Adel's Chamber, the Lunatic Pandora, Friday Morning Fandom Time (NFB)
Seifer
Seifer laughed as he dragged Rinoa down the hallway, keeping the knife pressed against her throat. At this point, he didn't care if he did cut her, as long as she was still alive at the end.
"Come on, Failure Boy. Aren't you going to save the girl? Or are you too weak to do even that?"
Rinoa
"Seifer," Rinoa pleaded, trying to squirm her way out of his grasp. There was sharp metal against her throat; if she pulled away too hard, she'd only cut herself. Slash her throat open. How quickly could she heal? Oh, Hyne.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She'd wanted to save him, and had let herself get taken in.
How? Why? What was he thinking?
"This isn't you," she insisted. "Seifer, please."
Squall
Squall had his gunblade out to the side, trying to keep his friends back. He knew Seifer could kill, was trained to kill. One wrong move, and Rinoa would be dead before he could get a Curaga cued up.
"Let. Her. Go."
Karla
Karla seethed inwardly at Squall. This was no time to hesitate! Fine--she would do it. She could use Craft to get Rinoa; Seifer would probably get a slash in at her throat, but Raven was there and would be able to save her. Then between her and Squall, Seifer could be taken care of once and for all.
This was so obvious. Minimal risk to everyone involved, even! She reached out her hands, her Sapphire blazing at her throat--
And stopped, horrified. No! This is exactly what happened last time. The knife at Rinoa's throat turned into a set of steely claws at Warren's as blood splashed everywhere and he looked at her with betrayed eyes...
"No," she croaked. "Nobody move. Don't force his hand. Seifer, just let her go. Please."
Raven
Raven laid a gentle hand on Karla's arm; she'd felt the shift of emotions and was proud of her now, though it was not the time to tell her so.
She wasn't certain what to do herself. She could try to teleport behind Seifer, but then what? She couldn't fight him herself, and if he realized what she was doing he might harm Rinoa.
Instead she reached out with her gifts, trying to worm her way into his head and manipulate his emotions. If she could cut off the source of his aggression, calm him so that he released Rinoa....
Seifer
"Please, please let her go," he sing-songed as he dragged Rinoa further away. He paused briefly, looking confused, but quickly shook his head and glared at Squall.
"You idiot. Did you think your freak friends could help you out here? My Sorceress is more powerful than all of you. And you, Squall, you're the most pathetic one of the bunch, you can't even save your own sorceress from dying." He pressed the knife just a fraction harder against Rinoa's skin and laughed.
"See, I figured it out, I know how to wake Adel up, to make her more powerful than every other. And all I need is my favorite ex-girlfriend. Pity I'm not going to find out if she's a wild cat, or just a pitiful, whiny kitten about everything."
Rinoa
Adel? No. No. No. No.
Rinoa struggled against his arms, not caring that the knife was tearing into her skin.
"You don't want to do this, Seifer," she insisted. "You don't want to wake up Adel. This isn't you. She's controlling you. You can't. Please. Please."
He was taking her to Adel. And if Ultimecia was with her ...
All of Rinoa's energy went to putting her shields up, as quickly as she could. What if she got possessed again? What if she was used to attack her own friends?
Squall
He couldn't save his Sorceress from dying. Not with the knife that close. Not with it held by Seifer.
He followed, trying to gauge how close Seifer would let him get. And he watched. And he waited. Sooner or later, Seifer would make a mistake. Until then, he would wait.
"Let. Her. Go."
Because it worked so well he first time he'd said it.
Seifer
"Do you ever get tired of failing?" Seifer asked. He knew he was close and sped up.
"Back off, Squall, or your girl here is going to be bleeding."
Squall
"Don't you ever think about what you're doing?" Squall countered.
His eyes watched the point of the knife closely. How many millimeters away from her throat would it have to be before he could attack safely? It didn't matter -- Seifer hadn't so much as reduced the pressure on it.
Seifer wasn't slipping up, and there hadn't been an opening. Squall had to decide whether or not to attack and risk Rinoa's life, and he had to decide quickly, because they were almost at an imposing looking door.
Instead, he took a half-step back.
Adel
The end of the chamber had a circular pod in it, constructed out of what appeared to be clear panels of neon yellow tubes. The layers near the front were peeled back to reveal a grotesque, sleeping figure. Her white skin had a purplish cast, while her hair was a brilliant red; it hung in thick, braided ropes down her back. Her chest was muscular, and well-developed arms folded over one another. Besides the mask on her face, the only clothing she bothered with was a long purple skirt, with ornate wrappings around her waist.
Adding to the monstrosity was the fact that the figure was easily fourteen or fifteen feet tall.
Seifer
Seifer wasted no time in dragging Rinoa to the butt-ugly thing in the room. "I'd apologize, but I'm not a damn bit sorry," he said as he threw Rinoa towards, and into, Adel.
Seifer wasn't an idiot. Job done, he turned and ran like hell.
Rinoa
Rinoa landed on her knees in front of the pod. One which was now expanding outwards, as the figure within opened her eyes. She smiled, horribly, at Rinoa, and extended one claw-like hand. It pierced the gelatinous goo that had sealed the pod shut, and had frozen Adel in place.
"No," Rinoa gasped, "no, please --"
She lunged out of the way of that hand no no no Oh Hyne NO --
Adel
There was a blinding flash of light, and a scream.
When it subsided, only she remained. A twisted aberration, the Sorceress Adel and the foolish girl Sorceress, now partially absorbed into her torso. Fueling her. Supplementing her frozen, thawing abilities with her own raw powers.
The child had been simple, and weak. She, Adel, was neither. Her reign had been cut short by cowards who had lacked the courage to end her. She would make them regret it.
They made an excellent team. And when she had used up all the potency of the girl, the lifeless husk could be thrown away.
Squall
Squall watched in horror. "NOOOOOOOO!!!" He ran forward, trying to save Rinoa, but he felt like he was moving in slow motion. Before he had a chance to get anywhere near, Adel had Rinoa and... Something. He wasn't sure what he was seeing, and he didn't like it.
Adel
Adel laughed. This would be so much sweeter if the stupid children were going to cry about it.
"SeeD," she said, scornfully. "They send children. For ME. They dare to seal me in the sky. The sky could not hold me. Esthar could not contain me. I will not suffer those indignities again. You will pay. You will all pay."
She raised one hand, flicking it towards them, and a wall of psionic energy slammed out.
Squall
Squall fell over, but was back on his feet in an instant. Before Adel had a chance to react, he swung his gunblade at her over and over and over, almost as if it were one continual slash. Then he jumped back, and a glow surrounded him as he held aloft his magic sword lifted his gunblade. A pillar of light extended upwards as far as the eye could see, and Squall paused for a moment, then brought it crashing down in front of him onto Adel.
When it was over, he dropped to one knee, panting.
Adel
Adel bared her teeth in a hiss. That had hurt. She would make sure the one with the gunblade had a particularly painful death.
She straightened herself up again with a snarl. And then, she focused.
Rinoa
A sickly yellow pallor hung over Rinoa, then flashed out. Her body flinched as though she had been struck, but she gave no other sign of awakening.
Adel
A moment later, a corresponding green glow settled over Adel, who smiled. And when that light had flashed, most of the injuries she had received had disappeared.
While Rinoa was looking decidedly worse.
Raven
Even shielded, Raven felt the pain of Squall's strike on Adel. But when the yellow and green lights flared, she sensed that pain flee from Adel and settle in Rinoa instead.
"Stop!" she cried. "She is healing her injuries by using Rinoa's strength! If you hurt her, you hurt Rinoa!"
Karla
That was enough to drag Karla's horrified gaze away the monstrosity before than and over to her friends. "What?" she asked, eyes darting to Squall for confirmation. "How is that even possible?! Are you sure? Maybe we should try again? With something else?"
Squall
"It's NOT WORKING!!!" Squall yelled. "She's... she's junctioning her! I don't know how, but she is!" He lifted his free hand and was engulfed in a column of green light, which he then tossed at Rinoa with a fling of his arm. When the light dimmed, Rinoa looked a little bit healthier.
Raven
"I want to try to teleport Rinoa away, but they are too connected," Raven said, biting her lip as she concentrated and tried to sort them out. "I cannot separate them that way."
Because that would have been way too easy.
Karla
"Well, what does it mean to be, uh...junctioned?!" Karla asked, eying the monstrosity warily. "What's it doing to her?"
Squall
"She's using her magic," Squall explained. "Sucking her energy. Using Rinoa to become more powerful. And we can't even hurt her, because she just sucked some of the life out of Rinoa to heal herself! I won't allow it!"
He just didn't know what to do about it.
Jono
Jono's brow furrowed, there. His eyes narrowed.
Not only did that sorceress have a more manly chest than him, but she was using the life of his friend to fuel herself, and Jono was not going to stand for that nonsense.
//Then we do it quickly,// he said, balling his hands into fists. //Raven, you'll have to teleport Squall, yerself, and Tara out of here. Karla... Do you think you can hold up two separate shields? One around yerself, one around Rinoa? That can withstand...//
Oh, this was a tough one to figure out.
//...Possibly at least ten times th'strongest you've ever seen from me. For only a few seconds. It has t'be quick.//
That ought to do it.
Whatever 'it' was.
Raven
Raven wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.
"Jono, will you be all right if you do that?" she said. "It will not hurt you, will it?"
Yes, it was a dire situation but she needed a little reassurance here, dammit.
Karla
"He'll be fine, Raven," Karla said, though she was watching Jono carefully as she said it. "I've used my shields to withstand his fire before."
Not to that level, of course, but Raven would never go if she admitted that. Or if Raven realized that Jono hadn't said anything about her shielding him.
"I can keep up two shields at that level for a little bit," she said slowly. "They'd have to be small, so it would just need to be as few as possible. But...I think I can hold them, yes."
Jono
//That's all it needs t'be.// Jono turned to look Raven in the eye for only a second, and then he turned again, returning his attention to the monstrosity before them.
And they called him a monster.
//We don't have a choice, Raven. Get them out.//
Raven
"Very well," Raven said reluctantly, looking from Jono to Karla and back again. "Please, be careful."
She stepped back to summon up her Soul-Self.
Raven
Raven didn't want to leave, but she trusted Jono and Karla and their assurances they'd be all right and this would free Rinoa. And she had to protect Tara and Squall.
Her Soul-Self manifested behind her, wings spreading out to sweep around her friends. "We must go," she said. "Now."
Squall
"I'm NOT ABANDONING HER!" Squall growled. He braced himself, as if that would somehow stop Raven from taking him.
Tara
"And I don't want to leave Karla, either," Tara protested, but meekly. She had a feeling she wasn't winning this argument.
Raven
"Karla cannot shield us all," Raven said as her Soul-Self wrapped around Squall and Tara. "She must protect herself and Rinoa first. I will bring us right back as soon as it is safe."
Because this was going to work. Flawlessly. Nothing could go wrong.
She vanished them into the netherverse in a burst of black smoke. A second later, they were outside on the sand a hundred yards from the building.
Squall
Squall hated it when people got overly weepy and started chewing the scenery. He was NEVER melodramatic.
So it must have been for some OTHER reason that he collapsed onto his knees with a choked sob and looked up, way up, at the flying building towering over them.
Jono
They were gone. Good. That meant that Jonothon could square his shoulders, and set his... jaw... more or less, and ready himself to do what needed to be done.
//Thank you,// he said, sparing Karla a moment's glance. //We both know she won't be happy when she realizes we lied, luv. Now... Shield.//
Karla
Karla nodded once, switching to a psychic thread while she began building the most powerful shields around herself and Rinoa that she could. *It's the only way she'd go. And who knows? Maybe we weren't.*
Sure. Right. Karla had thought she knew how hot Jono's fire could get. Discovering it could go ten times hotter was unsettling to say the least. A more honest reply would have included the words 'I just hope she can forgive me.'
But that was for later. Not when Rinoa's life was on the line.
*Ready.*
Jono
//Good.//
God knew he wasn't.
But that didn't matter now, did it? Not when there were friends in danger. Not when there was an entire bloody world to save. Somewhere in the back of his head, there was a mantra. Be aware of only your present. What is, is. Reach out and touch it. He silently thanked Cable for those words, one last thing to hang on to, as he did just that.
He'd spent years, now, pushing his power down, biting it back, running and hiding from it. And now, his power was all that there was, beyond his mind, beyond his body, everything was fire. And with that fire, he was reaching for Adel, wrapping around her, putting everything that the energy stored in his shattered flesh had to offer toward containing her.
There was no time to think about what to avoid. That was why he'd asked Karla to provide the shields. He would become a wave of flame. That one attack, that in an instant would end it.
And, as he felt his body burn in the onslaught, until he was nothing more than fire itself, twisting, grabbing, tearing at the sorceress until every last atom that once composed her body was sent speeding out in every direction at once in the flames, he didn't relent.
He only prayed, to whatever in this awful joke of a universe was holy, that somewhere, if even for an instant, Adel knew what had hit her.
And that it caused her pain.
Karla
Karla's knees buckled under the onslaught and she hit the ground. Her teeth went through her lower lip and her mouth filled with blood. There was pain behind her eyes, a souvenir from the concussive blast of energy that still managed to sheer through her shields.
That didn't matter. Nothing else mattered but wrapping layer upon layer of Sapphire energy around herself and Rinoa, replacing them as fast as Jono's fire devoured them. She was using her Craft at a tremendous rate, burning through the reservoir in her Jewel and tapping her own body for fuel.
Except...she wasn't going to have enough. Not on her own.
In a panic she looked up, trying to gauge how much more Adel could take before she dies. How much longer she could shield Rinoa before she was forced to let the shield drop.
Wait. Rinoa. They had shared energy before. She didn't need to 'junction' her or whatever. No. She could just...
Karla closed her eyes and formed a link between them--and ripped Rinoa's magic away, claiming it for herself. It was a conduit: energy flowed from Rinoa into Karla and then flowed back out again into the shields that kept them both safe. Even as the strain became too much, as an even greater tidal wave of fire washed over the room and all of Karla's world became pain and heat and energy, she kept up that conduit, the power flowing, protecting them both.
And then there was only blissful darkness.
Rinoa
That being, the monstrous creature who had once called herself Adel, was no more.
As when all Sorceresses died, her powers themselves did not depart with her. The powers had only been hers for her lifetime. They moved, now, to settle on the closest female Potential, to make her into a new Sorceress.
The powers were not sentient; they did not distinguish between Potentials and existing Sorceresses. They did not discriminate based on the ethics of the individual, or temperament. They only moved to the next source which could receive them.
The powers which had belonged to Adel moved to the Sorceress who had been imprisoned inside Adel's own body, settling over Rinoa's unconscious form with a faint, barely perceptible glow.
And the dark puppetmaster, the future Sorceress who had been conspiring with Adel, came along for the ride.
(Post 6 of plot. Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Post 8.)
(Preplayed with the superb whateverknight, glacial_witch, trigons_child, furnaceface, and life_inshadow, all of whom rock beyond the telling of it. Once again featuring special guest star Kym as the best damn Seifer Almasy ever. And special thanks to whateverknight, who coded this part and -- more importantly -- has had to deal with my plot-flaily meltdown insanities in real life. NFI, NFB, but OOC is love.)