Chapter 6: Road to the Evil Sorceress I

[vanesse]

Vanesse was livid. How can Weiss talk to them like that?! She glared at him, not appreciating the kind of reply he gave to Jun and the others. He just can't make fun of us like this!

Charging towards Weiss, she leaped and threw her twin boomerangs at the DotNA leader himself. Weiss naturally saw it coming and with a snap of his fingers, Calypso appeared before Vanesse to take the damage of her boomerang.

"What?" she exclaimed. He was even using them as a shield! Calypso's long legs kicked Vanesse in midair, sending her flying back to the ground.

[ST]

Another roar from Sapphire broke through the air and the dragon rammed its head on the flesh wall to hurl Jun out of his neck. Sapphire's head broke through the flesh and it created a huge hole towards the outside. The icy wind passed by everyone's body, and the dark room was slightly illuminated.

"Listen to me!" Squall shouted at everyone. "Bring out all of your healing items and recover. Whatever you do, don't lose consciousness," the commander especially turned to Jun, Polaris, and Gemma. "You know their weaknesses, you're the only ones who can destroy them completely. We'll deliver as much damage as possible!"

Weiss laughed. "Oh, is round one over?" he mocked. "You better follow mister leader over there. He looks like he knows what he's doing."

[Polaris Lyn]

Polaris felt a dark smile curve her lips as she pulled out the only regenerative poition she had, downing it in one long gulp, feeling the potion's magic work through her system, illuminating her for a brief moment.

Hero Drinks were fun for the whole family.

Her sights were set on Obsidian and Weiss-- with the Hero Drink activated, she was completely invincible, unaffected whatsoever by magic or physical blows. It wouldn't last the battle, but it was enough-- it was going to be enough to take out Obsidian and it was definitely going to be enough to let her shove her axe down Weiss' throat.

"Round one," she said quietly, her amber eyes set on Obsidian, and as if the Guardian Force heard her, it attacked.

The Gravity magic her GF was capable of wielding was strong enough to crush a car, but with the Hero Drink, Polaris didn't even feel the pressure push down on her. Instead, fueled by Gemma's Limit Break, Polaris twirled her axe and swung down again, prompting another Master Hephaestus Limit Break, raining down flaming rock not only onto Obsidian, but the other two GFs as well. Weiss she could deal with later-- he certainly wouldn't be going anywhere.

Obsidian took the hits stoically enough, but Polaris never gave him the chance to recover from the blow. She pulled her axe from the ground as her winged angel fell and she swung, and swung hard.

The silver blade cut cleanly through the bone of the left wing.

Obsidian opened his mouth to scream in pain. But then again, he had no voice to scream with.

Polaris pulled her axe free from the shattered wing, and raised it again, her gaze meeting Weiss'.

You can't take him.

She swung down again and moved back as Obsidian rolled over in agony.

His left wing remained on the ground, shattered and broken.

[waterlily43]

[Recommended listening: Maybe I'm a lion from FF8 soundtrack]

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Jun bit back a yell of pain, curling herself up into a ball to break the fall, at least by a little. But the sheer force of Sapphy's move to shake her off was not one to be underestimated. Her torso ached terribly and if one of her ribs weren't broken it sure was acting like it. Vaguely, she could hear the Commander order them to stay conscious. She didn't need any reminders. As long as Sapphy was under someone else's control, and that Weiss Jong left standing she would not back down. Not while she still had a sliver of strength left in her body.

Jun raised her sword, sprinting up to Sapphy. The dragon was crouching rather close to the ground, and Jun knew he was already gathering energy for another devastating blast. She charged up to him and plunged her blade into his left rear, only managing to slide it in halfway as he thrashed about to avoid and counterattack with his tail. Jun jumped over the swinging tail, yanking it hard with both her arms and using the swinging momentum to swing up his back again. She quickly advanced up his back, bracing herself against the violent swinging by plunging Tien Nu into his flesh time and again. She knew his weakness...she had to reach the top...

When Jun finally caught sight of his horns, she started hacking away at them, each and every stab seeming to land on her own heart.

Both horns finally dislodged and plopped to the floor, looking like two blobs of bloody tumours next to the great dragon's claws.

With a ear-deafening cry Sapphy crashed to the ground, Jun jumping away just as he landed on his side, before settling into spasms of obvious pain.

"I.Will.Not.Let.Him.Suffer.In.Vain." Jun pointed a shaking Tien Nu at Weiss, her voice rising uncontrollably, words dripping with hate. "The pain you bear in the end will be on an entirely different dimension, I promise you."

[Gemma Ridean]

Stumbling against the side of the wall, Gemma managed to dig out a Remedy+. She shuddered as she gulped down the murky liquid, but soon, the cloud over her head was lifted, and the room grew sharper into focus.

Suddenly, she felt cold. A sombre shadow hovered over her head. And at that moment, the only sound she could hear was the quiet beating of two wings.

Gemma tightened her grasp on Paleruin.

Calypso..I've come to take you back...

She felt a surge of adrenaline rush through her veins.

With a runing start, she leaped off the ground, swinging her flail in a perfect arc--poised to meet her GF head to head. In one sharp motion, barb and chain shot out, wrapping itself the base of Calypso's wings.

As she fell, Gemma jerked her flail upward and felt the building tension suddenly released as the metal barb tore through tissue, ligament, and bone.

The dark wraith released a shrill cry in pain. Two bloodied stumps remained on its back.

Pulling a back flip to break her fall, Gemma landed soundly, facing her GF.

She had to finish her off.

Taking no hesitation, she sprinted towards her. Before she had to react, Calypso launched at her, slashing the soft flesh of Gemma's stomache with a pair of jagged claws.

Gemma hit the ground. The blood trailed from the wound, leaving a dark puddle on the floor. But the pain was blocked by another source of energy. She had reached her limit break.

Calypso loomed over her with a sinister smile.

Tornado Flame

As it lifted its hand to cast another curse spell, Gemma struck the siren in the chest with Paleruin. Balypso roared and attemptd to take another swip at her, only to receive another blow across to the abdoment. Gemma was on her feet now, moving with an agility that was unheard of. Without even thinking, her flail struck again and again, lashing out at the other GF's as well. She didn't stop until she realized that Calypso no longer had the strength to fight back.

Breathing heavily, Gemma stared Calypso's still form.

She then looked at her flail. The spiked barb was dripping with crimson blood.

Calypso's beautiful ivory body was now a bloody mess of torn skin and crushed bones.

A single tear rolled down Gemma's cheek.

I'm sorry...

[ST]

Obsidian, the one-winged Angel!! *swoons* Move over Sephiroth XD
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"You would...rather kill them...?" he muttered, finding their resolution ridiculous. Weiss's eyebrows met as Polaris, Jun, and Gemma went to deliver more damage to their own GFs. He knew things weren't looking good if this continued. Things wouldn't go down just like this. His eyes snapped back to the heart.

Hearing an ear-splitting cry and a thunderous shake, Weiss turned to see Sapphire's downfall and Calypso's death. In an instant, excruciating pain pulsated in his chest triggering the shattering of the GFs' bodies into a sparkling dusts. Thrusting his knee on the ground, he clutched his chest and coughed blood. It was Adel who taught him the spell to connect the ancient forces' souls to one's heart by using his own lifeforce as a chain. The more souls he hold, the greater amount of lifeforce was needed, and that was why he could only hold three. Should the chains break off, his lifeforce would be too.

"You..b!tch..." His eyes flitted towards Gemma and Jun, looking clearly in pain. There was only one GF that hadn't broken from his hold yet, and that was Obsidian. As his wing was cut off, Polaris's hero elixir wore off.

"Obsidian!" Weiss didn't waste anytime, and in one big flap of his right wing, he was able to leap back in Weiss's defense. The GF was one blow away from its death, but Weiss didn't care. "Annhilate them!"

Struggling to stand properly, Obsidian was having a hard time to get his foot off the ground with one wing. However, the room had started to turn pitch black.

Everyone

With your low healthpoints and statuses, you know you wouldn't be able to withstand another strong Gravity attack from this GF. Obsidian must be stopped from delivering his final blow. Weiss struck his hand forward and the veins coming from the heart began to dash towards you to stab your vital organs. He wouldn't let you touch Obsidian.


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Try not to make it....not-so-bloody! >D Poor charries, we'll have cookies later on lol

[Jun]

"You had it coming. Don't pin the blame on other people for your comeuppance!" Jun cackled, quickly slipping into a half-conscious, half-delirious trance as her status effects and dwindling energy took their toll on her. A new set of veins shot out from the heart, deadlier-looking with their spiky ends. She barely managed to dodge one aiming for her heart before another came at her solar plexus. She slapped it away with Tien Nu's broad blade but resilient as ever, the vein made a detour stabbing through her shoulder blade and burst out from the other end. Bone and cartilaged splintered, blood spreading on her V-neck rapidly from the wound. Jun cried out a string of curses mostly involving the Jong family and ripped the vein from her shoulder with strength she shouldn't have, before falling on one knee, her breathing shallow and rapid.

Knowing she couldn't last another such kind of attacks, Jun still resisted to healing. Tien Nu was resonating with a different kind of vibration, and Jun knew that the timing was right for her to unleash it.

T...ien Nu Fury...

Almost subconsciously Jun leapt in the air brandishing her sword twisting and turning in a slicing and dicing frenzy. The severed and injured veins showered her with crimson rain, obscuring vision within an arm's length and still she didn't stop until she could sense no more veins shooting past her, landing on the ground with barely enough strength to breath.

"I can do this..." She smiled at the fleshy ground, her vision suddenly blurring. For Sapphy.

[Polaris Lyn]

She was human again.

Polaris felt her beaten, battered body protest, nearly rendering her incapable of fighting, but she grit her teeth and gripped her axe tighter; Obsidian's spell was flaring to life and they were going to die unless the GF died first.

He dies first.

And Weiss was shouting, they were going to get attacked, Polaris blocked and dodged the tentacles and veins and arteries, I can't make it through them--

and Jun was moving, her sword swinging in graceful arcs, taking on the attack and Polaris saw her chance, thank you, Kuroki, before she ran forward, her axe held low, Weiss saw her and he was moving, going to stop her from attacking Obsidian--

and there was no chance to get to Obsidian in time, not unless--

She didn't hesitate. She stopped short, Weiss was coming to meet her, he was going to kill her but you can't catch, can you, Jong, let's see if you can--

her right arm snapped forward, an over-the-shoulder-throw and she aimed her axe straight at Obsidian--

and SOMETHING hit her, a blow to the chest, Polaris felt her body break, give up, and everything faded to white-hot light of pain and agony--

and before she lost consciousness she heard it, the sick sound of metal in flesh.

Gotcha, Siddy.

The last thing she saw was her axe in Obsidian's chest, the blade buried in flesh, stopping the Guardian Force from existing. And Obsidian's eyes were wide with shock-- pain-- and he ceased to exist, the blow was enough, and Obsidian was gone, he was dead--

and Polaris felt life leave her.
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Polaris should be a baseball player, wtf, I didn't know she could throw that well. An axe, too. Yayz!

[Gemma Ridean]

She didn't have long to mourn.

Suddenly, three long arteries came shooting out of the heart. Like pointed arrows, they were heading straight towards Gemma.

And then...it was like watching it in slow motion.

Tornado Flame

It began with one swing. Then another. And another.

She was building momemtum----Paleruin was becoming a blur, a metallic cyclone that was spinning faster and faster.

Two veins careened towards her chest-----

She dodged to the left----

As it came flying past her shoulder, she unleashed Paleruin---ripping them from the heart.

---Another one was coming

She dropped to the floor---it swerved over her head,

This time, her flail caught it on the backswing.

Another hole for your heart Weiss

Suddenly, Polaris's axe whistled through the air, digging itself into Obsidian's chest.

The creature let out a tremendous roar---and then it was no more.

Only one target left


She raced towards Weiss.


I'm going to make your bowels bleed, you son-of-a-bitch..

[ST]

Tell me, Weiss...

Weiss's eyes slowly grew wide as the axe hit Obsidian straight on the chest. Diamond dusts shot all over the place as the body of the GF disintegrated, and the gravija was cancelled. The nerve-wracking pain Weiss was feeling in his chest exploded tenfolds as all the chains shattered vehemently.

Why do you believe in me, dear child?

...because you said my existence matters.

Stepping back as he clutched his chest, an agonizing scream escaped from Weiss, and his energy was sucked out. "Adel," he mumbled bitterly as his eyes fluttered slightly to see a lithe figure of a woman coming towards him. Will I really go out like this? He tried to stand up straight in attempt to defend himself but his reflexes failed him.

"I see." His lips curved into a smirk before collapsing flat on his back. From then on, a strong wave hit everyone once again, and this time, they felt all their magic and GFs come back. Weiss's territory was broken.


Gemma, Pol, Jun

You feel a warm sensation inside your bodies, and to your surprises, your respectable guardian forces come back to your consciousness. Drained of their energies, but alive and well nonetheless.

[Blaze Sanaku]

Blaze slowly got up from the floor and stumbled around like a drunk person before she became fully concious. That fall from Obsidian's back that Blaze suffered after Polaris took out of one his wings was a nasty one. Obsidian had been extremely high up in the sky and well, the floor was made of concrete.

AHhhh my arm's broken Blaze winced. She touched her left arm gingerly before violently trying to snap it back into place.

"AHHHHH SHIT!" She yelled when her tactic didn't work.

/Everytime I think you can't do anything more foolish, you go ahead and prove me wrong./ Deathstrike said in amusement.

Hey, it worked once alright! I thought-- Blaze paused. Strike.. you're back! That means..

"Our magic is back!" Blaze smiled as she felt flames flicker from her fingertips.

Probably the reason why I became concious again Blaze reasoned. With magic junctioned back into her body, she felt so much stronger. Looking over at Weiss's direction, she saw that he was lying in a crumpled heap on the floor, with Gemma standing over him. Blaze rushed over.

"Did you take him down?" She asked Gemma with a tinge of jealousy in her voice. "... wait, he's not dead. What happened?"

Blaze reached down and picked up Weiss's gunblade and pointed it at his throat. "So am I going to be the one who gets to have the honors?" she smirked before the flicker in her eyes went dull. Taking someone's life who was already unconcious seemed selfish in her eyes.

[Polaris Lyn]

{Wake up, kiddo.}

Nnh...

{Wake up. Or else Blaze is gonna open a can of KILL on Weiss Jong.}

...sid...n...

{Wake the fuck up, Polaris Lyn.}

Polaris opened her eyes.

Obsidian was back.

And she was alive.

She sat up abruptly, her body almost immediately screaming in protest-- it was difficult to breath and the sharp pain at her side told her she had either fractured or broken a rib... or ribs. Breathing shallowly, Polaris managed to get to her feet, catching glimpse of her axe just a few feet away from Weiss.

And Blaze.

"So am I going to be the one who gets to have the honors?"

Polaris found her voice, gasping and pained.

"Blaze."

Dishonour.

"Don't."

[Jun]

She could feel him inside her mind again.

An aching warmth flushed through her entire body, together with her strength as her junctions surged back on. It almost brought tears to her eyes but that would just be silly and he would laugh at her again. It didn't matter though; what was most important, he was here, not writhing on the ground like moments ago.

Sorry.

{Don't be an idiot. Did you really think it was me out there? If it was really the Great Sapphire Dragon out there? If it was you wouldn't stand a single chance. So sop it up I don't want another peep out of you.

She barely suppressed a smile, turning her attention to the unconscious Weiss Jong. She didn't know whatever did him in but it had to be something internal since none of them had managed to touch him at all.

Limping up to the fallen Dotna leader, she crouched down, testing his notrils for breath. Satisfied that he was merely blacked out, she turned to face Blaze, noting her disappointed gaze.

"You know death would be too easy for him anyway." She got up with slight difficulty, her face a mask of calm as her leg twitched to kick the guy in his shin. "...after all that shit he put us through? He deserves better. Much better."

[stardust]

Stardust held her bloody arm as she walked over to where Weiss was.

/Those veins really stabbed you back there./ Diwata's voice welcomed her.

"He's dying," the pink-haired mumbled as she stared at the DotNA leader. Blood streamed from his mouth, and a pained expression was etched on his face. Oh, he was going to die. "If you're all thinking of letting him live to torture him more, find someone who'll aid him, because I won't waste a single mp to heal Adel's dog." She looked at the girls. She wanted him to just die.

[ST]

Squall Leonhart strode near Weiss to pick up the Trinity sword.

"Yosh!" Zell stretched out his bicep. "We acquired the sword." His gaze lingered on the girls who were rallying around the fallen DotNA leader. "Must admit though, that punk really gave us a hard time. If he's alive, we can capture him to track down their headquarters." He glanced at Squall. "How about it, Mr. Commander?"

Squall shouldered the sword and looked at Weiss. "I'll leave it for them to decide." He motioned towards the ladies. Facing the gigantic heart, he continued. "Once you are all ready, I need all of you to combine our magic and blow this thing up."