XIV


The band ground to a halt as a trio of gunshots rang through the hall, stopping the dancers and sending most of the SeeDs into confusion. Within moments the invaders had spread out across the area by the entrance, keeping the entire ballroom full of SeeDs at bay. Nemo and Lialla strode in through the middle of them, Lialla patting Nemo on the arm as he stepped forward.

"I want you all to sit down," Nemo bellowed. "Make a ring in the center of the room. Anyone moves, they get shot. Anyone stands, they get shot. Except for Squall."

The SeeDs glanced at each other, but another gunshot convinced them that they had best sit down. Soon the entire ballroom had become a makeshift arena, Squall standing in the middle as the Desert Rose mercenaries made sure that no one moved.

Nemo took the gunblade from Lialla, tossing it so that it skittered across the floor to land at Squall's feet. "Pick it up," he snarled.

Squall didn't move. "What are you doing?" he asked, turning to face Nemo squarely.

"I want a fair fight," Nemo said. "It's no fun just killing anymore. I want a fight, and you're the only one I can remember who's ever given me one."

Squall tried to think of when he had ever given Nemo a fair fight, and came up empty. "And if I don't fight you?" he asked.

"Then this will be an execution. And I will continue to execute people until I find someone who will fight me."

Squall frowned.

"Look, SeeD," Nemo said, balling his hands into fists. "Cooperate, and one person will die. Don't, and a lot will. Not a hard choice, is it? Even I know what you'd choose there. Put on the knife."

Squall considered his options, finally realizing he didn't have any. Bending down, he picked up the belt with the scabbard and put it on.

"Order them not to interfere," Nemo said, making a broad gesture to the SeeDs. "You'll regret it if they do."

Without taking his eyes from Nemo, Squall took in a breath to speak. "SeeDs," he said. "You are hereby under orders not to move from your current positions for the duration of the battle."

"Good," Nemo said, advancing until he stood well within the circle. Both of his hands rose so that they were poised above his thighs--a classical gunfighter's stance. In that moment, there was something unbearably familiar about him. "On the count of five," he said through a grin, "we draw."

Squall's hand moved to his gunblade. He didn't want to play this game by the madman Nemo's rules, but with the lives of hundreds of SeeDs resting on his actions, he didn't dare not to.

"One," Nemo said.

Squall took a moment to run through his list of potential tactics--something he always did before a fight.

"Two."

Squall had no GFs junctioned, and it was obvious from the bulges in Nemo's pockets that he had at least two guns. The gunblade might or might not be loaded, but even if it was there would be no way he could bring it to bear in time to get a shot off before Nemo. Even if he could do that, the only purpose for the gun on a gunblade was to augment slash damage, not function as a gun in its own regard. The accuracy rating for any sort of range was abysmal.

"Three...."

Nemo was insane, and logical tactics didn't work against insane people because they were designed to work against logical thinkers. The only way to combat an insane man was to be just as eccentric and unpredictable as he was.

"Four...."

Squall tensed.

An instant before Nemo yelled "Five!" his hands had darted into his pockets, emerging with a pair of archaic sixshooters from which he fired one shot at Squall. Squall ducked into a roll, coming to his feet and drawing his blade in one motion. In the same motion, he dealt Nemo a blow to the chin with the hilt, then backpedaled to get into a range in which he could strike properly. Nemo took another shot at him, which he dodged.

Swinging at Nemo, Squall managed to knock one of the guns out of his grasp and send it skittering across the floor. Pressing the attack, Squall tried to anticipate which way the gun would point next.

What he didn't anticipate was Nemo's ducking his blow and charging into him, knocking him off his feet. It was only through long practice that Squall managed to keep hold of his gunbade as Nemo dropped to the ground, grabbing his second gun and taking another potshot at Squall. Squall could hear the shot ricocheting off one of the walls, and hoped that none of the SeeDs would be unfortunate enough to get in the way of any of the flying bullets.

Lashing out with a foot, Squall rolled and pushed himself off the floor. Nemo struggled to his feet at the same time, dropping one shoulder and charging once more. Squall sidestepped, lashing out with the blade, only to have Nemo's fist catch him in the stomach as the man passed. Gritting his teeth, Squall brought his gunblade around and buried it in Nemo's shoulder.

Nemo's hand shot to the wound, grabbing the blade by the blunt edge and physically wresting it out of Squall's grasp. Stepping forward quickly to bring the hilt out of Squall's range, he leveled a punch at Squall's face. Squall dodged it, stepping back.

Nemo tossed the gunblade upwards, sending it twirling end-over-end. Squall inadvertently looked up, following the sword for a moment as it traced through the air. The moment's distraction was enough for Nemo to plant a bullet in his shoulder, rushing forward as the blade clattered to the ground nearby.

Squall dove for the blade, catching its hilt as Nemo twisted to follow his movement. A bullet bounced off the ground in front of his face as Nemo took another shot at him. As he got up two more bullets raced through the air, one ripping through one of the muscles in his arm and the other grazing his jaw.

As Nemo threw one of the guns away--its ammunition used--Squall struck with a flurry of attacks that should have left Nemo in pieces on the floor. However, the man managed to dodge or deflect most of them with clouts to the side of the blade, leaving him with only a few deep gashes on his arms to show for it.

Of course, Squall thought as he feinted a slash at Nemo's face, switching the direction of his strike midway and cutting a line across Nemo's palm. Anyone as crazy as Nemo would be crazy enough to parry a sword strike with his hands....

A wave of dizziness came over Squall, and he stumbled. His hand moved to the bullet wound in his shoulder almost reflexively, and he drew it back covered with blood. There was a moment where he stared at the black powder smeared across his hand, noticing traces of it on the floor where bullets had struck as well. He could have cursed--Nemo was using poison as well as lead.

Nemo staggered backwards, aiming his gun at Squall. Squall's brain registered something odd about the shape and length of the bullet cartridge as he ducked preemptively, but he couldn't have anticipated the sound of five of the six bullets firing at once. Points of burning pain seemed to suddenly appear all over his body--one in his shoulder, one his side, two on his left leg. The other bullet went wide, hitting the ground nearby. There was a final shot as Nemo spent the last bullet in the gun, ripping a hole through Squall's sword hand. The gunblade was dropped as his hand released reflexively, and Squall was too busy ducking the gun thrown at his face to pick it up again.

Nemo had approached as he threw the gun, and lashed out at Squall as he recovered from the duck. He struck a heavy blow across the SeeD's face, sending him sprawling to the ground. A kick sent the gunblade skittering in the other direction, and Nemo dropped to his knees and lashed out again as Squall tried to recover. The blow landed squarely on his neck, and Squall gagged.

Through a red haze of pain, Squall could see Nemo's bloodied figure moving, and he felt himself being lifted to his feet via a crushing hand grabbing his wounded shoulder. He tried to focus enough to act, but a kick to his shin drove that out of his mind. He could literally feel the bone snapping, and he was thrown to the ground again. Nemo backed up, watching him.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Squall managed to make it to his knees before he realized that he wouldn't be able to make it any further. The poison was beginning to display a greater effect, and his broken leg wouldn't allow him to stand. The gunblade was hopelessly out of reach, and he didn't have any other weapon.

Falling forward as another wave of dizziness broke over him, he put a hand out to prevent himself from crashing into the ground. Supporting himself on his hands and knees, he could see Nemo standing in front of him.

Dammit, he thought. This isn't fair....

"I always knew I'd win someday," Nemo said. However, there was nothing malicious in his tone now. Rather, it seemed as if he was surprised.

Squall glanced up, and the sensation of familiarity came back. Frantically, he racked his brain for where he might have seen this man before. Goddammit, he wanted to at least know who this nutcase was before he died....

Nemo dropped to one knee in front of him, grabbing his shoulder and dealing him a blow to the face. Squall could feel the side of his mouth split open, blood beginning to trickle down his chin. "You lost," Nemo whispered. "Damn you, Squall, you finally lost."

"You're mad," Squall growled at him, aware that insulting Nemo was about all he could do anymore.

Nemo punched him again. "I always wanted to kill you," he snarled. "Always. But I never could, because you always won. But this time, you lost. Damn you to hell, you lost!"

Nemo's voice had risen in pitch during the rant, and Squall's vision blurred. For a second, his view seemed to shift....

Matron was scolding him again. Something about how he shouldn't let himself get into fights... that the other boy was a very special child, and that Squall could have killed him by hitting him too hard there, just near the heart....

Great, Squall thought bitterly. So this is it. My life is flashing before my eyes.

Nemo stood, pulling a knife out of a sheath inside one of his pockets, glistening with something that was doubtlessly poison. Squall's hand slipped in the pool of blood that was developing around it, pouring from the bullet hole that had probably doomed him. He could see a double image of Connor looming over him, ready to strike the killer blow.

Wait... 'Connor?'

Memory came flooding back to him, pieces suddenly falling together. He remembered the fight at the Orphanage--he had struck another boy near the heart, and the boy had had to be hospitalized. His blood flow had been damaged. Matron had punished him for that--and she had warned him never to get into a fight with Connor again. Something about his heart being weak, or the bones around his heart being weak, or--

--come to think of it, Connor had had blonde hair and green eyes.

Time seemed to slow. Nemo dropped to his knees, grabbing Squall's right shoulder to steady him. Now that he knew what he was looking for, Squall could tell why Nemo had seemed so familiar during the fight--why Nemo had known (remembered) his name while Squall, memory damaged by Junctioning, hadn't ever recognized him. And the knowledge gave him one final chance to strike.

Nemo--Connor--thrust with the knife, planning on burying it in Squall's heart. Squall twisted with the last of his strength, absorbing the attack with his shoulder as he fisted his bleeding hand, driving it squarely into the ribs protecting Connor's heart. The weak bones splintered, the punch driving the sharp fragments into the heart and lungs. Connor gasped, convulsing so hard that he ripped the knife from Squall's shoulder, leaving a gaping hole. For a moment, Squall could see both of his eyes--they were open wide in pain and shock.

Connor fell to the ground, gasping like a landed fish. Blood was beginning to ooze from the region near his heart, and his eyes were unfocusing rapidly. Squall's vision was fuzzing sporadically, but he could tell that Connor wouldn't survive. He had killed him.

Now if only the poison wouldn't finish him off, too....

Something hissed through the air, and a small stinging sensation pierced the side of his neck. Glancing up, he saw the slim figure of one of the Desert Rose mercenaries lowering her hand to her side, stepping towards them.

He could feel each beat of his heart exaggerated as he reached up to his neck, extracting the drugged needle. One beat... two beats... three..........

I won.... was the only thought he could hold onto as he slipped into darkness.

--- - - - ---


Lialla bent down over the felled combatants, two of her mercenaries flanking her, guns brandished at the SeeDs who were restlessly sitting in the ring they had been ordered into. They knew that anyone who moved would be gunned down instantly, but with their Commander lying in a bloody heap on the floor they couldn't be expected to remain docile for long.

Bending over Nemo, Lialla cupped his face in her hands. "Can you hear me?" she asked. Lowering her voice, she asked "Where is the paper?"

Nemo stared up at her with eyes that almost didn't see. One strong hand reached up, caressing the side of her face. "Lialla...." he whispered.

"The paper," Lialla said, straining to push all thought of tears out of her mind. "Nemo, carissime, the paper. The paper!"

Nemo's eyes blinked a few times. With his free hand, he reached into a pocket and drew out a folded piece of yellow sheet paper. Lialla took it, opening it and slowly reading the instructions on the page. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away quickly.

"I love you, carissime," she whispered, drawing her gun. Nemo's hand clenched along the side of her face, and his visage contorted with pain.

"Lialla--!"

Lialla stood, pointing the gun to his head and pulling the trigger. A single shot rang out, ending Nemo's life. Lialla crumpled the paper in her hand, tucking it into one of her pockets. Moving over to the SeeD Commander, she gave him a cursory inspection. Shaking her head, she bent down and hoisted him onto her back. Standing, she glanced around the room.

"My orders," she said in a clear voice only partly choked with pain, "were to ensure that there would be one death tonight, and one death only. Remain in this room. If you follow me, my orders may have to be sacrificed."

Turning, she headed out of the ballroom. The Desert Roses followed her, moving backwards to keep weapons trained on the SeeDs. Finally they had withdrawn into the hallway, and Lialla nodded to one of them.

"I can take care of this guy once I get him to the Infirmary, but you'll need to make sure no one bothers me. Patrol the area. Make sure no one gets out of that room until we're all safely away. Janya, you're in charge."

The other girl nodded, and Lialla headed towards the infirmary, hurrying her steps so as to get there as quickly as possible. She had carried heavier loads before--that wasn't what was bothering her. It was partly the blood seeping through her "borrowed" uniform that was the problem, partly the thought that she was about to tend to Nemo's killer. She could only do her best to put everything out of her mind as--

"Hey," a dark voice called out. Lialla turned partway to see a familiar figure standing between two of her Roses, arms crossed as the two held him at bay. Inwardly, she quailed. He was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

"Nida," she murmured, almost to herself.

Nida's eyes narrowed. "The infirmary supply doors are locked," he said. "You'll need my code to get in. So, what? You've always been the humane one, and you've always known that I'm the best emergency med worker around. Are you willing to accept my help?"

There was an edge of anger to Nida's voice that she couldn't ignore. She closed her eyes and nodded. "Let him go," she ordered the two guards. "We know each other well, he and I...."