Chapter Eleven
In which Everyone does the Jailhouse Rock
Laz and Lor stood on the cliff top again and waited. Behind them stood, sat, or lounged about 20 people, some shivering in the snow. Laz stepped forward and flipped the switch on the beacon. A light started to flash on top of it, and they settled down to wait. Within fifteen minutes, the shape of a dragon winged overhead, circled, and landed. Kuja stepped down and surveyed the assembled crew.
"Excellent. I assume everyone has been briefed on what I intend to have you do?"
A red-headed man stepped forward. "Yeah. It's gutsy. Can you guarantee that no one will be killed?"
"On our side, yes. Some guards and prison officials will need to be killed, of course."
The man sat back down. "Good."
Laz spoke up. "Now, what about paying these guys?"
"How much would it be?"
Laz did a quick add-up in his head. "A rough estimate would be... 110,000,000 Gil. That's not counting weapons costs. These guys don't work cheap."
Kuja chuckled. "Only 110 million? Pocket change. You'll all be paid when the job's complete. Now, I believe introductions are in order. I am Kuja."
Laz pointed as he spoke, marvelling that King - that Kuja had given his real name. "Bob the Nailer, sniper. Merry, another sniper. Vin, sniper no. 3. Sunder, explosives. Alix, Blix, and Clix, Combat Team One. Strag, Rolly, and Helm, Combat Team Two. Newton, Hal, and Ida, Combat Team Three. Blutzen and Luveh, Support and Medic Team One. Keer and Vander, Support and Medic Team Two. Tara and Keen, Support and Medic Team Three. And finally, Twitch, Communications Specialist."
Kuja nodded to each in turn. "Excellent. I assume everyone gets along well enough to keep from fighting each other?" The majority of people nodded. "Good. Okay, here's the plan..."
* * *
The Galbadian D-District Prison. Throwback to the reign of Vinzer Deling. Due to bureaucratic mix-ups and insufficient paperwork, most of the prisoners were still there, mainly because no one knew about them. Three towers, connected by walkways. The whole building was designed to partially sumerge into the desert sand to make breakouts more difficult. However, it was not constructed to deal with break-INs...
Bob the Nailer sighted through the scope of his rifle. This was how he saw the world most of the time. Framed in the round tunnel and bisected by the crosshairs. He would have laughed at the irony that most of his life consisted of "tunnel vision" if he had not killed his emotions long ago. If one allowed emotions to get in the way, one would fail just like that screw-up, Kinneas. Two guards stood at the entrance to Tower A. Merry and Vin were focusing on the guards at Towers B and C, respectively. It would be over for them quickly. Nothing in the world was as kind -or as cruel- as a sniper's bullet. It would be a tricky shot. Once one fell, the other would be moving. He had about a half-second window to get them both holding still. He flicked his tongue over the transmit switch to the radio hidden in his cheek, and tsked once. Two identical "tsk"s told him his comrades were in position and ready to fire. Now all he had to do was wait for the signal from Kuja.
Kuja stood on the back of his dragon as it hovered over the Prison. Laz, Lor, Sunder and Twitch stood on the dragon with him. He had dropped all three Combat and Support Medic Teams on the rooves of the towers. Three "tsk"s in the radio told him his snipers were ready. He triggered his own radio, paused for a moment, and tsked twice.
Six shots rang out, and red flowers blossomed on the chests of the guards at the entrance. The guards slumped to the ground, and a second later, the Combat and Support Medic Teams landed on the ground. Each one stuck an explosive package to the door and triggered it. Three dull booms echoed across the snowy desert. Sunder had done his job well so far. The teams entered the towers.
* * *
Heinrich sat on the bed in his private cell. His only furniture was the bed, the toilet, and a bikini model poster from five years ago. A clang from above him shook him out of his reverie. It was followed by another clang above and to the right. He began to get suspicious. Those clangs indicated they were pulling cells out. But why two at once? More clangs followed. He looked down at the metal gloves that covered his hands. No way they were going to take him out. He was too dangerous. He had taken out a full squad of SMAT units. He had only gone down under a concentrated onslaught of Triple Meltdowns, Confuses, and Sleeps. They had put the gloves on him to keep him from using his powers to free himself. Heinrich was what Esthar and Galbadia referred to as a Crystal Knight. Pandora was one, too. Though Galbadia didn't know about Pandora, and Esthar didn't know about Heinrich. The Crystal Knights were discovered during the First Sorceress War and trained as a special assault force by Esthar. Galbadia tried several different things to combat them. When Heinrich was captured, Galbadia charged Esthar with putting a spy and saboteur in their midst. Esthar denied the charge, saying they had no idea what the Galbadian government was talking about. Which was true. Heinrich was a Crystal Knight born in Galbadia, with no connections to Esthar.
Heinrich started as the cell transport elevator pulled his cell out. There must have been some mistake. He was here for life! They didn't even pull his cell out to feed him. His cell rose to the top of the shaft, and the door opened. He stepped out, to see three of his old friends standing at the controls. Alix turned. "This is a breakout. Head to the surface... Heinrich?!"
Heinrich looked just as surprised as Alix. "Alix! You're busting me out?"
"Not just you, Heinrich. EVERYONE! If you want to thank anyone, go talk to Kuja. He's the guy that put this all together. He's waiting up top."
"Right!" Heinrich turned to go, then turned back. "Say, could you get these gloves off me?"
"Sure, no prob." Alix pulled out a long, slim dagger and began picking the locks on the gloves. Once they were off, Heinrich stretched his hands, cracked his knuckles, and formed his weapon. A short-handled spear sprang from his hands, glowing purple.
"Ah, feels good to be able to do that again. Thanks, guys!" He dissipated his weapon, turned and headed out. At the surface, he looked around. Many inmates were already free, standing and staring at the snow. One man stood apart from them. A large dragon lay on the ground behind him. Heinrich's first impresson was of a lack of size, mainly due to the size of the dragon. Silver hair flowed freely to his shoulders. White and purple leather covered the main parts of his body. It didn't appear to be very good armor or warm clothing. However, the man stood in the icy wind without shivering. Heinrich began walking towards the man.
* * *
Surge stood at the exit to the prison. He was free. Perhaps now he would have a chance to prove his innocence. He looked over to where the other inmates were gathered. A man stood apart from the rest, leaning against a large dragon. Surge had no idea who that man was, but something in his gut told him to stay far away from him. He glanced around. Off in the distance, he could see the remains of the old Missile Base. Everyone had heard the explosion when it blew up. Some had rejoiced, others were sorry they couldn't have blown it up themselves.
He looked down at himself. Red cloak, blue robe, tall blue pointed hat. People would surely notice him in this blizzard. He passed his hands through the air a few times. "Swirl Wind." A wind came up, blowing snow between him and the group at the prison. Safely under cover of snow, he turned and began trekking towards the Missile Base. Perhaps there he could find food and shelter for a while.
* * *
August strode up to the Library. He spotted Cloud at a table in the corner with a large stack of books. He strolled over and examined some of the titles. He looked at Cloud. "Doing a bit of light reading?"
Cloud looked up, startled. He hadn't heard August approach. "Yeah. I need to know about this world. Maybe somewhere I can find a reason why I'm here."
"Hmm. Well, to start with, you won't need this book..." August pulled "Advanced Dissertations in Guardian Force N-dimensional Metabiology" from the pile and went to reshelve it. He came back with a much slimmer volume. "Here you are. GFs: What every SeeD should know. That book you had would have just put you to sleep." He perused the stack again. "And you certainly won't be needing the Revised Simplified Galbadian Tax Handbook." He sat down at the table. "So..."
He was interrupted by an announcement over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Headmaster speaking. I'm afraid I have some bad news. I have just been informed that Headmaster Sinther Makela of Trabia Garden... Has been killed." A moan rose from some of the students in the library. "I realize this comes as quite a loss to those of you coming from Trabia. Rest assured that Selphie Tilmitt has assumed the role of acting Headmaster for the time being." The intercom went off, then came back to life after a moment. "Attention all SeeDs and SeeD Cadets! I have just been informed that there is a break-in occurring at the D-District Prison! We are currently on course for the prison, and we should be there within a half an hour. All those students whose Student ID ends in an odd number, report to the main Quadrangle. Students with even numbered IDs report to the Auditorium. Will our two guests please come to the Quadrangle as well."
August leapt out of his chair. "Come on, Cloud! Let's go kick some felon butt!" Cloud stood up, and they dashed out of the Library, followed closely by a dozen or more SeeDs and Cadets. Arriving in the Quadrangle, they saw Marlene waving them over. They approached and Marlene showed them a card. "Look! We're together! And we also have... Vincenzo Gabbiani, Boris Vasilyevich, Helva Carliss, and Mack Sinclair, the Headmaster's son."
A heavy hand slapped August on the back, and he turned to see Boris grinning down at him. "Ah, comrade! It looks like ve are partners! And who is the skinny fellow?"
August introduced Cloud. Boris laughed. "Ah, men named after weather will always have interesting lives! Is it not so, my stormy friend?"
Cloud shrugged. "Whatever."
Vincenzo walked up and started talking with Marlene. As they chatted, a girl with blonde hair and green eyes that carried a whip walked up to them. She turned to Cloud, the only unattached member of the group. "Hi. I'm Helva. People say I look a lot like Quistis, but I just like using the whip. Do you think I look like Quistis?"
Cloud fumbled for a moment. "Uh, ah, sorry, I don't know her."
Helva put her hands on her hips. "What? You don't know the best woman who ever wielded a whip? Oooh, that makes me SO angry! It makes me wanna cast Shockwave Pulsar on you, but I can't because I can't use Quisty's Blue Magic, which is just some of the coolest stuff around, you know what I mean? So, anyway, does my hair look good? I always try to look good before a battle."
Cloud looked around for some help. Just then, a sulking teenager walked up to them. "Hey. Are you guys my partners?"
Marlene looked at him. "Are you Mack?"
The boy crossed his arms. "Yeah. You guys must be my partners. You look goofy enough."
Helva brandished her whip at Mack. "Mack Sinclair, that is SO rude! Have a little respect for your elders!"
"Ah, shut up, Helva. If they'd show me some respect, they could maybe get some respect out of me. Hyne, Helva, you may look like Quistis, but your attitude is pure Rinoa."
"Pff! Rinoa! How rude. I'm nothing like that empty-headed ditz." She turned to Cloud. "Rinoa's like, this totally brainless ditz, and she, like, is always needing to be rescued, and she's just, like, such an idiot sometimes..."
August stepped between them, buffing his claws on his chest. "Mack, if you want people's respect, you might try earning it for a change instead of mouthing off all the time."
Mack crossed his arms. "Feh! What would you know about respect?"
August examined his claws. "'To truly defeat an opponent, you must honor him. To honor an opponent, you must respect him. To respect an opponent, you must know him. Only in this shall your soul become balanced, and you shall gain the advantage.'"
"What ancient old geezer said that?"
"His name was Hunter, and he was about twenty when he wrote that."
"Huh. You know what happens when you honor your opponent? He stabs you in the back."
"'In all situations, one must know when to lay your honor by the roadside.'"
"Hmm. Heh, that guy did know a few things." Mack turned and surveyed the group. "Well, since we're all here, might as well head to the Armory to get equipped. Come on!" He headed down one of the hallways, stopping at a solid-looking door. He turned to Marlene. "Here we are. Just swipe that card and it should open."
Marlene swiped the card through a reader to the side of the door. The reader paused for a second, then beeped and flashed a green light. "Access granted. Users are issued seven jetpacks, seven com helmets, up to seven weapons, and up to fourteen miscellaneous items. Enter." The door slid aside and the seven entered the Armory.
For a moment, they stood awed at the sight. Weapons stretched from floor to ceiling. Guns, swords, knives, spears, polearms, and other, more exotic weaponry lay on racks and shelves. Mack wandered ahead, face looking for all the world like he had died and gone to heaven. Helva wandered over and examined a hanging rack full of whips and flails. She pulled a long, slim red whip off the rack, then reconsidered and switched it for a yellow one with a flared tip. Marlene recognized it as a passable facsimile of the Save The Queen that Quistis carried. Helva folded her own whip into a compact bundle and placed it in her purse. She passed the tag on the whip over a nearby laser scan port, then passed her own student ID card in front of it. The machine beeped. "Student: Helva Carliss. Weapon: Save The Queen, whip. Duration: 24 hours. Please return the weapon within this time, or your SeeD payroll will be docked to compensate."
August strolled through the racks until he came to a section of katanas. He pulled a few out of their scabbards, tested each with a claw, then slid them back into the sheath. He finally decided that none was as good as the katana presented to him by his sensei when he finished training. He moved on.
August, Marlene, Cloud, Vincenzo, Boris, and Helva arrived at the back of the room, where the jetpacks, armor, and other accessories were stored. Boris had taken a razor-edged throwing disc, which hung at his belt. Vincenzo looked around. "Where did Mack go?"
A clatter from one of the aisles, followed by a "Crap!" told them. They looked down the aisle to see Mack struggling under a heavy load of weaponry. He looked up. "One of you idiots want to help me with this?" The group burst into laughter, then hurried to divest Mack of the majority of his burden. After convincing him that he did not need to go out loaded for Malboro, he finally settled on two weapons. A large arcthrower and a small gun nicknamed "The Noisy Moogle".
Mack checked his weapons out, and the seven turned to the item bins. Three Megalixirs, Three Elixirs, three X-Potions, and five Hi-Potions were taken out. They then fitted each other for com helmets, and slipped them on. Marlene's voice crackled in the helmets. "Radio check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
The seven smiled at each other through the helmets and headed for the jetpack storage. Each selected a pack and moved to the exit outside. Snow swirled in through the open bay doors, and Marlene stepped forward with her jetpack ready. "Switch to infrared vision mode. Those inmates will stick out like sore thumbs." The seven brave warriors, the forefront of the Garden attack force, stepped out of the hatch into the open air. With a click and a roar, the jetpacks ignited, and the seven swooped towards the prison.
* * *
Kuja leaned against his mutated dragon and watched the man approach. A first impression called the color black to mind. Black hair, chest-length, flowing down the back. Black cloak, jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes. A blood-red stone hung about his neck in a silver frame. As Heinrich drw close enough for Kuja to make out his eyes, he could see they were a deep green color. Kuja stepped forward to meet him. "You must be one of the inmates. I am Kuja. What is it you wish?"
Heinrich nodded at Kuja. "Name's Heinrich. This is an admirable deed you're accomplishing. What do you have planned next?"
Kuja smiled. "I plan on taking those inmates that wish to join me to a secret base, where we shall plan further." He glanced at Heinrich. "Can I count you in?"
Heinrich grinned. "Of course. You obviously have some big plans. I'd rather be on the inside..." He looked over the shoulder of the dragon. "Uh oh."
Kuja turned. "What?"
Just visible through the wind-blown snow from the west was a large red shape. As it drew nearer, the distinctive shape of Galbadia Garden grew more distinct. Kuja smiled. "Ah, good. I prepared for this." He turned to Heinrich. "Who can you recommend to take with me immediately?"
Heinrich thought for a moment. "Well, I made up a rather effective team back in Deling City. We'll need Leonardo, Suzarn, and Vargas. They should be here. They were incarcerated at the same time I was."
"Very well." Kuja called one of his henchmen to his side and sent him in search of the three Heinrich had named. The three assembled by the side of the dragon. Kuja stood on top of his dragon and addressed the crowd.
"Attention! If you travel south, you will come to a few buses! Those wishing to join me should board these buses and make your way to an airfield near Timber! You will find several large planes there! I shall be joining you shortly!" Murmurs ran through the crowd. A mass began moving south.
Suddenly, seven green jetpacks swooped out of the snow towards the prison. Kuja hauled a few large guns from behind the dragon. He handed one to Heinrich. "This is an EMP Pulse Cannon. It should give those pesky flies something to chew on. I'll take care of the Garden."
Heinrich swung the cannon towards the flying SeeDs. "EAT THIS!" He pressed the trigger, and a wave of lambent energy leapt towards the jetpacks.
August felt the controls on his pack freeze up, just before it went into a curving dive. He swore and struggled out of the straps. He braced himself against the frame of the jetpack, and pushed off with all his strength. He fell one way, and the jetpack another. He tucked himself into a ball and rolled as he hit the ground, absorbing most of the impact. However, he still had the wind knocked out of him. He lay for a moment, gasping.
Marlene brought her gunarm up into firing position, when suddenly her controls froze. She screamed as the jetpack began plummeting towards earth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw August leap clear of his pack, then the ground rushed up to meet her with a hammering blow that sent her into darkness.
Kuja swung his own gun up and around, pointing at the Garden. The gun was a hand-held rail cannon, scrounged from the parts of the Ragnarok2. He pulled the trigger. Two long barrels, lined with magnets, accelerated a hundred slivers of metal at nearly the speed of sound. The slivers ripped into Galbadia Garden.
Ada screamed in a high-pitched radio frequency that caused some HAM radio operator's ears to bleed. She felt parts of herself going offline due to the damage done. The immense bulk of Galbadia Garden slowly slanted to one side and crashed into the snow. SeeDs and Cadets alike were jostled and tumbled as the Garden dug a furrow the size of two football fields.
Kuja smiled. At the proper angle, one could see straight through the Garden. His smile faded as the Garden disgorged hundreds of SeeDs brandishing various weapons. He climbed on board the dragon and extended his hand to the four. "Come on, let's go."
Heinrich discarded the EMP cannon and climbed onto the dragon. He glanced back. "I have a trick that could keep those pests from bothering us for a little while." He sat down and began to concentrate.
Ada hurt. Her internal sensors were damaged in some places, but she could see a spreading pool of blood here and there from where a rail gun bullet had ripped through a student. She decided to take action. At the top of the Garden, a dome slid open and a plinth rose into view, carrying a cannon of immense power. A laser aiming system sprang to life, centering the cannon's aim on the man who had wielded the rail gun.
Suzarn glanced at Kuja. "Sir, there is a laser dot on your forehead."
Kuja scowled at Suzarn. "I am aware of that." He climbed off the dragon, the laser tracking his every move. "Go. The dragon will respond to you. I shall act as decoy." He turned and began to stride steadily toward the Garden.
Heinrich stood as the dragon lifted off. In his hand floated a ball of dark energy. "For five years, I have lived with my hatred. For five years, it seethed in me like a living thing. Now, due to my powers, it takes FORM! Come forth, guise of my hate. Behold! The birth of the next great Weapon! HATEGUISE!" He threw the ball of energy at the pursuing SeeDs. The orb grew in size as it flew, and a shape was soon visible within. Biped, humanoid, but not human in any respect of the word, its whole body seemed to be covered in a type of chitinous armor casing. The sphere burst, and with a roar, Hateguise was born! It swept its baleful eyes over the advancing mass of SeeDs, and their headlong rush became a stumble, then a retreat.
August stood shakily and watched the birth of Hateguise. He glanced over at his fallen teammates. Most were unconscious, but one or two were rising and helping the others to regain consciousness. He shook his head and began to pursue the flying dragon. He pulled off his com helmet as he ran, and tossed it aside. It would only get in the way. He let the world slow around him, and he quickly caught up to the dragon. He leaped...
Marlene struggled back to consciousness with a groan. Helva crouched next to her. Marlene looked at her. "Wha- what happened?"
"I don't know! One minute we were just flying along, and the next, foop! We're all lying on the ground! I think that kitty guy landed safely, but I think Mack might be dead..." She quickly covered her mouth, realizing she had just let it slip.
Marlene stood up quickly, then almost fell over. "WHAT?! Mack? Where is he?" Helva pointed to a small crater in the snow and sand. Marlene limped over to the crater. In the crater lay the mangled remains of Mack's jetpack on top of a charred corpse. Marlene let out a strangled sob. Vincenzo walked over to her, clutching his arm. A small shard of metal protruded through his fingers.
"He must have landed on his arcthrower. Those are very volatile weapons. A pity. He was a very good warrior, when he could keep his mind on it. Now we must make sure his loss shall not be in vain."
Boris limped up to them. "Indeed. Ve must preserve his memory in the best possible way. By kicking the crap out of these criminals!"
Marlene nodded. "Yes. Yes, you're right. Gather round, everyone." She cracked open a Megalixir and passed it around. Each person took a swig of the healing fluid and felt their bodies regenerate. They turned and looked towards the prison. It was then that they noticed Hateguise towering over them.
Cloud gasped. "Diamond WEAPON? No... That's not possible... It was destroyed! But... This one is different... No, that's not Diamond."
August grabbed a hold of the dragon's tail and quickly climbed on board. Heinrich faced him, spear glowing in his hands.
"Well, well. I didn't know kitties could fly! But you know what they say... What comes up, must go DOWN!"
August drew his sword and crouched, ready to spring. "Who are you, and what are you trying to accomplish?"
Heinrich laughed. "Me? Do you think I am in charge of this?" He laughed again and dropped his spear into a ready positon. "Not a bad idea, though... I AM a born leader. Now, let's dance!"
August grinned a feral grin and leapt forward, hammering Heinrich with blows of his sword. Heinrich parried each one expertly, never letting the razor-sharp blade through his guard for a moment. With each clash of weapon on weapon, a shower of sparks flew from the blades as the pure energy of Heinrich's weapon dealt with the more prosaic, but equally effective, steel of August's blade. The two crossed baldes for a moment, faces twisted into battle rage. Then Heinrich took the offensive, dealing August ringing blows that would have decapitated or dismembered him if they had connected. August was driven back until his heels bumped against the knee of the dragon. He teetered for a moment, off balance. Heinrich's arm shot out and grabbed August by the throat, spear blocking a weak one-handed thrust.
"Looks like you're out of your league, Mister Kitty. Buh-bye now..." Heinrich shoved August backward. He windmilled his arms for a moment, then tumbled backwards off the dragon. Heinrich smirked as he watched August land on his feet on the snowy ground. He turned to Vargas, who stood at the "helm" of the dragon. "Give us more altitude! I don't want any more flying rats sneaking up on us!"
August growled and scuffed his foot in the snow as the dragon lifted out of reach. He turned and saw his friends preparing to battle Hateguise. He picked up his sword from where it had fallen when he fell and dashed towards them.
Kuja stood in an open snowfield, facing Galbadia Garden, the laser dot still firmly on his forehead. He raised his arms and spoke. "I know you can hear me... If you try to kill me, you shall not escape harm. I am willing to compromise. I will take the inmates and leave without harming you or your precious SeeDs any more, if you call off your attack."
If Ada had had the capability, she would have laughed. This little man was making threats against her. She heard Sinnius crying out from inside the Garden. His desk had tipped over on him when the Garden crashed. Her internal sensors detected failing heartbeats and cooling body temperatures from the victims of the rail gun's fire. Her external microphones picked up the screams of the dying SeeDs where they lay in the snow, some felled by a sniper's bullet, other killed while fighting inmates. She performed a microsecond calculation and came up with the solution. REVENGE. The Headmaster's voice rang out over the snowfields from her external speakers. "Attention all SeeDs and Cadets! Pursue any remaining inmates! Shoot to kill! Team Alpha, take out that big monster! No prisoners! Go! Commence attack!" With that, the cannon fired. A beam of purple energy lanced towards Kuja.
Kuja smiled. So, the foolish man was actually going through with it. He watched the beam flash towards him. In an instant, it was upon him. He laughed as the beam struck his barrier and was shunted harmlessly around it. Kuja stood in the center of a firestorm, laughing maniacally. No puny weapon could touch him.
Ada made a few changes to the composition of her beam. It cycled rapidly through the spectrum from purple to blue to green to yellow to orange to red, and into the black.
Kuja's barrier began to dissolve. He watched as tiny pinpricks of black began squirting through his shield, and for the second time in his life, he was afraid. The black energy wrapped him in a cocoon of nothingness.
The beam ceased firing. Ada's goal had been achieved. For now.
Kuja stood and looked at himself. He was apparently unharmed by the cannon's fire. He chuckled and began walking towards the Garden, intending to... He stopped when he realized he had just walked THROUGH a dead body. He backed up. Yes, his foot had passed right through the man. He frowned. He tried picking up the discarded weapon that lay beside the body, but he was unable to even disturb the snow that lay atop it. He was as a ghost in the world of the living. Unable to touch anything, or be seen or heard by anyone. He stood and thought for a moment. A thought struck him. His Eidolon! It existed in another plane, it should be able to traverse the gaps between the planes. He called Bahamut.
The immense Dragon Lord appeared before Kuja. He issued his command. The mighty Eidolon rotated into the physical plane and roared towards the Garden. SeeD and inmate alike paused to gape in wonder as the enormous dragon began tearing great holes in the Garden. Ada rotated the cannon to try and get a lock on the immense creature, but with a blast of energy, Bahamut ripped the cannon from its mounting. Ada felt her systems shutting down one by one as irreparable damage was done. She focused all her energy to keeping the essential systems functioning. If her ventilation fans stopped, dozens of people who were trapped in the Garden would slowly suffocate.
Kuja laughed as he watched his great pet tear into the Garden. He finally called out to it. "That's enough! Return to me, Bahamut, and await my next order!" The Eidolon faded and disappeared in a burst of energy. Kuja turned his back on the battleground and began walking towards where his planes were parked, awaiting the inmates.
August, Marlene, Cloud, Helva, Boris, and Vincenzo stood in front of Hateguise. August glanced at Marlene.
"We'll split into two teams! Cloud, Vincenzo and I will take the left leg! You, Boris and Helva take the right leg! We'll break this bad boy down!"
Marlene, Boris and Helva nodded and moved off a short way, faces serious. Marlene loaded a few shells into her gunarm, Helva snapped her whip a few times, and Boris slipped his headphones on and tightened his gloves.
Cloud, August and Vincenzo turned and looked up at the thirty-foot monstrosity. Cloud pulled the Enhance Sword off his back. August slid his claws out, examined them, and drew his sword. Vincenzo ran his hand lovingly over his trusty baseball bat. The six warriors prepared to take down an enemy born of pure hate.
In which Everyone does the Jailhouse Rock
Laz and Lor stood on the cliff top again and waited. Behind them stood, sat, or lounged about 20 people, some shivering in the snow. Laz stepped forward and flipped the switch on the beacon. A light started to flash on top of it, and they settled down to wait. Within fifteen minutes, the shape of a dragon winged overhead, circled, and landed. Kuja stepped down and surveyed the assembled crew.
"Excellent. I assume everyone has been briefed on what I intend to have you do?"
A red-headed man stepped forward. "Yeah. It's gutsy. Can you guarantee that no one will be killed?"
"On our side, yes. Some guards and prison officials will need to be killed, of course."
The man sat back down. "Good."
Laz spoke up. "Now, what about paying these guys?"
"How much would it be?"
Laz did a quick add-up in his head. "A rough estimate would be... 110,000,000 Gil. That's not counting weapons costs. These guys don't work cheap."
Kuja chuckled. "Only 110 million? Pocket change. You'll all be paid when the job's complete. Now, I believe introductions are in order. I am Kuja."
Laz pointed as he spoke, marvelling that King - that Kuja had given his real name. "Bob the Nailer, sniper. Merry, another sniper. Vin, sniper no. 3. Sunder, explosives. Alix, Blix, and Clix, Combat Team One. Strag, Rolly, and Helm, Combat Team Two. Newton, Hal, and Ida, Combat Team Three. Blutzen and Luveh, Support and Medic Team One. Keer and Vander, Support and Medic Team Two. Tara and Keen, Support and Medic Team Three. And finally, Twitch, Communications Specialist."
Kuja nodded to each in turn. "Excellent. I assume everyone gets along well enough to keep from fighting each other?" The majority of people nodded. "Good. Okay, here's the plan..."
* * *
The Galbadian D-District Prison. Throwback to the reign of Vinzer Deling. Due to bureaucratic mix-ups and insufficient paperwork, most of the prisoners were still there, mainly because no one knew about them. Three towers, connected by walkways. The whole building was designed to partially sumerge into the desert sand to make breakouts more difficult. However, it was not constructed to deal with break-INs...
Bob the Nailer sighted through the scope of his rifle. This was how he saw the world most of the time. Framed in the round tunnel and bisected by the crosshairs. He would have laughed at the irony that most of his life consisted of "tunnel vision" if he had not killed his emotions long ago. If one allowed emotions to get in the way, one would fail just like that screw-up, Kinneas. Two guards stood at the entrance to Tower A. Merry and Vin were focusing on the guards at Towers B and C, respectively. It would be over for them quickly. Nothing in the world was as kind -or as cruel- as a sniper's bullet. It would be a tricky shot. Once one fell, the other would be moving. He had about a half-second window to get them both holding still. He flicked his tongue over the transmit switch to the radio hidden in his cheek, and tsked once. Two identical "tsk"s told him his comrades were in position and ready to fire. Now all he had to do was wait for the signal from Kuja.
Kuja stood on the back of his dragon as it hovered over the Prison. Laz, Lor, Sunder and Twitch stood on the dragon with him. He had dropped all three Combat and Support Medic Teams on the rooves of the towers. Three "tsk"s in the radio told him his snipers were ready. He triggered his own radio, paused for a moment, and tsked twice.
Six shots rang out, and red flowers blossomed on the chests of the guards at the entrance. The guards slumped to the ground, and a second later, the Combat and Support Medic Teams landed on the ground. Each one stuck an explosive package to the door and triggered it. Three dull booms echoed across the snowy desert. Sunder had done his job well so far. The teams entered the towers.
* * *
Heinrich sat on the bed in his private cell. His only furniture was the bed, the toilet, and a bikini model poster from five years ago. A clang from above him shook him out of his reverie. It was followed by another clang above and to the right. He began to get suspicious. Those clangs indicated they were pulling cells out. But why two at once? More clangs followed. He looked down at the metal gloves that covered his hands. No way they were going to take him out. He was too dangerous. He had taken out a full squad of SMAT units. He had only gone down under a concentrated onslaught of Triple Meltdowns, Confuses, and Sleeps. They had put the gloves on him to keep him from using his powers to free himself. Heinrich was what Esthar and Galbadia referred to as a Crystal Knight. Pandora was one, too. Though Galbadia didn't know about Pandora, and Esthar didn't know about Heinrich. The Crystal Knights were discovered during the First Sorceress War and trained as a special assault force by Esthar. Galbadia tried several different things to combat them. When Heinrich was captured, Galbadia charged Esthar with putting a spy and saboteur in their midst. Esthar denied the charge, saying they had no idea what the Galbadian government was talking about. Which was true. Heinrich was a Crystal Knight born in Galbadia, with no connections to Esthar.
Heinrich started as the cell transport elevator pulled his cell out. There must have been some mistake. He was here for life! They didn't even pull his cell out to feed him. His cell rose to the top of the shaft, and the door opened. He stepped out, to see three of his old friends standing at the controls. Alix turned. "This is a breakout. Head to the surface... Heinrich?!"
Heinrich looked just as surprised as Alix. "Alix! You're busting me out?"
"Not just you, Heinrich. EVERYONE! If you want to thank anyone, go talk to Kuja. He's the guy that put this all together. He's waiting up top."
"Right!" Heinrich turned to go, then turned back. "Say, could you get these gloves off me?"
"Sure, no prob." Alix pulled out a long, slim dagger and began picking the locks on the gloves. Once they were off, Heinrich stretched his hands, cracked his knuckles, and formed his weapon. A short-handled spear sprang from his hands, glowing purple.
"Ah, feels good to be able to do that again. Thanks, guys!" He dissipated his weapon, turned and headed out. At the surface, he looked around. Many inmates were already free, standing and staring at the snow. One man stood apart from them. A large dragon lay on the ground behind him. Heinrich's first impresson was of a lack of size, mainly due to the size of the dragon. Silver hair flowed freely to his shoulders. White and purple leather covered the main parts of his body. It didn't appear to be very good armor or warm clothing. However, the man stood in the icy wind without shivering. Heinrich began walking towards the man.
* * *
Surge stood at the exit to the prison. He was free. Perhaps now he would have a chance to prove his innocence. He looked over to where the other inmates were gathered. A man stood apart from the rest, leaning against a large dragon. Surge had no idea who that man was, but something in his gut told him to stay far away from him. He glanced around. Off in the distance, he could see the remains of the old Missile Base. Everyone had heard the explosion when it blew up. Some had rejoiced, others were sorry they couldn't have blown it up themselves.
He looked down at himself. Red cloak, blue robe, tall blue pointed hat. People would surely notice him in this blizzard. He passed his hands through the air a few times. "Swirl Wind." A wind came up, blowing snow between him and the group at the prison. Safely under cover of snow, he turned and began trekking towards the Missile Base. Perhaps there he could find food and shelter for a while.
* * *
August strode up to the Library. He spotted Cloud at a table in the corner with a large stack of books. He strolled over and examined some of the titles. He looked at Cloud. "Doing a bit of light reading?"
Cloud looked up, startled. He hadn't heard August approach. "Yeah. I need to know about this world. Maybe somewhere I can find a reason why I'm here."
"Hmm. Well, to start with, you won't need this book..." August pulled "Advanced Dissertations in Guardian Force N-dimensional Metabiology" from the pile and went to reshelve it. He came back with a much slimmer volume. "Here you are. GFs: What every SeeD should know. That book you had would have just put you to sleep." He perused the stack again. "And you certainly won't be needing the Revised Simplified Galbadian Tax Handbook." He sat down at the table. "So..."
He was interrupted by an announcement over the loudspeaker. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Headmaster speaking. I'm afraid I have some bad news. I have just been informed that Headmaster Sinther Makela of Trabia Garden... Has been killed." A moan rose from some of the students in the library. "I realize this comes as quite a loss to those of you coming from Trabia. Rest assured that Selphie Tilmitt has assumed the role of acting Headmaster for the time being." The intercom went off, then came back to life after a moment. "Attention all SeeDs and SeeD Cadets! I have just been informed that there is a break-in occurring at the D-District Prison! We are currently on course for the prison, and we should be there within a half an hour. All those students whose Student ID ends in an odd number, report to the main Quadrangle. Students with even numbered IDs report to the Auditorium. Will our two guests please come to the Quadrangle as well."
August leapt out of his chair. "Come on, Cloud! Let's go kick some felon butt!" Cloud stood up, and they dashed out of the Library, followed closely by a dozen or more SeeDs and Cadets. Arriving in the Quadrangle, they saw Marlene waving them over. They approached and Marlene showed them a card. "Look! We're together! And we also have... Vincenzo Gabbiani, Boris Vasilyevich, Helva Carliss, and Mack Sinclair, the Headmaster's son."
A heavy hand slapped August on the back, and he turned to see Boris grinning down at him. "Ah, comrade! It looks like ve are partners! And who is the skinny fellow?"
August introduced Cloud. Boris laughed. "Ah, men named after weather will always have interesting lives! Is it not so, my stormy friend?"
Cloud shrugged. "Whatever."
Vincenzo walked up and started talking with Marlene. As they chatted, a girl with blonde hair and green eyes that carried a whip walked up to them. She turned to Cloud, the only unattached member of the group. "Hi. I'm Helva. People say I look a lot like Quistis, but I just like using the whip. Do you think I look like Quistis?"
Cloud fumbled for a moment. "Uh, ah, sorry, I don't know her."
Helva put her hands on her hips. "What? You don't know the best woman who ever wielded a whip? Oooh, that makes me SO angry! It makes me wanna cast Shockwave Pulsar on you, but I can't because I can't use Quisty's Blue Magic, which is just some of the coolest stuff around, you know what I mean? So, anyway, does my hair look good? I always try to look good before a battle."
Cloud looked around for some help. Just then, a sulking teenager walked up to them. "Hey. Are you guys my partners?"
Marlene looked at him. "Are you Mack?"
The boy crossed his arms. "Yeah. You guys must be my partners. You look goofy enough."
Helva brandished her whip at Mack. "Mack Sinclair, that is SO rude! Have a little respect for your elders!"
"Ah, shut up, Helva. If they'd show me some respect, they could maybe get some respect out of me. Hyne, Helva, you may look like Quistis, but your attitude is pure Rinoa."
"Pff! Rinoa! How rude. I'm nothing like that empty-headed ditz." She turned to Cloud. "Rinoa's like, this totally brainless ditz, and she, like, is always needing to be rescued, and she's just, like, such an idiot sometimes..."
August stepped between them, buffing his claws on his chest. "Mack, if you want people's respect, you might try earning it for a change instead of mouthing off all the time."
Mack crossed his arms. "Feh! What would you know about respect?"
August examined his claws. "'To truly defeat an opponent, you must honor him. To honor an opponent, you must respect him. To respect an opponent, you must know him. Only in this shall your soul become balanced, and you shall gain the advantage.'"
"What ancient old geezer said that?"
"His name was Hunter, and he was about twenty when he wrote that."
"Huh. You know what happens when you honor your opponent? He stabs you in the back."
"'In all situations, one must know when to lay your honor by the roadside.'"
"Hmm. Heh, that guy did know a few things." Mack turned and surveyed the group. "Well, since we're all here, might as well head to the Armory to get equipped. Come on!" He headed down one of the hallways, stopping at a solid-looking door. He turned to Marlene. "Here we are. Just swipe that card and it should open."
Marlene swiped the card through a reader to the side of the door. The reader paused for a second, then beeped and flashed a green light. "Access granted. Users are issued seven jetpacks, seven com helmets, up to seven weapons, and up to fourteen miscellaneous items. Enter." The door slid aside and the seven entered the Armory.
For a moment, they stood awed at the sight. Weapons stretched from floor to ceiling. Guns, swords, knives, spears, polearms, and other, more exotic weaponry lay on racks and shelves. Mack wandered ahead, face looking for all the world like he had died and gone to heaven. Helva wandered over and examined a hanging rack full of whips and flails. She pulled a long, slim red whip off the rack, then reconsidered and switched it for a yellow one with a flared tip. Marlene recognized it as a passable facsimile of the Save The Queen that Quistis carried. Helva folded her own whip into a compact bundle and placed it in her purse. She passed the tag on the whip over a nearby laser scan port, then passed her own student ID card in front of it. The machine beeped. "Student: Helva Carliss. Weapon: Save The Queen, whip. Duration: 24 hours. Please return the weapon within this time, or your SeeD payroll will be docked to compensate."
August strolled through the racks until he came to a section of katanas. He pulled a few out of their scabbards, tested each with a claw, then slid them back into the sheath. He finally decided that none was as good as the katana presented to him by his sensei when he finished training. He moved on.
August, Marlene, Cloud, Vincenzo, Boris, and Helva arrived at the back of the room, where the jetpacks, armor, and other accessories were stored. Boris had taken a razor-edged throwing disc, which hung at his belt. Vincenzo looked around. "Where did Mack go?"
A clatter from one of the aisles, followed by a "Crap!" told them. They looked down the aisle to see Mack struggling under a heavy load of weaponry. He looked up. "One of you idiots want to help me with this?" The group burst into laughter, then hurried to divest Mack of the majority of his burden. After convincing him that he did not need to go out loaded for Malboro, he finally settled on two weapons. A large arcthrower and a small gun nicknamed "The Noisy Moogle".
Mack checked his weapons out, and the seven turned to the item bins. Three Megalixirs, Three Elixirs, three X-Potions, and five Hi-Potions were taken out. They then fitted each other for com helmets, and slipped them on. Marlene's voice crackled in the helmets. "Radio check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
"Check."
The seven smiled at each other through the helmets and headed for the jetpack storage. Each selected a pack and moved to the exit outside. Snow swirled in through the open bay doors, and Marlene stepped forward with her jetpack ready. "Switch to infrared vision mode. Those inmates will stick out like sore thumbs." The seven brave warriors, the forefront of the Garden attack force, stepped out of the hatch into the open air. With a click and a roar, the jetpacks ignited, and the seven swooped towards the prison.
* * *
Kuja leaned against his mutated dragon and watched the man approach. A first impression called the color black to mind. Black hair, chest-length, flowing down the back. Black cloak, jacket, shirt, pants, and shoes. A blood-red stone hung about his neck in a silver frame. As Heinrich drw close enough for Kuja to make out his eyes, he could see they were a deep green color. Kuja stepped forward to meet him. "You must be one of the inmates. I am Kuja. What is it you wish?"
Heinrich nodded at Kuja. "Name's Heinrich. This is an admirable deed you're accomplishing. What do you have planned next?"
Kuja smiled. "I plan on taking those inmates that wish to join me to a secret base, where we shall plan further." He glanced at Heinrich. "Can I count you in?"
Heinrich grinned. "Of course. You obviously have some big plans. I'd rather be on the inside..." He looked over the shoulder of the dragon. "Uh oh."
Kuja turned. "What?"
Just visible through the wind-blown snow from the west was a large red shape. As it drew nearer, the distinctive shape of Galbadia Garden grew more distinct. Kuja smiled. "Ah, good. I prepared for this." He turned to Heinrich. "Who can you recommend to take with me immediately?"
Heinrich thought for a moment. "Well, I made up a rather effective team back in Deling City. We'll need Leonardo, Suzarn, and Vargas. They should be here. They were incarcerated at the same time I was."
"Very well." Kuja called one of his henchmen to his side and sent him in search of the three Heinrich had named. The three assembled by the side of the dragon. Kuja stood on top of his dragon and addressed the crowd.
"Attention! If you travel south, you will come to a few buses! Those wishing to join me should board these buses and make your way to an airfield near Timber! You will find several large planes there! I shall be joining you shortly!" Murmurs ran through the crowd. A mass began moving south.
Suddenly, seven green jetpacks swooped out of the snow towards the prison. Kuja hauled a few large guns from behind the dragon. He handed one to Heinrich. "This is an EMP Pulse Cannon. It should give those pesky flies something to chew on. I'll take care of the Garden."
Heinrich swung the cannon towards the flying SeeDs. "EAT THIS!" He pressed the trigger, and a wave of lambent energy leapt towards the jetpacks.
August felt the controls on his pack freeze up, just before it went into a curving dive. He swore and struggled out of the straps. He braced himself against the frame of the jetpack, and pushed off with all his strength. He fell one way, and the jetpack another. He tucked himself into a ball and rolled as he hit the ground, absorbing most of the impact. However, he still had the wind knocked out of him. He lay for a moment, gasping.
Marlene brought her gunarm up into firing position, when suddenly her controls froze. She screamed as the jetpack began plummeting towards earth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw August leap clear of his pack, then the ground rushed up to meet her with a hammering blow that sent her into darkness.
Kuja swung his own gun up and around, pointing at the Garden. The gun was a hand-held rail cannon, scrounged from the parts of the Ragnarok2. He pulled the trigger. Two long barrels, lined with magnets, accelerated a hundred slivers of metal at nearly the speed of sound. The slivers ripped into Galbadia Garden.
Ada screamed in a high-pitched radio frequency that caused some HAM radio operator's ears to bleed. She felt parts of herself going offline due to the damage done. The immense bulk of Galbadia Garden slowly slanted to one side and crashed into the snow. SeeDs and Cadets alike were jostled and tumbled as the Garden dug a furrow the size of two football fields.
Kuja smiled. At the proper angle, one could see straight through the Garden. His smile faded as the Garden disgorged hundreds of SeeDs brandishing various weapons. He climbed on board the dragon and extended his hand to the four. "Come on, let's go."
Heinrich discarded the EMP cannon and climbed onto the dragon. He glanced back. "I have a trick that could keep those pests from bothering us for a little while." He sat down and began to concentrate.
Ada hurt. Her internal sensors were damaged in some places, but she could see a spreading pool of blood here and there from where a rail gun bullet had ripped through a student. She decided to take action. At the top of the Garden, a dome slid open and a plinth rose into view, carrying a cannon of immense power. A laser aiming system sprang to life, centering the cannon's aim on the man who had wielded the rail gun.
Suzarn glanced at Kuja. "Sir, there is a laser dot on your forehead."
Kuja scowled at Suzarn. "I am aware of that." He climbed off the dragon, the laser tracking his every move. "Go. The dragon will respond to you. I shall act as decoy." He turned and began to stride steadily toward the Garden.
Heinrich stood as the dragon lifted off. In his hand floated a ball of dark energy. "For five years, I have lived with my hatred. For five years, it seethed in me like a living thing. Now, due to my powers, it takes FORM! Come forth, guise of my hate. Behold! The birth of the next great Weapon! HATEGUISE!" He threw the ball of energy at the pursuing SeeDs. The orb grew in size as it flew, and a shape was soon visible within. Biped, humanoid, but not human in any respect of the word, its whole body seemed to be covered in a type of chitinous armor casing. The sphere burst, and with a roar, Hateguise was born! It swept its baleful eyes over the advancing mass of SeeDs, and their headlong rush became a stumble, then a retreat.
August stood shakily and watched the birth of Hateguise. He glanced over at his fallen teammates. Most were unconscious, but one or two were rising and helping the others to regain consciousness. He shook his head and began to pursue the flying dragon. He pulled off his com helmet as he ran, and tossed it aside. It would only get in the way. He let the world slow around him, and he quickly caught up to the dragon. He leaped...
Marlene struggled back to consciousness with a groan. Helva crouched next to her. Marlene looked at her. "Wha- what happened?"
"I don't know! One minute we were just flying along, and the next, foop! We're all lying on the ground! I think that kitty guy landed safely, but I think Mack might be dead..." She quickly covered her mouth, realizing she had just let it slip.
Marlene stood up quickly, then almost fell over. "WHAT?! Mack? Where is he?" Helva pointed to a small crater in the snow and sand. Marlene limped over to the crater. In the crater lay the mangled remains of Mack's jetpack on top of a charred corpse. Marlene let out a strangled sob. Vincenzo walked over to her, clutching his arm. A small shard of metal protruded through his fingers.
"He must have landed on his arcthrower. Those are very volatile weapons. A pity. He was a very good warrior, when he could keep his mind on it. Now we must make sure his loss shall not be in vain."
Boris limped up to them. "Indeed. Ve must preserve his memory in the best possible way. By kicking the crap out of these criminals!"
Marlene nodded. "Yes. Yes, you're right. Gather round, everyone." She cracked open a Megalixir and passed it around. Each person took a swig of the healing fluid and felt their bodies regenerate. They turned and looked towards the prison. It was then that they noticed Hateguise towering over them.
Cloud gasped. "Diamond WEAPON? No... That's not possible... It was destroyed! But... This one is different... No, that's not Diamond."
August grabbed a hold of the dragon's tail and quickly climbed on board. Heinrich faced him, spear glowing in his hands.
"Well, well. I didn't know kitties could fly! But you know what they say... What comes up, must go DOWN!"
August drew his sword and crouched, ready to spring. "Who are you, and what are you trying to accomplish?"
Heinrich laughed. "Me? Do you think I am in charge of this?" He laughed again and dropped his spear into a ready positon. "Not a bad idea, though... I AM a born leader. Now, let's dance!"
August grinned a feral grin and leapt forward, hammering Heinrich with blows of his sword. Heinrich parried each one expertly, never letting the razor-sharp blade through his guard for a moment. With each clash of weapon on weapon, a shower of sparks flew from the blades as the pure energy of Heinrich's weapon dealt with the more prosaic, but equally effective, steel of August's blade. The two crossed baldes for a moment, faces twisted into battle rage. Then Heinrich took the offensive, dealing August ringing blows that would have decapitated or dismembered him if they had connected. August was driven back until his heels bumped against the knee of the dragon. He teetered for a moment, off balance. Heinrich's arm shot out and grabbed August by the throat, spear blocking a weak one-handed thrust.
"Looks like you're out of your league, Mister Kitty. Buh-bye now..." Heinrich shoved August backward. He windmilled his arms for a moment, then tumbled backwards off the dragon. Heinrich smirked as he watched August land on his feet on the snowy ground. He turned to Vargas, who stood at the "helm" of the dragon. "Give us more altitude! I don't want any more flying rats sneaking up on us!"
August growled and scuffed his foot in the snow as the dragon lifted out of reach. He turned and saw his friends preparing to battle Hateguise. He picked up his sword from where it had fallen when he fell and dashed towards them.
Kuja stood in an open snowfield, facing Galbadia Garden, the laser dot still firmly on his forehead. He raised his arms and spoke. "I know you can hear me... If you try to kill me, you shall not escape harm. I am willing to compromise. I will take the inmates and leave without harming you or your precious SeeDs any more, if you call off your attack."
If Ada had had the capability, she would have laughed. This little man was making threats against her. She heard Sinnius crying out from inside the Garden. His desk had tipped over on him when the Garden crashed. Her internal sensors detected failing heartbeats and cooling body temperatures from the victims of the rail gun's fire. Her external microphones picked up the screams of the dying SeeDs where they lay in the snow, some felled by a sniper's bullet, other killed while fighting inmates. She performed a microsecond calculation and came up with the solution. REVENGE. The Headmaster's voice rang out over the snowfields from her external speakers. "Attention all SeeDs and Cadets! Pursue any remaining inmates! Shoot to kill! Team Alpha, take out that big monster! No prisoners! Go! Commence attack!" With that, the cannon fired. A beam of purple energy lanced towards Kuja.
Kuja smiled. So, the foolish man was actually going through with it. He watched the beam flash towards him. In an instant, it was upon him. He laughed as the beam struck his barrier and was shunted harmlessly around it. Kuja stood in the center of a firestorm, laughing maniacally. No puny weapon could touch him.
Ada made a few changes to the composition of her beam. It cycled rapidly through the spectrum from purple to blue to green to yellow to orange to red, and into the black.
Kuja's barrier began to dissolve. He watched as tiny pinpricks of black began squirting through his shield, and for the second time in his life, he was afraid. The black energy wrapped him in a cocoon of nothingness.
The beam ceased firing. Ada's goal had been achieved. For now.
Kuja stood and looked at himself. He was apparently unharmed by the cannon's fire. He chuckled and began walking towards the Garden, intending to... He stopped when he realized he had just walked THROUGH a dead body. He backed up. Yes, his foot had passed right through the man. He frowned. He tried picking up the discarded weapon that lay beside the body, but he was unable to even disturb the snow that lay atop it. He was as a ghost in the world of the living. Unable to touch anything, or be seen or heard by anyone. He stood and thought for a moment. A thought struck him. His Eidolon! It existed in another plane, it should be able to traverse the gaps between the planes. He called Bahamut.
The immense Dragon Lord appeared before Kuja. He issued his command. The mighty Eidolon rotated into the physical plane and roared towards the Garden. SeeD and inmate alike paused to gape in wonder as the enormous dragon began tearing great holes in the Garden. Ada rotated the cannon to try and get a lock on the immense creature, but with a blast of energy, Bahamut ripped the cannon from its mounting. Ada felt her systems shutting down one by one as irreparable damage was done. She focused all her energy to keeping the essential systems functioning. If her ventilation fans stopped, dozens of people who were trapped in the Garden would slowly suffocate.
Kuja laughed as he watched his great pet tear into the Garden. He finally called out to it. "That's enough! Return to me, Bahamut, and await my next order!" The Eidolon faded and disappeared in a burst of energy. Kuja turned his back on the battleground and began walking towards where his planes were parked, awaiting the inmates.
August, Marlene, Cloud, Helva, Boris, and Vincenzo stood in front of Hateguise. August glanced at Marlene.
"We'll split into two teams! Cloud, Vincenzo and I will take the left leg! You, Boris and Helva take the right leg! We'll break this bad boy down!"
Marlene, Boris and Helva nodded and moved off a short way, faces serious. Marlene loaded a few shells into her gunarm, Helva snapped her whip a few times, and Boris slipped his headphones on and tightened his gloves.
Cloud, August and Vincenzo turned and looked up at the thirty-foot monstrosity. Cloud pulled the Enhance Sword off his back. August slid his claws out, examined them, and drew his sword. Vincenzo ran his hand lovingly over his trusty baseball bat. The six warriors prepared to take down an enemy born of pure hate.
