A/N: I have to remember that just because I've written everything doesn't mean it's posted already...
Prepare for the finale, the showdown of this series of updates!
Major Biggs woke up lying on top of a cliff. His body was bruised and battered and he could not feel his legs. It took him all the effort he could muster to lift himself off of his stomach. He struggled to raise an arm and clawed his way forward, moving a metre a minute. He wondered where Wedge was, and whether he had survived the fall. As the soldier pulled a metal plate off his gun-arm, little black stars burst into his vision. He became light-headed and almost lost consciousness again, but he knew he could not afford to pass out just yet. Grimacing, he drilled his fingers onto the exposed keypad of his shoulder, resting his forehead against the inside of his elbow. Soft beeps tolled from the register with each click.
"Those little twerps are the target," he grumbled. He lifted himself onto his knees and raised a fist. With a thunderous scream that shook the birds out of the trees, he yelled "Now GO! And destroy them!" before collapsing face-first onto the rust-tinged gravel.
The fluorescent panels had remained on, and so their ride back down was much brighter. Squall watched the shadows flicker over his boots, darkening and then vanishing. He resisted the urge to check the time every half-minute, choosing instead to count the light panels. One… Two… Three… He gave up immediately after realizing that they passed by precisely once a second. Squall hated standing still. There was nothing he could do about it, but it made him feel as though he was slacking off. Their lift clambered to a stop, but they had jumped away before it touched the ground. The group ran off, Zell in the lead; out the door and around the hallway. The main entrance slid open and they stepped out into the setting sun's light.
"Fuck." Zell summarized everyone's thoughts in one elegant word. A black, robotic spider loomed over them, blocking their path. Where its eyes would have been was a black screen. A red laser flashed across it like a windshield wiper, scanning their figures and locking onto their presence. The robot snapped its pincers menacingly and drove its limbs forward with a hiss from the pistons. The cadets scattered.
Squall tried to run up the cliff they had come from, but the spider was faster. With legs three times longer than his body, it covered the distance in a few strides, meeting him as the ground began to slope. They were stuck. If they fought against it, they would surely run out of time, and yet he could see no way to escape. The black robot shepherded them back to the tower, clicking giant forceps with the air of a butcher. Zell continued to unleash an endless chain of curses, and Squall had a strong urge to shut him up, one way or another.
"Dammit. The hell are we gonna do?"
"Does it look like we have a choice?"
"Bummer. And I thought we could've had a nice stroll."
The spider reared and extended its front leg like a projectile. Selphie twisted to the side, and it stabbed into the metal tower with a bang, leaving jagged cracks in the wall.
"Scouting party!" Squall took over Seifer's role as leader, Scanning the robot.
X-ATM092
Galbadia's newest mobile attack weapon, AKA "Black Widow." Features impressive suspension systems that allow it to survive perilous jumps. Doesn't stop until it kills all enemies in its path. Capable of self-repair. Mechanical.
"Aggression!" Squall focused his concentration and sent a crackling bolt of lightning zipping through the sky. It discharged through the Black Widow, which shuddered and jerked. Zell took a running leap and grappled onto the giant spider. It ignored him and advanced on Squall, almost impaling him with its steel leg. Zell threw a heavy punch to the Black Widow's back, but the material did not respond, rejecting the blow with a metallic glance. He tried again with Ifrit's help, but his fist left a mere dent as the spider continued its attempts to trample the cadets. Squall approached its head, looking for a chance to strike, but the robot snapped at him with its pincers, pushing him into the doorway. As the grilles behind him slid open, Squall retreated into the dark shelter of the building, sidestepping a leg projectile which sank into the metal rafters.
Edging along the wall, Squall prepared to sprint out from the doorway. He heard a yelp from Zell, followed by a heavy thud. Squall dashed through the open doorframe and ended up right under the robot. He shot Revolver vertically through the Black Widow's belly, but was knocked down, almost crushed, as it lurched into the ground. Revolver clanged to a rest beside him.
"You okay?"
"Yeah!" came Squall's muffled yell. He heard a burst of flame shoot above him, and the spider stumbled off. Scrambling to retrieve his sword, Squall withdrew and launched a Thunder spell at the same time a large pool frothed up below the robot. It convulsed and trembled as his bolt connected and Selphie's spell burst into a shower of liquid.
"Nice one," Zell yelled as he hooked a sensitive joint with his foot.
"Tri-disaster!" said Squall. Like an assembly line, they began a relentless spew of magic, conjuring flaming bubbles, electrifying burns, and shocking splashes. The giant spider gave a beastly roar and collapsed at last onto the worn, brown tiles in a scraping heap of metal debris. Zell turned immediately to Squall.
"Time?"
"It's… 18:48."
"Shit."
"Bummer."
"If we hurry, we can still make it. As long as Seifer didn't…"
"He wouldn't, would he?" Selphie looked rather hopelessly toward Squall and Zell, which seemed to confirm her fear. She started to walk back along the path. "If… If we're stranded here…"
"Aw, gawd. I can't believe this is happening, damn it!"
"Less talk, more walk! Hurry up." They set off at a slow run, up the ramp onto the cliff Selphie had braved. "Wait! What's that sound?"
Squall turned to the Communication Tower, looking for the source of the clicks and beeps. The buzz of a motor drew his eyes down to X-ATM092, from which a billow of steam was rising. The red scanner suddenly reappeared, flashing across its screen. The robot moved one hind leg, and then the other. It slowly raised itself to a standing position, all the while cranking like a car jack.
"Huh?" Zell stomped the ground, doing a double take. "Is it repairing itself?" He looked at Squall, who knew he was right.
"Nothing to do but run for it."
"Then let's get the hell outta here!" The Black Widow had taken a few tentative steps forward, and now it began to walk in earnest, making its way speedily up their road. The cadets dashed away. They sprinted down the steep slope, stumbling and tripping across the flagstones. The floor shook violently and Squall lost his balance. He tumbled down the path, but managed to turn his fall into a roll, narrowly missing a spiked plant that had crept onto the pavement.
They reached the stairs, a nightmare nobody wanted to manoeuvre. Squall cycled his legs, but he descended at a measly rate. He lengthened his stride, skipping a step for each that he took, but the robot was still faster. He could hear its crushing footfalls crawling closer, rumbling the ground with each tread. As they sped down what felt like the tenth set of stairs, Squall felt a pincer hit his back, propelling him ahead, but causing him to lose his rhythm. He completed the staircase haphazardly, his heart trembling as he varied his strides to accommodate his abrupt acceleration.
4-3-4-4-3-3-2-3.
He and Zell were neck and neck, sweating wildly as they sprinted, swinging their arms like windmills to keep balance. Selphie seemed to be a legendary stair-scaler; she was a full flight ahead of them. A pincer tried to grab Zell, swinging in from the side, but he abandoned his running and took a flying leap. Squall followed suit and they both landed out of a roll. They decided to ditch their pitiful clambering and continued to simply jump and roll.
"He's… not… there…" Selphie panted, gasping for breath between each word. She was right. As Squall flipped through the air, the clearing they had parked at came into view and his heart sank. It was deserted. Somersaulting to a halt, he tore up the road, his body flooded with exhaust and despair.
What's the point in running now? We're screwed.
The trees and rocks surrounding them vanished. Their trail turned into handsome, paved asphalt. They were back on the bridge. Squall could see the pink water rippling below and the blood red sun, almost about to sink below the horizon. Blue guards still flanked the sides. As the trio came into sight, the soldiers rearranged themselves into a roadblock. Squall had no desire to stop running and be speared or trampled or whatever by a metal skewer, and neither did Zell or Selphie. They drew their weapons, preparing to force their way through the crowd. But then the Black Widow appeared.
The army members scattered in a flurry of yells. They seemed more fearful of their own weapon than the cadets did. Throwing themselves onto the sidelines, the guards froze in place, all standing stiff as a board. Squall rushed by, glad he didn't have to fight. The spider approached, shaking the pavement and sending trembles through Squall's bones. A mighty lurch came from behind him and a shadow flickered overhead. He looked up to see the bottom of the black robot, soaring ten metres above him. Squall took an extensive stride and slammed his foot into the ground, tumbling into a long-step halt. Zell and Selphie mimicked his technique. As the spider turned around, the soldiers behind them resealed their blockade. They were trapped yet again. Squall didn't see a way out. X-ATM092 had one end of the bridge covered and the Galbadians had the other. They stood impeded in the middle. The Black Widow drove its legs forcefully into the asphalt, clambering across the bridge. It rumbled loudly as it neared, and the cadets backed into each other, ready to fight. The rumbling grew louder and louder, and with the roar of a car engine, a Galbadian military vehicle shot past the spider. Squall looked into the window at the driver's seat, and green eyes flashed back at him from an arrogant face, framed with cropped, blond hair.
The speeding grey van fishtailed to a halt beside them and the passenger door burst open. "Get your asses in here! We're goin' back to Besaid!" Selphie hurdled into the armoured car, and Zell didn't even argue as he leapt aboard. Seifer slammed on the pedal, and Squall, who had one foot in the vehicle, had to grab onto the roof mount to prevent himself from falling out. He swung himself beside Zell and slammed the door shut. They all swarmed around front seats, but none of them were calm enough to sit.
"Go, go, faster, faster!" yelled Selphie pounding a fist against the headrest as Seifer rocketed toward the soldier blockade, breaking it up in an instant. They were heading in the wrong direction, back toward the tower, but there wasn't much they could do with X-ATM092 on their heels.
"We've gotta get it to jump again," said Zell.
Selphie stared wrathfully at the rear-view mirror, as though hoping the ferocity of her gaze would startle it into submission.
What if I…?
"I've got a plan," said Squall. "Just play along, alright? Turn the car when I jump." He ran back to the door and flung it open. A blast of wind whipped his hair back and roared deafeningly through his ears, but he noticed neither disturbance. He jumped out and bowled onto the pavement, ignoring Selphie's scream as it trailed faintly after him.
"What are you doing…!"
Squall faced the spider as it made a beeline for him. He focused all of his energy into his legs and bent them down, tensing his muscles. His eyes picked a crack about five metres ahead, and as soon as the robot crossed it, he dug his heels into the ground. Like a spring released from its coil, Squall shot vertically through the air. The Black Widow tried to intercept him, but Squall floated higher than it could jump. There was a screech of burning tires; the car was now speeding back at him. As a matter of fact, it was going to crash right into him. No, it was going to catch him. Squall was going to land right on the roof, and he would be safe. But at this rate, it looked as though he was going to end up as road kill. He thought wildly that Seifer might actually be trying to do him in, but did his best to navigate through thin air, and with a miraculous thump, his feet hit the sloped hood. The van's momentum pulled his legs out from under his body and lost his balance, slumping against the windshield. Seifer gave a harsh honk, and Squall edged over to the roof. The door swung open. Zell poked his head out, craning his neck to see him.
"That was some sick stuff! Can you get back in?"
"Yeah." He grabbed the frame and did a front flip, landing neatly into the back seat. Zell pulled the heavy door shut.
"Put it there, man!" Zell held out his hand for a high-five, but Squall whipped out his map.
"It's 18:53. Can we make it?"
"Easy, easy," Seifer dismissed with a lazy wave of his hand. He had his own device on the dashboard, a golden trail plotting out the most efficient way back.
Selphie was still keeping lookout from the rear-view mirror. Her eyes suddenly widened and she screamed "Watch it!" as a claw came ripping through the back of the van. It pulled away the rear entirely, leaving the cargo bay exposed. Squall gaped in horror at the red scanner, which burnt its bright light into his vision. One of the faux leather seats had been torn through; it littered foam stuffing onto the road from the giant slash on its back. Seifer jammed the acceleration and spun the steering wheel, and the other three were thrown into the wall as he made a sharp turn. Squall lost sight of the robot for a second, and then it was back on their tracks.
They sped down the alleys and streets, in hot pursuit on the drives and crescents, but gaining a lead by the avenues and boulevards. It was impossible to drive quickly and still make the hairpin swerves scattered along winding roads. They also had to dodge flaming debris and collapsed storefronts, which the robot trampled over as if they were inflatables. As they turned a corner and flew by the millionth set of townhouses, Squall prayed yet again that the spider would leave them, but his prayer was begged for in vain.
"How the hell can that thing keep goin'!" Zell turned to Selphie as though she was supposed to know the answer.
"Beats me! Time?"
"It's…" Squall really did not want to know, but he checked nevertheless. "18:57… 8."
"Oh bummer. Two minutes. C'mon captain!"
"I'm working on it!" he snapped, spinning the wheel a little too ferociously for a soft right turn.
Squall recognized their location now. He breathed a sigh of relief; they still had a chance.
Seifer had to slow down as the road became particularly narrow, but Squall turned to see, with pleasure, that X-ATM092 couldn't fit through the buildings. His joy was short-lived, however, as it hoisted itself up and walked diagonally through the streets, one set of legs bruising the ground, the other stabbing into doors and windows in a crunch of breaking glass. The army vehicle zoomed into the Central Square roundabout, and they were almost about to exit when they heard a bark.
"It's the dog!" Zell yelled, spinning around to stare out the back.
"Dog? DOG?" Selphie screeched. "SAVE THE DOG! SAVE IT!" Seifer ignored her, but with a lunge across the car, Selphie knocked Seifer's arms out of the way. She seized control, jerked the steering wheel to the left, and they skid all the way around the circular street with a terrible shriek of burning tires.
"Are you crazy!" Seifer tried to whack her hands away, but Selphie held on with a dangerous glint in her eyes. She aimed the car at the dog, which yelped and bounded away into the shelter of Lufenia's Café. Her gaze followed the gold bloodhound all the way to the doorstep, and only then did she return possession of the wheel to Seifer.
A giant metal pole burst through the ceiling, and everyone yelled in shock. Squall stared at the sharp barb that was the robot's foot, scrambling away as it flailed around seeking to impale a victim. Squall called out to Quetzalcoatl and threw the remainder of his energy at it in a wide torrent of static garbage. He saw the red scanner fade as he manipulated the electromagnetic field around them, and with a furious jab at the accelerator, the spider's limb trailed away, tearing a streak through their ceiling. Within seconds, the Black Widow resurrected, but they had shot down to the other side of the road.
Squall watched as the spider continued to chase them, smashing its mammoth foot right into the untouched blue car they had noticed on their way here. If he were any less agitated, he might have felt sorry for the owner. They passed Spice and The Shining Bomber in a blur of neon colours, and finally, the beach came into sight.
19:00
As soon as Squall saw the little numbers switch, the vessels withdrew from the shore. "No!" He watched despairingly as their rear hatches began to fold themselves back in.
All but one.
Seifer slammed on the breaks and they were thrown into the windshield. He kicked open the driver's door and the cadets flooded out onto the street. They ignored the stairs leading to the beach and vaulted over the platform onto the bloody sand, each connecting their speedy roll directly into a full-out sprint. An enormous thump told Squall that their enemy was right behind them. He was in the lead, but the others soon caught up as they formed a flat line, racing to the shore. An orange beam of light swept in front of him, followed by an eerie silence. What the?
Before he knew it, the ground had dropped away. His skin burned with agony and the beach was suddenly fifty feet below. All the cadets were screaming through the air in an explosion of powder. Squall fell back onto the sand, eyes tearing and mouth full of grit, crumpled in a heap. Pain seared through his bruised sides, and his muscles began to seize. Through the corner of his eyes, he saw the others fall right beside the remaining ship. Zell and Seifer staggered back up and climbed aboard, while Selphie lingered behind, staring, white-faced, at Squall. The vessel began to move away, treading through the water.
No… Please…
"Squall!" Their distant shouts circled his head, but the thumps of the Black Widow's feet were entrancing. He was going to die and fail his exam. He didn't know which was worse, although he supposed failing wouldn't be very significant once he was dead.
An enormous stalagmite impaled the robot with a crash of metal. It faded, but the sound caused Squall to snap to his senses. He began to stir, lifting himself from the ground and moving instinctively. His legs cycled along the sand of their own accrod, sending little clouds of dust into the air and forcing him at the vessel. X-ATM092 trampled along right behind him. He could hear its claws, whistling through the air as they lunged and swiped. The sand turned to mud and then water, and with a leap of undying faith, Squall threw his body at the rapidly departing ship.
A shrill beep resonated above, and before he landed, the shots of a machine gun spun out around him. He heard the sound of metal piercing metal, of a barrage of bullets flying through steel. A wave of sweat poured over his face as his right foot made contact with the ship. He swung his body forward and dragged the other leg on, and then he collapsed onto the very edge of the boat.
Made it!
A roar came from the robot and he turned his head, panting insanely. An endless chain of ammunition dug into its hide, piercing every inch of its body. The Black Widow lifted itself up and, like a raging tidal wave sweeping over a ship, attempted to mount their vessel. But the gunner fired on mercilessly. Squall looked up to the turret and saw a lock of blonde hair falling over the shoulder piece. Instructor…?
At last, the gunfire ceased. X-ATM092 stopped moving. Its figure teetered ominously in place. Their boat lurched away and the stern began to reseal itself as the spider fell against the shore. Just as the vessel walls clicked into place, Squall heard a satisfying explosion from the beach. Mission complete.
"Gerlinde? This is Quistis from Squad B reporting. We have one member from Squad A aboard our ship. Would you check her off, please? …Yes. …Yes. Selphie Tilmitt... Alright. Thank you. Oh, and good job with the elite guards. That was some excellent combat! Yes, they are all safe. No, I haven't found out yet, but – yup. We shot it down with the gun turret. Oh, thank you! It wasn't hard. Yeah. See you back at Garden." Click. Instructor Trepe put the phone back into the wall-mounted receiver and turned to the cadets like a police officer arresting her suspects. "Now, I think some of us need to do a little explaining here." Everybody looked away, whether at the ceiling, the floor, or the boardroom table between the rows of black seats.
"We sent out four SeeD members to round up all the squads. Three groups were located immediately. One was nowhere to be found. So I sent off Selphie to search for them and deliver the order to withdraw." Instructor Trepe turned to her. "What happened after you left?"
Selphie told the instructor her side of story, about how she searched everywhere and could not find them, about how the dog had led her to the bridge through several shortcuts and how she snuck onto the roof of an army vehicle (that turned out to be theirs) in order to pass undetected. She explained the battles they had fought and the giant spider chasing them back to the shore. Instructor Trepe listened with a slight frown, nodding every now and then verifying her words against their expressions. She had her arms crossed, leaning against the cabin wall beside where Squall was sitting. Seifer was next to them, staring at the table with a scowl.
"Oh! And we Drew a GF from Elvoret. I have its token here." Selphie reached into a navy blue blouse pocket and pulled out the fine golden thread, shimmering dramatically in the artificial fluorescence. Instructor Trepe's eyes widened as she carefully picked up the other end.
"Thank you for turning it in. We'll analyse it, and if it's deemed safe, it'll be yours." She pocketed it. "Well, I guess there's no point in asking anymore questions. Everything will be clear soon enough. You're lucky to have made it back. Just relax for now."
'Everything will be clear soon enough'?
"I might as well collect your PHS's now, too. No point in making you hold onto them until we get back."
Silence. Not the kind Squall had sat through in the patio or the type he had met in Cid's office. Just the tired, lazy sort, typical of a humid summer afternoon.
"Instructor…"
"Yes, Squall?"
"The soldier we fought on the Communication Tower, Major Biggs; he used para-magic against us. I thought the army didn't approve of GFs?"
Instructor Trepe nodded. "That's right. It came as a shock to all of us SeeDs, too. But no, they weren't equipped with GFs. They had Junction Machines."
"What?" Zell sat up in his seat and leaned forward. "But Junction Machines are huge. And incredibly expensive."
"I know," said Instructor Trepe in awe, before her expression turned to an eye roll. "Well, not so much the expensive part. Galbadia is rich. But what's really extraordinary is that they've managed to recreate these things at a portable size. This is a huge leap in the field of science, but I don't mean it in a positive way. Think about it; if everyone walked around with Junction Machines, the world would be a battlefield. Junction Machines require enormous amounts of magic to operate. People would start selling energy, and I'd bet my teaching license that the planet would be sucked dry of its power once giant corporations start to harvest it. Maybe Galbadia's also found a way to increase efficiency, but I doubt it if they're small enough to carry."
"So that's why the Dollet army got creamed, then?" Zell slouched back into the imitation leather. "Cause the Galbadians were fighting with magic?"
"Quite possibly. And if they have been, then they've breached international law."
"But what about Dollet?" said Selphie.
"Well, I guess Dollet broke it first by hiring us. Sorceresses and magic must stay out of affairs like wars. Unfortunately, Galbadia happens to be the biggest influence on global regulations… They'll probably change that decree to fit their own needs."
Selphie rubbed her palms on her thighs. "I'm surprised the news reporters haven't let it leak yet."
"The broadcasting companies have likely been bribed. Naturally, the whole Kilika continent is supposed to be unaware of what's going on, but we also overheard a soldier talking about how the Trabia Broadcasting Corporation was being monitored."
"No way! They can't do that to my country!" said Selphie.
"Yes, they can," said Instructor Trepe apologetically. "Trabia has always been a close friend of Galbadia's. It's also always been the weaker of the two."
Everyone was quiet. Instructor Trepe prodded the ground with the tongue of her boot. "I have a feeling Galbadia is setting itself up for something big. And if it's for the worst, game over. They make more money than all the other countries put together, except for one. Our only hope left would be Esthar."
Esthar. Silent Esthar. The country that had vanished after the Sorceress War seventeen years ago. Nobody understood how they did it. One day there was a towering sprawl of buildings on the Bevelle continent. The next day, they left behind a waste field. All the citizens had disappeared without a trace. The communication lines were cut, the railways were shut down. Billions of phone numbers were suddenly invalid, and millions of website domains became available for use. Everyone knew the country was out there, somewhere, but nobody could penetrate its barriers. The only hints to its existence were the Odine Brand products and the technology they continued to ship off. Even so, they were a novelty to find.
The return trip was a silent tableau. Nobody spoke a word or loosened a limb. The most fascinating thing that happened was Instructor Xu walking out of the captain's hatch and disappearing through again after grabbing some papers on the conference table. Squall could feel a dull pain every time he drew breath. He had taken a Potion, but it had not been completely effective. His eyes began to droop, but he did not want to fall asleep. He began a rather fruitless battle to remain conscious, jerking up slightly every ten seconds. His dozing certainly made the journey seem shorter; the next moment the ship had slowed down, and before he could register what was happening, Instructor Xu had opened the hatch leading to the dock. The others rose around him and filed out of the boat.
A/N: This chapter is definitely one of my favourites. It was fun to write and I actually liked it after I finished. I hope you all did too. I tried to balance the flow of information by letting out a good chunk of it now, rather than right before it's necessary, which would seem really out of the blue and artificial.
And this marks the end of my first group of updates. I'll be busy writing the rest, which you can expect to start coming up after around two months (I was serious when I said I wrote slowly, plus today is the unofficial end of my summer break). So if you like what you're reading, make sure you subscribe to updates! The next cluster is predicted to span until right before the dream sequence, which doesn't sound like much, but I have a lot of original scenes coming up to fill in the time gaps and add realism.
Once again, thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and I encourage you all to do so, even if it's just a short comment.
