Legacies: Chapter 19
by: Gemini83
Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own FF8. But I do own this story.
He ran as fast as his legs would carry him as he bounded up the staircase. Squall breathed huskily, allowing his adrenaline to build. Despite the heat of the moment, he realized something was wrong...but he didn't know what.
He came to the top of the flight, and waited for Zell's move. He didn't wait long, for moments later a grenade blast rattled the floor of the rooftop. He barely had time to look at the numbers, and curse, before his instincts kicked in. It didn't matter how many of them there were, he had the element of surprise. And by the time they saw him, it would be too late. Squall ran into the haze, yelling out his battle cry and swinging his gunblade...
Gabe stepped onto the rooftops as soon as he heard the explosion, hauling himself up with a great bound, drawing his shotgun.
He swore, "damn, there's so many."
Gabe's attention turned as Zell pumped his weapons empty into a mass of the shrouded enemy. The bodies fell like stone. On the other side of the roof, Squall was tearing into the enemy as well.
He picked out his targets and began to fire, keeping an eye on his comrades. It was a good thing he did, for he was just in time to see Zell jump over and dispatch several shrouds before another snuck up from behind the SeeD.
Gabe quickly loaded his shotgun and fired.
Zell snapped his head around, catching sight of a flash of light, and hearing a muffled shout as a shadow fell to the ground at his side.
He looked up at Gabe, and nodded, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it," he replied.
Then they returned to battle.
Gabe fired round after round, but there always seemed to be more of the lunatics for everyone one that he shot.
Two of the shrouds charged him, and he emptied several blasts into them. Gabe turned around, firing at several more trying to attack from behind. He cracked open the barrel, reloading his weapon.
Gabe turned again, to see two more enemies running to meet him. He cursed as he finished reloading, then cursed again...
The barrel wouldn't close...
The Illuminati let out furious cries as they charged Gabe, while he continued his attempts to close the barrel of his gun.
They were too close to him now, he'd never load up in time. With an enraged yell, he drew his open shotgun back. The first Illuminati neared, slashing with a knife. Gabe backed away from the swipe, bringing his shotgun around. He bludgeoned the barrel of the weapon across the Illuminati's temples, forcing the gun closed.
The Illuminati doubled over in pain, but the other was still coming. With a grunt, Gabe rolled over the back of the first enemy, still doubled over in pain. Using the springboard, he came down feet first, boots slamming the second thug square in the face.
He ran forward, following his momentum as the Illuminati staggered back. Then he leapt away, as his first enemy threw a knife from behind, hitting the second Illuminati instead.
The shroud grabbed his throat, gagging and sputtering as he died. The first one barely had time to feel shocked before Gabe turned, firing the now loaded shotgun.
The second Illuminati fell to the floor, lifeless. Gabe holstered his shotgun, drawing the blade as several more Illuminati charged him. Then he realized that they were using swords and spears, none of them had any guns...they must have run out of bullets. Gabe flashed a primal grin, and ran to meet them.
The first attacker swiped high with his blade. Gabe easily ducked, slashing his own blade forward from behind his back. The Illuminati fell to the ground, gripping his stomach.
Gabe rose to meet the next, stopping just long enough to deflect a blow and glare at his enemy from behind crossed blades. The he sidestepped, turning as a spear from another enemy struck at the air where he had been.
Gabe quickly swung his sword around, cutting the first Illuminati from behind. He backed away as the second one struck out with the spear. The shroud swung again, and this time Gabe caught the tip on the edge of his sword.
Gabe weaved his body to the side, narrowly avoiding the jab to the face, and struck sideways, cleaving the spear in half. He charged the Illuminati, running the man through with his sword. Gabe then drew a knife from his belt and threw it behind him, hitting a third Illuminati dead between the eyes.
He kicked away the dead spearman, freeing his sword, and brought it down in a fierce arc as yet another Illuminati came up from behind. The sword exposed the Illuminati's throat. But with his dying energies, the shroud bounded forth, striking at Gabe's exposed chest with his knife.
Gabe clutched at the knife as he fell onto his back, then his world was dark and full of stars...
Squall ran up the staircase, drowning out everything but the need to get to the top. When the explosion happened, he made his move, vaguely noticing Zell and Gabe making their own attacks. In the smoke and haze, the enemy never saw him coming. Somewhere, in the back of Squall's mind, a voice was telling him this was foolish.
When had he ever listened to reason...?
The first Illuminati never saw him coming. Squall cut him down from behind. He turned to slash the next one. This time, the enemy saw him long enough to scream, before he was cut down as well.
Squall darted back and forth, knowing that the enemy was aware of his presence. He turned, sensing something was wrong, and his eyes widened as he saw a knife flying towards his head. Squall brought his gunblade up, deflecting the attack, and quickly moved out of the way as several shrouds rushed him.
Another attacked at his crouching form. Instead of rolling away, Squall brought up his gunblade, slicing clear thorough the metal of the Illuminati's sword. The thug barely had time to react, for Squall gutted him instantly.
Turning his hand, Squall released a flurry of fire spells into a mass of shrouds, disorienting them.
He turned, facing another Illuminati, and swept his blade to the side, deflecting a swipe from one of the shrouds. With a single deft move, he brought the gunblade up again, cutting the Illuminati's exposed throat.
He turned with the movement of his gunblade, firing it into the midst of several on comers, then fell to his knees as another came form behind. He struck up with the blade, cutting through the attacker's midsection.
Squall rolled away, getting back to his feet.
As he looked up, a single Illuminati faced him. This one was different from the others, taller, bulkier. And he clenched a halberd in his gloved hands. Squall looked at the evil looking sickle of the blade, and the glinting metallic shaft, and narrowed his eyes.
Leonhart ran forward, the Illuminati rushing to meet him. Squall drew his blade back, bringing it around to crash down on the enemy. The Illuminati deflected the attack with the shaft of the halberd, then swept the weapon sideways, still locked with Squall's gunblade.
Squall retreated, as the scythe-shaped blade swept by his face. He quickly countered, jabbing forward with his gunblade. Again the Illuminati blocked, with the top of the blade. Squall didn't miss a beat, cracking his wrist to swipe the gunblade down. The Illuminati caught it again, this time on the tip of the shaft.
Squall continued a relentless assault, striking again and again with his gunblade. Again and again the Illuminati countered. With a grunt, Squall brought his gunblade powerfully down, meeting the Illuminati's halberd.
The shroud swept the ground with the shaft of his weapon, tripping Squall. Then he struck in midair, striking at Squall's chest as the SeeD fell.
Even disoriented, Squall's instincts kicked in, and he brought his blade tight to his chest, catching the halberd's blade with his own. He kicked out with his feet, slamming his boots into the Illuminati's face.
The shroud backed away, shaking his head of dizziness. Squall slowly stood up, panting slightly. The Illuminati glared at him, Squall stared right back. Now the Illuminati let out an enraged yell, rushing at Squall. Squall waited, allowing the Illuminati to close the distance.
His looked out the corner of his eyes, sensing several of the Illuminati finally pulling themselves together behind him. This would have to be quick.
He looked back to the Illuminati with the halberd, very little distance separated them now. Squall grunted once, rushing forward, blade held down low. As the two met, he swept upward, shearing through the shaft of the halberd. The Illuminati reacted instantly, striking at Squall's chest with the speared-end. But Squall had moved to the side, and he was now directly beside the Illuminati.
The shroud barely had time to react, as Squall turned and struck at the Illuminati's exposed neck. The shroud managed to bring the lower end of the broken shaft up to deflect. Had he been fighting a swordsman, it may have worked. However, Squall did not wield a sword, he wielded the gunblade.
The weapon cut through the shaft, and imbedded itself into the Illuminati's neck. Squall fired the gunblade, blowing away the Illuminati, who died instantly.
Squall slowly staggered back, breathing heavily now. He shook his head, forcing the bleary haze from his eyes. He looked around him, and knew he had run out of options...
They had him cornered...perhaps ten or more of them, forming a circle around him. Squall nodded, and brought up his sword again, resting the back of it against his shoulder. He drew away from the enemies, allowing them to tighten the circle around him.
If the bastards were going to kill him, he'd take as many of them down with him as he could...
He brought up his left fist, charging up a spell. He turned slowly, deciding the best place to fire it. He breathed even more heavily now, waiting in fevered anticipation.
The pack of Illuminati let loose a maddening cry, and all of them rushed at him, brandishing their various weapons, and Squall, caught in the eye of the storm, let them come...
He brought his charged fist down, releasing the spell at his feet. Blinding light and searing flames issued forth from his hand, and a screaming wind as well. He was catapulted into the air, flung high from the spell's effect. The Illuminati ran straight into the spell, screaming as the flames devoured them.
Squall twisted in midair, righting himself and his sword, crying out in rage as he brought the gunblade down on one of the Shrouds.
He landed on his feet, cutting through the first enemy. With almost feral rage, he ran straight into the ranks of the remaining mass of Illuminati, swiping left and right with his gunblade.
The Illuminati quickly fell, no match for him in their disarray. Then Squall finally backed away, forcing his breathing back to normal. The haze withdrew from the corners of his eyes, and he rested himself against his gunblade, using it to hold him up. Clenching his other fist, Squall let out a weary sigh.
A blast of fire caused him to turn, just in time to see a charred corpse fall at his feet.
Squall looked up, to see Zell's still smoking hand drop to his side.
Squall nodded, "thanks."
He turned as he saw a shroud moving. Squall painfully brought up his gunblade, and Zell turned, cocking his fists.
The Illuminati flew into the air, and fell onto his back, lying motionless.
Gabe coughed as he got up, "damned freaks."
Squall and Zell let out sighs of relief, lowering their guard.
As the sun's rays finally faded, Gabe rubbed his temples, thankful that the pain behind his eyes were beginning to recede. The moon's light came out now, and Gabe took in a deep breath of air.
Then he noticed something was wrong. Squall looked into his eyes, and knew what to do. The SeeD dropped to the floor.
Gabe fired his shotgun at the air where Squall had been.
"What the..." started Zell.
But Squall was already on his feet, running to where Gabe had fired.
A single Illuminati was sprawled on the floor, clutching at the wound in his side, breathing harshly.
Gabe and Zell came up behind him, looking critically down at the wounded man.
Squall looked back at them, raising an eyebrow, "still alive?"
Gabe smiled sheepishly, "I try not to miss, but I need some questions answered too."
Squall nodded, "fire away then."
Zell snickered, "was that a joke?"
Squall blinked for a moment, then realized.
He groaned, "Zell, that's terrible."
Gabe shook his head, peering closer.
A shot rang out, and Squall turned, knowing he'd never see the bullet.
But Zell had seen the flash, and although he couldn't explain how or why, he instinctively brought his hand up, covering Squall's face.
The bullet hit Zell's hand, and recoiled off the adamantine. Leonhart flinched back instinctively. Zell shouted in pain, his hand feeling like a hive of bees.
A second shot rang out, headed for the fallen Illuminati. This time Gabe caught it...on the barrel of his shotgun. He turned around, facing the source of the attack, and fired.
Then Gabe heard a muffled cry, and sensed more changes. All around them, the men saw hues of light, charging not to far in the distance.
Gabe turned to the other two men, "cover your ears."
Zell furrowed his eyebrows, "what?"
"DO IT!" he shouted back.
Squall and Zell did so.
Gabe looked all around him. He hadn't wanted to resort to this, but he had little choice in the matter. He walked over to the fallen Illuminati, pinching the man in the neck. The shroud fell unconscious, and Gabe covered the man's ears with his gloved hands.
His thoughts turned inward, going deep into his inner self, 'Siren?'
Yes master, came a pixyish voice.
Gabe shook his head, 'don't call me that, I am not your master. If anything, it is I who owe you.'
The bell-like voice laughed, this is why I like you master...what is you desire?
He grimaced, "Sonic Burst."
The voice in his head remained silent.
Gabe nodded, "I don't like it either, but we have precious few choices. Try to make it as weak as possible."
Zell still had his ears covered, as did Squall.
Leonhart looked at Gabe, wondering what in Hyne's name the man was doing. He didn't wait long for an answer.
A bright aura of blue and white surrounded Gabe, growing larger and larger, twisting and churning like the wave of the sea. Out of the blue depths, an angelic figure appeared, the Guardian Force, Siren.
Zell gasped, he had never seen her like this before, the GF was powerful, and hopelessly beautiful, with blonde tresses falling waist length. Her soft wings and creamy white skin glimmered with energy, her blue-gray eyes glowing ever brighter. Then Zell had to close his eyes as well, as the blinding light overtook the rooftops.
Author's Note: Oy, another spout of laziness before I finally worked out this chapter. Why can't my courses just take it easy on me? Oh well...right, I hope you are liking this story so far. As always, feel free to send feedback, please make it constructive, I don't think my frazzled senses are up to too much ragging right now...goes off to collapse in his bed...Hyne curse midterms and sadistic teachers...
