Chapter 34

The Red Reaver and the Riptide

When Leo came to, he did not know how long he had been unconscious. There was no sign of the Lionheart or the Cyclone, and the sound of any fighting was distant. Sitting up, some of his ribs were sore, but save for a few bruises and superficial grazes, he was unharmed. He recovered both halves of Harbinger, which he had kept hold of until the collision. He could not even be sure of which direction he had come from, and could not summon Tiamat physically in this dense thicket.

Picking the direction which seemed closest to civilisation, the Obsidian Harbinger began walking, letting his arms flow rhythmically after he reunified and sheathed his weapon, making sure nothing was broken. He carefully emerged onto a two-lane road. Up and down, there were small pockets of fighting. Recognising the shapes of some of the buildings, Leo redrew his weapon and headed down an alley that led to one of the main commercial streets. The battling was fiercer here. Scanning the skirmishes, he recognised the ruby armour and tall form of Cullyn, who knocked two Galbadians off their feet with one firm stroke of his greatsword. Rillina and Lani were fighting side by side a distance to Cullyn's left. He could not see the Empress anywhere.

'You!'

It was a voice laced with hatred. Leo turned, barely getting Harbinger up in time to divert a katana thrust. Nero darted back and adopted a half-squat stance, holding Murasame vertically.

'The Empress has abandoned us again!' he snapped. 'Why did you have to interfere, Christophe? What good has it done? We are losing!'

'Stand down, you fool!' Leo implored.

'Have you seen the Empress?' Nero asked exasperatedly. 'What has she become? What have you done to her? She no longer resembles the Sorceress that I pledged the Murasame to! The woman that I-!'

The white-haired Praetorian caught himself. Leo had empathy for the young elite, as he had once harboured a similar grudge toward Gerra.

'The Empress now reflects her true nature, as all Sorceresses do at an advanced age.' Leo said. 'Where is she?'

'She has answered the challenge of Sorceress Rinoa, with no heed of her own safety, leaving us behind!' Nero said desperately. 'And she has made you her Knight, effectively leaving the Twelve without purpose!' The Balambi glyphs engraved into the steel of Murasame flashed white, and Nero directed an open palm at him. 'Die!'

The same glyphs appeared as a white flash in mid-air, and Leo was forced to summon a hovering shield of midnight-blue fire to guard against the subsequent explosion. Yet it struck the mana-ward with enough force to make him stagger. The legendary katana was unlike its sister sword, Masamune, in that it had been forged by Sorceress Nakano solely for destruction. Nakano had bestowed the Murasame upon her Knight and lover, Hideyoshi. She had wielded Masamune herself, in preparation of facing the short-lived but deadly alliance between Adel and Jadis which resulted in her demise.

Nero instantly followed up, Leo needing to draw on Tiamat again to match the Praetorian's enhanced speed. He did not know how long Nero's buffs would last away from the Empress, and knew that he needed to end the fight before Cullyn or anyone else got involved. Perhaps dishonourably, Leo split Harbinger mid-parry and cut Nero's neck before he could strike again. The Praetorian's eyes met Leo's as his life blood seeped from the cut, giving his ruby armour a new shade. Leo steadied the young man's fall to the ground as his legs gave way, gently lowering him to the ground.

There was a faint whistling noise, and Leo caught a polearm on his greave, looking to see the swarthy Lani standing to his side. With a deft movement, she was out of gunblade range. Beside her was Cullyn, Ialantha and Rillina, all levelling their weapons at him.

'He attacked me!' was all Leo said, forcing them to move back as he summoned Tiamat.

'Just who are you, Knight?' Cullyn demanded.

'I will explain everything after the battle!' Leo replied.

The gust from Tiamat's wings forced them back further, and then Leo was high above them. He watched as they moved to Nero's body, unable to follow.

The battle between the Sorceresses of the Opposing Wings would be spoke of by many throughout the ages, regardless of the Third Sorceress War's outcome. Ultimecia continued to fight the Celestial Defender, as she was known in Timber, in a grand spectacle above the city. Rinoa had repeatedly tried to lure her downward, to beneath the blackened trees, presumably so the Two Halves of Gaia would be able to better assist her. Though Ultimecia had not taken the bait. Seeing no sign of the Azure Sorceress or the Lionheart, she had rained down her illusionary weapons until Rinoa met her in the sky once again.

The widely held assertion that Rinoa had never mastered her sorcery was correct; she had reportedly always been afraid of it. To her credit, the raven-haired Sorceress was an agile flyer, avoiding Ultimecia's attacks and almost striking her with that peculiar projectile a couple of times, which she also competently used a shield. Still, Ultimecia was more than her match even absent a GF, and firmly believed that if she had but another share of Hyne's Half, the fight would already be over. She simply could not believe Rinoa had once almost harboured the whole Half, and had been junctioned with Eden to boot. It had been such a waste.

The elegant pinwheel passed within inches of her face again. Ultimecia stopped circling, deciding on a gamble as she hovered a few yards in front of Rinoa. The white-winged Sorceress took the ruse, firing her weapon again. The projectile spun through Ultimecia's chest, but her scarlet form simmered like water, causing Rinoa's mouth to part.

'A trick I learned from Selphie!'

Ultimecia had reappeared to Rinoa's left, a miniature shooting star between her outthrust claws. There was no way near enough time to increase its size like Rinoa had at sea, but it was adequate. Rinoa tried to dodge, but Ultimecia calmly fired it at her centre mass, and Rinoa screamed as it made contact. It sent her flying horizontally across the city skyline, until she struck an upper story of the Galbadia Hotel, disappearing in an explosion of glass and rubble.

Laughing, Ultimecia flew in pursuit, stopping before the hole in the prestigious building. She swerved to avoid two brown balls of energy that came from it, seeing the forms of Sacred and Minotaur come into view. Rinoa had crashed into a hotel room, and her GFs stood protectively in front of her. Though the hulking Sacred was stooped under the ceiling, and Ultimecia realised he would not be able to easily avoid an attack. She was about to use magic on him when she noticed a green shape to her right. Brothers took advantage of the distraction to attack again, channelling energy through their maces, but Ultimecia simply flew upward and out of their view.

Her immediate assumption was that Quistis had come to Rinoa's aid. Instead, it was Carbuncle. A small blonde woman had an arm wrapped around the GFs emerald body, her other hand holding a curved gunblade. Curious, Ultimecia flew further upward, landing on the roof of the hotel. She waited for them to reach her, certain there were no other threats nearby.

Carbuncle was recalled as it landed, the young woman landing surefootedly and raising her gunblade in two gloved hands. Ultimecia assumed she was a White SeeD, as Carbuncle had sought protection with them while eluding her cyborgs a few years ago. The woman wore outdoor clothing and was petite and ravishing, with her golden tan and sun kissed hair. The vaguely familiar tribal tattoo on the left side of her face did not detract from her beauty.

'You are very gallant to come at me alone, girl! Yet Rinoa is not in a position to aid you!'

'I'm not afraid of you, Ultimecia!' the girl responded. 'I've waited more than half my life for this!'

'It is curious that you use the name I am known by in the future, girl,' Ultimecia said. 'Your father was the Armageddon Fist, correct? You share a resemblance, and I recall him having that very tattoo.'

'That's right!' she said boldly. 'My name is Thalassa, of Edea's SeeD! I'm the daughter of Zell and Adira!'

'I see,' Ultimecia replied. 'So it was your name that he uttered before he died, not that of Sorceress Thalassa. Not that you don't have the capacity to become a Descendant of Hyne, girl. I can see that you most certainly do so. Which is why I'm going to have to kill you before you can pose a greater threat.' She paused. 'Ellone must have allowed you to witness my battle with your father! I was certain I could feel the presence of another!'

'I saw the whole thing!' Thalassa snapped. 'If you hadn't caught him with your time magic, he would have defeated you!'

Ultimecia cackled. 'You mean like this?'

She opened her gloved talon in Thalassa's direction. An invisible force knocked the White SeeD from her feet, sending her crashing into the low wall behind. Ultimecia's hand remained raised. Thalassa tried to get to her feet, but Ultimecia raised her other arm, intensifying the spell that stopped time around her and stopped her from moving a muscle.

'Your dainty, emerald runt is a pathetic excuse for a Guardian Force! But I require a replacement for Leviathan! He shall be mine!' The depleted Carbuncle could do little to resist its essence being directed into magicite. Ultimecia cackled shrilly again when the drawing was complete, summoning a halberd to impale the helpless White SeeD. 'You can go to your father, now!'

The ornate weapon never reached is target. There was a flash of scarlet and silver as it were shattered from the side, and Gilgamesh rose to his great height between them, swords in four hands. Leo had warned her the Red Reaver was the only real threat to her after her conquest. Like Edea's rats, Ultimecia knew she needed to stop him now to prevent him from ever undermining her in the future.

Boring into his pupilless eyes, Ultimecia said, 'You wayward stray! I shall cast you back into the Rift!'

Gilgamesh gave a chortle. 'If you can open the way before I quarter you, I'll gladly go through it! I still need to return the Excalibur to a friend of mine!'

'Not a chance!' She rose into the air. Decorative blades appeared around her, angled toward the outworlder as they flew toward him. Gilgamesh's girth was enough to shield Thalassa. He calmly met the flying blades with swings of his own awesome swords, shattering the illusions on impact. 'Do none take your fancy, Reaver?'

Gilgamesh retorted with his signature chortle. 'Pathetic! You would have stood no chance against Exdeath!'

With the mention of his former master, Gilgamesh took the greatbow from his back with a free hand, along with one of the large arrows fletched from the Guardian Tree in his homeworld – of which he still had plenty. He was perhaps the only one in this world with strength enough to draw back that bowstring. He notched the arrow and fired. Ultimecia expected it to be stopped by her magic barrier, only flying sideways to avoid it at the last second. The arrow cleanly penetrated her shoulder, emerged from the other side, and she screamed for the first time in her life. Flying well out of the bow's range, she tore out the demonic arrow, gritting through the pain.

Descending with every intention of ripping off all eight of Gilgamesh's limbs, Ultimecia fashioned a black hole to appear before him with the hope of diminishing his supernatural speed and strength. This maelstrom began to distort the air and matter around it, siphoning the life force of both Gilgamesh and Thalassa. The outworlder responded by firing another arrow at it, caused the disturbance to implode.

Enraged, Ultimecia launched explosive purple orbs, knocking all his weapons flying from his hands and making him stagger. Materialising a dagger to plunge into his undead heart, she got in close and moved in for the kill. Though Gilgamesh grabbed her slender body with four of his rough hands, two of them attempting to seize the dagger, which Ultimecia willed to vanish. Instead, he reached for her neck. Putting her talons on his broad chest, she sent him crashing back into the rooftop wall with a big crash, hard enough to shatter the back of an ordinary man.

Thalassa was back on her feet. While Gilgamesh was still sailing backward, she was moving forward. Ultimecia responded instantaneously, her right talon suddenly glowing violet as she effortlessly knocked the gunblade out of Thalassa's hand mid-thrust. But the White SeeD was still moving forward, forcing Ultimecia's glowing talon aside with her forearm. The chambered fist of her other hand was already coming towards her face, and the raven-winged Sorceress cried in pain as the inlaid glove shattered her jaw. With one beat of her wings, Ultimecia moved narrowly out of range of the boot on a collision course with her skull. But Gilgamesh had resumed his place between them in an instant, firing another arrow that Ultimecia had to swivel to avoid.

As she did so, she caught sight of a tidal wave to the north. Ultimecia flew well out of the demonic greatbow's range, knowing that neither of them could follow without Carbuncle. She fearfully watched the now free Leviathan's approach as she rose high above the city.

Thalassa knew how fortunate she was to still be alive. As she and Raine had fallen back with the Garlands to the inner city, she had seen the battle of sorcery in the sky. She had commanded Carbuncle to fly to them, despite his depleted power, hoping that his blinding ruby flash would distract Ultimecia enough for Rinoa to gain the upper hand. Except Rinoa had been blown into the hotel before she could reach them, and Thalassa had ended up facing Ultimecia alone. Now Carbuncle was gone, and her saviour stood beside her as they watched the Ultimecia leave his bow range.

Then, Thalassa felt an unnatural presence touch her mind.

Daughter of the Armageddon Fist!

She looked north to see the mammoth tidal wave moving through the air, the silhouette of a gigantic serpent in its midst. 'Leviathan!' Her father's GF was here! The tidal wave reached them moments later, in the direction of Ultimecia. The Demon of the Deep coursed down to the rooftop, levitating above them as Thalassa looked at him in awe.

Speaking to her mind again, Leviathan said, Climb unto me, child, and we shall avenge your heroic father together!

She did not hesitate, wrapping her arms and legs around its scaled body and grabbing a colossal fin for purchase. Thalassa looked at Gilgamesh. 'You getting on?' she asked. The outworlder could not have looked paler than he already did as he rapidly shook his head. Leviathan launched himself at Ultimecia, who flew in the opposite direction as the GF rode a new tidal wave. Gilgamesh was left behind.

Thalassa felt energy coursing through her, into Kotetsu. It transformed, keeping its curvature but become slightly longer, the blade turning translucent and into differing shades of a shimmering blue. It was paler at the point, but gradually became deeper towards the snub-nosed pistol, which changed colour to the eroded brown of a sea stack. She thought the morphed gunblade was beautiful.

The Riptide is yours, child!

Quistis and Nida had been stalwartly fighting the Esthari in the east sector, moving to the commercial streets of the city centre after infiltration units had emerged from the sewer maintenance holes at their back. These bold units had been eradicated, but the Galbadians had lost ground in dealing with them, falling back. The Autumn Knight and his Azure Sorceress fought as one, felling scores of enemy soldiers and boosting the morale of those fighting with them. Until now, the Allies had not lost any more ground to the Empire, who had been stalled at every street into the city. They dared to hope the capital would not fall.

Then the Praetorians appeared, absent their Empress, the Galbadians standing no chance against their advanced speed. Seven of the Twelve were laced within the silver-armoured imperials filling the streets. It was unlikely they knew Nida or Quistis by sight, but they quickly moved to confront them before they could cause the Galbadians to break formation.

Laser beams shot from Quistis' eyes at the nearest, Angeal, but the dark-haired elite diverted them with one swing of his huge sword, sprinting with his weapon over one shoulder as though it were light as a feather. She raised her off hand and there was a lilac flash as Angeal's intensifications were dispelled. Save the Queen uncoiled like an anacondaur, but the Praetorian was still able to bring his sword up in time. The golden whip swathed around the ludicrously oversized weapon, and it was ripped from his hand. Angeal was oblivious as a blue light appeared beside him, matching his pace. His armour now penetrable, Quistis homed a curving, blue laser on his centre mass, and he collapsed in a smoking heap.

Although the other six Praetorians were within striking distance of her in an instant, leaving her with no time prepare more spells. Her Knight took his rightful place. Not in front of his Sorceress, but by her side. Nida calmly diverted Kain's Dragonhair, just before the spearman was flanked by Krysta and the redhaired Rubicanta, jewelled sword aflame. The towering Reinhardt and the horn-helmed Gabranth stood before Quistis, the slight Yuki hanging back in a crouch with her chakram behind her.

'Blue Mage, you will be left with just enough life to gift your power to the Empress!' Reinhardt declared coldly.

He moved in with his hammer, though Quistis spun the end of her whip so rapidly before her that it was almost knocked from his hand. The whip continued to rotate, so fast it resembled a golden disc. Gabranth thrust low, but with a slight lowering of the whip's rotation his ceremonial-like sword was knocked off target. Quistis conjured more concentrations of blue light above her shoulders. From them shot winding blue rays, knocking the two men back. Yuki launched her chakram with a swift movement, but Quistis dispelled the unnatural force guiding it, and it dropped harmlessly at her feet. Frustrated, Yuki reached into a pouch for throwing stars, but as they flew, they could not penetrate the spinning whip.

Nida was in his most rooted katachi, his katana held vertically with both hands. His heightened mind was clear as he took in the movements all the three before him, highlighting the few unarmoured parts of their body that he would have to strike true if he was going to survive. The sides of the neck, the hamstrings, the insides of the elbow cops. Krysta and Rubicanta were without head protection. Siren would have to remain within him, or he would not be able to match the Praetorians' speed. They did not have GFs, yet were teeming with para-magic of their preferred elements.

Krysta moved first, launching a spiked ball of ice, but Nida shattered it with a downstroke. There was the sound of a sudden gale as the air distorted around Kain's feet, sending him high into the air with his lance angled down. At the apex of his supernatural jump, Rubicanta conjured a powerful fire spell at Nida's feet, a pillar of flame swiftly engulfing him. Siren emanated a mauve shell around Nida's body, and the fire was forced away, allowing him to contend with Kain's mighty downward thrust. He moved deftly as Dragonhair struck the ground, blowing a pothole into the concrete with the elemental force. He swung at the inside of Kain's near arm, cutting through the limb and snagging on the elbow cop, the arm only held in place by the armour.

Nida ripped his sword away with just enough to time to meet the edge of Krysta's cutlass. Dragonhair clattered to the ground, and he paid Kain no more mind as the spearman writhed in the pothole.

Gerra found it surreal fighting alongside someone who was something akin to his ten-times great-aunt. He was sure that the young Ifrit was his forebear, as he knew nothing of Tyris in his family history. He assumed she had originally died during an unaltered war, with Ifrit being the patriarch of the Almasy line between himself and the boy. He also found her affinity for lightning unusual. With her younger brother, the union of fire and wind had resulted in more potent fire. Regardless, Tyris was a formidable warrior, offering nothing but death with her electrified short swords. At her age, Gerra would have considered her a great adversary if they had met on the Sands.

He felt great to have the younger version of Hyperion in hand. If he ever managed to recover his own Hyperion from FH, then he would not think twice about giving this version to Ifrit. As for the GF the boy was named for, the Bringer of Hellfire and the Undying Fire were once again as one. This time, Ifrit had freely chosen Gerra as his summoner, the GF's fiery spirit enveloping him but a minute after Seifer's death. His ancestor had not been conservative with Ifrit's energy, but some power remained. Enough for Gerra to play a bigger role in the battle.

They methodically cut down Esthari in the streets, gradually moving east and not attaching themselves to any organised groups of defenders. Most Galbadian NCOs assumed that they were plain-clothed SeeDs and did not presume to command them. The two barely spoke other than to warn the other if many soldiers approached, and these large groups were swiftly dispatched by their GFs.

After some time, Gerra sighted Quistis and Nida ahead, standing close together as they were assailed by five individuals in unmistakable ruby armour. One Praetorian lay dead some distance away, and another was down.

'I'll go left and take Yuki; she's a healer.' Tyris said. 'You go right.'

She sheathed her swords and drew the knife strapped above her breast. Not waiting to see whether he obeyed, she crept around battling groups, closing in on the female Praetorian hanging back from the giant with the hammer and the other man with the horned helm. The slight Balambi woman drew a tanto when her shurikens had proved ineffective but did not get a chance to use it. Tyris' hand covered her mouth, and with a flash she slit the Praetorian's throat.

Gerra's gaze was fixed on the flame-headed Praetorian with an encrusted sword of false fire. The woman conjured her para-magic around her in an impressive spectacle. intending to burn her way through Siren's barriers as the female with the cutlass tried to get within Nida's katana. A sword of pure fire appeared in front of the redhead. With a phantom swing, the avatar struck Nida's purple nimbus, and for a moment it faltered.

Let's teach her a lesson, Ifrit! Gerra thought.

I would be delighted to!

While the redhead had stocked fire magic, spells of the same element would be ineffective against her. Ifrit informed him she had much power contained within that jewelled sword. As soon as Gerra saw the other woman leap back and conjure an ice javelin, he knew what Ifrit would do. Appearing behind the redhead, the GF manipulated the hovering sword of flame, transforming it into a potent crimson whirlwind around the woman with the cutlass, who screamed as she began to boil within her armour. Her icy walls of protection bubbled and melted instantly before Ifrit's radiant plume. Gerra mercifully ended her agony by beheading her, recalling his GF as he and Nida converged on the redhead.

'Fall back!' the giant Praetorian roared.

The ruby-armoured elites disappeared into the surrounding fighters. The wounded spearman was last, holding his maimed arm as his wind magic propelled him away, his lance abandoned at Nida's feet. Quistis and Nida regarded Tyris wearily before looking at Gerra.

'Thank you!' she said earnestly, before looking back at Tyris. 'So, you have come back to the fold, Tyris!'

Tyris seemed equally wary as she knelt to pick up Kain's lance.

'Quistis, if I could have done so any sooner-!'

'You don't have to justify yourself to me, Tyris,' Quistis said, then added, 'Rhodry, perhaps. Or Raine; she will have figured out you killed her father by now.'

Tyris' mouth parted, but she said nothing more.

Quistis turned to Gerra. 'It would appear Ifrit has entrusted his power to you. I guess that means Seifer is dead. Use it well, Gerra!'

'I will, Sorceress Quistis,' he replied. 'Should we beat Esthar back, I will seek Phoenix at the Fire Cavern and lead the charge against Ultimecia myself.'

They all looked to the sky upon hearing a thunderous roar. It was the battle cry of Leviathan, pursuing the scarlet form of Ultimecia with relentless intensity. Ahead of them, a new wave of Esthar soldiers approached, wall-to-wall in the street for one last push.

'Go after them!' Nida said to Quistis. 'Ultimecia is on the backfoot! You can end the war!'

Quistis did not move. 'Eden's power is still depleted!'

'You don't need it!' her Knight assured her. 'Your skill far exceeds Ultimecia's; it always has! Tyris and Gerra can help me here!'

Before he had finished speaking, Tyris sent a web of lightning into the front line of Esthari, the Galbadians rushing forward to meet them with a unified cry as she led the charge.

'Go, my love!' Nida said with sincerity, joining the charge, with Gerra following. 'Finish her!'