Chapter 25: Hellfire
Hyperion erupted from its sheath, deflecting a descending shotaxe. Seifer dropped his left hand to his side and ripped his saber from its scabbard and slashed up with an overhand slash, the blade bisecting the attacking cyborg's neck. he whipped around, Hyperion rising and then diving in a deceptive thrust that pierced the throat of another cyborg, and then hurled himself into a backwards flip, evading a storm of plasma bolts, before shooting forward into another pair of cyborg soldiers, gunblade and sword slashing and flashing in a shower of ringing metal and rending edges that cut both Estharians down.
The Estharian assault had come so fast that he had never had time to rally his troops or redirect them to attack. The eight Flying Fortresses had been closing even as they had uncloaked, and by the time Seifer had seen them, troops were already swarming off the enemy ships. Not content to repeat the massacre they had suffered moments before, the Estharian troops had launched rivers of withering plasma fire that had forced Seifer's army to take cover inside Galbadia Garden. Corsair assault transports had launched from the Estharian ships and had begun dropping platoons of the enemy on the upper levels of Galbadia Garden, where the defenses against that type of attack were weaker and less organized. An entire legion of the enemy was seemingly dropping from the sky, Estharian cyborgs leading the attack and engaging SeeD, Dollet, and Galbadian troops in close-quarters battle.
Being out in the open, atop a command pedestal, Seifer had been an obvious target, which was why seven Corsairs, each carrying a full platoon of about thirty men each, had gone after him.
Honestly, though, Seifer felt slightly insulted that the enemy had only sent just over two hundred men after him.
At least some of these scrubs are cyborgs, he thought as he chopped down another foe, whipping around into a spiraling series of vicious chops and slashes with both weapons, felling three more of his foes, before leaping out of the move into a rapid double stab into the chest of yet another enemy cyborg. So far, he'd dropped about twenty of the enemy within the first thirty seconds of the battle, and Seifer Almasy's momentum and exhilaration kept building as he danced and spun and thrust and slashed through the enemy horde as they kept dropping all around him.
Of course, not all of the enemy was engaging Seifer, for a small cadre of SeeD officers had also been on the command pedestal deck along with Seifer, supplying information regarding their enemies' movements. Along with this small group of SeeDs was another quartet of mercenaries, who stuck tightly close to the subject they needed to protect.
Lex, katana in its sheath at his side, stood at the front of the group, hand on his blade's handle, with three other SeeDs, two firearms-wielding Galbadia Garden mercenaries, the other from Balamb and carrying a halberd. The tightly focused group had so far beaten back any attacks by the enemy, al of which had consisted of small squads of Estharians looking for more opponents to battle. In the middle of the tight circle was Serra, watching the chaos unfold, shocked at the intensity and sheer numbers of the enemy that were pouring down all around them, and even more amazed as Seifer stood in the middle of the onslaught, unyielding and stacking the dead around him like a macabre stone wall.
Another squad of Estharians dropped down before the group, and Lex shot into the middle of them, striking with a single flashing cut of his katana and chopping one man in half. A cyborg dove in at the group, and was cut down by bullets as the halberd-carrying SeeD engaged two Estharian regulars. Lex chopped another foe in half with a flicker of his blade, hopping back from a strike by another foe as he resheathed his katana and struck again.
A cyborg shot around past Lex, diving for Serra, shotaxe raised. Her eyes widened, and she set her feet, preparing to meet the attack. The black and white vapors which had trailed her in the forest a few days ago suddenly appeared around Serra as Diablos and Pheonix awakened, ready to defend her-
-and a wing of shining red, gold, green, and blue feathers materialized from her right shoulder, and swept forward, an arcing flash of reddish white light slashing through the cyborg in an instant and burning away half his body, sending him toppling to the floor, a charred, blasted corpse.
More Estharians dropped to the command deck, surrounding the group. The SeeDs surrounding Serra were suddenly overmatched by the sheer numbers of the enemy, well over two dozen men suddenly rushing them. Serra saw this, and immediately turned toward the largest concentration of the enemy and hurled herself at them. Lex saw this, and looked back at her, opening his mouth to shout a warning as she dove into the waiting axes of seven enemy soldiers.
Pheonix's wing shot before her, warding her from several strikes, forming a shining, shimmering feathery shield before her that the blades bounced off of harmlessly. From her left shoulder, however, a solid black leathery bat-like wing erupted, shooting ahead, shadow rippling forth from it and tearing the lifeforce from two of the enemy instantly. Pheonix's wing shot ahead as well, creating a stream of white light that vaporized another enemy soldier. More shadow and light shot from the wings, ripping into the enemy and laying waste to the Estharians.
The remainder of the force, now reduced by half through the combined efforts of Serra and the SeeDs, retreated in the face of her power, even as the pair of wings faded into black and white mists circling her body.
Those retreating men found their guts rent open and their throats slashed as Seifer cut through them, both swords flashing, his gunblade blasting arms and legs to vapor as he passed through the group. He stopped before Serra and her quartet of SeeD bodyguards, blades dripping crimson.
"Too many!" Seifer snarled, and even as he spoke, the surviving SeeD officers broke through the enemy lines and regrouped around the small force. Dozens more Estharians dropped tot he ground behind them, and Seifer whirled to face the enemy, saber ripping into the lungs of a charging enemy soldier while Hyperion slashed the throat of another in a single deft move.
Beyond him, a dozen more Corsairs were swooping in, bays opening and revealing hundreds more of the enemy, who leapt down at the small SeeD force.
It seemed Seifer had finally gotten the respect he demanded.
"Fall back, inside the building!" Seifer ordered, and the SeeDs quickly did so, retreating before the advancing enemy, not even Seifer being crazy enough to stand before this many of the enemy.
Lionheart's blue-white blade erupted in a cascade of light as Squall dropped low, parrying a rapid strike and thrusting forward. Illarra's sword broke away and parried the thrust, then flipped over to block an overhead cleave, which she had anticipated squall would follow up with. Squall caught her counter-thrust even as it started, parrying the purple crystal blade out wide, and shot forward. Illarra saw the coming slash and spun low into a sweep, which squall flipped over, leaping past her into a forward dive. As he tumbled past her, he came around with a spinning chop, but Illarra had already come about to deflect that attack. Squall hit the ground as the clash of combating light erupted around him, and shot ahead into a thrust.
Illarra naturally parried, and came around with a quick cut that Squall was already ducking beneath, pivoting on his left leg and shooting his right leg forward. Her left forearm caught the kick solidly, and then Squall twisted, flipping over into a mid-air overhead axe-kick that smashed down into the top of her head, stunning Illarra and staggering her for an instant. He set his feet and shot ahead, Lionheart stabbing at her heart, when she suddenly spun away, left hand drawing her knife and slashing out wide with it. Lionheart chopped across as Squall drew the knife off his shoulder, raising it to parry, but a hairsbreadth too late.
Squall hissed in pain as her knife cut a gash in his left arm, and she let out a yelp of surprise as the tip of Lionheart gouged her side. Both the SeeD and the insane woman took reflexive steps back,glancing at their injuries, and noted that while blood seeped from the wounds, that neither of them was serious. Indeed, it would take a lot more than a single shallow wound to even begin to slow down the two Elementals.
"Do you like it, Squall?" Illarra asked, sheathing her knife and gesturing to her face. "Its beautiful, isn't it?I can see every move you make before it even begins, just you could before."
"And this is what happens when two people with Zanshin fight," Squall responded quietly, sheathing his own knife.
"A race to see who can spot and respond faster to each other's next attacks," Illarra answered, nodding. She grinned, and hefted her gunblade, sliding into another defensive stance. "Come now, squall. Let's give this world a battle unlike anything its ever seen before!"
There's no turning back, is there? Squall's thoughts were punctuated when she shot ahead, purple gunblade cutting against the crystal edge of Lionheart, another eruption of clashing energies blasting off their transparent blades. He countered instantly, and she parried that counter, shooting her blade forward in a move that he ducked beneath, rising up into an ascending cleave that she spun around, slashing out with her knife in a move that he leapt away from and came forward in response to, which she in turn caught on her blade and threw out wide, even as Squall sent a knee into her gut and then punched her hard in the face with a left hook.
In the span of two seconds, their swords had crossed a half dozen times in a flowing ballet of violence. Illarra sneered and shot ahead again, purple light cutting before her, her blade ringing against Squall's own. He caught the blade on his weapon and held it, pushing back suddenly, forcing her slightly off balance, and dropped into another sweep. She leapt over the sweep, leg lashing out and kicking Squall solidly in face and launching him back across the room into one of the holograms. Light curled around his body as she dove into the tactical display after the SeeD Commander.
She truly has lost her mind . . . . Before, Illarra's madness had been controlled, but now, Squall knew, without question, that she had gone off the deep end. He knew, as their blades clashed and they passed through the hologram, rapidly reading each others' moves, that there would be no walking away from this one.
One of us is going to die.
The two blades met with tremendous force, blasting the room with their clashing crystallized energy. Squall circled to the right, Illarra moving to the left, matching his moves as the blades connected. Then she suddenly started to the right, launching into a sudden rush that Squall was already compensating for, backing up, out of the holograms. Her blade sang against his a dozen times in a fourth that many steps, the impacts flashing so brightly that they were as another light source illuminating the chamber.
Squall stopped he retreat, setting his feet, Lionheart connecting solidly against Illarra's blade, stopping it cold. A roundhouse punch shot at her head, and her left hand rose to block. Squall cut the blow short, spinning into a low kick at her gut, but she was already spinning around the striking foot, her gunblade descending. Blue-white met the dropping purple sword, the white light pouring over the pair's bodies, and Illarra flipped backwards, the tip of her left boot slamming Squall in the chin and rocking him backward. He fell back a step, and she shot forward, thrusting at his face. Lionheart leapt into the path, but in the resulting flash of light, she dropped into a low crouch, knife appearing in her hand and stabbing into Squall's left knee. He let out a gasp of pain and spun into a reflexive roundhouse kick, which Illarra dropped even lower to avoid.
She didn't dodge Squall's shoulder knife as it cut down into her bicep, and she leapt back, grabbing her upper arm as blood flowed down its length. Squall took a staggering step away, and looked down at his newest wound. He nodded grimly as he saw it, feeling pain shooting up his leg with every step. The injury hurt, badly, but it wouldn't slow him down. He'd taken worse hits before.
"Don't you see it, Commander?" Crell stated from behind his desk, eyes lighting up with glee as he watched the duel. "Do you feel the inevitability as your strength slowly fades? Do you understand the destructive power you face? Your armies are going to fall this day, as will you at the hands of my daughter. Nothing will remain to stand in my way after this day, Commander Leonhart! Nothing!"
Squall didn't respond to Crell's rant, instead focusing on Illarra. He saw her inspect the wound, then glance back to him with her blazing, blinded eyes, and then grin with malevolent glee. There was something in her expression that told Squall she had heard her father's words, and knew something that Crell didn't.
But rather than say anything, she shot ahead again, cackling with blatant insanity. Her sword rang against his. He lashed out with a knee. She blocked with her own leg, kicking off him and spinning into a sweep that he hopped over, an overhead cleave dropping at her head. She deflected the blade out wide, rushing ahead with a shoulder block that Squall sidestepped around. She cackled again, and it was then that Squall realized he had his back to Crell's desk and the window that framed the dictator.
A knife shot at his head, which he caught on Lionheart. Her gunblade chopped at his gut, and he sucked it in, hopping back and countering. Gunblade slammed against gunblade, and she stepped forward into a solid, simple, brutal forward kick, putting all her weight and power behind it even as the two blades locked.
Her boot smashed into Squall's chest, and he was hurled backward. Crell dropped behind his desk as Squall rocketed past, crashed into the window, and shattered the transparisteel like it was delicate paper-thin glass.
Squall was hurled out of the Fortress and launched backward, sliding down the exterior of the ship's domed metal hull, toward the water below.
Zell didn't know where to begin.
He ducked to the ground, legs lashing out, crushing the kneecaps of his opponent and sending the Estharian sprawling tot he deck. he flipped up onto his feet, over the crippled foe, slamming into another soldier with his shoulder and sending the man crashing into a pair of his comrades. he spun around, sidestepping an axe cleave, and punching the striking soldier in the chest, shattering his bones and launching him away. He batted a second axe aside, grabbing the soldier's right elbow and shattering it, then throwing him to the floor.
The brawler was, at that moment, working exclusively to kill or bring down his enemies as fast as possible. As hundreds of enemy soldiers continued to drop into the front gate, a silver and black tide of insectile-armored soldiers that poured into the SeeD defenders, he had to fight with all speed available. Working to cripple or kill his foes with single blows kept him from being tied up too long against too many of the enemy. Zell couldn't afford to waste time.
With every man he killed or disabled, though, Zell had to take a step back, cursing himself with every movement. It was exactly like the Quad battle three years back. All around him, the SeeDs and cadets fought with an insane frenzy, slaughtering the enemy two or three to one, but the unending tide of Estharians kept pushing them back, and the enemy cyborgs and soldiers, with their advanced armor and expert training, proved to be more powerful man-for-man than the Galbadians had years ago. The whirlwind of war raged all around the brawler as the SeeDs fought for every inch. No ground was sacrificed unfought and without a SeeD falling down atop their opponents.
However, the enemy was gaining ground steadily, and unending tides of Corsair transports swept over the front gate, dropping entire platoons of the enemy at a time. Thousands swarmed off of Crell's command fortress, the most fanatical and loyal of his Adelist soldiers slamming into the SeeDs while hundreds more dropped from the aircraft, and thousands of others assaulted the upper floors from jetpacks, aircraft, or, in the case of enemy cyborgs, leaping straight across. Nearly every sector of Balamb Garden was under attack as the eight thousand SeeDs and soldiers onboard battled twenty thousand Estharian soldiers from Crell's Fortress and another that had already docked with Garden.
Zell knew he couldn't do anything to stop so many of the enemy, and this enraged him to no end. For those enemy soldiers that got close to Zell, they quickly learned that an enraged Zell Dincht was no opponent to stand against for long. His steel-sheathed knuckles shattered heads, broke ribs, and crushed arms. His booted feet crushed organs, ripped through armor, and broke apart legs. He headbutted, he slammed, he threw, he stomped, he punched, he kicked, and he roared in raging fury as the enemy came on. All around him, the SeeDs fought on, unrelenting in their unyielding defense of their home, even as they were pushed back past the turnstiles and actually into the Garden superstructure itself..
There was a momentary break for a split second as Zell crushed an enemy soldier, and spun, looking for another target. However, no enemy soldier drew near him for a moment, perhaps afraid to close with the raging brawler, with over forty dead or screaming, crippled soldiers laying on the deck immediately around him, and many more scattered across the field.
Then Zell saw why these men had stepped back, as a company of Estharians, clad in black armor with red trim and red helmets, their visors an ashen black, rushed ahead with speed unmatched among the enemy ranks. Zell knew instantly the enemy he faced, but showed no fear. Instead, he called up his SeeD magic, summoned his strength, and sent a spell cascading over his body.
These were Elementals, Crell's ultimate soldiers.
He opened his eyes, the irises turning red as a horrible frenzy swept over his body. A crimson aura surged up around the brawler, his muscles flexing and bulging, his breathing quickening. he looked upon his enemies, the rage pouring over in his mind and seizing control. Zell opened his mouth, let loose an animal roar promising death and blood, and surged ahead.
"Berserk" was a spell SeeDs were trained to only use in the most dangerous and desperate of situations. Zell Dincht, facing legions of the enemy and an entire company of bio-enhanced Elemental soldiers, had decided that now was a good moment to use it.
Light flashed over the Garden as one of the Fortresses closed with Trabia Garden, and the slight rational part of Zell's mind that was left operating wished Rinoa good luck as his right fist blasted straight through an Elementals' helmeted head, splattering bone and brains and maroon blood all over his arm as the decapitated corpse fell to the ground.
The debris from the destroyed Flying Fortress rained down around Trabia Garden as Rinoa dropped to her knees, panting. Her left hand clawed across her chest as pain resounded across her body, wracking her heart and lungs with waves of agony. No one on the command deck of the Garden turned to her, too busy giving frantic orders to their soldiers and SeeDs.
I'm pushing myself too hard . . . I can't use much more of Hyne's power . . . .
They're coming in from the front gate!" shouted a SeeD behind her, and Rinoa clenched her teeth, standing up. She didn't care about the pain. Rinoa grimaced away the agony, banishing it from her mind as she turned toward the front gate, watching as hundreds f Estharians swarmed off the Fortress and surged toward the waiting SeeD defenders. She raised a hand to the sky, feeling a fresh shock of pain even as she called upon her powers.
A dozen bolts of lightning shot down from the clear ocean sky, slamming down upon the front gate and the charging Estharians. The bolts impacted with the strength of a summoned meteor, blasting the enemy and sweeping them aside, hurling them out to sea. More lightning slammed the Fortress, playing along its metal hull, arcing and crackling. Rinoa grabbed her chest again, feeling weakened by the assault, but satisfied; the gate was clear for the moment, the enemy annihilated.
Corsair transports swooped in at Trabia Garden, hundreds of the enemy preparing to leap down upon the upper levels of the Garden. Snarling and banishing the pain, Rinoa swept her hands before her, calling hurricane-force winds to her aid. The stunning wave of blasting air smashed into the transports, hurling them back at the ship they originated from, crushing them against its hull like bugs.
"There's another Fortress, closing in from port!"
Rinoa turned to her left as SeeDs rushed across Trabia Garden, and saw that the call was correct; another transport closed in on Trabia Garden. It was too close for her to destroy the drive system; she would have to use sheer brute force to annihilate it. Rinoa reached out with her mind, wrapping telekinetic hands over the hull, and pulled. Metal rent and peeled away, a dozen decks suddenly revealed along the ship's flank as Rinoa peeled off a hundred foot-high strip of armored plating, tearing it away like a rind from an orange.
Shouts from the direction of the front gate caught her attention again, and she spun back toward it, gesturing viciously even as she dimly registered the wracking pains lancing through her bones at the overwhelming power she was using and abusing. Fire blazed into being over the front gate, immolating hundreds of Estharians in an instant. That location momentarily secured, she turned back to the damaged fortress, and raised her hands into the air.
Many on Trabia Garden had seen Rinoa's expenditure of overwhelming power before, but all of them were shocked and awed when she brought both hands down, slamming them into the deck at her feet, and the top of the Fortress bent inward, as if a tremendous invisible hammer had fallen from the skies and crashed right on top of it.
The telekinetic impact sent shockwaves through the water as the warship stopped dead in its tracks, driven halfway underwater by the impact. Waves of ocean water poured into the ship through the massive tear Rinoa had inflicted on the Fortress moments ago, and the Estharian craft immediately began sinking into the sea.
Another horde of Estharians stormed toward the front gate of Trabia Garden, and Rinoa, gritting her teeth as she whipped around, raised her hands again, calling forth more power. Her vision started to blur as agony erupted across her body. She felt as if her organs were being sliced apart, her bones shattering, and her heart started beating erratically. Her eyes began to darken as shadow engulfed the army storming the gate, washing over them and ripping their energy from their bodies, throwing them to the deck.
The wave of shadow magic passed, and Rinoa let loose a scream of pain as the agony cutting through her doubled over, and then fell to her knees again. She struggled to look up, in time to see the sky darken momentarily as hundreds of missiles and single crimson dagger streak down toward the remainingFortress, ripping into its hull and blasting chunks of armor plating off. Rinoa saw the Fortress begin to collapse under the overwhelming aerial assault, and managed a smile, knowing that she had won.
She dropped to the deck, blacking out. He last conscious sensation was of being picked up, a SeeD screaming "Medic! Medic!"
Selphie peeled off from her strafing run, a hundred fighters and bombers doing the same as the Fortress started to sink beneath the ocean waves.
"Whoo! Suck it beeches!" she shouted, pumping a fist in the air as she whipped the Ragnarok around, pressing all her crew back into their seats from the pressure of the motion.
"How many missiles we have left?" she asked, and Jofey shook his head.
"We used the last of our torpedoes and missiles on that run," he explained. "And nearly everyone's missiles have been used up so far." Selphie frowned as he force came back around turning toward the remnants of the dogfight overhead. Between the thousand aircraft in their fleet, along with Raptor Squadron's sheer lethality and the fact that over three fourths of the Estharian planes had been destroyed before they could take off, the air battle was nearly over. They had, for the moment, complete control over the skies, though an Estharian air force matching their in sheer size was closing from the south. But they were some time away, and for the moment, they had air superiority. Still, pulse lasers and machineguns could only do so much . . . .
"Selphie," Elain stated from the Ops panel. "We've got four of the new Estharian ships closing with Galbadia Garden, which is already engaging two more. The wounded enemy ship is also closing slowly with Galbadia Garden. If they get there, we could be looking at over sixty thousand enemy soldiers hitting that Garden head on." Selphie's eyes widened, and she nodded.
"Get all of our spare fighters over to Galbadia Garden!" she ordered. Strafe the enemy wherever they can! I don't care if they have to use pulse lasers and missiles, we have to bring down those Fortresses! They need us over there!"
"Aye, Selphie!" she answered, as the tiny SeeD pilot brought her airship around.
"Jofey, get that beam cannon charged up," she added, leaning forward over the controls. "Business is going to be very good today!"
A half-dozen SeeDs, along with a pair of technicians, stood in the central drive chamber of Balamb Garden, well beneath the battle raging up above. The guard detail listened to reports over the radio of the enemy as they breached every level and sector of Balamb Garden.
"Shit, I hate being down here," one of them muttered.
"Yeah, it kills me to leave the fighting to everyone else," snarled a second one. "Why are we protecting the drive system anyway? We're deep in the core, no one's getting in here."
"But the drive is critical," answered a technician. "If it gets destroyed, Garden won't be able to float and will sink."
Another SeeD opened his mouth to agree, and suddenly reached up to his throat, eyes widening as blood seeped over his hands-
"Under fire!" shouted another SeeD, raising his spear-
"Left! Six on the left!" warned another as a half dozen black armored soldiers appeared in the room-
"I'm hit!" screamed another as a bullet blasted through his chest. He ran toward his attacker, who flipped backward with speed matching his own-
"They're everywhere!" screamed a technician, firing his pistol at another of their attackers-
"Control, this is Drive Central! We are under attack! I repeat, we are-"A knife stabbed into the technician's neck, and he fell over dead onto his console, radio dropping from his hands.
Five seconds later, the guard detail and technicians were all down, the only one still alive being the first SeeD attacked as he lay on the floor, clutching his throat, gurgling helplessly as he bled out.
Major Eric Malachi calmly wiped off his knife as he turned to the two dozen Elemental commandos he'd hand-picked for this mission, ignoring the dying SeeD.
"Fetch the bomb," he ordered, and a trio of Elementals nodded, hurrying out of the chamber and through the accessways beneath Balamb Garden, back to the small submersible they'd used to get into the academy.
"The rest of you," he continued, and nodded toward the elevator outside the room. "Watch the door, and cut the elevator power. They know we're down here; its only a matter of time until we get visitors."
Fire cascaded up the corridor, burning through the dozen Estharian soldiers standing before Nash as the scientist advanced up the hallway. Smoking ash filled the hallways behind him, flying wildly through the air as he burned through all of his opposition with savage mercilessness. Within a matter of minutes, the scientist, eyes blazing with his unstoppable intent and desire for revenge, had plowed through a full company of Estharian soldiers, his fires blasting away their skin and burning down to their bones and beyond, leaving charred victims in his wake. No foe stood before him as he methodically stalked the corridors, incinerating any who stood in his path.
There were no laughing remarks or snide comments from Nash as he blazed his trail through the Fortress, destroying any who stood in his path, leaving char marks and semi-molten metal wherever a foe had challenged him. There were no war cries or challenges issued from him, just one constant, singular word that he shouted as he advanced.
"HYNE!" Nash thundered as his fires consumed a hapless enemy soldier he held in one hand. The man was reduced to ash across his torso, and his charred remnants slid through the enraged scientist's fingers. More enemy troops fled before his assault, but Nash's fires beat their fleeing footsteps, burning the men down as they retreated.
"HYNE! Show yourself, you worthless bitch of a Guardian!"
Nash reached a doorway that stood in his path, the solid metal blocking his advance. Fire erupted along his arm, and with a single devastating punch, he blasted the metal portal into flying shards of molten doorway, and strode through, into a wide, open muster bay, filled with several tanks and scout bikes. Nash stared across the chamber, walking into the middle of it, and saw none of the enemy cannon fodder standing in his way. The chamber was remarkably empty and desolate. Nash snarled in frustration, his emotions displaying themselves most clearly in a aura of fire that erupted around his body.
"HYNE!" he demanded again, his voice resounding off the walls, echoing over and over again.
There was silence for several moments, and Nash clenched his teeth in anger, and turned, looking for a doorway out of the chamber. He stopped in the middle of his search, however, when he heard a faint laughter echoing off the vehicles in the room. The scientist let his fires die down to a simmer, and turned in the direction of the sound.
Sitting atop one of the tanks, legs crossed and seeming completely relaxed, was a small, brown-haired girl in a simple blue dress, barely ten years old.
Hyne.
"You've been looking for me?" she whispered, smiling, and Nash let his flames rise slightly, the only indicator of his emotions.
"Heh," came a voice from behind the scientist, and Nash glanced over his shoulder, seeing the cloaked, grinning visage of Hades as he stepped around the side of a tank, scythe balanced over his shoulders. He leaned back against the tank, as completely relaxed as Hyne, and regarded the Elemental before them.
"Not very many people so willingly jump into complete annihilation," he remarked with a chuckle. "So, you're Nash, huh? Chief scientist of the Elemental Project? The one who managed to complete all the necessary work on our little science project, huh?"
"That's right," Nash snarled, barely keeping his rage under control, though his slowly rising fires blazing around his body clearly showed his fury to both the Guardians. "I've been waiting a long time for this." He looked directly at Hyne, and then pointed at her. "You, Hyne. You're going to die, right now."
"Uhh, no," Hades replied quickly, stepping forward, shaking his head. "Not how it works, kiddo. See, me and Hyne, we're a partnership of sorts. We both have the same goals, after all." He strode toward Nash, slowly taking his scythe off his back and his grin widening. "So, you don't mess with her without messing with me at the same time."
"I don't need any shit from you," Nash replied, not even looking at Hades as he spoke. "Go sit down and let the big boys and girls play."
"How rude!" Hades muttered, smile never wavering. "Okay, big bad Elemental. You think you're hardcore?" Beneath his cowl, Hades' youthful visage burned away, revealing the blackened skull of Death, the Grim Reaper's visage falling on Nash as he leveled his scythe. "Okay, we'll play by good old classic rules. I'll be Hyne's little flunkie minion today. You can't get to her until you get past-"
Nash spun around, a whirlwind of flames shooting around his arm as he sucker-punched Hades right in the jaw, sending the Guardian of Death flipping end over and to slam headfirst into the tank he was standing on front of. Nash whipped around toward Hyne, a gout of fire lancing off his arm and shooting toward her.
She blinked, and the fires simply sizzled out an instant before they touched her. She watched Nash with complete calm as he rushed forward, arms erupting into blue-white fires, screaming in fury. Both hands shot forward at Hyne, Nash opening his palms right in her face, and the fires exploded out at her smiling visage.
Naturally, they simply vanished less than an inch from his palms, never touching Hyne as she sat there. Hyne lazily raised a hand, pointed it at Nash as his attack faded and he readied another storm of hellfire, and white light flashed from her fingertips.
One of the tanks across the chamber was flipped over on its side, a man-shaped dent in the side of it as Nash was bounced off the vehicle and sent careening into a wall, before flopping to the floor. He blinked, and managed to take a breath, pain exploding up his body as he felt the ache from both impacts shooting through him. Slowly, the scientist stood up, shaking his head, shocked by what had just happened. He knew Hyne could suppress energy, but not to that great of a degree . . . .
"I don't get any respect nowadays," Hades growled, vaulting over a tank and standing before Nash, grinning as he looked at the Elemental. "Seriously, man, one-hit instagibs don't work on people like me. You have to actually fight the mid-boss before you can take on the final boss. Its just how these things work."
"Fucker!" Nash snarled, and shot forward in an eyeblink, wreathing himself in fire as he delivered a rapid one-two jab combination. Hades snapped up his polearm, the shaft of his scythe intercepting both blows. Nash whipped around, diving into a low sweep, which Hades hopped over, and then chopped down with his scythe. Nash rolled to the side, the blade slicing through only air, and came around with a vicious hook trailed by an inferno. Hades caught the hit on the side and was spun around viciously, but used the momentum to come around with a wide-flying slash of his blade, which Nash was barely able to duck beneath. The blade sliced into the side of another tank and cut clear through the metal, erupting out the other side as Hades continued to spin around.
The scythe settled back into his firm grip as Nash shot ahead with a rising knee, which the Guardian of Death blocked quickly, parrying the strike once more. However, both of Nash's arms shot ahead, fires swirling around them, and slammed Hades on both sides of his head. The Guardian took a step back, and black light erupted from his upper body, sending Nash sprawling back to the floor. Hades calmly shook his head, as if to ward away a gnat, and stepped forward, twirling his scythe calmly in his left hand.
"Look, pal, maybe you don't get it," Hades continued as Nash rose to his feet. "I'm Guardian of freaking Death here. Not the Guardian of Prancing Pixies or Anemic Five-Year Olds. I'm the real deal. You can't just waltz past me like I'm another Estharian soldier."
"You want to bet?" Nash replied, standing tall. The scientist held up his hands, cracking his knuckles and then popping his neck. Hades watched him for a moment, seemingly relaxed, yet alert and ready for anything-
FAK-WHOOM!
A solid sphere of blue-white fire erupted where Hades was standing, blasting the air around him away, and Nash shot forward, right arm arcing back into a wide-flying punch that started all the way back in Dollet, arced around Balamb Island, dove through Crell's Fortress, and slammed right into Hades' face even as he was registering the flare of hellfire that had burst around him.
The wall directly behind Hades, all the way across the muster bay, then sported a nice, Guardian of Death-shaped hole.
That situation dealt with, Nash walked back into the center of the chamber, and stared directly at Hyne.
"Now, where were we?" he asked her.
"That was quite the impressive display there," she replied calmly. Hyne leaned forward and pushed herself off the top of the tank, dropping to the floor to face Nash directly. "Not everyone can simply punch the Guardian of Death through a wall quite like you just did."
"I've had some practice," Nash responded, simmering fires rising up around his body as he spoke.
"I guess you've proven yourself reasonably worthy of my attention now," Hyne continued. "In fact, I'm so interested in what you can do that I'm now a bit curious. Why is it that you've sought me out?"
"Because you destroyed everything," Nash replied, quietly. He narrowed his eyes, fires intensifying around his body. "You wiped all of it out. I've spent an incredible amount of time looking for you so I can reduce you to constituent atoms and energy."
"What did I destroy?" Hyne asked calmly, raising her eyebrows. "I've done some fine deeds of destruction in my time, but I usually just let the natural forces of entropy have their way with things. But you make it sound like its personal."
"Oh, yes, very personal," Nash snarled. "Very, very fucking personal. Does the name Ultimecia ring any bells?"
At that, Hyne smiled, and then laughed.
"Oh, yes, Ultimecia! Of course! The Sorceress from the alternate future that Squall killed. How can I forget someone who almost facilitated my ultimate goal?"
"Yeah, her," Nash replied. "You know what? You'd think that with all the annihilation she caused, that most of the people from her world died."
"That was part of her appeal, I do agree," Hyne responded. "But . . . what relationship does this have with you? All the people in Ultimecia's alternate timeline no longer exist, seeing as how that timeline has been . . . removed from the equation."
"Not all of them," Nash answered, and slowly brought the cloth bundle off his back. "Not me."
"You came from Ultimecia's timeline?" Hyne asked, now honestly surprised. "How? No one survived temporal compression except Squall Leonhart and Ultimecia."
"That's right," Nash answered quietly, and then, he slowly reached up to the bandana wrapped around his forehead, and removed it, parting some his long brown hair as he did so. Hyne watched the motion, and then stopped suddenly as she saw through the open spot of his hair, and between his eyes.
Fire shot down the length of the cloth bundle, burning away the covering. When the charred remnants of the cloth dropped away, it revealed a long, broad silvery blade, the edge lined in dark red and tapering to a slightly curved point, married to the handle of a revolver. Etched on the side of the blade was a majestic, crouching lion, wings sprouting from its back.
And between Nash's eyes, running from the middle of his forehead down a little to the left of his nose, was a long scar.
"Let's put it this way," Nash explained as he hefted the modified Revolver in his right hand. "When time was initially compressed, there wasn't just one Squall Leonhart running around in that world. And when it was finally completely compressed, well, two Squalls living in the real world had to become one in the compressed one. And when it was uncompressed, both Squalls became . . . uncompressed, just the same."
The simmering flames surrounding Nash erupted into a full-fledged inferno, wreathing his body.
"A long time ago, I bore his name, back when I had friends, family, and a world that didn't teeter on the brink of collapse. I've fought across time itself, against Ultimecia and through a world you destroyed, Hyne! And now, here, I'm going to finish this!"
Nash launched himself at Hyne, blazing hellfire flaring around his gunblade, the Revolver of Squall Leonhart.
"DIE!"
"So, friend," said the smiling, bearded, purple-eyed old man as he sat across from Alucard, a thousand miles removed from the war blazing across the seas off the coast of Balamb. "We've gathered all of the pieces together here, and now we have to ask the billion dollar question. What's Hyne up to?"
Alucard, seated across from his friend, leaned back. He quietly took a drink from his glass as he considered Ramuh's words.
"She backs Crell," he replied. "But why? What profit can she get from inciting this war? She revels in the destruction, but we both know her goal revolves around more than just simple death and havoc. She wants permanent annihilation."
"Hm." Ramuh thought for a moment, stroking his ever-waving beard. "Friend, the vibe I'm getting off this whole thing is just that; she's backing Crell out of amusement. Almost like she's biding her time."
"I agree," Alucard responded. "Hm. The only thing that we know Hyne directly assisted in with Crell's operations is the Elemental Project and its creations. Perhaps that was her goal all along?"
"Artificial Sorceress power," Ramuh mused, nodding. "But since that's just Guardian power put into a mortal, all that results are Elementals. Elementals are powerful, sure, but not powerful enough to do what she wants."
"Still, that may yet be her goal," Alucard replied. "To create an elemental powerful enough to achieve her objective."
"Well, then, she may be busted now," Ramuh answered. "She's already gotten the two most powerful Elementals now, what with Griever in Leonhart and Bahamut in his cousin."
"those were not her goal," Alucard said, shaking his head. he took another sip from his drink. "Hyne seemed very relaxed when we met, almost as if her goal had already been achieved. Squall and Illarra only became Elementals around the time we met, and I don't think she was aware they existed at that point."
"Which means it was a previously existing Elemental," Ramuh stated. "The only ones that count are that little girl Tilmitt, Nash, and . . . ."
Both Alucard and Ramuh blinked, and stared at each other, the answer right in their faces. The Guardian of Existence stood up immediately, narrowing his eyes.
"I have to leave, now," he stated. "This situation needs to be dealt with . . . immediately."
Quistis was up to her hips in reports and shouts, rapidly directing her forces to battle. In the previous engagement three years ago, they hadn't had this level of control over Garden's defense, but with so many more troops and better command technology and staff, she could more readily direct her forces into battle. SeeDs, cadets, and soldiers moved throughout Garden, battling Estharian soldiers at every juncture and breach. However, the influx of the new enemy forces was breaking through their defenses at various points, enemy troops flooding throughout Garden. It wouldn't be long until all of Balamb Garden was one chaotic warzone.
Quistis did what she could to contain the breaches, redirecting reserve force to patch holes and shore up defenses, pulling overwhelmed troops back to secondary defense positions. The preparations they had made in case the Garden was being overwhelmed were working well, though; the Garden wasn't completely overrun and chaos hadn't gripped the entire building . . . yet.
Then, Quistis heard the worst news yet relayed.
"Quistis! The drive control room has been captured by enemy commandos!"
She stared unbelievingly at the technician who relayed the message, her skin paling. She didn't know how the enemy had gotten down there, but it didn't matter. If they had the drive room, they could sink the Garden with one well-placed explosive.
"Do we have any troops we can spare?" she demanded, looking at the Garden map immediately. Nearly the entire building was flashing red, indicating breaches and combat in every sector. They were holding . . . for now. But if she pulled off any troops to engage the enemy in the drive room . . . .
"Everyone who can fight is engaged!" answered another technician. Quistis blinked, not believing what she saw and heard, but they were right. Nearly every combat capable SeeD and soldier was shown on the map, engaging Estharian intruders. She saw a camera feed from the front gate, showing Zell surrounded by a hundred enemy soldiers, Elemental commandos. The brawler was hip deep in corpses as his army around him engaged the enemy, Zell pounding the Elemental troops with raging fury as they attacked him.
They didn't have anyone who could get to the drive room and stop the enemy.
Except . . . .
Quistis grabbed her whip on her belt, and turned toward the entrance.
"Order all troops to hold their positions and fall back to secondary defensive positions as needed!" Quistis ordered as she ran toward the entrance. "Local commanders take direct control of their troops and act at your own discretion!"
"Wait!" shouted an officer after her. "Where are you-"
"There's no one to spare who can take back that room!" Quistis replied over her shoulder as she charged out of the room, drawing her whip.
No one but me . . . .
Lionheart scraped along the hull of the Flying Fortress, Squall turning the blade as he buried it into the side of the structure, slowing his descent. He looked down, and spotted a ridge in the hull poking out from the apparently smooth metal. Setting his feet, he continued to drop until he reached the ridge, stopping on the small ledge. The Commander looked up at the sky overhead, and spotted what looked like an enemy muster bay about forty feet overhead. He coiled his feet beneath him, preparing to leap up, when he caught sight of a shape directly overhead.
Illarra stood on the side of the ship, grinning. Her gunblade was buried in the metal, and she was balanced on the handle, staring down at the SeeD Commander below, hair flying wildly in the sea winds.
"This is amazing, Squall!" she shouted. "This sight you and I have! Its perfect! I can see everything, just like you!"
Squall didn't answer, instead drawing the Revolver with his left hand and holding both swords in his hands. He stared up at her with his eyeless gaze.
"You know, I have to thank you, Squall," she added, grinning ever more widely. "You opened my eyes, soI could cut them out and understand! When we fought in Trabia, I came to realize something. You were right!"
Squall watched her, suddenly becoming aware of energy rippling around her. He knew the power she was using . . . it was like a SeeD's Guardian Force summon. But something about this was different. It wasn't as if she was calling the GF to fight for her . . . .
It was as if she was calling it to herself.
"My enemy," she whispered as the hill of the ship beneath them began to shake. "You revealed who my true enemy is, Squall!" She raised her hands into the sky, white light rising around her. Squall clenched his teeth, and then realized what she was doing.
"You . . . ." Squall whispered, and she laughed.
"Once this battle is over, Squall, I'm going to destroy my true enemy!" she screamed, throwing her head back as the light began to consume her. As he watched, her body became a blurry silouhette incased in the light, and she started screaming and cackling at the same time.
"My enemy, Squall . . . ."
Black wings erupted from her back.
"Its so simple . . . ."
A whipping, ridged tail shot out from her tailbone.
"And I can't believe I didn't realize it . . . ."
Her face contorted, scales and ridges shooting over her body as her expression elongated, her mouth transforming into a long lizard-like beak, her eyes growing back into blood red orbs. Bat-like, scaled wings flexed, and her arms stretched out, the skin replaced by scales and body ridges, fingers now sharpened claws. Her hair transformed into a mighty crest and horns stretching back over her elongating neck.
"Humanity!" Illarra thundered as she stared down at Squall, her draconic mouth widening in a smile.
So, she went and did it. Heh.
She didn't just summon Bahamut . . . .
Fusing with her bonded Guardian, fully invoking his power . . . this looks like it might just hurt, Squall . . . .
You sound like you're going to enjoy this.
Indeed. I think I will . . . .
"Humanity, Squall," Illarra repeated, laughing, her voice becoming the thundering, resounding declaration of the mighty Guardian Force, Bahamut.
"Humankind is my enemy . . . . and once this battle is over, I'm going to burn a swath across this infested planet. I'm going to destroy it all! Every human life will be extinguished! This world will be purged!"
"And Crell?"
"Fuck him. He'll be first to die. Followed by the rest of this fleet, and then Balamb. Then . . . not sure where I'll go next." She crossed her arms, and chuckled, vibrating the hull beneath Squall. "I'll do you a favor, Squall. How about I kill all your friends quick, as a favor for you showing me how to get my revenge?"
Squall firmed his jaw, and coiled his legs beneath him for a leap. He then slowly shook his head, his voice showing all the conviction his eyes would have spoken otherwise.
"No."
"Have it your way, then," Illarra answered. She threw her head back, issuing a tremendous roar, and dove down at Squall. he tensed his muscles, and then leapt straight back at her, gunblades flying out wide as he dove into battle once more.
-
Whoo! That one came out fast! Another classic case of a chapter getting a lot longer than you expected it to be. This thing kept stretching on and on, and I knew that I would need to cut this chapter short of my original objective. I'm getting too ambitious for my own good... I had On-Winged Angel off the Advent Children soundtrack blaring asI finished this chapter. I think it fits, eh?
Next chapter, the battles intensify as Garden makes its last stand!
Also, I apologize if I haven't replied to everyone yet. been too busy writing. I should rectify that!
Until next chapter...