Disclaimer: I don´t own Final Fantasy VIII...
Unexpected Destiny
Chapter 37: Between walls
By CelestialRage
She hugged herself in a vain attempt to shrug off the chill that had assaulted her. The room´s atmosphere was cold, but the icy feeling running down her spine had nothing to do with the temperature.
Rosie´s thoughts were far from the chamber she and her friends – minus Irvine, who had managed to escape in the confusion following the Sorceress´s outburst - were locked in, her mind focused in her recent failure. Tears stung the corner of her deep, dark eyes as the image of Squall´s injured body played again in her mind. Her gaze turned to her hands, where the blood – his blood – stains were still visible despite her efforts to get rid of them.
She sighed tiredly as a tear finally escaped her right eye and rolled down her cheek.
Seems my best efforts are futile...
I haven´t been able to change anything so far.
The moment had been terrible and the raven-haired highly doubted the memory would vanish from her mind soon.
Rosie rocked herself back and forth unconsciously as her body tightened in a small ball, her eyes staring blankly to the front as her mind replayed the previous events.
ooo ooo
"Rinoa, quick!" the raven-haired SeeD yelled, her voice full of agony as she frantically tried to stop the bleeding from Squall´s open wound. She had just finished melting the ice spear and without the numbing cold, the male SeeD´s blood started to flow. Both of her hands were pressed tightly to his shoulder and upper chest and she could feel the warm, crimson liquid coursing through her fingers, abandoning her beloved´s body and draining the life out of him.
Rinoa casted the healing spell she had been readying, but given the lenght of the SeeD´s injure, she was forced to repeat the process 2 other times.
The sound of the heavy chain rolling back to its position caught Rosie´s attention, the raven-haired girl turning her eyes from Squall´s paling face to the heavy black gate in front of the float she and the other teens were on. Her heart skipped a beat as what appeared to be more than a hundred blue-cladded Galbadian soldiers quickly made their way towards them, their weapons in hand and already pointing at the teenagers.
A faint, tired moan from below her made her head go down as her gaze focused on Squall again. Rinoa had finally managed to close the wound, though he had lost a considerable amount of blood, his face pale as a sheet. Rosie couldn´t help but smile warmly at the SeeD leader as she locked her dark eyes with his stormy ones, which although barely opened, still were focused on her face.
"You´re gonna be ok." she muttered as more tears came to her eyes. She was about to say something else, however, as her mouth opened, a painful yelp escaped her lips as suddenly a strong hand gripped her left arm, yanking her hard to her feet, while other hands took Reaper and her item pouch off her hips. Rosie´s arms were roughly pulled behind her – the injure in her shoulder stinging painfully – as the soldiers secured her wrists with Odine-branded cuffs, thus cutting her ability to cast magic or summon her Guardians. Her teary eyes were still settled on Squall´s prone form, her heart aching with worry as she looked at the soldiers take hold of the weak SeeD´s body, carrying him to one of the military vehicles parked not far from the archway.
She felt a hard shove from behind, as the soldier ordered her to move. The sound of the door leading to the archway being opened caught her attention as she made her way towards the awaiting vehicle. Her other friends were also cuffed, Zell sporting a bleeding lip and a bruised cheek, making it obvious the martial artist had tried to fight his way to freedom, but given the amount of soldiers and the fact none of the SeeDs were able to use their magic or GFs anymore, the task was impossible.
The way to the District Prision had taken almost a whole day, the high-security faccility was located in the middle of the Galbadian desert, making the trip inside the crowded military vehicle hellish.
ooo ooo
Her thoughts were interrupted by Zell´s loud yawning, the blond SeeD was finally stiring from the unnatural sleep he had been in for the last 7 hours. The 4 girls turned to look at the martial artist as he sat up slowly, his hands rubbing his eyes as he yawned again.
"Welcome back, Zell." said Quistis smiling. "Was it the dream world again?"
The blond nodded as he stretched his arms up his head.
"How´s Laguna doing?" asked Selphie as she moved a little closer to the martial artist.
"Dunno." replied Zell, shaking his head "I didn´t see him, but I did see Ward. He´s working as a janitor in some prision-like place and he´s bored outta his mind!"
Quistis shook her head in confusion, her blonde hair swinging gracefully from side to side "What´s this we´re experiencing?"
"The hell should I know!" replied the martial artist angrily. He was tired of having those restless and confusing dreams! Although he felt somewhat linked to the bulky Ward, the brawler wished nothing more than the dreams – or whatever the hell they were – to stop.
His eyes wandered through the faces of the other cell´s occupants and for the first time, he noticed neither Squall nor Irvine were in the room with them. Where the hell were they? He remembered Rosie telling him their leader had been badly injured by Edea, but she hadn´t mentioned what happened with the cowboy...
... or if Squall was still alive.
ooo ooo
He opened his eyes to thin slits.
Although his vision was still blurred, Squall could tell Raine´s wooden celing had vanished, as did the sweet floral perfume that had accompanied him during the dream, his nose detecting a faint, metallic scent instead.
He shivered slightly as his body finally registered the coldness of the atmosphere, all traces of the warm summer day he had been enjoying gone.
His right hand raised to rub his temple as a sharp hammering pain strung him, the SeeD surprising at the incredible weakness he felt. Suddenly remembering the reason for his condition, he quickly sat up, dark spots clouding his vision while the dizziness he felt forced him to drop down on the matress again. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Squall turned to look at the place where Edea´s ice spear had stabbed him. His left hand opened his shirt so his shoulder was visible.
A small reddened scar had been added to the collection he had gathered through his years in Garden. Most of them thanks to the intense training sesions he had to endure, others from his frequent non-friendly encounters with Seifer.
As this thought left his mind, Squall remembered the battle with his life-long rival. He could still feel the heat of the torches on the platform, hear the clanging of his gunblade against Hyperion, muffling the shouts from the frenzied crowd and see Rosie and Edea´s frames standing at different corners of the float.
His frown deepened as the Sorceress´s image came to his mind, the SeeD remembering Seifer´s cocky smirk as they battled. The blond man seemed as arrogant and reckless as always...
... only now it seemed he was on a different side.
"Damn you Seifer!" hissed Squall as he thought of his rival´s betrayal. He stood up and fell to his knees due to the weakness he felt and the rocking that suddenly had stroke his cell. The SeeD could feel the room move to the left, followed by metallic sounds reminding him of the coupling process of the Timber train mission. A couple of seconds later, the cell started to rise and seemed to ascend around 30 feet before halting abruptly.
ooo ooo
"What was that noise?!" asked Selphie as a loud metallic sound echoed through the walls.
Rosie´s head lifted from its position between her arms as the door to their cell slid open, a dozen of heavily-armed guards entering the room and pointing their weapons towards the now standing teenagers. One of them – obviously the leader – took a couple of steps towards the SeeDs, a cocky smirk on his face as he said:
"That´s the sound of your friend being tortured." His gaze wandered through the women, lust evident in his eyes as he continued "You´ll soon be getting what you scum deserve!"
"Wha? Whaddya mean?!" demanded Zell angrily as he stepped closer to the guard, his eyes burning with fury.
"You´ve got a problem, punk?" asked the arrogant guard as he got closer to the martial artist, his baton raising and striking the SeeD on the stomach, forcing the air out of his lungs.
The guard´s weapon fell again, this time, however, Zell grabbed his arm, twitching it painfully to the side. At this, half of the soldiers moved in, striking the blond SeeD either with their batons or machine-guns, until the martial artist was laying on the floor. The other guards started laughing, some of them nearing their comrades and joining them in the beating Zell was receiving.
"Stop it!" yelled Rosie angrily as she witnessed the brutal beating, powerless to halt the soldier´s abuse.
"Don´t mess around with me, punk!" hissed the brute leader, grabbing Zell´s hair and pulling his head back enough so he could speak to the martial artist´s ear. "Now you understand who´s in charge here" he said before hardly dropping the SeeD´s head down to the metallic floor. "Oh, before I forget.." he said turning his attention to the ladies "Which one of you is Rinoa?"
"I am." said Rosie stepping forward before the real Ms. Heartilly could even begin to speak. The other three girls stared at her in awe, the raven-haired SeeD nodded slightly, her eyes trying to tell them to trust her.
The guard´s smirk returned "Fine. You´re coming with us, doll."
"What are you gonna do with her, you bastard?!" yelled Zell as he started to stand up, the guards beating him mercilessly again, before their leader yanked Rosie´s left arm and ordered them to move.
"I´ll be okay." said the raven-haired girl as she turned to look at her friends. "Trust me."
ooo ooo
The door to his cell opened with a whoosh, Squall´s head moving upwards to look at whoever had entered the room. His frown deepening as he clenched his fists and teeth in rage at the sight of the blond man in front of him.
Seifer Almasy´s smirk widened as he watched his rival slowly standing up. "Squall, you are pitiful." said the blond teen disdainfully.
Squall´s reply was a quick and rather strong jab, the SeeD refusing to show any weakness in front of the self-proclaimed Knight. Seifer, however, was able to parry the brunet´s punch effortlessly, grabbing his rival´s hand and twitching it aside before delivering a hook of his own. Squall fell on the mattress, his back colliding with the hard, cold wall. The SeeD´s frown deepened when he tried to access his magic stores, finding his GF´s were silent, meaning either he was under the influence of a Silence spell or Seifer had drawn them.
He sent a kick to the blond´s right leg, forcing the Knight to take a step backwards to avoid the blow. Squall seized the chance and quickly got up, his right fist ramming against Seifer´s stomach before his left one connected his rival´s chin. Enraged, the blond used his magic-enhaced strenght, delivering a inhumangly strong and quick jab to the SeeD´s cheek, before grabbing his brunet hair and ramming his head against the wall.
"Take him away!" snarled Seifer as he let go of his rival and turned around to exit the room.
Squall´s vision blurred again, the Knight´s retreating white trenchcoat was the last thing he saw before many arms grabbed him as he slipped into unconsciousness.
ooo ooo
"Here she is." said the soldier as he pushed Rosie hard towards the awating man.
Irvine´s confused look changed as he saw the raven-haired girl´s lips move. He placed his hand on her right shoulder, pulling her nearer as he turned to look at the prision guards and said "Well thank you, gentlemen. General Caraway will be pleased and in great debt with you for this." He brought one of his hands into his trenchcoat and produced a black credit card, which he held out for the guard´s leader to grab "Here. For your excelent service and with the General´s regards, of course."
The brute took the card and examined it closely before smirking again and saying "Always a pleasure to make bussiness with Caraway." He turned to look at Rosie and sent her a dirty look as he said "Take care, doll."
The sharpshooter frowned, his grip on the raven-haired girl´s shoulder tightening for a second before he turned around, pulling the female SeeD with him.
"What are you doing here? Where´s Rinoa?" he whispered as they advanced towards the Galbadian vehicle Irvine had borrowed from the General.
"She´s with the others" replied Rosie absently. She bit her lower lip nervously as her inner debate continued.
The raven-haired girl had seen her oportunity to slip by the security of the D-Prision by feigning she was Rinoa, since none of the guards knew the difference, thus gaining access to her weapon – which was securely attached to her holster again – and to another member of their team. One that she knew could help her not only to rescue the others, but also to do it as fast as possible and gaining the chance to stop the missiles aimed for Trabia Garden.
But... would Irvine believe what she was about to tell him?
"Irvine..." Rosie´s voice made him turn to face her as he closed the vehicle´s door. The raven-haired girl´s eyes locked with his, the cowboy frowned at the fear evident in them. "I... I have... a confession to make..."
ooo ooo
Squall´s arms ached when he came to again.
His head was hanging forward and he could feel something stiff and thick around his wrists and ankles. The SeeD opened his eyes and found himself bound to a wall, his body 5 or 6 feet above the ground. His gaze wandered through the room, finding nothing more than what appeared a power generator at his left and a control station at his right. There, cladded in a blue and brown uniform, stood one of the prision guards.
But he was not alone.
Seifer´s smirk returned as he noticed his rival had finally began to stir. The blond walked closer to the bound SeeD until he was almost directly below him. "I´m sure you can imagine what happens now." said the Knight as he folded his arms above his chest, his green gaze settled on Squall´s frowning face.
The SeeD clenched his teeth.
Yeah, he knew what was coming... Garden had taught them how to survive torture and he was more than ready to show why he had gotten the best score in that class. Squall moved his wrists, testing his bonds trying to find a weak spot, however, Seifer had done quite a good job fastening them.
"What do you want?" asked the SeeD coldly, his icy stare piercing his rival´s eyes.
"Tell me what SeeD is. Edea demands to know." replied Seifer drawing Hyperion in a dramatic fashion and pointing it at the bound man.
SeeD? Squall thought confused.
What is there to know about SeeD that Seifer doesn´t know already?
It´s a code name for Garden´s trained elite mercenary forces... That concept is taught to every cadet since they begin their studies.
Even citizens now that...
"Don´t you already know?" asked the brunet, raising an eyebrow slightly. "It´s basic knowledge."
Seifer shrugged smiling "I´m not a SeeD." He placed his gunblade on his shoulder and continued "There must be some kind of secret you´re given when you become one, isn´t it? Tell me."
"There´s none." he replied coldly before a very tiny smirk flashed on his face briefly "And even if there was, do you really think I´d tell you?"
Seifer smiled widely "No, in fact I didn´t... I´d be rather dissapointed if you talked that easily." The blond teenager took a couple of steps closer to his rival and said "You´re on my tough-nut-to-crack list, buddy."
The SeeD moved his head to the side as he voiced his cold, sarcastic reply "Geez, I´m honored."
The Knight´s smile widdened "That´s why I have a little somethin' for ya." Seifer´s fingers snapped, the warden standing near the control panel hit a switch sending electricity through the SeeD's body.
Squall emited a gutural growl, the pain coursing through his being was sharp, his body convulsing violently as the high voltage journed the lenght of his frame. Suddenly, the pain resided as Seifer snapped his fingers again, ending the torture sooner than the SeeD had hoped for.
"How´s that, uh?" asked the blond mockingly, watching Squall´s body convulse slightly before finally going limp.
The SeeD didn´t reply, he settled himself and calmly opened his eyes to look at his rival, dismissing the torture as just a minor inconvenience.
Seifer´s smirk returned "Even if you don´t talk others will... Let´s see, who do we have available?" he seemed to consider his options before smiling again and saying "Oh, yeah! Our dear instuctor, the little messenger girl and, of course, Chicken-wuss... I bet he doesn´t even last 3 seconds!"
Squall´s eyes widened slightly. They... "They´re all here?"
All of them? Even...
"Oh, you bet!" replied the Knight grinning, obviously enjoying the situation. "They´re in one of the lower levels waiting for their turn. But since I like you so much I thought you should go first." He pointed Hyperion towards the SeeD´s throat, his grin widening as his rival remained emotionless. "You know... I hoped you´d be there, Squall"
The SeeD frown´s deepened "What?"
The hell is he talking about?
Seifer chuckled before replying "So... How´d I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream is finally fullfilled... I´ve become the Sorceress Knight and the greatest warrior of all times!"
Squall´s mind replayed his rival´s words on the cliff just above the Com Tower in Dollet.
So... this is his 'romantic dream'?
Well... I´m sorry to dissapoint you Seifer but you´d become nothing more than a filthy, sadistic torturer under Edea´s orders.
"C´mon, Squall say something!" said the Knight smiling "This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The tale of the evil mercenary vs. the Sorceress Knight!"
The SeeD remained silent, wondering if his rival had finally gone mad. His frown depening further as he clenched his teeth, preparing for the next stage of his torture session.
Seifer´s fingers snapped, the course of electricity going through Squall´s body again. The Knight smirked as he watched the SeeD´s frame convulse painfully. "The fun´s just started, Squall. Don´t dissapoint me now!"
ooo ooo
"OWW!!" yelled Zell in pain as Selphie and Rinoa´s healing magic worked on his bruises. Unfortunately for the martial artist, the Cure spells they had just casted were so weak they did nothing more than 'poking' at the injures.
The brunette girl sighed and muttered apologetically "I´m sorry, Zell... but it seems we can´t do it right."
"It´s not your fault." replied Quistis, the blonde inspecting a near wall closely. "There seems to be some kind of anti-magic field around the place. That´d explain why we can´t access our Guardians or cast our magic correctly." She turned to look at Zell, her eyes narrowing in concentration "Uhmmm... not even my Blue Magic is working." muttered Quistis after a couple of seconds.
The door to their cell opened with a whoosh. The teenagers stared in awe as a strange cat-like creature stepped into the room. It was about a meter tall, its orange fur turned bright crimson at the top of its head and whip-like tail. Surprisingly enough, the creature was able to walk on its two back paws – which were chained, allowing it to take only small steps – while carrying a grey tray with a complete (if unappetizing) meal.
The small creature took a couple of steps towards the SeeDs before tripping, the tray escaping its paws, spilling its contents and landing 3 feet away with a loud resonating clatter of metal on metal.
Almost immediately, a baton-wielding guard entered the cell "What was that noise?!" His eyes found the spilled food tray, his vicious glare setting on the shivering small creature. "You again?! It´s the fourth tray you drop today, stupid Moomba!" he yelled angrily as he kicked the poor thing hardly on the stomach.
"You, bastard!" yelled Zell standing up, not able to keep his anger at bay anymore. The guard raised his baton, but had no chance to use it as the martial artist quickly grabbed his arm and yanked him off his feet, hurling the galbadian against the wall. His head collapsed with the metal surface before landing with a thud, his body laying limp.
"Well done, Zell! That´s what that BIG meanie deserves!" said Selphie, her hands on her hips as she looked at the guard´s unconscious form. The tiny SeeD turned to look at the Moomba and, smiling warmly, crouched in front of it. "You ok?" The creature emited a faint growl, its little upper paws clutching its stomach. "Doesn´t work so well, but..." Selphie focused all her energy as she placed a hand on the Moomba´s injure "Cure!" a white light shinned for a second before disappearing, the bruise on the creature´s stomach slightly fainter.
"The coast is clear." said Quistis, who had bolted to the still opened cell´s door after the martial artist knocked out the guard.
"Really?" asked Rinoa approaching, the raven-haired girl looking around. The floor was circular, 3 other closed cells were visible around a wide hole in the center of the chamber. There was a staircase at their right, leading to the upper and lower levels, the SeeD´s cell was just beside it. The raven-haired frowned "Where are all the guards?"
Aside from the now unconscious man laying inside their cell, there were no other galbadians on that floor.
"If I remember correctly... they´re having a lunch in the dinning room." said Zell as he approached the women. He gazed at the plaque attached to the wall just beside the door, it read 7-C4.
"If you remember correctly? What do you mean?" asked Selphie, still crouching beside the Moomba.
"Remember I told you Ward worked as a janitor in a prision? Well, this is the place he was working at! I recognized the room right away... during the dream he kept mopping several cells like this one." replied Zell smiling as he turned to look at the women. "I know the guards´ shifts and rounds, so we can manage to escape."
"Even so..." replied Quistis shaking her head slightly ".. we´re still unarmed and I´m sure it won´t be long before our friend is missed." she said motioning towards the fallen guard.
"No prob, I think I know where they´re keeping our stuff." replied the martial artist as he stepped outside the room "I won´t be long."
"But..." Rinoa´s words were cut off as the blond man turned and smiled.
"My weapons are these fists o´mine, remember? Besides I know the place, so don´t worry." replied Zell giving them a thumbs up.
Quistis nodded. "Be careful, though."
The Moomba got up and quickly approached the guard´s body, its paws grabbing something. The little creature walked towards Zell and held out a green and yellow card.
"A keycard!" he grabbed it and looking at the Moomba said "Thanks, buddy!" He turned his attention to the girls "Close the door after I´m gone, when I get back I´ll knock before opening it, ok?"
The three girls nodded in understanding, Zell nodding back before turning around and saying "Well, I´m off!"
ooo ooo
His body ached as it convulsed painfully, the high voltage journing through his frame once more. Seifer´s fingers snapped again, the SeeD´s agony ceasing momentarily.
"I´ll ask again, Squall." said the Knight calmly as he crossed his arms over his chest. His body leaning cassually against the wall oposite the brunet´s. "What is SeeD? And why do they oppose the Sorceress?"
Oppose? Squall´s frown deepened as he settled himself again, facing the blond man with his characteristic unreadable expression.
The assasination attempt was only a mission, SeeD doesn´t actively oppose the Sorceress... but it seems she believes otherwise...
"Sir Seifer!" a guard called from the doorway, attracting the looks of both rivals.
"What do you want? Can´t you see I´m busy?" snarled angrily Seifer, his vicious glare locking with the guard´s frightened one.
The galbadian gulped before nervously replying "I-I´m sorry, sir... but the missiles targeted for Garden are ready to be lauched."
Squall´s eyes widened as the news struck him.
They´re going to destroy Garden?!
"Excellent." Seifer smiled as he left his spot against the wall. He turned to look at his rival, his smile widening at the incredulous look on the SeeD´s face. "Balamb and Trabia Gardens will be destroyed on charges of training SeeDs to oposse the Sorceress."
"What?!" Squall couldn´t believe his ears.
This can´t be!
They´re not serious!!
"It´s a pity, really. I grew up there too.." said Seifer before shrugging and continuing "Well, orders are orders... don´t you think, Squall?"
The SeeD could feel rage coursing through him, his tired body tensing as Squall fought his bonds in a vain attempt to get rid of them. "Bastard!" yelled the brunet, his icy stare locking with Seifer´s.
The Knight chuckled and stepped closer to his rival. "Once both Gardens are gone, the SeeD hunt will begin and I´ll be Edea´s bloodhound, hunting down every one of your kind." Seifer raised his right arm, grabbing Squall´s white shirt´s collar and painfully pulling the SeeD down so he could stare directly into his blue-grey eyes. The Knight grinned and said "It´ll be fun, Squall. So don´t die on me, I want you to witness the falling of SeeD."
Squall spat the blond man´s face, making Seifer chuckle as he released the SeeD´s shirt. The Knight turned towards the guard near the controls and said "Seems my friend has a lot of spunk left in him. Continue with the interrogation. I´ll head to our new base and inform Edea everything´s going according to her plan." With that, the blond turned around and walked out of the room as he brought his right hand up and said "Catch ya later, punk!"
The warden smirked as the Knight left the room, the door sealing behind him. He approached the hanging SeeD and, crossing his arms over his chest with a superior attitude asked "So, ready to talk?"
"I don´t understand the question." replied Squall truthfully.
I really don´t...
Aren´t we just Garden´s special mercenary forces? What´s there to know beside that?
"Don´t mess with me, smart-ass!" said the guard as he strode to the control panel "Edea says you know something, so spit it out!"
As the warden hit the switch, the SeeD´s body jerked painfully again as the jolt of electricity ran all the way up his spine. Agonizing seconds later, the torture ended and the smirking guard approached Squall´s panting frame.
"Had enough already, pal?" asked cockily the warden.
"Y...your..." the SeeD´s lips moved slightly, his words barely audible.
The galbadian got nearer, raising one of his eyebrows as he asked "What´d you say?"
"...Your breath stinks." said Squall coldly as he stared defiantly at his torturer.
"Well, punk! You asked for it!" yelled angrily the warden as he returned to the control panel, his hand grabbing the power lever and setting it on the highest before pushing the switch. "How you like me now, uh?!" said the man smiling as he watched the SeeD´s body convulsing again, an agonized scream leaving Squall´s throat before he finally lost consciousness.
ooo ooo
Zell´s head peeked out the staircase, finding no guards in his immediate range of vision. The SeeD had reached the eighth floor, his form moving as swiftly and stealthily as possible towards the storage room. For the first time, the martial artist was thankful he was able to had those strange dreams, Ward´s knowledge on the prision´s faccilities and guards' routines had been very handy so far.
Once he was at the storage´s door, the martial artist used the keycard on the reader, the electronic lock releasing quietly as a green light appeared on top of the device. He slid the door open and peeked inside. The room was full of shelves, various items scattered on top of them. Seeing nobody around, Zell got inside, closing the door behind him.
"What is this?" said a male voice, almost making the martial artist jump in surprise. He quickly crouched, breathing slowly and trying to settle his racing heart.
"A pinwheel. It´s one of the weapons belonging to those SeeDs locked on the seventh floor." replied another masculine voice, apparently none of the men had noticed they were being listened by one of the prisioners.
Zell walked quietly towards the voices´ source, finding a couple of galbadian soldiers examining the items inside one of the heavy-secured lockers on the other side of the room, their backs facing the approaching teenager as they continued their conversation.
"They sure got interesting stuff. Look at these: a nunkachu, a whip... and is this what they call a gunblade?" the first soldier asked as he held Revolver high. "Man! It sure is heavy! How do they manage to wield it?"
"Like this!" yelled Zell as he grabbed both men´s heads and crushed them against each other, the galbadians´ bodies going limp as they lost consciousness. Zell smiled as he looked at the guards' bodies and said "Piece o´cake, baby!"
Five minutes later, the martial artist entered his friends´ cell. "Sorry to keep you waiting but I brought you gifts!" he said as he held out the girl´s weapons along with their item pouches. The SeeDs had barely ended adjusting their gear when the door opened, a couple of voices reaching their ears.
"So this is the cell with the uncooperative prisioners?" asked one of the men, the voice strangely familiar to Selphie and Zell.
"Yes, sir. But.. should we start picking on prisioners so soon after getting transferred here?" said another famliar voice nervously.
"Just shut up and let me handle this, Wedge." replied the first man as they finally stepped into the room, their gazes locking with the SeeDs´.
"YOU?!" Selphie, Zell and the two soldiers exclaimed simultaneously.
"Well, well... This is an unexpected bonus, don´t you think Wedge?" said Biggs cockily as he grabbed his baton. "Didn´t think I´d get to settle the score with you, punks! I got demoted because of what you did in Dollet and now I´m having my revenge!!"
"B-but, sir! They´re unarmed!" complained Wedge.
"I know it would seem coward to take on unarmed prisioners, Wedge. But they´re SeeDs and it´s a dog-eat-dog world, so..." replied the now Liutenant Biggs, his words cut off by the crack sound of Quistis´s whip.
Both galbadians´ eyes widened as the teenagers showed their weapons. "Uh... they´re fully armed!" exclaimed Wedge, his hand quickly drawing his saber-like sword.
"Well, this makes matters more interesting!" said Biggs smiling as he drew his guns "Let´s see what you can do against this, punks!"
Quistis's weapon coiled around the Liutenant´s legs, the blonde SeeD pulling the chain and making the galbadian fall. Zell´s leg landed hard and painfully over Biggs´s head, the galbadian soldier knocked out by the impact.
Selphie had avoided Wedge´s saber, the tiny SeeD whirling around her nunchakus, the hard edge reaching the soldier´s chin. A click anounced Rinoa had released her Pinwheel, the sharp blade cutting Wedge´s shoulder – forcing the soldier to release his weapon – before getting back to its owner. Another couple of hard beats from Selphie´s nunchakus ended the work and the galbadian trooper fell limp to the floor with a thud.
"That was easy." commented Rinoa as she stepped over the fallen Wedge´s body.
"Yeah, now comes the tricky part..." replied Zell, peeking out the cell´s door. The SeeD turned to look at his comrades as a smile lightened his features "Ready for the breakout?"
ooo ooo ooo ooo O ooo ooo ooo ooo
Author´s note:
Hi again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter :D
I hope I did a good job portraiting Squall´s suffering and his defiance towards Seifer. I cut some things, especially about Zell (when I was playing FF8, I couldn´t believe he didn´t recognize the cell right away! I mean if he was Ward during his dream and he kept mopping floors... he HAD to recognize the place without Rinoa hinting him!!). And I really made the fight against Wedge and Biggs short, VERY SHORT. But, hey! The guys are crap compared to the 3 SeeDs and Rinoa, right? Even without the aid of magic or Guardians...
Anyway, gotta go, work calls (yeah, it sucks), but remember all comments are always welcome :D
Love ya all and see ya on next chap!
Celestial Rage