Chapter 21: Reunion
The Estharian division had broken off after the last of their Overlords had fallen. The tank force protecting the walkers had been severely damaged by the combined vehicle assault, and with Veronica dead and Malachi severely injured, and most of the lead assault force destroyed by the defenders at the trench, it was obvious that the badly mauled division was not going to be able to complete its objective. What remained of the Estharian force fell back, less than a quarter of its forces still intact.
They left a field of dead and dying men behind them, however. The charred and blasted hulks of hundreds of Estharian vehicles littered the field, along with the remains of an equal number of Galbadian and Dollet war machines. Robotic units, tanks, LRVs, and helicopters were left in wrecks scattered about the half-molten snows and swirling mists. Of the three thousand fearless soldiers and SeeDs who had held the line, less than a thousand men and women remained.
However, every soldier and SeeD knew that the losses had not been in vain, for beyond them still stood Trabia Garden, undamaged in the relentless enemy assault.
A small group of soldiers and SeeDs, the remnants of the assault force that had destroyed most of the walkers, managed to trudge through the mud and sludgy snow, to meet the mauled remnants of the defenders at the trench. Among the returning SeeDs was Zell, Rinoa, and Lex, the previous two exhausted from their duels with the leaders of the Estharian division. As they neared the trench, Randolph stepped out, a small gash along the side of his head but otherwise completely uninjured.
"Glad to see you survived," he muttered tiredly to his comrades, who nodded numbly.
"How many did we lose?" Rinoa asked tiredly, and Randolph shook his head grimly.
"Two thirds, at least," he replied. "Those damn walkers tore us to shreds. If you guys hadn't done what you did, we'd all be dead now."
"You can thank Rinoa for most of that," Zell said. "She took out three walkers by herself."
"Three?" Randolph echoed, incredulous. "You were the one who crushed those three walkers at the end?" She nodded quietly. The General stared at her, shocked by the sheer power that Rinoa had to be wielding in order to do that much damage.
"Look, we can't be dicking around," Zell added quickly.
"Why not?" Randolph asked. Zell hooked a thumb to his left, pointing to the south.
"Remember those Garden knock-offs I told you guys about in that Estharian base?" Zell asked. "Well, we've got two of them heading this way, with ten thousand men on each one."
Silence struck the trio as Rinoa and Randolph digested the extremely bad news.
"Shit," the General whispered. "Twenty thousand?"
"Yeah," Zell replied, nodding grimly. "We can't hang around here."
"Right," Randolph replied. He pressed a finger into his ear, activating his radio. "Trabia Garden, do you read? This is Randolph. Come in." There was a moment's pause, and Randolph nodded. "Gotcha. How much time until that drive system is up and running? About five? Step it up, we've got enemy reinforcements inbound. Out." The General looked south, and then tapped his ear, changing the frequencies.
"Attention all personnel. Initiate immediate withdrawal to Trabia Garden. Pack out the wounded and dead and get them inside the Garden ASAP. We have enemy reinforcements inbound, and we have to clear out now. Move it!"
Randolph looked back at his comrades, and shouldered his rifle, clearly exhausted but at the same time determined to continue fighting.
"We'd better withdraw now, too."
"Right," Zell said. "Let's move!"
The last guard doubled over, his guts torn out by Irvine's shotgun, and the control room for Iceblood Prison was clear. The sharpshooter swept the chamber, where the last fifteen enemy soldiers had made their final stand, and saw no further enemies. Prisoners stormed in past him, Selphie leading the way with her heavy cannon in hand.
"Where did you get that?" he mused, and she giggled.
"Well, the guards weren't making much use out of it, so I figured I'd borrow it for a bit."
"Well, with this room clear, most of the prison is ours now," Irvine added. "Now we just have to wait for the rest of the troops to free the last prisoners and for Seifer and Nash to get back."
"We won't have to wait long," said one of the prisoners, looking back into the atrium behind them. The pair of SeeDs looked back out that doorway, to see furred prisoners parting and allowing a pair of figures to advance. Irvine winced as he saw them; Nash and Seifer looked worn and beaten, as if they'd just walked through a hurricane. Seifer's tattered coat was wrapped around a bundle in his arms, and it took the sharpshooter and Selphie only an instant to figure out who it was.
"Is she alright?" Selphie immediately demanded as the two battered fighters entered the control room. Seifer glanced back down at the girl in his arms, and nodded silently.
"Diablos' possession exhausted her," Nash explained. "But our battle against it did no harm to her. She's safe, just asleep."
"How about my people?" Seifer asked after a moment. "Are they safe?"
"We lost a few," Irvine said, shaking his head. "But casualties were light. We've gotten control of the prison now. All we have to worry about is getting to the surface."
"And then what?" Seifer asked. "There's no civilization for miles. We'll have to hump it all the way to the nearest town across open tundra."
"Not for long," Selphie replied, and the group looked over, to see her standing in front of one of the consoles lining the walls. She fiddled with some holographic lights as she was speaking. "This place has a pretty advanced communications system. I think I can broadcast a distress signal to Garden using it."
"Won't the Estharians listen in?" Irvine asked, and Selphie shrugged.
"Nah," she explained. "I'm going to disguise it as a standard transmission, but I've included Garden codewords that Trabia can pick up. I'll add a second signal into the transmission that will tell Garden where we are and to send a rescue team."
"They can spot that and pick it out," Nash commented, and Selphie shook her head as she moved her fingers furiously.
"I'm encrypting it," she replied. "They'll break it soon enough, but not before Garden can send a rescue team to pick us up."
"Then all we can do is wait," Seifer muttered, and the others nodded.
"Get them inside, get them inside, now, now!" Randolph shouted as the last of the defenders hurried through Trabia Garden's main gate. Trucks and soldiers were hurried with all speed toward the main Garden structure; no one knew exactly how the transformation process worked, least of all with Trabia Garden, and Randolph wanted none of his people to be outside the main structure when the anti-gravity drive was started.
The last group of soldiers, carrying wounded and dead comrades on their shoulders or in their arms, made it inside the front entrance, and the General walked in. He pressed a finger to his ear.
"Trabia Garden, all personnel are onboard and accounted for. Begin the transformation process."
Randolph received an acknowledgement, and looked around the interior of the Garden his men had fought for, killed for, and had died in order to protect. Designed in a roughly similar layout to Balamb Garden, Trabia was more utilitarian in nature. There was less flora and fauna, and minimal running water in the interior of the Garden, but an array of statues were scattered around the main, central hub. Unlike Balamb Garden, there was no central column in the middle of the main room, but instead a large fountain which created a wide, expansive pool. Instead of walkways, there was a wide open floor around the fountain, with various pedestals that displayed the many statues. A trio of flags were hoisted over the fountains, displaying the standards of all three Gardens.
Randolph's troops, the Galbadian Rangers, and the SeeDs that had survived the battle were laid out along the floor, many stopping to rest or to tend to comrades, while the more severely wounded were hurried off to the infirmary. Ironically, Trabia Garden had the best medical facilities of the three Gardens, despite its miniscule size compared with the other academies. After all, Trabia was a far more dangerous place than Balamb or Galbadia.
The General walked across the main chamber and sat down at the edge of the pool, relaxing his muscles as much as he could as he took off his helmet. He wiped his hand across his forehead, and his sleeve came away bloody. Checking the reflection of his face in his bayonet, he saw the wound on his forehead was closing. Randolph grunted and quickly drank a healing potion off his belt.
"General?" came a voice beside him, and Randolph looked up, to see Rinoa standing beside him. He nodded, his heart jumping slightly and adrenaline pumping a bit more as he saw the young woman. The Dollet officer had respected her before, but he had never seen a Sorceress' power first-hand. It was rather shocking, and he felt a slight unease around her now.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked tiredly.
"Zell's already headed up to the Headmaster's office, where we think the bridge will appear when the Garden is moving. He and Headmaster Kerr wanted to talk with you about getting out of this mess once we take off."
"Right," he said, nodding. He stretched his tired muscles and stood up. "Will you be coming?"
"No," Rinoa said, shaking her head. "I'm no tactician, honestly. Neither is Zell, he'll need some help." She chuckled a bit, and Randolph smiled. A girl like her shouldn't be in this kind of war.
"That, and my powers are better suited helping these men," she added quietly. Randolph nodded, and patted her shoulder.
"See to my troops, Rinoa," he said calmly. "I'll do what I can to keep us all alive."
The Garden began to rumble faintly, and Rinoa looked up.
"Looks like its starting," she said, and Randolph nodded again.
"I'll get up to the control center," he stated. "Until later." With that, Randolph recovered his rifle, slung it, and jogged across the chamber, toward the north side of the building, where the elevators were located. He rode one of the cars up to the third floor, and moved down a short hallway to the command center. As he advanced, the rumbles grew stronger and stronger.
He opened the door into the command center, and was immediately assaulted by flashes of white light as the ring encircling the Garden floated down past the main window of the command center. Randolph felt his gut shift, as if everything inside the Garden was transforming subtly. The thrummings of the Garden became faster and more pronounced.
Snow erupted past the Garden, whipping around the structure suddenly, and then, without warning, the General felt himself be pushed back slightly as the Garden burst through the cloud of white powder and flew straight forward.
"Do we have control?" demanded a burly, bearded, dark-skinned man from the top of a platform that, shortly before the General had entered, had not been there before. The Headmaster of Trabia Garden, Gerrard Kerr, was rapidly bellowing out requests for status reports and their heading as the Garden's direction shifted slightly.
"Aye, Headmaster!" shouted a SeeD as Randolph rode the lift up to the top of the piloting platform. The speaking SeeD was standing at a control system exactly like Balamb Garden's. "We have control of our heading!" Gerrard turned to the edge of the platform, looking down at a SeeD below.
"Radar, do you have anything?"
"No contacts yet," came the response. "I don't see any enemy aircraft or these Flying Fortresses."
"Keep scanning, they can't be hard to spot," the Headmaster stated. "Meanwhile, get us heading south on the double." Randolph steppe doff the lift, and spotted Zell standing at the edge of the platform, looking down. The brawler heard the sound of the arriving lift over Gerrard's hefty shouts, and looked back, to see the General.
"What's our situation?" Randolph asked, and Zell shrugged.
"We just got moving," he said, and gestured toward the window. "No contact with those Fortresses Malachi told me about yet."
Trabia Garden floated through the air, cutting over the front lines where the defenders had made their brutal stand and held off the Estharians, passing over ruined tanks, slagged, glassy patches of ground, and the hulking, battered remains of the enemy walkers, now looking like little more than toys. The Garden turned quickly, moving around the mountain spurs surrounding the Garden, and moved to the south.
Then, as if to refute Zell's statement, they came into sight along the south, powering to the north over open plains and through thick, snow-blanketed forests. Zell froze as he saw the hulking, dome-like shapes to the south, heading directly to the north and at Trabia Garden. He vividly remembered the same shapes he had seen in the hangar bay within the Estharian base, only a couple of days ago, only now they were laden with troops and weapons, ready for full-scale war.
"Ah, shit," Zell muttered, echoing everyone else's sentiments.
"Enemy craft are closing fast," one of the technicians stated quietly. "They'll be on us in less than five minutes."
"How many men did you say were on those things?" Gerrard asked, glancing back to Zell.
"Ten thousand each," Zell replied. "Twenty thousand total."
"Shit, we've got less than a thousand men on board, and half of them are wounded," Randolph hissed, shaking his head. "Plus noncombatant civilians and staff . . . ."
"Is there any way we can get past them?" Gerrard asked, and Zell shook his head.
"Got no idea what these things are capable of," the brawler admitted. Randolph watched the oncoming enemy, and finally nodded.
"When facing a superior opponent, there are two basic options," he began. "Fall back and perform guerilla actions while waiting for reinforcements is the first."
"Can't do that as we are," Zell replied, and Randolph nodded. He stepped forward, staring out the front viewport and clenched his hands behind his back.
"The second is to attack head on, driving at their weakest point," he continued. "Throw them into disarray by throwing everything at that one spot, and break through. That's what we're going to do." Randolph turned toward Gerrard, eyes blazing with intensity.
"Full speed!" he ordered. "Go right between them! They'll attempt to board us, but we have to beat them back and escape to friendly territory to the south. It's our only option!"
"Booya!" Zell roared. "That's my kinda plan! Dive in! Penetrate and annihilate! Pay them back for everything the did and everyone they took from us!"
The most grievously wounded were taken to the infirmary of Trabia Garden, where a dozen medical staff, along with a platoon of military medics, were working frantically to stabilize and save the injured soldiers. Well over a hundred men were inside, being treated for every type of wound imaginable.
Rinoa had wasted no time hurrying to the infirmary after her talk with Randolph, and quickly began casting healing spells, sealing wounds and helping to stave off the grasp of death for many men. She worked as feverishly as the medics and doctors, moving from room to room, her magic working miracles.
As the young Sorceress moved down the hallway, she looked into one of the medical rooms, and froze at the sight she saw, which stopped her in mid-spell. Rinoa rushed into the small chamber, where a single figure lay on a bed, bloodied and seemingly dying, a man crouched over her, eyes closed in concentration.
"Quistis?" Rinoa breathed, looking down at her unconscious friend, shocked and confused. She and Zell had seen Quistis get hit by the Overlords hours ago; how was she still alive?
The answer, it seemed, was the man over Quistis, one hand resting on her stomach and the other touching her forehead. Rinoa recognized the man once more.
"Alucard," she breathed. "Did you save her?"
"Yes," he stated distantly, his voice clearly displaying his preoccupation with the wounded and unconscious woman laying on the bed before him. Rinoa could detect the pulses of magic flowing from his body into Quistis' own, and all it took was a simple focus of Rinoa's inhuman Sorceress senses to tell that something was horribly wrong with Quistis' body.
"What happened to her?" she asked.
"We fought The End," he replied cryptically. "Quistis showed incredible spirit, but she was no match for Hyne. The End used her powers to destroy part of Quistis' body. I'm trying to restore her, but it is difficult with so much destructive energy having been used . . . ."
"Will she make it?" Rinoa asked, but then her mind caught up with something else that he had said. "Wait, wait- Hyne?"
"That's right, you don't know," Alucard said, nodding to himself. "I'll have to explain everything . . . But later. I cannot leave her as she is. Quistis is dying; my power is the only thing saving her."
"Can I help?" Rinoa asked, and Alucard shook his head.
"I'm restoring a third of her body and counteracting energies that are tearing her apart at the core of her very existence. This is something only I can do."
As he spoke, the Garden seemed to lurch slightly, as if picking up speed. An instant later, the structure-wide intercom blared to life.
"Attention all personnel." The voice was that of General Randolph, clearly speaking from the Garden's command center. "We've encountered hostile Estharian forces in two flying craft similar to the design of this Garden. They are moving to intercept, and we cannot evade. We're opting to fly between them and make our way south. All personnel, prepare to repel boarders. They're going to try to stop us, and we have to beat those sons of bitches back!"
The intercom went silent, and Rinoa glanced to Alucard, whose face was drawn tightly. He could only imagine the thoughts running through his mind, questioning whether he should abandon Quistis to aid in the defense, or stay by her side to save her. Rinoa, however, had no compunctions. Without a word, she hurried out of the room and dashed down the hallway leading from the infirmary, toward the main, central chamber.
When she entered, the Sorceress could see the exhausted, battered soldiers grimly preparing themselves, loading rifles and quickly organizing. They moved about with a strangely lethargic frenzy, as if they knew they had to get into position but were aware that it almost didn't matter. There was a sense in their movements and expressions that many of the men and women had lost hope for their survival
Rinoa looked over the battered, beaten, and bleeding soldiers and SeeDs, and a sudden anger swept over her. These warriors had fought one hellish battle, and had walked into a second one, this one with even worse odds than before. Many of them would die before this ended, she knew. How many didn't need to die? How many had already died defending this very Garden? How many would never return home to their families, lovers, children, husbands, wives, or parents? How many would never again breathe the air of their homelands?
"No."
Rinoa shook her head, and as she did so, she felt the pulse of her magic. She would do whatever it took to see every one of these brave soldiers and SeeDs return to their homes, no matter what it took.
Without a second's hesitation, Rinoa ran to the main gate of Trabia Garden.
Beyond the control room the army of prisoners had found the passages leading up to the surface. Within a matter of minutes of sending the signal, the newly freed army of ex-convicts was walking in the empty, lifeless stone halls of Veronica's castle. None of them knew what had transpired halfway across Trabia mere minutes ago, and how the castle's owner and her army of Elemental rejects had been annihilated by Rinoa. All they knew was that the castle was still and silent.
Considering the way things had been before, that was an improvement.
The four warriors who had paved the way for their freedom led the way, Irvine, Nash, and Selphie leading, with Seifer a step behind, cradling Serra in his arms. He occasionally glanced down at her face, her visage one of peace and calm. He couldn't take his eyes off her; something was so familiar about this girl he was carrying, but what, Seifer couldn't place.
As they walked and the minutes passed, he noticed a change in the manner in which Serra was breathing. She was awakening, he realized, and he kept an eye on her. After a few moments, he felt her move slightly, and Serra's eyes opened, perfectly black pupils with streaks of steely gray running through them. They groggily looked around, and she raised her head, staring up into Seifer's face.
"Relax," he whispered, and a slight, yet welcoming, smile appeared on his face. "You're safe now."
"You . . . ." she said, her voice tired and weak. The girl was still exhausted by what had happened to her. "I saw you . . . fighting Diablos."
"Me and Nash," Seifer replied, nodding. "We stopped him."
"I know," she answered quietly, and Seifer suddenly felt her draw closer to him, tightening herself up into a ball in his arms.
"Should I be scared now?" she asked, and Seifer blinked.
"No," he answered calmly, reassuringly. "You're safe now. All of us are safe. I . . . we won't let anything hurt you, Serra."
He saw the girl smile, and she nestled her head against Seifer's chest and closed her eyes, falling back asleep. Seifer continued on in silence, keeping this tiny, helpless child secure in his arms. He had meant every word he had just told her; nothing would hurt her whil he was keeping her safe.
Nothing. I can't let a child like you be threatened. This, more than anything else, is my atonement for my sins.
The main entrance to Trabia Garden was open, and a force of about two hundred soldiers and SeeDs were assembled there. They stared at the closing Fortresses, bristling with thousands of heavily armed Estharian soldiers bent on ending the battle then and there. Each of the SeeDs and troopers steeled themselves, preparing for the fight of their lives. Several of the soldiers and SeeDs had lived through the war with Galbadia and the Garden battle in Centra; they knew what they were up against.
The readied soldiers, however, quickly parted as Rinoa moved through their ranks, and stood before them at the main entrance, staring down the two Estharian craft as they closed in. They watched her, uncertain, but suddenly more hopeful; they had seen Rinoa in action before, destroying legions of the enemy and annihilating Overlord walkers with her sheer fury. They had a chance to hold for the hellish minutes they would need to defend the entrance.
However, the last thing on Rinoa's mind was defense.
Every man and woman at the entrance felt it when a wave of sheer power swept out from Rinoa. Every man and woman stepped back as they could suddenly sense the strength she was calling forth. And every man and woman watched with awe as Rinoa closed her eyes, lowered her hands to her sides, and clenched them tightly into fists.
No one saw the magic reaching out, waves of telekinetic power rippling toward the Fortress on the right. They could not see Rinoa's sight and perception extend beyond her body, diving through air, ceramic, metal, armor, and machinery to drop to the very core of the Fortress to the left of Trabia Garden. Her mind's eye found the power generators and the drive system for the structure.
Rinoa's will touched that drive system.
No one saw the Estharian technicians panic, or the commanders of the Fortress freeze up in terror as the reports blossomed up from the drive system almost as quickly as the flames and lightning that sloughed off the engines like an avalanche of destruction. They did, however, see the Fortress slow, the light dimming in its anti-gravity ring, followed by the structure beginning to drift to the ground, lights glowing within it ever more brightly.
Then the Fortress on the left, and the ten thousand Estharian soldiers aboard, died.
Witnesses called it the biggest fragmentation grenade in history, and they were right; the Fortress detonated from within, flames erupting outward in a roiling fireball as men, armor, weapons, and other materials were launched away in an explosive maelstrom of death.
Rinoa turned to the other Fortress, a slight smirk striking her as she could perceive the men on board, staring at their comrades' craft as it was utterly annihilated.
The surviving craft, however, was too close. Rinoa didn't have time to dive into its drive system and destroy it as she had the other ship, and it was close enough that the flying debris could badly damage Trabia Garden.
Therefore, Rinoa told the craft to stop.
The Fortress came to a complete and abrupt halt as she thrust her hand at it. Rinoa then moved her hand to the side, the titanic forces at her command pushing the Fortress back and away, toward the mountain spur that Trabia Garden had flown around. None of the soldiers behind her spoke, entranced by the incredible power as Rinoa pushed the gigantic ship further and further back.
It neared the mountain as Trabia flew past, and Rinoa raised her other hand, and swept it out behind her.
Part of the mountain shot out, forming a hundred massive stone spikes the size of warships, which ripped into the Fortress's armored plating like wet paper. Rinoa clenched her fist, and then opened it, causing the spikes to become jagged blades. She pushed back against the Fortress, driving it further against the razor blades, watching as the Estharian ship fell apart under the intense duress, impaled on the very mountain itself.
Rinoa's hand, manipulating the mountain, gently pushed back, and the stone blades reformed, reverting to spikes and retracting back into the mountain, leaving the landscape seemingly unblemished and undamaged. However, the Flying Fortress, without the blades to support it, started falling apart, huge chunks of debris raining down over the Trabian plains, metal and ceramic portions accompanied by plummeting vehicles and men. Within moments, the once-proud and unstoppable ship became little more than a pile of scrap metal scattered across the snows.
In the wake of the destruction, there was only the roar of the Trabian wind as it flew past.
Rinoa, her job finished, let a long, exhausted breath, and relaxed. She turned back toward the soldiers, who watched her with awe, amazement, and a slight amount of respectful fear. She took a step forward and then stumbled as pain shot through her body at the shocking expenditure of so much raw Sorceress power. SeeDs and soldiers rushed forward, encircling her.
"Are you okay?" one of them asked, and Rinoa nodded.
"I'm fine," she whispered. "I think I may have overdid it, though . . . ."
Meanwhile, up on the bridge of the Garden. Zell and Randolph looked at one another, shocked (and reasonably so) by what they had just seen.
"Umm," Zell began to say.
"Damn," Randolph finished.
"Sir, sir!" came a call from below, and Headmaster Gerrard looked over.
"What is it?" he demanded.
"We're getting a signal, coming from a place to the east," the technician answered. "it's a distress call!"
"Where is it coming from?" Zell asked, and the main screen changed to show a map of Trabia, with a flashing light near the Trabia Crater.
"Shit, that's where Squall was headed," Randolph began. "That's Iceblood Prison!"
"Its not coming from Commander Leonhart, though," the technician continued. "Its coming from Selphie Tilmitt! She's requesting reinforcements and immediate evacuation of over four hundred prisoners from Iceblood."
"Then we're getting it to her," Zell replied, and Randolph nodded.
"Get on the horn with the fleet to the south," Randolph shouted. "Tell them to send every transport helicopter they can spare to these coordinates. We'll send the Ragnarok too to back them up. We have to get our people out of there!"
Forty minutes after the rescue call was received, Selphie was standing outside the castle keep of Veronica's fortress, crouching low to the icy stones and peering at a patch of blood.
"What is it?" Irvine, behind her, asked, and she shook her head.
"Bloodstains," she replied.
"Could it be from Victor?" Irvine asked, and Selphie shook her head. They had found the brave SeeD's corpse a while back; two prisoners had carried his body with them, and they planned to return it to Trabia Garden for burial. Too few SeeDs were able to return home after they died.
"No, its fresh," she relied, touching it with a finger. "Someone else was out here fighting-" Selphie cut off her thought as she heard a noise.
"Hey, you hear that?" Irvine asked. "Sounds like-"
"Rotors!" Selphie cried. "Helicopters! They're here!"
"I'll go get everyone," Irvine added, hurrying back inside the castle. He quickly spread the word to the other prisoners, who were waiting inside the comparatively warm castle interior. Within moments the freed prisoners hurried outside, looking up into the sky as dozens of heavy transport helicopters filled the sky, their rotors beating the wind like drums of salvation. And in the center of it all was the Ragnarok, swooping toward the open courtyard.
The Ragnarok settled in as the prisoners rushed to surround it, their clothes and hair hurled about by the rotors of the transport helicopters as they descended. The ramp of the airship lowered even before it had completely touched down, and Selphie and Irvine saw a pair of familiar faces emerge from the accessway.
"Rinoa!" Selphie shouted in joy. "Zell!" She leapt up and down, waving her arms, as did Irvine, and the Sorceress and brawler spotted them. They hurried down the ramps, prisoners parting before them as the pair rushed to their comrades. Rinoa swept Selphie into a hug, the pair laughing with joy as Irvine and Zell quickly shook hands. Though it had only been a couple of days since they had last seen each other, all four of the group felt as if they had fought a lifetime through Hell to meet each other again. A babble of voices could be heard among the laughter.
"Jeez, where were you guys?"
"You look like hell!"
"Selphie, Irvine . . . how did you get here?"
"Whoo-hoo!"
Several more seconds of joyous reunion passed between the quartet, and as the initial euphoria wore off, Rinoa became aware of several others who were standing nearby. She looked up, as did Zell, and both the Sorceress and the brawler bristled, surprised and slightly alarmed. He was battered, scarred, dirty, and clad only in fingerless gloves and dark pants, but both of them knew Seifer Almasy when they saw him.
"Seifer," Rinoa whispered, and he nodded.
"Rinoa." His response was cool, calm, and, seemingly, emotionless. There was something exchanged between the two as they spoke, but no one present could pin it down. The Governor turned his attention to Zell, and nodded again.
"Chicken-Wuss."
"Ego-Shit."
That was all that needed to be said. No enmity or animosity was traded between the pair.
Someone moved beside Seifer, apparently hanging close behind him, and Rinoa and Zell noticed. They saw the girl wrapped in the tatters of Seifer's coat, shying back with the presence of so many people around her. She stared at Rinoa, locking eyes with the Sorceress, and for an instant, a chill ran down Rinoa's spine.
"Who are you?" she asked quietly.
"Her name's Serra," Seifer said, and Rinoa looked back up at him, her expression unreadable. There was movement to his left, and she looked over Seifer's shoulder. Zell grinned and opened his mouth.
"Hey, Squall! I knew-" Zell stopped as he came to the abrupt realization that the man beside Seifer was distinctly not Squall, despite the shockingly familiar facial features. A moment's examination confirmed slight differences in his face, as well as the fact that the man seemed far older than the SeeD Commander.
"Not quite," Nash stated calmly, shaking his head. The scientist extended his hand toward Zell, and looked to Rinoa, his eyes lingering on her as he spoke. "Nash. Frederick Nash. I helped your friends and these prisoners escape from Iceblood." Zell shook Nash's hand.
"These guys are popping up all over the place," he muttered, and the scientist chuckled.
"Yes, we are, aren't we?" he replied, a simple statement that surprised Rinoa and Zell. He knew about Crell and Illarra?
"Hey, uh, where's Quistis?" Selphie asked, and Zell and Rinoa glanced at one another.
"She was injured during the battle," Zell explained quickly. "A . . . eh, friend of ours is watching over her. She's pretty messed up, but she'll pull through."
Concern cut across Selphie, Irvine, and (to Zell's surprise) Seifer's features, but Rinoa quickly waved them down.
"We wouldn't have left her if we weren't sure she was safe," she explained. "We went through a lot of hell back there at Trabia Garden."
"Is it safe?" Selphie asked immediately, and Zell quickly nodded.
"Yeah, General Randolph led the defense," she stated. "Don't worry; we took a beating, but the Garden's safe. Its heading south now, toward the Dollet and Galbadian fleets in the ocean. We're going to get everyone to safety now."
As Zell was finishing, Rinoa and Selphie were scanning the area, the smaller SeeD looking around the Ragnarok while Rinoa was peering over the faces in the crowd.
"Hey, where's Squall?" both of them asked at the same time, and the two women locked eyes, equally surprised by the question.
"I thought he was with you," Selphie said, and Rinoa shook her head.
"No, he . . . he dropped into Trabia on a covert mission to find the prison you guys were being held in," Rinoa responded. "You haven't seen him yet?" Selphie shook h er head, and Rinoa spun around, looking quickly at the prisoners surrounding her, desperately trying to find him.
"Then . . . Then where is he?"
There was an exclamation of surprise at one end of the crowd, and the mass of furred prisoners rapidly parted ways, opening a passage as they saw someone approaching from the far end of the castle complex. Rinoa picked out his features first, spotting the hair, the gait, and the glowing blade in his hands, and a smile cut across her face. The figure, for it was indeed Squall, suddenly hurried his pace, walking faster, as if he could tell she was waiting for him. He quickly drew nearer, as his friends, plus an old rival, gathered around Rinoa, all of them joyous to see their friend safe and sound.
But something was wrong. Rinoa could tell it in his movements, his approach, but something was very, very wrong about him.
Her smile turned to an open-mouthed exclamation of horrified shock as he came closer, close enough to clearly see his face.
"His eyes . . . ." It was Seifer who spoke first, but everyone could see the battered figure as he closed in, a fresh cut blazing across his forehead and taking one eye, and a vertical cut that still bled taking his other eye. But still, even despite the horrible wounds, the SeeD Commander walked forward firmly, resolutely, his steps not faltering as he closed in unerringly toward the group.
Rinoa suddenly broke free and rushed toward Squall. He stopped in mid-step, Lionheart dropping from his hands and clattering to the stone before him. His arms reached out and enfolded Rinoa, sweeping her up and pulling her tightly to himself with shocking strength.
"Squall," she began. "Your . . . Your eyes-" He quietly shushed her as he pulled her tightly closer.
"Rinoa," he stated into her ear, his voice a faint whisper of the wind as he spoke. "I . . . I couldn't let myself die. No matter what it took, I couldn't lose. I had to come back to you, regardless of what I had to do."
"What . . . What happened to you?"
"Its over," he answered. "Between me and Illarra. She's not my enemy anymore. We ended that." He pulled back slightly, and she stared up into his torn, bloody face, a slight streak of his own bright crimson touching her cheek.
"Let's go home," Squall whispered, and he managed a smile that told her that this was indeed the man she still loved.
-
Phew. that took me way too long to finish. I got burnt-out at the beginning of this chapter, so I had to take a break. Anyway, that's the end of the Trabia arc, and now we're heading to the stunning conclusion of this story! Whoo!
I'm also surprised that, while everyone loved the "getting your ass kicked" comment from last chapter, no one notedt hat it was a line taken directly from Sarge in Halo 2 :P
Also, having recently seen Advent Children...you may see some "inspired" fights from me :P
Shout-outs o deska? hai!
DBZ fanficiton Queen: Excuse me as I laugh my guts up at everything in that review.
Okay, done. The blinding part may have come from teh Matrix. I dunno,I wasn't thinking of that much, myself. And no, I'm not telling you anything regarding Serra. Serra is a very big secret here :P
Orestes666: Oh, yeah, Irivine's scene rocked!I loved writing his bit.
JadeAlmasy: oh, yes, I loved Randolph. His speech was inspired by Pip in the Hellsing manga, where he gives these awesome speaches every chapter to his men as they get torn up by vampires. AndI couldn't help but make a jab at myself, too, regarding cheap sci-fi movie knock-offs :P
Solid Shark: "Interesting" won't begin to describe this next chapter.
Chris Ganale: Yes. yes he did.
No, no, they have the legs and cannon of a Scarab, but the body of an AT-AT. I think. The image in my mind is a bit fuzzy, all I'm imagining is this four-legged insect-thing of DETH. :P
The Warthog use was taken from The One, where Jet Li smacks that cop with a motorcycle. I was originally lanning on Zell using a scout bike asa club during that battle :P
That was an Elemental that Randolph killed.
Trabian snowspeeders? I guessed that was what you were expecting :P I like to do things that my readers aren't expecting like Hyne being a psychotic little girl or Squall losing his eyes.heh.
Doom18769: Oh, my, what twisted plans for Squall do I have? Wouldn't you like to know? Pardon me whilst I cackle with maniacal laughter.
Blue: I didn't say that Serra wasn't related to Squall. That was sarcasm :P Deliberately vague sarcasm, as I'm not saying if she is or isn't. Or if she's related to anyone.
Icedragon6171: Scene transitions are my way of skipping past action I either don't want to or can't think of describing :P So, i got pretty good at doing them.
Leonhartilly: He might regret letting her live. Slightly. I'm also amazed at how I was able to go from making her into a psychotic bitch to a more human character that a lot of people sympathize with.I didn't think I could pull it off, but everyone's responses say otherwise :P
Spikestrife: I might have ganked it from The Matrix. if I did, I don't remember :P
Kill off a main character? Nah. Cliched. I'm probably not going to do it.
Yes, it seems I did. This is what happens when I get into storylines too complex for their own good. :P I'll, eh, chalk it up to Illarra beign crazy and leave it at that :P
Johnny: Squall may be merciless in battle, but he's not heartless. He pities her more than hates her; he said as much himself. Plus, Squall doesn't like killing when it can be avoided. If he was able to control himself from killing her in their firstbattle, he can do it now.
TainShairi: Zanshin makes Squall the pinnicle of badass :P
And Rinoa is powerful. Ridiculously powerful. XD Not omnipotent, as this chapter showed, but definitely up there.
lionheart 614: Nah. My story's already set in semi-solid concrete. Betrayal is so cliched.
OniRazz: Seifer's more badass than the Snake family? Wow XD
Wolf of Light: Squall will get a break...when he dies! HA HA HA HA HA:P Seriously,t ings are still gonna be complicated for him for a while longer.
Kaiser el stupido: :P Yeah, Zell steals the spotlight way too often in this fic. XD
Oh, if you think Alucard is badass now, wait until you see the next few chapters...
And yeah, I never forgot your suggestion for the use of X-ATM units.
Kimahrigirl: Yes, indeed, Seifer and Irvine are kicking ass despite their "only human-ness" :P
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Ew, get those things away from me!
Platonic1: If you think Griever is badass, wait a few chapters...
And thank you! That's a huge compliment for me!
That everyone? Swanky.
Till next chapter!