Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 8 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I don't own any of it this fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no profit from it.
FINAL FANTASY/ ALTERED TALE
CHAPTER 3
The transport rammed hard into the deep brown earth as it made its final stop. Once the hatch opened Squall and his companions hurried out. They could hear the sounds of war from the other side of the mountain as they made their way along the trail.
"Ok we've finally made it to land." Quistis informed them. "Now our job is to follow this path north for a few kilometers then we'll be heading east all the way until we reach the check point. Ok people lets get moving!"
They all followed with Seifer stubbornly lagging a bit behind everyone else.
"Pick up the pace Almasy!" Quistis yelled from her position at the front. "You'll slow us down if you lag behind like that!"
"Shut up!" Seifer hollered back. "I'm doing my best!"
Quistis wanted to scream. Why on earth had Seifer even been considered for a position in rank. Even worse, of all the people to have to put up with him, why was she given that responsibility.
****
The trek to the checkpoint was uneventful for the most part. They hadn't encountered any enemies so the cover was still clean. However, at the same time, this was having a detrimental effect on morale. Mainly, that problem was just centered towards one person. Seifer.
"Damn these Galbadian wimps! What the hell kind of knights are they if they're not even going to fight us! This is dog training I tell ya!"
"Seifer, for the love of God, SHUT UP!!!" Quistis yelled.
Seifer had been ranting for the past half hour they had been walking and everyone was fed up with him by now.
Seifer glared at his Commanding officer but said nothing.
"I think we've reached the checkpoint." Squall said, pointing to the path ahead.
"Good! Now maybe we can see some action!" Seifer said, enthusiastically.
"Don't even start that up again Seifer!" Quistis said as she walked along side Squall. She pulled out her binoculars and examined the area Squall had suggested. After a few minutes of staring through the lens bifocals, Quistis lowered them and nodded her head.
"You were right Squall. That's definitely our spot."
"Yew wur rite Squall dat's definitely our spot!" Seifer mimicked mockingly. "Why not kiss his ass some more Commander! Boost his ego sky high! Come on, score one for the team!"
Quistis was just about ready to burst. Seifer had danced on her very last nerve.
"Ok here's the plan. I want you all to wait here while I scout ahead for a bit. I want to make sure the area's clear before we advance. Besides, I'm worried that if we snuck in together, Seifer would give away our position."
Seifer sent a hateful look her way.
"Anyway, Squall your in charge until I get back. Keep Seifer in line and try not to get into any fights in the process."
Squall nodded his head while Seifer threw up his arms in surprise. "You're putting a whole contingent under the command of Ice boy here? Commander you have got to stop playing favorites and put duty before pleasure some time!"
Quistis smiled sarcastically. "Seifer if I were to put duty before pleasure then you would still be back on the transport tied to your chair. Anyway, I don't have time to debate the issue with you. Squall is in charge until I return and that's final. Squall if I'm not back in 15 minutes then advance without me."
"Yes maim."
Some of the knights began to chuckle as Seifer's pride was bruised but they all stopped immediately when he glared back at them.
****
The entire Fort of Dollet was in turmoil. Screams bathed the air along with the endless billows of smoke. Yet it was at the heart of this great Fort that the infamous mage group, called the Forest Owls, found themselves. Rinoa Heartilly, leader of the Forest Owls, along with her companions Watts and Zone were all trapped in the Dollet prison cells. They had initially tried to sabotage a Galbadian platoon in Timber but failed and ended up being transported here. They were supposed to be taken to Galbadia but apparently their captors were called off that assignment so without knowing what else to do with them, the Galbadian soldiers brought them along. The Dollet Fort was just recently taken by Galbadia and now The resolute mage group found themselves locked away in the lower levels. Unfortunately, the Galbadian soldiers didn't know too much about mages or else they would have known that no ordinary cell could hold one, much less a mage with the skill of Rinoa Heatilly.
Decked out in a flimsy sky blue robe with a black cord tied around the waist, Rinoa was dressed like she was the epitome of the way mages should look. Watts and Zone where also endowed in robes although theirs were not as baggy and had a faint gray color instead of blue.
Rinoa let out a sigh for the tenth time that day. They had been biding their time, waiting for the guard to leave until they made their escape however the sentry hadn't budged one bit the whole time. Things were beginning to look grim.
"Psst, Rinoa."
"What is it Watts?" Rinoa whispered back.
"Are you sure you don't just want me to use a sleep spell on him?"
Rinoa had thought about that earlier however it would be too risky if they did that. If the guard was actually called away that would mean that they were too busy with the battle to worry about them. They had recently heard the loud sounds of the main cannon outside. Rinoa took that as a sign that soon things would get too hot for the Galbadian troops and they would have to take the front line soon but so far its been nearly an hour and still things had not escalated.
"Watts lets give it another hour. If nothing happens then we can use your sleep spell ok?"
Watts shot her a wide grin and nodded his head enthusiastically. "You got it princess!"
Rinoa cringed at that title. She was the daughter of King Caraway. Being the daughter of the man in charge of ordering the Galbadian soldiers was not something to be proud of in her eyes. Ever since her father had taken on an advisor in the form of Lady Edea, he had been cruel and almost evil to his subjects. It was such a drastic change that Rinoa had run away. Of course that had all been years ago. She was only twelve years old at the time. Five years of living as a civilian had changed her an awful lot since then.
Zone walked over to Watts and tapped him on the shoulder.
"What is it Zone?"
"Rinoa doesn't like being called princess."
"What? How do you know?"
Zone shook his head in annoyance at his friend's stupidity. "Take a look at how her face pales when you call her that. And then think about what she is the 'princess' of. She's just too polite to tell you how uneasy it makes her feel."
Rinoa's cheeks flushed at how well Zone could read her. "No, its ok Zone. It's true that I feel really uneasy at being reminded of what I truly am but that's just it. I can't hide what I am and having Watts around to remind me every once in a while is reassuring in a way. It may hurt but it's also necessary. And it helps to strengthen my resolve and purpose in what we have set out to do here."
Zone nodded in understanding while Watts just scratched his head.
Rinoa smiled. She was glad she had met these two. Of all the people in the world to be trapped in a deep dark cell with, she wouldn't rather be stuck with anyone else. "Well boys, I guess now all we can do is wait and bide our time. Trust me, I've got a feeling something will come up soon."
****
Quistis slowly crept through the outcroppings of weeds and bushes until she made her way to the checkpoint. As it turned out, the checkpoint was directly behind the tower. For the first time since beginning this mission, her spirits rose. They could easily penetrate the tower now.
Quistis slowly advanced further towards the tower. She wanted to get an accurate idea of what they would be going up against before they charged in blindly. She stealthily crept up to the side of the structure then pulled out her GF. She meticulously junctioned it to her sword then cast a seeing spell on herself. This spell let her see any objects she wanted for a limited amount of time.
She slowly scanned the tower noting that it was guarded but not by much. The troops that were there seemed to be doing some kinds of maintenance work or something. Her contingent could take them easily. Especially when it consisted of some of the very best Knights Balamb Garden could produce.
"Piece of cake." She whispered to herself as she made her way back down the trail. Little did she know that, as she made her trek down, watchful eyes were viewing her every movement.
****
"Any sign of the Commander?" Seifer asked, disinterestedly.
Squall shook his head. "No, she hasn't come back yet." He replied in a flat voice.
"Always the cold one aren't ya? You act like you don't care about anything."
Everyone else was apparently lost in their own little worlds. Biggs and Wedge were arguing over some trivial thing like which bar was best to get drunk at. Everyone else was engrossed in a quick game of Triple Card Triad.
Squall didn't reply. He simply continued to look out in the distance, scanning the horizon for any possible sign of enemy movement. Seifer was beginning to become agitated. Squall had a tendency to ignore him whenever he heard anything that wasn't absolutely relevant for him to hear.
"This is your first battle right?" Seifer asked trying to start up a conversation.
"Yeah." Squall answered flatly.
"So…? How does it feel? The first battle is always the best! The rush, the exhilaration! It's the best feeling in the world! After that, it just goes downhill. There's nothing better then the feel of cold metal in your hands and there's no better drug then the heat of battle but still… the first time is always the best."
Squall was silent for a few minutes; perhaps absorbing all of this information in. "Tell me Seifer." He asked finally. "Is fighting all you ever think about?"
Seifer gave him an odd look. "Why of course it is! Fighting is like an art and I'm the perfectionist! It's the only thing that can entertain someone like me. There's nothing more worthy of my attention then the fight!"
"That's not the right mindset for someone who is to be a leader…"
Seifer's expression suddenly became serious. "Who cares about what the 'mindset' of a leader is! It's all about skill! Don't try to psychoanalyze me ice boy!
Squall looked down for a moment, deep in thought. "But still… fighting is not enough of a reason to keep on living. What keeps you going every day? What is your drive?"
Seifer smiled. "That's easy. The challenge! There's always going to be someone a little better then you or maybe a little different. It's the challenge of pushing myself to the limit that keeps me going. And I reward myself with victory."
Squall subconsciously caressed the scar across his forehead. He looked over and noticed that Seifer was doing the exact same thing. They simply sat there, staring off into space. However, what might have been exchanged between them had they noticed the enormity of what they were doing, was forever lost to the winds as Quistis suddenly came into view.
"Hey gang I'm back!" Quistis said cheerfully. She quickly walked over to Squall. "Did he give you any trouble?"
Squall shook his head once then looked away. He wasn't one to make evaluation reports on other people's behaviors.
Seifer sneered in the background. "So what did you find Commander?"
"Did I miss something? Seifer is actually being serious for a change. Well I did some investigating and I found that the tower is lightly guarded. We can storm in easily. But we have to do it in a way as not to draw attention to ourselves, otherwise we'll have the whole Galbadian military down our throats."
Seifer looked annoyed beyond belief. "Oh hell that's just great! How the hell do you 'STORM' a tower 'LIGHTLY'?"
"That does seem kind of far fetched Commander." Squall added in.
"I know but don't worry. I have a plan."
Seifer made an exasperated look. "Oh God! Yet another brilliant 'plan' from the Commander!"
Quistis ignored Seifer's rude comments and turned to face the whole group. "Ok here's what we're going to do. There are three main entrances in the tower that we can sneak in unnoticed. However, due to the way the tower is set up, too many of us in one group could make too much noise and thus through our cover out to the wind. Therefor I have broken us up into three groups. "Biggs, Wedge, Nida, Doppler, Talisar and Coleman; I want you all to be Squad A. Coleman, your ranking commander of that squad. Meanwhile Squall and I will make up Squad B."
Seifer couldn't suppress a snicker in the background. Quistis frowned but continued on anyway.
"Seifer, you, Carter, Reenkor, Monter, Phillips and Jerrard will make up Squad C. Seifer you've got command of this squad, don't make me regret it. Ok, now here's what we do. Squad B, consisting of Squall and myself, will infiltrate the tower first. We will make our way to the top of the tower were the communications array is. After we disable it, ensuring that they won't be able to send any signals to the Fort, Squad C will begin the raid and storm the east side of the tower. Seifer, I'm counting on you to get the job done. Once Squall and I disrupt the communications console we will be badly outnumbered. Meanwhile, Squad A will provide lookout to make sure our coast is clear. If things get too hot for Squads C and B, we will radio in to you for extra support Squad A. In that instance, you are to infiltrate the tower from the west end. But otherwise keep your positions. We don't need Galbadian military troops hard on our heels. With any luck we should be able to secure the tower long enough for the main Garden army to arrive and provide support. So, any questions?"
"Just one." Seifer said with a smirk.
Quistis sighed visibly. "What?"
Seifer's face was beaming with a huge smile. "Why is it that you get to go on a solo mission with Ice boy over here? The rest of us not good enough or something?"
Some of the knights began to laugh. Seifer was beaming and Squall just sat there with no expression on his face as if he didn't care what was being said. Quistis, however, was beat red in the face.
She respectfully cleared her throat before answering Seifer. The knights immediately stopped their laughing, however Seifer was still flashing his smug look. "To answer you question Seifer, the reason why I picked Squall is because quite frankly he is the only one amongst you that has the skill to be stealthy enough to infiltrate the tower up to the upper levels without being detected. No offense to the rest of you but there really wasn't any other choice."
"Ha, I'm just as skilled as Ice boy! Yet for some reason you didn't chose me." Seifer supplied with a wicked grin.
"Maybe it has something to do with that overused mouth of yours giving away our position?" Quistis replied. Seifer said no more but still wore that smug grin on his face. Quistis wanted nothing more then to throw him and that much hated smirk in the ocean but as he so kindly stated earlier, duty before pleasure. So instead, she simply ignored his arrogance and went on with the mission.
"Ok, so you all know what is requested of you. Lets get this mission underway!" So with that, the Troops rose to their feet and got ready for action. Suddenly the ground shook violently followed by a loud BOOM
"What the hell?" Seifer growled.
Quistis immediately took out her binoculars and scanned the horizons. "Boys it looks like our mission time just got cut in half cause the cavalry has just arrived!"
In the distance a dozen Garden transports zoomed in ruthlessly laying waste to the Dollet Fort. Everything was set into motion. Victory was at hand. All that remained now was the successful completion of Quistis plan and the battle would be over.
Well ok so this one wasn't that action packed either. But in this case, the 4th time's a charm as our hero's will storm the tower. Then I guarantee sparks will fly. Anyway thanks for reading and please review!
-Cordis