Well, Chapter 1 to no reviews haha. Oh well. I can't believe I updated a day later. Anyway, I tried not to make characters OOC, and I hope there was adequate action this time and I'm thinking that the paragraphs are too long winded. Yes? No? Is anyone there?
Ah well.
Chapter 1 - Reparations
Squall
Squall's eyes meandered over and out the window on the third floor of the Garden, and fixated on the small town of Balamb, where it had been rumoured the ex-sorceress' knight had been staying. But he then abruptly turned away and narrowed his eyes slightly, as he remembered the reason he had been called, once again, to this particular room.
"Well? What is your answer Squall?" Cid looked at him expectantly from the other side of his desk, Xu close by, hands folded in front of her. He then sighed, leaned slightly to one side and put one hand on his hip and looked away at the floor. Without a reasonable excuse to throw at the headmaster, he nodded and said, "I suppose so, sir", then turned back to him.
Cid's smile became concerned and wondered for a minute. "You are the best at this job, Squall, I can't think of any other who could have performed as well as you have throughout all of this. We still desperately need funds to support the Garden, especially now that we have teamed with the other Gardens; Trabia, Galbadia and the White SeeD ship's own newly formed Garden. Trabia needs funds to continue its reconstruction, and other continents and countries have started their own Gardens too, in preparation for any future crisis' and keeping the world in its peace."
(So? That doesn't automatically make it my problem…Sure, I helped before, but we were in a crisis. Just because I didn't want to see my home destroyed, doesn't mean I want to lead the Garden permanently…It's not my responsibility, it's yours, its just like that reckless Laguna…)
At this thought, Squall's frown deepened and he suddenly wanted to leave. He snapped into a salute, his face becoming unreadable again, and said "I'll lead the SeeD's against the rebellions, sir. Am I dismissed?" He asked coldly. Cid's head tilted to the side ever so slightly and nodded, and Xu clucked with disapproval at Squall's regular attitude, and puffed out an air of impatience. Squall tuned on his heel and entered the elevator, taking him to the ground floor.
Immediately, Xu turned to Cid and said, "Sir, I really think you should have said something" ignoring her place completely. He ruefully smiled and replied "I haven't so far, and I wont now, it's Laguna's responsibility. He needs to tell him all he can to prepare him for what could happen." He sighed sadly then said "And just when things were looking up for him".
Squall walked through the crowd back to his dormitory wanting to be alone, and hoping not to meet any of the team on the way. But of course they always seem to track him down one way or another. "Hey Squall!" Came Selphie's cheerful voice through the thicket of older SeeDs milling around. She skipped up to him "So, what's our next mission?" She giggled excitedly, for some reason irritating Squall, that she could be so eager to jump into more problems, more rebels and more crap that was none of their business. Whatever job paid, SeeDs did. How far could this go? Beyond fighting perhaps?
"There's been sightings of some groups of the Black Army on the shore next to Balamb town. We're to deploy 2 units and personally assist the forces to drive back the oncoming attacks on the people. Then we need to secure the area, and calm the interference activity from Balamb vigilante groups." He said officially, eyes staring off as he recalled exactly. "Wait Balamb?" She said uncertainly "why would they attack a quiet town like that?"
He shrugged unconcerned, and made his way over to the Quad to avoid standing in the middle of the corridor, and receiving some curious stares. "Who knows? Why do they do half the things they do? I wouldn't say ex-soldiers and prison escapees make the best soldiers myself, but there they are among the ranks of other peculiar men, and even some normal townspeople, farmers even". Selphie looked sideways at him "That's a lot of thought you put in, and a lot your telling me too!" She skipped again happily, grinning and then threw her arms around the neck of an unsuspecting Irvine and hugged him as he turned and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Hey" he said smiling stupidly, spotting Squall who had scowled at their behaviour.
(I hope Rinoa doesn't expect us to be like that in public)
"We leave in 10 minutes, gather the rest and meet by the gate" he said indifferently, then turned and walked away, his thoughts wrapped up in the fact nearly nothing had changed. Sure, he was more open to them now, he was grateful for that, but here he was again, laden with the responsibility of even more people. Not only Balamb Garden, but Trabia and Galbadia too, as they now had no one efficient enough to lead them, and President Laguna had gone out of his way to recommend him.
(Thanks a bunch) he thought bitterly, grinding his teeth. He had been avoiding his visits, making sure he was away for the day, or wrapped up with paperwork that, 'sorry, he could not meet with him right now'. He wasn't looking forward to the confrontation and revelation that he was sure to come, and wanted it to be delayed until he gave up, thinking that Squall had enough problems already.
(Well I do) he mused, having an inclination that the world's biggest fool, sap and worst guardian ever, could possibly be your parent, was enough to make him decidedly convince himself he was an orphan.
Pushing these irritating thoughts away, his mood lightened slightly when he saw Rinoa waiting but the gat already, turning to smile at him, eyes shining. He approached and looked around, there were several cars waiting for them. He looked down at her and muttered, "Well, here we go again".
Seifer
Walking out by the pier again, he laughed at his own joke at Rajin's poor attempt of a weird sort of step dance, and sat down. Fujin laughed with him at sat herself beside him, eye turned up at him without his notice. Raijin rolled his own when he noticed her, and then laughed and hooked the bait on the rod he had brought, and cast it out. Seifer watched and folded one long leg up and dangled the other over the ledge, leaning back on his palms to look out. Then shot back up and was on his feet in seconds, when he noticed fifteen, no, twenty black forms approaching the town, not even bothering to hide like he knew they normally did, and well, at that. He cursed the fact he had left all their weapons back at the inn, but only for a minute, when he darted back along the pier and into the town to form a defence. Raijin and Fujin had looked at each other confusedly, then when they spotted the soldiers, bolted after Seifer.
Arriving at the outskirts, Seifer met the image of the black soldiers emotionlessly cutting down innocent townspeople and all onlookers, spilling copious amounts of blood over the ground. Seifer bristled and anger grew as he saw the merciless face of the slaughterers, and the grinning face of the apparent leader. The Black Army's leaders identified themselves as so with one or two stripes along the side of the face, sometimes with different thicknesses, as well with a number ranging from between 1 and 20 on the side of the cheekbone.
He immediately drew magic, and tried to strike down those in mid-murder, but the light flickered and died on contact each time. He succeeded in only drawing their attention with his 'silly pretty lights', turning four towards him, approaching with glistening blades and ominous faces. Cold, trained, faces, who either didn't care what was happening or took apparent joy in it, like 'Mr. 7 face' over there, Seifer thought angrily, glancing at the leader who was openly laughing at a mother crying at the corpse of her dead child, before slicing through her head, ending her life too.
"Bastards" he spat venomously, clenching his fists and overlooking the fact he was out numbered and weapon-less. He strode forward preparing himself for contact with the first soldier when Fujin grabbed his coat and furiously tried to drag him away, eye wide at the oncoming soldiers. Raijin stepped put in front and pushed him backwards, hissing "run you idiot, were not even armed!"
Seifer reluctantly withdraw and sped off towards their inn, determined to return and defend one of the only towns that had accepted him, if grudgingly. Except they were close behind, drawing the other sixteen soldiers with them, wanting the chance of a real fight, or perhaps just eager for a bigger crowd to kill. He cursed and pushed his legs to work faster, willing the others to be moving as fast as he was and not to be left behind. He scrambled up the side of the building of the inn, and almost smashed the glass in his haste to get in the doors of the balcony. Raijin and Fujin whimpered and hissed for him to hurry up from outside, eyeing the platoon that had gathered round the front of the inn.
The fight commenced quickly, with Seifer vaulting over the railing and diving down to face one soldier, his own confident grin at the prospect of driving them out, and lunged forward. All three locked themselves in combat, Seifer aimed a well-timed slash over at his chest and sprayed blood over the cement. He deftly struck his foot out at the soldier's leg and tripped the already imbalanced man, and brought down the hilt of this gun blade on his forehead, knocking him unconscious.
But this turned out to be a lucky shot, as the soldier who replaced him did not go down so quickly, and out manoeuvred and out matched Seifer in his swordplay. Gaining a few seconds by retreating back he glanced and noticed with a strange cold fear that Raijin and Fujin were barely holding up; Fujin sporting a bloody nose and Raijin peering through sheets of blood over his eyes and a swollen cheek. He then saw that all but two soldiers left in another hurry to the left street, speeding away at the call of Mr 7. Seifer turned back and assisted his injured comrades, lifting his sword above his head and drawing it down, only to be surprised as the soldiers easily deflected both attacks from Sefier and Fujin. He swung it round expertly to jab at his back, but tripped on the other soldiers shoe, then rolled over to see the grinning face of a bearded face, then a fist smashing into his jaw. Growling with pain, he jumped to his feet and decided this needed to ended quickly, he was only fighting two soldiers, but they were having a hell of a time. Which meant whoever was dealing with the other eighteen was in trouble.
In split second instinct he turned and scanned the area, he spotted a pile of mechanical tools and scrap car parts for the garage that was on the edge of town. With well aimed blast of lightning at the back of a precarious looking pile, the lot went crashing down in time for Fujin and Raijin to jump out the way, who had seen him and were already well versed with Seifer's rushed plan. The two soldiers were unmoving on the floor, with a quick glance to them Seifer sped away in the direction the other soldiers had gone, hoping that he hadn't just caused more lives to end, even if they weren't innocent this time.
Squall
Sweat beaded on Squall's forehead as he struggled to maintain his ground against who he figured was the Black soldiers' leader, as he had shiny black '7' tattooed across the side of his cheek and two different stripes of different thicknesses beside it. He kept his feet light and danced around his opponent, slashing and swiping, trying to catch him off-guard, when he eventually succeeded and caused a deep gash in his left shoulder. Surprised at his success he blinked and glanced down at the crimson at his feet a second too long, and received a stab straight through both biceps, causing him to yelp in pain and surprise. He staggered backwards blanching with the pain when he lifted his blade, straining his broken and damaged muscles.
Quistis was distracted by Squall's strange outcry and turned only be blasted against the pavement form a burst of Firaga, and she cracked her head with a spurt of red liquid against the grey solid. Zell struggled out of the strangle hold one soldier had on him long enough to summon Quezacotl, and scatter the soldiers in various directions. It seemed they weren't accustomed to GF's.
The eight injured fighters banded together, and awaited the repercussions of the soldiers' brief retreat, and also any new orders from Squall, who seemed to be getting weaker from blood loss.
"What the hell do they want?" Zell exclaimed, gasping and clutching his bruised ribs. A fazed and bloodied Quistis muttered "We NEED to end this, we can't hold out much longer", as Selphie and Irvine fought off the onslaught a the side while the rest moved backwards, firing magic at the daunting and barely injured soldiers. Quistis then collapsed, and Nida pulled her out of more harms way, the stopped and gasped "Guys! Look!"
The group turned, including several black-clad soldiers and spotted a bloody trio charging its way towards the back of the group of soldiers. Squall's eyes widened as he recognized the former Disciplinary Committee, and with renewed vigour, the group fought back viciously. With several members already down, and more following after the addition to the SeeD group, No. 7 admitted defeat with a snarl and motioned a hasty retreat, abandoning the unconscious or dead soldiers on the road, and bolting down an alley and out of sight.
Panting and doubled over, Squall leaned one hand on the side of a residential house and looked up through his bangs at Nida casting multiple Curaga's on Quistis and the others, and Irvine trying to lift her with the help of Zell. He finally turned to Seifer and breathed, "So, come to help this time?" Eyes narrowed. Seifer glared at his former rival, hell no, current rival he decided, and spat "Yeah midget, looks like you needed it" then grinned maliciously at Squall's discomfort of his injuries.
"Stop this already, it's over, and we aren't enemies anymore! Were not supposed to against each other at a time like this!" Rinoa intervened, frustrated that the two could be arguing when there was a new situation at hand, and that really, Seifer was an innocent that had just been manipulated by the taunts of a cunning sorceress. Squall began scouring the area for the injured and dead, and began preparations to fix the mess the rebels had left. "What are you doing here anyway?" Selphie turned and asked brightly, as if they hadn't just been almost slaughtered.
Seifer sighed and rubbed the back off his head, fighting away the dizziness, Fujin and Raijin looked at him, "Well, paying some reparations, apparently. It looked like you could have used some help, and I aint gonna sit back and watch some bastards butcher a town for no reason."
"We don't need your help" Squall said bluntly, struggling to pull the dead soldiers and civilians in a line and out of the way, with the help of the other SeeD. He was not as easy to forgive as he knew the others would be, which was unbearably frustrating, how could they be so stupid? Although Zell could agree; "Haven't you caused enough damage? I'm surprised you weren't with them", he gasped struggling for breath as he single-handedly lifted Quistis on his shoulders, Irvine had rushed over to Selphie at the first sign of her bleeding, and was fussing.
Seifer narrowed his eyes, actually annoyed that they were denying his help. Ungrateful bastards, he could have easily just ignored the entire mess and left them to die. He knew he was at big fault regarding the whole world crisis, but he was manipulated, whether they believed that or not, and he had had enough of his own guilt (which he fervently tried to ignore) to be bothered to deal with their animosity. So with that he waved his hand dismissively and turned to stride away, saying "Fine midget, you take care of this crap, I'm out". "Big surprise" Squall replied, earning him a glare from Rinoa, they needed all the help they could get, after all, she thought.
But the three were already metres away, and Seifer's last thoughts on the matter stuck and repeated; Believe me I'll be back to help and prove it before you know it, Squall, this Black Army is a hell of a lot stronger than we thought, and they aint messing around."
"I know someone who would know more about all of this" Selphie piped up, "Why don't we give Sir Laguna a visit?".
And that's the end of this one. Don't think that's a cliffhanger, not sure if I could manage one anyway. I'll probably update even if there are no reviews, but I would appreciate them all the same! I don't know if it's worth writing this out, I don't know if I like it anymore hahaha.
Revieeewww...O.O