Author's Notes: Well, this is the Ultimecia/Griever battle, with a bit of flashback'ing for longer chapters. As I've probably mentioned, I do not own Ultimecia, Squall, Zell, Rinoa, Griever, or any of the other Final Fantasy VIII characters, GFs, or terms. They are respectively Square/Square-Enix's creations and I'm just using them. I do, however, own the storyline, along with Seth, Geoff, the four evil SeeD people, Tempest and Kali. So uh...please Square, don't sue me! Well, I hope you like it. . .
Chapter 6
It Ends Here Tonight
Ultimecia's Point of View
I watch mesmerized as I move closer and closer. The black, swirling ball merges with my pink essence. I feel us meld together, MiX. I remember the term from my teenage years when I journeyed across the world in search of the dying Guardian Forces with Seth and Geoff. It was the happiest of times for me. It was before the day I received my sorceress powers, before my battles with SeeD, before the death of my Holy and Dark Knights. It was the best time of my life.
Flashback: Survivors
It was when we were about twelve or thirteen that I first heard of Guardian Monsters. They were the survivors, and they intrigued me.
About a decade or two ago, strange things occurred with the Guardian Forces. Summoners claimed to notice that their Guardian's strength and power seemed to be declining, without real reason. Many investigations were launched into discovering the reason, but all failed. Until, that is, a few years before the fateful day my knight gave up his life to save me.
Seth's parents were well-known throughout the world, and most especially at Balamb Garden, were they attended for many years, as both SeeD and Instructors, before becoming mercenaries and giving birth to their only son, Seth. Seth, Geoff and I all attended Garden. When I was probably twelve, I got a lesson about Guardian Monsters (GMs) from Seth's mother, Dannielle. She told me how it was possible to reverse, or at least temporarily inhibit, the siphoning off of the Guardian Forces' powers.
Seth's parents discovered a process that allowed the severely fading of the Guardians to become somewhat stable once more. It was a process they called MiXing. MiX is a complicated process. To MiX a Guardian Force to form a Guardian Monster, it can be quite gruelling. First of all, you need to find one of more GFs of similar element or disposition. Next, you have to draw out their power and meld it into a new form. The new form is no longer a true Guardian, but a monster. As a monster, the Guardian is not bound to follow a summoner's orders. Unfortunately for Seth's parents, they found this out the hard way.
Dannielle and Adam Leonhart had had many successes in their work. The most famous being the Guardian Monster named Catoblepas, a monster containing the faded essences of Ifrit, Cerberus, Pandemona, Brothers and Diablos. It was the most powerful and faithful of all the Guardian Monsters at the time. Their son, at thirteen, was already near the top of his class. The two were working on a monster form for a demonic summon known as Vampyre. They had selected two other similar Guardian Forces, Demona and Rakshasha, and began the MiX process.
Unfortunately, the process was botched. Somehow, the newly created monster turned on its creators and attacked. They died almost instantly.
Seth took the loss terribly. They were a close family, and it took all of Geoff and my combine efforts to keep him sane. He vowed that day that he would continue his parent's work, and Geoff and I both offered to help.
It was not until we were sixteen, and SeeD, that we managed to fulfil this promise. We left Garden on our mission, and we scoured the world for the dying summon and gave them preservation through MiX.
We had been very successful. We had discovered the GFs Quezacotl, Cactuar, Tonberry and Doomtrain and merged them through the MiX process to create the Guardian Monster Tri-Point. The GFs had been very deteriorated, but together they made a quite powerful monster.
Our next success was to a lesser degree, although a major accomplishment. We discovered the Guardian Bahamut. Unlike the other GF we had discovered, he was corporeal enough by himself to make a Guardian Monster alone. So, we MiXed him to create Tiamat, one of the most powerful Guardian Monsters.
It was a few months later until we found the last of the 'famous GFs'. We had found Carbuncle and Alexander for quite some time, but it was not until the discovery of the Ice Princess Shiva that we attempted to use the strange magic Seth's parents had created. Using it, we saved the dissipating GFs as Guardian Monster Krysta, containing the essences of the Guardians of Ice, Holy, and Reflect.
We then took to the ocean, trying to find Siren and Leviathan, the Silence and Water summons. On our voyage, we happened into bad weather. Had it not been for a strange, mermaid-type persona, we would surely have perished.
The mermaid, we discovered, was called Cyrene, a word in the now-extinct language of French meaning, quite literally, mermaid. It took us awhile to discover that, in fact, through some strange twist of fate, Cyrene was in fact the combine essences of Siren and Leviathan, somehow merged together by the process of evolution. The Guardian offered herself to us as a summon, and we accepted.
With only one final summon left, we went in search of the mighty Eden, the Eternal Guardian. We finally found him deep within the ruins of the Deep Sea Research Facility. Strangely, he too had succumbed to the weird evolution that had created Cyrene, and now appeared as the Final Weapon, Omega.
Our travels let us encounter many people. I'll never forget the day we returned to Balamb after finding Omega Weapon, and walking the streets with Seth and Geoff. It was supposed to be a day of victory, of happiness. A grand return to Garden with the remaining Guardians. What we didn't expect was the dying old woman. . . .
Back to the Battlefield. . .
I caught myself before slipping anymore into my memories, and glanced down at the thing that I had become. It is rare that a Guardian will chose to merge with a human, sorceress or not. In history, I had only heard of two other instances where such was the case. Both occurred over a hundred years ago, and both occurred, if my memory served me, as a result of Guardian death. They merged themselves unknowingly with a mortal most like themselves. I felt a rush as I looked down at what I had become.
Griever and I had merged, and the result was a large, stocky, deformed looking black lion with a large tail. The claws on our 'paws' were long and sharp. I. . . or what remained of me, was a part of our MiX's chest. All that remained was a face and arms.
Fireworks of pink and orange magic exploded around us. Together, we were healed, ready to destroy the SeeD before us. I found a voice, but words did not escape. Instead, I was met with a roar.
"Ghrahh..!"
I felt it, the thought creeping into my mind. Together, we could vanquish them, the SeeD that kept me from my goal. Time Compression. It would happen. If it was the last thing I did.
The children before us looked on in shock. Obviously, they had never seen a MiX before. I used that to my advantage and extended the large black paw leisurely and flung a Holy spell at their Sorceress. With that, they proceeded to snap out of their haze and join the battle. The first thing the younger Sorceress did was cast an all-too-familiar Scan.
Ultimecia-Griever
Ultimecia junctioned to Griever. A powerful monster that combines Ultimecia's and Griever's forces.
Level 65 HP: ????/???? Fly Monster
With that knowledge in mind, the boys both entered the battle with physical attacks. I realized the effects of the tripled Aura spell must have worn off. Soon the Holy War too would negate itself, and together Griever and I could take our revenge.
I felt something come into my mind, and by force of will a thunderbolt-like spike appeared hovering beside me. I realized what its use was. The Helix, as it was called, increased our power. Somewhere within the Helix, I felt a familiar sentiment. . .
The Sorceress wasted her turn attacking the Helix. It survived the attack. Then the Warrior ran up and punched at me once again, followed by the Leader slicing his blade through my furred flesh. I wasted no time and brought forth a second Helix. The effects of the Holy War wore off, and I saw them rush to reinitiate the Invincible status. The Sorceress, somewhat unthinkingly, used her turn for triple Curagas instead of the Aura spells needed to use Limit Breaks again. The Leader and the Warrior proceeded to attack me agin, feeling safe in the fact that within one turn Griever and I could not defeat them.
The sky began spinning crazily behind me, fast and furious. I drew on our newfound talent, and called forth our special skill, ready to make the most of the Children's vulnerability.
"Great Attractor!"
I release a wave of light from my extended arms. The wave of light is then taken over by utter darkness. From each hand I release twin rays of light. The first ray slices through the air, through the atmosphere and darkness of space until embedding itself into a brownish planet, well cratered. The next ray passes into a huge blue gas planet. The third into a green planet. The final one is lodged within the centre of a huge, grey meteor. I reach out and pull, my arms beginning to cross. The rays of light are like rope, and I drag the spatial bodies from their respective orbits and towards my desired point of impact. All at once, dark shadows cover the battlefield, and suddenly, all four planets meet, with the SeeD children between them. I release the magical ropes from their respective planets, and watch the bolts of orange magic pass between the planets and watch as they explode in a mass of coloured stone and light energy.
The effect is enjoyable. Within the one turn, I had reduced each of the three to a mere 1,000 HP. The attack had hit each for over 8,000 damage. Together, Griever and I smiled smugly at the effects.
Unfortunately for us, their Warrior acted quickly, using a Holy War instead of wasting his turn healing. The three became non-corporeal and I watched as the Sorceress launched herself headlong at Griever and I in her critical-born Limit
"Wishing Star!"
The brown and white dog appeared at the last moment beside the Sorceress, and together they smashed into us. The young girl sat on the dog horse-like, and meteor-like they smashed into us again and again, twelve times.
When that was finally over, I watch the Leader charge us, slashing again and again with Renzokuken. He finishes, thankfully, with the rather pathetic Rough Divide, before returning to the others.
I didn't realize until then how damaged the two of us were. I felt Griever scream mentally before I too felt the pain. I watched.
Waves of white light pour off us, followed by rays of white and black magical energy. Our bottom half falls away, followed by the tail. We are now half of what we were. I feel Griever's pain now.
I reach out and grab the Helixes, drawing the energy from them. They fade out of existence and I unleash the powerful Ultima, which, unfortunately for me, does no damage due to the SeeD's invincible status.
I watch as, in succession, each of the Children unleash a Limit upon me. We survive the ordeal and slash with the razor-sharp claws at the Leader. Again, nothing. I feel a dull ache in the back of my mind. I can no longer hear Griever's cries. The link between us is almost severed. I glance down at my neck to look at the gems, but realize with a shock they are invisible. Unable to tell how close I am to achieving my goals, I decide to hold out as long as possible. As long as I can get a chance to heal I should. . .
My thoughts are interrupted by the cry of the boy-Warrior.
"Duel, baby!"
He rushes me, pounding and pounding. Booya, Heel Drop, Mach Kick, Punch Rush, Heel Drop, Mach Kick, Punch Rush. Just when I think its over, the boy proves me wrong.
"My Final Heaven!"
He charges himself headlong at me, but then whips by, sending me into a spin. Confused, I wait, wondering at this odd attack. Unfortunately for me, I do not realize that, at hyper-speed, the boy is surging through the world, doing a full circle. It was too late by the time I saw the blurred form rushing towards me. . .
His fist, and, it seems, his entire body, passes through me. At first, I think he must have missed. I was wrong.
All of a sudden, I felt the pain, horrific. I knew what had happened then. He had taken the last of our HP away. He had killed us. So much for my plan to heal at my next turn. I would die now, because I was too arrogant to heal. I would not complete Time Compression, and I would never see him again. Neither of them. I would disappear into the Void. . . and it was all my fault.
I begin to shake violently and uncontrollably. We are just above the small chunk of rocking the SeeDs are floating on, but Griever and I remain airborne. We growl together in pain, rearing our heads back as waves of white light flow from our body. The light then flickers and changes colour, from blue to green, to orange, to yellow, and finishing at purple.
"Rghaah. . . "
It was then that what remained of our body began to shatter into tiny, crystal-like pieces and disappear. It started from Griever's head, slowly making its way towards me. Red rays of light poured off us, and the shards that remained of us slowly spun upwards before disappearing into oblivion. The last thing I saw was the smiling faces of the three SeeD, ready to celebrate their victory over the sorceress from the future.
********************************************************************
I awoke sometime later, although the exact time between my awakening and my arrival in this strange new place eluded me; as though time did not exist wherever I was. I glanced around in the blackness, hoping in vain that my worst fear had not come true.
I was alone.
Nowhere around me could I see the dark lion, nor was there anyone or anything else seemingly present. I felt the tears begin to slide down my cheeks, and my legs gave out underneath me as I fell to the hard, cold stone.
I searched my mind for some form of comfort, for a memory to revitalize my broken spirit. None came. I lay in semi-consciousness on the cold ground, the word 'Void' repeating itself endlessly in my head.
Void. Void. Void. Void.
Ever and endlessly. I knew now, without a doubt, that where I lay was this Void, and I was helpless to escape. I had let my need for vengeance get in the way of my future, and I would now pay the consequences.
Here.
Alone.
In the Void.
My mind echoed emptily. I glanced up weakly at the black sky, and watched as a flash of light passed across my point of view. I made a silent wish to no one in particular.
"Let me finish what I started. Please. Let me go back."
I didn't expect an answer, all alone in the cold, dark void. The winds blew through my blood-streaked hair, blowing dust into my eyes. My dress was torn and dirty, caked with blood. My sanity seemed to be slowly leaving me. So I had no idea what to think when a soft, indistinguishable voice responded to my plea, and told me there was still hope. . .
Author's Notes2: Well, that's Chapter 6. I hope it's long enough. I promise, if things don't make sense now, they hopefully will come Chapter 8. I decided to add the flashback involving the MiX GF creations for both background and for continuity. Hopefully, the events of Chapter 2 will make some more sense now that you understand more about the MiX Monsters.
In Chapter 8 you can expect a continuation of where the Survivors Flashback ended, and how Ultimecia became a sorceress will be answered. This Chapter ends in the Void of Irreality. Chapter 7 will pick up where this left off, and then continue into the final Ultimecia battle and a flashback of the battle that killed Geoff, Ultimecia's Dark Knight. Well, until then!
Also, for any of those interested, I have a new story idea, which will revolve around Geoff, Ultimecia's Dark Knight. It will be more in-depth than this fic, and explain some of their history more, and give a new point of view on some of the events that happen as flashbacks in this fic. I'll be uploading it tomorrow probably, its very short right now, but if I get a review or two I'll do more. Thanks guys. The fic is probably gonna be called 'Different Beat'. Well, till the next update!
~Shive