Chapter 9: Saving Home
"Damnit!" Ifrit shouted as loud as his voice would allow him, pounding his fist against the blackness that now covered where the door used to be. The deep shadow rippled slightly from the impacts but didn't move in the least bit.
Griever grabbed Ifrit by the shoulder, pulling him roughly away from the possessed Garden. "It's no use, the faster we find another way in, the faster we get him out of there."
Ifrit knew he was right, don't waste time, don't waste time, don't waste time..."Alright let's go." Ifrit said mechanically, obviously restraining his anger. His demeanor changed so quickly that it would have made anyone else jump.
The two of them descended down to the ground, Ifrit moving so fast that he left an imprint when he landed in front of a flinching Zell. The small quake and resulting gust of wind knocked Zell off of his feet.
"Ow! What the hell--" Zell shouted offensively, about to spring to his feet and punch what ever had knocked him down. Until he saw who it was. "Oh It's you two." Zell climbed to his feet, rubbing his head lightly. He asked the first thing that came to his mind. "Where is Squall?"
"He's still inside." Ifrit told him disappointedly, his eyes fixed on Garden with a small timer in the back of his mind telling him that Squall's time was running out. The ground was vibrating noticeably from the facility's ring being forced improperly against the walls of the creator it was settled in. The Garden began to push forward, the ring just now making's to the shallow earth near as it tried to make itself move before it got completely out of the hole. The digging ring sent a wave of dirt masked by a cloud of dust in to the air as it came to the surface.
It came at them so fast that none of them had time to noticed it or move, first the dust swept over and completely engulfed them in a blinding and choking cloud. Followed by a masked wall of soil that came in enormous volumes like a wave in a stormy ocean, crashing down on top of the three and burying the three ironically beneath 6 feet earth. The ring of the garden just missed them as it narrowly passed over and ascended safely into the air over the top soil that had just covered them.
Griever was the first to emerge, with his height he only had to lift his hands to break earth and pull himself up. Ifrit being a little shorter had to force his way out, bursting through in a wave of heat and hovering in the air above the ground. The only one who remained was Zell.
A large set of wings transpired from the ground, then a long tail surfaced, wiggling like a snake. Dirt was blasted everywhere in a small wave of distorted air at once followed by a large dragon bursting up from the ground. It was none other than Bahamut with a confused Zell wrapped in his arms. "Bahamut? Where did you come from?" Zell asked with relief, not really caring what the answer was, he was just glad he came in time.
"Balamb." He said plainly, easing the flutters of his wings and drifting to the ground.
"We can't get in if we cant catch it." Ifrit said, even more anger evident in his voice then before.
"How exactly can we stop it? I mean it's the Garden, we can't fight something like that." Zell stepped back as the Garden entered the water roughly, sending a small wave of water spraying outward.
"You may not be able to but we can." Ifrit said, indicating Griever and Bahamut.
Did they have a choice? Sure it could be destroyed in the fight but they couldn't use it with those Shadows possessing it anyway, and he rather have that happen then for Squall to die in there. And from what Zell had in countered in his last look over the Garden during evacuation Squall surely would. Zell look one last look at the Garden, before turning to Bahamut. "You better get going then. I'll catch up as soon as I can." He wasn't sure how he'd do that but...
Ifrit was the first to leave, streaking into the air in a red blur in pursuit of the shadows, Griever silently followed.
"Bahamut be careful, I don't know much about those things but they really, really like to change shape, if that helps any." Zell advised, Bahamut gave a small nod before he spread his wings and went after Ifrit and Griever.
The Shadows were heading somewhere, and they were obviously using the Garden to get there. That could be the entire reason for going through the trouble of taking it over, to get a number of Shadows that large to some place all in one piece... But how did they get their in the first place?
'Carbuncle…Any ideas?' Zell thought, glancing back at the stretched out hole where the Garden once had been docked.
(Lots of fire power.)
! - ! - !
Squall had his back against the wall, unable to back away any farther. The shadows were at the toe of his boots and gaining fast, there was no other option but to move forward over the parts that had been already been possessed. Even if he got killed trying it would have happened anyway. 'Here goes nothing.'
With a nod to himself Squall pushed off the wall charging forward and as soon as he stepped one foot on the darkness a row of spikes shot up from the ground threatening to rip him apart. "!" Squall charged forward making it narrowly past with a large scratch across his back, more and more of them burst forth from the ground still trying to hit him. The spikes just barely trailing behind him as he ran, he didn't know where he was going and it didn't matter. He wasn't dead yet, that was a good sign, just as long as he didn't get impaled... 'The elevator!'
Squall turned around the corner narrowly keeping his balance on the somewhat slippery ground, it was like running on slick rubber. With his gun blade drawn he threw the blade at the glass door of the elevator in front of him, the only thing that hadn't been covered by the Shadows because it had been sealed off. These Shadows couldn't get through the glass, the elevator remained shadow free, giving Squall a safe place, for the moment anyway.
'They didn't posses the ground...'
With his shoulder forward, Squall rammed through the remaining pieces of the shattered glass, retrieving his sword now embedded and the ground and pressing the button to the third floor. Thankfully the elevator started moving upward before the Shadows could get inside, that wouldn't last for long though.
As soon as Squall stepped off the stop elevator he could see the Shadows seeping inside from the bottom like the bottom of a sinking ship. There was no turning back now, but it didn't matter, it was safer up here then on the second floor.
The shadows hadn't gotten to the top floor yet, at lest on the inside. On the outside shadows had completely covered the windows and windshields making it completely dark except for the flickering lights internally. That's when Squall finally realized it. 'Hm…..the glass….' Again he noticed that the glass hadn't been possessed, merely covered over. 'Maybe I can use that to my advantage.' Squall thought strategically, but then the thought was quickly discarded.
With out a junction he didn't have a chance of breaking out of, maybe if he had some powerful magic like Flare... He could cast the spell and smash through the window, giving himself just enough time to jump through...No...that plan had it's flaws, if the fall didn't kill him the ring under the Garden would, and how was he suppose to reach the hole anyway?"
Squall wasted no time taking the lift up to the cockpit, finding the radio next to the throttle both still intact. It may not do him any good but at lest he could tell someone that the shadows couldn't possess glass. It could be the key to beating them, and the key to getting him out of here.
"This is Balamb Garden. Is there anyone on this frequency?" Squall called out.
At first all he got was silence, but there was always one thing on the same frequency as the Garden.
The Ragnaork.
Nida's voice rang through the speaker. "Garden? Squall is that you?"
Squall sighed in relief, he didn't think much of it before when the ship came up missing, he was just glad someone who could actually help him had taken it. "Nida? Your on the Ragnaork right?"
"Yeah, What the problem?"
"The Garden has been over run by…some type of monsters, they've basically taken over--"
Nida gasped in surprise, this was clearly unexpected. How could something like that happen? By monsters? Squall could handle any monster, right? How could their be something that could just completely take over? "Huh? What do you mean taken over!"
"They've done something to it….It's like their apart of it or something, I don't know it's hard to explain. But the thing is that now they're controlling it."
Panic, Nida nearly kicked himself, why was he getting so anxious, he wasn't even their. There was something that was much more important he should have been worried about. "What about everyone else?"
"Everyone's been evacuated."
"Why are you still there?"
"I'm trapped inside."
Nida could guess a few reason's why Squall would still be there so he didn't bother to ask."……..So can you describe these monsters?"
"A dog or something like that with dark fur and red eyes. What's so dangerous about them is that they can change into about anything."
"…What do you mean by change?"
"Exactly what I said, from what I've seen so far they can change in to a liquid, just about any type of blade. And they can take over things, whatever they are their moving the Garden right now."
That sounded bad. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is the situation?"
"15."
Nida was silent for a moment, he still didn't know what to really expect in this whole situation. "Alright Squall, How do you want me to Help. I'm in Esther now so I could arm the ship if you think it's necessary."
Squall thought about it for a moment, this could result in the destruction of the Garden, did he want to go that far yet?
What if there was another way to do this they hadn't figured out yet? But what if there wasn't, the longer they did nothing, the less time Squall had. And where were the Shadows headed anyway? Waiting could cost more then they could afford. For all he knew they were going to the center of the ocean.
"Yeah sure."
"Fine, just tell me anything else you know about these monsters or whatever might be helpful."
"When they control something, they can still attack by changing shape. So they maybe able to hit you from far away. Plus they're quick, and their attacks are accurate so stay on guard."
"I guess this is going to be dangerous for me too huh?"
"I don't know if they can hit you from the air but I think so."
"What do you think the chances of the ship being destroyed?"
"….If you get too close they'll probably get on to the ship and control it too. There must be hundreds of them so even far away you could have that many attacks to avoid so….."
"I probably shouldn't have anyone on the ship with me then…. I'll aim for the cock pit, that's where you are right? So get ready."
! - ! - !
"No you can't come with me." Nida denied firmly, walking toward the Esther Airstation with a pleading Cho at his tail.
"Come on! You can't leave me here!" Cho protested, not exactly helping him persuade Nida the right way.
"Sorry but it's too dangerous." Nida told him, getting in the final word before he opened one of the glass doors to the building and heading inside. Leaving Cho alone by himself, he wasn't at all worried about Cho being in Esther by himself , Cho would be fine. He was more worried about the city then the boy.
"Too dangerous! I've been through a lot of things worse then anything that could be happening. I made it through Time compression for Hyne sakes! What could be more dangerous then that?" Cho yelled, watching the glass doors close slowly in his face.
Nida still didn't listen to any of his pleases, he only called back "Go stay with President Laguna until I come back." Before he disappeared toward where the Ragnaork was docked.
"If it's that dangerous then why don't you let me help you?" Cho mumbled to himself, slowly turning to head back toward the Presidential palace not too far away.
Nida had been teaching him how to fly the Ragnaork just as he'd promised the boy, and Cho was anxious to see every part of the large city. That would have to wait.
Now he just wanted to find out what was going on at lest, he didn't like not knowing especially something that seemed as big as this was, whatever it was. It was clear that he wasn't going to find out about it unless Nida came back.
But he might not come back for him...Nida never actually said it but Cho had always been good at reading between the lines. Cho was also good at reading Nida, the older boy had been uneasy and nervous about something though he didn't show it. He never showed it.
Cho wandered thoughtlessly through the streets, moving on auto-pilot toward the palace with his mind on other things. What was going on? What could be going on... what was it...what?...what! There had to be some clue to this, what was it...Come on, their has to be something...-- Cho's sporadic thoughts were interrupted by himself running into a wall, apparently he'd been walking longer then he thought.
And his growing frustration was taken out on his own clumsiness and lack of attention. "Damnit!" Cho shouted furiously, punching the wall as hard as he could. Just the thought of it made him mad, he couldn't handle it something happen to Nida.
He lost just about everyone else, he never had anyone else. There was no way that he would let Nida go on something as dangerous as he though this was by himself, he wouldn't let him go with out a fight.
Now all he had to do was find away to go after him.
How the hell was he suppose to do that!
There where 2 more Ragnaork, and he could easily track them down, he could have his own ship.
A small smirk appeared on his face in remembrance.
'Alright, Nida told me that the Ragnaork ship used to be in space…' Cho leaned his back against the wall, staring up at the sky as he tried to piece this together. Looking at the sky always helped him think, or something visually condescending seemed to let him focus. He had always been a very visual person. 'There were two more just like it that were used to take Sorceress Adel's seal in to space. If the seal was brought down by the Lunar Cry, and one of the Ragnaorks were already nearby. Then at lest one more of those other two ships had to be brought down with it!'
That was it! Perfect! He was always a visual person, and looking at visually appeasing sights always helped him focus.
Now all he had to do is find out where the Lunar cry had taken place on earth. Another Ragnaork had to be nearby, that was sure bet! And who could he ask? Laguna of course! 'I am such a genius!'
The hell if he was gonna let something like this stop him. 'I'm on my way Nida.'
Nida was gonna be really mad at him for this. 'It wouldn't be the first time.'
! - ! - !
Cho found Laguna sitting at his desk when he made his way to the office, the man was half sleep doing paperwork most likely related to the repairs needed and still being done to the city.
Cho leaned over the other side of the desk, the man seemed to notice him but just didn't feel the need to say anything. "Hey Laguna?" He spoke innocently, holding his hands behind his back and looking around in an absentminded manner.
"Huh?" Laguna didn't look up, he just continued writing. If this was anyone else he would have wondered how they got past the guards so easily, but he'd gotten quite familiar with Cho after he and Nida rescued him and Ellone from the Lunatic Pandora. And he knew just what the boy was capable of, the guards at the door were useless when it came to Cho but it didn't matter since they let him through anyway.
"Do you know exactly were the Lunar Cry happened?" He asked, not hinting anything particular.
Of course Laguna knew, how could he forget all the problems it caused him. "The Lunar Cry?…Hmm, at Tears point. Why?"
Perfect. "Just wanted to know." Cho told him innocently.
"Alright." Laguna just nodded.
With a small tanks Cho left the room, walking past the familiar guards again and heading on to the very fast lift down to the first floor.
That's where his second problem proposed itself.
Just as soon as he walked out of the door he realized it. "Great! How am I supposed to get all the way out there…..with out getting killed by monsters?" He sighed, he only had two options, use a Chocobo, but there were no Chocobo forest nearby so that was out. Or use a car. He couldn't really fight, he couldn't stand up to anything he'd come across walking out there.
He didn't know how to drive though, "I looks like it's time to learn…" Cho said with a small smirk on his face, sure he could get a car with a little 'ingenuity'. There was a good chance he could get out of the city if he didn't crash anything or run anyone over. 'And with everyone working on repairs, it'll be even easier.' Plus he always wanted to drive.
Luckily he just so happened to know where a rental car place was.
! - ! - !
It wasn't too hard to get to it, it took 5 minutes at the most mainly because Cho ran the whole way and he spotted a few marked rental cars being returned.
"This….was easier…then I…thought…it…would be." Cho almost collapsed when he reached the building's door, happy to find it was still open. That meant that the security system wasn't on so all he had to do was sneak past a few people, hotwire a car, and drive off, preferably with out being noticed. Simple right?
Like someone wasn't going to notice a car just leaving on it's own, right that'll happen.
It was time for some quick planning, panting heavily Cho through the door and into to the building, entering a circular room with a road sized path from the back of the room running to the opposite wall.
There was a panel right in front of him used for ordering 'Everything's Automated, cool!' After messing around with the touch screen for a few moments he found that he could afford a car with his saved up salary.
He was too young, the panel wouldn't let him get close to ordering one being only 14.
"Stupid machine!" Cho growled, kicking the panel that had happened to be more solid then he thought it would be. It actually hurt.
'Alright, I'll wait until someone else orders a car….' He thought to himself, but there was no way someone would just let him jump in and ride off, in fact if they found him in the car…… He had to get his own.
"If they had let me get one in the first place I wouldn't be doing this…" He mumbled justly, climbing up the narrow ramp up toward the garage where the cars were held, prying open the gate slightly just enough to slip under it and hear it shut behind him.
What lay before him was a strait passage that inclined upward, lined with red beams that stretched from one wall to the other, most likely for scanning cars on their way in and out and preventing illegal entry. Good thing for Cho he was small, he was sure he could fit under it.
'Man, If only Carbuncle were here.'
With his body pressed against the ground, he used his feet to push himself forward up the incline, just barley sliding beneath the sets of sensors and climbing it to the top of the incline. From there he found another small road leading to the place where the cars were actually stored. There was really no security here…except for the cameras on the walls.
'No problem!'
Cho rolled off of the ground and pressed his body flat against the left wall as he stood, slipping under the Cameras and out of their view. He was just short enough to do it... Simple, or at lest it was until he got to the end of the path.
There was a gate and a camera on the opposing wall. There was no way he could open the gate with out being seen by the camera.
'What am I gonna--'
But just on time, someone ordered a car and the gates rolled open. A car was being towed out by a track on the ground. And with the opportunity presenting it self Cho used the car as cover from the camera, running through the gate and in to the dark garage behind it.
He could see parked cars through the dim light just as the gate closed and he managed to find one in front of him before everything went dark with fading light.
Good thing too, there were cameras on the walls in this room also, if he used a flash light or something like that it would pick it up the light and he'd be caught. What was even better was that the doors were preset to be unlocked and a key was on the dashboard. 'Heh heh!' He climbed into the car and took the key, putting it delicately in to the ignition, though he stalled on starting the vehicle...
And he waited again, for someone to order another car. A potentially long wait that he was prepared to make... But it seemed the person who ordered the car before didn't like their choice and sent it back. The gate rolled open again as the car was pulled back in to it's spot by the track, queuing Cho to turn the key and start the care. This was it, he had to go before the next car left the lot.
"Here goes nothing!"
With out hesitation he stepped at the gas and the car pushed forward through the open gate. He could see over the wheel enough to get a general since of where he was going, but he was short enough that he had to pull his body downward to pressed the brakes. 'Damnit, why am I so short?" The car sped down the path, going out the open second gate and making it easily outside. It was a lot easier then he thought it would be.
Now all he had to do is get out of the city.