+ final fantasy viii: a promise unfulfilled 5

'Black. Everything was black. Rinoa...No! Rinoa can't be dead!' Squall awoke suddenly, finding himself caught in the void between the real world, and the Time Compressed one where Sarkis lived.

The last thing Squall remembered before the world went black, was the young man, Adam, unleashing his Limit. Bushido.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quistis Almasy stood up groggily in the void. She glanced down, seeing that there was no visible evidence of the battle that had transported them. To her left lay Seifer, and to the right lay the two SeeDs who had been with them, Kira and Adam.

"Kira?" Quistis hesitated, not knowing if Kira was knocked out, or just sleeping.

"Instructor?" Kira's eyes fluttered open. "I'm fine."

"Kira, remember those lessons I gave you?" Quistis asked, trying to discern the girl's state.

"What lessons, Instructor? Where are we?" Kira asked dazedly.

"The void between our time and Time Compression." Quistis answered gently. "You were fighting, we were fighting Sarkis"

"Sarkis? Oh, that scary Diablos like creature?" Kira questioned as she sat up.

["I see that you have awakened...Welcome to my humble abode"] A voice said, and chills ran down Quistis's spine.

Sarkis materialised out of nowhere, and stood up. Seifer woke as soon as Sarkis appeared.

"You're still alive?" Seifer voiced the question.

"Of course I am you foolish SeeD. Do you think you could kill me that easily?" Sarkis asked, as he raised his hand, calling forth a spell. "Apocalypse"

The familiar spell soon surrounded the five people as they drew their weapons.

"Renzokuken!" Squall shouted, and hit Sarkis several times, getting five hits, instead of a Perfect. "Fated Circle!" Squall spun around in a circle, his legs high in the air as he unleashed the final part of his Fated Circle combination.

"Fire Cross!" Seifer's powerful voice echoed in the room, "Demon Slice!" Seifer's gunblade arced across the room as he attacked Sarkis from behind. The demon roared, but did not fall.

Adam felt pain seeping into his arm like a thief stealing away money. 'Damn!' he cursed silently, as he raised the arm holding the gunblade. "Bushido!" He shouted as he performed the movements of his limit while Kira fired her AK.

The unmistakable noise of Irvine's Exter was heard as he fired a round of Pulse Ammo, causing Sarkis to fall backwards, but still remained alive.

Kira fired her gun harder as Irvine covered the other team members. Fujin materialised out of the dark, wielding a sword, not the usual circular blade.

"Pandemonium! Do your damage!" Fujin cried as the GF appeared out of nowhere, and sucked in all the world around Sarkis, but still the demon did not fall.

"Shockwave Pulsar!" Quistis shouted as she unleashed her most powerful Blue Magic, expecting Sarkis to fall, but he did not.

"You will never defeat me!" Sarkis crowed, "never!"

"You wanna bet?" Irvine jumped down from the roof in the void, smiling as if it was just a regular meeting between two friends.

"I thought I'd finished you off," Sarkis said as he recognised the man with the auburn hair and black cowboy hat.

"No, you didn't make sure I stayed dead," Irvine snarled, the tension between the demon and the sniper increased. "Kira, you know the drill. You ready to give it your best shot?" he asked.

"I'll do anything to save the world, and you know it, Irvine," Kira replied as she loaded the AK with Pulse Ammo.

Squall, Quistis, Seifer and Adam watched as the two snipers finished Sarkis off. Both of them were incredibly good marksmen, and were able to attack Sarkis from whatever angle possible.

"I'm gonna go help" Adam stated suddenly, after watching the two snipers attack Sarkis.

Attacking Sarkis was not so easy. "Eden! Eternal Breath!" Squall suddenly called the assistance of the GF, who homed in on the demon, who was not faring so well after the summons of Pandemonia, and being pummelled by Pulse Ammunition from two fantastic snipers.

"Mighty Guard!" Quistis shouted the words as the combatants started to show signs of fatigue.

Seifer watched on, marvelling at the courage of his wife, and the members of his regiment. "Fire Cross! No Mercy!" Seifer shouted suddenly, bringing himself back into the midst of the fray.

Sarkis fell backwards, as Seifer attacked him again. The battle was over.

"No! This can't be..." Sarkis muttered as he fell to his knees, clearly defeated by Seifer and the regiment.

"I'm afraid it is," Adam spoke up as he sheathed his gunblade. "You lost, Sarkis. We won."

The familiar sensation of falling happened, as the demon breathed his last breaths. "You will never beat me, I am eternal."

"No, you're wrong," A voice Squall had missed hearing spoke up. It was Sorceress Rinoa.

"So, YOU'RE alive after all, Sorceress Rinoa," Sarkis hissed, "I thought I killed you,"

"You thought wrongly, then," Rinoa muttered, "Wishing Star!" The dog, Angelo, and Rinoa shot through the air, as they attacked Sarkis.

"Quistis! Cast Homing Laser!" Rinoa commanded, "It's our only chance of destroying him for good."

Quistis nodded, even though she secretly resented the fact that Rinoa was the one ordering her around.

"Homing Laser!" Quistis cried as she unleashed the spell.

Sarkis let out a long and wailing howl as he died. The battle had been won.

A/N. This is the second last chapter in the story...What do you think should happen? Also, I was watching my bro play Metal Gear Solid2: Sons of Liberty while writing the fight scene. Sorry if it does not fit in with the rest of the fic. Reviews would be appreciated.

Epilogue

"Months had passed since the defeat of Sarkis, and the world was peaceful once again. Many things changed and the Void was destroyed.

People still remembered Loire, but in Squall's hands, Esthar flourished. He had decided not to go to war against Galbadia, knowing from experience that it would bring trouble. He'd had enough trouble to last him a lifetime. Quistis Trepe and Seifer Almasy were in Esthar, establishing the Garden in which I was raised as a SeeD, and in time, became the headmistress of Esthar Garden. Sarkis had long been destroyed, and I was a testament to that fact. The fact that love can persevere over anything. I am Guinevere Almasy, the daughter of Quistis Trepe and Sir Seifer Almasy, and this is how my story ends"

I sighed as I finished the story, putting the final touch on the history of Esthar Garden. My life had been easy, of course. I am the daughter of the two strongest SeeDs Balamb ever saw, with the exception of Sorceress Rinoa's knight Sir Squall Leonhart.

Aunt Ellone, my mother's sister died after the death of Sarkis, the demon that almost cost mother her life. She died silently, alone in Winhill with nobody to talk to, Aunt Ellone died of loneliness.

My family's legacy is one of pride. I am proud to be an Almasy, and I am proud of being the daughter of Ultimecia's Knight.


The End.


Authors Notes, etc.


Someone said they would not name a baby Guinevere, but I happen to like the name. She was the legendary Queen of Arthur's time, and I don't believe she did commit adultery with Lancelot, I believe it was someone else.

Thanks go to Alonia for reviewing every chappy in this fanfic, Al, this fanfic is devoted to you, my friend.

To Alonia Everclear, and in the memory of John Hurley, 1911-1991. And also to the memory of Carole Commens, a dear woman who was extremely close to me as a child.

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are Sarkis, Adam, Guinevere and Kira. The rest belong to Squaresoft. (www.squaresoft.com)