Well time to bring some conclusion to that cliffhanger. = )
As we all know, I don't own Final Fantasy VIII, or anything associated with it.
This part of the story is almost at a conclusion. Once part one is finished, a continuation story will begin entitles The Skies of Balamb: Storms on the Horizon. I want to thank everyone for their fantastic reviews, and for kicking my ass to keep going. Thank you so much, and I really hope you will all enjoy where this is heading.
Chapter 20: The Reunion
The crashing noise was unmistakable, and the whole of Garden shook with the force of several massive Ruby Dragons impacting with the sturdy walls of the school. Somewhere inside the training hall, Squall was already sprinting his way to the exit, trying to make his way to the nearby staircase. He had no idea what was going on but damned if he wasn't going to find out. Several students were cowering in the hallways, mostly younger ones, and as he shot past a group of somewhat older SeeD candidates he began barking orders.
"Get the young downstairs! NOW!" The students responded with shocked expressions that lasted several moments, then panic. Young recruits never did know just how to handle a situation when it started, although Squall noticed young Stellah calmly trotting over to a group of small children and having them each hold hands, then led them to the stairs. Somewhere in the back of his mind, amidst the panic and adrenaline, a hint of pride lingered, pride in a student who was learning to overcome her own obstacles. But the thoughts of Stellah only reminded him of his own young child. Junior.
Oh, Hyne, where the hell was Junior?!
Squall's pace quickened as another series of deafening thuds was heard from outside, once again shaking the school. Whatever was out there, there were a lot of them. And they were up, not at ground level. A disturbing image of the school being torn to bits and knocked down flashed in front of him, images of the destroyed Trabia Garden coming to mind. As worried as he was about Junior and Selphie, Squall would have to place his trust in their training. Selphie knew how to handle herself in emergencies, and he would have to pray that Junior knew the same.
As he rounded the corner and came near the stairs, Zell fell into step next to him, running just as fast and looking almost as serious.
"Commander, Sir! Nice way to start the morning, dontcha think?"
Squall was not amused. "Enough with the crap, Zell," snapped Squall. "Report!"
Zell nodded. "Dragons, sir. Ruby dragons. Probably about fifty of them, maybe more!" His voice was strained as the young man struggled to keep up with his commander.
Squall's frown deepened. Ruby dragons? That made no dammed sense! His legs took him easily up flight after flight of stairs, taking two or three steps at a time. "Status?"
Zell gasped before answering, his breath faltering slightly. "Damage.somewhere on the eastern side, maybe near the front too. Got a report that the front entrance was seeing some action."
Squall nodded again. "Get Quistis and head outside, but keep your damn guard up. Those things are nasty. I'll handle it from up here." Zell wanted to argue, but his lungs were burning from trying to keep up with Squall, and all he could do was watch his Commander ascend the stairs with a helpless look.
"What're you gonna do!" he shouted after the man in awe. "Take em out on your own?!? Squall? SQUALL?!"
But the Headmaster of Balamb Garden was already out of reach, too involved in his thoughts to hear Zell's words. Those images of Trabia still lingering in his mind, Squall rounded the last set of stairs before coming out on the huge upper balcony of the school, his Gunblade drawn and his eyes focused. He waited, patiently, for the first sign of trouble.
Then the sound of screeching rattled his body as one single dragon erupted over the balcony and hissed menacingly at it's challenger. Squall grimaced at the sound. This one was angry, and he knew that particular sound. It was a challenge, a territorial cry. None of this made any sense! Why the hell would ruby dragons be challenging territory out of their own dwelling grounds? Tightening his grip on the hilt of the Gunblade, Squall growled somewhere deep in his throat.
He attacked more out of habit then necessity, screaming aloud as the blade plunged again and again into the hard scaled exterior of the creature. It was like cutting through metal; Harder than he remembered. But the well trained swordsman easily took down the monster with a series of expertly delivered blows, attacking at it's weak spots. Before long the body of the creature fell back to the ground several stories below, and Squall grit his teeth as the sound of bones crunching could be heard below him. His gloved hands glistened with smatters of blood, and he readied himself for the next wave of attack without even bothering to look. Unfortunately for him, the dragons had the upper hand.
Not one, not two, not even three, but eleven dragons shot upward from the ground and high over his head. His jaw dropping, Squall blinked. They were circling him, weighing in their opponent. He knew there wasn't even a chance he could take them down on his own. He briefly heard Shiva in the back of his mind, crying out for him to use her. The voice reminded Squall of a jilted lover, and for a brief instant he felt rather guilty. It had been so long since he'd used any GF.he didn't want to part with the few he had until Junior was ready, but they were feeling unused and worthless. Closing his eyes, he released her and decided to see what she would do.
She appeared almost instantly, looking fierce and hungry, yet completely elegant, and she gave Squall a tearful smile. He knew she was grateful, and he watched with a hint of amusement as she unleashed her fury on several of the dragons at one time, crippling a few and obviously spooking the rest. There was a great commotion above them, and she disappeared back into her captor, happy once again.
The attack, while slowing a few down, did little to ward off the impending next wave of attacks. Squall found himself being tossed and turned in every direction, his blade taking on more and more blood as he slashed in fury at the massive animals attacking his territory; the lion protecting his pride. The noise was deafening as the creatures snapped their massive jaws and flailed around him, threatening to overpower the fighter at any moment. From a vantage point, the fight was rapidly deteriorating. Until a spray of bullets hit one of the dragons squarely in the chest, and the monster dropped to the earth below. Squall managed to look over his shoulder for a moment, his eyes about popping out of his skull in shock.
".Dad?!?"
Laguna took his fighting stance next to his son as the dragons seemingly weighed in their new adversary. Squall managed to regain his wits long enough to plant his feet firmly back on the ground.
"Laguna."
The older man never took his eyes off the now circling horde of dragons, his weapon readied. "Yeah?"
Squall kept his eyes on the adversaries, neither man looking the other in the eyes. When he spoke, his voice was soft but nonetheless sincere. "Thanks."
Laguna grinned, giving the younger man a sideways glance. "Well what'd you think, I was gonna let you have all the fun?" Squall shook his head, all business again as one of the huge creatures swooped down, his talons ripping apart the marbled floor of the balcony as though it was merely cardboard. Both men rushed to either side of the attack, Squall's body twirling expertly as his blade dug into the dragon's wrist, slicing it neatly in half. Laguna grimaced, more from the noise than anything else. Squall however, as soon as he was finished with the attack, turned and sprinted back inside. Laguna, confused, turned and ran behind his son.
"What are you doing??" he asked, trying to ignore the searing pain in his knee. Squall kept his even pace, racing indoors again.
"We'll never get to them in this confined space. If we're gonna take them out, we need the room to do it." Laguna hated to admit it, but it made sense. They were sitting ducks on that balcony. The two raced down the stairs as the doors slammed shut behind them, leaving the dragons in a furious state. Quistis caught up with the two on their way down, headed for the lower levels.
"What the hell is happening?" she asked frantically, giving Squall a sideways look that plainly spoke of panic. Squall kept his eyes forward, one hand still gripping the hilt of his gunblade.
"It's exactly what you're thinking Quistis," he said between carefully controlled breaths.
Quistis's eyes shot open, feeling her chest tightening with nerves. "But.how can you know-"
"I can feel it," he cut her off darkly, keeping his focus. Quistis frowned.
"Squall," she said sternly, "You can't take that on by yourself! Even with Laguna-"
Squall glared at her, his feet falling at a fast, even pace. "If you're not going to help, get the hell out. I have no room for a soldier that doesn't even trust the words of her own commander." Quistis's expression could have frozen a volcano from the inside out, but Squall kept his focus. "Go downstairs, get the smallest of the kids settled in. Then find Selphie and Junior."
Quistis bit her tongue to keep from saying something she would regret, and managed a dry "yes.commander," before making a sharp right and departing from the two men.
Laguna raised a brow, panting hard as he attempted to keep up with his son. "Where," he asked, gasping, "are we going?"
Squall's eyes narrowed a bit more, the faintest grin on his face. "We're going outside."
Laguna almost tripped and rolled into a wall. "What?!? Are you nuts?" He staggered a bit, the sharp pain in his knee catching his attention again. "There have to be at least thirty of them out there! Do you WANT to end up an entrée?"
Squall bounded around the massive central hall of Garden, heading for the exit. "What I ~want~ is to get to the one controlling them." The older man was obviously puzzled by this statement, his face contorted in irritation as they started the long straightaway to the front entrance of the school.
"Squall," said Laguna, his voice deadly serious. "What are you talking about?"
Squall licked his lips as they exited the school altogether, passing the draw point on the right and heading for the outermost gate. The screeching was coming from behind them now.and gaining again. Laguna knew the beasts could smell the two of them, but that was the least of his problems. He looks at his son angrily, his voice rising in irritation.
"Tell me what you're talking about!" he pleaded, his eyes desperate for an answer.
Squall skidded to a hault outside the gates, turning and looking back at the school, his school, swarming with the crimson colored dragons. His blood was beginning to boil, and it wasn't just anger.
"I'm talking about Rinoa."
As we all know, I don't own Final Fantasy VIII, or anything associated with it.
This part of the story is almost at a conclusion. Once part one is finished, a continuation story will begin entitles The Skies of Balamb: Storms on the Horizon. I want to thank everyone for their fantastic reviews, and for kicking my ass to keep going. Thank you so much, and I really hope you will all enjoy where this is heading.
Chapter 20: The Reunion
The crashing noise was unmistakable, and the whole of Garden shook with the force of several massive Ruby Dragons impacting with the sturdy walls of the school. Somewhere inside the training hall, Squall was already sprinting his way to the exit, trying to make his way to the nearby staircase. He had no idea what was going on but damned if he wasn't going to find out. Several students were cowering in the hallways, mostly younger ones, and as he shot past a group of somewhat older SeeD candidates he began barking orders.
"Get the young downstairs! NOW!" The students responded with shocked expressions that lasted several moments, then panic. Young recruits never did know just how to handle a situation when it started, although Squall noticed young Stellah calmly trotting over to a group of small children and having them each hold hands, then led them to the stairs. Somewhere in the back of his mind, amidst the panic and adrenaline, a hint of pride lingered, pride in a student who was learning to overcome her own obstacles. But the thoughts of Stellah only reminded him of his own young child. Junior.
Oh, Hyne, where the hell was Junior?!
Squall's pace quickened as another series of deafening thuds was heard from outside, once again shaking the school. Whatever was out there, there were a lot of them. And they were up, not at ground level. A disturbing image of the school being torn to bits and knocked down flashed in front of him, images of the destroyed Trabia Garden coming to mind. As worried as he was about Junior and Selphie, Squall would have to place his trust in their training. Selphie knew how to handle herself in emergencies, and he would have to pray that Junior knew the same.
As he rounded the corner and came near the stairs, Zell fell into step next to him, running just as fast and looking almost as serious.
"Commander, Sir! Nice way to start the morning, dontcha think?"
Squall was not amused. "Enough with the crap, Zell," snapped Squall. "Report!"
Zell nodded. "Dragons, sir. Ruby dragons. Probably about fifty of them, maybe more!" His voice was strained as the young man struggled to keep up with his commander.
Squall's frown deepened. Ruby dragons? That made no dammed sense! His legs took him easily up flight after flight of stairs, taking two or three steps at a time. "Status?"
Zell gasped before answering, his breath faltering slightly. "Damage.somewhere on the eastern side, maybe near the front too. Got a report that the front entrance was seeing some action."
Squall nodded again. "Get Quistis and head outside, but keep your damn guard up. Those things are nasty. I'll handle it from up here." Zell wanted to argue, but his lungs were burning from trying to keep up with Squall, and all he could do was watch his Commander ascend the stairs with a helpless look.
"What're you gonna do!" he shouted after the man in awe. "Take em out on your own?!? Squall? SQUALL?!"
But the Headmaster of Balamb Garden was already out of reach, too involved in his thoughts to hear Zell's words. Those images of Trabia still lingering in his mind, Squall rounded the last set of stairs before coming out on the huge upper balcony of the school, his Gunblade drawn and his eyes focused. He waited, patiently, for the first sign of trouble.
Then the sound of screeching rattled his body as one single dragon erupted over the balcony and hissed menacingly at it's challenger. Squall grimaced at the sound. This one was angry, and he knew that particular sound. It was a challenge, a territorial cry. None of this made any sense! Why the hell would ruby dragons be challenging territory out of their own dwelling grounds? Tightening his grip on the hilt of the Gunblade, Squall growled somewhere deep in his throat.
He attacked more out of habit then necessity, screaming aloud as the blade plunged again and again into the hard scaled exterior of the creature. It was like cutting through metal; Harder than he remembered. But the well trained swordsman easily took down the monster with a series of expertly delivered blows, attacking at it's weak spots. Before long the body of the creature fell back to the ground several stories below, and Squall grit his teeth as the sound of bones crunching could be heard below him. His gloved hands glistened with smatters of blood, and he readied himself for the next wave of attack without even bothering to look. Unfortunately for him, the dragons had the upper hand.
Not one, not two, not even three, but eleven dragons shot upward from the ground and high over his head. His jaw dropping, Squall blinked. They were circling him, weighing in their opponent. He knew there wasn't even a chance he could take them down on his own. He briefly heard Shiva in the back of his mind, crying out for him to use her. The voice reminded Squall of a jilted lover, and for a brief instant he felt rather guilty. It had been so long since he'd used any GF.he didn't want to part with the few he had until Junior was ready, but they were feeling unused and worthless. Closing his eyes, he released her and decided to see what she would do.
She appeared almost instantly, looking fierce and hungry, yet completely elegant, and she gave Squall a tearful smile. He knew she was grateful, and he watched with a hint of amusement as she unleashed her fury on several of the dragons at one time, crippling a few and obviously spooking the rest. There was a great commotion above them, and she disappeared back into her captor, happy once again.
The attack, while slowing a few down, did little to ward off the impending next wave of attacks. Squall found himself being tossed and turned in every direction, his blade taking on more and more blood as he slashed in fury at the massive animals attacking his territory; the lion protecting his pride. The noise was deafening as the creatures snapped their massive jaws and flailed around him, threatening to overpower the fighter at any moment. From a vantage point, the fight was rapidly deteriorating. Until a spray of bullets hit one of the dragons squarely in the chest, and the monster dropped to the earth below. Squall managed to look over his shoulder for a moment, his eyes about popping out of his skull in shock.
".Dad?!?"
Laguna took his fighting stance next to his son as the dragons seemingly weighed in their new adversary. Squall managed to regain his wits long enough to plant his feet firmly back on the ground.
"Laguna."
The older man never took his eyes off the now circling horde of dragons, his weapon readied. "Yeah?"
Squall kept his eyes on the adversaries, neither man looking the other in the eyes. When he spoke, his voice was soft but nonetheless sincere. "Thanks."
Laguna grinned, giving the younger man a sideways glance. "Well what'd you think, I was gonna let you have all the fun?" Squall shook his head, all business again as one of the huge creatures swooped down, his talons ripping apart the marbled floor of the balcony as though it was merely cardboard. Both men rushed to either side of the attack, Squall's body twirling expertly as his blade dug into the dragon's wrist, slicing it neatly in half. Laguna grimaced, more from the noise than anything else. Squall however, as soon as he was finished with the attack, turned and sprinted back inside. Laguna, confused, turned and ran behind his son.
"What are you doing??" he asked, trying to ignore the searing pain in his knee. Squall kept his even pace, racing indoors again.
"We'll never get to them in this confined space. If we're gonna take them out, we need the room to do it." Laguna hated to admit it, but it made sense. They were sitting ducks on that balcony. The two raced down the stairs as the doors slammed shut behind them, leaving the dragons in a furious state. Quistis caught up with the two on their way down, headed for the lower levels.
"What the hell is happening?" she asked frantically, giving Squall a sideways look that plainly spoke of panic. Squall kept his eyes forward, one hand still gripping the hilt of his gunblade.
"It's exactly what you're thinking Quistis," he said between carefully controlled breaths.
Quistis's eyes shot open, feeling her chest tightening with nerves. "But.how can you know-"
"I can feel it," he cut her off darkly, keeping his focus. Quistis frowned.
"Squall," she said sternly, "You can't take that on by yourself! Even with Laguna-"
Squall glared at her, his feet falling at a fast, even pace. "If you're not going to help, get the hell out. I have no room for a soldier that doesn't even trust the words of her own commander." Quistis's expression could have frozen a volcano from the inside out, but Squall kept his focus. "Go downstairs, get the smallest of the kids settled in. Then find Selphie and Junior."
Quistis bit her tongue to keep from saying something she would regret, and managed a dry "yes.commander," before making a sharp right and departing from the two men.
Laguna raised a brow, panting hard as he attempted to keep up with his son. "Where," he asked, gasping, "are we going?"
Squall's eyes narrowed a bit more, the faintest grin on his face. "We're going outside."
Laguna almost tripped and rolled into a wall. "What?!? Are you nuts?" He staggered a bit, the sharp pain in his knee catching his attention again. "There have to be at least thirty of them out there! Do you WANT to end up an entrée?"
Squall bounded around the massive central hall of Garden, heading for the exit. "What I ~want~ is to get to the one controlling them." The older man was obviously puzzled by this statement, his face contorted in irritation as they started the long straightaway to the front entrance of the school.
"Squall," said Laguna, his voice deadly serious. "What are you talking about?"
Squall licked his lips as they exited the school altogether, passing the draw point on the right and heading for the outermost gate. The screeching was coming from behind them now.and gaining again. Laguna knew the beasts could smell the two of them, but that was the least of his problems. He looks at his son angrily, his voice rising in irritation.
"Tell me what you're talking about!" he pleaded, his eyes desperate for an answer.
Squall skidded to a hault outside the gates, turning and looking back at the school, his school, swarming with the crimson colored dragons. His blood was beginning to boil, and it wasn't just anger.
"I'm talking about Rinoa."