Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Domestic ❯ The Army of Grey and Blue ( Chapter 17 )

Domestic

WARNINGS:

1) I do not own FF8, Squaresoft, or get any profit out of this story

2) Rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sexual content

"One day the dreamers died within us

When all our answers never came

We hid the truth beneath our skin but

Out shadows never looked the same

In summers past we'd challenge fate

with higher pitch and perfect aim
and standing fast, we'd radiate
a light we loved but never named
but the answers never came
and our shadows never looked the same."

- Thrice - All That's Left

Chapter 17: The Army of Grey and Blue

"Hey!" Zell called as White SeeDs ran past his cell. "I can fight too you know. If you give me my gloves back, I'll be able to give the enemy the old one-two. Just unlock my cell and…"

Nobody listened. Zell dropped his head and watched a continual stream of soldiers pass his cell and head towards the front of the boat. It seemed as if the entire ship was empty, but luckily, Zell still had the company of his friend Paco. Paco may or may not have been his name, but that's what Zell liked to think it was. The blonde thought he heard him be called Steve before, but Paco sounded so much cooler. Paco was Zell's guard. His only duty was to make sure that the blonde stayed in his cell

"So Paco, why are the others leaving you behind?" Zell asked, trying to peek at the guard. He didn't get a response. Actually, in all his conversations with Paco, he never really got a reply. He was just an unsociable guy, but that didn't stop Zell from trying. The blonde was bored and was still in a lot of pain. He tried to put on his happy face, even though his body jerked involuntarily occasionally. "That's cool though Paco, my friends don't invite me places sometimes either."

Paco wasn't amused. He was a two-hundred pound muscle machine, and here he was playing babysitter. He was stronger then half of the White SeeDs who were out on the Alcauld plains right now. But no, he couldn't go out there and prove his loyalty. Instead, he had to sit here and listen to this annoying waste of air.

"Sometimes you just have to take the initiative and dive in," Zell continued, sitting against the left wall. "Like I wasn't invited to this dance this one time, but I invited myself. And you know what? I had the time of my life. You have to stop worrying about what other people think sometimes…"

Paco dropped his head into his hands. He couldn't take much more of this.

(**********)

Squall retightened his belts of bullets and prepared for the onslaught. The snow had stopped, and there was less then an inch on the ground. That didn't stop it from being blistering cold however. Squall didn't let it get to him though. The situation had just gotten a lot better. He had over one-hundred soldiers at his disposal.

They were unarmed, but that didn't waver their loyalty. Squall's return was the spark of the revolution they were craving for the past month. It didn't matter how outnumbered they were anymore. It didn't matter that they didn't have any weapons. All that mattered was that Squall was back. Their commander never lost a battle, so victory was expected.

Squall looked over to Irvine. The cowboy was brushing the snow off of his hat, but he flashed the lion a smile. This is what they planned for. The hard part was over. All they had to do was stick to the game plan. Squall, Irvine, and one-third of the underclassmen held their ground in front of the tents. Off in the distance, they saw their opponents materialize. Their numbers were amazing. Squall didn't think it was possible to fit so many people on one boat, but a fleet of at least 500 White SeeDs began to march straight towards the tents. The brunette stared unblinking at his oncoming fate. Everyone would have to time this perfectly to pull it off. He could only hope.

(**********)

"And that was everything I did two summers ago," Zell concluded. "Now last summer was a little different…"

"Would you shut the fuck up!" Paco yelled, wheeling around to face the blonde. "Maybe if I knock you unconscious you'll stop talking."

"Maybe," Zell laughed. "That reminds me of this one time when Selphie was really mad at me…" He was rudely interrupted though.

Paco unsheathed what appeared to be a quarterstaff. He lifted it like a javelin, and drove it between the bars.

"Hey watch it!" Zell yelled as he dove out of the way. "I'm a POW! I have rights." This only caused Paco to get angrier, and thus created more ducking and dodging for Zell. Paco made a miserably weak stab attempt however and the blonde caught the end of the stick. "TUG OF WAR!!" Zell yelled, pulling as hard as he could. This was really too much fun.

Unfortunately, Paco wasn't having a good time. "LET….GO…OF IT," he grunted, forcibly trying to get his weapon back.

Zell had more training in this though, and he was easily winning the tug-of-war. With a final tug, Zell watched Paco lose his footing.

The giant guard flew into the bars head first, and crumpled to the floor. He felt no pain, as he fell unconscious.

"Paco?" Zell called. "Paco?" There was no response. Christmas was about ten months early this year, but Zell enjoyed it none the less. Gently, the blonde reached for the keys dangling from Paco's belt. He reached and reached and reached until his entire shoulder blade squeezed through the bars. The keys were still two centimeters from his grasp. He felt the cold steel on his fingertips. It was agonizing. Finally, his pinky caught the edge of the key closest to him. The whole ring jumped forward and Zell grasped it. He quickly pulled his arm back in and unlocked his cell. His upper arm hurt like hell, but it was refreshing to be walking around freely.

Rubbing his shoulder, Zell decided the first thing he should do is find Travis. The entire boat was empty, so he didn't think it would prove to be too difficult. Zell walked past two dozen empty cell before he recognized the sleeping form of Travis.

"Yo," Zell called. "YO!"

Travis was shaken from his sleep and looked up hazily at Zell. "Finally, a dream," he thought. Ignoring the strangeness, Travis used his arms as a pillow and tried to fall asleep again.

"YOOO!" Zell yelled, shaking the bars.

Eventually, Travis looked back up. Upon further inspection, he discovered he could taste, smell, hear, and feel. A pain shot through his forehead, which settled it:: this wasn't a dream. "Zell!" Travis smiled, picking himself up. He walked over to the bars and saw the large key ring hanging from his belt. Azerton was never happier to see him Well, he wasn't really sure if he was happier to see Zell or the key ring. It was a hard call.

"Let's get out of here," Zell laughed, shoving a key into the lock.

(**********)

Squall raised his gunblade as the approaching army closed in on them. Irvine was at his side, aiming Exeter at the closest target.

"Ready?" Irvine asked, shooting Squall a side glance.

The brunette took a deep breath, and fired. He saw Irvine do so shortly after, and they watched two White SeeDs fall to the ground.

The army's slow march then turned into a full out sprint. Those toting firearms took their aim and fired upon their assailants.

Hearing the blasts, Squall and Irvine both dove to the ground. The cold snow soaked their gloves, but they didn't feel it. Adrenaline was pumping through their body. By the time they got up, the White SeeDs were three footsteps from them. The calm swishing of the ocean was replaced by gunshots and the clanging of swords. Squall sliced and fired, sliced and fired, while Irvine stood a little behind him and picked off whoever threatened Squall's slicing and firing.

The underclassmen weren't doing as well. Half of them were down in the first five minutes of the fight. The survivors weren't faring much better. They picked up the weapons of the deceased White SeeDs, but most of them couldn't use their new weapon properly. Squall saw his comrades falling left and right, but he knew he only had to hold out for a little longer. "Now would be a good time," he said to himself.

(**********)

"Now?" Selphie asked, as the White SeeDs continued to pass by their post. Rinoa and her sat in the bitterly cold snow just outside the gates of Balamb. They had one-third of the Underclassmen, and were waiting for the perfect moment to join in.

"I guess so," Rinoa smiled, brushing the snow off of her blue cape. She let out a whistle, and Angelo charged forward at the White SeeDs. Rinoa and Selphie followed closely behind and the underclassmen behind them. Heartily cleared her thoughts and focused. A giant fire spell grew at her fingertips and then flew into the crowd of SeeDs. The fire immediately incinerated the snow, grass, and most of the soil. Three White SeeDs plus a good chunk of dirt flew into the air. The sorceress was back for battle.

(**********)

Seifer and Quistis watched the smoke from a large fireball rise from the west. They heard Anglo barking and saw the emergence of more people to the battlefield. One-third of the underclassmen were behind them, along with the fire cavern.

"Seifer!" Quistis exclaimed. "That's our cue!"

The giant blonde unsheathed Hyperion, raised it, and fired into the mass of white SeeDs. He gleefully watched one fall to the floor. "Come along instructor," he laughed, marching towards the battlefield.

(**********)

Travis sunk back into the corner of his cell. None of the keys were working. Zell was going through the ring for the third time, but Travis had lost all hope. Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair. Maybe it was his fate to die. Maybe Hyne picked today for his death. It probably was his death day, because he certainly wasn't catching any breaks.

"Dammit!" Zell yelled, after the final key on the ring refused to open the lock. He kicked the bars and then started to pace back and forth. "Ok I'll tell you what," the blonde smiled, as an idea popped into his head. "I'll bet you any money that there's a battle out there, so I'll go grab a gun or something, and we'll blast that lock off."

Travis sighed. That would take at least ten minutes, and he didn't want to spend ten more seconds in this cell. "Hurry up, man," Azerton reluctantly agreed.

"Be right back," Zell beamed, giving him the thumbs up. The blonde then proceeded to run towards the front of the ship. He was thinking of how his hand smelled like coins, when he almost ran headfirst into somebody. He looked up and his blood went cold.

Edea looked down at her little blonde, and seemed as surprised as he was. Both parties didn't know what to say, and neither of them had the courage to attack each other.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Zell began to slowly back away. The walk turned into a jog and then into a full sprint.

"I'm so sorry," Edea called after him, but Zell didn't look back.

The blonde chugged full-speed and soon found himself on the beach. What he saw was madness. Three small armies had surrounded the White SeeDs and were slowly beating them into retreat. Zell saw the giant spells of magic and realized that only Rinoa could make those. Squall had finally arrived, and they were winning. A grand smile formed over the blonde's face as he ran out onto the Alcauld plains to help his friends.

(**********)

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, then thirty minutes went by. Travis finally realized that Zell wasn't coming back. He was going to be stuck here forever. His breathing sped up again and his heart was pounding in his ears. Zell was probably dead and soon the White SeeDs would probably come back on the ship with cries and hoots of victory. Then it wouldn't be long for them to notice him. To notice the POW who still lived.

The sound of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Zell was back! He just knew it. He walked over to the upper left portion of his cell and tried to see who was coming. When that person came into view, Travis wished he never looked at all.

"Azerton, long time, no see," Wix laughed with a fake smile. "Well actually I saw you when you were crying on the floor from a Tonberry, but I guess you don't remember that." Wix kept getting happier and happier. His chest was puffed out and a bow was in his left hand. That's when Travis noticed the quiver of arrows on his back. "Come here. I want to show you something," Wix smirked, unlocking his cell.

Reluctantly, Travis slowly followed him out of his cell. He didn't have a choice. They went towards the back of the boat, climbed a staircase, and then went out onto the deck. Azerton felt the wintry weather bite his exposed skin, causing his nose to run and his ears to sting. All the feeling left his body when he got to the edge however.

"Squall's not stupid," Wix sighed, looking sadly down on the Alcauld plains.

"Not stupid," Travis thought. "He's brilliant." Down on the plains, the White SeeDs were in a state of confusion and panic. On the other hand, three small armies were well organized and were continually pushing the White SeeDs back. Travis saw magnificent explosions of magic, which came from the west and continually heard a dog barking. "Squall's down there?" Travis asked, looking to Wix

"Everyone's down there," Wix scoffed. "But it's not over yet. No not by a long shot. I'd say that things have just begun."

Travis shivered, but he couldn't see how this battle could turn. The White SeeDs were practically retreating back to the boat now. The small armies were moving closer and closer together.

"Look! Look!" Wix smiled. "It's happening! At the Fire Cavern!"

Travis whipped his head to the right and thought he saw the entire cavern move. His eyes fooled him however, as the mountain sprouted a tail. A monstrous screech echoed across the island and an enormous creature took to the air.

"Daddy bought it from the Island Closest to Hell," Wix laughed. "It's a ruby dragon."

Travis looked on in sheer terror as the dragon flew over the plains and dove right into the center of battle. The beast inhaled sharply, and then spewed a breath of fire over everything in its line of sight.

"But this isn't why I brought you up here," Wix smiled, snapping Travis back to attention. "No, I brought you up here for a battle. It's too stuffy down below." The giant boy snickered and pulled an arrow from his quiver. "You know, Daddy let me kill a few people so far. Most of them wouldn't cooperate, so I had to put them down."

Travis looked at the massive Wix as an arrow was pointed to his chest. The fear vanished from his body. This was the moment he was expecting for the last two days, but it didn't scare him anymore. He knew that he was going to most likely die in this fight, but now it had a purpose. He could die with some pride left in his body, which was all that he could ask for. His goal wanted to spill as much of Wix's blood as possible. He wanted to kill Cid's only heir. He wanted to cause Cid and Edea so much emotional pain for all the things they did. Now was his time. Now was his opportunity.

"You know, I got to kill that girlfriend of yours," Wix sneered. "I forget her name, but you know who I'm talking about. She was the real whiny one." He pulled the bow back and lifted it to Travis's chest level. "She wouldn't cooperate, which she probably learned from you. You were always hiding behind somebody or had someone come to your rescue every time. Well not this time." Wix paused as he tried to aim. "You're just like your whiny girlfriend. You're just like McNeese. You're just like South. You're just like Thor. And your fate is the same. It was nice being enemies," Wix smirked.

(**********)

The ruby dragon landed inches away from Squall, crushing the White SeeD who was in front of him. The brunette looked up in amazement, as the dragon scorched everything to his immediate right. The battle had just taken a turn for the worse. Squall lifted his gunblade and swung as hard as he could at the dragon's right hind leg. The sword hit the dragon's steel like skin and bounced back. The beast continued to look westward, so Squall assumed it didn't even feel the slash. The battle was worse indeed.

The dragon didn't seem to be able to tell the difference between its friends and enemies. There was no discrimination in its choices of food, so both the White SeeDs and the underclassmen were thrown into a panic.

Squall easily cut a path to Rinoa. She was the only way this thing was going down. To Squall's utmost displeasure, she was in no emotional state to cast magic any time soon.

As soon as the dragon landed, Rinoa froze in her place. A fear of unimaginable strength gripped her body. Everyone kept going, but she was left behind. The adrenaline suddenly drained out of her body and she didn't want to fight anymore.

Squall saw it in her eyes by the time he reached her. His heart sunk. The tide had most definitely changed. "Rinoa!" he commanded. "Rinoa!"

The sorceress wouldn't even look at him. A shiver ran down her spin as the dragon devoured a nearby White SeeD.

"Listen to me," Squall shouted, shaking her body.

"Squall?" Rinoa questioned, gaining back her mobility. "What…what is it?"

"I want you to go to Balamb and hide," Squall shouted, looking straight into her eyes. "Go to the train station and wait."

Rinoa swallowed, attempted to nod, and then took off to the west.

Squall watched his final hope for victory disappear in the distance. Wheeling around, Squall was faced by his comrades. Selphie, Seifer, Irvine, Quistis, and surprisingly Zell all faced their commander. Luckily, the dragon was busy chasing victims to the east, which gave them a minute to think.

(**********)

The rage grew in Travis's body. Never had he felt so numb. He felt reckless. He didn't think that he could feel any pain. Wix just had to bleed. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but if he was going down, so was Wix. The bastard killed his friends. He killed hundreds of innocent people, and he was laughing. Travis would have his revenge. He'd succeed where everyone else failed. The way of this success was unclear, but Azerton knew he'd find it.

Time seemed to come to a crawl when Wix let go of the arrow. Travis saw the arrow be accelerated forward in slow motion. Before another thought passed through his mind, he dove. The arrow sailed over his head and stuck into the wooden deck. Before Wix could draw another arrow, Travis lunged at him. The momentum caused Wix to fall back. His quiver shattered, and arrows were scattered all over the deck.

Somewhat shocked at the scrawny Azerton knocking him over, Wix grabbed him by the neck and threw him towards the back of the boat. The giant looked down at his bow and saw that the string was snapped, and the bottom was crooked. He angrily threw his bow into the ocean, picked up an arrow, and marched towards Travis. With the bow out of the question, it was now a hand-to-hand fight with knives scattered all over the floor.

Travis rubbed the small of his back, as it took the most damage in the fall. His neck was also in a lot of pain, but he ignored it. Wix was still alive, so he had to get up. Slowly getting back to his feet, Azerton stared at the arrow in Wix's right hand, and then shifted his glance up to the giant's eyes. The two adversaries stared at each other for a second. The dull sound of the waves was suddenly interrupted by the screech of the ruby dragon.

A small smile formed on Travis's face as Wix peeked over towards the sound. Taking the distraction, he lunged again. Wix and Travis fell to the ground again and slid back towards the front of the boat. The arrow fell out of Wix's hand, but they flew into a pile of fifty more. Travis landed on top and threw his fist into Wix's face. He got another hook in before Wix pushed him away. Azerton landed in a pile of arrows, and he picked up a few before standing up.

Wix did the same and stared down his opponent. A stream of blood ran down his lip and his left eye hurt every time he blinked. He hadn't felt pain in a very long time, and now here he was, risking his own life. He hadn't planned it this way, but a small smile formed over his face. Ever since he made it his mission to terrorize Azerton, the small boy slipped through his fingers. In this situation, he wouldn't have to use any cheap shots. It was a fair fight; just like the tournament at the beginning of the year, and he planned to have the same results.

(**********)

Everyone looked for Squall to give the orders. The brunette looked back at them blankly and dropped his head into his hands. He still hated being leader. How the hell was he supposed to lead them in a battle they couldn't win? But nobody else took up the leadership position. They stood in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity. The ruby dragon continued to rip apart the Aclaud plains behind them, and Squall knew it could turn to them at any second. A sweat began to run down his forehead and his anger level rose sharply. "Alright! Here's what we do," Squall shouted angrily over the screeches of the ruby dragon. "We need to pierce the underside of it, so Quistis and Selphie, you can't help us. Just keep the White SeeDs off of us. Everyone else, you know where to aim."

"But what about me?" Zell asked.

Nobody heard him. The second the orders were out of Squall's mouth, the group split to do their assigned tasks. Torn between his two options, Zell finally decided to go take down the dragon. Squall needed all the luck he could get. The blonde picked up a nearby broadsword and followed Irvine towards the ruby dragon. It didn't take long for the beast to notice them. Irvine, Squall and Seifer all took aim and fired as the dragon's belly. A deafening scream was sounded, causing Zell to put his hands over his ears. The blonde looked up to see small holes in the beast's underside, and a small amount of black blood dripped onto the plains. Needless to say, the ruby dragon was pissed. With one swift flick of its claw, it knocked all three of its assailants to the ground.

Zell looked up to the giant monster as it let out a screech of victory. In 2.8 seconds, all optimism had just been drained from the battlefield. The blonde was the last hope. He had to distract the dragon. If he could do it for long enough, they might be able to launch another attack. Zell raised the broadsword, causing him to hover dizzily under the weight. Once he regained his composure, Zell ran towards the giant fire breathing machine.

The ruby dragon paid the charging blonde no attention, and instead turned it's attention to a group of underclassmen to the west.

Adrenaline pumped through Zell's head and he dove onto the dragon's tail. Slowly, Zell climbed onto its back He inched his way towards the dragons soft neck, while trying to balance his body weight and the heavy sword. Once he made it, he swung as hard as he could. It turned out to be a pretty weak, and the sword made barely an inch incision.

This incision was enough to enrage the dragon however. The beast snapped back it's head and attempted to devour the blonde. He couldn't pull his head around far enough however, so he just snapped angrily.

Staying on the dragon turned into a bull ride for the blonde. The sword was slipping and slipping, until he felt the cold steel slide out of his hand and saw it stick in the soft ground below. Grasping onto the dragon for dear life, Zell suddenly saw two wings shoot out from the sides. With one giant flap, the blonde found himself ten feet off the ground.

Quickly, Zell let go of the ruby dragon's neck and jumped to the ground. It was a longer fall then he expected, so he landed on the back of his feet and fell onto his back. A pain shot up the back of his legs and his left hand was cut by something sharp. Taking a moment to breathe, Zell looked up to the sky and saw the monster hovering at least one-hundred feet in the sky.

"Great job Chicken Wuss," Seifer yelled, slapping the back of his head.

"How are we supposed to reach that?" Irvine asked, looking to Squall

The brunette didn't reply. This was well out of his control. It was out of his power to begin with, but there was no possibility of victory now.

The giant ruby dragon let out a bone chilling screech as it circled the small island. It released a wicked breath of fire, which caused ashes to fall onto the plains below. After a minute of circling, the dragon suddenly dove to the ground, and like a hawk grabbing a fish out of water, tore a massive ditch out of the island.

Squall tackled Irvine out of the way, as the claws would have certainly torn them to shreds. "I need you to snipe its neck," Squall yelled, helping Irvine back to his feet. "When it dives again, I need you to hit it."

"I…I couldn't," Irvine shook his head. Another monstrous screech and sprinkling of ashes descended upon them. "I don't have the accuracy."

Squall dropped his head into his hands. First Rinoa, now Kinneas. How did he associate himself with these people? The brunette wiped some of the dirt off of his face and stared up at the dragon. He was a failure as a leader. There was no way this beast could be taken down. Not with their current weapons. He either needed the dragon to land again or a divine act of Hyne.

Hyne wasn't smiling today. Squall watched as another red monster streaked across the fire cavern from the west. His heart sank and his breath was caught in his throat. The ruby dragon's calls had brought a mate. Now they had not only one dragon, but two. Squall ran a hand through his hair and looked to the ground. They had come so close.

Then another colossus shriek sounded across the island, which cause the brunette to look up again. That's when he noticed it. The second ruby dragon didn't have a tail. It was also more metallic and shinier then the other one. Then it sank in. He recognized it, as he had seen it many times before. A rare smile spread across Squall's face as the ruby dragon ducked and dodged out of the way of the Ragnarok.

A missile was lowered from the base of the massive red airship and to the delight of everyone on the plains, the ruby dragon exploded in a blast of light. The entire back half of the dragon was incinerated, but the head and front two legs hung in the air for a few moments before crashing to the ground. They landed right at the entrance to the town of Balamb, actually knocking over the city gate.

Squall looked up in amazement as the Ragnarok did two victory laps around the island before descending and landing. As soon as the plane touched down, a thousand Estharian soldiers stormed onto the plains with Laguna, Ward, and Kiros in the lead. Squall stared at the cavalry with a look of complete shock. The dragon was down, and they had defeated Cid's last stand, as the army of blue and grey stormed the battle field. There was only one thing left for Squall to do. Throwing, the gunblade over his shoulder, the brunette took off towards the White SeeD ship.

Zell saw him leave and was about to call to him, but then he looked up at the White SeeD ship. A pain of regret flashed over him as he remembered Travis. Grabbing a gun, Zell took off towards the ship.

(**********)

Travis and Wix stared each other down with a handful of arrows. A rage grew in both of their eyes; however neither was brave enough to start. The battle was brought to a halt however, as a screeching airship flew over the island. Travis looked up to the sky as the Ragnarok chased the ruby dragon; it was a mistake

The next thing he knew, he found himself being slammed onto his back. The massive Wix lifted his right hand and pierced Travis's left should with an arrow.

Crying in pain, Azerton slashed at Wix with the arrow in his right hand. It connected with the giant's chin, and blood poured out onto the deck. Both boys separated from each other and nursed their wounds. Blood was flowing out of Travis's shoulder. He couldn't move his arm and definitely couldn't get up. The pain was agonizing. His forehead didn't hurt anymore. Instead, all senses were focused on his shoulder.

Wix was in far better shape. The arrow had made a deep incision and scratched his chin bone, but he could still stand. After a minute on the ground, Wix realized his injury was not as bad as he originally thought. He slowly got to his feet and hovered over Travis. "It always ends the same," Wix said with a mouth full of blood. He grabbed another arrow off the ground and loomed over his rival. "You're getting closer every time. But somehow I always get you in the end. I…"

Wix started, but suddenly his feet were taken from under him.

Travis winced in pain as Wix fell from his leg sweep. A flash of pain shot through his ankle, but all his senses was still focused in his shoulder. This act bought him five more minutes of life. He wasn't sure why he was fighting for it anymore. The pain in his shoulder wouldn't stop. The bleeding wouldn't stop, and he couldn't get up. He was about to give up. He was ready to give up. But a voice in the back of his head kept him conscious. It was the voice of Riene. It was the voice of Thor. It was the voice of South. It was the voice of McNeese. Wix had killed them all, and Travis wouldn't let go of that thought. He reached with his right hand and grasped an arrow. His shoulder hurt with every move he took, but with all the strength he could muster, he side armed the arrow as Wix. A cry of pain let him know it was successful. Travis reached for another arrow. He wasn't sure he could throw it, but he was damn well going to try. His shoulder felt like it had reopened after that last throw, but he tried to ignore the pain.

Before he could release it however, Wix once again got to his feet. With a rapidly swelling chin and a dangling arrow from his hip, Wix wavered dizzily over to Travis. He landed on top of the black haired boy, causing the pain in his hip to increase ten fold. "It ends here," Wix growled.

Before Travis could react, he felt his chest be split in half. An arrow pierced his sternum and his breaths became harder to perform. His body went numb, and he couldn't feel the pain anymore. He was wavering on the border of consciousness, but he couldn't give up yet. Something kept him alive. A desire kept the darkness from engulfing his body. With his last ounce of strength, Travis thrust the arrow in his right hand up and stuck it right below Wix's chin.

The giant coughed and sputtered as blood clogged his trachea. Blood poured all over Travis's shirt before the giant Wix ran out of air. He had done it. Wix was gone. He had killed his adversary. He had killed a monster far more fearsome then a ruby dragon. A true terror to the world was gone, and he did it all by himself. The breaths became harder for Travis to take, and sleep was so intriguing. His mission was accomplished, so Travis didn't feel any more pain. With half a smile, Travis drifted off into the dreamless world.

(**********)

Squall rushed onto the boat with his gunblade raised. He stormed into the depths of the ship, looking for the one man who caused all this. Cid wasn't hard to find. Hiding in a storeroom of sorts, Squall found the old headmaster sitting in a corner.

Cid looked up to the intruder and realized his fate. He had lost. It was a solid plan, but everything collapsed at the last second. "I'm sorry," he muttered, standing up to face the brunette.

Squall didn't accept his apology. A slash and a gunshot later, the lion sheathed his sword and turned to leave. As he did so, he ran straight into Edea.

The sorceress looked at her deceased husband and then looked at Squall. Tears were filling up her eyes as she realized the results of the battle. Squall quickly whipped out the Lion Heart again, but he couldn't bring himself to swing. Matron and Squall stared at each other for a while, wondering what the other would do. Reluctantly, Squall relaxed his arm and placed his gunblade on the floor.

(**********)

Zell ran to Travis's cell. They had won and he could only imagine the victory celebrations on the Alcauld Plains right now. He couldn't wait to tell him, but unfortunately Travis wasn't in his cell.

"Is he down there?" Zell called down to Squall, who had just emerged from a room down the hall.

The brunette shook his head.

Zell stopped and thought for a moment, and then he ran towards the deck of the ship. His heart sank. Two bloody bodies lied on top of each other. He immediately recognized the giant Wix, and reluctantly found Travis below him. He pulled Wix off of the black haired boy. Wix was cold and dead. He had stopped breathing a while ago. Looking down at Travis, Zell saw small breaths still coming from him. He was partially alive, but sure to die any minute. Zell shook his head as a lump developed in the back of his throat. Blood was everywhere, and Travis was beyond being saved. Cure only healed wounds. It didn't create blood, and a phoenix down would only wake his body up into a world of pain. Zell shook his head and looked onto his dying apprentice.

After two minutes, the breathing stopped. Reluctantly, Zell picked him off the ground and carried him off the boat.

(**********)