Chapter 21: Time compression part 3
"Squall…..?"
'Is someone calling me…' Squall was unconscious, but that sound pulled enough of his mind awake for coherent think. Not much else though.
"Squall?……wake up…."
'Who is that?'
"Come on Squall! Get up!" Squall felt two strong hands shaking him forcibly.
'Is that….Ifrit?'
"….Squall…" He felt the shaking stop and the familiar touch leave.
'Ifrit! Wait!' Squall found himself unable to move, as much as he tried, despite all his attempts to pry his eyes open or lift a finger. What it ever it was left there was only silence now, he was alone again.
'Ifrit!……..Damnit! What's wrong with me..'
He felt a soft embrace surrounding him, with that Ifrit junctioned himself to Squall.
(Squall?)
'Ifrit! What happened to you!'
(I'm not sure, I was knocked out by Ultimecia….I don't know what happened after that. When I woke up, I was drifting through time.)
'I thought I was dead.'
(You should probably open your eyes then…you know…..just to make sure.) Ifrit almost said this teasingly, Squall ignored that tone in his voice and tried to open his eyes.
'I can't do it, I can't move at all.'
(Squall, you can, just try.)
'What do you mean, I am trying!' Squall kept trying, still unable to do so. 'I can't do it!' Squall yelled angrily.
(Can't? You don't seem like the type of person that would say 'I can't do it.' Come on Squall, you can do it.)
'I'm trying Ifrit….It's not working, I can't move…….What's wrong with me?'
(You'll be able to see it once you open your eyes.)
'This is starting to get frustrating.'
(If you can't do it alone, I'll lend you my strength.)
'Wait….you said……..'seem like'' Squall's mind flared with a realization, maybe he'd been to dazed to see it before but... '……Ifrit knows me, your not Ifrit. Who are you?'
(…..Heh.)
Squall felt something surround him, it was like heat and electricity flowing at the same time. He knew this feeling, he felt it before. 'Your….Griever?'
(Open your eyes.)
Squall found it easy to open his eyes now, it was like waking up from a dream...and finding yourself in another one. He was surrounded by white light and strange sounds. From this he could tell he was back in to time compression. He could get back now.
But where was Ifrit?
'Griever?'
(Yes?)
'Where did you come from?'
(You brought me here.) By brought me here, Griever meant Summon.
'But…..I didn't.' Squall looked over himself, noticing there was a small, silver metallic light glowing from his ring. That was it, that's how Ultimecia summoned Griever before.
It was like Solomon's ring, It must have held Griever's power. And if it was in the ring then, 'You were the one that saved Rinoa during the Lunar cry?'
(Hn)
'Thank you.' Squall said gratefully..
(……)
The strange sounds grew louder, there was something here…….or he was getting closer to something. 'Where's Ifrit?'
(I don't know.)
'Damnit!.' Squall knew he had to find him, and now that he had Griever with him, it would be a lot easier.
The white surroundings started to blend and mix with black, creating a swirling whirlpool. Squall looked around again, not like he had any other choices. So he apprehensively entered it, watching his vision distort again.
When it returned to normal he found that he was falling through the sky. "What the!" He landed on a large chunk of land, which was no help because it was also falling. Something was coming at him from above, Squall hear it, but couldn't see it.
Rising his sword defensively, Squall looked around, ready for whatever it was.
Squall felt something grab him by the waist, 2 strong arms wrapping around him and lifting him up off of the descending rock. This touch felt vaguely familiar, at first he thought it was Ifrit, but this grip was different then his.
Squall looked up to see Griever carrying him of the falling island. His Claws weren't out, and the two blades on his elbow had been retracted so that he wouldn't hurt the human.
Something large fell from the air, smashing through the island and turning it in to nothing more then dust and debris. Griever stretched his wings, landing on the ground and setting Squall down.
"Thank you." Squall nodded gratefully as the GF removed his grip from the boy.
"Hn."
Crash...
"What was that?" Squall looked around for the source, he was sure what ever smashed the rock before had hit the ground, but apparently it hadn't. Griever pointed upwards at some monster much to high to see clearly, at least with human eyes.
"I'll stop it, you'll have to handle what's down here by yourself." Griever said before the claws and the blades protrude out and he flew upward at the unknown monster at an unprecedented speed. Squall wasn't sure what he was talking about, but he was fairly certain he was about to find out.
Which made him remember, he didn't have a junction.
! - ! - !
"Hey, this looks familiar." Irvine realized, they had come to this strange void that was purple inside and seemed to have a small vacuum to. It was the same void that was in Ultimecia castle.
(IRVINE MOVE!) Cerberus shouted, Irvine waste no time moving back, as well as pulling Seiphie and Quistis back with him. Before they had time to complain about the abrupt pull, a large monster landed in front of them. Not just any monster, the strongest in the world, Omega weapon.
It's body had blue and silver stripes with glowing red eyes. It was clearly a centaur by shape, with sharp claws and a strong gray tail. The most defining feature had to be the what seemed like a second face under it's stomach, complete with sharp teeth.
Cerberus appeared under Irvine, abruptly lifting the boy on his back, and the Brothers were at his side.
"Irvine, this is it! I think we can blow are way out from that thing!" Seiphie pointing to the void now behind Omega.
"Go for it." Irvine said.
"I can't do it alone, I'll need some help." Seiphie grabbed Quistis by her arms and pulled her abruptly "You think you can handle this with out Quistis?"
By the time Irvine looked over the woman in question, Quistis was already by Seiphie and they both had some how got behind Omega with out the weapon noticing.
"Yeah, I think we can handle it, how tough could he be?" Irvine shrugged, tilting his hat up a little.
Omega let out a monstrous roar, swiping his claws at Cerberus's center head. Omega was amazingly fast, faster then any of them. All three parts of Cerberus growled in pain at the claw marks across his face, he had just realized how powerful this monster really was.
Irvine jumped off the beast, letting Cerberus go about his usual strategy. Irvine wasn't going to take any chances on this fight, he started off with an Aura spell he'd drawn from Seifer back in the past.
Sacred (the smaller brother) turned towards Irvine and cast Protect, while Minataur (the larger brother) cast haste.
The face, which was Omega's core, began to shift a little and open it's mouth wide. It used it's Iron Pillar, blasting a beam of intensive, streaking silver energy at Sacred. The beam covered and devoured the small GF all at once.
When the beam subsided, Sacred's body was reveled showing that he was holding his hammer in front of his face. He did his best to block the beam but with no success, he was smoldering and his armor was scorched, but he was alright. The damage was quickly healed, reminding Irvine that he and his brother were invincible when on the ground.
With a small smirk, Sacred lifted his hammer and pounded it in to the ground.
The ground bucked in to a powerful earthquake equivalent to a Quake spell. The faltering earth almost made the weapon tumble, but it held it's ground and remained standing during the attack.
With triple in effect each head of Cerberus cast haste, making the beast three times as fast.
Irvine, reaching limit break on a count of Aura, loaded the most powerful bullets he had left in the chamber, AP. Snapping the gun shut and lifting it he fired the rounds in to the weapon, one in to it's chest, another into it's core, another to the head, another in to it's stomach, and the last round he had time to shoot in to it's stomach.
The attack didn't seem to faze the weapon much, It only roared, an invisible shockwave of air busting outward. "Oh man! Do you feel that bro?" Minataur looked over at his older brother nervously, Irvine wasn't sure why they were so worried. It must have been a brotherly thing.
Sacred nodded with a gulp, "Yeah."
Omega ascended off the ground and slowly rose in to the air, it's arms stretched out extended to it's side. It's open hands began to glow, filling with energy, preparing to use Tierra break. With the energy built visibly the weapon thrust it's hands forward, throwing a ray of discharged energy of towards Irvine, then it thrust it's other hand forward, doing the same.
The Brothers charged, jumping in front of Irvine, blocking the blow of the blasts. They were able to take the first two, powerful impacts burst struck their chest hard enough to knock the wind out of them. But Omega kept pulling back it's arms, thrusting it's hands forward and sending more and more of the blast. A strangled cry of pain tore from both brothers, the repeating explosions nearly loud enough to drown their voices out. But the pair held their ground, protecting Irvine.
"Guys……." Irvine was speechless for a moment, the two GF's seemed barely alive after taking so much damage that he couldn't hope to ever stand up to being a human. He quickly snapped out of it when he saw how much pain they were in. "Are you guys alright?" Again he reached his limit break, quickly shifting his ammo to scatter shot. Seeing they were still in front of him placed the barrel of the gun on their side by side shoulders and opened fire. The round burst in the apart in the air, scattering in to fragments that intercepted the incoming rays, making them prematurely explode.
That gave the brother's enough time to get ready. They clinched there hammers, drawing them back at their sides anticipatingly
"Alright, let a few of um through!" Both Brothers's voice rang out in harmony. Irvine eased on the firing, steeping out of their way.
"I bet I can hit more then you big brother." Minataur said in a very childish manner, he must have been younger then he looked.
"Bet you can't!" Sacred said a mater of factly tone. They used the hammers like bats, each brother slamming the heads of weapons in to a ray and sending them flying at Omega. With a new found speed, they struck the third ray at the same time, sending it bouncing back to the weapon with high velocity. Right before the blast struck the weapon.
Irvine shook his head and looked back at Cerberus "Those guys are having way too much fun with this."
When It's own attack struck It Omega stopped unleashing the breaks, leaving only one remaining. Minataur and Sacred glanced at each other with a small nod before they both jumped in to the air. "MINE!" Pulling the Hammer's back over their shoulder and striking the ray with full strength.
It charged at Omega with more speed then the last, striking the weapon in the head and relaying it back. "That was mine!" Minataur grabbed the smaller yet older Sacred and threw him at the weapon.
"WHAAAAA!" The yellow horned GF impacted it dead in the chest, knocking throwing upward in to the air with a pained outcry.
Cerberus jumped from behind Irvine and lunched himself in the air, in a red and white blur he rose above Weapon easily. Cerberus drove all three of his heads in to Omega, sending it diving head first towards the ground. Minataur, still in the air from the previous jump, lifted his hammer over his head and drove it in to the falling Omega's chest, slamming him in to the ground.
In another white and red blur, Cerberus came down on Omega, stomping him with amazing pressure.
After this powerful combination attacks was just inflicted, it would be expected that that Omega would be down an out. But the Weapon climbed to it's feet, more enraged then ever.
! - ! - !
'Great, where am I now?' Zell though cynically, he was swimming through water as far as he could tell. This couldn't be real water, it had to be some form of time compression in visual representation. He'd been swimming upward for a few seconds now, and his breath was still holding, and he'd look like he'd make it to the surface.
If that was the surface.
The water was like fog, through the blue mist Zell could began to see a figure drifting above him. 'Huh?' What could that have possibly been? Zell hoped it wasn't some type of monster, he couldn't hold his breath long enough to fight anything under water. Getting closer he could see it was a person, who looked familiar though he could barely tell in the low visibility.
This person was floating with their knees drawn up against their chest held tightly in to their arms. 'It can't be?...It is!' Zell recognized this person now, it was Squall's GF Ifrit, and he was in water which couldn't be good. But what was he doing here, alone?
'Ifrit? He must know were Squall is, but what is he doing here?'
Zell drifted beside him, tapping him slightly, seeing he didn't move Zell wrapped his arms around Ifrit's waist and swam the gap between him and the surface. Ifrit jumped weakly when he felt the air against his head, gasping loudly with starved breaths. Clearly this water was hurting him from the look on his face and the way he was cringing.
Ifrit coughed the water out of his lungs, some how he managed not to drown under there. Looking around he could see nothing but water in every direction, the flame GF silently cursed to himself.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Zell asked,
"I don't know... I just woke up here when you came. Where's Squall?" Ifrit seemed unusually hopeful, he was sure Zell had to know.
To bad he didn't. "I don't know, I haven't seen anyone." Zell shook his head disappointedly.
Ifrit cursed to himself again, "Have you seen Bahamut?" Zell asked, Ifrit only shook his head no, causing the boy to let out a disappointed sigh.
"I'd say your getting close though." Ifrit told him, pointing to an image in the water.
It was like an image, a reflection of MegaFlare as if it was coming up from the depths, Zell had even flinched as if it was. Zell looked up, but found nothing above him to cause that reflection, and when he looked back, it was gone. He pounded his fist into the water angrily. "Damn! I have to go………Will you be alright by yourself?" Zell asked, knowing Squall would literally kill him if he left Ifrit in a place like this, in an ocean.
Ifrit nodded again, Zell looked at him unsurely for a moment but knowing he couldn't waist any more time he dived in the water again.
Well, it'd be easier for Ifrit to find Squall now that he was awake.
! - ! - !
Surrounded by darkness, he found it and nothing else, he only could hear himself and nothing else. It would have been enough to invoke fear in a normal person.
All he knew was that he had to get out of here.
Bahamut found himself hoping that Zell was safe upon reawaking , but he didn't know the outcome of the battle, only making him more unsure. When he was knocked out things weren't looking good, he just hoped...
"Bahamut! I know your around here somewhere!"
He heard Zell's voice and immediately he looked around frantically for the source but he couldn't tell which direction it had come from. 'Damn...' Bahamut closed his green eyes, doing the only thing he was sure would work and began concentrating on the junction. A junction went both ways, not just giving power to the one who junction's the GF, but the GF gains power and strength as the one who junctioned it dose. Bahamut and Zell had a strong bond because of how strong they had grown together so quickly, all he had to do was use it to his advantage.
Bahamut spread his wings and faded out of the darkness, drifting in to the sub-dimension used when summoning.
! - ! - !
Zell found himself walking through someplace deep underground, maybe some type of cave or a place underwater as far as he could tell from the leaking. Vines and undergrowth had grown over most things, this place had been left unattended for along time. This was the bottom of the Deep Sea Research center.
This very bottom where all of the digging had once took place, now there was only an open space next to a large pool of water and a rusted machine in the far comer of the room with moss growing in a thick layer over it. Zell walked up to the old machine, checking if it was still usable, and what was it's purpose.
He wished now that he'd finished checking this place out after he fought Bahamut, maybe he would know which way was out. Why didn't he explore this place?...Oh yeah, Nida had a heart attack.
"Oh yeah..."
He heard a small gust of wind from the above, but dismissed it as nothing.
