Howdy! I'm going out on a whim here and posting, please enjoy it!
Disclaimer: All characters of Final Fantasy Eight belong to Squaresoft Inc. I am not making any money, nor getting outstanding recognition for this story. Don't sue, it will cost you more than you'll get. (I say as the lint falls from my pocket)
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"MATCH! MATCH!" a hollow feminine voice announced evenly. A man with a gray shaggy head turned his head away from the voice. "MATCH! MATCH!" continued to echo through the room. Finally the man looked up. His thin-rimmed glasses halfway falling from his face. Pieces of shoulder length hair sloppily hung over the rest of his features. Slowly he regained consciousness and the words began to sink into his mind. Quickly wiping the drool from his lower lip he ran to the computer swiping his hair away from his face and straightening his glasses. He stared at the computer screen and clicked on the highlighted file that the computer was so avidly presenting. The voice stopped as he read the contents. His head swam and his jaw dropped with the realization that the hardest part of his life's work had been completed. As he scanned the contents however, he found a very disturbing fact.
"Oh my great Hyne…a sorceress. I must go," he murmured as he quickly made reservations over his computer. Then he began to pack only bringing what was necessary for he was going to change history.
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The screams of battle filled the air. Gunsmoke and the stench of sulfur overpowered the senses. The clanking of metal resounded from every surface on the battlefield.
"Thanks Quistis!" Zell yelled as he sent loose another set of attacks.
"No problem, just remember to cure yourself occasionally, you're of no help if you're unconscious." She answered sharply before setting Shiva out. Zell was only slightly offended. He knew that chatting with Quistis during a battle was pointless. He nodded his head and continued to attack the enemy: a large group of military rebels.
Their ages ranged from the late twenties all the way to their early fifties. Well trained and experienced, they easily had defeated their students and were looking to fight a bigger battle. Their reason for rebelling? Simple, they wanted more pay and more benefits. They figured since they were up in the ranks they should get more than their soldiers. They did but it wasn't enough to satisfy them. It began merely as a simple protest but after the first wave of arrest and trials for treason it broke into a rebellion between the government and it's officers. Many joined the cause hoping that they would receive more pay but instead it got them killed or demoted. SeeD was called to stop the rebellion before innocent civilians were injured. This battle was the last. This was decided after a group of government spies infiltrated the units of the rebellious officers and convinced their leader to make this deal. He obliged and it was so. If the rebels won the battle they would be paid more, have better benefits and a promotion to at least three higher ranks each. If they lost they were all sentenced to a maximum of forty years in prison and demotion to privates. Many other threats followed that but the proud rebels accepted. And so SeeD was called to make sure the government spent no extra soldiers on the rebels.
"Take that!" Irvine yelled to a group of the enemy in the process of attacking Selphie. They fought with each other until only one man was standing.
"Feels good to fight again," Irvine murmured as he drew a couple of Demi from a soldier.
"Darn straight!" Selphie laughed. Her bubbly persona did not match the bloody field, in fact she looked like a vicious child set out on a rampage, the stuff nightmares are made of. She attacked a squadron of rebels who thought they were being sneaky hiding behind a pair of bushes. After knocking them in the head repeatedly she cast Death until each one had fallen. With a quick Curagua she continued her attack. Irvine whistled softly wondering if that would happen to him if Selphie ever caught him flirting.
*
"Rinoa behind you!" Squall yelled. Rinoa spun around quickly and dodged the sword coming at her. With a smart kick to the face she sent him down to the ground. Angelo attacked him, choosing to try his rump. He ran off to help someone else and Rinoa finished of the soldier with her pinwheel. Squall pushed off three guys with Lion Heart and slashed at them all. Then he summoned Diablos. After those three were dead he went on to help Selphie who was only a few meters away. He sent one to Hyne with a Death spell.
"Nice of you to lend a hand!" she said perkily.
"Whatever. You know, you could drop the enthusiasm in your voice just a little. It's starting to freak me out."
"Sorry!" she stopped a fist from hitting her jaw but was hit by the left coming in to her stomach. She retaliated with a hard knock to his back with Strange Vision.
"Sorry Squall, love to chat really but no is not the best of times," she grunted as she heaved the rebel's dead body off of her, " Perhaps later?"
"Hey no flirting on the battle field!" Irvine yelled to them. Selphie winked and flounced over to him taking out two guys in the process. Squall smothered a chuckle and turned around into the fist of a soldier. He landed backwards but managed to avoid being stomped by rolling the side. Knocking the feet out from under the enemy he quickly jumped up shoved his weapon into the body. A mass explosion was heard on the other side of the field. Tanks were being brought out.
"How the heck did they get tanks! I thought that their government wanted to have them killed!" he wondered as he ran over to investigate.
*
"Crap!" Quistis yelled as the ground around her seemed to disappear. She ran from the tank's fire and into Zell.
"Quis…?"
"Tanks!"
"How did they manage tanks!" he screamed over the sound. Together they ran further from the fast approaching fire.
"I don't know but we need to take them out fast. They're causing more damage to the field then they are to us so that means they have rookies at the wheel." Her eyes started to glint.
"What are you planning to do this time crazy lady?" Zell asked through a wide grin. Her eyebrows cocked up.
"I'll have you know I am the most sane person on this field." She pulled him behind a bush as another round went off.
"Thanks."
"Yea, so the plan is this. You throw me on top of that tank right there," she pointed to a tank that fired more then it moved. "The driver obviously is afraid to move it so he won't be a problem to take out. Just hoist me to the top of the tank and I'll break in through the top." The glint in her eyes grew brighter. Zell thought the plan through in his head and tried to come up with any flaws.
"How are you supposed to get on top of that thing if it's movin'?"
"It doesn't move as much as the others. We just crawl to it from here and when the canon is turned one way you hoist me up. Either that or I'll climb and that may take to long. I don't want the barrel to start moving while I'm trying to get on." Zell sighed. There was absolutely no way to talk her out of this one.
"You're becoming more and more like Selphie everyday. What did I tell you 'bout them action novels you been readin'? No more!"
"Cross my heart for next time, let's go now!" They crawled through the field with practiced speed hiding behind dead bodies to keep from being seen. On their way Zell found Selphie among the bodies.
"Selphie!" he gasped. She looked up at him with tired eyes. Quickly he cast Full-Life on her. She smiled and began to sit up but Zell firmly kept her down.
"Thank you Zell but I need to le…"
" Stay down. Those guys over there think you are dead," he added pointing to a cluster of soldiers cheering for each other.
"Come with us."
"Us?" Zell looked beside him and found Quistis gone. Looking forward he saw her two feet from the tank. He rolled his eyes and grinned deeply.
"Let's go Selph! Quistis thinks she's Wonder Woman again." He crawled off and though confused Selphie followed him. When the duo met up with Quistis she had already begun calculating her exact plan of action.
"Zell what are we doing?" Selphie asked as she caught her breath. Quistis turned.
"Selphie, just the person I wanted to see! You're coming with me." She waited until the barrel swiveled around again and the cannon was opposite of them. She nodded at Zell and he cupped his hands. She started up slowly so to save time he pushed her up the rest of the way. She flipped over the side and landed with a thud.
"So much for surprise," she thought. Save The Queen in hand she used a Firaga spell to melt the perimeter of the lid. While it was hot she pulled at it. Selphie had just landed up there but far more gracefully then Quistis. Seeing Quistis struggle with the hatch lid she ran to help. Between the two of them they yanked it off. Shots came up through the hole. Quistis threw the lid off of them and sent a blind spell down, and Selphie followed with a sleep spell. They heard snoring but noticed the shots did not cease. She sent down another spell and they did. Selphie was about to jump right into the hole but Quistis help her back. The question marks were vivid on Selphie's face but Quistis answered with hers. Creeping up to the hole she wildly whipped her weapon around. It hit a surface and a cry erupted.
"Now we can jump in." Quistis jumped first and knocked out any other guards then the driver with a sharp jolt to the head. Selphie followed. She pushed the driver out of the chair and took to operating the movement. Quistis had taken all of the weapons away from the men and women inside and had them piled neatly in the corner.
"This is so fun!" Selphie squealed, "Quisty make the gun go *BOOM*!" Quistis laughed and went to the looking gage. Seeing another tank in range she aimed, locked, and fired. In a few short moments the tank blew up into pieces. Selphie applauded and then set to work with the controls. Once she had them sorted in her head she moved forward. Quistis jerked back with it but regained her footing and found another tank target. Seeing that this one also had an incompetent driver she checked carefully to make sure no SeeDs were in to close of a range. They were.
"How to get them to move…" she thought frantically. An idea came to her.
"Selphie go to the top and send out the Balamb SeeD warning combo. You know two Blizzards, two Fires, and a clanking of your weapon."
"Those SeeDs don't know that! I just learned it a week ago and that was purely by chance!"
"Yea but Squall is out the and he knows it." Selphie sighed.
"Here," Quistis pushed as she casted Double on her. Selphie grabbed Strange Vision and went up. Making sure she wasn't being shot at, yet, she did the spells. Squall noticed, as Quistis said he would, and started to pull the SeeDs out. He looked to find where it was coming from and saw Selphie smiling at the top of a tank.
"How? No don't ask, I don't want to know" he told himself. Selphie jumped back down and resumed her role as pilot. When the last SeeD moved out, or so she thought, she let loose with another round of ammo. It exploded too.
"I think there's only one more," she said under her breath. Selphie looked at the radar for any other tanks.
"Yea it's right behind us!"
Zell pushed through a small group of soldiers. He used Ifrit on them and after making sure they were out with a few punches he ran to Irvine who was holding his own with a clump of rebels. From the distance Zell cast sleep on the leader of the clump. Irvine shot him in the head and arm and he fell out. The others enraged attacked but Irvine had already cast Quezacotyl on them. A few were still standing and Zell and Irvine finished them off with some physical attacks. The battlefield was littered with bodies and the remaining people were all starting to fight slower. Exhaustion was beginning to kick in o both sides. The battle had begun around five that morning and here it was eleven. Irvine stopped to catch his breath and then ran off. Zell followed.
"Where are you going?"
"I can't find Princess!"
"Who?"
"Selphie."
"She's fine, at least she was when I left her. Right now she is with Quistis in one of the tanks."
"What! Where was she? It doesn't matter, why are they in a tank?"
"That doesn't matter. Let's find Squall and Rinoa and end this."
*
"What do you mean behind us!" Quistis screamed.
"The radar says it's behind us and it's not stopping!"
"Turn the barrel! We can either shoot it or ram it."
"Shoot! Shoot!" Selphie cried. The barrel spun and the cannon hit the other tank.
"Run!" Quistis yelled grabbing Selphie and their weapons. They threw the weapons and themselves through the lidless hatch. Hitting the ground hard they gasped for air but didn't stay. They raced away towards the others who they saw across the field. The enemy tank fired but started a chain reaction that sucked the other tank into the explosion. Both violently burst into flames. The after shock knocked the two down again. This time they rolled over and watched. Breathing heavily they sat up and walked towards the others, stepping over bodies and limbs. The battle seemed over and the SeeDs had won. Rinoa ran up to Squall and held on to him tightly. He hid a smile, but stroked her hair and listened to her tell him how frightened she had been when he left her. Somehow he felt upset with himself but managed to feel better by hearing her gentle breathing by his ear. Irvine gripped Selphie tightly. She giggled and leaned against his chest.
"You'll never guess what Quisty and I did," she said innocently. Irvine laughed and pulled her closer. Zell surveyed the damage.
"I think you saved a lot of lives Quisty," he said quietly. She turned around but looked over him. Tears threatened to spill down her face but hard earned control held them in.
"The sting never leaves when you kill something," she muttered to herself.
"Huh?" Zell questioned.
"I said thanks."
"No prob." He turned to the two couples holding on to each other. "Well love birds I think it's time we got back to the others and the ship. They're probably wondering where us esteemed fighters be."
"Zell!" Selphie boomed. "I thought we were working on your speech. Talk right boy!" Irvine grinned at him.
"You were taking grammar and speech lessons from Princess? No wonder you still can't talk straight."
"Watch it cowboy," she growled. The three started laughing. Quistis still stared out at the field. Her body felt tense, like she had consumed too much coffee and couldn't let out the energy. The ground suddenly seemed out of proportion and a weird blue light seemed to cover the entire field. It was glowing brighter and brighter till suddenly it flashed! Quistis breathed in sharply and Rinoa screamed then began to fall. Squall caught her quickly and asked questions until he saw the bullet hole leaking precious blood from her back. Gently he placed her into a sitting position on the ground propping her back up the whole time. Quickly Selphie cast a Curagua on her to stop the bleeding. The wound closed but they knew it wouldn't be long before it had to be taken out, the new bullets the rebels had been using were poison filled. Squall searched frantically for the shooter and found him on the ground dead, blood pouring down his chest and onto his hands. Smoke was still rising from the gun. Rinoa saw her world spinning before her, flashes of her life played like a movie and she heard a distinct ringing in her ears. A shiny image appeared before her eyes and whispered something to her in a dead language. It was the same voice that had spoken to her when she was receiving her sorceress powers. This time it made sense and she let the airy voice take her away.
"Squa…"
"No Noa' don't speak," he whispered. She cleared her throat.
"Squall please don't play this game. You know that I'm going to die now and it's not going to be all right." He bowed his head and rested it on hers.
"Rinoa don't say that you're going to be all right just like last time." Selphie put a small hand over her mouth to fight back the tears that were trying to weave out of her eyes. Irvine held her even tighter and prayed to Hyne in his mind that everything would be fine. Zell went over to the fallen rebel and inspected him. He took the gun into his gloved hand and looked it over. Something about that gun didn't look right. Quistis recovered quickly from the flash of light and calmed her breathing. She had heard Rinoa scream and now she turned to help her.
"Squall I'm not going to be okay. I'm going to die. I," she couldn't be brave any longer. She cried helplessly gripping onto Squall's jacket and begged him to forgive her.
'Why?" he whispered back.
"For leaving you."
"It's not your fault." The voice returned and was louder even frantic. Quistis reached the couple and spoke hastily.
"We can still save her if we move quickly! Squall grab her from the middle and watch her head, Irvine you guide through the bodies, Selphie run up to the ship now and tell tem that we have a critically wounded soldier here. Maybe they can meet us half way!" She turned to yell out to Zell who was still staring at the gun. Selphie saluted briefly and then began to run to the ship with her message. Irvine cocked his gun and began to mark out a trail in his head. The wound in Rinoa's back began to feel less intense.
"I'm starting to numb," she thought to herself. The voice was screaming at her the airy sound changing to the voice of the wind through hollow trees. Rinoa fought down another scream. Quistis knelt down to comfort her slightly before setting everything to action but Rinoa grabbed her hand tightly. The grip only grew firmer and Rinoa began glow. White and gold light flowed from her heart and down her arm to the hand that gripped so tightly onto Quistis. Squall was stunned and knocked away instantly by the powerful magic.
It finally clicked. The gun was an old model used for either training rookies or as a hidden weapon. He checked the *case* and looked at the bullet. It was an old model, which meant that it wasn't poisoned.
"I'll have to run this through Irvine," he thought to himself, " He's the gun expert, but if I'm right Rinoa should be just fine and she'll live!" Ecstatic with his find, he turned around to see Rinoa shinning brightly and Quistis at the mercy of her. Squall and Irvine were both lying on the ground too.
"Oh crap."
The magic spilled out from Rinoa and into Quistis snaking a course to her heart and wrapping around it until it seemed to burst. Quistis' eyes rolled back into her head as she continued to try and pull away but Rinoa's grip only tightened. Rinoa began to feel an immense relief in her body and finally felt as if she could die. The only thing she could see now was bright light and she focused even more of her strength in to transferring the rest of her powers into the blond instructor.
Zell ran towards the fallen bodies. He shook Squall first because he was closer and waited for him to regain consciousness. Squall jumped up quickly but fell back to his knees when his head caught up with him.
"What happened?" Zell demanded. Squall rubbed his temples.
"I don't know, Rinoa started to…." His gaze wandered to the glowing form.
"Oh Hyne!" he screamed. He started to run over to her but was held back.
"Stop. If you were knocked away the first time you'll be knocked away again." Zell went to wake up Irvine. The cowboy murmured something indecent then rolled to the side.
"Wake up now!" Zell yelled as he kicked him. Irvine jumped up, as Squall did, and started at him.
"Have you lost your," he looked over at Rinoa, " Great Hyne." He breathed. The two walked back to Squall.
"I know what she's doing."
"What?" Irvine asked quickly. The magic was making him nervous.
"She's going to die. As a sorceress she has to pass on her powers first and Quistis just happened to be the only girl left." Irvine and Zell nodded in unison. Suddenly Quistis screamed a blood-curdling screech before passing out. Rinoa breathed in deeply and also fainted. The three ran to them. Squall cradled Rinoa's head in his arms and started to tear up.
"It wasn't your time" he whispered to her hair.
"She's going to be fine." Zell growled.
"What?" Squall stammered out. Zell half way smiled.
"She's going to live if we get her help now. I'll explain when we get back to the ship." Now filled with purpose Squall gently lifted the sleeping girl up. Irvine gathered up Quistis with ease and they began carrying them back to the ship.
When they were in range of vision Selphie ran out to meet them with three medics behind her.
"What happened to Quistis?" Zell turned to her as they stopped to hand Rinoa to the soldiers.
"We're not sure yet, but it has something to do with Rinoa's powers."
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When everyone was settled in the ship Squall began to pace. Irvine watched as Selphie slept with her head on his broad chest. Zell bounced about shadow boxing feeling the tense mood of the room in his fists. Irvine couldn't take it anymore.
"What do you think you're doing?" Squall stopped and looked at him, as did Zell. Squall sighed and sat down. A young student brought on the mission to observe came into a small room of the ship designated for the Commander and his party.
"Commander Sir!" she said tapping her feet together for respect since her hands were full, " these are the papers you requested. The sections about Galbadian Military Tactics and Rules are in the front." Squall accepted the papers and saluted her.
"You are dismissed." She properly saluted him and turned quickly to leave. Zell flounced over.
"What are those?"
"She just told you."
"Oh. What do you want them for?"
"I want to know how they got tanks. My head is still aching from that and the fact that we lost three soldiers. Three! They were no match for us and three SeeDs were killed!"
"You have to admit some of the older ones were good, one of them could have been a SeeD at some point of is life. Besides, it was battle plain and simple. People are supposed to die in them. If they didn't die how else would anyone one win?"
Squall rested his head into his hand.
"You are right unfortunately. I'm going to see about Rinoa and Quistis."
"Don't even think about it." Irvine drawled. Squall stared at him.
"The doctors told you to stay in here and wait."
"So what. I can play my Commander of Garden card and they have to let me in."
"On the contrary. According to Garden Code 118 section 3 paragraph 2 doctors and medics have the right to over ride the Commander and all other high ranked officials if they see that their judgement is in anyway disrupted or flawed because of some weird circumstance, cough cough your girlfriend."
"Funny."
"Irvine, I didn't know you could read." Irvine glared as Zell smirked. Selphie seemed to giggle in her sleep.
"And what do you think you're doing' Missy?" she opened up one bright green eye cautiously.
"Laughin' at you." Her voice was sweet.
"I thought it was laughing!" Zell exclaimed.
"Bite me. I quit being your teacher!"
"Alright!!!!!!!" Squall rolled his eyes. It was nice seeing them relaxed but Rinoa was still worrying him to death and Quistis… she would wake up to such a change.
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Well that's my very first FF8 fic! Whaddya think? To long to short to pathetic to even continue? Please R&R, and BTW I will not cry if I get a flame as long as there is some note of validity to it.