The sky overhead split in moments of bright flashes, followed by ominous rumblings of the heavens. Underneath, the columns of the Estharian army marched onwards, through the bloody plains, filled with craters and holes, followed by their thousands of vehicles. Deling City loomed on the horizon, a black shape against a velvet sky, lit by floodlights and ringing with periodic blasts from their few artillery units.
Reis ducked as a howitzer shell flew over, exploding barely ten metres behind her, causing several soldiers to fly into the air, screaming, flailing their arms and legs hopelessly before biting into the dust with a sickening crack. A few sneezes she could hear, even with the anti-aircraft gunnery striking down Estharian war aircraft, a clear indication of how weary some of the soldiers were.
'Move on!' Reis yelled, 'If you men don't run forwards, we'll all be shot dead before we get there! Now move out!'
'Yes ma'am,' the group chorused, monotonous, picking up their paces and dodging bullets as they sprinted for the nearest cover—the cliff overhang where the railway tunnel used to pass. Now it had been blocked—artillery shots had riddled the structure with critical damages, until it collapsed under its own weight. There was no doubt that this was fortunate for Galbadia; had the tunnel not collapsed the city would have fallen sooner.
'Sneak up the cliffs, single file! Do not allow the enemy to distract you!' Reis shouted out to the men, grasping a rock and beginning to ascend the cliff face. Before long, she realised that she had wings to fly with. How stupid am I? I'll just fly to the top…
Ignoring the jealous cries of the soldiers following beneath her, Reis leaped from the cliff, black-leathered wings bursting forth from the creamy skin on her shoulders. Soaring gracefully to the top of the cliff, she drew out both her blades.
A welcoming party was there for her. Opening fire with their machine guns in one last, desperate attempt to hold the city, the Galbadian troops stationed outside concentrated all their fire on Reis…to no avail. The dragoner simply held up her hand, generating vast amounts of electrical energy within her palms. Bullets curved upwards as the force field attracted the metal projectiles, forming a solid, black ball of steel, which she hurled at the nearest machine-gunner, decapitating him with a well-aimed pitch. He staggered around, headless, before collapsing to the ground, his shocked face twelve feet away from his body; his legs and arms twitched for a few seconds, before lying still, lifeless.
'You…cowards…you dare to attack a woman, a single woman, in a group? Soldiers you may be—where is your code of chivalry! I will remind you of the oaths you have taken when you have enlisted!' she roared, the blue in her eyes turning into frozen ice as she ripped her way through six torsos in a single sweep of her razor-sharp blade.
Up went the blade, tearing flesh and bone into two halves of a once-human body; through flesh and metal the other one did go; shredding limbs and hearts as Reis rampaged in the mass of soldiers. One by one they fell, mutilated, bloody, dying with terrible fear in their eyes; stabbing her katana through the last soldier with a spray of warm, crimson liquid, Reis kicked aside the corpse. The Estharian soldiers had just completed their arduous ascent to the top of the rugged cliffs; now they were faced with a greater challenge.
The Galbadians had created a system of trenches outside the city; in the rapidly-enshrouding darkness it was impossible to see any obstacles that were placed in the way. Many Estharians died of the dreaded razor wire; entangled, they wrestled the deadly barbs, driving them deeper into their own flesh, before falling limp, drained of blood, punctured by the sharp steel spikes.
'Halt! Wait for the artillery units to come! I will go ahead…alone,' Reis said to the commander of the column, who nodded in affirmation. Flapping her wings, she leaped over the trenches, weaving through the anti-aircraft lines of fire. Landing with a soft tap on the far side of the trench system, she hid behind a large cannon.
'We'll fall today, Lieutenant Wedge, shouldn't we surrender to them now?' she heard a man say, his voice quavering, high pitched. Fear is clearly taking hold here…
'You…say what? Treachery! Treason! Execute him right away!' the other man roared, followed by several pleas of help from the other man before he was shot by five men, 'We shall fight on to the death!'
They're desperate…can they not see the light?
Slinking under the large barrel of the cannon, Reis softly kicked in a ventilation duct inside a large pipe. Squeezing in, she was thankful that she was so slim. Her breasts slid rather uncomfortably against the greasy inside of the pipe, and she had very little room to move about. Creeping along, she listened every now and then to whatever was going on outside; mostly it was the gentle dripping of water, and the squeaking of rats; at one point she had to spit out a cockroach as it crawled into her mouth. Squashing the vermin in disgust, she crawled onwards, gritting her teeth. At last, she could see some bright lighting…
Pushing out the vent grille, Reis quickly clambered out, pressing herself flat against a shadowed wall as a Galbadian military halftrack rumbled past. Observing the landmarks around her, she could tell that she was in the central monument. I remember this place…the place where I fought with that senator…the place where I thought I'd die. However, I must move on…
Peeking out the side, she spotted a lone Galbadian soldier bearing a large pack walking underneath the far end of the gate. Perhaps I could use a disguise…
As he jogged past her, Reis grabbed the man from behind, tossing him backwards in a reverse suplex before grabbing him by the neck, at which point she slammed him into the wall.
'Mercy please, tough madam,' the soldier whimpered, clasping his hands together, blood running down his face.
'I will indeed. Stay inside this building and I will spare your life. Oh, and give me your uniform too,' Reis muttered into his face, glaring straight into his eyes, her nose rubbing against his.
Reluctantly, the soldier removed his blue woolen trousers and top, as well as the steel chest plate. Taking these, Reis pushed him into the gatehouse, where she locked him up with a magical seal. Leaving him to beat against the door in fury, she put on the clothes over her own armour. It wasn't ideal—her golden sheets of hair still descended to her knees, and her katanas were nearly a dead give-away, but at least it should provide some blending with the other Galbadian soldiers.
Running towards the presidential palace, she encountered some Galbadian soldiers.
Oh shit. They're going to recognise me as an enemy…
'Hey, who's there? Wow…I never knew the army recruited females, since when did they do it?' the leader said, wolf-whistling softly.
'Umm, a few months ago…' Reis lied. I don't really know, maybe they never did…
'Oh well, I'll believe whatever you say. Want to have some fun, baby? Before we all die at the hands of the Estharian bitches?' he said, tickling her chin with one callused finger.
'No thank you,' Reis replied, her tone icy. Her left hand rested on a katana handle.
The leader looked at her hand position, then towards her chest area, then to her face, and then ran off with the rest of his squad. For once, they're smart enough to leave me alone… Reis thought, sighing in relief.
Back to the main target…the senator. I will prevent as much blood loss as possible…
Squeezing through the bars of the gate, Reis crept around the walls of the large building. Artillery shells were beginning to rain down onto the city itself, several landing in the central monument and blasting large chunks of sandstone from the façade, blocking the road underneath with mounds of rubble.
I must hurry…Estharian losses may mount again if they meet the main force stationed inside the city…
Leaping onto the second floor of the presidential palace, she kicked open the gate inside.
There was Edea, in all her regal glory, dressed in robes of gold thread and diamond edging, holding a staff of whitest ivory, capped with the largest cockatrice skull that Reis had ever seen.
'Ah…it's you again, the fool that challenged me during the festival,' Edea lisped, advancing slowly towards Reis, her ivory staff landing in ringing thuds on the marble floor, 'Though this city is devastated, I will not perish. Even if this body may be destroyed in the end, it will mean nothing. I will rise again through a different host,'
A different host…does she mean…? Oh my God…she's possessed. I must not kill her if I can help it. Somehow I must strive to expel whatever is within her body, controlling her from within.
'Prepare yourself,' Edea muttered, raising her staff, taking slow steps towards Reis, 'You will die today. No more mercy I will show to you,'
'It is you that must perish,' Reis retorted, grasping her katana handles, 'You are the evil that brings suffering to this world,'
She laughed.
'What little do you know…Through control of the world, I will gain complete command of the people. Through command of the people, I can control what they do. Through controlling what they do, I can prevent all evil; you see, I am merely 'uniting' the people in one common cause of 'peace' and 'prosperity'. Speak for yourself, stranger; for you have no idea of what is going on in this world,'
Indeed…I have no clue as to the politics of this world…but I am still able to discern evil from good, and truth from untruth…
'Perish upon my blade! Heaven's wish to destroy all minds…Holy Explosion!' Reis roared, aiming her right katana towards the black mage. She recoiled as a bright beam of light descended upon her head, searing it with light energy, burning away the darkness that shrouds her mind. Clutching her head with one hand, she aimed the large staff with one unsteady hand.
'Cover in rock and turn flesh to stone! Break!'
Rolling behind a pillar, Reis observed the pulse of energy strike the torch hanging off the bracket behind where she was a moment ago; crystallizing to solid chalk, it crumbled to dust. Dashing towards the mage, Reis held her blade aloft, her voice reverberating in the marble hall as she brought down the katana onto the mage's defending staff.
Splinters of ivory scattered across the room as the force of the strike split the staff in two; discarding the useless lower half, Edea glared at the dragoner.
'Time and space…distort and envelop a foe of all! Demi3!'
Pillars on either side of Reis crumbled to powder as she felt herself being torn apart by the powerful pull of the gravity vortex. Emitting a piercing scream, the dragoner thrashed in pain as the gravity attempted to pull her limbs apart. Falling down to the floor on all fours as the distortion subsided, the dragoner struggled to her feet, her vision blurred as the pain slashed at her mind.
'Feel the power of the dark queen!' Edea cackled, in a grotesque, maniacal manner, 'You will die today as a tribute to her ultimate power!'
Beowulf…I'm sorry if I failed you…So pitiful of me to die like this…
NO! You must keep fighting on, Reis Dular! On your warrior's honour, place your duty before your life!
'Die!' Reis shouted, as she delivered a blow with all her might onto her unsuspecting opponent. A cry of pain rent the air; the dragoner had severed both of the senator's hands. The katana buried itself into the marble floor, and both women lay sprawled out on the floor, gasping for breath.
'Ultimecia…lend me strength…' Edea hissed, grasping at the air for something that wasn't there. She must be hallucinating…
Struggling to her feet, Reis drew out her other katana. Steadying it with both her hands, she stood over the senator, the point above her chest.
'REIS! NO!' she heard a familiar voice shout.
'Quistis?'
'Don't kill Edea!'
'And why not?'
'Principal Cid is here to take care of her…please, don't kill her. He will explain later,'
'It's your responsibility if she becomes dangerous again, you do know that…' Reis muttered, slumping against the stump of a pillar.
Sure enough, Cid came running up the staircase behind Edea; the artillery bombardment had ceased. Curiously, Cid descended down to Edea, weeping as he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.
What's going on? Am I hallucinating too?
'Quistis…What's going on?' Reis asked her slowly, uncertain of what was happening as Cid continued.
She scratched her head, 'Kind of hard to explain. You see, Cid and Edea…they were married…at least, before she was possessed by Ultimecia. Cid seeks to break the possession by doing this,'
'But why…? Why would he order the assassination of her in the first place?'
'That I do not know either. Perhaps it was an idea from a student, a way that they could reach the top of the See-D profession just by doing one job,'
'Ugh…Cid? My husband…? No…don't…Argh, you're just a fool…no…he's my husband…let go of me, you fool,' Edea wailed. Conflicting expressions flitted across her face in quick succession; the half that was truly her was beginning to be exposed. Writhing on the floor as though in pain, she resumed this for a few minutes, gradually remembering more…until…
A black wisp rose out of her body, gathering to a single ghastly shape hovering above the agonised woman. Seeing her chance, Reis held out her hand.
Anima mors, mora iter caelum! Anima mortis, spiritus infirmo! Cognito Dei! Dei magnus!
The black shape was drawn to her hand in forces unknown; collecting in the middle of her palm, it solidified to form a single, black, sparkling crystal. Throwing it up into the air, she incinerated the soul to nothingness with a well-placed mini-flare.
'Lady…I am very sorry…' Reis said, kneeling next to the heavily wounded woman. Her breathing was heavy now; the loss of blood from her severed hands had stripped her of quite a lot of vitality.
You must make amends for the evils you have done…
'You're right,' Reis whispered to herself. Running down the stairs, she grabbed a narrow glass vase from the wall. Checking the inside, Reis gave a sigh of relief; it was nearly the same shape as a potion vial. Climbing up the stairs again, she unsheathed a silver dagger from her belt. Placing the vase on a pillar stump, she slashed herself on the wrist, stifling a cry of pain. Blood spurted into the vase, dying down to a trickle as she stemmed the flow with a fragment of torn cloth.
Blood of the dragon…a potent healing ingredient…
'Are you insane, Reis?' Quistis asked incredulously, steadying the dragoner.
'No, I'm quite sane,' Reis replied, panting, 'Give me some gold dust and a large diamond,'
Quistis didn't move; she stood there like a statue. Furious, Reis stood up and picked a large diamond from the edge of Edea's dress, and cut some gold thread from the hem of the dress. Crushing the diamond in her hand, she put the powder into the vase. Shaking it vigorously, she remembered some text from a clerical book on healing during her days of study in Lionel…
Diamonds…the essence of holiness and consecration…
Grasping a chunk of her own hair that spilled over the front of her shoulders, Reis trimmed off the tip of the golden mass. Forcing this down the vase, she mixed it again; the odd mixture emitted a cloud of red gas, causing Reis to cough in surprise as the smoke rushed up her nose.
Part of a dragon…a most potent ingredient…
Finally, reducing the gold cloth to powder with a bit of magic, she poured it down the smoking mix. A final puff of silver smoke, and it simply bubbled sluggishly.
Gold…a noble metal capable of binding magical components together…
'Drink this, noble lady,' Reis whispered to Edea, tipping the liquid down the wounded woman's throat. She stopped her laboured breathing, and rested at ease against Cid's chest. The stumps of her hands appeared to mend almost instantaneously, a sheet of skin forming over the top of the red exposed flesh.
'Thank…you…' Edea gasped, before falling into a deep sleep.
'Look after yourself, Reis,' Cid said, picking up his wife gently, 'Take care of that wound,'
'Oh, this? This would heal in about two days or so, it's no big deal for me,' Reis said, sheathing her dagger and katana, 'Your wife shall regain her hands before the next full moon,'
'Thank you very much, I do not know what to say…here, at least have this before you go,' Cid said, rummaging in his pockets.
He handed Reis a large, golden feather, light as air but heavy as a brick of lead. Wondering what it is, Reis placed it on a pillar stump as she threw off the Galbadian soldier's uniform. Tucking the feather into a pocket on her dress, she felt herself floating…her vision faded away to darkness and she remembered no more.
A/N END OF ACT 2!