Chapter Six
In which various and divers Things occur, including one pissing-off, one battle, and one very large theft
Note: That divers is not a typo! that is the way they wrote 'diverse' in Old English.
Ace stalked out of the Infirmary and headed for the Parking Lot. "Damn! It figures she'd have a boyfriend. Way to go, Ace, you really know how to pick 'em." Straddling his motorcycle, he walked it out of the Parking Lot just as the Garden shuddered and began to convert to mobile. "$#&@!" He started his bike, gunned it, and wheelied towards the exit. He caught some nasty air coming out, but he was on his way. He drove down into Balamb and hauled his bike onto the train. "Deling City." He sat back and enjoyed the ride for a while, entertaining himself by smiling menacingly at an old lady. After a while, the train reached Timber and the old lady got off, muttering under her breath. The rest of the ride to Deling City was uneventful. Once the train arrived, Ace wheeled his bike onto the other train, bound for Galbadia Garden. "If that old bastard won't make me a SeeD, I'll go to the next one!" Arriving at Galbadia Garden, Ace rode the elevator up to the Headmaster's office. There was no receptionist at the desk, so he decided to just push on into the office. He pushed against the door, but it refused to open.
A slightly metallic voice sounded from above. "State your name and business, please."
Ace stepped back for a moment, then realized he was dealing with an automated system. "My name is Ace. Tell the Headmaster I wish to speak to him."
"The Headmaster is busy at the moment. Please have a seat and he will be with you shortly."
Ace sat down heavily on a nearby bench and waited. After about fifteen minutes a SeeD came out of the office and said, "Ace? You can go in now." She then hurried off. Ace stood and entered the Headmaster's office. The headmaster sat at a large steel desk. His face looked worn, but young. He stood and came around the desk to greet Ace.
"Ace, right? I'm Sinnius Sinclair, the Headmaster here." He held out his hand. Ace ignored it.
"Right. Here's the deal. I want to be a SeeD. That old fool in Balamb Garden refused to have me, so I came here."
Sinnius loked surprised, then laughed heartily. "My dear boy, what makes you think that we can fulfill your wish any more than old man Cid can? Galbadia Garden is subordinate to Balamb! Besides, as I'm sure he already told you, you have to start training very early on to become a SeeD. And anyway, I've seen your file. You remind me all too much of that student who occupied us and forced us into battle against Balamb Garden. What was his name again? Ah, yes, Almasy. You can't really forget someone that does that sort of thing. I'm sorry, but we really can't take the risk. I'm afraid we can't have anything to do with you, my boy."
"FINE!" Ace turned and stomped out of the Headmaster's office. He would have slammed the door if it wasn't one of those automatic sliding ones. He climbed back on his motorcycle and roared off into the night, headed for Dollet. He ran over a Geezard on the way, just to help him relax.
* * *
Pandora and Laguna backed into each other as they stared at the immense swarm of Bite Bugs. "There must be hundreds of them!" Laguna cried.
"There's no escape! Look! They've already cut us off from the bar!" Pandora shot down one of the vile insects with a blast of energy. The Bite Bugs formed a ring around their intended prey. "I've heard about this..." Pandora muttered. "A ring formation only occurs in large swarms. It's intended to leave the prey defenseless on at least one side. Some say it's evidene of a rudimentary hive mentality, and even intelligence. It's a bug. How smart could it be?"
Laguna wiped out three with a blast from his machine gun. "Smart or not, we're in trouble!"
Back to back, the two faced the slowly closing circle of chitinous bodies. Pandora's blade formed in her hands and she sliced at a bug that ventured too close. The bug fell in two halves, wings fluttering to the ground. She quickly reached into a pocket of her robe and pressed a fist-sized metal cylinder into Laguna's hand. "Can you use one of these?"
"What is it?"
"A grenade!"
"OHH YEAHH!" Laguna pulled the pin out of the grenade with his teeth and threw it into a group of Bit Bugs. Then Laguna pulled a lightweight rope and grappling hook from his pocket. Throwing it into the air, he caught it on a wire that ran across the square. Leaping onto and swinging from the rope, he unleashed a full-auto burst of machine-gun fire into a group of bugs. The grenade detonated, sending bits of shells, wing fragments, and ichor splashing all over the two.
Pandora flinched a little as some hit her on the neck, then threw a ball of energy into the midst of another cluster of Bite Bugs. The ball exploded, frying bugs and sending them flying. She then cried out as a Bite Bug slipped under her guard and tagged her on the arm. She quickly sliced it in two and continued fighting. Laguna coughed as a bug exuded a foul stench into his face.
Pandora realized they were fighting a losing battle. For every Bite Bug they killed, three more flew to take its place. She yelled at Laguna. "Help me get to that wall! I'm going to end this!" Laguna and Pandora redoubled their efforts in a particular direction, and made it to the wall. Crouching, she yelled, "Keep them off me!" She handed Laguna two more grenades, then pulled the red Materia from her robe. She held it in both hands, staring into its depths.
Laguna threw another grenade into the midst of the chittering masses and prepared to die fighting. Suddenly, a glow behind him made him pause. Pandora stood, arm upraised, Materia glowing with a bright white light. "Oh, Holy Spirit, save us from this darkness! COME, ALEXANDER!" The two suddenly faded as the ground under them cracked and sank. A glint of light rose swiftly from the depths, resolving itself into the massive form of the castle-like robot knight Alexander. Steam hissed from its legs as it hunched forward. A shield dropped, revealing a blue aperture. Livid red beams shot from the aperture, etching a pattern into the ground. After a moment, the ground exploded, throwing burned and blackened bodies flying. Pandora and Laguna faded back into existence as Alexander faded. The light in the Materia went out, restoring it to its former dull red. Not a sound was heard, other than the breathing of the two and the occasional dry slither as a pile of Bite Bug bodies shifted.
Laguna sighed and wiped his brow. "Wow. You don't mess around."
Pandora slipped the Materia back into her robes. "This was actually a relatively low-power summon. There are some legendary Materia that are said to do more damage than the GF Eden can."
Laguna's jaw dropped as Pandora strode back towards the bar. He started forward. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Squish. Pandora turned.
"Wipe your shoes before you come in. We don't want ichor tracked all over the place."
Pandora went upstairs and began preparing for bed. She stepped into the bathroom to get undressed and put on a nightgown. When she stepped out again, Laguna was looking at her bookshelf. She chuckled. "We should get some sleep. There's no telling what the morrow will bring."
Laguna glanced at her and did a double take. "Wh- where did you get that nightgown?"
"Oh, this? It was here when I moved in. It fit me, so... Why? Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh... No, it's nothing. My... wife used to wear a nightgown just exactly like that. You reminded me very strongly of her when you came out just now."
"Are you saying you find me attractive? I suppose it's to be expected. Back when I was still working men always tried to hit on me."
"What did you do? For a job, I mean."
"Hmm? Oh, I'd rather not talk about it right now. You should change out of those clothes. Hang them outside, the rain will clean them a little bit. But ichor's hell to wash out. You can change in the bathroom, or I can go in the bathroom while you change and you can call me when you're in bed."
They finally got it sorted out, and soon both were ensconced in very warm comforters and on their way to dreamland.
* * *
Kuja's dragon winged its way towards Esthar. From a distance, Kuja admired the sparkle and gleam of the city. The rain beat down heavily, but Kuja was unconcerned. However, something seemed... wrong about this rain. He swooped low over the roads of Esthar, and saw a large building with the legend "Esthar Spaceport". He landed and walked through the main door, his dragon following docilely behind him. A contingent of Esthar troops ran up to him, but they were easily dispatched with a Flare Star spell. He glanced around the room, then headed for a door marked "TOP SECRET! Security Level 1 Clearance Only!" He blew it out of its frame with a well-placed Flare and walked into the hangar. A large blue ship lay before him. A nearby hologram showed schematics and the name "Ragnarok2 Prototype".
"Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Activating countermeasures." With a whir, a large metal door slid up, revealing a large, spider-like robot. "X-ATM0972 activated. Disposing of intruder." The spider-like mechanical stalked forward, focusing on Kuja. Kuja stood, hands on hips, as the robot approached. X-ATM0972 paused, calculating combat values and probabilities. [Target One: Human, average size, little protective clothing. No visible weapons, prepare for martial arts defense. Target Two: Unknown creature, large size, thick hide. Possibly fire-based, prepare heat shield. Commencing attack sequence.] A leg lifted, aiming at Kuja.
The leg struck, knocking Kuja to the ground. He stood again, and raised his arms. "Hmm? Is that all? You won't be much of a challenge. Thundaga!" Energy crackled around the robotic creature, then a bolt of lightning shattered down from the heavens. [Alert! Alert! Human using magic attacks. Preparing magic defenses.] Wires extruded from X-ATM0972's body. Kuja's next magic attack hit the wires and was funneled into the ground. He paused for a moment. "Huh. I don't have time to play with you. Come, Dragon! Deal with this foe for me." The dragon leaped into battle, clawing wildly at X-ATM0972. Kuja turned to the Ragnarok2. [Alert! Target One attempting escape. Activating distance measures. Selecting attack based on probability... Attack selected. Activating Mega Ray.] A door opened on the robot's back and a large orb rose out of it. Energy crackled around it for a few seconds, then a large beam leapt towards Kuja. The beam struck the ground behind Kuja, causing a large shockwave that flattened him. He rose to his feet again, laughed, and continued on into the ship.
Kuja made his way up to the cockpit and studied the controls. They were more complicated than the controls on the Invincible, but he felt he could manage. He powered up the ship and turned on the viewscreen. His dragon had been badly beaten by X-ATM0972, but had succeeded in severing one of the legs of the robotic fiend. Kuja opened the cargo doors of the Ragnarok2 and ordered his dragon inside. Glancing across the control panels, Kuja noticed the weapons. Flicking several switches, he activated the machine guns. Bullets ripped into X-ATM0972, putting holes in it and turning the surrounding walls into swiss cheese. Kuja swung the ship around, slamming the rear jets into the robot. It managed to grasp one of the thruster cowlings with a pair of legs. Kuja switched on the engines, blowing X-ATM0972 to smithereens.
The Ragnarok2 rocketed along a launch tunnel. Kuja noticed a closed door at the end, and figured that hitting it would be a bad thing. He quickly powered up the main cannon and fired. A hole appeared in the door, and the Ragnarok2 sailed into the sky. Glancing behind him at the swiftly receding view of Esthar, he laughed maniacally. This ship would make a lovely welcoming present to this world. And it had almost been wrapped in ribbon for the taking! He set the autopilot and went to check on his dragon. The regenerative abilities of the dragon had nearly healed it, and it was growling contentedly as it munched on a member of the maintenance crew who hadn't gotten off the ship in time. He laughed as the Ragnarok2 shot into the outer atmosphere, headed for space. He would wait, determine the abilities of this system, garner what he could, then dispose of it. His laughter rang through the empty corridors of the ship, echoed by the growls of his dragon.
In which various and divers Things occur, including one pissing-off, one battle, and one very large theft
Note: That divers is not a typo! that is the way they wrote 'diverse' in Old English.
Ace stalked out of the Infirmary and headed for the Parking Lot. "Damn! It figures she'd have a boyfriend. Way to go, Ace, you really know how to pick 'em." Straddling his motorcycle, he walked it out of the Parking Lot just as the Garden shuddered and began to convert to mobile. "$#&@!" He started his bike, gunned it, and wheelied towards the exit. He caught some nasty air coming out, but he was on his way. He drove down into Balamb and hauled his bike onto the train. "Deling City." He sat back and enjoyed the ride for a while, entertaining himself by smiling menacingly at an old lady. After a while, the train reached Timber and the old lady got off, muttering under her breath. The rest of the ride to Deling City was uneventful. Once the train arrived, Ace wheeled his bike onto the other train, bound for Galbadia Garden. "If that old bastard won't make me a SeeD, I'll go to the next one!" Arriving at Galbadia Garden, Ace rode the elevator up to the Headmaster's office. There was no receptionist at the desk, so he decided to just push on into the office. He pushed against the door, but it refused to open.
A slightly metallic voice sounded from above. "State your name and business, please."
Ace stepped back for a moment, then realized he was dealing with an automated system. "My name is Ace. Tell the Headmaster I wish to speak to him."
"The Headmaster is busy at the moment. Please have a seat and he will be with you shortly."
Ace sat down heavily on a nearby bench and waited. After about fifteen minutes a SeeD came out of the office and said, "Ace? You can go in now." She then hurried off. Ace stood and entered the Headmaster's office. The headmaster sat at a large steel desk. His face looked worn, but young. He stood and came around the desk to greet Ace.
"Ace, right? I'm Sinnius Sinclair, the Headmaster here." He held out his hand. Ace ignored it.
"Right. Here's the deal. I want to be a SeeD. That old fool in Balamb Garden refused to have me, so I came here."
Sinnius loked surprised, then laughed heartily. "My dear boy, what makes you think that we can fulfill your wish any more than old man Cid can? Galbadia Garden is subordinate to Balamb! Besides, as I'm sure he already told you, you have to start training very early on to become a SeeD. And anyway, I've seen your file. You remind me all too much of that student who occupied us and forced us into battle against Balamb Garden. What was his name again? Ah, yes, Almasy. You can't really forget someone that does that sort of thing. I'm sorry, but we really can't take the risk. I'm afraid we can't have anything to do with you, my boy."
"FINE!" Ace turned and stomped out of the Headmaster's office. He would have slammed the door if it wasn't one of those automatic sliding ones. He climbed back on his motorcycle and roared off into the night, headed for Dollet. He ran over a Geezard on the way, just to help him relax.
* * *
Pandora and Laguna backed into each other as they stared at the immense swarm of Bite Bugs. "There must be hundreds of them!" Laguna cried.
"There's no escape! Look! They've already cut us off from the bar!" Pandora shot down one of the vile insects with a blast of energy. The Bite Bugs formed a ring around their intended prey. "I've heard about this..." Pandora muttered. "A ring formation only occurs in large swarms. It's intended to leave the prey defenseless on at least one side. Some say it's evidene of a rudimentary hive mentality, and even intelligence. It's a bug. How smart could it be?"
Laguna wiped out three with a blast from his machine gun. "Smart or not, we're in trouble!"
Back to back, the two faced the slowly closing circle of chitinous bodies. Pandora's blade formed in her hands and she sliced at a bug that ventured too close. The bug fell in two halves, wings fluttering to the ground. She quickly reached into a pocket of her robe and pressed a fist-sized metal cylinder into Laguna's hand. "Can you use one of these?"
"What is it?"
"A grenade!"
"OHH YEAHH!" Laguna pulled the pin out of the grenade with his teeth and threw it into a group of Bit Bugs. Then Laguna pulled a lightweight rope and grappling hook from his pocket. Throwing it into the air, he caught it on a wire that ran across the square. Leaping onto and swinging from the rope, he unleashed a full-auto burst of machine-gun fire into a group of bugs. The grenade detonated, sending bits of shells, wing fragments, and ichor splashing all over the two.
Pandora flinched a little as some hit her on the neck, then threw a ball of energy into the midst of another cluster of Bite Bugs. The ball exploded, frying bugs and sending them flying. She then cried out as a Bite Bug slipped under her guard and tagged her on the arm. She quickly sliced it in two and continued fighting. Laguna coughed as a bug exuded a foul stench into his face.
Pandora realized they were fighting a losing battle. For every Bite Bug they killed, three more flew to take its place. She yelled at Laguna. "Help me get to that wall! I'm going to end this!" Laguna and Pandora redoubled their efforts in a particular direction, and made it to the wall. Crouching, she yelled, "Keep them off me!" She handed Laguna two more grenades, then pulled the red Materia from her robe. She held it in both hands, staring into its depths.
Laguna threw another grenade into the midst of the chittering masses and prepared to die fighting. Suddenly, a glow behind him made him pause. Pandora stood, arm upraised, Materia glowing with a bright white light. "Oh, Holy Spirit, save us from this darkness! COME, ALEXANDER!" The two suddenly faded as the ground under them cracked and sank. A glint of light rose swiftly from the depths, resolving itself into the massive form of the castle-like robot knight Alexander. Steam hissed from its legs as it hunched forward. A shield dropped, revealing a blue aperture. Livid red beams shot from the aperture, etching a pattern into the ground. After a moment, the ground exploded, throwing burned and blackened bodies flying. Pandora and Laguna faded back into existence as Alexander faded. The light in the Materia went out, restoring it to its former dull red. Not a sound was heard, other than the breathing of the two and the occasional dry slither as a pile of Bite Bug bodies shifted.
Laguna sighed and wiped his brow. "Wow. You don't mess around."
Pandora slipped the Materia back into her robes. "This was actually a relatively low-power summon. There are some legendary Materia that are said to do more damage than the GF Eden can."
Laguna's jaw dropped as Pandora strode back towards the bar. He started forward. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Squish. Pandora turned.
"Wipe your shoes before you come in. We don't want ichor tracked all over the place."
Pandora went upstairs and began preparing for bed. She stepped into the bathroom to get undressed and put on a nightgown. When she stepped out again, Laguna was looking at her bookshelf. She chuckled. "We should get some sleep. There's no telling what the morrow will bring."
Laguna glanced at her and did a double take. "Wh- where did you get that nightgown?"
"Oh, this? It was here when I moved in. It fit me, so... Why? Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh... No, it's nothing. My... wife used to wear a nightgown just exactly like that. You reminded me very strongly of her when you came out just now."
"Are you saying you find me attractive? I suppose it's to be expected. Back when I was still working men always tried to hit on me."
"What did you do? For a job, I mean."
"Hmm? Oh, I'd rather not talk about it right now. You should change out of those clothes. Hang them outside, the rain will clean them a little bit. But ichor's hell to wash out. You can change in the bathroom, or I can go in the bathroom while you change and you can call me when you're in bed."
They finally got it sorted out, and soon both were ensconced in very warm comforters and on their way to dreamland.
* * *
Kuja's dragon winged its way towards Esthar. From a distance, Kuja admired the sparkle and gleam of the city. The rain beat down heavily, but Kuja was unconcerned. However, something seemed... wrong about this rain. He swooped low over the roads of Esthar, and saw a large building with the legend "Esthar Spaceport". He landed and walked through the main door, his dragon following docilely behind him. A contingent of Esthar troops ran up to him, but they were easily dispatched with a Flare Star spell. He glanced around the room, then headed for a door marked "TOP SECRET! Security Level 1 Clearance Only!" He blew it out of its frame with a well-placed Flare and walked into the hangar. A large blue ship lay before him. A nearby hologram showed schematics and the name "Ragnarok2 Prototype".
"Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Activating countermeasures." With a whir, a large metal door slid up, revealing a large, spider-like robot. "X-ATM0972 activated. Disposing of intruder." The spider-like mechanical stalked forward, focusing on Kuja. Kuja stood, hands on hips, as the robot approached. X-ATM0972 paused, calculating combat values and probabilities. [Target One: Human, average size, little protective clothing. No visible weapons, prepare for martial arts defense. Target Two: Unknown creature, large size, thick hide. Possibly fire-based, prepare heat shield. Commencing attack sequence.] A leg lifted, aiming at Kuja.
The leg struck, knocking Kuja to the ground. He stood again, and raised his arms. "Hmm? Is that all? You won't be much of a challenge. Thundaga!" Energy crackled around the robotic creature, then a bolt of lightning shattered down from the heavens. [Alert! Alert! Human using magic attacks. Preparing magic defenses.] Wires extruded from X-ATM0972's body. Kuja's next magic attack hit the wires and was funneled into the ground. He paused for a moment. "Huh. I don't have time to play with you. Come, Dragon! Deal with this foe for me." The dragon leaped into battle, clawing wildly at X-ATM0972. Kuja turned to the Ragnarok2. [Alert! Target One attempting escape. Activating distance measures. Selecting attack based on probability... Attack selected. Activating Mega Ray.] A door opened on the robot's back and a large orb rose out of it. Energy crackled around it for a few seconds, then a large beam leapt towards Kuja. The beam struck the ground behind Kuja, causing a large shockwave that flattened him. He rose to his feet again, laughed, and continued on into the ship.
Kuja made his way up to the cockpit and studied the controls. They were more complicated than the controls on the Invincible, but he felt he could manage. He powered up the ship and turned on the viewscreen. His dragon had been badly beaten by X-ATM0972, but had succeeded in severing one of the legs of the robotic fiend. Kuja opened the cargo doors of the Ragnarok2 and ordered his dragon inside. Glancing across the control panels, Kuja noticed the weapons. Flicking several switches, he activated the machine guns. Bullets ripped into X-ATM0972, putting holes in it and turning the surrounding walls into swiss cheese. Kuja swung the ship around, slamming the rear jets into the robot. It managed to grasp one of the thruster cowlings with a pair of legs. Kuja switched on the engines, blowing X-ATM0972 to smithereens.
The Ragnarok2 rocketed along a launch tunnel. Kuja noticed a closed door at the end, and figured that hitting it would be a bad thing. He quickly powered up the main cannon and fired. A hole appeared in the door, and the Ragnarok2 sailed into the sky. Glancing behind him at the swiftly receding view of Esthar, he laughed maniacally. This ship would make a lovely welcoming present to this world. And it had almost been wrapped in ribbon for the taking! He set the autopilot and went to check on his dragon. The regenerative abilities of the dragon had nearly healed it, and it was growling contentedly as it munched on a member of the maintenance crew who hadn't gotten off the ship in time. He laughed as the Ragnarok2 shot into the outer atmosphere, headed for space. He would wait, determine the abilities of this system, garner what he could, then dispose of it. His laughter rang through the empty corridors of the ship, echoed by the growls of his dragon.
