Disclaimer: It's official, I've bought fifty bucks worth of Square-Enix stock. I officially own 0.0000002 of Square-Enix! w00t!
…Huh? They've officially announced the sequel to The Bouncer? Oh hell, I'm selling those stocks ASAP before they fall faster than Jacko's son would have if he had dropped him!
(What? Politically incorrect? Me?)
Chapter Seven: Nightly Encounters
A fresh breeze carrying the songs of small birds gently awoke him from his dreamless sleep. Morning sunlight was shining through the open window, and the air smelled fresher and more pleasant than anything Hideo had ever known.
He noticed his GFs had been put on the table next to him before he heard soft footsteps. Delta turned around the corner and walked in. She smiled warmly when she saw he was awake.
"Hey." She said softly.
"Hey." He said back, managing a smile as well.
She sat down on the stool next to the bed. "I see your mission didn't go quite as planned." She said slowly, carefully.
You'll never know how right you are. "Yeah, you could say that." His smile dimmed slightly. "What about the rest of the team?"
"They'll be fine." Doctor Kadawaki said, walking into the small enclosure. "They had little more than small cuts and bruises. But you, on the other hand, you turned out to be quite a hero back there."
Hideo looked away, trying hard not to blush. No one had ever referred to him as a hero of any kind before. He never deserved it. I'm no hero.
"Oh come now, don't be so modest." She said to him. "Now how do you feel?"
"…A little sore, and tired." He looked back to her. "What happened? It felt like I had a heart attack or something?"
"No, just a panic attack. Though in your condition, it almost became a heart attack. If you have anymore like that, I can prescribe some medication for it."
Hideo nodded. "Thanks, doc."
"That reminds me, I've put you on medical leave for the next week. During that time, I don't want you doing any kind of strenuous exercise, including training! If you feel like you're going to have another panic attack, let me know, even if it doesn't actually become one. Such attacks are one of the worst things that could happen in the middle of a battle, so let me know, got it?"
Hideo lifted his hands as best he could in a show of defense. "You're the doc."
Doctor Kadawaki smiled in satisfaction. "Oh, and your cloths were pretty well torn up, so I sent a student to retrieve your uniform. The Garden's tailor lives in Balamb, and he'll give you a good discount for fixing up any clothes you might have, just bring your Garden ID."
Hideo nodded. "Thanks."
She nodded. "I'll go get your uniform for you." With that, she left the two of them alone.
"So," Delta said, "you have no problem with me helping you?"
Hideo groaned. "I don't think I could walk on my own right now. Besides," he turned his head to look into her beautiful eyes, "I'd never turn down your company for anything."
Delta just smiled. He doesn't hate me. She thought, relieved.
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An hour later, Hideo finished the long task of getting his uniform on, injured as he was. Indeed, he couldn't walk on his own without relying heavily on a crutch. He knew some SeeDs that wore their uniforms all day, but he always felt uncomfortable in his. It made him feel a little too regal, too much like those who had denied his existence his whole life.
As he and Delta slowly made their way to the exit, the door slid open and Zell Dincht walked in. "Yo, Hideo! Glad I caught you."
"What's up, Zell? You'd forgive me if I didn't salute immediately?" He motioned to the crutch under his arm.
"Yeah, no prob. Hey, the Headmaster and Commander would like your report of the mission when you're ready, 'kay? None of us really know what happened after that hella weird scream went off. He says it's okay to make them wait a couple days, if you're not feeling up to it."
Hideo nodded. "Yeah…sure."
Zell turned around to leave, but then stopped and faced them again. "Oh yeah, he also wants to know if you managed to bring the data back with us."
Hideo silently cursed. He didn't go near the control room on his way back. Now he was going to have to come up with an excuse for that as well. Just what I needed, another complication. "No." He answered, trying to sound factual, impassive.
Zell shrugged. "Oh well, you can't always win. Wouldn't be our first failed mission. I guess we could just go back and get it later."
"Oh yeah, Zell," Hideo interrupted before reaching into the duffel bag Delta was holding. It was for carrying his normal clothes and weapons back to the dorms. He pulled out Bahamut and handed it to Zell. "Garden Code, Article 3, Line 5, I believe."
"The one about always returning GFs back to it's proper owner?" He asked.
"Yeah."
"That would be Line 8." Zell smiled as he took his GF back. "I hope he didn't bother you too much."
"Well, he's was a real chatterbox." Hideo said, truthfully.
Zell snickered. "Yeah, he wasn't too happy when he realized where we were going." He started walking away. "Well, see ya around." He said with a wave.
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Hideo fell asleep easily that evening. He would've gone to sleep earlier, but Delta seemed to want to make up for lost time. That didn't bother him, in fact, he probably pushed himself to stay with her more than she did.
He had a weird dream that night. He was running through the Grandidi Forest, carrying some kind of relic, thinking he was running back to Esthar, but at the same time he was running away from the great city. Something was amiss, something scurrying the edges of his mind. Something was forgotten, something he had overlooked, and he got the feeling that he was being chased by this secret, that if he didn't see it before it got him, he was finished: dead or worse.
Suddenly, he felt something, some shift of some kind that couldn't be described in words. He found himself suddenly awake, and sat up quickly.
"You have forgotten." A beautiful, beautiful voice said.
He knew right where she would appear, feeling her presence before her image appeared. There she was, a woman's figure shining of blinding golden light, her blue eyes shining through it all. "You cannot forget, you must remember."
He knew instantly she was talking about his dream. There were so many questions he had for her, so much he didn't understand: who or what she was, the Guardian Forces Matrix, the Black Behemoth, and above all else, what it had to do with him.
Instead, enraptured in her overwhelming presence once again, he could only muster a single question. "What have I forgotten?"
Then, she was gone, and he was alone. He didn't sleep so well after that.
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He had spent the rest of the night considering every question they might ask him when he gave his report. He thoroughly ironed his SeeD uniform, though he yearned for an electro-ionic iron instead of this ungodly primitive steam one.
The next day, he didn't tell them of Bahamut, what he had found, or the Lady made of light. He told them that the closed door to the control center apparently dulled down the effects of the ethereal howl, and though he was kind of delirious and confused, his only thought was to find the team. He had found them unconscious, and explained he felt the safety of the team was more important than the files. After that was the easy part, as the long, strenuous escape was entirely truth. At least he was able to stand up on his own for the report. He was healing well, after what he had been through.
After he finished, Headmaster Kramer just sat there, taking it all in. After a few minutes, as Hideo's legs started to cramp up from standing so long in his condition, the Headmaster finally said, "Though it is unfortunate that you couldn't retrieve the files, you made the right choice."
Hideo nodded, a little relieved, waiting for any more questions.
"Commander," Cid said, turning to Squall, "how soon can we go back to the Deep Sea Research Center?"
"Operation: Grand Daddy's Inspection is already underway, and they'll need the Ragnarok until they're done. They should be back tomorrow." He answered.
'Operation: Grand Daddy's Inspection'? What's that? He knew better than to ask about missions that didn't concern him.
"That's unfortunate." Cid replied, before turning his attention back to Hideo. "The good doctor has put you on medical leave for the next week, and I know better than anyone not to go against her wishes." He said with a smile before continuing. "I feel this was a good sign for your future within SeeD. You did well out there, Hideo, so rest up, you earned it. If there is nothing else for you to report, you are dismissed."
Hideo tried to suppress a sigh, now that it seemed he was finally in the clear, and saluted. He then retrieved his crutch, which he had propped against a chair before he began, and got onto the elevator. As he stepped out, Delta was leaning against the wall, waiting for him.
She sprung to her feet and said, "So, how did it go?"
Hideo made a slightly uncomfortable shrug of his shoulders. "They didn't berate me, so I think that's a good sign." They had both heard how mission reports can become rather grueling interrogations.
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Soon after the report, Hideo and Delta went into Balamb and quickly went to the Tailor. He made the Estharian's clothes his priority for the day.
As the two of them waited for him to finish, they went to the docks and stared out to the vast green ocean, their bare feet hanging off in the water. The long walk had been hard for Hideo, but every step got better. Besides, he didn't mind it as long as Delta was with him.
"Hideo?" Delta said, some time later.
"Yeah?"
"What's the real thing like?" Her face was serious and stern. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a bit of fear in those eyes of hers, so deep in thought.
"Why do you want to know?" He asked her back. He wasn't entirely ready to relive what happened back at Battleship Island.
"I was told I might get a mission soon, and I…" she looked down, "I want to be prepared." She laughed slightly, as if it were a big joke at her expense. "I know what people say about me behind my back: that I'm too pampered to be a SeeD, too naïve. I don't want to believe that, and yet here I am, getting the jitters like a child."
"You'll be fine." He said, rubbing his hand across her back for support. It didn't seem to help.
"That's what I thought…that's what I wanted to believe." Her voice started becoming impassive, as if she were trying to block out emotions with impassiveness, covering her shame. "I knew this job was dangerous, it's just…I guess I never really understood that until I saw you there, on that bed, looking barely alive. It scared me." She looked down at her feet, just under the warm Balamb water. "I guess I always was a little pompous, a little too confident in my abilities. Then I almost lost you. For the first time in my life, I was actually afraid. I became scared of the future. One where I could die the next day, one where every time I see you it might be the last."
Hideo just sat there, pondering their mutual feelings. It would be far too easy to say 'it'll never happen', or 'we'll pull through, I know it", and 'you're taking this too seriously, that wasn't so bad'. But it would all be lies. Even if he thought it might help, he realized with a start that he could never bring himself to lie to her like that. What right did he have to say 'you'll be fine' then?
Eventually, he made up his mind and said, "What the hell are you doing here, Delta?" He saw her quizzical, confused look, and continued. "You're aristocracy, practically royalty. This is SeeD, we deal with war on the front line, not behind it. You're not stupid; you may not have realized just how real the danger was, but you knew it well enough. Why did you choose this life?"
She continued to stare at her feet. After a few moments, Hideo continued, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just as long as you understand yourself. My mentor, Liam, used to lecture me on how important it was I knew what I was fighting for. I don't know about Balamb or Dollet, but in Esthar, hacking is a serious crime. He said only fools rush into such danger without knowing how it's worth it."
When she didn't say anything, he said, "Another thing Liam always said was, like with any program or firewall, there are answers to everything. It only takes time." Hideo took a moment to reflect on his words, realizing the hypocrisy in them. He tried to give her hope while he had none for himself. Time was something he didn't have, and he was sure he never would.
"Come on." He said at last. "My clothes should be done soon, and we've got an early curfew tonight." The Garden was leaving Balamb Island that night, and they weren't going to wait for them.
She sniffled and nodded, a slight smile starting to form, pushing away the signs of melancholy. "Yeah. You're right. You seem to always make things better for me."
I've never been anything but a burden. He thought glumly. As they both got up to leave the docks, Hideo spared a moment to glance at the sun, a mere couple of hours away from setting over the horizon. You seem to always make things better for me her words echoed. He was only going to become a burden to her as well. No, even worse. He didn't know what was happening to him. He knew he would never escape this curse that the Lady of Light gave him. He would become worse than a burden, he would become a danger. He had to leave, to get as far away from her as he could.
Delta, I'm sorry.
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Shortly after sundown, Hideo set up a line to Esthar, encrypted all the data from the Deep Sea Research Center, then sent it off. Soon afterward, he got the message that his criminal record had been wiped clean and he had finally been given the full pardon he was promised, plus a word that there just might be a position in the future within the Presidential Palace for someone with his 'talents'.
Back in his regular clothes, he left his dormitory single, wanting to do anything but stay still. The Ragnarok had landed in the dock less than an hour earlier. He eventually made his way up to the Second Floor Deck; there, he stared at the moon and it's reflection off the ocean. He was, at long last, free of the shackles he wanted so badly to be free of, but at the cost of something much more. He had always been alone, maybe even a little hollow, but at least he was human. Now he didn't know what he was.
That power, the GF Matrix…It did something to him, of that he was certain. More and more, he could feel his body was different, was still changing.
When he had touched it, it felt as though he were dying, staring death in the face and edging him on while the scythe was halfway through his heart. And the power…that power was a thousand times squared anything he had ever felt. He couldn't possibly control something like that. If he delved into it, and lost control…
He wasn't going to endanger the Garden like that. He then realized, with a start, he couldn't allow himself to endanger Esthar like that either. For all the hardship he faced there, it was still his home. He couldn't go back to Esthar, he couldn't stay at the Garden…
…He couldn't stay with Delta. He was going to have to leave her, to protect her, just like Tetsuya left him. He knew exactly how she would feel, both when she found out and afterward, when she would be alone.
Damn you, Tetsuya! Damn you, Laguna Loire! Damn you, Bahamut! Damn you, Esthar! Damn you, Balamb Garden! "Damn you, you bitch, whatever the hell you are!" He yelled at late evening sky. And damn you, Delta, for what you've done to me.
He walked over to the railing, and clasped his head in frustration. Why him? He never had anything, and now that he has what he's always wanted, friends, a job, good money, a place to call home…Delta…he was going to have to lose it all once again. All he worked so hard for, gone.
He remembered his thoughts back at his SeeD inauguration party. The ironic, never ending cycle that was his life would never end. History repeated itself, not in generations, but in years, and would continue to repeat itself until he was dead.
Until I am dead…
He looked over the railing, and saw the water, hundreds of feet below. How great it would be if in the last moments of his life, he would fly like a bird, free of everything, everything that had ever shackled him, a slave to nothing in the world except gravity.
His chain of thought was interrupted by the armored door sliding open, and Delta walking out to bask in the moonlight. In it's silvery lining, she was more beautiful than anything he had ever known. Maybe it was because he knew this might be the last time he would ever see her.
"Hey." They both said at the same time, and they shared a small, childish laugh at the simultaneous greeting. Hideo's wasn't genuine, and he felt hers wasn't either.
"You lookin' for me?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said, then propped her elbows on the railing, staring out at the huge moon. "You know, you never answered my question."
"What question?" He asked, taking the spot next to her.
"What the real thing's like. I just found out that I am assigned to this mission now, and I still don't feel like I'm prepared." This time, she sounded more confident, or maybe more resigned.
"What's the mission?"
"Code: Black. Sorry." Of course it was a top secret mission. Hideo just sighed.
"Come on, I need to know." She pleaded.
"Delta, there's not much I can say. You just have to stay focused, you can't let the fear bother you, like what they told us. The only difference is that it's real, and no matter what, you can't give up. That was the only thing that got me out of there." That, and my own fear.
After a few moment of rolling over his words, she said, "I never answered your question either. I think I understand why I wanted to be in SeeD in the first place. And why I'm still want to be."
Hideo nodded. "Good. Again, you don't have to tell me if you don't-"
"I want to tell you. I want you to understand." He stopped, and nodded. "I came here to understand battle. A couple years ago, when Dollet was almost conquered by Galbadia, I witnessed my uncle, the Duke, order a small platoon of young, barely trained recruits to one area as a diversion. They didn't know that they were going to be used as a decoy for the Galbadian outpost. They were human beings, barely older than us and scared out of their minds, and they ended up as cannon fodder for when the real forces took the outpost while they were distracted." She looked at Hideo with those beautiful, painful eyes. "If I go back to Dollet, I'll eventually become a Countess, and I will never throw away my people's lives like that, I swear it." She paused there, letting the passion in her words die down. "I came here to understand what battle is like, not from the eyes of a politician, not from the back lines, but from the front, from the eyes of the people who are actually fighting."
After a minute of silence, Hideo nodded. "You'll make a great Countess someday."
She looked away from him, back to the moonlit ocean. "Not if I don't make it back from this mission."
Hideo knew her, he knew her better than anyone else he knew. He knew, from the moment she said she had a mission, she was scared. What was he supposed to do? What right did he have to comfort her, knowing what she was about to go through, what he was about to put her through?
She then looked at him, hurt in her eyes. "Hideo, aren't you going to say anything?"
What am I supposed to do? What do you want from me?
"Say something, damn it! Try to comfort me, try to help me, anything!"
It would all be a lie.
"I don't care if you lie through your teeth, just say it!"
And cast a veil of illusion and lies? I could never do that to you.
Tears welled up in her eyes. I'm so sorry. She turned, and ran back into the Garden.
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It'll all be over soon. He kept telling himself as he tossed and turned in his bed, not so much as closing his eyes. He hated himself for being so weak, so fragile that he couldn't even lie when she wanted to hear it.
Forget about her! He told himself fiercely. She's a survivor, and you can't protect her! The only person you could ever protect was yourself, no one else! He couldn't protect Tetsuya, and he died. Liam was smart; he knew Hideo couldn't protect him, so he left. And now, he was the one leaving those he couldn't protect.
He wanted to bash his head, he wanted to scream, he just wanted to stop thinking altogether. But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts wandered. It'll all be over soon. The Ragnarok took off to the Deep Sea Research Center, they'll be back tomorrow morning, and I'll get paid. Then, I'll leave Balamb forever. I'll leave the Garden…but where would I go? He forced himself to cut off that chain of thought. Soon, it'll all be over when the SeeD group recover the files that…I…
He sat straight up in bed. "Oh shit!" He cursed. That's what I was forgetting! He jumped out of bed, ignoring his own tired, recovering body, and grabbed the portocomputer, not even waiting for it to warm up properly. Soon, he went through the familiar routes to the Presidential Palace, and opened the emergency communications to the President himself. If it was…one AM here, it was probably about five AM there. He was probably still asleep, but it couldn't wait.
Eventually, the holographic screen displayed a very sleepy Laguna Loire, propped up on his elbow in bed, squinting because of the bedside lamp. "Wh-what is it?"
"Mr. President, it's me."
"What? Hideo? What are you doing, calling me at this-"
"No time for small talk. I need to get out of here!"
Laguna rubbed his face, trying to wake up enough to continue the conversation. "What's wrong?"
"Back at the Deep Sea Research Center…something happened, I can't go into detail. I got the files for you, but not for the Garden, so they're going back there to get them."
"So what's the problem?"
"Before I…was forced to leave, I left the computer on the files for Operation S.E.E.D.! The instant they get to the computer, they'll see what I was doing, and my cover will be blown!"
Laguna's face suddenly became wide awake before Hideo continued, in a threatening tone, "And just in case you even think of leaving me high and dry, if they find out about me, they'll eventually find out you sent me in here. Just think about how the Garden/Esthar relations will be after that."
"Can't you take a train out of there?"
"Hello! The Garden is out in the middle of the ocean! We're halfway between Balamb Island and Fishermen's Horizon right now!"
"Okay, okay, hold on, let me think here." Hideo forced himself not to despair at the thought of President Loire trying to think a way out of the situation. "Okay, no matter what, there are always tools at your disposal. What tools do you have to get out of the Garden?"
"Well, we're not anywhere near land, and I can barely swim. If I just jump off, we'll need to be over land, and from what I hear, that won't be for a while."
"What about the Ragnarok?"
"What? You want me to steal the Ragnarok? Oh, that'll be really easy, I'll just-" He cut off his sarcastic rambling as something occurred to him. "The Ragnarok is almost always in use! From what I've been hearing, we've got three or four missions that haven't even begun yet. I'm sure it'll be airborne again less than an hour after docking. I know that ship well enough that I could sneak aboard and hitch a ride, they wouldn't even know!"
Laguna nodded. "Good. You go find out where it's heading, and I'll see if I can assemble an emergency retrieval team to get you."
That would mean he would end up back in Esthar. At least if he went there, he could leave soon afterward. "Good. I'll call in one hour."
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As Hideo walked out of the Dormitory, he saw that there were Garden Faculty all over. There was no way he could get to the elevator without being seen!
Calm down, just remember what tools you have. Two guns, two GF, a sword…there had to be more uses than that. He knew using sleep spells on the Faculty wouldn't work, they were definitely immune, and he sure as hell wasn't going to shoot them. If he used his guns as a distraction, it would alert the entire Garden. Maybe he could throw a shoe? No, he would need them. Okay, there's gotta be more tools than just my weapons and clothes. He was almost completely out of spell stock, and what little he had wouldn't do him any good.
He sure as hell wasn't going to resort to the GF Matrix, either. He'd rather be caught than…whatever would happen to him if he dived into that endless abyss. He had come to familiarize himself with this mild telekinesis he had gotten from it, but at best, he was clumsy with it. No good.
Then he remembered how he had gotten out of the Deep Sea Deposit. He was able to hold the Shadow Run for nearly a minute, when no one had held it for more than a few seconds. But how was he going to use it? He had no aura in stock, and on Battleship Island, he had been desperate.
Suddenly, the flames erupted within him. He was able to use his Limit Break right then. What the? How am I… He realized that must have been something he got when he brushed the GF Matrix, the ability to use the Shadow Run whenever he wanted.
Drawing on it, he ran at the outside wall, and went straight up it as if gravity just went sideways, straining to maintain it. It probably worked better when he was under the stress of battle, where the Limit Break would normally manifest. Up he went, all the way to the ceiling of the Garden, and jumped on one of the walkways connecting the elevator tubes to the second floor. He quickly looked around, and saw there was no one there. He quickly made his way to the elevator. There, he did what he could with his telekinesis to open it a few inches, then using the strength of his GFs, he opened them the rest of the way.
The elevator was above him. That was good, he had a clear shot to the Headmaster's office. He grabbed a hold of the Shadow Run again, and ran down the tunnel, stopping instantly at the door, where he propped his legs against the walls to hold him in place. Again, he used his telekinesis to open the door, and jumped in. He quickly made his way to the Headmaster's desk, and turned on the computer. A few minutes later, he hacked his way into the current SeeD deployment schedules.
He found the details for the Ragnarok's next mission. Operation: Granddaddy's Medicine. Who the hell makes up these names? President Loire? He skimmed through the briefing enough to see where they were going. The Grandidi Forest. I get it now. Granddaddy, Grandidi. At least I'll be close to Esthar, it would be child's play to hide in that mountainous jungle.
He closed the file, and erased the records on the computer that showed it was even accessed, then shut it down.
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The plan was set. He was going to hide on the Ragnarok, and when they got to the Grandidi Forest, he would wait until they were clear, then he would run for it. After at least five miles, he would send out the signal from his Portocomputer that the Esthar Emergency Recovery Team would lock on to, and come get him. Now, all he had to do was wait.
He had to wait, there in his room, tired and restless, bored and anxious, afraid and uncertain, and all around miserable. In the hours he sat there, in the dark on his bed, he came to notice another emotion mixed with everything else: Guilt.
Why do I feel guilty? He wondered. He was leaving the Garden to protect it from whatever the hell would happen if he lost control, why should he feel guilty from that? The more he thought about it, the more worried he became of this power that he was cursed with. This was, after all, the Guardian Force Matrix. What would happen if he came in full contact with it? He could easily see a massive thermal discharge occurring if it went out of control, or a break down of atomic structures causing massive radiation or even nuclear fission reactions, or gravity wells forming from nothing, or gravitational blackouts, magical properties becoming inverted causing untold of disasters, or something as minor as his mind completely dissolving, the list went on. And none of which he wanted to happen. There was the chance his mind might adapt to accommodate and control this power, but he would never risk it.
He leaned his head back against the wall. Why was this happening to him? He was just a kid!
He sighed in submission to truth. He wasn't a kid anymore, or really, he never was a kid. Since he was old enough to walk, he had been running from death, and since then, he was never allowed to rest peacefully. It wasn't until he came to the Garden that he knew what peaceful rest felt like, and just when he started to feel like life was starting to become good, this had to happen to him. Fate would never allow him peace, would never free him from this path of mockery.
He felt weariness fit for someone ancient. Why was this the way things had to be? He sulked even more than he had been. Where the hell is the Ragnarok?
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When at last, the Ragnarok did arrive, half an hour after dawn, Hideo made his way to the Second Floor Deck, as he had planned. As the elevator was nearly to the second level, he heard and felt the familiar rumblings and hum of the Ragnarok taking off.
What the hell? They're leaving already? This mission must have been so important that they couldn't spare the time for it's usual inspection and maintenance. As soon as the glass doors opened, Hideo ran at top speed down the hall, ignoring all glances that came his way from the students and instructors going to early morning classes. He had no time!
He kicked open the door to the deck, dashed up the stairs, and emerged into the morning air. He couldn't see it, but from what he could hear, the Ragnarok was already on the other side of the Garden! He planned on doing this as soon as it began launching, but he would have to do as best he could at the moment.
He activated the Shadow Run, and flashed across the outer shell of the Garden, running across it's ceramic surface without any regards to gravity or inertia. As he rounded the Garden, the Ragnarok came into view. It was already a hundred feet away from the Garden, and just starting to fly away. This was going to be one hell of a jump.
Calculating the angle, he jumped when he guessed was the best time, and flew through the air, going a hundred miles an hour at the quickly accelerating spaceship. The closer he got, the faster it moved, and then his foot touched it's surface just an instant before it would've moved out of his reach, and he zoomed across it's hull towards the airlock. In that near timeless frenzy that accompanied the Shadow Run, he turned the hatch release switch less than a tenth of a second after stopping, and the instant it was open enough to slip a finger through, he grabbed a hold, and pulled himself inside.
As soon as he hit the floor, he turned the inside lever to close the airlock, and he was in. He knew that almost no one checked the Ragnarok's lockers and airlock, so it made a great place to hide.
Now, he had to slip into a locker compartment, and wait yet again. He had to wait just a few more hours, and the problems of the moment would all be over, and he would have to address a whole pile of other problems. But that would be for later. For now, he allowed himself, as best he could, the satisfaction of success. Now if only his success would hold.
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During the trip, he checked the GPS in his Portocomputer a few times. He noticed quickly they weren't going straight for the forest. Their vector would take them just north of where the Esthar continent began, and it became clear they were going to go around and land on the other side of the continent. A few times he considered trying to contact Loire to find out how the recovery team assembly was going.
Then, with a whoosh, the door opened and two SeeDs walked in. Quickly, he slid as far back into the horizontal compartment as he could. He grimly noticed how this compartment was very much like a coffin. At least the compartment door was half closed and not fully open.
"So, you ever done a mission with the Commander before?" One of them, a familiar male voice, inquired.
"Yeah, once." The other one answered, this one Hideo recognized as Jeremiah. "Man, that guy is everything they claim he is, same with Selphie Til-whatshername. The Black Behemoth won't know what hit them!"
The Black Behemoth? They have a base in the Grandidi Forest? It made sense, it was virtually impossible to spot anything in that vast mountainous jungle.
"Yeah, well he was still saying we need to be extra cautious, and if he's saying it's going to be dangerous, you'd better believe it!"
"Hey, did you catch who our client for this mission was?"
"No, which is strange, 'cause they usually mention who's paying us. Since the Black Behemoth is an international crime syndicate, it's probably half a dozen clients, all paying full price."
"Hold on, Mikhail," Jeremiah interrupted, "do you really think Headmaster Cid would do that?"
"Well, that's what I would do." Mikhail answered.
There's probably no client here at all. Hideo thought. We're going to the Black Behemoth's base? And I'm on this flight? Did that bitch plan this out or something? It wouldn't make any difference anyways, he was running the other way as soon as they touched down.
"Yeah, well that's just you. Now get those rifles." Jeremiah ordered. Hideo heard the compartment next to him open up, and the sounds of long, thin object being pulled out.
Soon, they were gone, leaving him alone to think.
0000000000
About twenty minutes later, Hideo felt the Ragnarok changing it's flight and engine output. They must've been close to landing. He quickly pulled himself out of the compartment, and got into the airlock. He was getting out of there as soon as the ship touched down.
He felt the spaceship's axis tilt, and then a few surprisingly soft thumps indicating it had landed. He released the switch to the airlock, and when the latch opened, heavy, tropical rain instantly poured in, followed closely by what could only be described as a wall of humidity. He flinched as the warm rain hit him, but quickly recovered, and jumped out onto the outer hull, then pressed the outside switch to close the hatch.
He saw a gap in the nearby trees, and then firing off his Limit Break, he jumped off the spaceship's hull, flying straight into that gap. He landed on the thin, muddy soil softly with barely a splash. He then got up and pressed his back to a tree bordering the clearing where the Ragnarok landed. He had to see where they were going so that he wouldn't cross paths with them, however small that chance was.
The gangway lowered to the ground, and out walked the Commander himself, looking every bit like a legendary warrior about to face death itself. Following him was a guy Hideo didn't know too well; a very boastful guy who claimed to be the best and most handsome sniper around. Ivan, Irvine, Earnest, he couldn't quite remember his name.
After the cowboy wannabe came Jeremiah, a great fighter in his own right, then Mikhail, who was a good demolitionist, and then, following up in the back of the line, was Delta.
Hideo's heart stopped. This was the mission she was going on?
"Everyone," Squall said, talking over the small roar of the tropical storm, "two clicks west of here is the cliff behind the base. Irvine and Jeremiah, you two will only take out the sentries that might see us." He continued on, talking about how this was going to be a quiet mission, they were going to infiltrate the base in disguises, plant explosives, gather any recon they can, probably assassinate whoever was in charge, and leave.
But Hideo wasn't paying attention. Delta was going to be there, in the lion's den, outnumbered hundreds, maybe even a thousand to one.
She's a SeeD now, she can take care of herself! A voice told him. Besides, she's also got the best escort SeeD could offer. But still, one little screw up…
He grit his teeth. You'll only endanger her, you can't protect anyone!
They started to move into the jungle, weapons at the ready. They're going to get slaughtered! No, you have to take care of yourself! The Recovery Team will lock onto my signal, and come get me in less than an hour. All he had to do was activate the beacon on his Portocomputer, but he hesitated.
Every moment that passed was another step Delta took farther from him. Hideo pulled his hand back, tightening every muscle in his body rigidly in frustration.
"Shit!" He cursed before running after the team.
End of Chapter Seven