Time's Scars
Chapter Twenty-Two: Showdown
"Galbadia Garden will be arriving in our area soon. On it are an unknown number of Galbadian soldiers. Though SeeD operations in Galbadia have been discontinued, the Galbadians have still used the Garden for training. I have heard it is now outfitted with weaponry." Cid spoke.
The situation did not look good. Balamb still had small numbers of SeeDs inside.
Quistis felt dread. This was in her hands. If she screwed up, it could mean the end of the world. She had so many innocent lives in her hands.
"Without Ragnarok, how are we supposed to fight back?" Zell asked.
The whole gang, with the exception of Squall and Rinoa, was in Cid's office.
"I don't know. We don't even know where Squall IS." Cid replied.
Selphie felt it first, the buzzing, the sleepiness, the slight headache. She was the first to collapse to the floor, along with Irvine, Zell, and Quistis.
Cid folded his arms, "Great timing, Ellone."
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"What the?" Selphie said, as she and the others found themselves in a foggy meadow. In front of them was a large castle, and it looked less than inviting. Ellone was standing by the door.
"What is this about?" Asked Quistis.
Ellone approached them. "It's Squall. He's in big trouble, and so is Rinoa. They need our help, or both are going to die. If Squall's soul dies, Saruman will use him to conquer the world. We have to help."
"Where are we headed?" Zell asked.
Ellone motioned for them to follow as she pushed one of the big doors open. They all stepped into a dark corridor. It was very similar to Ultimecia's castle, which sent a chill down Selphie's spine.
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Rinoa grabbed Squall's arm tightly, in fear. The group of beasts approached slowly, menacingly. They were salivating heavily, and growling. She knew Squall was far too weak to use any kind of Elf magic.
There was nowhere to run. They were trapped. They were going to die.
One of the beasts growled as it lashed out and struck Squall in the face, knocking him to the ground. Rinoa could see the bloody claw marks on his cheek. In an instant, she was on the ground as well. Though her face hurt terribly from the wounds, she managed to pull herself over to Squall. She put an arm on him, and he weakly wrapped one around her.
"I'm…I'm so sorry." Rinoa choked as tears slid down her face.
"It's okay. At least…I'll die with you."
He held her as she buried her face into his shoulder, blocking her view of their coming doom. She could feel his tears.
"It's my fault. You're going to die." Squall whispered. "You are here because of me."
"Stop, Squall. You would have done the same. At least we die together."
Squall cried out a bit as one of the beasts bit into his shoulder. The teeth penetrated deeply, and he felt them hit his bone.
He inhaled deeply, anticipating another bite.
This was it.
Suddenly, an unexpected gunshot pierced the air. One of the creatures howled in pain and collapsed. Squall looked up.
Irvine, Selphie, Zell, Quistis, and Ellone were standing on the other side of the hall.
"Don't you dare touch my friends, you ugly freaks!" Yelled Selphie, "Or I'll blow ya up with a rocket launcher!"
They pulled out their weapons and attacked the group of beasts. Squall took advantage of the opportunity. The beasts were focusing on fighting back, and were not paying attention to them. He used the last of his strength to push himself and Rinoa over against a wall, out of the way. Rinoa looked up at the others, then noticed the bite on Squall's shoulder.
He winced as she gently touched it.
"You're hurt."
"It'll be okay." Squall insisted.
Quistis hit limit break, and launched an attack of blue magic on the monsters. Irvine cast Curaga on her, which brought her back out of limit break.
"Anyone got an Aura?" Zell asked as he punched one of the beasts in the snout.
"Nope." Irvine replied as he dodged a claw flying in his direction. "I guess we just fight!"
One of the beasts turned around, losing focus of the battle. He looked at Squall and Rinoa hungrily, then quickly moved towards them. It was the one who had bitten Squall. It had blood and chunks of his skin on its teeth.
"No!" Yelled Rinoa, "Help!"
Zell ran to the beast and jumped on its back. He then proceeded to grab it by the throat and hold. It lashed around, and he looked like a bull-rider. Finally, after a few minutes, the beast stopped and collapsed, having run out of strength.
"Take that!" Cried Selphie, hitting her nunchucks into the face of another beast.
After what seemed to Squall like hours of fighting, the creatures all lay on the floor around them, dead. Selphie, Zell, Irvine, Quistis, and Ellone quickly rushed to the injured couple. Irvine cast Curaga on Squall's shoulder, but it had no effect.
"What?" Irvine wondered.
"I see that was too easy for you." Boomed a voice. It was Saruman. "How about something tougher?"
"Quit trying to save yourself with tricks." Squall taunted.
Saruman stepped closer. "Shut your mouth, you little Elf."
"How about you shut YOURS?" Selphie shouted.
"Show some respect, you filthy little rat!" Yelled Saruman as he waved his arm, sending Selphie flying into a wall. She bounced off it like a ragdoll, and lay on the floor, unmoving.
Irvine ran to her side in an instant. She was unconscious, and he stroked her hand gently. "Selphie…"
"Get out of here, you guys." Squall said. "You too, Rinoa. I don't want you all to die because of me."
Rinoa grabbed him by the sides of his head and forced him to look at her. "Stop it, Squall. We aren't leaving your side. If you die, the whole world dies. You have to have some hope!"
He closed his eyes and sighed, but said nothing in reply. He knew she was right.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Zell asked. "Let's kill him!"
Irvine casted Curaga on Selphie, which, to his surprise, worked. She got back onto her feet unsteadily, but managed to regain her balance.
Rinoa stayed at Squall's side, knowing she needed to protect him.
Squall watched his friends prepare to fight one of their toughest battles without him. He wanted to do something, anything, but could not. His weakened body refused to respond. All he could do was hope. If his friends failed, he knew that the world would be doomed.
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A/N: Hey, I know it's been awhile, and I'm sorry. I would have made this a longer chapter, but I am really not feeling well. I have a cold from Hades. Finally, I'm on Christmas break, so at least I can spend the next few days getting better. I will not be sick on Christmas! I'm trying to wrap up this story and Tears of Blood soon, hopefully over Christmas Break. I have some ideas for stories that are really good, so I want to write them.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a box of Kleenex and some Robitussin.