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Delphi Down	By : suixcausa Category: Final Fantasy VIII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 695 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Delphi Down
- 1
So this is the type of brainchild that you're subconscience has with those ebil plot bunnies. =x This story is basically going to be smut-filed SxM, with a semblance of a plot thrown into the balance. The first chapter is purely introduction, and so all the warnings and such do NOT APPLY YET. =x I'll warn you now though, don't get into this if non-con stuff between two guys bothers you. Why would I write a story like this?

Because I can. ;D
Genre: AU, S&M, Romance, Angst--lots of it.

Pairing: Seifer x Squall (slight Squall x Zell)

Warnings: So far, language and violence. (Smut in later chapters, non-con)

Rating: PG-14.....for now.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, as they are property of squaresoft/enix, and I'm not doing this for a profit or anything like that. Duh. o_o
Delphi Down

Sui Causa
Chapter 1
The roar of the crowd around him was deafening to the brunettes ears. As he walked across the stadium, surrounded by the others of his squadron, he could barely even think above the cheers from the people on the seats.
A successful mission seemed to earn a lot of praise, and while they were the main reason for this celebration, Squall knew that the sight of the successful brigade tromping through stadium wasn't the only thing exciting the people in the stands.
There were several lines of the victorious soldiers. The first line was of the cavalry, seated on their horses in their ceremonial tack. The well trained horses lifted their legs high with the march beats ringing throughout the stadium. Behind them were the first three lines of foot soldiers, lances and swords held professionally at their sides as they marched, eyes forward, backs straight. Behind them were the officers, marching in their full uniform, each of them proudly carrying a Cretan flag. The army of Crete was magnificent indeed, but it wasn't the simple soldiers that marched through the stadium that had most of the crowd in an uproar.
Following far behind the rest of the army's march, Squall walked along with five other people, and behind them, walked three large creatures. Their shoulders being just above Squall's head, the beasts had the body of a lion, covered in navy blue feathers and scales, with large leathery brown wings spreading out from their backs and floating on either side. Their large bird like faces, complete with silver-blue feathers and powerful sharp beaks, were decorated with halters of silver and gold studded with gems and jewels. Powerful talons sprouted from their paws, thick leather straps coming from their halters to their backs, where more straps came down from their backs for someone to sit on and secure their feet with. Behind them sprouted long thick and brilliantly feathered tails, large colorful feathers sprouting from the end to add to their beauty. The same large feathers came down the back of their necks and from the top of their head, the crest feathers standing up on end, the ruby color of them swirling down from around their temples, matching their gem like ruby eyes.
These were the delphi, in full harness. And in front of them walked their riders. Out of the five walking in front of them, only three were truly riders. Nida walked on the right, beside him was his 'protector' and healer, Jos�. Both the man and woman held a proud expression on their features, pleased with the honor they were receiving for the successful mission in Avalon. Though the common soldiers played their role, everybody knew that it was the delphi and their riders that had won the battle. And it was the highest of honors to have such a ceremony held for your success.
Selphie stood in the middle, accompanied by no-one as her protector or healer. For over a year the spot beside her had been left empty, since the death of her first protector. While many people would have thought it proper for her to get a replacement, Selphie had, in her polite and cheerful way, told them "fuck no." The only delphi rider to know healing magic, the skills of a healer were not necessary for her. Every other delphi rider needed a healer, due to the fact that their magic and power was attack or defense magic only, no curative magicks involved. Yet somewhere along the line Selphie had tapped into a magical power beyond what other people had. Knowing more powerful spells then any other rider, and having the ability to heal herself and others around her, she was the reason for a lot of Cretan victories.
Yet a protector was not only there for their healing ability, emotional support was also necessary to the people who killed hundreds of others in a single attack. Even to control them if their power ever got out of control or took over them. Yet Selphie was still holding a loyalty to her fallen protector, refusing to let anyone take his place, and not yet showing enough of a threat that the commander would force it upon her. Though she had made it quite clear that if she was forced to take upon a protector, that she would stop riding for Crete. And she was too big of an asset for anyone to risk that.
Yet nothing seemed to matter to her, and nothing seemed to bring her down. Grinning with glee she jumped up and down, punching the air and raising the spirits of the crowd as they chanted her name. Responding by firing an expressive spell up into the air that exploded into beams of light, the crowd's yelling only got louder as they cheered along with the music.
The last two males in the line were a blonde and a brunette. The blonde was jumping up and down along with Selphie, throwing skilled punches at the air and cheering loudly, reflecting the high energy of the crowd around him. Spiky blonde hair shot up from his forehead as it defied all laws of gravity, the amount of gel needed to hold it up strictly confidential.
Finally seeming to notice the glum expression of the brunette beside him, the blonde jumped on him, cheering the other's name with glee.
Squall Leonhart, son of Commander Laguna Loire, and his protector Zell Dincht. The first priest to become a delphi rider before the age of 16, Squall had been living this lifestyle since the day he had been born. His father had been commander for as long as he could remember, and had always been proud of Squall who seemed to inherit all of the right abilities from him. (While avoiding the less desirable traits such as a bumbling nature and the ability to cramp up in tight situations.)
Although his mother had frowned on the delphi riders for the amount of death they brought, she had not stopped him from becoming a priest. The people Crete being firm believers in the single god Hyne, had temples all across their land. Young men and women became priests and priestesses, all for different reasons. They all started out at the same level, but as they trained their strengths and weaknesses sorted them into their final destiny, what Hyne wished to use them for.
Zell had been chosen by Hyne to become a healer, currently the most powerful one there was. His love of life, of Hyne and of his country made his skills excel high above the others. The same way that Selphie's magic prowess had made her push the bounds of a delphi rider, the same way Squall's powers had obviously excelled in his mental and physical strength.
He had trained in his country, the land of Crete made of deserts, mountains, plains and beaches. On the islands as well, he had perfected his skills, and after visiting all of Crete and learning of each different aspect of it, he was fully appreciative of what Hyne had given to them as residents of the beautiful land.
Only three small islands off of Crete's coastline were developed and populated, the rest left to the animals and monsters that resided there. The largest island was where Mah'li was stationed, the other was used for a temple which trained healers, and the last was a training ground for delphi and their riders.
The temple of Anodunos took up the entire island where it was stationed, built overtop of the Anodunos river that flowed through the center of the island. The only way to get to the island was by boat, or to swim. Through the war, attackers had once considered the temple an easy target, however they did not count on the barriers that surrounded the area, repelling anyone who wanted to harm those inside.
Water being the main source of healing energy, the temple was built so that no matter where they were in it, the priests were close to the source of their power. Well trained they could draw healing energy from the smallest amounts of water, and create magic and energy from the flow of it. Anodunos healers almost always became protectors, assigned to their delphi riders after they passed their final tests. Sent away from water, many of them carried vials of Anodunos River with them, to keep their energies fresh while they were away.
The silver-blue vial that hung around Zell's neck was a witness to his origin as a healer.
There were also three other temples where priests trained. The temple of Proheme, located in the middle of the Cretan plains. This was the temple where all priests started their basic training. After graduating from Proheme, they chose to either stay as a monk or a teacher, or to continue their training.
Graduated priests went to Mah'li temple. Mah'li was the capital of Crete, an island city located about a mile from the mainland. Ports and harbors rimmed the city, making it accessible by boat, and a single bridge came from the mainland. A great wall surrounded the city, the base of it reaching the bottom of the ocean floor, protecting it from intruders. The island of Mah'li was away from the city, another bridge coming from the main island to a smaller one where the temple was.
Priests learned combat and defense skills in this busy temple. Being the main temple of Crete it was always swarming with those learning, those teaching, and those visiting the priests here. After graduating from this temple, priests reached a division. Most priests were ejected from the temple afterwards, enlisting in the Cretan army to protect their emperor and fight for Hyne. The priests who showed special skills in healing went to Anodunos, and those who showed strong minds and elite combat capabilities were sent to the final temple of Ardor.
Ardor was a temple of the mountains, harsh elements surrounded the place where priests were taught great endurance. They were trained by the strongest teachers Crete had to offer, and after perfecting their combat, defense and mental capabilities, they were put through a series of tests. Those who didn't pass were sent back to Mah'li. There was no shame, instead they were promoted to high positions in the army, as honor for their skills. Those who did pass were sent to a shrine at the highest point in the mountain, where they would stay until they were capable of completing the summoning.
The summoning was accomplished when priests prayed and showed Hyne their willingness to be used by him. These elite priests were then graced with a mythical beast of great power and capabilities. These were the delphi, and this was when these priests would officially become the delphi riders.
After receiving their delphi, riders went to the smallest island of Crete called Ahnalulu. Here they learned magic and how to fight along side of their delphi. It was also the first place where they met their protectors for the first time. After they were ready, they then went to the Cretan army, to join the few hundred riders that made the blessed army of Hyne.
Rarely a priest would come down from Ardor shrine without a delphi, but something far more valuable. Legend said that Hyne would put a piece of himself inside these priests, and this would make them fit to be a messenger of Hyne. These priests became the emperor, the event only happening when Crete was lacking leadership after the death of the past emperor.
Crete itself revolved around these four temples, what they stood for, and the priests that came out of them. Hyne was god, and his messengers and fighters were shining beacons for the people of Crete. The teachings of Hyne were moral and upright, the law of Crete upheld without mistake. All of Crete honored Hyne, his priests, his delphi and his emperor.
So for this divine occasion the high priests from each temple had gathered in the stadium along with the civilians of Mah'li. Six important men were seated in the emperors section of the stands, the royally colored box elevated from the rest of the seating at the head of the dome. The Emperor, his High Commander, and the four priests from each temple watched as the soldiers marched towards them, joyously celebrating with the rest of Crete, this happy occasion.
A few days before, the enemy nation of Phoenicia had moved across the Cretan desert that connected their two lands, and invaded a small mountain town. The attack left many priests and civilians dead, while people of Mah'li mourned over the loss of life. A counterattack had quickly been planned and carried out under the command of Squall Leonhart, his first mission as captain marked successful. Their attack on the Phoenician city of Avalon had targeted the shrines to the pagan gods of that land. Destroying the shrines and anyone inside with well placed magical attacks, the three delphi riders that had carried out the mission were in and out of the city in less then an hour. Followed by foot soldiers of their choosing, who had released starved animals and monsters into the city before they retreated. After the stunning defeat that easily served as revenge to the mourning souls of Crete, Squall's first successful mission had demanded celebration, or so said his father, Commander Loire.
So people from all around Crete gathered in the capital, filling the dome placed in the center of the city. The dome's roof was made with yew supports, covered over by sturdy canvas that made it easy to manage. Because of this the dome's roof was able to be opened and closed, so as to let in the sunlight, or keep out the rain. The stadium had three floors, the main concourse level that opened up to the city, a wide marble walkway rimmed all around the building, stairs leading down through the seats below it, which in turn rimmed the field of soft grass below. The third level was only accessible to authorized people, stairs leading to the roof where one could control the opening or closing of it, or check the supports in case of a disaster.
From one end of the stadium to the other the soldiers marched, stopping in front of the emperor's box. After parting down the middle they stood on either side as Squall and the four other people with him walked forward, their delphi close behind. As they stopped walking the crowds cheering got louder and eventually the other four stepped back and allowed Squall's moment of unwanted glory.
Standing still in an official stance, Squall refused to move or do anything else to egg on the crowd's cheering, scowling at the ground as he waited for this to be over. His delphi behind him tossed his head and flapped it's powerful wings in a bragging display of power, acting contrary to the modest delphi captain. Finally the officials watching took pity on him, one man standing up in the box and moving towards a microphone set up in the front of the box. After clearing his throat, the crowd quieted to hear what the Commander had to say.
"Today we have gathered together, from all across our great country, to celebrate, and honor the first successful mission of our new delphi captain, Squall Leonhart." The crowd applauded and cheered when Laguna Loire paused for them to do so. "Captain Leonhart has become the first captain of his age, continuing his success after becoming the first rider under 17. Squall Leonhart, my son..." Laguna paused to look fondly down at the man standing in front of them all. "You truly are the beacon of strength that a delphi represents." And once again the crowd cheered.
"And of course, along with him we must honor his mighty protector, Zell Dincht!" At this Zell walked forward and wrapped his arm snuggly around Squall's waist while beaming his love of the attention. "Who has been a shining beacon of hope to healers and protectors everywhere, especially now after the death of the late Rinoa Heartily." His voice took on a somber voice, and no cheers sounded from the crowd this time.
Squall sighed, and Zell leaned towards him long enough to brush his lips affectionately against his cheek in a comforting manner. Rinoa Heartily, the first protector and healer to graduate from Anodunos at the age of 15, she had been the strongest healer ever produced. Officials had carefully considered her assignment to a delphi, and decided shortly that Squall would be the only one fully deserving of her strength. Squall had been skeptical of the young woman and her supposed abilities at first, however after going through several battles with and without her, he seen the benefit of having her along.
Quickly after they started to draw closer, and Squall found himself falling in love with the woman, her tender smile and soft beauty making her highly desirable. After he turned nineteen he proposed, and she immediately agreed. A few short months after their marriage, Rinoa found herself with child, and both stopped their careers in the military until the child was born.
When their beautiful daughter named Emily became two years old, they started going back into battle. The first battle against a surprise Phoenician invasion was disastrous however, Crete's first contact with an odd machine that weakened delphi to a critical state. Squall had been high in the air when the machine's power first touched his delphi, Siete, and had gone crashing to the ground. Injured he was overwhelmed by the crowd of foot soldiers waiting for him, and had been struck dead by a common soldiers sword.
Shortly after Rinoa had reached him, and after a exhausting ten minutes of healing, she preformed the first resurrection ever achieved by a healer, and brought Squall back among the living after nearly an hour of death.
Squall's defiance of death had shaken many Phoenician soldiers, and Rinoa's power was soon spread throughout all of Crete and Phoenicia. It was probably that unwanted attention that had ended it all, as only a few weeks later Squall returned from Mah'li to find his wife and protector laying dead, his daughter lying by her side, killed in cold blood.
Ever since Squall's need for revenge had driven him harder, and caused him to reach higher. Anodunos turned out another powerful healer, Zell Dincht, and immediately he was assigned as Squall's protector. He had long since finished the grieving process, and found comfort and love in Zell's arms. Which is why in front of the crowd of fans and admirers, Squall felt comfortable as he drew his arm around Zell's waist and rested his head on the blonde's shoulder.
They easily claimed their love for each other, Squall certain that he hadn't felt the same way about another person since Rinoa. Their emotional bond and relationship was strong, though their physical relationship was hindered by Squall's apparent inability to perform a physical act. While he knew he was not impotent, his late daughter proof of his sexual health, he was still worried about his inability to 'get it up' for the one he loved. Hoping that Zell would get by with the other means of release that he provided, the brunette decided that it was just an amount of time before his body would respond as well.
Squall was broken out of his thoughts when Laguna's voice filled the stadium again. "So let us rejoice at the vengeance of our fallen soldiers and loved ones, and praise the strength that Hyne has blessed us with, and the love and hope that will carry us to victory!" The crowd answered with mighty cheers, and soldiers ran to the stairs leading to the stands, joining their loved ones and friends in the seats as the field was cleared.
Shortly after everyone was removed, music began and three large bangs of colorful fire appeared on the field. Slowly the fire drew back and three young men appeared, triplets that mirrored each other perfectly. Each disappearing from their position in the field with a puff of smoke, and reappearing in the center of the stadium, they started their routine which had the crowd cheering in no time.
The entertainment had arrived.
---
There's nothing like crashing a big party. The big blonde thought with a smirk as he leaned against the railings circling the edge of the concourse walkway. Watching this big celebration of loss of life was making him want to hurl. These people said that Phoenicians were pagan, while they themselves were celebrating the fact that hundreds of people had died by their hand. Sneering at the precious delphi and their riders Seifer turned on his heel, moving through the crowd without looking anyone in the eye.
The difference between Seifer, a Phoenician, and any other person in the stands as a Cretan wasn't overly apparent. While Cretan's usually possessed light skin and dark hair, Phoenician's were the other way around with light hair and golden skin. Yet people ignored such differences, and since Phoenicians were just like any other human being, they easily walked unnoticed in Cretan society.
It was when the commander's voice boomed throughout the stadium that Seifer started to walk a little faster, most of the spectators falling quiet and paying attention. None of them noticed the scattered few people who didn't seem to care less about what their precious commander was saying.
Needless to say that while the attack on Avalon had hurt, the Phoenician's weren't thrown astray by the loss, their need for vengeance only doubled as they immediately started planning a return assault. It wasn't hard for them to decide where there target would be.
Forcing his way out of the crowd of people gathered around the edge of the concourse, he retreated to the empty spaces of the main hallway; his eyes were fixated on a familiar brown back walking next to a few other people. A tan trench coat hung over the man's lean frame, auburn brown hair was hanging in a ponytail down his back, and a black cowboy hat on his head. Smirking Seifer happily whistled a few strings of melody, and immediately the other man's pace got slower.
The commander's voice once again started to echo through the crowd, and Seifer was just about to think some snide remark when he heard a name that made him pause for a split second. Rinoa...Heartily? That was the healer who had been able to perform a resurrection on the rider that she had protected. Looking down from his position he stopped and slipped back into the crowd long enough to see what was going on. A lone man stood in front of what he assumed was the emperor's seating area, a delphi right behind him looking rather bored.
So that's the fucker that was supposed to be dead. Seifer thought to himself while glaring at the slender man's form.
Seifer then pulled back before walking back out onto the level, not surprised to see that the man he had been watching earlier had stopped walking, leaning against a pillar and looking wholly uninterested in everything around him.
Then he heard the roar of the crowd, signifying that the babbling of the commander was over and the real party had started. As everyone cheered on the entertainers, Seifer started walking again, watching as the other man started walking again as well, only his pace seemed to be slow and relaxed as he moved.
Seifer smirked while he looked down at the performance on the stadium below them. For a bunch of prudes Crete sure was home to a lot of beautiful women, and they didn't seem so shy about showing themselves off. His eyes focused on the show as the female dancers moved gracefully with the music alongside three lithe men, it was very casual as he fell in stride with the auburn haired cowboy he had been watching before.
"Make sure you grab a few of the women." He muttered, making the man laugh and pull his cowboy hat down further over his eyes.
"Hey baby, what's your sign?"
Seifer smirked at the subtle way of asking a very important question. "You'll know." He drawled out, stealing a grope at the other's backside before they split paths, the cowboy slipping through a door that said "no admittance" leading to the third story, while Seifer started towards the stairs leading down into the stands.
As he watched the music started to get more intense, the dances faster, and the amount of magic being used for meaningless entertaining displays increasing. Phoenicia viewed magic as something sacred, and seeing it used so carelessly was yet another thing that was making the blonde sick.
Sighing as he waded through the crowd, he finally took his place, leaning against the pillar closest to the entrance to the emperor's box. His eyes were strictly focused on the field below, waiting for the sign along with many other people scattered throughout the stadium.
The performance below was coming to a close. The three triplets had preformed some form of doppel magic to make several copies of each other. The copies were performing a rather intricate looking dance maneuver, and as the time counted down the doppels started to disappear in an extravagant flash of color.
When it was only the three original boys left the crowd cheered, and then cheered even louder when the supposedly original forms disappeared too.
Running out from the entrance to the stadium, the three real dancers came running out, milking the crowd for as many cheers as they could get, however it all came to a very sudden, and very literal crash.
"INTRUDERS!"
A guard came bursting in the same entrance that the boys had come out of, knocking into one of them and sending the lithe body down to the ground with a cry of pain. The guard seemed to have more pressing problems, however.
"Intruders, in the city!"
Suddenly a gunshot fired somewhere within the stadium, and the guard fell to the ground, clutching his chest that had an obvious bullet wound in the middle of it.
And then all hell broke lose.
Spectators broke into a panic, shouting in confusion as guards started pouring into the stadium. The soldiers who had been relaxing in the stands all stood up, starting to direct people to stay calm and start moving towards the exits.
There was another loud sound of a gunshot, and everyone drew quiet, freezing in place as they looked around to see who had been the next victim of gunfire.
When Commander Loire stumbled forward, and tipped out of the emperor's box, the atmosphere in the stadium drew steely and tense. Slowly the soldiers started making progress in leading people in an orderly manner to the exits, an alarm sounded throughout the city, and a few delphi riders came in along with the guards from the city.
Three figures from before suddenly sprinted across the field towards their fallen commander, and that was when Seifer made his move.
---
Everything had been going fine. As much as Squall hated these celebrations, he had survived his moment in the spotlight and had been ushered off to the side to watch the entertainment for the night. Somewhere along the line Zell had ended up curling against his side, stroking his chest in a lazy fashion, and Selphie had been jumping up and down squealing with delight each time the triplets would make another copy of themselves.
Then the feeling in the stadium changed suddenly. Seconds before the first gunshot had been fired; Squall had found himself standing on his feet for no apparent reason, searching for a threat that he wasn't sure was there. Seconds after the guard had fell Squall immediately found himself on high alert as he scanned the crowd for anything out of the ordinary, paying special attention to the direction the gunshot had sounded. When he saw movement within the rafter supports of the roof he cursed and grabbed Selphie's arm after yelling at Nida to follow, hoping the other man would get the point.
"There is someone on the roof!" Squall shouted, though he was sure that only Selphie could hear him. "They're probably going to open it! Go and get the other riders!" Squall shouted before he pushed Selphie away. The petite girl nodded and turned to find her delphi already behind her, quickly mounting the creature and taking off, going to locate the rest of the delphi riders scattered throughout the city.
When he heard the next gunshot, Squall froze, Nida and Zell catching up to him and looking around as they tried to find out who had been targeted this time. When Squall saw his father pitch down from the box, he broke into a sprint towards the fallen man, Zell on his heels quickly followed by Nida and their delphi.
"Father!" Squall shouted, immediately lifting up the man who was bleeding heavily from the wound in his shoulder, and probably a few broken bones from the fall. Laguna immediately pushed him away.
"The emperor, they're after...the emperor." Laguna choked out, blood slipping from his lips. "Go to the emperor, Squall." Squall bit his lip before nodding. The emperor came above all else. "Zell, heal him." Squall said, not waiting to see if Zell would do as he was directed before he was sprinting towards his delphi who was waiting for him next to Nida who was already mounted up.
The moment he was on, his delphi shot up to the box where the emperor was. The man was surrounded by guards, and Squall was pleased to see that he was not harmed. Now it was his job to keep him that way.
The delphi landed heavily in the box, while Squall motioned to the guards. "Go help escort people out of here. There are probably a lot of Phoenicians here, so get all the soldiers here, now!" The men didn't waste time saluting, instead rushed towards the door.
"He just...stepped in front of me..." The emperor said, seeming somewhat shaken from the events. "Before I even knew what had happened, he was bleeding and fell forward."
Squall grunted. "Please come with me sir, there is another rider waiting for us on the ground." The portly man, also known as Cid Kramer, nodded and followed the instructions that Squall gave him.
"Please, make sure that my wife is alright as well." Cid said as he was guided onto the delphi. Squall nodded and patted his delphi's neck before looping his arm around it, Cid up on the creatures back to be protected by wings.
"Alright Siete." Squall whispered to his delphi, "Lets get going." The creature gave a roar before lifting itself up and out of the box to the field below. Squall hanging by one arm around Siete's neck as he reached back to where his sword was sheathed next to where Cid was sitting. Drawing it, he was on his feet with the blade in a defensive position the moment that his delphi hit the ground.
Selphie had returned with several other delphi, and Laguna was on his knees, looking rather shaken but no longer bleeding, Zell standing above him patting his back, looking like nothing had happened. Several more gunshots were heard, and Squall cursed and threw some of his energies around Cid, creating shields just in time to reflect the bullets elsewhere. "FUCK!" Nida yelled as he fell to the ground clutching his leg that had been hit by the ricochet, his protector immediately next to him with her hands surrounded in a healing light.
"We have to get the emperor out of here and somewhere safe." Squall said, before he turned to see that Selphie had just thrown up a shield around their current station. Squall's ability to make shields was good for protecting himself in battle, but Selphie's were good for protecting a multitude of people from virtually any attack.
"The temple!" Laguna said, standing up and rubbing his leg, which was no doubt cramping up from stress. "Get him to the temple and then the shields will keep him safe, I'll send the order to start evacuating civilians and other soldiers there as well, there have already been more casualties then we would have liked."
Squall nodded, before he turned to Selphie, and Nida who was now freshly healed. "Selphie will come with me and escort the emperor to the temple. Nida, you go contact the rest of the delphi and have them search the roof area for intruders. I don't know how many there are but we need to dispatch them quickly before they can do more damage."
Nida immediately saluted, and followed by his protector he jumped onto his delphi and they lifted into the air, going to the rest of the delphi who were currently guarding the exits and helping usher out civilians, without guidance about what they were to do.
Cid had already hopped off of Siete and was clambering onto Selphie's delphi with Laguna's support. "Squall, you help root out the intruders, you're the one who seen them before in the roof right?" Cid said. "I'll be fine with Selphie and Laguna." Squall stopped himself from arguing, and also from wondering sine when the emperor was so informal in times of crisis.
He turned to Zell as he mounted his delphi, sword still in hand. "Zell, you stay with Selphie and Laguna, if something bad happens they'll need an experienced healer and you're the best there is." Zell opened his mouth to argue, but closed it when he seen the sheen in Squall's eyes that proved he was not to be argued with.
Squall put another shield around himself now as Selphie's delphi went up into the air carrying four people on it's large back. Thankful for the strength of the creatures Hyne had given them, Squall guided Siete towards the stairs leading to the upper concourse, wanting to stay out of the air until he was sure where the enemy was.
He was surprised when something heavy dropped from the emperor's box onto his delphi behind him, feeling the cold metal of a blade pressed against his throat and an arm around his shoulder to keep him in place.
"Well little delphi, you're going to follow them for me, aren’t you?"
Squall refused to retort to the sneering voice, instead after sending a warning signal to his delphi, he braced himself to push away from the bigger man when Siete bucked. A strong wing sent the invader back a few feet as they tumbled to the ground. Squall was immediately in a defense position, and not a moment too soon before a cool arch of metal came down towards his head, Squall blocking it with his own crystalline sword.
Throwing a petrifying spell at the man, he wasn’t surprised when the blonde jumped back and countered with a few jumbled words that made no sense to Squall, but apparently nullified his magic attack. Smoothly switching from defensive to offensive, he made a fast lunge and sliced through the man's chest, the blonde pulling back and escaping with only a ruined shirt.
Squall immediately focused on a crest embedded into the man's chest armor, recognizing it as the symbol of a Phoenician general. So this was a planned attack...
He was ready when Seifer lunged at him in return, once again blocking the man's attacks with fluid motions, though his eyes were still focused on that crest.
"You have no right to be here." Squall said after a few more attacks. "Leave now."
The blonde laughed. "And you have no right to even be alive, captain. Scared of fighting someone with some talent? I thought a few common foot soldiers were too much for you to handle."
Squall refused to let anger take over his mind, instead he smoothly did several fast attacks, and jumped back in time to narrowly avoid an attack with a knife that the blonde had pulled out of a hidden holster. The blonde responded with several strong attacks that forced Squall back a few feet, and when the blonde suddenly cast a fire spell, Squall tried not to cry out in agony as fierce heat spread throughout his body.
He heard a screeching noise that he immediately recognized as Siete, and the moment that his delphi stepped over him he felt the magic let go of it's hold on his body. "Go." He whispered to the delphi, while pushing back on the creature's chest. "I can handle this, go to the emperor." Squall said quietly, and the delphi immediately obeyed, lifting itself up into the air.
Squall was caught momentarily off guard as the blonde man crashed into him, slamming him to the ground. And before he could lift his blade to block, metal flashed before his eyes. He managed to pull back just in time to escape with a mere cute across his nose from eyebrow to cheek.
Hissing in pain he immediately countered by slicing his blade upwards, satisfied when he heard a grunt of pain come from the blonde as he wiped blood from his eyes. When he looked up he was proud to see he had returned the hit by mirroring the slice between the other's eyes. The big blonde whispered a word of healing and touched a hand to his forehead, the cut immediately stopped bleeding and started knitting itself back together, making Squall frustrated that he had no way to heal himself.
Pushing blood from his eyes again, Squall lunged forward with several swift and hard attacks, his blade cutting through the flesh of the man's arm, though he had to pull back before he could finish with something more damaging, needing to get himself out of harms way as the blond returned the attacks.
They continued at that pace for what seemed like forever. Squall could hear sounds of battle happening other places, and had barely noticed that the roof had been opened by the intruders, but he couldn't concentrate on anything except the task at hand, the blonde skilled enough with his sword to pose a severe threat.
Their blades locked for a moment, before the blonde sneered at him and pushed him back, throwing Squall down to the ground with a grunt. His jacket fell open and there was a glint of silver as his pendant fell from the confines of his shirt where it had been tucked in. He lifted his blade to block the attack as Seifer came in for a finishing strike. Although the blonde's attention quickly turned to the pendant hanging around his neck, his green eyes narrowing dangerously. Their blades were locked in place just above Squall's head, the other knife that the blonde had been using had long since been hit away somewhere. Stuck in problem situation with no use of his sword, blood dripping from the cut on his forehead, and with a larger man on top of him, Squall's only goal was to make sure that the Phoenician general didn't regain control of his blade before he did.
"Where did you get...that?" The blonde asked, his breath heavy from battle, but his words definitely understandable. Giving him a confused look, Squall realized that he was talking about the pendant around his neck. He didn't have a moment to even wonder why the enemy would be remotely interested in his jewelry of all things, as the blonde's hand immediately fisted around the end of the pendant. Squall gasped as the blonde pulled, the choke-chain design of the pendant causing metal to bite into his neck as it drew tight enough to be suffocating around his throat.
He used his free hand to try and pull the blonde's grip away from the pendant, but he didn't seem to do any damage. Soon his vision was darkening, and he knew that he was going to fall unconscious. He forced himself to search his hazy mind for some form of spell to counterattack with in a desperate last attempt.
He couldn't concentrate, and as his vision started getting darker and darker he could only focus on a faded memory.
"Here Squall, put this on." Rinoa said gleefully while she lifted the silver pendant and put it around his neck. "His name is Griever, he's a lion." She said knowingly. "So he'll give you lots of his strength, and protect you!" Squall alternated between staring at her and the pendant, before he sighed. Smiling Rinoa leaned against him, wrapping her arms around him contentedly.
Why was something supposed to protect him killing him?
---
None of the delphi riders who had been at battle with the invaders had expected it when some form of machine was lowered through the open roof of the stadium. The moment the gears started to work, the delphi they were riding on immediately crumpled, falling to the ground as their power was cut by some invisible shield. By the time that the riders had hit the ground, they were faced with blades against their necks, the Phoenician soldiers giving them the choice between life and death.
The emperor had made it to the temple, left with Laguna and his two generals, Kiros and Ward, as Selphie and Zell had gone back. As they neared the open roof of the stadium in the middle of the city where the machine was running, Selphie's delphi crumpled just like all the others, falling through the roof of the stadium and into the battle scene where they was a reception of Phoenician soldiers waiting for them. Zell could only perform a healing on himself and Selphie to help any broken bones, before the soldiers had made it to them and quickly cast sleep spells that they were unable to resist.
The emperor and the civilians were safe, but at the cost of several of Crete's best delphi and their riders.
Laughing Seifer leaned his head back with glee as they patted the machine that had made it all the way down to the ground without problem. "This thing, I love." Seifer said before he pressed his hand lovingly against it. "We should leave soon." Seifer said, before he turned to the cowboy from before. "I want those riders prisoners. Did you capture anyone else, Irvine?"
Irvine chuckled. "We holed up most of the entertainers and any civilians that escaped out of the front entrance with them, all of them have surrendered willingly, along with the guards that were with them. I think that we got a pretty good story to tell your father when we get home."
Seifer smirked. "And I'm hoping that the airship is here, as Fujin said it would be." Irvine grinned and nodded as well.
"I think that one of your plans actually went well for once. There shouldn't be anyone to stop us now, everyone's hiding in their precious temple. Too bad we can't blow it to hell on our way out." Seifer looked sad about that fact too.
"Alright, get everyone ready to go up." Seifer said, pulling a rough salute to the cowboy before the man nodded and ran to get the others with the prisoners ready to go.
Looking down at the silver pendant he had retrieved from the captain rider, Seifer touched the metal fondly.
"Well Griever, looks like you're back where you belong again."
AN: :x to be continued...

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