Chapter 50

A Message

Doomtrain tore through the tropical clouds of the Albatross, which gave way to clearer skies as he carried his passengers west. The daughter of Edea and her friends had eluded Ultimecia at the expense of Odin. The Pale Rider had made an admirable sacrifice, almost striking his Elder's magicite with his great lance. Though he had been overwhelmed when Leo had come to Ultimecia's aid, perhaps saving her life again as he dealt the 'killing' blow, parting Odin's head from his shoulders.

Despite this, twenty thousand marines had been drowned by Leviathan's assault, leaving Balamb exceedingly vulnerable. However, aside from Kain, her Praetorians were unscathed. Their augmented power had enabled them to breach the surface and make it to Alexander.

Later, Ultimecia would ensure the body of Kain was recovered. He had been handsome and taciturn, with flowing blond hair under that dragon helm. She had enjoyed Kain's company in her bedchamber innumerable times, and knew Kain had appreciated her's even more. Unlike Nero, Kain had been able to remain emotionally unattached, and had shown no jealously at the sudden arrival of Leo. He had still been willing to give his life for his Empress.

The spearman had been named for ancient Sarona's most famous Dragoon, and had proprieted the Dragonhair lance following Dollet's annexation. Kain had fancied himself as one of their breed, with his mastery of the spear and wind element. Ultimecia had vowed to address his family herself, and make sure they were provided for. Kain's younger brother had been in the disbanded Adel Unit. Cecil, if she remembered correctly; named for the First Paladin of the Holy Dollet Empire. Which should irk her, as imperial Dollet had stood as bastion against her mother's world domination for a thousand years. Yet a young Reina had been moved upon learning of the gallantry of some of Jadis' Paladins; particularly Cecil, Jericho and Heahmund. As a former Adel member, she would offer Cecil's namesake the chance to replace his fallen brother as a Praetorian.

Had Kain survived, Ultimecia may have gifted Odin's magicite to him. It would have pleased her to see Kain wielding Gungnir. Instead, Ultimecia had offered Odin to Reinhardt, who was an equally fitting bearer. Like Ialantha, Reinhardt had shown his Empress unwavering fealty since the beginning. Henceforth, may the Pale Rider gift power to every destructive blow of Reinhardt's indomitable hammer.

Doomtrain was almost within enemy airspace, which Ultimecia cared little for. The five-pointed star of Dollet City soon appeared on the horizon, visible through a nearby gash-like opening in Doomtrain's throbbing, arterial walls.

'I would call off the pursuit, Your Grace,' Leo said abruptly.

'Why?' she demanded.

'I fear they have now passed into Galbadia,' Leo explained. 'To proceed could lead to us falling victim to an ambush of their own. The Lionheart and the enemy Sorceresses will no doubt be rushing to meet them.'

'Leo's right, Your Grace,' Selena agreed.

After a few seconds, Ultimecia nodded reluctantly. Leo must have mentally given the command for Doomtrain to decelerate and hover, as though at an invisible platform.

'I overestimated the Stormbringer,' Ultimecia admitted. 'Her lightning spear is capable of felling me, no matter how much of Hyne's power I obtain.'

'Your plan was fine in execution, Your Grace,' Selena assured her. 'A bold stroke that would have all but ended this prolonged war! We could not have foreseen Leviathan rescuing Odin!'

Memnon grunted in agreement.

'Tyris and her friends shall live,' Ultimecia allowed. 'For now. It matters not; they cannot alter fate. And now, a message!'

Ultimecia left Doomtrain's fleshy deck and glided toward the nearest gash in his side. She summoned Eden in his physical form, standing firmly atop the colossus as she willed the Elder to fly towards Dollet City.

The harbourside remnant of Jadis' fallen empire was splayed out below her, ugly smoke coming from various factories and plants throughout the city, giving it a hazy appearance. Ships noisily came and went from the harbour and mortals littered the commercial promenade as they soaked in the late afternoon sun, totally oblivious that their mundane lives were about to come to an end.

Shawn Argus, Jericho Vossler, and their redneck junta had seized her Province from under her nose while her forces had retreated to Timber. Edea's rats had their newly acquired Leviathan annihilate her token fleet here, too. Then, the south Dollet city of Jericho – along with the rest of her garrisons – had fallen like autumn leaves without effective leadership. Before even the last of them had surrendered, Argus had had the gall to rename her Province 'New Sarona'! And now it was understood Argus had pledged hundreds of thousands of reservists to bolster her enemies.

This was what Ultimecia would do to the capital of any other Province that sought to break away from her Empire. Eden descended enough so that he was in view of the whole city, hanging like a foreboding angel of death as he readied his silver light. When it had amassed enough power, a cone-shaped silver beam was fired at the city. The capital was obscured from Ultimecia's sight before the sound of an explosion – heard for a thousand miles – ripped through the air. Eden's light rose from ground level in a rising dome as the nuclear attack hit unimpeded.

Pleased with the result, Ultimecia commanded Eden to cease, and the beam immediately vanished. More than a third of the capital had been reduced to rubble and ash, including the harbour, the industrial district, and the city centre. Predominantly remaining were the suburbs and outlying ranches, as well as the air force base. The archaic radio tower also remained. Her only regret was that the impressive statue of Siren in the market plaza would also be gone. When she reclaimed her Province, she would erect their people a new one at Jericho.

With the alarm sounded far too late, fighter jets from the air force base and batteries from the surrounding plateaus made to assault the Elder GF. Though all the missiles were stopped dead by Eden's mighty barriers, and every plane was knocked out of the sky by curving offshoots of silver light. Ultimecia bade Eden to fire a smaller attack at the air force base itself, levelling it in much the same manner as the heart of the capital. Eden recalled, she flew back to the waiting Doomtrain.

When she boarded, only Leo and Memnon did not look fearful of her, everyone having witnessed first-hand the power she now commanded.

'Set a course for Sequoia!' she ordered.

Leo nodded once, and Doomtrain starting speeding over the now headless New Sarona.

When crossing the plateau west of the Hasberry Plains, Leviathan and his passengers heard the nuclear explosion behind them. His mounts all turned to behold it, Leviathan flying in a curve so that they had a better view. Tyris recognised the outline of Eden over the great distance. Such power generated by Eden could only mean one thing. Ultimecia had turned the Elder's light on Dollet City!

'Oh, Hyne!' Tyris cried. 'They were defenseless!'

'That hellspawn!' Ballad cursed.

'How could she?' Thalassa exclaimed.

Gerra kept his reserve for a moment, then spoke. 'Ultimecia knows the course of the war will be decided in Timber,' he said. 'She probably sought to eliminate most of Argus' troops with that act. And it's a stark message to DiMarco and the Forest resistance groups.'

Thankfully, they knew Martine and Argus had been keeping most of their fighting force spread evenly throughout their countries. They had anticipated such an action after Eden had proven his destructive capabilities at the Monterosa. The nation leaders themselves were in hiding. However, there would still have been many soldiers stationed in Dollet City, along with over a million citizens.

She could still be pursuing us! Leviathan warned, suddenly meandering back the way they had been going. Let us continue on!

Battleship Island had since departed southern Galbadia, now heading for the Necropolis in northern Centra. Leviathan reached it several hours after Dollet City's destruction. He had expended most of his power in his rapid flight and returned to Thalassa as soon as they were safely on deck.

They were met by Liu and Zhang, who they had sighted jogging around the circumference of the ship. They, along with Raine, had been pivotal in the now destroyed Dollet's City liberation. The twins were now junctioned with Brothers and Siren respectively, and had been made Acting Commanders while Squall and the others had left for the Jade Passage, giving them their first taste of command. Though their leaders were back now, somewhere belowdecks.

'The Riptide returns!' Liu greeted Thalassa warmly between deep breaths, clasping her hand before Ballad's, who had also been deployed to Dollet with the twins. They merely nodded to Gerra and Tyris.

Liu had Xu's jian strapped behind his back. He was wearing sunglasses, despite it being overcast south of Galbadia. Like all martial artists, both Neo-SeeD held great respect for the Armageddon Fist, as the annual intra-SeeD tournaments were held in both Zell and Sabin's memory. Liu and Thalassa were tied one-on-one, the twin having succumbed to the White SeeD in last year's final. They both looked forward to the rubber match. Zhang was not as fond of Thalassa as Liu was, having been knocked out of the intra-SeeD tournament by her two years running, yet he respected her prowess all the same. His mother's bishou was strapped to his PT shorts, and his nunchucks hung at his lower back.

'Where's Commander Leonhart?' Thalassa asked.

'In his cabin, I believe,' Zhang replied curtly.

'Ultimecia tried to ambush us!' Thalassa informed them. 'And Dollet City is gone!'

'We already knew about Dollet,' Liu said. 'Argus, Vossler, and most of the army were no way near there! Thankfully!'

'You got ambushed?' Zhang asked them.

'Long story short,' Tyris said quickly. 'we got away, but Odin has been lost to Ultimecia! We knew for sure when she turned Eden's light upon Dollet!'

'Fucking Hyne!' Zhang cursed.

'Well, things are still looking up,' Liu said. 'Damian junctioned with Diablos! White SeeD just got Jumbo Cactuar and every last cactuar on their island!'

'That's great news!' Ballad said.

'Raine and Rhodry made it underground, to the heart of the old Zebalgan kingdom!' Zhang elaborated. 'Their whole journey is on the Network! Go knock yourselves out!'

'Maybe later,' Thalassa replied.

'It's too bad Ultimecia took Alexander just days after I spoke with him,' Tyris commented unhappily.

They turned at the sound of another voice shouting Thalassa's name. The hulking Gilgamesh approached from around some crates, holding a giant sword over his shoulder with two of his right hands. Tyris, who had never been in the outworlder's presence, went rigid and lowered her spear slightly. Gilgamesh considered Raikou calmly, along with Gerra's Maralith, then gloated, 'Look at this!' With two left hands, he pulled the great weapon over his shoulder, displaying it horizontally for them.

'That's the Ultima Weapon!' Thalassa exclaimed.

The aesthetically impressive greatsword was almost two metres long and a foot wide, a liquid purple along the centre and white along its double edge. It pulsated with energy. The handguard was curved, containing a pointed, glowing ruby in its centre that rose into the blade, piercing the crystalline purple. It had remained on the deepest sub-level of Battleship Island since the defeat of the demon who wielded it, placed there by Eden until someone came forth with the power to wield it. Any mortal who had attempted to even lift the weapon had been killed by the unknown force within, and Squall forbade any SeeDs or cadets to go near it. Yet Gilgamesh was not mortal, possessing the size, strength, and enough arms to wield it effectively.

'Didn't your old man beat Ultima Weapon?' Gilgamesh asked Thalassa.

'Well, he did help, but not exactly,' she lessened, then laughed, turning to Gerra and Ballad to elaborate. 'When Squall's party found this place, it had been derelict for years, floating over the Sunken Shrine. Adel had been trying to bring the Shrine back to the surface. With the development of para-magic, the war was going against her. Ignorant that Odine had already worked with Edea in secret, Adel commanded him to find a way to enable her soldiers to use magic. This whole project was probably just a stalling tactic on Odine's part, but he would have been intrigued either way. Although something went wrong, and all the researchers were killed by the monsters within. I think they just totally abandoned this place, and the project along with it,' she speculated.

The twins were well versed in the story; Zhang had started to fidget impatiently, now scrolling on his phone. Tyris stood motionlessly with the tail end of her spear resting on the deck, listening respectfully along with Ballad.

'Pop and the others found Battleship Island by chance with the Ragnarok. It was after they freed Rinoa from the Sorceress Memorial, and they were in no rush, so they decided to investigate. Bahamut was here, and after Squall proved himself, they moved to the sub-levels. Eventually, they reached the Sunken Shrine. Leviathan would ordinarily be residing there, but he was already junctioned with Pop!' Thalassa mentioned proudly. 'They found Ultima beyond some blast doors. Eden later told them that Ultima had somehow drawn Eden into himself whilst he slumbered on the ocean floor. Bahamut sensed his Elder's presence and urged Rinoa to free him. With Eden on their side, Ultima didn't stand a chance!'

Gerra looked thoughtful. 'I'm familiar with a being called Omega. Ultimecia said it crossed over from the "Otherside"; a parallel realm that she claimed is the origin of all the Lunarians. She said the hordes don't actually live on the Moon, that they just end up there when they cross over. Anyway, Omega obliterated thousands of imperial troops with that same light pulsar Quistis tried to use. Only Leo survived, and only then because he had Bahamut's magicite. Omega posed the biggest threat to Ultimecia for centuries, and she had no choice but to leave her castle and confront it herself.

'Myself, Leo and the Praetorians fought with her,' he continued. 'It was the first time Ultimecia had needed all her magicite since the Red Giant's army sacked Sequoia. It was a hard-fought battle, and all the Praetorians fell, save for Vargas Zebalga. But in the end, Ultimecia was able to bind Omega. She had him imprisoned in her castle, and told me that his bounds can only be freed by playing a particular tune on her organ.'

'That's strange!' Gilgamesh commented. 'I too have encountered a creature called Omega! It appeared within the Rift when my former master attempted to harness the power of the Void. But that Omega was robotic! The technology was way ahead of my world's, the Dawn Warriors', or even this one! Bartz, Lenna and the others kicked its ass, anyway!'

Nodding to Ultima, Thalassa said, 'So, Squall just let you have it, Gilga?'

'Nope!' Gilgamesh replied. 'The deal was that I use the Zantetsuken, to free the flying lion that you aliens revere!'

'You mean Griever?' Thalassa asked. 'The Winged Lion? Do you know where he slumbers?'

'Behind the throne of Axtius,' the outworlder said offhandedly. 'Odin had his pompous ass on it, all along!' He chortled, then leaned to look over Thalassa's shoulder. 'So, you got Riptide back!'

Thalassa had not even realised. It had still been her old Kotetsu when she had sheathed it. She had longed for Leviathan's power and Riptide back in hand. Her gunblade had been transformed into the most beautiful weapon she had ever beheld, and she had still not put it to the test since hounding Ultimecia through the skies. She unsheathed it, twirling it admiringly a couple of times.

'So that's why you're heading to Centra,' Tyris probed the twins. 'For the Necropolis?'

'Yeah,' Zhang responded. 'We're gonna rendezvous with White SeeD on the outskirts! This is gonna be one for the ages!'

'I've gotta contact Captain Kurin!' Thalassa said suddenly, going for her own phone.

Squall, Rinoa, and Selphie had appeared on deck, and were striding towards them. Squall had the full brief of their mission, as Thalassa had voice-noted a now much more contactable Selphie while travelling on Leviathan. They were followed by Damian, who had a demonic-looking axe behind his back, telling of his recent union with Diablos. The Wraith swaggered calmly behind the Children of Fate.

'Congrats, Damian!' Thalassa said, getting a half smile and a wink in response.

'Are you guys okay?' Selphie asked them. 'What happened?'

'We're fine,' Tyris said, stepping toward them. 'But if not for Leviathan and Odin, the war would assuredly have been lost. We should have known better!'

'That sucks,' Selphie remarked. 'Odin spent all that time stuck in Lunatic Pandora, free for a few days just to become that hag's slave! But you were right, Lassa! Your idea worked!'

'We've heard about Dollet,' Squall mentioned.

'We saw it!' Gerra said disgustedly. 'Ultimecia killed all those people just to send a message to Argus and DiMarco!'

Selphie could not contain herself. 'Hynedamn it! We've got to stop her, Squall! We need to get to Griever and move on Timber, asap!'

Squall nodded. 'I know.' He looked at Gerra. 'Gerra, a job well done on acquiring Phoenix. Seifer's fire truly does run rampant within you.' Then his gaze swept all of them back and forth, including the twins. 'When we advance on Timber, Rinoa, Selphie and myself,' he emphasised, 'will seek out Ultimecia, and we will put an end to her, once and for all. If all goes according to plan, we'll be able to match Eden with Griever, and will have amassed a large enough land force to deal with her own. The rest of you will confront Christophe, Zebalga, and the other magicite holders. Is that understood?' he finished firmly.

Only Ballad nodded. He would have to lead the Garlands, anyway. The others said nothing.

'Look, I don't doubt your abilities for a second,' Squall assured. 'But we can't afford vendettas! Ultimecia is too dangerous, and there will be no more second chances! Defeat her most trusted warriors and free the Guardian Forces! Then, with our combined might, Ultimecia will be powerless before us!'

'With respect, I don't answer to you, Lionheart,' Tyris stated flatly. 'I almost killed Ultimecia with the Raikou. I would even say she now fears me. Though I will be searching for General Zebalga first upon the Forested Plains, so feel free to hold off Ultimecia while I engage him.' Tyris looked to Rinoa, then Selphie. 'Just make sure that none of you die. If Ultimecia gets either of your powers, she will become even stronger.'

'Hmph,' Damian grunted audibly. 'There's too much Esthari in your accent for my liking, Almasy! The Zebalgan is mine to kill, and mine alone! Don't stand in the way of the Mastema when the time comes!'

'Reno, what happened at Winhill doesn't even compare to what I've been through!' Tyris shot back. 'At least the children there were not doomed to torment in the Centran mines, as we were! Most of your people fled south. Feel free to aid me, but my spear will deal Zebalga's deathblow!'

'We'll see about that!' Damian said, his eyes glinting with Diablos' red and his tattoos shining silver.

'Hey, Zebalga killed both of our folks!' Zhang said with frustration, inclining his head toward his twin. 'Just give us one minute with him in the Octagon!'

The more contained Liu just murmured in agreement.

'Look, this is what I was saying about vendettas,' Squall said, with a calm authority. 'If all three of you charge Zebalga, you will only get in each other's way. Which is exactly what happened when Seifer and I fought with Christophe!'

'Not only that,' Selphie added. 'one of the other magicite holders will be free to wreak havoc!'

Rinoa spoke up. 'Damian, you will confront an Esthari of our choosing. In fact, we were going to unleash you on the Praetorians. I trust Tyris will finally execute justice on Zebalga. She has to, for Edea and Cid. And for Xu and Sabin.'

'I will, Rinoa,' Tyris vowed. 'You have my word.'

'As you wish, ma'am,' Damian said reluctantly.

Damian clearly hated having rank pulled on him, and it would have only been his respect for the Children of Fate that prevented him from arguing. Thalassa knew Damian was one of the older Neo-SeeDs, with members of Cid's SeeD now very few and far between. After recent battles, their number had been reduced to just Squall, Selphie, Nida and Rhodry.

'Anyway.' Rinoa's high voice cut through the tension in the air. 'We're glad you guys are okay. Let's get inside!'

'Yeah, dinner's calling!' Selphie agreed. 'Then we can watch Raine's media on the Network, after! It's amazing!'