Norg Balamb was alive with inhuman sounds and unearthly screams. Everywhere, the walls pulsed with unnatural life, strewn with electrodes that hummed and sparked amid fleshy organs of unknown function. Quistis frowned as she made her way though the corridors. Being as ingrained into Balamb as he was, Norg was most likely feeling the damage inflicted by the Ragnarok. It was distracting and made it difficult to focus on the threat moving towards him. "Quistis..." A weak voice coughed from behind her. Spinning around she readied her whip. Fujin stood in the shadows, bracing herself against a wall, her skin glistening, with sweat matting her hair against her weary face. Quistis backed up from her. "What are you doing here...?" She asked in a shaky, untrusting tone. "NOT ALONE..." Fujin frowned, straightening herself. Quistis twitched and Fujin could see a threatening glare in her eyes. "IT'S ME." Fujin said firmly. Looking about cautiously, Quistis frowned, still unmoving. Fujin looked down and sighed, shaking her head. After studying a moment, Quistis held out a hand and offered a smile. "Come on..." She said quietly. Fujin pushed off the wall and made her way forward. Quistis watched her approach for a moment then her face twisted into a look of utter rage. "WHAT!" Fujin blinked in surprise as Quistis began channeling a spell at her. "NO!" She screamed hoarsely, raising her arms to shield herself. A blinding flash of lightning erupted and Fujin leapt to the side and fell to the ground. Looking up in wide-eyed amazement that she was unharmed; she was stunned to see Quistis stagger towards her. The spell had somehow backfired, her skin and clothes were horribly burned and a snarl was on her lips as she moved closer. "QUISTIS!" Fujin shouted once more, quickly rising to her feet. An earsplitting crack sounded and Quistis stiffened in surprise then grabbed at her throat before being yanked backwards. Another Quistis, this one unharmed stood several feet behind the other, her whip wrapped tightly around the other's throat. "Fujin are you okay! What the hell are you doing here!!!" Quistis screamed, as she struggled to pull her smoldering doppelganger away. Fujin looked between the two in confusion and backed up. "Get away from it!" Quistis screamed. The doppelganger, rose to its feet, and grabbed the whip. With a firm yank meaning to pull Quistis off balance. Quistis however, being skilled at the weapon knew better and simply let go. The doppelganger staggered backwards and Quistis immediately raised both hands. A sphere of blackness sprung forth behind the thing and it fell into it with a scream. The sickening crunch of shattering bones and crushed flesh was the only sound to be heard as the ball of darkness crushed the abomination into nothingness. Fujin looked up at Quistis her mouth agape. Quistis rushed forward and grabbed her shoulders shaking her. "What are you doing here!? Are you crazy!?" Fujin's cool, but stunned exterior cracked and she started to cry. Quistis felt horrible and pulled her into an embrace. "Oh baby I'm sorry." She whispered, stroking her hair. "not abandon..." Fujin whispered weakly, between sobs. "I know hon, but you're hurt." Quistis smiled sadly. "can fight..." Quistis kissed her tenderly and gently wiped the tears from her eyes. "How did you get away from Irvine, I told him to look out for you?" She asked even though she could probably guess. "You didn't hurt him did you...?" "live..." Fujin whispered rubbing her eye with her palm. "You..." Quistis smirked, hugging her again. "What am I going to do with you...?" "NOT LEAVE." Fujin grumbled. Quistis sighed sadly and nodded. "Deal..." "WON'T HOLD BACK." Fujin assured her. "I know hon, I know." Quistis said quietly, caressing her cheek. With a sigh she turned and looked into the darkness. She could feel something nearby, something foul, something sinister. Turning back to look at Fujin she took her hand in hers and smiled. "Love you." She whispered. ************************ They had spent a better part of the day together, enjoying each others company with a newfound enthusiasm. Rinoa now lay across Squall's chest sighing dreamily as he ran lazy fingers through her hair. Rinoa raised up as if startled and looked about. Squall looked at her in confusion. "Something the matter?" He frowned. "Something's wrong." Rinoa whispered. "You mean besides the fact we've been in here all day?" Squall grinned uncharacteristically. "No." Rinoa scowled playfully then looked about again with a worried expression. Concerned, Squall sat up and looked about curiously. "Rinoa?" He asked with a frown. "I see fire..." Rinoa whispered in a haunting tone. "Huh, where?" Squall mumbled, not liking the sound of her voice, she sounded much like Edea when she was possessed, hollow, and ethereal. "A city, alive, unnatural...afire..." Rinoa said again, her eyes glazed. "Rinoa..." Squall said with growing uneasiness. "This isn't funny." "Consumes, grows, destroys...they will die." Rinoa whispered. "Rinoa!" Squall shouted firmly, trying to jar her from her trance. Rinoa turned to look at him with a startled expression. "What!" She frowned sourly. "What the hell was that all about?" Squall asked, his brow furrowed with concern. "What, you're the one yelling." Rinoa mumbled, eyeing him suspiciously. "You went into some kind of trance." Squall explained. "I did not." Rinoa laughed. "Then what? Was that some kind of joke? It wasn't funny." "Huh?" "You said something about a city, on fire and people dying." "When?" "Just now!" "I don't remember saying it." "Trust me, you did." "Weird." "Yes it is..." Squall frowned, getting up. "How do you feel?" "Umm okay I guess..." Rinoa shrugged. "What are you doing?" "To talk to Laguna, see if everything's okay." He answered, getting dressed. "We would've heard something." Rinoa reasoned. "Yeah well, you had a vision and if either of us has learned anything from Edea, we'd do well to listen to it." "If you're right, then how can we know what it means. I mean, it's not like I've any experience with this sorta thing. Sure, I've inherited the sorceress power, not that you'd notice. It's all I can do to keep from blowing something up whenever I try use it correctly. I wish Edea were still around..." "I thought Quistis was helping you now?" "She is, but we haven't had a chance to start." Rinoa replied. "We'll figure something out. Get dressed." ********************** "This is the Ragnarok, calling Esthar Air, over." Selphie droned into her headset. Irvine watched her sourly, still perturbed about Fujin attacking him. Everyone was dry on healing spells so he had to settle for a splint. Nida too, sat quietly, lost in though and trying to ignore the pain in is leg and throat. Selphie sighed and looked over to them. "Sorry guys, no luck." She sighed. "Ragnarok, this is Esthar Air. What can we do for you, over?" The radio crackled. Selphie squealed in glee. "Tell them to get in touch with Squall!" Irvine blurted. "No, have em contact Laguna!" Nida blurted. "Hush!" Selphie hissed, flapping at them before switching responding to the call. "We're part of Balamb Garden. We've had a situation and require assistance. We have numerous escape craft in the water that need immediate recovery, over." "Okay Ragnarok, we have you one sensors. We're sending out interceptors now, over." "We need to contact President Loire and Cid Kramer so we can apprise them of our situation." "We'll pass along you're request. Until then, you can set down at pad Gamma just fifty miles from your position, over." "Will do, thanks for the assistance, over and out." Selphie chimed, then looked over at Irvine and Nida who were staring expectantly. "Everything is taken care of, once we gather up Squall and the others we can go back and help Quistis." She said jubilantly. "If she's still alive..." Nida mumbled. "Don't talk like that." Irvine growled. "She's fine, Quistis can handle anything that bastard can throw at her. It's Fujin I'd be worried about, she was in no condition to be running off like that." "She handled you alright." Nida groused. "I didn't see you do anything." Irvine shot back sourly. "Boys." Selphie sighed. "We’re all worried, lets not make it worse by fighting each other, okay." "Sorry." The two men said quietly, feeling a bit like scolded children. "Fujin's a grown woman, she made her own decision." Selphie added. "Selphie, are you there!" Zell's voice crackled over the radio. "Zell!" She squealed, happy to hear a familiar voice. "What the heck is going on, I heard you guys had an accident!? Is everyone okay!?" "It's bad Zell." She sighed, switching over to intercom so Irvine and Nida could talk as well. "Norg, he's...um...infested Balamb." "Norg!? Infested, what do you mean infested? Where's Miss Trepe?" "She stayed behind to try and stop him, we had to evacuate." Irvine chimed in. "You left her alone!?" Zell shrieked. Irvine flushed in anger and embarrassment. "She ordered me to." He mumbled. "Fujin is with her." Nida offered. "Well that’s something at least. Did everyone else make it out okay?" "We had some casualties..." Selphie said quietly. "Crap...oh man this is bad, real bad... Squall's gonna have kittens." Zell babbled in a near panic. "Norg's somehow merged himself with the Garden, it's like it's alive now." Nida explained, answering Zell's previous question. "Where's Squall or Cid?" Selphie asked. "It's weird, Rinoa had some kinda of vision. They all went to talk to that quack, Odine. Anyway, I'm holding the fort with Ward and Kiros until they get back." "We'll be landing soon. Tell them what happened and round up who ever you can. We're going to need all the help we can get..." Selphie said gravely. **************************** "How are you holding up?" Quistis asked Fujin softly as they made their way deeper into the core. "OKAY." Fujin answered with a smirk. Quistis studied her. True enough, Fujin seemed more like herself. But Quistis knew something was amiss. Her features where tight and a cool sheen of sweat glittered on her pale skin. "You're lying to me..." Quistis said after a long pause. "WINDED." Fujin admitted, brushing aside Quistis' worries as she quickened her pace. "I'd tell you to stay and let me continue." Quistis sighed. Fujin started to protest but Quistis stopped. "But you'd only come anyway..." "NOT LEAVE YOU." Fujin said firmly, pausing to look back at her. "I know..." Quistis smiled, moving forward to put a hand on her cheek. "Just be careful." Balamb Garden shuddered and a low moan echoed through the pulsing halls. Fujin looked around and frowned gravely. "He's doing something...." Quistis said, listening intently. "THERE!" Fujin gasped, pointing ahead. The corridor before them started melting together slowly, a far cry from the speed in which the animated scenery moved just hours earlier. Quistis took a step back and glanced back the way they came. The corridor behind them was already sealed and her eyes widened. "Run!" Quistis shouted. Grabbing Fujin's hand, she ran forward to the quickly shrinking passage. Toffee like steel streamed around them, dripping heavily onto the floor as the ceiling sank. One doughy piece feel free and struck Quistis on the back, knocking the wind out of her and sending her to the floor. As she ran past Fujin hauled Quistis to her feet and all but dragged her forward. A sharp pain shot through her from the effort and she winced slightly and scolded herself. She had to be careful not to reopen her barely healed wounds. Her breath rattled in her throat and she had to fight not to break into a telling cough. Clear of Norg's attempt to bury them, the two took a pause to catch their breath. "NEED HURRY." Fujin grumbled. "He'll be somewhere hot, which means the engine room." Fujin looked at her watch. Judging by her estimates and assuming Balamb was still on course; they should be entering to farthest edges of the ice fields. "ALMOST TIME..." "I know. I just hope it doesn't come to that." Quistis frowned. ********************** The trip to Odine's lab was a failure. A fact Rinoa was all too eager to point out as they drove back via limousine, to the presidential palace. "That was a waste of time.... I told you that man is a lunatic." She all but yelled. Laguna frowned and looked to Squall for support. "I though he could give us some answers. He's the only one who knows anything about the sorceress power." "He's right Rinoa, it was worth a shot. We needed to see if he could help you with the visions." Squall sighed. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one getting probed." Rinoa shot back. "We apologize my dear. But with Edea gone, he's the only expert we have." Cid said quietly. Rinoa's anger softened and she nodded solemnly. "You're right sir, sorry." She mumbled. "Laguna!" Kiros shouted, looking in on them from the front passenger seat. "Yeah." Laguna sighed, rubbing his brow wearily. "We have a problem." "Problem?" He frowned. Kiros looked at Cid and gulped. "What?" Squall grumbled. "Balamb's been evacuated, something about a Norg...there's been casualties. Zell's on the line. Should I patch him through." Laguna and Cid exchanged pale looks and Laguna motioned for Kiros to patch the call. "Zell, what happened...?" Cid asked in a steady tone, honed from years of dealing with disaster. ************************ Pandemonia screamed silently, as an inferno roared along its pale blue and gray hide. Norg was aware of Quistis and Fujin's trek and was upping his attempts to keep them at bay while he tried to repair the damage the Ragnarok had caused. A pit here, a crushing wall there, all succeeded in slowing the two women but did nothing stop them. A new tactic was called for. Balamb had many back up generators, most of which were old and run with gasoline or similar volatile fluids. It was a simple matter then to gather up the liquid use it to send a torrent of liquid hell crashing down around the women. Unfortunately though, the pale woman named Fujin had and an annoying capacity to detect danger and reacted to the impending attack at the last second. In a regretful but necessary counter move. Pandemonia switched places with the two women and took the brunt of the blast herself. Unable to take the roaring flames much longer, the guardian groaned and collapsed to one knee. The pain was unimaginable but the guardian relished it, for it was yet another taste of what they lacked in their natural form of thought and energy. The guardian's form, composed of borrowed corporeal energy began to dissolve under the onslaught of fire. As the worst of the blast died down to a flicker, Pandemonia gave one jubilant cry of defiance and died, satisfied that it had succeed in it's task. It's sacrifice was not in vain and as the Guardian faded from reality and back to it's home plane, Quistis and Fujin reappeared to find themselves standing amid smoldering wreckage and debris. Choking smoke filled the halls and they had to keep moving to keep their shoes from sticking to the oven hot floor. Fujin staggered, weakened by the loss of her Guardian Force. Pandemonia would return, in time, but not soon enough to be of aid in the upcoming battle. Quistis supported her gingerly. "It's hurts, I know... Is this the first time you lost one?" Fujin nodded, her head swimming slightly. "It'll pass, don't worry about her though, she'll be good as new in time." Quistis assured her. "The main thing is to be careful, you're going to be vulnerable now." Fujin hissed and scoffed and straightened. "I'M FINE." She grunted sourly. "No you're not, so quite trying to pretend that you are. Take my hand." Fujin looked at her skeptically. "I'm giving you Siren, she's not strong at fighting support, but she'll keep you on you're feet." "YOU NEED." "Not more than you, now quit arguing with me and take my hand." Fujin growled and Quistis took her by the hand and closed her eyes. Deep in the recesses of her mind, Siren stirred to life; she was dormant but aware of what was going on. Unwrapping herself from her intimate embrace of Quistis' memories, she let herself flow into unknown territory. She had come to know many partners of late, but Quistis was one of her favorites. The new place she entered was a turbulent, cold place with spiny walls of dark memories and storms of emotion. Siren hesitated; she didn't like being someplace so chaotic. "FIGHTING ME." Fujin grumbled, sensing the Guardian's resistance. "You're fighting her hon. Calm down so she can get settled." "FOOLSIH." "Just do it, we don't have time." Quistis said in a stern tone. Fujin kept quiet and tried to ease her mind. Siren wandered Fujin's thoughts, trying to find a place to settle herself. She knew she'd never feel comfortable but realized it was something she'd have to deal with, if only for a little while. Finally, she found something familiar but hidden, colorful thoughts of kinder things, flowers, songs, as well as visions of Quistis. This calmed the Guardian Force considerably and she relaxed, settling herself among them. "Well?" Quistis asked as Fujin concentrated. "SUCCESS." Fujin mumbled, the opened her eye. "DOESN'T LIKE ME." "She'll have to get over it for now." Quistis smiled. "How do you feel?" "BETTER." Fujin answered, taking a breath. "STRANGE." "Siren's keyed to me in a different way Panda was to you." Quistis explained. "Think you two can get along?" "HAVE TO." Fujin smirked. "Good." Quistis said with a wink. "Let's finish this." ****************** The Ragnarok and Laguna's Limousine approached the landing pad at the same time. Zell was already waiting on the tarmac and was hopping up and down with nervous energy. "Come on, come on, come on! We gotta go man, we gotta go!" He was shouting eagerly. The limo skidded to a halt and the doors flung open. Squall leapt out and hit the ground running with Rinoa hot on his heels. Zell tossed them their weapons and the three of them charged toward the approaching Ragnarok as it lowered its gangplank. Zell leaped onto the plank easily while the ship was still in a hover and quickly hauled Squall then Rinoa aboard. Circling around, the ship's engines roared to life and craft shot into the distance. Cid and Laguna stepped out of the limo to watch them leave. "Let them be safe." Cid whispered. "Don't worry, they'll be fine. I've already scrambled some troops to pick up the survivors and help out if needed." Laguna assured him. *********************** The engine core was a smoldering, stinking nest of twisted flesh and steel. Everything pulsed with an unnatural life and a sea of swollen globular eyes watched them cautiously from the shadows. The hellish glow produced by Balamb's magically charged engines illuminated the nightmare laid out before them. Rows upon rows of long fleshy sacks hung from the ceiling, inside of each squirmed a vaguely humanoid shape. "Hyne..." Quistis mumbled, inspecting one of the egg-like containers from a safe distance. A face pressed outward against the membrane and squealed loudly. The sound was as hideous as the being itself. Bald, pale, and covered in tumors, the creature was a mockery of the human form. Fujin gently pulled Quistis away as the thing thrashed to free itself. "SOMETHING NEAR." She said nodding, towards the tower of grinding pistons and spinning turbines. Bluish runes of magic circled the massive engine, the bell like tinkling they created mixed with the hearty booms of the hard working generators. Steam vented from pipes scattered about the chamber with a hiss making it hard to see. "Pur ru ru...." A deep guttural voice growled. "NORG." Fujin frowned as a sea of blackness oozed out of the shadows and rose before them. It was a pillar of tortured flesh and bone, bristling with bits of machinery and plates of steel. Multiple grotesquely long and spindly arms wielded weapons it had been able to scavenge. Everything from the odd gunblade, to fighting sticks was at its disposal. It had also bonded a large industrial sized welding arm to its back where it hung over its back like a scorpion's stinger. The head of the thing, shapeless and slug like was imbedded with computer monitors and video cameras, all of which shone with a bright light forming a halo of sort. The monstrosity was big, nearly forty feet tall and roughly ten feet wide. At its base, squirmed a forest of oil black tentacles that worked to steady the towering abomination. Eyes and mouth's formed spontaneously along the entire length of the creature. Quistis closed her eyes briefly in an instinctive attempt to disbelief the insanity that assaulted her senses. The thing brought an arsenal of guns to bear on the two women. Fujin shoved Quistis to one side and a dove for another as a hail of gunfire erupted towards them. The shells tore up the ground, sending shards of concrete and metal flying. Quistis slid behind large turbine and yelled to Fujin who'd taken cover behind a large support beam. "Get between him and the engine, he won't risk blowing it up!" Fujin nodded and kicked at a tendril that erupted near her. Scrambling to her feet, Quistis charged straight at the behemoth. Not prepared for a direct assault Norg was caught off guard. Reacting quickly however, he brought the hail of gunfire down towards her. Fujin trusted Quistis' decision and used the diversion to maneuver to what she presumed was the back of the creature. Quistis meanwhile stopped short and grinned as a diamond shape mote of light erupted before her. The light widened into a large portal, out of which a monstrous hound burst forth and landed with a roar. Cerebus, three headed and the size of a tank the Guardian Force snarled as its maws glowed with a hellish light. Norg rained gunfire down at the Guardian, bullets tearing into it's supernatural flesh, wounding it grievously but unable to stop what happened next. With a howl, the guardian breathed forth a spray of seeking white light that struck Quistis and Fujin simultaneously. Fujin felt a surge of power and could tell her the energies that drove her spells were increased significantly. Cerberus, having spent its brief reserves of energy on the spell, vanished into a puff of steam and smoke. The monitors mounted atop Norg's head flashed with violent images of Fujin and Quistis' deaths. Quistis tried to ignore the illusions and quickly made her way around to where Fujin waited. "Keep it busy!' She shouted as swarm of arms swung down at them. Each armed with swords and knives. Quistis yelped and rolled out of the way while Fujin artfully dodged and disarmed one of the limbs, earning a gunblade in the exchange. Fujin breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be armed, even if it wasn't her weapon of choice. The hail of gunfire had ceased, Quistis had been right, Norg was obviously being careful in not hitting the engine. That left them an easy victory if things got out of hand at least. However, she didn't want to resort to that, if the engine exploded it could very well take Balamb with it. "GO!" Fujin screamed, gesturing for Quistis to go on with what ever she had planned next. With Fujin on defense Quistis knelt and closed her eyes, calling forth one of her reaming guardian forces. A small portal opened at her feet and a small rabbit like creature peeked out. The Guardian, called Carbuncle was white, with large furry ears and large blue diamond in the center of its forehead. "We need your help little one." Quistis said softly. "NO RUSH." Fujin shouted as one of the spindly arms assaulted her with a sheet of lightning. Fujin stiffened from the shock and staggered, having no time to recover as another hand slammed into her knocking back. As she flew backwards, she fired off a rapid series shots from the gunblade before bouncing off part of the engine. The gunfire blasted several arms to pieces sending them flopping to the ground where they immediately melted. Carbuncle cooed and bounced merrily before filling the air with a soothing glow. A semi transparent field of energy erupted around the two women and Quistis quickly dismissed the small creature so she could focus on the battle. Fujin was just getting to her feet when she noticed several eyes along the trunk of Norgs body glow crimson. She flinched as the Norg launched a series of magically charged fireballs at her. The first struck and splattered across the field that had just formed around her, while several of the others rebounded back the monster that cast them. Norg's many mouths roared in pain as large flaming holes where blown into its body. Quistis could feel the familiar call of her innate but hard to control magical abilities. Unfortunately, she could only summon forth such power when under dire stress or the threat of death. Either of which she knew would come all too easy in this battle. As if to prove her point, the arc welder attached to Norg swung down to strike her in the back like a flaming stinger. The white-hot fire tore through her left shoulder blade disintegrating any bone and flesh it encountered. Quistis screamed and nearly fainted from the pain. Fujin was quick to catch her and quickly inspected the wound. Cauterized, the smoldering wound didn't bleed but it left her arm useless. "QUISTIS." Fujin shouted, trying to keep her awake. "I'm okay!" Quistis babbled, her eyes rolling. Norg begged to differ and he swatted them both away from the engine with spontaneously spawned tentacle the size of small car. Quistis' trajectory sent her flying into the hanging mass of eggs, tearing several free, sending them splattering to the floor. Fujin's sent her into the hallway they had used to enter the room. Landing hard, she felt something deep within tear. Sitting up, she coughed up blood, the bitter and alkaline taste of it made her frown in disgust. Determined not to worry about it, she looking to where Quistis landed. She could see several humanoid forms struggling to stand amid their own putrid afterbirth. Quistis was a frenzy of destruction, attacking any of the humanoids that dared to get near her. Enchanted as it was, her whip dismembered one, while a swift kick beheaded another. Her wound limited her attack options but she was deterred to keep the sea of groping and clawing fiends at bay. "Shru ru ru My children! The Seed's are MINE!" Norg bellowed. Bringing the guns to bear on them once more. "NEGATIVE." Fujin shouted, releasing the energy boost Cerberus had given her in a rapid succession of powerful lightning spells. With a crack of thunder, three titanic bolts rained down atop Norg's head with a deafening boom that shook the room. The nest of electronic and flesh that served as Norg's head exploded in a shower of sparks and gore. The entire tower of flesh that was Norg's body shuddered with a violent spasm that sent all the guns firing in every direction. Fujin didn't stop to see if she killed him, instead she focused on helping Quistis who was overwhelmed by the growing mob of humanoids that were tearing themselves out of their egg-sacks. Fujin moved forward to assist when a telltale flash of yellow light signified an impending magical attack deep within the writing mass of biting, clawing monstrosities. Quistis broke free of the mound, her eyes aglow. With a flash, a stream of laser like energy erupted from her eyes. Cutting everything in half that came across her line of vision. Fujin threw herself to the floor as Quistis spun around to face her attackers slicing the majority in half. Then turned to face Norg the beam went through him effortlessly along with a fare sized piece of the engine housing. Many of Norg's arms were severed in the attack and fell uselessly, before the entire upper half toppled forward and crashed heavily to the ground. Quistis stumbled and fell, weakened from the drain caused by using the erratic magic. Fujin moved towards her with a loping gait. The remaining few of Norg's so called children moved to intercept her and she had no problems silencing them with the last of her offensive spells. Quistis' assault had turned the floor into a sewer of gore that made her want to gag. "DISGUSTING." Fujin grumbled, helping Quistis to her feet. "But did it work? I don't think I can do that again..." Quistis sighed. "A pity then." A voice gurgled, seemingly from everywhere. Fujin stiffened and Quistis groaned. The pile of ruined flesh that had been Norg melted into sludge then reformed anew. Fujin scowled, she was weak, broken and out of magic. Quistis was only in slightly better shape. "My garden, fu sh u ru ru!!! My Children, my SEED's, MINE!" Norg roared, loudly. The ocean of tendrils erupted from the floor. Fujin slashed wildly with the gunblade she had acquired, severing ten at a time, but to no avail. Quistis, one arm dangling lifelessly and her weapon lost in the battle could barely keep them off her. "BLOW ENGINE!" Fujin shouted. Quistis winced at the thought but knew she had no choice. "Fall back! We have to get out of here first!" Quistis ordered, then pointed to a spiral staircase leading up to a higher level. "There!" She shouted. Fujin cleared a path as they retreated. Spells erupted around them, raining fire and lighting in all directions, only to be rebounded back. Norg howled in mix of rage, pain and aggravation. Quistis was thankful, but knew Carbuncle's shielding wouldn't last much longer. Norg tantrum bought them some time as it diverted his attention momentarily and they quickly made their way up the stairs. Finally a safe distance, Quistis closed her eyes as she prepared to summon her remaining guardian. Instead, she fell into a fit of coughing and wheezing, she was hurt, the wound to her back had all but destroyed a lung making it hard to breath. Noticing her difficulty Fujin stopped, and kissed her. Surprised by the ill-timed gesture, Quistis sputtered. "What!?" "NEED TO CONCENTRATE." Fujin grinned, as Norg sent an armada of jagged tendrils flying towards them. Caressing Quistis' cheeks delicately she let the last spell she had, flow into Quistis. A healing spell, not too powerful, but enough to heal the worst of her wounds. "Fujin wait!" Quistis stammered, seeing the tendrils flying towards them out of the corner of her eye. At the last second, Fujin flung Quistis to the floor and ducked the majority of the tendrils. Only one connected and she wrapped her hands around it with a gasp as it slammed in her stomach, sending her flying backward against the stairwell. Quistis' eyes went wide. Fujin gritted her teeth as blood flowed from between her fingers. "No, no, no, no!" Quistis shouted in near hysteria. "CALM DOWN." Fujin winced, looking at her as she strained to push the tendril back. She had caught the barbed tendril just in time, still though; the serrated edges cut wickedly into her palms. "You bitch, you scared the hell out of me!" Quistis shouted in joyous relief as Fujin tossed the tendril aside. Norg retracted it instantly and roared in frustration. "WATCH IT." Fujin grinned, tossing herself to the floor beside Quistis as a hail of fireballs washed over their heads. Quistis jumped to her feet and stuck out her hands and Norg prepared another attack. After a moment's concentration Quistis opened her eyes and looked to Fujin. "I hope this works, I've nothing left this." "LOVE YOU." Fujin mumbled; sitting down to rest as a portal opened in the air above Norg. Leviathan, a massive serpentine creature composed of water flowed out of the portal and wrapped itself around the engine before solidifying into a great emerald hued serpent. Norg whirled to confront the Guardian Force. With a screech, Leviathan exploded into a titanic waterfall that crashed down over the engine and knocked Norg over. Huge plumes of steam erupted from engine. Quistis fell back as the steam rushed past her. Squinting through the burning plumes, she quickly summoned Shiva one last time. Weary, the Guardian Force appeared in an explosion of ice. "Freeze it." Quistis growled, pointing down to Norg as he struggled to rise. Nodding quietly, Shiva waved her hands over the pool of water that had pooled at the bottom of the engine room. Ice quickly spread throughout the chamber and Norg bellowed in pain, as his lower half was frozen solid. Balamb's engines sputtered and began to whine loudly as ice clogged turbines and shorted circuits. With a shuddering roar, the engines ground themselves to pieces sending debris flying in all directions. Norg thrashed about, tendrils flailing. One errant limb shattered a massive cooling pipe. Superheated water spewed down into the ruined engine room, melting the ice and once again sending out plumes of steam. "Not, good." Quistis frowned. She could see Norg roiling about furiously as he thawed. Worried, she turned to find Fujin lying on her side. "Fu?" Quistis frowned, rushing to her side. "sorry..." Fujin whispered, coughing up blood. "You've reopened your wounds...." Quistis whimpered. A brief sensation of weightlessness overtook them as Balamb began to fall. Below, they could hear Norg's startled roars and bellows. Leaning over Fujin, Quistis grabbed on to the stairwell with all her might. Balamb Garden was over a large ice-sheet when the engines blew. The craft had emergency systems to slow any out of control descent and the back up generators spun to life with a roar. Small rings of magical energy circled the structure causing it to pause slightly in midair before continuing it's fall and even though the descent was slow, the sheer mass of the Garden hitting the thick ice was enough to shatter it. Lower portions of the structure were damaged by the impact and icy water began to stream into the lower levels. Quistis looked up into the dimming light as the engines cooled and the magic faded. She could hear Norg screaming, engrained as he was into Balamb, she knew the ice water was like being in hell. She smiled to herself as the freezing water began rushing into the engine room below. With one strangled cry, Norg, tried to rise from the chill waters, already, his form was turning gray and flaking into large chunks. With one last act of rage, he sent a tendril out to snare the stairwell. As the life drained out of him, he yanked the stairwell free causing it to collapse. Quistis screamed and grabbed Fujin, trying to shield her the best she could as they fell. A large piece of rubble struck them, causing them to separate, Fujin landed in the water while Quistis fell amid the twisted steel and concrete. The icy water briefly snapped Fujin to her senses enabling her to swim feebly to where Quistis lay, buried and broken. "No..." She coughed hoarsely dragging herself out of the water only to collapse limply at her side. "We did it..." Quistis whispered, reaching out for her. She could feel shattered bones grinding against vital organs but oddly, there was no pain, only a biting cold. Curling up, Fujin took her hand and sighed softly. And so, the two of them lay in silence, comforted by each other's fading warmth until the darkness took them.
Back to Frozen Index - Back to Final Fantasy 8 Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction