Chapter 8- Returning Home

Laguna and Kiros knelt beside their fallen comrade, and rolled him over onto his back. Blood was smeared all over Ward's face and his eyes were closed. "Ward! Can you hear me?!" Laguna asked urgently. There was no response from the large Galbadian soldier.

The Esthar cyborgs were beginning to close in on them in overwhelming numbers, with a seemingly endless supply still emerging from the scorched base. "Retreat!" General Lancera screamed. "All troops fall back!"

"What?! We can't just leave now! Ward needs our help!" Laguna protested.

"There's no time, Loire! Leave now before they get you, too!" he warned.

"So be it. We can't just leave our friend here to die," Kiros said.

Galbadian troops had begun to retreat, but when they saw the valor and courage of the two, they were inspired. They began to form a line in front of the trio to protect them. "We'll fight them off! You get him back to the boat!" one of them said.

"Thank you," Kiros said gratefully.

Many of them sacrificed themselves only to help one wounded man escape, but they believed it was a just cause. They could not leave someone to die at the enemy's hand. It would disgrace the name of Galbadia to leave an injured soldier on the battlefield, especially if they could still help. The deceased president Valmir Delta had instilled those values in them, but many knew that it would not be the same under the new President Deling. The soldiers who knew him well were aware that he was not a moral man, but that he was corrupt with greed for money and power.

General Lancera did not participate, but watched in anger as his troops opened fire and attacked the Esthar soldiers. Smoke from their guns filled the air along with the deafening noise. Only a few of the stout Esthar soldiers were defeated by the assault. They had been built to withstand the extreme pressure of the bullets that were fired. Realizing that it was useless to fight them at a distance, they charged with their swords drawn. The sharp blades sliced open numerous soldiers, sending sparks flying from their mechanical forms. The cyborgs continued to resist the onslaught and began to take down Galbadian soldiers with the weapons that had been scientifically attached to their arms. The soulless machines were strong and superior, but the humans still fought back bravely and never faltered as they persisted in their attacks.

As the Galbadian soldiers withheld the siege of the cyborgs, Laguna and Kiros struggled in helping Ward back due to his immense size. They dragged him along slowly, until a few other warriors came over and offered them assistance. Together, they returned the large soldier to the vessel, and those that had been fighting escaped and they left Esthar for home.

On the journey back, General Lancera was furious with his troops, especially Laguna and Kiros. He confronted them on the deck, where they sat beside their unconscious friend, who was spread out in the bright sunlight. "Don't ever defy me on the battlefield again! I'm the one in charge here, and what I say goes! You got that?! Then you turned my own men against me, too! I'll make sure of it that you never go anywhere in this army! What were you thinking?! Can you imagine what'll happen if President Deling hears about this?!"

"He won't hear about it, and you know it," Kiros stated calmly. "Just like the truth about Fisherman's was never revealed…It'll be the exact same thing."

They turned their attention back to Ward, anxiously waiting for him to regain consciousness. The general stomped off in an outrage. They all knew he didn't possess the leadership qualities necessary to command a squadron that size. He was inexperienced, rash, and poor in decision-making. Everyone thought that surely Vinzer Deling was aware of that, but apparently he was not.

Ward groaned and slowly opened his eyes. All of the dried blood had been washed off of his face, and his wound bandaged. The medics had told them that the cut was not serious, but would probably leave an ugly scar. "Where am I…?" he muttered in a stupor.

"We had to bring you back," Laguna replied.

"Is everything okay, guys? How'd the battle go?" he asked eagerly.

"We won…Don't worry about it."

"One wouldn't say there was a victor. We accomplished our objective and then we left. I'd call it a success though," Kiros clarified.

Ward chuckled weakly. "Don't need to be so technical, Kiros. I know what he meant."

"Lancera wanted us to leave you behind," Laguna stated.

"He did? Obviously, he must've been pretty upset after you guys helped me, huh?"

"I guess you could say that, but we don't care what that guy thinks," the man with the machine gun said.

"And you shouldn't. I hope they demote him. He doesn't deserve what he's got," Ward said.

"No kiddin'," the witty soldier agreed.

The large Winhill native sat up slowly. His friends extended him their hands and helped raise him up to his feet. "So what's in store for us now?"

"Only time will tell. It seems like we've taken the first step into full-scale war," Kiros said. "I think we cane expect Esthar's retaliation sometime soon."

When they had returned to Deling City the next day, General Lancera dismissed them in disgust. He did not want to have anything to do with his men. They all went their separate ways.

Ward was feeling much better and was able to walk on his own without dizziness. "I wonder how the other invasions went," he mused.

"Well, let's find out. I'm sure we could find a TV with the news on around here somewhere," Kiros said.

Walking along the dreary streets of Galbadia's dark capital, the only bright spots were places of business, which needed to be well lit to attract customers. Most of them had televisions in the windows, usually with crowds of people gathered around them in interest. The trio stopped and watched as well.

"…While the attacks on the bases were successful, they were not without casualties. However, none suffered more losses than the invasion of Vesta on the southeastern corner. Reportedly, from what we've been told, the soldiers did not heed the orders of their leader, General Lancera, to fall back after the bombardment was complete. It is unknown what caused this deliberate disobedience, or who was at the center of it, but General Lancer is likely to be reprimanded for his poor leadership and possibly demoted. It wouldn't come as a surprise to most, who believed he was not qualified and was moved up in the ranks too suddenly due to one achievement. We are certain to receive backlash from the sinister Sorceress Adel and Esthar, but we cannot be sure of when it will be. Until it does, we can only be ready and wait. This is Brillus McCraud for the Galbadian National News reporting…"

"So we were right. He probably will get demoted. Serves him right though," Laguna said.

"Sure does. Time to head to the bar to celebrate our victory and his loss. It's been a good day," Ward commented with a wide grin.

They nodded in agreement and headed for the Galbadia Hotel lounge. The clumsy Galbadian was excited about seeing Julia play again. He couldn't wait until they got there. He was very jumpy during the short jaunt to their destination. Once they had arrived, he was the first into the lounge and first to have a seat at the table.

The waitress took their drink orders and returned with them shortly afterwards. "You guys are like my best customers these days, you know," she commented with a giggle.

Other Galbadian soldiers were there as well, celebrating their successful campaigns. They were conversing and laughing boisterously amongst themselves. They noticed that General Lancera was there as well, but he was not nearly as jubilant as the rest. He must have known they were there as well because he refused to face in their direction the entire time.

When Julia made her appearance, they hushed and watched her intently as she walked to the piano. She looked around the room briefly with her beautiful brown eyes, and then sat down. She began to play, and they all listening to her beautiful melodies. Laguna felt his heart pounding and an odd feeling in his stomach as he saw her looking in his direction.

(Is she looking at me…? No way…Couldn't be…Could she?) Then he felt like he was about to pass out when it seemed that Julia winked and smiled at him. He was sure it couldn't have been him she was gesturing to, but he began to shake. (Julia's extremely gorgeous. What would she want with a simple soldier from Galbadia like me? She could definitely have her pick of men, and she wouldn't pick me.)

When she smiled again, her eyes sparkled magnificently. Laguna fell forward and slammed his head on the table loudly. Kiros and Ward laughed at him in amusement. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled, choosing not to lift his head up from the table. He did not want them to see how red his face was from embarrassment.

Once Julia had concluded, they saw General Lancer approach her and begin speaking to her. They couldn't read their lips, but the elegant piano player was nodding approvingly and smiling throughout the conversation. Then they left the lounge together, with the general holding the door open for her as she exited. Laguna's mouth dropped open in shock as feelings of depression hit him suddenly. Kiros and Ward noticed the look on his face and patted him on the back supportively. "I'm sorry, bud…" the bulky man said sympathetically.

"It'll be okay, man," his other friend said.

He didn't say a word, but walked away to his reserved room in the hotel alone.