"Why the hell do you keep on getting into my family's lives?" he asked in a tone unlike Squall.

Alta just smiled, unleashing out his weapon. "You are Mistress Ultimecia's mortal enemy. And I love fighting a challenge."

"She will never be able to control us," a deep, growling voice came out of Squall's mouth; his amber eyes went into an even darker shade. "What is the use when we know of our future?"

Kenji! Phoenix shouted in her Knight's mind.

That voice snapped him out of his trance. Kajimi?

Please, help my father out! she pleaded.

Kenji looked at the two. Why? He seems to be holding it out fine on his own.

Yes, he does seem like it, Phoenix replied, but look at what Alta is holding.

Kenji's eyes widened suddenly at the shiny object hidden underneath Alta's sleeve. An Odine Bangle...

Exactly. My father doesn't realize that, yet, Phoenix agreed.

But that's not going to have an effect on him...

Yes it will, definitely. But using Griever's power, it has the same effect as being a sorceress or sorcerer, Phoenix explained. If it attaches itself on my father, then you're going to have to intervene.

Kenji's eyes narrowed, flickering in his corner of semidarkness. Understood...

"QUISTY!!!"

Seifer and Zell tried to reach to her, but they were knocked back by the violet aura surrounding her body. They landed on each side of Lily's standing ground, getting back up.

Lily's eyes were covered by her blonde locks of bangs, but the two could tell that the young woman was thoroughly pissed. Her fists were clenched so tightly together that blood dripped from them. Allundia laughed hysterically at the vain attempts that the other two were making.

"It's useless to reach her," Allundia informed as she ceased laughing. "I have total control of her."

~~Mommy! Mommy! Ya gotta help Daddy! He's in trouble!!~~

Lily slowly looked up, her emerald eyes clear with tears. Although they were filled with tears, they had a cold yet burning hatred in them.

"You..." she icily uttered out.

Allundia smirked back at her. "There is no time to chitchat, so let us settle this petty feud once and for all."

With that, she gracefully landed on the shaky ground and called Quistis forth.

After clearing out some of the monsters nearby, Sakura Wolfe and Selphie stepped back in the Ragnarok.

"Man," Sakura sat down in a chair, sulking, "I wanted to go."

"Me too!" Selphie exclaimed and sat in a similar manner across from her.

A few minutes of silence and then in unison: "Meanies."

They both looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"Hey, Sakura," Selphie said after their laughter was about to come to an end. "I want to ask you a question."

Sakura blinked a few times before she blew a wisp of reddish brown hair out of her eyes. "Hmm? What is it?"

Selphie leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm asking you because if I asked Alex, he'll just look at me funny like Squall does and answer me in as a confusing way as possible...so...do you know why Griever's linked to Squall and Rinny?"

Sakura blinked for a few moments before looking out the window. "I dunno...I asked Alex once a long time ago, but I forgot what he said to me. I think he said something like Griever's the first ancestor of the Leonhart family or somethin' like that."

"First ancestor of the Leonhart family?" Selphie asked incredulously, leaning forward in her seat.

"Uh huh. Every guardian force belongs to some ancestry family one way or the other. It's like----"

An explosion and a slicing shockwave interrupted the young girl's explanation. The explosion turned the sky a reddish-orange like the sunset that seeped through the windows. The two were watching, entranced, before the second shockwave caught Selphie's attention. She reached out for Sakura.

"Get down!"

Glass shattered and covered Selphie's body with its crystal shards.

Alex and the others were continuing to make their way through the small island but in silence. There seemed to be no logical explanation of Alex's sudden fadeout, but whatever had made him disappear for the moment, he kept it to himself. Not even the usually social Irvine could strike up a conversation.

Alex, leading the way, suddenly stopped in his tracks as they were only a few yards away from the castle's entrance. There was something in the air that bothered him.

"Something's here," he said.

The three men stopped in their tracks. Although Irvine and Gene didn't have the special insight like Atamos and Alex did, they had that feeling that someone was watching them. Suddenly, the three men were thrown back by an explosion.

"ALEX!!" Gene shouted as he saw the boys figure getting farther and farther away from them.

That was when he realized that the island was being split in half.

Alex kept his balance and slowly removed his arms away from his face. Taking a glance behind him, he cursed to himself. Then a figure materialized in front of him, revealing a man clad in black and white. His midnight hair blew against the wind. His white eyes could have almost blended in with his pale skin if it wasn't for the small pupil in the middle of each of them.

"Phaetos..." Alex murmured. So this is his true form.

Phaetos smiled a wolfish smile. "I knew that you wanted to fight me like this."

Alex continued to stare at him, his one eye flickering admist the flames.

Kenji bellowed out a battle cry that could be heard for miles before he charged forward. Alex was caught by surprise and blocked the charging attack as quickly as he could. Kenji disappeared just before Alta could make a counterattack and reappeared not far behind him. Squall growled at Kenji and stared dangerously at him with piercing amber eyes, but Kenji was unfazed.

Kenji, what are you doing?!? Griever's voice growled in his mind.

Kenji returned the deathglare with one of his own. Get a hold of yourself! Before you even THINK of going against Alta, save your family first!

Alta examined his right arm. The sleeve of the jacket sliced in half and out fell the Odine Bangle also in two pieces. He looked back at Kenji.

"So you knew," Alta said. "I'm not surprised."

Squall growled once more before turning around to help his wife and daughter. With a careful yet quick version of the Renzokuken, the strings in and around Rinoa's body were snapped. He caught her as she fell.

"Are you..." he was about to say before clearing his throat to get rid of the lionlike voice. "Are you all right?"

"Haven't felt better," Sakura said, standing. The pain was ebbing away.

Unable to speak, Rinoa nodded slightly, snuggling into Squall's chest. Sakura walked over to her parents and knelt down beside Rinoa, holding out her palm.

"Cura," she whispered.

Green sparks circled around Rinoa's body. The pain in her mind was gradually fading away as well as the feeling of the strings inside of her. Sakura put a hand on her shoulder and looked back at Squall.

"I'll take care of Mom," she said to him. "You better help out Kenji."

Squall nodded and looked back at the duel before him.

"DIE!!!!" Allundia shouted as she released an Ultima spell.

Behind them, Quistis did the same.

"Oh, shit," Zell cursed.

They all jumped to avoid a double Ultima collision, but the reaction between the spell caused everyone to go temporarily blind for a moment. As soon as her sight returned, Lily went on the offensive. She managed to avoid the whip of Quistis' Save the Queen, which Seifer caught the receiving end by the arm, and attacked with all her fury at Allundia. Yet no matter how many moves she executed, they never made contact on her opponent.

Allundia chuckled in amusement as Lily's futile efforts. "Is this all you can do, Lilian? I expected a better challenge than this."

Lily growled between punches. "Shut up!!"

She threw a fire punch at her, but Allundia blocked it with her bare hand. The fire was extinguished, leaving only the smoke that seeped between their intertwined fingers. Lily was speechless.

"Oh, my, you almost singed my fingers," Allundia commented, smiling cruelly. "Is that what you call a Comet Punch? If not, I'll show you how it's really done."

A glowing light appeared around her hand and then it erupted, sending Lily crashing against the opposite wall.

"Lily!" Zell shouted and started forth, but had to decide between getting Quistis or helping out Lily.

"Chickenwuss, just help the little Pyro out," Seifer shouted as if he read Zell's mind. His left hand was wrapped around the tail of the Save the Queen and trying to drag Quistis in whose aura was getting larger by the minute. "I'll take care of Quisty here!"

Zell cursed Seifer for calling him a "chicken" again but ran in Lily's direction to help her out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Allundia warned behind him. Zell stopped in his tracks." You'll never know if I might just shoot you in the back."

Zell cursed under his breath again before turning around towards Allundia. He glanced back at Lily's still form as the walls were starting to get closer and closer around them. Damn, I'm not sure about you, Lily, but you have to get up before those walls start to smash you!

"Lily!!"

Lily....

What?

Lily!

Who's there?

Lily, get up!

Lily opened her eyes to find herself laying in the middle of the Angel's Orphanage's backyard. She sat up and looked around, a bit shocked at the familiar surroundings. I'm...I'm home?

She heard someone's footsteps running towards the door and a girl laughing. Out came a little girl who looked no more than three or four, carrying a stick as she ran out. Her honey blond hair was tied in two pigtails, catlike green eyes bright with curiosity. She was wearing a half-dress that came up to her knees, but underneath were a pair of corduroys.

"All right, now where did the little Pyro go?" a familiar voice asked very loudly.

The little girl screamed with delight as she ran down the steps and out into the garden. More steps were heard coming towards the doorway except that they were heavier and dragged. A mid-twenty year old man stepped on the porch, light blond hair tied back in a small ponytail and catlike, piercing emerald eyes with a light scar in between: Seifer. He too was carrying a stick although it looked rather puny in his hands. He looked around and noticed some rustling in the bushes. Seifer stalked on his way and peered above them before lifting up the girl who shrieked in surprise but was laughing at the same time.

"Gotcha!" Seifer announced, lifting the girl over his head and setting her on his shoulders.

The girl used her stick to whap him on the head, but he easily parried with his own.

"Hey, Pyro, you have to do better than that!" Seifer said.

The girl stopped and rested her chin on his head. "So I can use yer sword, wight, Daddy??"

Seifer grinned. "You got it, kid."

"Hey, you guys, it's time for lunch!" a feminine voice called out.

A woman stepped on the porch, her face still blurred. However, Lily could now recognize some features that had cleared from her previous memories. Besides the honey blond hair, Lily could see the woman's bright blue eyes and the curves of her face. The eyes reminded Lily of somebody, but she couldn't quite guess just yet.

Seifer set down the girl onto the ground who immediately sped towards the woman.

"Yay!!! Mac 'n' cheese!!" she shouted triumphantly.

"Hey, just hope you don't die from Mommy's cooking, Pyro!" Seifer jokingly warned.

The woman had her hands on her hips now. "Seifer! That's not nice!"

"Yeah, dat's not nice, Daddy!!" the girl repeated. "Mommy's cooking is getting bwetter!!"

"Oh, you too, Lily?" the woman asked in utter defeat.

"And you're saying that I'm not being nice," Seifer said. "Guess it's time for punishment!"

Lily shrieked in delight, running into the house as Seifer pretended to chase after her. When he reached the porch, he wrapped his arm around the woman's waist and they walked inside together.

The memory faded. Lily smiled to herself. "Mom...Dad...."

Those were the times...when we were all happy together....

Lily slowly opened her eyes as her senses began to register the rumbling of the ground below her. What the...

She quickly sat up and hissed in pain as she did so. She clutched the side of her ribcage tightly before standing up very slowly, wobbling a bit on the uneven surface. Shit, I think I busted a rib or two.

Taking in a deep breath, she whispered, "Curaga."

The pain immediately subsided and she focused her attention to the blur that was in front of her. She recognized a blue jacket flapping against something and gasped.

"Zell!"

Zell fell to one kneww, spitting out blood that crept to his throat. He barely had any strength left to fight against Allundia nevertheless stand straight.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath.

While Seifer was trying to knock some sense into Quistis and getting whipped in the process, Zell was pitted against Allundia. There wasn't much time left and practically all of his stock was out. Ifrit and Cerberus that he had junctioned with were dead, all he had left were a couple of Demis and Shells (which wasn't going to be any help at all), and none of his moves were connecting.

If she wasn't so fast, I would be able to get at least a couple of hits in, he thought.

"Run out of steam already?" Allundia asked, hovering above him. She smiled evilly when he just glared at her. She raised a finger that emitted a violet light around it. "I would have expected something more than that, but fate always has to follow through its course."

Zell's eyes twitched at the sound of her voice and the double meaning of her words. I better think of something fast or else I'll be sayin' 'hello' to Gramps up in heaven.

I've got to help him, Lily thought, moving forward and totally forgetting that her ribcage hadn't fully healed even with the Curaga spell. She winced and stopped. Dammit...She unconsciously reached behind her back and felt cold steel. What's...She turned her head slightly and saw the hilt of her Hyperion shining back at her.

You'll find some use with your Hyperion...Atamos' words repeated in her head.

She thought about it for the first time and mentally smacked herself in the head. Idiot! Of course! She whipped out the weapon from her back and concentrated on her aim, which was kind of difficult since the ground was still shaking. She prayed to Hyne that Seifer was doing alright because she was starting to feel dizzy for some odd reason.

"Zell, duck!"

Without even thinking, Zell rolled over to the side just as Lily executed her attack.

"Fire Cross!!"

The flame's connected to Allundia's body as she was being distracted by Zell's sudden movement and surrounded her body. She howled and screeched in pain, descending to the ground as her body twitched and twisted in all its charred fury.

"You are hiding your strength from everyone else, including your own family," Phaetos said staring coldly at the young boy in front of him. "It's impossible for you to hide it from me, boy."

Alex returned Phaetos' gaze for a moment then smirked. "Since you know, I don't have to hold back, then." He reached out for his gunblade which responded to his own action with a bright glow of blue surrounding it. He set his blade out in front of him in a defensive posture. "But you're going to regret for calling me 'boy'."

Phaetos arched an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"

It only took a mere second for Alex's eyes to glow a dark amber around his sapphire eye. Phaetos thought he heard a lion roar in the distance, but there were none around; so he ignored it, thinking it was just a figment of his imagination.

"Impressive," he said, reaching out for his weapon which was an intricately designed dragon spear. "You figured out how to contain a weapon from the other realm and release some of your energy into it. However, do you think you can actually defeat me with such limited abilities?"

Alex narrowed his eye, the amber around them getting darker as he did so. "We'll see about that."

The battle had begun. Alex dashed forward, gunblade parallel to his jawline. By just glancing at the positioning of Phaetos' spear, he knew the exact point of weakness but he had to be fast. Ever since he started practicing with a weapon at the age of five, Alex observed. Observation was his ally and nothing could escape from his sight.

Phaetos moved slightly to the side, avoiding Alex's attack, but Alex made a secondary move in between. He made for a wide arc, which was easily parried by the dark knight and accidentally created an opening. Phaetos took this to his advantage and thrust his spear at Alex. Unable to react in time, the spear sliced through his open chest at full speed and flung him against the castle wall. He struggled at first, then slowly became silent, blood staining the wall from his wound. Silence.

Phaetos strode over to Alex's slumped body to make sure that his opponent was surely dead.

"Hmph," he mocked. "And you had released your full power? Such weakness."

As he got closer to touch Alex's body, his thoughts of an easy victory were diminished.

"Weakness? Don't celebrate too soon," Alex said.

Phaetos was startled, slowly taking steps back as his enemy began to revive.

"That...that's not possible..." Phaetos murmured.

Alex yanked the spear out of his chest, the wound healing immediately as the object came out. All that was left was a light scar and bare skin from the torn shirt.

"I've been like this ever since my older twin sisters died," Alex explained, tearing away the piece of loose cloth. "It's not that easy to kill me like the others."

Fire began to surround the edges of what was remaining of the island. As they neared Phaetos' limbs, he quickly moved away from them but he also kept a distance between himself and Alex at the same time.

"You love to surround yourself in water," Alex said as he noticed Phaetos' sudden jerk. "I understand now; you were resurrected out of the waters, weren't you?"

Sweat dripped down Phaetos' face, trying to act calm. This boy is much different than his three sisters...how can he have such strength at such a young age? With that much power, the power alone would be unstable for his body to control.

"You were showing half of your strength," Phaetos answered, realizing the truth.

I haven't got that much time left... Alex thought to himself as he whipped out the gunblade again. He felt Sakura's cries for assistance, felt her pain, their family's struggle...there was nothing he could do now. Better get this over with. Once again he positioned the weapon parallel to the jawline without responding to Phaetos' statement.

We will handle this, a deep, growling voice said in his mind.

Alex was startled, wondering where the source of the voice was coming from. Then he realized that the gunblade itself was talking to him, glowing in an impatient rhythm.

The castle witholds most of my energy, Phaetos though as he stared at Alex. He too saw the rapid beat of the gunblade. What in the...

You will need your strength for the challeng ahead, the gunblade said. We will finish this minion.

The weapon shook itself free of its owner's grasp and headed straight towards its prey. Phaetos tried to move foung found that his body wouldn't cooperate.

Why can't I move?!? he thought frustratingly, blank eyes widening. The sword----!

In two quick successions, the being once called Phaetos disappeared in blue flames before he had a chance to return to his grave. Alex could hear no cry; all he saw was the shocked expression on his enemy's face before it had disappeared in the flames.

Kenji once again charged forward, using the skill of his speed at the fullest. His katana clashed with Alta's sword and clashed agian as the two disappeared and attacked one another without any gain. Squall took this distraction as an opening and attacked from one side. Alta, knowning this, quickly avoided the attack by jumping out of the way and nearly causing Squall and Kenji to hit each other if it wasn't for their quick reactions.

"Ultima!" Kenji shouted.

Alta sliced the spell in half with his weapon and went head on with Squall whose growl eychoed throughout the room. A power struggle took place until Squall released a hidden strength in him, sending Alta crashing back into the opposite wall.

How did he get this power all of a sudden? Rinoa asked incredulously.

"That pain from knowing his future has further enhanced the ability to use Griever as one of his own," Sakura explained, observing the fight. She then took her eyes away to look at her mother, smiling sadly. "How do I know all this? I guess it's kind of like instinct. Griever's our family's first ancestor: a sorcerer who had contradicted himself so many times that its shape is his own confusion."

A stinging noice struck her in her mind. Sakura rubbed her temple slightly to ease it while Rinoa looked at her in concern.

"I'm fine," Sakura assured. "Just a tiny little message."

Alta moved away from some of the rocks that had covered his body. He slowly emerged from the rubble, spitting out a loose tooth. He wiped a small trail of blood that was trickling down his cheek, smirking.

They both have gotten stronger, he thought. I guess I must turn my powers to their full extent.

He casted Berserk on himself which changed his entire appearance. His white hair merged with a blood red-orange, his eyes glowing a dark violet. The appearance he had created reminded of Sakura of a certain Guardian Force.

"He's a descendant of the GF Phoenix?!?" she exclaimed.

Alta smiled evilly, his eyes widening in maniacal delight. "This little game ends here."

A fireball shot out from his body, making Squall stagger back and growl in displeasure. Knowing that the man was temporarily blinded, Alta made his way towards Kenji.

"You are probably the first Sorceress Knight to be a descendant of a former sorceress," he said. "You are also probably the first to draw blood from me. Let us see your true ability."

Kenji just icily stared and waited.

We have to help them! Rinoa exclaimed.

The two rushed forward only to be knocked back by an unknown force.

"A barrier's surrounding the area," Sakura cursed. "We can't break through it."

Alta charged forward with his attack at rapid speed. Kenji immediately jumped over him as he neared, but quickly realized that Alta was behind him.

"Your speed is useless against mine," Alta said and slashed across Kenji's back.

Kenji was sent flying to the wall face first. He grunted a bit as he stood. The bandages wrapped around his ribs and right shoulder were now stained with blood. His new wounds seeped through his trenchcoat. However, he no longer felt pain. After the last battle, he had lost the feeling. Yelling out another battle cry, Kenji charged head on. The two were only mere flashes of light when they connected with their weapons. Once again it seemed to be attack for no gain, but the loss of blood was starting to get to Kenji. Taking this to his full advantage, Alta unleased a massive combination of fireballs at his opponent. Kenji, naturally, deflected them, but his vision was beginning to blur. The final blast brought him down to his knees.

Alta grinned for victory was close at hand. He prepared for the final blow, using his phoenix wings to bring him hovering above his opponent...

Squall's sight was beginning to return to him. His, or rather Griever's, growling came to a dull roar as the brightness began to fade.

Squall, you have to help Kenji!! Rinoa pleaded in his mind.

Ugh...still too bright...Squall said to himself as he covered his eyes and stood.

A tingling sensation overcame him, relieving the pain in his mind. He managed to peak out one eye, still amber, and stifled a gasp at who he saw behind Kenji's shoulder. Phoenix?!?

"Die," Alta said and launched his aerial final attack.

Kenji, using his sword as a cane, managed to stand on wobbly legs before he looked up. His eyes widened in surprise at the daggers of fire coming towards him, but...they never reached him. Instead, the entire spell disintegrated before his eyes and an entire new spell shot forth from the barrier around him. A burst of pale blue light rammed through Alta's body and began to spread within. He writhed in pain, trying to find a way to get rid of the thing that had entered in his body. The pale blue light shot out of his body in little rays, and Alta's body completely faded away; sparkles of life floated up to the sky.

Kenji stared at the place where Alta once was before he felt a gentle warmth behind him. He slightly turned back with a small smile on his face.

"So...you DID want to give the final blow," he said.

Phoenix's ghost smiled sweetly back at her knight before fading into the darkness.

Revenge was so sweet.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whoo wee...my hands hurt from typing so much. Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for rushing on the action scenes. I just wanted to get this chapter over with and they're so hard to do, too! Anyhoo, R&R!

WHAT'S TO COME:

Chapter Fifteen ~ Ultimecia's Plans...Completed?!?

*dun dun dun....* Two more chapters to go until the finale!!