Chapter 31:
They made their way through the halls of Galbadia Garden as the battle raged on outside. They met very little resistance within the Garden. All the enemy soldiers were fighting outside and they hadn’t run into any monsters.
They arrived in the center of Galbadia Garden, the large, circular, two-story room that split off into four separate halls. This was the only familiar room they had come across so far.
They stopped and took a look around. “Where is everyone?” Irvine asked.
“It’s weird, he haven’t run into any enemies since we got inside.” Quistis pointed out.
“This doesn’t feel right.” Tylor said. “There should be at least some enemies around here. They wouldn’t just let us walk in here unless…” He hesitated, fearing the next set of words that would come out of his mouth.
“Unless what?” Squall asked.
“Unless they set up a trap for us.”
A voice echoed through the large room. “Very perceptive.”
Selphie shouted, “Who’s there!?” They all looked for the source of the voice.
Tylor looked up at the second floor balcony and saw a cloaked figure looking down on them. Tylor glared at him. “Xemnas…”
“I will not allow you all to harm my mistress. If you leave now, I may spare your lives. If not…” He smiled and chuckled softly, “then I’m afraid I will have to kill you all.”
Zell yelled at him. “Oh yeah? Well, I’d like to see you try!”
He raised his arm and snapped his finger and a roar sounded from behind him. A large creature raced past Xemnas, jumped off the balcony and landed in front of the group.
Tylor recognized this creature as Cerberus. He is a giant, three-headed dog with smooth red and grey skin instead of fur. Its long tail whipped around ferociously as it let out another howl.
They didn’t have time for this. The battle outside couldn’t go on forever. They had to find the sorceress and kill her before it was too late. Tylor grabbed his swords and said, “Everyone, I’ll handle this. You guys have to find the sorceress.”
“You can’t fight him on your own.” Rinoa said.
Tylor knew that wasn’t true. He had to do this to help the others, but most of all he had to do this for himself. Xemnas was his enemy; he had to fight him on his own. In order to do that, he would have to get through Cerberus first. “Don’t worry about me. Remember, we can’t let our emotions keep us from doing what we have to do. Now, go.”
Squall looked at him for a second and said, “Be careful.” He turned to the others. “Everyone, lets go.” Everyone followed Squall around the room toward one of the hallways.
Xemnas snapped his finger again. Cerberus howled and charged after the others. Tylor was there before the creature could attack his friends. He blocked one of the heads’ snapping mouths with one of his swords. Before one of the other heads could attack he brought his other sword up into Cerberus’ neck. The creature yelped and jumped back. It snarled at Tylor.
Tylor yelled over his shoulder. “Go!” They didn’t have to be told twice. They followed Squall out of the room.
Xemnas’ voice echoed through the room. “You would throw away your life to let your friends live a little longer. How touching.”
“What do you know about friends? You don’t have any.”
He chuckled again. “I do not need friends. My mistress is the only person I need.” He called out to the three-headed dog. “Cerberus! Finish him off quickly, then go after his friends.”
Cerberus let out another howl and lunged at Tylor, teeth bearing. Tylor jumped back just as his mouth began to close over him. He landed on the edge of one of the gardens. Cerberus lunged again and Tylor made a powerful leap backwards. He landed against the wall and prepared to jump again before gravity pulled him back down.
Cerberus leaped at the wall, but missed by a few seconds. His claws smashed through the wall just after Tylor jumped out of the way. Hitting the wall had slowed him down, so as soon as Tylor landed he ran after Cerberus and lunged at the side of his body with both swords. The creature roared in pain as the swords cut through his skin, leaving two long lines of crimson.
Cerberus whipped Tylor with his tail. The force of the attack sent him hurtling into one of the gardens. As Tylor regained himself from the attack he saw the creature preparing to cast a spell.
The ground began to shake and crack. The shaking became violent as the cracked stone floor jumped up and down. The spell Cerberus had cast was called Quake. Tylor had to find a way to stay off the floor until the spell subsided.
He took a running start and jumped up to one of the walls. He plunged one of his swords into the wall and hung there until the shaking began to stop. Once it was over, he pulled his sword out of the wall and landed on the ruined floor.
Cerberus lowered his body to the floor and whipped his tail high in the air. Tylor remembered what this meant; Cerberus was about to cast three spells at the same time.
A giant lightning bolt struck the ground in front of Tylor. The impact threw him back, but he was able to regain his form in mid-air and land on his feet. He jumped to the left just as a second lightning bolt crashed into the ground and ripped up the floor. Tylor tried to jump again as the third one hit, but he wasn’t quick enough. He managed to get out of the direct path of the lightning, but the explosion threw him face first into the floor.
He tried quickly to get back to his feet, but Cerberus had closed the distance during the Thundaga spells. He hit Tylor with a mighty whip of his tail that threw him across the room into a wall. He hit the wall so hard that it left a large implant of his body. He fell to the ground and couldn’t seem to move.
Cerberus’ foot was suddenly on his back, pinning him to the ground. He could hear Xemnas’ laugh echoing through the large room. “You cannot win, Daimon. You have yet to realise your full potential. I have powers you cannot imagine. What hope do you have against someone who has the power of darkness itself on his side?”
“Darkness…” He gave a weak laugh. “Is that what you think? Well, let me tell you something. Darkness may be powerful, but it’s nothing compared to the light. All of my friends are fighting for what they believe in, and they believe that there is a chance at a better future for all of them. I can’t give up on them, I will not give up. They are trying their hardest to keep their dreams alive. It’s that knowledge alone that drives me to get stronger and keep fighting for what I believe in.”
“And what is it that you believe in?” Xemnas asked, interest clear in his voice.
Tylor reached into Armageddon and Apocalypse to activate their powers like he had done before. His body began to glow as the power rushed through him, giving him strength. “A better future!”
Tylor let go of the power in a giant surge of energy that threw Cerberus off his back. He pushed himself off the floor and faced the creature. With the power of his swords still ever flowing through his being he slammed both swords together. The swords let out a massive shockwave as they fused together with his arm just like they had in Balamb.
Cerberus howled as he cast another Thundaga spell. The massive lightning bolt crashed down at Tylor from above. Tylor deflected the attack with his hand in a backhanded slap motion. The bolt of lightning bounced off his hand and struck the wall across the room, blowing it to pieces.
Tylor lifted the giant sword fused to his arm and pointed the tip at Cerberus. He focused his power into a single attack. “Hear me gatekeepers of Heaven, where the Gods reside. Bring judgement upon thy foe. Ritual Cannon!” The sword shot a massive beam of blue energy and light at Cerberus, tearing the creature apart with every molecule. The attack continued through the walls behind him and out the side of the building. Tylor stopped the flow of energy when he was satisfied. The attack had made a giant hole through the side of Galbadia Garden. He could see outside through all the rooms the beam had traveled through. The path was a perfect circle. The edges of the wall were smooth, like the edge of a piece of paper that had been cut by a pair of scissors. There was no trace of Cerberus in all the smoldering ruin.
Tylor turned to face Xemnas. He lifted his arm until his sword was pointing at him now. “You’re next.”
