CHAPTER 47 – FINAL SHOWDOWN
A/N: Damn! I'm so sorry, guys! I know I haven't been updating as frequently as I should be. Firstly, as you know, I've been complaining like an annoying bitch about my perpetually-absent muse, who must have been so irked by my whining that he took off with Trinity ever since I watched Matrix Reloaded last month. Secondly, being a member of the working public, I was slammed with deadlines that left my sleep-deprived brain deader than President Deling's (remember him?) goldfish eyes. Okay, okay, I will stop giving excuses and continue with the story.
PS… Duck blood! What was I thinking of hahahahaha! Did you spot that error? If you did here's a cookie for you! I decided not to correct it cos it's just too hilarious, and it reminds me how stupid I can become… sort of a deterrent actually.
Waterlily43
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You've got to kill it before the hide regenerates again… or else all that has been done so far will be flushed down the drain.
There's no better time to release it. Do. It. Now. Use the power he gave you, Angelwing.
From a hidden corner of her mind, she unlocked the door, and allowed the command over the power that had once lorded over the AKU to wash over her.
She knew very well that the power was a double-edged sword. She had to get the Monster to succumb to the power, or kill it. No exceptions whatsoever. She could not afford a defeat under the hands of this Monster, no matter how strong it was, no matter the situation she was in. Even if her life hung by the barest of threads, she had to ascertain that the powers did not fall into the Monster's hands, or all would be doomed.
"Yes… you cannot fail, Celestine Angelwing. Or else the Monster will take the power for himself, and the cities will be destroyed… beyond any doubt. And nobody would be able to stop it…" She whispered to herself, steeling her resolve once more.
She propelled the energy that had originally been dormant at the base of her spine upwards, until it flared up and out around her like a red-tinged bodily shield.
The Monster's eyes, which had been half-closed from the pain, flipped wide open, staring at her in astonishment.
"H...how did you? W…why is the Dark Lord's power in your possession now?" It managed to croak out the sentence, placing a serious strain on its vocal chords.
"I inherited them from Redrumiel when he died. Now, I ask this of you. Will you obey my orders as the new holder of the AKU power and give yourself a chance at redemption so that some day, you may be given a new start with a new life? Or do you wish to suffer a most deserving destruction by defying me, risking the fate of eternal oblivion? To me, it is a rather obvious answer, but I will give you the freedom to choose your path."
"I would have to decline your 'kind' offer, I'm afraid." Even though it was barely able to retain its consciousness, it refused to succumb under Celestine.
In fact, it intended to take it for its own, with or without the Angel attached.
"In that case, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Her neck arched, head upturned and arms reaching for the sky, Celestine formed the Hyne's Halo into a ring between her hands, while pushing the AKU power up to merge with it.
She shoved the ring towards the Monster, the sheer force causing it to topple backwards, falling into the ocean with a great wet slap.
It remained motionless, staying afloat on the ocean's surface, allowing the waves to wash against its raw, charred skin and several patches of exposed flesh.
Has it finally been killed?
It was the single question that lingered in their minds.
But any hope that they might have harbored for the answer to be "yes!" was mercilessly crushed.
The Monster bounced up on its feet again with a mighty flip, ignoring its battered state with a gung-ho grunt of sorts.
"Angels… Humans… Both species are capable of releasing immense amounts of energy into their bodies, and subsequently deal out devastating attacks to the enemy, also known as Limit Breaks."
The Monster let out a sneer that chilled Celestine to the bone.
"Well, what makes you think that we Underground Creatures don't have Limit Breaks as well?"
By then, the sneer had developed into a full-blown affair upon its face, taunting the Angel with the arrogant uplift of its mouth.
It was becoming exceedingly plain to Celestine that the Monster had once again overcome the damage she had inflicted upon it. And it had started to heal… slowly, but the healing was definitely taking place, for its voice had lost its croakiness, indicating the revival of its damaged vocal chords.
The Monster reared its ugly, humongous head, letting out a bellow that traveled from the very depths of AKU to the highest point of ZOK, striking the clouds with such vibration that they appeared to shift a little to the left, revealing the shine of the pock-marked Moon again.
It bent its body slightly, clenching its fists and placing both knuckle to knuckle in front of its chest.
With a loud yell and an astounding spurt of concentration, it managed to transfer most of its remaining energy to its fists.
A throbbing sphere amassed at the point where the fists met, growing ominously larger as the SeeDs, and most of all, Celestine, watched in muted horror.
Its fingers splayed out with a firm push, directing the sphere towards Celestine.
She had no way of avoiding it, or even setting up a shield to protect herself, for her hands and mind were totally occupied by the Hyne's Halo running through her hands, still directed at the Monster but achieving none of the desired effect.
Indeed. This was the real reason for Damien's hesitation in using the attack.
It left the holder of the light extremely vulnerable to the enemy's counter-attack, IF it ever survived the baptism of the Hyne's Halo. Of course, in the history of its usage, none of its victims had ever survived the all-encompassing, and at the same time, all-destroying ray of light. As such, the Angels never had a cause for alarm. But as a precaution, Lord Shin had made an unofficial rule that it should never be used by an Angel alone… and Celestine had broken it.
Now, she had to suffer the consequences. For survive, the Monster did, to her utter dismay.
Why… why was it able to survive both the attack of Hyne's Halo and Redrumiel's power? How can it be so resistant to three different sources of Angel power*? Is it really as invincible as it seems?
Hyne… Redrumiel… you have unwittingly created a monster that is truly the Ultimate… even you might have had trouble taming it…
"I do not follow the rules of fate, or anyone else, for that matter, but make my own. Even the will of Hyne shall not deter me from my goal." It said, surprisingly in a grave manner, as opposed to the mocking one it had been adopting the whole span of the battle… as if anticipating the questions claiming dominance in her mind.
And now… it was too late… was it?
Would she be struck down, just like that?
Would the people she loved suffer under the annihilating fists of this Monster... without having a chance at survival?
Before she could answer any of them, the mass was already within hair's breath to the defenseless Angel.
Oh No… What am I to do now?
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"Not yet? What else are you going to do?" Seifer stared at Quistis, amazed that she still had the strength to stand up after her 'Super Holy Shockwave Pulsar'… for usually just unleashing the Blue Magic alone would have used up a substantial portion of her energy. And now, she was readying herself for yet another attack on the Monster?
"I'm going to hit it where it hurts the most…" Quistis said with a wicked grin, which grew even wider as she contemplated the simplicity of her plan, and yet the high possibility that it would succeed. "But first things first… I need you to cast a Float and a couple of Holies on me. I've used up most of the white Magic in my last attack."
Seifer dutifully did as she asked, knowing fully well that his role in this particular battle was only a supportive one.
Not that he minded anyway. As long as his Quistis was safe, he could care less about the role he played. His days of demanding to be the one who deals the finishing blow were long gone and over.
Quistis floated over to the hull of the Golden Ragnarok, which had been closed off as soon as she had finished striking with the Blue and White Magic Combo, to prevent Quistis from being sucked from the Airship. At such an altitude, the pressure was too high for her footing to remain stable should the Float magic wear off. However, they were allowed a view of the proceedings outside through the translucent walls of the Ragnarok… another technological advancement by the Estharians.
" Wait, Quisty! How about Aura? Wouldn't you need that to perform your Limit Breaks again?"
Quistis only shook her head mysteriously.
"I'm not using my Limit Breaks."
"WHAT?"
"This Ultimate Monster is an UNDEAD creature… so what do they loathe the most?" She replied, flashing that wicked grin again.
Seifer thought for a while.
Then the solution struck him.
It was simple. It was easy to prepare for, with a much smaller fraction of the energy levels required for Blue Magic.
And most importantly… it works, on any kind of UNDEAD creature.
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The Monster's sphere struck Celestine with a full-frontal impact, blowing her several meters away from her current position in the air.
As the snaking currents of energy in the sphere made their way into her, she let out a gasp, and gritted her teeth, refusing to cry out even though the pain had latched onto the very marrow of her bones.
But the damage to her did not stop there. Almost instantly, the energy swelled within her body, until it had started bulging grotesquely to twice the normal size… and finally ignited within her.
She could not stop the reflexive yell as the searing agony spread through her again, this time fiercer than the first.
And then she could no longer make another sound, for her consciousness had faded along with the trailing end of her yell. But even as she started to fail, some part of her mind refused to quit, willing the Halo of Hyne to maintain its current path towards the Monster.
Faster than a speeding bullet, she dived towards the grassy fields where the SeeDs stood, her body limp and wings failing to keep her afloat.
The Monster held out a palm that faced the falling Angel, evidently intending to draw her AKU energy for itself… for it knew that she no longer had the ability to stop him.
Despair rippled across the hearts of the SeeDs, unwilling witnesses to her downfall, and what they thought to be the banishment of their last hope at salvation.
But when they least expected it, a crack appeared in the pitch-black sky, its position now nearer to the midway mark of the Monster's chest. Floating in the midst of the crack was the tiny figure of Quistis Trepe once more, only she was glowing in white this time instead of yellow.
"HOLY RECOVERY!" She shouted.
A white beam with emerald rings encircling it shot out from her palms towards the Monster, which had its back turned to the airship.
The beam went straight through the Monster, and blew out the whole piece of torso where the Magic had graced its body!
Its upper and lower body were linked with nothing more than two thin strips of muscle, the rest blown away by Quistis.
The Monster looked down at its trunk, blinking in shock at the large hole, and lifted its head to search for the culprit.
Its eyes narrowed upon spotting Quistis, and turned its gigantic body to face her.
Unfazed by its menacing stare, she directed another similar beam, this time aimed at the head.
It split into two ways, before entering its mind through the ears, exploding from the inside, and blowing up brain matter, skull bone and muscle along its way. Quistis nearly had a face full of the flying debris, if she had not reacted swiftly and dodged the stuff in time. The interior of the Ragnarok had orangey, gooey bits of its brain stuck to the walls, some sliding down to form a pool on the floor… a revolting sight to say the least.
The top of the Monster's head was split wide open, its features an unrecognizable mess, like a Jack-o-Lantern that had been blown apart by a bunch of dynamites.
The Monster swayed from side to side, almost on the brink of collapse, but not quite letting go of the straining thread that was its life-force.
"How obstinate!" Quistis muttered in a displeasure, scowling at the unseeing Monster.
However, her expression brightened when she spotted the one hovering behind the Monster.
"Negligence is the bane of all existence, no matter Human, Angel or Underground Creature. As is Complacence." Said the one behind the Monster.
A loud cheer erupted from where the SeeDs stood…
For the Blue Angel had risen again.
"ULTRA LIMIT BREAK… HYNE'S LUNAR EXPLOSION!"
She spread her arms apart on either side, absorbing the shine of the Moon and its energy into her body.
She fused the Lunar energy with the Hyne's Halo, the emerging effect a blinding one that even she had to partially close her eyes while controlling it.
This is it… this will be its final destruction. No ifs, no buts, no aftermaths. I must give everything in this attack… all my effort, all my strength… or the Monster shall not be beaten.
With a swing of her arms, she let it hurl towards the Monster, whose flame of life flickered uncertainly, getting fainter by the minute.
The Monster shattered into trillions of tiny pieces, each piece so minuscule that the human naked eye could not see it... turning what had once been its solid body into a powder with the finest consistency.
The dust showered upon the SeeDs heads, covering the whole field in black dust as they tried to run from it… for it stank worse than anything they had smelt before.
Even when destroyed, the Monster continued to be a nuisance to its enemies, but at least, it would not be a threat to the world any more.
Satisfied that she had fulfilled her duty as destroyer of the Ultimate Monster, Celestine simply let go of the tight restraint she had been holding over her body… the restraint to collapse.
Allowing herself to float like an aimless feather in a fitful breeze, she drifted to the ground, not seeing where she was going, trusting her instinct instead.
She fell right into the muscular arms of one particular boy, who had apparently been waiting for her to descend.
"You did well, Celestine. You saved our world from destruction." He smiled gently down at her, stroking her cheek tenderly.
"Couldn't have done it without Quis…" She mumbled, and closed her eyes, knowing that she was safe in his arms.
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~Up in the Golden Ragnarok~
"I wish I could have seen you fight the Monster, Quisty! It must have been spectacular!" Selphie turned in a delighted manner at the figure that approached her.
"Fine, would you kindly please look ahead while you're piloting?" Quistis lectured her sternly, even though she could hardly stop herself from grinning ear to ear.
"Ooops… sorry!"
"By the way, Sefie. You still owe me a Strange Vision." Quistis added with a greedy glint in her eye.
"What? Why?" Selphie turned back to look at her again with much surprise and alarm.
"Remember saying this? 'Celestine will try to dissuade you from attacking, I can bet my Strange Vision on it!' Well, she didn't. So you know what to do, eh? I'm sure I can sell it for quite a bit of money. Or if you can't bear to part with it, I can rent it to you at a discounted price."
"Quisty! You can't take that seriously! I only said it as a joke…" Selphie protested with a whine and pleading, puppy dog eyes... but it did not have the same effect on Quistis as it usually did with Irvine.
"A SeeD never goes back on his or her word… I remember taking that kind of oath at the SeeDship presentation ceremony. Funny how quickly someone forgets their oaths…"
"B…but… but…"
Seifer leant back in his seat, watching the girl he loved teasing Selphie, and wondered to himself if he too would be bullied in such a way in the future...
"You can assure yourself on that, Almasy." He said to himself with a grin, and found that he did not dislike the idea.
Not at all, especially the "future" part......
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List of Supporting cast.
Waterlily: I'm sure this one needs no introduction, but I wanted to add that she was in the same batch that graduated with Seifer... in case you've forgotten about that.
Nobunaga Saitou (aka Nobu): Same as Waterlily, also battled the Black Ogre together with Sefie and Irvine in Timber, as well as heal Squall, Rinny, Irvine and Sefie when they were 'killed' the first time by the Ultimate Monster.
Doug MacKenzie: Fellow graduate of Seifer's. The SeeD who informed Squall about the Black Ogre when Timber was under attack.
These three were in the same Squad as Seifer during their SeeD exam.
Yakuza: The SeeD who headed the team in FH and the one who informed Squall about the appearance of the Ultimate Monster.
Used to be in the Disciplinary Squad after the departure of Seifer and his posse. Previously, he had also condemned Zell for beating Seifer up, causing a month-long restriction to be placed on Zell.
Brutus: Head of the Squad that stayed at Balamb Garden when the Underground Armies attacked. The conceited SeeD who has a crush on Yuri. Also part of the Disciplinary Squad.
Yuri: Library Girl with Pigtail, Zell's ex-girlfriend.
That's all, I think.
*Oh, and the deal about three kinds of Angel power mentioned above? It refers to Hyne's Halo, Lilacea's power and Redrumiel's AKU power.
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Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!
The hardest part is finally over! All the battle scenes done and over with! Now I can concentrate on the ending!
Ahem… that wasn't exactly a smooth chapter for me to write. On the contrary… I was blocked so many times that I almost gave up. Trinity seduced my muse and he never came back! Plausible title for a rock/alt rock song hah. Okay… I have to sleep now. It's five-thirty in the morning.. and… I can't think any more. I'll thank you guys next time, okay?