Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII it is copyrighted by Square Enix and all other associates.
A/N: Sorry about my temporary hiatus, I was busy with some personal stuff.
Nighthill and RadiantKeybladeFantasy thanks for your awesome support like usual, you guys inspire me. Thanks Infernal Blossom, KainsMistress and exodia969 for adding my story into your favourites, I appreciate the gesture; it's humbling. Thank you Akiriuu for following me.
Chapter XI – Train Rides and Cliff Diving
"It will be easier if I go alone with Rinoa, the soldiers will be looking for her specifically. A smaller group would be the more logical option." Squall explained.
Zell, Selphie and Quistis nodded in agreement trusting their leader's decision. "Let's go!" Squall said pointing over his shoulder at the door and the three SeeD's ran out of the small house and into the streets of timber.
"You be careful, now." The leader of the Forest Foxes warned, she then turned and looked at Squall, "Take this with you." she handed over a potion, a phoenix down, a vial of soft, an antidote and a remedy.
Squall nodded his thanks in the gift of miscellaneous healing and status recovery medicine.
"Going to Galbadia Garden? You'll have to go through the forest. Get off the train at East Academy, and then go through the valley that leads to the forest. I doubt you'll be walking, but if you do, follow the road. At the fork, take the road on the right. You'll eventually come across East Academy station." The older woman explained just in case.
Squall nodded once again and turned and looked at Rinoa. She nodded her head and the two walked over to the small doorway.
Rinoa turned around and looked at the woman that hid them from the Galbadian soldiers that had almost literally tried to burst into the small house,
"Thank you, again. For everything."
"Yes, now get going. The streets are crawling with soldiers, get out of here while you can." the woman said with a soft, sad smile.
Squall and Rinoa departed the small house and stepped outside. The two of them started to head past the Timber Maniac's building when a Galbadian soldier started to approach them. Squall put a hand out beside him so that it was in front of Rinoa, as a form of protection. Squall's stance tensed a bit.
"Bad timing!" called a voice from behind the couple.
Quistis, Zell and Selphie ran over and joined Squall and Rinoa just in case this soldier wanted to start a fight.
"It's me, sir! It's me!" the soldier announced.
Watts?
The four SeeD's relaxed at the known presence, Watt's would be no danger to them or for Squall's client.
"Got some info, sir. Timber station will be shut down temporarily."
"Mega-bummer!" Selphie said with a slight pout.
He said temporarily… We still might be able to take the train. Worst case we'll have to walk to Galbadia's Garden.
"Not necessarily. It's not completely shut down yet. The last train out of here is bound for East Academy." Watts explained.
What a coincidence huh? We can still make the train.
Squall nodded at the information Watt's had just provided, "We're getting on that train." He turned and walked to the back of the group.
"You're going, too, right Rinoa?" Watts asked.
"Yeah. What about you, Watts?"
Watts shook his head, "No need to worry 'bout me, I'll go gather more info!"
Rinoa ran over to him and bent over, resting her hands on her knees, "I promise I'll be back. You take care, ok?"
Watts turned and looked at Squall, "Squall, please take care of Rinoa."
Okay, I will… be careful too Watts..
"Yeah, don't worry. Client's orders. What about you? Will you be safe here?" Squall asked resting a hand on his hip.
Watts put a hand to his forehead in a mock salute, "I'll be fine, sir! I'll put up the fight of my life!"
The four SeeD's quickly returned the gesture of the salute; Rinoa looked behind her at the four mercenaries and quickly copied them. The five teens stood at ease and Watt's did the same.
"I'm happy, sir!" Watts said and then quickly turned and ran ahead.
Rinoa stepped a few steps after Watts and put her left hand around the ring that hung from a silver chain around her neck. She watched Watt's quickly retreating figure with sad eyes, she sighed softly and turned and rejoined the small group of SeeD's. Quistis, Selphie and Zell quickly took their leave and ran ahead to avoid detection, Squall was right two groups would be easier to sneak around and get to the station unnoticed. Squall looked at Rinoa and nodded his head in the direction the other's had gone, she nodded and followed behind him. Squall led her over to the small bridge that led down towards the pub. There was a curious man standing to the side watching the two of them. He glanced around and saw no soldiers. The other three SeeDs were standing near the stairs waiting for their leader and his client to arrive.
"Rinoa, Squall! It's me!" he declared.
Rinoa stepped forward automatically, "Zone!" she greeted cheerfully.
"You need to go to East Academy right? There's no more tickets left." Zone announced.
I guess, we have to walk… If it's anything like the walk from Balamb to Garden I can only imagine the complaining I'll have to hear from those two again, like when Seifer ditched us and stole the car with his 'Posse'…
"Super-Duper-Mega-Bummer!" Selphie cried pouting again.
…I refuse to deal with that complaining. We're SeeD's…we'll get on that train no matter what…
"We'll do whatever it takes to get on that train." Squall declared.
"You won't have to do that." Zone said with a smile, "Looky here! I have everyone's ticket right here!" Zone walked over to Rinoa first and handed her a ticket, "One for you."
Rinoa smiled and took it from Zone, he then walked over to Squall and handed him three tickets.
"Three for you SeeD people. Here, I'll give them to the leader."
SeeD…people? Whatever….
"And the last one is for me…."
He didn't know Quistis would show up… Nobody did, she did come chasing after Seifer…
Zone glanced to the side and then at Quistis, then back to the side again. He looked at the older SeeD and walked over to her. "Go on. Take it." he said holding out his ticket for Quistis.
Quistis folder her arms over her chest and shook her head. "I can't take that. It's yours!"
"Ouch!" Zone cried out holding his hands to his head. He looked at Quistis again and shoved the ticket into her hand. He quickly walked over to the corner of the bridge right beside the small tunnel, "OuuuuuucH! My stomach hurts!" the man moaned. "Ouch! Just get going! The train's leaving."
Quistis walked a few steps towards the hunched over man, "Thank you."
Rinoa jogged over to stand beside Quistis; she dropped down to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest, "Zone…. We're gonna see each other again, ok? No matter what, you have to survive. We have to liberate Timber together, remember."
Whatever…Don't remind me…Who knows how long the three of us will be stationed here after we wait a bit for everything to cool down a bit…
"I know, I know. I'll go hide in a bathroom or something." Zone replied, "Now get going."
Rinoa stood and looked at Squall. The other three SeeD's ran into the tunnel that led towards the station. Squall walked over to the young woman and the two of them followed the others. The two of them finally arrived at the station; the tunnel led them to a small path where the tracks were located. They climbed up some nearby stairs that led to the platform. The train was located on the opposite side they were standing on. Squall and Rinoa crossed the small bridge where two kids were standing, the bridge had a spilt in the center so when trains arrived they could pass by and still could allow people to cross over to the other side of the train platform. The two of them quickly jogged over to the train.
"This train is bound for Dollet, stopping at East Academy." The announcer replied. "This is the last train for today. Please hurry on board.
The last train…
"Come on, let's get on." Squall said to his client.
Rinoa nodded and began to follow Squall; he stopped just before boarding and looked at his companion. "Let me double check… Get off at East Academy and go through the forest, west of the station. Galbadia Garden is located up ahead… Is that correct?"
Rinoa nodded and smiled. "Yes, exactly."
Squall nodded and entered the train with the young woman in tow behind him. Once they entered the small compartment, the door behind them shut and the bridge separated to allow the train to get past. Inside the compartment the other three SeeDs were already waiting. Zell was standing off to the side staring out the window. Selphie was standing in front of the closed door, rocking back and forth anxiously awaiting Squall to open it for her. Quistis was standing beside the control panel where the tickets were scanned for the door to open. Rinoa was standing close by the door, where Squall was standing. The young leader glanced around and saw his group and his former instructor where all accounted for.
"This train, bound for East Academy will depart shortly." The announcer declared as the train rocked slowly and then began to move forward.
"Well…" Squall started to say.
"Open, Open, OPEN!" Selphie interrupted their stoic leader and began jumping up and down swinging her arms.
"…Make it." Squall mumbled.
"Please!" Selphie asked pumping her arm in the air. The small girl in yellow turned and looked at the brooding boy that was holding the key to opening the door for her.
"Open up!" she cheered again.
Squall turned around and looked at the bright green eyes that were staring at him, almost pleading. He sighed softly and put a hand on his forehead.
…Better let her have her way.
He walked over to the panel and scanned the girl's ticket, with a hand on his hip.
"Confirming… Access granted…" The electronic voice of the ID check announced.
Selphie walked towards the door and it slid open for her, she turned and looked at her squad leader with a huge bright smile on her face. "Tee-hee! Thanks!" Selphie then ran inside and stood by the window to watch the scenery as the train moved forward.
Squall glanced over and saw Zell sigh and look down at the ground with a defeated look on his face. His arms hung loosely at his side.
He feels bad about the saying we we're from Garden… He needs to control his mouth… Garden could be seriously in trouble for what happened…
"…Oh man…" Zell moaned.
Quistis glanced over at Squall. "We should get there shortly, so we'll be all right out here."
Squall walked back over to his original spot and noticed Rinoa's eyes on him, he glanced up and met the girl's dark gaze.
"Weren't you just saying something?" she asked noticing that Selphie had cut him off earlier.
It's nothing important, but…
Squall turned his head to the side and put a hand on his hip he sighed, "Well… We made it." he said dropping his hand and meeting that dark gaze with his own steely blue one.
"I have Zone to thank for that." Quistis said softly.
Rinoa put her left hand on the upper part of her right arm and looked over at Quistis, "He's into naughty magazines."
Maybe we should have taken that dirty magazine…
Quistis crossed her arms and nodded at Rinoa, "I'll keep that in mind…"
I wonder what Selphie is doing…
Squall left his spot and entered through the door, the young girl was looking out the window and singing her 'train song' Squall had heard earlier.
"Train, Train Take Us Away. Take Us Far Away. To the Future We Will Go. Where It Leads No One Knows."
Squall shook his head and walked back to join the others, leaving Selphie in her bliss of train rides. Once he entered back to where everyone else was Rinoa and Quistis looked over at Squall. Zell was now looking at the ground with both hands on his hips, his face still looked so upset by what he said.
We should just leave him alone for now…
"Now arriving at East Academy Station, I repeat now arriving at East Academy Station. Those getting off please ensure you have all your belongings." the train announcer said through the intercom.
The four SeeD's and Rinoa quickly got off the train and stood on the small platform, the train pulled away. In the distance Squall could see the forest they needed to head into that led them to Galbadia Garden. The small group walked off the train platform and headed towards the forest. The small group stopped along a small dirt path and Quistis turned and looked at the quiet group.
"We're not too far from Galbadia Garden now!" she declared.
Selphie glanced up and looked at their leader. "Heeey, I was just thinking…"
Not about explosives I hope…
She walked over and stood beside Squall and looked up at him with a somber expression on her bright normally cheerful face. "There might be some bad news from the Galbadian government." She put a hand over her chest and another over her mouth, "What if we get caught and then get broadcast to the whole world…!?" her voice gave away how worried she was about the incident with Seifer.
Garden wouldn't turn against its own…
Zell turned and looked at the small girl, his stance became hostile and he began vibrating with his fist raised and clenched. "Whatever happens, happens! Now come on! Let's just keep going!"
He really doesn't want to talk about what happened… He feels guilty… Whatever. Let's just get going and focus on the task at hand here…
"I… I'm worried about Balamb Garden." Zell admitted.
The faster we're done with this, the sooner we can go home…and see if there is any damage from Zell and Seifer's actions…
Zell sighed and hung his head. "If anything happens to Garden, it's all my fault. I'm the one who said were all from Garden…" Zell moved to stand in front of Squall and looked at him with sad, hopeful eyes. Zell held his arms out in front of him, "You think the president will retaliate on Garden?"
Squall turned to the side not looking at Zell. Maybe…if the threat seemed big enough... Why wouldn't he? A SeeD held him at knife point after all…the possibility of SeeD being hired to execute him seems plausible from his standing. We were assisting a resistance faction for Timber's independence and already attempted to kidnap him earlier that day.
"Maybe." Squall said quietly.
Zell turned and hung his head sighing. "…Figures…" Zell quickly stood and grabbed Squall by his forearms shaking his slightly, "B-B-But, we have a whole bunch of SeeDs at Balamb Garden! They wouldn't lose to the Galbadian army would they?"
Not only SeeD's…we have basic cadets and even junior classmen. Depending on the strength and numbers they brought. Not every student is fully trained. Plus there are a bunch of SeeD's missing…out on missions. Us included. Balamb could be taken. It's possible.
"Depends how strong the army is." Squall honestly admitted.
Zell let Squall go and hung his head again. "I know…but…"
"Oh, you're just a great leader, aren't you…" Rinoa said sarcastically she walked over to the stoic brunette, "Do you have fun acting so callous towards your comrades?" she demanded resting her hands on her knees and glaring up at him with her dark brown eyes.
…Not again.
"Zell wants your support." she said standing and looking Squall directly in the face.
I knew it was gonna be something like that…
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Any kind of encouragement will make…"
That's just to ease your mind. Am I the only one who thinks that? No, I'm sure Seifer..
Rinoa raised a hand in annoyance at Squall's silent treatment and lack of response. "Don't you ever worry about or even think about the well-being of your comrades!?"
I don't believe in relying on others.
Rinoa's voice started to get louder as Squall still didn't answer. "Don't you understand!?"
…Whatever. An outsider like you wouldn't have the means to be SeeD, or even a mercenary. We can't let our emotions compromise us, like Zell's did. If were undercover doing espionage and we get our cover blown by our emotions then it's pointless. All the training we undergo to be able to be the elite forces we are would be pointless. We're not an army of mindless combatants; we have other roles we perform. Sure, we train to fight if raising our weapons is needed. Emotions get in the way of duty, Zell needs to understand this. If I support his brash behaviour…then I'm not doing my duty. Relying on people also gets in the way, I'm more than capable of doing this on my own.
"Are you listening, Squall?" Rinoa asked noticing his eyes had a slight haze over them.
Whatever…
Squall looked at Rinoa his brows furrowed and he leaned forward. He put a hand to his forehead as the loud, crude ringing began to fill his head.
…What the!? This sensation… Not…Not this…again!
Rinoa's eye widened at the pain that crossed the brunette's features and backed up a bit. Squall dropped to his knees, and fell forward onto the dirt path. Rinoa dropped down and hugged her knees to her chest, she looked at the still boy in front of her, and his eyes were closed. Quistis soon felt the same ringing inside her head as well, it was unbearable.
"Uhh…" she responded before collapsing onto the soft path as well.
Zell ran over to Quistis' fallen figure and looked down as her unconscious body. Selphie turned and looked at Rinoa and Zell, the familiar ringing was filling her head as well.
"M…Me, too." she murmured.
Zell quickly turned around and ran over to Selphie as she collapsed into the small green foliage that ran alongside the path. Zell squatted down and looked at his fallen companion, knowing exactly what must have happened; the same thing that happened on the train. Rinoa turned her worried eyes away from Squall and looked at Zell, the only remaining SeeD not to have fallen victim to whatever had just happened.
"What's going on!?" she demanded worried for the two fallen SeeD's and their leader she was just yelling at.
Zell sighed and looked at the panicked expression on the girl's face. "I think… they went to the 'dream world'."
Laguna was standing overlooking the small cliff in front of him, we was wearing his traditional Galbadian uniform. Ward slowly approached the young man from behind, not wanting to startle his squad leader. Ward turned and looked at his dark skinned companion that was just slightly behind himself and Laguna.
"Kiros, you sure this is the place?" he asked with his arms crossed.
Kiros slowly walked over and joined Ward on the uneven path that was carved into the cliff side. "Positive."
"I don't wanna be patrolling the wrong place, like last time." Ward replied glancing over at Laguna's back.
Laguna turned and looked at his two best friends he sighed and put a hand on the back of his side, embarrassed.
Those two are gonna be so mad…
"Ahh, sorry… This ain't the place." Laguna admitted.
Kiros and Ward both sighed and shook their heads at Laguna's lack of directions, as usual.
Kiros looked at Laguna confident that this was the place they were asked to patrol. "This is it. Let's go, commander."
Laguna looked at the ground his face changed from embarrassed to confusion. He turned and pulled out the map from his pocket and looked over it once more.
…This isn't the right map…oops…sorry guys…
Laguna turned and put a hand again to the back of his head. "I brought the wrong map."
Ward face palmed at Laguna's mistake, and Kiros just sighed and shook his head. Laguna turned around and looked down at the large structure that was located at the bottom of the cliff they were standing on.
"Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this…" Laguna admitted.
Nah…maybe it's just my imagination.
"Nah, everything's cool…" Laguna said more to himself then his friends. He turned and looked at the two soldiers behind him, "Hey, make sure you guys are fully equipped. Well, we are on duty… Let's get a move on and check things out."
Laguna led his team down the uneven path that was weathered into the steep slope they now walked down. They came down the slope towards the weird structure-like building Laguna was looking at earlier. The small group came to a metal bridge that spilt into two paths. There was a large generator that seemed to be powering a conveyor belt that was carrying rocks and other debris down the cliff.
Laguna stopped on the bridge right before the paths spilt; he put a hand to the back of his head. "But seriously… This place sure is strange."
I've never seen this kind of place before… looks… high tech.
"What the heck is this big pile of rocks? You think these are natural rocks used for carving tombstones?" Laguna said aloud.
Kiros gave their commander a strange look. "Who knows…or cares?"
"Speaking of strange…" Ward said, "Why have you been…running around so strange?"
Laguna turned and looked at the large man, his brows knitted in confusion.
"Strange…? What do you mean strange?...Just bein' cautious. That's the basic rule of thu…"
There was a strange noise that came from behind Laguna, further down the path that interrupted Laguna's ramblings. At the sudden noise the long haired man jerked around, and his green eyes scanned the desolate paths ahead of him.
"…Hey?" Laguna said.
A soldier dressed in white and wearing advanced looking armor came running towards him, Laguna recognized the strange armor right away.
"Looks like we've got company. Esthar soldiers." he announced to his teammates, "Still wearin' those flashy uniforms."
The same strange noise happened again, and Esthar soldiers flanked the small group. Kiros turned around and saw the threat first. Ward saw Kiros looking behind him and also turned around as more soldiers appeared.
"Laguna…!" Ward called out as another soldier joined the flanking squad behind them.
"Don't be such a weenie!" Laguna teased.
It's just one soldier…there's three of us.
Laguna looked behind him and noticed they were flanked. "What the…!?" Laguna said not being able to hide his surprise at his obviousness that his friends were trying to warn him of.
The Esthar soldiers drew their weapons and began to attack the three Galbadian soldiers. The one single soldier that was behind them attacked first. Kiros quickly turned around and slashed at the lone soldier with his two Katals he held in his hands. Ward lifted his harpoon and hit the Esthar soldier in the chest. The enemy quickly fell to the ground and Ward ran over and pulled the harpoon from the soldier's chest. The three soldiers that had flanked them were standing watching the small battle, Kiros looked at Laguna.
"Wasn't our mission just to patrol…?" he asked.
"Why does it have to turn out like this?" Ward asked somberly.
Laguna put a hand on the back of his head. "Seriously…! I wasn't expecting this at all!"
Ward and Kiros gave their commander an incredulous look; they weren't even supposed to be here. Laguna led them in the wrong direction, again. The Esthar soldier's got tired of the Galbadian soldier's party banter and attacked, the trio quickly dispatched the Esthar soldiers.
"There's more coming…?" Ward asked.
"There's no end to this!" Kiros complained.
"Better make a run for it!" Laguna suggested.
The group quickly turned and ran along the metal catwalk further into the weird place they had accidently found. They took the left path and followed the catwalk they were on. Below them was strange, ominous glowing blue rock. The catwalk spilt into three paths, Laguna led his friends down the middle path, and there was a ladder that led down into the blue rock. Someone, probably Estharian's, had carved an entrance into the rock. Laguna not wanting to fight the endless supply of Estharian soldiers probably following them quickly descended down the ladder into the weird blue stone. Once they reached the bottom of the ladder they were standing in a tunnel. The tunnel had been carved through the blue rock that seemed to almost glow, lighting up the tunnel. Laguna with no choice led his friends further into the tunnel, he noticed something strange on the ground.
Hmm? What's this…?
Laguna bent down and picked up the small key he saw, it was old in appearance. He put the key into his back pocket.
I feel a draft on my butt…
Laguna quickly turned around and looked at the back of his pants. "T…There's a hole in my back pocket!"
The key!
Laguna bent down and searched around for the key he had found, and lost in a matter of seconds. The key was nowhere to be found.
Can't find it…
"Oh well… Nothing cheaper than something free." Laguna said sadly.
"Nothing cheaper…" Kiros stated.
"…Than something free?" Ward finished.
Laguna looked at his two friends. "…What? Is it something I said? C'mon… Let's go."
Laguna led them further down the tunnel they walked over three grey hatches on the ground. Laguna walked over the middle hatch and examined it. "Hmm..? The lever on the hatch is loose." Laguna noted, "….! I know!" Laguna stood up, "If we use this… Some stubborn Esthar fool won't be able to come after us!"
"What the heck are you up to?" Kiros asked cautiously.
"Somethin' stupid again, I bet." Ward said quietly.
Laguna looked at his friends with mock hurt in his voice. "You guys… You're gonna regret sayin' that. They say, one who makes fun of a genius will end up cryin' in the end." Laguna bragged, Kiros turned and looked at Laguna confused.
"…So who's the…genius…?" Ward asked Laguna.
Ouch! Harsh man, harsh!
"Erghhhhhhhhh! Just shut up! ANYWAY!" Laguna said trying to ignore his friends teasing and get to the point, "The lever for this hatch is broken. So if we just loosen it a bit more…"
"When they come after us from that side and…" Kiros said finally understanding what Laguna meant.
"YES! Youuu guessed it! They'll walk over it without expecting a thing!" laguna beamed, "Then, all of a sudden, WHOOPS! ...And down they go. I have to admit… I really am a genius."
Ward chuckled. "…Like the Esthar soldiers are really gonna fall for this trap."
Laguna looked at Ward. "We won't know until we try! And those who never try will never know! So… I'm gonna do it. Just remember, if we tamper with the lever we won't be able to make it back to the other side. It'd be idiotic to fall for our own trap… So here it goes." Laguna bent down beside the hatch. "You guys better stand back."
Kiros and Ward moved back onto the third hatch and watched Laguna tamper with the hatch.
Laguna bent down and pulled the lever up, leaving nothing to keep the hatch in place, now if anyone ran over it the hatch would collapse taking whoever to their demise.
"There!" Laguna said rejoining his friends.
The three continued down the tunnel, they could only go forward now with their trap in place. Behind them an Estharian soldier was following the group and stepped onto the second hatch, without the lever holding the hatch closed it opened and the soldier fell and disappeared. Laguna thought he heard a noise and went back to the hatch, he saw the second hatch was open. He smiled at his friends and noticed the lever on the third hatch.
"Wait a minute…maybe this lever, too?" Laguna bent down to tamper with the lever but it wouldn't come up. "This lever… It's not moving 'cause…there's something stuck? Ahh, well…"
Laguna then went back the way they had come and continued going forward. He noticed there were two large holes in the wall and the floor was at a slight incline, Laguna shrugged and kept along the path. The next area had two ways, one which led up and another that went straight, Laguna saw a similar looking item on the ground and bent to pick it up, it was another old key and put it in his shirt pocket instead.
This time… It's in my shirt pocket…so HA!
Laguna felt an itch inside his nose. "Ah… Ahh.. ACHOO!" The key ended up flying out of his pocket when he sneezed, Laguna began to look around again for the lost item. "Not again!?" Laguna sighed.
Can't find it… Ahh well, it's not like I'm gonna die.
Laguna led his friends through the straight path, there was a metal ring placed around the opening for extra support. The trio found themselves out of the blue rock and surrounded by technology that Laguna didn't recognize. They walked along the metal catwalk and climbed the ladder at the very end. Once they reached the top they were back in the area they first started in.
Maybe I can mess with that first hatch now…
Laguna led his team back along the left path and all the way to the ladder that led them back down into the blue stone. Laguna led them back to where the hatches sat against the floor.
"Maybe this hatch too?" Laguna bent down and to tamper with the first hatch's lever, "You guys stand back."
Ward crossed his arms. "…You planning to fall for your own trap?"
Laguna put a hand to the back of his head, thinking.
"It's already a dead end." Kiros pointed out, "You still wanna close off the path we just took with a trap? Normally… Even if you raise the lever… It'd be meaningless."
"Ohhh… I get it." Laguna said finally understanding, "Well… Perfect timing… I guess? Ahh, you know what I mean… Since this lever is also loose I just thought…we'd leave it alone."
Ward scoffed. "Yeah…right…"
Laguna puffed his chest out and put his hands on his hips and shot his friend a glare for his disbelief in him. "What!? You don't believe me? C'mon guys!"
Kiros just sighed at Laguna being…well Laguna. Laguna turned them around and went back up the ladder and across the catwalk back to the entrance. Once there they climbed back down the ladder and across that catwalk back into the blue stone structure. They took the path that went up, the path was inclined meaning they were going higher and further into this weird blue stone structure. Once they reached the top of the upper path, Laguna led his team to the left path and through the steel metal ring like doorway. The trio saw a large boulder made of the same blue stone like material and a weird switch on the floor just passed the rather large boulder. Laguna bent down to examine the weird looking object.
"The heck's this? A blue and red switch, and two fuses…?"
Kiros put his hand on his chin. "A detonator…? You know."
Laguna turned his friend and crossed his arms over his chest nodding. "Ohhh, I get it. The short blue fuse is for that boulder…And the long red fuse is for the boulder further down?"
"Hey, man…! Are you crazy!?" Ward asked Laguna, "You don't even know how powerful that thing will be!"
"Ahh, I bet it's not all that. The detonator's right here, so as long as we stay behind it, we'll be all right." Laguna explained.
"Well… I guess so." Ward admitted defeat.
"Let's see…what to do." Laguna said gazing down at the switches; Laguna shrugged and pushed the red one first, "The bomb blast won't reach us here. Just stay put." Suddenly the cavern started to shake, probably the impact of Laguna pressing the red switch.
"W-W-W-What!?" Ward asked.
The further boulder, that was in the room the comrades had entered before going along the left path with the detonator, was released and rolled down a large hole and followed the path, it eventually came out from the earlier path the group travelled along with the two holes in the wall. An Esthar soldier was running quickly from the boulder that was now chasing him. The boulder ended up blocking the lower trapping the soldier. The impact from the boulder hitting the wall caused the first hatch to swing open; due to the fact the lever was already loose.
"That was…awfully loud." Kiros commented.
Ward nodded. "Lucky we were here."
Laguna nodded and crossed his arms. "That's what I told you before! You should always check how powerful the thing could be…"
Ward raised his eyebrows. "Wasn't that…me, who said that?"
Laguna turned and looked at the large man and put a hand behind his head realizing his embarrassing mistake. "…Uh…Ahh…Hm… Anyway, we're all still alive, right!?" Laguna knelt down and pressed the blue switch for the closer boulder. "It's gonna blow! Run for it!"
They ran up the path to get out of the way of the blast, just in case it was powerful. The boulder rolled down the path, and chased away another group of soldiers that were starting to follow Laguna and his two friends. The boulder rolled towards the same hole the first boulder went down and stopped, covering the opening. The impact caused the last hatch to swing open.
"That was….awfully quiet." Kiros commented.
The three soldiers came running down the stairs they went up at the end of the path to avoid the blast radius.
"I was expecting a blast of some sort…" Ward added.
"See! I told you! I told you it wasn't all that powerful!" Laguna said with a big smile at being right…for once.
Kiros and Ward shook their heads and followed after their leader who started going back up the stairs they had just come down from. They found themselves along a bridge, the stone in the wall faded from blue to a light pink colour. They walked along the small bridge towards another set of stairs and quickly climbed them and ran along another long bridge that the Estharian's had added so they could get around this weird blue maze. The three soldiers entered another metal ring like door which led to another blue long tunnel. Laguna noted another boulder sitting in a large alcove and approached it, his curiosity got the better of him and he touched the smooth blue stone. The boulder began to move and disappeared down the incline cavern it was hiding in front of.
"Hghh…!?" Laguna blurted out at his surprise of the boulder moving and causing another earthquake.
A loud scream of panic could be heard further in, probably another Estharian soldier that had intended to sneak up on them. Unfortunately, in the end was surprised instead by having to run from the boulder that could potentially crush him.
"Phew, that was close…" Laguna mumbled.
"Geez… You have to go around touching everything like a little kid, don't you?" Ward reprimanded.
"Chill out a little, will ya…?" Laguna said shrugging, "WHATEVER-MAN! Thanks to ME, those Esthar soldiers and that rock are history. It's like killing two pigs with one stone. I am just so awesome… Genius, I tell you…"
"Pigs?" Ward asked in confusion by Laguna's wrong use of sayings.
"Don't you mean…birds?" Kiros asked.
Laguna ignored his two friends and went further along the path, hoping to find an end to this weird, blue stone area. The next area had two paths; Laguna led them along the upper path that contained more stairs at the end. The blue stone began to fade into a more greenish-yellow colour. Once the comrades climbed the stairs they found themselves out of the maze and standing along a cliff out cropping that led to nowhere. It was a dead end. A small group of Estharian soldiers ran up the stairs and trapped the companions from trying to go back down the stairs.
"Don't tell me…" Laguna trailed off.
"Of all the worst possible…" Kiros added.
"Predicaments…" Ward finished.
The Esthar soldiers attacked Laguna, Kiros and Ward. Laguna drew his machine gun and shot a few rounds into the first soldier, who dropped to the ground instantly. Ward threw his harpoon and walked over to pull it out the Estharian's body. The soldier was kneeling and bleeding heavily, he quickly ran and used Soul Crush on Kiros and Ward doing major damage and leaving the two severely wounded. The soldier finally dropped to the ground, the blood loss being too much for him to survive.
Laguna, Ward and Kiros flopped to the ground near the edge of the cliff on their stomachs. They were tired; Kiros and Ward were also injured from that last suicide attack.
"Look, the ocean… We're saved!" Laguna said, "Lady luck is on our side! We can escape to Galbadia!"
"One would say we've been run down… That's what they'd normally say…" Kiros managed to get out.
"Don't say that. It might come true. Didn't your grandmother tell you that?" Laguna asked slowly climbing to his feet.
"…If you say something bad… It will come true… Yeah, I think she did." Kiros said panting heavily.
"Ggghh…rrrhhh…" Ward moaned.
Laguna turned to look at his other fallen companion. "What'd you say?"
"I think…his throat…was…injured… He lost…his voice." Kiros breathing was becoming extremely laboured.
"It…was…fu…you…" Ward managed to get out from his damaged vocal cords.
Laguna bent down beside his friend. "Say again?"
"It…was…fun…you…guys…La…guna…Ki…ros…it…was…fun."
"Ward, that's way uncool. It's not cool to say things like that." Laguna said,
"Just for that, you're gettin' the Cuchi-Cuchi treatment!" Laguna stood up, "How's that, huh!? Want more!? Well!?"
Ward didn't reply, he couldn't the damage was dealt fully now. Laguna walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down into the ocean; he saw a few boats sitting in the water.
"WHOA! Check it out, a boat! We're getting' on!"
"A…vessel… They'd…normally…call…it." Kiros said his breathing getting even more strained.
"Boat, vessel, whatever. We're going back to Galbadia!"
Laguna walked over to Kiros and helped him to his feet and threw him over the edge of the cliff. Laguna then helped Ward up and also tossed his large frame over the side of the cliff and into the waters below. Laguna leaned over the edge and looked down.
"You guys…sure have guts. You know how high this cliff is…!?"
I don't know if I can do this…
Laguna lowered himself onto his knees and began to swing his feet over the edge while facing backwards.
"Oh..sh…!" Laguna began to lose his footing and began to slip, "…No way…" he slipped from the edge and fell down the side of the cliff, "AHHHH!" Laguna yelled just before he hit the dark water below.