The Arrival of Omega Weapon

Chapter 6

Zell was still training in the hanger. As everyone knew, when he trained he immersed himself completely, so much so that he failed to notice the light that started a panic in almost everybody else.

After another 10 minutes, with his training cycle complete, he stopped and looked around. Now that he was more alert, he sensed eyes on him from behind. He turned and saw an old man in strange clothing. The man was sitting on one of the crates in the corner of the hanger, he was also grinning widely.

Zell went up to him "Okay, old man. You've got 10 seconds to tell me who you are and how you got here." Zell tried to make his tone as ominous as possible and prepared his body for combat.
"Impetuous, aren't you, young man!" He laughed. That put Zell off "Do you really want to strike down an old man."

Zell thought quickly then shook his head and lowered his guard, but as soon as he did, the old man shot at him like a bullet and took Zell down with a flurry of blows.

"Lesson 1," The old man said reaching out with a hand to help Zell up "don't let your guard down, even to an old man like me." Zell took the mans hand and got up "How did you do that, old man, I recognised that move and I made it up, no-one else knows it." The old man looked deeply into Zell's eyes "Honestly." "Of course." Zell said confidently, but there was something about the old mans voice "Lots of people know basic martial arts. Hell, I taught a lot of them, but my style is unique and I hope, will always remain that way." "Interesting…" The old man returned to the crates and sat down again "Oh, my names Zengan, I'm a teacher of martial arts, more specifically, your style of martial arts." He thought for a second "Tell me, do you know the Final Heaven attack?" "…Yes." Zell replied hesitantly "Could you do it for me?" Zengan asked "…Yes, but why?" Zell was puzzled "Just humour me."

Zell nodded, still wondering what to think of this old man.
He chose two empty crates across the hanger. He readied himself and ran, ever increasing his speed, he shot past he crates and continued, still gaining speed.
He raised his fist and struck the first crate as he past it, but he didn't stop, he raised his other fist and similarly struck the second crate, finally coming to a stop. He turned to the old man and walked back.

Zengan was looking at Zell with a strange expression and clapped. "Strange technique to it, using an increase in speed like that to inflict more damage, very unconventional." "Hey, if it works, why should I change it." "Whoa," Zengan quickly said "I didn't say it didn't work, I just said it was unconventional. Besides…" "ZELL!"

Zell jumped at the sound of his name and turned to see who it was. Fiona was running to him as fast as she could, she was also crying "What's up, Fiona?" "Its…, Its…, Its…" She stammered trying to find the words and get her breath back at the same time.

Surprisingly, Zengan spoke directly to her "Calm down!" Fiona lifted her head in surprise to look at the old man "A soldier must remain calm and collected at all times, even in the face of extreme danger."

Fiona nodded and took a moment to gather herself "Its Squall and the others, they've disappeared." "WHAT!" Zell shouted creating an echo in the large room.
Behind him, Zengan spoke "I wonder, must have been that unnatural light." "What light?" Zell asked puzzled Zengan laughed "You missed it? Boy, you really get involved in your training, don't you!" "This is no time for jokes, old man." Zell's girlfriend snapped "Do you know what going on!" She then started to get out one of her throwing knifes.

Zell was taken back by Fiona's uncharacteristic outburst. He decided to head her off before something bad happened "Fiona, who disappeared?" Realising that she may have gone to far, she calmed down and reported "Squall, Rinoa, Seifer and Selphie. Plus Dr Kadowaki reports that various other members of SeeD are missing, as well as some of the students." "Very well." Zell though for a second "I supp… Wait, do you hear that?"

From the distance, they heard a distinctive sound.

Zengan got up off the crate and started walking. He stopped and turned to the two SeeD's "What are you waiting for, come on!"

………

Irvine was in the classroom still as the light faded, he didn't see anything different but he got his gun ready, only to duck just as a bullet went over his head and hit the wall. He shot back at where the bullet had come from and heard his bullet hit the opposite wall as he ducked back into his defensive position.

"Who are you?" Irvine called out and waited for the reply. Instead a barrage of bullets hit the desk and wall near where he was 'This guy's good' Irvine thought 'I can't make a noise or he'll shoot in that direction.'

That gave him an idea. He took out one of his bullets and threw it away from himself, he then started to crawl to another position but did not get very far as a shower of bullets sprayed in his path and forced him to retreat back to his original position 'This guy's very good' again, Irvine thought 'I've got to outthink him, otherwise I'm dead.'

He risked a glance around the desk, trying to be as silent as possible. What he saw was a man, but a very evil-looking man. He wore a cloak that was the colour of blood and had clawed hands. In his right hand he held a pistol, which was extended in front of him. He was also positioned in plain sight so he had a view of the entire classroom and could easily see any plan Irvine came up with to move from his current position.

Irvine decided that if he couldn't move, he had no other option but to face him head on, hoping that he could out draw the opponent. He loaded his gun and reached as far as he could with his arm away from him and audibly cocked it. When there was no fire from the enemy, he waited for 17 seconds. After that time he got up, aimed and fired in a single movement. His decoy had worked, the other man had aimed away from where he was to where he had sounded his gun, so he had to adjust before he could shoot.

There was a satisfying grunt as the bullet his Irvine's opponent in the right arm, making him drop his gun. Strangely though, instead of raising his other arm in surrender, the crimson-caped man stood there with a strange expression on his face.

"You shouldn't have done that." Was all he said.

Irvine couldn't believe what he saw next, the other man seemed to change, slightly at first but then more pronounced. Suddenly Irvine wasn't facing a man who could pass for a demon, he faced a demon.

Before he could gather his wits, the demon charged at him. Acting on impulse Irvine, quickly unleashed his remaining bullets on the creature, but they didn't have any effect and only Irvine honed reflects saved him as he jumped out of the way in time.

The demon started to turn and Irvine quickly hid to both regain his composure and replace his bullets. Irvine decided that this creature couldn't be running around the Garden, so he had to do something drastic. Loading up his pulse-type ammo, he quickly came up with a plan. He slowly backed to the nearest wall, trying not attract the attention of the demon. He then got up and let the demon see him.

As soon as the demon saw him, it rushed at him. Irvine waited and waited, and jumped out of the way at the last second. The demon crashed into the wall and collapsed. Irvine ran to the door. He was ready, just in case the ammo didn't work, to make a hasty retreat.

The demon quickly recovered and, now completely enraged, charged. Irvine blasted his ammo at it, but again, it had no effect. Irvine went to open the door to go through, but he had miscalculated the demon's speed, it was almost on him. Irvine braced himself as best he could and closed his eyes.

After a while. Too long a while, he opened them. To find himself staring into the creatures face. He looked down to lose sight of the hideous mask that was in front of him and saw a spear pointing uncomfortably on the demon's chest. He followed the spears shaft and saw a middle-aged man holding it.

The man was looking at him "Good, still alive." He said, then turning to look directly into the demon's eyes "Vincent! Calm down! You may have brushed off them bullets, but you know that my spear will hurt you." To prove his point he poked the demon with the spear and the demon gave out a horrendous roar of pain.

The demon backed away and retreated to the other side of the room.

Irvine turned to face the man that had saved him "Thanks." "Don't mention it, sonny." The man was smiling. Irvine took a good look at the man and saw he was wearing strange clothing, some that Irvine had never seen before.

The door opened suddenly and Cid came into the room, half afraid "I-Is the-that… thing g-gone?" He said in a weak voice, he had obviously seen the demon and retreated out the door instantly.
"No, not yet." The spear-wielding man said, pointing over to where the demon was and now stood the man who wore the blood-coloured cloak and claws.
"Don't play about, Cid." Irvine jumped at the name "That isn't the same thing that was attacking Irvine." "Allow me to clear that up, Cid." The demon-man retrieved his dropped gun and holstered it, then turned to face the headmaster "In fact, that devil was me, I have the power to change into four different beasts depending on my rage. The problem is that I lose control and go berserk." "That explains the over-reaction just now." Irvine said pleasantly, picking up his shotgun, that he had unknowingly dropped, and also holstered it.
"Yeah, sorry about that." The man apologised "It must have been the light that set me off." the cloaked man then looked strangely at Irvine, and reached out with a clawed hand "I'm Vincent, former Turks sharpshooter. I'm assuming that you're a pro, no amateur could pull off that little all-in-one shot stunt unless he was." Irvine took it gratefully, knowing that this gunfight was over "Yup, name's Irvine. Interesting little duel, that was, haven't had a challenge like that for quite a while. It was refreshing."

Cid spoke up impatiently "Okay, Okay, that covers the introductions, can someone please answer the million-gil question. Where the hell are we and what are we doing here?"

………

On Horizon Bridge, a train was going along the track to Esthar. In the executive carriage, a group of people were sitting down, two were alert and with roving eyes checked the carriage often.

The other man sat alone opposite them. He had his eyes closed and was pondering his life and the roads he had taken. He was returning after an emotional visit to his friends grave in Winhill, they had been more than friends but she had died before anything could happen between them. He had placed on the grave a single white flower and had kept one for himself. He did this as often as his political duties allowed and was always shunned by the people of Winhill when he did, because in their minds, it was his fault that their villager and best friend had died. Despite this they never stopped him from paying his respects and he was grateful, albeit silently, for that honour.

One of the alert men called his name, making him open his eyes "President Laguna, Sir. We'll be there in a couple of minutes." "Thank you, Biggs." Laguna replied, re-closing his eyes and waited for the train to stop.

He had found Biggs and Wedge in an Esthar prison, they had just quit the Galbadian Army, so they were still in their uniforms and had been mistaken for active members. After Laguna had talked with the two of them, he had them released and offered them employment as his bodyguards. It was thought by Laguna that because of their military background they would do a good job.
Biggs and Wedge had accepted eagerly and over the year since they started have done an excellent job. They totally confided in Laguna and had told him of their encounters with Squall and his SeeD companions, which had given them the bulk of their experience. Laguna had been impressed by that because he knew of SeeD's ruthlessness in battle.

Near the station, there was an announcement from the driver 'Ding Dong. Last stop Seaside Station Trading Post. Travellers to Esthar, their train will depart from Platform 2, ten minutes from the time of arrival. Thank you for travelling Horizon Railways. I repeat…'

Laguna opened his eyes again and looked at his two bodyguards "Hey Biggs, Wedge. I heard in FH that the siege of Deling City was over. What about after I get on the train to Esthar, you two return to Galbadia to see your families; you both deserve a break."

Biggs and Wedge looked shocked for a moment but quickly recovered "Thank you, Sir." Wedge said "I would like to see my sister, Jessie, again." "Indeed," Biggs added "I would like to see my mother, as well." "Good, I'm glad that's settled. Oh, looks like its time to get off."

As the train rolled into the station, there was a lot of confusion. The trio had a hard time getting off the train due to a lot of panicked people trying to get on.

After they finally got off, they looked around and saw two familiar figures talking to the station master.

Laguna had to shout to be heard over the noise of the crowd "KIROS! WARD! What's going on?" The two men jumped slightly and turned to see the three of them "What took you, Laguna?" "I stopped over in FH to talk to…" He frowned "Hey, Hey, Hey, don't change the subject. What's going on? Why are you here?" Laguna looked from face to face and saw Ward's. He had an expression that said 'isn't it obvious.' "Yes, I know it's obvious, Ward. Your evacuating, what I want to know is… why?

Kiros quickly asked the station master if there was anywhere that they could talk without being overheard. The man nodded and led them to an empty square room and then left to oversee the loading of the train.

"Right," Kiros started "as far as we know, a large Dragon appeared to the east of Esthar and proceeded to destroy everything in its wake as it proceeded toward the palace. At the same time, a strange beast appeared to the west and did the same. Ward and myself were with Dr Odine in his lab at the time discussing the strange light that appeared earlier. So, we sounded the evacuation from there and led the column to here. I immediately sent word to FH and they agreed to accept the refugees temporarily." Laguna was worried and he knew that his face was showing it "Two questions, does the Doc know who's behind this?" Ward shook his head and Kiros confirmed it "No, he has a few theories but does not have the evidence to back them up." "Okay, where's Ellone? I didn't see her with you when I first arrived here." "Yeah, she decided to visit Quistis at 'New Lunar Base'. She left just after seeing you off to Winhill." "That's good to hear. At least she's safe for now." Laguna thought for a moment "Wait a sec! There aren't many dragons in the world, at least ones with intelligence, was Odine able to identify it." "The dragon?" "Yes, the dragon. Quickly it's important." "Err, now that you mention it, he surmised under his breath that it was either Bahamut or one of his family members." "Bahamut has a family?" "Yeah, according to Dr. Odine, he's the crown prince of dragons. He has a brother who is meant to look a lot like him. I think Odine said his name was Tiamat, and he has a major jealousy problem." "It must be him then, Bahamut holds his allegiance to SeeD and from what I've heard about him, he'll continue to honour that trust until the end of time if necessary."

Ward was looking impatient and grunted to show it.
Laguna and Kiros picked up on this and quickly concluded the conversation.

"How does that help us?" Kiros asked "Dr. Odine was and is the leading researcher of Guardian Forces in the world so…" "He should have a list of who has what GF junctioned." "Exactly." Laguna cheered, Kiros had understood "Then we'll be able to figure out who is behind the attack." Laguna got up "Come on, we need to get word to SeeD." "Why?" "Because we are going to need back up. We'll return to Esthar and do the research and they can meet us at the lab." Kiros looked down "Does that mean we have to fight again." He said moodily "I was hoping my days of that were over. I'm also out of shape." Laguna laughed and that brightened the place a bit "Out of Shape? You? Give me a break! I've seen you on the training fields. You may not have your youthful zip anymore, but you were still running rings around men half your age. So stop complaining and lets get going." Smiles returned to Kiros and Ward's faces. Smiles that said silently 'its good to have the old Laguna back.'

As Laguna turned to leave the room, he caught sight of Biggs and Wedge. Biggs spoke up "Sir, we have had a quick discussion and have decided to decline your offer to return to Galbadia for a break. We believe that, as your bodyguards, your safe…" "Okay, Okay." Laguna interrupted "No need for long-winded descriptions, glad to have you along, now come on."

They all left the room and went to find a radio to send their message to Garden.

………

Cid was sitting in the cafeteria impatiently. It had been almost 3 hours since he had arrived in this 'world' and stopped Vincent from killing that kid, Irvine. He had, then, left them to discuss what was going on with the light and disappearance (or transportation) of many people. Now that he had eaten, he was bored and wanted something to do.

He got up and went to the directory. He scanned it and saw one of the sections labelled 'Front Gate/Hanger'. That grabbed his attention "They have planes on this world?" He said to himself "Hell, What am I waiting here for then!"

He quickly walked out the door and through the corridors to the front section. He walked though the gates and stopped. He could not believe his eyes. In front of him was two ships. One black, one red and both shaped like dragons "Whoa…" He managed in awe. He then heard footsteps and turned to see Irvine walking to him "You bored too?" Irvine smiled "I guess, planning sessions aren't really my style. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you again, Cid." "And I'm just going to say 'don't worry about it' again" Cid's tone was subdued though and his eyes returned to the two aircraft "If you really want to thank me though, you could let me look around them ships." He pointed "Err, yeah, well. You like them?" "Like 'em, #!&/ hell. I love 'em, I haven't seen another ship this beautiful since my Highwind." He started toward the red one.
"You're a pilot," Irvine said shocked "well that's different, ok… Hey, not that one! The other one." Cid stopped and looked back at Irvine, then the black ship "Nah, the red ones better, I can see from here it's got better performance." "Better… You could tell by looking?… Okay, but don't touch anything. Its my friends and she doesn't like anyone tinkering with her ship." He then hurried after Cid.

After a quick look around, they got to the cockpit, Cid looked and went to the pilots seat. Irvine tried to stop him, but it was no use and Cid sat down.
He looked at the controls and took in with a glance what they meant "Fuel, Engines, Weapons, Shields, Brakes, Steering. Okay. Hey Irvine, I suggest you strap yourself in, here we go." "Noooo." Irvine yelled, but it was too late, Cid had hit the start-up and the ship flew out the hanger. Irvine hit the back wall and was dazed for a moment but quickly recovered and came to the front "Are you crazy? Do you know how much trouble I will be in if Selphie gets word of this?" Irvine did, though, strap himself in, just in case Cid tried anything stupid.

He did. He set the nose facing straight down and just before hitting the ground pulled up and straight into a roll which ended with the ship upside down and about 50 feet from ground level. After about another 5 minutes of stunts, Cid finally put the ship on a course for Garden, as it was called, and set the autopilot.

He turned the chair to face Irvine who was white with fright and looked like he wanted to throw up.

"This beauty handles better than I thought." He laughed "Does this ship have a name?" "Wh-What," Irvine stammered, still recovering "Oh, Ragnorok." "Ragnorok, eh. Good choice, an excellent name for an exceptional ship." "Umm, how did we get so far from Garden, I can't see it in front of us." Cid laughed again "We're not. I'm just taking us the long way round so I can get a feel for being in the air again." "What's that supposed to mean?" but Cid did not answer. He just sat there with his eyes closed.

After about a half hour, Cid opened his eyes and turned to Irvine. It looked as through he had decided to sit back and enjoy the ride as well, because he seemed more relaxed and peaceful.

Cid was just about to start talking when a large sound interrupted him. The Ragnorok's autopilot cut off and Cid quickly turned to regain control of the ship. As an afterthought he powered up the shields and readied the weapons. Almost immediately after he did there was an impact of the left side of the ship. Irvine was now fully alert.

"We're under attack!" "Thank you for that, Mr Obvious!" Cid retorted "Where's it coming from?" "Left side, 200 feet." Irvine shouted after looking at the scanners.

Cid turned the ship to face the attacker and caught a slight glimpse of a large dragon before moving the ship in a corkscrew pattern to avoid another energy blast by the narrowest of margins. He then fired the Ragnorok's main cannon once, which caught the dragon off guard for a second. Cid increased the speed to maximum and shot past the dragon before it could recover. The dragon didn't pursue, and redirected his energies to the large city below them.

Irvine was reaching for the comm. unit.

"Ragnorok to Garden, Ragnorok to Garden. Emergency situation." "Garden her, Ragnorok." Cid heard his namesake reply over the speaker "Irvine, what are you doing up there." "Explain later. We've just been attacked by a dragon over Esthar. We managed to get past it, but the dragon is now attacking the city. Do you want us to return?" "Not just yet, Irvine. We've received word from President Laguna stating that the city was under attack. I now need you to fly over Esthar and read the current situation." Cid spoke up to be heard "Hey, Headmaster. This is Cid, I'm not an expert on magic or stuff like that, but from my experiences in the past, I'm willing to bet that the dragon that is attacking that city is Bahamut." "Bahamut!" Another voice interrupted "No way, he's junctioned to me at the moment. I would feel it if someone had called him and he was loose."

'Junction,' Cid thought 'what's that?'

Irvine snapped his fingers "That's it! Zell, do you remember that time in Ultimecia's castle. There was a dragon in there, it kind-of looked like Bahamut didn't it." "Oh yeah," Zell replied "Squall told me about that one, can't remember what he called it though. But, we faced him in the future, does he exist in this time." "Must do. Cid… Headmaster Cid," He said quickly "We'll scout over Esthar and then return to Garden." "Good luck, Irvine. Garden out." Cid finished. Irvine turned the comm. unit off and turned to Cid "Well then, shall we go?" Cid had to ask "Might as well. Do you want to take the controls?" Irvine was shocked "What? With your skills! Nobody's ever done what you did with this ship. Plus, who knows what else is over that city. We may need them skills again." "Okay then, Irvine, hang on!"

Irvine did as Cid flipped the Ragnorok 180° and literally flew back to the largest city that Cid had ever seen.