Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, or ideas of Final Fantasy VIII.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Ecnera
They found themselves in a very dark, evil place, surrounded by trees, old, knotty trees with faces worn by the wind and rain. In the distnace they heard the crackly call of a raven. Looking up, there was no visible sky, only the shadowed canopy of treetops. There was no grass on the ground; it was all like a massive, sinister swamp.
"Where the heck are we?" Zell asked nervously yet hiding it well.
"Ecnera, I think he called it." Quistis answered him. She had been gripping Seifer's arm since they landed here.
Before them, a ways up, there were two paths. One went left and the other right. They each looked like they led deep into the forest/swamp or whatever this place was.
"Which path are we supposed to take?" Selphie inquired.
Squall shrugged. He wasn't even thinking about this place or Rianna. His mind was lost, thinking on what he would have to choose. Neither option was a very good one. Being a guradian meant that he wouldn't be able to see Rinoa, but if he didn't choose to be a guardian then he would be erased from history. Either way he was being forced with a lose-lose situation. But then, there was that third option that Griever had refused to tell him too much about. All he k new was that it involved Rianna, but how? He didn't know. But it couldn't be half as bad as the other two choices. Griever had told him that when he appeared again, he would have to choose. The guardian had promised that he would help them in their battle with Rianna, and they were searching for her now. That meant that once they found Rianna, he would have to choose, and he was running out of time.
Rinoa turned to Squall to see that he was staring off into the distance, away from them, from her. She was afraid for him. She knew what was hurting him inside. She knew that he could now feel its pain. She wondered if all this would end and go back to normal. She hoped it would be that easy as it sounded. He didn't need any more pain, any more useless worry cluttering up his mind.
She decided against asking him whether or not he was okay. She knew that he was not and he wouldn't admit it to her anyway, so there was no point in asking. He never admitted if anything was wrong. It just wasn't something he did.
"We have to decide something quickly. We can't stand here and waste time. Rianna's here somewhere, and we've got to find her and take her out once and for all!" Quistis declared, taking up command since it seemed that Squall was elsewhere.
"Where ever 'here' is." Selphie whispered. She looked around fearfully knowing that this place was bad news.
"But which path? There are two here. Which one do we take?" Zell asked. He walked toward the fork in the two paths and tried to look down each one but not getting too close.
"We can't split into groups, that would be suicide. We have to stay as one big group, so I guess we just wing it." Seifer suggested.
"But what if we take the wrong path?" Irvine asked, lifting up his cowboy hat. "What happened then?"
"I guess we'll just have to take that chance." Quistis shrugged in honesty.
"How do we know just where Rianna is here? Didn't that Doron guy say that this place was pull of puzzles and mazes, like one big, giant test?" Selphie asked shivering and doing a little cold dance.
"Yeah, he did but does that mean-" But Seifer was cut off in mid-sentence by a low rumbling. The ground was beginning to shake like mad.
"What was that?" Zell asked. He turned around and looked at everyone with a confused, dazed look on his face.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good!" Irvine exclaimed.
There was a distant roar heard and both Squall and Seifer's heads snapped in the direction of the sound. They slowly looked at each other with these "uh-oh" expressions. They knew that sound. They had become very familiar with that sound the first time it was heard.
"We've got to get away from here now!" Seifer said to Squall who nodded.
"What? What do you mean?" Quistis asked, turning to them. She looked really confused.
"We need to get out of here. That's what I mean!" Seifer snapped. Quistis took a step back, a little surprised that he had bitten back. He turned his full body to Squall, ashamed that he had taken that tone with her when he did he mean to.
"Why do we need to get out of here? What was that?" Zell asked. He kept turning around and around in a sign of utter confusion. "I don't get it."
"Squall, they never saw that thing! They have no idea what's coming!" Seifer told Squall. He seemed a little frantic.
Squall took a few steps closer to everyone. "I need everyone to listen to me and listen well. There is something coming this way that is nowhere near fun. It is a huge, ugly, and smart mutated monster called the Ruby Widow." He told them.
"You mean that thing is back!" Quistis shrieked, remembering their little experience a while back.
"Quistis, we never defeated it. We were forced to retreat." Squall said, correcting her.
"Yeah, with just the two of us, we didn't stand a chance. Like Squall said, it's no walk in the park on a midsummer's day. It is bad news!" Seifer agreed, nodding.
"But with all of us here, we could get rid of it because we probably won't reach Rianna until we get past that thing and who knows what else." Squall glanced over his shoulder, staring behind them for signs of that ghastly creature.
"Squall…" Seifer tapped him on the shoulder, a little nervous.
"What?"
"Listen. Do you hear that?" Seifer pointed upwards.
Squall strained to hear whatever Seifer was talking about, but to his dismay, he heard nothing. "I don't hear anything. What am I supposed to be listening for?"
"That's the point! You don't hear anything! That means the thing's gone all stealthy like it did last time! It knows we're here, and probably exactly where we are!" Seifer half shrieked, showing his true colors like he did in the Temple of the Lions.
"Crap!" Squall muttered. He had to think of something fast. They were sitting ducks just standing there.
There was a slight, almost unnoticeable tremor, and Zell was the first to look up.
"HOLY MOTHER OF HOT DOGS!" He yelled. Everyone looked at him, and he pointed behind them, a look of pure terror on his face.
They turned around to where Zell was pointing and saw exactly what he was freaking out about. Approaching them, in all its massive ugliness, was the mutated monster that Squall and Seifer had had the pleasure of meeting face to face. Only this time, it seemed different. Something had changed, but neither Squall nor Seifer could figure out what.
"Oh, shit!" Squall cursed. He hadto think fast. There was no way he could tell them what to do like this. They weren't nearly prepared for this stupid thing. Okay, so it wasn't that stupid. In fact, it was smart, maybe too smart. There was only one thing to do.
"RUN!" Squall yelled. They jumped a little and then looked at him like he was a complete idiot. He did a little motion that meant clearly, "like any time now!"
Zell was the first to turn on his heel and bolt. He had definitely seen enough and didn't want to be anywhere near that creature. As he approached the fork on the path, he yelled back behind him to Squall, "Which way?"
Unfortunately, Squall and Seifer yelled at the same time.
"Right!"
"Left!"
Realizing almost instantly that they wouldn't be able to go two separate ways, the to guys yelled the direction again.
"Left!"
"Right!"
"I need a direction now please!" Zell yelled. He was getting closer and closer to that fork with no decided direction yet.
Seifer and Squall were in the back of the pack, closest to the Ruby Widow that had realized that its targets were running away. Seifer looked at Squall and gave him the invitation to go ahead and tell Zell where to go. He would keep his mouth shut this time.
"Go left, Zell!" He yelled in the silence of his own voice.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" The martial artist yelled back and totally booked it.
Rinoa kept glancing over her shoulder at the Ruby Widow, trying to find some sort of weakness in the thing, but she couldn't see anything and knew that her magic, her elemental magic, wouldn't help her. She didn't realize that she was slowing down as she kept glancing over her shoulder.
Squall kept his eyes looking ahead at Zell and at Rinoa. She was a ways ahead of him but slowing down and looking behind him at the Ruby Widow. He hoped she wasn't planning on stopping. That would be suicide. They needed to get an advantage up on this thing, distract it somehow and then take it down.
Suddenly Zell skidded to a stop. Selphie bumped into him and his arms shot out to keep his balance. All of them slammed into each other, confused as to why Zell had suddenly stopped.
"Squall!" Zell yelled in panic. Squall looked up to him and saw what had caused them to stop.
As if things couldn't get any worse with the Ruby Widow, another horribly dangerous problem shows up. Obviously, someone wanted to take them out. Standing in front of them, in all its fine and glory, was Omega Weapon.
"That can't be good." Selphie laughed nervously.
"Don't tell me now things can't get any worse." Quistis muttered.
Now was really the time to think fast. Squall had to make a decision now. Omega Weapon was standing right in front of them and the Ruby Widow was on its way behind them. Seifer looked at him, wondering what he was going to do. Omega was closing in the gap between it and Zell, but Zell was taking steps back to get away from it. He had had enough of Omega Weapon on their last adventure going after Ultimecia. He continued to back up, forcing the rest of them to go backwards, but they were running out of room. The Ruby Widow was approaching behind them.
"Now what?" Selphie asked, scared out of her mind. She didn't want it to end this way. That just wasn't fun. She had plans for her future and they didn't, in any way, involve dying a slow and painful death at the jaws of two really huge monsters with bad breath.
"We've got to distract them somehow." Seifer whispered to Squall who nodded. Squall reached for his gunblade and Seifer followed suit. Quistis, who was standing next to Seifer and felt his movements, grasped the end of her whip, ready to have it out immediately. Selphie and Rinoa both also got ready, awaiting Squall's signal to tell them what to do. Zell looked behind him at the girls and nudged Irvine and those two prepared as well.
"Well? Now what? These things just keep getting closer." Seifer asked to Squall, muttering out the corner of his mouth. He was scared out of his mind but was determined not to let it show. He had to force himself to be strong until the end, and then he could let all his fear come out.
"If we can get out of this congested area and past Omega Weapon, we might be able to beat these two. But it's got to be timed perfectly. We've got to out-smart them. That's the only way. I doubt if our attacks will do very much damage. Rinoa's strongest spells may help but probably very little." Squall answered back, adding stuff as he went.
"What about Griever?" Seifer asked.
"He can only help us with Rianna. We've got to get to her on our own." Squall repeatedly gripped the hilt of his gunblade, realizing that he was nervous. He hardly ever got nervous a battle, or did this feeling have anything to do with this battle?
"Hey, Zell!" Squall called to him.
"Yeah?" The martial artist asked shakily.
"When I give the word, I want you to try and distract Omega Weapon. We only need about 15 to 20 seconds. While you're distracting it, Selphie, Quistis, and Rinoa, you guys need to get past it. Seifer and I will keep the Ruby Widow busy as long as we can." Squall gave out instructions.
"What about me? What do I do?" Irvine asked, looking from side to side from Squall to Zell.
…Shoot. He'd forgotten about Irvine. The cowboy had been so quiet he hadn't noticed him. Wait! Shoot! That was it!
"Stand between us and Zell and just shoot like Hell. That'll buy us a little time, I guess. That's all I can think to give you to do. I'm sorry." Squall shook his head. He hadn't meant to forget about Irvine. It just happened.
"No prob. Two monster mouths full of bullets coming right up!" Irvine cocked his gun with an evil grin.
Squall nodded to him and the turned his attention back to the Ruby Widow. Every step it took shook the ground threatened to knock them all over. He was waiting until it was a certain distance close to them before they acted.
"Wait for it… Wait for it." He muttered to himself. He watched it like a hawk, determined to get this right. He thought he knew what to do but he wasn't totally sure. His eyes suddenly snapped up and he saw the golden movement.
"Now!"
Squall and Seifer whipped out their gunblades and charged at the Ruby Widow. Zell ran to the left of Omega Weapon, which immediately turned its massive body at him, leaving an area open for the girls to get past, and Irvina began shelling off bullets at either target.
Zell dodged around Omega Weapon as it tried to ram at him, escaping barely with every attempt. He wouldn't be able to keep this up very much longer. Sooner or later, the thing would get him, but he was going to keep it up as long as he could.
Selphie, Rinoa, and Quistis slipped behind Omega Weapon and got to a safe distance away from it, but they noticed that the guys were stuck. They were mincemeat if they didn't at least try to get away. The two monsters were continuing to enclose the three men and would soon enough have them stuck. The girls had to do something.
"We've got to distract those monsters for the guys now!" Quistis exclaimed, watching in fear as the Ruby Widow took a swipe and knocked Squall and Seifer back, giving them less frontal movement.
"But how? How are we going to distract those things?" Rinoa asked, frantically.
"Hey! I've got it!" Selphie jumped up in the air like two feet in excitement. She abruptly turned to Rinoa. "Rinny, do you think you could make a force field around us?"
"A force field? I've never tried before. I don't know if I can. Why? What do you want me to put a force field around us for?" Rinoa asked almost curiously. She wanted to know just what Selphie was going to get them into.
"Well, I think I know how we can help them! I'll get Omega's attention and get it away from them so they have some room to give the slip to that other one. But I'll need you two to run up a ways and find a big opening like an arena. Put a huge force field around you until I can get to the guys!" Selphie said excitedly.
"Oh my gosh, Selphie! That is nuts!" Quistis gasped.
"I know. But it may work." Selphie insisted.
"I don't know if I can make a force field, but I'll try as hard as I can." Rinoa promised. She looked at Quistis, who sighed.
"Okay, but this is still crazy." Quistis shook her head.
"Alrighty!" Go down the path and look for an open area. There has got to be one. If not, we'll make due." Selphie hoped there was an open area so they could have some room. "Go! I'll get Omega's attention!" She gulped.
Rinoa and Quistis took off down the path, and Selphie headed a little closer to Omega Weapon. She took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"HEY, METAL BREATH!" She screamed at it. The massive thing turned quickly, nearly knocking Zell to the ground. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?" She did a little bring it on movement.
It only took a split second for Omega to get the message and start to come after her. It had immediately forgotten about the guys.
"I don't think it liked that!" She squealed and took off in the opposite direction, running faster than she ever had in her entire life.
"What in the Hell is she doing?" Squall asked, breathlessly. He and Seifer were both tiring quickly. The Ruby Widow would be able to grind them down if they didn't get a break.
"I think she's saving our asses! The girls must have something planned!" Seifer grabbed Squall's arm and jerked him back just as the Ruby Widow took a swing at him. His attention had been on Selphie and Omega Weapon.
"That thing is going to tear her up! We've got to go after it and get it from behind!" Irvine yelled.
"So let's go!" Zell bolted after Omega with the other three on his heels, and a very angry Ruby Widow behind them. That thing just wasn't going to give up.
"Irvine, can you shoot and run at the same time?" Squall yelled. Gasping for air in between breaths as he ran.
"Only if the target's in front but I can't aim too well!" He answered.
"Good. That's exactly what I need you to do!" Squall yelled up to him. "Zell, let Irvine in front! Irvine, shoot that damn thing and slow it down but don't hit Selphie!" He warned.
"My range isn't that far! She should be fine!" Irvine loaded as Zell hung back and let him pass.
"What about big and ugly behind us?" Seifer asked Squall at his side.
"I'm working on that!" Squall choked out. Running and talking at the same time didn't go well with him.
Irvine began shooting off bullets as fast as he could with as best aim as he could manage. He didn't want to take the risk of hitting Selphie even if she was out of his range. Anything could happen.
The guys almost immediately noticed that Omega Weapon was slowing down. Evidently it hadn't been prepared for a back attack, but it didn't stop. The thing continued after Selphie.
Something whizzed by Selphie's head and she glanced behind her to see Irvine shooting at Omega.
"Don't shoot me!" She screamed and tried to run faster.
"I'm not trying to!" She heard Irvine yell to her.
Something ahead of her caught her attention. Not far up, she saw a clear opening where the path expanded into this circular area. She saw Rinoa and Quistis and then a flicker of a dark purple light. She knew then that Rinoa was trying to make a force field.
"Come one, Rinny! Come on! You can do it! Come on!" She whispered breathlessly.
Then, just as Selphie ran into the area, this huge purple light expanded throughout the circle and engulfed Selphie. Omega still came charging after her.
Seifer and Squall had seen what had happened and watched as Irvine's bullets bounced off the purple.
"Move!" The two guys yelled at Irvine and Zell. They knew what was going to happen. "To the sides! Move!"
They dived into the swampy ditches beside the path just as Omega Weapon crashed into the force field. The monster was thrown back, full force, and rammed into the Ruby Widow. The two creatures went flying to the rear and about a hundred or so feet away, landed into the ground. It sounded like an explosion and the impact of the two huge monsters hitting the ground caused the land to begin to split.
Rinoa's force field was severely weakened by Omega and began to lose strength and flicker. She couldn't hold it up any longer and it disappeared. She was panting from the strong spell, as it had taken up a lot of energy.
Squall, Seifer, Irvine, and Zell jumped up and ran as fast as they could to the girls. The ground was splitting up the path and spreading apart. They shouted for the girls to move away from the newly forming crevasse. The three listened and moved to the top of the circle area and the guys soon joined them just as the ground completely split apart, preventing them form going back.
"That… was… pretty cool!" Zell exclaimed through breaths. "Thanks."
"Yeah, you girls saved out butts!" Seifer added, catching his breath.
"No problem. You do it for us plenty of times." Selphie smiled. She then turned to Irvine. "Irvine Kinneas, you are a bad shot! You were supposed to be aiming at Omega Weapon, not me!" She screeched.
"Do you know how hard it is to aim at something while running?" He protested. "I was trying not to put a bullet through your head!"
"Well, you weren't trying very hard!" She put her hands on her hips.
Irvine didn't get a chance to argue back as there was the rumbling again. All their heads snapped in the direction of the landing zone of Omega Weapon and the Ruby Widow. The two monsters were slowly making their way to them again.
"Uh-oh." Zell moaned.
The two monsters were slowly creeping about, severely damaged from the impact. Squall looked at Irvine, who nodded and cocked his gun again. Squall then motioned for the rest of them to back away from Irvine as he took careful aim. He was looking for a weak spot, or any spot for that matter that might cause a little disruption. He found what he was looking for right on the left shoulder of Omega Weapon. He fired and the thing howled in rage at turned to the Ruby Widow, poised to strike.
"We may want to back away some." Irvine cautioned, half enjoying the sight.
They did as he advised and backed well away from the crevasse. Omega Weapon took a swing at the Ruby Widow right across the top of its head causing the thing to freeze like it was in shock then turn and with a fist of fury, attack Omega. It didn't take too long for the two monsters to go at it, trying to destroy each other. The two things were noticeably moving closer and closer to the large crevasse but quite unaware of the fact that they were doing so. They were absorbed in their fighting, concentrating only on the opponent. That was the one weakness the incredible monsters held. They concentrated only on the target, nothing else.
It was like just a split second when it happened. They were inches maybe from the crevasse, attacking brutally, when the Ruby Widow ripped at Omega. The giant lost what little balance it may have had and like slow motion, fell backwards, heading for the dark abyss of the crevasse. The long sword of it was thrust out and pushed right through the Ruby Widow's center. There was no sound as the creature thrashed about with a massive sword through it. Omega was hanging in the crevasse, trying to either pull the Ruby Widow with it or keep from falling. But the Ruby Widow couldn't pull away or hold Omega Weapon up and tumbled into the crevasse, disappearing and both no longer posing as threats.
"We got lucky." Zell muttered in shock and partial relief.
"And we're not going back that way." Squall added.
"What have you done to my monsters?" A voice behind them shrieked.
They turned around to find Odine standing there, blocking their path in absolute fury.
"What have you done? My works! My creations! You idiots! You will pay!" He glared at them.
By this time, Squall had had just about enough. He didn't want to waste any more time getting to Rianna and taking her out, and he sure as Hell didn't want to be chased by two huge freakish monsters that wanted to do everything but eat him again. He walked up to the doctor quite calmly, so it appeared.
"I really, really don't want to deal with you." He said, growling. He then grabbed the doctor by the hair on the top of his head, held him still, and punched him square in the face. The others behind him and all gasped as Odine fell to the ground, knocked out with an almost definite black nose.
Squall then turned around and motioned for them all to go ahead with a "shall we?" glance. He was sick and tired of all this. They could see that. He wanted to get to Rianna as soon as possible and take her down quickly. He wanted this to be over and done with already.
Everyone gently stepped over the former doctor and walked down the new path. They walked in silence and then, they all stopped. They were out of those woods and now facing a huge, dark, evil castle. Storm clouds hovered above it and most of the building was in ruins. Much grief and destruction had come to this place. Vines and other plants were growing up through it and vultures circled around the top of the castle. It had no moat but swampy land beneath it.
"Why is it always castles?" Irvine asked with a sigh, perplexed at the thought.
"Who knows, but I'll bet Rianna is in there. It's her turn for a little hurt, pain, and agony." Squall snarled. Then, he looked down at the ground in realization. They would very soon fight Rianna, but he hadn't even thought about it yet. He didn't know what to choose.
Rinoa looked at him questioningly, but he shook it off and began to walk again. They followed him to the castle, up the huge stone steps, and through the moldy doors, ignoring the musty stench.
When they stepped inside, they saw more than a jungle. They were looking right at a woman with light green skin, pointed ears, short, golden locks, and beady eyes. They were staring at Nadia.
"So we meet again." She snarled with a wicked smile that revealed sharp, pointed teeth.
Seifer was the only one who stepped closer to the nymph. He wasn't sure what he was doing or going to do for that matter. All he knew was that Nadia had to be finished. He couldn't let her do any more damage. That was the least he could do, if nothing else.
"What are you doing?" he asked. He tried to remain as calm as possible. He didn't want her to see any weakness in him.
"What do you mean? I'm here to make sure that you get nowhere near Rianna. She must stay alive until the alignment. It is crucial that she remains able to call the Black Bird. You will not get any closer to her. I will make sure of that!" She growled at him, hating him.
"I'm sorry, but you aren't gong to stop us." Squall stepped up, standing beside Seifer with his gunblade out at his side, ready.
"And just what are you going to do about it?" She reached up and a saber fell into her waiting hand with a white tip, fire flaming from it. She pointed the blade at Seifer who stood only inches from its end.
Selphie looked at Nadia in fear. She had been such a cute little girl! Why do things always have to turn out so badly? What made Nadia so evil? And what was this stupid alignment? What did it have to do with Rianna?
Irvine leaned over and whispered something to Zell who nodded. The cowboy then cocked his gun and pointed it at the nymph. Her head snapped in his direction and there was a tiny flicker of fear and surprise on her face. Her eyes narrowed at him, and her expression was daring him to shoot at her. He raised his cowboy hat up a little, and he returned the glare.
Zell moved closer to Quistis and whispered to her, "Irvine told me to tell you that we're going to try and get around Nadia and take her down from behind. Squall and Seifer are going to keep her busy."
Quistis nodded and explained the same thing to Selphie and Rinoa as Zell returned to Irvine's right side, almost hidden behind Seifer. When the time came, he would go around the outside and get behind Nadia. But she had one advantage against them. They had no idea what she was really like, what her real power was.
"I can't let you harm anyone or stand in our way. We have a job to do, and if finishing you off is now part of that job then so be it. You're no good. I thought you were something that you're not." Seifer said, his voice growing louder and stronger, but he was weakening in his resolve. This wasn't fair but he had to do it. He had to face his fears.
The nymph put a hand over her heart, if she even had one, revealing long, bloody nails. "You would hurt me? You would hurt your own child, daddy?" She spat out that last word.
Seifer couldn't control himself or his emotions any longer. She had gone too far. She had found his weak spot and attacked it ruthlessly. But it wasn't pain that he felt, but it was another completely different emotion that he hadn't expected to find- anger. It boiled up inside him and overflowed. He pointed his gunblade straight at Nadia and charged at her.
For such a fragile-looking creature, she was inhumanly strong. He came at her and her own blade came in contact with his, and they locked swords. She used her other hand and grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him behind her. He went flying into a thing of vines that entangled him. The entire entrance hall was run over by rogue plants that were clearly acting on their own, influenced by magic. Vines covered the walls, showing no stone or anything for that matter. There was a grand staircase that Nadia was purposely blocking. It had plants of green, sick- yellow, and even black covering its railings and steps. Sections of the stairs were knocked out and left large holes.
Nadia turned her back to the rest of them to face Seifer. His gunblade had been thrown form his hand and its tip was stuck in the old, stone floor and immediately swallowed up by plants. Nadia began to walk closer to the pinned Seifer, her evil sword pointed out. Squall rushed at Nadia and attacked her from behind. She whipped around and met his blade with hers. Squall put all his strength in his blade, trying with all his might to keep her restrained, but she was proving to be incredibly strong.
Zell saw a golden moment for them to act and motioned to Irvine and Quistis. He ran around a huge pillar that was probably once used to hold up a ceiling that was no longer there. He jumped over debris of ancient items that had rotted away and belted at tall grass and weeds. He made his way to Nadia but was stopped. A huge plant stood in his way that he had not seen. It was like a huge Venus flytrap that smiled wickedly at him, daring him to try to get past. He backed up, hoping to retrace his steps but two enormous vines shot up out of the cracks in the stone and hit at him, blocking his path to the rear. He was stuck!
Quistis made a beeline straight for Seifer. She had to free him from the entangling vines. She dodged Squall and Nadia's blades that had no idea that she was there. Those two were dishing it out, moving in all kinds of directions, throwing their blades about at each other. She ducked and moved from side to side to avoid being headless. She kept glancing over at Seifer and searching the ground for his gunblade, but she saw no sign of the thing. She saw that Seifer was wriggling and squirming, trying to loosen the vines and get away but with no such luck. If she could get his gunblade and get it to him, then she could cut him free and then help Squall. She didn't dwell too long on trying to locate his gunblade but got to his side as soon as possible. It was a little difficult as Squall and Nadia's movements were unpredictable. She finally managed, after many close calls, to get to Seifer, but the majority of her voyage was spent on her hands and knees. She reached Seifer, who was almost completely covered by the vines that held him. She grabbed at one of the vines and pulled at it. She was surprised to find how strong the vines actually were. She pulled and twisted at the vines, but it didn't help. The things just wouldn't break. She needed a blade or something sharp that would free Seifer. She began to search frantically on the ground for his gunblade or anything else that would help her.
Irvine stood in his spot and searched the area, looking for gadget that me may be able to use to get them away from Nadia. He suddenly heard a sound coming from his far right. His head snapped and he saw that Zell was in trouble. He sighed and with a grin, ran to Zell's pathetic rescue. He was quite surprised to see a huge plant attacking Zell and figured that this would not be quite as easy as he had thought.
Now Selphie and Rinoa tried to make their way to the grand staircase behind Squall and Nadia. They had an idea that may get them past Nadia to Rianna. It was easy to tell that Nadia was very skilled in controlling plants. It they could get above her, they may be able to capture her and get away. That was the plan, anyway.
Even though Nadia was busy with a very deft Squall, she was watching Rinoa out the corner of her eye. The sorceress posed a certain potential threat to Rianna by being in the state tat she was in, and Nadia needed to keep Rianna alive and Rinoa away from the real enemy here. That was one reason why Nadia had ordered Odine to create those monsters that would protect her, but he didn't understand that they were supposed to protect Rinoa, too. She saw Rinoa and Selphie go around the long way to them and knew that they were plotting something. She knew she had to keep Rinoa away from the staircase and Squall if Rianna was to succeed. This Leonhart was the key component, and she wouldn't be able to use the alignment properly if his blood wasn't present or he wasn't alive. He had to be alive in order for it to work, and then he could die.
She saw that Rinoa and Selphie were getting too close. Squall would be able to use her power, and Nadia didn't want that. She didn't need him any stronger than he already was. She managed to use her free hand and point it at Rinoa. She had her own form of magic and needed to keep Rinoa busy for the time being. She wouldn't understand, not yet.
A green light shot from Nadia's finger in a steady stream and hit the ground in front of Selphie and Rinoa at a patch of plants that immediately reacted to the stream. The plants turned a darker green and began to shake and then rose out of the ground, roots and all. Selphie and Rinoa both stopped in their tracks and stood rather dumbfounded.
"That can't be good." Selphie whispered. She was really scared and stepped back, holding onto Rinoa for dear life.
"No, it can't." Rinoa gulped. The two of them both began to back up, afraid of the little army of plants that was coming at them.
It was basically a bunch of little plants that lifted out of the ground that were coming at them. They could hear shrill little chuckles coming from the things. ("Heh heh heh.")
"Oh man, oh man!" Selphie exclaimed. "Where's a bottle of Weed-B-Gone when we need it?" She was not at all amused with the current events.
"I don't know, but I could really use some right now!" Rinoa nearly screamed out. She was afraid, oh yeah, she was afraid.
Squall heard Rinoa's near scream and his head snapped n her direction, which left him slightly off guard to Nadia. The nymph took full advantage of the distraction and with the same hand as before, shot that strange green light at him. He looked back at Nadia and attempted to move, but it was too late. The ground he was standing on was hit by her magic and began to react. Everyone stopped what they were doing in the room and watched what was happening to Squall. Vines erupted from the ground and began to wrap around his legs and move up his body to entrap him.
"No!" Rinoa screamed out. Squall was trying to break free from his trap, but the magical vines were too powerful. Nadia smiled a triumphant evil grin.
They all could do nothing but watch as Squall was becoming trapped. The vines were tightened around him and rose higher on his body, now over his chest and getting dangerously close to his neck. They went down his arms and covered his gunblade as well. He squirmed and made as much movement as possible but to no luck. He couldn't get free.
The vines stopped at his neck, tightening around him there so that he could no longer, in any way, move any part of his body.
Nadia, who was looking very satisfied, turned to the rest of them. Her eyes glowed in a sickening, happily way. "It is done." She snarled. "The alignment is only hours away now, and there is nothing you can do to stop it from happening. You will see what Hell looks like once she is released from the prison you caused!" She glared at Squall. "And you!" She then turned to Rinoa. "You will lose whom you call your knight, and the powers he imposed upon you will not help you. The prophecy lined with lies will lay in shattered ruins at your feet!" She then threw her head back and laughed.
All this time, while everyone had watched in fear, Seifer had freed one of his hands. When Nadia had sent that stream to Rinoa and then the larger one to Squall, the vines that had him pinned released their hold slightly, and he was able to free his hand. He tapped Quistis on the back, and she looked at him. He pointed to the ground just behind Squall. When those vines rose from the ground at Squall, they revealed his gunblade. She reached for it as nobody paid attention and finally managed to cut Seifer free.
Seifer was furious beyond all words and once he was freed, he rushed madly, gunblade ready, straight at Nadia. The nymph still had her back to him, facing Rinoa and wasn't expecting it. Seifer raised his gunblade and slashed Nadia right down the back. She howled in pain. It was a sound like that of a dying animal, and everyone cringed at it.
The huge Venus fly trap that had blocked Irvine and Zell made the same noise and melted back into the ground, leaving the way open for the two men. They immediately rushed to Seifer who stood back in fear at what he had done. Nadia was still howling, raged, in pain. Green blood was oozing out of the wound that Seifer had created. She turned around, blade still in her hand, and growled at Seifer. She charged at him, but he was ready and met her attack ahead of time. The green blood that had come from the nymph flowed into the ground, turning anything that resided there a nasty black color.
Quistis jumped to her feet, whip out, and headed for Seifer and Nadia. The nymph wasn't letting up at all and continued to attack Seifer with strike after strike after strike. Irvine and Zell also headed to aid Seifer from Nadia's ruthless attacks.
Rinoa ran to Squall with Selphie behind her. They had to find a way to free him. Selphie was the one who noticed that the vines were weakening due to Nadia's wound.
"Guys! Attack her again! Wound her again! The vines are weakening!" Selphie yelled. She and Rinoa attempted to pull at the vines, hoping that their efforts would help even a little bit.
"We're trying!" Irvine yelled back. The four of them had made a circle around Nadia but she only went at Seifer with a full force. By doing so, she was making herself vulnerable.
Quistis was the first to stroke at the evil nymph. She hit her as hard as she could muster with her whip, and the result of the whip caused a welt to rise below Seifer's wound. Again, the nymph shrieked in pain and turned her attention to Quistis.
The vines weakened still but they wouldn't release their complete hold on him until the nymph was probably dead.
"Again!" They both yelled, pulling at vines. Squall was trying to help as much as he could.
Zell made a punch at Nadia but it bounced off and he went flying back, landing on the ground. Irvine took he bottom of his gun and hit the nymph in the back. He gave a stupid little grin as Nadia screamed again. Still the vines wouldn't completely let him go.
"Seifer!" Rinoa yelled. "You'll have to do it! You'll have to finish her off!" Selphie had gone over to Zell to make sure that he was all right.
Seifer nodded warily and took a deep breath. He raised his gunblade over his head and cut right down Nadia's back, down her spine. She made a sound worse than before and fell forward. The look on her face was horrid, all twisted and pained. Her screams died as she did, hitting the ground.
Squall was finally released and he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees, panting. Rinoa fell beside him, glad that he was okay. Seifer also fell to the ground, staring at his gunblade, covered in Nadia's blood. She was evil. She deserved to die. He had to keep telling himself that over and over and over. True, Nadia had been evil, but he had loved her like she was his own child. He had seen her as a sweet innocent, beautiful child. It broke his heart. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Quistis. She smiled at him or tried to anyway.
"Come on, we should finish this. We're almost done." She whispered and helped him to his feet. He nodded but said nothing to her.
Squall slowly stood, still trying to catch his breath. He looked at Seifer. "Thank you." He knew that had to be hard for him.
Seifer just waved it off and looked up the stairs that Nadia had tried to block from them. At the top of them were two doors, large and cracked. He was confident to bet that Rianna was waiting behind those doors. This was almost over and soon they would be able to go home, go back to their own lives and forget about this. He for one, couldn't wait for that option.
"Let's get this over with. Let's finish this." Seifer said, longing to go home and get away from this, longing to forget everything.
"What other choice is there?" Squall asked. "It's time to make a decision." He was the first to head to the grand staircase, heading up the cracked, old stone. He was afraid and still did not know what he was going to choose.
They followed him to the top of the staircase where he stopped, staring at the doors. Getting themselves ready, they opened the two doors and walked into the darkness beyond with Squall in the lead, knowing that their destinies were set in unbreakable stone.
A/N: OMG! Only one, ONE, chapter left of this! Oh my gosh! What will happen I wonder? Well, something's bound to happen considering there's going to be another book. Duh! Well, I don't have much to say, guys, so I'm going to git and finish this so you can read the wonderful ending (I wish.). The final chapter will be posted within the next couple of days or even later tonight so look for it, but the epilogue will be a little longer because I still have to write it. Tee-hee. I'm just going to type it. I'm not going to bother with writing it down. Well, see you guys soon. Later Days!