Final Fantasy VI: The Sands of Time
Book 2: The Goddess War
Chapter 11 - Red Tide
11.12 - The Light of the Goddess
He stood on the parapets of Zwill, brooding. The storm was coming, and everything that could be done had been done, to perfection. The only uncertainty was himself. The Esper. The secret weapon. Would he save them all, or be the cause of all their deaths, or worse?
You are unbalanced.
The words echoed in Maduin's head still. He hadn't slept since waking from his destructive outburst, and yet he couldn't sleep even if he tried. The recurring nightmares and the two-faced Cassandra-thing that now haunted his dreams seemed to rise before him even while awake in his exhaustion, and he wondered just what that false (or was it?) Cassandra wanted. Was it that mysterious entity that had spoken about seeking the Triad? Would it be watching this battle with glee or scorn? There was no answer, here, on the eve of battle.
"Focus, Maduin. The storm is getting worse."
Servais. He stood on the walls alongside Maduin, his massive double-barreled gun out and pointed straight south at something Maduin could only assume was there. His Esper eyes told him something magical was approaching, but his physical sight gave him no clues as to exactly what it was he would soon be contending with. It was just a hazy golden aura growing larger with each minute.
"Sorry. I let my mind wander."
A tap of the right ear reminded Maduin of their unusual preparations for this unusual battle. Servais could not hear him. Ole Bull's plan was simple enough, yet ingenious. Lilith's greatest weapon was her voice, capable of drawing men away from their homes to the Zozo mountains, never to be seen again. Stop the voice and you stop the weapon.
Maduin rolled the fatty substance in his fingers, poking it with a sharp claw. It bobbed suspiciously. Wax, extracted from a strange slime-like creature called a Mousse, after the dessert it resembled, at least in appearance. It seemed to jiggle as if alive when he touched it, and he wondered if it actually wasn't still alive, trying to reform itself into a new, miniature Mousse. A disturbing thought for something he was about to place in his ears.
"Disgusting-looking, but effective." Servais said, observing Maduin's curiosity. "I can't hear a thing, and the taste isn't too bad, either. Not as good as the honey Greffuhle makes from it, but better than my cooking, at least, heh."
Maduin smiled half-heartedly as he watched the man chew the wax like gum. He liked this man, this Stradivari, this killer, despite his best efforts. But there was no forgetting who he was, and who his friends were. He must not forget. They had already shown how easily they could trick him into trusting them too freely, and if it was so easy for them, how easy would it be for Lilith and her magical voice?
"It's time." Servais put his cheek against the silver gun, his eyes narrowed to slits. "Put the wax in your ears too. We don't know if her voice will work on you, but it would be very bad if we guessed wrong. One Esper is more than enough of a target."
Maduin knew it, and shoved the wax in his ears. The sudden silence was total and surprising. Servais was right, the stuff was effective. He still wasn't sure what to expect, even as he strained to look at what Servais saw. Just a hazy glow still, but it was getting larger, and brighter. And now there were many smaller dots appearing in a long line beside the main one. These were not magical, but real, electric lights, bobbing at the ends of helmets. He had never seen electricity outside of Narsille, but if Indy was now under the Goddess's powers, it was no surprise his vast technological mind was being used for her purposes now.
"Blast it, she's got an army, too." Servais said to no one, knowing he wouldn't be heard. The marksman's finger tightened on his trigger, and a soft wark warbled behind him where Sable waited anxiously. If all went according to plan, the massive black bird would stay there out of harm's way, but already things were not going according to plan.
Now Maduin sensed something more from the growing army of light. He could not hear it, but there was no mistaking the powerful magical energy flowing out from the lead light. Soft, golden fingers vibrated over the open plain, a plain that would soon be awash in red blood, but for that moment, it was hypnotic in its beauty. Like a rippling rainbow stretching out, Maduin watched the million rays of golden light play across the dips and crests of the rocky plain, calling out to him to join them in their frolicking.
Maduin could feel the playful tingling on his mind...but nothing more. The sight was a fascinating one - sound made visible by magic. He wondered if only his Esper eyes could see this tapestry of light covering everything. The golden waves lazily washed over Zwill, and Sable squawked behind them, his ears unplugged. But nobody moved, nobody was seduced, for now.
As Servais had expected, animals were not affected by the song. Good, then that part of the plan was still intact. The chocobo didn't like it, it seemed, but at least he was not leaping the walls to join the Demon Wives of Astarte. Maduin had to wonder what Servais would have done had Sable shown signs of being influenced. Would he have turned the gun on his own friend and companion? Something inside him told him yes, yes the man would, without hesitation.
Servais's lips moved in a curse as he watched five men stumble out of the front gates. Gates there were supposed to be closed tight. It appeared a few foolish men had refused to put the wax in their ears, and were now marching helplessly towards their doom. But Servais would not allow the ranks of the enemy to be swelled any more than they already were.
Three seconds, Four shots, and five dead men later, Servais's gun was back in position, aiming for the now much more visible southern horde. The man said something, but Maduin could not hear anything. He hadn't even heard the rapid, expert shots from the gun. Just four flashes of cruel light, and five bodies on the ground far below them, only a dozen paces from the front gate, which was even now being rolled back up. That was the Stradivari way, all right. Do what needs done. Maduin stomach lurched at the thought of the first victims of the battle being men killed by their own comrade.
Esper, come to me.
Maduin jumped up at the voice, mistaking it for an audible one. Servais glanced at him uncertainly, mouthing "What?"
My partner's voice has no effect on you it seems, but surely you can hear mine? Esper to Esper, no? We are destined to fight here, today, you and I. Let the humans roll in the dust and dark like the earthbound vermin they are, but we will revel in glorious light!
The leading light erupted into a blinding flash that lit up the entire region, and for a moment Maduin saw everything, and knew who's voice it was that had intruded on his thoughts.
Yes, come to me, my brother.
The light did not fade, but pulsed continuously like a burning sun from the central core, where it stood, brazen and beautiful. Less than a mile away from Maduin the massive frame of a demon horse stood and heaved with barely contained excitement. There was no doubt this burly, armored horse, taller than Maduin by a head and as sturdily built as a small tank, was the much awaited Esper. The blinding light emanated from its wicked horn, curved and bent like a three-foot lightning bolt rising out of its forehead. Its eyes were pinpoints of white light, shining like beacons straight into Maduin's. And in those eyes was a berserk frenzy to kill Maduin had only seen in one other pair of eyes - the Lady Blunt.
Atop the Esper rode a small woman, hardly more than a wisp of a girl. Her long, flowing hair was as golden as the light that flowed across the plains, covering her milky white skin only barely. The girl's bare arms were outstretched and her head raised like a pagan queen, gracefully disdainful of anything around her but the song she sang. The tangible musical energy flowed from her in separate waves, intertwining with the waves of light gushing from the horse, and finally combining to form complicated patterns of energy and sound for miles around. Maduin was almost tempted to unplug his ears so he could hear the surely divine music that must accompany this display of power.
A sharp rap on the head from the blunt end of Servais's gun snapped Maduin back to reality. The man's eyes were worried, but only for a second. As soon as Maduin's vision unfogged, Servais was back to his kill stance, ready to fire.
There was no doubt it was an intoxicating and intimidating sight, the glorious Esper steed and its entrancing master. But who really was master and who follower in this magical force? Maduin could not tell, the magical energy from the pair was so blinding. There was no doubt the horse was an Esper, and a powerful one at that. But the woman? She looked perfectly human from this distance, but that meant nothing where magic was concerned.
The girl is nothing, Esper. Your battle is with me. I am the warhorse of the Goddess Astarte, the mighty Ixion!
Maduin shook his head, trying to remove the horse's voice from his mind, but it was no use. The creature, like its companion, was well-versed in mental warfare. He could not control Maduin's mind, but he could read it well enough, and that was just as bad.
A gout of lightning arced down from the sky and struck the pair at the pronouncement of the Esper's name, lighting them up like a blazing torch. The horse let out a war cry, shook its metallic, dagger-like mane, and charged, nostrils sparking with electrical fury. The girl remained seated and effortlessly continued her song, unharmed by the bolt or the rampaging Esper beneath her.
Maduin did not rise to the challenge, not yet. Servais had one hand extended to still him, and one hand on a quickly tightening trigger. His eyes were trained on the oncoming Esper, the twin-muzzle of the gun aimed squarely at the beast's head. Or so Maduin hopelessly thought.
This won't work. No Esper can be taken down in one shot from a simple firearm. If his hide is half as hard as mine, Servais is wasting bullets.
When the gun fired, Ixion and Lilith were still half a mile distant, but that was no problem for the sniper's sight of Servais. The flash of the gun briefly tried to match the blazing light from Ixion's horn, and then to Maduin's amazement he felt a release of magical energy as the woman shuddered and lowered her arms.
Of course! Servais had been aiming for the woman, not the horse. The heavily armored Esper could deflect bullets like a real horse with flies, but the girl, she was completely naked, without any protection at all. A heartless shot to take against something so beautiful, Maduin thought briefly, before he once again tried to remember this all-too-alluring target was the enemy, plain and simple.
A swift forward thrust of Servais free hand told Maduin what the next move was. Wasting no time to see the effects of Servais's shot, Maduin leaped over the barricade and swooped down to earth to meet his hopefully staggered foe.
Whatever the condition of the girl, the horse had not reduced its speed at all. Maduin could see her still sitting atop the horse, ridiculously out of proportion in comparison to a normal rider and horse, but still there, still alive. He wondered how much that would matter when the two Esper giants collided.
For there was no doubt at this close a range, the girl was not an Esper. If the lack of an Esper's tell-tale aura was not enough, the trickle of red blood rudely clashing with her immaculate skin screamed the sad truth loud and clear. This was just a human girl that was now grimacing in anger and pain, clutching her wounded shoulder. Had Sevais missed, or had the startling form of the young girl stayed his killing blow?
Maduin did not have time to wonder about Servais or feel sorry for this girl, yet another human dragged into the affairs of gods and Espers. Just as his bulk rammed into the hard, metal surface of Ixion, he saw an ugly grin scar the girl's face and a lightning bolt of her own erupt from her blood-stained fingers. Globules of red flickered in the light of her bolt and then sizzled to smoke as they were caught. The bolt rose over Maduin's position and homed in on its real target - Servais.
There was nothing to be done. The speed of the bolt was the unstoppable, and Maduin could only watch in horror as the magical energy lit Servais up and sent him flying backwards out of Maduin's sight. Immediately afterwards everything blurred as the chaos erupted on all sides and the battle began in earnest. Soldiers poured out from behind Ixion, and a matching set of soldiers poured out of the gates of Zwill, with archers and gunners appearing along the walls above to follow Servais's lead.
Maduin thought he saw a black blob rise up from the parapets and carry something still shuddering with static energy back into the town out of the corner of his eye, though. He hoped that was what he had seen, hoped with more emotion than he would have suspected. There could be no denying it now, Servais was his friend and ally, whether he liked it or not. The feeling of fear and anger at the man's possible death proved their relation more than words or actions could.
But Maduin had no time to reflect on anything more than the immense fury of Ixion before him. The crazed horse seemed ecstatic to finally be in the fray, head to head with his rival.
Now we see who is the true warrior, here! I will defeat you, Herald, and prove my worth to my Goddess!
The mental connection went both ways, and as Maduin grappled with the horse trying to bring him down to his knees, he could feel the disproportionate passion flooding from this Esper's mind whenever it spoke. The two had never met, and yet the hate, the inferiority this being felt towards Maduin was overflowing. To Ixion, Maduin was the ultimate foe, the greatest target any true warrior could aspire to defeat. This madness gave the Esper a will to fight far greater than the cowardly Cerberus. What had the Goddess told this poor soul? How had she convinced him to become an Esper for her? Again, Maduin was forced to wonder what kind of man he had been before being transformed.
Do not pity me! I am the chosen of the Goddess, and I will defeat you here and return home a hero. I was nothing as a human, and the Goddess gave me everything. You scorned your master, and I will show you the error of that decision, ingrate!
Ixion's thoughts raged against him with as much power as his body. The smaller horse was not as difficult to take head on as the ridiculously over-sized Cerberus had been, but he was wild with the desire to fight, and Maduin found it impossible to get a solid grip on him. It was like trying to grab lightning itself, the way the horse bucked and tried to impale Maduin with the sharp protrusions that covered his armor-like hide.
The girl was still there, trying to pelt him with her lightning, but to Maduin's surprise and relief, it was relatively weak magic. The magic of a mortal source, nothing more. Strong enough to lay a man on the ground, but not strong enough to kill in one blow, and certainly not strong enough to stop an Esper. Once again Maduin's thoughts wandered to Servais, and he felt more confident that he had survived.
Maduin was beginning to feel like he might have a chance to end this struggle on brute strength alone, as he continually managed to stop the horse's attacks while ignoring the girl's. He felt invigorated and more powerful that he had ever felt while fighting Cerberus. Somehow, he must have gotten stronger since his last battle. If he finished this battle quickly, he might be able to join the massive knot of fighters roaring just outside the periphery of his battle with Ixion. The two human armies had clashed and were busy hacking each other to pieces, but giving the two giants a wide berth.
How do you like the power of a Herald? I can sense you tiring, and if you fall back, I won't have to kill you. I do not want to harm another Esper if I can help it.
Maduin sent this taunting thought against his opponent, feeling giddy with the growing confidence in his own strength. The answering thought was brutal, wordless, and perfectly clear - there would be no surrender, no retreat. Everything in Ixion's mind screamed that this would be a battle to the death.
Maduin was about to answer with one more entreaty, but was struck dumb by a blinding flash of freezing cold light. He never knew where the light had come from, girl or horse, but the effect was disastrous. There was no sound, nothing to see, and his sense of touch was numbed by the piercing cold light. He was completely blind, deaf, and paralyzed.
How does it feel, you false Herald? This is a gift from the Goddess - blessed oblivion. You will feel nothing, see nothing, and hear nothing while I rip you limb from limb, and take your magicite corpse home as a prize for my Goddess!
The hard, hateful voice of Ixion was the only thing in Maduin's world as the battle suddenly disappeared from around him. This trickery was nothing like the blunt, thoughtless attacks of Cerberus. There was cunning and hate here. Cerberus had been a brute, and died a brute's death. Ixion had obviously been trained better by its Master in the magical powers it could be capable of. If Maduin survived this, there would be no lucky death stroke like with Cerberus. No, this would truly be a battle to the death, and right now, Maduin's death seemed much closer than a few moments ago.
Maduin had no idea if he was even dead or alive as he floated in a shell of empty senses. There was no voice of Ixion now, and no other voices either. Where was the Cassandra-thing? Shouldn't he be able to roam the Nexus if he was unconscious? Or...dead? He had no idea, and dreaded finding out what it would be like to be a piece of rock like Titan for all eternity.
I must focus. I can break free if I use my full power. I must concentrate. I must use this...Chaos Wave, as Ole Bull calls it. But how does one control chaos?
No answer. In this absence of sensation, he could not build up the raw, mindless fury required to lose himself in his own power. Perhaps that was good thing. How many innocent soldiers around him would fall if he managed to unleash his attack? Would it even work against the heavily armored Ixion?
Nothing. I have nothing. I'm helpless here, and I don't even know if I'm dead or alive. Looks like this is the end. I've at least weakened the Esper. Maybe that was enough. Maybe Ole Bull can manage the rest without me. I'm sorry, everyone...
As Maduin slowly slipped into true unconsciousness, he felt he heard the laughing neigh of Ixion, triumphing over his much sought after victory. Then a bright flash of thunderous magical light filled his entire body, and he felt nothing but excruciating pain beyond anything he had ever felt before. The cruel, cold light of the Goddess filled every inch of his being, and he knew no more.