The
story so far:
Ruby, Emerald and Crystal, three new SeeD members, receive the orders for their first SeeD mission. They are to escort a sorceress named Diamond to Balamb so that she may return to Dollet. They escort her without any trouble, but then Ruby and the sorceress board the boat bound for Dollet together and the entire boat explodes. No trace of Diamond or Ruby can be found, and they are presumed to be dead. 5 years pass, and Ruby and Diamond, who is actually the Sorceress Rinoa Heartilly, who was supposed to have died in the Balamb Garden Training Center years before, are living together in the forest’s near Timber, planning their revenge. One day, Ruby saves a very surprised Crystal from a monster, and learns that the Esthar president, ‘O Brian, knows that Rinoa is alive and has taken over Garden and will destroy it unless Crystal brings Rinoa back to him alive. Ruby then comes up with a plan to free the students and get the Esthar Army out of Garden. Her plan works perfectly, and Ruby defeats ‘O Brian in a one-on-one fight in Garden. However, ‘O Brian flees, leaving his army to face off against the Garden students and SeeD’s. But, Seifer, Raijin, who is actually Rinoa’s husband, Fujin and Rinoa and Raijin’s son Onyx have convinced the army that ‘O Brian is insane, and they believe them. So, Seifer, his daughter Sapphire, Ruby and Crystal head off to Esthar to stop ‘O Brian once and for all, while Emerald and two other SeeD’s to Deling City to get one of Ruby’s friends. But, when Ruby and her friends get to the palace, ‘O Brian is nowhere to be found. Instead there is a hologram of the madman, saying that he had won. The next minute, the office and most of the palace explodes…
“Peace
is but a shadow of death, desperate to forget its painful past… Though we long
for promising years, after shedding a thousand tears, yesterday’s sorrow
constantly nears. And while the moon still shines blue, by dawn, it will turn to
scarlet hue.”
-
Kuja, FFIX
Emerald
knocked on the door. A tall man with brown eyes and blonde hair opened it.
“Yes?”
he asked.
“The
Angel of Vengeance has come,” Emerald said.
The
man looked serious. “I’ll go get my gear,” he said.
The
man returned a few minutes later, with some heave weaponry. Emerald looked at
him.
“Well…at
least I know that you won’t be defenceless,” she said.
“Funny.
My name’s Travis, I owe Ruby a favour, and I guess this is that favour. Where
are we going?”
“First,
to Balamb. We have a speedboat waiting in port. From there we got to FH, and
then we take the express train to Esthar where Ruby is,” Emerald said.
“OK,”
said Travis, “Let’s go.”
******
Ruby
coughed and opened her eyes. “That…was some explosion. Is everybody OK?”
she said.
Nearby,
Sapphire groaned. “Yeah, I’m all right.”
Crystal
sat up and shook her head. “I feel like I got hit by a Tripled Meteor
spell,” she said.
Seifer
groaned as well. “And I thought that Squall’s Lionheart attack was
painful…”
“Everybody
seems OK, but how did we survive? None of us even have a scratch!” thought
Ruby, “I’ll think about that later, but right now we have to find ‘O
Brian.”
“All
right, let’s go and find ‘O Brian!” Ruby said.
Ruby
ran out, but stopped short when she saw what the explosion had done. The entire
left wall had been blown away, and you could see the entire city. And the Lifter
that took them out of the palace was destroyed as well. They were trapped.
“How
the hell are we supposed to get down from here?” Seifer said.
“I
don’t know, but we have to find a way! ‘O Brian is out there somewhere, and
we have to stop him!” Crystal said.
“She’s
right, we have to find a way down,” Sapphire said.
They
heard the sound of engines coming toward them. Then, the Ragnarok flew right
next to them and stopped. The side-door opened and Irvine stuck his head down.
“Need
a lift?” he asked, moving to one side.
Ruby
ran and jumped into the door. Crystal, Sapphire and Seifer followed suit.
“Thanks,”
Ruby said.
“Hey,
don’t that me, thank Onyx over here. He was worried about you,” Irvine said.
Ruby
looked at Onyx. “You were worried about me?” she asked.
Onyx
went red. “Well…uh…I, erm…” he said.
Ruby
grabbed him and gave him a firm kiss. “Oh…be quiet!” she said.
Onyx
looked at her, startled. Then, he kissed her back.
“Just
one question,” he said.
“Yes?”
Ruby asked.
“How
did you know?”
“Well,
any guy who’s willing to dance with me is obviously in love with me,” Ruby
said, smiling, “Besides, your mom told me.”
“Ahem,
if you two are quite finished, we have a madman to catch!” Irvine said.
Ruby
giggled and put her hand in Onyx’s. They walked to the cockpit. Everybody was
there, and Selphie was flying.
“Let’s
go,” Ruby said, “We have an insane president to catch.”
Selphie
nodded and flew off.
“Where
to?” she asked.
“First
we’re going to go to FH and wait for Emerald and the others,” Ruby said,
“Then we’re heading off for the one place that ‘O Brian would be able to
hide.”
“And
where is that?”
“The
Mobile Research Facility,” Ruby said, “When we were in Esthar, I noticed a
small, one-man flyer was missing. ‘O Brian must think we must be dead after
that explosion, and he’s probably hiding on Battleship Island.”
Selphie
nodded. “Then, we’re off!”
***********
“Uh…we’re
supposed to be going to Esthar, right?” Travis asked.
“Yeah…why?”
Emerald said.
“Because
the Ragnarok is headed this way.”
Emerald
looked at the Ragnarok as it landed next to Biggs’ house. The door opened, and
Ruby, Crystal and Sapphire came out. Emerald ran up to them.
“What
are you doing here? What about ‘O Brian?”
“He
wasn’t in Esthar. The palace blew up, and somehow we survived the explosion.
We’re heading off to Battleship Island, I suspect that he may be there,”
Ruby said.
Emerald
nodded. “OK, I’ll get Travis,” she said.
“Did
somebody call me?” Travis said, running up, “Good to see you again, Ruby.”
Ruby
smiled. “Good to see you too, Travis, but we have no time to talk. You know
‘O Brian?”
Travis
nodded. “The president of Esthar?”
“Yeah,
he’s gone mad, and we’re trying to find him. I think he took off toward
Battleship Island,” Ruby said.
“Makes
sense. Esthar did have a lot to do with that place when it was active,” Travis
said.
“Good,
then we’re going right now,” said Ruby.
“What
about the two SeeD’s?” Emerald asked.
“Send
them back to Garden. They must tell everybody that we’re going after ‘O
Brian,” Ruby said.
Emerald
nodded and went off to tell them. A minute later the SeeD’s went to the port
and were in the boat and heading back to Balamb. Emerald came back.
“OK,
let’s go!” she said.
They
boarded the Ragnarok and headed off to Battleship Island.
They
landed on the island a few minutes later. Just as Ruby had suspected, there was
a small Esthar plane near them. ‘O Brian was definitely here.
“OK,
stay in your designated groups and be careful! ‘O Brian might have set a few
surprises for us, and there are the monsters,” Ruby said.
They
split up into their separate groups and went inside. The place was still
deserted, but there were still the monsters to deal with.
“We’ll
climb down the tree and make our way down into the ocean deposit. I’m pretty
sure that ‘O Brian is down at the bottom,” Ruby said.
They
nodded and climbed down the tree. All the doors were open, ‘O Brian was either
getting sloppy or he wanted somebody to find him down here. Ruby guessed that it
was the latter. ‘O Brian wasn’t stupid, if he had wanted to remain hidden,
he would have gone to a less obvious place. They proceeded down to the Ocean
Deposit. It was a good thing that Squall had Enc-none Junctioned, or else they
might have run into a lot of trouble; this place was known for its Ruby Dragons
and Elnoyles. They eventually reached the bottom. As Ruby had thought, ‘O
Brian was there, smirking.
“So…you
survived my surprise back at the office? No matter, we’ll finish this now!”
‘O Brian said, taking out his sword.
Ruby
was only too happy to comply. She took her gunblade from her back and leapt
forward. They fought again, using whatever they could: magic, GFs, physical
attacks, and yet neither of them could gain the upper hand. Suddenly, Ruby
feigned a high swipe. When ‘O Brian moved to block it, Ruby twisted and
stabbed him in the stomach. ‘O Brian’s eyes went wide, and he dropped his
sword and stepped back. Suddenly, he laughed.
“You
may have killed me, but your problems are far from over!” he said. Then, he
collapsed, dead.
Ruby
cleaned her blade and put it back into its sheath.
“Come
on guys, our job is done,” she said, walking away.
They
all followed her, none of them seeing the tears of guilt on Ruby’s face.
Epilogue
(for Part 2, at least)
Ruby
officially retired from SeeD and married Onyx. Emerald and Travis fell in love
with each other and married as well. Crystal stayed on as a SeeD, but was
tragically killed on a mission when she was 27. Ruby and Onyx had two children,
both of whom attended Garden and, like their mother and grandfather, were
excellent students. ‘O Brian’s warning about their problems being far from
over were forgotten, until one day…
Note: the characters Massacre, Rebecca Angelheart, Nightmare, Vortek and Eric used with permission from their creators.
Chapter
1 – Nina and Gary Heartilly
“Nina!!
Wait for me!” Gary yelled, running after his sister.
Nina
turned around and looked at her younger brother. She was a year older than he
was, she was 17 and he was 16. Both of them had been SeeD’s for about a year,
and had completed many missions successfully. But nothing could prepare them for
what would happen to them in the next few weeks…
“You
really should work out more, Gary,” Nina said.
Gary
looked at her. “Oh be quiet! It’s not my fault they had to close the
training center for repairs!”
Nina
giggled. She had long, dyed-green hair and brown eyes. Her natural hair colour
was black, but she liked her hair green. Her light-hearted personality made her
popular with most of the boys in Garden, but she didn’t have a boyfriend. Gary
too had a nice personality, and he was pretty popular among the girls. But he
had a girlfriend named Tanya Richards. She was a student at Garden, and a very
good fighter. The intercom blared:
“Would
Nina and Gary Heartilly please report to Headmaster Davis’s Office.”
Nina
sighed. “Now what do they want?”
“We
had better find out,” Gary said.
They
went to the elevator and pushed the button for the 3rd floor. They
went into Davis’s office. There were two other people in the office. One was a
woman with long brown hair wearing a white dress and a sword at her side, and
the other was a man wearing white armour and a white cape with a gunblade at his
side with short brown hair. The woman was sitting in a chair, but the man was
leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Ah,
Nina, Gary, good, you’re here,” Davis said.
Nina
and Gary saluted. “Why did you want to see us sir?” Nina asked.
“These
two wanted to meet you,” replied Davis, “This is…”
“Rebecca.
Rebecca Angelheart,” the woman said, turning around.
Nina
and Gary gasped. She was beautiful! She had emerald green eyes and a fair
complexion that was enhanced by a breathtaking smile and white teeth.
“And
that is my friend Samuel,” Rebecca said, pointing to the man at the wall.
“Pleased
to meet you,” Nina said, “Why did you want to see us?”
Rebecca
looked closely at Nina.
“Tell
me Nina, do you have strange dreams about battles between spirits, dragons and
humans?” she asked.
Nina
looked at her. “Y-yes, but how did you know that?” she asked.
Rebecca
glanced at Samuel. Samuel just looked at her and gave a slight nod.
“It
doesn’t matter how I know. The point is that I need to hire both you and your
brother for a very important mission,” Rebecca said.
Nina
looked at the Headmaster.
“She
wanted you two especially for some reason. I think you two should take this
mission, after all, you haven’t had one for a while,” said Davis.
Nina
glanced at her brother. He was looking at Rebecca, his eyes glazed over.
“Sure,
we’ll take the mission,” Nina said, “When do we leave?”
Rebecca
glanced at Samuel again. Samuel looked at her and spoke. “Right now,” he
said.
Nina
was surprised to hear how deep Samuel’s voice was. It sounded
almost…inhuman, like some kind of animal. In fact, she was frightened of
his voice!
“OK,
if you say so,” replied Nina, “Come on Gary, let’s get our gear.”
“Uh-huh,”
Gary said absently.
The
two young SeeDs left the office. After they were gone, Rebecca turned to Samuel
and Davis again.
“Samuel,
do you think that they really are the ones that they’ll be after? We failed to
protect the last four, and what if we can’t protect these two either?” she
said.
Samuel
nodded. “Yes. You heard Nina; she’s been having the dreams that the last
girl was having. If its not her, then who could it be?” he said.
Rebecca
thought for a moment.
“Yes,
I suppose you’re right. They should be ready soon, let’s get ready to
leave,” she said.
Samuel
nodded and they waited for Nina and Gary to return. They came back, fully
equipped and ready to go. Nina wore a red dress and used her mother’s
gunblade, while Gary wore black jeans and a black t-shirt with black boots to
match. His weapon of choice was the Shooting Star, his grandmother’s weapon
when she was his age.
“All
right, let’s go,” Rebecca said, “We’ll go to FH first and then to
Esthar. There’s somebody there I want you to meet.”
“Really?
Who?” Nina asked.
“My
son Emmanuel,” Samuel said, “He’ll be able to transport us anywhere on the
planet with his teleportation spell.”
Rebecca
looked at him, “I still don’t see why I can’t use my spells,” she said.
“Because
the strain of carrying six people will be to much for you. Don’t you remember
what happened the last time you used that spell?” replied Samuel.
Rebecca
didn’t say anything; she knew that he was right. That teleport spell would put
too much strain on her, and she wouldn’t be able to protect Nina and Gary…
*********
Meanwhile,
on an island in the middle of the ocean…
Massacre
looked around. He was on a remote island in the middle of nowhere. Even though
he was in the middle of nowhere, he could feel her power growing. Whoever the
girl was that had this power, she had to be destroyed. The last person on this
world to have this kind of power was too old to be of any threat to Massacre and
his brethren, but this new girl…she was young, yet she had a power that
Massacre craved: the Power of the Sapphire. Massacre laughed evilly.
“This
girl doesn’t even know the extent of her own power!” he said to himself.
Of
course he knew that Rebecca and Samuel were here as well, searching for the same
person that he and his brethren were.
Massacre
laughed again and left the island in search of his brethren.
************
“I’ve
got the tickets,” Samuel said, “Our train leaves in an hour.”
“Good.
That will give us enough time to explain to these two why we wanted to hire
them,” Rebecca replied.
Nina
looked at Rebecca with a confused look on her face. Rebecca smiled at her and
began to explain what she meant.
“Samuel
and I don’t come from your world. We come from another place. A place called
Trivadia, where I rule from my palaces in the city of Guldtosia. Samuel in my
knight, he watches over me, and protects my spirit and body from harm,” she
said.
Nina
and Gary just stared at her.
“Are
you crazy?” Nina asked.
Rebecca
looked shocked. “I told you that they wouldn’t believe me.”
Samuel
shook his head. “OK, so you were right. How are we supposed to make them
believe us?” he said.
“Why
not show them?” Rebecca asked.
Samuel
shook his head, “No! I can’t!” he said.
“Show
us what?” Gary asked.
Samuel
sighed, “My special power,” he said, “I can control the elements as easily
as you can write a report on Moomba’s and their habits.”
“So?
We can all use elemental magic,” Nina said.
Rebecca
sighed, “I think we should show them your ‘other’ ability,” she said.
Samuel shook his head again. “No! I don’t want to have to
use those powers again!” he said.
“What?
Are you afraid that Tempest would take over? Are you afraid the Dragon within
you would take over again, like the last time?” Rebecca said angrily.
Samuel
looked at the ground. “I can’t risk it, not again. Not after what happened
to Timberwolf,” he said.
Rebecca
closed her eyes. Timberwolf, her bodyguard that had died trying to protect her
from the Dragon that her childhood friend had become that day. After that
battle, Samuel Neocene, the man that Tempest was before he became a dragon,
managed to regain control over his body, and over the dragon. But Samuel never
used his Dragon Powers unless he really had to, because he was afraid that he
would end up trying to kill her again.
“That
wasn’t you, Samuel, that was Tempest! You can control his powers now, you know
that!” she said.
Samuel
closed his eyes, and said: “Fine, I’ll show them. But if I get out of
control, you must promise me that you’ll destroy me and protect them from the
Dark Brethren.”
Rebecca
nodded. “I promise,” she said.
Samuel
nodded, and concentrated. His entire body began to glow, and was engulfed in a
white light. Scales grew out of his body, wings shot out of his back, his mouth
grew out and his teeth grew sharp. A tail shot out from behind his body. He had
changed into a dragon…
Nina
and Gary were aghast. “What the..?!” they said at the same time.
The
dragon looked at the three of them.
“These
are my powers,” it said, “I am a Dragon Lord, I can control any minor
dragon, including a Ruby Dragon.”
Nina
went pale, and fainted. Gary just stood there, his jaw dropped down and his
mouth wide. The Dragon changed back into Samuel, and Samuel fell onto one knee.
“I…forgot
how much pain I go through when I transform…” he said.
Gary
tended to his sister and woke her up. She looked at Samuel, and said in a
stutter: “How did you do that?”
“I
told you, I’m a Dragon Lord. I can change into powerful Dragon Forms, and none
of the Elements have any effect on me,” replied Samuel.
“Great.
So you’re a Dragon, and Rebecca is a…?” Nina said.
“I’m
a sorceress, and a very powerful one at that. Samuel and I are fighting a
powerful and evil spirit known as Massacre. He wants to kill you and claim your
powers as his own. But, he’s not alone. He’s brought three of his brethren
with him. They are Nightmare, Vortek and Eric. They are just as powerful as he
is, because they have a power called Dark Power that can obliterate just about
anything. Samuel and I came here to protect you and your brother from them,”
Rebecca said.
“And
you think that you can protect them from us?” a voice said.
They
looked up and saw something from a nightmare. This creature had no arms or legs,
and his eyes were sewn shut. Where his legs should have been, he had a large
scorpion tail. This was Nightmare, one of Massacre’s Brethren of the Dark
Power, and a powerful spirit. He leered down at the four of them.
“So,
you found us,” Samuel said, “We won’t let you hurt these children!”
Nightmare
laughed an insane, evil laugh. “You failed to protect the others! What makes
you think that you will be able to protect these two?” he said.
Samuel
gritted his teeth and unsheathed a sword from underneath his cape. “I WILL NOT
LET YOU HARM INNOCENT PEOPLE!!!” he yelled, “TAKE THIS!”
Samuel
raised his palm and concentrated on Holy. A moment later, white orbs surrounded
Nightmare. These orbs travelled around him until they converged on his body. The
attack forced Nightmare to land, and he floated above the ground.
“You’ll
pay for that!” he said, firing Dark Power at Samuel. Samuel ducked out of the
way, and the train behind them exploded. Samuel responded by firing a white beam
of energy at the spirit. Nightmare took the attack full-tilt, and was sent
through the wall. A second later, the spirit flew straight out of the rubble and
retreated.
“I’ll
be back for all of you!” he yelled.
“We’ll
be waiting,” Samuel said, putting his sword away.
Nina
and Gary were wide-eyed.
“Wow…you’re
powerful!” Nina said, “What was they energy beam that you fired at him?”
“Ameratsu
Power,” Samuel replied, “It’s a special power that only warriors from
Trivadia can use, and that’s only when they’re trained properly.”
Gary
looked at Rebecca. “Can you use that cool power?” he asked.
“No,
I haven’t had the training,” Rebecca replied.
The
train arrived and they boarded, leaving behind a huge mess for the FH
technicians to clean up.
Chapter 2 – The Dark Brethren
“This
does not bode well,” Massacre said after he heard what Nightmare had to say,
“So Samuel managed to defeat you in combat?”
“Yes,”
Nightmare said.
Nearby,
Vortek laughed.
“Odd,
before, you were a match for him, and yet now he defeats you with two spells,”
Vortek said.
Nightmare
‘glanced’ at Vortek. This creature was even more horrid than he was. He had
a mummy’s body and antler horns and an undead-looking jackal head. That, and
he had bugs and maggots running all over his body, there were sometimes snakes
in there too.
“I
didn’t expect him to use his Ameratsu Power,” Nightmare said, “And when he
did, it was more powerful than usual.”
There
was laughter nearby. Eric, another user of the Dark Power, stood nearby,
apparently amused.
“Dragon
boy defeated Nightmare? This is really amusing!” he said.
“Why
do you laugh, Eric? If you remember correctly, when Samuel was Tempest, he
defeated you,” Massacre said.
Eric
frowned, “He kicked me when I was down!” he said.
Massacre
laughed, “Yes! I remember that he was in a foul mood that day!”
The
Dark Brethren continued to talk…
Emmanuel
greeted his father and the others at the train station in Esthar City.
“Father!
Your Highness!” he said, “Welcome to Esthar! Are these the two children?”
Samuel
nodded. “Yes.”
Emmanuel
approached Nina and Gary and knelt down.
“Yes…I
feel a tremendous power coming from within this girls body. She has indeed got
the Power of the Sapphire,” he said.
Nina
backed away. “You’re scaring me,” she said.
Emmanuel
looked at her thoughtfully, “I apologise,” he said, “But do you not know
what kind of power you have, Nina?”
Nina
quickly shook her head. “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!” she
said, turning and running away. Gary ran after her.
Emmanuel
sighed and stood up. “She is young, but she has enough power to rid this world
of the monsters that plague it,” he said, turning to Samuel and Rebecca.
***************
Nina
stopped near the lake and stared into the water. “Mother…” she
thought, “Why did you have to give me this curse? Why
did you have to give me this medallion?”
Nina
took something out from underneath her clothing. It was a medallion with a
Sapphire jewel in the center. It was also what gave her the power that she had
had since she was small. The setting sun’s light was caught on the jewel, and
Sapphire light came from the center. This jewel was how Nina could use Guardian
Forces and magic without either being Junctioned to her. She quickly put the
medallion back under her shirt because she heard somebody coming. She turned and
saw Gary running up to her.
“Hey!”
her brother said, “Why’d you run? Why didn’t you tell them about the
jewel?”
Nina
shook her head. “Because I don’t know if I should tell anybody,” she said,
“What if the other students find out? They’ll hate me because of it!
They’ll think that I’m a sorceress, like Grandmother is!”
A
voice rang out from above them.
“What
have we here? Two little children all alone!”
Nina
and Gary looked up. Above them there was a blue-grey gargoylian creature with a
sword in his hands and an evil look on his face. He was grinning down at them,
his intentions were all too clear.
“Who
are you?” Gary said, reaching for his weapon. The gargoylian creature laughed.
“I
am Eric the Incubus! And my master, Massacre the Darkgod, has sent me here to
claim your sister’s life and her power! Prepare to die!” he said, flying
down at them.
The
battle began. Eric seemed to concentrate his attacks on Nina, but she was fast,
and was able to out-manoeuvre the creature while Gary provided support magic.
Suddenly, Eric jumped back.
“Enough
of this play! Now I’m going to…” he began, but a sudden blur surrounded
him, and both of his arms were cut off!
“What
the! Who did that!” he said.
“Oh…the
poor little Incubus lost his arms? Poor baby,” a voice said.
Something
appeared between the children and Eric. It was a woman with a sword in her hand
and long, beautiful black hair with a rose in it and dark, green eyes. She wore
some odd armour, but you could see that she was wearing a dress of some sort
underneath it.
“Are
you two OK?” the woman asked.
Gary
and Nina nodded.
“Good,”
the woman said, “Now get back to the train station! I’ll hold this guy
off!”
Gary
and Nina just ran, and the woman turned back to Eric.
“You
look surprised,” she said, “Why?”
Eric
growled, and his arms grew back. He picked up his sword and looked at the woman.
“Now
who are you?” he asked.
“My
name is Sapphire. I am the only human Angel in the ranks of the Angel Guards. I
was sent here to watch out for Queen Rebecca and her allies. If you go near
those children again, you’ll regret it!” the woman said.
Eric
scowled, and flew up. “We’ll meet again!” he said, flying off.
Sapphire
sheathed her weapon and walked back to the train station. Needless to say,
Rebecca and Samuel were surprised to see her. Emmanuel had gone to buy some
items, and wasn’t there.
Sapphire
looked at Samuel, and suddenly reached for her weapon. “Dragon! Your Highness,
be careful!” she said, lunging at Samuel.
Samuel
hardly had any time to react, but he did. He jumped out of the way, landing on
his feet and reaching for his gunblade.
“A
dragon-slayer? But why am I surprised? Rebecca’s Elite Guards are all
dragon-slayers after all,” he said. Samuel grinned and held up his blade.
“It’s
been awhile since I’ve had to fight a knight, let alone a knightress! Come on,
let’s see what you can do!” he said.
Sapphire
smiled. “I’ve never met a dragon that was so keen to die,” she said,
“Fine by me! Have at thee!”
They
began to fight. Rebecca would have stopped them, but it had been a while since
she had seen a good fight. Nina and Gary were also interested in the fight, and
just watched. Eventually, Samuel jumped back and cast Thundaga on Sapphire.
Sapphire’s armour conducted the attack, and she fell to one knee.
“Forgive
me, Your Highness, I have failed you,” she said.
Rebecca
smiled at her and said: “You didn’t fail me. I don’t think that there is a
dragon-slayer alive that could defeat Samuel. Besides, we’re best friends, he
would never harm me.”
Sapphire
looked at Samuel as he cast a Tripled Curaga spell on her. “Is it true that
you are friends with the queen?” she asked.
“Yes,”
Samuel said, “I would never hurt her, not unless I wasn’t in control of
myself.”
Sapphire
looked at him. “Have we met?” she asked.
“Not
before now. Why do you ask?”
“Because
I have seen you somewhere before.”
Samuel
didn’t say anything. He knew what she meant; his picture was in an old book in
the library at the Angelheart Castle in Trivadia. The book was entitled ‘Great
Warriors of Trivadia’, and he, or rather Tempest, was in it along with his
engraved picture and writing, describing his adventures, and how he protected
Queen Rebecca when she needed to be protected.
“Sapphire
must have studied well. She seems the type who would want to know about the
heroes of Trivadia’s past,” he
thought, “And she’s damned beautiful! And sexy!”
“…You
OK?” Rebecca said, bringing Samuel back to reality.
“Huh?
What?” Samuel asked, “Oh…yeah, I’m fine.”
Nina
and Gary looked at Sapphire and Samuel. Those two were two of the greatest
fighters that they had ever seen!
“I
wouldn’t want to have to fight Samuel, or Sapphire for that matter,” Nina
thought.
“Rebecca’s
beautiful! But then again, I wouldn’t wanna get Samuel or that Sapphire woman
angry at me,” thought
Gary.
“Guys,
are we ready to go?” Emmanuel asked. He came back with a bag full of items,
but nearly dropped them when he saw Sapphire.
“Oh,
Sapphire!” he said, “When did you get here?”
“Just
in time to save those two kids from a gargoylian guy with a sword,” Sapphire
replied.
Samuel
and Rebecca looked at each other.
“Sapphire,
what did this gargoylian guy look like?” Samuel asked.
“Well…he
was blue-grey, and had an evil sneer on his face,” Sapphire said.
“Eric…”
Samuel said, “We have to hurry. If Eric and Nightmare are here, then that
means that Massacre and Vortek can’t be too far behind!”
“Right!
I’m going to take us to Battleship Island! It hasn’t been in use for years,
and we should be safe there,” Emmanuel said.
“OK,”
Rebecca said, “Come on you two, we’re going.”
Gary
and Nina looked at each other. Teleportation?
“We
might as well. If we don’t stay with them, we’ll both be dead in a week,”
Nina said.
Gary
nodded. “I guess you’re right,” he said.
They
all stood in one place, and Emmanuel concentrated. In a split second, they were
on Battleship Island.
“Whoa!
That was…strange,” Nina said.
“Yeah….
Damn! I’m cold!” Gary said.
“Don’t
worry, you get used to that after the first few trips,” Emmanuel said, “Come
on, let’s go inside. We have to discuss our plan anyway.”
They
went inside to discuss their plan, not knowing that inside; something awaited
them, something big and powerful…
The
girl dodged the monster’s attack and killed it with a swift swipe of her axe.
She had been trailing that Knightress, but had lost her near the Salt Lake the
separated Esthar from the rest of the world. Now, she had to track her down and
battle her. It was her destiny to perish in battle with the Knightress named
Sapphire, she had been told, but…she knew that she could win if she just got
stronger. Another monster attacked her, this time a Malboro. She sighed and used
Scan on it; she smiled. This monster might be a challenge for her…
“What
is that thing?!” Emmanuel said when he saw the dragon come out of the shadows.
Samuel
looked closely. Bahamut? No…Bahamut’s wings aren’t so torn.
“Tiamat!”
Samuel exclaimed, “But Squall and his friends killed you in Ultimecia
Castle!”
“That
which was dead can be reborn,” Tiamat said.
“Great, this guy has Massacre’s logic,” Samuel said,
“Come on then!”
Tiamat
growled and flew into the air. “You’ll never defeat Tiamat!” he yelled.
“Wanna
bet?” Nina said, taking out her gunblade.
Samuel
looked at the young SeeD. “Sure you can handle this?” he asked.
Nina
looked at him, her eyes wide. “What, are you worried about me?” she asked.
Samuel
didn’t have time to answer, because Tiamat attacked! The large dragon flew
straight at, and past them, causing them to divide into two different groups.
Sapphire, Rebecca and Samuel were on one side, and Nina and Gary were on the
other side. Rebecca reacted quickly
to this first assault by casting Blizzaga on the dragon. Samuel blasted the
dragon with a Holy spell, while Sapphire prepared her special attack, the
Sapphire Wave. Nina began to summon Shiva, while Gary cast Shell, Protect and
Haste on everybody. The dragon took the first two attacks, and retaliated by
using his Dark Flare. Now, it was non-elemental, and they were saved only by the
Shell spells that Gary had cast. Nina finished summoning Shiva, and Tiamat was
blasted by a huge wave of ice. Sapphire was ready to attack.
“Sapphire
Wave!” she yelled.
She
held her blade above her head and concentrated. She swung her sword in an arc,
and energy came forth and struck Tiamat, hard! But, even though Tiamat was
severely hurt, he wasn’t done yet. Emmanuel had seen this coming, and quickly
cast Curaga on everybody. After that, he prepared a Triple Ultima spell. He
concentrated, and released the green energy. Tiamat was engulfed and hurt by the
spell three times. This was more than he could bear. He collapsed onto the
ground and dissipated into the air. Everybody was shocked, how could Tiamat have
known to find them all here?
“This
is not good,” Emmanuel said.
“No,
it isn’t,” said Sapphire, “How could he have known where to find us?”
“There
can be only one person who could have resurrected Tiamat and convinced him to
try to kill us,” Samuel said.
“…Massacre,”
Rebecca said.
“How
right you are.”
Out
of the shadows came Massacre the Darkgod. His evil grin could scare even the
bravest of warriors. Samuel just stared at him hatefully.
“How
did you know where we would be?” he asked.
“Simple.
Vortek?” Massacre said.
Vortek
came out of the shadows, laughing evilly. “That was too easy! Now, give us the
girl, and we’ll consider letting you live.”
“Never!”
Samuel said, “If you come near her, I’ll be forced to…”
“To
what? Kill me? A little late for that, I’m afraid,” Vortek said mockingly.
Samuel couldn’t take anymore of this; he let Tempest take control. He rose
into the air, and glared down at Vortek.
“I
will not let you harm these innocents,” he said.
Rebecca
stared at him, unable to believe it. “No…” she said.
Tempest
looked at Rebecca. “That’s right, I’m back, and this time I’m here to
stay!” he said, “Oh, but don’t worry, I’ve changed. I won’t hurt you,
I love you too much.”
Tempest
turned back to Vortek. “Bring it on!” he yelled.
Vortek
was only too happy to comply. He rushed at Tempest, who took the fight to the
ground. Vortek followed, and the fight erupted into a fully blown fistfight.
They punched and kicked each other, until they both blasted at each other with
their power: Ameratsu for Tempest, and Dark Power for Vortek. The crimson red
energy met the white energy head on, and a massive power struggle began between
the two warriors. Unfortunately for Vortek, Tempest was in a foul mood, and this
caused his power to rise to unbelievable levels! He increased the power in his
attack, and the beam drove the Dark Power back, until the Ameratsu Power hit
Vortek in the chest, causing a rather large hole. Vortek looked at the hole in
his chest, then at Tempest.
“You’ve
won this battle, Tempest, but you still have to battle Massacre!” he said.
Vortek
flew out of the room to recuperate. Tempest turned to Massacre, and brought out
his Ameratsu Blade.
“Now
we finish this,” he said.
“Fine
by me!” Massacre replied, coming straight at Tempest.
They
battled, but Tempest was at a disadvantage. His strength had been sapped in the
battle against Vortek, and he didn’t stand a chance. Massacre easily hit him
with Dark Power, and Tempest was flung into the far wall.
“Tempest!”
Rebecca yelled, running over to her friend. But he was out cold, and she
couldn’t risk getting hurt because she had to help him. Massacre knew this,
and began to walk towards Nina. Emmanuel stepped in the way.
“No
you don’t,” he said.
Massacre
laughed. “Are you going to battle me? I don’t think so, because you are
nowhere near powerful enough to battle me,” he said.
“He
may not be, but I am,” Nina said, stepping out from behind Emmanuel.
Massacre
laughed. “You?! A mere child against the Darkgod?” he said
Nina
took out her gunblade. “I’m not known for my sense of humour,” she said,
“Now come on, I’m the one you came here for, right?”
Massacre
took out his axe, the Ultimate Evil, and prepared to battle. Emmanuel could only
stand and watch. Massacre almost immediately gained the upper hand when Nina
tried to block his axe with her gunblade. The second the axe touched the blade,
it shattered, leaving Nina without a weapon. Massacre laughed.
“I
told you!” he said, “Now, I will take your power! Wait, you don’t have
the…arrghhh!” he said.
“No,
I have the Sapphire Power. Emmanuel sensed my power, not Nina’s,” Gary said.
He lowered his hands after blasting Massacre with his power. Massacre’s back
healed up, and he faced him.
“Then
I will kill you both!” he said. He began to charge at Gary, but Sapphire got
in the way.
“You
will not harm these children, not as long as Rebecca, Tempest, Emmanuel and
myself still live,” she said.
Massacre
stared at her. “Who are you?” he asked.
“I
am Sapphire, knightress to the queen of Trivadia, and second guardian of the
Sapphire Power. If you want to battle a worthy opponent, battle me,” she said,
raising her sword to a battle-ready position.
Massacre
grinned. “Very well, if you want to die that badly, so be it!” he said,
raising his sword. But he was too slow; Sapphire quickly cut off his arms and
knocked him back. She stood in front of him, and raised her sword again.
“You
will now feel my power, spirit!” she said, “Angel’s Slash!”
Sapphire
charged her sword up, creating a white glow around the blade. Energy bolts
struck the blade, and Sapphire brought the blade down on the gargoyle with all
of her strength. A huge explosion followed the slash, and it was too much for
even Massacre to take.
“I’ll
get my revenge!” he yelled, as he opened up a crimson red portal to the
Evilverse, where Nightmare, Vortek and Eric were waiting, having been defeated
and forced to return. After he was gone, Sapphire helped Nina up and went to see
how Tempest was doing. He was still out cold, but he seemed to be fine.
“We
have to get him to the Healing Halls in Trivadia!” Rebecca said, picking him
up. She turned to the two SeeD’s. “Emmanuel will take you back to Garden,”
she said, “It was good to meet you, and we’ll always remember you!”
Rebecca
opened up a portal to Trivadia, and went in. Sapphire turned to Nina and Gary.
“It
was an honour to fight alongside you,” she said, “I hope that one day you
will learn to use your power to its fullest. Farewell.”
Sapphire
jumped into the portal, and Emmanuel teleported the two SeeDs to Garden.
“It
was nice to meet you two. Especially you, Nina,” Emmanuel said, kissing
Nina’s hand.
Nina
blushed. “Thank you,” she said.
Emmanuel
used his teleport magic to leave.
THE END
