I'm trying to write the story I had originally intended.
I don't own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, but the newbies are mine.
To warn you, this is starting to get gory. There are also slight hints of couples developing, but they're so slight as to almost not exist. This might change later. I say again, this is gory, or at least getting really violent.
The Rinoa bashing is revving into overdrive. I promise it's unintentional. Or at least, it started that way...
~
Chapter 18
Squall stared at the four people who had, a few minutes earlier, been lying on the ground, near death.
Zell was trying to stand straight, as though he had lost the memory of how to stand on two feet during the time he spent unconscious. When he focused his eyes, Edea and Squall noticed that his eyes were still blue, but they had shifted to an icy color, and it had taken over the rest of his eyes; the whites, and his pupils. Zell looked around and flinched. With a slight crackling sound, he encased himself in a thin layer of ice. As though the temperature was too warm, and the ice was a second skin for protection.
Ariadne peered at her hands in a measure of surprise, and then gently brushed her arms together, as if reveling in the feel of her skin. Her green eyes had turned to a shade of bluish-green, as though they were viewed through the depths of the water. She glanced around as well, and then took a step toward the still body that had been Eric. Each step left a print, as though her shoes were soaked.
Lynne seemed almost the same as before. His face rested in the same expression as it had before the ambush, but when he closed his eyes, the first difference was apparent. Even when his eyes were closed, the brown irises were visible, revealing either that the skin of his eyelids to be very thin, or that his eyes shone that bright. A breeze blew in the normally still air, and Lynne smiled lightly, showing another difference. Before, Lynne had always been nervous in the wind, for reasons he would not explain.
In much the same manner as Ariadne, Edgar peered at his skin, but he did not brush his skin. Instead, he touched his hair, as though surprised that it were there. His eyes were white, all the way through; both his pupils and his irises were replaced. With the sun setting in the sky, Edgar seemed to get more and more tense, as though he did not like the darkness.
Eric was the last to stand, and this action alone caused Edea and Squall to shudder, thinking he'd become a zombie of some kind. His amber irises were now glowing slightly. But the area that would normally be white was now black. Normally thin, Eric's skin now seemed stretched tightly over his bones, and Squall almost now felt about Eric as he had when dealing with Doomtrain. At this realization, Squall whispered the Guardian's name, and Eric flashed those black-and-amber eyes at him in acknowledgement.
"For now, it would be easier if you call them by the names of the Guardians who have control," Max rubbed his temples, "Shiva, Leviathan, Pandemona, Alexander, and Doomtrain have decided to help us, and are currently healing the bodies of the four living ones."
"What about Eric?" Edea breathed, not taking her eyes off the reanimated man.
"When this is all over, we will have to bury him," Max sighed, "Doomtrain is keeping his body from decomposing, but it's not easy on her. That's part of the reason why he looks like a zombie."
"We should probably keep his 'reanimation' a secret," Squall blinked, "As much as we can. That way we won't have to explain his disappearance and need for burial after all this is over."
Eric-Doomtrain nodded, and a voice whistled through his mouth, not quite coming through his throat, but emanating from him all the same, "That will be an intelligent plan, but difficult to carry out."
Leviathan spoke in a kind of raspy voice through Ariadne's mouth, "Seeing as how we quite intend to help you with all of our abilities."
Shiva's words were like the sound of ice or glass ringing from impact with a spoon, dulled by their originating from Zell's mouth, "None of the other Guardians will be available. Ifrit, Siren and Quezacotl are assisting me with this one. The Brothers, Diablos, and Cerberus are helping Leviathan. Carbuncle, Cactuar, and Tonberry assist Pandemona, while Alexander is accepting aid from Bahamut, Odin and Eden."
"Does that have anything to do with the extent of their injuries?" Squall blinked, "And why isn't anyone helping Doomtrain?"
"Zell was the physically strongest of the five," the words breezed from Lynne's mouth and sounded right next to their ears, "and had the strongest will to live. Therefore he needs the least help. Ariadne's heart knows of Eric's death, and she mourns, needing Diablos to draw her out, and the other two also know the darkness particular to mourning."
"Lynne was in great need of those like his nature, to keep him from merely pushing away assistance," Edgar's voice seemed to have no difference to it, though Alexander spoke through him, "while Edgar was actually the next closest to being irreparable."
"None of the others can aid me in this," Eric's voice had that wet sound, like a person who has had a lung punctured still trying to speak, "I am the only one who can even be carried among the dead."
"Now that you've had your questions answered," Max shrugged, "Shall we go scare the tar out of Odine?"
The five Guardians produced their semblances of smirks and grins at the idea, while Edea and Squall stood and started for where they had left Irvine and Odine.
Upon reaching them, Irvine blinked rapidly, "Um... what's going on? They all look different."
"We'll explain later, but for now, Odine, your bullets weren't quite successful," Squall waved a hand at the five, "They are still living."
Odine almost choked on the air he was breathing, "Zat is impossible! I vas told zat zere was at least one who died!"
"Don't always believe what you hear," Max snorted, "Sometimes, death is harder to reach than you realize."
"You sound as if you speak from experience," Odine looked at Max speculatively.
"Perhaps I do," Max shrugged, "But does it matter? I'm not dying at this point. Get into the craft, everyone, we've got to find Caraway."
~
Ooookay... um... that's certainly tying things up... And behaving evilly. :P
To K.N.W., You're getting dangerously close to my plans... hush, will you!. ^-^
~Just carried out some minor edits, as with the rest. Hope it makes things a bit better, aside from giving me the opportunity to reread in preparation for beginning again.~
I don't own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, but the newbies are mine.
To warn you, this is starting to get gory. There are also slight hints of couples developing, but they're so slight as to almost not exist. This might change later. I say again, this is gory, or at least getting really violent.
The Rinoa bashing is revving into overdrive. I promise it's unintentional. Or at least, it started that way...
~
Chapter 18
Squall stared at the four people who had, a few minutes earlier, been lying on the ground, near death.
Zell was trying to stand straight, as though he had lost the memory of how to stand on two feet during the time he spent unconscious. When he focused his eyes, Edea and Squall noticed that his eyes were still blue, but they had shifted to an icy color, and it had taken over the rest of his eyes; the whites, and his pupils. Zell looked around and flinched. With a slight crackling sound, he encased himself in a thin layer of ice. As though the temperature was too warm, and the ice was a second skin for protection.
Ariadne peered at her hands in a measure of surprise, and then gently brushed her arms together, as if reveling in the feel of her skin. Her green eyes had turned to a shade of bluish-green, as though they were viewed through the depths of the water. She glanced around as well, and then took a step toward the still body that had been Eric. Each step left a print, as though her shoes were soaked.
Lynne seemed almost the same as before. His face rested in the same expression as it had before the ambush, but when he closed his eyes, the first difference was apparent. Even when his eyes were closed, the brown irises were visible, revealing either that the skin of his eyelids to be very thin, or that his eyes shone that bright. A breeze blew in the normally still air, and Lynne smiled lightly, showing another difference. Before, Lynne had always been nervous in the wind, for reasons he would not explain.
In much the same manner as Ariadne, Edgar peered at his skin, but he did not brush his skin. Instead, he touched his hair, as though surprised that it were there. His eyes were white, all the way through; both his pupils and his irises were replaced. With the sun setting in the sky, Edgar seemed to get more and more tense, as though he did not like the darkness.
Eric was the last to stand, and this action alone caused Edea and Squall to shudder, thinking he'd become a zombie of some kind. His amber irises were now glowing slightly. But the area that would normally be white was now black. Normally thin, Eric's skin now seemed stretched tightly over his bones, and Squall almost now felt about Eric as he had when dealing with Doomtrain. At this realization, Squall whispered the Guardian's name, and Eric flashed those black-and-amber eyes at him in acknowledgement.
"For now, it would be easier if you call them by the names of the Guardians who have control," Max rubbed his temples, "Shiva, Leviathan, Pandemona, Alexander, and Doomtrain have decided to help us, and are currently healing the bodies of the four living ones."
"What about Eric?" Edea breathed, not taking her eyes off the reanimated man.
"When this is all over, we will have to bury him," Max sighed, "Doomtrain is keeping his body from decomposing, but it's not easy on her. That's part of the reason why he looks like a zombie."
"We should probably keep his 'reanimation' a secret," Squall blinked, "As much as we can. That way we won't have to explain his disappearance and need for burial after all this is over."
Eric-Doomtrain nodded, and a voice whistled through his mouth, not quite coming through his throat, but emanating from him all the same, "That will be an intelligent plan, but difficult to carry out."
Leviathan spoke in a kind of raspy voice through Ariadne's mouth, "Seeing as how we quite intend to help you with all of our abilities."
Shiva's words were like the sound of ice or glass ringing from impact with a spoon, dulled by their originating from Zell's mouth, "None of the other Guardians will be available. Ifrit, Siren and Quezacotl are assisting me with this one. The Brothers, Diablos, and Cerberus are helping Leviathan. Carbuncle, Cactuar, and Tonberry assist Pandemona, while Alexander is accepting aid from Bahamut, Odin and Eden."
"Does that have anything to do with the extent of their injuries?" Squall blinked, "And why isn't anyone helping Doomtrain?"
"Zell was the physically strongest of the five," the words breezed from Lynne's mouth and sounded right next to their ears, "and had the strongest will to live. Therefore he needs the least help. Ariadne's heart knows of Eric's death, and she mourns, needing Diablos to draw her out, and the other two also know the darkness particular to mourning."
"Lynne was in great need of those like his nature, to keep him from merely pushing away assistance," Edgar's voice seemed to have no difference to it, though Alexander spoke through him, "while Edgar was actually the next closest to being irreparable."
"None of the others can aid me in this," Eric's voice had that wet sound, like a person who has had a lung punctured still trying to speak, "I am the only one who can even be carried among the dead."
"Now that you've had your questions answered," Max shrugged, "Shall we go scare the tar out of Odine?"
The five Guardians produced their semblances of smirks and grins at the idea, while Edea and Squall stood and started for where they had left Irvine and Odine.
Upon reaching them, Irvine blinked rapidly, "Um... what's going on? They all look different."
"We'll explain later, but for now, Odine, your bullets weren't quite successful," Squall waved a hand at the five, "They are still living."
Odine almost choked on the air he was breathing, "Zat is impossible! I vas told zat zere was at least one who died!"
"Don't always believe what you hear," Max snorted, "Sometimes, death is harder to reach than you realize."
"You sound as if you speak from experience," Odine looked at Max speculatively.
"Perhaps I do," Max shrugged, "But does it matter? I'm not dying at this point. Get into the craft, everyone, we've got to find Caraway."
~
Ooookay... um... that's certainly tying things up... And behaving evilly. :P
To K.N.W., You're getting dangerously close to my plans... hush, will you!. ^-^
~Just carried out some minor edits, as with the rest. Hope it makes things a bit better, aside from giving me the opportunity to reread in preparation for beginning again.~