Chapter 38: Endgame

Casualties in the massive assault had been high, considering the high rate of injures, the exhaustion, and the numbers of the enemy, but Squall was surprised that they were lower than he had expected. There were several hundred dead and about twice that injured, but considering the enemy's numbers and the shape that his troops had been in, the casualties were but a fraction of what they could have been.

Perhaps, Squall mused as he crossed the battlefield, that was what it meant to be a leader fighting alongside one's men. Standing alongside one's soldiers in battle had an intangible effect that defied cold arithmetic. Squall's presence had cut the losses to his forces significantly.

He paused to help a Dollet trooper carry one of his wounded comrades back into Balamb Garden, and once they had returned, he turned his attention back to Galbadia Garden, its red walls looming above his tired army. The few remaining Galbadian troops, only a few hundred, had retreated back inside during the last couple of hours and had buttoned up the interior of the Garden tightly, preparing for a siege. Squall nodded at the logic, and recalled the way the enemy had been fighting outside: not to win or even stop the SeeD advance, but just to kill. They were in this battle to make them suffer, and any assault they launched on the dug-in Galbadians would be precisely what they wanted.

The SeeDs and Dollet troops had set up a perimeter around the central Garden structure. Irvine was meeting with some of the higher-ranking SeeDs, Colonel Randolph, and Squall's own group, pouring over the plans to launch an assault, divulging all the information he knew about the interior of the Garden, which was quite a lot. Squall approached the makeshift command post, which had until the battle been a vehicle hangar. He stepped inside, past the SeeD and Dollet guards, and came across the group surrounding the table, where Irvine was pointing out entrances and exits and discussing troop numbers.

"So, with only a few hundred soldiers," he explained, "they can't hope to cover every possible entrance and exit. In fact, I'm guessing that they've probably pulled out of the outer halls and into the interior, around where the classrooms and are located, and holed up in there. That's where I'm guessing Edea is as well."

"If we attack, they're going to try to bleed us," Randolph added, to solemn nods from his advisors and the SeeDs. "A large-scale assault is just what they want. The Galbadians will do whatever it takes to maximize our casualties, even at their own expense."

"Why would they want that?" Zell asked.

"To limit how many of us go against Edea," Squall answered as he joined them. "That's what that whole battle we just fought was about. To weaken us so Edea will have an easy time with us."

"Well, as we are, we're spread pretty thin," Randolph added. "I've got three hundred more dead or out of combat, and your SeeDs and cadets have two hundred more down or out of battle. We're at less than half the force we had when we first began this battle. We can win if we launch a frontal assault on the interior of Galbadia Garden, but hundreds more will die before we take the interior."

"Not exactly leaving us much of a choice," Quistis added, shaking her head. "But the only other option is a covert entry."

"Plenty of entrances for that," Irvine added. "I can lead any team that tries to break in myself."

"It'll have to be a SeeD group," Squall added. "A small force. Five or six people, maximum. We slip in and accomplish the objective."

"Pardon me," added Randolph, confused. "But what would be the objective of this insertion team?"

"What we SeeDs are intended to do," Squall answered grimly. "We're going to find Edea. And then we'll neutralize her."

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

"Well, obviously Irvine is on the team," Squall said, ticking the members of the group off on his fingers as he consulted with his comrades a few minutes later. The sharpshooter, who was checking and reloading his weapons on a recently cleared table, nodded. "He'll be our guide. But as for the remainder of the team . . . ." He looked around at Zell, Quistis, and Selphie, who, together, nodded.

"Matron was important to all of us," Quistis said after a long moment. "I'd rather face her myself than send someone in my stead."

"Same here!" Zell replied. "Who knows, maybe seeing us will snap her out of it!"

"Right!" Selphie added. Irvine simply nodded.

"Okay, that settles the insertion team," Squall said. "I'd like to add Xu onto the team, but with her injury, she won't be able to join us." The others nodded. Xu had suffered a nasty hit on her temple in the final charge and had passed out a few minutes after the final victory. She was in stable condition, but still weak and dizzy.

"I'll take a quick check to see about our remaining forces, and if anyone is qualified to join the insertion group," Squall added. The others nodded again, and Squall turned and stepped outside of the storage shed they were using, and walked out among the scattered and busy SeeDs and Dollet troopers. He had a good idea of who he would want to join the team, preferably someone with skills at lock picking and evasion to round the group out. His current team was pretty good, but they were heavier on the combat side as opposed to insertion and evasion.

He crossed the battlefield, and rounded a group of SeeDs guarding a sizable number of Galbadian POWs, then ducked between two Dollet troopers and a SeeD who were discussing plans for possible assaults on the interior of the enemy Garden. About three steps after that someone approached him from behind, and he turned quickly, a motion which startled Rinoa, who stood right behind him. Squall relaxed immediately, realizing she had been the one creeping up on him, not some hidden Galbadian assassin.

"Rinoa," he said, a bit surprised himself by her sudden appearance. He tried to hide the fact that his surprise was a pleasant one, but probably failed.

"Squall," she said after a moment, seeming a bit hesitant. "I just . . . I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. I didn't have time before, so . . . ."

"I understand," Squall replied. "It was . . . " Squall hesitated, realizing that he was about to say that rescuing her was very important to him, and quickly switched gears. "It was nothing. We're still under contract and all." Rinoa smiled and nodded, but Squall could tell from her smile that she had probably seen through the lie.

"I see," she said. "You know, when I was holding on back there, even with all the ramming and crashing, I realized something. I knew I couldn't let myself die because . . . Because I thought that I would never get to see your face again. That inspired me to hold on, imagining you there." Squall didn't reply to that immediately, surprised that Rinoa would have gotten so much strength out of thinking of him. It took him several long seconds to catch her real meaning, but what she was saying surprised him even more, in spite of the fact that he had suspected it for a while.

Rinoa was not just a friend, she viewed him in a much closer and more intimate light, even closer than a comrade or combat buddy. It was deep affection, probably caused by all the time they had spent together in battle and in hardships. It could almost be called . . . .

The word jolted Squall even as he realized it.

"And another reason why I couldn't die," she said, cutting him off from his thoughts. "I have something of yours, something very important that I wanted to give back to you. Its your ring." She reached up and held up the chain around her neck, showing the heavy ring to him. "Zell gave it to me," she added as his surprised expression, which was partially due to her revelation about the ring and partially due to his jumbled thoughts.

I'm gonna kill him, Squall thought after a moment, pushing back the other thoughts and focusing on the ring she wore around her slender throat.

"That's my favorite ring," he said, more annoyed than anything.

"I know," she replied, looking down at it. "It's really beautiful. What is it made of, silver?" He nodded. "I see. What's this monster on it?"

"It's not a monster," Squall replied quickly, surprised at his own tone. "It's a lion."

"Lion?" she asked, looking down at it and the powerful winged creature engraved upon it. "What's a lion?"

"They're not very common anymore," he replied, shaking his head. "They live on the plains of Centra and northern Esthar now. Great, huge hunting cats, the mightiest hunters. They're known for their great strength and pride."

"Hm," she said, looking down at it. "Great strength, pride . . . ." She looked back up at him, smiling. "Like someone I know. I see why you like them so much. They're so like you."

"I wish I was," Squall replied after a moment, shaking his head.

"Oh, you are," she assured him. "But this lion looks strange."

"It's not a true lion," Squall replied. "Or at least, not a normal one. It's the Guardian Force, Griever."

"Griever?" she asked, and he nodded.

"The most powerful one of all," he said. "Legends say that it used to serve and protect the Sorceresses of ancient times. No one in modern times has even seen it."

"I see," she said, nodding. "I like it. Zell told me he'd make a ring to fit me later, exactly like this one. Who knows, maybe I can become like a lion too? Wouldn't that be crazy? People would get the wrong idea about us, being so alike."

Squall didn't miss the subtext of her words, or her happy tone, as if she wanted everyone to get the wrong idea about them anyway. The others were already trying to get the two of them together. It was so obvious that even he could tell. And to tell the truth, Squall didn't find anything wrong with that. Rinoa had shown him a gap in his heart he'd never known about for so long because he refused to acknowledge it, and now that he was aware of it, he keenly felt the urge to fill it. Rinoa had already shown him the part that was missing from his life, and now, she seemed to be quite willing to fill that gap. But . . . was he ready for her to do that, yet?

Squall shook his head as he thought of that. Now was not the time to be considering this sort of thing. He had a mission to complete . . . And a reunion with his past.

"What?" she asked as Squall shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied. "I've . . . I've got to go. We're about to go in with a team and I need to find someone who can get past Galbadian security-"

"I can do that," she replied, and Squall blinked. She nodded. "Don't forget, I've been fighting Galbadia for a while myself. Whenever we did raids on Galbadian storehouses, who do you think was the one who slipped everyone past security? And how do you think we got those codes for the train?"

"You think you can handle it?" Squall asked, and she nodded firmly. After a moment, Squall reluctantly conceded. "Okay, then. Come on, we're planning things out over here." He turned and led her back to the shed-turned-planning center, and explained her part of the plan. Naturally, everyone was happy to have Rinoa, someone they could trust, on the insertion team.

"Okay then," Irvine added after Squall was finished. "But we've made an addendum to the plan."

"What is it?" Squall asked, curious.

"Well," the sharpshooter explained, "we figured that if one team could slip in past security, they might be able to make it so that others could do so as well. I know Galbadia Garden's security protocols, so I can tell you with some pretty good confidence that if we can clear a path and remove any sentries, we could get a big force inside and right at the Galbadians' backs. We could possibly end the siege without a drop of blood."

"Good idea," Squall replied, nodding. "Plus, if we're discovered, we won't have an army coming down on us alone. Let's do it."

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Squall stood before his team, as well as the heads of the SeeD and Dollet assault force, in the vehicle hangar that was being used as their field headquarters.

"We have four objectives," Squall stated, tapping the map of Galbadia Garden laid out before him. "First objective: a small insertion team needs to penetrate security. Our second objective: to clear enough of an entrance to get the assault team inside. We're taking a large contingent of SeeDs and the best surviving Dollet troops, roughly five hundred men. That should be enough to overwhelm what remains of the Galbadian force. I'd prefer it if we take them down before they can react. We can probably capture them and save time and energy.

"That's our third objective," Squall continued. "We have to eliminate the enemy inside. Irvine has told me that the front gate is probably very heavily protected, but that there is a rear entrance near the basketball courts that we can use. Once we get inside, we take down the guards protecting that entrance and slip our army inside. Once we've gotten everyone inside the Galbadian perimeter and behind their defensive positions, we deal with them. While this is being accomplished, our lead insertion team which has been clearing the route inside will locate Sorceress Edea and neutralize her."

"Excellent plan, Commander," Colonel Randolph stated. "Who will be in command of the assault force?"

"You will," Squall said. "You're the highest-ranking soldier here who isn't on the insertion team. We've already gotten the members of the assault team assembled. Once we've cleared the path you can get inside. Your men should probably try to back us up if we find that Edea is too much for our group to handle."

"Understood," Randolph replied.

"Any questions?" Squall asked, but no one said anything. "Familiarize yourselves with the layout of the Garden, and the spots that Irvine has marked as likely defensive points. We go in within the next half-hour."

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"So, we go in through the rear halls, and then cross between the outer dorms complex and then go to the inner Garden structure?" Quistis asked, and Irvine nodded.

"There'll be a large track and basketball court between the dorms and the main structure," Irvine explained, attaching a silencer to the front of one of his handguns.

"How do we pass it?" Rinoa asked, and Irvine grinned.

"Well, I used to not have a big appreciation for magic," he replied. "But well, Selphie's changed my mind on that, just a little. And she's gonna be the one to get us inside."

"Simple, really," Selphie added. "A floatation spell. Easy to cast, and I've got a few of them that I refined just before the battle. I cast them on us, and we simply float across the gap."

"What about snipers?" Squall asked.

"Got that covered," Irvine replied, tapping his PSG-1, laying on the table, now equipped with a silencer. "Probably won't be many. I'll clear the path and then we float over. Once we get across, we take out any other sentries and then slip to the rear of the building and take out the guards. We'll need to be quick and quiet if we want to pull it off though, so we'll have to keep magic use to a minimum."

"Shouldn't be difficult," Squall said as he finished checking his gunblade. "Everyone ready?" The others nodded.

"Born ready!" Zell proclaimed.

"We're not going to hold back this time," Squall stated after a moment. "I don't care what our past was like. She's our enemy now. We can't back off this time. Its now, or never." The others nodded once again, and Squall sheathed the Revolver.

"Let's go."

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"The troops are ready, my Sorceress," Seifer stated quietly, within Edea's throne room. "They have assembled at the choke points."

"Good," Edea replied quietly, sitting back upon her throne. "Good. But . . . They are coming. Now. At this moment."

"I will warn the men to keep a sharp lookout for the enemy," Seifer said, but Edea held up a long, clawed finger.

"No," she replied, smiling. "No. No warning. My men have failed me, and for that failure, they will die. Pull most of the men from the rear entrance and all but a few of the snipers. Put them at the front gate."

"I . . . I do not understand," Seifer said, bowing his head slightly in respect.

"No, of course not," she replied. "I want them to come. I want them to overwhelm my men. I want an army to come to my door and challenge me. And then, I will crush them!" Edea clenched one of her slender hands into a fist. "I will beat them, blast them, annihilate them, burn them down to their very souls and then consume their hearts! These insects have dared to challenge me, and for that, I will make them suffer . . . myself."

"Of course," Seifer replied, understanding.

"And furthermore, their leader," she added. "The one who harmed me. I wish to face him again. But first, I wish for you to face him, my knight. To avenge your disgraceful defeat at his hands. You will face him, alone. I will arrange it."

Seifer raised his head, his eyes meeting that of his Sorceress, and grinned wickedly.

"Thank you, my Sorceress," he said, sincerely, and bowed. "I will see to your orders at once."

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Twenty minutes later, the six intruders found the halls of Galbadia Garden to be very quiet, shrouded in hushed stillness. Irvine led the way, with Squall right behind. Rinoa trailed behind him, and Selphie and Quistis followed her. Behind them, acting as their rear guard and occasionally looking back behind the group, was Zell.

The white-painted steel corridors were empty, despite the group's expectations, and after securing the entrance, Colonel Randolph's sizable force followed, silently, none of them making a sound. Stealth was their ally at that point.

"Up these stairs," Irvine said after a while. He poked one of his silenced handguns at a recessed stairwell. "They lead to the upper floor, right where we need to go." Squall nodded, and they moved up the steps, eyes open and ears alert for any threat. They were vulnerable on the staircase, and they knew it. The six intruders moved up quickly, advancing to the third floor, and Irvine paused, hearing voices.

"Raijin," Zell muttered from the back, and Squall nodded. He stepped forward, taking the lead, and rose up to the third level of the dorms complex. He drew one of his knives and, as he reached the landing of the third floor, he raised the knife, poking it over the top and using it as a mirror to see what was beyond.

Raijin, towering over his sister, stood in the corridor, both of them looking tired and depressed.

"Man," Raijin complained. "Don't wanna, ya know? I mean, I know they said we should be fightin' 'em or at least keep an eye out, but I just wanna go home, ya know."

"AGREE," Fujin replied. "PEACE."

Squall pulled the knife back and sheathed it, then nodded to the others. They moved up the stairs, in full view of the pair beyond, who wheeled in surprise.

"Wha? Hey, they're here . . . ." Raijin said, but he made no move to pull his bo staff off his back. Neither did Fujin reach for her chakram. The two groups stared back and forth for a moment, before Fujin broke the silence.

"REQUEST," she asked.

"We're tired of this, ya know?" Raijin continued. "All the fighting, all the violence. Man, its gettin' me down. Seifer wants to keep fightin', ya know."

"DISAGREE," Fujin stated, and Raijin nodded.

"Can't talk him out of it, ya know?" Raijin added. "Don't know what's going on anymore. We want our old friend back, ya know? So, we're leaving him for you to handle."

Squall nodded after a moment.

"If we can remove Edea, we might be able to help him," Rinoa added suddenly. "He's . . . he's not normally like this."

"AGREE," Fujin said.

"Where is Edea?" Squall asked.

"Old head honcho's office," Raijin replied. "Top floor, ya know?"

"Headmaster's office," Irvine said, nodding. "I know where it is. Thanks."

"FATIGUED," Fujin muttered, and Raijin nodded.

"We're sitting this one out, ya know?" he asked, and the others nodded.

"Wise decision," Squall answered. He glanced back to his team. "Come on, we have to hurry."

A pair of hallways and a short stairway later, the group found itself outside on one of the balconies of the dorm complex, overlooking the track between the main structure and the complex. While the remainder of the group shied back and stayed inside, behind cover, Irvine ventured out, crawling on his belly with his sniper rifle held in hand. He took a quick survey of the are beyond, and his response was surprising.

"Only a few snipers on the upper floors, maybe four or five," he stated quietly. "And I'm counting maybe a dozen men at the rear gate."

"What?' Squall replied, confused. "So few?"

"Maybe we hit 'em harder than we thought in the battle," Zell suggested, but Squall shook his head.

"There were a lot who managed to escape from the battle," the commander answered. "There should be several times that many at the rear gate."

"They could just be concentrated at the front gate," Quistis added, but Rinoa shook her head as well.

"The Galbadians usually put an even number of sentries around an area," she explained. "I don't know why they would have so few men there."

"Unless it's a trap," Selphie suggested. "Maybe they've got all their men hiding further inside and are going to ambush us when we charge in?"

"We still going in?" Irvine asked, and Squall considered. He weighed the possibility of a trap with the potential of getting the assault team inside. Finally, he opted to take the opportunity to sneak his group in.

"Eliminate the snipers," squall ordered. "We're going in and checking to see if there is or isn't a trap. If there isn't, we'll come up behind the sentries on the rear door as planned and eliminate them."

"And if it is?" Quistis asked.

"We go in alone," Squall answered. "Our objective is Edea. We remove her, we win, regardless."

"Gotcha," Irvine answered, and a moment later, his rifle seemed to cough a faint, high-pitch whine. He shifted slightly, and the rifle fired another silenced shot, followed by two more. He raised his head away from the rifle's scope, and nodded.

"Way's clear. Selphie, its your turn."

"On it!" she replied, stepping out, followed by the others. The tiny SeeD focused into herself, closing her eyes and concentrating, bringing forth magic, but strengthening it as she did so.

"This is your pretty standard levitation spell," she explained as she modified the energies. "Except that I'm changing the duration to just a few moments, and increasing the power. Normally, it won't get you higher than a few feet, but this one should keep you guys up until you can cross. You'll only get a second or two before the enhanced levitation aspect hits, and then you'll be floating pretty high, so step off quickly!" She opened her eyes and swept forward, and Irvine, Squall, and Quistis were suddenly hovering in the air, the tips of their boots a couple of feet above the balcony. Irvine seemed a bit disoriented, but the pair of Balamb SeeDs simply nodded and began to move forward, walking normally. Aside from a slight dip in their altitudes as they walked, they moved just fine. They quickly moved off the edge of the balcony and began to drift down for a heartbeat before rising again, standing almost level with the balcony and a window across the way. Irvine quickly followed as Selphie focused again.

"I thought spells like that could only be used on one person at a time," Zell commented as Selphie opened her eyes again a moment later.

"Most people can't," Selphie replied. "But at Trabia, we know how to get around those kinds of limitations. Its just energy, and casting involves manipulation. We just learn how to do it better." To add some punctuation to her statement, magic rippled out from her, and the remaining trio were floating. Not wasting any time, they stepped off the balcony and floated across to the other side, Selphie's modified spell easily keeping them aloft until they reached a window - one which, surprisingly enough, led into the very guest lounge they had stayed in during their last visit to the Garden. As the group settled down onto the floor, they fell silent. Squall moved to the door and opened it, peeking out, and saw no threats down either end of the hall.

"There's a stairwell down there," Irvine said, pointing down the hall. "It leads to the lower levels, and opens up into a hallway near the rear gate." Squall nodded, and gestured for Irvine to take the lead. He did so, advancing down the steps with a pair of Berettas drawn, silencers attached to the front of the weapons and ready to take down any foe that appeared. None presented themselves, however, and the group of intruders made their way to the ground floor without incident. Irvine led them up the hallway leading to the rear gate, again without incident, even when they checked side rooms and classrooms along the path.

"Something's not right here," Selphie commented, voicing the concerns of the entire group. No one answered, however, instead silently advancing until they came within sight of the rear gate, where a dozen Galbadian regulars stood by nervously, fingering weapons as they stared out the rear door. No paratroopers or even any officers were present, just blue-clad infantry.

"Silent takedown. Sleep," Squall mouthed, and the group nodded. Irvine raised his pistols, while the rest of the group focused, calling up magic. As one, they gestured forcefully at the Galbadians, targeting those alone or to the rear of the group. Seven men collapsed, four due to the spells cast by the Balamb SeeDs and the other three from Selphie. Even as their armor, clattering to the floor, alerted the other five guards, Irvine stepped into action, firing his pistols quickly. Two, then three, then four men fell silently, gasping for air or clutching their chests, and the last man was quickly taken down as Zell rushed in and put the man into a quick sleeper hold, arm constricting around his neck and robbing him of oxygen until he passed out.

And just like that, the back door was open. Rinoa ran out ahead and served as messenger, bringing up the assault group behind her, who moved with respectable stealth despite their numbers. They quickly assembled in the cleared hall, and after a quick conference, squall's group moved out ahead.

"Security is too light," Rinoa commented as they moved through the halls, the assault force a short distance behind. "We haven't encountered a single locked door at all-" She was cut off as Irvine paused at an intersection, and scanned, before looking back.

"Lifts are just down this hall, to the right. The one in the center leads directly to the Headmaster's office, but the door ahead is sealed. Elevators are just beyond."

"Looks like I spoke too soon," Rinoa added with a slight smile. "I'll take care of it."

"I'll cover you," Squall offered, and they moved out into the hallway while the others secured the intersection. They advanced down it, and Rinoa paused in front of the door. She looked over the lock, and shook her head.

"Simple setup," she said. "Shouldn't take long." She took out a set of Garden-issued tools and began to work on the device. Squall turned back and signaled to the group that she had begun, and had barely turned back when the door unexpectedly slid open. He glanced down at Rinoa, surprised, but his expression was mirrored on her face.

"That was too easy," she whispered. "Especially for this setup. Not even Galbadian security is this lax."

"I'll check it out," Squall whispered in reply, and stepped through the portal.

"Not without me," she hissed, and quickly followed. They passed through the doorway together, the SeeD only slightly annoyed by Rinoa's insistence, and secretly a little glad she had decided to follow him. He advanced, she right behind him-

And the door slid shut firmly behind them.

Then the alarms sounded.

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"Hynedammit!" Irvine cursed, and he holstered his Berettas and unsung his rifle. Not a moment too soon, either, as from all sides of the hall dozens of Galbadian soldiers suddenly burst out, rushing down the halls, roaring cried to Edea.

"It's a trap!" Zell stated the obvious.

"Fall back!" Quistis ordered as the enemy closed in. "We can't hold here!" Irvine launched a grenade down one corridor, clearing it of foes momentarily, while Selphie launched a blast of icy cold down another route that froze the leading soldiers in their tracks and blocked the next few.

The others nodded reluctantly, moving back away from the intersection as the enemy came on, all of them pausing to spare glances to the door behind which Rinoa and Squall had disappeared.

They knew they couldn't hold, however, and quickly retreated back to where the SeeD and Dollet assault group was rushing ahead, no longer concerned with stealth. All throughout the halls, Galbadian soldiers charged with fanatical fervor, rushing into battle against the powerful assault force, often in a confused and disorganized manner. Their foes met them and held them, but chaos quickly gripped the steel halls of Galbadia Garden as the battle raged.

The final conflict of the war had begun, but the Galbadians had to have known they couldn't win. Still, they came on, and the SeeDs and Dollet troops battled them with equal intensity.

But for the quartet of SeeDs, even while caught up in mortal battle with their foes, thought of their pair of comrades suddenly cut off from them, and worried for Squall and Rinoa.

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"It won't open!" Rinoa complained, fiddling with the lock. "Its locked out from this side. No way I can get it open!" Squall, behind her, kept his eyes open and gunblade raised for threats, but none presented themselves in the hallway lined with elevators.

As the klaxons of the alert sounded, Squall did note with sudden apprehension that one of the elevators, the one that Irvine had said led directly to the Headmaster's office, featured open doors, as if inviting him to enter. And something told Squall that the whole reason that they had been cut off lay beyond that elevator door.

"Forget it," Squall said after a long moment of consideration. Rinoa looked away from the door, and to Squall's face, which was suddenly set in grim determination as he stared at the elevator. He took a step forward. "I know what they want." Rinoa said nothing, but only quietly followed Squall into the elevator, readying her crossbow. The doors slid shut silently behind him, and the lift began to rise, slowly.

The moments ticked by, stretching into what seemed to be hours as it rose to the top of the Garden, the klaxons fading into silence, a hushed stillness that neither he nor she were willing to break. Then, after the empty eternity, the elevator reached its destination, and the doors opened. Squall stepped out, Rinoa right behind him, and entered the throne room of Edea Kramer, the Sorceress who had begun this entire war. She sat directly across from him, laying back like a bored spectator at a gladiatorial competition.

"Squall," came a call from beside the hammock-like chair upon which the Sorceress reclined leisurely, almost apathetically. Seifer Almasy appeared among the white gossamer curtains draped along the edges of the room, his boots sounding on the darkly-tiled floor. Above the chamber, white light streamed down from the skylights above, filtered through the ghostly curtains.

"Seifer," Squall answered, stepping forward into the room. Rinoa remained behind, watching intently, with a degree of fear in her eyes as the two men met eye-to-eye once again.

Slowly, dramatically, Seifer drew Hyperion, resting the slender blade across his shoulder as he walked out into the center of the chamber, to stand before his Sorceress. He grinned as Squall stopped about five paces away, the Revolver held loosely in his hands.

"Squall, I just wanted to say . . . " Seifer began, bowing dramatically. "Welcome back. We missed you."

"It ends here, Seifer," Squall replied, and the knight threw back his head, laughing.

"Of course it does," Seifer replied. "That's why we arranged our uninterrupted meeting. I was going to visit you in my old home, though. You really shouldn't have come knocking." Squall scowled, but simply tightened his grip on his gunblade. Seifer's smile grew, but after a moment, began to fade as he saw who stood behind Squall.

"Rinoa?" he asked, his voice softening. "What are you doing here? Are you here to fight me too?" She didn't respond, simply looking back and forth between Squall and Seifer. That was all the answer he needed.

"I see," he said. "Well then, this should be interesting, hm? Nothing makes a fight more dramatic than spectators watching!"

"Dramatic?" Squall asked, shaking his head. "You're just trying to salve your ego after the last defeat I gave you."

"Maybe I am," Seifer replied with a shrug. "But that doesn't change anything."

"You stand between me and Edea," Squall stated. "Get out of my way."

"You'd fight Matron?" Seifer asked, and the word jolted Squall. He knew? "After all she's done for us? And Rinoa? Remember the great times we had last summer?" Squall looked back to her, but while Rinoa seemed torn, she looked to Squall, and met his eyes.

"Leave her out of this," Squall snapped, turning back to Seifer. "If you want a fight, you'll have it. Just you, and me."

"As it always should be," Seifer replied, bringing Hyperion down off his shoulder, his grin widening even further. "Its about time, Squall. Let's have some fun, shall we? The knight versus the SeeD. Show me what you've got, Squall! I'll show you who's-"

Then he was charging, spinning around in a blinding flash, gunblade arcing up and then down, to be met by a ringing clash of metal on metal as Squall blocked with ease, the Revolver parrying Seifer's Hyperion. Both warriors saw their reflections in their foes' blades, and Seifer leapt back.

"-the better man!" he screamed, and as he hit the floor, he rushed forward in another charge, gunblade weaving and diving at Squall. The Revolver snapped up in a quick block, parrying the stab, but Seifer hopped back again and lunged forward with a straight thrust at Squall's chest. Squall's weapon smashed down on Hyperion, and the SeeD countered with a measured hack. Seifer's gunblade seemed to leap back, deflecting the cut and snapping forward in a brilliant counter to Squall's counter. The SeeD fell back a quick step, leaning his head back and away from the thrusting tip of Seifer's gunblade, and smashed his blade down atop Seifer's weapon, forcing it down and out to the right. Seifer spun instantly, pulling his weapon away and coming back around in a wild, arcing chop as he pivoted. Squall was already ducking as Seifer came around, spinning himself to face Seifer as he rotated. Hyperion sliced through the air above Squall's head, and the SeeD rushed forward, slamming his shoulder into Seifer's chest and throwing him back.

The knight, however, was moving even as he was hit, and turned the shove into a flying leap backwards, landing easily on both feet, in perfect balance, and met a pair of heavy slashes by Squall with deft swordplay, parrying both and countering with a short slice that Squall evaded with a quick hop back. He rushed forward at the knight as the blade passed by, cleaving hard at Seifer, who snapped his weapon back in to deflect the attack. Gunblade met gunblade with a loud, poignant ring of steel on steel, and then Squall's left foot rose and smashed Seifer in the chest, hurling him back almost to Edea's feet. The knight, however, managed to get his feet under him as he landed and rose, fiery magic exploding forth from his fingers as he charged once again at Squall. The SeeD caught the spell on his gunblade, his feet already set to absorb the shock.

Seifer lunged again, spinning his blade up in an arcing slash that started low and moved up. Squall managed to spot the attack an instant before it would have cut into him and ducked low. The Revolver shot forward at Seifer's gut, but the knight somehow managed to snap his weapon back down while hopping back, sucking in his stomach and even bending over to avoid the stabbing gunblade until his own weapon could parry it. As the Revolver was pushed out wide, Seifer rushed forward again, smashing into the ducking Squall with his left shoulder. He quickly laid his gunblade across his chest, point towards Squall, and stabbed at him as he fell back. Squall twisted as he retreated, evading the razor-sharp edge of his opponent's weapon, and ducked to avoid a subsequent quick slash from Seifer. He countered with a one-handed overhead chop of his gunblade, a mighty swing that Seifer had to leap back himself to evade.

He came right back in with a charging thrust. Squall stepped forward, directly into the attack it seemed, and brought the Revolver up in another one-handed maneuver, this one a parry that threw Hyperion out wide, Seifer's arm passing before Squall's chest. Squall's left fist then rose and shot across, impacting with the knight in his jaw hard enough to spin him around. Squall quickly stepped after Seifer, his left arm looping up and then down around Seifer's right elbow. Squall's left hand grasped Seifer's right wrist and tilted his arm straight up, Hyperion pointed at the high ceiling. Squall's left leg snapped forward, kicking out Seifer's right, and as he fell back, Squall slammed the butt of his gunblade hard into Seifer's stomach, driving him to the floor.

Seifer impacted hard, but excepting a gasp of pain, he wasn't slowed at all by the grapple and throw. A quick sweep of his arm sent Hyperion cutting at Squall's legs, which the SeeD had to hop over to avoid, and then Seifer was scrambling back to his feet before Squall had even landed. Squall rushed back in as Seifer rose, but his heavy strikes were deftly parried as another spell formed in Seifer's hands. Fire blasted out at Squall as Hyperion deflected the Revolver up high, and the SeeD had to spin away frantically, the magical fire raking along his back but somehow not setting him ablaze as the heat washed past him. He came back around in a powerful slash, which Seifer deflected, raising Hyperion up and setting his palm on its flat, absorbing the impact. He grinned, and spun Hyperion over, driving Squall's gunblade up and over as well, out of the way as the knight stepped in with an elbow to Squall's chin. The SeeD's head was rocked back from the impact, and Seifer spun, coming around in a high spinning kick that smashed Squall across his face. He spun away as Seifer came in hard, with a wide-flying slash that managed to catch Squall along his left flank, cutting shallowly and drawing blood.

Squall gasped slightly at the cut, but turned back at Seifer as he flipped his weapon over for another cut, and stepped away, out of range. The SeeD's own hand rose as Hyperion slashed back across, barely missing the SeeD's side. Squall spun to the side and gestured forcefully with his right hand, a powerful bolt of lightning lancing out at the knight. Seifer raised his weapon and caught the electrical blast, but the metallic gunblade did nothing to prevent its jolt from reaching the knight, and he was almost hurled off his feet from the impact. Squall rushed forward, fury in his eyes as he raised his gunblade in a mighty overhead chop.

Seifer had managed to recover as Squall rushed in with his blade held high, and just barely managed to raise his own weapon for a parry, holding Hyperion horizontally and once again pressing his free hand against the flat. His knees buckled with the power of the overhead hit, and Seifer's rear almost brushed the floor as he absorbed the powerful two-handed swing.

Squall then spun away, coming around in another of his mighty chops, holding the Revolver in both hands. Seifer raised his gunblade and managed to catch the attack on its edge, but his weapon was pushed aside by the mighty slash, and Squall's real attack slipped through, a rising, high side kick that smashed Seifer in his chin and hurled him nearly all the way across the room.

The knight landed hard, but managed to roll up into a crouch as Squall pursued, and his gunblade caught and deflected another cleave by Squall. Once again, Seifer loosed a fiery burst of magic, but this one impacted in Squall's face, the explosive blast jarring the SeeD and pushing him back, the only thing keeping him alive being his junctions. Seifer recovered the initiative and rushed forward, thrusting hard at Squall's chest. The SeeD was just able to recover in time to hop back and snap his gunblade up, even as Seifer's gunblade cut through his white shirt. Hyperion flew out wide, but Seifer spun around with the parry, coming up in a backswing kick that almost rocked Squall's forehead. However, the SeeD had managed to raise his left arm, the kick thudding off his forearm. Squall countered with a thrust at Seifer's chest as the kick was blocked, and the knight just barely managed to step back, the edge of the Revolver slicing along the front of Seifer's chest, cutting his vest and piercing his skin, drawing blood.

The knight leaped back, out of Squall's reach, and looked down at his torn chest. The wound was shallow and quite survivable. But the injury was like the wound Squall had left on Seifer's pride, and looking at it enraged him. He turned his eyes back to Squall, and raised his gunblade high, tip pointing past his head. Squall raised his own weapon over his shoulder, preparing for a cleaving strike.

Both warriors focused on one another, each staring at their rival, each looking at the scar that they had inflicted upon one another.

Then they charged, rushing at one another. Seifer's gunblade dipped low, dropping to his left, while Squall's weapon rose to his upper right. They closed in, brutally quickly, each preparing themselves for the clash. Both of them realized that at that moment, that single strike, may decide their entire battle. They continued to close, now less than ten feet apart, and as they were about to meet, Seifer spun, his gunblade rising into an overhead chop, high in the air and beginning to descend.

But Squall didn't stop to spin, or even to strike. He just charged in, turning his left shoulder to face Seifer, and smashed head-on into his foe. Seifer, expecting to either slice into Squall or to meet his gunblade, was shocked when he was blasted backward, his forward momentum completely stopped. He stumbled backward, gunblade still held high in expectation, and then Squall, his weapon still held over his shoulder, struck. The Revolver cleaved across.

Seifer blinked once in complete shock, before the pain hit him. At first, he felt an odd breeze pass through his wrist. He blinked once in confusion as he fell forward, and in his descent managed to catch a glimpse of his hand. What he saw made his eyes go wide as saucers.

Squall had severed his right hand.

He let out a stunned cry of pain, and reached over, clutching his forearm as he heard his gunblade clatter to the floor. He grasped his arm and looked down, seeing Hyperion laying nearby, the fingers of his hand still wrapped around the handle, and the arm continuing on past the wrist a couple of inches before disappearing in a pool of blood.

"My hand!" he roared in outrage and pain, dropping to his knees as blood poured from his stump. "Fucking Hynedammit! You . . . You cut off my hand!" Blood began to soak his coat as it poured out, pooling on the floor.

"Seifer!" Rinoa cried out, rushing forward to stand over the fallen knight. She quickly began to channel forth her energies and cast a healing spell over his lost appendage.

Squall did not even pay much attention to his beaten rival, beyond kicking Seifer's gunblade away. The battle was over now - nothing stood between him and Edea. He turned to face her, watching as she almost lethargically rose from her seat. He narrowed his eyes and raised his gunblade. He hadn't been able to defeat her before, but now that he knew what he was up against, and had stocked himself with enough magic, and potent magic at that, he believed he might stand a chance against her.

"Worthless child," she muttered, and Squall didn't know whether the words were directed at him or Seifer. He didn't really care, and readied his weapon for battle.

Edea smiled, and raised a hand. Squall tensed, preparing to move, when the Sorceress just seemed to melt through the floor, fading away.

A pained laugh came from behind Squall, and he turned to see Seifer laying on the floor, his arm roughly bandaged by Rinoa, who had torn strips from his own coat to bind him up. Rinoa herself had taken a step back from Seifer, watching him intently. They may have exchanged something while he had been facing Edea, but whatever it was he didn't know.

"Squall," he muttered, grinning. "There's . . . Squall, there's no way you can beat her. No way in hell."

"What's below here?" Squall asked, ignoring the statement.

"Auditorium," Seifer replied, shaking his head. "But like I said, no way you can win. You hurt me, but she's on a whole 'nother level."

Squall did not respond, instead stepping past his opponent's body. He paused and looked to Rinoa, who reluctantly nodded and, exchanging one last look with Seifer, joined Squall and returned to the elevator. Wordlessly, they descended.

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

Squall and Rinoa discovered, after stepping off the elevator, that Irvine had managed to find a way through, using an armor-piercing key. Once the door had been breached, he had simply walked through with no trouble, Zell, Quistis, and Selphie behind him.

"What happened?" Irvine asked, noticing Squall was battered and bloody, and not all of it from an enemy, either.

"Had a run-in with Seifer and Edea," Squall replied.

"Did you win?" Selphie asked.

"Yeah, you kick Seifer's ass?" Zell piped in.

"Seifer's out of the fight," Squall answered with a nod. "But Edea disappeared. I think she's in the auditorium."

"I know where that is," Irvine said quickly. "I'll lead ya'll there." The sharpshooter turned and pointed to the intersection outside, and the group began to follow. It took Squall a moment to notice that Quistis had fallen back to where Squall stood.

"Seifer," she began as he noticed her. She looked at him, obviously apprehensive.

"He's alive," Squall answered. "I . . . I had to hurt him pretty badly, but he'll live." Quistis sighed, visibly relieved that they hadn't killed each other. Squall nodded down the hallway. "What happened out here?"

"The Galbadians tried to spring a trap on us," she explained. "But we were able to beat them back. We've retaken most of the Garden and are just mopping up now."

"Then Edea is all that's left," Squall said grimly.

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

"Hynedamn, that hurt," Seifer cursed, looking down at his bandaged wound. Rinoa's spell and the rough bandage would control the blood flow, but if he moved aggressively, it would open again. Couldn't have that.

"Edea," he whispered. He shook his head, recalling the words they had shared over the last few weeks. No, not truly Edea, but the one beyond her, the one truly pulling the strings. They couldn't hurt her, but nonetheless, it would be a disgrace if he did not stand beside her. The Sorceress Knights of legend had endured far worse before they had yielded or strayed from their duties, after all. How could he do no less for the greatest Sorceress of all?

"I'm coming," he muttered, and looked to his wound. He focused through the pain, and channeled magic into his left hand, and held his stump out before that magic. Seifer clenched his teeth and discharged the spell, and the fiery magic partially washing over the shortened arm, blackening and burning the stump. Seifer screamed in indescribable pain, and darkness consumed him.

A few moments later, he awoke, his arm throbbing with incredible agony. He lifted the stump, and saw the blackened end, and nodded. The wound was cauterized, stopping the blood flow and preventing infection. Healing spells would have been less painful, and would have worked as well, but would have taken too long. He needed to move, now.

Seifer rose and walked shakily across the room to where his gunblade lay, still clutched in the fingers of his inert right hand. With a great degree of difficulty, he pried it loose and held the weapon in his intact fist, then turned and strode toward the elevator.

"I'm coming."

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

They entered the auditorium together, alert and ready for any threats, for a final stand of Galbadian soldiers, for ripping magic, anything. They got nothing, just a wide, empty chamber.

A semicircle of bleachers rose up above the entrance and wrapped around a central dais on the wall across from the entrance, upon which was a podium. A double staircase on either side of the podium rose up to the central platform, which Squall noted was large enough to fit a couple hundred people on top. Above the podium were a series of video screens, projecting data from around the Garden, including tactical information regarding the current battle. Doubtless this area would have been the enemy command center, but where were the Galbadians? There was nothing but silence and the occasional burst of static from one of the screens.

Squall led the way up onto the central platform, scanning the area as the others followed him up. There was nothing but stillness and emptiness in the large chamber, however.

"Where is she?" Rinoa asked.

Then the ceiling simply exploded, the monitors and video screens shattering in a brilliant downpour of glass and sparks, and Edea floated down into the chamber slowly, casting her gaze menacingly upon the SeeDs below. She settled down lightly, in the center of the spread-out group, and turned slowly, facing the SeeDs surrounding her.

"And so . . . ." she whispered, smiling, her amber gaze falling over each of them. "Thus, it begins. The beginning, of your end. Make your peace with Hyne, SeeDs."

"You're not our Matron anymore," Zell growled, dropping into a combat stance as the others readied their weapons, fanning out to surround Edea.

"Whoever you are," Zell added, legs twitching. "I'm taking you down!" The brawler leaped forward at Edea in a blindingly fast motion, spinning around into a flying kick.

Edea spun to face him and flicked a finger, hurling the martial artist across the room and off the platform with a thought.

"Selphie, Rinoa, Irvine, cover us! Quistis, back me up!" Squall shouted quickly, rushing in at Edea. She spun toward him, her eyes flashing, and a pair of flaming tendrils rippled out at him like striking snakes. Squall's legs twitched and threw him aside as Irvine shouldered his Valiant and opened fire, .50 AE rounds blasting at the Sorceress, but pinging harmlessly off her shield. Rinoa and Selphie began castings spells as Quistis stepped in, snapping her whip out and striking at Edea. Like Irvine's bullets, the rante failed to penetrate her defensive shields and simply ricochet off to the side.

Icy magic shot from Rinoa and a bolt of lightning from Selphie as Squall hit the ground, dodging the fiery snakes. Rinoa's spell exploded before it could reach Edea, dissipated at a gesture, while the bolt from Selphie simply curled around Edea to impact harmlessly against the wall. Black lightning coursed down Edea's fingers and lanced out at Quistis, striking her dead center and tossing her backward, eliciting a cry of pain from the SeeD. Edea then whirled toward Irvine, smiling as he slid a shell into his rifle and fired. The grenade round arced through the air, but came to a stop right in front of Edea. A gesture from her sent it flying in Selphie and Rinoa's direction, and the two women had to leap aside as the grenade exploded in their midst.

Squall's gunblade bit into Edea's shield at that moment, and she spun, jabbing her left palm at Squall's chest as he struck. It impacted, and he was lifted into the air and hurled back with a telekinetic palm strike. A punch suddenly struck Edea's backside, and she spun again to see a returned Zell coming around in a spinning kick that bounced off her shield ineffectually.

"Forgot about me?" he asked, winding up for another devastating but useless punch. "Can't keep me down!"

"Never," she replied sarcastically, her smile widening, and as Rinoa launched another spell, Edea grabbed him with her telekinetic powers and moved him in the path of the attack. Rinoa's fiery spell exploded into the brawler's backside, and he cried out in pain.

Selphie's subsequent spell, however, struck home, another bolt of lightning that arced over Zell due to her Trabian magical skills, and connected along Edea's torso, jolting her slightly. Her eyes narrowed and she hurled Zell aside. Another grenade arced toward her, landing low, but the explosive shrapnel failed to penetrate Edea's shield as she materialized a shining spear of white energy above her head and hurled it at Selphie. The tiny SeeD spun away, but the spear dove in unerringly.

It bounced off a defensive shield Rinoa cast over Selphie, the energy barrier forming barely in time to stave off the attack. The spear exploded harmlessly across the barrier as an incandescent bolt struck Edea from behind, prompting her to spin around and launch a blast of wind at Quistis as she reentered the battle, Squall standing beside her, the energy from a healing spell still playing over her. Both SeeDs were hurled aside by the assault of wind, but then Zell was back in, launching a quick combo against Edea's shield.

She turned on him immediately, slashing across with one hand, raking magic following her attack and seeming to convey her cuts into Zell's chest. He fell back, blinking in confusion as blood flowed from a quartet of cuts along his torso, and she hurled the brawler back with a blast of lightning. Irvine's next shots bounced off Edea's shield, and he was marked as another target.

A quick gesture from Edea sent Irvine collapsing to the floor as powerful toxins simply materialized within his body. He dropped down, coughing and hacking, his body seeming to be on fire from the inside.

A concentrated barrage of magic from Rinoa and Selphie hammered Edea, a blast of fire and a wave of ice striking her hard. She turned back, seeming more angry than injured, and raised a hand, forming a ball of pure shadow over her head.

An energy blast interrupted the dangerous-looking spell, twin bolts of energy smashing into Edea from Quistis. The Sorceress spun on her, only to see Squall hacking away at her barrier. He struck once, then twice, and Edea grasped him in a telekinetic grip and hurled him aside again, smashing him into the podium. Quistis fired another barrage of eye lasers at Edea, who caught them on her palms and redirected the magic right back. Quistis was hit dead center in the chest and hurled off the platform. Squall rose unsteadily as Irvine fumbled for a restorative potion on his belt, and Rinoa and Selphie struck again with magic. Edea turned on them again as Zell reentered the fray with a roaring charge, which was almost casually thrown aside with one hand as the Sorceress loosed a forking bolt of electricity that spilt apart into multiple segments. The brawler rolled away as Rinoa and Selphie were struck hard.

"Leave her alone!" Irvine roared from the other side of the platform, now standing and drawing his Calicos. He leveled them at Edea and opened fire, streams of bullets storming out into her shield. She came back around, eyes filled with fury.

Zell, undaunted, kicked Edea in her backside, the shield flaring again. She spun once more, taking a step back so she could put both men in her line of sight, and launched black energy into both of them, launching them away.

Squall saw this as he stood back up, and noticed a pattern in her fighting style. Every time someone began to attack her at close range, she countered them immediately, regardless. No, wait, correction, whenever an attack struck her defensive shield, she countered immediately. That meant . . . What? She didn't take being attacked like that very well. Which meant that her shield was likely not infinite, nor could it block everything. Maybe if they kept hitting her hard enough and continuously, they could collapse it?

Squall nodded as he rose, and as Selphie and Rinoa, looking battered but still able to fight, launched more magic. Edea brushed their spells aside, but then had to redirect her attention as Squall stepped forward. He caught her eyes flicking to something behind him, and he spun quickly, in time to spot a silver flash diving for his face. The Revolver snapped up and caught the attack, parrying it perfectly.

"I'm the Sorceress' knight, Squall!" Seifer Almasy screamed in his face, hopping back and coming in with another left-handed thrust, his severed right stump blackened from the cauterizing fire magic he'd used. Squall parried, still shocked at Seifer's reentry into the fight.

"I'll never give up!" he shouted. "I can't afford to lose now! If you want her, you'll have to get through me!"

Seifer attacked again, sweeping low with a wild slash, which Squall hopped over, and countered. He deflected the chop with a hard parry and rushed in wildly, in an aggressive rush with his left-handed chops and thrusts. Behind him, Edea turned her attention on Rinoa and Selphie as they cast spells again. Irvine had run out of ammunition for his Calicos and was frantically reloading as a bolt of shadow struck Rinoa and threw her off her feet and into the bleachers. Nearby, Quistis, limping from a twisted ankle in her fall, was scrambling up the steps as quickly as she could. Selphie launched a potent fire spell at Edea, which was snuffed out in mid-air and countered with a telekinetic shove. She spun toward Irvine as he slammed a new magazine home into his second Calico and raised the weapons. Two gestures from Edea pulled the weapons from his grasp and scattered them across the floor. A second poison spell struck him, dropping the sharpshooter to the floor.

Zell rushed back in again, fearlessly, pounding away, and drawing Edea's ire. Fire exploded before her, tossing the brawler back, and she caught him in a telekinetic grip in midair. With the power of her mind, she hurled him back into the wall, then pulled him in and slammed him again, then a third time, and then a fourth time. The wall behind Zell was taking a beating, and the brawler himself wasn't much better off. Edea slammed him home again a fifth time and threw the battered martial artist aside as Selphie and Rinoa stood again, seeming to be on their last legs. A barrage of magical projectiles from Quistis bounced off Edea's shield as Irvine restored himself with another antidote vial. Edea hurled magic at Quistis, who threw herself to the side as the energy sizzled past.

"My dream!" Seifer roared, slashing wildly, almost too wildly for Squall to deflect or parry his attacks. "This is my dream! I will win! I will-" Squall suddenly rushed forward, kicking Seifer high in the face with a snap-kick, silencing him in mid-sentence. He then took the initiative, attacking brutally, forcing Seifer back on his heels with frantic defensive movements. The knight backed away, his burned stump waving wildly in the air as he parried furiously. Squall circled around Seifer as he did so, edging around toward the podium. Gradually, the knight began to regain parity with the SeeD commander, and with it, he regained his confidence.

"Its gonna end soon, Squall!" he taunted. "One way or the other, your war is over right here, right now! Either it's gonna be me, or it's gonna be her!" He thrust forward as Squall backed up to the podium. Squall weaved his weapon inside the attack and then leaped up and back, onto the podium itself. Seifer followed, intending to strike at Squall's knees, when the SeeD kicked off the podium and landed behind the knight. Seifer spun, slashing hard, but found his weapon hitting nothing as Squall ducked low. He rose, too close to strike Seifer with the blade of his weapon, but not so close as to strike him with the butt of his gunblade. The metal handle struck Seifer hard between the eyes, and the knight staggered back. Squall rushed forward again, left arm dropping low and shooting up in an uppercut that smashed Seifer in the chin and lifted the knight up, hurling him clear over the podium.

"No!" he managed to shout as he fell. "Squall!" He then impacted hard with the floor below. Squall quickly glanced down at him, to see him laying on his back, unconscious, and definitely out of the battle again. The SeeD commander spun back toward the battle to see everyone managing to rise up after another exchange with Edea, but they were all battered, bruised, and running on the last of their reserves. Irvine was popping a third antidote, now a bit disoriented from dealing with all the toxins, Quistis was limping and bruised, Zell looked like at least a couple of ribs were broken and he was aching all over, and both Selphie and Rinoa were burned and battered. Squall himself wasn't looking good either. Edea, however, wasn't even harmed, her clothing barely singed by the magic that had gotten through. She turned around, facing all of the SeeDs who had come against her, and smiled darkly.

"Is this the best that SeeD has to offer?" she asked. "Kind of sad, really."

"We haven't even begun to fight," Zell muttered, shaking his head, and dropping into a battle stance again. The others followed suit, readying their weapons again. Squall glanced around, and met Quistis' gaze. He closed his eyes, and it took her a second to realize what he was doing, before following suit.

The air burned before Quistis, and rainwater fell from the ceiling as a bolt of lightning shot out of nowhere. Zell nodded, grinning, and a moment later, fires burned in the air before him. Queztocotl, the god of lightning, Ifrit, the demon of fire, and Shiva, the goddess of cold, formed in a triangle around Edea, and as one, lightning, fire, and ice converged on her position in a tremendous explosion that shuddered the auditorium. The thunderous roars of clashing heat, frost, and electricity filled the chamber as Edea fought to deflect the power of three Guardian Forces summoned at the same moment, focusing on one target. Over the roar of the blasts of magical annihilation, however, another sound could be heard, the furious roar of Squall as he rushed in.

"Attack!" he ordered. "Break her shield! It's the only way!" Zell roared in compliance, as did Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis. Irvine opened fire with his Valiant, dashing into the maelstrom of clashing magic fearlessly as the others closed in. Rinoa launched a crossbow bolt as both nunchaku and rante snapped into the clashing energy. Zell and Squall rushed in as magic battled and raged about them, their Guardian Forces hurling everything into the battle. Squall felt heat washing over him, which as then replaced by bone-chilling cold and then joint-popping electricity. He raised his weapon and cleaved hard. He impacted something in the chaos and the destruction and the rampaging energy. Somewhere beyond, over the thunderous roars, Zell could be hear roaring as he struck as well. Bullets whizzed past Squall as he recoiled and cleaved again, once more striking the defensive shield. Something flew past his head, perhaps a crossbow bolt, deflecting off the shield, and other impacts could be heard as the magical assaults continued. Squall closed his eyes and kept attacking, hacking and slashing with all his fury, and felt something shatter. He raised his weapon for another slash, and then everything exploded.

There was a flash of blinding pink light, and Squall was suddenly weightless. Then, an instant later, the air had exploded from his lungs, and he lay back, staring at the ceiling off the chamber in a dazed confusion. He blinked once, then twice, and tried to move. The only reward he received for his efforts was that his head flopped over on its side, and he found himself staring at Seifer' unconscious body.

He couldn't move. He was paralyzed, his body numb and unresponsive. He watched for a long moment as everything went still. Then, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

Rinoa. She was standing, but walking slowly, almost drunkenly, her head lolling to the side, eyes halfway closed. She stumbled over to Seifer's body, and dropped roughly to her knees before him. In a slow movement, she reached down and touched his head, and then lifted him up. Her lips hovered close to his ear, and he noticed them begin moving. The knight stirred, and opened his eyes, listening to what she was saying. Squall didn't understand as, several moments later, Seifer nodded and rose roughly, grasping his gunblade tightly. He turned and stepped out of the auditorium, not even sparing a glance back to Rinoa as she watched him leave. The only thing Squall heard from him were two words.

"Yes, Ultimecia . . . ."

As Seifer left, Rinoa turned once toward Squall, almost jerkingly, and then collapsed limply, like a puppet with its strings severed. An instant later, as Squall was regaining his sensations within his body, Quistis rushed over to Rinoa, crouching beside her urgently.

"Rinoa!" she called. "Rinoa!" She shook the woman's shoulders frantically, but Rinoa remained limp, her chest only slightly moving. Squall attempted to rise from the cold granite floor, to get to where Rinoa lay, to help her, but something cut through the air, a voice, one that he hadn't heard in over a decade.

"Squall," came a sweet, older voice. "Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Zell." It was one filled with love and wisdom, and tempered by both sadness and regret. Squall looked up to the speaker, and saw above, standing at the podium, Edea. But something was different about her. The anger-filled, ruthless woman from before was gone, replaced by a woman who, despite her extravagant costume, radiated warmth and caring, and spoke with love and wonder in her voice, despite her seemingly frail and weakened body.

Squall saw her eyes had changed color, reverting to a dark green tone, and were within sagging eyelids, heavy from exhaustion.

"You have all grown so much," she said quietly, looking down at the scattered members of the group as they stood, looking up in wonder. "You've all become so strong. I had hoped for this day, and I feared it as well. Is it a joyous day? Is it an odious one? Have I protected everyone? Did I protect Ellone?" Squall watched, confused, but understanding deeply, within his heart, that the terrible Sorceress was gone. For the second time that day Squall breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling as if all his troubles simply melted away. Despite himself, he felt a pang of joy, sadness and fear mixed together within his stomach. He felt his eyes begin to well up as he gazed upon the woman before him.

The woman above was not Sorceress Edea, but Edea Kramer, their Matron.

"Squall!" Quistis suddenly shouted, snapping him from his reverie. He looked to her, and saw Rinoa once more, laying limp. "Its Rinoa! She's . . . ."

Squall was jolted to his feet by the words, and rushed to where Rinoa lay, his heart suddenly filled with apprehension.

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Now, its time to collapse and have a heart attack after working so hard on that. I'm gonna go lay down and laugh myself silly.

Another era has ended. We've reached the end of the second disc, and the second book of The Gunblade Saga. We're not quite in the final stretch, but we're barreling toward it at high speeds!

Expect a sizable commentary to appear between this chapter and the next. There may be a bit of a delay between my next chapter and now, mainly because its getting close to finals, and my inspirational batteries are still recharging after the insanity of the last couple of chapters. However, I'm a bit rushed at the moment (Darn thanksgiving) so I'll have to, sadly, go without shoutouts, except to say one thing: if anyone is looking for this totally badass fic called "The Omega" that I've been touting, check my Favorite Authors section in my profile, and click on on "Daz Shier". You'll find "The Omega" in his profile. Go read it and be amazed.

Shout-outs will be rpesent in the commentary, however, so never fear! Ask away, and your queries will be answered, my faithful readers! And everyone, have a happy Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it, of course)

Till next chapter.....