Final Fantasy : Historical Bonds
Chapter 10 - A Knight With Nightvision
By: Fat Zombie
This situation isn't getting any better,
I see that look in your eyes.
Taken from Funeral For A Friend - Red Is The New Black
"Sir" said the young SeeD as Squall entered the room. Rinoa and Cid followed closely behind.
The room was a myriad of technology. Screens and futuristic, technological readouts lined the walls, at least fifteen SeeDs sitting at various stations with keyboards in front of them. All seemed to be working furiously.
"Where are they?" Squall asked concernedly, his jaw set to form an expression of determination.
"I don't know sir" the young SeeD answered.
"SeeD intelligence and you don't know where your own people are, Lieutenant?" Squall asked. He was obviously annoyed.
"I'm sorry sir, but we don't fit individual tracking devices to each SeeD" the officer retorted back. There was sarcasm in his tone, and the young man wished he hadn't opened his mouth as soon as he'd finished speaking.
"This is not the time for dry wit, Lain" Squall said, obviously angered by Lain's comment. His tone softened. "What can you tell me?" Squall asked.
"They're not in the cars" Lain began. He walked over to a monitor that resembled a radar of sorts, only it had a map of somewhere underneath the circling line. Lain beckoned Squall, Rinoa and Cid to follow. "Now the cars did have tracking devices installed, but they stopped responding about five minutes ago" Squall nodded. "The last time we heard from these devices, they were situated here" Lain pointed to a spot on the map.
"Pelin" Rinoa blurted out. "The restaurant" she said. Squall, Lain and Cid all looked at Rinoa briefly, but she seemed to be thinking deeply.
"They'd been there for several hours before they stopped responding" Lain stated, regaining Cid and Squall's attention.
"Do we have any idea what's happened to them?" Cid asked, sounding worried.
"It just so happens that the two cars your missing SeeDs took where two of the five new cars installed with data-streaming cameras" Lain informed. "They were designed to give officers at Garden an idea of the situations their SeeDs in the field were facing, but they've also proved useful here". Lain walked over to another monitor. A SeeD sat in front of the monitor, his hands poised over a keyboard on a desk below the screen. "Corporal" Lain addressed the station operator. "Bring up the surveillance tape from Car Two-Two".
"Yessir" the Corporal responded, his fingers flying away at the keyboard. Within seconds, a video appeared on the screen.
"Wind the tape forward to eleven thirty-four PM" Lain ordered. The Corporal once again went to work on the keyboard. A few seconds later the video resumed at normal speed, a clock in the upper left corner of the monitor reading 11:34 PM. On the screen was an image of the restaurant Zell and the group had been at earlier in the evening. "The group went for a meal at this restaurant" Lain explained. Cid was about to question the video's relevance but Lain spoke again before he could interrupt. "Watch carefully" Lain paused. "Now" he added.
Suddenly the restaurants windows lit up sporadically with flashes of light. "Watch outside the right-side wall of the restaurant" Lain directed. Squall, Rinoa and Cid watched for several seconds, wondering when something would happen. They could hear gunfire and windows in the restaurant continued the burst outwards randomly. Suddenly Zell and Seifer appeared from around the corner of the restaurant, running as fast as they could towards what could only be assumed was the cars.
"Where are the others?" Squall asked.
"We don't know sir" Lain admitted. "Only Captain Dincht and Private Almasy appear on the video. We don't even know if the others survived the initial attack".
The group continued to watch the screen. Suddenly the screen flickered and returned to its normal view. "What was that?" Squall asked. Before Lain could answer, the view on screen suddenly took off into the air. Licks of flame flew out and around from behind the cameras view. The perspective on-screen rotated in mid and landed upside down on the ground. Despite the obvious decrease in the quality of the picture, the group could see that the car had landed at around the same angle, facing the diner, the view now being upside down. They could also make out Seifer dragging Zell to his feet, and the two running back the way they came behind the restaurant. The screen went black.
"Shortly after this the feed died" Lain informed the group. "We know from topographical charts that there is a hill behind the restaurant leading down to the village of Pelin" Lain explained. "We assume they headed down this hill" Lain paused and grinned slightly. "I can't imagine them waiting around to get shot". He paused, then regained his serious tone. "But the hill is of a very steep gradient. There's no guarantees they would make it down to the village without injury". Squall nodded again. "We're concentrating on what we think Captain Dincht and Private Almasy would do, as we can't be sure of Captain's Kinneas and Tilmitt's situation, nor Instructor Major Trepe or Trainee Tarik".
Squall thought for a second before speaking. "Get Nida to the hanger" he said. Lain nodded and another SeeD in the background picked up what looked like a radio microphone and began speaking over the loud speaker throughout Garden. "I'm going to get them" Squall added.
He turned to leave, as did Rinoa and Cid, but all stopped when they heard Lain's voice. "Squall" he said quickly. Squall turned and faced Lain. "They're unarmed. All of them" Lain finished, concern in his tone.
"They are?" Cid asked. Lain nodded a 'yes'.
"They're totally defenseless" Rinoa said. "We disposed of Guardian Forces because of the side-effects" she added, as if everyone in the room was unaware of the fact. The truth was that her words were some kind of automatic reaction to the situation.
"And not even Zell's martial arts skills will be able to help against the range of that machine gun" Lain added.
Squall looked at the group quickly, then turned, walking two times as fast as he had been before. The doors to the room separated, shooting sideward, and he disappeared out into the corridor, both Cid and Rinoa following.
As Squall, Cid and Rinoa headed towards the hanger, they were joined by a Weapons Specialist SeeD. He seemed to just blend into the group from nowhere. He began to speak to Squall. "Sir, we're outfitting you with one of our new B-MAW assault rifles".
Squall quickly cut in. "I like Griever" he said flatly.
"Of course you do sir" the Weapons Specialist agreed. "But our hand-to-hand weapons are proving more and more ineffective as the rest of the world continues to move towards these longer ranged weapons" he explained. "I appreciate that your Gunblade fires larger rounds than our assault rifle but the rate of fire and clip size pale in comparison to what you may come up against out there". Squall looked unimpressed. "Sir, for sake of those out there in danger, please take the rifle with you as well, even if you intend on using Griever regardless". Squall still seemed undecided. "It may improve your friends chances of survival" the Weapons Specialist added.
"Very well" Squall finally gave in. "I might give it a try".
"Thank you sir" the Weapons Specialist said gleefully. "The rifle is aboard the Ragnarok, awaiting your arrival".
As Squall entered the hanger, he spotted Nida waiting for him at the access ramp to the Ragnarok. He also saw Edea stood next to the pilot.
"Nida" said Cid as himself, Squall and Rinoa neared the pair. "Go and start her up".
"Sir" Nida nodded, and jogged up the access ramp and into the ship.
Edea stepped forward to Squall. She lifted her arms and rested her hands on his shoulders. With her eyes looking directly into Squall's, she began to speak. "I know they're all grown up" she began with a smile. The Ragnarok's engines could be heard in the back ground starting up. "But you bring my children home safe". Her smile dissolved to an expression of true fear.
Squall nodded. Edea smiled at him again and took her hands off his shoulders, walking past him to stand next to Cid. Squall walked up the ramp into the Ragnarok and turned at the top to face the group.
"Be careful" Rinoa shouted seriously at him over the volume of the ship's engines. Squall nodded and watched as Edea, Cid and Rinoa moved away to a safe distance. The three watched as the hanger door slid upwards, opening out into the quiet night. The entrance ramp on the Ragnarok retracted into the ship and the hydraulic door slowly closed, the ship lifting off before it had sealed shut. Squall kept his gaze fixed on the three stood below until he was completely out of view as the door closed. The ship slowly sidled out of the hanger, hovering fifteen feet above the floor. Once clear of the hanger doors, it rotated ninety degrees to its left and began to move away from Garden. The hanger door slid back down and closed, shutting the departing Ragnarok out of view.
* * * *
"Ouch" said Zell loudly as he landed at the bottom of the steep hill.
"Agreed" Irvine stated while beating the dust out of his long coat. The group had watched Zell roll down the hill, heavily at that. He'd looked about as graceful as the rest of them, in fact.
"Where's Seifer?" asked Quistis, looking back up the hill to try and spot him. The rest of the group did likewise, but the darkness obscured their view.
"Hey" said Nevaeh, raising her hand and pointing to somewhere up the hill. "That's him, right?". She didn't sound too certain.
Upon further inspection, Zell recognized the grey coat. "Yeah, it is".
Within half-a-minute Seifer slid to the bottom, with a little more dignity than the rest of the group. But not much. He got up, dusted himself off as best he could and looked to Irvine. "What now, Cowboy?" he asked.
"Don't look at me" Irvine said, raising his hands. "I came up with the whole hill thing. Its someone else's turn now".
"Right" said Seifer, sounding slightly annoyed.
"This is Pelin, right?" said Quistis. "There has to be some where we can go that we can contact Garden from".
"I guess" said Zell.
"Well whatever the case, we should get away from here" said Quistis. "Its probably not gonna take the gunman long to work out where we've gone".
"I'll go along with that" Nevaeh chipped in. The rest of the group nodded.
They looked around their surroundings. They seemed to be behind a large building. Quistis lead the way round one side of it and towards the front. They came out onto a small street, which was lined by tall buildings on either side. To their left was a dead end, but to their right seemed to be another road. They turned right and headed up the street towards the road at the end, observing that all the lights in the buildings where off. The buildings were either office blocks or the people who lived in them hadn't heard the gunfire from up the hill and continued to sleep. On closer inspection of one of the building's doors, Quistis found that they were all part of an office complex of some business by way of a name plate. Name plates with the same name and a number were fixed to each of the other buildings doors, and confirmed that they were part of the same complex.
As they neared the end of the road the team slowed and leaned up close to one of the buildings walls. Quistis, who was still at the head of the group, cautiously poked her head out to look both ways down the street. She drew back to safety behind the wall of the building and looked at the group. "Its clear" she said. "There's not a soul there".
The group relaxed, evident in the immediate change in their posture. They walked out into the street and looked around. This street seemed to look much like the one they had just left. Buildings of a similar style lined each side of the road. It appeared, that Pelin had a somewhat growing industry. The whole area seemed to incorporate nothing but offices. At least as far as the SeeDs could see.
If they were to turn right, it seemed they would head out of the village and back up the hill towards the restaurant via a winding road. Zell noticed it first. "Couldn't we have just come down that way?" he asked the group.
"It was kind of a heat of the moment thing Zell" Irvine answered, shrugging.
"Heat of the moment doesn't stop my back hurting" Zell retorted under his breath.
"Besides" Irvine continued, unaware of Zell's comment. "It was quicker down the hill, and that gunman wouldn't have thought twice about following us down the road".
When he was right, he was right, thought Zell. While on the subject of the gunman, it also occurred to him that he may not give up just because they jumped down a hill. "You do all realise he's probably on his way down here to find us, don't you?" Zell said to the whole group.
"My god, you're right" Seifer said sarcastically. Zell merely frowned at him. "We can't go back up the hill, so I say we head further into town" Seifer suggested. "Carry on looking for a way to contact Garden".
"Agreed" Quistis concurred.
Once again, the group followed Quistis as she headed away from the edge of the village and further into the town. As they continued walking, the group paired off, Selphie with Irvine, Nevaeh with Zell, and Seifer with Quistis.
"I don't suppose anyone's coming to get us" said Selphie to Irvine as she walked alongside him, hugging his arm.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up" Irvine replied.
"That's what I thought" Selphie sighed.
"As far as they know, we're all just out for a meal" Irvine reasoned.
Zell was looking somewhat confused as he looked at the buildings they were passing. He knew they were heading further into the village, but all the buildings still seemed to be of the same style. Utilitarian and ugly. "Are we actually moving?" he asked Nevaeh.
"What?" said Nevaeh, baffled by his statement. The answer was obvious. At least she thought it was.
"All the buildings are the same" said Zell. Nevaeh was still confused. "The word village, suggests to me small, rural and friendly" he explained. "This place, these buildings, are none of those".
He had a point. Nevaeh also observed that the buildings were very... She wouldn't use the word ugly. That wasn't right. They were offices after all. They weren't meant to be pretty. The buildings were bland. That's what they were, bland. In any case, Zell was right. The scenery wasn't really changing. "Maybe this is just the outskirts of the village" Nevaeh attempted an explanation. "I mean, if this place is developing then all the business-type buildings are gonna be on the outside, aren't they?".
"Hmm" Zell mumbled. "I suppose so".
Up at the front of the group, Seifer and Quistis continued to lead the rest into the village. They both maintained more caution than their friends behind them. Well, Quistis' friends, anyway.
"I've decided that I can handle being shot at on missions" Seifer began. "You know, when its my job". Quistis wasn't sure where he was heading with this. She was amazed that he'd started a conversation at all in the first place. "But when I'm meant to be relaxing, I'm particularly offended by it".
"You don't mind being shot at while on missions?" Quistis said. She almost sounded annoyed. "Speak for yourself".
Seifer mentally kicked himself. In retrospect, telling someone who had just been shot and almost died what he had just told Quistis was probably the wrong thing to do. "Sorry" he said quietly. He found it so hard to force the word out that he only managed to say it quietly.
"What was that?" asked Quistis, a slight smile of satisfaction raising the right side of her mouth.
"You heard me" Seifer said, half-wishing he'd never said it.
"I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hearing things" Quistis said. "And its okay" she added.
The two fell silent. While Quistis seemed unbothered, the quiet made Seifer feel uneasy. The fact that it did make him feel uneasy in turn made him feel more uneasy. Idle chit-chat never used to be his thing. He searched desperately in his head for something to talk about. "You think the Garden will send someone for us?" Seifer asked. Quistis was about to answer but Seifer carried on. "I mean, if we don't contact them. It just occurred to me that Rinoa is gonna be expecting us back".
"Maybe" said Quistis. "But she's got a pretty vivid imagination" she explained. "She might just think we got a hotel room or something if we don't come back tonight" Quistis added sarcastically.
"That would be useful at the moment" said Seifer. Quistis frowned at him and he closed his eyes shut tight momentarily. He'd realised a moment too late how that sounded. It wasn't meant to sound provocative, but he could see how Quistis could see it as that. "To hide out in, y'know" he added quickly. Quistis' frown lowered in intensity a little. "And most hotel rooms have phones in them. Just thought that would be useful" Seifer carried on, hoping he could explain this away.
Quistis frown seemed to die all together. "I suppose you're right" she said. She smiled at him. "Haven't seen you get your feathers all ruffled like that in a while" she added. She seemed to find him rather amusing.
"Yeah, well" Seifer began. "I can see how that could have sounded weird" he explained. "And I know you have a temper" he said, waiting for Quistis angry reaction. But it never came.
"Maybe I do" said Quistis. She sounded slightly absent, like she was thinking about something. "You don't think people notice do you?" she asked. "Does it make me unapproachable?". She seemed bothered by the thought of it.
"Nope" Seifer answered. "Its kinda sexy" he said without thinking. Quistis eyes widened and her left eyebrow arched at the comment. That was twice in a row that he hadn't caught his tongue. It must be the drink, Seifer reasoned with himself. His mind worked overtime formulating an excuse. "At least that's what the Trepies say" he added. His tone was cool, but Quistis still seemed unsure about the comment.
"Really?" she asked, her tone inquisitive, her eyebrow still arched.
"Yep" Seifer carried on. "And not just the guys either" he said. "Some of the girls in that little fan club of yours think the same".
"Excuse me?" said Quistis loudly. She was obviously absolutely shocked.
"Oh yeah" said Seifer. He didn't know if it was true, but it was working far too well anyway. "We've got some naughty girls at Balamb Garden" he lied. Hell, there had to be at least one or two, he thought. It seemed to be in fashion these days.
"I can't believe it" said Quistis, seemingly in shock over the accusations.
"Well don't go mouthing off about it, in any case" said Seifer. "Its just what I've heard".
"Heard from who?" asked Quistis.
"I don't know who they were" said Seifer. "I try to converse with the students at that place as little as possible, especially your groupies" he explained. "I just overheard it as I passed". Seifer grinned suddenly. "Why are you so interested anyway?" he asked Quistis. "Got bad thoughts in your head?".
"Of course not" said Quistis, outraged by the mere suggestion. Seifer smiled, content that he'd managed to ruffle her feathers. That'll teach her for trying to beat me at my own game, he thought.
"In any case" Quistis began, intending to steer the conversation away from the particular topic at hand. She could tell when Seifer was about to get on a roll. "I'll have to have words with Rinoa when we all get back".
"You and me both" said Seifer. "The night was gonna be bad enough before someone tried to kill us".
"Is my company really that bad?" asked Quistis.
"No" said Seifer. "But you know how it is with us" Quistis nodded knowingly. The brief time that they had gotten along after her accident seemed to be a thing of the past now. It must have been Seifer just feeling guilty, she thought. But even that seemed out of character. In any case, they were back at each others throats. "Its like trying to put out a fire with gasoline" Seifer added.
"I get the picture" Quistis said. "I should have known something was up at the start of this mission". Quistis started on a new subject.
"What do you mean?" Seifer asked.
"Well, do you really think Squall would team us up on a mission when he knows what we're like around each other?" Quistis asked.
Before she received an answer, a thunderously loud bang violated the quiet village, and before she knew it Seifer had dived into her and pushed down an alleyway between two of the buildings. Zell and Nevaeh took cover in similar fashion, as did Irvine and Selphie. The gap between the couples had grown so large though, that none of them were in the same alleyway. A building separated each of the couples. The earlier bang could now clearly be identified as a sub-machine gun, as it continued to spew its contents against the walls of the buildings. Eventually the group heard it joined by another, then another. However many there were, one was more than they can handle.
"Maybe he knew I'd put my ass on the line like an idiot" said Seifer, clutching the top of his left arm. The sleeve of his grey coat was slowly turning a dark shade of crimson.
"Oh my gods" said Quistis. She attempted to move his hand to inspect the wound, but Seifer held it tightly round his arm.
"Its nothing" he said. "Just a flesh wound" he reaffirmed his words. He angled his head backwards and out into the street without leaning out of cover. "ZELL" he yelled, looking for a response.
"YEAH" Seifer heard Zell shout back.
"YOU OKAY?" Seifer asked.
"WE'RE FINE" Zell confirmed. The guns continued to fire. One or two of them stopped momentarily to load fresh magazines, but there was sustained fire on the buildings regardless. "BUT IT'S JUST ME AND NEVAEH HERE".
"COWBOY" Seifer shouted. He heard no response. "HEY, COWBOY" he shouted again. His words elicited no reaction.
Zell, listening in decided to try himself. "YO, IRVINE" he shouted.
"WHAT?" Irvine shouted back.
"YOU TWO ALRIGHT?" Zell yelled.
"YEAH" Irvine called back.
"THEY'RE FINE" Zell shouted ahead to Seifer.
Seifer leant back against the wall and winced as he accidentally shifted his weight onto his injured arm. "So what now?" he asked Quistis.
"I" she faltered. "I don't know" she admitted. "I'd say that there's more out there than we can handle".
"I think you're right" Seifer agreed. He sat around listening to the gunfire. "Look, I'm gonna make a run for it" he said. Quistis glared at him. "I think I can probably make it across the street and to cover on that side before they realise what's going on. It might give the rest you some time to get out of here".
"You'll never make it" Quistis said. Seifer looked at her, then began to push himself up onto his feet using only his right arm and the wall. Quistis stood up with him. "Seifer, no" she said sternly. "I'm ordering you, as a superior ranking SeeD, you are not to do this".
Quistis sounded stern but it didn't seem to change Seifer's plans. "You come up with a better idea".
"We wait for them to run out of ammo" said Quistis simply.
"For all you know they could have some kind of armoured support out there, and the moment we walk out we all get obliterated" Seifer argued. "At least this way I can get a look and shout over to you when I get to the other side".
"IF you survive" Quistis said angrily. "Which you won't".
"Listen" Seifer began. He stopped short as more shots rang out. But these shots sounded different, and with every one of these shots one of the clattering machine guns ceased to fire. Eventually, the sound of gunfire dissipated from the night air altogether. Seifer looked at Quistis, a puzzled look on his face. Quistis returned a similar glance.
"ZELL" Seifer called out. "DID YOU DO THAT?" he asked.
"UH" Zell began. "NO" he answered.
"COWBOY?" Seifer called back.
With the sound of gunfire now gone, Irvine could here Seifer perfectly. "WASN'T US" he shouted. He sounded as confused as the rest of the group.
Seifer cautiously peeped his head out into the street and looked around. The rest of his body slowly followed, a shocked expression adorning his features. "Fuck me" he said simply.
"I'll pass, if its all the same" said Zell. Seifer looked over to see Zell emerging from the alleyway, taking in the scene in disbelief.
The rest of the group walked out into the street. The scene they were met with was horrific and magnificent all at the same time. Twelve gunman lay dead on the street, their weapons at their sides. Under closer scrutiny from Seifer, he noted that every one of them had been shot in the head.
Suddenly the group heard someone clambering down the fire exit to one of the buildings across the street. Seifer bent down and scooped up one of the fallen men's guns with his good arm. He pointed it towards the alleyway in which the fire exit was situated. "Who's there?" he asked authoritatively. He heard the persons heavy boots hit the ground as whoever it was jumped the rest of the way down from the fire exit. What was now a silhouette turned and walked towards the group. "Who's" Seifer asked angrily. "There" he finished. The figure walked out into the street, illuminated by the moon.
"Point that thing somewhere else will you?" Squall said, a large rifle slung over his shoulder. He was smiling at the group. He looked pleased with himself. Seifer lowered the gun, and eventually threw it on the floor.
"Boy are we glad to see you" said Zell, smiling at his friend.
"You did all this?" asked Irvine. Squall nodded.
"How?" asked Seifer. "Your gunblade holds six rounds" he stated.
Squall pulled the rifle off of his shoulder and and held out in front of him. "This" he said. "Didn't like the idea of it at first but it seems to be pretty effective". He looked at it again, rotating it in his hand, checking the weapon out from multiple angles. "The scope and the nightvision are particularly cool" he added with a grin, raising his eyebrows quickly.
"You're uh" Irvine stuttered. "You're a good shot". Squall smiled again.
"How did you get here?" asked Selphie.
"Nida flew me in on the Ragnarok" Squall explained. "Dropped me off on the roof of a building on the other side of town" he continued. "From there, I just followed the gunfire and made my across the roofs".
The group stood silent, still in complete awe of the scene surrounding them. All except one. "Can we go home now?" asked Nevaeh.
"Yeah" said Selphie.
Squall pulled a radio out of the pocket on his jacket, pushed and held in a button on the side and held it up to his mouth. "Nida, can you come get us?" Squall spoke into the radio. "We're on the North-West edge of town. I'll set a flare for you". Squall let go of the button.
The radio emitted the crackling sound of static for a second before a voice rang out. "I'll be there in a few minutes" Nida's voice said through the radio.
Author's Note: - How was that one? A little more action again but not too much. I suppose that one concentrated on Seifer and Quistis. In any case, I feel like I should explain the whole 'Squall using a rifle' thing. I'll probably get lynched for this, but I find out really hard to write about people fighting with hand to hand weapons against characters with guns. Its something that occurred in the games but you can't really describe action sequences and fight scenes in a fiction with the characters forming an orderly queue and taking turns at attacking each other. I also find it hard to write about magic-type stuff too much so that may not be so evident except with one or two characters, as you could probably tell from the fact that I've gotten rid of GF's. So, HB may see the SeeDs picking up more 'real-world' weapons with which to fight. The original weapons will still be in there, but will probably be secondary to these guns. I'm probably gonna lose a lot of fans over this decision but I find it hard to write about magic and the whole hand2hand-gun thing, and its also always been the way I envisioned the story from the start.
In any case, I'd really appreciate any comments on this chapter, and also my decision about weaponry. Tell me what you think about the shift towards guns.
Till next time, c ya!