lightofeilia (
lightofeilia.livejournal.com) wrote in
moogle_workshop2011-07-22 02:44 pm
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
Transition (fic, de-anon)
Name:
lightofeilia
Class: Monk
Title: Transition
Summary: They try to stop the future; but fate does not allow it...
Characters/Pairings: Rinoa, Xu, bits of Squall, mentions of Laguna, and Ultimecia.
Word count: 969
Rating/warnings: Many character deaths...
"Reflect on your childhood...Your sensation... Your words...Your emotions.."
Sometimes, she wondered if it was all worth it.
What was the point of travelling to the future, enduring all of that hardship to defeat Ultimecia, only to return to a world that remained bitter and unrestrained in their opinions of Sorceresses?
It wasn't enough, that she, a sorceress, had helped to defeat the Ultimate Sorceress.
It didn't matter. What mattered the most is what the people want, and the people wanted a hunt.
It had been almost six months since she last saw Squall. Brief, hurried conversations in dark alleys while he quickly slipped her some gil and a few items and a hug to give her strength. Even her knight couldn't protect nor shelter her from the world of politics. Not since the day...
Rinoa's heart twinged as she recalled the day Squall burst into their shared room and snuck her and Angelo out of Garden. It was the day President Laguna Loire was assasinated; the day everything in her life took a drastic turn for the worse.
"It's not safe anymore," Squall had muttered hurriedly, dragging her rather painfully by the arm. "Laguna's dead. His successor is against everything Laguna ever stood for; he's going to prosecute all the sorceresses and other countries will follow soon... We have to get you out of here before they come for you."
Since then, she had been on the run. Constantly moving between cities, camping in the forests using Tents. She was really glad to have Angelo with her; she didn't know how she could have survived without her. She missed Squall terribly.
______
She was running out of time. Her body weak with hunger, she looked longingly over to Timber's newly painted gates, and to the two soldiers standing guard. She had a few Stop spells left; she could cast it on them, sneak into the city, steal some money...
It wasn't a perfect plan, and so many things could have gone wrong.
But the one thing that went wrong... was the worst one.
"Hey, get back here!"
"A thief! Stop her!"
A bark, fierce growling, and then a gunshot...
"Angelo, no!"
Whining, yelping; and then another gunshot.
Angelo, oh, Angelo...
Her heart broke as she turned to see Angelo lying in a puddle of blood.
She couldn't take it.
She let out a raw scream and rose into the air, her body shaking uncontrollably. The wing sprouted out in full behind her, and she coldly lifted her hand, feeling the magic pulse within her veins. The man who had shot Angelo dropped the gun out of shock and fear, gasping.
"S --- Sorceress!?"
The man bolted as quickly as he could, but magic was faster. His heart froze in his chest as a wave of Blizzaga overcame him and shattered him to pieces. The screamings started. Rinoa felt a sudden wave of pleasure and vengeance. Laughing maniacally, she lashed out randomly as the people ran for their lives.
The soldiers arrived on the scene, armed with rifles.
"I ended the war!" She screamed at them.
Meteor rained down.
"I don't deserve to live like this!"
Scorching fires raged across the streets as she casted Firaga.
"I SAVED ALL OF YOUR LIVES!"
More bullets riddled her body as she continued her destruction of Timber. She felt her strength fading; but she couldn't die anyway, not until she found a successor to receive her powers. Or at least the closest nearby female...
"Fools," she spat as she electrocuted the last soldier to death. "You can't kill me. For every sorceress you kill, you create another one."
"Rinoa...?"
She gasped, recognizing that voice.
"Xu...?"
Xu's voice was one of shock, and amazement. Her next words, however, were restrained and ... cruel.
"Stand down, sorceress."
"SeeD... Does Squall know I'm here?"
"You've levelled Timber beyond repair," Xu said coldly, ignoring the question. "I... placed my trust in our commander that you would never do such a thing."
"But... but I didn't --- " Rinoa spluttered, her wings fading from existence. She collapsed to her knees, coughing out blood. Xu stared down at her with hardened resolve.
"Surrender now, sorceress."
"I can't," Rinoa bit out, struggling to stand up.
"Then... we have no choice but to kill you."
"You can't kill me," Rinoa repeated grimly. "You'll regret it if you do."
“You may be a sorceress, but you still die like any other human.”
“No, I don't.”
Xu raised her gun and aimed.
“Wait ---”
She never felt the bullet enter her brain.
"Time... it will not wait. No matter how hard... you hold on. It escapes you..."
Xu closed her eyes and took a moment to regain her composure. I did the right thing, she convinced herself. I did... what's happening to me?
"Ma'am? Are you... alright?"
Xu fell to her knees; suddenly feeling nauseous, euphoric, and utterly mad for a brief second before she felt something snap into place within her.
Magic. Pulsing in her.
No.
Hyne, please, no.
...I've become... a sorceress...
"Leave," she stated calmly to the rest of the SeeDs. "Dismissed. Report back to Garden. I'll... I'll return on my own."
She was never seen again until the day she died at the hands of anti-sorceress mobs, nine months later.
"And..."
The cycle continued, fueling the birth of the one who eventually came to be known as Ultimecia.
”Time shall compress.... All existence denied.”
"...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my
ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned
for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless
sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered
countless men and destroyed many nations?" --- in-game quote from Ultimecia, standing before the crowd hailing her in Deling City
_______
The reason why I wrote this was because I found out that in Ultimania (the official guide to FFVIII), the reason for why Ultimecia grew to such power was because her Time Compression had failed, and Squall had emerged as the hero.
"It is made clear from her inauguration speech in Deling City that she has suffered through intense persecution. Future generations were aware of the coming of Ultimecia because of her failure to complete Time Compression. They likely reacted by targeting all sorceresses for persecution and isolation, because of the fear that any one of them could eventually become the "cold-blooded tyrant" that Ultimecia speaks of."
And so the hunts began to kill all sorceresses to prevent the birth of Ultimecia... but instead fueled it.
I had a lot of fun writing this and I wanted to expand it at first but now I'm looking at this and going .... meh xD
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Class: Monk
Title: Transition
Summary: They try to stop the future; but fate does not allow it...
Characters/Pairings: Rinoa, Xu, bits of Squall, mentions of Laguna, and Ultimecia.
Word count: 969
Rating/warnings: Many character deaths...
"Reflect on your childhood...Your sensation... Your words...Your emotions.."
Sometimes, she wondered if it was all worth it.
What was the point of travelling to the future, enduring all of that hardship to defeat Ultimecia, only to return to a world that remained bitter and unrestrained in their opinions of Sorceresses?
It wasn't enough, that she, a sorceress, had helped to defeat the Ultimate Sorceress.
It didn't matter. What mattered the most is what the people want, and the people wanted a hunt.
It had been almost six months since she last saw Squall. Brief, hurried conversations in dark alleys while he quickly slipped her some gil and a few items and a hug to give her strength. Even her knight couldn't protect nor shelter her from the world of politics. Not since the day...
Rinoa's heart twinged as she recalled the day Squall burst into their shared room and snuck her and Angelo out of Garden. It was the day President Laguna Loire was assasinated; the day everything in her life took a drastic turn for the worse.
"It's not safe anymore," Squall had muttered hurriedly, dragging her rather painfully by the arm. "Laguna's dead. His successor is against everything Laguna ever stood for; he's going to prosecute all the sorceresses and other countries will follow soon... We have to get you out of here before they come for you."
Since then, she had been on the run. Constantly moving between cities, camping in the forests using Tents. She was really glad to have Angelo with her; she didn't know how she could have survived without her. She missed Squall terribly.
______
She was running out of time. Her body weak with hunger, she looked longingly over to Timber's newly painted gates, and to the two soldiers standing guard. She had a few Stop spells left; she could cast it on them, sneak into the city, steal some money...
It wasn't a perfect plan, and so many things could have gone wrong.
But the one thing that went wrong... was the worst one.
"Hey, get back here!"
"A thief! Stop her!"
A bark, fierce growling, and then a gunshot...
"Angelo, no!"
Whining, yelping; and then another gunshot.
Angelo, oh, Angelo...
Her heart broke as she turned to see Angelo lying in a puddle of blood.
She couldn't take it.
She let out a raw scream and rose into the air, her body shaking uncontrollably. The wing sprouted out in full behind her, and she coldly lifted her hand, feeling the magic pulse within her veins. The man who had shot Angelo dropped the gun out of shock and fear, gasping.
"S --- Sorceress!?"
The man bolted as quickly as he could, but magic was faster. His heart froze in his chest as a wave of Blizzaga overcame him and shattered him to pieces. The screamings started. Rinoa felt a sudden wave of pleasure and vengeance. Laughing maniacally, she lashed out randomly as the people ran for their lives.
The soldiers arrived on the scene, armed with rifles.
"I ended the war!" She screamed at them.
Meteor rained down.
"I don't deserve to live like this!"
Scorching fires raged across the streets as she casted Firaga.
"I SAVED ALL OF YOUR LIVES!"
More bullets riddled her body as she continued her destruction of Timber. She felt her strength fading; but she couldn't die anyway, not until she found a successor to receive her powers. Or at least the closest nearby female...
"Fools," she spat as she electrocuted the last soldier to death. "You can't kill me. For every sorceress you kill, you create another one."
"Rinoa...?"
She gasped, recognizing that voice.
"Xu...?"
Xu's voice was one of shock, and amazement. Her next words, however, were restrained and ... cruel.
"Stand down, sorceress."
"SeeD... Does Squall know I'm here?"
"You've levelled Timber beyond repair," Xu said coldly, ignoring the question. "I... placed my trust in our commander that you would never do such a thing."
"But... but I didn't --- " Rinoa spluttered, her wings fading from existence. She collapsed to her knees, coughing out blood. Xu stared down at her with hardened resolve.
"Surrender now, sorceress."
"I can't," Rinoa bit out, struggling to stand up.
"Then... we have no choice but to kill you."
"You can't kill me," Rinoa repeated grimly. "You'll regret it if you do."
“You may be a sorceress, but you still die like any other human.”
“No, I don't.”
Xu raised her gun and aimed.
“Wait ---”
She never felt the bullet enter her brain.
"Time... it will not wait. No matter how hard... you hold on. It escapes you..."
Xu closed her eyes and took a moment to regain her composure. I did the right thing, she convinced herself. I did... what's happening to me?
"Ma'am? Are you... alright?"
Xu fell to her knees; suddenly feeling nauseous, euphoric, and utterly mad for a brief second before she felt something snap into place within her.
Magic. Pulsing in her.
No.
Hyne, please, no.
...I've become... a sorceress...
"Leave," she stated calmly to the rest of the SeeDs. "Dismissed. Report back to Garden. I'll... I'll return on my own."
She was never seen again until the day she died at the hands of anti-sorceress mobs, nine months later.
"And..."
The cycle continued, fueling the birth of the one who eventually came to be known as Ultimecia.
”Time shall compress.... All existence denied.”
"...Lowlifes. ...Shameless filthy wretches. How you celebrate my
ascension with such joy. Hailing the very one whom you have condemned
for generations. Have you no shame? What happened to the evil, ruthless
sorceress from your fantasies? The cold-blooded tyrant that slaughtered
countless men and destroyed many nations?" --- in-game quote from Ultimecia, standing before the crowd hailing her in Deling City
_______
The reason why I wrote this was because I found out that in Ultimania (the official guide to FFVIII), the reason for why Ultimecia grew to such power was because her Time Compression had failed, and Squall had emerged as the hero.
"It is made clear from her inauguration speech in Deling City that she has suffered through intense persecution. Future generations were aware of the coming of Ultimecia because of her failure to complete Time Compression. They likely reacted by targeting all sorceresses for persecution and isolation, because of the fear that any one of them could eventually become the "cold-blooded tyrant" that Ultimecia speaks of."
And so the hunts began to kill all sorceresses to prevent the birth of Ultimecia... but instead fueled it.
I had a lot of fun writing this and I wanted to expand it at first but now I'm looking at this and going .... meh xD
no subject
no subject
no subject
ALSO-- ON AN UNRELATED NOTE I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR ADVENT CHILDREN IN 15 MINUTES-- CONGRATS, I WAS QUITE HAPPY TO SEE THAT IT WON ESPECIALLY SINCE I TOTALLY FORGOT TO VOTE. MANY LOLZ WERE HAD WHEN I READ IT.
no subject
LOL THANKS I ENJOYED WRITING IT A LOT XD
no subject
I need a hug after that.no subject
*hugs*POINTS
~Have I told you yet how amazing this fic was? I kind of got goosebumps when I read it: your description was fantastic and you captured the emotional and very dark setting of the story incredibly well. I teared up quite a bit at a few instances, and I loved your portrayal of Xu (there really aren't too many fics where she is a major focus)...and the eventual look into Ultimecia's story and growth was quite amazing. AWESOME fic is AWESOME! ♥ :D
Re: POINTS
Thank you! :D