Squall and company, it needed time to revive its pool of energy before it could attempt such a destructive task again… in addition to its further depletion by that attack from Eden.
However, it managed to hurt the four SeeDs enough… and three of them fell down unconscious upon the ground, leaving only Rinoa standing, and only just barely maintaining her defiant stance.
"The tenacity of a Sorceress knows no bounds…" The Monster remarked with another smirk… presumably an expression inherited from the evil version of Redrumiel.
Rinoa ignored its comment, and instead concentrated upon digging through her item bag for that one crucial thing that would increase their chances of survival.
"PHOENIX PINION!" She cried, using the item to call upon the GF.
The fiery outline of a bird ran across the grassy plains, weaving intricate patterns that announced the arrival of the fire-elemental GF.
The patterns were illuminated by a sudden burst of fire, which appeared along with the legendary bird, flapping its massive wings and rearing its head to announce its triumphant arrival. The majestic bird spewed a ball of flame at the Monster, before disappearing in the air in a spray of colorful ash. The three unconscious SeeDs quickly got onto their feet, saved by the reviving nature of the GF's Rebirth Flame.
"Phew… that was close…" Selphie wiped a drop of cold sweat off her forehead, but could not stand up fully due to the depletion of her strength.
"Pulse Ammo…" Irvine let off a string of the powerful shots, aiming at the Monster's left chest. He had known from experience that the shots powered by the notoriously-hard-to-obtain Pulse Ammo were usually the most effective…
Indeed, his assumption was correct, for the Monster showed signs of recoil as each shot created a explosion of white energy when they hit the Monster's chest… but they were not injuring it badly enough.
"Is that all you can do?" It sneered, peering down at its left chest to check for damage.
Dammit… it actually hurts!
It let out a whimper, stroking at its chest to soothe the pain, only to make the wounds widen and the dark colored blood flow all the harder.
"You have angered me! Now you shall pay for this!"
Rinoa could feel the edge of her fury gnawing against her gut, her muscles, and the nerves, its latent energy distributed over every cell of her body.
"INVINCIBLE MOON!" She cried out, a tad weakly, summoning her dog to perform the block-all protection spell.
Angelo came running towards Rinoa, who tossed a bone into the air. The pooch caught it expertly in his mouth and lifted his body while stretching the limbs, concentrating on the garnering of his power. He launched off the ground into the air like a rocket and absorbed the beams of the moon while mid-air, transmitting four pillars of twinkling barriers which encased the SeeDs with their impenetrable walls.
The four SeeDs were protected by the transparent barrier, safe temporarily against any attacks by the enraged Monster.
Meanwhile, their enemy was sending wave after turbulent wave of force towards them, but saw little effect of its attacks on them.
It started stamping the ground with one foot…displaying to all and sundry that its mental development had stopped at the age of ten.
By then, Selphie had already gone through her slots for that forbidden spell…
"APOCALYPSE!"
Their surroundings started to darken. Various symbols of the basic elements were imprinted upon the ground, generating an enormous amount of energy that wrapped into a ball-like form, exploding outwards with the Monster in the centre, hitting it on every part of its body.
When everything returned to normal again, all eyes were upon the Monster.
She knew that it was the Queen of Forbidden Spells, and had never seen it used by any enemy before, for she was not part of the final battle party against Sorceress Ultimecia. However, she was able to learn the spell just by witnessing Zell casting it when they had been in a mission once, and were very close to losing their lives… such was the prowess of Selphie Tilmitt as a magic user, proving to all that there were more ways than two to acquiring magic.
"Was that supposed to be an offensive magic spell? Ineffective is more like it… hahahahahha!!!" The Monster bellowed with laughter, peppering the air with yet more of its comments, a direct contrast against his opponents whose mouths were sealed shut due to their intense concentration upon the battle.
Selphie's head dipped very low on her neck… for she knew that her spell had failed to hurt the monster…. The spell that she had so much confidence in…
Rinoa cast a reassuring glance at Selphie, as if to show her that she would take care of the monster on her behalf, and whipped her head around to face it, gathering the fury within herself once again.
"WISHING STAR!" She shouted, and Angelo came rushing towards her again. Rinoa ran along Angelo for a brief spell, before leaping upon her dog and heading towards the middle of the space between them and the Monster.
Human and dog leaped into the air, making headway into the glittery outer space, bringing the Monster along with them. Numerous beams of blue-tinged light flew at the Monster, each gathering more force and speed than its precedent. Finally, the pair appeared drifting in an oval of the same light, aiming towards the Monster for the final, devastating blow before touching down upon the earth again.
"Feels a little itchy…" The monster said, and directed another wave towards them. "When will you stop hiding behind your little barriers? Come out of it so that I can kill you!"
They continued to ignore him, turning to look at Squall with naked hope in their eyes.
Somehow, they had unanimously thought that Squall's finishing move was the ultimate attack that could kill off anything, even though it had not been scientifically proven as yet. But they had absolute faith in their leader… for he had never betrayed their trust.
And they could not bear to think what they would do if even he could not defeat the Monster.
As if sensing their thoughts, Squall merely nodded, not showing for one bit the intense pressure that threatened to crack his mind… formed by the expectations that all had for him… and his own sense of responsibility to save the world from harm.
He lifted his weapon with his right arm, placing his left hand on the base for precision and support.
He rushed towards the enemy, his speed increasing and creating a minor storm at his feet.
He leaped above the ground, sailing above the air while aiming at the left part of the Monster's chest… the part where he thought that its blood-pumping coronary muscle was contained. Spirals of energy ensconced Squall, culminating as a ball that wrapped him up in a tinge similar to the color of his eyes while he slashed at the enemy repeatedly, creating paths of azure with vicious slices at the Monster, each one more potent than the previous. In his finishing blow, Squall raised the blade above his head, cutting through the space with his slash and creating a thin yet clean line that glowed with the energy of that last blow.
When he returned to his place beside his friends, his arms were weak from the effort, and his legs were unable to support his weight.
Reduced on his knees, he looked up to see the results of his Lion Heart.
"I'm still here, boyo…." The monster gloated at him… the smirk even wider when it saw the despair that colored the four pairs of eyes before him. "And my power is back."
It clenched its fists before him, rubbing them together to gather friction, energy and dark beam into one gigantic ball… and flung it towards the four SeeDs.
It was no ordinary attack… not another one of the waves that were ineffectual against Rinoa's Invincible Moon.
The ball flew straight for them, then separated into four, each straining hard against the barriers….
They started eating into the diaphanous shells, increasing in their intensity.
With horrified expressions, the SeeDs stared at the black masses that were channeling in great speed towards them.
The black masses broke through, dispelling the protection that the SeeDs had been so reliant on, and at the same time, casting a heavy shadow upon their hearts.
We're doomed……
ARE THEY?
Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out.
Also stay tuned to find out why the Monster froze for some twenty minutes before it was awakened by the missiles. (And as with every "Monstrous attacking horror that threatens to destroy the world"… military weapons, nuclear or otherwise, never did the job when it truly mattered. Hahahahaha! Courtesy of yours truly's kooky sense of humor… but some people may not see it that way.
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A/N: Man… that was one uninspired piece of crap…
And I couldn't get into FF.net for the whole of yesterday… I wonder why (note: this chappy was written on Monday, 6th June!)? Plus my Microsoft Word kept hanging every single time I typed a fresh paragraph… as if it didn't want me to write! I felt like bashing my PC so many times tonight, but gladly logic took over temper flare, and I bit on my hand to stop myself (just kidding.) And when I finally managed to get into the site, I couldn't upload a single damn thing! But now that's been rectified, thankfully…
Anyways… just wanted to say that some of the attacks described above might not be totally accurate… it was described purely based on my memory of the attacks… which was more than six months ago? Maybe even about a year ago. So I could only base them on the faint impression in my mind… especially the Apocalypse Spell, which appeared the grand total of two (to three) times when I played the game… And as you can also see… I am not very adept at describing their various attacks… words like "Beam" or "Light" or "Force" or "Energy" appearing all the time for lack of better description. So if it doesn't seem right to you… sorry… for sure I'll rectify that when I get to that part of the game, but meanwhile… the trials of leveling up are hassling me like there's no tomorrow! Plus I still have the obligation to play FFX so that I can review someone's fic, a long overdue promise… Agenda, agenda, agenda!
Also… I'm planning to end this fic latest by early next week (hopefully, but very difficult cos FF.net's problems wreaked havoc on my schedule!). So there's probably going to be a new chapter up every other day.
Uhmmm… I'll thank you guys individually in the next chapter… but meanwhile… my shoulders are protesting really loudly… so let me off just this once… thank you!! And please Review!!!!