I do not wish to remain stagnant. As much as people want me to write more in the Zeldaverse, I have more ideas for other games that I wish to see to fruition. So thus my second fanfic I've ever written comes to pass...and I have chosen Final Fantasy VIII's world as the stage with which to depict my grand set piece. I hope you all come join me for the ride on this new and exciting journey. This will be another massive, epic adventure similar in vein to Zelda's Honor but its going to be a bit more personal. With a smaller ensemble cast, I can focus more on the relationships and personal character arcs that I couldn't before. I hope you enjoy this first chapter and the many more to come after. Welcome to the world of SeeD.
The soft buzzing of the alarm penetrated her senses as sleep began to dissipate from her mind. She opened her eyes to see the white, smooth ceiling above her, interspersed with flashes of green or blue; electric currents traveling through the structure to provide power to the various compounds within it. Rolling over in the soft, cotton blankets, she squinted her eyes as the automatic blinds removed themselves elegantly up into the ceiling, revealing the glorious cityscape below.
Raising a hand to shield herself from the glare of the invading sun through the window, she tore the covers off and sat up on the bed, still groggy from the night before. Why did she have to get the room in direct view of the rising sun? With a grumble she placed both feet down with a contented moan. The floor was internally heated and it felt luxurious. She was so used to the cold, tiled flooring of the Garden each morning that she never fully appreciated the concept of heated floors until now. She would definitely miss waking up to these mornings once this job was over.
A singular ping by her bedstand indicated a message was waiting for her. She slumped back over the bed and smacked it lazily with her palm. Within moments, a light boyish voice sounded in the room, as if the intercom was situated in all nooks of the bedroom. If it was one thing she didn't exactly care about Esthar, it was the fact that you didn't have much privacy to be alone and almost anyone could contact you at any time and in any location.
"Hey Malita?" The male voice hesitated slightly, "Did I wake you?"
She shook her head; despite the fact she knew he couldn't see her reaction, "No Terrance. I've actually been up for a few minutes now." She tried to stifle the yawn that immediately followed with little success. It came out as a pitiful whine.
"Uh huh, I bet I was the second thing that made noise in your room. You just woke up." An undertone of mirth pervaded his words.
"Shut up!" Malita yelled.
After some chuckles Terrance continued with unusual seriousness, "I'm here to pick you up and head to our new job location. We are to meet there at 0730. Did you forget?"
Her eyes widened, she had totally forgot. She was out drinking with her friends the night before and didn't think to head into bed early last night. She smacked a hand to her forehead, "All right! I did." Groaning, she hopped off the bed and began switching into her outfit for the day. "Can you at least let me have some quick breakfast before I come down?"
"Of course. I'll meet you by the main elevator in ten. See you there." Terrance clicked off.
Outside of the small trickle of water from the portable décor fountain she had brought with her from Garden, silence descended upon the room. Her thoughts wandered to their new job location. They had just got orders only two days prior that their new rounds would be to guard and supervise a new, top secret operation that President Laguna was presiding over. Her heart skipped a few beats just thinking about it!
She opened up a side drawer from the mass of options lining the side wall and rummaged through the small packages of menus. She flicked one up between her fingers and read 'Spicy Omelet' on the side. That sounded good. She opened the small, spherical vessel on her computer desk and popped in the pill from the package. She closed it and depressed the round, blue button. Within seconds, the dinger buzzed and the side compartment door opened, ushering out a tray with the steaming food.
With cooked eggs and spices percolating the air with aromatic scents, Malita grabbed some silverware before walking over to the window and sitting down to enjoy her meal. She gazed out over the majestic blue spires and oddly shaped buildings that stretched off into the distance as far as the eye could see. Multitudes of highways and walkways wrapped themselves in convoluted pathways around each structure. Various hover cars and vehicles were making their way around the highways as the massive city slowly woke from its slumber.
What a majestic place. She had only just graduated SeeD training only a few months prior but this was her first official mission that she was contracted to do. She couldn't imagine a better place to start her future career as a SeeD mercenary than here in Esthar. Most of her classmates were quite jealous of her position and envied her luck in being assigned to it. Now that this new directive was handed down by President Laguna himself, she was quite giddy about today. Her hands shook slightly as she brought each bite to her lips at the prospect of her new role. Would she be prepared for it?
With breakfast finished, she opened the side compartment shaft by her bed and dumped the plate, silverware and remaining food down the chute. She marveled at how clean and immaculate everything was in Esthar. Why didn't the rest of the world live as they do? With a final straightening of her skirt and brush down of her auburn hair, she cycled the bay doors to her room and stepped out into the hall.
The corridor was as pristine as her bedroom and was lit on the sides by dim lighting that lined the floor and ceiling from one end to the other. At intervals were several potted plants to make the space more comely and hospitable to its SeeD residents. Indeed, there was a whole task force of SeeD assigned here under both President Laguna and Commander Squall's orders. Tense relations with Esthar and the rest of the world had started to ease in the past year and there was plenty of work for them to do.
She skipped down multiple staircases and turned around various bends in the hallways before finally seeing Terrance, complete with tight fitting jeans and buttoned up plaid shirt, waiting patiently by the main atrium, a worried look on his face as usual. She hopped on over and gave a small wave. "Hey Terrance! You excited about tonight?"
He shrugged his shoulders as he straightened his glasses. She knew he was nervous but he tried his best to hide it. Without warning, she grabbed a handful of his jet black hair and ruffled it fervently. "Hey! Stop that!" He fumed as he waved her away.
"Don't be so glum! It's going to be all right!" She pointed towards the open doors of the elevator that had just arrived to let off a few SeeD who had just finished their shifts at whatever missions they were tasked to. "Let's get on."
They filed into the arching doorway and pressed the button for the ground lobby. The door shuttled into place before the elevator rumbled and began lowering itself down the multitude of floors. The view outside was unimpeded by the glass tubing surrounding the moving structure and Malita was actively leaning over the railing to get a better view of the Presidential building just beyond their view, blocked only by the corner of their hotel.
Matila, still craning to get a look of that impressive, mushroom topped structure, offhandedly queried, "So you looking forward to our new mission?"
Terrance shrugged again, "As long as we get paid."
She scowled at him, "Don't be like that. This is an order from President Laguna himself! It must be something important!"
He looked off into the distance, longing to be somewhere else, "I try not to think about it. As long as it is within regulations and code, I have no qualms about performing any mission asked of me."
She turned to him before placing her fists on her hips, "You and rules! Sometimes we have to think outside the box to get the job done! That's what makes us SeeD and not normal militia of the country. We are given the freedom to make our own choices in how to accomplish our employer's goals, not take mindless orders!"
Terrance waved his hand at the scenic view, slowly rising to meet them, "Look around. We're in a foreign country with laws we haven't begun to read or understand yet." Malita had to agree with him, the codec book of laws for Esthar was practically a dictionary you could severely hurt your toes with! "I'd rather play it safe and fall within the established guidelines for any missions we undertake." He finished, pressing up on his glasses with his forefingers.
Malita huffed before returning back to the splendid view, "I highly doubt we'd get in all that much trouble. After all, Commander Squall is friends with President Laguna. I don't think they'd jail us."
He hid a smirk as he rebuked her, "You're talking as if you are planning to get into trouble!"
"Maybe I am?" She snarked back, flashing a wicked smile.
Terrance shook his head, "Remind me again why they paired me with you?"
Turning back to him, she tapped a finger to her chin, "Oh…how should I put it?" She took a couple steps towards him mockingly, "In your own words, SeeDs are paired together to help grow and learn from each other through their differences." He grimaced at her reminder, "Weren't those the exact words you stole from Colonel Quistis verbatim?"
A slight reduction in the hum and speed indicated they had reached their destination. Terrance gestured toward the doors as they slid open, "Nevermind that. We need to report in to our squad leader before we head out to our new coordinates."
They walked off the elevator before descending down a grand staircase, complete with extravagant chandelier above them that rotated colors every few seconds. Its undulating pattern of shifting crystal was mesmerizing. At the foyer doors, they noticed a messenger waiting for them at the revolving door. With a glance at Malita, Terrance walked up directly to the brown haired youth.
"Who are you expecting?" Terrance asked calmly.
"Are you Terrance Magrove and Malita Lemoine?" The boy said anxiously.
"Yes." Malita jumped in, "Is there something wrong?"
The messenger shook his head, "I don't know. I was just told you were to report immediately to the abandoned warehouse at the far eastern edge of Esthar. There is already a cab waiting for you outside."
"Odd." Terrance commented as he dismissed the youth. "I guess we won't be seeing the squad leader."
"You think something went sour and we have to fix it?" With a gasp and an excited twinkle in her eye, Malita pressed, "Maybe even see some combat?!"
He raised a palm to silence her passionate mood, "Hard to say. I wouldn't be so excited about going into combat."
She pouted as they headed out into the open air. For being such a culturally advanced civilization, Esthar was still situated in the blazing hot location of the great salt flats, so they had to endure sweltering heat during the summer months. Quickly jumping into the hover car, they shut the door swiftly behind them as they basked in the air conditioned vehicle. Without a word, the driver glanced back once to see his charges secured before driving off down the blue glass road.
Terrance buckled his seatbelt as he noticed Malita adjusting the sais at her belt. For a SeeD, the sai was just as unique a weapon as the gunblade. Not many cadets chose the weapon because of its difficulty. Unlike the gunblade where technical skill was required to use it properly, the sais required close quarter combat which could expose the user to unnecessary harm. So for any SeeD to graduate in such weapons had to be exceptionally skilled in them. He looked down at his pistol, tucked in its holster. He had claimed expert marksman and was deemed an excellent sharpshooter. Quite a pair they were with such vastly different skill sets.
They had just driven by some large, oblong structure towering over the highway, each one a power generator for that hub of the city. They were presently passing through the mall district, a section of Esthar that Malita was quite fond of. She stared longingly out the window as she saw the flashing neon lights of the stores pass by. She spied various groups of adults with their children and rowdy batches of teenagers walking and talking along the elevated walkways meandering around the outdoor shopping center. Each one oblivious to the outside world around them, concerned only with the immediate present.
Most of the trip passed in silence, it would take the better part of the hour just to reach the far eastern edge of Esthar. It truly was a massive city. Looking down at his armband, Terrance navigated through its menus via touch as he passed the time. He checked the Guardian Forces he was junctioned with and ensured he had enough para-magic assigned to his strengths.
A thought occurred to him, "Hey Malita." She gave a sound of interest but continued to look out the car window. "What GFs are you currently junctioned to?"
"Oh!" She had forgotten to check to ensure they were still set up properly. Captain Zell had designed a most amazing technological marvel in the form of the SeeD armband. It allowed all members to easily manage their Guardian Forces and any para-magic that they drew from monsters in the wild. It was a lot more complicated a mere six months ago before the invention.
The armband was a combined effort between SeeD and Odine laboratories that could tap into a person's inner spirit and manipulate the necessary magical elements of their being to better manage their combat abilities when junctioned with a Guardian Force. Although a dangerous method of war, Garden authorized their use for their SeeD graduates. No common country-based militia soldier could access and junction a Guardian Force themselves.
As far as anyone had learned, the Guardian Forces are beings of energy that have been around since time immemorial. They were recently discovered to be compatible with humans by order of junctioning, a special magic that combines the two entities' essences together thus boosting the bodily functions of both. It was only recently discovered that merely being junctioned, the entities themselves took residence in the brain of the junctioned host, sometimes eliminating precious memories in the process. Regardless of this deficiency, Commander Squall saw fit to continue their use.
After navigating a few menus, she answered back, "I have Ixion and Doomtrain."
Terrance cocked his head at the second name, "That's not a standard issue GF."
Malita giggled, "I know! Zell gave me that one a few months ago."
Puzzled at this, he probed further, "I thought you two had broken up?"
She raked a hand through her hair, a somewhat nervous tic that Terrance noticed whenever she was uneasy about something, "Not exactly. We were never really together." She furtively looked away from Terrance's intense gaze before continuing, "I guess we fancied each other for a time. He kept visiting me at the library during my internship there while we were training to be a SeeD. Once he graduated before me, he stopped coming. It was only recently that he bumped into me and said he had a cool new GF he wanted to try out but wanted to hand off an old one for it."
Terrance's countenanced softened, "I'm so sorry Malita. Is that why you dress like that now?" He gestured to her short, blue skirt and rather revealing top. "To impress him? You really don't have to do that."
He knew it was a mistake to point that out the moment she frowned and pulled hard on her skirt to cover up her exposed legs. "What business is it of yours how I dress? We aren't some country-locked military. We are SeeD. We can dress however we want in the field." She snorted involuntarily at the affront. "Besides, he's clamoring after that floozy, Xu." She let out a mocking laugh. "Just he wait! He doesn't even know the half of it!"
They rode the rest of the cab ride in silence as the tension grew thick within the vehicle. As an older SeeD graduate, at least one full year out in the field over Malita, he felt completely out of touch with the internal gossip within Garden. He couldn't blame her for being slighted at questioning her motives and dress, he was not part of her graduating class and they had only been assigned together for a few weeks now.
Presently, the car stopped just outside a rather dilapidated structure, its roof cracked and its overall integrity practically giving in on itself. It was of a different make and style compared to the rest of the Esthar building motifs. It was more square-like in nature similar to buildings found in Galbadia however enhanced with Esthar décor and construction. What was most odd was that the doorway was not automatic but rather required physical manipulation to open and close. What could possibly be their purpose in coming here?
No sooner had they stepped out of the car that they were assaulted by the previous crew. "Hello! Welcome! You must be the day shift? My name is Carl Sanders!" The enthusiastic SeeD proclaimed as he shook both their hands jovially.
Terrance nodded towards the run-down building, "What's our hand off? Any idea what we'll be doing here?"
Carl glanced over at his partner as he strolled up beside him before answering, "Not entirely sure myself but our orders were to secure the front entrance and ensure that nothing escapes that isn't escorted or carried by the extraction crew that went in."
"Escape?" Malita inquired. "What is that supposed to mean? Is there something dangerous in there?"
Carl shrugged and smiled, "I have no idea. Just orders, so we followed them. The night shift was pretty boring. A crew of highly armed, and I'd imagine, well trained Esthar soldiers went in about 2300 last night. We haven't heard a single peep from inside all shift. Hopefully for you two, it stays that way."
"Is there anything else we should know about the mission?" Terrance said gravely, he had an odd feeling about this.
"Not really." Carl said, scratching the back of his head, ruffling his red hair before dropping his hand. "Just stand by the door and guard it."
"Thank you, we can handle it from here." Terrance waved them off towards the cab as him and Malita took up their positions on either side of the door. They watched Carl and his partner get into the vehicle before it turn hovered around and sped off down the freeway towards the main hub of Esthar.
"Seems like we are really out in the boonies here." Malita commented. Terrance had to agree, the closest structure was at least a good mile off down the road and probably a half mile beyond that the actual city began. If he didn't know any better, they might as well be situated on the great salt flats themselves!
"Sure looks like it." He looked around to see if there was a better place to stand but noticed very little shade. The small awning over the door only provided so much from the blistering sun which was now starting to peak in the sky. "Here, you can stand where I am and I'll take up position where you are."
Malita glanced at him before realizing that he was offering her a more protected spot from the rays. "Oh, you don't have to."
"You're right, I don't. But I feel you should have the cooler spot." He smiled warmly.
They swapped before leaning up against the warm glass siding of the building, opaque enough that you couldn't see what was inside. They stood vigil in silence for a time before she broke the watch, "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have gotten cross with you. I'm just still hurt over what happened with Zell and me. I truly thought he liked me."
Terrance let himself slide down to the warm concrete beneath them, feeling somewhat satisfied at the touch of warm pavement beneath his rump. "It's okay. It is I who has to apologize. I shouldn't have pried. I was just trying to get to know my partner a bit better, that's all."
She grinned at him, "Is that all?"
"As the great Colonel Quistis said, SeeDs are paired together to help grow and learn from each other through their differences!" They both laughed at this.
"You're cute when you laugh like that!" Malita complimented.
"Like what? This?" He couldn't stop laughing.
"Yes! Reminds me a bit of how Nida laughs." She remarked.
"Oh? Do you like him too?" Terrance teased.
"Never!" Protested Malita. They chuckled for a good minute before their humor finally died down, with occasional spurts of giggles.
After a time Malita murmured, "It sure is different these days." After a small inquisitive grunt from Terrance she elaborated, "My first real battle was against my brother and sisters from Galbadia Garden as a cadet almost a year ago. Remember that?"
"Yeah." Terrance nodded, "During the war with the sorceress Edea...er…Ultimecia?"
"Ever since then, I haven't seen one lick of combat. It's been too peaceful." Taking his cue, she sat down on the ground as well, relishing in the warmth of the concrete.
"One thing I've learned being out in the field is that you should never look for combat. Wait for it to come to you. Too much heartache can come from looking for trouble." A rather somber tone entered his words as she searched his face with her eyes. After a moment, he noticed her look, "Don't worry about it. Just be happy the world is finally at peace. The Sorceress is no more and the only one that we know of in existence resides with us in Balamb Garden. She is on our side."
Malita shook her head to dispel her thoughts, "Yeah, I know. It's just weird though. For the longest time, Esthar was our enemy…no, the world's enemy and Galbadia was a tyrannical dictatorship that sought to overtake their own continent by force. With the peace treaty between Dollet and Galbadia and with Esthar finally coming out of its shell to help with the renovations across the world, it seems there is little need for us SeeDs."
Terrance scooted over next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders, "Hey…just because our primary purpose of defeating the Sorceress is accomplished doesn't mean there is no use left for SeeD in the world. There will always be governmental squabbles and borderland skirmishes that will require people with our unique skill sets to combat and solve. If we weren't wanted anywhere, money wouldn't still be flowing into Garden to maintain it and our training academy."
Malita beamed as she turned to Terrance, "You know, you act all anxious and nervous all the time yet you really are strong on the inside." She turned her eyes to the ground. "Unlike me. I'm an emotional mess that tries to hide behind a façade of cheeriness."
"Be that as it may, at least I feel like I'm getting to understand my partner more." They both smiled at each other.
For some strange reason, Malita felt flushed and could almost imagine Terrance watching her cheeks go red. She wanted to look away from his green eyes but couldn't bring herself to do so. Why won't he look away first? Not knowing why she did so, she began to move in, her lips wanting to just brush his, if only for curiosity's sake.
A small buzzing sound attracted Terrance's attention. He raised a hand up for her to be quiet as she went to ask him what was wrong. "I don't know." He twisted around and put an ear to the door. "It's coming from inside and getting louder."
"Should we go in and find out what it is?" Malita asked.
He shook his head ardently. "No. Our orders were to stay outside and prevent anything from escaping, not go inside and view potential state secrets of Esthar."
She set her lips in a line of determination as she got up from the ground and readied her sais. In turn, Terrance helped her step back from the door as he loaded his pistol with several different types of rounds, able to be selected at will based on the situation and target. They stood ready in complete silence as the buzzing grew louder beyond the door. Sweat trickled down their brows as they waited for some monstrosity to come bursting through the door. She truly had to wonder why anyone would think a desert like this was a good place for a city such as Esthar.
The entire ground rocked beneath their feet as they were blown back by the explosion that blasted the roof sky high. Shards of debris and glass splintered everywhere as a second explosion pummeled their bodies before they even hit the ground from the first. Aching and bruised, Malita struggled up on one arm to get a good look at the demolished ruin, to see what could have caused such devastation.
Several engines revved up beyond the haze of smoke. Terrance coughed as he inhaled some of the swirling dust in the air as he sat up and faced the roaring sound. Five motorcycles suddenly surged up over their heads and landed on the highway behind them, each bearing a single rider dressed in a red jumpsuit with white lining down the sides. At the moment of impact, each cycle blazed a trail down the road towards Esthar. Galvanized into action, Terrance flipped up onto his feet and practically dragged Malita up onto hers.
"Shouldn't we Cure ourselves first?" Malita grimaced; a slight sprain had developed in her right ankle from the fall.
"No time! Five unidentified persons just escaped from our charge. We can go back for survivors later but our mission is to prevent them from getting any further into Esthar!" He quickly navigated through the menus on his armband as he selected the magic of choice. "Utilize Haste, we need to catch up with them!"
With the aid of their junctioned magic, they were speeding down the highway on foot. Malita sighed inwardly, this was going to tear up her shoes for sure. She would have to go to the mall later and buy new ones after this. Within minutes, they could see the trailing motorcycles ahead of them. They were staying in a tight knit formation, so much the better to take them all out together.
In full motion, Terrance took aim at the nearest cycle, swapped his ammo and fired. The bullet hit the rear wheel and exploded, careening the motorcycle in a spiral, knocking the occupant off. Startlingly, the man landed perfectly on both feet, utilizing a rather strange metallic left arm to steady himself on the ground. At a signal from the lead cycle, one of the other four broke off and spun around towards them.
Malita was ready for him, at a swipe on her armband she thrust out several flaming blasts of Fire intending to lead her target as it rushed closer. Seeing her tactic, Terrance joined in and fired several bullets that burst into multiple caltrops that diffused across the road. At the sight, the driver swerved hard to avoid running over the spiked traps before tipping the cycle over and rolling several times across the glassy pavement.
"We got some live ones here Loramel!" The bigger man with the silver arm leered at them. She had never seen such an appendage.
"Delightful!" A rather feminine voice cajoled from beneath the helmet of the other person, just now pulling themselves up from the ground. "I wonder how their magical auras will taste? Will you please kill the male first Renard? I do love me some testosterone in my system!"
With blinding speed, Renard lunged forward towards Terrance, his metal arm outstretched to strangle him. Still under Haste, Terrance just barely dodged the swift attack. He had never seen anyone move that fast. As they passed each other, he fired off some armor piercing bullets. They merely rebounded off the man's arm. What type of metal was that made of anyway?
Malita turned her attention to the woman, now divested of her helmet, chestnut hair blowing in the breeze. A rather wicked scar from her chin through the nose cracked her lips as she smirked, "You have sais my dear? How poor for you!" She unhooked a whip from her belt and unfurled it with a crack. "I dare say you are at a disadvantage here."
With a spin, she lashed the leather out at Malita. She ducked low before firing back a blast of Lightning from her fingertips. Loramel laughed as she pirouetted to the side and struck back again. The whip latched on to a sai before jerking it out of Malita's grasp. Seeing a golden opportunity, she dashed in with the other sai and struck out at the woman's midriff. Loramel cuffed her across the head before hopping back, pulling Malita's leg out from under her with the whip.
Her chin smacked the ground hard, causing her to bite deep into her tongue. Malita cried out in pain as blood pooled out of her mouth at the deep gash. She shrieked further as the woman clicked a button on the side of her whip and flames instantly erupted along the length of the leather. Malita writhed in pain as the flames bit through her socks and into the flesh of her ankle. A deep throaty laugh emanated above her.
"Sthop laufing bith!" Malita shouted with a heavy lisp, striking out with several blasts of Ice to the face. Loramel screamed in fury as she fought to ward off the effects of the spell, rushing to avoid having her face freeze solid. With the opening revealed, Malita kicked off the burning whip and scrambled over towards the remaining motorcycle that was still functional. "Terranth! We hath to go!" She screamed.
"No!" Terrance shook his head violently as he cast another Haste upon himself. He swerved to the side as Renard nearly drop kicked him to the ground. Terrance looked ragged and was breathing heavily from the battle. "You need to head back to HQ and tell them to Scan for five traces of Triple. It's the magic they are using right now to amplify their abilities! I got this! Valifor, come!"
Plumes of energy erupted from the ground around Terrance as flashes of light dazzled around him. He was summoning a Guardian Force to assist in battling Renard. A swooping of wings was heard overhead as the sun was blotted for an instant. A majestic bird of yellows, whites and tans descended down from above, hovering protectively over him. Terrance reveled in the cool breeze from its flapping wings. Valifor's crooked beak opened menacingly as it cawed ferociously at its opponent. Much to Terrance's dismay, Renard stopped his forward momentum and stood up tall, completely unafraid of the imposing Guardian Force.
Renard grinned sardonically, "It's about damn time!"
With a swing of his arm and a clenching of his silver fist, Valifor let out a blood-curdling shriek. It contorted and twisted as if being stricken from all sides by an invisible enemy. Malita couldn't believe her eyes as the Guardian Force caved sickeningly into itself until it was nothing more than a speck and then a puff of smoke. It was then she realized that she had no idea what she just witnessed. What happened?
"Terranth?" She prodded nervously, saddling herself securely into the motorcycle. "Whath going on?"
Terrance looked completely bewildered, a dazed look about him. He staggered back a few steps before turning to her, unrecognition in his eyes. "Who are you? What am I doing here?" His words shocked her to the core. She couldn't comprehend what just happened. Did he not remember her? What was going on?
Seeing the danger before him, she shouted his name too late. Renard catapulted himself into Terrance, his silver arm plowing its way through his chest. A heavy wheeze escaped Terrance before his pupils dilated and life left his eyes. With a heaving wrench, Renard ripped Terrance's entire spinal column out of his body, his skull forcibly exiting the cavity that was once his head; ribcage bones breaking and falling to pieces to the ground with the force of the motion. Blood gushed out of the remainder of his body as it slumped to the ground in an uneven heap.
With a guffaw, Renard tossed the skull attached spine towards Loramel who was just recovering from the magic onslaught Malita had inflicted upon her previously. She looked down upon the bloody offering before sweeping it up joyously. "You really do know how to bring a girl's spirits up don't you?" She thanked before licking the length of the spine with her tongue, sucking down the fresh blood from the bones. "Oh…his aura is delicious! Sweet, yet with a slight hint of tang!"
Renard grunted his merriment at her dining habits before rounding on Malita. She screamed with every fiber of her being at the sight of her dead partner. Panic settled into her brain as nausea assailed her stomach. She kicked the motorcycle into gear and blazed down the highway. Her heart thumped dangerously loud in her chest, images of Terrance's death still replaying in her mind. What had just happened? Did he summon a GF? Which one was it? She couldn't remember anymore!
After several minutes of dementia, she began to calm down and think rationally. What was the last thing he said to do? Yes…he wanted SeeD HQ to Scan for Triple usage. She pressed a button on her earbud attachment, it extended out in a holographic display before her right eye. She Scanned for any instances of Triple and carefully observed the graphics as it revealed the trail of the other three motorcycles. With a clear path ahead, she followed the trail back into Esthar.
She caught up with them just as they were entering the mall district, they were slowing down. It appeared they were unsure of which way to go next. With the element of surprise on her side, she readied a rather nasty spell of Fire. Aiming her cycle at the lankier rider of the bunch, she back flipped off the seat before catching her fall with Float. The cycle rammed the rider square on, pitching them forward off the side of the freeway to the lower levels below.
In an instant, Malita was running towards them casting several blasts of Fire at their heads, her remaining Sai firmly in hand. The two remaining riders spun around in their seats and aimed two guns at her before blasting her fully in the chest. She flew backwards from the impact before landing on her back with a crack. Both men slowly stepped off their cycles and began making their way towards her with cold, calculated steps.
Crying out in pain, she rolled over onto her hands and knees, trying in vain to use the last remaining draws of Cure on her body knowing full well she will have lost some of her combat prowess in the process. She didn't care. They killed Terrance! She needed to be fit to fight. Feeling sufficiently better, she got up to a knee before throwing a sai at her assailants.
Her aim was true and it lodged itself tight into the right arm of the shorter man. She gaped as he looked down with what looked like apathy at the wound she had caused him. It was then she realized that both his arms were robotic. Her eyes disbelieving, he sighed heavily before removing the sai and discarding it like trash before transforming the same arm into a rifle. One shot pierced through her abdomen as blood flowed from the wound.
Thrusting the tip of his gunblade into the glass road, the taller man with brunette hair leaned heavily onto its base as he sneered at her. "Oh, you SeeD. Thinking you are better than anyone else based on the power that you wield."
"Shuth up!" Malita roared, lashing out with a deadly spell of Meteor. She didn't care if it struck her as well. She wanted them all to die. She did not notice the slight haze of smoke that had materialized around them.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't even get the magic out of her spirit. Her arm was halted in midair. She couldn't even move it. A slimy cackle emerged from her right as a lanky figure climbed over the edge of the road and scrabbled his way to her. "You are most troublesome!" Malita tried to shy away from the frightening man. She couldn't even see his face. It was hidden behind a gas mask with tinted viewports. A husky breathing could be heard from the air filters on the sides.
She cried out in shock as the masked man pulled out a pair of oddly shaped nun chucks and began deliberately moving them around in a peculiar way. Her entire body began to move of its own accord, her mind screeched at her limbs to obey her but they weren't listening. The smoke was getting thicker as she began to slowly crawl for her sai that the gun-armed man had tossed aside. The man leaning on the gunblade chuckled a bit but did nothing to interfere.
Picking her sai up, she was forced around to behold the lanky man. He looked up at their leader resting on the gunblade, "Can I lobotomize her Malthius?" Obvious glee in his voice.
Malthius considered a moment before turning to his silver haired companion beside him, who was slowly reloading several bullet types into his arms. "I should think not Theros. What do you think Fefnir?"
Fefnir shrugged and continued to load the bullets. "I care not."
Malthius turned to the trembling Malita, "It's too quick a death for a SeeD. They need pomp and circumstance about their deaths!"
Theros nodded as he began to bring one of the nun chucks to his stomach. Malita gasped as she thrust her own sai into her stomach, feeling it twist around before wrenching out her smaller intestine. Against her will, she gripped the bloody cord and held it out for Theros to grab with his nun chuck before he began twirling it around with pleasure. The hold on her body was released but she could do nothing but collapse to the ground and shiver violently with shock at her intestines slowly being pulled out of her body. Theros cackled maniacally with her every whimper.
"Here, child of Hyne." Malthius knelt down beside her and placed a soothing spell of Protect over her body to help dull the pain. "We need you to enjoy your death."
With some rational sense returned due to the magic, she fearfully looked up at him, "Hyne…? I'm…no…thild of Hyne…" She gasped in-between jerks of her innards.
"Oh?" Malthius said in mock surprise. "Then I guess you using the very magic he gave Sorceresses means nothing then? You are sorely misinformed about your role in this life my dear child."
"I…don'th…understhand…" Her tongue lisping harshly; Cure still unable to fully patch it up.
"Nor would I expect you to." Malthius's grin was vile. "You SeeD claim to usher in a new era of peace without the sorceress yet you use the very magic that you strive to stamp out. What hypocrisy is that? You take the very power of Hyne himself and dare to call yourselves our betters!" He smacked her hard across the face. She barely felt it, her mind still reeling from the terse pulling from Theros, continually reminding her that her very life was being torn out inch by excruciating inch. "I will expose you for the charlatans you are!" Malthius finished.
"I cannot access her magic Malthius." Fefnir commented, pointing a barrel at the band on her left arm.
Malthius leaned over her body and tore off the band from her forearm. The menus and projections went dead as soon as it left her skin. He examined it and turned it this way and that. "How fascinating. It looks like Dr. Odine has created something we cannot get into…just yet." He flipped it tight in a roll before stuffing it into the pocket of his leggings. "I must thank you for this valuable bit of technology. We shall use it well!"
He stood up and walked back over to his gunblade and jerked it up from the glass. He cocked his head as he heard the running footsteps of Loramel and Renard rumbling towards them. They stopped short of the scene as they saluted their leader. "The other SeeD is killed Malthius!" Renard reported with gusto.
"And he was delicious!" Loramel chimed in, still licking her lips, her chin and throat now stained in dried blood.
Malthius frowned at her, "I really wish you didn't have that nasty appetite Loramel. You're not a vampire."
She raised a finger in protest, "But they do exist!" Her eyes bulged on the exposed bowels of Malita. "Can I at least have a lick of her?"
"No." He stated firmly, scrunching his nose. "I abhor your habit, it disgusts me. Do not do that in my presence." Malthius shook his head before turning to Renard, "Are the sleeper cells still intact?"
"Yes. I checked the database just before we blew the place. Everyone is in place and in stasis." He seemed rather pleased with this news.
Malthius bowed his head, "Good. Activate them all. We will need to establish our foothold early and fast. SeeD will know we exist soon. We need to strike first."
They all replied in the affirmative. He flicked his head towards the upper road as he heard a gasp and several sets of feet amble away quickly from the scene. Malthius scoffed, "Look at them run and ignore what they've seen. How arrogant they are in hoping that by simply avoiding trouble they feel like no harm can befall them. Do they not know it is their own culture that laid waste to ours? Their time of reckoning is at hand!"
He knelt down once more before Malita, placing the barrel portion of his gunblade across her chest, blade reaching out past her body. "My dear, I have but one last thing for you to do."
She could barely move anymore, she could only stare at him as the last threads of intestine were being wormed out. "I can'th…deliver a methage if…I…die." She rasped the final words out.
"Oh, you don't have to deliver the message directly. Your remains will be message enough." He placed a calm hand on her forehead as he leaned into her with the gunblade.
Malita shrilled when Theros pulled hard laughing goofily, tearing her stomach completely out of her as the vibrations of the gunblade reached their peak. The last thing she recalled was the face of Terrance as she felt her entire being explode.
Chapter Notes: Although the remainder of the story will follow Squall and his companions, I knew that I needed a good 'hook' to get readers invested early into this story. I felt introducing two brand new characters who had strong ties to the same SeeD mercenary force as Squall & co. as well as numerous references throughout the text of key names and places would intrigue readers to want to know more. The hardest part was actually figuring out how to translate game mechanics of combat into some sort of readable form without having it come off as dumb, so hopefully I succeeded there. With the deaths of these two characters, my goal was to rip out expectations from the reader and leave them wanting more and wondering just how Squall & co. are going to combat this new menace. Kudos to anyone who gets the reference of Malita's character from within the game itself!