Phenomenon
Fate and Circumstance
Squall and the clone battled ferociously, both exhibiting considerable skill and strength in their attempts to outmatch one another. To Squall's chagrin, their struggle so far was proving to be much harder than he had anticipated…even more than the simulated one. Every action the SeeD performed, the clone met on even grounds, blocking every strike flawlessly, effortlessly, and only serving to agitate Squall further. Odine's replica may have been a challenge, but it was nothing when compared to the clone. His speed and skill were exceptional, and his strength nearly astounding – he truly was the spitting image of Squall in every way.
Still, the SeeD Commander refused to back down. Making better use of his own speed now, Squall proceeded to unleash a flurry of endless, rapid attacks, spinning and slashing at the clone continuously in attempt to outplay him. In spite of this, his efforts still proved futile, the clone easily parrying every blow, even going so far as to show-off a little by doing so from behind at times.
His back now facing Squall, the clone suddenly whirled around, performing a wide swipe at the SeeD whom quickly ducked to avoid the massive blade. While rising, Squall performed another quick spin as he lifted his gunblade over his head before bringing it down on the clone upon completion. However, the clone kept a straight face, easily reading the original's move as he blocked the attack once again.
The two Squalls stood in tight gridblock, using all of their strength in attempt to overpower the other and break the hold. Squall glared at the clone intensely, his teeth clenched and eyes bearing a look of sheer contempt and aggression. The clone merely stared back at him, his expression calm and his eyes illustrating the utmost cockiness. He loved watching the SeeD struggle - it only made their battle, and his inevitable defeat, that much more invigorating.
"Looks like I might have underestimated you, after all." he said, smugly.
"Damn right." Squall grated, his eyes still fiercely locked on the clone's.
The clone scoffed at his remark and they both simultaneously threw their weapons to the side, breaking the hold and knocking each other away. The force caused them both to spin around, staggering for a moment as they fought to regain their footing.
Upon recovering, Squall turned towards the clone only to be met with a powerful, horizontal strike that knocked him backward into a nearby wall. Squall winced upon collision, grunting from the impact before slumping on the ground.
He quickly regained his stamina, however, and lifted his head to see the clone standing over him, a wicked grin on the latter's face just before brutally thrusting his gunblade at the SeeD.
Squall speedily dodged the lethal blow, rolling out of the way as the weapon struck the wall, creating a crack from the hefty force. The SeeD Commander stared ahead with wide eyes, the massive, blue blade only inches from his face and he thought about how close a call it had been. His account was abruptly cut off when the clone took another swing at him, bringing his gunblade down on the SeeD with ruthless aggression. Forced to act quickly, Squall held his gunblade above his face, shielding himself from the blow and they went into another deadlock.
Feeling resistance, the clone bore down harder, his relentlessness fully demonstrated now as he, again, attempted to overwhelm Squall through brute force. The SeeD sat on one knee, using all of his strength to fend off the clone despite his position granting him a serious disadvantage.
Squall's desperate struggle amused the clone, the scene eliciting a faint laughter under his breath. It was rather intriguing, albeit pathetic, that Squall continued to believe he really stood a chance. Granted, the clone hadn't shown his full potential yet, but that was only because the fight would have been over far too soon otherwise – and he had, at least, wanted to give the SeeD a fighting chance, if only for entertainment purposes. It was just much more enjoyable toying with Squall before eliminating him.
Still not willing to give up despite his current status, Squall kept fighting to counter the clone's force. Mustering all of the strength he had, he gave a mighty heave and finally pushed the clone back, quickly rising to his feet in the process and stared towards the duplicate irritably.
Irvine, Selphie, and Zell returned to the Bridge in a matter of minutes, rushing to meet up with Nida in time. Upon finally arriving where the Garden pilot waited, they wasted no time in their endeavors, getting straight to the heart of the matter in hopes of successfully avoiding the impending catastrophe.
"Nida!" Zell said, hastily.
The SeeD pilot and Xu both looked at the trio in wonder, their apparent urgency and sudden appearance leaving the two momentarily confused.
"What's up?" Xu asked, "Where are Squall and Quistis?"
"You mean Squall's not back yet?" Irvine asked, hoping he had somehow misheard.
However, his hopes were instantly abolished when Xu and Nida shook their heads. The reaction instantly confounded the SeeDs, concern quick to surmount them and they looked at one another in shock. If anything, they had almost certainly expected Squall and Rinoa to have returned already. Squall was the best fighter of all of SeeD, confident and courageous beyond a doubt and willing to take on anything to accomplish what was needed. There was no doubt in his mind that he could save Rinoa, and he had been willing to infiltrate Lunatic Pandora alone to do so. However, given these very facts, that neither of them had yet returned left a sinking feeling in the SeeDs' stomachs, a faint spark of worry ignited deep within as they could only imagine what might have happened.
Nevertheless, they couldn't afford to dwell on the matter too long. Lunatic Pandora was nearly on top of Garden, preparing to release an endless horde of monsters down upon them if they didn't act fast. Squall knew what he was doing and wouldn't stop until he had reached his goal, especially if it was to rescue Rinoa, and he did know his way around the massive structure by now. With any luck, maybe he and Rinoa were already working on a way to prevent the disaster. Right now, they had much bigger problems to worry about – and they knew Squall would agree.
"It doesn't matter," Zell said, abruptly, "You need to mobilize Garden! We have to get out of here before we're overcome with monsters!"
Xu and Nida were startled by his sudden claims, their reactions expressing apprehension and further bewilderment. They glanced at each other quickly before turning their attention out the front window of the Bridge towards Lunatic Pandora. The colossal structure loomed overhead, almost completely obstructing their view as it continued drifting towards their Garden menacingly.
Seeing it up so close for the first time, Nida and Xu were now able to really take in its appeal. In spite of the device's plain appearance, its sheer size alone more than made up for such. It was so intimidating, frightening even, and the very sight sent a faint shiver down their spines as they stared up at it speechlessly.
Needing no further convincing, Nida quickly turned his attention to the navigation system and attempted to set the Garden to mobilize. To his surprise, however, nothing happened. The controls didn't respond and Garden remained stationary.
"What?" he thought aloud.
Believing he may have made a mistake somehow, he attempted to try again…but, his endeavors were futile again as the controls still refused to respond in any way. He was at a loss, the odd predicament causing shock and disbelief to rapidly overtake him as he stared at the panel with a blank expression.
"What's the hold up?" Irvine asked.
"I don't know. It's not working." Nida answered. There was a tone of panic in his voice now, the SeeD trying to remain calm, but unable to fully contain his feelings towards the matter. He kept his back to them as he had spoken, still unwilling to accept the unexpected turn of events as he tried numerous methods in attempt to move Garden.
Zell, Selphie, and Irvine exchanged looks of wonder and doubt.
"Let me see that." Zell uttered, stepping forward.
Abruptly taking over, the blond casually forced Nida out of the way and took control of the operation. Also certain the SeeD pilot had made some kind of error, Zell proceeded to perform the same methods as his comrade in order to move Garden. Unfortunately, his attempts yielded the same result. Even after multiple tries, the school still remained in its position, only resulting in Zell becoming increasingly frustrated by the whole endeavor.
"Come on! What the hell is wrong with this thing?" he grumbled.
"Maybe it was damaged somehow?" Selphie asked, innocently.
Zell was quick to brush off such a concept, shaking his head in denial.
"There's no way. Someone would have had to have tampered with it personally, and no one in Garden would do that - and Galbadia never got the opportunity."
Her notion shut down, Selphie went quiet again, silence consuming the area as they all thought on the potential problem for a moment. Galbadia had failed when they had attempted to access the Bridge, their efforts halted at the hands of Quistis, Xu, and Nida - and it had only been a year since Garden had been mobile, so there was no way it could be too outdated.
Zell then glanced back towards Lunatic Pandora again, a curious expression on his face as he stared up at the massive structure. Was it possible that it somehow had an effect on Garden's navigation? It seemed unlikely, but he couldn't deny that it was rather interesting how they had never had any problems with the system until now, in the presence of Lunatic Pandora. Whether mere coincidence or an unfortunate side-effect as to the structure's power, the possibility of it even being remotely true couldn't afford to be overlooked.
While he stood there, contemplating the scenario, Selphie suddenly recalled the moment they had learned of Rinoa's capture. Playing the battle over in her mind, she distinctly remembered witnessing Squall step off the elevator before joining them. Though that may have been an irrelevant detail, she was also quick to recall how angered Squall had been by Zell's constant pestering about Rinoa's sudden whereabouts. Yet, despite all of the blonde's questions, he had still felt disinclined to tell them where she was. His stern reactions and outright refusal to reveal such information even to them, had elicited some curiosity and concern from Selphie, and made it rather clear that brunette had been harboring some form of resent. While she couldn't be entirely certain, and as farfetched as it may have seemed…something inside the petite, young woman told her it may be true.
"Wait a minute! The elevator!" she said, "Maybe, amidst all of the confusion, Galbadia somehow managed to access it without us knowing and found Rinoa. That would explain why Squall was so surprised when we found out she had been captured. He must have hidden her someplace below Garden, someplace he thought they'd never find her."
They all considered her words for a moment and, in their silence, mutually agreed she had a point. The power system that allowed Garden to become mobile sat deep underneath them in Garden's MD level. If Squall had indeed hidden Rinoa down there before the battle, that would have left the system wide open for sabotage during their search for the young sorceress – and Galbadia would have certainly taken advantage. As crazy as the whole idea seemed, however, it was the only possibility that really made any sense.
"Damn it! Those bastards must have done something to the controls." Zell grated. He balled his fist tight, closing his eyes hard as he was consumed with hatred towards the Galbadian soldiers.
"Then, we need to get down to the MD level, and fast," Irvine stated, "If we don't fix the problem and get Garden moving soon, we're doomed."
Zell relaxed his stance, unclenching his fist and standing straight again as he tried to calm down. Irvine was right. Despite the immense hostility Zell harbored towards the soldiers, now wasn't the time to worry about it. They had bigger issues at hand, a truly life or death situation, and each second they delayed brought them that much closer to their demise. Right now, they had to focus on getting Garden mobilized and out of reach of the lunar beasts. Galbadia could be dealt with later – they had to save themselves before they could even consider exacting proper payback.
"Alright," he nodded, "We'll head down to the MD level and see if we can get Garden up and running again. Xu and Nida will stay here for defensive purposes, and so there's someone to steer when we finally resolve the issue."
The plan set, they all nodded in agreement and Nida returned to his position in front of the steering console.
"Okay, let's go!" Irvine urged.
"Be careful, you guys." Xu said, a pleading tone in her voice.
The trio didn't respond as they hurried from the Bridge en route to the MD level, all the while Lunatic Pandora continuing to encroach upon them.
Squall's battle with the clone was fiercer than ever, becoming increasingly more heated and difficult with each passing moment, or so it seemed. Any attack Squall attempted, the clone easily anticipated and would parry the blow with amazing precision. His footwork and swordsmanship were truly astounding, the duplicate meeting Squall's attributes perfectly and presenting the SeeD Commander what was most certainly his toughest challenge yet.
Still, the thought didn't faze Squall. His previous battle with the replica had been hard at first as well, but he had managed to emerge victorious in the end. This scenario wasn't all that different – and, while knowing better than to underestimate his adversary this time, the SeeD still had no intentions of giving up. Though the clone was clearly stronger and faster than the simulation, they both still shared Squall's mindset, a fact the original used to his advantage this time around in order to keep the duplicate on his toes.
They fought hard and intensely, alternating blows as they both repeatedly dodged each other's strikes. The clone made another wide swipe at Squall, forcing the SeeD to duck to avoid the blow. Hoping to catch him off-guard now, the clone immediately followed up with a hard swing head on. However, his assault was halted again when Squall shielded his face with his gunblade, successfully sparing himself another scar…or worse.
Staring each other down again for a second, the clone smirked again before pushing him back with his foot. Upon seeing he had now successfully outwitted the SeeD, he then quickly proceeded to unleash a mighty blow from the side. Since Squall was regaining his balance, the force of the strike knocked him off his feet and he fell to the hard floor.
As soon as he had hit, he looked up to see the clone thrusting his weapon down on him once again. With only a second to spare, Squall swiftly rolled out of the way again, the sword just missing him as it stuck in the ground.
He quickly rose to his feet, his expression revealing his fury at the clone's second attempt to kill him.
The clone pulled his gunblade out of the floor, whipping it through the air with one hand as he eyed Squall keenly before returning it to his side. He scoffed under his breath, a smug expression forming on his face once again as he prepared to continue their duel. Squall could feel his blood boil again at the sight - it was the perfect fuel to feed the fire that raged within him. How he hated that look, so cunning, so manipulative. Nothing would make him more content than to make sure he would never have to see it again.
Glaring at the clone coldly, Squall imitated his actions: whipping his gunblade through the air to his other side, one-handed. He then whirled it around twice before bringing it to rest on his shoulder and finally charged towards the duplicate fearlessly, their heated battle continuing on.
Having finally arrived at the power source for Garden's navigation system, Zell and the others stared up at it in silence, the blond taking in the design of the structure to get a good idea of how it worked.
"So…what now?" Irvine asked. Hardly machine savvy, the sniper was at a loss on the scenario as he stared up at the complex mechanism.
Zell lowered his head and looked towards the controls for the device. Taking a deep breath, he slowly trekked forward before folding his arms in a troubled manner. He was pensive as he stood staring down at it for a moment, carefully studying the odd setup while he contemplated what to do first.
Not having much time to dawdle, though, he soon made his decision and knelt down before an odd, circle shaped device on the right. After moving the small switch beneath it, he lifted his head upward, checking the massive junction of gears for any response. However, the gears remained undisturbed, no sign of even an attempt to react to the SeeD's endeavors apparent.
Still not too troubled by the situation, Zell retracted his attention back to the controls and slowly stood up. Scrolling his eyes over to the left side of the controls, he then stepped towards them and, in what appeared to be a faint sign of desperation, proceeded to activate a quick series of switches in hopes of getting a reaction.
Unfortunately, his thoughts and hopes were dashed when the machine still remained unresponsive.
Zell's expression dropped, the blond now appearing to become somewhat anxious as his eyes fixed heavily on the complicated system.
"What are you doing?" Selphie asked, confused by the SeeD's actions.
"I thought for sure that would work." Zell mumbled. He cupped his chin gently in another pensive stance, sorting over the controls in his head once more.
Selphie and Irvine were quite troubled by their friend's antics. Garden and SeeD were on the verge of annihilation, and he acted as if everything was just fine, choosing now, of all times, to be calm and patient. It was the first time they could recall their own patience being tested. Unable to fathom what was going on in the mind of their companion, the SeeDs could only shake their heads in disbelief as they face-palmed in unison at the whole scenario.
Squall grunted as he was knocked away by the clone's blow, the force of it sending him backwards a little and he dropped to one knee. Without a moment to recover, the clone went for another strike, forcing Squall to shield himself, once again, as he lifted the Lionheart in front of his face to block it.
Showing his relentless streak once more, the clone proceeded to follow up his assault with a series of rapid, powerful attacks. Each blow struck Squall's gunblade harshly, heavily, the clone utilizing overwhelming force to best the SeeD. Nonetheless, Squall managed to hold his ground, exhibiting great resilience as he maintained a solid defense despite his hunched position.
For the final blow of his aggressive combo, the clone thrust his weapon hard from the side. The force of the strike knocked Squall's gunblade out of his hands, leaving the SeeD defenseless as he watched the weapon hit the ground a few feet away. Momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events, Squall turned his head back towards the clone to see the latter's blade coming down on him again. But, right before it could hit him, he rolled backward, successfully dodging another potentially lethal blow and he returned to his feet.
Now, without any form of defense against the duplicate, Squall was at a major disadvantage as he stared down the former crossly. Certain he would win now, a sly grin formed on the clone's face, and he began unleashing another series of crushing blows, forcing Squall to utilize his speed alone to stay ahead of him.
To the clone's frustration, the SeeD still managed to outplay him despite his lack of a weapon, demonstrating great footwork as he moved quickly to avoid being struck by the endless assaults.
Upon finishing his attack, the clone held his gunblade out towards Squall, another smirk quick to form on his face as he stared the SeeD down arrogantly.
"Ready to give up?" he asked, mockingly.
Squall didn't respond, glancing towards his gunblade on the floor as an idea quickly formed in his head. Seeing his mind was briefly somewhere else, the clone took the opportunity and, quickly performing another spin, swung his blade wide and slashed at Squall violently. At the last second, however, the SeeD rolled to the side, successfully dodging the blow and recovering his weapon.
He quickly rose to his feet again, whirling his gunblade in hand, once more, and readying himself to continue on.
"Not a chance." he muttered.
"Any ideas, Zell?" Irvine asked.
The blond didn't respond, his eyes, again, fixed on the controls in front of him as he thought to himself. An idea soon coming to mind, Zell then stepped towards the small turnstile in the center of the device.
"Maybe…" he mumbled.
Though not entirely certain it would work, but all attempts so far proving ineffective, Zell took a chance and proceeded to turn the gizmo as far as it could go. The peculiar object spun in his hands for a few moments before stopping abruptly. Now, encountering resistance, Zell smirked gleefully as he lifted his hands from the device and stared up at the gears once again.
Taking note of his actions, Irvine and Selphie glanced at the machine for a moment before looking at their friend in question. Confusion and curiosity quickly getting the best of her, Selphie spoke up first.
"What's up?"
"It's in there." Zell answered, casually pointing towards the gears.
His words ignited a spark of hopelessness in his companions, Irvine and Selphie's expressions dropping drastically and they all stared up at the massive interchange.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Irvine groaned. It would figure, of course – just when they thought things couldn't get any more difficult, they are promptly proven wrong in a cruel fashion. Not only had Galbadia infiltrated the MD level and sabotaged Garden's navigation system – but, they had done so in a way that made it virtually impossible to counteract.
Now, with time running out, and no ideas on how to reverse the soldiers' tampering, the three SeeDs could do little more than stare up at the machination in wonder as they pondered their predicament thoroughly.
*Author's Note* - If you caught the Dissidia reference, cheers! At least...I tried to paint the picture properly, lol.