Final Interlude: Hero
"Don't stop, dumbass!" came a harsh growl, and Laguna shook his head. He ran a greasy hand through his hair and rubbed his aching shoulder, where the soldiers had beat him with the stun baton a few days ago. His brief pause finished, the journalist-turned-prisoner crouched in front of the panel, and made a show of looking at wires, trying to look busy.
Laguna heard the clanking of boots on the narrow metal walkway behind him, and stiffened slightly as the Estharian soldier crouched beside him, looking at the panel.
"Good," the man said with a nod. "Keep it up and you'll be done in a couple of hours." He stood up and shook his head as he walked away from Laguna. "Damn westerners. Why'd we have to get bucktoothed idiots like these guys and not repair droids?"
Laguna held back any retort he would have made and resumed appearing to work. Whenever the guard wasn't looking, he stole a quick glance around to see how the other prisoners were doing.
There were a few other men scattered around the walkway, which was little more than an operations post for this segment of the power system running throughout the structure. An elevator was at one end of the platform, and a doorway leading to a staircase that ran further below was at the other end. A single Moomba was tasked with both running supplies and working on wiring underneath the platform, a very dangerous job that none of the humans could have done. The Estharian soldiers watching them ran the workers hard as they tried to get all the equipment ready. Laguna knew they were behind schedule, but he had heard snippets about how this structure, the "Lunatic Pandora" was almost finished. He certainly hoped so, so that they would stop being so rough with the prisoners.
Laguna paused again and thought of another group of prisoners, further down in one of the cargo bays below. Kiros and Ward were down there, ferrying supplies and doing similar maintenance work below. Once Kiros and Ward's group were done, there were only a few more things that needed doing and the Pandora would be ready, according to the guards.
The trio of intrepid adventurers had made it inside the borders of Esthar a week ago. They weren't actually certain they were inside Esthar until a squad of low-flying aerial patrol craft had strafed them a couple of hours after leaving the mountains. That had been followed by a couple more hours of running, hiding, yelling in panic, and running into each other as the aircraft had dogged the group across the plains south of the mountain range. Finally, hovering transports laden with soldiers had arrived to subdue the intruders, who had surrendered rather quickly. That hadn't mattered too much to the troops, who had a merry time beating down Laguna, Kiros, and Ward with stun batons, before moving their semiconscious forms onto the transports. They had awoken inside this facility, where the trio had spent the last few days being put to work.
"Man," Laguna muttered as his stomach growled. "I'm really hungry!"
"Get used to it," another worker muttered beside him, with the refined accent of a Dollet citizen, likely a soldier. "With the low budget they have here they can't afford to feed us right anyway."
"I know," Laguna replied. "But its been three days since my last meal!"
"Hush up, wimp!" growled the guard from earlier. "When I was young, I had to work all day and all night without any sleep! That was back when the army didn't have fancy-chancy armor or plasma weapons! We had sticks, two sticks for each one of us, and a rock! And we had to share the rock! So suck it up! You guys are lucky you're gettin' food!" The soldier strode off, boots clicking on the plating.
"He always like that?" Laguna asked, and the man beside him chuckled.
"This is one of his good days," the Dollet soldier replied. He held out his hand. "Name's Randolph. Second Lieutenant Randolph, Dollet Marines."
"Laguna Loire," the journalist replied. "When'd they grab you?"
"Naval action," Randolph replied. "Grabbed me after they sank the ship I was on. You?"
"Tried sneaking into Esthar," Laguna replied.
"Into?" Randolph answered. Surprised. "Most people try to sneak outside of Esthar. They don't make it, usually, instead end up getting caught by the patrols. Most of them are sent to places like this. The less than lucky ones get a round of plasma for their troubles."
"Nice place, Esthar," Laguna muttered.
"Hey!" growled the guard as he came back. "Shut up! No talking! Do your freaking job, dumbass!" He towered over Laguna who glanced back up and nodded quickly. The soldier began to step away when a chime sounded.
"Feeding time!" one of the prisoners called, and they began to stand up. Laguna and Randolph followed, but the guard who kept yelling at them stopped the pair.
"Not you two!" he said. He gestured back to the panel. "Get back to work! That's what you guys get for being so talkative!" He turned, and nodded toward the Moomba as it climbed back up onto the platform. "You too! That Moomba doesn't get fed 'till he's done!"
"Hey!" Laguna protested as the other few workers filed out of the platform, toward the elevator at the far end. "Look, I know we won't get done for a couple of hours, but he's got all the wiring under the platform! It'll be days before he's done fixing all of that!"
"Well, tough shit," the guard replied. "He'll go without food for a few more days. If he wants to eat, he should work faster. And what are you waiting around for? A personal order from Adel? Get your asses to work!"
Laguna reluctantly dropped back down into a crouch and went back to work beside Randolph.
After a few minutes, Laguna thought he caught a fragment of conversation over one of the radios in one guard's helmet. The man paused, and looked up to the other guards.
"We got a problem down below," the man snapped. "They need backup. The big guy's trouble, I knew it!" Within moments the few guards rushed toward the stairs, the lead soldier pausing only to look back at the trio of hungry workers.
"Camera's watching you people," he snapped. "Don't try anything funny!" He then disappeared below. Laguna watched him vanish and then glanced to where the Moomba stood, looking dejected as it turned back to the railing and began to climb over.
"Those guys work you too hard," he commented, and the Moomba paused, before nodding emphatically. Laguna noticed his slackening muscles and the tired expression in its eyes.
"Man, you look exhausted," Laguna added. He stood up and walked across the platform to where the little guy was standing. "You okay?" The Moomba nodded and growled a couple of times.
"You're stomach's growling?" Laguna guessed.
"He says 'thank you'," Randolph commented. Laguna nodded in understanding. "You know you're the first one here to care about how they're doing?" Laguna glanced back to Randolph and shook his head. "Oh, yes. They get worked so hard, and get half the sleep and food we humans do. And for no real reason either."
The platform suddenly shuddered, and the Moomba almost lost its balance and toppled over the railing before it caught the bars.
"Bah!" came a distant shout from above. Laguna glanced up at the odd voice. "This iz failure!"
"And that is Doctor Odine," Randolph added. "Esthar's resident mad scientist. Behind this whole Lunatic Pandora project, too."
"Huh," Laguna replied, looking up.
"Hey, you!" came a sudden shout from the stairway. A soldier rushed up, pointing at them. "Go get the guards upstairs! There's an emergency down below!"
"Uhh, sure!" Laguna replied quickly. The guard spun and ran back downstairs, and Laguna stuck his tongue out at the man.
"Like hell I will," he said. "Sounds like Kiros and Ward are mixing things up downstairs!"
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The crate had to weight over five hundred pounds, but that fact seemed irrelevant as Ward lifted the box up into the air and smashed it down hard onto a cyborg. The half man, half machine was crushed beneath the weight as Ward brought it down with a mighty crash. He spun as a soldier rushed in, slashing across with his shotaxe, and caught the weapon b y its haft. The huge man spun hard, lifting the much smaller soldier into the air, and flung him away like a rag doll to smash with a wet crunch against a wall. Another soldier leveled a luminescent blue claw-like device at Ward, but the big man moved with sped that belied his bulk, bowling the soldier over before he could get a shot off, and pounding away at his helmeted head with inhumanly strong fists.
Beside Ward, Kiros danced away from a swipe by another soldier with his shotaxe, and scooped up one that had fallen from another dead man's hands. Kiros came back around with his axe slashing down in a brutal cleave that drove the tip into the soldier's skull. The man dropped like a brick, and the cargo bay was momentarily clear of enemies.
A pair of guards rushed down the steps leading into the cargo bay, and Ward raised his stolen plasma rifle. The weapon loosed a high-pitched whine and a barrage of blue-white bolts of energy in the new arrivals' general direction, throwing one man to the floor while sending the other diving behind a stack of crates for cover.
Another cluster of guards came down the stairs, following after that pair. Kiros thought quickly, and tore a small, fist-sized blue ball off one of the dead soldiers' belts, and primed the grenade. He threw it at the incoming enemy soldiers, and while his aim wasn't entirely true, the grenade veered in midair and struck one of the newcomers in the chest. The man had just enough time to let out a cry of shock before a blast of white energy exploded outward. The grenade hurled the cluster of enemy soldiers away, to crash heavily to the floor or against walls, where they remained, unmoving.
Ward slammed hard into the stack of crates the other remaining soldier was hiding behind, tipping them over. The soldier behind the crates dove out, scrambling to get away from the toppling metal, and was quickly shoulder-blocked by Ward, the big man smashing him up against the wall hard. A single good sock across the face made sure the soldier was down, and Ward snatched up his dropped plasma rifle as he turned back toward the stairs. Kiros was already there, grabbing another shotaxe and hefting both weapons, and hurried up the steps as Ward arrived.
"Damn good time for the fairies to show up!" he commented, and Ward grunted his agreement. Moments later, the pair thundered up the steps leading to the platform Laguna was working on, and talking with another prisoner and a Moomba..
"Laguna!" Kiros shouted, and the journalist spun, to see his comrades barreling out onto the platform.
"Kiros! Ward! What took you guys so long?" Kiros didn't answer, and Ward's only response was to toss one of the plasma rifles to Laguna. He caught the shining weapon, not to certain how to use it, but shrugged. Ward held out the other rifle to the other prisoner Laguna was speaking with. The man nodded and hefted the weapon like a professional.
"Alright," the journalist said with a grin. "Would've preferred my MP-10, but I can make do with there weirdo Estharian guns." He nodded toward the other man. "This is Randolph, Dollet Marines."
"Pleased to meet," Randolph said with a nod to the other prisoners.
"Incoming!" Kiros suddenly shouted, and he pointed up at the elevator at the other end of the platform as it rapidly descended. Laguna groaned, while Ward turned and grabbed one of the consoles. With a grunt and a couple of seconds of flexing muscles, he pulled the console up, tearing it completely free of its housing.
"What's he been eating?" Randolph asked in shock, to which Laguna chuckled.
"Trust me, we have no idea," Laguna replied.
"We just call it divine intervention and leave it at that," Kiros added, and Ward grinned as he set his impromptu weapon on his shoulders. An instant later, the elevator hit the platform and the doors flew open, and over a dozen Estharian soldiers stormed out.
The opening barrage was quick and brutal, as Laguna and Randolph poured blue-white light into the onrushing soldiers, send several of them spinning to the floor. A flying computer console followed, smashing into one man and lifting him into the air, carrying him over the edge of the platform and sending a second soldier toppling over as well. But by then the enemy had closed to close quarters with the rebelling prisoners, and things got dicey very quickly. Kiros and Ward closed in, the former battling with a pair of stolen shotaxes while the latter smashed into the enemy with sheer bulk and strength.
Laguna poured fire into another man as he closed in, and the soldier collapsed under the barrage. However, Laguna had fired his rifle too much over too short a period, and the weapon had built up far too much heat. Ports on the side of the device opened up, venting boiling hot coolant, but the weapon itself was far too hot for him to hold onto with unshielded hands, and he hurled the weapon away, directly at the next soldier rushing at him. The man held out a hand, catching the rifle, and cried out in pain as his own hands touched the overheated weapon. Laguna, taking advantage of the momentary opening he'd gained, stepped forward and put a vicious punch into the soldier's faceplate. The Estharian toppled to the platform under the inhumanly powerful hit, but Laguna recoiled, clutching his hand.
"Ow!" he yelled over the din of battle, shaking his protesting hand. "That hurt!" A burst of plasma fire followed his shout, and dropped another enemy soldier as he had advanced, trying to strike at Laguna where he stood. The journalist nodded his thanks to Randolph as the Dollet trooper poured shots into the oncoming enemy.
Kiros wished he had his katals, but he could make do with the shotaxes at this point. The two hybrid axes weaved in front of him, the hooked tip of one weapon catching the pickaxe head of his enemy's weapon and throwing it our wise, far enough that his second axe head could stab into the side of his opponent's neck. That soldier's head was torn completely off, and Kiros slammed a foot into the decapitated corpse, sending it flying into the next man. That soldier knocked the corpse out of the way, but it tied up his weapon hands just for the instant Kiros needed the drive both axes into the top of his helmeted skull. Kiros pulled the weapons out as the soldier behind that man came in with an arcing horizontal cut. One axe weaved inside the slash while the other arced over it, and stabbed down through the man's neck into his chest. The lithe man put a foot onto his foe's chest and tugged his imbedded axe free, blood chasing it out of the dead man's body.
A shotaxe cut in at Ward, who hopped back and then shifted momentum forward, barreling into the soldier who had struck at him. Ward body-checked the man, throwing him to the deck, and smashed a foot down hard onto his faceplate. The man behind that soldier rushed at Ward, swinging his axe wildly at the man's head. Ward ducked, the axe just barely passing over his head, and snapped a hand out, catching the axe's shaft as it flew by. He lashed out with his other hand, balling into a fist, and the impact hurled the Estharian soldier away.
Another soldier ducked around one of his falling comrades, who was absorbing Randolph's plasma fire, and dove at Laguna, swinging his axe while the journalist was still clutching his hand. Laguna spotted the attacker a split second before he began the swing, and ducked, charging forward. He barely got beneath the swing of the axe and slammed into the soldier, Laguna's superior strength lifting his opponent up into the air. Laguna rushed across the platform and slammed into the railing across from him, sending his opponent toppling over. Laguna saw a flicker of shadow behind him and spun to this right, just in time to avoid a diving shotaxe head that cleaved through the railing. The soldier spun to follow Laguna, but was promptly cut down from behind by Kiros, the shotaxe's tip stabbing out the front of the dead man's chest.
Laguna grabbed the shotaxe from the dead man's hands and brandished it, looking for any threats, but none presented themselves. After a few moments, Laguna realized that there were no more enemies standing on the platform, and relaxed.
"Phew," he commented, looking over the carnage. "Jail break time!" He pointed toward the elevator, and the former prisoners, plus the one Moomba captive, boarded the elevator and ascended.
"I wonder where this thing goes to?" the journalist asked as the vehicle rose.
"Likely to the very top of the facility," Randolph answered. "But I think our objective should be right . . . Here!" The Dollet trooper tapped a button on the panel beside the door, and the elevator began to slow. "Surface level. That's where I saw the entrance was located when I was brought here a few months back." The elevator finally came to a stop, and the doors flew open, revealing a wide, extensive room festooned with dozens of consoles and monitors on every inch of the walls. A trio of men, clad in full-body robes and with heavy hoods hiding all but their faces stood or sat at one side of the room, along with a very short man, barely at five feet in height. The little man wore a dark purple robe and a weird red and white striped collar that shot out over a foot in diameter, and short black hair pulled back tight over his round head. He was yelling and stomping and hopping up and down and pointing everywhere, quite clearly agitated about something.
"That's Doctor Hans Odine," Randolph said quietly. "Top scientist in Esthar. We won't need to worry about him too much, however. He's so easily distracted that he probably would notice if a gunfight started in here."
"Then let's make a break for it!" Laguna added, and the quartet moved out the single door leading into the room. Laguna stepped outside and was hit by fresh air and sunlight, bringing a new smile onto his face. The Moomba who was with them paused and looked back to Laguna, and let out cheerful roar before dashing off into the afternoon plains.
"Ah-hey!" Laguna called, but stopped as the little creature ran off. "Well, I guess he's better running off free than in captivity." The journalist looked up into the sky, and then pumped a fist into the air.
"Free-dom!" Laguna crowed as they moved away from the facility. No Estharian soldiers presented themselves as they moved away from the building, and Laguna paused only to look back at the massive structure behind them, looking like a huge metal rectangle poking out of the ground. "So, that's this Lunatic Spamdora?"
"Pandora," Randolph corrected. "Huge isn't it? I hear that this is only half of it, and the other half is buried underground, where we were working. Two miles tall. I'm not even certain what its supposed to be carrying, myself. But that's really beside the point now. We have to worry about getting out of here."
"That's going to be the real challenge," Kiros added. "Esthar's way too good at patrolling their borders. We'd never get out of here on foot."
"I've been here for a while now, and there's something around here you may not know," Randolph continued. "A lot of the people in Esthar don't like Adel, or don't care. Mostly its just the military and government that support her, and not the people in general. There's a very big resistance movement that's been developed behind the scenes. We've been keeping out of sight and generally not causing any trouble, so we wont be discovered until we strike."
"You're part of them?" asked Laguna, and the Dollet marine nodded.
"Most of the prisoners are," he replied. "We've got a lot of good people in the resistance, but we're not coordinated. We've got plans, but most of them are half-baked or require more research. There's no effective leadership. I saw how you were back there with that Moomba. You've got a lot more compassion and caring than most men I've seen in the resistance. You think you could take over and lead the resistance?"
"Hmmm," Laguna considered the idea for a moment, rubbing his chin with his hand, and while he was pondering, the door into the lab hissed open. The trio spun quickly, readying whatever weapons they had, but paused as a single robed man came out, one of the hyperactive doctor's assistants.
"Whoa, relax!" Randolph said, holding up his hands toward Laguna. "That guy is one of us! He's our spy in Odine's labs."
"You made a lot of noise in the jail break," called the assistant with a grin. "Good for you, I'd say. But it would be a good idea to leave for a while, before things get nasty. The Doctor's in a bit of a foul mood, and when he gets that way, things get messy."
"What happened?" Randolph asked. "Adel cut his funding again?"
"Nah, he's just wanting to get out of this lab and back to his lab in the city," the assistant replied. "Says he's got a new project he wants to have a look at in O Lab. Some little girl named Ellone."
"Ellone!" Laguna said in surprise.
"Yeah, you know her?" asked the assitant.
"Know her?" Laguna replied. "Heck, she's the reason why we came all the way to Esthar! Do you know where this O Lab is?"
"In the middle of the capital," replied the assistant. Laguna paled slightly at that notion, but the man shook his head quickly. "It would be easier to get into than through the borders. I have a special pass that will get my vehicle through any checks unsearched."
"If we help you get Ellone back," Randolph added, "would you lead us? You will need help to get her back, after all, and just the three of you can't take on Esthar by yourselves."
"Not a bad idea," Kiros commented. "They have a network we really do need. I don't want to end up in prison again, especially without any divine intervention to get us out of here."
"Hmm," Laguna pondered for a moment, before finally nodding. "Okay, you got yourself a deal! Help me get my little girl and I'll lead this anti-Azel movement."
"Adel," Kiros corrected. "Star listening more closely, its getting embarrassing. Or at least, that's what Ward would say." The big man chuckled.
"You'll need the Doctor to rescue Ellone," the assistant added. "He has security codes for O Lab and knows how to find her and release her." Laguna nodded and rushed back inside the lab, Kiros and Ward in tow. They entered the main lab control room, but doctor Odine was gone, leaving a pair of assistants behind, who were quite startled when the trio of armed men burst in.
"Where's the Doc?" Laguna demanded, and one of the assistants quickly pointed to the elevator.
"Engineering substation platform, fifth basement!" the man said, obviously intimidated by the intruders that had just been prisoners moments before. Laguna waved jauntily to the helpful man and led the way back to the elevators and down to the fifth floor. The doors swung open, only to reveal the same platform from which Laguna and his comrades had staged their jail break. Doctor Odine was pacing his way over the corpses of the dead soldiers, shaking his head.
"Vat a mess," he commented in his odd accent. Laguna quickly moved across the platform and grabbed the doctor as he neared the far end of the platform. He spun the man around by his right shoulder, and the excitable man squealed in shock as he turned to face Laguna.
"What's up, Doc?" Laguna asked. "I need your help with finding my little girl. Her name's Ellone."
"Ellone?" Odine asked. "I do not know any Ellone!" He paused, regarded the look in Laguna's eyes, and then shrugged. "Okay, okay, I lie. I know zis Ellone. My prized project!"
"Thought so," Laguna replied. He turned and pushed the doctor toward Ward. "Ward, mind hefting the baggage?" Ward grunted a laugh and scooped up the doctor, holding him under one armpit like a ball.
"Bah!" Odine fumed. "I um Odine! Odine iz no baggage, you oaf!" Ward ignored him as they returned to he elevator, and rose to the surface.
"Thanks for the help!" Laguna called to the assistants, who watched in shock as the trio ran by, the doctor they had kidnapped fuming in Ward's grasp.
"Bah! Mine timetable vill be zot to all hell!" Odine complained as they went back outside. Randolph and the assistant were standing next to a sleek, blue and white vehicle, hovering a few feet above the ground. It looked like a car, except a lot more high-tech, obviously.
"Go ahead and put the doctor in," Randolph stated. "While you were down there I went to the armory and grabbed the gear they took from you. All your weapons should be inside."
"Bout time," Laguna commented. He glanced at the car again, and then looked at the collection of people gathered around. "Are we all going to fit in there?"
"Trust me, its bigger inside than it looks," the lab assistant replied, and with that assurance, the passenger-side door slid up, rotating up over the top of the roof. Laguna was first, with Ward stuffing his prisoner in immediately afterward, followed by the big man and Kiros. Randolph and the lab assistant climbed in a moment later and, with everyone on board (though rather tightly squeezed together) the vehicle sped off.
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Doctor Odine proved to be a useful key into the lab he owned and operated in the middle of the Estharian city. When Odine's assistant parked the car inside the building's garage, a structure that consisted of various interlocking gravity beams that held cars in place at varying heights, the Doctor had proceeded to unlock the main garage entrance into the lab. He still wasn't happy about being in Ward's clutches as the group moved inside the laboratory, passing through its pastel halls. Laguna took the lead, with Kiros beside him. Ward was in the middle, Odine under his arm, and Randolph took up the rear. The trio of adventurers were all armed with their original weapons, as Randolph had promised, while the warrior from Dollet was still hanging on to his plasma rifle. Odine's assistant had stayed with their vehicle and kept an eye on their backs in case anyone came.
"Which way is it to Ellone?" asked Laguna after several minutes wandering around the corridors aimlessly, passing storage rooms and small, empty laboratories. They entered a wide corridor with an arching ceiling and a series of neon-blue lights along the top.
"Up up up," Odine replied. "Ze vay is up, you oafs! You vant Ellone, she iz in ze main lab on the fifteenth floor!"
"Okay," Kiros replied. "How do we go up?"
"Vere else?" Odine muttered. "Ze tubes!"
"Tubes?" Laguna echoed, and Odine pointed up. The journalist looked in that direction, and spotted a transparent purple tube running along the ceiling.
"You take ze hoverzeat and ride ze tube," Odine explained, gesturing to a circular device down the hallway. They advanced toward it, Laguna approaching it cautiously, as if it was a bomb rather than a mode of transportation. The device looked like a wide stool set on a platform, with enough space for maybe four or five people to sit on it.
"He who does, dares!" Laguna stated, and sat down on the chair-like device. Ward grunted.
"He says you got it backwards," Kiros commented as he and Ward sat down on the chair. Randolph followed a moment later. Afte rhe had sat down, a computerized voice spoke.
"Good evening, Doctor," it said. "Where do you need to go today?"
"Odine's lab!" Laguna shouted quickly.
"Voice and destination unknown. Please restate intent, Doctor."
"Even computers hate me," Laguna muttered.
"Main laboratory, level fifteen," Odine stated as Laguna complained.
"Destination recognized. Stand by."
The chair suddenly rose up into the air with a high-pitched humming noise, a bright green light surrounding it and spinning around at high speeds. Laguna almost stumbled out of his seat with surprise as it rose up into the tube above and then zipped along at high speeds. There were several sharp turns, three ascensions, one drop, and what almost seemed to be a double loop, before the device finally came to a stop,ascended, and came to a dead halt outside a wide double door. The group stepped off quickly and moved toward the door.
"This it?" Laguna asked Odine, who nodded emphatically. Laguna glanced to his comrades, who nodded, and then stepped toward the door. It slid open at their approach, and a quartet of lab workers and a pair of soldiers looked up in surprise at their arrival, glancing up from consoles, screens, or a wide pane of blue glass at the far end of the room. The soldiers lifted shotaxes as Laguna entered, and leveled them at him, but he hurled himself aside. Ward tossed Odine aside and into the room, out of the line of fire, while hefting his harpoon. Kiros skittered inside the chamber, katals up, and before either of the enemy soldiers could react, he was already knocking one man's shotaxe out of the way and jabbing his balde in hard, punching into the soldier's windpipe. Ward's harpoon flew past Kiros, the other soldier impaled on it, and thunked heavily against the glass at the other end of the room.
"Step away, step away," Laguna said quickly, leveling his rifle at the lab workers. They moved back from their consoles in confusion and fear, raising their hands.
"Which one?" Randolph asked quickly, nudging Odine with his plasma rifle. The doctor pointed to one of the consoles.
"Zat vun!" he stated. "Ze red symbol opens ze cell wiz Ellone in it!"
"Where is she?" Laguna asked, and one of the workers pointed to the pane of glass. Laguna crossed the room and looked in, seeing a large, empty metal chamber within which was a tiny girl, sitting back in a corner, almost out of sight. Laguna let out a gasp of joy and pounded on the glass.
"Ellone! Ellone!" he shouted, but there was no response. "Damn, can't hear me!" he spun toward the console, and looked for the symbol Odine indicated.
"Over. Over," the doctor stated. "Up. Left. No, not zat left, ze ozer vun! Zat vun. Hit it zree times." Laguna did so, the symbol turning blue, then yellow, then green. On the monitor overlooking the console, script flowed across a black background.
"Ze door iz unlocked," Odine stated. "You can aczess it on level fourteen."
"Take me there," Laguna ordered, and Ward scooped up the not-so-good doctor again.
"Zees iz tirezome," the doctor complained as Laguna and Ward moved outside.
"Keep an eye on things," Laguna called to Kiros and Randolph, who responded with a nod and salute respectively. The trio moved to the floating hover chair, and sat down. Odine gave the location on the fourteenth level, and the device descended and spun, rotated and dropped, and finally deposited the trio right back where they'd first gotten on the darn thing.
"You gotta be kidding," Laguna muttered. Ward grunted something, likely about how crazy this whole country was, and started down the corridor. With Odine's direction, they found another wide metal door which, like with his personal lab, slid open when the group approached.
The room looked exactly like it had above, and Laguna rushed inside.
"Ellone!" he shouted, and a sudden cry of happiness sounded to his left. He spun, and saw the little brown-haired girl he'd journeyed halfway across the world to rescue rush across the cell. Laguna dropped to his knees and scooped her up as she wrapped her tiny arms around him.
"Laguna!" she sobbed. "You came for me!"
"Yeah, I did," Laguna replied, hugging her tightly to his chest, and warmth coated his cheeks. It took him a second to realize that they were tears.
"Yeah, I came for you Elle," he whispered. "Sorry I'm late." Ward grunted something in response to that.
"He said it was all your fault, too," Ellone whispered in Laguna's ear, and he managed to let out a laugh mixed in with the tears.
Finally, after all the toil and trouble, after all the fighting and pain, everything was right again for Laguna Loire.
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And with that, our final interlude is over! The story of Laguna Loire's journey is over, for the moment, but the ultimate twist in his tale comes soon!
Oh, yeah, there was someone from earlier in the story in this interlude, too. See if you can find him. XD Including Randolph here, in this chapter, made things a little more interesting. I kind of liked that nameless guy who helps Laguna out in that dream sequence, and I had this thought of "Maybe he can be a Galbadian or Dollet soldier, captured by Esthar in the war?" and then I thought of a certain other Dollet soldier we encountered earlier. Thus, was a name given, and a lot of backstory added, for everyone's favorite Dollet badass!
There were a few Halo references in here. The plasma grenade and rifle, as well as the guard's speech about rocks and sticks all came direct from Halo 2. I always loved that line, and I didn't even realize I had included it until I went back over the chapter. XD
Next chapter, we return to Squall and Co.'s adventures and hijinks in Esthar! The final chapters are coming soon, and I am seriously itching to finish this story!
Kid tested, badass approved! It's the shout-outs!
-Chris Ganale: Oh, yeah. To a degree, I used Wedge, though not too much. More of his ideas than anything I used on Squall, but it was evry subtle. So subtle even I don't know much about when I implemented it XD
Arg! Are you, like, directly connecting into my thoughts or some shit? Because you guessed where I got the revolution idea from! Damn you, you telepathic bastard you! Damn you!
-Dragoon Swordsman: I thought to myself that it would be great to have Edea present on the White SeeD ship along with Squall. I was originally going to have Quistis and Xu there too (my first draft of that scene had them present) but I cut them out because they literally did nothing whatsoever. It was all Edea, Squall, and Trent, and they were just "there."
I agree that Squall is Laguna's son. It makes far, far too much sense, and makes more sense than the Ultimecia-Rinoa theory. That, incidentally, will not take place in my fic.
Jade Almasy: Eek. Another big review. -gets something to drink-
As a character, I loved Edea. I prefer her in her black dress as opposed to her shiny Sorceress gear, which is why I have her as such in the story. I wanted her to take a much bigger role in the story, especially in trying to cure Rinoa and discover where Ellone is. As a Sorceress, even weakened, she is still quite capable a fighter, and we'll see her as such soon. XD
Star Wars had an impact on Seifer's hand loss, I'll admit that. Same with his hand. It wasn't Metal Gear influenced at all. My editor threatened to stone me if I didn't give him a replacement. XD
I'm actually putting some work into the idea of the two Presidents being closely connected to Garden. The character of Randolph is also going to be important in an after-FFVIII fic I'm writing, as he will be a major leader too. Squall has some great friends in high places!
Square did a good job showing Squall's thoughts, but I dunno, I feel like they should have put more thoughts in his mind. His grabbing Rinoa and taking her out of Garden was far too abrupt in my opinion. And the train, well, heh, he had to get across somehow, and I think walking would have really made his feet sore!
I have a rack of Star Wars books from back when I was into the expanded universe. The Han Solo trilogy, almost everything from Truce at Bakura to the Spectre of the Past/Vision of the Future pair. Thrawn rules all. XD its mixed in with my Halo, Resident Evil, and Drizzt Do'Urden books now.
Writer's block had actually plagued me for a bit in this chapter. Then again, it could be the spectre of college looming over the horizon again. Erg. Winter break, where art thou? You give me less than a week before I must return to college? How cruel!
Angelo di Desiderio: I'll have a look if I get time in between all this insanity in my life. Keep poking me if I forget!
Xephon: The space part of the next bit will be the most enjoyable, I think. I may change the pacing around and get Squall and Rinoa into space before the Galbadian invasion of Esthar, however. That part will be the true source of joy for me, but I can't wait to get to work on describing the people and city of Esthar.
Anime Obsessed Fan: This fic is my baby. I've loved almost every second of writing it, even when I look back at parts I had trouble with. It simply massive and incredible what I've done, and it staggers even someone with as huge an ego as myself. XD
Sherif: Laguna got elected when he wasn't looking. XD
"XD" is an emoticon. Its essentially meaning that when I'm writing the previous part, I've got a big smile on my face. The "X" is my eyes, while the "D" is my smile. Imagine it as a face, and you'll see what it means.
Kaiser-Kun: Yar! I wrote that part with you in mind. If you hadn't suggested it, you wouldn't have gotten such a good image. So! People, if you like a scene, suggest I make it all badass and stuff, and I'll put extra effort into it! Because I'm stupid that way! Like, Y'know, some lab rat or hamster or something.
Random Insanity's tournaments are roleplaying fanfiction things. You have to pick a real fictional character, not an original one you created. You could play Irvine,d epending on the character pool . . . Erg. Its very, very complicated, actually.
Squalld oes strike me as having a degree of fate to his position, but he isn't truly "special." I agree on that bit. No cloning, no deeper meaning beind his existence except as Laguna's son. He's just a dude, like Ramza in FF Tactics or Magnus in Ogre Battle 64. An ordinary dude.
Bastard. You have GTA. Curse you. -huggles copy of Halo 2-
DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Black SeeDs: They gonna rush that shit down with their bling-bling shiny ice cubes and rap yo ass out the 'hood, bitches. XD Been spending too much time in the kitchen with big black men. It actually comes from Greenbean's Sowing the SeeDs (read that shit, dammit! Its good, I mean it!) fic, where they were called Black SeeDs by the White SeeDs and Edea.
Oh, Laguna already knows squall survived. He has a special present for him, too.
Laguna is up in space shortly after the heroes arrived inside the city of Esthar. He was basically en route to the Lunar Gate when he received the report. I should have described it in more detail, but he supposed to be in a Presidential limo on the way there in that scene. Yeah, I need to edit that part.
Seifer has the robotic hand already, but it won't make him a complete badass yet. If you've ever seen I, Robot you'll have an idea of what it can do, though.
I've heard rumors that the company that made the Hellsing anime will finish making the next season when the manga series is completed. You really should pick that series up, it is of the tremendous badassness. Alucard is even scarier in the manga than he is in the anime. Not to mention the manga has great characters like Pip Berdanette, Alahambra, and the Major. The Major is the most awesome villain ever. You MUST get the manga if you liked the anime.
I was quite intrigued by the story of Ultimecia intertwined with squall's family. Quite shocking up until the end, though I always wondered how only Squall could permanently injure Galen . . . .
I love that line. In the manga, Anderson has an even better one:
"Lest ye forget that we, the Papal Crusaders, the Paladins of the Vatican's XIIIth chapter, are now the ones that stand in thine way, and shalt lay God's wrath upon thee. In the face of death, you bastards will stand trembling in fear. You will ALL die, clutching at straws!"
That's right before he gives this huge pep talk to the Iscariot Paladins and they all start kicking vampire ass. Its totally badass.
-Monkeyhill: Interesting idea, those charms. I've seen it taken many ways, like absorbing the GFs into the body in various ways. The stone idea just stood out to me in a very interesting way somehow.
-Jamielike: I like long reviews. They make me feel spiffy.
The Abaddon fight did make sense from a gameplay standpoint, as there had been no real "official" battles up until that point in the storyline, but yeah, he was pretty easy to kill.
"Raar!" "Curaga." "Ouch! I are the pwned!" XD
I'm working on Synthesis. I've got writer's block now, and the sad thing is, its an action scene. Heh. I'll get it up sooner or later.
-Akira Stridder: Yeah, only Xu, sadly. I'm probably not going to do too much with Galbadia until after the Sorceress Memorial. I've got this idea for a big "World Council" thing where everyone decides what happens next.
-Spikestrife: Riddick's main character is, heh, Riddick. Richard B. Riddick, to be precise. Squall is very similar to him, and in fact will be even moreso in my after-Gunblade fic I'm writing. Riddick's eyes and knives are so cool, and my favorite part of the movie is the teacup execution.
"I'll kill you with my teacup." XD Makes me laugh every time.
What are you gonna do about my misspellings? Hm? Come poke me? Do it! I dare ya! XP
Well, that it? Huh. Jeez, these things are getting as long as the fic itself. XD Well, if that's it, then peace out and be cool!
Till next chapter . . . .
