Chapter Three

"Hold on, hold on…let me find it…here it is! Okay, its 3-0-7-5…7-5. Yeah, that's right, 7-5. Anyways, the last numbers are 4-V-6-9. I'll say them again: 4-V-6-9. Yeah, that's all. Thanks. So I just put my credit card in front of the scanner and the doors will open? Okay, thanks."

"What's up Squall?" Rinoa asked as she came into the dorm with some groceries. It was three hours since they visited Dr. Kadowaki, and Squall was putting his credit card away and hanging up the phone.

"Just bought the train tickets."

"So, we're all going huh?"

"Yeah Rinoa. You, me and Zell. It's not just me now…everyone was affected, and if I could I would have everyone go."

"You mean Quistis, Selphie and Irvine?"

"Yeah, but we can't even contact Quistis, and by the time Selphie and Irvine got here, Ferin might have been long gone to his next target. So, it will be just the three of us."

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Rinoa put the groceries down on the kitchen table, and opened it. In front of the door was a woman in her twenties…twenty one or two at the most, with light blonde hair that went down to her shoulders. She had on a white linen shirt, and blue shorts to along with it. Over the shirt she had a green sweater than could accurately be described better as a cape than a sweater.

"Who are you?" Squall asked the female the moment she stepped in.

"Don't you get it Squall? It's Alladra."

Alladra nodded in approval. "Alladra Hemingway. And I'll be quick to the point. I'm coming with you."

"Whoa whoa!" Squall protested while waving his arms in disapproval. "What makes you think I'm letting you come?"

"Squall, I expected better from you" Rinoa scolded. "You, the person who carried me on your back from Fisherman's Horizon all the way to Esthar, should know why she's coming."

"Not exactly love…" Alladra corrected. "I feel responsible for what has happened... I need to make amends with him. I can't let any more blood be spilled because I wouldn't intervene."

"She's coming Squall" Rinoa said interrupting Squall before he could say another word.

"She's paying for her own ticket" Squall noted bitterly.

"I've already had."

"She needs a weapon."

"I have a pistol…and I know magic."

"Magic?" Rinoa butted in, knowing that only Sorceresses can cast true magic.

"Para-magic Ms.Heartily, excuse me."

"It's Rinoa" the Sorceress corrected. "Well Squall, what else do you plan to say to try to keep her from coming?"

"I'm not. She's coming, but I know I'm not going to like it."

Zell came in the dorm an hour later, three before they heading for Balamb, and four until the train Squall bought tickets for was leaving for Timber, where he would buy another set of tickets for Galbadia's capitol city, Deling. From there they would rent a car, and drive east to the old missile site.

"So she's coming huh?" Zell asked as he took a bite of some pizza from the refrigerator.

"Yeah, she's coming. And how many times did I tell you not to pig out on my food!"

"Whatever man" Zell chuckled. He was never one to listen to anybody about his old habit, especially when it came to food. "So why is she?"

"She wants to make amends."

"With a pistol?" Zell said raising his eyebrow.

"What are you getting at Zell?" Squall asked as he sat at the table.

"It just seems a little bit too fishy to me…"

"What seems so fishy? An old lover wants to make amends so that they won't get hurt."

"How the hell would she get hurt Squall?"

"I thought it would be pretty obvious Zell. Emotional hurt. I mean Zell, look at it like this: how would you feel if you left a lover –"

"But I've never been in love!"

"Focus! Anyways, how would you feel if the lover you left sorta went you berserk?"

"Uh…can I call a friend?"

"Damnit, you'd feel responsible. And Alladra probably is. That's why she's coming."

"Whatever man. I'll see you at two."

"Yeah whatever."

They left earlier than Squall had anticipated, at roughly one forty that afternoon. Squall went to the garage early to check up on the car that Balamb had assigned to him as part of his employment as a SeeD. When he got there, everybody else was already there; they're bag of luggage by their feet. So, they decided to just leave right at that moment.

In the half hour ride to Balamb, no one said a word. Everyone remained quiet – nothing was to be said, all part of training. Even though they would most likely not face Ferin for another twelve hours, they had to mentally prepare themselves. If you constantly remained alert in the hours before a mission, you would have more time to complete the mission than if you were getting mentally prepared the minutes before. Even Rinoa, who herself was not a SeeD, remained quiet in the ride to Balamb: after the countless missions she attended with Squall she began to learn the tricks of the trade. Everyone at Balamb had by now treated her as if she was of the same rank as a newly graduated SeeD, if but an unofficial one.

When they arrived at Balamb at two twenty-three, Zell didn't go off to see any of his adoptive family. After three years of knowing that he had been adopted, he was still bitter. Did he still love them? Yes he did, or at least that's what he hoped. Could he stand being close to them, after all the lies Ma Dincht told him of Zell being her true son, and the fact that his grandfather, who was the inspirational reason Zell became a SeeD, wasn't his grandfather after all? No.

They got on the train to Timber at roughly three, and even then the four were all quiet. They constantly had to focus on the upcoming mission.

They arrived at Timber around five in the afternoon, and the entire team was getting exhausted, no thanks to the time frame of the forest country: at Balamb it was bright as day, in Timber it looked like it was almost eleven at night. They remained at the train station for another half hour, hundreds of thoughts going through each of their heads as they awaited the train to bring them to Deling.

Confusion was the best word that could best describe Zell's train of thought. Zell loved his Ma, but three years ago Irvine, a few days before the Crash of the Gardens, that they had all lived together at Edea and Cid Kramer's Orphanage before the two founded SeeD and Edea was possessed by Ultimecia. Everyone was shocked…but Zell was hurt even more so. His whole life, which pretty much started at five since he couldn't remember anything before that due to SeeD's teaching of using Guardian Forces which caused memory loss, he thought he was truly Ma's son. He truly thought that his grand father was a great soldier in Dollet before he moved to Balamb to live life as a fisherman. He truly thought he was part of a great bloodline of proud Dollet soldiers and heroes dating back to the splitting of the Centra Empire thousands of years ago.

And then, three years ago, it turned out his whole life was a lie. One big, horrible lie. Squall and Rinoa both knew that Zell was hurt by the revelations, but not so much that he can't even look to himself with the pride that he did feel before the revelations. Squall would many times just let Rinoa do all the emotional talking to Zell, since Squall really didn't know the right words to say to the martial artist. But whenever Rinoa would get on the topic, Zell would throw on a grin to his face, say it was nothing important and quickly move on to another subject. If Rinoa would refuse to change the subject, Zell would just leave the room.

Zell asked himself again and again, was he hiding from himself?

Zell just shrugged it off, lying to himself that it was nothing. He knew that in his heart he would have to face the problem, but right now was not that time. Now, he had to focus on Ferin. Then after all that was done and dealt with, he could worry about the Dinchts.

If he was still alive…

'Damn, why am I thinking like this? I've fought things that were tougher than any guy along with Rinoa and Squall and the others! Why am I thinking I'm going to be dead after all this? Why am I so scared of some guy with just a buster sword? How is he any different from Seifer? Squall? Me? Hell, why is any different than Ultimecia even! He's bad and we're good! There's nothing else to it!'

'But…' Zell said to himself, continuing his train of thoughts, 'If he's so different, then why do I feel so…dirty even thinking about him? Why do I feel bad when I come to the conclusion that he's going to be either a) dead or b) executed? Why do I feel…guilty? I mean, I didn't kill Matron and Headmaster Cid!'

'Maybe it's because he's one of us? Ultimecia wasn't a SeeD…Seifer was almost a SeeD, and that justified things I guess whenever we fought him. But with Ferin, he WAS a SeeD. I could say he still is. Yeah, he still is. He's fighting for a prize, just like every SeeD. Except, it's not money. It's vengeance…if not a different type. It's not blood thirsty vengeance…or at least I think it's not. It's not like anyone he knew got killed, or at least not personally. It was other SeeDs that got shot in the head…'

'When I saw the dead kids, I wanted to tear Seifer and Ultimecia's eyes out…yeah, it makes sense now. That feeling of hate…I had for only a couple of minutes. But he…he had it for years. Years of so much loathing and dread. And now he's getting rid of it.'

'I guess what they say is true. There is no such thing as good or evil, black or white. There's only a point of view.'

Zell was shaken from his train of thought by Rinoa, whose hand was on his shoulder.

"Hey, the train's here." Zell only nodded as a reply, and followed the others onto the train and into their cabin. They wouldn't talk much on the four hour ride to Deling City, right in the heart of Galbadia

The ruins of the missile site loomed off in the distance as Ferin rode his motorcycle on the undedicated shrine of the Six, as Ferin referred to the party led by Squall during the Ultimecia Encounter. It was the perfect place for him, no other place in the world was as filled with the evidence of the Six's deeds than here, the ruined missile site.

It was this very missile site where Sorceress Edea, after she took control of Galbadia from President Deling (even though Dictator would be a far more appropriate term), commanded the launching of nuclear missiles against Balamb and Trabia Garden. Although it was too late for them to act to save Trabia, the Six managed to save Balamb by utilizing ancient Centra technology that laid in the deep chasms of the Garden, turning Balamb into a mobile structure.

Ferin tugged on his scarlet red trench coat as he made a sharp turn around a group of boulders surrounding the entrance of the ruins, trying to keep it from covering his face due to the direction and strength of the blowing wind. He parked the motor cycle near the inner courtyard of the missile site, and strolled off towards the place where he preferred to think to himself.

That place was a nearly destroyed church which was part of the missile site, and Ferin most of all found it an ironic place for a church to be built, in a place that operated machines of death and destruction.

But even soldiers have to pray to their gods, or depending on whom you asked, God.

The church was nearly destroyed: two of its three floors had either been destroyed in the blast or collapsed. Piles of limestone and destroyed wood surrounded all but the front of the offering table and the cross. The back and western wall was none existent, there was no divider between the church's floor and the desert dirt. Ferin didn't mind it though…if anything, it could of acted as an acronym of how life and religion could meld together so beautifully.

Or disastrous, depending on how you looked at it. Ferin noticed that the desert winds were slowly eroding the stone floor of the church. Could religion do the same thing to life? Does religion make you nothing more than a tool?

Ferin shook the thoughts from his head: he had more important things to worry about than if deities that more likely than not probably didn't even exist cared about his existence. He had to make his mark.

Ferin strolled past the pews, which were filled with the photos of the soldiers that died in the blast. Ferin managed to collect these photos after hours of printing from the sole existing computer within the whole ruined complex. Ferin was as surprised as anyone else would have been at the discovery of anything electronic in what would appear as a place ruled and maintained by the dead.

Ferin allowed his gloved hand to slide along the dirtied altar, just wanting to get as much dirt off of it as possible. In a quick motion, he took out from the insides of the altar two pictures, of Edea and Cid Kramer. While in one hand holding the pictures, he poured cheap red wine into an offering plate with the other. When the plate was filled with the red wine, he pushed the pictures into alcoholic liquid.

Ferin's left hand dripped red as he watched as the pictures slowly became permanently stained with the wine. After he was satisfied, he left the church to salvage the cabinets of the nearly destroyed soldiers' quarters for some can of beans for him to eat for dinner.

The giant clock tower in the center of Deling had just moved its massive iron hand to EIGHT when the train carrying the SeeDs had made its stop. All but Zell was wide awake. Rinoa shook his shoulders lightly to wake him, and the party made their way out of the train.

As always, the city that controlled the country of Galbadia was basically a large mass of pedestrians. Every type of profession – lawyers, engineers, chefs, businessmen, priests and rabbis – you could think of walked the busy streets of Deling. The city was the one place where people of all kinds could come together to live in relative peace and unlikely prosperity. It was a known fact that even the most successful of people will struggle financially for the rest of their lives in Deling. And by the time their well established in Deling, they'll be caught up in too much financial errors to move out. Even the President of Galbadia, who resides within Deling, has financial debts to pay.

Squall couldn't perceive as to why anyone would want to come to Deling if they knew that Deling would just catch them in a giant loop.

Maybe it was just human determination that had so many people immigrating into Deling. People will probably say 'Well, I'LL make it no matter what happens. I'll get through, and no one can stop me!', and that's probably their biggest mistake. Stubbornness can prove many times to be Humanity's biggest downfall.

Squall instructed the others to stick together as they made their way through the large mass of pedestrians, and just as cautious crossing the busy Deling streets. They made good use of the bus system, and reached the car rental station within a little under a half hour.

After paying the over priced fee of three thousand Gil, the four climbed into their car and drove southward towards the old missile site. En route, Rinoa contacted the Deling Police Department, to make their way to the missile site within the hour. They did not want the officers' lives to be jeopardized in the coming battle.

They arrived at the missile site over an hour later, with the light of moon reflecting over them, making a cooling atmosphere, a welcomed change from the muggy air of the afternoon. They parked the car behind a hill, so as to not alert Ferin to their presence. They left the car quietly and quickly, so they wouldn't make more noise than was they needed. Squall quickly assigned the squad behaviors: Squall and Zell would be in the front and be the main offensive fighters, while Rinoa and Alladra would back up the rear, giving them whatever support was required.

Alladra prayed that it wouldn't have to come to that.

"Weapons ready?" Squall asked as they crouched down, preparing to move into the ruins silently but swiftly. He rolled his eyes when he realized what he had said: he was the only one with a real weapon, the revolver modeled gunblade. Zell had always just relied on his fists, and Rinoa and Alladra used Magic and Para-magic respectively.

He was too used to regulations, too much of a commander.

"Let's get going guys" Squall said with a smirk. The others got less tense when he said it.

When they entered the ruins, with them barely making a sound, they were all expecting a trap. They had expected a string of bullets and marathon of explosions being let off all around them. They had expected the sound of boots hitting the desert sand as Ferin charged them, buster sword in hand.

But there was none of that. There was no traps, no land mines, no explosions, no flying shrapnel, none of it. There was only an eerie silence. Squall looked around the ruins; the silence was making him uneasy. It reminded him of one of his later missions, where guerrilla fighters ambushed him and his squad after moments of silence.

Squall gave it another moment: he was sure that Ferin would reveal himself. He was certain of it. There was not a single moment of doubt in his mind. In just a few more moments, the Wolf would reveal his trap.

Ferin, however, never did reveal himself then. Squall quickly realized that traps were not who Ferin was. He was a fighter, not a manipulator. He would show himself when they most expected it.

Or they would find him. One way or the other, but it wouldn't start in the shadows.

"Loosen up guys. We're goanna find him, not the other way around." Everyone straightened up, and Zell sighed. Zell never was one to be all stealthy and such, and when he would it would get him all nervous. "Let's head into that church" Squall ordered, referring to a nearly destroyed church that seemed all alone in the courtyard.

"It's so like him" Alladra muttered, referring to all the burial mounds that was scattered throughout the base. Every single corpse that didn't get burned into atoms was buried by Ferin's own hands. After making that mental note to herself, Alladra quickened her pace and followed the others into the church.

"Look at this guys!" Alladra heard Zell announce to the party when she got into the church. Squall promptly went over to Zell and slapped him across the head, telling him to shut up. After shaking his head like a dog caught in a rain storm, he raised what he was hollering about. "Photos!" Alladra gave Zell a confused look, not exactly sure what he was getting at. "They look soldiers, by their uniforms and the whole patriotic banner behind them."

"Let me see that" Rinoa said ripping the photograph from Zell's hand. "He's right. It's pretty new too, like it was just printed." She flipped the picture over to see if the date verified it. "Yup, it was just printed a couple of weeks ago."

"So" Alladra said softly "He made a shrine to soldiers."

"Any reason why?" Squall questioned.

"Not really. He always looked down on regular soldiers, saying how they so blindly follow a leader one minute, and a revolutionary the next. He says soldiers can't be trusted."

"Doesn't explain why he made a shrine to them though" Squall noted as he sat on the wooden floor. He stared back at the photo-filled pews, somewhat in awe of the dedication of it. It was simple, just a bunch of photos stacked side by side each other on pews. But to Squall, and maybe even Ferin, it had a much deeper meaning.

To Squall, it almost looked like as if the photos were staring at the cross, the way they were placed. And perhaps even more importantly, perhaps Ferin was trying to tell himself that there was peace after death.

It didn't fit though. Why would Ferin, a fighter who seems so intent on bringing death, know that there was peace after death? If there was even peace after death? Squall shrugged it off, saying to himself that it wasn't the right answer.

Then Squall began to hear voices. It was Ferin! He was close, but he wasn't getting any closer or further away.

"Quiet!" Squall whispered, and everyone got lower.

They stayed crouched for about a minute before they heard Ferin speak again. It was at the same volume as before – Ferin hadn't moved an inch. Even more importantly, he was talking to somebody.

"So" Ferin said with a chuckle "Mr. Leonhart has sent another SeeD to bring me to his prison?"

The man whom Ferin was speaking too chuckled. "Don't you remember Brother?" Ferin didn't respond. Either he didn't know what the Stranger meant, or he knew and it was something horrible. "Of the chasm? Remember of the tasks they gave us? Remember how we bonded -"

"Leave this place, stranger" Ferin interjected coldly.

The stranger didn't respond to Ferin. The two just remained quiet for a long period of time, to Squall it almost seemed like an infinite period of time. Then there was the sound of Ferin drawing his buster sword.

"There are more like us brother, tortured by those whom trust they had freely given. They were manipulated, tortured, caught in a game of politics and power. Some of them like us brother, are free but lost. Others are still trapped, their body asleep but their minds awake. Both are living weapons, like you and me brother, and they don't know where to go, who to turn to."

"And are you saying you can give them guidance, brother, and if so what makes you so different than everyone us that you can offer them guidance?"

The stranger chuckled. "Notice that I said like 'us', not like 'you'. I too am lost, freed from the abyss but not knowing who to turn to for the answers that I seek. But…there is someone who can help us.

"Who?"

"The author" the Stranger said proudly.

"The author?" Ferin said, obviously confused by the title.

"Yes brother, the author. He, the one who created the great art of destruction, He, the one who wrote the book of life and death, doom and enlightenment. He is the one who we seek."

"If you mean God, you won't find him here."

"God?" the Stranger chuckled. "We don't seek him. We seek the author. He is going to decide everything now, for he was part of the past."

"We were all part of the past at one point."

"True…but he is the past…he decided everything then, and he wants to decide everything now. But, he needs the reads of his works to decide everything now, and we need the writer of those works to come."

"I don't need anyone, stranger."

"But he needs you."

"Then he is weak."

"He created the Thing." There was only silence then…then there were the sounds of someone breathing heavily, Ferin was breathing heavily. The Thing obviously made him uneasy.

"The he is a monster" Ferin said at last. "And I will NOT help a monster!"

"You've already did, brother."

"How!" was Ferin's immediate reaction.

"By killing the Boss, by killing the one who started GAIA, by killing the one that made us and all your brothers living weapons, you've helped free your brothers."

"How many of us are there?"

"Thirteen."

"Thirteen…what a coincidence" Ferin chuckled.

"Superstitious, are we brother?"

"No, far from it." Ferin paused, chuckling and laughing at himself. For one reason or another, there being thirteen people caught in this Project GAIA, whatever it was, made him laugh. "Who is the author?"

"He wrote the Black Book."

"No, his name!" Ferin exclaimed, almost shouting. "What is his name?"

"Varloth."

"Varloth. His son?"

"Yes, His son."

"You rely on an old myth. You don't even know if Varloth and His father even existed."

"And yet the old predictions are coming to pass. 'And a Dictator from the Future would be slain by Warriors of the Past, Bounded by Love and fellowship.'"

"You think Ultimecia was -"

"Yes."

"And Squall and the Six were -"

The Stranger chuckled. "Precisely." There was a long pause as Ferin drew back his blade. "Will you meet with us again brother?"

"After Commander Leonhart leaves my home."

"You're certain he is here brother?"

"Him and others…"

Squall's heart started to beat faster. 'How did Ferin know we were here? Oh come on, that's a stupid question! How could he NOT know, with us talking openly in the church and separating…Damn it, I got too careless. Damnit!' "Guys, get down!" Squall whispered, but before they could say anything Ferin's began to echo louder and louder off the church wall." Guys, forget a surprise attack. We'll just have to charge at him when he comes through the other side."

"Squall, why did you bring Alladra if not to-"

"Damnit Rinoa there's no time for that!" Alladra wiped a tear from her eye, knowing what Squall said was truth. Ferin wasn't going to go down without a fight, that's the way he's always been. Always a fighter, just like his father. Always trying to be stronger than everyone else, always trying to win, and most importantly, doing what he thought was right, even when everyone else was against it. Her stomach flipped over, almost making her puke: she didn't want to fight him.

When Ferin finally came through the front door of the church, for whatever reason ignoring the open wall, everyone was in formation, Squall and Zell up front, Rinoa and Alladra in back.

"Hello Commander" Ferin grinned devilishly as he brought his buster sword to a fighting position. "I didn't expect for you to come after a Judge."

"You're no Judge Ferin" Squall responded quickly.

"Zell is here too. I remember fondly of how he always got in trouble with that H-Board of his, gliding with it on campus like some crazy teenager. How did he serve you Commander?"

"Good enough, Ferin."

"That is all that is needed then." Ferin paused, for whatever reason. "Is she here?"

"I am here" Ferin's old lover replied.

"So…you've…come to hunt me? Like as if I never once cared for you?"

"It's not like that!" Alladra reasoned.

"Don't lie to me!"

There was only a silence then. Neither had the capability to talk much right then. Ferin took a deep breath, preparing for the battle.

"Let's get this over with Ferin" Squall said at last.

"Let's".

That was the signal, it was time to begin. Zell darted towards the Wolf at an incredible speed, his fists glowing a golden yellow due to the velocity. Ferin never knew the martial artists to move so quickly, and when Zell slammed his fist into Ferin's chest, the Wolf flew out of the church's double doors, sending the doors off their hinges.

With a flip, Ferin was on his feet. Zell struck at him again, but Ferin was ready. Ferin moved his massive sword to block the blow, and swung it at Zell, but the energetic fighter was too quick for such a big weapon, ducking under it,

Realizing that the buster sword was too slow for Zell, Ferin leaped backwards to give him some breathing room, sent the buster sword into the ground, and drew his katana. Gunshots echoed into the air as Squall exited the church. Ferin swiped at the bullets, sending them away from him. A fireball came flying at him immediately afterwards, and Ferin rolled out of the way long before it came.

Ferin tumbled forwards, a sudden result of Zell kicking him in the back; Ferin turned to face the martial artists, and blocked another strike with his katana. A series of punches and kicks quickly followed, and Ferin was just as quick to block them before he swiped at Zell. The blonde ducked under the swipe, and rolled out of the way of a stab.

Ferin would have struck Zell down if he didn't sense Squall coming to his friend's rescue. Ferin turned to face the new opponent, letting their blades strike at each other. Ferin pushed the Commander out of the way to horizontally strike at him, but Squall was just as fast, parrying his gunblade with the katana.

"Quite the fighter" Ferin complimented with a grin. But Squall was all business.

"What is GAIA?"

"He never told you?" Ferin questioned as he elbowed Squall in the face.

"What is it?" Squall demanded as he ducked under a slash and aimed the gunblade.

Before answering the demand, Ferin rolled under the shots, sliding his blade with Squall's. "Genetically Altered Intellectual Assault!" the Wolf answered between strikes.

"Super soldiers?"

Ferin's grin gave a resounding yes, but Squall didn't have enough time to think before Ferin leaped towards the Commander, intent on giving a lethal blow. Squall sidestepped out of the way in time, and countered another strike a second later.

A lightning bolt nearly hit Ferin's shoulders, and turned to see who the caster was. The Sorceress' hands glowed a bright orange, indicating a fireball was coming up to support the bolt. The fireball came at Ferin at a resounding speed, and Ferin never rolled or jumped out of the way. Rather he pointed his katana as if to pierce the giant ball of fire, and in response the fireball was split into two, going around the Wolf.

Ferin griped the katana with both of his gloved hands as he leaped towards the sorceress, landing with a flip. He swung at her, but the Sorceress dodged under the blade. She rolled out of a stab, and threw a storm of winds at Ferin, sending him flying onto the Church's roof.

When Ferin got to his feet, Squall was already charging at him. He sidestepped the slash, countering it with his own, which Squall equally blocked. Ferin broke the quarry, leaping backwards not allowing Zell his much wanted surprise assault.

Knowing that the roof could not support their weight, Ferin leaped over the edge, landed on his feet, and prepared for the Lion's assault. Zell and Squall landed on each of Ferin's opposite side, slowly closing the gap as they approached him. They believed him trapped.

They would believe wrong.

Ferin flipped his katana over; its edge pointed towards the desert ground, and sent it downward. A result was a shockwave that sent the two flying. Ferin took advantage of the situation to finish off Zell, leaping towards the martial artist as he lay there dazed. He sent the katana into the ground, but it was all a clever trick on Zell's part. He rolled out of the way, and the katana was too deep in the soil to be pulled out with ease in time to block Zell's assault.

Ferin was sent flying a few feet by a punch in the ribs, but he quickly landed on his feet to block with his arms a few strikes from the martial artist. Zell attempted a roundhouse kick, in an attempt to knock out the Wolf, but he grabbed Zell's foot, and twisted it sending him spiraling to the ground. Ferin got atop of Zell and pummeled him with four punches to the head, creating a nasty bruise and broken nose. Ferin would of landed a fifth if Squall hadn't tackled him.

Ferin kicked the Commander off after dodging a punch. When he realized Squall was weaponless, he leaped for a strike, but a group of magic missiles from Alladra would prove otherwise, sending Ferin flying. He landed right next to his trusty buster sword, so one could look at Alladra's action with a different point of view.

Regardless, Ferin got right up and drew his buster sword, flipping it twice over to face the direction another pair of missiles were charging at him. Ferin swung his sword like one would a baseball bat sending them flying right towards his old lover. But Alladra knew this game, and casted a protective shell over her, absorbing the missiles.

Alladra brought her hands over her head as a boxer would, expecting a series of strikes from Ferin. But he never went for her, instead charging right for Squall, gunblade in hand. Ferin slashed downward with the blade but fell short, and Squall took advantage of the recovery time to leap towards Ferin, gunblade over his head.

But Ferin's recovered faster than Squall predicted, and blocked the strike with ease. Squall kicked Ferin in the stomach, sending him back, and blasted away. Ferin quickly swung at the bullets, sending them away from him harmlessly.

There was a silence in the air, as neither warriors chose to not do any actions. Rather, they just stared at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Ferin moved the buster sword's handle over his shoulder so it would be easier for him to deflect another strike, and Squall just kept the gunblade pointed at his opponent.

Ferin never expected what would occur next, however: Squall's gunblade began to glow an eerie glow, and next thing Ferin knew Squall was slashing at him at speeds that were inhuman like.

He knew what it was…renzokuken, the result of ten years of duels in the harshest of environment and years of training. It was Squall's ultimate technique, and it was this very assault that downed Ultimecia all those years in the future.

The gunblade slashed across Ferin's chest, but it caused no physical wounds: rather it was wounds of the spirit. Again and again Ferin was slashed at, and again and again Ferin felt weaker and weaker. Finally, Squall leaped into the air, gunblade glowing, and struck down at Ferin. Ferin raised his buster sword in defense, to block the assault, and block it did. The gunblade cleaved the massive weapon in half. When the ruin returned to darkness again, Ferin was holding only a shattered piece of metal, a useless weapon.

And when Ferin laid eyes on his prized weapon, he fell to his knees, his eyes staring at the Commander, filled with sorrow. A warrior's weapon is their lives, and when their weapon is destroyed, in a way they are equally destroyed.

And then, Ferin collapsed to the ground.