//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Under Siege pt.2- The Might of SOLDIER // Story: Final Fantasy: Zack's second chance // by Freelancer //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Under Siege pt.2- The Might of SOLDIER “How the hay did these guys get in?!” Shining Armor snapped aloud, firing bolts of magic at every black coated Changeling his eyes crossed. The other unicorn royal guards did the same, while the earth ponies engaged the hostiles with either their spears or their back legs. “We doubled security so this wouldn’t happen again.” Around the royal guard captain there was nothing but utter chaos; the guards, four of the elements of harmony, and the Princesses were all locked in heated combat with the invaders. All the while, the remaining guests were fleeing the hallway as fast as they could, the hall itself was now a complete mess, and after all the hard work the Grand Galloping Gala was prematurely all but over. The only upside was nopony had been hurt as of yet. “I swear if I get my hooves around that Changeling Queen’s neck, I’ll break it,” He snorted angrily, rearing up and slamming his back hooves into a changeling who came too close, the creature shrieking as the impact sounded with a meaty thud and sent the it flying. “THUNDAGA!” The obscure word reached Shining Armor's ears a moment before something horrifying happened; the changeling he had just kicked was suddenly struck by a barrage of lightning bolts before his very eyes, and then literally exploded with a flash of bluish light. His head immediately snapped around at the source of the unusual spell, but rather than seeing one of the Princesses, or even his sister Twilight with her horn lowered, his ears dropped as he saw Zack Fair. The SOLDIER was darting around the hall with incredible speed, while he either punched or blasted any changeling he came across, and to say the least, if a changeling got in his way, they didn’t survive. “HELL FIRAGA!” Shining Armor could, for a moment or so, only stare gobsmacked as Zack produced three massive balls of fire, which hurtled towards individual changelings, hunting down each one like animals before reducing their prey to nothing but small piles of ashes, it seemed that in taking Zack’s sword, he had only given the SOLDIER a reason to use a very different kind of weapon. “Why the hell are you standing there captain?!” Zack shouted, hitting an unlucky changeling with a clenched fist, the resulting force that met his face the rough equivalent of an Equestria train. “There’s more of them then us if you haven’t already noticed!” “We are going to have words later Zack,” Shining Armor hissed as he returned to fighting, his own horn igniting into a magically canon. Zack for his part couldn’t feel better unless he had his sword; a week of tension, frustration, confusion, and anger was all washed away as he devastated the changeling ranks with a combination of his magic and superhuman strength. Every ugly, snarling Changeling that dared get in his way met an unsavoury, and somewhat bloody end, usually with either their pulverised remains sliding down a wall, or simply having their bodies reduced to residue. Despite his best efforts and those of his fellow combatants, however, the massive hall was still full of changelings, plus more were somehow streaming in through the shattered windows, and various other doorways; if there was ever a time he truly needed his Buster Sword, it was now. “How many of these guys are there? ELECTROCUTE!” A barrage of lightning bolts materialized and rained down on the unsuspecting and unprepared Changelings, annihilating just under half of the current flying black hostile combatants, and doing it before they could even twitch. The attack gave the other guards a momentary reprieve and allowed Zack to actually see his fellow defenders, plus it also gave his ears a rest from the clanging sounds of clashing metal armour. Most were royal guards, while there was also Shining Armor and the Princesses, but he also noted four ponies he didn’t recognize as well as… “Oh hell no!” he snapped, darting over to an all too familiar group of blue uniformed pegasi, and in particular a golden mare. “Spits, what the hell are you doing?” The golden mare drove her back hooves into an unlucky changeling’s face before replying. “What does it look like I’m doing Zack?” she snapped, using a foreleg to wipe the sweat from her brows. “You think just because I’m a mare I can’t handle myself in a fight? We’re Equestrian military remember.” “Whatever happened to me keeping you out of harms way, huh?” “Whether you’ve noticed it or not Zack, we’re all fully grown pegasi here, so to put it bluntly to you we can take care of ourselv-ghaa!” Just before she finished, a Changeling somehow managed to avoid her vision, and subsequently make it in on her right side, sickly deranged back hooves meeting her soft side and pounding into her exposed ribcage; it would probably only bruise and be sore for a few days after, but at that moment it felt like a wave of pure an utter agony ripped through her side. Before she could recover and get it back, Zack’s boot imploded the creatures face like a sledgehammer meeting a watermelon... to put it words, the sight wasn’t pretty. “Now do me a favour and get your flank out of here!” he basically yelled at her while his glowing blue eyes stared daggers into her face, grabbing a changeling that flew past before breaking its neck like a toothpick. “I am not having you getting seriously injured on my conscience.” Spitfire glared and snorted at him once before giving in, after seeing what Zack was capable of in Cloudsdale, she guessed it better to leave the dirty work to him and his skills... plus she had to admit her ribs were in a decent amount of pain. “Fine, but if I you hadn’t distracted me I wouldn’t have been hit.” Zack just snarled and headed for the shattered windows, sending a combination of lightning bolts and fire balls at the frames which the changelings were swarming through into the palace, while slamming his fists into any one of them that managed to escape his magical barrage. Just as he hit a changeling’s stomach and rearranged its lower organs, he felt something brush against his back, followed by a chorus of laughter of all things. “I see you’re the dominant one in the relationship,” came a rather annoying voice, causing Zack to pivot around and see Soarin just about right beside him, a rather stupid smirk on his blue face as each of his back legs met a different changeling “What are you going on about?” Zack snapped, already feeling a strange fire build in his cheeks as he grabbed a shrieking changeling, and brought its back down over his knee with a crack. “I’m just keeping her saf…” “Keeping her safe? My flank Zack! You’re talking to the stallion who’s had just about every mare in Equestria fall head over hooves for him, so no offense dude, but I know how to read the signs… but listen, I ain’t mad with you, if you can make her happy, then you’ve got my approval.” Zack just hissed to himself as he discarded the corpse, and called down another wave of lightning bolts on his opponents, now almost to a point of anger where he was tempted to aim one at Soarin. He admitted he may have had feelings her, but the last thing he wanted now was for someone to know, and the pony he wanted to know least was Soarin. “We'll discus this later,” The SOLDIER snarled, looking around to see the changelings were still streaming in just as fast as ever, seemingly undeterred by the amount of their comrades who had already fallen to his and the others efforts. It was then something deep inside Zack snapped, something that had been building ever since he had been forced to slay Angeal; he had lost his friends once, far too many in fact, and he would not lose them again, not to some disgusting creatures that fed off happiness and love like monstrous parasites. “SOARIN! GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!” Zack roared as loud as he could, summoning every bit of magic that resided deep inside him as he eyed off the awaiting mass of changelings, ready to unleash all matter of hell. “I’m about to bring the pain on these things!” The blue stallion took one look back at Zack, before he and his teammates did just that. They knew exactly what he was capable of when he wanted things to happen. Forcefully, they pushed the guards back towards the far side of the room where the Princesses, the elements and the royal guard captain were locked in combat, all of them looking at Zack in both horror and confusion. He took a single look over his shoulder at Zack, and just as the SOLDIER seemed to be about to fall to the horde of creatures a word echoed from his throat and filled the hall, followed a heartbeat later by a blinding flash of light... but it wasn’t the work of Princess Celestia. “ULTIMA!” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… “Did you feel that, Twi?” Dash asked nervously, looking around the torch-lit hallway as she hovered a meter or so off the ground, and directly next to her friend. “like… everything just shook for a moment there.” “Not now Dash,” Twilight replied bluntly, her horn glowing brightly as she magically hacked away at Shining Armour’s lock spell that had been placed on the armory door. “Just about… there… AHHA!” Dash looked down to see a flurry of bright sparks go off and the door gently swing open, Twilight not waiting another second, and marching in with her horn still glowing, casting a purple light around the room as she searched for Zack’s sword. To Dash the room was just about pitch black if not for the magic of her unicorn counterpart, the purple glow causing anything metallic from spears to sets of keys to sparkle, and reflect the light as they ventured around the room in search of the mysterious object, checking every possible and presumable hiding place for it. They eventually found it standing against the back wall, given how big the thing was it made a little sense to even try and hide it. Gingerly, Twilight used her magic to raise it to full view, although she was amazed at how much strain it put on her magic, and she could lift the mass of an Ursa Minor and more for Celestia’s sake. “Whatever this thing’s made of… it’s heavy!” Twilight snorted as she lifted it, floating the massive sword in front of herself and Dash, the pegasus hovering around the blade and touching the cold metal. “Oh come on Twi, sure it’s big but it can’t weight that mu-Ghaa!” CLANG! Just for a laugh, Twilight had let go of her spell as Rainbow had wrapped her hooves around the grip, resulting in the metal blade and the pegasus both impacting with the floor a moment later. Dash was immediately up again and dusting herself off like nothing happened, but as she tried to pick the blade up she couldn’t even get airborne despite her wings going into overdrive, odd curses and words coming out as she strained her wings to the maximum. “Oh for buck sake… what… the buck… is this… thing… made of!” “I think we’ll get Zack to tell us that,” Twilight chuckled, gripping the blade and Dash in a purple glow before casting her teleportation spell, her desired location the main hall. Or, as she realized when they arrived with a magically ‘crack!’, what was left of it. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… “WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT!” Shining Armor just about yelled in Zack’s face, looking around what was left of the now destroyed royal hall. “ARE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO BRING DOWN THE PALACE AND GET US ALL KILLED HERE?!” Zack just put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes as the stallion vented his rage. If there was ever a pony he liked less than Soarin, then it would probably soon be Shining Armor. Alright, he admitted that Ultima was perhaps a little over the top in terms of power, but on the upside was that it had basically taken out every changeling in the room... along with it the roof and the outer walls, leaving the floor covered in rubble, and the remaining roof supported by the wall which separated the hall from the grand foyer. Now it seemed the hostiles were momentarily retreating, leaving in their wake a sweaty and exhausted pair of Princesses, the four present and panting elements of harmony who Zack was yet to meet, the somewhat unnerved Wonderbolts squad, a battalion of very uneasy royal guards, and a rather tired SOLDIER. “Well my job would have been a LOT easier if you hadn’t taken my Buster Sword in the first place,” Zack snapped with equal venom at the stallion, his temper just about at its peak. “But since you did, I had to improvise with what I had at my disposal to kill these things.” Shining Armor just snorted and slammed his hooves into the already massively cracked floor, the result being the tiles breaking into even smaller pieces. “In Equestria we DON’T intentionally try to kill if it can be avoided,” Shining Armor snorted with a shake of his blue mane. “… ugh… Look at this Zack! Because of you it’s going to take weeks, maybe even months, and a mountain of bits to repair all of this damage… I swear if I hadn’t seen you kill those changelings with my own eyes, I’d bet you’re were somehow on their side…” CRACK! THUMP! SMACK! For a moment, all the dozens of royal guards could do was look on in shock, trying to register what they had just seen. Zack’s volcano of fury had at last reached its breaking point, and with a flurry of mighty punches he sent the royal guard captain hurtling into one of the still standing walls with an almighty thump, if not for his now heavily dented armour, and Zack’s minor amount of remaining control he would probably be dead. “If you ever DARE to question my honour like that...” The royal guard captain did nothing but groan as he hit the floor, still rather out of it from the beating and his initial impact with the still fairly solid and stable wall. In the end, it was only by the frantic intervention of Spitfire that Zack calmed down some, and didn’t go in for another round of punches. “Woah! Take it easy Zack!” Spitfire grimaced as she pushed her hooves against his shoulders, hastily looking between the royal guard captain, and her seething SOLDIER friend. “Take a few deep breaths before you do something in front of the princesses you’ll regret later,” Still teetering on the edge, Zack followed her instructions, slowly breathing repeatedly and calming himself to a point of somewhat levelheadedness, sighing to himself as he ran his fingers through his now mildly bloody black hair. Once the last fires of anger died away he flashed his eyes around the room before, settling them on Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, who were standing amongst another four colourful dress-wearing ponies, with his sword magically hanging in the air between them, Twilight still looking a little shocked at what he had just done to her brother. “Heh, I see you found my Buster Sword,” he said as he walked over, a small feeling of renewed happiness blossoming inside him as he felt the cold metal grip on his fingers, lifting the blade so it ran parallel to his body and the point headed for the ceiling. “Wish I had this a few minutes ago,” That was when he heard the flutter of wings returning. “Oh you will wish many things creature,” came a voice that made Zack’s skin crawl, followed by a chorus of shouts from the royal guards that signified they were under attack again. The SOLDIER immediately turned with his sword ready and Spitfire and Soarin at his side. “One of them being that I had killed you quicker by the end of this night.” “YOU AGAIN!” came at least twenty voices at once ......................................................................................................................................................................................... If Zack was correct in assuming what he was seeing, It seemed that the changelings could get even uglier than he had previously thought. The changeling surrounded beast that floated down through the now non-existent roof, and landed in front of him, was downright hideous to say the least; it resembled a twisted evil changeling version of Princess Celestia, with a green-blue mane, sickly green eyes, and a set of dagger like white fangs. It seemed the changelings were back with reinforcements. “Well, well, such a peculiar creature aren’t we now? I almost wish you weren’t so tired, perhaps one on one you’d put up a better fight then high royal highness over there,” she hissed mockingly as she inhaled and paced towards him, Zack’s hands only tightening on his sword as more, and more, changelings dropped from the air, landed beside her, and then began to circle, by his count close to fifty of the fanged bug-things. “Of course, I will still kill you for what you’ve done to my children… Oh, but it’s regrettable since your love is soooo tasty, sweet and noble with a rich aftertaste, so refreshing after months of feeding off that dim-witted moron and then nothing for a year.” She said the last few words with a hiss and a glance at the still unconscious royal guard captain. “I have no idea who or what you are,” Zack snapped deeply, glowing blue eyes locked on the creature as she stared back at him. “But you’re not getting a hoof on me or anyone else, so you’d better leave right now.” “Oh? And with your power you believe you could best me hmmm? I have beaten her royal highness in a duel of magic before, what makes you think you can best me?” “Keep pissing me off and you’ll find out.” The strange changeling-thing just raised a hoof to its mouth and laughed; the rest of the smaller changelings all grinning in an equally unnerving, and somewhat annoying fashion, all with pointed teeth protruding from their lips. He got the impression she was either trying to be seductive, or just trying to make him angry. “Oh come now, that is no way to address a queen as powerful as myself,” She snickered, evil green eyes watching him intently as her sword-like horn began to glow deep green. “So fearless it seems, and so much love for your friends as well… If only you hadn’t slaughtered all my little ones, perhaps we could have gotten along.” That was when he felt it, something pulling at his mind and struggling with his mental steel as she glared at him and her horn glowed; somehow, the changeling queen was trying to break into his mind, over-riding his ability to think straight, and warping his thoughts of his friends. “Gotten along? As in you feed off him like you did my brother?” Twilight snapped as she trotted up beside Zack, her own horn glowing and teeth looking like she was about to go for the creatures throat. “Don’t even try it!” The changeling queen’s attitude changed in a heartbeat, all prior calm and grace leaving her to be replaced by a deathly look of hate, that was directed straight at the unicorn standing beside Zack. Immediately, he felt the presence in his head evaporate as his enemy prepared a different spell, the SOLDIER drawing his sword and bolting forward at the opportunity. “Oh be quiet you little runt!” The changeling queen snapped, a bright green blast bursting forth from her lowered horn towards Twilight, she didn’t however get the chance to see the bolt bounce of the unicorns own defensive spell before Zack slammed into her. Every ounce of his soul was on fire, building up inside him and feeding his magic with more and more power, before he unleashed all his might on the changeling queen in a furious Octaslash. She realized just in time how close he was, and frantically through up a green wall of energy to defend herself, but it did little good as the SOLDIER’s blade came crashing down, the voice of his friend former friend Sephiroth rebounding in his skull. "Concentrate!" “I got this!” Every pony and every Changeling, including the princesses, watched on in awe and horror as Zack’s massive glowing blade made contact with the evil queen’s shield, throwing off a huge amount of magically energy with each rapid and deadly strike. Celestia knew full well how powerful the Changeling was, and although with each of the first seven strikes her shield reformed, the ruler of the day could sense her power being drained immensely with each hit. And with each hit Zack’s voice filled the hall with one word, along with the ringing sound of his magic-charged blade striking the Changeling queen's shield. “YOU! WILL! NOT! HARM! ANY! FRIEND! OF! MINE!” As Zack jumped into the air, and brought down his final mighty slash, the wall of green energy gave way, the resulting powerful burst of magic catapulting the screaming changeling queen over her now terrified subjects, through the hole where the wall had previously stood, and out into the darkness of the night. The remaining Changeling’s looked like they were about to run, but Zack refused to give them the chance, his rage was still burning brightly, and he decided he would ingrain a memory in the mind of every changeling, one that would make them fear the very name Zack Fair for all eternity. “Show me the true power of SOLDIER!” a voice whispered inside his head, the words of Genesis. Drawing on every drop of magic in him Zack felt himself lift into the air, sword in one hand and an immense amount of concentrated magic forming into a ball in the other. As he neared twenty meters, he raised his glowing hand to the night sky and stared down at the amassed Changelings, a single word roaring from his lips. “APOCOLYPSE!” At the single word, a huge runic symbol flashed into existence and flowed out underneath the crowded group of changelings, causing their black coats to shimmer in the eerie blood red light. Then, with all his will focused on his task, Zack sent down a wave of lightning bolts, causing the changelings to shriek and begin to flee... just before the rune exploded like a bomb had gone off directly underneath them. Once again, the hall was filled with a combination of light, heat, and the sound of an almighty explosion, the force of the limit break causing the entire palace to shake, and forming a huge crater. Whatever changelings were left made a hasty retreat and didn't look back. As the fire and smoke died down, Zack landed with a light thud and took note of his work, mighty Buster Sword gripped firmly in his hand as he watched over the destruction he had caused with his strongest limit break. “Finally… that’s done… well, for now anyway,” he panted to himself as the exhaustion began to kick ib, turning around to face the numerous ponies he had fought beside for the last hour or so... ... All of whom were looking absolutely stunned, including the princesses and Spitfire, and each covered in a combination of sweat, dust, and debris. “ What?” “Yo… you just… how… what… was that?” Twilight gibbered hurriedly, looking rapidly between Zack, the ruins of the palace hall, and the smouldering crater behind him that had once been the hall's marble tiled floor. Zack just groaned and ran his fingers through his hair as readied his explanations. It seemed this rough night wasn’t quiet over yet for him, if anything it was only just about half-done. “Alright… let me explain a few things about myself and SOLDIER…” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Notes: For a view of Zack’s breaks and summons here’s a link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-m4E31WV0&feature=related As for spell materia here’s another http://www.eyesonff.com/ff7cc/materia.php How the hell the changelings got into Canterlot AGAIN…you’ll just have to wait until next chapter...and no I'm not giving out two chapters at once again, my mind barely survived this ordeal.