Chapter 24
The day of the Gaia Summit finally came a few days later. Most of the city went about its normal daily routine but in the area of the city were the great Gilgamesh Auditorium stood, crowds of people gathered. The Gilgamesh Auditorium was where the Gaia Summit would be held. It was a very large building with long stone steps that ascended toward huge wooden double doors at the top of the steps. The large stone columns that aligned the front of the building were very similar to Roman columns and the building itself resembled a Roman building.
On the street all who would attend the Gaia Summit waited outside for the doors to open. There were so many different people and races there. Marle and Garnet met that day on the street. Marle was elegantly dressed for the occasion in a white gown while Garnet wore a red one. Marle was escorted by Crono and Garnet was escorted by Beatrix and Steiner.
"Well Marle it's great to meet you" smiled Garnet.
"I know Garnet you're really cool. You know we should hang out sometime after of all this boring stuff is over. You know, I have heard of you before but I have never seen a picture of you or anything. How do manage you dodge the media so well?"
"Well, I started very early in life dodging the media by using an alias name" said Garnet.
"Really? What was it?" asked Marle.
"It was Dagger. After a while the reporters gave up because they could never actually find me. I think I just got somewhat lucky though" said Garnet.
"I wish I could dodge them a little better. I mean it's so annoying when they make a big deal out of me doing something simple like…..eating breakfast" said Marle.
As soon as Marle said that a random guy ran through the crowd, took her picture and ran off.
"Wow…I wonder what juicy gossip they can possibly make up about me just standing here…" said Marle.
Marle reached and held Crono's hand. He smiled and stood there quietly.
"There are so many people here…look there are some Burmecians" said Beatrix to Steiner.
Beatrix pointed to a group of rat like people that walked through the crowd. At the front was the mischievous young prince of the Burmecians. He was escorted by a female Burmecian wearing light red clothing and a hat and another male Burmecian.
"Indeed there are a lot of people here" said Steiner looking around.
"It's nice that the princess can fulfill some diplomatic duties but do you think that this will cause her to be under the media spotlight a lot more now? I worry about her" said Beatrix.
"The princess will have nothing to fear. I'll stop any scoundrel that would infringe on her majesty's privacy or happiness! That is my duty" said Steiner proudly. He took his duty very seriously and cared for Princess Garnet just as much as Beatrix.
Beatrix smiled at Steiner.
"That's sweet Steiner" said Beatrix.
"Hmm hopefully being myself is working" thought Steiner.
(Next Scene)
Red XIII, Cloud, Zack, and Bugenhagen stood in the crowd of people at the Gilgamesh Auditorium. Bugenhagen had finally come to Square City and Red XIII was excitedly telling him about all he had done since he came to Square City. He talked about the club opening and watching television and about the mission they completed.
"Ho Ho Ho! Nanaki you seem to have had a great time here…despite what you thought before…" laughed Bugenhagen in his usual jolly manner.
"I knew you'd start liking the city Red XIII. You just needed to give it a chance that's all" said Cloud.
"Yeah he loves watching television so much we have to pry him away from it" said Zack.
"Grandpa are you sure you don't want me to stay with you during the Gaia Summit?" asked Red XIII.
"Oh no Nanaki you don't have to do that. You should go and be with your friends today I'll be alright" said Bugenhagen.
"Alright Grandpa….Cloud, Zack you two go on ahead I'll catch up. I need to talk to my Grandpa about some things…" said Red XIII.
"Oh ok then we'll be at the corner" said Cloud.
Cloud and Zack began inching their way through the crowd and Red XIII turned to Bugenhagen. Bugenhagen smiled as he floated there.
"What is on your mind Nanaki?" asked Bugenhagen.
"Grandpa…the other day when I fought that monster on our mission….I saw others…" said Nanaki.
"Some of your tribe?" asked Bugenhagen with a slight smile on his face.
"Yes. I think I was hallucinating" said Red XIII.
"Ho ho ho Nanaki what makes you think that?" laughed Bugenhagen.
"Well I'm the last of my kind right? No one else survived the attack…." said Red XIII.
"Nanaki, I love you very much but you've always had a knack for thinking negatively ho ho ho" chuckled Bugenhagen.
"What?"
"Nanaki no one ever told you that you were the last one. I know that I never told you that. That is something you assumed all these years. Much like how you used to assume your father ran off like a coward during the attacks. You always assumed the worst of every situation. I can understand why though. You have lost a lot of things in your life but still I have always hoped that you would have a little more faith. Nanaki your people are very strong, proud, and resilient. They would never be wiped out so easily. Of course there are survivors" said Bugenhagen.
"So I may have a chance to meet more like me?" asked Red XIII.
"Of course" smiled Bugenhagen.
"Grandpa, thank you. I'll meet up with you later" said Red XIII.
"Have fun Nanaki"
Red XIII made his way through the large crowd. It took him a while but he eventually made it up the street to the corner where Cloud and Zack were. They both stood around talking as they waited for him.
"Zack, why did you blow all your money on a motorcycle? You have to find a new place of your own" said Cloud.
"If you saw this bike you'd blow all your money on it too Cloud" said Zack.
"You can't sleep on my couch forever Zack" said Cloud.
"I'm here" said Red XIII as he walked up.
"Everything alright Red XIII?" asked Zack.
"Yes everything is fine. What are we going to do today?" asked Red XIII.
"I don't know just hang out I guess" said Cloud.
(Next Scene)
"Why do I have to go to this stupid thing?" whined the little Burmecian boy.
"Prince Puck it is your duty" said the Burmecian woman whose name was Freya Crescent.
Beside Freya stood Sir Fratley. Both Freya and Fratley were Dragoon Warriors of Burmecia sent to look after Prince Puck at the Gaia Summit.
"Aww I don't want to do this" whined Prince Puck.
"Your majesty, after all this is over we'll go and do something fun. How does that sound?" asked Fratley.
"…eh ok I guess. I still have to sit through this boring stuff though…" said Puck.
(Next Scene)
Laguna, Ward, and Kiros began moving up the steps toward the entrance.
"Finally we can go inside. We've been waiting forever!" said Laguna.
"It hasn't been that long. You're really impatient" said Kiros.
"Hey is that King Figaro?" asked Laguna as he pointed.
"I think so" said Kiros.
"Hey King Figaro what's up?" shouted Laguna.
"Laguna I don't think that's how you address royalty…." said Kiros shaking his head.
Ward just held his head. Edgar and Sabin looked over at Laguna and got closer to him.
"Hey. You're the President of Eshtar right?" asked Edgar.
"Yep it's a pleasure to meet you two" said Laguna. Laguna began shaking both their hands. He was very abrupt unlike how most people approached royalty. Most people approached them more shyly but Edgar nor Sabin seemed to mind.
"It's good to meet you" said Sabin.
"Yes. I think our seats will be near each other once we get inside" said Edgar.
"That's great. Hey these are my close friends Kiros and Ward" said Laguna.
"Hello" said Kiros
Ward just waved.
They all continued up the stairs toward the entrance.
(Next Scene)
Yuna, Braska, Auron, and Jecht were already inside the building. Braska would be the moderator for the event. The Gilgamesh Auditorium was very large and had a circular shape to it. Around the room were several stadium style seats and at the center of the room a large stage with a podium that was set up and a large screen monitor hung down from the ceiling. The four of them stood on the stage where the podium was. The people began pouring into the auditorium and taking their seats.
"Wow there are so many people" said Yuna.
"Almost every nation has sent representatives" said Braska.
"Braska just how long is this thing supposed to last anyway?" asked Jecht
"I'm not sure Jecht" replied Braska.
"Are you getting antsy already?" chuckled Auron.
"No…just wondering that's all" said Jecht scratching his head.
"I think I see Kimarhi" said Yuna staring off into the distance.
Among the crowd of people pouring into the Auditorium a group of blue furred Ronso could be seen. Kimarhi was up front and Garik and a few others were not far behind him.
"There's something about that Garik character…" said Auron softly to himself as he watched them find their seats.
After several minutes everyone finally made it to their seats. There was a small murmur of voices throughout the auditorium but this immediately died down as Braska finally approached the podium. Yuna, Auron, and Jecht took a seat in some chairs that were set up behind the podium.
"Dear Friends…it is an honor to speak to you today. I hope that this day we can make strides toward everlasting peace…." Braska started his introductory speech.
(Next Scene)
While Braska talked of peace there were others that plotted war. Kefka sat in a tent at the Empires secret base camp. A small monitor was set up and eventually it turned on while he sat in front of it. Rufus Shinra appeared on the screen.
"Kefka? Are your forces ready? Where's Gestahl?" asked Rufus.
Kefka turned around and the dead body of Emperor Gestahl was sprawled across the floor. Rufus of course was unable to see this.
"Our dear Emperor has been relieved of his duties. I am in charge now. Woo Woo hooo" said Kefka giving his trademark laugh.
"I see…are your forces ready?" asked Rufus.
"Indeed" said Kefka grinning.
"Alright. The Gaia Summit has started and everyone is in position" said Rufus.
"The world is ours Rufus…"said Kefka.
"…Just get ready…" said Rufus just before the screen went black.
Kefka chuckled to himself then he got up and left the tent.
(Next Scene)
Vincent, Locke, and Celes rooted through junk in an old storage room of the Black Jack. They had been stranded there for so long and Setzer was having no luck creating a device that could teleport them to Square City.
"I can't find that part Setzer wanted anywhere. Do you think we'll get this thing working?" asked Locke as he pulled several pieces and parts out of the boxes.
"We have to keep trying no matter what. The Gaia Summit was supposed to start today" said Celes as she searched some boxes. Vincent looked in the corner through some boxes. There was a small brown chest on a shelf that caught his eye. Vincent reached and opened it up and there was an old dusty scroll inside of it.
"What's this?" asked Vincent.
"Oh that's some old scroll that Locke stole a while back" said Celes
"I did not steal it! It's treasure and I retrieved it" said Locke sternly.
"Ok sorry…" said Celes as she continued searching.
"It's no good anyway. No one can make out the markings on it" said Locke.
Vincent grabbed the scroll and opened it up. The old parchment had several weird letters on it. At first Vincent could not make them out but as he stared at it the letters seemed to shift. It looked like the letters began moving on the paper and soon Vincent could make out what they said:
There is one with a beast within
One who must atone for sin
The power he wields
It will be his shield
When Chaos returns again
"A Limerick?"
Vincent read these words in his head. For a moment Vincent felt a little dizzy but he quickly composed himself.
"Everything alright Vincent?" asked Locke.
"Oh…yes…this wouldn't happen to be the part Setzer is looking for is it?" asked Vincent as he pulled a small machine part out of a box.
"I think that could be it" said Celes.
The three of them left the storage room and went to the conference room where Setzer had been diligently working on the Exit Materia. Setzer, Gau, Cyan, Shadow and a few other Returners stood around. On the conference table Vincent's Exit Materia sat on top of a cylindrical tube. The base of the tube spun around rapidly and the materia began to glow.
"I think I almost got it working! I probably won't need that part after all!" yelled Setzer.
Setzer controlled the device using a remote that he held in his hand.
"I'm trying to lock onto a frequency of one of the beacons they probably used to get to Square City" said Setzer.
The base of the tube began spinning much faster and the Exit Materia emanated with a bright green glow.
"C'mon Setzer you can do it! This is our only hope" said Locke.
The base of the tube then started to slow down and the materia became dimmer.
"Sir Setzer what is happening?" asked Cyan.
"That can't be good" said Celes.
"Aww damn it I'm losing the signal!" yelled Setzer as he frantically pressed buttons on his remote.
The materia became much dimmer. Nothing Setzer seemed to be doing was working and the device began to deactivate.
"Oh no…" said Locke holding his head.
Gau then became very enraged and jumped on the table.
"Sir Gau come down this instant!" yelled Cyan.
"Stupid machine won't help us save friends!" yelled Gau as he began beating on the machine really hard with his fist.
"Gau stop!" yelled Locke.
"Stupid Machine!" yelled Gau as he continuously beating it.
"Sir Gau thou must stop this instant! Cease at once!" yelled Cyan.
Gau punched the machine one last time and it reactivated. The Exit Materia glowed even brighter.
"What…I think it's working again" said Setzer.
Suddenly a large shockwave of green energy burst from the materia and spread across everyone in the room.
"This is it! Hang on everybody!" yelled Setzer.
In an instant everyone in the room vanished.
(Next Scene)
That day would forever be marked in the history of Square City. It was a splendid afternoon. The thing is that it's usually on these seemingly perfect days that atrocities usually occur. Maechen was of course doing his usual story telling in the park while several children listened to him intently.
"…and that children is the story of Ashley Riot…and that as they say…is that…" said Maechen.
The children cheered at the end of the story but that was soon cut short. A large orb shaped green light appeared at the center of the park.
"What is this…" said Maechen under is breath.
Everyone in the park looked at the green light in amazement. The green light grew bigger and soon it appeared as if something was about to step out of it. All at once Empire troops poured out of the portal that now appeared. Many of them rode in Magitek armors while some of them carried rifles and ran through the park. Everyone in the park began screaming in terror and running.
"My word!" yelled Maechen.
"Freeze old man!" yelled a soldier as he pointed a rifle at Maechen.
A Magitek armor walked up near Maechen as well. The children sat there in horror as several soldiers began surrounding them.
"Do not harm the children!" yelled Maechen angrily.
Maechen was such a calm man so hearing him raise his voice in anger was very odd.
"Oh yeah what you gonna do about it old man!" said the soldier as he walked a little closer to Maechen and aimed the rifle at Maechen's head.
Maechen raised his eyebrow slowly.
"Young man….you leave me no choice but to teach you a lesson…despite my appearance I am a very capable….Black Mage…Thundaga!"
Maechen quickly cast a Thundaga spell. A large bolt of lighting came flashing from the sky and struck the man down.
"Run children! I will not let them harm you! Aero!" yelled Maechen
A strong wind came and blew the surrounding soldiers back several feet. The children got up and ran away. The Magitek Armor near Maechen prepared to fire on him. The weapon at its center powered up.
"Your weapon stands on shaky ground!" yelled Maechen.
Maechen raised his hands and cast a Quake spell. The ground underneath the Magitek Armor began to shake. Soon several rocks protruded from the ground which caused the machine to topple over on its side. Several other soldiers came and began surrounding Maechen.
"Eliminate the old man!" yelled one of the Empire soldier.
"Looks like you need a hand…Bright Fist!"
Alkaiser came out of nowhere. His fist glowed bright with gold energy and crushed the the front of a Magitek Armor on impact. The armor went flying back and crashed into another one of the Magitek armors.
"Al-Blaster" Alkaiser held out his hands and shot a big blast of green energy that knocked out three soldiers that were standing in a line.
Some soldiers began firing their weapons at Maechen. Terra in full Esper form flew down in front of Maechen and cast a barrier type spell. The bullets bounced off the forcefield.
"Are you alright?" asked Terra.
"I am. What about the children?" asked Maechen.
"They are fine we've cleared the way for them" said Terra.
The soldiers began aiming their guns again. Alkarl came and moved with such speed that he looked like a black streak.
Alkarl ran and sliced the barrels of the soldier's guns. He did it so fast that only after a few seconds the barrels finally fell off. The soldiers looked down at their broken weapons. They then threw them down and ran off.
"Alkaiser, I'll clear out the park. You and Terra go and help others in the other parts of the city" said Alkarl as he ran off after the soldiers.
"Alright let's go" Alkaiser began running out of the park and Terra flew near him.
"What in the world is going on…I bet Black X is in on this" said Alkaiser.
Terra thought to herself.
"This is what Ramuh warned me about"
(Next Scene)
A large force of Shinra troops rushed into the Gilgamesh Auditorium. They poured into the room surrounding all of Gaia's leaders. All of a sudden Rufus Shinra appeared on the large screen monitor that hung down from the ceiling. Rufus sat there with a half grin on his face.
"How are you gentlemen….Leaders of Gaia I am Rufus Shinra. Today is a glorious day. Well…at least it's a glorious day for me. You all on the other hand are about to have a very bad day. Today you will hand over control of your countries to me. Why? I have at my command the ultimate weapon. A weapon that is able to strike any target in Gaia. If you do not submit to my demands I will level your countries and destroy your people. Here's a demonstration. The city of Vector which is the capital city of the Gesthal Empire will now be obliterated"
The monitor shifted to an overhead shot of Vector. It was a large industrial city set near a mountain range. The camera was positioned on a high hill. Soon a large flash of light could be seen speeding toward the city in the distance.
"What in the world?" said Edgar.
The beam hit the city and suddenly a large shockwave of energy engulfed the city. The shockwave then spread out until it eventually destroyed even the camera. The screen went blank then Rufus reappeared.
"Well…no more Vector…now that could be your capital city. You'd best cooperate with the Shinra. I'll be back in a few moments to hear your answers. In the mean time the entire city is being taken over and will soon be under the control of the Shinra. There is no place for you to hide" said Rufus.
Rufus picked up a communicator and issued a command to all Shinra Troops.
"To all Shinra units…Vector has been destroyed…eliminate all Empire and Black X troops on site. They are no longer our allies and have outlived their usefulness.
"Evil is never content with itself. It betrays even its own" said Auron under his breath.
"As you can see the power of the Shinra is inconceivable. I trust you all will make the right decision however I'll give you time think it over anyway. Good bye" and with that the screen went blank.
Shinra troops began spreading out through the Auditorium aiming their guns at everyone.
"The Empire and Shinra…right under our noses the whole time…"said Edgar angrily.
"I bet the Emperor and Kefka are here somewhere" said Sabin.
"What about Locke and the others? Do you think they're…." Edgar couldn't bear to even finish that sentence.
"I don't think any of them would give in to the Empire" said Sabin.
"Hey you two quit worrying we'll make it out alright" said Laguna.
"How can you be so calm?" asked Edgar.
"Have a little faith man. We'll think of something. The high summoner could probably summon up some monsters to bust some heads. Just give it some time" said Laguna nonchalantly.
"Is he always this calm?" asked Edgar.
"Usually he's pretty laid back…except when there are women involved…" said Kiros.
Ward nodded his head in agreement.
"Hey!" said Laguna.
"Hey you all shut yer traps!" yelled a soldier. The Shinra troops had now spread out to their area.
(Next Scene)
Cid, Lucca, and Shera were hiding in the basement of the machine shop while the attack on Square City was occurring. Cid searched around frantically through the boxes and shelves in the basement.
"Cid what on earth are you doing?" asked Shera.
"It's got to be here somewhere…" said Cid continuing his search.
He came to a long heavy looking box and pulled it off a shelf.
"Bingo…" said Cid.
Cid set the long box on the floor and opened it. After a few moments he pulled out a strange looking spear.
"The Venus Gospel…been a long time" said Cid.
"Cid what are you planning to do?" asked Shera.
"What do you think woman? I'm going out there to kick somebody's ass!" yelled Cid.
"Mr. Highwind I can help you I've been working on this new invention and…." said Lucca.
"Nope you're staying here with Shera. Keep the basement door locked and the lights off they'll never find you in here. Somebody has to take this city back…" interrupted Cid as he readied his spear.
"Cid…I…-sigh- there's no use arguing with you when you get like this…" said Shera shaking her head.
Cid walked up and hugged Shera. She dug her face into his shoulder.
"Cid…I don't know what I'd do without you…" said Shera.
"Don't worry once I've shoved this spear up some Shinra asses I'll come back for you" said Cid.
With that Cid quickly ran up the basement stairs.
"I hope Mr. Highwind will be alright" said Lucca.
"He will…he's crazy enough to survive anything…one of the things I love about him" said Shera.
Cid walked through a side door that led to an alley beside his shop. He then crept through the alley toward the street that ran in front of his shop. The place was abandoned because everyone was hiding from the troops. Cid darted across the street into another alley. As he made his way through the alley he heard the voices of some troops. When he almost got to the end of alley he stopped and listened.
"Sir, we've just eliminated another group of Empire soldiers. We believe their number should be dwindling drastically now"
A Shinra trooper in blue reported to a Shinra commander in a red uniform. A few feet from them a huge tank was parked and some Shinra soldiers stood around it. Cid continued to listen closely to their conversation.
"Good, have there been any reports of Black X fighters?" asked the commander.
"No sir. None of the squads have even reported seeing them at all" said the soldier.
"Odd. I'm sure those dirty bastards are up to something…I want you to take the tank over to the adjacent street and start blasting some of the buildings over there. Let's see if we can blow out some stragglers" said the commander.
"Sir yes Sir" said the soldier.
The street the commander was referring to was where Lucca and Shera were hiding. Cid knew he had to take these guys out now before the got into the tank. Cid ran out of the alley and into the street.
"Hey you Shinra assholes!" yelled Cid.
The group of soldiers looked at Cid. Cid held his spear out and got in his fighting stance.
"You shitheads ruined my tea time!" yelled Cid.
"Kill him!" yelled the commander.
The troops ran up and began firing their machine guns at Cid. In a flash Cid leapt high into the air dodging the bullets. The troops were amazed at how high Cid could jump. Cid landed in the middle of the group. His spear was imbedded into the ground. Cid focused his energy into the ground and leapt into the air again. The energy in the ground exploded violently and blasted the group of soldiers into all directions.
Cid landed in front of a Shinra trooper surprising him. The soldier lifted his gun to fire but Cid was a step ahead of him.
"Fire 3"
Cid cast a fire spell and scored a direct hit on the soldier blasting him back from the explosion and scorching him.
"Hold it right there!" yelled the commander.
Cid turned around and the commander was very close to him with his pistol pointed at his head.
"Drop the spear. Drop it now" said the commander.
Cid dropped the spear and held his hands up high. Then Cid began smiling for some strange reason.
"I'm glad to see you so happy before I blow your head off" said the commander.
"Look out behind you" smiled Cid.
"How dumb do you think I am?" asked the commander.
-BLAM BLAM BLAM-
The sound of gunfire filled the air. After a few moments the commander fell to the ground dead. Cid looked at Barret who had shot the commander from behind
"Hey you tried to warn him" said Barret.
"Yeah they never listen. What's going on Barret?" asked Cid as he picked his spear up.
"The damn Shinra just came and started shooting up everything for no reason. We always said they were up to no good!" said Barret.
"Where's Marlene?" asked Cid.
The Police have a shelter on the other side of town. They've managed to keep the stinking Shinra away from it. I left her there and decided to come back to see if I could help"
"Hmm a shelter? Ok I think we can do some good" said Cid as he began walking over to the large tank.
"I should have known…you want to go blowing up stuff…." said Barret.
"Well blowing up some Shinra is a bonus but we have to get everyone we can to the shelter and this baby is just the thing" said Cid as he examined the tank.
"Can you drive it Cid?" asked Barret.
"Can I drive it? What the hell kinda dumbass question is that Barret? I can drive anything. First let's go pick up Shera and Lucca in this" said Cid.
(Next Scene)
The SeeD Garden actually stood more on the outskirts of the city. From the higher levels of the Garden the flashing lights and sounds of gunfire could be seen and heard in the city. Ellone and Rinoa were visting Squall in the SeeD Garden that day when the attack occurred. They ran down the hallway with Squall and at the intersection they were met by Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie.
"Squall SeeD is ready to move into the city. The Headmaster said that the attackers have been identified as Shinra soldiers" reported Quistis.
"Shinra? Why would they do this?" asked Squall.
"I'm not surprised at all…" said Quistis.
"Rinoa, Sis you two will have to stay here where it's safe and…."
-BOOM-
A large explosion was heard outside the Garden.
"That one was close" said Irvine.
"The Shinra troops are here now?" asked Selphie.
"Squall, that's not the Shinra….this is a more dangerous foe" said Griever in Squall's mind.
"Squall I'm scared" said Rinoa clinging tightly to Squall.
"Rinoa be strong for me now. You and Ellone head to the subbasement. The younger cadets and the Headmistress and master are there.
"Alright Squall" said Ellone.
"Squall I love you" said Rinoa as she hugged Squall. Tears had already started rolling down her cheeks.
"I love you too….be strong for me now…" said Squall as he hugged her.
Ellone and Rinoa then ran toward the elevator.
"The noise came from the front gate" said Irvine.
"Squall, Irvine, Selphie, and Quistis ran through the Garden and eventually came to the balcony which overlooked the front gate.
"Squall be prepared…our foes are near" said Griever.
Zell, Nida, a young female SeeD with long dark hair named Xu and several other SeeD members stood watching the entrance.
"He struck the wall…and…wrecked it with one punch…" said Zell in amazement.
Squall looked down to see that a big gap had been punched into the wall surrounding the front of the Garden. In front of it two figures stood. They slowly walked closer.
"That's…Seifer!" yelled Selphie.
Squall looked closer and sure enough it was Seifer with some strange looking woman beside him.
"Look at them my Knight! Look at those kursed SeeD tremble in fear! They tremble at your strength my Knight. Let us finish them once and for all!" yelled Ultimecia.
Ultimecia raised her hands in the air and the ground began to tremble violently.
"Wha…whoa!" yelled Zell as he and several others fell to the ground.
Squall stood up through the earthquake the whole time. The power of Griever coursed through his body enabling him to withstand the violent shaking. He and Seifer stared at each other from the distance. Squall knew that this was not the same Seifer. There was something in his eyes. They seemed to literally burn with hatred taking on a red tint. Soon Ultimecia vanished and Seifer stood there alone
As the earthquake continued several large wolf like monsters forced their way out of the ground. They were grey colored and each of them had a pair of black horns on their head. Several bony plates armored their backbones. Seifer stood there as the creatures continued to spring out of the earth. Standing on all fours they were about as tall as Seifer. There were around sixty of these beasts in total and they stood in a crowd around Seifer. Their long red tongues flashed in and out of their mouths as they panted like dogs.
"Go…kill them all except for Squall…he's mine" said Seifer.
On his command the creatures surged into the Garden. Howling and yelling hellishly along the way.
"They're going into the Garden!" yelled Zell.
"Everyone go and defend the corridor" said Squall.
The SeeDs ran downstairs except for Squall. Squall stood there on the balcony. The wind blew his hair to the side a bit. It seemed like an eternity Squall and Seifer stared at each other from a distance.
"He is possessed by Catoblepas, my enemy. This is why I came to you Squall. I felt the resurrection of Catoblepas. He's an evil Guardian Force that I defeated long ago. His wickedness runs very deep and the time has come to vanquish him forever" said Griever.
"Ok Griever" said Squall.
Squall leapt from the balcony and landed gracefully on the steps leading to the entrance of the Garden. Much like Griever speaks to Squall in his mind Catoplepas speaks to Seifer, only he fills his mind with hateful things.
"There he is. Soon you will be able to take your revenge on all of them. Let your anger consume you Seifer. Let it fuel the fire within you and use it to crush your foes!" cackled Catoplepas in Seifers head.
Seifer held the Hyperion in his right hand. Squall readied the Lionheart as he began walking down the steps. Seifer stood there with a sinister smile on his face. His eyes had a red tint.
"Looks like we get to settle some unfinished business today" said Seifer.
"Seifer what's the meaning of all this? Why are you helping to destroy the city?" asked Squall as he walked.
"My Sorceress has plans beyond this city. Soon she will conquer this world and I shall be by her side…but first SeeD must be destroyed"
Squall stopped a few feet in front of Seifer. He was at the bottom of the stairs now.
"I know you're possessed now. The Seifer I knew was too much of a big headed jerk to do anyone's bidding. Now you're just a Sorceress' lapdog" said Squall.
"…and you're….DEAD!"
With a burst of speed Seifer dashed toward Squall. Seifer slashed diagonally at Squall's left side. Squall blocked his attack and the two were locked in a stalemate. With the awesome strength provided by the Guardian Forces each of them junctioned they pushed against each other but neither of them gave in. Seifer and Squall gritted their teeth as they pushed. The two of them leapt back after the stalemate then ran toward each other.
Squall slashed horizontally and Seifer blocked with the Hyperion and countered with a vertical strike which Squall deflected with the Lionheart. Seifer stumbled back a bit and Squall slashed horizontally again toward Seifers face. Seifer ducked under the attack. As he ducked Seifer held out his left hand and fired a quick Flare spell at Squall. From such a close distance any normal person would have probably been destroyed by the powerful spell. Squall was knocked back several feet by the blast of the spell. Squall slid along the ground on his back for several feet. He had made a large imprint in the stone walkway.
"Squall focus!" said Griever to Squall
"Remember how he got you kicked out of SeeD?" said Catoblepas to Seifer.
Before Squall could get up Seifer rushed at him in a rage. It seemed that Catoblepas constantly told Seifer things to anger him. Squall got up from the ground and ran at Seifer. At the same time the two of them leapt several feet into the air. The two of them closed in on each other in the air. Squall thrust at Seifer's midsection. Seifer parried with his gunblade and followed up with a slash at Squall's neck. Squall leaned back and the attack missed and at the same time he kicked Seifer in his left side which sent him crashing down to the ground. Seifer landed on some stone steps and made a huge dent in them as he crashed. Squall landed back on the ground. He cast a Thundaga spell while Seifer was on the ground. A large powerful bolt of lightning rained down from the sky and somehow Seifer leapt back and dodged it. The lightning struck the steps and created an even bigger crater in them.
Seifer landed on his feet as leapt back. Squall rushed at Seifer with great speed and landed a mighty uppercut straight into Seifers chin. Seifer was launched off the ground and into the air by the mighty blow. Seifer flew into the air and landed on the balcony that the SeeD's were previously standing when the attack started. Seifer was surprised and angry that Squall managed to land that attack on him.
"Show him no mercy" said Catoblepas.
Squall prepared to leap onto the balcony.
"Griever is there a way to rid Seifer of the evil GF influencing him? I don't want to kill Seifer" asked Squall in his mind.
"Hmm….damage his body enough and Catoblepas will consider the body useless and leave. He cares nothing for the people he junctions. If you can draw him out of the body I'll finish him" said Griever.
"All right then" said Squall as he leapt toward the balcony.
(Next Scene: Note this is happening at the same time Squall and Seifers fight started)
The wolf beasts poured into the lower level of the Garden straight through the front entrance. The SeeDs stood together as the horde of fiends closed in on them. Quistis readied her whip the Save the Queen. It was a gift from a certain King that liked beautiful women.
"Everyone, we must stop them here! Maintain rank formation. To the back rank assist when you can with support magic. Everyone, remember your training" said Quistis taking charge.
"Where's Squall?" asked Selphie.
"He's probably handling Seifer" said Irvine.
"Aww man here they come!" yelled Zell.
The horde of wolf fiends rushed into the crowd of SeeDs at once. One of the fiends leapt at Zell with its front claws extended. Zell jumped to his left and evaded. The beast then began running at Zell once again. Zell leapt at the beast and landed a powerful right hook on the fiend's snout. The creatures head reared back from the attack but it seemed to only be angered rather than damaged.
"Like punching into granite" said Zell holding his hand
The creature in a rage ran and pounced at Zell again.
-BLAM-
Irvine fired a pulse round that struck the left side of the beast and blasted it to the right. The beast flew into some other monsters and knocked them down.
"Thanks" said Zell.
"No time for that look out!" yelled Irvine.
Several of the creatures came barging through with their dark horns held out straight in front of them. As they burst through Zell managed to roll to his left and evade but Irvine couldn't get out of the way in time he was clipped in the arm by one of the monsters horns and he fell to the ground in pain.
"Ugh my arm!" yelled Irvine holding his arm.
One of the fiends ran toward Irvine with its fangs glistening. Zell ran and jumped on its back. He grabbed the creatures black horns and pulled back on them hard. The creature reared its head back and shook violently as it tried to shake Zell off.
"Irvie!" yelled Selphie as she ran to Irvine.
"Selphie take him out I can't hold him much longer!" yelled Zell.
Selphie reared back and slung her nunchaku with her all her might. The horizontal swing smacked the monster across the face and caused it to stumble to the right a bit. Zell jumped off its back and landed near Selphie. The enraged beast ran at all three of them. Irvine held his gun in his uninjured hand and fired another pulse round which went straight through the fiends skull. The beast fell to the ground dead.
"Irvie you going to be alright?"
Selphie leaned down toward Irvine and cast a Curaga spell.
"That feels a little better" said Irvine trying to get to his feet.
"They just keep coming!" yelled Zell as more of the beasts poured into the Garden.
(Next Scene)
In a flash of green light Setzer, Gau, Vincent, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Celes, and some other Returners appeared in Square City on a side walk.
"We're here! We're too late!" yelled Locke.
The city already looked like it was in ruins.
"We have to get to the Gilgamesh Auditorium quickly!" yelled Celes.
Vincent looked out in the distance. He could see the SeeD Garden from where he was standing. Lots of smoke spiraled from the area
"Quistis…" said Vincent.
"Vincent….is there something you need to do?" asked Locke as he noticed Vincent staring off into space.
"My friend…" said Vincent holding his head down.
"Go find your friend. You've helped us more than we can ever repay. We'll go find King Edgar and Prince Sabin" said Locke.
"Alright…" said Vincent.
Locke and the others ran off down the street. Vincent turned around to see Shadow standing near him.
"It's her isn't it?" asked Shadow.
"Yes" said Vincent.
"Well then we'd better hurry" said Shadow.
Vincent looked at Shadow for a moment.
"…Yes let's go" said Vincent.
The two of them ran off toward the SeeD Garden.
(Next Scene)
Squall and Seifer battled on the balcony. Seifer lunged at Squall with an overhead strike that Squall side stepped and counted with a vertical slash. Seifer deflected the attack which knocked Squall back a bit. Seifer smiled and held out his left hand. A large amount of fiery energy gathered in it. Soon he fired a large ball of fiery energy at Squall.
Squall held out his gunblade. The ball of energy crashed into the Lionheart. Squall strained himself as the energy ball pushed him back. It was about to push him off the edge of the balcony. Squall pushed back with all his strength and the energy ball went flying back at Seifer. Seifer dodge the ball as it flew past and it crashed into the side of the building.
Seifer ran at Squall and slashed horizontally at Squall's head. Squall ducked and Seifer followed up with an upward vertical strike. Squall stepped to his left and dodged the attack. Seifer got close to Squall and uppercut him much like he did him before. Squall head reared back from the blow to his chin and he went flying into the air. Squall landed on the roof of the Garden and was stunned by the force of the blow.
"Continue to focus Squall. He is fueled by hate he can't win" said Griever.
Seifer leapt up on top of the building. Squall slowly got on his feet. The wind was blowing hard up here. Seifer's coat blew around and both he and Squall's hair blew to the side.
"I've waited a long time for this" said Seifer as he walked toward Squall.
"Seifer this isn't you. There's more to you than this. You have friends that care about you. Remember Fujin and Raijin? They've been worried about you since you've gone missing" said Squall.
Seifer stopped for a moment. He held his head as if he was trying to remember something.
"Fujin…Raijin…" said Seifer.
For a moment it seemed like Seifer was regaining control.
"Don't listen to his lies….you have no friends…" said Catoblepas.
"I have no friends" said Seifer pointing his gunblade at Squall.
"Seifer you leave me no choice" said Squall holding the Lionheart in front of him.
(Next Scene)
At the same time the SeeDs continued their fight in the Garden. Nida and Xu fought near Quistis. Nida was armed with a retractable metal staff and Xu held a samurai sword. As a group of fiends ran toward them all three of them felt themselves become faster. Someone had cast a hastega spell on them.
Quistis ran up and slung her whip out at one of the beast's horn. As the whip wrapped around it she pulled as hard as she could. The beast leaned its head to its left side a bit which exposed its neck. Xu ran up and with a great leap she plunged her samurai sword into the creature's neck.
A fiend ran toward Nida. It lifted its right paw in the air and brought it down the ground. Nida quickly ran and avoided the devastating blow. Nida pressed a button on his staff. It extended several feet and poked the creature in its eye. The fiend growled with rage and swatted at Nida and knocked him to the ground. The wolf monster leapt on top of Nida with its mouth wide open and fangs glistening. Nida shortened his staff to about the twelve inches long and quickly shoved it vertically in the monsters gaping mouth. The creature couldn't close its mouth.
"Firaga"
Nida cast a fire spell inside the monsters mouth. The creature exploded from the inside out a few pieces of the guts landed on Nida.
Quistis prepared to summon a GF. Several of the creatures clawed at the force field that protected her while she concentrated on summoning.
"Leviathan"
Behind Quistis a large column of water appeared. It began to extend upward and before long it took on the shape of a serpent. Soon the water solidified and the form of Leviathan was there. The creature screeched loudly and soon shot out a huge wave of water. The tidal wave swept up several of the fiends and drowned them. After the wave crashed Leviathan disappeared. Quistis stood there momentarily disoriented after the summon. She held her head in a daze.
"Quistis look out!" yelled Xu.
One of the monsters swatted at Quistis and knocked her down. Quistis arm was scratched and she held it in pain. A few more of the creatures crept up to her with their teeth bared.
-BLAM BLAM BLAM-
The creatures were all shot dead. Quistis expected Irvine but when she looked she saw Irvine was on the other side fighting. She looked around and saw someone she had missed terribly. Vincent stood in front of her.
"Vincent!"
Vincent ran up to her and helped her up.
"I told you I'd be back for you" said Vincent.
Tears welled up in her eyes but there was no time for this. Vincent fired off a few more rounds at some approaching creatures. They fell to the ground dead at Vincent's shotgun fire. Quistis readied her whip as another creature approached her from the side. Quistis lashed her whip around the fiend's front left leg and tripped it. She then lashed her whip around its neck and began choking it to death. Two more monsters ran up behind Vincent and Quistis but several shurikens flew through the air and took them out. Quistis turned around to see Shadow the one who kidnapped her long ago standing there.
"You!" yelled Quistis.
"No wait! Today he's on our side" said Vincent.
Shadow didn't say anything. He ran into the battle. Several SeeD members were fighting off the monsters. Shadow ran and jumped in the air. He landed on the back of one of the creatures and stabbed it in the neck with his sword. Another fiend ran at him from the right side. Shadow jump off the creature he was riding and with a flip hurled a shuriken that landed in the monsters eye. Shadow ran up and stabbed this monster straight between the eyes with his katana. A few feet away from Shadow Irvine, Zell and Selphie fought with all their might.
"Aero!"
Zell cast a spell and a strong gust of wind caused a fiend to go flying back into another group of fiends. They all soon got up and ran toward them.
"They just keep coming!" yelled Irvine as he shot one of them.
Selphie managed to knock one over as she struck it across the face with her Nunchaku.
Shadow ran to help them. He ran between two of the monsters and stabbed both of them in the neck. He was now in front of Zell, Selphie, and Irvine.
"Whoa thanks but who are you?" asked Zell.
Shadow said nothing but several of the creatures ran at him from behind.
"Look out!" yelled Irvine.
"Nin!"
Shadow held his hand up and vanished. This surprised the monsters and Zell, Selphie, and Irvine. A small log was on the ground were Shadow was standing. The fiends sniffed it curiously. Shadow reappeared behind them.
-ahem-
The creatures turned around and looked at Shadow.
"Bakuen Ryu"
Shadow punched the ground and a large snake made of fire rushed from the ground. It engulfed the monsters in flames.
"…that's one bad dude…" said Zell
(Next Scene)
On the roof of the Garden Seifer and Squall continued their battle. Squall ran towards Seifer. Seifer held out his hand once again and formed a fiery ball of energy in it. He shot it at Squall as he ran towards him. Squall moved to the right slightly and the energy ball missed. Seifer began firing off shots of the fiery energy rapidly. Squall expertly weaved in at out dodging each one but he continued to run toward Seifer. Squall leapt high into the air and came down with a vertical slash toward Seifer.
Seifer moved to his right and the attack missed. Squall slashed at Seifer's stomach but the attack missed barely as Seifer stepped back slightly. Squall thrust at Seifer's stomach and Seifer parried and countered with a quick thrust towards Squall's chest. Squall deflected the attack and slashed diagonally. Seifer slashed diagonally as well and the two gunblades clashed together. They held it there in a stalemate. Both of them pushed hard against each other. Squall fired the gun of the Lionheart which knocked Seifer back.
"Ultima"
Squall held out his hand and cast an Ultima spell before Seifer could recover. The green energy blasted Seifer back and he slid across the roof. Seifer got up from the ground. He was now several feet away from Squall. Squall stood there with the Lionheart ready. Seifer stood up straight and held the Hyperion vertically into the air.
"It's over Squall" laughed Seifer.
Seifer's gunblade began to glow red.
"Night Sword"
Seifer swung his gunblade forward and it seemed that nothing happened. Squall looked down to see that he was standing in a dark pool of energy. He tried to move but it was too late. A blade made out of dark energy protruded from the ground and engulfed Squall's body. Squall felt as if his life was being sapped away. He fell to the ground on his knees. He felt weak. Seifer walked slowly toward him laughing along the way.
"I win" laughed Seifer as he stood over Squall.
Squall looked up at Seifer.
"This is it Squall…show him your power little lion" said Griever.
"Now finish him now….you've won" said Catoblepas.
"Don't worry Squall….I'll take good care of Rinoa for you…." smiled Seifer.
Seifer raised his gunblade and brought it down on Squall.
"Never!"
Squall sprang up with new energy and slashed at Seifer's gunblade. The Lionheart shattered the Hyperion into pieces. Seifer looked at his broken gunblade in amazement. Squall held his gunblade in the air. I large column of energy shot from its blade and into the sky. The column of energy seemed to part the clouds.
"Blasting…Zone!"
Squall brought his sword down and blasted Seifer with the energy. The energy seared Seifer's clothing and he went flying backwards. With a loud thud Seifer crash into the roof and lied there motionless.
"I didn't kill him…did I?" asked Squall.
"No…you freed him" said Griever.
Soon Seifer's body began to convulse and shake violently.
"AHHHHHHH" Seifer yelled as large jets of red energy shot from his mouth and eyes. The energy flew around and then began to solidify near Seifer.
The energy materialized into a hideous large beast. Catoblepas had long dark horns on its head with a white mane that went down its back. Its fur was red and black. It roared violently as it looked at Squall.
"This body is useless to me now! I must find another host!" growled Catoblepas.
"It's time to finish you once and for all"
Squall heard Griever's voice out loud this time and not in his head. He looked to his right and there was Griever. He was a magnificent sight to behold. His black fur was so beautiful and he slightly flapped the white wings on his back. Catoblepas snarled and tried to run away. He ran toward the front of the building. Griever ran after him and leapt at him. Both of them fell off the front of the building and landed on the steps below. Squall felt the power that Griever had given him diminish. He ran over to Seifer and stooped down next to him. Seifer was breathing. He was injured but he was alive.
"What the….it's like I've been stuck in some bad dream…" said Seifer.
"It's over now Seifer" said Squall.
Squall grabbed Seifer gently and started to help him up. Squall held Seifer up as the two of them made their way off the roof.
(Next Scene)
The rest of the SeeDs along with Vincent and Shadow ran to the front entrance of the Garden. They had finally finished off the last of those fiends. They looked in awe at the battle that took place in front of the Garden.
"What are they?" asked Selphie.
"Guardian Forces?" asked Zell.
Griever raised his paw and delivered a mighty blow to the left side of Catoblepas face. Catoblepas shook of the attack then ran at Griever trying to gore him with his horns.
"Pathetic"
Griever struck Catoblepas with his left paw and knocked him to the ground.
"You were never any good at fighting for yourself. You were only good at manipulating others" said Griever.
Catoblepas was sprawled on the ground. Squall came down some side stairs with Seifer.
"It's Squall" said Irvine.
"Is Seifer alright?" asked Selphie.
"Yeah he should be ok. He was being controlled by the Sorceress and that Guardian Force" said Squall as he helped Seifer sit down on the ground.
"You're always causing trouble Seifer!" yelled Zell.
"…heh…chickenwuss…" chuckled Seifer weakly.
"Yeah he's back to normal" thought Squall.
"Those are Guardian Forces?" asked Quistis.
"Yes. They are very powerful ones. I was junctioned to Griever that's how I wrecked the Training area" confessed Squall.
Griever stood over Catoblepas.
"What then? Will you finish me now?" asked Catoblepas.
"No I shall have that honor!"
Ultimecia reappeared in front of Griever.
"It's the Sorceress!" yelled Selphie.
"I have no use for you anymore" laughed Ultimecia.
She held out her hand and a blast of energy struck Catoblepas.
"ARGGH" screamed Catoblepas in pain.
Soon he began to vanish. Griever began to growl at Ultimecia.
"Hmm…you bluff. You're much too weak to defeat me. You've used up much of your power in the fight. Now you will serve me!" laughed Ultimecia.
She held out her hand and Griever began to scream in pain.
"Griever!" yelled Squall.
Griever began to fade and soon he vanished.
Ultimecia began to glow with strange energy.
"Hah hah hah! Such great power junctioned to me! Enough to crush you kursed SeeDs once and for all" laughed Ultimecia.
Ultimecia held out her hands at the crowd.
"Look out meteors!" yelled Nida. Several meteors came raining down from the sky. Everyone leapt out of the way but the blast of the meteors knocked them to the ground.
"We have to take her out" said Vincent.
Shadow ran toward Ultimecia. Shadow leapt into the air and threw several shurikens at her. The shurikens stopped in front of her and fell to the ground. Ultimecia shot a blast of energy at Shadow which struck him in the air. Shadow came crashing down to the ground. Vincent and Irvine began firing rapid shots at Ultimecia but nothing could penetrate the force field that surrounded her. A few of the other SeeDs ran at her but she blasted them back knocking them to the ground hard. Quistis and Selphie prepared to summon Guardian forces. A field of energy surrounded them as they concentrated.
"It's useless"
Ultimecia blasted both of them and the force field shattered which incapacitated the GF's.
"Guardian Forces are useless!" said Quistis.
"All you can do is die! This is the end of the kursed SeeDs!" Ultimecia raised her hand.
Everyone fell to the ground. It was some sort of spell that attacked each of their minds. They all fell to the ground holding their heads in pain. Ultimecia laughed loudly. Squall held his head in pain too but deep in his mind he searched for Griever.
"Griever…"
"Squall…I'm…sorry"
Squall could hear Griever faintly in his mind.
"Squall she's controlling me….you must kill me…" said Griever.
"Griever…I can't…" said Squall in pain.
"You have all the power you need…" said Griever finally.
"Squall couldn't hear his voice anymore.
Squall looked at the ring of Griever that he wore. He felt some strength returning. Seifer was near Squall and he was in pain as well.
"I'm not going down….without a fight" said Seifer.
Seifer held out his hand and formed another fiery ball of energy. It was the last bit of power that remained in him from Catoblepas. Seifer shot the ball of energy at Ultimecia. As the energy crashed into her she stumbled a bit.
"You useless knight" said Ultimecia.
Ultimecia focused her spell on more on Seifer.
"ARRRRGGGHH" yelled Seifer in pain.
Squall felt great power welling up in him. He knew now was the time to strike.
-roar-
Squall could hear a lion roar in the back of his mind. He stood up with the Lionheart at his side. He then ran at Ultimecia as fast as he could. Ultimecia blasted a stream of energy at Squall. Squall held his gunblade out as the energy struck him. He kept pushing through as the stream of energy tried to push him back.
"Lionheart"
Squall began slashing Ultimecia wildly. Each strike cut deep in to her skin. The look on her face was one of shock and awe as Squall continued to attack furiously. Squall ended his combo of slashes by thrusting his gunblade through her chest. Ultimecia looked in Squall's eyes.
"….Kurse…you…"
In a flash of light Ultimecia seemed to tear apart. In a blast of white light she vanished and perished. Squall fell back to the ground.
"I'm proud of you"
Squall could hear the voice of Griever in his head.
"Grieve,r are you alright?" asked Squall.
"It's my time to go…that final blow finished it…" said Griever.
"Griever I'm sorry…" said Squall.
"No…this was how it was meant to be…of all the warriors I've fought alongside…I liked you the most Squall…you truly have the heart…of a lion"
"Griever"
"…I hope you finally...ask Rinoa…farewell…little lion"
Squall didn't hear Griever's voice anymore. Squall tried to search his mind but he couldn't sense Griever at all. As Squall sat there on the ground a tear came to his eye. On that day the SeeD commander lost a friend…
(End Chapter 24)
Hey people. I really wanted to get this chapter up sooner but I've had a few setbacks lately. Anyway here it is and I hoped you liked it. This chapter had more action than any other chapter and there is more to see in the next chapters. We have to see what all the other characters are doing during this catastrophe. You can bet they won't take it lying down. Cid and Barret are ready fight and even Maechen the peaceful storyteller is fighting back.
I made Maechen a Black Mage because in FFX-2 you observe a sphere of Maechen talking about meeting Lenne. It's from that sphere that you get the Black Mage dressphere and since dressphere's basically take on the abilities of the person recorded I assumed that Maechen could probably do some Black Magic. The Shinra's plan seems to be going fine. They've double crossed the Empire and eliminated several of their units but where is Kefka? Also where are the Black X troops? Maybe they've used the information Palmer leaked wisely…
You might remember the attack that Seifer used, Night Sword, from Final Fantasy Tactics. It was an ability that Gafgarion, the Dark Knight, used. If you're familiar with the All Your Base internet joke then you probably caught the reference when Rufus appeared on the screen. Anyway thank you very much for reading and encouraging me and please check out the next chapter. Take Care.