~RaikouRider243~
Lightning Swordsman
Chapter 24: Mirrored Paths
When Zapdos and Ashelia later regained consciousness, they still felt weak from having lost so much blood. The many wounds on their bodies were visible, but did not bleed. Moving around was still uncomfortable, but did not come with excruciating pain.
(Accompanying BGM: "Seeking Power" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
"Can you tell us anything about Fuoco?" Alex asked the sorceress. "Anything at all would help!"
"Though he appears to prefer negotiations over battle," Ashelia started, "he is a cruel man. He only heeds Arceus to maintain his position of power, seeking to use it. He even treats Moltres with little respect, as if it were some ordinary creature. To maintain my bird's dignity and show respect toward it, I was the only one of us three who chose not to saddle and bridle my bird. Cory only did it out of Arceus' suggestion. Fuoco did it to draw rage out of his bird, channeling that rage into more powerful attacks."
"What a sad story," Maya said. "Treating Arceus' most sacred creations that way is disrespectful to the entire Order. Anger should not be used to draw power from any Pokémon, let alone Moltres!"
"Which is exactly why we need to stop him." Ashelia reached for the electric staff in front of her on the floor, grabbed it, then stood back up slowly. "Though all of us, including myself, took the scriptures and Arceus' orders out of context in our search for you, Fuoco twisted the words in such a way that he deluded the other Chosen. He wanted to confuse and eventually overthrow the Order. I doubt he will cooperate, but please try not to kill him. I many be able to change his way of thinking if I talk to him enough."
Alex reluctantly agreed to the plan. "Very well, but double-cross us again and we won't save you."
Zapdos finally stood up, walking rather than flying toward Ashelia. The electric-type stopped next to her. "Get on my back."
"But you're still injured!" the Chosen replied. "You can't fly with that many wounds!"
"And you'd rather just stand here, doing nothing? How do you expect to save your friend without me?"
(Accompanying BGM: "To the Place of the Gods" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
The rider stopped for a few seconds, still as a statue. "I...trust you," she slowly replied. "Still, don't strain yourself too much. I can't stand to see you die." She climbed onto the bird, making sure not to sit on any of the wounds. When the three Chosen emerged from the grand hall, Ashelia was greeted with drawn weapons. "Hold your fire!" she screamed.
"Sheathe your weapons!" Alex reinforced. "She wants to fight for us now!"
Everyone but Aravan put their weapons away. The wary Suicune rider approached Ashelia and Zapdos. Seeing the look on their faces, as well as arrow-induced wounds all over both of them, he finally put the icy sword away. "You should know where Fuoco and Moltres are. Where?" he asked.
"Fuoco told me he would be in the House of Damnations--"
"So we need to cover the entire maze," Eron interrupted. "The path is the mirror image of the one we took to get here. I know the fastest route." Zapdos followed behind all the other Pokémon, Eron leading the way back. Going back the way they came, they encountered no Pokémon until reaching another Gate Altar, this one red. The moment he touched the altar to release the lock, three Mismagius materialized around it. One of them scorched Zoltin with a fireball as soon as the Chosen remounted. "Run!" he shouted.
(Accompanying BGM: "A Speechless Battle" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
The more circles they ran through, the more Pokémon chased them. More Houndoom-riding Lucario chased after them, jabbing their spikes into the canine Pokémon to make them run faster. The airspace around the Chosen was filled with crimson fireballs, some of which singed their Pokémon. The longer they ran, the more enemy Pokémon followed.
"We still haven't lost them?!" Josh shouted as they were chased even through the teleportation altars. Beasts and Chosen cried in pain as fireballs continued hitting them hard, but they did not stop running. There was no time to consider anything--not even which way to run. Flee, flee, flee. Fires continued to burn closer, but that was not their focus. So long as it was away from the enemy, they did not care they path they took.
The Pokémon, growing larger in numbers, chased them even through the next teleportation stone. By this time, they were outnumbered three to one. A pair of Salamence blocked the way forward--they were trapped. Flames of varying color and intensity erupted from the mouths of the many fire-type Pokémon surrounding the Chosen and their mounts.
"Time is of the essence!" Suicune shouted. "Brace yourselves, Chosen!" At that, the swift, blue Pokémon ran toward the center of the room, forehead crystal glowing. When it stopped, it spun around rapidly, releasing chilling beams from both the crystal and its mouth. The energy circle they stood on became covered in a cyclone of ice. Friend and foe alike howled in pain, exposed to cold so intense that it made the top of Snowpoint Peak seem like Sunyshore's beaches by comparison. Zapdos fought the cold winds to the top of the tornado, avoiding the worst of it. On and on the twister swirled, suppressing even the flames inside the mouths of the Houndoom and Salamence. Aravan was in disbelief to see the power of this combination of moves.
When the ice storm finally stopped, literally everything except Aravan and Suicune were encased in ice--friend and foe alike. Shalin's mouth was wide open from screaming in pain. "Why, Suicune?" Aravan asked his Beast. "Why did you have to--"
"It was our only option," the water-type answered him. "But in case something like this happened, I had a contingency plan." The legend ran toward Ace. "I'm going to cut him out of the ice with my claws." Making careful incisions into the ice, Suicune cut through most of the ice surrounding his neck and head. That ice fell to the magick circle and shattered. Ace shivered, his head blue from the intense cold. Suicune carefully cut through the ice surrounding most of his upper body. "No problems so far," Aravan sighed, tense from watching his Beast cutting the Entei rider out. The process required a surgeon's precision. When Ace yelped, Aravan's heart nearly stopped--the Beast cut too deeply, tearing a slit in the red-armored Chosen's arm. Blood leaked out through the wound as Suicune kept etching through the ice.
By the time the sacred water-type had freed Ace from his icy prison, he could do nothing but shiver. He couldn't even reach for his sword. Aravan reached for Ace's blade, the weapon still glowing with Entei's flames. He waved it toward the ground near its owner, causing a wave of fire to burn between the two of them. "En...t-t-t-t-tei..." Ace said through chittering teeth, still hypothermic but able to speak.
"Suicune!" Aravan shouted. Without so much as being told what to do, the Beast rushed to Ace's aid. Its crystal glowed a different blue, shining a refreshing light on Ace's arm. Ace flinched when Cure Water started to take effect. Seconds later, the pain decreased in intensity, and blood stopped oozing out of the wound.
"Th-thanks, Suicune," Ace replied, though it was still somewhat painful to move his arm. Aravan handed him his sword back. Ace limped toward Entei, his legs still stiff from being frozen. He held the blade directly above the ice, thawing the Pokémon out. Together, they did the same to the six remaining Chosen and legendary Pokémon, each one shivering just as severely as Ace was. As soon as the ice around Shalin melted, she collapsed. Her Beast fell soon after. Hearing her comrade fall, Ashelia finally descended from above where the cyclone spun before.
(Silence BGM)
Eron approached the fallen rider, stopping briefly to see exactly how bad her condition was. There were patches of frostbitten skin all over both Shalin and Midori. Putting that out of his mind for a second, he laid two fingers over his friend's chilly wrist. "She has a pulse, at least." All the other Chosen breathed a sigh of relief. She's definitely breathing...probably just unconscious. Midori appears to be in the same condition. Aravan?"
"They'll be okay, right?" Suicune's rider asked Eron.
"It appears so. Would Cure Water wake her up faster?"
"I doubt it. Both of them are unconscious probably because their bodies can't keep warm enough to function correctly. Therefore, their bodies shut themselves down to conserve energy until they warmed up enough. I think Ace and Entei could do that job better." Beast and rider of fire stepped forward. "Each of you get on one side of them, and shoot lines of fire next to them. Not on them, next to them. This will cause the ice encasing our foes to start to melt. I will apply new layers of ice to them.
When Entei started spitting fireballs toward the ground near Shalin, and Ace waved his sword in a line to create a similar effect, everyone but Aravan and Suicune crowded around the flames, warming their bodies as well. "I hope this works," Aravan said to himself. After several minutes of flame lines, Entei and Ace had to rotate positions just to maintain their strength.
Finally, Shalin and Midori opened their eyes. "What...happened?" the female rider asked Ace.
"To defeat our pursuers, Suicune had to freeze everything," Ace answered. "We thawed you out and warmed you back up. How are you feeling?"
"I'm so stiff that I can barely move, but other than that, I'm just really cold," Shalin replied. "I can sense Midori is in much of the same condition I am--just look at her!" The Beast's eyes were open and her heart was beating. Aside from that, she looked nearly dead.
"We have to defeat Fuoco and Moltres still," Eron changed the subject abruptly. "The gate to the House of Damnations has closed since we had to stop. Aravan, you and Suicune need to make sure the Pokémon around here remain frozen. Ace, you and Entei likewise need to remain here to keep Shalin and Midori warm. Also, we need one more of us to stay back and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"I will fight Fuoco," Alex volunteered. Without saying anything, Latias and Zapdos flew toward Latios, all three carrying riders. The red building on the north end of the energy circle had the same dimensions as the House of Salvation. The three flew toward the building, weapons drawn. When Ashelia passed into the grand hall, a magick barrier appeared in front of the doorway, locking Alex and Maya out.
(Accompanying BGM: "An Imminent Threat" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
The grand hall of the House of Damnations was, as indicated by its name, an inhospitable place. The walls and portions of the floor were decorated with large, open flames, making breathing difficult due to the high air temperature. Flying just above the floor, Zapdos began charging electricity in its wings. Ashelia also began incanting a lightning spell.
Seconds after the crackling started, the flames in the center of the hall started to rise. The flames took the shape of a bird...but these flames were different, she thought. "I can hear your Beast," Fuoco's voice echoed over the blaze. "Let's finish this like men." Ashelia let out a cry, then released the magick. Four lightning bolts circled Fuoco and Moltres, the circle getting gradually smaller until they all struck. The fire-type bird took most of the attack; Fuoco was only struck with one of the four bolts. "I sensed you had strayed from the path laid before you, but you also profane that path by rebelling against Arceus...Ashelia, all I can say is you got guts."
"Jade has evil intentions, Fuoco," the Chosen of Zapdos replied. "She has twisted the sacred scriptures away from the way Arceus intended. She intends to control the Order as Arceus does now. When I saw Zapdos on the brink of death and was powerless to do anything about it, I realized what being a Chosen really meant. It's not about you--it's about the sacred creature you bond with. If I had to give up my life to save Zapdos' life, I would do it. That would be the ultimate honor in being a Chosen."
"Think about it this way. When Jade overthrows Arceus and becomes number one, that would make us number two in the chain of command. Think of the authority our power would command!"
"That's not the point! Don't you understand? It's not about you--it's about keeping the most sacred creations sacred. Abusing divine power in such a way is the first thing Chosen are told not to do when awakened!"
"Think about the situation we were in. The Chosen of the Beasts, partially under the authority of Ho-oh, and partially under their own prerogative, did three things to defile the Order. First of all, they attempted, and almost succeeded in, exterminating Lugia, our leader. Secondly, they freed Akuji, Zoltin, and Midori, the source of great strife hundreds of years ago. Even Arceus said they were species that should never have existed. Furthermore, when they were freed, Ho-oh even appointed Chosen for them. Finally, all six of them found the shrines of Sinnoh where the powers that nearly destroyed mankind were hidden away. Every time Arceus has issued an order, Ho-oh or the Chosen of the Beasts have refused to follow that order."
"You dance around the truth, Fuoco. Yes, the Chosen of the Beasts technically broke the rules...but not without reason. They were in an impossible situation; they had to make a choice between the rules or innocent people. They risked their dignity and their lives to do their job--save innocent people in their time of need!" She paused for a couple of seconds. "This was all a set up! Jade used you to create a situation that would condemn the Beast Riders no matter what course of action they took. She just wants revenge for what they did three years ago! Don't you get it? They are the only ones in the Order that could stop her from rising to the top of the chain of command!"
Fuoco drew his weapon. "So, you refuse to stand down, do you? The fires of hell should bring you back to the negotiation table!"
(Accompanying BGM: "Boss Battle" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
Zapdos released electricity in eight directions. "I'd like to see you try!" The bird took to the air, Ashelia incanting another lightning spell. Seconds after takeoff, most of the floor erupted into flames, further increasing the air temperature. Flight became more difficult, but Zapdos remained steady for the most part. The bird dropped lightning bolts from the sky, creating a line of electricity Fuoco could not cross. The line continued to advance as Ashelia finished her spell, adding circling bolts to the mix. At the moment the line electrocuted Fuoco, a pillar of flames shot toward Zapdos from below, sending the bird flying out a large, stained-glass window. The impact tossed Ashelia off her bird and into the inferno below. She couldn't even hear the Moltres rider's final scream of pain from the electric attack.
It was even hotter closer to the ground. The flames formed a maze, and Ashelia needed to find its exit before she suffocated. Knowing there wasn't much time, she ran through the open areas, noting each turn she made as to not go in a circle. Reaching the west wall, she knew she was close--until she reached a dead end after turning east. She turned west, heading down the other side of the intersection. The path took her away from the wall but to the south. The winding passage seemed like it went on for all eternity, sucking oxygen out of the air. Running all the way across the chamber, she could make out a faint, yellow light along the east wall. It had to be the exit, she thought. It just had to be. Following the wall, she smiled when she saw it was indeed the exit. Seconds after leaving the blazing hall, she collapsed on the energy circle, breathing heavily.
(Silence BGM)
When Zapdos and Ashelia later regained consciousness, they still felt weak from having lost so much blood. The many wounds on their bodies were visible, but did not bleed. Moving around was still uncomfortable, but did not come with excruciating pain.
(Accompanying BGM: "Seeking Power" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
"Can you tell us anything about Fuoco?" Alex asked the sorceress. "Anything at all would help!"
"Though he appears to prefer negotiations over battle," Ashelia started, "he is a cruel man. He only heeds Arceus to maintain his position of power, seeking to use it. He even treats Moltres with little respect, as if it were some ordinary creature. To maintain my bird's dignity and show respect toward it, I was the only one of us three who chose not to saddle and bridle my bird. Cory only did it out of Arceus' suggestion. Fuoco did it to draw rage out of his bird, channeling that rage into more powerful attacks."
"What a sad story," Maya said. "Treating Arceus' most sacred creations that way is disrespectful to the entire Order. Anger should not be used to draw power from any Pokémon, let alone Moltres!"
"Which is exactly why we need to stop him." Ashelia reached for the electric staff in front of her on the floor, grabbed it, then stood back up slowly. "Though all of us, including myself, took the scriptures and Arceus' orders out of context in our search for you, Fuoco twisted the words in such a way that he deluded the other Chosen. He wanted to confuse and eventually overthrow the Order. I doubt he will cooperate, but please try not to kill him. I many be able to change his way of thinking if I talk to him enough."
Alex reluctantly agreed to the plan. "Very well, but double-cross us again and we won't save you."
Zapdos finally stood up, walking rather than flying toward Ashelia. The electric-type stopped next to her. "Get on my back."
"But you're still injured!" the Chosen replied. "You can't fly with that many wounds!"
"And you'd rather just stand here, doing nothing? How do you expect to save your friend without me?"
(Accompanying BGM: "To the Place of the Gods" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
The rider stopped for a few seconds, still as a statue. "I...trust you," she slowly replied. "Still, don't strain yourself too much. I can't stand to see you die." She climbed onto the bird, making sure not to sit on any of the wounds. When the three Chosen emerged from the grand hall, Ashelia was greeted with drawn weapons. "Hold your fire!" she screamed.
"Sheathe your weapons!" Alex reinforced. "She wants to fight for us now!"
Everyone but Aravan put their weapons away. The wary Suicune rider approached Ashelia and Zapdos. Seeing the look on their faces, as well as arrow-induced wounds all over both of them, he finally put the icy sword away. "You should know where Fuoco and Moltres are. Where?" he asked.
"Fuoco told me he would be in the House of Damnations--"
"So we need to cover the entire maze," Eron interrupted. "The path is the mirror image of the one we took to get here. I know the fastest route." Zapdos followed behind all the other Pokémon, Eron leading the way back. Going back the way they came, they encountered no Pokémon until reaching another Gate Altar, this one red. The moment he touched the altar to release the lock, three Mismagius materialized around it. One of them scorched Zoltin with a fireball as soon as the Chosen remounted. "Run!" he shouted.
(Accompanying BGM: "A Speechless Battle" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
The more circles they ran through, the more Pokémon chased them. More Houndoom-riding Lucario chased after them, jabbing their spikes into the canine Pokémon to make them run faster. The airspace around the Chosen was filled with crimson fireballs, some of which singed their Pokémon. The longer they ran, the more enemy Pokémon followed.
"We still haven't lost them?!" Josh shouted as they were chased even through the teleportation altars. Beasts and Chosen cried in pain as fireballs continued hitting them hard, but they did not stop running. There was no time to consider anything--not even which way to run. Flee, flee, flee. Fires continued to burn closer, but that was not their focus. So long as it was away from the enemy, they did not care they path they took.
The Pokémon, growing larger in numbers, chased them even through the next teleportation stone. By this time, they were outnumbered three to one. A pair of Salamence blocked the way forward--they were trapped. Flames of varying color and intensity erupted from the mouths of the many fire-type Pokémon surrounding the Chosen and their mounts.
"Time is of the essence!" Suicune shouted. "Brace yourselves, Chosen!" At that, the swift, blue Pokémon ran toward the center of the room, forehead crystal glowing. When it stopped, it spun around rapidly, releasing chilling beams from both the crystal and its mouth. The energy circle they stood on became covered in a cyclone of ice. Friend and foe alike howled in pain, exposed to cold so intense that it made the top of Snowpoint Peak seem like Sunyshore's beaches by comparison. Zapdos fought the cold winds to the top of the tornado, avoiding the worst of it. On and on the twister swirled, suppressing even the flames inside the mouths of the Houndoom and Salamence. Aravan was in disbelief to see the power of this combination of moves.
When the ice storm finally stopped, literally everything except Aravan and Suicune were encased in ice--friend and foe alike. Shalin's mouth was wide open from screaming in pain. "Why, Suicune?" Aravan asked his Beast. "Why did you have to--"
"It was our only option," the water-type answered him. "But in case something like this happened, I had a contingency plan." The legend ran toward Ace. "I'm going to cut him out of the ice with my claws." Making careful incisions into the ice, Suicune cut through most of the ice surrounding his neck and head. That ice fell to the magick circle and shattered. Ace shivered, his head blue from the intense cold. Suicune carefully cut through the ice surrounding most of his upper body. "No problems so far," Aravan sighed, tense from watching his Beast cutting the Entei rider out. The process required a surgeon's precision. When Ace yelped, Aravan's heart nearly stopped--the Beast cut too deeply, tearing a slit in the red-armored Chosen's arm. Blood leaked out through the wound as Suicune kept etching through the ice.
By the time the sacred water-type had freed Ace from his icy prison, he could do nothing but shiver. He couldn't even reach for his sword. Aravan reached for Ace's blade, the weapon still glowing with Entei's flames. He waved it toward the ground near its owner, causing a wave of fire to burn between the two of them. "En...t-t-t-t-tei..." Ace said through chittering teeth, still hypothermic but able to speak.
"Suicune!" Aravan shouted. Without so much as being told what to do, the Beast rushed to Ace's aid. Its crystal glowed a different blue, shining a refreshing light on Ace's arm. Ace flinched when Cure Water started to take effect. Seconds later, the pain decreased in intensity, and blood stopped oozing out of the wound.
"Th-thanks, Suicune," Ace replied, though it was still somewhat painful to move his arm. Aravan handed him his sword back. Ace limped toward Entei, his legs still stiff from being frozen. He held the blade directly above the ice, thawing the Pokémon out. Together, they did the same to the six remaining Chosen and legendary Pokémon, each one shivering just as severely as Ace was. As soon as the ice around Shalin melted, she collapsed. Her Beast fell soon after. Hearing her comrade fall, Ashelia finally descended from above where the cyclone spun before.
(Silence BGM)
Eron approached the fallen rider, stopping briefly to see exactly how bad her condition was. There were patches of frostbitten skin all over both Shalin and Midori. Putting that out of his mind for a second, he laid two fingers over his friend's chilly wrist. "She has a pulse, at least." All the other Chosen breathed a sigh of relief. She's definitely breathing...probably just unconscious. Midori appears to be in the same condition. Aravan?"
"They'll be okay, right?" Suicune's rider asked Eron.
"It appears so. Would Cure Water wake her up faster?"
"I doubt it. Both of them are unconscious probably because their bodies can't keep warm enough to function correctly. Therefore, their bodies shut themselves down to conserve energy until they warmed up enough. I think Ace and Entei could do that job better." Beast and rider of fire stepped forward. "Each of you get on one side of them, and shoot lines of fire next to them. Not on them, next to them. This will cause the ice encasing our foes to start to melt. I will apply new layers of ice to them.
When Entei started spitting fireballs toward the ground near Shalin, and Ace waved his sword in a line to create a similar effect, everyone but Aravan and Suicune crowded around the flames, warming their bodies as well. "I hope this works," Aravan said to himself. After several minutes of flame lines, Entei and Ace had to rotate positions just to maintain their strength.
Finally, Shalin and Midori opened their eyes. "What...happened?" the female rider asked Ace.
"To defeat our pursuers, Suicune had to freeze everything," Ace answered. "We thawed you out and warmed you back up. How are you feeling?"
"I'm so stiff that I can barely move, but other than that, I'm just really cold," Shalin replied. "I can sense Midori is in much of the same condition I am--just look at her!" The Beast's eyes were open and her heart was beating. Aside from that, she looked nearly dead.
"We have to defeat Fuoco and Moltres still," Eron changed the subject abruptly. "The gate to the House of Damnations has closed since we had to stop. Aravan, you and Suicune need to make sure the Pokémon around here remain frozen. Ace, you and Entei likewise need to remain here to keep Shalin and Midori warm. Also, we need one more of us to stay back and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"I will fight Fuoco," Alex volunteered. Without saying anything, Latias and Zapdos flew toward Latios, all three carrying riders. The red building on the north end of the energy circle had the same dimensions as the House of Salvation. The three flew toward the building, weapons drawn. When Ashelia passed into the grand hall, a magick barrier appeared in front of the doorway, locking Alex and Maya out.
(Accompanying BGM: "An Imminent Threat" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
The grand hall of the House of Damnations was, as indicated by its name, an inhospitable place. The walls and portions of the floor were decorated with large, open flames, making breathing difficult due to the high air temperature. Flying just above the floor, Zapdos began charging electricity in its wings. Ashelia also began incanting a lightning spell.
Seconds after the crackling started, the flames in the center of the hall started to rise. The flames took the shape of a bird...but these flames were different, she thought. "I can hear your Beast," Fuoco's voice echoed over the blaze. "Let's finish this like men." Ashelia let out a cry, then released the magick. Four lightning bolts circled Fuoco and Moltres, the circle getting gradually smaller until they all struck. The fire-type bird took most of the attack; Fuoco was only struck with one of the four bolts. "I sensed you had strayed from the path laid before you, but you also profane that path by rebelling against Arceus...Ashelia, all I can say is you got guts."
"Jade has evil intentions, Fuoco," the Chosen of Zapdos replied. "She has twisted the sacred scriptures away from the way Arceus intended. She intends to control the Order as Arceus does now. When I saw Zapdos on the brink of death and was powerless to do anything about it, I realized what being a Chosen really meant. It's not about you--it's about the sacred creature you bond with. If I had to give up my life to save Zapdos' life, I would do it. That would be the ultimate honor in being a Chosen."
"Think about it this way. When Jade overthrows Arceus and becomes number one, that would make us number two in the chain of command. Think of the authority our power would command!"
"That's not the point! Don't you understand? It's not about you--it's about keeping the most sacred creations sacred. Abusing divine power in such a way is the first thing Chosen are told not to do when awakened!"
"Think about the situation we were in. The Chosen of the Beasts, partially under the authority of Ho-oh, and partially under their own prerogative, did three things to defile the Order. First of all, they attempted, and almost succeeded in, exterminating Lugia, our leader. Secondly, they freed Akuji, Zoltin, and Midori, the source of great strife hundreds of years ago. Even Arceus said they were species that should never have existed. Furthermore, when they were freed, Ho-oh even appointed Chosen for them. Finally, all six of them found the shrines of Sinnoh where the powers that nearly destroyed mankind were hidden away. Every time Arceus has issued an order, Ho-oh or the Chosen of the Beasts have refused to follow that order."
"You dance around the truth, Fuoco. Yes, the Chosen of the Beasts technically broke the rules...but not without reason. They were in an impossible situation; they had to make a choice between the rules or innocent people. They risked their dignity and their lives to do their job--save innocent people in their time of need!" She paused for a couple of seconds. "This was all a set up! Jade used you to create a situation that would condemn the Beast Riders no matter what course of action they took. She just wants revenge for what they did three years ago! Don't you get it? They are the only ones in the Order that could stop her from rising to the top of the chain of command!"
Fuoco drew his weapon. "So, you refuse to stand down, do you? The fires of hell should bring you back to the negotiation table!"
(Accompanying BGM: "Boss Battle" - Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII)
Zapdos released electricity in eight directions. "I'd like to see you try!" The bird took to the air, Ashelia incanting another lightning spell. Seconds after takeoff, most of the floor erupted into flames, further increasing the air temperature. Flight became more difficult, but Zapdos remained steady for the most part. The bird dropped lightning bolts from the sky, creating a line of electricity Fuoco could not cross. The line continued to advance as Ashelia finished her spell, adding circling bolts to the mix. At the moment the line electrocuted Fuoco, a pillar of flames shot toward Zapdos from below, sending the bird flying out a large, stained-glass window. The impact tossed Ashelia off her bird and into the inferno below. She couldn't even hear the Moltres rider's final scream of pain from the electric attack.
It was even hotter closer to the ground. The flames formed a maze, and Ashelia needed to find its exit before she suffocated. Knowing there wasn't much time, she ran through the open areas, noting each turn she made as to not go in a circle. Reaching the west wall, she knew she was close--until she reached a dead end after turning east. She turned west, heading down the other side of the intersection. The path took her away from the wall but to the south. The winding passage seemed like it went on for all eternity, sucking oxygen out of the air. Running all the way across the chamber, she could make out a faint, yellow light along the east wall. It had to be the exit, she thought. It just had to be. Following the wall, she smiled when she saw it was indeed the exit. Seconds after leaving the blazing hall, she collapsed on the energy circle, breathing heavily.
(Silence BGM)