Book II, Part I: Outbreak - Vector's Gambit
Chapter XVI - Defiers of Fate, Part I
[July 13, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Third Floor, Briefing Room | 4:30 PM]
Ben had never been inside the briefing rooms on the third floor of Garden. They were reserved for briefings regarding missions of utmost importance and secrecy, and as such were some of the most secured and well-protected rooms in all of Garden. He had also never seen so many of Garden's top brass in one room before, but such was to be expected from a briefing to deal with a world-ending threat.
That Katanas had invited him into the briefing had been a surprise at first, but he realized that his knowledge of Sin was likely invaluable in a situation like this, both from his time in Spira and his failed encounter with the beast here in Gaia. The conference room table he was seated at was large, stretching to reach both ends of the room and holding over two dozen seats, only a few of which were filled. He looked around the room again, taking note of everyone present. To Ben's right - the only person seated to his right, in fact - was Angel, garbed for once in his SeeD uniform like everyone else in the room. His presence was comforting to Ben in a room with so many unfamiliar people, and he was glad for it. On Ben's immediate left was Raj Ahten, one of the few command officials he recognized that he'd seen more than once or twice around Garden. He was a Knight of the Sphere, among the younger of the thirteen such members from what he'd heard, and led a division referred to as the "Warbringer Brigade," though Ben knew nothing about it other than the name. Beside Raj was Rubedo Alaberti, another Knight, looking focused as he studied the rest of those present in the room. To Rubedo's left was Katanas, the Trabian SeeD Commander taking the seat next to one end of the table.
Across the table opposite Katanas sat Albel, his usual scowl firmly in place as he waited for the briefing to begin. To Albel's left sat a woman Ben had never seen before, but had placed by a mention of her name as she arrived - Ellie. Ben realized she must be Ellie Night, Paladin of the Sphere and commander of Trabia's special operations division, Delta Squad. Long dark hair framed a pair of piercing green eyes, a gaze so direct and intense that Ben had fought the urge to shiver when she met his passing glance from across the table. Beside Ellie was Camdus Marché, another Paladin of the Sphere that Ben had seen around Garden occasionally and spoken to briefly a few times. The dark-haired man was always polite and had a demeanor that Ben couldn't quite find words for - while kind and seemingly always willing to speak to others, Ben could tell that there was a passion underneath his words that hinted at a more forceful side to his personality. Camdus was engaged in quiet conversation with a woman seated beside him that Ben had only met once - introduced to him by Camdus, in fact. Her name was Anita Drake, the third Paladin of the Sphere, and Ben recalled the time he'd been introduced to the young woman. She had a spirit that was as cheerful as Rikku's, but it was paired with an intensity that left Ben feeling like she could see straight through him, peering into his soul with no more effort than glancing out a window. The final Paladin of the Sphere sat beside Anita, a large man with - as Ben had seen in the past - an equally large personality to match. Onimaru Balthas was a man that most others gave a wide berth, seeing him as a barbarian in combat and an insufferable jerk outside of it, the latter of which Ben had seen a few times for himself.
Ben felt very out of place surrounded by so many high-ranking members of SeeD, particularly given his own lowly rank of Lieutenant, one which was relatively newly-acquired at that. He tried not to let his discomfort show as he looked around the table one more time, only to turn and look at the door behind him as it slid open to allow the final member of the briefing inside.
"Everyone is here, it seems," Darius Sr. said, striding over to take his place at the table's end seat between Katanas and Albel. "Good. Let's get down to business." He looked over at his son and nodded, and Katanas cleared his throat before beginning to speak.
"I'll connect us to the others now," he said, pulling out his GLD. The viewscreen adorning the wall opposite Darius Sr. suddenly came to life, revealing a series of images in a grid. The first was an older yet muscular man with graying hair and a thick mustache, seated in a fine chair behind a desk with the flag of Dollet mounted on the wall behind him. Next was a blond man of similar age that Ben immediately recognized as Galbadia Garden's Headmaster, Mathius Martine. The last image showed two men, both of which Ben easily recognized - one, the bright expression and dark hair of Laguna Loire, President of Esthar; the other, the scarred face and brown hair belonging to Balamb's Garden Commander, Squall Leonhart.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Katanas said, nodding to the viewscreen. "We are going to begin our briefing now, unless you have something to say before we get started." A chorus of shaken heads and brief acknowledgments for him to proceed met his statement, and he nodded again before looking back towards the gathered SeeD members at the table.
"Here is what we know so far," he began, leaning over the table and clasping his hands. "Approximately twenty-four hours ago, the town of Balamb was attacked by a creature called Sin. It laid waste to the entire town before returning to the ocean and proceeding on an unknown course until roughly nine hours ago, when it was again spotted in the Saritae Ocean heading towards the continent of Esthar. While en route, it sank an entire battlegroup belonging to the Dollet Navy which had been returning to a Galbadian port. As far as we can tell, no damage was inflicted to the creature during either encounter."
"Casualties?" Ellie asked.
"Balamb is still tallying their losses, but we estimate around a thousand people were injured or killed in the attack. The Dolletian battlegroup that was sunk had around fifty-three hundred crew total among all ships."
Ben paled a little at the news - over six thousand people dead in less than a day from just two encounters with Sin. That was more than he saw killed during his entire time in Spira...and there was no telling exactly how many people in Spira fell to the beast in previous cycles.
"Sin's combat abilities, from all accounts so far, are - to be blunt - terrifying. The creature itself is larger still than any airship the world possesses, even larger than our Garden complex here at Trabia. It is capable of massive destruction in an instant, and has already proven that on two occasions."
"Where did this beast come from?" Camdus asked. "Surely we would have seen such a thing if it had come from Adel's prison."
"We would have, but it did not come from the moon as other monsters do," Katanas said, shaking his head. "I have someone here with firsthand experience of the nature and abilities of Sin to explain that." He looked to Ben as that, motioning for him to proceed. "Lieutenant, if you would."
Ben nodded, trying to calm his nerves as he got ready to speak in front of the highest-ranking officials in the Garden Network. He clenched his hands as he rested them on the desk, trying to keep them from shaking. "Thank you, Commander," he said, looking around at everyone at the table and on the viewscreen. "My name is Benji Powell - I'm a lieutenant in the Alchemy division here at Trabia, and I'm going to list everything I know about Sin itself and its combat capabilities."
Onimaru's eyes narrowed slightly into a mildly-skeptical look, and he glanced over at his Headmaster and Garden Commander, but he said nothing as Ben took a deep breath and began to explain what he knew.
"Paladin Marché, let me first answer your question. Sin is not from this world at all - Sin was brought here by...without going into a lot of detail that isn't a hundred percent relevant, you could say a god brought it here for simplicity's sake."
"Preposterous."
Onimaru's outburst, while normal in volume, had roughly the same effect as if he'd shouted it.
"Onimaru, I can assure you that the Lieutenant is telling the truth," Katanas said, equally calm. "If you like, I will give you a more detailed explanation later, but for now I would like you to let the lieutenant finish his explanation, please."
"Let me give a little more background, then," Ben continued, relieved that Katanas was willing to back him on his points. "I'll keep it brief. This world is one part of a larger collection of worlds that are collectively referred to as the Major Realms. There are ten of these, simply referred to by number - they have no proper names. Gaia resides in the Eighth Realm; Sin, meanwhile, is from the world of Spira in the Tenth Realm. Each of these realms is headed by a being called an Author, which is basically what you can think of as a literal god. That's the short version - there's a lot more to it than that, but I won't go into all that right now."
Ben's voice didn't betray any of the hesitance and unsurety he felt while giving his explanation, and silently he thanked Mai for giving him the explanation not long before.
"Sin was brought here for a purpose, but I can't say that I know what that is. What I do know is that I have faced Sin twice now, once in Spira and once here in Gaia, and I can tell you that its capabilities have increased by a tremendous amount since my first encounter with it.
"I'll start by giving a relative example of Sin's power. Sin is, without a doubt, the most powerful being I have seen in either world I have visited. It was rumored to be powerful enough to destroy the entire world back on Spira, and after seeing it up close I have no doubts that those rumors were true. In the last encounter my friends and I had with it, it was capable of firing a beam of energy so powerful that it split an ocean along with the clouds above it, so quickly and powerfully that the water didn't recede back into itself for several seconds...and this stretched as far along the horizon as we could see."
"And you say it is more powerful now?" Ellie questioned, causing Ben to nod.
"Absolutely. On Spira, we were able to kill it, but only by using an airship's weapons to aid us in destroying its fins to cripple its flight abilities, then entering its body and destroying it from the inside. It had a weakness that we were able to exploit there. Here...it doesn't have that weakness. We're going to have to use pure brute force to take it down."
"What other powers does it possess?" Squall chimed in from the viewscreen.
"I don't know what new tricks it might have, but I can tell you everything I've seen so far," Ben replied, turning to face the screen. "The first and most utilized of Sin's powers is the ability to create smaller minions from its body. There are many different types of these, and they're split into two main types - Sinscales and Sinspawn. Sinscales are individually weak - about two or three feet tall, they look like quadrupedal bug-like creatures with wings that can stab or throw spines from their bodies. It doesn't take much to kill them, but you never fight just one. Usually, Sin makes dozens or even hundreds of them at a time, but they still shouldn't be much of a threat to SeeD or any other proper military forces here.
"What are major threats," he started with a grimace, "are the Sinspawn. Every Sinspawn is different, and while I've only ever seen one at a time, I would wager it can make more than one of any given type at once. I saw five different types in Spira along with two more here during my recent encounter, and I'll explain as best I can about each.
"Ammes looks like a giant squid, about two or three stories tall. It's immobile and not very dangerous from what I saw - the only attack I ever saw from it was Demi magic, but it might have others. Echuilles looks like a large jellyfish, and can attack by sapping your stamina or just lash you with all of its tentacles. Geneaux is...some kind of weird plant creature that can curl up into a ball to be nearly impervious to a lot of physical attacks. It has poisoning skills and Water-elemental magic, and also likes to lash out with tentacles like Echuilles. It's very weak to Fire-elemental magic, and generally has low defense against other magic. Gui is one of the stronger spawn, some sort of gigantic scorpion monster with two huge claws and a massive tail, which is actually where its head is located. It also uses poison-based attacks, along with Demi and Lightning-elemental magic, and the arms are incredibly tough and capable of blocking a lot of punishment. The last of the ones I saw in Spira is Genais, and it's a tougher version of Geneaux, with the added ability to heal itself and Gravija magic along with the poison and Water-based spells. It can also absorb magic, though I don't know if there's a limit to what it can withstand."
He had noticed several of the people present taking notes as he was talking, and he decided to stop for a moment to let them finish before moving on. They needed to have all the information they could get, he knew, to make proper plans. Once he could see that everyone seemed to be done writing or typing, he continued.
"The first new Sinspawn I encountered in my fight with Sin here was called Caeculus. It was some kind of six-legged scorpion, like Gui but even bigger - probably a few dozen meters tall at least. I had to bring out my Guardian Force to stay on even footing with it, and it still dished out a lot of damage to both of us."
"It damaged your Guardian Force?" Anita said, looking curious. "I thought that they wouldn't normally stay materialized in the physical world long enough for that to happen?"
"Back on Spira, I was a summoner, using Aeons - something similar to GFs - in combat much like SeeD does here. I took what I knew about summoning from that world and applied it here. Instead of simply letting them manifest and attack, I can link them to my power and treat them like a true summon that fights beside me, but it takes more concentration and a minor drain on my mana to keep going."
There were more than a few raised eyebrows and curious looks that spread across the table and over the viewscreen at that explanation, but Ben ignored them and pressed onward. "Physically, Caeculus was stronger than any of the Spiran Sinspawn that I ran into. It attacked with the huge claws it had, its tail, and it also spit some kind of acid ball from its mouth that did a lot of damage. I managed to kill it by going for the head - it's big and powerful, but pretty slow.
"The other one was something called Pyrithis, and it nearly killed me. It's humanoid, about eight feet tall, and is built entirely for physical fighting. It basically broke my arm through my junctions with just one punch, and three or four hits almost killed me. I'm not the strongest person defensively, but high-level defensive junctions didn't seem to help much at all, and I'm pretty sure this thing could kill most SeeD outright with one good shot if they're not careful."
"It's that strong?" Angel asked, causing Ben to nod.
"Definitely. It survived Flare magic with barely a scratch and tanked my sword skills like they were paper cuts. I had to use my Limit to do any kind of noticeable damage to it, but I was too drained to do much else after that. I don't know what it might take to kill it - Ultima magic might do it, or a whole lot of firepower all at once."
He sighed, taking a moment to catch his breath from all the talking. "As for Sin itself...I can't even begin to think what it'll take to bring it down. I tried hitting it, but it can project an energy shield that's basically impenetrable to most things," he said, recalling how nothing he'd thrown at Sin had even made a dent. "I used a fully-channeled, overcharged Ultima spell - using every bit of mana I had, all at once - and it didn't even dent the shield, let alone come close to breaking it. Honestly, I'm not sure we have anything short of the Ragnarok's beam cannon that might have a shot at breaking it, and even that probably won't do it alone."
"What made you decide to try and go after this creature on your own?" Martine said, causing Ben to visibly wince.
"That's...it's a very personal issue, Headmaster, and I'd rather not go into it, please."
He looked over at Katanas then, wanting to be out of the spotlight for a few minutes and feeling as if he'd said all he knew. "I think that's everything I know, Commander."
"Any questions about any of the information Lieutenant Powell just shared?"
"Do you know of any weaknesses that these Sinspawn possess? Any weak points on their bodies, perhaps?" Raj asked, causing Ben to shake his head.
"Sadly, no. A lot of them don't seem to have a weak point at all, or at least nothing out of the ordinary - eyes, faces, things that would be weak spots on normal animals and such. Besides Geneaux's weakness to Fire-element magic, I never saw any kind of real magical weakness that any of the Sinspawn had." Raj nodded in understanding, returning his attention to the discussion at hand. Ben did the same, waiting on Katanas to retake control of the briefing after his explanation.
"Headmaster Martine, Headmaster Kramer, have your forces all arrived at Esthar? I see that First Team is already present there," Katanas said, looking back at the screen.
"Commander Leonhart and the others arrived around an hour ago, while the rest of our SeeD force is still around forty-five minutes out," Cid answered, pushing his glasses up on his nose again.
"My forces are just over an hour away," Martine said.
"Duke Haroldington, what of your naval forces?"
"Those stationed near Esthar have already moved into an interception position based on our current tracking data, Commander. The rest of the fleet is en route, though it will be several hours until they arrive."
"Hopefully, they will make it in time, but we will at least have them as a final resort if our engagement begins to go south," Katanas mused, nodding. "President Loire, the status of your army?"
"Estharian troops are ready and awaiting orders," Laguna said. "There are five thousand troops on standby as we speak, and the rest of the army is being called from active reserve now. That's another two thousand we can add if we need to."
"Seven thousand more ground troops...that is quite the boon to our plans," Katanas said, nodding. "You have our deepest gratitude, mister President."
On screen, Duke Haroldington suddenly looked away, conversing with an unseen party as the discussion in the briefing room continued. When he looked back after a minute of conversation, his eyes were full of worry.
"Commander."
"What is it?"
"I've received word from the fleet - they have made visual contact with Sin off the coast of Esthar."
Chills ran up Ben's spine at the words as Katanas' eyes narrowed.
"ETA?"
"...Eight minutes, at its current estimated speed."
Ben's blood ran cold - eight minutes was barely a warning. Katanas' eyes flickered over to Laguna once again. "How long will it take for the Estharian forces to be ready to engage?"
"Around...fifteen minutes, maybe, to have enough forces arrive to have a chance at slowing it down."
To be able to raise enough of a force to challenge a beast capable of tearing swathes of destruction through entire continents in such a short time was testament to Esthar's readiness and skill, but that still left ten minutes of nearly-unimpeded time for Sin to rampage...Ben knew that the Zanarkand he visited had been nearly obliterated in that time.
"First Team will head out and try to buy some time while Esthar's forces assemble," Squall cut in, looking over the gathered command officials.
"All speed to you, Commander Leonhart," Katanas stated as Squall turned and walked out of the operations center of the Presidential Palace over the viewscreen. There was a brief moment of hushed murmuring in the room and orders over the viewscreen from the command staff at each of the other two Gardens before Ben chose to spoke up, his voice carrying unexpectedly loud over the sudden quiet.
"I have an idea, Commander DeValle."
It wasn't often that he had to be so formal with Katanas, but he thought it was appropriate given the company he was in right now.
"What is it, lieutenant?"
"Do you trust my judgment, sir?" he asked, unsure whether he should even make the suggestion he was about to make.
"In this situation, given your prior experience with this enemy, I can say that I do," Katanas replied.
"Give me four people - Andréa, Darius, Rubedo, and Angel. Tell Andréa and Darius to meet us in Esthar," Ben said, glancing down to check over the weapons at his hip as he spoke. Rubedo and Angel turned to look at him, and Katanas looked at him for a moment without saying a word before suddenly nodding, seeming to understand his intent given the specific people he'd named.
"Very well. You have a plan, I assume?"
Ben smiled, nodding to the SeeD Commander.
"We're the only ones who can get there in time to do something. We'll buy Esthar the time they need to get their defenses going."
"You understand how risky this is," Katanas stated, causing Ben to nod again.
"I do, but it's a risk I'm willing to take if they are."
"Then you'll need some help," the SeeD Commander replied. "Knight Ahten - I'm assigning you to this mission as well. Do everything you can to hold out until Esthar's forces arrive to back you up."
"Understood, Commander," Raj replied, saluting Katanas as he stood from his chair.
"How do you plan to get there in time?" Onimaru asked. "Even our best airships will take far more time to make the trip than we have."
"If we make it through this, I'll help the Commander give you the details, sir," Ben said as he also stood, followed by Angel and Rubedo. "But we need to go give Esthar a fighting chance first." He looked at Angel and nodded, causing the older man to put a hand on Raj's shoulder as energy built up around the three Planeswalkers.
"Good luck, all of you," Katanas said, watching as the three Planeswalkers and Raj all took a step forward, all four of them vanishing onto the Crystal Path on their way to the battlefield.
[July 13, 2152 | Trabian Aristocracy, Arias, Central Square | 4:30 PM]
The blond-haired woman flew into action, her blade out for blood.
From the moment she had appeared in this town, ripped away from everything she had known, she had felt an overwhelming, over-encompassing feeling of magic. She'd tried to compensate, but something had more magic, older magic than she had ever experienced. Her Runic was quickly overwhelmed, and her mind's only thought was instinctual, guttural.
Find the source of the magic and destroy it before it destroys you.
She moved on pure adrenaline, functional only because of sheer force of will. Her only mission was survival, her objective to cut down the source of magic in this town, whatever or whoever it was. Stumbling around, she had located it, and in it had found one of the largest fountains of magic she had ever felt.
And Celes Chére admitted, if only to herself, that it terrified her. She no longer had the friends with her to support her in whatever battle might be coming. Claude, Dragos, Kei, Carrie, and dear Drante were… wherever this was not. She hadn't been alone in some time, and the feeling was something she was no longer used to.
It was simple, however. She would destroy the source of this magic before it destroyed her, then find out who had brought her here, and force them to send her back.
Focusing her addled mind back on the situation at hand, she assessed her opponent.
The woman appeared to have no weapons on her, but with the amount of magic she was exuding, she probably had no need of physical weapons. Celes' vision was hazy as she took her in, but the woman's stance was tense.
Not good.
That meant her opponent was ready to attack. She'd have to move quickly, through the magically induced…sludge…that was muddying her tactical mind. She forced down a wave of nausea as she moved, blade singing through the air only to be met by a wall of force that the woman's hand conjured effortlessly to divert the blow. She swung with more abandon than she would've liked and less control than she cared to admit, her half-feral brain focused solely on her directive of kill remove destroy.
Destine's hands moved like quicksilver, turning aside blows that were clumsy and wide, unfit for someone like the woman she was trying to help. She searched for opportunity, fending off wild swings of the glittering blade as she looked for any way to help the woman who was so obviously pained. She spared a glance at Tetsuya, who was watching nearby in preparation to help but making no move to intervene, wondering exactly what she could do to help. The ever-present magical siphon that she had felt since the woman first approached her was still there, the strange magic gulping hers down as if sipping at a fountain, and she could feel the looming presence of something from afar, a feeling she had noticed when she arrived but paid little mind to at first.
All at once, she stopped - she had her answer. If she, a Pillar of Reality, could sense the magic that Wilhelm's - and it was unmistakably the Tenth Realm Author's, she knew that now - creation was exuding, then what might that be doing to someone as apparently sensitive to magical energy as the woman before her?
With newly instilled resolve, she focused on her aggressor and raised her hand.
Celes' blade stilled, followed by the rest of her body. Within seconds, she had completely come to a standstill. She struggled, but the magic keeping her motionless was strong; stronger than her, at any rate.
Destine's reiatsu flared, and enveloped Celes, and for the first time since she had arrived… her mind cleared.
"I'm sure you have questions, and I am happy to answer them to the best of my ability. I am using my personal power to mask the magical energy that I'm sure has been overwhelming you. In addition, I'm covering mine as best as I am able. I am not here to harm you. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Destine asked.
The woman remained silent, so Destine pressed on.
"I'm… not quite used to being the friendly face that someone sees, but… I suppose that's what you are stuck with. My name is Destine, by the way."
The woman's eyes, previously looking anywhere but at Destine, now met hers. "Celes. Celes Chére."
[July 13, 2152 | Esthar, Residential District | 4:56 PM]
(Play: B13a - Shiro Sagisu, Bleach: Fade to Black)
Ben launched himself over the rooftops of Esthar at a speed that would have been near-suicidal for anyone other than a SeeD officer, pushing himself to go as fast as he could under the influence of his Hastega spell without using flash steps - he wanted every bit of the stamina he could retain for the coming onslaught. Around him, he could feel the energy signatures of the last members of his selected team arriving, the remaining two Planeswalkers finally meeting up with Ben and the others as they fell into formation high above the city streets.
"Looks like we're all here," Ben said over his GLD comlink, glancing over for a moment as Darius fell into step right beside him.
"I hope you've got a plan," the Lightning Alchemist said, shooting Ben a glance as they ran that was all business. Ben nodded, putting aside all of the feelings of rivalry and animosity that he had for Darius - this was quite a bit bigger than both of them, and while he saw Darius as his biggest rival both on and off the field of battle, he had a tremendous amount of respect for the abilities of the gun-wielding SeeD.
"We've got five minutes to get into position, so I'll spell it out quick," he replied, looking around to make sure everyone was present. Himself, Andréa, Darius, Raj, Angel, and Rubedo...six people in total to try and hold off a force capable of destroying cities without breaking a figurative sweat.
"Our primary objective is to hold Sin off until Esthar's forces can get to the field to back us up. Hopefully, they can give us enough support to keep Sin at bay until the rest of Garden's forces can get here to launch a counterattack. I won't lie - even for SeeD, this is crazy."
"Crazy is what we do," Angel shot back. "What's the plan?"
"Sin's going to throw everything it has at us from the outset, so we need to be prepared to deal with hundreds, if not thousands of its smaller spawn along with anything else it decides to throw out. That being said, here's the formation I'm thinking."
"Angel, Rubedo, I want you two on the front line with me," he said, looking at the two of them in turn. "We'll be the first line of attack and focus on wiping out the majority of the bigger Sinspawn that it's going to throw at us. Most of them are easily a match for any of us one-on-one, so we need to keep it tight and support each other as much as possible. The more we whittle down, the less we'll have to deal with when our support gets here."
He refreshed the Hastega enchantment as he continued speaking, noticing that it was about to run out - the excess of power he had pumped into the spell had left it somewhat unstable and unable to stay in effect for long in exchange for the higher overall boost. "Andréa, you're the midline support. Your spirits can play offense and defense, chipping away at the smaller Sinscales and staying in a position to support any of us at a moment's notice."
He turned his attention to Raj Ahten next. "Sir, I'd like to have you stay back with Andréa. You've got incredible defensive skill, so if the three of us on the frontline have to fall back, we'll be counting on you to give us the time to regroup and reform the line. Plus, you can help cover Andréa and Darius in case Sin tries anything funny."
"A sensible choice," Raj agreed, nodding.
"Darius, that leaves you to backline duty," Ben said, turning to the boy beside him. "Anything that moves that isn't us, wipe it out - Andréa and Knight Templar Ahten can keep you covered and let you go all-out without worrying too much about defending yourself."
"That's a plan I can live with," Darius said, smirking. Ben took a deep breath, looking towards the plains outside of Esthar to try and get a glimpse of where Sin was. The buildings were still impeding their sight, but they were starting to get close to the edge of the city itself.
Raj was pleasantly surprised, he had to admit, and rather impressed. For someone who had only been in SeeD a relatively short amount of time, the Powell kid showed decent tactical skills and a willingness to lead that was a welcome asset for a SeeD member to have. The plan was hasty and had its flaws, but for something drawn up in a scant few minutes it was sound enough to give them a chance, he reasoned.
The buildings dwindled down to almost nothing as the group approached the outer edges of the city, and each of the Planeswalkers leapt off the rooftops to the ground below as Andréa cast Float magic to slow their falls, their speed increasing further now that they were on solid ground. Ben reached to his hip and grabbed the Diviner resting there, leaving his second blade in its sheath, and Angel drew the Atma Weapon beside him as Rubedo readied himself to fight, clenching his fists in preparation. They could just faintly see the looming form of Sin off in the distance, growing closer and larger by the moment as they approached, and they could feel the overwhelming energy seeping from its form like a thick blanket that pressed against them.
"That's one big fish," Rubedo commented, raising a hand to his eyes to shield them from the sunlight as he took a better look.
"And it's headed straight for a city with hundreds of thousands of people in it," Ben added. "I say we turn it into sushi."
"You shouldn't talk about food before a fight like that," Angel said, chuckling. "You're making an old man hungry."
"Should've snacked on the way, then," Ben shot back, smirking. "You guys ready?"
"As we'll ever be," Rubedo answered, nodding. Ben took a deep breath and nodded as well, starting to carefully focus energy around himself for maximum effect.
"Good. Fifteen minutes...we need to hold for fifteen minutes. Let's make Wilhelm regret challenging the Planeswalkers of the Eighth Realm."
(End: B13a - Shiro Sagisu, Bleach: Fade to Black; Play: The Unholy Wars (Fighting of the Spirit) - Dhsu, Sixto Sounds; OverClocked Remix: Summoning of Spirits)
Ben let his spell ripple out, followed closely by similar spells from the other two at the front of the formation. Shell, Protect, and Haste magic fell over all six members of the group as they prepared to engage Sin, and Angel was the one to lead the charge as Ben and Rubedo fell into step behind him. Sin roared from afar, its body shaking as hundreds upon thousands of scales fell from its form and morphed into chirping insectoid minions under its command, and the ground rumbled with the sound of thousands of legs stomping in frenzied movement as the horde advanced towards the half-dozen SeeD officers. A mass of dust and snow grew as it approached the group, shielding the majority of the front line of Sinscales from view, and Ben took a deep breath as they finally came within range of Sin's minions.
"Go!"
Angel, Ben, and Rubedo hit the leading line of Sinscales with a crash, dozens of the tiny insectoids clambering over themselves to try and attack the SeeD officers even as they waded into the fray. Several ethereal spirits popped into existence around them as Andréa summoned her own minions to add to the defense, and shots rang out from afar as Darius opened up on the horde with a high-powered rifle. Ben's Diviner found purchase on a pair of Sinscales and tore them to ribbons before unleashing a wave of fire from the blade that incinerated a dozen in front of him, only to be near-instantly replaced by more. He spun, hacking and slicing away with pinpoint precision to cut apart claws, legs, and spines alike that flew at him from all directions as he started to thin out the massive force surrounding them.
Rubedo's fist crunched into a Sinscale before lifting it up and tossing it aside as his heel rose and thundered down into another, crushing its skull into pulp and fragments of magic. Blue energy burst up around him as he funneled power into one of his special abilities, his body gaining agility enhanced beyond what Ben's Haste spell had provided him, and he weaved almost effortlessly around an onslaught of spines fired from the spawn in front of him before blurring into melee range and shattering their bodies with one sweeping kick.
Angel's Atma Weapon was a blur of sparkling lines as he deftly tore into the horde before him, the Sinscales' claws and spined legs doing next to nothing to slow him down as he bulled his way into the fray. Magic flew from his free hand as he mixed his swordplay with offensive spells, a Fira spell incinerating a duo of Sinscales near him before his sword sliced through the legs of three more that approached him. Another Sinscale leapt over the bodies of its comrades even as they fell apart, but the glittering blue blade in Angel's hands smoothly parried the descending claws right before he spun, energy gathering around the blade and erupting around him as he shattered over a dozen Sinspawn with one whirling strike of his weapon.
Andréa's scythe spun in an elaborate dance as stragglers leapt past the frontline fighters, staying just in front of Raj and Darius and batting away anything that got too close with the haft of the weapon before removing them from existence with a quick flick of the blade. She thrust the end of the weapon down into a Sinscale in front of her, crushing its head against the ground with the shaft before another spirit rose from the ground beside her, its body cloaked in green energy that spread to her allies in moments and bestowed them with the power of Regen magic as well. The spirits that were aiding Angel and the others were taking hits, she saw, but they were still sturdy enough to absorb some measure of punishment before their energy was exhausted.
Darius stood beside Raj Ahten, a powerful rifle raised in his hands as he snapped off shots as quickly as he could manage. Between Andréa's spirits and the trio of Planeswalkers in the melee, he had to be careful where he fired, but his shots were pinpoint-accurate as he emptied the clip of his rifle into the mass of Sinscales. The ammunition was imbued with Fire-element magic, and every shot sent a gout of flame erupting as it impacted its target, scorching anything nearby as well. The clip ran empty after a few seconds, and Darius reached into his ammo belt for something stronger even as he yelled to the ones in front of him.
"Get clear!"
Ben let off a burst of Blizzaga magic to give himself a moment of breathing room before leaping backwards, keeping track of where Darius was so that he didn't get caught in whatever Darius was planning. Angel and Rubedo did the same, splitting off to either side as Andréa commanded the spirits to try and hold off the Sinscales for a moment. Darius withdrew another clip of ammo and slid it into the rifle before taking careful aim and gripping the rifle tightly with both hands, gritting his teeth as he pulled the trigger. The rifle let out a high-pitched whine for a split second before the barrel glowed, releasing a torrent of raw power as the special Estharian pulse ammunition fired. The pillar of destructive force sheared a column clean through the ranks of the Sinscales, vaporizing Andréa's spirits along with anything else that was unlucky enough to be in its path, and Darius shifted his aim as the light faded before firing again and sending another column of pure energy cascading into the Sinscales' number to thin them further.
"Regroup!" Raj called, stepping in front of Andréa and Darius as he lifted his heavy kite shield and drew the broadsword at his waist. Angel and Rubedo fought their way backwards to regroup with the rest of their team as Ben joined Raj in stepping up to reform the line.
"Darius, gimme a hand! Gonna make a wall to funnel them in!" Ben yelled, looking back at the other alchemist behind him. Darius didn't waste any time, slinging his rifle behind him again and trying to ignore the pain and shaking in his arms - even with his junctions, no less - from firing the powerful ammunition as he stepped up to join Ben. Transmutation circles shined as the pair of alchemists focused their energy before two pairs of hands pressed into the dirt at their feet. The ground nearby rumbled before starting to rise up into the air, forming thick walls nearly ten feet high that crackled with alchemic energy as they spread for dozens of feet in either direction, only leaving a small gap of a few feet in front of them to try and catch the Sinscales in a chokepoint with. Darius immediately leapt up on top of the wall and began to switch out his ammunition again so that he could resume picking off what he could even as Angel and Raj stepped into the gap, blades at the ready.
The thundering wave of Sinscales hit the duo like a torrent of water, flooding every available nook and cranny and scrambling over each other to try and get at everything in the area, but Angel tore into the horde with vigor, Atma Weapon slicing and carving across scores of the Sinscales to send limbs flying and magical energy dispersing with every strike. Raj's kite shield crushed a pair of his foes underneath it as he decapitated another with his broadsword, and Andrea's spirits stepped up on his flank with bursts of magic and slicing claws that covered his unshielded side. Raj's shield rose suddenly as Rubedo leapt into the air, and the fistfighter landed squarely on the shield before Raj launched him up into the air like a rocket. Rubedo's fist started to glow as he hit the apex of his jump, and Raj brought the shield in front of himself to defend as Rubedo started to fall, causing Ben and Angel to make sure they were behind the wall as well for whatever Rubedo was about to do. The brown-haired boy fell like a meteor towards the throng of Sinscales, landing with a massive crash and slamming his fist into the dirt to send a ring of fire exploding out around him to incinerate everything nearby. The heat washed over the three SeeD officers nearest the chokepoint, but none of them were hurt by the fire as the wave of Sinscales began to thin out, Darius' rifle cracking loudly above them as he sent shot after shot into the mass of Sin's progeny.
"Andréa, help me out - I need Water magic, as much as you can! Aim it over the crowd!" Ben yelled, sending cyan-colored diamonds around both himself and Andréa as he cast Triple magic to facilitate his idea. Andréa's scythe swirled for a brief moment as blue energy gathered around it, and she sliced upward to send a trio of energy waves into the air that burst into a shower of thick, heavy rain over the remaining Sinscales attempting to invade. Ben leapt up to the side of the wall opposite Darius before raising a hand and sending three bursts of magic into the air that behaved similarly to Andréa's previous spells, thoroughly soaking the ground in front of the wall in a radius of dozens of feet.
Ben's transmutation circle shined as he dumped the entirety of his remaining mana into the transmutation he was preparing, then pressed a hand to the top of the wall. Underneath him, the ground rumbled as it took on a light magical sheen, and spikes of ice suddenly began tearing through the ground at a rapid pace to shred the entire area in front of the wall - Sinscales included - in a furious display of alchemic might. Under the combined power of Rubedo and Ben's attacks, the flood of Sinscales was nearly annihilated, with only a few dozen stragglers left to try and weakly make their way towards the gap. Those were quickly picked off by Darius' rifle from above, and the group on the ground quickly regrouped to prepare for whatever Sin would try next.
"Looks like we made it through the first wave," Ben said, taking a look at the looming form of Sin in the distance. "It'll probably send stronger stuff now that it knows the small fries won't be able to stop us."
He took a moment to grab an Ether from one of his belt pouches, downing the vial of liquid and feeling it start to replenish his stores of mana. He only had a few restoratives on hand to use - he hadn't had a lot of time to worry about making more before they'd been called to the briefing - but he figured that it would be enough to last through the fight.
At least, he hoped so.
A high-pitched whine caught the attention of all six SeeD members, and they looked towards Sin to see a purple energy shield surrounding its body and a ball of energy that was starting to grow larger by the second in front of it. Ben's eyes widened as he refreshed his Shell magic, and everyone started to move as a brilliant ray of energy lanced out from the ball and sliced across the ground like a scalpel, shearing a part of the alchemic wall Darius and Ben had created into rubble with a keening cry. Another ray followed moments later, slicing across the opposite part of the wall, and the energy ball suddenly fired from Sin's mouth with a loud wail as the Planeswalkers watched in horror. Flashes of energy dotted the area as the Planeswalkers scattered to various parts of the battlefield, but Raj stood tall in the face of the attack as he brought his kite shield to bear, brilliant energy lacing over it as magical wards began to swirl around his body. He knelt behind the large shield as the energy ball detonated around his position, sending an enormous fireball of magical power erupting in an area dozens of feet wide around him.
"Raj!" Ben screamed, watching in horror as Raj took the full brunt of Sin's attack alone.
"Don't worry," Rubedo said, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder and looking over at him. "He's fine - just look."
It took a few moments for the smoke and debris from the attack to clear, but Rubedo's words turned out to be correct. Raj stood tall after the attack was over, seeming mostly unharmed sans some burning of his clothing, and Ben's mouth fell open in shock. That attack had made an Ultima spell look downright inferior, and Raj had tanked the entire thing with barely a scratch...Ben had heard rumors of the knight's incredible durability and defensive prowess, but he could see now that the reality was even more awe-inspiring.
"Unbelievable..." Ben breathed, dumbstruck at how little such a powerful attack seemed to have affected him. He shook off the surprise after a few seconds, Planeswalking over to reappear with Raj as Sin's energy shield faded away. The other Planeswalkers did the same, regrouping and preparing themselves for whatever Sin would throw at them next.
A loud, wailing roar split the sky as Sin's body shivered, masses of scales falling from its skin by the hundreds and starting to grow as they merged into larger Sinspawn. Three such conglomerates began to spread upwards into the larger forms of the Sinspawn Caeculus, while two more began to resolve into the familiar forms of Sinspawn Gui. One at the fore melded together to become the imposing form of a Sinspawn Pyrithis, while four more surrounding it joined together into slimmer forms that Ben had never seen before. Each was only a little larger than a normal Hume and feminine in appearance, but their bodies ended in thick, snake-like tails that gave them a serpentine silhouette. Four glowing, humanoid arms extended from each of their backs, each one shimmering with a different magical color, and several mask-like constructs resembling a woman's face were embedded in their torsos.
"Sinspawn Medei," Andréa said, the glow of Scan fading from her eyes.
"Never seen that one," Ben said, looking with some worry at the creatures in front of them. "Though, they're kinda familiar-looking..."
"Any plans on how to play this one?" Rubedo asked, keeping an eye on the Sinspawn that were finishing their melding.
"Angel, think you can take Pyrithis there in the front?" Ben asked, receiving a nod in reply. "Handle that, then - Andréa, help me take out the two Gui there in the middle. Rubedo, Raj, Darius, you three handle the Caeculus ones at the back."
"And the new Medei spawn?" Andréa asked.
"Don't know what they can do yet..." Ben said, hesitating as he tried to figure out what the safest course of action might be.
"Look sharp - they're coming!"
Raj's exclamation brought Ben out of his thoughts, and he looked to see the group of Sinspawn beginning to charge, wild shrieks emitting from the beasts as they thundered across the field. The four Medei spawn each raised their arms in concert, magic swirling around sixteen disfigured hands, and a torrent of magical force rolled away from them as a plethora of elemental spells burst forward to head their advance. A barrage of spells came from the assembled Planeswalkers as they began to counter with their own magic, bursts of fire and ice exploding in the field between them as the six led a counter-charge towards the enemy force.
Angel's Atma Weapon cleaved across in a powerful blow that the Pyrithis fiend met with a muscular arm, the blade cutting deep but only serving to annoy the Sinspawn as it tried to land a heavy punch with the other arm. Angel ducked under the blow, ripping the sword from the Sinspawn's arm as he moved and slicing across its hip in a fluid move that brought him towards its back. It roared as Angel moved, bringing both hands together and upwards before hurling them down into the ground with a thunderous smash that shattered the ground at its feet. Angel was forced to leap away or be thrown from his feet, a grunt of annoyance passing his lips as he tried to steady himself again on ruined ground, and he called up magic as he sent bolts of fire whizzing through the air towards the Sinspawn's back.
They had about as much effect as a Bite Bug nipping at a Behemoth as the beast spun around, stomping furiously towards Angel with more speed than its large frame seemed to afford it and launching a devastating punch at his chest. He took it on the flat of his blade, the magically-imbued and reinforced metal still seeming to groan under the weight of the impact as Angel's feet skidded backwards. He whipped the blade out as it began to shimmer with energy, storming back into melee range with the creature and cleaving down with every bit of force he could muster to slam into the creature's upraised forearms, and the biting Holy energy in his Divine Sword technique exploded in the creature's face like a miniature bomb. It staggered back, scorch marks covering its upper body, and Angel grimaced inwardly - it wasn't often that he had to fight something as durable as he himself was, and he was beginning to wonder if he was going to need help to bring the Sinspawn down.
"I'll get the casters!" Ben yelled to Andréa as they advanced, breaking off slightly from his squad leader as he diverted his attention to the new Sinspawn variant. From appearances, he guessed that they were spellcasters primarily and weak in melee, and he didn't want to leave them alive in case they could use healing magic to prolong their current encounters. He gathered his energy and took a deep breath as the four Sinspawn turned their gazes towards him, magical energy gathering around them for another strike. In the span of a heartbeat, he was gone, flashing towards the nearest of the four to him in a quick Blink and slicing out before vanishing again towards his next target. The Sinspawn seemed to freeze, confused as to where their quarry was disappearing to even as he cut them apart, and their bursts of power went wild as they tried to track a target that was phasing in and out of the plane itself, their bodies collapsing into magical wisps as Ben reappeared behind where they had once been. His blade shimmered with the vestiges of power from the last strike he'd landed on his prey, and he sent a fierce wave of icy energy at the Gui fiend that Andréa was advancing on as he made for the other.
The wave of frost slammed into the head of Andréa's enemy mere moments before she closed to melee range herself, scythe twirling around her body as she leapt impossibly high into the air with the scythe blade covered in a deep black aura. Still recoiling, the Sinspawn took a quartet of slashes across its upper body before it could even think about recovering, and Andréa landed neatly on the Sinspawn's right arm as a spirit popped into existence beside her, emanating a brilliant red aura from its body. A massive claw swept over to try and remove the diminutive SeeD officer from its arm, but Andréa deftly leapt over the swing as she ran up the Sinspawn's arm and prepared to attack again. She cut twice more into the side of the Sinspawn's body, drawing another roar of pain from it an instant before a powerful burst of fire from her summoned spirit scorched the entire area black and sent the Sinspawn into a fit of writhing. She struggled to stay on its body as it shook violently for a few seconds before leaping away, landing on the ground and twirling the scythe in front of herself as a large arcane glyph spun out across the ground underneath her. Above her, the sky rumbled and seemed to darken briefly before a massive bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and engulfed the Sinspawn she'd been attacking, blinding everything in the vicinity as the Sinspawn howled in agony.
Rubedo and Raj headed towards their respective targets with fervor, each charging past the fights already ongoing as they headed for the towering Caeculus Sinspawn in the back of the formation. Darius' rifle shots rang out like distant thunder as he peppered the beasts with covering fire, sending powerful armor-piercing ammunition into anything within range as the two SeeD officers closed to melee range. A brilliant crimson aura like licking flames sprang up around Rubedo as he leapt to the attack, passing beneath a swipe of clawed hands to land a solid blow to the midsection of the scorpion-like Sinspawn. Fire burst from the point of impact, charring the flesh underneath and spreading out to inflame the skin elsewhere, and the clawed hands scrabbled at its body to try and douse the flames and force Rubedo back. The Planeswalker seemed to freeze in mid-air, standing on nothing for a split-second before vanishing into a Blink and reappearing above the Sinspawn's head to level a devastating axe kick at the top of its skull. The top of the Sinspawn's head burst into flames and snapped downwards sharply as Rubedo's foot collided with it, and the Planeswalker fell to the ground to land effortlessly as he took a more defensive stance.
A ball of corrosive green bile flew towards Rubedo as he landed, only to be swatted aside by a quick swing of Raj's shield, sending it hurtling into the ground to explode harmlessly nearby. Rubedo nodded thanks to Raj as he dove back into the fray, and Raj brought the shield back into line as he advanced on his own foe. Claws snapped at the comparatively tiny SeeD officer, but despite their size and massive strength they found no purchase on Raj's body, each gouge and thrust artfully deflected away with quick parries from the large shield. He seized opportunity after one such maneuver, quickly darting forward into the gap left by the Sinspawn's arms to leap upwards and smash the face of the shield directly into Caeculus' chest. The Sinspawn, while unmoved by the blow, was stunned by the force behind it; Raj possessed deceptive strength despite his defensive capabilities, and the echoing clang of metal on bone rang out as he landed and immediately slashed the shield around towards one of the Sinspawn's more fragile legs. It skittered backwards, recoiling away from the painful strike and lashing out with a tail that was turned aside by Raj's longsword.
Darius, meanwhile, had potentially the safest position of all of the Planeswalkers. Some distance away from the melee combat going on, he had shifted fully into a sniping role, lying on top of a still-standing section of the wall that had been created with his rifle trained on the group of Sinspawn in the distance. Armor-piercing ammunition erupted from his rifle's barrel time and time again, peppering the gathered Sinspawn when they seemed to be moving to attack or serving to create an opening for his comrades to exploit. From his vantage point, he could see everything clearly - Sin's eerily-calm form looming in the distance, Angel's duel with the humanoid juggernaut of a Sinspawn that had formed at the head of the formation, Ben and Andréa beginning to whittle down the two Gui in the heart of the group, and Rubedo and Raj managing to stay on mostly-even footing with three of the massive scorpion-esque fiends.
"Let's even the odds..." he murmured, taking sight of one of the three Caeculus fiends stomping around Rubedo and Raj's position. Magic flared from his rifle as he fired again, striking his target at center mass and briefly causing it to pause, dazed from the impact. He shifted his aim as a fiery aura melded to the barrel of the rifle, and his next shot struck it further up towards the head, exploding into a large fireball of concussive force as it hit. His next shot was accompanied by a burst of lightning that arced across the Sinspawn's face as it hit, pieces of carapace flying from its head as it roared in agony, and he lined up his last shot carefully as a hazy white aura settled over his body and weapon.
"This is your curtain call...!"
The rifle cracked a final time, even louder than before, and the Sinspawn's head snapped violently aside as Darius' bullet tore through its head entirely, sending it toppling backwards as its body began to dissolve into magical energy. Only then did he allow himself to breathe; he'd expended a lot of mana to chain his abilities like that, but he'd successfully brought Rubedo and Raj's fight back into a two-on-two. He kept an eye on the battles in front of him as he started to reload, making sure that he wasn't needed to reinforce anyone for the immediate moment.
Angel spun into a powerful slice that the Pyrithis ducked under before launching a quick jab into his body, causing him to grunt and shift his body to better block the follow-up punch that smashed into the flat of his blade. He was thankful that the Atma Weapon was a superbly-crafted, magically-enhanced blade, or else the Sinspawn would've shattered it long ago with its powerful strikes. The sword rose again, energy lacing across its surface as he channeled Lightning-elemental magic into it, and he swung it forward as a bolt arced out into the Sinspawn's face. Large hands scraped across its featureless face as it reacted to the searing bolt striking its eyes, and Angel went to follow up his attack before he was shoved forward by a sudden impact from behind and a sharp pain in his back. He glanced back for a moment and saw spines sticking out of his back, a small group of chittering Sinscales dancing behind him and threatening another attack, and he spun quickly to deal with the minions as he tried to also keep an eye on the Sinspawn he was dueling. The tiny bugs scattered as Angel charged them, Atma lashing out and tearing one to ribbons as the others fired another barrage of spines that Angel warded off with a flurry of movement from the azure blade. They weren't any real threat to Angel, he knew, but they were a distraction from his main focus, which he knew was the whole purpose they were around for.
Magic shimmered around his free hand as he swept it across, a sudden flood of water materializing into existence as he cast a Waterga spell around himself to hammer the Sinscales, crushing several of them underneath the instant current the spell provided, and he turned back to the Sinspawn just in time to receive a double-fisted hammer blow to the chest that launched him off his feet, breath blown from his lungs as he sailed through the air. He groaned as he got back up, pieces of the now-broken spines surrounding him; that strike had hurt a lot even with his impressive durability, and he was glad it hadn't been one of his defensively-weaker comrades that had taken the blow.
Thundaga bolts rained down on Ben and Andréa as one of the Gui fiends started casting magic, clawed arms raised in a defensive posture in front of its body to ward off any strikes while it attacked. Andréa was stricken squarely by a falling bolt, but seemed not to even feel it as one of her spirits dissipated some distance away, the impact magically transferred to the sacrificial summon, and she took the opportunity to Blink backwards and get some distance before she summoned another trio of spirits to aid her and Ben. She'd been summoning quite a few spirits to try and give themselves backup, along with the occasional Symbology spell, and she was starting to run dangerously low on mana. Still, she pressed on with her attack; she focused one of her spirits as she ran back in and dissolved it with a mental command, a portion of the mana it still possessed refilling her own reserves as she charged up for another spell. She was instead blindsided by a powerful Blizzaga from her side, throwing her onto the ground roughly and almost knocking the scythe from her grip as she tried to get air back into her lungs and figure out what had happened. She looked over as she started to get back to her feet and saw Ben hunched over, sword still in hand but breathing heavily as he tried to fight off not only the Gui fiend he was near, but also a duo of black plant-like Sinspawn and a small contingent of Sinscales. Immediately, she focused again on another spirit, causing it to explode with a shriek of displaced air and magic only to reform into a much larger spirit. Massive claws split the air as it let out an eerie wail, and the spirit created by Andréa's Gaze of Fury leapt to Ben's aid as defensive spells formed around it from the residual energy pumped into the casting. She slumped a little as she realized that she was effectively out of mana for the moment and took a more defensive stance as she prepared to defend herself against her enormous foe's assault.
Ben wasn't sure if Sin was expending any particular attention on him as opposed to his teammates, but it certainly felt like it at the moment. Two Sinspawn Genais as well as the Gui he'd begun fighting, on top of a small group of Sinscales was quite a burden to fight alone, and he had spent the last minute or two just dodging a hail of Sinscale spines and high-level magic whipped at him by the group of enemies. The familiar red fire of Haste encircled his body, along with the barely-visible aura of Shell magic as he tried to deal with the magical damage flying at him, trusting in his speed to mitigate a lot of the physical attacks being dealt. Still, it was proving an uphill fight. Demi spells from the Genais fiends had sapped a lot of his energy already, and the looming threat of the Gui fiend attacking the moment he was otherwise engaged was putting a strain on his ability to split his attention for fear of eating a high-level spell from his blind side.
"Just love all this attention I'm getting," he muttered, straightening and raising his Diviner again. "Fine, then - bring it on!"
His blade rose, slicing out and sending a wave of fiery energy at the Sinscales only to have one of the Genais fiends swiftly move and reach out with its tentacles as they shimmered brightly, sucking up the magic before it could do any damage to the smaller beings. At the same time, the other Genais fiend let loose with a powerful burst of Waterga that Ben was forced to evade, leaping back as the solid ball of water exploded at his previous position. A bolt of Thundaga magic struck the same spot an instant later, and Ben could feel the electrical energy use the water as a conduit to strike at him as he landed, the Shell absorbing the majority of the power and letting him escape relatively unharmed. Knives appeared in his left hand and immediately burst alight with electrical energy, and he Blinked upward to sling the entire volley into the Gui's face before being forced to slice apart another wave of spines from the Sinscales. He landed squarely in the pool of water formed by the spell moments before, and the liquid under him immediately started to freeze and swirl around him as he used it to fuel a defensive spell, also forming sharp spikes out of the remaining water that he sent in a spreading wave towards everything in front of him. A few Sinscales were sliced apart by the flying icicles, but the Genais fiends took the attack mostly in stride, the sharp points slicing into leathery flesh but failing to find much purchase on the durable fiends.
A large clawed hand suddenly tore one of the Genais fiends apart from behind, and Ben's eyes widened as he saw one of Andréa's summoned spirits thunder through the space the Sinspawn had occupied to launch another attack on the second, clawed hands struggling for dominance against vine-like appendages as the other Sinspawn tried to fight off the magical construct. Its distraction allowed Ben valuable moments to breathe, and he used the time to quickly engage the rest of the Sinscales, his Diviner chopping and slicing through the last few tiny spawn in short order as the Gui began to try and attack Andréa's summon as well.
"Thank you, Andréa..." he murmured, looking around to see where everyone else stood at the moment. "I should fall back a little...don't want to get cut off from the others out here." More rifle shots rang out, and Ben saw after a moment that the shots were aimed at his foes as well, which were starting to overpower the summoned spirit - Darius was helping him retreat, he realized. Not one to waste the opportunity, he quickly started heading back towards where Andréa was standing to try and give themselves better positioning and power to work with. As he moved, he saw Angel also retreating, the Pyrithis fiend dogging his heels as he ran to also try and regroup.
"Angel, duck!" he yelled, changing course and heading straight for the powerful fiend as he started concentrating his mana to try and buy Angel a moment to recover. A large ball of icy energy began to concentrate in his free hand - the same skill he used in the first battle with the Caeculus Sinspawn - and he Blinked between Angel and the Sinspawn before thrusting his hand forward and letting the orb fly directly into its face, trusting his cloak of frost and Shell to handle any recoil from the spell. The effect was as devastating as it was beautiful, with shards of ice flying everywhere and lacerating the entire upper body of the Sinspawn, but it still snorted in annoyance before backhanding Ben out of the way and continuing to storm after Angel.
It took three steps before its head suddenly exploded, the resounding thunder of Darius' armor-piercing ammo almost lost in the myriad sounds of combat as the fiend's body dissolved into magical energy.
One of the Gui fiends fell with a screeching cry and a massive rumble in the distance, and Angel saw Rubedo and Raj begin to retreat as well, the former letting Raj take the rear guard as the remaining Gui fiend and a small horde of Sinspawn continued to lob magic and spines in their direction. Despite their progress, Angel's face tightened as he saw more and more Sinscales beginning to appear on the battlefield, some of them melding into more Sinspawn to replace the ones that had fallen as Sin brought more numbers to bear against the half-dozen struggling SeeD.
"Ben, pull back! We need to regroup!" Angel yelled, standing his ground as he waited for Ben to wearily drag himself back off the dirt.
"...Yeah...working on that," he muttered, the energy of a Curaga spell lacing around him as he tried to mend the damage from the Sinspawn's dismissive strike. He limped back over to Angel, trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him as he watched Rubedo and Raj approach; Andréa was nearby them already, directing her spirits in front of them to try and hold off some of the approaching forces. More shots rang out from behind them as Darius continued his suppressive fire, but he was firing into a mass of enemies that seemed to be growing by the second and showed no signs of abating.
"What do we do now?" Rubedo asked, looking at the others as they started to prepare for another engagement.
"How much more time until Esthar arrives?" Ben asked, receiving a grim shake of the head from Angel.
"No idea - we haven't heard anything from Katanas or the others," he said, causing Ben to curse under his breath.
"Just have to keep going, then," he said, starting to chain-cast Cura spells over everyone to try and heal up some of their wounds - even though it did next to nothing for fatigue, he knew. To make matters worse, he was almost out of mana again and only had one more Ether remaining to restore it with. Not for the first time this fight, he lamented how little thought he'd put into stocking up curatives over time using his alchemy for later use.
"That next charge is going to be rough to handle," Andréa said, her head turned towards the gathering Sinspawn.
"We probably need to use our GFs to try and buy some more time," Ben said, earning a nod from Angel and Andréa. "I have Shiva, and I can keep her on the field until my mana starts to run out again."
"Crusader here," Angel said.
"Leviathan."
Raj and Rubedo both shook their heads, indicating that they weren't using GFs, and Ben nodded. "Okay, then...Andréa, you lead with Leviathan, I'll follow up, and Angel can try to blast anything we don't get. Raj, Rubedo, give us some cover for a few seconds if you can - Darius should be backing us up too."
Angel, Ben, and Andréa quickly shifted to stand behind the other two SeeD officers as they each reached into the mind, touching the guardian spirits that were linked with them and beginning to draw out their power onto the physical plane. Raj and Rubedo stood in front of them, shield and fists at the ready as the horde approached closer and closer, with the echoing sound of Darius' gunfire filling the battlefield all the while. Moments passed as the stampeding force approached, and Andrea's form blurred into translucence as reality shifted around her, causing a blue portal of swirling energy to appear in the sky behind her. From the portal, a shifting mass of whitish-blue energy snaked into existence, winding through the air as it emerged into the mortal plane. In a brilliant flash of light, the serpentine form of the Guardian Force of Water appeared, Leviathan's azure body roaring before ascending higher into the sky as the SeeD officers pulled back behind the summon. The GF let out another echoing screech as its body started to shine brightly, and energy exploded from its form into a rushing torrent of water that fell from the heavens and slammed into the earth, the Tsunami releasing an unyielding mass of liquid that flooded the field and slammed into the approaching mass of Sin's progeny with unbridled power. Sinscales were crushed and swept aside by the massive flood, instantly killed by the deluge, and the smaller Sinspawn were thrown about like ships in a hurricane as the water carried them away and threatened to drown them. Only the larger Sinspawn stayed mostly untouched by the flood, stomping above the rapidly-flowing water and roaring defiance in the face of the Guardian Force's power.
The musical sound of shattering ice came from nearby Andréa as she faded back into reality, Leviathan's summon dismissed, and Ben smiled as he watched the familiar blue-skinned form of Shiva appear beside him as his own summon completed. While Leviathan was powerful and its attack had done a lot to thin out and scatter the approaching horde, he had asked Andréa to go first for a simpler reason. The ground was now saturated with water, and he was going to put that to good use. Shiva stepped in front of him as he let her take the lead, and he smiled as he put the second part of his plan into motion.
He channeled his energy not into himself, but into Shiva as she prepared to strike, and a brilliant blue glow sprang up around her as he let her draw freely on his mana to fuel her own technique. Delicate hands rose towards the sky as she drew energy for her attack, and the ball of power that began to form was nearly triple the size it normally was as she combined her power with Ben's own. When she felt she'd drawn enough, she let the technique fly, the overpowered Diamond Dust sending a veritable wall of icy energy at the Sinspawn that were already dazed and scattered by Leviathan's attack. Everywhere the ice touched, more ice sprang up from the water on the ground as deadly spikes that lacerated everything in their path, and the energy froze dozens of Sinspawn in their tracks as it passed over the SeeD officers' foes before shattering into thousands of tiny, razor-sharp slivers of ice that tore apart flesh and stabbed into bone.
As the remaining Sinspawn struggled to get free of the ice and trudged onwards towards their prey, a dragon's roar suddenly filled the air as Angel's Guardian Force began its manifestation. The brilliant, bronze-skinned dragon started to pull itself free from the white gate that materialized high above the area, roaring a challenge to the mass of enemies below it, and it wasted little time in preparing to attack as it spread its wings to their full extension and began to gather power in its gaping maw. The energy building there split off into three as it continued to grow, spiraling around in a triangular formation before the Guardian Force, and the dragon let out a mighty bellow before releasing the brilliant ray of Holy-elemental might. The powerful Cleansing bored a hole clean through the formation of Sin's minions, tearing them apart and dissolving their bodies under the overwhelming onslaught of the beam of light.
As the smoke and dust cleared from the trio of summoned attacks, the SeeD members could see that the oncoming throng of Sinspawn and Sinscales had been gutted, scores of their number lost to the fury of their Guardian Forces...but not completely wiped out. Several of the more powerful Sinspawn still lived, wounded but still alive, and even with all the destruction they could see that Sin was still continuing to reinforce their numbers, scales raining from the sky in droves from afar as it fed more and more of its spawn into the battle from a seemingly limitless reserve.
"You have to be kidding me," Rubedo muttered, looking on in awe at the rapidly-replenishing force that was preparing to bear down on them once again. He spared a glance to his side as Darius appeared next to him, finally rejoining the group and now wielding his dual pistols, the rifle slung to his back again.
"That's the big problem with Sin," Ben said, taking a moment to drink the last Ether in his possession. "It's not just a monster, it's an army too - and with it backed by Wilhelm's power, it can probably do this forever if it had to. Anyone got any ideas?"
"Commander, how long before our support arrives?" Raj asked over his GLD, waiting a few seconds on Katanas to respond.
"Air support is inbound in ten, with ground forces a few minutes behind them. How much longer can you hold?"
"Possibly five minutes at best - Sin's spawn are close to overwhelming us as it stands," he replied, more calmly than Ben thought he himself could've managed under the circumstances.
"Do everything you can to hold - we'll be there as fast as we can."
Battered and weary, but still defiant, the group of SeeD officers and sole Guardian Force turned to face the oncoming storm once more, not willing to back down despite the impossible odds stacked against them. Andréa suddenly turned to face behind them, staring at something off in the distance towards the direction of the city of Esthar.
"What is it?" Darius asked, squinting and looking back as well.
"I hear something coming. It's faint, but it's there."
The GLDs of all six SeeD members crackled to life moments later, a message playing loud and clear over it for all to hear.
"You guys still alive down there?"
"Wait...Irvine?" Ben asked in surprise, looking back towards where Darius and Andréa were staring. "Kinneas, is that you?"
"Heard you had a big bunch of nasty coming your way - figured we'd lend a hand," Irvine said over the GLD as a rumbling sound in the distance started getting louder.
"Your timing is excellent," Raj replied over the GLD. "What's your status?"
"You should see us any minute now," Irvine replied, pausing briefly before they could hear his voice again. "Ready, Selphie?"
Ben could've sworn he heard the hyperactive girl's voice yell 'whoo-hoo!' over the GLD as a glimmer of light suddenly popped into existence from afar, growing in size and intensity rapidly before a terrifyingly loud burst of sound split the air. A brilliant ray of energy came from high in the air behind the SeeD and met the oncoming force of Sin's progeny with a keening wail, causing the SeeD members to brace themselves against the onrush of wind and dust caused by the explosion. Sinspawn and Sinscales alike evaporated under the white-hot plasma that washed over them, the Estharian weapon's fury consuming a large portion of the attacking force and instantly causing them to cease their advance as the very earth boiled away under their feet.
(End: The Unholy Wars (Fighting of the Spirit) - Dhsu, Sixto Sounds; OverClocked Remix: Summoning of Spirits)
"About time we caught a break," Ben sighed, letting himself relax just the tiniest amount as the sight from before came into full view, descending from high above as it prepared to land. The sleek red form of the draconic Ragnarok aircraft belonging to Esthar swooped in from above and landed a few hundred feet away from where the SeeD officers were standing, the source of the powerful plasma beam that had halted Sin's onslaught. Ben's eyes widened as he watched several figures exit the aircraft, and he realized that they once again had a fighting chance as he saw who had been on board.
Irvine Kinneas. Selphie Tilmitt. Quistis Trepe. Zell Dincht. Rinoa Heartilly. And last but not least...Squall Leonhart.
The six Sorceress Heroes who had defeated Ultimecia and saved time itself.
"Booya, baby! It's time to rock!" Zell yelled, punching the air excitedly as the six approached, grinning from ear to ear. Irvine and Selphie matched each other's stride perfectly, the gunner's coat billowing behind him as his Valiant rifle rested on one shoulder lazily. Quistis' rante sat coiled around her arm as she approached, adjusting her glasses as she walked to get a clear look at the surroundings. Rinoa and Squall also walked in sync, the dark-haired girl looking for all the world like the graceful Sorceress that she was, and Squall's usual stony expression was firmly in place as he moved with purposeful strides towards the battle.
"Thank Freya..." Ben said, a wide smile on his face despite his fatigue. If anything could turn the tide of battle back in their favor, this was it.
The six assembled members of First Team stepped up beside the six Trabian SeeD as they prepared to defend the city of Esthar, once again preparing to stride back into a battle to save the world.