Chapter 17: Assault
"Go, go, go!" shouted one of the SeeD Captains as dozens of soldiers poured off the ramps, the disciplined SeeD warriors immediately forming a perimeter around the pair of Ragnoroks as they disgorged more men into the snowy plains of Trabia. Four hundred SeeDs fanned out from the airships in less than a minute, and the two large aircraft immediately rose as the SeeDs seemed to melt into the snow, sweeping toward a ridge overlooking the path that the Estharian advance would follow. The airships rocketed away to a nearby wooded region, where they would wait until the SeeDs called for their aid.
As the Ragnaroks' engine roars faded into the distance, the SeeDs mounted the ridge, roughly a quarter of their number moving to the top while the others moved around the side of the wide, quarter-mile-long rise. Quistis, Zell, and Rinoa were the first to the top of the natural formation, and looked out over the plains with long-range scanning binoculars.
"See 'em?" Zell asked, looking to the east, in the general direction of the enemy advance.
"No, not yet," Quistis replied. "We still have time." She pressed a finger to her ear, activating the unit-wide radio. "A Company, set up your packages along the edge of the ridge, and hurry. B Company, stand-by and prepare to summon GFs on my command. C and D Companies, flank the ridge, and get behind cover. When the Estharians arrive, its going to get ugly, and we'll need you to keep them off our backs. Painters, mark sectors A, C, and D."
Quistis heard a slew of acknowledgements as the SeeDs fanned out,three-fourths of their forces flanking the ridge while the others moved forward, planting mines along the ridge and across the ground in front of it. A squad of SeeDs leveled laser targeting designators at specific points beyond the ridge, and waited for Quistis' next command to call in air support. The last group of SeeDs took up positions on top of the ridge.
"Don't worry, Quistis," Zell assured her, patting her on the shoulder. "We'll keep them busy."
"They won't be too happy when they see what we've got cooked up for them," Quistis added with a slight smile, and Zell nodded, before moving down the ridge to one of the defensive positions.
"I know we've got a lot of firepower," Rinoa said quietly, "but we're up against a division here. That's over ten thousand Estharian troops. There's no way we can hold them."
"I know," Quistis answered solemnly. "Well keep them busy for as long as we can. With air support, we should hold out for a while, but even so . . ." Quistis shook her head.
"We're SeeDs," Rinoa said after a second, firmly. "We can hold. And don't forget who you've got on your side." Rinoa clenched a fist, and electricity ran down her arm.
"That's right," Quistis said, smiling. "I almost pity the fools who'd attack us." Rinoa chuckled slightly, and the two women were silent for several moments as Quistis scanned the horizon.
"You're worried about him," Quistis said, breaking the silence, and Rinoa nodded.
"I know he's safe, but still . . . every second he's out there, on his own, with no support, it makes me more afraid. I'm worried he might not come back. Or if he does, will he be the same man when I last hugged him?"
"Squall's the strongest man I know," Quistis replied. "He'll be safe. Trust me, and him. He won't give up. He'll do whatever it takes to get back to you." Rinoa smiled again at her friend's comforting words.
"Thanks," the Sorceress said. She looked across the ridge, and then back to Quistis. "I'd better get into position." Without another word, Rinoa moved down the ridge to her spot, near the center, where she was going to bolster the line against the inevitable enemy assault.
Quistis stood, relatively alone, scanning the horizon, and then suddenly paused. Sighing, she lowered her binoculars, and glanced back behind her.
"I'd ask how you did it, but I know I'm not getting an answer," she said, with a slight huff of annoyance.
Alucard simply chuckled, and walked around beside Quistis, to look out over the horizon. There was an exclamation of surprise form one of the SeeDs nearby as he saw the stranger, but Quistis quickly waved her hands, calming the man down, and signaled that Alucard was an ally. She then turned back to the intruder as he tapped his bearded chin, a faint smile across his face.
"Trabia is wonderful this time of year," he commented. "Unfortunately, my dear, it looks like the beauty will be marred by war. Most sad."
"Right," Quistis answered, looking back at the direction the enemy would approach from. "What are you doing here?"
"Four hundred against ten thousand is not decent odds," Alucard explained. "You might need all the help you can get."
"You're going to fight with us?" Quistis echoed, and the man chuckled.
"I have my reasons for meddling in this affair, I assure you," he stated. "But until those show themselves, I think I'll take some time to assist your forces."
"I think I'd appreciate that," Quistis added with a smile. Suddenly, things started looking a lot better for the small SeeD force.
Eric Malachi was not happy. His mechanized unit was a half-hour behind schedule, and the first advance units were halfway to Trabia Garden. They could expect a SeeD attack at any moment, and they needed their best troops out there. His elite men, a full company of one hundred and forty Elemental soldiers, plus Veronica and her freakish troops, were stuck waiting at the castle, but now, finally, they had received orders to get underway. The Major was infuriated at the delay, uncertain as to why the President himself had ordered a temporary stay in their unit's advance.
As Malachi rounded one of the fast-moving, armored all-terrain combat vehicles that had been dubbed "Zako-class Assault Vehicles" muttering to himself about the delay, he received his answer.
Veronica was standing on the other side of the vehicle, but the Sorceress was not at ease. Her white-robed minions stood at firm attention, and she was standing straight and formal. It took a second for Malachi to figure out why the Sorceress herself was acting that way, but the instant he realized what it was, Malachi stood at stiff attention.
"Your unit is in prime condition, Major," came a quiet, childish voice, and Malachi stared straight ahead, his eyes far above the head of the small brown-haired girl who seemed to stand atop the snow, the tips of her delicate shoes almost hovering over it. The tiny girl, clad in an innocent-looking blue dress and with a charming, childish face, seemed benign and harmless, but both Malachi and Veronica knew all too well what she was capable of. And even more importantly, they knew how dangerous the hulking figure behind the girl was.
It stood tall, over seven feet, and was wrapped in what looked like a strange mixture of jet black robes and a shroud of shadow. A hood was pulled over its head, and a long pole, ending with a long scythe blade, was balanced across its shoulders, the specter's arms resting atop it casually.
"Hades," muttered Malachi, surprised, and the black-cloaked entity turned its hooded head to the soldier. Within the folds of the hood, one could see the face of a surprisingly young man, dark red hair dropping around his eyes, and the entity smiled.
"Malachi, nice to meet you again," said the hooded specter of Hades, with a chuckle. His voice was surprisingly casual and colloquial.
"What brings the two of you out this far?" asked Veronica, as calmly as the Sorceress could manage.
"Destruction," the little girl replied with a smile.
"Of course," Malachi whispered under his breath, but apparently not quietly enough, as Hades turned again to face the soldier.
"Hey, man, you know what floats our boats," the specter said with a laugh. "Death, destruction, mayhem, whatever. Long as something's getting wrecked, we like to see it."
"So you've come out this far just to watch us crush Trabia Garden?" Malachi asked, and the little girl nodded.
"To watch SeeD fall at your hands, or to watch you fall to theirs," she explained, smiling sweetly, which almost made Malachi recoil. "To tell the truth . . . we don't care who wins."
"Will you two be assisting in the battle?" Veronica asked, and Hades shook his head, the hood swaying with the motion.
"Like I said, we're just here to watch," the specter said with a toothy smile. "Esthar, SeeD, Dollet, Galbadia, we don't care. As long as people die."
"If you're not here to help in the battle, then why did you delay our departure?" Malachi demanded. "My men could be fighting SeeD right now."
"Oh, we just wanted to let you know we would be around," Hades stated with a shrug. "Ya'll can leave anytime. Just dropping by to say hi."
The little girl nodded, and let out another slight giggle, before turning around and walking off across the snowy plains, her toes never touching the snow beneath her feet. Hades followed a moment later, and Malachi shook his head as they vanished into the whiteness.
"We've wasted enough time on your games," he muttered. He turned his attention to a nearby lieutenant. "Hey! Get the battalion moving!"
As the vehicles powered up, and gears whirred and engines roared, the two figures moved off across the plains calmly, casually, in the general direction of Trabia Garden. They moved in silence for several moments, before the little girl stopped in her tracks, and cocked her head to the side, as if listening to a distant noise.
"What is it?" Hades asked, stopping as well.
"He's here," she whispered, and then laughed. It wasn't a girlish giggle, but a serious laugh, the kind an adult woman would make.
"Who?"
"Who do you think?" she asked, and Hades froze, before gripping his scythe more tightly as he smiled within his hood.
"Alucard is here . . . oh, yes. This is going to get very interesting."
There were several long moments of silence as the trio inspected one another. Seifer was honestly surprised that people from Garden were actually prisoners at Iceblood, and even more surprised that they were Squall's friends. He recognized Irvine and Selphie, though of Squall's merry little band, they were the pair he was least familiar with.
"The hell?" Irvine asked after a second, and Seifer chuckled.
"What are you two doing here?" the former knight asked, curious. "Never expected to see SeeDs in Iceblood."
"We could ask you the same thing," Selphie replied, and Seifer shrugged.
"I suppose a decent host needs to go first," he said, and then looked back down at the main cavern. "Crell isn't the type of guy to let free thinkers like me run around unchecked. He must have decided that a wild card shouldn't be left alone, because he tried to capture me." The former knight chuckled again, and looked back to the pair before him. "Surprisingly enough, he managed to pull it off. Cost him about forty of his best cyborg troops, but they did capture me. Dragged me here, with complimentary hood and electrical shocks every five minutes, and the Warden tried to make me talk. Naturally, he failed, because I'm not the talkative type, and I don't know anything useful anyway. Once they were done they dumped me down here.
"The big kahuna in charge of the Undercity didn't like me, so I gave him the finger. He attacked me, I gutted him, and took the job. Now I'm the Governor."
Seifer swept his hands out wide.
"Yay. Now. Your turn."
Irvine gave a brief accounting of how they had arrived, punctuated by Selphie's own commentary. He explained the mission to find the "demon," the encounter at the cabin, the chase through the woods, the meeting with Serra, and then their arrival at the castle, their capture andIrvine's subsequent interrogation and the experiments performed on Selphie, ending with Nash's plan to get them to the Undercity and their mad run through the prison to their current location.
"Sounds like it was fun," the Governor commented as the story ended. "So, they've got a timebomb sitting up there waiting to go off?" Seifer looked to Nash, who nodded.
"Once the containment field around Serra weakens enough to trigger her escape, she'll proceed to wreck the facility above," the scientist explained. "It won't take long for the guards to swarm the labs, and while that's happening, we slip out."
"And who'll keep Serra from ripping through the guards like wet tissue paper and then killing us and all my people?" Seifer demanded.
"Me and Selphie," Nash stated, and Selphie reluctantly nodded.
"Nobody else can," she said quietly. "We're the only ones with the power to stop her rampage."
"No, no, no, no no no," Seifer said, shaking his head and waving a hand in the air. "If Serra is even a tenth of what you guys say she is, then no. Selphie may be an Elemental, but you said it yourself, she was just changed. She doesn't have full control of her powers . . . right?" Selphie nodded hesitantly. "Then no, she's not going after Serra. She'll rip through Selphie like she's nothing, and that'll leave you alone to fight Serra. And as good as you are, Nash, you're not up to snuff when it comes to fighting her."
"You have a better plan?" Nash asked, and Seifer grinned.
"Me," he said, pointing a thumb at his chest. "You and me. Face it Nash, you'll need a hardcore motherfucker to fight her, and there's no motherfucker around as hardcore as me."
"What about the prisoners?" Irvine asked, and Seifer pointed at him.
"That's ya'll's job," he said. "You two get my people out of this prison. We'll watch your backs." he glanced at Nash. "And don't try to talk me out of it. Its you, me, and Serra, and no one else, got me?"
"Fine," Nash muttered.
"Then let's get to work," Seifer continued. "We don't have much time to get my people ready for freedom."
Malachi's unit had moved out a short while ago, leaving the exterior of the castle forlorn and empty. The blank Trabian plains were clear and open, allowing for small units of scouts on scout bikes to patrol the perimeter of Iceblood Prison, skirting the walls of Veronica's now empty castle. One pair of bikes circled around the south side of the castle, near a snow drift, and they split up, as usual, to cover both sides of the small hill.
When one of the two scouts came back around, his partner was nowhere to be seen, and he brought his bike around, circling the drift. He immediately saw the other bike hovering quietly over the snow, motionless, with its rider nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, the scout edged toward the still bike.
The snow next to his vehicle exploded upward, and the man spun in time to take a fist across his jaw, which launched him off his bike and into the snow underfoot. The soldier scrambled up to his feet, but then an arm wrapped around his neck, grabbing at the man's weapon hand and holding it tightly, stilling it as if gripped by solid iron. An instant later, the soldier froze as an icy cold knife pressed against his neck.
"Don't move and you don't die," whispered a voice in his ear. "Your buddy is already dead. You want to join him? It doesn't take long to make a little grave for a body in the snow. Now, how do I get into the prison?"
The soldier stood stock still, somewhat off-guard and confused by the speed behind the attack.
"Who are you?" he asked after a second, and the man pressed the knife more tightly against his neck.
"I'm the guy who's going to stab this thing in the side of your head if you don't tell me how to get into the prison," the attacker snarled.
"Wait!" the scout protested. "The prison! The main entrance is in the castle itself, in the basement. But it's well-guarded."
"That's not much good to me, and neither are you if you can't give me another option."
"On the south side of the castle there's a grating in the wall," the soldier added. "It's a vent that leads into the prison's ventilation system. It connects directly to the labs."
"That's very useful information," the man with the knife replied. "I hope it works out, too. If I find out you're lying, I will come back and cut off your head. And with a knife like this, it'll take a while."
"Its true!" the soldier assured him, and the man nodded. Suddenly the soldier was being shoved forward, and his helmet slammed into the armored casing of his bike. He was blasted into unconsciousness, and the man who attacked him buried the soldier beneath the snow drift, just like his dead comrade, and then dragged the bikes to the forest nearby and hid them. The evidence gone, the white-clad man moved to the south side of the castle.
Five minutes and one length of rope later, Squall Leonhart kicked a grating loose in a corridor of Iceblood Prison's secret lab facilities, and dropped to the floor, one hand on his gunblade, and the other sliding his goggles over his eyes. He flicked a switch, and the darkened corridor lit up in the greens and blacks of night vision.
Silently, moving with stealth that would make the Reaper jealous, Squall prowled down the corridor. He kept his eyes open and ears alert for any sound, but heard nothing as he advanced.
After a few moments, a door appeared ahead, and Squall crept up to it. He inched it open, to reveal a large, well-lit chamber, some type of laboratory. There was the usual array of lab equipment, but at the far end of the chamber was a strange dome-like structure, and standing before a holographic panel in front of it was a familiar, diminuative man.
Hans Odine. That bastard . . . .
Squall edged into the chamber, quietly closing the door behind him, and slipped toward the doctor, taking his goggles off. The SeeD drew his knife as he neared, and then grabbed the short man roughly, putting his knife to the doctor's throat.
"You are going to talk to me now, you treasonous son of a bitch, or I will cut you into a dozen tiny pieces."
"Stand by!" Quistis shouted into her radio as the first of dozens of distant vehicles came into her scope. "We have incoming! Get to your positions!"
In Quistis' binoculars, she could see the enemy, coming over the horizon, flying over the white snow. Dozens of light scout bikes leading, followed by Zako light assault vehicles, hovering troop transports, and trailed by sizable, powerful-looking hovering tanks with long-barreled blaster cannons.
Further back, and soon rising into view, however, were what frightened Quistis even more. She could see hulking shapes in the distance, massive, heavily armed walking combat vehicles, moving on insect-like legs as they lumbered across the plains. Quistis didn't know what they were, but they looked positively devastating.
"What are we looking at?" came a call over the radio.
"Looks like a full mechanized division, with support troops," she replied, giving her troops the grim news. "I count at least a hundred scout bikes, plus four to five dozen Zako assault vehicles, and a hundred troop transports in the first wave, backed by about fifteen tanks. There's more beyond them." Quistis paused, letting the news sink in, and then pressed the radio to her eardrum. "Target markers, stand by to send your signals. Stand by . . . " She waited until the enemy drew a little closer.
The vehicles moved forward, close enough that she could make them out without her scope.
"Paint your targets!" Quistis ordered, and the SeeDs marking their targets sent transmissions that would reach back to the Galbadian and Dollet fleets a hundred miles south, who would even then be firing long-range cruise missiles. By the time the missiles arrived, the enemy would already be within the target area and would be annihilated.
"All personnel stand by. GF units, begin summons. Bombers, wait for Alpha command to detonate charges. Combat teams and snipers, move on Bravo. Ragnarok, Render, stand by for strafing on Charlie. Target markers, switch to air support frequencies."
Quistis heard a dozen acknowledgements all around her as she watched the oncoming Estharian army. Even more vehicles could be seen beyond the hulking war machines as they advanced, and she didn't want to guess at what range the walkers could hit her position. Once they started firing, she knew, they would have to retreat. Nothing the SeeDs had, excepting their air support, could probably destroy those things.
The Estharian forces drew ever closer, enough so that Quistis could pick out the details on the oncoming vehicles with her naked eyes. They were almost on top of the blast radius of the mines . . . .
"Get ready," she whispered. "Stand by . . . ."
The enemy moved completely within bombing range.
"Alpha, go!"
The plains of Trabia turned into a hellish inferno as forty-seven explosive charges buried in the snow detonated at the head of the mechanized column as it passed the ridge. Half of the lead vehicles, inluding a majority of the scout bikes, many Zakos, and several transports, were consumed in the firestorm.
"Release GFs!" Quistis shouted, and an instant later, lightning crashed, ice erupted from the ground, snow melted, and stones shifted. A titanic windstorm began as a bird of lightning appeared, Queztocotl flashing into existence. Beside it, Shiva and Ifrit appeared as well, rising from the snow or melting cleanly through it. The shifting stones transformed into the twopowerful Brothers, Sacred and Minotaur, and from the winds appeared Pandamonea, the wind Guardian Force. A dragon of white light emerged from thing air, as did a great bird of flame, and other, powerful, mighty beasts. A dozen GFs materialized in front of the second portion of the column, and at once, energy shot down the length of the mechanized force. Fire, ice, lightning, holy power, and waves of shadow ripped through the armor. Men screamed, Estharian metals buckled, and power cores detonated as the wrath of a dozen Guardian Forces devastated the front of the column. The Brothers and several other GFs crashed into what remained of the vehicles, smashing, cutting, and rending them. A great warrior brandishinga curving sword and riding atop a mightyhorse, dashed among a pair of tanks, and sliced them apart instantly with a single cleave of his blade. Wind ripped through the vehicles, lifting them up in a maelstrom of chaos and casting them about wildly.
Then, one by one, the Guardian Forces vanished, leaving the wrecked Estharian military forces strewn across the plains.
Hot on their heels, however, were twice that many war machines and vehicles, rapidly advancing. Wild bolts of plasma cut through the air as the lead scout bikes and Zako assault vehicles opened fire with their energy cannons. The Estharian fire slammed into the ridgeline, forcing the SeeDs to take cover as the enemy closed in.
"They must know where we are," commented one of the SeeD summoners beside Quistis, and she nodded. Quistis glanced to he south, and smiled as she saw eight dark lines, trailing white contrails, swooping toward their position.
"Everyone duck!" she shouted, and the SeeDs obeyed her command as the eight cruise missiles roared overhead, arced up into the air, and shot down on the oncoming vehicles. The entire battle plain erupted in a tremendous flash of fire and wild smoke and flying debris as the roaring blast assaulted the SeeDs' ears.
Seconds after the utter annihilation of the second wave, yet more Estharian vehicles close in, slamming the ridge with infuriated plasma fire.
"Bravo, mark!" Quistis shouted, and the SeeD combat forces, the majority of her people, opened fire upon the blackened battle plain, launching magic, bullets, grenades, and rockets into the oncoming enemy.
Quistis clutched her rante tightly as Estharian vehicles and troops broke through the lines of destruction and rushed her troops.
"Charlie, go! Get our air support airborne now!"
Below, Quistis saw a volley of concentrated magic slam into a Zako, annihilating the Estharian vehicle, and then, charging across the half-melted snow and mud, came a wave of Estharian infantry, dismounted from vehicles and transports, flanked by scout bikes. SeeDs poured magic and bullets into their ranks, and they traded plasma fire right back. Several SeeDs fell, but dozens of Estharians dropped as they rushed in.
"Charge!" came a shout from one end of the ridge, and the SeeDs rushed out suddenly, led by a single dashing figure, wielding no weapons. Zell Dincht, rushing with neither fear nor hesitation, slammed into the leading edge of the Estharian infantry, throwing back the first man he met with a single punch that sent him spinning back halfway into his own ranks, and then the battle was joined in full as two hundred SeeDs met four times their number in Estharian soldiers and scout vehicles.
"Support them!" came a order from Quistis, and more GFs appeared on the field as Estharian tanks rumbled into view, followed by even more Estharians scouts, light vehicles, and transports. Overhead, the thunder of engines could be heard as the Ragnarok and Render swooped past, machineguns blasting enemy vehicles below in devastating strafing runs.
On the horizon, the hulking walkers drew closer.
Estharian troops and vehicles stormed toward the other end of the ridge as well, but were halted as withering streams of magic and gunfire tore into them. A single massive fiery explosion annihilated a dozen vehicles and fifty Estharian troops, followed by cascading lightning, a slew of icicles, and a whirlwind of shadow magic that left an entire company of Estharians dead as their ranks were mowed down by cheering SeeDs. Quistis nodded as she saw a slender figure standing among the SeeDs, unleashing a stream of small orbs of light that exploded like grenades among the enemy. Rinoa had joined the battle, and the SeeDs backed her fully as she unleashed her Sorceress magic on the oncoming enemy. That flank was secured. Nothing would overrun it for the moment, not with Rinoa guarding it.
Below, several tanks broke through the GFs' wave of annihilation, and turned their cannons toward the ridge. Quistis shouted for everyone to duck, and red energy slammed into the cliff walls, sending several SeeDs to the ground from the shockwaves. However, the fire slackened instantly, and Quistis poked her head above the ridge, to see a figure appear among the tanks.
Grinning widely, Alucard thrust his hand through one tank's side, his arm reaching inside the vehicle. He grabbed something important and twisted it in an angle that was completely unhealthy for the vehicle's operations, and then vanished. An instant later, the tank exploded in a blue fireball as the strange man reappeared above a second tank. With a single punch, he slammed through the top of the vehicle, and ripped off plating. The two crewmen inside looked up in shock as he pointed down into the tank, and a small bolt of purple light shot down into the vehicle. The man leapt off the tank, and then snapped his fingers as he strolled away.
The tank detonated seemingly of its own accord, and Alucard vanished, reappearing next to another vehicle, which he quickly destroyed as well, seemingly with minimal effort.
Across from the tank assault, Zell Dincht's forehead slammed into an Estharian soldier's faceplate, and the man's head was reduced to mush. An axe hacked at Zell's side, but the brawler spun around it and came in behind the chop with an uppercut that sent the soldier flying high above the battlefield. He dropped low and leapt forward, slamming into another group of enemy soldiers and knocking them down. The brawler rose, stomping one man's backbone into fragments, and then kicked a second man away. The flying body took down three other soldiers as Zell grabbed a swinging axe and wrenched it from its owner's hands, and then chopped the man down with his own weapon. Zell thrust his elbow back behind him and crushed the collarbone of another Estharian, and rolled around the dying man, grabbing another and hip-tossing him into the snow. Zell's other fist chased the falling soldier, crushing his helmet, and the brawler leapt back as an axe cut through the space he'd been standing in an instant ago.
The attacking soldier took a step forward, and then toppled over, falling into two pieces. The SeeD who had slain the Estharian whirled around, katana snapping out into the path of another Estharian, chopping h is head off before returning to its sheath in the SeeD's hand.
"Lex!" Zell shouted as he twisted an Estharian's neck at a distinctly lethal angle. "Right side!" The iaijutsu SeeD whirled, katana flickering, and the soldier coming at him fell in half even as he raised his shotaxe. Zell spun around, a right jab pulverizing an enemy soldier's ribcage as Lex cut down a pair of Estharian troops with deft ease.
"Scout bikes!" a SeeD Captian warned, and a dozen SeeDs quickly lined up, facing an equal number of enemy bikes as they swept in. Zell rushed to join them as they fired a slew of magic and guns at the enemy, destroying several of the enemy vehicles before scattering as the enemy drove among them. One bike swerved toward Zell, and he leapt forward, onto the front of the vehicle. Gripping the armored plating, Zell smiled.
"Mine now!" he shouted, and kicked the Estharian off the back of the bike and plopped himself into the seat. He pivoted the vehicle around and poured fire into a squad of Estharian soldiers.
Another pair of scout bikes bore down on Lex. He calmly faced then, one hand gripping his sheath, the other loosely holding his katana. The bikes accelerated, flying toward him at high speeds. Just before impact, Lex stepped between the two vehicles, his arm moving in two rapid blurs. The bikes flew past, and a moment later both of them fell apart, as did their riders, sliced cleanly.
Zell plowed through a platoon of Estharians who desperately dove out of the way, firing as he did so, and came around into to see a tank emerge from the Estharian ground forces and level its cannon at a group of SeeDs. Thinking fast, the brawler fired his weapons, the plasma bolts exploding against the tank's armor and catching its attention. The cannon rotated toward Zell, and he accelerated at full speed toward the vehicle. With one hand guiding the bike, Zell used his other hand to rip off the plating covering the engine and pull loose a couple of cables. Then, he thrust the cables into another portion of the engine, feeding power back into the small fusion generator and initiating a lethal overload of raw power.
The brawler kicked off his speeding vehicle as it neared the tank, and the bike, set to overload, slammed into the heavy Estharian war machine. An instant later, the bike detonated in a blue fireball that swept over the tank and melted off the armor. A few seconds later, the compromised tank detonated as well.
Even as Zell hit the ground, the Estharian forces had come to realize that they were no match for the powerful SeeD detachment in this kind of confrontation. The Estharian troops had begun to pull back, and the SeeDs let them go, refusing to pursue the enemy into what could easily have been a trap. Zell and Lex led the SeeD forces back to the ridge and prepared for the next attack.
"Good work," Quistis whispered over the radio, and glanced down to the other end of the ridge. Rinoa's force had held its ground with remarkable ease, with most of the enemy never even getting close enough to attack the SeeD positions. A blackened killing field lay before their lines, largely due to Rinoa's overwhelming magical power, which had almost single-handedly held the position despite the mass Estharian assault.
"All right, people, get dug back in, we should expect another attack at any time," Quistis ordered over the radio. "They probably won't let us sit here for too long. Get the wounded and dead out of the line of fire, and then-"
Red energy rocketed down the horizon and slammed into the ridge less than fifty feet from Quistis' position. The SeeDs at the point of impact vanished in a flash of pure red light as a quarter of the ridge was vaporized instantly, and most of the remaining SeeD troops positioned there were hurled off their feet, Quistis among them. She tumbled down the side of the ridge, bouncing off rocks and debris, shocked and confused by the impact, and finally crashed down hard near Zell's position.
"Get behind cover!" someone was shouting, and a strong pair of hands hoisted Quistis back up to her feet as her head pounded, ears ringing. An instant later, a second thunder-blast filled the air, and the rest of the ridge vanished in an explosion of brilliant red-gold light.
"Its those walkers!" came another cry as Quistis felt a healing spell wash over her. She looked up, and saw Zell helping her stand and casting the spell over her. She nodded her thanks and grabbed at her radio, which had somehow survived the explosion.
"The walkers are firing on us," Zell added. "Damn, I knew they must have had range, but they're shooting at us from down the horizon!"
"There's no way we can hold," Quistis added, and looked in the general direction of the ridge, to see it reduced to half-molten slag and glass. Anyone not thrown from the first blast was dead, no question about it. Quistis felt sick in her stomach for not considering the danger of clustering at such a position with artillery nearby.
"Retreat!" Quistis shouted over her radio. "Get the Ragnarok and Render over here! We need evac!" There was an acknowledgement, and the two airships overhead swerved, swooping around behind the ridge. Another golden blast of energy flew past, barely missing one of the ships as it set down behind the ruined ridge, ramps lowering. The surviving SeeDs, about two-thirds of the original four hundred, hurried on board, but moved calmly and orderly, covering their retreat.
Render was quickly filled to capacity, and lifted off as Ragnarok remained behind. Quistis lingered with the remaining SeeDs, staying with them until the last of her people was evacuated. The distant walkers were no longer firing, which was a good sign, perhaps. She remained, covering the retreat of the last troops by staying near the ridge's ruins. Her blue eyes scanned the battlefield, looking for anyone else. She remembered Alucard was still out there, but didn't know where he had wandered off to.
For all I know, he's probably beating the religion out of those walkers right now for daring to fire on us.
"We have to pull out!"Rinoa shouted from the ramp, as Zell, Lex, andthe last SeeDs boarded the Ragnarok. Quistis nodded, and turned, hurrying toward the Ragnarok.
Golden light filled her vision, and she heard both Zell and Rinoa scream her name, and Quistis went tumbling through the air. She flailed her arms helplessly as the ground rushed up. She struck something hard, and shadow consumed her awareness.
Odine finished spilling everything. The Elemental Project, Requiem, Virago's plans . . . and Serra.
"You used an unborn child as a test subject?" Squall muttered, and Odine started to nod, before remembering the knife to his throat. Squall narrowed his eyes. That name . . . .
"Yez, yez," he said quickly. "Ze child . . . ze iz only three yearz old, at best. Ze effectz on her are amazing. We haven't even begun to calculate ze full power ze pozzezzez!"
"Where is she?" Squall demanded, tingeing his voice with dark menace. Odine pointed with his nose at the dome across the room, and Squall dragged the doctor over there, knife still poised to cut a second smile into his neck. Odine directed Squall to look through the window, which he did, and blinked as he saw Serra.
The pale skin, delicate features, and black hair of the woman inside the containment field struck Squall immediately, and he looked back down at Odine.
"Where?" he snarled, his voice ferocious, and promising an eternity of pain if Odine did not answer immediately. "Where did you get her?"
"Ze waz given to uz!" Odine said. "Ze child waz-"
Squall, despite how focused he was on Odine, was still alert and paying attention to his surroundings. When he heard the swish of a blade cutting through the air behind him, he released Odine and shoved him hard to the floor, enough to smack his head on the ground and knock the midget doctor unconscious. Squall whipped around low, drawing Lionheart in an instant as his knife caught the thrust of a purple-colored, crystalline gunblade.
"Dammit!" Illarra snarled as she recoiled, drawing her own knife. The brown-haired woman leapt away, giving Squall some room as she circled, a predatory smile on her face. The SeeD Commander dropped into a low crouch, still a bit off-guard at their sudden meeting, and quickly sheathed his knife and took up Lionheart in a two-handed grip.
"Thought I had you," she whispered. "Glad to see me again, Squall? Heard you missed my company." As she was speaking, the woman edged forward, in anticipation.
"I'm not the type to let a pain in my ass get away so easily," Squall replied calmly, inching forward as well.
"So, what are you doing here? Following me? Come to save your friends? Or just poking your nose where it shouldn't be?" Illarra drew closer to Squall.
"A little bit of everything," Squall answered, and as Illarra nodded, he rushed forward, Lionheart flashing across. Illarra countered, snapping her gunblade up to catch squall's weapon, stopping it cold. She stepped tot he right spinning her weapon around Squall's, and tapped it down, before shooting forward with a quick stab almost faster than Squall could follow. He leapt backward, chopping across in front of himself to ward her away, but instead she circled, running around to Squall's left. He spun, but she was moving so fast that all the SeeD Commander could do was blindly and instinctively block when he caught a flicker of purple coming at his head.
A flash of light filled the room as the two gunblades met, and Illarra was moving away, jogging across the room, gunblade down at her side as she casually circled around Squall. It took him a moment to realize that the entire attack had been a single pass for her, and the Commander looked upon her with newfound respect, and a healthy bit of apprehension.
She's faster than before. Way too fast. And her strength . . . no, she didn't . . . .
"Ha! You feel it, don't you?" Illarra asked, slowing to a calm, creeping prowl around Squall. He settled into a balanced, defensive position, recognizing what she was capable of now, and looking for a weakness, something he could use to counter her.
"You turned yourself into an Elemental," Squall whispered, and his female counterpart laughed like a hyena, obviously enjoying the revelation.
"Purified, and unstoppable, Squall," she whispered. "I'm better than any human, and any SeeD now. I'm even . . . ." She shot forward, gunblade flashing in wild arcs as she closed the distance between them in a heartbeat. Squall snapped his weapon up, following her attacks and acting on pure instinct. Their blades met twice, three times, then four, then five times as she seemed to dance around him, coming at Squall from two angles at once, her gunblade moving faster than Squall could imagine.
Squall gasped suddenly as her gunblade cut along his back, and spun around, to take a fist to the chest, which sent the Commander reeling backward, blood pouring down his lower back. The wound was shallow, he realized, but still painful and clearly showed him how obviously outmatched he was.
" . . . . betterthan you, Squall," Illarra stated quietly as she stood still, smiling. Her blue eyes met Squall's, and her shoulders shook with laughter as she understood.
"You can't win, Squall, and you know it," she continued, and walked forward. There was something different in her steps now, and Squall began to channel up defensive magic, preparing something that would even the confrontation. He could sense that Illarra's movements were now vastly more serious. Before, she had been toying with him, but now . . . .
"It's over, Squall," she whispered as the power of a hastening spell ran down his fingers, and then was right there, in front f him, her gunblade chopping at squall's head. The spell fizzled as Squall snapped his own weapon up, blocking the impossibly quick strike, and she stabbed at his gut with her knife. He moved fast, blocking the smaller blade, and began to take a step back as gunblade and knife connected.
Then, Illarra was moving back herself, spinning around in a blurring motion, and Squall realized too late that theLionheart was just low enough for her weapon to come around at his face.
A line of fire cut across Squall's head, flashing from his upper left forehead, running down across the bridge of his nose, and cutting through his right eye. Squall stumbled backward, gritting his teeth and keeping from crying out as blood erupted from his face. He could barely duck as Illarra stabbed at his head, and then took a knee to the nose as she followed through. Squall's head snapped back, and he fell down, slamming onto his rear.
Squall heard her mocking, triumphant laughter as her boot flew for his head, and then knew no more.
"Breathing?" asked a quiet voice, the first thing she heard. The first thing she felt, after hearing the voice, was pain. There was an aching throb in her head, but as she sat up, her vision swimming back, Quistis realized she was glad to still be alive.
"What happened?" she asked, shaking her head.
"One of the Estharian walkers took a shot at your ship," explained the speaker, and she looked up at him as he kneeled beside her. Alucard extended a hand, and helped Quistis to her feet. "They missed, and the blast hit the ground almost right behind you. You're lucky to be alive."
"Did they escape?" Quistis asked, looking around the battlefield, only to see that she was instead on a small hill overlooking the warzone a safe distance away. Estharian vehicles, troops, and equipment rumbled by in the distance, heading for Trabia Garden.
"Your people pulled out after a few moments," Alucard explained. "I saw four SeeDs holding back Zell as he tried to rush out to save you, but they knew they couldn't stay. The walkers resumed firing moments after you passed out. After the airships escaped, I managed to get to you and carry you to safety. Otherwise you'd likely be dead, or in Esthar's tender hands."
"Thank you," she said sincerely, and then frowned. "I guess this means that I'll have to sit the war out at Trabia, then. Unless I can get some transport to Trabia Garden."
"I can arrange that," Alucard replied. "In fact, I can probably get you to Trabia myself from here. You might even beat out the airships."
Quistis nodded, and then froze, as Alucard whirled in place to face someone behind him. Quistis stepped to the side, grabbing her rante as she did so, and paused as she saw t he two figures Alucard was facing.
"Its always humans you have a fancy for, old boy," muttered the figure clad in shadowy robes, smiling inside his hood as he rested his arms on the scythe balanced across his back.
"Hades," muttered Alucard. "Unbound Guardian Force of Death."
"And you, Alucard," Hades responded, nodding his head. "Unbound Guardian Force of Existence."
As the two introduced themselves, Quistis looked down and to Hades' left, where a small brown-haired girl stood atop the snow, watching the exchange with a slight smile. Alucard turned his eyes toward the small girl, and narrowed his gaze.
"And you," he hissed, a tone that surprised Quistis. She glanced at Alucard, still off-guard by the unexpected meeting.
"Why are you two here?" Alucard asked, and Hades laughed.
"We're here to watch the show," he stated, and nodded to Quistis. "You and your people put on a fine performance, by the way. Just what I'd expect from SeeD."
"We didn't expect to encounter you, though," the little girl said, and giggled faintly. "But we should have. You always are one to get in our way."
"So, why do you insist on meddling, you old fool?" demanded Hades as he circled, scythe balanced easily across his back. Alucard matched his motions, keeping a wary eye on him, and the little girl as she backed away, standing beyond the two circling Guardians. Snow crunched underfoot as they stepped.
"It's my job," Alucard replied as Quistis stepped back out of their circle.
"Your job was to defend Carpasia," the girl remarked offhandedly, and Alucard sneered at her.
"I did defend it, if you recall? The old 'gods' never managed to seize the city or Zurvan. It's sealed away, beyond time and space, and well beyond your reach."
"Not forever," Hades responded with a chuckle. "We'll find a way, I assure you. Even if we have to destroy time itself."
"You already tried that, didn't you?" Alucard asked, looking back at the little girl, whose smile never faded.
"Ultimecia was weak," she responded with a shrug. "I didn't expect she would be so overzealous and reach back to this time. She was a fool to interfere in a time when the Chimera's blood ran so prodigiously. She was killed, as she should have been."
"So now what?" Alucard asked. "You have a new plan?"
"One I've been cultivating for ages," she answered, a strange gleam appearing in her eyes. "The same plan that began so long ago. I need Carpasia. And I'll do whatever it takes to get it. Even if I have to end this realm to reopen the door, I will."
"Just to access the Zurvan," Alucard stated, and glanced back at Hades, who had never shifted his posture, instead merely circling in the snows.
"One wish is all I want," the girl answered, her expression distant. "One tiny wish."
"The End," Alucard stated, shaking his head. "The Final Fantasy. The ending of everything. All that is, was, and could be."
"Total destruction," Hades answered with a sneer. "Everything dies. She wins, and so do I."
"The Guardians of Death and End," Alucard stated, eyeing them both. "I should have been expecting this pairing a long time ago."
"Heh," Hades muttered. "You're getting senile, you old fool. Aren't you tired of it? Wandering among the mortals, the humans? Righting wrongs, aiding them from their own follies? Its amusing watching you help them before I claim their lives. Why do you do it?"
"Because I wish to," Alucard answered simply. "Just as you wish to kill, and she wishes everything to end. It's part of your nature, and part of mine. We're all Unbound. It's what we do."
"Just like humans," Hades continued, laughing. "Humans do what they have to do. They kill, maim, ruin, destroy . . . Exactly as they were intended."
"Ironic," the little girl stated with a faint giggle. "Humans were created only to destroy everything. They are indeed the perfect tool for my ends, aren't they?"
"Indeed," Alucard stated, looking at her and narrowing his eyes. "For the Guardian of the End, I never expected you to actually make something. Humanity is indeed your finest work . . . .
"Hyne."
-
Yep. You read that right. Hyne. Creator of humans. FFVIII's diety. Evil entity bent on the destruction of the entire world.
That sound you hear the first Mindfuck bomb going off. Expect more to come. :D
That said, next chapter is going to be huge. I mean, massive. There's the prison escape, Squall and Illarra, the assault on Trabia Garden,Alucard and Quistis against Hyne and Hades . . . . yeah, its gonna be insane. I'm anticipating easily thirty-forty pages for this next chapter.
Shout-Outs: More taste, less filling!
Chris Ganale: Lol Esther r pwnt bitces :P
Platonic1: Everyone is afraid of the Governor because he's a hardcore badass. :P Like Squall, except with shorter hair.
JadeAlmasy: Oh, yeah. Irvine, like I said before, definitely acts liek Han Solo, and that's one Han-ish thing he could have done. XD
Doom18769: Really, now. Come, give me a hint as to your suspicions. :D
Solid Shark: Well, you have to keep in mind, Selphie is already a SeeD who specializes in magic, and remember how in Gunblade she's always the one with the explosives, bigguns, and personal artillery cannons. Naturally she'd adapt quickly to using powerful magic and wreak havoc.
And yes. Nash is a badass mo-fo.
Johnny: Yes, it would be easier. But not as cool :P
DBZ Fanfiction Queen: Squal''s probably going to blink, shrug, and walk on :P
I had a lot of trouble thinking which GF would fit Selphie well. Then I realized that Shiva's powers are a nice complement to Nash's flames, and ice is something Selphie, being from Trabia, would have an affinity for, so I had her use Shiva.
Trust me . . . you haven't seen Squall and Illarra reallyfight yet. There's a little twist to their next duel that may very well change the very fate of the entire story . . . .
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Oh, come on! I made it almost as obvious as I could without putting up a big neon sign that said "SEIFER IS THE GOVERNOR!" :P
I don't cry. I just shrug and drink root beer :P
Nash melting the whole place. Hm. I'll keep it in mind.
Silver-Nex: Don't worry about Zell. he's fine. But Squall, on the other hand . . . .
Oreste666: Thank you :D I really wanted to show off Nash's flame powers last chapter.
Ange Sinistre: At about this point,I think the conspiracy story has ended. Fromt his point on, expect full-on war and destruction. :D There will be some Liquid Snake exposition from Illarrain the near future, butthe actual connection to MGS is very tenuous, at best.
Which child are you refferring to? If its Squall's child, yes, there will be some slight signifigance in the future, but if you mean the little girl Crell spoke to . . . . heh. We know exactly who she is now, don't we:D
Leonhartilly: I have a lot of free time and a job that requires minimal thought. Thus I have plenty of time to refine my stories.
Red-Eyed, Divine Dragoon: i like the image. Somehow, I can see Esthar using MJOLNIR, though I'd almost imagine them using humanoid Elite armors . . . .
Spikestrife: Alucard is nota vampire. He's the Unbound Guardian Force of Existence. He does share some similiarities with the crazy blood-sucking lunatic in Hellsing, however, mostly in terms of powers and abilities, but as I've said before, his personality is more in line with Slayer's personality in Guilty Gear.
OniRazz: Yes,I love teasing my way into big plot revelations. Anticipation is almost as good as the delivery, I always believe.
That everyone? Awesome.
Until next chapter!