Final Fantasy: Rise of Despair
Last chapter, Cole had a brief, but intense battle with Diabol. Diabol's victory seemed eminent until Cole managed to snatch it away from the jaws of defeat. On the battle outside, Ize is managing to hold his own against the duo of Blaze and Hunter, and Cious has gained the edge over Laura. All the while Syack tragically sacrificed himself to save Toxin's life. Now how will the battle with the Colonels go from here? And how does Heidi fare against General Mali?
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance, I do own the characters and plot.
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Why?
Heidi and Mali strafed through the several pillars with their eyes fixated on the other. Heidi had her bow drawn and Mali her katana. "So then girl…" Mali started. "How does it feel, to be up against a foe that you lost against so easily?"
"Being a little overconfident there aren't you?" Heidi asked.
"No, I'm being honest." Mali said. "I am not a fool like the other generals."
"You call them fools… tell me something Mali. Do you have any respect for your comrades?" Heidi asked.
"Two… my liege, and the Marshal himself." Mali said. "And for their sakes… I will not let you defeat me!" Mali shouted.
"And for the sake of my friends, I won't lose to you!" Heidi quickly pulled her bowstring and fired a single arrow that divided in to multiple arrows. Mali cart wheeled behind and out from behind a pillar while swinging her sword, thus sending arcs of energy towards Heidi. Heidi fired another arrow while dodging those arcs of energy.
"Grrrrr…" Mali ducked behind another pillar as those arrows sailed by. Mali jumped out and fired another arc of energy at Heidi. This time Heidi drew her sword and knocked away the arcs of mana. "Black tendrils!" Tendrils made of purple mana extended from her fingertips and weaved through the pillars towards Heidi. Heidi spun and bent backwards to avoid these tendrils while pointing her own fingertips at Mali.
"Fire whip!" From Heidi's fingertips, long lines of fire snaked through the pillars towards Mali. Mali swung her sword and forced the whips to wrap around her sword. Heidi and Mali ran towards each other and became engaged in a fierce sword fight. Each of them took near light-speed swings of the sword at each other, blocking each other at each swing.
"Ha!" Mali took a more powerful swing at Heidi's waist. Heidi flipped over the top of Mali as Mali's sword swiped through a pillar. As Heidi came down she attempted to do a vertical slice on Mali's head, only for Mali to block it. The two jumped back from each other while channeling their mana to their swords. "Extend!"
"Pierce through!" Green mana extended from Heidi's sword while purple mana extended from Mali's sword. The two of them swiped at each other from across the room, swiping at and leveling pillars with each swing, engaging in a long range sword fight.
"Hmph… you've improved greatly girl." Mali said.
"I'm just getting started." Heidi said as she pointed two fingers that glowed with blue and yellow light.
"!!!" Mali felt the air grow colder around her. "Black wall!" Mali quickly created a dome of dark mana around her that blocked both the blizzara and thundara spell. "Grrrrrr…" Mali stuck her sword through the wall. The mana in the wall became absorbed in her sword. "HAAAAAA!!!" She then quickly stood up and swung her sword several times, sending powerful arcs of dark mana flying at Heidi.
"Soaring Nighthawk!" Heidi tried to cancel out each swing by sending out light purple, hawk-shaped, blasts of mana at the arcs. However Mali's arcs overpowered Heidi's and struck her head on. "AUGH!" She shouted as she went flying backwards.
"HA!" Mali leaped forward to finish the job when…
"Nighthawk!" Heidi thrust her sword forward rapidly while flying backwards, sending out blasts of mana shaped like diving hawks that hit Mali in various places on her body.
"Urk!" Mali retaliated by thrusting her sword rapidly. Heidi flipped backwards and landed on her feet, then diving to the side to avoid the blasts of mana. Heidi drew her bow and…
"Beso Toxico!" Heidi fired a storm of poisonous arrows at Mali. Mali ran forward fearlessly and swiped away any arrows that would have hit her. Heidi quickly swapped weapons and intercepted Mali's sword. The two of them again engaged in a quick sword fight with each other. The two hopped back slightly and then dashed past each other. The two paused to catch their breath, and turned to face each other. Both of them already had numerous bruises, and a few bleeding cuts.
"You know girl… I must know… how does it feel, to be a fledgling Racemaster?" Mali asked with a twisted smile on her face.
"?" Heidi showed a look of surprise on her face.
"You didn't think I'd know?" Mali asked. "Isn't it obvious? After all, Marshal Agon said you appeared to have no idea. And I realized that it must have been dormant inside of you." Mali said.
"What difference does it make to you?" Heidi asked as she got in her battle stance.
"I'm merely curious… what makes you believe, you can even begin to compare to the Racemasters of old?" Mali asked as she took a stance of her own.
"…"
Meanwhile…
"Ha! HIIIIIIIIIIYAH!!!" Ize was now furious. He and Blaze were again engaged in close combat, only this time it didn't even look like Blaze had an edge. Blaze was constantly having to block while only occasionally getting a chance to attack. Hunter was trying to even the odds by carefully aiming his arrows at Ize. However Ize was capable of dodging those arrows and regaining his edge over Blaze.
"Gee whiz… if there was a man that borderlines Racemaster it has to be this guy. We can hardly even touch him." Hunter thought.
"Wild fire!" Blaze spun around while expelling a blast of fire from his hands. Ize jumped over the attack and was preparing to embed his sword in to Blaze's head when Hunter fired an arrow that struck Ize in the hand.
"AUGH!" Ize shouted as he dropped his sword, narrowly missing Blaze. Blaze then spun around and did a kick to the side of Ize's head that sent him sprawling to the side. "Grrrrr… that does it!" Ize made quickly, almost unseen hand signs. "Metal jujutsu! Metal veil!" The other two braced themselves as Ize covered himself with golden metal powder. After a minute of waiting.
"Wait… maybe he's expecting us to expect an attack. That would only mean… CRAP!!!" Hunter thought. "BLAZE!!! ATTACK HIM NOW!!!" Hunter shouted.
"Okay then… FIRE FIST!!!" Blaze threw a small fireball at the cloud, when the explosion dispersed the cloud, Ize was nowhere to be seen.
"Angel whisper… Matra magic… white wind… dragon force… mighty guard…"
"Hm?" The two turned around to find Ize casting as many spells on himself as he could.
"I knew it, he was recuperating." Hunter cringed.
"Oh that's just great…" Blaze said sarcastically.
"Now I'm in even better than peak condition… say your prayers!!!" Ize yelled as he bolted towards Hunter even faster than usual.
"Whoa!" Hunter jumped back from the first swing of Ize's saber, but Blaze had to throw a fireball at Ize to stop him from slicing Hunter open with a second slash. Ize then quickly threw kunai and shuriken at Blaze in rapid succession. Ize then turned towards Hunter.
"Matra Magic!" Ize quickly cast a spell that created triangles above Hunter's head and beneath his feet. Hunter barely managed to avoid the spell while firing his arrows at Ize. Ize threw shuriken at the arrows to intercept them as he dashed at Blaze. Ize was now attacking more furiously than ever, and Blaze was sweating vigorously to block each strike.
"Blazing Blitz!" Blaze threw an aimed punch at Ize, however Ize blocked the punch with his arm, tossed his sword in to the air, drew his fist back…
"GOBLIN PUNCH!!!" Ize then nailed Blaze in the face with yet another Goblin punch.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Blaze shouted as he went flying backwards, his face bleeding in various places.
"Faster!" Hunter fired several quick arrows at Ize, who took each arrow in the back, not even seeming fazed by them. Ize then caught the saber he tossed in to the air and hurled it at Hunter. "GAAAAHHH!!!" The saber cut in to his waist deeply, sending blood flying nearly everywhere.
"Heh… heh…" Ize had to catch his breath for a moment. "YOU TWO ARE DONE FOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRR!!!" Ize shouted.
"HA!!!" Cious tackled Laura straight through a wall of one of the buildings. After tumbling on the ground for a moment, Laura got up first and created two summoning circles.
"RAMUH!!!" Ramuh appeared and quickly slammed its staff in to the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Cious shouted as a blast of lightning from underground sent her flying through three floors to the roof of the building, where she landed with a hard thud. Laura then rose up through the hole on a large pillar of rock.
"You ready to give up?" Laura asked.
"IFRIT!!!" Cious summoned Ifrit right above Laura, Ifrit focused a great amount of flame to its fist as it drew it back to slam Laura with it.
"Carbuncle!" Laura quickly summoned Carbuncle in front of her to take the fist. "Unicorn!" Laura then summoned Unicorn, using it to heal her wounds. She then dove at Cious with her rapier ready. Cious drew her katana and blocked Laura's rapier. Laura and Cious engaged in a fast and furious sword fight. As it went on, Laura was beginning to force Cious towards the edge of the roof.
"Grrrr…" Cious shoved Laura backwards a bit and then did a back flip over the gap between that building and another. Laura got up, ran for the edge of the roof and jumped. Cious landed perfectly and got up in time to block a thrust from Laura. Cious hopped backwards and pressed her hand against the ground at the same time as Laura.
"I CALL UPON THEE!!! MADEEN!!!" Both of them shouted. Both of their magic circles glowed brightly, the light from them flew towards each other in a silhouette, and joined together. Madeen appeared, floating right in between the two of them.
"Something we've been avoiding the whole battle." Laura sighed.
"Summoning the same esper." Cious said.
"Now it is up to Madeen, who the more worthy summoner is." Laura said.
"Indeed." Cious said. The both of them dropped their weapons, and stood still while staring each other in the eye. Madeen, kept looking at them, deciding on who was more worthy of its power.
"SYACK!!!" Toxin yelled. When the light vanished, nothing was left, no body, in fact the only trace of Syack left was his hat. "NO!!!" She cried in agony.
"Toxin!" Seth shouted. He looked back while forming numerous hand signs. "Armor veil!" Seth covered himself with a thin sheet of metal so that he could more easily get through the crowd of black soldiers. Seth made his way to the grieving Toxin and intercepted a few bullets that bounced off of his metal body. "Toxin… I'm here… I… I… I'm sorry Toxin… but… we have to grieve later."
"Seth, please just…" Toxin started.
"Toxin! Don't let his sacrifice go to waste okay!" Seth nearly yelled.
"…" Toxin sighed. "You're right." Toxin said.
"Together now." Seth said as he drew one of his katana.
"Together." Toxin said as she gripped her own katana.
"Breath of life, light my katana and sing within light!" They both chanted.
"Ultima masher!"
"Ultima katana!" The two them charged forward with their glowing katanas, cleaving through numerous Black Soldiers with ease.
"Hey Kate! Where the heck are you going?!" Cid asked as he blew back several Black Soliders with a Mog Attack move.
"…" Kate looked back, her eyes filled with something. Curiosity maybe. Kate ignored the cries of Cid for her to come back as she charged back through the ranks, leaving the front lines.
"Ugh… what is with these people just leaving everything up to us?!" Monty yelled as he used fire shot on a few black soldiers.
"Meteor!!!" Gilbert called down a massive meteor to level the battlefield in front of him. "Whatever it is…"
"They better have a good reason! Breath of life light my blade and sing within light! ULTIMA SWORD!!!" Mendoza shouted as he swiped his glowing sword and sent many black soldiers to their deaths.
Meanwhile…
"HA!"
CLANG
SHING
Heidi and Mali were going all out with their swords. Both of them would take countless slashes at each other before breaking off and trying a distance attack. "FIRA!!!"
"Black blaze!" Mali sent a black stream of flame out that swallowed the medium-sized fireball and continued towards Heidi.
"Carbuncle!" Heidi summoned Carbuncle to intercept the attack. "Titan!" Heidi then summoned Titan from behind Carbuncle's protection. Titan spit out a massive glob of mud that quickly hardened towards Mali.
"Black Barrage!" Mali created small orbs of dark mana that after two or three strikes shattered the ball of mud, then going in to attack Heidi.
"Multi-shot!" Heidi fired a storm of arrows that cancelled out the orbs of darkness and a few of them sailed onward towards Mali.
"Gah!" Mali was unable to react in time to avoid some of those arrows, however… "Black Bolt!" Mali aimed two fingers at Heidi, sending a black bolt of lightning that struck Heidi with incredible ferocity.
"AUGH!" Heidi shouted as the bolt sent her flying across the room. Heidi back flipped and landed against a pillar, jumped off of the pillar and was now sailing above Mali as she let loose another storm of arrows. Mali ducked back and forth across the room, nimbly avoiding all of the arrows.
"HA!!!"
"HIYAH!!!" Both of them started zipping around the room taking swings at each other whenever they passed by each other. Heidi and Mali finally met with a violent…
CLANG
That sound rang through the air for a moment, before the two started swinging at each other as quickly and as furiously as they could. The two of them locked blades and began pushing against each other.
"Girl… I must know what in the world makes you believe you can compare to the other Racemasters." Mali said.
"…" Heidi didn't seem to be willing to answer for a moment, but after a moment's silence, she spoke. "Because he believes I can." Heidi said.
"He?" Mali asked. Heidi broke the lock and jumped away.
"SHIVA!!!" Heidi summoned Shiva, floating above her, making the very air grow colder.
"Hmph… BLACK GALE!!!" Mali spun her sword around and around, sending a whirlwind of dark mana spiraling towards Shiva. Shiva in turn breathed out a gale of icy wind that met with the black gale. Both attacks met and created a tornado of ice and dark mana.
"Yes Mali… he believes in me. He has for a long time, he has supported me in my most difficult moments, and I believe in him in turn." Heidi said over the roar of the chaotic wind.
"… Maybe you know…" Mali said. She charged towards Heidi, and Heidi in turn charged at Mali. The two of them met in the eye of the tornado and continued to clash blades with each other. "You have a deep respect for this man you speak of… much like I deeply respect Marshal Agon… but tell me… is it something more?" Mali asked as she and Heidi locked blades yet again.
"Something more?" Heidi asked. She broke the lock and the two briefly swung their blades at each other before locking again.
"At times I wonder if there isn't another feeling inside of me whenever I think of Marshal Agon. Do you know what this feeling is?" Mali asked. The two broke the lock, and then took much more powerful swings at each other that met with such ferocity that the tornado dispelled.
"…" Heidi looked Mali in the eyes for a moment. The two of them jumped far back from each other. "You are different from the other higher ranked members of this army." Heidi said.
"Will you answer my question… or will I finish you first? I have a duty to fulfill either way, and I will fulfill it regardless of your answer." Mali said.
"Maybe I will answer your question. But first…" Heidi created a summoning circle that glowed brightly with power. "I CALL UPON THEE!!! BAHAMUT!!!"
"Very well…" Mali said as the giant dragon appeared and inhaled. "DARK BLADE!!!" Mali's sword seemed to surge with black mana. She charged head long towards the beam of pure mana Bahamut fired at her. Mali's sword met with the blast…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Meanwhile…
"… ULTIMA KNIGHTSWORD!!!" Adam sliced his glowing blade against the ground and sent a massive wave of pure mana at the soldiers in front of him.
"I've got you covered big guy!" Brently shouted as he threw large rubber balls at the soldiers behind Adam, confusing the soldiers before jumping over the top of more attacks thrown at him.
"I've got you covered Stacy!" Will shouted. "Earth Render!" Will slammed a foot on the ground, sending a tremor in a line forward to wipe out several Black soldiers.
"Thanks Will! Blizzara!" Stacy shouted as she skewered black soldiers with icicles.
"…ULTIMA KATANA!!!" Jessica shouted in fury as she created a massive crater with her ultima attack.
"We're getting close to the front gates! CHAAAARGE!!!" Adam cried.
"Urgh!" Ize winced as fireballs struck him. "Grrrrr… you two are about to die anyways… and yet you still try to take away EVERYTHING I HAVE LEFT!!!" Ize shouted.
"Ize…" Came a voice Ize hadn't heard before. And yet, it seemed familiar.
"…" Ize dropped his sabers, turned to face Kate. Kate stood there, her emotionless gaze beginning to fill with tears. Tears that could have meant many a thing. "You… you're… alive?"
"Ize… you are alive…" Kate said.
"She's… crying?" Hunter asked himself in disbelief.
"Kate…" Ize gasped.
"Ize…" Kate swallowed. "Ize… you are alive. Ize… don't you know what this means?" Kate asked.
"…" Ize only kept on staring at Kate.
"Ize, we can fulfill our promise… we can forget about all of this… we can leave this behind… we can start over." Kate said hopefully. "You haven't forgotten our promise have you? Have you?" Kate asked tearfully.
"…" Ize felt a tear trickle down his cheek. "I'm sorry Kate… but since that day… I've chosen a path that I can't walk off of."
"Yes you can! Yes you can!" Kate shouted.
"What the hell is this?" Blaze asked.
"Shush." Hunter said.
"No I can't Kate… my heart chose darkness after it thought you were gone… and now… there is but one path left for me…" Ize said. He picked up one of his sabers, he held it back-handed, grabbed it with both hands.
"No… he isn't…" Blaze said.
"WAIT!!!" Hunter yelled.
SHING
The next thing anyone knew, Ize's saber was stabbed in to his stomach, and protruding out his back. Ize used what was left of his mana to dispel the revival effect on him, before he looked at Kate. He smiled gently for the first time in years. "Goodbye…" He whispered, before he fell over.
"Ize…" Kate whispered.
"… It's over." Hunter said solemnly.
"…" Blaze looked at Ize's body with pity. "There… was more to you than war after all… wasn't there?" He asked no one.
Madeen's gaze shifted between Laura and Cious. Madeen finally fixated on one of them. Madeen floated to the side of Laura.
"No…" Cious said in disbelief. "No… he can't have chosen you over me…" Cious said.
"Madeen has acknowledged me Cious." Laura said as Madeen opened its mouth and charged up holy energy. "You've lost." Laura said. Madeen fired a concentrated beam of holy energy at Cious.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM
Cious was covered in dirt and bruises, barely clinging to life. "How… how…" Cious asked.
"Listen here Cious." Laura said. "You are right that neither of us can hope to surpass Heidi, but… compared to anybody else… I AM THE GREATEST SUMMONER IN IVALICE!!!" Laura proudly declared.
"You…" Cious started.
"I'll let you think that over, with your dying breath." Laura said. She turned to walk away, leaving Cious to lay on the ground.
"No… no… she isn't… she isn't…she won't be… no… I'LL KILL HER!!!" Cious thought. She stood back up, drew a knife and was about to stab Laura in the back.
"AH!" Laura turned around and realized what was happening all too late.
"LAURAAAAAAAA!!!" Before anyone knew what was happening next, Kyle jumped in the way and took the knife to the heart. "Urk…"
"Kyle!" Laura gasped.
"La…ura…" Kyle gasped. He gripped his lance, and grabbed Cious around the throat.
"Urk…" Cious gasped.
"Kyle… you… you didn't… you…" Laura stuttered.
"Laura… I have one last wish…" Kyle gasped. "Don't grieve over me…" Kyle started.
"Kyle… I can still save you…" Laura said.
"… I've always wanted to protect you Laura…" Kyle said. "Please don't grieve over me…" Kyle said. "But please remember me… remember your brother…" Kyle said as tears trickled down his cheek, and blood trickled down his chest.
"Ugh…" Cious gasped as Kyle walked the two of them over to the edge of the roof.
"Kyle… don't…" Laura said.
"Just remember me… if you don't then this life was wasted…" Kyle said. "But if you do remember me… then this…"
"Kyle don't…" Laura begged with tears in her eyes.
"THEN THIS HAS BEEN A WONDERFUL LIFE!!!" Kyle said as dove over the edge of the roof with Cious. "BREATH OF LIFE LIGHT MY LANCE AND SING WITHIN LIGHT!!! …" Kyle's voice carried out of Laura's hearing.
"Kyle…" Laura said with tears in her eyes. "KYYYYYLEEEEE!!!" She shouted, the only thing she could hear was Kyle's voice when they were children, and the bliss they felt in their childhood. And then…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Meanwhile…
When the dust died down, both Heidi and Mali were crouching on the ground, covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. "Ize believes that we were simply handed out power." Mali said.
"Hm?" Heidi looked at Mali curiously.
"That is only half-true… I have trained this power, I have discovered other abilities… and I… have one last attack. And now… will you answer my question?" Mali asked Heidi.
"…"
"By revealing to you this ability, you have earned my respect Heidi." Mali said. "Dying breath, light my blade and sing in shadow… OMEGA MASHER!!!" Mali's blade glowed with energy similar to ultima, however the mana was darker in appearance as it covered Mali's blade.
"… Breath of life, light my blade and sing within light… ULTIMA MASHER!!!" Heidi formed Ultima masher around her katana, and the two of them walked to the middle. "You are… a worthy opponent." Heidi said.
"As are you… Viera Racemaster." Mali said. The two swung their blades slower than normal, the blades clashed and let loose a mighty wave of energy. The two swung at each other again and again, each time letting off a massive surge of energy. The two finally locked blades, with energy surging outward in incredible ferocity.
"Your question… I wasn't sure myself…" Heidi said.
"…"
"But as I reflected upon the question, I began to wonder the same thing about myself and… him." Heidi said. "The answer to your question…"
"…" Mali listened as the force of the energy began to overwhelm the two of them.
"Perhaps… love…" Heidi said.
"Love…" Mali echoed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM
When the smoke cleared, Heidi was standing over Mali, who was kneeling on the ground. "Yes… yes… love." Mali said. A tear trickled down her cheek. "Heh… so that's what this feeling is?" Mali asked. "Urgh…"
"!" Heidi seemed concerned as Mali fell over.
"I denied it, because I was cruel… but… I suppose… that is the truth…" Mali said with a smile. "Whatever it may be… I hope… the one you love…"
"Hm?"
"… may he be the one… who can fulfill Marshal Agon's… third wish…" Mali said as life finally slipped away. Mali's head stayed on the ground, eyes closed, her lips fixed in a smile.
"Harris…" Heidi whispered. "… Harris… and Mali…" Heidi continued. She scooped up Mali's body and walked towards the door. "Thank you… rest in peace… General Mali." Heidi said.
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