Part Seven
Kiyoko's eyes opened slowly. Something was wrong. Kiyoko remembered seeing Zell chained up, then Roc and Huntsman, now what? Kiyoko felt something slimy over her mouth, she tried to move but her arms and legs were restrained and she was underwater, "No!" Kiyoko couldn't speak, only think, "I can't be back here. Not after I worked so hard to get away. Kiyoko looked around. She could only move her head so far.
She heard a voice, "Glad you're awake." Kiyoko looked up, that voice was Zell, "I don't know if you can hear me." Kiyoko could faintly hear Zell's voice, "Okay, if you can hear me nod. If you can't shake your head." This was Zell's since of humor if Kiyoko couldn't hear him she wouldn't know to shake her head.
Zell saw Kiyoko nod violently, "Good. Can you talk?" Kiyoko shook her head, "I didn't think so. The gave you something called a, uh, what was it? Oh yea, membrane breathing apparatus. The scientist said it was an experiment."
Kiyoko relaxed, if this thing was a breathing apparatus she would die without it. There was no point in that. Kiyoko had so many questions but she couldn't talk. All she knew was that Zell was close and for the moment that was enough.
* * * *
"Unlock, authorization Loire, password Ellena. The door slid open, "I'm letting you use the guest floor. You each have a room and there is a den here. Use the wall panel in the kitchen for food. If you need anything else just call."
Squall stepped into the living room, "Thanks. We could use a place to stay for a while."
Laguna and Rinoa followed, "I also took the liberty of taking care of your ship, The Ragnarok has been moved to sky port seventeen and has been renamed the Red Dragon. The ship has been given clearance to be refueled and the first week's docking fees have been paid for in advance."
"Quite a nice set up you've got here. To bad you're still a little rich kid with no taste in cloths and to many bodyguards."
Kiros, Ward and Laguna all drew their guns, "Seifer? How did you get in here?"
Seifer was laying across the couch with Fujin and Raijin in armchairs, "It takes more than a few security droids to stop me."
Laguna pounded a wall panel, "Guard! What the hell happened?"
There was a scattered response, "Sorry sir. There was an explosion, we thought he flew out the window."
"You're fired." Laguna turned back to Seifer, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"Because Squall won't let you. We have a treaty after all."
Squall looked down, "He's right. We're working together to stop the black SeeD. Seifer is apparently one of their targets."
"So? I don't recall signing any papers."
Squall stepped in front of Laguna, "They're still on our side. I have to keep my end of the bargain."
The three lowered their weapons, "Fine but I'm not letting them out of my sight."
Seifer waved Laguna off, "Whatever. By the way, I like getting up around seven, set one of the walls to beep in the morning and have one of your driods stick a pot of coffee on the table."
Laguna turned around and walked off muttering about where Seifer could stick it.
Squall watched Kiros and Ward walk after him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Just making presence known. I'm still a part of this mission after all. By the way, my compliments on putting the cat out. By the way, I must thank Quistis for letting me lead."
"What are you talking about?"
Fujin and Raijin snickered, "Oh, nothing."
Irvine and Selphie walked into the room from the main hallway, "Squall, glad you made it. I heard there was a gunfight. Why didn't you invite me?"
Selphie was grinning ear to ear, "Have you seen the size of this place?"
Squall walked into one of the rooms, "Let's try and get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning. This tux got shredded when I called Ifrit. It's probably going to cost me a fortune to have it fixed."
* * * *
The next morning everyone was sitting in the den with breakfast. Squall found a scroll on the table. Upon unrolling the Scroll Squall realized that is was a map of the entire area covered by the Esthar security grid. Squall found the Esthar sky port, sorceress memorial and black garden. "I can't believe we've spent so long looking for it and Laguna can just hand us a map. Okay, now that we know what can we do about it?"
"I'm sure we can find out whatever we need to know once we hack into Esthar's computer network."
Selphie sat down at a desk and opened up her lap top computer, "I took this out of the Ragnar…The Red dragon last night." Selphie plugged the computer into a phone line, "I thought so."
"What?"
"The computer just uploaded several upgrades into my computer. Including city data. What do you want to know?"
"What do you have on the black SeeD?"
Selphie began typing, "Criminal records, records of attacks on Laguna, ah, tactical information. Apparently Laguna can help us a little more than Seifer could. They have been making small terrorist attacks on Esthar for about five months now. There have been a number of explosions, destroying buildings, bits of roads. Most of them were just random but they've been causing widespread panic. There have also been abductions by black SeeD, seventy total. None of them have ever come back."
"Probably used for their experiments."
"Wait. Look what I've found. Black garden. Founded by Dr. Odine, cofounded by Laguna Loire."
Squall and Seifer were both on their feet, "What?"
Selphie kept reading, "There's a newspaper article here. The base was founded with hopes for a new generation of scientific research. One month later Laguna renounced the organization and tried to shut them down. Dr. Odine refused and broke his ties to Esthar. He died three months later from natural causes."
"How natural?"
"Probably not much. It doesn't say who took his place but whoever it was they were the reason for the insane experiments. It doesn't say where the black SeeD draw funding from."
"What about the GF's?"
"They've been conducting excavations around the world. Most likely trying to find more ancient GFs like Diamond Hawk and Gabriel. There's an article about finding the diamond Hawk. Apparently they found him in the same ruins as they found Kiyoko. Maybe Diamond Hawk was a servant of Bahamut. Anyway, there was something else they found in that ruin besides Diamond Hawk and a chunk of ice called Kiyoko. It was code named Ultima Weapon."
"Remember Omega weapon back at Ultiecia's realm?" Everyone did. Omega weapon was Ultimecia's weapon. Scientists are still not sure where she got it from but its level of technology is beyond what Esthar has now. The Omega was one of the latest mysteries of the modern world.
Squall looked at the picture of a gigantic tarp covering an oil tanker, "This is the closest thing we have to a picture."
Squall's eyes narrowed, "It's bigger than the Omega."
"Half again as big."
"How old is this thing?"
"About three weeks."
"If they get dissect that thing they can make a sorceress powers look like nothing. We've got to get to black garden, and fast."
"Don't forget. Laguna volunteered whatever we needed for this mission."
Laguna's face appeared on a wall panel, "Did I hear my name?"
"Oh, sorry. We were just looking at the old newspaper clips about Ultima Weapon."
"I just finished making a few upgrades tot he Red Dragon. We've made a few advancements since then. I figured you might want to use it for the attack."
"Why not just use the missile launchers? You could just destroy it from orbit."
"We tried that. Black Garden inherited our missile defense system. Remember the attacks on Esthar? They were taking our technology. They've been upgrading Black Garden while we were forced to use the back ups."
Squall stood up, "Then let's mobilize."
Kiros and Ward Appeared in the background, "We're coming to."
"Can't let you kids get in all the trouble."
* * * *
The next day a plan had been agreed upon. Laguna had provide the blueprints for most of black garden but he had explained that with the recent upgrades and pirated technology there was no telling how accurate they were. Squall had agreed that there should be two teams. Squall would get into the base and take out the defense systems while Laguna, joined by the full Esthar civil defense force, would be waiting outside for the time to strike.
There had been many attacks on Esthar in recent months, mostly grabs at pieces of technology such as the missile defense system, the primary censor array and the stealth armor used for Esthar air ships. Laguna had recently placed a report in the news about a new energy converter that has the potential to double Esthar's energy output. Laguna was sure it was to good an offer not to attract the Black SeeD's attention. In the past the Black SeeD had used a single air ship for their attacks. Thanks to recent upgrades to the Red Dragon Laguna was certain it would be a match for the new air ship.
Squall, Seifer, Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie and Lydia were all wearing black coats, "Are you sure this is going to work?"
Laguna and Kiros were manning the pilot's chairs, "Don't worry. The ship they use is anti grav. If you guys drop on it there shouldn't even be a shake. You will use the air lock to gain entrance, then just blend in. Once the ship lands at Black Garden you have to get in and commence operation breakdown. Find anything that could stop us and take it down. Only big stuff, security, perimeter defense, missile defense, any biotech laying around, just stop it. We'll attack twelve hours after the air ship enters Black Garden."
Squall snapped on a black belt with the skull sign, "Whatever. The problem is, we're high priority targets. Every black SeeD is going to know what we look like."
Laguna pulled out what appeared to be square circuit boards, "Place one over each temple."
Squall slapped them both on, "Now what?"
A small red grid appeared in front of Squall's face. The two devices which were probably hologram projectors clicked on, Squall now had an older face with no scar across his nose, "What happened?"
"A little piece of our technology, they work for twenty four hours then have to be recharged. What do you think?"
"Cool."
"Only problem is, infrared can see right through them and an electromagnetic pulse will shut them down. In other words, don't use your walkman."
"You got it."
"One last thing. If you want to call abort cast a thunder spell in the air and make the bolt take the shape of a cross."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Is Rinoa a sorceress?"
"Yes."
"You'll think of something." Laguna reached for his headset, "Yes. Thank you." Laguna put both hands on the throttle, "The storage area has just been attacked. Let's move."
Laguna pressed a series of buttons on the panel, "This is Red Dragon, permission to take off."
"This is control tower, permission granted."
* * * *
Squall, Irvine, Selphie, Rinoa, Seifer and Lydia all stood near the rear hanger, "Okay, so Laguna gave this thing the ability to hover?"
"Yes." Squall and Seifer were both tied to a line hooked on the ceiling of the hanger, "When that door opens, everybody drop."
Lydia wasn't tied to a wire, "Just say the word."
A TV Screen appeared on the wall with Laguna's face, "Everybody cozy back there? Good. I'm sending the radar spike, this should knock out their censors long enough for you guys to pass overhead. I've got to warn you, the ship itself won't be visible. It's the new stealth technology we were talking about earlier. I had the weather dome create a light fog so you may be able to see the outer rim, good luck." Laguna's face disappeared.
Everyone secured their line as the hanger door started opening. Squall and Seifer were the first to dive out. At first it was unnerving, when Squall and Seifer dropped there was nothing below them. Squall landed on something metal. He couldn't see but he could faintly see the hull of a ship. Seifer and Lydia were standing beside him, "Can either of you find the air lock?"
Lydia's eyes glowed gold for a moment, "There."
Squall and Seifer stood around what appeared to be a trap door, "Laguna said they used this door for loading weapons. He gave me the key card to open it."
Squall found a control panel and placed the key card over it. Seifer and Lydia looked on as the empty space rolled away to reveal a small room which was probably the airlock, "I guess this is it." Squall and Seifer dove inside with everyone else not far behind. Now they waited.
* * * *
Squall and his team had been sitting in the cargo hold for some time now. They felt the ship shutter, "That should be the anti grav systems shutting down and the jet thrusters taking over. We're in black garden."
"What's the plan fearless one?" Seifer was being sarcastic.
"Okay, we have seven hours. Selphie, you disable the missile defense system, take Irvine with you. Lydia, take out the main power grid, just do as much damage as you can. Everyone else, come with me. We're going to the labs. I've got a feeling something down there might pose a threat to us later."
"Yes sir."
Squall pulled out his gun blade, "Remember, we blend in here. Don't fight unless you have to. Once you do what you came for do as much damage as you can but keep your heads down." Squall spun the barrel of the gun handle, "Let's make some noise."
* * * *
Selphie and Irvine were looking at a large map in the garden commons area. Selphie was tracing the hallways with her finger, "It has to be over here. I have this theory that all gardens are basically the same. Remember how Balamb garden gets up and moves?"
"How could I forget?"
"I noticed when we fought Galbadia garden we both had that giant gold ring. I think that's some kind of anti-grav device. We had to go below the garden to find the controls, since I didn't see an observation deck they must not have activated the anti-grav yet. If I can find the control room the missile defense system can't be far away."
"So we go down? The elevator at Balamb needed security clearance to go down."
"Then let's not use the elevator."
* * * *
Irvine and Selphie were standing in a small utility room, "Did you remember the fire shells?"
Irvine slid a shell into the barrel of his gun, "Sure." Irvine fired straight down. Selphie and Irvine were both blown back. There was a large hole in the floor Irvine and Selphie looked down, "That was just one fire shell?"
"Yea." There was a loud siren, "Was that the security alarm?"
There was a series of loud clicks from the ceiling. Sprinklers popped out and started shooting water, "Fire alarm."
Irvine took off his hat and put it on Selphie, "Good idea. Let's move."
Irvine heard a someone yelling, "The fire's in here!" Irvine fired one bullet at the door. The control panel beside the door exploded, "That should keep them out for a while." Irvine and Selphie jumped through the hole into the basement area.
* * * *
Lydia walked through Black Garden. She wasn't wearing her fake uniform or her hologram generator. She was intangible. No one around her could see or hear her. She looked up when she heard an alarm, "Fifteen minutes without setting off an alarm. They are showing much improvement." Lydia looked around. Her eyes passed through the people, she could see everyone with a red light around them. Those people carrying guardian forces glowed white and their GF could be seen over their heads, "Not much here." Lydia looked at the walls. As her vision passed the surface she saw cables and circuit boards running power through the garden. Lydia saw the electric currents slow down. At this point she could watch their flow and discover their origin, "Electricity is the life blood of technology, now I must find the heart."
* * * *
Squall and Seifer entered the laboratory district. Squall and Seifer put on lab coats, "Why are we here again?"
"Who knows what the black SeeD has hidden away back here."
Quistis was also wearing a lab coat now, "Kiyoko for one thing."
Squall saw a door, "The rooms aren't labeled . They just have code numbers. I guess if we were really black SeeD we'd know what these codes mean."
Seifer opened the door, "Oh well." Seifer and Squall stepped into a large room, four floors deep and a football stadium across, "What the hell…"
In the room was a giant cage almost as large as the room itself. Inside the cage was a giant beast that looked like a giant lion with no head. Instead of the head there was a human torso standing up right holding a sword. Squall and Seifer were both frozen in place, "It's ultima weapon."
"Dear god, it's bigger than the omega."
"We'll have to destroy it once we're done here." Squall walked out the door followed closely by Seifer, "I still want to know what the hell that thing is."
The intercom came on, "Attention black garden. We are now readying for operation D. Please get to your posts."
"What is operation D?"
"I have no idea."
* * * *
Lydia had been walking for a while now. All the power lines were running to the same place and she was getting closer. Lydia walked through a large wall in the basement, "It should be getting closer."
There was a sudden flash of darkness. Lydia was shocked back to reality, "What was that?" All she could remember was a pair of red eyes watching her, "What could be…"
There was a dark voice from an unseen source, "You've got a lot of nerve showing yourself in a place like this."
Lydia drew her sword, "Reaper?"
The wall behind Lydia rippled and turned black. A black figure appeared, "That's me." It used to be human, that much was certain. Now the hooded figure carried a large scythe and silver gloves with clawed fingers, "Black Garden needed a GF who could stand a chance against someone like you. They found him."
Lydia swung her sword at Reaper. Reaper held up his scythe and blocked with the shaft, "So, where are your friends? None of them here to help you now?"
Lydia swung again, "I do not need friends to deal with you."
Reaper swung his scythe around pushing Lydia back. Lydia turned intangible to pass through the wall. She was hoping against hope Reaper could not follow. Lydia raised her sword and allowed her lower nature to take control for a moment. Lydia heard a voice coming from all around her, "What's wrong? I thought you didn't attack unless innocent lives were in danger."
Lydia swung wide trying to catch what she couldn't see, "While you exist lives are in danger."
Lydia was cut from behind by the blade of the Scythe. Lydia screamed and fell forward. She couldn't move her wings. She rolled over on her back and raised her sword just in time to block Reaper's deathblow, "Angel's cannot be killed by death, only other heavenly powers."
Reaper was right in Lydia's face, "Death is angel too."
Lydia's eyes glowed gold, the cuts across her wings healed, "You cannot kill me, I will stop you."
"You can save your own life but can you protect your friends? How many will survive, one, maybe two? You can't keep defending forever." Reaper reared back and his shape changed, large bat wings surrounded his body, "I will kill them all." Reaper flew into the air.
Lydia watched as he phased through the ceiling. Lydia's wings spread, "I can't let him get away."
* * * *
In the basement Selphie and Irvine were walking around aimlessly, "I'm getting tired of this. We only have six hours left."
Selphie was still trying to compare black garden to Balamb, "This isn't right. There's supposed to be a service terminal around here somewhere." Selphie saw a door, "This should be the janitors station." Selphie walked in.
Irvine followed shortly, "What are you…" Irvine stopped. The room was almost empty accept for a table with a large computer sitting on it, "What are you doing?"
Selphie sat down, "Standard garden equipment. They hide these things in the lower decks so if the garden is ever over run officers can hide down here and keep tabs on the enemy. There are usually codes…" Selphie was rambling.
"Can you crack the codes?"
Selphie was pressing keys pretty fast. A screen saying, "Welcome to black garden." Appeared on the screen, "Quistis's computer is harder to hack." Selphie grinned, "Easy." A screen with blueprints of the garden appeared, "This isn't everything but…what do you know?"
"What?"
"The garden doesn't have a power generator. Remember that ring around the garden?"
"Yes."
"When the garden isn't moving the ring spins creating an electric charge with the power converters on the garden. That means if we stop the ring we can shut down the power."
"These things are on automatic, two people can't stop them."
Selphie was grinning even bigger, "I can think of one GF that can."
"Bahamit?"
"Quezacotl silly. I think I can stop it but I'd have to be either on the ring or on a balcony."
* * * *
Lydia and Reaper were both flying above the commons area. Lydia's sword crossed Reaper's scythe, "I will not let you harm the others."
"You do not have a choice."
Lydia's sword was caught under the blade of Reaper's scythe. Reaper spun his scythe twice, Lydia couldn't hold onto her sword. Reaper swung once trying to take off Lydia's head. Lydia was faster. She ducked retracted her wings and fell a few feet allowing the scythe to pass over her head, "I will not allow you to harm others. If I must die to stop you I will." Lydia came up to Reaper's Level. She wrapped both arms around his waist, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From the earth we rise and so we return." Lydia began to lean backward.
Reaper's body rippled. He moved through Lydia's arms, "If you think that trick will work on me you are sadly mistaken. Lydia spread her arms, "I wasn't going for a star fall. I was going for something a little different." Lydia's eyes glowed gold, "Heaven let your light shine down. " Lydia's body glowed gold. She was no longer intangible and the entire garden was looking up at her. She held both hands out in front of her and straightened her body. With her wings at full spread she made the shape of a cross, "And in the western corner of the Garden of Eden the lord placed a burning sword." The shape of a cross appeared over Lydia's body. The cross was set on fire, "You will burn in hell." The cross shimmered and projected itself on Reaper's forehead.
Reaper fell from the sky. He was now tangible as well. The shadows around his body faded and his human form came into view. His human form did not survive the fall. Lydia was slowly moving towards the ground, "Rest in peace." Lydia vanished. Her body had once again become intangible, "Now, I must find those missile defense systems."
* * * *
Squall and Seifer were standing around another door, "Alright. So far we've seen ultima weapon, a twenty foot rat, a jellyfish monster, a vat of what I hope to god was acid and a giant sloth. Why do we think this door will any better?"
"We have no way of knowing what's behind a door. Kiyoko has to be around her somewhere."
Squall pressed the panel on the wall that opened the door, "Enter security code."
Squall groaned, "We don't have a key card."
Quistis stepped up to the panel, "I'm good with these sort of things." Quistis pulled out the pipe that turned into a whip. She jabbed the pointed end into the panel. Quistis jumped back as electrical current ran along the pipe. The door opened, "I told you I was good at this." Quistis put on a pair of leather gloves and picked up the whip, "Let's go, shall we?"
Everyone walked into a long hallway with glass panels along the walls, "Some sort of prison?"
Seifer already had his weapon drawn, "That's what it looks like."
Squall and Seifer hadn't walked far before they saw Zell sitting in one of the cells. He jumped to his feet and tried to rush the glass wall. Zell jumped back, something had given him a shock when he came to close to the wall. Zell mimed something that looked very much like, "Damnit!"
Squall and Seifer exchanged glances, "I don't think that trick with the whip will work twice."
Seifer tightened his grip on the handle of his gun blade, "My thoughts exactly." Squall and Seifer both took a fighting stance. "Ready?"
Squall nodded, "Set."
"GO!" They both yelled at once and stabbed at the glass wall. Both swords penetrated. Large cracks formed in the wall.
Zell stepped back, "I've been waiting for this." Zell charged and did a flying kick breaking the glass wall. Zell landed on his back, "Damn that hurt."
Squall and Seifer helped Zell to his feet, "You okay?"
There was a deep voice coming from the end of the hallway, "No. He isn't. We've healed his crushed rib cage, once we knew the procedure worked…"
A woman's voice finished the sentence, "they tried it on me. I'm a success and we're together again."
Zell took a fighting stance, "It's them! Roc and Kitina. Roc's not on our side anymore. He's the bastard that crushed my ribcage."
Seifer and Squall looked at Roc and Kitina, both wearing black SeeD uniforms, "We can handle them."
Quistis put her hand on Squall's shoulder, "We may need one of you if we run into trouble later on."
Seifer turned away, "I'll go with you and Zell."
Rinoa pulled out her northern light, "I'll fight with you Squall. With my sorceress powers I think we can handle them."
Squall turned to Seifer, Quistis and Zell, "Go!"
* * * *
Lydia had gone back to being intangible. She finally found a massive control room on the highest deck of black garden. She was looking at a massive control panel, "I believe that five people could operate the garden from this room." Lydia pulled out her sword and drove it into the control panel, "It is a shame I must destroy it."
There was a loud siren, "Commencing operation D." Lydia looked out a window. The garden seemed to be lifting. Lydia saw a panel, "Ready first missile volley."
Lydia was a little shocked, "Either the garden is moving out of control or the system is automated. Either way we're in trouble."
* * * *
Roc was in his human form. He and Squall were having a furious sword fight. Roc and his two sabers were holding off Squall's gun blade. Roc's sword skills were even to Squall's mastery of the gun blade. Elsewhere Rinoa and Kitina were fighting in a less honorable fashion. Rinoa was swiping at Kitina with her northern lights. Kitina was changing shapes almost constantly to avoid the cuts. Kitina had just ducked under a swing. Her form returned too normal. She raised both hands, "Fire Flash!" There was a blinding flash of light coming from Kitina's hands. Rinoa was blinded. She took a step back and held her hands over her eyes.
Kitina pulled out a sword and charged the dazed Rinoa. A large summoning ring appeared around Rinoa, "That's the same dirty trick Seifer used on Squall a while back. Do you think I'd fall for it?" Rinoa's weapon glowed gold, "I've had just about enough of you. Siren turns rage into power and Adel turns power into magic. ARAURABORIALIS!" Rinoa's entire body glowed gold. A beam of pure magic extended from her body and caught Kitina. As the golden light surrounded Rinoa's body large angel wings grew from Rinoa's back. Rinoa's angel wing limit break allowed her to tap into natural magic energy. Combined with Adel's powers to evolve magic the power of this break could not be measured. Kitina was caught in Rinoa's golden aura and there was no way out. Kitina's body slowly faded and finally vaporized.
Roc and Squall stopped fighting as Rinoa fell backwards. Kitina was nowhere to be seen. Roc looked around, "What the hell was that? It can't, I would have, no! Kitina!"
Squall ran over to Rinoa, "Are you alright?"
Rinoa slowly rose to her feet, "I'll be fine. I just sent Kitina screaming back to hell."
The room was getting colder, "NO! I won't let you get away with it!" Roc was in full hawk and from the look on his face he was in a state of rage. He charged Squall and Rinoa, "I won't let you live for what you did to Kitina!"
Squall took a fighting stance. He was ready to deal with Roc. Rinoa raised one hand, "Wait! He's unbalanced. His guardian force is noble but his mind is corrupt." A small summoning ring appeared around Rinoa, "Sealing Sleep!" Roc was slowly getting slower. His swords lowered and finally he passed out. Rinoa put her hand on his head, "He'll be out for an hour. I don't think a normal spell would have worked on him. I had to take it a step further. If we can take him to the ship l might be able to help him. Can you carry him?"
"Sure, no problem."
* * * *
Selphie was standing on a balcony about five floors up. The massive ring was spinning about thirty feet ahead of her, "There must be an amazing amount of power being generated by this thing."
Irvine had chosen a safe distance to stand, "Yup."
Selphie spread her arms, "Quezacotl! I need your help." Lightning crackled all around Selphie. A green mass swirled around her body. The green mass got bigger, it's wings spread. Quezacotl seemed to be absorbing energy from the ring and the more it absorbed the bigger it got. Finally what appeared to be the head aimed at the ring. There was a single blast of thunder. Selphie fell back, "I can't hold on anymore."
Irvine ran up and caught Selphie just as she collapsed, "Are you okay?"
Selphie smiled, as always, "Did I get it?"
Irvine saw the ring begin to shake off its axis until it fell, "Yes."
The intercom came on, "Commence operation D."
Irvine looked around, several missile silos opened and a large volley of missiles blasted out of the garden, they were all headed west. Irvine removed his hologram generator, "That's interesting." Irvine opened a communicator, "I know Laguna told me to keep radio silence but I think this is worth it."
Irvine flipped on the communicator, "Red Dragon! This is Irvine. I just saw a massive launch. There's something called operation D happening."
"D? I don't recognize the name. Where are the missiles headed?"
"West I think."
"That's toward Esthar. Are you outside?"
"Yes."
"Good. You two are done. I can see you on the balcony."
Irvine looked up to see a small dot in the sky, "You going to drop a really long ladder?"
"No. Has the missile defense system been stopped yet?"
"I don't know."
"If I get to close the defense systems may shoot us down."
Irvine holstered his gun, "Then I'll just have to take matters into my own hands." Irvine looked up and screamed. As he did his eyes glowed red, a giant dragon with six wings appeared around Irvine and Selphie. The dragon flew straight up.
* * * *
Laguna and Kiros were sitting on the control deck, "There's a large energy spike coming our way."
"Missiles?"
"Bahamut!"
Laguna saw Bahamut fly past the ship. There was a com signal from the cargo deck, "Anybody there?"
"Selphie?"
"Irvine dropped me off here. He said that there were four missile silos and to get ready."
"Get ready for what?"
Laguna switched to external cameras. Bahamut was flying over black garden. Laguna could faintly see Irvine floating inside the space Bahamut occupied, "What the hell is he doing?"
Bahamut bent over and opened his mouth. A large mass of energy was building inside his mouth. Laguna's eyes widened, "He's pumping a whole lot of energy through his GF it won't last long if he keeps it up."
Bahamut had already destroyed two of the four missile silos and he was moving on. Every time he changed targets he had to stop his energy breath then change direction before he could start building energy again. Laguna was watching three dials read the massive energy spikes, "One of those Silo's is moving. It'll shoot at Bahamut."
Kiros had sat down in the chair with the weapons controls, "Irvine's taking to long. He's trying to minimize casualties, that's not good. If he starts moving for the last silo now that energy beam will cross half the garden and kill everyone. I know Irvine, he won't let that happen."
Laguna grabbed the flight controls, "Then we have to help. Ready the main cannon."
Kiros looked up from the controls, "We have a main cannon?"
"I had it put in. Look for a large red key labeled dragon fire."
Kiros saw the key, "Say when."
Laguna had one hand at the keyboard, "Computer! Blow the emergency rockets on the port side. Pump emergency energy through the forward stabilizer on the starboard side, three second burst, on my mark. Ready the dragon fire!" Laguna looked back at Kiros to see if he was watching the targeting screen, "MARK!"
The Red Dragon swung around quickly, the nose tilted down forty degrees. Laguna jabbed three buttons on the panel to his right. The stabilizers fired. On Kiros's monitor one an open missile silo came into view. Kiros pounded the firing button.
The Red Dragon's grappler arms spread and positioned themselves in front of the mouth. The two hands seemed to have locked themselves into the forward area behind the head. There was a loud clunk as two large energy blasters loaded themselves into the hanger at the head of the ship. The mouth opened and fired an energy wave comparable to Bahamut's breath weapon. Kiros watched the screen as the beam hit the silo. The beam of light seemed to destroy all of the missiles accept one.
Laguna flipped three switches, "Computer! Redirect energy flow at standard guns!" Laguna read the monitor, "Unable to comply? Damn! When we fire the main cannon it sucks the power out of the other guns and a few of the stabilizers. If we were in space the artificial gravity would be down to. The point is we can't stop that!"
Kiros and Laguna watched the missile hit Bahamut in the chest. Bahamut reared back in pain. Kiros was standing up, "Bahamut's taken to much damage! Irvine can't keep his GF stable! He's going to fall!
* * * *
Lydia was standing in the control room. She was looking out the window at Bahamut destroying part of the garden, "If Bahamut is allowed to rampage he will kill everyone!" Lydia noticed Bahamut change directions and start blasting again, "What is he…oh. He isn't letting his energy run wild. He is only destroying certain areas, unpopulated, no doubt. This is worthy of praise." A large missile struck Bahamut in the chest. Bahamut flickered in and out of existence for a moment. Finally Bahamut vanished leaving Irvine in his place, "He will die from the fall and saving those people was a very good deed. He must receive gods grace." Lydia's body flickered and she became intangible, "I must become the angel of mercy."
Lydia flew through the roof. Irvine was falling quickly. Lydia's body flickered back into reality. She grabbed Irvine's shoulders and began to fly higher. Irvine was still unconscious, "You are exhausted but you could not have flown this high without…" Kitina looked around, "The Ragnarok." Lydia flew toward the Red Dragon.
* * * *
Seifer, Quistis and Zell were walked down a long hallway, "Have you noticed these alert sirens have been going on for a while now?"
"Yes." Quistis saw somebody wearing a lab coat walking in the opposite direction, "We could ask for directions."
Seifer put his hand against the wall stopping the scientist from moving, "Excuse me sir, we're looking for a friend of ours."
Quistis continued, "A research team brought in a felious, we were told to check in on it."
The scientist seemed a little nervous, "You mean Project wildcat?"
Zell was confused, "Project Wildcat? She's not a GF man, she was found at the deep sea research center."
"GF? A project is any life form that can be put to use for us. If you're thinking of project polymorph…"
"Never mind that! Where is she?"
* * * *
Kiyoko was half asleep. The tank was acting as a sensory deprivation chamber. She was slowly loosing touch with reality. All her old memories of the jungle and her new memories of Roc and Zell were all beginning to slide together. "It can't be real. Roc is not my friend but I remember something. I care about Zell but he isn't a felious, did he ever exist?"
The door to the room opened. Zell, Seifer and Quistis Stepped into the room, "Found her!"
Seifer picked up a clipboard, "Project wildcat, here are the statistics." Seifer flipped through a few pages, "Ah, potential mercenary. Demonstrates excellent agility and sensory perception, weak sense of logic and strategy. Genetic traits can be copied, instincts cannot. I think they were planning to brainwash her."
Zell scoffed, "Cold day in hell! I'm the reason she's in this mess." Zell punched the glass bubble. Small cracks formed at first, then larger ones. Kiyoko's arms and legs were still strapped down, she couldn't move, only watch. Finally the glass broke, water spilled out. Seifer removed the restraints. Zell and Seifer carried Kiyoko out of the bubble on their shoulders, "What's that thing on her face?"
"I'm not sure but it fed her oxygen when she was in that tank. Quistis, can you remove it?"
Quistis felt around for a locking mechanism on the mask, "Bingo." The mask fell off.
Kiyoko coughed, "Zell? Is that you?"
"The one and only."
Kiyoko was dazed, "Where's Roc? Is he my friend?"
"We'll see about that."
There was a loud crash. The room shook, "Something's wrong!" The roof was shaking and bits of gravel were falling everywhere, "I don't know how long that roof is going to last. We've got to get out of here."
* * * *
Quistis ran into Squall in the hallway, "We found Kiyoko."
Squall was carrying Roc on one shoulder, "We got Roc."
There was another tremor. Squall's communicator came on. There was a moment of static then Laguna's voice, "Irvine just blew up half the base. The four missile silos have been destroyed. Problem is the structural integrity of the garden is gone. Half the place should collapse in the next few minutes. Where are you guys?"
"We're in the laboratory about three stories underground. We found Zell and Kiyoko." Squall rounded the corner, "There's ruble covering the only way up the lobby area. We're stuck."
"Squall, I think we've got a plan. I'm landing outside garden. We may be able to get you out."
* * * *
Fujin and Raijin were standing outside the garden, "Are you sure this will work, ya know?"
Fujin crossed her arms, "TRY."
Laguna landed the Red Dragon and opened the cargo bay doors in the rear of the ship, "It's up to you guys. Just remember, he's three floors down."
Raijin flexed, "Brothers, we need you, ya know!" Two giant minotaur appeared beside Raijin. They both pounded the ground with one hoof. A large crack opened in the ground. Raijin focused on the bothers earth spell, "That's not quite right, ya know. I need a tunnel instead of a crack, ya know?"
Laguna spoke into the communicator, "Squall, this may not work. I'm having Raijin use his earth GF to tunnel down to where you are but I don't think he has that much control over it."
"It figures, I gave him that GF."
"We do have a backup plan."
"What's that?"
"Fujin."
"We're screwed."
* * * *
Squall, Zell Quistis, Seifer and Rinoa were standing against a wall, "We're here, now what?"
There was a lot of static in the communicator, "Stand away from the wall. What! Holy shit! Change of plans, run for it!"
"Why?"
"Because Fujin can't control Leviathan and that was a full blast instead of a steady wave."
There was a loud shaking, "I see what you mean." Squall turned off the communicator, "Run for it!" Everybody started running down the hall.
Zell noticed a splashing sound, "Guys, why is the floor wet?"
Squall spread his arms out and practically tackled Quistis and Rinoa, "Hit the deck!" At that moment the wall buckled and collapsed sending waves of water flooding into the hallway.
Squall stood up. He saw Fujin and Raijin standing in the large hole in the wall, "FOUND."
"Hey, we did it, ya know?"
Squall brushed his hair out of his eyes, "What the hell is wrong with you two? We were nearly killed."
Fujin crossed her arms and looked away, "GRATITUDE."
Zell was up against the wall, the force of the waves had blown him back, "I'm fine, thanks for asking."
The communicator crackled, "The damn thing shorted out. It must have gotten wet!" Squall glared at Fujin and Raijin, "Anyway, we'd better get moving. Is the Red Dragon up there?"
"YES."
* * * *
Back on the Red Dragon Squall was drying himself off with a towel. The Red Dragon had already taken off and was on its way back to Esthar, "I swear to god, the next time you hold someone in reserve make damn sure they know how to use their GF! They nearly killed us when they broke through the wall."
Laguna was typing on a keyboard, "I just patched into Esthar, it seems something interesting just came on the TV stations. Have a look."
The view screen on the Red Dragon shifted. "If my demands are not met the neon city of Esthar has only hours to live. Our first missile volley has been intercepted but that was just the opening act. When a group of terrorists came to the garden, they released the ultimate weapon. He is currently headed toward Esthar. We of the black SeeD are the only ones who can stop him. I will speak with your leader, Laguna Loire directly if he will contact me on this frequency." A set of numbers appeared on the screen.
Squall looked at the face on the screen. He had short black hair and a very chiseled face, "Who is he?" Laguna's fists were clenched, "I know him. He's doctor Odine's nephew. I think his name is Mar Kava Odine. He used to work for my science department a few years ago."
"Then what happened?"
Laguna punched a few buttons on the keyboard, "I fired him." A file on Mar appeared, "He was mentally unstable. At first he seemed to be a brilliant scientist but he followed in his uncles footsteps. I'm talking about human test subjects. The science lab started looking like a carnival freak show. That's when I fired him. At the time Black Garden was still new. Apparently Doctor Odine hired him before he passed away." Laguna copied the numbers from the broadcast, "Could you go away for a moment? I don't want him to think I was the one who attacked Black Garden. It might hinder negotiations."
Squall walked out of the bridge, "Call me when you want us to blow something else up."
* * * *
Squall walked into the medlab, "Well?" Quistis was still wearing her lab coat, "We've gotten Kiyoko fixed up. Zell is actually in incredible shape considering what he's been through. Roc however, is another story."
Roc was tied down to a bed. He was struggling to get up yelling curse words at Rinoa and Kiyoko, "I'll kill you! You killed Kitina! You bastard! Once I get out of here I'm going to rip your head off you witch! Murderer!"
Kiyoko was sitting in the corner with her hands over her ears chanting, "That's not Roc, that's not Roc."
Irvine and Zell were talking in the corner, "I say we kill him."
Irvine tipped his hat up, "You sure? He's been working with us for a while now."
"You didn't get tortured by him. I wanna rip my gloves through that ice shell of his." Zell clanked his clawed gloves together, "Or at least get him to shut up."
Lydia was the only one who seemed to actually care about Roc. She was holding both hands on Roc's cheeks, "Calm down. Kitina was not your love. She was using you. You must calm down and see that." Lydia yelled at Quistis, "Can you give him a sedative. I can't keep this up."
Quistis stuck a needle in Roc's arm, "There you go." Roc finally stopped struggling, "Diamond Hawk helps him resist foreign substances, I don't this will last long."
Lidya stepped back, "I was using my powers to keep him from going to full hawk. I'm afraid those leather straps won't hold him if he transforms."
Squall cleared his throat. Once he was sure he had everyone's attention he spoke, "We've got a bigger problem. Apparently Ultima weapon has been freed and he's headed for Esthar. Laguna says the dragon fire won't make a dent in that thing."
Everyone was ready to panic, "How da hell we supposed to stop that thing? Omega weapon almost killed us!"
Rinoa shuttered, "I'm not sure my magic can kill it."
Squall's eyes narrowed, "Then we'd better think of something."
Kiyoko's eyes opened slowly. Something was wrong. Kiyoko remembered seeing Zell chained up, then Roc and Huntsman, now what? Kiyoko felt something slimy over her mouth, she tried to move but her arms and legs were restrained and she was underwater, "No!" Kiyoko couldn't speak, only think, "I can't be back here. Not after I worked so hard to get away. Kiyoko looked around. She could only move her head so far.
She heard a voice, "Glad you're awake." Kiyoko looked up, that voice was Zell, "I don't know if you can hear me." Kiyoko could faintly hear Zell's voice, "Okay, if you can hear me nod. If you can't shake your head." This was Zell's since of humor if Kiyoko couldn't hear him she wouldn't know to shake her head.
Zell saw Kiyoko nod violently, "Good. Can you talk?" Kiyoko shook her head, "I didn't think so. The gave you something called a, uh, what was it? Oh yea, membrane breathing apparatus. The scientist said it was an experiment."
Kiyoko relaxed, if this thing was a breathing apparatus she would die without it. There was no point in that. Kiyoko had so many questions but she couldn't talk. All she knew was that Zell was close and for the moment that was enough.
* * * *
"Unlock, authorization Loire, password Ellena. The door slid open, "I'm letting you use the guest floor. You each have a room and there is a den here. Use the wall panel in the kitchen for food. If you need anything else just call."
Squall stepped into the living room, "Thanks. We could use a place to stay for a while."
Laguna and Rinoa followed, "I also took the liberty of taking care of your ship, The Ragnarok has been moved to sky port seventeen and has been renamed the Red Dragon. The ship has been given clearance to be refueled and the first week's docking fees have been paid for in advance."
"Quite a nice set up you've got here. To bad you're still a little rich kid with no taste in cloths and to many bodyguards."
Kiros, Ward and Laguna all drew their guns, "Seifer? How did you get in here?"
Seifer was laying across the couch with Fujin and Raijin in armchairs, "It takes more than a few security droids to stop me."
Laguna pounded a wall panel, "Guard! What the hell happened?"
There was a scattered response, "Sorry sir. There was an explosion, we thought he flew out the window."
"You're fired." Laguna turned back to Seifer, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
"Because Squall won't let you. We have a treaty after all."
Squall looked down, "He's right. We're working together to stop the black SeeD. Seifer is apparently one of their targets."
"So? I don't recall signing any papers."
Squall stepped in front of Laguna, "They're still on our side. I have to keep my end of the bargain."
The three lowered their weapons, "Fine but I'm not letting them out of my sight."
Seifer waved Laguna off, "Whatever. By the way, I like getting up around seven, set one of the walls to beep in the morning and have one of your driods stick a pot of coffee on the table."
Laguna turned around and walked off muttering about where Seifer could stick it.
Squall watched Kiros and Ward walk after him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Just making presence known. I'm still a part of this mission after all. By the way, my compliments on putting the cat out. By the way, I must thank Quistis for letting me lead."
"What are you talking about?"
Fujin and Raijin snickered, "Oh, nothing."
Irvine and Selphie walked into the room from the main hallway, "Squall, glad you made it. I heard there was a gunfight. Why didn't you invite me?"
Selphie was grinning ear to ear, "Have you seen the size of this place?"
Squall walked into one of the rooms, "Let's try and get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning. This tux got shredded when I called Ifrit. It's probably going to cost me a fortune to have it fixed."
* * * *
The next morning everyone was sitting in the den with breakfast. Squall found a scroll on the table. Upon unrolling the Scroll Squall realized that is was a map of the entire area covered by the Esthar security grid. Squall found the Esthar sky port, sorceress memorial and black garden. "I can't believe we've spent so long looking for it and Laguna can just hand us a map. Okay, now that we know what can we do about it?"
"I'm sure we can find out whatever we need to know once we hack into Esthar's computer network."
Selphie sat down at a desk and opened up her lap top computer, "I took this out of the Ragnar…The Red dragon last night." Selphie plugged the computer into a phone line, "I thought so."
"What?"
"The computer just uploaded several upgrades into my computer. Including city data. What do you want to know?"
"What do you have on the black SeeD?"
Selphie began typing, "Criminal records, records of attacks on Laguna, ah, tactical information. Apparently Laguna can help us a little more than Seifer could. They have been making small terrorist attacks on Esthar for about five months now. There have been a number of explosions, destroying buildings, bits of roads. Most of them were just random but they've been causing widespread panic. There have also been abductions by black SeeD, seventy total. None of them have ever come back."
"Probably used for their experiments."
"Wait. Look what I've found. Black garden. Founded by Dr. Odine, cofounded by Laguna Loire."
Squall and Seifer were both on their feet, "What?"
Selphie kept reading, "There's a newspaper article here. The base was founded with hopes for a new generation of scientific research. One month later Laguna renounced the organization and tried to shut them down. Dr. Odine refused and broke his ties to Esthar. He died three months later from natural causes."
"How natural?"
"Probably not much. It doesn't say who took his place but whoever it was they were the reason for the insane experiments. It doesn't say where the black SeeD draw funding from."
"What about the GF's?"
"They've been conducting excavations around the world. Most likely trying to find more ancient GFs like Diamond Hawk and Gabriel. There's an article about finding the diamond Hawk. Apparently they found him in the same ruins as they found Kiyoko. Maybe Diamond Hawk was a servant of Bahamut. Anyway, there was something else they found in that ruin besides Diamond Hawk and a chunk of ice called Kiyoko. It was code named Ultima Weapon."
"Remember Omega weapon back at Ultiecia's realm?" Everyone did. Omega weapon was Ultimecia's weapon. Scientists are still not sure where she got it from but its level of technology is beyond what Esthar has now. The Omega was one of the latest mysteries of the modern world.
Squall looked at the picture of a gigantic tarp covering an oil tanker, "This is the closest thing we have to a picture."
Squall's eyes narrowed, "It's bigger than the Omega."
"Half again as big."
"How old is this thing?"
"About three weeks."
"If they get dissect that thing they can make a sorceress powers look like nothing. We've got to get to black garden, and fast."
"Don't forget. Laguna volunteered whatever we needed for this mission."
Laguna's face appeared on a wall panel, "Did I hear my name?"
"Oh, sorry. We were just looking at the old newspaper clips about Ultima Weapon."
"I just finished making a few upgrades tot he Red Dragon. We've made a few advancements since then. I figured you might want to use it for the attack."
"Why not just use the missile launchers? You could just destroy it from orbit."
"We tried that. Black Garden inherited our missile defense system. Remember the attacks on Esthar? They were taking our technology. They've been upgrading Black Garden while we were forced to use the back ups."
Squall stood up, "Then let's mobilize."
Kiros and Ward Appeared in the background, "We're coming to."
"Can't let you kids get in all the trouble."
* * * *
The next day a plan had been agreed upon. Laguna had provide the blueprints for most of black garden but he had explained that with the recent upgrades and pirated technology there was no telling how accurate they were. Squall had agreed that there should be two teams. Squall would get into the base and take out the defense systems while Laguna, joined by the full Esthar civil defense force, would be waiting outside for the time to strike.
There had been many attacks on Esthar in recent months, mostly grabs at pieces of technology such as the missile defense system, the primary censor array and the stealth armor used for Esthar air ships. Laguna had recently placed a report in the news about a new energy converter that has the potential to double Esthar's energy output. Laguna was sure it was to good an offer not to attract the Black SeeD's attention. In the past the Black SeeD had used a single air ship for their attacks. Thanks to recent upgrades to the Red Dragon Laguna was certain it would be a match for the new air ship.
Squall, Seifer, Rinoa, Irvine, Selphie and Lydia were all wearing black coats, "Are you sure this is going to work?"
Laguna and Kiros were manning the pilot's chairs, "Don't worry. The ship they use is anti grav. If you guys drop on it there shouldn't even be a shake. You will use the air lock to gain entrance, then just blend in. Once the ship lands at Black Garden you have to get in and commence operation breakdown. Find anything that could stop us and take it down. Only big stuff, security, perimeter defense, missile defense, any biotech laying around, just stop it. We'll attack twelve hours after the air ship enters Black Garden."
Squall snapped on a black belt with the skull sign, "Whatever. The problem is, we're high priority targets. Every black SeeD is going to know what we look like."
Laguna pulled out what appeared to be square circuit boards, "Place one over each temple."
Squall slapped them both on, "Now what?"
A small red grid appeared in front of Squall's face. The two devices which were probably hologram projectors clicked on, Squall now had an older face with no scar across his nose, "What happened?"
"A little piece of our technology, they work for twenty four hours then have to be recharged. What do you think?"
"Cool."
"Only problem is, infrared can see right through them and an electromagnetic pulse will shut them down. In other words, don't use your walkman."
"You got it."
"One last thing. If you want to call abort cast a thunder spell in the air and make the bolt take the shape of a cross."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Is Rinoa a sorceress?"
"Yes."
"You'll think of something." Laguna reached for his headset, "Yes. Thank you." Laguna put both hands on the throttle, "The storage area has just been attacked. Let's move."
Laguna pressed a series of buttons on the panel, "This is Red Dragon, permission to take off."
"This is control tower, permission granted."
* * * *
Squall, Irvine, Selphie, Rinoa, Seifer and Lydia all stood near the rear hanger, "Okay, so Laguna gave this thing the ability to hover?"
"Yes." Squall and Seifer were both tied to a line hooked on the ceiling of the hanger, "When that door opens, everybody drop."
Lydia wasn't tied to a wire, "Just say the word."
A TV Screen appeared on the wall with Laguna's face, "Everybody cozy back there? Good. I'm sending the radar spike, this should knock out their censors long enough for you guys to pass overhead. I've got to warn you, the ship itself won't be visible. It's the new stealth technology we were talking about earlier. I had the weather dome create a light fog so you may be able to see the outer rim, good luck." Laguna's face disappeared.
Everyone secured their line as the hanger door started opening. Squall and Seifer were the first to dive out. At first it was unnerving, when Squall and Seifer dropped there was nothing below them. Squall landed on something metal. He couldn't see but he could faintly see the hull of a ship. Seifer and Lydia were standing beside him, "Can either of you find the air lock?"
Lydia's eyes glowed gold for a moment, "There."
Squall and Seifer stood around what appeared to be a trap door, "Laguna said they used this door for loading weapons. He gave me the key card to open it."
Squall found a control panel and placed the key card over it. Seifer and Lydia looked on as the empty space rolled away to reveal a small room which was probably the airlock, "I guess this is it." Squall and Seifer dove inside with everyone else not far behind. Now they waited.
* * * *
Squall and his team had been sitting in the cargo hold for some time now. They felt the ship shutter, "That should be the anti grav systems shutting down and the jet thrusters taking over. We're in black garden."
"What's the plan fearless one?" Seifer was being sarcastic.
"Okay, we have seven hours. Selphie, you disable the missile defense system, take Irvine with you. Lydia, take out the main power grid, just do as much damage as you can. Everyone else, come with me. We're going to the labs. I've got a feeling something down there might pose a threat to us later."
"Yes sir."
Squall pulled out his gun blade, "Remember, we blend in here. Don't fight unless you have to. Once you do what you came for do as much damage as you can but keep your heads down." Squall spun the barrel of the gun handle, "Let's make some noise."
* * * *
Selphie and Irvine were looking at a large map in the garden commons area. Selphie was tracing the hallways with her finger, "It has to be over here. I have this theory that all gardens are basically the same. Remember how Balamb garden gets up and moves?"
"How could I forget?"
"I noticed when we fought Galbadia garden we both had that giant gold ring. I think that's some kind of anti-grav device. We had to go below the garden to find the controls, since I didn't see an observation deck they must not have activated the anti-grav yet. If I can find the control room the missile defense system can't be far away."
"So we go down? The elevator at Balamb needed security clearance to go down."
"Then let's not use the elevator."
* * * *
Irvine and Selphie were standing in a small utility room, "Did you remember the fire shells?"
Irvine slid a shell into the barrel of his gun, "Sure." Irvine fired straight down. Selphie and Irvine were both blown back. There was a large hole in the floor Irvine and Selphie looked down, "That was just one fire shell?"
"Yea." There was a loud siren, "Was that the security alarm?"
There was a series of loud clicks from the ceiling. Sprinklers popped out and started shooting water, "Fire alarm."
Irvine took off his hat and put it on Selphie, "Good idea. Let's move."
Irvine heard a someone yelling, "The fire's in here!" Irvine fired one bullet at the door. The control panel beside the door exploded, "That should keep them out for a while." Irvine and Selphie jumped through the hole into the basement area.
* * * *
Lydia walked through Black Garden. She wasn't wearing her fake uniform or her hologram generator. She was intangible. No one around her could see or hear her. She looked up when she heard an alarm, "Fifteen minutes without setting off an alarm. They are showing much improvement." Lydia looked around. Her eyes passed through the people, she could see everyone with a red light around them. Those people carrying guardian forces glowed white and their GF could be seen over their heads, "Not much here." Lydia looked at the walls. As her vision passed the surface she saw cables and circuit boards running power through the garden. Lydia saw the electric currents slow down. At this point she could watch their flow and discover their origin, "Electricity is the life blood of technology, now I must find the heart."
* * * *
Squall and Seifer entered the laboratory district. Squall and Seifer put on lab coats, "Why are we here again?"
"Who knows what the black SeeD has hidden away back here."
Quistis was also wearing a lab coat now, "Kiyoko for one thing."
Squall saw a door, "The rooms aren't labeled . They just have code numbers. I guess if we were really black SeeD we'd know what these codes mean."
Seifer opened the door, "Oh well." Seifer and Squall stepped into a large room, four floors deep and a football stadium across, "What the hell…"
In the room was a giant cage almost as large as the room itself. Inside the cage was a giant beast that looked like a giant lion with no head. Instead of the head there was a human torso standing up right holding a sword. Squall and Seifer were both frozen in place, "It's ultima weapon."
"Dear god, it's bigger than the omega."
"We'll have to destroy it once we're done here." Squall walked out the door followed closely by Seifer, "I still want to know what the hell that thing is."
The intercom came on, "Attention black garden. We are now readying for operation D. Please get to your posts."
"What is operation D?"
"I have no idea."
* * * *
Lydia had been walking for a while now. All the power lines were running to the same place and she was getting closer. Lydia walked through a large wall in the basement, "It should be getting closer."
There was a sudden flash of darkness. Lydia was shocked back to reality, "What was that?" All she could remember was a pair of red eyes watching her, "What could be…"
There was a dark voice from an unseen source, "You've got a lot of nerve showing yourself in a place like this."
Lydia drew her sword, "Reaper?"
The wall behind Lydia rippled and turned black. A black figure appeared, "That's me." It used to be human, that much was certain. Now the hooded figure carried a large scythe and silver gloves with clawed fingers, "Black Garden needed a GF who could stand a chance against someone like you. They found him."
Lydia swung her sword at Reaper. Reaper held up his scythe and blocked with the shaft, "So, where are your friends? None of them here to help you now?"
Lydia swung again, "I do not need friends to deal with you."
Reaper swung his scythe around pushing Lydia back. Lydia turned intangible to pass through the wall. She was hoping against hope Reaper could not follow. Lydia raised her sword and allowed her lower nature to take control for a moment. Lydia heard a voice coming from all around her, "What's wrong? I thought you didn't attack unless innocent lives were in danger."
Lydia swung wide trying to catch what she couldn't see, "While you exist lives are in danger."
Lydia was cut from behind by the blade of the Scythe. Lydia screamed and fell forward. She couldn't move her wings. She rolled over on her back and raised her sword just in time to block Reaper's deathblow, "Angel's cannot be killed by death, only other heavenly powers."
Reaper was right in Lydia's face, "Death is angel too."
Lydia's eyes glowed gold, the cuts across her wings healed, "You cannot kill me, I will stop you."
"You can save your own life but can you protect your friends? How many will survive, one, maybe two? You can't keep defending forever." Reaper reared back and his shape changed, large bat wings surrounded his body, "I will kill them all." Reaper flew into the air.
Lydia watched as he phased through the ceiling. Lydia's wings spread, "I can't let him get away."
* * * *
In the basement Selphie and Irvine were walking around aimlessly, "I'm getting tired of this. We only have six hours left."
Selphie was still trying to compare black garden to Balamb, "This isn't right. There's supposed to be a service terminal around here somewhere." Selphie saw a door, "This should be the janitors station." Selphie walked in.
Irvine followed shortly, "What are you…" Irvine stopped. The room was almost empty accept for a table with a large computer sitting on it, "What are you doing?"
Selphie sat down, "Standard garden equipment. They hide these things in the lower decks so if the garden is ever over run officers can hide down here and keep tabs on the enemy. There are usually codes…" Selphie was rambling.
"Can you crack the codes?"
Selphie was pressing keys pretty fast. A screen saying, "Welcome to black garden." Appeared on the screen, "Quistis's computer is harder to hack." Selphie grinned, "Easy." A screen with blueprints of the garden appeared, "This isn't everything but…what do you know?"
"What?"
"The garden doesn't have a power generator. Remember that ring around the garden?"
"Yes."
"When the garden isn't moving the ring spins creating an electric charge with the power converters on the garden. That means if we stop the ring we can shut down the power."
"These things are on automatic, two people can't stop them."
Selphie was grinning even bigger, "I can think of one GF that can."
"Bahamit?"
"Quezacotl silly. I think I can stop it but I'd have to be either on the ring or on a balcony."
* * * *
Lydia and Reaper were both flying above the commons area. Lydia's sword crossed Reaper's scythe, "I will not let you harm the others."
"You do not have a choice."
Lydia's sword was caught under the blade of Reaper's scythe. Reaper spun his scythe twice, Lydia couldn't hold onto her sword. Reaper swung once trying to take off Lydia's head. Lydia was faster. She ducked retracted her wings and fell a few feet allowing the scythe to pass over her head, "I will not allow you to harm others. If I must die to stop you I will." Lydia came up to Reaper's Level. She wrapped both arms around his waist, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. From the earth we rise and so we return." Lydia began to lean backward.
Reaper's body rippled. He moved through Lydia's arms, "If you think that trick will work on me you are sadly mistaken. Lydia spread her arms, "I wasn't going for a star fall. I was going for something a little different." Lydia's eyes glowed gold, "Heaven let your light shine down. " Lydia's body glowed gold. She was no longer intangible and the entire garden was looking up at her. She held both hands out in front of her and straightened her body. With her wings at full spread she made the shape of a cross, "And in the western corner of the Garden of Eden the lord placed a burning sword." The shape of a cross appeared over Lydia's body. The cross was set on fire, "You will burn in hell." The cross shimmered and projected itself on Reaper's forehead.
Reaper fell from the sky. He was now tangible as well. The shadows around his body faded and his human form came into view. His human form did not survive the fall. Lydia was slowly moving towards the ground, "Rest in peace." Lydia vanished. Her body had once again become intangible, "Now, I must find those missile defense systems."
* * * *
Squall and Seifer were standing around another door, "Alright. So far we've seen ultima weapon, a twenty foot rat, a jellyfish monster, a vat of what I hope to god was acid and a giant sloth. Why do we think this door will any better?"
"We have no way of knowing what's behind a door. Kiyoko has to be around her somewhere."
Squall pressed the panel on the wall that opened the door, "Enter security code."
Squall groaned, "We don't have a key card."
Quistis stepped up to the panel, "I'm good with these sort of things." Quistis pulled out the pipe that turned into a whip. She jabbed the pointed end into the panel. Quistis jumped back as electrical current ran along the pipe. The door opened, "I told you I was good at this." Quistis put on a pair of leather gloves and picked up the whip, "Let's go, shall we?"
Everyone walked into a long hallway with glass panels along the walls, "Some sort of prison?"
Seifer already had his weapon drawn, "That's what it looks like."
Squall and Seifer hadn't walked far before they saw Zell sitting in one of the cells. He jumped to his feet and tried to rush the glass wall. Zell jumped back, something had given him a shock when he came to close to the wall. Zell mimed something that looked very much like, "Damnit!"
Squall and Seifer exchanged glances, "I don't think that trick with the whip will work twice."
Seifer tightened his grip on the handle of his gun blade, "My thoughts exactly." Squall and Seifer both took a fighting stance. "Ready?"
Squall nodded, "Set."
"GO!" They both yelled at once and stabbed at the glass wall. Both swords penetrated. Large cracks formed in the wall.
Zell stepped back, "I've been waiting for this." Zell charged and did a flying kick breaking the glass wall. Zell landed on his back, "Damn that hurt."
Squall and Seifer helped Zell to his feet, "You okay?"
There was a deep voice coming from the end of the hallway, "No. He isn't. We've healed his crushed rib cage, once we knew the procedure worked…"
A woman's voice finished the sentence, "they tried it on me. I'm a success and we're together again."
Zell took a fighting stance, "It's them! Roc and Kitina. Roc's not on our side anymore. He's the bastard that crushed my ribcage."
Seifer and Squall looked at Roc and Kitina, both wearing black SeeD uniforms, "We can handle them."
Quistis put her hand on Squall's shoulder, "We may need one of you if we run into trouble later on."
Seifer turned away, "I'll go with you and Zell."
Rinoa pulled out her northern light, "I'll fight with you Squall. With my sorceress powers I think we can handle them."
Squall turned to Seifer, Quistis and Zell, "Go!"
* * * *
Lydia had gone back to being intangible. She finally found a massive control room on the highest deck of black garden. She was looking at a massive control panel, "I believe that five people could operate the garden from this room." Lydia pulled out her sword and drove it into the control panel, "It is a shame I must destroy it."
There was a loud siren, "Commencing operation D." Lydia looked out a window. The garden seemed to be lifting. Lydia saw a panel, "Ready first missile volley."
Lydia was a little shocked, "Either the garden is moving out of control or the system is automated. Either way we're in trouble."
* * * *
Roc was in his human form. He and Squall were having a furious sword fight. Roc and his two sabers were holding off Squall's gun blade. Roc's sword skills were even to Squall's mastery of the gun blade. Elsewhere Rinoa and Kitina were fighting in a less honorable fashion. Rinoa was swiping at Kitina with her northern lights. Kitina was changing shapes almost constantly to avoid the cuts. Kitina had just ducked under a swing. Her form returned too normal. She raised both hands, "Fire Flash!" There was a blinding flash of light coming from Kitina's hands. Rinoa was blinded. She took a step back and held her hands over her eyes.
Kitina pulled out a sword and charged the dazed Rinoa. A large summoning ring appeared around Rinoa, "That's the same dirty trick Seifer used on Squall a while back. Do you think I'd fall for it?" Rinoa's weapon glowed gold, "I've had just about enough of you. Siren turns rage into power and Adel turns power into magic. ARAURABORIALIS!" Rinoa's entire body glowed gold. A beam of pure magic extended from her body and caught Kitina. As the golden light surrounded Rinoa's body large angel wings grew from Rinoa's back. Rinoa's angel wing limit break allowed her to tap into natural magic energy. Combined with Adel's powers to evolve magic the power of this break could not be measured. Kitina was caught in Rinoa's golden aura and there was no way out. Kitina's body slowly faded and finally vaporized.
Roc and Squall stopped fighting as Rinoa fell backwards. Kitina was nowhere to be seen. Roc looked around, "What the hell was that? It can't, I would have, no! Kitina!"
Squall ran over to Rinoa, "Are you alright?"
Rinoa slowly rose to her feet, "I'll be fine. I just sent Kitina screaming back to hell."
The room was getting colder, "NO! I won't let you get away with it!" Roc was in full hawk and from the look on his face he was in a state of rage. He charged Squall and Rinoa, "I won't let you live for what you did to Kitina!"
Squall took a fighting stance. He was ready to deal with Roc. Rinoa raised one hand, "Wait! He's unbalanced. His guardian force is noble but his mind is corrupt." A small summoning ring appeared around Rinoa, "Sealing Sleep!" Roc was slowly getting slower. His swords lowered and finally he passed out. Rinoa put her hand on his head, "He'll be out for an hour. I don't think a normal spell would have worked on him. I had to take it a step further. If we can take him to the ship l might be able to help him. Can you carry him?"
"Sure, no problem."
* * * *
Selphie was standing on a balcony about five floors up. The massive ring was spinning about thirty feet ahead of her, "There must be an amazing amount of power being generated by this thing."
Irvine had chosen a safe distance to stand, "Yup."
Selphie spread her arms, "Quezacotl! I need your help." Lightning crackled all around Selphie. A green mass swirled around her body. The green mass got bigger, it's wings spread. Quezacotl seemed to be absorbing energy from the ring and the more it absorbed the bigger it got. Finally what appeared to be the head aimed at the ring. There was a single blast of thunder. Selphie fell back, "I can't hold on anymore."
Irvine ran up and caught Selphie just as she collapsed, "Are you okay?"
Selphie smiled, as always, "Did I get it?"
Irvine saw the ring begin to shake off its axis until it fell, "Yes."
The intercom came on, "Commence operation D."
Irvine looked around, several missile silos opened and a large volley of missiles blasted out of the garden, they were all headed west. Irvine removed his hologram generator, "That's interesting." Irvine opened a communicator, "I know Laguna told me to keep radio silence but I think this is worth it."
Irvine flipped on the communicator, "Red Dragon! This is Irvine. I just saw a massive launch. There's something called operation D happening."
"D? I don't recognize the name. Where are the missiles headed?"
"West I think."
"That's toward Esthar. Are you outside?"
"Yes."
"Good. You two are done. I can see you on the balcony."
Irvine looked up to see a small dot in the sky, "You going to drop a really long ladder?"
"No. Has the missile defense system been stopped yet?"
"I don't know."
"If I get to close the defense systems may shoot us down."
Irvine holstered his gun, "Then I'll just have to take matters into my own hands." Irvine looked up and screamed. As he did his eyes glowed red, a giant dragon with six wings appeared around Irvine and Selphie. The dragon flew straight up.
* * * *
Laguna and Kiros were sitting on the control deck, "There's a large energy spike coming our way."
"Missiles?"
"Bahamut!"
Laguna saw Bahamut fly past the ship. There was a com signal from the cargo deck, "Anybody there?"
"Selphie?"
"Irvine dropped me off here. He said that there were four missile silos and to get ready."
"Get ready for what?"
Laguna switched to external cameras. Bahamut was flying over black garden. Laguna could faintly see Irvine floating inside the space Bahamut occupied, "What the hell is he doing?"
Bahamut bent over and opened his mouth. A large mass of energy was building inside his mouth. Laguna's eyes widened, "He's pumping a whole lot of energy through his GF it won't last long if he keeps it up."
Bahamut had already destroyed two of the four missile silos and he was moving on. Every time he changed targets he had to stop his energy breath then change direction before he could start building energy again. Laguna was watching three dials read the massive energy spikes, "One of those Silo's is moving. It'll shoot at Bahamut."
Kiros had sat down in the chair with the weapons controls, "Irvine's taking to long. He's trying to minimize casualties, that's not good. If he starts moving for the last silo now that energy beam will cross half the garden and kill everyone. I know Irvine, he won't let that happen."
Laguna grabbed the flight controls, "Then we have to help. Ready the main cannon."
Kiros looked up from the controls, "We have a main cannon?"
"I had it put in. Look for a large red key labeled dragon fire."
Kiros saw the key, "Say when."
Laguna had one hand at the keyboard, "Computer! Blow the emergency rockets on the port side. Pump emergency energy through the forward stabilizer on the starboard side, three second burst, on my mark. Ready the dragon fire!" Laguna looked back at Kiros to see if he was watching the targeting screen, "MARK!"
The Red Dragon swung around quickly, the nose tilted down forty degrees. Laguna jabbed three buttons on the panel to his right. The stabilizers fired. On Kiros's monitor one an open missile silo came into view. Kiros pounded the firing button.
The Red Dragon's grappler arms spread and positioned themselves in front of the mouth. The two hands seemed to have locked themselves into the forward area behind the head. There was a loud clunk as two large energy blasters loaded themselves into the hanger at the head of the ship. The mouth opened and fired an energy wave comparable to Bahamut's breath weapon. Kiros watched the screen as the beam hit the silo. The beam of light seemed to destroy all of the missiles accept one.
Laguna flipped three switches, "Computer! Redirect energy flow at standard guns!" Laguna read the monitor, "Unable to comply? Damn! When we fire the main cannon it sucks the power out of the other guns and a few of the stabilizers. If we were in space the artificial gravity would be down to. The point is we can't stop that!"
Kiros and Laguna watched the missile hit Bahamut in the chest. Bahamut reared back in pain. Kiros was standing up, "Bahamut's taken to much damage! Irvine can't keep his GF stable! He's going to fall!
* * * *
Lydia was standing in the control room. She was looking out the window at Bahamut destroying part of the garden, "If Bahamut is allowed to rampage he will kill everyone!" Lydia noticed Bahamut change directions and start blasting again, "What is he…oh. He isn't letting his energy run wild. He is only destroying certain areas, unpopulated, no doubt. This is worthy of praise." A large missile struck Bahamut in the chest. Bahamut flickered in and out of existence for a moment. Finally Bahamut vanished leaving Irvine in his place, "He will die from the fall and saving those people was a very good deed. He must receive gods grace." Lydia's body flickered and she became intangible, "I must become the angel of mercy."
Lydia flew through the roof. Irvine was falling quickly. Lydia's body flickered back into reality. She grabbed Irvine's shoulders and began to fly higher. Irvine was still unconscious, "You are exhausted but you could not have flown this high without…" Kitina looked around, "The Ragnarok." Lydia flew toward the Red Dragon.
* * * *
Seifer, Quistis and Zell were walked down a long hallway, "Have you noticed these alert sirens have been going on for a while now?"
"Yes." Quistis saw somebody wearing a lab coat walking in the opposite direction, "We could ask for directions."
Seifer put his hand against the wall stopping the scientist from moving, "Excuse me sir, we're looking for a friend of ours."
Quistis continued, "A research team brought in a felious, we were told to check in on it."
The scientist seemed a little nervous, "You mean Project wildcat?"
Zell was confused, "Project Wildcat? She's not a GF man, she was found at the deep sea research center."
"GF? A project is any life form that can be put to use for us. If you're thinking of project polymorph…"
"Never mind that! Where is she?"
* * * *
Kiyoko was half asleep. The tank was acting as a sensory deprivation chamber. She was slowly loosing touch with reality. All her old memories of the jungle and her new memories of Roc and Zell were all beginning to slide together. "It can't be real. Roc is not my friend but I remember something. I care about Zell but he isn't a felious, did he ever exist?"
The door to the room opened. Zell, Seifer and Quistis Stepped into the room, "Found her!"
Seifer picked up a clipboard, "Project wildcat, here are the statistics." Seifer flipped through a few pages, "Ah, potential mercenary. Demonstrates excellent agility and sensory perception, weak sense of logic and strategy. Genetic traits can be copied, instincts cannot. I think they were planning to brainwash her."
Zell scoffed, "Cold day in hell! I'm the reason she's in this mess." Zell punched the glass bubble. Small cracks formed at first, then larger ones. Kiyoko's arms and legs were still strapped down, she couldn't move, only watch. Finally the glass broke, water spilled out. Seifer removed the restraints. Zell and Seifer carried Kiyoko out of the bubble on their shoulders, "What's that thing on her face?"
"I'm not sure but it fed her oxygen when she was in that tank. Quistis, can you remove it?"
Quistis felt around for a locking mechanism on the mask, "Bingo." The mask fell off.
Kiyoko coughed, "Zell? Is that you?"
"The one and only."
Kiyoko was dazed, "Where's Roc? Is he my friend?"
"We'll see about that."
There was a loud crash. The room shook, "Something's wrong!" The roof was shaking and bits of gravel were falling everywhere, "I don't know how long that roof is going to last. We've got to get out of here."
* * * *
Quistis ran into Squall in the hallway, "We found Kiyoko."
Squall was carrying Roc on one shoulder, "We got Roc."
There was another tremor. Squall's communicator came on. There was a moment of static then Laguna's voice, "Irvine just blew up half the base. The four missile silos have been destroyed. Problem is the structural integrity of the garden is gone. Half the place should collapse in the next few minutes. Where are you guys?"
"We're in the laboratory about three stories underground. We found Zell and Kiyoko." Squall rounded the corner, "There's ruble covering the only way up the lobby area. We're stuck."
"Squall, I think we've got a plan. I'm landing outside garden. We may be able to get you out."
* * * *
Fujin and Raijin were standing outside the garden, "Are you sure this will work, ya know?"
Fujin crossed her arms, "TRY."
Laguna landed the Red Dragon and opened the cargo bay doors in the rear of the ship, "It's up to you guys. Just remember, he's three floors down."
Raijin flexed, "Brothers, we need you, ya know!" Two giant minotaur appeared beside Raijin. They both pounded the ground with one hoof. A large crack opened in the ground. Raijin focused on the bothers earth spell, "That's not quite right, ya know. I need a tunnel instead of a crack, ya know?"
Laguna spoke into the communicator, "Squall, this may not work. I'm having Raijin use his earth GF to tunnel down to where you are but I don't think he has that much control over it."
"It figures, I gave him that GF."
"We do have a backup plan."
"What's that?"
"Fujin."
"We're screwed."
* * * *
Squall, Zell Quistis, Seifer and Rinoa were standing against a wall, "We're here, now what?"
There was a lot of static in the communicator, "Stand away from the wall. What! Holy shit! Change of plans, run for it!"
"Why?"
"Because Fujin can't control Leviathan and that was a full blast instead of a steady wave."
There was a loud shaking, "I see what you mean." Squall turned off the communicator, "Run for it!" Everybody started running down the hall.
Zell noticed a splashing sound, "Guys, why is the floor wet?"
Squall spread his arms out and practically tackled Quistis and Rinoa, "Hit the deck!" At that moment the wall buckled and collapsed sending waves of water flooding into the hallway.
Squall stood up. He saw Fujin and Raijin standing in the large hole in the wall, "FOUND."
"Hey, we did it, ya know?"
Squall brushed his hair out of his eyes, "What the hell is wrong with you two? We were nearly killed."
Fujin crossed her arms and looked away, "GRATITUDE."
Zell was up against the wall, the force of the waves had blown him back, "I'm fine, thanks for asking."
The communicator crackled, "The damn thing shorted out. It must have gotten wet!" Squall glared at Fujin and Raijin, "Anyway, we'd better get moving. Is the Red Dragon up there?"
"YES."
* * * *
Back on the Red Dragon Squall was drying himself off with a towel. The Red Dragon had already taken off and was on its way back to Esthar, "I swear to god, the next time you hold someone in reserve make damn sure they know how to use their GF! They nearly killed us when they broke through the wall."
Laguna was typing on a keyboard, "I just patched into Esthar, it seems something interesting just came on the TV stations. Have a look."
The view screen on the Red Dragon shifted. "If my demands are not met the neon city of Esthar has only hours to live. Our first missile volley has been intercepted but that was just the opening act. When a group of terrorists came to the garden, they released the ultimate weapon. He is currently headed toward Esthar. We of the black SeeD are the only ones who can stop him. I will speak with your leader, Laguna Loire directly if he will contact me on this frequency." A set of numbers appeared on the screen.
Squall looked at the face on the screen. He had short black hair and a very chiseled face, "Who is he?" Laguna's fists were clenched, "I know him. He's doctor Odine's nephew. I think his name is Mar Kava Odine. He used to work for my science department a few years ago."
"Then what happened?"
Laguna punched a few buttons on the keyboard, "I fired him." A file on Mar appeared, "He was mentally unstable. At first he seemed to be a brilliant scientist but he followed in his uncles footsteps. I'm talking about human test subjects. The science lab started looking like a carnival freak show. That's when I fired him. At the time Black Garden was still new. Apparently Doctor Odine hired him before he passed away." Laguna copied the numbers from the broadcast, "Could you go away for a moment? I don't want him to think I was the one who attacked Black Garden. It might hinder negotiations."
Squall walked out of the bridge, "Call me when you want us to blow something else up."
* * * *
Squall walked into the medlab, "Well?" Quistis was still wearing her lab coat, "We've gotten Kiyoko fixed up. Zell is actually in incredible shape considering what he's been through. Roc however, is another story."
Roc was tied down to a bed. He was struggling to get up yelling curse words at Rinoa and Kiyoko, "I'll kill you! You killed Kitina! You bastard! Once I get out of here I'm going to rip your head off you witch! Murderer!"
Kiyoko was sitting in the corner with her hands over her ears chanting, "That's not Roc, that's not Roc."
Irvine and Zell were talking in the corner, "I say we kill him."
Irvine tipped his hat up, "You sure? He's been working with us for a while now."
"You didn't get tortured by him. I wanna rip my gloves through that ice shell of his." Zell clanked his clawed gloves together, "Or at least get him to shut up."
Lydia was the only one who seemed to actually care about Roc. She was holding both hands on Roc's cheeks, "Calm down. Kitina was not your love. She was using you. You must calm down and see that." Lydia yelled at Quistis, "Can you give him a sedative. I can't keep this up."
Quistis stuck a needle in Roc's arm, "There you go." Roc finally stopped struggling, "Diamond Hawk helps him resist foreign substances, I don't this will last long."
Lidya stepped back, "I was using my powers to keep him from going to full hawk. I'm afraid those leather straps won't hold him if he transforms."
Squall cleared his throat. Once he was sure he had everyone's attention he spoke, "We've got a bigger problem. Apparently Ultima weapon has been freed and he's headed for Esthar. Laguna says the dragon fire won't make a dent in that thing."
Everyone was ready to panic, "How da hell we supposed to stop that thing? Omega weapon almost killed us!"
Rinoa shuttered, "I'm not sure my magic can kill it."
Squall's eyes narrowed, "Then we'd better think of something."