"Rosa!" Her name left Golbez's mouth before he could bite it back.
Exdeath's shoulders heaved with a large breath. "Ah. Then you know this warrior, Golbez," he sighed, impatient from the interruption.
"I- . . . I do." He said her name. It would do no good to lie.
"Aww, what a shame that you missed out, then!" Kefka shrieked, shaking his head. "You coulda helped us! I wanted to drag it out a little longer, but I think she had enough when . . . "
Kefka rambled on, but Golbez stopped listening. He quickly noted her injuries - slashes, stab wounds, burns and bruises, scratches on her cheek - all bleeding with different ferocities. She looked pale already from the blood loss. Pity welled up in his heart, and he forced himself to ignore the realization that she was dying. He had to remove her. Ideally, return her to Sanctuary if he could. With Cosmos being as weak as she was, he knew she may not be able to help in her healing, but hopefully Cecil could help.
Golbez cut Kefka off. "Who ordered this attack?!" he boomed, voice echoing through the area and swallowing Kefka's tinny sound.
"It is none of your business," Exdeath answered.
"She is a warrior from my world. She is my business. Who ordered this?"
Exdeath crossed his arms and stood unmoving, staring from the slit of his helmet into the slit of Golbez's. Neither intimidating the other. In the silence, Golbez tried to put the pieces together himself. It wouldn't have been Chaos. Though he kept tabs on the war, he rarely became so involved as to target a specific warrior on Cosmos' side. As a new warrior, Rosa wouldn't have had the opportunity to build any sort of notoriety.
Kefka and Exdeath could have taken on this venture themselves, but it was strange for them to band together. It was no secret that Exdeath did not prefer Kefka's company and actively avoided him if he could help it. Exdeath did not counter him when he asked if someone else ordered the attack. The clues pointed to someone on the outside, pulling strings to force these two into working together. Ultimecia, perhaps, or the Emperor-
Of course. The Emperor. Cecil told him that he was after her.
"Did the Emperor order this attack?"
" . . . If you must know, it was the Emperor," Exdeath eventually relinquished. "What made you suspect him?" Golbez read his tone, aware that Exdeath was fishing for information. Hoping he'd reveal a source of information.
"Who else would orchestrate it in this way?" Golbez said, quickly enough to mask the search for a coverup. "It very obviously was not Chaos, and therefore not Garland. This type of attack doesn't suit you, Exdeath, and he lacks any power of forethought whatsoever." Golbez pointed to Kefka, hoping the dig would endear Exdeath to him to any degree. "He did not premeditate this. It is much the Emperor's style to pull the strings from afar while his lackeys do the work."
Rosa twitched on the ground. Her face twisted into a grimace and she moaned softly, briefly returning to some form of consciousness. Golbez decided that a distraction would take too long. He needed to take her somewhere safe. He turned towards her and knelt to the ground, scooping her up as gently as he could.
"What are you doing?" Exdeath asked. Golbez ignored him, lifting her off the ground. Her head lolled against his chest and he cradled her tight, careful to keep her injuries as still as possible. He called his power around himself, ready to teleport, when a force slammed into his back and knocked him forward. He stumbled, dropping Rosa, wincing as she hit the ground hard and rolled once onto her stomach. Golbez turned back to Exdeath, and he lowered his arm.
"Choose your next steps carefully, Golbez. I have not forgotten your past betrayals."
"You speak of betrayals after raising a hand to your comrade? Chaos forbids even sparring amongst-"
"'Comrade?'" Exdeath mocked. "You and I are barely allies."
"Leave now, and I will not tell him of your transgression-"
"Hahahaha!" Kefka howled hysterically. His feet lifted off the ground and he lowered his chin, glaring at Golbez like a rabid animal. "Is widdle Golby gonna tattle?" he cooed. His face fell a second later into a slumped version of his smile. "I really don't like tattletales," he growled. Kefka said, floating slowly towards Golbez. "We're not going to go run to Chaos, are we?" Kefka trailed closer and closer to Golbez, so slow that if he wasn't watching carefully he would have missed it.
Exdeath matched Kefka's threat, spinning his sword in the air before drawing it back to his clenched fist. Golbez's eyes flicked between the two of them. Rosa was behind him. At the very least, he only had to hold them off for long enough to gather her up and teleport away. Easier said than done, he thought woefully. Both his opponents were long-rang mages, as he was. They could do their work from afar when he needed to be close to Rosa. All that mattered was that he got her out safely, however he had to.
Golbez's senses heightened, and his heart beat harder in his chest. Sensing a battle, the Shadow Dragon's dark power awakened in his mind and heart. Its influence pushed its way into his thoughts and impulses, and its aura surged, adding an energizing pulse to his own magic. It materialized in the air and coiled up over his shoulder, snaking around his waist and coming to a stop in front of him. It opened its mouth and a breathy hiss escaped from its snout as it bared its teeth to his attackers.
" . . . Do not interfere," Golbez said to them, lowering his voice to a near growl in his throat. He called his power, lifting his feet off the ground to float. He raised his hands and slowly crossed them in front of him, ready to cast.
Kefka sighed loudly, slumping his shoulders. He tossed his head back and mimed a yawn, flapping at his mouth with his hand. The Dragon took its chance. It twisted and rolled around, body glowing with black, crackling lightning. Golbez added his own energy to the Cosmic Ray and pushed his hands towards Kefka. The Dragon held him in the spell while Golbez blocked a swipe of Exdeath's sword with a forcefield. He threw Kefka to the side and launched a volley red lasers at Exdeath.
He deflected all three with a sigil, and Golbez readied a Thundaga. He clasped his hands together and drew them apart, focusing with the Dragon. It grew larger and larger until his hands trembled from it. Exdeath dropped the block and Golbez drew back to throw it, but Kefka staggered to his feet out of the corner of his eye, ragged and panting. He called some sparks of his own to his palms.
"Nyeh!" he huffed, flicking his wrists and throwing them in a line at Golbez.
The Dragon reacted before Golbez could and threw itself in its path, curling up to withstand the shocks. It jerked and twisted, hissing in pain. When the charges faded the Dragon righted itself and slithered back to Golbez, coiling again around his body.
Golbez whirled around and made another move for Rosa. He turned his back on them and was less than careful as he turned her over and wrapped one arm behind her back and the other around the back of her knees. The Dragon snapped a warning and cast its own Reflect barrier around him, in time to deflect a Firaga from Kefka. He moved to lift her from the ground, but Exdeath's imposing presence teleported in front of him, already swinging his sword. Golbez withdrew from Rosa and blocked with his forearm. The dull crash echoed in his helmet and the clash jarred up his entire arm. His fingers went numb inside his glove and his elbows threatened to crumble, but the Shadow Dragon cast its own Wind spell. It collided with Exdeath's shoulder and broke them apart.
Exdeath backpedaled, catching his balance quickly despite his armor. He raised his hands, and the magic tugged Golbez off-balance. He was lifted further off the ground, legs kicking wildly as he struggled in its hold. Exdeath sweeped his arms to the side and threw Golbez clear across the Empyreal Paradox until he crashed into the wall. His own weight worked against him and he choked before sliding down the wall onto his backside.
Not used to being thrown around, Golbez could only sit and blink dizzily for a few seconds as he reoriented himself in the world. The Dragon echoed his confusion, writhing in the air as though it couldn't figure out where it was. When the world finally stopped spinning, Golbez searched for Rosa, glancing between her, Kefka, and Exdeath. Calculating the distance, judging to see if he would have another chance to get to her.
Exdeath followed Golbez's gaze, twisting his entire body to stare down at Rosa. His shoulders heaved and he droned out a low laugh. "I shall end this charade." He lumbered towards her, step after deliberate step. Golbez's panic flared and he pushed himself to his feet. He prepared an Earth spell, drawing the rock shards up from the ground itself. The Dragon twirled a figure eight and added its energy, and the pieces nearly doubled in side. Before he could cast, Kefka shifted out of view. Golbez's heart jumped and he hesitated, afraid of a surprise, and his focus dropped. The rocks tumbled to the ground before disappearing. He turned to look for him, spinning as much as he could to keep Exdeath in his line of sight. Exdeath laughed again, and Golbez knew he was gloating, deliberately going slow to draw out his anguish. And, he knew, what would be Rosa's anguish.
Golbez blinked, and Kefka's painted face suddenly popped up from below him. "Hah!" he screamed into his face, and Golbez startled. Kefka whipped his leg back, ice magic already building on his toes. He kicked Golbez's hands apart and one of them froze in a casing of ice. The Dragon snorted in surprise and lashed its tail towards him, but Kefka ducked under it. With his left hand he summoned a dark, black, fizzling orb that caught the Dragon and exploded, tossing it to the ground. With his right hand he called a large Firaga and threw it straight into Golbez's face.
Golbez recoiled from the heat, wiping at his face. His helmet protected him from the worse of it, but some tongues of flame still slid into the slit of his helmet, licking and lapping at his face and stinging his eyes. Golbez's gloved hand scraped uselessly on the metal before he cleared it away with his own magic. Golbez ducked away to protect himself but everywhere he moved Kefka turned with him and blocked his view, like it was a game. Golbez threw a punch with his iced hand and shattered the block on Kefka's face. He screamed and collapsed back, and he and the Dragon dually cast a Nightglow underneath him. The geyser caught Kefka and lifted him up, tossing him a safe distance away.
"Where is Exdeath?" It echoed in his head, over and over. "Find Exdeath! Find Exdeath!" He looked near Rosa, to the last place he saw him, and did not immediately see him. Golbez decided not to question it. Thinking perhaps that Exdeath had abandoned the fight, he knew his window of opportunity was slipping away. He teleported over to her and knelt down to gather her up once again.
A noise like moving air hissed near him, and Exdeath appeared in one of his circles of light. Golbez straightened and threw himself back, but Exdeath reached out for him. The air around him thinned and bore down in on him from every side, pressing on his chest and sucking the breath from his lungs. He froze stiffly in place, unable to move as Exdeath brought his hands together. Between them a black mass of energy formed. It grew larger and larger, and bolts of electricity and other charges of power leapt wildly off of it, searching for places to ground to. Some of them jolted up into Exdeath's hands but he paid them no attention.
He slowly closed his hands around the ball.
The Void magic compressed harder and harder into Golbez with each inch Exdeath crushed. His armor grew stiff and tight around him, squeezing around his body, and he heard tiny clicks and cracks as it gradually gave way from the pressure. It dented; a sharp end punched into his chest and he choked, unable to take air in. He couldn't move, couldn't cry out. The Dragon twitched next to him, and Golbez could see its long body and tiny arms buckle and mangle, too tight to be natural. A thick pop and an unnaturally shrill noise of pain from the Dragon, and Golbez knew one of its arms was broken. He could feel his own bones bending, knowing he'd be crushed soon as well.
Suddenly, Exdeath loosened his hands. The pressure released, just enough for Golbez to breathe, and he gasped in as large of a breath as he could. He and the Dragon both, panting and sweating in the air. Exdeath pulled him in, closer to Rosa until he was close enough to touch her if he could reach out. "You will watch this," Exdeath grumbled. He called his sword and moved it above Rosa, the grip inches from Golbez's face. He touched the tip to Rosa's chest, over her heart. Golbez struggled as hard as he could and his heart leapt into his throat. He groaned with the effort, resisting the pins and needles sensation.
His power surged with his panic, and the Dragon latched on to it, letting out a roar. Together the two of them broke through Exdeath's hold with a powerful Shell. Golbez fell to the ground and the Dragon instantly led another spell. He sensed what he was to do, and the familiar chill ached in his heart, so strong it sent a shudder down his back. He knew the spell. Knew it well, like it was etched into his being.
"Such is your power?" Golbez asked, standing over Cecil and his entourage. With each missed attack, each deflected spell, his corrupted glee built inside of him until it bubbled out in a huge laugh. "A pity. I expected more!"
He called his power and cast, and the Binding Cold swept through the crystal room and stabbed into each of them. They collapsed, one by one, until Cecil was the only one standing. Struggling immensely, knees trembling, straining from the effort, but standing. Golbez stepped up to him and peered down into his face, then clamped a hand down on his shoulder. He stared down into his eyes and applied steady pressure until Cecil was on his knees as well.
"Your eyes should still be free. Open them, and gaze upon true terror!"
He clasped his hands over his chest to focus it. The Dragon swirled and traced patterns in the air, doing its own little dance, and when it had built enough Golbez spread his hands and pushed the Binding Cold into every stretch of the Paradox. Exdeath cast a block of his own but the chill bit straight through his defense and every layer of him, as it was meant to. He grunted and froze in place, paralyzed by a layer of frost. Golbez knew Kefka was frozen as well.
He only had a few precious seconds. He used his own magic to lift Exdeath off the ground. With a grunt of effort he threw his arm to the side and tossed Exdeath into Kefka. The two went tumbling across the ground in a tangle of blues and garish pastels, unable to catch or brace themselves.
A sudden dizzy spell forced him to brace his hand on his knee to stay upright. Spells like that were powerful, effective, and draining, and he was reminded why he used them sparingly. Though he wanted to use the time he earned on himself, he knew Rosa was in more danger. A quick glance to the Dragon showed that it was in poor condition as well. One of its arms was twisted violently from Exdeath's magic. It was panting hard, and its normal rage-filled glare was tired and weak. It would have to endure.
Golbez floated over to Rosa, and she looked worse for wear as well. Her hair was matted with blood, her clothes were almost completely stained with more red than yellow, the bruise on her cheek was spreading wide, and the scratches all around her body looked red and angry. He decided to carry her with magic instead of lifting her himself, to keep her more steady. He wrapped his power around her, taking care to lift her slowly. A weak, but firm spell knocked into his back and rage flared in Golbez's heart as he was knocked to his knees. He kept his hold on Rosa and ignored it, grabbing his cape to teleport.
He was moments away from freedom, but Exdeath appeared in front of him, so close that Golbez cried out in alarm. He raised his hand to cast but Exdeath pushed his arm down, grabbed the knife at his hip, and drove it under Golbez's arm and into his stomach, into the crack in his armor. The cold metal cut into him, slicing through skin and tearing muscle, and he gasped. Exdeath tugged the knife out, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him forward for another jab under his ribs. While he held him there, Kefka took a running start and dove on the Shadow Dragon, dragging it to the ground. Kefka wrestled on top of it and it rolled and hissed and snapped its jaws like a snake in danger. He straddled it, curling his legs around its middle and wrapping his arms around its neck, holding it still. He looked up at Exdeath like a dog begging its master for a treat.
Exdeath hummed out some kid of acknowledgment and waved dismissively, and Kefka smirked. He winked to Golbez and summoned a Hyperdrive spell that opened under both of them. At the last second Kefka relinquinshed his hold on the Dragon and dashed away, and the light of the Hyperdrive pierced up from the floor and stabbed through it. It howled, and Exdeath shoved Golbez away to use a Delta attack on it.
The Dragon writhed one last time then disappeared in a fizzle of darkness, and Golbez felt its accompanying strength leave him. He instantly grew shaky and weak, and his knees buckled. The sound faded away from his ears and blackness threatened to overtake his vision. He couldn't breathe well, and he pressed a hand to his wounds, more than sure he would pass out as every movement pulled and tugged on the severed flesh. He looked up, craning his neck to look at Rosa. Still on the ground where he had dropped her. Kefka and Exdeath still between him and her.
"What's wrong?" Kefka taunted. He placed his hands on his knees and bent over Golbez, like an adult to a child. "Did Golby get a boo boo? Poor Golby!"
Golbez lowered his gaze. Exdeath knew what he was after Rosa, and they would only continue to get in his way. Perhaps, if Exdeath had been alone, he could have done it, but not the two of them together. He needed extra hands to keep them busy.
The only Archfiend whose summonstone he still held on to was Barbariccia, and only because she refused to leave. She had a fancy for him, to his chagrin, and stayed even after Golbez had traded Cagnazzo away and released Scarmiglione for someone else to find. Rubicante had left him of his own accord long ago, and Golbez had not stopped him. He drew Barbariccia's stone from within, and the red hexagonal crystal manifested in his outstretched hand. He clenched his fist, crushing the fragile stone with little effort.
As soon as it shattered, the stale wind that existed in the Paradox picked up dramatically. Golbez and Exdeath's tails and skirts billowed around them, and Kefka had to hold on to the feather piece he kept in his hair so it didn't blow off. The air and pressure dropped to the floor and gathered in a single spot. Golbez's limbs felt heavy, the change made him light-headed, but he followed the energy as it swirled around and around that one spot. Over and over, rising up into a tornado. The dust and particles gathered, making the whirlwind cloudy before dissipating. The wind died, everything quieted down, and in the tornado's place was a woman crouched on the floor.
Barbariccia giggled, smiling seductively up at Golbez through her thick lashes. Her face was strikingly beautiful, with a soft jawline and contoured face. Clad in nothing but a loin cloth and two strips of cloth over her breasts, she was well-endowed, and it was obvious she knew it. As she stood she trailed her hands up her legs and caressed them over her belly, rounding her chest. She tucked her hands behind her neck and flipped her long, wild, straw-blonde hair. The ends of her hair were constantly moving, swirling and reaching around her like the hair of a naga, with lives of its own. Her eyes ruined the image. When she looked into Golbez's helmet her piercing yellow eyes glowed unnaturally with her power, reminding him how cold she was.
". . . hhhh My love hhhh . . ." she said, the breath of the wind on the front and back of her words. Her voice drifted in and out with the strong breeze she emanated. She ghosted over to him and reached out, drawing a finger down his cheek to cup his chin lovingly. ". . . Hhhhhow I've missed you!"
He swatted her hand away.
A spasm of pain ripped from his wound, and Golbez winced, clutching it tighter. She knelt down next to him and traced around his hand with hers, and when she pulled away her hand was stained red with blood.
" . . . oh, but you are wounded!-"
"It is none of your concern. I . . . I call upon you for aid once more, Archfiend of Wind." His voice trembled in his weakness, and she shook out her wild, wind-swept hair.
"Sssso formal! You know there is no need for that. Not after all of our battles. Who would stand against us? Is it them?" she breathed, facing Kefka and Exdeath. Her sharp eyes roved around the area, and her bewitching smile dropped when she saw Rosa lying on the ground.
" . . . I know this girl, do I not?" Barbarccia drifted closer, to get a better look. "Yes, she was captive in my tower, my tower of Zot. Toying with my darling Kain, if memory serves. Distracting him from me! Yes, I wanted to keep him for myself, but she stole him away. Very well. If you wish for me to finish what I started, then I shall lay waste to herrrr . . ."
"You will not! I am not here for her, I need to take her to safety. I command you, Archfiend of Wind, keep those who oppose us at bay. That is my order."
"Hhhhhhow ironic. Very well . . ."
Exdeath and Kefka readied themselves, but Barbariccia didn't immediately make for them. She twirled once, slowly, winking at Golbez on her way past, then rolled her head and whipped her hair around her. It came alive, fanning out on every side of her and flipping harder. It raised the wind with each whip, growing stronger and stronger until another tornado flared up around her. She drew her knees to her chest and curled up, tucking herself safely inside it until she was no longer visible. She let out a piercing shriek, like a banshee, and finally rolled towards Kefka and Exdeath, trailing on the ground closer and closer to them. They shielded their faces from the wind and debris, momentarily blinded. When Barbariccia was close enough, pieces of her hair lashed out and cracked painfully down on Kefka's shoulder. He fell back, and Exdeath blindly shot a small Fire at her. Barbariccia's strong winds deflected it, and it glanced harmlessly to the side. Kefka stood and wildly threw one spell after another - fire, blizzard, thunder - at random, but each one was whipped or tossed away. One of them was so off-target it missed Barbariccia entirely and flew towards Golbez, but he cast his hand to the side and Reflected it.
He only felt safe enough to turn his back and go to Rosa when he saw them giving ground to her, backing towards the wall. He attempted to pick himself up to float over to her, but his weakness and pain prevented it. He crashed down to his knees and moaned when his wound was tugged, throwing a wave of pain and dizziness over him. He instead limped and crawled pathetically to her.
He was only steps away when his path was blocked again.
He raised his hands, growling in frustration. He expected to see Exdeath's blues, or the wild patterns of Kefka's clothes. Instead, a small blur of white and purple flashed across his vision, flying straight past him to kneel over her.
"Rosa!" he said, and Golbez instantly knew the voice. He blinked the world back into focus, and found Cecil, panting from what could only have been a mad sprint to get there. Cecil's eyes widened and tears immediately welled up. "No . . . no, no, no . . . "
Golbez read her life force, flickering and nearly out but still alight. "Take her and go!" he yelled to Cecil. "She has not yet fallen!"
Cecil glanced to his right, eyes flicking around as he noticed everything and everyone else for the first time. Barbariccia's tornado, Kefka and Exdeath trying to break through, Golbez on his hands and knees only feet away. His eyes hardened and he didn't ask any questions. He gathered Rosa up.
"'Scuse me!" Kefka's whiny voice called. "She's ours!" He managed to fight his way past Barbariccia and hurled huge geysers of ice in a wave towards them. Golbez mustered his strength and teleported behind Cecil, grabbing his cape an pulling it across his body to block.
"Cecil, go!" She'll not make it. Get her to Cosmos, NOW-"
Another shower of ice shards rained across his cape, and a white circle appeared under Cecil's feet. He gasped and shifted to Dark Knight, curling around Rosa in his arms as though it would protect the two of them any better. He braced for the attack, shutting his eyes tightly, but Golbez lunged forward. He clamped his hand down on the back of Cecil's armor and he flinched, expecting it was Exdeath.
Golbez tugged him backwards out of the circle, and used his momentum to spin and grab his cape to teleport. One last glancing blow from Exdeath crashed into his back but he was able to finish the spell. A weightless feeling and a rush of air, and the Empyreal Paradox spun away to black.