Chapter Six: The Beginning of the End

Jennie Tlaxas sighed and flipped the pen around in her hand. She lost grip, and the pen flew across the lobby. She made no effort to pick it up, instead she remained seated behind the reception desk, lazily watching three figures enter the building.
They were dressed in dark robes. The tallest one approached the desk, while the other two stayed by the door, arms at their sides. The man spoke softly, "I'd like to see the station manager, please."
She sighed and looked through the appointment book, "Name?"
The man shook his head, "I don't have an appointment."
"Well, you'll have to make one. Mr. Roberts is a very busy man. I can pencil you in on…"
The man slammed his hand on the book, "I don't think you understand."
She looked up to see the other two men holding large automatic guns aimed at her head.
The leader continued, "I'm going to see Mr. Roberts."

***

Miles leaned back in his chair, and was just starting to relax when his aide walked into the room.
"Mr. Animus, you have an urgent call."
"How urgent?"
"Trust me, sir. You shouldn't miss this one."
Miles nodded reluctantly, and reached to his desk, pressing a small button. The viewscreen came up, and the face of Jake Loganas, President of Esthar, appeared.
Miles started, and then regained himself, "Mr. President. To what do I owe the… honor?"
Loganas, sighed, "Animus, we've got a problem."
"Oh?"
"Exactly three hours ago, Esthar National Television was taken over by terrorists."
"And?"
"We want you to get them."
"I don't see why you need us. Can't the police handle it?"
Loganas nodded, "But we figured you'd want this one personally. We think it's the guy who killed your wife."
Miles raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"
Another sigh, "The stuff he's been saying has been pure anti-SeeD. Condemning everything SeeD has done since the Second Sorceress War."
"I thought you didn't like SeeD."
Loganas glared, "I don't like mercenaries, but this is too far."
Miles gently snapped his fingers off to the side, and his aide understood, getting the television.
"Okay, Jakey boy. We can be there in… well, it'll take us a while."
"The Ragnarok is on the way."
"Wow. That's service."
"Oh yes, Animus?"
"What?"
"Please keep this clean. That's our finest television station."
Miles hit the button again, and the phone hung up. The aide flipped on the television, and tuned into ENTV. A figure appeared on screen, dressed in a black robe that cast a shadow over his face, effectively hiding his face from view.
The figure spoke, "That's right, folks. We're still on. So, let's start with our list of crimes again. For those of you just tuning in, we're talking about the evil organization that IS SeeD. That's right, SeeD is evil, allow me to prove it to you. Thirty-seven years ago, they attempted to kill the President of Galbadia, then the Galbadian Ambassador. Then, they illegally entered Esthar, and destroyed our prized Space Station, AFTER freeing Adel and BEFORE stealing the Ragnarok. Twenty-seven years ago, they bought war to a small, peaceful town called Fisherman's Horizon. Of course, this is after they attempted to take over Deling City. Twenty years ago, they played a part in the destruction of Deling City, and in the damaging of Winhill. After that, they ONCE AGAIN destroyed our Space Station. Two years ago, they wrought havoc in the peaceful area of Trabia. And just recently, they've got renegade on the world, hunting down and killing their so-called 'enemies.' Ladies and gentlemen of the world, SeeD should be destroyed. That is why I am calling on all the nations of the world to join me in the assault on SeeD!"
Miles motioned to his aide, who flipped off the TV.
"Pretty serious stuff, sir. But… that was all…"
Miles sighed, "Bullshit?"
"Yes, sir. To put it mildly."
Miles nodded, "Yeah. But that's gotta be the guy. Get Lee, Veronica, Julia, Neos, and my son."
The aide nodded, and ran off. Miles turned and reached up to where the Dual Hyperion was resting on a shelf. He pulled down his weapon, and ran a finger along the edge.
"You ready, tiger?"

***

The atmosphere in the Ragnarok was silent. Miles sat silently in his seat, watching the world fly by at high speed, allowing his thoughts to drift even faster.
His reverie was interrupted by his son, Peter, who sat in the seat next to him, "Hey dad."
Miles shook himself out of the state, "What's up, Pete?"
"Dad… we were talking… and… well… the gang all agrees. If the chance comes, we want you to have the final shot on this guy."
"What?"
"You know. You deserve to kill the guy more than any of us, so… if you want it… finish him yourself."
Miles shook his head, "Jeez, Pete. This isn't a deathmatch. This is an operation."
Pete nodded, "Yes, but when you get in there, when you're face-to-face with the guy who killed mom, will you think that?"
Miles went silent.

***

Miles held the Dual Hyperion by his side, watching as the others moved around him. Peter positioned himself on the other side of the door, his gun drawn and ready, while everyone else ran to their positions around the building. Miles felt a bit of tension, and took a deep breath in, then out, slowly releasing the pressure. He spoke into the headset, "Neos, Julia, you ready?"
Neos' voice came back, "I'm set to go cap'n."
Miles nodded, "Okay, how about you, Lee?"
"Me and Veronica are ready when you are."
"Okay, wait one second."
The group of six was positioned around the entire building, one for each of the three entrances. Miles and Peter had the main entrance, while Neos and Julia took the back, and Lee and Veronica were on the side. Miles nodded to his son, who returned the guesture.
"Okay, team. GO!"
The door blew open in an array of flame next to them, and the pair dashed into the main lobby of the building. There was no presence inside, but that didn't mean there was no threat. Miles dashed across, and leapt over the reception desk, while Peter opted for the small security room just behind the desk. As he entered, Peter realized why the place had been taken so easily.
There was no security, just a bunch of televisions displaying different parts of the stations, but indeed, there was no sign that anyone had used the room for years.
Peter flicked his eyes from one screen to the next, checking for anything suspicious.
-Static.-
-Empty room.-
-Dressing room.-
-Static.-
-Static.-
-Backstage.-
-Newsroom.-
-Sitcom set- a bad one.-
-Static.-
-Empty room.-
-Main control room- one bad guy.-
-Bingo.-
Peter stared at the picture the screen showed. There stood the cloaked figure, still broadcasting his anti-SeeD message, behind him, was a group of hostages, all gagged and bound behind a protective bullet-proof window. A guard stood with them.
Peter spoke into his headset, "I found 'em."
The replies came back from everyone, "Where?"
Peter looked at the labels, "Room 2B. There's also one guard in the master control room."
Miles entered the room, "Nice work, kiddo. Okay, listen up team, Lee, meet me by the stairwell, Neos, can you and Julia handle the control room guy?"
"Yeah, we got 'em boss."
"Right then. Let's get a move on."

***

Neos tightened his grip on his gunblade, the Battleaxe. The design was quite unique, instead of following the usual sleek format of a gunblade, his model truly lived up to its name. A large, long axe with a gun would be an accurate description. The weapon was powerful, but very heavy and hard to use.
Behind him, his sister followed, holding onto her nunchakus as if her life depended on it.
He took a look up the stairs, then nodded, whispering to her, "Let's go."
She nodded in agreement, and they slowly walked up the stairs together, taking each step with a small degree of caution, knowing they'd be alerted as to any movement of the bad guys. As they came up out on the top, they found themselves at a T-junction, looking both ways.
Julia shook her head, "Which way do we go?"
Neos bit his lip and looked around for some sort of sign. He managed to find one just a few feet down the hallway, and he turned to his sister, "This way."
They both proceeded cautiously down the hall, every step seeming like an avalanche of sound to the two of them. After walking a few yards, they came to the control room. Neos ran to one side of the door and planted himself up against he wall, while Julia did the same on the other side.
Neos whispered into the LASH set, "Lead, it's Neos. We're in position."
Mile's voice came back, "Neos, lead here. In position also. Stack up."
Neos edged to the doorway.
"Stacked."
"Acknowledged. Okay, ready to go? Go!"
Neos kicked in the door, and Julia came right into the room, gun raised, Neos only a second afterwards, holding the battleaxe parallel to his shoulders, behind his head.
Julia yelled, "Drop it, now!"
The man kept the automatic gun lowered, frantically looked around, looking for an option.
Neos joined in the yelling, "DROP THE GUN!"
The man looked around, then quickly raised the gun.
Two shots fired off, and when the smoke cleared, the figure was on the ground, two bleeding holes in his chest. Julia held her pistol, still aiming at the man, trembling in her hands. Neos checked the man's pulse, and reading a negative, he looked back up at his sister. She still hadn't moved.
He put the gunblade on the ground for a second, then walked over to his sister, slowly watching her, tremble. He breathed in, and slowly removed the gun from her hands, "You okay?"
She took a moment to catch her breath, now wringing her wrists, "…yeah. I'll be alright."
He pulled a chair, and sat her down, talking into the LASH again, "Control room, clear. I'm escorting Julia out."
"Is she alright?"
"She's shaken."
"Alright, we'll handle it from here."
Neos nodded and reached out a hand towards his sister. She looked at him, nodded slowly, and took his hand.

***

Miles stood by the door, watching as Lee and Veronica moved around to the other door. Him and Peter stood silently by theirs. Confirmation came over the headsets, and Peter moved in, attaching a small explosive charge to the door.
Miles and Peter backed up. Miles spoke into the headset, "Ready… go!"
Peter hit the detonator, and the doors exploded, all four people dashing into the room at once. Lee smashed his fist into the face of the guard, and Miles got right up to the leader, placing the Dual Hyperion right up at his neck, "Don't move, asshole."
Lee and Veronica began to evacuate the hostages, while the man stood tall, "What exactly do you want?"
Miles grinned, "Stupid idiot. We're here to take back the station. Smile, you're still on TV. Pete? Tie the bastard up."
Peter moved around to wrap the wrist-lashes up, when the figure moved his hand backwards, and without warning; a bright flash of light filled the room. Miles felt himself fly back towards the wall, and smashed into it with a sickening thud.
The pain was sharp, and he could feel a rib broken. He pushed himself up, and shook his head. His vision blurry, his head pounding, he took a look at his son. Peter was struggling to get up, but he looked all right. Miles focused back to the shrouded figure in the center, who held his hand up, open, small bits of energy flying around his fingers.
It took Miles a minute to comprehend what had just happened.
-That guy is a sorcerer.-
The feeling came down on him like a fifteen-ton weight.
-Shit.-
Miles had never actually fought a sorcerer before. Lee had, but then again, Lee had done it with an anti-magic field. This was not quite so favorable.
He raised up the Dual Hyperion, and charged at his opponent, who stared at Miles, then raised his hand in a fist. Bolts of lightning emanated from the man, and Miles felt his body attacked with 3000 volts of electricity. He held on, life draining, barely able to keep his eyes open. He managed to see, through teary, blurry, and ever-darkening vision, his son, Peter, moving to the cloaked man.
Peter rose up his pistol, and crashed it down on the other man's head. The man stood for a second, and then crumpled to the ground in a heap. The electric current dissipated from the room, and Miles fell to the ground. Peter ran over to his father, "Dad!"
The shroud slowly left Miles' eyes, and he opened his mouth, cracked and dry. No words came out.
Peter nodded and grabbed a small glass of water on a nearby table, slowly pouring it into his father's mouth.
Miles coughed, "Is he out?"
"Yeah, you alright?"
"I've been better. Shocking experience, really."
Peter grinned slightly, and walked over to the cloaked man, his father standing over him.
"Okay Mr. Sorcerer, let's see just who you are."
Peter grabbed the hood, and ripped it off of the man's head, "Oh… Hyne…"
Miles fell back into one of the chairs, "No…"