Book II, Part I: Outbreak - Vector's Gambit
Chapter XVII - Defiers of Fate, Part II
Ben had known going into the fight that it was likely a hopeless cause, a delaying tactic that was just as likely to get them all killed as it was to buy the time needed to save millions of lives. That was what SeeD specialized in, though - the impossible was their purview, the battlefield their home, and they'd shown time and time again that they could rise to the occasion and overcome the odds.
Now, with the members of First Team alongside them, it was finally time for the Planeswalkers of Garden to begin their counterattack in earnest.
Healing magic suddenly washed over Ben, and he blinked in surprise - this wasn't just healing magic...it was something else entirely that he couldn't describe. Curative magic mended the body to an extent, restoring damaged flesh and muscle with ease and an influx of mana, but this...
He looked over at Rinoa, seeing her hands - no, her entire body - glowing faintly with the light green tint of restorative power, and he had to struggle to contain the awe that threatened to escape from him. Wounds that he'd taken vanished in an instant, ceasing to exist as if time itself had been rewound. Fatigue blew away from him like dust in the breeze, easing his body and soothing his mind as he felt aches and pains flow away to leave him feeling the way he had before they'd even set out for Esthar. He'd studied tirelessly with Lulu in Spira to learn how to properly control curative energies and use them to the fullest, slowly and surely scraping for every ounce of control and precision he could manage both by training and experience, but he couldn't even begin to imagine ever having a mastery of the craft that approached the level of ability that Rinoa displayed thanks to her Sorceress gift.
"Pair up," Squall said, looking between the group of SeeD standing beside him, "and let's move. We'll have reinforcements in five."
Glances were shared among the SeeD as they quickly found partners to work with that complemented their abilities, and Ben readied his Diviner again as he stood beside Squall, finally ready to get back into the fight. His heart was practically beating out of his chest from adrenaline, and he almost couldn't believe that he was about to go back into combat side by side with Squall Leonhart, of all people, but he put his thoughts out of his mind and brought his focus back to the battle at hand.
No command was given, but none needed to be - the SeeD officers moved as one as they charged, ready to unleash judgment on the Author that dared to threaten the world they protected.
(Play: The Man with the Machine Gun - Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kenichiro Fukui; The Black Mages: The Skies Above)
Raj was the first back into the thick of the fight, leading the advance of the dozen SeeD members with shield raised and sword bared at the ever-growing hordes of Sin's creation. He bore the brunt of a hail of spines on the towering bastion of metal, turning them aside with disdain and loosing an arcing bolt of lightning from his blade that electrocuted the offending Sinscales where they stood in an instant. Bursts of Firaga and Thundaga magic flew from the more powerful Sinspawn, converging on him all at once only to be effortlessly deflected by a translucent bluish-pink bubble of force that erupted around him in response to the attacks, courtesy of his partner. Quistis' eyes shimmered a pale blue behind her glasses as she used her unique Blue Magic to ward off the spells, the chain whip around her wrist unfurling and lashing out to deliver a piercing strike to a nearby Geneaux spawn that tore through its body with ease. She snapped the whip back to her side, causing the creature to shriek right before a pair of energy beams from her eyes melted the majority of the Sinspawn's upper body into nothingness.
Raj, meanwhile, had found himself in confrontation with another of the massive Gui fiends, backed up by a small contingent of Sinscales and a Sinspawn Ammes. The immobile and towering form of the gravity-wielding Sinspawn shimmered a pale purple as it brought its Demi magic to bear, sapping away a portion of Raj's strength with a spell he was unable to deflect as the Gui fiend howled and moved in to swipe with its massive claws. His shield snapped upward to block the enormous arms as they came down, bursting into flame that set the Sinspawn's arms alight and caused it to screech in pain as it jerked back in surprise, and the Sinscales took the opportunity to begin laying into the Mighty Guard surrounding him with a barrage of organic missiles that shattered and ricocheted off the magical barrier. He ignored the spines, confident that Quistis' defense wouldn't falter under such a paltry attack, and instead summoned energy to wrap his sword in a swirling typhoon of dust and earth. The sudden dust storm around him forced the Sinscales back, slicing at them with shards of rock and earth before it shrank and melded itself to his weapon, and Raj dove into melee again with the Gui fiend as he began to hack away at it with the Earth-elemental enchanted weapon.
Darius and Irvine had taken up position alongside everyone else instead of staying near the rearguard this time around, and gunshots resounded fast and furious as Irvine's Valiant-model shotgun and Darius' dual pistols laid waste to everything in their path. A small horde of Sinscales skittered at them from the sides only to be met with a hail of bullets from Darius' pistols that exploded into fragments of burning metal and a spray of shotgun pellets from Irvine's customized weapon. Another tight bunch of spawn started to melt and reform into a larger Sinspawn only to have Irvine quickly slot a pair of special shells before taking careful aim, launching one and then another into the mass. The entire thing exploded as the grenade shells struck home, and Irvine had to duck away from bits of flying Sinspawn as well as a hail of spines from the Sinscales trailing up behind it.
"Forty-seven!" Darius called, smirking despite everything as he put another spray of bullets into an approaching Sinscale. "You're movin' pretty slow, Kinneas - is everyone from Galbadia so sloppy?"
"We haven't even gotten to the good part yet," Irvine replied, grinning back at Darius as he blindly put another shell through a Sinscale that leaped at him, tossing it back and away with a hole through the center of its carapace. "You gotta learn to pace yourself."
A roar nearby them split the air as another monstrous Gui fiend lunged forward, trampling Sinscales underfoot as it approached the two marksmen, and three guns swung simultaneously in its direction before unleashing a blistering hail of bullets towards the gigantic fiend's body. It jerked back, its body shredded and scored by dozens of bullets and shells, and it toppled over like a felled tree as the pair of gunslingers continued their metal-filled massacre.
Andréa and Selphie were - as Andréa herself had been before - near the middle of the group, and were doing their part to keep everyone else covered and make sure that no one was flanked or caught out of position as they advanced. Magic flew from Selphie's fingers almost as effortlessly as flicking water, her magical training at Trabia showing as she flung high-level spells into the fray with reckless abandon and incredible accuracy and control. The appearance of a Sinspawn Ammes was immediately met with a pair of Firaga spells that set the three-story monster ablaze, followed by a burst of Waterga magic that exploded on its body and sent superheated steam everywhere as the water evaporated instantly. Andréa's spirits descended on it in the next moment, sharpened ethereal claws rending and tearing the monster apart from the ground up and causing it to emit a harsh, keening wail as the spirits clawed their way up its body. It fell over with a loud shriek as the spirits finally tore the life from it, crushing countless Sinscales under its mass before it evaporated into magical energy.
"Selphie, beside you!" Andréa shouted, causing the younger girl to spin in time to see the advance of what looked like a brand new type of Sinspawn. It lumbered with a hunched stance, its thick gorilla-like body plodding along with surprising speed, and its left arm was massively enlarged and covered in gray chitin that seemed to have formed some kind of armor. Its head was also covered in the same material, forming a sort of helm to protect itself, and its right arm seemed to be fused with bits of metal and dully-colored bone to form a weapon that superficially resembled a gunblade. Andréa's eyes lit up with Scan magic beneath the cloth covering, and she had just enough time to process the Sinspawn's name - Aeclos - before it was upon her comrade. Selphie's nunchaku rose to parry the swipe from the biological weapon of the Aeclos fiend, the diminutive SeeD officer finding herself pushed back from the strength of the creature before it relented. Andréa's scythe whipped in as she joined the melee, cutting deeply into the side of the Sinspawn, and Selphie smashed a Blizzaga spell into its face as it sent its left arm thundering down into the ground at its feet. The earth exploded outward, forcing both Andréa and Selphie away as shards of rock and dirt flew everywhere, and the Sinspawn roared a challenge before advancing on the pair of SeeD once more.
Zell and Rubedo stood side by side on the front lines, fists and feet flying as they shattered spines, clawed limbs, and anything else that got in their way. The Sinscales that stood before them might have numbered in the hundreds, but against the duo's assault it might as well have been like splashing a cup of water on a forest fire for all the good it did. Chitin crunched and magical energy burst everywhere as they tore a path straight through every Sinscale unlucky enough to be in their way, making a beeline straight for the emerging Sinspawn at the back of the cloud of minions. A Gui fiend screeched loudly over the din of combat and sent bolts of Firaga magic at the pair of brawlers even as a Pyrithis fiend stepped up to go toe to toe with Zell, with Rubedo breaking off to deal with the much larger spawn. Zell casually slapped the fiery blast aside, not even flinching in the face of it and smirking as he stepped into melee with the hulking, gray-skinned beast, and his tiny fist met the Pyrithis' massive hand in a clash that cracked the ground underneath them from the force.
'You're kidding me,' Rubedo thought, seeing Zell meet the Sinspawn head-on right before he dove into combat again himself. He'd known Zell was extraordinarily strong, junctioned or not, but to see the martial artist in action was something entirely different from just hearing stories.
The Sinspawn cocked an arm, throwing it forward in a powerful haymaker that Zell caught on his forearm, pushing the brawler back a few feet as he tried to keep his footing on shaky ground. He was a bit surprised at the Sinspawn's power; hearing the info from the briefing from Squall only went so far, after all. He threw the Sinspawn's arm away before leveling a powerful punch of his own that barely missed its face as it turned aside, and one of the Sinspawn's legs came up in a powerful kick that slammed solidly into his side and caused him to grunt.
"Not bad..."
His hands reached down, latching onto the Sinspawn's leg like steel bands as he cried out, lifting the Sinspawn off its feet entirely and pivoting before hurling it away into the distance to land with an explosion of dirt and rock.
"...but not good enough! Booya!"
He measured the distance with a quick glance before sprinting off, leaping high into the air and cocking a fist back as he lined up his target on the ground below. The Sinspawn, only starting to rise, brought both arms up to block only to have Zell's fist explode through them and into its chest, smashing it back down into the ground and leaving a crater underneath him as he landed. When the dust settled, the only thing left of the Pyrithis fiend was dissipating wisps of energy, and Zell nodded approvingly before turning and heading back towards Rubedo.
Angel and Rinoa were near the head of the melee alongside Ben and Squall, and the tiny Sorceress was serving as a potent ally to the centuries-old Vayash Moru. To Angel, it felt like being near Rinoa was like being more alive, with the magic that ran through every facet of her being radiating from her in waves no matter how finely it was controlled and permeating everything around her like sunlight. The Atma Weapon in his hand shone brighter than he had ever seen, seeming to drink in the glow of the magic and giving it a truer flight and sharper edge than he'd ever imagined. He moved like quicksilver, tearing apart Sinscales around him like paper in a series of fluid moves before opening up with a burst of Fira spells aimed at a nearby Sinspawn Geneaux. The spells impacted and set the creature's leathery hide ablaze with a screech of pain right before Rinoa waved a hand in its direction. The creature seemed to...melt, snuffed out of existence by the Sorceress' talent as easily as pouring water on a flame. Angel's long years of experience with beings of similar standing was the only reason he didn't freeze in awe, and he instead took the opportunity to impale and dismember one of the wiry Sinspawn Medei that had been aiming to strike Rinoa from behind.
Rinoa nodded her thanks before returning her attention to the fore, focusing her mind on the strange whale-like behemoth that was the source of all the conflict. So much destruction and death, all centered around one single being brought here by another for...what reason? None that she could surmise, which made her all the more distraught. Magic welled up within her, raw and untamed, and she bent the energy to her will even as she pulled on it, drawing it out and condensing it into a ball of unbridled power that she sent towards Sin.
From his shared sensory link with the beast, Wilhelm watched the orb approach, directing Sin to deflect the oncoming energy with the same shield it had used before.
It was only right before it struck that he realized the fragment of Hyne's power that it contained, and Sin's energy shield manifested itself in the instant before the orb detonated upon it with the full force of Rinoa's Sorceress might. The roar shook everything around for hundreds of yards, blinding everything in the vicinity as if a second sun had blazed to life and sending a corona of wind outpouring from the impact. As the dust settled, Wilhelm carefully reevaluated his opinion of the threat posed by the kindly, unassuming woman who had been gifted a power beyond imagining.
At the fore of the melee, Ben and Squall rushed forward side by side on a direct path for the thickest concentration of enemies standing between them and the monster beyond. Ben spared a glance over at Squall as they ran, noting the Commander's intensely-focused expression before turning back and preparing to attack. Two massive Sinspawn Pyrithis stood on the frontlines, backed by several Sinspawn Caeculus and a host of smaller spawn and Sinscales that roared challenges to the two advancing SeeD, and Ben inwardly had a spike of fear from the sight of the creature that had nearly killed him a short time before.
'No...I'm not letting this stop me, not this time.'
He couldn't back down here, not with Squall and the rest of the SeeD forces - no, the world's forces - that were gathering here needing his backup. His blade lit up with black energy as he called on one of his Blademaster skills, and he flash stepped into melee range before tearing into the Sinspawn's chest with his Arcane Strike. A meaty fist immediately came flying at him, the sword strike not doing a whole lot to the tough hide, but Ben was ready for the counterattack this time and flashed away again as a shimmering red aura overtook his entire body, his Valor Stance funneling the majority of his magical power into his physical abilities. His blade also took a red sheen a few moments later, and he gritted his teeth before stepping into his stance as the Sinspawn charged him.
"If I couldn't manage to cut you before..."
The Sinspawn thundered back into melee range with him, leveling a powerful haymaker straight at his chest, and he waited until the last possible second before blurring around the swing and striking with his Bracing Cleave directly at the Sinspawn's neck.
"...then I'll just have to swing harder."
The Sinspawn's body fell to the ground, followed closely by its head as both started to dissolve into wisps of energy, and Ben steeled himself before advancing on the group of Caeculus fiends behind his fallen foe.
Squall Leonhart dove straight into the melee, his face locked in focused determination as the glittering blue blade of his Lionheart gunblade trailed a hazy afterimage of energy through the air. He'd never seen monsters quite like the ones they were facing now, but that didn't matter. They were threatening his home, his friends, and Garden - he would cut them down regardless of their appearance or the danger to himself. The towering Sinspawn Pyrithis in front of him grunted and dove forward, arm swinging in a powerful haymaker, but Squall simply went low underneath the arm before bringing his gunblade up in a diagonal strike.
Then he pulled the weapon's trigger.
In most models of gunblade, the trigger mechanism primed the concussive force shells held within the cylinder, using them to amplify the force of a strike through vibrating the blade. The Lionheart, however,was not one of those models. Instead, Squall's blade lit up with an intensely vibrant blue as the energy crystals that powered the weapon went into overdrive, giving the weapon's edge an intense burst of power that magnified its durability and cutting power several-fold.
The result was that Squall's gunblade went through the fiend's tough hide like it was moving through nothing but air, letting Squall slide by the two meaty chunks of Sinspawn that fell to the ground behind him almost without breaking his stride and leaving them to dissolve into magic as he moved forward.
Wilhelm watched as the twelve members of SeeD struck back against his creations with interest and, he had to admit, some level of respect. Few people would've dared to stand against something as powerful as Sin and its minions, but these mortals were not only standing against it, they were giving him a surprisingly strong amount of resistance for being so few in number. Perhaps there was something to Erasmus' nature of shepherding his creations after all, he considered. He was snapped from his musings by a deep rumbling sound that started to approach the battlefield, and Sin's eyes snapped in all directions to locate the source of the sound as Wilhelm idly wondered what else the Humes would bring to the table.
He found his answer in multiple directions at once.
To the south, a cloud of dust and frost was billowing up behind the treads and wheels of dozens upon dozens of vehicles as Esthar's military might finished its mobilization, large armored personnel carriers and light, hovering speeders carrying thousands of troops into the fray to support the Garden forces. Hovering tanks floated ominously behind the columns of infantry vehicles, their rounded and almost insectoid appearance showcasing the might and unusual design aesthetics of Esthar's finest as they lumbered towards the battlefield. Overhead, dozens of Estharian air fighters screamed in from their air bases, led by the angular draconic form of the Presidential Guard's Ragnarok-model flagship, the Kusanagi. Behind those fighters sat a massive shape, a red and white airship that was surrounded by a host of other support and fighter craft. Sitting at twelve hundred meters in length, it was absolutely gigantic and dwarfed every other aircraft on the field, its knife-like shape complemented by a pair of enormous, feather-like white wings that held it aloft with Estharian anti-gravity technology. It was a marvel of engineering that had taken the Garden Network incredible amounts of money and resources to construct, and Anita Drake was immensely proud of the flagship of her White Knight aerial division - the Durandal.
"This is the Durandal," Anita spoke into the comms, reaching out to all of the aerial forces from Garden and Esthar alike. "We are approaching our target and preparing to engage on the Commander's order. Pick your targets, stay safe out there, and let's make that monster regret ever coming to this world."
From the west came a force almost as large, but with vastly more power than even Esthar could hope to bring to bear. SeeD forces from Balamb, Galbadia, and Trabia had all gathered and headed to the front, and each and every one of the almost four thousand SeeD members were fully ready for combat. The front lines were headed up by Onimaru's Blue Knights, the mechanized division fielding an array of tanks and heavily-armed vehicles along with a small contingent of SeeD who were carrying heavy anti-vehicle weaponry. Behind them stood Camdus' Red Knights, five hundred SeeD loaded for bear with firearms and melee weapons of all kinds, along with a full thousand Trabia Garden SeeD to comprise the bulk of the force that would stand against Sin's armies in melee and short-range combat. Scattered among them were SeeD from Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, mixing in prowess with Guardian Forces and specialized firearms to complement the groups they were aiding.
Far in the distance, almost two miles offshore from the battleground, a large battlegroup of Dollet's naval might sat ready upon the open ocean to add long-distance fire support to the battle. While they had lost a large amount of sailors in Sin's surprise encounter, there were thousands more who were willing and ready to avenge the loss of their comrades and protect the tiny coastal nation they held dear.
As nearly ten thousand men and women gathered to lay siege to the towering monstrosity that had invaded their world, Wilhelm's smile grew. Erasmus' creations had, indeed, proven to be something to be reckoned with...but the real test would begin now.
"You have done well," he said to himself, watching through Sin's eyes as the gathered force began to advance on his creation. "Erasmus, surely, will be proud."
Sin's head rose to the sky and let out an unearthly, keening wail that sent a shockwave of air flying from its position as it began to glow a dark, shimmering hue of violet. The fighters overhead broke off and scattered to try and avoid whatever Sin was planning as the Durandal held its position, flanked by several lighter aircraft that served as a defensive line for the flagship. The energy around Sin rippled and shifted, churning dangerously before it roared again, sending the energy pulsing out in all directions as a massive sphere centered on itself. As the energy field expanded, countless Sinspawn began to manifest in the area, thousands upon thousands of Sinscales and Sinspawn materializing on the ground around it as flying spawn began to litter the skies in all shapes and sizes to challenge the airships above. The top of the sphere pulsed upwards again and spread out once more into a massive shape as the beast summoned a final Sinspawn, one that was nearly a quarter as large as Sin itself. It was massive and draconic in shape, large enough to dwarf the Ragnarok by a fair margin, with an enormous dull yellow body and four large wings. Its tail was forked and covered in barbs, and two curved horns jutted from the top of its skull, glittering in the sunlight like obsidian spires.
Ben skidded to a stop, freezing in place and looking up at the monstrosity that Sin - Wilhelm - had just summoned to the battlefield. As he watched, the new creature gave a tremendous roar that resonated around the plains and caused the flying fiends to group around it, ready to swoop into combat with the aircraft opposing it.
"...Yep, that's bad news," Ben muttered to himself, looking around at the Garden and Estharian forces that were now swarming the battlefield and opening fire on Sin and its minions. He took a deep breath and focused, pushing his awareness outwards and searching for familiarity, the telltale magical signs of people he knew. It felt like searching for something in a dimly-lit room, his senses muddled by the sheer numbers around him, but he soon began to sense the presence of others he knew - First Team was still nearby, as were the other Planeswalkers, and he recognized more the longer he focused. Tetsuya, Yuki, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Silvia...all of them were here, though scattered.
There was one power he wasn't able to ignore that he'd never truly felt the extent of before, though - Katanas, his energy surging like a roaring flame as he stood at the fore of the Garden lines.
Katanas was, to little surprise from most that knew him, a leader that was widely admired throughout the Garden Network. He was intelligent, amiable, and charismatic, someone who would take the time to listen to the problems of his subordinates with patience and care and do his best to resolve any problems or quell any strife. He was a firm believer in the idea of leading by example, showing what could be accomplished in an attempt to drive those to followed him to greater heights.
That trait carried over to the battlefield as well.
He stood at the head of the SeeD formation as they prepared for their advance, looking over the quickly-multiplying forces that Sin was laying out against them. The number of Sinspawn and Sinscales just seemed to keep increasing without end, a seamless tide of gray that threatened to overrun everything in its path like a horde of locusts. Even nearly ten thousand strong, Sin's forces outnumbered them ten to one at least, let alone the new threat of the massive beast it had summoned into the sky that seemed to be some kind of air commander for the rest of the flying spawn. Horrendous odds for almost anyone...except for SeeD.
"This is Commander DeValle," he spoke aloud, his words transmitted through the GLD to the entire combined army of Garden, Dollet, and Estharian troops. "It is time we showed this creature the might of our resolve and the conviction of our beliefs. Today, we will forge onward into the darkness and strike it down so that we may prove ourselves worthy to inherit this world. We will protect those who cannot protect themselves, and stand firm in the face of adversity. Stay alert, protect your comrades, and fight valiantly."
(Play: Millennial Capital ~Mare Luxuria~ - Keiichi Okabe, Ryuichi Takada, Keigo Hoashi, Syotarou Seo; Fate/Extella Link)
The roar from the assembled troops was deafening as Katanas finished speaking, matched only by the furor of the battle cries as the army charged into battle against Sin's might. The thunder of thousands of feet on both sides shook the ground and seemed to cause the sky itself to rumble as both sides charged across open ground.
Then, they collided.
The impact was tremendous, the force almost cataclysmic as thousands of SeeD and Estharian soldiers opened up on Sin's forces with magic and weaponry, hundreds of spells and thousands of projectiles of all kinds spraying forth from the allied lines and tearing apart countless numbers of the invaders. Equally powerful was the response of the Sinspawn, with scaled claws and tentacles lashing and tearing into the bodies of the soldiers as hordes of Sinscales volleyed spines into the fray with indiscriminate aim and reckless abandon. It was almost immediately apparent that one of the biggest problems would be that Sin's minions didn't care about friendly fire or caring for their allies, and as such simply attacked indiscriminately with no heed for friend or foe.
Katanas, however, didn't waver.
He strode through the battlefield at the fore of the lines, rapier in hand as he dove deep into the enemy and began to strike. A flaming magical aura surrounded him as he moved, scorching black the flesh of anything that dared to strike him yet harmless to those he considered allies as he stabbed and pierced Sinscales with utmost precision. Bursts of fire met claws and teeth as he used his magic defensively to ward off the flood of monsters, heading towards the nearest Sinspawn that he could see - a pair of Geneaux fiends that were lashing wildly at SeeD officers that were engaged with them. The magical fire he was channeling engulfed his rapier as he dashed forward, leaping up and unleashing a flurry of rapid stabs into the creature's face that exploded with flame. The Geneaux fiend howled as it was lit ablaze, but Katanas quickly reached out and snapped with his left hand, the glove's transmutation circle shimmering as he roasted the creature alive within a conjured sphere of fire. He heard a scream from beside him and turned in time to see another of the SeeD officers fallen, impaled by the other fiend's sharpened, root-like tentacles, and that one found itself surrounded in flame as well with another quick snap. The rest of the SeeD nearby wasted no time in unloading magic into the durable plant monster, and it evaporated into magic moments later as the energy overwhelmed it.
"Thanks, Commander," one of the SeeD said, starting to tend to the few SeeD who had fallen while the rest of their group tried to establish a perimeter to protect them. Katanas nodded in reply before heading back into the battle to try and keep bolstering the morale of his forces. He couldn't be everywhere at once, but if Squall Leonhart had proven anything at the battle of Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, it was that the presence of their leaders would spur the SeeD forces to fight much more fiercely than normal. He only hoped that the casualties wouldn't be too great, he thought to himself as he ran. Their task was daunting, but they would persevere - it was their duty.
Garden was, as a mercenary organization, often much different than traditional militaries. Galbadia Garden was run the closest to what a military style would typically reflect, but even it had qualities that made it stand out from proper military doctrine. One of the biggest differences was that while militaries tended to assign soldiers to groups solely based on experience and training, SeeD not only used those qualities but also took personal connections into account as well. The reasoning behind it was simple and tied to human nature: people tended to fight more strongly for people they cared about on a personal level. Whether that was family, friends, or someone they respected or admired, SeeD commanders and headmasters had often noted the effect that interpersonal connections had on mission success, and the risk seemed worth the reward to them.
Tetsuya was secretly glad for that fact today more so than ever, because it meant that he was grouped together with his sister instead of being separated by their different specialties. While he knew that Yuki was more than capable, probably the closest thing to a magical prodigy that their family lineage had seen in generations, she was still his little sister. He had worried how the scale of something like this would affect her, wondering if she'd be afraid, but she seemed focused and determined instead of scared. It made him proud to see that she was living up to not just the hopes of her family, but her own expectations as well.
He gripped his gunblade tightly as he stared down the hulking Sinspawn Pyrithis in front of him, standing between it and Yuki as the battle raged around him. A yellow aura lit up around him as he entered the first stage of his bloodline talent, and he felt the electrical power it contained course through his veins as the creature charged at him. A spray of magical bolts flew around him and struck the creature in the face as Yuki fired a spell from behind him, but it did almost nothing to deter the monster as it reared back and threw a fist forward. Tetsuya caught it on the flat of his gunblade and grunted under the impact as it nearly threw him off his feet even with his strength junctions. Struggling, he finally forced the creature's arm upwards before striking out at its chest and slicing across its armor-like hide. A trickle of magical energy flowed from the wound that Tetsuya's gunblade inflicted, and it raised a hand to retaliate before a flurry of Fire spells impacted rapid-fire into its face, scorching and blinding it with the flying embers as Yuki circled around for a better angle.
"Good shot, sis!" Tetsuya yelled, bringing the gunblade behind himself as he started to charge energy into it. He took a quick leap back before dashing forward again, using his momentum to aid his heavy weapon's swing as the electrically-enchanted gunblade flashed forward again. This time, the blade bit deeply into the creature's flesh and caused it to grunt in pain right before one meaty hand wrapped around the weapon in Tetsuya's hand. It yanked it out before snapping its arm back with the blade still in its grasp, causing Tetsuya to lurch forward sharply right before the forearm of the creature's other arm came across in a clotheslining strike that smashed Tetsuya into the ground and sent up a cloud of dust around them.
"Nii-san!" Yuki screamed, a blue aura flashing around her as she also entered her bloodline form, rushing over with magic gathering in her hands as she ran. She didn't expect Tetsuya to suddenly come flying out of the dust cloud, thrown by the creature, and he collided with her in an impact that sent her tumbling head over heels in a heap to land on the ground with Tetsuya nearby.
"Nnngh...thing packs a wallop," Tetsuya groaned, trying to get his bearings again and figure out which way was up. Gunshots rang out nearby as a group of SeeD opened fire on the Pyrithis fiend, which simply roared in the face of the gunfire before stomping towards the nearest SeeD and swatting him aside like a child's toy. Scattered screams came from around Tetsuya and Yuki as the monster stormed through the SeeD lines, with more and more of the combatants turning to face the oncoming threat and gradually losing ground as the Pyrithis rampaged among them.
"Back off - we need to regroup! Don't fight it alone!" Tetsuya yelled, lightning arcing around him as he charged back in to attempt to help regain the upper hand. Energy crackled around his gunblade, which shone brightly with the Lightning-elemental power he was infusing into it, and he lunged forward at the fiend's back before stabbing forward like a spear. His Lightning Javelin strike smashed into the monster and threw it off its feet, the skin of its back smoking and current sparking around it, and Yuki followed up with a barrage of Blizzaga magic that started to freeze the large Sinspawn to the ground. Ice crawled over the Pyrithis' body only to shatter musically as it roared again and jolted back to its feet, accompanied by the staccato pops of more gunfire as some of the nearby SeeD that hadn't been assaulted continued laying into the beast with their firearms. It ignored the gunfire as it refocused its attention on Tetsuya, leaping towards the SeeD officer much faster than before with both arms raised in an overhead smash, and Tetsuya brought the flat of his gunblade up and gritted his teeth as he braced for the impact. The strike instead slammed into a wall of multicolored yellow and pink energy that intercepted the Sinspawn's leap, causing Tetsuya to glance over at Yuki to see her eyes shimmering faintly, hand outstretched in the aftermath of spell casting.
'Mighty Guard...thanks for the save, sis,' Tetsuya thought to himself, taking the opportunity to lash out at the Sinspawn again in the wake of his sister's protective spell. Yuki didn't often use it, he knew, but she possessed a lesser version of the magical talent most often associated with Quistis Trepe - the special spellcraft known as Blue Magic. Unlike Quistis', whose powerful art manifested in the form of her unique Limit abilities, Yuki's talent wasn't tied to her Limit but was consequently nowhere near as strong as the First Team member's own. It made her extremely versatile in combat even with the few abilities she'd learned from the fiends around their hometown and Garden, but it was much more tiring for her to use than standard magic.
Sickly-looking green liquid began to coalesce in front of her hand as she drew on another of her skills, and she hurled the blob of Acid straight into the face of the Pyrithis fiend as it recoiled from Tetsuya's strike, causing it to howl in pain as the magical liquid ate away at its flesh. She called up another rapid-fire series of Fira magic, peppering the upper body of the durable monster amidst the continued gunfire from their allies even as Tetsuya stepped back, preparing an attack of his own. White energy shot through with streaks of yellow began to gather around his outstretched hand, and he braced himself before releasing the power as a blisteringly-fast beam of energy towards the Sinspawn in front of him. The Flash Cannon hit home and blew the Sinspawn off its feet again, sending it tumbling awkwardly back onto the ground with its chest smoking, and Tetsuya wasted no time leaping high into the air and slinging the gunblade around into a stabbing position before landing directly on the Sinspawn's damaged chest. The heavy weapon stabbed into its throat as it struggled to rise before Tetsuya twisted the hand holding the weapon, watching as the thick blade sheared the Pyrithis' head from its shoulders in an outpouring of magical energy.
"Phew..." Tetsuya gasped, shouldering the blade again and looking around to make sure he had a moment to breathe. "Hope there aren't many more of those things around..."
Naoki and Sumiko had found themselves under heavy assault from a number of the magic-wielding Sinspawn Medei, with the snake-like fiends keeping them and a number of other SeeD pinned down behind a rock formation under a barrage of elemental magic. The rocks were starting to crumble and break under the strain, with the attacks getting stronger and more numerous as more of the Sinspawn came to the attack. One of Naoki's shadow clones stepped out from cover to lob a fiery bolt in the enemies' direction only to be torn apart moments later by a concentrated burst of wind and lightning magic, causing Naoki to wince internally. Shell magic would only go so far, and they'd either have to take the group out in one fell swoop or take enough of them down that they could mount a counterattack.
"Standard combo?" Sumiko asked, looking over at her friend.
"Yeah," Naoki replied, snapping his hands up into another seal and creating another shadow clone beside himself as Sumiko did the same. They sent each of their clones to opposite sides of the rock formation to draw fire even as they both started working hand signs for more powerful techniques, giving a quick nod to each other before leaping upwards and onto the top of the rocky cover. The retaliation from the Sinspawn was swift, but they were prepared for it as they let go of the techniques they'd prepared before emerging. A large fireball spread out from Naoki, widening to try and encompass as much of the field as he could manage, and Sumiko followed with a widespread gale of wind that fanned the flames and sent them erupting into a curtain of fire that threatened to burn the entire area before them. The Sinspawns' magic was first to fall victim to the combined fire and wind attack, consumed by the much stronger flames, and the spell-wielding Sinspawn scattered in the face of the blaze even as the few SeeD officers Naoki and Sumiko had been trapped with also emerged from their protection. Bolts of magic flew in from behind the inferno, aiming to destroy whatever Sinspawn weren't caught by the conflagration, and more clones appeared around them as Naoki and Sumiko started to press their advantage.
Sumiko's rapier sang through the air, cutting power enhanced by a thin sheen of Wind-elemental magic around it as she tore through the nearest Sinspawn's gangly arms before slicing apart its torso. She cut apart a Firaga spell aimed at her before retaliating, lunging forward into a fierce stab that sank into its chest and caused its back to explode as the magic in her attack detonated. One of her clones traded blows with a different-looking Sinspawn before being destroyed, and she turned to face the threat as she felt the memories from the clone's dispersal. It looked different from the caster-type Sinspawn they had been fighting but still appeared to be some kind of mage, with a humanoid appearance and two long, lanky arms ending in clawed, four-fingered hands. It hovered in the air on six purple wings, two extending from the sides of its head and four more emerging from its back, being unable to support itself on the atrophied legs it possessed. She had just enough time to fully take in the appearance of the creature before one of the spindly arms rose high, a long and thick shard of ice materializing there before rocketing out and straight into the chest of her other clone to disperse it in a puff of magic.
"Naoki!" she screamed, trying to get his attention over the din of combat even as she worked hand seals for a defensive technique. Another icy projectile lanced out at her, but a swirling wall of water batted it away as it emerged around her before gushing out in all directions, flooding the nearby portion of the battlefield as she put some space between her and the new creature.
Naoki and his clones were starting to mop up the last few of the Medei fiends that were assaulting them, with a hail of kunai tearing apart one of the spellcasters before Naoki's katana lit up with electrical energy and sliced another in half. Two of his clones peppered another with fireballs and sent it to the ground ablaze, while yet another's hand crackled with sparks of electricity right before it impaled the Sinspawn through the chest, dissipating it with a lightning quick fatal blow. He turned at Sumiko's call just in time to see the wall of water she had summoned flood the area, and he sent the remainder of his clones into the fray to try and buy her some time to regroup and reassess the threat the new Sinspawn possessed. It didn't give either of them time to do that, though, as Naoki's clones immediately found themselves destroyed by a wave of force that pulsed out from the ominous creature, a wave that slammed Sumiko and Naoki back onto the ground as well as a large number of SeeD and various creatures locked in combat around them.
"What is that thing?" he called back, picking himself up from the ground and raising his weapon in front of him to try and stave off any oncoming attacks.
"Looks like the boss of all those little spellcasters - it's called Midae," Sumiko yelled, stepping up beside Naoki again with her rapier in hand. "Maybe we'll take all of them with it once we kill this one."
Naoki nodded, reaching into a pouch at his side and pulling out a group of shuriken with what looked like metal wire trailing from them as he put his sword away. "Think you can cover me?" he asked.
"Got it," Sumiko said, snapping her free hand up into a one-handed seal that caused two clones to materialize on either side of her. One of the clones started forming more hand seals, energy surging as a tide of water rose from beneath Sumiko and Naoki to lift them up into the air as the other clone also started preparing an attack. The Sinspawn screeched an unearthly wail as power gathered around it, and the earth underneath it rumbled before blasting out in all directions in a wave of Quake magic. SeeD and Sinscales everywhere stumbled and lost their footing, battered by flying rocks and pieces of ground, and the water started to drain away even as Sumiko herself started to advance towards the spellcasting Sinspawn. A series of watery spears flew past her on their way towards their enemy, the spikes of liquid as strong as any metal, but the Sinspawn simply erected a shield of force in front of it that splattered the weapons across it harmlessly.
Sumiko's hands flew through another series of seals as she continued to run, careful to keep her footing on the now unsteady ground and rushing water underneath her, and she spat a line of pressurized water at the Sinspawn in an attempt to slice the shield apart. It held up under the attack, though, and she had to break off her engagement a few seconds later as another series of ice spears flew out and threatened to impale her. By then, however, the clones behind her had finished their next set of seals, and the water around them suddenly gushed forth again and erupted upward into twin dragons of water that lunged forward and crashed down onto the Sinspawn.
"Sumiko, now!" Naoki shouted from behind her, having finished his own preparations. Sumiko quickly leapt away again as the falling water from the previous attack started to subside, and a flurry of shuriken sailed through the air trailing wires behind them as they homed in unerringly on the Sinspawn's position. The shuriken flew and twisted around it, the shield nowhere to be seen now as the wires snaked around the Sinspawn's body and pressed its arms tightly to its body, and Naoki's hands flew through a long string of seals before he took a deep breath. In the next breath, he released a gout of white-hot flame that traveled rapidly down the wires he held, lighting them ablaze as it traveled before punching into the Sinspawn with devastating force and a fiery explosion.
"Did that do it?" Sumiko said, the question directed at no one as she leapt back over to join Naoki, the clones dissipating behind her as she moved. She watched carefully as the fire cleared, seeing the Sinspawn still standing but looking decidedly ragged and burned from the powerful fire-based attack, and cursed under her breath as she turned to Naoki.
"Any other ideas?"
Naoki started to respond, but was cut off by a flare of green light from around the Sinspawn as it began to prepare another spell. Green glyphs of energy spun out from underneath it, growing to encompass an area of several dozen feet around it in interconnected symbols of power, and Naoki could feel the magical charge in the air as the glyphs all around and beneath them started to shine brightly.
"Shield!" he yelled, Shell magic flaring up around him as Sumiko did the same to try and ward off whatever attack was about to strike them. Beams of light began to spring up from the center of each of the glyphs, dozens of brilliant white lines lancing up into the sky where they collected into a large ball of energy, and Sumiko watched in horror as the ball burst downward towards the ground as the Sinspawn shielded itself again. Time seemed to slow in her eyes as she watched the magic trigger, and she threw an arm up in a vain attempt at protecting herself as the entire battlefield around her was engulfed in the all-consuming might of Apocalypse.
"Status report," Anita barked, looking around the bridge at her crew as they gave commands and system updates.
"Shields are holding steady at ninety-three percent, ma'am," her second-in-command reported, looking over the display in front of him. "We've lost a few fighters, but the main fleet is all intact and continuing to engage."
Anita nodded, turning her attention back to the battle. The massive Sinspawn that she could see from the forward viewscreen - Sinspawn Naphis - hadn't done much so far besides hover menacingly, letting the swarm of tinier Sinspawn do all the work in engaging their air force in combat. Individually, the Sinspawn were little more than pests, but when they were outnumbered twenty to one it became quite a bit more of a concern.
"We need to take out their commander," Anita said, locking her eyes on the enormous Sinspawn serving as the enemy air command. "Charge on the laser batteries?"
"Fifty-seven and climbing, ma'am," a female officer called, stationed behind a terminal displaying weapon statuses and readouts.
"Ready missiles and fire when laser charge reaches seventy-five," Anita said, reopening a channel to several of the ships in the fleet. "Asher, Dinah, Elsa, Simeon, sound off," she ordered, listening to return calls from each of the ships' commanders in turn before continuing. "Lock weapons on the enemy air commander and prepare to fire on my mark." Anita ticked the seconds off as the charge on the Durandal's laser batteries slowly increased, and she swept a hand out in front of her as the charge hit seventy-five.
"All ships, fire!"
The air was suddenly lit ablaze by the propulsion of hundreds of missiles from the Trabia Garden flagship and four of its sister ships, white contrails of smoke lancing out from each of the five attacking ships and hurtling towards the gigantic Sinspawn in a staggered wave. Blooms of fire lit up the sky as dozens upon dozens of missiles exploded upon the beast and the swarms of tinier spawn around it, obliterating a huge amount of the cluster in one swift strike. The Sinspawn Naphis, however, remained relatively unharmed despite the large amount of ordnance used against it, and it let out an echoing bellow as it swiveled in the air to face the Durandal and its allies.
"No effect on target!" the weapons officer called, glancing back at Anita for a brief moment.
"Evasive maneuvers, all ships!" Anita commanded, watching as the horde of flying spawn suddenly changed direction as one and headed straight for their ship and support. "Fire at will - knock every last one of those things out of the sky!"
Fighters swept in to engage the suddenly-massed air fleet, machine guns and Estharian laser weapons filling the sky as the entire area around the Durandal suddenly became a cloud of activity, and Anita swept her eyes around the bridge of her command ship as everything became a furious hotbed of activity.
"Commander, the enemy Sinspawn is preparing an attack!" someone called from the fore of the bridge, a fearful look on the face of the young officer as he watched energy begin to form around the draconic Sinspawn. Anita watched as two of the ships flanking her began to move into position in front of the Durandal, realizing that they were going to try and take the brunt of whatever attack was about to come, and she snapped her head to the side towards her weapons officer.
"Laser charge?"
"Ninety-two percent, ma'am!"
"Good enough - prepare to fire all weapons! Reroute all non-essential power to the shields and brace for impact!"
"Ninety-four percent!"
"Missiles ready!"
"Fire!" Anita yelled, almost at the same moment that the Sinspawn Naphis launched its own assault.
A massive beam of purple energy burst from the aerial Sinspawn, slamming directly into the shields of the Asher and Simeon before overloading them and tearing through, carving swathes of the ships' hulls away in a fiery blaze before impacting the Durandal's own shield array with a blinding flash. At the same time, the Durandal's entire weapons payload went off, with another litany of missiles accompanied by the firing of three dozen laser batteries set along the wings and fore section of the ship and the main beam cannon inset into the nose of Trabia's flagship. The Durandal rocked violently as the beam of energy pierced the warship's shields and gouged a massive chunk out of the underside of the ship, fire bursting from the damaged section like a spray of blood, and alarms sounded throughout the ship as Anita quickly tried to get things under control.
"Damage report!"
"We've lost laser batteries B6 through B13! Breaches in decks B8, C5, C6, C8, and D10!"
"Shields are down to sixteen percent capacity - trying to get them back now!"
"Propulsion systems took a hit - we're at sixty percent engines!"
"Enemy status?" she asked, hoping that the massive Sinspawn was at least in a similar shape from their own assault.
"Trying to get a visual now, ma'am!" her comms officer reported, working furiously to pull up a camera feed from one of the ships that wasn't damaged in the blast. After a few seconds, the main viewscreen switched over to show the Sinspawn with massive, bleeding wounds across its chest and wings, holes gouged out from the laser barrage where it hadn't been able to shield itself in time. One of the horns was almost completely gone and it looked like it had been seared across its left flank in an enormous black line of burned flesh, but it was still airborne and still in the fight.
"Asher and Simeon are both gone - they took the worst of that beam!"
"Dinah, Elsa, form up on our position! Call your fighters back for point defense while we regroup!"
Anita resisted the urge to curse under her breath as she opened a line to Katanas - that beam had dealt a tremendous blow to the flagship, and they'd need a few minutes to try and get everything back in working order before they could continue to provide cover for the ground forces below.
"Commander," Anita began, keeping a close eye on the enemy forces on-screen as she spoke, "this is the Durandal. We've taken a bad hit from the enemy's beam weapon - Asher and Simeon are gone, and we need to regroup."
"Understood," Katanas replied, his voice tight with exertion. "Stay safe - we'll hold the line here while you patch yourself up."
"All ships, fall back! Regroup on my coordinates and prepare for re-engagement!" Anita called over the comms as the Durandal began a slow turn to head towards the rear of the battlefield. The loss of the majority of their air support would be a hard hit for the forces down below, but they had also shredded a large amount of the enemy's air forces as well. Hopefully, Anita thought, the tides of battle wouldn't shift too much while they licked their wounds.
Silvia put her fist through the closest Sinscale to her, the gauntleted hand retracting smoothly as she pivoted and sent a burst of Fire magic into another Sinscale beside her before hopping away from the tentacles of the Sinspawn Genais that had just tried to skewer her. She'd started the fight alongside Naoki and Sumiko but had gotten separated in all the chaos of battle, and she was now fighting for her life against a small horde of Sinscales and two Sinspawn - Genais and Caeculus - that had swept away the majority of the SeeD who were fighting around her. They had been steadily losing ground under the onslaught of a never-ending tide of Sinscales, and despite killing dozens at a time there seemed to be no end to the flood of biological terrors that Sin was throwing their way.
Motes of fire and lightning swirled around her in a pair of defensive spells as she leapt back into the fray, tearing apart an unfortunate Sinscale in her way as she dashed towards the Genais fiend and covered her hand in fiery energy. The Sinspawn's tentacles immediately lashed out at her but snapped back immediately as the Blaze Spikes and Shock Spikes around her struck back with painful stabs of magical energy, leaving her open to deliver a crushing punch directly into the upper body of the plant-like Sinspawn that exploded into a mighty blast of flame. The Sinspawn's leathery hide charred even as it screeched, but the tough skin absorbed a lot of the damage she'd done with the strike.
So, she punched it again.
This time, her hands were wreathed in a combination of ice and water, and the mixed-element attack sent a hail of ice shards exploding into the creature's thick hide at point-blank range. Tentacles flailed wildly in pain as the Sinspawn howled louder, and Silvia ducked under one whiplike appendage before leaping away from a corrosive ball of bile launched at her position by the Sinspawn Caeculus that was nearby. A hail of spines tracked her movements, one grazing her and drawing blood along her shoulder before she focused energy into her fist again and slammed it into the ground. The green glow of Quake magic flowed into the earth and sent it erupting in a circle around her, tossing Sinscales around like leaves in the wind as she used quick bursts of Thunder and Blizzard magic to pick them off while they were defenseless. She started to move once again before staggering, crushed into the ground by a massive weight from above as the Sinspawn Genais unleashed Gravija magic that rooted her in place. Her body suddenly felt tens of times heavier and impossible to move, and she struggled to break free of the gravity-manipulating magic even as more Sinscales converged on her position with chittering cries.
"Give me a break..." she muttered, seeing a fresh group of the tiny insectoids skittering in her direction. The crushing presence of the gravitational magic finally abated, and she wasted no time leaping back into the fray, hands shimmering with wind and lightning magic as she moved. She threw her fist forward, sending a small tornado sparking with electrical power at the nearest few Sinscales in her path even as she broke off towards more, aiming to get the entire group in one quick engagement before moving on towards her real target - the Caeculus fiend a short distance away. Icy wind sprayed from a sweep of her arm, sharpening into a wave that engulfed and skewered the group in front of her, and she leapt over the newly-formed mass of ice even as fiery magic blazed to life in both of her hands.
A whipping tail sliced out at her as she ran, but she nimbly leapt over it and started peppering the Sinspawn's upper body with Fira spells, a rapid-fire barrage of explosions that obscured the Caeculus fiend's vision in a cloud of embers. She frowned after a few seconds of the hit and run magical attacks, realizing that the Slow magic she'd fused into the elemental spells didn't seem to be having any effect whatsoever right before she was forced to dodge away from a quick swipe of the creature's massive clawed arms.
Of course, that only gave her an opportunity to jump onto the Sinspawn itself - if her spells weren't doing much from range, she thought to herself, she may just need to be a little more...up close and personal. One hand lit up with a Holy-elemental shine as the other became enveloped by cutting wind, and she jumped over a swat from one clawed arm as she ran before aiming for the side of the creature's spiky skull. The slicing Wind-elemental strike bit deeply into the creature's flesh as she lunged forward with a swift motion, but it was the Holy-elemental attack that followed which really did damage to the Sinspawn, searing it with a large burst of purifying
light that caused it to howl and thrash in pain. Silvia jumped from its body as it threatened to crush her under spined arms, landing on the ground again in a deft roll before popping back to her feet and quickly assessing the damage she'd done, but she found herself blindsided by a Waterga spell from the Genais fiend she'd lost track of in the melee. It knocked her from her feet, stunning her with the sudden impact of compressed water, and she dazedly started to get back up as she willed herself to move, knowing she'd just be a target if she didn't get moving again.
The Sinspawn wasn't willing to give her any chance to regain her bearings, though, and she was hit with another crushing Graviga spell even as she was forced to try and shield against another of the Sinspawn Caeculus' bile bombs, the corrosive agent splashing against a hastily-erected Shell spell. She grimaced as she felt the force of the gravitational magic abate, seeing more Sinscales running towards her from the distance and the two Sinspawn that were targeting her looming ever closer, and she pushed herself to stand straight again as she faced the two dangerous fiends. More blobs of the Sinspawn's biological weapon began to rain in her direction, hammering her Shell until it cracked and shattered under the strain even as she tried to avoid the worst of the barrage, and she reached into her mind to touch the Guardian Force residing there in an attempt to give her enough breathing room to turn the fight around.
She felt her heart stutter when she realized that the Guardian Force she had junctioned to her body wasn't responding to her request for aid.
It wasn't gone as far as she could tell - she could still feel its power as a part of her, the junctioned magic she was drawing upon still lending her unnatural physical abilities, but the spirit itself was unresponsive and seemed to be a faint presence in her mind rather than the comforting warmth she usually felt. Her moment of shock and hesitation cost her as the Caeculus fiend finally tagged her with one of its bile projectiles, slamming into her chest and knocking the wind out of her as it blew her across the ground painfully.
'Come on, get up...you have to get up...!'
The only thought racing through her mind was how she needed to keep moving as she painfully tried to get back to her feet, gasping to get her breath back and wincing at the pain in her chest from the impact. She could hear the Sinspawn rumbling closer even over the din of combat, the only other sound in her focus that of her heart pounding in her chest. Fighting through the aching in her body, she struggled back to a standing position again and prepared to defend herself only to see the elongated tentacles of the Genais fiend glowing a sickly green and flying down at her in a rapid, crushing movement. She started to raise a hand to defend herself, to cast Protect or another spell to disable them...
...and the tentacles fell to the ground, sliced apart by a blade that Silvia never saw.
"Made it..."
She looked beside her as the Sinspawn's stubbed appendages recoiled with a screech of pain, flailing wildly with their shortened length, and found Ben standing beside her and wiping ichor from his sword with a satisfied look on his face.
"B-Ben?"
"Yeah, it's me," he said, smiling and hefting the sword onto his shoulder. "I could tell you were in trouble, so I came to help - everyone's trying to hold their own right now, but it's looking rough." He punctuated his statement with a quick cast of Curaga over Silvia, the healing magic seeping into her body and starting to mend her wounds.
"How could you..." Silvia started, then shook her head, waving the question away. "Doesn't matter - you can tell me later."
"I've got a lot to explain, I think, so that's a good plan," he said, stepping back into an attacking stance. "Ready to mop these guys up?"
"You bet I am," she said, retaking her own stance as magic flowed around her fingers. "Let's go!"
When Naoki's eyes slowly opened, he briefly wondered if he'd died and gone to whatever afterlife awaited him and everyone else that had been caught in the Sinspawn's attack.
The battle still raging around him, along with the translucent shields that were surrounding himself, Sumiko, and every single SeeD officer that were within the radius of the magical strike quickly told him otherwise. He wasn't sure what had happened; neither he nor Sumiko could shield that many people that quickly. 'Did some members of the magic division do it...?' he wondered idly, even as he reassured Sumiko that he was okay.
He never noticed the pair of women in SeeD uniforms some distance away, a blond and dark-haired duo who were making their way away from the two ninjutsu specialists and further into the fray.
"Are you supposed to interfere like this, being a...Pillar? Is that what you called it?" Celes asked as they moved. She stayed close to Destine, the Ethereal being's innate magic helping to keep a sense of calm within her despite being surrounded by so much unfamiliar magical energy.
Destine paused, just long enough to erase a nearby group of Sinscales from existence with a flick of her fingers and a smattering of fire-based magic before she answered. "You know...I'm not sure. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to, but I think I should anyway."
"Why, then? Why go against your duties?"
"Because..."
Destine struggled for words for several long seconds as they walked, seemingly unconcerned by the battle around them despite keeping aware of everything around her. "Because I owe a debt to someone that I don't truly know how to repay, and this is a small step towards that."
Her face tightened imperceptibly as she moved, thoughts filling her mind of past actions and words that she desperately wished she could undo. "I've hurt a lot of people, done a lot of terrible things that should've been below someone in my position...because I was hurting and didn't know how to express it besides lashing out. I caused a lot of trouble before I saw reason again, and...I'm trying to be better. Trying to fix the mistakes that I made."
Celes' longsword flashed out and cleaved a pair of approaching Sinscales in twain as Destine released a Wind-elemental spell that sheared apart the Sinspawn Geneaux behind them which was preparing a spell of its own. "That's...a noble goal."
"Will helped me see that I still had worth. I'm trying to live up to what he sees in me."
Celes saw in that moment what Destine truly was. Not a Pillar of Reality, an all-powerful sorceress standing above mortals...but a broken woman trying to pick up the bits of her life when everything felt like it was lost and move forward.
Ben had, as long as he could remember, always thought of himself as a weakling. Someone who was always the one to be protected, the one to be cast aside when it was time for serious matters to be dealt with or situations to be handled. His adventures in Spira, however, had started to change him. After journeying with Yuna and seeing the way that she stepped into situations much larger than herself despite her fear and youth, he slowly began to realize firsthand that strength came in a lot of different forms. It was around that time that he started to consider the idea that his strength wasn't - and didn't need to be - something physical at all. He'd latched on to that idea, turning his drive to succeed into an indomitable determination that had served to prove to the Creator herself that she was justified in choosing him as her newest charge. Yet, there was still a part of him that longed for the physical strength and ability that others seemed to come by much easier than he did.
When he started training with Etchel, for the first time he realized that he might've gained a bit more than just fervent willpower out of all his struggles and strife. The training he'd gone through to surpass his limits - Transcendence, they'd called it - hadn't seemed like much at first, but combined with the careful instruction Etchel and Kari had given him on properly controlling his spiritual energy, it had resulted in gains far greater than anything Ben had ever expected. He'd never realized how complex the concept of suppressing and expressing power could be until Kari had demonstrated it, hiding her power entirely and appearing as weak as the average Hume to his senses before suddenly flaring it all and showing her true Malakh nature and ability in full.
Etchel had chuckled when Ben had called it a "power-up," prompting Kari to give a long-suffering sigh and begin to explain about how properly manipulating spiritual energy could lead to greater efficiency and control in and out of combat. Despite his joking, the lessons had stuck with Ben - he'd never realized exactly how wasteful he had always been while using his mana, nor how dangerous it could potentially be to go around with all of his reishi uncontrolled all the time as he got stronger.
This, however, wasn't a time to exercise restraint.
As he watched Silvia run forward to engage the maimed Genais fiend that had tried to finish her off, Ben focused on the energy within himself that he'd learned to keep contained, the essence of spiritual energy he drew on every time he utilized a technique or cast a spell.
Then he let it all go.
The rush of power was incredible to his senses, flooding his body with energy as a storm of wind erupted around him from the outpouring of energy. He could see his own aura flaring around himself, a light blue haze that swirled around his body, and he grinned as he cast Haste magic on himself and locked his eyes on the Sinspawn Caeculus nearby. He'd come up with a new technique while training that he wanted to try out, and with Silvia nearby to give him cover and support he reasoned that it was a good chance to see how well it would work in an actual fight in case something went wrong. Throwing knives materialized in his hands as he took off into a run, and he crossed the distance between himself and the Sinspawn in two seconds flat, the giant Sinspawn's arm crashing down far too late to do anything to him as he juked out of the way.
The sound of rushing wind filled the air around him as he started to flash step, the rapid movement technique combined with Haste magic letting him leave a trail of afterimages around the Sinspawn as he started to circle it at top speed, pushing his body to the limit. In unison, all the afterimages raised the knives they were holding and threw them, sending a circular hail of dozens and dozens of blades into the Sinspawn...and revealing that all of the images' knives were very much real thanks to Ben's rapid alchemization of weaponry as he moved. The Sinspawn roared in pain as a hundred sharp daggers sliced into its upper body and head, but its roar was cut short as Ben flash stepped again and swung his Diviner, shearing clean through the beast's throat in a single rapid move.
"That...actually went pretty well," he thought to himself, coming out of Shunpo and landing back on the ground before dropping to a knee in pain - something he'd expected. He hadn't practiced the technique much, only a few times with Etchel as he was developing it, and even with junctions his body wasn't quite tough enough to keep up with the strain that using both Haste and flash steps simultaneously in such a fashion put on it. No Sinscales or other spawn came to the attack, thanks to the renewed efforts of the SeeD officers nearby forcing their lines back, and Ben took the opportunity to cast curative magic on himself to try and ease the pain in his body as he watched Silvia engage her own foe.
Silvia's reentry into the fight was much more subdued than Ben's own - the Genais fiend may have been maimed, but that didn't mean it was going to simply lay down and die, either. Shell magic rose up around her as she ran, the defensive spell taking hold even as the Sinspawn began to fire bolts of Thundaga and Firaga magic in her direction. She dodged away from one burst of fire, lightning skipping off the Shell as she continued to move, and Wind-elemental energy laced with blinding magic covered one hand as she skidded to a stop and suddenly punched out into the air in front of her. The burst of air that flew from her hand smashed into the Sinspawn with the force of a speeding car, impacting with a sickening sound of crushed plant matter and a screech of pain even as the Blind magic imbued into her attack clouded over the Sinspawn's vision.
Tentacles kept swiping madly through the air as the blinded spawn tried to thrash at the enemy it could no longer see, but Silvia didn't even flinch as she dove into the storm of lashing vines. Nimbly, she stepped and twisted around the flying tentacles, making her way towards the center of the Sinspawn as she prepared Fire-elemental magic in her left hand and Ice-elemental in the right. A vine smashed down where she was standing as she made it to the base of the ball-like part of the Sinspawn's body, but she leapt into the air to avoid it and let the magic in her left hand go. Instantly, the entire Sinspawn found itself set ablaze by the fiery spell, embers licking the air as its flesh sizzled and cooked. As she landed, she focused on the magic in her right hand, reaching out and slapping the Sinspawn's body with an open palm that send waves of icy magic into its body. The burning Sinspawn began to freeze from the bottom up, the fire extinguishing little by little as the Genais fiend slowly turned into a solid chunk of ice, and Silvia smiled as the ice covered her foe's entire form. She let out a yell, whipping both hands forward in a twinned strike that shattered the Sinspawn into dozens of chunks of ice and floating bits of magical energy.
"I could learn a thing or two from you, I think," Ben said from behind Silvia, causing her to turn.
"You did seem like you were slacking in the magic classes," Silvia teased. "Thanks, by the way."
"It's what I do," he said, then laughed. "The helping, I mean - not the slacking." His eyes drifted towards the battlefield again, taking in the sounds of combat that didn't seem as if they had let up since the entire engagement began. "We should probably get back out there..." he said, trailing off as he tried to figure out what to do next.
"Before we go - can you use your GF?"
"Now?"
"No - are you able to use it? When I tried earlier, right before you came...I couldn't feel Shiva in my mind."
That sent a spike of shock through Ben that he quickly tried to suppress, immediately reaching into his mind to feel the spirit resting there. He found much the same as Silvia had earlier, that the spirit which normally lay ever-present and waiting was...muted, somehow, as if it wasn't entirely there but was still linked to him regardless.
"It's...kinda like she's not there, but I can still tell she's junctioned," he said, causing Silvia to nod in agreement.
'Manes - did you notice anything weird happening with Shiva recently?' he asked mentally, earning an annoyed grunt from the Daiesthai.
'What happens in your alleged mind is little concern of mine,' Manes replied, giving the mental equivalent of an irritated look at his host.
'It is when it could get the both of us killed, you moron,' he retorted, sighing. 'Never mind - I'll figure it out myself.'
"Don't know what's going on, but we should probably get word back to Katanas," Ben said, reaching out and trying to find Katanas' energy amid the sea of battle across the plains. He gave up after a few seconds; while he was relatively familiar with Katanas' own power, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack with the little practice he had. "No good...can't tell where he is, and I don't know how to reach him through my GLD."
"I can contact Ein," Silvia said. "He can get in touch with Katanas, and he can spread the word - if everyone hasn't already found out."
"Good idea," Ben said. "Do that, and we can make our way back towards the front - if Katanas and the others are anywhere, they'll be trying to make their way towards Sin itself."
He took up a defensive stance as Silvia began to talk into her GLD, Protect magic flowing around the both of them as the battle raged on, and hoped that they'd be able to turn the tide against Wilhelm's monstrosity soon.
Katanas had brought a lot to bear against the endless tide that was Sin and its progeny. Balamb, Galbadia, and Trabia Gardens all worked in concert to provide the single strongest force that the world had to offer, replete with skilled mages, alchemists, soldiers, and others of all walks of life. The Dollet Dukedom brought the finest navy the world had ever seen, warships top of the line in their construction and manpower that shone as brightly as a star. The reclusive nation of Esthar lent the most advanced technology of any global nation, a testament to the might of science and determination of the ones who crafted it. And combined with the exceptional abilities of the Planeswalkers who called the realm home, Katanas was confident that this was the finest force that had ever been assembled to stand against a threat to their way of life.
Yet, upon seeing the sheer magnitude of the threat that was opposing them, even Katanas began to doubt that it would be enough.
Sin was inexhaustible, a constant storm threatening to sweep everything that stood in its way aside like waves crashing upon a sandy beach. Its minions were relentless and innumerable, an unending horde of fangs and teeth that swallowed whole anything in its path. The beast itself was power incarnate, might given form in a way that Katanas had never dreamed was possible until now.
And so, Katanas had once more decided to plan. Not for defeat, but for victory.
The might of Gaia was vast, their will indomitable and stalwart...but it was still limited by their own mortality. Humes were still beings of limited power and physical ability, restricted by their flesh even when the spirit was willing.
However, Katanas knew of allies who were not.
The very beings which Garden relied on to lend their aid were primal avatars of force, beings of pure power who resided on a higher plane than their own. And while Guardian Forces were usually limited by the same restrictions that other higher beings held themselves to, Katanas was fully aware that there were situations in which such limits may be...lifted.
Upon conferring with the being who so graciously deigned to lend him a fragment of its power when need was greatest, Odin had agreed with Katanas' assessment.
Odin knew Katanas to be a Planeswalker of utmost virtue, one of the finest candidates he could recall that had been sought by all three planar leaders before finally choosing to ally with the Overlord. While their planes of championing differed, Katanas still held a fine reputation in the eyes of Freya's eldest, and he knew that for Katanas to ask what he had meant that he felt the situation could become dire indeed.
"Sir DeValle. We stand prepared."
Those five words gave Katanas more hope than he had thought he needed as he fought back the swarm of Sinscales and Sinspawn that he was locked in combat among. Fire burst from his rapier as he incinerated the nearest Sinscales to him before dashing up and impaling a Sinspawn Ammes with the slender blade, reducing it to ash in an instant as flames consumed it from within.
"You have my thanks, Lord Odin," he replied to the Guardian Force. "This is a debt I cannot easily repay, but I will try."
"Repayment is not needed," Odin remarked in a rumbling voice. "The mortal plane is as much our charge to protect as the Ethereal Plane itself, and by the Creator's will it shall remain so."
"I will signal our forces, then," Katanas said, disengaging from his fight as swiftly as he could manage as he began to retreat to a safer location.
"Let the battle be joined."
(Play: Omnis Lacrima - Yoko Shimomura, Final Fantasy XV)
Katanas had given a battlefield-wide signal for the allied forces to fall back, leaving many to wonder why when the battle was still relatively even for both sides.
Those dissenting thoughts were quickly swept aside by a brilliant flash of light from the middle of the battlefield that heralded the very air splitting open into a shimmering gateway of power.
From the depths came a sight that no SeeD ever imagined they would see, a sight that left many staring in awe even as they retreated from the biggest fight of their lives. One by one, the fabled Guardian Forces of Gaia began to emerge from the doorway, entering the mortal plane not as summoned beings tied to their SeeD wielders, but as independent entities with full command of the ancient forces they wielded. Across the field, Sin seemed to hesitate briefly, its forces ceasing their attack in apparent confusion as the primal entities intruded onto the plains. Sixteen avatars emerged from the portal to stand allied against the Author's creation before them, and the power emanating from them could be felt across the entire vast open space.
As if by some unseen signal, both sides began to move once again, hordes of Sinscales and Sinspawn of all varieties rushing forward as the sixteen gathered Guardian Forces rose up to meet them. The SeeD members arrayed around the battlefield were used to seeing the destruction that a Guardian Force could wreak on its helpless victims - what they saw begin to ensue as their otherworldly allies commenced their attacks was on another level entirely.
Lightning flashed as Quezacotl's wings swept out, raking bolts of power slicing through Sinscales like a scythe through wheat as ice from Shiva's hands stopped entire groups of Sinspawn with a mere gesture. A seething ball of hellfire from Ifrit scorched the entire area black as night, obliterating the frozen and shocked spawn thoroughly and leaving naught but flakes of ash and magic in its wake. Siren's harp played a silent melody for the doomed creatures, waves of pure magical energy rooting their magical bodies in place and leaving them little more than fodder for the Guardian Forces' onslaught.
The Brothers, Sacred and Minotaur, darted around the battlefield and slammed their maces into Sinspawn and Sinscales alike, crushing innumerous fiends under the weapons' spiked heads and rending the earth asunder in large chunks and crevasses with every strike. Water flowed into each and every crack as Leviathan flooded the battlefield with a torrent of oceanic might, drowning the hapless creatures and dashing their limp bodies against the spires of earth created by the earthen Guardian Force duo.
Whirlwinds tore through the enemy lines as Pandemona unleashed havoc, sucking countless Sinscales into the typhoons it created and battering them with impossibly-strong wind that rent them asunder. Those that managed to survive were quickly crushed underneath waves of gravitational energy from Diablos, the demonic Guardian Force's magic imparting immense pressure upon Sin's legions and annihilating anything it touched.
The three-headed canine known as Cerberus charged into the thick of the battle, three jaws snapping at anything within range and bursts of elemental magic flying from its body that shredded anything unfortunate enough to be caught by its might. Flares of multicolored light erupted from its body in massive streamers, spreading out high over the battlefield before coming down upon those it considered its allies and imbuing their magical prowess with unnatural speed and fluidity. All the while, the deep tones of a locomotive howled along with the hellhound as Doomtrain sped along ethereal tracks, the phantom train leaving trails of toxic magic in its wake that rendered everything it touched crippled and immobile. Those it afflicted would have longed for death, had they enough will of their own to do so as the toxins sapped their very life away.
A trio of smaller Guardian Forces remained close together, safeguarding each other from harm as they tore apart Sin's forces as a team. The emerald pixie known as Carbuncle busied itself with supportive magic, ruby light flaring as it reflected errant magic away from its partners. Spines flew in every direction as the tiny Cactaur unloaded an endless barrage into everything its unblinking eyes could see, leaving them impaled by hundreds of tiny needles that tore apart their bodies. Any Sinspawn who was unlucky enough to approach the diminutive, cloak-wearing Tonberry soon learned why its kind was so feared - Sin's victims were countless, and the judgment that its tiny knife dispensed to its unholy victims in a single strike was both immediate and unrelenting.
Near the rear of the formation stood two mighty titans, both of which were revered as the mightiest spirits the world had ever witnessed. The rumbling sounds of gears and metal echoed across the battlefield as the holy fortress Alexander loomed over the Sinspawn below it, countless dots of light shimmering over its form that grew brighter and brighter before firing. The bombardment that followed was nothing short of divine justice, a wave of holy might that purified everything it touched in a blinding flash. Above, the keening cries of a dragon drowned out nearly every other sound as the majestic azure form of Bahamut gathered power in its maw. The orb of light shone with brilliant blue and white hues as it prepared to strike, and the Mega Flare it unleashed across the plains rent the very land apart with its power, carving a swathe away from the landscape in a mere instant as it struck down its foes.
At the fore of the Guardian Forces stood Odin himself, clad in his plate armor with the fabled Zantetsuken blade held high. He strode forward fearlessly, the ground thundering under his steps as he effortlessly carved a path towards the monstrosity before him. His blade moved like quicksilver, a tracery of gleaming metal that dealt death with every stroke and thrust, and no Sinspawn stood a chance against the legendary weapon as he advanced.
Katanas knew that the Guardian Forces were divine beings, but not since Lady Freya had he seen such a level of power displayed as he did now. The once-endless tides that Sin commanded quickly began to dwindle as the primal avatars forced them back, routing the forces as nothing had yet been able to do. The plains trembled as Sin's forces died, swept aside by the combined might of the otherworldly entities as if they were a candle flame snuffed by a simple breath, and for the first time Katanas saw the field clear of resistance as the Guardian Forces relented...except for one lone Sinspawn. The enormous Sinspawn Naphis loomed above the plains, its draconic form casting a shadow over the ground as it rose to meet the assault of Odin's forces.
One Guardian Force, however, still remained.
There was one Guardian Force whose power lay untouched by mortals, the strength that it held too much for any terrestrial being to wield. High above in the sky, almost at the limits of the atmosphere, a glowing mote of light appeared and began to grow as the final Guardian Force that Odin had gathered prepared to strike. The air burned as the massive, circular form overhead began to gather its might, a shape similar to that of the Gardens themselves that held a power beyond mortal imagining. Streamers of colored magic flowed from its body as the azure crystal atop the creature began to shine, energy building there as a titanic glyph appeared overhead. The energy pulsed once before bursting forth in a devastating beam that rocketed towards the heavens, splitting the clouds above before piercing the glyph and curving to head back down towards the planet's surface.
The mighty Sinspawn Naphis turned its head to the heavens and roared its defiance before the divine might of Eden fell upon it, the colossal Guardian Force's attack consuming it and trailing off into the horizon before fading away into nothingness. When the light from Eden's all-encompassing strike faded, there was naught left but wisps of energy in the air which had once been the mighty Sinspawn air commander.
In the midst of the allied lines, a position which was suddenly clear of foes, Katanas smiled.
"It's time."
He opened a line to all of the allied forces across the battlefield and offshore, knowing that they needed to make the most of this opportunity.
"All forces, advance and engage Sin!"
The response from the harried alliance, a force which had been fighting just to hold their own against an unstoppable, unflinching army, was zealous and immediate. Forces which had been battered relentlessly stood straighter, letting loose with magic and projectiles of all kinds as they were finally able to direct their might against their primary foe. Missiles streamed in from the nearby ocean, launched by the waiting ships there which had only had scant opportunities to enter the fray directly. Above, the fighters and frigates comprising the allied air forces circled and dove like birds of prey, unleashing a barrage of bullets, missiles, and lasers at the massive form of Sin itself. With Odin leading the charge, the gathered Guardian Forces advanced on Sin as well, ancient elemental powers stirring around them as they prepared their own mighty attacks.
A horrendous amount of firepower descended upon Sin in a matter of seconds, a furious storm of mechanical might and magical prowess that lit up the sky and heated the air before slamming into Sin's powerful energy shield. Explosions covered Sin from all angles as the SeeD, Estharian, and Dollet officers gave their attack everything they had, knowing that they may not have a chance as good as this one again. Sin's shield seemed to bend, the curtain of energy encircling it beginning to warp and deform under the stress of a thousand different attacks all at once.
Then the Guardian Forces' attacks struck, and Sin's shield flared a brilliant purple as it fought to stave off the vengeance of sixteen otherworldly beings. The energy release was explosive and vibrant enough to nearly hide Sin from view as a half-dozen elemental forces and an equal number of concentrated magical strikes smashed into the shield, bending it perilously towards the breaking point like a soap bubble ready to pop. Sin gave an unearthly, keening cry as it lifted its massive head towards the heavens, and every person present on the field felt their skin grow cold and the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end as the sound echoed across the battlefield.
Sin's shield recoiled at the sound of the cry, dispersing the immense amount of energy it had deterred and absorbed in a titanic shockwave centered on itself like a massive bomb. Light fighters were tossed from the sky like toys in a windstorm, Guardian Forces were sent flying as if they weighed nothing in the face of Sin's fury, and SeeD officers across the field snapped protective magic up to guard themselves before they too were tossed aside. In the span of three seconds, the entire field looked like a forest of felled trees, littered with bodies and wreckage from Sin's unexpected counterattack. Soldiers from all sides slowly got back on their feet - those who were lucky enough to survive, at least - and stared, their normally unflappable resolve suddenly shaken by what had just happened.
The assembled Guardian Forces that had led the counter-charge began to slowly fade away one by one as their energy was exhausted, their corporeal forms no longer able to sustain themselves in the face of their foe's might. Only Odin remained, his eyes smoldering with fury as he regained his footing on a devastated battlefield and reached out to Katanas through their mental link.
"Sir DeValle, are you alive?"
"...I'll manage," Katanas replied, uncaring if Odin saw him in a moment of weakness. "It reflected every one of our attacks back at us...I need to assess my forces. Can you give me that time?"
"By Freya's will, this beast will not strike us down this day."
Odin could see in the distance the tiny forms of Sinscales beginning to once again trickle from Sin's body, though the beast seemed weakened by the exertion. There were far fewer than the immense hordes that Sin had been creating before, along with far fewer Sinspawn being birthed from their numbers. Conversely, the SeeD forces seemed to have been greatly diminished as well; Odin guessed that around half their number lay slain along the field of battle, with many more among the wreckage of vehicles and aircraft. He began to turn back towards the towering form of Sin, still floating above the plains as if it were an unflinching god, when he heard a voice that caused him to stop midway.
"Lord Odin!"
Odin watched as Freya's newest Planeswalker rapidly approached him, magic shimmering and fading from around his body as he came to a stop. "Boy, is it good to see you here..." Ben said, catching his breath before looking back at Sin. "This thing just won't go down..."
"We are not beaten yet," Odin rumbled, eyes moving to Ben. "We must give Sir DeValle the time he needs to regroup his forces."
"And figure out a way to get rid of that shield," Ben added, nodding. "Any ideas?"
"Were Lord Xeios here, it would be within his power," Odin said, "but we may have another way. Lady Destine is on the field as well, and she may have the strength to aid us in that respect."
Ben's eyes darkened a little at the mention of Destine, but he simply nodded to Odin. "So, we're back on the defensive?"
"For now," Odin said, raising Zantetsuken. "We will wait and find our time to strike, and then we will crush this enemy with all our might."
Ben took a deep breath, raising his Diviner to his shoulder and preparing to move. "I'll follow your lead, then. Let's make sure Katanas has the time he needs for this."
Destine was, to put it simply, angry.
She'd come to the mortal plane to assist, protecting and aiding SeeD members and soldiers alike, only to have Sin wipe away half the field in one fell swoop. Not only that, it had indirectly used her own magic to do it, added as it was to the barrage that had been aimed at the beast. Countless lives had been lost in an instant, and the only thing she knew in the moment was that the one responsible needed to pay.
Energy began to build in her hands as she focused, not caring whether it was any particular spell or not but simply wanting power in any form to direct against her foe. Wind picked up around her and caused her hair to whip wildly from the outpouring of magic, her body emanating a spectral glow as she began to draw upon the essence of magical power within herself. She was almost ready to unleash devastation against the creature before her when a hand on her shoulder stopped her cold.
"Wait - you have to stop! Don't you realize what's happening?"
"I'm about to make this thing pay for hurting these people," Destine said coldly, looking at Celes with eyes that almost made the woman flinch backwards from their intensity. She didn't back down, though, and met Destine's steely gaze with one of her own.
"No, you're about to give it another shot of energy to do it again - and this time, it'll be more powerful." She paused for a moment, thinking as she watched Destine slowly dissipate the energy she had gathered. "Who can I talk to in charge here?"
The inkling of an idea was starting to form in Celes' mind, though she had little idea whether or not it would work as she intended. Still, if it could save the people here...it was worth a try, regardless.
"Katanas DeValle is in overall command here, I think," Destine said after a few moments. "He should be somewhere nearby." She reached out with her magical senses, searching for Katanas on the battlefield among the haze of energy that inundated the plains, and nodded shortly after to Celes. "I've found him." She offered a hand to Celes, who took it quickly, and the two of them vanished as Destine warped them across the plains towards Katanas' location.
Katanas looked away from his GLD as he felt the presence of a familiar power appear nearby, turning slightly to see Destine - in a SeeD uniform for some reason, he noted - along with another woman in similar dress that he didn't recognize. "Destine," he said, putting aside his thoughts of force reorganization and regrouping for the moment. Whatever Destine had come to tell him, it had to be important for her to bother doing so in person. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to help," she said simply, tamping down the anger she still felt and trying to focus on the task at hand. "But that's not why I came to see you."
"My name is Celes Chére," the unfamiliar woman said, nodding politely to Katanas. "You don't know me, but if you keep throwing magic at that creature...you're going to wipe your forces out."
Katanas nodded in agreement. "I suspected as much, given how it responded to our offensive. I assume you aren't telling me this simply as tactical advice?"
"I...may have a way to help, though I'm not sure that it'll work," Celes replied, looking towards Destine. "I'll need your help to do it, if you're able." Destine merely nodded, prompting Celes to continue as Katanas watched, intrigued. "I have the ability to draw the magic in spells into myself, absorbing it and either storing or using it as I wish. I might be able to do something similar to this...Sin, but it would take much more power than I have to make any noticeable difference."
Destine made the connection immediately as Celes explained. "That's where my help comes in, then?"
"Right - there's no way I'll be able to contain the power I pull if this works, so I'll need your help to control and store it."
"Then you'll need my forces to help protect you both until Sin is weak enough to attack," Katanas said, deducing the last part of Celes' plan. "We have scarcely half our forces left, but that should be sufficient. Go on - I'll rally everyone we have remaining to buy you enough time to weaken Sin enough for us to destroy it."
"We'll do our best, Commander," Celes said, preparing herself to leave as soon as Destine was ready.
"Katanas...thank you," Destine said, sounding earnestly grateful for the SeeD Commander's efforts.
"Don't thank me, Destine," Katanas began, gesturing in the direction of the forces still fighting Sin's own. "Thank them instead."
"When we make it through this, I will."
The force that rallied to defend the pair of magic users was tired, diminished, and low on both magical reserves and ammunition, but there were no complaints from any of the soldiers present that stepped up to fight once more. Knowing that they might finally have a chance to cripple the beast in front of them gave many newfound vigor, and with both Squall and Katanas bolstering morale, the SeeD forces found themselves reinspired and ready to stand firm one last time.
At the back of the formation, standing behind hundreds of soldiers and vehicles were Destine and Celes, their attention focused squarely on the flying monstrosity across the plains. Celes was nervous - she'd never tried to use her Runic in such a fashion before, and there was a very real possibility that the backlash from such an immensely powerful foe could kill her. Still, her mind was made up to try. Destine's assistance would give her the stability she needed to pull this off, she told herself, and she was no stranger to putting her life at risk.
"Are you ready?" Destine asked, to which Celes nodded. Her nerves steeled as she called up the power inside her to manipulate magic, power which Destine's influence had stabilized after she'd found herself here. Her awareness reached out as she searched through the battlefield, bypassing the thousands of motes of spiritual light she could feel belonging to SeeD and Sinspawn alike as she focused in on the single enemy that shone as brightly as the midday sun. She connected with it, latched on, and pulled -
"Celes!"
There was an instant of light and a shock that ran through the core of her body, and Celes stumbled back as if she'd been physically struck from the intense feeling of Sin's power. She felt as if she'd been zapped by a dozen electrically-charged spells all at once, all her nerves tingling from the overwhelming force of the magic.
"I'm...fine," she ground out, trying to get her hands to stop shaking and twitching from the residual force behind the magical backlash. "Just a...bit of feedback."
'That was more than a bit,' Destine thought to herself, but she didn't say anything as Celes composed herself once again. "I should be able to shield you from that, now that I know what to look for."
"On three," Celes said, starting to draw on her Runic energy once again. "One...two...three."
She reached out again, more cautiously this time, and found Sin's brightly-flaring power among the dimmer lights of the battle. Gently, she made another connection and began to draw on the overwhelming well of power the creature possessed. Destine hissed as she felt the shock of the Runic connection begin to feed into her; it was powerful, but she had much more experience handling the vast quantity of energy that Celes' ability was trying to impart onto her than Celes herself did. A few seconds of adjustment reduced the painful sensations down to a stinging tinge on her senses, and Destine exhaled slowly as she felt the full drain of the Runic that Celes was using flow into her magical reserves.
It felt...almost limitless, like an ocean's worth of water trying to flow into a puddle. The flow of mana from Sin was overwhelming, more than she'd ever felt from a single being in her long existence that wasn't another Pillar or planar leader, and she idly wondered if she'd even be able to contain the vast stores of magic that Celes was siphoning away even as she gave Celes the boost she needed to draw away more and more of the creature's energy. Across the plains, Sin suddenly roared as it felt the energy within it vanishing as a result of Celes and Destine's actions, and the Sinspawn that were engaging the allied forces roared with it and moved as one in an attempt to bypass the fighting and get to the source of the energy drain. Blades, guns, and magic ripped swathes from the enemy lines as they tried to disengage, the lack of attention they were giving to their mortal opponents taken full advantage of as their numbers were decimated from the momentary lapse in engagement.
Behind the pitched battle, Destine smiled.
"It's working," she said, trying to focus both on the battle and their task at hand. The energy was continuing to build up within her, magical stores that she'd never before realized could be full beyond capacity rapidly charging to that very state of being. So, Destine did the only thing that made sense to her at the time.
She let some of the energy go.
Bolts of magic exploded from her body as she released her grip on some of the stored power, dozens of bolts of elemental and non-elemental power alike rocketing away from her and arcing high into the air before coming down in the midst of the enemy formations like magical mortars. Hundreds evaporated in an instant, Sinspawn toppling like dead trees and Sinscales melting under more power than their feeble minds could even conceive of, and the SeeD lines became even more firm as they reformed and pressed back against the tide of Sin's progeny.
Some distance away, Katanas watched as Sin howled, directing rapidly-dwindling forces against their own as the numbers shedding from its body seemed to slow. He watched for several long seconds before opening a communications line to the forces on the field.
"All units, prepare defensive measures - we're going to test Sin's defenses again. Admiral, have one of your ships prep missiles and fire on Sin's position in fifteen seconds."
"Affirmative, Commander," the Dollet Admiral's voice came back, the line cutting again a moment later as Katanas watched the SeeD forces begin to erect magical barriers and alchemical walls to shelter from any potential counterattack. He counted the seconds away, fifteen seconds passing in what seemed more like fifteen minutes before he faintly saw the brilliant lights and contrails of a salvo of missiles coming in from far offshore. Just as before, Sin's barrier rose to deflect the incoming fire...but this time, it seemed to be watery and indistinct, a far cry from the brilliant magenta hues of its previous defensive might. A few of the missiles crashed into the barrier, exploding harmlessly and violently against the rippling shield...and then the shield buckled, collapsing into itself and leaving a large hole which several more missiles passed through, slamming into Sin's bulk and detonating in plumes of red and orange.
Katanas smirked.
"All forces, maintain shields - Admiral, have all your ships prep and fire at will to bring down that shield. Paladin Drake, once that barrier fails, have your forces engage immediately. All ground forces, prepare to attack once Sin's shield is fully depleted."
It only took a few seconds following Katanas' orders for dozens more contrails to lance up into the sky as the Dollet navy forces offshore unleashed their entire complement of missiles at Sin, a wave of white smoke and fire hurtling towards Sin at breakneck speeds. Sin's shield returned in an attempt to ward off the oncoming onslaught, but it was even weaker than the barrier from before. The first few missiles exploded on the pinkish-red dome, shattering holes in it that caused the entire construct to begin to lose cohesion as more and more missiles stormed in from above. Plumes of fire erupted along Sin's flank as the shipborne weaponry detonated, ripping large holes in its flesh and scorching mottled brown and gray skin jet black.
With the skies cleared, Anita's forces had regrouped and waited for their time to strike, and they flew into the combat again with fervor. Bullets, missiles, and lasers lit up the sky as the White Knights re-engaged Sin itself, tearing gouges into its skin with machine guns and air-to-air missiles even as the Estharian laser weaponry sliced furrows into Sin's body like knives of light. Anita's eyes hardened as she locked her gaze on Sin, the beast which had killed so many of their brothers and sisters-in-arms, and she called out to her weapons officer.
"Weapons status?"
"Beam cannon is fully charged, as are remaining laser batteries, ma'am. Missile bays are at about forty percent capacity and ready to go," he replied, looking back at Anita.
"That thing won't have a shield to save it this time - let's wipe it out. Lock on all weapons and fire at will!"
"Aye, ma'am!"
A brilliant glow built up around the fore section of the Durandal as its beam cannon prepared to fire again, accompanied by the whining sounds of its secondary laser batteries and the rushing winds following dozens of missile launches. The glow flared blindingly for an instant before the cannon fired, a massive bolt of energy crossing the distance between the flagship and its target in an eyeblink before detonating in Sin's face and causing it to let out a deafening screech of pain.
"Direct hit, ma'am!"
Anita smiled, waiting to see what kind of damage their offensive had caused once the smoke clouds around Sin had cleared even as she saw the ground forces below begin their own attack. Tanks and battlesuits belonging to Onimaru's mechanized forces stomped forwards at the fore of the SeeD lines, unleashing scores of bullets and bombs towards Sin with no restraint even as tanks behind them volleyed cannon shells into the beast. SeeD of all specializations lit into Sin with gusto, magical attacks of all shapes, sizes, and elements forming into a non-stop barrage of power as hundreds of rifles and other firearms opened up. Nothing was held back, the soldiers on the front lines giving it everything they had in an attempt to finally bring Sin down now that it was defenseless.
Near the front of the SeeD lines, Odin and Ben prepared to add their own spells to the mix, even as Destine did the same from the rear. Ben had never seen Odin use any kind of magic, with Xeios being the one out of the pair of Freya's advisors to specialize in magical ability...but, he knew, just because he'd never seen it didn't mean it wasn't possible. The Zantetsuken in Odin's hand shimmered with fiery red energy as the mighty Erudite gathered his power, and the skies darkened around Sin before flaming meteors began to rain down upon it, crushing the already-weakened monster underneath a hail of vehicle-sized molten rocks. A brilliant lance of energy soared into the heavens from somewhere near the duo, and Ben realized what he was seeing right before Squall's Blasting Zone crashed down onto Sin, followed in quick succession by a rapid-fire barrage of spells of all kinds - an uncomfortable amount of which was Forbidden-tier - that he assumed was Selphie's own Limit. A massive white sphere of energy started to form around Sin on the heels of the barrage of spells, a glittering orb that surrounded Sin in the energy of Quistis' Shockwave Pulsar ability before battering it from all directions with searing light, and columns of bright light lanced up from the ground in Sin's direction as Irvine let loose with a barrage of pulse ammunition from his Exeter shotgun.
The next energy release wasn't so much seen as felt, and Ben looked over to catch sight of Rinoa rising into the air on ethereal wings of power as she drew on her Sorceress might in full.
'Time to do this,' he thought, sending the energy of Triple magic around himself as he prepared to use every last drop of his mana in one strike. He wasn't the only one to have that idea, and he watched in awe as he saw the green and black hues of Ultima magic start to appear at points surrounding Sin, more and more of the all-consuming magic gathering around Sin as Rinoa - and, from his guess, Destine - funneled power into the spells. He let go of his own magic, unable to even see his target but instead trusting his senses, and the last of what were ten Ultima spells materialized around Sin's fore before detonating at once. The explosion was impossibly bright, blinding Ben despite his best efforts at shielding his eyes, and the entire battlefield vanished from his sight and hearing under the overwhelming pressure of nearly a dozen arcane strikes.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the battlefield quieted, with the pitched sounds of combat fading away to a muted rumble as the allied forces waited...almost daring Sin to have survived the overwhelming force they had sent at it. Nothing was visible for long seconds, clouds of smoke billowing away from Sin's position before another unearthly keen split the air. Sin emerged from the smoke like a drowning man surfacing for desperate gasps of air, but its movement was staggered and failing, its flight feeble as it took a downward turn towards the ground. Thousands of eyes tracked its fall as it took an uncontrolled dive into the Estharian plains, its charred and shredded body trailing streams of magical energy behind it as it crashed into the ground to the cheers of thousands of assembled SeeD and Estharians. It gave a last wailing cry as its body fell apart, its head craning high to screech at the heavens before it exploded into nothing more than a haze of magic that dissolved into the air.
Ben let out the breath he had been holding ever since he had regained his senses, shouting his joy alongside all of the soldiers he had fought beside as he finally let out the emotions he'd been bottling up after seeing Sin again for the first time. The battle was finally over...they had won. They'd lost much, countless lives that had sacrificed themselves to make sure the world survived, but they had survived.
They had stood firm in the face of annihilation, and proved once more that they had what it took to safeguard their realm.
And with that, we close the first part of Book II - with the longest chapter I've ever written for any story I've ever written, at just over 19,000 words.
It's been a long time since I was able to post a chapter for this story, and that's been due to any number of reasons - rough times at work and with life in general, a lack of motivation to sit down and truly try to write (probably caused by the aforementioned reasons), and sheer difficulty in writing this chapter. I have never written something like this before, both in terms of sheer scale and the actual contents, and it caused me no end of trouble to try and figure out how to put what I could see in my mind into words. Trying to make sure to keep the overall battle in check and relatively "realistic," insofar as the use of that word applies here, while at the same time giving everyone their moment to shine between this chapter and last proved to be a task that I wasn't fully prepared for at first. It was tough and made me want to yank my hair out at times when I couldn't get a scene to go quite the way I wanted, but I wasn't going to give up without finishing it out the way I intended.
On that note, I'll reiterate something I've mentioned in the past - I do not have any plans to abandon this story at this time, and will make sure to say so clearly if I make that decision in the future. Fics I've greatly enjoyed dying with no explanation or warning annoys me, and I would hate to become one of those myself. It won't be due to lack of ideas or material, as I actually have an outline for everything right up to the end of this story detailed. I'm sure updates will probably continue to be slow, but I have no problems with people reaching out to me to ask questions about this series at any time.
All that being said, when I could sit down and write this and actually not feel like it was a slog, I absolutely loved it. Huge war scenes and major battles have always been a favorite part of mine from any show, movie, or anime I've ever watched, and I tried to replicate a lot of that feel here. The very concept of every single fighting force on the planet banding together and putting aside their differences to avoid quite literally being wiped from existence was the driving idea of this confrontation from day one, and I tried my absolute best to hold nothing back in throwing every bit of detail I could into it. It was a labor of love that I wanted to scream at just as often as I wanted to scream about it, but I don't regret any part of it.
With this part over, there will be another interlude chapter before I move into Part II of this Book. There'll be a bit of a mini-arc ahead, focused around more worldly endeavors before the main plot picks up again in earnest. As always, feel free to drop me a line with any questions or comments.