Ch 29 – War of the Worlds

Zell's sleep had been uncomforting, to say the least. He had awoken to find his mouth full of a bad taste, as if he had been chewing on Gyshal Greens all night long. His spiky hair stuck out from all angles, as if someone had touched a live-wire to his foot, and his eyes were red and puffy.

He swung his legs out so he was sitting on the couch and placed his head in his hands. "Gods…this is gonna suck big time…" He muttered to himself.

They had finally found a way back to his world. He had hoped to find his friends alive and well – a little shocked at his appearance, but well none-the-less. And now he's found that they've gone to war. Again. Another damn Sorceress War. This was the second Zell and the others had been through, and Zell prayed that it was the last.

No time to whinge about it…Zell thought, standing and stretching his arms out wide, his bones cracking audibly as he growled with the stretch. Gotta get a move on and fill in Dee and Ma before getting to the War World…

Dee and Ma sat back, astounded by the recording. "I never knew Squall was such a good storyteller…" Ma breathed, one hand to her chest whilst another grasped the arm-rest of the couch. "It's like I was really there…"

Zell smiled a little from where he was leaning against the wall, looking down at the Moomba with a distant gaze in his eyes. "Yeah…Squall's full of surprises…"

Dee chewed her bottom lip, thinking hard. She was still dressed in her travelling clothes from the day before, Ma in her nightie – Zell hadn't intended to wake her up, but Ma obviously had been too excited to sleep and Dee knocked over his T-Board as he got her up. As soon as the two warriors had exited the room, Ma had scurried down to the kitchen and began to make breakfast.

Dee leaned forward and grabbed a note-pad and pen from the table and wrote down the co-ordinates for the 'War World' – it was in the magical symbols that Julius had found and deciphered with Rinoa's help. "These must be special Angel symbols…" Dee said as she wrote them down. "Unique to only the Arches. They show the certain magic's that open certain universes if cast simultaneously. Thankfully the Universal Edge can interpret them into a viable Tear – I just gotta enter the symbols into the Blade, then we can get going."

Zell smirked. "Just that simple, huh? Cool…"

Ma nodded, standing upright abruptly, her voice full of concern. "So…you're leaving again so soon? You only just got back…perhaps you ought to rest here for a few days…"

Zell could see the pained expression on her face, and stepped forward to embrace her tightly, giving her a warm hug. "I'm sorry ma – I wish we could stick around a few days, but time is important here. We've already been gone for so long – we need to show these creeps who's boss, huh?"

Ma sighed, patting him on the back. "I know that…it's just I don't want to lose you when you only just came back…both of you." She said, looking down to Dee with a sad smile.

Dee looked up from her note making. "Don't worry Grandma." She said with confidence. "Daddy and I are the best fighters in all the universes! We'll be fine."

Ma and Zell laughed out loud. "Well well, she's got your stubbornness too!" Ma said, jabbing Zell in the guts with her elbow.

Zell rubbed his tummy and chuckled, before getting a pained expression on his face as he scratched the back of his neck anxiously. "Aiyaaa, don't remind me…" He said with a playful grimace. Dee just stuck her tongue out at him before throwing the note-pad at him, Zell catching it easily and looking down at it. "Okay, we're all set then?"

Dee nodded, placing the blade down on the table. "Yup! Can we have a shower or something before we go? I slept in my clothes last night…"

Zell ran his hand through his haphazard hair and chuckled. "Yeah, okay hon. Go and have a shower and I'll have a word to grandma, okay?"

Dee nodded obediently and jumped to her feet, giving Ma and Zell a kiss on the cheek each before bounding up the stairs to the bathroom. Ma turned to Zell with a gigantic smile and heaved a loving smile. "She's so cute!"

Zell nodded absently. He couldn't agree less – it was like she was a little child, always playful and happy. But that was what bothered him – she was younger then she looked emotionally, and acted that way. He would have to keep an eye on her when they went into the War World – especially since they'd be interacting with men and killing people too. Those were two factors that Zell wanted to keep as far away from her as possible right now – but he also knew eventually she would be exposed to both and that he would be powerless to stop it.

He only hoped that, on the battlefield, she stayed strong and didn't wig out like most first-time student do when they enter the battlefield.

Zell shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned to Ma. "Look Ma…I don't want you to worry about us." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry for what I put you through…and this time, I'm not going to say bye. I'm promising you that me, Dee and Angel will all come back, no matter what. Okay?"

Ma looked up at him with tears in her eyes – before giving him a soft slap on the chops. "C'mon Zell – of course you're coming back. You said you would last time, didn't you?"

He nodded with a grin, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah…yeah, I did, didn't I…"

"So I don't want any goodbyes and I don't want any promises. You're coming back here, you're marrying Angel, and you're going to go on with your life, okay?"

Zell looked down at his boots, a pained and embarrassed expression on his face. "Aw Ma, will you quit it on the marriage thing?"

Something snapped in Ma's mind, and she suddenly grasped him by the shirt, her voice forceful and stern as she pushed him against the wall and looked him deep in the eyes. "Zell Dincht, you're obsessed with that girl and she's infatuated with you! When you return you will marry her or I'll beat you senseless, understand?!"

Zell, wide-eyed and shocked by his mother's sudden outburst, simply gulped and nodded. You did not want to anger Ma Dincht. "Y-Yes ma'am!"

"Good boy." Ma said, suddenly a picture of calm and control once more as she let him go and smoothed out his shirt – but her voice was still slightly stern. "It's about time you got your act together concerning her, Zell. I've left you on your own for too long now, but now I'm putting my foot down. You've got a daughter now – even thought she's old enough to live by herself – and I'll be damned if she's going to be raised around here by a single father, understand?"

Zell looked down at his boots again, thoroughly cowed. Everything she said was true, of course. "Yes ma'am…"

"Good. Now go and have a shower after Dee – you're still wearing your same clothes as yesterday too. I'll clean the kitchen up and make you two breakfast – you're not going anywhere until you've had something to eat, right?"

"…Right…"

Ma smirked at Zell. Deep down, he was a mamma's boy – and she exploited it as much as she could. Giving him a kiss on the forehead she turned him around and gave him a gentle nudge to the stairs. "Well, go on – Squall and the others wont be waiting, you know."

Zell nodded with a smile and took the stairs two at a time.

Dee burped from the pit of her stomach, the belch seeming to echo around the walls of the little town as they walked down to the Pier, where Ma had said she would meet them before seeing them off. She had something to gather before they went, and had made them promise her that they wouldn't leave before she gave it to them.

Zell laughed out loud – before clearing his throat and gave her a gentle whack on the back of the head. "Oi, I thought the Immortals taught you something called manners?" He joked.

Dee bit her bottom lip and looked down at her shoes as they walked. "...Sorry Dad."

"That's okay…just do it like this next time…" He said – before letting off a big, meaty burp that seemed to come from his ankles and rattle it's way through his intestines and stomach before being expunged from his open mouth. Looking down at her, he opened his arms wide and said, in a loud clear voice, "'Excuse me'. That way people wont call you as much of a pig if you do it around them, alright?"

Dee nodded enthusiastically, before gulping down another breath as ammo for another burp.

Zell beamed with pride as she let off another one. Yeah – being a father is easy as sin. He thought to himself as she excused herself – then giggled as he gave her a noogie for being polite.

Reaching the pier and looking out over the sea, Dee ran up to the edge of the dock and looked over the side to watch the silvery Balamb Fish sluice through the water with reckless abandon. It was rare that the Immortals ever saw the beach – Dee's city was in the middle of a large continent, and the Immortals there were content with living within the Everlasting Forest as opposed to the Wide Blue Depths. Lying down on her belly, Dee rested her head on her arms and watched the fish frolic amongst the seaweed and Draw points within the clear blue water.

Zell came over and sat down next to her, dangling his legs over the edge as he looked back to the path they had walked down to get there. He had been amazed at how many people had simply stared at them as they walked through the village – sure, they had gotten word that Zell had been killed irreversibly, but that didn't give them the right to stare at him.

Right now the old man from the Weapon Shop walked down, approaching the SeeD cautiously. "…Zell? Is that you?"

Zell smiled up at the old man. "Hey there Mister Waters. How's business been?"

"Oh, fine Zell fine…I've been looking over the design of your gauntlets like you ask me to before you…left, and I found a few things I'd like to try…"

Zell waved him away. His gauntlets were strapped to the back of his pack, hanging loosely from the top. "Nah, don't worry about it, Mr. Waters. I've gotten it all sorted."

"Oh…very well." The old man stood there awkwardly for a second, looking out over the ocean – before speaking. "We didn't think you'd be coming back."

Zell had to smile at that, and looked out over the ocean along with the old man. "You've known me all my life, Mr. Waters…you know I'm full of surprises…"

"Yes, of course. Well…it's good to see you again anyways. I'll be sure to tell Baku that you've returned."

"Thanks." Zell said gratefully with a nod, watching as the old man walked away.

Dee looked up at Zell from her supine position with an inquisitive look. "Who was he?"

"He's the guy who made me my first set of Dueling gloves, as well as introduce me to my master, Baku."

Dee rolled over to her side, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Is this Baku any good?"

Zell smirked at her. "Yup. He taught me everything I know and then some – but he's an old man now, hon. He lives up in the mountains and meditates – I don't think he's got all his marbles left, if you know what I mean."

"…Would you introduce him to me when we come back?"

Zell blinked. "What for?"

Dee looked back out to the ocean with a small smile. "…I don't know…I guess I just want to know where you came from, that's all…"

The Hunter smirked, patting Dee on the shoulder. "There'll be plenty of time for that after we've finished all this…I swear it, babe."

Before Dee could answer Zell stood upright to look down the road – Ma was coming. The older woman approached the two of them smiling a sad smile, walking up and giving them both big hugs before standing back and look at them, almost as if to burn their image into her mind, before producing something from the folds of her skirt – a camera. "Okay you two, scoot together and gimme a big smile."

Zell grinned a big smile as he hooked his arm around Dee's neck and began giving her a noogie, rubbing his knuckles into her hair as she squealed in protest and tried to disengage his grip.

The camera flashed.

It was exactly what Ma wanted.

Zell pulled on his gauntlets slowly, twisting the wrist-lets to engage the clamp down on his forearms. The Uber Ehrgiez gauntlets came up almost half-way up his forearm, allowing it to sit more snugly – the wrist-area was loose and flexible, giving full movement. The fingers also had full movement, and when he made a fist the sheets protecting them stuck out slightly, giving it an almost spiky look. The silver one glinted in the sunlight menacingly, reflecting the light perfectly. The red one, stained irreversibly with his own blood, also picked up and reflected the light perfectly – he had gone to Grease Monkey to see if he could clean it, but Monkey had said the force of the blow had made the blood seep into the adamantine – turning the silver metal blood red instead.

Dee looked down at the gauntlets enviously as she pulled on her own gloves. Zell spotted her staring and smirked at her, to which she just pouted and looked away.

Dee sported an extra copy of Zell's old Ehrgiez gauntlets, the thick leather having to be tightened a little more around her supple hands as opposed to Zell's larger, flatter paws. The adamantine covering across the knuckles fitting snugly on her hand, as well as the plate-armour across the fingers. They were old-school – but they still kicked ass, which was why Zell had given them to her.

"I still don't see why we cant just take a day or so to get me some of those made…" Dee said pettily, pouting as looking down at the Uber Ehrgiez. "This….Grease Monkey ought to still be here, right?"

Zell chuckled and shook his head, lacing his fingers and pushing them together to make doubly sure the gauntlets were on tight. "Hon, the trip from here to FH is a good day or so away, and even if we did get to Grease's place, the chance that he wont be home is friggin huge! I mean…the guy can take a tin can and a ball of string and make shit I've never even heard of before, it's incredible!"

Dee simply pouted again and drew the Universal Edge from it's sheath at her hip, flicking it open with the flick of a wrist and looking at him. "Okay. You ready?" She muttered – before turning and walking away to a safe distance.

Zell rolled his eyes and followed her, trying to save face. "C'mon hon, it makes sense…don't give me the silent treatment…hey, talk to me! I'm yer father, dammit! Damn teenagers…"

Dee was giggling as she placed the Blade to a reasonable height, having entered the coordinates to the WarWorld and, jabbing it into the universal thread, swiped it down with one clean slice.

Zell immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her back as an explosion suddenly broke through the Tear, flames and shrapnel flying in all directions as the Tear fell open – to reveal chaos.

The world was barren and desolute, almost completely flat from what Zell could see. The Tear had been opened on some kind of cliff-side, looking down the world – and what a world. The sky was blood red and spotted with dark clouds, a cold and indifferent sun blazing down on the ground with little to no mercy. The rocks were as red as the sky, their dust being kicked up and filling the air like smoke from a massive bonfire.

But that wasn't what made Zell gasp in astonishment as he lifted his head from where he had shielded Dee.

The field below, spanning out in all directions for an infinite amount of space, the horizon ending just at the edge of the blood red sky, was filled with a massing, writhing, undulating heap of bodies and fire.

Weapons glinted, gunfire sprayed, and blood spurted in all directions. There must've been miles upon miles of ground from where Zell was looking, spanning in almost all directions – and every shred of ground was covered in people, every single one of them fighting. There must've been hundreds of thousands – no, millions of people within the area down below, every single one of them fighting to protect themselves and to defeat their opponent as quickly as possible so they could move onto the next one.

The sound was deafening. Battle cries and the ring of metal striking metal, wood smashing into wood, flesh thumping into flesh, the roar of a cannon, and the metallic spurt of machine gun fire – everything poured into the Tear like a flood smashing through a dam, bursting forth and swamping the two warriors with reckless abandon.

Zell looked down at the mass, picking himself up and poking his head out to gather a better look. He was right, the masses spanned for hundreds of miles in both directions.

Looking back and giving Dee a hand up, Zell looked back on Balamb. Blue skies and white, pristine buildings met his gaze. It looked like heaven compared to the horror he had just witnessed. And, looking down at his daughter, she looked like an angel within that heaven, fragile, beautiful, innocent. He knew that, if he was to take her into this hell, into the fray, into death, that that innocence would be lost completely, torn from her raped mind like a frayed cloth torn from a beaten body.

He steeled his mind and reached down, his blood-red hand open and outstretched towards her. "You ready, Dee?"

Dee nodded, her eyes wide as she too took one look back at Balamb, the calm before the storm – and grasped the hand.

Gripping her hand tightly, Zell blew out his breath – "Don't think, just fight!!" He screamed at her – before spinning and throwing her through the portal!!

"I'm a fucking idiot!!" Zell screamed to himself – before throwing himself out the slowly reforming portal, flying straight out of the portal and screaming down to the masses…

…To slam into a group of people. A gun went off suddenly beside his head, and he lashed his hand out to crush the gunner's skull before ducking a sword slash, the sword coming around again – to be caught by Dee's hand as she gripped the flat of the sword – and pushed her palm out, breaking the man's spine in half before picking him up bodily and throwing him…away.

There was no side for Zell and Dee. For them, everyone was in enemy, having no real way to tell the difference between friend or foe, ally or not.

Zell jumped forward, tackling three men at once, bringing them all down to the ground – which was littered with broken bodies and weapons, the stench of dead flesh rising as they toppled to the ground. Zell felt like puking – before he back flipped up and off the men and, whilst in mid air, pointed his hand to them – and blasted a Firaga at them, the space where they had been standing as well as them men around them suddenly going up in flames, their bodies scorched beyond recognition, a painful death coming swiftly.

Landing atop a man, his shoulders cracking as Zell stomped down with the landing, the Hunter threw his hand up – arresting a staff in mid-swing, pulling the staff-wielder towards him and head-butting him viciously, knocking the poor man out – and giving Zell a weapon.

Tossing the man aside Zell twirled the staff in his hands, flipping it around in his fingers to gather a feel for the weapon – before stepping forward, bringing the pain to the enemy. The first three men jumped forward, two armed with swords whilst another was armed with a dagger. Zell suddenly jabbed the pole forward, taking one man in the stomach and, following through with the movement, Zell picked the man up and slammed him down into the ground, the body hitting the littered floor with a fleshy squish before he turned and slashed the end of the staff out, taking five men across the face and knocking them all back – before looking up as one man, screaming bloody murder, leaped forward, his sword raised, his face twisted in mad determination – to have the end of the pole stab out, taking him in the face and sending him spiralling backwards as Zell thrust it out before spinning and slamming it into the side of another man's head like a baseball bat, the sound of a skull being crushed being engulfed by the sounds of war around them.

Dee had taken up two swords from a fallen foe, the light blades flashing in the dark red twilight of the world's atmosphere as the bodies of the men around her piled up. Flicking and twirling the twin blades like they were extensions of her own hands, Dee stepped forward and cut and diced her way deeper into the fray, body parts and limbs flying all around her, blood spraying over her blond hair and flawless features, twisted in effort and horrified beyond all hope as she moved on auto-pilot, killing indiscriminately, her weapons nothing but pure skill and a raped innocence.

Her voice screamed out over the rest of the noise as she leapt forward, ramming her knee into a man's head and crushing his skull as her blades swept through to decapitate the two men beside him, their heads flying up high into the sky as their bodies fell, spinning and ejecting blood in short spurts – before being cut straight down the middle as Dee twirled the blades again, the left one being arrested by an adversary's sword – before her right cut him diagonally from the left shoulder to the right hip, the sword slicing straight through what little armour the man had and exiting from the right hip, blood  dispersing in all directions as she knelt low to avoid what looked like a mace flying over her head – before stabbing both her swords out, taking the man in the groin and lifting him up over her head, sending him flying out into the background – before pausing, horrified and off-balance, as a man flew towards her with his own sword raised…

…Before a pole, thrown like a spear, took him in the chest and knocked him back, sending him flying back into the fray. Dee spared a swift glance behind her – to see Zell, his hand still outstretched from the throw, his other hand grasping a man by the face and lifting him up off the ground. "Stay focused!!" Zell screamed over the roar around him, blood and bits of flesh covering him as well as every other man and woman in the surrounding areas – before crushing the man's head with a single squeeze and tossing him to the side like useless refuse.

Dee nodded – and turned her head back to block a sword as it crashed down towards her head, bringing her duel swords up in an X to lock the attacker's weapon in place – before suddenly throwing herself through his legs, her lithe body slipping through his spread legs easily as she came up – and ran the sword up and through his groin, coming up and following though with the slice to slam her swords deep into a man's shoulders, the twin blades getting stuck deep into his torso and unable to be pulled out – so she simply charged forward with the man still stuck on her sword, using him as a platform to flip up and over his dead corpse to land in amongst a new number of enemies.

Zell turned his head, grabbing a pistol from a man's hand and whipping it across his face before spinning it on his finger, hooking the metal finger in the trigger and turning to blast off the entire clip at a group of men – then throwing the gun at an advancing man before throwing his hand out, fingers splayed, palm up and flat – before the Meltdown blew them all to smithereens, the beam of non-elemental energy creating a deep chasm of eradicated bodies, the sudden break of space being filled up immediately as the people around him ignored the sudden burst of magic and continued to fight each other.

Zell frowned, backhanding one man aside before grabbing another one by the lapels and head butting him out of existence. There's no break in the fighting. There ought to be some kind of retreat planned, right – we've been fighting for almost a good fifteen minutes. There must be some kind of point to this besides mindless slaughter…unless…

Zell looked left and right quickly, trying to find his daughter.

His whole body chilled to the bone as he suddenly realised – she was nowhere to be seen!!

"DEE!!" Zell screamed, his voice being washed over by the screams of the warriors around him and the roar of magic and gunfire – before he saw her.

In the middle of a mass of men, Dee was an unstoppable killing machine, her eyes wild, bodies and limbs flying in all directions. Grasping a man by his chest, Dee suddenly and with supreme effort tore his sternum from his ribcage, before stabbing it deep into an advancing man's face, digging the bony plate deep into the man's eye – before releasing it to backhand another man's advancements, sending him spiralling into the group that advanced on her. She screamed a guttural scream before launching herself at them, running forward to clothes-line the lot of them, taking two men down and crunching them into the body-littered ground before back flipping out of the way as a machine gun roared into life, jumping on and off men's heads as the machine gun tore them all to shreds, her movements as delicate and precise as a ballerina – before she leaped from one man's shoulders and, throwing her hand back towards the machine-gunner, let off a massive Blizzaga, the Ice magic shattering in mid air to scatter all around her target, shredding him to pieces as well as several other men…

…Before Zell ran forward and caught her in his arms. She suddenly slashed out with her hand, which he deftly deflected – and backhanded her across the face, sending her sprawling to the ground.

Leaping atop her back before she could stand, Zell made the magical sign of Dispel on her back and slammed his palm into it, the magic coursing through her body instantly – and causing her tension to release.

"Daddy!!" Dee cried – before Zell picked her up and pulled her out of the way of a massive mallet, the weapon slamming into the ground only inches from where her head had just been.

Zell span her away – before turning, gripping the mallet's head in his arms and, ripping it from the giant who was wielding it, pulled it back – and slashed the handle across the man's face, the giant toppling to the ground with blood pouring from his mouth. Tossing the weapon away, Zell jumped back, grabbing Dee by the hand and pulling her with him to find a small foxhole in the ground.

Shoving her into the foxhole, Zell crawled in after her. Dee, frightened and babbling, didn't seem to recognise his hands touching her body as she spoke. "I…I don't understand…I was defending myself, fighting like you told me…and then I couldn't control myself…I went wild, daddy, wild!!"

"I know baby…" Zell shouted as a shell suddenly went off behind him, a flash of light and rocks and body parts flying all over the place as he ran his hands over her body.

"W-what are you doing?! Ow, that hurt!!" Dee cried as he placed his hands on her chest – and squealed in pain as he found what he was searching for.

Zell took his silver gauntlet away and looked down at fingers where he had wiped them clean a moment ago. They were now slick with blood – Dee's blood. He grimaced and wiped his hand on his shirt. "Listen baby, you cannot be hit by any of their weapons, understand? Some of them may have Berserk junctioned to them – it's a magic that makes you go wild and attack relentlessly like a wild animal, okay?"

Dee blinked, wide eyed, as she looked down at her shirt. Just above her left breast was a small nick, the cut having gone through her shirt and almost snipping her bra. It was nothing major, it wasn't bleeding much – but she still hadn't registered it. She looked up at Zell with her scared look – to see that his shoulder and face had been nicked too. "What about you, daddy? You've been cut too!"

"I know. Whenever I junction my magic I always make sure that my Berserk defences are high…otherwise I might end up attacking my friends, and I don't want that to happen. You remember your junctioning lessons, right? Draw some Berserks from some of theses guys and arm up – I'm going to go find higher ground to see if I can find a way to get to Squall, alright?"

Dee nodded and watched as he jumped out of the foxhole and disappeared into the throng.

Zell jumped up and out of the foxhole – to widen his eyes in shock – and jump out of the way as a massive vehicle of some kind suddenly rolled forward, the beast of metal and steel crushing men left and right under it's tracks, rolling on what looked like a sheet of metal surrounding a set of wheels, allowing the vehicle to run over almost any terrain.

What Zell didn't know was that reinforcements had arrived – for the Gaians. What he was currently running away from was an Abrams tank – one of the few the Earth forces had been able to spare for the Universal war. Trundling along on the tracks, the tank was a formidable opponent, even against magic – seeing as even Thunder magic's didn't do much thanks to SeeD tinkering about within it and inlaying the armour with rubber, only most major magic's could do anything to it.

Right now the Abrams rolled over Dee's foxhole, the girl within staring up at the vehicle in awe as all 60 tons of it practically flew over her to slam into the ground. The tank only rolled at 40 miles per hour – but that was more then enough to ram down and crush infantry, leaving a bloody red trail in it's wake.

Zell ducked and rolled out of the way as the tank slammed into the ground where he had just been before, the tank screaming past him – before grabbing a loose piece of piping on the back and hauling himself to the top!

Now riding the beast like a surfboard, having to watch his balance as the tank crunched over the bodies littering the floor as well as any enemies it could see, Zell tried to figure out whether it was a friend, foe – or a monster. It looks like a machine but it's like nothing I've ever seen before…and these weird symbols on the sides, what the hell do those mean?! He thought to himself as he looked down at the markings of the US Marine. Must be on the Queen's side. Better do something about it…what the?

Blinking as he watched the massive snout of the beast suddenly raise itself, Zell instinctively gripped a handhold – before the monster suddenly rocked, the snout erupting into flame and sending out an ear-shattering BOOM as it fired it's cannon, the shell spiralling out across the plains – to hit the ground and explode outwards, blowing a great cloud of dirt and bodies everywhere not a few hundred meters away.

Zell clutched his head in pain, his ears still ringing. Never before had he seen something like this, and the sound it made was deafening. This thing sucks more then BGH251F2!! Zell thought with rage, moving forward a little, coming up to the main turrent. Time to shut this puppy down!

Gripping the cannon on both sides, Zell set his feet down on both sides of it and, straining his muscles, his shoulders feeling like two pieces of meat on his back being stretched as he pulled on the steel cannon – and felt it give!

Gritting his teeth with the supreme effort, sweat cutting channels down the blood that had caked on his face from the fight before, Zell continued to pull upwards, the cannon bending up, up, up…until it was almost fifty degrees bent in the middle, now unable to fire!!

There was a priming noise from within the belly of the beast, vibrations moving through the steel length as Zell let go – and went pale.

It was about to fire again.

Back flipping up and over the turrent, Zell landed on the end of the thing – before it's bent snout suddenly exploded, blasting to smithereens and taking the rest of the tank with it!!

Zell was thrown clear, blowing straight through the crowds and crowds of men around him and bowling them all over to skitter across the corpse-covered ground – to slam into the cliff he had been in just moments ago, his body lodging itself into the red rocks a story or so off the ground.

Dee watched the tank explode and saw Zell fly away, and figured that she had drawn and junctioned enough Berserk magic to go and help her father.

Jumping out of the foxhole and running forward, she jumped up and over a group of men who were scurrying away from something – before coming face-to-face with another tank!!

Watching her father face off with the tank was one thing – but seeing this metallic monster up close and personal was a different matter. Meeping to herself, shocked and frightened, Dee steeled herself as the monster banked over another pile of bodies – before she suddenly jumped up and grabbed the length of the cannon, swinging up and over it. As she grabbed the turrent it suddenly swung upwards as the tank went over a pile of corpses, the sudden movement like a spring-board for Dee – one moment she had been on the cannon, the next she was flying through the air towards the cliff where Zell and her had been just a few moments ago.

Tumbling through the air, Dee slammed into the rocky face of the cliff much like Zell had done – but with more grace, twisting her body to let her legs hit the wall and bend, allowing herself a little give. Pulling herself from her hole, Dee dropped to the ground – and landed on the soft bodies of the fallen.

Deciding not to heed them, she jumped and picked her way through them to find Zell, knocked out for a moment, still embedded, upside down, within the rock. Grabbing his hand and pulling him out, she watched as he landed on the bodies with the rest – before he opened his eyes and grimaced.

"By all the gods that sucked!" Zell cried. It felt like his entire body had been hit by one massive 2x4 made out of Orihalcon.

Dee picked him up and brushed him off. They were safe for the moment – all the people surrounding them were swamping the tanks, clambering all over them, hitting them with swords and shooting them with guns. "What are those things, daddy?" Dee cried as another one banked across, running down a mass of people before lowering it's turrent – and blasting a whole lot of them to smithereens, the shell blowing a bunch of them off their feet one by one as it screamed through them to explode a few hundred meters away.

"I dunno hon…" Zell cried, tenderly touching a cut he had gotten from his crash to the cliff. "But I think we'll avoid them for now. They have a tendency to blow up in yer face."

Looking up, Zell saw the top of the cliff where they had entered. "Up there, hon." He said, pointing. "We gotta get back up there and have a looksee about."

Dee nodded and began to climb, Zell following close behind.

It was halfway up when he heard a crackling come in through his SeeD Walkie Talkie.

"This is Kinnes approaching Battle Ground C. Reports of Azel unconfirmed as of yet – these bastards have corrupted our entire fighting squad, Seifer, they're all Berserked!!" Irvine screamed into his wrist-mike as the helicopter he was flying in flew over the battle-ground, the rotors announcing it's existence with a loud whup-whup noise.

He was riding side-saddle in a Black Hawk helicopter, the deep black flying vehicle skimming low over the battle as he yelled into his mic over the sound of the rotors. Another vehicle borrowed from the Earth forces, the Black Hawk was an excellent vehicle for two reasons – one, it was more manoeuvrable and more easily deployable then the Ragnaroks, and two – because they were just damn fun to be in.

"Keep your eyes open, Kinnes. If it's Azel we need him captured if you can – but if you cant, just kill him." Seifer muttered over the radio, his voice as cool and precise as ever.

"Gotcha!" Irvine shouted, releasing his finger from the transmit button – before ducking as a Fire flew past his head to explode harmlessly against the Adamantine covered hull of the helicopter. "Fuckers! I'll get back to you when I've got the bastard in my sights!"

Zell and Dee had finally reached the top of the cliff when Zell turned and saw Irvine's Black Hawk banking sharply this way and that. On either side of the armoured flying personnel carrier were weapons Zell had never seen before – many barrelled with a squat mechanism attached to the ends, they span for an instant – before a meter long tongue of flame erupted from the end of the barrels, the guns spraying lead like water from a hose all over the ground. Zell watched in horror as every single person clambering on top of the armoured beasts on the ground were shredded almost immediately. "By the gods…" He breathed, watching as the bodies were cut to pieces – before grabbing his wristlet and flicking it on. "Irvine! Irvine, do you read?! This is Zell!!"

Irvine, holding onto one of the hand-holds attached to the roof, a sniper-rifle in his other hand as he leant out of the left side of the helicopter, the blades spinning above him making his hat ruffle in the wind, blinked in surprise as he heard Zell's voice.

No…no, it cant be him…Squall said he was dead! Irvine shoved his sniper rifle into the holster attached to the wall and activated his wrist-mic. "Identify yerself, fucker!"

"It's me Irvine, you dick! You're cutting apart your own people down there, quit it!"

"Since when were you concerned with our people's safety, Azel? If I remember correctly, you're the ones who want them to die!"

"I'm not Azel, I'm Zell!!"

"Prove it, fucker! Tell me where you are!"

"I'm at the top of a cliff just to the right of your position in that…thing."

Irvine released his wristlet and staggered into the cockpit, yelling to the pilot to fly towards the cliff to the east.

Zell watched as the helicopter turned away from the tanks, the two huge guns on it's sides still flaring and raining lead death on the people below, and began to head towards their position.

Dee and Zell began to wave their arms, trying to gather their attention.

Irvine ordered the pilot to stop a way away from the edge of the cliff, just to make sure Azel didn't do anything funny, and went back to the main compartment. Grabbing his sniper rifle and training it on the two figures on the top of the mountain, his breath was suddenly stamped out of his guts.

No way… Immediately Irvine activated his wrist-mic. "Seifer!! Seifer, I think I see…"

"See what, Kinnes?"

"It…it looks like Zell!!"

There was a pause on the other end of the line…before Seifer answered, his voice as cold and dead as ever. "Dincht is dead. It's either Azel or a Doppel. Take him out."

Irvine blinked, his mind in a whirl. He had heard from Squall and the others about Zell's decapitation and destruction – but Zell was one of those people who always defied the odds. He always bounced back. He was always there, even when you didn't want him to be there!

Even so, Seifer had a point. Zell was dead, and even if he had been revived by those 'Immortals' there would be no way for him to come back without a Sorceress' help. Irvine took careful aim…

Zell had heard it all. Now he simply stood there, his mouth wide open, unable to believe it.

Dee looked at Zell with a worried expression. "Daddy! What now?" She cried – before looking at his chest.

A red dot wavered over his chest…

Suddenly dropping to her hands Dee's leg shot out from under her, knocking Zell off his legs and causing him to trip backwards…

The gunshot was louder then it must've been to Zell as he literally saw the bullet go from the barrel of Irvine's rifle and scream towards him – before cutting a channel through his hair, the wind forcing his face back to slam into the ground!!

He moved instantly. Falling flat on his back, Zell rolled to the left, the ground around him puffing and exploding into small red craters as Irvine's gun went off again and again, the tiny red dot unable to follow Zell as he evaded the aim of his friend. Rolling on top of Dee, the girl squealing as Zell lay on top of her, the Hunter hooked his arms and legs around her arms and legs – before rolling the both of them straight off the cliff!!

"Fuck!!" Irvine cursed as he ejected the spent clip from his gun and slammed in another one, chambering a round. "Follow em down!"

Zell and Dee were heading to the ground fast, their bodies still entwined with each other. Zell's mind was turning into overdrive as he looked left – to see the Black Hawk beginning to follow them down – then looked right – to see the cliff face, not a foot away from their bodies.

Dee, being a good soldier, simply clutched to Zell and didn't let go.

The ground approaching fast, Zell did the only thing he could do.

Twisting their bodies around so that Dee was now on top, Zell thrust his left hand out – to slam it deep into the rocks of the cliff, the metallic gauntlet screeching and sparking great gouts of red sparks as the rocks and metal rubbed against each other – and causing the Dincht's decent to slow dramatically.

The sudden stab into the rocks made Zell suddenly swing forward, slamming his body into the cliff face. If he had done so a few moments ago without twisting his body, Dee would have been crushed between him and the rocks.

Now his body scraped along the edge of the cliff, his voice screaming out as he held on for as long as he could, his clothing and skin shredding as they scraped along the course surface of the rock – before he finally ripped his hand out of the rock, allowing them both to tumble to the ground.

Zell landed on his knees, the shock of the painful decent beginning to get to him. His entire left side was red raw and bleeding intensely, his clothing shredded and tattered. Dee released him gently and picked him up, standing him up and putting his arm over her shoulders as she looked up at the Black Hawk as it descended slowly to the ground, twisting around so Irvine could get another clear shot. "Daddy! You need to talk to him! You need to convince him somehow!!"

"I know!" Zell shouted, wincing as the wind from the chopper began to blow dust and soot everywhere. "But he thinks I'm dead! What can I say to change his…" His voice trailed off.

'If you do ever receive this message, just remember that there will be U-Twins – impostors – who will stop at nothing to try and dupe you. So remember this line – 'Slayer, Hunter, Pilot, Saviour, Sorceress, Leader'. We'll use it to make sure that you're you.'

Zell remembered Squall's words – but before he could raise his microphone to his lips he looked up at the Black Hawk – and paled.

Irvine had managed to push one of the gunners of the shredding machine gun out of the way, taking the weapon in his hands and pointing it towards Zell and Dee. "Say hello to Ol' Painless!" Zell heard Irvine yell over his mic – before the weapon suddenly burst into life, spraying them and the area surrounding them with bullets mercilessly.

Zell instantly grabbed Dee and span his body around to take the brunt of the bullets – before hearing a noise unlike anything he had heard before.

It was like rain falling on a plastic tarp – but the rain had a metallic sound to it, clattering on the plastic messily.

Looking down to Dee Zell gasped as he watched her eyes glow a bright blue.

"Daddy!" She shrieked, clutching to him, her knees growing weak. "I don't know how long I can hold this Barrier up!!"

Zell nodded – before lifting his microphone to his lips. "Hey Irvine…"

"You know how us Sorceress Heroes are all called a name…"

Irvine's fingers were jammed tight on the trigger of the Mini-Gun, the weapon spewing 5mm death at the two as Irvine's face was twisted in the effort of keeping the gigantic gun steady – before he heard the words come in over his earpiece.

Impossible… He found himself thinking as the words came in over the earpiece.

"'Slayer, Hunter, Pilot, Saviour, Sorceress, Leader'…we found it funny cause Seifer always said it was arranged in the order of our usefulness. You know…you first, then me, then Selphie, the Quis, then Rin…and finally Squall. Remember?"

Irvine's eyes went wide as he let go of the trigger on the big gun, the barrel finally released from his grip charging down to smoke and sizzle. Irvine's breaths were coming in short bursts as he stared down at the Barrier covered pair – before jumping to the cockpit, grasping the pilot by his shoulder and pointing down at the pair. "I need those two in this chopper immediately, understand?!" Irvine screamed into the man's ear, the man nodding idiotically as Irvine turned back to look out of the chopper's release bay screaming into his microphone as he did.

"Zell!! Zell, we're landing and bringing you aboard!! Just hold tight for a second and we'll be right there, alright?!"

Zell and Dee marched through the Gaian base quickly, flanked by Irvine who stared at Zell as if he was a ghost.

As soon as Zell had climbed aboard the helo the first thing he did was give Irvine a crack across the chops, sending the gunman sprawling into the back of the aircraft. The co-pilot had reached for his weapon – before Irvine waved him off. "Nah, nah, I deserve it…" Irvine said, watching the smile spread on Zell's lips as he jumped forth to give his red-haired friend a bear hug.

The co-pilot, an Earthling, had simply sat back in his chair and commented to his friend about the strangeness of these Universals, before preparing to take off once more.

Irvine had handed Zell and Dee a potion for their wounds, before telling them to strap in and hold on. Zell and Dee had done so – and were taken for the ride of their lifetime.

The Black Hawk, basically a mini armoured-personnel carrier with a rotor was a hell of a lot less manoeuvrable then a Ragnarok – but what it lacked in manoeuvrability, it made up with in style.

Able to duck low into most of the wide chasms of the planet, the Black Hawk snaked it's way south, moving towards the Gaian Base with speed – and flying all over the carnage as it went.

Endless movement on the ground.

It was like a swarm of insects, ants scurrying around a kill and swallowing it up with the sheer mass of numbers.

Millions upon millions upon millions of people. Blond hair, brown hair, helmets, hats, long hair, short hair, little dimples for the shorter people – it was insanity personified, hell given a purpose and a frame. Fighting for their very lives and the lives of their comrades, the movement was endless, massive, continues, simultaneous.

From the heights of the Black Hawk Zell could watch it spanning for miles across, dipping into dents into the ground, disappearing into craters, peeking around rocky outcrops, sliding into the horizon like a sea of faces and heads all lost within the bloody masses. Zell was actually grateful when a sudden mass of warriors – most likely Queen forces – turned and began to fire volleys of Fira's at the helicopter, causing it to dip into a small valley, away from the flaming death and hidden from the sight of the attacking forces. Zell felt the horror recede – before looking over the edge of the helo and seeing more people fighting at the bottom of the valley, having to clamber over the bodies piled at the bottom to get to their enemies.

"What is being done about the Berserkers?!" Zell had screamed at Irvine over the sound of the rotors.

Irvine had looked back to Zell and replied with an equally loud scream, his words as sad as his face looked. "Not much I'm afraid! We've got Rinoa going out and Dispelling masses of them at one time, but it is only a matter of time before they are all turned again and by that time Rinoa has gone off to Dispel another lot. She's been run off her feet for weeks now – only knowing that Squall is still going is the only thing that's keeping her going!"

"What's that about Squall?!" Zell screamed.

Irvine bit his bottom lip – before shaking his head and pointing up at the roof of the helo, at the rotors. "Sorry pal, we'll talk later – too hard right now!"

Zell had sat back then, one arm over Dee, who was clutching to him with wide eyes. She had been a good soldier, and he was proud of her – but it was obvious now that she was in shock. He could tell – even with the shuddering of the helicopter, he could feel her shaking as she clutched him, trying to find solace as she stared out of the bay and into hell.

When they had landed she had been able enough to walk, but not enough to speak. It didn't matter much anyways – apart from the strange stare that Irvine had given Zell, the red-haired gunslinger hadn't spoken about the obviously less-then-platonic holding.

Zell couldn't be bothered telling Irvine anyways. Best he told him later – when Dee had finally come to her senses.

Now they moved through the Gaian facility, the area around them milling with people rushing to and from their stations, some wounded, others so covered in red dust it was hard to tell wether they were wounded or not. The facility ran deep under the ground, into a catacombs system, far away from the main battle. Zell had seen a few small skirmishes as they had come within a few miles of the complex, but thankfully the mountains of bodies had finally died down to nothing but dusty desert.

The ground and walls were covered in steel, which Zell found interesting – before he recognised something. All the walls and floors were covered in scratches and grooves that were more then the month or so Zell had been away.

It had been used before. This was not the first time the Queen or her people had fought a war here.

The realisation had hit him immediately. This had meant that the Queen had home-town advantage – she knew the planet inside and out, she knew it's pathways and tunnels – she had the instant advantage over the SeeDs.

He had no time to curse her as suddenly Irvine led them to a small room – and paused at the door.

He turned to Zell and nodded to him with a sad smile. "Its…good to have you back, pal…We need a moral boost round about now…" He said, having been stony silent until now – before opening the door and allowing Dee and him entrance.

Zell and Dee walked into the room – to be greeted by the Sorceress Heroes.

The place looked like a medium sized bedroom, with a cot in one corner and a small desk beside it. A number of chairs were surrounding the bed, facing inwards. Every single one of them were occupied.

Quistis, her beauty maimed slightly by the dust covering her body, sitting on a small chair facing the bed, turned in her seat to look over to them, the tears running down her face cutting channels through the dust as she saw him – and gasped. Selphie, sitting beside Quistis and holding onto her hands, turned too to gasp as Zell walked through the door.

Zell waved to them meekly. "Hey guys…I'm back!"

"Zell?!"

Zell blinked suddenly as Rinoa suddenly stood up from within the chairs beside the bed, having been hidden by Quistis and Selphie's gaping forms. She stood quickly and regarded Zell with an inquisitive, almost angry eye.

She looked like a mess. Covered in head to toe in red dust, tears also cutting deep channels through the red cake on her face, her blue cardigan torn and shredded by the constant battles she had been through, her raven black hair tied professionally into a bun. The innocent, almost playful look that had been ever present in her eyes was now completely gone – she looks mature, older, Zell suddenly realised. I guess the war has shown her that our life was a piece of cake compare to this hell.

The illusion was shattered, however, as she suddenly blubbed – and ran forward, flinging her arms around his neck, weeping into his chest, relief washing over her as he passed the test.

The other girls ran forward then, moving close to hug him too, their tears flowing as freely as Rinoa's. He hugged them all, trying to get his arms around them as he smiled down at them. "Hey now, come on, it's okay, Zell's back! You know the old saying – cant keep a Dincht down – right?"

Selphie chuckled and pulled back, looking up at him. "I cant believe it! You're really back! You're alive!"

Quistis nodded too, pulling back and wiping her face, smudging the dust on it. "This…is…is really great. It's just the boost we need after…"

Zell's smile crashed into a frown as he looked about them. "After what?! Why wont you guys tell me?!" He shouted – before looking over Rinoa's weeping form.

Looking to the bed.

Which held an unmoving Squall Leonhart.

Zell disengaged Rinoa and passed her to Quistis before moving forward slowly, each foot requiring all the willpower he could muster as he stepped closer – to hit the edge of the bed.

Squall's face had regained it's usual scar somehow, making Zell smile suddenly – I'd call it ironic, but he'd call it coincidence – but that was the only thing that seemed to be the same.

Although his muscle structure was the same, Squall's skin was gaunt and pale, having lost it's tan somehow. Sweat lined his brow and stained the bed sheets and pillowcase – and from the looks of things, it looked like he had been bedridden for days.

Zell blinked, unable to comprehend it. He had seen Squall fall before – but he'd never seen him like this. Lying helpless like this, he looked small, weak, defenceless almost. It amazed Zell that Rinoa was able to leave his side at all, let alone go out and do her Dispel rounds – but it was probably what he would have wanted her to do, otherwise she would have stayed by his side the entire time.

"…What happened?" Zell asked, not turning to look back at the others.

Irvine stepped forward, passing Dee who had been somehow pushed into the background, and approached Zell slowly. "When we first got here and set up base we received a call from the Queen…asking us for a compromise."

Two Weeks Ago "Are you listening, Squall?"

"I'm listening." Squall muttered into the microphone, his voice almost dead as a rock as he spoke.

They had just entered the base – and he had not been happy with what he had seen. Although there was nothing wrong with the base in itself, the markings on the walls and corridors meant one thing – that there had been a battle here before, and the inhabitants had lost.

Being forced into a battle where the odds were stacked against them wasn't the idea of a fair fight. But, obviously, the Queen had need to weaken them – and that gave Squall strength.

By knowing she feared them.

"Squall, I am feeling generous today, seeing as you've just arrived and all." The Queen's voice said over the hologram system built into the base, in the command room. It seemed the Queen liked to converse with her opponents at will. "I can tell by your eyes that you are not happy with your accommodations, so I shall make you a deal. If you can defeat my knight in single combat, alone and without any help, I shall pull my men back for the first week and allow you to set up base as well as scout the surrounding areas to gather knowledge of the grounds."

Squall looked up at Cid, who nodded to him. Squall looked down at the hologram. "That seems fair, considering the circumstances."

The Queen adopted a mock-shock look on her face. "Why, Squall, whatever could you mean by that?"

Seifer stood them, slamming his fists into the hologram's deck. "He means by the fact that you have about five millions troops surroundings all our bases, ready to attack us!"

The Queen smirked and looked down at her dress, brushing off some imaginary dust, the image wavering a little as she did. "Oh yes…them. As I was about to finish, if you are defeated my men will advance and overrun your base in a manner of hours."

"Why? I thought your point was to fight us, to gather our souls."

"Oh Squall, you think I will leave your people and the people you have asked for help alone after I've wiped you from this miserable planet?"

Squall said nothing – he simply clutched the edges of the hologram's deck and narrowed his grey eyes at the woman. She had him over a barrel – and she was relishing it.

"You obviously need time to think it over." The queen said with a soft chuckle. "You know my frequency. Call me back in…oh, say half an hour."

With that her image disappeared from the hologram, the image fading from view – but not before Seifer could draw his gunblade and slash it through the hologram's neck, the head actually floating up a little before dissipating into thin air.

The blond man was furious. "That whore! Trying to get the jump on us, for fucks sake?! Doesn't she know who we are?!"

Squall simply sat there, his fingers locked under his chin as he rested his elbows on the deck, not saying anything. Rinoa stood behind him, with her hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to speak. Cid looked up at Seifer and sighed, shaking his head. "Don't you get it, Seifer?"

"Get what?!"

Squall spoke up quietly, his manner one of supreme, even heavenly calm. "She knows exactly who we are. She needs an advantage, Seifer. It shows that she's afraid of us. She thinks we're scare right now – but I'll bet that she is waiting impatiently on the other line, waiting for us to call first." He smiled a small smile up at Rinoa, who smiled back down at him, before looking at Seifer. "I'll give you all the Gil I have if she doesn't call back within ten minutes."

Seifer snorted and sheathed his sword, stepping back and crossing his arms, leaning on a terminal. "Okay…fine…she's scared of us. Big fuckin deal! She's got five million soldiers out there, braying for our blood! Okay, you kick this guy's ass – what's going to stop her from unleashing her little army on us anyways, Commander?"

Squall looked up at Rinoa. "Oh, I think we can handle them, right Rin?" He said with another smile, reaching up to clutch her hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

Rinoa smiled down at him and brushed a lick of hair from his face – before cocking an eyebrow in confusion. "Just what do you have planned?"

Before Squall could reply, however, the Queen reappeared on the hologram, causing Seifer to snort and Cid to chuckle.

The Doppel looked at Seifer and Cid in mild confusion before turning to Squall. "I got tired of waiting. What will it be, Squall?"

Squall smirked, reaching forward with his hand over the 'kill transmission' button – "I accept your challenge." – before slapping his hand down, cutting the transmission first, the indignant face of the Queen disappearing almost instantly.

The motorcycle roared deeply, the engine rattling in the bowels of the cycle seeming to be the only outward show of Squall's anger and disgust at this world.

The ground had been flat and hard for about twenty miles around the base – before the bones began to show themselves. They littered the ground like pebbles in a Zen garden, skulls of all shapes and sizes, long bleached bones everywhere. They crackled and crunched dustily under the wheels of his cycle, the metal-covered wheels taking everything in stride.

The Queen had said for him to come alone – and he did. Squall was a man of honour, a SeeD. He would not break a deal without good cause.

Without good cause.

He was travelling in a small valley, rounding a long curving bend when he finally saw the battlefield.

A single figure, brilliant and shining in the red sun, stood impassively in the middle of what looked like a round circle of ground, the bones that had littered the ground having been pushed away from the centre to create the circle. Another figure, this one dressed in long flowing purple robes, held a small hand out to the edge of the ring – and pushed some more bones away, trying to make the circumference even. The ring was pretty large – about twenty meters in diameter, the ground was flat and barren, the same red rock as he had seen everywhere else on the planet. To the south was Squall's valley – to the north he could see another cliff, which circled the circle itself. Squall figured the ring was the centre of a crater of sorts.

Squall exited the valley into the sunlight, driving up to the ring – and turning the motorcycle to the side, skidding to a stop just a few feet away from the end of the boundary, spraying bones everywhere.

The Queen turned from where she had been trying to make the circle even and held her hand out, the bones which had flown into the ring pausing in the air almost as if by themselves. "Do you mind? I'm almost done." She said in an annoyed tone – before waving her hand, the bones floating in the air flying off into the distance.

Squall said nothing – he simply killed the engine, swung his leg off the saddle, and pulled his LionHeart from the back compartment, holding it loosely in his hand as he approached the edge of the circle, his boots crunching on the bones of the dead as he neared it.

Aqual stood in the exact centre, his right hand resting on his sheathed gunblade, clad in his Orihalcon armour, a large flowing purple cape draped over his shoulders and clasped to his neck by a brooch that looked like a golden heart. Indeed, it made him look exactly like a knight in shining armour…if only a dark knight. He regarded Squall coldly, his grey eyes fixed on his opponent with an unwavering stare.

Squall kept his hands gripped tightly on his gunblade as he looked from Aqual to the Queen. "I thought this was going to be a one-on-one battle." He muttered, looking down at her.

She smiled at him sweetly. "My dear SeeD, of course it will be a one-on-one fight! I am merely here to watch."

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe you."

The Queen giggled delicately. "I forgive you then. I could never say no to your handsome face."

Squall tightened his jaw and said nothing. He hadn't expected Aqual to be alone – but to have her herself come…that was different.

Watching her move out of the ring and sit down on a small rock just a few feet away from it, draping her robes out elegantly before lowering herself to it, Squall stepped over the threshold into the ring of bone. He kept his eyes firm on Aqual, watching for any sudden movements as he approached his double – and shucked off his black coat, the thick leather and white edged jacket being tossed over his shoulder to land outside the ring into the bones.

Aqual reached up and unclasped his cape, also throwing it away, the purple billowing in the wind as it flew across to spread across the rocks where the Queen was sitting, her hands clasped on her knees, regarding the two of them with curiosity.

Lifting his LionHeart up, Squall disengaged the Energy Crystal slid into the hilt, making sure the glow was a bright blue before slamming it back in. Popping the clip of Pulse ammo from the butt of the gun, he double checked to make sure it was fully loaded before also slamming it in – and chambering a round, pulling the slide back by gripping one of the long hooks on the top of the weapon and pulling it back with a satisfying cha-chak!

Aqual simple drew his sword out a little, the metal glinting brightly as he flipped the cylinder open, spinning it to see that all the bullets were in and firmly placed – before flicking the cylinder back into place and sliding the sword back home.

The two fighters were ready, their minds steeled, their bodies tense and prepared.

They stared at each other with unhidden anger and hatred, each of them needing each other dead – Squall because it was one less obstacle to the Queen, Aqual because his Queen had ordered this man dead. Neither man moved, however – to advance first meant that he would be left open to any counters or defensive blocks the other would obviously launch. So they stood, staring in their standoff, each one mentally daring the other to go…

The Queen sighed audibly. She couldn't be bothered waiting. Standing, she tore a small length of purple material from her robe and held it out. It was of little consequence to her that she had just ruined her dress – she had fifty of the exact same dress back at her palace. "When the cloth hits the floor – ready?"

Neither man spoke up, which spurned her slightly, and she dropped her piece of robe, not bothering to call out for it to begin.

The wind picked up slightly as the piece of material dropped to the ground, lifting it slightly and letting it tumble through the air, moving through the path of the two warriors as they watched each other, the purple cloth rising high for a second – before falling and hitting the floor, crumpling to the end of the ring.

As soon as the cloth hit the floor Aqual stepped forward, twisting his body to face his sword-shoulder to Squall, his feet literally digging into the ground as he pushed them apart, trying to find friction – and tear his gunblade from it's sheath, the Sonic Strike wailing out of the edge as it tore across the ring towards Squall, the diagonal attack cutting a deep groove into the ground as it neared Squall…

…Who simply leaned down to one side, the diagonal attack blowing straight past him as he knelt down to the left, the attack causing his hair to ruffle as he levelled his LionHeart at Aqual – and flicked the activation switch, the energy blade blazing to life and allowing him to pull the trigger, the Pulse ammunition screaming forth out of the tip of his blade…

…To be cut in half by Aqual's Shear Trigger, his sword slicing the bullet in two as he smirked in satisfaction – before his eyes widened in horror.

Squall had interpreted the attack on his bullet and, having covered the ground between the them in the time it had taken Aqual to take out his bullet, had leapt forth, his LionHeart swung up across his body as he came crashing down on Aqual, swinging the blade with force – to have it arrested by his double, the shining silver of his blade coming around in the nick of time to parry the energy weapon!!

Their weapons locked together suddenly, the two men glared into each other's eyes – before Squall shoved forward with supreme effort and began to attack once more.

His sword dance in the red light, the blue streaks floating effortlessly from his blade as it sang forth, crashing and sparking on Aqual's gunblade, the Heart parrying and defending as hard and as fast as he could. A sweeping slash was avoided by a back-flip, leaving Squall off-guard for a moment as his sword was by his left – and allowing Aqual to stab his gunblade forward. The blade nicked Squall on the right shoulder as he followed through with his momentum, falling to the floor – and cutting out with his gunblade from his back on the ground, nicking his opponent's elbows through his armour before Aqual jumped back once more.

Swinging his feet up and flipping to his feet, Squall held his LionHeart over his back blindly, deftly blocking a cutting slash to the ribs before swinging the blade up and over his shoulder, spinning as his blade slashed through the ground to swing it up – to have it arrested by Aqual's sword, the Heart holding the sword across his legs to stop it just as it reached his groin – before he swung it up and tried for a riposte aimed for the neck, his gunblade flicking forth – to be knocked aside by Squall's hand, snaking out to slap aside the flat of the blade and causing it to brush under his arm – and to be grasped under his armpit!!

Squall had jumped with the uppercut as his sword had been blocked, causing Aqual's thrust to go short, and as he landed he smiled at his double, Aqual's sword clutched tightly under his arm – before dropping his LionHeart and, reaching forth with his free hand to clutch Aqual's breastplate, slammed his head into Aqual's in a vicious head butt, the sounds of bone hitting bone echoing out in the crater they fought in.

Aqual stumbled back with a cry, pulling his sword out of Squall's arm with a yank, cutting a small slash across his hip, and placed his free hand to his face, his head spinning.

Squall deftly grunted as the cut was placed on his hip and rolled forward, collecting his sword as he went and coming up in a crouch, his sword slashing forth in a blue arc – and cutting thin air.

Aqual had jumped forward at the last second, regaining his senses and leaping over Squall's crouching body to come up in a roll, his shining armour now red with dust, to spin and swing his sword down – to clove the ground where Squall had been.

The SeeD had quickly recovered from his slash and rolled forward, coming up to his feet and spinning to face off against Aqual, holding his sword up as Aqual quickly pulled his sword out of the ground and did the same, the two warriors facing off once more.

Squall was breathing heavily, sweat covering his dusty face. His white shirt was stained with his blood and had turned red with the dust of the ground. The cuts to his hip and shoulder oozed redness painfully, but it kept him alert and at attention. He had come close to Aqual – very close. The fight was extraordinarily even at the moment – if they fought at this pace it would eventually come down to a stamina bout.

Aqual was also sweating and breathing heavily. Although he had expected his armour to stop Squall's energy weapon a little, it had cut through the elbow-guards with almost no effort, almost separating his forearms from his upper arms – plus the SeeD knew more then swordplay. The head butt had given the Heart a wicked headache, and he knew he would have a bruise there the following day.

He dared a glance to his Queen, who was watching intently, enraptured in the fight – before looking back to the SeeD. I must not lose… He thought to himself – before watching Squall suddenly draw his sword back, the SeeD holding it across his body as he spread his legs.

He's advancing – well, I'll see his advance! He thought, spreading his legs too as he slowly sheathed his sword, the metal sliding into the sheath – before exploding form his position.

Squall jumped forward too, his sword swinging out as Aqual drew his, the two blades crashing against each other, causing orange and blue sparks to fly – before they jumped back and slashed at each other again, their sword singing forth to crash and spark once more.

Sweat beaded Squall's face and droplets flew off to land on his blade as he swung it again, the two crashing once more as the droplets evaporated as they landed on his energy blade, the sparks flying equally fast and causing his eyes to light up – before they jumped back and swung again.

Their sword crashed together once more – before the ends suddenly reported, long tongues of flash slashing out of the barrels on the gunblades as they simultaneously pulled their triggers, Pulse ammunition sizzling past each other's ears as their sword were kicked back by the blasts – before they advanced to each other once more.

Swinging his gunblade up once more with one hand, Squall slashed it down, the edge crashing against Aqual's and sparking wildly – before he suddenly thrust his hand out, his palm slamming into Aqual's breastplate and knocking him back – before a long shard of ice suddenly formed and rammed itself into the Heart's breastplate, slamming the Heart back and out of the ring into the piles of bones, red dust and dried calcium flying everywhere as Aqual took the Blizaga head on. Aqual's sword clattered to the ground beside Squall, having been dropped by the Heart upon impact of the ice elemental.

The Queen jumped to her feet in horrified shock, her hands instantly going to her wide-open mouth as she waited for something to happen, watching the pile of bones that had dust and smoke pluming out of it.

Squall, his chest heaving, pulling his hand back and shook it painfully. He had literally slammed his palm into hardened armour – he didn't know how Zell used to be able to take that kind of damage to his hands. He now waited for the Heart to make the next move, keeping his eyes fixed on the pile where the man had fallen. He knew the Blizaga wouldn't have done much damage – although it was powerful, the Orihalcon would have taken the brunt of the force.

He expected Aqual to stand and advance once more – he didn't expect what was going to happen next.

There was a sudden flash as four green balls with fire within them floated down into the pile – before something within it exploded upwards, spraying bones and dirt everywhere.

The thing flew high into the air, seemingly without mass, a translucent blob floating into the red sky – before the ground began to tremble as it flew high, the dirt rattling and shaking, the bones clacking together. Suddenly the bones on the floor began to fly up to the empty thing, slamming together with a loud clacking noise, and began to form an animal of some kind.

The collection of bones grew larger and larger in mass, seeming to crush together in a wave of skulls, ribs, femurs and spines, every kind of bone imaginable in the human body flying up to be tossed into the mixture, creating a ball – which then spread wings, the span massive.

"A…A Guardian Force?!" Squall cried, taking a step back.

"Yes Squall!!" Rinoa yelled with glee from her rock, watching as the bones around her began to float up into the massive winged ball. "This is the Bone Eagle! It is a non-elemental GF that is created using the bones of the fallen foes around the fighter! Usually it is small…but considering the masses upon masses of bones around us, I think it shall become quite powerful!!"

Squall didn't heed her last words – he simply leapt forward, collecting Aqual's Sheer Trigger from the ground and, levelling the two gunblades to the steadily growing creature, let loose with both barrels. The tips of both swords flared as the Pulse ammunition blew out of them to slam into the ball of bone, great bleached white chunks flying off into the distance as the super-charged bullets crashed into and blew apart the ball, bits and pieces falling and flying in all different directions…

…Before his gunblades clicked empty. Squall swore out loud, tossing the Sheer Trigger away, and held his hand out at the ball, his palm beginning to smoke as he charged the Blizzaga – and let it loose, the massive shard of ice barrelling towards the ball of bone at incredible speeds…

To shatter upon a Shell, the red shield forming around the bones as soon as Squall had launched the Blizzaga!!

Squall turned to the Queen, who lowered her hand and smiled sweetly and innocently at him.

Turning back to the ball, figuring he would deal with the Queen when the time came, Squall watched as it suddenly grew to it's needed girth – and unfolded itself.

The head pulled itself from the body, the bones crackling and snapping as it moved, the wings beginning to beat to keep itself up. Two massive spindly legs appeared from the bottom between the massive legs, the claws upon the three-toed foot razor sharp and wickedly curved, just like a bird of prey's ought to be. Looking down at Squall, the bony beak opened wide – before screeching loudly, the noise so deafening it made Squall wince.

It flapped it's wings once, twice – before shooting up into the sky, flying high towards the blood red sun, flying into the middle of the light and making it impossible to see exactly where it was.

Squall squinted as he tried to see where it was, shielding his eyes with his free hand – before watching, out of the corner of his eye, as a blue ball of magical energy surrounded the Queen.

She's cast Protect on herself! But why? Wait – non-elemental? Maybe that means…

He had little time to think, however – as another ear-splitting shriek was emitted from the sky – and Squall spied something plummeting to the ground at incredible speeds. The massive bird had flown high into the sky then, at the zenith of it's flight, turned around, dipped it's wings – and had aimed it's kamakazi-esque dive towards him!!

One second Squall was there – and then the next the air was filled with the sound of shattering bones, sharp fragments spilling out in all directions as the Bone Eagle disintegrated into a million pieces, the pieces filling the crater as completely as it had already been filled with bones already.

Aqual appeared in the centre of the destruction after the rain of bones had finally subsided, smiling regardless of the massive cut he had received to his next from his trip through the bones on the ground and the gaping hole in his breastplate, revealing the frostbite he had received from the Blizzaga to the chest.

"It's not often I have to call on the help of my GF's, SeeD!" He called into the shattered remnants of the Bone Eagle, pulling off his breastplate and tossing it away, the armour now useless. "You should feel lucky."

There was no answer.

Queen Rinoa picked herself up from where she had fallen from the shockwave of a ton of bone hitting the floor – and clapped gleefully, giggling with happiness. "Very good, my Knight – excellent, in fact!! That was splendid!"

Aqual smirked and bowed to his mistress. "I aim to please, my Queen." He said – before pausing…and looking behind him.

Within the piles and piles of bones behind him a hand suddenly shot out, the gloved fingers curling into a fist – before clawing around for purchase.

"Interesting…" Aqual murmured to himself as he watched a bleeding Squall pull himself from the wreckage of the Bone Eagle, the Protect surrounding his body finally dying away. "I expected you to be a little more injured then this."

Squall didn't know what to expect. His Protect had come up just in time – just  - but that didn't stop it from being assaulted from all directions by a million tiny shards of bone at the same time. He had held on for as long as he had dared – before finally having to let go and allowing the explosion to take him. Thankfully that had been after the initial explosion, so all he had to contend with was the falling rain of razor-shard bones that jutted into his back and sides as he curled into a ball and covered his head.

Impossibly he got up into a kneel, the blood and pain pouring from his back causing him to cry out.

Aqual grimaced. "…Just like Dincht…" He growled, walking over the bones, the dried calcium crunching under his feet as he approached Squall and grasped his shirt, lifting his hand high. "…Stubborn."

Squall looked up at Aqual impassively, seemingly unable to fight – seemingly.

Suddenly his left hand lifted from the bone – and jammed a long length of bone into Aqual's bare side, now unprotected by the Orihalcon breastplate he had been wearing just moments ago!!

Blood spurted freely from the wound as Squall growled up at his double and pushed it in deeper, Aqual's face full of shock and surprise more then pain and horror…before he dropped the SeeD back and stumbled away, his breathing laboured, his hands going down to the bone sticking out of his side firmly, blood pulsing from the wound easily.

The bone had been more then a foot long, and Squall had managed to stab it in more the halfway, and the end jutted out like an uneven twig sticking out of the main branch. Aqual gripped the end and tried to pull it out – before figuring otherwise. It was even more painful trying to remove it, and the more he tried the more his internal liquids tried to seep out of the gaping hole that had been made.

There was nothing but pure rage in Aqual's face as he looked up, evidently extraordinarily pissed off at the mortal wounding, and began to stalk forward – before blinking as Squall suddenly erupted from his kneeling position, rolling into a crouch and shifting forward…

 - A flash of light -

To land behind him, the LionHeart in his left hand, the Sheer Trigger in his right, both gunblades focused straight forward as he skidded to a halt just four meters behind Aqual, the LionHeart smoking, the Sheer Trigger doused in blood.

Aqual blinked again – before turning to look at the crouching Squall and laugh out loud, a loud gut laugh, the laughter echoing around the crater as Aqual raised his hand to point it at Squall's back. "You fool! You missed!!"

Squall's face, splattered slightly in his own blood and sweat, streaks running down the dust and crushed bones caked upon it, was as impassive as his voice as he spoke up.

"Did I?"

Aqual snorted again – before his eyes widened.

Suddenly two diagonal lines drew down his chest, from his right shoulder to his left hip and his right hip to his left shoulder, creating an X effect of blood…

…Before his arms fell off to his sides, followed by his head and neck which fell forward, his body toppling down to land on it's disembodied back into the bones with a shattering thud.

In the manner of seconds it had taken Squall to move less then eight meters, he had slashed the LionHeart up whilst slashing the razor-sharp Sheer Trigger down, cutting so cleanly and precisely it had taken Aqual's body a few seconds to realise that it was dead, the bones neatly carved straight through, the meat cut as easily as a hot knife going through butter.

Squall stood as equally impassively as he had cut his opponent into four pieces and, deactivating his LionHeart and slashing the Sheer Trigger through the air to shake off the blood caked onto the edger of the blade, turned to the Queen, his cool grey eyes locking onto her.

The Queen simply sat there, on her rock, her face deathly pale. She had not expected, in a million years, that her Knight would die – especially to one who was supposed to be as weak as Squall.

The fact kicked in a few moments later as she ran forth, tripping and stumbling through the bones on the ground, shoving past the impassive Squall to fall to the ground beside her disembodied love. "…Aqual…" she whispered, picking up the head and shoulders and cradling it to her chest, tears flowing down her face as she looked into his horrified visage. "…Aqual, speak to me…"

Squall simply stood there and watched. His back had about seven pieces of bone jutting out of it, staining his white shirt even more then it had already been stained by the dust, and great sweat patches adorned his chest and under his arms. The man had been an impressive fighter – they had almost been equal in power and skill.

Almost.

He watched as the Queen bent double over Aqual's diced body and closed his eyes. Is that how Rinoa will act if I die? Will she find me dead one day and cry over my corpse? Is this how my life will end?

He hoped to the great Hyne that it did not.

Rinoa looked up from her grief, looking out into the valley of bone, her voice filled with vehenemous anger as she spoke. "You…you killed him! You killed him! You killed the only man I loved!!"

"…It was either he or I."

"He was my confidant…my other half…the love of my life…"

"…Whatever. You knew the consequences of this event and so did he."

The Queen's face screwed up in anger then and span to look up at him, her eyes filled with hatred and loathing, her hands clutching the head to her chest, his blood staining her face and clothes. "You're such a fool! Even as you were fighting, I had sent the word out for my men to go and kill all your friends! Now it's just you and me, Squall!! All alone out in here! And I'll take my time killing you!!"

Squall walked past her slowly, moving over to a small pile of bones and, digging into it, pulled out his leather jacket, swinging it over his shoulders and walking over to where his bike had fallen due to the shockwave of the blast.

"Aren't you listening?! Your friends are dead, your base destroyed!! You have nothing left to go back to!! Without Rinoa you are doomed to wander this hellish planet alone for the rest of your life!"

Squall pulled the motorcycle out of the pile and swung his leg over it. Clipping his LionHeart to his belt he slid the Sheer Trigger into a small niche in the back of the cycle, stuffing his coat into a side compartment as well – before lifting his glove to his mouth and activating his microphone. "Rinoa…is it done?"

"Yes it is, baby." Was the reply into his earpiece.

"Okay. I'm coming back to base now."

"We'll be waiting."

The Queen sat where she had been sitting, her eyes wide and shocked. "What…what was that?!"

Squall gunned the engine of the motorcycle, the engine roaring to life even after being bombarded by millions of tiny bone fragments. Thankfully the adamantine metal covering the important parts was tougher then his skin. "Your little army was Petrified. I asked Rinoa to fly over them and deliver a Sorceress charged Break to them all. I have men going through their ranks now, killing off the ones who survived the mass Petrification – if any – and shattering the rest. Even if I was to die here, your plan was a failure."

The Queen rose from her position then, snarling as her eyes began to glow white and smoke, great white wings unfolding from behind her back – before a gunshot rang out, pinging into her still-active Protect and slamming her to the floor.

What?! She cried – before seeing the tiny red dot floating on her chest.

At the top of the valley, on the left hand cliff facing the crater, sat Irvine, his hands curled around the butt of his sniper-rifle as he pulled the bolt back and chambered another round, the lengthy shell flying out of the breech to allow another fresh bullet to take it's place. The red camouflage sheet he had pulled over him disguised him completely, as well as him having smeared the long barrel of his rifle with dust and soot from the ground, killing off the usually brilliant gleam.

To anybody anywhere, wether it was a few meters away or a few hundred meters away, he looked like nothing but a harmless everyday rock.

"Without good cause, he said…" Irvine muttered to himself, steadying his aim and taking a bead on the Queen once more, making sure to only fire unless she made a move at Squall.

The Queen looked up from the red dot and snarled at Squall. You bastard!! You were never alone!!

"You shouldn't complain. You told me this was to be a one-on-one battle – yet you came, and gave Aqual assistance. It seems only fair I have backup too."

Cursing telepathically, the Sorceress Queen crouched low, her wings folding around her as she gathered up Aqual's head from where she had dropped it – before exploding from her position, flying high up into the air, her massive wings beating hard and fast as she rose into the sky and began to fly off towards her base, defeated completely.

Squall watched her fly off before facing forwards once more, cranking the accelerator and gunning the engine once more. He would go back to base, get the bones removed, and spend some time with Rinoa. He had just, technically, killed himself and watched his lover weep over his body. He was feeling a little more then shock.

He was about to take off when he heard the screeched word, the word having almost a musical, angelic tone to it – if he didn't know what it implied.

"Meteor!!"

Snapping his head back he heard the Sorceress Queen cackling out loud as she flew off into the horizon – before a small stone, the size of a baseball, slashed out of the atmosphere at a million miles an hour and slammed into the ground beside him, exploding into the floor with such force it almost rocked him off his bike.

Looking down at the smoking crater Squall looked up again – to see that the sky had suddenly filled with red-hot lights – all of them aimed at him. Each of them made a screeching noise as the heat they were emitting billowed off them and constricted with the air around him.

Grimacing Squall faced forward, gunning the engine once more – before taking off at top speed, his back wheel kicking up a ton of dirt and bone before he suddenly shot off, the first of the Meteors exploding behind him like tiny fireballs.

His bike screamed with the effort as he hunkered down and tried to keep his eyes on the road and on the sky at the same time, the sky wanting him dead whilst the ground threatened to kill him lest he made one wrong move. Almost immediately, as if it was raining fire, the Meteors rained down around him, exploding and rocking his bike and him on it, causing the wheels to skid and the bike to fishtail and swerve – but not fall.

Squall kept his balance miraculously, driving straight for the valley, where there would be a little safety – before he looked up at the left hand side of the valley.

About four to five stories up something that looked like a rock jumped out of the way as a Meteor slammed into where it had just been and blew the area up and began to run for the edge of the cliff, running as if it's life depended on it. And it did.

Shit! Squall thought, gunning the engine again and forcing the bike to go the extra mile, the machine screaming out loudly as it smashed through the bones and rocketed through the Meteors pouring down from the sky like some kind of apocalyptic downpour, the bike swerving and ducking through and over the explosions as they went up around it.

Nearing the mouth of the sheer valley, Squall spared one last glance up to the top of the cliff – before hitting a sudden rise in the ground, his bike taking off at incredible speeds, leaving a duvet of dirt and a trail of bones in it's wake as it flew straight forward, time seeming to slow as Squall tried desperately to keep it level and straight without himself flying off – before he landed – and something landed on the pillion behind him!

"For the love of Hyne my balls!!" Irvine screamed as he wrapped his arms around Squall and held onto him for dear life as they dared the twisting path of the valley at breakneck speeds, some Meteors still flying down into the valley and ricocheting off the walls to explode beside Squall's bike as it flew through the narrow pathway.

Irvine, having heard the Queen cast the Meteor, had instantly discarded his gun and made a mad dash for his own bike – before one of the falling comets had swallowed it up in an explosion of fire and stone, the twisted hunk of metal almost cleaning him up as he ran out of the way. Then, having nowhere else to go except jump down to Squall's bike and hope to the gods that he landed on it, he jumped off the cliff like a madman.

It felt like his testicles were somewhere up around his throat, but he was alive. Just. Selphie wasn't going to be able top play with the block and tackle for the next few days, that was a sure thing.

Now he gripped Squall tightly, hoping to all the gods and a few he was going to make up just for this occasion that he was as good on a motorcycle as everyone said he was. And, if Irvine hadn't been grieving his balls and trying to wipe the tears from his eyes, he would have been more then impressed. Squall had god-like reaction speed, somehow being able to predict where the Meteors were falling even before they hit the ground. Not only that, but even with Irvine clutching his back he was able to still manoeuvre the bike around all the tight corners and bends, kicking up great sprays of dust and bone as he took a sharp turn – and blasted out of the valley into the open plains, the flat red ground never seeming so beautiful to the gunslinger ever before in his life.

The bike seemed to fly through the air for a few seconds, Squall either pulling up on the handle-bars to allow the back wheel to fall or Irvine's added weight was making it dip – either way they crashed to the floor, the bottom chassis spewing out great red sparks as they bounced - and sped off, escaping the range of the Meteors by the skin of their teeth.

Irvine looked back to watch the valley's opening disappear into a gigantic cloud of dust as the rain of flaming rocks reduced it to a pile of rubble – before turning back, a gigantic smile on his face as he grabbed Squall's back and pumped his fist into the air. "Whoohoooo!! Squall, you rule, man, you are a GOD!" He cried, wincing as his groin twitched – before forgetting his own pain as Squall slumped forward onto the handlebars suddenly.

"Shit! Squall!!" Irvine cried as the bike wavered slightly, still going a hundred miles an hour – before skidding to one side and flinging them both off.

Now…

Irvine sat up in his chair, watching Zell closely. "I managed to activate my distress beacon before passing out. When they found us they healed us up and evacuated us back here…but they couldn't revive Squall. Seemed he had gotten poisoned somehow. Either from the GF or from Aqual's Sheer Trigger, we don't know. But he's been sleeping ever since he was brought back"

Zell blinked down at his sleeping friend, breathing in a shuddering breath and letting it out slowly. "…Talk about the ultimate sacrifice, huh…"

Rinoa, who had crouched down next to him, reached out to swat him behind the head. "Don't talk like he's already dead!!" She yelled – before calming down and looking down at her unconscious Knight. "He…he doesn't like being talked about in past tense. You know that…"

"Yeah…sorry…didn't remember…" He whispered with a nod, standing and placing a hand on her shoulder to give it a gentle squeeze before turning to Irvine. "…I think I need to have a rest…I cant think straight. Where can me and Dee go to sleep?"

All the Sorceress Heros then turned their eyes to stare at both Zell and Dee…who looked at each other and sighed audibly. Dee walked forward slowly to be hugged into Zell's arms, unable to speak up let alone try to tell them all.

Zell simply looked at them all and sighed. "It's a long story…but I think it would be best if Angel was here to hear it too. Where is she?"

The glances his friends shot each other made Zell's blood run cold, and his eyes widened as his voice raised.

"You guys…where is she?! Where is Angel?!"

There you go! Chapter one of the War World! Only two more chapters to go, folks, and this party is done!!

Hope you've been enjoying it as much as I have been writing it, and never fear – even thought it's taking me a while to bash these puppies out, I'll get them all out eventually! Just you keep reading and reviewing, alright?