Times of Loss and Gain
'You were with him all along. You tricked me. You shall pay.'
-Seifer Almasy, Fire and Lightning.
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'NO! DANIELLE! Don't leave me! I-I-I love you! Are you listening!? ARE you!? NOOOOO!!!!!!!'
-Zell Dincht, Anguish and Pain
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Main Gate, 1F, Balamb Garden.
Zell threw himself in a frenzy, beating and kicking furiously. Nothing could stand against him, as a ten foot tall monster proved when it was hurled bodily fifty feet from Garden's main gates. Zell somersaulted backwards, and unleashed a Punch Rush and a Mach Kick that when combined, sent his target, a hapless demon about twice his size flying into the air to land heavily at his feet. Stomping down with his black shoes, Zell extinguished the evil being from the face of the planet.
Beside him, Squall and Seifer fought side-by-side, but not for the first time, for in earlier fights, they had unlocked the hidden potential that they shared as gunblade masters. Squall hung back and fired shot after shot as Seifer rushed into the fray, dealing death with Hyperion Mark II. The enhanced gunblade was lighter than the old one, but no less powerful and Seifer wielded it like an extension of his own arm, cutting down monsters like so much corn.
These monsters were demons, born of the Lunar Cry, yet they were humanoid. They even wore a military uniform, which was black armour and tipped with sharp edges here and there. The very same monsters which were ten foot tall had slew Danielle, the 'girl with a pigtail' whom Zell loved. As he remembered the pain that he had felt when his one love died, his strength seemed to amplify, and a golden aura shimmered into place.
"I'll avenge ya, Danielle. I promised!"
So saying, he leapt at the horde of monsters that were slowly being pushed back by SeeD, and used the tough skull of a particularly large one as a springboard to kick off into the air. From there, he gathered ethereal energies into his fists, channelling through them awesome amounts of energy that held him aloft in the air. His reflexes became enhanced to such an extent that he could walk through a hail of machinegun fire and emerge unscathed, having dodged every single one of them. The same red power spread to his feet, and Zell somersaulted once to land in a crouch.
Running forward with incredible speed, Zell ploughed through their ranks, leaving nought but death in his wake. His fighting skills were greatly enhanced as a result of the Booster Limit Break, but he had one more card up his sleeve.
Seizing a demon commander, he hoisted the huge creature up and leapt into the air, still clutching the demon's throat as it struggled to get away. When its talons came into contact with Zell's body, it was the one to feel the pain, not Zell. Executing a perfect backflip kick, Zell sent the demon thirty feet into the air, narrowly missing one of the lights that hung above. He gathered all of his prodigious strength and focused it into one earth shattering blow.
"Armageddon Fist!"
Akin to the power of a speeding train, the hypersonic blow slammed into the demon's gut, and Zell emerged on the other side, having passed right through the demon's body, shattering every bone and smashing every bit of steel armour. Landing, Zell did not rest but unleashed the remnants of the Booster Limit Break upon the other demons unfortunate enough to be near him.
Irvine calmly fired shot after shot, twirling his shotgun in intricate moves. He was using Fast Ammo, and so bullets blasted in every conceivable direction, pelting demons with hot lead. He too was operating a peak efficiency, but neither he nor Zell's power could face up to the combined fury of Squall and Seifer.
Those two fought for a common goal, with an intention in their heart. Both of them were tricked by Rinoa, and they would not let it happen again. Seifer raised his left arm, and Raijin and Fujin were by his side in an instant. Raijin raised his staff before him, and Fujin let loose with her pinwheel just as all three of them charged forwards. Known as the Trinity Strike, Raijin was the first to make contact. His Raijin Special sent several ploughing into a wall, while extra attacks made more bow to his awesome power.
Fujin's pinwheel was next, already charged to the max with deadly magic. It erupted like a barrage of grenades, blowing a gaping hole in the demonic ranks for Seifer to enter.
And enter he did.
Seifer slammed his gunblade hilt into the jaw of a demon smashing it while the blade carved another. He then planted a foot back in order to steady himself, and unleashed Fire Cross. The huge ball of flames burst upon the enemy, incinerating a few lucky ones. The unlucky ones felt his blade.
Seifer's emerald eyes glowed, and he let loose with an awesome barrage of slashes to be followed up by a powerful finisher. Seifer spun around, gathering energy until he was but a whirling twister. Leaping into the air as he executed Piranha Spin, Fujin and Raijin both let loose with the Feng Lei Combo, shattering enemies with thunder and wind.
In the aftermath of his all-out assault, naught but broken bones and chitin remained, shorn off their owners but Seifer's unstoppable blade. At last, suffering greatly at the SeeD's hands, the monsters tried to retreat.
Squall however, had different ideas.
"They are nothing but demons, monsters granted sentient thought by the witch. Slay them now, and prove to the witch that we shall not bow to her."
He himself slammed his blade into two demons at once, tearing their hearts from their bodies. Pulling the blade out, he twisted around in a half circle to cut another monster into half. Seifer grinned and continued with his deadly art. Zell and Irvine had been cornered with some SeeD earlier, but now, only broken monsters littered that area, for they had all fought out so ferociously one dared stand before them.
"Leave some for us, guys!"
Selphie, Quistis and Anna came running towards them, having seen the representatives to Cid's office. Quistis' eyes glowed briefly, and a powerful Blizzaga spell ripped through the demons, making short work of their undead flesh. Together, with the other SeeD that had rallied, the Garden was soon free of the foul beings. The floor was red, and spattered with blood like a macabre canvas, and the SeeD were the ghastly painters.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Squall opened his eyes just as the remains of the monsters shimmered and returned to the plane where they came from. These monsters were not gone forever, for their essence would return to the Moon, and their cycle of life and death would begin anew. All that they could do for now was to defeat as many as possible and hope for some time to gather their forces.
"Commander Leonhart!"
Squall looked up to see the Galbadian generals descending on a hydraulic lift from one of their carrier copters. So intent was he on the fight that he dimly recalled not taking notice of Melanie reporting their arrival on the intercom. Xu was on it now, reporting the status of the fight. No SeeD were killed, and only fifteen were injured, ten badly. Dr. Kadowaki was treating the wounded even as Xu spoke.
The unwounded were sifting through the broken armour which still remained to find items that they could use. It was standard protocol for SeeD to use whatever they could use and salvage whenever possible. Squall made his way to the main gates, and watched as the generals came down.
General Eckman was the first, his blonde hair slicked back with liberal amounts of gel. Yet, the 28-year old man was respectful as he saluted Squall. "Greetings, Commander Leonhart. We were witness to your battle, and it was impressive. We would have helped, but that it was not necessary."
"Your concern is accepted, General Eckman. General Nikolai, SeeD welcomes you as well."
General Nikolai was an older man, one of the generals whom Caraway had plotted with so long ago, when the SeeD were hired to kill Edea in Deling city, a long, long time ago. Or so it seemed. The old man smiled as a grandfather would when he surveyed a favourite young one. "It is a pleasure, as always, commander. The Garden never fails to amaze me."
Nikolai was an engineering buff, and had often spent time with the technicians in MD. He was after all, an FH Institute of Technology graduate with flying colours, and the inventor of many military machines.
Squall turned to the last member, General Adam Caraway, son of General Caraway's second wife, Carrie. Rinoa never knew of him, for Caraway remarried after the Ultimecia incident, and Adam was 15 then. Now, his eyes were filled with hate as he turned to Squall.
In their recent clashes, Squall knew that Adam hated him. He claimed that Squall was the reason that Rinoa turned to the evil side, and would not hear a word against his theory. Squall had not been in a mood to argue (when was he?), and Adam mistook his silence for guilt. Now, he stared daggers at the shorter Commander.
"Your victory does nothing to aid my sister, Leonhart. You have damned her, even more." At the sight of Squall's crystal gunblade, a remodelled Lionheart, his rage was rekindled for that was the one Squall had tried to kill Rinoa with. He had only slashed her arm though, rendering only a wound that could be healed. Nevertheless, Adam had fury burning within his heart.
"You son of a bitch, you act as if you really cared about her, and all she was to you was a whore to tide your time!"
The other generals cried out in dismay, but there was no stopping Adam. He continued in that manner, oblivious to Squall's replies.
"Adam-I really DID love her. She was the one who was not faithful."
"Don't you dare bad-mouth my sister, you evil-ACK."
Tempers had been running high, and Zell had made a move. He grabbed the general, who was taller than him by a head, and slammed him against the wall, lifting him off the ground in the process. "STOP-NOW! Squall loved your sister more than you can imagine, and if it's that old man of yours contaminating your pinhead, you can-"
Adam had punched Zell in his face. Hard. The martial artist was hardly shaken, and responded in kind with a Booya that sent Adam back so hard against the wall that he teetered on the verge of unconsciousness. Squall stood before his slumped body, and his hair blocked his face. As the others looked on, Quistis praying that his temper would not get the better of him, he spoke, quietly, no doubt, but with the silent power that can frighten the most powerful creature.
"You would do well to remember today, for I shall deal with you personally next time."
Quistis let out a sigh of relief. Her former student had proven his mettle. "Commander Leonhart, generals, please follow me. I will take you all to the Command Centre."
So saying, the groggy Caraway was left to struggle with his inner demons as the others made their way to the Command Centre to await Kiros and Ward.
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A/N: Did I hint at some reasons why Squall, Seifer and Rinoa are in a blood feud? More of that, and I promise to cover more on the other characters soon! I hope I didn't make the battle too fake, but I was trying to keep the FFVIII spirit, where they fight like that. (Oh, but what is fighting without LIMIT BREAKS!!!!!)
~Pretty Green Eyes: Thank you! Rinoa's POV will appear later as well!
~Ispreno: Well, here's the next chapter! Thanks for that comment about the sentence! I think you get that Ultimecia may not be as bad as we are led to believe……
~FF9 Zidane: That IS a neat ending, both dying at the same time……anyway, I'll look into that possibility, but only time will tell (Mwahahahah)
Symbolism: Well, now we know why they get items after a fight.