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 4
Rinoa, Watts and Zone all heard the loud noise from above. Right on cue with that noise, the soldier guarding them became giddy and restless. Rinoa beamed with a bright smile.
"See? I told you something would come up!" She whispered to her companions. "Now all we have to do is wait for the guard to go help his comrades then we're home free."
The guard seemed to be preoccupied in thoughts about his comrades. Rinoa used that to her advantage. "Wow, it sounds pretty bad out there!" She said in a loud voice, trying to stoke for fire of the man's already raging heart. "I hope its over quick. It sounds like a big one."
"Shut up!" The guard screamed at her. Suddenly there was another loud BOOM and the prison area shook violently. Rinoa couldn't have hoped for a better time. This snapped the guard's last straw. He unsheathed his sword then pointed it at them. "I'm coming right back! If any of you so much as move before I return, I will kill you!" and with that, the sentry left the room unguarded with a group of mages under wraps. Bad choice.
Rinoa giggled and her companions chuckled behind her. She nonchalantly cast a fire spell on the lock effectively freeing them. As she stepped out into the open room she turned to face her companions. "See? That wasn't so bad now was it? Anyway, come on! Lets get moving before anyone finds out we're missing." They all nodded and with that, they scampered out of the prison area.
****
Biggs sat back lazily as he looked off into the horizons. "Wow." He said with a sigh, absently playing with his helmet. The helmets of Garden were fashioned in a way that they had two parts. One part was simply the helmet that covered the head and ran down the base of the skull covering part of the neck. The other part was a face shield in front of the helmet that could be adjusted so that it could either be pulled up or pushed down. It was this little function of the helmet that intrigued Biggs so much at the moment. "Ya know Wedge, I feel kinda guilty just sitting here while I watch my fellow knights die in the distance."
Currently Squad A was stationed on a prairie overlooking the battlegrounds. This would effectively give them a good view if any enemy forces chose to side track either Squad B or Squad C. However, by the looks of how things were going with the battle, there wouldn't be any Galbadian troops left to attack. But still, orders were orders and Squad Leader Coleman would die before disobeying them.
Wedge nodded to Biggs statement only halfheartedly. "Uh hu." He said distantly. "Hey Biggs, why do you think the Squad Leader never got promoted? I mean he's a stickler for taking orders by the book right? And to top that off, he's got more combat experience then all of us combined and he's a hell of a fighter too! So why is he only now getting promoted to rank?"
Biggs looked at Wedge with annoyance. "Don't ask stupid questions Wedge!"
Wedge smirked. "So you don't know either huh?"
"Not a clue."
Biggs and Wedge just sat there pondering the 'question of the day'.
Meanwhile, Nida, Doppler and Talisar were all playing a game of Triple Card Triad. "Ha I win again!" Cried Nida in glee as the other two players grudgingly handed him their GF cards.
Coleman just sat there at the edge of the prairie not taking his eyes off the horizon. He diligently wore his helmet atop his head without a thought about the oppressive heat. He wouldn't fail his teammates no matter what. After all his years of fighting, he was sick of war. Ever since his brother died in his arms, he had wanted nothing to do with fighting. However at the same time, if he quit he would be letting his comrades down. A few years ago Cid offered him the position of rank and he kindly refused. He didn't want any more lives on his hands then necessary. Already, his hands were bathed in blood. He didn't want to be responsible for any more. And so he kept his position as a grunt despite Supreme Commander Cid's adamant protests. Finally, Cid offered him a high position of rank where he didn't have to fight anymore. Coleman was still skeptical about it but saw it as the lesser of two evils and decided to take Cid up on his offer. All he had to do was to take his place on the battlefield one last time so as to give Cid reason to promote him. Coleman accepted and was eagerly looking forward to the chance to get as far away from the bloodshed as possible.
"Hey boss!" Biggs yelled from his post. "Any sign of trouble?"
Coleman shook his head in response. "No we've got a clean position. But don't get soft. Stay frosty. Never know when these Galbadian knights might-"
BOOM
Everyone in Squad A looked up in surprise at the loud sound. "What the hell is that?" Coleman yelled as a huge black orb formed on the trail, just past the battleground. Suddenly, a huge platoon of Galbadian troops rushed from it followed by the X-ATM092 which was fueled by GF spirits.
"Shit!" Coleman seethed. "They're heading right for the tower! We gotta stop them!"
Suddenly there was another loud BOOM followed by a trail of electricity and then, standing right behind them was another smaller squadron of Galbadian knights with huge grins on their faces.
Biggs and Wedge both wore the same expressions of disbelief.
"Uhh… Sir?" Wedge said breathlessly. "We're screwed!"
Coleman Grimaced in anger and disgust. "Shit! How did they know?" He unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the Galbadian knights. 'Looks like we're caught between a rock and a hard place.' He thought to himself. 'If we don't fight with all we've got, we'll be killed. I just hope Squad C can stop those troops before they get to The Commander and Squall.'
Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted as the Galbadian knight leader yelled "CHARGE!"
Time had just run out. Coleman was left with only one option.
"Squad A ATTACK!"
****
Squall and Quistis had infiltrated the tower with ease. Quistis was on the money for enlisting the aid of Squall Lionheart. The man moved like snake, silent and deadly. In no time they had reached the second floor of the tower and they were still undetected.
"We're making good time." Quistis said, a bit breathless from the long trek up. Squall, on the other hand, didn't even seem winded by the trip.
"At this rate, we'll be done with the mission before the day is done." Quistis said with a smile on her face. Suddenly as she moved forward, that smile became a grimace of frustration and surprise. "What the hell? Damnit I must have overlooked this!"
Right in the path ahead of Quistis and Squall, was a corridor that jutted off in two different directions. Quistis sighed heavily.
"Damn, I don't know which path to take."
"Why don't we just split up?" Squall offered nonchalantly. "Whoever makes it to the top of the tower can radio in and hold their position until the other one gets there. That doesn't seem too difficult."
Quistis brightened suddenly. "No it doesn't. As a matter of fact it sounds great! Squall you're a genius! Just you wait, You'll make rank in the Knighthood yet!"
Quistis rose back up to her feet. "Ok, I'll take the right wing and you take the left one. Fair enough?"
Squall nodded then without another word, began to make his way down the left corridor, securing his seed helmet atop his head. Quistis felt a pang in her heart and desperately called out to him. "Squall!"
Squall stopped in his tracks and looked back towards her, a hint of annoyance pasted on his face.
Quistis flushed a deep shade or red that she had needlessly called out to him. It was very unprofessional. She desperately searched for a reason why she would call his name so as to placate him. "Umm… Good luck! Just be careful out there ok? I don't want to lose you."
Squall raised an eyebrow at her.
"In battle, I mean! You're a very valuable soldier!" She stammered shamefacedly. She was secretly glad Seifer wasn't around. He was just the type of person who would have taken prime advantage of this show of vulnerability she was displaying.
Squall, on the other hand, just shrugged and continued to walk down the corridor. Quistis felt slightly dejected at this act of blatant disinterest but quickly set her mind back to the task at hand. She straightened up her composer and started towards her path on the right.
****
Seifer Almasy was bored. He had been sitting on the same rock, listening to the same chatter, and staring at the same damn scenery for what seemed like hours. However, in all actuality, it had only been 15 minutes.
"Ahhh! Damnit!" He screamed as he swiped his sword at the air. "What the hell is taking them so long!"
Jarrard shrugged then answered his question. "It probably takes a while for them to reach the top Seifer. It is a pretty big structure you know."
Seifer glared at Jarrard. "When I'm in command, address me as Squad Leader! You got that?"
Jarrard rolled his eyes in irritation but nodded his head anyway. "Yes sir, Squad leader sir." He said in a lazy voice. This caused some of the other knights to laugh.
"Silence!" Seifer yelled. Now he was totally pissed. "Jarrard go over there and provide look out in case of surprise attack!" He commanded, pointing his sword in the direction he wished the man to go.
Jarrard shrugged his shoulders then complied. The other knights were effectively silenced and went back to their own various tasks to pass the time.
Seifer looked up into the sky sighing to himself. This was such a blow off mission. Already, they had been nearly two hours into the mission and they hadn't fought one damn enemy.
"This sucks!" Seifer said to no one in particular.
From his spot, a few yards away from the others, Jarrard glared daggers at Seifer. The way he had dismissed him was embarrassing. He felt like a kid who got punished by being sent to a corner. What was the point of scanning for enemies anyway? If there was trouble coming, squad A would notify them anyway. The only reason he could think of for being sent here was so that Seifer could save face in front of the others.
'That arrogant bastard!' Jarrard thought to himself.
Suddenly something caught Jarrard's eye that he never would have expected to see. "Uh, Squad Leader? I think you better take a look at this!" He called cautiously.
Seifer shot him an annoyed glare. "What the hell do you want Jarrard?" Seifer stormed over to where the Knight stood, fully intending to chastise him.
Once Seifer got close enough, Jarrard stood to the side. "Squad Leader, take a look at that! I can hardly believe my eyes!"
Seifer narrowed his eyes at his subordinate but followed suit. Seifer's mouth dropped. A thousand questions entered his mind at once. "What the hell?!" He muttered.
They looked on towards the Squadron of Galbadian Knights marching in the distance followed by the X-ATM092.
Jarrard looked at his leader questioningly. "Your orders Squad Leader? This was definitely not incorporated into our scenario of events."
"Indeed it wasn't." Seifer agreed as he continued to stare out at the huge contingent of Galbadian military Knights. "Hey wait a minute! They're heading straight for the front side of the tower! We've got to cut them off or Squall and the Quistis are gonna be a lot deader then they had initially anticipated!"
Jarrard nodded his head in agreement.
"Sir! We've got trouble!" Carter yelled urgently.
Seifer twisted his head and saw that a squad of Galbadian soldiers were emerging from a forest of trees a few feet away from them.
"Damnit!" Seifer seethed.
"This is not good." Jarrard said with a lump in this throat.
"No kidding." Seifer agreed silently. He had no problems fighting, however things were a whole lot more complicated now. He had to fight these soldiers and, at the same time, protect Quistis and Squall who were about to get ambushed by a whole contingent of Knights and an X-ATM092.
"Shit!" Seifer cussed. "Ok then Knights. Let's take this one step at a time. If we work hard then we can beat these Galbadian wimps and still have enough time to save Squall and Quistis. Jarrard raise squad A and notify them of our situation!"
"I already did! Their transmitter's been cut off!"
"What?!?"
One of the Galbadian Knights, most likely the leader, began to laugh. "They fell into the same trap you did! They won't be able to help you! They're going to die just like you!" and with that, the Galbadian Knights rushed the squad of Garden Knights with ferocious intensity.
Seifer automatically withdrew his sacred blade and raised it using his custom one armed, fighting style. "Knights!" He commanded. "We have no choice! ATTACK!"
Immediately after saying that, the two opposing forces came rushing towards each other, clashing swords. One of the Galbadian Knights swung his blade at Seifer. At the last minute, he raised his sword, blocking the man's downward thrust.
"Hmph, too easy!" Seifer hissed as he pushed on his blade and sent the Knight's sword flying high into the air. In the same motion, he spun 180 degrees, then flipped his sword around backwards and impaled the man between the seams of his chest plate.
"Who's next?" The Balamb Knight yelled as he donned his helmet and lowered the faceplate.
****
The sounds of battle grew louder as Rinoa made her way further down a dirt trail. Halfway out of the Fort, she had decided to split up with Watts and Zone so as to draw less attention. They had agreed that they would meet on the outskirts of Dollet a few miles east of the tower.
Rinoa had made great haste in escaping her battleground prison. She had used her GF magic to cast haste on herself enabling her to move at hyper speed. She was now standing a few feet from the tower. She stopped in utter shock as she looked up at the great structure. 'Wow!' She thought 'Is this really the same place that everyone's been talking about? Can the Galbadian military really transmit messages from here?'
Suddenly, her thoughts were interrupted as a loud noise resounded in the distance. Rinoa was panicked. She quickly scanned the area trying to find a place where she could hide but she couldn't spot any. She slowly looked back up at the tower and noticed at small opening on the side of it, 12 feet from ground level. 'Well I guess this is better then getting caught again!' She thought to herself as she looked back at the source of the approaching Knights. She quickly cast float on herself and flew over to the opening, quickly scampering inside before the approaching Knights could spot her.
She breathed a sigh of relief then scanned her surroundings. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked up at the seemingly endless spiral staircase hanging above her. Never before had she ever seen such an incredible structure.
Suddenly, the sounds of footsteps reverberated through the corridor. She quickly jumped into the shadows and silently called up a spell. As soon as the figure was in view, she launched her attack.
"THUNDER!" She cried as the huge volt of electric energy rushed towards the approaching figure.
To her shock, the man quickly jumped out of the way then charged towards her, unsheathing his sword. Rinoa hesitated but quickly called up another spell.
"FIRE!" She yelled hurling the ball of flame forward.
"SHELL!" Hollered the man in return. The fire spell rammed into the barrier and the man sliced the remaining embers of flame away with his deadly sword. Rinoa was utterly speechless. A million thoughts ran through her mind at once. 'How was he able to call upon that spell? Only the elite Galbadian Knights are allowed that privilege! What have I gotten myself into!' Reality quickly returned to her as she saw the man continue his charge. He was too close for her to use another spell so she tried to retreat. She blindly stumbled on a rock and the last thing she saw was the downward thrust of his blade, with the emblem of Lionheart blazing on its hilt.
Well I guess that was the best I could do for a cliff hanger! So anyway, I hope you all enjoyed This 4th chapter to my medival fanfic! By the way, it was brought to my attention that the communications system the Knights were using to communicate with each other shouldn't exist in this time period. Now that I think about it, I absolutely agree. My mistake, I guess I got too into the technology of ff8. Anyway I'll try to find some way to explain that in the story! Anyway thanks for reading and please review! J
-Cordis