Near the peak of the highest mountain in the Arctic Wasteland, Raziel sat in the cockpit of Sabotage-Lex, walking next to Gundam Deathscythe. The run-in they had with Unknown and Dark Raven had set them back a little, so they were traveling constantly, pausing only to sleep occasionally. A storm had started up a few days earlier, and was still in full force. The vicious winds had made flying near impossible, so they were forced to walk for the time being. Suddenly the snow thinned, and they saw a massive bridge of ice in front of them, stretching further than the eye could see.
As he scanned the bridge to see wether or not it could hold their weight, his sensors picked up two energy signals approaching. He opened a com-link to Deathscythe. "Here, take this." he said, tossing his Durandal to Kuja, "Your beam saber got pretty messed up in that last fight, and you may need it." Just as he drew his Dragon Buster Sword, Devil Ex Gundam and Nataku emerged from the snow.
Raziel laughed, visibly relieved, and sheathed his sword, opening a com-link to Nataku. "Seifer!" he said, "such a relief to see a fellow SeeD this far out."
Seifer didn't reply immediately, but just gave Raziel a pained look. "I'm afraid it may not be as much of a relief as it seems," he said, "You see this bridge in front of us? It's the only way to get accross here in this wind, and it can only hold the weight of two suits, not a pound more. I know neither of us can afford to wait until the other is accross, so I'm afraid we'll have to fight for it. Do you remember the oath you took at the beginning of the Battle Royal?"
"To fight until the very end, against both friend and foe, no matter what." Raziel said, nodding solemnly. He drew his Dragon Buster Sword again as Kuja raised Durandal. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"Heh...not quite." said Seifer, "You see, since we haven't ran into anyone else yet, Yoh and I have had a chance to perfect a technique we've been developing." Yoh's SD Amidamaru came flying from behind Devil Ex Gundam and hovered above the pair. "AMIDAMARU!" he shouted, "CO-INTEGRATE DEVIL EX!"
Raziel watched as SD Amidamaru split into two blasts of energy, one being absorbed into each gundam. Suddenly the battlefield was bathed in a blinding light. Once the light faded, he saw that Devil Ex Gundam had completely dissappeared. Then he saw it. Although it was Nataku standing in front of him, the shadow it cast was that of Devil Ex.
"Ah, much better," said Seifer. He could almost feel the power radiating from him. What was more, he could even hear Yoh's thoughts this time, they had never managed that before. He drew Excalibur and saw a transparent Zantetsuken shadowing it. He gave an experimental slash in the air, sending out a shockwave that sliced through the side of the cliff, starting an avalanche. "Now I'm ready." he said.
Raziel noticed that whenever Nataku moved, you could see a portion of a ghostly Devil Ex Gundam trailing it. "Kuja," he said, "I think I know their secret. The merging wasn't a complete fusion, just kind of a transfer of power. We may be able to break them apart if we hit them hard and fast."
"Yoh wants to know if you're going to be very long. We really need to get moving," Seifer said.
"Don't worry," said Raziel, "We won't waste another moment of your time." He lunged at Nataku, only to be sent flying back by a massive blast from Seifer's Chrome Buster. He saw Deathscythe lying nearby, a smoking hole where the right leg used to be. Raziel launched off all of his ghost missiles at Nataku, blowing him backwards over the cliff, only to have him come flying back up again, Twin Buster Rifle aimed at Kuja. He activated his own angel wings and flew in front of the blast, deflecting it with his sword. "If you want to get through him," he said, "you're gonna have to get through me first."
"All the better," said Seifer, "GENOCIDE WRAITH!" A massive, ghostly shockwave came flying out of the length of Excalibur, completely passing through Sabotage-Lex, causing no visible damage, but sending him plummetting to the ground.
Lying crippled on the ground, Kuja saw Nataku land. "Alright," he said, wincing slightly, "You win, go on accross the bridge. I couldn't stop you if I tried."
"Now now Kuja," said Seifer, "What happened to fighting until the very end? Giving up doesn't quite fit the bill. I think you need a little reminder of what happens to quitters." He slashed at the air, sending out a shockwave that sliced Gundam Deathscythe in half, causing a massive, earth-rocking explosion.
"You son of a..." Raziel said, only to be cut off by a shot from the Twin Buster Rifle, destroying one of his legs.
After the dust from the blast cleared, Seifer almost fell over backwards from what he saw. There, propped up on one side by his Dragon Buster Sword, stood Raziel.
"I think you'll find me a little harder to kill than Kuja," he said, "I don't know who the hell you are, but you're not Seifer. Seifer was an honorable SeeD member. He never would have killed someone that surrendered, especially when they were down, fellow SeeD or not. Whatever you did to the real Seifer, I'm undoing it here and now. DO YOU HEAR THAT YOU SADISTIC BASTARD? YOU WON'T LIVE PAST THE DAY!" He balanced on one leg as he picked up his Dragon Buster Sword, holding it in front of him. Suddenly he felt the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. He could do this, he knew he had it in him. Time seemed to slow down as he flew at Nataku, sword held out like a spear.
Seifer saw Raziel charging at him. There was something different about him this time, something that sent chills up his spine. He drew his Excalibur and prepared for another Genocide Wraith, but suddenly it happened. Sabotage-Lex began to burn with bloodred flames. The flames covered more and more of the suit, until nothing was left visible. In the very front of the fire, where the Dragon Buster Sword had pointed, a small black dot began to grow. The black dot grew until Seifer recognized it as a beak-like nose. Gradually, an entire dragon head emerged from the flames. He felt fear flood his entire body, paralyzing him.
Suddenly the dragon head moved. It's eyes opened, horrible, bleeding eyes that made his fear all the more acute. The head let out a horrible, bloodcurtling scream and the ball of flames flew at Nataku, faster than the eye could see. It hit the suit, causing a massive explosion that set off avalanches throughout the mountain.
Once the smoke cleared, Seifer found himself lying in pain on the canyon floor. He got up and saw Devil Ex Gundam lying beside him. He opened a com-link and said, "Yoh, we need to work on that technique some more before we use it again. What happened here today is just more proof that we weren't ready for it. Let this place forever be remembered as the site where the two bravest SeeDs made their last stand." Seifer and Kuja flew up to the bridge, and landed just as the storm picked up again, closing them off from the rest of the mountain.Near the peak of the highest mountain in the Arctic Wasteland, Raziel sat in the cockpit of Sabotage-Lex, walking next to Gundam Deathscythe. The run-in they had with Unknown and Dark Raven had set them back a little, so they were traveling constantly, pausing only to sleep occasionally. A storm had started up a few days earlier, and was still in full force. The vicious winds had made flying near impossible, so they were forced to walk for the time being. Suddenly the snow thinned, and they saw a massive bridge of ice in front of them, stretching further than the eye could see.
As he scanned the bridge to see wether or not it could hold their weight, his sensors picked up two energy signals approaching. He opened a com-link to Deathscythe. "Here, take this." he said, tossing his Durandal to Kuja, "Your beam saber got pretty messed up in that last fight, and you may need it." Just as he drew his Dragon Buster Sword, Devil Ex Gundam and Nataku emerged from the snow.
Raziel laughed, visibly relieved, and sheathed his sword, opening a com-link to Nataku. "Seifer!" he said, "such a relief to see a fellow SeeD this far out."
Seifer didn't reply immediately, but just gave Raziel a pained look. "I'm afraid it may not be as much of a relief as it seems," he said, "You see this bridge in front of us? It's the only way to get accross here in this wind, and it can only hold the weight of two suits, not a pound more. I know neither of us can afford to wait until the other is accross, so I'm afraid we'll have to fight for it. Do you remember the oath you took at the beginning of the Battle Royal?"
"To fight until the very end, against both friend and foe, no matter what." Raziel said, nodding solemnly. He drew his Dragon Buster Sword again as Kuja raised Durandal. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"Heh...not quite." said Seifer, "You see, since we haven't ran into anyone else yet, Yoh and I have had a chance to perfect a technique we've been developing." Yoh's SD Amidamaru came flying from behind Devil Ex Gundam and hovered above the pair. "AMIDAMARU!" he shouted, "CO-INTEGRATE DEVIL EX!"
Raziel watched as SD Amidamaru split into two blasts of energy, one being absorbed into each gundam. Suddenly the battlefield was bathed in a blinding light. Once the light faded, he saw that Devil Ex Gundam had completely dissappeared. Then he saw it. Although it was Nataku standing in front of him, the shadow it cast was that of Devil Ex.
"Ah, much better," said Seifer. He could almost feel the power radiating from him. What was more, he could even hear Yoh's thoughts this time, they had never managed that before. He drew Excalibur and saw a transparent Zantetsuken shadowing it. He gave an experimental slash in the air, sending out a shockwave that sliced through the side of the cliff, starting an avalanche. "Now I'm ready." he said.
Raziel noticed that whenever Nataku moved, you could see a portion of a ghostly Devil Ex Gundam trailing it. "Kuja," he said, "I think I know their secret. The merging wasn't a complete fusion, just kind of a transfer of power. We may be able to break them apart if we hit them hard and fast."
"Yoh wants to know if you're going to be very long. We really need to get moving," Seifer said.
"Don't worry," said Raziel, "We won't waste another moment of your time." He lunged at Nataku, only to be sent flying back by a massive blast from Seifer's Chrome Buster. He saw Deathscythe lying nearby, a smoking hole where the right leg used to be. Raziel launched off all of his ghost missiles at Nataku, blowing him backwards over the cliff, only to have him come flying back up again, Twin Buster Rifle aimed at Kuja. He activated his own angel wings and flew in front of the blast, deflecting it with his sword. "If you want to get through him," he said, "you're gonna have to get through me first."
"All the better," said Seifer, "GENOCIDE WRAITH!" A massive, ghostly shockwave came flying out of the length of Excalibur, completely passing through Sabotage-Lex, causing no visible damage, but sending him plummetting to the ground.
Lying crippled on the ground, Kuja saw Nataku land. "Alright," he said, wincing slightly, "You win, go on accross the bridge. I couldn't stop you if I tried."
"Now now Kuja," said Seifer, "What happened to fighting until the very end? Giving up doesn't quite fit the bill. I think you need a little reminder of what happens to quitters." He slashed at the air, sending out a shockwave that sliced Gundam Deathscythe in half, causing a massive, earth-rocking explosion.
"You son of a..." Raziel said, only to be cut off by a shot from the Twin Buster Rifle, destroying one of his legs.
After the dust from the blast cleared, Seifer almost fell over backwards from what he saw. There, propped up on one side by his Dragon Buster Sword, stood Raziel.
"I think you'll find me a little harder to kill than Kuja," he said, "I don't know who the hell you are, but you're not Seifer. Seifer was an honorable SeeD member. He never would have killed someone that surrendered, especially when they were down, fellow SeeD or not. Whatever you did to the real Seifer, I'm undoing it here and now. DO YOU HEAR THAT YOU SADISTIC BASTARD? YOU WON'T LIVE PAST THE DAY!" He balanced on one leg as he picked up his Dragon Buster Sword, holding it in front of him. Suddenly he felt the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders. He could do this, he knew he had it in him. Time seemed to slow down as he flew at Nataku, sword held out like a spear.
Seifer saw Raziel charging at him. There was something different about him this time, something that sent chills up his spine. He drew his Excalibur and prepared for another Genocide Wraith, but suddenly it happened. Sabotage-Lex began to burn with bloodred flames. The flames covered more and more of the suit, until nothing was left visible. In the very front of the fire, where the Dragon Buster Sword had pointed, a small black dot began to grow. The black dot grew until Seifer recognized it as a beak-like nose. Gradually, an entire dragon head emerged from the flames. He felt fear flood his entire body, paralyzing him.
Suddenly the dragon head moved. It's eyes opened, horrible, bleeding eyes that made his fear all the more acute. The head let out a horrible, bloodcurtling scream and the ball of flames flew at Nataku, faster than the eye could see. It hit the suit, causing a massive explosion that set off avalanches throughout the mountain.
Once the smoke cleared, Seifer found himself lying in pain on the canyon floor. He got up and saw Devil Ex Gundam lying beside him. He opened a com-link and said, "Yoh, we need to work on that technique some more before we use it again. What happened here today is just more proof that we weren't ready for it. Let this place forever be remembered as the site where the two bravest SeeDs made their last stand." Seifer and Kuja flew up to the bridge, and landed just as the storm picked up again, closing them off from the rest of the mountain.
[Summary-Raziel and Kuja are out of the Battle Royal. Yoh loses 500,000 armor. Seifer loses 2,000,000 armor and his angel wings are at 500%]