Editors Note: Yes! At last, this chapter is up. I've also updated all the other chapters up to this point. thankyou to everyone who has reviewed and given me advice and constructive criticism. In this chapter, it all starts getting very interesting...
The wind blew hard as Storm continued her way up the winding path to the communications tower. She encountered numerous bodies along the way. Their wounds led her to believe that they had been killed by magic. They had all been either burned, struck by lightning or frozen. The frozen bodies were the worst, their expressions preserved in the icy blocks of their demise. The ice still hadn't melted, meaning that whoever cast the magic was very powerful and proficient in using it.
"This is giving me the creeps…" She said to herself aloud. She still hadn't got rid of the feeling she'd had earlier. In fact, it now seemed even stronger than before. She shook her head; now was not the time to be pondering such matters.
As a precaution, she unsheathed Parallax and held it ready as she rounded the next corner. The communications tower came into view. Now she saw why it had stopped transmitting. It had been annihilated. There were craters and broken steel beams everywhere. The tower itself was still standing, but it creaked and groaned in the wind, seeming as if at any moment it could fall down. The big dish at the top had fallen off completely and was now blocking the entrance to the tower itself.
"What the hell…what the hell could do this…" She whispered in shock as she took in the situation. Again, there were the tell-tale signs of magic. But no magic was powerful enough to do this, not even sorcerer magic. Storm was beginning to realise that this was far more complicated than a simple reconnaissance mission. She decided to inform her father. Once again, she unhooked her radio.
"Squall?"
Static.
"Squall!"
Static.
"Dad, are you there?"
"…i…you…Sto…rm…"
"You're breaking up! I need help! The tower has been utterly destroyed! Get me out of here!"
"…ye…withdraw…dan…ger…" The radio went dead. But that was impossible. SeeD radios had ranges of up to ten kilometres. Unless…someone was jamming her.
Suddenly, Storm heard something behind her. She whirled round, Parallax flashing in her hands. But it was nothing. There was nothing there. Nothing that she could see anyway.
Out of sight behind the abandoned, derelict tower, the unknown figure stood. He was quite tall, with short black hair which barely touched his ears. His features were prominent and handsome. All in all, he was striking. But most striking of all were his eyes. They were a deep purple colour. He shifted his balance a little, craning his neck around the tower to look at the young girl standing there. She hadn't noticed him yet. Dully, he tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing here. Suddenly, the tower in front of him blurred and he fell to his knees, unknown memories forcing themselves into his mind.
(Flashback)
"There he is! The bastard who killed Davis!"
They were shouting. He shook his head, realising that there was red stuff on his hands. He looked down. At his feet was a man. He was quite dead; his body stabbed and hacked beyond recognition. Other men were jumping out at him everywhere, machine guns and swords raised.
"Wha…what is going on…?" He said numbly as one of the men opened fire. He felt several bullets slam into him. Why were they attacking him? Had he…killed that man? He didn't remember doing it…
Suddenly, a nameless rage arose within him. He lifted his hand, drawing a symbol in the air as blue light surrounded him on all sides. Green sparks filled the air as he let loose the spell he had been holding. A torrent of white flames engulfed the soldier, leaving nothing but a charred skeleton holding a lump of molten metal.
"Argh! It's a demon! Kill it!"
The rage was still there. One of the men charged forwards, his sword raised. He didn't even flinch as the sword was rammed into his body, burying itself up to the hilt in his stomach. The soldier looked terrified as the winged boy slowly looked up from the sword.
He rammed his hand into the soldier's neck, his fingers going straight through and out the other side. Using his neck as a handhold, he lifted the dying soldier into the air and threw him into two others.
Everything else was a blur.
(End Flashback)
He looked back down at his hands. They were still covered in blood. Now that he thought about it, his entire body was. He looked again at the girl. She was looking around her fearfully now. He vaguely recognised the uniform she was wearing. Was it…SeeD?
Yes, it is… A voice in his head replied. He suddenly felt sick and fell to his knees again."Get…out of…my head…" He whispered.
Kill the SeeD!"I will not!"
Kill her! Burn her, stab her, tear her head off!"I…won…t…urgh!"
He was unable to control his body any longer. Slowly, he stood up, and walked out from behind the tower.