Sever All Ties
Chapter Forty Two: Struggle
Disclaimer: I don't own Radiata Stories or any of the characters in the game; they are the property of the brilliant minds at Square Enix.
Authors Note(s): Words in '…' indicate a thought. Words in "…" indicate spoken words. This story will proceed based on the assumption that Jack has joined Ridley on the path of the non-human. This path would inevitably lead him to face his former friends and allies in combat. It is these fights I will illustrate in this story. Some creative liberties will be taken regarding who they face (i.e. Jack will face opponents in this fic that you don't get to face in the game). I hope you enjoy.
Jack stared intensely at the dragon that stood opposite of him. Aphelion's eyes seemed to tear through all of the strength and confidence the young knight had acquired since leaving home. Gritting his teeth, Jack reminded himself of the strength he had, the lessons he had learned and, most importantly, of the ones who were depending upon him. Looking to his right and his left, he saw that Ganz and Gil had taken places beside him and were ready for the battle that was to come. Jack held the Arbitrator tightly, trying to draw strength from the legendary blade. Across the dome, Aphelion eyed them warily. Though his wings were fully extended, he was standing on the ground.
"You are foolish to oppose me," Aphelion unexpectedly. "I want to strengthen humanity by allowing to flourish. Your death will be meaningless."
"I won't let you hurt Ridley," Jack answered.
"Her life is unimportant when weighed against all of humankind," Aphelion continued as if Jack hadn't spoken.
"Not to me it's not," Jack countered. He flourished his sword as he spoke, and rushed toward the dragon.
Aphelion's sword was already moving when Jack came into range, a powerful left-to-right stroke that Jack would not be able to dodge. The sound of metal on metal rang out as the Arbitrator met the dragon's obsidian blade. The force of the impact was incredible, sending a shock through Jack's body and lifting him off the ground. Tumbling across the floor, Jack scrambled to regain his feet. He was somewhat surprised to see that Aphelion had not closed the distance between them; the dragon retained an offensive stance with his sword, but had not followed his first attack by attempting a second.
"Master Jack," Ganz had rushed to the side of his former subordinate. "Master Jack, are you all right? I don't believe a direct attack is our best option here."
"I agree, Captain," said Jack. He was already evaluating Aphelion's attack. "Captain, I'm going to attack him directly again."
"I beg your pardon," Ganz said inquisitively.
"I'm going to attack him directly, and I want you to attack from the left just after me," Jack explained. He raised his sword and met Aphelion's gaze. "Just trust me."
Not waiting for a reply, Jack launched himself at the dragon again; he caught sight of Ganz charging in as he prepared to attack. Once again, Aphelion's sword struck the Arbitrator and Jack was thrown back. As he flew through the air, Jack saw Ganz charging to attack. The former Knight Captain was already in range when Aphelion turned to face him. The dragon's sword moved quickly and deflected Ganz's attack, and Ganz hastily moved to avoid the counterattack. Once again, the dragon maintained an offensive stance without pressing his advantage. Jack smiled to himself as he stood up, leaning on the Arbitrator for support; he had the information he needed.
"Jack," Ridley's voice was full of concern as she called out to her would-be rescuer. Jack looked over his shoulder and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry about a thing," Jack said confidently. Ridley was seated, and still looked exhausted from her encounter with the Gold Dragon. She smiled weakly at his assurance. Jack strode to where Ganz and Gil were standing, watching Aphelion carefully the entire way.
"What are you thinking," Gil asked. The elf looked uneasy as he spoke, but his voice did not waver.
"We've got the advantage," Jack stated simply. "He can't fly because of the dome, and he's not very quick, so he can't move to dodge attacks or quickly transition between attack and defense. That's why he's not coming after us now. If we stay spread out, he won't be able to attack all of us. Let's see what we can do."
"I'll attack from as many angles as I can," Gil said with a nod. The three warriors turned once again to face their opponent.
Jack moved quickly to the left, while Gil moved to the right and Ganz stayed in the middle. The three warriors rushed in at the same time, attempting to see who the dragon would choose to face. When Aphelion turned toward Jack, he braced himself as he continued to charge forward. He quickly scrambled out of the way of the incoming attack and jumped to his feet. The Arbitrator cut into the dragon's leg, and Jack moved to get clear before the next stroke fell. Aphelion attempted to counter, but attacks from Ganz and Gil bought Jack enough time to escape unharmed. Gil's ice projectiles were capable of striking at the dragon's face and upper body, which were tougher for Jack and Ganz to target because of Aphelion's height. The warriors moved to get out of their foe's range, but the dragon stepped forward to attack before they could spread out again. Aphelion's sword smashed into the stone floor, sending a shower of stone tile fragments into the air. Gil countered immediately, his ice blade cutting into the dragon's sword arm. Jack also attacked quickly, and the Arbitrator found the dragon's left leg. Following these two strikes, Aphelion swung his sword erratically, forcing his attackers to fall back.
With black blood flowing freely from his wounds, the dragon didn't look anything like the almighty guardian of the world. Jack was growing more confident with every stroke they landed. So confident that he rushed forward to attack again. As the swordsman launched himself into the air, Aphelion struck. The dragon read Jack's move perfectly and his clawed hand found the young warrior at the pinnacle of his jump. The blow didn't show any sign of weakness, and Jack went flying across the dome. He was vaguely aware that someone called out his name as he crashed hard to the floor. The Arbitrator flew from his hand as he skidded across the floor, finally crashing into a pillar. The impact took Jack's breath away and he faltered the first time he tried to regain his feet.
Aphelion had immediately gone on the offensive after striking Jack, revealing that his strength was essentially untapped. The distance between the dragon and his opponents was no longer a problem as he fired magical bolts at Ganz and Gil. The amethyst shots flew through the air, and his comrades tried to avoid them. The volume of shots increased, and some of the strays struck the columns of the dome as they flew past. Chunks of the dome crumbled as it was bombarded by the dragon's attack. When one of the projectiles got too close, Ganz tried to deflect it with his sword. The shot exploded when it hit his sword, and the former knight captain was blown backward. Gil was using his magic to create a shield, but the dragon's attacks broke through his defense and struck him as well. Neither of his comrades rose when they hit the ground. Jack was alone and without a weapon. Worse, the dragon had found his next target.
"The vessel is finally mine," Aphelion proclaimed, turning his attention back to his original target.
Ridley had managed to get to her feet, and was supporting herself by leaning on the column behind her. Jack was racing toward her as the magical shot formed at the dragon's fingertips, but he wasn't sure he could make it in time. Suddenly, the light that had surrounded her when Quasar was present once again enveloped Ridley. Her eyes had the look he had seen when Hap had possessed her body. Ridley raised her hand and pointed it at Aphelion.
"Naes moren guitaler," she spoke in the eerie, hollow voice from before. Just as Aphelion fired his burst of magic, Ridley fired one as well.
The shock from their attacks slowed Jack down as he tried to force his way to Ridley. The dome shook again in response to the power displayed by the combatants, and it seems ready to crumble. Leaning against a column that had managed not to crumble, Ridley was unmoved by the shock of the blast; Aphelion was forced to take a step back because of his proximity to the explosion. Jack made his way to Ridley just as she slumped down, breathing heavily. He helped her into the sitting position, resting her back against the pillar once more, and was pleased to see that her eyes had returned to normal. She smiled weakly at Jack, who was already scanning the scene.
"Hap saved me one last time," Ridley said as she tried to catch her breath.
"Good timing," Jack replied warmly. He was discouraged to see that neither Ganz nor Gil had risen. Worse, the rubble had hidden the Arbitrator. "This is bad. Gil and the Captain are both down, and I don't even have a sword to use."
Jack didn't have time to dwell on this deficiency, as Aphelion was making his way toward the would-be hero with his sword raised. Thankfully, he seemed to have decided that Jack was the first one he needed to eliminate. The dragon's dark blade flew toward him, and Jack scrambled out of the way. As he unceremoniously ducked and dove out of the way of Aphelion's sword, the former knight frantically looked for his own sword, and the promise of a counterattack or even a more reasonable defense. Instead, he was frustrated and unable to locate the Arbitrator. Abruptly, the dragon stopped attacking. Jack quickly surveyed the scene. The dome was in a sorry state, with broken floor tiles, columns, and stones from the ceiling intermixed with one another. None of his friends were in a position to fight, and he still couldn't find the Arbitrator. Finally, he realized that Aphelion was standing still in the middle of the dome.
"This game ends now," the dragon spoke sternly, pointing his outstretched arm at Jack.
When Aphelion's arm rose, Jack was lifted upward. The dragon beat his wings as well. The two combatants were suddenly levitating above the roof of the dome. Jack was unsure how, but he was standing on thin air. The wonderment he would have usually felt was forgotten as the silver dragon appeared ready to attack again. Aphelion was no longer standing, but had begun using his wings to hover. Jack now faced a more mobile opponent and had nowhere to run or any way to defend himself. The dragon raised his hand above his head, preparing another attack. A great ring of light was forming above Aphelion, and Jack watched uncertainly as it expanded outward. Just as the ring came directly overhead, the former knight dove forward. Lightning struck from the ring just as Jack got out of the way. Scrambling to his feet, he immediately had to launch himself into the air to avoid another magical bolt from the dragon. Aphelion was relentless, following this attack with sword strokes that kept Jack firmly on the defensive. Though he was hovering safely, Jack did not want to get away from the dome in case the dragon's magic should fail.
"Jack," looking down, Ridley was standing at the edge of the dome and waving frantically with her left hand.
When Jack saw that her right hand held a sword, he rushed to get close enough for her to throw the blade to him. Seeing Jack's intent, Aphelion prepared another magical bolt. Ridley threw the sword as Jack got close, and the swordsman dove forward to catch his weapon. It was only after his hand closed around the hilt that Jack realized he was not holding the Arbitrator. The sword Gil had called the Falvern was gripped tightly in his hands, but Jack couldn't believe that he was holding a legendary weapon. The blade was thin and dull, and he wasn't sure what to do with it. His first priority was still evading Aphelion's attacks. He had narrowly avoided the attack meant to prevent him from gaining the Falvern, and faced a continued assault of magical shots and sword strokes. Aphelion was much quicker with the use of his wings, and Jack had lost the advantage of speed he had enjoyed earlier.
Facing a sustained attack from the dragon, Jack continued to keep his distance. As a series of magical projectiles came at him, he tried to find an opening. He would have to test the Falvern at some point to see what it was capable of, but he didn't like the idea of relying on an unproven weapon. After avoiding another of the potent rings of lightning, Jack rushed toward Aphelion. He sidestepped a magical shot on his way to the dragon, and suddenly found himself with an opening. Jumping into the air, he raised the sword above his head to strike. The moment before he struck, the dragon folded his wings to shield himself from the attack. The blunt edge of the Falvern glanced off of the dragon's wing, and Aphelion struck with his wings as they opened. Jack was thrown backward and crashed to the ground hard. He sat up just in time to see a magical shot heading right toward him.
Vegeta26: How's it going everyone? This update is a little late, but I guess that's sort of par for the course now. Im happy to see the Radiata Stories section has some new life, and I hope that there are still some people who want to read this. I going to try to get the next update done a little quicker than this one, so stay tuned. Please feel free to review, I look forward to hearing from you.
MelMuff: Glad to see you're still around. It's been quite a trip, and theres still a little way to go yet.
Defender Paladin: Final fight of the game anyway, I'm still kicking around some ideas to continue this after the basic story is complete; we'll see.
Ridley-Russell: I took a little too long to update, I fear, but I'm still going. I'd like to continue after the game, but right now I'm just going to finish this and see how my schedule is.
The Flying Frog: Hope the fight is as good as you'd hoped. The Falvern has made an appearance, but it's going to be more prominent a little later.
kinetic-cataclysm: The story's not discontinued, I've just been really busy. Continuation is possible, but for now I'm going to focus on finishing this one in a reasonable time.
H-bomber: Glad you liked the characterization of Aphelion, he's kind of fun to write.
Yokai-Kitsune-Kyuubi: The death of Gawain is pretty much exactly how it occurs in the game; it is a little rushed, but Aphelion is looming and they don't really have time to dwell on it. The fading of Quasar and the death of Gawain aren't directly connected, but the comment on both of their fading at once just points out that they are both dying at the same time. Hope that clears things up a little.
Mysteris: Glad to hear that you like the characters and development. After the game story is finished, I'll take a look at continuing the story.
Gins: I'm happy that you enjoyed the story, and hope that you liked this chapter as well.
harvestkiller: Thanks for the kind words, I just sort of took the story and ran with it.
nanohaxfate: It took a little while, but I got the next chapter up. The next one should come a little quicker.
Komuro: Thanks for all the feedback. The armor Jack is wearing is the blue Alefstrain from Fort Helencia. The Book of Angels is used to recruit Leona; even though you can't use it on the non-human side, you can still find it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
theashleigh1994: It took a while, but the update is here. The continuation is something I've been thinking about for a while, so well see how much time I have after the regular story is finished.