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*~*~* Chapter 1 verse 3:The Plan *~*~*
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Without any hesitation, The general quickly rose up from his crouched position, and stared at his anticipating army. He knew that what he was about to say would make their warm-blood flow ice cold…But he had no choice. He had to do what a general was expected to do…
"ATTENTION EVERYONE!!!" He paused. He could feel the eyes of his entire army violating him. They apprehensively stared at him like starving dogs waiting to be fed; fed answers that only he could supply.
He lowered his head in deep thought as the rain-droplets fell from his nose. He wanted to carefully put his thoughts into delicate words so that his "starving dogs" wouldn't choke on them.
Finally he spoke. "Lieutenants…I want you to organize your squads together and get them into position right away…I'm afraid I have some bad news…T-the…the Timberians are coming…"
A brisk cold chill ran up and down the spines of the soldiers. The last few months of fighting caused a seed of fear to grow inside the men's hearts. Ever since General Sky Strife betrayed the Galbadian government and merged with the Timberians, his remarkable strategies and leadership has caused the galbadians to conceive many losses; both in confidence and lives.
The startled lieutenants swallowed the lump that was in their throats and nervously looked around at each other. They were reluctant to follow the general's orders only because they weren't mentally ready for another battle with the "almighty" timber army. The battle that was fought this morning stole and dismantled their hearts and left their courage and pride without a beat.
The whole army continued to remain silent and still. It was obvious that death's shadow was lurking closely behind them. There was definitely something about them that made him want to reap their souls.
Lieutenant Aquilis looked around at his fellow lieutenants. He stared at most of them before his face contorted into a repulsive expression. At that moment he was ashamed and disgusted. When he looked at his fellow lieutenants, he smelt their stale piss that swayed in the fresh country air and saw their scared eyes that was swollen up with tears. There was no doubt about it that he too was scared but he was determined to confront his fears like a man.
"Well lieutenants…" Lieutenant Aquilis angrily roared out. "You heard the General…Get your squads into their positions…what the fuck are you waiting for…your soldiers are waiting for you to show them your example of courage… now …go!!!"
Despite their feelings of emotional terror, they all knew Lieutenant Aquilis was right. They had to set an example for the other soldiers. They knew that being afraid could alter a man's senses and cause him to be a hazard to both himself and others. Therefore, they had to swallow their fears and be brave.
*~*~*~*~Fear that is swallowed must travel directly to the pit of one's stomach. But anything that inhabits the stomach is only temporary, For it must be digested back out…therefore a brave man will often have to deal with his own fears more than once. But be cautious though… when something is digested back out of the stomach, it will take on an even worse form than it was originally. Hence making the fear even worse than before.~*~*~*~*
~*~~*~Sub-Zero:the confidant~*~~*~The motivated Lieutenants scrambled through the now panicked crowds of confused soldiers, trying to sort out their units together as General Caraway looked on proudly.
"LAGUNA!" Aquilis screamed. "FOR ONCE, WILL YOU STOP YOUR HYNEDAMN WRITING, PUT YOUR ARMOR ON, AND RUN TO YOUR POST."
Startled, Laguna hastily acknowledge his lieutenant. "Yes Sir…Right away Sir." Laguna quickly got up from the smooth rock that he comfortably sat on for hours and went for his military accessories pack that was five feet away from him. He anxiously took out his combat boots and armor, leaving his machine gun lying next to the pack. With one hand, he hurriedly tied his boots and with the other hand, he struggled to put his chest armor on; a stunt only Laguna could perform.
Suddenly, reality struck. The Timberian army was on their way to fight again…To win again…To kill again.
Laguna could feel his stomach become infested with butterflies. They flew around playfully as if they were trying to get out: And that's exactly what they did. Without any warning, Laguna abolished the little food that churned in his stomach, through his mouth. "UUUUUUAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH…puff huff…UUUUAaaaaaAAA…cuff…cuff!!!" Laguna continued to gag as he finished throwing up. This was normal for him before each battle. It was his way of getting rid of most of the butterflies. He wiped his mouth with his handkerchief and went to put on his gear.
After he was finished tying his boots with his right hand, putting his armor on with his left hand, and throwing up again through his mouth, and looking like a fool doing all three at once, He ran in the opposite direction of his post, forgetting his machine gun and "final thoughts" letter that lay by his pack. He expeditiously made his way toward the corpse of the two dead lookouts, where he earlier saw the Odin brand binoculars.
Another Lieutenant, who was busy assembling his unit together, caught a glimpse of Laguna running away from his designated post. He figured that Laguna was trying to get-away… "HEY AQUILIS… ONE OF YOUR MEN IS MAKING A RUN FOR IT…LOOK!"
Astonished, Aqulis heard and quickly turned around to see whom it was. He stood breathless as teardrop almost slipped passed his eyes as he saw Laguna running away from his post. Laguna was last person he expected to see trying to escape. He had great respect for him. Laguna was everything most soldiers weren't. Honorable, humble, trustworthy, kind, loyal and the list goes on.
There were countless times where Laguna had the opportunity to be sent home, but each time; he refused because his loyalty wouldn't allow him to leave without his friends.
Aquilis knew that rule #24 in General Caraway's Army Guide stated that "if a soldier from your unit should try to escape, he must be reported to the general immediately where he would then have this solider hunted down and shot on the spot."
Fortunately for Laguna, Aquilis decided not to inform the general. He knew that Laguna should've been out this war along time ago; In-fact he had always admired him for staying this long.
Heavy-heartedly, Aquilis went back to work on organizing his men before the Timberians arrived…or even worse, General Caraway.
"All right Men…" Lieutenant Aquilis screamed. "I want you vagina's to get up that hill quickly…COME-ON…I MEAN NOW...LETS MOVE IT, MOVE IT, MOVE IT…!!"
Aquilis himself started for the hill until he saw Laguna's lonely machine gun lying on the damp grass beside a rock. "Poor thing…" he thought to himself. "He must've been so scared that he forgot his gun…" Aquilis went back; he decided that he would keep the gun as a memento. Maybe one day, he would've even returned it back to Laguna. It would've just been a simple excuse to see him again.
Aqulis dispiritedly walked over to the gun not paying any attention to the running soldiers who were bumping into him and knocking him around like a pinnate.
When he reached, he bent down to picked up the gun where he suddenly saw a piece of paper. He read the first three lines.
Dear unknown reader, I know what you're probably thinking right about now…You're thinking…What the hell is this…Well I won't keep you in suspense any longer…This is what I would like to call, "My final thoughts…"
In that same instance Aquilis knew that it was one of Laguna's pieces. He could tell just by the tone of the letter that it was Laguna saying goodbye to the world. He hesitated a bit, but eventually, he neatly folded the letter twice and carefully put it in his shirt pocket. He wanted to finish reading what Laguna wrote but it would have to wait. He grabbed the machine gun and sorrowfully headed back to the hill where the rest of his men waited by their posts.
Suddenly Aquilis heard a familiar voice calling out his name. "Lieutenant …Lieutenant Trepe…where are you going with my gun???"
Aquilis suspenseful turned around and saw Laguna running toward him. The now relived lieutenant grew happy and delighted. He felt his spirits rising up again with life. Even though he was happy to see Laguna's return, he wasn't about to let it show.
"LAGUNA" Aquilis shouted, trying his best to sound angry. "Where the Hell did you run off to…Didn't I tell you to go to your post right away."
"Ahh…Yes Sir…sorry Sir…I had to get something…"
Laguna saluted his lieutenant, grabbed his machine gun, and headed for the hill leaving Aquilis standing dazed and confused.
Laguna swiftly ran up the hill taking long strides and dove behind a huge bolder over looking the soon to be battlefield.
As the rain continued to lightly drizzle, Laguna anxiously assembled his machine gun together. Because of his nervousness, he was having difficulty assembling it but after a few takes, his machine gun was in working order. He then laid on his stomach and crawled to the grassy edged of the hill to get aquatinted to this position in which he would do most his firing from. He wanted to make sure there was nothing blocking his way or obstructing him. As soon as a battle starts the only thing you can worry about is staying alive and killing the enemy; therefore there can be no distractions.
Laguna then used the scope on his machine gun to get a closer look at the field, and to adjust his eyes to the green lens that the scope was made out of.
Forgetting that the fog binoculars, which he retrieved earlier from the two dead lookouts was still hanging around his neck, he placed some of his ammo cartridges on a rubble of rocks beside him for easy access.
After a few moments of staring at the empty field, Laguna looked down below to see his army in frenzy. People were still in a panic and he could hear General Caraway screaming at the top of his lungs at the lieutenants whose units and squads weren't properly organized and into position. This caused the scolded lieutenants to harshly yell at their soldiers because they were being yelled at.
At that moment Laguna felt glad that he had a good lieutenant. His squad was one of the first squads to be organized; this was only because Aquilis was a superb lieutenant who affectionately and authoritatively shouted his orders. Aquilis was the type of lieutenant who was strict, yet compassionate. Unlike most of the lieutenants that Galbadia had to offer, he, and a few others were the only ones who truly cared about their soldiers. There were times where he would even play tricks and pranks with his units. This showed his outgoing personality and friendliness. But when a situation arose, his unit knew that the fun and games were over and it was time to act professional.
Aquilis always made sure that his men's post, which was picked out for them by the general, was safe and undetectable, regardless of what the general said. Aquilis was stern but he treated everyone with respect. Time and time again, he has risked his life to recover one of his wounded soldiers, or even their corpses, And for that, they all loved him; and they knew that he loved them back.
Oddly enough, besides Captain Zedisius Dintch, who is the leader of the martial artist squad, Aquilis is the only lieutenant that Laguna has ever really seen talk and eat with the general. The general doesn't have many friends but you could tell that he and Aquilis have some sort of history together. The two of them share this unknown bond that no one else really knows about.
Laguna's thoughts now started to scramble throughout his brain. He thought about how unexpected it was for two battles to take place on the same day. "Why would they attack us again after they annihilated us just this morning. They can't hate us that bad." He just couldn't find any sense in it.
After sometime went by, all the soldiers finally seemed to be where they were supposed to be. A satisfied General Caraway grabbed his sword and marched toward the frontlines of his Galbadian army with his chest out, his head held high, and all eyes on him. He truly was a very distinctive young gentleman. As he got to the front, He raised his hand up to signal silence.
The silence reflected the beauty of the country's scenery. The sky kept its dark gray cloudy mood, which durably repelled its lightning and sprinkle of rain.
In a matter of moments, the beating of the drums could be heard approaching them. Everyone, including the general nervously and silently gazed at the other end of the field knowing what to expect but still frightened.
The tiny drops of rain that teasingly sprinkled on the earth started to gain some strength. A storm was coming. The raindrops now dampened Laguna's long brunette hair as he gripped his machine gun tightly trying to simmer down his shaking due to both the brisk chilly wind and his anxiety.
The beats of the drums got closer and closer…Soon, the battering footsteps of the Timberians could be heard as they marched through the dark and foggy countryside. Thirty more seconds of tenseness took a hold of the Galbadians until finally, the heads of their enemies slowly appeared as they breached the horizon of the distant hill across the field. Soon their upper torso appeared…slowly forming into a body.
Remembering the binoculars around his neck, Laguna placed his machine gun down on the rubble of rocks and without taking his eyes away from the approaching Timberians, he put the binoculars to his gazing eyes.
"I knew these would come in handy."
He carefully studied his enemies through the lenses. "Hyne…It is the Timberians…and they look so…calm…"
Laguna had never seen so many soldiers so calm before a battle; even for the Almighty Timber Army. He saw the infamous drummer in the front that continued to pound terror in the hearts of many. The odd thing about them besides their astonishing calmness was their weapons; their weapons weren't even drawn. They still had them packed away in their sacks.
"Hmmm…if they are coming to attack us…why aren't there weapons prepared???"
Laguna decided to pay no attention to the soldier's unusual actions. He tried to estimate how many of them there were. "10…20…30…40…50…89…huh…shit, I lost count. 10…20…30…40...89…190…275…300…300!!!" His tenseness subsided as he counted 300… He was relived…They only had 300 men in their army where he had 3000 in his.
Eventhough this morning's battle taught him that odds doesn't matter, and it's the strategy that wins the war, Laguna couldn't help but wonder how the Galbadians could lose. It wasn't possible.
The General along with everyone else saw this uneven match up and they too felt relived. They felt death's shadow, which persistently followed them, run like a gutless coward as if he was running from himself…
This made General Caraway's doubts explode into extreme confidence. It caused him to change his defensive line up into an attacking line up.
"OK EVERYONE…"the general happily proclaimed. "I'm gonna change the line up…I want men who has projectile weapons to stay on top of that hill…and my swordsmen and anyone else with a blade or an axe that think they could help me chop up these timberbacks, up front with me..." he ordered amusingly.
The soldiers, whose fears disappeared at the sight of the small army, confidently did what they were told.
The general continued with his new line up of orders. "You there…yes you with the big harpoon and the bald head…pick up your gut and I want you to run over to my healing squad and protect them while they are casting curegas on us…I doubt that we'll need them but it's better to be safe than sorry…"
The general entertainingly watched the fat pudgy man actually grab his stomach and run over to the healing squad. With a smile on his face, the general shook his head in disbelief and continued with his orders. "The rest of you…I want you to follow behind us about 30 yards back and cast the biggest bliazagas, firagas and thundagas on those timberbacks…General Caraway didn't want to take these men lightly…Eventhough they could've easily been bulldozed without excessive force, He wanted to destroy them for what they did to him and his army this morning…Even if they weren't the exact same men, they represented the same army. "Oh and whatever you do, no meteors!!! Did you heard me…NO METERORS!!!" the general repeated not wanting to make the same mistakes twice.
General Caraway delightfully continued his pre war assurance. "Lieutenants…make sure you keep these men in order…Oh and you gunist up their." he said making sure he got everyone involved in his massacre against the Timber army.
"After I give the order to attack, I want you to fire and throw everything you got at those sorceress lovers. You got that"
"YES SIR." Laguna and his fellow squad members simultaneously said.
The general gingerly turned back around toward the Timberians and grinned as his army got into their new positions.
Meanwhile, Laguna was feeling uneasy to this upcoming battle. "Hyne this isn't right…" Laguna thought to himself. "I should be the one down there with them…While I'm up here, Ward and Kiros are probably down there in the front lines…well maybe Kiros… I could've sworn I saw Ward making his way toward the healing squad."
Eventhough the 300 Timberians were now close enough to be seen through the heavy fog, Laguna still used the binoculars. He liked them, so he continued to look through them unnecessarily.
Laguna recounted the timberians, he wanted to make sure that this wasn't too good to be true. Again, he saw about 300 men. If that estimation was wrong it had to be around 270. He now looked at the men's faces and saw that their calm cool expressions were now in shock. They drew out their weapons and prepared for battle as if it were a moments notice.
This made Laguna think even more. "At first they were so calm…so why all of a sudden do they look so terrified…hmm…this doesn't make any sense…hmm…hmm…Ouch!!! That hurts…hmm…well…"Laguna started to think theoretically. "Maybe they were calm because they didn't see us…and they didn't see us because they didn't know we were gonna be here…and now that they've seen us, they're terrified…so maybe this wasn't intentional…maybe they just accidentally ran into our campsite... Jeez" Laguna continually thought. "Maybe I'm just wrong."
Laguna continued to observe the timberians struggle to get into position. He decided not to pay any attention to the thoughts he just had and more attention to the power of the lenses in the fog binoculars. He liked anything that was created by Dr. Odin. He hoped one day, he would get the opportunity to meet him. He started pushing buttons not knowing what they did. Each time he pressed a button, he would look through the lenses to see what it did. He suddenly pressed a red button as he looked into the scope…
"WOW!"…Laguna jumped back…he was amazed as to how strong the lenses were. He could've seen the pus in a pimple that was on the nose of a timberian solider…
"Ahh man…these are way too cool… I don't think I'm going to be able to give these back to those two lookouts…I don't even think their going to need it…Hell I don't think that there're going to need their eyes…"
Like a schoolboy, Laguna took his attention away from the upcoming battle that he obviously didn't have to worry about anymore and continued to look through the now intense binoculars.
Laguna laughed as he looked at a far away hill and saw two ladybugs mating. After 59 seconds of peeking in on the exhausted ladybugs, he took it off them and looked at the hill next to it.
It was then and there that he saw it…he gasped in fright. "OH MY HYNE…………………………………………………………..." he was speechless…his thoughts were thoughtless "………………………" his heart raced with unimaginable fear and he could feel his bones being crushed by the tenseness of his body. There were more timberians coming from the west. And it looked like it was their entire garrison because there were about 10,000 of them, if not more.
It was now evident to Laguna that the 300 timberians did not know that we were here. If the 300 timberians did, they wouldn't have separated themselves so far apart from their army of 10,000. Laguna quickly left his post and sought out his lieutenant.
Aquilis who was busy getting prepared for battle saw Laguna running toward him. He rolled his eyes in annoyance as he tried to fix his whip thrower. (a gun that could lash a whip out at great distances) "Laguna what the fuck are you doing…get back to your position right now…."
Breathing heavily Laguna ignored his order "Lieutenant Trepe, there are more timberians coming from the west…"
Disposition quickly took a hold of Aquilis's face. "What! Where?…"
"To the west Laguna repeated loudly!!!"
"I mean where to the west?"
"Over there on that hill." Laguna said as he pointed"
Aquilis looked hard. "I…I don't see anything."
"That's because they're far away deep in the fog…here use these…" Laguna quickly took the binoculars from around his neck and gave it to his lieutenant.
Aquilis held it out in front of him and studied it. "Where the hell did you get this?"
"It was on one of the lookouts shoulders. I didn't think he would've needed it so I borrowed it from him…I was going to give it back but…
Aquilis shook his head as he looked through them. Aquilis kept the binoculars still and focused. Suddenly he gasped. "Damn-it…your right…these things are powerful…I could see two ladybugs going at it…"
Laguna's face felt like it weighed a ton. Aquilis didn't realize the severity of the situation. He snatched the binoculars out of his lieutenant's hands and looked at him with no emotion. "That's the wrong hill…SIR..." Laguna fixed the binoculars on the correct hill and gave it back to his lieutenant.
Again Aquilis looked through the binoculars. "Sweet mother of hyne" were the only words that escaped his lips.
"Yea I know…" Laguna agreed… "There are about 10,000 of them…"
The luietenat slowly took his eyes away from the binoculars and stared at Laguna with wide eyes. "You mean to tell me…that you actually sat there…and counted 10,000 of those tiny ants."
Laguna's eyes grew wide in frustration. He roughly grabbed his lieutenant by the arm and dragged him all the way to his post while Aquilis scolded him.
"Laguna what the hell do you think your doing??? This is the second time today that someone has roughly grabbed my arm."
When they reached, Laguna once again gave him the binoculars and this time, he pointed toward the hill without saying a word.
This gesture caught Aquilis's attention, so he decided to shut up and once again look through the lenses. This time around his face resembled death… He slowly muttered to himself "Death's shadow has returned…and he had only gone away to bring back reinforcements…!!!…Laguna…" he said quietly. "there are thousands of them…thousands of timberian soldiers.."
"Yea that's what I've been trying to show you."
"sigh Ok…" Aquilis said trying to stay calm, but terror could still be detected in his voice. "Stay here… I'll go tell the general…We might have to talk peace with them if we all want to stay alive."
Aquilis got up quickly and ran through the bushes and down the hill toward the front of the Galbadian army where General Caraway stood clueless as to what was going on.
As Aquilis ran, the soldiers looked at him with wonder. He ran as if he knew something that they didn't. And it caused them to grow nervous once again.
"GENERAL…General Caraway." Aqulis yelled out of breath.
The general slowly turned around to see his friend running up to him. "Trepe?" The general sighed as he put his hands on his hips. "Lieutenant Aquilis Trepe, What the hell are you doing…why aren't you tending your post with your men?"
Aquilis bent down and put his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. "Tom…puff…puff…there…there are more of them coming from the west."
"More of whom" the General asked baffled?
"Timberians!!!!"
The general was astounded. "WHAT!!!…" He stared at the ground in defeat. "H-how many more are coming???"
Aquilis picked his body back up into an upright position. "About 10,000 more are on their way." Aquilis stated regretfully "Not including the 300 men that's in sight right now" he added.
Some of the soldiers overheard their conversation and started to piss their pants. General Caraway angrily looked at the eavesdropping soldiers and then aggressively and grabbed Aquilis's now sore arm and dragged him away from everyone so no one else would hear.
General Caraway whispered in a loud voice "What do you mean 10,000 more are coming." He asked not waiting for an answer… "How far away are they from the army that is in front of us right now?"
"About a mile…"
"Fuck" the general continued to whisper loudly… "That Sky Strife is so fucking incredible…Put about 300 men in sight and stash away 10,000. So he makes us think we outnumber them and we attack… Then they bring out the real army and destroy us."
Aquilis looked at him in perplexity. "…Tom…maybe they didn't know we were here…maybe they didn't even plan this…"
"Hyne Aquilis…don't be so fucking naive…he said irritated. "These Timberians know everything." General Caraway took a few steps back trying to get more air to hit his now overheated body.
"Tom think" Aquilis retorted in a loud whisper… "This doesn't make any sense…if what you say is true…Then why would they stash them so far away from the army that we are seeing right now…if we attacked those 300 timberians, it would take them atleast 30 minutes for the army of 10,000 soldiers to give them aid…We would have annihilated them long before then…so you see, this was an accident. That old man was right we should've camped in the mountains."
The general's face now turned cherry red in rage but before he could speak Aquilis cut him off.
"We should choose our battles…and this one should be left alone. We should raise our white flags and let them pass…ALL of them."
General Caraway gazed at his friend for a moment, and then pointed his eyes to the 300 timberians on the other side of the field. "…You're right…You're absolutely right Aqulis. They probably didn't have any idea we were here."
"…….Of course I'm right." Aqulis answered suspiciously… "So we should raise our white flags right???"
"Wrong…" The general spoke diabolically. "We'll use it as our advantage."
"Use what as our advantage…" Aquilis asked bewildered.
"Listen dear friend…Since they didn't have any idea that we were here… then the army of 10,000, who hasn't arrived here, has no idea that their men of 300 up front are in danger…and since you said it would take them atleast 30 minutes to get up here…"
"That's if they walk…" Aquilis added not wanting any gaps left open. "If they run then it will be 15"
"But like you said…"
"Wait wait wait" Aquilis said shaking his head in protest. "Like I said…LIKE I SAID…don't try using my opinions as the basis for your plan…so later on if it doesn't work, or if something goes wrong you could blame it on me like you tried to blame this morning's lost on those lieutenants. I'm not going to be responsible for the lives of this army…that's your job Remember. You're the one who wanted this. You're the one who went against your father's wishes AND mine to be a general…We both told you that you weren't ready and that you were rushing into things…but no…you were too hyne damn stubborn to listen to us…You had to be the youngest general that ever lived right…Tchh…I just followed you because I promise your father that I would make sure nothing happened to you."
"Ok..ok..ok." the Caraway said in a compromising tone… "I know my responsibilities and I understand the faults of my impatience about being a general…but right now, I have to focus on matters at hand. And that's dealing with these Timberians…" General Caraway smiled. "I now also believe that they didn't know that we were here, and since they had no clue, there wouldn't be any reason for them to run…So like I was saying…We would then have 30 minutes to kill their army of 300 before the army of 10,000 arrive…"
Aquilis tried to speak but General Caraway read his mind and answered his question before he could ask "And once we've destroyed the 300 timberians…we will hide in the cave where we had that meeting and the rest of the soldiers could hide in the forest…" Caraway kept his smile. "Looks like I've outsmarted the great Sky Strife huh..."
Aquilis look at the general coldly. "…You'll never change will you…"
"Ahh come-on old friend…didn't we have this conversation already…and plus… This is war…people are suppose to be killed."
Aquilis lost his cool at the General's words… "Yes that's true but I don't wanna die because some man's pride wont allow him to surrender at times of need!!!………For hyne's sake Tom I have a baby girl on the way…I can't let her grow up without a father…"
Caraway placed his hands on his friend's shoulder and stared at him without blinking. "Then don't Aquilis…don't die…now get back to your position…we have 30 minutes."
Laguna looked at the thousands of Timberians approach, undetected by everyone else; Who were relaxed and confident of victory. Laguna waited for the general to sound a retreat…but it didn't come.
Just then, lieutenant Aquilis Trepe returned to the hill and sadly walked with his head to the ground as he made his way toward Laguna's post.
Laguna excitingly turned around to face him. "Lieutenant…I saw the two of you talking down there…didn't you tell him."
There was no answer. Aquilis was deep in thought and he disregarded Laguna's question.
Laguna looked at him worriedly. He knew something was wrong but he didn't want to come right out and ask what it was. "General???…" Laguna softly said.
"Yes…yes I did…"Aquilis replied before Laguna could finish speaking.
Laguna contorted his face in a confused expression. "Then why hasn't he ordered a retreat yet?" he asked unaware of the conversation that was shared between the two.
While scratching his head, Aquilis answered nonchalantly. "He's still going to try and attack the army."
"What!!!" Laguna was in total shock. Didn't you tell him that there are more coming???"
"Yea" Aquilis sighed with fatigued. He hopes that we could kill them all before the ones coming from the west arrives…"
Laguna looked around at his fellow soldiers who were unaware as to what was going on. The nonchalant attitude that Aquilis had also rubbed off on Laguna.
"Hyne…that's cutting it kinda close there don't you think Sir?" Laguna said casually without looking at his Lieutenant.
"Yea…sigh…yea we are cutting kind of close huh…" Aquilis said in a defeated non-caring tone. "But that's just the way he is… he has always been this way."
Aquilis's blunt and emotionless tone made Laguna nervous about his lieutenant's well being. He feared that this might be the last conversation they would share.
"Lieutenant…are you all right???"
Aquilis looked away. He focused his eyes on a rabbit that playfully ran across the soon to be battlefield. "Yea…yea I'm all-right…just a bit tired ya know…"
Laguna shook his head and also gazed at the rabbit. "Yea…I know."
Aquilis shook himself out of his hypnotized state and stared at Laguna. "Hey guna… do me a favor…"
Laguna's eyes started to mysteriously grow distressed with tears as he continued to watch the playful rabbit. He knew what was coming next "What do you need sir?"
"If I don't make it out of here alive…"
"What do ya mean if you don't make it out alive…you always make it out alive…Laguna said cutting him off."
"Yea I know but… but I have a feeling that…" Aquilis paused… "Look just give this to my baby girl for me…she's not born yet but she will be soon." Aquilis reached out and handed him a locket. "It's a picture of me and her mother…Ha…this is kinda embarrassing but when we were stationed in Dollet a few days ago, I was able to get a silversmith to engrave a message on it for me…Aquilis's eyes now started to congest with tears. So that's why I chose you to give it to her. I know that you're an honorable, trustworthy and humble man. And you would never allow yourself to read it before my daughter does so…you're probably gonna have to hold on to it for sometime until she can read. But don't give it to Pesilis though ha ha ha…" he chuckled sadly. "She wouldn't be able to help herself from reading it.
Laguna hesitantly and reluctantly took the locket from his lieutenant/friend's hand. He was Afraid that this would make Aquilis feel like he didn't have to fight to stay alive anymore.
"I'll give it to her under one condition…you have to promise me that you will fight your hardest on that battlefield."
Aquilis smiled. "For you, my wife and my little girl…I will… oh and Just remember to stay focus ok…we will have to tear this army up in 30 minutes or less so don't go wasting time by writing something down." He said jokingly.
He turned around and smiled as he walked away patting his shirt pocket.
Laguna laughed as he put the binoculars back to his eyes. Suddenly reminded of his letter. "Oh shit…My Letter…Jeez…it looks like I'm going to have to make it through this battle so I can write another one."
Before Aquilis could get back to his post, Laguna called for him once again.
"Hum…Ssir…ahhh…"
Aquilis turned around to see Laguna looking through the binoculars again. "What is it this time…?"
"Let's make it 15 minutes…"
"Huh???" Aquilis asked in confusion.
"One of the men just hopped on a chocobo and is riding at full speed toward the army of 10,000…it looks like he's going to tell them that we are here and they need aid."
"Oh shit…we are fucked…Aquilis said amusingly without caring anymore. "This day just keeps getting better and better…first we loose a battle this morning, then I had to sit through a boring meeting, then my arm gets sore because everyone feels the need to roughly grab it, then I get into a fight with the General, and now we are being attacked by a million men. Ha ha ha…What a fucking day… I'm already exhausted and the battle hasn't even begun yet…Ok I gotta go back and tell the General…keep at your post…"
"Yes sir…"
Aqulis quickly dashed down the hill and toward the frontlines as Laguna kept his sights and his fears on the rider that rode to awaken the beast of an army to feed on him and his comrades.
As aquilis ran through the bushes, he heard the general making his usual pre war speech. A speech that he always made before each battle.
"Listen up men…. Everyone silence…I want your attention…"The General of the Galbadian army yelled.
All was quiet except for the serenade of the light rain and the roll of the heavy thunder. This duet of nature created a symphony that emphasized the emotions of the general's speech. It caused his words to come to life and become more influential and heart pounding.
"I once read this book about a man…he was from a distant land called Celtland. A land that was being ruled by another country named Britannia…" General Caraway now started to pace back and fourth with both hands behind his back as the raindrops started to fall heavier. "Now both these countries names have changed we now know them as Balamb and Galbadia…but back then… the celts (Celtland) and the brits (britania) were at war…there was a young boy who lost his father and brother to this same war…at their burial, a young girl comforted him with a flower that she picked for him. He loved this girl from that day on…there wasn't a day that passed that he didn't think of her… after the burial, his uncle took him away from his home and taught him how to read, and fight. Many years later, he returned to his homeland a humble man. He wanted to build a nice home and marry the young girl that gave him comfort when no one else could. When he finally found her, he courted her. But Because of the war that still existed between the Celts, and Brits, he decided that he would marry her in secret. He didn't want to give her up to the brits the night of her wedding, which was a law that the ruler of Britania cruelly established to cause the celts to have britainan blood in them.
After the secret wedding, a few days went by. When a britananian solider tried to rape this same humble man's bride. Fortunately the young man was they're to protect her but as they tried to escape she got caught and was killed. The man who has hated the brits for the death of his brother and father now snapped. They had taken his only comfort since the death of his father and brother. Now he and a few rebels have waged war on the entire country. He and a small rebel against an entire army. General Caraway repeated. "But its unfortunate that this humble man who led them to freedom wasn't there to enjoy it. Cause you see, he was captured and was given the option to die quickly by renouncing his cause or die by torture…he chose to die violently…As they tore his body to threads…the people realized the cause was worth so much more than his life…So you see men…its ok to die…as long as its for a reason…as long as its for something that's worth it. This man died because he didn't want another boy to lose everything he loved like he did…Despite the fact that he was up against incredible odds he still came out on top…You are fighting for the same freedom…you're fighting for the annihilation of sorceresses everywhere. You aren't just fighting for yourself…your fighting for everything that has or will be taken away from you or your people…your fighting for honor…
The soldiers were confused. They didn't seem to find any revelence from this story to the battle that they were facing. But Laguna and Aquilis did. Usually General Caraway made the same boring speech about the life of cloud strife but this speech was way more intense. He made it seem like they were up against 50 thousand men instead of just three hundred. The galbadians knew that the general knew something they didn't but due to circumstances, they couldn't pay it any attention. They had to stay focused on the battle.
Before Lieutenant Aquilis could reach General caraway, he yelled an order.
ATTACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Author's notes:
Hey I hoped you liked this verse… if you didn't realize it yet, chapter 1 mainly deals with the beginning and how everything happened in ff8. This is the 2nd to last verse in chapter 1 so soon, the plot will pick up in Episode 2 and all its verses (chapter 2)
Well…hmm…I hope I get a review?…please if you are reading this story, please leave a review…so far I got like 4 reviews and 4 reviews isn't worth all the trouble that I go through in bringing this story alive…Reviews are like my fuel and if I don't get enough I will run out and stop working so if you either like or hate my story please review and tell me so at least I know people are reading my story. If each person does his/her own part and gives a review, I'm sure I'd be satisfied to continue with this epic.