Chapter 2 – Terminal Freedom
Squall watched a family with muted interest, leaning his shoulder against a pillar holding up the walkways between platforms within the Deling Station. Garbed in his SeeD Uniform, he got more then a few stares as people walked past him, almost as if recognising him from somewhere…
He ignored the gawkers and watched the father pick up his little girl, hefting her high into the air, watching her squeal in delight as the mother beamed at the both of them. It seemed the man had been away for a long time, judging by his suitcases, and was happy to be with his family once more.
A small smile, rare and precious, slowly formed on Squall's face. Although he would never admit it to anybody – save Rinoa – it was this kind of reunion, this kind of interaction, that humanity had within itself, that gave him the strength to move on, to keep fighting for peace. The world was never a small place when you had family.
"Hey you!" Rinoa said into his ear, slipping her arms around his hips to hug him tightly to her from behind. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing…" Squall automatically responded, placing his hands on hers…before linking his fingers into hers. "…I mean…I was looking at that family over there. They look happy to see their father again."
"I'll say!" Rinoa chimed as the wife embraced her husband passionately.
Squall sighed and rolled his eyes, turning around in her arms to look down to her. "Where have you been?"
"Getting drinks! Want one?" She asked, reaching into the bag slung over her shoulder to pull out two crisp-cold cans of soda-pop.
The gunblader nodded silently, taking the one offered without a word of thanks and opening it, the can emitting a soft 'tsk' as the seal was broken.
Rinoa stood back as Squall drank his cola, leaning against the pillar he'd recently occupied. She was dressed in her normal civilian clothes, the blue cardigan pulled tight across the black blouse and pant/skirt combo she wore beneath. She wasn't planning to get ready until the others showed up. Apparently as a joke, Irvine had hidden her dress within the train.
Angelo, her faithful companion, had given him a good barking to.
The dog sat beside her now, having followed her to the kiosk and back, looking up to her with a hungry whine. The animal had been her only companion for many years growing up – she was lucky Squall overlooked him when they had moved in together. He hadn't seemed like much of an animal person to begin with…until he revealed his collection of Pet Pals to her one day, hidden discreetly on his bookshelf. She had gushed love at the cuteness of his embarrassment.
"Stupid Irvine…" She muttered as she knelt beside Angelo, smiling apologetically at the dog as she reached into the bag for his treat – a little edible bone-biscuit she had bought in Timber as they'd passed through on the train earlier in the morning. Smiling as the dog's behind wagged manically, missing it's tail since a pup, she placed the treat on it's nose, watching it wait the appropriate five seconds – before suddenly snapping it up with a flick of it's snout, gobbling the treat down within seconds.
"Oh gods Rinoa, not the treats…" Squall groaned as he watched Angelo begin to back flip.
"Oh c'mon Squall, he loves it!" Rinoa said with a laugh, watching her dog entertain her.
"Its embarrassing in public…" He grumbled, watching other passengers stare as the dog did another back flip.
"Bah, they're just jealous!"
Squall groaned again and tried not to look at his watch. He had been woken up in the wee hours to be dragged from bed by Rinoa, first to go and have breakfast at the Balamb Hotel (where the sea breeze will blow you away), before forcing him to go shoe-shopping in Timber, then dress shopping in Deling City. Boutique after boutique they visited, Squall's yawns of disinterest growing with each step. He was amazed he hadn't fallen asleep as Rinoa had tried on many different clothes before him before leaving the shop empty handed – and heading straight for the train station a full hour before the train was scheduled to arrive.
He tried not to think about it. He knew why she did it. She was jealous of Zell and Angel. He had seen the look she had given him when they had announced the date, exactly five months after Squall and Rinoa had had their little 'talk' with Zell. Zell and Angel were to be wed…but no ring was on Rinoa's finger.
Squall's role as Commander of the Garden left him little time, each precious moment chewed up by paper-work and tests and classes, not to mention the missions. And as each week turned into a month, each time Rinoa had looked a little more crestfallen when Squall, sadly, said they would have to push it back a little further.
However, not all was lost. Squall allowed a small smirk to peek out as looked up at the train schedule, seeing that Zell's train was right on time.
"Wow, you must be in a good mood today, Squall!" Rinoa said as she jumped to her feet, having just given Angelo a scratch on his belly for being just the cutest thing this side of Timber! "Are you thinking of…wedding bells?"
Her quizzical face was returned with a blank stare. "…Whatever."
Pouting, Rinoa turned and squatted back down to Angelo, deciding to give her Knight the cold shoulder. How more obvious could she be?! She might as well draw all over the walls in order for him to read it.
But Squall was smirking again as she squatted down, the smile reappearing as soon as her back was turned. She had no idea…and it was always the best when she had no idea.
"Here it comes." Squall said to her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he spied the train coming in the distance.
Rinoa jumped to her feet again, brushing his hand off her shoulder apathetically…before grabbing it back as the locomotive began to pull into the station, Squall rolling his eyes as she began to sniffle, the tears already pricking up in her eyes…
…Before Squall dropped her hand, his scarred brow furrowing as he looked upon the spectacle before him. He had no words for the astonishment he felt at the moment, not that he would've spoken them anyways.
The locomotive looked fine – but there were only two cars left, the carriages looking like they had just been through a war zone. Bullet holes and scorch marks literally covered the car at the back, the end looking like someone had cast a Flare at it. The VIP car had shattered glass and bullet holes – but several people, males, seemed to be hanging from the windows, their bodies having been kicked half-though them. Squall thought he could even see someone lying on the roof of the car.
Wihtout a word he ran for the VIP car, Rinoa and Angelo close behind him, Rinoa's tears forgotten as she flanked Squall, racing for the door – to stop as it was opened to see Quistis, resplendent even in her ruffled condition. "Ah, you're here – we've been attacked." She said as soon as she saw Squall, stepping back to allow him and Rinoa entrance on board.
Squall took one look around – Irvine lying twitching on the floor in Selphie's arms, Dee and Angel standing beside them looking like they had fought for their lives, and the bodies strewn across the ground – and said two words. "…Damage report!"
"Irvine seems to have been struck down with some kind of seizure – we don't know what's causing it." Quistis said, moving with Squall to crouch down beside him, the blond woman having to push Angelo's snout out of her face as she spoke. "Zell was shot in the chest and thrown from a window back at Timber. The rest of us are a little shook up, understandably, but okay."
Squall stood immediately after looking over Irvine, noting he had no obvious wounds as he turned to Rinoa. "We'll need to call the Timber Owls to arrange a pick-up for Zell."
"I'm on it, chief!" Rinoa replied with a perfect SeeD salute, running from the train with Angelo close on her heels.
The gunblader turned back to the others, looking to Angel. "I'm sorry, Angel, but we're going to have to postpone the wedding until we've sorted this all out."
Selphie looked up at Squall as if he had just told Angel to stand on her head and spin around. Tears were in her eyes, and she was sniffling as she spoke. "Of course she will, Squall! What about Irvine?!"
Squall blinked, looking down to Irvine. "Er, right…we'll need to get him to a hospital. Quistis, find the SeeD phone and see if you cant…" He paused momentarily. "…Call a doorknob to gherkin him up."
He looked at the girls around him. They were all staring at him, Dee and Angel looking slightly confused, Quistis looking worried, Selphie looking like she was about to have a mental breakdown. "…What? Now, dammit, he's bouncing!" Squall barked, squinting with pain as a sound much like boiling water suddenly began to sound in his ears.
"Squall…are you okay?" Quistis asked, moving to his side to place a hand on his arm.
"…I…I don't know…" He replied, blinking hard as he thought back to what he'd just said.
"Mother…why is he sweating?" Squall heard Dee whisper to Angel. This made Squall's brow furrow even more, as he lifted his hand to wipe the beads of sweat from his forehead.
Squall never sweated. Even in the hottest days, he still dressed in the puffy-white collared coat he always wore. It was a part of his cool demeanour. Quistis and Selphie had only ever seen him sweat during intense combat.
Right now he was sweating bullets, the droplets carving themselves down his face, running down the crevice of his scar across his nose.
"I'll…I'll go call an ambulance…" Quistis said hesitantly, moving away from Squall before turning to go…
"Wait…" Squall gasped, falling back into a seat, Dee rushing to his side instantly to stop him from hurting himself. "No…no doorknobs…no doorknobs, Garden…get us to Garden…"
"Garden?!" Was Quistis' confused reply – before Squall passed out in Dee's arms, the teenager crying out in fear as he began to convulse, foam beginning to form on his lips.
"Squall! Quistis, what do we do?!" Selphie cried, tears running down her cheeks as she watched the only indefatigable man she knew collapse for no reason whatsoever.
Quistis didn't seem to hear. She could only stare down at Squall, shivering in Dee's arms, her blue eyes wide, frozen in uncertainty…
"Guys, Zone says he's been looking since he got reports of gunfire, and he can't find anybody anywhe…" Rinoa said hurriedly as she bounded back aboard the train – before gasping as she saw Squall twitching in Dee's grasp. She ran to him immediately, falling to his side and ripping him from Dee's hands. "What's happening to him?!" She shouted to no-one.
"We...we don't know…" Quistis haltingly replied – before everybody paused, hearing Angelo barking outside.
Dee and Angel ran to the window, looking down at Angelo as he barked up at them. He was surrounded by curious onlookers, Galbadians who had never seen a train arrive in such a grisly condition. "What is it boy?!" Dee called from a broken window, leaning over a dead body in order to call out to the dog.
Angelo simply barked again, spinning around and pawing at the wall of the train, near the stairs.
Looking back to the others, Dee watched as Rinoa hooked her Knight's arm over her shoulder and, with great effort, pulled him up. "We need to get him to a hospital…" She whispered, her face white as a sheet as her arms and legs quivered, trying to bodily hold his weight…
…Before Quistis was at her side, hooking Squall's arm over her shoulder too. "…Garden. We need to take him to Balamb Garden. It's outside the city limits, stationed next to Galbadia Garden."
Finally, they were moving. Selphie finally stood, trying to pull Irvine up as well and failing, falling to the fall with a cry of pain, tears welling in her eyes. Like the rest of them, she didn't have her magic junctioned – she was simply a small-framed girl, helpless in this situation.
Angel and Dee helped her, however. Moving to Irvine's sides, the stronger martial artists took Irvine's weight in stride, lifting him up on their shoulders like Quistis and Rinoa had, steadily walking to the doorway right behind them, Selphie close on their heels.
Stepping out of the train, Quistis looked at the gaping onlookers with anger. "We need a car! Somebody lend us their car!!" She shouted to the growing group of bystanders…before frowning as one of them pointed up to the roof of the train.
Selphie jumped out of the doorway, slipping past the girls and their cargo, running down the platform to pause, turning back. "C'mon, c'mon, hurry…" She shouted…before her voice grew silent, her mouth open as she saw what was on the top of the train.
Zell lay on the roof with one arm hanging limply from the edge, his other hand wedged firmly in the vent, his fingers hanging from his hand by only mere strands of muscle. Angelo scratched and whined beneath him, trying desperately to gather someone's attention to him.
Angel's screams made him flinch and run.
The cars they had commandeered screamed in protest as they drove out of Deling Station parking lot, Quistis driving a Barrett Neo Grappler, the BNG roaring like thunder as it's massive engine span the wheels on the tarmac. The off-road vehicle had been given to them by the cowboy who had helped Dee pull Zell from the roof of the train, a retired soldier who lived in Dollet to fish. Rinoa sat in the back, Squall's sweating and trembling body in her arms, whilst Selphie sat in the back-passenger seats with Irvine. Angelo sat in the front passenger seat, looking out the window in amazement as everything sped past.
Behind them came Dee, in a souped up Rikku ABX-2, the pistons pumping from the bonnet of the car as it sped after Quistis. Dee hadn't driven much in her time on Gaia, but seeing as how Angel couldn't leave Zell's side, she figured it was the best to give it a try.
Quistis tried to weave through the roads of the city, honking her horn and flashing her lights, screaming abuse at people who got in her way. She mounted curbs and flew over walk-paths, almost running some people and even knocking a few to the ground…but it was what she saw as she drove that really began to chill her blood cold.
In her rear vision mirror, she saw Dee fighting with the angry motor-car, trying not to copy the four-wheel drive's antics as much as she could – but Quistis could also see that more people were falling down and not getting up.
An old man collapsed as Quistis flew past, shaking and foaming. As they turned one corner, Quistis could see several men in her mirrors, all on the ground and trembling, the white of their mouths the last thing Quistis saw before they vanished from view.
Whatever it is, it's spreading… She thought in horror, before slamming the vehicle up another gear and driving straight through a busy café, Dee swerving erratically around it.
Now I can see them falling before we even see them… She thought as she saw several men fall at once, their respective partners falling to their sides, shaking them and trying to make them stand.
She tried to focus on driving, trying not to hear the sobs of the women in the back seats, and to keep her own tears back.
Thanks to the complete ignorance of the road rules or personal safety, Quistis and Dee made it to Balamb Garden in no time, Quistis slamming the breaks on as she reached the gates – before Dee slammed into the back of her, the back windows shattering causing Rinoa to scream out in fear.
"Sorry!" Dee called as she jumped from the car and tried to help her mother pull her father out.
Slamming the door behind her, Quistis moved to the passenger side – before looking over the car to see several SeeD students, all carrying stretchers, running towards the car. Two figures ran with them – one blond with a scar on his face, dressed in a long white coat with red crosses on the sleeves and back - the other with white hair and an eye-patch, dressed in a blue coat with black slacks and a shoulder-guard.
Seifer and Fujin.
"Get them contained and into the infirmary right now!!" Seifer screamed at the SeeDs as they swarmed around the cars, taking the men from the girls to lay them down on the stretchers – and zip them up in massive yellow bags, hooking up boxes with hoses leading to the mouths of them as they did. It almost looked like they were being placed in body-bags…
"What are you doing?!" Rinoa screamed to Seifer, running to Squall's aid as he was placed in one of the yellow bags – only to be pushed away by Fujin.
"Dangerous." The cold woman stated. "Desist." She continued, swiping her hand away across her body as if to say back away.
"…Seifer…" Quistis said emotionally, wanting to hold him, rushing to meet him – before he placed a hand on her shoulder, keeping her at arms length.
"Save it. I need to take you to Cid, now." He said harshly, before turning and beginning to run alongside the SeeDs carrying Irvine, Zell and Squall.
"I want to go with Squall!" Rinoa protested, Angel and Selphie also piping up…
…Before Seifer stopped suddenly, screaming at the top of his lungs. "SAVE IT! CID! NOW!!"
The girls had no choice but to follow, Rinoa fuming at Fujin and Seifer, Dee following close behind Angel, Selphie trying to keep up, and Quistis trying to hold back the tears…
As they entered the Garden, they could see chaos unfolding. Men of all ages were lying in the niches within the aisles, sweating and trembling, girls and women running back and forth with cold bandages and buckets of water. Quistis couldn't believe what she saw. An epidemic?! Her mind yelled at her as she watched one of the stretcher bearers carrying Irvine stumble before collapsing, Fujin running to pick up his rail before the entire stretcher fell to the ground.
"KADOWAKI! WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE DOWN!!" Seifer bellowed over the water-fountain in the centre of the Garden.
"When did this start happening?! Quistis asked hurriedly, running to catch up with Seifer as he dodged a student with a pail of water, the student running to the water feature to scoop water from the basin.
"About two or three hours ago! They just started convulsing out of the blue! The youngest were the first to go, then some of the elder students began to be affected as well!" Seifer replied as they neared the elevator, stabbing the call button with his knuckle before turning to look down at Quistis and the rest of the girls. A small sheen of sweat covered his face, Quistis reaching out with her sleeve to dab it away. Seifer didn't stop her. "All male, all very quick, all without any warning."
The elevator finally showed, revealing a very flustered Xu. "Glad you finally got here, guys." She said as they all clambered aboard. "It's been crazy the last few hours."
The girls only looked at her as if to say don't tell me about crazy, and Xu simply stepped back, allowing the elevator to rise up to Cid's office.
When they got to the top of the elevator ride, they all blinked at what they saw.
Cid was sitting behind his desk as usual – but he was blocked from vision by a man with a gun strapped to the side of a beaten old backpack, both hands placed firmly down on the desk, both feet spread, as if he had just said something powerful.
"We're do everything we can, Barque. Thank you for the warning."
"Just thank the gods you finally took my advice." The man muttered in his deep, gravely voice, pulling himself up to his full height. "Now you just might have the time to do something about it."
He turned then, revealing himself to the girls as they approached Cid's desk. The man was a few inches under 6 feet, wearing a dark leather coat and a pair of jeans. He had red sneakers on his feet. His face was weathered, wrinkles on his temples – he looked in his late fifties to early sixties. His hair was bright silver and still fairly full - he hadn't bothered to crop it either. A black eye patch covered his right eye, but this wasn't what people were looking at. Even Seifer couldn't help but stare…
…At the very familiar looking tattoo stabbing it's way down the left side of his face, framing his eye, which darted across the group of women as they passed him. Angel turned her head to watch him go, the man doing the same, staring at her as he entered the elevator with Xu, before he disappeared from view.
"Who was that, Angel? You looked like you knew him…" Selphie asked, her curiosity overcoming her anguish for a moment.
"I…I cant remember." Angel whispered back, frowning as she racked her memory. "…I think he was an instructor here years ago, but I'm not sure…"
"Ladies. And gentleman." Cid suddenly cried, standing from his chair to walk around to Angel, taking her hands up and squeezing them tightly. "My dear, I am so sorry for you. I am sorry for all of you. This is a very trying time for all of us."
Angel liked Headmaster Cid. He reminded her of a big cuddly teddy-bear, or your favourite uncle that always visits and you play with him all the time. She brushed the tears from her eyes as she replied. "I think I can speak for all of us when I say…we're surviving." She said, her voice only wavering slightly.
"Ah yes. Survival. That is the key at the moment, isn't it?" Cid replied cryptically, taking his hands away to grasp them behind his back. "Seifer, do you have the reports back yet?"
"Nothing in Trabia just yet, sir, but we've got lots of reports coming in from Deling, Dollet, Winhill, and now Timber. Only one man down in FH so far, but I'm not holding my breath. It's spreading quicker in the hotter climates…" Seifer paused, clearing his throat and unbuttoning one button of his shirt, allowing the sweat on his brow to trickle down the opening. Quistis' look of concern grew deeper as he cleared his throat, his voice wavering slightly. "…but I think it'll hit Trabia and the other settlements up north fairly soon. There's no word on Esthar, or Ellone."
Cid walked back around his desk to sit down heavily in his chair, taking a handkerchief from a drawer to dab at his own forehead. "…And the details?"
The women were already horrified at the sounds of things – but Dee's hands shot up to her mouth, covering it in sheer terror as Seifer continued, clenching his jaw as he spoke. "...Affected are all males, so far between the ages of five to eighty-five."
"Freedom…" Dee breathed into her hands, Cid looking at her pointedly but waving his hand at Seifer for him to continue.
"…Symptoms range from seizures, foaming from the mouth…rapidly increasing bodily heat…loss of short-term memory, inability to speak or form sentences, complete shut-down of motor function, shut-down of the heart, and death."
"Death?!" Rinoa repeated, looking from Cid to Seifer with wide eyes.
"Only in the extremes, my dear. The old folk have been dropping off the perch rather early, I'm afraid. Unable to cope with the symptoms, you see…" He looked to Dee, however, as he spoke next. "…Anything you wish to add, my dear?"
Everybody turned to Dee, who suddenly wished to be invisible, or at least not in the room anymore. Angel's arm, which had been placed around her shoulder, gripped it tighter, giving her support as she spoke quietly, hesitantly. "…Freedom…it was the virus that….that wiped out all the males on my home world…"
"And it seems it has followed you here." Cid stated, lifting up some files that he had on his desk, lifting his reading glasses to his nose as he read out the contents of the papers. "This is from Squall's debriefing, done after your return from the Heart Universe…'Freedom is a virus that, according to the Immortal leader Aries and all the subsequent files they allowed us access to, destroyed all male humanoids on the planet. Cause, unknown. Some reports of instantaneous disposal in a sudden flash of light, others by a slow melting process that reduced the victim to dust. Studies on all male team members, conducted by our medical professional and the Immortal professionals, have failed to find any trace of the virus within our systems, leading me to believe that it has been dead for many, many years of having no hosts.'"
Cid looked at Dee from over his glasses, lowering them slightly down the bridge of his nose. "Is this correct?"
"Yes…" The girl replied hesitantly. "…but this cant be Freedom. The symptoms are all different."
"For the moment, we have no choice but to assume that it's this virus Freedom." Cid replied quickly, placing the papers down and taking his glasses off, letting them rest on their chain around his neck as he leant back in his chair. "Squall, Zell, Rinoa and Dee have all been exposed to it. We have you here now, so you can get checked out immediately to see if you are carriers…but we also have other people to find. What are their names again…?"
"Julius and Veronica." Rinoa and Seifer said together, the man and woman shooting a look at each other.
"Mmm. After you five have been checked out within the infirmary, we will need you to track down Julius and Veronica. Anybody who has had extended exposure to the Immortal world must be cleaned and examined thoroughly before we can proceed with any type of resolution."
"Sir!" Quistis, Angel and Selphie all saluted at the same time. Rinoa and Dee tried for the salute as well, Rinoa managing to pull it off. Dee used the wrong arm, hurriedly correcting it when she spied the others doing it right from the corner of her eye.
"You are all dismissed. Go and get checked, quickly. We don't want you getting sick either." Cid said, watching the SeeDs turn as a group – before calling out again. "Oh, and Seifer."
Seifer paused, turning back to Cid staunchly, his body quivering with the effort of standing to attention, sweat pouring off him to drench his coat and shirt. He snapped to attention anyways, performing a crisp SeeD salute. "Sir!"
"…You are also dismissed, Seifer."
"Thank you, sir…" Seifer said wearily – before falling straight back to the ground, landing with a thud, passed out from the heat coursing through his body.
Cid, watching the girls converge around Seifer with a sigh, pressed his index finger gently to the intercom to the desk below. "Xu, could you please bring that stretcher you've reserved for Seifer now, please…"
Sure hope you're enjoying it so far. By the way, I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been dropping the names of a few characters from other FF games in as machine names, car names, weapons, so forth. See if you can find them. Some of them are a little tricky…