IV
"There are only so many possible answers. Odds are one of them has to be correct."
--Instructor Aki
"Sefie is gone," Irvine said. "First Rinoa, now Sefie. What's going on?"
"You've been asking that for the past hour," Zell growled. Slamming a fist down on the soft seat arm, he snapped "Dammit! Where'd Squall go, anyway?"
"He's in the hangar," Quistis said. "Using his superior deductive skills, I hope."
"Squall's the one with superior deductive skills?" Irvine asked.
Zell and Quistis ignored him.
Zell hit the chair again, mood not improving. Irvine held Selphie's nunchaku next to his shotgun, turning it over in his hands.
"I think I hate this," he said. "Both of them just gone--this city has to be cursed or something."
"Think it's significant?" Quistis asked. "I mean, that--"
The door to the conference room/passenger seat slid open, and Squall stepped in. "We have one clue. Both occurred in this city," he continued, motioning out the window at the Galbadian capitol. "What's special about Deling City?"
"We tried to kill the Sorceress," Quistis volunteered.
"Ultimecia is dead, and Edea isn't a sorceress anymore," Squall said. "Anything else?"
"The Tomb of the Unknown King is just outside," Zell mentioned with a shudder. They had almost gotten lost in the labrynthine tomb, wandering until Squall had finally discovered the secret of navigating through: taking all right or all left turns around the center until you faced it, then turning and going directly forward away from it until you got to one of the points. The only thing they had gotten out of it was the help of the GF Brothers, the ID number of a dead student (not fortunate enough to have Squall's deductive skills on his side), and a rather cryptic message from the ghost of the King.
"We saw the King's ghost. He didn't seem to be have any malicious intent, and we have no reason to assume that's changed. We have Sacred and Minotaur, the Brothers. Other than that, the only things in there are Armadodos and Blobras, and neither of them are smart enough to orchestrate something like this."
Silence. Then Irvine jumped up, exclaiming "I've got it!"
"What?" Squall asked.
"That spell--it looked like Demi, right?"
"Yes," Squall said, unsure of where Irvine was heading.
"So, that's gravity-based, right?"
"Yes--"
"And so is Diablos!"
Squall completely missed the point. "So?"
"Diablos is sentient," Irvine said. "We've heard him speak Standard English, too. So--"
"So--oh!" Quistis's eyes lit up. "You've hit it!"
"...right," Squall said, catching on before Irvine had a chance to say anything further. (Sure. Of course, it's not like we've ever tried something like this before, but if that's the only unprecedented thing on this mission...) he mused darkly. Closing his eyes, he focused on the back-and-red netherworld GF, focused on summoning him before them and at the same time focused on not fading into the summon as the Guardian Force arrived. There was the usual vertigo of summoning as Diablos faded into the Ragnarok's conference room, placing both feet on the ground as there was no room to fly. Massive wings folded behind him as he looked around.
(...if this is the strangest thing I ever do, I'll swallow my gunblade without sauce,) Squall thought.
"My defeators," Diablos breathed, voice thin and sibilant. His eyes reflected danger--but not animosity.
"We need a favor," Irvine said.
"I bow to your wishes," Diablos replied.
"We need you to trace a Demi spell..." Irvine continued.
"A trivial matter. I know of whiat you speak."
"So... will you?"
Diablos nodded, and held out a hand, palm out. Darkness gathered before his palm, palpable and tactile, expanding and contracting, pulsing weirdly. An image formed inside it: the living room at Caraway's mansion. Squall could see himself leaving the room following Zell, see Irvine exchanging a few words with the guard, and then darkness exploded into the scene, warping and distending, wrapping itself around Selphie like a strikign beast. Instead of just seeing the Demi spell as they had, though, they were sucked in--they went through the black void and into a vast darkness beyond. Then the bubble in front of Diablos's hand dimmed, and suddenly rebounded on the GF with all the force to send him flying into a wall. "It leads nowhere," he said, just as the demonic light in his eyes faded and his massive head lolled to one side.
"Diablos?" Squall asked. Then, louder, "Diablos!"
The GF faded, and finally disappeared into a flash of darkness. Squall looked at Quistis and Irvine, who each shook their heads.
"What just happened?" Zell asked.
(A very good question, Zell,) Squall thought. (I was wondering the same thing myself.) "We're going to the orphanage," he said.
"Why?" Irvine asked.
"Diablos came from a magic lamp that Cid gave us. I want to know where he got it. Right now, what happened to Diablos is our only lead."
"All right," Irvine said. Hitting the button to call the bridge, he said "Nida, set a course for the Cape of Good Hope."
"Why not?" came the reply, and the Ragnarok smoothly took off.
(I want answers,) Squall thought, looking over the group in the passenger seat. Turning wordlessly, he headed for the door.
-
The Ragnarok set down near the orphanage with a smoothness that was frankly impeccable, a fact Squall attributed to Nida's taking his responsibility as a pilot much more seriously than Selphie tended to. Squall, Quistis, and Zell stepped out, looking at the crumbling ruins with expressions ranging from nostalgia to indifference. Moss grew on the ancient, falling pillars, turning the entire orphanage into a set of greygreen-tinged ruins that would soon be reclaimed by the wilderness around them. It was a poignant reminder of how old the place was--and of how long they had been away.
Crossing the short distance between the spaceship and the crumbling, run-down orphanage, Squall fingered his gunblade nervously. Stepping between the crumbling pillars of stone into the main building, he was hit with a sudden sense of deja vu. Knocking on the door, he waited as the former Garden Headmaster--Cid Kramer--opened the door. Cid grinned widely as he saw the three, clasping each of their hands warmly and ushering them inside.
"It's good to see you," he said. "It's been too long! I hear you're doing well as Commander. I say--have you grown?"
"...whatever," Squall replied, ear not following what he identified immediately as a tangent. "...Cid, do you remember the magic lamp that you gave us?"
Cid's brow furrowed as he thought, obviously coming up empty.
"The one with Diablos in it?" Squall prompted.
Cid nodded, brightening. "Ah, that one. Yes, I'm glad you got some use out of it," he said.
"Where did you get it?" Squall asked.
"Oh... that would be..." Cid thought for a bit. "I nice man gave it to me... a Mr. Dobe, from Fisherman's Horizon. He said it contained a GF, and that since GFs were only used in battle he didn't want it anywhere near his city. One of his fishermen had found it ensnared in a reef offshore. Why?"
"There's something wrong with Diablos," Squall said, glancing at Irvine. Irvine had taken over junctioning Diablos, and was trying to figure out what was wrong with the GF. Needless to say, he wasn't getting anywhere. "We plan to investigate where he was found, in order try to find some answers."
"Oh," Cid said. "Always on assignment, I see." He smiled, shaking his head. "Well, good luck. It was nice seeing you again, Squall."
"Thank you," Squall said, turning to leave.
-
Fisherman's Horizon, a city in the middle of the huge intercontinental railroad, was situated deep in the sea. The large solar panel that provided the city power was an ideal spot for landing the Ragnarok, and it was conveniently near the Mayor's house at the center of the dish. Fisherman's Horizon--FH to its residents and the few visitors they received--was a pacifistic city, however, that had not responded well to their presence there the first time--regardless of the fact that they had saved the city from a Galbadian invasion. Squall could only guess at what their reaction would be this time around.
"Squall to the bridge," said Nida over the intercom. "We've arrived at FH. And it looks like we're not the only ones."
Squall moved stiffly out of his makeshift room in the hanger and onto the lift, stepping on the panel. The lift rose to the bridge, and he saw that the rest of his party was already there. They were staring out the window, each with a different level of confusion on their faces. Squall looked at Quistis for an explanation; she was the one who (aside from Nida) was most likely to say something sane.
"Look down there, Squall," was all she said, however. Squall carefully pushed Irvine away to make room for himself, and looked down at the view of FH below. On the tier that had held the Garden docked for so long there was a long, three-hulled black ship instead. A long, narrow deck and sloping hull comprised the main body, and it was supported on either side by longer ballasts--ballasts which resembled nothing more than elongated canoes. Planks ran from the ballasts to the deck, and one could barely make out the figures of people moving around on them.
"Take us down," Squall said to Nida. "We'll see what's going on once we've landed." He paused. (It's been a while since our last real battle,) he thought. (If it should become necessary...) "Equip your GFs, just in case."
There was no real sensation of motion as the spaceship moved downwards, but there was a gathering air of tension inside the cockpit. The Ragnarok set down on the solar panel, the long stairs extended below them, and Squall turned to his team.
"If we need to split up, Zell, you're with Irvine. Quistis, you'll come with me. Nida--"
Nida sighed. "Stay and guard the ship. Right."
The four SeeDs stepped onto the lift, waiting as it took them down to the lower level. Moving through the ship and out onto the panels, they were surpried to see the diminuitive figure of Mayor Dobe scurrying towards them, casting glanced behind his shoulder. He looked very pale.
"Thank Hyne you're here," Dobe said, all but stuttering as he approached to them. "Please--you must help us--"
(The man is practically gibbering,) Squall thought. (This must really be serious--for him to want our help?)
"What is it?" Squall asked.
"They're invading the city--interrogating everyone--help! They simply will not listen to reason--can't allow this kind of atrocity to take place here, we're a peaceful city--we only have three fighters and they're all coming and--"
(...this isn't informative at all.) "Where? Who?"
"At the tier--and the railroad crossing. I don't know who, I honestly don't. Please--" Lunging forward, he caught Squall's arm and began to start talking so fast there was no hope of deciphering him. Squall tried to pry him off, without any noticable degree of success.
"All right," Squall said. "Calm down. Irvine, Zell, you check out the track. I'll get the tier. ...try not to fight unless it's unavoidable."
"Yes, sir!" Zell said with an exaggerated salute, and ran off.
"Thank you," Dobe said, releasing Squall. "Thank you, really, you have no idea how much this--"
Leaving as tactfully as he could, Squall restrained himself from pulling out his gunblade. He knew that Dobe hadn't ever believed they could solve anything without violence, and he sincerely wanted to prove him wrong. As Zell and Irvine moved off in the direction of the railroad tracks, he and Quistis sprinted towards the tier.
As they approached, they heard heavy footfalls coming their way. Squall ducked behind a large crate, pulling Quistis with him as the feet approached.
"Take this one to the Mayor," said a voice. "Threaten her if he refuses."
Through the slats in the crate Squall could see a heavily armored boot marching past. Then, dragging behind the person--was Selphie.
Bound and gagged, Selphie could only look around her. For one, single second her frightened green eyes met Squall's startled blue, and she made a muffled noise. Then she was dragged away.
"Selphie," Quistis said in a strained whisper. She began to say something else, but Squall clapped a gloved hand over her mouth.
Another pair of boots moved past, and Squall could hear someone talking.
"Where's the Lieutenant, anyway? Shouldn't he be out here?"
"He's back at the Tier, showin' off his armor," another voice said. "Tryin' to figure out where that SeeD is. Hyne. I wouldn't want to be there when Lieutenant gets his hands on him."
"Forget Lieutentant--I'd be worried about when Master Dyne gets him," the other one said. "You hear he killed two sorceresses? Almost three? And I can imagine what it'll be like when Naja sees--"
"Don't say that thing's name!" the first hissed, and there was an uncomfortable pause. "Two sorceresses?" the voice continued, fading away. "No, I didn't know that, you mudbrain. Think there's anyone on the face of the planet who hasn't heard--"
Quistis looked at Squall uncertainly. Concern for her friend and the need to do something for Selphie warred in her expression.
"Quistis," Squall said, removing his hand. "Follow them. See if you can help Selphie."
"Quistis nodded. "What about you?"
"I'm going after this--this 'Lieutenant,' " Squall said. "I think he might have Rinoa."
Quistis nodded. "Be safe," she said, and hurried off.
(Looks like fighting may be inevitable,) Squall thought as he took out his gunblade and stood up. (Well, here's to inevitability.)
Then he ran towards the tier.