A Word From the Author: 16/12/04- Okay, I'm sure when I finally finish typing this out I won't be surprised if 2004 has already passed by. For you guys' benefit I'll make it as long as possible. Like I promised last chappy this chapter will be an action-packed one, and yes, Sephiroth WILL star in it. WARNING: Character deaths will be starting from now on, even canon chars. Apologies. I can't juggle so many chars around including my own OCs. See you down there!
Chapter Nineteen, Part Two: War of the Gardens
The Training Center, Balamb Garden
0600 hours
Sephiroth pulled out the Masamune. It glittered sleekly in the pale light of the brightening sky. Paine tensed, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the hilt of her broadsword. They saluted one another, then leaped into the fight, both blades scraping against each other. Sephiroth scored first touch, and gave her a few pointers. She took notes and applied them and eventually on the third try she managed to tap Sephiroth rather harder than necessary on his shoulder. He scowled meaningfully at her and the next time he rapped her sharply on her bum. She began to laugh, some of her nervousness seeping out of her, and after a while her sparring partner joined in as well.
It felt good to laugh; Paine felt more relaxed than she had ever since she had learnt about the impending attack. After a while they stopped, but in higher spirits, to continue the exercise, while the other students in the training center looked at them as though they were crazy, shrugged, and returned to whatever they had been doing.
"Are you afraid?" Paine asked Sephiroth.
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Should I? But I know what you mean. However, I am an experienced campaigner and therefore I have only anticipation for the battle. We should relish the opportunity to teach Deling a lesson as painfully as possible. As Zack would say, "Bring 'em on.""
"We could lose," she argued. "We're outnumbered, and the advantage which has protected us for so long is gone. This was the only Garden that ever used Guardian Forces and now only the two of us can supposedly summon them. Plus the Galbadian Army is huge. Like, four figures. Throw in the SeeDs of Galbadian Garden…" she shuddered.
"So we have been lowered to their level. It could have been worse," he observed. "And even if we are defeated today, this is only the battle, not the war. We could retreat with a better idea of the foe's strengths and weaknesses and use the knowledge to potent effect the next time round."
Paine smiled. "I wish I could be as optimistic as you."
"Just being realistic," he replied. "Now are we going to spend the rest of our time chatting or sparring?"
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The Hall, 1F
0700 hours
They were rivals. Deadly enemies, embroiled in longtime hate. Stormy, blue-gray eyes met mocking, cerulean green eyes in a head-on challenge. The two gunblades flashed like silver fire in the glare of the wakening sun. White trench coat and black leather, whirling in intricate swordplay that enraptured the soul.
One of them fell, overcome by the foe. The other gave a smirk of triumph and aimed the gunblade at the heap on the ground struggling to rise. He rested a gloved finger on the trigger, and pulled. The sound of a bang echoed on the air, and the defeated man on the ground reeled back, mouth opening to say…
"Ow. That sucks, Squall."
Glowering, Seifer tossed the rubber bullet that had hit him on the temple, leaving a round bruise on his skin, back to Squall. The ex-commander grinned smugly and grabbed the tiny missile out of the air just before it bounced off his chin.
"You're just being a sore loser. Trust me, all those years ago if you hadn't used the Fire spell I would have kicked your ass to kingdom come." Unlike then, there was no rancor in his words now, just friendly humor.
"Oh yeah?" Seifer returned disdainfully. "This time I let you win, Leonheart, so you can coddle your bruised ego and delude yourself into believing that you're the better one."
"It isn't delusion, Seifer, it's the truth. You're the one being delusional." Squall shot back smartly.
Next to them, Rinoa rolled her eyes. She tossed her pinwheel at the piece of paper she had taped on a tree fifty feet away and watched in satisfaction as the weapon buried itself into the target she had painted on it (the paper was looking rather battered by now). It spun back to her and she looked at the two men with mock exasperation. "Honestly, guys. Can't they put you two together without initiating an argument of some sort?"
Both just smirked in response and turned back to ramming each other's gunblades. But they couldn't help but glance nervously at the horizon, where the sun's golden rim could clearly be seen over the edge of the mountains, sending golden fingers reaching across the dawn-streaked sky.
"How much more time?" Seifer asked, voice strained.
Squall consulted his chrono. "We have two more hours before we need to move into position."
Seifer nodded, sighed. Squall looked at him closely. Was there guilt in his eyes? Could it be..?
"Are you remembering that again?" he asked almost gently.
Seifer looked at him, but it was obvious his brain was seeing something else; twenty-so years in the past, the brash, arrogant Seifer had stood in the Galbadian Garden, directing the troops…
"That," Seifer admitted. "And a helluva lot of things as well." He managed a thin smile that grew stronger as he swung he gunblade unexpectedly, causing Squall to jump backwards to avoid being impaled.
"Cheater!" Squall exclaimed, and they were dueling furiously again.
Later, though, he thought about it, and cursed himself for not realizing that something was wrong.
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The Infirmary
0800 hours
"Honestly, I'm absolutely fine," Daniel insisted, trying to get out of bed. He was trying to no avail because the fierce-looking nurse kept shoving back onto the sheets whenever he so much as twitched a toe.
"Young man," the nurse replied, whose tag read SHANNON O' KILEARNEY. "Up to yesterday morning you have been in a deep coma and now you think we're just going to let you waltz out of here?" She then added in a very un-nurselike tone, "Fat chance."
"Pretty please," Daniel made big puppy eyes.
"Sorry, dear, but I'm not susceptible to such pathetic tactics," Shannon informed the youth with malicious sweetness. "It's chaos out there, and you're safe here, so WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?!!!"
"Outta here," Daniel insisted stubbornly, reaching over to grab his shoes. "Balamb Garden's gonna be attacked by those jackasses and there's no way I'm going to sit quietly by like a good little boy!"
"No way in hell," Shannon growled, narrowing her eyes at her patient. For a nurse she had a surprisingly strong grip as she planted a hand on Daniel's chest and shoved him down, causing him to make goldfish noises.
"Shannon, just WHAT is going on in there?" Dr. Kadowaki demanded incredulously, poking her head around the door to take in the sight of her student bending over a patient, hand on his chest.
To her credit, Shannon remained calm, as opposed to Daniel who was flushing a deep crimson. "The patient was being uncooperative, ma'am. I was merely trying to restrain him." She shot Daniel a murderous look.
"Well, ah, I see. However that is no longer necessary. The release forms have been signed by Headmistress Xu herself that Mr. Roheiz is fit for duty."
"Really? YOO-HOO!" Daniel whooped exuberantly, and as Shannon removed her hand in disgust, he grabbed his things and rushed out in his hospital gown, apparently not wanting to stay one more second in his room.
"Great," Shannon groaned. "You mean that was all for nothing?! What a wonderful waste of my time!" Grumbling, she stalked off. Grinning in amusement, Dr. Kadowaki walked off to check on the other patients.
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The Gates 1F
0830 hours
Xu rubbed her reddening eyes with one hand. Hyne, she was tired, but she couldn't rest yet, and the attack was just one hour away. Next to her, the Captain, Commander, Flight Commander and her two highest-ranking instructors were all giving her worried looks. They were waiting for the promised Shumi and Balamb reinforcements to arrive so she could direct them to their appointed places. At last Deckard and Elenor exchanged a significant look and both took one of her elbows firmly. She swallowed a yawn, glaring at them. "Just what the blazes do you think you are doing?" she demanded.
"You'll be useless in battle like this, Xu," Elenor admonished sternly, dispensing with the formalities. "Get some shut-eye, you really need it. We'll wake you up when we need you."
"But the Shumi…" Xu protested, swaying. The idea of sleep seemed positively heavenly at the moment, but she knew that right now there were more important things to do…but…oh, she felt so damn tired…stupid body, don't betray me…
Deckard laughed. "Oh, you're so goddamn stubborn, Xu. For once listen to reason. We know what to do, we can handle it just fine, don't worry. Honestly, you're just like a mother hen."
"And if you don't listen to us, I swear to Hyne I'll cast Sleep on you. At least you can get some rest that way," Elenor chimed in.
Xu wavered, looking from one face to the other. "Mutineers," she accused.
Deckard laughed again. "True, but we're well-meaning mutineers. Hey, Commander, come over and escort the good headmistress back to her quarters, will you?"
"Sure thing," Haisha Wyerheir agreed amiably, slinging an arm around Xu, who was already limp and snoring lightly, and guiding her gently back to her office. Arne , who had been watching the gate, reported, "Hey, the people from Balamb Town are coming. Have they finished clearing away all the debris in the basement yet?"
"Yeah, ten minutes ago," Jafael answered.
The jeeps unloaded their cargo of people an weapons, and Elenor guided the frightened women, children and elders into the basement, while Deckard and Arne commandeered the rest, handing out weapons to those who could handle them, including armor. Jafael nabbed those with histories of flying any kind of airplane and explained the controls to them. Haisha returned and reminded her comrades to distribute commlinks to the leaders of each faction. Worriedly they waited while they trained the Balambians hastily, looking at the sky and searching for any signs of black specks. All they could do now was wait.
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Control Room, 3F
1001 hours
Nida was chewing on a ham sandwich and trying to swing his saber around in the cramped conditions when the sensors blared an alarm. He skewered the sandwich on the sharp end of his saber and checked the screen. Going pale, he slammed down on the PA system and yelled, "Emergency! Everyone, get to your positions, now!" He swallowed the sandwich hurriedly and started typing, bringing the data readings up as holograms that glowed around him. The technicians sent in panicked reports from the bridge which he relayed to all the commlinks as e-mail messages. "Computer, label X3307Z as threat." Onscreen, the dot representing Galbadia Garden turned red, including all the other dots clustering around it. Balamb Garden and her defenders glowed blue.
Next to him, his co-pilot, Derek Warren, looked equally as intent as his fingers danced so furiously they were practically a blur. He caught Nida's concerned glance over and gave him a thumbs-up and a weak grin before returning to his work. Nida almost jumped as his computer beeped.
"Pilot Deehryn, there is a holo-message from X3307Z. Confirm viewing?"
"Negative. Send to console Fraden. Defense status?"
"Lascannons, 97 and climbing, front shields and rear shields, two green. Missiles are fully stocked, ready to fire, with a cycle of five per thirty seconds. Aiming mechanism fully operational…"
Nida absorbed the information even as he set his sights in on the approaching ship. He could not hope to take out the Garden itself; it was too well-armored, just like Balamb. He would have to decimate the fleet of fighter planes to even the odds for the Balamb planes. Unfortunately, the pilot of the other Garden also would have the same idea.
He glanced through the viewscreen. It was a beautiful day, the kind the SeeDs and citizens of Balamb should have been enjoying. Blue, cloudless sky, warm sunshine, cool breeze. There should have been people swimming in the bay, children running about the cobbled streets, mothers bustling to market, fathers heading to work. But Balamb was a ghost town, deserted and eerily poignant.
Galbadian Garden hovered, sleek and deadly, like a crouching red demon, over the town. Its gun turrets rotated, and Nida felt his heart sink. His hands gripped the controls spasmodically as orange fire burst from the cannons, reducing the town to blackened ashes. Over the mike, he heard a technician gasp and sob; Derek just stared, jaw hanging open in disbelief. He felt the same way; staring in disbelief, he watched his home disappear beneath the gunfire.
"Pilot Deehryn," the computer prompted gently, and Nida jerked as he heard it. "The other pilot wishes to initiate communication with you. Do you wish to proceed?"
"Tell him to go to hell," Nida snapped, lost in the haze of his grief and rage.
"Message relayed."
He almost laughed, but stopped himself, realizing that it would be hysterical mirth. He pulled himself together and barked more orders to computer and in a matter of seconds red lasers and orange fire was flying back and forth in the space separating the two airships.
"Wolf Squadron launched," Jafael said into his ear, his voice vibrating through the commlink. "Talon Squadron, standing by. Wolf Two, you're my wing."
"Yes, sir," a female voice answered, and a Mirrormist maneuvered to join the lead ship. The Mirrormists and Cataclysms rose as a body together and fired off.
"Deploying Swallows. Blue One, do you read?"
"Yes, scored one!"
"Talon Three, watch out, oh Hyne…"
A Mirrormist detonated in an expanding ball of fire, and through the link Nida heard a fading scream, causing his stomach to clench. On the screen a blue dot winked off.
"Damnit, you bastards!"
"Kudos to you, Blue Five. How did you do that with you lasers on single cycle?"
"Skill, Blue Six. 'Cos I'm that good."
Nida hit a button and the transmissions stopped, instead scrolling down as text in a corner of his screen. Nida ignored it; if there was anything important the computer would tell him. He commenced typing furiously, sending out messages to the leaders and monitoring the battle situation, advising the technicians if necessary. Beside him, Derek, still pasty with shock, sent several lasers hurtling across space to take out a couple of enemy Mirrormists.
The War of the Gardens had officially began. With a big bang.
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Headmaster's Office
1035 hours
Xu noticed a blinking red light on her 'link. Meant that she had a message. She clicked on it, and a mechanical voice told her that it had been forwarded to her by Nida. She glowered as a full holo of Deling popped up and asked her in his smarmy, sickeningly superior voice that if she decided to change her mind all she had to do was to say so and reply to his message. She answered vocally in an extremely insulting manner involving just what Deling could do to his body parts with a screwdriver and sent it with an immense feeling of satisfaction. Grabbing her shuriken, she shoved the 'link into her pocket and ran off to the fray.
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The Control Room, Galbadia Garden
1050 hours
The technician intercepted a message from Balamb Garden addressed to his President and after checking it for bugs and viruses and so on he sent it to Deling's private console. The President, hearing the distinctive 'ding' abandoned the scene of the battlefield he had been watching with interest through a camera and brought up his e-mail. He read Xu's message and whitened to the color of bone. When he reached the part of Xu's suggestion just where he should insert the so-called generosity, he resembled nothing more than a walking corpse. He clenched his fist in fury. How dare she. HOW DARE SHE spurn his generous offer of mercy. In a tantrum he kicked the wall and got a bruised toe for his trouble.
"Bitch," he hissed, deleting the message with shaking hands. "You've got no idea who you're dealing with. Bridge officer, do you hear me?" he yelled in a bad temper, activating the 'link.
The officer grimaced at the tone of his President's voice. More pay cuts for sure. At this rate he would never be able to propose to Tiffany…He kept his voice level. "Yes, sir?"
"No more holding back!" Deling said coldly. He was livid. "Hit them with everything you've got, man! Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." The officer murmured in a placating manner.
He was talking to an empty line. Edigier had severed the connection.
Sighing, he said to his crew, "Well, you heard the President. Get to work, you lazy bums!"
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The Quad, Balamb Garden
1115 hours
So far only the air force had been busy, but that was about to change. Sephiroth readied his sword, mouth thinning, and paratroopers sprung off from the hull of Galbadia Garden, all bearing submachine guns. The greener cadets looked ill; for once their precious magic had abandoned them, and no longer could their Protects keep their fragile selves safe from harm and vicious bullets.
Just to reassure himself, Sephiroth reached deep inside himself, and was relieved to find that his magic was still coiled within waiting for his call. Diablos was gone; he had opted to watch from the safety of the Guardians' plane. Sephiroth could not blame him. Instead, Ebon had volunteered, so now the nightmare was tucked away in a corner of his mind pacing restlessly,
Seeing no reason to hide his heritage any longer, he glanced at Keire, who was in charge of the Quad, for confirmation. The instructor nodded in answer. Sephiroth stepped away from the ranks of his comrades and took in a deep breath. Ignoring Flick's startled, "hey, whatcha doing?" he braced himself for the pain.
It ate through him, and his stomach protested with a wave of nausea. After all, his abilities were artificial, injected into him by a needle, and had never really been part of him. It was right that it affected him like this, to remind him that no matter what he would always be a hybrid.
His wing wrenched free in a spray of crimson and black feathers, the latter gliding lazily through the air. Paine, seeing him, took it as her signal, and after a moment's hesitation, threw her arms up. Unlike him, her face suffused with ecstasy as the change overtook her. Her eyes glowed white with power as the wings, soft and downy and pure as those of the angels of heaven, slid out of her back.
"Ready?" she asked with a smile.
They looked so different standing together. He, tainted, reflected in the ebon sheen of his feathers, her, filled with a heavenly light. Fallen angel and holy saint. But it did not matter. They linked hands and kicked off, sunlight grazing the feathers while their classmates watched in childish wonder from below.
Paine smiled predatorily at the paratroopers, a smile that was reflected on Sephiroth's own face. "Oh, guys. You are so dead."
The Galbadians never knew what hit them.
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The IT classroom, 2F
1130 hours
Seifer lifted his gunblade and dropped a G-Private who was terrorizing an injured kid who had broken his arm. "Bloody coward," he sneered in satisfaction. Squall nodded in appreciation and lifted the kid in his arms. "Freya," he addressed one of the instructors, "Please take Gerald to the infirmary."
"Roger, sir," she saluted and jogged away with Gerald in tow, Squall sighed as yet another squad of Galbadians dropped through the hole in the glass. "Xu will be mad. Somehow we keep paying for repairs to that window every time Galbadia Garden strikes."
Seifer smirked. "Well, they never are the most polite of people." He dove under a table, followed by Squall a second later, as a deadly hail of bullets came their way. Seifer tentatively poked his head out, took a few pot shots and ducked again. "Damn it, Squall, how long do you need to find that blasted thing?"
"Shut your eyes!" Squall yelled, and the next moment a little round black thing rolled into the midst of the Galbadians, who looked at it, following it with their eyes. Oldest trick in the book. Then it exploded…in a riot of light and colors. They screamed as the light seared their eyeballs and stunned their brains with an overload of information into submission. Unconsciousness was immediate and inevitable. They slumped to the ground, safely out of the way.
The Seeds carefully emerged and kicked at the still bodies to make sure that they were really down. Those with tougher stomachs began the grisly task of killing the Galbadians while they lay comatose (there was no way the Balamb SeeDs could expend the manpower to guard them) and afterwards Squall and Seifer moved on, leaving the classroom to the hands of the original defenders.
"Hey, Almasy, Leonheart!" Xu's stentorian voice blasted over the comm. dangling from their ears, making both wince simultaneously. "Get your asses over to the hall right now! Paratroopers incoming—shit, I'll talk to you later. Just get here!" There was the sound of a mike being disconnected.
"Well, let's go, then," Squall said, glancing at Seifer out of the corner of his eyes. The two men raced down the corridor to the lift, only to discover that it had been disabled, Wires, crackling with electricity, poked out of the control panel like hissing snakes.
"Ah, hell," Seifer stated eloquently and gathered his legs below him for a leap. Without hesitation he threw himself from the railing and landed on the floor below. Squall followed suit half a second later, and raced off in the direction where things were boiling to a furious climax, complete with blast shots, screams, and breaking glass.
They found the SeeDs engaged in battle, blades, guns and sharp edges flashing. Xu stood somewhere at the back, one hand raised in the air to catch her shuriken as it flew back to her hand, the other firing a gun with deadly accuracy. But she was not unscathed; her cheek had been creased a couple of times by gunfire, and a crude tourniquet had been bound tightly around her leg, and was stained dark crimson. She smiled at them in relief as the two gunbladers approached with blazing guns and flashing swords. Squall paused briefly to slap hands with her and then the two men dived into the fray.
"There's nothing quite like battle, is there?" Seifer asked, his green eyes more alive than Squall had ever seen as he swung his gunblade in a deadly- and for the Galbadian at the wrong end of the blade-and fatal arc. Squall looked at him as he absently fended off his opponent's bayonet. Seifer's face was flushed as though he was high and his eyes sparkled with energy. And he thought of all the dead friends and comrades and enemies slumped on the floor, staining the earth red, the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins…
"You're right," he said. "Nothing quite like it."
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The Quad
1157 hours
The sorcerer and the sorceress advanced through the aerial battle, pausing only to shoot those who got in their way. Their classmates could deal with the paratroopers; they were after a different objective. Sephiroth knew it was wrong, but it was true; he was in the thick of flying bullets and murderous enemies, and he loved it. Born to kill, born for war; he could not suppress the subconscious stirring in his blood as around them the Galbadians died and cursed them as they fell.
Paine had different thoughts altogether. She had been born to loving parents who had initially resisted her pleas to become a SeeD. From young she had thought of SeeD as a fulfillment of some romantic dream; a result from long nights as a child listening to the stories of Ultimecia and heroes and deep in her heart she too had wanted to be something, someone special. Her parents, wiser, had not been happy. But she had gone, anyway, and at first it seemed like her dream had come true, until on the day her first mission came and she had to kill, not monsters, but people, and she knew then she would never be the same. And worse still now was the gift/ curse that weighed her down even as it elevated her high above the ground and sent the wind spiraling through her hair and whipping against her cheeks. Even now as she drank in the exhilarating joy of flying; of doing what no one ordinary could, and she was special, as she had always imagined she would when she was a child; she wondered if she would ever truly feel happy again.
She glanced at her companion, saw the sideways tilt of his mouth and the look in his green eyes, bright and almost feverish. She had come to realize he was right; she didn't know him at all. The hunger in his eyes still made her flinch every time their gaze rested on her. Maybe because of all the fairy tales she had thought about, of Squall and Rinoa, how they had met, and she had imagined her life could be like that and her Prince Charming would one day come for her. And he had seemed right for her at the time; tall handsome, a sorcerer who could understand, complete with broodingness and tragic past, who needed someone like her to heal him. But he had made her see the truth, and even now the pain of that reality was fading away. If her feelings had truly been real, she understood, she would have suffered a lot longer.
"Are you ready?" he asked, catching sight of her pensive expression. She quickly wiped it away and smiled at him. "Yeah. Let's go kick some Galbadian butt."
He laughed, and together they headed towards the hulking shape of Galbadia Garden in the distance. A paratrooper barred their way. This one seemed to be some sort of high-ranking officer; there was some sort of elaborate insignia over his chest and his armor was matte black. Unlike the others, he did not carry a bayonet, instead some kind of wicked-looking, slim gun with a glossy black surface. Paine had seen it before, in the plans she had stolen from the Galbadian camp. Xu had jokingly named it as the Ray, but now there was nothing funny about being on the wrong end of the barrel. Sephiroth tensed beside her, emerald eyes flicking over the man's face to the Ray. Part of their mission priority was to disable or capture any such gun that came into their vicinity as a blast from it would be immediately fatal to the victim. Plus, it would be useful for study. So far they had managed to kill one Ray-wielding Galbadian. Not surprisingly for a prototype, its numbers were small amidst the submachine guns, bayonets, grenades and the other weapons the Galbadians usually employed.
"Freeze," he said rather predictably. Sephiroth rolled his eyes; Paine was just sourly thinking to herself that at least someone was gaining some humor out of the situation. She had recently realized with some training from Sephiroth that she could pick up strong emotion from other people's minds, and boy, was she receiving a lot from this trooper. He was the brave and stupid type, which meant that he was hoping to shoot them and get all the glory for himself, but at the same time he was scared shitless, and was thinking along the lines of , 'Holy hell, one I could deal with, but two?'
"That is so not a good idea," Paine informed the man. She rather enjoyed dishing out insults to people who needed them.
He snarled and brought the Ray up. Sephiroth winked at him, which only confused him more. With a shaking finger he pulled the trigger, and blazing blue magic siphoned from the mother machine back in Deling City flowed towards them in a straight line. Paine braced herself for impact; then the magic was crawling up her arms and she felt…reenergized. Unlike ordinary people, sorcerers and sorceresses were far more suited to be buried in tons of raw magic since they were practically filled with the stuff themselves. She smiled, hard and bright, like brittle glass, and reached over, snatching it right out from his slackening grasp. His eyes were wide with surprise. With a sigh, Sephiroth imprinted that expression on his face forever by running him through with the Masamune. The man's body tumbled through space and Paine looked away, uneasily aware of the fact that it was Sephiroth, the youth she had thought she had loved, who was killing so casually, without giving a second thought. Because it was in his nature to do so, easily, like a wild beast barely restrained by civility, how he was made and attached together piece by piece after his birth.
Sephiroth looked at her hard out of the corners of his long green eyes, and once again she was aware that some of her negative thoughts must have seeped into his mind. But he did not say anything, and for that she was silently grateful. She did not think she could have handled questioning at the moment.
Through the sky they flew on, and then they were right in front of Galbadia Garden, monstrous, disgorging squadrons of fighter planes that darted past them like silver arrows, but deadlier and deceptively beautiful. At the top, through the glass, they could see the wide eyes of the men within, and already the lasers were whirling to aim at them. Paine carelessly hurled out a hand filled with flame and melted it. A sharp pain penetrated her thigh and she gasped, spinning around in mid-air to see a whole flight of Swallows maneuvering to cut them off. Apparently the crewmen had guessed their intent and were doing their damnedest to stop them.
Sephiroth smiled and leisurely, effortlessly dodged the red streaks of lethal light as they burned through the air. Paine was not so lucky, but a hastily conjured Protect saved her from a lot more pain as she cruised after her friend. Later on the image of him, like this, would forever be imprinted in her mind if though she sought to replace it with a happier memory; he, his hands burning with fire, his mouth tilted in a sideways cant filled with mockery—even later on she did not know whether it was meant to demean himself or his enemies—his expression somehow subdued, and suppressed, and behind his self-imposed bonds something impossibly feral and bloodthirsty threatened to break free and lash out, black wing arched protectively over his shoulder, and around him ships exploded and dying men crossed themselves against the Devil as they burned and fell to the ground trapped in the wreckage of their destroyed crafts.
She did not participate; mostly she healed him when he was wounded and blocked him from lasers and after that blocked any other thoughts from her head; she was afraid to self-examine herself too closely for fear of what she would find. Because he was her friend, damn it, and there was no way she could think about him like that—
"Paine." Sometime the screaming had stopped and now his hand was on her shoulder and his eyes were green pools of concern. She threw off an answer concocted out of her own confused thoughts; she had no idea what she had said, but his eyes grew cool and he moved away. "We need to get going," he said, looking at the shadowy hulk of the airship and for some reason she felt terribly ashamed of herself.
"Yes, let's," she merely said in response, and with a flash of white and black wings, they soared towards the control room.
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1210 hours
The Hall, 1F
The Galbadian force showed no signs of relenting, and less than an hour into the battle Squall was already tired. His arms were sore from repetitive swinging and grazes where bullets had barely missed weren't helping the situation. He ran on pure instinct; it was almost automatic now the way he took a swipe at a G-soldier.
Next to him Seifer fought with a cold fury that was extremely welcome under these conditions; Squall could not help but wonder as he saw the hot rage flare in his friend's eyes whenever he so much as looked at a G-soldier. The two stood back to back, protecting in each other in a symbolism that would have been near impossible twenty years ago.
Xu emerged from a nearly solid wall of Galbadians, her smile a bright contrast to the grim surroundings, "Need a hand?" she asked, deftly spinning her shuriken in one hand. Somewhere she had exchanged hr gun for a bayonet; as she spoke a man lunged for her and she quickly drew the blade across in chest, making him back off to gather himself.
Squall nodded, too focused in his own fight to speak. He tried not to wince as a few feet away a SeeD crumpled to the floor in a heap, a bullet embedded in his heart. His contestant was a G-major who enjoyed nothing better than stabbing him to death. So far his bullet-proof vest was protecting him from any steel missiles the major might care to throw his way and the long reach of his gunblade was preventing him from coming into closer range, but the major was incredibly crafty and amazing at sliding out from beneath the blade like a snake.
"You know what, Leonheart…you're Leonheart, aren't you?" the major asked casually.
"So what if I am?" Squall asked in a bored tone. He was extremely tired of death threats by now; after all, he had to have received one thousand of them by now. A new record if he did say so himself.
"Well, if I were you, I wouldn't be so careless about Almasy there, if you know what I mean," the major said with an air of someone giving very wise advice. Squall stared at him in disbelief. "You're trying to turn me against my own comrade? Sorry, my friend, but no go," he said, shaking his head as he took a chance at impaling the other man's gut.
The major smiled; bright, malicious humor etched in every line of his face. "Didn't figure you could be quite so naïve, Leonheart. Once a traitor, always a traitor."
"I would trust Seifer with my life." Squall returned in his most frigid tone, not liking the major's insinuation that Seifer was betraying them again. "And why would I care about what you're saying anyway?"
The major's lips curved in a knowing smirk. "That's because you know I'm right."
"Ignore him, Squall," Seifer muttered from behind him, his voice low and vibrating with barely suppressed anger. "The only thing Galbadians ever spout is rubbish."
The major laughed. "That's what you would like to think, Almasy. But I would figure if you really cared, if you had really turned about…" He aimed a low and vicious stab at Squall, who parried and saved himself from having his intestines spilled out. "You would have told Leonheart the truth."
"I have been honest with him." Seifer seemed to have forgotten about his own rule; his voice was brittle and sharp as a glass dagger and intense as he spoke.
"Have you?" the major inquired softly. "Deling told me everything, Almasy. Tell me, Leonheart…did you ever find out who gave away the little girl to our men? If you never, Leonheart, now you know why…"
Squall would have liked to reply cuttingly, but the truth was that at the mention of Avine his gut had frozen into a solid chunk of ice. He tried to recover, but doubt and indecision held his tongue and behind him Seifer's muscles had tensed perceptibly.
"Starting to believe, Leonheart?" the major asked and started to laugh.
"Bastard!" Seifer screamed, losing it. He whirled away from behind Squall, his trench coat flapping in similar agitation. Squall recognized the danger even as he spun to exchange places with Seifer. The other man, blind with rage, shoved aside the G-major's blade with his bare hand, crimson blood spurting from the cuts, and plunged the gunblade deep into the man's chest. More blood spilled out, staining his hands redder than ever. The major didn't even cry out. His eyes locked onto Seifer's, and as he stiffened in death triumph gleamed in them; triumph that froze onto his features as he died. Seifer screamed in frustration and yanked his blade free; his victory over the man had lasted but a second, but this man's victory over him would last forever, and he knew it.
"Seifer, you fool!" Xu hissed, lurching forward.
Seifer looked behind him blindly, the red mists clearing from his vision. Squall was staring at him, eyes wide, mouth slightly slack in surprise. It was the first chink Seifer had ever seen in the man's armor, and briefly Seifer wondered why for once Squall had allowed himself this weakness. Then Squall sighed, so softly Seifer barely heard him, and slid to the ground, off the wet and bloody blade of the blue-clad G-SeeD who stood behind him, a smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth.
Squall was dead.
Then Xu had taken Squall's place and quietly she snarled at him, "We'll talk later." He barely registered her words; his mind was still whirling with the suddenness of it all, how his rashness had led to this, and mechanically his arm rose and fell and his hands grew increasingly darker—
Symbolism, he thought, and let himself be carried away by the grief and revenge that sprung free from his heart in a rushing torrent.
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1233 hours
The Cafeteria
Rinoa hurled her projectile and watched without satisfaction as it decapitated a G-soldier before it returned to her hand. For her, there had never been any joy in killing. Especially not troops who had once been loyal to her father, men the same nationality as herself. She could not shake off the feeling that she was deserting her own nation.
But what has Galbadia ever done for me? She thought bitterly and shifted her aim a little to take out an enemy soldier intent on sticking his sword into a cadet's back. They had taken her father away through work; in the years after her mother's death he had buried himself in is career and left her alone and wanting in the huge house; giving her every conceivable luxury he thought she might need but his own love and attention.
But you are a Galbadian, through birth, if nothing else, her traitorous thoughts informed her slyly. She shoved it away violently and focused on the unpleasant task at hand, when suddenly the world tilted around her, and she had to grab a corner of a table to steady herself and gather her thoughts; and when she did, she wished she hadn't, because then she knew, and it was too horrible to comprehend.
After Rinoa had lost her powers to Avine, the sorceress-knight link between Squall and Rinoa had dissolved with a few lingering side effects. Strong emotion could be felt on both sides; it had pros and cons, as it could alert the other if either was in danger, but could also transmit emotion at inconvenient times. There was the occasion just after their marriage when Squall was still Commander of the Garden and he had been at a serious meeting to sign the treaty between the nations. Rinoa, bored, had been at home reading a trashy romance novel and some of the more sordid words had drifted through their peculiar connection. Squall, who had been in the midst of thanking Galbadia's acting President for his cooperation, had been overcome with a severe coughing fit and had to beg to be excused for a few moments outdoors, whereupon he severely chastised her through the remnants of their bond. She could not possibly hear his words, but she had sensed his laughing disapproval. Since their marriage husband and wife, even when apart, were still able to affectionately bless each other with their love.
Now she felt, through the psychic bond, a searing moment of agony, shock and confusion, and after that a gaping void where Squall's presence had used to reside, comforting in its warmth. Something terrible had happened to him, and she had a notion what. She tried to tell herself it was ridiculous, irrational, that afterward she would tell Squall about it and then they would laugh together, but deep in her heart she already mourned him.
She looked at her ex-countrymen and any pity in her that had lingered suddenly vanished in a tsunami of rage and sorrow. Raising her hand, she sent her weapon flying again, and the expression on her face was now akin to that of a marble statue; impassive, stern and cold.
(Rest in peace, love.)
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1246 hours
The Control Room, Galbadia Garden
Glass shattered as the duo made their dramatic entrance into the room, spraying jagged shards everywhere. The crewmen ducked, arms over their faces and chests, braving the deadly storm. Sephiroth kicked a chair—with a technician in it— out of his way, settling down and folding his wing, looking around with an expression of practiced disdain. Paine knew it wasn't real because she could sense determination rolling off him in waves—determination not to hurt any more human beings than necessary.
"You'll never get away with this!" one of them said in a trembling tone, his eyes continually darting to something behind Sephiroth and Paine. Paine reached out and smacked the guy gently on the side of his face and his legs promptly folded, depositing him on the ground in an undignified heap. Meanwhile, Sephiroth glanced around only to look down the gleaming barrel of a rifle. At the safe end was a Galbadian SeeD, in his late twenties, standing his ground, resolution in his eyes. The soldier in Sephiroth silently applauded his bravery, darned inconvenient though it was.
"One move and I shoot," the SeeD snarled, showing no signs of fear. "Tell your girlfriend to put her hands up. One word of magic and you're toast, got that?"
"Loud and clear," Sephiroth drawled. Paine came up beside him, and he could feel her expectant gaze on him. Waiting for him to do something. He wished he could have as much confidence in himself as she did in him.
He had to place trust in his reflexes, to dodge the bullet meant for him at close range and render the SeeD's weapon useless. Bracing himself, he snapped his hand out like a whiplash and true to form, the SeeD fired. At the same time Sephiroth dived down, his hand closing spasmodically around the gun, and he curled into himself, as the bullet, misfired, landed at his feet. Then his feet kicked out again at the SeeD's legs and the young man went down, hitting his head on the console. He let out a little cry and shook away the grogginess, forcing himself to stay conscious. Sephiroth didn't let him. Standing up, he delivered a vicious blow to the SeeD's head with the tip of his steel-toed boot. The SeeD slumped. Just in case, Sephiroth cast Sleep on him as well.
He glanced back to see the other technicians huddled together shaking. One had snuck back to the computer and was now being soundly pummeled by Paine. She cast Sleep as well, and all of the crewmen fell down.
"That was easy. Too easy," Sephiroth muttered, crossing over to the console. Their mission had been to disable the Garden; in case Balamb lost and had to retreat, Galbadia wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. He rearranged a few Junctions in his mind until he was immune to lightning. "Keep an eye on the entrance, will you? And smash that camera."
Paine nodded and hefted her gun. She might be a sorceress, but she still felt most comfortable using more conventional weapons. She took aim and shattered the little security camera perched on the ceiling above the lift.
Sephiroth dug his hands into the metal, his strength enhanced by some suitable Junctions and smashed a few monitors. He ripped away the service panels, and removed handfuls of wires with one good yank, unfazed by the sparks of deadly voltage leaping from the ragged end of one wire to another. He stuck his hand in again and sent a jet of water leaping inside. There was a fizz as the computer short-circuited.
A red Klaxon alarm began to sound. Paine looked up in alarm. "Sephiroth, perhaps we should get out of here," she said urgently.
"Intruders on the bridge! Emergency! All troops to the bridge! I repeat…" A mechanical voice shouted above the din.
"Yeah, I'm done." Sephiroth sent a final plume of fire coursing over the console, fusing the metal together and joined her in leaping out of the window. They collided most ignominiously with the air and bounced back into the control room. Thankfully, frantic beating of wings kept them from landing on top of the computer Sephiroth had fried.
"Hyne, what's going on here?" Paine breathed fearfully.
"Force filed," Sephiroth snarled under his breath. "Some sort of backup—not controlled from the bridge—we'll never disable it…"
"Hell," Paine said with feeling.
They were trapped on a ship that was home base to their worst enemies, and worst, people who had made Avine what she was, people who would be overwhelmed with joy to see them strung up and quartered.
With a groan, the lift lifted to the top, bearing a dozen Galbadian soldiers all armed to the teeth. There was another grinding sound and a second lift cycled upward, groaning under its heavy load of half dozen grim-faced Galbadian SeeDs.
"Oh my god," Sephiroth muttered, and he and Paine looked at each other in horror as the troops descended on them mercilessly.
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The Quad, Balamb Garden
1324 hours
Daniel fought hand to hand with a G-SeeD a little older than him, all swagger and gold-dyed hair, which didn't suit him and clashed horribly with his uniform. Daniel brought his knee up in a blow between the guy's legs that had the youth doubling over, and finished with a flamboyantly high kick to his head that left him out like a light. Daniel didn't feel good killing him, so he pinched a pressure point on the guy's neck to leave him unconscious and moved on.
Some distance away Keire was fighting, his gunblade flashing in a series of elaborate strokes that usually ended up with the Galbadian coming apart in blood and flesh. For the first time Daniel could remember, Keire wasn't exchanging one-line witticisms with the foe; his features were pinched, tight and harassed as though he was worrying himself over something, though his moves were as flowing as ever.
Daniel shrugged and beat up another Galbadian. Not his problem; in battle it was every man for himself. He flinched back from a glancing blow on his chin and returned the favor. Somewhere a bullet flashed by and clipped him on his ear. Wiping the blood away he gave a good roundhouse that spread his opponent out in the floor.
Keire waited tensely, for the sorcerer-sorceress team to return the transmission that meant that they had completed their mission, but they maintained radio silence. In frustration he shot his enemy point-blank in the forehead and mechanically fought a second one that took his place. He was concerned about them—not least about the fact that what happened to Avine Swifter could very well happen to them too of they were ever captured. If so, they were better off dead. Better than being alive to see and feel their bodies and minds being violated.
(Hyne be with you two.)
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Air Control, 4F
1336 hours
Elenor had never felt so fatigued in her life. Her head throbbed on her right temple where a Galbadian lieutenant had bashed her with the butt of his gun, and blood trickled from her scalp down her cheek like red tears. She was bruised and battered everywhere; her body felt like it was in hell.
And it was hell; the screams of the dying, the red blood splashing on the tarmac, dying the ground brick red. When they screamed, she couldn't tell who was Galbadian and who was Balambian. Perhaps, she thought, that should tell us something. When men die, it doesn't matter what race we are, we are just mortals at the end.
Pain boiled along her arm; her opponent had managed to lodge his foil into the crook of her left arm. She jerked away and the thin blade snapped, the jagged edge protruding from her flesh like white bone. She shuddered in revulsion and knocked him away; he fell to the ground, already scrabbling to get up. She stomped on his skull with her boot and he went limp. She yanked the broken foil away, ignoring the blood that oozed out, gaining momentum, and ripped the edge off from the Galbadian's tunic, tying it tight around the wound. Feeling very remote and detached from the situation, she cut his throat with one of her katanas and walked away.
The bullet found its way into her thigh as she traded blows with a swordsman. Bloody coward; some sniper had decided to take potshots at her while her back was turned. The leg wouldn't support her; she fell to one knee. The pain touched something wild within and a howl erupted from her throat. The man who had been about to skewer her paused for a second in surprise.
It was the last mistake he would ever make. Elenor smiled at him as her body lost control and altered at an amazing rate as her Limit Break took effect. In less than a second, the spot where Elenor had been had been replaced by a wolf with silver-gray fur and yellow eyes. In a flash of argent, rippling fur she was gone. The swordsman cast about, and died as the great wolf sprung up behind him, chewing through his jugular. Growling ominously, the beast stalked off in search of more prey.
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The Control Room
1355 hours
"Control, look out!"
Startled, Nida's head jerked up as Jafael's voice burned into his brain. A Mirrormist hovered close outside the transparisteel dome that protected them from guns. It had red stripes painted on its solar array wings, so it was Galbadian in origin. Nida wondered why Jafael had deemed fit to tell Nida about it.
Then a Mirrormist, blue-striped, with the insignia of the Flight Commander painted on the body, flashed towards the Galbadian jet. To Nida's great surprise, the other Mirrormist didn't budge an inch. It seemed to be aiming at something, and Nida's blood ran cold as he said crisply, "Computer, all shield power to the north-east side, now!"
"I feel it is my duty to warn you that doing so will result in…"
"Just do it!" Nida yelled.
The Galbadian Mirrormist's guns focused on a target. Jafael fired upon it, but it was apparent that he could not use high-intensity lasers for fear of harming the airship. The enemy plane had no such reservations. A laser, red and pulsing with energy, leaped out, even as its rear engines exploded. Nida frowned. Normally the rear shields would have deflected the lasers. What…?
"Give me a reading of that ship," he said very fast, tapping the red dot on his screen. The computer dutifully presented a diagram. Nida scanned it; Derek leaned over his shoulder, youthful features scrunched in concern. Blue, representation of machine-power, flooded the nose of the Mirrormist, while behind it was entirely devoid of anything. Nida understood; the pilot had diverted all shield power to the front, as he had done so earlier…and in such a perfect position for ramming…
The enemy Mirrormist hurtled towards Balamb Garden, and exploded against the hull, hurling debris and fire in all direction.
"Suicide bombers," Nida murmured in outrage; how could Galbadia Garden force its troops to sacrifice themselves?
"Pilot Deehryn…" the computer chimed. He noticed a red alarm in the corner of his screen; he clicked on it. "Rear shields are down; repairs commencing."
They had lost. Should Galbadia Garden fire…linked blasts from the Mirrormists…a stray, misfired missile…Balamb Garden would go down. In battle the enemy did not give you time to recover. They took advantage and fired when you were at your weakest.
"Nida!" It was Xu. "What was that?"
He told her. She was silent. "We've lost, haven't we?" she said eventually. "Orders to abort?' he asked, not liking her tone, filled with despair. It did not sound like her; she sounded beaten and the old Xu would never have bowed before anyone.
"Order everyone to withdraw," she said finally. "Ask the Wolf Squadron and the Talon Squad to cover our departure."
"Go where?"
"We've talked about it before," she said, voice clipped. "Right after you give the order, disable all radios, including ours. We don't want the Galbadians still on board to report to their superiors. Then put the force field in effect to repel the paratroopers."
"The sabotage team has not reported in," Nida said wearily.
Xu sighed; it tickled his ear. "We have no choice, Nida. Damn it, what would you have me do?! They should be either dead or captured by now. We…simply can't afford to retrieve them. But send the message to them anyway. If they can, they will come back to us and they know where to go."
Nida bowed his head; with a heavy heart he issued the order. Derek, downcast, manipulated the controls and sent the Garden into a gentle descent to protect its vulnerable side and fired up the engines. The machinery grinded and hummed, and blasted away. There was a shimmer and a blue-green shield surrounded the airship. Nida contacted all the transmitters still operational and then sent a detonation signal that disrupted all communication systems within range. Feeling like a horrible coward, Nida set his jaw and steered the Garden away from the aerial battle still exploding in the sky around them.
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The Control Room, Galbadia Garden
1325 hours
Paine gulped; there was no way out. She tucked her guns away; here, if she missed, the bullet would ricochet off the walls and more likely than not hit herself instead of a Galbadian. She drew her sword and with a thought sent a spark of magical lightning coursing down it. Next to her, Sephiroth drew the Masamune; it was shining with a hot pale light the color of bone.
The Galbadians advanced, raising their guns. Paine called on her power and instantly multi-colored shields sprung up to envelope both of them. She instantly felt drained; her knees almost buckled but he managed to keep steady. Sephiroth looked at her and realization washed across his face. The Sting was sucking their magic dry, especially whenever they used it…
But without the Protects they would be dead. The alien cells in him did not make him immortal; a hailstorm of bullets at he and Paine and they would be dead. He would have to make the best of the situation. Leaving Paine leaning against a wall, he raced at them with the Masamune. The Protect repelled their bullets and dulled the edge of their blades. Meanwhile the Masamune danced among them, dangerous and dealing death like a long finger of starlight. Where it flickered, blood spattered against the walls and ceiling. He was fast; too fast, and the last thing they saw before Masamune closed their eyes forever was a blur of silver and black.
At last they were all dead. Sephiroth shuddered, drawing air into his lungs, and the stench was reminiscent as that of a butcher's shop. He looked at the carnage he had wrought and he was shocked to realize that he felt nothing at all. No, he could not learn to enjoy it again—this men, this men, they were just following orders—
Paine looked at him as he walked towards her, and she shrank away. She was hugging her knees and she looked very young and fragile. He went to touch her, but saw the blood on his glove and pulled it away.
"I know," he said, and looked down.
Then the commlink blasted out with a wave of static, and a voice distorted by distance shouted, "All SeeDs, abort mission! Withdraw now to Location Alpha Three Gamma!" With a hiss, it shut down and went dead. Sephiroth cursed bitterly. There was no way they could escape without shutting down the force field. He stared out the view glass; in the distance he could see that Balamb Garden had turned; he could not help but feel abandoned.
The Protect wavered and vanished; Paine, her face white and exhausted, slumped against the wall. The lift grinded again, and Sephiroth looked up, feeling suddenly very tired, as yet more soldiers crowded the Control Room. He lifted the Masamune and stood up, swaying, trying to recall his bloodlust; Hyne help him, he would bring down as many as he could into hell with him—
"Stop."
The soldiers lowered their guns, and Sephiroth leaned on the Masamune, both sides eyeing each other warily. A lean, dapper man in the prime of his life emerged from the ranks of his men; he wore clear, translucent body armor, and held a black shock prod in his hand. There was an aura of unmistakable authority about him. He appraised Sephiroth and smiled craftily. "Yes, that's him alright. Men, stand down."
There was some grumbling and mutters, but ultimately they dared not disobey a direct order. They left via the lift and Sephiroth eyed the man watchfully. He sheathed the shock prod and smiled. Sephiroth did not trust that smile; he would sooner trust crocodile tears.
"My name is Angus Feder," the man said cheerfully, "The Head of Military Affairs, in case you're interested."
Sephiroth wasn't, "What do you want?" he demanded abruptly.
Feder laughed. "You're perceptive, aren't you. I'm here on behalf of my President. A lot of parties happened to be interested in you. You've taken out some of our best, and I must say, professionally speaking, that I'm impressed. How about it? We could really use someone like you."
"Let me think about it. Wait, I've got it. No," Sephiroth said flatly, and his voice was cold and biting like ice. Somewhere around polar degrees.
Feder shrugged. "Figures. I had to try anyway; you'll understand. What a pity. For the little girl and for you. Be seeing you." Jauntily he waved and slapped a gas mask over his face.
"No!" Sephiroth shouted and lunged for him. Bt already the gas was hissing out, and filling the cramped chamber. He held his breath for as long as he could while he stumbled to Paine's side; he shook her but she was already unresponsive and dead to the world. He crouched next to her, glaring at Feder with bitter hatred, and at last his screaming, oxygen-deprived lungs compelled him to take a breath.
Instantly he felt woozy and his surroundings spun. Miserably he clutched at a chair and as it slid away under his death grip he wondered if he had selfish to refuse even though it was the right thing to do; now he had put Paine at the mercy of the Galbadians—her worst fear…
Another breath. He saw Feder smirking through the clear plastic mask, applauding his efforts mockingly; both of them knew that resistance was futile. But Sephiroth refused to give up; thoughts of the lab from his younger days (cold, cold needles against shivering skin oh the bite and burn) spurred him on and he hurled himself recklessly at the force field.
He hit it hard; and it knocked the breath out of him. He never felt himself fall to the floor; he didn't feel the impact.
"You're a fighter," Feder said softly, staring at the still bodies. "You'll need to be for what she's got in store for you." Speaking into his radio, he summoned a couple of men to drag the bodies away.
The sky was clear now save for the returning Galbadian planes. Feder smiled again. "You may run. You may hide, Balamb," he whispered in promise of what was to come. "But the world is small, and we'll find you anyway."
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Author's Ending Note: 20/12/04: WHOO-HOO!!!! See, I kept my promise—my longest chapter yet, and according to my Microsoft word count 10,000 words long, filled with Sephiroth gumminess and loads of action, more evil Galbadian plotting, bucketfuls of angst—everything I've got to deliver! Man, you really owe me loads of gratitude for all the hard work I've done for your sakes so you can read yourselves silly. I'll be willing to accept your thanks in the form of happy reviews. So please click that li'l GO button at the bottom left of the screen and humor me. Thanks so much for reading my work. Keep an eye out for the next chapter, 'Avengement' which hopefully will be up by the end of the year. And a profuse apology to anyone who might love Squall so much he or she wants to strangle me for murdering him. (Bows and vanishes in a cloud of violet smoke before any pitchfork-bearing peeps come along. Why violet? Because I say so.)
T. Axile signing out
(And in case I don't get to put up a chapter on Christmas, Merry Christmas to everyone who read this, and may your presents be plenty.)
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Thanks to:
Noacat: Thanks for the positiveness. Actually I thought the beginning of Part One a bit on the lame side but now you've restored my appreciation in myself. Also glad to know that the point I was trying to get across about Seph hadn't ended up buried in tons of mush.
Anasazi Darkmoon: Keep those fingernails on, I'm sure you'll need them someday. Like, maybe to scratch me to death for killing Squall off. Hey, how much have you chewed off already? looks interested. Hope you appreciated the part where Xu insulted the jackass.
The WyldeWestWind: Holds hands up. Ok, if you're pleased with this chapter, please review! And tell Seph it's his own fault he's so cool that everyone loves him and calls him pet names.
tetraflash777: WHOA! Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews and the evaluations of every single chapter! huggles, hands over cookies and cream. You're so wonderful! I'll take note of what you said and try to improve on my chapters. Yeah, after I finish TIAL I plan to do a massive overhaul of the whole story. And I know what you mean about Diablo 2. It's FANTASTIC! Pity my sorceress got wiped off because off a bug in my CD. Argh.
Zack M. Strith: Of course. Can't throw out our favorite flower girl, can we? I'm thinking of doing one in the next chapter or the next next one. So watch out!
Hopeful Wings: WHACK! WHACK! hands back fan. Hope that worked. (somewhere Seph is screaming.) Uh, don't forget to be gentle to Seph. He might not like being glomped. smirk.
meowwl: Glad to know I've claimed the soul of yet another victim. (evil laughter sounds) thanks for the notification of my misspelling. I'll watch out for it in future chapters and in the overhaul. The only thing that displeases me is…just how did you take so long to discover it???? Was it me, or was it you? goes quietly insane and has to be removed from the scene.
Author's alter (and saner) ego: Don't worry, she'll recover in a few hours. Ta!
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