A/N: Round 2, Sheena vs. Abyssion! With Kratos seemingly down for the count (to put it lightly) and Lloyd having trouble with just trying to stand back up, it's up to Sheena to stop Abyssion. Does she even have a chance?
Thanks again for all the lovely reviews. I shall take this time to address a few of them:
Concerning Acalantha: …oops. Heh, I have the memory of a goldfish. My bad. My controller is screwy, so it's hard for me to go back and check stuff.
Concerning the post-Abyssion idea: Heh… I have other plans. You'll see.
Concerning Longer Chapters: Yeah, you're definitely right. I, myself, would like to be able to produce longer chapters and will strive to do so whenever possible. I partially blame my busy work schedule, but some of the best writers on are both in college and holding down a job and have little difficulty with writing long stories. I envy their writing skills. I believe that, in my nearly two months since I've begun writing fanfiction, I have made great strides of progress in developing my writing abilities. Hopefully I'll get better.
Anyway, on with the story!
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Chapter 10: The Power of Love
The menacing demon pointed to himself. "Me? Toast? Don't make me laugh little girl. Your display of false bravado is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to hide your own overwhelming fear. Face it, it's over."
Sheena rolled and flipped Acalantha between her the fingers on her right hand as she stared at Abyssion. Against what he thought, she was not falsely displaying bravery. She indeed thought that there was a way to defeat Abyssion and was determined to find it. Her main concern was time, for, even if she found a way to beat him, would it be too late by the time she did?
"No way Abyssion, you're wrong. I can, and will, win. Just watch me!" Acalantha then split into two separate cards. She held one in each hand and crouched down low, prepared to rush him.
Abyssion shook his head and walked toward her once more. "Didn't we try this once before?" He pointed first to Kratos, who had managed to flip himself over so that he was on his back. He then pointed to Lloyd who had almost managed to stand back up before he fell down once again. "You can see the results as plain as day. After I dispose of you, I'm going to finish the job I started on those two."
Pure anger shined through Sheena's normally kind eyes as she dashed at the powerful demon. "The hell you will!"
Abyssion smirked and tossed Evil Eye lightly into the air. He caught it and yelled, "Watch me!" He took a strong step forward and threw Evil Eye at her.
Sheena skidded to a halt and began to chant very quickly. Just before Evil Eye struck her, she threw a card on the ground and yelled, "Guardian Seal!" Evil Eye hit the barrier but was deflected harmlessly away.
Abyssion took a step back. "What? It actually managed to stop Evil Eye? Feh, no matter." He closed his eyes for a moment and the Diablos Axe came into existence. Opening his eyes, he swung the axe from side-to-side and pointed it at her. "Come on, I don't have all day!" He then ran at her and swung the axe with great force at her.
Just as the axe was coming towards, she leaped upward and managed to actually land on the blade. She rode the axe until Abyssion had reached the end of his 180 degree swing. After this, she jumped off of it and, before Abyssion could react to this unsuspected maneuver, set the demon's back on fire as she dealt a critical blow to Abyssion with Acalantha.
Abyssion fell face-first to the ground and involuntarily threw the axe to the other side of the room, not far from where Kratos lay. Sheena flipped the Acalanthas between her fingers once again and grinned. "Heh. See? Toast." She began to chant once more.
Abyssion groggily stood up and staggered for a moment. He shook his head and turned back to Sheena. "Well, well. You're certainly more interesting than those other two losers." He brought the Disaster Kendama into existence and used is like a whip as he let the ball lash out and his Sheena in the stomach while in the middle of her chant.
"Oof!" she said as she clutched her stomach and fell to her knees, her summoning ritual now ruined.
Abyssion retracted the ball and made Disaster disappear. In its place was the staff, Heart of Chaos. "But I really do tire of this. Accept your fate and die!" He ran up to Sheena and swung the staff much like a golf club and hit her once again in the stomach. This sent her flying through air and she bounced off of the wall Lloyd was near. The pain she felt in her abdomen was almost too much to bear. All she could do was clutch her stomach and roll around on the ground, more-or-less helplessly.
Lloyd looked on in horror as he watched Sheena roll around near him. "Sheena! Hang in there!" He watched as Abyssion edged closer and closer to them. All hope that had burned in him was now gone. Everyone seemed to be down for the count and now Abyssion was ready to end their lives. He looked back at Sheena who had stopped rolling and was now laying flat on her back, taking very heavy and labored breaths.
Lloyd couldn't take it. He was never going to see Sheena again. He regretted all the opportunities that he had passed up when he could've told Sheena just how he felt about her. "It's… it's not fair!" he yelled.
Sheena tried reaching up to touch Lloyd's cheek with her delicate fingers. She tried to speak but could only manage a two-word sentence: "S-sorry… Lloyd…"
Well aware that Abyssion was nearing them, Lloyd took what he thought was his last chance to lean down and kiss Sheena on the lips. Though brief, it was full of love and compassion. "I love you Sheena. I…" He turned to Abyssion and finally managed to stand up. "I hope there's another world beyond our own. I want to see you there." He turned to Abyssion and drew his Valkyrie blades as he dashed at him.
Sheena struggled to sit up and could barely be heard as she tried to yell. "Lloyd! No!"
Tears flying through the air behind, Lloyd let out a blood-curdling yell as he rushed Abyssion. "You bastard!!!"
With seemingly little effort and without even looking at him, Abyssion knocked Lloyd into the wall not far from where he had started off. After the fall, he then fell to the floor. There, he remained motionless.
Sheena's vision became cloudy as she witnessed what happened to Lloyd. "Lloyd… no…" Could it be true? Was he… dead?
Smirking, Abyssion finally turned to the fallen Lloyd. "Hmph. Annoying fly. Fine then." A sphere of energy formed around Abyssion's right hand as the Heart of Chaos disappeared. "If that last hit didn't kill you, this one sure will!" With that, the sphere of energy streaked from his hand to the motionless Lloyd.
Through some unknown feat of strength, Sheena managed to get up and dive on top of Lloyd, ready to take the hit for him. It just didn't matter anymore. Already dead or not, she did not feel that she could live without Lloyd. Even if she could beat Abyssion, life would feel so pointless without him. The world around her seemed to move in slow-motion as she thought about him.
"Lloyd, you gave your life for me. That's… that's the most self-less act I've ever seen anyone perform. Now Lloyd, it's my turn to die for you." She titled her head in such a way that she could kiss him on the lips. "I love you Lloyd." She then closed her eyes and waited for the end.
It never came. She heard the impact of the blow but didn't feel anything. Abyssion cursed and struck again but, again, Sheena felt nothing. She slowly opened her eyes, wondering why she had felt nothing from Abyssion's seemingly ferocious attacks. Looking around her, she noticed that Lloyd and herself were now surrounded by a translucent, pink dome. "A barrier? How…"
The giggle of Corrine rang throughout her mind. "You did it Sheena! Your heart is very strong indeed!"
Sheena stood up and shook her head, unsure of what exactly was happening. "Wait, what did I just do? And how did this barrier get here?"
A shadowy image of Corrine appeared on the ground just in-front of her. Its warm-hearted smile and the cuteness of his wagging tail brought great amounts of comfort to Sheena's heart. "Silly Sheena! You made that barrier! Don't you see?"
She shook her head. "I don't unde-"
Corrine cut her off. "You made it with your heart, Sheena. Your desire to protect Lloyd was so great that it projected itself as a barrier to defend the two of you from harm. Look!"
Corrine turned around to see a very angry Abyssion pounding on the smooth surface of the mystical barrier. He tried his best to get in, but just couldn't. Corrine raised his front paws in the air and hopped from one hind leg to the other in a dance-like fashion. "Nyah, nyah! You can't get us!"
Abyssion shook a clenched fist at the overly cute Corrine. "You little rodent! I don't know where the hell you came from, but once I break this damn barrier, both you and that little bitch are dead! You hear me?! DEAD!!!" With nothing more than his bare fists, he was pounding the walls of the domed barrier with seemingly enough force to knock over small buildings with a single blow. Even this was not enough, however, as he made no progress in getting inside.
Corrine sat back down and turned back to Sheena. "And that's another thing. Your heart is so strong that even "Stupid" out there can see me. Isn't that neat, Sheena?"
Sheena rubbed her still aching stomach. She was still confused with what all was happening. "Did I really make this barrier? For Lloyd?"
Corrine nodded. "Yes, but not just for Lloyd. You obviously have a good spot in your heart for Kratos too. Look!" Corrine pointed with one paw in the direction where Kratos lay. He was still on his back, but he too was protected by a barrier similar to their own.
Sheena took a step back. "Wow. I-I guess I really did make this. I don't know how, but…" She looked down at and kneeled down next to Lloyd. "…I'm glad I was able to. At least I can spend a little more time with Lloyd before-"
"Before you die? Haha!" The tiny Corrine giggled warm-heartedly. "This barrier isn't the only thing you can do, Sheena! The powers of your heart are boundless! Use this same power to attack Abyssion!"
She looked down at the little rodent, a bit puzzled. "But how? I can save us from attack, but how can I project… my… heart…!" An idea suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. "The Mana Cannon! Will that work?"
Corrine nodded again and clapped with its little front paws. "There you go Sheena! Only this time, the only element you will be using is your heart. It can't be tainted by anything else, not even by Origin or Maxwell. Do you understand?"
Sheena stepped forward and nodded. "I think I've got it. Thanks Corrine."
Corrine giggled again. "Go to it Sheena! Hurry up and mop the floor with this guy! I know you can do it!"
The kind summoner smiled and took a few more steps forward. She was ready to lower the barrier when something crossed her mind. "Corrine! You're-" She turned around, only to find that her little friend was gone once again. She turned back to the raging Abyssion and closed her eyes. "Now I understand. That must be what Kratos was trying to hide earlier. I don't know how I made the pact, but now I have to use him to defeat Abyssion." She took a very deep breath and began to chant as she slowly dropped the barrier.
Abyssion had dropped back a few steps, prepared to ram the barrier with all his might. Much to his surprise, he saw that the barrier was actually dropping without his assistance. "Finally! About damn time!" He dropped down into a sprinter's stance, ready to obliterate Sheena once the barrier was fully down.
The barrier finally dissipated, leaving Sheena uncovered. The demon rushed at her full speed and, as before, the world around Sheena moved in slow motion. Spectral cherry blossoms swirled all-around her as she whispered to herself. Finally, her eyes shot open and she dropped back into a stance that would brace herself. Proudly, she yelled aloud, "I call upon the most powerful of the summon spirits and what he represents: Hikari no Ai! My heart and mind are one! Come, Velius!"
(A/N: Hikari no Ai is Japanese for "The Light of Love" if I remember correctly)
"IT'S OVER!!!" screamed Abyssion as he reared back his leg to strike Sheena, obviously meaning to kill her with one strike. His action was aborted prematurely when he stumbled forward after being hit in the back with something. "Gah! What the…?!" He turned around to see a kneeling Kratos with one hand out-stretched and steaming and the other clutching the hole in his chest.
"Now Sheena! Do it!" yelled Kratos with great difficulty.
Sheena brought her hands together to form the mana cannon. The energy of her "summoning" glowed around her hands and brought far more light to the room than was already there. The glowing stopped for a brief moment as Sheena yelled, "Eat this!"
From her palms erupted a beam of pinkish-white light, much larger than Kratos' Judgment beam. Abyssion saw the beam streaking towards him but didn't have nearly enough time to move out of the way. The beam slammed into the seemingly unstoppable demon and propelled him all the way to the other side of the room and slammed him against the wall. He was now pinned and couldn't do anything but scream in agony as the beam of beautiful light crushed him against the wall.
Kratos got
up and began to slowly make his way towards Sheena. "It's
working! Keep it up!
Without replying back, Sheena began
taking some very heavy steps forward as she did her best to maintain
the power of the beam. "You wanna hurt the people I care about?
Huh? HUH?! I'll show you what I'm made of!"
Despite the insane amounts of pain he was feeling, Abyssion managed to scrape himself off the wall while the beam kept slamming into him. It was truly amazing to witness just how powerful this guy was. Sheena's beam should've been enough to destroy anything in one shot, but he was actually able to stand up against it. "Damn her!" yelled Abyssion as he put his arm up ahead of him, putting much of the stress and pain from his body on it instead.
Kratos watched Abyssion as he stood up against the beam. His eyes shot wide open a moment later and he yelled, "Sheena! He's actually managing to walk against the beam! You have to make it stronger!"
Sheena had fallen to her knees while her arms were stretched out. Using Velius' beam was sapping all of the energy out of her. Yes she was extremely powerful now, but even she had her limits. "I can't give it any more! Velius! Please, help me!"
Lloyd's eyes opened up only to reveal the intense battle that was going on between Sheena and Abyssion. He took notice of the beam she was projecting and only pondered about its existence for no more than a brief moment. "Huh… how'd she do that?" He shook his head and managed to prop himself up and rest on his knees. "Doesn't matter," he said groggily as he attempted to stand back up. "Gotta help Sheena. Looks like she could use it."
He picked his blades back up and, using them as supports, managed to bring himself back on his feet. Dragging his blades along the ground behind him, he walked toward Abyssion. Once partially past Sheena, who didn't even notice as he passed, he stopped for a moment as the world seemed to spin around him. "Guh… shake it off Lloyd. Gotta help her."
A strong and very firm voice reverberated inside his head and said, "Indeed."
Lloyd slowly looked around him but only saw Kratos and Sheena close to him. The voice didn't sound like Kratos and Lloyd began to ponder as to where the voice originated from. "Eh? Who said that?" he said to himself.
The voice continued. "I am Velius, the summon-spirit of the heart. I have accepted summoner Sheena's and your own vows. I am now here to serve you to the best of my abilities."
Lloyd shook his head and dropped his blades. "Whoa, whoa, whoa… Velius? I thought you didn't make pacts. Furthermore, when did we ever make a pact with you? I can't even do that stuff!"
"You misunderstood me," started Velius. "What I said is that I don't accept traditional vows: vows usually reserved for the more well-known summon spirits. One can not force a pact out of me, and must instead earn it by exhibiting a true heart."
Lloyd blinked twice. Exhibiting a true heart? When did they do that? Furthermore, it still didn't answer how he himself was able to make a pact when he knew that only Sheena could do that.
Velius continued once again. "My pact is special, for it requires a vow from, not one, but from two people, one of which is the summoner. Also unique is the fact that the vow is not made to me. Rather, they make it to each other, and thus the pact with me is formed. So, as you can see, I serve only the strongest of hearts."
Lloyd paused for a moment and closed his eyes. "A vow between two people? What does that mean?" He thought back to last night and wondered what had happened between him and Sheena… him and Sheena" Of course! That was it! "The vow must've been when we said "I love you" to each other!"
A soft laugh rang throughout his head. Well done Master Lloyd. Now then, you have to help our lady summoner."
Lloyd slowly kneeled down to pick his blades back up. "Right. That Abyssion is gonna regret messing with us." He took a few labored steps forward and was stopped once again by the voice in his head.
"No, Master Lloyd," said Velius. "Not like that. It won't work."
Lloyd was getting frustrated. "Grr… then how do I do it?"
The voice then faded to a mere whisper as it said, "You know how…"
Frustrated, Lloyd let his blades drop once again and kept looking back and forth between Sheena and Abyssion. "I already know how, huh? Feh. How the hell am I…" His train of thought came to a screeching halt as his gaze fixated on Sheena. "Velius is the summon spirit of the heart, right? The pact is made between the summoner and someone else, me in this case. Does that mean that I have the same power as Sheena?" He pondered this for a moment a decided against his theory. "No, that's not it. But maybe… maybe…" He noticed that Sheena was now maintaining the beam with only one hand now. Soon, she'll be too weak to keep the beam in existence. "…I've got an idea. I hope this works. I'm passing up perhaps my only chance to get a few free shots in on Abyssion."
Leaving the blades on the ground, he staggered in the direction of Sheena and Kratos. Kratos was now on his knees, still too weak from his wound to do much else than watch as Sheena fought. He had taken notice of Lloyd but said nothing to Sheena who too focused on trying to beat Abyssion. Once he was behind her, he dropped down to his knees and wrapped his arms around Sheena.
Sheena quickly turned her head to the side. "Lloyd! You're…" The power of the beam then intensified by nearly three-fold and, once again, Abyssion was pinned against the wall and was screaming in more pain than before.
"AHH!!! NO!!! HOW CAN THIS…" Abyssion flailed about in vain as he tried to find someway to break away from this beam.
Lloyd laughed softly. "Alive? Haha… this dope Abyssion ain't gonna keep me away from you, Sheena. I love you too much to let that happen." He reached his hands a bit further ahead of Sheena and held the outside of her hands.
"Lloyd…" she said as the power of the beam intensified even more.
It was truly over for Abyssion now. He had managed to get off the wall, but the further intensified beam struck him once he did. This one did not back, however. Instead, it enveloped him and slowly began to eat away at him. He was disintegrating and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
"DAMN YOU!! VELIUS!!" were Abyssion's last words as his body was turned into nothing more than scattered atoms. The only thing that remained was a pile of all nine of the Devil Arms on the ground.
"Lloyd! Sheena! You did it!" cried Kratos as he struggled to stand back up once more.
The two lovers let the beam die down to nothing and each heaved their own great sigh of relief.
"No Dad," said Lloyd as he and Sheena turned to each other, still knees-down on the ground. "Sheena did it. I just helped out a little."
Sheena could not stop the waterfall of joyful tears that were to follow Lloyd's words. She threw her arms around Lloyd's neck and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Lloyd, Kratos… thank you. We ALL defeated Abyssion after-all. Let's leave it at that." She stood up and dusted herself off. Once done, she helped Lloyd up to his feet and then did the same for Kratos.
In her mind, she heard Corrine's voice faintly say, "Hehe! Well done Sheena! Make sure you take care of Lloyd, huh?"
Sheena lowered her head and smiled. "Thank you Corrine, I mean… no… Corrine," she whispered.
Lloyd tilted his head. "Mmm? Did you say something Sheena?"
Sheena looked back up at him and shook her head. "Nah. Just talking to myself."
"You mean to Corrine/Velius," said Kratos in reply to Sheena.
Sheena and Lloyd looked over at Kratos. "What? So you did know!" said Sheena. "I knew it! How come you didn't tell us?"
Kratos smiled. "It's quite simple, really. The pact between the two of you and Velius was made last night while you were asleep, right after you two had confessed your true, unconditional love for each other."
The two lovers looked away from each other and blushed. Kratos continued. "I had witnessed the pact-making. I couldn't tell you about it, however. I feared that, if I told you about it, that Velius' "gift" might not come about if a lover's act was pre-meditated as opposed to coming naturally."
Lloyd brought his hands to his chin and rubbed it. "I see. I think I get it." He looked back over at Sheena and held her hand. She looked back up at him. "If that's the case Dad, you were right."
Kratos chuckled. "Heh. I'm proud of both of you, and I'd like to congratulate you on raising to the next level of your relationship. There's something I wanted to give you for just such a moment."
Sheena gazed over at Kratos. "Hmm? What is it?"
As Kratos fumbled around in his pocket, unbeknownst to Symphonia's heroes, the Devil Arms and the Necronomicron glowed softly with a dark aura.
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Aww crap! What's gonna happen now? Talk about bad timing Again, sorry for the long wait for this update, but I hope the wait was worth it. I put in almost 4,000 words into this chapter. Please leave me reviews! I promise that the next chapter will come a lot sooner than this one did!
