"Squall, they have a second line behind the MG's," Irvine shouted to Squall.
"Where?" Squall squinted to try to see.
"Trust me they're there. I've got sharp eyes," Irvine said.
Squall rubbed his forehead trying to predict Seifer's attack plan.
"Orders sir," a short girl said. She held out a small piece of paper and saluted.
"Thank you," Squall said and saluted back. The girl scurried back into her position.
Squall unfolded the paper. He read the message slowly and carefully. It was from Eric. He said the lines on the communications were cluttered and all channels were being opened and to speak to him on channel 10. Squall clicked the tiny knob on the unit to channel 10.
"Commander Germaine. Leonhart here," Squall said.
"Great, you got my message. Galbadia only has one ship so far, but we're seeing a ton of men on that ship. Seifer's got line after line of men plus men positioned on the ship ready to shoot from above. I suggest you attack them before they attack you, Leonhart. It doesn't look good," Eric said.
"Gotcha. We'll prepare some of our soldiers for attack now and the rest will be on defense," Squall decided.
"Great. I've sent some of my MG's to your station. They'll be over in a second. Put them on your attack team. These guys are long distance magic users. They'll get them before they can drop something on us," Eric said.
"Thanks. I'll do that," Squall said.
"Good luck," Eric said. Squall turned to the horizon. He could see the enormous size of the ship now and some of the men lined up.
"We need two teams! Esthar and Trabia stay back on defense. Balamb and SeeDs on attack. Guest MG's on attack. Attack line up in front of defense. We need to get some of their men before they get us," Squall shouted.
The soldiers positioned themselves quickly. "Irvine," Squall called.
"Yeah," Irvine called back. Squall ran over to Irvine.
"I need you to fire a shot. Try to hit Seifer or one of the MG leaders up there. It'll be the signal for the attack team to attack. Got it?"
"Sure thing," Irvine said and checked his ammo. "Just tell me when the others are ready."
Squall turned to the attack team. "Attack team. I need you to either use magic that'll get them or shoot them. Hold your ground here. Do not advance," Squall ordered. The team nodded.
"Irvine's going to fire a shot at the enemy. That's your signal to attack," Squall said. "Are you ready?"
"We're ready," Selphie said holding her nunkachus readily.
"Irvine," Squall said. Irvine nodded and aimed carefully at the MG leader on the front line and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed and caught the enemy by surprise. The MG leader went down and the rest of the MG's backed up. A Galbadia soldier took a thundaga spell hard and went down as the attack team launched their spells and attacks.
Seifer crouched down to avoid the attacks. One by one his men were going down. "Air raid attack!" he shouted.
Seifer's air raid attack team took aim and began shooting at Squall's attack team. "Watch out!" Squall shouted as a spray of bullets rained down from the ship. Selphie was hit in the leg and fell to the ground. She struggled to stand up, but it was no use. She was furious and unleashed her limit break and casted wall to protect the attack team. Squall rushed over to her.
"Are you okay?" Squall asked concerned kneeling next to her.
"Ow," Selphie groaned and winced in pain. Squall looked at her leg which was covered in blood.
"I have to pull the bullet out before I can cast a cure on you. I don't want to seal up the bullet," Squall said. Selphie nodded and closed her eyes in preparation for the pain that she knew would come.
Squall carefully looked at her wound and found the bullet. He gently took hold of it. Selphie jerked a little at the pain and squeezed her eyes shut even more. With a quick yank, Squall pulled out the bullet. Selphie let out a gut wrenching scream and tears ran down her cheeks. Squall quickly casted cura on her and the wound sealed up. He gave Selphie a hug and held her until she stopped crying.
"Okay now?" Squall asked.
"Pain," Selphie said and rubbed her eyes.
"Can you stand?" Squall asked. Selphie moved her leg to test its mobility and tried to get herself up. She stood shakily for a second and gained balance.
"It doesn't hurt so much anymore. Thanks a lot, Squall," she said smiling a bit.
"Stay back on defense for now, and be careful. Don't hurt yourself," Squall said. She nodded and walked quickly over to the defense team who was watching the attack team nervously. No one else had fallen yet. The wall Selphie casted helped the team a lot. Irvine and other sharp shooters were slowly taking out the air raid team on the ship and less bullets flew their way.
The Galbadian ship was close enough now for their MG's to attack. Seifer stood up and shouted for the MG's to attack. The line of MG's casted sleep in unison. The spell caught the soldiers below in surprise. Many of the soldiers fell asleep from the powerful mass spell. Some it reflected back at the MG's but failed to do any good. Many of the weaker soldiers fell asleep despite the shell casted on them. Squall looked as many of his men dropped to the ground. He went over to one of them and shook him. He didn't budge. The sleep spell was truly powerful. Most of his friends were awake and a few of his team still stood. Selphie and Zell lay asleep on the ground. Rinoa rushed to them and casted esuna on both of them. Zell picked himself off the ground slowly and Selphie remained on the ground.
"What happened?" Selphie asked trying to stand up.
"They casted one hell of a sleep spell on our soldiers," Irvine said.
"Look! The ship's turning!" Rinoa pointed out.
"The hell do they think they're going?" Zell asked following the ship with his eyes.
"Probably to another entrance of the palace that has men who have fallen asleep," Quistis said walking towards the group. "Seifer knows we're over here ready for him. The other teams may not be so lucky."
Squall checked communications to hear any voice on the lines. He switched channel after channel until he heard Eric's voice.
"Commander Germaine," Squall spoke.
"Leonhart? How are you holding up?" Eric asked.
"Eighty percent of my team is sleeping," Squall said.
"Ninety percent of mine are sleeping," Eric said in despair.
"Galbadia's turning. They're probably looking for the weakest team around the palace to invade," Squall said.
"Yeah, I know. I think Seifer's headed over here, the east entrance. The back entrance still has all its men. The palace blocked off most the spell from reaching them. They've dispersed their men around the palace," Eric said.
"We'll head over there as fast as we can," Squall said. "We'll go through the inside of the building."
"Good. I'll keep you updated on what's going on over here. We'll hold Seifer and the men back as long as possible. Keep your ears tuned," Eric said.
"Be careful," Squall said.
"What are we going to do?" Rinoa asked.
"We have to head to the east entrance because they need help. We're going through the palace. We'll get there faster. Seifer's heading over there now," Squall told the group.
"Let's go!" Quistis shouted and the group ran into the building.