Chapter 11: Audience
The man ahead screamed and raised his sword, but then his face simply exploded. Irvine barreled through the falling corpse, and toward the entrance to the old fortress. Getting there had proved a hassle, as actually getting down the side of the cliff needed to get inside the structure was close to impossible, with the enemy chasing after them. Selphie, Irvine, and Victor had managed to fight their way down the cliff to a point which was level enough that they could slide most of the way to the lower elevation. From there, it had been a mad dash to the fortress's entrance.
The path to the entrance was open, with only a few of the White Robes, as Selphie had taken to calling them, in the way. Between the three SeeDs, they had cleared the way swiftly, and rushed toward the gaping doorway of the Fortresses' entrance. Moments after Irvine felled the last White Robe in their path, the trio burst through the entrance, entering blessed silence, lacking the presence of screaming, insane white-robed madmen. The trio whirled toward the entrance, expecting their foes to follow. They raise hands and weapon, magic and firepower ready to lance out and cut down their foes.
Nothing approached. For the third time during their trek and the mad chase, the enemy had let up on them, and was not following.
"Thank Hyne," Selphie whispered after nearly a minute of waiting.
"What do you want to bet those things are scared of this fortress, too?" Victor mused as he looked down at his leg wound.
"No bet," Irvine replied. "Better question is where they keep coming from. I swear, we had to have killed a hundred of those guys, and they just kept coming . . . ." He turned and looked down the hallway they stood within, a long, narrow entrance designed for defense of the structure. Twin portculli were raised, one at either end, and the other opened into an inner courtyard.
"Let's take a look around," Irvine quickly suggested. "I don't want to get cornered again."
Irvine took point, leading them toward the open region beyond. They stepped back out into the slightly colder air of open Trabia, and into a ruined, ancient courtyard. Just ahead was what looked like the castle's main keep, a large, damaged structure marked by numerous towers, cracks, large amounts of snow covering everything, and a single open passageway leading deeper into the main structure. After a moment of surveying the barren, empty courtyard, devoid of anything save broken stone and ice, Irvine moved forward, into the passageway.
They stepped back within the sheltered stone arches of the fortress's interior, and the first thing that struck Irvine, Selphie, and Victor was flickering light down the passage, doubtless from torches.
The castle was inhabited.
"Stay alert," Irvine warned needlessly, as both Selphie and Victor were prepared, weapons ready. They advanced down the hallway, alert and ready for any threats. They stepped past the first pair of torches, set into mounts along the walls, and noted the fresh scent they released. They were doubtlessly new, which meant whoever lived here was, until recently, still here.
They passed several old wooden doors, barred and locked. The group tried them, and did find them secured. None of them risked opening any of the doors forcibly; they didn't want to raise the ire of whoever lived in this place. Irvine led them further down the passage, until they found another door, a great pair of massive double doors. The sharpshooter tried them, and found the unlocked. Slowly, hesitantly, he pushed them open, rifle raised. The others steeled themselves, prepared for any attack.
None came, and the group was surprised as light flooded out of the chamber beyond. The doors parted, revealing a massive chamber, lined by numerous doors, and filled with rich carpeting of a strange mix of purples and greens. Huge, elegant tapestries lined the
Walls, and massive torches flared up between the space of the tapestries, filling the chamber with the bright illumination the group had noted. A gargantuan chandelier hung from the top of the high, vaulting ceiling. A wide balcony ringed the entire chamber, and at the far end was a great archway and a double staircase sweeping up to the second floor.
The group stepped out into the vast, elegant and beautiful chamber, awed by the surreal environment they had been thrust into. They spent many long moments staring and the luxuriant architecture and masonry surrounding them.
Clap, clap, clap.
A sound struck them in the silence: a single pair of hands applauding. They spun in the direction of the sound, and hesitated when they saw the figure making the noise as she stood atop the balcony, smiling warmly at the ragged group in the center of the chamber.
"Welcome," she called. She wore a long, elegant dress of purple and green, along with a glittering necklace heavy with amethysts and emeralds. Her hair, long brown hair pulled into a thick braid, was bound by numerous ribbons and strings of purple and green as well. Her face was beautiful, yet at the same time distant, and to a perceptive man like Irvine, there was something sinister about her. Her eyes, he noted, were a dark, almost ashen gray, and there was something . . . off about them.
"Welcome to my castle," she continued, holding her hands out wide. "I heard rumor of intruders within my realm, and I suspect the trials you endured to reach my sanctum. You may rest, for this place is as safe a location as you can find in this most dangerous region of Trabia."
"Thanks," Selphie answered. "We were kind of hoping for a break after everything."
"But of course," the woman continued. "I know what you had to go through in my forest."
"Your forest?" Victor echoed, and the woman nodded, a strange, high-pitched laughter sounding from her.
"My forest is my domain, and none may walk there without my permission, or they suffer the wrath of my guardians."
"And whose forest is that?" Irvine asked suddenly. "Whose castle have we entered?"
"The forest and castle both belong to the Anderson family," she replied, and pressed a hand to her chest. "I am its last surviving heir. Veronica Anderson."
"Anderson," Selphie whispered, brow furrowed in thought. She looked away for a moment, and then turned back, recognition in her eyes. "I remember that name!" She then paused, eyes widening even further.
"What is it?" Irvine asked, and Veronica chuckled.
"You are SeeDs," she stated. "And if your friend is as learned as I think she is, she may have remembered one of the dark secrets about the Anderson family. We were Trabian royalty, after all. But our power came from a very specific source, and one that I carry with me."
"Sorcery," Selphie declared, and Veronica laughed.
"Yes." Her shoulders shook as her chuckling spread throughout the room.
"Another damn Sorceress?" Irvine growled. "Great, just great. And I thought there wouldn't be any cackling witch in this story."
"Witch?" Veronica muttered, her expressions suddenly shifting to angry. "Witch?" She extended her arms out wide.
"Bad choice of words," Victor commented. And instant later, Irvine suddenly started floating in the air, held within a telekinetic grip by Veronica. A moment later, Selphie and Victor started floating as well.
"You have no idea of the power a Sorceress wields," she snarled, and it was Irvine's turn to laugh.
"Power, huh?" he asked. He raised his rifle, finding, to his satisfaction, that Veronica was not able to control their limbs. He reached into his coat quickly and grabbed a grenade shell, and slid it into his rifle.
"You're just a scrub," Irvine muttered. "Nothing compared to what we've taken on!"
"An old, washed up, withered Sorceress," Veronica replied, apparently not noticing Irvine's movements, despite their obviousness. "Edea was weak, hiding behind her armies. I need no minions, though I find them useful when I need to-"
The balcony at her feet exploded as Irvine's shell smashed into the masonry. Stone splinters were hurled across the room, and Veronica was launched backwards by the explosion. The trio of SeeD dropped to the floor, Victor stumbling on his injured leg. Selphie helped him to his feet as Irvine loaded another grenade round into his rifle.
"Let's get out of here before she recovers," Irvine suggested immediately, as chunks of stone rained down around the group. "If these forests do belong to her, then I think she-"
"Kill them!" Veronica's sudden order sounded, and instantly, there came screams and shouts from beyond the doors surrounding the chamber. The group spun around, back to back, in time to see the doors fly open, and out of them streamed dozens of the men in white, weapons in hand, and screaming for death and violence.
"Hynedammit!" Victor shouted. "Thought we'd left this bullshit behind!" Irvine pointed his rifle at a thick concentration and fired, a grenade blasting apart a dozen of the enemy. Victor cursed as he tried to cast a spell, but found his magic still weakened by whatever strange effect was filling the air around them. Selphie experienced the same difficulty, and the enemy swept in immediately, in overwhelming numbers.
Irvine looked at the foes closing in around them, and then turned his head toward Selphie. She glanced at him at the same moment, and fear filled her eyes, and Irvine knew his own sudden apprehension was also being read by her as well. On an impulse, he reached over, and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it tightly, understanding then and there that they were clearly overwhelmed. Then, without hesitating, they whirled back to face the enemy, determined to put up a lethal and vicious final battle against Veronica's insane, white-robed minions.
However, the final, last stand didn't occur. The screaming men closed in, weapons raised, when a force of about twenty of them on the west side of the room suddenly screamed and ignited, bursting into flames. They cried out in pain and terror, turned and slapping themselves, running away from one of the doorways as it flew open. Regardless of how they reacted, every one of the White Robes standing near that doorway fell apart into ash within moments, and the entirety of the enemy suddenly shifted their attention to that entrance.
"Hurry!" shouted the person standing there. "While they're still afraid!"
Serra waved frantically for the trio to come toward her, and without hesitation, Irvine, Selphie, and Victor burst across the room into the opening she had made for the group.
"Its her!" shouted Veronica suddenly. "Its her! Kill them! Kill them now, before they escape!"
The White Robes thundered responses and rushed blindly after the escaping group of SeeD, hurling axes, spears, and swords at them. Irvine cried out in pain as a spear sliced past his shoulder, and Victor let out a louder yell as a sword slashed deeply into his other leg, cutting open a new, nasty wound. Selphie spun and grabbed the wounded SeeD, lifting him up and tossing him through the doorway, and followed after him, Irvine diving in at the very last moment. Serra slammed the door shut behind him, and there were pained screams beyond as several more of the White Robes caught aflame, running too close to Serra's position.
"We have to go!" Serra said quickly, running forward and grabbing Victor, lifting him up with surprising strength for such a slender girl. "They'll follow! Veronica isn't afraid of me like the men in white are!"
The others quickly followed after Serra as she ran down the hallway.
"Yee-haw!" Zell crowed standing up in his seat. "He did it!"
"Squall stopped them?" Ellone asked hopefully, and the brawler nodded.
"Squall killed those bastards and caught that bitch behind the whole thing," Zell explained, a grin plastered across his face. "Its all over! We won!"
Ellone seemed to melt back into her seat, and started to laugh with released tension.
"I was so worried about him," she said quietly. " I knew we had gotten through to him from the transmissions in the plaza, but I was still afraid . . . ."
"From what I'm hearing," Zell continued, pressing the earpiece of the radio headset closer to his head, "it sounds like Squall actually went after them in their base of operations. SeeD teams are on-site, but they say things are . . . well, pretty messy."
"Is Squall okay?" Ellone asked, and Zell nodded.
"Yeah, minor injuries, nothing much," Zell replied. "He took down this Illarra bitch single-handedly, and most of the rest of the terrorists by himself, too. Sucks to be them, man. I would not want to be on the wrong side of Squall when he gets pissed off."
"What happened to him?" Ellone asked, concerned for a moment.
"That damn bitch kidnapped Rinoa," Zell replied, surprising Ellone. "Yeah, I know. Didn't even make any demands, except for him to come running to her base so she could take Squall on, I think. Sounds completely loco, huh?"
"Yeah," Ellone answered. "Wow. I can't imagine him ever getting really angry. And threatening me and Rinoa . . . Did he let her live?"
"Yeah," Zell responded, a bit shocked himself. "Took her alive, though not without seriously roughing her up, I'm guessing. Don't know why. In that situation, someone I cared about getting hurt like that, man, I wouldn't be able to stop myself! Zell Dincht would have to choke a bitch!"
That last part was a joke, delivered with an appropriately silly expression, and Ellone managed a laugh at her friend's antics. Zell himself grinned and looked away, glad he could get a l bit of mirth from his old orphanage comrade. She had been through a lot today, and Zell knew she had to be made of some stern stuff to be laughing so shortly after having her life being threatened.
"Zell," Ellone added a few moments later. The brawler glanced back to where she was sitting, and noticed her watching him intently. "I . . . I just want to thank you, for what you did."
"Me?" Zell echoed. "Oh, it was all your dad's idea, actually. But I did help everyone out. When I heard you were being held by that sicko Simmons, I swear, it was either me or Laguna who would take him out. Laguna beat me to it, though."
"And that's it, Zell," Ellone continued quietly. "You were going to risk everything to save me. I knew that you had survived the train attack, and would be coming for me. It gave me a lot of strength, even when they were ready to do some very nasty things to me."
"Don't worry," Zell replied, standing up and crossing the bridge. He put a heavy, calloused hand on her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "I promise you that I'll keep you safe from here on, okay? Make me your unofficial bodyguard, eh?"
"I'd like that," Ellone answered with a smile, setting her hand on his. "Thank you."
"Stop running, little SeeDs, and bring my prize back!" came a disembodied voice, resounding off the dilapidated fortress walls. Serra was forging ahead, just in front of the SeeDs, while Irvine helped a limping Victor run as fast as he could. Meanwhile, Selphie kept their rear covered, slamming a door shut behind them and using a fire spell on the metal lock to seal it shut.
"Did I ever mention," Irvine muttered, "that I hate Sorceresses?"
"You just hate magic," Selphie replied.
"No, no, magic is fine," Irvine replied quickly. "I like magic. What I don't like are stupid Sorceresses using it totoy with us."
As the sharpshooter was speaking, Serra rounded a corner just ahead. There was a scream, and an eruption of flame, and she backed away, startled but not terrified. She waved the others to follow her around the corner, and they did, hopping over the scattered dust from one of the White Robes who had apparently strayed too close to the mystery woman.
"Okay, another question, while we're dodging the crazy uber-bitch," Selphie piped in. "What exactly is going on here?"
"I . . . I'm not sure," Serra replied after a moment's hesitation, definitely sounding uncertain. "At least you know why they're afraid of me, I guess."
"They pop up like Bite Bugs in the face of fire when they're around you," Irvine clarified. "But why?"
"They . . ." she trailed off, and then started floating further down the hallway.
"Get back here, you worthless, barren SeeDs!" Veronica's voice sounded in the hallway. "There's no way to escape. Keep running and you'll just die tired!"
"Well, gee, that's great incentive for us to stop," Irvine deadpanned as Serra opened a door ahead of them. They found themselves looking upon the spiraling staircase of a tower, leading both up and down.
"Which way?" she asked after a moment.
"You don't know your way around this place?" Selphie asked, and Serra shook her head.
"I came here because I . . . Well, I was hiding."
"From who?" Irvine questioned. As he was asking, the sharpshooter grabbed a pouch from within his coat, and pulled out a bottle of healing potion.
"You," Serra replied immediately. The SeeDs, excepting Victor, who was starting to get dizzy from his wounds, looked at her in only mild surprise.
"Why are you hiding from us?" Irvine asked, proceeding to pour the potion over Victor's severe wound.
"People . . . they don't understand . . . ." Serra shook her head after a few moments. She looked around, and then up and down. As she was doing so, Irvine turned his attention back to Victor's injury, but blinked in shock when he saw that it was barely mending itself like it should have.
"The hell?" he muttered, and Victor, skin pale, shook his head.
"It has to be the same thing that's sapping our magic," he muttered weakly. "Its taking the potion's healing energies and makingthem useless."
"The Sorceress, you called her," Serra cut in, looking back up. "She's up there, waiting for us."
"How do you know?" Selphie asked.
"I can feel her power," Serra whispered. "Its enormous. I don't want to see it any closer! We have to go down, now!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Irvine asked quickly. "Down? As in, deeper into this fortress? That's not conducive to escaping."
"Better than going up," Selphie replied. "We can't take on Veronica with our weakened magic. We can't go back the way we came, either. We have to go down."
Serra glanced between both of the SeeDs, obviously afraid, and not just for herself.
"We can paste that bitch," Irvine countered. He then paused, and shook his head. "But I'd rather get some backup first. Running around with a half-conscious SeeD and weak magic is not a good way to tackle another crazy Sorceress. Down it is."
"So, that it?" asked Xu as Squall held up his wrist. The SeeD Commander nodded, glancing down at his arm as Doctor Kadowaki wrapped a dressing around his wound.
"Illarra is in custody, and the majority of her group are dead," Squall replied. "Everyone is safe and alive, and Zell is inbound with Laguna and Ellone." Kadowaki tied off the dressing, and Squall rotated his wrist. The bandage stayed on tightly.
"Thanks," Squall replied, and she nodded.
"That bandage should stay on tightly enough that you won't have to worry about it interfering in combat," Kadowaki explained. "Though I certainly hope you don't end up having to fight again anytime soon. You've been through enough as it is."
Squall nodded and stood up. A few moments later he and Xu were outside of the infirmary, heading toward the central elevators.
"We had Illarra locked up in the brig down below, but not before we checked her," Xu continued. "You were right. She did have Guardian Forces on her, though only a couple. Specifically, Bahamut and Leviathan."
"Bahamut?" Squall echoed. "Where did she get him?"
"We don't know," Xu replied with a shrug. "That's pretty low on our list of questions we want to ask her, but we'll be waiting a few days before we begin the interrogation process. Let her defenses wear down with a lack of sleep and food. I'd prefer to get more aggressive, but the headmaster refuses to use force in interrogations. Besides, judging by what you said, pain won't make her talk anyway."
"Right," Squall replied after a moment. "I don't think would work on her. She's too psychotic to really do much good. I'm not sure how we can interrogate her, myself. Not even sleep and nutritional deprivation may break her."
"We'll think of something," came a voice ahead of the pair, and both SeeDs looked ahead, to see Cid Kramer standing along the path. Squall hesitated for a moment, and then walked forward, extending his hand. Cid took it.
"Welcome back, Squall," Cid stated with a smile.
"You were able to patch that message through from Ellone, weren't you?" Squall asked, and Cid nodded. "Thank you."
"We knew it would be the easiest way to get to you, though Mayor Dobe is having a fit since his communications network was hacked."
"He can get over it," Squall replied. "I'm just glad I didn't kill anyone today. Except the terrorists."
"Indeed," Cid replied. "Though the one you brought in alive is somewhat . . . Disturbing."
"I know," Squall said, shaking his head. "I don't understand her at all. But some of the things she said are . . . ." He trailed off.
"Well get her to talk, eventually," Cid replied. "In the meantime, we need you to get some rest. Zell, President Loire, and Ellone should be here within a few hours. Both you and Rinoa deserve some time off for everything you've done today."
"Yes, Headmaster," Squall answered after a moment. "I think I'll do just that."
"This is getting us nowhere," Selphie muttered as the group paused for a moment, Irvine and the badly wounded Victor panting from the exertion. They looked around, scanning the long passageway they had been running down. The interior of the structure was labyrinth of halls, chambers, and locked doors that they didn't have time to kick open. Selphie was positive that they had run down this hallway three times before, and now . . . .
"Little SeeDs, trapped like rats in a sinking ship," Veronica's voice drifted toward them. "I know you're running scared. Why not just stop and give up? I'll make it quick . . . ."
"Yeah, yeah, stick your head out, bitch," Irvine responded loudly, tired of the running game. "I got a special couple of rounds waiting to be introduced to your face!"
Victor suddenly groaned in pain, clutching his injury. Selphie quickly stepped to the SeeDs side and cast a potent healing spell over it, but the magic barely seemed to even brush his injury. The Trabian SeeD shook his head.
"We have to get out of this place," he said weakly. "We have to figure out what keeps stealing all our magic."
"I agree," Irvine replied, glancing to where Serra was supposed to be. He was surprised, but really only slightly, when he saw she had vanished.
"Now where did our lost guide wander off to?" he mused, and as if to answer his question, he saw her emerge from a side corridor further down the passage, and quickly waving her hands.
"Fresh air!" she called, and the two words energized the trio. Irvine hefted Victor, and the two SeeD started hobbling as fast as they could, while Selphie ran ahead.
"I felt fresh air down the hallway!" Serra continued, excitedly. "There must be a way up onto the surface up ahead!"
"What are we waiting for?" Selphie demanded. "Go, go, go!"
They dashed through the hallways, following right behind Serra as she led the way. They, too, could smell the cool Trabian air as it drifted down the passages, and that strengthened their resolve and speed, exciting the escaping group of SeeDs.
Irvine watched Serra as she seemed to glide down the hall, her feet not touching the stone floor at all. It seemed strange to him, though in light of all the other weirdness going on around here, Irvine didn't think much of it. Crazy guys in white robes, lunatic Sorceresses, creepy castles, and disappearing magic . . . Adding in a strange flying girl who made the bad guys explode when they got too close almost made sense in a way.
As Irvine was running, Serra spun around, still flying in the direction they were heading, and waved over her shoulder.
"I can feel the outdoors!" she shouted, smiling. "We're almost safe!"
It was, at that moment, that the world decided to take a particularly cruel turn for the worse. Even as Serra was speaking, Irvine saw, for an instant, a hair-thin line of red light cross over her body, and skittered to a halt. Selphie did as well, and as Serra paused, her expression shifting to one of confusion, three words shot through the sharpshooter's mind.
Infrared sensor, shit!
"Serra, stop!" Irvine shouted, and she came to a complete halt in mid-float.
That was a mistake.
Directly in front of her, a wall of steel bars shot straight up, cutting Serra off from the three SeeDs. She jerked back in shock, and then rushed forward, grabbing the bars, surprise and fear apparent on her face.
An instant later, and with another screech of metal on stone, a second set of bars shot up, directly behind her.
"What's going on?" she cried out in confusion as Selphie rushed to the bars. Gritting her teeth, the tiny SeeD pulled as hard as she could pitting all of her GF-enhanced strength against them. Selphie, though, was not overwhelmingly strong even with junctions, and the bars refused to budge.
"I can't move them!" she cried. Selphie stepped back and raised a hand, attempting to discharge a bolt of magic, but nothing came forth. Irvine raised his rifle, and then lowered it after a second. He couldn't fire his weapon; any round strong enough to destroy the bars would also hurt or even kill Serra.
"We'll get you out of there, just hold on," Selphie continued, and Serra nodded, looking around the interior of the trap, trying to see if there was any mechanism she could trigger herself.
An instant later, however, the trapped girl suddenly began to sink into the floor, or rather, the floor itself began to sink, taking her with it.
"Irvine, Selphie!" she called, reaching up through the bars as the floor dropped away.
"Hold on!" Irvine shouted, and he snapped up his rifle, pointing it at the bars. He threw the risks aside and fired a blast, launching a grenade round that exploded against the steel rods. The explosion momentarily deafened him with its close proximity, and a brilliant flash filled the room, but when his vision returned and instant later, the bars were only slightly warped by the detonation. Serra, however, had disappeared, and a new floor panel slid into place, locking her away below them.
"Dammit!" the sharpshooter shouted, punching the floor painfully.
"We'll find her," Selphie said quickly, looking back the way they had come. "We have to get to her before Veronica does."
"Yeah, her," Irvine added. He glanced back at Victor, who was leaning against the wall, even paler than normal. His pant leg was soaked with blood, and a slender trail of crimson marked their path.
"Hell, he's bleeding out," Irvine muttered, running over to the injured SeeD's side. He quickly checked the wound, shaking his head; he should have seen how bad this was getting.
"Leave me," the wounded SeeD said after a second, weakly. "I can't make it, and I'm slowing you two down."
"We just lost Serra, I ain't fucking letting you die here!" Irvine snapped back. He tore off part of his cold-weather jacket and tied it around the injury. "This thing is worse than I imagined it could be."
"I'm not going to survive," Victor continued, and straightened himself up. "I said for you to leave me. You can make it on your own, but not with dead weight."
"You're not dead yet," Selphie answered.
"Though he will be soon, heh."
The SeeDs turned their attention to the way they had come, and were not surprised to see the familiar purple and green garments of Sorceress Veronica strolling down the hallway. The crazed, evil Sorceress was wearing a satisfied smirk on her face as she looked them over.
"Oh, I see you lost that annoying companion of yours. How unfortunate. It seems she fell into one of our traps. Don't worry, I'll find her and take good care of her, trust me."
The SeeD said nothing for a moment, and then Irvine grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of shells, special ones marked with blue and white Estharian script.
"What are you going to do with that?" Veronica asked with a smirk. "You know your bullets can't get past my telekinetic shield. Its like firing blanks at me." Behind her, filing up on all sides, came the familiar men in white, brandishing all manner of archaic weapons.
"Right," Irvine continued, loading the round into his rifle. He leveled it at Veronica, who waited with arms crossed. It was his turn to smirk, however, and, with casual ease, he spun the rifle around his trigger finger. "I can't get past your shield myself. So, we go for Plan B."
He glanced down at Selphie.
"Duck."
She blinked in surprise at his order, and then hit the floor as Irvine came around, pointing the rifle at the wall beside her. He depressed the trigger, and a tremendous flash of white light filled the corridor. A bolt of raw energy erupted from Irvine's weapon, tearing into the wall he was aiming at. When the light dissipated, the spot he'd shot had become a wide hole, leading into another passage. He then turned toward Veronica, grinning, and fired a second shot of his specialized Estharian Pulse ammunition. The white light swept toward her, threatening to consume the Sorceress in a firestorm of annihilation, but she threw up a defensive shield before her to absorb the destruction. White Robes on both sides vanished in the wave of destruction, though more rushed up after them to fill their places.
In the furious display of technological power, Irvine grabbed Victor, and both he and Selphie rushed through the hole in the wall and into the passage beyond. However, Victor suddenly tore free of Irvine's grasp, with surprising strength, and turned back to the entrance of the new passage.
"Get out of here, now!" he ordered, and both of the other SeeDs hesitated.
"I said run!" Victor snapped, looking back at them, his wound suddenly forgotten in a surge of adrenaline. "Get the hell out of here! I'll slow them down!"
"But you'll-" Selphie began to protest.
"I'm dead anyway," he responded. I won't last until we get out of here, not without medical help or a healing spell. Now go!" Victor raised his sword, pointing it at Irvine's face. "Or I'll kill you myself!"
Irvine locked eyes with the valiant SeeD, and finally nodded. He glanced back to Selphie, and then, at the same time, both of them raised their hands, palm inward, covering their right eyes. Victor nodded, but did not return the SeeD salute, conserving his energy.
"Go!" he shouted. "Get out of here!" The other pair, quickly turned, and with one last look back, ran forward into the passage. Victor turned back toward the hallway they had just left, and saw Veronica stalking forward, enraged, her minions on both sides. Victor raised his sword fearlessly.
The White Robes surged forward, and he met them with flashing steel and indomitable spirit. His blade sliced flesh, severing hand and arms, stabbing into hearts and cleaving through necks. Heads rolled, robed madmen screamed, and Victor fought on. In his final moment, the Trabian SeeD fought with the strength of a dozen men, taking hits and trading them back with lethal counters. A dozen cuts or stabs found his body, but twice that many foes fell to the floor before him, until they had to scramble over the corpses to get at him. He struck them as well, rending their flesh and leaving the mad minions of Veronica Anderson in tattered ruin on the floor.
The tide abated after several minutes of ferocious, savage conflict, and Victor fell back, panting uncontrollably. His wounds began to bleed more profusely, and the SeeD's eyes lost focus for a moment.
"Enough," came a call, and Victor focused his vision as the wall of corpses was swept aside. Veronica strode through the masses of her slaughtered minions, shaking her head.
"Such a waste," she whispered, and then laughed as she turned her eyes back to Victor.
"Waste of what?" Victor shot back. "It looks pretty good . . . to me . . . ."
"Indeed," Veronica replied. "This is no loss, I assure you. There are plenty more of these worthless rejects for me to utilize a minions. Rather, I meant the waste was of your apparent skill and talent, as well as your life in this final struggle."
"I'm dead anyway," Victor replied. "At least I went down fighting. Step a little closer, make my day."
"No, thank you," Veronica responded, and gestured toward Victor. The Trabian was suddenly raised up into the air by Veronica's sadistic will. He watched, incapable off resisting, as his blood dripped off his legs and pooled on the floor. His attention was stolen when Veronica held a hand up, blackness crackling around her like raging electricity.
She thrust her hand at him, and the blackness shot through Victor's body, ripping through his muscles. His mouth was wrenched open in an involuntary scream, and then he was launched against the wall, slamming into it hard. He fell into a slumping stand, his weight supported by the rough stone wall, his muscles crying in agony. He watched in helpless fascination as Veronica strode forward, toward his form.
The Sorceress raised an index finger, and a tiny ball of shadow appeared there, resting at the tip of her finger. She smiled as she walked past the doomed SeeD, and brushed her finger across his forehead.
"It was a valiant attempt," she admitted as she strode past. The ball of shadow passed into Victor's skull, and his entire body jerked once, in a final spasm of protest as the dark energy coursed through the SeeD.
Victor's sword, still clenched tightly in his hands, clattered to the floor as his body went limp, dropping to the ground. The White Robes filed past his body silently as Veronica passed through the portal Irvine had cut, and continued the pursuit.
"These hallways never end!" Selphie complained as they ran down yet another passage.
"If I ever find the guy who designed this place, I'm going to punch him in the jaw," Irvine commented. He stopped near a corridor that branched off, and glanced down it.
"This way!" he called.
"Why?" Selphie asked, and the sharpshooter shrugged.
"I've got a hunch this takes us someplace important," he replied. "Plus, there's a big metal door down there that doesn't look like it's supposed to be part of the castle."
Not really having any better ideas, Selphie followed Irvine down that hallway, hurrying as quickly as they could. They didn't know how much time Victor had bought them, but they weren't going to waste it. They drew closer to the door Irvine had spotted, and it seemed he was right. Unlike the heavy, cast-iron or wooden doors throughout the rest of the castle, this one was made of industrial-grade steel, and features rivets, hinges, and red industrial paint. Selphie tried the door, but found it locked.
"Taken care of," Irvine responded to the barred door, and he loaded and fired an armor-piercing round into the lock. The shell blew off the lock and almost took out the door as well, and the two SeeDs burst through, into a new passageway.
"Definitely not part of the castle," Selphie stated, as they found themselves running down a corridor featuring concrete walls, metal piping, and industrial lamps along the ceiling. "You get the feeling there's a lot more going on down here than there seems to be?"
"Definitely," Irvine replied as they neared an intersection in the passage. He paused, listening intently, and then held up a hand, warning Selphie to stay still.
Footsteps sounded down the hallway, and Irvine poked the tip of his rifle around the corner, using the metal's reflective exterior as a mirror. He hesitated, surprised, as he saw who was approaching. He glanced back at Selphie, not certain what to make of this.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Estharian soldiers," Irvine answered, and he glanced back down at his rifle. The group of Estharians had paused, conferring among themselves, and then drew weapons, and cautiously advanced.
"Don't look too friendly," he commented, and then shook his head. "If they're down here, they may be working with Veronica."
"Estharian troops working for her?" Selphie echoed, understanding the implications.
"No time to guess as to their intentions," Irvine replied, and Selphie nodded.
"Take 'em down, fast," she added, and he nodded, loading a cartridge of rubber bullets into his rifle, the kind that would stun over kill. He wanted to avoid killing these men if he could . . . One never knew in this kind of situation. The sharpshooter glanced at Selphie, who nodded, clenching her nunchaku tightly, and they stepped around the corner.
The Estharians approaching froze for an instant as the two SeeDs raised their weapons.
"Its them," one of the soldiers quickly stated. "Blast them!"
Definitely unfriendly! Irvine thought as he fired a burst, launching three stun rounds at one man's head. The rounds struck his helmet, rocking the soldier's head back, while the others rushed forward. Selphie smacked her nunchaku into one man's gut, and he doubled over, but only for an instant, standing straight up again. Another closed in, raising his shotaxe high, and Selphie smacked his as well, the iron bar cracking into the side of the soldier's head. He was spun around, but recovered instantly and came back in, surprising the small SeeD. The other soldier she was fighting rushed her as well, chopping viciously with his axe, seemingly uninjured by the nunchaku strikes.
Irvine fired into his tow foes, his rounds striking their bodies but doing little more than knocking them back a half-step with each burst. He watched in amazement as the soldiers took his stun rounds without much regard, absorbing the impacts like parched sponges. After several moments of alternating fire between the two men, the cartridge of stun rounds ran out, and Irvine decided it would be better to switch to more lethal ammunition. He pulled back a level on his rifle, switching it back to standard ammunition, and raised his weapon. He fired a quick shot, blasting one man's shoulder. The soldier whipped around, and then rushed forward, heedless of the injury.
Who are these guys? Irvine wondered as he fired another barrage of shots, taking the soldiers in the chest. However, like the White Robes, they seemed to shrug off the injuries and kept coming. Apparently content to use their plasma rifles like clubs, the two soldiers drew close and started swinging viciously. Irvine ducked and weaved, slipping away from the enemy soldiers for a moment, and fired another shot, this time into one man's faceplate. He screamed and fell back, clutching his helmeted head as strange maroon-colored blood erupted.
Irvine was so surprised by the freakish blood that he took a swinging rifle to the gut and was doubled over, almost heaving his breakfast from the impact. There was no way a normal human was that strong! Unless . . . .
Selphie fell back desperately, fending off her two foes with everything she had. Still, her skills as a SeeD were not enough to keep up with the two men, who moved as quickly as her, and seemed to take her nunchaku strikes without flinching. She actually hard one of the men chuckle as he came forward, heedless of the iron bar that slammed into his chest, and kicked her viciously in the shoulder. She was spun around hard, and then something hard cracked into the back of her neck. She fell forward, vision filling with stars, and something hit her in the head, blasting her into darkness.
"Selphie!" Irvine cried, and managed to toss himself back from a strike that would have caved in his skull. His fingers moved rapidly, loading a shotgun cartridge into his rifle, but as the other two soldiers turned away from their unconscious prey, shotaxes raised, he knew things were going to be tough.
It was then that the other soldier shot forward, plasma rifle smashing into Irvine's chin and rocking his head back. He felt something grasp his rifle, and the weapon was hurled away. Then, there was an impact in his chest, and Irvine smashed into the wall hard, his skull striking the concrete behind him and dazing the sharpshooter. Darkness swept up to claim his vision, but as he watched, the four soldiers, including the wounded one, towered over him, staring down at the collapsed SeeD.
"Get 'em down to Iceblood," one of the men ordered coldly, and then Irvine's mind sank into shadow.
-
Dangit, about time I finishedIrvine and Selphie'spart of the story. Okay, now that that's taken care of, we can relax a little bit. There'll be a bit more dialogue and a lot less action next chapter, though rest assured, there will be some shocking revelations and a slew of new twists as well. And soon, we may discover more about some of our mysterious new characters, especially Serra, Alucard, and the weird little girl Crell was speaking with.
Peptuck Episode II: ATTACK OF THE SHOUT-OUTS!
Leonhartilly: Dang, that was fast, wasn't it? I was bored, I had the soundtrack, and I thought, "Hey, I've been waiting for this fight scene, myself!" So, I wrote it. Boom, it was done virtually overnight.
E: Yeah, it was based off RE4, obviously. I think I said that last time, didn't I? Maybe. Meh.And yep, I knew people would like to see Randolph come back.
Time spent varies. Last chapter was about six hours in one day, on and off. Generally, for a chapter this size, I spend about five to six hours typing it, total. Tack another few hours onto that spending time organizing the story and developing dialogue.
DBZ Fanfiction Queen: What? You expect me to kill off a villian that quickly? No way! She will get what's coming to her, though not before a lot of questions about Illarra and her past have been asked and answered.
Quistis will kick ass. She and Alucard make an excellent fighting team. Expect to see them working together sometime in the future.
Blech. Resident Evil movies. Hated them, they wer enothing like the games. Excepting RE4.
No, Raine isn't the Chimera, precisely. The Chimera has actually been mentioned before in this story, but only in passing, and by their real name. (Mwaha! Watch me use indefinite pronouns to disguise gender!) Its not Laguna, Raine, or anyone you'd actually expect.
Aha! I was hoping someone would notice that aspect of Illarra's personality. Yes, she does sound aroused by Squall as much as she hates him. That's intentional. Trust me, she is rather . . . bonkers, obviously. For reference to the characters who are similar to her, she is equal parts MGS's Liquid Snake and Guilty Gear's I-No. Basically, psychotic, horny, sadistic, evil, ambitious, crazy-ass lunatic bitch who has an extreme axe to grind with the main character.
I was supposed to be at Parris Island about, oh, a month ago now, but I was medically disqualified. I'm trying to get around that, though.
For inspiration, I look at stories I've read, watched, or heard about, and think to myself "Hey, this idea sounds cool. What were to happen if this and this were applied to it?" or "I like this character. I think I could use this aspect of them here..." etc. My characters are often composites of other characters, with twists put on them and dramatic changes. like I said, I mixed elements ofI-No and Liquid Snake together, and then added my own ideas, backstory, and history, and you get Illarra. That's the way my mind works. So, to a degree, I do take aspects of other works and modify them to my own ends. That's why I think I'm so good at novelizations, myself.
Chris Ganale: Bah. Nothing matches the GGXX soundtrack for the kind of fight scenes I write. Also,I hope you spotted the obvious stormtrooper reference in this chapter.
Platonic1: Hey, you're LittleGenius90, aren't you? Anyway, Illarra did lose, because you don't screw with Squall. And Nida is currently flying Garden, in between stints as a stunt double and cultivating a rich career as a used styrofoam salesman.
OniRazz: Well, duh. I am using the genetics concept from Metal Gear, though to a different degree. Genetics links people together in interesting ways, and I wanted to create a character who absolutely hates Squall, at her heart and core. And Seifer will be back, hopefully sometime soon. He wojn't play a really critical role until . . . ha! Thought I was going to spoil something, huh? No dice, pal!
JadeAlmasy: Squall's going to get his rest . . . though he won't get one for a while afterward, heh.
Daniel Wesley Rydell: That's an original thought! I didn't expect anyone to guess Irvine was the traitor! No, he isn't, though. Good guess, but no cigar for you.
Katy: Trust me, you have no idea how deep this runs. It goes down to the very . . . wait, I ain't talking! I might spoil something! You attentative darlings might figure out the ultimate secrets beforeI am ready to reveal 'em!
Solid Shark: Very, very deliberate. Its got a lot of parallels with the MGS storyline involving liquid and Solid, but I've substantially changed it to fit my vision. Suffice it to say, the idea of genetics and super-soldiers was the basis for that background.
Prodigy: Eating is for the gluttonous, and sleep is for the dead! Well, Squall didn't say that, but I had Zell do it instead. :P Don't ever say I didn't use reviewers' ideas!
Kimahrigirl: My primary ideas revolving around Illarra are the concepts of "serpent","hatred", "insanity" and "lotus flowers". A lot of her stuff is purple in color, because of the whole lotus theme I've got going on. In original drafts of the story, Illarra had a criminal/terrorist organization named "Lotus" that was supposed to be a rivalagainst SeeD, complete with junctions, GFs, magic, Limits, everything.
Tain Shari: Heh. I like it when people like my villians. Illarra is the major one at the moment, but there are a few more (Veronica, Crell, Malachi, the mysteious little girl) who have their own distinct personalities and agendas.
Irvine and Selphie are going to find a lab, though what's being researched . . . well, wait and see.
Psylockian Emperor: You know what? I like you. You're mean to me, and I like it when an author is critical, not just spouting praise. Sure, it hurts hearing criticism, but its like a shot: uncomfortable, but good for you.
Anyway. Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I could really use those, maybe to help me round out my characters' personalities.
The Malachi vs. Zell fight had specific purposes. It was cool, but I needed it to show just how dangerous Malachi and Crell's group was. If they can create a soldier who can kick Zell's ass like that, then it lends a lot of credence to thestatement that "I'm the future." It also established Malachi was a dangerous opponent, and created him as a rival for Zell, in a way. Also, if i dragged the knife struggle on for too long, then that was intentional. I wanted to stretch that battle out,to make it tense and show, again, that Malachi was dangerous, and that Zell was in serious danger of death at that moment.
I left out how the Ragnarok was able to locate the heroes mainly because an explanation of such simply didn't fit. The whole purpose behind that chapter was to be quick, and to rapidly show the buildup to to Squall's desperate charge. If I put in some exposition as to the location of the hangar door or how Ragnarok and Raptor Squadron found the entrance, it would kill the flow and progression. I didn't want that, so I left it out. It was a tough call, but I had no place it fit while creatingthe overalls tructure of that chapter. (as an aside, one thing I hate about this kind of chaopter updating is that explanations that would appear in later chapters don't appear for a while, which makes current chapters seem like they have plot holes. Its very annoying.) Also, its easy to determine who the badguys are: just shoot the guys shooting at you. There's plenty to blow up, so determining who shoot isn't that difficult.
Also, you messed up there about the general, or anyone but Squall, crying. Squall was the only one who did that. Everyone else just simply stood down, and Randolph helped Squall stand up. Nobody else was crying.
Elachim: Ay ay ay! Almost missed your review!
Yes, the knife trick. Standard commando technique. Don't leave home without it.
"Chakram" is one of those silly words that is the same plural as it is singular, much like "katana" or a lot of other foreign words.
Yes, Simmons died. May he burn in hell, that sick bastard. It felt good killing him, and using Laguna himself as the instrument.
I knew people would like those transitions. I hooked onto that idea like a rabid pitbull, and refused to let such an awesome idea go.
Yes. Obviously, as this chapter demonstrated, things are very intricately connected, with veronica's castle being connected with Iceblood Prison, which it seems Crell's people run. Illarra, Crell, Malachi, and Veronica all have important, critical positions within one massive conspiracy.
Wow. I didn't actually draw any comparisons between the sniper operation in FFVIII and the one here. Shocking, I know. Maybe its just because I have a short attention spa - ooh, a butterfly!
Wait, where was I? Oh, yeah. Aha! That's how I spell"sheathe" and "sheath"properly. I'm taking notes here.
Lex's style is, again, reminiscent of a specific character I like: Johnny from Guilty Gear, and his special move, Mist Finer, which is a lethal iaijutsu strike. Lex managed to get out of that situation because he's afucking badass, that's how. That's all you need to know.
I actually laughed out loud when you commented on the head-butt and headaches. I didn't even know I'd written that, myself!
Yes. Hyne is playing a role in here. I say nothing about Hyne, but she is present. Also, my story is fairly well-planned out. I've got the bare-bones progresison of the story, though I only work on the specific details and action itself when I get to that general arc of the story.
"Once Squall and Seifer learn of..." What indeed? Let's just say that,w ell, the true scope of the story has yet to have been revealed. BAD THINGS are going to happen. Good Things, too, but they don't get the caps-lock importance like the BAD THINGS do. :P
Yes, the fight between Zell and Malachi is manga-ish. Especially Lex's return to the battle, from who-knows-where. And again, Lex survived because he's better than you, that's how. :P
Yes, I'm evil thatw ay. I have the whole relationship between Squall, Illarra, and Squall's family, as well as the Chimera, planned out. The truth will be revealed in the Iceblood Prison arc of the story. Remember Seifer's scene earlier? He mentions two doctors, who will be ofgreat importance.
Illarra's remark about stealing destiny is more from her insanity than anything else. Remember, whatever she says, its mostly because she's fuckin' loopy. I am stealing a bit of inspiration from Daz's work, but that's why I mentioned beforeI began the story that this was inspired by his work. I need a villian who hates Squall more than anything else, and the idea of a stolen destiny makes perfect sense in that regard. Squall hasn't lived long enough to make enemies any other way, really. At least she's not his twin sister from the future coming back in time to conquer this time.
Answers as to, well, everything may come sooner than you expect. In the next story arc, in fact, a lot more is going to be revealed and answered. Seifer, technically, doesn't have the genes of the Chimera, I'll say that much. He's a special case. He does, however, have a special relationship I'm not going into at this point.
My titles...well, I use whatever I think of. I'm going for a theme of one-word titles, and I throw out a word I think fits in some regard with either the chapter in general, or with its placement within the series as a whole. Some are just ideas bouncing off each other, like the "Stillness" and "Motion" chapters.
Serra is the big secret here. I'm not saying anything about here. Even the slightest clue might give up important information about her. I will say, however, that she is possibly one of the most important characters in the story. Precisely who and what she is, however, will remain a complete mystery untilI chose to reveal them. Suffice it to say, you will be shocked.
Good guess as to the traitor. Wrong, though. Let me throw out some clues here: First, he is, obviously, male. He's appeared in this story at least once. He's affiliated with Garden, and able to access much of Garden's interior. He's also not one of the three male heroes of FFVIII, nor is he Seifer, or Cid. Those are your clues.
That's everything, right? Awesome.
Until next chapter!