Chapter 20

Ryan rolled slightly to avoid the flak. Lining up the AA battery in his sights, he took careful aim…

"Commander!"

Ryan cursed as he overshot his target and flipped the comm to 'receive/transmit'. "Yorke here."

"This is Seoman. We have what we came for. Withdraw, repeat, withdraw."

"Understood." He flipped the comm down. "All units, objective has been achieved. Withdraw, repeat, withdraw."

***

Sergeant John Mitchell grinned at his opponent, and with the rest of his squad streaked back into the air. All over Garden jetpacks whirred as the paras took off, leaving squads of confused SeeDs behind them.

***

Natoli turned at the sound of footsteps behind her, then smiled as she saw Seoman walk through the ruined archway, dragging Rinoa behind him.

"Ah, I see you've bought someone with you Seoman. Well, bring her nearer. You may be able to see perfectly in this, but I can't. Ah, that's better."

Natoli reached out one flawless hand and lifted Rinoa's face. "Ah, power. You have all of Savil's inheritance in you, do you not? And more besides. Who knows where Ultimecia drew her power from."

Rinoa shivered slightly, but kept her eyes firmly locked on Natoli. "Where am I?"

"Where are you? Why, don't you recognize it? You call it the Centra ruins now, I believe, although it was never part of Centra. The Temple of the Creation, where Hyne called himself and the other gods into existence. Where He created the Guardians, the monsters, and humans. And where…" her melodious voice lowered into a growl "where he betrayed us. It was where he was created, and it will be where he is destroyed." She looked up at the sky. "Almost time. Take her away, Seoman. The Knights will come. They have to."

***

Squall paced up and down outside the infirmary. Seifer was leaning against a wall, his gunblade slung over his shoulder. Both rushed to the door as it opened, and Quistis came out followed by Doctor Kadowaki.

"What did he say?"

Quistis shook her head. "Not much. He saw a man in black armour with a broadsword slung across his back. He didn't even see his face."

"It was Seoman." Squall and Seifer turned to see Gilgamesh running down the corridor, red robes trailing behind him. "Seoman's taking orders from someone, and it can only be a sorceress. Why she wants Rinoa, I don't know. But I don't like it."

Seifer's grip tightened on his gunblade. "So where would he have gone? Galbadia?"

Gilgamesh merely shook his head. "Seoman will have gone to ground, and he'll have gone somewhere he knows well. The only place he knows that well still standing is the Centra ruins."

"Centra! But it'll take us days to get there. We don't have that much time!"

"There are…quicker ways to travel for us Knights. Tell me, have you gentlemen ever used the dimensional interval?"

***

On another plain entirely, something was stirring. The being known as Eden slowly formed itself into it's true shape. It's head came up, as if sensing something far away. It heaved it's opalescent body and reached for the chain which bound it to the human and pulled.

SNAP!

Free of its bonds, Eden opened an interval into the plain that it had forsaken long ago. It was time to put out its full strength again.

For the first time in two thousand years, Hyne went to war.