Chapter 36: Raise Thy Sword

Centra could best be described as an empty, almost sterile place. No one lived here, or at least, not enough people to bother considering. It was ironic that, until just over eighty years ago, this place had been the centerpiece of civilization for the entire world, with gleaming cities, advanced technology, and an incredibly powerful military might that had colonized over half the known world.

Now, however, there were no signs life human life had existed there, it all being wiped away by a disaster known as the Lunar Cry. Overnight the cities had collapsed and the people had been annihilated, only scattered survivors making their way in great hovering shelters to where Dollet now stood and the plains of the distant land of Esthar, both mere colonies before the disaster. Now, only lingering ghosts, broken ruins, and barren, trackless wastelands and thick pine forests existed within the empty continent. Aside from a few human settlements here and there, only wild animals and monsters roamed the vast, brown wastes.

It seemed as if a specter of the past had returned to Centra that day as a mighty, sleek white craft floated across the sea, propelled by the strange anti-gravity technology of the Centran Empire. It floated along the broken, hilly terrain and across the fjords and straits and through the narrow passages of the land. A quintet of sleek, blue-painted ships darted ahead of it, providing a picket defense against any sea borne threats, and a trio of the same craft followed, acting as rear guard.

"You think we'll find it, sir?" Nida asked Squall, who stood on the bridge overlooking Garden. Squall shrugged as they exited another strait and began to curve around the western edge of the continent.

"The information we had in Dollet pointed to the orphanage being on the Cape of Good Hope," Squall replied. He glanced at the holographic map, showing the once-solid continent now shattered into many pieces around a massive crater large enough to count as an ocean all its own. The Lunar Cry must have been beyond reckoning to cause that much damage. Squall sighed and turned away, glancing at another holographic display showing a schematic of Garden.

Things had been shifted around in the wake of the arrival at Trabia Garden. One of the first things that were decided was that Trabia had many noncombatant personnel and some wounded who could not help with the recovery effort, especially with the administration knocked out. Some discussion later, a decision had been reached: Cid would take over at Trabia Garden and direct the repairs and recovery effort there. A number of SeeD mechanics and some Dollet army specialists, as well as other noncombatant support personnel would join the Trabians who could help repair the damages. Meanwhile, all the junior cadets and combat-capable SeeDs and cadets at Trabia boarded Garden. Squall had made use of the nearest town's HD cable to contact Dollet and see if the Duke could offer some additional aid, which he promised to send. After that was taken care of, and Cid had left Garden with his group to help direct the repair efforts, Squall had turned the Garden around and sailed south, back to Dollet. Two days in port there had restored the supplies they had left at Trabia and given the soldiers and SeeDs on board some shore liberty. In the meantime, Squall had left the remaining wounded, noncombatants, and junior cadets there, in the relative safety of Duke Haroldington's nation. With the noncombatants removed, more room was freed up within Garden, which was quickly filled when the Duke had attached two more companies to the Dollet troops already on board. Now, the rough total of combat-capable soldiers was well over four thousand troops; two thousand and four hundred Dollet soldiers, over a hundred Trabian cadets, another thousand Balamb and Galbadian cadets, and eight hundred SeeDs - a number of SeeDs that no one had ever seen assembled in one place, ever.

Aside from those preparations, Selphie had taken further steps to protect the Quad with her devilish war machine, loading additional missile launchers to it and, at Squall's suggestion, a pair of rocket thrusters to the front. Some pushing had aligned it with the entrance to the Quad, and with a push of a button, she could have the entire Quad sealed off instantly with a mass of metal that simply would not be destroyed by anything regular Galbadian soldiers could bring to bear.

Squall had also ordered the Salamanders to be used as escorts for their trip through Centra, in search of the orphanage. They would scout out the terrain and sea-lanes ahead of them and spot any Galbadian ships before they came into sight of Garden, and Garden would respond appropriately. They had already damaged one Galbadian destroyer prowling the narrow passes of the Centran waters. Squall had a secondary purpose in mind for the Salamanders as well: to find the White SeeD ship. If they could locate Ellone they could do something to help assure her safety.

However, there was a lurking suspicion in Squall's mind that they were being watched. Three times, the picket Salamanders had reported spotting distant ships that did not fit the design of the Galbadian cruisers and destroyers, seeming to shadow their steps. The craft, when the pickets had attempted to approach, had seemed to vanish into the waters. Squall did not believe the rumors of ghost ships plying these seas, but instead suspected that the disappearing craft were associated with Esthar and their light-bending technology. But what Esthar wanted in this region Squall didn't know. Twice now, they had come across wrecks of damaged Galbadian ships run aground, their sides seeming to have been blasted by energy weapons and some form of magnetic accelerator cannon, technology only Esthar employed. Something was going on, but what, Squall didn't know. His anxiousness about finding Edea's orphanage and the possibility of a major battle brewing were not helping him.

So it was that, ten days after Trabia and three days of wandering around Centra's oceans, that Squall was standing on the bridge when they rounded a high mountain on the western end of Centra. Then far ahead, at the very tip of the cape they were sailing along, known as the Cape of Good Hope, Squall could faintly see white. He quickly used the visual scanners of Garden to zoom in on this whiteness a few dozen miles away, and saw a partially collapsed structure made of white marble stone, and at the very southern end of the cape, an old lighthouse. Squall knew the lighthouse, the appearance of it sparking hundreds of memories.

"We're here," he announced, looking up at Nida Excitement marked Squall's features as he spoke, and nodded toward the shore. "Bring us onto land and move in." Nida nodded and began to steer the Garden in that direction, turning east to get onto land. As the Garden rotated, the pilot turned his head and surveyed the landscape, and suddenly stood very, very still.

"Commander," he said, his voice hoarse. "Nine O'clock." Squall turned to his left, looking to the Garden's left as well, and suddenly felt his heart leap into his throat.

No more than twenty miles away floated Galbadia Garden, just across a wide valley and on the other side of a massive forest.

"Intercom," squall hissed. "No, wait. How long would it take us, at flank speed, to reach them?"

"Twenty minutes," Nida answered. "Ten if they do the same."

"Hold position here," he replied, taking up a pair of binoculars. He zoomed in, and noted grimly that the open regions of the other Garden were swarming with what looked like thousands of blue, red, and green-clad uniforms, as well as robotic and cyborg war machines and armored vehicles. The topside deck was laden with hundreds of motorcycles fitted with rockets on their sides and launching catapults. They seemed to be moving slowly at first, but within moments he saw the soldiers explode into activity.

"Damn, they've spotted us," Squall said. He nodded again. "Okay, intercom." Nida flicked it on, his hands visibly shaking with anxiety.

"Attention, all Garden and Dollet personnel," Squall stated. He took a slow breath, probably audible over the comm. "We are going to red alert. We've come into contact with Galbadia Garden. It's safe to say that this is not going to be a repeat of our last encounter. We will move to engage in at least twenty minutes. All personnel to your assigned positions. Phalanx and MG units report to the Quad and front gate. 1st and 2nd Class Sabers report to the garage. MG Nova unit, report to the second floor, West Balcony. Consult with Squad Leaders and Captains for your specific orders and areas of responsibility. 125th, get all weapons and equipment ready. The second floor is yours. Quistis Trepe, Xu, Irvine Kinneas, Zell Dincht, and Selphie Tilmitt, and Colonel Randolph, I need to see you all on the bridge right now." Squall switched off the intercom, and sighed.

"Nida, hold us here," he stated, and the SeeD nodded before Squall turned and descended on the platform's elevator. He came down to the Headmaster's former office and waited. Within a matter of moments the Colonel, Irvine, Selphie, Quistis and Xu had reported in. Zell was nowhere to be seen. Not wasting time with waiting for him, Squall stepped into the briefing. He explained the basics.

"Face to face confrontation," Randolph said with a nod. "They've probably loaded enough troops onto that Garden to overrun any one Garden's forces. But we've got over four battalions' worth of troops in here. They'll be surprised with what they get."

"Agreed," Squall replied. "Alright, this is the plan. Selphie." She nodded. "You and Zell will take command of the Quad. Hold it at all costs. If you have to, pull the Blue Bomber back and seal it off, but do not let them into Garden."

"Aye aye!" she replied with a salute.

"Irvine, you will take command of MG Nova unit," Squall continued, referring to the sniper and heavy munitions unit he had formed. "Hit that Garden with everything you've got."

"Right," Irvine replied.

"Quistis, Xu, you two will take command of the Sabers in the garage. Get into their Garden and cause as much ruckus as you can. Whatever you can do will relieve the pressure on the defensive forces."

"Understood," Quistis replied.

"Colonel, you and your battalion have the second floor, and also will secure the cafeteria, library, and dorms complex. You'll also be in charge of keeping the inside of Garden clear of any enemies that break through."

"I've already got companies moving into those areas and securing them, Commander," the Colonel replied. "But what about you?"

"I'll take command of the front gate defense," Squall replied. "And Selphie, find Zell." She nodded.

"What about Rinoa?" Quistis asked. Squall winced. With her junctions, she could hold her own in a stand-up battle. But still, she was a civilian . . . .

"Selphie, you and Zell take care of her," Squall said after a moment. "Okay, that's it. Move out!" The others nodded, saluted, and rushed out of the room. Squall turned around and boarded the elevator again, rising back up to the bridge.

"Squall, they've begun to move," Nida called, and Squall nodded as he saw the distant garden begin to advance. He glanced to the readouts and noticed that almost all of the units had reported in and was ready. He'd give his commanders a few minutes to get into position.

"Start a countdown," Squall ordered, drawing his gunblade. "At five minutes, orders or not, accelerate at fifty percent velocity. Try to keep the West Balcony and the garage facing them. We meet them head on."

"Aye aye, Commander," Nida replied as Squall returned to the elevator and began to descend. Soon enough, he was out in the Garden itself, walking among rushing soldiers, cadets, and SeeDs. Arctic blue, black, red, yellow, navy blue, orange, and olive green rushed about, readying weapons and receiving last minute orders. Some SeeDs and cadets began to salute, but a stern shake of the head from Squall reminded them that he did not want them to be saluting when they could be preparing to fight, kill, and die.

His first order of business was to return to his room and pick up all of his gear. He quickly dropped in, checking his gunblade, and then grabbing all the additional concussive force shells he could fit into his leg bandoleers. He made equipped both knives into their usual sheaths on his left wrist and right belt, and loaded up on the potions he would need. Once he was suitably equipped, squall left, returning to the central structure of Garden.

He surveyed the chaos around him, nodding as he saw his fellow warriors ready themselves. A SeeD helped a Dollet trooper strap down his helmet, while the soldier checked the SeeD's rifle. One Balamb SeeD ferried supplies to a group of Galbadia Garden cadets. A Trabian girl, just a cadet, exchanged a kiss with a Galbadian SeeD before they shouldered weapons and split up. Squall wondered if they would see each other again after this battle.

"Listen up!" came a shout from the direction of the front gate. Squall looked down to see Zell standing tall atop the Garden directory. He planted his hands on his hips. "Hey! LISTEN UP!" he shouted, louder and more forcefully this time, and everyone stopped what they were doing for a moment, or at least looked up and paid attention.

"People, this is it!" he declared with a thunderous shout. "This is our chance to shine! I don't care what Garden you came from, or what country you're fighting for! We're all here because that Garden we're about to fight is full of people who will do whatever it takes to smash us and our futures into dust. We're fighting for the futures of our peoples, our homes, and our families. This is what its all been leading up to! Every bullet, every slice, every punch, every shout and scream and drop of blood has led us to this battle. We're gonna walk in there, face the Galbadians and the Sorceress commanding them, and look them in the eye right before we say 'Sit down and shut up, bitch!' You got me?" There was a thunderous roar of agreement from the entire crowd of soldiers and SeeDs, and Squall knew that similar shouts could be heard in the Quad and the upper floors.

"Okay! Let's kick some ass! We're here to stop this Sorceress from getting whatever the hell it is she wants out here. I don't care if it's a giant sandbox or the President of Esthar himself, but we ain't letting her have it. Here! Now! We end this!" The roar was redoubled in its intensity, and went on for many long seconds as fists and weapons were raised in approval. As the noise began to die down, squall stepped forward.

"Zell sums up what I'm thinking," Squall shouted. "You heard the man, move out!" The SeeDs, cadets, and soldiers exploded into motion. Zell spun around, grinning, and dropped down to the deck behind the directory.

"Nice speech," Squall commented. "Where were you?"

"Takin' a nap," he replied easily, scratching the back of his head. "Your announcement woke me up. I'm heading for the Quad, Selphie already told me. We'll keep those bastards back. Oh, yeah, by the way, quick question."

"What?' Squall asked.

"Can I uhh, borrow your ring for a bit?" he asked, nodding to Squall's ring. He glanced down to the silver ring he wore underneath his black gloves, and took it off, revealing the shining device on his left ring finger. Engraved on the side was the same crouching, winged lion that was on his gunblade.

He glanced back up at Zell, and then to the ring. What the hell did Zell want with that thing, anyway? Squall liked his ring, but he wasn't overprotective of it or anything. After a moment of hesitation, he shrugged and slid it off his finger.

"Don't lose it," he warned.

"Hey, no prob!" Zell replied, pocketing the ring. "Don't worry. Its nice and safe. I won't lose it or anything. Now, time to kick some ass!

"And I'm with you!" Rinoa added from behind them. They turned to see her approach knives belted to her side and a modified version of her pinwheel crossbow. This one was designed along the lines of a semi-automatic crossbow, firing bolts instead of large, boomerang-style blades. The power behind the weapon was not to be underestimated; the draw weight on it was enough to send the bolts through solid steel. She smiled as Squall looked her over.

"I can fight," she said, setting her features. "As long as I can fight for something I can believe in, I can do it."

"If you think you're up to it," Squall answered, and she nodded. He turned to Zell. "Take care of her."

"Don't worry, man," Zell replied, grinning. "Come on, Rinoa, we've got the Quad." She nodded and began to follow the brawler, but spared one last look back at Squall, their eyes meeting again. Squall felt the sudden urge to ask her to stay behind, to keep her nearby where he could look after her, but before he could say so, she had already turned away and disappeared into the sea of SeeDs.

Squall sighed, and then turned around, walking back toward the front entrance. He held his gunblade tightly, the SeeDs and cadets giving him room and parting as he passed. He walked among the faces, of both young cadets barely old enough to go through the weapons program, to hardened veterans who had seen men die and blood fly. He stood among them, one of their number, but he meant more than just the worth of one singular fighter. He was among the best, but even more importantly, he was their leader, their greatest and the one they all rallied behind.

Squall reached the front of the line, and looked out the front entrance. Looming ahead, less than thirty seconds away, was the massive, bloody red mountain of Galbadia Garden as it closed in. Squall slowly raised his weapon, holding it high for all to view. He then stepped forward, beyond their line, and turned slowly to face his men. Behind him was framed the Galbadia Garden as it closed in. All along the front, hatches opened, and within, hundreds of blue-clad soldiers, many wielding shields, stood behind dozens of huge blue-painted war machines, both the hovering robotic units and the large, blue cyborgs.

"We hold here!" he shouted, and the force arrayed behind him, over five hundred SeeDs and cadets, nodded grimly. Together, they raised their weapons, and stood ready. Two SeeDs stepped forward, standing beside Squall, and together, they closed their eyes.

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Zell and Rinoa stood among the assembled force of cadets and SeeDs in the Quad, when he suddenly stopped. He turned to Rinoa, fishing into his pocket.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot! I got it from him!" He produced the ring that Squall had let him borrow, and she smiled. She took it, looking down at the intricate craftsmanship, and then back to Zell.

'Thank you," she said, and he nodded. Then she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Zell asked immediately.

"Its too big," she replied. "It'll never fit on my hand."

"Well, put it on your necklace," Zell replied. "I'll synthesize one up for you after the battle is over." She nodded, and undid the clasp on her necklace, before putting the ring on it and reattaching it. She took one final look at the ring around her neck, when the first explosions sounded from the front gate.

"Look alive!" Zell shouted.

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Atop Galbadia Garden, standing on a pedestal he had built just for the occasion, stood Seifer Almasy. Around him, he could hear the thrumming of hundreds of engines, the heavy, armored military motorcycles of his invasion force ready as they prepared for the assault. Below, in the hangars along the side of the Garden, hundreds more waited in hoverfoils, alongside hovering robots. And thousands waited within the hangars and open grounds, ready to charge out the front entrance and every other exit and smash headlong into Balamb Garden. Soldiers clashed their swords together, cocked their rifles, and tightened their helmets as they readied eagerly for battle.

Eight thousand. He had eight thousand regular men, not to mention five hundred robotic soldiers and an entire company of paratroopers. Even if Garden had mustered up support from other Gardens, that gave them perhaps fifteen hundred men. Fifteen hundred soldiers, most of them children, against eight thousand of the best of Galbadia.

"Don't die in the first charge, Squall," Seifer hissed, smiling, as Balamb closed in. "We'll end this here and now, today. Who will be the better man?" He paused, and then looked back to his men. They were almost in position. Slowly, dramatically, he drew his gunblade, holding it high into the air. Then, when the two Gardens were close enough that he could see the enemy troops in the upper floors - interesting new uniforms, olive green, he saw - he tightened his fingers.

Then, he cut down with the gunblade.

The signal was clear, and at that moment, the entirety of the Galbadian force leaped to the attack. The gauntlet had been dropped, and the war had begun.

The engines behind him transformed their revving growls to powerful roars of fury, and then the catapults shot forward, the rockets igniting. Seifer was caught up in the thruster wash of hundreds of vehicles launching instantly, leaping from his Garden to the enemy. Below, robots and hoverfoils launched, and the troops waiting inside charged, roaring cries to Galbadia and Edea.

"So it begins," Seifer whispered, smiling.

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"Stand by!" Squall shouted as he heard the charge begin. "Prepare defenses!" Squall heard and felt magic play across the front ranks of his forces, defensive spells put in place. He and his fellow forward SeeDs didn't need the defenses as they concentrated, slowly bringing their greatest powers to bear.

Ahead, as the two Gardens neared, grappling lines shot out and ramps were extended, slamming down on the front of the Garden and its entrance, the hundred feet or so of decking extending from the main entrance where Squall's force waited. Galbadian soldiers rushed down, and huge, blue-skinned and hulled cyborgs crashed down around them, rushing to the front. More soldiers landed, brandishing shields and swords, and more men, regular infantry, red-clad officers, and riflemen, landed behind them. The cyborgs quickly formed up and charged, their ranks a dozen wide and four deep. Behind them, the shield carriers charged, and the regular infantry behind them. They were a storm of blue and red, roaring and charging, hundreds and hundreds of men and machines aiming for the entrance Squall guarded, his force nestled beneath the archway.

"Finish!" Squall shouted as the cyborg and riflemen opened up during their charge, bullets and magic leaping toward the SeeD lines. They bounced harmlessly off the defensive shields across the front ranks, and off multicolored shields that formed before the trio of SeeDs. The SeeDs, at Squall's order, opened their eyes, and reality shifted.

Rain poured down upon the battlefield, and then began to freeze in midair, before suddenly evaporating. A bolt of lightning struck in the center of the entrance, followed by burning air and a massive icicle on opposite sides of Squall. Lightning, fire, and ice battled for dominance as a demon, a frozen lady of winter, and a bird of thunder emerged. The cyborgs rushed on, heedless, but the Galbadians behind seemed to hesitate, a few of them actually panicking.

Then, streams of lighting, a river of ice, and a gout of flame tore into the charging cyborgs, ripping and rending and burning them, throwing them about, freezing them where they stood. Several exploded in a blast of detonating munitions and flying shrapnel and meat, while others simply collapsed or went haywire, firing wildly. Within moments, the entire cyborg force leading the charge had simply collapsed, only one still standing, and with dozens more Galbadians behind them dead from the wash of destruction and dying machines.

"Fire!" Squall then shouted, and SeeD rifleman opened up, firing into the Galbadian forces. Those with shields hid behind them, but while their large, metal defensive devices guarded them from bullets, the remainder of the SeeD and cadet force added streams of magic, explosive fire, bolts of lightning, frigid icicles, and potent winds that hammered the soldiers as they ducked and milled about in confusion. Dozens fell as the magic buckled their shields and rent the men beyond, blasting and hurling them with their mighty fury.

But, the Galbadians did not retreat. The first Guardian Force summons had thrown them into disarray, but while the magic had inflicted casualties and would have devastated and routed a less disciplined force, these were elite soldiers, well trained, patriotic, and fearless. As soon as the blasts of magic had ended, they rushed on, infuriated by the deaths of so many comrades. They came on, heedless of their enemies or the fact that many no longer had shields defending them from enemy bullets. The SeeD riflemen poured fire into their enemies, dropping many more, but their weapons ran low on ammunition and they had to pause to reload.

"Fire two!" Squall ordered, raising his gunblade, and launching a potent bolt of lightning from his left hand. SeeDs and cadets concentrated and launched another barrage. Those soldiers not felled already were lifted from their feet and hurled away, blasted back into their comrades or over the edge of the platform upon which they stood. But while many more died, there were many times that number charging, shouting in fury. They were now close, very close, and the riflemen took up their shots again, ripping into the Galbadian ranks. Squall ordered a third barrage, and the leading edge of the Galbadian army was torn asunder, men flung to the ground and tossed away like rag dolls by frigid, burning, and shocking blasts of raw energy. And then, they were too close.

"Charge!" Squall roared, his voice the shout of the great creature that was his namesake, the thunder of the storm that was his name. He raised his gunblade high into the air, and rushed forward, meeting the furious charge with five hundred SeeDs and SeeD cadets behind him.

The Galbadian wave of blue and red broke upon the charging SeeDs like water upon an ocean cliff, dozens of men hurled back into the air as the stalwart SeeDs impacted their enemies. SeeD riflemen fell back, raising their weapons and seeking targets while the remainder of the force bore in, steel clashing against steel, blades and blunt weapons meeting, cries of victory, pain and death sounding almost instantly. Blood and a couple of heads flew above the battlefield as Squall struck first and hard, cleaving through two opponents with a deft low cut followed by an arcing upwards slash. He bulled into the battle, cleaving with ruthless abandon. He had suddenly transformed, his training meeting pure brutal instinct, melding and making him into a lethal warrior.

An opponent came in with an arcing horizontal attack to his left. Without thinking, Squall went low, ducking beneath the sword and slicing across horizontally with the Revolver. He cut across the man's stomach, and the soldier fell away with a cry of agony. Two more came at him from ahead and to his right. A flashing backhand of Squall's gunblade knocked the rightmost soldier's sword away while his left hand shot up in a brilliant flat-palmed deflection that slapped the flat of the left soldier's sword and parried it. The gunblade snapped across again, into the deflected sword's space and tore into the left soldier. Squall's fist crossed over his gunblade arm and punched the right soldier in the jaw. Another backhand took the stunned man in the chest. The entire routine had taken less than two seconds.

More enemy soldiers rushed in, trying to overwhelm Squall as SeeDs yelled and fought around him. Roaring a challenge to his enemies, Squall met a half-dozen opponents at the same time, swinging his gunblade with sheer ferocity that blasted a blade clear out of one enemy's hand and deflected his other opponents' weapons. The gunblade dove and stabbed, accompanied by an explosion as Squall pulled the trigger, and two of his foes fell, crimson gushing from their torsos. Squall stepped forward, smashing one man with his shoulder, and ducking low, twisting his blade around to impale another Galbadian, and pulled the trigger, blasting the man in half. He was pulling away immediately, spinning around and slicing deep into another soldier's side, and as the man loosed a death cry, Squall kick the body into another mass of his enemies. In the brief moment of respite, he channeled up a powerful bolt of lightning and sent it into the thickest concentration of the enemy, blasting and hurling them away.

There were distant explosions to the left and above, and Squall knew that Galbadian hoverfoils and flying robots had been released upon the upper floors, but he didn't have time to pay attention to them. He was leading only one part of a larger battle. But his mission was critical; if the enemy took the front gate, it was over. He couldn't afford to lose now!

Squall loosed another rallying cry as the SeeDs pushed forward, into the seemingly never-ending tide of blue-clad enemies, and rushed forward, a squad of SeeDs and cadets rushing behind him as he tore into his enemies. There was a sudden impact as the two Gardens clashed together, almost throwing the entirety of the battling armies to their feet, but Squall and many SeeDs kept their footing while many of the Galbadians didn't, and pushed on, slashing, striking, and stabbing in the opening they were presented.

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"Heads up, people, this is it!" Zell shouted as he heard the thunderous sound of the charge at the front gate and the subsequent explosions. Zell faced Rinoa and a huge force of SeeDs and cadets, nearly a thousand fighters. They would need that many to hold the Quad from the coming Galbadian assault. More explosions could be heard from the front entrance, and then Zell thought he heard engines. He looked around, searching for the enemy, when a cadet shouted and pointed up. Zell managed to look up in time to see what had to be dozens - no, hundreds - of armored military motorcycles driving along the roof of the infirmary, having landed there and driving over by the launching rockets. It was a daring and insane maneuver, and one that put a substantial force of enemy soldiers right on top of them. And even worse, Galbadia Garden had neared the front end of the Quad, and hangar doors flew open along its side. Ramps and grappling wires extended and touched down, and hundreds of Galbadians rushed out, alongside robotic units.

The motorcycles, however, were the first to engage, smashing down into the Quad right in the middle of the SeeD force, their riders drawing longswords and attacking immediately. There was momentary anarchy as they rushed into the SeeD force like high-tech cavalry, running down several of Zell's force before the brawler roared and rushed forward. He leaped ahead into a double kick that crumpled one rider's armor and then smashed in his helmet, kicking him off his bike and sending the vehicle skidding into another soldier's path. He spilled across the Quad.

Another rider was immolated as Rinoa unleashed a blast of fiery magic, detonating the fuel tank on the motorcycle and destroying two other riders and their vehicles. All around her, SeeDs and cadets took their counterattack to heart and met their enemies head on. Over two hundred blasts of magic ripped out, tearing into the Galbadian force as Zell led the counter-charge. He clotheslined an enemy soldier, not caring when he sword tore across the brawler's chest and left only a shallow wound. Zell spun around and grabbed the motorcycle by its rear wheel and whipped around again, lifting the vehicle into the air and smashing it down on another biker. The soldier's mouth dropped in horror as Zell used the massive, impromptu club to crush both man and machine. Zell hurled the vehicle into the motorcycle troopers as they continued to drop from the roof of the infirmary, taking another pair out, and launched a barrage of magic as he charged. SeeDs followed in his wake, their magic blasting the motorcycle troopers and causing many to swerve away at the ferocity of the counterattack. Zell impacted in the middle of the ferocious charge like a living missile, leaping into the air with a spreading snap-kick that threw two enemies from their vehicles. He landed in a roll and came up launching another blast of magic, taking an enemy biker, and then caught a passing soldier's sword as he swung it. A quick twist took the man off his bike and to the pavement, and Zell's foot slammed his helmet, crushing it.

Still, Zell's attack was only part of the battle, as the remainder of the SeeD and cadet force was thrown into disarray as hundreds other Galbadians drove about the battlefield. Two Trabian cadets were smashed under a half-dozen motorcycles, while a nearby Galbadian SeeD, who had just dropped an enemy with his rifle, was slashed across his back fatally by a passing Galbadian. The SeeD fell forward, but then managed to leap into the path of another motorcycle, knocking it and its rider over, both of them going down in a painful, high-speed heap. There was an explosion somewhere, throwing up white dust from the destroyed Quad pavement, and a dozen people were sent flying, SeeD and Galbadian alike. Swords met swords, magic sizzled, and bullets flew all about.

Rinoa was lost in the midst of the confusion, bikes zipping past her and SeeDs and soldiers and cadets shouting, fighting, and dying around her in a sandstorm of chaos and noise. She picked out a Galbadian about to run down a wounded Balamb cadet, and snapped up her new crossbow, firing it. The bolt lodged into the enemy soldier's throat and threw him from his bike. Another bike drove at her, the rider swinging his sword at her head. She threw herself back, falling to her rear as the bike passed, and then the driver whipped around, trying to run her down. She rolled to the side a she passed, feeling the whoosh of the passing sword near her head, and turned back to face the enemy soldier. He came about a third time, but by that moment she was back on her feet, focusing her magical energies. A shard of ice formed above her and smashed into the soldier as he accelerated, exploding and impaling him with hundreds of icicles. The man was hurled to the pavement.

"Get clear!" came a shout, from Zell as he rushed back into the fray, smashing another motorcycle trooper across his face. He turned to Rinoa, waving a hand frantically. "Move out of the way!" Her eyes widened and she turned, along with the entirety of the SeeD and cadet force, many of them falling back, away from the center of the Quad, but still continuing to fight. Zell and Rinoa retreated, the brawler kicking the motorcycle out from under another biker as he came in, while Rinoa sent another crossbow bolt into a circling soldier. She then readied her magic, preparing to unleash another fiery blast. She extended her hand, and the energy erupted from her fingertips, tearing into a pair of her enemies, when the ground before her simply exploded.

Missiles, dozens of them, blasted into the center of the Quad, where the Galbadian bikers were regrouping as the SeeD force retreated. Hundreds of Galbadians were caught in the blast as the SeeDs, from their safe retreating positions, launched more magic and fired their rifles into the hellish firestorm. Missiles, more and more, continued to hit the ground before the invaders, exploding and tearing apart the concentrated enemy force.

Then, there was silence as the last explosion ended, and of the several hundred Galbadians that had been congregating in the center of the Quad, less than twenty managed to drive away, joining the other surviving motorcycle soldiers at where the Galbadian infantry and robotic forces had finally assembled and were beginning their charge. All told, less than a hundred motorcycle troopers were able to flee the battle to their advancing reinforcements.

In the midst of the momentary lull in the battle, Zell raised his fists and cheered, as did the other SeeDs and cadets, and began to reform into a defensive line to meet the enemy advance. Rinoa joined the cheer, looking back behind the SeeD lines to the huge blue battle tank sitting before the entrance to the Quad, and the tiny, deceptively innocent SeeD sitting inside.

She hadn't heard it, but Rinoa was certain that, as she had fired the missiles from the Blue Bomber, Selphie had screamed "Whoo-hoo!"

The Galbadian charge began anew, hundreds more soldiers rushing on foot while the motorcycle troopers took the flanks, and the line centered by many Galbadian robots and cyborgs.

"C'mon!" Zell roared in defiance. "I don't care how many of you there are! All of ya'll are going down!"

-------------------------

Irvine zoomed in slightly, spotting the enemy officer as he directed a platoon of Galbadian soldiers to do something or other. The man was clad in the red of a superior officer, and Irvine thought he spotted a captain's insignia on his shoulder. A nice target. His finger brushed the trigger, a deafening crack filled the air around the balcony, and the captain was suddenly dead, and his men dove for cover. Irvine took his eyes away from the scope, scanning the enemy Garden for anymore targets of opportunity. Two soldiers pushing what looked like missiles loaded on a cart could be seen briefly, only for a couple seconds, but that was all the time Irvine needed to put a bullet into one man's throat and send the other into hiding, his ammunition forgotten.

Irvine paused to reload his PSG-1, and then ducked as a spray of bullets struck near his position. He cursed, snatching up his Valiant, and peeked out to see another group of those damned flying blue robots approaching the West Balcony. Normally, he would have put a silencer on his rifle, but he hadn't had time to do so before the battle had been joined.

"I got 'em!" he shouted as an RPG whooshed past him, exploding in the middle of one of Galbadia Garden's open areas and destroying a pair of armored transports, taking some enemy soldiers with it. Irvine stood quickly, sighting the trio of flying machines and fired. His rifle kicked and a dense, heavy slug blasted onto one dead center, ripping it in half and blowing the arm off a second. Irvine fired again, another armor piercing round blasting the other robot. A third shot took out the last, damaged one, and then he had to duck again as more bullets struck the balcony. Return fire erupted from two SeeDs and a quartet of Dollet soldiers with missile launchers further along the Garden wall, their shots impacting and exploding amidst a mixed group of robots and hoverfoils. The enemy scattered, and Irvine speared another robot with a fourth AP shot.

"Persistent, aren't they?" a SeeD commented as he reloaded his missile launcher, and Irvine nodded, reloading the Valiant with AP ammunition.

"We're not doing much damage," Irvine added. "I knew Galbadia Garden was well-constructed, but not this well."

Indeed, their initial barrage, dozens of missiles being launched simultaneously as the thirty members of MG Nova opened up, had barely scratched the outside of the Garden. Enemy return fire had been equally ineffective; the Gardens were tough enough to take light artillery and simply smile. Nova had been relegated to doing damage to whatever equipment the enemy was leaving in the open and trying to pick off airborne units that tried to get into Garden from the upper levels, but the presence of over a thousand Dollet troops, all members of the elite 125th, had helped to ward the enemy away. But that seemed to be only temporary, and Irvine could see many troops assembling on the upper floors of Galbadia Garden, doubtless preparing for a boarding action on the second floor as well.

Still, what he could see was what he could shoot, and after he reloaded his sniper rifle, Irvine made those soldiers on the upper floors pay for standing out in the open. By the time he had emptied his rifle's twelve-round magazine, eleven enemies were dead and another was out of the fight with his left arm blown off. Return fire was immediate and heavy from the upper floors, and Irvine took cover again.

"I think you made 'em angry!" another SeeD commented, popping up for a quick shot.

"Nah," Irvine replied. "Ugly as they are, they're already pissed off."

The Gardens smashed into each other suddenly, and Irvine saw the parking garage below contact one of the open areas of the Galbadia Garden. However, this open area was suddenly full of enemies, as hundreds of enemy soldiers rushed toward the doors and the new route into Balamb Garden.

"Damn, they're gonna be in a perfect spot to hit Quistis and Xu when they come out!" Irvine yelled. He started to rise, loading grenade rounds into his rifle and opening his mouth to call for scattering fire on the enemy below when missiles blasted into the West Balcony, hurling SeeDs into the air and throwing one Galbadia Garden cadet off the ledge. Irvine was smashed to the floor by the assault, but rose up again in an instant, brandishing his rifle as Galbadia Garden's upper levels impacted with Balamb Garden's. Even as the Novas were standing back up – those that could – the Garden rolled around Balamb, and one of the upper-level classroom windows neared the West Balcony. Galbadian soldiers, crowded behind the open window, began to leap to the attack, landing on the balcony and brandishing weapons.

"Damn!" Irvine cursed again as he fired a grenade shell from his rifle. The round struck one of the soldiers, hurling him back into the room and detonating, scattering the Galbadians within. Irvine fired a second grenade, emptying the rifle, and slung the Valiant over his shoulder, at the same moment reaching into his coat and drawing his revolvers. He fired quickly, .357 slugs clearing the balcony of the nearest enemies while the Novas snatched up melee weapons and dove into close-quarters battle with the enemy. The revolvers ran dry all too quickly, but Irvine had prepared for this eventuality. A smooth motion put the revolvers back in their holsters, and he pulled back his coat. Beneath his trench coat Irvine had donned the webbing and holsters he'd used back in the prison, and had armed himself even more thoroughly than before. Twin H&K MP5Ks came off his hips, and he leveled them at the thickest concentration of his enemies.

"Lets' boogie!" he shouted, opening fire.

---------------

Quistis and Xu realized they were in trouble when they saw sparks begin to fly along the doors of the garage, seconds before they were to open the doors and begin their own charge.

"Form up!" Quistis ordered immediately. "Defensive line!" The SeeDs and cadets of the Saber units had barely gotten into position when the doors exploded inward, and a tidal wave of Galbadians rushed in. The enemy was caught off-guard, however, as they had never expected a force of nearly five hundred SeeDs and cadets to be on the other side of a sealed door, waiting to attack them.

Just like with the front gate, magic ripped out into the charging Galbadians, turning their charge into a surprised confusion of soldiers, ripe for a quick counter attack, which Quistis and Xu did not hesitate to unleash. They rushed forward, and the Sabers followed, smashing into the off-guard Galbadians and plowing under the first damaged, shocked ranks. However, the enemy did not remain confused for long and regrouped, checking the SeeD and cadet advance with an equally furious rush. At the parking garage, where the two Gardens met, the SeeDs and Galbadians faced off again on a fourth front.

Quistis and Xu stood together in the middle of the chaotic, sudden battle, whip, sai, and magic working in conjunction as SeeDs and cadets battled their blue-garbed foes. Battle lines were quickly lost amid the confused mixture of vehicles, vehicle parts, and repair equipment, and full chaos quickly reigned, a hundred individual battles erupting, tiny wars being fought in the midst of the larger conflict.

Galbadians came against the pair as they stood together, an eight-man squad charging them. Xu and Quistis dropped a pair of charging soldiers with magic as the remainder of the squad rushed fearlessly, six against two. Quistis' whip snaked out, striking suddenly and cutting into a soldier's chest armor, before snapping back and biting into the leg of another man, sending him crashing to the floor. Xu met the remaining four, her twin sai working in harmony, slicing and deflecting their swords gracefully. One man died without realizing he had been struck, still parrying one of her stabs as the other gouged his throat. Another found his arm sliced open and sword falling to the floor, before she came back at him with a double stab into his chest that pierced a heart and a lung.

Quistis circled around, her rante flying overhead and rushing forward. The weapon, the Galbadians found, was difficult to defend against, as any attempt to parry the long chain resulted in it wrapping around their blades, giving the SeeD an opportune chance to disarm them. One man found this out the hard way, his blade stripped from him and clattering to the floor. Even as he dove for it, he died as Xu slashed down across the back of his neck.

Within moments the remaining troops had fallen, and Quistis and Xu wasted no time picking out more enemies to fight, launching magic into a full platoon of soldiers engaging a third their number in SeeDs. They rushed in, striking the surprised platoon along their back, and giving the SeeDs and cadets the brief instant they needed to regain their footing and counter, tearing into the platoon.

Despite their best efforts, however, enemy soldiers leaked out of the garage, escaping to other regions of the Garden, including the adjacent dorms complex and the Training Center, some even making it to the inside of the Garden's main structure. However, many of these men found a surprise waiting for them as squads of olive-clad troopers engaged them, pinning them down and containing the majority of the enemies that did get through the garage. The Galbadians had never expected that, within Garden, they would be battling soldiers who cried out in the name of the Dollet Dukedom.

---------------------

Shouts, gunfire, and grenades heralded the assaulting Galbadians as they smashed through Gardens upper windows, or at least those not already open and being used by those who had garrisoned the second level. Just like their comrades below, the Galbadians were surprised when they found not only strong resistance by large numbers of enemies on the second level, but that these enemies were the olive-clad Dollet 125th Infantry Battalion, the secret, elite unit formed by the Dukedom.

"Keep them out of the Garden!" Colonel Randolph ordered, firing a burst into a Galbadian soldier from his rifle. He ducked behind one of the terminals in one of the classrooms as other Galbadians returned fire. Dozens of rifles pumped bullets back and forth across the battlefield that the classroom had become, and the Colonel, showing pride and fearlessness to be envied and emulated by his men, was at the forefront, fighting his nation's enemies within Balamb Garden. He drew a grenade and hurled it over the top of the terminal, the explosive detonating among the enemy. Dollet troops rose and fired, and more Galbadians succumbed to their gunfire. Others began to retreat, leaping back out the window and trying to get back to Galbadia Garden or get reinforcements. His men continued to pour fire into the enemy, not letting up. They fought with unbridled ferocity; the 125th had been designed to fight Galbadia, and this was their first engagement with their enemies. To say they were eager to battle was an understatement.

Within minutes they had begun to push the relatively weak Galbadian assault back out of Balamb Garden's upper floors, and continued firing, pouring bullets into the retreating enemy, even within their own base. Rockets, grenades, and streams of steel flew between the two flying craft.

"Arrogant bastards," Randolph cursed in his refined accent. He gunned down another enemy soldier standing in the other Garden. "Make them fear coming back up here!" he roared to his men, and they shouted acknowledgements.

"Colonel! Galbadians in the hall, coming out of one of the other classrooms!" came a shout from Major Ellis in the hallway, and Randolph rushed outside, many of his men following. He spotted more Galbadians coming out of one of the classrooms further down the hallway, Dollet troops retreating before them, fighting them hand-to-hand with the butts of their rifles.

"Damn, must have broken through!" Randolph cursed. He shouldered his weapon, but then lowered it, realizing any shots he would have fired in that melee would probably kill some of his own men. Instead, he gestured to the men around him, pointing at his embattled comrades.

"Charge!" he ordered, and they rushed down the hall, joining their comrades in melee battle. A lot of people would have thought it foolish to engage an enemy in hand-to-hand combat when one had ranged weapons, but Dollet had learned the hard way, particularly when fighting Galbadia and other enemies, that at times melee combat was not just inevitable but preferable, especially in close-quarters battle. But, rather than spend money training their soldiers and equipping them with different types of melee weapons, they simply increased the weight and sturdiness of their troops' rifles, included a retractable bayonet, and trained them in how to effectively utilize their rifles in melee battle. It was a cheap, simple, and easily-implemented addition to their soldiers' repertoire. And as Colonel Randolph proved when he entered the furious melee battle still raging by smashing in the side of a Galbadian helmet with his rifle, it worked.

Dollet troops swarmed to the attack, smashing into the Galbadian troops with abandon. Randolph and Major Ellis led the charge aggressively, smashing and cutting their foes with their bayonets. Randolph stepped forward inside a Galbadian's sword arc, too close for the enemy soldier to maneuver the weapon properly, and smashed the butt into the soldier's stomach. The man doubled over, and he swung the rifle up into his chin, hurling the soldier onto his back. Then, Randolph spun the rifle over, stabbing down into the soldier's throat with the bayonet.

The Galbadians, who had already been checked by the Dollet troops they had encountered outside the classroom, were quickly overwhelmed by the reinforcements, battling with ferocity inspired by Randolph's fierce example. The survivors retreated as the Dollet troops pursued them into the classroom, firing as they came. Within moments the enemy had vacated the second floor of Balamb Garden, and the 125th had made the upper classrooms safe.

"Don't let them sit there!" Randolph ordered, reloading his rifle before unloading another barrage of bullets on the enemy soldiers who had tried to attack them. "Fire! Make 'em bleed in their own territory!"

The Dollet soldiers were more than happy to continue the battle between the Gardens.

---------------------

Zell's force hadn't had time to summon Guardian Forces. They barely had the time to let loose a magical barrage and throw the charging enemy into slight disarray before the battle was fully joined. The Galbadian force was powerful, well-armed, and experienced, but they found themselves impacting head-to-head with a unified SeeD force that was prepared for their assault, with Zell Dincht at its head. Zell's grandfather had fought to defend the city of Balamb many years ago from Galbadian incursions, and had performed brilliantly. Now, many years later, another Dincht, adopted but proving just at fearsome as his namesake from before, crashed headlong into the Galbadian forces, at the head of a disaster specially crafted for their military.

The Galbadian charge was stopped as thoroughly as if their commanding officer had simply ordered them to halt in place. SeeDs bore in, tearing into their ranks. Magic exploded in close quarters as the SeeDs pushed back the Galbadian advance, slashing and beating upon the enemy soldiers in a unified front.

Zell was in the middle of the clash. He rolled under an enemy slice and came up with an uppercut that hurled the soldier away before spinning around another foe, sweeping out the man's legs and then rising up before slamming a fist down hard enough to simply pulverize his chest, armor and all. Zell spun even as he hit, catching a swinging sword in one hand and smashing it with the other. He reached up and caught the broken metal blade and stabbed the shard into the surprised foe's neck before whipping around in a spinning kick that smashed another soldier's chest and crumpled his armor, hurling him into another group of his comrades. Zell spun again in high aerial kick that smashed another advancing soldier's helmet, and then had to duck and weave away from a series of slashes by another group of opponents that bore in. He then reversed his momentum, leaping directly at them, slapping their swords away as they tried to bring them to bear. He snapped one hand up, grasping a soldier's throat and using him for momentary balance as he came up on his right leg. Zell's left leg smashed upward in an arcing kick that snapped an attacking soldier's neck before flashing back and forth between two other opponents, hitting both men in their sides hard before rising up in another pair of kicks, crushing their helmets. The man Zell was choking struggled to get free, but Zell simply twisted, his impossible strength snapping the soldier's neck. Zell threw the corpse into another group of enemies and bore in, seeking more foes.

Of this, there was no shortage, but many of them now wanted nothing to do with the furious brawler.

The other SeeDs, while not as aggressive or furious as Zell, proved equally effective, dropping their enemies in numbers well in excess of ten to one, and those SeeDs and cadets that did fall were largely wounded, as opposed to those seriously injured or killed on the Galbadian side. The Galbadian motorcycle troopers had suffered badly, targeted especially by SeeD magic and firearms in the initial barrage. Of those few that survived that attack, almost none remained, or had abandoned their bikes for the comparative safety of the infantry.

Rinoa fought not entirely in the midst of the battle, but had managed to find her way to the side, and focused on supporting SeeDs and cadets with blasts of magic or healing spells. More than one badly wounded teenager had to thank her for staving off serious or even fatal injuries. As another cadet stood up shakily, a gunshot wound repaired, he thanked her, and she nodded. As the cadet rushed forward, raising his sword, she looked up at Galbadia Garden. At the rate they were going, they'd be pushing the enemy back into their own territory, and maybe even chase them in there.

--------------------

"Sir, our forces cannot hold in the Quad," a captain reported to Seifer, who stood calmly in the central courtyard of Galbadia Garden. Seifer nodded, and smiled.

"Well then, if they can't hold, we'd better help them," he replied. "Send the signal to our infantry and have the mechanical units move up. Tell the reserves standing by in the hangars to get ready for the second charge into the Quad. And tell the artillery troopers to fire when our forces are properly repositioned."

"Aye aye, sir," the captain replied, and hurried off to give the orders. Another soldier stepped up to him a moment later.

"Sir, the front gate assault force has been stopped," he reported. "They can't break through."

"They're not supposed to," Seifer replied. "Keep up the pressure on the front. Bleed them dry. We can afford the losses more than they can. Once we hit them hard in the Quad and press through on the upper levels and into their parking garage, they'll have to divert soldiers to stopping us on those fronts. We keep up the pressure, and they'll fold."

"Yes, sir," the soldier replied. "Also, about the garage. We haven't broken through yet. It appears they had troops waiting in there to attack us instead."

"Hm," Seifer mused. "Squall was able to rally more men than we expected. Still, it doesn't matter. We'll break through. We've got them outnumbered at least four to one. Keep up the assaults."

"Yes sir," the soldier replied with a salute and moved off. Another man approached with another report. Seifer recalled the man as the major he'd ordered to head up the upstairs assault.

"Have we taken the upper floors yet?" Seifer asked, and the man shook his head. Seifer blinked. "Why?"

"Sir, the upper floors . . . ." The major shook his head. "Sir, they have soldiers from Dollet in there!" Seifer's eyes widened.

"What?" he asked, not sure if he'd heard the man right. "Dollet? Dollet soldiers?"

"Yes, sir," the major replied. "We weren't expecting them either. There are hundreds, maybe a thousand or more on the upper floors, and more on the lower levels. There was no way my force could take them all. I think that Dollet may have thrown in with Garden in our war."

"I'm not asking for analysis," Seifer snapped. "This changes things. We won't be able to bleed them badly if they have enough soldiers protecting the upper floors. We can't get at them from up there." He looked down at the floor for a moment, and then raised his head, a dark grin on his face. "Get the paratroopers and our remaining aerial robots ready. I'll probably turn over some of our reserves too if we can't break through on the lower floors too. It depends on how we fare in the Quad and the garage. If we have to launch a second wave, we go in above and crush them up there. They're just Dollet troops, and not SeeDs. Regroup your men and stand by."

"Yes sir," the major saluted and left. The first captain he'd spoken with returned.

"Sir, we're ready," he reported.

"Then fire," Seifer replied easily, pointing his gunblade at an imaginary target as it were a pistol. "Bang. And then Garden and their allies die."

--------------------

The SeeDs had almost reached halfway through the Quad, and parts of the fighting was occurring along ledges along the edge of Garden. Then, suddenly, the Galbadians joined in a unified shout and began to retreat, while war machines rushed forward, checking the SeeD advance with their superior toughness. Still, the war machinery would not have been able to hold the SeeDs back, as the individual machines alone were only an even match for a cadet, and the SeeDs themselves would have no trouble with them. The SeeD force had the enemy war machines outnumbered well in excess of thirty to one, and would steamroll them quickly enough. Zell proved this immediately when he smashed into a blue-painted robot similar to the ones in the prison, one punch shattering electronics and a flying kick crushing its head. Blinded and disoriented, the robot was helpless before Zell's following combo of two punches, a cross, and a flying kick that crushed it into so much junk.

Then, the Quad simply fell out from underneath them.

Missiles were launched from the open hangar doors on the side of Galbadia Garden, slamming into the side of the Garden just beneath the Quad where the SeeDs were battling. The explosions rocked the standing forces, hurling many off their feet, but the concentrated barrage had a much greater effect. For in that assault, the concentrated missiles had damaged the foundations upon which the Quad rested, ripping into the metallic exterior and even deeper, into the stone that the Quad was based upon. The rent rock and shattered ceramics groaned, and then cracked. An entire slab of stone simply fell away, taking part of the Quad with it.

And upon that slab of broken and falling stone was nearly a fifth of Zell's SeeD force, Rinoa among them.

Some of the SeeDs and cadets managed to leap back to the more solid ground. Rinoa tried leaping as well, and a horrified Zell rushed to the edge, reaching out to her. Her fingers brushed his, and then she was gone, falling away below, plunging into the hundreds of feet between the Quad and the ground far below the battling Gardens as the Galbadian army charged anew.

-----------------------

A flying MP5K struck a charging Galbadian soldier in the mouth, knocking his head back, and stunning him for a brief instant. Irvine stepped forward and kicked hard against the soldier's chest, throwing him off the edge of the balcony into the depths far below the battling Gardens. In his left hand, the other MP5K spit out the last of its bullets onto another soldier's torso as he climbed out of the adjacent window. The man fell back, quite dead.

Irvine reached behind his belt and drew out a pair of Calicos as more Galbadians poured out of the top of the enemy Garden. From what he could tell, the Dollet soldiers had driven the enemy out of the upper floor elsewhere, but the retreating Galbadians seemed to have simply turned around and started attacking his position.

"Getting a bit crowded up here," he growled as the Novas were being pushed back. They weren't intended for a close-quarters combat force, and their numbers were far too small - only a couple dozen against many, many times their number. "Better fix that!"

Irvine leveled the Calicos at the advancing enemy and cut loose. Novas stepped out of the path of his bullets as they chewed through the enemy, mowing down dozens of soldiers as he arced and swept the weapons about. By the time the machine pistols had run dry the Novas had managed to catch their breath and had launched a fearsome counter-offensive, driving those survivors still on the balcony back.

Still, it was only a momentary surge, and Irvine knew they were badly outmatched and would quickly fall if they held here. He holstered the spent Calicos and crouched, grabbing two of the RPG launchers and a couple racks of missiles for both and stringing them together. While firearms were his specialty, he hadn't skimped on the demolitions classes either. Within a matter of moments he had set the launchers and their ammunition to simultaneous detonation. All he needed was a grenade to detonate it all.

The sharpshooter rose and reloaded one of the Calicos quickly, slapping a new drum magazine onto the back of the weapon.

"Retreat!" he yelled, bending down and scooping one such grenade from a dead Galbadian. He popped the safety pin and struck the bomb securely in the mound of explosives he had rigged up. The Novas broke away instantly and began to retreat out the door to the inside of Garden. Irvine fired his Calico, cutting down the Galbadian forces that tried to pursue them, and with his boot, he kicked the arming pin on the grenade off as his magazine reached its end. Then as the weapon clicked and the Galbadians closed in, dozens of men streaming onto the balcony, Irvine turned and leaped through the door leading inside.

A half-dozen Galbadians, hot on his heels, managed to make it inside. Then, a thunderous roar of sheer power and light sounded outside, and the entire enemy force that had taken the balcony, plus many other Galbadians inside the enemy Garden, simply vanished in a flash of light and a cloud of shattered stone and ceramics.

A boot slammed into Irvine's shoulder as he started to rise.

"Little Garden shit!" A Galbadian shouted behind and above him. "You're gonna bleed, you-"

The soldier was cut off by a stream of bullets tearing into the air above Irvine, as the surviving Novas and an entire platoon of Dollet soldiers opened fire. The blue-clad soldiers were torn apart by the sheets of hot steel, with the one man who had been threatening Irvine being the only exception as he threw himself back. Irvine rolled over onto his back, pulling one of the handguns he had holstered to his side out. The Galbadian soldier landed on his back, and desperately pointed the weapon at the sharpshooter, trying to take him out before he was killed. His finger tightened over the trigger, and fired-

But he was aiming one-handed with his rifle and the bullets flew high and wide, missing. Irvine's handgun, however, was spot-on. It cracked one, then twice, and the Galbadian's head snapped back, two bullets in the sensors on his visor.

------------------------

Rinoa was gone. Zell could only watch in horror as she dropped away below, crying out to him. He saw her slide down the side of the damaged Quad, her hands scraping along the rent stone desperately. She kept falling, sliding and almost plunging to the ground far below when her hands suddenly found purchase in a crack along the side of the Garden, digging in just barely.

"No! Rinoa!" Zell screamed, his voice faint and distant over the din of the suddenly intense noise of battle rejoined. The Galbadians were rushing in, heedless of the danger, seeing a large portion of the SeeD force suddenly gone. Zell, the leader of the SeeD charge, could only look helplessly over the ledge where Rinoa hung, incapable of doing anything to help.

The fact that the SeeD leader was out of the battle further emboldened the Galbadian force; they pushed on, shouting and roaring, driving even the stalwart and powerful SeeD army before them.

A sword from a Galbadian swept toward Zell as he looked on, only to be intercepted at the last instant by a SeeD's staff. The sound of metal ringing on metal jolted Zell out of his shocked daze, and he spun.

"Rinoa!" he roared, turning the desperate cry into a roar of war, and he smashed into the soldier who had been trying to strike him, pummeling his foe. He hurled the crushed man aside a moment later, diving into the fray, sweeping the ledge clear of foes so he could do something, anything to help her.

But the Galbadians kept coming, charging fearlessly, and the SeeDs, already shocked by the sudden loss of their comrades, had lost part of their heart for the fight and were slowly being pushed back across the Quad. Zell quickly realized that, even though he and the SeeDs around him were fighting brilliantly and checking the enemy advance there, they would soon become an island in the sea of their enemies as the rest of his army was driven back.

Still, he knew that he couldn't abandon Rinoa, not now, not yet. He had to do something, anything.

But no options presented themselves, and he could do nothing but continue to pound mercilessly on his enemies, beating and kicking them away. A dozen and more enemies died by his hands in that minute, but even so he was driven back by the press of his enemies. The brawler managed to spare a final look below at Rinoa as she held on with terrified yet inhuman strength. That reminded Zell that she had junctions; she would be able to hold on for a while, at least until he could get some help or find another way to get to her.

"Don't worry, Rinoa!" he shouted, spinning into a low kick that smashed an enemy's leg into a shape it was never meant to go. "Hold on!"

He didn't know if she had heard him or not, but as another foe dived at him and met a sharp, powerful jab into his face, Zell knew he couldn't hold here. He and his comrades would die if they stayed.

Zell retreated, but each step he took back from that ledge felt as if he were being stabbed in his heart. He knew he couldn't let her die, and that this was his only chance to survive, but every step tortured the brawler. He took his fury out on his enemies, and many more fell before him as he retreated, his group linking back up with the rest of the SeeD force being pushed back and away.

Then the ground before Zell exploded again, the center line of the Galbadian army vanishing in a hellish rain of missiles and rockets. Zell roared again, and rushed against his opponents, as did the SeeDs around him, pushing hard, driving them back. The Galbadians had forgotten about the Blue Bomber, and Zell took advantage of the shock they now held at Selphie reminding them about her presence. The SeeDs checked the enemy advance and pushed hard, tearing into the front ranks of the enemy army, driving them back. As the Galbadian army retreated, Zell roared for a retreat for his own forces. He knew that they could keep pushing the enemy back, but the brief respite Selphie had bought for them was just that: brief. He knew that even with the chaos the enemy was thrown into, they would not be able to force the enemy out. They would recover and stop the SeeD assault and turn them right back to where they were. They wouldn't have an opportunity to minimize their losses like this again.

The SeeD force reluctantly retreated, the SeeDs and cadets falling back, many remembering to stop and scoop up a fallen or injured comrade as they did so. No wounded were left behind, no matter how grievous; they would not leave their comrades to the tender mercies of the invading Galbadians.

The enemy army had managed to recover from the shock and counterassault, and began to charge anew, when Selphie fired the last of her missiles, tearing up the charging enemy and slowing their advance, giving the retreating forces just enough time to run past her position. Zell was last, stopping by the Blue Bomber to slam an ambitious soldier with a left hook that shattered his skull. The brawler leaped up onto the Blue Bomber and fired a bolt of magic into the enemy, dropping two soldiers, when the huge war machine roared, a pair of thrusters on the front pushing the mighty weapon back. Zell turned and leaped off the back, running ahead of the weapon and into the entrance to the central Garden structure a split second before it smashed into the doorway, sealing it shut with fifty tons of impregnable reinforced metal and armor. The rear hatch opened, and Selphie leaped out, nunchaku in hand.

"That everyone?" she asked hopefully, but Zell shook his head.

"Rinoa's still out there," he replied. He glanced back to the remaining SeeD force less than two thirds the size of what Zell had originally commanded in the first charge. The enemy had taken the Quad, and both sides had paid dearly for it.

"Zell!" came a shout from beyond the wounded and exhausted army, and he spun, to see another SeeD approached, arm in a hastily constructed sling, his other hand grasping a pistol tightly. "Zell! Have they broken through?"

"No," Zell answered, rushing to the SeeD. "What's happening?"

"They got inside through the garage," the SeeD said. "Quistis and Xu are holding in there, but some of them slipped through. Dollet troops are doing what they can, but we need backup in the garage."

"Right!" Zell said. "Come on!" he said to his force. "We're not done yet!"

The SeeDs were tired, bloody, and had just walked out of one hellish battle, but not one of them complained or hesitated. Aside from a small group detailed to protect the sealed entrance and watch and help the wounded, Zell's remaining army charged all the way across Garden, reinforcing the Dollet forces holding the enemy back and thundering into the chaotic war in the parking garage. The smashed into hard into a platoon of the enemy that had slipped out and rushed into the middle of the tangled battle. SeeDs and cadets took heart at the arrival of reinforcements, and the reinforcing army tore into the Galbadian troops.

Zell found his way into the middle of the conflict, where Xu and Quistis stood together, fighting many times their number in enemies, foes who had to step carefully or trip on the bloody, torn corpses of their own dead. Zell crashed into the enemies that had surrounded his comrades, and within moments the trio had cleared away the Galbadians surrounding them. Minutes later, the Garden reinforcements had cleared the remaining enemies from the inside of the garage and had swept the rest of Garden clean of their foes.

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The soldier's mouth widened as Squall gutted him, his gunblade's concussive force shells blasting him off the unusual weapon. Squall then snapped the weapon across, intercepting another enemy's sword, before spinning around the blade and tapping it aside. Squall's gunblade dove forward and slashed across the soldier's throat before he could realign his defenses. Another enemy came at Squall's left, slashing hard across with his blade. Squall spun towards him, smashing the soldier's sword away with a powerful two-handed cleave at the blade. As the sword went out wide, Squall's elbow shot up and impacted hard on the man's jaw, throwing him to the ground. He flipped his gunblade over and stabbed it down into the prone soldier's chest. Yet another opponent closed in, thrusting his sword, and Squall leaped back, snapping his gunblade around in a deft parry. Squall rushed forward with a head butt, his forehead smashing into the surprised soldier's chin and hurling him to the pavement below. More opponents closed in, three rushing from his left and one from his right. A quick parry deflected one of the leftmost soldier's blades while his left hand slapped away the flat of another man's sword. The third sword was caught in a weaving strike that not only guided it away from Squall but into the path of the soldier on Squall's right. That man had to hop back desperately to avoid being impaled.

As part of that same deft maneuver, Squall's blade had cut the throat of the soldier whose blade he had redirected while his left hand balled into a fist and struck another of the left soldiers with a quick jab that threw him off-balance. Squall spun back to his left, cleaving hard with his gunblade, and the weapon tore the head clean off that stunned opponent before parrying the other soldier's sword and then slicing into his chest. The SeeD spun on the remaining soldier to the right, cleaving again. The man barely managed to parry, his sword flying out wide, and Squall stepped forward, left arm flying out and clotheslining the soldier to the pavement. His boot crushed the man's windpipe.

He hadn't even finished the strike when the Revolver was weaving inside a thrust and countering with a jab that tore the lungs and heart out of another soldier. The gunblade was pulled free, new blood staining it, and sliced up into a charging Galbadian's stomach, blasting out of his chest. It deftly turned in mid-air and thrust down into a surprised soldier behind that man, crunching into his throat. Squall tore the blade free and slashed across, cleaving into another soldier's helmet and cleanly through his head. Another foe ducked the slicing gunblade as it came at him and backed away, but Squall jabbed his left hand at the man, and he died on the end of a bolt of lightning.

No one could touch him. Any sword that got near Squall was either parried and lethally countered, or used itself as part of a stunning counter-routine that tied up another soldier while Squall finished his business with the first foe. Attempts to parry were dodged around or simply blasted completely through with the heavy sword and Squall's junctions. Any who dodged or evaded his wrath met magical energy that annihilated them. By this point, Squall had cleaved deeply into the enemy, and they could have surrounded him, but none would approach him. The path of corpses he had left piled behind him showed them the price if they were to dare to challenge this mightiest of SeeDs.

The other SeeDs were fighting as brutally and aggressively as Squall was, and the fearless Galbadian charge had been checked and was turning back. The only thing that kept the Galbadians from retreating was the fact that so many were still streaming out of Galbadia Garden in an effort to assault the SeeDs at the front.

Suddenly, a horn sounded somewhere, and immediately, the Galbadians stopped their charge. Almost in unison, the disciplined soldiers turned and retreated, fleeing, though not blindly or filled with terror. Many remained behind to serve as rear guards, and were minced by their SeeD foes or by Squall himself, who struck hard at anyone foolish enough to get near him. Within moments, those that had stayed behind were eliminated or had barely managed to escape back to their Garden, leaving behind many, very many, corpses.

Then, Galbadia Garden momentarily broke away, retreating slightly.

Squall watched the retreat, and looked back at his forces. Scores, or possibly even hundreds, of Galbadians lay dead or dying along the Garden's front gate, though SeeD blood and bodies were mixed in among them. If they had kept up the assault, more would have died, but the Galbadian forces would have suffered even more so. He understood that the Galbadians' retreat was in understanding that they would not take the front gate, especially with Squall at the head to inspire and direct his forces, at least not without tremendous losses.

Squall turned and looked back to Galbadia Garden grimly. Likely, they hadn't even committed a portion of their forces to this assault.

This had only been the first round, he knew. They'd be back, and very soon. But they would win this if they could hold.

They had time on their side.

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Rinoa gripped the edge of the stone, and felt her fingers begin to slip. She had the strength to hold on, but gravity, and her sweating fingers, were slowly pulling her down. She couldn't hold on for much longer.

Time was not on her side.

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To quote Neo: "Whoa."

That was insanely fun to write. Loved every second of it. But wait? What's this? People are likely asking "Why stop here? Where's the rest of this huge battle?" You know why?

Because this battle is just getting started. That was just the first charge, barely at the beginning of the battle sequence. I've only just begun, and this chapter was little more than a preview of the war. Tuck in tight and get ready for the next chapter, because I can guarantee (unlike the Wachowski brothers XD ) that the next parts will be even more action-packed and intense. The gloves come off in the next couple of chapters....though thinking of new ways in which Squall is going to own the Galbadians is going to be a challenge!

Some notes: Zell's speech comes partially inspired by Halo. Specifically, when playing on Legendary difficulty, on the Pillar of Autumn level, when the Sarge is addressing his men, he says something very similar. His speeches are more hardcore depending on the difficulty.

A lot of this battle is inspired by the Lord of the Rings movies, some Halo, and especially the work by Daz Shier. His story, "The Omega" is one of the best FFVIII fanfics, period. Trust me when I say that. I can't stress it enough. You guys have got to read "The Omega." Its that badass.

Also, I've been meaning to comment on this for a long, long time. Squall's fighting style. If you pay attention, you'll note that, more or less from the beginning of the entire story, I've always had Squall fight very similar to the way Aragorn fought in the Lord of the Rings movies. Not just in swordplay, but also in hand-to-hand combat. You'll notice that he tends to mix punches and kicks and other hand-to-hand techniques into his fighting style, and makes use of his knives as well in grappling and other close-quarters battles. In fact, the addition of the knives into his arsenal was done in an effort to mold Squall after Aragorn. Basically, Squall is adaptive and flexible in his fighting style, much like Aragorn was in the movies. That's what I've been aiming at this whole time. Think I succeeded? Squall always struck me as that kind of fighter, especially after the hand-to-hand fight with the paratrooper.

Shout-out time!

-Angelo Di Desiderio: Thanks for the kind words. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy. XD

-Chris Ganale: I dropped by Gaia and poked around, and decided that it would be a bit hard to find your roleplay, especially considering that Gaia had over fifteen hundred pages (not games, but actual pages) and I didn't want to bother registering just to run a search. XD

You might see the occasional X-Wing or other Star Wars reference, but you're more likely to see Halo, Resident Evil, Hellsing, Matrix, and other references.

-Dragoon Swordsman: It does seem that way, doesn't it? Maybe he stopped hating Irvine after the rescue in the prison.

-Rusty Knights Productions: Ah. Y'know, this would sound pretty arrogant, but if Square ever did a remake of FFVIII, I'd like 'em to use some ideas from Gunblade to enhance it. Wouldn't it be badass if FFVIII was an action game?

-Daniel Wesley Rydell: Oops. XD I just noticed that when I reread. I think I took Squall's response from the script by accident. That was just a bit of momentary brain-freeze.

And about Squall's gunblade, I just kind of assumed that whoever had gone to rescue Squall, or however he had supposedly gotten back to Garden, had simply taken the weapon back to his room. It sort of makes sense.

-DBZ Fanfiction Queen: I sort of pace myself. But when I get inspired, I write like mad. Of course, for the last week or so I've sworn off writing, just so I could recharge my inspirational batteries. I'm itching to get to writing again, now.

-OniRazz: Yep. Trevor Spence. Composite of George Trevor, architect of the Arkalay Mountain mansion from the first Resident Evil, and Ozwell Spencer, evil mad megalomaniacal head of Umbrella.

-Solid Shark: XD Actually, no. That was another case of me borrowing the name of one of my ROTC buddies.

-Kaiser-kun: Glad you got a kick out of last chapter. Well, obviously, there won't be a Galbadian air force here, beyond the airborne robots and the paratroopers. As for whether the army will join the heroes, wait and see.

Also, that wasn't a plot hole. If you note, the mansion that they visited Caraway in was another home, a mountain retreat, not the one in Deling City. Different mansion. I'm probably not going to bring Angelo back to join Rinoa until the very, very end. She doesn't fit well with all the action in the third chapter.

-Khimahrigirl: Yeah, my editor does go over all my chapters. His corrections and commentary are a huge boost to my writing . . . Not to mention he tends to whack me over the head with various mistakes I make and continuity issues.