Chapter 47: Heaven or Hell
"Seifer!" Squall shouted as he ran outside onto the catwalk spanning the chasm. He scanned his surroundings, looking for his nemesis, when he heard a shout overhead. Rinoa's voice! Squall spun, looking up, and saw a flash of a tattered trenchcoat entering the door over the control room. Not hesitating, Squall dashed forward, toward the path that the construction equipment had made, and rushed up the crystal steps, his comrades right behind him.
They passed into the portal beyond the steps and entered another long, narrow catwalk spanning another crystalline cavern, leading to another wide portal. Squall barely paid attention to his surroundings as he rushed across the catwalk, toward the only room Seifer could have taken Rinoa into.
"That hurts," Rinoa whispered as Seifer pushed across the wide chamber, stepping carefully. The floor was made of metal, with narrow "ribs" poking up a few inches above the main floor, a couple of inches apart. It made going just treacherous enough that one had to watch their steps as the pair moved across the chamber.
In the center of the room, like a massive trophy, was a huge metal circle, framed by a pair of metallic "wings". Contained within that circle, slowly shifting, was a massive figure, easily ten feet tall, looking like a mighty giant. Rinoa gasped, and Even Seifer cringed as he saw the monumental being within that circle.
Sorceress Adel was, long ago, human, but during her rule over Esthar she had her body often and repeatedly modified and enhanced, eventually doubling her height and increasing her strength manyfold. She longer looked female, or even human, instead becoming a giant creature that stirred within that seal. Her skin was a pale blue-white, and her hair was a vibrant red, pulled back into long braids. He black dress was skintight, but the shape it clung to looked far more masculine than feminine. Were it not for her eyes, one would think she was a man.
Those eyes opened as Seifer and Rinoa neared her prison, looking upon the pair as they neared. They glowed a dark red, like a demon's pupils. Her hand suddenly shot forward, stretching the invisible material confining her body. Rinoa cringed and pushed back, trying to stop her forward momentum, but Seifer continued pushing her.
"Please, Seifer," she whispered. "No more. Don't you see what you're doing?" she asked, and he paused, for an instant.
"Rinoa," he said quietly, reflecting back on what they had shared together over a year ago.
"Please, Seifer," she pleaded. "Don't."
"I . . ." Seifer hesitated, and in the silence, they heard a shout far behind them.
"Rinoa!" Squall was shouting, and Seifer glanced back. Squall's sudden shout seemed to have made the decision for Seifer at that moment, and he violently pushed Rinoa forward.
"Have a look Squall!" he yelled, at the top of his lungs. "Ultimecia's WISH!"
Without another word, he shoved Rinoa forward once more, almost savagely, and moved aside as Adel's hands reached out, bursting free of the confinement. Rinoa opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out as energy shot between her and Adel, the evil Sorceress' face locked in predatory hunger.
Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and Irvine rushed into the room, weapons at the ready, and prepared to face the threat within. The entered determined, willing for battle, arms held high, but then suddenly stopped. Squall almost felt his fingers slacken at what he saw.
"By Hyne," Quistis whispered. "Rinoa . . . ."
Adel stood tall, stretching her arms as she strode slowly out away from the prison that had held her for the last seventeen years, her smile wide and filled with malevolence as she moved easily across the room. But that was not what captured the SeeDs' attention.
Rinoa hung from Adel's chest, her legs disappearing into the evil Sorceress' body. Her torso emerged from the Sorceress;' chest, but was still integrated seamlessly within Adel's own chest. Rinoa's arms stretched out above her, extending toward Adel's shoulders, and her hands and wrists, like her legs, disappeared into the evil Sorceress' upper chest. Only her head and hair hung free, limply, eyes closed, as if unconscious or worse.
"She . . . They've junctioned somehow," Selphie said in shock. Squall's fingers suddenly tightened around his gunblade.
"Kill that bitch," Squall hissed in cold fury. "We have to kill her and get Rinoa out of there!" The others nodded, all equally enraged by Adel's absorbing of Rinoa's body, and moved forward to meet the threat, weapons raised.
"Not so fast, Squall!" Seifer suddenly shouted, and Squall found his rival's shoulder in his stomach, lifting him up and throwing him back. Squall rolled on the ribbed floor and came u in a crouch, in time to catch a kick in the stomach that tossed him across the room. He landed on his feet, backpedaling, and raised Lionheart as Seifer advanced, cutting him off from his comrades as the massive Sorceress raised her hands, Rinoa hanging limply from her chest.
"Seifer, what the hell did you do?" Squall demanded, looking at Rinoa and Adel in shock and horror. Adel began to look over the others, who glanced from Squall to Adel and Rinoa in confusion.
"Adel and Rinoa as one," Seifer replied, smiling. "This is what Ultimecia wants, isn't it? I don't know, she never was forthcoming with her motives, so I guessed, I suppose."
"Ultimecia wants to kill everything," Squall responded angrily. "She wants to compress time! That's why she needs Ellone! Everything's going to be destroyed if she has her way!"
"Hm," Seifer replied. He tapped a finger against his chin, thinking. "Never thought about that. Make sense. She is totally fucking nuts, I suppose." He shrugged and raised Hyperion, the point leveled at Squall. "But that doesn't really matter, in the end. At least, not to me. I'm sure you'll have no trouble dealing with her and Adel."
"Get out of my way, Seifer," Squall said, narrowing his eyes.
"You don't trust your friends to deal with Adel?" Seifer asked, surprised. "She just awoke. Her powers aren't nearly the equal of Edea's now, and she isn't possessed by Ultimecia. She's actually easy prey, despite her appearance."
"Then why aren't you protecting her?" Squall asked, and Seifer shrugged.
"Maybe I don't give a damn," he said. "Or maybe I just lost my head a while back. Sorceresses have a way of screwing with one's sanity, don't they? But I really don't care about that. What I care about is you," Seifer pointed at Squall, "and me."
"You want to settle the score again?" Squall asked, and Seifer nodded. He casually tossed Hyperion in the air, and flexed the fingers of his right arm.
"You took my hand last time, Squall," Seifer explained, catching his blade. "Maybe its time for payback? Another scar for you? Or maybe we should prove things on a more personal, primal level?" Seifer's smile widened to almost insane proportions, and he took two steps forward, leading into a thrust at Squall. "Let's dance, Squall, one more time, before hell comes to the earth!" Squall countered, Lionheart shooting up into a deflection that rang solidly against Seifer's weapon. A flash of light erupted behind Seifer, as Adel finally opened up on Squall's comrades. Responses came immediately, but were measured, Squall's allies trying to avoid striking Rinoa.
Squall's response was not measured at all, smacking Seifer's gunblade away with Lionheart and bearing in, slashing furiously. Seifer weaved his weapon back inside the attack, catching Squall's shining gunblade and lifting it up, over his head. His other hand rose and discharged a fireball in one of his typical quick magical attacks. The blast exploded in Squall's chest, pushing the SeeD back, and Seifer followed up ith a quick thrust.
Lionheart met the thrust, turning it aside, and Squall deftly turned the gunblade over and launched a counter-thrust. Seifer spun away, coming around and slashing at Squall's neck. The SeeD was ducking before the slash began, however, and as Hyperion sliced the air over him skull, Squall pivoted and drove his shoulder into Seifer's stomach, tossing the former knight back a few feet. Seifer landed with his feet spread out wide, in perfect balance, and parried a follow-up slash from Squall that would have severed his head. Squall retracted and slashed in from the opposite direction, and Seifer raised to parry a second time. The gunblades met again, but this time, Squall stepped forward, smashing into Seifer's chest with a devastating kick to the torso that hurled him back. Seifer rolled along the ridged floor, and managed to regain his footing in time to see Squall come in with a powerful, massive cleave starting over his shoulder. The knight's feet were not properly placed and balanced to let him leap out of the way or twist aside, so he shot up Hyperion, placing his free hand against the flat of the blade and used his gunblade to block the cleave.
Lionheart smashed inward, like the blue-white edge of a lightning bolt, and it met Hyperion in a mighty clash. If Squall had been wielding the Revolver, Seifer's custom-built gunblade would have stopped Squall's weapon, but this sword was Lionheart, the cleaving gunblade perfected, the edge made from crystallized energy. It struck Hyperion with all of Squall's superhuman strength, and the metal of Seifer's gunblade could not hold before that raw power and the unyielding edge of Lionheart.
Hyperion, Seifer's trademark weapon and custom-made gunblade, specially made for his fighting style, shattered just above the gun aspect, falling apart in Seifer's hands. The shards clattered to the floor, and Seifer dropped the broken handle, stepping inside the cleave as Lionheart swept past, and slammed into Squall, his right hand leading into a hook that staggered the SeeD. Seifer quickly pivoted, locking his hands around Squall's right wrist, and slammed his wrist down hard onto his knee. Squall let to a cry of pain, and dropped Lionheart. Seifer rocked him again with another punch before diving for Lionheart. He snatched up the gunblade as Squall spun, and whipped around, Lionheart in hand, in position for a quick block and counter. In one swift motion, the battle had been turned dramatically in the knight's favor.
Adel wasted no time picking a target. She didn't preface her attack with words or even theatrical gestures. She simply pointed, and Quistis was knocked off her feet by a magical blast of energy, accompanied by a smirk from the Sorceress dictator. She rolled back onto her feet, an act which quickly stole the mirth from Adel's face, replacing it with confusion. There hadn't been SeeDs around when she had been awake, so the concept of someone taking a blast from her head on and standing up was new.
The concept of getting shot, however, was quite familiar, and she frowned as her head snapped back from two shots from Irvine's rifle. She moved her head forward, the wounds running with blood, but only for a second, as the injuries seemed to seal up.
"Okay, this is new," Zell commented, and Irvine nodded.
"Some type of regeneration magic?" Quistis asked, and Selphie nodded.
"Has to be," she said. "I've read that some Sorceresses had the power to heal wounds, but this can't be just magic."
"Estharian tech, huh?" Zell guessed. "Makes sense."
"Well, enough with the talking," Irvine added. "Let's take her down!"
"Be careful, though," Quistis warned. "We don't want to hurt Rinoa!"
"Precision magic," Selphie added, and matched words with action. A narrow bolt of lightning shot from her hands and struck Adel in the throat, rocking her back a step and quite clearly pissing her off.
"Guess we can't use our new spells," Zell muttered, and ran toward Adel in one of his typically suicidal charges. "Here goes nothing!"
Adel, ever confident, seemed to have been content to let the SeeDs talk among themselves, but as soon as Zell advanced, she made a quick gesture and launched two bolts of lightning in Zell's direction. One flew over his head, and the other struck his shoulder, spinning him around momentarily, but not slowing him much at all. Twin bolts of shining light shot past him, striking Adel in the face, courtesy of Quistis and a quick barrage of covering fore with her blue magic. Irvine and Selphie joined in the barrage, launching fireballs and firing bullets that sent the Sorceress dictator reeling back in pain and confusion. Zell neared Adel and leapt up into the air, intending to plant a devastating flying kick into her head, when she gestured to him once more and swatted the brawler out of the air with a flash of brilliant light.
Zell hurtled across the wide chamber as the other SeeDs poured on the fire, pummeling Adel with precision magic, but not seeming to do any appreciable damage whatsoever. Adel absorbed the attacks like sponges and retaliated brutally fast, launching barrages of electrical and ice magic that picked up Quistis and Selphie and hurled them back. Irvine managed to dive aside, getting clear of the assault, and responded with a pair of gunshots that struck Adel between her eyes. The Sorceress turned toward him and leveled a hand at the sharpshooter, but caught another stream of bullets in the arm for her trouble. She blinked and looked down to her bleeding hand, and shook the arm, flicking the blood away like mere water. Irvine's rifle clicked empty. He needed to reload, immediately.
"We have got to come up with a new strategy," the sharpshooter muttered. Zell then reentered the fray for an instant, leaping at Adel while she was distracted with Irvine and planting a massive airborne punch across her face, almost spinning the giant of a Sorceress around. Adel whirled on him and countered with a hand that slapped Zell straight down into the ridged floor.
"Zell!" Quistis shouted, and launched a barrage of magical projectiles from her hands, the bolts tightly clustered around Adel's face. Adel growled in anger at the annoyance, and ice formed in her hands. The frozen water formed into a spear, which she hurled at Quistis. The SeeD rolled aside, the edge catching her along her side and drawing blood, before exploding in a flash of cold energy that tossed her back across the room.
"No!" Selphie cried as Quistis went flying, and looked her way. She should have been looking ahead, as Adel focused on her next. White light gathered in her hand, and the Sorceress flicked a finger at Selphie. The bolt slashed out and took Selphie in the chest as she was momentarily distracted. The tiny SeeD was hurled back, flying end over end to crash hard into the floor, groaning in pain and shock.
"Selphie!" Irvine shouted, and he spun toward Adel, eyes locked in fury.
They hesitated for a brief moment, assessing the change in their quick battle.
"Such a perfect weapon," Seifer said after a moment, admiring the shining edge of Lionheart, and the intense glow of the concentrated energy. He paused his analysis of the weapon as Squall went into a defensive crouch, ready to fight unarmed and get his weapon back if need be. Seifer grinned and, almost casually, the onetime Sorceress' Knight threw the weapon back over his shoulder, away from the two rivals.
"I once heard a man say something interesting," Seifer commented as he reached up, grasping the front of his tattered trenchcoat. He pulled it back, doffing the coat easily. "He said, 'True combat, in its purest essence, is not with a blade or club. Back when man was first walking, he didn't use tools for war. He used his hands, his feet, every part of his body. As time progressed, man always returns to that primal level, battling without weapons, in the arena of the true warrior. After all, the greatest measure of a man's skill as a warrior is his ability to wage war with only his own body and nothing more.'"
Seifer threw the coat away, leaving him with only his vest, pants, boots, and gloves, the latter of which he casually took off.
"He simplified it with nine simple words: 'Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon.'" The gloves fell to the floor, and Seifer kicked them away.
"Who said that?" Squall asked, understanding what Seifer was edging toward.
"I dunno," he replied. "Some crazy ninja guy. What matters is, he's right, no matter how you look at it." Seifer then nodded toward Squall.
Squall felt a rumble in the background, where the others were engaging Adel. He paid it little attention, trusting in Quistis, Zell, Irvine, and Selphie. They would save Rinoa. He had to have faith that they would. Here, now, he had the greatest challenge yet facing him, and he would meet that challenge head on.
Squall's jacket fell to the floor, followed by his gloves. He removed his sword and ammunition belts as well, and set his necklace atop the pile, moving them out of the way, before returning to face Seifer as an equal. It was time to truly decide this battle. The others would win, and he knew it; that gave him a sense of freedom, an almost peaceful acceptance of this challenge.
"And now, we begin," Seifer said with a wide grin. "Once and for all, we decide this." He raised his fists, evenly balancing his feet shoulder width apart. Squall nodded.
"Let's go," he said, mimicking Seifer's stance. They stared at each other for a few brief moments, eyes meeting, gauging the other's stance and willingness to continue. Both rivals found what they were searching for in their enemy, an indomitable willingness to succeed, and to win, once and for all. Here, now, they were fighting in the circle of equals, the proving grounds for true warriors. Ideology, hatred, enmity, everything was thrown away in the face of the challenge. Hell was coming, but neither man cared in this moment. All that mattered was the challenge, and the victory.
"Come on, Squall!" Seifer roared, and at he same moment, both the SeeD and the Knight stepped forward, wading into the battle.
It started off slow, both men circling each other for a moment, eyeing their respective stances, before Squall launched the first blow, a quick snap kick aimed at Seifer's chest. The blow wasn't intended to land, and Seifer certainly didn't let it, snapping a hand down to catch the foot as it shot up toward him and knock it back down. Squall followed this attack with a straightforward jab that Seifer caught as well, smirking as he did so. Squall then went low, with a cross aimed at Seifer's ribs, that again met Seifer's forearms as he blocked. The knight then countered with a jab aimed at Squall's face, which the SeeD's other forearm deflected just as easily.
The routine was quick, and the deflections were precise. Squall's next action was sudden and unexpected, however.
Both hands closed around Seifer's jabbing wrist and he pulled the knight closer, the muscles in Squall's neck flexing and snapping like a striking snake, crashing his forehead into Seifer's mouth. Seifer reeled back, and Squall followed up with two quick crosses at close range, thudding into Seifer's chest, and an uppercut into Seifer's gut that bent him over slightly. Squall's left foot rose, beginning a knee strike to Seifer's face, when the knight rose, an elbow flying across and striking Squall in the temple. Squall reeled away, and Seifer followed through with a powerful cross of his own that rocked Squall's head back, and then a jab that impacted just below his right eye. An uppercut followed, smashing into Squall's chin, and Seifer spun around into a high kick.
That kick gave Squall the instant he needed, and ducked low beneath the flying foot, diving forward and tackling Seifer's other leg. Both fighters went down into a roll across the ribbed floor, grappling and scratching as they jostled for control. Seifer ended up on top somehow, and clasped one hand over Squall's throat, the other smashing into Squall's nose once, then twice as he was pinned. The third blow fell, but Squall's hand was up, catching it and holding it by the wrist, an the SeeD coiled his legs beneath him, pressing both boots to Seifer's chest. A quick kick hurled Seifer up and away, and Squall scrambled to his feet, blood streaming from his nostrils.
Seifer came back in immediately as Squall was rising, refusing to give up his advantage or momentum. He led with a powerful punch that Squall took across the jaw. The SeeD rolled with the hit and responded with two rapid-fire uppercuts to the stomach that rocked Seifer back a step, and a left cross to the face that bloodied Seifer's own nose. Seifer snapped off a jab that took Squall in the chest, but the SeeD quickly countered, locking a hand around that wrist and pulling Seifer close into a rising knee that bore into the knight's stomach. Seifer doubled over, groaning in pain, and Squall dropped an elbow into his back that sent him down. Squall spun, raising a foot to stomp down into Seifer's back, but the knight spun himself as he was dropping, sweeping both legs out and taking Squall off his feet.
Seifer stood quickly, and dropped down onto Squall, elbow leading, and smashed into Squall's stomach. The SeeD gasped in agony, spitting up blood, but rolled away as Seifer rose, coming in with a soccer kick to the gut as Squall tried to rise. Squall was lifted a few feet into the air before crashing down to the floor on his stomach. Seifer strode over to the SeeD as he began to stand again, and stood behind him. He locked an arm around Squall's neck, putting him into a choke hold.
"You're losing it, Squall," Seifer hissed, Squall's blood streaming down onto his bare arm. "You can beat me with a gunblade but not with your bare hands?"
Squall didn't reply, instead suddenly pushing off the floor, lifting his chin above Seifer's locking arm, and pressing it against his neck for the brief instant he had gained. Then, h e coiled both legs beneath him and ducked, while at the same time reaching behind him with both hands and jabbing his thumbs into Seifer's eyes. Seifer cried out in agony, his grip slackening and allowing Squall to slip free and spin, planting a side kick to Seifer's chest that hurled the knight back. Seifer hit the floor and rolled a few times before kicking himself up onto his feet.
Squall bore in hard and fast, pummeling Seifer with a pair of rapid jabs to the stomach, Seifer countered with an uppercut that almost struck Squall in the jaw, but he leaned back an instant before it met, and the fist passed before his face. Squall came back in with a brutally hard punch to Seifer's gut that doubled the knight over again, and he snapped up a knee that connected with Seifer's forehead. The knight was knocked back up into a standing position, clutching his face, and Squall wasted n time pummeling him with a barrage of jabs and crosses that thudded into Seifer's chest and stomach.
Seifer stumbled back as Squall came in with another quick combination, fists striking his face and chest in rapid succession. At least one of Seifer's ribs cracked under the barrage, and blood streamed down his face as Squall pounded away. The knight fell back, and with another pair of solid hits, alternating hooks to the temples, Seifer dropped to his knees, eyes almost swollen shut, nose crushed and bleeding. He managed to look up to Squall, and surprisingly enough, the knight smiled, blood trickling out the side of his mouth.
"Damn," he said, eyes glazing over, his voice faint and almost dreamy. "I guess . . . You won that one too, huh, Squall? Good . . . job . . . ." Seifer trailed off, and then fell forward, face down, to the ridged floor, unconscious.
Galbadia Garden wasn't too big on teaching Limit techniques to its SeeDs, mainly so that such information would not be leaked to Galbadia's military and the officers that trained at Galbadia Garden. Nonetheless, the basics of harnessing anger and fury were indeed taught at Galbadia Garden, though not at the level of sophistication that they were at Balamb Garden.
Irvine Kinneas, Galbadian SeeD, recalled those techniques at that moment, and let the anger lend his muscles inhuman strength and speed. He didn't use Guardian Forces, but he didn't need them or any "hokey magic". All he had, and needed, was that fury, and the arsenal hidden beneath his trenchcoat.
The Valiant had expended all of its ammunition, and Irvine was to pissed to reload the weapon. Rather than reload his rifle, he dropped it, and his hands dropped to his hips, pulling out a pair of 9mm handguns. He leveled them at Adel's smiling face as she turned her eyes toward him, and pulled the triggers.
Adel's head snapped back as Irvine loosed precision gunfire, yelling at the top of his lungs as he advanced. Slugs slammed into her head, rocking it back as he fired, blood flying from her face. In a matter of seconds, the handgun magazines had been exhausted, and Adel turned her injured but rapidly-healing face toward the sharpshooter, now more angry than amused. She raised her hands and loosed twin bolts of destruction at the sharpshooter.
Irvine moved faster than one would have thought a man could move, spinning around the lethal magical blasts and drawing his Calico sub-machineguns as he came back. Both weapons were leveled at the evil Sorceress' head, and Irvine cut loose again, spraying precision gunfire in rapid bursts at Adel's painted face. Blood flew from her head even as the previous wounds began to seal back up, and Adel roared in fury. Irvine charged forward, trenchcoat flying out behind him as he advanced, brass casings leaping past him as they were ejected from his weapons.
Adel fired off another spell, a ball of destruction that shot low, aimed for Irvine's feet. He actually continued the charge, still firing, and dove forward, leaping up and over the energy bolt, still firing. The shot passed beneath Irvine harmlessly, striking the floor behind him and blasting it apart. The sharpshooter hit the floor in a roll, tossing his spent Calicos aside as he came up, and in one smooth motion drew his revolvers. Irvine came up firing rapidly, blasting chunks out of Adel's head, refusing to give her the moments she needed to regenerate the damage through her magic.
Adel launched another attack, almost blindly infuriated by Irvine as he advanced to almost point blank range. The spell lanced down at him, but the sharpshooter was spinning around to Adel's left side even as the magic left her fingers. Irvine seemed to be dancing around her attacks with almost effortless ease, his raw anger giving him all the agility and speed he could ever need in this one-man assault against the Sorceress dictator.
The revolvers ran empty as Irvine approached Adel's side, and he wasted no time pulling out his AB-10 machine pistols and jamming them into her side, literally digging the barrels into the Sorceress' skin and holding the triggers down. Adel screamed in agony as sixty-four steel bullets ripped into her body in that instant, and swung her arm down at Irvine in desperate fury. Irvine saw the arm coming long before it reached him, and ducked beneath the swing. He dropped the AB-10's and grabbed her arm with one hand, the other going into his trenchcoat. Adel retracted her arm, bringing it up toward her head, and Irvine released it, planting his feet against the top of her chest, just behind Rinoa's limp head. His free hand shot forward and grabbed Adel's red hair, using it to anchor him in position for the instant he needed. Adel opened her mouth roaring in a mix of fury, surprise, and pain, giving Irvine the opening he needed.
"Eat AP, bitch!" Irvine growled, and jammed an armor-piercing round into her mouth, pulled from within his coat. The shell lodged in Adel's maw, and her eyes bugged open wide as Irvine reared back with one foot and kick the shell with all his fury-enhanced strength. The shell ignited and blasted forward, into the back of Adel's head.
Adel's face literally exploded.
Irvine and Rinoa were showered with blood, gray matter, and bits of bone as the massive Sorceress' corpse slumped to the floor. The sharpshooter dropped down, hitting the floor hard, and groaning in surprise and pain as Adel and Rinoa went down. Rinoa's eyes opened slightly, her hands beginning to pull free of Adel's corpse, when the Sorceress' body began to glow a brilliant pink-white light. The headless corpse quickly seemed to disintegrate, the light engulfing Rinoa as she looked around in shock and confusion. The light quickly began to recede, flowing around Rinoa as she started to stand up, before finally completely melting into her body.
Rinoa blinked for a moment, shaking her head, and looked to the others, somewhat surprised, but also happy and relieved. The SeeDs gathered around her, battered but otherwise fine, despite Adel's beatings. Even Selphie didn't seem to badly injured.
"You okay?" Irvine asked as he stood, and she nodded.
"What about Squall?" she asked, and looked around. She spotted Squall, approaching, and was shocked at his condition. Blood stained his shirt, and his nostrils were still bleeding. His face was bruised badly, and he was carrying his jacket in one hand and his gunblade in the other. Behind him, Seifer was down and out cold, looking even worse.
"Is he-" she began to say, and Squall shook his head.
"Just unconscious," he replied. "We finally settled it." he nodded toward her. "How about you?"
"Surprisingly fine," she said, looking to the others. "I didn't even feel anything. I just blacked out, and then, I'm here."
"Thank Irvine," Zell added. "Went crazy when Selphie went down and kicked her ass." Rinoa turned to say something to Irvine, opening her mouth, when the sharpshooter suddenly went flying away.
"Hey, that's no way to thank-" Zell began to protest when he, alogn with the other Seeds, was hurled back. Squall managed to keep his footing and step close to Rinoa, before he was finally tossed away from her, with the same telekinetic force that he had felt in space.
"Its Ultimecia!" he warned as he hit the floor, rolling a few times before recovering.
"Well, no big surprise there!" Selphie replied, standing.
"Where's Ellone?" Zell began to ask as Quistis ran to Irvine. The sharpshooter was fine, though he looked about as battered as everyone else now.
"I'm here!" came a shout from the entrance, and the SeeDs looked back, to see Ellone rushing into the room, with Laguna beside her, followed by a squad of Dollet soldiers led by General Randolph.
"What's going on?" the General asked, and Laguna pointed toward Rinoa, who was teetering back and forth, just as she had in space.
"Ultimecia!" Laguna shouted. "We're going to initiate the plan now!" Randolph nodded as Ellone and Laguna moved forward, the other Seeds moving with them.
"You know the plan?" Squall asked Ellone, and she nodded. Squall's sister closed her eyes, and focused on Rinoa. An instant later, Rinoa dropped to her knees, and then opened her eyes a half-second after that, blinking.
"Is that it?" Quistis asked, and Ellone nodded.
"Ultimecia acted quickly," she replied. "She must have been hoping this would happen. She started the process almost instantly."
"Then that's it," Laguna added, nodding, as Squall helped Rinoa stand up.
"No turning back now," Squall stated as Rinoa steadied herself. "Everyone, get ready." The SeeDs nodded, and he looked to Rinoa. "Are you ready for this?" he asked, and she nodded firmly.
"It was over so fast," she said, shaking her head. " I got a glimpse . . . I think it was the young Adel, but I'm not sure. One second I was there, then Ellone brought me back here."
"Time compression is about to begin," Squalls warned her. "Stay by my side." He clasped her hand tightly in his own, and she nodded.
It began with a feeling of coldness within everyone's hearts. There was the sensation that something was falling apart, as if some cosmic order was being disassembled. Nothing violent or shocking, but definitely different, as it, piece by piece, existence was being taken apart and not rearranged. The sensation was difficult to place, but when Zell took a step forward and the floor rippled like water, something was definitely wrong.
Then, the floor took on the consistency of water, and all six of the companions fell straight through into darkness.
It lasted for only a split second, and then they found themselves in free fall, dropping into an endless void.
"Don't lose yourselves!" Squall shouted to his comrades as they fell around him, and there came responses from all around. Squall reached out, and his hand brushed fingers. He looked over, and saw Rinoa falling with him. H reached out a second time, and clasped her fingers, tightening the hold. He would not let her go.
"Hold on!" he shouted. "We're heading into the future! Think of everyone you know and care about! It's the only way to survive!"
Squall tightened his grip around Rinoa's fingers, and they plunged into time, diving headlong into the future.
Wow. This chapter came out fast, didn't it? I'm cutting it short here, so that I can rest up and get ready for what is likely going to be a challenge for me to write: the Sorceress battles across time and the exploration of Ultimecia's castle, and battles against Ultimecia's guardians. I've got some ideas here, and if I did include them, this chapter would become a big huge monster to write. Plus, I need to wrack my head for inspiration on writing the trip through time!
So. I mean it this time, one more chapter until the battle with Ultimecia. The next one will likely be shorter, about this chapter's length or less, so expect it soon! I've been on spring break for the last week, so it may take a little longer to put out, but its coming, trust me! And it will blow you away, I think.
Some notes: Yes. Seifer and Squall settled it bare-handed. That was always the dream I had with writing that battle, and I wanted it close, in your face, and brutal. Blood flying, fists cracking, feet impacting, close-range brutality is what I was aiming for. Think I succeeded? Let me know.
Also, did it. I finally included Irvine's Limit. Or Limit-like thing. Matrix bullet-time sort of stuff. I thought it up on the spur of the moment, and I thought it would be awesome if the guy to take down Adel was not a SeeD with all these enhanced powers, but an ordinary soldier with mortal weapons. Laguna was an ordinary guy, and Irvine is too. Ironic, huh?
Chapter title comes from Guilty Gear. Its what the announcer shouts before every match. Fitting, huh? The original chapter title was "Headlong into the Future" which I added at the end.Also, Metal Gear reference in there. Very obvious.
Okay, that it? Good. Shout-out time!
Prodigy: Oh yes, my Metal Gear fic is progressing nicely. I stopped at the Nuke Building, but I'm working on it some more now. I want to write the Ninja vs. Snake duel! Three more chapters and an epilogue to go, and its over!
Chris Ganale: BZZRT! WRONG! it's the scene where Irvine was pointing the laser sight at Zell in the hangar. Combination of the covert misison in Wraith Squadron to bomb to transparisteel refining plant (Donos laser-sighting Face) and the beginning of Delta Halo, where the Marine makes the "Dear Sarge: Kicking ass in outer space, wish you were here." comment and Sarge responds with a "I heard that! Jackass."
OniRazz: What? That? Squall's talking like an Elite. Yeah. Right! Erm, I need to fix that. XD
Solid Shark: Faster update:P Laguna was always evasive about that. I wish he'd just outright say it, maybe in the ending.
DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Here it is!
Hee. Your idea is not quite what I had in mind. Remember Edea vs. Ifrit? Back in Scars of Circumstance? And Seifer's eyes are gray. Watch the opening cutscene again. :P Time Compression will be crazy. I'm gonna go all out with the insanity there.
Actually, last chapter was typed up mostly over spring break, with the exception of the Squall-Laguna scene. However, I did pre-write this chapter's lead-in to the Seifer vs. Squall brawl.
Anime obsessed fan: Honestly, I can't wait to get to work on the Sorceress battles across time. I'm kind of nervous about fighting Ultimecia now. I need to play through the game and get back to that point!
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Everyone loved the Laguna and Squall talk. Heh.
Rikke Leonhart: I have the same problem. XD Well, I didn't wait too long for this chapter, even if it was just an extended boss battle.
Shootski: Hey, maybe I will too. Nah….
Ange Sinistre: I'm on a mission. I HAVE to get this done before May. I have to go to boot camp then, which won't be too bad, but still. Won't do for me to constantly update and then leave everything off for three months and then come back.
Lizardios: Hee. Thank you. I love praise, boosts my ego so much.
Dragoon Swordsman: My initial idea for Lionheart was it would be like the energy swords in Halo. I scrapped that, though. I even had Seifer deactivating Lionheart in my first draft of this chapter. I like the Deep Sea Deposit. Great for leveling once you get those nifty Bonus abilities.
Avion Jade: Seifer didn't exactly trick them. He was unconscious, just recovered fast and took advantage of Rinoa.
Rusty Knights Productions: I almost had Zell comment on "This bucket of bolts will never get through this!" XD
JadeAlmasy: No problems with taking your time. You're not rushed like I am. Phew. Three more chapters! Three more chapters!
Red Eyed, Divine Dragoon: I originally planned for someone to give the heroes another GF, likely Cid or maybe even Laguna, but people clamored for Bahamut, and then "Edea" hit me in the head, and I jumped on the idea.
Sherif: Yeah. I'll have to write other novelizations to make up for the lost time! Synthesis and my Metal Gear fanfic are coming along, and I have a Halo and even a resident Evil fic working. I may end up asking someone trustworthy to post my stuff up in increments while I'm at boot. (Kaiser, I'm looking at you!)
That all? Great! Its late here as I write this, and I need sleep. I have a ton of stuff to do in the morning, like study and write up papers and junk I was supposed to be doing during spring break, but I put them off to produce these chapters! So! Be happy!
Till next chapter.
