Chapter 19: Broken

Raine leaned over the edge of the boat and hurled. "These waves are really unusual," Regal said, having been sailing over a lot of the world over the years.

"Yeah, and the weather looks really bad," commented Lloyd.

"Just hang on a little longer, we'll be there soon," Genis said to his sister as her face once again turned green.

The heroes were swiftly approaching the Otherworldly Gate, the location of the entrance to the Ginnungagap. They were forced to use a boat when their method of flight was destroyed by Xylek before he and Setsuna went ahead alone. The sky was black with clouds, and it had begun to rain. A large flash of lightning startled everyone, as it illuminated the island ahead of them.

"There it is! We've made it!" shouted Emil.

Everyone shivered, as a chilling breeze blew through the air. The rain turned to snow and ice, and nobody had prepared for such weather.

"W-w-w-what's g-g-going on?" Marta said through chattering teeth. Emil grabbed her and held her close for warmth. Everyone grouped together, and Genis created a small fireball to attempt to warm everyone up. The wind was getting stronger, too.

"It must be Xylek's power clashing with Xegros' power," said Raine.

"How so, Professor?" Colette asked.

"Well, when cold air meets warm air, it can cause large storms. If Xylek's power of ice clashed with Xegros' fire, it would be very similar."

"Yes, but why hasn't this happened before?" Sheena asked, warming her hands near the fire that floated in midair.

"That's because they were both keeping restraint on their power," Kratos answered nonchalantly. Everyone looked at him, surprised.

"Didn't we tell you that they had to hold back or risk destroying entire areas?" Yuan asked, trying to remember if he had mentioned it.

"I think we shouldn't worry about that at the moment. There are more pressing issues that have developed."

Everyone looked up to see what Presea had been talking about, and they noticed the rather large tornado beginning to descend from the clouds overhead.

"That's bad," Stacie said, running to alert the boat's driver.

"I'll handle this," Sheena said resolutely. "I summon thee, Sylph!"

The three summon spirits of air materialized before everyone.

"Oh, hi everyone!" one of them said, but the other two immediately noticed the large cyclone.

"This is bad. Where are Celsius and Efreet? This is the result of their power out of control. We can handle this, but why aren't those two doing their jobs? We'll have to talk to Origin about them slacking off."

The spirits held up their hands, and a second tornado formed, except this one glowed with magic. It pulled in the clouds around the island, clearing the skies, and then it vanished. Everyone was impressed by how easily the massive storm had been handled.

"Wait a second, it's not Efreet's or Celsius's fault!" Lloyd yelled at the Sylph.

"Can someone explain why, then?"

Sheena told them the story.

"Stolen? Impossible! Summon Spirits are the embodiment of their element! Without it, they wouldn't exist!"

"So are you saying that you are all only the embodiment of wind, and without that, you'd be nothing? I'd say, amongst the summon spirits, you three have the most distinct personalities," Lloyd said, making the Sylph stop and think.

"Well, we've always had this power. It's unheard of for a summon spirit to have their power stolen. We must inform Origin of this at once. Call on us again if you need our help!"

The spirits vanished, and everyone was glad that the skies were now clear.

"Come on, we need to get there faster! I don't think Raine can handle much more of this," Genis said, as his sister had run to the side of the ship again.

"When we get to the island, I'll go check on the seal. Everyone else can do as they please," Richter said.

"We'll help, too," Emil and Marta said. "Just in case."

Richter nodded.

Everyone flinched when a giant wave of heat hit them in the face, coming from the island.

"What in the-"

A giant column of flame erupted from the center of the island, and it expanded outwards, consuming the entirety of the small piece of land.

"Oh no!" Colette said, seeing that there was no way that anything on the island could have avoided it.

"Wait a second," Kratos said, and everyone was shocked when the flames seemed to be cut in half by a large beam of light.

"I wonder if we should just wait here…" Genis said, scared of the amount of power he was seeing.

"We must help our friends," Presea said.

"I agree. Everyone get ready! We're going to help Xylek and Setsuna stop Xegros!" Lloyd yelled. Everyone nodded in agreement.

…

The giant flames were blasted away by the beam of light, and Xylek and Setsuna stood, mostly unharmed, opposing Xegros. Xegros was no longer the person he once was. The demons had not only warped his mind, but his body too. He was now a monstrosity of a man, standing well over 3 meters tall. His armor now had various jagged spikes protruding from it in various places, and his sword was now a massive slab of sharpened metal, covered in red runes.

"Heh, I'm surprised you two have lasted this long," Xegros said in a deep, distorted voice.

"If you're surprised by that, then that means you're underestimating us," Xylek retorted.

"I don't think so."

Xegros swung his sword, and a giant wave of flame burst forth. Xylek charged forward, Setsuna directly behind, and he held up his hand. A blast of ice created an opening in the fire. Xylek clashed directly with Xegros' blade, and Setsuna leapt over him, aiming at Xegros' head. Unfortunately, her sword glanced off of his helm, and with a roar, he sent both her and Xylek flying backwards.

"This is ridiculous," Setsuna said. "How are we going to be able to beat him if we can't even break his armor?"

Xegros began walking forward, scorching the earth beneath his feet.

"Hold on, I have an idea. It's going to get a lot colder, though."

"I can handle it."

The runes on Xylek's armor glowed, and the air suddenly lost all of its heat. Ice formed on the ground, and Xegros' armor, even.

"Now, go!"

Setsuna charged, with Xylek focusing his power on Xegros. The flaming warrior attempted to move to block the incoming attack, but he was unable to do so.

"Come now, you're immobilized by just this much ice? Where's all that fire you've been throwing around?"

"Ha, it's right here." Xegros' armor pulsed.

"Too slow," Setsuna said as she slashed at his arm. The armor, brittle from being so cold, shattered from the force of the blow, and her sword passed through, severing his sword arm just above the elbow. Xegros roared in pain as his limb fell to the ground. The flames from his spell erupted, throwing Setsuna back, but Xylek caught her before she hit the ground.

"That worked well," Xylek said, setting her down and staring as his former friend grabbed at his arm where it was bleeding profusely.

"Let's put him out of his misery," Setsuna said, and she cracked her neck.

"That's not very feminine."

"Shut up."

"Yes, dear."

Xegros had stopped roaring in pain, and he had begun laughing.

"Okay, the joke's over," he said as he held his severed arm.

He placed it where it had been, and the armor itself seemed to mend together as the arm re-attached itself. He flexed his elbow, and then picked his sword up from the ground.

"That's… slightly problematic," Xylek said, taking a step back.

"Your observation is slightly less than helpful," replied Setsuna.

"This is going to take a while…" Xylek sighed.

"How about if we help?" Lloyd asked, as he and the rest of the group arrived.

"You! Why are you here?" Xylek shouted in surprise.

"You broke my rheairds," Yuan said. "I expect full compensation, you know."

"Did you really think that would be enough to keep us from coming here to help?" Genis asked.

"You are aware that because of your little trick, I had to ride in a boat, right?" Raine said, a vein pulsing on her forehead.

It seemed that everyone was rather irritated, and Xylek wasn't sure who was scarier, them or Xegros.

"See? I told you they'd come anyways. Whether you like it or not, it seems that they're officially friends," Setsuna said.

"Aww, how touching," Xegros said, rubbing his hands together. "Thank you for coming. It'll make it that much easier to eliminate you all, now."

Everyone was shocked at the sight of Xegros, and the severity of his mutation.

"What the hell is that?" Sheena asked, startled.

"It seems that he's been warped by the demons even more than before, both in body and mind," Kratos observed, drawing his blade.

"Richter, Emil, Marta, be ready to go," Lloyd said. The other three nodded. There was a foul energy coming from the entrance to the Ginnungagap which floated above their heads.

"Alright everyone, let's go!"

"I have a place you can go," Xegros said, and the ground underneath them glowed red. Xylek leapt through the air, slamming his fist into the ground where it was glowing. The glow dispersed to the edge of the island, and a blast of flame erupted from the edges.

"Aww, you ruined it," Xegros said, hefting his blade at the heroes.

"So?" Setsuna said from right next to his head, and he flinched when he knew he couldn't react in time to stop the oncoming attack.

"Ray!"

A giant sphere of light appeared, and it blasted Xegros with a barrage of beams. He was sent flying, and Emil, Marta, and Richter used that opportunity to enter the Ginnungagap. "I'll go with them. That aura of energy worries me," Yuan added as he followed the three.

Xegros stood, brushing himself off. He spat on the ground, and the spit had traces of blood in it.

"That hurt," he said, and he took an aggressive stance, about to charge.

"That was the point," retorted Lloyd as he and everyone else also took readied stances.

"Watch out for his flames. He's a bit more adept at using them, and they're hard to dodge," Xylek added.

Both sides rushed each other. Regal leapt into the air, so Xegros attempted to single him out. He began to swing his sword, but downward strikes from both Stacie and Presea aimed at his blade made him miss. Regal descended with a mighty kick, but it wasn't enough to even stagger the warrior, even as the blow landed squarely in his chest.

"That tickled," he said, swinging his other hand, forcing them back. Xegros' smirk faded when he noticed that there was the appearance of angel feathers in the air. Beams of light rained down as Colette cast Judgment. Several of them crashed into Xegros, knocking him off balance. Zelos leapt into the air, and after landing squarely on Xegros' head, he attempted to stab him in the eye. Xegros batted him away with his hand, but he noticed a large amount of spell tags now attached to his hand. They all promptly detonated.

"Nice, Sheena," Zelos complemented the ninja who had taken advantage of the distraction.

"Don't stop the attack," Kratos said, working his way under Xegros' blade and slashing at his legs. Lloyd flew the air with a Tempest attack, and he slashed the side of Xegros' face as he made contact. Both jumped back as Genis' and Raine's Prism Stars spell assaulted the flame warrior, sending him flying. As he landed, he looked straight up. Setsuna was above him, and she pointed her hand downward. A giant beam of light fired from her hand, slamming Xegros in the chest, driving him into the ground.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled, and there was a massive shockwave of flame that sent everyone flying backwards. "I've had enough of you annoying insects trying to stop me. As your friends in the Ginnungagap will soon find out, the seal is already open, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"You didn't look very well at the seal, then. And anyways, being open won't end the world as we know it. Especially if you opened it wrong," Xylek said with a grin. "I wonder how much longer you'll last, though. You're getting weaker. And, if you are supposedly powerful enough to be able to maintain control of Niflheim's citizens, then if we eliminate you, what would be able to stop us?"

Xegros glared as the heroes gathered together again.

"Shall we have another go, then?" Kratos said, grinning a little himself. This was a truly exciting battle, and he was beginning to enjoy it.

"Let's finish him this time," Lloyd said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Who will finish who?" Xegros said, raising his hand. Mana began to spiral around, forming a sphere of black flames in his palm. The air became distorted from the heat, and everyone stepped back from the massive amount of power he was gathering for his spell.

"Ha, nice trick, but you're still an amateur," Xylek said, also taking a similar stance. A large sphere of ice energy began forming in his own hand.

"Alright, Xylek will give us an opening, and we'll need to take it," Setsuna said, her blade beginning to glow with light.

Both swordsmen fired their magic at the others, and when the beams collided, the entire island shook.

"GO!" Xylek yelled, his sword beginning to glow. Everyone else charged forward, avoiding the clashing beams of magic. Xegros began to swing his sword, but he was smashed in the face by a giant chunk of ice. Xylek was forming massive blocks of ice in the air and dropping them with his free hand, but it was all Xegros could do to prevent the beam of ice from overpowering his own black flames.

Presea leapt through the air with a flip, building momentum, and her axe slammed downwards on Xegros' extended arm, breaking through the armor and partially cutting into his arm. He yelled out in pain, but the pain was intensified as Stacie descended, kicking the back of the axe head, forcing it all the way through. The beams of frost and fire vanished as Xegros' arm fell to the ground, yet again. Xylek continued dropping chunks of ice on their adversary, though.

"That won't be enough!" Setsuna yelled, running under Xegros and stabbing him behind the knee, forcing him to the ground. Everyone was now very close to Xegros, looking for the best place to make their attacks. Kratos stabbed him just under one of his ribs, while Regal kicked him squarely on top of the head, dazing him. Sheena started to attack his face, but she noticed something. He wasn't gritting his teeth with pain; he was smiling.

"Everyone, get back!" she yelled, but Lloyd ignored the warning and leapt into the air, attempting to deliver what he had hoped would be a finishing blow. There was a massive blast of heat and flames, and everyone was knocked back. Lloyd had leapt over it, though, and descended with his most powerful technique. "Divine Justice!"

Xegros raised his massive blade and easily blocked the blow, his other arm re-attaching itself. Lloyd was open to any attack Xegros could think of.

"Damn it!" Setsuna said, leaping into the air and kicking Lloyd in the chest, sending him flying back, away from Xegros. Xegros, on the other hand, grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground. He raised his massive sword into the air, and had a twisted, demented grin on his face. She stood, but Xegros swung his blade, looking to cut her in half at the waist. Her shoulder was dislocated, and she wasn't going to be able to block the blow.

"Setsuna!" Lloyd yelled, knowing she had saved his life.

Xylek was somehow between Setsuna and Xegros' blade. He used all of his strength to block the slash, but Xegros had also swung with everything he had. As their swords met, there was a massive cracking sound as Xylek's blade shattered in his hand, and Xegros' swing continued, striking him in the chest, sending him and Setsuna flying.

Everyone was silent with shock. The fragments of Xylek's sword flew in all directions, as did fragments of his armor, which had broken like his sword. He and Setsuna landed with a dull "thud," and Xegros seemed overcome with maniacal laughter.

…

Setsuna was dazed, and she opened her eyes, wondering what was on top of her. She saw the back of Xylek's head, his helm having flown off when they had landed. He wasn't making any effort to move. She looked down at her hand, and saw blood. She knew she wasn't bleeding, so the shock hit her instantly.

She had lost her focus from being slammed into the ground, so she hadn't quite realized what had happened yet. She quickly moved out from under Xylek, and relocated her shoulder. She looked over her husband, and her hand covered her mouth when she saw the massive wound in his chest. His armor had a huge rend in it, and he was bleeding profusely.

She immediately grabbed his face, trying to get him to react. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What the hell did you do?" she said, looking at him with a mix of fear and frustration.

"Hehe, I just did my job… as your bodyguard."

"Give me a second, I'll use healing magic," she said, trying to remember the chant for her best healing spells. The words escaped her as a mentality of panic had begun to set in. She smacked her own face to calm herself down, and she quickly began channeling the magic into his chest injury.

"Is- is it helping?" she asked, wanting desperately to know he'd be okay.

Xylek winced as he answered. "Y-yeah. Feeling better already."

The gem which hung around his neck glowed red. Setsuna saw, and knew he was lying.

"Why isn't it working? Dammit, why isn't it working!" she yelled, and her healing magic surged from her hands. Xylek's injury showed no sign of healing, but the bleeding had become slower.

"See, look. It's not bleeding quite as badly…" he tried to say, but his voice was weak. She put her hand to his chest, and could barely feel a heartbeat. She looked at the ground, and saw the massive pool of blood that had formed. That was a lethal amount of blood loss, and she knew it. She grabbed his face in her hands, and looked at him.

"You have to keep your promise. I said you could protect me, so long as you came back. You- you are NOT allowed to break that promise, you hear me? Don't you dare leave me here alone. Xylek!"

He coughed weakly, and tried to grin. "You failed to mention how long… I would have before having to come back… or where I should return to… We never did find a house, by the way…"

She smiled weakly at his attempt at a joke.

"You're not very funny," she said, referring to the situation.

"That hurts my feelings," he said, still trying to get Setsuna to lose the look she had on her face. He didn't see her in pain. He tried to lift his hand to her face, but couldn't find the strength to move his arm.

"Damn… can't even wipe away your tears… Tell you what… I'll meet you in…" his voice faded, and his eyes slowly closed. The color drained from Setsuna's face, tears streaming down her cheeks, and the only sounds on the small island were the crashing of waves and Xegros' uncontrolled laughter.

Xylek: …

Tiger: …