The wind blew across the plains outside of Deling City. Miles stood tall, his Dual Hyperion held firmly in his hand. Jasmine stepped up behind him, and placed her hand softly on his shoulder.
"Miles… what's wrong?"
He gave her a soft smile, "Nothing at all. I've just got something to tell you."
She rubbed her hand down his arm, "What is it?"
"I'll tell you later."
She sighed, "Miles…"
"Trust me. When we get out of this."
Laguna and Caraway stood behind the couple.
Laguna sighed, "Remember when we were like that? Young… in love…"
Caraway gave him a hard glare, "When you were that age, I believe you were hitting on my future wife."
Laguna felt his leg cramp up and gritted his teeth, "Bad example."
"Very."
"It is kinda funny though."
"Where's the joke?"
"Jeez. I mean, look at us, I'm the President of Esthar, and you're a military commander of Galbadia. Our kids got married. Hey, up until FH a while ago, when was the last time we saw each other?"
Caraway frowned, "Their wedding."
"Oh yeah!" Laguna laughed, "I was invited by Rinoa, without Squall knowing, and you were invited by Squall, without Rinoa knowing! That was pretty damned funny."
Caraway smiled only slightly.
"Y'know man, we have more in common than you think. You should think about that some."
The older man stared hard at Laguna, who kept his stare fixed on Miles and Jasmine, "I will."
Miles turned around and walked towards Laguna and Caraway.
"Laguna, General… hey, do you have a first name?"
Caraway stared at Miles, "General."
Miles shook his head, "Laguna, Caraway, half-hour left."
***
"LET'S GO!"
The first shots were fired, and on the command of Quistis, Zell and Nida charged their teams right towards the city. It was an all too familiar sight for veterans of the Deling City invasion 7 years ago, but this was different. They weren't trying to take the city, they were just a distraction.
That only made the situation worse. No one wanted to be a simple distraction team.
Nonetheless, Zell charged in with all his enthusiasm. No response came from the Galbadian military, but it would come.
He dashed into the city streets, his footsteps making an eerie echo on the pavement.
This city is totally empty.
He stepped around some more, as a full out charge became a silent march through the city streets. All the buildings were in pristine condition, but not a reply came from any. The sound of footsteps was all that could be heard. As they entered the square, he could see Nida's team enter also. Zell gave a friendly wave, and then stopped in his tracks.
The sound of footsteps wasn't the only sound.
Just a few feet away, he heard a small beeping. He looked toward the fountain, and steppe towards it slowly, the beeping getting louder. In front of the fountain, Zell saw a small package, gift-wrapped. He squatted by it, and pulled the card out of the ribbon.
Seed-
I do hope you enjoy the little present I left behind for you. Your glorious commander and his wife are still in the prison, although I doubt you'll have time to get them out.
Sincerely,
Alexian Harket,
President of Galbadia
Zell slowly unwrapped the package, to reveal a small, metallic case, surrounded by wires, and small tanks of some liquid. On top, was an electronic timer, which read thirty minutes.
He grabbed his radio, backing away, "Quistis, we got a problem. A BIG problem."
***
Miles got the transmission on his radio, and listened to Zell's description of the problem. He turned to Caraway and Laguna.
"There's a bomb in the city. Harket evacuated everyone. This is a trap."
Laguna shook his head, "Are Squall and Rinoa alright?"
"They're still in the prison."
Caraway nodded grimly, "Then we know what we have to do. How much time do we have left?"
Miles checked his watch, "Twenty-seven minutes."
Caraway nodded, "Let's go!"
Laguna stared at him, "Are you starting to care?"
"Don't say that, Loire. It would be bad for my reputation. Besides, I'm young, I'm allowed to change."
They entered the car that had been given to them for the mission, and drove into the city.
***
Miles heard his radio through a bit of static, "Miles, what are you doing? We're evacuating!"
He replied, "I'm going into the city?"
"Get out of there, you've only got 25 minutes left!"
"Hey, that's plenty of time!" He looked at Caraway, "That's enough time, right?"
The General shook his head, and Miles cursed.
"Miles! Get out of there!"
"Hey, I'm not leaving them behind!"
"Look, we all want Squall and Rinoa safe, but there's no way! You get out now and we lose two. You continue, and we'll lose six!"
"Hey, Xu… you've got Squall and Rinoa's fathers here. What do you think are the odds that you can call them off?" There was no reply, "I thought so. Hey, how much time do we have?"
"Twenty-four minutes."
"I'll see you in twenty-three minutes."
He flipped off the radio, and took a look at Caraway, "Okay, you know the security systems, how long will it take?"
"Fourty-five minutes to an hour."
Fuck.
The car screeched to a halt, and the group burst the doors open. They dashed up to the prison door, where Caraway instantly began to punch in codes to the doorway. Miles turned to Jasmine, who had her guns drawn and was covering Caraway.
"Hey Jas, I think I should tell you now."
She softened a bit, "Well… what do you want to talk to me about?"
He looked down and scratched his head, "I've been thinking, and y'know, I know I've been a bit of a jerk lately. But, if we ever get out of this… I was thinking that maybe we could y'know… have a kid or two. Hell, maybe three…"
She grinned and embraced him, "Oh Miles!"
Laguna sighed, "I hate to interrupt the moment, but we have a problem."
Miles let go of Jasmine, "What's wrong?"
Caraway grimaced, "My access codes don't work. Should've seen that coming."
Miles pulled out the Dual Hyperion, "Use mine."
He shoved the weapon into the panel and pulled the trigger. Alarms began to blare all over the facility, and the door flew open.
Caraway glanced at Miles, who shrugged.
"I like the direct approach." He checked his watch, "We've got twenty minutes, let's go!"
They dashed into the facility at the fastest speed they could go, with Caraway out in front, pointing down each hallway and veering into different directions. For an old man, he kept a brisk pace, and Miles found it hard to keep up at certain points. Luckily, all the guards had been evacuated, which made things much simpler. They came to a large control room, and Caraway halted.
"Okay, here's where I stop. I need to be at this console. I'll deactivate every system along your way. Good luck."
Miles nodded, "Eighteen minutes." Then he ran off with Laguna and Jasmine. The path to the prison block containing Squall and Rinoa only took three minutes with the systems deactivated. They came to the cell, and Squall and Rinoa were sleeping soundly next to each other. The cell itself had absolutely no sort of bars or restraining devices.
Miles grinned, "Gee, I hate to interrupt… but…. WAKE UP!"
They both startled to life, and Laguna gave a wide grin, "You guys want out?"
Rinoa clapped, "Yessss!"
Miles moved to enter the cell, but was stopped by Squall.
"No!"
"What's wrong?"
Squall moved his hand sideways, "These are invisible beams protecting the cell. You could be a pile of ashes right now."
Miles nodded and flipped on the radio, "Yo, C-man, how we coming on the lasers?"
"Lasers?"
"Yeah, protecting the cells?"
"I don't remember any lasers."
"Shit."
Miles looked around; there was an overly complicated control panel, and a power box. He looked around some more.
"Jasmine, you still have your little mirror thingy?"
She sighed, "You mean my 180 degree special ops mirror?"
"Whatever, do you have it?"
"No."
"Then I'll have to improvise."
Laguna nodded, "I see what you're getting at. I know exactly where we can get it."
Miles raised an eyebrow, and Laguna dashed into a men's room. There was clinking and crashing, then Laguna ran out with a broken piece of mirror.
"Careful," he said, handing it over, "It's sharp."
Miles accepted it, then brushed the others away. He took a look at the laser conductors for a second, and then slowly placed the mirror in the way of one of the beams. He pointed it at an angle, and immediately, the wall had a large black spot in it. He kept twisting the mirror, until the beam finally hit the power generator. Instantly, the generator exploded in a display of sparks, and the beams failed.
Squall and Rinoa stepped out, giving a huge sigh of relief. Squall nodded, "Thanks. I suppose you all want to know what happened?"
Miles shook his head, "Not now," he moved for the door, "we have ten minutes!"
Laguna and Jasmine began to run past Squall and Rinoa, who asked, "Ten minutes until what?"
Laguna paused, "Until Deling City goes nuclear."
Rinoa choked, "What?"
Squall grabbed her by the wrist, "Come on!"
***
Miles dashed past the control room, "Time to go, Caraway!"
The man came out of the control room and began to run alongside the group. Rinoa gave a small gasp, but didn't have time for a reaction. They exited the building without a hesitation, and Miles pivoted and ran backwards, yelling to Laguna for the keys. Laguna tossed them, and he caught them, turned around, and opened the car door, quickly turning on the ignition. The entire group hopped into the car, and Miles quickly checked his watch.
Four minutes
Caraway gave him a glare, "Why are you driving?"
"Because we don't have time for an old man to ride the brakes." Miles turned and looked at everyone, "Better put your seatbelts on. It's gonna be rough."
Everyone quickly complied, and Miles smashed his foot on the pedal.
Three minutes.
The cityscape flew by, but the exit was not in sight. Rinoa turned to her father, then shook her head and looked out the window. The older man's look of hope turned to disappointment.
Squall spoke above the roar of the engine, "What happened?"
Laguna answered, "We found out about your captivity, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone. We decided to kill Harket, and get you out. We got the good General here, since he knew how to get around all the systems. He was more than eager to help out you two." Caraway gave Laguna a glance after the bold lie. Laguna continued, "Unfortunately, Harket had the city evacuated by the time we arrived. All we found was a huge bomb. Caraway went insane, and insisted that we go in despite the danger."
Once again, Caraway glared in curiosity. Rinoa gave another glance at her father, then looked away, but allowed one hand to drift over, and meet with his.
One minute
Miles pushed harder, but the pedal was as down as it got. The city limits were only a mile away. The slightest tap on the steering wheel to the right or left would send the car veering off wildly at the speed they were going.
Thirty seconds.
The car flew up to the exit of the city.
Ten seconds.
Miles kept going through the exit; the blast range would be wider.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Boom.
The entire car was filled with white, and Miles shut his eyes, as the world seemed to burst around them. The sound hit a second later, and it was loud. It was a deafening sound comparable to thunder. The rear of the car picked up, flying upwards, and almost flipped the car, but then, everything relaxed, and the car fell back down on its tires roughly.
Everything was silent. Finally, Jasmine spoke up.
"Well, that wasn't hard now was it?"
((Next Chapter: Changing things around))
"Miles… what's wrong?"
He gave her a soft smile, "Nothing at all. I've just got something to tell you."
She rubbed her hand down his arm, "What is it?"
"I'll tell you later."
She sighed, "Miles…"
"Trust me. When we get out of this."
Laguna and Caraway stood behind the couple.
Laguna sighed, "Remember when we were like that? Young… in love…"
Caraway gave him a hard glare, "When you were that age, I believe you were hitting on my future wife."
Laguna felt his leg cramp up and gritted his teeth, "Bad example."
"Very."
"It is kinda funny though."
"Where's the joke?"
"Jeez. I mean, look at us, I'm the President of Esthar, and you're a military commander of Galbadia. Our kids got married. Hey, up until FH a while ago, when was the last time we saw each other?"
Caraway frowned, "Their wedding."
"Oh yeah!" Laguna laughed, "I was invited by Rinoa, without Squall knowing, and you were invited by Squall, without Rinoa knowing! That was pretty damned funny."
Caraway smiled only slightly.
"Y'know man, we have more in common than you think. You should think about that some."
The older man stared hard at Laguna, who kept his stare fixed on Miles and Jasmine, "I will."
Miles turned around and walked towards Laguna and Caraway.
"Laguna, General… hey, do you have a first name?"
Caraway stared at Miles, "General."
Miles shook his head, "Laguna, Caraway, half-hour left."
***
"LET'S GO!"
The first shots were fired, and on the command of Quistis, Zell and Nida charged their teams right towards the city. It was an all too familiar sight for veterans of the Deling City invasion 7 years ago, but this was different. They weren't trying to take the city, they were just a distraction.
That only made the situation worse. No one wanted to be a simple distraction team.
Nonetheless, Zell charged in with all his enthusiasm. No response came from the Galbadian military, but it would come.
He dashed into the city streets, his footsteps making an eerie echo on the pavement.
This city is totally empty.
He stepped around some more, as a full out charge became a silent march through the city streets. All the buildings were in pristine condition, but not a reply came from any. The sound of footsteps was all that could be heard. As they entered the square, he could see Nida's team enter also. Zell gave a friendly wave, and then stopped in his tracks.
The sound of footsteps wasn't the only sound.
Just a few feet away, he heard a small beeping. He looked toward the fountain, and steppe towards it slowly, the beeping getting louder. In front of the fountain, Zell saw a small package, gift-wrapped. He squatted by it, and pulled the card out of the ribbon.
Seed-
I do hope you enjoy the little present I left behind for you. Your glorious commander and his wife are still in the prison, although I doubt you'll have time to get them out.
Sincerely,
Alexian Harket,
President of Galbadia
Zell slowly unwrapped the package, to reveal a small, metallic case, surrounded by wires, and small tanks of some liquid. On top, was an electronic timer, which read thirty minutes.
He grabbed his radio, backing away, "Quistis, we got a problem. A BIG problem."
***
Miles got the transmission on his radio, and listened to Zell's description of the problem. He turned to Caraway and Laguna.
"There's a bomb in the city. Harket evacuated everyone. This is a trap."
Laguna shook his head, "Are Squall and Rinoa alright?"
"They're still in the prison."
Caraway nodded grimly, "Then we know what we have to do. How much time do we have left?"
Miles checked his watch, "Twenty-seven minutes."
Caraway nodded, "Let's go!"
Laguna stared at him, "Are you starting to care?"
"Don't say that, Loire. It would be bad for my reputation. Besides, I'm young, I'm allowed to change."
They entered the car that had been given to them for the mission, and drove into the city.
***
Miles heard his radio through a bit of static, "Miles, what are you doing? We're evacuating!"
He replied, "I'm going into the city?"
"Get out of there, you've only got 25 minutes left!"
"Hey, that's plenty of time!" He looked at Caraway, "That's enough time, right?"
The General shook his head, and Miles cursed.
"Miles! Get out of there!"
"Hey, I'm not leaving them behind!"
"Look, we all want Squall and Rinoa safe, but there's no way! You get out now and we lose two. You continue, and we'll lose six!"
"Hey, Xu… you've got Squall and Rinoa's fathers here. What do you think are the odds that you can call them off?" There was no reply, "I thought so. Hey, how much time do we have?"
"Twenty-four minutes."
"I'll see you in twenty-three minutes."
He flipped off the radio, and took a look at Caraway, "Okay, you know the security systems, how long will it take?"
"Fourty-five minutes to an hour."
Fuck.
The car screeched to a halt, and the group burst the doors open. They dashed up to the prison door, where Caraway instantly began to punch in codes to the doorway. Miles turned to Jasmine, who had her guns drawn and was covering Caraway.
"Hey Jas, I think I should tell you now."
She softened a bit, "Well… what do you want to talk to me about?"
He looked down and scratched his head, "I've been thinking, and y'know, I know I've been a bit of a jerk lately. But, if we ever get out of this… I was thinking that maybe we could y'know… have a kid or two. Hell, maybe three…"
She grinned and embraced him, "Oh Miles!"
Laguna sighed, "I hate to interrupt the moment, but we have a problem."
Miles let go of Jasmine, "What's wrong?"
Caraway grimaced, "My access codes don't work. Should've seen that coming."
Miles pulled out the Dual Hyperion, "Use mine."
He shoved the weapon into the panel and pulled the trigger. Alarms began to blare all over the facility, and the door flew open.
Caraway glanced at Miles, who shrugged.
"I like the direct approach." He checked his watch, "We've got twenty minutes, let's go!"
They dashed into the facility at the fastest speed they could go, with Caraway out in front, pointing down each hallway and veering into different directions. For an old man, he kept a brisk pace, and Miles found it hard to keep up at certain points. Luckily, all the guards had been evacuated, which made things much simpler. They came to a large control room, and Caraway halted.
"Okay, here's where I stop. I need to be at this console. I'll deactivate every system along your way. Good luck."
Miles nodded, "Eighteen minutes." Then he ran off with Laguna and Jasmine. The path to the prison block containing Squall and Rinoa only took three minutes with the systems deactivated. They came to the cell, and Squall and Rinoa were sleeping soundly next to each other. The cell itself had absolutely no sort of bars or restraining devices.
Miles grinned, "Gee, I hate to interrupt… but…. WAKE UP!"
They both startled to life, and Laguna gave a wide grin, "You guys want out?"
Rinoa clapped, "Yessss!"
Miles moved to enter the cell, but was stopped by Squall.
"No!"
"What's wrong?"
Squall moved his hand sideways, "These are invisible beams protecting the cell. You could be a pile of ashes right now."
Miles nodded and flipped on the radio, "Yo, C-man, how we coming on the lasers?"
"Lasers?"
"Yeah, protecting the cells?"
"I don't remember any lasers."
"Shit."
Miles looked around; there was an overly complicated control panel, and a power box. He looked around some more.
"Jasmine, you still have your little mirror thingy?"
She sighed, "You mean my 180 degree special ops mirror?"
"Whatever, do you have it?"
"No."
"Then I'll have to improvise."
Laguna nodded, "I see what you're getting at. I know exactly where we can get it."
Miles raised an eyebrow, and Laguna dashed into a men's room. There was clinking and crashing, then Laguna ran out with a broken piece of mirror.
"Careful," he said, handing it over, "It's sharp."
Miles accepted it, then brushed the others away. He took a look at the laser conductors for a second, and then slowly placed the mirror in the way of one of the beams. He pointed it at an angle, and immediately, the wall had a large black spot in it. He kept twisting the mirror, until the beam finally hit the power generator. Instantly, the generator exploded in a display of sparks, and the beams failed.
Squall and Rinoa stepped out, giving a huge sigh of relief. Squall nodded, "Thanks. I suppose you all want to know what happened?"
Miles shook his head, "Not now," he moved for the door, "we have ten minutes!"
Laguna and Jasmine began to run past Squall and Rinoa, who asked, "Ten minutes until what?"
Laguna paused, "Until Deling City goes nuclear."
Rinoa choked, "What?"
Squall grabbed her by the wrist, "Come on!"
***
Miles dashed past the control room, "Time to go, Caraway!"
The man came out of the control room and began to run alongside the group. Rinoa gave a small gasp, but didn't have time for a reaction. They exited the building without a hesitation, and Miles pivoted and ran backwards, yelling to Laguna for the keys. Laguna tossed them, and he caught them, turned around, and opened the car door, quickly turning on the ignition. The entire group hopped into the car, and Miles quickly checked his watch.
Four minutes
Caraway gave him a glare, "Why are you driving?"
"Because we don't have time for an old man to ride the brakes." Miles turned and looked at everyone, "Better put your seatbelts on. It's gonna be rough."
Everyone quickly complied, and Miles smashed his foot on the pedal.
Three minutes.
The cityscape flew by, but the exit was not in sight. Rinoa turned to her father, then shook her head and looked out the window. The older man's look of hope turned to disappointment.
Squall spoke above the roar of the engine, "What happened?"
Laguna answered, "We found out about your captivity, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone. We decided to kill Harket, and get you out. We got the good General here, since he knew how to get around all the systems. He was more than eager to help out you two." Caraway gave Laguna a glance after the bold lie. Laguna continued, "Unfortunately, Harket had the city evacuated by the time we arrived. All we found was a huge bomb. Caraway went insane, and insisted that we go in despite the danger."
Once again, Caraway glared in curiosity. Rinoa gave another glance at her father, then looked away, but allowed one hand to drift over, and meet with his.
One minute
Miles pushed harder, but the pedal was as down as it got. The city limits were only a mile away. The slightest tap on the steering wheel to the right or left would send the car veering off wildly at the speed they were going.
Thirty seconds.
The car flew up to the exit of the city.
Ten seconds.
Miles kept going through the exit; the blast range would be wider.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Boom.
The entire car was filled with white, and Miles shut his eyes, as the world seemed to burst around them. The sound hit a second later, and it was loud. It was a deafening sound comparable to thunder. The rear of the car picked up, flying upwards, and almost flipped the car, but then, everything relaxed, and the car fell back down on its tires roughly.
Everything was silent. Finally, Jasmine spoke up.
"Well, that wasn't hard now was it?"
((Next Chapter: Changing things around))