Chapter 33: Under Siege
There was something different about Garden the next morning. A heightened state of energy, everyone moving around with a bit more bounce in their step. Selphie's morale-boosting event also had a tremendous effect on the Garden personnel, and even the Fisherman's Horizon technicians seemed to be in a better mood that morning. Squall had arisen early and had gone over his gunblade as part of his normal routine, and then had headed up to the area some had already designated as the Garden's "bridge," the platform upon which was positioned Garden's new steering mechanism.
As the elevator rose, he spotted a quartet of people on the small platform: Quistis, Xu, the Headmaster, and some other SeeD he didn't know. As soon as the platform stopped, the trio of SeeDs gave him a sharp salute, much to his surprise.
"Good morning, Commander," Xu stated, and an annoyed frown crept across his face.
"Don't call me that," he ordered, eliciting smiles from everyone.
"We thought you should have a title," Cid stated with a shrug. "Quistis and Xu decided on 'Commander'."
"Sorry to do things on our own, but after the announcement we assigned some duties," Quistis stated. She handed Squall a clipboard, which showed a rough command hierarchy. The Headmaster was at the top, next to a label stating "Administration" while Squall's name was next to his, labeled "Military Command." Several boxes were scattered beneath them.
"I'm in charge of supply and logistics," Xu stated. "From what we've been able to determine, NORG had a pretty big supply of cash lying around within the Garden, as well as some Dollet bank accounts which we're accessing. Preliminary estimates of our totals comes in at about two hundred and fifty million, with the numbers steadily rising, as well as our normal budget, which tops out at over three hundred million."
"That's quite a war chest," Squall stated, suppressing a whistle. "More than enough to keep us operating for a while."
"Doctor Kadowaki and myself will take care of the students," Quistis added.
"I'll also handle diplomatic affairs," Cid added. "From what I know, we're probably at least welcome in Dollet and Balamb, so we can use either of those places as temporary stopping points to dock and put on supplies, or use them as places for our scattered SeeD cells to meet up with us. Fisherman's Horizon is also on our side."
"I'm in charge of navigation," the other SeeD added. He stepped forward toward Squall, extending his hand. "Name's Nida. Remember me? We graduated together after the SeeD exam?"
Squall blinked, not entirely sure but the face did seem familiar. He nodded for the heck of it, and then turned to Cid.
"So, its my job to decide our battle plans and where we go, right?" he asked, and Cid nodded.
"I've already worked up some reports for you," Xu added, and he nodded.
"So, where should we go?" Nida asked.
"I'd suggest we head back for Balamb," Squall stated after a moment's consideration. "It's a port town, just like FH. Galbadia may be heading there now. If we can get there, we may be able to get some more information on what they're planning."
"There are at least a couple of SeeD cells there right now," Cid added. "At the very least we could pick up more personnel and some badly needed supplies, and tap into the data networks and get news. To Balamb it is, then."
"I'll get us moving as soon as the FH techs give the green light," Nida added.
"And Squall, we've handed one of the offices on the third level over to you," Cid added. "Used to belong to a Shumi Faculty, but its more than enough for you, right now."
"I won't need much," Squall replied. "How are we on personnel?"
"Our cadet populace is just a little below our original numbers, so we can guess at about five hundred cadets, total," Quistis reported. "About four hundred of them are combat-capable. As for SeeD forces, we've got forty-eight still inside Garden, plus another hundred or so scattered around the globe."
"We should probably look for Galbadia Garden SeeDs and cadets as well," Squall added. "Most of them came from either Dollet or Galbadia, right?" She nodded. "Okay, after we hit Balamb I'll want a team put together to go into Galbadia and locate as many of those cadets and SeeDs as possible. We should also have a team try and get in touch with General caraway and see if he can give us any useful information."
"Having a Galbadian General on our side would be a boon," Xu agreed. "I'll run a profile on our forces and get back to you on who would work well for that group."
"In the meantime, we should try to get whatever intelligence we can on the Galbadian military," Squall continued. "Especially any transportation and trade routes."
"It'll be better for us if we can get our hands on our vessels," Cid stated. "The hangar-dock we keep them in at Balamb has plenty of Salamanders, as well as extra equipment."
"Then its even more important we get to Balamb," Squall said with a nod. "We should include Trabia Garden on our list after that. They may need the supplies."
"If they're still alive," Xu added, casting a pall over the group. Squall nodded again after a few moments.
"We'll need to see if we can save any survivors and render what aid we can," he stated. "And on the way, we give as much hell as we possibly can to Galbadia."
An hour later, with all personnel on board and accounted for, the Garden took off, Nida turning the massive military academy and the new home of the resistance against Edea away from Fisherman's Horizon and sailed north across the sea, toward Balamb.
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Two days passed between the meeting in Garden's bridge and the point where Garden had neared the island of Balamb. In that time, a lot had taken place.
Quistis and Doctor Kadowaki had taken the time to plan out an accelerated training regimen for all the cadets, and had implemented it. Every cadet went through combat training. Irvine, Zell, and Squall had joined in, providing the cadets with helpful instruction in the areas of armed and unarmed melee combat and sharpshooting. They had to get the students ready for battle as soon as humanly possible.
Squall had also divided up the forces into specific units. He divided the personnel up into First and Second class soldiers, the First class being SeeDs and the Second class being cadets. He gave the designation "Saber" to units devoted to offense, and "Phalanx" to units devoted to defense. There were more cadets on the Phalanx units than there were on the Saber units. He also added a third designation, "MG" to members of the Phalanx units, as SeeDs and cadets with the best capabilities with Guardian Forces and special weapons. They would be tasked with serving as offensive artillery, summoning GFs and using personal artillery, such as RPGs, at enemy targets assaulting Garden itself. He began estimating what parts of Garden were most vulnerable and from where they could attack the enemy from best. The front gate and the parking garage were the best places to attack from, and the outdoor balconies were good places to put the MG units. The Quad, the upstairs classrooms, and the front gate were also vulnerable, so he would need to concentrate Phalanx and MGs on those positions as well.
By the second day, Squall was already running combat drills with his forces.
In the meantime, Selphie and Zell also assisted with the maintenance units, helping handle repairs to the Garden, and Rinoa assisted Quistis and Doctor Kadowaki with handling and caring for personnel. Selphie also offered to help train the MGs with demolitions use. Both she and Zell had itched to get to work on the Iron Clad, which now sat inert in the garage, as did the SeeD and cadet maintenance crews.
By the time Balamb had come into sight, Squall and his comrades had hammered the SeeDs and cadets into something that stood a good chance of holding its own in a large-scale battle. They were already well-trained in combat and defensive maneuvers to protect the Garden; Squall's direction had simply smoothed out the rough edges.
Battle seemed to loom ahead late in the afternoon on that second day as Garden closed in on Balamb. On the horizon, they could see the grayish-brown of the Balamb Mountains, and before them, a green line signifying the shores of Balamb, the tiny, distant ocean-blue buildings of the port city.
And beside the city, just off the docks, like a giant, bloody mountain, was Galbadia Garden, resting in the ocean waves, looking much like it had been in the Monteresau Plateau, except sleeker and more compact, much like Balamb Garden was now.
"So, they got it moving?" Cid muttered, looking through the binoculars at the distant Garden.
"Apparently," Squall replied. "This could be a problem. We should have maps of Galbadia Garden in our archives, right?"
"Yes, we do," Cid answered, nodding. "We should make preparations for a major battle. But I think we should get closer, and determine how powerful they enemy force is. It could be they only have a couple of companies of men on board. Or they could have multiple battalions."
"Could they fit that many men onto the Garden?" Squall asked, and Cid nodded.
"Galbadia Garden has a pretty big dorms complex," Cid explained. "And with some modifications they could turn the classrooms into similar structures. They could fit multiple battalions into Galbadia Garden if they used some imagination."
"I'll put everyone on alert," Squall said after a moment, and Nida obligingly thumbed on the intercom.
"Attention," Squall announced. "This is Commander Leonhart. We are currently approaching Balamb, and have come into sight of Galbadia Garden. Its safe to assume that Galbadia has control of it and that a substantial enemy force is on board and inside the town. All personnel report in to squadron commanders and go to secondary alert level. Stand by to go to battle stations if ordered. Quistis Trepe, Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas, and Zell Dincht, report to the planning room." Squall switched off the intercom and glanced to Nida.
"Feed all the information we're getting from the sensors to the planning room," he ordered, and Nida nodded, already on it. "I'm going to take a scout team into Balamb and see what we can learn."
"Plain-clothes team, directly into the city?" Cid asked.
"No," Squall replied, shaking his head. "I've got something better."
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Squall entered the planning room, along with Xu and Cid, and was only slightly annoyed to see Rinoa among the group. He hadn't included her because of her lack of expertise on the matter, but as he sat down, he reconsidered it. She had lead a reasonably successful resistance force against Galbadia before. Maybe she could help out with planning this insane war.
"As you've heard in the announcement, we're getting close to Balamb," Squall stated as he took his seat. "Galbadia Garden is present near the town, and we suspect Galbadian troops are inside." He glanced over the group measuring their reactions. For the most part, everyone seemed to simply nod and accept it, but Irvine was a bit more intense than normal. Which was to be expected, after all; Galbadia Garden had been his home up until a couple of weeks past. Zell, however, seemed to be virtually waiting to explode the moment he heard the news. He was still in control, but he was fidgeting as if he hadn't used the bathroom in two days.
"For right now, our objective is to determine just what we're up against," he continued. "I've given Nida orders to skirt around the edge of the island to the north side, putting the mountains between us and Balamb Harbor. Once this is done, we're going to drop in some scouts and determine how many Galbadian soldiers are present and their composition."
"Then what?" Zell asked, sitting forward and looking at the map of Balamb being projected onto one of the walls. "We're gonna kick 'em out, right?"
"We're short on supplies, and our forces haven't yet been fully prepared for battle," Cid reminded him. "If we do launch an attack, it will only occur if the Galbadian forces are minimal in number. We can't afford a full-scale attack yet."
Squall nodded and rose, tapping a spot on the map.
"Galbadia Garden is here," he stated. "as are, we suspect, the majority of the Galbadian forces. It's the largest town on the island, so it only makes sense. However, we have spotted at extreme distance some convoys and patrols moving out along the island roads. One force did head for where Balamb Garden was once located, but turned back once it found we were gone. Others have gone to the various small towns dotting the coastline." Squall tapped a series of other spots on the map.
"Canvassing for Ellone," Quistis commented, and Squall nodded.
"We're going to pull a repeat of what Selphie did at the missile base," Squall stated. "We're going to jump a patrol, interrogate them to see what we can find out, and then, with their gear, we'll sneak into Balamb and determine the situation there. If we find a way to drive them out from within the city, we do so. If not, we exit, and return to Garden. From there, if the enemy numbers look manageable, we'll launch an attack on Galbadia Garden directly and either capture or drive it away. If not, we simply wait for them to leave."
"What if they try to burn down Balamb like they were going to with FH?" Zell demanded. "We can't let them do that!"
"I don't think they will," Squall replied. "They haven't destroyed the outlying towns yet. I don't think they'll sacrifice Balamb when they can occupy it and use it for a staging point for later." Zell relaxed a bit and settled down, but still seemed anxious.
"We should be close to our waiting point by now. Once we're there, we disembark and will observe their patrol patterns. If we can, I want to hit a patrol before dawn."
"No," Rinoa suddenly piped in, shaking her head. He glanced to her.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Galbadians use their thermal, night, and electromagnetic vision modes at night," she stated. "They can see even better at night than they can in the daytime. They'd spot an ambush at night a mile away."
"You know this personally?" Irvine asked, and she nodded.
"The best time to ambush them is either dawn or dusk," she explained. "They turn off their scanners at that point and go back to normal vision. Easier on their eyes. They lower their guard a bit during those times, especially at dawn."
"Then that's when we hit them," Squall asserted, and everyone nodded assent.
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Dawn had come, and like his fellows, Private First Class Tirva had switched back to normal vision mode on his helmet. He settled back slightly, leaning against the rear of the topside hatch for the APC, letting the machinegun droop a bit as he raised his visor and wiped his eyes. It couldn't be healthy for them to always be using one of the alternate vision modes all night long.
He glanced back at the APC trailing them, and the light reconnaissance vehicle before his own. He was right in the middle, an important position; he had to be a second set of eyes for both of the other patrol vehicles. Though it was weird to be using APCs on patrols, but their unit didn't have much else. The other vehicles were being used in Balamb, and the APCs were the only thing they had on hand.
Suddenly, the lead vehicle ground to a halt, and their own stopped. The rear APC halted as well.
"What's goin' on?" Tirva asked the driver of the APC. Aside from him and a third soldier, the transport normally intended to carry a full squad was empty.
"Not sure," the driver replied. "What's it look like up there?" Tirva scanned the nearby area, but saw nothing, though it was difficult to see in the heightening light of dawn. He shrugged.
"Nothing." He looked ahead, and saw two of the soldiers in the LRV climb out and begin moving forward. He saw someone beyond-
"There's someone lying in the road," Tirva called down. "Looks like some girl-"
"Lookou-" came a shout behind Tirva, and he spun in time to take a bullet in the mouth. As he collapsed backward, eyes widening, other figures suddenly closed around the patrol vehicles, one man with a strange tattoo wrenching open the back door of the APC like it was made of tin. He heard gunfire, panicked screams, and then silence as he passed from the mortal world.
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"APCs are too messed up for us to use," Zell commented after the two Galbadians that had survived were finished talking. The five SeeDs gathered around the captured vehicles as more SeeDs checked and secured the area. "Had to rip off the rear doors to get inside, and, well, that'll never pass. Not even through a checkpoint manned by Galbadians."
"All right," Squall added with a nod. "Three of their uniforms survived the beating we gave them, which limits us to three people going in."
"Not that any more would do any good," Quistis added. "If those men weren't lying, then there's two companies worth of soldiers in there. Five hundred men, at least."
"Even match-up against SeeDs," Zell replied. "We can take 'em."
"Not going to risk it yet," Squall replied, shaking his head. "I want to see for myself what organization they have, and who's in charge. We'll need to sneak a team in there. I'll lead. Irvine, you're Galbadian, you can help us get through. The third team member will be-"
"Me!" Zell demanded, surprising Squall. "That's my hometown they invaded! I gotta be on the team going in!"
Squall considered flat-out ordering him to stay, but decided against it. It did mean a lot to the brawler, and having him on the team would let Squall keep an eye on him. Zell was appearing as if he'd almost turn and run off toward Balamb by himself at that very moment, and if Squall left him off the team, he might do just that.
"Okay, Zell, you're on the team," Squall finally said, and the brawler nodded grimly, clenching a fist.
"Once we're in, we assess the situation. Quistis, you have tactical command of Garden while I'm away. Move the Garden close enough that you can see the city, but keep out of sight. If we're in trouble or it looks like its time to launch an attack, we'll launch a flare." Irvine nodded, holding up a flare gun that one of the APCs had been carrying. "If we want you to break off, we'll fire two flares." She nodded in understanding.
"If we determine that we can attack without risk, we'll bring Garden in. But if we can't, we pull out. If we find a weakness we can exploit, we use it." Zell and Irvine assented.
"Okay, let's move out," he added. "Let's get changed into these uniforms." Zell suddenly grinned.
"Hope you don't mind it being itchy," the brawler commented.
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The checkpoint at the eastern gate had been surprisingly light: a pair of soldiers and a single unarmed truck sat there. The men standing guard, however, had not been willing to let them through without identification they were lacking, up until Squall had thought on his feet.
"We have urgent news on Ellone," he had said from the passenger seat. The guard who had been questioning them stiffened, and looked around. Irvine, on the other hand, glanced at Squall, though he couldn't gauge the sharpshooter's expression behind his helmet.
"For real?" he asked, and Squall nodded, resisting the urge to scratch the itchy uniform.
"We have specific orders to tell only the commander in charge of the occupation," Squall lied. "Very specific." He took a quick guess at who might be in command of this whole thing. "Almasy."
The guard had been stiff before. He went rigid at that.
"I understand!" the guard replied. He gestured to his buddy, who moved the huge military truck out of the way, clearing the route into town. "Just to let you know, Sir Almasy has set up his command post in the Balamb Hotel. He's got two subordinates in charge of the building at the moment while he returns to the Garden."
"Thanks," Squall replied. "Also, this is top secret. We were never here, understand?"
"Perfectly," the soldier said. "Have a good day." Squall nodded and tapped Irvine, who accelerated past the checkpoint.
Inside, things didn't look as bad as Zell had expected. Aside from some soldiers telling other citizens to move along and breaking up knots of people, the Galbadians spent most of their time patrolling the city alertly, as if searching for something. Some groups of soldiers moved around with high-tech scanners, while others had large dogs sniffing around. Many of them looked like military police.
"Hey, Squall, you think we can drop by my house? I want to see if my ma is all right," Zell asked, and Squall nodded. Irvine parked the LRV near Zell's house, at the brawler's direction, and they stepped out, Squall hiding his gunblade in a bag he slung over his shoulder.
Zell hopped down the steps of the house and pushed the door open, opening his mouth to shout for his mom.
"Oh, you blasted tin-heads!" came a shout from Zell's mother as she huffed out of the kitchen, hands on her hips in anger. "Will you people ever leave us alone?"
"Whoa, momma!" Zell suddenly protested as Squall shut the door behind him. "Relax, its me!" Ma Dincht seemed to hesitate at the words, confused at Zell's voice and the uniform he was wearing, up until he doffed his helmet.
"Zell, what . . . how? What are you doing here?" she asked as he pulled his mother into a hug.
"Relax momma, the cavalry has arrived!" Zell replied, beaming. "SeeD is here to save the day! We snuck in using these uniforms, trying to see what was going on in town."
"Oh, thank Hyne," Ma Dincht said, relieved. "I was worried you'd killed someone to get in. The Galbadians are threatening to burn the town down if any trouble is caused."
"Damn, not good," Irvine commented as he removed his helmet.
"I've been trying to keep things calm," she continued as Squall did the same. "We've kept the people from panicking, but the Galbadians are pressuring us subtly. Restricting goods, constant presence on the streets. Everyone is on edge, and they said they won't pull out until they find this girl named Ellone."
"Ellone?" Irvine echoed thoughtfully.
"They combed the town thoroughly, but they seemed convinced she'd come through here," she continued. "But they're talking of leaving soon."
"Not good," Squall replied. "If they leave, they'll burn Balamb to the ground." Ma Dincht looked horrified at this, and Zell spun toward Squall.
"We can't let them do this!" he declared.
"I agree," Squall added. He turned back to Ma Dincht. "They said that the occupation commander's base is at the hotel. Is that true?" She nodded immediately.
"Oh yes. There's two people working under the head honcho, a woman with gray hair and an eye patch, and a big, burly man with black hair and dark skin."
"Fujin and Raijin," Squall muttered out loud. "And Seifer may be with them."
"If he is, I'll give him something special," Zell replied, punching a fist into his palm. Squall nodded, suddenly glad he had not brought Rinoa with him. Her presence might complicate things if Seifer was around.
"Then its settled," Squall stated. "The Balamb Hotel is our target."
"Barge right in with guns blazing?" Zell asked, actually smiling. "I like that. But still, if Fujin and Raijin are there . . . ."
"If they are, then they've opted to serve Edea," Squall replied, sighing. "That makes them our enemies. However, if we can, I think we should show them mercy. But Seifer . . . ." Squall scowled and turned to Irvine.
"Have that flare gun ready," he ordered. "When we go in, I want Balamb Garden coming around the island into full view. If we can take out the command center we can send the Galbadian troops into a panic and have them flee."
"And if not," Zell added, smiling again. "There's only five hundred of them. No sweat for us. I'm looking forward to beating Seifer's ass if he is in there."
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Irvine parked the LRV outside the Balamb Hotel, and the trio of masquerading SeeDs stepped out. A quartet of soldiers stood outside the hotel, looking bored as they slumped at their positions. Squall led his group in front of the quartet, and they immediately straightened.
"We need to see the occupation commander," he stated, and the soldiers glanced back and forth between one another.
"Eh, I'm sorry, we can't let you in," the highest ranking soldier, a corporal, stated. "Strict orders."
"You'll need the captain's clearance to get in," added another soldier. "He takes all responsibility with security matters. No one gets in without his say-so."
"I have information on Ellone," Squall stated, repeating the trick he'd used before at the gate. The soldiers here, just like the ones at the gate, stiffened and shared another round of glancing back and forth.
"I'm sorry, but any information on Ellone still won't get past without the captain's approval."
"Even if I have urgent orders from Sir Almasy concerning this?" Squall demanded, and the soldiers once more shared looks.
"Yes," the corporal replied nervously. "Even with his orders, you still have to have the captain's permission."
"Where is the captain?' Squall asked after a moment, sighing.
"Its his nap ti - er, he's out patrolling," the corporal answered. "He's a busy man, always out patrolling! Sets an example to us all!"
"Yep, that's right, ya know!" came a familiar voice in the deep, booming tones of Raijin as the big, former SeeD cadet strode down the street, bo staff in hand and resting on his shoulders. He grinned as he approached. "Always out patrolling, ya know! Fills ya with energy!"
"Indeed, sir!" the corporal replied, saluting, along with the other soldiers. "Sir, these men happen to have news concerning Ellone. Urgent news, straight from Sir Almasy!"
"Straight from Seifer?" Raijin exclaimed. "Wow, you guys must be important! Who are you?"
Squall, Zell, and Irvine glanced between each other, suddenly realizing the game was up. if they spoke, Raijin would easily recognize Squall or Zell, and they had no doubts that even if he missed that, he would still figure them out eventually. Zell shrugged as Squall let the bag he'd slung over his shoulder drop.
"Ah, well, enough's enough," he said, popping his knuckles. "Time to crack some skulls!"
"Huh?" Raijin asked, confused, up until Squall pulled his gunblade out of the bag and Zell dropped into a martial arts stance. The apparently hostile Galabdian soldiers had him weirded out for a moment before he recognized the weapon.
"Yo!" he shouted, surprised. "This ain't right!"
"Damn right!" Zell shouted, and just to show his point, he doffed his helmet, showing his tattooed face.
"Zell!" Raijin exclaimed. "I thought I recognized your stance, ya know!" Raijin brought his staff down and across into a ready guard. "But what are you guys doin' here? And dressed up like my men?"
"What's it look like?" Zell replied. "We're here to liberate Balamb, ya know! Err . . . ." Zell blinked, realizing Raijin's dense ways were getting to him. "But, anyway, yeah! And while we're at it, we're gonna whip some Galbadian ass too!" Raijin grinned as the soldiers around him readied their weapons, still somewhat confused but ready to follow the captain's lead.
"Seifer told us to give you all a whopping if we saw you, ya know!" he added, slapping the heavy staff across his palm. He glanced to the soldiers. "You guys back me up!"
"Irvine, take the right, cover us," Squall began to order, but then Zell let out a battle cry and leaped forward, at Raijin. The soldiers backing up the former cadet rushed forward at the brawler. From inside the hotel, Squall could see more movement, and he knew that things had oh-so-suddenly gone to Hell.
"Flare gun, now!" Squall shouted as one of the Galbadians went flying at the end of Zell's potent right cross. Irvine snapped up the flare gun and fired it into the sky, before unslinging his rifle and leveling it at the front doors, just in time to catch a pair of Galbadians rushing out in his sights. A single double-tap put them both down.
Zell ducked under an arcing cut and snap-kicked the next soldier in line, blasting him backward at Raijin, who batted the flying man aside. The brawler caught another soldier's blade in both hands, twisting it aside. His left hand shot up in a chop that smashed that soldier's throat, and then he spun around low, kicking the legs out from under the fourth soldier. As the man fell forward, his momentum carrying him downward, Zell rose into an uppercut that fully redirected the soldier's flight in a spinning backwards flip that smashed him into the swinging hotel sign. Even before the soldier had finished falling, Zell met Raijin head on, staff meeting fists.
Raijin struck first, hard, with an arcing smash of his staff that would kill a normal man instantly. Zell raised his arms and caught the blow across his forearms. Then, in a surprisingly fast maneuver, his left hand grasped the bottom of the staff for a brief instant, while his right arm curled up, over, and around the weapon. Zell pinned the staff to his side and stepped forward, kicking with all his might into Rajin's stomach. The former cadet grunted in shock and surprise, but barely flinched as he pulled back, dragging his weapon out of Zell's grasp.
"Not quite, ya know!" Raijin proclaimed. He tapped his gut with his left fist. "Rock solid!" He grasped the staff in both hands and rolled it in the air, spinning one of the heads and thrusting forward, smashing it into Zell's gut and tossing him back. The brawler landed on his feet easily enough and came back in, hopping mad and with a flying kick that transmitted that anger.
More Galbadians rushed out of the hotel, some still not sure what had happened, and all of them finding Squall waiting for them. Each slash of his gunblade felled a foe or blasted them aside long enough for him to strike another opponent, and anyone who tried to get around or past Squall was gunned down by Irvine. A dozen corpses or maimed soldiers piled up around Squall when the Galbadians suddenly split, breaking ranks and rushing out of the way. Squall barely had time to react when a spinning chakram lanced out at him, ringing off the blocking gunblade Squall managed to snap up and deflect it with. An instant later, rippling blasts of wind struck him, pushing him back out into the street. Irvine was hit too, but without junctions, he was hurled back and smashed into the LRV; not hard enough to do permanent damage, but enough to leave him stunned for a moment.
Fujin stepped out of the hotel, a contingent of soldiers behind her, and picked up her chakram. She looked over the corpses, at her embattled brother, and then at the two SeeDs masquerading as Galbadian infantry. She fixed Squall with her visible eye as he stepped forward, recovering from the potent wind spell she had used.
"SEED," she declared, and Squall nodded.
"Where's Seifer?" Squall asked, removing his helmet as, behind him, he could hear Raijin grunt as another kick from Zell smashed into the big warrior's chest. Fujin shook her head, setting her jaw.
"COMMAND, FIGHT," she stated. Her chakram rose, and Squall nodded. She gestured toward him, and more wind magic rushed forward at Squall. He countered with a quick casting of his own, launching a countering blast of wind. The two magical assaults met each other, struggling in the space between the cadet and the SeeD, and in the midst of that battle of energies, Squall focused on Fujin, extending his mind into her.
Raijin's staff smashed into the side of Zell's head, clipping him as he ducked low, almost knocking the brawler silly. But Zell traded that impact for a low kick that struck Raijin's left shin, knocking that leg off balance. Raijin hesitated, balancing on one leg, and Zell rushed forward, planting a fierce double-punch into the off-balance cadet. Raijin was thrown off his feet and tumbled down the street, before scrambling up. He managed to rise just in time to catch one of Zell's shoes in the face. Raijin hurtled back and smashed into some bushes down a small slope beyond the hotel, crushing the plant life under his sheer bulk.
Fujin launched her chakram again, right through the clashing wind spells, but Squall retained the presence of mind to snap his gunblade up and knock the blade aside. However, he did not counter the attack, at least, not in the conventional sense. Instead, he focused on Fujin and the power within her. He sorted through her wind magic spells and other energies, before picking out the strongest source of her magic.
A Guardian Force.
Only one, oddly enough; he wondered where her others had gone. Nonetheless, with only one GF she was vulnerable. He touched that Guardian Force and pulled with his mental power. Fujin blinked with her visible eye as she realized what Squall was doing, and tried to mentally resist, to cling to the spirit within her, but her grasp was like that of a man clutching something already too far out of reach. The GF flowed from her to him, robbing her of much of her power.
"Pandemonea," Squall muttered as he felt the new Guardian Force, a spirit of wind, enter his mind. He opened his eyes, looking upon an unarmed and powerless Fujin, helpless where she stood. To accent her defeat, Irvine had recovered from the shock of his impact and was standing again, raising his rifle. To the side, Zell was clapping his hands, cleaning himself of the nuisance of fighting Raijin.
"Nice to see you haven't been slacking off," came a call from within the hotel, and the Galbadians who had been watching the clash between squall and Fujin broke ranks again, scooting to the sides and hastily saluting. Fujin also moved to the side as well.
And through the gap strode Seifer Almasy, gunblade in hand.
"Well, well, well," Seifer stated, grinning. He looked over the battlefield. "Been busy, huh, Squall? Nice choice of clothing." He locked eyes with Squall, gray orbs meeting blue.
"Its over, Seifer," Squall stated after a moment. "No one else needs to die here, today."
"Doesn't look like it from my end," Seifer replied easily. "Three hundred men in town at my command and another two hundred in Galbadia Garden waiting for my orders. That's enough to give even you, Squall, a moment's consideration." He raised his gunblade, resting it across his shoulders.
"Bring it on!" Zell shouted, turning to face Seifer, his face locked in anger. "We'll take 'em all out! You're all goin' down!" He punched the air rapidly, bouncing from foot to foot.
"Weren't you paying attention, Chicken-Wuss?" Seifer snapped. "There's an entire army waiting for my orders. Not that I need it." He faced Squall.
"Last time I checked, you lost our last battle," Squall replied, and Seifer shrugged.
"Never got to have that rematch I was wanting in the prison," he replied. "Kinda glad you escaped. Reaffirmed my faith in your skills. So, what do you say Squall? You've lost one, I've lost one. Want to decide things now, and forever?"
Squall narrowed his eyes. He couldn't deny that, right then, he wanted to do just that, to rush across the street and meet Seifer head on, blade to blade. They were enemies by choice now; Seifer, with Edea, Squall, with Garden. Two soldiers on opposite sides, not enemies by the standards of good and evil, but simply enemies because of their choices in life.
"Not today," Squall answered after a long, breathless moment. He had more important things to settle right now, beyond a battle between himself and his rival. He glanced to the east and nodded.
"Balamb Garden is en route here as of right now," Squall stated. He pointed in that direction. Seifer looked, and his smile turned to a frown as he realized the truth. He turned back to Squall, his smile shifting to one of exhilaration.
"So it is! Glad to see my old home is still intact. How many people you have in there, Squall? How many cadets and SeeDs? Probably too many for my paltry force to fight, hm?" Squall shrugged, not giving him a definite answer.
"So, our little duel becomes an epic clash in the midst of two armies?" Seifer laughed and turned, holding his hands out wide as he did so. "Amidst a burning city and the screams of the hapless citizenry dying?" He turned back to Squall, fixing his gaze upon his rival's eyes once more.
"Is that what you want, Squall?" he asked.
"We don't have the option of backing down," Squall replied. "If you do come on, we'll have to fight regardless, and if we pull out, you burn Balamb. We don't have a choice.
"The ball is in your court, Seifer," Squall finished. "Make the choice."
Seifer considered it for a long moment, his gunblade bouncing on his shoulder. He looked up, to the disarmed Fujin, to Raijin, still struggling to get free, and to his men, both the standing soldiers and those dead and maimed around him. He turned his gaze, looking over Galbadia Garden and Balamb Harbor, and the distant, but rapidly approaching form of Balamb Garden. He finally turned back to Squall.
"Interesting how having responsibility makes your job so much more difficult," the knight commented. He sighed, and his shoulders drooped slightly. He then grinned and shrugged.
"I'm no monster, Squall," he stated. "Though I may work for one. Who knows? Maybe you're the monster, and she's the savior? I guess we won't know until that scene plays out. But this isn't that scene." He turned back to his men. "Spread the word! We're pulling out!"
The Galbadians seemed to hesitate, but then exploded into action, scattering and running about. Zell, Squall, and Irvine stepped back, getting out of their way. Raijin, who had managed to extract himself by then, returned to his customary spot behind Seifer, beside his sister.
"Well," Seifer said with a shrug. "Looks like this round's a draw. He stepped forward, passing near Squall as he did so.
"I look forward to the next time we meet, Squall," he whispered as he passed.
"Same here," squall replied with a nod.
"It'll be a sight to see!" the knight added as he strode down the street, Fujin and Raijin trailing.
"You guys don't have to go with him, you know," Zell said as they walked by, and both of them paused, regarding him. "You don't have to take orders from the Sorceress!"
"NEGATIVE!" Fujin replied sharply.
"Yeah, we don't take orders from her, ya know!" Raijin added. "We follow Seifer! Always have, always will!"
"If you do that," Squall replied, shaking his head. "You'll sever yourself from Garden."
"Can't back out, ya know," Raijin replied.
"NEGATIVE," Fujin repeated.
"Seifer has a lot of admirers, ya know," Raijin added. "But we're his only friends. We're a posse, ya know? Till the end."
"If you guys care about him that much, tell him to stop this shit!" Zell growled, and both of them nodded.
"AFFIRMATIVE!" Fujin declared.
"We ain't no sell-outs!" Raijin added. "Not to no damn government or a stupid Sorceress! We follow Seifer!"
"Then you know if you meet us again," Squall said in all seriousness. "We won't hold back."
"That's the way we like it," Raijin replied.
"FAREWELL," Fujin added, bowing respectfully, and both she and Raijin turned and followed Seifer out of the city.
"That's it?" Zell asked. "You're just letting them go?"
"Friend or foe," Squall replied, watching them leave. "It all comes down to circumstance. They made their decision. This is how we were raised. There's no difference between them and any other foe SeeD has had to fight." He shook his head. "Come on, let's go."
Reluctantly, they turned to leave, but Irvine hesitated.
"Ellone," he muttered to himself. "I remember her. But why are they after her?" He looked across the city, to the distant Garden, and the much nearer one, as well as the piled corpses nearby.
"Helluva way to declare a war," he stated, before turning and following Squall out of the city.
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Whee again. I liked writing that, especially the confrontation at the end. Obviously, the battle was not the huge thing it was in the game, because, logically, it would have been difficult to have a big fight in the center of Balamb without bringing the whole occupational force down on our heroes' heads. I worked with what I had.
Anyway, next chapter is probably either already finished or most of the way done by the time ya'll read this, and its going to be the completely original chapter I was hinting at before. There's going to be plenty of new developments, mostly setting things up for the final battle at Centra. Its not going to be as long as previous chapters, but its gonna be fun. Not to mention, it includes a certain SeeD becoming, in their own words, "Pirate King of the High Seas!" XD
And also, thank my editor for the title of this chapter. I feel like Daz now, using movie titles and other quotes for my titles.
Shout-outs!
-Chris Ganale: No. No blaster. You are weird, but I love the round of that. Is this RP online? Where is it?
-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Yeah, I know, that irked me a bit about the concert. Thus, I made it into a rave. XD
-OniRazz: Synthesis ( I don't like calling it BS because that sounds like bull-shit XP) does, to a degree, have the "real" AVALANCHE in it. I said it in one of the later chapters, but the characters have various aspects of their AVALANCHE counterparts in them. Wait till you see Selphie!
-Chloe: I actually had this joke I wrote in another fic about Zell where the library girl was his adopted sister, not a love interest. Everyone just thought they had a relationship. But no, the Zell-library girl love story is relatively minor. I may make passing references to it (probably in the chapters of the third disc) later on, but actually showing it . . . Probably not. It's a bit difficult to work in. There's so much stuff I gotta do with this fic. Xx
-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: I can imagine the OMFH would end up in chat rooms in the FFVIII world. XD But yes, LP has made its cameo. Mwa ha ha.
If there's one thing that keeps slipping my mind to write in, its Squall's explanation of his first kill. I may work it into the Seifer confrontation later.
Noooo, not the Moombas! ;;
-Kaiser-Kun: Yeah, the "ZOMG SQUALL YOU SUCK" reaction always irked me. I need to actually play through the game that far and actually watch that scene. Stupid PC.
World exploration plays little role in my fic. I'm probably not even going to do the Odin battle, though I'm thinking about working in the Bahamut confrontation in the Deep Sea Research Center. Centra battle is . . . Two more chapters after this one.
Noooo, Squall can't die! Oh, and to let you in on a little secret: The next Squall vs. Seifer battle is going to have a surprise that will influence their final clash.
-Arnath Nightblade: Always nice to see a new reviewer. I personally thought FFVIII was pretty darn good myself. Its plot and dialogue were better than VI, though not as top-tier as VII's. VII had that big shocker twist when Cloud took off his helmet. That was one of the best moments in the game. And, yeah, I like making the battles much more realistic and technical. A lot of people will just describe a clash or a flurry of blows or whatever, but blow-by blow is a favorite of mine, especially when they're long, grueling matches.
-cherieandpie: Oh, don't worry about the language. I hear worse stuff from my Marine and Navy ROTC buddies all the time. I'm glad to see you think I'm the best. I think I'm the only one left, Prodigy hasn't updated in forever, and its been even longer since Nique did anything. There was one by a guy named peter Eliot that was really good, but its not on anymore.
