And I'm BACK with another good and exciting chapter! First, to clear things up with one of my reviewers…
KamiKaze no Kage: I think there's only the mom in my story… Mr. Dincht, uh, he's not going to be mentioned I think. In my mind's eye, for the Dincht family it's just Ma Dincht and Zell. Let's just say the foster parents live far from each other, divorced. And the other thing…about my character. Ya think they'd suspect she'd be from another world? Nah, that's the very last thing on their minds. They don't know what happened to Sorceress Edea at all. They're just the big fat mess Ultimecia left behind. Plus, I like the idea of Marianne being in the middle of a little war. Hehe, surprised I haven't thought about it when first writing this story.
Lyrics: "Seven" by Revis, off their self titled album
Chapter 20: Ambush
It's all over, it's all over now...
Quistis Trepe pulled out of the Balamb Garden parking lot, driving one of the vans that were purchased and provided for the need of transportation from there to Balamb Town to catch a train, by Cid Kramer and NORG, when he still was around, acting like he owned everything in and around Garden. It was intended to be used for transporting SeeD cadets to Balamb Town for Field Exams. There were up to three vans parked inside the large garage, which had plenty of spaces to park rental cars. Quistis must have known that Mr. Kramer wouldn't mind if she took one of them, for it was absolutely necessary. The next train to Esthar would be departing very shortly from Balamb Town, so they had to hurry.
Quistis drove. Zell Dincht leaned back in the passenger seat, arms crossed behind his head, eyes drifting to stare out the window, not paying attention to the scenery, which was nothing special. Just lots of grass and the occasional Bite Bugs, zooming by in the air in a big blur. The rear view mirror to the left of him showed the bushy trees of a small forest, which were a few miles in the opposite direction of they were going. Dincht was deep in his thoughts. Selphie Timlitt sat in the back, but he didn't look at her. The three didn't speak, for they'd probably do that on the train, maybe. Or so Zell thought. Maybe Quistis and Selphie, like him, were still absorbing the information that was read from the newspaper. This was dead serious, and nothing they'd want to discuss, for the trio knew what was going on. It was surprising that Selphie didn't cheer him and the ex-instructor on to remain positive about this.
Jeez! Galbadian soldiers were stomping all over Gala to kick their asses. They could be ANYWHERE! Probably there was a platoon up ahead, waiting for them in Balamb, his hometown. No, my ma could be in danger, knowing those G-Army pricks know about me! Zell thought, and it's all because of me. Dincht uncrossed his arms to his sides, hands clutching into trembling fists. If he hadn't let the words "SeeD" and "Balamb Garden" slip off his tongue, from back during that live TV broadcast in Deling City, then no one would've been in danger as much as they were now. Yes, he remembered the shocked and scared, alarmed expression on Selphie's face. Squall put his hand to his forehead before giving Zell a scowl. Seifer yelled and swore at him. But he couldn't help it. Whenever he got excited or angry, or just plain rowdy, the energy would spark off of him like a bunch of fireworks, blasting off into a starry night sky. There's usually no way to control that. Zell couldn't help it, being who he was!
He heard and felt a sigh, vibrating all throughout his mind. "Again?" snapped Shiva, sounding annoyed. You know it's my Hyne damn fault, Shiva, Zell said back to his Guardian Force, through his depressed and angry thoughts. Marianne wouldn't be so scared and shit as it is. "You wouldn't have known she would come to our world in the first place. You can't blame yourself over that," she elaborated for him. "Stop beating yourself up about it! If you care about this girl as much as I believe you do, then go to Esthar with your two friends. Protect her from those enemies. Let that mistake go. Let the past be the past."
The seal is broken. The creature's spoken now...
Speaking of those "enemies," Zell had something to share with her about them. They think she's a criminal, goddammit! They don't know crap about her. Nothing. And thinking about what they could do to her scares me to death! Those good-for-nothing, power hungry, lowlife dickheads!
For a time now, Shiva had to put up with this human. It's been about her fifth day, and sometimes she was pressed to give Zell a brain freeze to get him to calm down from being too hyperactive, but the ice spirit only felt that was really needed unless she was disrespected or furious. She had the power to do it, but never had felt the need to do this with Zell. He was a very bright, courteous, and caring human, and Shiva understood how he felt about the Earth girl. So quickly, he's understood and began to form a good bond of friendship. Shiva wasn't pleased at all about this situation either. Sorceress Edea's tools had been neglected and left unattended. She had a little bit of compassion, making her somewhat similar to Quezacotl. Only, she was tough and not so gentle on her past life partners over the last several years, and Zell was no exception.
I hope you come up to heaven right now.
It's all over, it's all over now...
Zell couldn't just share this with Shiva now. He wanted to know if he wasn't the only one who felt these things. His face began to turn red. "We can't let the entire world see Marianne as a criminal," he managed to say, calmly as he could. He forced the calm, and knew it by heart that he wanted to go kick some G-Army soldier ass, RIGHT NOW. ...Damn, he couldn't control the fury anymore!
Can I be changed?
Or am I the same...?
"It's not right, man! It's not right for an innocent person like that to be so damn scared all the time!" "We all feel the same way, Zell," Quistis told him, sounding as if she agreed with every word that Dincht said. She focused on the road, but as he looked to one of his former teachers, (damn, he still couldn't believe a good teacher like Quistis had been fired) the side of her face showed determination. A little bit of sunlight gave to showing a glare spot on Trepe's thin framed glasses. Balamb Town was up ahead, but still kinda far away. "But what can we do? No one is going to believe her story." "They'll take her to some loony bin," provided Selphie, and Dincht felt her arm pat on his left shoulder. "Don't worry Zell. We'll show 'em."
Selphie's words and confidence were back. Zell had been starting to think something was terribly wrong with her. He felt ready, more than ready.
"But let's focus on the mission at hand here," Quistis spoke up. "Which of Marianne's ideas would work better? Hmm," Selphie said, making Zell go into thought too. "I think...the space station, maybe. I mean, it's easy," Zell said, really thinking about the space travel suggestion. "Take a rocket with plenty of fuel and we'll get Marianne back home and stop the sorceress in no time!"
Before meeting Marianne, nobody from Balamb Garden even knew that the city of Esthar even existed. When the Guardian Forces showed it to them, it was a very beautiful city, and very lively. Sparkling buildings, technology advanced beyond their time with high speed transport cars. There was also the space station, and the touch screen computers for some shops at the humongous mall. Their commander and good friend, Squall Leonhart, made this mission seem nothing too special out of the ordinary, but it was. This new, futuristic city felt like a whole new adventure for them. While over in Esthar, why do a little bit of sight seeing too?
"But we don't know how far Earth is," Quistis countered. "Or if it's still there." "OF COURSE Earth has to be still there!" Zell exclaimed, not believing his ears. Damn, Quistis! You're starting to sound like Squall! "Sorceress Edea can't just make her home planet blow into a bunch of space dust!" "No way!" Selphie responded, almost too eagerly. "She can't have the power to that. It's impossible!" "Zell, calm down. I didn't say Earth was...what you just told me," Quistis said uneasily. "Yeah, okay," Dincht replied, calming down indeed. "I'm not real sure if Dr. Odine could help, or if he would be willing to help us. But hey, we gotta try anyway, right?" "Right!" answered Selphie.
"And if both plans fail..." Shiva said, pointing out the worst of all possibilities. In having to share his own brain with this GF, Zell knew she'd always do that. No, we can't fail, he argued. "But Marianne didn't sound too sure of herself on this, did she?"
This made Zell let out a sound in exasperation. "First, Quistis, now Shiva," he grumbled. "What?" Selphie quirked. "Shiva says that Marianne's not sure on how everything will work out." "I don't think anyone of us feels one hundred percent sure anything will work," Quistis stated, her foot applying slight pressure on the gas pedal to pick up speed a little.
This was bogus stuff to talk about, Zell realized. Talking about other worlds and realities, space, and apocalypses made sounded like something a person of a high IQ would talk about. Fiction becoming real adding to that list of bogusness...
Soon, they were proceeding to Balamb Town. "Oh great," Quistis groaned as Zell also saw him. A Galbadian Soldier was holding out a hand, signaling for Trepe to stop the van. Dincht's hands were clenched fists again, ready to kick some ASS with his blue and black fingerless gloves with little metal plates attached as to where the knuckles would be. Selphie began to be awfully quiet in the back again.
"Zell, don't do anything yet," Quistis told him tersely as she slowed down the van to a crawl, then made a complete stop as the low ranked, blue uniformed G-Army soldier stepped to be next to the driver's side of the vehicle. Quistis began to roll down her window. On second thought, the look on the soldier's face told the trio that possibly all G-Army soldiers would be able to recognize them now. "Shit," Trepe said in a low voice, took her hand off the window button, and jammed her left foot on the gas pedal. SCREEEEECH! The tires screamed, and went forward within a few seconds, chewing and spitting out the bright green grass, and dirt, soiling the man's uniform.
"GODDAMN," Zell roared, pounding his right fist on the car door beside them. They weren't going to be safe anywhere, anymore, unless their destination was empty of Galbadian soldiers. He didn't know for sure, and knew the others would feel the same way. This was their first trip to Esthar. Dincht saw the soldier behind them on the rear view mirror for just a moment. He was shaking his fist and it looked like he was yelling and cursing, but the windows were pretty much sound proof, which would mean the glass could not break easily. To the trio, this was a good thing. The problem was that they'd have to get out of the minivan, because no way could they drive it into the train without causing damage.
In the middle of the cobble stoned ground, Quistis was doing her best to brake as a mix of the enemy and innocent civilians immediately ran out of her way. "Whoooooa," yelled Selphie, before the van swerved to the side and came to a complete halt. Trepe shifted the gear to park and turned the engine off. "That was AWESOME," shouted Zell, smiling big at Quistis, whose faced just flushed a shade of pink as they quickly unfastened their seatbelts. It wasn't usually like Quistis to drive like THAT. "Woohoo! That was fun," Selphie said, and then got out Morning Star.
G-Army soldiers surrounded the parked van, getting out guns and swords. "FREEZE," screamed one of them. "Put your weapons down and raise your hands behind your head! You're under-" "Hey!" Selphie interrupted, weapon ready, eyes searching for which man it was who was speaking to them. "You don't know who you're talking to. You think won't try to put up a fight first?" Zell was already in fighting stance, and picked the closest opponent to pound on. Quistis quickly unleashed her modified whip, cracking the air with it as it slid untangled and free from around one of her arms. An instant later, their fight for survival had begun. Outnumbered, but they hoped luck was on their side…
Winston Devaz ran past his fellow men on the streets, keeping watch for any of the suspects if they dared to come across. His mission was assigned to get Zell Dincht's foster mother. Her residence wouldn't be hard to find because their last name, then first names were marked on the outside of their homes. "Dincht, Catherine," was what Devaz had seen, and opened the door without any hassle. The woman was inside after all. No time for stopping to look at his surroundings, the Dincht residence was a small home, but cozy enough to just sit back and watch television in. Dincht wasn't too far away at all, and just within clear sight, one foot away at a stove, with a pot on top of it. The kitchen wasn't a separate room, but the counters almost made it like that, providing two ways to get in. Two "doorways," the counters being the kitchen's low "walls."
Without saying a word, the man dashed towards the woman, who looked pretty enough. Her hair was very curly and sandy blonde, pulled back in a big and long pony tail. Didn't look old but not exactly real young either. "What in the world-" Mrs. Dincht began to yell as she rested one hand on the lid of the pot. Before he let her say anything, Devaz grabbed her arm, bumping his elbow into the pot. Boiling hot water spilled on the sleeve of his military jacket, causing him to curse and shout in pain, but he didn't release Catherine Dincht.
"Let go of me this instant, or I'll have to call the authorities!" she cried, afraid as hostile Galbadian low rank officer pulled her body close to his. Whoever this man was, he was very strong. His dark tannish features were in a fury over had just happened to him. Grasping a tight grip on her with one arm, he pulled out a small knife from his pants' back pocket with the other. "You will come out with me calmly and quietly, or I swear to Hyne I'll…" He didn't finish his sentence as the soldier hustled her out of her own home. "You can't do this! I have a son, and what if he finds out I'm not in there?" she demanded, trying to break free of this madman. "You're son is what we want," he hissed as he continued to force the both of them to walk.
The neighbors outside, attending to their sweeping or to pick up the morning people were witnessing the scene as their loving friend Kathy was in the clutches of their enemy. The other soldiers around stood tense, long and hard metal sticks out to beat the sense out of any of those who'd try to stop Devaz, who was yelling at Mrs. Dincht to keep moving.
"What do you want with my son? Tell me why you want my Zell!" the demanding woman said. Devaz supplied the answer his mouth curled into a smirk. "Your son, Mrs. Dincht, is one of the members of a resistance against the entire world. He's partially responsible for the kidnapping of Sorceress Edea." He heard Catherine Dincht gasp. One of his smoky gray gloved hands gripped onto her ponytail. "Cooperate, and I may not have to kill you…"
It's all over, it's all over now.
No room for hiding. We're children fighting now…
The fight was nasty and merciless. Fireballs and other magic flew at the G-Army soldiers or the perpetrators every now and then. The tall woman with the whip had struck, causing one or two men to yelp and clutch at their sore arms, or to put one hand over the red bleeding lines on their faces. The shorter girl in the light blue tank top and tan shorts cast Fira or attacked with the nunchakus she carried over her shoulder.
One soldier stood at a distance, his eyes searching for his prey. Nine years ago, he saw this boy, at the age of eight. He must have gotten the tattoo when he was in his early teens or something. And soon enough, he spotted him, moving like a kung fu champion, slamming a gloved fist into an Elite Soldier, whose mouth came away bloody. Dincht happened to knock out a few of this guy's teeth. He then leg swept another low ranker, and leaped back as the next closest low ranker tried to slice at Zell with his blade.
"ZELL DINCHT!" Charlie Etchinson called over the battle as the blonde spiky haired punk stopped after snapping the neck of one of his fellow men. A sickening crack of bones let loose in sound as the body became limp. "Huh? Who said that?" Dincht wondered as he released as the soldier who was dropped on his side, his head turned in an unnatural position…dead. The two young women around him stopped too, their eyes searching for the man who knew the young man's name.
He'd only been seventeen, nine years ago, living down the street from the Dincht residence for some time. Charlie was only a teenager when he first moved in and got to meet these kind folks. As Charlie began to remember Zell, he recalled him about being adopted by age seven, as to what Kathy Dincht had told him. Zell as the little boy was very hyperactive, and took an interest in martial arts. Taught by his grandfather. Charlie already knew all of this, only it was pushed to the back of his mind for all these years away from Balamb. Home sweet home, eh, he thought in sarcasm. A part of Etchinson pitied the boy, and felt worse for Kathy.
"You're hurting me! Let GO!" Charlie heard and recognized that voice. He turned to see Devaz, part shoving, and part dragging Mrs. Kathy Dincht, who hadn't changed a bit. Looked basically the same and hadn't aged too much, except for a few face wrinkles.
"MA! NO! Let go of her or I'm gonna have to kick your ass!" Zell yelled at Devaz all too quickly. Etchinson smirked, the kind of smirk that Seifer Almasy would give. "Still full of energy as always," Charlie said, his voice to a mocking tone. The soldiers clustered all around the three kids gaped and stared, not believing this. Charlie Etchinson knows Zell Dincht? "Who the hell are YOU?" Zell demanded, as Etchinson paced a few steps to the side, his boots slowly clomping on the cobble stones, kicking a few loose without really intending to.
"Don't remember? I wouldn't be surprised," Charlie said, pride swelling within, feeling it in his chest. This was his moment, and nobody was spoiling it. "It was nine years ago. I was a tad shorter, and less stockier of a build. We were neighbors." "Whoever you are," the tall woman with the blonde hair started to intrude. "You will-" "Shut up, bitch," Etchinson snarled. Who the fuck did she think she was, interrupting in his glorious moment? "HEY! You can't talk to Quistis that way," Zell raged, his face turning red, body trembling. It was a funny sight to see, for Etchinson. He didn't know Zell had gotten such a temper over the years. Etchinson stifled the laugh, though.
A familiar Elite stepped up. The chest area of his armor had been slightly scorched, but what caused him to limp was a wounded leg. Blood was slowly seeping out into the open, staining the ground and making a crimson trail as he walked. "Etchinson, what the hell are you doing? You know that boy?" Jared, his superior on this mission, called. Etchinson never took his eyes from Zell for long, his lime green eyes laughing at him.
"Just step off, you big meanies!" said the short girl as the circle of mostly lower ranks and a few Elites didn't widen. Didn't move an inch.
I hope you come up to heaven right now.
It's all over, it's all over now…
What the… That soldier prick with the green eyes used to be a NEIGHBOR? "Whoever the fuck you are, you're not a neighbor anymore," Zell spat. "You don't belong here!" Shiva took this moment to cut in the middle of the tension between the two. "Summon me. It'll cause the less damage." Right! Zell closed his eyes as the men started to approach him and his friends cautiously. He remembered what Shiva looked like. There was an accurate portrait in a school textbook that he used to have before becoming a SeeD. Whenever it came time to summoning, he remembered this picture.
With the image imprinted, the air around Zell became cold as his eyes remained shut tightly. He opened his eyes a few seconds later to see the ice spirit, standing among him, Quistis, and Selphie like a normal human being…and not wearing much clothing. The ground beneath her feet had frozen into ice, and slowly began to spread out in all directions. Shiva looked at the G-Army soldiers in disgust. "Ultimecia's unattended puppets," she commented dully. And they were. If the sorceress even cared about these men, she would take them to Earth with her. But that would be unlike the devil woman. She cared for no one. Only but herself.
The rain is falling, the rain is falling now…
Suddenly, sprinkling light rain started to pitter patter on the cobble stones and land on the still humanoid forms' clothing, or to bounce off the bodies. The light rain cloud that past through Deling had past to Balamb Town, yet to pass over Balamb Garden. Thinking quickly as the G-Army soldiers decided to attack again, the rain was a big advantage to Shiva, since she had this easy ability to manipulate water to turn to ice in anyway she pleased. A gift since birth, way before any of these humans' first descendants were born.
The light rain droplets formed into large, thick ice spears, becoming a real deadly version of the Diamond Dust attack, one of Shiva's original specialties to help the side of good. Mrs. Dincht took the time to break free of Winston Devaz's grip to reunite with Zell, which was a safer place to be. She slipped on the ice and fell hard on her side next to her brave son, who helped her get back up again. A lot of the G-Army soldiers in the circle began to disperse, running away from the icicle pillars of death. The civilian spectators fled to their homes, scared out of their minds. Never in the history of Balamb Town had anything gotten way out of hand like this!
Charlie Etchinson saw it coming. Devaz was about to become pulverized! He dove, using the ice beneath him to slide and knock his fellow squad member to the ground. The ice spear went through Etchinson's leg, before breaking apart into several pieces. One big piece remained imbedded in his right shin, near the foot, causing immense pain. The ice storm didn't stop from there, not until most of the G-Army soldiers made enough room for Zell and his friends to run to catch that train in time. If they didn't make it, Shiva assumed, then they'd have a bit of a wait before the next train came along.
Devaz yanked Charlie away, indebted to him, a life saved for another to be saved. He saw their squad leader, flat on his back, a huge ice spear lodging straight into his gut. "Go," Jared told the soldier. His voice cracked, his strength weakening due to the pool of blood surrounding him He wasn't going to make it. Devaz nodded, unable to give a final salute because both of his arms were dragging a cursing, injured comrade away. Impressed to know one of the criminals, Devaz would make sure to break the news to the head commanders of the Galbadian army.
The ice storm came to an abrupt halt, with just the rain falling, landing and bouncing off the ice to land close to the next drop, becoming frozen with the ice pond created by Shiva by just standing next to the humans she helped the other Guardian Forces watch over. Her light blue lips turned into a small smile, looked to Zell, and dissolved into an ice mist, surging back into his mind to be summoned again another time.
"What's going on! I read the papers-" Mrs. Dincht started to say. Zell loved his mother with all his heart, but didn't have the damn time for this. "Get out of here, ma! Go back to the house!" he said. "It's not safe here! We'll talk again real soon!" He made his voice loud and clear over the fleeing soldiers, yelling for medics and random cursings and other voices that made such a racket.
Today we're leaving. Our souls are calling out…
Dincht watched as his mom fought to keep balance and ran towards safety, having no choice but to go back home. Zell couldn't stand to see her get shot, or whatever else might happen if she hadn't hauled outta there. "SHIT, the train!" he realized, mentally kicking himself in the ass repeatedly as he began to head towards the station, Quistis Trepe and Selphie Timlitt right behind him. They left the previous little battle field, a few soldiers impaled, dying or already dead from Shiva's Diamond Dust attack. Bullets zipped and whizzed by as they ran. BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM! BLAM, BLAM! It was a mixture of automatic and small handheld weapons as the little metal swarm ricocheted and bounced off of the cobble stones. Zell loudly hissed as a bullet stung his right shoulder.
Too late! By the time the trio reached the station, the train was moving several feet away from them, and at a speed increasing from twenty miles per hour to forty miles per hour. "No!" cried Quistis, over the noise of the shooting and the train's whistle.
Stars on his right, holding seven right now.
The rain is falling, the rain is falling now…
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" roared a voice. It sounded close by to Zell, Quistis, and Selphie. They turned to face a tall low ranked soldier. This guy looked big and the seven silver stars going down in short horizontal rows of two were on the right side of his jacket. This G-Army soldier was a high rank, it seemed. "I think you kids have gone far enough," he growled. "You're under arrest for the kidnapping of Sorceress Edea." "WE DON'T HAVE HER!" Quistis screamed at his face, scared and upset at the same time. Her emotions were getting to her right at that moment. "She's not on the same planet anymore! Why don't you leave us alone!" She felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder. Trepe turned her head and saw Selphie. "You heard her," she heard Zell yell, who ignored the bullet's little but nasty bite on his shoulder and upper arm. "She's not here! Fuck off and look somewhere else!"
The soldier shook his head, his mouth grinning under his helmet in amusement. Left and right, the G-Army started to surround the group again. "I've HAD it with you people!" Zell yelled, pissed off no doubt. The group clashed, without anymore hesitation. Immensely outnumbered once again, the SeeDs of Balamb Garden bravely fought. Quistis struck with her whip. Selphie spun and hit at the soldiers nearby her, concentrating halfway in retaliating Fire and Fira spells. Zell moved fast, throwing his own martial combinations here and there. He uppercut one soldier, targeting his fist to connect to the chin. That guy sprawled on the ground, unconscious as the next blue uniformed attacker came straight for him. He'd attack up to three at a time.
By the next several minutes, more of the G-Army soldiers were beaten, their uniforms emerging holes from the burns inflicted. Quistis had been nicked a little on the arms from the blades the soldiers carried. Selphie was lucky and didn't have a scratch on her, due to her smart strategy that she and her GF, Ifrit, must have settled down on together. Zell had been slightly bruised from the retaliating fits from those goddamn Galbadians.
It's all over, it's all over now.
No room for hiding. We're children fighting now.
I hope you come up to heaven right now.
It's all over, it's all over now…
The leader of the attackers had been beaten, just like his fellow soldiers. He tried to get at the three nuisances one at a time, but to no avail. "YA WANT SOME MORE?" the blonde spiky haired punk named Zell Dincht roared his eyes glaring into his. His voice erupted out like the roar of a tiger, wanting to break out of its cage.
The rain continued to tickle their faces, twisted into angry and steamed expressions. No one moved, but breathed heavily, exhausted. A few more casualties grew among the Galbadian troops. For kids, they were tough. "…Fall back," the soldier with the silver stars ordered. He pointed a finger at the suspected criminals. Zell shook his head. "Get your Hyne damn ears cleaned! Didn't you hear what Quistis said?" The soldier glared wearily at the blonde girl who lost her temper towards him. He nodded. "I heard what she said." The tough guy continued to back away. "…Doesn't mean that I don't think it's utter bullshit." "Believe it or not, it happened," Quistis said, voice dangerously low. "Your sorceress is a coward. She disappeared, bringing and leaving a girl behind here, not of this world. She doesn't want to be found." The silver star marked soldier turned and walked off, waving away her statement like it was nothing. Dismissing it.
Glaring at the man's light retreating form, Trepe's vision blurred. Fresh tears rolled down her face. "Fuckin' moron," Zell huffed, beaten and tired it looked like. His glaring stare softened a tad, in turning to Quistis and Selphie. "Let's go to ma's house for a bit. I think she deserves to know the truth. We could rest up and use Cure spells over there too." Trepe nodded silently.
They began to walk away from the train station. As they did, the soldiers still around muttered to them threatening statements. "We'll get you next time…" "You brats got lucky." "Hmph, traitors…" "…Damn traitors of the world."
Yeah, go on ahead and think that, Zell said to them silently as he didn't return their tired but angry stares. "Let it go, Zell," Shiva said to him softly. "Just let it go…"
Quistis gripped onto her whip tightly. Rain drops touched and mixed in with some of the blood that trickled down from the cuts on her arms. Diablos, crabby in her mind, didn't understand why she kept disagreeing to summon him during the battle that just ended. "Be sure to do so next time," he said, grumpily and threatening towards the opposing army. "I'll make their souls scream." Trepe ignored him. Diablos sighed. "I understand you're upset, but you can't tell them everything." I KNOW! she snapped. Do you think I'm stupid? I wouldn't betray Marianne like that! Knowing me, being in my head for days, you should know that. "Yes, but I didn't think you were at full self control from before," the Guardian of Gravity pointed out.
He was right. Quistis had lost her composure for a moment. It was human of her to do so. The poor, innocent soul known as Marianne was caught in the middle of this, and she couldn't have it. She was a nice girl, and no where near to being a criminal. Was it so wrong to try and give those ignorant, brutal men a hint of the truth? Of what their leader really thought of them now? They must think I'm crazy, Trepe thought to herself, about the G-Army soldiers that tried to arrest them. Of course, they wouldn't easily believe it. She would have told them the whole truth if she could, if it wasn't so upsetting.
"You okay?" Quistis was broken from her train of thought by Selphie. She wrapped an arm around the shorter girl, saying through her tears, "I'll be fine." Zell walked ahead of them, fists shaking at his sides. He must have heard them, because he started to speak again. "We can't stay here for very long, and we have to make sure they won't touch my mom again," he said, dead serious. This wasn't like Zell, Quistis observed. It wasn't like him to be so grim. Yet, he said one last thing: "We're going to drive those Galbadian bastards out of this town. And then we'll hop on the next train to Esthar."
"It'll take too long," Selphie said, breaking away a moment's silence. "I don't care how long it takes," Dincht snapped, turning his head. "They need to evacuate their asses outta my hometown!" "Selphie's right. This isn't part of our mission," Quistis said, in more self control that before. "For the better of those we love, we'll have to leave in the next few hours, right after we rest up and explain everything to your mother."
No one said anything after that. They paid no attention to the soldiers they injured, getting medical attention, walking in the light rain towards Zell's house, which was only a five minute walk from the train station…
Etchinson watched them walk past him. Go on ahead and walk, while you still can. Zell, you and your friends haven't seen the last of me. "…You did good," Devaz managed to say, kneeling next to him as one other low ranked soldier attended to Charlie's leg. "Thanks," breathed a response from him. It hurt when the medic yanked out the icicle. Like hell it did. Still hurt with the bandage on. Next time, instead of attacking, he thought, We'll just arrest them. Yeah, we'll get them. Another day, another time. At least this soldier made a difference. He wasn't going to be seen as a screw up for much longer.
Now, he had to get his ass back to Deling and make a report of the attack, and help estimate in the number of casualties. That way they would catch the criminals, knowing to gain more firepower from the experience from the mistakes the army has made. It was vital to the government that these kids were brought alive. Especially Marianne, whose last name remained unknown. Charlie knew this for sure. The military weren't going to quit until they got at least one of the young gang to interrogate with at least, and then possibly kill the kid for treason, for that was the penalty for that. Eventually, all of them would be sentenced to death.
Back to the scene of where the Diamond Dust attack took place, the Balamb Police Department began to clean up the bodies. The GF attack had come and gone too quickly, also to mention to dangerous. They knew better than the G-Army to mess with one of Hyne's special, supernatural children. The blood from the dead bodies connected to create a bigger puddle, as these men radioed for the cleaners. Some reporters got out of their temporary shelters from the battle to report what they saw. It was to be on television, and in tomorrow's paper.