Chapter 22 Black and White
Author's note: Sorry for not updating for a while - I had to juggle my other fics as well, and also plan on how to end this fic in the gentlest manner possible (my early idea was killing everybody in a mass of blood and gore, but gotta keep it in the rating!) Any way, I've posted this chapter, which hopefully makes sense since I had to fit the plot. Also, Thanks to all who reviewed, I love you all!
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"How are we supposed to get in?" Selphie whispered urgently as they watched the Galbadian soldiers unload the crates into the house. Zell was feeling irritated since the underground sewers smelt mucky and Creeps keep creeping up on him.
Irvine fingered the trigger of his gun. He was itching to blow their brains out, but he knew it was highly risky. Besides, Squall specifically instructed them to destroy the serum short of dumping them in the sewers, not initiate war.
"Remember when we had to sneak in the Galbadian Missile Base?" Zell asked after a moment. Selphie winced at the idea. "Ewww... those uniforms were horribly scratchy! Don't you dare - "
"Too bad," Irvine grinned and Selphie realized he had knocked three of the guards down noiselessly with sleeping bullets. "You and your smart ideas," She grumbled as she held up a helmet with distaste.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"I'm telling you, that serum is worth millions!"
General Caraway coolly eyed the hysterical looking man. Magnus Lombard was pacing the room, smiling crazily. "Think about it! We can sell this formula to every black triad in the world and cause havoc without trying!"
Caraway sighed. For the Head Guard of Esthar, Magnus can be incredibly dense. "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times; this serum is dangerous to us. My daughter knows of its existence and will have the whole SeeD army after us before you can say 'money'. Not to mention the load of trouble you'll be in if Laguna knows you have something to do with it."
"That meddling fool." Magnus clenched his fists. "If only he didn't show up all those years ago... It would have been easy for me to take over the city..."
"Stop reminiscing..." Caraway growled. "I'm not taking any chances. I've directed my soldiers to move the crates out of Deling - I can't have anybody stumbling on it, especially my daughter - "
"INTRUDER ALERT!!!"
"Darn, I told you not to giggle, Seffie!" Irvine groaned as he deftly shot a soldier in the head. Selphie giggled. "I couldn't help it - the way he tripped was so cute!"
"Well you sense of humor can get us in frickin' trouble." Zell sighed and plummeted a poor soldier into unconsciousness. "We'd better destroy as many crates as we can and get the hell out of here!"
"Easier said than done." Irvine growled and blasted a few soldiers who were shooting at them. "Damn it, anybody equipped with Stop spells or Petrify?"
"I haven't handled those in ages..." Zell muttered. "Come to think of it, the only people who're still actively using magic are Squall and Quisty..."
"We'd better not get out of practice. Brothers, aid me!" Irvine cried and Minotaur and Sacred appeared, throwing their enemies high into the sky while still childishly playing Paper, Rock, Scissors.
"Anybody bought a transmitter?" Selphie yelled. Little did she know somewhere else, somebody was seeing red as well.
"Didn't they bring their transmitters?!" Squall fumed and heard Xu sigh. "How should I know?"
"Calm down - they're probably doing fine," Quistis reasoned with him. They were flying back on the Ragnarok when Squall decided to check on the others, and to his chagrin, they didn't bring their transmitters. "What's the function of having them if they don't bring?" He grumbled and Quistis suddenly laughed and rumpled his hair affectionately. "Look who's talking." She grinned and watched as a smile spread on his face. "Yeah..."
"Never mind... They're probably still in Deling. Why don't we go and see?" She asked, happily studying him. It was so nice to finally be able to drink in his presence and let him know that she loved it.
Squall carefully piloted the Ragnarok and sighed mentally. Things are finally getting under control, he thought heavily. Maybe I should take a real vacation, he glanced at the beauty who was humming while examining her whip. A real vacation.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
He snapped out of his reverie and smiled sheepishly as she grinned at him. He motioned for her to come nearer. She gave him a quizzical look and then laughed. "I must be dreaming, or did you just ask me to come?"
"It's a pretty nice dream, don't you think?" He grinned roguishly as she feel back, laughing. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he started to reach for her when his hand knocked against the controls and the ship lurched violently, making Quistis scream and jump up to correct its altitude. She breathed deeply and glared accusingly at him, who was looking bewildered. "That was deliberate, wasn't it?" She accused, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. He stared meaningfully at her. "What was?"
"Oh, you." She groaned and collapsed into his lap, laughing. He grinned and set the ship on Auto-pilot. "It did get you to come."
"Dirty trick. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself," She snuggled up to him and smiled contentedly as he absently wrapped his arms around her. Sitting there, watching the clouds speed by made things very enjoyable. "What are we going to tell them...?" She asked absently, plucking at the leather of his jacket.
"...Whatever." They chorused and she laughed again. He smiled down at her, loving the sound of her laughter, wondering why didn't he notice her eyes were such a startling blue... His clear eyes changed intensely and suddenly Quistis felt very warm. But maybe... maybe she had to know whether the kiss they shared wasn't just a drunken blunder...
He captured her lips softly, seeking something. Assurance? Confidence? She let him linger, feeling a warm glow spread through her body. She touched his jaw, marveling at the smoothness of his face - every inch of him was perfect. Just the way Squall should be. She was dimly aware as his hands moved up her arms, sending goose bumps on her exposed skin. His touch burned her neck where he touched - and he was wearing gloves, for Hyne's sake! She reluctantly pulled away and noticed his confused look. Not now, she said silently. Not when I've just found you again. She gently kissed the base of his neck, feeling ridiculously contented. The Griever pendant gleamed in front of her eyes and she smiled happily, feeling his chest rise and fall with every steady breath. I love you. I love you so much.
He kissed the top of her shining hair and reluctantly focused on their destination. He wondered whether the others were doing fine. "Get me Deling City Police," He contacted Xu again.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Rinoa frowned as she heard a commotion from the downstairs level of the mansion. 'What's going on?" She got off the sofa where she had been reading. Cody too looked up and frowned. "Looks like fighting. Wait - could it be the others?"
"They're not so stupid as to cause so much noise..." Rinoa furrowed her brows and grabbed her Wishing Star. "Let's check it out."
"You tricked me!!! You were going to kill me, weren't you?!" Magnus shrieked like a madman as he lunged at Caraway. The latter was at a disadvantage as he was unarmed. "Hell, What's going on?!" Caraway shouted above the roar of spells and gunfire. His soldiers were locked in battle against the Esthar guards and...
"General Caraway!" Selphie cried in surprise as the three burst into the room, stopping Magnus in mid-attack. "Yo, who's he?" Zell frowned and ducked as a Blizzaga spell whizzed by him from behind. "Tell these morons to stop firing, for Hyne's sake!" Irvine yelled and let loosed another round of ammo. "First we're hit by Galbadians, and now these flashy Estharians are firing as well. Anybody got an answer?!"
"Magnus! Stop your soldiers!" Caraway yelled but the demented man was not going to hear anything. "You want to kill me, eh?! Well I'm going to destroy you and get the serum. Kill him!"
"Tiamat!" A new voice roared and Irvine realized in a split second. "Duck!" He yelled and pulled Selphie down as a line of fire shot from behind them, literally frying the soldiers. Zell cursed as he realized the top of his stuck-up hair had gotten singed. Irvine rolled over and got up. "Rinoa!"
Magnus narrowed his eyes. "The Sorceress?! SeeDs? Argh!!" He screamed in rage. "Caraway, you ambushed me!"
General Caraway shook his head in frustration. So many things were going wrong at once. He turned to the three SeeDs. "He's trying to kill me!"
"Damn you, you pulled this on me!" Magnus growled and tried to lunge at Caraway but was blocked by Rinoa. "Don't you dare..." She hissed and raised her projectile weapon. Magnus stepped back and was quickly caught by Zell. "You're going nowhere, Mister."
Cody stared at the man closely. "Aren't you the guy who locked us in the Palace when we wanted to see President Loire?" Recognition dawned on Rinoa, and it didn't take her long to piece together the pieces. "You were working with Vincent Thorpe, weren't you?!"
Magnus saw that he had been cornered. "Damn you, Caraway! Plotting your daughter to work for you..."
"Shut up!" General Caraway screamed and picked up one of the fallen guns. "You're trying to make me use to serum to kill President Loire, weren't you?! Treason against the government!"
"Who's lying?!" Magnus roared and broke free of Zell's constraint. He pushed Rinoa aside and she was thrown against the wall, knocked out. "You're the big schemer!" He wrestled General Caraway to the ground despite Irvine trying to pull him off. "You lured me here and brought these SeeDs to kill me!"
"Stop!" A voice cried and a jet of light entrapped Magnus, freezing him in action. Irvine looked up and nearly whooped in relief.
Squall and Quistis stood at the door, and it was Quistis who threw the spell. Selphie rushed up and flew at the ex-Instructor, squealing in happiness. "You made it!"
"What's going on here?" Squall demanded icily. "I had to put a squadron of soldiers to sleep outside." He decided not to mention the oddity of seeing Esthar soldiers as well.
"This man came with his soldiers, trying to kill me." General Caraway said crisply. "It was truly in good timing did these three arrive."
"We weren't here to save your sorry - " Zell started but was stopped by Squall. He looked at the furious martial artist. "Go and do what you came here to do."
With a nod, Irvine walked out with Selphie and a fuming Zell. Squall turned back to General Caraway and for the first time noticed Cody with an unconscious Rinoa. Alarm took over. "What happened?!"
Cody threw an accusing glare at General Caraway. "He's lying! Rinoa called you to get rid of - "
"Shut up!" General Caraway's face was livid. Squall narrowed his eyes. That man was from Esthar - did Laguna have anything to do; no, he mentally shook his head. Laguna was too dense for that.
"You've gone too far this time, Caraway." Squall said evenly. "You have a choice of keeping this quiet or I'll have you thrown in a special cell in Battleship Island."
"So the SeeD Commander finally has his guts," Caraway sneered. "Trying to be like your father, hmm? That good for nothing Loire - "
"Stop it, General." Quistis said, feeling Squall's temper rise. He may not be on best terms with his father, but like any other son, he could not bear to hear insults about his lineage.
"Or what?" Caraway snapped. "Or he'll take my daughter, like his father took my wife? Rinoa was right enough to leave you..." He grinned evilly. "I would have killed her if she didn't - "
"Damn you!" Squall growled and raised his gun. Everything seemed to happen at once and it was a blur... all that was seen was blood, a lot of blood... and the ominous silence of something terrible. And then, the most heartbreaking sound.
"CODY!!!!"
Author's note: Reviews, please!!!
Author's note: Sorry for not updating for a while - I had to juggle my other fics as well, and also plan on how to end this fic in the gentlest manner possible (my early idea was killing everybody in a mass of blood and gore, but gotta keep it in the rating!) Any way, I've posted this chapter, which hopefully makes sense since I had to fit the plot. Also, Thanks to all who reviewed, I love you all!
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"How are we supposed to get in?" Selphie whispered urgently as they watched the Galbadian soldiers unload the crates into the house. Zell was feeling irritated since the underground sewers smelt mucky and Creeps keep creeping up on him.
Irvine fingered the trigger of his gun. He was itching to blow their brains out, but he knew it was highly risky. Besides, Squall specifically instructed them to destroy the serum short of dumping them in the sewers, not initiate war.
"Remember when we had to sneak in the Galbadian Missile Base?" Zell asked after a moment. Selphie winced at the idea. "Ewww... those uniforms were horribly scratchy! Don't you dare - "
"Too bad," Irvine grinned and Selphie realized he had knocked three of the guards down noiselessly with sleeping bullets. "You and your smart ideas," She grumbled as she held up a helmet with distaste.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
"I'm telling you, that serum is worth millions!"
General Caraway coolly eyed the hysterical looking man. Magnus Lombard was pacing the room, smiling crazily. "Think about it! We can sell this formula to every black triad in the world and cause havoc without trying!"
Caraway sighed. For the Head Guard of Esthar, Magnus can be incredibly dense. "If I've told you once, I've told you a hundred times; this serum is dangerous to us. My daughter knows of its existence and will have the whole SeeD army after us before you can say 'money'. Not to mention the load of trouble you'll be in if Laguna knows you have something to do with it."
"That meddling fool." Magnus clenched his fists. "If only he didn't show up all those years ago... It would have been easy for me to take over the city..."
"Stop reminiscing..." Caraway growled. "I'm not taking any chances. I've directed my soldiers to move the crates out of Deling - I can't have anybody stumbling on it, especially my daughter - "
"INTRUDER ALERT!!!"
"Darn, I told you not to giggle, Seffie!" Irvine groaned as he deftly shot a soldier in the head. Selphie giggled. "I couldn't help it - the way he tripped was so cute!"
"Well you sense of humor can get us in frickin' trouble." Zell sighed and plummeted a poor soldier into unconsciousness. "We'd better destroy as many crates as we can and get the hell out of here!"
"Easier said than done." Irvine growled and blasted a few soldiers who were shooting at them. "Damn it, anybody equipped with Stop spells or Petrify?"
"I haven't handled those in ages..." Zell muttered. "Come to think of it, the only people who're still actively using magic are Squall and Quisty..."
"We'd better not get out of practice. Brothers, aid me!" Irvine cried and Minotaur and Sacred appeared, throwing their enemies high into the sky while still childishly playing Paper, Rock, Scissors.
"Anybody bought a transmitter?" Selphie yelled. Little did she know somewhere else, somebody was seeing red as well.
"Didn't they bring their transmitters?!" Squall fumed and heard Xu sigh. "How should I know?"
"Calm down - they're probably doing fine," Quistis reasoned with him. They were flying back on the Ragnarok when Squall decided to check on the others, and to his chagrin, they didn't bring their transmitters. "What's the function of having them if they don't bring?" He grumbled and Quistis suddenly laughed and rumpled his hair affectionately. "Look who's talking." She grinned and watched as a smile spread on his face. "Yeah..."
"Never mind... They're probably still in Deling. Why don't we go and see?" She asked, happily studying him. It was so nice to finally be able to drink in his presence and let him know that she loved it.
Squall carefully piloted the Ragnarok and sighed mentally. Things are finally getting under control, he thought heavily. Maybe I should take a real vacation, he glanced at the beauty who was humming while examining her whip. A real vacation.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
He snapped out of his reverie and smiled sheepishly as she grinned at him. He motioned for her to come nearer. She gave him a quizzical look and then laughed. "I must be dreaming, or did you just ask me to come?"
"It's a pretty nice dream, don't you think?" He grinned roguishly as she feel back, laughing. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he started to reach for her when his hand knocked against the controls and the ship lurched violently, making Quistis scream and jump up to correct its altitude. She breathed deeply and glared accusingly at him, who was looking bewildered. "That was deliberate, wasn't it?" She accused, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. He stared meaningfully at her. "What was?"
"Oh, you." She groaned and collapsed into his lap, laughing. He grinned and set the ship on Auto-pilot. "It did get you to come."
"Dirty trick. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it myself," She snuggled up to him and smiled contentedly as he absently wrapped his arms around her. Sitting there, watching the clouds speed by made things very enjoyable. "What are we going to tell them...?" She asked absently, plucking at the leather of his jacket.
"...Whatever." They chorused and she laughed again. He smiled down at her, loving the sound of her laughter, wondering why didn't he notice her eyes were such a startling blue... His clear eyes changed intensely and suddenly Quistis felt very warm. But maybe... maybe she had to know whether the kiss they shared wasn't just a drunken blunder...
He captured her lips softly, seeking something. Assurance? Confidence? She let him linger, feeling a warm glow spread through her body. She touched his jaw, marveling at the smoothness of his face - every inch of him was perfect. Just the way Squall should be. She was dimly aware as his hands moved up her arms, sending goose bumps on her exposed skin. His touch burned her neck where he touched - and he was wearing gloves, for Hyne's sake! She reluctantly pulled away and noticed his confused look. Not now, she said silently. Not when I've just found you again. She gently kissed the base of his neck, feeling ridiculously contented. The Griever pendant gleamed in front of her eyes and she smiled happily, feeling his chest rise and fall with every steady breath. I love you. I love you so much.
He kissed the top of her shining hair and reluctantly focused on their destination. He wondered whether the others were doing fine. "Get me Deling City Police," He contacted Xu again.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Rinoa frowned as she heard a commotion from the downstairs level of the mansion. 'What's going on?" She got off the sofa where she had been reading. Cody too looked up and frowned. "Looks like fighting. Wait - could it be the others?"
"They're not so stupid as to cause so much noise..." Rinoa furrowed her brows and grabbed her Wishing Star. "Let's check it out."
"You tricked me!!! You were going to kill me, weren't you?!" Magnus shrieked like a madman as he lunged at Caraway. The latter was at a disadvantage as he was unarmed. "Hell, What's going on?!" Caraway shouted above the roar of spells and gunfire. His soldiers were locked in battle against the Esthar guards and...
"General Caraway!" Selphie cried in surprise as the three burst into the room, stopping Magnus in mid-attack. "Yo, who's he?" Zell frowned and ducked as a Blizzaga spell whizzed by him from behind. "Tell these morons to stop firing, for Hyne's sake!" Irvine yelled and let loosed another round of ammo. "First we're hit by Galbadians, and now these flashy Estharians are firing as well. Anybody got an answer?!"
"Magnus! Stop your soldiers!" Caraway yelled but the demented man was not going to hear anything. "You want to kill me, eh?! Well I'm going to destroy you and get the serum. Kill him!"
"Tiamat!" A new voice roared and Irvine realized in a split second. "Duck!" He yelled and pulled Selphie down as a line of fire shot from behind them, literally frying the soldiers. Zell cursed as he realized the top of his stuck-up hair had gotten singed. Irvine rolled over and got up. "Rinoa!"
Magnus narrowed his eyes. "The Sorceress?! SeeDs? Argh!!" He screamed in rage. "Caraway, you ambushed me!"
General Caraway shook his head in frustration. So many things were going wrong at once. He turned to the three SeeDs. "He's trying to kill me!"
"Damn you, you pulled this on me!" Magnus growled and tried to lunge at Caraway but was blocked by Rinoa. "Don't you dare..." She hissed and raised her projectile weapon. Magnus stepped back and was quickly caught by Zell. "You're going nowhere, Mister."
Cody stared at the man closely. "Aren't you the guy who locked us in the Palace when we wanted to see President Loire?" Recognition dawned on Rinoa, and it didn't take her long to piece together the pieces. "You were working with Vincent Thorpe, weren't you?!"
Magnus saw that he had been cornered. "Damn you, Caraway! Plotting your daughter to work for you..."
"Shut up!" General Caraway screamed and picked up one of the fallen guns. "You're trying to make me use to serum to kill President Loire, weren't you?! Treason against the government!"
"Who's lying?!" Magnus roared and broke free of Zell's constraint. He pushed Rinoa aside and she was thrown against the wall, knocked out. "You're the big schemer!" He wrestled General Caraway to the ground despite Irvine trying to pull him off. "You lured me here and brought these SeeDs to kill me!"
"Stop!" A voice cried and a jet of light entrapped Magnus, freezing him in action. Irvine looked up and nearly whooped in relief.
Squall and Quistis stood at the door, and it was Quistis who threw the spell. Selphie rushed up and flew at the ex-Instructor, squealing in happiness. "You made it!"
"What's going on here?" Squall demanded icily. "I had to put a squadron of soldiers to sleep outside." He decided not to mention the oddity of seeing Esthar soldiers as well.
"This man came with his soldiers, trying to kill me." General Caraway said crisply. "It was truly in good timing did these three arrive."
"We weren't here to save your sorry - " Zell started but was stopped by Squall. He looked at the furious martial artist. "Go and do what you came here to do."
With a nod, Irvine walked out with Selphie and a fuming Zell. Squall turned back to General Caraway and for the first time noticed Cody with an unconscious Rinoa. Alarm took over. "What happened?!"
Cody threw an accusing glare at General Caraway. "He's lying! Rinoa called you to get rid of - "
"Shut up!" General Caraway's face was livid. Squall narrowed his eyes. That man was from Esthar - did Laguna have anything to do; no, he mentally shook his head. Laguna was too dense for that.
"You've gone too far this time, Caraway." Squall said evenly. "You have a choice of keeping this quiet or I'll have you thrown in a special cell in Battleship Island."
"So the SeeD Commander finally has his guts," Caraway sneered. "Trying to be like your father, hmm? That good for nothing Loire - "
"Stop it, General." Quistis said, feeling Squall's temper rise. He may not be on best terms with his father, but like any other son, he could not bear to hear insults about his lineage.
"Or what?" Caraway snapped. "Or he'll take my daughter, like his father took my wife? Rinoa was right enough to leave you..." He grinned evilly. "I would have killed her if she didn't - "
"Damn you!" Squall growled and raised his gun. Everything seemed to happen at once and it was a blur... all that was seen was blood, a lot of blood... and the ominous silence of something terrible. And then, the most heartbreaking sound.
"CODY!!!!"
Author's note: Reviews, please!!!