Warnings; too many to mention, if any of this chapter offends people, than I apologise.
Disclaimer: I don't own, never will own it because I would not be able to handle the awesomeness of Final Fantasy 8.
A/N: Not much to say other than Enjoy!
Chapter six- part two: Ultimecia reborn.
Seifer looked between Squall and Ellone, watching as they stared intensely at each other. It was rather creepy to see, it was like one of those sappy love films where the two characters stared into each others eyes for a ridiculous amount of time before confessing their love for each other, except instead of love it would most likely undying hate for each other. Still, the situation was highly disturbing and the fact that Seifer even thought of a sappy film proved that he might've got head trauma from being smacked into the ground by Flare.
"So? Where is it, Squall?" Ellone purred, her eyes flashing wildly in glee at finally being able to restore herself to full power. Squall grimaced, his gaze flashing towards Seifer who still held Quistis in his arms. The blond seemed to realize this as well and none too gracefully dropped the woman before standing, he also wore a grim look on his face. Squall sighed internally and slowly raised Lionheart.
Ellone laughed, no, cackled like a maniac.
"Oh! How ironic that the blade that near killed me is made from my precious jewel," Ellone shook her head, flipping a stray lock of brown hair from her face. "When I take over this world, I must remember to pay Edea a visit-" Ellone was interrupted by a snarl and turned towards the blond ex-knight, a humourous smile on her face. She raised a hand to her mouth and giggled.
"Oh, did I hit a sore spot?" Before Squall could even think of telling Seifer not rise to the bait, the blond had picked Hyperion from the floor and charged only to be sent flying back from another Flare. Though instead of landing awkwardly onto rubble he was saved by a protect that Rinoa had quickly casted to save the blond from a broken back.
"Ultimecia, do you want it or not?" Squall hissed, not liking the fact that he was about to give up Lionheart to the crazy bitch. Somewhere in his mind though, something whispered that this was part of the plan and the insane Sorceress needed to take the blade for it to work. Ellone turned back to him and smiled warmly, looking almost sane... Almost. The slight disgusting twist of her lips told all that this woman was highly unstable. The Sorceress raised her hand and gently, lovingly took the hilt of Lionheart and brought the blade to her chest, hugging it like a child would hug it's favourite teddy bear. The wistful look covering face made Squall want to gag. He stepped away from the woman as Lionheart pulsed an eerie red and he gasped in pain when his Griever pendant began to sizzle once again. He tried to drop the necklace but it was like some invisible force had glued it to his hand.
Ellone cackled with manic glee as her powers returned; Ellone's body began to warp and change, once soft brown hair became glossy and black, falling to her lower back in soft, loose curls while little horns peeked from atop her head. The long white skirt and blue shirt darkened and morphed into a tight, curve hugging black dress that split up the front to mid thigh. Wings of midnight black sprouted from her back, though these were smaller than her other ones, only spanning half the size of her old ones. She became slightly taller and her features sharpened a little but she still looked young, almost near the same age as Quistis. When the transformation finished, she weilded Lionheart proudly in her hand, but even the blade had changed a little. It was slimmer than the original and instead of a pale blue blade, it was crimson, mimicking the colour of blood. She sighed in relief and flicked another lock of hair out of her face. Her now red eyes glittering with youth.
"Oh how good it is to be young again," She said as she took in her younger form. "Hmm?" She looked down at Squall who amidst the transformation, fallen to one knee, clutching his burning hand to his chest and the pendant glowed and pulsed with a dull white light. She stared into pained blue eyes with something akin to confusion. Ultimecia took a step closer, intrigued by what was happening but was caught by surprise when she found herself blinking at a growling border collie who was crouched in front of Squall protectively. She was about to flick the animal away when the sound of a gun cocking near her skull alerted her that the rest of the team was no longer unconscious.
"Don't even think about it, darlin'"Came the drawled warning from the cowboy and Ultimecia tilted her head in respect and took a step back, wanting to humour the heroes of Gaia for a little while. Where as before she would have simply casted multiple spells, she was now reverted to before she had become completely insane. Ah, the wonders of youth. Nevertheless, just because she had some sanity didn't mean she wasn't ready to kill them all without regret or mercy. Besides, she was curious as to what was going on with Squall.
Rinoa ran to Squall's side and gasped at the sheer heat coming from the necklace clutched in Squall's hand. She bravely casted Shell on her hands before grabbing the glowing item and pulling, though she let out a shriek when the heat intensified and scalded her hands. She pulled her burnt hands away and quickly casted Curaga, sniffing as she watched her blistering hands healed slowly. She looked back at Squall who besides being slowly cooked alive by the oppressive heat didn't have any sign of injury on him, and she decided that this whole thing was fishy. She could sense the magical energy rolling off of the Griever pendant and it vaguely reminded her of the magic used for summonings.
"Are you okay, Rin?" Said woman jumped and looked up at Seifer who was watching a frowning Ultimecia closely, she nodded and gazed back at Squall; the man's eyes were closed and a few beads of sweat littered his forehead and he looked almost pained but she knew that wasn't the case.
"Any idea what is happening?" Seifer asked as he helped Rinoa back on her feet. The Sorceress shook her head.
"No, I don't get it. It feels as if he's summoning something, but then again it feels as if something is trying to force itself from the ether world, though it's as if it's stuck and can't answer the call."
"So in other words, some GF is forcing Squall summon it, but it isn't getting through?" Seifer asked, frowning when Rinoa nodded her head. The moment was interrupted when Ultimecia let out a deafening shriek of anger and sent Zell, Irvine and Ward flying in different directions. The two jumped slightly, feeling stupid for forgetting that they had an homicidal Sorceress in the same room as them as Ultimecia growled, her hands clenching into fists as a sneer curled her top lip. Magic swirled round the room and everyone who were still on thier feet took an fearful step back, though Ultimecia only had eyes for Squall.
She took several steps forward, casting a barrier between Seifer and her as the blond charged forward to protect Squall from her. She took Squall by the collar and pulled him to his feet, hissing in his face.
"Traitor!"
"What the hell are you going on about? Get away from him!" Seifer ordered from behind the barrier, pressing against it to see if he could cause it to collapse. It didn't budge and Ultimecia just glanced at him boredly, lifting one hand to flick him away when a searing heat wrapped round her wrist and she let out a cry of pain as she met Squall's dark gaze.
"Don't even think about it." Squall said, his hand pressing the burning pendant harder against Ultimecia's skin. The heat intensified and everyone stood in shock as glowing orbs of magic swirled round their forms before shooting up into the ceiling, which turned black before warping out of existance, taking all floor above them with it. The opressive heat spread outwards, causing a haze to cloud the room. It was like being in the desert after escaping D-District all over again; it was hot, with little oxygen and you felt as if you were about to pass out.
There was a deafening roar and nearly everyone jaws dropped in awe and horror as Griver descended from the sky, landing in the room with a loud rumble. Griever growled as he eyed the large group of people before stopping at Ultimecia who looked insanely happy. She sighed wistfully and with a flick of her hand, sent Squall flying backwards into the wall.
"Griever! My GF." she cooed sweetly like a child who had just found it's favourite pet and Griever rumbled again, lowing its great muzzle to floor. Ultimecia's eyes softened as she stepped closer, stretching out her hand to pet the GF, however she flinched and stumbled back when Griever snapped for her hand with its jaws.
"How dare you harm my master!"Griever roared, stomping forward and causing the building to shake with its footsteps. For the first time Ultimecia looked truly lost as she stared up at the hulking GF.
"M-master? But I'm your Mistress!" She cried at Griever before something must have clicked in her mind because her gaze swung round towards Squall who was slowly beginning to stand, using the wall he was thrown into as a support. She snarled and flicked her fingers in an intrcate pattern but before she could finish, there was a deafening roar from Griever and a large paw swiped for the Sorceress, just catching the ends of her dress as she dodged the attack. Griever stood in front of Squall protectively, its face twisted in a viscous snarl as it glared at its former Mistress.
The last of Ultimecia's sanity snapped.
She laughed manically, shaking her head wildly in disbelief. Magic swirled round her form in furious pulses, the room continualy dropped in temperature before rising to unbearable level and repeating. Seifer growled as the barrier between him and Squall grew outwards, forcing him to step back or be forced back so he did the only thing he could do. He looked towards Griever.
"Griever! Break this damned Barrier so we can get to Squall!" The giant Lion looked down at him and for a moment Seifer feared the beast would crush him but Griever's gaze flicked to Squall who looked truly aweful and the GF made up its mind. Griever slammed its giant paw onto the barrier which was no match for the legendary GF and crumbled to pieces. Ultimecia barely noticed, far too lost within her own insanity realise the barrier was gone. Instantly there was a flurry of movement and magic. Besides Griever, Shiva appeared in her cold glory, frigid fury shining behind her pale blue eyes, and Carbuncle leapt from the ground, its ruby glowing brightly as casted protective shields around the whole party before mewing cutely and disappearing in a flourish. Rinoa, Seifer and Laguna were at Squall's side quickly, the Sorceress asting healing spell after healing spell while Laguna gently pursuaded Squall to drink X-Potions to help the healing along. Quistis was still unconscious but it seemed Zell had taken the time to find her and bring her closer to the group. Kiros, Ward, Selphie and Irvine stood next to the two summons, weapons at the ready.
Squall groaned in annoyance and pushed Laguna's hand away, feeling his stomach roll at the thought of another potion. "I don't need that. I'm fine. We need to figure out how to get Lionheart back and defeat Ultimecia for good."
"But Squall-"
"Squall's right, Laguna. There isn't any time, Ultimecia is either going to suffocate us with her magic or tear us limb by limb before doing the same to the world," Seifer said, his voice strangely soft as he stared at the paler than usual brunette."and we can't let that happen." Laguna stood up angrily and opened his mouth when Rinoa sighed wearily and leaned away from Squall.
"Seifer's right. This is war, Laguna. If Squall says he's alright, then he's fine." Laguna still looked conflicted, like any father should but nodded his head with a grimace and stepped back, allowing Seifer to haul Squall to his feet. Squall swayed for a moment before he centred himself and became Commander again, his stoic of all emotion as took in the situation. Ultimecia was flooding the room with magic powerful enough to warp the metal walls of Lunatic Pandora, if it wasn't for Carbuncle's shields then he was sure they would be flat on their backs.
He took a step forward, ready to help in the battle when a paw stopped his progress. Griever rumbled and spoke "It is not safe for you, master. Ultimeca is in her prime in this form."
Squall glared at the beast, he couldn't deny that Griever was right, he could feel the power the woman emitted and it frightened him slightly. When they had fought her in the future, Ultimecia had been older, and while knowledge came with age, her body had grown too weak for her powers hence why she relied on merging with Griever to survive.
"Why are you helping me? Ultimecia was the one you bonded with, junctioned with. Why have you junctioned yourself to me?" It was a little confusing as to why the legendary GF had sealed itself in his pendant. Griever was silent for a moment before lowering his muzzle closer to Squall to give the brunette a little affectionate nudge that nearly caused Squall to fall over if he hadn't planted his feet firmly on the floor.
"Every GF has a choice whether to stay bonded to a person or not. I had grown tired of her thoughts of revenge and hatred towards SeeD. When you landed the near fatal blow with Lionheart, her magic on me faltered and so I found a new host to be bonded to. I sealed myself within your necklace, but I could not summon myself until now because that blasted woman was calling me also and until I could destroy her seal completely I could not come to you." Squall blinked, and then blinked again as his mind digested the information. He carefully raised a hand and patted Griever who purred.
"Oh...Well. Thanks, I suppose. How did I get Lionheart?" Griever stood up to full height and oddly looked sheepish.
"As we fell into the time compression, my power fluctated in unstability being that close to the ether world, so I had no choice but seal part of myself in another object and Lionheart was the nearest object. As that foul human came to kill you, I simply summoned that part of myself to me."
"And Lionheart came with. For a GF you're oddly cunning." Griever rumbled under the praise and turned back towards Ultimecia who had began to warp herself into something else entirely. She no longer looked human; her body had elongated, her horns had grown curled until they touched the floor, her wings had grown and two smaller pairs had spouted from her back. As her body had warped, her dress had simply shredded and her body was covered in a fine sheen of feathers, on what skin was flesh black marking trailed up her body like vines. Her eyes glowed brightly with hate as she simply hovered over the ground.
Everyone stared in horror at her form and before they could blink their shields came under attack from magic spells. Meltdowns and Ultima's were thrown and the two strongest magic users had little chance to strengthen the shields before the next wave happened. Shiva hissed in anger and retaliated, sending Blizzaga after Blizzaga at the Sorceress who barely flinched from the frightful cold. Griever had chosen defense and wrapped its tail around Squall. Seifer ordered Zell to keep Quistis out of harms way while he and everyone else charged for Ultimecia, barely getting any closer before having to stop from the spells.
Squall struggled to free himself from Grievers tail before an idea struck him.
"Griever, summon Lionheart," At Griever dubious look, Squall sighed."They can't get any closer to Ultimecia, not while she's going spell happy. So bring her to us, her grip On Lionheart is tight enough." This seemed to convince the GF and Griever concentrated, the same oppressive heat filled the room before there was a flash of light and Ultimecia was suddenly amongst them. She blinked in surprise before suddenly throwing more spells at them.
The momentary shock was enough and while Griever swept its tail towards Ultimecia to push her away from Squall, the brunette grabbed the hilt of Lionheart and yanked. The blade came free of Ultimecia's grip as the woman was too distracted and too busy to notice. Once Lionheart was back in Squall's hands, the blade changed once again and glowed pale blue.
"Seifer! No!" Squall's gaze instantly shot up towards the battle at Rinoa's shout and he was suddenly struck with deja vu. Magic swirled round Ultimecia and gathered at her finger tips and she raised her arm to the sky. Spears made of unatural black ice formed and there was a smirk on her face.
"Goodbye Almasy."In a flash her arm dropped and the spears hurtled towards the blond who had stopped in his attack and raised Hyperion to defend himself. There was a sickening crunch and the room fell silent. Squall's eyes widened and his heart stopped.
"No!"
A/N: I'm so evil XD So what will happen now? This chapter turned out differently than I planned, so I hope it's okay. Tell me what you think and Review!