Chapter II:

The cold wind of the night fell on the field like an anvil. Soldiers struggled to keep level heads as they waited. It had already passed an hour since the sun went down and still no sign of the adversary. They were getting anxious, some very afraid.

Laguna, Squall and Quistis were sitting inside the President's tent. They had been talking sporadically over the last hour. Conversations, though, were scarce, since none of them actually felt like engaging in one. Plus, the nerves barely allowed them to structure sentences, even words, coherently. Laguna was sitting in the same chair he had been sitting prior to Zell walking into the tent. He was reclined and had his left leg up on the arm. Squall had been walking aimlessly across the tent stopping from time to time to look at his wristwatch. Quistis, on the other hand, just stood on the entrance of the tent, looking towards the rising moon

"Are you going to do it?" said Laguna to Squall without raising his gaze from the floor.

Squall and Quistis turned to him. Laguna looked up to his eyes and noticed how pale he looked. He was desperate and he could barely keep it together. He knew just from his look that he was doubting himself, and that was the last thing he needed at the moment.

Squall sighs softly and put his right hand inside his jacket's pocket. "I don't know," he finally responded. Laguna smiled compassionately. He knew this would be bigger than them. At best, he hoped to halt the adversary's journey long enough for the Coalition to come up with a plan to counter the menace.

Laguna took out his ring and played with it using his forefingers and thumbs. He looked at it intently and softly uttered, "Tried getting Elle out of Esthar. But she wouldn't leave."

Squall and Quistis turned towards him, then Squall said, "She'll be fine. Sis can take care of herself."

"But what if we don't succeed here?" Laguna continued.

"Where is she?"

"There's a shelter underneath the Presidential Palace. It was built there during Adel's rule. She wanted a place to hide from her enemies should they ever come into the city."

"How safe is it?" Quistis was quick to ask.

Laguna looked at her then sighed. "State of the art as far as I know. . . But so was the Garden."

Quistis turned towards the entrance again. She was a strong woman, both physically and mentally. But Quistis Trepe was quick to let her emotions get the better of her. It was what got her fired as a SeeD instructor. She was always too close for the bosses comfort.

Then, as if a reminder to himself, Laguna said "I gave the order to release the mechs."

"What's that?" responded Squall as he looked at his wristwatch again.

"Mechs. Androids. Robots. Anything and everything we have. They have been deactivated ever since I took office. I send a squad to Esthar to send them here." He pauses, then says with a note of discouragement in his voice, "They should arrive in awhile."

"We hit her with what we have. . ." said Squall.

Laguna looks at him. "If anything, we can contain her until Dr. Odine can drain her."

"It's too late for that," said Squall. You could feel his anger from the dry tone of his voice. He grabbed the gunblade and walked out of the tent. Laguna shook his head and put his ring back. He pushed himself back to his feet and looked up to Quistis. She was watching walk away until she turned towards Laguna. Her eyes were solemn, yet hinting a good deal of disappointment. It was clear she understood what was going on, and even though she loathed having to take action against a friend, she would do so willingly to prevent others to suffer as she and those closest to her already had.

Laguna grabbed the back of his hair and pulled the string that held his hair tied together. He dropped it on the floor then looked at Quistis. "I love her too, you know? She's like a daughter to me."

Quistis smiled at him. "God knows she could have been. . ."

She turned around and walked away from the tent. Laguna let himself drop on the chair. He was tired of this. He felt like a failure, for not being able to protect his people. For being afraid.

Laguna was awakened by the blows of mighty horns. They were signaling the coming of the adversary and were powerful enough to send an on a blind rage. Laguna ran out of the tent and looked abroad. He saw the Ragnarok lying in wait at a distance. It was their fallback plan. When everything else fails, they would gather the survivors that they could and escape.

To his left he saw Squall screaming orders to the White SeeDs in the back of the line. The summoning would have to hit flawlessly and as effortlessly as possible. Thankfully, SeeDs are experts in harnessing the power of the Guardian Forces, so if anybody could do it, Edea's elite would.

At a distance he could the adversary coming. It was still far away but, in all honesty possible, that was best. It emitted a powerful red aura that flowed off it. Laguna rubbed his ring with his thumb. "Please give me strength, my angel," he muttered to himself.

Then, as if answering, a bright pale light blew off the adversary and raced towards the gathering armies. They cowered and most fell to their knees as the beam flew over them, past the Ragnarok and fell behind the mountains and hills leading to Esthar.

Laguna opened his eyes in desperation as he saw a violent explosion coming from the place where the beams crashed and he suddenly understood. His backup plan had just been annihilated. They were alone.

Laguna opened his eyes.

There were bodies everywhere. The puncturing smell of burnt human flesh ran through his nostrils no matter how he tried covering it. He stood to his knees and looked downward. Then he saw her.

She was still wearing the red dress. It was torn across the legs. The wings, the crimson-colored wings of light flapping and beating. Keeping her feet effortlessly off the ground. She had become something unimaginable. Her lily white face was covered in blood and her eyes, her empty white eyes, glinted with a sparkle of red beneath her flowing black hair.

Laguna tried to stand but he could muster no more strength. His will was great, but his body could not give anymore. He looked at her and tears gathered in his eyes, when he heard a piercing scream that echoed through the night.

Squall stood to his feet with Lionheart on his hands. He thrust himself against her but he was stopped. An unseen field blocked his path and prevented his movement. He tried to lift his blade but right hand was shattered from within and it fell. A blood spattering scream flew off his lips as he felt his constrained body being broken by a mere look from the adversary.

Laguna tried to scream his name but it came out as less than a whisper. He crawled towards Squall, desperately trying to push himself to his feet. He fell to his knees once more and let himself go. He was beaten.

A piercing scream ripped through the night and Laguna looked onward. Squall's body dropped to the ground. His eyes looked cold, his face pale and his body broken. Laguna looked into his eyes with surprise. His hands trembled. His lips quivered from desperation, then he was overcome with pain. He coughed and dropped his head on the floor, tasting the bitter taste of his own blood on his lips. Then a he felt the wind hit his body harder than before. He looked up and Rinoa was standing merely feet away from him. Laguna pushed his body to its feet. His breathing was fast and pressured. He looked at her and coughed.

She twitched her head and her red-colored gaze suddenly twinkled. Laguna's body was shoved back and she released an ear-shattering wail that consumed every thought or word spoken in its radius. The ground shook and a white flash blew off her body. It took to the skies and vanished along with her.

Then in the distance a loud roar could be heard. Laguna gritted his teeth and let out a powerful scream doused in pain and anger. His eyes swelled with tears and he wailed as his beloved Esthar was destroyed in the distance. He let himself go and closed his eyes when he heard a cold whisper clawing its way through his ear drums.

It was over. He had failed.