Ch 25 – Message In A Moomba
"So let me get this straight…you're my grand-daughter?"
Dee smiled at the bemused look on Ma Dincht's face as she shovelled in another helping of mashed potatoes, speaking with a full mouth. "Thass Righ."
"And you were conceived from a sperm sample donated by my Zell?"
Zell nodded, swallowing the hotdog he had been munching on before cramming three baked potatoes into his maw. "Yup." He said simply as he swallowed the potatoes whole and chased them down with a generous gulp of soda-pop.
"Zell!! How could you?!" Ma screeched, turning on her son's joviality with anger. "Did you even think about Angel during all this?!"
Zell gulped and sat up in his seat. "Of course I did, Ma! I did nothing but angst over it for hours before…"
"Only hours?!"
"Ma, the Immortals revived us from certain death. It was the least we could do."
Ma Dincht sank back in her chair, crossing her arms and looking down at the platter she had set out for them with a sullen look on her face. Suddenly she began to wonder why she had even bothered.
Zell rolled his eyes and leaned forward to grasp her shoulder. "Aw, Ma, don't be like that, everything's okay, it was all sorted." He looked at Dee with a wink. "Go on, show her the picture."
Dee blinked, looking up from stuffing her face – before reaching into her back pocket and, withdrawing a wallet, pulled out a small photo. She handed the older woman the picture before placing the wallet on the table and resuming her pigging out. She was more then content to keep herself out of the conversation for now.
Ma stared down at the picture, her mouth gaping. It was Angel, alright – right down to the cute little dimples that appeared on her cheeks when she smiled. She was dressed in what looked like a flowing white silk robe, the material clinging to her in a sub-sexy way that only a person with a naturally graceful body could allow. Her eyes, however, were sad as they looked into the photo – as if she had seen plenty of the world and had had enough. "I…I don't know what to say about that…it seems so…so…" Ma gasped, placing the photo back on the dinner table and sliding it away from her as if it was toxic, not able to speak for a second – before looking up at Zell. "…Did you get to meet her?"
Zell sighed, looking down at his plate. "Nah…I described Angel to Aries, their leader, one time…I guess she took note and tracked down their version…or at least what was left of her. She was already dead, Ma. Dee was conceived from a frozen egg…" His voice trailed off as he watched Ma's vision trail off into the distance. The subject intrigued Zell slightly, however – how would have he reacted had this Immortal Angel been alive?
Ma Dincht sat back, the news hitting her hard – but not exactly surprising her. There was something about this beautiful creature that was happily eating before her that reminded her of both Zell and Angel…maybe it was the shining blond hair, or the mischievous glint in her sky-blue eyes, or the way she wolfed down her food like it was about to disappear – or maybe it was simply the combination of those things, making her into the individual sitting before the older woman right now. The fact that her granddaughter was old enough to bear children, however, was another shock as it suddenly dawned on her. "But…she's old enough to date! How is that possible when Zell doesn't look like he's aged a day?!"
Zell crushed the soda can in his hand with an easy squeeze before tossing it over his shoulder into the bin strategically placed by Ma before he had sat down – he had a perchance for tossing used things over his shoulder – and burped. "Oof, sorry…it's hard to explain, Ma. You see, there's this thing in the Immortal world called Rebirth, which is the way that the Immortals are able to keep alive for so long…"
Zell launched into his story of the Immortal world, captivating Ma into the world of women and insanely advanced technology, only pausing here and there to snarf down a hotdog or gulp greedily at another soda can. Dee sat back, only injecting when more information was needed or to correct Zell – which she did, at great length, again and again – but, for most of the story, was simply happy to eat and feel merry in this wonderful home, full of fantastic colour, interesting contraptions, and excellent food.
Zell finally wound down by describing when him and Dee had walked down to the Garden Crater – the area where the Galbadian Missiles had just narrowly missed Balamb Garden during the Sorceress Wars – and had been confused to find the Garden missing. "According to our mission parameters," Zell said, drinking down another soda and tossing it over his shoulder to clink off the mound sticking out of the bin, "The Garden was supposed to remain in the Crater in case we had to return in a hurry. What's been happening whilst we've been gone? Have Squall and everyone else finished the mission?"
Ma looked down at the table once more, suddenly falling silent. "No Zell…it's gotten worse. Much, much worse…"
* * *
It had happened all of a sudden, Ma Dincht told the two. One second Ma had been waiting for Zell to return from a mission, as usual – the next she had received a knock on her door. An ominous knock. Ma had known what Squall and Rinoa were about to say when she opened the door to see them there, their clothes still torn from battle, their faces streaked with dirt and dust. Rinoa had explained later that she had flown the two of them straight from the Arch to see her.
Squall had sat Ma down and explained to her the events leading up to and concerning Zell's death, and the reasons why he hadn't been able to retrieve the body on their journey back. Ma had simply clutched to Rinoa and sobbed as Squall conveyed, stoically as usual, his condolences.
It had hit her harder then she would have imagined – she had remembered Zell laughing about death like it was a disease – something that magic could cure instantly, or a Phoenix Down could make go away, like it was a bad case of the flu or something. But she now had to acknowledge that she would never hear his voice again, feel his touch, see him smile. She may have been his adoptive mother – but he was still her son, and for a mother to outlive her son was something that neither of the SeeDs were prepared to face when they told her the terrible news.
Rinoa had taken Ma up to her room to put her to bed, suggesting that she would feel a little better after a nap, before moving to the hallway outside, closing the door softly behind her. Even thought the two lovers had spoken outside, Ma knew the house well, even after living in it for such a short time. She could hear the two of them speaking in their hushed tones, whispering to each other as she tried to find solace in sleep.
"Why did we have to come, Squall?" Rinoa asked, her voice full of grief and hurt. "Who knows what has happened to Zell. He might be alive – you never know!"
"Even if he was alive…by some slim miracle…he has no way of coming back to our dimension, and we have no way to go to the Immortal Universe to find out for sure. It was the best thing for us to tell her – better us then the usual committee. Sometimes I wonder why Cid formed them in the first place…"
"And…what about Angel?"
"She'll be too busy with the coming war to grieve. She will let it loose on the battle-field, like so many others will."
There had been a short pause were Ma Dincht had thought they had finally decided to go…before she heard Rinoa speak once more. "…Do you have it?"
"…Yes." Was the hesitant reply. It had sounded to Ma like Squall was being forced to do something he didn't like, like a child being dressed in trousers and a shirt instead of something more comfortable.
"Come on, Squall, it wont hurt to use it. Maybe, by the slim chance he returns, it'll give him an idea of what he'll be dealing with when he comes to look for us."
"…"
"Please, Squall…do it for him. You know he would do the same."
Squall had snorted, his words nostalgic. "He would have never thought of it."
"Maybe not…but I'm pretty sure Angel would have. Like I did for you. You didn't think about it."
"That's because he's gone, and he's not coming back!" Squall had said suddenly, raising his voice to normal levels, the pain evident in the words.
There had been a silent moment then, and Ma had guessed that the two of them were hugging – before she heard Rinoa speak once more. "Please Squall…please…"
There had been another moment of silence – before a door opened. The sound of footsteps moving across floorboards were like hammers thumping into Ma's ears – before the sound of a door shutting cancelled the hammers. "Are you satisfied?" Squall had growled, before the sound of one set of footsteps stomped off, quickly followed by someone with a lighter step…and then they had gone.
* * *
They had moved from the dining room to the lounge now, Dee reclined on the sofa with her hands on her stomach, a content look on her face as she felt sleep beginning to creep into her mind. Zell sat on the edge of the sofa, his hand grasping his Ma's as she sat in her recliner beside the sofa. Ma's voice went from the pain of remembering the conversation to anger at their actions. "They didn't have faith in you, Zell – they thought you were gone, that you'd never come back!!"
Zell scratched the back of his neck, a frown furrowing his brow. "Well…given the circumstances, Ma, I cant really blame them. I'm pretty sure I would have done the same thing, if the same situation arose."
His words made Ma sit back in her chair a little easier, the tension obviously easing out of her body as she nodded slowly, almost tiredly. "Yes…yes, you are right, my dear. They had no idea. I shouldn't blame them."
Zell's mind was elsewhere, however, as he ran the conversation through his head once more. Up coming war? "Ma…where are the SeeD? Where is Garden?"
Ma looked up at Zell with wide eyes, clutching his hand tightly. "They…they've gone. They broadcast over the radio waves of a massive attack being aimed at Gaia, and that they needed all the armies, mercenaries and able-bodied fighters to go to the Centra Continents. All the warriors on Gaia went to Centra – and they haven't been heard from since. That was about two months, maybe a month and a half ago." She blinked her big brown eyes, grasping Zell's hand even tighter. "D-do you think they've gone to war? Do you think it has come to that?"
Zell shook his head. "I don't know." He said truthfully – he really didn't know. He had no idea about the sizes of the Heart Army, or how far their spies' influence went. All he knew was that there were very little people left on Gaia – and in his eyes, that was very, very bad.
With little to no defences, and every able warrior off to do battle in some distant universe, Gaia was completely open to attack. In all effect, the Hearts had Zell's home world all to themselves.
* * *
The Dincht's decided that there was enough time tomorrow to clear the table and clean up the kitchen. Ma was exhausted from the mental exertion she had been radiating ever since Zell approached her – she still reached out to stroke his hair every now and then, as if to double check that he was really there. Zell was in tangles, trying to figure out exactly what and where the SeeDs were up to, and Dee had eaten way too much good food and had to be put to bed.
Zell carried her up the stairs in his arms, the girl too tired and full to even stand up. She had simply reached up for him when he had stood from the sofa and told her she could sleep in his bed and opened and closed her hands like a little child. "I cant get up…can you help me?"
Zell smirked down at the dozing teenager, shaking his head. "I think you really had too much to eat."
"…But Grandma cooks so good…"
Ma walked up behind Zell, following them up the stairs to go to bed herself. "Grandma?! Never thought I'd hear those words in my life!!" She said with an eldery cackle, prodding Zell in the back with her finger.
Zell rolled his eyes and turned, shooting a look at his Ma. "Gods, Ma, if your so up-tight about it I'll marry Angel, alright?!"
Ma lifted her hands in surrender. "I didn't say anything!!"
Zell breathed out heavily and turned to walk up the stairs again, annoyance engraved on his face. Ma had been on his case about the 'M' word for almost a year now – him and Angel had met each other during and after the Sorceress Quest, and had been going out ever since. Zell, however, had never gotten the courage up to ask Angel for her hand in marriage.
He had battled demons and monsters so fearful and deadly he had trouble sleeping at night.
He had roamed the world in search for the strength to defeat the world's greatest foes.
He had travelled forward in time to do so, risking his soul and his life in the process.
But he couldn't get down on one knee and shove a glinting rock in the love of his life's face and utter three simple words – 'marry me, bitch.'
And Ma was always getting on his nerves about it. Every now and then she would 'subtly' hint about marriage – leaving jewellery catalogues she received in the mail surreptitiously open to the ring section when he went to retrieve his fighting magazines. Lately she had been talking about how she and Pa had met – under the Galbadian starlight, celebrating the President's birthday, and how Pa had popped the question on that very day only three years after they had met. And, of course, there was Justice.
Zell didn't like Ma seeing Justice Delarn. It wasn't the fact that he was the President of Galbadia. It was the fact that, after the assassination attempt at the Tournament, he always had a squad of bodyguards always flanking him. Suffice to say, it became a little annoying – and a bit embarrassing – whenever he came to town. The whole house was turned upside down in the always-vain search for bugs – Zell made it a regular chore to sweep the house weekly after the destruction of his old home – and they were always stationed out the front door and at the back too. Not only that, but they always asked whenever anybody left. There was many a time when a bodyguard left on a stretcher or nursing a broken jaw after giving the smaller Zell a tough time. They evidently didn't get to watch the Tournament.
Ma had been thinking about marrying Justice for an age now. Even though they had been going out since the Tournament – about three months since Zell left on the mission – they had been seeing each other on a regular basis, almost daily on some weeks. It was only an hour's trip to Deling by train – Ma couldn't help but go and see him, and him her. They had really struck it off, Zell thought with a smirk. Although how Ma had gotten the idea of marriage into her mind was anybodies guess. But she obviously thought it was high time for him and angel to tie the knot.
The idea gave him a stomach ache. He'd rather not think about it until everything was done and settled with – then he could angst about it to his hearts content until he grew the balls to finally do…it.
Finally reaching his room, Zell kicked open the door and walked in, placing Dee down on his bed gently as Ma walked in behind him and looked down at the girl, clasping her hands to her chest. "Gods…she's so adorable…" She whispered, not wanting to disturb the dozing teen.
Zell nodded. "Yeah…pride and joy, all wrapped into one. She's a very important person back in her Universe…she'll go far."
Ma smiled, nodding – before ruffling Zell' hair and walking into the hallway. "I'll see you in the morning, Zell." She whispered – before shutting the door.
Zell watched her go – before looking down at Dee. She had her eyes open and was looking around slowly. "So…this is your room, huh?" She asked with a yawn.
Zell nodded, looking around himself. "Yup. A bit cleaner then it usually is, but yeah. This is all mine. Course, most of the other stuff was lost during the fire in the other house, but all the really cool stuff was saved."
His SeeD diploma, a little scorched but looking no worse for wear, we hung just over his bed. A collage of pictures, some new, some old, some re-created digitally after the fire were hung next to his Grandpa's guns. Thankfully Angel had packed those away when Zell had ordered her out of the house.
On the dresser on the other side of the room were a few other things – his first pair of fighting gauntlets, thankfully encased in glass – which had protected them, but only barely – a piece of Lunatic Pandora, the shining blue crystal still winking brightly after enduring the intense flames – and a Moomba Doll from the Shumi Village. All the Sorceress Heroes had received one from the Shumi Village at the end of the quest as a token of their appreciation for saving the world and helping them finish their statue of Laguna.
Zell blinked, frowning at the doll. Wait a minute…my Moomba was burned up in the fire. I still got the metallic shell somewhere…I've been meaning to go to the Village to have it repaired. What's it doing there?
Zell looked down at Dee – to see her asleep, her blond hair draped over his eyes slightly as she began to snore quietly. Smiling and shaking his head, Zell brushed the lick of hair from her face before standing from the bed. "You did eat too much, silly little thing…"
Dee simply snored away, oblivious and content in what felt like a safe environment.
Zell tip-toed over to the dresser and picked up the Moomba doll, turning it over in his hands. It was just as he thought – it was brand-spanking new. It looked like it had come off the production line only yesterday.
The little doll meeped at him.
Zell hugged it to his chest tightly, stopping it from meeping anymore. "Quiet you!!" He whispered urgently, looking over to Dee. "Don't wake her up!"
The doll began to paw at its nose cutely. He still amazed Zell at how the Shumi's were able to create such excellent mechanics – it was even warm, like a real Moomba, and the separate dolls had separate personalities, much like different people had different personalities. It was like every doll was a living creature.
Stealing out of the room and shutting the door quietly behind him, Zell tip-toed down the stairs to the living room. Placing the Moomba down on the coffee table in the middle of the room, he watched as it began to lick at its fur absently.
Obviously this one was once owned by Squall – the Moomba Dolls usually picked up the personality traits of their owners. Selphie's had to be turned off for fear of it exploding from over-exertion, Irvine's was always cuddled by the girls, Quistis' could only be played with if you knew advanced calculus, Rinoa's had a tendency to tackle-hug your leg whenever it saw you, and Squall's was the quiet one, always grooming and keeping to its fuzzy little self.
Zell's one used to bash things with its little paws, knocking all the knick-knacks off the edge of the shelf until Ma threatened to cut its head off with a carving knife unless he turned it off.
But the Dolls weren't only a cute little souvenir. It also held massive storage capacity in its little carapace – enough for a lengthy hologram message.
This must've been what Ma had told him about when she described the conversation from the hallway. Squall must've used his Moomba Doll to leave Zell a message in the slim chance that Zell survived and had somehow made his way back home. Squall, even though he was certain Zell wouldn't return, must've hidden the message in something that only Zell would've known to look. Very few people knew that the Sorceress Heroes had received Moomba Dolls from the reclusive Shumi's – and even less knew that Zells had been destroyed. It would be impossible for a spy to find.
Leaning forward, Zell appraised the tiny, half-a-foot high doll thoughtfully. "Well…how do I work you then?" He muttered, half to the doll, half to himself.
The Moomba stopped it's preening and looked up at him with it's emerald green eyes – before offering a paw, meeping at him.
Zell blinked, confused. "You want me to shake your paw?"
The doll meeped again.
The SeeD shrugged. "Alright then…" He frowned suddenly. He was talking to a robot who couldn't talk back. Rolling his eyes he reached out with his finger and thumb and, gripping the paw delicately, shook it up and down about half an inch.
The finger-print identification built into the paw instantly recognised Zell's fingerprints, and instantly the little Doll stood on it's hind legs like a human and turned to Ma's recliner, it's little green eyes flashing in light – before the figure of Squall suddenly blinked into life on the recliner, the image flashing slightly and fuzzily filling with static every few seconds, but still going strong none-the-less.
Squall looked uneasy as he stared into the receivers built into the Moomba's eyes. His scarred face was twisted in grief-stricken pain, his stance one of defeat as he began to speak slowly, his voice tinny as the Moomba opened it's own maw to allow it's speaker to emit his voice. "Zell…I don't know if you'll ever receive this…but I guess a chance is better then none. We've been through so much and seen so many things, it hard to not think that you wont come back…even though I watched you die right in front of me…"
"This recording is being made exactly three weeks after we left the Immortal Universe. We only just got back to Gaia, but we'll be leaving soon for another mission. We're fighting for all the souls of Gaia, Zell – not only Gaia, but of all the Universes that Queen Rinoa can reach and will reach unless we can stop her."
"We're going to war, Zell…a Universal War."
* * *
Zell sat back as Squall sadly began to regal his tale to the small mechanical doll before him half-heartedly, not knowing wether the message would ever reach Zell's ears or not. As the tale went on, however, Zell began to realise just how much Rinoa had been right to make Squall do the message – and how much the worlds they had visited and the worlds that were to come were in danger.
* * *
Rinoa bundled out of the Arch, the portal closing behind her as her wings retracted into her back, and looked up – to see her friends standing stock still, seemingly unable to move. "Hey guys, what's wrong?" She asked – before seeing them.
About twenty Heart Warriors, all clad in the shining Orihalcon armour, surrounded them all, some holding weapons, others with their hand filled with some kind of elemental force.
Ah shit…Rinoa thought to herself.
One of the Warriors walked forward slowly, pressing a button on the side of his helmet. The shining metal retracted into his neck, surrounding the throat like a cravat – to reveal Seifer's scarred face, his cold blue eyes locking onto Squall and Rinoa.
"It's the Queen and her Knight!" Seifer suddenly bellowed. "Destroy them!"
Immediately the room flew into chaos.
Twenty silver warriors suddenly flung themselves at the SeeD's without remorse, screaming bloody murder through their helmets as the SeeDs retaliated. Squall had his LionHeart in his hand and was swinging in an instant, three Hearts flying away from him and his Sorceress as the blue energy blade sizzled through the air, Squall swinging it like a baseball bat and leaving a blue trail behind it – before snarling and springing into action, skidding into the first Heart and knocking him to the floor before jamming the blade deep into the armour with a supreme effort, blood spraying from the wound as Squall wrenched the blade out – and knocked away the other two.
Trish instantly teleported out of the way as two Hearts ran at her, the warriors running straight through the smoke of her teleport to smash into the wall behind them – before Emily stepped forward and blasted the both of them with a Flare, the super-hot magic searing straight through the armour and blasting the bodies within to ash.
Julius and Veronica fought hand in hand, the girl swinging her wooden staff with deadly accuracy as the man slammed his fist into the nearest opponent and, gripping him by the neck and the groin, threw him immediately into the pack before him. The pack fell to the floor instantly – before Julius was amongst them, his Orihalcon-covered fists swinging wildly as one man jumped to his feet to be knocked right off them again by a thunderous attack before he was jumped by the rest, the sheer weight of numbers bringing Julius to his knees.
Veronica watched as her lover went down under the pile of Hearts – and immediately called upon the magic within her, four years old but still going strong as she pointed her staff at the pile – and watched with glee as the silver-clad warriors suddenly Floated into the air, their arms wriggling around as they tried to move but were unable to do so, gripped by some kind of unseen force.
Julius winked at Veronica – "Thanks baby." – before slamming his palms together, fingers splayed – and blasted the Hearts with a Meltdown, the ground below him crunching and shattering as the blast's kick smashed into him – but not as much as the attack itself, which launched the Floating warriors up into the air and through the ceiling, flying away into the sky to disappear in fluffy white clouds.
Squall turned, watching as several Hearts were blown away by Julius – before slashing his sword forward again, the blade held back-handed as the gunblader skidded forward and sliced several advancing Hearts neatly in twain, the energy blade blazing straight through the Heart's midsections – before the midsections exploded in a bloody gout of red liquid, the body's upper halves toppling to the floor as they legs decided to make a last ditch effort at their attacker before they realised they weren't getting blood, nerve-readings or muscle commands and tumbled to the floor after their former halves.
We're getting better…Squall thought to himself quickly, watching as Emily and Trish held down a Heart and, ripping his faceplate off, smashed his skull in. …They're not as hard as they were when we started. He wiped the sweat and blood off his face. …Still tough as nails, though…
He looked up suddenly as Seifer stepped forward, walking calmly up to Squall through the massive brawling and fighting going on throughout the throne room, and pointed his own gunblade at Squall. "Damn you Aqual! This coup-de-ta will succeed – even if I have to give my life for it!!" Seifer screamed at Squall– before launching himself at Squall, swinging his own gunblade down – to be deftly blocked and rebuffed away from Squall, the SeeD puzzled by the Heart's sudden words.
"Coup-de-ta?! What are you talking about?!" Squall shouted at the universal copy of his arch-enemy, Seifer beginning to circle him wearily as Squall began to try and process exactly what the Heart had said.
"It's the Queen and her Knight! Destroy them!"
"Damn you Aqual! This coup-de-ta will succeed – even if I have to give my life for it!!"
Coup-de-ta? These people aren't Hearts!! Squall suddenly realised in shock. They're here to try and overthrow the Queen – and we've been mistaken as them! "Wait Seifer!! Listen to me! We're not who you think!!" Squall shouted, deflecting another suddenly slash and dove under the next, coming up behind the revolutionary.
"Don't lie to me!!" Seifer screamed, turning sharply and slashing his blade out – to have it arrested by Squall's just in time, Seifer's metallic blade skittering and sparking against Squall's LionHeart.
"Listen!! My name isn't Aqual – it's Squall!! Squall Leonhart!" Squall shouted, pushing the man off, Seifer suddenly slamming into a wall – and Squall running up to ram his edge of his blade into his body, pinning him to the wall by bringing the sizzling energy blade to the edge of Seifer's bare neck. "And if I was who you thought I was…you'd be dead already."
Everyone paused as Squall and Seifer locked eyes, both warriors breathing heavily with sweat dripping from their faces as they looked each other over. Seifer began to scan the SeeDs with his blue eyes, looking over each one of them as the fighting began slowed to a stop. Julius and Veronica ran to each other, Julius protectively getting in front of her as the squad of Hearts who had attacked them backed off slightly, their own weapons still drawn – but pointed down as they awaited their leader's orders.
Emily and Trish were still beating on one of the Hearts when they looked up – to see Seifer looking at them. The two girls looked at each other – before getting up off the man and moving over to stand with Julius and Veronica.
Rinoa stood at the edge of the Arch, her hands pointed at the soldiers who had attacked her, the soldiers floating in mid air from when she had picked them up with her telekinesis and began to bash them into the walls – before dropping them unceremoniously and walking up behind Squall, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Squall continued to look into Seifer's eyes as he lowered his LionHeart slowly, smoothly walking backwards towards the SeeDs with Rinoa behind him – before finally flicking off the blade, the energy seeming to disappear into the adamantine haft.
Then the two groups looked each other over, almost for the first time. The SeeDs hadn't suffered heavy losses like the Hearts had – Julius had received a cut on his left shoulder and Trish had gotten a bruise when she had misjudged a re-entry teleport. The Hearts, however, had been reduced from twenty to nine in the sudden attack, and several of them seemed in pretty bad shape.
Amazing what a few battles will do for you…Squall thought to himself, proud of his SeeDs.
"…Your clothes are different…" Seifer said suddenly, breaking the tension that had been building. "…As well as your weapons and equipment." He continued, pointing to the SeeD packs that had been instantly abandoned when the fight begun, as well as Squall's LionHeart and Veronica's staff. "And you are right. If you were Aqual, you wouldn't have hesitated to kill me."
Seifer stepped up to Squall suddenly, prodding him in the chest. "Who the hell are you? You and your warriors can do things to Orihalcon I've never seen in my life. How come you look like Aqual and how come the woman behind you looks like that bitch of a Queen? Answer me!!"
* * *
Squall opened his mouth to speak – before stopping himself, looking behind him as the arch began to suddenly spark and sputter with latent energy.
One of the fake Hearts stepped forward. "The real whore is coming!!" He said, his robotic voice sounding a little more then frightened.
Seifer nodded, looking at the Arch as it began to build up with energy, before looking at his team – severely wounded and under-manned – before looking at the strange new-comers. Everything was happening too damned fast, and it was infuriating him, Squall saw. "Fuck…" Seifer snarled – before turning to the Hearts. "Abandon the mission! We'll be compromised if we stick around for any longer! Return to base ASAP!"
The Hearts nodded in unison, before bundling up their wounded and disappearing through the doorways, windows and curtains of the throne-room.
Seifer made to go too – before feeling a hand on his shoulder. Turning his head slightly, he saw Squall gripping his shoulder. "Take us with you." Squall said, his stoic grey eyes locked onto Seifer's steely cold blue gaze.
Seifer smirked, before pulling his shoulder out of Squall's grip and shoving him roughly. "I recognise you now, SeeD. You'll be dead before your boot touches the pavement outside. You're on your own."
Squall stepped forward, getting right into Seifer's face. "We know who you are. If we are caught, we will tell what we've seen."
The two of them began a battle of wills as the Arch behind them began to sputter and spark a little more, a purplish haze beginning to form in the middle of the pillars as Seifer and Squall began to see who would break first.
Trish looked from the battle of wills to the Arch anxiously, watching the two of them grow in size – before being unable to contain herself much longer. "Look, either leave us here or take us with you, but hurry up!!"
Rinoa looked at the Arch. "Yeah, hurry, it's almost open!!"
Seifer snarled again, his eyes still locked with Squalls – before ripping them from his gaze, turning sharply and moving forward quickly. "Fuck! Follow me!!"
* * *
Once again, I apologise for the tardiness of the chapters – no rest for the wicked.
But, that's what is coming up – a War. A War so damned massive, I've actually done research for it. Yeah, that's right – REAL research!!
It wont be for another few chapters yet, but believe me, it's gonna happen, and when it does, expect a shitload of stuff to happen!
Semper Fi, keep reading and reviewing, and don't forget to tell yer friends too!!
