By Ramsey Anderson
All characters in this fic are property of Squaresoft and were not created by me.
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Chapter 4
As we drove towards the town of Balamb, I thought about Seifer and how he was the squad leader. Once we arrive at Dollet's town square, Seifer will disobey orders and run off. This could be what prevents him from qualifying as a SeeD. Him not being a SeeD will make him attack the president, which will initiate an…
My thoughts were interrupted by an overexcited Zell. "Yo, Squall. Show me your gun blade, will ya?"
"Not now Zell, maybe later, huh?"
"C'mon man!"
"……"
"Just a peek?" Zell asked as he made a gesture implying peeking.
"……"
"What's on your mind?"
"A lot…" I tried to say at the same time that Quistis tried to predict what I was going to say. "Noth…" Quistis stopped herself, looking mildly embarrassed.
Zell and Seifer quarreled, and I continued thinking, The president will announce an attack on all Gardens, destroying Trabia and nearly demolishing Balamb. Galbadia will become our enemy and we will have to fight them in that terrible war…all because Seifer won't obey orders. It was shocking to imagine that one event could cause so many terrible things to happen. But maybe if I could convince Seifer to follow orders when we get there, he will become a SeeD and none of that will happen, theoretically. It will be tough to convince someone as bull-headed as him, though…
As if Seifer heard my thoughts, he exclaimed, "This is great, I've got chicken-wuss here and silent Joe over there on my squad."
We arrived in Balamb and approached our sea vessel which would be our transportation to the war zone that was Dollet. Seifer didn't make any comments about me being scared this time. I assumed it was because I defeated him earlier that day. I let out a small chuckle as we approached the ship.
Quistis, Seifer, Zell, and I entered the water vehicle and took our seats as we listened to Xu, our assignment leader, lay out the details to the mission. I listened carefully, making sure I could recall everything that Xu said so that I could use that as a way of convincing Seifer to follow orders. Our precise orders were to wait inside the Dollet Square and eliminate any and every G-troop that we encounter, then withdraw immediately once the order has been announced. Seifer expressed his displeasure towards the mission objective under the premise that it sounded boring. Convincing him would be harder than I had thought. Seifer ordered me to check out what was going on outside, and I reluctantly did what I was told.
I stared at the small flashing explosions off in the distance. Every time I saw one, I knew someone had died. I had experienced the horror of this view before, and in case I had forgotten, I was forced to see it again.
Our team arrived on the shore and Quistis instructed us to go to the Central Square. That was when I would talk to Seifer. On our way, we encountered Galbadian soldiers that we were instructed to eliminate. As I drew my gun blade on one of them, a thought crossed my mind, What if I let this soldier live? What would happen differently in the world? Maybe he quits being a G-troop and becomes a doctor who saves lives, maybe he makes a huge difference to the world in a few years, or at least his children might do so. But the fact was, he wasn't going to live, and he would never change the world. Seifer slashed the soldier across the chest, taking his life away without a second thought.
"What's the matter, Squall? Too scared to fight? Even chicken-wuss here is doing better than you!" Seifer mocked. "The Central Square is up ahead. Hey! All you Galbadian cowards out there! Come out'n show your faces! Don't leave me hangin' now!
Zell made a comment about him and we made our way to the Central Square, cutting down any opposition that threatened us. I attempted to inflict only minor wounds upon them, but Seifer always had to finish them off. His face was filled with joy as he ended other human beings' lives; it was horrifying to watch. We arrived at the Central Square, defeated any opposing forces, then waited, as per our mission objectives.
"Well, we're on standby until the enemy comes" Seifer ordered. "Standby…how boring…"
While a dog annoyed Seifer, I thought about what I was going to say to him. I would have to make a good point if I were to convince him to stay here and not go to the communications tower. I didn't have much time to think as a small group of Galbadian soldiers walked past the Central Square, apparently not seeing us as we hid from them around the corner.
"It's the enemy…" Seifer whispered.
"Where the hell they goin'? Hey? What is that up there?" Zell pointed to the large communications tower that the soldiers were headed towards.
"Our next destination." Seifer said with a grin.
"But that's against orders!" Zell exclaimed.
"I agree, I think we should stay here and await the call for evacuation like Xu said." I mentioned to Seifer.
"I don't care, I'm the captain here and I say we follow them. And you have to do what I tell you to do, so lets go." Seifer began to walk away from me, intending to follow the soldiers.
I think I must've panicked or simply got angry as I ran in front of Seifer and shouted, "Dammit Seifer!! If you go over there, you will be disobeying the mission parameters and you will not become a SeeD! Do you know how important it is that you stay here?! This is the deciding moment! You've always wanted to be a SeeD and I know it, but it won't happen if you keep following this path!! So I say we just stay here a little longer and wait for the order to dispatch."
Seifer became enraged and began shouting and pointing at me, "No, you listen here Squall!! I am the squad leader and you will do what I say, and I say that you shut up!! If you don't obey my orders, you know what will happen? You won't become a SeeD!! I'll make sure that you don't!! You got that?!"
It took everything I had in me not to hit Seifer then. If he only knew what I knew, if he would only think of the severe consequences of his actions right now, maybe he would consider listening to me. But he didn't know, and he didn't listen.
He drew closer to me, talking very quietly and intensely, "You look like you wanna hit me, Squall. What's the matter? Lost yer nerve since this morning? Or did I scratch away your confidence?" He slid his finger over the scar on my face to emphasize what he meant.
I would've started a fight if I weren't overcome with a startling revelation that nearly made me lose my balance. It's my fault…I won the fight with him this morning, so now he's so angry with me that he won't listen to anything I have to say…which means that he will disobey orders and won't become a SeeD and the repercussions that occur will be severe. I'm the reason that Trabia will be destroyed and Balamb will be threatened. I am the cause of Selphie's despair to come. I considered physically stopping him from going, but that would mean that I disobeyed the captain's orders and that could jeapordize me becoming a SeeD.
It's amazing how one event, however insignificant it may seem, can affect the future in so many ways. That is one lesson I've learned.
My thoughts drifted to Rinoa. It had felt like so long ago that I had last seen her during the fight with Ultimecia. I knew that I would see her again, and soon, but I just wanted so much to be with her right now. She always had a way of cheering me up inside, and I needed her now more than ever. But the next time I see her, she won't recall ever meeting me at all. I was in love with someone that had never even met me. I had tried to lighten up this whole experience with delusions of being able to change the future, but the grim reality returned to me then.
I hoped and prayed that there was something I could do to prevent this, but I would have to follow Seifer to do so. As we continued up towards the facility, I saw the fallen Dollet soldier on the steps. We explained to him that we were dispatched by Garden to assist the Dollet troops. Then I remembered that he was going to attacked and killed by an Anacondaur right about now. I drew my blade, ran up the steps and skillfully defeated the creature in one blow before he could strike. After making sure the monster was indeed dead, I thought about what I had just done as I stared into the evening sky. This man would now live the rest of his life through and through; he may make difference to the world in the future. I had successfully prevented a disaster from ever happening. I knew it could be done.
I looked down at the frightened soldier and observed his awestruck face as he stared at the dead Anacondaur in disbelief. He finally spoke to me, "You saved my life. If you hadn't had killed that creature, I would not be breathing right now. Thank you good sir, thank you so much. How can ever repay you?"
I paused and thought about why I had saved this man. Sure, it was the right thing to do, but maybe I didn't save him for the future or for the sake of his life, but maybe instead I saved him just to prove that I could. "Live the rest of your life, that's all."
Seifer, Zell, and I continued towards the tower, Zell with his mouth completely agape cried out, "WHOA!! How the hell did you know that that Anacondaur was there!? There was no was you could've seen that, man! Lemme guess, pure instinct, right? I mean you just went WHOOSH!! SLICE!! DEAD!! Hahahahaha!!"
"Let's try to keep focus here, alright? I mean it wasn't anything I couldn't do ya know." Seifer retorted.
When we reached the top of the stone steps, we saw the entrance to the comm. tower and ducked under the guards' line of sight. We listened in to what the guards were saying and waited for them to exit into the tower. Seifer jumped down the from the small hill we were standing on and left Zell and I alone.
"Show off." Zell said under his breath.
"There you are!" Selphie shouted from behind us right before she clumsily fell down the small hill she was standing on. "Are you Squad B? I'm a mes…hey, you're that guy I saw earlier at Balamb garden. I hope you got to where you were going, being in such a hurry and all."
It's good to see another one of my friends again. I thought with a smile. The smile faded when I thought about how upset she will be when she finds her Trabia Garden destroyed. I had to stop that from happening, if not for her, then for all the victims who will die by that missile attack.
She introduced herself as a messenger and told us she needed to talk to Seifer. She jumped off the hill that Seifer had earlier descended. The reluctant Zell and I followed and I equipped my GFs appropriately for the next difficult battle. I recommended to Zell and Selphie how they should junction their magic, and they took my advice, assuming I was correct. We took the automatic lift to the top of the tower to meet Seifer.
The mammoth satellite activated and was set in motion when we reached the top, and as before, it was guarded by Biggs and Wedge, Like I haven't fought them enough as it is. Seifer was nowhere to be found, so Selphie, Zell and I fought them both, which was interrupted by the strong wind caused my the flying beast Elvoret. Unlike before, Elvoret was easy to defeat due to some carefully junctioned magic and GF's and fell rather quickly.
"Wow, that was rather easy, thanks to Squall's junctioning tips!" Selphie complimented.
I nodded and immediately began to look around, searching for the switch that would activate the deadly spider robot that would chase us all the way to the shore. I hate that damn thing, but I can stop it from coming this time. As I hunted for the mechanism, Seifer appeared and Selphie told him the order to evacuate to the shore. Seifer announced it to us and took the lift down by himself, leaving his team behind.
"C'mon Squall, there's no time, we have to get to the shore in thirty minutes! Let's get goin'!" Selphie exclaimed.
I have no clue as to how that spider robot is activated, but there's gotta be something I can do to prevent it from coming…but I can't miss that transport.
Once again, I instructed Selphie and Zell how to junction their magic, and they did so, seeing as I didn't steer them wrong last time. When we all exited the tower, I stopped and warned, "Everyone, run as fast as you can, now!"
"What's wrong? Are there monsters around?" Zell asked.
The mechanized robot loudly stomped overhead. "Go!! Now!!" I yelled.
The machine dropped to the ground with a loud clang and targeted us to die. I didn't have to tell them again to run as we all sprinted up the path, running as fast as we could. We were occasionally forced to subdue the beast with a combination of bolt magic and GF's. As we ran down the steps leading to the Central Square, I ran past the injured Dollet soldier, still unable to walk due to his wounds as he vainly attempted to crawl away. But it was too late. The relentless machine stomped on him without hesitation, ending his life immediately, and continuing to chase us down. I had no time to think about what had just happened. I just ran, a new dose of adrenaline pumping through my veins.
We reached the shore up ahead and I used the rest of my stamina to speed up and fight the handicap of the sand slowing me down. Zell and Selphie had at some point ran ahead of me and made it to the escape vessel. Cue Quistis… I covered my ears to compensate for the deafening burst of bullets fired from the boat's gun, the multiple rounds slamming into the machine spider right behind me, ending its rampage. I jumped onto the boat and immediately sat down.
Seifer couldn't be stopped, and he will threaten the president, and the president will destroy Trabia. I will have to watch Selphie cry again. The Dollet soldier died, even after I had saved him. All the soldiers that died last time around, are dead now. There was nothing I could do.