Disclaimer: Don't own it.
Okay, we've now arrived at what the entire story, including Sins of the Past, has been leading up to: the big spectacular finish that's not really the end. Later in the chapter, Ramuh makes a reference to a line spoken in Sins, chapter 8. That line is from the movie Alexander
One more to go after this!
Chapter Twenty-eight: Furious Angels
"Kefka's still alive."
Everyone looked at Celes in alarm, not sure if they heard her correctly. Cautiously, Celes walked over to the edge and peered over into the darkness.
"Anything?" Locke called anxiously.
Celes turned briefly to face her friends. "I don't see anything, no."
She returned her gaze to the edge of the tower. Without warning, a winged figure shot up from the darkness below, ramming into Celes and knocking her flat onto her back. The now larger and grossly disfigured demon that was Kefka leapt onto the fallen warrior, cleaving his two massive swords down upon her. Celes quickly drew her Rune Blade, narrowly shielding her throat. The madman pushed downward with overwhelming might, forcing Celes' own blade closer towards her neck.
"I can't be defeated!" he growled, his gold eyes glowing with hatred.
"Terra!" Celes cried, trying desperately to halt Kefka's swords. "Get them out!"
She summoned all her strength and shoved the raging deity back, throwing a fierce right-hook with the hilt of her Rune blade, making him stumbled further away. Celes rolled to her feet, seeing Terra and the others drawing their weapons.
"Just go!" she yelled as the bestial demigod lumbered towards her, hoofed feet stomping heavily on the stone ground. "I'll finish it!"
Celes ducked and weaved under Kefka's swords as he arced them out in powerful swipes, demolishing several rock formations and letting out ear-piercing shrieks. Missing her yet again, Kefka thrashed Celes in the face with a large wing and followed with a slash at her torso with one sword. She narrowly escaped his sword as she leapt backwards, landing hard on her back.
Kefka immediately cleaved his blades down, and Celes barely managed to roll out of the way. Almost frantically, he struck down again, practically standing on top of her, but she rolled back the other way. She then thrust the hilt of her sword up, striking Kefka in the nose and knocking him back. She flipped to her feet once again and called to the others.
"Get out of here!"
She failed to notice Kefka rising behind her, facing away. Celes turned just as Locke shouted out a warning, but at the same time, Kefka lashed out with one wing, catching her square in the chest. Her sword was knocked from her hand, and with a rough landing, she skidded to a halt several yards away.
"The Rune Blade!" Terra called, watching in horror as the sword slid over the edge of the precipice.
Celes stood and stared after her weapon. A look of dread overshadowed her face as she realized what she must do.
Terra realized it as well. "No…" she whispered. "Celes, no…"
Slowly the knight reached up and back to grasp the hilt of the Ragnarok. Smoothly, calmly, she slid the dark sword out of its sheath, letting it fall to rest at her side.
You were born the Angel of Death…
"I had no desire to wield this infernal blade," Celes muttered, her eyes closed.
…You will know it before the end.
Putting aside all doubt, she called upon the dark power of the sword. The others looked on fearfully as the ebony blade suddenly began pulsating with a crimson glow, a sinister black mist forming in the air around it as it awoke from its slumber. The effect was immediate: a charcoal shadow seeped down through golden tresses, ice-blue pools darkened to orbs of volcanic glass, pale lips took on a darker and poisoned hue, and heavy Genji Armor changed mystically to supple black leather adorned by silver mesh, metal studs, and sculpted leather snakes.
Slowly turning towards the demonic horned jester, Celes raised the blade until it was level with her shoulder, pointing it menacingly at him. Strands of jet black hair whipped loosely about her face.
"But you leave me no choice," she growled, her voice in a lower octave than normal.
"And she said she didn't do black leather," Locke murmured.
"So now we see it!" Kefka practically shrieked with a grand sweeping of his arms and an oddly low rumbling voice. "Now we see your true self! You cannot deny the darkness within you, Celes; the Ragnarok does not lie!"
"I never denied it," she hissed.
"You cannot possibly wield the Sword of the Damned. It would destroy you. But go on, Celes," he taunted, a smug grin creasing his already deformed features. "Test your fate. If you do not die by my hand, then your soul will be crushed by a power you could not possibly comprehend."
In what appeared to be defiance, Celes spun the Ragnarok several times, ending with it still held in front of her, but now parallel to her shoulders. A second blade abruptly sprung from the hilt, opposite the first, with the same black mist surrounding its crimson glow.
Kefka was at first speechless as he beheld the now double-bladed Ragnarok, truly the ultimate weapon. Celes spun the swallow expertly before again holding it at rest beside her. She sensed his fear of the blade and allowed herself a small smirk before addressing her friends, not taking her eyes off her rival.
"Leave. Now."
It was not a plea as before; it was an order, spoken in deadly calm. The air took on a dangerous aura, and Terra knew she had no choice but to comply.
The green-haired mage turned to her friends. "Come on, we have to get out of here."
"No!" Locke yelled. "I'm not leaving her!"
While the Returners quarreled, Kefka glanced at them and threw an evil grin at Celes. He abruptly spun with his swords extended to one side, aiming straight for Terra. Celes, was quick to react, though, spinning with her swallow also extended to meet his blades.
Terra turned just as the Ragnarok locked with the demonic swords less than a foot from her throat. Sparks flew at the collision, and the young woman looked absolutely terrified from the near fatal blow.
"You can't do any more good here. Just go," Celes muttered through clenched teeth.
Locke began to protest. "But--"
"I'll be right behind you," the dark warrior insisted.
Dark ominous clouds rolled in and the ground rumbled beneath them as geysers of scorching steam erupted from cracks in the rock. Lightning streaked the sky, and Terra came to recognize it was no longer a battle any of the Returners could fight. Good versus evil had been corrupted into a dark conflict beyond their capacity and understanding. Unable to protest further, the half Esper urged the others to follow and hurriedly led them away from the terrace.
As they left, Kefka addressed Celes. "You will never leave this tower alive."
Celes returned his gaze with a cold stare. "But neither will you."
((ooo))
Two entities waged an epic battle that would one day be called a duel of the fates. One fought to free the world, the other to destroy it. One wielded a dark power manifested through a sword damned by the gods. The other had under his control all the might of the three Goddesses, creators of the very world of magic.
As the two circled each other, Celes' pendant took on a strong steady glow. She gauged that Kefka's demon form was sluggish in his movements, and she intended on exploiting it to the fullest.
Celes spun the double-bladed Ragnarok to her left and slashed back across to the right. Twirling the swallow first counterclockwise on her left, then clockwise on her right, the two blades struck Kefka on their ascending strokes. The warrior followed through by ducking under one end of the Ragnarok as it passed over her head from behind in a horizontal strike to the right.
Kefka finally retaliated by cleaving both his swords down, but Celes raised the Ragnarok to halt the descending blades. She ducked and pivoted out from under the demon, slicing through his abdomen. Kefka roared and slammed his arm back into Celes, sending her through the air towards a wall of rock. Twisting her body mid-air, the dark warrior alighted with her feet planted firmly on the rock and deftly pushed off in a back flip. As she descended behind Kefka, Celes raked the Ragnarok down his back before leaping out of his range.
Crouching down, Celes dashed forward to execute an attack kata, whipping the Ragnarok to the left across Kefka's chest. Her momentum carried her into a spinning jump kick to his jaw and another slash to the torso on a final rotation. The demon swung his blades angrily, but the warrior ducked and dodged and pivoted around behind him, delivering a sharp hack to his tail.
Once again, the warrior was batted away by a sweeping arm. The demonic jester began a charge at his foe, wildly spinning his swords. Seizing the opportunity, Celes tumbled forward into the butterfly attack she had mastered so many years ago, spinning into a handless horizontal cartwheel in a trio of rotations. Her body twisted impossibly just out of the path of Kefka's swords, and the two blade of the Ragnarok cut through the jester's defenses to land several heavy blows.
The two fought with such force that gravity came to have no meaning for them as their feet left the ground they stood on.
((ooo))
As Terra and the others fled, the sounds of clashing swords resonated off the metal and stone structure. Pausing for a moment to look back up at the summit of the tower, the half-breed saw flashes of light accompanying each crash of blades. When she felt Sabin tugging on her arm, she turned to continue her escape, but not before noticing the two figures engaged in an aerial battle high above the terrace.
((ooo))
In realm beyond the reaches of humans, a circle of Espers joined in prayer. As one, they combined their spirits and channeled their strength unto the Angel of Death, just as they had done a millennium ago for Aegis during the battle with his father Genji.
((ooo))
High in the air, the battle raged on. With every strike, the darkness spread further, slowly consuming Celes as dark veins began to stand out on her face.
Circling each other in a wide radius and with increasing velocity, warrior and demon finally closed the distance and crashed into each other in a blinding flash of light. The air trembled in waves from the force of the impact before settling back to its natural state.
The demon whipped his tail forward and knocked the Ragnarok out of her hands. Swiftly kicking off his chest, Celes soared back and caught the swallow, rolling into an backwards somersault. The Ragnarok whistled through the air as the warrior righted herself, slicing up into her rival's torso.
Kefka retaliated with a quick slash to Celes' shoulder, a sharp kick to her stomach, and a headbutt to her nose. While she hung stunned and immobile, the jester rose high above her.
Celes' eyes widened when she saw Kefka drop out of the clouds, slamming into her at breakneck speed. The air hissed and whooshed past them as the jester drove the knight ever closer to the surface of the tower's summit.
((ooo))
Terra gasped when she saw the two entangled figures plummeting down out of the sky.
"Oh gods…"
The collision released a crack a thunder and a cloud of dust, and the mage whispered a prayer for her friend.
((ooo))
Kefka gazed down at the still form of his rival. It was a patient stare, one of an enduring predator stalking its prey. For the briefest of moments, however, the curtain of insanity lifted from his yellow eyes as he hoped that she wouldn't get up and force him to continue fighting her. After all, there was still a part of him—albeit buried under deep hatred—that even now admired the woman's tenacity.
Then, as quickly as it had come, the lucidity vanished. It was replaced by the intense anticipation that she would get up so he could prolong the pleasurable task of annihilating her bit by bit.
The minutes ticked by, and she didn't move. A shadow of worry passed over his demonic face as he wondered if maybe he overdid it. Getting bored, the jester moved to the edge of the terrace. The fact that the Returners were fleeing didn't amuse him.
While Kefka's back was turned, the dark warrior finally stirred.
((ooo))
Celes didn't make a sound as she crawled in agonizing pain out of the crater Kefka had created. She saw that the jester was facing away from her, watching in frustration as the Returners inched ever closer to a point of escape from the tower.
She lowered her head.
Though the Ragnarok was mighty in its darkness, she knew it would take more than the power she possessed to fell Kefka. She had known from the very beginning what he said was true; she would fall by the sword's evil, if not in life, then in death through Holy Judgment. It was inevitable. Darkness cannot fight evil and win. Celes knew this. And she was ready to accept the consequences.
What defines us is what we choose to do next.
Staggering to her feet and drawing the hellgod's attention, Celes withdrew a shard of magicite from a pouch on her belt. The stone was different from the others. It was a garnet encased by diamond, shining with the purest white light. Kefka recoiled as if physically afflicted by the mystical glow.
"I call upon thee, Alexander, whose Holy Light judges all."
((ooo))
The ring of Espers bowed their heads as the Holy One was summoned.
"She is weakened," Ifrit noted doubtingly.
"But so is he," Ramuh countered. "The Fates had foretold that no man or woman can be too powerful without disaster befalling. It is as it was meant to be."
The circle broke, and Shiva turned from her brethren before any of them could see the watery droplet rolling down her face. Halfway down her cheek, the tear froze.
"We are free," the ice goddess whispered.
((ooo))
As the last Returner was pulled up onto the deck of the Falcon, Locke persisted in his vehement objection to leaving Celes.
"Locke, for the last time, I'm not happy about leaving her either," Terra reminded irately. "But this is just something she has to do...without our help."
"Look," Setzer interceded, trying to ease the tension, "we can wait for her, but I have this nasty feeling that this tower won't hold up much longer. If things start to get dicey, I'm getting us out of here."
The argument faded into the background as a new, yet familiar voice filled Terra's mind.
"Terra."
"Father?" the girl answered.
"My child, you and your friends must leave immediately," the Esper warned.
"Why?"
At that precise moment, a thunderous tremor, seemingly from the base of the immense structure, shook the whole tower. For a long moment, the edifice quivered like a leave in the wind. Various yelps of surprised arose from the Returners.
"What's happening, Father?" Terra asked fearfully.
"Remember how you were warned never to summon the Holy Alexander?"
"Yes… Oh no."
Maduin mumbled his agreement. "Your friend has just summoned Him. I do not believe her ignorant of the consequences. On the contrary, I believe she is quite conscious of them. This is what I fear."
"What's going to happen?" she pressed, afraid of what her father meant.
"Alexander has been called to judge the wicked, but He cannot, does not judge merely those who have sinned. He will judge all present at the site of His summoning, including His own summoner."
"And…Celes…"
"Those pure of heart have nothing to fear. But those dark of soul…will be torn asunder by His Holy Light. Terra…I fear for your friend. Long has Shiva watched her and sensed the growing darkness within her. Though she fights for the greater good, she wields the Sword of the Damned, the evilest of all blades. "
"Gods…"
A second rumble shook the tower, followed by another a few seconds later, then another, then another, as if some gargantuan creation was clomping its way across the ground below. Each time, the thunderous footfall grew louder, closer. To Terra, is sounded as though huge oak trees were being heaved up and dropped back down. She vaguely heard the others' exclamations.
"My child, you must flee, for He cometh. This very tower is a monument to evil and will be obliterated from the face of your world. I suggest you not be on it."
"But Celes—"
"She has made her choice," Maduin said harshly. "Her fate is in His hands, now."
As Terra felt the connection with her father fade, the voice of another echoed in her mind.
It ends here, one way or another.
"Son of a b—"
Terra was surprised to realize she had uttered the curse out loud, finding the others looking curiously at her, momentarily forgetting the quaking of the tower. She drew a deep breath, dreading the next words to come out of her mouth.
"Setzer…take off. Now."
"What? Why?" the gambler wondered, hearing the urgency in Terra's voice.
The ground rumbled and the metal and stone structure shook. What sounded like a machine as big as the tower gearing up reached their ears. The group could now see something begin to loom up from the hazy depths below, indeed the same enormity as the evil labyrinth, if not larger.
Terra's answer was simple. "That's why."
"What the hell is that?" Edgar cried.
"Alexander."
They all turned their gazes to the old Thamasan who had spoken. Strago, in turn, looked directly at Terra.
"She summoned Alexander."
It as more of a statement than a question. Terra could only nod. Strago closed his eyes and lowered his head.
The sage mumbled inaudibly, "Goddesses help her…"
((ooo))
At hearing the incantation, a spasm of pure, unadulterated fear washed over Kefka's face. The ground trembled with each footfall of the mammoth Esper. Out of the shadowy depths sprang towards the heavens a colossal beam of light. The outline of a machine-like figure cut through the beacon, and the screeching of thousands of moving parts and gears and billowing steam rolled through the still air.
Rays of sunlight streaked through the black clouds as the giant continued to rise past the warriors' heads, reaching into the sky with an impossible enormity. The hull of the great beast was indeed made of a greenish-gray metallic plating, an impenetrable armor trimmed in gold and highlighted by streaks of emerald, sapphire, and scarlet. Ornately shaped spikes rose from what could be discerned as the head and shoulders, all accented by patterns of brilliant colors. The single yellow eye, peering through a narrow slit in the dome-shaped head and encircled by two tiers of colorful shielding, focused on the two beings before it.
Celes tore her eyes away and looked at her rival, who stood entranced by the gargantuan summon.
"I'll see you in Hell, Kefka."
The demigod glanced at her for a moment, hatred burning in his golden eyes. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, and light rippled over his flesh, changing his form once again. All disfigurements vanished, replaced by a divine, yet humanoid form.
"I do not fear this holy beast," he claimed. He raised his head and opened his now white eyes, spreading his six wings and rising into the air. "I am a god. I will destroy Judgment."
The eye of Alexander lifted from Celes to follow the deity as he rose up to meet the towering mammoth. Celes looked down at the Ragnarok in her hand, then up at the titan she summoned, the fear of her actions now taking hold.
"Gods have mercy…"
As Kefka drew near, the two tiers guarding Alexander's head lowered. The yellow orb of His eye turned white-hot, emitting a piercingly shrill hiss as the glow grew ever-more intense. The glow formed into a focused photon of light, suddenly discharging straight at the demon.
The beam struck Kefka and passed through him. The true power of Alexander manifested itself in a colossal pillar of light, slicing through the tower, forcing both Kefka and Celes to look up into the sky to face the scorching white light of Judgment.
((ooo))
The Returners all peered anxiously over the railing of the Falcon at the rapidly shrinking tower. They watched Alexander rise up, and Kefka with Him. The beam shot forth, lancing the deity through the chest. And all of them bore witness to the divine power of Alexander as His Light of Judgment pierced the Tower of Evil.
There was a moment of dead silence before the white column erupted in a devastating flash. Clouds of dust and fire billowed into the sky in a perfect hemisphere as the supernova ripped across the land. The Falcon, riding the very edge of it, barely escaped its fury. The aircraft jerked back and forth with the force, throwing everyone but Setzer to the deck.
A series of earthquakes rattled the continent for miles across in all directions. Dust filled the sky, and debris rained down upon the land. Finally, the mushroom cloud parted and rolled back the permanent haze, and for the first time in over a year, blue sky peeked out and true rays of the sun bathed the land.
The flash of the explosion was seen as far away as Thamasa and Narshe, the blast heard as far as Jidoor and Mobliz, and the repercussions were felt across the globe.
Effects other than from the explosion, however, were felt closer to home. Shortly after the blast, the magicite hanging around the Returners' necks shattered, and Terra collapsed to the deck of the Falcon, clutching her chest and screaming in agony.
"Terra!" Edgar cried as he dropped to his knees beside her. "Setzer! Get us to Figaro!"
The king pulled the half-Esper up against his chest as he sat on the deck of the airship. The others were already surrounding the two, fearing for their friend and growing more distressed with every cry of pain. Edgar placed his hand over Terra's on her chest.
"Ter, it's going to be alright."
"It hurts," she wailed. "It feels like I'm being torn apart."
"I know, sweetie, I know," Edgar said, unusually tender. He looked up at the others. "Does anyone have a potion?"
Terra shook her head. "Don't bother. It won't help."
"Ter—"
"No," she said more firmly, silencing the king. She whimpered in pain and tears spilled from her emerald eyes. "I don't want to die…"
"It's going to be ok, Terra. You're going to be fine."
His voice cracked with an emotion few had heard before as he fought back his own tears, holding her tighter. Terra's breathing became more labored as blood trickled from her pale lips.
"Hold on, Terra," he whispered.
The people of Figaro were expecting the joyous return of their leader, a return which would signal the start of the largest celebration in history. What they got was their tear-stricken king carrying the unconscious form of the young woman who had been looked to as the world's Angel of Hope.